Chapter Two:

Most of the threats In my life were from my student loan servicer.

“Whoa there!”

A deep male voice echoed through the rocky valley. I was still in mid breakdown when the man’s voice thundered over me. I gripped the axe and sprang to my feet, a surge of borrowed strength filling me. My mind was racing with all kinds of stinkin’ thinkin’ as I tried to puff myself up and look intimidating. The streams of ugly tears and my snotty nose didn’t exactly help the look.

There were four of them. In the middle, towering well over six feet was another orc-like person. He was built more like a human with his limbs and torso looking more proportional, just big. He had light green skin and ape-like features. He held a long metal hammer which he grasped in both hands, and unlike the prairie orcs, he was fully clothed in leather armor, complete with a helmet with holes cut out for his long, pointed ears. He had dark green dreadlocks hanging out behind.

Next to him was a man in a navy-blue hooded robe, his hands were up in a wary pose, the fingers bent at odd angles. He looked wiry, with tight skin over veiny arms. I couldn’t see his face clearly since he had his hood up.

Behind them, a young woman with a bow drawn and the same kind of armor as the orc stood, her eyes leveled at me. She had a strange face, elongated with a wide mouth and very pronounced chin. She had chestnut colored skin and a crazy curly head of hair and a crown that looked like horns.

The last figure was another robed woman, leaning casually on a large staff. Her silvery-grey robes flowed around her like a dress, accentuating her curves and generous bust. Her golden curly hair cascaded halfway down her back, catching the light against the soft fabric.

“It’s okay.” The orc said. “We have business down this road and are just walking by.” Despite his size and appearance, his voice was mellow and sophisticated like a documentary narrator. It was strange.

“Stay the fuck back!” I yelled. I felt the words come out of me. But the feeling was distant, the rush of blood to my face and the shaking of my hands couldn’t be stopped. “This has been a fucked-up day!” I bellowed, tears welling in my eyes again.

“We are just walking by.” The orc repeated. He lifted his massive hammer and slipped it over his shoulder into a strap that held it. “We have a quest in the village about a mile down the road.” He took a tentative step forward, his hands up.

“Yeah,” I panted, the energy revving up in me. I was getting ready to flee or fight, but the archer made me nervous. “I have a quest too.”

“Ah shit,” the robed man said, lowering his hands. “She’s got the axe.” His voice was raspy, and he sounded like a British gangster on TV.

“A lot of parties were on it.” The orc said. “You got there first. It’s okay. We’re not gonna break the rules for some gold.”

“Did the words give you the quest?

“What?”

“The floating words. My quest is to survive. It’s still ticking down.”

“Hang on Kev,” the robed man said to the orc. He then turned to me and stepped forward. “Oi, you said it was a timed quest? 'Ow long was it for, then?”

“An hour and forty-some minutes.”

“Ah Hells.” The robed man said. He took another step. “How much time you got left?”

“Fifty-three minutes.”

“Alright, love, here's the deal: we'll lend a hand with your quest, you do the same for us, sound good?”

“Um sure.”

He turned around to the rest of his party. “We gotta sort out them orcs in that village in the next fifty minutes, alright?”

“Why?” asked the archer.

“She's like me, but she's a bit fresher.”

There was a moment with the group of three looked at each other in silence. The pretty one with the staff still looked on largely with indifference.

“Okay then,” the orc said after the moment was over. He pulled the large hammer out again and gave a couple of test swings. “We’ll take care of the orcs, and you can give us the axe.”

“No, Kev,” said the hooded man. “She gets a cut, but not a whole. Judging by the look of it, she's already taken down one, so she's earned her bit.”

“Fine,” the Orc said. He nodded his head and locked eyes on me. “We help you out, you hand over the axe and we will give you a half share of the reward when we return it. You agree to the terms?”

“Let me hang on to it until we’re done, it helps me run better. Then you can have it, I guess.”

“Works for me, love.” The robed man said. “I'm Jinx, this big fella's Kev, and them two birds over there are Heather and Gem.” The archer girl lowered her bow down. I didn’t realize how much tension that thing caused me while pointed in my direction.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Before you say anything else, here's a tip for ya. You gotta guard your identity on the road. This ain't Earth, love, you’re on Nya now. Dishing out your real name here can land you in a world of bother. So, get used to playing it close to the vest. Now, what do we call ya?”

“Regan,” I answered. Then I thought for a second. I already blurted out my first name. Shit. “Regan Moon. And you obviously haven’t been to earth in a while.”

“Listen, Regan Moon, I don’t look it, but I came here the same way as you. Right now you need to fall in with us. I’ve been in yer shoes, you and me, come from the same place.”

The group immediately broke into a light jog, and I joined in next to them.

“I'm sure you're proper confused. We'll look after ya, don't worry.”

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on.” I was still not breathless from the jog. The axe was amazing. “There’s orcs and shit.”

“Hey,” Kev said. “We aren’t all the same.” He looked at me, seeming a bit offended.

“I mean orcs and magic and crazy fucking things. He almost fucking killed me.”

“You say fuck a lot.” Kev the orc said.

“Yes, I say fuck a lot!” I bellowed. “You’d say fuck a lot if you, I don’t know, woke up someplace and had…weird stuff be real.”

“Don't fret,” Jinx said. “It'll all click into place soon. For now, let's get you somewhere safe. Then, you'll meet The Whisperer.” He smiled at me. He was actually pretty young even though he sounded like an old sailor. His face looked alien with pointed ears and bright purple eyes. He had no facial hair, or any hair at all actually. His cheekbones were high and sharp and had a roman nose that didn’t seem to stop. “There ain't much point tryin' to explain things right now. It'll only make things more bafflin'.”

“I guess that explains the bizarre outfit.” The archer girl said. “She’s a rifter.”

“Not now,” Kev said, waving her off. “Like Jinx mentioned, bringing it up now is just going to confuse everyone, and we’re on a tight schedule here.”

Honestly, I had no clue what I was doing, running straight back into danger. It was a dumb move, no question. My mom would never use the “S” word, but she got creative with her disapproval when I told her I was majoring in Art History.

We jogged along in an awkward silence. The pretty girl in the robes followed orders without a peep, her face blank as a slate. The archer, Gem, kept giving me sideways glances as we went. I’d only been running for about ten minutes when I stumbled across this group, but we were making good time heading back.

Gem sidled up next to me. “Where are you from?” She had a deep sultry voice with a melodic tone about it. When I first saw her, I was in a state of absolute panic. But looking at her again, I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or not.

At first, I mistook her for human, or whatever it was Jinx was. With I don’t know, long ears and, like, adornments? But up close, her appearance was far more alien than I could have imagined. Her large, dark, deer-like eyes had huge irises that just pulled me in. What I thought was a crown or head dress, was actually a small set of caribou-like antlers with three slight points that protruded off of each one. She had smooth, chestnut skin with varying light and dark tones that framed her deer-like appearance. She had wide cheekbones, a long chin, and an upturned nose that gave her an otherworldly grace. Her extra long ears were adorned with wood and gold rings. Her beautiful, frightening face was framed by thick untamed, dark curls. She was broad-shouldered, muscular, and her bare arms were covered in tattoos of leaves and flowers that wrapped around her skin like vines. She wore a leather corset and breastplate over a superheroine body, but below her waist, her legs transformed into powerful, fur-covered haunches, ending in graceful cloven hooves. Yeah, I said hooves, like that guy from Narnia? And whipping around her body, was a fur tipped tail, yeah, like four feet long or so.

“Denver.”

“Where’s that?”

“It’s a city in Colorado next to the mountains.”

“Is that in England?” She looked at me, her eyes supernaturally wide with curiosity. “Jinx says he’s from a place called England.”

“No,” I said. “It’s in the United States. It’s on the other side of the ocean from England.”

“I wasn’t sure if Jinx was full of shit or not.” She smiled, her wide mouth stretching almost impossibly across her face. Her lips and grinning teeth seemed to go on for miles—larger than any human’s. With her otherworldly features, she was strangely captivating. You’d think someone who looked so alien wouldn’t be alluring, but somehow, the mix of the unfamiliar and the human just… worked. At least for me. I found myself wondering about her tongue, if it was long, like a deer’s tongue. Ugh, gross, Regan!

“I guess he isn’t about that at least. I come from Muilvyrn. It’s a village in North Lulved.” She extended her hand to me. “Gem.”

“Regan.” I took her hand and shook awkwardly. “And I have no idea where Lulved or anywhere in the world is.”

“I like your hat.”

“Thanks.”

QUEST UPDATE:

SURVIVE

You no longer have time to flee the area and survive. Success now lies in fighting the Orcs. But you have allies and a weapon that puts the odds of success highly in your favor.

We kept our pace and moved up the side of the hill next to the village, careful to stay out of sight. At the top, we silently ducked down behind the rocks as Jinx, Kev and Gem looked down.

“How many of them did you see?” Kev asked. I moved over next to him and poked my head over the boulder we were using for cover. Looking down from the face of the hill, I could see the orcs had returned to the village. The body of the dead was already dragged off somewhere, and strangely enough, the entire group seemed to have moved on as though nothing had happened.

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“Seven that I saw. I killed one with the axe.”

“I count six,” Jinx said. “So, you're spot on, then.”

“I can hit the three on the right in two seconds.” Gem said. “You put hits on the others, and I’ll make sure they go down.”

“You got this?” Kev asked me. “You need to hit one hard, and then back off. That’s all you have to do. We need to make sure he’s focused on you so Gem’s arrow will be more powerful.”

I clutched the axe to my chest and nodded, probably looking like a deer caught in headlights. There was a lump in my throat the size of a boulder, and I was shocked I could say anything at all. Terrified didn’t even cover it. You got this? Really?

“Oh yeah, I’m totally used to hacking down orcs with my Gimli axe,” I muttered. Jinx snorted at that, apparently the only one who caught the reference. Cracking a joke helped calm the nerves, but mostly, it just made me look ridiculous in front of the fantasy world people.

“What about her?” I asked, nodding toward Heather, who was still just leaning on her staff, looking about as interested as if we were discussing the weather.

“I don’t take lives, rifter.” She sneered at me, throwing off wicked mean girl vibes.

“She’s here to heal,” Kev said. “This is on us.”

I just gave out a weak, stupid laugh. A well of anxiety rose up inside me. “I got it. One hit, back off”

“It ain’t easy.” Jinx said. “First few times, that's for sure, but it's what we gotta do.”

“Okay,” Kev said. “The three of us will move down and get into position on the left. Use the rocks for cover.” He paused for a second. “What’s your name?”

“For fuck’s sake Kev,” Gem said, pulling her bow out, along with three arrows. “Her name’s Regan.”

“Sorry,” Kev said slipping down the side of the hill silently. “Regan, you signal Gem when you’re ready.”

“How?”

“Just raise your axe over your head.” Gem said.

“I can do that.”

The three of us cautiously made our way down. Jinx and Kev, obviously more experienced, at all things murder, slipped between and behind the rocks with ease. I tried my best to keep up, but found I needed to be more careful with my footing to maintain a balance between speed and stealth.

Within moments, we reached the bottom, each taking cover behind a separate hut. Kev was stationed behind the middle one, Jinx on the far right, and I was on the left. From what I remembered, the orcs were gathered in the center, barely fazed by the death of their tribemate and back to their usual grunting and snorting in what I could only call pig-speak.

I moved to the corner of the hut and crept along its side. I couldn’t see Jinx or Kev, but I spotted Gem in position, watching from her perch. Taking a deep breath, I raised the axe over my head.

Time seemed to crawl. I darted around the corner, the axe was up, ready to strike. The orcs were all focused on the fire. The arrows flew. Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! True to her word, Gem hit three of the orcs in the back of their heads.

As the three fell, the others all turned to face them. It was a perfect distraction. I raced forward and screamed as I slammed the axe down on the closest one. It embedded into the back of the orc’s neck. I scrambled back, the blade popping out with a tug and a spray of blood. He started to turn, when Thwip! Another of Jen’s arrows slammed through his temple. The creature fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. That was two creatures that I had killed. The second time was with help, but still, dead was dead.

I looked at Kev as he swung his hammer, first to the orc’s knee, and as he collapsed in pain, Kev swung it again, bringing it down on the beast’s head. The hammer crushed the skull like a melon, splattering what little brain the poor thing had all over the ground, while the skull fragments bounced off the walls of the nearest hut.

Jinx charged into the fight unarmed, his hands raised like when I first met him, fingers twisted into strange, intricate shapes. He suddenly stopped and lightning erupted from his hands. I gasped as the orc jolted and convulsed under the attack, stumbling before collapsing to the ground, twitching and squealing as Jinx’s personal lightning storm consumed him and burned the skin off his body. Within seconds, he stopped moving, his face frozen in a final, silent scream.

It was terrifying. But so fucking metal.

A loud whoop echoed from the top of the hill as Gem cheered in victory. The realization hit me: she’d only fired one arrow, and it was at the one I attacked. Fuck! She let the others handle their own kills. A twinge of irritation flared up, and I could feel my face heating up. They didn’t trust me.

I crossed over to examine the one I’d hit. There was a small arrow lodged in his temple, but I’d practically split the entire back of his head open with that axe. No way he wasn’t already dead or dying before Gem’s arrow landed.

I mean, come on, I was a chubby girl living in my parents' basement. I wasn't strong; I definitely wasn't brave. But I’d stood up, gone back, and fought when I knew how dangerous those things were. I’d done something I never thought I could. So yeah, maybe I was a bit pissed they didn’t think I could pull it off. But considering I was the girl who struggled with mayonnaise jars at home... well, couldn’t exactly blame them, could I?

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me, and I bent over. There wasn’t much left in my stomach to lose, but what I had was sprayed all over the ground by the orc. This was wrong, wrong in all ways. It passed, but only after I turned away from the carnage.

“Sweep the village.” Kev ordered after things settled down. “Make sure there aren’t any more.”

QUEST UPDATE:

SURVIVE

All orcs are dead. You have managed to eliminate the threat with the help of magical gear and allies. Find a safe location and wait for the timer to run down. Good job, hitting above your weight.

“They’re all dead.” I groaned. The nausea was gone, but it felt like it could come back at any second. “My quest just updated.” My quest clock continued to count down. Now at twenty-three minutes.

“I’m just gonna make sure.” Kev said, marching off to check the huts and barn.

HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETED:

KILL THE PRAIRIE ORCS

A band of prairie orcs have been terrorizing travelers along the imperial highway. Eliminate the threat.

REWARDS:

XP

700GP, shared among combatants.

A sack of coins, much larger than the one that landed on me earlier, bounced painfully off my head and onto the ground. I was too surprised to say anything.

Kev and Jinx paused for a moment, I assume they were reading the notification; however, they did not get pelted with bags of metal.

“Oh, Hells Yeah!” Gem came bounding down the hill at full speed. She bounced from rock to rock on her cloven feet, springing into the air higher than I’d ever seen anyone had in my entire life. As she bounced, her tail waved back and forth, working as a counterbalance as she flew through the air at seemingly impossible angles. With striking features, awesome bod and the whole Narnia thing she was rocking, she reminded me of one of those freaky Cirque Du Soleil acts.

“You were great, Rifter!” She landed with a thud two feet from me and threw her arms around me. I dropped the axe, and my strength just melted away, but she held me up in a tight hug, almost lifting me off my feet. She smelled like a cross between a wild animal and how you would expect a super model to smell. I had mixed feelings.

I felt disgusting, however, I was caked in orc blood. My clothes practically falling off me from the saturation, and she was flinging her arms around me like it was not even a problem. She kissed my gross messy cheek and stepped back, a massive smile on her face.

“Sorry I’m so gross.” I wrinkled my nose. Feeling stupid.

“You wield an axe, you’re gonna get messy. Don’t worry about it. You keep cutting them down like that and you’ll be okay.”

“I don’t know...”

“You were scared, but you went back in.” Gem was bouncing on her feet, the excitement still rushing through her. “That’s not something most people do. So, chin up.” She gripped excitedly at the bag in my hands. “You want me to hold that for you?”

“Uh, yeah, sure I guess.” I was still a little dazed, but I let her grab the bag and it disappeared with a little Schwoop!

“We’ll get you a pack after you finish your quest.”

“Sounds great.” I was still feeling a little numb. Killing was a thing here. It was something that I would have to deal with. I glanced back at the bodies. Shot, burned, chopped and smashed. Fuck me.

“You never offed anything before?” Jinx asked, coming up to me.

“No,” I picked up the axe. “Most of the threats In my life were from my student loan servicer.” The notification said I was clear, but I was expecting something else to happen. Like, I don’t know, another thousand orcs or so, an evil white wizard and a nasty little creature that just wanted to steal my shit and toss me into a lava flow.

“Where we're from, love,” he said. “We don't deal with this kinda stuff. It's proper tough.”

“Sure. Proper tough.” I handed the axe to Jinx. He took it and the strength left my body again. Gravity weighed down, and I almost buckled in front of him. “What is this fucking place.”

“It's like a whole other world, innit? People like us just end up here somehow.” He pushed his hood back and smiled.

“But what is it?”

“It's a place called Nya. Kinda like Earth, but it's packed with magic.”

“But why am I here?”

“Dunno, love. I ain't got a clue why I'm 'ere neither.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “But there's loads of us, folks from Earth, you know? We came through the rift, and now 'ere we are.”

“What’s the rift?”

“How much time do you have left, love?”

“Twenty-two minutes.”

“In twenty-three minutes, you'll find out. Hey, not a big genius you’re talking to, just been around longer.”

“Okay,” I said. “Come here.”

I gestured for Jinx to follow, and I led him to the barn. I yanked the cross beam up and pulled open the door. Still sitting in the middle facing the open doorway was my seat, now the home of a very contented looking chicken.

“Holy Shite!” He erupted in a croaking laugh, leaving me standing there, feeling like an idiot for half a minute. It worked his way through his system before he stopped. I found his amusement the worst. “Bit cramped for an airplane seat, innit?”

“I wish. You’re from London, but airplane seats have been tiny forever.”

“I only flew on a plane once, way back in ‘93, off to Australia for the FIFA World Cup. Uncle won a trip and took me with ‘em. Seats weren't nearly that tight, I tell ya.”

“How long have you been here?

“Five years, love. 1997, that's when I landed 'ere.”

“Shit, are you sure? It’s 2025 where I come from.”

“Heard rifters drop in from all sorts of times into Nya. But blimey, that's a proper long time from now.”

“You’re taking this well.”

“None of this is news to me, love,” he said. “This world's way more interestin' than what I left behind. Fer the record, I was right pissed at Victoria Station, sittin' on a bench waitin' for me train. Next thing I know, I’m flat on me arse in the middle of a bleedin’ forest full o’ talkin’ rats. Least you got to keep yer chair!”

He reached into his robe, and despite the obvious violations of the law of physics, produced a full-sized blanket. “Right then, love, 'ave a seat or lie down. If ya don't, you'll just end up toppin' over anyway. This way, you can just relax and let things 'appen the way they're supposed to.” He spread it out on the ground. “You might wanna strip off them clothes. I'll 'ave a look and see if Gem 'as got anythin' you can chuck on instead.”

“How did you know I was a rifter?”

“The quest.” Jinx said. “It takes one hour and forty-seven minutes for the magic from Nya to infuse your body, and then, would ya believe it, you go through a magical evolution.” He dipped out the door, Leaving me standing in the barn.

With nothing else to do, I plopped down on the blanket. A moment later, Gem walked in, carrying a small bundle of clothes under her arm.

“Hey,” she said. “Jinx said you needed something to wear.”

“I’m already wearing something.”

“Yeah, but your body might change shape, so you’ll need self-adjusting clothes.” She tossed the bundle onto the blanket in front of me. “I can’t wear pants without a hole for the…” She turned, and wiggled her butt, the tail swayed back and forth. “So go ahead and keep these if you want.”

“Why would my body change?”

“Magic infusion,” Gem said casually. “Rifters like you come from a world with no magic, and Nya is packed with it. Your body will adjust. I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve heard people can come out… pretty different from how they came in.” She gave me a quick once-over and smirked. “I hope you don’t change too much. You’re pretty cute as-is.”

My face went hot. “That’s… totally insane.”

“Well, it’s something to do with how living beings adapt to a big dose of magical essence.” She backed out of the room, waving it off. “It’ll be fine! Jinx says we should give you space for a few hours while it happens. Can’t wait to see how you turn out.” She tilted her head with a playful smile. “Hopefully not as an ogre or anything weird.”

Once she left, I stared after her, thinking, This is so messed up. I checked the door, then tried to wedge the broken planks back into place, though it barely helped. The barn was getting dark, and most of the animals had already settled down. I slipped off my shoes, jeans, and shirt, which were all covered in dark green orc blood anyway. Off came my underwear and beanie too. I half-expected the crew to burst in at any moment, yelling, “Gotcha!” like some kind of weird Animal House prank.

Gem had given me leather pants and a cotton tunic. I pulled them on, and although they were way too big at first, they magically shrank to fit perfectly. This place was seriously freaky. I lay back on the blanket and waited.

The timer ticked down:

00:00:05

00:00:04

00:00:03

00:00:02

00:00:01

00:00:00

QUEST COMPLETED:

SURVIVE

REWARDS:

SURVIVAL

UNLOCK THE WHISPERER

FINE LEATHER GLOVES

6GP

A small leather pouch landed on my lap with a little metallic clink, along with a pair of really nice leather gloves.