The sun peeked over the horizon as another night passed with Beth deep in study. Ever since she’d seen the city in the woods, it’s origins and relocation consumed her thoughts. On her first night back, she contacted the village mage, Grace. The two women had grown up together, but it was clear very early on that Grace had a magical aptitude that Beth lacked. Though she spent years away in study, the two had reunited within the last year and Beth was just happy to have her friend back.

“It’s late, Beth, and it is kind of an odd request you have to admit”, Grace said, “teleportation is a highly specific form of magic.”

“I just want to borrow some books, I couldn’t even cast the spells if I wanted to. I’ve just become more interested in this stuff because you spent so long studying it, I want to know what that was like.”

“Well it’s no problem to borrow some of my intro books, I just wish you’d tell me what it was for”, she replied, a devilish grin forming, “nothing naughty I hope?”

Beth’s face turned a light shade of red, “N-no, nothing like that. I just promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“Him? C’mon, you gotta tell me now.”

She was beginning to get frustrated. As long as she’d lived no one could work her up like Grace. “Knock it off, can I just borrow the books?”

Grace paused for a moment as her hand unconsciously fiddled with her earrings. “Fine. You can borrow these ones. I trust you know what you’re doing with them.”

Beth thanked her and was about to leave, but Grace stopped her at the door.

“Before you go, I hope you don’t think anything’s different now. If things had just gone a little different that day, we’d both be mages.”

Beth’s veins turned to ice. That day. An anger rose inside her to hear Grace so casually bring it up. She betrayed her anger with a calm face, she’d gotten the books she came for and didn’t want to get into any long fights tonight.

“No, nothing’s different Grace” she said politely.

Grace moved to wrap her arms around Beth, “That’s right, nothing’s changed. I know you’ll tell me everything when you think the time is right.”

Beth slammed the door behind her as soon as she got home. Ever since Grace returned from her studies there was something… off about her. Grace had always been confident, even when they were kids. But it was like she lost some part of her, some restraint, when she learned magic.

She suddenly realized how tense her muscles were and went to start a fire.

Oh well, she thought, she didn’t actually force me to tell her anything. And besides, it was late. Was it rude for me to stop by unannounced like that?

Shaking her thoughts, she jumped right into her studies as the embers burned.

--------

Grace walked through the market wearing a deep red skirt. Her short black hair partially hid her face as she walked confidently in the sunlight. She was easily the tallest woman in the village and was a head taller than most men too. There were rumors that she was using magic to enhance her features, but her body was in fact completely natural, from the tip of her head 6’6” off the ground to her sandaled red-nail-polished toes. She smiled as she saw Beth gathering berries on the other side of the road.

“Hi Beth, how’s it going? How’s the research?”

Beth turned to greet her friend, “Grace! I was looking for you earlier actually. The research is going okay, I was wondering if you could answer some questions actually.”

“Anything for my darling Beth. What do you want to know?”

“The part about magical storms, am I right in thinking that the disruption of magical energies caused by a storm could randomly teleport something?”

“Storms are very complicated things, I wouldn’t know if there’s anything random about it without seeing the particular storm in action. A storm can have all sorts of variables to it.”

“I see…”

Grace continued, “If the storm were big enough, it could carry something to the other side of the world, or even out into space.” 

“What about another dimension? The book said that dimensions are just extensions to space, is it possible to teleport through them?”

“A rather pointed question, don’t you think? Beth, what have you got your nose in?”

Taken aback, Beth replied “Oh it’s nothing dangerous. I met this mage from another village, he heard how skilled you were and he wanted your opinion on these things.”

“I see. Tell him if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stop pursuing such things. It’s a dangerous field of magic to get into if he’s still asking such basic questions.”

She saw right through my lie, Beth thought. There’s no way she didn’t.

Before Beth could get too lost in thought, Grace snapped her back to reality, “Oh! I almost forgot, I have a meeting with the village elder I need to get to. I hope my answers were useful to you. See you later!”

“Bye Grace! I’ll leave an offering in the shrine to wish you luck.”

Beth hurried back home, packing the berries and some rabbit meat into a pack as she prepared to set out for New York.

--------

As she walked, Beth was careful to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Why did I lie? And so badly at that? If Grace called me on it, I would have had no choice but to tell her everything.

She felt so embarrassed. But as long as she could make it to the city and be sure no one followed her, she knew the people of New York would be safe. They had to be.

Beth stood outside the path that led to the tiny city in the woods and quietly stamped her foot four times. After a minute or so, the hunter who was her contact to the city came out from behind a leaf to greet her.

The two had plenty of time to talk during these walks. The trip would have been much shorter, but though the hunter trusted Beth, he wasn’t quite ready for her to carry him. Today the topic turned to the ways their worlds were different, as it usually did.

“The days feel much shorter here than back home. Maybe it’s just the cover of the trees, but it’s so gloomy around here most of the time”, the hunter said, looking a little downtrodden.

“I never think about things like the lengths of days, I think I always let myself get obsessed with this or that task that I don’t let my mind wander.”

“A busybody huh? My wife was like that too. She always said I was hopeless, that I spent too much time looking at clouds.”

“I didn’t mean to sound critical,” Beth apologized, “I would like to spend a lot less time thinking about things sometimes. Tell me about your wife, I never knew you were married.”

“I was married, at least at one point I was. You would like her, she ran a soup kitchen back home. She was the kind of person who would stop someone in their tracks if they were about to step on an ant, kind of like you.”

“You aren’t an ant. If I’d found a colony of insects instead of your city I very much doubt I’d have given it a second thought.”

“Maybe. But given what people could do to us in the spot we’re in, I think we got damn lucky that you found us.”

Coming to the entrance of the city, Beth set down her pack and spoke to the hunter.

“I decided to throw in some berries from my village today. They’re very sweet, but I hope you’ll like them.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you! Will you be staying tonight? If you’re not busy that is.”

“I was hoping to talk to you about something actually, I think your leader should be present too.”

“I’ll get him, can I ask what it’s about?”

“I think I can help you get back home.”

--------

The wind blew calmly through the city streets as the day went on. Sometimes it felt like time moved glacially in the forest, but today a small circle of the city’s leaders hummed with excitement as Beth sat down with them to explain her idea.

“I’ve been reading up on teleportation magic. I still don’t know all the details, but the principles are there. It was definitely something that originated here that carried your city away. The storms have been getting worse every year, and it’s possible one of them tore across dimensions just long enough to rip apart your city.”

“So if a storm brought us here, and it originated here, if we get caught in another storm we might be sent back?”, asked the representative of the city guard.

“It’s only a theory at this point. Unfortunately, I am far from skilled in magic. I don’t know if I can help you with what I know. That’s why I have a more serious request to ask.”

“What are you proposing?”, asked their leader.

“I know a powerful mage, by the name of Grace. If I could bring her here, there might still be enough remnants of the storm around for her to determine how the storm jumped across dimensions. With a bit of study, I’m sure she could figure out a way to send you back.”

A hush fell over the group. To break their no contact policy once in an exceptional case was one thing, but to bring another stranger to the city was unthinkable for most.

The leader thought for a while before speaking, “We were reluctant to let you in to our city. But we had no choice then, when one of our own led you along the path. In the world we come from, such exceptional differences in size and strength could never work out for the small.”

Beth feared this would be their answer. She was so sure Grace would help them, if they’d give her a chance. She was about to protest when the leader spoke again.

“However, if you’re right, and this mage can help us get back to our homes, our families, then we have to try it. Do you trust this mage completely?”

“With my life” Beth answered without hesitation.

The group briefly discussed amongst themselves.

“Then you can bring her here, on one condition. We will send a representative with you, a scout named Sabrina. You will introduce Grace to her, and if she senses no ill will in your friend, we can proceed.”

Beth could almost jump, she was so happy for them, but elected not to in case she damaged the city. She waited by the entrance until the leader approached her from a rooftop, walking alongside a young blonde woman. She was tall for their size, just over half an inch by Beth’s estimate.

“This is Sabrina, she will go with you to introduce our people to Grace. Think of it as a diplomatic mission.”

“I understand sir”, she said curtly. Turning to Beth, she shouted up to her, “Ready to leave whenever you are.”

“Excellent, if we leave now we can probably catch Grace before dark”, she crouched down and got closer to the rooftop, “Climb on. When you need to talk to me, just whisper in my ear. I can hear you well enough, I assure you.”

Sabrina picked up her bag and jumped over to Beth’s shoulder. Using Beth’s long red strands of hair to pull herself up, she seated herself on the lip of her ear.

The leader wished them good luck, and the two set out for the village in search of Grace.