Resh, who Aarav had decided to be in this moment, continued to amicably chat to Haemish. Building a rapport with your capture was the number one way to make them humanize you and stop them from harming you. Aarav wasn’t sure if he believed that, but with nothing to loose and very few options left to him it was the best course of action.

He got a chill while talking, and when he turned to see what had done it, sure enough, the beefy dark man was just staring at him unblinking. Woah, super creepy, Aarav tried to ignore it as best he could while continuing to talk inanely about nothing. He was also using this time to learn as much as possible from him, mostly trying to get his bearing and learning where this place fit into the world at large. This ancient guy seemed to have answers, which meant that Aarav, Resh he mentally corrected, had questions.

“So where are we now? I have been in the forest for a while.” Since I am stuck with this lot, I might as well ask. A glance down showed that they were now passing back over the

“Well, this is Flue Village, and then the forest that you see and presumably were in is called Pleutr Forest. Well, we call it that. Other cultures have other names for it, the Great Forest, Shadow Forest, many others. It covers most of the country, you know? It is relatively large, and most of it is unmapped, uncharted territory. Such a lot like the Amazon Rainforest in the old world then. It was kind of like a rainforest. Pleut does mean rain. There was some correlation between languages in the new and old worlds; maybe it was just a coincidence. It was that all languages follow some similar basic patterns, but it seemed too coincidental.

Either way, Aarav couldn’t bring himself to care about such grandiose philosophical problems. His were of a much more immediate nature and needed tending. “Then there is Brewyn to the North West along what we call the Great Road. If you go in the opposite direction, there is Pravwell to the South East. They are at opposite ends of the road and the country. Also, extreme opposites in several other ways, either way, you will likely see what I mean soon enough.” Haemish let out an uneasy laugh. Rion looked sharply across to Haemish at the mention of Pravwell and the Great Road and then turned back to refocus on Aarav once more. Man, that guy needs to chill out or get laid. Aarav tried to look at the man staring too intently at him. It was hard not to feel like maggots were crawling all over his skin.

As the village continued to pass under them, Aarav could make out the vague outline of the familiar formation of the buildings in the village square. The green of the grass and the red of the roof tiles; were a pleasantly nostalgic sight. He might have hated his past life, but that didn’t mean he hated the world he had lived in. A tear slipped free as he thought of the life he had lived and doubled down on his commitment to living a better one this time. His brain, which had been hard-wired for drugs and other things, was now free of those compunctions. It was like he had been given a get out of jail free card by being awarded this new life. Looking at the bright side of life is useful sometimes. I have a body that I hate, but I have things that I can enjoy simultaneously!

“So, where are we going now?” Aarav was curious as he had not been able to overhear their plans, stuck as he had been in the soundproof, air-proof jar.

“We are going to visit a gentleman that lives in the area, confirm a few things and then leave. Aarav sensed that this wasn’t the whole story, but if he wasn’t inclined to tell this to complete strangers his entire life story, then why should he expect them to? It made sense, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t squeeze every ounce of juice he could from this man, and with his girth, it looked like he had a LOT of juice! That’s all.”

Haemish frowned as he looked down at the slime making Aarav curse inwardly. This man was good at reading people. He needed to school his features. Thinking like a human would not help in this situation. Having given the game away, Haemish was not convinced. He felt that he needed to keep Aarav on his side, and to that end, he would be more willing to offer things.

“You know you still haven’t given me that Health potion you promised….” Aarav said. If he had a slight advantage, he might be able to squeeze something out of this guy. A touch of guilt went a long way to getting you what you wanted. Haemish frowned again, tilting his head a little in what could only be in contemplation. I am a ball big guy! I look the same from all angles.

To mess with him, Aarav moved one eye around to look at Haemish from a different angle. “So…?” Aarav deliberately repeated the inquiry.

“Hmm…yes, let me check something.” Aarav felt something like a wave of pressure coming toward him. He tensed a little. With no muscles, it was more like squeezing his body through a hula hoop. The wave washed through him and out the other side. Aarav assumed he had been scanned and prayed to God that this man did not find anything that gave him pause. It would be tough to explain things like English and Spanish to a man who had never heard of anything like that.

“Ehh…?” Haemish looked surprised and concerned. There was obviously thing that he did not understand about what he had seen. He turned to Taler. “Come over here, son!”

The dutiful apprentice followed the master’s command. “Yes, of course, sir!” Taler made it to Haemish’s side just as the group passed the village and left it behind. The sun also behind them had risen to indicate late morning. The rising sun silhouetted Taler to Aarav’s eyes. Did his tone sound a little hesitant? Aarav couldn’t be sure.

“Taler, I need to you check this…Resh?” Haemish turned to Aarav again and tried to address him rather than talk over him. Well, at least he’s trying; I would have killed me already. Aarav seemed to be getting more and more empathy dollars to put in the jar. Great! Now I have Stockholm syndrome! Aarav was not quite ready to sympathise with these kidnappers, but he did see things a little more from their perspective. He hated it. He didn’t want to understand these people, nor did he want anything more to do with them.

But, I have to say. It is nice to be able to talk to someone again. My mind is a scary place. I don’t want to be alone with it.

Taler made his way over as the village fell out of sight in the background. A wave passed through Aarav for the second time. “Sir…I’ve-I-I’ve never seen anything like this! Is it-is this another language entirely?”

“It seems so, son. Odd, isn’t it? I have not seen anything like this. These symbols seem to have meaning….” Haemish and Taler put their heads together and started discussing what they saw in detail. “Never mind now, we have arrived. Let us land. Karlin and I have a couple of things to discuss.”

Landing took another five or six minutes, and the whole way down was a rollercoaster as far as Aarav was concerned. A couple of times, he thought he would fly away with Weightlessness. Yes, they were going down so fast that they were just falling with gravity. If Aarav had had a stomach, he would have been vomiting its contents. How did these people handle it, oh-ohhh! Taler was zipping about effortlessly. The rest were focused directly ahead. Without deviating from the course or looking anywhere else, they would not allow any distractions, Aarav was clear on which. The unwavering focus was what gave them the clarity not to vomit; otherwise, it might have been a messy ride.

Aarav had a moment to wonder why they needed to move so steeply to land when they angled up and softly alighted on the ground. Great, show-offs! I am dying here, doc! Come on! And I still haven’t got my damn potion.

The descent and subsequent landing had been so jarring and abrupt that he had not fully wrapped his head around the surprise that Taler and Haemish had displayed. Now, he could not think on it further as he found himself face-to-face with a farmhouse, looking cut out of an American farming magazine. Complete with the red-painted wooden barn and a white picket fence around a homestead.