Stepping through the rift, making sure that it fully closed afterward, the Stranger looked about its new surroundings, taking in as much as it could. Around it spread a deep forest that was somewhat hard to see through as a lot of the trees were growing close together and it appeared that twilight was settling. Something moved in one of the trees and looking up, the Stranger saw Synda sleeping on a branch.
Curious as to how far Marcus' transformation had progressed, the Stranger considered climbing the tree, but after a moment's thought decided to let sleeping dragons lie and continuing to scan the forest, it wondered where the child had gotten. After a couple seconds, over the other general noises of the forest, the Stranger became aware of a soft noise that sounded like somebody crying. Moving toward the sound, the Stranger quickly located the child, who was sitting with his back to a tree, knees drawn up, arms hugged tightly around his legs and his face pressed into his legs.
Upon hearing the approach of the Stranger, the child looked up and, after blinking a couple times and brushing the tears away, stated, "I want to go home. Can you help me?"
Not sure what it should say or do, the Stranger stood there and stared. After a bit it explained, "I do not know where your home is. But I can help you," and taking the Amulet of Zulo out of its pocket, it stared at the necklace, wondering what it should say next.
"What is that?" the child hiccupped out the instant he saw the medallion.
Shrugging, the Stranger thought about how to answer and tossing the necklace to the child, the Stranger explained, "If used properly, it will be a way for us to survive in this world."
"But I don't want to," the child cried out as he caught the amulet and then added, "I want to go home!"
Sitting down a couple feet from the child, the Stranger wondered how best to go about and after a deliberating for a minute or two, it explained, "That will not be possible as the rift that both you and I have stepped through has closed. We are sealed here, unable to return to our home."
"Your a liar and bad man," the child suddenly exclaimed and tossing down the Amulet of Zulo, he leapt to his feet and took off into the forest.
Collecting the amulet and putting back in its pocket, the Stranger stood and began to follow the child, finding that it was rather simple as the youngling clearly was doing nothing to hide his path through the forest. Knowing that this was to be expected, the Stranger took it all in stride as it tramped through the forest and after a couple minutes, it caught up to the child, who was sitting next to a stream. Upon seeing the Stranger, the child cried out, "Leave me alone," and leaping up, he began to cross the stream.
"You're being ridiculous," the Stranger stated as it watched the child cross.
Pausing midpoint across the stream, the water up to his waist, the child looked back and after standing in the stream for a couple minutes, replied, "I want to go home. I don't want to be here anymore."
As the Stranger went over options on what to say to comfort the youth, it finally settled on, "What is your name, child?"
A look of mistrust crossed the youngling's face but after a moment, he answered, "Jeff," and then quickly added, "And I am hardly a child. I'm nine years old," as he glanced in the direction he had been heading, leaving the Stranger with the knowledge that he was planning on rabbiting.
"I don't have a name," the Stranger explained, hoping that it would keep Jeff from taking off again.
Looking back at the Stranger, Jeff took this comment in and after a moment, stated, "How can you not have a name? Everybody has a name."
"Not me," the Stranger replied. "My order calls me the Stranger."
"The Stranger?" Jeff asked, blinking a couple times as he walked a couple steps closer and then stopped, still watching the Stranger with a look of mistrust on his face.
Nodding, the Stranger explained, "The Order of Zulo calls me that because that is what I am to everybody that encounters me. For soon after, they will forget and go on with their life as if nothing out of the ordinary had taken place."
"So I'll forget you eventually?" Jeff asked, suddenly stopping.
Shaking its head, the Stranger replied, "Nay. In this world, a lot of the magick of the Order of Zulo doesn't work. In fact, the one thing that is certain to work only a couple more times is this," and taking the Amulet of Zulo out its pocket, the Stranger held the medallion up for Jeff to see.
"What does it do?" Jeff asked.
Pocketing the necklace, the Stranger said, "It allows the wearer to become any person or animal they have come in contact with. Within twelve hours, they may change again, if they so wish to."
"And that thing will allow us to survive here?" Jeff asked, the look of mistrust on his face deepening.
Nodding, the Stranger stated, "It will allow us to transform whatever we want in an attempt to survive in this world."
Jeff, stepping out of the stream, stopped a couple feet away from the Stranger and after a couple seconds, asked, "So why is it that we cannot go back? What is it that is keeping us here and opening a portal or whatever back to our homes?"
Shrugging, the Stranger replied, "I do not fully understand it myself, but the magicks of this world only allow for people and animals to enter, not leave. The rift you stepped through was opened to allow a boy name Marcus to enter and continue his transformation in a more comfortable environment. That rift, the one that allowed Marcus to cross, is the one that you stepped through accidentally and the one I went through voluntarily."
"Why?"
Taken aback, the Stranger suddenly found itself at a lost as to how to answer. Choosing its words, the Stranger said, "Because I felt that maybe I should help you, knowing that you would be trapped here."
Nodding as if this made sense, Jeff lapsed into silence and figuring the boy wasn't going to take off, the Stranger took a seat upon the ground. As the two sat there, twilight slowly gave way to full dark and after what seemed like almost a full hour, Jeff asked, "So what shall we do?" and then quickly added, "And what should I call you? I certainly cannot keep calling you "the Stranger"."
Unsure what it should be called, having never put much stock in taking a name as it had been created by the Order of Zulo, the Stranger thought for a moment and choosing to answer the first question posed, it said, "I think we should first find food and some type of shelter," and still thinking, answered the second question by saying, "As for a name, I do not know. I have always been known as the Stranger and as part of my training, I never really had a need for a name."
"We'll have to do something about that," Jeff replied as he stood and began looking about. After a couple seconds, he asked, "So were should we look for food? Do you know anything about hunting?"
Standing, the Stranger shook its head and explained, "I am a vegetarian, as ordained by the Order. Hunting is beyond my knowledge. However, foraging I help with," and glancing in various directions, it finally said, "Follow me," and began to move through the brush in a new direction.
As he watched the outline of the Stranger move off, Jeff considered going off on his home, but in the end figured that, for the moment, he could stick with this odd man and following, he wondered what name he should call the Stranger as he glanced down every once and a bit or peering forward into the forest to note the passing of the man that was walking before him, finding it difficult as the Stranger clearly left little to no trail and at some points blended into the woods.