Surprisingly, I haven't been terribly fatigued after all the walking I have done, some of it almost at a run. With my job not being physically demanding can’t say that I was in shape.

My mother kept trying to get me to work out, go to the gym, and do a little cardio. I never got around to doing it, so I couldn’t remember the last time I had walked all day. Much less two. On the other hand, with everything that had happened the last two days, all of this exercise had kept me from obsessing over things.

I hoped some answers about the last few days might be forthcoming. Simple ones, like 'what in the world were those wolf things last night?'. Or even 'what in the world inhabited the ruins?'. Could they answer, 'what happened to me?' without the question making me sound like a raving lunatic?

So, after an hour or so, when I spotted a stone bridge crossing a river and a village beyond, I panicked.

Why did I feel like throwing up with the finish line so close?

The arch bridge spanned the river, with the central arch being large enough for boats to travel under. Down on the riverbanks were docks that must service whoever used the river for travel.

Beyond the bridge, the road continued branching off, up and down the river and up a slight incline towards a village surrounded by a stone wall. Unlike the ruins, the buildings were made of wood with thatched roofs.

I wasn't sure what to do next, but from what I could see, any thoughts of finding a phone were ruthlessly crushed.

Hyperventilating and passing out sounded terrible, and the ground looked really nice right now. Taking a seat, I put my head between my legs and took a few deep breaths. Safety only stood half a mile or so down the road, and all I needed to do was to walk to it.

So why was I hesitating?

As the sun traveled across the sky, the village's citizens went about their daily lives, working at the docks and the fields beyond the stone wall. But for the first time in my life, I felt incredibly vulnerable. All sorts of horrors rolled about my head.

Would I even be safe?

"OK, Alex, enough of this."

Brushing myself off, making sure I looked presentable, I continued onwards at the double.

Although knowing nothing of ancient or medieval feats of engineering, I couldn't help but marvel at the bridge's stonework while ignoring the two guards who stood on the other side.

There was also something protective about the bridge that tugged at the center of my chest, giving off a slightly pleasant buzz, which was immediately ruined when one of the guards pointed a long spear in my direction.

Dressed in a heavy leather jerkin, with his head protected by a metal cap, the younger of the two men called out a challenge, thankfully in a language I understood. "Halt, what business do you have?"

This was immediately responded to by the other guard, who reached over and slapped him on the back of the head. "Enough of that."

"What? She might be a monster in disguise." The guy pulled the spear back up and whined, which caused me to giggle.

Suppressing that ridiculous sound, I slowly approached. "Good afternoon. Can you tell me where I am?"

"Erith village," the young guard replied, almost lowering his spear again, then asked. "How can you not know where you are?"

I couldn't help but shrug. "Because I'm lost."

At least he confirmed the village's name as it appeared on a popup screen as I crossed the bridge.

"Enough of that, Osric; go down to the docks and see if Alaric wants a break."

"All right, Uncle," he grumbled, then walked away.

The older of the two sighed and then turned to me with a smile. "Sorry about that, my lady; my nephew can be a bit excitable."

Thankfully, I stopped before correcting the whole 'my lady' thing, well at least the ‘lady’ part, and waved it off with a smile. "No problem; I commend his dedication."

"Thank you; he's a good boy." He then frowned. "I don't mean any disrespect, but I believe you are not exactly dressed for travel."

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Looking down at myself, I couldn't help but laugh, and without a lot of answers, I could only reply with a partial truth. "Two days ago, I appeared in the middle of a forest. I have been walking ever since."

"By the gods, that must have been a harrowing experience!" He exclaimed, then frowned. "I believe you need to speak to the mayor of our village; I'm sure he can sort things out for you. Also, I apologize for not introducing myself. I am Dustin, senior guardsman and constable of our good village."

"Pleasure to meet you, Dustin; my name is Alex."

Although a look of confusion passed over his face, he pointed up the hill with a smile. "Please come with me then, my lady; Mayor Wymond owns the village inn, so there should be a place for you to wash up as well."

"Excellent."

However, my joy soon diminished upon discovering, much to my displeasure, the stone wall surrounding the village came up to my chin or a little over waist-high to my escort. Reminding that I had lost quite a bit of height, among other things, when I appeared in this world.

The Village of Erith was full of other surprises.

Not sure why I expected dull colors of both houses and people; maybe watching too many docudramas on my tablet, but the village was anything but. Of course, knowing absolutely nothing about fashion, real or fantasy, I couldn't tell if the clothing came from a particular historical period. But the men wore tunics, homespun in bright colors, while the women wore dresses of the same using a little less fabric than my own.

As the two of us made our way through the village, it became apparent that, although being a total stranger, the way I dressed didn’t make me stand out too much. They villagers also must have travelers pass through their homes often enough, so the stares weren't unfriendly, just curious, so easily ignored.

The inn was another surprise, with its two stories, wrap-around porch, stables, and a building that might be a carriage house. Standing in the center of the village, with its foundation made of stone and its roof covered in wooden tiles, it dominated its neighbor's homes and seemed out of place.

The well-lit interior was spacious, with a dozen circular tables spread about. In the back, along with a flight of stairs, was a long counter and a couple of doorways. One led to a hallway, and I could hear people talking from another. Interesting smells seem to also permeate the room from that direction.

A small part of me was disappointed by how mundane it looked as I expected the inn to be full of adventures, eating, drinking, carousing and making plans for their next dungeon delve. The only person in the room was an older gentleman sitting at the back, who appeared to be half asleep.

"Have a seat, my lady. I'll go find Wymond; he's probably in the kitchen."

Although I had this odd need to dust the chair before sitting down, the inn seemed relatively clean. Well, really, the whole village, except for the dirt road in front of the inn, which would probably become a quagmire after a heavy rain.

I barely had time to sit down, much less contemplate this new cleaning quirk, before the good constable and two other people approached the table, a man and a woman.

Before anyone could introduce themselves, the woman exclaimed, "Oh, you poor dear. Dustin was telling us that you have had a most horrible experience."

"Err."

The man, whom I assumed was Waymond, laughed, "Now, now, Serena." He then turned to me. "Hello, welcome to Erith village. I have been told your name is Alex?"

"Thank you, that is correct."

"Young girls and their names," Serena sighed. "I assume your parents named you Alexandria. Such a pretty name, no need to shorten it."

Well, only my grandmother called me Alexander; however, I could only reply with an incoherent, "Err."

"Oh," the older woman shouted, causing me to jump. "Let me get you something to eat; you must be starving."

The two men smiled, then took a seat in front of me.

After introducing himself, Mayor Waymond asked, "So, Dustin said you woke up in a forest?"

I nodded. "About two days ago. One second, I was at home, I think."

"You're not sure?" Dustin asked.

I found myself frowning. "My memory is rather fuzzy about where I was and what I was doing before I found myself lying on a stone slab in the middle of a forest."

"Black alter surrounded by standing stones?" The mayor asked.

"Yes."

"Sounds like a moon shrine," Dustin commented.

The mayor nodded, then said, "Must be the one near the Torsten ruins. It's about two days journey, maybe a little longer. You made good time, young lady."

How young did I appear? Before I was about to ask about the moon shrine, Serena returned.

“My daughter will be out with a little porridge in a moment. And did I hear someone say, Torsten ruins?”

“I didn’t know the name at the time, but yes. There was a path leading up from the shrine,” I explained.

"What a horrible place. I can't imagine why those adventurers spend any time in the Blue Fields."

"Apothecaries pay well for several plants found there, as you well know, dear, and it's a reasonably safe job for an adventurer compared to others if you leave the ruins before nightfall," Waymond said.

Frida, who looked like a younger version of Serena, came out from the back and, after introducing herself, set down a bowl of porridge and berries in front of me.

With another person joining us at the table, I continued with the story of my travels, spending the night on the riverbank and the encounter with the Dread Wolves. All four seemed surprised that I could feel the malice coming from the building but were more concerned about the monsters.

"I'll inform the others," Dustin said, standing up. "With the river goddess’s blessing, the monsters shouldn’t be able to cross the bridge, but we should let everyone in the village know to keep to this side of the river for now. I’ll let you know if we need to send a message to the Adventures guild.”

Adventures guild, river goddess, moon shrine? With Avalon Online having none of those I hesitated to ask so as not to sound insane or at least bring up questions I had no way to answer.

After the constable departed, the mayor and his wife spoke with me for a few more minutes, and although both were sympathetic to my plight, they were unsure what to do. Waymond did offer to send a letter to the Guild, as the mages might have some idea of what happened.

How I came to this place, or why? I still had no clue. But at least for the moment, I felt safe.