Prompt
Court room drama
It was nothing like the planes Ariel had visited. The Other Side was so …normal. No grand landscapes that she had expected or vivid colours that seemed too unreal. Instead she looked at a mirror of the plaza she had just left. Except there were no people and no real buildings only scattered barracks forming a half circle.
The looming arches were still there. However, they were not glowing nor humming with power. Just a dull reflecting surface that reminded Ariel of gasoline in a pond.
“This is it?! This is the Other Side?”
“Disappointed, Kessler?”
“This is nothing like the planes”, Ariel said.
“It only looks like this, here by the arches because of the Church presence”, said Kaluna and pointed to the barracks. Two clerics greeted sister Freya and the other clerics. “When we get deeper in, it will become more unpredictable and it will look more like what you would expect”.
“Except for elementals?”
“Perhaps. I have not seen anyone outside the planes, but since everything is connected I presume it could happen. Some places the fabric is very thin”.
“That would be so cool! Can you communicate with them, Ariel?”
“I don’t know. They weren’t that communicative last time, them being busy trying to kill me and all. And no, elemententals are not cool”.
“They liked you well enough to leave an impression on you”, grinned the youth. “I better go over and say hello to the two clerics!”
Even on the uneven ground Kessler had no problem with skating. A bit amused she observed how he hugged first the one then the other cleric. What he said could not have been amusing though due to the facial expressions.
“This is base camp. There is one at every major portal”.
“What, they act like gatekeepers?” Ariel asked. She glanced around. “They live here? I though it only was mages that could open portals to the Other Side?”
“It is. Which is why you have to make sure that I’m not killed. I’m the only one who can get you safely back”. He must have seen the stricken look she gave him because he hastily added: “Just kidding, Ariel. Kessler is rubbing off on me. But I’m not completely lying. Only mages can open the portals from our side. From this side you just need a connection to a powersource in order to go back. So for instance the clerics have their ties to the Divine. That will enable them to go back through the portal with anything not breathing. Which is how heroes are able to cross over. Their magic weapons will often be tied to a mage. You would also have no problem passing through. Your connection to Mother Nature would be strong enough”.
Ariel had her doubts about that, and decided to stick to the mage – just in case.
“We will stay here tonight, so everybody has a chance of acclimating to the Other Side. Hi, I don’t think we’ve been presented. I’m brother Sengay”.
“Ariel”.
“Enjoy the real bed tonight, Ariel”, he said. “Tomorrow it will be walking and sleeping on the ground. Is this all you carried? And is this what you are wearing?”
The cleric looked her up and down. It made Ariel uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong with this?”
“You are not wearing shoes, just to mention the most obvious thing”. He pointed down at her bare feet. “And who, by the Lord, would want to wear a dress when going on an expedition into the Other Side?”
“There is nothing wrong with what I’m wearing” Ariel said defensively and a bit defiant. “And I was told we were only going for a couple of days. You just needed me to assess the weather”.
“Do you see those soldiers over there?”
Alegra and Stone were talking to the shadow priest over some opened big crates. She couldn’t see what was in them. What was it the clerk had said. They were on loan from KEA. So that meant they were from the same order as the shadow priest.
“Yeah? Are they shadow priests as well?”
“No, don’t be stupid. They are military. So what kind of magic they wield is for them to know and for us to guess. But they are all from the same unit. With a freaking Hero! Where we are going you probably would want to wear shoes – because I guarantee, honey, that this will be no picnic”.
“Stop scaring her, brother”, Kaluna said. He placed himself protectively in front of Ariel, but she pushed him aside her anger flaring.
“Stop calling me honey, you – you wanna be Hero!” By the Divine, that was tame. She touched his ring mail and regretted it instantly.
It was a small zap but she felt it none the less in her whole body. She heard Kaluna behind her cry out in surprise. Brother Sengey, however, was flat on his ass, a surprised look on his face. The front of the ring mail where she had touched it was blackened.
“I’m so so sorry”, Ariel started. Then she stopped. Not really. She was here against her will. She was allowed to be a bit angry. “And this is why I don’t wear shoes”.
She stalked over to the rest of the party who had stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Kessler grinned and gave her a hi-five.
“1-0 to Mother Nature!”