With only a little prodding, Isa got Joth out the door and heading up the road past the Temple of Fazar and toward the ramshackle cottage by the road. It wasn’t until they were on the road that she thought to wonder if she would remember where the cottage was.

They hadn’t gone far when Joth suddenly said, “Oh jeeze!” He plunged his his hand into his bag and rooted around. “Can’t believe I forgot. I usually do this when I leave the house, but you rushed me and….” A moment later he held aloft a small square. In the dim light Isa thought it might be leather.

Joth murmured some words and touched his shoulder. Then he sighed. “OK. That’s better.” To Isa he said, “Mage armor. I usually remember to cast it when I leave the house. Gives me better armor coverage.”

“And the leather? That’s a material--”

“Component? Yes.”

“Where do you buy those, or do you have to gather them yourself? Is that part of the mystique?”

Joth gave her a sideways glance. “That’d be like growing your own food. I mean, sure some people do that - they do that still right? It’s only been 10 years; people aren’t swallowing protein pills and eating little cubes of ‘food substance,’ right?”

It was Isa’s turn to give Joth a look. “Yeah, people eat food. We’re not all living on some sort of space colony on the moon or anything.”

“I wasn’t really worried,” Joth said, but Isa heard something in his voice - was it fear?

“Life is kinda like it’s always been, you know?” She gave him a grin. “Babies poop. People get married - oh, well that’s changed. Gay people can get married, too! You go to school, get a job….” She shrugged.

“You can get married now? That’s good. That’s really good.” Joth nodded his head. “I bet technology has….” He made an explosion gesture with his hands.

“Oh my God, yes!” Isa walked sideways so she could see Joth’s face. “You know about the iPhone, but it’s like years better - eons better - than the first ones. Phones are huge now. Huge! And so fast. The apps are insane. I was thinking about getting a smart watch that pairs….” She trailed off. “What? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know that world anymore,” he said. “I used to be the tech guy in the office. I mean not the literal tech guy, but I had the gadgets; I had the cool toys, the best computer.” He shook his head. “I’ve been here too long. I can’t go back.”

“You said you wanted to - when we first met. You didn’t really mean that?”

I don’t know, maybe. When I saw you, it brought up all those emotions.”

“How did you know,” said Isa. “I mean when you saw me.”

Joth laughed. “You stood out like a sore thumb! Is that the expression? Sore thumb? Or did I make that up? I don’t know anymore.”

Isa thought about what Joth had said in his study, about his deep depression, so she touched his arm. “You’re good. It’s all going to be OK. America….” She shrugged. “America is still just the same. You will fit right in. Trust me.”

“Well, we still have to find this scroll.”

They walked for a few minutes, and then Joth said, “I had it in the back of my mind that I could get enough cash together to pay someone to do the gate spell for me, or that I might be able to level up enough to cast it myself.”

“The diamond, though!” Isa said. “When Ealda mentioned that--”

“You talked with Ealda about this? When?”

“Yesterday. I told you - she’s the one who gave me access to Tinero’s books. She’s not a bad sort. A little intense maybe.”

“She doesn’t like me,” said Joth.

Isa thought about how Anne called him Joth Windbag. “Hmmm,” she said.

“It’s not me,” he turned to look at Isa. It was almost full twilight, but Isa could see his eager face. “It’s not me,” Joth repeated. “Lots of people like me. Lund, Fedru, Old Man Unger, of course. There are merchants and spellcasters all over who like me!”

Isa hadn’t seen anyone besides Teg Unger who seemed to particularly like Joth, but the time that Isa had spent with him had been fine. He was a little whiney, maybe, a little bit of a well, windbag, but he seemed honest and good. “I like you, Joth. I’m glad we met.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. It’s getting really dark, I guess. Let’s get some light going!” He rubbed his thumb across a small bit of wood in one hand while holding his other hand out palm up. He said something under his breath and a ball of light formed there. With another softly spoken phrase, Joth sent the ball ahead of them about 6 feet.

“That’s better,” said Isa. “Now we can see--”

“The gnolls,” Joth finished Isa’s sentence.

Four gnolls stood about 10 feet away, blocking the road ahead of them. Adrenaline flooded Isa’s body. The hulking creatures stared at the two humans in silence, but Isa could feel the malice pouring from them. “Fuck,” she said softly. “What do we--” She didn’t get to finish her thought because the gnolls suddenly leaped at them, spears and teeth gleaming in Joth’s magic light.

The first gnoll charged at Isa, and she was so surprised that she didn’t even think to dodge his spear, so the tip ripped into her side. The gnoll danced back and chattered words to his friends. Two other gnolls squared off against Joth, but he managed to dodge both their spears.

Isa was so busy worrying about Joth that she missed seeing the last one leap from the shadows and lunge for her neck. Thankfully his aim was off, and his fangs sunk into her shoulder where they hit her collarbone. The bone prevented him from getting a good purchase, and he tumbled off as Isa reacted to the pain of the bite.

A triumphant howl sounded as the first gnoll reacted to his comrade’s attack. He raised his arms over his head and howled again. The sound sent chills down Isa’s spine, but part of her knew that was the point - to make her afraid. What it did instead was make her angry. She pulled out her scimitar and swung at the first gnoll. The sharp blade cut him from hip to shoulder as the tip of the scimitar sliced through the gnoll’s armor like it was paper.

The creature yelped in pain, and blood poured from the wound, but he didn’t fall over. Isa hadn’t given him a killing blow, just a crippling one. But before he could gather himself to return Isa’s attack with his own, 2 shards of light plunged into his body and sent him sprawling into the bushes at the side of the road. Another shard hit the gnoll in front of Joth and, as the creature yelped in pain, Isa heard Joth say, “Yes!”

His triumph was short lived as that gnoll leaped at Joth, and jaws closed over the wizard’s left arm. Isa swung at that gnoll with her scimitar but missed. As the blade passed dangerously close to Joth’s face, Isa had time to reflect that this sword was very different than the rapier. She liked how she’d sliced through the first gnoll, but the scimitar was a heavier weapon, wider and difficult to use with accuracy. Perhaps she could get used to it.

The gnoll in front of Isa growled and sidestepped looking for an opening. The two in front of Joth closed in on him. Isa stepped closer to Joth to protect them both from a rear attack. Joth fired his light shards at the middle gnoll, and it doubled over in pain.

Isa took too long to decide what to do, and the nearest gnoll leaped at her, his jaws open wide. She moved closer to Joth, barely missing knocking him over, but the creature missed her and rolled past. She dropped the scimitar and grasped her staff with both hands. In one swift movement, Isa swung the metal tipped end of the staff at the prone gnoll’s head. The staff connected with a satisfying crunch, and the gnoll stopped moving.

“OK, OK,” Joth muttered as he fumbled with his bag. He held up one hand, grasping something small. He released it and in a clear voice said, “Burn.” A large circle of fire formed between them and the gnolls. Joth pushed the air in front of him, and the ball rolled toward the two creatures, who were frozen in fear and surprise. Isa didn’t blame them - the ball was easily 10 feet wide. The heat emanating from it made Isa’s hair dance.

One gnoll was able to dodge out of the main path so that the ball’s flames merely licked at it. The other was utterly consumed by the fire as the ball rolled slowly over it. The ball flared as it burned the gnoll, growing larger because of the added fuel the creature gave it.

The singed creature stood up and growled at Isa. It crouched low as if to leap at her. She brought her staff up so that it was chest high and horizontal to the ground. “Come on,” she whispered.

Before it could move, 3 light shards hit it, one at the throat, one at the chest, and one at the groin. The creature let out a strangled yelp and fell over.

“Ha!” Joth lept in the air. “I did it!”

Isa turned to him. “That was amazing. Those shards….”

“Magic missile,” said Joth. “Always hits. Every time.” He nodded. “That was rad.” He rubbed his arm. “That one bit me. You OK?”

Isa had stopped listening to Joth as she noticed a roaring sound. She turned her head to see that Joth’s fireball had doubled in size. Trees and shrubs were burning, and the ball continued its slow roll deeper into the forest. “Joth, look,” Isa managed to say.

“Oh shit.” His mouth hung open. “Shit.”

“How do you stop it?”

“I don’t know! I’ve never cast it before. It’s a new spell. A class 3 spell. I just leveled, right? I’ve had the guano for a while now, and I don’t know how to stop it. Spells just stop. That’s what they do. That’s what this one will do.” He crossed his arms.

Isa took a few steps closer to the fire. She didn’t see how it would stop. The trees and shrubs were thick here, and even with the torrent of rain the other day, they burned fast. “Joth, you have to stop this. The cottage - the scroll. They’ll burn!”

“Isa, I told you it will burn itself out.”

“When?” Isa threw her arm toward the fire. “It’s got plenty of fuel!”

The wind rose as the flames drew more air toward itself, and the light was bright and yellowy. “I told you this is the first time! I don’t know how to stop it.”

“Use a waterball spell. You can cast fire. So fucking cast water!”

“I’m not a druid! I can’t-- Help! Help!” Joth’s voice rose above the roar of the fire. “Heeeeeelp!”

Two people appeared in front of them, a human woman and an elf man. “You folks having a spot of trouble?” the woman asked.

“Yes,” Joth said, trying to catch his breath. “Fireball. Trees. I didn’t….”

“No worries,” said the woman. “Golure here will take care of that.” She pointed at the elf. “I’m Ramona. He’s Golure. What do you think?” She said to the elf.

He stood looking at the fire and then knelt down. He pulled a small bowl from his bag and poured a little water in. He stuck 2 sticks of incense on each side of the bowl and lit them. Then he began to chant as he picked up dirt from the road and sprinkled it on the water.

“What’s he doing?” Isa leaned toward Joth and whispered.

“Casting a spell.”

“Yeah, I got that part! I’m not an idiot.”

Ramona walked over to them, a big smile on her face. “We’ll have you cleared up in no time. Controlling the weather, well it’s one of Golure’s specialties. Good thing he was on call, eh?”

“He can control….?”

“Yep,” Ramona rocked on her heels. “Give him a few minutes, and we’ll have ourselves a mighty storm. Bucket and buckets of rain. That fire won’t know what hit it!” She looked at the 2 gnoll corpses on the road. “Can see why you cast the spell, man. Gnolls are nothing to take lightly.” She nodded at Isa. “You’re ah, you’re bloodied there. Let me fix you up.” She folded back the sleeves of her robe.

“Oh, no. I’m alright,” Isa waved her hand.

“It’s covered in the price,” said Ramona. “Might as well get healed, right? Just last week, we got called to an awful mess. Travelers like yourself stumbled on a bandit camp.” She shook her head. “Would have been worse, fatal even, of they hadn’t a called out for us.”

“What is this?” Isa asked. “Some sort of service?”

“Triple T,” Joth said. “Travelers in Trouble Team.” He shrugged. “Teg has the plan, and he put me on it.”

“Sure it’s expensive, but not a bad deal, if you travel a lot,” Ramona said with a smile. “I’m not on the sales side, of course. But we have offices in the main towns. You can join there.” She looked around and took a deep breath. “Smells like rain. Smells like rain, Golure!”

The elf ignored her and continued his chant.

“He can’t really hear me. Deep in his commune with the spirits of the sky or some such. Me, I’m just a regular old cleric. Speaking of which - let’s get you healed.” She touched a round symbol on her belt, and it shone like a torch. “That’s better. Ah, both of you need it, I see. You’re a little dinged up, too my friend.” She pointed at Joth.

He waved his hand. “Just a scratch really.”

“A good sized bite, by the look of it.” She turned his arm in the light.

Isa spared a glance at the chanting elf, and when she looked back, Ramona was patting Joth’s arm. “There we go. Now, let’s look at our.... Fighter?”

Isa nodded. “Do you need me to sit. He got a good bite on my shoulder.”

“They did tear into you. Good thing you had the wizard along, hmm?”

Isa glanced over the cleric’s shoulder to see if Joth had heard. “Yes,” she said to Ramona. “I am glad he’s along. I practically dragged him out of his house. If I hadn’t….”

“Yes, 4 against 1, isn’t such good odds. Now, hush while I concentrate.”

As Isa sat listening to Ramona’s quiet words and feeling the light, cool healing touch, she felt like if she could just concentrate hard enough, she could slip back into Portland reality. She tried to think about her home, the smell of coffee brewing, the sound of rain on the roof.She could almost feel the rain on her face, and then she realized it was rain. The elf’s spell had begun to work.

Spoiler: Isa's Character Sheet

Name: Isa Chamberlin

Race: Human

Height & Weight: 5ft 6inches / 120 lbs

Class: Fighter Level: 4

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Background: Stranger in a Strange Land

Hit Points: 26 AC: 15

Current Hit Points: 12* (getting healed at this moment)

Combat: +5 to Hit

Weapons: Scimitar +1 (left hand) 1d6 +4 (slashing) / Quarterstaff (right hand) 1d6 +2 (bludgeoning)

STR

11

0

DEX

16

+3

CON

11

0

INT

13

+1

WIS

13

+1

CHA

12

+1

Saving Throws: Str and Con +2

5

Acrobatics* (Dex)

1

Medicine (Wis)

1

Animal Handling (Wis)

1

Nature (Int)

1

Arcana (Int)

3

Perception* (Wis)

0

Athletics (Str)

1

Performance (Cha)

1

Deception (Cha)

1

Persuasion (Cha)

3

History* (Int)

1

Religion (Int)

3

Insight* (Wis)

3

Sleight of Hand (Dex)

1

Intimidation (Cha)

3

Stealth (Dex)

1

Investigation (Int)

1

Survival (Wis)

Special Attack: Two weapon fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Class Features:

Second Wind - On your turn, you can use a Bonus Action to regain hit points equal to 5 + your fighter level. Short or Long Rest before you can use it again.

Action Surge - On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible Bonus Action. You must finish a short or Long Rest before using it again.

Martial Archetype: Surgical Fighter

3rd level - Clinical Eye: Spend 1 combat turn studying your enemy and learn one of the following: if the enemy is equal to or stronger than you in strength, dexterity, or constitution. Can spend up to 3 turns to discern all 3. Can be used outside of combat as a free action - spend 1 minute to learn all three.