The Other Side: A Second Chance

I don't know how I feel about cities. In all my time being alive, I've always lived in suburbia, or in this world, a quaint little home in a farming town. Due to this, I never really had any experience being around vast quantities of people and crowds, except for during the horror show that was Kassel. I don't like it.

The sights and visage are cool, and experiencing it from the back of a wagon was different than walking along the sidewalks beside hundreds of people. It was anxiety-inducing, to say the least; however, I tried my best to cope with the knowledge that we were currently safe. The Rusivites are miles upon miles away, and here, in the city, we can relax.

We left Aunt Saria's home about an hour after breakfast, which was a bowl of oatmeal and delicious fruits. God, it was nice to have something that wasn't dried meat and crackers. When we left, the city was somewhat quiet, or at least as quiet as a bustling city can get. The streets were packed with people, but they were spacious enough that no shoulders were being bumped, and I could easily walk alongside Isa with Varis.

As we walked, my and my brother's eyes were darting left and right, up and down, soaking in all that we could see, especially when my eyes landed on the front display of a toy store that was chock full of animatronic action figures and scarily realistic stuffed toys.

Varis begged Isa to take us over to the shop, and my mentor sighed and relented with a smile as we carefully crossed the road and went over to the shop. I vaguely recall a toy store back in Oren, a small little shop that my mother took us to a handful of times during the earlier years when I was a baby. The toys in this world were fascinating, to say the least, with how many of them seemed to be imbued with magic. Just like the animatronic toys from my old life, except here they were made of wood or stone rather than plastic.

I will say, though, that they were not cheap.

"Luna, look at that one!" Varis pressed his finger on the glass as he pointed to a large wooden true dragon. It was beautifully painted to resemble a red dragon, similar to what I had seen during the battle. Its eyes shone a bright green, and amazingly, it was moving in a surreal fashion, almost as if it were at a lower frame rate, which is the best way I could describe it. Its head and long neck craned up and down, left and right, eyes painted, scanning the scenery as its mouth opened and closed as if it were roaring.

Isa gasped when seeing it, but not due to its quality of movement. "A gold piece! That's about a farmer's month of pay!"

"But it's so cool!" Varis pressed his face into the glass.

"Okay, get your snotty nose off of that!" I said, tugging on him gently.

"My nose isn't snotty!" Varis huffed and turned to look up at Isa. "Do you think we'll be able to buy something, Madam Soza?"

Isa frowned a little and shook her head. "Not currently; I only have a handful of coins left," she said as my brother pouted. Isa reached over and patted him on the head. "Once your parents and I get some work, maybe we can scrounge something up, but I can't make any promises."

He slowly nodded and poked his side. "It's okay, Varis; I can probably get us something," I said to him, and he blinked and looked at me.

"You can?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Well, get might be the wrong word, but I can probably make us something!" I proclaimed.

Now Isa was curious. "What do you mean?"

I puffed my chest. "Well, Momma showed me a while back at home that magic can be used to pick up stones and shape the earth. We saw it back at the river, right?" I pointed at the shop window toward some clay and stone figurines. "I can sort of do this with my pebble spell. So maybe I can learn how to shape stone into whatever we want!" I smirked smugly.

Varis's eyes widen. "Oh, that's so cool! Could you teach me too?"

I blushed a little. "Uh, well, I don't know how to do it yet." I held my hands up. "But Momma can maybe teach me, and uh, maybe I can teach you afterwards. Or she can teach us both!"

Isa giggled as Varis smiled and nodded his head rapidly. "Okay!'

With a pleasant sigh, Isa motioned for us to get a move on. "Alright, children. Lets keep moving."

 

---

 

"My feet hurt!" Varis whined. "And I'm hungry." He huffed.

It's a little past noon; we've been walking for a few hours now, taking in the sights around Johanneson, such as the World News building and the Grand Spire, which was one of the tallest buildings in all of the city. Isa told us it was one of the Magus Concordium Towers and that nearly every major city on Enora possesses one. At least those that recognize the Concordium.

By this point, we were nearing what was called Grand Central Park. Almost like the actual Central Park, I was familiar with in my past life, it was a massive nature retreat in the center of the city, full of pink sycoras and other colorful trees I wasn't familiar with.

"We'll be stopping soon," Isa said with a heavy sigh. Along with our sightseeing, we stopped off at business after business as Isa tried to find a place willing to take her in.

To say we had bad luck would be an understatement. As to be expected from the war, the city was jam-packed with refugees like ourselves, and because of that, the competitiveness to find work had skyrocketed. Most businesses had already hired people before us, leaving us to meander our way around the city from business to business.

Isa sighed as we stopped at the entrance of the park and paused. Stopping just behind her, I glanced at what she was looking at. At the front of the park, there was a sign half-hazard placed over the original, which said, "WELCOME TO TRENTONVILLE."

In front of the gate was a group of Heinmarran soldiers, stopping those from entering and leaving as they began to sift through their belongings. "What's happening?" Varis asked me.

"I don't know," I replied as I looked up at Isa.

Isa said nothing as she glanced through the cast iron fence that surrounded the edge of the park and squinted. "It looks like there was a refugee camp placed here in the park."

Moving over to the fence, I squinted as well. Directly ahead of me was a decently sized lake, and just across was a thicket of trees, to which I could faintly see that through the gaps were dozens of tents and campfires.

"I wonder why they're calling it Trentonville," Varis said as he glanced back up at the sign.

"Thomas Trenton is the regional governor," Isa said as she glanced in the direction of the Gothic manor at the very edge of the park that was ever present on the horizon.

"What's a region governor?" Varis asked.

Isa took a deep breath. My brother has been asking questions non-stop during our walks. "He's like the Kaiser. But instead of the country, he runs just this area." Isa said it plainly.

I could tell by looking at Varis that he didn't quite understand. "He's like the mayor in Oren," I said simply, and this seemed to click.

'Oh okay! So he's a bigger mayor!" He beamed and I nodded.

"Excuse me! Pardon me!" A man called out, and I turned to see a person carrying a large wooden box with boxes on top stumbling towards us. "Heavy load! Heavy!" Suddenly his foot caught a crack in the sidewalk, and my eyes widened as he and all of his cargo spilled forward."

In a swift motion, I spun around, unclasped my wand, and pointed it towards the man. "Gust!" I called out, sending a torrent of air towards him. The flow of air pushed the man in the chest, sending him back up onto his feet, while the rest of the torrent slowed the descent of his belongings so that they gently landed on the ground.

Swaying on his two feet, my eyes widened when I saw the tall, human man with long, blonde hair adjusting his circle-rimmed glasses with astonishment. "Doctor Kegan?" I asked as the man looked at me.

"Well, I must say…" He said still reeling from having almost face-planted. "You just happen to show up out of the blue." He smiled. "Thankfully it's always around pleasant times, thank you."

Isa came over and kneeled beside the doctor as she began to help him grab his belongings. It seemed to be a mix of books, groceries, and medical supplies. "Why are you carrying so much by yourself?" Isa asked him. "No wonder you nearly smashed your face."

The doctor laughed pathetically and said, "I was just hoping to cut down the number of errands today, that is all. Ha…"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Are you taking these to your clinic?" I asked him.

"Yes and no." He grunted as he lifted the heaviest box. "Not the main clinic at least; I've opened a shop in Trentonville just the other day." He nodded towards the camp Isa and I were looking at. "Many folk from all over are taking root there, and well, not many of them have access to a clinic or a church."

Isa smiled. "That's kind of you to set one up so close to them."

Doctor Kegan smiled a little. "Well, it's all part of the business."

Isa frowned. "So you're doing it for money."

The doctor scoffed. "Well, I need to make a living somehow; I don't run a charity, and besides, my rates are cheaper compared to those scalpers over in Helmsworth district." He puffed his chest.

Isa cocked an eyebrow. "How much do you run?"

"Depends on the treatment." He pursed his lips. "But a routine checkup is around three coppers."

Isa relaxed a little. "You're going to run yourself into the red, Doctor." She nodded towards the supplies in his box. "I doubt those cost a few coppers. You might as well be doing it for free then."

"As said, I don't run a charity; however, I'm also not cruel." Isa chuckled and smiled as she relaxed fully beside him.

"We're out walking and searching for work," Isa said. "Would you like us to help you carry your stuff so you don't almost kill yourself again?"

Kegan huffed and stuck his nose in the air for a moment before finally relaxing and saying, "I would actually like that, thank you." He bowed his head.

"Luna, Varis, take the books off of him." Isa said.

"Careful with them; those are valuable medical texts," the doctor said before pausing when his eyes landed on Varis. "Oh, you… You're the little brother, aren't you?"

Varis scoffed. "Little?! I'm not little! I'm the big brother!"

Isa snorted and laughed as the doctor blushed.

"My apologies; I heard last that Luna here was looking for you!" The doctor looked at me and smiled. "I'm glad to see you found him. Did you all find your parents?"

"Yes!" I said happily, with a shit-eating grin at being confused as the oldest. I smiled at Varis, who looked defeated, and playfully nudged him.

"Excellent," he said calmly. "I'm glad to hear at least some happiness can be found in this tragedy." He hummed. "Well, follow me; we aren't far from the village."

The doctor began to walk ahead toward the soldiers by the park gates. We were stopped by the soldiers, who did a quick search over all of our belongings, making sure nothing suspicious was found. I noticed nearby was another sign displaying a trench coat figure who was hunched over dropping packages with text saying, "IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING. SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES MUST BE REPORTED TO THE STATE."

As we moved forward and the soldiers came over to me, Isa gestured for me to let them pat me down. The woman who searched me over gestured for me to unclasp the enigma bag my mother gave me, and I, the soldier, took it. She then opened the bag, and when she saw that it was magical, she raised an eyebrow at me before turning the bag upside down and turning it inside out.

Suddenly a mass amount of items fell out of my bag, ranging from random items I grabbed from home to bones and somewhat rotten flesh from the jabbers we hunted and forgot about, as well as the creepy as hell suicide note Isa and I found.

The few soldiers around us sat stunned, seeing all the items and the woman holding my bag glanced at me. I laughed nervously and said, "I, uh, forgot about all the dead jabbers I had in my bag. Heh, heh…"

Technically, I had nothing illegal on me, though the soldier's opinions of me were rather suspicious. Though I couldn't blame them, if I opened a little girl's bag and found a bunch of dead rabbits, I'd be concerned too.

At least the soldier was nice enough to help put all my items in the bag, and thankfully she didn't read the suspicious note. Once all of my stuff was put away, the soldiers opened the gate and allowed us into Central Park.

The walk through the park around the lake was beautiful. Upon entering the park, it was as if all sounds of the city vanished, and for a brief moment, it felt like we were back on the road again walking through the wilderness. Varis continued to complain about his feet as we walked while Isa and the Doctor seemed to be catching up on what had happened since we parted ways.

Up ahead, I could smell roasting meat and other foods from the campsite, and my stomach audibly growled as we entered the thicket. Moving along the path, as we came into a clearing, my eyes widened as I saw before me a sprawling tent city. Hundreds of tents sprawled out before me as people of all races and classes meandered about in absolute squalor.

Men and women sat around fires, their clothes disheveled and filthy, and their faces caked in mud. Barrels lay scattered, some filled with dirty water, others on fire. "Holy shit," I couldn't help but whisper to myself, and Isa's ear twitched upon hearing me, though she didn't say anything.

"It's just up ahead," Kegan said. "It has the blue cross on it. Mr. Tenorahn, the big orc man, if you recall, was kind enough to keep watch to make sure no thieves stole anything.

"The Tenorahns are here?" I asked with a big grin, as I was happy to hear those reluctant orcs made it here.

Kegan smiled and nodded. "Aye, they are. I offered them some work at my main clinic. They have no medical expertise, but they help with keeping tabs on my patients and, well, security, of course."

I was a bit surprised, honestly. Last I recall, Kegan said some suspicious things about orcs during the dinner we had with them. I hope his opinion has changed.

We made our way down the path towards the large tent Kegan had pointed us to, and sure enough, sitting on a stool was the large orc himself, Gortak. Wearing nothing but a gray tank top and black suspenders, his massive cannon-like arms were crossed around his chest.

"Took you long enough, Nigel," Gortak grumbled before cocking his head upon seeing Isa and me. His eyes narrowed for a moment before suddenly a big smile appeared on his face, revealing his large teeth and gnarly tusks. "Ahha! I see you encountered some familiar faces."

Kegan smiled and said, "Yes, that's why I got held up. You see, they helped me after a, uh, accident."

"This man thought he could carry over a hundred elems of supplies around town with this twig like arms," Isa smirked.

Gortak let off a grumbling chuckle and said, "That's why I said to give me a list, and I'll go get them."

Kegan rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, however, I'll admit. I am not intimidating like you and would do a horrible job protecting my own goods."

"Not if you have a gun," Gortak chuckled as Doctor Kegan gestured for us to step inside his tent.

"Bah, a gun. I am a man of healing, not killing!" Kegan scoffed.

"And this is why you're such a pushover." The orc continued to chuckle as he ducked his head inside along with us.

The tent was very reminiscent of the triage I had seen at the military camp. It was long, maybe two dozen feet or so, about a dozen feet wide, with about six cots laid out to treat patients on. Towards the back were a small work desk and some containers to store Kegan's supplies, which were all securely locked.

"Thank you," Kegan said as we all placed the items beside his containers. "I'd probably still be scrambling at the gate right now if it weren't for you all. Here." He reached into his coin purse, pulled out five copper coins, and handed them to Isa. "Take it."

"Whoa, I, uh—there's no need." Isa smiled.

"You said you were looking for work, weren't you?" Kegan asked with a raised eyebrow. "Clearly, you need money; take it."

With a reluctant sigh, Isa palmed the coins and put them in her purse. "You're welcome, Doctor."

Kegan smiled and nodded before straightening up as if a light bulb had gone off in his head. He snapped his finger and said as he pointed to Isa, "Speaking of work." He smiled. "If it's work, you need. I can offer you a job."

Isa's fuzzy ears twitched, and she turned to the doctor. "Is this about that clinic offer you asked about last week?"

The doctor smirked. "Eh, you have a good memory." He chuckled and nodded. "Precsiely." He looked at me, and I gulped. "Your little healer here would be a great boon to not only my business but yourselves."

"Doctor, I'm looking for a job for myself," Isa said with a sigh. "Not the children."

Kegan held a hand up and said, "That's fine. I'm offering a job to all of you. You're strong and intelligent, and you know your way around herbs and medicine. I can take you in as a nurse and teach you what you don't know; however, Luna is here. We know she can do practically anything to cure someone, without components or anything." He said he was smiling. "Not only will she save me money in terms of supplies and other resources, we can also treat more people. I spend less money; we all make more money. It's a win win."

Isa glanced at me. "What do you think, Luna?" She asked.

I smiled. "I-I don't mind helping people," I stuttered. "And if it helps Momma and Papa with getting money, then that's better."

Isa nodded. "I'll need to check with her parents," Isa said. "However, I'll be more than happy to take up the nursing job."

Kegan smiled. "Excellent! With all of us working together, I'm sure we can make the people here in Trentonville feel a lot better!"

"Hold on now," Isa said softly. "Again, I need to check with her parents."

"Doctor! Good doctor!" A familiar voice called out from the front of the tent.

Turning around, I gasped upon seeing an older elven man, Oscar, poking his head inside. "Are you open for business?" He called out.

"Mr. Reynolds!" Kegan straightened up. "I'll be opening up here in just a moment!"

"Oscar!" I called out and scurried past everyone.

"Luna?!" The older man stepped into the tent. "You are here! And safe!" He spoke in a usually broken Maurich.

I ran over to him and stopped just a couple of feet. "Where is Anne? Is she here?" I asked, looking around him.

The older man chuckled and said, "Anne is at home. Sick she is. I come to get medicine."

"She's sick?" I asked nervously, my ears drooping.

Oscar smiled. "Just a wee bit." He held up his index finger and thumb. "Allergies and cold. Bad combination." I sighed with relief; it was nothing major. "It is good to see you, and I see little man! Is that your younger brother?"

"I'm not younger!" Varis whined. "I'm the big brother!"

Oscar laughed. "Apologies!" He chuckled.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's my brother, Varis. Isa and I found my mom and dad!"

Oscar reached out and patted me on the head. "I'm glad. When you have time, Anne would be happy to see you."

I giggled and nodded as he tussled my hair. "Kegan, I wait outside. I have money to pay as well."

"I'll be with you shortly, Mr. Reynolds," The doctor called from over his shoulder as he placed his items away.

Oscar smiled at me and nodded as he stepped outside. I turned and looked back at Isa and giggled happily as I ran over to her and Varis.

Varis looked very confused as he asked. "Who was that guy, and who is Anne?"

Isa smiled at him. "Luna made a friend while we were traveling."

"Luna has friends?" Varis asked.

"Hey!" I squawked at him.