Chapter 2: Chapter 2 – Lost

The sound of large bells faintly ringing in the distance is the first thing Eric hears when he comes back to consciousness, followed by birds chirping and children playing outside. Fully coming to, he can immediately tell he wasn't in his own bed. The walls around him were made of brick, the ground of stone and the bed he was laying in seemed like it was incredibly old due to it not having any kind of cushion, the blanket draped over him also seemed to be some sort of animals pelt. Right away, there was red flags going off in his mind, he wasn't sure where he was or how he got here but he knew the time for being lazy wasn't now.

Turning to get out of bed, Eric places his feet on the ground and takes the blanket off of himself. Coming to a stand, he wobbles for a moment and a sharp pain rings through his head; falling forward he stumbles around until he grabs ahold of a drawer with a mirror, looking into the mirror in his disoriented state he sees his reflection- though, it's not exactly what he had expected to see. For some reason, his hair had changed color, going from a dark black now to a more vibrant red. This only brought on even more confusion; looking up further, he takes notice of a crucifix above the mirror; though, in looking up he ends up losing his grip and balance, which then causes him to fall backwards where he lands on the ground.

Hearing the commotion that was going on in Eric's room, a feminine voice could be heard saying something that wasn't quite intelligible due to the thick walls muffling their words. Quickly opening the door, a woman steps in, "Oh my! Are you okay?" As she comes closer and crouches down beside Eric, he can now clearly see that it was the same woman he last saw before passing out. A woman in nun clothing, she appeared to be around the same age as him, with blonde hair and blue eyes, as well as the same features as Olivia. Eric wasn't quite sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him or if this was her, but it certainly looked like her and sounded like her.

Being pulled to sit-up somewhat, Eric manages to mumble and question, "Olivia? What happened?"

"I believe you have me mistaken with someone else, my name is Engelise. I found you outside a few nights ago, you're safe now in our monastery."

"Huh...?"

He was in a monastery, and that much was starting to make sense, though he didn't still know how he even got here. Eric was still dazed and confused, but things were slowly starting to be pieced together as the world came to a standstill and he regained his bearings. Managing to come back to a stand, the woman who calls herself Engelise also stands before him and questions, "Do you remember what happened?" Eric responds with a shake of his head; he wasn't too keen on explaining how he had tried to take his own life because of a debt he owed. Speaking up, Eric says, "I'm fine now, but I think I should get going." If a few days had passed, that meant that the time he was given to earn the money he owed was up. He needed to get a move on if he wanted to keep this second chance at life, quickly slipping past Engelise he aims to bolt out of the room while the woman calls out, "Wait!"

But he didn't stop; he was glad that someone had helped take care of him while he was out for as long as he was, but he needed to get a move on. His fight or flight senses kicked in and he quickly made the decision to fly, he wouldn't make the same mistake of staying around in the same spot, even if he was flat broke now. Running through the monastery, he eventually makes it to two large wooden doors that act as the entrance. Pushing the doors open, the bright beams of the sun obscure his vision for a moment before he gets a clear view of his surroundings.

This was not his city; it was like something straight out of a medieval movie he'd seen. A peaceful bustling town with nature surrounding the outskirts, it was very clear that he had either managed to get somewhere in the world that was very far away from where he was from -or- he had gone back in time nearly a thousand years. He was immediately stopped in his tracks, long enough for Engelise to catch up to him, "Sir! You need to rest!" She says.

"Where am I?"

"Stathford. This is Stathford."

"Stath- what?"

"Come back inside the monastery, you seem lost. We can sit down, I made some food and we can talk."

Eric was out of his element; he had a feeling that wherever he was, fleeing from debt was the least of his worries. It would likely be best if he sat down and actually figured out where he was. Turning to face Engelise, he gives a silent nod, and she promptly leads him back within, the walk wasn't very far as he was taken to the courtyard where a table was. Being left alone for a few seconds, Engelise went to get the food she said she had made.

Returning with two bowls, Engelise places one before Eric before taking a seat across from him with a bowl of her own. Reaching down towards her chest, she grabs the cross that dangled from her neck and cradles it into both of her hands before beginning a brief silent prayer. Eric, who didn't want to seem like a bad guest follows along and acts as if he was praying- though there wasn't any actual prayer he made, due to him not knowing how to properly make one.

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After the prayers, Engelise stares at Eric with a gentle and concerned gaze; she once more inquires, "You must have hit your head pretty hard. Are you sure you don't remember what happened?" With a shake of his head, he still resists telling his story and instead attempts to start questioning, "How long did you say I was out for?"

"Around three days."

"Am I still in California?"

"What is California?"

". . ." Eric was very certain that was a bad sign, his hair changing colors, waking up in some weird town, talking to someone who looks strikingly similar to another person who he just met- who also doesn't know what California is. He didn't think he could travel that far; maybe whatever trippy dream he had where he was falling through space was really real. Deciding to try his best to keep his composure he continues on with the questioning, "Do you have a map?"

With a gentle nod, she rises and briskly walks off, only to return a few moments later carrying a large rolled up piece of paper. Placing it beside Eric's bowl, she asks, "Where are you from? Narfolk, Fanfoss, Oakheart?"

"San . . . Francisco?" He replies, still not knowing anything about any of the names of places she was listing out. Engelise held a concerned look on her face, and while he unfurled the rolled up map, the woman asks another question, "You're not from Crelique, are you?" And in that moment, a wave of nausea washed over him. He felt his head pounding and his vision grew blurry, but he manages to somewhat keep his composure and chokes out, "No . . I don't even know what that is." After those words, he regains his composure fully and whatever nausea or pain he felt seemed to vanish.

Getting a chance to now look at the map that was given to him, he looks over the lay of the land- it certainly didn't look like any place he was familiar with. Above the largest portion of land read 'Anglosand' as he went further down he spots the name of the place he was currently at, Sthathford, surrounding there was the other towns Engelise was talking about- Narfolk, Fanfoss, Oakheart, then further up was a larger area named 'Kingdom of Umbris'.

Rolling the map back up, Eric asks, "You dont mind if I take this?" To which he gets a response in the form of a shake of Engelise's head. He had a feeling he was going to need the map, he was in a completely foreign land, he needed to figure things out quickly if he wanted to survive as he wasn't the type to do prayers and live in a Monastery. Starting to stand back up, Eric says, "Well, thank yo-" But is quickly cut off by loud banging on the front door of the Monastery followed by a masculine voice calling out, "Open up, we require the one you have been harboring by order of King Ulric."

Quickly standing from her seat at the mention of 'Ulric', Engelise moves and motions for Eric to come with her to the entrance. Creaking one of the doors open, she pokes her head out and looks around for a moment past the two armored men, she spots a carriage and steps out, waving for Eric to stay back for now.

"What business does the King have with one of our people?"

"We mean no ill will, it is simply that he believes this someone is lost and wishes to help him."

There was a moment of hesitation from Engelise as she turned away but didn't remove her gaze from the two men, attempting to further ease her mind, they added on, "If you wish, you could come along to make sure they are safe." But before Engelise can get a chance to go back inside or speak to Eric, he steps out and reveals himself, "I think you were sent to find me?" And with a brief scan up and down, one of the armored men gives a nod, "Fits the description. Climb on in the carriage and we'll be off to Umbris. The offer still stands for you, Sister."

The two men move in unison to get ready atop the carriage to set off, while Eric moves to get inside the back. He gives Engelise a brief glance, one thanking her for her help thus far before he sets his gaze down on the floor. Eric was of the belief that this is where he would be on his own in figuring out the world he was thrust into, however that was thrown out the window as the door to inside the carriage is opened and Engelise steps in to sit across from Eric.