Part One: The Fool and the Magician

The green tea lightly steamed before Dani's eyes, as she carefully took a small sip. Instantly, her mouth was filled with the warm liquid, and she sighed in content when she set her cup down.

Directly in front of her was a large monitor, filled with white, marred by tiny black text. The intense white of the monitor was the only light in the room. Actively perusing the contents on the monitor, Dani failed to notice a new window opened at the bottom of her screen. It wasn't until she had read her fill did she see it.

Do You Want to Partake In a GrandAdventure

YES/NO

"Grand adventure…?" she mused out loud. It was quite late, and everyone in the house was asleep. Tomorrow was a school day, and it was already around 1am. "Why not? I'll be dead tired tomorrow anyways."

YES!

Immediately, Dani felt herself drawn into a strange void. She was senseless; that is to say, she lacked feeling in any of her five conventional senses, as well as lacking any sense of where or who she was. Her breath was gone. Her heart stopped. The very blood in her veins seemed to halt course. She couldn't scream. Couldn't react. Couldn't think. All that was left was the body, practically a corpse. A cadaver. A piece of raw meat on display at the butcher's, splayed for all to see, unable to save herself from being looked over, bought, and subsequentially chopped to bits.

Then it all came rushing back in such a swooping rush, that Dani could barely restrain herself from staggering or emptying the contents of her stomach on the ground…of wherever she was.

She looked up. Bright blue skies and light, puffy clouds. Birdsong somewhere in the distance, not to mention the rustling of squirrels, the screeching cicadas, and the far-off yap of a dog. Warm grass under the feet, which were suddenly bare, and the faintest whiff of sewage. The scene could almost be straight out of a typical summer day in the woods behind Dani's property, but there was one discrepancy with this: Dani was fairly sure there weren't any mountains near where she lived.

So focused as she was on the wide expanse of mountains, the sheer tallness of them, the pure white snow topping them even in the height of August, the bluish-gray coloration of their tall peaks…so focused was she, Dani almost fell off the edge of a precipice that sprung up before her.

It was the yapping of a small dog by her side that brought her gaze to earth, finally noticing the danger she was suddenly in. Taking in a sharp gasp of air, Dani backpedaled as fast as possible, only to fall on her butt a few feet away.

"Oh, thank heavens." Dani sat and puffed for a little, before her heart rate resumed it's regular pace. The small dog, a sort of miniature poodle-terrier mix in white, trotted happily to her side, where it sat and panted. Dani barely took notice of it, gaze fixated on the precipice as she said, "Good dog. You saved me."

"My pleasure." Dani's head whipped around, only to find a young man crouched where the dog had been, clothed in an expensive looking robe and holding a staff-like stick.

"Wh-who're you?!" exclaimed Dani, the shock too much for her poor head. "Where am I? Where'd the dog go?!"

"All will be explained in good time, my dear Fool."

"F-fool?" At the young man's nod and pointed stare at her attire, Dani looked down at her outfit, only to find that she was clothed in the most garrulous colored fabric, a cross between pale green and yellow. Taking a deep breath, Dani faced the man again.

"Where am I? Can you at least answer me that?"

"Why, you are obviously in the Land of Tarot." The man smiled sunnily at her. "You are going to be here for quite a while."

At this, Dani passed out, hoping to wake up sprawled on her bedroom floor.

Instead, a while later, Dani awoke on a rather uncomfortable pallet on a cold, stone floor. She sat up, and the bed rustled in the way that straw would. The cloth covering the straw seemed to be as rough as burlap, and twice as uncomfortable. Looking about her surroundings, she surmised she was in some sort of kitchen straight out of the sixteenth century, most likely earlier. Her bed was beside a large, wooden table, with a bench. Lying next to her were two alien objects, which seemed to be in her possession. One, a beautiful white rose, long-stemmed, thorns clipped, a single leaf clinging to the base of the flower. Two, a lacquered stick with a golden top, around which was tied a smallish bag.

"Finally up, eh, slugabed?"

Dani looked up to see the young man stride purposely into the room, a blazing fire of a cloak burning behind him, dressed to the nines, dark hair streaming to the shoulders. He carried the large staff from yesterday, and looked every part of the richly paid sorcerer. He sat down at the table expectantly, and seemed to muse things over in his mind for a brief second.

Then, much to Dani's surprise he cried out, "BREAD! EGGS, SCRAMBLED! HOT HAM! STRAWBERRY JAM!" Then, chuckling under his breath, he muttered, "And do hop to it."

In plain sight of Dani's ever-growing astonished gaze, a large loaf of flat bread appeared. Then, on top of the bread, a goodly pile of eggs, scrambled. Next to the eggs were placed two thickly sliced pieces of steaming ham. Finally, a large jar of jam seemed to pop in front of the man, out of inexistence.

"Are ye joining me for breakfast, fair Fool, or are ye more content to lay there on the floor and snatch at mice for your meals?" As he said this, the young man scooped up some of his eggs with his fingers, and poured it down his gullet. He wiped his fingers on the tablecloth, and then shouted, "ALE!" When a sufficiently large flagon had been put in his hand, he gulped it down greedily, and wiped at his wet mouth with his sleeve.

Timidly, Dani arose, eyes wide, not daring to believe the sight before her. She pinched herself on the inside of her wrists, to no avail. She was awake, she was seeing a sight straight out of her more illustrious textbooks and the few novels she had read set in such an era, and she was to trust this man, whom had already saved her life.

She sat down before the young man, who smiled graciously at her.

"What do you wish to break the fast with, my fair Fool?"

"The same as you, milord." Dani mumbled, looking down at her strangely garbed lap.

"Come now, you must have something else. Otherwise, the frying pan and other cutlery could not rejoice in the diversity of a guest to my mansion, my castle, my home. Incidentally, I'm not a lord. No, merely a magician. You may call me such, fair Fool." The Magician smirked at Dani, placing a warm hand over her own in a rather intimate manner. She immediately wrenched it away.

"My name is not F-fool! I am Dani!" Tired of being the Fool, Dani wished acknowledgement of her given name.

"Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling/From glen to glen, and down the mountainside/The summer's gone, and all the roses falling/'Tis you must go, 'tis you must go and I must bide." The Magician had a lovely voice, not quite a baritone, yet far from a tenor. "Very well, Dani, but I warrant you none here will call you that. Resign yourself to the role of fool. There are no small parts, only small actors." The Magician lifted a sumptuous slice of ham high, and then tilted his head back in order to drop it in.

"Sir, what is your name?"

"My name?" The Magician paused, mid-lift, and set the second piece down. "My name, eh?" Scrunching his brow low, the Magician seemed to glare at the air above Dani's head. "My name."

He then proceeded to let forth a gigantic belch, one that cleared the air of freely floating dust motes.

"Let's just say that I am the Magician." The Magician patted his belly, and then began to put jam upon his bread. "Get you something to eat girl, before I am forced to feed you the scraps of meals past!"

Feeling somewhat disappointed, Dani yelled out "ROAST TURKEY! BLACKBERRIES WITH CREAM! BUTTERED ROLLS! ORANGE JUICE! CHOCOLATE PIE!" Satisfied with her obscure and inappropriate order, Dani crossed her arms, and stared defiantly at the Magicians surprised gaze.

"Excellent choice. It'll exercise the oven and break the fast with style!" He then started to tuck into his bread, scattering crumbs all over the table and his lap.

Within a moment, a huge piece of flat bread set before Dani. In a flash like lightning, a slab of roast turkey, a dollop of blackberries with cream, two greased up rolls, and a square hunk of chocolate pie landed in front of her. A flagon landed pointedly by her right wrist, almost smashing into it. Into it was poured a pulpy, orangish-yellow liquid.

"I'm afraid all our orange juice is like that. Done by hand, you see."

"Instantly cooked turkey? How is it even possible to have turkey, blackberries, oranges, and chocolate in this era!?"

"Magic, my fair Fool, works in mysterious ways." The Magician twirled his finger, causing sparks to fly around it.

"You're exasperating!" Dani tore off a sizable portion of turkey with her teeth, whilst glaring fiercely at the man across from her.

"A touch, a touch, I do declare. Would you have me any other way?"

"And you're obviously not from around here. You keep quoting things beyond your time. You know too much. You speak with great ease in a dialect that should be foreign to you. You know about chocolate and pulp free orange juice!"

At once, the Magician's gaze grew grave once more. "I know not what ye mean, fairest of Fools. I am nary but a simple magic caster who hath been exposed to many travelers from your time."

"…you were one yourself, weren't you? You embarked on a 'great adventure', and found yourself a Fool. You completed the quest and wound up liking it here so much, you stayed. Became Magician. Blocked all memories of home."

The Magician frowned at Dani. She could almost feel the disapproval radiating from him. But…she also sensed a bit of fear, like she had hit the nail on the head.

"You could be a psychologist, ya know? Next thing I know, you'll be asking me to keep a dream journal and reminding me of my appointment next week."

Dani smiled. It wasn't quite an admission, but it was close enough. He was letting her win by saying such things, and they both knew it. The Magician seemed rather defeated when he next spoke:

"But we are not here to talk of me, dear Fool. We are here to talk of you. Your assets and upcoming adventure to be honest."

"Assets! What assets? I'm a plain-faced girl with few talents. I can barely roll my tongue. What assets could I possibly have?" Dani fiddled with her fingers in her lap, suddenly shy.

Chuckling, the Magician gently lifted her chin, so that they were eye to eye. "You have plenty of admirable qualities. I can tell already from simply talking to you."

"And who are you to gauge my talents! You're barely older than I am! Why the wise mentor behavior?"

"As you so astutely pointed out, I have already been through a grand adventure. Now that I'm the Magician, and you're the Fool, I am your guide, for the time being." The Magician looked at the straw pallet lying next to the table, behind Dani. "Are those your possessions?"

Dani whirled to see the items she had awakened with floating toward the table. She caught the white rose as it floated past.

"Ah, the Fool and her pack. All the worldly possessions placed in a small sack, and hoisted onto the back." He then lifted his staff from where it lay on the bench, and pointed it directly at the bag. "Reveal yourself!"

The bag fell open. So small was the exterior, Dani expected little more than a wedge of cheese, a little bread, maybe some sentimental trinkets of the character she was playing. To her surprise, which was still active even after all that had been shown to her, a grand staff (even grander than the Magician's), a rather richly ornamented sword, a golden and gem encrusted cup, and a coin the size of a wagon wheel lay on the table before the Magician, who had raised his staff to the heavens.

"These are your assets. You may use them on your journey, and find solace in them." The Magician, sober and serious, pointed to the objects in turn, extolling their powers. "The cool, airy Sword of intellect and communication. The fiery Wand of spirituality and ambition. The overflowing Chalice of love and emotions. The solid Pentacle of work, possessions, and body."

Dani beheld these wonders with awed eyes. To think, she had possessed such things, and yet had not known.

The Magician nodded thoughtfully before speaking again. "I believe I have another gift for you." Slowly, he drew out a pouch from the inner recesses of his cloak. It rattled like a snake before striking. He rummaged around in the pouch, before alighting upon what he sought. Plucking it from the bag, he dropped what seemed to be a metal marble onto the table.

The instant it hit the wood, it transformed into a snake…maybe a dragon. The serpentine creature appeared to be eating it's own tail.

"Ouroboros." The Magician nodded once more. "How fitting." He picked up the creature, which became spherical as soon as it touched flesh. "Hold out your hand." Dani did so. "It is yours, and rightfully so."

He rose quickly, causing Dani to gasp.

"I must be off. I have work to do." He allowed a small smile to grace his face one last time. "I suppose we'll meet again, fair Fool. Good luck."

And then, he began to melt away, along with the stone walls around her. Dani found herself alone on a desolate moor. Still clutching the metal marble, which was still warm.