#of lost things

Coming to terms with the state of his present situation was easier said than done. It was a sucker punch that had come out of left field leaving him reeling from the impact. He’d wandered the perimeter of town following each and every road out only to find himself always headed back the way he came. It was a joke. That was what he said, once, twice, three times... One massive fucking joke. Of course, he’d known about magical communities existing before now - had been exposed to many in his travels around the world but this was taking the cake. Took the whole goddamn cake. The last few days he’d been hesitant from trying any major magic, his body was still a battlefield and too much activity left him barely able to stand let alone consider casting.

He needed supplies, more than that he needed to find a way out of here. Three days in and the restlessness left him watching every individual that passed him on the street. If he’d ended up here there was no telling who else might’ve followed him. Explaining why he ended up at the only apothecary shop in town. Taking a deep breath and doing his best to steady his hands he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open heading inside, a brass bell chimed overhead in greeting. The door shut at his back and Anthony stood in silence taking a moment to observe the new environment suddenly hit with a wash of nostalgia as the scent of fresh herbs caught his attention. There was a different energy here, old and familiar in a way yet also distinctly different. It was a small shop. The walls wrapped in wooden shelves from floor to ceiling, brimming with ceramic jars lined up in neat rows. Organised, he could only hope it was the owner's doing as he glanced over at the wooden drawers behind a long counter.

No one in sight. Anthony wandered over to a shelf filled with leather-bound books his eyes skimming over their titles row by row. He searched, looking for anything that might contain a hint of the town until he found one black book penned as a history of this infernal place. Perhaps it would be a useful study. It was just as he let the cover fall open and flicked through a few pages that he heard the footsteps of another approaching at his back. He didn’t turn just yet, simply continued skimming the pages of the book in hand.

I never expected to see you again.