“Do you remember where you arrived?”

Urasmian grunted assent. “Very near where you found me. I will know it when I see it.”

This left Jason imagining they would spend the next hour slowly driving around a succession of downtown blocks, looking like a pair of drug dealers trying to score. He actually wasn’t sure he could remember where he had met the old man until they got to the near vicinity and then had no trouble finding the spot again! Urasmian made him pull up, and they piled out, looking around.

“That way.” Urasmian said and started walking.

Jason jumped back in the car and found a spot a hundred yards up the road where he could legally park till six am and then followed Urasmian on foot.

The sorcerer turned a corner and looked around for a minute, and then he stepped into the middle of the street! He studied the buildings on either side and moved maybe twenty feet further along and slightly towards the right-hand sidewalk.

 “Here.” He announced.

“It has to be exactly there?” Jason asked, eying a car coming down the road towards them.

“Yes!” Urasmian exclaimed, and then he saw the reason Jason was heading for the sidewalk, so he followed suit to let the car swoosh by where they stood. “I need to return to the exact spot I was sent from.”

Jason shook his head as they moved back out into the road again. “Is that some trans-dimensional requirement or something?”

Urasmian snorted. “No. It just means I am sure that area is clear of obstacles and the ground level is the same as here. Actually, it is a little higher. Quick, go find something I can stand on that is maybe a hand width in height.”

In his agitation, the old man’s request was more of a demand than a request. Jason was put out by the peremptory nature of the command but headed up the road where there was a likely-looking alley. A bit of searching turned up a brick about the right height, and he returned triumphantly with it to the impatiently waiting Urasmian. After retiring to the sidewalk to let another car go past, they got themselves set, and Urasmian, balanced on the brick, looked at Jason and smiled.

“You have been a good friend Jason. I wish you well in your future. Maybe one day I will return to your strange world, but now I must go. I will cast the spell and when I drop my hand like this.” He paused to hold his hand up vertically in front of his chest before dropping it dramatically. “When I do that, say the spell words I gave you while aiming the staff at me. You understand?”

“Yes, sir. All set. Good luck.”

We’re going to look pretty silly if this doesn’t work, he thought to himself. He should know better than to fall in with the plans of someone who could simply be deranged or a charlatan of some sort.

“Thank you.” Urasmian offered.

Then he composed his features, took a deep breath, and began the spell in a subtle, almost whisper. Jason watched fearfully, and then the sorcerer dropped his hand, and Jason said the words to trigger the spell in the makeshift staff. Almost immediately, there was a rush of displaced air, almost a wind, and Urasmian was gone. Jason had not really been expecting anything to happen and the broom handle slipped out of his hand as he stood there gaping for a minute before the toot of a car horn recollected him to his surroundings, and he grabbed the brick before scooting over to the sidewalk.