Kathy ate her sandwich while peering over the vast lake glittering beneath the afternoon sun. The high school teacher was having a lunch break in the local park.

"Bon appetite, miss Bowel!" A group of students walked by, waving at her. Kathy smiled and waved back as she sat cross-legged on a bench, reveling in a warm spring breeze indulging her skin.

"I like your boots, miss Bowels!" A boy, part of the same group, called out, sniggering while doing so. Kathy's feigned baffled reaction urged the lad to quickly turn his head in embarrassment to walk further while being battered by the sniggering jests of his friends.

Kathy shook her head in disbelief and took another bite of her sandwich while glancing over the lake again. The 28-year-old brunette was familiar with being adored by many of the male students at the school where she worked. Even some girls had a crush on the oh-so-comely miss Bowels with her flawless face and curvy figure.

After checking the time and finishing her meal with an ice-cold bottle of mango smoothie she bought at the grocery store across the street, Kathy smoothened the fabric of her blue dress before returning to school.

As her knee-high boots clattered over the path, she stumbled upon a crossroad. Usually, Kathy always took a turn right here, for it was the shortest route back to the school. She rechecked the time, shrugged, and took a left turn instead. She had plenty of time still, so why not take the scenic route instead?

After pacing her way through a meandering path of pine trees, she looked over her shoulder behind her.

"I should have been there by now," Kathy mumbled while scrutinizing her surroundings. She did not recognize this part of the park. Looking about, she tried to localize other people but discovered to her surprise, that it was awfully quiet here. Even the sound of the chirping of birds was absent from this place. Only the rustling of leaves bending in the afternoon breeze fluttered through the trees.

Kathy stood still and considered walking back. This whole thing started to feel eerie. However, when she looked over her shoulder, she did not recognize the scenery either. It was like someone had just picked her up and dropped her in another environment in the blink of an eye. It all looked alien to her.

"Hello?" Kathy's voice echoed through the trees. "Anyone?" She looked about, disappointed that there was no sign of life anywhere.

A sense of panic grabbed her by the throat. How on earth would she ever be able to get back?

"There! I finally found one!"

Startled, Kathy stepped aside when a young girl emerged out of nowhere from a nearby bush and dashed towards her, seemingly wanting to dash through her.

The little girl – who could not have been older than 10 – made a swan dive with outstretched arms.

A high pitching shriek cut through the air when her hands took hold of something hiding behind a tree stump.

"Got you, you little rascal!"

With a triumphant smile on her youthful face, the little girl with the disheveled blond hairdo, simple grey dress and bare feet held a minute figure in front of her ocean-blue eyes. A bright green leprechaun, not bigger than the long side of the hand – orange beard included – flailed wildly while dangling from the girl's pinched fingers. His mouth brought forth an unending stream of swear words aimed at the young girl.

"Be silent you!" The girl bellowed in the leprechaun's face. "No one is going to help you."

Kathy was merely a spectator while watching this bizarre event unfold in front of her eyes. However, she wanted to return to where she came from, and perhaps this little girl or her pathetically tiny friend could help her. It was time to mingle.

"Uhm, excuse me," Kathy said. "sorry to disrupt your… get-together, but I'm looking for Greenhorn Park. Is this here still part of that?"

"You!" The leprechaun screeched while pointing his tiny finger at Kathy. "You look strong. Smack this feisty brat in the face and save me, please. I'll grant you three wishes in return."

"Don't be stupid, Randolf!" the girl spat. "You've already used up all of your magic on my sister. You have nothing to offer."

"Why are you holding him hostage anyway?" Kathy asked the girl.

The girl snorted. "Because he's a coward, that's why!"

"I've told you a thousand times, Quisinda," the leprechaun said while vainly attempting to escape Quisinda's grip. "Rowena can not be stopped. She's too strong!"

"Rowena?" Kathy arched a brow.

"My sister," Quisinda answered when noticing Kathy's confusion. "The demon lord whose main aim it is to conquer all of Ciradel.

"The demon lord? Right… So anyway, why don't you guys just tell me which way I need to walk to find Greenhorn park so I can leave you two in peace to deal with this… demon–"

"Chaaaaaarge!!!"

An army of archers, swordsmen and spearmen roughly the size of a finger started battering Quisinda's feet and ankles with sharp tips.

"Blasted Marauders! You've brought in reinforcements?" Quisinda spat in Randolf's face.

"Me?! These Marauders hate me!" Randolf said.

"You, strong-looking lady, get them!" Quisinda looked at a dumbfounded Kathy.

"What? No, please. I'm not going to take part in this. I just want to go back to OUCH!" Kathy looked at her forearm and saw a needle sticking out of her skin. She grabbed it with her thumb and index finger and examined it up close. "An arrow?"

"No shit, genius," A high pitching sounded above her.

Kathy craned her neck and saw a minuscule figure - the same size as the army on the ground - dangling from a branch above her head, looking at her with a cocky smirk. He had a little bow and arrow poised and aimed at her. And he wasn't the only one. From behind every leaf showed up more of these critters, all with bows and arrows at the ready and aimed at her.

"Okay, hold on now, fellas," Kathy took a step backward while shielding herself with her hands. "I'm not here to fight. I'm only here to–"

"Chaaaaarge!"

A sea of pin-sized arrows loosened, shooting all in a big-eyed Kathy's direction.

"Ouch! Stop it. You blasted– Ouch! Fuck!" Kathy stumbled backward on her cute butt and saw innumerable needles embedded in her skin in various places on her body, not covered with cloth. She saw no blood. They weren't able to penetrate her skin, but it stung nonetheless.

"Warrior lady, quick, kick the tree!" Quisinda called out while fighting off a swarm of toy soldiers teeming about at her feet and shielding herself from the innumerable arrows hurled at her from branches above her head.

"Warrior lady?" Kathy glared back, amazed. "Do I look like a warrior to you?"

"Do it!" Both Quisinda and Randolf screeched with high urgency.

"What the hell," Kathy shrugged "this whole thing is nonsensical anyway. This is probably all just a dream. And when I break my leg, I will probably wake up." She leaped up, ran to the closest tree, and gave it a frontal kick. The solid oak tree vibrated heavily when her boot kicked against it, to Kathy's surprise. Thousands of high-pitching screeches were heard when a rain of marauders fell from the tree – shaken out by Kathy's explosive kick.

"Did I do that?" Kathy looked dumbfounded at her leg.

"The other trees! Get the other trees too!" Quisinda called out.

"Right!" Kathy dashed into action and started kicking trees, shaking as many marauders loose from their branches as possible. She began to get the hang of it.

Okay, No more pulling punches here.

With a loud scream, Kathy launched her most brutal kick ever. A thundering crack followed when the entire oak tree toppled over, flooding the ground with hundreds of marauders.

"Wow! You're pretty badass, aren't you?" Quisinda said, highly impressed. "Okay, I'm fully charged now. Time for some fireworks!" Quisinda cracked her knuckles while grinning at a sea of marauders teeming about at the ground.

To the amazement of Kathy, she saw the little girl hurling balls of fire from her hand, all at the thousands upon thousands of marauders. Screams of terror and panic erupted throughout the miniature army.

"Take that! And that! And this! And definitely this!"

"Retreat!" The commanders of the marauders called out, and they quickly vanished back into the dark woods with their tails between their legs.

"You're pretty badass yourself, too, aren't you?" Kathy smiled.

Quisinda blushed.

"Where is Randolf, by the way?" Kathy looked about.

"Oh, I needed both hands, so I stuffed that grump beneath my belt.

Quisinda used her hand to fish out a grumbling Randolf and clutched him into her fist while holding him in front of her eyes. "You're not going anywhere until you've guided me to the location of the Specksters."

"Specksters?" Kathy walked up to them, wiping her forehead clean from sweat after enthusiastically testing her newfound powers by pulverizing a boulder with her bare hands.

Quisinda nodded. "The smallest but smartest people in all of Ciradel. They might be the ones who can help us stop my sister from ascending to Goddesshood and taking over your world and mine."

"It's really that serious, huh?" Kathy said.

Quisinda nodded. "I'm afraid so. I'm very willing to help you get back to your realm. And I will, but for now, I need your help in finding these Specksters. We may stumble upon trouble on our journey, and I could use a badass fighter like you."

"Ah! A badass? Yeah, I guess I am, ain't I?" Kathy said proudly, flexing her biceps with a broad glee on her comely face.