A Turbulent Journey

“Good afternoon folks. This is your Captain speaking. We’ve reached 34,000 feet, but there’s a bit of turbulence as we skirt the edge of this thunderstorm. Please keep those seatbelts fastened…” She glanced around, looking at the tops of people’s heads. The sound of the rain just barely heard over the roar of the engines. A baby near the back of the plane was screaming, so she popped in her headphones to listen to music and try to drown it out. It was rather fun to stare out at the sea of strangers. A young boy’s eyes peered around his aisle seat a few rows ahead. He stared at her, and with a soft smirk, she wiggled her eyebrows, raising one than the other. His face scrunched up in concentration, eyes turned upwards as he attempted to copy her.

It was amusing, but she already finished reading her book and didn’t bring anything else to entertain her for the remainder of the four-hour flight back home. Visiting home was always a pleasure, but so was leaving. It was exhausting keeping up with her little nieces and nephews, better than being hounded on why she wasn’t married yet. It was nice to have a few states between her and that conversation. An hour felt like an eternity; consumed by boredom, she even opened the back-seat pocket to read the airplane magazine. Instead, she found a small black notebook behind the magazine.

What a thing to forget…she thought to herself as she pulled it out, looking it over. The notebook seemed in pristine condition: soft black leather cover, crisp clean pages, an elastic strap to keep it closed, and a pen snuggly attached to the front cover. There was no name or phone number on the inside cover; instead, an inscription inside read:

‘Finders Keepers – Don’t tempt fate. Use with discretion.’

“Excuse me.” She tried to catch the flight attendant walking past without waking the sleeping stranger. He’d given her the stink-eye when her leg bounced restlessly out of boredom. The flight attendant stopped, and gave a soft smile.

“Yes ma’am?”

“Someone left this is the seat back pocket.” The flight attendant took the notebook, looked inside, and handed it back.

“Finders keepers.” She gave it back, all too happy not having to deal with the lost item. The baby in the back of the plane let out another wailing screech that was fraying her nerves as she headed toward the front of the plane. Well, at least she tried to return it. Taking a peek inside, it wasn’t filled as if it were a journal. Nor was it blank. Someone had written what appeared to be prompts for creative writing at the top of each page, varying in genres. It had been awhile since she had the time to actually sit down and write. She had missed it, and with ample time available, it seemed like a golden opportunity. As the turbulence jostled her like a car on a dirt road, she read through the pages with fervor.

Settling on the fantasy prompt, ‘A journey to Faddon village: a quaint town with ample secrets of magic long-forgotten to the kingdom,’ she stuck the pen in the notebook like a bookmark when the plane dropped without warning. Those once sleeping shrieked from the rude awakening; some even cried in terror while the plane shook with vigor. The overhead bins flung open, tossing items around the cabin. After a minute or two, the turbulence settled back down to a gentle jostling once again. Reaching down, she pulled out the notebook from under a piece of luggage. Small pellets of hail began to hammer the plane. With the turbulence, her writing was likely to come out as no more than chicken scratch, so she settled on reading through the notebook until they had passed through the storm.

However, there was a passage written beneath the prompt she’d chosen. There wasn’t a passage there before. Where did it come from? There was no way anyone else would have been able to write in it, let alone grab it, so how did it appear?

The short passage told of a delayed carriage taking longer to get to Faddon Village due to a heavy and unexpected rain storm. The dirt roads turned into mud, some into rivers, forcing the carriage to take a safer, albeit, longer route. Glancing up reflexively as a light flickered above the rim of the notebook, she did an instant double take. No longer was she buckled into her airplane seat, but sitting in a carriage with heavy rain bouncing off the roof.

“Ah, at last, there’s Faddon Village!” The other occupants of the carriage were elated as the carriage driver announced their long journey was almost over. It was just as she read in the passage. Looking at the journal once more, it was filled with research notes and hand drawn maps. It was a seamless transition; she couldn’t believe this was actually happening – that this was all real. The carriage lurched as it hit a rock, knocking her out of her seat. She caught herself, but not before she whacked her head on the side of the carriage. She hurried to rub her sore head as pain kindly showed her this was all very real.

“Alright there, miss?” A gentleman asked. His wife elbowed his ribs, and he helped her back into her seat.

“Yes, thank you.”

“This ought to help dear.” The wife held out a small jar to her; it was filled with pink candies dusted in what looked to be powdered sugar. She took one, not wanting to be rude, with gratitude for their kindness. As she sucked on the sweet candy, the pain in her knee dissolved with a rush of cold. Her eyes widened, unnoticed by the other passengers in the carriage.

Magic is real? She was ecstatic at the thought of living in a world where magic wasn’t just make-believe. The carriage stopped near a tavern. She grabbed her sack after the nice couple reminded her – she didn’t even know it was hers. She pulled up the hood of the cloak. She was glad to be wearing high boots and pants, making it easier for her to hop down.

Her stomach gave a hearty growl, and she was in the tavern in a snap taking a seat at an empty table near a window. The waiter brought an empty wooden stein, setting it down with the menu and left. She was about to say something when steam came off the top of the stein, now filled with hot cider. On the side of the stein was a small rune carved in. Curious, she wondered how this magic worked as she read over the small menu, and settled on the meat pie.

There was a newspaper on the table, allowing a bit of insight on where she was. Faddon Village was located in the Kingdom of Woratlan. They forged an alliance with a neighboring country instead rather than going to war improving the current state of things. They finally ended the age-old feud, ushering in a new era. It benefited both nations, winning the overwhelming approval of the people. For once, it was a time of peace, and prosperity. The rest of the paper went into the new trades and roads being built to go between the newly aligned kingdoms.

Outside the window, the storm cleared, and the clouds began to disperse, letting the light through. Much to her surprise, it looked to be late morning, not evening as she’d originally assumed. To be fair, she didn’t even know what time it was. The meat pie floated over a little while later, making her salivate from the smell and sight of a thick layer of flaky, buttery crust on top. Hoping to find more clues, she began to read through the notebook. It was only partially filled with bits and pieces of gathered information. Whoever she was, she was almost certain she was a scholar, maybe even an explorer.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a decent-sized black and yellow spider creeping toward her. While she wasn’t a fan of any pests, she wasn’t about to run out the door in fear. With notebook in hand and a quick snap of her wrist, she squashed the spider, and its green guts splattered on the table.

“So gross…” She muttered to herself. Flicking her notebook, the carcass plat on the floor. Using the newspaper she’d planned on keeping along with the napkin on the table, she wiped the guts off the notebook. She paid for her meal on her way out, oblivious to the eyes of the other tavern patrons following her.

Walking around town, she found many shops to peak into, chatted with locals, and added her own notes into the notebook. Until she found a way to get home, if there even was a way to get home, she needed to get a roof over her head and food to eat. Even in this world, she needed a job and fast. She paused by a house being built, noticing the men were lugging small buckets of bricks. When they dumped the bucket, an avalanche of bricks flooded out.

“Excuse me,” the man paused, glancing at her with curiosity. “Do you know where I can find job postings?”

“You must be new here. I’m Arthur. The clergyman usually has some. I’d start there.” Maybe she could put her modern knowledge to use here if she found the right job. Another man came down the scaffolding, looking like Arthur’s brother with their similar features.

“We’re shorthanded today. If you give us a hand, we’ll pay you good money. Maybe something permanent, too.” Out of nowhere, there was a large crowd rushing toward them.

“Miss, please wait!”

“The Mayor? What’s he in a rush for?”

The whole town cheered, “Monster vanquisher!”

“Madam,” the Mayor huffed out trying to catch his breath. “Please, stay in our village!”

“Huh?” There was probably something more dignified to say to the Mayor of the village who was now hunched over bowing to her. It was a confusing day to say the least.

“Yes,” The Mayor said, clearing his throat, having finally caught his breath. “We beg you to help rid us of these beasts!”

“I’m sorry, I’m not from around here, but I haven’t vanquished anything. I think you have me confused with someone else…”

“I watched you do it in the tavern! You raised your mighty hand and thwarted the beast with one swing. Not a hint of fear in her eyes!” The waiter of the pub shouted out, earning a hoard of cheers when it dawned on her. They were acting like this because of a spider?

“I’m sure you all could do the same.”

“Arachnids are the most powerful and venomous beasts on the continent! They are immune to all magic and no one dares to get into close quarters with a beast of that caliber” She’d seen the villagers use magic for even the small tasks. With their dependency on magic, it was no wonder they were all but defenseless against the spiders. The Mayor held out a small wooden box to her.

“20,000 sovereigns. Please accept it and our humble plea.” Inside were crisp white and gold bank notes; causing Arthur and his brother to sputter at the sight of it.

“H-hold on a second! We already offered this tough lady to work for us!” They began to argue about who would get to hire her.

If only it were this easy to obtain a job back in my world… she thought to herself. Whether by coincidence or design, the small black notebook led her to a fortune. No matter how she got here, or why, this was by far the most exciting thing to happen to her. She was determined to see it through to the end; and it was only the beginning…