Combat was the last thing I expected for my first arrival in Ahya. Not that I’d put any serious thought into what I might expect when I got here. Hell, I never thought that I would be here. That’s the kind of thing you only see in fantasy stories and anime. But then again, this did count as a fantasy story, didn’t it? I just wasn’t the one writing it. Well, there’s some version of me writing it, I’m sure. I just hope he doesn’t have anything particularly heinous planned for this one.
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“You made a big mistake showing up here,” the bandit sneered, drawing a chipped-looking knife from his belt. It was longer than should be reliable. More of a short sword than a long knife, I thought. I drew my sword as well. I’d had some experience fighting with weapons in real life, and it felt pretty much the same as I’d remembered. Except, of course, that this blade wasn’t dulled.
“I’ll give you a chance to let me pass,” I said, trying to put as much force into the words as possible. But I couldn’t hide the shakiness of my voice. So much adrenaline was pumping through my system that I couldn’t focus.
Intimidation Check: 8 (+0) = 8 [Fail]
“Ha!” the bandit exclaimed, taking another step closer. “You ain’t got a chance here, boy. We’ll skin you and take that fancy new sword.”
The other bandits joined in on the cackling and also drew their weapons, advancing a step or two. The sound of metal sliding against leather was nearly drowned out by the thumping sound of my own heart. Still, I raised my sword as I’d learned in my youth, my free hand lifted for balance.
You are wielding a single weapon, which allows you to cast spells with your free hand. Would you like a tutorial on magic?
-Yes
-No
Did I really have time to read a long explanation on magic? “Hell no!”
The bandits paused, confused at my outburst. The words vanished at once, leaving me with a clear field of vision. But as soon as they were gone, I regretted it, because magic would actually be quite useful here. I didn’t have any time to ponder my mistake, though, because now the bandits were rushing in.
Initiative Check: 9 (+2) = 11
You have the advantage!
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but time seemed to slow around me. Even the bandits seemed to be moving at half speed. The closest of them had his knife drawn, but by some instinct, I could tell that I was going to be able to strike first. So I did. I thrust out with the point of my sword. Now, I’d never attacked a person in real life, except for self-defense. So I wasn’t exactly used to being in a fight for my life.
Attack: 11 (+4) = 15 [Success]
[4 Damage]
The sword bit deep into the bandit’s shoulder, and the force of it actually knocked him back a bit. The weapon didn’t sink in all the way, however, and I withdrew it easily, prepared to attack again. But before I could, he recovered and slashed at me with the knife, his teeth gritted in pain. Yet again, time slowed down around us, and I could actually track the progress of his weapon.
Attack: 17 (+1) = 18 [Success]
[2 Damage]
And before I knew it, the three other bandits had moved within striking distance, all swinging their weapons faster than I could react. Numbers flashed across my field of vision. Miss. Hit for 3 damage. Miss. In what felt like less than a second, I was surrounded, and I’d taken 5 damage. Definitely not good, I thought. If I didn’t do something fast, I was bound to die. I wasn’t keen to figure out what would happen in that event. Not just yet, at least.
I spun around to face the last bandit that had hit me and reached out to grab a hold of the leather chestplate he was wearing. It was surprising how easily I managed to grasp it.
Grapple Check: 14 (+1) = 15 [Success]
With a grunt, I threw him into the bandit I’d managed to hit. Both went tumbling down to the ground. I let out a whoop, surprised at how strong this body was, and lunged forward, swinging at the same bandit again. Not the most tactically-wise decision, but I was confused by the heat of battle.
Attack: 14 (+4) = 18 [Success]
[5 Damage]
This time, it was a telling blow. My sword sliced through the simple cloth tunic the man was wearing, opening a wide wound. He fell limp at once, either dead or comatose I couldn’t tell. The one that I’d thrown on top of him rolled away from my weapon with a cry of shock and began slowly clambering to his feet. The other two, however, attacked from behind without the slightest hesitation. Miss. Hit for 1 damage.
You are heavily wounded.
[HP: 5/11]
Yeah no shit, I thought internally. I could feel the pain of those wounds without the system’s warning and knew my situation was dire. I quickly dashed out of the reach of their swords and swung back with my own. Again, time slowed down, and I saw numbers appear in my field of vision. As a lifelong D&D player, I recognized that number. Natural Twenty. A crit! The long blade sliced straight through the bandit’s neck, severing his head and throwing it a foot or two to the side.
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Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flicker of red and the glint of something silver. The point of a spear appeared in the center of the other bandit’s chest with a burst of blood, then was withdrawn. The bandit fell at once to reveal a tall figure in a bright red coat, holding a spear and shield. They looked human enough, though there were furry ears poking out of the side of their head where normal ones would be. They were swift, quickly backing away and raising the shield on their left arm to block the stroke of the bandit that had now risen to his feet.
Alone, outnumbered, and with his comrades dead or severely injured on the ground around him, the bandit gave up on the attack at once, and turned, fleeing into the trees. At first, it looked as though the newcomer was going to chase after them, but they seemed to think better of it, glancing at me.
“Ah, I’ll let him go,” the stranger said, turning toward me. I raised my sword, expecting them to attack, but they quickly reassured me. “Relax! I’m not an enemy. Just thought I’d lend a hand.”
And to prove their point, they slid the spear into a sheath on their back, and the shield followed it quickly, resting on their back by a leather strap. “Are you badly hurt? I have no skill with healing magic, but I can help you if you can’t move on your own.”
With adrenaline rushing through my system from the combat, I couldn’t organize my thoughts to give a reply. Sheathing my sword, I gave a dismissive wave and sank onto the ground, breathing heavily. Finally, after half a minute, I managed to speak. “No, I’m fine. They didn’t hurt me that badly.”
The stranger flashed a grin full of teeth at me and laughed. “You’re tougher than you look, I’ll give you that!”
They sat down beside me and extended a hand in greeting. “I’m Gogo, by the way.”
I shook Gogo’s hand, glad to meet at least one person that didn’t seem keen on separating me from my life and possessions. “Charles. You wouldn’t happen to know where we are, would you?”
Gogo’s grin faded slightly, but not entirely. He tilted his head in a quizzical look, those ears twitching. “That’s a very strange question. How could you get all the way out here without knowing where you are?”
“I, err, got lost,” I said. There didn’t seem to be a better way of putting it without breaking my promise to Ahya. “I’m a bit away from the path.”
Gogo let out a snort of laughter. “That’s obvious. We’re quite a ways into the Dark Woods. Stormbreak Harbor’s nearly three hours to the southwest.”
Ah. Stormbreak Harbor. That meant that I was in Zaban. I could picture in my mind’s eye our rough position on the map. Just to the north was one of the three great lakes of the continent. And in between the three lakes, almost the same distance as Stormbreak Harbor would be the Wild Mage’s camp. Gogo was staring at me with some concern now as I thought of our present location.
“Why aren’t you wearing any armor?” They asked. As I looked at them, trying to figure out if they were male or female, I was drawing a blank. Not the first non-binary character I’d made, sure, but I hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to figure it out. Were they the static kind that refused to align to a gender, or were they fluid? I had to assume that I would figure it out in time.
“Too poor to get any,” I replied evasively. My character sheet said I had proficiency with light armor, so maybe I could get some from Stormbreak. “Didn’t really expect to find trouble like that.”
“Always expect trouble,” Gogo said firmly, shaking their head. “If you’re going off the path, that is. Even on the path is dangerous sometimes. Still, you look like you know how to use that weapon, at least.”
We both looked around at the dead bandits. Well, I tried to avoid looking at them, because it wasn’t a pretty sight. “Oh! You could get the armor off of that one. It looks to be about your size.”
I nearly threw up at the thought and sight of the beheaded bandit. I’d done what I had to in the heat of the moment to save my life, but I wasn’t about to wear the armor of someone I’d killed. No chance. I rose to my feet, shaking my head. “No, thanks. I’ll wait until I have enough money to get my own.”
They shrugged their indifference on the matter. “If you wish. I was just about to find a place to camp anyway. Looks like they made a fire for some cooking. Fancy a meal?”
Now it was my turn to shrug. “Might as well. Haven’t really eaten all day.”
In no time at all, Gogo had their pack open and was fishing meat, bread, and other ingredients from its depths. They set to work making a delicious-smelling stew. The aroma filled my nose and set my stomach to grumbling. I was glad that Gogo had shown up, as I realized that I didn’t have any rations on me. What was I going to do in the event that I got hungry? Just starve?
Somewhere about an hour later, I felt a warm sensation start to spread throughout my body from the place on my forehead where Ahya had touched me. It came as a surprise to me, and before I could get used to the sensation, it was gone, and words were appearing in my field of vision.
Auto-Healing Activated!
[6 Health Restored]
You are at full health!
“How did you do that?” Gogo asked suddenly, staring at me. I looked down at my body and saw the wounds I’d gained in the fight fading rapidly before my eyes. In a matter of seconds, they were gone, and the skin was smooth and unaffected. I couldn’t help but grin at that. Far handier than the ability to use magic or fight, I thought.
“Just a bit of magic I discovered on my own,” I replied, keeping my voice nonchalant. “Haven’t met anyone else that can do it yet.”
Gogo pursed their lips thoughtfully, but it was clear they were holding back a grin. “That’s powerful magic. No wonder you don’t wear armor if you can heal like that.”
I shrugged, trying not to look too pleased. “I’d still like some armor eventually, though. But yes, it is handy.”
Gogo let out a quiet chuckle and filled a wooden bowl with some stew, passing it over along with a hunk of bread that they’d baked in the fire. “You’re an interesting one, Charles.”
I cringed, not liking the sound of that. I’d used a nickname for so long in life that I’d forgotten how much I disliked the name I’d been given when I was adopted. “Please just call me Tuck. And thanks.”
“Sure enough, Tuck,” Gogo replied. “I don’t like my full name either, so I understand.”
“Oh?” I asked, curious. “I’ll call you Gogo as well then. If you don’t mind me asking, what is it? Your full name, I mean.”
“Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch,” they replied, saying the long and complex name, which had more syllables than I’d care to attempt, with a sort of casual ease that blew my mind. Spotting the expression on my face, they laughed. “You see why I shortened it. Nobody likes saying that long name. Not even my parents, and it’s their fault I was named that way.”
I knew differently, of course. There was only one possible reason that they’d have such an insanely long and complex name. I certainly wouldn’t have picked it, which meant that they’d been named by one of my readers. Carmine or Reuben, no doubt. I shook my head slowly, letting out a long sigh, and tried the stew. It was good, and a welcome treat to end the day. The bread was warm and fluffy and soaked up the juices of the stew with ease, which only made it tastier.
“I’m heading north to the Wild Mage’s Camp,” Gogo said conversationally. “I bet you’re also heading in that direction. Mind if I join you? Traveling alone is boring.”
“Sure,” I said. I could use the company for a while, I thought. Whether or not this situation would be long-term, I wasn’t sure. Something told me it was meant to be, but I’d figure that out as I went.