Alexander opened a massive set of gothic-style metal doors eagerly and moved inside. The building was large and he could make out spiraling stairwells.The opposite side of the building from the doors was covered in windows looking out on the crimson-red skyline.

  He moved over to the first bookshelf and flared his mana field. Looking over the spines of the books he sighed as once again he could not make out the language. They were all oversized books, most of which took two hands to hold. The writings in large, bold print.

  As he skimmed over a few pages he observed that the script use varied between some form of hieroglyphs, a series of dotted patterns, and a type of lettering that obviously did not come from any alphabet variant he knew of.

  He decided to move up the stairs to see if there might be any statues on display that might be of interest.

  I am really earning my steps today he thought, as he moved up the stairs breathing heavily. The steps were taller and longer than he was used to. After reaching the top he was able to see that the second floor had windows in every direction. If he could make out the terrain he imagined it would be quite the breathtaking view.

  Looking about he couldn’t make out anything like a statue. He did however see a table and podium. The podium stood center relative to the building. He wondered if it might be of religious significance. The table held a series of knickknacks scattered around open books. Even before he passed his mana field over them—several items held their own glow. This was the first time he had seen this phenomenon since entering the portal. So maybe it wasn’t a phenomenon at all as he wasn’t exactly an authority on this topic. He picked up one of the glowing objects that looked similar to a chess piece. It was made of a high quality wood. The grain patterns he noticed didn’t look normal, almost as if the object was grown into this shape rather than carved.

  He set it back down on the table, but instead of resuming its shadowy state, it remained tangible. Alexander watched it fall through the shadow table, then through the second floor and down to the first floor before it made a light wooden bouncing noise as it hit the floor beneath him.

  “Whoops. I hope that wasn’t expensive.”

  He decided not to touch anything else in case he ended up breaking something.

  He went back down the stairs in a bit of a hurry and found the object slightly sunken into the floor. It was as if it couldn’t interact with the shadowy objects anymore. He picked the rook-like object up and it seemed to have one of the top protrusions broken off.

  Alexander felt bad for breaking someone else’s chess piece. He wondered if he should leave some coins to pay and replace it. He decided he would find a place to set the rook and some money where it would be easy to find. As he turned about looking for a suitable place Alexander's eyes caught a tall humanoid figure hovering across the room.

  The still incorporeal form spoke.

  “Weeeell… what do we have here?”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Upon hearing the voice Alexander froze, watching the shadow of a towering man approaching him from a doorway next to a bookshelf. The shadow stood at least eight feet tall and had some sort of crown on its head. The cape on its back struck an impressive figure as the shadowy substance that made up this world danced about as it trailed behind him.

  “We had seen a few signs that a worlds coalescence was beginning again… but we weren’t certain. I am glad to have contact with a lost lamb to confirm our suspicions. Pray tell, what brings you to my tower?”

  “Good afternoon, um, friend. I am Alexander and I was admiring your books. Though sadly I am unable to read them. My apologies if I trespassed.”

  “Oh? A user of the arcane are you? Maybe not such a lost little lamb as I expected. Must have a store of mighty power to reach through to the Place of Waiting. Are you a fellow Warlock by chance? Or more likely a practitioner of the elements?”

  Alexander did not enjoy hearing that Warlocks were in fact a thing. Not seeing the harm in sharing his affliction he simply shared.

  “I have recently been labeled as a Wizard.”

  The towering being stood a bit straighter upon Alexanders response. For a few seconds it felt as if the air around them had frozen with the silence.

  “A… Wizarrrd… from a newly adapted world… has visited my Deep Arcanum…” The shadow seemed to shudder. “I am truly honored.” The figure said stepping closer to him.

  Alexander, not entirely confident in the shadows good will, attempted to excuse himself tactfully.

  “I very much would like to stay and learn of your rich culture but… groceries.” He shrugged and lifted his bags innocently.

  “I too would very much like you to stay… I insist even.”

  The large figure lunged forward faster than Alexander could have predicted. Dashing over a dozen feet in an instant, it grabbed Alexander’s wrist. Its hand was like a vice holding him in place. As the being held his arm he felt like he was being electrocuted, the sensation slowly increasing in intensity. As the feeling intensified all of the shadows around Alexander began to take on a solid state. The crown shape on the beings head resolved into horns. Its face was handsome but menacing with its dark red skin and pointed features. Its clothing fashioned old gothic with gold buttons and cuffs. The floor began to turn marble around them and the books began to show all of their aged leather bindings. He was even able to smell the vellum in the air.

  Alexander finally had a feeling that he might be in a bit of danger. What the being did not know however was that Alexander had attended several self-defense classes as a boy scout. He executed a very simple maneuver. First he bent at the knees. His wrist that was being held, he tilted backwards to point towards himself. Then he used his free hand to pull backwards on his bound hand with his weight and his arms flexing together.

  His hands flew upward breaking the grip of the large humanoid which allowed Alexander to stumble backwards out of its range. A tube of Pringles fell out of his grocery bag, but he turned and ran out the door of the shadowy Arcanum sacrificing his favorite crumble free chips. Immediately upon exiting the Library he saw a glowing white dome in front of the pet store. Not bothering to look back and see if he was being pursued he ran straight for what he assumed to be a portal way back to his car. As he jumped through the glow he ran straight into the side of his car.

  Alexander realized he was gasping for breath with his bags of grocery partially spilling onto the pavement. He felt wildly disoriented by the sudden change of scenery—squinting his eyes to readjust to the bright sun. He reached down to rub his knee where he had slammed the side of the car—he wondered what condition had fulfilled the frustratingly vague requirements Ben spoke of. Which of the ‘learning something’ had he triggered to get back to his vehicle. The only thing he felt he had learned was not to tell strange beings that you are a Wizard.

  As Alexander bent down to gather his groceries back up—he failed to see a black shadowy finger wriggling away from his car. When it had created some distance from the Wizard it sprouted wings and flew into the air.