Quack! Quack!

 “QUACK!”

At this startling, loud sound coming from Gilbert the goose, all the fireflies dispersed, illuminating the dark space in countless tiny dots of light.

“Why are you so surprised? You’ve been swallowed by THE WHEEL, and yet a talking goose is what concerns you the most? Review your priorities, Maxwell!” Gilbert uttered, a tinge of anger in its squeaky voice.

“Am I dreaming? Yeah, that must be it! I don’t do drugs, I swear! Maybe it’s a trick of the magician! Maybe... or maybe not. So where the fuck am I?”

“Hello there, still with me?” Gilbert asked, followed by a laughing quack.

Maxwell stared at Gilbert, whose head was turned sideways to look at him with its big black eye – as if staring directly into his soul.

Hands perpendicular to the ground, arms half raised on both sides, he narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth slightly – still in disbelief, trying to express his utter incomprehension at Gilbert.

“Oh, pardon me! I almost forgot. Do you have any questions?” Gilbert asked as it advanced closer to Maxwell.

Maxwell took a step back for each of Gilbert’s steps forward, still holding his arms half raised – giving the impression, from afar, that the two were performing some kind of contemporary dance. Yet, it’s not every day you saw a man and a goose as dance partners.

“Questions? I have too... many... questions! Where... am I?” Maxwell asked, breathing quickly as the repeated backward steps were exhausting.

Gilbert stopped, and so did Maxwell, resting his hands on his hips.

“You’re in the transition world. You’ll soon be redirected to where you’re supposed to be.” Gilbert answered, stretching its beautiful long wings as feathers fell gently from them.

“And so… what is this ‘transition world’, as you call it? Is it just as empty as your explanations?” He asked sharply.

“QUACK! Any other questions?”

“It’s starting to piss me off… This goddamn goose will end up on a spit if this continues!”

“Well! Let me answer one of the other questions you might be asking yourself – about THE WHEEL, isn’t that right? It’s for you and your use. Up to you to spin it whenever you want!”

“And how am I supposed to use it? Do you see it here with us? No! Then what’s the point?” Maxwell’s anger rose more and more.

Gilbert flapped his wings violently, and the feathers that were on the ground flew toward Maxwell – one of them landing directly above his head without him noticing.

“Answer me! Why is all this happening? Explain yourself! Why are you here? Who are you truly? Tell me everything!”

“Oh, if I’m here, its for– QUACK!!” Gilbert’s voice echoed in pain, as if it had been struck by something out of nowhere.

Out of nowhere – that’s from where a wooden stick appeared and struck Maxwell in the face, making him collapse to his knees instantly. In the blink of an eye, he lay on the ground. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Gilbert standing on his chest, staring into his eyes. As Maxwell passed out, all the fireflies stopped glowing, plunging the place into darkness.

Then, suddenly, he woke up – bathed in sunlight. He shot to his feet and couldn’t help but stare around, taking in every detail.

He was in a narrow alley between two tall buildings, yet somehow, no shadow was cast. The pavement was dirty, and the air smelled like shit. From afar, he could see that the alley opened onto a larger avenue, where people walked, talked and laughed.

Maxwell was confused – they all carried swords, spears, axes, staves, or other weapons no ordinary person would have. And to top it off, they wore strange clothing – something like armor or an adventurer’s outfit, the kind you’d see in a fantasy adventure.

“This vile goose! Gilbert! I shall remember thy name! You prevaricated to eschew my demands! Thus am I now no whit near the Earth!”

He paused, frowning in confusion. He closed his eyes and gave himself light taps on the cheeks.

“What the fuck happened to my thoughts’ language just now? My mind’s playing tricks on me… I need to gather more information and figure out what this fucking goose meant about using THE WHEEL.” He shook his head to regain composure.

He walked out of the narrow alley with determined steps toward the main avenue, and upon arriving, he was amazed by the colorful shops and tall buildings everywhere. But what truly filled the air was laughter.

Laughter? Why were people laughing?

As passersby walked past him, they stared at his head and chuckled before moving on. Confused, Maxwell looked at his reflection in a nearby window and saw Gilbert’s feather sticking out of his hair. He yanked it off and crushed it in his hands.

He continued through the city under the confused stares of everyone – understandable, considering his clothes looked nothing like theirs.

No matter how hard Maxwell tried, he couldn’t understand a single word people said – nor could he read any of the signs or posters.

He wandered aimlessly until he reached an empty area and stopped.

“Fuck it… if only I had a way to understand the language, that’d be a big step forward! I just wish for that, but there’s nothing I can…!” He whispered – when suddenly, the sound of coins echoed.

“THE WHE- WHEE- WHEEL HAS BEEN CALLED! IT’S JACKPOT TIME!”

“Oh no, not again! Why now- wait! The fucking goose was right!”

The wheel materialized before him, flashing with spectacular colors and playing a sickeningly cheerful tune, accompanied by the sound of slot machines. Three options appeared on the wheel, and after hesitating for a moment, Maxwell spun the wheel – remembering what happened last time he tried to ignore it.

‘No translation for you, little foreigner’

‘Be fluent and have the best accent in the world for this language’

‘Understanding half the words is already a win!’

These were the three choices flashing before Maxwell's eyes as the wheel spun rapidly, then gradually slowed.

“Oh, please! Let me get lucky! If it could land on the best option like last time, that’d be great!” He thought, clasping his hands in prayer.

“AND IT’S A NEW JACKPOT FOR MISTER MAXWELL! You’ll now be granted the ability to speak, understand, and read perfectly the language of this world!” The wheel’s voice announced, as coins jingled and triumphant music blared.

Maxwell stared at the red arrow, now pointed at the best option. A wide smile of victory spread across his face as he clenched his fists in joy.

A cloud of smoke enveloped the wheel, and when it cleared, it had vanished.

Maxwell walked toward a poster glued to a nearby wall. Words that had been gibberish minutes ago were now perfectly clear. It worked – though this poster didn’t say much, other than advertising a singing competition.

“At least I can read…” He looked closer at the bottom of the poster. “Oh well, a guild should be a great place for information. I need to gather intel, get a grasp of this world, and figure out what to do next. No need to be scared – there’s so much to explore, and events far more thrilling than my life back on Earth!” He whispered, his voice full of excitement.

He wandered again through the city and eventually stopped in front of a tall tower with a sign reading ‘Addic’wizs’. Like the rest of the city, the architecture resembled that of old European towns from the 1700s. This tower was impressive – ten stories high – but Maxwell didn’t waste time admiring it and simply entered.

“That’s the place! Smells like bear and beer! Maybe what one could call the stench of a… drunken bear?”

Inside, people sat at tables eating, drinking, or chatting. Soldiers, adventurers, witches – this place gathered all sorts of people.

Maxwell walked toward a large panel covered with papers, just in front of the guild’s entrance.

“Oh! Quest for adventurers! How nostalgic… I used to play games like this where I only did side quests.” His gaze stopped on one that had a large ‘10 000NOM’ written on it. “10k?! I don’t know what value the currency has here, but that’s a lot! Let’s see, let’s see... what’s this about.”

A nervous laugh escaped him as everyone stared – a strange man laughing to himself in front of a quest board was quite unusual.

But there was reason to be disturbed when the first thing written on the quest was:

‘Prepare your hips, you’ll need solid ones!’