“My name is Mirabella Rill.” The woman sat comically small on the couch. Although she did not sit so much as perch. Her entire body was tense with an instinct to run. Joe was struck by the exotic nature of her features. Her proportions were as if she was a human woman shrunk down to three feet tall, but it was her facial features that made Joe catch himself staring. Her face was on the thin side with high cheek bones, thin lips and sharply pointed ears. She had almond shaped eyes the color of burnished gold and her skin tone was on the darker side of tanned. She looked almost Mediterranean with her long jet-black hair fixed back in a ponytail. Joe thought she looked like a beautiful doll but quickly squashed that idea when he remembered her savagely stabbing the sasquatch in the back. Bixby sat with his head lying on the couch looking at her as if transfixed.
Kier and Rory were sitting in kitchen chairs they had brought in, Iona was at the other end of the couch and Joe was sitting against the fireplace mantle. Joe could tell that Bixby’s attention was making the woman nervous, so he pulled Bixby into a hug and began petting him to break his gaze away. The woman visibly relaxed. Joe made a mental note to talk to Bixby later.
Iona spoke tenderly, “You were a part of the camp attacked by the troll.” She made it a statement.
Rory, pulled out his stew and his barrel of beer, clanked some dishes around and added, “And you’ve been following us ever since.” His voice was gruff and his tone blunt.
Mirabella winced at the tone, “Yes. I apologize, but I had no other choice.” She idly played with a buckle on her armor. “After you killed the troll,” She turned her eyes on Joe, “I heard what you said for my people. I took a chance that you were not raiders or bandits. I…” She looked away with wet eyes. “Thank you.”
Joe watched Rory’s demeanor soften a bit and said, “I’m truly sorry for your loss. And I’m pretty sure we destroyed your only way home, didn’t we?”
She sighed and her lower lip quivered, “They left me… us behind.” Joe raised a questioning eyebrow. “When the gnolls attacked, we thought we could beat them, but when the troll came, our elders headed to the Travel Stone and left the rest of us behind. They were the only one’s wealthy enough to afford the cost of returning home. They could have paid for the entire camp several times over, but they were cowards.” She stared at her hands, took a breath and it seemed like the emotional floodgates opened. “My husband and I tried fighting, but it was futile. He led the charge against the troll and died quickly. It chased the other survivors down. I managed to hide in the stream that ran through the main building. I burned through my Mana and into my health to maintain my invisibility. It finally gave up when you arrived. I’m not sure I would have lived through another hour.” Her tense posture settled as she leaned back into the couch. She began sobbing, “I listened as it killed and ate my friends and family.”
Joe’s stomach roiled and his anger at the System and its horrible ways welled up. Bixby tensed under Joe’s hands. Kier stood and walked over to Mirabella, “I’ve gotten some Mana back. May I cast a heal upon you lass?” Through tear-streaked lashes she nodded. Kier gave her a gentle smile and softly grasped her hand. A brief glow of warm light engulfed her, and she sighed. “I have a potion that can take the memories for a spell if you’d like to sleep.” He offered.
Her brows furrowed and she spat back, “No! I never want to forget what those fat whoresons did!” Her body tensed again, “One day, I’ll hunt each and every one of them down and make them pay for all the lives they so callously tossed aside.”
Kier, surprised, took a step back. Rory chuckled as he brought a bowl of stew for her. “The lass’s got some fire in her belly. Here eat this, you’re gonna need your strength if we’re to get you home to take care of your business.”
And just like that, the rest of the group silently agreed. Mirabella was their orphan now. Joe gazed around at his friends, and he knew each one was thinking the same thing. Mirabella sat with the large bowl of steaming stew and a ridiculously large stein of beer next to her looking confused. Iona leaned forward and patted her on the leg, “You’re one of us now t’would seem. Rory just caused a Quest to be offered.”
Mirabella’s gaze darted around at the group, Kier said, “And we’ve all accepted it. Well, except for Joe and Bixby as they cannae get Quests as of yet.”
That got a confused look from Mirabella, which prompted Joe to have her Inspect him. He watched with a faint smile as her gaze drifted and then her expression changed to one of awe and not a little bit of fear. Joe spent the next few hours filling her in on what he and Bixby had endured since the integration, culminating in their encounter with the troll. During that time Joe passed his cloak around to allow the others to be somewhat clean, at least of blood and grime. Kier and Rory smoked and offered the occasional clarification or added context to the story. Iona took over the main part of the living room floor and began repairing her armor as best as she could. Bixby ate and hiccupped a few times to everyone’s amusement.
Once Mirabella was filled in on Joe’s quest to find his family, she was surprised to get the Quest offer just as the dwarves had. She accepted both that and Kier’s offer to join their party. As a show of good faith, they all allowed her to Inspect them, and she returned the offer.
Mirabella Rill
Level: (B) 26
Race: Halfkin
Class: Umbral Scout
H: 530
S: 1110
M: 760
The dawn came sooner than the party had wanted, but by then they had all recovered their Health, Stamina and Mana. At one point, Rory had to go outside and dump the sasquatch bodies so that Mirabella could loot them. During that time, Joe checked the party loot and found some interesting items.
Belt of the Sasquatch
This Epic belt is woven from the hair of the elusive Sasquatch. While wearing the Belt of the Sasquatch, the wearer is granted Pass Without Trace at no Mana cost.
Staff of the Wayfinder
This staff allows the wielder to unerringly find their way through any forest. As long as the staff is held in the wielder’s hand, they cannot get lost in a forest by any but magical means. Additionally, the staff can cast two spells each day, Goodberry and Speak with Plants. The spells replenish at dawn each day.
Clawed Gauntlets of Urdel
These clawed gauntlets were worn by the Hero Druid, Urdel. The gauntlets were forged from the bones and claws of a Legendary Wyvern. They are lightweight but extremely durable. In addition to normal melee damage, these claws add an additional 200 points of piercing damage and 20 points of bleeding damage per second for five seconds.
After a short debate, the gauntlets went to Rory, who quickly donned them with delight, the staff went to Kier who placed it in his Inventory and the belt they chose to give to Mirabella, much to her surprise. Joe’s reasoning was that since she only received experience and gold from slaying one of the sasquatches, and that her particular class was geared for stealth, it was reasonable to give it to her. No one argued except Mirabella herself, but finally relented as Joe pressed it into her hands and said they’d simply leave it behind unclaimed if she did not take it. The belt was much too big for her three-foot-tall frame, so she ended up wearing it like a sash across her chest. Iona helped her tighten it up and settle it so it would stay in place.
Shortly after dawn the now larger party headed out and into the level fifty zone, heading towards Santa Cruz. The going in the forest was a bit more hazardous as the trees and plants had almost completely overtaken the paved road. The few houses and vehicles that they could see were also similarly engulfed in the flora. No easy path was found, so they followed the river as best as they could.
An hour into their trek, Joe stopped as a notification popped up.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Greetings and congratulations gentle-being! Your world, designated Earth, has completed its integration with the Pan-Dimensional Control System. As a tutorial survivor of your world population, you will soon be transported back to your original place in the world.
Please be warned that the topography you once occupied may have shifted to accommodate the world merge. There is a greater than normal chance that you will encounter threats well beyond your level.
Please note that all new Dungeons and Zones have been assigned permanent levels and the Zone shifts will no longer occur.
You will now be transported back to your world, thank you for your cooperation and good luck!
Homeward transition in 58 seconds.
“Oh shit!” Joe exclaimed. “Quick guys, the tutorial is over, and it says I’m about to be transported back to my original starting place in under a minute.” He looked around wildly at the others.
Rory and Kier looked angry and concerned while Iona said. “Well, shite!” as they all crowded around Joe.
Joe took in all of their faces, “I’ll find you guys. I prom…” but before he could complete his sentence, his world shattered.
Joe’s essence was torn asunder. Soul crushing pain seared through his nervous system. He tried to breath, but it felt like inhaling shards of glass soaked in acid. His senses were overwhelmed, and he only vaguely acknowledged the notices that flew by his vision until he blacked out.
Transport protocol error!! Initializing subsystem error controls….
System error!!!*#&(o0UoyLKHFL)(@98Lljkdalk*…
Congratulations! You have..!(@3pajs0q349)(U()*&01-48...
Warning System Security Controls disengaged!!
Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning! Warn@#!539dbhols$*)&%gfgh%$#@
Joe came to with gravel in his head. His hearing was muffled and distorted as if he were hearing things through a rockslide from miles away while underwater. He was fairly certain that he felt dirt and grass under his hands while his sense of smell vaguely rendered something unpleasant. The sizzling in his nerve endings finally stopped and he opened his eyes. He was staring at the ground. He was on his hands and knees looking at dirt and forest debris. With sudden clarity, his senses blazed back into working order. First, he heard the sounds, fighting, yelling and a clearly recognizable chattering and babbling. Then the smell assailed his nostrils. Goblins! His mind screamed, Danger! Get up! Joe snapped his head up and took in his surroundings.
Next to him, Bixby was wobbling to his feet, shaking his head. Just past Bixby was Rory, swinging his hammer and felling goblins in twos and threes. In front was Iona, standing her ground as waves of goblins died as they met Winter’s Bite. Frozen and dismembered bodies littered the ground before her. To his left was Kier, his skin had a strange stone-like quality to it, and he was alternately smashing goblins with his electrified mace and his fists. To the rear, was Mirabella effortlessly sliding among the goblins slashing them with her two daggers. She disappeared then reappeared all over the place as she used something that looked an awful lot like Blink Step. Huh, so that’s what that looks like. The goblins were everywhere, and his friends were keeping him and Bixby safe, but by the looks of things, each party member was lagging just a bit. They must have been at this a long time, and I must have been bumped out of the Party. I can’t see anyone’s status.
As Joe got to his feet, he ignored the many notifications blinking in his peripheral vision and summoned his swords. By the time he was standing, Bixby was on the move, smashing bodily into a group of goblins that had come against Mirabella. Joe cast his Mantle spell and Haste then took aim at a group of goblins coming towards Kier and unleashed a void bolt, spinning the tiny gray bodies into piles of gore.
Rory caught sight of Bixby and roared out, “Oho! You boggin’ peedie wankers are right buggered now!”
Joe Blinked behind the oncoming group attacking Iona, caught her eye and gave her a wicked smile. He did not wait for her response and waded into the smelly, creepy little gray creatures. This fight was a far cry from the last time Joe had encountered a group of goblins. His swords bisected everything they touched. His titles, Goblin Slayer, Goblin Bane and Monster Slayer added a collective forty percent damage bonus to his attacks. The numbers had not been in his friends’ favor earlier, but between he and Bixby cutting loose, the goblins died in droves. He even took the time to Inspect one and saw that they were level fifteen, a big increase on the level three goblins he had faced before, and this was considered a horde. There should be a boss goblin here somewhere. Joe began hunting through the crowds.
As Joe skirted the edges of the fight, clearing out dozens of goblins in his wake, he saw the others rally and form a tighter group, while still allowing Rory room. And Rory was in full berserker mode, engulfed in the red mist that was the signature of his class ability, spitting, yelling, and cursing as he created a black blooded wasteland of carnage around him. Bixby took up a more static position between Kier and Mirabella as they were not as well suited to stopping such an influx of opponents while Iona continued to have bodies pile up around her. The entire crew were covered head to toe in black blood and gore. At some point, Joe received an invitation to join the party and accepted. He could then see that most everyone was getting low on Stamina and Mana, but their Health was doing fairly well, although Iona and Rory were poisoned.
Finally, Joe heard a loud drum pounding and looked through the trees at the oncoming group of goblins. There was a dozen or so that held drums and wore leather tunics along with their seemingly standard loincloth. Marching behind them was a taller goblin of similar proportions as the smaller ones, this one being perhaps five feet tall and carrying a staff. The shaman, at least that’s what Joe assumed it was, also had a bone necklace and feathered bracelets. And towering over the rest, bringing up the rear was a goblin Chieftain. Joe inspected both the oncoming bosses.
Monster Horde: Goblin Feculent (20)
HP: 525
Status: Zealous
Immune to Poison
Monster Horde: Goblin Warlord (25)
HP: 2100
Status: Zealous
Immune to Poison
Feculent? What hell kind of class is that? Poison caster maybe? Oh, man, what if it throws poop spells or something equally nasty? Joe stood for a few seconds pondering the nastiness that could be involved with the shaman but was pulled from the moment when the Warlord spotted Joe and beat his chest and roared out an unintelligible challenge.
Joe checked his position, made sure no one was in-between him and the large goblin, and yelled back, “Fuck off!” He unleashed Dragon’s Fire at the oncoming group, catching the entire war party along with tens of the smaller goblins. The hungry torrent of flame tore through their ranks, incinerating everything it touched. The goblins did not even have a chance to look surprised as they were vaporized. Without looking back, Joe continued with his swords to obliterate the rest of the horde. It was not long until Bixby chased down the last remaining goblin and tore it to pieces.
As Joe dismissed his swords and gazed around at the destruction, he was happy to see his friends all mostly unscathed. Keir was quickly helping to remove the poison from Iona and Rory and Mirabella was cleaning her knives.
Joe stepped over to his friends who all took his hand or pounded him on the back and shoulders, happy to see him back. Sitting on the ground inspecting her shield, Iona stared up at Joe, “I naer want to see something like that happen again. T’was horrible!”
“I’m sorry?” Joe tried to figure out the best way to answer but had no idea what they had gone through, so an apology seemed reasonable. “What happened?”
Iona stood and wiped goblin blood from her shoulder armor. The others stood near as Rory scratched Bixby’s ruff, his tail wagging overtime and Kier clapped Joe on the back. He said, “You two were… well… blinking in and out. It seemed the System was taking you away and bringing you back. You kinda bounced about the area for a few hours. It looked painful. We stayed in case you settled here, but as you can see for yourself, we got ambushed.”
Iona, still cleaning her armor added, “The look upon your face was agony.” Her tone was firm, but Joe saw in her eyes that she had been really affected by the experience. Absently, he took out his cloak and handed it to her. She nodded a thank you and wrapped it around her shoulders, content to let the cloak work its magic.
“It was hellish. And I’m so sorry you, all of you, had to witness it.” He looked down at Bixby who was sitting at his feet. “Was it a nightmare for you too?” Bixby gave a soft woof, and Joe sank down and hugged his best friend, “Oh, Bix, I know you didn’t sign on for this, and I’m sorry this whole soul bound thing has caused you so much pain.” Bixby gave a short bark and wagged his tail and Joe laughed.
Rory asked, “What’d he say?”
Joe scanned his friends faces and said, “He said that I’m a sappy pushover and if I get all emotional on him, he’ll bite me in the ass.”
That broke the tension among the party and Rory laughed, patting Bixby on the head, “That’s me boy. Joe’s a right sook at times and needs a slap upside the head from time to time.”
“Friends.” Mirabella called out.
The group were too busy laughing and checking their armor to notice the quiet voice.
Louder, “FRIENDS!” The group all turned to Mirabella looking quizzically at her. She pointed behind them and said, “We have a problem.”
They all turned as one, weapons at the ready only to see that the blast of fire from Joe had set the trees and bushes on fire. They were looking at the beginning of a forest fire. Joe shook his head, “Double fuck! I’m an idiot.” He looked around, “No one’s got any hidden water spells, do they? No?”
Kier brushed off his hands and took charge, “We need to go! That fire’s either gonna go out with how wet the woodlands are, or tis gonna become a rager. Either way tis something we cannae deal with.” He began ushering the others to continue heading west, “Ror! Loot the horde and away with you!”
Rory went to one of the goblins and briefly touched it. Joe received more notices but kept them dismissed as it was definitely not the time to sit and pour over his notifications. Feeling guilty for starting the fire did not stop Joe from moving quickly from the area. He knew that in addition to the threat of the fire that any animals or monsters in that area would also flee, increasing the likelihood that the party would encounter another dangerous foe. Or multiple foes.