The End of Naomi's Story

He casts a spell. and the material of my gown changes from silk to something resembling sackcloth, which rubs uncomfortably against my skin whenever I shift my position. It could have been worse, I suppose. At least I've escaped the accompanying ashes. I decide that it would not be wise to point out that sackcloth seems even less suitable for the dinner table than what I was wearing originally.

"So, on to the remainder of Naomi's - your - story," he says. "And I mustn't entirely overlook the fates of the other two surviving heroes, since as Naomi you will be expected to be familiar with what happened to them."

I'll only repeat the final part of what Anorkin tells me, since he goes on at considerable length. About two years ago, Naomi went to investigate a strange magical manifestation: a black void. A farmer had reported its appearance in his cowshed, and claimed that it was responsible for the disappearance of his cows. Naomi entered the cowshed to investigate, and to see if her magic could dispel the void, but she never came out again. When the farmer plucked up enough courage to look inside, both Naomi and the void had vanished.

The farmer's description of the void, as quoted by Anorkin from memory, seems eerily familiar: "It was floating in the air, swirling in strange shades of orange and purple and it seemed rather inviting. It was eight feet in diameter, but only an inch thick like a huge disk. In fact, it was a quite beautiful disk. But a floating disk? It was really frightening." [3]

I wonder whether Naomi could have finished up in my own original world? The timing suggests that her teleportation - assuming that is what happened to her - must have occurred at about the same time as mine. But I didn't come to this world directly, I recall. I was initially brought to a world with a similar level of technology to my own - or possibly just another location in my own world - and only arrived in this world when I crossed the river, when I saw no sign of a strange disk..

I realise that Anorkin is no longer talking. I suppose that Naomi's disappearance was the end of the story. He is looking at me intently, and I realise that I have been rather obviously lost in thought for the last minute or so.

1. "I'm glad to see that you are thinking about what I have told you," he says. "You may go to bed now. As it is getting late, we will skip the catechism concerning the earlier part of the book."
2. "What are you thinking about?" he asks me brusquely.

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