Jayson staggered against the wall as he came to in the new reality, shivering in the thick cold fog and becoming embarrassingly aware that he was wearing only breeches.
'Here you go lad.' A murky figure said softly holding out a bundle of clothes.
Jayson took the clothes and recognised the voice and smell of the figure. 'Sweeper?' he said timorously as he quickly got dressed.
Lu Tze appeared from the fog, still a small wizened old man in faded orange monk's robes and a small rolled cigarette perched in the corner of his grinning lips.
'Back again lad?' he said knowingly, a small spiral of smoke trailing from between his yellowed teeth.
'Looks like... but why are you here? I thought Lobsang said you wasn't to be involved?' Jayson asked his voice muffled slightly as he pulled the shirt over his head.
'Well I'm here to help a little, give you a little info and be strictly hands off. That is if you need the help.' Lu Tze said with a smile and a wink.
'Yes I do...' Jayson said humbly.
'Good.' Lu Tze said nodding. 'Glad to see you've finally remembered Rule Number One, not so much of the death threats now you're not so protected by Time huh?'
Jayson flushed with embarrassment at the memory. 'That's not who I want to be anymore. Plus I'm grateful you didn't give me a physical reminder of Rule Number One back then.' Jayson said dryly giving a little nervous laugh.
'Pity because that's who you'll need to be here. Always pay heed to your elders lad and you'll keep out of trouble' Lu Tze said gazing out through the fog as he took another drag on his yellowing cigarette.
'So why am I here?' Jayson asked.
'I take it you mean specifically rather than philosophically?' Lu Tze replied with a dry chuckle and continued 'You have to find Wendy and make sure she doesn't come to harm.
'Wendy?' Jayson asked perplexed.
'Nothing wrong with that name... it's a good name.' Lu Tze retorted.
'It's also not much to go by.' Jayson replied.
'You'll know her when you see her. By the way, you don't exist here. In this world Jayson Ironfoundersson was never born so be careful what you say and who you talk to.' Lu Tze added.
'I see... I guess that's another reason they wanted me here, less problems with quantum if I can't bump into myself huh?' Jayson replied his eyes accustomed to the gloom.
'That's right the less bloody quantum the better.' Lu Tze replied spitting. He then grabbed his broom from against the wall. 'Now it's up to you lad. Make sure you get this one done like you did the last one.' He told him with a friendly nod and faded into the mist and was gone.
Jayson wandered the streets, sniffing occasionally as he tried to get his bearing in the thick fog. The scent of the Sweeper had faded completely now meaning he was all alone in an unknown world, which wasn't a new sensation to him. The previous five months had been simply a string of world after world, all connected by the fact that there would be the Undead War in its future. He had started simply back then killing the three he needed to restore the balance of important lives in the hope that it would lessen the damage although he knew they didn't all work out as the timeline he had come to inhabit had for he hadn't prepared The Watch for what was to come in the earlier worlds.
But then as each world passed and his knowledge and confidence grew he breezed through the worlds taking on The Watch itself to make it known what was to come, probably with Lobsang's quiet disapproval. He had no regrets about the way he acted back then, he needed to get the job done so that every trace of every possibility of how that future played out to be was erased except in him if only to prevent it reoccurring, but now he was free of that pain that had shaped him, the Jayson that had scoured the dark times from the multi-verse no longer had free rein of his personality and he felt all the better for it. He just hoped that if he allowed the old him to the surface he'd be able to put him back.
Jayson was so deep in thought that he was no longer cautious, no longer sniffing the air as he ambled down narrow streets, stone houses looming around him. He walked around a corner and was stunned as someone came running full pelt into him, rebounding off him and falling to the floor. Jayson wheezed, winded as he looked down at the figure in a tatty, faded red robe, a pointed hat whose point was bent downwards, sequins and stars falling off it as they shook their head, dazed.
'A wizard?' Jayson thought to himself as he tried to get his voice back to ask if they were alright when there was a sound of numerous, rapid footsteps and something launched itself from the mist behind the wizard at Jayson.
The thing slammed into Jayson's chest knocking him onto the back, pain flaring through his whole torso as he breathlessly tried to flail at the thing, which for all the world looked like a wooden trunk with hundreds of feet.
He succeeded in pushing it off him, his hands trampled by the feet as they kept stomping down on him, finally getting a gasp of breath before the thing tried jumping on him again.
'Down!' a feeble voice cried out and the thing waddled off away from Jayson to the owner of the voice, its lid creaking reproachfully.
'Uh... what is that?' Jayson groaned, sitting up and looking into the wizard's face, his thin face and scraggily beard novel to Jayson whose limited experience of wizards led him to believe they were all round with huge beards that could be used as a scarf.
'I call it the Luggage.' The wizard replied.
'Protective isn't it?' Jayson said standing up and stretched his sore shoulders, the Luggage jumping up to snap at his hand with its lid.
Jayson quickly pulled his arms in. 'Vicious too.'
The wizard sighed 'Very.' He replied.
'So who are you and where were you running to?' Jayson asked keeping a wary eye on the Luggage.
'Rincewind and it's not to but from that's important.' The wizard replied glancing nervously over his shoulder.
'Why were you running? You're a wizard you could just use magic to stop anyone or thing hurting you, or maybe let the Luggage stamp it into a bloody pulp.' Jayson said dryly with a slight humorous smile.
'I find it safer to run at the first sign of trouble.' Rincewind answered not returning the smile. 'You're not a hero are you?' he asked furtively.
'What!? No just a little lost and looking for someone.' Jayson replied confused.
Rincewind seemed to relax very slightly 'Good, you can never be too sure... don't want to be pulled into another adventure.' He muttered.
'Right...' Jayson drawled.
The Luggage fidgeted, its feet doing a little bored jig at the moment's silence.
'So any idea where we are?' Jayson finally asked.
'Well the Drum's down the road. Hopefully the usual brawl will be over by now.' Rincewind said pointing back the way he came.
'Right so fancy a drink?' Jayson said smiling.
Rincewind frowned and asked cautiously 'Why do you want to take me for a drink?'
'Well like I said I'm lost and I need a kind of guide...' Jayson started saying.
Rincewind was gone before he had finished the sentence, leaving a parting in the mist as he shot off up the street, the Luggage giving Jayson a warning creak before loping off after him.
'Okay...' Jayson muttered to himself shaking his head and headed in the direction of the Drum, hopefully he could get some information there.
He stood outside the broken door of the Drum, a couple of bodies groaning in the doorway by his feet. 'I guess the brawl's over then.' He thought to himself gazing into the darkness within and then surreptitiously knelt by the semi-conscious drinkers and felt for their money pouches, taking one and emptying another into it. 'Sorry gents but I need the funds.' He whispered softly and stood walking into the gloom.
There was further groaning bodies lying around, some others just lying happily on their backs with an empty glass in hand. Broken tables and stools littered the rotten rush covered ground between bodies and the room was faintly lit by braziers on the wall.
There was a figure behind the bar wiping glasses whilst a hunched figure sat at the bar holding a bowl of peanuts. The hunched figure turned to Jayson, it's nostrils flaring wildly and it bared its teeth at him.
'An ape? Haven't I seen him before?' Jayson thought to himself and his mind was cast back to his original youth, back in the University Library.
There was a painting on the wall of a grinning orang-utan above the main desk in the Unseen Library when Jayson used to slip in and read about a better past. The plaque gave the name of the ape as simply "The Librarian" who had seemed to have disappeared a fear years before. The Librarian was the one responsible for rescuing a lot of non-magical books and storing them in the Library during the war and revolts, which had enabled Jayson the possibility of learning all about where he had come from and about the world his parents had lived in before they had gone. He sometimes wondered whether the Librarian had died like the other wizards believed or, especially during the times when he heard things creeping in the library, that he had merely retreated into the safety of the maze of shelves deep with the Library.
Back in the present Jayson raised his hands in a submissive gesture and kept his eyes on the ape. 'You're the Librarian of Unseen University right?' he said softly, the ape's hackles lowering slightly.
'I guess you know what I am but I'm just here for a drink and maybe a little help okay?' Jayson said taking a few intrepid steps forward.
The Librarian grinned, it's nostrils no longer flaring as it pushed a stool Jayson's way.
'Thanks.' Jayson said returning the smile as he sat down, resting his hands on the bar.
'So what will you be having?' the barman Hibiscus Dunelm asked looking up from the glass in his hands for the first time. 'Not that it matters since all I've got is ale after these buggers broke all my bottles.' He added.
'A pint of ale then, and one for the ape.' Jayson said graciously placing a stolen silver coin on the bar.
The Librarian grinned and proffered the bowl of peanuts to Jayson. 'No thanks' Jayson answered, shaking his head.
The Librarian shrugged his shoulders and took the bowl back crushing the shells of the peanuts in its huge fist and swallowing the nuts within and spitting the shells onto the floor.
'Hey!' Hibiscus complained, placing the first pint before Jayson.
'Oook?' the Librarian replied apologetically.
'Just don't do it again.' Hibiscus replied sternly and placed another pint before the Librarian.
Jayson drank the pint trying not to grimace at the taste. He had drawn a blank in the Drum, there was no one conscious to ask questions of, he didn't understand the Librarian enough yet and Hibiscus looked the silent type, beside what would they know about a woman even he had no idea of?
'Well I guess I'd better be off... find somewhere to sleep for the night...' Jayson said slightly slurred.
'You got no where to go lad?' Hibiscus asked with fake concern.
'I'll be alright.' Jayson said realising the ale had gone to his head.
'Nice meeting you.' Jayson then said to the Librarian who gave a non-committal
'Oook' in reply and Jayson wandered off out into the foggy streets in a mild warm haze.
He hadn't gotten far when three shadowy figures detached from an alley and produced sharp blades.
'Good evening sir... if you'd be so kind to notice that we outnumber you and have weapons you will then proceed to give us the contents of your pouch.' One of the figures said with mock geniality.
'Thieves' Guild?' Jayson asked swaying slightly.
'No, we like to get a full share for our work.' another figure said beside him.
'Well I haven't really got time for all this.' Jayson replied and gave them a slow grin, bearing his teeth.
The three figures took an uncertain step back but soon recovered. 'Werl I guess we'd better make it quick then.' One of them said and went to slash at Jayson with the knife in his hand.
Jayson side-stepped and grabbed the mugger's arm, spinning him round and throwing him into the wall where he went limp and slid down to the ground.
The other two figures lunged at Jayson and he reached up and slammed their heads together with a bony crunch and both of them slumped groaning.
Jayson looked down at the figures and smiled to himself... now this was something that was familiar to him.