A lot of people were caught by surprise. Not only because it had appeared out of nowhere, but such a powerful thunderstorm in the middle of the dry season was unheard of. And the rain poured much that day, so much that stating that it rained cats and dogs would be an understatement.

Charley a 14 year old misfit and one of the storm’s victims, had just finished a gaming marathon session held at his friend Jimmy’s house, and he was almost half-way on route towards home when the rain began descending without mercy.

The rain-soaked Charley ran as fast as he could. However, as if Mother Nature wasn’t yet satisfied, the powerful winds damaged a nearby electrical infrastructure, causing a blackout throughout the entire area. He cursed his luck, pulling out his mobile phone out and used its flash as a torch. That joker of half-sister of his was helpful for once – paying fifty more bucks to buy the water resistant version proved to be a good idea after all.

He held his mobile high. It was the only visible source of light – apart from the distant flashes of thunders. But as the rain continued to intensify he had no other option but to seek refuge. He dashed towards the sturdy stairs of the nearest house and gently knocked on the door. Much to his amazement, the door wasn’t locked.

“Hello? Anybody home? Found your door open…’’

The reply that greeted him was that of darkness, the splashing of water under his feet and a soft returned echo of his voice. He swung his mobile to get a better view. The house seemed empty and abandoned.

“What a stupid day is this! First I get trashed by that fat gaming nerd and now this ultra-ridiculous storm!”

He tried to contact his father but the mobile had no reception. He sighed, rebooting his mobile but it still showed no sign of connection.

“Guess I have no other choice but to wait for this storm to subside. At least I’ve found shelter in here.”

“I am safe… but my father must be really worried... Hopefully—  

“Help me! Please help me!” A screaming lady in distress was heard from the upper floor.

Charley quickly responded to her call. He wasn’t really the courageous guy neither was he some sort of wannabe hero, but his pride as a man would never allow him to abandon a lady in need of help.

He hurried upstairs, burst open the gate blocking the way and rushed into the one and only room.

In the middle, tied to a chair was a young lady. Her skin shone with a dim brilliance, enough to illuminate the area surrounding her. She wore colourful cloths, ones he never saw in his life. He deduced that she must be in her late twenties or early thirties, and was damn beautiful – like a princess from a fairy-tale.

She looked at him, smiling and in tears. “Please help me breakout of this curse! For three years! I was sealed here! In this miserable place!”

Charley looked at her confused. He hurried and tried to untie the ropes.

“No! The ropes will never untie! The only way to release the magic barrier is by kissing me! Please! One kiss should be enough!”

Charley stared at her dumbfounded. Everything felt unreal and weird. A lady trapped in an abandoned house, a curse and a magic barrier, a request by a stranger he never met to save her by a kiss, the prospect of kissing a woman which was probably more than twice his age – this felt wrong, and kinky, on many levels.

He then thought, it is only one kiss, what could possibly go wrong? He reminisced about his one and only kiss. Martina, his neighbour, she was just his type. But he took the initiative too early and kissed her on her lips, which was followed by a slap in the face and the label of a ‘pervert.’ She ignored him ever since.

But now it was time to remedy things and experience his first real kiss. He approached the beautiful maiden.

“No more tears beautiful Princess, Prince Charley has come to save you.”

Then he leaned and kissed her. The ropes immediately turned loose and fell on the floor, her body began glowing with what seemed as magical glitters.

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He remained with his eyes closed for a while enjoying the otherworldly experience, his lips still pressed tightly against her lips.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a frog.

“What the hell?!”

“Ribbit, Ribbit.” The frog jumped from the chair and quickly ran into a hole in the wall. The room was again pitch dark.

He turned on his mobile with his mouth open in shock. Did he saw clearly? Did his beautiful princess, the one who he had so passionately kissed, turned into a frog?!

But it wasn’t over yet.

The walls of the room began glowing, and a strange voice was heard.

“You have done the gravest of all sins,

You have freed whom shouldn’t have been freed,

You shall suffer the consequences of your choice,

For you there shall be no more hope!”

Suddenly, a man appeared out of nowhere. Like the woman, he emitted strange lights from his body. He was in his 30s, wore a blue suit over a white shirt, and had a golden shoe. His hair was nerdish styled and also coloured blue.  

Charley, believing he has come face to face with a wraith, rushed towards a rusty old steel sword and held her firmly in his hands, though his hands were more shaking than still.

“You will never hurt me with such a dull sword,

For you are weak and I am strong,

For what you have done you shall be punished,

Forever from this world you shall be banished!”

Charley tried to run away, but the entire space around him began twisting, as he was enveloped and devoured by some mysterious force. He cried and shouted for help, but there was nobody there to answer his call. Everything around him ended, and he lost conscious…

Few hours later…

“Now… Now… What we have here... What is this funny dressed clown doing in our territory?”

 “Haha Oliver. Look at those ridiculous cloths! Who would even dare to wear something so funny at this time and age! Haha.”

 Awakened by the sound, Charley tried to stand up but was held back by dizziness. “What the hell is happening…?”

 “Hey Imp. I am the one who should be asking that! What are you doing here? You know this land belongs to the Baron. Nobody is allowed here without proper authorisation!”

Charley tried to open his eyes. All his saw was the shadow of two men.

“I think this bastard is drunk Oliver, he can’t even stand up…”

Charley remained calm as his dizziness slowly faded away. He could now see two man wearing fully knighted steel armours, similar to those worn by the knights during the medieval period. He stood up and explored his surroundings. Although everything appeared normal, this was surely not his town.

“Where am I?”

One of the knights approached him and pointed towards his shield.

“Hey fool listen carefully. For I am going to repeat this only once. You see this crest? This is the emblem of Baron Vasel. We are his henchmen who guard this place.”

“Now try guessing what we usually do to trespassers who dare venturing into our territory?” He asked while rubbing his thumb over his neck.

“We cut their heads.”

Charley felt threatened as he raised the steel sword to protect himself.

“Look Oliver! We’ve been so kind to him and he dares to raise his sword! He is challenging us for a duel! He is crazy!”

“Yeh… he is definitely out of his mind,” Oliver replied as he prepared to attack.

“Wait guys! I was scared you were going to attack me—

“Silence imp! We’ve had enough of your jests,” they both shouted as they rushed to attack him.

Charley already imagining himself impaled with two swords, swung his sword randomly and cried for help.

However, the swing created a powerful force that cut through their armours like it was made of grapefruit, sending both of the knights flying in the air until landing defeated several metres away from Charley, much to his amazement.

“How is this even possible?” Charley asked to himself as he gazed at his sword and the two fallen knights.

Achievement unlocked: Easy as counting 1, 2 & 3.

Unlock Trigger: Defeat two armoured creatures using a single hit

Experience Gained: 500 Experience

Faction Standing: Baron Vasel

Reputation: Neutral (-200)

Reputation Change: -200

Outlook: Negative

The following notifications rang in his head, and if it wasn’t for all the weird stuff that had already happened, he would have thought he was going crazy.

“Hey mysterious voice! Who are you and where am I?”

He repeatedly asked this for several minutes, moving around and banging his head trying to find a way to activate it. But it was to no avail.

“Calm down Charley… Calm down… this looks similar to a game. And I am good at games…” he said to himself as he remembered the trashing he had received from Jimmy. “Ok maybe not so good…”

“Anyways, this is not working. Damn it! I need to find that blue weirdo he is my only hope! This is all a misunderstanding!”

But first thing, he had to run away from this region. He had injured or killed two of this baron’s henchmen. If more came and saw how he had treated their companions, they wouldn’t be very happy about it. He had to flee.

So he grabbed his sword, and randomly ran away from this place.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, a white owl stood firmly over a tree branch, and had carefully observed the entire accident.

“Interesting fellow…Interesting fellow… much interesting fellow,” it said as it flapped its wings and flew away.