1. The Wanderer

A bell rings. The dreamer yells my name and runs to hold me. I'm finally home.

The whirling funnel emptied into a circle of light, followed by darkness.

Eric felt the grass crashing into him. He groaned and cautiously opened an eye: trees, a blue sky above. He held his breath as a squirrel approached. When it flew away on butterfly wings he sighed in relief – I made it. He frowned at his clothes. Can't say the same for the Armani.

He stood up to inspect himself. The old chainmail should have kicked in by now, but he was still in business attire. The shield remained heavy and lifeless. Gucci just wasn't made for cross-country trekking. He'd made other preparations, but he was counting on the armor. It might not be Realm-dominating magic like the shield, but it was surprisingly light, warm in the snow, cool in the sand…

Well, tough. Offending white hairs in his goatee were ever more common – he could tell the Realm would give him many more. Lacking a magic hat to supply the conveniences of camp life, he'd brought a more conventional backpack. He undid his necktie but reconsidered throwing it away – 100% silk was worth something, even here. Cash and plastic were once again worthless, but even gold wouldn't mean much without a village at hand. He surveyed the plain around him, considering where to go.

"Welcome back, Cavalier."

Eric spun around, happier than he expected. "DM! You never call, never write. You haven't aged."

"What is a quarter century to someone who has seen so many, not-so-young one?"

"I even missed your humor. You're just the person I need: are magic charges not valid for out-of-Realm travel? My shield needs one, but I remember we demolished the charger." He grinned. "That tended to happen a lot when magical sanctuaries were involved."

"Yes, it did," said Dungeon Master grimly. "Head East. But do not mistake armor for the beast."

"Helpful as always." Eric took out a notepad. "Head of the beast, got it. So, where is the old gang? Slaying dragons, rescuing princesses?" He grew serious. "After a time I tried tracking them down to see if they'd returned. Never found anything."

Dungeon Master sighed. "Your friends are still here, Cavalier, but no longer in my service. The Realm has fallen under a great shadow."

Eric digested this. "That's terrible." And probably my fault. "I need to find them, help them somehow."

"The six will ride again, but a seventh will make the great sacrifice."

"That's just peachy. How do I find them?"

"Follow your path and the seeker will be sought."

Eric stared intently at Dungeon Master.

"Is there something else, Cavalier?"

"Just waiting for you to, you know, do your thing."

"Ah yes, you always did enjoy that," said Dungeon Master as he folded into himself.

Eric smiled and started walking.

#

The forest grew gloomier with every step. Eric had an eerie feeling of being followed. He unpacked his shield and the saber. His fencing instructor had been shocked when he asked to train with a shield, but had eventually indulged the whim of the spoiled rich kid. Had he already made his decision, then? With only a non-magic shield available, however, firearms were starting to look more attractive. If only the nearest ammo depot weren't a portal quest away. Something creaked behind him.

Eric turned with his shield raised, trying to get into a fighting stance. A segmented tail whipped him off his feet. Without the benefit of armor or magic, the impact hurt. The giant worm reared its head, snapping its beak expectantly. He braced himself. As the monster swooped to strike a rider charged into it, toppling both to the ground. The worm struggled with the mount while the warrior retrieved his weapon.

"Foul creature!" he yelled, returning to the fray.

Eric ran to his backpack.

"And an even fouler coward!" the warrior called after him.

"I know what it is!" answered Eric, leafing through his notes. "Worm… purple worm… grick! It's a grick!"

"In these parts we just call'em worms," said the warrior, dodging a slash. "What's the difference?"

"Gricks can't stand sunlight. Is there a clearing we can run to?"

"There's one right… here." A tree came crashing down at the warrior's strike, letting in a pool of light. The grick shrieked and retreated to a rocky crevice.

The warrior approached Eric, weapon raised. "What dark magic is this?"

"None at all, unfortunately, I mean…" He looked from the blonde giant to the white horse, in their leather armor. What had DM said? Something about a head. Now that he looked at it, the horse's fearsome horn really wasn't part of the armor. "Bobby?"

The warrior was startled, then recognition dawned on him. "Eric? No one has called me that in a long time."

"You've grown, short stuff."

"You've aged."

"So I'm told."

Bobby gave him a bear hug, then checked himself. "You walked out on us. This changes nothing."

Uni neighed reproachfully.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I want to help. DM said…"

"Dungeon Master? He talked to you?"

"He told me you weren't in his service any more, whatever that means."

"He walked out on us too. Maybe we walked out on ourselves."

"I'm sure it's fascinating, but the pain in my arm is making it hard to follow. You wouldn't happen to have a first aid kit?"

"You're looking at it. Uni?"

The unicorn approached reluctantly with her head bowed. Eric flinched, but when the horn touched his arm all pain evaporated. He was left with a warm fuzzy feeling.

"Wow. What are you feeding her, opioids?"

"There's no cheating Nature. The healing uses your energy too - you'll need to rest."

"Thanks. I mean it."

"That was some fancy strategery back there."

"The notes? When I realized I was coming back, I did a little research. Would you say your club is +1 or +2?"

"You know that's not how it works."

"Well, at least I read up on some monsters. Not that it would've done me any good if you hadn't come along."

"Yeah, what were you trying to accomplish with that toy sword? Write a 'Z' on its chest?"

"It's a saber. But point taken. Hey… do you think you could maybe help me go East to recharge my shield so I don't get eaten by the next thing to crawl from under a rock? For old times' sake? There'd be foul creatures for you to smite…"

Bobby considered this. "You mean the Eastern Temple. I will help, Eric. But only because I am the last one still fighting."

#

Uni made progress much easier, and Eric and Bobby took turns riding. They talked of little things, and bigger things until it got too painful.

The grasslands glistened with dew under the moonlight.

Eric yawned. "Remind why we had to get up this early?"

"The Temple can only be entered at a certain place…"

"Like most buildings."

"… at a certain time," Bobby continued, "and if the nuns wish it. It's complicated."

"Women."

They walked in silence.

"Did you ever marry, Eric?"

"I'm an expert, kid. Three wives, three expensive divorces. You?"

"Only warriors like me, not the nest-building type." A ruined city could be seen at the distance. "But I wonder sometimes, if there's ever peace…"

"You will have peace, Bobby. We'll defeat Venger."

Bobby was quiet.

"What?"

"Venger's gone, Eric."

"That's great… But then who's spreading the 'shadow' over the Realm?"

"The dragons came soon after. Without Venger, Tiamat is the greatest power in the land."

"Huh, might've seen that one coming. Guess we'll have to round up the old posse for some dragon-slayin'."

"They won't come."

"Yeah, I gathered as much from you being the 'last one still fighting'. What happened?"

"You were only the first to leave." Bobby stared at his feet. "After Dungeon Master stopped coming we tried to find our own way home, with similar results. Diana was next. She said we needed to face the facts and make new lives for ourselves in the Realm."

"I can imagine how hard that must've been for her, for you guys."

"No, Eric, you can't. Then came Presto. He wanted to get us home his own way, and he needed to do it alone."

"That was brave of him."

"Or selfish, I haven't decided. He's the Mage, I'm just the Barbarian, but couldn't he see he was taking away a little piece of home with him? Anyway, I went on with Sheila and Hank. Until he broke."

"I didn't think he could break… Makes you think of all the aggravation I gave him over the years."

"I cried a lot then. We settled in a small village. I stayed with them until I was old enough to set out on my own - somebody has to take the fight to the dragons."

"We will, Bobby. Look, someone left the door open."

On the horizon, pagodas were silhouetted against the rising sun.