Three weeks ago...Deep within the wilderness, a loud, almost wet thud rang through the trees. A lone stone coffin lay upright and ajar, its occupant stumbling out to her knees, hacking and coughing.
"Where... where am I?" Alison thought as she slowly picked herself off the ground. The world spun slightly, and she felt aches throughout her body. She needed to sit down. Thinking for a moment, she struggled to recall the past 24 hours.
"I was... leaving the Pentagon after watching the op... that's right!" She stood up suddenly as the memories came back slowly. "That's right, the op! So wait, why am I in a forest? Okay, if the op was a success, I would have celebrated with the team and probably blacked out." She paused momentarily, patting herself down and looking about her surroundings. "But this isn't the Mall, and I woke up sober. I feel like I got into a fight... Which means the op was a failure, and I probably went down to Harry's. That bitch from Homeland Security must have set me off. But again... I woke up sober. Something is not right. Something is..." Memories of her drive, the impact, the pain, the pavement, suddenly began to form in her mind.
"... wrong."
Three weeks later...The guild's air was thick with alcohol and tension. The siege has put everyone on edge, even the criminal underground. After the recent jubilations and defiant celebrations, the crews of the guild and its patrons started to come back to reality. Alison nursed her ale slowly, sick of its flavor. Since arriving in this strange land, she had begun to miss many of the modern trappings of her previous life. All the alcohol here was watered down to hell, showers were a joke, and cigarettes a mere fantasy. Not even in the far-flung mountains of Afghanistan or the humid hells of Columbia did she feel such nostalgia for the modern amenities. Maybe it's because of why she was here. At least in those remote lands, there was still the chance of coming home.
"Heyo boss, what gotcha lookin' all down like?" Pete said, taking a seat across from her. "Haven't seen ya this down since the Library job. What, the siege gettin' to ya that bad?"
"Nah, just... thinking about home. Nothing fun worth sharing." Alison responded before taking a long pull. She grimaced at the mug for the eighth time that day as Pete chuckled. "Nothing I can change. At least not yet... You have something to report?"
"Yeah, there might be something comin up for us soon. Real easy like, nothin like that previous shiat. No soul sukin tomes to steal all that. Word is there's gonna be some big movements before that barrier goin down. But look, that's stuff for the Guildmaster to go over there. Not my place and all that." He said with a gap-tooth grin. Since Alison met him, Pete always liked to play these sorts of games. He even lost a few of those teeth from her because of that, but he's since learned how far to tease her with information. He always liked to lord information over her before he was inevitably forced to cough it up.
Alison leaned back and yawned but noticed Pete still grinning at her. "What, you got something else to tell me? Spill it, stop showing me that poor dental work."
"Well, I got even better news that might perk ya right up. Remember when we first met? Before you started dressing like a proper cut-throat and was wearing thems weird clothes and whatnot?" At this, Alison did perk up, staring more intently at Pete.
"I do. Why?" she said, the casual tone gone from her voice.
"Well, as it turns out, that party ovf adventures, "Second Chance"? Well, I thinks they might be a lot likes you. Here tell they fell from the sky in stone coffins out in the village of Hommas. Bouts around a few days before you stumbled in town. They all talks like they not from around here and certainly act the part they do. They got some strange abilities, nothin nobody's eva seen. Kinda like the cloak of yours ya never lose. So that got my dumb ehd think right? Who do I know that's a lots like em?" He pointed at Alison. "Seems like I found you a piece to that big ole puzzle of yours."
Alison rested her head in one hand, thinking. This was big news. Pete put on an act, as Alison had come to learn. The dumb commoner, an unassuming goon to ruffle people up in an alley for pocket change. But she'd see a deliberate, sharp wit under that mask when they started working together. One that didn't miss a single detail and kept an ironclad memory...
And someone loyal.
"So those guys that were made Captains? Like the one that came in here and celebrated not too long ago? They're the ones?" Alison said, head still resting in her hand.
"The very same! Small world we all livin in, eh? But listen, that's just what I'm figuring. I'm pretty damn sure of it, but you'll get a chance to ask em yourself. One em, an archer lady, will be using the grounds this evenin back behind the building. Ask er yourself boss and see if it's true." He said, taking a sip from his ale. Alison leaned back and kicked her feet up on the table, staring at the ceiling.
Finally, meeting someone who might answer her about what was happening would be a relief. Alison was someone who needed a purpose, a core goal, an objective to carry her through the day-to-day. It's what kept her grounded and sane in her previous job. Protect your country, protect your team, and take down the threats. Ever since the day she first woke up in this world, she had felt almost like she had been on autopilot. She could apply her tools, knowledge, and trade and keep herself above water, but it felt like it served no great purpose, nothing bigger than herself.
The only thing that kept her going was, oddly, spite. She wanted, no,
demanded to know why she had been brought here. Why had her death forced her into this magical, medieval land where reality itself can be ripped to shreds at a moment's notice? If what Pete was saying was right, and if there was not only one but a whole group of people in the same boat as her, then they may know more about what's going on, or at least could put their heads together. With a long sigh, she returned to her drink. At the very least, getting into the good graces of such a rising group of stars would probably pay big dividends.
Later that evening...Alison and Pete stared at the entrance to the guild. This time, she nursed a cup of mud-like coffee. A little reward for a job well done in the week prior. She watched as a young woman entered with flowing blond hair, blue eyes, and a crossbow on her hip.
"That's the one boss. Awfully pretty, ain't she? Better sight than your depressing self." Pete whispered with a wry grin. Alison gave a small nod, not even rising to the jab, as her gaze was fixed on the individual. The woman approached that grumpy old fart Septimus. He acted his usual self and led her back to the training field.
Once they left for the back, she got up from her seat and followed them out to the back. She quietly took a spot against the wall and as she did so, she caught the archer's name. "MacKensie Trydant... That's an odd name. That accent is French, but that name certainly isn't." Alison thought to herself as she watched the training proceed.
After it was concluded, Alison gave a small clap, drawing attention to herself finally. "Well, that was certainly a show there! The rumors weren't kidding about the Second Chance folk. But honestly..." she shrugged. "I'm not here to see the fancy shooting skills. MacKensie, right? You're not from around here, are you? Or I guess I should say, from this
world." Alison said, cutting straight to the point.
It was finally time she got some answers.
@Zool