"Why do you like writing so much?" Rose posed the question, leaning against his shoulder as her legs sprawled away down the couch. Her curls tickled his cheek as she peeked at the screen of Daniel's laptop. He tapped away at the keys for a moment to finish the paragraph before responding. "I don't know. It's kinda relaxing. Once I get the thoughts down on paper they stop bouncing around so much in my head."

"Isn't it hard to come up with things to write? I have enough trouble writing thank-you cards back to my grandma each year."

"Not really. I get pretty shy talking to people, so this is actually easier. My dad says we all have a story to tell, and writing is just a way of sharing that with other people. Stories are more simple than real life, too. Things make sense; they have a beginning, an end, and flow smoothly from one to the other. Life is messier in person."

- - -

Daniel drifted slowly into consciousness, senses returning one after another. Cold. Damp. The air smelled foul, sour and metallic. His eyelids felt sticky, his vision blurred as he blinked several times to clear them. Rubbing his eyes, his hands came away red. Before him was a corpse, lying still in the muddy grass. Shocked awake, memories of the night before settled in his mind like jumbled snapshots. Howling. Running. Fear. Pain. The monster that he somehow killed. The words, filling his waking vision and whispering in his dreams, announcing his victory over the [Gnoll Chieftain]. The [Gnoll Chieftain].

How do I know what that is, and why do my thoughts look like that? "[Gnoll Chieftain]." The same happened when he spoke aloud, dry voice cracking. "Gnoll. Chieftain. [Gnoll Chieftain]. This is too weird." So is talking to myself. Daniel shook his head, cringed automatically in anticipation of the pounding headache he expected to feel in response to the sudden movement, and was surprised when it didn't appear. Slowly, Daniel stood, stretched different parts of his body, and realized that he didn't hurt. He was hungry and thirsty, but had no headache, sore muscles, or bruises. He carefully bent down and peeled his torn and bloody pantleg away from the bite on his ankle. The skin below was filthy, covered in dried blood, but unbroken. The same happened to his shoulder. His shirt and jacket showed a clear cut, the edges stained with his blood, but he could not find a matching wound.

"Ooo-kay, Daniel. Don't freak out." Weird, yes, but it helped to speak aloud, the sound of his own voice bringing some semblance of normality. "This is a little more than just 'lost in the woods.' There are monsters. Gnolls, I guess. One tried to kill me. I killed it. Or, it killed itself, maybe? The words in my head gave me credit for it, at least. Oh yeah, I have words in my head. That's totally normal. You're totally normal. Everything's totally normal."

Daniel stopped speaking as he felt the onset of a panic attack. Closing his eyes, he breathed in. One. Two. Three. Four. Held his breath for seven counts, then exhaled. ...six. Seven. Eight. Repeating the cycle a few times, he could feel his heartrate decreasing as the familiar exercise calmed him. "Right then. I am alive. I am in surprisingly good shape, considering the circumstances. 'Stay Put' doesn't seem to apply to multiversal travel, as I doubt the police are going to be looking for me here, so food and water are a higher priority." Glancing towards the body with its primitive clothing, he continued. "It looks like intelligent life is a thing. Hopefully there are more civilized options that won't attack me on sight."

Stolen novel; please report.

Few trees grew within the ravine, so Daniel had a relatively clear view of the cloudless sky overhead. The sun stood high in the sky, either late morning or early afternoon. The walls were steep, but looked much more manageable in the daylight, without the added pressure of pursuit. Moving further away from the gnolls seemed like a good idea, so after taking a disgusting moment to check the corpse for useful items, retrieving only the stone knife, Daniel headed toward the slope he had failed to climb the night before. Thick roots dangled from trees lining the cliff. Between those and rocky handholds, Daniel managed to pull himself to the top without difficulty. He found much the same terrain as yesterday's exploration. The trees were fairly uniform in size, their trunks clothed in smooth, grey bark, about four inches across, and growing with plenty of space between them. Combined with a leafy floor that was rarely interrupted by undergrowth and Daniel found the walk rather pleasant. Dry leaves rustled under his feet. The wind whispered through their green brothers above. Birds twittered and Daniel caught the occasional glance of one darting through the forest, never staying long enough to get a closer look.

After about an hour, the ambiance grew to include the familiar sound of rushing water, bringing renewed haste to the traveler's steps. Ahead, the trees cleared to reveal a fast-flowing river, at least fifty feet across but shallow enough to form ripples over the stoney bottom. Daniel paused just long enough to confirm there were no monsters in sight before practically sprinting to the water's edge and dunking his face in the clear liquid. Cold, sweet relief filled his throat as he took several gulps. The water tugged at his hair, cleaning away the blood that crusted his features. Daniel spent the next few minutes joyously sating his thirst, then stripping his shoes and jacket before kneeling in the shallows to wash the mud and gore from his body. The warm sun eased the shock of the cold water, and for the moment the young man reveled in the simple activity. He finished by washing his jacket also, laying it to dry over a large rock and leaning against that same rock to relax in the sun. He munched his granola bar and squinted in the sunlight to better observe his surroundings.

The river flowed west to east, assuming the sun here moved as he was familiar. Wide and shallow, as noted before, and lined on both sides by a pebbled shore. On the near bank, the forest stretched as far as he could see in both directions. Across the water, the bank transitioned to an open plain, with tall grasses rolling across low hills. In the distance, the slope of one of these hills exchanged its verdant cloak for the brown and grey structures of civilization. Tiny streets and houses climbed up to a crenelated structure at the top, the unmistakable silhouette of a castle.