Searching For Andromeda 94 A Time To Prepare

Samuel woke up to a certain sound. He waited for his alarm, the 'beep' which should have been emanating from his phone every 8 AM—yet, he did not hear anything. Instead, he heard chirps. Chirping birds. This shouldn't be possible—OR the chance should be low, considering he was living in the city. Samuel opened his eyelids slowly, letting the rays of the sun pierce through the curtains of his minimalistic-designed room.

"Ha?"

Samuel paused. He wasn't in his room.

And then that's where everything sank in; from the earthquake to the laboratory and the dungeon. Again, Samuel wasn't his usual self anymore. His alert, electric-blue eyes gradually transitioned to realization. His parted lips closed as he lowered his gaze.

Samuel stared at his bandaged arm.

That was right—they were here.

They were in Andromeda.

Samuel rose from the bed and then ambled to the mirror etched in the walls beside the dresser. He stared at himself. He was the usual Sam, except he was wounded and his face was bruised. He also had bandages around his arms. 

--

After taking a bath and dressing up with the clothes Shey laid for them, Samuel scanned his entire look into the mirror once again. Under his dark blue overcoat—a mantle of thick woolen material, which fell from his shoulders to halfway down his legs engraved with silver, intricate patterns spreading from top to the hem of the coat—was a white blouse fastened by a leather belt. And from Samuel's belt, hung a sheath for a knife and a purse, paired with simple dark pants and a pair of dark, leather boots.

And the more Samuel continued to stare at himself, the more he looked like one of those fictional characters within Fantasy worlds. Except—this was real. He was really in a world br.i.m.m.i.n.g with fantastical lore. He wasn't a fictional character that is sent in on a mission filled with grandeur.

He was there because they were off to discover something beyond what they know.

Samuel exited his room and ambled his way downstairs. There, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent. 

"Sausages?"

Food that was familiar enough was laid on the table. Ranging from breakfast delights like eggs, sausages, and fried rice to a pile of potatoes and roasted chicken appeared before Samuel, whose stomach growled in hunger.

"Oh, Samuel. Sit here," it was Shey, who had just finished pouring drinks to the wooden mugs. Samuel sat to the chair and then, "eat up. You need a lot of energy to start the day." He was given a tremendous amount of food on his plate.

"Th-thank you," Samuel said. 

"You're welcome. Now, eat up." 

Samuel then nodded and then started to eat his food. He then glanced at the boy in front of him—Dro, if he remembers correctly (of course, he does), gobbling his food as if it was his last meal. Shey was still preparing food and wasn't eating with them. 

"Where's Ephraim . . . er, Miss . . . Mrs. . . Ramgold?"

The guild master chuckled. "Just Shey is fine, Samuel. And oh, here he is."

Samuel turned his head towards the one who had just arrived now. Ephraim Ignacio Hughes. If Samuel was a Fantasy character, then Ephraim must be a Fantasy protagonist. He wore a green cardigan, and a grey turtle neck underneath it. He also had a tie with orange and white stripes that complements the cardigan and the cotton turtleneck underneath it. In Ephraim's dark belt strapped several purses and holsters; it was paired with white pants that had a bandage wrapped around on the right side of his leg. And like Samuel, he also wore a pair of dark leather boots.

"Good morning, Dungeon Conqueror!" It was Dro, "you look like you healed."

Ephraim nodded. "Yes. That is thanks to the guild master's healing potion. I couldn't thank you enough,"

"Oh, no, no. It's only natural for me to help people," said Shey. "Now eat up." 

Samuel blinked. That was right. They were made to drink some potions last night. He glanced towards his arms. "So that's why my arms didn't hurt when I took a bath . . ."

Ephraim sat by the chair and then started eating. Samuel made several glances to Ephraim. He wasn't wearing his gla.s.ses, and that minor detail actually made a difference.

"Ara. You two didn't wear the gloves I prepared?" Shey asked, sitting on Samuel's side. Ephraim was beside Dro, after all.

"Gloves?" Samuel asked.

"Yes. They're in the dresser along with the clothes. You didn't see them?"

Samuel tilted his head. This cloth also comes with gloves too? Aren't they really dressing up like—

"Those gloves, along with your clothes, are customized by the tailors in my guild to support your bodies in battle. Although they are light, they can serve as st.u.r.dy armors since they are made by special linen." Shey said. "Like my clothes and Dro's, they come in packages. I suggest to wear the full clothing because each has a purpose."

"W-well, it's alright if you two don't, if you do not want to—"

"We'll wear them!" Samuel and Ephraim said in unison.

Shey smiled. 

"Now then, eat up, young men. This day will be dedicated upon teaching you the basics!"

**

After breakfast, Shey began to discuss and teach Raim and Sam the basics. She started by explaining the geographical distributions of Andromeda. 

"Andromeda is divided into four continents. North – Versengen; East – Triefan; South – Erde; West – Kurbeln; and the Dark Continent." Shey said, pointing at the maps. "Alaris is located in the Northern continent, a small country just a sail away from Sembilica and Patriargë, which are both located in Triefan." 

"These continents all exist into the Middle Realm, where mortals reside," Shey said. "And where the immortals—the elves—live, is to the Higher Realm—the floating island Eis. The floating island revolves around the world, so it has no definite location. The elves barely meddle to the affair of the mortals, so it shouldn't concern you two."

Sam and Ephraim nodded.

"Since Middle and Higher Realm exist, does the Lower Realm exist as well?" Ephraim asked.

"Yes, it does." Shey answered. "The Lower Realm can be found around the depths of the Dark Continent—the edge of the world,"

"The edge of the world . . . ?"

"The edge of the world is where the world is simply nothing but the endless abyss. No one can go in there, because that is the gateway of the monsters – those who originated from the Lower Realm,"

"Fair enough, we have the basic knowledge about these things," Samuel said. "I don't like fiction, but that doesn't mean I don't have any knowledge about it."

"That's right . . . now that you mentioned it, everything here is similar to Earth," Ephraim seconded.

"Earth? Oh, you mean your world?" 

"Yes. Dungeons, monsters, Elves, Realms, and magic," Ephraim said. "All of these existed in books and movies,"

"In other words, they all resided in Fiction." Samuel stated. "Fiction, where the minds of some crazy writers are known. Tolkien's famous for it."

"So in other words, in 'fiction' all of this existed?"

"Not exactly." Ephraim retorted. "I've never seen 'Andromeda' in books or movies. I have seen 'Andromeda galaxy' but not this world."

"Hmm, I see," Shey said, nodding. "The two of you are quick to digest the information, huh? You can both qualify for scholars, I think."

Samuel didn't respond to that. It was easier to digest information that is already knowledge in Earth's fict.i.tious literature. What wasn't easy was to take that 'fiction' as 'fact'. Samuel glanced at Ephraim, who was still discussing things with the guild master. Shey was enthusiastically answering queries, and there wasn't any hint of her hesitation talking to them despite the fact they only met her a day ago.

**

Dro was a boy that admired everyone in his mother's guild. But he was the ultimate fan of the strongest man his mother was able to save—Yael. He gave off an air that was so magnificent that people feared him for it. This is why when the commotions took place about the dungeon being conquered, Dro waited for Yael and his party, the strongest group in the Red Alaris Guild.

"Why is it two young foreigners the ones to conquer the vessel?"

"Where did Yael and his party go?"

"Did they die?"

That became the talk of the town ever since the dungeon was conquered. Dro's mother, Shey Ramgold, didn't want to discuss things with him that day. She invited the two foreigners she was talking to in her office to her home in order to a.s.sist them in their journey, given the fact of how inexperienced they looked. Dro wanted to talk to his mother badly, and so he waited until night 'till his mother finished talking to the two.

When Shey Ramgold was finally into her room, Dro courageously knocked to her door. But there wasn't any answer, so he just opened the door gently and walk in without warning as he used to.

But then what welcomed him wasn't a firm mother's scold, but only slumped, trembling shoulders and noiseless sobs. 

His mother was crying.

"Mom . . . ?"

Shey flinched upon hearing Dro's voice—and hastily she wiped her tears—after a moment or so, she turned to face him. Her eyes were swollen, and her nose was red. The traces of her crying was so evident that Dro was frozen to the spot.

"I'm sorry, Dro. I know you wanted to talk to me. What is it?"

Dro walked to Shey, sitting beside her. He couldn't muster to ask after seeing his mother cry. And Shey Ramgold rarely cries—in fact, she never did.

"Why are you crying . . . Mom?" Dro asked, his voice barely audible. 

No answer.

"And . . . and why are you forcing yourself to smile and laugh with them?"

Shey only smiled and gave Dro a pat in the head.

"Yael, Pelmon, Hosea, Arletha, and Vashti wouldn't want me to be sobbing like a baby while bearing in mind that they just saved two people, right?" Dro faced his mom, who had now smiled warmly despite her sad eyes. 

"This is the least I could do for all of them right now."

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