The rocks shifted beneath Maria’s feet.
She gripped the rocky outcrop on the side of the cliff with all her strength, kicking and searching for another foothold. Finally, her shoe wedged against a ledge wide enough to support her weight. She breathed deeply and clenched her teeth.
Another close call.
How much further to go? She hoped the bottom of the cliff was near. Don’t look down. Once had been enough. That was nauseating. She had tried looking for a safer way down. A man-made path or even rocks resembling makeshift stairs. No luck. Scaling the cliffside was the only option.
Recovering from the panic of nearly falling to her death, she continued. It was only two more feet before her foot found solid ground. Her gaze inched down.
The cliff bottom.
Maria sighed, flustered at being so scared. She let the feeling subside, then proceeded through the forest towards the grazing farmland.
The grass was soft beneath her feet, rustling gently as the wind blew through the sparse forest. A melody of chirping birds calmed Maria as she stepped over protruding roots, dense bramble and brush. Just like spending time up north with her mother, away from the city. Nature was preferable to the concrete jungle of her daily life. A lot less noisy and more peaceful.
Maybe this new world wasn’t going to be so bad.
Reaching the edge of the forest, Maria came upon a dirt road that ran perpendicular to the tree line. Ahead of her was a wall made of vibrant green stalks. A picket fence, no higher than Maria’s stomach, stood between her and the crop.
Her stomach grumbled.
Tempting as it was to take something, it wouldn’t be fair to the farmer. But if there was farmland, then there had to be someone nearby. She could ask where she was, and maybe the farmers would be charitable enough to provide a meal.
As the sun set, Maria’s legs wobbled. Hours of walking, yet no sign of any man-made structures. It was getting cold. The growing nocturnal noise of owls and crickets made her pick up the pace. No flashlight, no lantern, no nothing. She reached into her pocket, but her phone wasn’t there. Maria paused and groaned. The desk. She had left it there when she fell through the hole.
A sign came into view at a fork in the road. Continue along the side of the fields, or turn inwards and walk deeper into the field. The sign pointed towards going deeper, but she couldn’t read the writing. Only making out the snow-white paint was possible. She turned down the path to go deeper and paused. In the distance was a bright light.
Fire.
A conflagration.
She rushed up the road and came to a clearing with sparse cottages and a forest behind it. One of the buildings was engulfed in flames, casting a hellish glow onto the village. Townsfolk ran about in panic, taking up farming equipment and swords against an army of shadowy figures. The creatures were black as pitch. They toyed with the people, taunting and threatening them before delivering fatal blows.
In a fenced-off front yard, a young girl, looking no more than six or seven, was held up by the collar of her nightdress. She screamed and flailed her legs. A shadowy figure grasped her, holding her up like a trophy. It wore a striped jester's hat of black and gray, and its fingers were long and pointed. It crept its arm back, as if taunting the girl before delivering a killing blow.
Too far to grab it in time.
She grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it toward the jester hat figure. It staggered them as the rock struck its side, causing it to drop the girl. Its head swiveled like an owl, letting out a violent crack with each turn. Its face was as black as night, with gray, watery eyes and a razor-mouthed grin.
A red bar appeared above its head, with red text above.
Shadow Jester - Lvl 5
Maria froze.
“Oh, a brave one,” its voice echoed through her mind. “Struggle hard when I kill you. Fear makes the taste so much more delectable.” It let out an ominous chuckle, then took a step forward. The Shadow Jester's skin hugged its bones as if it had no muscle at all. It rolled its shoulders, then charged.
Maria yelled as she backed away.
The jester broke out into a sprint after leaping over the fence.
“Run!” Maria yelled at the young girl, before she fled down the road, leading the creature away. Crack. Crack. Crack. Each movement of The Shadow Jester’s joints cracked, and it kept growing louder. A distant scream rang out, grabbing Maria’s attention. An old man and woman ran from another Shadow Jester. Illuminated by nothing but firelight, they hurried through the town. The Shadow Jester did not follow. It circled the village instead, avoiding the light.
Crack!
Maria was tackled to the ground. She fought against the Shadow Jester, pounding at its chest as she tried to push it off her. It grabbed both her wrists and pinned her arms above her head. It smiled and bounced up and down as it laughed. Slowly, its mouth opened, stretching wide like the jaws of a shark. Maria gagged at the putrid rush of warm air blown into her face. She winced, crying out as the grip on her wrists tightened, and its gaping jaw grew closer.
“Back!” a voice yelled.
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A bright light blinded her before she saw who it was. The creature screeched and released her. Maria crawled away, kicking frantically at the ground. The Shadow Jester’s body squirmed and pulsed in agony. A woman leaped between Maria and the creature, wielding a sword in one hand and a lamp emitting a beam of light in the other. She lunged at the creature and stabbed its chest. It let out one final pained croak before it exploded into a shower of polygons and pixels.
Maria held her chest, panting. The warrior spun around to face her, her braided platinum blond hair whipping over her shoulder. She was tall and dressed in brown and gray clothes, tight-fitting leather armor, and wrapped in a long, mottled green cloak with a bronze emblem pinned to her breast.
The warrior extended her hand. “Are you alright?”
Maria took the warrior’s hand. As she was hoisted up, radiating pain in her back made her wince. “Probably not.”
“What’s your health?”
“My what?”
The warrior stomped. “Health! What is your health at?” She covered her face, ashamed of her outburst. “Never mind, you need to flee. Go to the tree line, and wait for us there. We’ll clear out the rest of the monsters.”
Maria nodded and watched the warrior charge into the town. Glancing at the upper left corner of her vision, Maria noticed the black text printed over her red health bar: {HP 32/50}. Is that what she meant?
Another scream startled her. It sounded like the little girl. Maria took a deep breath before running back into the village. The little girl with the nightdress and flowing, blond hair attempted to flee into the fields but another Shadow Jester snatched her by her collar.
“Let her go!” Maria screamed, before swinging her fist. It was like punching stone. Maria recoiled, gripping her fist. It bruised her knuckle.
The Shadow Jester backhanded Maria, sending her tumbling across the ground. Her vision flashed red.
HP {11/50}.
Shards of burning wood lay scattered around her. Flames baked her skin. A burning building was near.
The girl fought the Shadow Jester’s grip. She made it stumble into the light of the fire. It hissed, then retreated to where the light couldn’t reach. The Shadow Jester opened its jaw wide towards the girl.
Maria’s eyes widened. She picked up a piece of burning wood and hurled it at the creature. It dropped the girl and shrieked as the light of the flame burned its back. It turned around and darted towards Maria. She ran under its swing, bolted to the girl, grabbed her, and fled back to the main road. The Shadow Jester screeched like a rabid wolf and took chase.
She just had to reach the light.
Maria tripped! The girl fell from her grasp and Maria face-planted into the dirt. The Shadow Jester pulled back its claw, prepared to strike. No escape. Maria raised her arms and braced for impact. An arrow whizzed by and struck the creature. It gurgled as it collapsed. Maria gasped, looking where the monster had once stood. It disappeared into an explosion of polygons and pixels. Maria glanced at herself. She was stained in black blood.
A chime rang in her ear, and a small translucent square appeared before her.
Name: Maria Marigold
Lvl: 0 >> 1
Hp: 50 >> 100
MP: 10 >> 20
Total Defense: 0
Total Attack: 1
“What?” she muttered.
“Watch it!” said an unknown voice. “You almost hit me again!”
Maria looked back. A woman wearing a simple leather jerkin with greaves and gauntlets was panting. Her short, chestnut hair was tied back into a small ponytail and whipped back along with a tightly wrapped scarf. She brandished a one-handed shortsword.
“You’re always in the way!” said another woman. An elf came running. Her ears were long and pointed like iris flowers—impossible to mistake—with gold ring piercings on both sides. She wore a leather green jerkin over a loose, black satin shirt, with tight woolen leggings tucked into knee-high elven boots, and her hips were wrapped around with a light green shawl that reached halfway down her thighs. Maria’s gaze was naturally pulled towards the elf’s long golden hair. It was braided intricately into a set of long French braids that fell luxuriantly over her shoulders, with flat bangs over her forehead. Her eyes were large, and green like emeralds.
“Tanalia! Tell me where you’re aiming!” The warrior shouted at the elf. “I can’t predict what thoughts are rolling around in that empty head of yours.”
“Just don’t fight the ones near me, stupid!”
“We’re supposed to be working together, you pointy-eared—”
Another devilish screech came from behind Maria. She turned just in time to see another Shadow Jester charging her. An arrow struck its head, and it collapsed.
“Enough!” A short-haired, older gentleman with a longbow in hand marched over. “I need to keep an eye on the civilians, not you two!”
Tanalia pointed at the warrior. “Blame Chariot, not me!”
“I don’t care whose fault it is! Get out there and get as many people as you can!” The man turned to Maria and the girl. “You two, come with me.”
Maria helped the young girl back to her feet. The older man led them to the tree line. Maria found the other villagers, huddled around a radiant lantern.
“Gather with the others. I’ll protect you,” the older man said. “Shadow Jesters can be annoying bastards to deal with.”
Maria nodded. “Thank you. I’m Maria.”
“Vadros. Now go with the others.”
Maria shuffled in with the rest of the townsfolk.
“Casoldri!” a woman's voice came from the trees.
The girl ran over and embraced the woman.
The woman squeezed Casoldri. “I was worried something happened to you.”
“I’m okay, mommy.” Casoldri sniffled as tears streamed down the side of her face. “She saved me.” Casoldri pointed to Maria.
“Thank you.” The mother bowed.
“You’re welcome.” Maria rubbed the back of her head. She wasn’t used to compliments. Receiving one filled her with pride. She did just risk her life for someone. First step of being a hero, right?
“Bring the injured!” Vadros motioned towards himself. “I have healing potions.”
A few townsfolk shuffled past Maria. A bottle materialized from a colorful projection of polygons in Vadros's palm. He gave away the bottle, then materialized another and continued. Finally, he offered one to Maria. It looked real. She took it. Felt solid. Not an illusion at all. She stared at the bottle for a moment before receiving confused glances from the crowd. It dawned on her how odd she looked questioning the thing.
Maria uncorked the potion and took a whiff of it. Musty and sweet. Something between candy canes and old wood. “Healing potion…” She swirled the liquid, then gulped it. Dopamine shot through her body. Her muscles relaxed, soreness faded, and the red bar in the upper left corner of her vision refilled. It was like magic! No… it was magic!
Her joy was stolen as another helpless scream came from the burning town. She stared as the flames rose high, crackling and spewing embers and ash into the air.
Were there still people left?