I awoke with a grunt, expecting pain but finding that nothing hurt at all. I blinked several times to clear my vision. Daisy’s smiling face came into focus. Her freckles even more prevalent when she shrieked excitedly.

“He’s awake!”

Surprisingly soft, strong, green hands helped me sit up against the wall. I was cold, looking down I didn’t have my cuirass or shirt on, and my ribs were a crazy shade of yellow.

“Owe,” I said with a grunt. “That hurt.”

“You’re lucky he didn’t kill you,” Briana said from behind where Alissa knelt beside me. Daisy was on the other side of me, her flexible fingers pressing and gliding over my skin, making sure nothing was poking out.

Despite the pain her touch sent little bolts of excitement through me, and I had to push her hands away after her touch wandered a bit too low.

“I’m fine now, honest, your heal did the tricks,” I said as I looked around for my shirt and armor.

We were in the guard house; the door was closed, and the only light came from Lexi as she flew around the room. The door was the only way out.

Alissa caught my gaze and nodded. “After we killed the captain, all the fade disappeared,” she said with a shrug.

“We?” Briana said. “You. I’ve never seen anyone so strong. It was amazing.” The elf said in a rare moment of unguarded admiration. She even placed her hand on the barbarians muscled arm in admiration before jerking her hand away as if she realized her unguarded moment.

“It was pretty cool,” I said. Daisy spotted me looking for my clothes and handed them to me. I nodded thanks as I pulled the shirt on. Then she helped me into the cuirass, buckling all the straps for me. She didn’t meet my eyes as she helped me dress. Was she embarrassed about seeing me without my shirt on? No, that didn’t make sense.

“Ali, why don’t you scout the entryway, we should be clear through the courtyard and to the keep entrance. Don’ t go near the stable or the blacksmith, those are optional fights we don’t need to do.”

Alissa grunted her acknowledgement and lifted herself up and headed for the door.

“Wait a second, just wait,” Briana said putting her hand on Alissa’s shoulder to stop her. “I want to know how you know all this. I have my own reasons for wanting to come here, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you would be able to get us this far—”

I grimaced at her stark comment. It was true, I was a level two, non-DPS class, and I was getting hammered every fight.

“—but enough is enough. I need to know how you knew that portcullis would close, how you knew the guard captain was in here. I’ve studied this place for a month trying to figure out how to sneak in here and I didn’t even know all of that,” Briana said. She put her fists on her hips displaying her full figure in a classic ‘I’m angry’ pose that just made her all the sexier, if it weren’t for the scowl on her face.

I looked at Daisy, who still wouldn’t meet my gaze, then Alissa, who peered right back. “I’m with you, Nicholas,” she said. “And I know there is more to you than you’ve said, but I would like to know how..."

I’d dreaded this moment since we were back in the inn. Alissa ran off just knowing I was here to stop an army. I searched out Lexi and asked her with a look, what she thought.

The little faerie-dragon fluttered down to land on my shoulder. She placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. “You can tell them, Nick. Trust them,” she said.

I sighed. “Okay, it’s a bit complicated. You already know about Kojiman and Lazieboiroy...”

The trio of girls nodded their head. Suddenly, I was incredibly thirsty. I dug out the water skin Camila had packed for me. I drank deep, then wiped my mouth and put it away. They waited patiently for me to get to the point, and I knew I was just delaying the inevitable. I was going to sound like more of a wacko than I already did.

“Please, take your time. It isn’t like we’re in a dungeon surrounded by angry monsters... and all we have to go on is your uncanny knowledge of a place you can’t possibly know,” Briana said dropping the temperature in the room remarkably.

“I know, sorry. Okay, here it is. I’m from a world called Earth. Specifically, a city called Chicago. It's a different place entirely, a place of science and technology, no magic, no elves, orcs, or dragons,” I said, nodding to each of them while I spoke. “Only humans. Adora created a game... a kind of test to find people in my world who could help fight Kojiman in this world.”

Alissa looked lost, while Daisy nodded, following what I said. Briana’s countenance was straight up hostile.

“Why would the goddess of death need you?” Briana asked. It was a fair question. I only knew the answer because of what Adora had said to me.

“She said it was because I was a nice guy,” I said with a shrug. “That’s not important, though. What is important is that I’m here, I’m the only person in the East who knows there's a war on. And if I don’t find a way to gain power, I’ll never be able to stop Lazieboiroy, let alone Kojiman,” I said with a shrug. I placed a hand on Daisy’s shoulder, and she helped me stand. I had to slide up the wall until I was stable but then I let go of her with a smile and said thanks.

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“So, you are a great warrior where you come from?” Alissa asked.

I shrugged. “Sort of. I was first lieutenant in the US Army, a combat engineer. I spent a couple of tours in a war zone helping people build wells and schools.”

“You were a carpenter?” Briana asked. “Knowing a war was coming to destroy us, the goddess of death sent us a carpenter?” she said mockingly. I liked Briana, she had saved my life, and damn if she wasn’t gorgeous, but her contempt for me was getting a little old.

“We didn’t have to let you come, you know,” Lexi said. “And you admitted you couldn’t get into this place without us. How about you cut Nick a little slack. He’s done nothing but risk his life for all of you.”

Briana snapped her pouty lips shut. Her bright amethyst eyes narrowed and gazed at me. “So this game you played, it was our world, our lives?”

I shook my head. “Just your world. Uh, and some of the people. I wasn’t really big into the game lore—your history, so I don’t really know a ton in that respect, just the basics. My favorite thing to do was dungeons and raids. Which is why I know every inch of this place. I can guide us through it no problem,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

“That’s good enough for me,” Daisy said, patting me on the arm before retrieving her own gear.

“Me too,” Alissa said.

I looked at Briana, not flinching from her hard gaze. She was incredibly difficult to read. One moment she seemed carrying, the next hard. I wondered what happened to her to make her like that?

She shook her head. “This is madness and you’re all going to die. Once I have achieved my goal here, I will depart,” she said.

Her statement ended in silence, and I tell she was daring me to defy her. I sighed. “Of course, Briana. We’re happy to help you find whatever it is you’re looking for. And we’re happy to have your help along the way,” I said.

Alissa and Daisy nodded in response.

After a moment of tense quiet, I decided to get us moving. “Alissa, the courtyard?” I asked.

She moved out, leaving her sword on her back as she ducked through the door. Daisy patted me on the arm as she followed Alissa out the door.

I hefted the sword up and made my way passed Briana, feeling her gaze on me every step. I tried hard not to let it bother me, but I ended up walking stiffly all the same. She had a way of piercing my soul with her eyes.

“You know,” I said before going through the door. “I’m not as strong as a warrior, but there are other kinds of strength. On my world there is a man who said, ‘Victorious warriors win first, then go to war. While defeated warriors go to war first, then seek to win.' He was a pretty smart guy,” I said.

“What does that even mean?” she said turning to face me.

“Victory is about mindset, if you believe you can win, and you fight with everything you have, then you will win. Sometimes, you have to be willing to give up everything for victory. The side that will give up the most, will win,” I said with a shrug. “How much are you willing to give to complete your quest?” I asked. Not waiting for an answer, I turned and walked out.

I heard her whisper, “Everything.” Before I was too far away. I don’t know why Sun Tzu popped in my head, in that moment, but it was a good quote, a good reminder. I was treating this like a game because it looked, and felt, like a game.

It wasn’t. I couldn’t just turn the computer off if I lost and try again the next day. I needed to focus. If I was going to find a way to defeat the forces arrayed against us, I was going to have to find a way to respec and make myself powerful. As it stood, I was never going to get these people to agree to follow me.

“Lexi?”

“Yes, Nick?”

“How far away do you think Brightstar is?”

She thought about it for a second. “At least two weeks on foot. Sooner if we can use one of the river barges, why?”

“I’m starting to think the only way I’m going to get people to follow me is if I’m physically more powerful than them, and that isn’t happening while I’m a enchanter,” I said with a shrug.

“If... if that’s what you want? We should have enough money when were done here to go,” she said quietly. “You haven’t spent that level, have you?”

“Hmm? Oh no, I still have it. You’re the only person I can spend it on. I was hoping I could convince Daisy or Alissa to bond with me, but after finding out what that means, it seems unlikely.”

I caught up with Alissa who was standing in the center of the courtyard with Daisy. It was once much larger. To either side, the base of the towers anchored the great walls, but they disappeared into the mountain fifty feet up.

Off to the left was the blacksmith, with a huge, cold, fire-pit in front where the weapons and tools were smithed. The windows of the wooden framed building were shuttered, and the door looked barred from the outside. Off to the far right was the open stables. The cobblestone ground was clear of hay, but the remnants of feed buckets remained. The seven horse slots were empty, and the decayed wooden gates hung from cracked wood.

“We don’t want to go in there,” I said pointing at the blacksmith and the stables. “They’re hard fights and a lot can go wrong.”

Briana joined us, coming to stop next to me, her hands flexing into fists as I spoke. Annoyance flickered across her sharp, beautiful elven features.

“Is that from the game?” she asked.

I winced. “Yes.” It was all I could say. I don’t know how I would feel in her position, but I gather it would be at least a little angry.

“Through the keep doors?” Alissa asked.

“Yeah. When we go in, there’s a banquet hall, it’s full of the family that ruled this land. They are the haunted remains. At the end is the king and queen, and leading up to him are all his knights. If we stay together and move up the left side of the wall, we can take them one at a time until we engage the bosses. Once we do that, it gets tricky because if the fight goes on too long, the queen summons her personal guard.”

Briana looked around the courtyard, scanning the area. “Where are the cells?” she asked.

“It’s an optional encounter after this one. We go down into the dungeon... people usually skip it because there isn’t anything down there except for a really rare spawn.”

“What’s a spawn?” Lexi asked.

“Uh, it’s just a term used to describe a monster appearing.”

“I need to go into the dungeon,” Briana said. “If you were honest about helping me...”

"Of course. I’m always honest. It’s dangerous though, the random spawn can be quite powerful. It’s a banshee,” I said.

Her eyes went wide, and I swear I saw her shake a little. “I know.” Was all she said.

“Okay, then. Ali, the door?”

The half-orc yanked the door open. Torch light spilled out into the courtyard. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Inside I heard the sound of a dinner party, the clinking of silverware and goblets and laughter.

Alissa drew her sword; Daisy readied her weapons, and I gripped my own blade tight.

“Briana,” I said over my shoulder. “You can switch to your bow; Ali should be able to tank everything from here.”

“You are full of words I don’t understand, but I gather you mean they will all focus on Alissa?” she asked sheathing her blades.

“Yeah, sorry.”

She nodded pulling out her bow and stepping on one end to bend it over and string it. It took her all of ten seconds to ready the weapon and have an arrow knocked.

“I hope you are right,” she whispered.

I didn’t say it, but I hoped I was right too. I gave Alissa the go ahead and we went in.

And I was all kinds of wrong.