Dan didn’t remember walking through it. The next thing he remembered was waking up on the hard ground. He groaned, his entire body aching. 

He felt the cool grass underneath him and pushed off the ground. His brow wrinkled - the grass wasn’t made of paper like back home. He gasped and looked about to find Ron laying near him and his satchel tossed aside. Its contents was strewn across the clearing. 

He stood and stumbled, his legs wobbly. He fell to his knees next to Ron and gave him a gentle shake. “Ronnie,” he whispered.

Ron’s eyes squeezed shut before he tensed and opened them. He blinked heavily and lifted himself upright. “What happened?” he groaned.

“We went through the portal,” Dan said and glanced about.

“Yeah, oohf,” Ron grimaced and rubbed his head. “I hoped we just went on a bender.” 

“Look,” Dan said, picking a flower next to his satchel. “They’re not origami, like home.” Ron took it and felt the grass beneath them. 

Dan focused on gathering his things and put the satchel across his body. It was a small comfort in the overwhelm. He turned to Ron standing in front of a pile of rocks. They were shaped like parts of the arch and the base was still standing. “I think this was the Horizon Gate back to the realm…” He reached in his pocket and looked at his cell phone. He flipped it open and grimaced. “Nothing.” It was a little plastic and glass brick. He popped open the back and dropped it. The inside was pitch black and smoking. “It felt warm, but …” Ron’s arms dropped at his side with a loud clap. 

The pair stared at the dead phone, as if it would leap and start singing to them. Birds started to sing and the sounds of the forest continued. 

Finally, Dan approached his husband and took his paw. “Hey,” he whispered, giving him a squeeze. “We said this might be a good opportunity, right?”

Ron nodded, solemn. “We should, ah, I suppose start heading where we remember the village was, huh?”

Dan and Ron glanced about. Ron positioned himself in the center of the arch. “If we’re here,” Ron said, “and the painting was facing this way … if we start going to the left, we should find it, right?”

Dan shrugged. 

“Or we find water and follow it until we find something.”

“You’re the Survival Scout,” Dan said as he fiddled with his satchel strap. “Good Neighbor had nothing on wilderness survival.” 

Ron knelt next to Dan and said, “Do you want a minute before we start walking? It’s noon. We can take our time.” 

Dan shook his head and the pair held hands as they started walking south. Ron led the way, as the larger of the two. Tears started falling from Dan’s face as he followed him, focused on his back and little wings. He tried to look around, but it only made him start to cry more. 

It couldn’t be real - any minute now they’d wake up in the hotel and Forgie would be a strange story to tell. The pair arrived at a huge tree and Ron paused. “What all do you have in your satchel?” he asked.

Dan kept his head down as he forfeit the bag without looking at Ron. 

“Are you crying, love?” 

“I’m sorry. Just go through the bag.” He stepped over to the side of the tree to hold himself upright. Something about it’s solidity felt safe and grounding. He pushed against it and sobbed. 

Ron glanced through the canvas satchel. It was worn from years of use. Dan rarely left without it. He had books, a sketch book, notepads, and a pocket full of snacks. Nothing that could go far, but it was something. He brought the bag to Dan, even smaller now next to the enormous tree. The red puppet kept his face covered with one paw. When Ron handed him the bag, Dan clutched it tight. 

“Best we get to the village soon,” Ron said, glancing about to figure out where they had come from. “We could get the snacks in there to stretch, but not long. Do you think you can keep going?”

Dan sniffled and nodded. 

“If you weren’t crying, I’d be bawling,” Ron admitted with a mistiness in his eyes. 

Hand in hand, the pair continued south. The noon sun was hot, even in the shade. They both calmed down and thoughts lost as they wandered.

A scream cut through the forest and silenced the wildlife. The pair raced toward the sound. 

In a clearing, they saw a group of five beings - puppets, but all close in size and proportions. Their clothes and hair were covered in dirt. They wore animal skins and patched cotton. They surrounded a smaller puppet dressed in a cloak and holding it’s ground in front of a great, round clay figure. 

Sage stood their ground in front of Bevel, facing off the five bandits. One of the bandits stepped forward, a grin on his face. “You thought you could frolick outside your territory, little witch?”

“I was just looking for herbs. Let us go.” 

“Oh, I don’t think so. You see,” he unsheathed his short club, “you creatures and your constructs fetch a mighty nice bounty. Those Fume knights got Emperor’s vault to dump on ANYONE that can send a witch their way!” He raised his arms and the bandits hollered in response. He turned to Sage again. “And you want to keep us from that?”

Sage already had a hand in their large sleeve. “Back off. I’m warning you,” they snarled. 

“What, you gonna -” 

They didn’t let the bandit finish and unleashed an arch of lightning sparks that popped and cut the air. The bandits stumbled back in time for the lightning to return to the sky in a roar. It left a circle of ash and soot. One of the bandits beat off flames off their pants. 

Sage turned to the round clay figure and raced around to it’s head on the ground. 

“Whoa!” the bandit leader said as he stumbled upright. “Witch got some bite! And without that stupid clay doll!” 

Sage shook the clay head and gasped, “Bevel, get up! Bevel!” They glanced at the oncoming bandits who were getting out their weapons and ropes. They reached inside their sleeve again and groped only to find sachets of medicine and vials of potions. That was their last bottle of offensive magic.

They stepped over to the side of Bevel and pressed their hands to their body. They reached deep inside and pulled the word forth: “Wake!” 

How could a log on rope knock out their Golem so thoroughly? Dread sunk into their back and legs as they realized Bevel’s head might be broken.

They reached inside their jacket and pulled out a sling. Sage started to wind up when a roar came from the other side of the clearing. 

A teal and navy monster burst from the undergrowth, followed by a red creature. They both had a mark of a god on their chest. 

“Daemons!” the bandits screamed. Three ran and the other two tried to old their ground. Sage blinked and quickly twirled the sling once more to launch the stone into the head of one of the bandits.

It did enough damage to make the bandit stumble and lose his confidence. The last two ran as the demons made noises and slashed the air with their claws. When the bandits left, Sage turned to the Bevel to frantically pull the Golem away to safety. 

“Whoa, whoa, wait,” the larger of the two demons said as they approached. “We aren’t going to hurt you.” 

Sage hesitated and looked at the two. They were fuzzy and friendly looking. “Stay back!” Sage snapped. “We know demons when we see them! I’m a powerful Witch! You saw me throw lightning and I’ll do it again!” 

“Yeah, it was awesome,” the red one said, its eyes covered. It seemed to smile. 

“Please,” the larger one said. “I’m Ronald (he/him) and this is my husband, Daniel (also he/him). We’re looking for a village.”

Sage glanced between them. Thier names sounded fine and - husbands? “What are you, then?” Sage asked, keeping the venom in their voice as much as they could.

The pair glanced at one another and the teal one answered, “We’re puppets? Are you not a puppet?” 

Sage balked. They relaxed a little, but kept hands at the ready. “I’m a human. Have you never seen a human before?”

It was the duo’s turn to balk. “No. We haven’t,” the one called Ronald said.

Bevel’s body shuddered to life. It felt like a part of Sage was returned as the Golem looked at them with glowing eyes. They made low, oboe noises as it spoke with the witch telepathically, “What happened, Sage? Are you hurt?”

“No,” Sage answered, envisioning whispering on a thread between them to talk in their head. In a few seconds, they caught the Golem up on events since the trap. The Golem sat upright and looked at the pair. 

It made a long cry as it rocked upright and held out it’s arms to the puppets. The pair shrunk back - the Golem was a little taller than Ronald by an inch or two. 

Sage chuckled as they relaxed and pulled back their crimson, wild strands, “I think Bevel, my Golem, wants to give you two a hug.” 

Daniel was the first to rush to give Bevel a hug. Ronald followed soon after. Bevel’s torso spun and rocked as it’s legs tottered. 

“So soft! Like dolls with hard centers! Ah!” Bevel let them go and sighed. “I like them! I sense they have good hearts!” 

“Oh good,” Sage said, patting Bevel’s belly. “He likes you! If he has nothing to fear, then I don’t either. I’m Sage. Uh. They/them I guess.” They motioned for the puppets to follow them. 

As they walked into the forest, Sage asked, “So where did you come from? I’ve heard of your kind, but I never thought any of you would come here.” 

“There’s others?” Daniel asked.

Ron said, “We were forced into the realm of the gods by a fellow puppet who wanted to sacrifice us. He didn’t succeed, obviously. A god of our world sent us here, as no access between our world and the god realm. I guess so we wouldn’t cause any trouble. And it’s a chance to start over, so to speak.” 

Bevel said, “They speak the truth.” 

Sage and the Golem paused at a tree wrapped with a red leather band. The leather was engraved with magic marks. “Through here is our village territory. I wasn’t  supposed to be outside the perimeter. I guess it’s a good thing, or else you might not have found our village.”