It was extremely difficult for Seyil to remain calm as she glanced between the unconscious stranger and the two idiots she called friends. Things in the world had been odd for the last few years, but that didn’t excuse… this.

  “Did you two literally kidnap an immortal?” Venom dripped from her voice, promising retribution—of course, not until she dealt with this whole problem, because if they were all killed by a rampage then she couldn’t tan their hides properly. “Do you have a death wish? Sparks, we’re all going to die today thanks to you. How in the world did you think this was a good idea?!”

  Orden rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and glancing back at the stranger, “I’ve heard all kinds of things about her. I know what I was getting into.”

  Kurai raised her hand, “He’s lying.”

  Orden didn’t even glance at the traitor; he was busy watching the unconscious person for any sign of movement, “This immortal looks barely half my age, I thought she would be more impressive from all those rumors going around. Really, pulling an entire city out of the ocean?”

  Seyil put her face in her hands. Sparking idiots, kidnapping someone Gium himself can’t deal with…

  Orden yelped, shuffling back. Seyil glanced up at him sharply before looking back at the unconscious immortal, who was stirring.

  “Sparks, did Kurai not at least put a sleeping spell on!?” Seyil shouted, taking several steps backward, “We’re not ready…” Seyil trailed off as the immortal opened her eyes.

  She blinked at the ceiling for several moments before shifting her gaze to the three suddenly anxious-looking idiots. They all watched each other with wide eyes, and Kurai had even fallen out of her chair in shock when the immortal first moved. She caught herself though as she tumbled to the ground.

  Seyil pulled her panic to a standstill and watched the immortal with baited breath. Panicking wouldn’t help anyone here. But Seyil couldn’t help but wonder… What kind of wisdom might such a powerful person dispense before she killed them all for this slight? What kind of amazing words might she grant them before their blood spilled to the ground?

  The captive regarded them for a moment, her eyebrows quirked up with an amused expression as she regarded the three of them. She didn’t seem angry yet, but anger could be a silent beast… The immortal finally spoke, almost as if in jest. “I’d like to complain about the whole kidnapping bit, but this is a pleasantly squishy couch. What’s it made out of?”

  Seyil opened her mouth, speechless. Halfway because of the question—which she didn’t even know the answer to—and halfway because they weren’t being attacked immediately.

  That was…

  Hah?!

  There was silence for several moments as the three of them tried and failed to find something to say, many trades of thought exploded into sadly non-functioning bits during this time. “What? You don’t know? That’s really unfortunate.”The immortal shook her head and glanced down at the couch, looking between it and the ground. “Though the color scheme leaves much to be desired. What were you thinking with bright pink and red?”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Seyil closed her mouth and opened it again; Kurai peered at the immortal for several tense seconds before finally standing up and picking up her chair, which, if you’ve forgotten, had fallen over when the lovely immortal opened her eyes. “What the sparks kind of response is that? You’re just going to start critiquing the house?”

  “Well you see, I have a problem. Many people describe the problem as ‘cannot shut up’ or maybe it’s because I’m a ‘sparking annoying little piece of dragoncrap’. Sparks, I’ve been offworld so long, it’s nice to finally be able to say stuff like that and be understood.” The captive nodded with a smirk. Her young face was a stark contrast to her eyes. They looked like they’d perhaps seen the rise and fall of worlds, either that or they were the cause of that rise and fall. Seyil couldn’t quite pinpoint it. “Anyway, that’s a fact there. To what do I owe this amateur kidnapping? I was kind of in the middle of something, but we do have… well about a day I think before I’m really needed anywhere.”

  Orden’s eyes shone at the question, even though a moment before he’d looked rather confused. Seyil could always count on his greed before his mind, “I’ve heard that you can give us any kind of knowledge. Well, I’d like—”

  “Is it knowledge you seek!?” The captive shouted all dramatic-like suddenly. Her eyes shone with humor though, “I’d like to think I have a lot of knowledge after all this time, not so much wisdom though. Speaking of which, do any of you have a sack of potatoes—I know they don’t grow on this world but that really shouldn’t be enough to stop you. I’ve been craving them for at least ten years but it’s so much effort to go back to Arendi just to find some.”

  Orden seemed a bit panicked at that, “You want these… potatoes in return for knowledge?!”

  “Naw, just thinking out loud. You guys seem interesting so I’ll give you the story for just a favor, alright?”

  “Favor?” Seyil asked, her heart sinking.

  “Story?” Kurai echoed dimly.

  The immortal rolled her eyes. “I have a feeling that you three have no idea who I am if those are the questions you’re asking. The favor is just to come with me for a few hours tomorrow and— Alright, alright, I’ll go with something simple. I’m certain the story will give you all kinds of knowledge… and wisdom… and ah… you know what, screw it I’m going to make it a metaphor.” The immortal in the body of a child nodded to herself, “Yes, that makes sense.”

  “Wait…” Seyil started, “Wait wait wait, Orden is just an idiot! He just wanted to know where the next—” Where the next attack is going to be, her mind continued for her. So he could do what? Profit off it? This was Orden she was talking about, she’d known him since they were kids.

  The immortal made a cutting motion and all sound in the room disappeared, easily solving the problem of what to say next. Seyil found that she couldn’t even speak; she could move her mouth but the sound just… didn’t come out. Kurai seemed mildly offended at the show of auditory magic, this was supposed to be her speciality.

  “Once,” the captive began—though Seyil was beginning to feel she was the captive in this situation—her voice somehow penetrated the silence as she smirked at them again, “There was a world very very different from this one. I have a hankering for potatoes, so we’ll go with an experience I had on Arendi. There are a people of that world, a people not terribly different from the three of you. Only they have feathers and an absolutely intriguing celestial situation.”

  The immortal stood up, her expression finally turning serious for the first time, her bearing changed, the way she watched them. She drew her hands in front of her and cast a simple illusion. It wasn’t anything compared to masters, but it was an illusion. It detailed a majestic and grand city, the type of city that Seyil had only heard stories of from her parents. Only this one was surrounded by clouds instead of land. “And once,” the immortal continued, “There was a city that floated in the sky, filled with what you would call magic, ancient secrets, and so much pain.”