Reverse Chronicles

Lost in Croverre Plain

    I explored the areas around the farm. It was a normal farm, it had a barn, a pasture, a shabby well, a storage shack, a field, a stable, and a house, where the farmers would live. A flock of sheep and an herd of cows grazed on the pasture meadows. As far as the eye could see was meadows and plains entirely covered in green vegetation. Far from the horizon the silhouette of mountains could be seen, they seemed to surround this plain where I am on. I tarried back and forth from each corner of the farm avoiding any puddle or trough that may enable me to see myself.

    The sight of my image would shock me so much that my voice would be totally spent. After some time looking around the farm, I finally mustered the courage to enter the house which was in the middle of the entire area. It was clear noon, the sun was high up in the sky and not a single cloud formation condensed on the azure sky.

    "Hello, is anybody here?" I turned the door knob to try if it was locked but was not. I slowly opened the door and quietly entered the house. It was a simply decorated house, with minimalist decor and furniture that cleanly occupied the space. I stumbled on the living room where it looked very cozy. A fireplace faced the living room set, complete with sofas, a center table, a colorful rug. I did not tarry any longer and went to the kitchen. I found signs of life, someone was just cooking lunch. There were used kitchenware and cutlery. There were still even leftover from a dish which was aromatic but looked weird. Looking at the leftovers, my stomach rumbled, as I still did not eat lunch. I dug in on the strange-looking soup and helped myself. "This tastes like mac and cheese, but with potatoes as macaroni," I thought.

    As I was finished eating, a message suddenly appeared in front of my face. I stumbled back as it suddenly flashed. "Health points replenished, magic points replenished," it said. What was even stranger is that I saw two bars on my upper left. A green bar which glowed for a bit as it got longer before vanishing, and a blue bar just below it also doing the same thing. Stuff just got crazier.

    Suddenly, I heard footsteps upstairs. "Is anybody here?" I called for a second time, but still there was no answer. I grabbed a broom from the kitchen and another strange message appeared in my sight, "Broom equipped." I proceeded upstairs with my old-fashioned weapon of choice. "Hello, is anyone here? I'm here to ask for directions. Please come out," I asked as nicely as I could. Suddenly, something just hit me from behind. I could see the green bar from my upper left shortening.

    I quickly turned back facing my opponent with my weapon on hand. It was another person, who also carried a broom. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" the man said, pointing the broom at me. "I just want to talk, good sir..." before I could finish talking, he slashed me with the broom. Thankfully, I was able to guard on time with my own broom. I wanted to calm him down but he went on berserk and did a barrage of slashes aimed at me. Strangely, I was able to fend all of them. "Woah," I noticed something different in this body, there were surely some extra weight but it was easy to move around and I feel light with every movement.

    Because I let my guard down, the man was able to hit me on multiple areas that proved to be very painful. A final thrust to my stomach led me to cower pain on the floor. I saw my green bar quickly depleting before my eyes, it was almost empty. In a last attempt, I shouted with all my might, "WAIT!" The man stopped and looked at me with aquiline-glaring eyes.

    "I just want to talk!"

    "Oh, why didn't you say so," the man replied putting aside his broom and helping me up. At the last moment, when my green bar was about to get empty, I was able to save myself from perhaps something perilous. From deduction, the green bar must be the health points the earlier message talked about, and this blue bar must be my magic points.

    "Magic?" I laughed at the idea. The man led me to his kitchen where he served me with another serving of potato and cheese. "I'm sorry for attacking you so needlessly," the man said as he tended to my wounds. He put his hands in front of my bruises on my right hand and suddenly began enchanting, "O, spirits of the land, grant me the power to heal, so that I may be able to help those who are suffering." A light teal mist emanated from his hands. Quite miraculously, my bruises were healed! "Was that magic?" I asked him to which he nodded in accord.

    "So who are you? Why are you here? And why are you dressed in such strange clothes?" the man began to throw some questions.

    "My name is Josh," I replied.

    "Josh? What a bizarre and hilarious name for a girl," the man replied.

    "I'm not a girl, I'm a boy!" I raised my voice in response to which he just laughed heartily.

    "As to why I'm here," I continued, "a flashing light just transported me here right in your farm. I'm from another world, you see, that is why I have these strange clothes."

    The man just laughed at the thought and slammed the table. 

    "Where am I?"

    "You are at my farm, in the middle of Croverre plain," the man answered. "I seriously thought you were a thief from the neighboring kingdom so I hid when I saw you scurrying around the farm. And I was able to take you by surprise."

    "You almost killed me."

    "In the hands of a master, a broom is a good weapon of choice even surpassing a blade in inexperienced hands."

    "Who are you?"

    "Me? I'm just a simple farmer living in the middle of Croverre."

    "Okay," I sat silent for a moment. "Listen, I need to find a way to get back to my world. Do you know someone who might have a clue on how to get back?"

    "Well, you should consult the mages in Jyria, maybe they know of a way to help you."

    "Where is Jyria and how will I get there?"

    "Jyria is to the east, just past the eastern mountains. A trip by foot would take an entire week."

    "Please help me get there," I started to beg.

    "No."

    "Please help me!" I used a girl's charms in my bidding employing every technique that I knew that may sway his mind.

    "I will give you enough supplies and a map, that is all." He stood up and went outside.

    "What a selfish old man," I thought. "Can't he see I am a 'damsel in distress'?"