They then led me down a hall through a thick, wooden door. Down the hall, I was taken to a room. Inside was a pair of thinly cushioned benches facing each other. The floor had a somewhat ratty looking carpet. A small window was set high up on the wall and was devoid of glass. Yet I couldn't hear anything going on outside at all. The strange circle above it struck me as a possible cause. The room was lit by a hanging lamp that gave off a warm, orangish light.

They sat me down on a wood bench. With that the green skinned man nodded and left. The other took a seat on a bench across from me. The darker skinned guard sat for a moment stretching his shoulders.

He was a man older than me, but by how much I couldn't say. Some very light wrinkles had started to form on his face, but his hair was still pure black. It was short and somewhat uneven in places. His blue eyes were stern. He stared at me with a somewhat tired expression. He seemed more to be thinking about the situation.

Eventually he said, "My name is Azuro Marn. Now then, I have plenty to ask, but let's start with some basics. Who are you?"

I looked down to the carpet, embarrassed by that being how I arrived, and said, "I'm Alexander."

Azuro then said, "Right. You seemed confused and unsure earlier. Want to elaborate on that?"

I sat for a moment, unsure of what I could say without lying or sounding crazy. This all felt too familiar. Some about it was putting me on edge. For a moment my eyes darted to the now closed door to the room. I said, "Somewhat. The last thing I remember was a room."

I looked up to Azuro. The man was still staring at me. He asked in a firm, but calm voice, "What happened in that room?"

I hesitated. I wondered if admitting to remembering anything was an awful mistake. An anxiety was creeping up in me as I sat there. I said, "I remember going to bed. Then there was water."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Was it your room? What do you mean by water?"

I shook my head. Still nothing seemed certain in my memory. So much felt out of place or missing. My mind jumped between trying to figure out how to avoid certain things. I said, "I remember having gone to bed, but then waking up in a room. The floor was somewhat under water. There was a woman there and was in chains."

As I told him this, Azuro sat there thinking for a moment. I stared at him as he looked to the door and then me. After a moment he asked, "Anything else?"

I hated this situation and I couldn't exactly figure out why. It felt familiar in all the wrong ways. It dawned on me that I was looking far more suspicious. Reluctantly, I said, "She was suspended between these chains. There was a symbol of a circle of chains with a water drop in the middle."

He went quiet. Then, with a long sigh, muttered, "The Sorrow Penitent?"

I stared at him, feeling a shiver bolt up my spine. The man shook his head. His eye brows narrowed every so slightly. He looked up at me and said, "I'm not one to know how one could meet such a being, but you look like you met her. Hard to fake that sort of pale."

I laced my fingers together with a tight grip, trying to drive the fear from me. I asked, hesitantly, "Who is The Sorrow Penitent?"

Azuro raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't know. Right. Then, let me ask you this. Do you remember much of the world itself?"

I shook my head. Azuro's gaze seemed to pierce me, looking for any sign of falsehood. He said, "I'm no priest, but...The Sorrow Penitent is one of the gods. If you have met her, thank The Sparing Grace you live. She's one of the unsafe gods."

After a look of confusion he continued, "Not all the gods are sane beings. They all have flaws because they're all parts of some other god who shattered. The Sorrow Penitent is of the insane ones. Hopefully, you just had some sort of hallucination. Or got off without much interest being drawn. Anyways, remember anything at all other than your name?"

I looked down with her words in my head still. After another shiver running through me, I said, "I don't know. I might know something, but I can't really tell."

Azuro nodded and said, "Well, Alexander, we will try and find out what we can. The Captain will take an interest in this. Especially if some sort of magic was used on you."

I looked at him. A tiredness was forming in me and I was sick of being there. I asked, "If you guys can't find anything?"

I knew they wouldn't. I knew I wasn't of this world at the very least. Even if I couldn't remember my own at all. Azuro paused for a moment and then said, "Then we'll see what we can do to get you back on your feet, I suppose. Never a lack of work in the city."

For some reason, I found that hard to trust. Something was picking at the back of my mind. Azuro leaned forward, arms crossed, and said, "You did say you remembered going to bed. So do you remember anything else before that encounter?"

I thought for a bit on what to say to that. I could remember what my room looked like. It stirred a feeling of dull misery in me. For a moment? I wondered if remembering was a good idea. I replied, "I can remember some specific things. I remember my name. I think I know some math? Basic stuff I guess, but as to anything about me? I can't really say."

Azuro scratched his chin for a moment. He muttered, "A magic that can erase memories? Sounds like the sort of thing mages would figure out how to do."

After a moment he then said, "You had a look out there of someone who's never seen a city before. Yet, all the same, you woke up in one. I guess I should try to jog that memory with questions. You know what year it is?"

I replied, "Not a clue."

He nodded and then asked, "Know who the lord of this region is? How about the king?"

When I shook my head, he scratched his chin continuing, "Not sure why you'd know this. Maybe you were a mage who got on some other mage's bad side. What are the types of magic?"

I looked at him for a moment. A few scant memories came to mind. One from games and books. I doubted any of those would be worth mentioning. I said, "Not a clue."

He nodded again, leaned back, and crossed his arms. Azuro then said, "You said you can remember math. I wonder, can you read and write?"

I frowned before asking, "Not sure, can you show me something written to see?"

I had a suspicion I couldn't, given the sign but I wanted to be sure. The fact we spoke the same language didn't make much sense to me in the first place. Yet, the fact I might have actually met a god threw sense out of the window. He looked about for a moment and said, "Right. Stay seated."

He got up and walked over to the door. He stood facing me and leaned on the door, knocking on it. A small slot, one that was otherwise invisible when closed, open. He said to whoever it was, "Need something to see if he can read."

There was a second of silence. Then, A piece of parchment like paper was slid through. It was clearly a wanted poster at first glance. The letters of the words meant nothing to me, so I shook my head. Azuro slipped the paper back out the slot and it closed.

Even having seen where it was, I still couldn't see the slot. Something about that caused a knot to form in my stomach. I fidgeted slightly.

Azuro sat back down and said, "Well, not a clergy member then. Doesn't rule out some form of merchant assistant, though. Let's test that math then. Count to ten."

I proceeded with no issue and Azuro nodded. He said, "Right, now. What is seven plus five?"

I said without much thought, "Twelve."

He sat there a moment, clearly relaxing a bit and drumming his finger against the seat next to him. His eyes stared off into nothing. The guard said, "Well you can do math. A man appears naked in the alley. Claims to have met a dangerous god. He remembers little. Has had magic cast on him. Can do math but can't read. He has the appearance of someone who doesn't do physical labor. I can't say it makes a lick of sense to me."

He looked at the door. "What do you think Captain?"

Looking to the door, it opened and a man walked wearing a set of armor far more impressive than Azuro's. The older man had a bushy mustache and his sideburns were well kept. His clearly combed, swept back hair was graying, yet some black still remained. His eyes were green and held a certain twinkle that spoke of a cunning, yet dangerous man. His age was clear from the wrinkles that had been etched into him by time. He stood with a strength and grandeur that spoke of a man who had led most of his life.

He said, "Greetings, Alexander. I am Captain Haline. I do hope you don't mind, but I was listening on the other side of the door. I must say, this entire event surrounding you is indeed an oddity that sparks many a wondrous theory to me. Tell me, do you know what your family name is?"

I looked to the captain. He had a friendly smile on his face as he stood there with both his arms behind his back. I asked, "My family name? It's Moores."

Azuro was still watching me. I could see it out of the corner of my eye, but my attention was on the Captain. The old man's face didn't change even slightly from his friendly smile. Once more I got a niggling feeling in the back of my mind. I didn't trust him.

He said, with what might be called a fatherly tone, "Well, you seem to be sure of your name at the least. Sadly, that is not a family of any note to me. That does, though, cut down the search for your kin a fair bit. Now, the question is what to do about this all. While I'd like to help you? , I can't, for various reasons, give you much, assist personally on this matter too much. Rest assured that I'll put good men on the case, though!

"Marn here, though, can take you down to the temple of the Shattered One. I'm sure they'd be all too happy to give you shelter till we get this all sorted. That clergy is all too happy to help those in need."

Azuro nodded to me and said, "They might have you help, but they will help you."

Captain Haline then continued, "I will ask you to stay within the city till we clear this up. It is entirely possible someone has caused you this issue with intent. Don't worry, though, little happens in the city without me knowing. so if you are willing, I can have Corporal Marn here take you to some of the guilds. The Guilds are always looking for fresh faces and are willing to train them. You can pick up a fair number of useful skills with them."

Something about the captain stirred hatred in me. His tone reminded me of someone. The fake sort of care and reassurance. I did my best to hide the growing contempt. I looked at him for a moment and then said, "Yeah, I guess I can try that."

The Captain nodded and said, "Wonderful. The Guilds are safe places with their own guards, too. Rest assured, if this is some conspiracy you've found yourself in? You will be safe. Corporal Marn, give this man a tour to see the guilds and then to the temple."

As we walked out the door, I wondered if I was stuck in this world. I then frowned, deciding it didn't really matter. My old one held nothing for me anyways. At least here, I could perhaps actually do something that might be worthwhile. Azuro lead me down some roads, quiet and clearly not much of a talker. Suddenly and with great instance, he stopped me. Startled, I looked up as he pulled me to the side of the street. There, upon a horse, road a woman with long white hair and with eyes glowing an icy blue. She wore a silvery dress and a circlet of gold sat on her head. Her hair was tied into braid, showing her angular features and pointed ears clearly. Her skin was almost a paper white. Behind her road a number of other people, armed and in fine metal armor. Her eyes passed over the crowd as they rode past, everyone watching quietly.

After they passed Azuro let out a sigh and said, "Gods, I see why the Captain has the guard pulling extra shifts. It'd be nice if he told us she was here."

I looked to him and he nodded for me to follow. I asked, "Who was that?"

He said, clearly a bit annoyed, "That was Lady Lura'mi. A rather important person to our history. Her estate is in the area, but we weren't told she'd be back now."

I looked back, watching as they went past. The crowds afterwords went either back to work or where talking, no doubt about the woman. With that out of the way, Azuro turned to me. He clicked his tongue and said, "Right, you don't know. She was a friend of King Sintal the First, who founded the country a long time ago. Elves live long lives, though I can't say how old she is now. People tend to be a bit wary of her, given she's turned rather odd apparently."

Eventually we reached a tall, ornate building. It was made of white stone with large stained glass windows that depicted abstract patterns. It looked vaguely like the cathedrals I'd seen in my world, but above the large doors sat no symbol or did any imagery appear anywhere upon it's walls. Azuro looked up at the place and said, "The Temple of the Shattered One. The people in this kind of temple are more charity and guidance than the normal sort of clergy. No point in it when the god you follow is sort of gone."

As we walked in, there was no pews, nor pulpit. There was barely any sort of decoration to the place. The entire place felt hollow. Our steps echoed off the high walls and about the vaulted roof, containing no more decoration than some abstract looking, geometric shapes carved into the stones. No statues or shrines sat about the place, just as the Azuro had hinted at. A priest sat at a table towards the back of the room, a book in his hand as he relaxed. He looked up to us and motioned to come over. The light from the windows and the candle light gave the otherwise empty room some color, but the place almost felt heretical in it's lack of any true articles of faith. The priest gave a warm smile, contrasting the entire feeling of the room, as we stood before him. The priest's age was clear as he looked up at us. He was completely bald and the deep wrinkles spoke of a life that had mostly already become part of the past. He wore a pair of semi-circle glasses, with a unassuming, small link chain looking from each end and behind his neck. With an unwavering smile, the old man said, "I take it this is the man Captain Haline sent word of. I am sorry that such fates has fallen upon you, child." His gray eyes turned back to his book as Azuro said, "Yes."

The priest turned a page and said, "Very well. We shall see that he is kept warm and fed. Fate willing, he shall soon find his family."

Azuro said, "Well, as the Captain said, either I or Martin will come by tomorrow to take you by the guilds. For now, try to keep a low profile. This place is safe, but that isn't a good reason to go get into trouble. Take care." His eyes turned to the priest and he continued, "Good day."

The priest continued to read, saying nothing as Azuro walked away. He seemed so calm and unassuming sitting there. I stood there for a bit, awkwardly waiting for the old man to do something. The place was quiet and only occasionally did anyone come in, moving past us silently and without even a glance in our direction. It wasn't till the light from the windows indicated the day was fading that the old man closed the book. Eventually, I walked off to the side of the great room and sat down leaning against the wall.

He looked up at me, his face showing nothing more than that calm, kindly smile. He said, "You didn't speak up once."

I looked at him, having been lost in thought all that time, and nodded. The old priest adjusted his glasses and said, "Well now, I must admit I was somewhat expecting you to just wander off." I stared at him, and a wry grin formed on his face. He continued, "I must admit, your story as the Captain told was hard to believe. I must apologize. I assumed you'd have left by now. It is rare that such things are as true as good liars. Not that it would have worked, but the old fellow did ask me to at least see. Gods, I do have questions then."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but the priest's grin didn't go away. With a sigh, I said, "I guess I'd not believe me either. Not like I do plan to go anywhere, for I have nowhere to go."

The priest looked about, that grin on his face loosening to a half smile. He leaned on the table and said, "Tell me, Alexander, the truth."

I looked at him with suspicion. He sat there, a knowing gleam in his eyes. After a few seconds, he said, "I was once not a man of the cloth. I was a lair, a cheat, and a swindler. You only told the Captain some truths, I'd bet on it. You've sat there a while, and i can tell. You got the look of someone hiding something."

I looked at his old, wrinkled face. His gaze was unmoving. There was something more there in the priest's gaze. A tension filled the space between us. After yet more silence, he said, "Ah, I do promise we are quiet alone. If it helps, I'll even do this."

He held up his hand lightly and suddenly the quietness of room grew deafening. The sounds of the outside world died away completely. I stared at him in shock as he lowered his hand and laced his fingers together over the book sitting on the table. My eyes traveled about and I noticed the abstract patterns on the walls and ceiling seemed to glow ever so lightly. I took a breath and asked, "Will you believe the truth?"

The old man nodded and said, with a somewhat comforting chuckle, "I swear to you I won't. The confession you make here are between you and I."

I looked at him, hesitated lightly, but then felt my emotions slowly begin to seep into me. Trying to keep them in check, I began to speak but the words caught in my throat. I felt an urge to not trust this man, but the reasons didn't come to me. After taking a breath, I said, "They will find nothing on me."

The priest asked, "What do you mean by that?" I bit my lip and said, "They will find nothing because there is nothing. I am not from here." I didn't know why but I felt horridly sad and angry at the same time. It was almost like the something deep inside me was screaming to not be honest with him. "I wasn't in this world at all till then."

I saw the priests eyes widened lightly at the statement. He leaned forward, lacing his fingers together, and quietly asked, "Are you saying you are not of our world?"

Leaning against the wall, with a harsh exhale, I said "Yes. The Sorrow Penitent? Whatever her name. She put me here. She said she was sorry. I don't care if you believe me. That is the truth. I lived my life in a world different than this one. I know nothing of this place because I never lived here in any way. I don't know what is happening. I don't know what is going on."

The priest sat there looking at me, but I didn't look back. I just sat there, suppressing the emotional storm that grew in me. After a few minutes, he began to speak but then stopped. I sat there quietly, a long time passing in silence, feeling drained and beyond tired. The old priest walked over, knelt down, and put a hand on my shoulder. The priest wore a calm look on his face with a frown slowly forming. He said quietly, "What is is. I shall speak of none of this. Gods mercy upon you, my child. I hope this will be solved soon."

His eyes shifted lightly to the side, and I was certain that he would remain silent on the matter. Whatever he was thinking was beyond me, but this seemed serious. I felt too tired to worry about it all, but it felt as if there was truly something about this of some importance. He patted my shoulder and continued, "Come, let us get you some food and some rest. Tomorrow will be an interesting day, no doubt."

"What is your name?" I asked, giving my best attempt at a smile.

For a moment, the priest almost looked sad as I asked it. He returned a small smile, stood up, and said, "Olfred Marindol."

The old priest led me into the back. The dining hall was rather large, but empty at this point. The old man had just went off into a different room and brought back some bread and cheese, with a jug of water. The bread was somewhat tough, the cheese was somewhat tasteless, the water was lukewarm, yet I still was thankful. I was far more hungry than I had thought after all this time. Olfred sat quietly with me, his face mostly without emotion but I could see that he was deep in thought by how his eyes seemed to unfocused as he watched me.

After I had eaten, Olfred had led me down the halls of the temple to a line of places with no door. I realized then that most of the rooms had scraggly looking people in them already. Most wore no more than rags, remembering these priests were more people of charity. The bed was much like the food, bland but functional. It held only a simple bed with a blanket. Still, I managed to fall asleep easily.