Trevor had basically inhaled his food once it had been cooked, and invited everyone leftover on that walk around town Wayne had suggested. It was the perfect morning outside, and the young man was glad he didn’t have to find a new coat.

On her command, the Texan dwarf had grabbed Rashie and lifted her onto his shoulder. Mr. Tiggles didn’t ask, but jumped up on Trevor’s as he normally did.

“He’s trying to steal Mr. Tiggles, too!” Rashie half said, half whispered to her transportation.

“You can’t really steal cats,” Wayne chuckled. “If Mr. Tiggles wants to ride with him, then that’s what Mr. Tiggles will do.”

“Adabelle mentioned he doesn’t usually like strangers,” Trevor mused.

“Took him a long time to warm up to Rashie, but she kept chasing him trying to eat him so that’s pretty self-explanatory.”

“Cats are friends, not food,” she said sternly, as if she had done so many times before.

“Meow,” Mr. Tiggles agreed, and Trevor began petting him.

“That’s right,” Wayne said with a nod. “Why don’t you tell Trevor where you came from? Give him some context on why you had to learn that lesson.”

“Only if you want to,” Trevor said as he began bowing to people in town who greeted him.

While the day was still young, it was a little later than Trevor usually got out. Shops were already beginning to open and he felt a little twinge of guilt that he hadn’t been able to help out in the marketplace. Deep down he knew it was fine as they had people there for that, but he really came to enjoy it.

“Yes,” Rashie said. “I lived in a land, that wasn’t land, it was all water, and I lived underwater. I had fifteen tentacles, and suckers on each, and also claws at the end. Not like, hands made of claws, but like a single claw, and I was the- What did you call me, Wayne?”

“Scourge of the ocean.”

“I was the scourge of the ocean! A real Larashae of the sea!”

“Is that what your people were called?” Trevor asked. He could see where they could get Rashie from that.

“Yes. I lived with my family in this really big rock deep, deep, deep under the water. And then fish would swim by, really small ones, like the size of this building,” she claimed, pointing towards a two story shop that they were passing. “And I’d shoot out and grab it and claw it and then bring it back to feed my family.”

“That’s, uh, really big, Rashie,” Trevor said, bemused.

“I was really, really big,” she said with all the confidence of a small dog.

When Trevor looked at Wayne for confirmation, he shrugged. “Jackson said he could peer into her life before she got summoned, and apparently she was about as long as a semi truck with a trailer.”

“That’s an unreal change to go from, what? Like sixty feet? To this. Was it a shock to you?” Trevor asked.

Rashie shook her head. “Nah, everything’s different here,” she said. “Back in the ocean there’s a lot of water, and then there’s the ground, and our big rock, but here everything makes the same kind of sense. These homes are about the right size. Just the fish- I mean the people are bigger. I was a little scared of that because I was eaten by a bigger fish and that’s how I got here.”

“That must have been horrifying,” Trevor said, looking at the girl with a sad frown.

“A little, but then I met Jack, and Wayne, and Addy, and Mr. Tiggles,” she said, grinning at him. “And a bunch of other people, like you, but those are the most important ones.”

“Trevor’s important too, Rashie,” Wayne chastised gently. “He’s one of us.”

“I guess,” she whined, pouting before looking at him. “Coming here was strange, too, but the Quest Master was very nice and I like my new body.”

“What are you now? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Rashie shrugged. “Iunno. Something,” she said. Wayne cleared his throat, and she looked down at him. “Oh, I guess there’s more, huh? Well, there were these creatures that swam near the surface, okay? They were small, and had arms, and legs. I wasn’t supposed to go up there but I did it anyway because I liked to watch them. So, I asked the Quest Master to become one of those!”

“So it knows what they are?”

“No,” Wayne scoffed. “Go ahead and tell him what you asked for.”

Rashie leaned back, looking at the sky as if remembering that day. “I told the Quest Master I wanted big teeth, and long arms, and thumbs, and legs, and a tail, and scales, and big eyes, and good at swimming, and can be in the surface, and some other stuff. When I first got to the colorful world I didn’t know what those meant because, you know, tentacles, but then I knew and I got them and here we are having this conversation.”

“I’m glad you’re happy with what you got,” Trevor said. He hadn’t even thought about customizing a species to become. Then again, he hadn’t thought much about his answer, either, and that’s how he got stuck as a human.

“If you came from Earth, then you must have decided to stay as a human,” Wayne guessed. “Or did you fall into the same classic blunder most everyone else seemed to fall into and make some dumb as dirt decisions?”

“Well.” Trevor looked away, scratching his head.

Wayne barked a laugh. “Alright, come on, spill it.”

Sighing, Trevor laughed at himself. “I messed up on pretty much all three of the questions the Quest Master posed to me,” he admitted. “It gave me a pass on renaming myself, otherwise I would have come into this world with a stuttering name, not that it seems like it would make much of a difference.”

“Not particularly, but still funny to know.”

“Right, well, when it asked me what species I’d like to be, then I answered with something like ‘well, I’m a human’ and it latched right on to that.” Wayne chuckled, and Rashie laughed. Trevor could see why. “Not the most interesting answer, but it didn’t ask me if I was sure like the name thing.”

“That’s a pretty solid answer to fall back on, anyway,” Wayne said. “Better to be everything you already were than to make a snap judgment and become something you hate.”The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The way he said that caused Trevor to pause, and he looked down at the dwarf. It almost sounded like he was speaking from a place of experience. “What about you?” he asked gently. “You come from an Earth of dwarves?”

“Around 90% of Earths are just humans, if what I’ve been told is to be believed,” he said, waving his hand. “No, this was a conscious decision that I took the time to think about.”

“You mind if I ask why?” Trevor could see the market up ahead, but it was fairly crowded. He had definitely missed his window to help.

A thoughtful look of nostalgia passed over Wayne’s face as he smiled. “My son and I didn’t get along much,” he said. “But I won’t bore you with a sob story. Long story short is, we started bonding over Pathfinder.”

“Pathfinder?”

“Basically Dungeons & Dragons, but different,” Wayne explained. “He got really into tabletop games, and I needed a distraction, so I asked him if I could play in the game he was going to run. His friends agreed, and I joined in. The first couple of games fizzled out, and the third was planned but never got off the ground. Terrible, but not uncommon.”

“That must have really sucked,” Trevor said.

“It happens. The fourth campaign he started really took off, though,” Wayne said, and Trevor could see a smile beneath his beard. “And about halfway through, he made a comment about how I always played dwarves. I denied it, because I had only played in one campaign, but he said the first three games counted. His friends started calling me the dwarf dad, they were all high schoolers, by the way, and it just stuck.”

“From the sound of it, you all had a great time. Especially if you decided to stick to it when you came here.”

“Yeah, we did,” Wayne said before coughing into his fist. “Anyway, enough about me. What were you like back in the day?”

“Oof, I don’t have any flattering answers for you,” Trevor said, grimacing.

“Not everyone can be a truck sized tentacle monster,” Rashie said, her tone suggesting she meant to be soothing. “But you can still answer.”

“Man, so many of my problems could have been solved if I were,” Trevor chuckled. “It would come with different problems, but not many of my initial ones would translate. No, I worked in retail. Went home, played video games. I always wanted to do something with my life, and a promotion had been dangled over me for a while, but now that I’m here and it doesn’t matter as much any more, I’m not sure if they were ever going to actually give it to me.”

“Retail’s rough,” Wayne said. “I went straight into construction, but my son was a stock boy for a good bit of his early years. Seemed like his soul was sucked out of him every time he came home from work.”

“I feel that,” Trevor said with a dark chuckle. “Well, it’s not all bad. It led me here, after all. Not even sure if I’d head back at this point.”

Wayne stopped, and both he and Rashie stared at Trevor. “You can go back?”

Trevor slowed before turning around and looking at them. They were blocking traffic just outside the market district’s plaza, and he ushered them to the side of the road. “I guess that’s a little insensitive to say, isn’t it? Sorry, guys.”

“What do you mean you can go back?” Wayne asked again.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Trevor lifted his sleeve and showed them the tattoo he had gotten during the summoning. “Jackson said I was in a coma back on Earth,” he explained slowly. “Once the top one is completely gone, I could choose to go back. It’s been moving really slowly, but it has been disappearing. Probably another month or so, at this rate.”

“I don’t want Trevor to go,” Rashie said quietly.

“That’ll be up to him, Rashie,” Wayne said, patting her on the leg. “That’s really neat. Have you told Adabelle yet?”

Trevor shook his head as he put his sleeve back down. “We haven’t really talked about our past. I haven’t been prying, and she’s been dead tired because of all the work that’s coming in when Jackson left.”

“Yeah, that mayor sure likes his sabbaticals,” Wayne said. “Been here for a decade already, and the man seems to disappear at least three times a year. No one’s ever sure where he’s gone, just out, and he’s always secretive about it when he gets back. Mayor stuff, he says.”

That caused Trevor to frown as he thought about something Thimbleden had said recently. “You were here second, right? After Jackson?”

“Yeah. Jackson, me, Adabelle, Rashie, and then you,” Wayne confirmed.

“Was the weather always weird when Jackson left?” he asked.

Wayne opened his mouth to answer, but paused. Rashie spoke instead. “Yeah, that’s weird!” she exclaimed. “It always was!”

“Does that go back further than when he asked Adabelle to become his apprentice? Because Thimbleden seemed to think it was due to her. Mentioned knocking down some buildings, too.”

“Do you… not know what Addy’s power is?” Wayne asked. “I’ll answer your question, I’m just curious how you haven’t found out yet.”

Trevor shrugged. “She's secretive, and I respect that,” he answered. “She comes to the Hero House, dead tired, and I make her dinner. She eats it and heads to bed. When we do talk, it’s usually about things happening in town.”

“Do you just not ask questions? That’s, like, the first thing I asked her. Other than what’s up with the horns.”

“I guess I’m just more concerned with her privacy than you were,” Trevor said, shrugging again. “We didn’t really start off on the right foot.”

“Well, that’s between you and her,” Wayne said. “My Power is Gun, by the way. In case you weren't gonna ask.”

Trevor paused. “Gun?”

“Gun.”

“Like, just guns?”

“Just guns.”

“Is that helpful?”

“It is when you’re an adventurer.”

“Mine is-“ Rashie was about to spill the beans when Wayne cut her off with a gesture.

“Yours is a lot more fun than mine, so let’s surprise him with it later, okay?” Wayne offered.

The shark girl started nodding vigorously. “When he least expects it!”

“I don’t think I like where this is going,” Trevor said, though he couldn’t help but be amused, either.

“You will, you will,” Wayne said with a grin. “What about you?”

“Inventory,” he said as he produced his PathGuider 5000 from his extradimensional space, and then put it back. “I can store things in a pocket dimension.

“That sounds pretty handy,” Wayne approved with a nod.

Trevor gave him the same nod back. “Could you answer my question though? About Jackson and the weather?”

“Right, my bad. As far as I can remember, there’s always been something going on whenever Jackson disappeared,” Wayne answered. “Weather’s been wonky during those times, for sure, and it’s always normalized by the time he gets back. I’ve always been busy doing my own thing, so I never made the connection between that before.”

Trevor breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t believed Adabelle was the cause of the strange weather, but it was good to confirm it. Even tired, she seemed to be in control of herself. The young man was glad that the whole thing was happening long before she showed up, and that it was just gossip carelessly spread.

When Trevor didn’t respond right away, Wayne took a look around. “Did you have something to do in the market district?”

“Yeah. I normally make deliveries around town to get to know the place better,” he answered. “And to stretch my legs. I wouldn’t be able to sit still and relax even if I tried.”

“I understand that feeling!” Rashie said, grinning.

“Alright, well, we’re going to go see if Jackson needs saving,” Wayne said. “He’s probably been stewing long enough, and Adabelle’s likely still tearing into him. Nothing’ll get done at this rate, and we’d like to see if there’s anything he needs us for now that we’re back.”

“Yeah, new quests!” Rashie exclaimed.

“Thanks for the company, at least,” Trevor said, smiling. “I’ll probably pass by you guys every so often, so I’ll see you in town.”

“Later.”

“Later, alligator!”

Wayne started walking away before beginning to run, causing Rashie to squeal in delight. Trevor laughed before heading towards Thimbleden’s Sundries to see if there was any work left.