Fantasy Chronicles of Sylaria (Open)

[XxJadePhoenixX]

OOC: Inquire about joining here.

IC: “Hey, wake up,” a voice called to her through the darkness, urgent and afraid. The girl stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, the light from the midday sun almost blinding her. There was a man staring at her, his features muddied and blurred. He seemed anxious, his lips moved but the words were lost to the howling of a wind that only she could hear. A thunderclap sounded inside her mind, followed by the ringing of her ears. A storm was brewing, but it couldn’t have been, the sky was clear. More ringing followed, like a chorus of tuning forks singing in an open meadow. Images of men danced at the periphery of her perception. She half-turned, tilting her head to the side. The disjointed chaos of her vision coalesced into the clear image of a man stabbed through the heart. Fear gripped her then, her chest pounding. The sound of it thundering inside her head. She moved like a wounded animal, scraping and clawing at the ground trying to get away. A battle raged behind her. Armored men carrying shields, biting and clawing at each other with swords, axes and spears. The man from before pursued her, hands gripping at her shoulders. “This way,” he shouted at her. His voice rising above the din of battle as he lifted her off the ground. She fought back in a daze, arms and legs thrashing about struggling to get free. “Let me go,” she cried, but at the sound of her own voice she froze. Was that me?!

"Scarlett, for fuck's sake stop fucking around! I’m not going to hurt you,” the man assured her. He hefted her up onto her feet and she finally got a look at his face. He appeared young, piercing gray eyes set in a hard chiseled face under a mat of messy brown hair. About a day’s worth stubble covered his chin and a thin scar stretched from his left temple to his cheek. He wore a drab robe over a mail shirt and linen trousers under leather greaves atop muddied boots. In one hand he carried his sword while the other he used to support her weight. More than this, though, she recognized him.

"M–Melchior?!"

**********

Scarlett could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She and Melchior had been running for what felt like hours, her legs felt drained, her body was sore and the ringing in her ears had not ceased. One more step and she collapsed heavily into a tree. Somehow she managed to catch herself before falling and took a moment to rest her head on the trunk. She could feel the rough bark of the tree against her cheek and the stickiness of its sap between her fingers. None of this was a dream, it was all so very real.

"Hey, hey, easy," Melchior said as he came up behind her. "You're still not used to being in that body, but the dizziness will fade eventually."

"Where are we," she asked, still not quite used to the sound of her voice.

"The Old Wood, near as I can tell. It's a newbie starting area."

The girl half turned and fixed him with a hard stare. "You're not seriously suggesting we're in the game."

Melchior shrugged. "Got no other explanation for it. I mean, I'm me and well, you're you. Seems pretty self-evident that's where we are... Unless you've always been a hot Elven chick with red hair."

Red hair? She hadn't even thought about it until he brought it up. With her clean hand she reached up and grabbed a lock of her hair, holding it out in front of her. Upon seeing its pigment her eyes widened with surprise.

"Gonna take that as a no," Melchior continued. "Anyway, we should keep going once you're able to move. These woods aren't safe at night."

"I thought you said this was a newbie starting area."

He nodded. "I did, but there are still monsters living in these woods. I'm not looking forward to running into them after the sun goes down."

Monsters in the woods... On some level she probably knew that, but she hadn't even thought about it until he brought it up. She knew from her limited experience in the game that the monsters in this area weren't very strong. Just kobolds and the like, nothing too scary for a level one adventurer. Though, looking at it from the other side of a computer screen was completely different. She let her hair fall back onto her shoulder before reaching down to grasp the hilt of the dagger at her hip.

"Do you know how to use that," he asked as she drew the weapon and held it up in front of her.

She silently shook her head.

"Neither do I," he added, patting the hilt of the sword at his side. "All the more reason to get out of these woods." He stepped closer to her and reached out to offer her support.

Scarlett ignored him for the moment and stared distantly at the blade of her dagger. "If we die here, do we come back? Or...," she let the rest trail off into nothing.

"I don't know," he told her, "but it didn't seem like anyone was getting back up after--," the words caught in his throat, but it was clear what he meant. The image of that man with a sword plunged through his chest was forever burned into her memory.

She closed her eyes but that did nothing to banish the horror from her mind. "Those men back there, who were they?"

"Gankers," he explained, "They cornered us on the field at the edge of the wood before we all woke up here. Killed our healer in the opening attack. He was gurgling on his blood when I opened my eyes."

Scarlett's eyes widened as a sudden realization dawned on her. He woke up in a body that was dying. She felt a shiver run down her spine. She barely knew the man, or for that matter Melchior. She had only joined them last night for a single quest. They never even made it that far before some other players attacked them in the wilderness. No one deserves to die like that.

"Guess the fighter and the healer were close friends," Melchior continued. "After his friend died he charged at the gankers, sword raised even though they were just as confused as we were. The whole situation just kind of devolved from there and, well... You know the rest."

She did and she didn't care to remember it. Pushing those thoughts aside she put her dagger back in its sheath then tried to heave herself up off the tree, but another dizzy spell caused her to collapse back into it.

"Hey, easy," Melchior told her as he gently grabbed her by the waist and threw her arm over his shoulder. "Just lean on me for a bit, alright?"

The girl balked at his touch, staring daggers down at his hand on her hip. "Hey," she cried, but he was already half carrying her, half dragging her through the woods. Scarlett ground her teeth together in frustration but said nothing else. Melchior was right, they couldn't stay here. They weren't that far from the battle and there were even more dangers lying in wait for them among the trees. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed his help.

**********

A rustling of ferns followed by the hollow thumping of hooves broke the stillness of the forest. High above a congress of ravens take flight, cawing and beating their wings against the air. A breeze whistled through the trees, creaking branches and disturbing the leaves. While the steady thumping of some far-off woodpecker filled her ears. An abundance of life and sound but Scarlett could only focus on the things that were missing. Like the sound of cars whizzing past them. The hustle and bustle of people moving shoulder to shoulder down a busy street. Or the loud howling of a policeman's siren. She really had woken up in a different world.

"I think we're about halfway through the wood," Melchior said suddenly, startling her.

"What," she asked, turning to look at him.

"I think we're about halfway through," he repeated, then he looked at her closer. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine, it's just--this forest is really loud.

He gave her a curious look. "Loud? What are you--," his words trailed off as a sudden realization dawned on him. "You're a Wood Elf."

"No I'm not, I'm--," she tried to object but he cut her short with a wave of his hand.

"I know, I know, but you--Scarlett's a Wood Elf," he corrected himself. "Elves have enhanced hearing and vision."

Did she? She hadn't really noticed, aside from the hearing, that is, but enhanced vision? She lifted her head to look at her surroundings, turning her gaze this way and that. Nothing but spruce, oak and birch trees as far as she could see. Dense thickets of ferns and brush camouflaged their roots. All around her she could hear but not see birds squawking, animals scurrying. All of it punctuated by the ever-present sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

"Do you see anything," Melchior asked.

"Yea," she answered, "A fuck ton of trees."

He made a face at her. "Probably hard to tell the difference in the middle of a forest. Maybe after we're--," his words cut off sharply at the sound of a twig snapping in two. All at once he drew his sword, startling Scarlett who took two steps backward and nearly fell over.

"Dude! What the hell are you--," she started, but her words drew up short as three hooded figures emerged from the trees.

"Easy there, friend, we're not here to fight you," the one in the middle said, holding up his hands so they could see.

Scarlett immediately noticed the ring on his finger and a sudden memory from the battle intruded into her mind. The sword that killed the man in front of her, the hand attached to it bore the same ring. "You," she whispered sharply, "You're the guys who attacked us."

The leader of the trio lowered his hands. "Yes, we did, but to be fair this world was still a game when we killed your friend."

"And the others," Melchior asked pointedly.

The man shifted his gaze to him. "Regrettable," he admitted, "but they attacked us first."

"What the shit kind of excuse is that?! You killed someone," Scarlett shouted at him and to her surprise the man's expression shifted to one of remorse.

"I'm not proud of it," he said, "Before waking up here he was just a collection of pixels on a screen. I'd never actually seen anyone die before. At least, not for real."

"What do you want," Melchior demanded.

The man shrugged. "We saw you flee into the woods during the battle," he answered. "If you're players of the game then you know what's in here. The two of you alone, traveling at night... There is strength in numbers, you know. You should join us."

Scarlett scoffed at him. "That's rich coming from you. You guys are murderers, why would we ever join you?"

"Protection," he said simply. "I see you're armed, but do either of you know how to fight?"

Scarlett cast a glance over her shoulder at Melchior who bore the same uncertain look in his eye.

"I'll take that as a no," he continued after their brief exchange. "Look, this world ain't like the one we just came from. Here the only thing that matters is survival. Join us and we'll keep you safe."

"And if we say no?" Melchior said, his hand tightening on the grip of his sword.

He shrugged. "Well, then I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you for your weapons and armor."

"Bullshit," Scarlett snapped. The thought of taking off her clothes in front of this man...

He fixed her with a hard stare. "You two try to cross these woods alone you'll die and then your items will go to waste. As I said, it's a matter of survival. In this world a sword is more valuable than gold."

"Go fuck yourself," Melchior shouted, gripping his sword in both hands. The tip of his blade shook nervously, but the way he set his feet announced to the others that he had every intention of defending himself.

"Pity," the man answered, a note of regret in his tone. "Frankie."

The man to his left stepped forward then and with a flash of steel hurled knife directly at Melchior, catching him in the forehead. Scarlett screamed involuntarily as the blade sunk into Melchior's skull, killing him instantly. She stared in horror as his body slumped to the ground.

"The fuck, you assholes," she screamed at them, but the man had already drawn a sword and was pointing it directly at her.

"I pray you have more sense then your friend," he said. "I'll only ask you one more time. Will you join us?"

Scarlett's eyes were fixed on the point of the sword in front of her. Her knees were shaking so badly she felt that she could lose her balance at any moment. Unable to trust the sound of her own voice she simply nodded in response.

The man smiled then lowered his sword. "Welcome to Misery's Company," he said, "I'm Damien, the guild master. This here is Frankie." He gestured to his left. "And Tubbs," he finished with a gesture to his right.

"S--Scarlett," the Elf replied nervously.

Damien frowned. "That's your character name. What's your real name?"

She shook her head. "Just Scarlett."

He stared at her a moment then shrugged. "Fine," he said finally, then he half turned to look at the others. "Frankie, loot the body. Tubbs, disarm the girl and bind her hands."

"W--wait! I thought I was joining you!" Scarlett felt an overwhelming panic rising up deep within her stomach.

"Call it an initiation," he told her. "You'll get your knife back when I know I can trust you."

"You slimy motherfu--,"

"Ah ah ah," he said, raising his sword again, the tip of it just inches from her nose. "Don't forget my hospitality comes at a price."

Scarlet said nothing, her eyes trailing over to Melchior's body where Frankie was busy trying to strip him of his armor. In response she simply held out her hands and allowed Tubbs to take her dagger. He took some liberties as he checked her for other weapons, frisking her buttocks a little to freely. Scarlett ground her teeth together in shame but said nothing. She knew something like this was going to happen, but she was too afraid of Damien's sword to defend herself. When he tried to touch her chest, however, Damien suddenly reached out and snatched him by the wrist.

"That's enough," he whispered sharply, "Just bind her hands."

For a moment Scarlett was secretly relieved, even as Tubbs was tying a rope around her wrists. Damien's reaction had surprised her. She'd been imagining all sorts of horrors, but at the very least Damien didn't seem like the type.

"All done, Boss," Frankie announced as he straightened back up, holding Melchior's weapons and armor in a bundle under one arm. His forehead glistened with sweat. "Looting corpses was so much easier in the game," he muttered, wiping his forehead.

Scarlett glanced down at Melchior, who was now wearing nothing more than a linen shirt and trousers. Even his feet were bare. "You can't leave him like that," she said, "He doesn't deserve this."

Damien reached down and grabbed Melchior's backpack before slinging it over his shoulder. "The smell of his blood will draw the locals," he told her as he straightened back up. "We'll be able to make our way out of the woods while they chow down on his body."

The Elf's eyes widened in horror. They were going to leave him to be eaten. She opened her mouth to protest, but the coarse feeling of the rope binding her wrists was a subtle reminder to keep her mouth shut.

"Let's move," Damien said to the others, "I want to be back at the guildhall before sundown."

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

Night had fallen by the time the group had reached the edge of the forest. As Damien gazed out over the rolling plains in front of them Scarlett had a feeling that they were nowhere near the guildhall he mentioned. It was difficult to say for sure, but while they were making their way through the forest it felt like the world had gotten bigger. Damien frowned as he pulled the backpack off his shoulder just enough to allow him to reach inside and grab a hooded lantern. He lit the lantern with a bit of flint then lifted the hood just enough to allow a sliver of light to shine through in front of them.

"You two, stay behind me and keep a lookout," he ordered the others. Then he grabbed Scarlett by the elbow and nudged her forward.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that," she grumbled at him, but he ignored it. "Why are you doing this, anyway? Why not just let me go?"

Again he said nothing. The Elf scowled at him but said nothing. Instead, she half turned away from him and gazed out at the hills obscuring the horizon. This world felt so much emptier than it did before and brighter than she expected. It was strange, but even though the sun had gone down behind the hills with no moon in the sky she could still see quite clearly. That made her wonder why Damien even needed the lantern until a thought had occurred to her. Melchior did say she had enhanced vision. Did that mean she could see better than either Damien or his two cronies? Could hear better than any of them as well? Considering how slowly they were walking Scarlett could only assume it was true.

A sudden rock in her path caused her to cry out in alarm as she stubbed her toe into it and lost her balance. Fortunately, Damien managed to hold onto her before she fell. Grabbing her by the shoulders to steady her.

"You alright," he asked. It was the first thing he had said to her since leaving Melchior's body behind.

Scarlett nodded in response.

"Good," he said, then he rested his hand on her elbow again and gently pushed her forward.

As they walked his expression grew more and more pensive. "I'm not the bad guy here, Scarlett," he continued after a moment of silence. "I'm just doing what I need to in order to survive."

"You said that before," she said, looking down at her feet to make sure there were no more rocks in her path. "But I think you secretly enjoyed it."

"Maybe," he admitted, "but that doesn't change the fact that my actions were necessary. You saw how your friend reacted. He was going to try to kill us, I had to put him down."

Scarlett's face fell and she turned her gaze away from him. "He wasn't my friend," she said quietly, barely loud enough for him to hear. "I never even knew his name."

He stopped then and looked at her, searching her from head to foot. "Perhaps it's better that way," he said finally, before nudging her forward again. The conversation ended after that and the two of them walked on in silence.

After a while Scarlett couldn't help but notice that the ground beneath her feet had shifted from tall grass swaying in the wind to muddied dirt then back again. She quickly glanced back over her shoulder at the road behind them when realization finally dawned on her.

"Why aren't we following the roads," she asked, "Wouldn't it be safer?"

"The city guard patrols the road," he answered. "It's better that we avoid them."

Scarlett looked puzzled for a moment then remembered something. That's right, there was a reputation system, wasn't there? She'd only been playing the game for a week or so, but she was vaguely aware of the game's crime and punishment system. Basically, killing players or NPCs in particular zone would lower your reputation with the faction controlling that zone. Killing a player one time would be enough to mark you as a renegade for one day. Killing multiple players over time would lower your reputation permanently, banning you from accessing the city. A bounty system was also put in place for players to collect bounties on PKers and thieves. Killing or capturing a PKer would raise that player's reputation to unlawful, allowing them back into the city. This would allow players to take quests to raise their reputation if they so desired. Since renegades were regarded as kill on sight by NPCs it made sense that Damien would want to avoid them.

Scarlett shifted her gaze ahead to the mountain range on the far side of the plains. The trajectory of their path seemed to be heading straight there. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the foot of the mountains," he told her. "There's a lake there, our guildhall is located on the shore."

The Elf looked at him then back at the mountains. She wasn't quite an expert on distances, but to her inexperienced eye they appeared to be more than a day away. "That's how far we're going," she asked incredulously.

Damien stopped and looked at her. Then his gaze followed hers off into the distance. All he could see was the small sliver of light in front of him. It was far too dark to see any further than that. "Frankie, what provisions do we have?"

The weasel-faced man behind them stopped then rummaged through his bag. "We've got a few days rations plus the food we got from the dead guy," he replied. "Why?"

Damien frowned. "We'll make camp here, Tubbs you're on first watch."

"Camp? Here?!" The man looked worried. They were out in the open with no cover, but they'd been walking for most of the day and even Scarlett was beginning to feel tired.

"You heard me," Damien answered in a firm tone. Then he pulled his backpack off and set it on the ground. He rummaged around inside the bag for a bit then half turned to Scarlett. "Here," he said, tossing her some jerky and a waterskin.

Somehow Scarlett managed to catch both of them even though she wasn't ready for it. Almost as soon as the smell of the jerky hit her nose her stomach rumbled loudly. She hadn't realized just how hungry she felt and without a moment's hesitation she took a huge bite of the jerky, barely even chewing it before washing it down with some water. The meat was dried and salty but she didn't care, she took a couple more bites and another swig of water then finished off the rest of the jerky. After she was done Damien held his hand out towards her expectingly, so she deposited the waterskin back into his palm. He took a couple of sips himself before placing it back into his bag. Then he glanced over his shoulder at Tubbs and Frankie who were busy setting out bedrolls for the night.

"I want you to stay next to me," he told her in a tone that was barely louder than a whisper.

"You're not afraid I'll stab you in your sleep," she asked him pointedly.

He shrugged. "Hardly," he said, "I'm more concerned about your safety."

Scarlett's eyes followed his gaze to the two men behind her as realization finally set in. She remembered what Tubbs had done to her in the woods and her cheeks immediately flushed red with embarrassment. For a moment she was glad Damien couldn't see her face.

"Fine," she answered finally.

"Here, you can use this," he said, rolling out his bedroll for her.

Scarlett looked down at him. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine," he said before reaching up and grabbing her by the bonds binding her wrists. He slipped a dagger between the rope and her skin then cut her free, much to her surprise. Wouldn't this make it easier for her to escape during the night?

Upon seeing the look in her eye he shook his head. "Before you start thinking about running off you should know these hills are no more safer than the woods," he told her firmly. "And Frankie over there is a tracker, so you won't get far. Now get some sleep."

Scarlett's heart fell as she heard that and she silently crawled into the bedroll and rolled over onto her side, turning her back to Damien. The ground was rough and the bedroll offered little comfort. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but doubted she would ever succeed. As she lay there with her eyes closed she quietly wondered just how much longer would she have to endure this?

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

Scarlett was jostled awake the next morning by Damien. She woke to find the man leaning over her with a hand on her shoulder and a finger pressed against his lips. Frankie and Tubbs were laying on their stomachs at the crest of the hill staring off into the distance at something she couldn't see. Scarlett strained her ears to try to listen for what it could be, but all she could make out was an odd rhythmic sound. As if multiple people were marching in unison. Then she remembered what Damien had said the night before. The city guard patrols the road.

"Hey--," she tried to cry out, but Damien quickly cupped a hand over her mouth and held a dagger to her throat. Her own dagger.

Scarlett's heart raced as she stared up at Damien. She stopped struggling the second she felt the edge of his blade biting into her skin. The four of them waited in complete silence for what felt like ages until the sound had finally faded off into the distance.

"We're clear," Frankie announced finally.

Damien stood then sheathed Scarlett's dagger back onto his hip. "Well, now we know that NPCs exist in this world," he said idly. "Let's move."

He reached a hand down to help Scarlett to her feet, then knelt to pack up his bedroll and anything else he had lying around. After a short while they were on the move again, heading towards the mountains. For the most part they walked in silence, but after about twenty minutes Damien spoke up.

"You know, you shouldn't be too eager to call the humans for help," he said as he fell into step with Scarlett. "They're not exactly enemies, but Humans and Elves don't trust each other."

"I've been to the city before," she told him.

"Back when this was a game," he corrected her, "We have no idea what's changed since. You might be safer with us."

Scarlett's eyes fell to the dagger at his hip as a hand found its way to her neck, rubbing it gently in the spot where the dagger cut her. I doubt it, she thought.

"Don't Elves start the game in Iselia," he asked. "Far to the east of here across some fairly high level zones. Your equipment is low quality, how did you get here?"

"A friend," she said simply. Then she thought about it. "Well, a friend of a friend."

Damien looked at her and she could tell from his gaze that answer was not going to be enough. "My sister knew a guy, alright," she finally admitted. "Some kind of portal wizard or something, I don't know. This was her favorite game, not mine."

"Why were you playing it?" Strangely enough he seemed genuinely interested.

Scarlett averted her eyes. She hated being interrogated, especially about details concerning her life. Unfortunately, in this situation Damien held all the power and had already proven he was not shy about using it. "She asked me to. She thought it would keep us together, as if our parents would see us playing then decide not to send me back."

"Back?" Damien arched an eyebrow at her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm adopted, alright? My mother--my real mother, left me at a bus station when I was seven. She sat me on a bench, told me to wait and never came back."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, sounding almost sincere.

Scarlett shrugged. "Yeah well, fuck her. Fuck my parents and fuck this game."

Damien looked like he wanted to ask her more, but much to her relief he didn't push the subject. Instead, he walked ahead of her, allowing her a moment alone with her anger. The group walked in silence for several miles, across rolling hills and down into a valley. All the while heading as straight as possible towards the mountains. After an hour or two they could see the tree line marking the edge of the plain. The mountain range loomed above them but was still quite a ways off.

"You could see them in the dark last night," Damien said, stating it as more of a fact than a question. "The mountains? Even though it was pitch black you could still see them."

Scarlett said nothing, but then she didn't need to. Damien knew a lot more about this game than she did. He didn't need her to give him the answers.

"Damien, how much further," Tubbs called from the back, "My feet are killing me."

Damien grimaced but said nothing. Scarlett already knew what he was thinking. Even with her limited experience in the game she could tell that this world was much bigger. Damien knew that too. That's why he had asked for a list of their provisions.

"We'll stay on this path until nightfall," he said finally. "Probably reach the mountains in a day, maybe two."

"Damien," Frankie cried all of a sudden, his voice sounded alarmed.

Everyone stopped and turned to look. There was a red fog rolling in behind them moving surprisingly fast.

"The hell is--," Scarlett started but Damien interrupted her.

"Run," he shouted, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her along.

"H--hey," she cried, barely able to keep up with his pace. She glanced over her shoulder at Frankie and Tubbs, both of them running as fast as they could but the fog was gaining on them. A few moments later the red mist washed over them, surrounding them completely. The fog was so thick Scarlett could see barely three feet in front of her. Behind her she could hear beasts snarling and teeth gnashing.

Tubbs let out a shout as he tripped over a rock and lost his balance. Seconds later his screams erupted from the mist followed by growls and flesh rending. Scarlett covered her mouth and tried not to scream as Damien pulled her along. They crested the next hill and ran down into a deep valley. The hill was so steep that both Damien and Scarlett lost their footing. Damien fell first as Scarlett stumbled over him into a heap. At some point during their tumble they separated competely, with Damien going one way and Scarlet going another. For a brief moment in time the world was a chaotic mess until she hit the bottom of the hill and came to a stop lying on her back.

Fighting through the pain wracking her body she tried to claw her way back to her feet but her legs felt like jello and she had no strength in her arms. She could hear the heavy footfalls of something behind her and turned to look. A monstrous looking dog with patchy hair and rotted skin was bearing down on her. She tried one more time to get to her feet, but barely succeeded before falling again. She half turned to face the dog, holding her hands up to guard her face as the creature leapt at her biting and clawing. Then all of a sudden she heard the sound of steel cutting through flesh then the dog's lifeless body hit the ground beside her as its head rolled into her leg.

Damien reached down and pulled her to her feet. Behind him she could see Frankie tossing daggers at the incoming dogs, killing two of them but missing a third. "Let's move," Damien shouted at her, grabbing her by the wrist again and pulling her along. "Frankie! Head into the trees," he called over his shoulder.

The other man quickly turned and followed them, racing along the plain and into the forest beyond. They ran a short distance through the brush before Damien stopped and shoved her towards a tree. "Climb," he said.

He didn't need to tell her twice, she jumped up and caught a branch, quickly heaving herself up onto it. A short distance away Frankie was climbing a different tree just as the dogs appeared and began jumping and clawing at his feet. Scarlett climbed as fast as she could, moving quickly despite never having climbed a tree before. As she reached up to grab hold of a branch the limb snapped under her weight causing her to fall. She cried out in alarm but to her surprise Damien had managed to reach out and catch her by the wrist. Dogs were yowling and biting below her, clawing their way up the trunk just inches from her toes.

"Give me your other hand," he shouted.

She reached up and grabbed hold of his other wrist. Then with a giant heave he pulled her up on onto the branch he was perched on, safely out of reach of the creatures below them. Scarlett let out an explosive breath, hugging the branch as if her life depended on it afraid to let it go. Below her the creatures from the mist were desperately trying to claw their way up the tree with little success.

"Now what," she asked, shifting her gaze to Damien.

He shrugged. "We wait," he said as he leaned back against the trunk. "Eventually the fog will pass and the monsters with it. They won't survive long in direct sunlight."

The girl looked at him curiously. "How do you know all this?"

"It's in the game's lore, did you not pay attention to the quests?"

"Well, kind of," she said sheepishly, "Mostly, I just skipped them."

He smirked in spite of himself but said nothing. Scarlett watched him for a moment then looked down at the dogs yipping and yowling at the foot of the tree. "Hey, why did you help me," she asked suddenly. "Wouldn't it have been easier to just let me die?"

Damien averted his eyes from her, staring up into the forest canopy. He refrained from answering her question, partly because he didn't have an answer. What she said was true, they could have left her for the dogs then circled around to grab her equipment later. Whatever was left of it, that is. Scarlett stared at him expecting an answer. When she realized none would be forthcoming she rested her cheek against the branch and silently waited...

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

It was almost noon by the time the fog had burned off. As the first rays of sunlight shone down through the trees the yipping and yowling below them turned to whimpering cries of pain. One of the dogs had its whole body exposed to the sunlight and quickly turned to ash. The others turned tail then faded back into the fog traveling north through the trees. Scarlett and the others waited with bated breath until the last of their howls faded into nothing.

"We should be clear," Damien told her as he started to climb down.

For a moment Scarlett wondered what he would do if she just stayed where she was. Then she thought better of it and followed him down, taking her time and carefully choosing her path. Once they were on the ground again Damien suddenly grabbed her then began inspecting her arms, legs shoulders and neck.

"Dude! What the fuck are you doing?"

"Making sure you weren't bitten," he explained. "Those things spread disease through their bite."

"I think I'm fine," she insisted, pulling her arm away from him.

"You are fine," Frankie said as he came up behind them and smacked her on the rear.

"The fuck, asshole," Scarlett cried. She balled up her fist and tried to hit him, but Damien moved faster. He grabbed the other man by the neck then forced his back against the tree.

"Try that again you lose that hand," he snarled at him.

Frankie shrank back from him in fear. "Alright, alright, Boss, take it easy."

Damien held him there a moment longer before finally letting go. Frankie breathed a sigh of relief then casually stroked his neck with one hand. "Make sure you weren't bitten," Damien told him then he turned and grabbed Scarlett by the elbow nudging her forward.

They moved at a brisker pace than they did in the morning, covering more ground in almost half the time. By midafternoon they found a creek bed, snaking its way through the forest towards the mountains. They followed the creek for several hours in silence, all the while Scarlett kept casting wary glances over her shoulder at Frankie.

"He won't hurt you," Damien said finally after catching her looking over her shoulder.

"Is everyone in your guild an asshole," she asked, shifting her gaze to Damien.

He shrugged. "In a word? Yes. It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that a PKer guild tends to attract a lot of unstable people."

"Maybe you should change your hiring policies," she grumbled.

"Maybe," he said then he fell silent.

Scarlett glared at him, tempted to say more but thought better of it. Instead the three of them walked quietly for an hour. The creek led them down into a shallow gully. The vegetation here was greener than it was on the plain. Clouds rolling in from the west would often bring in heavy rain that fell just before reaching the mountains, feeding the plant life here and encouraging it to grow. Wildflowers grew in abundance among the roots of the trees. Painting the landscape with a splash of whites, yellows and blues. Scarlett was still keenly aware of the sounds of the wildlife in the area. Rich plant life created a strong ecosystem where animals of all different sorts could make their home. Somewhere off to her left she heard a family of rodents skittering away as they passed. Somewhere to her right a large bird was cawing high up in the trees. This was only her second day in this world, in this body and it still shocked her just how different it was from Sacramento.

Damien tugged on her arm suddenly and pulled her down closer to the ground. Then he half-turned and made a gesture to Frankie to do the same. Scarlett's eyes darted this way and that thinking Damien had spotted another one of those dogs. A flash of movement among the trees caught her attention. From up the creek four figures were making their way towards them. Damien leaned out for a closer look. As soon as he saw who it was his shoulders relaxed.

He stood, pulling Scarlett up to her feet beside her. "Liana, you should have waited back at base," he said as three more men and a woman stepped out into the open.

"It's been two days," she answered, "I had to at least make sure you weren't dead."

She stepped closer to them but stopped as soon as her eyes fell upon Scarlett. "Who the fuck is she," she asked, her tone sounding oddly accusatory.

"Our newest member," Damien answered, finally letting go of Scarlett's arm.

Liana's nostrils flared as she stepped closer to Damien, speaking softly as if expecting Scarlett not to hear. "I thought you said recruitment was a joint thing between you and me."

"Things changed," he said simply, then he held out a hand to one of the other newcomers who tossed him a waterskin. He pulled the stopper out then took a long draw from it, gasping as he lowered the skin from his lips. He quickly wiped his mouth with one hand then turned to offer the waterskin to Scarlett.

The Elf glanced at Liana first before shaking her head. Damien wasn't taking no for an answer, though. He grabbed her by the wrist then pushed the waterskin into her palm, closing her fingers around it.

"How much further," he asked as he turned back to Liana.

Scarlett took a couple of hesitant gulps from the skin but half turned her head to keep an eye on Damien and the girl.

"Not far," Liana answered, "You're nearly there."

"Good," he said. "I want a big feast prepared for tonight. It's a new day."

Then he reached out and took Scarlett by the elbow again. The elf nearly lost her footing as Damien pulled her along and as they passed by Liana Scarlett could swear the other woman was staring daggers at her. The rest of the trip was uneventful. As they walked Scarlett tried her best to ignore the hot gaze she felt against her back from Liana. Eventually, the creek lead them into a clearing surrounding the lake, its mirror-like surface stretching almost as far as she could see. On the shore of the lake stood a tall, stone structure. Scarlett recognized it almost immediately. She'd seen other guilds with similar buildings.

The party made their way along the shore to the stone steps in front of the structure. Damien lead her up the stairs and through the massive door into a large hallway with vaulted ceilings. Various rugs and pelts were scattered about the floor among a spattering of large tables and chairs just haphazardly organized. Banners hung from the pillars surrounding the hall and on the far side of the room a roaring fire blazed in a massive stone hearth. There were ten other individuals just milling about. All men, much to Scarlett's chagrin. It appeared Liana was the only female in the group and considering the look she had given her earlier that was small comfort.

"Come," Damien said as he lead her into the hall and through a side door leading to a set of stairs. The hallways on the second floor were sparsely decorated. Every now and then they passed a random chest sitting on the floor filled to the brim with random loot. It didn't appear as if any care at all went into the placing of each item. As if people were just dumping their loot wherever they could.

Damien led her to a room on the far side of the building. This room had a bed, a chair, a table and a wardrobe but nothing else. "I'll be back to call on you for dinner," the man said as he gently shoved her forward into the room.

Scarlett stumbled a bit then turned just in time to see the door closed behind her. From the other side she could hear the lock engaging as Damien slipped the keys back into his pocket.

"I thought I was joining you," she shouted through the door.

"You are," he assured her.

"Then why do I feel like a prisoner?"

No response. She pounded on the door then waited again. Still no response. Finally, she pressed her ear up against the door and could hear the faint sound of his footsteps moving away. WIth a sigh she turned around and pressed her back to the door, sliding down onto the floor. She lifted her head towards the ceiling and fought to resist every urge that was telling her to cry. The fuck am I supposed to do now?

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

"Who the hell is that girl you brought back," Liana demanded as she entered the room.

Damien was busy slaving away over a hot kiln. Behind him three more of their guildmates were helping to prepare the food for the evening's meal. One was stirring a large pot, another chopped vegetables while the third seasoned and plated the food. As soon as Liana entered, though, Damien half turned to the man next to him.

"Add some salt to that and let it cook for fifteen minutes," he said. Then he grabbed a linen towel and wiped his hands off before finally turning to address Liana. "She's no one. Just some random player we met in The Old Wood."

"Bullshit," she snapped, "Frankie told me everything."

Damien glanced back over his shoulder at the three men working behind him. Then he grabbed Liana by the arm and pulled her out into the hallway. She looked like she was about to say more but before she could even mouth the words he half turned and pushed her into the wall.

"You want to have this conversation now," he whispered sharply.

"You seem quite attached to her," Liana pressed, "Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong."

His tone was flat, but Liana didn't appear satisfied. "She's been here for all of ten minutes, she gets her own room? My old room?"

"Liana stop it," he told her, "She's a babe in the woods, a sheep among wolves."

"That's what I'm talking about," she said, shoving him a bit, "The way you're so overprotective of her. Do you think she's pretty?"

Damien said nothing, but stared directly into her eyes.

"Natasha," she pressed and his face immediately flashed red with rage.

He punched the wall next to her head with a loud thud then leaned in closer to her ear. "Don't call me that," he hissed at her. "Not here."

Liana shrank away from him in fear and upon seeing the look in her eyes Damien relaxed his shoulders then lowered his hand. "The Elf is just the beginning. The first among many," he explained in a calmer tone, "Things are different now. This world can be whatever we choose to make it. With the right people we could build an empire."

"And what about going home," she asked, searching his eyes longingly. "Damien, we don't belong here."

He averted his gaze from her. She was right, he knew that, but he didn't care to hear it. "We may not have a choice," he muttered. That was true, they knew nothing about how they got here or even if there was a way back. Though, something in his tone caused her to question that. A lingering doubt that seemed to imply he didn't want to go back.

"Damien--," she started, but he cut her off.

"Go retrieve our guest for dinner," he said. "Have her brought to my table."

Liana stared at him a moment, a pained expression on her face. Finally, she turned and stormed off, heading towards the stairs leading up to the second floor. Damien followed her with his eyes until she was out of sight. Then he returned to the kitchen to finish preparing the night's meal.

Upstairs Scarlett was busy trying to squeeze herself through the open window with little luck. She could get her head through it just fine, but the window was too small for her shoulders to squeeze through. At the sound of the door opening she panicked then stumbled backward and fell. Liana entered the room then stared down at the Elven woman rubbing her butt on the floor just under the window.

"It's a two-story drop," she said, "Even if you could squeeze through that window."

Scarlett turned at the sound of her voice, surprised to see Liana instead of Damien. The attractive young woman had sharp, angular features and piercing brown eyes. Her raven black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and the leathers she wore accentuated each curve on her body.

"What do you want," Scarlett demanded as she stood and dusted herself off.

"Damien would like you to join us for dinner," she answered, emphasizing Damien's name to make sure she knew the feeling wasn't mutual.

Scarlett shrugged. "Tell him to go fuck himself."

Liana scowled at her then placed her hand on the hilt of the dagger at her hip and drew it slightly from its scabbard. "That was not a request," she hissed.

The other girl stared at her, then rolled her eyes before standing up. "Really digging the warm welcome," she muttered as she stepped past Liana through the door.

She barely made it two steps out into the hallway before Liana suddenly grabbed her then leveraged her elbow to force her back into the wall. "Just because he says you're part of the guild doesn't make you one of us."

"Fine," Scarlett answered in an exasperated tone, "I don't even want to be one of you! Now let me go!"

She pushed the other girl off of her and for a moment the two of them faced each other down before Liana turned away and finally led her down into the hall. The tables had been moved from where they were. Before they were disorganized and strewn about at random. Now they were sorted into neat little rows, with space in the center for an aisle that led directly to the hearth. Fresh plates of food adorned each table and the rest of the guild members were already seated and serving themselves. Most of them conversed quietly in muted tones, but every now and then raucous laughter would fill the hall.

In front of the hearth Damien sat at a smaller table on a raised podium above the others. He occupied the middle of three chairs, quietly munching on a pheasant as they approached. Scarlett could only assume one of the chairs next to him was for Liana and the third was for her. Her suspicions were proven correct when Liana led her over to the chair on Damien's right.

"Take a seat," she said and Scarlett obeyed, lowering herself into the chair next to Damien.

Then Liana turned and started to head towards the kitchen. "Where are you going," Damien asked.

The other girl spun on him and in a flat tone said, "I think I'd rather eat in my room."

Then she turned and left the hall without another word. Scarlett's gaze followed her for a moment until she was out of sight. "I don't think she likes me," she said.

"She'll get over it," Damien answered between bites.

"Who is she?"

Damien lowered the pheasant to his plate then wiped his mouth with a cloth before sipping from his wine. "She was my girlfriend, IRL," he explained as he set his cup down onto the table. "Still is, I suppose. We started this guild together, back before we were dating. Here," he added, handing her a plate with some kind of chicken on it. "Eat as much as you like, there's plenty of food."

"Not hungry," Scarlett insisted, despite the fact it was a lie.

Damien's expression darkened somewhat and he grabbed a jug of wine then leaned over to fill her cup. As he did so he spoke to her in a low tone. "Where I come from refusing to eat food that is offered is considered to be extremely rude."

Scarlett shrank back from him a bit. "Alright, alright, jeez," she said as she picked up a chicken leg and bit into it. To her surprise the chicken tasted surprisingly good. She half expected it to be bland, burnt, or undercooked, or something.

"My father was a chef," Damien explained upon noticing her reaction. "He had high expectations for me, but I was constantly disappointing him. Even at birth," he added, just under his breath.

Scarlett wondered what he could have meant by that, but she didn't care enough to pursue it. "Where is he now," she asked, talking around her food even while chewing.

"Dead," he said simply. "Pancreatic cancer."

She choked a bit on her food after hearing that, washing it down with some wine first before speaking. The wine burned her throat unexpectingly and she made a face at the bitter taste in her mouth. After a moment she managed to compose herself. "I'm sorry to hear that," she quickly sputtered.

Damien shrugged. "Don't be, my father was not a good man."

Scarlett gave him an annoyed look. "At least you had a father. I've never even met mine."

He shrugged. "Believe it or not I envy you for that," he said then he reached over and handed her a plate with some bread rolls on it. Scarlett took one then immediately bit into it.

"Don't talk to me like you know my situation," she said, speaking with a mouth full of food again.

"Chew first," Damien told her.

"What?"

"Chew your god damned food and swallow it, then speak," he said more firmly.

Scarlett sheepishly swallowed the bread she was chewing then sputtered out an apology. "Sorry."

"It's fine," he assured her then he turned back to his plate to finish eating his pheasant.

The two of them ate in silence after that. The conversation throughout the rest of the hall was subdued in most places except for a few. Scarlet thought that was strange considering Damien had called this a celebration. Though it didn't seem like most of the guild felt like celebrating. Damien and a few others may have adjusted themselves to their new situation but it didn't appear as if anyone else in the group has. Even Liana, despite her apparent hatred for Scarlett, the Elf could still see a deep-seated worry in her eyes. Many of them were probably thinking the same as her. How do we get back home?

The night ended uneventfully. As members of the guild finished eating they each filed out of the room one by one. Eventually, the only two that were left were Damien and Scarlett. He quickly polished off the last of his wine then wiped his mouth one more time before standing.

"Come, I'll take you back to your room," he said as he half turned to Scarlett.

"Don't you mean my cell," she muttered as she climbed out of her chair.

He shrugged. "A necessary precaution. It's not safe to let you wander."

She looked at him incredulously. "After all this you still think I'm going to try to kill you?"

He shook his head. "First of all, I don't think you have it in you. Secondly, I locked you up for you're protection not mine."

Scarlett scoffed at that. "Right, tell me another one."

Damien's expression shifted to one of annoyance. "I told you before that my guild tends to attract a lot of unstable people. Incels who have nothing better to do than post on the internet about how much they hate women. Most of these guys were overweight neckbeards in the real world. Now they're strong and fit and suddenly in a position to take anything or anyone they want."

He leaned in closer, towering over her. "What do you think they'd want with you," he asked, "A beautiful Elven maiden?"

Scarlett resisted the urge to swallow the lump in her throat. "Bullshit, what about your girlfriend?"

Damien waved that off. "None of these guys would dare lay a finger on her. She can handle herself."

"And I can't?"

"Can you," he asked, stepping closer to her so that his body was touching hers. "If I were to take you right now, could you stop me?"

Scarlett leaned back over the table trying to create as much distance from him as possible. When her hand fell upon a knife she quickly grabbed it then slashed it at him. The blade of the knife cut a thin sliver into his doublet, forcing him to take a step back.

"Try it and I'll cut your dick off," she shouted at him.

He had an amused expression on his face then without warning he moved forward with a surprising amount of speed and grabbed her by the wrist. He wrenched the knife from her grasp then twisted her arm around behind her back before slamming her face down onto the table. She struggled as hard as she could to push against him to no avail. He held her firmly against the wooden table, tightening his hold on her arm and causing her to cry out in pain.

There were tears in her eyes as he leaned down over her shoulder and whispered into her ear. "I'm sure it hasn't quite dawned on you yet, but there is a big difference between a man and a woman. Sure that body is probably stronger and faster than what you're used to, but the same can also be said for the rest of us. You think those losers out there will give a damn about who you were in the real world? Here you're just a piece of meat to them and they are hungry. Now you might not like what I am doing, but trust me it is for your own protection. Unless of course, you'd like to experience first hand what it's like on the other side."

He pressed his pelvis against her hip for emphasis before finally letting her go. Scarlett all but fell off the table as she scrambled to keep her feet. Her arm was sore from her wrist to her shoulder and she cradled it in her other hand as she turned to look at Damien. "How did you know," she asked, wiping away a tear from her eye with her injured arm.

"That you're not a girl?" He said with a shrug. "Please, I wasn't born yesterday. You eat like an absolute slob, you have no table manners to speak of and every time you open your mouth filth pours out."

Scarlett felt a little offended by that. She'd never quite heard herself so accurately described before. "Yea well, go fuck yourself," she replied sheepishly.

Damien ignored that and took her by the arm, nudging her in front of him. Scarlett grimaced but did her best to bite back the pain. "Now that I know would you care to introduce yourself properly," he asked as he led her upstairs towards her room.

Scarlett frowned then averted her eyes from him. "Alex," she said finally.

"Short for Alexander?"

She nodded, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"You're probably what? Fifteen? Sixteen in the real world? Hard to play a computer game with just one hand."

"Hey, fuck you," she snapped at him. He clearly hit a nerve, which seemed to suggest his assumption for why she was playing a girl was accurate.

"Whatever," he said flatly, "Probably lots of guys in your situation now, not that it matters. We could be stuck in this world for the rest of our lives."

The thought of that didn't sit well with her. She had no intention of staying here in this body forever. "Just because you think that's true doesn't mean it is," she told him.

"We'll see," he muttered then he pushed her through the door into her room and slammed it shut behind her.

The lock engaged as soon as the latch clicked shut and Damien turned to head back to his room. Scarlett listened as his footsteps faded down the hall before she uncrossed her arms and held up the key she had pilfered from his pocket.

"Yea, we'll see," she said...

 

[Kirby3178]

The smell of ale, the chattering of distant voice, the aroma of meat and bread. These were the first things that Akira noticed as he opened his eyes and found himself exactly where he was in-game just a moment ago. A half-eaten plate of sausage and potatoes and a keg of ale sat in front of him. Akira looked around and sure enough, he was in a tavern in Aerilon, have some down time before going out on a quest. Akira went to rub his eyes, but jumped at the sight of his own hands. His hands were big and calloused and his skin was tanned.

A frightening thought entered Akira's mind in that moment and he jumped up, went outside, and found the nearest window. In the reflection, stood a tall dark-skinned man with long, black hair tied into dreads. He went back inside and saw a bronze scimitar and round shield on top of a knapsack.

"What in the world is happening?" Akira thought. He looked down at his plate and hesitantly took a bite of the potatoes. They were warm and buttery and melted in his mouth. Akira picked up his scimitar and examined it. He recognized the weapon that he'd used for so many in-game hours, but had no idea how to fight with it.

This was the point when Akira was beginning to freak out. He had transformed into his character from a video game and everything in said video game is now real. In the real world, he'd spent hours upon hours questing and gain experience, but now it doesn't seem to matter. Akira looked at the keg of ale, took a sip and spit it out just a quickly. He never like alcohol, and the same remains true, even in his new form.

"Okay, well, if I have no idea how to use my scimitar, then taking the quest I was planning on doing is out of the question." Akira mumbled. He jumped again at the sound of his voice.

Akira remembered that he had bought a room upstairs. So he collected he equipment and walked over to the barkeep.

"Hey, uhh, do I have a room upstairs?" he asked (he was just wanting to confirm). The man behind the counter looked up from the tankard he was cleaning and smiled at him.

"Of course, Akira, same one as always. Have you been drinking too much?" the barkeeper laughed and Akira chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, you know this place has such good ale." Akira walked towards the stair behind the bar.

"Man, roleplaying from behind a computer screen is easy. But now that is stuff is real, I just feel stupid." Akira thought as he arrived on the second floor.

There was a long hallway with doors on either side. 'The same one as always' the barkeep had said. Akira started to walk down, past the first two, then the next two, until he came to the one: the fourth door on the left. He opened the door and entered the room. As he threw his equipment on the bed, he had one question on his mind.

"What the hell do I do now?"

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

How late was it? It was hard to tell. Scarlett needed to be sure that everyone was in bed before making her move. She paced back and forth in her room, counting seconds and minutes as they passed. Eventually, she lost count and gave up, plopping down onto her bed and lying on her back. She stared up at the ceiling and tried to concentrate on calming her nerves. She was banking on the hope that now that they were back at their guildhall Damien and the others would feel more relaxed. That would give her the opportunity she needed to escape. But where would she go?

She shook her head. No, that didn't matter. Anywhere was better than here. With a sigh, she rolled off the bed and crossed over to the door. She placed her ear to the oak and listened. Nothing was stirring on the other side, no one was moving. Finally, she'd had enough and slipped the key into the lock, popping it open. She left the key in the door and hurried down the hallway, moving as quietly as she could. As she passed the doors on her left and right she could hear a bit of snoring from the occupants. By the time she had reached the stairs she was certain no one had seen her.

At the bottom of the stairs she peeked out into the great hall then darted back as soon as she saw someone. She recognized him from the feast but didn't know his name. It looked like he had come downstairs for a late-night snack. He made his way across the hall towards the kitchen and as soon as he was out of sight Scarlett immediately ran for the exit. She carefully opened the massive door, trying her best not to make a sound, then she slid the door shut behind her as she stepped through. Once she was outside she immediately turned and ran into the trees.

She had no idea which direction she was going in, nor did she care. All that matter was that she was going away. It was darker tonight than it had been on previous nights, but she could still see fairly well regardless. In the shadows of the forest it was difficult to see colors without any light, but at least she could determine shapes. That helped her move through the brush and avoid hitting any trees. The guildhall was just about out of sight when a sudden shadow appeared in front of her. Hands reached out to grab her, pulling her to the ground. Scarlett let out a startled cry as she tumbled head over heels with Frankie suddenly on top of her.

"Thought you might try something," he said in a sly tone, leveraging his weight to pin her to the ground. He made a quick show of looking around. "Just you and me now, darlin'. Damien's not here to protect you," he continued, leaning down to lick the entire left side of her face from neck to temple.

"Fuck off," she screamed, somehow managing to get her foot under him. She kicked as hard as she could, catching him in the gut and loosening his grip. Then she scrambled away from him, desperately clawing at the ground. Frankie followed her, grabbing at her feet. Through some stroke of luck he managed to catch her by the ankle and pull her back. He had this sadistic look in his eye that terrified her.

"Get the hell off me!" She shouted, half-turning to take a swing at him.

Her punch was at a weird angle and completely ineffective. Frankie caught her wrist midswing then pushed her arm down onto the ground next to her head. He leaned in close, mouth dripping with drool. "I'm going to enjoy this," he gloated as he tore at her leather jerkin with his other hand.

With one solid pull he ripped the garment wide open. Scarlett was desperate now, pushing and clawing at him with her other hand. He struggled with her for a moment trying to get a hold of her blouse. Scarlett could hear the fabric ripping and with tears in her eyes she reached for his belt. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt of the dagger he had sheathed there. In one last desperate act she drew the weapon then without thinking plunged it into his chest. The blade bit deep into his heart and Scarlett could feel a sick warmth as his blood spilled all over her. Frankie let go of her wrist then straightened up, looking down at the wound in his chest in complete shock. Scarlett scrambled away from him then pulled herself up to her knees. Her hands were shaking and covered with blood. When she saw that she panicked, trying everything she could to wipe them clean. When Frankie suddenly fell over, though, she stopped.

"No," she whispered quietly then she scurried over to him, lifting his head onto her lap, "No, no, no, no, no. Don't you dare die!"

Frankie looked up at her, his eyes going dark. He tried to say something and though his lips were moving no sound could be heard. He coughed once, blood spurting from his mouth. Then his head tilted back and he was gone.

"No," she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. She hadn't meant to kill him, she just wanted him to stop.

A shout from somewhere behind her snapped her back into the moment. She looked up towards the guildhall and could make out the silhouettes of several figures moving towards her. In a panic she pushed Frankie's body off of her then scrambled to her feet, racing off into the darkness as fast as her legs could carry her...

**********

Damien stared down at the lifeless corpse of Frankie with a perturbed look on his face. He invited her into his home, protected her, even fed her and this is how she repaid him.

"This is your god damned fault," Liana shouted at him, punching him in the chest. She had tears in her eyes. "Frankie would still be alive if you hadn't brought that woman here!"

Knowing Frankie, though, Damien could only assume Scarlett did this in self-defense. He always had some--questionable thoughts towards women. I guess I was wrong, he thought, She does have it in her.

A man came up from behind him. He carried a bow and his face was twisted with rage. "She couldn't have gotten far. We could probably still track her."

"No, we can't," Damien told him. "We tracked her friend in the wood. We had no idea there were two of them."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying she won't leave a trail," he said impatiently. "Her racial bonuses carried over into this reality. She can see in the dark and her hearing is far better than yours. We're not going to find her tonight."

"So we're just going to let her get away," Liana asked, she had an incredulous look on her face.

"Without provisions she'll die of dehydration," Damien told her simply. Then he half-turned and headed back towards the guildhall. "Bury the body," he threw back over his shoulder...

**********

Scarlett had run all night until the first light of day started to creep over the tops of the hills. She'd reached the edge of the forest and crossed into the plains beyond. When her legs finally gave out she collapsed into a heap. She stared distantly down at her shirt all caked in blood. The hem around her neck had been ripped, exposing her shoulder and some of her cleavage. Her hands were sticky with Frankie's blood and in her mind's eye she could still see the look of horror on his face.

She sat there for a good portion of the morning, just reflecting on what she had done. After a while she stood, stumbling a bit as she got to her feet. There were green hills all around her and trees behind her. She looked in every direction, but there were no signs of civilized life anywhere. Finally, she decided to just pick a direction and go.

Her pace had slowed quite significantly since the night before. Her body ached and her legs shook violently as she walked. Fear was the only thing that kept her going, fear that the others might come looking for her. She carried on like that long until the afternoon, where the sun had risen to its highest peak. After an hour or two more of walking she could no longer carry on and collapsed right in the middle of a field of green. She heard someone shout and could just make out a pair of boots running towards her. Afraid it might be Damien she tried to pull herself up and run away but to little avail.

"It's alright, Lass, I got ya," she heard a man say as he lifted her up into his arms. Scarlett barely caught a glimpse of his rugged and bearded face just before passing out.

It was quite late at night when she finally awoke again. Her eyes fluttered opened and she raised a hand to shield them from the light. The woman holding the candle had set it down on the table next to the bed then turned to look at her. It was Liana! Scarlett shot bolt upright in the bed and the young woman reached out to grab her.

"It's ok, Miss, you're safe! You're safe now!"

Her heart was racing a mile a minute, but at the sound of that voice she stopped and looked again. Instead of Liana she saw a woman she didn't recognize sitting at the edge of her bed. She slowly looked around at her surroundings, gradually coming to the realization that this was not the guildhall.

"Where am I," she asked, her voice sounded hoarse.

"You're on my husband's farm," the woman answered, handing her a cup filled with water.

Scarlett graciously accepted the cup and gulped the water down, splashing some of it onto her chin.

"You must have had quite the ordeal," the woman said as she watched her. "My husband, Pierre, saw you collapse on the plain and carried you here. You're very lucky, Miss."

"S--Scarlett," she answered sheepishly.

"Miss Scarlett," the woman corrected herself. "My name is Mildred," she continued, holding a hand out towards her. "A pleasure to meet you."

Scarlett glanced down at her hand then hesitated.

"Something wrong, Miss?"

The Elf looked back at her, searching her eyes. "You're not at all bothered by the--," her words trailed off as she pointed to her ear.

The woman smiled and waved off her concerns. "Oh, we've seen Elves before, Miss. Adventurers like yourself. Not many, of course. Very few of your kind come 'round these parts. Though, they're not usually quite the worse for wear."

Scarlett suddenly remembered her blood-soaked clothes. She looked down at her shirt and much to her surprise she found herself wearing a completely different garment. She lifted the blankets off herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed, revealing the rest of the gown she wore.

"What is this," she asked.

"My apologies, Miss. It was the only thing I could find that fit you."

"Where are my clothes?"

She frowned. "Gave them to my daughter to scrub and mend," she explained. "They should be ready for you on the morrow."

Scarlett pinched the skirt covering her thigh and lifted it up slightly. "You couldn't find any pants," she muttered under her breath. A note of distaste in her tone.

Mildred had a confused look on her face. "I'm sorry?"

"Nothing, never mind," Scarlett answered quickly, her cheeks turning a slight red.

"Well, Miss," the woman said as she stood up. "If you'd like some supper you can come downstairs with me and I'll prepare something for ya. Tomorrow Pierre's gotta load up the wagon to take the harvest to market. He could give you a ride to Aerilon, or wherever you're going."

"Um, yea. Sure," she answered absently. She hadn't really thought about where she was going. Aerilon seemed as good as any, but would they even let her through the gates? Damien seemed to think that being an Elf in human lands was a bad idea.

"I'll go heat something up. You go ahead and come down when you're ready," Mildred told her, then she turned and headed out of the room.

Scarlett watched her go then fell back onto the pillow. She held her hands up in front of her face turning them this way and that. Mildred had obviously washed them clean, but in spite of that Scarlett could still feel the warmth of Frankie's blood...

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

The sun had barely crested the horizon when Scarlett awoke the next morning. Pierre Gaspard and his family were already up. Scarlett could hear them shuffling about throughout the house. She groaned as she lifted her head up off the pillow to check the time, realizing suddenly that there was no clock. Looking outside, though, it was still fairly dark. The sun's rays had only just risen over the hills and the stars were still visible in the western sky.

"It is too early," she grumbled to herself as her head hit the pillow again.

That's when the door to her room suddenly opened. "Rise and shine, young Miss," Mildred said as she entered the room. She carried a tray full of food. She set the tray down on the table on the other side of the room then turned to look at Scarlett who was just climbing out of bed.

The Elf's head was a tangled mess of unkempt hair. She must have tossed and turned a lot the night before. "Here, let me help you with that," Mildred said as she crossed the room. She picked up a comb from atop the vanity then sat down behind Scarlett and began brushing her hair.

"I used to brush my daughter's hair the same way," she explained while working the comb through the tangles in Scarlett's hair. "She's a bit too old for it now, though. Insists on doing it herself. She's far more independent than I was at her age."

Scarlett grimaced slightly as Mildred pulled the comb through her hair. Trying her best to ignore the slight pain she felt every time she pulled on a knot. As she spoke Scarlett couldn't help but wonder, was this dialogue part of the game? Or for that matter was there ever an instance of an NPC brushing an adventurer's hair?

"Are you--real," she asked finally, after a slight hesitation.

Mildred gave her a curious look then smiled. "Of course I'm real, Miss. What a silly question."

"No, I mean, did you come here from another world, also?"

"Also?" Mildred repeated, albeit confused. "I suppose Elven lands are pretty far away, but no. I've lived on this farm pretty much my whole life."

Scarlett frowned, she wasn't quite sure if that answered her question. At the very least she could assume the other woman wasn't a player, but she sounded far too lifelike to be an NPC. Didn't NPCs in the game have a limited dialogue? She couldn't remember any of the characters on the farm ever saying so much to her before.

"There," Mildred said, setting down the comb on the table next to the bed. "Now hurry up and eat your breakfast before it gets cold. If there's anything else you need you'll find me out in the field."

She got up and crossed the room, closing the door behind her as she left. Scarlett stood and moved over to the table where Mildred had left her breakfast, some cooked eggs, sausages and a bit of hash. It wasn't that different from the kind of breakfast her adopted parents would cook her. The breakfast she 'never had time for.' In all honesty, she hated the fact that a pair of perfect strangers were trying so hard to act like her parents. She resented them for it and she resented her mother for not wanting her.

She sat down at the table and took a bite of the sausage. It was good, surprisingly so. Was this what normal families felt like? She shook her head and pushed those thoughts aside. She finished up the rest of her breakfast then washed it all down with some milk. As she stood to take the tray downstairs she stopped suddenly after catching the reflection of her face in the mirror. She set the tray back down on the table then moved closer to the vanity. This was the first time she'd seen her face since waking up here and as she stared at her reflection her hand unconsciously rose to her cheek. Her eyes were green as the forest, her luscious hair red like fire. She had a petite nose, high cheekbones, and a small chin. She looked like one of those Elven characters from that Rings movie her sister Brianna would always watch. Alex would have described herself as 'doable' in the real world, but considering that face was now hers...

The door to her room opened up again and a young girl entered carrying a small bundle. "Here, Ma'am, I've mended your clothes," the girl said as she set the bundle down on the bed.

Scarlett had turned to look at her, a bit flustered from staring at herself in the mirror. When the girl saw that she smiled. "You're very pretty," she said. "Elves are always so pretty. Sometimes I feel like it isn't fair."

"Um, yea... Sure," Scarlett said, her cheeks turning red slightly. She found the compliment more embarrassing rather than flattering.

"I'm Bridgette," the girl said, introducing herself.

"Scarlett."

"Scarlett? That's a pretty name, doesn't sound very Elvish, though. Were you raised in Aerilon?"

"I--no," Scarlett answered, a bit caught off guard by the question. "I was born in Sacramento."

Bridgette gave her a confused look. "I've never heard of Sacra... Mento? Is it on the other side of the Golden Sea?"

"Um, no. Not exactly," she said sheepishly. Unsure of how to explain that she was from another world. "Look, can I get a minute to, um...," She pointed at her clothes sitting on the bed.

"Oh, right," Bridgette said, suddenly realizing she was being nosy. Then she bowed her head slightly. "Excuse me," she said before moving to the door and closing it behind her.

Scarlett moved to the foot of the bed and lifted up her blouse. The hem was neatly stitched and the fabric washed clean, but in her mind's eye she could still see herself soaked in blood. Shaking her head to clear it she loosened the string at her neck and let her gown fall to her feet. Upon seeing her half-naked body she quickly lifted the gown up over herself again. Her cheeks burning as bright as the sun. After a slight hesitation she let the garment fall once more. Then, while trying her best to keep her eyes above chest level, she slid her blouse over her head then stepped into her pants.

The belt was a bit tricky, it wasn't like belts she had worn in the real world. She fastened it as tight as she could, then unsure of what to do with the excess she simply tied the rest of it off to the belt. Her leather jerkin and greaves had similar buckles but were easier to manage. She slipped her boots over her feet then turned to look at herself in the vanity. The whole ensemble was a bit too form-fitting for her liking, accentuating her hips and breasts in a way that made it feel more like fashion than armor. Finally, she turned and headed towards the door.

The farmhouse was empty. Gaspard and all the others were already outside in the fields loading the cart. When Scarlett stepped out to join them she was immediately taken aback by how bright the sun was. By now it had risen above the hills, shedding its golden light on the Gaspard farmhouse and the fields beyond. She raised up a hand to shield her eyes then quickly took in her surroundings.

Gaspard and his eldest son were busy loading various vegetables and grains into a large, horse-drawn cart. Mildred and Bridgette were in the fields harvesting beans and barley. On a grassy knoll not far from the house their two youngest children were playing. It reminded her of a scene from the game. This is how she remembered the family who lives on this farm. Pierre Gaspard and his son had been loading that cart every single day she played.

"Oi, you're awake," Pierre called out to her when he saw her standing out on the porch. "Why don't you come here and help me with this?"

He pointed to stacks of bushels at his feet. It looked to be like they were about halfway done with loading the cart. With a sigh she stepped down off the porch and crossed the yard over to where he stood.

"You're looking a lot healthier than you did the night before," he said, "How are you feeling?"

Scarlett couldn't shake how weird this felt. It was like talking to another person instead of a pixelated character. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Well, help me get this loaded and we can be on our way," he told her as he reached down, grabbed a bushel full of potatos and handed it to her.

Scarlett took the bushel from him and as soon as he let it go she nearly dropped it. The bushel hit the ground, almost taking her with it as several potatoes rolled out of the basket and came to a stop at the farmer's feet.

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Lift with your knees, Lass," he told her patting her on the shoulder. Then he turned and grabbed a bushel of wheat before handing it to his son.

Scarlett retrieved the escaped potatoes and put them back into the basket before trying again. This time she wrapped her arms around it completely and used her whole body to lift it off the ground. She grunted slightly as she lifted the bushel into the cart. When she was done she was surprised at how hard that was. In the game world player characters were stronger than NPCs, but here she was struggling to lift a bushel of sprouts off the ground. Meanwhile, the farmer and his son didn't seem deterred by it at all. Working together the three of them managed to load the last of the harvest. Pierre told her to go ahead and hop up into the seat at the front of the cart while he went to go say goodbye to his wife and daughter and his two kids.

His son, Emil, waited by the cart with her. "Pa says he found you out on the plain yesterday all beat up and bruised," the boy said suddenly. "Were you part of an expedition? Fightin' monsters?"

"Kind of," Scarlett answered. She certainly considered Damien and his crew to be monsters.

"I haven't told Pa yet, but I'm plannin' on joinin' the army. I'm sick of livin' on this farm. There's a whole wide world out there and I wanna see it."

Scarlett was surprised by that. A non-player character with aspirations? Was this really the same world as the one from the game? She had no idea what to say so the conversation kind of ended there. The two of them were silent for a moment before finally Emil spoke up again.

"You ever seen a dragon," he asked and Scarlett shook her head. "Pa says they ain't around no more, but I think they're just out there hidin'. What with humans huntin' 'em to extinction and all. I hope they're still out there. I wanna be the first person in recorded history to ever ride one."

Scarlett laughed a bit at that. She'd never seen a dragon in the game herself, but her sister had mentioned something about a raid boss once. Beyond that she wasn't sure if they even existed. The idea of this kid riding on top of a raid boss, though, was pretty funny. Brianna complained quite regularly about how hard that fight was.

"Maybe you should stick to just joining the army," she said idly.

Emil made a face. He seemed a bit hurt by that, but he knew it was a childish dream. "Maybe you're right."

A moment later Pierre returned to the cart holding a bundle in his hands. "The missus packed us a lunch," he explained as he climbed up into the cart and set the bundle down behind him. Then he turned to Emil. "Hop in the back, Son, and let's be on our way."

Emil climbed into the back of the wagon and found a place to sit. Then Pierre snapped the reigns and whistled at the horses. Seconds later the wagon was rolling down the hill towards the gate marking the edge of their property. Scarlett looked over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the farmer's family waving goodbye to them. This is definitely not like the game, she thought. This cart had never gone anywhere the whole time she had played it...

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

Bjorn, the proprietor of the Lucky Dog tavern, grimaced after setting down a keg and straigtening up. He'd had a crowbar with him, but he couldn't remember what he'd done with it. "Now where did I put that...," he started, but as soon as he turned around he ran straight into a young girl dressed in wizard's robes.

The girl had not been watching where she was going so the moment Bjorn ran into her she let out a started yelp and dropped all the papers she was holding. "I'm sorry about that," Saffron cried, falling to her knees and quickly gathering her scrolls.

Bjorn scratched his head as he looked down at her. "Lady Beaumont, back again?"

The girl winced. "Um, yes," she said, "The, um... Expedition was canceled."

"You don't say," he muttered. "Well, your room is still upstairs right where you left it." Then he turned and headed into the back to look for his crowbar.

The girl, a young noble's daughter from the city of Northwind, finished gathering up the rest of her scrolls. As she tried to stand to head upstairs, however, her foot got caught in the hem of her robe and she fell, dropping everything again. She sat up on the floor looking at the mess around her and groaned. After spending the time to once again recover her things she headed upstairs to look for her room.

Which one was it again? She thought to herself. One, two..., she silently counted the doors as she passed. Fourth door on the left? She reached the room and opened the door, nearly losing the bundle of scrolls in her arms a third time. When she closed the door behind her she turned to find a tall dark-skinned man staring at her, a large scimitar strewn across her bed.

With a scream she threw her arms up into the air, tossing her scrolls all over the room. "No, please! Please don't kill me," she cried as she fell to her knees. "My family has money! We can pay you!"

 

[Kirby3178]

As Akira stared out of the window, he thought about his new circumstances. He was a fairly knowledgeable Sylaria player, but he was quickly realizing that the world of the game had become reality. He thought about what he could possibly do next. Perhaps find other players?

Then Akira heard the door open and a woman shrieked "No, please! Please don't kill me. My family has money! We can pay you!" The woman was wearing wizard's robes and carrying a stack of scrolls, or was carrying a stack of scrolls, they were strewn all over the floor now.

"Is she another player?" Akira thought. After analyzing the woman, he slowly took a step towards her.

"Hang on, I won't hurt you, I swear," he said "My name is Akira, I'm a--" Akira searched for the right word, since 'player' would make sense anymore "I'm a traveler; what's your name?"

"This could be a chance for me to get some answers. Let's see where this goes."

Akira held out his hand to the woman.

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

Saffron stared at the man for a moment then her eyes fell to his offered hand. "Traveler?" She repeated as realization slowly dawned on her. All at once her face lit up with a smile. "You're an adventurer," she exclaimed, jumping up to her feet. "Fortune's favor! I'd been looking for an adventurer!"

As she spoke she moved about the room to gather her discarded scrolls. "I mean, not looking, really. I had an adventurer, two of them in fact." The words were coming out of her mouth at a mile a minute and as soon as she spoke them her face turned bright red. "I mean, not like that," she quickly exclaimed. Holding up her hands to forestall any ideas and sending her papers flying again. "I would never suggest anything like that! I mean, not that you're not, um--striking, or anything, or scary," she muttered under her breath. There was a slight change in the way he set his jaw and as soon as the girl saw that she winced. "Right, um--anyway," she said, reaching down again to gather up her discarded pieces of parchment. "I was on an expedition to the Circle of Swords, an ancient place of power where it is said the Gods of Old battled the Dark One... At least until my escort suddenly decided to abandon the quest. I'm not even really sure what happened. First they fainted, then after waking up they suddenly panicked and began shouting at each other. Something about a game? I don't know. Anyway, they decided to head back to Aerilon which is why I'm here."

As she reached for the last scroll a thought occurred to her and she straightened up to look at him. "Come to think of it," she continued, "Why are you in my room?"

 

[Kirby3178]

Akira helped the woman to her feet and then she started to ramble as she gathered her scrolls.

"You're an adventurer. Fortune's favor! I'd been look for an Adventurer!" the woman said, speaking incredibly fast.

Akira just silently nodded as the woman gathered her scrolls and stumbled over her words, but perked up when she mentioned something about the Adventurers she'd hired prior.

The woman stated, "First they fainted, then after waking up they suddenly panicked and began shouting at each other. Something about a game? I don't know. Anyway, they decided to head back to Aerilon which is why I'm here."

"So that confirms it, there are other players who are in the same boat as me." Akira thought. Then the woman asked Akira why he was in her room. This puzzled him. This girl seemed like she was a NPC, if they can still be called that, but as far as Akira knew, players were the only one's who had rooms.

"Guess I can't rely too much on my knowledge from the game."

"Well," said finally spoke up "This is the room I usually rent whenever I come here. So I believe this is my room. But anyway, I'm curious about the Adventurers you were talking about earlier. You said they were panicking because they were caught in a 'game'. I'd like to meet them, if you know where they are."

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

"Well, this is the room I usually rent whenever I come here. So I believe this is my room," he began.

Saffron's eyes widened in shock. "Your room?! I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized.

Akira didn't seem to mind, though, he pressed on. "But anyway," he continued, "I'm curious about the Adventurers you were talking about earlier. You said they were panicking because they were caught in a 'game'. I'd like to meet them if you know where they are."

The girl arched an eyebrow at him. 'Caught' in a game, she thought, I don't believe I did say that. What a curious thing to ask. "Um," she started as her expression became downcast, "They're dead. We were accosted by some other adventurers who demanded all of our weapons, armor and any gold we had. When we refused they, um... It was over so fast I barely had time to react. All I could do was run away."

"Anyway," she continued, shifting her demeanor in an instant as her eyes met his once more, "I still have need of another adventurer. Something is happening in the world and I need to get to the bottom of it."

She stepped over to a nearby table and set her scrolls down on top of it. Then she reached into the pile and pulled out a single piece of rolled parchment before flattening it out on the table so Akira could see. The parchment had a map of the world on it with lines crisscrossing at various points. Akira immediately recognized them as fast travel points. "The Circle of Swords is a major hub for mana flowing throughout most of the world," the girl explained, "The ley lines to the north and south are all connected to it. Lately, I've been noticing some odd fluctuations in the magical energies flowing across the northern continent and I believe it's all connected to something happening here." She pressed her finger down atop the map right about where the Circle of Swords would have been located in the game.

"Something big is about to happen," she said, turning back to face Akira, "Or has happened. I can't be sure until I investigate. Will you come with me? I can pay you for your time."

A sudden thought occurred to her just then and her face turned beet red. "Oh my stars," she exclaimed, "I forgot to introduce myself!" She quickly bowed her head and gave him a slight curtsy. "Lady Saffron Beaumont, Northwind's premier expert on magical antiquities!"

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

The steady ringing of a hammer against heated steel filled the room. Brianna leaned against the frame of the three-wall shack that Riker used as his blacksmith's shop. The heat from the bellows washed over her and she felt a bead of sweat drip down her forehead. God it's hot in here, she groaned. Even with the cool air flowing down from the Evernon River. She took another bite out of her apple while listening to Riker talk.

"Ain't seen no Elves in these parts for centuries, lass," he was saying. "Leastwise, not since the war ended."

He picked up one end of the sword he was working on then shoved it back into the flame, working the bellows to stoke up the heat. Brianna waited until the noise had died down before speaking.

"This Elf is an adventurer," she said. "Last I heard she was coming this way."

Riker made a face as he pulled the blade from the fire and began working the steel again. "Got plenty of adventurers here, no Elves though," he said. "Surprised you didn't trip over any of them on your way in here."

As he spoke Brianna caught a note of distaste in his tone. She cast a glance over her shoulder at a small group of players milling about like hobos back in the real world. A lot of them had already lost hope. They'd been stranded in this world for three days now with no home, no clue on how they got here and no idea what to do next. Scarlett was probably doing the same somewhere else, at least Brianna hoped she was.

"Well, thank you for the information," she said, then she half-turned to leave.

"Strider, wait," Riker called after her.

Brianna made a face. She was now regretting naming her avatar after her favorite character from Lord of the Rings. "Call me Brie, please. Strider is just a title."

"Alright, Brie," the man corrected himself. "I know it ain't no concern of yours, but Haversham's relied on adventurers for protection for years."

He set down his hammer and came around to the other side of the anvil. "We had two boys go missing couple days past," he told her. "Went up into the woods to play but never came back. Parents are worried sick for them. They've been offering gold to any adventurer they could find, but so far none have been brave enough to help."

Brie had an idea of where this was going and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had zero desire to take a quest right now. More important than helping NPCs was finding her brother, but there was something off about this request. Never before had the blacksmith offered a quest like this in the game. The NPCs of this world were all behaving rather strangely.

"You want me to search for them," she asked.

"Talk to the parents first," he told her, "They might know a little something about where the boys might have gone."

Brie closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and her forefinger. "Alright," she said finally, "I'll see what I can do. Where can I find them?"

"Up the road about three doors down," he said while pointing. "Little white cottage on the hill."

"Alright, thank you," she said, then she turned and left the shop...

 

[starrar2356]

Atlas or as his friends know him in the real word as Thomas was walking the towns streets looking from person to person and all he can see is sadness and fear. They had given up but he can not blame them he understood how they felt one moment he is talking to his friend Brianna. in A party and the next he wakes up in this body his avatars body. Not knowing what to do or whats going on that was until he realized what game he was in and so A thought came to him if I am here dose that me brie is to. so he set out to search for her to see if he can find her and the first place he thought to check was Rikers shop if she was going to be anywhere it could be there if not then he dose not know were she could be.


" I Really hope you are there brie" Atlas says with a sigh.

one of the things that Thomas or tom as Brie would call him had to get used to was how his voice sounded is was beeper then in the real world and his avatar was taller and heavier set then he was it took him some time but he got used to it. Atlas set off to find his friend and to see if maybe they can get back home.

 

[starrar2356]

When Atlas get to the shop he walks over to talk to Riker. " Riker how goes your day" Atlas says as he leans against the nearest wall looking at all the weapons that he can see before looking straight at the blacksmith him self.

Now atlas is no master blacksmith but he dose know his way around making blades or at lest the more modern way. so seeing an old forge like this is A fantasy come true for him but he won't show it on the outside but that dose not mean he will not geek out on the inside. as he stands there waiting for A reply he admires the old forge and the smell metal make when you heat it up so you can mold it in to a beautiful weapon of death.

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

"Mornin', Strider," the fruit stand vendor called out to her as she passed and Brianna silently grumbled to herself.

Could have named myself Arwen, or Eowyn or literally anything else, she thought. She was on her way to meet the parents of the missing children, but a small part of her considered just leaving Haversham to go look for Alex. After all, these characters were just NPCs, they weren't real... Right? She stopped and looked at a pair of non-player characters quietly conversing near the fruit stand. One seemed to be talking about the harvest and how his no-good lazy son had been 'dilly-dallying' with the butcher's daughter. The other was nodding and had similar complaints about his son who spent all his time writing poetry instead of focusing on his chores. Were there conversations like this in the game? She couldn't recall ever seeing this dialogue spoken by any NPC before. Ambient conversations in the game tended to not be so advance. The game was nearly ten years old so the game engine was practically ancient. These NPCs sounded almost like normal people, which is definitely not what she remembered from the game.

Fine, I guess I'll go save the kids, she thought with a sigh. Then she turned and headed off into the direction of the white cottage...

Meanwhile, back at Riker's shop the heavyset man was behind the counter assembling a sword. First came the crossguard, then the grip and finally the pommel, holding it all together. When he was done he held up the blade and inspected it, flicking his finger against the steel and listening to the sound it made. At that moment Atlas crossed the threshold into his shop and greeted him.

"Mornin', Atlas," he answered, not taking his eyes off his work. "Day's startin' out fine, I suppose. What're you in for? Got some new blades you may find to your liking."

 

[starrar2356]

" I appreciate the offer but I was hoping you could tell me if Strider came through here I have been looking for her." Atlas says looking at the finished bled in Rikers hands.

" Though That is a fine work of craftsmen ship you got there." he says looking at Rikers finished work " But I digress Have you seen Her." he says a little hope in his voice. if Riker has not seen her he will be back at square one and just hoping he bumps in to her while looking in the town. thought he doubts that will happen this is not an anime after all were the protagonist randomly bumps in to his long lost friend though that would be a funny coincidence.

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

Riker grunted at the compliment but said nothing. Atlas couldn't tell if he appreciated the comment or rather that he disagreed with it and Riker wasn't too forthcoming with his opinion. He set the blade down on top of the counter in front of him then finally turned to look at Atlas. "Yea, Brie was here," he said, mentioning her by her real name rather than her character name. Which came as a surprise to Atlas. "I sent her up the road to talk to Hiddleston and his wife. The pair o' them been having some troubles, I thought that she could help. Just down that way up the road a bit, you'll see a white cottage on the hill."

 

[starrar2356]

After recovering from the shock that Riker said Brie's name he stood up and started to head out the door of the shop." Thanks again Riker I will go find her and help Hiddleston and his wife while I am there have a good day." Atlas says with A smile as he leaves the shop heading in the directions Riker Gave him seeing the white cottage in the distance. " brie please be there." Atlas says as he keeps walking hoping to find his friend and helpher in anyway he can.

 

[Kirby3178]

At Akira's request about meeting the Adventurers the woman worked with, she informed him that they died. Akira was embarrassed and did his best it. The woman quickly changed the subject, which Akira appreciated, and unrolled a map on the table. He recognized it from a map of Sylaria's fast travel points, he wondered if it was still possible to teleport to them.

The woman said that there were anomalies in the magic energies that run across the map, and she was going to investigate and need Akira's help. Immediately, Akira looked back and his scimitar and remembered how he had no idea how to fight with it. But, he also remembered that he wanted answers as to why and or how he was transported here.

"Perhaps this can beneficial. I can learn more about this world and I can maybe find answers in these magical anomalies. She also talked about paying me, and if this is my new reality, I'm going to need funds and allies." Akira thought

The woman spoke up after Akira was silent, introducing herself as: Lady Saffron Beaumont, Northwind's premier expert on magical antiquities.

"It's nice to meet you Miss-- I mean Lady Beaumont. As for your mission, I'd be happy to accompany you."

"Let's just hope I don't have to fight anything"


[Location: Lucky Dog Tavern in Aerilon / Interacting: Saffron Beaumont ( XxJadePhoenixX )]

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

"Excellent, we have an accord," she exclaimed jumping up and clapping ecstatically. Then she turned back to the table and began collecting her parchments again. "We'll have to leave early, of course. It's too late tonight. Meet me downstairs at dawn tomorrow and bring plenty of provisions. We'll have to cross the mountains dangerously close to Orc territory. Do you speak Orc," she asked, pausing in her collection to look at him over her shoulder. "It's fine, I'll translate for you," she continued without giving him a chance to respond. She lifted up the pile of scrolls into her arms then turned to leave.

"Tomorrow at dawn, don't forget," she threw back over her shoulder as she crossed the room. She barely made it two steps, though, before her foot got caught in her robe again. She let out a startled yelp as she tripped and fell, sending all of her papers sprawling all over the floor again. She sat up and sighed. "Cassiel's grace," she muttered under her breath as she quickly gathered up her things and retreated from the room. She fumbled a bit with her scrolls as she opened and closed the door, dropping one which caused her to drop a few more when she tried to pick it up.

"Excuse me," she said after finally gathering up all her things and closing the door. Out in the hallway she looked to her left then to her right. Where is my room?

**********

The next morning Saffron awoke with a start at the sound of someone shouting below her window. She quickly hopped up and threw open the shutters then immediately shielded her eyes from the light. The sun had risen above the horizon and people had already begun to fill the streets. "Oh my stars, I slept in," she exclaimed as she threw the shutters closed and quickly set about gathering her things before getting dressed. She fumbled through a stack of parchment, grabbing a few scrolls and shoving them into a large knapsack. Then she shuffled about the room looking for anything else she might need. By the time she was done her knapsack was full and completely disorganized. She slung it over her shoulder and nearly fell under the weight. Then she grabbed her quarterstaff and hurried downstairs to meet Akira, pulling out a comb to brush her hair on the way.

Down in the common room the relative calm of the morning had been completely interrupted with a loud ruckus. Everyone turned around as a young woman came tumbling down the stairs. At the bottom there was a loud crash as she rolled into a server, knocking over her tray and dumping ale all over herself. From behind the bar Bjorn simply rolled his eyes.

"Same shit, different day," he grumbled under his breath as he worked to scrub an empty mug.

The server helped the addled scholar to her feet, keeping one hand on her to steady her. "I'm so sorry," Saffron apologized.

The server stared at the girl's disheveled appearance, her eyes lingering on the comb still stuck in her auburn locks. After a while she suddenly remembered her hand was still on Saffron's shoulder. She immediately took a step back and bowed her head. "Excuse me, Milady," the woman cried, "Please forgive me."

"Oh, it's fine," the scholar answered as she pulled the comb from her hair. Then a patron nearby lifted up a mug of ale. "Ooh, thank you," Saffron said, taking the mug from him and chugging down the ale before handing him back the empty cup.

The man just stared at her in shock. That was his ale, but what could he do? She was a noble. He tried to sputter something but his words came out as an unintelligible mess. After Saffron retrieved her quarterstaff she turned and took in the entire tavern with her crystal blue eyes searching for Akira...


[Location: Lucky Dog Tavern in Aerilon / Interacting: Akira ( Kirby3178 )]

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

Brianna grimaced as she sat across from the weeping mother. In a way she understood her grief. Her son and his friend had been missing for two days. On the other hand Brie couldn't help but feel like the woman was being a bit overdramatic. Her husband handed her a handkerchief which she used to loudly blow her nose. "Anyway," he was saying, "The boys would usually go play up by the river. They liked to catch frogs."

"And let me guess, they come home and terrorize their sister with them," Brie finished for him.

The man nodded. "I take it you have a brother as well."

"Kind of," she said. He's more like a sister now. "How far away did you say the river was?"

"Not far, just a ways past the edge of town. If you head up the road that way and straight into the woods you'll find it," he said, pointing towards the east.

Brianna stood. "Alright, I'll go see if I can find them."

William Hiddleston stood then placed a small pouch of coins into her hand. "Ten gold, as promised, it's all we have. Just bring those boys back to us."

Brianna took the pouch and handed it back to him. "It's alright, keep it," she said, then she turned and walked out of the house.

Outside there was a man making his way up the walk towards the cottage. As Brie got closer to him she recognized his armor. "Late as always, Tom," she said, teasing him a bit. "Come on, I got us a quest."


[Location: Hiddleston Residence in Haversham / Interacting: Atlas ( starrar2356 )]

 

[starrar2356]

" Haha Funny as always Brie I am not late I arrive Presley when I am needed so were are we going and what is the quest this time." Tom says with a laugh as he walks over to stand by her placing his hand on her shoulder. Tom is glade to see Brie alive and well he was wearied that he would not find her or that she was not in this world at all.

" Well we should be heading out by your leave." He says with a slight bow and a smirk on his face.


[Location: Hiddleston Residence in Haversham / Interacting: Brie ( XxJadePhoenixX )]

 

[XxJadePhoenixX]

The road to Aerilon was long and surprisingly empty. In the game one would regularly pass an NPC or another player on their way to Haversham or somewhere beyond. Here, though, there was no one. The horse-drawn carriage rolled down the muddy road through fields of green and not another soul was in sight. Scarlett leaned back in her seat and cast her gaze over the golden hills of the plain.

"Gotta say, I'm kind of surprised you pulled through. After I saw all that blood on ya I thought for sure... Though, I guess it tweren't your blood, was it? You must have killed some kind of beast in those woods, I suppose."

"Yea, a beast," Scarlett muttered idly to herself. The memory of Frankie assaulting her still fresh in her mind.

"Was it a big beast," Emil asked, perking up from the back of the cart. "Did it have huge fangs and sharp claws?"

Scarlett shook her head to clear it, but she could still see Frankie's face as the light faded from his eyes. "I, um... Don't really want to talk about it," she said.

Emil looked to his father who was busy steering the cart. The elder Gaspard shook his head and the boy turned back around to stare at the road behind him.

"I apologize for the boy," Pierre told her. "He gets these flights of fancy sometimes. Been tryin' to tell him to keep his head outta the clouds."

Scarlet cast a glance over her shoulder at Emil. He couldn't have been much older than sixteen or so, the same age as her. At least, the age she would have been in the real world. She had no idea how old she was now. This is so fucked, she thought to herself. Trapped in another world, in another body. She thought things like that could only happen in stories.

"Where are ya off to after we reach Aerilon," the farmer asked.

"Home, if I can," she said quietly.

"To what? Iselia? We're heading in the wrong direction for that, lass."

Scarlett shook her head. "No, my home isn't from around here. I don't even know if there's a way back."

The farmer gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry to hear that," he said, "Got troubles a plenty going 'round these days, it seems. Just yesterday we got word that one of the farms had been attacked."

Now that was starting to sound like the NPCs from the game. Scarlett suspected he was about to tell her about some roving monsters terrorizing the country side. What he said next surprised her.

"They were adventurers what did it. Killed the family, took their grain. They even burned the farm."

Scarlett's jaw dropped. Other players did it? It really should not have come as a surprise to her. After all, Damien had started killing people almost from the moment he woke up here. Even Scarlett herself had killed somebody, but killing a whole family and burning their home? That was taking it too far.

"Eyes up, boy. Looks like we got some trouble ahead."

Both Emil and Scarlett perked up at that. Not far down the road the Elf could see the figures of four individuals blocking their path. Pierre pulled back on the reigns to slow the horses.

"Whoa, what are you doing," Scarlett asked him incredulously.

"It's alright," he said, "We're just gonna talk."

The horses slowed to a stop just in front of the four armored men. "Ho there, friends," Pierre called out to them, "What seems to be the trouble?"

The leader, a muscular man with a large mustache stepped forward. "There's a toll on this road, Sir. We're here to collect."

"Toll," Pierre sounded surprised. "This is the King's Road. His Majesty himself manages these lands and you don't look like tax collectors."

Scarlett edged closer to the farmer. "Pierre, listen to me," she whispered to him, "Crack those reigns and run these fuckers over."

"There's a new king," the bandit continued, "Me, and I say there's a toll. You give us half of your harvest we'll let you go."

"Half? I can't give you half. I have to bring this harvest to market, my family is depending on it."

The man shrugged. "Fine, then we'll take it all."

He gestured to the three men behind them who immediately drew their weapons. As they took a step forward, though, Scarlett drew their attention when she stood up and shouted at them.

"Hey, shitheads! Why don't you just leave them alone!"

The man with the mustache looked surprised. "You, you're a player, aren't you?"

Scarlett felt a lump in her thoat. The question suddenly reminded her of Frankie and Tubbs. "Look, just let us go, alright? You don't have to do this."

The man stared at her in disbelief then burst out laughing. "Oh... Oh, this is rich. Is this one your lover boy then, huh," he asked pointing his sword at Pierre. "Or do you like 'em young," he added, shifting the point of his blade towards Emil.

Scarlett ground her teeth together and tried to ignore her sudden embarrassment. "Come on, dude, be cool. They got a family."

"Ooooooh," he said mockingly, half turning to look at his friends. "Hey, guys, Red Sonja over here says we gotta let them go because they got a faaamily."

All four of them started laughing then until the leader turned his gaze back to Scarlett. "They're just fuckin' NPCs," he told her, "Now kill them, but leave the Elf alive!"

"Fuck this," Scarlett exclaimed, grabbing hold of the reigns and snapping them. The cart lurched forward with a jolt, but one of the bandits fired an arrow from a bow into the head of one of the horses while another stuck a spear into the other. Shortly after the bandits had surrounded the cart and began pulling its occupants down from the wagon kicking and screaming. Scarlett fought back as hard as she could, but without a weapon she was at a severe disadvantage. As she was pulled from the wagon she swung her elbow back behind her, catching her assailant in the side of the head. He stumbled backward but somehow still had a hold on her. The two of them crumpled to the ground with Scarlett coming out on top. With both hands clasped together she pounded her fists down into the face of the man below her.

She managed to get a couple good solid hits in before the bandit leader pulled her off of his friend. She twisted her body around to swing at him, but he managed to catch her arm and twist it behind her back. Scarlett let out a pained cry as he tightened his grip on her arm. Then he leaned in to sniff her neck.

"You smell good," he said, "Always wanted to bang a redhead."

Scarlett tried to smash the back of her head into his face, but the man moved out of the way. "Ooh, feisty one, I like that. Well look, Sonja, this is what happens to people who don't pay the toll."

He reached up and grabbed her by the chin, holding her in place and forcing her to watch as his men cut down Pierre and his son. "No don't," she cried, but it was already too late. She watched in horror as one man plunged a sword into Pierre's chest while another slit his son's throat. As their lifeless bodies fell to the ground she felt a wave of broiling anger rising up inside of her.

"You son of a bitch," she screamed. At the same time she heaved herself up off her feet then slammed all of her weight down onto his foot. There was a loud snap as the little bones in his foot cracked in half and the man cried out in pain, dropping her as well as his sword. Scarlett quickly scrambled over to the blade then wrapped her fingers around the hilt. Then stood and swung the sword at him, cutting a deep gash into his cheek. As he fell she turned and ran as fast as she could out onto the hills beyond the road. One of the bandits, the one with the bow, took aim at her and loosed an arrow. The deadly bolt, pierced through her left shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. She stumbled and fell but her momentum kept her going. Fighting her way back up to her feet she kept running, increasing the distance between her and the bandits with every second.

The bandit leader was now sitting in a crumpled heap holding his foot with one hand and his cheek with the other. He looked up at the other two idiots who were just staring at him. "The fuck you looking at me for? Go get her!"

The two bandits looked at each other then back to their leader. "She got your sword, Kev, and she kicked your ass. You want her back you go get her."

The man glared up at them, biting back the tears that had begun pool in his eyes from all the pain. "Just pull the god damned cart," he said, "And someone help me up!"


[Location: King's Road / Character: Scarlett]