It took her multiple tries to come to her senses, and when she finally did her eyes widened.

“W- where am I? Who are you? What is this place?” She asked, startled.

“What do you mean? You were the one who jumped through the portal!” One of them said, his hazel eyes piercing through her.

“Portal?”

“Alejandro, stop it, she’s clearly in shock give her some time.” His friend said, gifting him a glare.

“What’s your name?”

She gulped. “I’m Amber.”

“Nice to meet you!” He said kindly, a smile tugging at his lips. “I’m Nadim, that’s Liam, and this is Alejandro.”     

“I really don’t know what’s happened.” She mumbled, looking at the three of them in hopes of receiving an answer. Maybe this was a prank? Although it didn’t make sense.

“You don’t remember jumping through the portal?” Liam questioned, not understanding how she couldn’t recall the disastrous event.

“What portal? All I did was go for a walk, then everything went blank and I uh, well I ended up here. Do you have any directions on how I can leave this place?” All her emotions were currently bottled up, she was amazed by what she was seeing, but for some odd reason, it seemed familiar. Maybe they could help her, it seemed like they knew this place well enough.

“We’re just as lost as you; we don’t know how to leave.” Alejandro stated. Frustration was building up inside him. What were they going to do?

“What? No, I have to get back. How did I even end up here?”

“It’s quite simple actually, you see our friend Karlo, discovered a whole other dimension, and somehow you- “

“Liam!” Nadim scolded, there was no reason to reveal absolutely everything and there’s only so much a mind could take.

“We have to focus on finding Karlo, he could help you get back if he’s even here.” Alejandro said.

Realising she was still on the ground; she used her hands as support to lift herself, the rocky, rough texture slightly scraping the palm of her hand. She almost dozed off because of what surrounded her, she felt a strong heavy connection. She had never felt anything like this before, it was on the tip of her tongue, but what was it? Why was she not alarmed with all she was seeing? It certainly wasn’t normal.

Her arm slowly lifted, almost dangling in the air, she squinted as she turned her body and pointed east. “That way. There should be a village.”

“How would you know? You just got here.”

 “Gut feeling?”  She said, not wanting to elaborate on her reasons.

Giving her a strange look, he shrugged. “Worth a shot, I suppose.”

It was a struggle not to turn their heads with every step they took. But were they really to blame? As they headed east, they stumbled across a pathway. None of them spoke a word, whether it was because they were too astounded to say anything or an awkward silence filled the air. They walked on, the rocks of the cobble path clashing beneath their feet.

Whether it was luck or coincidence they made it, they now stood before the village, the murmurs of people entering their ears. Luckily, they made it before it got too dark. The village was different than what most would expect. It was not typical with pointed roofs and square windows and lots of cottages in lines. All the houses were trees. Odd, right? They all were identical and consisted of a bushy top leading down to a circular window near the middle, and then at the very bottom a door, only visible because of the carve it had outlining it. Surprisingly, all the trees were quite wide, and not as slim as someone would imagine.

“Well that’s weird.” Liam said, his eyebrow perking up.

“How did you know there would be a village here?”

“Like I said, gut feeling.”

“You sure do have a reliable gut.”

“Err, thanks, I guess.” She mumbled, a little dazed she actually led them to a village.

A short silence followed on until she asked, “What do we do now?”

“We look for Karlo.” Alejandro said.

As they walked in multiple whispers were heard, the people who walked among the village had never seen them before, and they didn’t necessarily fit in. Hopefully, they were welcoming.

“We should try asking some people if they’ve seen him.” Nadim suggested, slightly hesitant on the idea considering the looks they were getting.

“Hey, excuse me sir, did you happen to see a man with a greyish beard and a long white coat pass through here.” Liam asked, stopping a citizen who had the most peculiar attire. He was wearing a fluffy red jacket, with cargo pants and a large top hat.

Stroking his chin in wonder, the man replied, a thick accent coating his tongue. “I don’t recall anyone passing through, not recently at least.”

“No one at all?”

“Well, there was a fellow who fits your description, but he passed by a while ago.”

“How long ago?”

“About three months, haven’t seen him since.”

“three months!” They all shouted; it couldn’t be possible.

“Do you have any idea where he could’ve gone?” Alejandro asked, desperation tracing his words. 

“Err, I suggest staying here, where he goes others dare to even think about.” Fear could be perceived in the last words he spoke, he shifted uncomfortably and looked around anxiously as if he was scared his words were heard.

“We need to know where we he went sir, immediately!” Nadim demands, even he was starting to grow a little impatient.

The man leaned forward he said in the lowest whisper possible.

“Astilia.”

“What now?” Liam questioned.

The man’s expression changed from discomfort to pure confusion, “You have not heard of her? You seem like lovely young lads, but this is not the time for foolery!”

Alejandro snorted observing the man from head to toe, “We can assure you; we aren’t the ones coming off as fools.”

Amber’s eyes slightly widened. Sending a deadly glare towards him she slightly hovered her foot of the ground and stepped on his with reasonable force. A bit bold for a first impression, But hey! That was downright rude.

“Ow. Excuse me! What was that?”

Besides a dramatic eye roll, he got no response in return, but the message that was trying to get across was easy to distinguish.

The man glanced at him and smiled, “supposing you are referring to my attire, I like to perform for the children in the village, add a little magic to their lives.”

“I uh, sorry, although everything here comes off as magical, I don’t see a reason to perform.” He said, while his eyes, once again explored his surroundings.

“Whatever do you mean, nothing seems to be magical after- “

Realisation flood over the man’s face and fear climbed back up making itself present. “You aren’t from, here are you? You come from across the border.” He breathed, his voice slightly trembling. 

Next Chapter: CHAPTER FOUR - A JOURNEY FROM FEAR