At first there was nothing to see or feel, except for dizziness. But gradually the plain white blur surrounding me developed a slight tint of grey. Simultaneously a light, but continuous, gust of air blows through my hair. When I close my eyes I can pretend it's a blustery day on earth. A minute or so passes before I open them again, and here and there faint blotches of green or brown are appearing in my immediate surroundings. I could only describe it as being like adding paint to water and watching the color slowly spread. Well, I'm not the artistic sort, but my breath involuntarily catches in awe as an entire world comes to life around me.
The gentle breeze has also increased in intensity, just a little, but enough that when sounds finally enter my ears, I can identify the rustling of windswept leaves among them. Seeing them carried on the wind is only going to be a matter of time, the out of focus surroundings are getting clearer and clearer. And I'm mostly right, the leaves on the trees are being blown about. It's just that they are the green of summer not the red-gold of autumn that I had thought.
I'm standing on what seems to be a path meandering through the dense forest, leaves sparkling slightly with morning dew. A musky, earthy scent saturates the air, and not a single living thing is within sight. Or within earshot for that matter, I can't hear a trace of birdsong. Though I can hear my heart loudly beating away. The new world's silence is actually quite intimidating, so I wrap my cloak around me for comfort. Wait, since when did I have a cloak?
Looking down all of my clothes are different! A long sleeved tunic with belt, trousers, cloak and boots now cover my body. A quick check reveals different underwear and socks, which quite frankly are nowhere near as comfortable as they could be. The fabric is sturdy enough to serve its purpose as an adventurer's outfit, but a tad coarse. Jeans, I never appreciated you properly until now...
Taking a few steps forwards is awkward. Not only is this body taller than my below average previous height, there's a scabbard attached to my belt that I swear was not there a moment ago. Argh... my balance is completely off now. Great, just great. Uncomfortable clothes, a sword doubling as a serious trip hazard, a body I'm unused to and- Where is the other stuff? There was definitely more than this on the list.
I should be equipped with money, ID, water flask, food and a map, and yet all of them are nowhere to be seen. There is a small leather pouch next to the sheathed sword on my belt, but it's completely empty. Okay, calm down, turn around and you'll probably find it behind you. Hah! So far I can see trees and grass, notable because they are subtly different from earth's fauna, but other than that nothing. After making a 360-degree rotation there is still no sign of what I spent 2 points on in order to stand a better chance at surviving. Ab-so-lute-ly great. Just what I wanted. Unless...?
"Inventory"
Congratulations: Inventory System Unlocked
Yes! Well done me, immediate problem solved with a perfect 100%! The screen in front of me is, unsurprisingly, titled Inventory. Wonder why they didn't tell me that I had what is effectively a portable dimension available for storage? Now that's been mentioned I wonder... is this the same as the game thing hiding the New Players Pack in a mountain of other stuff? Because the two are highly similar in principle. Eh, I'll have to be on my guard for stuff like this from now on. Now that that's dealt with I can't help trembling with excitement as I say the next command.
After a cursory glance confirms that, yes, everything else is indeed stored in the inventory, I withdraw the map. Blast it, this is the second time I've fallen backwards due to an utterly unexpected pop-up. What piece of paper suddenly flashes like that before disappearing? If I hadn't squeezed my eyes shut at the start of the light I would have been completely dazzled at best, temporarily blinded at worst. As it is my eyes ache.
Congratulations: Mini-Map Unlocked
I suppose I'll admit it worked out for the best. If I had known that the New Players Pack came with such useful skills I wouldn't have complained at all. As it is now: completely worth the 2 points expenditure. Finally, I'll be able to tell which way I need to go to find civilization. Technically both directions of the path must lead to somewhere, but one way will be closer than another. Please let there be a town, or even a village that I can walk to before nightfall - even though I don't personally hold out much hope.
The path is little more than a dirt track, not a road by any stretch of the imagination. If it was used on a daily basis wouldn't it be a bit more... worn? Zooming out the mini-map reveals that I am in the center of what is called the Wilowen Woods, and I am nearest to a village called Cerister in actual distance. Unfortunately getting there would still take multiple days in addition to requiring me to strike out across country. No. No way. Even if I can't detect any signs of animal life here there could be wolves or bandits in the woods. Or worse.
If this really was a game I might have taken the chance, confident that if something bad happened I could load my last save. Having my life on the line, rather than my avatars life changes that perspective dramatically. I got a second chance once, and am in no particular hurry to find out if it really is 'third time lucky'. So... currently I have two feasible options, the town of Yarrow or another village, this one named Mogez. Yarrow is a days’ worth of extra walking away, but there is an advantage. The line on the mini-map representing the path gets wider and wider as Yarrow gets nearer. It even joins up with some similar paths and branches off to create new ones.
In short, half of the distance will be me travelling on a main road, probably alongside merchants and other travelers. That strikes me as safer compared to a dense forest path which has who knows what lying in wait. Luckily the map marker showing me my location also has an arrow showing which direction I'm walking in. Turning around until the arrow is pointing towards the destination, I clench my fists. I will do this. I can do this. Okay, let's get walking!
Impossible. I've been walking for three measly hours and only covered 8 measly miles of ground! Only another hundred to go! The dot that is me has barely moved on the map. And when I said my clothes were uncomfortable, well that slight irritation is nothing compared to the pain from the blisters the boots have given me on my feet! Why didn't I pick a demi-human race, I take all the comments about being too focused on stamina back. But I did the calculations, and promptly realized that I have no choice but to keep up this, for me, exhausting pace.
Considering what I've already eaten, I have four days’ worth of herb flatbreads. At least water isn't a problem, I refilled my flask an hour ago when I reached that rickety wooden bridge over a stream. Anything to delay crossing that health and safety nightmare. It wasn't that high up, but the waters flow was way too strong for the me with no stamina and little swimming skill. I ended up using a stick to test each plank - good job I did too, one of them was rotten and gave way!
I'll reach another running water source tomorrow, if I can maintain a semi-decent number of miles per day, I'll get some more water then. I'm still hungry and slightly thirsty, but it is not at the level that it can't be endured. The pain from a burst blister is more of an issue, because it's directly hindering my ability to walk. Last but most certainly not least is the rather prominent problem of shelter. Where am I supposed to spend the night in relative safety and comfort?
I checked the mini-map, but there aren't any nearby inns marked on it, whereas there are several scattered along the main road. As expected, I guess I'll have to keep walking while being on the lookout for a place to spend the night. It's not like I have a candle or lantern so I should search while it's still daytime.
Now that I think about it I probably should have specified to myself exactly what I wanted. There was a large tree a mile or so back which had leaves to match, it would have shielded me from the rain if nothing else. Where I am right now there's only young trees which wouldn't shelter me a bit. Is it even correct to look to the woods for a place to camp out in? I know it's risky to go under a tree in a thunderstorm... something about lightning striking tall things first... but since all the better options are unavailable I'll have to make do.
Yes! My luck is good today! Never thought that I'd see the day that coming across an old shed would be considered a blessing, but there you go. The door's not locked either, hardly surprising given the barren interior. A few pieces of sackcloth form a ragged heap in a corner, and a couple more are tucked into various cracks in the walls or leaks in the roof. It's windowless and dark to boot, but who cares? Not me, I have somewhere dry to sleep, just in time as well - there are grey clouds gathering in the darkening sky.
Also a lucky thing is that it's evening, or at least sunset now. No wasting valuable travelling time here that I need in order to reach Yarrow before I run out of supplies. Spreading out the rather tattered cloth over the floor, I place my sword within arm’s reach of it. A neat precaution if I'm attacked while asleep. That being done I lie down on my improvised bedding and try to get some sleep. The day must have been more exhausting than I was aware of, because despite the discomfort I fell asleep within a few minutes.
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Awakening at sunrise with a yawn and a stretch, I stifled a groan. I ache all over, not just my blistered feet and tired legs, my entire body is sore as anything. But hey, I'm alive, swords still in its place so nothing was stolen overnight. Now, breakfast time! Pulling out an herbal flatbread from the inventory, I break it in two, returning half. Definitely not going to eat my entire allocation of food for the day this very second. Even if that leaves me with a slightly empty feeling in my stomach after consuming it.
Washing the slightly floury aftertaste from my mouth with water, I step outside, door closing with a final creak. Time to walk off the stiffness in my joints! It's only after an hour or so of walking at a slow pace that I notice it. There's a slight glow coming from a dark hollow in a tree trunk. And one thing I am certain of is that is different from the other sparkles - that are coming from the light hitting the morning dewdrops on the grass.
Waiting and observing quietly for a while, nothing seems to be moving. Hmm, I know I said that I wouldn't try and travel through the Wilowen Woods, but investigating something only a few meters away from the road surely couldn't hurt. A nagging voice in my head does chime in to say that that must be what every horror story protagonist thought at the beginning. But if there is something out there watching me, what better attack than an ambush from behind? Can I really afford to just leave it unsearched?
Okay, I'm done scrambling for excuses why I need to check it out. Let's face the facts. I am so, so, so very curious that I am going to throw caution to the wind for now. Though if I'm going to explore then I know for sure that I'll be doing it on my terms only.
"Anybody here?"
I call out several times, getting louder with each repetition. A slight echo is the only response I receive. Since there is nobody around willing to show themselves I have very few qualms about what I am planning to do next. Walking forwards and giving my very best not to show any particular interest in the glows direction, while at the same time paying it attention, is understandably hard. Honestly, anyone with any skill would have figured me out ages ago. Well, here goes nothing.
"Magic merge with wind and meld unto. Arc over the skies [Wind Arrow]!"
Very, very embarrassing to say, I couldn't even keep the cringe out of my voice. But no sooner than my exclamation of the spells name left my lips, a cool but intense blast had me closing my eyes. Opening them quickly I can see the translucent white bolt shoot in the general direction of the mysterious hollow, and crash straight into a nearby tree. A cloud of sawdust spreads out, unfortunately my mouth was gaping slightly in awe as I leaned in to get a better look, meaning that I also got a mouthful of the stuff.
"Ack!"
Spitting out the scratchy substance which insisted on sticking to my tongue, I put some distance between me and the hollow. I am such an idiot. One use of magic and I get all excited and full of myself. I utterly neglected the fact that I could have gotten myself killed in the moment I was completely off guard. Way to go me. Now, focus!
One foot in front of the other, or more accurately one toe, I inch towards the sparks origin. Now that the sawdust has finally settled over the forest floor I can see that there really is something strange hidden there, a small white orb? No, not an orb, more likely a flower bud, some species of rose perhaps? Should I touch it? If I had an identification skill I’d be in a much better position now, knowledge is power and all that. On one hand it could be a rare herb. On the other hand, it could be poisonous to even touch. Some frogs can kill in a second with the poison on their skin...
Why am I even thinking about frogs? This is a flower for goodness' sake! Though humans do share a good percentage of DNA with a daffodil, same as with all living things. Gah! Get back on task! Biology lessons aren't exactly going to help you now, botany maybe, but they don't exactly offer that elective in senior school. Not my school anyway. Focus! Focus, focus, focus, hocus pocus and that rhymes don't you know and what is going on with my head?! This. Is. Not. NORMAL!
The sensation of my feet being locked into place acts as a catalyst for my return to lucid thought. Rather than look down in panic and waste precious milliseconds I fumble to draw my sword. It's taking more than a few seconds despite my haste, I've never exactly practiced. Then I am completely unbalanced as the, what I can now tell to be, plant tendrils wrapped around my boots yank sharply, pulling me to the hollow where the flower bud sits, still glowing innocuously. Hah! I am 100% certain that it's involved.
No time to think though, does that count as a thought? No! I lash out with my sword which has at long last been unsheathed. Pretty randomly, all I actually know is that there are tendrils coiled around my feet and stabbing them means stabbing myself in the foot. Still I have to try - and oh-no-this-cannot-be-happening! There's a huge green leaf, it's got to be bigger than me, heading towards me from one side, the opposite direction from which the tendrils are pulling me to. Got to do something, and quick.
Only a single idea comes to mind. So I act on it. I plunge the sword towards the ground with all my weight behind the blade. The aim of this being to anchor myself to the ground in order to buy some time. My strength is far from impressive, but I only need a short time to launch another spell. A short time that I haven't actually managed to secure. My only physical weapon penetrated the tongue-like leaf halfway through before stopping. The strike wasn't powerful enough?
"Arghhhhhhhhhhh!"
I can't help it. The sigh of relief I was about to give when the tendrils detached from my feet, turns into a garbled scream. No sooner had they withdrawn than the leaf I had stabbed began to thrash wildly. Did I wound it? Is that why it's almost about to send me flying - due to the pain? Well I'm in pain too, my body is bruised and jarred from being flung this way and that. Thank goodness my luck is sufficient that I am able to keep my grip on the blades hilt. Then a sharper pain lances through my thigh, I've somehow managed to contort my body mid-flight sufficiently enough to cut myself on my own blade.
"Magic merge with wind and meld u-ggh!"
A slam into what feels like a tree trunk deprives me of my breath long enough to thoroughly interrupt my attempt at magic. And I'm losing blood, not exactly rapidly, but faster than it's healthy for sure. I can't tell if my increased dizziness is because of this, or because of all the spinning my head has endured so far. Taking a chance by looking down, all I can tell is that the situation is getting worse still. Where the tendrils were before, where my feet were before, a large hole has opened. Hole? More like a gaping maw! And are those fangs protruding from the sides.
The reason behind the thrashing around is crystal clear now. It's not gone mad with pain; this monster plant is trying to dislodge me into that fanged mouth in order to eat me. Now, I don't particularly want to be flung off the plant, with that level of power I could be sent flying off into the sky. But that is preferable to becoming dinner for carnivorous foliage. Letting go of the sword comes naturally, all I have to do is relax my grip when the leaf-tongue hybrid is throwing me backwards, and voila. I am sent skidding along the ground, hearing the ripping sound as my clothes tear. That much was expected though, and loss of clothes is preferable to loss of limb or life.
The plant knows something has happened, because it promptly stops its frenzied movements. Instead it is very still. Almost as if it was searching for something... for me. Too late you stupid Venus fly-trap knock-off. I will win this now!
"Magic merge with wind and meld unto. Arc over the skies [Wind Arrow]!"
Once again I feel the backlash of the arrows launch in the form of a cool breeze. Along with a sense of exhaustion, is two beginner level spells really my limit? Unlike last time however I make certain to not get distracted or close my eyes, it is vital that I watch what follows. The arrow hurtles through the clearing, getting closer to the ground with each fraction of a second. I watch with baited breath, will it hit its target? This is only my second time casting magic after all. The plant seems to have realized exactly what I was aiming for, it's fanged hole in the earth which passes for a mouth starts to shrink in size, retreating rapidly.
Such a shame - for it - that it is way too late. The wind arrow plunges straight into that very same hole, drilling through what I assume is the creatures throat. A recoil from the plant is both visible and audible, every part of it stiffens then withdraws, curling in on itself. It is that that creates the noise, a creaking sound that reminds me of old floorboards, oddly enough.
In a final attack, probably meant to finish me off alongside it, the leaf which I had semi-impaled came shooting in my direction. Not exactly dangerous, I felt, except upon considering the fact I could not currently move quickly and given that the edge of the blade was brought along with the leaf, I think I am justified in raising the threat level. The sword is currently at throat height as well, and could end up cutting it with some good luck on the plants end and some bad luck on mine.
"Magic compress and control the air currents. Unleash [Breeze Blast]!"
Nothing good comes of my panicked attempt to get-that-sharp-pointy-thing, and for that matter, carnivorous-plant-appendage away from me. More accurate would be to say that nothing happens at all. I can feel the spell drawing on my reserves, and then I can feel the completely drained sensation as they completely empty halfway through. Needless to say the spell is a failure, I'll have to rely on my much abused body to make it through this alive.
Bracing one hand in front of me I prepare for what is probably the most suicidal thing I've ever done. Except for investigating this, but how could I have known what was lying in wait? So the most suicidal thing I have ever knowingly decided to do while being fully aware of the risks. That should do the trick. And just as the sword is sent hurtling in my direction I push my body to take a step forwards, though it's more of a stumble in actuality. Reach, just a little bit further. Other hand come up and... Yes! I manage to barely snag the weapon out of the air and with my last reserves of stamina reverse its trajectory. This time the sword, aided by my entire body weight behind it, cleanly cuts through the leaf.
While I am still in shock that somehow my hastily thought up plan B actually succeeded, I can't help a mental cheer. Kind of a well done, let's celebrate being alive kind of thing. Thanks to you, half-elf race, your higher than average perception and excellent coordination have saved the day! Now to slump against a tree and wait for enough magic power to recover for me to heal myself. Phew.