Chapter 4: Avalanche!

Hold on, Chastity. Don’t be hasty, she cautioned herself. Whatever this is, it seems to be voice activated. When I said ‘Paladin’ back in the secret passage I obviously selected something and I didn’t have the option to go back. I need to watch my tongue. Like that old WWII poster in grandmother’s attic says, ‘loose lips sink ships.’

Chastity slipped the leather glove back on and tried to concentrate, ignoring the fact that she had appeared out of nowhere on top of a freezing mountain that looked as if it had been painted by Thomas Kinkade by way of Peach Momoko.

I am supposed to choose one of these options. Level 1 Paladin Ability–it sounds just like a videogame. That was always more of Charity’s department. What would Little Sis do? Is she standing over my comatose body right now, playing her Steam Deck? Are the sounds of her gaming interacting with my oxygen-starved brain to create these vivid dreams?

I am so out of my element. Focus points? Ability levels? Creatures? Okay, approach this as a contest. Or a puzzle to solve. You want to win the contest, Chastity. You want to pass the test. That’s what this all felt like back in the passage. Some kind of fantasy videogame test.

So then, if I was inside a game, wouldn’t it be better to be able to detect Evil? Good isn’t going to hurt me; Good isn’t a threat. The wise choice would be–

“Detect Evil.”

Ding!

[1 Ability Point Spent]

[You Gained a New Ability - Detect Evil]

Mercifully, the text box vanished. Chastity breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the vapor of her exhalation in the cold air.

Interesting. It seems that unlike the world I come from, where morality is viewed as relative, this world believes in an objective difference between Good and Evil.

Chastity smiled at the thought, remembering the countless hours she spent badgering the Professor with philosophical questions after class.

Oh no–Professor!

The reality of the situation came flooding back to her. Damien Tahquitz, back on campus years after his expulsion–on the day of her graduation, no less. That was clearly not by accident. He was armed and screaming threats of revenge. Chastity had to get back and help the Professor. No matter what.

Dropping her bundle of javelins in the snow, Chastity went to the cave entrance. She gripped the rocks on either side and looked in. All she could see was darkness. As her gloved hand brushed ice and snow off one of the rocks, she noticed an engraving. There was a strange symbol carved into a stone. It looked like a stylized X, with one line stretching out like a comet’s tail. Perhaps it wasn’t an X at all, but some kind of pictograph.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Ignoring the symbol, Chastity ducked into the cave. It was very narrow, and her chainmail armor made it hard to squeeze through.

Ugh, how is this possible? How is it narrower going in than coming out?

And soon she came to a dead end. She could barely see a thing but there was clearly an alcove of impenetrable stone. No matter how long she felt and prodded, there was no way to go any further into the cave.

“A one way trip,” she muttered, finally giving up and squeezing out of the cave again.

This world certainly doesn’t look real and, rationally, it can’t be real. But it FEELS real. The cold against my skin, the air in my lungs, the sound of the wind across the mountain. How can I explain that away?

Chastity began enumerating the points of evidence on her fingers, a habit she often engaged in when having an internal dialogue.

Let’s see–I have no history of psychosis. I have never abused any hallucinogenic drugs. There have been no warning signs of a brain tumor–no unexplained headaches, vision problems, or seizures. My grandfather died from a brain tumor before I was born. Grandma said he started dropping things for no reason–a pencil he was holding, a coffee cup, a plate with a sandwich. Then came memory and speech problems.

Until I find evidence to the contrary, I need to deal with the here and now–wherever here, and whenever now, is.

Chastity plucked the bundle of javelins out of the snow and cautiously walked toward the edge of the mountain. It was a steep, sloping plunge down the side, dotted with evergreen trees and exposed stone between heavy patches of snow.

There MIGHT be a way to climb down, slowly and carefully. If I had a snowboard I could pretend it was a double-black diamond run. Alas…

Light flakes drifted from the gray clouds, sticking to her long strands of golden yellow hair. Something caught her eye.

Wait! There in the distance. Is that a puff of gray smoke? Beyond those trees. Could there be civilization in that direct–

Chastity’s foot slipped on a patch of ice and she tumbled off the side of the mountain.

“No-no-no-no-no!”

She desperately tried to grab for any handholds as she plummeted, but her metal armor skidded right over the slick icy crust. All around her it was as if the mountain had awoken. A fine dusting of snow dislodged above her, dancing under the gray skies. Then–a fissure spiderwebbed across the slope. A vibrating groan sounded as if from the belly of a rock giant. Soon a wave of cascading snow poured down in an unstoppable surge.

Ancient rocks dislodged. Branches snapped. And Chastity was hurled even faster. She jammed her javelins into the falling snow and ice but found no purchase. Her body bumped and bounced roughly off the hard slope and she shifted her weight to narrowly avoid crashing into a tree, pointing downwards with both feet.

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

At the base of the mountain she slammed into a snowbank. Instantly, the crush of powder and wintry slush fell upon her, burying her several feet under.

[-15 Life Points]

At last, the rumbling ceased, and an eerie silence settled over the land.

A notification chimed and a new text box appeared in Chastity’s blurry field of vision.

Ding!

[New Location Discovered]

[Silfurfast Woodlands]

[You Have Gained Experience]

But Chastity did not notice, as she had lost consciousness.