There's a little girl wandering through the woods a little inland.

This is not the path back to her mother. Clearly. But she keeps going, turning this way and that, trying to recognize a particular knotted tree or patch of moss.

Eventually, she decides to push what little magic she's been able to muster - picks up a vaguely suitable branch and shakily floats as high as she can, looking for some sign of a road, or, or, something.

The forest sprawls for a fair distance. At its edges is a swirling, iridescent fog that she can't see through. There's a bare patch over there, where there's solid ground without trees or mist, and what looks like a pier.

As good a place as any to float towards, lost as she is.

...Is this the monsters' doing, somehow?

No signs of any monsters.

There's a single ship tied to the pier, apparently floating in the mist, and as she gets closer she can see a person walking towards the cliff overlooking the docks. The person doesn't appear to have noticed her yet.

A flying ship. A magic thing!

She waves and shouts 'hello' excitedly. In an unfamiliar language, of course.

The woman looks up. She waves after a moment, calling out, "Hello!" in the most common trade tongue.

...How about English? Greek? "Hello?"

She floats closer, slowly, on that crooked tree branch.

Nope.

She tries a couple of other tongues, one of them very similar to Greek but not quite mutually intelligible.

When none of them get a reaction, she frowns and mutters to herself some, then calls out, perfectly understandable, "Hello! I hadn't known there was anyone else on this island. Are your parents around?" It isn't clear what language she's speaking, is the thing.

"I'm on an island? I was- I was going back to the camp at Sandanski? Ma's there."

"Oh, I'm sorry - I think the realm might have... picked you up. It does that, sometimes, when people are lost."

"...So this is not Macedonia? Wild magic! I've heard of wild magic doing weird things."

"I've never heard of 'Macedonia.' I'm not sure about wild magic, but the realm has a magic of its own. It's... capricious."

"I thought world-magic was nice. Are you a Witch, ma'am?"

"In this realm, the world's magic is - like the world itself. Neutral to people. And I'm a magic-user, though I don't think I'm your world's sort of witch."

"Okay... How do I go back?"

She floats down and lands, shakily. Seems tired.

"I'm... Not sure. No one's ever returned to their original world that we've heard of, without having some sort of native ability to move between worlds. A few kingdoms are working hard on a solution, though."

She sighs. "Here, let's get you inside. There's beds, and I can make us some food."

"Can I- Can I send a letter back? Mom needs to know I'm 'kay."

"Not unless your magic can. You should be able to return to the same moment you left, if you're worried about your mother missing you - this realm's not entirely synced time-wise."

The little girl shakes her head. "Just got magic. Just flying and pretty lights. Dunno my special magic yet."

"That sounds like very nice magic. What's a special magic?"

She quotes from a textbook or something, "Every Witch has their own special power, a magic uniquely their own. Some gifts are common, and yet each is slightly different."

"I think I've heard of a couple of magic systems a bit like that. Personalized magic is very cool. Magic comes in all sorts of types, here, since the realm pulls from multiple worlds."

"It could almost be fun if it wasn't kidnapping me."

Her stomach growls. "...Food?"

"Yeah, it can be mean like that. C'mon, food's this way. What's your name? I'm Sarati." She starts leading the girl to the cliff face, which has little apartments and walkways carved into it.

"I'm Grenadine. Who made this place? It's neat. Cliff houses."