You will have about five minutes before you pass out. So you can either pass out in this hut, or out on the street in a strange world. Either way I will get you back in this chair,” said MacArthur as he held the back of the chair that Ethan had been strapped to earlier.
Ethan considered for a moment and then caught his breath. “So what now?” he muttered.
“Well, you can take advantage of the next five minutes and find out more about where you are and why you are here … or … you can panic.”
Ethan thought for a moment, folded his arms in front of him, and then unfolded them.
“Can I get back?” he asked.
“Of course you can. Most of the people here use the Oroborus to move between these two planes of existence. But you must be very careful. Spend many years here — go back, and just a few weeks may have passed. Time and space work much differently between all places,” explained MacArthur.
“So who is Wegnel at my home, in Enterom?” asked Ethan, who was now pretending to play along.
“He is me. I have spent many years training in alchemy, and have bonded with the Oroborus. Only an alchemist could survive such a feat. If any other tried they may succeed for a short time — but a lifetime here in Alfhemir is only a few years in Enterom. And when one of us dies, we both will die. That is what the ingredients in the pouch you brought me are for. With these, I can create an elixir that extends my life so Wegnel and I can act as a gateway between the two worlds. You see, I am nearly seven hundred years old, but I don’t think I look a day older than sixty-five. Not too shabby I think — not too bad at all,” said MacArthur, looking rather pleased with himself.
Ethan thought for a second that he might be going crazy. Maybe he had been drugged long before he drank MacArthur’s tea. Or he could have been knocked out and dragged into the woods of Strahlung by the crazy old man, and this was all just a dream. But then he remembered Auren — and knew his friend would have prevented anything from happening. He reluctantly accepted the alchemist’s explanation for now.
MacArthur unpacked the pouch of poisonous spikes and herbs. He grabbed some other ingredients from a shelf. He placed all the items on the table next to a device that looked similar to a clock. It had funny-looking silver hands that moved horizontally. Other symbols lined up when the hands were in proper position. Ethan had never seen a clock quite like it. He watched MacArthur as he opened a door on the back of the clock and stuffed the ingredients inside.
“What are you doing?” asked Ethan as he leaned forward to see the back of the clock.
“Well, I am placing the items in the clock so they do not age,” answered MacArthur precisely.
Ethan was hopelessly confused. “What exactly do you mean?” he asked.
“It’s an old alchemy wives’ tale, Ethan.” MacArthur sat up a bit taller as he began to recite, ‘“in the clock will save you from time, the ageless items you will store, and age will bother you no more.”‘ And with that, MacArthur latched the back of the clock closed and smiled at Ethan. “If you ask me it’s a bunch of nonsense, but storing an anti-aging elixer in a clock has a bit of poetry to it, I suppose,” he added.
“So let me get this straight …” said Ethan. “I was in a place called —”
MacArthur immediately filled in the blank. “Enterom….”
“Yeah, in Enterom — an alchemist named Wegnel, which is you, threw pepper in my eyes — then I was bit by a snake thing, that is an Oroborus named Dimon, which sent me to another world named Alfhemir, in a city called Tirguard, where I find you … who is Wegnel, but wants to be called MacArthur and offer me pumpkin spice cake?” spouted Ethan, who then stopped to take a breath.
“And?” challenged MacArthur.
“And what?”
MacArthur stood up and moved his now-empty mug onto the table and looked at Ethan. “And now we should probably
Ethan considered for a moment and then caught his breath. “So what now?” he muttered.
“Well, you can take advantage of the next five minutes and find out more about where you are and why you are here … or … you can panic.”
Ethan thought for a moment, folded his arms in front of him, and then unfolded them.
“Can I get back?” he asked.
“Of course you can. Most of the people here use the Oroborus to move between these two planes of existence. But you must be very careful. Spend many years here — go back, and just a few weeks may have passed. Time and space work much differently between all places,” explained MacArthur.
“So who is Wegnel at my home, in Enterom?” asked Ethan, who was now pretending to play along.
“He is me. I have spent many years training in alchemy, and have bonded with the Oroborus. Only an alchemist could survive such a feat. If any other tried they may succeed for a short time — but a lifetime here in Alfhemir is only a few years in Enterom. And when one of us dies, we both will die. That is what the ingredients in the pouch you brought me are for. With these, I can create an elixir that extends my life so Wegnel and I can act as a gateway between the two worlds. You see, I am nearly seven hundred years old, but I don’t think I look a day older than sixty-five. Not too shabby I think — not too bad at all,” said MacArthur, looking rather pleased with himself.
Ethan thought for a second that he might be going crazy. Maybe he had been drugged long before he drank MacArthur’s tea. Or he could have been knocked out and dragged into the woods of Strahlung by the crazy old man, and this was all just a dream. But then he remembered Auren — and knew his friend would have prevented anything from happening. He reluctantly accepted the alchemist’s explanation for now.
MacArthur unpacked the pouch of poisonous spikes and herbs. He grabbed some other ingredients from a shelf. He placed all the items on the table next to a device that looked similar to a clock. It had funny-looking silver hands that moved horizontally. Other symbols lined up when the hands were in proper position. Ethan had never seen a clock quite like it. He watched MacArthur as he opened a door on the back of the clock and stuffed the ingredients inside.
“What are you doing?” asked Ethan as he leaned forward to see the back of the clock.
“Well, I am placing the items in the clock so they do not age,” answered MacArthur precisely.
Ethan was hopelessly confused. “What exactly do you mean?” he asked.
“It’s an old alchemy wives’ tale, Ethan.” MacArthur sat up a bit taller as he began to recite, ‘“in the clock will save you from time, the ageless items you will store, and age will bother you no more.”‘ And with that, MacArthur latched the back of the clock closed and smiled at Ethan. “If you ask me it’s a bunch of nonsense, but storing an anti-aging elixer in a clock has a bit of poetry to it, I suppose,” he added.
“So let me get this straight …” said Ethan. “I was in a place called —”
MacArthur immediately filled in the blank. “Enterom….”
“Yeah, in Enterom — an alchemist named Wegnel, which is you, threw pepper in my eyes — then I was bit by a snake thing, that is an Oroborus named Dimon, which sent me to another world named Alfhemir, in a city called Tirguard, where I find you … who is Wegnel, but wants to be called MacArthur and offer me pumpkin spice cake?” spouted Ethan, who then stopped to take a breath.
“And?” challenged MacArthur.
“And what?”
MacArthur stood up and moved his now-empty mug onto the table and looked at Ethan. “And now we should probably
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