unplanned landing

[characterquarry]

She's at the lead of a formation of six Witches, flying her metal not-quite-a-broom out on a routine patrol. She carries her bow, sword, quiver of arrows, four loaded flintlock pistols, two pot-bombs. The usual loadout.

What she finds is not any alien invader she's familiar with. It's a flying snake with a mirror for a head.

"Pull up! It's faster than us, so use formation wagon-wheel!" Bows come out, and arrows fly at it, but they bounce uselessly off its mirror-head and scales. After a few minutes of this she charges in, drops one of her pot-bombs on it at point blank range, then pulls a roll to dodge as it charges past, but not fast enough-

And she's somewhere else entirely.

Comments

[characterquarry]

"Nice to meet you. And nice nickname. It sure beats 'blood pigeon,' which is what I got stuck with. I'd shake hands, but I'm still carrying this stuff."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"I'm Overbite," Jaromira confesses, standing aside and opening the door wider so she can come in and dump her stuff. "Daphne's out right now, but I don't imagine she'll object either."

[characterquarry]

Annette does not remark on the accent. She has a vaguely Italian or French accent herself. "I definitely appreciate it." She starts setting things down. The 'broom' goes under a bed in three pieces.

"I believe getting something to eat was discussed? Wait, before that... I just realized how silly it is one of my languages happens to be mutually intelligible here. Is Pennsylvania in Britannia, a group of islands north of Europa? Or maybe Liberion which is across the western sea?"

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"It...is in the United States of America, which sounds from context like it might be equivalent to Liberion in some way," Jaromira says cautiously, darting a glance at Cecil.

Cecil shrugs. "She mentioned several other countries I'd never heard of. Different universes."

"Different universes," Jaromira accepts. "There aren't a lot of restaurants nearby, but I can pay for a pass to the dining hall if you like."

[characterquarry]

"I'm used to army rations, a cafeteria will be fine. Do any of you know places I could work? Though most of my experience is combat against the Neuroi, so I'm not sure what else I could do..."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Not off the top of my head...what does combat against the Neuroi entail?" Jaromira asks.

[characterquarry]

"Flying, shielding, quick decisions in tense situations, archery, swordsmanship, marksmanship, and maintaining our equipment."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Hmm. I could probably find you a temporary job as an archery instructor, if I asked the right people. Maybe fencing too, but I'm less confident about that one."

[characterquarry]

"That would be much better than trying to find a job in retail or something. I bet any archery students you get here won't be expecting a drill sergeant. I can be nice about it, though. My sword experience probably isn't very relevant to fencing, though, since it's all designed to kill Neuroi."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Yes, that's why I was less confident about that one."

[characterquarry]

"And I have a few amulets I can sell if push comes to shove. Silver and gold and diamonds all store mana well."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Those sound like they might be difficult to replace," Jaromira observes. "I'd try for the archery instructor job first."

[characterquarry]

"I'm rich enough to replace them if I ever get home. And with no Neuroi to fight here, there's less purpose to them. I agree that it's something to hold in reserve, though."

They pass a parking lot. "...Say, what's with all these carriages and no horses?"

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Those are cars. They have internal power sources that make them move autonomously," Cecil explains.

[characterquarry]

"Interesting. Is it your sort of magic, or some kind of natural philosophy?"

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Natural philosophy."

[characterquarry]

"A steam engine, or similar, small enough to drive a carriage. Amazing."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Oh, we've got lots of stuff like that. It seems your universe is less technologically developed than ours. What year numbering scheme do you use?" Jaromira asks.

[characterquarry]

"It's been 1341 years since the birth of Jesus Christ, in my world. A large portion of our technology, including steam engines, has been invented in the 32 years since the Neuroi invasion shook everything up."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"Oh wow," Jaromira says. "It's been one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years for us."

[characterquarry]

"It may be more or less than that. Different universes, remember. I'm sure there will be lots to catch up on, though. Maybe it'll turn out to be a good thing I got sent here, if I can manage to go back."

[maggie_of_the_owls]

"If," she agrees. "I'll ask my brother about it. He's a far more accomplished magician than Jawbreaker."

[characterquarry]

"Hm." The Witch from another world is silent and contemplative until they reach the dining hall.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

Jaromira buys her a meal pass.

[characterquarry]

She very politely refrains from asking for explanations of everything new to her, and simply loads up on food where indicated.

One of the things she gets is a cup of coffee. "Coffee! Rare stuff, back home."