Here we are, back to Blackeagle, at least for a brief bit.

 
After the fight, they were both worn out. The old man agreed to give them a place to stay. Like the other huts in the village, it was small and basic. But certainly cozy to their satisfaction. At this point it remained unfurnished.

As they sat up against a wooden wall, they talked about the day's events.

"What a day," John said.

"Yeah no kidding," Sherri replied.

"As weird as this place is, we may be here a while," John said.

"Yeah. Nothing like our own world that's for sure," Sherri stated.

"Maybe we could even make this place a safe house - if not base of operations," John added.

"Good idea, think the old man will go for that?"

"Maybe, he seems to be quite impressed with us."

"We probably should get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow will be more challenging," John added.

"More challenging than fighting skeletons and some ugly looking creature," Sherri commented.

With that, they laid down to sleep. Only John couldn't sleep much. It had been a while since he had more than 4 hours sleep. That dates back to his war days and seeing his colleagues being slaughtered in an ambush. An ambush where here he was the sole survivor.

The morning found them hovering over a pot of stew just outside the hut.

"Do I even want to know what's in there?" Sherri asked.

"Just a little of this and a little of that; you know us cajuns. We will find anything for a stew," John replied.

"Great; this should be interesting. Last time you cooked out in the field it tasted like crap."

"Well, gotta make do with what we have, and by the way, that was snake we had last time," John replied.

They each took a wooden bowl and spoon and ate their unknown breakfast. As they were eating, they wondered what the mission the old man had in mind was.

As they were eating, a young boy looked to be about 10 came up to them. He was dressed similar to the other ninjas in the village. All in black and had a mask.

"Hello there," Sherri said to the boy.

"Greetings. I was sent to you with a message from my grandfather," the young boy said. "There are 3 people from the kingdom that went missing. Word has it they may be in the forest south of the village."

"How do you know all this?" John asked the boy.

"A traveler came through the village a week ago before you arrived. They said they saw them near another village called Degressi," the boy said.

"This must be why we were summoned here to the village," Sherri speculated.

"Yes I am beginning to think so," John said.

"My grandfather has supplied you with horses," the boy said.

"That's very kind of him," John said.

"I don't see any horses," Sherri said.

"Look again," the boy demanded.

Suddenly 2 horses appeared in the spot where just a few seconds earlier, 2 men stand had stood. John and Sherri both stood there with their mouths open.

"Wow how did they do that?" John asked.

"That's better than the best magicians in Vegas," Sherri replied..

Suddenly the old man appeared.

"Magicians?!" The old man asked incredulously. "Ha! Pranksters at best. They will be your guides through this new world." The old man then disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

"There's a joke in there somewhere," John said.

"Can't think of any at the moment; I am just too shocked," Sherri replied.

"Yes, this world is quite strange, isn't it?" John asked.

"Unlike anything we have ever experienced," Sherri said.

"Well, we might as well mount up if we want to be there by dark," John said.

With that, they mounted their prankster guides and rode off.

To the north into the forest.

It's a lighter, fun take on this world, as told through the eyes of two strangers to it. I really like this one. Probably one of my favorite Blackeagle shorts so far. Plus Blackeagle get introduced to the KOKOL quest properly, which is nice. There's a real world mention- Vegas, which fits Blackeagle. And the "2 horses," which I'd hate to spoil although it might not surprise long time AIL readers much.

It's just neat seeing Blackeagle starting to settle into this world, I guess. And with that, we're coming up on the final handful of roleplays.