Things Lost and Found (a Waglington and Mianite fanfiction)

Chapter 3

Hello there, lovelies! First off, how is this story already at 87 views?! When did that happen? Big shout out to Ceruleansky22 for editing for me. :D

Buckle up. This chapter is the longest I've ever written. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

*Wag's POV*

The morning was beautiful and blissfully migraine-free. Not a cloud could be seen from horizon to horizon. A cool breeze wafted through the windows I'd left open after finding the temperature agreeable this morning. The sun had not climbed very high in the sky yet, and the tea kettle was still heating. I sat at a desk in my study looking through an old potions and brews tome for the recipe I needed to make more sleeping potions. I had just found it and started over the ingredients list when I heard a loud knock on my tower's front door.

Jordan and Tucker wouldn't dare come near me this soon after that rampage—I really should apologize to them later. Tom is never up before noon. Who could it be, I wondered to myself as I used a scrap of paper on my desk for a bookmark and rose to answer the door. As I teleported down the elevator to the main floor, I heard the kettle begin to whistle on the stove. At least they are just in time for tea.

The knock sounded again as I reached the door. Opening it, I found Tom standing under my tower's arch, nervously shifting from foot to foot. He jumped slightly when I opened the door, acting as if I might bite him. He must have heard about last night.

"Hey, Wag! So, uh... how are you doing today?" he asked, obviously uncomfortable; scratching the back of his head was his tell when he was feeling less than confident.

I sighed and grinned. "Come in Tom. My tea is ready; we can talk on the balcony over a fresh cup—no surprises added," I assured, motioning him to enter. "I'd offer you a cup too, Dianite, but you know..." I added as I detected the extra presence hovering nearby.

"You are uncannily good at telling when I'm about, wizard. And the thought is appreciated," Dianite spoke as Tom entered my tower and we took the elevators to the kitchen and balcony level. "I'll have to call on your hospitality once I'm back in the flesh." He added with a chuckle.

"I'm sure you will, and I look forward to it. So, Thomas, what brings you to my wizard tower so early this fine morning?" I asked as he chose a seat on the balcony. Waiting for him to start the conversation all three of us knew was coming, I took two cups down from the cupboard and poured the aromatic, steaming tea into both. Setting the kettle gently down on the counter, I carried both of the drinks onto the balcony, handing Tom his cup before choosing a seat myself in the warm sunlight.

Looking out over the once lush landscape I saw cracked, barren earth and a towering volcano with a rivulet of magma trailing down the near slope on one hand. On the other stretched a dry sea bed littered with bits of dehydrated kelp, sun-bleached coral, and stranded ships with masts and hulls tilting at low angles. Seeing the disparity between my memory of the land a handful of days ago and what lay before me now, the thought occurred to me how strange this all was: how we'd come to be here, how different these gods were from our own and yet not so different, and how quickly things could change. Here I was sharing tea with an intelligent zombie who didn't burn in sunlight and the ghost of the lord of the Nether, and we were about to discuss how myself, a once immortal wizard of unequaled power, could now be subject to mortal ailments as mundane as migraines. If anyone had told me I would be doing this a year ago—before I'd even met the Realm's champions—I would have laughed hysterically and dismissed the person as a loon. My how things change, I thought wryly to myself as I took a sip of my steaming tea.

Tom spent a long moment staring intently at the liquid in his cup as if it held the secrets of the universe. Looking up to drill me with his eyes, he asked, "Is your migraine gone?"