“Whoa there! Ok well that was way too much information.” He lifted his hands up making a gesture that roughly translated to ‘please for all that is good and pure in this world be quiet."

Algra looked at his hands and frowned with confusion.

“You wish to challenge me? ALL that I own and all that I am is already yours." She explained. He was a very odd human.

"Challenge you!? No."

"Then why do you raise your hands?" She looked between his open palms and then back to him.

He suddenly clamped his hands to his sides like they'd touched something searingly hot.

"“That...that's not a challenge. That's...well it's meant to be sort of a ‘stop’ kinda gesture." He explained.

“That is not stop. That means 'I wish to fight barehanded'. Do you not know orcs?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head as if chiding a small child.

"Do I Look Like a guy who knows orcs!? Lady I have no fucking idea how it's even possible you exist. I'm absolutely clueless when it comes to orcs, elves, dwarves, gnomes, fairies or fucking unicorns!"

"Then I belong to an idiot." She gravely surmised.

Gregory stared dumbstruck at her and then slumped back against a tree, slowly sliding down to sit between the roots in the ground. A long moment of silence passed between them as Gregory came to terms with the idea of all the strange things he'd just mentioned actually existing. It was impossible. It was insanity. It was...brilliant.

“Algra, when you came out from behind the tree screaming you waited before attacking. You were waiting for me to do something weren't you?” She nodded her head in the affirmative.

“I was awaiting you to pick a weapon. It is not acceptable to challenge a free thing for its freedom without allowing it to fight as it wishes." She said.

“And then when I raised my hands to try and get you to stop..."

“You chose your weapon.” She said with a degree of finality.

“I chose to fight bare handed. Right. Just in case, if I make any other gestures or say anything in the future that might cause you to try and beat the shit out of me or take a crap on my head or whatever, just explain in words what I've done first. Deal?"

Algra studied his words for a few seconds before nodding again.

“Deal.”

“Aright, so where are we?" Gregory lifted himself to his feet again and brushed off his cargo pants to look around the forest. He sure as hell wasn't in England any more.

“We stand in the Embervine Forest in the Land of Grulmir." She informed him curiously. He really didn't have any idea where he was.

“Alright and where's the Land of Grulmir." He Looked back over to where she stood.

Algra didn't answer right away, though she didn't seem to be hiding anything from him so much as she didn't quite know how to answer.

“Grulmir Lays upon Arolius." She ventured after a few moments.

“And what's beyond Arolius?" Please say Southampton. Please say

Southampton. Please say Southampton.