Fritz awoke lying on his back in a bed of weeds. Fluffy white clouds floated like marshmellows above him. Tall grass congealed around his prone form. The excruciating pain in his head was gone. He felt light and healthy. Standing up, he surveyed his surroundings.

Mossy, illegible headstones were scattered haphazardly around the area. Mounds of dirt were heaped up next to graves, revealing the freshly exhumed graves. Tall dark gray trees, pressed in close to the graveyard. Fritz surveyed the looted graveyard as he walked about. Open, empty caskets greeted the noonday sky. The wood, decayed with age, had been violently ripped open. Looking around the graveyard, many strange tracks imprinted themselves in the turned earth leading towards the forest. The air reeked of long decayed bodies, yet Fritz was completely alone.

Sensing no immediate danger, Fritz turned his attention back to himself. He was dressed in a long dark gray tunic, and a pair of blackened leather pants. A long leather belt tied around his waist held his tunic close. He wore a pair of high black leather boots. Inspecting his antiquated clothes he felt satisfied with their quality and make.

Bending down, Fritz inspected his legs for any damage. His legs felt slightly longer as he bent down, yet he attributed it to the high boots. Moving to his stomach, he found his stomach tighter than he remembered. The back of his hands seemed different, but overall felt fine. Fritz brushed off the concern, as he remembered his original mission.

"Alright, just got to stop an upcoming war between two nations I've never heard of. I'll certainly blend into the local renaissance faire." Fritz said while smirking to himself. Thinking back to the strange dreamlike encounter he closed his eyes. "I'm not sure what the hell, he or it, meant by a gift."

Fritz could feel a strange sensation near his heart. A pulsing mass of energy near the center of his chest drew his focus. In an instant, knowledge of mana began pouring through him. He could sense and control the energy in his chest with natural ease. Concentrating on his core, he willed it to move through his body. Down his left arm it pulsed and rolled through him. Fritz held onto the sensation as it left his hand. His eyes were closed with concentration, as he focused on manipulating his mana. Instinctively, he knew something was missing. Fritz felt a hint of knowledge worm its way to the forefront of his mind. He focused on an image in his mind's eye.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Fritz felt the mana leave his body and materialize. Opening his eyes, he looked down. Within his hand was a small bronze compass. The red arrows of the compass pointed dead north as it bounced slightly under the magnetic pull of this strange land.

"What the hell." Fritz muttered to himself. "No way. Is it real?" With his right hand he flicked the bronze compass to test it. The red arrow spun around the compass' face. Slowly the arrow re-orientated itself north. His lips tried to form a series of words, as his mind caught up. He reached his free hand up to his face to give his cheek a pinch. A familiar pain radiated through him.

"Real enough." Fritz said finally. He looked back down to the compass, as he surveyed the surrounding cemetery. With no sense of where his true destination lay, Fritz picked a random direction.

"South it is. Let's start this journey. Hopefully, we'll avoid these graverobbers. "

Stepping carefully over the exposed graves, Fritz moved to the edge of the cemetery. Looking backwards, he offered the defiled dead a quick prayer.

A strange buzzing sound from up high, reached his ears. Fritz turned his head around as he tried to place the foreign sound. A hornet the size of his fist landed onto his arm. His body spasmed, as his hand immediately went to swipe the insect away. He felt it's hard carapace against the back side of his hand. The hornet righted itself immediately and began hovering in front of Fritz's menacingly. Its stinger protruded dripping venom as it stared at Fritz with evil multifaceted eyes. More of the insect's yellow-striped friends were flying in circles nearby. The buzz was getting louder now in Fritz's ears, as they amassed nearby.

Turning on his heels and screaming like a madman, Fritz started bolting into the woods. His heart hammered like crazy as he ran over the uneven ground. The buzz was right behind him. Fritz could hear it over the pounding of his own heart. Turning around he could see a cloud of the massive hornets flying aggressively straight towards him. Adrenaline and sweat pumped through him as he trampled his way through the forest. Chitinous legs scrambled to land on him. Fritz's hands rapidly ran over his body, swatting away at the vicious insects.

Finding a beast trail Fritz began to pick up speed. Movement to his right, pulled his eyes towards a mass of black fur. A four armed-bear the size of a truck ran out from between the Forest's brush. Screaming even louder, Fritz cursed his new existence as the bear joined the chase.