The common room downstairs was completely different than it had been last night. The fire was roaring, blazing under at least five pots, which hung at different heights and were all different sizes. They bubbled and steamed, and the smell coming out of them was delightful, spicy and fruity and sweet all at once. There were people packed in to every table, some even standing on the wall, and the collective sound was loud but not deafening. Everyone was wearing something different and they were all in different colors; the effect was like a field of flowers.
Despite the fact that there was a fire going and the room was full of people, it was pleasantly cool; there was even a breeze gently stirring the tips of his hair, though the only open air was coming in from the front door, which sat propped open. Jay glanced at the ceiling and was surprised to see crystals hanging from the ceiling in the same way as the one in the bathtub, though these crystals were green and shaped like donuts, almost like bracelets made of jade. I have a feeling that those have something to do with the air circulation; the blue crystal upstairs was for water, and green is usually an air color. They’re not glowing that I can see, though; maybe they are just decoration. Another thing to add to my list of a million questions.
Startling him out of his thoughts, Ndubuisi took his wrist gently and started to lead him through the crowd, exchanging pleasant conversation with almost everyone as he went. Jay followed along obediently, drawing curious stares but no direct comments from the other patrons. A corner table, close to the fire, revealed Diyan, Dele, Hava (the girl that Dele had dragged downstairs the night before; Jay remembered Diyan calling her his sister), and another girl, older than both of them, who picked at her food, looking bored.
Hava was much more animated than the night before; she was talking a mile a minute at the older girl and her mother, both of whom were ignoring her in a fond and familial way. She had her father’s eyes and strong nose, but her mother’s complexion; her yellow sari and headscarf were the perfect color for her. She was not wearing any brass leaves in her hair, and neither were Dele or the older girl, for that matter. Maybe it’s a sign of age thing? I really should ask.
The oldest daughter was the spitting image of Diyan, apart from her skin tone, which was a few shades darker. She was the only member of the family who didn’t wear all yellow; her dress was orange, streaked with red, as though she had tried to dye it herself. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, and the expression on her face was one that Jay had seen in his mirror a thousand times in his youth: don’t talk to me, don’t look at me, I’m bored and you are all boring. It was the quintessential teenager look. I guess that some things are always the same, even across universes.
When Jay and his host reached the table, Hava’s face lit up, and she waved frantically, motioning to the chair beside her. “Baba! I have a seat for our guest! I will get him some food; just make sure he sits next to me!”
She was out of her seat in a flash, headed for the fireplace, and Ndubuisi rolled his eyes good naturedly as he leaned in to talk to Jay softly. “That is my youngest daughter, Hava, whom I gather you have met already. My oldest daughter’s name is Jennifer, but we call her Jenn. Hava is obsessed with the idea of Outsiders; be warned, she will ask you questions until you cannot speak any more.”
Jay blinked. “Her name… is Jennifer? I… that’s—” he shut his mouth, unsure how to say her name is very different than the rest of your family’s without coming off as an insensitive loser, but thankfully the other man understood.
“Yes, she is named in the old fashion, after an Outsider queen of legend. My wife and I decided that she would be the only one named so; Dele is named for my father, while Hava is the name of my wife’s sister, who died very young.” He looked sad for a moment, but recovered quickly, ushering Jay into the seat that the young girl had set aside for him.
Diyan, who had been busy scolding Dele while simultaneously preparing his plate, smiled warmly at him from across the table. “Ah, it is good of you to join us, Outsider Jacob. I trust that you are finding your stay pleasant?” She held her hand out for her husband, who kissed it gently over the table, and then took his place next to her, beaming. Jay nodded furiously, gesturing to his clothes.
“Yes, everything has been wonderful, and please, call me Jay. I wanted to thank you and your husband for your hospitality; I don’t have any way to repay you right now, but I thought maybe I could wash the dishes later, or clean some tables?”
The couple immediately started to protest, and Diyan was firm when she said, “Absolutely not. You are our personal guest, Outsider Jay, and we are honored to have you here. All that we would ask is that, should anyone ask you where you went when you first stepped into the world, you mention our name. Now, speak no more of it; I have a feeling you will need to conserve your words, for my daughter has more questions to ask than stars in the sky.”
As if on cue, a plate was placed before him, packed from edge to edge with delicious looking food. There were little rice balls sitting in a vegetable stew, a stack of rolled pancakes filled with something that smelled like potatoes, a bowl of creamy porridge topped with dried fruit, and a few flatbreads served around a bowl of lentil soup.
Beside this mountain of delicacies, she placed a steaming yellow mug that smelled like chai (although it smelled WAY better than the store-bought chai Jay had tried before). Jay took a moment to look up at the sky and thank the Accruer, wherever he was, for putting him in this place. He thanked Hava for getting him the food, and she nodded, never taking her eyes off him. Jay, too hungry to care, dug in.
The girl beside him was almost vibrating with anticipation, but she seemed to realize that Jay couldn’t speak with his mouth full and waited until he sat back in his chair to turn to him and start talking. “Where exactly are you from in your world? Is it like ours, does it have magic? Can you do magic? Can I see the mark? Why are you so pale, are you from somewhere cold like the Astras? What—”
Jay held up a hand, laughing a little at the intensity of the interrogation. He wasn’t used to being the center of attention, and he could feel himself shaking a little as every eye turned to him, but he tried to play it cool. “Hold on, slow down, slow down. I’m from a place called Earth, and on Earth I lived in a country called the United States. I lived in the northern part of it, on the eastern coast, so I’m not used to this kind of weather for sure. No one in my world has magic; at least, I’m pretty sure no one does, although we have lots and lots of stories about people using magic. I always thought that they were made up, but I guess they had some truth in them. I’m pale because… well, I guess because my ancestors lived in a place without a lot of sun. I don’t know who the Astras are, but Ireland apparently gets pretty cold in the winter, and a lot of my family is from there. As for the mark…”
He pulled back the sleeve of his left arm and bared his tattoo to the table. Dele leaned forward with wide eyes, having remained remarkably silent this entire time (Jay figured it had to do with the scolding his mother had been giving him). Diyan and Ndubuisi looked almost starstruck, stealing glances at each other even as they looked at the tattoo. Even Jenn lost her expression of perpetual boredom, her eyes filling with interest.
Hava squealed, causing a few heads to turn, and grabbed Jay’s arm, pulling it closer to her for inspection. “Oh!! It’s so much nicer than the plays make it seem!! This is even better than Auntie’s dryad; it sparkles like there’s real metal in your skin! Ooooo, you’re so lucky!! When the Queen gives you a title you must come back and say hello, I need to hear all about it—”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Dele, mouth half full of food, scoffed. “As if he would come back and visit you. He’ll come back because Maa has the best food in the whole city and because I can teach him how to play handball, not because of some girl.”
Hava’s complexion wasn’t the type to show a blush easily; even so, Jay could tell that her cheeks were redder than before. “Dele, shut up! I don’t want to marry him; I want to hear about the world since I’m not allowed to go anywhere—” She let go of Jay’s arm, reaching forward to swat at her brother, who was sticking his tongue out at her. The two of them devolved into arguing, which Jay watched with a mix of amusement and wistful longing; he didn’t have any siblings, and his parents weren’t the warmest people in the world, so this kind of dynamic wasn’t familiar to him. But… he kind of wished that it was. He corrected himself mentally as Diyan separated the two siblings with a sharp word and a light smack: I need to stop thinking of that life in the present tense. If I can’t go back to it, there’s no point acting like I’m still in it. This is my life now, for better or worse.
His face must have dropped, because Hava hastened to reassure him, patting him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, Outsider Jay. Dele is always a pest, but sometimes he’s funny, and he’s right, Maa does make the best food in the city. But I bet the Queen has chefs that come close, so when you’re in the palace—oh, you’re going to go to the palace!! You’ll be able to see Auntie Kiran, she works there!! Maa, you should give him our letters, he’ll be able to get them to Auntie much faster than if I take them myself—”
Her mother gave her a look, and just like that, she sat back in her chair, meek as a lamb. Jay didn’t blame her: that look would have made a man three times his size stand at attention. Diyan spoke firmly, glancing at Jay as she did so. “Beta, Outsider Jay is going to be meeting with the Queen. He will not have time to be an errand boy. Jenn will take the letters, today, and escort him to the palace as well, since she is so set on leaving this house. You should go and get ready, and take your sister with you. Dele, please make sure everyone is well fed. Your baba and I must talk with Outsider Jay.”
Her words were polite, but the authority with which she said them left no doubt in Jay’s mind that these were commands, not suggestions. Jenn rolled her eyes, proving to Jay that teenage girls had immense amounts of courage in any world, but she and Hava did as they was told, and soon the table was down to Jay, Diyan, and Ndubuisi. They glanced at each other again, a look that Jay couldn’t decipher, but Diyan flashed him a smile over the table. “We did not ask you whether you would like to be escorted to the castle, but since you do not know how to get there, I thought it would be best to send Jenn with you. I hope that I did not overstep; I know she can be very tiring, but she means well.”
Jay hastened to reassure her. “It’s another kindness I can never thank you enough for. Don’t worry, I remember what it was like to be a teenage girl; they act about the same where I come from.” The three of them shared a chuckle, although Diyan and Ndubuisi looked confused at his statement. In the ensuing beat of silence, the actual meaning of Diyan’s sentence pierced through his cloud of social panic. “Wait. I’m going to the castle? Now? Is—is meeting with the queen something that all Outsiders have to do? Will they let me in?”
Ndubuisi laughed, and Diyan chuckled along with him. It was he who spoke this time, swirling the tea in his mug as he did so. “When noble parties from other cities come to the Summer Court, they must treat with the queen. Though you are not technically a noble, and not from a city of this world, your status as an Outsider carries as much weight as a dozen lords and ladies. Not meeting with the queen as soon as possible would be rude and might even be considered a slight. It is better to go now.
“As for your entry, you bear the mark of an Outsider, which is the mark of the queen; everyone knows what it means, and you will not be sent away. Today is also Open Doors, which is when the outer grounds of the palace are open to the public, and a select few will have an audience with the Summer Court. It is the perfect day to send you. Jenn will accompany you to the outer grounds, where you will part so that she can find her aunt and you can… do whatever it is that Outsiders do. I will be frank, I have never met one in the flesh; you are much nicer than the stories make you out to be.”
Jay made a noise of protest, the kind you make when someone is just being polite, and Diyan reached forward to take his hand, surprising him. “You are always welcome here with us, Outsider Jay. Never be afraid to come in for a meal; our hearth is open to you.”
He hesitated for a moment before nodding, squeezing Diyan’s hand gently, and they shared a smile that, for the first time, Jay didn’t think was because of his apparently high status. A loud cheering from behind him had Ndubuisi out of his chair in a flash, and Diyan sighed, staring pointedly at Ndubuisi's plate, which was still mostly full. “My husband is attentive and generous, often at the detriment of his own health. Jenn will not be long; is it alright if I leave you for a moment to check on the fire?”
She seemed reluctant to leave him, but Jay was a grown man, and after encouragement, he was alone at the table. He sighed, noticing just then that the Quests tab in the corner of his screen was blinking. He clicked on it and was pleasantly surprised to be face to face with his very first quest.
New Quest! Castle Crashers, read the blurb on the left. When he clicked on it, words appeared in the box to the right.
It’s time to meet the queen! Make your way to the Palace of the Summer Court and speak with Queen Marcella. Getting into the castle won’t be the hard part; finding your way through the streets of Hydrena will be the hard part. You might want to find a map before you get lost; or, even better, someone to escort you there.
Optional quest: find a guide to escort you to the Palace. Optional quest completed! Additional EXP granted at the conclusion of the quest.
Reward: 20 EXP (+ 10 from completion of optional quest)
Jay laughed, pleased at the bonus EXP. I didn’t even have to try for that one. Will 30 EXP get me to level 1? I should check real quick before Jenn comes back.
He quickly exited the tab, clicking on the Progression one instead, and was disappointed to see that 30 EXP would only take him about a third of the way to level 1; it cost a flat 100 EXP. He also hadn't earned the EXP yet, so he was still sitting at 0/100 EXP. He was about to click out when he noticed something that he hadn’t seen the night before; his HP bar. It sat above his level bar, and was completely full at 10 HP. There was no MP bar, although Jay was pretty sure that was because he didn’t have any magic to speak of yet. Ah, well. I’m sure there are more quests to get some EXP, and it’s not like I need that Discerning Sight skill right now. Although it would be nice to see what my options are past level 1. I wonder if I can learn to do what Ndubuisi did in the washroom once I have magic, or if that’s something really specific that would be a waste of skill points? Summoning water sounds really useful, though, especially if you’re in a place where it’s scarce…
A hand on his shoulder jolted him out of his trance, and he cleared his vision hastily as Jenn sat beside him. She had changed into a dress with trousers underneath and a scarf draped over her shoulder. These clothes were, to no one’s surprise, not yellow at all; the dress and trousers were blue with delicate white embroidery covering the front of the dress. The scarf was a complementary white, with blue embroidery in the same geometric design. Her curly braids were loose, reaching halfway down her back, and she held a blue bag to match her outfit, almost like a purse. She looked around, as if to make sure her parents weren’t nearby, and said, “Quickly, we must go. My mother doesn’t like it when I wear this out, but if I am going to be escorting an Outsider to the castle, I need to look my best. Quickly!”
She hurried towards the door, and Jay followed, weaving his way through the crowd to catch up with her just outside. She grinned in triumph, and Jay grinned back, and the two of them set off towards the Castle of the Summer Court.
