Sequel to: Detached

Sheldor finds more than he expected, or wanted.

Sheldor was not a patient man. You don't get to become the youngest Wizard ever at 8 by being patient. You don't become proficient at silent casting and earn the title of Archmage at 12 by being patient. You don't earn a second Archmage title at 16 for mastering a second school of magic by being patient. You don't become 'The Only Triple-Archmage' at Age 25 by being patient.

Sheldor was not patient. But seeing the unconscious woman in the middle of the summoning circle makes him think that perhaps he needed to learn to be patient.

Last month he had visited a Warlock school out of curiosity for the school of magic (He found it rather superfluous and redundant with far too many drawbacks) and while he felt overall disappointed by the showing of magic, there was one young warlock that surprised him, he would never tell him this of course, the young warlock who insisted on being called Wolowizard despite not being an actual Wizard was accompanied by a wooden nymph. Wolowizard told him that there was a pact for companionship with a nature spirit and Sheldor purchased the knowledge right then and there.

Sheldor would never reveal this to anyone but he was lonely. 35 years in this world and the only people he could call close were his mother, and his twin sister. Due to his desire for knowledge and learning he was rather separated from even those that called themselves his peers.

This spell for a companionship contract should help with that. Nature spirits were easy to get along with, they were comprised of Nature Mana and as such didn't need to eat or defecate. If one were to be crass about it they could even be called pets, though it depended on the level of sentience of each spirit. Nymphs were wise, Pixies were quick-witted, Lamias were wonderful assistants for people like healers, shop owners, etc. Succubus were a favorite for lonely old men…which Sheldor was not. If he wanted that type of companionship he could always visit 'Coming of Page', a rather exclusive bookstore that also offered pleasure services. Sheldor would never tell his mother but he had been a member of this establishment since he was 16.

He liked to read after all.

Focusing his thoughts on the matter at hand, Sheldor examines the woman currently occupying his floor. He quickly discards possibilities for the nature of this spirit. It can't be a Nymph, no leaves or bark visible in extremities, too big to be a Pixie, normal human legs so no Lamia, Mermaid, etc. For all intents and purposes she looked like a Human. He briefly considered the possibility of her being a Succubus but there were no horns, no prehensile tail and opening her eyelid revealed a Human green pupil and not the classic Cat-like red eye of the Succubus.

Feeling a little disappointed, Sheldor moved to his spot to wait for the woman to react. If Wolowizard had sold him a defective spell he would come to learn why so many nations refused to go to war with Sheldor, because it was true, he had his 'Triple-Archmage' title, but he was rather fond of the one given to him by the regular folk, 'Sheldor The Conqueror'.

Penny was not having a great week. And if she was honest with herself, she hadn't really had a great anything since Sheldon disappeared behind that dune a year ago.

Leonard still wanted to get married even after Sheldon had disappeared so she told him to suck an egg. She went to the boy's apartment and picked up everything labeled as Sheldon's and mailed it to Mrs. Cooper and Missy, alongside a letter that explained that everything was a collectible and probably worth a lot of money. She also provided them with Stuart's phone number.

Sheldon's work and home PC, laptop, backup phone, social media accounts, cloud storage accounts and even his Youtube channel were all nuked after a week of Sheldon's disappearance. Howard explained that Sheldon had a killswitch system and without him there to put the password everything was burned. Sheldon was paranoid. But then again, after seeing the disappointment in Raj and Leonard's face at the news of Sheldon's files being gone, maybe her Moonpie had the right idea after all.

She moved out of Los Robles into a hole in the wall studio apartment close to her office. Penny even tried to go out dating again but she was feeling empty inside, Sheldon was gone, Leonard, Howard and Raj were people she wasn't sure she wanted to see again. Bernadette and Amy had pretty much cut contact with Penny after she refused to stop searching for Sheldon. She briefly considered going home to Nebraska but she would rather jump in front of a bus than put herself through that.

Feeling truly alone she logged in to the only place where Sheldon still existed in one way. Age of Conan. She would use the DM function to 'talk' to Sheldon and today, a year after he disappeared she simply wrote: 'I miss you Moonpie, I wish I could see you Sheldor.'

Closing her laptop she went to get a glass of wine when she was overcome with an unexpected vertigo feeling, her shitty apartment suddenly turned into a carousel and darkness took her consciousness away.

The feeling of cold stone underneath her brings her back to the world of the living. She's thankful that she had opted for comfy and fluffy pajamas rather than skimpy because this floor is not very warm or welcoming. It is strangely clean tho.

Looking around her she notices that she's in stone building, for a panicked moment she fears that she was kidnapped and thrown in a basement 'Fucking Leonard' the thought is in her head before she can stop it. Leonard had not taken their breakup well. But she sees that wherever this is, there is a huge window looking outside, she can hear birds chirping so she's not trapped.

She does a triple check once she notices a man sitting on a huge chair a few feet away from her. He's completely focused on the book in his lap but the part that makes her brain screech to a halt is that this is Sheldon. Her Moonpie.

A second look makes her question that, this man looks like Sheldon but there is something that stops her from calling out immediately. This man has the same features but he's more muscular, his hair is longer but is neatly brushed and he actually has a short beard.

Her third glance shows that he's not wearing a comic book tee, or plaid pants. He's actually wearing what she imagines Sherlock Homes would wear to impress Irene Adler in that Robert Downey Jr. movie. Stylish and hot.

She knows that it's not him, not her Sheldon, but not having any other alternatives Penny decides to call out to him.

"Sheldon?."

Sheldor really needs to pay more attention to his surroundings, but he was home, he was in his spot and he was in the middle of a particularly interesting theory of how the current classification of dark vs light magic was wrong and they were both parts of the same energy. And then a voice yanked him out of it.

"Sheldon?."

Ah, this was interesting. This woman was clearly a nature spirit since she almost got his name right. That was a sign from the spell that the spirit was open for a pact. Well, this certainly made things easier, maybe he had discovered a new type of spirit.

Standing up to his full height and adjusting his clothes, Sheldor approached the summoning circle and the spirit within, and recited the speech as indicated in the book.

"Oh Spirit, I beseech you to listen to my request. I seek companionship and friendship, you will remain free to wander this world and I will provide hearth and shelter. I require that you acquiesce or reject my offer verbally and magically. I shall await your answer."

Sheldor felt that the speech was much too candid but he didn't want to ruin this chance. The foci used for this spell were both expensive and rare. He had the funds to try again but would rather not have to wait months for all of them to be sent to his tower.

Sheldor also made sure to keep his eyes on the ground in front of him, some spirits would take eye contact as a challenge and try to attack him. Thankfully the summoning circle acted as a protection measure as well, the spirits couldn't leave its confines unless they accepted the pact, and if they rejected the path they were immediately banished to their realm of origin. Sheldon knew that the protection runes in the circle could even stop a high grade demon so he was not worried if the spirit truly turned violent towards him.

When a pair of bare feet suddenly appeared in his vision Sheldor started to get a little worried. This was not supposed to happen, it was unheard of. Sheldor could feel cold sweat running down his back and he refused to look up at the face of the woman. She must be a demon king like this realm has never seen before to so easily break the protection runes.

"Hey!." He couldn't stop his body from jumping "Sheldon, look at me." The tone was angry but also strangely wistful?.

"I would not dare do such a thing My Lady. Lest my eyes be burned by your beauty and splendor." Sheldor knew he was done for if he displeased her so he decided for full honesty. Sheldor had never had a lot of interest in demon summoning but even he knew that those high ranking demons usually had powers that allowed them to see into the hearts of men.

"Sheldon, what the hell are you talking about? And why are you dressed like that? It's me, Penny. D-don't you recognize me?" Her voice broke at the end and Sheldor finally looked up.

He only saw a sad and lonely young woman.

Penny's day truly went from not great to possibly horribly bad. It took a while but this version of Sheldon had thought she was some sort of demon king at first as he had attempted to summon a nature spirit and well he got a Penny.

Sheldor, as he asked to be called, was a Wizard-oh sorry- The Wizard. Even in this version of the world he was an overachiever. Once he understood that she was just a woman and not a spirit of any kind she could see him get a little sad. Sheldor was more expressive than Sheldon so Penny had an easier time understanding his mood.

Penny also spent a good amount of time explaining alternate universes to Sheldor though she fears that her explanation was not a good one. But he at least understood that she knew a version of him before he disappeared.

"Was this other version of me at least the equivalent of a Triple-Archmage?" She hesitantly nodded because she truly did not know how to compare the two and Sheldor smiled, satisfied with the answer.

"Okay Sweetie, this was great (if it's not a dream), I am glad that I got to see a version of my friend. Now, how do I go back?" She saw him pause.

"…go back?" Oh no.

"Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh," it came out slowly, her gut already filling with dread "You know, go back to my own world."

"Ah, of course." Nothing more, he just stared at her. One minute, Two minutes, Three minutes."I have no idea." He finally said.

Of fraking course.

"Can't you just, Idon'tkno, do your magic thingy?"

"That's a great idea Penny, let's try the rejection chant for this summoning spell. Give me a moment to review the book. Ah, here it is. Ready?"

Penny nodded and closed her eyes, she tried to stay still, afraid that moving would somehow mess it up.

"Spirit, I reject your companionship. Begone, return to whence you came forth!" His voice was sure and confident.

After not feeling anything Penny opened her eyes and she was still in the same place, looking up at an embarrassed Sheldor.

"Allow me to try the most powerful banishment spell I know. I have never had to use this spell before and it's actually in a different language, one long dead."

Sheldor started chanting and she couldn't understand the words but she could feel the power. She could feel winds surrounding her and she closed her eyes in preparation of being transported. She didn't know if it would hurt or not but closing her eyes seemed like the best idea.

Sheldor's chanting got more intense and she actually felt as if she was flying for a moment, the winds were carrying her, she heard a thump noise and then Sheldor's voice stopped and her feet were touching the ground again.

No luck, she could still hear Sheldor gulping air as if he ran a marathon, but, no, she did feel different, she felt cold. A breeze between her legs made her open her eyes in shock and look down at herself. She was naked.

Her pajamas were strewn across the room and her panties were hanging from a chandelier above her.

Sheldor had not stopped looking at her so while glaring at him she kneeled and turned her back at him, trying to cover herself as much as possible. This finally seemed to make Sheldor move and taking his coat he used it to cover her. She still glared at him.

"Ah, my apologies. From everything that I have read this was not supposed to occur." He was flushing and couldn't meet her eyes.

Penny took a deep breath, Sheldor, just like Sheldon was not a creep. He literally was just trying to get her home, even if she no longer knew what that word meant. Be patient Penny.

"Penny, were you aware that someone doodled on your buttocks?."

Then again, patience was overrated. Sheldor needed to learn about Junior Rodeo.

Mary was a devout follower of Helio (May his light purify the world). So when her little Shellybean started taking an interest in the books at church she was elated, he was only 5 and already reading.

She didn't realize that the church doubled as a communal library in their little village so it came as a shock when her little Shellybean suddenly summoned a fireball one day when playing outside. Poor Snowball, at least he didn't suffer.

While she tried to push Sheldor to study about Helio and his light he instead chose to keep learning about Wizard stuff, which wasn't exactly against Helio's teachings but she still felt that it was wrong. It was only because George told her to not limit their child that she relented.

But she feels it's a little unfair, she lost her child. He was praised as a prodigy and was taken all the way to Adilin to study under the Archmages there. They told her that being a Wizard was a lifetime commitment, that it would take all of his lifetime to try and reach Archmage.

Sheldor was one at 12.

Mary had hoped that meant he would be back home but then her little Shellybean decided to travel all the way north up to Allebelle to continue studying. She received a similar speech as last time. Mastering a second school of magic was a lifetime endeavor, there were only a handful of Wizards that had done it and all were older than 50.

Sheldor was back in her house by the time he was 16.

Mary tried, she really tried to understand her youngest son but what hope she had when not even Melissa could, and she was the boy's twin. They did show him love, because as much as he denied it, by the time he was 20 she could see a loneliness set deep in her son's soul.

The boy could end a war with a wave of his hand but was clueless about how to approach someone for small talk. Mary worried about him, so she prayed and prayed and prayed some more to Helio to show her son the way. She even prayed to her dead husband (May Helio have him in his corn fields.).

So when her Shellybean showed up on her door one day with a blond woman by his side Mary almost jumped from joy. She couldn't understand much but it seemed her boy had somehow dragged this young woman from her home without meaning to.

So of course Mary made him apologize properly, in front of her.

Sheldor had brought her here for a full wardrobe since the garments she was wearing looked well-worn and the girl, Penny, admitted they were used only for sleeping. Since Sheldor started earning money (just by existing it seemed) he had made her little seamstress shop into the biggest clothing store in the village, which had also seen a dramatic growth as the home of the 'Triple-Archmage'. He had even taken Melissa to learn under actual high-class seamstresses and then dropped her right here with her and told them to run the shop. That boy had more of his daddy in him than he ever cared to admit.

As she measured and planned Penny's clothes she didn't miss the easy banter her son had with Penny. Penny was a no-nonsense kinda girl and to her it looked like it was exactly what her high and mighty son needed. Later that night Melissa shared her opinion that maybe Shellybean had found someone just for him.

She was lucky that Sheldor had built his Wizard tower in the village so she could see him and Penny often.

And if she does a fertility offering at Helio's temple, well now, no one has to know.

Things are going well for three months. Penny is a wonderful young woman and she actually had a knack for performance. While Sheldor looked for a way for Penny to return home she made fast friends with Alicia, the bard. And soon enough both Penny and Alicia would perform two man acts and plays out in the city square.

Her Shellybean, the boy that said 'The arts are a waste of time and talent.' went ahead and built a theater for Penny. He claimed it was to protect her from the elements and for added security but Mary didn't miss the way he looked at Penny, she had seen that look before, when he first summoned that fireball. But this time both his eyes and smile were as soft as silk.

She didn't miss the way Penny would look at her boy as well. That girl looked at him like he was a tree full of fruit and she was a monkey. She made another fertility offering the day she catches that look.

And then it happens, she is walking up to Sheldor's tower when she hears the screaming.

"I looked everywhere! Every school of magic, every Archmage, every avenue leads me to nowhere! I don't want to lie to you, that's why I told you. There's no way back to your home." Mary has reached the door but she's not opening it. Her son's voice breaks at the end and he sounds truly heartbroken to be unable to help Penny.

"I'm not mad about that! I know you've been killing yourself trying to help me!"

"Then why are you mad?!"

"Because I don't want to leave!"

Mary decides that it is better to leave them for now. On her way home she stops by Helio's temple and makes a small offering, this time for Penny. That she finds peace and a new home.

The next time she sees the both of them there's a closeness between them and the looks they give each other are not done in hiding. And Mary is happy for the both of them.

Mary's hands are full, each hand holds the tiny hand of a 5 year old.

"Meemaw? Why are we staying with you tonight?" A blond girl asks her and she looks down at eyes that remind her of her son.

Penny had been the one to teach the children to call her that, Mary loved it.

"Well my little Honeybean, that is because your parents are going to be busy today."

"Busy doing what?" This boy looked so much like his father that Mary had already called him Shellybean several times, much to the boy's displeasure. But his eyes and attitude were all his mother's.

"They're…praying so you can get a little brother or sister."

"Ohhhhh"
"Ahhhhh"

"That's why you're coming to Helio's temple with me, I'll teach you how to make an offering so you can have a healthy baby brother or sister."

Both of her grandchildren nod and Mary smiles at them. Her heart has never felt fuller.

I couldn't leave Penny on her own.

Also if you know where this Helio is from then you're an intrepid hero as well.