The pebblebacks stampede down the hill, and the water ripples and splashes as their thundering footsteps reach me. I back further into the water, raising my fists defensively in front of me, before realizing how absolutely pathetic and useless that gesture is. Even so, I’d rather go out fighting.
A whistle cuts through the air, and excited cheers and whoops quickly follow. Bright colors flash among the creature’s rocky hides—there are people in the herd, running alongside the beasts.
I don’t have much time to take all this in before the stampede reaches me. The herd splits in half, each side going around the lake, however some in the middle of the pack aren’t able to turn in time and come barreling straight toward me. When the first one hits the water, it’s like a geyser erupting right in my face.
I throw myself back as the creatures splash through the waves, their legs crashing through the water all around me. The turbulence slams me against one of their hides. I’m sent tumbling head over heels into the water, and I lose all sense of up and down.
Beneath the surface, everything is quieter. I can still hear the muted grunts and stomps of the beasts, bubbles crackling all around from the swiftness of their stomps, but it’s a moment of reprieve. A few seconds of peace. I stop flailing and figure out which direction the sun is in. Spinning myself around, I plant my feet on the pebbly bottom and kick off. I’m not going to die here.
I pop from the water like a cork, gasping in delicious lungfuls of air. The pebblebacks are stomping around, musty smelling like farm animals, eyes wide with alarm as they try to make for the bank. One of the creatures lunges for the shore, and when it drags itself from the water, a person is there in the gap of the pack. They’re sitting atop a bird-like steed, something between an ostrich and a dinosaur, covered in ruby-red feathers. It’s the rider I can’t pry my eyes from, though.
[Check,] Echo says as I instinctively wonder who and what they are. [Terimus, drakid warrior, level 18.]
Apart from being human-shaped, he’s covered in blue scales, with two ridges of horns curling back from either brow. His snout is long and pointed, almost like a dragon’s, and he has claws in place of hands. Slashing a spear at one of the pebblebacks, he hollers for a companion, who answers from somewhere in the press. As I stare, slack-jawed, he turns and looks straight at me. The lizard person pauses, eyes going wide in surprise.
That momentary distraction is his downfall.
One of the pebblebacks whips around, its flat, broad tail smacking into Terimus’s steed. The bird cries out and jumps, dumping its rider onto the ground. The lizard person—the drakid—vanishes beneath the herd. His spear rolls toward the shore, where it rocks in the shallow waves of the lake.
I lunge forward, half swimming, half wading through the shallow water, stumbling around the pebblebacks that are still climbing back up the bank. I snatch up the spear, and I’m filled with relief and security. Well just a modicum of relief and security. I smack the nearest pebbleback with the blunt face of the weapon, and it blatantly ignores me.
[1 point of Bludgeoning damage dealt,] Echo says.
Alright. That’s how it’s going to be, huh?
I swing the spear again, this time stabbing and slashing at any pebbleback who gets too close.
[3 points of Slashing damage dealt.]
[4 points of Piercing damage dealt.]
“Not,” I pant, stabbing a pebbleback in its thick hide. “Today!” I advance another few paces, spinning to slash another one of the creatures as it lumbers in my direction.
I dart another few feet up the shore, away from the water, and suddenly the drakid is in front of me. One of his legs is twisted at an unsettling angle. My stomach flips, and I try not to think about what’s going on under that pant leg. Instead I let out a feral scream and spin haphazardly around, slashing at all the nearby creatures like some kind of inflatable car-dealer tube man. The pebblebacks grunt and groan, then gradually wander away. I’m left standing there panting, spear clutched in a death grip, water dripping off my soaking wet clothes, as the dragon person watches me with surprise.
“Rena!” he suddenly calls, and I jump. “There’s a person here! Come quick!”
I spin to point the spear at Terimus, squinting suspiciously down at him. Did he sic this whole herd of monsters on me on purpose? What will his friends make of me? I don’t know anything about this world, yet. Was helping him a mistake?
He holds up a hand. “Whoa, there! I’m unarmed. I mean, you have my arms. And I can’t do much from down here, anyway.”
I hesitate, backing up a pace and out of spear-snatching range, then dart a glance around for his companions. They’re already riding up on bird-steeds of their own.
[Rena, drakid bruiser, level 19]
[Layf, dryad ranger, level 17]
The other drakid is covered in red scales, while the dryad, as the species name would suggest, is some kind of treeple with brown bark-textured skin and a short crop of yellow flowers for hair. They pull up to either side of me, sword and staff held in guarded stances.
“Stand down,” Terimus says. “Everyone, stand down! This human just saved me.”
“She did?” Rena skeptically looks me up and down.
Look, I don’t blame her, I’d doubt me, too. I cautiously lower the spear, since I’ve got Lizard-Guy vouching for me.
“What happened?” Layf asks.
“I fell,” Terimus says. “One of the pebblebacks stepped on my leg. I would have been a goner if she hadn’t taken up my spear and protected me.”
Is that what I did? Huh, I guess so. I mean, I was more acting out of self-preservation, trying to bat back the weird armadillo creatures while making my way out of drown-zone-central, than actively trying to save Terimus. But I also definitely wasn’t going to leave him there to get stomped to death. Trying to poke the pebblebacks away from him was instinct—just seemed like the right thing to do. Look at me, already being a hero!
“And what about you?” Rena asks, turning to me. “Where did you come from?”
I stand up straight, resting the butt of the spear on the ground. Not like I could fight these two off anyway, even if I wanted to. “I was just trying to get some water. Certainly wasn’t expecting a whole herd of these guys to come stampeding down the hill toward me!”
Rena rounds on Layf. “You were supposed to scout the valley ahead of time!”
He holds up his hands. “I did! I swear! There wasn’t anyone here.”
Rena snorts. “Well clearly there was!”
“This argument is great and all,” Terimus says. “But I might have a broken leg. Think we can figure out who’s more responsible for near-manslaughter after we get out of here?”
Rena sighs. “Layf, go find his footbird.”
“Aye, aye,” Layf says with a salute, then reins his bird around to trot off to where a group of pebblebacks have taken to grazing nearby. He turns his head back to shout over his shoulder. “Still not my fault!”
Rena swings down off her own steed and heads over to Terimus, crouching down to check him. Gingerly touching his leg, a small glow of pink light blooms from Rena’s fingers, and Terimus sucks in a pained breath.
“Oh, give me a break,” Rena says, the light flickering out. “It’s not broken, you probably just pulled something.” She glances up sharply at me. “Hey, kid. Get over here and give me a hand, would you?”
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I hesitate for only a moment, weighing the likelihood of any of this being a trap. Considering I have literally nothing but the clothes on me, however, highway robbery seems unlikely. Besides, I kind of like them.
“Sal,” I say, jogging over to help. “Not kid.” I wrap one of Terimus’s arms around my shoulder, while Rena takes the other.
“Sure thing, kid,” Rena says with a pointy grin. “Now come on, let’s get him over to those rocks.”
----------------------------------------
As Rena patches Terimus up and Layf starts setting up a camp, I ask a lot of questions, and I learn a lot of interesting things.
“You guys really don’t know what I’m talking about?” I say, incredulous.
“I can assure you, none of us have a voice in our head called an ‘Echo’,” Layf says. “Um, do you think you might have hit your head in that fight?”
“I didn’t!” I object. “And you guys are sure you don’t see stats? I mean, it says right here that you’re a warrior, and you’re a bruiser, and you’re a ranger.”
“Bruiser?” Rena says with a snort. “What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know, I kinda like the sound of warrior,” Terimus says with a grin. He winces as Rena ties off a bandage with a sharp pull. “Ow! Careful, there.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, warrior, was that too rough?” Rena smirks.
Layf rolls his eyes. “Get a room, you two.”
Weird. How come none of them can see stats like I can? I ask Echo.
[The user met the prerequisite as defined for system access.]
And those prerequisites are…?
[User does not have permissions to access said data.]
Perfect. I guess I’ll just have to keep asking around until I can find someone more knowledgeable than these guys. I mean, it can’t just be me, right?
Echo doesn’t give me a lot of time to dwell on this.
[Role Requirement,] she pipes up when Layf pulls supplies out of his pack, setting out some alien looking fruit, a stale hunk of bread, and some dried meat. Oh, right. That dumb Chef Role I have. Hey, now that I’m thinking about it, none of these guys have a role—just me. What the heck’s up with that?
[Role Requirement,] Echo says again.
Are you kidding me? Now? My fingers tingle with anticipation as Layf begins slicing up the bread. As stupid as this role is, it looks like I need to get my hands on one of his knives.
“Need help?” I ask. It’s like an itch in the back of my head. Maybe I can just dice up one of the fruits.
He waves me off. “No, you’re our guest. Don’t worry about it.”
I rub my hands together, as if it would disperse the tingling, and look around the field to distract myself. Now that the stampede is over, the pebblebacks have taken to grazing around the valley; several of them appear to be passed out, laying flat on the ground like a bunch of weathered boulders. “We don’t have to worry about any of these guys heading over here for some payback?”
“Nah,” Terimus says, wincing as Rena pulls a brace tight around his leg. “They’re pretty passive when they’re not trying to trample you. Just gotta wear ‘em out a bit first.” He points to a couple of the sleeping ones. “Those are what we’re after. Once they’re sleeping, they’re down for at least a day, and not even Widengra’s Wrath could wake them. That’s why we ran them down the hill in the first place. When they’re passed out, it’s easier to harvest the geodes that grow on the males’ hides. They should fetch us a respectable sum back in town.”
[Role Requirement.]
“Are you sure I can’t help?” The words burst from me. I swear the tingling in my brain and hands are getting worse. I don’t wait for Layf to object as I spring to my feet and grab one of the fruits from the cloth he’d set it on. “Here, let me.” I hold out my hand for the knife.
Layf arcs a perplexed eyebrow at me, glancing at his teammates.
“Oh, give it to her,” Rena says. “If she was trying to pull anything, she wouldn’t have given Terimus’s spear back.”
Shit, I do look suspicious, don’t I? “Sorry,” I say. “It’s the mind voice thing again.”
Layf shrugs, handing over the knife. “I was done with it anyway. You really should get your head looked at, though.”
Relief fills me as soon as my hand wraps around the hilt, soothing the static from my fingers. I immediately sit down and start cutting into the fruit, exposing a soft, blue interior the consistency of an orange. Juice drips everywhere as a result, and I belatedly realized maybe this sort of fruit is meant to be peeled. Oops. Oh well.
“Anyway,” Rena says, breaking the awkward silence as they all watch me butcher this piece of fruit. “We’ll probably be heading into town tomorrow, after we’ve finished with the pebblebacks. Might as well make camp here and give Terimus time to rest his leg. You’re welcome to spend the night with us if you’ve nowhere else to be.”
I pause my mangling of the fruit. Instead of two halves each cut into four slices, the scene before me has become a large stain of blue pulp and several bruised peels.
I bet a town would have some sort of Adventuring Guild. Or maybe someone there would know about my Echo and Stat interface. Think there’s an Offworld Bureau I could check in at?
“That would be great!” I say. “I don’t really have any plans. I’d love to stay with you guys for the night and travel to the town with you tomorrow. Thanks!”
“After how you helped me out, it’s no problem at all,” Terimus says. “Where’s all your gear, anyway?”
“Oh, uh.” Well, I’ve already told them about Echo and my stats. How much weirder could admitting my origin be? “I’m from another world,” I say. “Just popped up here a few minutes before the pebbleback stampede.”
The three of them stare at me.
“Don’t suppose you get off-worlders very often?” I ask.
“Layf?” Rena says.
“I’ll get my medicine pack,” he agrees.
“Wait—I’m serious!” I object. Is that why I have stats and they don’t? “Okay, to be fair, it all does sound a bit crazy, but I can prove it.”
“Oh?” Terimus says.
I sit there a moment, thinking. “Okay, actually I can’t prove it. But I would appreciate it if you just believed me on this.”
Rena shakes her head. “Well, you seem sound in most other respects.” She dubiously eyes the fruit I’ve turned into a pile of pulp. “Most other respects. Regardless, you can still travel with us to Fairwood, where you can hopefully find help for your… condition.” Somehow, I don’t think ‘condition’ is referring to my being from Earth. “For now, let’s break our bread.”
I give up on the fruit and sheepishly hand Layf’s knife back. As I do so, I feel a sort of mental ping.
[Daily Role Requirement quota fulfilled,] Echo says. [Counter reset. Skill Obtained! Knifework: Level 1.]
Man, this really is like a videogame. I sure won’t object to that knife skill, though. Maybe next time I won’t make an embarrassment out of myself.
Layf passes around the bread, meat, fruit (whole pieces as my pile goes tactfully ignored), and a canteen of water, as the group chats and lazes in the afternoon sun. A pebbleback occasionally wanders by, some of them gleaming with black crystals like what Terimus mentioned, but all they do is grunt, graze, and leave us alone. I eventually find myself laughing along with the group’s jokes—Layf seems to be the butt of most of them—and even enjoying the stale bread and dry meat. The fruit and water keep my mouth from going dry, but even without that it sure beats hospital food; something about the salt of the meat and grit of the bread tastes real in a way the fruit cups and defrosted waffles never were.
Maybe this Chef role isn’t all bad. If I’ve been reincarnated in another world just so I can make and eat good food the rest of my days, I can’t be upset with that.
Our meal is interrupted when a sharp crack like lightning shakes the air. I wince, looking around for the source, while Rena jumps to her feet.
“What was that?” I ask. “Thunder?” I didn’t see any light, though, and the skies are bright blue.
“I don’t know,” Layf admits, shielding his eyes as he glances around the valley as well. “It sounds like it came from—”
The crack happens again, this time only feet away. I fall backward as a shock of air knocks into me, and my ears are sent ringing from the noise. I scramble to sit back up, but freeze when I see the figure standing in the middle of our camp.
The woman is wearing an intricate layer of red leather armor and is holding a giant spear adorned with tassels that flutter in the wind. Her brown hair is braided in decorative loops and swirls, her eyes are a liquid red, like blood, and her pale skin shines like the sun filtering through a cloud. I know with some instinctive certainty she’s not human.
Her eyes dart about with an animalistic intensity, and her lips curl in an unnerving smile.
“Rejoice, mortals,” she says with a flourish of her spear. My three companions are equally frozen in shock, and only Rena reacts, taking a step back at the weapon’s twirl. “The Champion of Widengra has graced you with her presence. Submit yourselves to my god’s will, and you may bathe in his eternal presence in the Gardens of Yon.”
Layf stumbles to his feet. “Gods’ grace,” he gasps. “You’re the Champion of War.”
The woman turns her gaze on him, still smiling. “I have been sent to address the appearance of a creature of another realm. The will of Widengra brought me to these lands, but the demon is slippery, well hidden. Answer me briskly: Have you encountered such an aberration?”
My heart beats so fast and loud in my chest, I swear she can hear it. Creature from another realm. Is she looking for me? I don’t move, I don’t speak, I don’t breathe. I just try to melt into the ground and appear as invisible as possible.
Layf and Rena both glance in my direction, but it’s Terimus who pushes himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his spear.
“This creature from another realm,” he says. “Why do you seek them?”
The woman’s eyes land heavily on Terimus. “It is not your place to question the will of the gods, boy.” Then, she tips her head. “You know of what I speak?”
“Perhaps,” he says.
My heart spikes with fear. He’s going to turn me over. I can’t even say why that scares me. I know nothing about this woman or what she wants with me. But something about her, the wild look in her eyes, the tension in her posture, screams danger to every one of my instincts.
Terimus looks at me. I shake my head ever so slightly. Please don’t. Please don’t tell her. He smiles faintly before turning back to the Champion. “It’s me. I’m the traveler from another realm.”
“Terimus,” Rena objects. “Don’t—”
But she stops when the Champion laughs. It’s a cold, mirthless cackle—the laughter of a child who’s pulling wings off a butterfly. It’s that unnerving sound that makes the reason behind my fear finally snap into focus: this woman is mad.
“Beautiful,” she says after her laughter subsides. “By Widengra’s grace, my task is made simple. Many thanks to you.” She suddenly bows deeply before Terimus, sweeping a hand off to the side. “My lord, this blood is in your name.”
“Wait,” Rena says.
I don’t even see the Champion straighten back up. One moment she’s reverently bowed over, and the next she’s standing over Terimus, her spear stabbed through the drakid’s stomach.