Chapter Two

Getting by

'A human from another world, how peculiar.' Stated the tall, BLUE woman, with glowing silvery eyes, hooves and horns.'Hello there, strange traveller, I am a Custodian of Time. I see that Mistress Chronormu got to you before me.'

She was wearing a white silvery robe that made him wonder whether it was made of moonlight or not, that was how pure the color was.

'Well then, Outlander Sirius Black, let me show you about the Caverns of Time. Try to keep up.We do not know if the Caverns of Time have always been accessible to mortals. Truly, it is impossible to tell as the Timeless One is in perpetual motion, changing our timeways as he sees fit. What you see now may very well not exist tomorrow. You may wake up yesterday and have no memory of this place.'

Sirius' eyebrows shot up as he listened to the woman, albeit walking with a fast pace, trying to keep up with her long stride.

'It is strange, I know... Most mortals cannot actually comprehend what they see here, as often, what they see is not anchored within their own perception of reality. There are only two truths to be found here: First, that time is chaotic, always in flux, and completely malleable and second, perception does not dictate reality. As custodians of time we watch over and care for Nozdormu's realm. The master is away at the moment, which means that attempts are being made to dramatically alter time. The master never meddles in the affairs of mortals but instead corrects the alterations made to time by others. He is reactionary in this regard.'

She kept walking, showing him about the vast main chamber of the Caverns of Time.

'For normal maintenance of time, the Keepers of Time are sufficient caretakers. We are able to deal with most ordinary disturbances. I speak of little things such as rogue mages changing something in the past to elevate their status or wealth in the present.These tunnels that you see are called timeways. They are infinite in number. The ones that currently exist in your reality are what the master has deemed as "trouble spots". These trouble spots may differ completely in theme but they always share a cause. That is, their existence is a result of the same temporal disturbance.'

She stopped before one such entrance, that gradually appeared to have grown into a forest region right out of the sandy rocks of the cavern.

'This timeway is in great disarray! We have agents inside right now attempting to restore order. What little information I have indicates that Thrall's freedom is in jeopardy. A malevolent organization known as the Infinite Dragonflight is trying to prevent his escape. I fear without outside assistance, all will be lost.'

She moved on.

'We have very little information on this timeway.Sa'at has been dispatched and is currently inside. The data we have gathered from his corresponence is that the Infinity Dragonflight are once again attempting to alter time. Could it be that the opening of the Dark Portal is being targeted for sabotage? Let us hope not...'

Sirius noticed how she spoke of places and people of which he had no idea. He guessed that indeed he was now in a completely different world, even if the sheer idea seemed unreal to him. He hoped that this Nozdormu person, the presence he had felt, would return and set him straight , back on his own world.

'This timeway collapsed and reformed. The result was Stratholme of yore. What could possibly be happening inside? The timeways are currently ranked in order from lest catastrophic to most catastrophic. Note that they are all classified as catastrophic, meaning that any single one of these timeways collapsing would mean that your world would end. We only classify them in such a way so that the heroes and adventurers that are sent here know which timeway best suits their abilities.'

The man shuddered at the eery feeling he had from the place. This was the place that less than half an hour ago he woke up. He wondered if such structures worked in his own world, and a chill ran down his spine at the thought of how carelessly wizards and witches were abusing time and space.

'Finally, this is the timeway leading to the events at Mount Hyjal. All we know of this timeway is that it leads to Mount Hyjal. The Infinite Dragonflight have gone to great lengths to prevent our involvement. We know next to nothing, mortal. Soridormi is currently attempting to break through the timeway's defenses but has thus far been unsuccessful.'

She then lead him towards the small tavern building where Chromie had left him.

'Our time has run out, Outlander. I wish you good luck, Sirius Black, if such a thing even existed.'

With that she left a much confused Sirius, who soon enough seated himself at one of the tables.

'Welcome to the Tavern of Time, friend. You look like you could use a drink.' the tavern keeper, who Sirius later learned his name was Alexston Chrome, smiled warmly at him.

'Yeah, I guess I can use one, but...'

'Don't worry yourself about money, friend. You are one of the Displaced, aren't you?' Alexston placed a glass before him and filled it with the contents of a skin of dwarven stout.'It's strong but it'll do it's job.'

And with that the two exchanged stories.

'So, what about you? How did you end up here, anyways?'Sirius asked after he told Chrome his story.

'I used to be one of the more promising mages of Kirin Tor, until I got into my head to deal with temporal magic.