Magdalen waited for Joe and Skellian to take a seat, and then proceeded to pour them a glass of some dark liquid.
“Woah,” Joe McShoots said. “Hang on a darn minute. That ain’t no stuff that’s gonna kill me stone dead, is it? I got a thing about that shit.”
Magdalen’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head.
Skellian said, “Lad, I don’t think she be wantin’ to poison ye, would she? She’s gonna help us out, right?”
Joe McShoots scratched his head. “Yeah, one hundred percent correct, Skell. Dunno where that came from.”
“So. You two seek the Red Dragon. Why?”
“Coz some wizard guy told us to,” McShoots blurted.
“Some … wizard … guy?” Magdalen asked. “Skellian, be so kind as to translate for me, would you.”
Skellian gulped. “Sure thing, Lady. Basically what happened is, me and ol’ McShooty here died, and then ended up in some strange place with some old weird bloke. He told us he would send us back on a ship and that we were to find the Red Dragon.”
Magdalen rose an eyebrow. “A ship? Well, where is it?”
“No, no,” McShoots said. “The old guy said an arc, not a ship, whatever that means.”
Magdalen looked confused. “Interesting …” She stood from where she sat. “So this power. You are aware of what it’s capable of? Of how it could potentially change you? You know all about this?”
Skellian frowned. “Well … no. Not really. We just have to do what we’re told, see.”
Magdalen rubbed her forehead. “Got it.”
The old man who had helped them to the cave spoke up. “Magdalen, it is my understanding that young McShoots here must harness this power. For what reason, remains to be seen. But I can feel it inside myself. It is to be his and his alone. I believe the power to reside through a different gate than last time. This time, it settles in Tolov Kandradin, the realm of Adavanta.”
Magdalen froze, her eyes opening wide, her mouth hanging open, allowing out only a faint whisper. “Dear rattlesnake piss. That is … not good. Not good at all. That realm is one which should never be traversed, not by any mortals at least.”
Joe McShoots looked up at Skellian. “Realms? Gates? Molotov cocktails? What are they talkin’ about Skell?”
Skellian patted Joe’s back. “Not sure, lad. But it sounds dangerous. Sounds like we could die the most brutal and disgustin’ death. Sounds like we could be crushed up and broken in half and spat on and-“
“Enough, you damn oaf!” Joe said. “You’re making me want to die all over again!”
Magdalen surprised everyone by laying a hand on Joe McShoots arm. “Young Joe. I understand this doesn’t make a lot of sense right now. And these are indeed scary and uneasy times. But alas, it is you who has been chosen to grab this power for yourself, and of course we shall help you do it. I am sure, that things will make sense with time, but at this moment it’s hard to explain.”
She looked up at the old man. “I now see why you brought them here, Kalp. You need help to traverse the realms.”
The old man, Kalp, nodded. “‘fraid so,” he said.
“A fair move on your part, however it is not within my power to open a gate to Tolov Kandradin. That is way out of my range of abilities. We must travel by gate, this night, to another place, for we can’t do this alone. Tonight, we travel to Ellenbor.
“More fucking portal things,” Joe McShoots muttered.
statistic0n's writing 