Leslie spent several weeks in Spring village, getting to know the locals. This whole place... no universe was strange. While it was earth-like, things seemed to have a strange logic behind them. The technology of these people too, was sadly primative at best. Leslie figured he could help them at least with new medicines, and to introduce antibiotics to them.
He tended to the baby, because everyone else seemed to be afraid of her. The scientist did note the child had six nipples, and immediately thought of the magic girls...
... magic girl six? But this one was just a baby. And with nobody willing to help her, it fell to him. He wasn't sure how or why he ended up here... but in a way he was glad. Who knows how the locals would have reacted when she came out of her egg? Her shell was invulnerable...
...but now he held a baby. One who would grow... no... destined to fight monsters.
But looking at her playing, and being happy, it was a cruel and dark thought that her world would be filled with such things. He didn't want that of any child... and always feared when his own daughters talked about 'fighting' with magic.
"...why do you kill monsters?" Asked Leslie to his 'guardian'.
"It's the way of the game. The monsters don't actually 'die' mind. But they do go back to the beginning. I guess they have to start over."
"The.. beginning?" These people were so strange to him. but that wasn't the only strange thing he had seen. He had to get more information from Jarid. "Could you tell me... why is there an entire 'mountain' outside the village? I was sure it was not there yesterday." It seemed like each day something different was outside the borders of the village.
Jarid continued to look at the stranger as if he was mad. "Because spring has arrived in this area. We move where spring is, following after Autumn Town across the river of Mist. The river pushes our village across the Earth. It runs under us, flowing in a large circle."
Slowly Leslie was given a vague understanding of how this very strange world worked. The world outside the village was not well defined. You could leave the village, but possibly not find it again. What lies outside is in constant change. But often you could see the forest... the forest... it was huge.
Far across the other side of this immense forest, the leaves must be turning brown as this 'autumn town' was on the other side. "What is beyond the colour sky?" He asked looking up. Sometimes he saw the strange clouds that reminded him of the irredecent sun.
"We're not sure. Monsters rain down on us, we fight them. Otherwise the seasons will never change."
This world's ways were certainly... very strange. Leslie held the strange baby as she seemed to cry. "Poor magic girl six," he said. "How did you end up here? And as a baby no less..." Leslie had heard rumours of magic girl six... the one who disappeared, and was never part of their circle that had magic girl one, two three and four. He did not expect to find her in another world... and it was a shame she was just a baby. He could use the protection of a magic girl right now....
"What is a magic girl?" asked Jarid.
Leslie sighed as he put new clothes for the baby. "We... have special guardians on my world. This is one of them. She is Six... magic girl six."
"Huh... You speak of Numbers?"
Leslie nodded. "Well... I guess, yes. They seem to hold some kind of special significance to the numbers."
Jarid frowned a little. "The numbers are part of The Rules here... Six is the die. Six... is death to us. It is a dangerous number to invoke... and if you say she is a 'six'..."
Leslie put a protective hand over the baby. "Nobody will harm her... and she means no harm either. She's just a baby!"
Jarid looked but didn't comment on it further. "...It will take many sands of time before she grows up." Sighed the hunter.
"She wont just grow up normally?" blinked Leslie.
"Of course not! She needs the sands of time. Sometimes it falls from the wind carried by the Desert of Old... I... wouldn't go there though to just get some in a bucket. Just being near it will add a century to you. The wind calms the effects."
"...your world is weird," said Leslie.
"Things happen because we make them happen, that's all it is to it. There's a reason for everything that happens here... and everything comes from somewhere."
"How... sad," thought the scientist. "There is no mystery here?"
"Plenty of mystery," said Jarid. "That baby for one... and where the rules came from?"
Leslie thought about that. "... and where the numbers came from. Tell me more about these monsters..."
"You might find out soon. Our scouts have spotted... spider-girls."
