“We also need to discuss what’s been happening recently…” said an older man with short grey hair, his voice hesitant but firm. His sudden interjection broke the trance-like silence that had fallen over the group. Isaiahh and the others collectively drew in a deep breath as if waking from a spell, and then nodded in agreement.

Isaiahh spoke first, directing his curiosity toward the elder who had spoken, “When you say ‘what’s been happening,’ what exactly do you mean? What do you know?”

The second of the two women present—the one who had remained silent during my previous explanation—stepped forward with a look of troubled determination on her face. “Several weeks ago,” she began, her voice measured and serious, “there was a mysterious death at the school in the village of Betoh. Following that tragedy, students began to stop attending classes. Over just a few days, many of them vanished entirely. The teachers couldn’t determine what was happening, and the disappearances happened so suddenly that nobody found any useful clues beyond the initial death.”

A flicker of something conflicted passed through her eyes, but quickly vanished as my cloak shifted, the wings gently folding down around my shoulders. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, I stepped forward, meeting the woman’s gaze directly.

“Where I’m from, I’m a private investigator. Tell me exactly where this village of ‘Betoh’ is, and I’ll go investigate personally.”

The woman glanced around at the other elders. Some simply shrugged, others nodded silently, their expressions grave, eyes heavy with unspoken fears. Finally, she turned back to me, determination returning to her features as she prepared to provide directions.

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I had a lot to think about as Isaiahh lead me around the ‘village’ which for all and tense and purposes should be called a town.

This time, without being stopped i walked to the item shop I had seen before and stepped through its doors only to find it contained weapons of many varying kinds across its simply adorned walls. No magical items, no mystic items, just merely simple talismans based off of the religion of this world towards mysticism.

However, with the pretext of knowing an ‘after life’ did exist, I traded several things for talismans, blessed water, and ritualistic items.

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About a day and a half later, maintaining the old man's pace, we arrived at another village much like the one we had left.

“This is a sister town not far from ours,” Isaiahh said simply, leading us through the main gate flanked by tall, long walls that disappeared into the distance among several trees.

“Halt, old scoundrel!” An equally old voice called out from atop a two-story house.

“Eh? Was that our lord and savior, the dark underlord, speaking to me?” Isaiahh jokingly posed like a schoolgirl, leg kicked out behind him and one finger twirling his cheek.

“You… little fuck,” came an audible sigh.

Isaiahh smiled warmly as a man around his own age emerged from the two-story building, which oddly resembled Isaiahh’s own house in the other town. Perhaps they shared similar tastes?

“Jaeger, this is my lifelong brother and friend, Andrew.” The two men hugged tightly, as much as their old muscles would allow.

Andrew looked me up and down. “Eh…you don’t look like a grandchild, or I would’ve met you by now. So, I’ll assume you’re here to help us with our problem.”

I raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“Mmm… I thought so…” Andrew said, glancing downward behind him.

“Andrew and I have been friends our whole lives. After being given the rank of elder, we separated to lead the two closest towns. He is the wisest elder of this town—sometimes wiser than I am,” Isaiahh said, lifting a rolled cigarette toward Andrew, whose expression appeared forlorn. Andrew gave a weak smile and lit it.

“Cuh, cuh… fuck…” Andrew's smile widened, his eyes turning red.

“Oh, yeah…I should’ve mentioned that wasn’t tobacco… must be my dementia, sigh,” Isaiahh laughed, grabbing the rolled cigarette as Andrew held it out, shaking his head. Isaiahh puffed it several times before handing it back.

‘I wish I had a good friend like this…’ I thought with a wry smile at their antics.

They waved me inside the house, where I soon noticed their remarkably similar taste—everything, including furniture, was nearly identical down to the carpet. It wasn’t a perfect mirror image, though; items acquired during their lifelong travels differed slightly.

“Anyway, enough about us… explain what you know, and I’ll fill in what you don’t,” Andrew said, extinguishing the cigarette and becoming serious.

Isaiahh held up a finger. “Hold on… we have some other things to tell you first…”

We explained everything previously discussed with Isaiahh to Andrew, who, unlike the other elders, merely nodded. “That’s… crazy, and also really shitty.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry… life is strange.”

“You can say that again, you little shit,” Isaiahh muttered sadly, reminded of his own circumstances.

“I have a question he might not have asked… what was the ‘limit’ of that ‘map’ you spoke of for the demi-plane?” Andrew asked, seemingly unfazed by all the information.

“Oh… well, from his town—which didn’t seem to exist in that place—there was a fort, a cabin, a lake, a hermit hut, and then, after a while, nothing but an abyss. It wasn’t large, but from where I was transported, which seemed to match the coordinates near the fort… it would’ve stretched several miles beyond here.” I motioned in several directions, rubbing my chin thoughtfully. I hadn’t considered this before.

“So… several focal points. The hermit hut you spoke of does exist in this time. An old man lives there, actually… he's a kind person; trust my word on that. Isaiahh knows him, too. He's our third friend but is somewhat of a shut-in. Strange that it would remain… The lake exists as well; it's called Lake Sureen. The fort you mentioned is close to Isaiahh’s town, whereas the cabin location aligns exactly with my town, Betoh.”

I called forth Frog from the mist, catching Andrew’s intrigued gaze. From Frog’s mouth came a piece of paper and pen, dropping onto the carpet before Frog disappeared with a pat on its head from me.

“Allow me… I’m a scribe,” Andrew said, picking them up. His hands skillfully danced across the paper, quickly drawing circles, lines, and numerous symbols.

“The fort will be the central point of this map, and on the back…” Andrew created a nearly identical map based on my description of ‘where I came from,’ working almost entirely from memory.

It was clear now why Isaiahh praised Andrew’s skills. After about twenty minutes, Andrew glanced at Isaiahh. “A real smoke this time?”

Isaiahh smiled mischievously but pulled out a tobacco cigarette.

“Actually… smoke mine,” I offered, raising my cigarette that emitted a faint vanilla scent.

“Okay.” Andrew took it, lighting it up while muttering softly, “It’s sweet… mmm… coconut? No…”

“Coconut” I muttered before I looked up to the ceiling.

“Alright, on ‘your side,’ Jaeger, the fort is central. West of it is the cabin, then the lake, and finally the hermit hut. The ‘forest of death’ surrounds the cabin, touching the edge of the fort, encircled by the ‘swamp.’ I noticed your map lacks several places from our current world, meaning those locations likely don’t exist there.”

“What are those places?” I asked, eager to solve that puzzle.

“A church… the distance from Bastoh to Betoh, but in the opposite direction, is a small parish comprising just a monastery and a church—that’s the easternmost limit on your map. North of Betoh, about half a mile away, is the school where we've had issues. Within your demi-plane’s limits, that only leaves one more place…”

Isaiahh frowned, looking down at the map. “The lord’s house.”

“Lord’s house?”

“Remember what I mentioned about kingdoms? A small-time pompous douchebag oversees this area. Beyond here are several other towns he governs—nine in total—but they aren’t part of your map…”

Andrew nodded gravely. “A real douchebag.”

“So he might be involved somehow—or at least his negligence,” I speculated.

“About the school… as Isaiahh mentioned, several weeks ago a student died there under unclear circumstances, presumed a suicide. Soon after, four students stopped showing up. Teachers assumed they were emotionally affected by the death, but then parents began arriving, asking about their missing children. That’s when it truly began—students started vanishing one by one, prompting a search that revealed nothing. Lately one of our young scouts vanished...”

I took back my cigarette from Andrew, taking a long puff before asking, “Describe the teachers for me.”

“I need one of those smokes… Anyway, the teachers are men and women from elsewhere. They live on the school premises, which are sizable. Teachers come from various universities far away. Upon graduation, they select schools in desired areas and teach there, gaining experience to advance in rank.”

“An educational ranking?” That sounded unusual.

“That’s how our system works. Just as a craftsman advances from journeyman upward, teachers accumulate years to teach at higher levels or universities. The school isn’t prestigious; it’s lower mid-ranked at best, given our area’s sparse population.”

“So only your two towns utilize this school?” I asked, exhaling a creeping unease of clouded grey.

“No… Bastoh primarily trains craftspeople, needing only basic education taught by parents. School attendance is reserved for advanced studies like law, scribing, or philosophy. Betoh has many pursuing those fields, while Bastoh relies more on home education for its artisans. Town customs differ, but I believe it's an effective system.”

“Hmm… is Cadence’s father part of the military?”

“Yes, her mother too. Her mother is hot-headed, and her father is a highly skilled archer, attuned to nature. That’s why Cadence often leads hunts. Her parents are currently away from Bastoh.” Isaiahh nodded.

“Alright, just curious. Back to the school—as someone familiar with this area, could you describe the students who attended?” I asked thoughtfully, rubbing my chin.

“Rambunctious, cliquey, reserved, outgoing—like regular teens. Each field has divisions; as a scribe, I naturally dislike other arts. It's a simple aspect of our system, like how futfutball players might disdain golfga players, despite both being sports.”

‘What a funny coincidence,’ I thought dryly.

“I see… so class divisions might have played a role. Take me to the school,” I instructed.

Andrew and Isaiahh exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously. “Alright"

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It wasn’t too long of a trek through the trees surrounding Betoh. A well-laid path guided us straight to the school without issue. Of course, these paths didn’t exist where I came from—or rather, they had been swallowed by overgrowth and time.

Small, multicolored flowers peeked out from behind dark oaks before revealing their full splendor. Sunlight broke through the canopy above, casting warm beams of light between the shadows of the underbrush.

"Beautiful"—a word I would never have associated with this place before—but I found myself thinking it now.

Before long, a jagged stone wall came into view beyond the trees.

Taking it in fully, I noted it stood about eight feet high, made of four rows of thick two-foot bricks. Along the top ran a simple railing, thin iron bars jutting upward every half-foot like dull teeth. To the right, a matching gate came into view—tall, narrow bars in line with the railing. It rose about six feet, capped with a strip of stone across the top. A thick iron lock sat at the center, bearing a large keyhole—one of those older types you’d see in a medieval museum back home.

“I don’t have the key,” Isaiahh said plainly.

Andrew looked at him and raised a brow. “Ah,” he muttered, the sound carrying the weight of understanding. Neither of them would have had one—it made sense.

“I do,” I said with a smirk.

“Eh??” the two replied in unison, their eyes narrowing in sync as they watched me push toward the gate.

*CRRREEEK*

The metal groaned loudly as it swung open under the lightest pressure. The sound echoed across the school grounds, disturbing the quiet.

“Ah…” they both nodded, feigning wisdom as if this had been their plan all along.

“Tsk. Come on, show me the grounds,” I said with a grin, flicking a cigarette to my mouth. A quick spark from my fingers lit the end, and smoke drifted lazily out as I stepped forward, taking in the school compound for the first time. I also half realized I had been smoking nearly constantly for days. I wonder if it had something to do with the nature of the Eternal Cigarette but I was lighting it up even without thought.

Andrew took the lead through the gate and began to point at various spots across the courtyard, his eyes scanning the area carefully.