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"Because why not?" Endor shrugged, pulling a thin book from a bookcase and dropping it on a nearby table. "It is real. I should know because I am the reason that skull is there and not on someone's shoulders," She said, grinning proudly.
"You killed whoever that skull belonged to?" Laurel asked, suddenly a little nervous.
"Yeah, but don't worry. It was self-defense." Endor waved them over. "Come on, now. I have a story to tell you."
Ana picked up the skull, studying it. "How did you kill the person?" She asked, then set it back down and walked back over beside Laurel. She picked some dirt from under her fingernails and looked at Endor. "Do we have to sit on the floor for storytime?" She asked, voice slightly mocking.
"I stabbed them," Endor said, as casually as if she'd just said 'I took them out to lunch'. "And no, you don't. Chairs!" She snapped her fingers and two chairs appeared in front of the table. "Please, sit. Let me inform you about all the terrible things that happened." Laurel glanced at Ana, then at the chairs. Magic chairs. She slowly walked towards the chairs and sat in one.
Ana was getting more and more wary. What was going on? She didn't believe in magic, and this… this was just… she didn't know. Not something she was comfortable about. She shook her head, but sat down without saying anything else.
"Alright, storytime." Endor picked up the book and hopped up onto the table. "Once upon a time, there was a queen. She ruled the land very kindly but had terrible luck. An evil sorcerer only known as the Shadow King had created a bunch of these shadowy monsters– you've seen them– and they were killing a lot of people. Understandably, this queen wanted to get rid of the monsters, so she searched for a weapon that could. And she found one– a crown and staff that had the power to completely destroy the monsters. Unfortunately, before she could use them, the Shadow King captured her and locked her up. He took the weapons and totally destroyed the queen's land. Then he decided that one world wasn't enough and made a portal here. But it kinda went bad and brought other things with it. Including the weapons, which you guys should probably get so you can save your world," Endor said, closing the book. Laurel was pretty sure she hadn't even been reading from the book, which was kind of strange.
Ana blinked. "First of all, is that even real? Second of all, why? Why us? Why not anyone else? And third, were you even reading that?" She shook her head in confusion. This was so, so weird. Not one to normally be interested in fairy tales and stuff, this was bizarre to her. It wasn't a place she was comfortable in.
… Although, a magical weapon did sound nice. Maybe she could use that?
"Wait, a magic weapon? Who was the queen?" Laurel asked, her eyes wide. "Where is it?"
"Whoa, slow down." Endor raised her hands. "You first." She pointed at Ana, then started rattling off answers. "Yes, it's real. I lived through it. I don't know, Alina thought you'd be good heroes. You actually know what you're doing, and Laurel believes in all this stuff. I was not reading it, I have it memorized. Because I lived through it." Endor took a deep breath and turned to Laurel. "Yes, a magic weapon. Very fancy, and it looks good too. Alina was the queen– did I forget to mention that? And It is… somewhere. Speaking of somewhere, I have a map and some fun, helpful tools for you!" Endor clapped her hands together and stood up. "I'll go get those." And with that, she disappeared.
"So… there's just one magic weapon?" Analaya frowned. "Even if all that is true, don't you think that it's not fair?" She shrugged, looking at Laurel. "Well, if there's only one, you can have it. You need magical protection weapons way more than I do." She smiled slightly. "Besides. I already know how to fight. We can't be unevenly matched now, can we?"
"I guess so," Laurel said, shrugging. "I mean, yeah." She nodded slowly, lips pulling into a small smile when Ana said she could have the magic weapon. "Thanks, Ana. That's really nice."
"Yes, really. You were following the exact line of thinking Alina was. Good job." Endor appeared right in front of them, which made Laurel squeak in surprise. "But don't worry. There might only be one big magic weapon to get rid of all of the monsters, but that doesn't mean there are smaller magical weapons that are specifically designed by me to get rid of one of them." Endor dropped a bag on the table and opened it, first pulling out a rolled-up map, and then a few silver throwing knives. "There's more where those came from."
"Woah…" Laurel breathed, staring at the knives. They looked like they were glowing just a bit, though she couldn't really tell.
"So where's the sword?" Ana asked. She tried her hardest not to look at the knives, although they sparkled and shone in the dim light. They were beautiful, and her hands itched to pick them up, to try them. But she restrained herself, clenching her fists too keep them from touching.
"What sword? Did I mention a sword?" Endor frowned, looking like she was trying to remember. "Anyways, here's some magic knives. They're really good at finding their target and will kill a monster in one shot. And they return to your hand once you've thrown them. Please, pick them up!" She waved her hand at the knives, then pointed at the map. "That'll tell you where to find stuff from my world, like the weapons and the Shadow King, though that's mostly so you can avoid him." Laurel took a few steps towards the table, hands hovering over the knives for a second before picking up the map. She was really hoping the magical weapons were close to where they were. Having to fly a plane during this time would actually be impossible.
Ana picked up the knives, studying them. They were in very good condition, and seemed very sharp. She glanced over at Endor. "Do they listen to both of us?"
"Yeah, they're not picky. Whoever had the knife in their hand is the person the knife will return to. I have a few that are totally mine, but I don't know you well enough to do the same," Endor explained. Laurel glanced up at her, then at the knives, then back down at the map. She carefully unrolled it, holding her breath as she did. It appeared to be a map of the area, focused on the town. There were a few symbols on the map: a shard of black stone, a few keys, and a crown, among other things. Laurel squinted at them, trying to make sense of it.
"Look," She said, holding the map out to Ana and Endor, though Endor seemed preoccupied with flipping a knife in the air.
"Is the black stone supposed to be useful?" Ana asked, picking up another dagger and spinning it through her fingers. "Like, some sort of weapon?" She shook her head. What kind of weapon was that? Stones? Screwdrivers would be more useful than that. She would know. She had experience.
"What black stone?" Endor turned her attention to the map. "Oh, no, that represents the Shadow King. I'd stay as far away from that place as you can. This is where you want to be going." She pointed at the crown. "That's where the weapon is, and the rest of the things are optional quests. If you happen to run across one, get it, but don't go out of your way." Endor went back to flipping her knife. Laurel nodded slowly, trying to figure out where the crown was. The map was a little weird, and there really weren't any names of streets on it.
"Do you recognize where that is?" Laurel asked Ana, pointing at the crown.
"Not really," Ana said, frowning. "I mean, a little bit, but it's all similar to each other, and so I don't know where exactly everything is." She prided herself on knowing how to read maps pretty well, but this was more difficult. The writing was rougher, as was the drawings and features. "I mean, I could figure out where it is if there was a clear marker, but I'm not finding anything I recognize."
"Great. We have a useless map," Laurel sighed, going to roll the map back up.
"Wait! That there is my castle. Where you are right now," Endor said, tapping a point on the edge of the map. "Does that help?" Laurel narrowed her eyes at the map, but Endor's hint didn't help. She didn't really know where Endor's castle was in relation to the town, but maybe Ana might know. She probably knew this area better than Laurel. At least, that's what Laurel was hoping.
"Maybe?" Ana said, biting her lip, studying the map in a new light. "I mean, there isn't a compass on here, so I can't be sure." She pointed to a small line running away from the castle. "Is this the road we took to get here?"
"I think so." Laurel frowned, trying to recall how they'd gotten to the castle in the first place.
"Yep! That's the road." Endor nodded, then tapped her chin. "You're right, it doesn't have a compass. Here." She placed a finger on the corner of the map. When she took her finger away, there was a small compass there.
"Okay…" Ana was a little bit creeped out. Was this really happening to her? This was… no, it couldn't be magic. Magic wasn't real. It wasn't. She studied the map. "Okay, then, I think I know where all of the things are."
"Good." Laurel nodded and rolled up the map. The addition of the compass– magic compass– didn't really help her understanding of the map, but at least it helped Ana. "You can keep it, since you know how to read it." Laurel handed the map to Ana.
"Alright, then, off you go! You have an evil sorcerer to stop!" Endor exclaimed, starting towards a door set in the wall. Laurel was pretty sure it was the one they'd come in through, though how it was a door on one side and a stone wall on the other didn't make any sense. Especially when Endor opened the door and revealed the main hall. Then again, it was magic. That seemed to defy all the laws of, well, everything.
"Aren't we supposed to go that way?" Ana motioned to the other side of the room. "That's where we came through. Or are we not going back the way we came in?" She tucked the map into her jacket sleeve, careful not to tear it. She'd study it later.
"Um. Well, you could go that way, but there's no door," Endor said, looking at Ana like she was crazy. "Here is a door, however. It will lead you right back to where you came in, don't worry." She shot a smile at both of them and disappeared through the door. Laurel stared after her, then glanced at Ana.
"I suppose we should get out of here, right?" She asked, taking a few small steps towards the door Endor had gone through.
"Probably." Ana stared at the wall, then the door, then the wall, then back at the door. "Magic is confusing," she said, rubbing her forehead. She started to follow Laurel. "She said something about a sword, right? That wasn't just my imagination?" She couldn't be sure. Things were so confusing now that she didn't know what was going on anymore.
"Yeah, but it's pretty cool, too." Laurel shrugged. "Um… I don't think so? But she might have, and I could have just forgotten. There's a lot of information and I'm having trouble keeping it all straight in my mind." Laurel laughed a little and shrugged, walking through the door. Endor was standing in front of the open doorway, arms crossed over her chest.
"So… you guys might get to try out those knives sooner than you thought," She said slowly, turning to look at them. Laurel frowned and looked at Ana in confusion, then walked a little farther until she could see out the door. Standing a little way away from the castle was a group of about five of those terrible monsters, all grinning eerily.