After so long underground with nothing but dim lamps even the overcast grey sun of the Scottish spring was too much for Layla’s eyes, leaving her blinded. While her vision took time to adjust her hearing had no such problems, screams and roars filled the air, punctuated by the occasional sound crashing metal and stone. Not wanting to wait for the spirits, cult members or whatever else was out there to catch her she picked a direction that seemed to be away from the worst of the noise and carried on moving. Blood started to run down her hands and legs as she tripped over rubble and debris every few feet. Still half blind and weak she scrambled through narrow alleyways and streets clogged with dust, always trying to head away from the loudest fighting.
No sooner had she rounded a corner than she heard the Chaineds wail cutting through the rest of the battlefield noise. Everything seemed to go silent as both sides processed the arrival of another enemy. It only lasted a moment though as an answering roar from somewhere else in the commune restarted the violence with renewed fervour, whereas before there had been a dull roar of noise now it was a raging cacophony. Blinking furiously to try and help her eyes adjust since the new volume made it almost impossible to figure out which directions to avoid. Layla cursed under her breath as she realised she’d frozen just like everyone else, only for her to stay frozen after they all started fighting again. Finally as her vision settled at least well enough to make out blurry outlines she continued on.
Her legs and lungs kept screaming at her, but if she stopped now everything was for nothing, in the middle of the commune with at least two groups of monsters around if she stopped she was dead, or worse, imprisoned again. Marcus had been bad enough before when his only powers were money and something resembling charisma, now with actual magical powers at his disposal she didn’t dare think about it.
Clutching the axe tighter in her right hand she kept moving, trying to move from building to building, staying hidden now that she wasn't just blindly fumbling. She scurried further through the maze of buildings, what had six years ago seemed to be a remote yet prosperous farming village had since grown into a sprawling town, though it was more reminiscent of a fortress than anything else. High narrow windows and unadorned concrete seemed to be the prevailing style, at least in this area. Reaching a wider road between the buildings she glanced around, to her left seemed to be the centre of the compound, a large castle-like manor stood, the old pub and some of the shops visible around the edges of the square in front of it, she could just make out figures on its roof fighting, what appeared to be winged lions. Though in the street between her and the manor there were more than a few fights and brawls between people, rather than against monsters. The dull grey clothing they all wore suggesting they were cult members settling grudges, Layla smiled, it was good to know that even Marcus’ iron grip wasn't enough to make everyone blindly get along.
In the other direction things seemed more clear, there was an outer wall now that hadn't existed six years ago, though large portions of it had been turned to rubble during the fighting. Decision made she dashed to the right, aiming loosely for one of the larger falls in the wall and just hoping everyone was too distracted to pay attention to a single figure running through the chaos. One of the lions tumbled across the street ahead of her but quickly disappeared down another one, not so much as glancing her way.
“Looks like the little stargazer escaped her cell” shivers ran up Layla's spine as she heard the sneering voice, looking ahead she saw Jade striding out of the alley the lion had tumbled out of.
None of Layla’s visitors during her captivity had been pleasant, though most were simply irritating and obnoxious. Jade however had been by far the worst. She was all the malice and vitriol of her uncle without the restraint and sophistication created by the polished veneer Marcus used. Short red hair ending just below her chin, her face subtly lined from the permanent scowl she wore. Her thin lips and small chin another contrast to her uncle, alongside her slender build and short stature, she looked almost the complete opposite of her uncle. The only familial resemblance between them was the same venomous green eyes. Eyes that immediately stood out as they now seemed to be glowing.
Layla shakily raised her axe as Jade brandished a long wicked looking serrated dagger, dripping with green fluid the same shade as her eyes. “That axe of yours won’t help and we both know it. You can barely lift the thing” Jade smirked as Layla ignored the taunt, mind racing as she searched for another escape route.
“Worked well enough against the guard, before the ghosts finished him off, wouldn’t want to see that again'' the shudder that ran up Layla’s spine at the memory was entirely real and unpleasant, but she forced a grin as she continued “though i’ll gladly make an exception where you’re concerned Jade. I’d pay to see your face melting into black sludge” she gripped the axe tighter and dashed backwards, the taunt having given her an idea. Retracing her route as Jade swore and began running after her, Layla was for once thankful for how weak she was, now she wasn’t constantly trying to hide the route back to the dungeon door was relatively short. A blue glow from the corner told her she was close enough just as she heard Jade catch up to her. Not stopping to think she hit the floor, rolling to the side. Jade's dagger plunged forward right into where her spine would have been, only to bounce off the Eternally Chaineds metal wrapped torso. Though the blade itself didn’t do any visible damage, the green liquid seemed to latch onto the spectral figure and began to spread into its body, tinting its previously blue glow. It screeched and threw itself at Jade who started to desperately fend off the slashing chains. Throwing caution to the wind Layla ran for it, back up the alleway again, the route becoming annoyingly familiar as she seemed to be constantly pinballing back and forth.
“Two steps forward one step back” she gasped to herself as she ran. The axe dangling from numb fingers now as her arm added itself to the list of limbs aching from overuse. Blissfully empty of any more cultists or monsters the street passed by quickly. The heaped ruins of the wall proved a new challenge though. A new set of cuts and a wrenched shoulder made it clear after one attempt that climbing wasn’t an option. Picking randomly Layla turned right to follow it, keeping her axe, as heavy and hanging at her side as it may be, between her and the rest of the commune.
The roars of the lions gradually weakened and slowed, putting more pressure on the escape timer. Although the Eternally Chained were still roaming loose, she couldn’t count on them alone being enough to keep everyone distracted, especially considering Jade knew she had escaped. Her eyes roamed ahead, searching the wall for a gap or break easy enough to get through. The dread and desperation grew as time ticked on, minutes passed from the last roar she’d heard, yet still no viable option presented itself even as a glance towards the mountain she’d been using as a guide let her guess she’d gone almost a quarter of the way around the edge of the compound.
“Just one more bit of luck. That's all I need. God or whatever your name is, if you’re listening. Just give me a way past this wall. Even if it's straight into a river or the mouth of some other monster, let me die completely free, please” she’d never been overly religious growing up, and definitely not in recent years. Thinking about it Layla couldn’t even remember a time in her life she had voluntarily prayed before. But after meeting that figure in the starscape and being this close to freedom she offered up her desperate plea without a second thought. So close to her freedom she could taste it but she could practically feel the shackles closing around her wrists again as she went longer and longer without an exit. “That's it. Next break, no matter how difficult it looks, I’m taking it” shaking her head and squaring her shoulders she forged on, just because she had met something like a god didn’t mean she could rely on it after all.
Rounding a corner brought her stumbling into the biggest mound of rubble yet. Ready to curse at yet another obstacle the words died in her throat. The pile reached all the way up to the broken top of the wall. Scrambling up it on all fours Layla considered dropping the axe as it was more hindrance than help at this point. Remembering her prayer from moments before and imagining some other monster waiting on the other side quickly banished that thought though. Just as she reached the top screams and shouts started to ring out again in the distance, followed by the screeching wails of the Chained.
Chuckling to herself at getting not one but two bits of luck she looked down at the far side of the wall and grimaced, realising she might have been as lucky as she thought. It was a sheer drop, whatever had broken this section of wall had forced all the rubble inwards to make the pile she had climbed, leaving nothing but a long drop on the other side. “Well, here goes nothing i guess” Layla threw her axe a short way from the wall, not wanting to risk cutting her own limbs off by jumping with it. Kneeling precariously on the edge she turned, gripping the edge and trying to slowly lower herself down to reduce the fall. She'd gotten her legs over and lowered herself to her waist when her arms gave out. Dropping the twelve feet to the ground was surprisingly pain free. Some instinct to roll combined with the wet ground cushioning the impact remarkably well.
Groaning, she pulled herself up and looked around for the axe again. “Really gotta stop ending up on the floor, it's getting harder to stand up every time” on the edge of the treeline she found her weapon, almost sure that an instinct had guided her to where it had fallen amongst the shrubbery. Looking back at the commune she grinned, giving the whole commune a one fingered salute before disappearing into the trees.
A few hours later, just as the sun started to set Layla felt a wave of energy wash through her. Leaving her refreshed and energised. Before she had time to wonder what had happened her new interface made itself known for the first time since she'd returned from the starscape. Startled, she waved her hands around for a few seconds before she remembered the figure had said something about an interface. “ok so I'm seeing things now but apparently that's normal and I'm not going crazy. Well, crazier I guess. Even though I've started talking to myself…” trailing off she focused back on the various things that were overlaid on her vision. “Let's see, green bar that's missing a big chunk, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that's some kinda health bar. Little icons above it with food and water that are flashing. Let's say dehydration and hunger, probably more severe than just plain hunger though since it's flashing” dizziness washed over her then, her body choosing that moment to run out of adrenaline and bring the rest of her body's complaints crashing forward.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Clinging to a nearby tree she groaned “ok ok. I get it. Food and water, weird menus later” willing all the icons away they thankfully faded to almost total transparency, still there if she looked but no longer overwhelming her view. Wracking her brain for memories of six years ago she tried to remember any rivers or lochs she'd seen near the coming commune. When she remembered that she had arrived over the mountain she swore, the mountain that was on the opposite side of where she'd exited the commune. “Well I'm not going back that way. So that leaves forward and hoping for the best”
With a direction decided she straightened up and started walking again. Through the night she walked, blind luck probably keeping her from encountering anything living in the forest. Like a zombie shuffling forward, doggedly refusing to give up she walked, too exhausted to even notice the cold and her feet had long ago gone numb by the time dawn began to peek through the trees. In the end she didn't find food or water, it found her when she walked into it face first. Stunned and knocked off her feet, again, she looked up at the little stone hut she'd walked into. A bothy, one of many overnight waystations scattered across Scotland. She'd stayed in a handful back when she'd been hiking her way around for the summer. They were about as basic as a building could get, abandoned cottages or barns fixed up just enough to be weatherproof, little more than four walls and a door, the only luxury being a fireplace and a stack of dry logs providing the last occupant had replaced whatever they burnt.
Bleary eyed and head spinning she tried to bring everything into focus. Vaguely, like background noise, she heard a door creak open and footsteps approaching from around the old building. A dark figure, features just as blurry as everything else, loomed over her. Feebly she tried to stand but her body wouldn’t cooperate, now that she had stopped moving the sheer willpower she had been using as fuel wasn’t enough to make her limbs so much as twitch. Strong arms wrapped around her, making her flinch and try to grip her axe tighter, only to realise she’d dropped it at some point in the night. A feeble whine was all she managed, though even that was scratchy and raw, as she realised she hadn’t eaten or drank anything in almost two days, save the icy mouthfuls of water that she’d managed from the pressure washing she had endured the night before her escape.
By the time she finished her wandering thoughts she found herself laying on top of an old sleeping bag inside the bothy, the figure digging through a backpack and muttering quietly to themself as they picked out various items. Her head still spinning she tried to speak, only for her still blurry helper to turn and press a bottle to her lips, water trickling into her mouth, she drank greedily, only to find the water drying up and the bottle taken away all too soon.
“Slow now, with how thirsty and starved you look I’d wager you’ve not seen any food or water in days, drink too much or too fast and you’ll bring it back up faster than you got it down” the stranger said, his deep voice matching the arms she’d felt carrying her earlier. Before she could protest or argue she felt him press a small rectangle into her hands “it's only a cereal bar but i doubt you’d manage more than that at the moment anyway. You take your time with that and I'll see how far I can stretch my first aid kit over all these cuts and scrapes” as Layla looked down at the food clutched in her hand she noticed her clothes, or what was left of them. Torn, ragged and stained with blood they were little more than rags and from what she could see through the mud and dust her skin didn’t look much better. With little else to do and her limbs still refusing to do much more than twitch she resigned herself to the care of the stranger, slowly moving her arm up so she could eat. As she nibbled on the cereal bar her mind started to wander again. A blinking light at the bottom of her vision drew her attention as she remembered the interface she had dismissed the night before. Mentally clicking on the blinking notification her vision exploded with colour as a shining screen of red, gold and blue appeared in her vision.
Titles acquired:
Frontrunner
Unbroken
Thinner than water
Confused, she blinked the screen away. Not wanting to linger on the fate of the guard. What looked like a character sheet appeared to replace the notification, bringing with it a whole new level of confusion.
Name: Layla Blake
Race: Pangean
Class: N/A
Rank; N/A
Bloodline: N/A
Heritage: N/A
Legacy: N/A
Combat: N/A
Craft: N/A
Lore: N/A
Staring at the sheet was more than a little disheartening, though on some level she knew it made sense, after everything from the escape the fact her sheet showed that she was as basic as could be was a little hard to swallow. Sighing softly she started skimming through the various other menus available to her, trying to get to grips with this new interface. The first thing that caught her attention was her new titles, and interestingly enough they actually came with some tangible benefits.
Frontrunner
Life on Aeternum is hard and violence is always waiting, you adapted to this reality faster than any other. Claiming the first kill of your entire race.
Provides a rarity upgrade to each of your first three lineages
Unbroken
Having faced circumstances that have broken many lesser beings, you not only survived but managed to achieve a legendary feat and execute your escape.
Provides resistance to all suppression and negative mental effects so long as you remain independent
Thinner than water
The new world is harsh but few would turn so readily on their own race. Not only did you make the first kill in your new reality but faced with both a monster and a fellow human you chose to kill your own race
Provides greater damage output and improves chances of success when working against other Pangeans
Stunned Layla just stared at the screen, that was a lot to take in. The benefits were at best abstract concepts for now, but the wording of the descriptions was more than a little unsettling. While her actions might not have been entirely under her control, she couldn’t deny that she had killed the guard. For a moment emotion threatened to overwhelm her and she felt herself begin to tremble, only to feel a blanket getting draped around her as the stranger seemed finished treating her wounds. He was young, medium length messy brown hair and the scraggly beginnings of a beard made her wonder if he was a student, hiking around for the summer. If things had gone differently she wondered if he would have ended up in a cell beside her, instead of helping her recover from her escape. “You never told me your name, or if you did it was while I was still dazed from walking into the wall”
“Jacob. That's my name, I did say so before I carried you in here, but like you said, you weren’t in a great state” he said, sitting back against the wall. “What happened to you? I know the world has gone a little crazy but that hardly seems like enough to end up in that state” he gestured vaguely at her heavily bandaged and emaciated form. Pushing herself up against the opposite wall to sit facing him, Layla couldn’t help but feel nervous. Now that she was a little less desperate and delirious, though still exhausted, she couldn’t help but worry. Alone and vulnerable she was at Jacobs mercy, without even her axe for protection. Some bound item that was, nobody could take it from her but easily dropped in the woods. As she thought it though she felt the sleeping bag shift under her, the feeling of a handle now under her leg, reaching down slowly she felt for it, feeling the wooden haft and leather wrappings of the handle she had to fight to keep her surprise hidden. The weapon returning to her definitely made her feel more secure, but the fear and paranoia urged her to keep it hidden. Just in case. Jacob stood up then, seeming to take her silence for an answer as he moved to the corner to pick up a bucket.
“There was a cult or commune or something, whatever you want to call it. I was a prisoner, had been for years” the words came out scratchy and slow, memories flashing through her mind's eye as she spoke. “Then it all happened, when I met the merchant I was desperate, the introduction he gave made it seem like stories were valuable in this new world. So I told him stories, every one i could remember. In return he provided me an opportunity to escape, though as you can see it didn’t go entirely smoothly” she shrugged weakly, hoping he wouldn’t question the vague story. Her heart sank as he hesitated, seemingly to ask a question before simply shrugging and picking up the bucket.
“I’ll go grab some more water from the stream, you can clean up with it once I get back. Help avoid any infections and might make you feel a bit better. It's not a shower or a hot bath by any means, but it's better than you taking a dunk in the river” as he disappeared out of the doorway again Layla reached under the sleeping bag and grabbed her axe again. Pulling it out she felt a measure of reassurance at its presence, glad it wasn’t so easy to lose as she had thought. Not knowing how long she had before Jacob got back, she looked around the room for a hiding place. The room was bare though, with no furniture beyond the low platform that served as a bedding area and the fireplace. Rushing to the fireplace she slid the axe behind the pile of firewood that was ready next to it. She just got herself sat back against the wall when Jacob walked back in. He put the now full bucket of water on the floor and dug out a shirt from his bag.
“You can use that. It's an old one anyway. I'm gonna go see if I can find some more firewood, back in a bit” with that he disappeared again, leaving Layla alone again. Looking down at herself she realised getting cleaned up really was the best idea. The mud and blood was caked on her pretty thickly and definitely didn't feel great. Looking at the door she moved Jacobs rucksack in front of it, wedging the straps into the gap under the door as best as she could to block it. Once she was as secure as she thought she could get she sighed and settled down to get herself cleaned up.