Young Writers Society

A babbling creek ran through the forest, dry grass rustling under prickly-leafed oaks. The sun reflected off the water with a golden sheen and a few scrub jays screamed in the canopy as a horse was lead beneath them, their scolding cries drowning out the distant song of a wren and the dripping calls of the meadowlarks. The equine dipped its head to drink from the stream as its rider cupped water in his hand and drank from it, a few droplets running down his shaggy beard.

~**~

"ARE YOU SURE THIS IS A GOOD IDEA?" the German yelled over the howling wind and crackling of the force of whatever it was they were summoning.

"IT'S FINE, IT'S JUST GOING TO TAKE US TO HELL, TRUST ME," a copper-haired woman hollered back. "INCANT! NOW!"

He yanked out the scroll, holding it back against the wind as he began to chant the blurred, cursive words, stumbling over his tongue a bit but overall doing what he considered rather well.

There was a deafening boom that shook the earth like thunder, and Kratzer stumbled, falling over his feet and extending his arms to catch himself as he hit the ground.

~**~

There was a startled yell as a scarred man fell into the creek in front of Bo, splashing water in his face and spooking his horse, who pranced back and huffed with discomfort and unsurety.

Bo jumped back as the water hit him, barely blocking his face in time. He looked out from behind his arm, seeing the guy face-down in the water after falling out of the sky. He looked over at his spooked horse as if to share the moment of surprise.

Getting up slowly, he gave his horse a few pats. "Steady, girl, it's ok," he cooed, waiting for a second with her before he hurried off into the water.

"Woah, dude!" He said as he reached out to help the guy up. "You okay?"

Kratzer coughed and spat out water, now utterly dripping since he all but faceplanted despite how shallow it was. The man looked disoriented and even more surprised than Bo's horse. He stumbled back as Bo approached, nearly slipping on the slick creek bed.

"Who the Hölle are you? Where the fick is this? How in Gott's name did I even manage to get here?!" he spluttered.

Bo held up his hands, motioning them up and down in a 'calm down' sort of motion. The guy was saying a lot of words he didn't understand, but they sounded like expletives. "Woah, woah, woah," he said, as his eyes locked onto the dude's face. He had a scar going across it, just like he did. Or - well, not exactly like his, as the guy was fortunate to still have two eyes, but, regardless. He smiled, and pointed to himself.

"I'm Bo. And this is the world of Nye. Where we are on the continent isn't exactly marked, but we're between the deserts and the Outlands. And uh, I don't know how you got here? You came... flying out of the sky? I don't suppose... you can fly?"

He stopped mid-rant, blinking and staring at the large man in silence for several moments. "I...came out of the...Sohn einer Hündin! Verdammt piece of schiesse," he rattled off in rapid German, wiping the water off his face and stepping out of the creek, silencing himself for a moment to get his bearings and address the man in front of him. He was a very big man, with one eye and scars running diagonally across his face, not unlike Kratzer's own - though, of course, the German still kept both eyes. He had a feeling his was given to him with a bit more deliberation because of this. Usually, such maiming or killing was reserved for full-out warfare.

He took a deep breath, clenching his jaw and letting himself calm down for a moment before extending his hand. "My name is Kratzer. I don't fly, I just...apparently read the incant wrong."

"An incant?" Bo questioned, not sure he knew what it meant. But if it was what brought Kratzer there... "You mean something like magic?"

"No, people just fly without magic," he answered irritably, then sighed. "Sorry, sorry...yes, magic."

Bo stepped back out of the creek to meet up with Kratzer beside him. "Ah. Yeah. Magic can be weird sometimes," he said, giving Kratzer a friendly little pat on the shoulder. "I'm sorry it's been troublesome for you."

He initially recoiled at the contact before he recognized that he was not, in fact, being attacked, nor grabbed, nor any other offensive or generally dangerous motion. He was being friendly.

This concept in and of itself was so shocking and strange to him that he just stood there in surprised silence for a moment before answering. "Uh, thanks...it can be that way." He chuckled a little awkwardly.

Bo laughed with him. "Well, at least you're still in one piece!" Bo said with a smile, drawing his hand away after seeing Kratzer's initial response, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

"I mean, you are okay, right? You didn't hit your head in the fall or break anything?" He began to look Kratzer over, up and down. "No scratches?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, danke," he says, brushing his wet hair out of his face. "Sorry for uh, splashing you like that. I didn't mean to turn up here."

"A little water never hurt me," Bo laughed. "But yeah, haha, I figured! Where were you tryin' to get to? Need help gettin' there?"

"I was trying to get to Hölle - er, Hell - but apparently that didn't exactly go as planned. Ah, well, guess there's worse places to turn up. I appreciate you not trying to kill me."

Bo's eyebrows shot up, and he laughed again. "Kill you? Nah, man, you're not my enemy. I mean, a lost, presumably bilingual man like yourself with a face like yours? Nah. We're good."

He pointed a finger at Krazter. "Though I do gotta admit, I don't know where Hell is, but I'm sure we could figure it out. Sounds like you're not from here? Or like, Nye? Different world or something?"

"Technically I'm from Earth. So, yes, different world. Or plane, at least, I'm not particularly well-versed in...astronomy or physics or magic or whatever this is," he replies, looking around. "What brings you here, Bo?"