It was an average Monday. Fort Collins was crawling with cars whose occupants were most likely just trying to get to work. Much akin to Paul, who had to resort to riding the bus to get to and from the college he attended. He had just boarded one of the city buses and went to sit near the back where he'd be left alone. Paul found a seat, pulled out his earphones, and placed them in his ears, eager to displace the rowdy atmosphere of the bus with music. With just a few clicks, Paul had finally decided on something to listen to. As he sat there with an almost trance-like expression, he was brought back to reality by someone dropping onto the seat next to him. Paul looked over to the disturbance, it was a girl, she looked nearly college-aged and she had long blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. His heart quickened as he began feeling a bit flustered - girls tended to have this effect on him; especially pretty ones like her.
"This seat isn't taken, is it?"
Paul couldn't respond, this was for two reasons. One, he hadn't heard her over the music. He saw her mouth move, but that meant nothing as he couldn't read lips. Two, Paul was remarkably shy when it came to females in general. It wasn't that he had a hard time talking to women, it was that he simply couldn't. His nerves wouldn't let him. As a result, he stared back at her blankly, trying to hide the welling terror within him.
"Ok?..."
The bus rocked back and forth as Paul settled into his seat, lost in the rhythm of the music. He felt himself sway to the beat, when suddenly he was flying through the air and his vision and hearing were overwhelmed by the deafening scream of metal on metal. Then, everything went black.
The sky was blue, no clouds, just pure azure stretching out before him. Paul's chest ached with each breath, he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain kept him as still as he was able. He tried to look around, but even that hurt. After what felt like hours, he could hear people talking. He wasn't sure what was said, but he was thankful that help was finally here. He tried to move his head once more, the pain had subsided enough that he could turn it to the right. He quickly learned that had been a mistake, the girl from the bus was next to him, or most of her was. Some of her was on him, and the rest was elsewhere. Bile, that was the taste in his mouth as the voice grew closer and the world faded back into darkness.
* * *
When Paul awoke, he felt strange and disoriented. He was in an unfamiliar room, in some kind of bed unrecognizable to him. He was wearing clothes that felt foreign and strangely uncomfortable. With a struggle, he sat up and tried to take in his surroundings. The room he was in was small but cozy; there were wooden beams along the ceiling and blankets draped around them giving the place a rustic feeling. The furniture seemed like something out of an antique shop.
The wooden doors creaked as they opened. Paul turned to see who was coming in. It was a frail-looking man. The top of his head was barren, all the man's hair seemed to have been snatched up by his chin. This made the ears obvious from the start. Paul wouldn't normally start by looking at someone's ears, however, it would be hard not to. They stuck out, almost horizontally, with long sharp tips that came back to the head without a lobe. The strange man's eyes widened when he saw Paul.
"ðu stealdan ûpweardes, fela ginfæst!"
Paul was confused.
"ic pro winnan êow. êow important ûtâðýdan?"
Paul was very confused. He could understand one word, maybe. Or at least it sounded familiar. The stranger shuffled forwards, it was now that Paul saw the rest of the man. He was wearing shabby dark robes, like a friar. In his hands he had a bowl and spoon and was trying to get Paul to take them.
"must stician hungerlic. bēorsele unholda ungemete, sârig ðe êower frîend...", The friar looked saddened. Those were definitely some familiar words.
"Friend?" Paul's voice was barely a whisper. "What happened?"
The friar looked confused, placed the bowl and spoon on the bedside table, then left quickly.
* * *
Kin Knox wasn't sure what to make of that elf. For one, he was too tall. Knox himself was tall for an elf, but that elf was at least a head taller than him. The second problem was that he didn't seem to understand anything the old man had said to him. This was bad news. Foreigners tended to have bad luck in these parts. The people were friendly enough but the elders had little trust when it came to strangers. He strode down the corridor with purpose as best as his old legs could manage. He needed to tell Kin Radford, the stranger had woken up.
Knox rapped on the thick wooden door at the far end of the hallway. A voice from inside beckoned him in.
"You won't believe what I have to tell you," Knox announced with a bright smile. "The stranger has awoken, disorientated though he may be. He looked confused when I spoke to him, but I'm sure you can make some sense of it."
Radford had been copying important manuscripts, but this was also important. The stranger they had found was an oddity, to say the least.
"Very well, I must go and make of it what I can."
* * *
Paul had started on the bowl of food, he felt as if he was starving. It was cold, not very seasoned but not bland. He noted that both the spoon and the bowl were made of wood. He took a moment to inspect the clothes he was wearing, they were definitely not his own. Made of rough material, they were scratchy and not very comfortable. A tunic and trousers had been put on Paul. They were a dull greyish color. Paul heard footsteps and whispers approach from outside the room. The door opened once more, and the old man had returned, this time with a friend.
"mâl hwæðre wæcnan weorðscipe. canne êow witen?"
Paul slowly began to stand up, a pain stabbed his side, but he remained on his feet.
"Look, I'm not sure what's going on here, but I need to leave. I'm sure my family is worried about me so-"
"uncûð hlêoðorcwide, efen ûre tôêacan and wîelisc." they had begun to whisper to each other apparently unbothered by what Paul had said.
"Uh, sirs?" They paid no mind to Paul and continued to converse excitedly with each other.
"C'mon guys, I can't miss any more classes. I don't know if this is like an Amish thing or if you're some kind of weird Mennonites, but I have to get out of here"
Paul started for the door, and the two men stopped conversing to move out of the way, only to pick up where they left off while following Paul. The corridor outside the room was cobblestone. He began to look for an exit, there was a window every five feet it seemed. When he stopped to look out one of them he noted that this didn't look like Colorado. The trees were too big, far too big. They were towering high into the air, far higher than any tree Paul had seen in his life.
"Where the hell am I?" He whispered under his breath.
* * *
Paul was still reeling from the sudden understanding that he was no longer in colorado. At first he tried to rationalize his surroundings.
California has redwoods, those are huge… no… That's way too far…
After a while it became something more akin to an exercise in futility. The two strange men had followed him as he wandered aimlessly. He eventually turned to them, and tried to communicate again.
"Where am I?" He asked
The duo stopped their whispered conversation and both stared at Paul, then at each other for a brief moment. One of them approached him and spoke once more.
"canne êow eornostlîce nealles witen ûs of pro ic? êow temian nænig pro restan?"
Paul sighed, "Of course. Why would this be easy…"
Paul had started to really look at his surroundings before he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the shorter of the strange men. Once he had Paul's attention he pointed at one of the trees and spoke.
"Treow."
It took a second, and the strange little man repeated himself before Paul understood what was happening. A smile began to creep across his face as he pointed and spoke.
"Tree."
* * *
Kin Knox found the outsider to be rather fun to teach. While his pronunciation was a bit odd at times, he seemed to get the idea quickly. He didn't seem to get tired of it either, they had been pointing and naming things for hours.
At this point in his life Knox would not be very apt at learning a new language, but he was more than happy to teach his to someone else. He wanted to know quite a few things about the stranger, and he couldn't ask him if he didnt understand.
Radford didn't seem to have the patience for the task. He wasn't as fond of the outsider. However, much like Knox, Radford was also very interested in learning about the outsider. More specifically he wanted to learn about the metal beast.
They had been foolish to follow the sound so deep into the forest given its nature. Something almost compelled them to do so, and as a result, they got to witness something unbelievable. Kin Radford had his opinions obviously, he was of the thought that the outsider was a test. A trial for them to pass to show their charity, however Knox thought he was just an ordinary person in need. No divine intention attached. They both were at a loss when it came to the great metal beast that they found him beside. Whatever way it was slain must have been remarkably violent. Given the scene they came upon, the whole ordeal must have been violent. Kin Knox felt rather bad for the poor soul. From the looks of it none of their group were warriors, which meant they must have been pilgrims of some sort or another.
Knox looked over at the ever shrinking candle. The dimming light brought him out of his musings over the day and reminded him that perhaps he should sleep sometime soon. Tomorrow would be full of more pointing and naming, and likely the day after that too