Some Other World

Scouting Around

I woke up to the sound of something moving quietly through the forest. I had no clue whether it was an animal or a human, so I sat still and waited to see whatever it was that was heading towards me.

It was a deer. It delicately stepped into the clearing near me, nibbling at the grass near its feet.

I wondered if I would have to scare it off or if it would leave on its own, but decided it didn't really matter because it was just a deer and it wouldn't hurt me if I did have to chase it away. I settled my back into the trunk of the tree I was on and waited.

The deer wandered up to one of the berry bushes I had seen last night, then began to nibble on the bush. It didn't eat any of the berries, but tore at the leaves happily.

"Guess those berries aren't edible." I muttered.

To my surprise, the deer's head shot up. It looked around warily. Did it hear me? I'd barely spoken aloud.

The hiss of an arrow splitting the air echoed through the forest and the deer leapt in surprise and pain, then ran a pace before collapsing to the ground, an arrow sticking out of it's side.

The bushes to my right rustled and a man in his 20s stepped out. He slung the longbow he was carrying over his shoulder and went to the animal, carefully pulling the arrow out of it, then hefting the carcass onto his shoulders.

"Eragon is so much better at this than I am." I heard him mutter.

Eragon? What was that? It didn't sound like any kind of name I'd ever heard, but the way the man had used it suggested that it was.

Soon the clearing was vacant again. I untied myself from the tree branch I was sitting on and shoved the rope back into my backpack. Slinging the silver bag over my shoulder, I carefully climbed down the tree.

The grass was flattened slightly from the deer's collapse, but other than that, it looked normal. I came closer to the scorch mark and knelt down to inspect it.

The burns seemed to stretch out from an epicenter that was the size of a small loaf of bread.

"What the Hades happened here?" I muttered. The phrase I'd chosen suddenly brought a question to mind that I hadn't considered before.

Did Hades know what was going on when I was banished? I had never considered him a friend, we were more similar to animals that tolerated each other for survival, but I didn't remember having seen him in the throne room.

I guess I would never find that out, unless I figured out a way to get back home.

Finally deciding to move on, I chose a random direction that wasn't the way the guy from before had gone and started walking. As my mind wandered, I debated whether or not my sword would keep me safe out here. Were there monsters on this world? Would they react the same way the ones on Earth did to Celestial Bronze?

It would only be a matter of time before I found out, I was sure.

The ground began to slope more steeply as I walked and I realized I was on a mountain of some sort. The sun was high in the sky, but the tree branches above me kept me safe for the most part. 

If I was going to be here for a while, I might want to find an easily defended place to live.

I was outside for a while. The bird calls I heard weren't familiar, the foliage around me was strange and foreign.

Not paying attention to where I was going, I nearly ran into the cliff face that seemingly appeared in front of me.

I perked up as I heard the sound of rushing water nearby. Following the rock wall, I walked until I found the huge waterfall that was making the noise. 

The lake at the bottom was huge and crystal clear. I could see fish swimming in the water and brightly colored stones in the sand on the bottom. It looked like one of those fishbowls with the fake rocks at the bottom that were every color of the rainbow.

I climbed the nearest tree I could find and hung my bag high enough that nothing would get to it. I briefly wondered if there were monkeys in this forest, but decided that I could handle it if there were. I carefully walked out on one of the branches that stretched over the water. Once I was as far out as I could get, I jumped off.

The water hit my skin and rejuvenated me. I sank to the bottom of the lake and sat in the sand, watching fish swim by. They didn't call me 'lord' here, which I was glad for. 

Getting comfortable, I stretched out my senses to see if there was anything interesting in these deep waters.

The lake went back underneath the rock face behind the waterfall. I followed the small tunnel that had been made by erosion...or maybe something else? I wasn't sure.

Eventually the floor began to slope up. My head popped out of the water and I took in the sight around me.

"This looks promising."