Callum was awakened by the smell of bacon, eggs, and sausage. He found himself laying on a couch of some kind, with a blanket placed on him. His mind was a bit foggy, with the only thing he remembered was that he, Rayla, his aunt, and Kazi were transported to a world that was quite different from theirs. That he met this man, and then they were looking at a mirror. After that everything went dark.
"Rise and shine, kid," Indy said, drinking some black liquid from his mug, "Don't really know what you guys eat in your world, so I made some Eggs with Bacon and Sausage.
"Thank you," Callum said, as he was getting up. He felt his head throbbing with pain, as he put his hands on his temple out of instinct.
"No problem, kid. But you should take it easy. Whatever that Arravos guy did to you, it must've taken a toll on your body," Indy said.
"I will," Callum said. He looked around and saw that he was alone with the man. "Where's…?"
"Your friends, they are getting themselves ready. Interesting people, never really thought that I will need to teach them how to use a faucet and showers," Indy explained, chuckling a bit.
"Sir," Callum was about to say.
"Kid, you do not really have to be formal with me," Indy said, "Just call me Indiana or Indy for short.".
"Indy, does magic not exist in this world?" Callum asked, "Like, when we arrived, I did not feel any magic in the environment. I cannot feel the animals that live in this area."
"Unfortunately kid, magic does not exist. It is stuff of myth and stories. But I have experienced stuff that is quite unworldly if you can say so," Indy said.
"Like what?" Callum asked.
"Um, I found the cup of Christ and saw a man turned into a skeleton right before my eyes," Indy said, "I fought against forces of nature that one can say are supernatural and I have seen things that some people will not be able to comprehend."
"Do you believe in magic?" Callum asked.
"Not really, no. I am a man of science and fact, and sometimes through my adventures, I always connect it to some factual thing," Indy said, "But it's not always what I believe in, but how hard it is to believe it."
"This has to be some of the most comfortable clothes I have ever worn," Rayla said, as she was coming into the hallway.
"Looks like your friend is ready. You should get up and get ready too, if you want to join us," Indy said.
"For what?" Callum asked.
"I have a class today that I have to teach and then afterwards we are going to talk to a buddy of mine and see if we can get preparations for our expedition," Indy said.
Rayla comes to the room, her hair done up in a nice ponytail. She was wearing a button up flannel, with long khaki pants. For once in a lifetime, she felt very relaxed.
"You humans do have some of the coolest things," Rayla said, as she walked towards the kitchen, "I never knew water can come out like that, and you can change it from cold to hot. Are you sure magic isn't real?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. It all comes down to science," Indy said.
"Well this science thing is pretty cool," Rayla said. The young elf catches a whiff of the meal that was prepared. "That smells so good," she continued, "What is it?"
"Egg, bacon, and sausage," Indy said, "There is also some coffee freshly brewed if you want some."
"Coffee?" Rayla asked.
"A bitter drink made from coffee beans, helps keep your energy up," Indy explained.
"Well, whatever it is, it smells delicious. Thank you very much, Indy," Rayla said, gratefully.
"No problem, kid, where are Kazi and Amaya?" Indy asked.
"They are still getting ready," Rayla said, as she started stuffing her mouth with the food.
"Gotcha," Indy said.
After Indy showed Callum how the faucet and shower works, Indy went back to the table and took out the syllabus he had for his class. He was taking a look at it and started finalizing his lecture. Today's class was on Medieval England, more specifically, myths and legends. Rayla looked towards the American with curiosity in her eyes.
"What's that?" she asked, with food in her mouth.
"Just notes for my lecture," Indy said, "Today's class is on the King Arthur legend, more specifically, on the Two Holy Weapons."
"Two Holy Weapons?" Rayla asked, as she swallowed her food.
"In King Arthur folklore, there are these two swords that once were thought to be blessed by God himself. There is Caliburn, Excalibur, and Clarent. Clarent was known as the sword of peace, as Arthur used it in knighting ceremonies. Caliburn, also known as Exacalibur and the Sword of the Stone, which legend says whoever pulls from it will be the King of England. It was also known as the Sword of War as Arthur carried it into battles. Interesting thing about Caliburn was that in legend, whoever wore the Scabbard of Caliburn and carried the sword was protected by its power," Indy explained.
"Does this Caliburn still exist?" Rayla asked.
"Yes, actually. A good friend of mine is the last known person to inherit this powerful sword," Indy said.
Indy thought for a moment, and then he got up from his seat, walking towards his library. He was scanning through the books, looking through the spine. Kazi and Amaya walk in, both feeling refreshed. Indy found the book he was looking for as he grabbed it and carried it to the table. Placing it onto the table, Indy opened the book to a page on the Bifrost and Heimdall.
"What's this?" Kazi asked.
"Possibly, our first clue to what is one of the keys," Indy said, "There is a story about Bifrost and Heimdall. Heimdall is known as the watchman of the gods and is also the protector of Bifrost. Now interesting enough, Heimdall has this sword called the Hofuo, which grants the user to shift into different realms and worlds. If we are able to find this sword, we might be able to get an edge."
" Where would this sword be ?" Amaya signed.
"That I do not know, however, I might know someone who can help locate it," Indy said, "Anyways, we should get going here pretty soon. My class starts in an hour, and I do want to introduce you to a colleague of mine."
"Wait, we get to see a human class?" Kazi asked.
"Sure, if you want," Indy said. He then noticed the antlers and said, "However, that might attract some unwanted attention."
The elves were confused, however Indy pointed towards their antlers. "We need to find a way to hide those," Indy said.
"But wouldn't we go unnoticed since it is what you guys call Halloween?" Kazi asked.
"That was yesterday, today is different so people will definitely notice. Why do you think I gave you these clothes," Indy said.
Indy thought for a moment. An idea popped in his mind, as he went to his room, passing by Callum who was getting out of the bathroom, and grabbed two bandanas. Walking back, Indy gave the bandannas to the elves.
"Bring your hairs up and tie these around it. It should cover those antlers, and at least make it look like you guys are from a distant land," Indy said.
The elves did as they were told, pulling their hair up and using the bandanas to wrap up in a nice hairdo. Indy was right about the hairdo hiding the antlers as only the top was faintly visible. Callum looked at his girlfriend and was speechless to see the different look on her.
"Now that we have that taken care of, we should really get going," Indy said.
"Oooh, are we going to ride in that mechanical horse of yours again?" Kazi asked, excitedly.
"Kazi, like I said before, it's an automobile, and yeah, we are," Indy said, chuckling to himself.
Amaya, Callum, Kazi, and Rayla looked out of place as they followed Indy inside the college. Even though they were wearing the same clothes as the other humans, the way they walked and the way they were admiring every little thing just made them stick out like a sore thumb.
The college was huge in size and looked very different compared to some of the academias in the group's time. Indy was leading the group through another set of doors, where the group was greeted by a large skeletal model of a beast.
"What's that?" Callum asked, curious as he had never seen a beast like that before.
"T-Rex, I believe," Indy said.
"T-Rex?" Rayla asked.
"Yeah, a type of a large dinosaur," Indy said.
"What's a dinosaur?" Kazi asked.
"An overgrown lizard who died long ago," Indy said.
Indy continued to lead the group through the museum, as they entered another set of doors. This time, it led them to an office where an older man was sitting at a desk, examining a vase of some kind.
"Hey Marcus," Indy said, "Are you busy?"
"No, not at all. I am about to finish actually," Marcus said.
"Feudal Japan?" Indy asked.
"No, China actually, the Ming Dynasty," Marcus said, as he placed the vase onto the desk. He looked up and saw the strangers Indy brought to the office. "Hello, and who might you guys be?"
"Marcus, this is Callum, Rayla, Amaya, and Kazi. They are, let's just say, visitors," Indy said, "You gotta hear what they have to say?"
Callum and Rayla told the older man their tale, as Marcus listened with great interest. From their quest to find a way to defeat Araavos, to arriving here, to what happened in the diner. After they were done, Marcus was silent for a moment.
"So, what do you think?" Indy said.
"That is strange indeed, and you have seen this Arravos in the mirror?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah, pretty freaky too. I don't know a good way to explain it, but it felt as if he can see right into my soul," Indy said.
"That is interesting," Brody said, as he continued to think, "And what do you think of all of this?"
"Me? Well, I think that the mirror is connected to the Yggdrasil in some way," Indy said, "There was an inscription in the mirror that mentions communicating with other worlds. I also have reason to believe that if they have any way to go back home, the Yggdrasil is our best option."
"And you need me to help invest in your expedition?" Brody asked.
"Yes," Indy answered.
"Have you sent a letter to her?" Brody asked.
"Not yet," Indy said.
"You need to, if there is anyone who knows about this kind of magic, it's her," Brody explained.
The group was confused on who the two men were talking about.
"I know she is an expert. I am planning to send the letter to her and Sallah during my break," Indy said.
"Who are you two talking about?" Rayla asked, tired of them talking in code.
"You remember when I told you about that old friend who now holds Caliburn?" Indy asked.
"Yeah," Rayla answered.
"Well, she is also the leader of a community full of Wiccans. She is an expert of the occult and has done things that I will say are magical," Indy explained.
"Ok, so who is this person?" Rayla asked impatiently.
"Her name is Caitlin St. Brenden of Glen Forest," Indy said.
"And she can help us?" Callum asked.
"I hope so. She might be able to help us track down Heimdall's Sword," Indy said.
"Ok, so let's go find her," Rayla said, as she was about to leave the office.
Indy laughed at that statement. "You don't find Caitlin, Caitlin finds you. She is not someone who wants to be found and can easily slip through your fingers. I will let her know we do need her assistance," Indy explained.
"I will help invest in your expedition and pull some strings so that you guys can have all the best equipment we can get," Brody said.
Indy looked toward the clock and saw that his class was about to start. Grabbing his stuff, Indy said, "Hey Marcus, can you show them around the museum?" I think they might enjoy learning something from our world. I will come back after my classes are done so that we can plan more for the expedition."
"Sure, Indy," Marcus said.
Indy waved goodbye to his friend and the group and left with such haste. The group, still looking out of place, looked towards the kind old man as he got up from his seat.
"Now, who's ready for the tour," Marcus said.
Indy was coming back from his class. The lecture went pretty well, with some of the students participating in it. To Indy, that's always a plus as it means the students are understanding what is being taught.
As he was walking back towards Brody's office, Indy saw a young woman with black and white hair walking towards the same direction. Something that Indy's eyes noticed was the weird outfit she was wearing. It looks familiar to what Callum wears, but instead of a dark blue, it was black.
The girl was looking for something, as she kept on looking around and muttering to herself.
"Excuse, miss, you looking for something?" Indy asked.
"Have you by any chance, seen a boy about this big, wearing a blue cardigan and an elf about the same size?" the woman asked.
"She is definitely from the same world as Callum and Rayla," Indy thought, "No, I don't say I have. But you say one of them is an elf?"
"Yes," the woman said.
"Never saw an elf before actually, only read about them in fairy tales, you sure she looks like an elf?" Indy asked.
"You telling me you have never seen an elf before?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, elves are just a piece of fiction," Indy said.
As the two were talking, Brody was walking into the hallway, leading Callum, Rayla, Amaya, and Kazi. Indy glances towards his colleague and signals him to walk the other way. Brody caught on to what Indy was saying, as he turned around and lead the group to a different direction.
"Look, lady, I am pretty sure whoever you are looking for are not here," Indy said.
The woman was upset to hear this, as she was looking down at her feet. She then looked back at Indy, with a bit of suspicion in her eyes. Although a bit suspicious, the woman decided to leave Indy, as she went off to another direction looking for the people she was looking for. After she reach a good distance, Indy let out a breath of relief, as he was curious what she wanted to do with Rayla and Callum. Catching up to the group, Indy noticed that Brody looked worried.
"What happened, Indy?" Brody asked.
"I don't know, a woman was asking if I have seen an elf and a human about the same height as Callum and Rayla. She was wearing something to what you were wearing, kid," Indy said.
"What do you mean same clothing?" Callum asked.
"That same outfit you had, but instead of blue it was–" Indy was about to say.
"Black?" Callum asked.
"Yeah," Indy said.
Both Callum and Rayla looked at each other tensely. They have a bad feeling in their gut and Indy could sense it.
"Who is that lady?" Indy asked.
"Her name is Claudia. She is a mage, like me, but she seeks to free Araavos," Callum said.
"So, she's that bad," Indy said.
"Her father, Lord Viren, wanted to destroy Xadia by harvesting the magic from the Dragon Prince," Rayla said, "Claudia wants to follow into her father's footsteps. So yeah, she is that bad."
"Listen, if she is here, who knows who is with her," Callum said.
At the moment, a strong wind blew the doors open, revealing another elf-like creature, this time with leaves in his hair, a goblin-like creature, and the girl in black clothing, holding a staff in her hand. The group turned and looked at the group.
"Found you," Claudia said, her eyes as black as the night sky.
"Brody, get the kids the hell out of here!" Indy shouted, as he ran towards the fire alarm pulling it.
Both groups covered their ears, as the alarm was wailing loudly. Brody grabbed the kids and guided them out, but Rayla refused, instead opting to stay and fight with Indy. Kazi went in her place, as the three of them ran out of the building. Indy, Amaya, and Rayla stood, with their fist up. Rain started falling from the sprinklers, as Indy noticed the red fire extinguisher off to the side of the wall.
"You really think I was going to believe you. I knew you had to be lying, after seeing you trying to signal your friend there," Claudia said.
"Kid, look how about you leave right now. I am sure you don't want to get hurt," Indy said.
"The only one who is going to get hurt is you," Claudia said, as she pointed her staff at Indy.
The staff started to glow, but it did not do anything. Claudia stared at it in confusion, pointing her staff at the group again. The same response was given.
"C'mon, why is this not working," Claudia said, fighting with her staff.
Indy just smiled as he ran towards the fire extinguisher. The elf next to Claudia tried to grab on to Indy, but failed, as Indy managed to grab the red fire extinguisher. Spraying the trio, it blinded them. Claudia was wiping the cream off of her face when she was met by the metal canister.
The elf tried to blow the American away from Claudia, but it was to no use as he felt his throat dry. Rayla and Amaya charged toward the group, as Claudia brought her staff up again, this time using it as a weapon instead for magic. The elf put his fist up weakly, while the goblin-like creature jumped onto Rayla.
"Urgh, get off of me, you thing," Rayla said, as she tried to get the goblin-like creature off of her back. The creature was swiping at her, slicing her face up.
Indy put his fist up as Claudia charged at him. Dodging the attack, Indy grabbed onto the weapon, punching Claudia to the floor. Claudia still managed to hold onto the staff, as she fell on the floor. Indy fell with her, as he ended up crashing onto the floor. Claudia tried to get an attack in, but Indy managed to dodge it.
Amaya was the only one who had it easy, as the elf tried to punch the general, Amaya punched him back, knocking him out. She turned her attention to Rayla, as she kept on trying to get the little monster off of her back. Running to her, Amaya grabbed onto the creature, prying it off of the elf. Amaya threw the creature towards the wall, knocking it unconscious.
"Thank you," Rayla said, out of breath.
" Don't mention it," Amaya signed.
The two looked at the battle between the Mage and the Archeologist. Indy managed to kick the staff out of the way, before Claudia could reach it. Claudia tries to go after the staff, but Indy tackled her down. They crashed through another set of doors towards the mammal exhibit.
Claudia kicks Indy in the face, stunning him a bit. She looks towards the model of a large creature. She thought of a crazy idea, as she started running towards the model, jumping onto it. Indy, getting out of his stupor, saw Claudia jumping onto the model. Groaning, Indy runs towards it, as he attempts to catch up to Claudia. Jumping onto the whale, Indy felt the wires tense, as one of the strings snapped.
The two continued their fight. Although Claudia was less experienced compared to Indy, she managed to land some blows, as she punched the non magical archeologist in the rib cage. But she did not fare either, as Indy landed some hits on her, mainly in the stomach and face. Indy tries to throw a kick at her, but misses as Claudia backs up.
Smiling, Claudia tackles Indy off the model and onto the second floor. Indy landed hard onto the ground. Claudia ended up breaking her ankle, as she started to limp back towards the staff.
Instead of facing Amaya or Rayla, and after having a very difficult fight with the human, Claudia decided to do a tactical retreat, as she grabs her staff and the elf. The goblin-like creature woke up and followed the two of them out.
"This will not be the last you will see of us!" Claudia said with a hiss.
"I sure hope not," Rayla said.
Claudia ran out of the door, with her companions following behind her. Rayla and Amaya put away their weapons as the elf ran towards Indy, helping him up.
"You okay, Indy?" Rayla asked.
"Yeah, just some bumps and bruises," Indy said, "Your friend sure does pack a punch though."
"She's not my friend," Rayla said, venom dripping from her words.
"Either way, she seems dead set on you guys," Indy continued, "Which might be a problem."
" What do you mean to be a problem? " Amaya signed.
"She and her friends are only going to be the beginning. I have a feeling that we will not only be the ones looking for the tree," Indy said.
Indy walks towards the destroyed exhibit. "We will not only be facing enemies from this world, but also from your world as well," he continued.
The elves and humans followed Indy as he made his way towards the exit.
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