(A/N: What! An update! Yeah, I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I updated last, and I'm really sorry. Hopefully it'll be at least somewhat more frequent.
Blake: I don't really plan to read any of the official books; I've heard mostly bad things about them in general. It's not so much that I like pit fighting, but it lends itself well to original characters. Thanks for correcting me about The First, but I think I'll leave this the way it is. Just assume Yogini was wearing some kind of magical nose plug.
Jaymes: Thanks a lot for your comments. I'll try to update more often.
grondring: My original summary admitted that the story was a bit cliché, but then I didn't get many reviews…plus, I hope this is suitably original given the somewhat trite plot devices.
R-Krulle: I'm just coming back to Magic as well. I wasn't that impressed with what I heard about the whole Otaria storyline either, but as I said, it's a nice place to develop original characters…)
Chapter 4: Adaptation
"Do you understand all this?" Hewe asked, after about a half hour of explanation.
The answer was no, not at all. But Raonull nodded weakly, staring closely at the Shivan Dragon card for the twentieth time. "So the humans in this world compensate for their lack of magical ability by playing card games?"
Hewe was at a loss here, but Owen chuckled and nodded. "I guess so, Raonull. You never played a game where you pretended to be someone else?"
"Actually, no. The games I play are-"
"You're a pit fighter?" Hewitt gasped, beaming. "Oh, I would love to do that! You get to be-"
"It's a very serious thing," Raonull scowled. "I just call it a game because everyone else does, but in reality it's more dangerous than anything you humans could imagine."
"I wouldn't be so optimistic," Owen replied grimly. Hewe nodded to placate his friend, but seemed much more interested in what Raonull had to say.
"The clerics that work for the Cabal are constantly working," Raonull continued, "I know one of them; he hasn't slept in weeks, and-what!"
Raonull leapt up again, facing the door menacingly, listening to the eerie chimes echo in the still air.
"It's the doorbell. Sit down," Hewe sighed. "Actually, scratch that. Go into the bathroom and close the door. No need to advertise the fact that you're here."
Raonull nodded and looked around, trying not to seem too helpless.
"That one, Raonull," Owen couldn't hide a grin.
"And Raonull," Hewitt whispered urgently as he reached for the doorknob, "don't touch anything. Ah, Phil, good to see you."
A man looking strikingly similar to Hewitt in dress and stature breezed through the threshold just as the bathroom door conspicuously slammed shut.
"You know my friend Owen," Hewitt said, chuckling nervously.
"Sure, sure. And there's someone else here, too?" Phil asked, nodding towards the bathroom.
"No, actually that was just…er…the wind. Here, sit down."
Owen stood awkwardly as the two men sat down across from each other and pulled out neatly sleeved Magic decks.
"Owen, Phil comes over every so often to play me in Magic," Hewitt explained, somewhat superfluously.
"Unannounced?" Owen wondered, trying not to sound overly surprised.
"Sure, you have to catch people when they're not in the right mood for a match, you know?" Phil's answer was accompanied by a jovial wink; Owen could find a response to neither.
-
"How do we know what we're looking for exactly?" Purcell grumbled impatiently. "How long until we decide we're in the wrong dimension?"
"Oh, stop it," Yogini shot back. "If the locals saw a dragon appear here earlier, this has to be the right place. There's certainly not enough mana in the air for that kind of thing to happen often."
Nodding, Chenoa added, "Something about this place just feels strange to me. The sooner we find Raonull the happier I'll be."
"Me too," agreed Haritha. "It seems almost stifling; as if someone doesn't want us to-"
"Stop! THIEF!"
The four mages whirled around to see a young blonde woman shrieking at a boy wearing a large cap and carrying a very pink purse. They looked at each other tentatively, then Haritha shot his arm out.
Cracks began to appear in the pavement, then suddenly a huge vine erupted from the sidewalk. As it wrapped tightly around the youth's free arm, Haritha gestured menacingly for the purse. The terrified child tossed it over, opening his mouth wordlessly, and raced away as soon as the vine was unsummoned.
"Sorry I can't fix your trail," Haritha said loudly to the astonished passersby. Turning to the others, he added quietly, "We should leave."
-
Excellent, Jelani mused, they have revealed themselves. In this subdued environment, any use of magic was blatantly obvious to nearby mages. It won't be long before they'll be too far separated from Raonull to ever find him.
He knew he had to play his hand now, before they got too close to each other. Browsing disdainfully through the wardrobe of the previous owner, he prepared for a walk.
-
"How did you do that?" Purcell wondered incredulously. "I could barely summon enough mana to fire off a Lightning Bolt!"
"Wild Growth isn't much more costly," Haritha replied modestly, "but we're going to have to adapt to this. Jelani certainly will, and Raonull apparently has."
With a nod, Yogini put in, "If he's nearby, Jelani will probably know we're here now."
"I know, but I had no choice," Haritha replied. "I couldn't just-"
"This way," Chenoa decided arbitrarily, pointing down a long and busy street. "I think we're close."
"Yeah, but close to whom?" Purcell muttered. No one heard him.
-
As Phil and Hewe cut each other's decks and drew their hands, each whistling appreciatively, Owen couldn't hold in his anxiety any longer.
"Do you really think this is a good time for this, Hewe?" he asked pointedly.
"Of course it is," Hewitt replied just as emphatically as he played a land and a Bonesplitter. "We're all free; nothing's going on, what could-"
"That doesn't look like the card you showed me before," Owen stated, exasperatedly trying to change the subject.
"Oh…no, Magic cards look different now after the latest base set and expansion." Phil put in, sounding important.
"Latest expansion?" a voice came from the bathroom. Owen quickly cleared his throat and said, "Ahem…latest expansion?"
Seeing that Phil was beginning to look suspicious, Hewitt answered, "Yeah, the storyline we were talking about before is actually outdated; now there's a whole new story with brand new and powerful cards that-"
"We must leave immediately!" Raonull exclaimed, thrusting the bathroom door open and glaring at Hewitt. "Why didn't you tell me this first?"
There was a very long moment of silence. Phil then said, "Hewe, there appears to be a strange man in your house."
"Uh, yeah," Hewe stuttered, glaring discreetly at Raonull. "Yeah, he needed to, uh, use my phone, and then he had to go to the bathroom, so-"
"It kind of sounded like he knew you," Phil interrupted, his voice indecipherable.
Either ignorant to or uninterested in Hewitt's fierce looks, Raonull continued urgently, "Where is the nearest market for these cards?"
"You mean the card store?" Phil answered first, always trying to be helpful. "Oh, a couple of miles."
"Is that far?" Raonull whispered to Owen. Owen nodded uncomfortably; he had a feeling he knew what was in store. "Lead me. You two may remain and continue your match."
At a loss for words, Phil watched as Owen shuffled uncomfortably outside. Owen yelped as Raonull broke into a run as soon as his feet reached the sidewalk.
Phil regained his voice soon after and demanded, "What's going on, Hewe?"
Hewitt watched uncomfortably as the two men raced away from his house. "Uh…yeah, I was trading with him before; that's why my cards are all out. He, uh, likes to get in character."
"Why did you pretend he wasn't here?" Phil wondered, not entirely satisfied.
"Wouldn't you?" Hewitt replied quickly, picking up his cards again. "Come on, you're just trying to distract me because you're losing."
"I'm trying to distract you?" Phil repeated, but he sounded more bemused than indignant. The game continued.
-
"Was that really necessary?" Owen panted, trying to keep up with the otherworldly mage.
"Yes," Raonull replied, not sounding at all out of breath.
After a short pause, Owen growled, "OK, why was that really necessary?"
"I'll explain when we get there," Raonull answered, waiting at an intersection for Owen's direction. "I need to save my breath."
"You need to-" Owen began, but he couldn't find the words to continue his thought. "You don't-hey, stop!"
Honks and screeches ensued as Raonull stopped, bewildered, in the middle of a busy street. Cringing at the cacophony, he resisted the urge to Shatter the offending artifacts and returned sheepishly to Owen.
"Look, I know you're in a hurry, but in this city, the cars kind of expect you to stop for them."
"Cars," Raonull repeated, trying to adapt to the environment. "Why didn't you warn me about this before?"
"You just-" Owen once again found himself speechless. "Never mind. Slow down a little, would you? We're almost there."
-
"I think we should change our clothes." Chenoa suggested. "The wardrobes in this dimension seem quite different from ours, and since we already revealed we're not quite from around here…"
"Good point," Haritha nodded thoughtfully. "The problem is, all of these shops look the same. I don't know how one can determine what they're actually selling."
"We could just-"
"No." Yogini interrupted her dueling partner quickly; she had a feeling she knew what the red mage would suggest. "We need to keep our profiles low. I'll just set up an illusion for now so it will look like we're dressed normally, but we don't know how long we're going to-" She stopped abruptly before she could finish her thought. Looking around anxiously at her allies, she cringed and quickly added, "I'm sorry - I didn't mean that-"
"Jelani's presumably expecting to find a way back," Purcell suggested, trying to seem optimistic.
Chenoa frowned. "I doubt it. Why do you think he wanted to come here in the first place?"
"What do you-" Haritha started to ask, then gasped audibly. "You don't think he wants to-"
"Take over the world?" Chenoa completed dryly. "He is a black mage, you know."
"I know white mages and black mages don't exactly get along, but don't you think that's going a bit too far?" Yogini wondered, glancing around to gauge the opinions of the others.
Suddenly, all four of them snapped to attention. A massive burst of magical energy several miles to the south practically begged for their attention.
"Guess we're about to find out," Purcell grinned, letting lightning course through his fingers.
-
Jelani strolled casually down a different street, checking around for any sign of magic. He could only hope that the mages had not found each other yet; he needed to find one group first. Pausing to listen for any signs of dragons in the air, a large ornate advertisement in a store window grabbed his attention. He walked over to confirm what he had seen: "BUY MAGIC HERE!"
(A/N: What was the burst of energy? What is Jelani up to? Will Raonull and Owen reach him in time? What does Phil suspect? How long will it be until I update again? Find out…um…when I update again.)