Worlds Apart

The Vassal was an incredible creature. She towered over me, even more than Kaendeer did, and looked like she could snap me like a twig. Her skin carried an interesting hue -- some kind of greenish-purple, yet with no real blue. Most intimidatingly of all, it was clear she was the smartest in the settlement, and when the smartest person in the room has a hunch, it takes a lot for someone more stupid than her to convince her otherwise.

The room she asked me to go to was equally intimidating. It was completely pitch-black, to the extent where the only light came from cracks in the stonework and from under the door. It was a small room, with a crudely-built table and two crudely-built chairs being the only furniture. I took the chair facing the door and accepted that I couldn't see a single thing until she entered.

My breath was taken away when the door opened. The Vassal didn't open doors like a normal person; she opened them like she was going to kill whoever was inside. It took the space of a gasp for the door to go from closed to fully open, revealing her silhouette in the tavern's light.

The Vassal clearly didn't mind that the door was closing to a dark room. She calmly walked over to a corner of the room and did something that I couldn't see. At once, a candle in the corner on the wall was lit. And, of course, it smelled as bad as the other candle.

She looked me over, like she was checking me out except more intimidatingly. "You chose the chair facing the door," she noted. "I suppose you think I am going to kill you."

"A-are you?" I asked.

She grinned cheekily. "I suppose you must think I would do you the honor of killing you in a secluded room," she mused, walking over to the chair, sitting down, and leaning in. Even sitting down, she towered over me. "As much as The Hand puts a value on their rules, in Great Yield we have no such thing. We only have me. I would gleefully slit your throat in front of my patrons." She continued smiling, as if she didn't threaten to just kill me.

I gulped and just stared at her dumbly. She took the opportunity to continue. "The Huntress tells me that she had to give you a Loquiroot. What is your native language?"

"English, but clearly, some kind of different English than what's spoken here..." I managed.

"A different dialect. Do you come from the North or the East?" she pressured.

"Okay, so, if I'm telling you my origin story, I'm telling you all of it," I replied. "It won't make sense without every detail."

"Proceed," she encouraged, sitting back in her chair.

She didn't stop me at any point during my explanation. She didn't ask any questions. At most, she scratched her face at one point, but she clearly took in every word I was saying.

"The future, but a future where The Herd dominates the world," she murmured once I was finished.

"That's right. And they're all called humans. And water is freely available, and giving your name is an act of courtesy even strangers can do. It doesn't lead to..." I gulped. "Intercourse."

"What interesting details," she chuckled. "If this is a lie, your strategy of damning yourself with the most unlikely story was an unwise one. And yet..." She side-eyed me while turning her head to the wall. "Answer quickly. What is your favorite food?"

"Salmon. I don't know if you have salmon here, but it's a commo-"

"Cease," she quickly ordered, holding an open hand in front of my face. "Answer only," she added, retracting her hand. "Are you a landowner?"

"No."

"Are you a serf or a free guardian?"

"We don't use those terms in my time. I'm a 'working class' person."

"So many words," she replied, shaking her head. "But you work for your housing, yes?"

"I guess, yes. I rent."

"Definitely a serf. Name the most powerful person in your world you know of."

"Uh, Donald Trump?"

"Gibberish. A completely made up name," she replied, rolling her catlike eyes. "What color is her hair?"

"Yellow. Not even blonde, yellow. There are memes about it and everything. But he's a he, not a she."

Her eyebrows shot up. "A world with a human as the most powerful person you know??" she asked incredulously.

Human. So, male. "...Is that not common?"

"You must not know many people. Surely Donal Drump has guardians above him."

"No, he's the most powerful man in the world," I answered.

The Vassal's eyes darkened. "You attempt to tell me you are a serf, yet even in your lie, you have made a catastrophic error. You not only know the most powerful person in your world, but know for a fact that no person is more powerful. As connected to the Hands as this table to its very shape."

The Vassal got up and began to reach for something on her belt. I had to say something fast. "In my world, every serf knows who the most powerful person in the world is. It's like how everyone in Great Yield knows you."

She didn't stop, but at least she slowed down. "You mean to say your world is that miniscule?"

"We have this..." Here goes. "...magic in our world. It is called the Internet. Communication can be carried over any distance, instantly. The world works as a global village."

She stopped. "Can you show me this magic?"

Oh fuck. My mind ran cartwheels trying to think of something to say. "I can if you have a computer," I replied, my hilarious honesty lost on all parties except myself. "This magic cannot be performed by The Herd alone."

"Very convenient," she replied, losing her humor entirely.

"If you were brought a millennium into the past, how would you prove it?" I demanded fiercely. "If you're going to say you should kill me or ban me unless I prove myself, you may as well just kill me now." I didn't mean it, I was terrified of death, and of The Vassal, but I hoped this would appeal to her fore forgiving nature.

She paused, and looked at me. She didn't say anything for a while, chewing the inside of her cheek as she thought to herself. "The future?" she asked again.

I nodded eagerly. "And possibly a different timeline. I mean, definitely."

"I would be a liar if I were to say I understand what you mean by a 'timeline,'" she confessed. "All this being said, I shall choose to believe you."

"Really?!" I practically breathed.

"You need to understand something, guardian from the future," she said to me, sitting back down. "I do not know of which perfect future you came, but in our time, life can end for no reason. A few cuts, or a hole in your path, or even when it's time for you to be taken to the Beyond."

"The Beyond, as in, death?"

"A messenger of many names," she said with a shrug. "Even a Hand knows how easily death can come about. Only an absolute idiot would accept death in this world, knowing how much there is yet to be done. I could end you right here and now, and no one, not even the Huntress, would see it as an oddity."

"So saying 'you should kill me right now' demonstrated how I'm definitely not from your time?"

"It has demonstrated you are not a Hand. Even they are not so stupid," she said, as if it were common knowledge.

I blushed with embarrassment. "Oh. Uh, sorry."

She saw my blushing and gave a curious little smile. "You're blushing," she noted, as if it were of importance.

"...Um, so what does blushing mean in this world?" I asked, realizing I could be asking her for anal right now or something.

"In this world, it means embarrassment or lust or general shyness," she replied. "A whole litany of emotions."

"Oh." Seemed like we were on the same page. "So why did you point it out? I thought I did a faux pas."

"A false step?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

I really needed to unlearn French. "It's a phrase from my world. It means I did something impolite without knowing."

"I see. No, it was not a false step," she replied, getting up. "It just suits you well." She shot me a cheeky grin.

"What?" I asked. I was lost.

"I own a tavern, as well as this land," she explained. "This is what a Vassal means -- I have seen your blank looks." My cheeks burned again. Her smile grew as she talked. "Most of the people I suddenly meet are travelers on their own pilgrimage. As such, they are very interested in their own imagery."

I stared at her. "Meaning...?"

"It means she wants to look smart, and in particular, smarter than the guardian to whom she talks. There is a certain... vulnerability that exists in a guardian willing to wallow in her own stupidity." Her eyes squinted a little as they talked. "I hope you understand."

"...You enjoy when girls aren't trying to one-up you?" I asked, hoping that it would translate well.

"An interesting way of phrasing things. I think I understand," she replied. "You talk in riddles that take effort to decipher, and yet I just called you stupid and you do not correct me." Her smile grew on her face. "I hope you stay a while." She opened the door, gesturing for me to follow.

I got up and exited the room, with her following, and walking back to her bar. She filled a tankard with the same nasty stuff she gave me earlier, then put it on a table in front of me. "It would be best to learn as soon as you can how to drink," she replied.

"And how do people drink around here?" I asked cautiously.

In response, she filled another tankard and drank it down in one gulp in front of me, looking at me afterwards as if to tell me, "See how easy it is?"

I looked at the ale on the table. "I don't think I'm thirsty right now," I admitted. I would have loved some water, but even if she didn't want to kill me anymore for asking, I didn't think I'd score any points with The Vassal for asking for it.

"Yes you are. You just want water," she replied tersely, seeing right through me. "For that, you shall wait. Water shall not be coming until tomorrow, if the Tower is to be believed."

"Can I ask what the Tower is?" I asked, picking up my tankard and just holding it.

"The Tower is a tall hut that cuts into the very sky," she explained. "You may have seen it on your way to this tavern. It's the tallest structure in Great Yield."

"Oh. I, uh, know what a tower is," I replied dumbly, my cheeks burning. The Vassal was grinning. "I just don't know how a tower can predict rain."

"Ah, I see," The Vassal replied. "One of The Herd lives in the Tower. She attempts to act as the speaker to the sky and tell us when rain is coming next."

"Oh, okay," I digested. "What's her na- I mean... oops."

The Vassal leaned her arms against the counter and chuckled. Hating her eyes on me, I put the tankard to my lips and sipped.

The Vassal shook her head. "What am I to do with your body once the people here eat you alive..." she mused.

My cheeks burned again. What am I to do with your body. I didn't know if the perpetual tipsiness was helping, but those words etched into my mind and played over and over. I sipped again, then, with the expectant gaze of The Vassal guiding me, took a slight gulp.

If The Vassal ever existed on Earth as I knew it, girls would be lining up just to call her Mommy. She was tall, ridiculously muscular, and oozed confidence. Her arms were built better than most mens' arms I'd ever seen, and the way she cockily leaned then against the counter as she watched me was somewhere between intimidating and... hot. Like some kind of predatory "I own you" aura.

"Why are you l-looking at me like that?" I finally managed, before taking another slight gulp.

"A question that could be asked to both parties," she replied, getting up off her arms. "You seem to have taken an interest in my pectorals for some reason."

If I thought I was blushing before, I was painted red now. "Oh. I-I'm sorry."

"Is there something particular about them?" she asked, gesturing to them.

Even though I was apparently staring at them, once she called attention to them it's like I was staring at them for the first time. As with a lot of muscular guardians -- dammit, women, her breasts weren't exactly large in terms of jutting outwards, but they occupied a large space across her chest and they looked... good. Really good. I bet she worked out. I bet to get muscles like that, her workouts would have to leave her flushed and sweaty and-

I looked away. "No, nothing," I feebly admitted. "I just... think you take very good care of yourself."

Her tone turned sour. "I do give the people of Great Yield their fair share. Whoever earns their food eats their food."

I looked back frantically. "No, I mean it! I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I just like when people are muscley. I think it's... aspirational."

Her face softened. "You wish to gain muscle mass?"

"Uh..." I stumbled over my words. "Not really, actually. I just really like when girls -- I mean, when guardians are strong. It looks good."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Looks good?"

I looked away again, and nervously, downed the rest of my drink. Was there something in the air during this time period that made people here all horny for each other? It was like I was getting my first hormones of teenagerhood again. I could hear her moving, and suddenly, felt a finger on my chin pulling me up to look her in the eye.

She was looking sternly at me. Instinctually, I bet my lip, and could feel a puppy-dog expression form on my face.

She studied me for a few seconds. "You're physically attracted to me," she finally noted, her expression not leaving her face.

I did all I could not to let a moan escape. My mind became further clouded from the drink. Her finger was still on my chin. Her body was inches from mine. My neck began to hurt from looking her in the eyes. She could snap me like a twig. "I..."

She slowly took her finger away from my chin. "You need some time away from the tavern," she told me with a dismissive voice.

I stood there. I had no idea why I was expecting anything else to happen, but the reality of her words came crashing down on me. "What?" I finally managed.

"There is a whole village out there," she told me, her back now to me. She was polishing a dish or something. "Leave the tankard on the table and depart."

I stood for a few seconds longer, before The Vassal turned back around. Anger was painted across her face. "Are you being slow, or defiant?!" she barked.

I stumbled in place, finding my way to the front door and closing it behind me. Okay, so The Vassal didn't like something I did. She clearly took issue with the fact that I liked the way she looked. I mean, I didn't even proposition her. I didn't give her my name or anything like that, so why was she suddenly so angry?

It was probably another question for Kaendeer. In the meantime, I figured there was no time like the present to get used to my new surroundings. Still tipsy, and likely getting tipsier by the minute, I stumbled around Great Yield, taking in the sights.

"The sights" turned out to be huts and farms, pretty much all the way down. I found The Tower of course, and a few specialty buildings: some obviously meant for farming, others less obvious in their purpose. Maybe in this universe there was another whole type of farming I couldn't even conceive of, but it would probably be rude to barge in on someone's home if it wasn't public property, so I thought against it.

Eventually, I found myself outside the outpost's walls, wandering down the very path I had originally come from. The thought crossed my mind to go back to the forest I had first come from, but before I could, I realized there was another path, and if I didn't mistake it, it looked like in the distance, there was some kind of body of water. Too small to be a lake, but certainly some kind of large pond.

Excitedly, I wandered over towards the pond, down the path. Great Yield shrank as it got farther and farther away from me. I wondered what The Vassal thought of me. If maybe I should have been bolder with her. Ask her her name instead of letting her figure it out.

I was adapting to this world a little too quickly. I should have cared more about Kaendeer. She was my first love here after all. Well, not love... or, well, love was apparently like friendship in this world, so, yeah, love. I wondered what Kaendeer thought of me too. If she'd come back to the tavern tonight and give me a long kiss. If she'd have missed me as much as I'd missed her. If I'd get to see what an elf's pussy looked like. Or rather, a Love Instrument of the Gorigae. What beautiful words they used.

My feet hit water, and I looked down. Emma Howell stared back at me. Just a few days ago, she was a nobody, desperately vying for the attention of boys that listened to Roosh V and drank Rockstars instead of water. And at most, they might give a reaction to her memes before playing Valorant.

Now, she was someone the most beautiful guardian in the outpost wanted to please. Kaendeer moaned for me and called me beautiful as she fingered me, and I swear even The Vassal looked at me with hunger. Though, I suppose I was drinking dirty ale instead of water, so I was on the boys' level somehow.

I splashed some of the water on my face. I was desired. I mean, maybe I was misreading things with The Vassal, but with Kaendeer, it was pretty clear. I was wanted.

I stared at the water for a bit. It stared back at me, looking so clear and inviting. Slowly, I formed my hands into a bowl shape and leaned down, collecting some of the water in my hands and bringing it to my lips.

Pond water tasted as good as I remembered from my childhood, but to be fair, I was just a bratty kid running around some reserve, not a wanderer from another world taking in the fresh untouched air of the wilderness and gazing upon the forests. We really thought we knew what nature looked like in Toronto by having a few parks. We were dead wrong. There was something completely different about the Earth when virtually all of it was untouched. Some kind of peacefulness. Some kind of harmony.

"You must be very brave," a voice projected at me from a distance. I looked up from my drinking and saw another member of the Gorigae dressed in fair clothing, something properly spun. A far cry from the people I had met thus far.

Clumsily and tipsily, I just stared at them as they walked over. "Brave?" I murmured.

"Yes, brave," they clarified as they walked over. "I shall have thought a guardian of the Herd such as yourself would have come from our ranks with garments like yours, but we'd all been taught not to drink still water." She had a lighter yellower tint to her skin, and a gentle more innocent expression on her face, like she always had a soft smile. Her smile, right now, was concerned for me. "Drink like that and you'll end up incapacitated for days. Come now. Even serfs know not to drink from still water. I shall have thought you'd earned your clothing."

"...Who are you?" I eventually asked.

"I am responsible for overseeing this area, from the forest to the fields beyond Tall Huts," she answered. "I answer to the Lordship, and should your outpost fall within my jurisdiction, you of course answer to me and those like me."

"You're a Hand," I realized.

She gave me a quizzical look. "Are you attempting to play stupid?" she asked.

I gave up looking good in this world. "No, I'm a traveler from a far-off land," I replied. "For all intents and purposes, I just am stupid."

"I see," she replied slowly. "Well, no. I but serve the Hands. A Hand would never travel the field on their own, not without a purpose. I am but a Finger, but a Finger's higher than thee."

Thee. Okay. Her soft expression was changing, clearly not liking my lack of appreciation for her status.

"Well... thank you, Finger, for letting me know about the water," I replied, attempting to weave my words together gracefully. "For where I come from, the water is clean and fit to drink, even the still water."

"The still water is fit to drink?" she asked, perking up her ears. "Where do you hail from?"