Of Realms and Relics

Dinner Before All Else

Lukens woke up feeling like he'd been on a week long beer grass mead bender. His head pounded and his tongue felt like a hairy caterpillar. He tried to sit up but his body screamed against the movement. He groaned and blinked his eyes. Nothing was focusing very well, what had happened?

He remembered selling his goods, making his best profit of all time ever in the history of Lukens the tradesman. There was something else though...a bird? Yes, that was it. He had bought a bird, but...it wasn't a normal bird was it? Nope, that thing had two heads and spoke!

Oh...oh God's it spoke. It was coming back to him now. It spoke, like a normal person. It told him a name...Skrim-Scram? That felt right. What else had it told him?

Lukens thought hard but his head throbbed so deeply. His eyes adjusted and he could see. Grass moving underneath him at a very fast pace. Was that his arms dangling?

He wriggled a finger. Indeed they were his arms. What in the world was going on? He pulled his arms in and propped himself up on his elbows. There was a red, shiny surface under him. It wasn't metal, or linen but it was stiff. He turned his head and saw that it surrounded him for about three feet on both sides.

"Ah! The man child awakens, so that means you're not dead. You're welcome." A voice said from behind him.

Lukens spun in place and sat up on his knees. Standing behind him was a man in a deep green robe, he had long white hair tied back in a braid and a equally splendid beard to match. He just had to be a wizard!

"Cor rejoices! You're a wizard!" Lukens said with a smile of amazement creeping into his face.

Pallando cocked an eye brow but kept looking ahead. "Yes, and you very well might've killed my good friend."

Lukens was taken aback, killed his friend? "I'm sorry, there must be a mist-" His words were cut off as Pallando tossed a dead crow at Lukens.

It all came back to him in a flood. He grabbed his head and rubbed his eyes with his palms.

"No, no, no. I tried to help him. We connected. I felt it. Who are you and what happened to the monster soldiers?"

Pallando looked down at Lukens as the flying disk began slowing down. "I saved you. I watched your fall and I took care of the undead soldiers. What do you mean connected?"

Lukens looked around as the disk came to a stop, this was what he had seen from the skies. "We connected. I'm a Link Mage. It's how he got so big. I knew we were going to crash and I felt him reach out, so I opened up. Then we hit."

Pallando clapped and bellowed a hearty laugh. "He did it again! Maybe he'll get a third name now."

Lukens was thoroughly confused. "A third name?"

"Ah yes! A third name. Each time he escapes death in this realm, his personality splits a little." Pallando said as he picked the bird carcass up and tucked it into his robe.

"He kept saying he was a thief and a wizard. I'm sorry, but I'm still so confused as to what is even happening."

Pallando stepped off of the floating disk. Regarding Lukens with a side glance, he pulled out his vial of blink juice. "I didn't expect to have to share this, and honestly, I'm not sure how it'll effect you. That undead army that shot you from the skies, they're part of a bigger problem. A much bigger problem. Like a dragon sized problem."

Lukens sat up straight and swung his legs over the edge of the disk, "So all of that talk was real. How do we defeat a dragon? I don't even know how to use my magic and I'm supposed to find three people. At least, that's what the bird said."