Disclaimer: I do not own the rights for either Familiar of Zero or Dungeons and Dragons.
A/N: This is my first cross-over story, so I'm not quite sure what to expect. I hope you enjoy this, I know I enjoyed writing it.
Note: I made an adjustment to the size of the Baldrick's crew and armament. Based on the size of ironclads like the USS Cairo, these things were huge and could hold a lot more people than I originally thought. The ship itself looks like the USS New Ironsides, but just a bit smaller and with only two masts. The crew numbers about two hundred, and the ship has ten cannons instead of eight. There are also twelve heavy ballistae and fourteen light ballistae now.
Prologue
Off the Coast of the Shield Lands
"Prepare to fire a port broadside!" I shouted over the booming of the cannons and general din of combat. Evanger, my second-in-command and former apprentice, repeated the order on the other side of the vessel. I had to free up a hand from the wheel to push my rain-drenched hair out of my eyes.
The crew of the Baldrick scrambled to reload the guns and ballistae on the left side of the ship, while the archers peppered the enemy ship's deck with arrows and crossbow bolts. Evanger joined in on the distraction with his own longbow. The tasks of all, most of all mine, were made more difficult by the storm raging around us.
I hurriedly ducked as an arrow zoomed past, right where my head had just been, and lodged itself in the door to my cabin. I grimaced as I kept an eye on the waves and sails. Just half an hour before, we were on our way to meet with the rest of the fleet. But we were attacked by a trio of ships, armed to the teeth and manned by motley crews of orcs and other monsters. The lead ship was a large three-mast galleon, and the supporters were a pair of smaller single-mast galleys.
They learned the hard way that ambushing an ironclad warship, captained by an experienced navigator wizard, was not a good idea.
Crewed by nearly two hundred men and women, the Baldrick was a large ship, and it packed a punch. Of the crew, there were ten priests of Murlynd, one for each of the warship's ten cannons. Because gunpowder only worked in the hands of the priests of the god of technology, they were absolutely necessary. Two additional crewmen were assigned to each gun to speed along the reloading process. To complement the heavy artillery, there were twelve heavy ballistae and fourteen light ballistae on each side of the ship, manned by two artillerymen each. There was also a heavy catapult. However, due to the range it was not in use.
Within ten minutes of the attack, one of the enemy warships was already sinking to the bottom of the sea and a second was barely able to move, leaving only the galleon to face us. Unfortunately, there must have been a powerful druid on the third vessel, as they conjured up a storm to hamper us. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't do more than make sure that my own ship did not sink. Most of the spells I had memorized were for ship to ship combat, not combating nature.
Now we were dueling with the remaining ship in the pouring rain. Bolts of lightning struck my ironclad more than once. The enemy had more crewmen and had a larger vessel, but my ship was more durable than my foe's and more heavily armed. I watched several men get injured by snipers on the opposing ship. As soon as we were in range, I barked, "Fire broadside!"
The five cannons on the port side roared as they discharged their shots, smashing large holes into the enemy hull. The ballistae raked the deck, spearing any foe that was too stupid to duck. My archers took their hands from their quivers and chucked over flasks of alchemist's fire, which exploded and set the deck ablaze. Evanger muttered the words to a spell and unleashed a blast of sonic energy directly at the main mast. The large wooden beam snapped like a twig and toppled over backwards, taking one of the secondary masts and most of the sails with it. A cheer went up from the crew of the Baldrick as they watched the mast crush a pair of ogres.
Judging from the chaos on the enemy ship, the captain was killed during the broadside. I used that chaos, plus a favorable wind, to make our escape. The wind of the storm whipped my cloak and robes around and caused my chainmail to jingle as I surveyed the damage. Because of the ship's armor plating, the damage to the hull was limited to some scratches and burns from the lightning. None of my crew had died, but there were more than a few wounded, which were already being attended to by the priests.
"Get the wounded below deck, we're going to spelljam the rest of the way," I ordered. I had been trying to avoid doing it until it was absolutely necessary. I really hated spelljamming.
Kaj, drenched and unhappy, crawled up onto my shoulder as I settled into the enchanted chair. Taking a deep breath, I plunged myself into the magic. Theoretically, any spellcaster on board could do this. But it takes a navigator wizard to do it well and not crash into anything. I could feel the power of each spell I had prepared for the day start to drain away as the magic did its work, starting with the most powerful.
The ship began to rise out of the water before lurching forward, at a much faster pace than would have been possible in water. I saw the crew begin to relax and start coming out of their battle-hype. I found that I could not join them.
Now in tune with the powerful magics that made spelljamming possible, I became aware that something was wrong. I could hear a young woman's voice chanting a spell, though I could identify neither the source nor the language. And so, I ignored it for the next thirty miles. That should have been my first warning. The next was a sudden burst of arcane energy. Before I could react, a green portal opened up in front of the Baldrick.
Before being drawn in, I remember thinking that spontaneously opening portals tended to be a bad thing.
Magic Academy of Tristain
Louise watched the result of her fifth attempted summoning with trepidation. As everyone had expected, an enormous explosion rocked the courtyard. Black smoke poured out from the circle, obscuring it from view. Panic and desperation filled her mind as she desperately tried to see what was inside of it, if anything.
The petite girl was almost at her wits end before the dark cloud started to dissipate. Inside, she could hear someone coughing and shouting something, though in no language that she knew.
By now, the smoke had cleared enough for Louise to see. A man stepped out of the gloom, still trying to clear his lungs of the smog. He was about Professor Colbert's height, with long brown hair and a short goatee of the same color and grey-blue eyes. Dressed in a set of red robes, she could vaguely see the shine of silvery chainmail underneath, all secured at the waist by a heavy leather belt. The wind whipped the bottom of his white cloak around. On the belt rested a well-used battle-axe, a crossbow, and a pistol, as well as a pouch about the size of Louise's head. All of which was drenched, as though he had just come out of a storm.
But what caught her attention was the stern look in his eyes. It reminded her of some of her teachers, the "you are going to learn what I have to teach even if I have to cram it down your throat" kind. They also seemed empty and tired, like he had seen too much in his young life. But there was also a sense of determination to keep going despite that.
With a start, she realized that he was probably younger than Wardes, no more than twenty-eight years old. For a second, Louise thought he looked older than Osmand.
With a confused look on his face, the stranger looked around at everyone before asking something in a strange tongue. His audience's confused expression made his turn to one of frustration. Understanding the irritation, Professor Colbert waved his staff and chanted before asking, "Can you understand us now?"
The man nodded, "Perfectly. Judging by the fact that you just cast a translation spell, I assume that you are a mage, that these are your students, and that I have just been summoned."
Professor Colbert nodded, "That would be correct. And you are?"
"My name is Auren Janten, of the Shield Lands navy," He winced, "And I will say, that was likely the most startling way to cross to another plane that I have ever experienced."
I scratched the back of my head. This was the first time that I had been summoned. Usually, it is supposed to be the other way around. I suddenly found myself possessed of much more respect for the elementals I occasionally called in for help.
As far as academies for magi go, this one was…bright, to say the least. The castle in the background that I assumed was the academy was gaudy. There is no way that it would be practical against an invading army. I didn't even see any ballistae on the walls. Then again, it's a school full of magi. Not a lot of armies would go up against that willingly.
All of these people were mages. I'd never seen this many in one place before. Iuz's forces had done a good job of clearing the Shield Lands of its Shield Mages, and other arcane practitioners. They were all accompanied by an assortment of creatures, from a flaming lizard to a floating eyeball. I saw a blue dragon of all things. Unconsciously, my hand started moving towards my axe. I managed to stop it before I caused an incident.
I looked at the balding man, "So who summoned me?"
"Miss Louise de la Valliere here did," the teacher replied ushering forward my summoner.
For a moment, I could only stare. Pink hair. And pink eyes. That should not be physically possible outside of some demons. Now that I think about it, a lot of these people have strange hair colors.
Apparently I had a dumbfounded look on my face, as hers went red. She looked like she had seen around ten winters, though compared to the ages of the other students, I would guess her age to be about sixteen or seventeen.
"So, why have you summoned me? What guidance do you need or what do you need blown up?" These seemed like pretty standard questions for someone who has just been summoned to ask. I was tempted to offer a fake Faustian bargain, just to see if I could get away with it.
One of the students in the back, a well-endowed red-headed girl with dark skin, busted out laughing, "The Zero summoned a commoner that likes blowing things up. A match made in heaven!" The crowd around the hazer joined in on her mirth.
My summoner's face started to get red and redder. For a moment, I thought she would spontaneously combust. If she did, I would have had to track down some vellum and a quill and record the event, as I have yet to see such a thing occur without the use of magic.
The teacher was the first to respond after he managed to quiet the crowd, "This is the Springtime Summoning Ritual, where the students summon their familiars."
I had to blink and interrupt, "I'm sorry, familiars did you say? And you intend me to become one? But humans can't become familiars, it's absurd!" Before I could go on, I felt something with sharp claws crawl up my back and latch onto my shoulder. Miss Valliere stared dumbly at it, along with the rest of the class. When I turned my head, my gaze was met by a small scaly face, "Oh, there you are Kaj. I was wondering if you had gotten lost in transit." I looked around for a moment, "Kind of like what seems to have happened to my ship."
I shook my head, "Anyway, back to what we were discussing. So wh-" I was stopped by Kaj growling at me. He didn't like it when I ignored him. Sighing, I fished around in one of the pouches in my robe and pulled out some dry-ish meat, which I gave to the cat-sized dragon, "There, now shut up." He puffed a bit of smoke into my face, but otherwise stayed quiet, "Okay, so what is this business about me becoming a familiar?"
"A familiar is a lifelong companion for the mage that summons it. Usually, it is some form of beast that reflects the mage's elemental affinity." The mage adjusted his spectacles, "Summoning a human is extremely rare."
"How rare?" I asked, curious.
"Only once," he looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped himself, "But we should finish the ritual."
"As much as I would love to help her out, I have a ship to find and a war to finish. So if you could kindly send me back?" I honestly did feel bad about this.
"We can't."
"What?" I said more than asked.
"We have never had to send a summoned creature back, so we have never researched a method of how to do it," the teacher replied.
"But…all summoning spells have a time duration. There is no such thing as a permanent summons." I should know. I've tried. Got pretty damn close too.
I turned to look back at the circle, hoping that maybe by studying it I might find a way home. Unfortunately, my explosive entry completely demolished it.
Well, there goes that avenue.
During this entire conversation, I can see Miss Valliere's face fall, and she looked to be on the edge of crying. Damn it, I felt horrible about myself. Fine.
I sighed, "Alright, I'll go along with it. For now." She still looked disappointed though. Ungrateful brat.
"So how do we finish this Springtime Ritual?" I inquired.
At that, my summoner's face lit up again. I got the feeling that this was going to become extremely awkward. She looked back and forth between me and the teacher, "Do I have to do this Professor Colbert?" Wench! I was being nice and helping you out, and this is how you show gratitude?!
"Yes," the now-named teacher stated. Louise pouted, but shuffled forward.
She beaconed for me to lean down, as she barely came up to my upper arm. So I did. Then I got a bit surprised. From that day forward, I started trusting my gut instincts.
"Be grateful. Not many commoners get this honor," Louise de Valliere then kissed me straight on the lips. As soon as it was done, she backed up, and the jeers started again.
This time I ignored them as I started to smell something burning. That something turned out to be my left hand. Removing my gauntlet, I stared as runes started carving themselves onto my skin. However, the magical brand that was already there remained untouched, to my disappointment, and the new one simply formed around it.
Both Colbert and Louise watched, fascinated. Louise asked, "Doesn't that hurt?"
I shrugged, "It probably should, and I should be rolling on the ground screaming in agony. But after an incident regarding a magical obelisk and a necromancer cult a few years ago, I don't feel pain."
Louise's jaw dropped, and Colbert was too busy scribbling away in a notebook to take notice of my declaration.
"It makes getting healed a bit difficult, since I don't know if the injury gets fixed completely." I shook my head, "Anyway, can I find somewhere to rest? I'm exhausted."
Colbert snapped his notebook shut and nodded, and then turned to dismiss the others. The rest of the class waved their wands and took off into the air.
My jaw dropped this time. Such blatant misuse of magic! If they tried that in the Shield Lands, they would have at the very least been subjected to some disciplinary action.
Not to mention the fact that the females among the group were wearing very short skirts. I immediately turned my eyes away. I am no pervert.
By the time we got back to the academy, the sun had already set and I had finally dried off. I had started to regret not having any spells usable for land-based movement memorized. Or any spells at all, really. That spelljammer really took it out of me. My "Master", as she insisted on me referring to her as, looked like she was going to collapse.
I was starting to get an idea as to why she was called the "Zero," guessing by the fact that she didn't fly back like the others.
On the way, I grilled her for information about the place I was summoned to. By what I had been able to piece together, this was basically an academy for sorcerers. A contradiction if I ever heard one. And mages being nobility? A good idea in my opinion, but used far too often.
Again, I say this is a gaudy piece of demon shite of a castle. My people would have deconstructed this place and built something more useful. I mean come on! There weren't even any enchantments on the outer walls or even professional guards patrolling them! And that gate wouldn't hold up against a drunken ogre!
We finally trudged into Louise's room, but I immediately noticed a problem. There was only one bed.
I pointed this out, "We're not sharing the same bed, are we?"
"No," she said, her haughty attitude becoming apparent, "You're sleeping over there."
I followed her finger to the other side of the room, where a pile of hay sat. I stared at it, trying to will it to become a comfortable bed. It did not.
There are times I wish I was a priest. Then maybe somebody would help me out.
My right eye twitched slightly, "We will discuss my living arrangements at a later time, when I do not feel like a member of the living dead."
"Fine," the little mage huffed, "But first, do my laundry."
I was suddenly finding it much more difficult to keep my reaction to just an eye twitch.
Five minutes later, I found myself wandering the halls carrying a basket full of women's clothing. I sincerely hope no one takes this the wrong way. Or that Lyall never finds out. This is one of many things that I will be taking to my grave.
Although I am grateful that I managed to convince Louise to wait until I was out of the room to change.
Of course, none of this is helped by the fact that I am utterly lost. Thanks to my training as a navigator wizard, I always know which direction is north. Which does not help me in the slightest since I don't know where the Asmodeus-damned washroom is in this labyrinth of an academy! And none of my scrying spells are prepared either, so magic is out of the question.
As much as it hurts my pride as both a navigator and a man, I was forced to ask for directions. I gave a silent prayer to Murlynd when I found a member of the staff. A strangely dressed maid, by my guess. Then again, everyone here was strangely dressed to me.
When I approached her, she was apparently so distracted that she didn't notice me.
"Excuse me, miss?" She nearly jumped straight out of her skirts.
"I-I'm sorry milord, I didn't notice you!"
I tried to calm her down, "It's alright, and I am no lord."
"Oh, I apologize. You're Miss Valliere's familiar, correct?" I managed to still any of my usual reactions to such a question. It was just an innocent inquiry by someone who likely didn't know any better.
"I was summoned, yes. But I still refuse to be called a familiar. My name is Auren Janten," I responded, trying to keep as much of my dignity intact as possible. The fact that Kaj was sitting on my shoulder snickering was not helping matters. I flicked his gold-scaled head, causing him to hiss at me, "And you are?"
"Siesta of Tarbes," She stated.
There are times where I wish had something a bit more simple for a familiar than a dragon, mainly because they do not possess vocal chords capable of speech or, in this case, laughter. But when a fully grown gold dragon allows you to take one of its eggs to serve as a familiar, are you going to say no?
The maid giggled at our antics, "Who is that?"
I gave a mental suggestion to Kaj to hop over to her shoulder, "This is Kaj. My adventuring troupe and I helped out a dragon a few years ago, and they let me take one of their eggs. Cheeky little bastard, but he's useful. He's nice enough, though watch your fingers when he gets hungry. The teeth aren't for show."
Poor Kaj didn't know what was about to happen. One moment, he was settling onto the maid's shoulder. The next he was in Siesta's arms and pressed against her admittedly impressive bosom. I swear the little bastard was giving me a smug look.
"Kyaah! He's so cute!" She squealed. I think I saw Kaj's eyes bug out a little bit when she squeezed harder.
I smirked, "Don't give him too much of a big head, he's difficult to deal with regardless. Anyway, try telling him that when he gets to be the size of a barn."
Siesta paused, "He's going to get that big?"
"Yep, or at least he will in a few centuries. He only hatched two years ago. There are some kinds of dragons that can get to be about as big as this academy if they get old enough."
I nearly busted a gut when her eyes became about as wide as saucers. She shifted her gaze from Kaj to me and back.
"You talk to him like he is one of us. Why? Dragons aren't sentient." The maid asked with a tilt of her head, the small dragon still nearly suffocating in her bust.
Kaj glared up and puffed smoke at her. I chuckled, "We're from another world, as I guessed from the presence of two moons rather than one. Where I come from, dragons are extremely intelligent, a lot of them more so than most humans. Kaj here is an infant by their standards, but from the…" I wasn't quite sure how to explain the relationship between a wizard and their familiar, so I went with a simplified term, "bond he has with me, he is much smarter and more mature than he would be normally at his age. He is also capable of speech, he just usually chooses not to."
By now, Kaj was starting to squirm in Siesta's grip. She gently released him, and he quickly skittered back up on to my shoulder. The small dragon gave a wide-mouthed yawn and curled around my neck, promptly falling asleep. For the record, my familiar doubles as an excellent, if slightly uncomfortable, scarf.
Following up with my own yawn, I asked, "Could I ask you to show me to the washroom? I need to do my "Master's" laundry before I can hit the sack."
Siesta smiled, "Of course. I'll help you do them, too."
"I can't ask you to do that, I'm sure you have other duties to attend to."
"Nonsense, I have some free time. Besides, I'd like to talk to you a bit more. You seem like you have had an exciting life," Her smiled was just so innocent.
I found that I couldn't deny it, "Very well, you have swayed me. Lead on."
When we got to the washroom, the first thing I did was put down the basket and take off my robe. It would just get in the way. Siesta was looking at, trying to figure out what it was made of.
"That robe is made of dragonhide," I answered her unspoken question. Her eyes immediately darted to Kaj. I shook my head, "There are two categories of dragons in my world: Chromatic dragons and Metallic dragons. Chromatic dragons are further divided based on their color: Red, Blue, Green, Black, and White. Metallic dragons are divided into Gold, Silver, Bronze, Brass, and Copper."
I continued, making sure I had her attention, "Chromatic dragons are evil creatures, usually found in our stories and histories as the marauding beast attacking villages. My robe came from the hide of a Red dragon that I helped slay."
"But what are the Metallic dragons, their opposites?" Siesta asked, now enraptured.
"Precisely," I nod, "Just as Chromatic dragons are beasts of evil, Metallic dragons are creatures of good. Occasionally, they aid the lesser races against evil forces, mainly on principle or in the service of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon. Kaj is a Gold dragon."
"You never mentioned Platinum among the types of Metallic dragons."
"That is because Bahamut is a deity, not a living dragon. He is also the only Platinum dragon to have ever existed."
"But, Brimir is the only god!" The maid declared.
"Maybe here, that is true. But remember, I come from another plane or dimension, where the presence of these deities is very well known and recorded," I pointed out, "I myself have seen one such deity intervene in a conflict."
"You have multiple deities?" She was starting to get slightly distraught and confused.
"We have dozens, different pantheons for different races. Before I go on, you must understand how rare it is for a god to personally interfere with mortal affairs. The gods of my world try to keep a balance, none of them trying to directly affect the world too much. There are exceptions, of course. Usually, they work by providing some power to their priests or certain warriors, who then work in their patron's name. Thurizden, god of madness, had to be sealed away because of his refusal to follow this rule, as well as for his destructive tendencies," I took a breath and slid my gauntlets off of my hands, "Oerth would have been destroyed long ago had he been allowed to do as he pleased."
I picked up the first piece of clothing to be washed, which turned out to be a shirt. Alright, nothing too bad. I immediately went to work cleaning it by hand. Siesta silently joined in, though she had a skirt in her hands.
Deciding to switch subjects, she started along a new line of inquiry as she scrubbed, "So what did you do in your homeland?"
I gave a wry smile, "Originally? I was a scholar. But when I became old enough, I was pressed into the ranks of the military. I became a soldier and sailor, and eventually a navigator. My specialized knowledge was useful in dealing with some of the more esoteric situations. In the Shield Lands, everyone is a soldier, or was one. We had lost our home once, and we were determined not to lose it again."
Siesta's eyes drifted to my chainmail and axe, the former of which was no longer concealed by my robes. I smirked, "Trophies and rewards of long campaigns. I took the axe from an orc I slew, and kept it ever since. The mail was a gift from when I entered the service of Lord Rendor."
"You are an armsmen in the service of a mage?" She set the skirt to dry and started on some undergarments. I thanked Murlynd that I didn't have to do it.
I shook my head, "Not quite. In my world, nobility is not determined by magical ability. In some places, those with arcane talent are actively hunted down. No, there are three ways that a person can be a noble. First, they are born into it, and inherit all of the titles and land. Second, they marry into a noble family. This one is a bit uncommon, as the nobles prefer to marry among their own. And the final route is to be knighted." I shrugged, "Though I assume that is the same here, outside of being a mage. I myself was born a commoner."
"So you are a knight?" I could see where she drew that assumption from.
I laughed and moved on to the next garment, "Great Murlynd, no! I am not a knight. I was merely sworn to a lord in exchange for patronage. I used to work in more of a combat support role, but then I moved on to captain my own ship."
My expression quickly turned to a frown, "If only I could find my ship and crew. They came through the portal with me, but we got separated."
"What was your ship like?" Siesta asked. I could see that she was trying to cheer me up a bit.
My smile returned as I pictured the vessel in my head, "The Baldrick was a twin-mast galleon, coated in iron plating. It was one of the larger ships in the Shield Lands navy and one of nearly half a dozen ironclad warships under the command of Lord Jarleth Stalitzer. It had a crew of nearly seventy people, many of them friends. Between the armor and the armaments, we could take on any single ship that we came across on the open sea."
"But I thought you were sworn to another lord?"
I held up a finger, "Lord Rendor and Lord Stalitzer are allies, as are all of the members of the Lords' Council. Stalitzer is the commander of the main navy, while Rendor controls the expeditionary forces. So technically, they are both my superiors. Understand?"
Siesta nodded her head. When I reached for the next piece of clothing, I realized that there was only one left. I quickly looked to the ones that I had cleaned and the ones that the maid had done. To my embarrassment, her pile was a good deal larger. I took pride in getting my work done fast, even if it was demeaning.
"You work fast," I remarked.
"When you work for an entire academy full of boys and girls who refuse to do their own laundry, you have to work quickly so you don't get overburdened," She beamed back.
I narrowed my eyes, "It's not just you doing all of this work, is it?" If it was, I was going to have a stern talk with the management. And by "stern talk," I meant a lightning bolt or two to scare the living crap out of them. It would not be the first time I had seen the staff mistreated.
She held up her hands and shook her head nervously, almost as if she could tell what I was going to do if I was correct, "No no, there are others."
"Oh," I grunted. Yep, Sir Eloquence right here. If I kept going for much longer, I might spring for Lord Eloquence. I scratched the back of my head, "Umm, well thanks for the help."
"You're welcome," Dammit, why does she smile so much?
"Before I forget, could you tell me where the library is? I'd like to take a look tomorrow morning," I asked as I slipped my robe and gauntlets back on. It would make it a lot less awkward when talking to people if I actually knew some of the history.
Siesta was happy to give me directions. Afterwards, she excused herself. So then I found myself wandering the halls yet again, holding a basket of laundry that was not mine.
I heard some voices coming from up ahead. Poking my head around the corner, I saw a pair of students, one boy and one girl. The girl was pretty enough, but it was the boy that gained my ire.
First, he was dressed in a shirt with enough frills to put most bards to shame. Second, he was spouting off worse pick-up lines than Lyall. Third…
I just disliked him. He reminded me of some of my bratty students back in Kritwall, mostly the ones from noble families. So full of themselves, and learning how to warp reality. There are times I wonder if a peasant uprising wouldn't be such a bad thing, if only just to get rid of them.
Is it a bit sadistic that I got some twisted pleasure from breaking them of their arrogance?
I decided to walk off right after I heard the boy say, "I cannot lie in front of your eyes." There are only so many bad lines I can stand.
After about half an hour, I finally made my way back to Louise's room. I wasn't surprised to see her already flopped out on her bed, snoring contentedly. I quietly set the basket down as I walked in.
I frowned when I looked at the pile of hay that she insisted that I use as a bed. I shook my head and reached behind me for the scroll case strapped to my back. No way was I sleeping on that.
Digging around inside of the extra-dimensional space, I grabbed the one I was looking for. Placing my scroll case back, I unfurled the scroll and whispered the words written on it. On the bare wall in front of me, a softly glowing door materialized. I smirked.
I never leave home without a scroll of Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion.
Sparing one glance back at Louise, I opened the door and stepped inside. As soon as the door clicked shut, it turned invisible from the outside.
A/N: Alright, done. I'm amazed that I wrote this much. This prologue is already twice as long as most of the papers that I have written this semester. Oh well, Review Please.