The heavy wood door swung open violently and banged against the wall. The person who opened it stood silhouetted in the doorway, foot outstretched from the kick that forced the door open. "Oops." The man lumbered in using both of his hands to carry a large box. "I didn't think I kicked it that hard." He placed the box in a corner and went out for another. 'A new job, a new place. This should be interesting.' he thought while bringing a few boxes in and placing them on a table. 'My research has been getting me nowhere, hopefully a new perspective will help.' He returned to the cart outside and tried to think of the most convenient way to carry the last few boxes. 'The cure for that plague has been eluding me. I'm sure there's a way to destroy it.'
He placed the last of his boxes on the floor ant headed back for the door. He motioned for the cart driver that he was done unloading and watched as the cart rolled away down the cobblestone street. He took a look down the street and noted the strategic location of his house. The alleys between houses had no entrances to his house and were not advisable for an ambush, except for the backdoor but that was an easy enough flaw to safeguard. His roof was higher than the ones next to it making it hard for anyone to climb in from there. After looking down the blocks he returned inside. The door latched with a satisfying 'clunk' behind him as he entered his new home. Even though his new job allowed him to live within the ruins, he believed there was something important to learn from living here. This town, something seemed important about it. He had begun unpacking the essentials; textbooks, notes, experiment results; the normal things.
That was weird, he thought he heard something. There it was again, a knock? Stunned, he turned towards the door. 'No one should know that I'm here, well, except for the original owner.' Thoughts raced through his head as he attempted to figure out who might be looking for him. 'Did they find out that the money I paid them was stolen. No description they could have gotten would have led anyone to me though. That's one bad thing about being me, you never have the local currency.' Kai was a planeswalker, a person who could travel the multiverse into different dimensions. He was currently in the world of Milark, the world was covered with lush landscapes and dotted with pockets of civilization. The five races of Milark live in relative harmony. The goblins roam the mountains, navigating the tunnels searching for ore. The ore passes through the forests home of the elves who attempt to keep the travelers safe as they pass through their land. The ore travels to the plains where the humans live and craft metal. The vampires stalk the darkness in all of these places searching for power wherever it may lay. There wasn't much fighting on Milark except for infighting between vampire clans, and it was during one such fight that Kai took the opportunity to steal enough money to purchase his new house.
He crept to the door, making sure not to make any sound as he peered through the eye-hole of the door, a feature he couldn't live without as far as he was concerned. He saw, black hair, familiar black hair. Whoever it was wasn't looking at the peep-hole in the door. She turned around to face him. She was in her early-twenties from the look of it, her black hair was in stark contrast to her pale skin, and her silver-blue eyes sparkled just a bit. He immediately recognized his guest and flung the door open. Her hand was raised as if to knock again. "Oh, hiyAAAAAH!" She screamed as he grabbed her arm and yanked her inside. He shut the door fast, but caught it before it slammed not wanting to draw any attention, as if her screaming hadn't already done that.
"What are you doing here!" he yelled in the best whisper he could muster.
"I needed to see you." she whispered back "What are you doing here, Kai? You have a place to stay at the ruins, why stay here?"
"There's something I need to figure out about this place. You shouldn't be out and about here it's not safe." he remarked turning back to the work papers he had unboxed. "People around here aren't used to people like you."
"Oh they're used to vampires, you just don't know how they'll treat me."
'That's true, here vampires are seen as either salvation or an omen depending on the person you talk to. It's a huge mess as far as I can tell.' He sat down in his only chair and began reading one of the pages "I don't want to see you in the middle of a vampire turf war."
"I can handle myself." She stated confidently. "But, how bad does it really get?"
"Here the vampires are the mafia. People want the vampire's immortality so they pledge their allegiance to them in hopes of becoming one. The battles between warring mafias can get pretty ugly." He stated, pleased with Selene's understanding. "Because they drink human blood they are also seen as demons that need to be slain, and humans are not going to let a vampire get away if they want one killed. I don't want you involved in any of that."
She beamed with the thought that he was concerned for her.
He continued with "You're the best mind-mage on my team, I need you for this."
Well concerned for part of her at least. She decided to take a look around his new place but was amazed to find it highly unfurnished. No bed, no food, just work supplies. "Aren't you going to live here?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"You don't have anything that you need. How are you going to sleep, or eat?" She questioned still looking around.
"Food I can get at work, and as far as sleep..." He looked up from the paper he was reading and realized the only furniture he had was the chair he was sitting in and the table which currently was covered in all of the boxes he brought in earlier. "... I'll figure something out."
She sighed knowing that he wouldn't change his mind. She looked around his new home and admired the ornate metalworking on the furniture. Although he had decided to settle for one of the less pricey neighborhoods the crafting was still exquisite. "I guess you need to craft if you want to survive in a place like this."
He flipped the corner of his paper down and looked over the top of it at her "So you've read my notes on this place then?"
"Of course. Humans here can't cast spells, whether this is due to a genetic defect or a curse on this plane no one can say." She recited as if she was reading out of a textbook. "People here need to be metalworkers in some way or another if they are expected to survive as equals amongst the elves, goblins and especially the vampires of this world." She paced back and forth as she remembered his notes on the subject. "Whether they mine, craft, or wield they understand the need to be prepared without the use of magic. Humans who don't have that luxury align with other species for protection, normally vampires due to the aforementioned hope of immortality." Kai straightened his paper back out as if in understanding, she could see his head nod in approval. She looked around the room noting how desolate it was. "...You should come home."
"What?"
"Come home, after this job. You have less than a year here right? You've been gone so long, just come back." She rationalized, hoping he would understand. By home she meant Ravnica, another dimension where Selene lived. Selene was not a planeswalker herself, Kai had a device that allowed mind-mages to take control of someone in a different plane. She was still on Ravnica, but her mind was on Milark. The entire plane of Ravnica is covered in a self sustaining city. Due to the wild diversity of spells available to learn, its massive amounts of shops and wares, and its easy to find location Ravnica is the base of operations for many planeswalkers, Kai included.
He stopped reading his notes and recalled just how long it had been since he left. He was sure he could take some time off and go home. "Okay."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah, I have been gone too long." He thought for just a second. "In fact, would you mind helping speed things up?"
"Sure, what do you need?"
He tossed her a small pouch that jingled when she caught it. "Why don't you stay here?"
She was stunned for a second. "W-with you?"
"I was thinking instead of me."
'That figures.'
"You could stay here and take notes, which would leave me available to work. I'd stay here after I get my project started, but until then you can furnish the place however you want... Just make sure no one finds out you're a vampire."
She was happy about being trusted to be left on her own in this new place. "I won't let you down."
He was glad that that was settled but his thoughts of "home" reminded him of how they met.
