The troll turned slowly around to face Chuck, who stood frozen in fear. The party held their collective breath, not believing what was happening.

Then the monster roared.

It swung its massive fist at the archer and missed by mere inches as the armored form of Richard tackled him to the ground. A spear of stone impacted the lumbering troll’s head as he moved towards the two prone humans. Another spear, this one made of light, hit the same spot as the healer joined the fight, getting the troll’s attention as it turned towards the new attackers.

“RUN!” shouted Wyatt, as their offensive spells bounced harmlessly off the massive skull of their foe. “There’s the exit! Go!” He pointed towards a shaft of light against the wall near them. The entrance seemed to have collapsed, but at the top of the rubble that was in its place was a hole small enough for a human to squeeze through.

“Marlene, get the kids out,” shouted Richard as he stood and faced the massive troll. The mother wasted no time complying, as she herded her kids quickly across the room towards the opening. They began climbing the rock pile, while the rest did what they could to keep the troll’s attention.

“COME ON!” shouted the fighter in a voice laced with magic as he used his Taunt ability. It seemed to work, and the monster turned back at him. Chuck, arrow nocked and aimed at the troll, was beginning to cast what Wyatt assumed was his Charged Shot ability. Sure enough, he let loose, and a bright flash of light shot towards the beast, impacting its chest.

The troll took a step back at the small explosion on its chest but seemed otherwise unfazed by the attack. It advanced on Richard as Angela and Brad joined the fight striking from behind the beast. Angela thrust her rapier at the creature’s legs, but her sword bounced harmlessly to the side. Brad had better luck, as his axe struck its back and drew blood for the first time since the fight began. He shouted in rage and swung again but was struck by the creature’s massive hand as it turned towards him. He flew a few feet landing on his back but regained his feet quickly.

Wyatt was trying to help the younger mage climb the rock pile after his mother, who had already begun pushing the older girl through the opening.

“Get out of here,” shouted Richard at the others who were engaged with the troll. “We can’t beat this thing.”

Angela wasted no time in following his instructions, as she sheathed her rapier and turned towards the exit. Her ascent up the rocks was much more graceful than the others, owing to her higher agility score. Chuck hesitated briefly, but after another arrow bounced off the creature’s thick skin, he too made for the exit.

Brad, deep in his Rage ability, ignored the fighter. He rolled forward, avoiding another swing of the troll’s arm, and brought his axe up to strike the monster’s stomach. The ensuing cut was small, pitifully so, and he was forced to retreat as the troll lifted a leg to kick him.

He growled in frustration, but even he saw the futility of the fight. He made for the exit, picking up Margie with one arm on the way, and began to climb.

Richard attacked the troll again, trying desperately to keep its attention focused on him. It turned and aimed a fist directly at the fighter’s face.

“No,” Wyatt shouted, but watched as the large fist bounced off an invisible wall just inches from making contact. Wyatt turned and saw Isaac, hand raised and sweating profusely as he strained to hold his shield spell in place to save his father. Richard looked at the boy and smiled proudly, before redoubling his effort to distract the monster.

Brad, finally surmounting the rock pile, pushed the old woman through the opening before joining her. Isaac, mana spent after the creature sent another fist at his shield, dropped his hands. Wyatt pushed him back to the opening, and out to his mother’s waiting arms.

“That’s everyone, Richard,” Wyatt shouted, turning back towards the fight in time to see the fighter’s shield glow a bright orange. Richard pushed his shield into the stomach of the creature, knocking it off balance as he unleashed his Shield Bash ability. He turned and ran for the rocks.

The troll was not stunned long, and he chased after the fighter. Wyatt, not having any other choice, began casting his Daze spell, the two second casting time seemed like eternity as he watched the troll close the distance to Richard.

Finally, Wyatt pushed his hand forward and cast. The troll blinked momentarily but was not stunned.

“NO!” Wyatt shouted, feeling the flow of his mana increase. He refused to let this fail, not this close to getting everyone out of this cave. He felt his mana rush forward into the troll’s head, strengthening the effectiveness of his spell, and could feel a resistance begin to wear away in his target. Almost, he thought, as he felt the monster’s mental resistance close to snapping. He tried to force one last push of mana into his spell.

His mana ran out.

Wyatt had nothing else to put into the spell, and it failed, ending suddenly like a faucet had been turned off. The troll roared angrily and reached for the fighter, who was now trying desperately to climb the rocks towards the exit. The man reached out a hand for Wyatt, mirroring the monster behind him as the mage braced himself against the stones, prepared to pull Richard the last few steps to safety.

His hand met only air as the troll grabbed Richard’s leg, ripping him from the stone pile mere inches from his goal.

Richards screams were short lived, as he was swung like a club into the ground, over and over. Blood painted the wall, and Wyatt knew no one could survive that level of abuse. He froze in place, not believing what had happened.

A strong tug finally pulled the mage from his stupor, and he turned to see Brad yanking him towards the hole in the wall.

Wyatt looked around, still in shock. Angela was holding Isaac, who seemed to have passed out from mana drain. Chuck was struggling to hold a crying Marlene back from charging into the cave after her now-deceased husband. Brad had grabbed Cecilia, who seemed to be shouting at the cave in a much angrier simulacrum of her mother.

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Wyatt heard nothing but humming and turned to see the source. The old lady – Margie, Wyatt thought through the fog of shock – was staring directly at him. Her smile, briefly, was not that of a senile lady. For the slightest of instants, Wyatt thought she looked like someone who knew a secret only he shared. It was fleeting, as the bard turned and began walking slowly away from the cave.

“We have to go!” Chuck shouted at Marlene, “That rock pile won’t hold that thing for long!”

The others, trying to ignore the pleading cries of the newly widowed woman, started walking with Margie. Wyatt, snapping out of his shock, went to help Chuck.

“Your kids need you,” he said calmly to Marlene, “They need you alive.” She seemed to calm down at the mention of her kids and turned to see the others walking away. She stopped struggling, and Chuck and Wyatt were finally able to move her.

Wyatt took one last look back at the cave as the troll bellowed another roar. The cave, he noticed, was on the side of a tall cliff. Looking farther down the cliff face, he saw multiple cave ins blocking what could have been more cave openings.

How big was that tutorial cave? He thought to himself as he joined the others.

The party traveled along a path that appeared well worn. Chuck, with a newly discovered skill in tracking, couldn’t find any tracks left by the troll, but he did find what looked like wagon tracks; two long continuous lines in the dirt that turned into four whenever they turned. They also found an abundance of footprints from other humans, seeming to lead in every direction. The party decided to continue moving forward through the canyon, hoping to find some semblance of civilization.

Wyatt observed his surroundings during the trip, taking in the beauty of the region. Where they were, for the most part, reminded Wyatt of the Grand Canyon, with cliff faces extending up on either side of the trail they were walking. Vegetation was sparse, but not completely lacking. There was the occasional small animal that scurried away from the party as they approached, and Wyatt was relieved to see animals from Earth.

Earth. Is this really a different planet? What the hell is going on?

“We need to stop,” said Angela, moving to sit on a nearby rock. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, and Wyatt realized it was getting late. They had been walking at a fairly quick pace for hours to put as much distance between themselves and that troll as possible.

“Not a bad idea,” responded Chuck, scratching his chin, “Let’s look for somewhere to make a fire and rest for a bit.”

A short while later, they found a large flat area with plenty of large rocks to sit on. It was backed up to the cliff face where a small rockslide seemed to have piled stones nearby, and most of the party sat down to rest. Chuck and Brad gathered some of the nearby bushes to light a small fire to keep them warm for the night.

Finally able to rest, Wyatt noticed the notification symbol blinking in his vision. He looked at it and willed it to open.

Combat Report

Your party has escaped:

Cave Troll

Rewards:

Experience earned

Your class has leveled up: Mage – Level 3

You have gained Attribute Points

Your skills have leveled up:

Enchantment Magic – Level 3

Enchantment Magic – Level 4

Earth Magic – Level 2

Won’t complain about leveling up. Wyatt considered his free attribute points. He didn’t know how this world worked and had no idea how he wanted to spec his “character”. Should I min-max my character, focusing on intelligence and willpower at the cost of everything else? Or should I shore up my defenses and invest in toughness? Wyatt thought back to the battle they had with the troll. Everything he did was completely useless. He had gone into the fight without a full mana bar, having drained it against the rats. If he had more mana and a higher willpower, he knew he could have broken through that thing’s mental defenses. He could have saved Richard.

Wyatt looked over at the family, now missing one of their own. He didn’t want to be useless like that again. My purpose is crowd control, he thought to himself, steeling his resolve, I will play to the party’s needs. With that, Wyatt invested one point into intelligence, and two into willpower. He would distribute more points to his other stats later, but right now he had a role to fill.

Wyatt looked around the campfire at everyone’s faces. They looked defeated, understandably, and no one wanted to speak. Earlier that morning they were all strangers at a gas station, going about their day like normal. Just a few short hours later, they had been whisked away to another world. They watched two people die, and the prospects for the survivors didn’t look great.

Marlene, in spite of what had happened, was holding her kids, telling them that everything would be ok. Twin lines streaked her face where her tears had washed away some of the dirt, but they had long since dried up. She was a mother, and she knew she had to put on a brave face for her kids.

Angela was holding her knees to her chest, staring into the fire like it was the only thing keeping her safe. Brad was sitting on the ground, back against the cliff face, staring up at the stars as if he was looking for something familiar among them. Wyatt had already looked, however, and saw none of the constellations he could remember, not even the ever-present North Star.

Margie, once again seemingly oblivious to the dangers they were all in, was already fast asleep on the ground.

Chuck was tending to the fire, face lacking any emotion. He had a pile of small sticks behind him and was rationing them to make sure they lasted as long as possible. He looked up when he noticed Wyatt looking.

“We will have to set up watch tonight,” the archer stated flatly, “the way I see it, you, me, Angela, and Brad are the only ones fit for the task. Marlene has her own problems to deal with, and she should sleep when she can, and the old lady...” he trailed off looking at her softly snoring figure.

“Agreed,” Wyatt said, wishing he had the strength to laugh at the absurdity that was Margie, “don’t forget to go over the notifications from the battle.”

“What?” The archer’s eyes seemed to lose focus, “oh yeah, thanks. I’ll take care of this now, I think I’m getting the hang of this system. Why don’t you take second shift with Angela? Something tells me she will need a bit more guidance on this.” Chuck whispered the last sentence, but looking over at the frightened girl Wyatt didn’t think it was necessary.

Brad, overhearing the conversation, moved to join them by the fire. He nodded at the mage as he did, but otherwise remained silent. Wyatt could see he was deep in thought, and he couldn’t help but think about what had happened to the large man during the battles they had.

The man was a barber, he cut hair for a living. Wyatt remembered the man as having a smile on his face, clearly loving what he did. Now, however, he swung an axe with a perpetual growl on his lips. He seemed to have the largest change in personality among the group, and Wyatt wondered if that was because he chose a class unsuited to who he was. Was The System changing him to match his class? Or was this a result of trauma from everything that had happened?

Wyatt tried not to think as he laid down on the ground.