You try to scare the little purple people much like you've ran after pigeons in the park, however the purple folks won't be chased away so easily, this is their home after all, they just nimbly get out of your way and continue to pelt you with stones, which are really starting to hurt at this point, and a particularly large stone smacks you in the head knocking you out.

When you wake up you're nowhere near the Wizard's house anymore, in fact you're quite a ways outside of the village! The purple people must've dragged you here. As you groggily get up, you wish that someone would help you. Just then a shadow looms over you, at first you get scared again, but fortunately this one is attached to someone. You look up and see a woman dressed in leather armor, she carries a bow on her back and a sword by her side. She gives you a serious look while she grabs your hand to pick you up. You notice she has pointy ears.

"Boy, what're you doing out here? Don't you know it can be dangerous out here? Do you live in that village?" she asks.
"No, I was trying to look for help there. There was a wizard who said he could help me get back home if…"
"Wizard? There wasn't any strong magic activity detected around here boy. Where are you from?"

You explain your story, as the woman listens intently. Much like the wizard you ran into earlier, she doesn't seem surprised.

"Mm, yes you are a lucky boy indeed to escape from the Nightmare Tyrant, most never even have a chance. I think you better come with me, my name's Lyssia"
"But the wizard…"
"Trust me, you'll be safer with me, than that so called wizard you mentioned. Sounded like a hedge wizard that was just getting you to do some grunt work that he didn't want to do. He couldn't help you against the shadows, let alone get you back home. I might be able to though, well the Captain might anyway. We'll head back to my platoon's camp."

You feel somewhat safer with Lyssia, not to mention she seems like she's more readily going to help you, so you follow her. Eventually you arrive at a fairly large camp with armored knights, horses, and tents. Most of them look like they've been doing a lot of fighting recently and are still recovering from their wounds. When you enter the Captain's tent, you see him looking over some maps before he looks up at you. He's a man of average build, but his weathered and tired face shows the signs of having been in battle several times. His armor displays likewise.

"Lyssia, you better have a good reason for why you're bringing this boy into my presence. This is a mobile military unit; you know we can't be coddling civilians, let alone children."

Lyssia explains the situation and the Captain's attitude towards you changes to a more sympathetic one.

"Escaping from the Nightmare Tyrant's minions is no small feat, especially for one unprepared for such an encounter. The terror they radiate is normally enough to paralyze most with fear. You're obviously not a battle hardened soldier to such horrors, and there's no evidence of any magic about you. You must have an innate strong will, boy. Which is good since you'll most likely have to deal with them again." He says grimly.
"Again?!" you exclaim.
"Yes, unfortunately the Nightmare Tyrant isn't fond of losing those he marks for capture. He has no doubt sent his Shadow minions to look for you. Fortunately you have us to help you now. We are a recon team for the Parran Empire, we've been fighting the Nightmare Tyrant for years, trying to find a weakness with little success. Though after some searching we think there may be a powerful weapon that can help us. It's in some ruins a few days from here, or should be. One can never know for certain with old legends. Now, I have a duty to defend innocents from evil, but I also have a duty to the Empire. I simply cannot take this team all the way back to the Empire just to drop you off there where our wizards can send you back home, I have a mission to complete first. You can either stay with us and then after the mission we shall all go back together, or I shall send a couple of my men with you back to the Empire. Keep in mind the Shadows are probably looking for you and they tend to hunt in swarms, so the more people defending you, the better."

You really want to go back home, but you're a little worried about not having all the protection you can.

"Well can't Lyssia go with me?" you ask hopefully. Lyssia smiles a bit at your request, but the Captain shakes his head.
"Sadly no. While I can certainly understand and admire your judgment of wanting her to go with you, I cannot allow her to do so, as my mission will undoubtedly require her skills. As I said, I will send to two of my men, but that is all I can spare if you decide to head back to the Empire."

You go with the Captain

You don't know anything about this place and you're in great danger, so you decide it would be best if you had as many people defending you as possible. You'd rather stay with the Captain.

"Very well, you may stay with us, just don't make a nuisance of yourself. We'll also be on the move a lot, so don't expect a high comfort level, however whenever we make camp, you're welcome to stay in my tent. For right now though, you'll have to leave it, I'm having a meeting with Lyssia and a couple of my knights to discuss an important plan of action. Explore if you wish, but don't wander away from us, we'll protect you, but we won't baby-sit you."

With these words in mind Lyssia leads you back out of the tent, upon which another knight comes up to her with a message.

"Sergeant, a man has arrived at the camp."
"Is he hostile?"
"No, he says he was just passing through and figured maybe he could trade for supplies here."
"Tell him to move on, this isn't a trading post." Lyssia says and goes back in the tent.

Not knowing what to do next you follow the knight back to the man he was talking about. When you see him, he looks raggedy, but well equipped. He a sword by his side and his leather armor looks more like a patchwork taken from several other suits. The most notable feature is the big backpack on his back. You wonder if he's an adventurer.

"Alright you, move on, this isn't a trading post." The knight repeats to the visitor.
"Okay, okay, I'll go. But can't I just rest here for one minute? I've been walking a lot and it would be nice to at least know I'm safe for just a moment."
"…well okay, but make it quick, and stay on the outskirts of the camp." The knight says and leaves. You continue to examine this traveler, who immediately knows you are.
"Well, how come you get to stay here? Army camps aren't known to house children." He asks while sitting down on a nearby log.

You explain your situation to this adventurer, and once again you get an unsurprised look from your listener.

"Got the impression you weren't from around here. I somehow could sense it. I always had that ability; it's come in handy a lot. But yes, the Nightmare Tyrant is very bad news; you would do well to leave this world as quickly as you can, no doubt Shadows are already on their way."
"Well I got this army to protect me!" you exclaim.
"Perhaps, but you said it will be awhile before they return to the Parran Empire where you can get properly transported back to your world, in the meantime they WILL be attacked by not just Shadows, but also by whatever they come across in their mission. Tis a long time to put yourself at risk. Not to mention I see a lack of magic in this camp, I wonder about their chances against Shadows if the Nightmare Tyrant unleashes his full power in order to re-capture you."

You're almost sorry you started talking to this man, within a few seconds he's managed to worry you all over again. Here you were thinking that you were going to be nice and safe.

"But…but…well what should I do?"
"Well, if we were back in Null, I could probably get you back home really quick…"

Before the Adventurer can finish you interrupt.

"Null?"
"Oh, that's where I live. It used to be a great city of fantastic magical power a long time ago, but it was destroyed by its own petty bickering. The powerful wizards there began to argue among themselves, factions were drawn and the entire city along with several miles around it went up in a big ball of flame. It was a terrible tragedy that could've been avoided, but there was an interesting effect of the aftermath of it though."
"What happened?"
"Well, no magic works there now, hence the name Null. Powerful wizards can't get a simple cantrip to work there, let alone a spell. Even the Nightmare Tyrant's minions can't go there. Still, it's far from safe. Lots of the Forsaken live there."
"Who are the Forsaken?"
"Oh they're the unlucky folks who actually managed to survive the catastrophe. Not all of them bad, but understandably such a powerful magic disaster had an effect on most of their bodies as well as their minds."

While this is all very fascinating, you still don't see how this helps you exactly.

"While this is all very fascinating, I still don't see how this helps me exactly. I mean if no magic works there, how can I get home? And why would you want to live in such a place anyway it sounds dangerous."

The Adventurer moves closer to you and looks around before speaking.

"Okay, because I can sympathize with being in a tough position, I'll tell you a little secret. Magic DOES work there, but only in one area and it's only a place I know about as far as I know. There's a deep, but small underground dungeon in Null where magic seems to work, I know because that's where I live! I stumbled upon it completely by accident when I was exploring Null. Apparently one of the many trinkets that I had acquired in the past was a key of some sort. It began to glow and then the wall opened up the way for me. Pure random dumb luck. So I went in and discovered that entire section runs on magic or something like it at least. There are some sort of contraption that if you sit down in and visualize with clarity, your wish will come true! I tried it a few times and it was nice, but I'm a wanderer at heart and as such I couldn't just spend the rest of my days wallowing in eternal paradise, plus I was always leery that something bad might happen if I over used the contraption for greed. However I did see it as a good place to make my home away from the road. In fact I use this magic chair to quickly travel to towns and other cities, of course it's only one way, but at least it shortens the trip somewhat. You could probably use the chair to return home. Even if it doesn't work, I could always take you to the Parran Empire to get you back home. It would still be quicker and safer than traveling with an army that has to complete some mission before it can back home. Who knows what responsibilities and dangers it might incur along the way? Think also, in Null, you wouldn't be attacked by Shadows either. It's up to you though, but choose quickly because I have to be leaving soon."

You go with the Adventurer

You have to admit, even though you want to go back home, part of you really likes it here. Null sounds interesting and anyplace where the Shadows can't get you sounds even better. The Adventurer seems trustworthy enough, but you still hope you're making the right decision.

"Okay, I'll go with you." you say a bit hesitantly.
"Alright, let's get going, we still have a quite a trip ahead of us."

You and the Adventurer leave the military camp and set off on your journey. The Adventurer explains that you'll probably reach Null in a couple of days, but that you still shouldn't worry too much about Shadow attacks, since the anti-magic effects from Null are also in the desert wasteland surrounding the ruined city.

As you travel further, you find that the Adventurer is quite talkative. He speaks about his many journeys, he also mentions briefly of why he chose his "profession" which was mainly because he was bored living in the small village where he was born. When you reach the desert you see a big ruined city far in the distance. You also notice night is starting to fall as it's starting to get dark, though it seems to have come on all of a sudden. The Adventurer has noticed it too and he begins to go for his weapons.

"It's not supposed to get dark that quick…The Nightmare Tyrant! Quick! Run towards Null, the anti-magic field gets stronger the closer we are to it!"

You and the Adventurer begin to run and suddenly you hear screeching behind you, and you turn your head to see Shadows coming out of the sky to capture you. However, they seem to almost be flickering in and out of existence. The unnatural darkness is also being affected bizarrely, since its still "day" in front of you and then complete "night' behind. Eventually you and the Adventurer outrun the Shadows and the darkness, as they both are unable to withstand the sheer anti-magical forces emanating from Null. After some angry screeching the Shadows retreat back to where they came, while you and the Adventurer take a breather.

"See? Told you they can't get you here. Whew, running in this hot desert is tiring. Let's rest here and continue on tomorrow. The real night will be coming soon and actually walking around in Null after night isn't particularly a safe thing to do either, the desert is a lot securer."

You and the Adventurer settle down for the night, he brings out some water flasks from his backpack and gives you one. You drink it all up and it's soon empty, but you still wish you had a lot more.

"Hey, don't drink all of it! We have to conserve it…wait, I know that flask doesn't hold that much water." He says in confusion as you continue to drink what seems to be an endless supply of water in the flask. When you've truly satisfied your thirst the Adventurer takes the flask and attempts to look in it and shake it and finds there's no more water in there.

"Okay how did you do that?"
"How did I do what?"
"You drank enough for two flasks! These aren't bottomless canteens of everlasting water either and even if they were they wouldn't work due to the anti-magic here. So I'd like to know HOW you did that."

The Adventurer is looking at you suspiciously, almost as if you could possibly be dangerous. You stutter and fumble with an explanation mainly because you don't even know.

"I…I don't know…I just wished I had more water…I was really thirsty…" you reply a bit worried. He looks at you for a moment longer and then speaks again.
"Try to wish for a chest full of gold."
"What?"
"Just do it, I want to see something."
"Erm…okay."

You wish and think as hard as you can, but nothing happens. Well that's not entirely true, you get dizzy and fall to the ground. A single gold piece appears near you though. The Adventurer picks you up as well as the gold piece, which is somewhat misshapen and uneven.

"Hmm, so there are limits. Did you always have this ability?"
"Huh? No. We don't have any kind of stuff like this in my world." You say trying to keep steady.
"I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but it would appear you got some sort of weird mental powers independent of magic. I have fought monsters with similar abilities, which is why I was suspicious at first. You ability reminds me of the magic chair I was telling you about except your power can work even in this anti-magical place and it would appear it isn't very powerful. I'd almost suggest that you could attempt to wish yourself back home, but as we've seen, it isn't powerful enough to do that. Still, this is probably a good indication that the chair will be able to get you back home. Here, here's a proper gold piece, I don't need it. Well anyway let's get some sleep, we should reach Null tomorrow."

You pocket the faultless gold coin and the both of you go to sleep. Before you do though, you reflect on this little adventure. You also wonder about your Mom, she's going to be worried about you and probably have the police looking all over for you! And when you finally do return, what will you tell her?

You don't know, but what you do know for certain is that you DO want to get home as soon as possible even if you do find this place very fascinating.

The next morning the both of you wake up refreshed and ready to carry on your journey to Null. You don't get far, when the Adventurer senses someone is following you. You both turn around and see a figure approaching. It looks like a teenage boy, but deathly pale. The odd thing is, he's wearing modern clothing from YOUR world.

"Is that one of the Forsaken?" you ask
"Him? No, if it was it would probably coming from Null not towards it, not to mention it would probably be running at us trying to eat us. It also looks too human and it's wearing strange clothing, in fact it looks more like…well your type of clothing. Friend of yours?"
"Not that I know of, I'm not friends with anyone his age."

He doesn't quicken his pace; he just continues to walk steadily towards your position. When he gets close enough, you can see his face, which looks emotionless. In fact it looks like he's staring right through the both of you. The Adventurer draws his sword, but it doesn't look like this person is showing any sign of going to attack. In fact he just stands there looking off into space.

"Alright, what's your name?" the Adventurer demands.
"John…Johnny Doe…" he replies still staring into the space. "This place…it's dead…numb…like me…"

As odd as he is, something tells you he's from your world. Maybe he's another person the Nightmare Tyrant tried to capture.

You try to help him

You step forward towards him, an action that the Adventurer doesn't approve of at all.

"What're you doing?!"
"I think you're right, I think he's from my world. Maybe he escaped from the Nightmare Tyrant too."
"I don't trust him, he's weird and in my line of work, if it's weird more often than not, it isn't good!"

You ignore the Adventurer and go back to talking to Johnny, who seems to have begun to direct his attention towards you.

"Are you from Earth?"
"Yes."
"Did the Nightmare Tyrant bring you here?"
"Yes."
"Did you escape like me?"
"No."

This answer catches you off guard, so much in fact that you don't react in time to jump out of the way of Johnny's grip. When he grabs your arm, you feel an instant paralyzing numbness causing you to drop immediately. When this occurs the Adventurer leaps into action and strikes Johnny, but when his sword hits Johnny's body, it's almost as if the paralysis crept up the sword and was inflicted upon the Adventurer as well. He falls to the ground clutching his arm and dropping his sword. Johnny follows up by merely touching the Adventurer on the head, completely immobilizing him.

Having incapacitated the Adventurer, Johnny turns his attention back to you.

"No magic can work here, but I can. The Nightmare Tyrant wants to see you. You must comply. Perhaps you will become one of the Shadows. Maybe you will become like me. The Nightmare Tyrant will decide. He knows best."

You attempt to speak, but you're unable to. You can't even think.

"No more talk. No more resistance. Just dead numbness." He says and then picks you up and begins to carry you out of the desert. Eventually when you're out of the anti-magic field, a dark portal opens up, and Johnny delivers you to the Nightmare Tyrant.