Trailseeker
by siddharta_anon

>Who am I?”
>You felt a warm, friendly one-armed embrace from behind coil about your waist, the other arm around your shoulder and the hand cover your eyes. The voice was feminine, high-pitched and familiar. You'd heard it laugh thousands of times. It was easy to figure out who it was, besides the hand felt soft and furry on your face. You knew there was only one person who'd do that to you.
>”Amelia?” Her name rolled out of your mouth softly. It felt good to say her name out loud, for some reason. Gave you a little warm feeling whenever you pronounced those syllables. You'd been friends since you could remember. All the way from when she was a bun and you a toddler.
>”That's me!”
>She giggled, her hand (paw?) dropping from your eyes and joining her other one on your torso, hugging you tightly, her twiching nose resting on your shoulder and humming. You could feel it vibrating on your shoulder. Almost felt like a gentle massage.
>”You didn't even hesitate when you said name.” She pouted.
>”We've been friends since we were babies, of course I'd recognize your voice anywhere.” You smiled, still not turning around to look at her, though you laid your hands on top of her's. Her fur was cream-colored, the pads on her fingers brightly pink. Velvety soft. You unconsciously intertwined your fingers with her's.
>”Yeah… Friends.” Her voice contained a hint of sadness in her reaffirmation.
>She felt a bit distant, as if she were several feet away as she spoke to you, despite feeling her lithe arms around your waist.
>”Anon?”
>She spoke up, peppy once more after a few moments of silence.
>”Yeah?”
>”Stay with me a while longer won’t you?” Her hug tightened, her voice a little more distant. Almost a whisper  A lock of her cream colored hair slid down her cheek onto your shoulder.
>”Amelia I've got to go to class, you too, come on.” Anon patted her hands, head turning to look over at her.
>The floppy-eared bunny was as beautiful as always, her hair and long ears pulled back into a ponytail as she looked straight into your eyes with her deep icy-blue ones, sparkling.
>”Anon stay with me, pleeeease?”
>You could barely hear her, now, despite being right there next to you.
>”Amelia?” Anon's voice felt hoarse and weak in his throat.
>Your mind loved to play tricks on you in your sleep, making you relive old memories of you and Amelia.
>The world surrounding you began to slowly turn white. Everything around you started to fade away and disappear, including her. You felt your cheek become flushed with blood, warm.
>”Anon!”
>She called out, with a smile, her voice quickly leaving you. The heat in your cheeks rising more and more...
>”Anon!..Anon!....Anon!.........Anon……!”
>...

>You woke up, eyes wide open and your chest rising and falling. You raised your hand up to your cheek and touched it. It was slightly swollen, it stung and felt like a thousand little ants were taking a walk on it.
>”Fer fuck's sake Anon, wake the fuck up will ye? I swear I'll shove me axe up yer fuckin’ arse if ye don-”
>Ah, that's right. You were no longer in Earth. Hell you probably weren't in the same universe and/or reality anymore.
>A stout little man with bulging muscles and an even bigger braided bear stood in front of you with his hand raised up.
>”Havec, fuck, stop! I'm awake!”
>”Good. I was nae lookin’ forward to gettin’ shit on me weapon.”
>The dwarf smirked and offered you rough hand clad in fingerless boiled leather gauntlets.
>You resigned yourself and took his hand, the Dwarf pulling you up with surprising strength for one of his stature. Then again, dwarves were known for their strength and brawn. Your eyes shifted left and right as you took in your surroundings. You began to remember where you were: A dark, dungeon-like ruin deep within the western regions of this world. An old abandoned dwarf fortress built into the mountains, which up your friend said contained many riches.
>You could only sigh at having to return once more to ‘reality’ after such a nice dream of Amelia.
>”Ye were havin’ nightmares again boy, twirlin’ like a drunk whore at a brothel on the ground ye was!” He exclaimed, half laughing in between words.
>”I don't want to talk about it Havec.”
>”Fine. Grab somethin’ ta eet an’ le’s git mooven then, boy. These ol’ stone halls are haunted. Better move quickly through the ruins. I dunnae want sum ancestor creepin’ on me back an’ hexin’ me.”
>You nod. Now that you've woken up and settled down you remember where you are, sleeping on a stony outcropping of a ravine, hundreds of fathoms deep. The dim light of the moon spearing through the old, broken-down ceiling of the fortress simply doesn't reach the bottom of the wound on the earth. The sight of the dark abyss is unnerving. You grab your worn leather knapsack and take out a bundle of brown paper, unraveling it and finding a ration of dried jerky. You don't really know what kind of meat it is or where it came from, but after years of living in this world, you don't care for the minor things anymore. You bite down on the food and hold it between your teeth as you start strapping your gear to yourself. All of it was strewn about near the campfire you and Havec lit up hours ago.
>”Are ye done lad? Now c’mon git movin’.”
>The stout dwarf hefted the all-steel axe onto his shoulder, motioning for you to follow along.
>A sleepy ”Mmph!” is all you can manage when you follow Havec along the stone path on the worn trail on the ridges of the dark ravine, chewing down the salty, cold meat, taking swigs of water from your waterskin sometimes to wash down the dry food.
Your clothes, armor and equipment felt heavy on your weary back despite having caught a decent amount of sleep thanks to Havec keeping watch.
>”Keep yer wits aboot ye. This ain't no walk in the park. I don't want to bail ye oot of trooble agen like las’ taem lad. Yer old enuf’ ta handle yerself.”
>”Hmmh.” 

>As you walked alongside your dwarf companion you ran old memories of your life back on Earth through your head.
>You kicked yourself numerous times for never having the courage of taking the next step on your relationship with your friend. At least until the day where you were abruptly stolen away from home by a wayward portal.
>Fate had dealt you a bad hand. You inexplicably crossed worlds while you headed to Amelia's apartment to ask her out. One minute you stood  waiting for a green light to cross the street and the next a ring of light and stardust appeared in front of you, engulfing you.
>What angered you the most wasn't the fact that you were spirited away, but that whatever entity had taken you didn't even wait for you to try and take Amelia out for a date.
>Apparently it wasn't meant to be.
>Been a good two years since that happened. In which time you managed to learn enough of the local language to hold an interesting conversation, and learned great a many things of this world.
 >You could classify some things in the world that you lived in as those that made sense. Then you had things that didn't make sense such as the existence of magic and alchemy.
>Most things made absolutely no sense and felt like they were ripped out of some fantasy book back Home.
>You tried not to dwell on it though.
>You were far more preoccupied in finding a way back home, back to Amelia.
>Would she even care about you after two years of having disappeared?
>She'd most likely have moved on after the authorities couldn't find your body.
>Some selfish part of you hoped she hadn't yet.
>But it was no use to think about that at the moment.
>Right now you had a dwarven fortress to loot.


----


>”Havec, we're lost aren't we?”
>”N-nay laddie, s’just a detoor.I got me map right’ere see?”
>You weren't too sure if that map of his’s thst he had gotten a hand on was of any use, of if he could even read it. Havec wad notoriously bad at orienting himself. Last time you went to the capital city of the Middle Kingdom you wandered on for hours in the streets looking for the inn where an old friend of his’s worked at despite it being one of the best known inns to sleep at in the city. But he couldn't be bothered to ask the local guards could he?
>Yeah, you're lost.
>”Give it here, let me try and read it.”
>”I’m tellin” ya we're goin’ ta right wey!”
>”Come on, give it here. And hold the torch for me.”
>”Alrite, fine.”
>Havec rolled up the parchment before handing it to you, while you simply offered h the torch.
>You unfurled the old map by the torchlight, looking at the old, finely printed -if faded- map of the old fortress. You couldn't read dwarven for the life of you, much less the older script.
>”Havec help me out here, what's it say?”
>”Err… uhh…” The dwarf leaned over on the tips of his toes to get a good look at the map.
>”Title sez’s: 'Ere rests Ol’ King Mithrec, Sixthborn of the Line of Titanwyrd and Lord of Titanhaar, The Wound on the Earth. Third Era.” 
>”Well the name certainly fits the fortress.”
>This thing was ancient! From the last Era, at least a thousand years old if not more!
>As you studied the passages, halls and hallways of the fortress that you remembered going through, pictures of ruined passages and corridors that had fallen into disrepay and collapsed under the weight of the solid, compact granite it was built into came i to your mind. This little detour had taken you ways from your destination!
>”Jesus Havec this ain't a little detour! We've circled through a fourth of the damn thing, and we already camped once. How big is this thing?!”
>”Jeezus? Who's- Look here, I told ye ta truth, the corridors are all kinds of fucked up lad! This place hasn't been inhabited for at leest six hundred years!”
>”This changes things doesn't it.”
>”Aye, but the Vizier’s private library is still our mark. So let's git movin’.”
>You sighed, shifting your shoulders under the weight of your bag and assorted equipment before starting to march onwards
>Two years ago you never imagined this would be your job.
>Well, if you could even call it one.
>During the last two years you learned how to use bows, crossbows and swords. All thanks to Havec of course.
>You wondered what Amelia would be doing back in your own world. 
>What sort of face would she make if she saw you now, wearing a worn, bronze cuirass over traveling clothes and a sword hanging at your hip, like out of a fantasy book or movie.
>Would she just laugh and smile like she always did when you did something foolish? Or would she not even recognize you?
>The last couple of years saw you shed all the fat you had before. No longer did you have any flab, and while you weren't HUGE, you were certainly fit. All the constant traveling and training made sure of it.
>And yet even that couldn't cure your autism with the ladies, the only one you ever felt comfortable with was Amelia.
>The narrow dreary, dilapidated ruins surrounding eventually took your mind off of that. It was good that it did, you nearly tripped a couple times while deep in thought, almost stumbling down the ravine and into the abyss. >Wound of the Earth alright.
>All around you the massive gates and entryways dotted the gargantuan walls of the gorge, beautifully sculpted stone pillars supported many of the still-standing hallways and corridors, though the majority of the rooms and pathways lay in ruins, blocked by cave-ins. Even dwarven handywork didn't last for thousands of years if not properly maintained.
>”Oi, pup.” 
>”Havec?”
>”Over here! I think I see somethin’!”
>The dwarf had moved on ahead while you had been admiring the view, standing a few dozen yards ahead of you along the beaten, broken path.
>He waved his hand at you quickly, urging you to come over.
>You made your way over, stepping over rubble and kicking stones out of the way.
>When you walked on over to the dwarf you noticed a faint blue glow coming from where he was standing on, reflected on his skin and armor, but you couldn't quite tell where it came from from where you were until you were right next to him.
>”Look!” He pointed in front of him. A massive gate carved into the wall of the gorge. Unlike the other ones you had seen before it didn't have any handles or rings, nor was it profoundly decorated. Instead, roughly drawn runes scarred the face of the doors.
>Neither Elvish, Draconic, Dwarven nor Elder Hume.
>The runes glowed dimly, and whatever magic was imprinted on it was faint. You could feel flow of mana, almost palpable, but it was weak and no more strong than a rusted, corroded lock.
>”What do you think it says?”
>”No idea lad, but it looks weak. C’mon get oot of the wey, I'll blast it. It doesn't seem like a strong seal, there shouldn't be a probl’m.”
>You nodded, taking a few steps back away from the massive gates. Your eyes were stuck on those runes. An itch at the back of your mind told you something wasn't right, this was far too weird.
>But it was too late to voice your concerns, Havec had already conjured a bolt of pure magical energy in his hand and lunged it at the gates.
>The bolt zipped through the air and struck the gates, and while there was no physical damage done to them, not even a scorch mark, the runes reacted to the attack and, consuming the last reserves magic it contained, defended against the bolt on contact, weakly stopping it and reflecting thin streaks of bluish magical energy around you and Havec, presumably the leftovers the attack.
>The runes no longer glowed, and the gates remained unfazed.
>Havec stepped forward and tried to push the gigantic doors.
>No sooner had he touched the solid slabs of granite did the stone themselves begin to crumble into dust where they stood.
>”What the hell?”
>”It's disintegrating!”
>Two solid doors of granite the size of a small home became nothing but gravel and dust before the both of you.
>The sound echoed across the gorge, haunting.
>”...Well, I s’pose we should be headin’ in. Come on Anon.”
>”I'm not sure Havec, this room must've been sealed for a reason.”
>”Aye, treasure probably.”
>”Somehow I doubt that.”
>You shook your head and clambered atop the pile of grounded-up granite, moving into the pitch-dark room with your dwarf companion and only a torch to light your way.
>You had a bad feeling about this.


---


>”Havec I have a bad feeling about this.”
>”Quakin’ in yer booties are ye now?”
>”I just can't shake off this feeling that we're not supposed to be in here.”
>”It'll go away. Trust me lad.”
>You didn't really think so, but you said nothing else. It was pointless.
>As you moved forward with Havec through the hall you came to notice the distinct quality of the room. Whereas the rest of the fortress’s corridors were covered in carefully etched decorations and depictions, the one you were in right now was plain, only polished granite pillars broke up the monotony of the gray stone. Cracks and fault lines ran along the walls and the ceiling. It didn't inspire any courage in you.
>”Havec, how come we haven't run into a single goblin or imp or even a wraith ever since we stepped foot in this place? Every other place we've gone into has had it's fair share of threats and danger. It's been eerily quiet this whole time.”
>”Well, Titanwyrd be in ta middle of ta mount’ins Anon. There's nothin’ here ta eat, or people that would wander by ta kidnap or steal from. I doubt the 'lil shits would make a home out of this ol’ fortress. There's no point in it.”
>”Good point.”
>You figure it was best to let the topic rest, discussing about these things often brought bad luck.
>At some point or another in the next few minutes of walking, you and the dwarf came upon a wide, circular antechamber on a lower level than where you were standing. A lush tree stood in the middle, and a sizeable crack in the ceiling meters above gave way to the moonlight that bathed its white leaves, and around the tree were gigantic slabs of stones arranged in a circle surrounding it. 
>It was a curious sight, runes dotted the ground surrounding the tree resembling a summoning circle or a barrier circle. A cold breeze wafted through the cracks of the stone ceiling, the ancient tree shaking and rustling ever so slightly.
>You stared at it for a few seconds until…
>”Stonehenge.” You uttered unconsciously.
 >”What'd you say lad?”
>”Ah, nothing. It's just that… It looks almost exactly the same as a place back in… Back at home. I'm just surprised by the resemblance.”
>The dwarf eyed you curiously for a few seconds. You'd told him about your tale of how you were suddenly sucked into this world for no reason when you first met a couple years ago, but he never really believed you. You didn't blame him. If some guy came up to you and started blabbing on a about coming from a world with magic and portals and the like back at Earth you probably wouldn't have believed him either.
>Still, what laid before you was far too coincidental to not take note of it.
>You stepped down the stairs and slowly walked towards the tree.
>You couldn't feel a thing from the runes so you assumed it was safe to cross into the courtyard beyond the slabs of stones. circling around the tree.
>You felt cold, unnaturally so. A small voice in your head suggested it would've been better to step away now than to stay there any longer or worse, touch the damn thing.
>Havec watched you in silence from beyond the courtyard.
>”Careful Anon, these runes may still have some mana in them.”
>”It's fine, I can't feel anything from them. They're probably out of any mana like the ones ba-”
>You didn't finish speaking when the runes suddenly flared up, expelling bright blue and green lights in a blur, blinding you.
>Of course. You should've expected it. Everything was going far too well for it to be true.
>Fortunately you hadn't actually stepped on the ring of runes, you merely approached them.
>The runes began to spew magical energy everywhere, forming a sort of barrier around the stone, or at least that's what it looked like.
>From the arches formed by every megalith in the courtyard surrounding the large, skyscraping tree, dazzling lights appeared.
>You brought up your hands in front of your eyes reflexively, as did Havec.
>”Damn it Anon I told ye!”
>The light expanded but no pain came, it was almost impossible to see however. Suddenly the bright lights receded until only one of the arches remained alight. The glow, shape and appearance of it could only be distinguished as a portal. It looked just like the one that you haplessly stepped into a couple years ago.
>Was this it? Was this your chance to go back?
>You didn't know but it was worth a try.
>You took a step forward.
>”Wait! Anon! What're you doin’ lad?! You don't know what that is, stay away from it!”
>The poor fool.
>You took another step forward.
>”List’n ta me you fool!” The dwarf was exasperated.
>”Havec this is a portal! I must go! This could lead back to my world!”
>”What?!”
>And another step.
>”Nonsense Anon, you don't even know if that thing will lead you back!”
>”I'm sorry Havec but it's worth a try!”
>”No Anon!” Havec’s eyes widened and he reached out for you.
>But you were too far away from him. It was meaningless.
>You gave Havec one last look over your shoulder and shook your head.
>”Thanks for everything Havec. I mean it.”
>And in you stepped.
>Or you would have anyways, if you'd have actually been able to take another step.
>Instead you were flung back with moderate force. Something had hit you, hard!
>You crashed into the ground and rolled, clutching your body.
>Was it your body?
>”Anon!” Shouted Havec.
>The world was going black.
>And yet you felt a familiar warmth in your arms.
>It shifted and moved, enveloping you in it, embracing you tightly.
>You breathed in pain, your strength waning.
>And just before you passed out.
>Someone called your name in a way that you hadn't heard in years except in your dreams