One thing about my life over the past few days—it was never boring. So, what the hell is going on now?

I get up and look closely at Elara. She’s paused mid-stroke of Misty, who is also looking at me quizzically. Misty slips out from under Elara’s hand and looks at her, then at me, then back at her.

“No idea, girl,” I say to the cat.

“Ahem,” a small cough behind me nearly makes me jump out of my damn skin. I whirl around, my sword already half out of its sheath, to see, still dressed immaculately in her business suit—Menolly.

“What the goddamn hell are you doing here, and what is this?” I wave my hand wildly about at the still world around me, forgetting I still have a sword in my grasp. She leans back to avoid the blade and frowns at it.

“Oh, yeah.” I re-sheathe the blade. “Well, you made me jump.”

“May I sit?” she asks, and a chair just…appears. A basic wooden kitchen chair. Like, what? I shake my head.

‘Okay, Del, there’s no point in trying to make sense of this woman.’ I sigh. “Sure, why not,” and I sit on my log seat, looking at her. “So, what the heck is this all about, lady?”

After a moment of observing me, the camp, the dead bodies now with a small collection of motionless flies, and finally Elara, she speaks.

“This is the start of your first major cuvat, according to the Overmind. And it was felt it was better to give you the details in person rather than as a message on your info screen.” Her voice is the same gentle but authoritative tone as before. “So, I was sent.”

“Fair enough,” I reply. “But why the dramatics?” I wave my hand once again at the frozen world around us.

“You have been stepped outside time before, so it’s a known situation for you. You’ve interacted with me before, so the same logic applies. This was the most efficient process and causes the least disruption.”

“Alright, so spill. What's this cuvat thing, and why dump it on me right now?”

She leans towards me slightly.

“As you are aware, your primary task, or cuvat, is to survive. The Overmind is continuously assessing your adaptability as a representative of your species as a whole.”

I nod. “Yeah, BB is watching me,” I say sardonically.

A momentary frown crosses her face. “Indeed. Well, this new cuvat involves, to a certain extent, Elara.” I turn to look at the young elf, then back to Menolly.

“Terras is a continuously evolving world with many dynamics affecting it—especially true in Gondowa. Exactly as it will be when it progresses through the eons to the rise and dominance of your own civilization, tensions exist now, particularly between the different species that call this period home.”

“How many different species are there at this time?” I ask her.

“The four main sapient races who have a developed societal structure are humans, elves, dwarves, and gnomes. There are other small groups and species of limited sentience that are mostly disorganized; goblins are one such.” She pauses thoughtfully before continuing. “This is background information but something you should be aware of if you don’t want to stand out too much. The main point of this intervention is to stop what you were about to do.”

“What do you mean, Menolly? I wasn’t about to do anything.” I feel a touch of anger inside and quickly quell it.

“You cannot tell Elara, or anyone, about where you’re from or why you’re here. That is of paramount importance. If you do, it will have a major impact on your primary cuvat and likely cost you your life.”

I look at her, slightly stunned. “So, what the hell am I supposed to tell them? It’s going to be pretty damned obvious I’m not from around here.”

“May I?” she asks, then places her hand on my head. I feel a rush of information, too fast to properly examine.

“This is the Isle of Starnd. The place doesn’t exist, so you won’t meet anyone else from there. But anyone you tell of it will have either heard of it or accept what you say as real.” She smiles. “This way, you have a background that cannot be checked or challenged but will also explain your lack of knowledge about the world at large.”

I do a quick mental review. It could work—better than what I had before, which was nothing.

Menolly looks over at Elara.

“Your cuvat is to help her. How you do that is up to you, but she is in more danger than even she realizes, and her story has yet to unfold. It is potentially something that could affect the entire dynamic of life in Gondowa or simply lead to a life of quiet reflection and magical experimentation.”

I look at Elara, then back to Menolly.

“And that’s it? Nothing more, no hints or clues as to what the actual fuck I’m supposed to do to help her?”

Menolly stands, and as she smiles, the chair vanishes beneath her.

“Good luck, Del. You’ll be fine.” And without another word, she vanishes, and the world spins back into motion.

Elara looks puzzled for a moment, then Misty jumps back into her lap, resuming acceptance of the elf’s attention.

“I’m a bit new here myself,” I answer her question, picking up where things left off before Menolly’s interruption ‘This is damned weird, Del—no time has passed for her, yet I just had a whole conversation with that damn cybo-whatever she is.’

“Like you, I’m searching for my proper path, and this is my first time in Gondowa.” I shrug.

“I’m from a small island in the Western Sea. There aren’t many of us there, no elves or dwarves or anything else. Just a half-dozen human families living the quiet life. I wasn’t happy and felt I needed more, so here I am. I’ve only been on the mainland a few days and already had a few things try to kill me.”

I chuckle. “Before I came here, the most dangerous thing I had to tackle was an angry bee when I tried to steal its honey.”

She laughs at that and glances at the dead goblin by the camp. “I’m glad your pest control skills have improved.”

“So, what now, Elara?” I ask. “What are your plans? I don’t have anything much in mind for myself, so if you want company, I’m more than happy to join up with you and see where the road takes us.”

“Well…” She thinks. “I need to get to a city eventually if I’m going to find a master mage. But I’m not exactly sure where, as I’m like you.” She starts to wipe the pork grease from her fingers, Misty helping to lick up the juice where she can. “Maybe I haven’t been quite so isolated from the realities of the land, but it’s my first time escaping the protection of the Hometree.”

“Escaping?” I ask.

“Parents and other elders can be so restricting—don’t do this, don’t do that.” She pouts. “Maybe ‘escape’ is a bit strong, but it was certainly a relief to get out from under their constant gaze.”

“Fair comment,” I say. “I never had children, but I saw friends with theirs.”

“It’s never too late,” she responds, and I laugh somewhat ironically.

“I passed 50 a way back, and nobody would be fool enough to want to continue my line.”

“Fifty is not old,” she says, “even for you short-lived humans.” There’s a mix of humor and challenge in her voice.

‘Ahh, the joys of youth,’ I ruefully smile.

Getting more practical, I start to clear up the site and put out the fire.

“It won’t be safe to stay here too long,” I say. “Do you have any idea what they did with your gear after they caught you?”

“I wish,” she answers. “They were on the move pretty much continuously, and I couldn’t see anything. Sometimes I could hear the river, but not always.” She gives a little shrug. “I have to assume my stuff is gone.”

“Can you use a sword? A knife, a bow?” I ask. “You said you were a mage; what combat spells do you know? I just want to be ready if, and when, we meet anything that’s out there.”

She ponders. “I can use a bow—elves tend to be good with bows. And a knife. As for spells, I can make a plant grow, a bit. But that’s about all.” She looks down and, in a quiet voice, adds, “I guess I’m pretty useless, all things considered.”

“Hey,” I say, using a finger to gently lift her chin. “Can you teach me to use a bow? I know the basics, but hitting anything has been far more luck than skill. And I’d love to see you make something grow—that could be really useful.” I wonder if we find any unripe edible plants, could she speed up that process and get us useful food?

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“Shall we head out, then?” I ask. “Let’s keep our eyes out for a good spot to maybe practice with the bow.” I send Misty off to continue scouting ahead as we head downstream, staying alert and quiet. Elara is now equipped with the bow and one of the spare knives, while I have a knife and two swords.

‘All you need, Del, is a patch and a parrot, and you could be a pirate.’ I chuckle inwardly. ‘Ooo Arr lad, pieces of fekkin’ eight.’

Fortunately, we only see the occasional rabbit-like thing. ‘Are rabbits supposed to have pointy teeth and eat mice?’ and nothing really big enough to cause us any trepidation.

After a couple of hours, we find Misty doing her due diligence with her personal grooming while sunning on the riverbank. Opposite is a tall, clear mud bank rising up from a small sand spit. Almost perfect for practising archery and damn close to what I’d asked Misty to look out for.

‘Damn cat understands more than I give her credit for,’ I think as I go to give her a scratch behind her ear.

“Good girl, Misty, you did good.” She looks up at me as loud purrs start to rise from her. She blinks at me slowly and then goes back to her grooming. I grab a stick and, kicking off my boots, wade across the river to draw a round target in the mud, along with a small misshaped blob that’ll stand in for a goblin.

Once I’m back with Elara, I ask for the bow.

“Now then, let me show you just how bad I am.”

“You hit the goblins,” she says, slightly puzzled.

“I assure you, that was more a mix of fear, and a huge amount of luck.”

She watches as I fire off half a dozen arrows, missing five and barely hitting the circle target I was aiming for once.

“I agree,” she says as the last one lands. With a small laugh, she adds, “I thank you for having the luck to save my life.”

“Ah now, Elara,” I answer. “It wasn’t just luck; I also had my secret ginger weapon.” Misty gives us both a look that speaks volumes. I retrieve the arrows, and we continue, this time with Elara offering snippets of advice.

“Relax your shoulders, stop fighting the bow.”

“There, see how it stops wavering so much.”

“Control your breathing—slow breaths lower your heart rate and stop the bow trembling at full pull.”

And as the afternoon wears on, I do improve. I begin to hit the round target more than I miss, and then the blob goblin starts to take abuse as she teaches me to be more specific in my aim. As the light starts to fade, I hear my second…

[Archery Skill has Increased slightly]

We decide it’s time to stop and find somewhere for our evening camp. I head for the last time across the stream to collect my spent arrows, sending Misty off to search for a safe campsite—maybe a cave or a big tree we could climb.

All in all, it’s been a good session, and I feel I’ve accomplished a lot. With only the loss of two arrows, it’s more than pleasing. Misty soon returns and leads us to a clump of almost impenetrable thorn brush, with a narrow, hard-to-spot path leading to an open centre.

“We won’t risk a fire, but it should be warm and safe enough without,” I say.

Elara agrees, then goes to the narrow entrance and touches a stem on either side. In my gut, I feel something I can’t quite describe—almost a warmth and a tingle. I look at where she’s standing, eyes closed in concentration, and see the stems and branches start to emit a soft green glow. They begin to move and grow, closing off the entryway as if it had never existed.

“Wow,” I breathe softly.

Despite my interactions with the otherworldly Menolly and all the strange things I’ve experienced over the past few days, this is magical—real magic, I have no doubt.

Elara opens her eyes and looks up at me shyly. “It's just a simple spell, but it should help us stay safe overnight.”

“That was incredible,” I say in a hoarse whisper.

She gives a little tinkling laugh. “Anyone would think you had never seen a casting before.”

I shake my head, still in wonder. “I haven’t,” I say. “Where I’m from, we have a few tricksters and illusionists, but no real magic. That was my first time seeing and experiencing it.”

“Oh!” she sounds surprised. “Well, trust me, that was very minor. As we get to more populated places, you’ll see far stronger magics and wizards than anything I can do.”

We make small talk as we set up camp. She tells me tales of her childhood, and I listen in rapt attention to her stories of growing up high in the crown of the hometree. It appears the hometree is a massive tree with multiple trunks, all interconnected with walkways and paths. Homes are grown into the trunks and from the bigger branches. It sounds like an amazing place to see. Few outside the elves get to go there, as it’s heavily protected with both guards and magical defenses. The elves who continue to live in the old way tend to be very reclusive and insular, unlike the elves who have left that life to live in towns and cities across Gondowa.

I can see Elara is getting sleepy, so I suggest it’s time for bed. With a yawn, she agrees and settles down. Soon, gentle, soft snores rise from her.

I lay back and use my pack for a pillow. A thought strikes me, and I call up my log.

Sure enough, there it is, with a blinking blue icon beside it:

[Congratulations, you have enough experience to level up. Would you like to level up now?]

With everything that had happened, I’d completely forgotten.

‘Yes.’

My stat sheet opens up, and a notice tells me I have 2 points to assign to my stats. Thinking over recent events, I assign points to Strength and Dexterity.

Another notice tells me that Archery is now level 3, and I’ve gained a special attack, Archery Mastery.

Not bad, I think; all that practice has paid off.

I also see Misty has leveled up. Good for her. It seems she placed her points into Intelligence. Maybe that’s why we’ve started to understand each other better, I think with a smile.

‘Though I’m sure she’d say the problem of understanding was all me, as cats understand everything.’ I smile, give her a head scratch, and then look properly at our stat sheets.

Name: Del Axholm

Level: 2

Path: Archer

Health: 24

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 17

Stamina: 16

Intelligence: 11

Wisdom: 12

Mana: 11

Spirit: 12

Agility: 19

Presence: 10

Animal Companion: Misty; feline

Skills:

Archery lvl 3 – Able to use all manner of handheld bows and crossbows

Woodcraft lvl 2 – Basic survival skills in wooded areas. Can safely make fires and create crude shelters.

Tracking lvl 1 – Can find and follow obvious tracks or blood trails.

Traps lvl 1 – Can make basic snares and pit traps.

Sneak lvl 2 – Able to hide in available cover. Movement increases the risk of being seen or heard.

Herbalism lvl 2 – Can identify and gather basic herbs.

Skinning lvl 1 – Can manage to crudely strip the skin from a carcass.

Attacks:

Bow lvl 3 – Simple Shot.

Sword lvl 1 – Cut, thrust.

Dagger lvl 1 – Stab, Slash.

Special Attacks:

Bow:

Sneak attack lvl 1 – Doubles damage

Master Archer lvl 1– Cost 1 Stamina: Increased damage and chance of critical hit.

Dagger:

Backstab lvl 1 – Double damage.

Name: Misty

Level: 2

Path: Feline Companion

Health: 30

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 18

Stamina: 13

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 6

Mana: 6

Spirit: 6

Agility: 20

Presence: 12

Skills:

Charm lvl 2 – Can influence the attitude of someone in eye contact with her.

Attacks:

Claw lvl 2 – Attack with front claws.

Rake lvl 1– Double rear leg attack.

Bite lvl 1 – Its teeth all the way.

Special Attacks:

Pounce lvl 2 – Can be used with any or all of the standard attacks. Double damage, with a small chance to cause target to stumble.

Sneak Pounce lvl 1 – As above; Triple damage.