Tom looked up at the dark expanse of cliff and wondered about the two figures on top. One was a boy and the other an old man. They were shouting his name and telling him to go away. He guessed they were warning him about the whirlpools and tried to steer clear ... then he realised the shouts were hostile.
The old man was waving a battleaxe and the boy was shooting at him with a ray gun. Brilliant flashes of light pierced the water, throwing up clouds of steam. Before he could do anything about it, the boat spiralled towards one of the whirlpools and began a slow descent.
His head spun. He had known the sensation before. First a downward motion then a feeling of other worldliness, followed by a sense of euphoria. He rose and broke the surface, confident he had made the passage between realms.
A figure scrambled over the rocks towards him. Tom recognised the broken nose and grizzled beard.
'You're Balduur,' he exclaimed.
'Aye. They called me by that name in my old realm.' The man pulled him from the water. 'Perhaps I'll take a different name now I've been elevated to the eighth.'
Tom stared back at him, in horror.
'You are saying that we are in the eighth realm?'
'That's right. I've risen from the seventh to the eighth.'
'That means we are going in the wrong direction,' Tom gasped.
'Nar...' Balduur shook his head. 'We're doing just fine.'
'We're not. The bigger the number, the worse it gets.'
'You've been listening to those lying priests.'
'No.' Tom insisted. 'I made the passage from the sixth to the seventh and that was bad enough.'
'Bad?'
'You can't imagine how primitive this place will be.'
'Nonsense.' Balduur pointed towards the shore. 'Take a look at that.'
In the distance, the glow of a big city shone through the mist. Tall buildings stuck up above the clouds. Lights rose and fell. It was an image from an age more advanced than any Tom knew.
'There's a war going on,' Balduur enthused. 'We'll make big names for ourselves.'
Tom's features relaxed.
'And think about their women ...'
'Their women?'
'Aye. They must have women. We'll have adventures with the ladies ...'
END
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