@TheWielder @BladeAgainstTheDark "She doesn't have any kind of long-ranged weapon..." Holly nods to him, then scrambles onto her feet and bolts back the way they'd come, beside the church and toward the path to the river through the woods.

"Run, Sanam!" she yells, going as fast as her legs will carry her.

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer Sanam ran with Holly, running as fast as he could while barefoot. Good thing she was tall too, so he didn't have to worry about her falling behind.

He wondered for a brief moment what he looked like, sprinting shirtless and barefoot through the woods. He probably looked insane.

@TheWielder @BladeAgainstTheDark Well then he's mostly in good company.

Holly prepares to toss herself at the river, then pauses. "Wait. Why don't I just make the portal here?"

With the same movement of her arm, the portal forms in front of them and she gestures to it. "There we are! Hop through, I don't know if I have to be the last one through or not and I don't want to leave you here."

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer Sanam ran in after Holly, splashing as he tried to get across quickly.

"Sorry," he apologized. He *really* hoped they didn't die because of him needing to get his keys.

@TheWielder @BladeAgainstTheDark "If we die and we go to heaven," she pants, "and heaven has a diner, I'll pay for the food, because I got us into this mess!"

She flops out of the water and rushes up the embankment, her feet sliding into the mud and her arms windmill for a moment while she tries to regain her balance.

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder Arissa reaches the hill and clutches a stitch in her side, the river directly ahead of her. She runs her hand through her hair and then swears under her breath before she continues her pursuit.

Wading through water would clear her armor of some debris, and maybe relieve her of some of the sweat. She strides to the rushing tide purposefully, holding her sword above her head. Any chance to minimize rust is one she had to take.

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder The sandy embankment gives way underneath her fine leather boots, and she sheathes her sword in the scabbard before walking up the hill toward the two figures.

"I am not going to hurt you," is what she says in her native tongue, but they wouldn't be able to understand it.

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder As the portal begins to close, the blade of her sword pierces through it. One of the glyphs emblazoned on the blade lights up with a fiery purple, and she steps through the portal to point the sword at the black-haired woman.

"Who? Are? You?" she asks. The language sounds somewhat like portugese.

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder Grumbling under her breath, she holds the sword so the tip touches the ground beneath them... it's not cobblestone. Curious. Nor is it brickwork. Her attention shifts back to the hilt of her sword and the translation rune on the pommel. She presses it to activate it, and the other rune deactivates. The teal rune on the pommel glows with a soft light and she tosses her silver hair behind her head.

"Who are you?" she asks, in English, although her mouth does *not* —

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer Sanam's dark eyes followed her sword as she drew the rune. Once he heard English, he looked back up at the woman and blinked.

"Huh... that's a neat trick... uhh, I'm Sanam."

His heart was still heating hard in his chest, though he was apparently much calmer than Holly seemed to be.

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder "Well I'm not going to *harm* you," she sheathes then sword, although the rune remains glowing. "I'm merely a traveler. I got onto that place through a strange-looking doorway. My name is Arissa."

Arissa leans toward Sanam and offers him her gauntleted hand. "My deepest apologies for scaring you. I didn't consider whether you would be able to understand me or not."

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer Sanam looked towards Holly. "You can open a portal to other worlds and *this* shocks you?" Not that he *wasn't*, but he had seen some strange things tonight.

He reached out and shook the woman's hand. "Where we're from, people who charge you with weapons usually mean to harm you." He chuckled.

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer "Yeah, I guess so." He'd forgotten Gotham was so close to the water.

He fumbled with his things and pulled out his phone, opening Maps to get a good idea of where they'd ended up.

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder "That makes two of us... what kind of garb do you wear? What are you, peasants? You're certainly no Knights. I would expect Knights to at least be armed with some manner of weaponry and you both look like you..."

She's at a loss for words. The only people that wore clothing similar to this were monks at a far-off monastery. And that was on HER world, not on that strange thing they had been on.

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer Sanam realized at that moment that he had forgotten his shoes in his rush. All well. At least he had his wallet. He could buy more shoes.

"Uhh..." he tried to think of how to answer her question. "... Well... mostly people wear *more* than this... we were going swimming, so we took some off... and I guess we're..." he looked at Holly, then back. "... the equivalent of peasants? Though no one calls people that here..."

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder "I had assumed that peasants here still ate food." Arissa walks toward the alleyway entrance and then steps onto the sidewalk.

"You do not know what to do with me, so I will tell you in plain terms, that I will survive here on my own. I do not need your assistance. I have made it in worse cities. Farewell."

And she waves a gauntleted hand toward them, her gaze turning toward the sidewalk ahead of her.

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer "Oh that will *not* go well," he said, mostly to himself, and called after the woman: "wait! I don't think that's a good idea!"

People would probably call the police on her if they saw she had a sword. Or they'd think she was playing dress up, which may provoke her, and *then* they'd call the police...

@BladeAgainstTheDark @SimpleDevourer Sanam jogged after them, pocketing his belongings. They'd get damp, but it was better than carrying them in hand when you were in this part of town.

"Yeah, see, this world is probably *extremely* different from the ones you're used to... I wouldn't walk around alone here... I can bring you back to my place if you'd like?" He offered. "Though I'm still moving in, so there are boxes everywhere."

@TheWielder @BladeAgainstTheDark A pang of guilt shoots through her. It isn't fair to Sanam to suddenly host a new person from a far-off land. But she couldn't do it either.

"Arissa, listen to us! This world is strange and so much scarier than you'd think. Please don't run off and get yourself hurt."

@SimpleDevourer @TheWielder Arissa stands there for a moment before dramatically turning around, her hand resting on the pommel of her sword. Her eyes study both of them closely before she responds.

"That would be... is that normal here? To stay with another person in such a manner?"