The Threshold Of The Wandering Star

The silence after that presence left was more deafening than I had expected. The three entrances stood before me, each emitting flickers that barely revealed what lay beyond.

As I approached, I could hear a faint yet deep sound, like a thick liquid moving and dragging something within. It was an unsettling noise that resonated in the stillness. Along with the flickers, there were undulating movements, like shadows gliding beneath the surface of dark water.

I stood there, motionless, trying to decipher what I was seeing and hearing. To the left, empty plains and a few humble houses; in the center, structures of various kinds that suggested a more advanced civilization; and to the right, a dark sky, dotted with black spots that I couldn't quite identify.

There were no certainties, only intuitions. And those intuitions made me hesitate. I looked at my pendant, a gift from her, the only link I had left with what once was. On the back, the phrase she had whispered to me before she left:

"We will meet again under the same star."

I clenched it tightly, searching for guidance in those words.

Finally, I chose the central entrance. If what I thought I saw was real, a more developed civilization might give me the answers I needed.

The transition was abrupt. I opened my eyes with difficulty, feeling the cold stones beneath my body. It took me a moment to realize I was lying in an alley. In the distance, a constant bustle indicated there was life beyond.

I stood up, unsteady, and noticed I was wearing clothes that weren't mine: tight pants, a strange shirt, a wide belt holding a long coat, and high boots. Over all this, a hooded cloak that made me feel like a character straight out of a medieval tale. Though it puzzled me, I didn't dislike it.

I immediately reached for my necklace, searching for it. Feeling it there, where it had always been, a sense of relief washed over me. For a moment, I closed my eyes and remembered how Selene used to play with it when we sat together, gazing at the stars, frowning whenever I insisted on staying a little longer. I opened my eyes and pushed the thought aside; this was not the time for that.

With a bit more composure, I ventured out of the alley. I walked slowly, still dizzy, leaning against the wall until I reached the end.

What I saw when I emerged left me speechless. In front of me stretched a market, but not just any market. Among the humans moving back and forth, there were also creatures with human bodies and animal faces. It was such a surreal sight that I wondered if I was still dreaming.

Was this real? Was the deal I made in that dream more than just a fantasy?

Questions swirled in my mind, but with the fresh air of the day and the sun shining high above, I felt confident enough to explore. If this was the new world, I had to discover what it had to offer.

I walked slowly towards the market, observing my surroundings with curiosity and distrust. The bustle and the variety of creatures around me were disconcerting, but I tried to maintain my composure. I stopped in front of a merchant selling fruits and vegetables I didn't recognize, trying to decide how to approach the situation.

"Excuse me, could you tell me what day it is today?" I asked with a mix of caution and anxiety.

The merchant looked at me strangely, as if he didn't understand the question.

"What day?" he repeated, frowning.

I felt a knot in my stomach.

"Yes, is it Monday, Tuesday? What month and year are we in?"

The merchant's expression shifted from confusion to disbelief, and I could see it. He stared at me for a moment before answering in a tone that suggested the answer was obvious.

"Do you mean what era we're in? This is the Era of the Wandering Star."

I tried to process that information, but before I could ask more questions, the merchant dismissed me with a brusque gesture.

"Get out of here! It's too early to be drunk."

I stepped away, feeling more lost by the second, when suddenly, a commotion broke out not far from where I was. I turned my head and saw two large lizards walking upright, dressed in light armor. They were demanding money from another merchant, who seemed terrified. The crowd around them backed away in fear, not daring to intervene.

As I watched the scene, I noticed a figure approaching slowly. It was a small old man, slightly hunched over and holding a cane. His small, bright eyes fixed on me.

The old man stood beside me, not taking his eyes off the lizards, and murmured in a low but clear voice:

"You… are out of your time," he said, his voice dragged by the years and heavy with deep knowledge.

His comment left me frozen, unable to form a response. Before I could ask what he meant, the old man continued his slow walk, disappearing into the crowd of the market.

I stood there staring at the spot where it had vanished, my mind filled with questions. How did that creature know about me? What did it mean by 'out of your time'? But there was no time to ponder.

Far from being surprised by the sight of lizards walking on two legs and talking, I turned back to the merchant I had been speaking with.

"What's going on?"

The merchant, with a mix of disgust and resignation in his voice, replied without taking his eyes off the scene.

"Those are Grimmor's lackeys, a man who thinks he owns this area."

I kept repeating the name in my mind: Grimmor.

The merchant, now scared and desperate, was shouting that he would pay them by the afternoon, promising between gasps of terror. One of the lizards was holding him up in the air as if he weighed nothing, but that was when Grimmor appeared, walking with an intimidating calm. He ordered the lizard to release him.

Grimmor approached the trembling merchant and touched his chest with a firm finger. His voice, though calm, carried a threatening tone.

"If you don't pay up, my lizards won't be so kind next time."

With that final warning, he walked away, followed by his lizards, entering what seemed to be a nearby bar.

For some reason, I thought that, owner or not, Grimmor must have power here. And that meant information, something I desperately needed. Without thinking twice, I ran towards the bar, so hastily that I flung the door open with a crash.

All eyes turned to me, including Grimmor's, who was on the second floor. The patrons inside the bar were on edge at my sudden entrance, while the lizards immediately went on alert, ready for anything.

Without thinking, I rushed up the stairs, unaware that my behavior might be seen as a form of retaliation. I heard murmurs and comments that confirmed my suspicions. The need to obtain information about Selene's whereabouts clouded my judgment.

As soon as I reached the second floor, one of the lizards didn't wait for any orders and swung a punch at me with brutal force. I managed to shield my face with both hands, but the impact was so strong that it sent me crashing against the wall, making me slam hard. I ended up sitting on the wooden floor, my arms throbbing with pain.

When I looked up, I realized how immense those lizards were; I'm a little over 6 feet tall, but their imposing figures made me look small in comparison.

Grimmor, meanwhile, watched the scene from his table with an unsettling calm, a beer in one hand and what seemed to be tobacco in the other. However, I couldn't stop there. I slowly got back on my feet, raising my hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I just want to talk to Grimmor," I said, trying to diffuse the situation.

The lizard, seeing that I had stood up, took it as a sign that I wanted to keep fighting. My mind switched to survival mode. I remembered the martial arts moves I had practiced in my world when I was a child, though I had never had to use them in a real situation. But I would soon realize they wouldn't help me at all.

I dodged his attacks, moving around him, covering myself and shifting to gain distance. But there came a moment when I found myself with no way out. The lizard wrapped both arms around me, lifting me off the ground and squeezing me with a force that felt like it was going to snap me in half.

The pain was unbearable, and I closed my eyes tight, fighting not to scream. But finally, with my voice breaking from the pain, I shouted to Grimmor:

"I just want to talk!"

Grimmor let out a small chuckle, enjoying the spectacle, and finally ordered his lackey to release me. The lizard obeyed reluctantly, but before letting me go, he tied my wrists behind my back and left me kneeling before Grimmor. He looked at me with a mix of interest and amusement.

"You've got guts, kid," he said, calling me "kid" in a mocking tone.

Still aching and shaken from the fight, I couldn't respond. Grimmor noticed and gave a subtle smile that didn't go unnoticed by me. Before I could say anything, he took the initiative.

"You don't talk to me for free," he said, his tone suggesting he was about to propose something that would change my situation.

"If you want to talk, you'll have to work for me. You've shown you have some skill, enough to stand up to one of my lackeys. I can help you hone those skills. If you manage to do so in a short time, I'll give you the chance to talk to me."

Confused, I hadn't expected any of this to happen like this. In my mind, I told myself that the deal I made with the presence in my dreams had to bear fruit. And maybe, by working for this jerk, I could get the information I needed, as well as understand how this world worked.