The Story of Jason

Nadine inhales deeply and slowly releases her breath as she nods her head. She grabs your hand and leads you over to the couch to sit down. She grabs her tea and takes a sip then looks up at you and sighs deeply before beginning.

"It seems like so so long ago when I met Jason the first time. At that point he'd already been here for quite a while and had a rather large harem going" she says with a giggle. "I didn't see myself becoming part of his group, but he was so charming. A lot like you actually" she says shyly. "He was a very powerful magic user, and he helped me become the magic user I am today. That was just who he was actually. He wanted to help everyone who needed help. We traveled around for years and any injustice he saw he'd jump in the middle of it. A T-rex preying on a village here, bandits attacking caravans there. Where ever we were it seemed like there was always something to help with. I look fondly back at those times often. It was simple. We helped people who needed help" she says setting her cup of tea down and idly running her finger around its rim.

"We learned so many things, even how Jason came here" she says wistfully, but you key in on that statement. Question for later you think.

"At some point after we'd built a decent reputation for ourselves we stumbled into something much bigger. We'd helped a town with a seemingly normal bandit problem, only we discovered after that we'd gotten involved in the plans of Wendel. He...retaliated. We were ambushed and had to flee, but several of us were killed. Jason blamed himself, but more so he blamed Wendel. Which was logical obviously, but Jason changed that day. Wendel became almost an obsession for him. From then on he made it goal to become a thorn in Wendel's side. We no longer helped just anyone who needed it, we sought out ways to hurt Wendel's plans instead. He was focused and driven, but the Jason I had fell in love with died the day of that ambush. I don't know why I stayed with him after that. I guess I hoped I would one day see the man I fell in love with again, but that wasn't to be...just brief glimpses from time to time" she says with a frown.

"After years of tormenting Wendel's plans we found ourselves drawn into a major conflict against Wendel. We didn't know it at the time, but the battle we joined in was the last time we would see Jason...and Wendel. The battle was intense and somehow Wendel and Jason faced off against each other. They initiated a magic duel" she explains noticing your confusion.

"A magic duel is a battle of magical strength. One or the other forces pure magical energy into the other. Usually it is over quickly as one or the other is obviously stronger, but Wendel and Jason were evenly matched. I'd never seen or felt anything like it. It was blinding to me, and I was incapacitated, but even for the others it was impossible to get close" she says closing her eyes.

"When it was over and I could see again Wendel and Jason were gone. Just gone with no trace of them. Wendel's army panicked and fell apart. They were scattered in every direction without Wendel. The victors told everyone that Wendel was dead and that Jason had returned home. That seems to be what everyone believes now, but those of us who were there know that isn't true. Jason, as focused as he was with Wendel, never would have abandoned us like that. I don't know what happened really, but I don't think either of them are dead. I think they just went somewhere...else" she says.

"We all thought that and tried finding answers. Years passed, but we didn't come any closer to finding those answers. The binder in our relationship was Jason, so as more and more time passed we slowly all drifted into different paths. Some gave up, some died from old age, and some just left to seek answers on their own" she says grabbing her tea cup and starring into its contents. Several moments pass and you realize that is the end of the tale.

"So, what about you then? Are you still trying to find Jason" you ask.

"No...not for a while now. I've accepted that all that remains are the memories of better times. So I help people when I can. I don't know...I guess to create new memories like those from better times" she says looking up at you with the corners of her mouth upturned in a slight smile, but sadness in her eyes.

"Thanks for telling me all that Nadine. I don't mean to cause any negative emotions to pop up" you say sincerely.

"No, it's good to talk about it again, and hey, maybe something I said will be useful to you" she says wearing a genuine smile now.

"Well actually, you mentioned a god brought Jason here. What god" you ask.

"Remi" she says rolling her eyes. "A trickster is what that old coot is. He wasn't happy with what he saw as stagnation in this world so he brought in an agent of change. God of change and all that" she says waving her hand dismissively.

"Old coot? He is an old man then" you ask.

"Yes...er...well, he often appears as an old man with a staff, but really he can appear as anything" she says.

"Um..." you hesitate for a moment. Nadine looks you in the eyes.

"You've seen him haven't you" she states.

"When I first got here an old man with a staff explained my situation and briefly answered some of my questions. Then he just disappeared" you explain.

"Sounds like him. You'll be seeing him again at some point if you haven't already if it was him. He would appear to Jason occasionally. Sometimes he was helpful, sometimes to mess with him" she stated.

"Just be careful with him. Even when he's helpful he's usually lying about something" she quickly adds. This brings up so many questions in your mind. Was it just Remi that brought you here and not some special DLC pack you had bought for a game? It seems more likely it would be Remi. If it was, what is he expecting to change? Did he bring others? You rub the temples of your head as you ponder it all.

"Well, I can see this got your cogs turning a bit" she says with a smirk. She stands up in front of you and holds her hand out for you to take.

"I always find a bath helps me think better. Care to join me for one" she asks cocking her head to the side.