"I haven't forgotten anything," I explained, and wasn't that an interesting fact. What kind of powers did they have here that could make sure that even memories stored in damaged grey matter were healed? "but where I came from, it was the year 2013, and while I'm not actually sure where I was before I was shot and tossed through a portal, I'm pretty sure it wasn't anywhere near Sandpoint. I don't think this is my Earth."
"My Earth," Father Zantus said as if tasting the phrase. "That's a fascinating way of saying it. Normally around here we say 'my land'."
I blinked. It took a second to understand how I'd been misunderstood. "We use 'my county,' but that's not what I meant. I meant that this planet wasn't the same dimensional equivalent of my planet, which is called Earth."
Now it was father Zantus' turn to blink. "Well now," he smiled. "You certainly are a traveler aren't you? What an auspicious omen right before the Swallowtail festival."
He seemed, pleased, and not at all befuddled.
"As a cleric of Desna, I have some experience in the knowledge of the spheres, be they planets or the outer planes. I can offer you some food while we try and pin where you from are down."
This was certainly not something I had expected to run into in a place as seemingly primitive as this. I looked at my fingers again, at the tiny ring that had kept me alive through my coma. Then again, any sufficiently advanced technology could look like magic. Wasn't that a Star Trek episode? Where they thought that they were visiting a primitive and superstitious society but actually they were so ridiculously advanced technologically that it looped all the way back around to looking like magic?
I nodded, and he offered his hand to help me up off the cot I was resting in.
His hand was rough. Calloused in a way that I wouldn't have expected in a priest. It reminded me more of the men that worked at the Dockworker's association. Father Zantus worked with his hands, but I couldn't tell how.
We walked out of what I was quickly coming to realize was whatever this world's equivalent of a novice's cell was, and I followed him, a bit unsteadily, down the hall into his office.
The office was covered in charts and maps. Each one was hand written, and each one preserved in a frame under a panel of remarkably clear glass.
Some maps were familiar enough; there was a map of the what sort of looked like Europe and Africa if you centered it on the Mediterranean, and squinted really hard. There was also a map of Sandpoint and the surrounding areas. A map of Varisia. Even an armillary sphere of a solar system; a device I only recognized because one of my mother's colleagues had one on his desk and explained to me what it was one time when I visited her at work.
But there were some maps that looked completely new; a map of a single city, set on a globe that seemed to be able to shift around as if driven by a complex clockwork mechanism; a painting of something called "the river of souls" that looked like it was half educational diagram, half LSD-induced fever dream; and a map of two spheres, set inside each other like a Russian nesting doll, but the inner sphere was layered like a gobstopper, and the outer sphere was something like a diagram of a hollow earth, with cities and natural features scattered across the inside.
It was this last map that Father Zantus took off the wall and placed before you, before heading off to start a fire in a small oven in the corner, so that he could put a small saucepan on, filling it with some water and salt.
"That needs to come to a boil before I add the oats," Father Zantus explained, returning. "This, is a map of the inner and outer spheres. I assume you're familiar with them?"
I shook my head. I was not, and pretending knowledge where I'd already committed to truth would have been counter productive.
Now shock colored Father Zantus' expression. "How? he shook his head interrupting himself. "Never mind. I suppose I can explain. The inner sphere is the realm of mortals, more or less. At the center is the positive energy plane, where souls are forged. Surrounding that is the material plane, and on the... opposite side of the Material plane, except also taking up the same conceptual space and simultaneously existing as its opposite is the Shadow plane, at the center of which is the negative energy plane, the source of all undead. By center, I mean that the material and shadow planes are wrapped around the positive and negative energy planes respectively. They aren't at the center of our universe. Probably?"
That only raised a lot more questions, and I was no longer certain whether I was getting a geography lesson or a religious one. Either way though, the information might end up important in the future, so I paid attention.
"Now, behind the material plane, in a direction that is simultaneously perpendicular and parallel to the shadow plane, which it is also touching, is the First world, The realm of the fey. They... aren't really part of the river of souls. Death doesn't quite... stick properly there. Well, at least not for its native inhabitants. For visitors it's still quite fatal. The fey don't seem to understand that of course, or perhaps they just don't care. Either way, the first world is mostly irrelevant, but I have included it for the purpose of completeness."
Father Zantus paused. "You have questions."
"You said visitors? People actually go to these other planes?" I asked.
"Quite often, and sometimes the denizens of other planes visit us here. Planar travel is not exactly commonplace; it takes high level magic, or access to... tears in reality. But it does happen."
Tears in reality. Lisa had created one of those. By itself it was on the way to revitalizing the economy of Brockton Bay. The fact that they were more common here made me wonder what the true military and economic power of this society really was.
"Any other questions?" Father Zantus asked.
"None quite yet," I replied.
"Now, surrounding the material plane, and the shadow plane, but not the first world, are the outer layers of the inner sphere. The elemental planes. In order, they are Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. They're sort of like layers of glaze on a pot, except that they're all equally easy to access from our material plane because the Ethereal plane connects them all to us, as well as to the Shadow Plane and the first world. It's a transitive plane, somewhat like the Astral plane which surrounds the inner sphere and allows transport to the planes of the outer sphere. The Ethereal plane connects the inner sphere together, like a needle stitching multiple layers of a garment together."
"So, there was the first world, then it was set aside and the material and shadow planes replaced it, and we're surrounded by the four elemental planes of elements and all connected by the ethereal plane?" I asked, trying to make sure to that i understood this correctly.
"Sort of. But yes. Close enough. Since I you're not an Outsider, you must be from the material plane," Zantus expressed in a way that yet again left only more questions.
"An outsider?" I asked. There had been a shift in tone on that word that indicated it was a term of art, not a general term for someone from far away.
"A denizen of another plane; like a fire elemental, or an angel, or a demon. Their bodies... are basically blends of souls and the quintessence of their native plane. Or perhaps their souls are the quintessence of their native plane? They're... a complicated issue, but to explain my point, there are certain spells which only work on humanoids. They do not function on outsiders. Since Linzi was forced to employ a scroll of one to get you here in time to save your life, and since the spell functioned as intended, we can therefore deduce that you are from the material plane."
None of this matched what I knew about... Planar cosmology? Was that the proper term?
"Are you sure this is correct?" Taylor asked. "It doesn't fit what I know about how all this works."
Father Zantus perked up at your response. "Really?" he asked. "Please then, tell me about your travels, and I'll try to figure out what's happening."
"So I come from a planet called Earth. Specifically Earth Bet. There are... probably millions? Of this planet all occupying the same space in different dimensions, all of them slightly different from each other. My Planet is... was called Earth Bet because another Earth contacted up a few decades ago."
"Another earth? Was it not another planet fixed in Desna's firmament?" he asked, motioning to the armillary sphere, a hint that was enough for me to understand that Desna's firmament probably meant outer space.
"No. The landmasses were all identical to our Earth's as of 3 or so years prior to the contact. after that.... There were some changes between our two worlds."
"Fascinating..." Father Zantus mused as he considered the problem. "A demi-plane maybe? Or, no. Wait, You said millions of earths? That's beyond any mortal wizard to create I think. A naturally-occurring phenomena that creates Demi-planes then. Did you ever leave the bounds of your world? Step on other planets?"
I blinked. That was.... not a question I expected from a society that believed in magic and did not seem to believe in electrical appliances.
"We landed some people on the moon, before the Simurgh came," I shivered involuntarily at the name. She had worked with us, at the end, but... Nothing would ever get me used to her.
"Your moon," Father Zantus chewed on his lip. "No, that might still be within the range... It might be different if you'd explored the entire solar system, certainly different if you'd gone beyond that, but a planet and its moon? that... should be possible?"
It was clear he was guessing, but it looked to be an educated guess.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"I think that you lived in a naturally occurring phenomenon that spawned off demiplanes of your world. It probably emulated the rest of the night sky for the material plane from the edge of the demiplane. you never would have known unless you traveled far enough to hit the edge."
Father Zantus paused.
"You might actually be from the actual Material plane itself, or you might be from one of the demiplanes. It would be hard to tell either way, but if you aren't from the material plane, and there are indeed millions of worlds, you might have trouble going back."
I winced. "Are you sure this isn't also an Earth?" I asked.
"How many planets were in your solar system? And how many of them were inhabited?" Father Zantus asked swiftly, fetching the Armillary sphere and handing it to me.
"Nine, and... none of them?" I replied.
"Then we cannot be the same planet." Father Zantus replied. "Akiton," he pointed to the fourth ring in the system, "is also inhabited. You can see it with a powerful enough telescope," he paused. "Actually, according to the teachings of Desna, all the planets in our solar system are inhabited, even the diaspora," at the last term, the pointed to the 6th ring of the armillary, which seemed to depict an asteroid field.
Father Zantus got up to add the oats to the boiling pot. "Feel free to acquaint yourself with any of the maps. I will say though that the map of Sandpoint is probably the most useful of my maps. "Once this finishes cooking, I'll have to leave you to your own devices. The Swallowtail festival is tomorrow, and I have preparations to make. Linzi should be here shortly. I'm sure she'd be happy to accompany you to anywhere in Sandpoint if you tell her a bit about your travels so far."
With that, the conversation devolved into silence as I studied Father Zantus' maps. By the time Linzi arrived I had planned out my day.
I was going to visit:
(Pick 1 Only)
[][Junk Beach]
-Linzi Explains that the local dung sweeper regularly tosses Junk off the cliff and onto to Junk beach, bits of scraps, lightly used tools and weapons, and perhaps the occasional treasure could be found there, but most likely what you'll find is a bunch of broken crap. of course, all it takes to comb through the beach is time; and if you don't take the junk, the ocean will.
[][The Garrison]
-Linzi explains that the garrison is the headquarters of the town's militia, but also its sheriff, Belor Hemlock. Maybe it would be useful to introduce yourself to local law enforcement?
[][Town hall]
-The mayor, Kendra Deverin can usually be found here. Maybe she can give you an overview of the town? or maybe a task to earn some money? Or maybe she's just too busy.
[][The house of Blue Stones]
-A monastery dedicated to Irori, the ascended god of self-perfection. Linzi explains that the place also has a library. It's open to all worshipers of Irori, but unless you are one, and you aren't; you'll probably need to turn on the charm to let her let you in. Still, by all accounts the library is well stocked with knowledge of both history, and the planes.
[][Vernah's Fine Clothing]
-Your clothing is itchy, and as a tailor, Linzi explains, maybe you can help out there in order to get some new clothing? You are a tailor, aren't you?
[][The Hagfish]
-A pub. For just 1 silver, you can try and drink an entire tankard of "water" from the hagfish's tank. If you win, you'll be able to carve your name in the beam behind the bar! Linzi excitedly explains. She also happens to mention that winners will get to keep the pouch that contains all the prior entry fees since the last winner. Linzi can spot you up to three silver, but you'll have to pay her back once you win! The fact that you could lose never seems to enter her head.
Voting will last 12 hours, until Noon (eastern US Time) tomorrow.
