The magical teleportation shower...

[The storyteller]

David Davidson, your average teenager with brown hair, blue eyes, and a light tan, was not the most impressive young man one could meet. He left no lasting impression in the minds of his peers, except for those he had managed to befriend. Standing a little over six feet tall and lacking a whole lot of muscle didn't help him either. But he made a life out of it. He worked a lousy job reffing little league soccer while being yelled at by overbearing parents making outrageous claims. He had a lousy piece of crap car that he constantly had to fix because the engine was older than his father. All of this didn't matter to David, because he had his girlfriend, a short mousy blond that he loved passionately.

One night, the night of his seventeenth birthday to be more precise, he was showering up to prepare for a date with his previously mentioned girlfriend. Hoping that tonight would be a big night he spent a little longer than he normally did, making sure he was especially clean. After departing from the warm domain of the shower, into the bitter bathroom air fueled by the "Almost winter" weather of Dallas, he quickly toweled off and dressed in blue jeans and a black T-shirt. Taking the weather into mind he added his black letter Jacket he had received for being a good trombone player in the marching band. He quickly brushed his hair, giving it a messy yet organized look, applied some deodorant, and sighed. Tonight was a big night, he didn't want to screw it up.

He turned and paused, feeling the sudden urge to look around. Feeling something out of place he glanced around. The blue sapphire like tiles were damp from condensation, and the grout was slightly stained due to a lack luster scrubbing. The sink and the cabinets around it were a pearly white, while the counter was a blue stained granite with tiny sparkles inside the stone, which held his eyes briefly. These were minor details etched into his mind, things he had seen everyday. What caught his eye was his pocketknife, something he only carried when he was at a scout camp-out, lying on the towel he had just set down. Obviously it had not been there before, but now it was. A slight frown crossed David's average lips. He grabbed it and flicked the well oiled six inch blade out. It shined brightly in the bright light of the bathroom. He smiled and flicked it shut.

He then walked towards the door, and stopped. His shoes were on the floor before him. Seeing as he made a habit not to bring his shoes into the bathroom when he showered they should not be where they were. Deciding to ignore it, he simply slid his feet in and tied his shoes. Standing up he reached for his bathroom door and turned the knob.

[The storyteller]

It took David several moments to process what was beyond the door. Instead of his usual living room, which had pale brown carpeting stained with several drinks of sorts and oppressive brown walls. Instead what he found was a small clearing in what appeared to be a forest. After he realized what was happening, he stepped forward and looked around. "Huh..." he said slightly confused. "This is definitely not my living room..." he continued looking around. The wind blew slightly, and the chill cut through his jacket. "Definitely not Texas. either." he continued. He caught a very slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and watched as the door he had walked through shut. This wouldn't have been a big deal to him had said door not vanished into thin air once it was closed.

It took David several moments to process again, slightly waterlogged from his recent shower. "Huh..." he said rather calmly. "The door is gone." he said almost smirking, as if this had been a pleasant almost funny occurrence. This must have been how Alice felt at the beginning of "Alice in Wonderland". Then a small part of his mind woke up, rubbed it's eyes, and then raised the alarms. "Wait..." he muttered waking slightly from his days. "If I came through the door..." he began as he rubbed his chin. "And the door is gone..." he said even further into thought. Suddenly logic smacked him like a ton of bricks. "Oh shit I'm stuck!" he cried out in shock.

The combination of cold air and shock jolted his mind out of it's light trance. "Oh crap oh crap oh crap." he muttered to himself lightly, rocking from the balls of his feet to his hell and back, over and over and over again. Panic sank it's viscous claws into his mind. "I have a date tonight! I had plans!" He began. He did a quick three-sixty degree turn to take in his surroundings. He saw trees, lots of trees that towered above him like some ancient forest from one of his role-playing games. Their bark was a deep brown and looked rough like shark fins and sand paper. The grass beneath his feet rose to his knees, and was of a wheat gold color. The clearing he was in was no doubt simply an island of reprieve from a giant ocean of trees that would probably go on for miles and miles. All of this struck his mind instantly, and with no way to process it all with his panic stricken mind, he did the first thing that came to mind. He sank into the fetal position and cried.

After what seemed like several hours of crying in the fetal position, but most likely just a couple minutes, David rose up and collected himself. "Alright..." he said sighing. The level of light indicated that the time was about twilight, and he wouldn't have long before the sun would set. He quickly whipped out his pocket knife and cut a large clearing out of the grass in his little island in the trees. Using the grass he had cut he made a small pile for him to sleep in, which he assumed would be warmer than nothing. Then he made a decision to crawl into his little sleeping pile, and fell asleep. Tomorrow he would have to handle this problem. But tonight he would sleep.

[The storyteller]

David's dreams were haunted by images of his girlfriend and family. What had happened to him? What would they think had happened to him? Images of his family clad in black attending a body-less funeral burned through his mind. His girlfriend kneeling on his grave sobbing. It was a gut wrenching, horrendous experience, but David could not seem to wake up. Finally, the early rays of dawns first light woke him from his hellish dreams. He opened his pale blue eyes and scowled. He was still in the forest. The slightly wheaty scent of his grass sleeping bag greeted his nostrils. But something else as well.

He bolted upright and concentrated. He heard something, a light sound that barely registered on his mind. A certain sound he had heard before. He focused hard and then realized that it was the sound of a galloping horse. Instantly he bolted to his feet and took off into a dead sprint in the direction he assumed it was coming from. He pushed himself faster then he ever remembered going. The wind tore through his hair, blowing off any dead grass from the nights slumber. He ducked under branches and leaped over tall gnarled roots. All around him was a blur of brown, orange, green, and gold. Twigs and leaves crunched under his black tennis shoes, leaving a trail of crackling and crunching where he had been.

The sound was getting closer, he could see a strong source of light in the distance getting closer and closer. Finally he leaped out of the forest, a triumphant grin plastered across his face. It remained there for all of two seconds, before he realized he had landed right in front of a wagon full of barrels going at a speed that would leave him a bloody paste on the ground...

[The storyteller]

"Look out kid!" a voice that seemed to come from nowhere shouted. An armor clad figure tackled David out of the path of the wagon, and the two landed safely on the side of a rather dusty road. David felt like he had been hit by the wagon and not a person. A steel gloved hand was offered to help him up, which David gratefully took. He found himself on his feet, face to chest plate, with a giant of a man. "Scared me there..." the giant said softly. David took a second to process what he was seeing. The man who had tackled him was at least seven feet tall, incredibly muscular, and had a bush of hair growing around his chin that was too wild to consider a beard.

"Why are you so tall..." David asked stunned. He had a million and ten questions, but that was the first that came out of his mouth. The giant seemed rather taken aback. "I'm half elf half giant, I'm actually short for my kind..." he replied. David opened his mouth to say something, shut it, and contemplated his world. "You're a giant..." he said rather impressed. "Half giant half..." the large man began, "Half Elf, I heard you." David interrupted. "Okay so I have two questions for you." David began. Stepping back so he didn't need to look up so much to see the mans face. He had emerald green eyes and dark brown hair, along with several nasty scars that ran along his right cheek.

"Were am I?" David started. He thought for a second and added, "and whats the fastest way back to Dallas?" he finished his statement. The giant looked at him strangely and smiled. "Well we are on the south road coming from Underwood, a logging town to our north. As for Dallas, I have only heard one other man name that place, and from I've gathered it is not on this world."

The giants last words struck David like a hammer. "What...that can't be." he said backing up. "It is a conclusion I have come up to." The giant said sighing. "Although I haven't been all over the world..." the Giant pondered something, his face creasing into a mask of contemplation. Then his eyes brightened. "I forgot to introduce myself!" he roared in surprise. "Forgive my manners, I am Atlas Oak, adventurer and cartographer!" He then clapped David on the shoulder. "What might your name be young man?" he asked, his eyebrows raising into a big furry arch. "I am..." he thought for a second. He was possibly in a new world, he didn't need to use his old name anymore. On a whim he said "Damian Danger, wanderer." This name got a smile out of Atlas. "Interesting..." the giant mumbled to himself. "Since you seem lost would you like to head to town? Possibly get a drink at the pub and exchange stories?"

David or as he had now decided, Damian, smiled. The giant had saved his life, and now he was gonna get beer while underage. "Sure. Perhaps you can tell me more about this area I have gotten myself into..."