“By the way, what do you call those… things?” Mac was collecting some sharp shards of flint stone that Kat said he would need.

“The Lost... we call em the Lost because they were all at one time or another just like us, but now they are lost to the madness of endless deaths. It’s not a subject I’d like to expound on.” Kat looked away from him and up at some clouds.

As they walked away from the beach Mac could see some smoke in the distance. He could vaguely see a wooden palisade and a short one level tower of about 15 feet in height.

Kat noticed him squinting. “Aye that’s not a mirage. That is a way station for noobs like yerself. We call it First Light. Some of the noobies land here at night and it’s the first thing they see. Draws em in like moths!”

Mac looked over at her. “What’s a noob?”

Kat sighed. “YOU! You’re a noob… Figure it out.”

They approached the tiny camp and Mac could see a couple of men squatting by the fire. One was rocking and muttering madly to himself. The other was just silently crying staring at the fire.

Kat pushed him and he looked back at her. She was shaking her head. “Stop staring, not everyone makes it here in good shape.” She nodded at a woman who was pulling supplies out of a basket. “That’s the Watcher here, names Callie, she’s gonna help you get started.

They walked over to the woman. Kat spoke first. “Callie, got a new one for you. His name’s Mac. Looks like he will be an actual asset for once.”

Callie turned to them. “Oh? Finally a live one eh? OK Mac first things first, pull your shit off.”

Mac lifted his shirt off and held it in his hand looking at Callie. She wiggled her eyebrows up and down at him. She very deliberately ran her eyes slowly over his entire body from foot to hair. “Nice... ahhh ya very nice!”

Mac looked over at Kat and Ashley who were both holding their hands over their mouths which had big grins on them. Kat started laughing and shrugged. “What? It is nice! Don’t worry stud she’s just fucking with ya!”

Mac looked back at Callie who was smirking. She pulled a thick linen shirt out of the air and handed it to him. “This jerkin will provide you with a little extra protection. Before you ask I did not make the shirt appear out of thin air, I pulled it from my inventory which you will have and use on your own shortly.”

Callie looked over at Kat. “I guess you two have done enough for today. Five recruits in an afternoon’s work is all I can ask of you. You can head back to town and have a meal and drink on me. I’ll see you both in two weeks.”

Mac looked back at the ladies. “Thank you for your help and information. I hope we will meet again under better circumstances.”

Kat walked up to him and grabbed his hand in a shake. “Good luck Mac and don’t give up. It all gets a bit more familiar if not easier.” She pulled him in and gave him a peck on the cheek. “As for meeting again I am sure we will. I am based out of First Light Town and that’s the first town you will be heading to in a couple of days. Ask for me at Luna’s. That’s the local inn I stay at.”

Kat turned and sauntered away. Mac felt she had a bit more sway in her hips than she normally would.

The words ‘honey trap’ came into Mac’s mind, but he had no idea what it meant.

He turned back to Callie who winked at him. “She’s a fine one that little Kat. Half the town of First Light has tried to chase her, but none have caught her yet. Maybe you’ll be the first.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Mac shook his head. “I’m more worried about learning how to survive than chasing tail right now. What’s up with these rocks the ladies had me gathering?”

Callie nodded. “All business huh? Ok, here’s the deal. Normally you would need to head into a town and use a crafting station to make things to use out in the world, but we also can do some limited work at the fires in our camps.”

Mac looked confused. “What do you mean do work in a fire?”

Callie pointed at the fire. “Go next to the fire. Concentrate on the flames and think ‘campfire’ A crafting panel will pop up where you can make some limited things. But first head behind the camp and go grab some stout Adler green wood. You will need it to make some items.”

Mac walked a few yards behind the camp. There was a thick patch of Adler and he dropped down and tore off some of the thickest branches. He returned to the camp and settled down by the fire. He concentrated and sure enough a work panel came into view. He could hear Callie’s voice guiding him through the process.

“Alright Mac let’s make you some tools. You will need an axe, a skinning knife, a sickle, and a pick to get you started. Use your mind to move the required materials into the crafting slots. Use the craft icon and make your tools.”

Mac did as he was told and stood. “Done and done.”

Callie nodded, “Good, now think inventory in your mind. A visual representation will appear where you can move clothing, weapons, and tools into their slots. Once this is done you can just will an item into your hand. For instance if you want to harvest a plant, go up to it to harvest and the sickle will appear so you can complete the action. It sounds weird, but it will become second nature very quickly.”

Mac moved the tools into their slots and noticed that he had very little equipment.

Callie nodded again. “Now onto your attributes. Think attributes, once the panel opens you will notice that you have four points to spend. Don’t use them yet. I want you to look into your weapon mastery first and make some plans.”

Mac did as he was told. “So what am I looking for here?”

“You have some choices to make here. What kind of warrior do you see yourself as? Do you want to be a defender using a sword and shield to protect others? Maybe you would prefer to fight ranged with a bow? You could even choose to use magic like fire or ice. Or become a healer. This choice plays a heavy role in where you should assign your stats. If you concentrate on great axe for instance you will see that the more strength you have the more damage you will produce with that weapon. Intelligence is need for magic and focus is for healing. Dexterity is for bow play of course. Some weapons use duel affinities like the musket which uses dexterity and intelligence.”

Mac stopped Callie in her spiel. “WAIT! Did you say musket? As in the long rifle firearm Musket?”

Callie looked a bit confused and said, “Why yes… A musket, why do you look like you are thinking so hard?”

Mac shrugged, he had an excited look on his face. “As soon as you mentioned the word I got a chill that ran through my body. The word musket triggered the word firearm. I am pretty sure I used to know a lot about firearms. I can’t explain it.”

Callie nodded. “Ahh yes, this isn’t a rare thing. Many warriors get the exact same feelings about weapons they were proficient with in their past life. I can already see in your eyes that you will be wielding a musket into battle. I have two pieces of advice for you then. You can use any and all weapons, but you will only become strong with two of them because of the attribute distribution process. The only other weapon that relies solely on dex and intelligence is the rapier. I suggest you use this combination for weapon sync. I also want you to not forget to add some points into constitution. It plays a crucial role in giving you more life and hardiness.”

Mac nodded as he absorbed her words while concentrating on his attribute panel.

“In fact, since you do not have a musket or rapier yet I would advise putting your first points into constitution for now. You are going to be needing it as you will shortly be fighting.”

Mac put the points in constitution as advised. “Oh I’m going to be fighting am I? What if I don’t want to?”

Callie chuckled. “If you want to go anywhere in this world you need to level. In order to level we fight! You are going to need to be at least level 6 to make the trip to First Light or the wolves will tear you to shreds on the way. This is a starter area, perfect for training. The Lost are much, much slower than anything else on the island.”

Mac grinned at her, he knew he was going to fighting soon. “I’m just messin Callie. What do you need me to do.”

“I need you to go back to the shoreline and the shipwrecks. There will be some log books you need to study and some supplies to collect for me. The more Lost you can put down the better. It’s a mercy you will be doing for them. They are tormented to madness and need their rest. I’ll mark your map for the specific wreck I want you to head to. I’d say Good luck, but I don’t think you’re going to need it.”

Mac grimaced, tightened the grip on his shield and headed out.