《Healers Path》


 The Accident

    The roar of the engine filled Jakes ears, plastering a smile to his face. He wasn¡¯t going particularly fast - according to the readout on the dash he was doing exactly the speed limit - but he was throwing his weight into each of the corners, the motorcycle fluidly transitioning from a hard lean to the left, over to the right, and then back again.


    This was why he rode. There was nothing quite like the flow state where man and machine became one. His thoughts melted away, there was nothing in his world except that exact moment. His eyes were fixed on the next corner, his body shifting it¡¯s weight without any conscious effort.


    He saw the car coming as he came out onto the straight. Trees lined both sides of the road, and the mountain dominated his mirrors, but all Jake could see was the vehicle hurtling toward him on his side of the road.


    It was only a second away when he realised it wasn¡¯t changing it¡¯s path. A short distance behind it, on the correct side of the road, another car was coming toward him. He couldn¡¯t swerve across the road to get out of the way.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    He took the only option he had - pushing the left handlebar away from himself.


    Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He felt his weight shifting to the left, leaning the bike over. He could smell burning rubber as the car braked - or perhaps it was the other car further back. He saw the whites of the drivers wide eyes as the car reached him.


    It hit his back tire a moment before Jake could get off the road entirely. The impact flung Jake away from his bike. For an instant Jake felt like he was flying upward, away from the carnage, but then gravity reasserted itself. He hit the ground hard.


    His forward momentum made him jump like a skimming stone, and suddenly Jake lost track of which direction was up. His feet had skipped off the ground, flipping him upside down. His helmet hit the ground next, jerking his neck forward until his chin rested against his chest. He wasn¡¯t sure what part of him hit what after that, only that he was being struck from every direction. Stepping into a tornado of bowling balls would have been calmer.


    Finally, he came to a halt.


    He was lying on his back, staring up at the clear blue sky. His visor had popped open during his tumble, and dirt had been scraped through the opening to sprinkle on his face. It smelled pleasant, like freshly cut grass. He had a moment to marvel at how he¡¯d come to a stop at the foot of an old oak tree, and then the pain hit him like a train.


    Jake passed out.

 Chapter 2

    Jake opened his eyes to a pale blue sky scattered with fluffy white clouds. He could feel the moisture on the grass beneath him against his skin and decided it must be early in the morning. Birds were singing somewhere nearby, a cheerful melody to welcome him to this world.


    He sat up slowly and turned his attention from the scenery to his body. His arms looked exactly as they did in the real world, but his clothing was alien to him. His pants reached only halfway down his shins, and were made from a coarse fabric that reminded him of a sack. His shirt was made from the same material, and featured an uneven v-neck that plunged halfway down his chest. The sleeves were short, barely reaching the midpoint of his biceps. A hempen cord was tightened around his waist, giving the loose cut of his shirt some shape. A small pouch was tied to the belt, like an old coin purse. Curious, Jake pressed a hand against it. A translucent square appeared next to the pouch, with a small gold coin icon in the middle next to the numeral six. Jake took that to mean he had just six gold coins to his name, and he had no idea how much spending power that gave him. Given his attire, he had to assume it wasn¡¯t much.


    A club lay on the ground beside him - a crude lump of wood with leather strapping around the slender end. On his other side was a round wooden buckler, about a foot in diameter. It was lying shield-side down on the ground, two loops of leather reaching toward the sky. It didn¡¯t take a genius to work out that the loops were to affix the shield to his arm.


    Before taking the items, Jake slowly rose to his feet.


    He took a moment to look around. He was standing in a small clearing a few meters from a dirt path. In one direction the path soon curved out of view behind a stand of trees. In the other, Jake could just make out what looked like some smoke rising from a chimney in the distance. His little clearing was flanked on two sides by the same tall trees that lined the path in both directions, Oaks perhaps. Something triggered in the back of his mind. A sense of deja vu - like when you walk into a room but forgot what you¡¯d come for. Jake wasn¡¯t even sure what had triggered the thought, but it seemed like the tree was important somehow. He struggled with the thought for a few moments longer, but it was like trying to catch water with a sieve. Whatever it was, it can¡¯t have been important - surely he¡¯d remember if it were.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Jake turned his attention to the side of the clearing opposite the path. A thin stream meandered by, seeming to follow along beside the dirt trail in both directions. It was flowing slowly away from the village, going just fast enough to prevent stagnant pools from forming.


    Jake took a step towards it, suddenly thirsty. He realised he wasn¡¯t wearing any shoes - the moist grass was surprisingly soft against his bare feet. There didn¡¯t appear to be any shoes in the clearing either, it seemed he¡¯d be proceeding to the village barefoot.


    The stream was cool and refreshing as he cupped his hands to drink. He could taste a hint of the mud from the stream bed, but it wasn¡¯t unpleasant. With his thirst now quenched, he returned to gather his weapons. As he picked up the wooden staff a translucent prompt appeared just below the centre of his vision:


    Simple wooden club


    3-6 bashing damage


    9/10 durability


    The prompt remained in his vision until Jake willed it to leave, at which point it faded from view. He picked up the shield, sliding it onto his left arm.


    Simple wooden shield


    +1 physical defence


    8/10 durability


    Satisfied with his new items, Jake turned onto the path. He studied both directions once again but couldn¡¯t see anyone around. There were tracks aplenty - foot and hoof prints, long thing lines that must have been left by passing carts - but Jake had no idea how fresh they were.


    Figuring civilisation would be his best bet, Jake started toward the village.

 Chapter 3

    As he walked along the dirt path, steering wide around the softer ground lest he squish mud between his toes, Jake found that ethereal thought floating back in through his mind. The feeling that there was something he desperately had to remember. It always came when he was looking at the old oak trees that boarded on the path, and turned liquid and unattainable when he looked elsewhere.


    Something about those old oak trees was calling him, but no matter what he did he couldn¡¯t grasp it. A bird somewhere nearby shrieked, a high piercing sound, and the memory clarified. He saw the car coming toward him, it¡¯s breaks screaming; the tires spewing acrid smoke. The uncontrollable bouncing as he skittered across the grass berm, coming to a stop under the grand old oak. That¡¯s why the oak trees by the path kept calling to him!


    In his minds eye, the movie continued to play. Everything was out of his control. The car sped off leaving the horrible smell of burning rubber behind. The other car - the one that had been on the correct side of the road had stopped. The old man driving it hadn¡¯t had a cell phone, and Jake had left his behind when he¡¯d left home - he hadn¡¯t wanted any distractions while he was riding.


    They had been in middle of nowhere, there wasn¡¯t much chance of another car coming across them. Jake had convinced the old man, against his wishes, to find the nearest phone and call an ambulance. He hadn¡¯t been able to feel anything specific over the waves of pain crushing down on his body. He hadn¡¯t had any idea how hurt he was.


    All of that came later.


    The old man had obeyed, rushing off to call the emergency services. Jake had been there, alone, for what felt like an eternity before the ambulance arrived. He was fairly certain he¡¯d drifted in and out of consciousness - one moment the old man had gone, the next he was there again. He nattered away, calming words that had no effect on Jake. Jake had thought he¡¯d been doing it to calm himself as much as Jake.


    The ride back to the hospital was a hazy blur. The paramedics had given him strong doses of god-knows-what, but it had worked to dull the pain. It was just a shame it had muffled everything else as well.


    The next thing he remembered came quite a while afterwards - after the surgery. They¡¯d explained that Jake had been rushed into surgery, but he didn¡¯t remember any of that. All he remembered was the doctor sitting down to break the news. She was an older woman who reminded Jake of his mother, before she¡¯d passed. She had kind eyes, and smelled slightly of lavender. She should have been calming, but instead she had been the bearer of bad news.


    They thought he might learn to walk again. The spinal cords were mostly intact, but something in his brain seemed to have changed during the accident. He wasn¡¯t sending the right signals to his legs. She¡¯d told him about the rehab options available, but he could tell from the way she said it that she didn¡¯t really believe it would work.


    And then there was the other doctor. The tall one with shifty eyes, who spoke with a slight stammer and couldn¡¯t seem to sit still. He¡¯d suggested an additional therapy - something experimental. He¡¯d claimed they¡¯d had success in the past. Though they¡¯d never tested the theory on injuries as severe as his, Jake at least had hope.


    He''d needed hope in that moment.


    The new treatment was meant to supplement his rehab exercises. Immersion gaming had moved forward in leaps and bounds, far faster than the VR gaming generation had started. Studies had demonstrated that immersion gaming could teach skills that were directly transferable to real life. The military had spent mind boggling amounts of money developing the technology for their training simulations, and it had filtered into the civilian market quicker than ever. The shifty eyed doctor had assured him that being active in the game would help rebuild the pathways in his brain. That, combined with the physical rehab exercises, should get Jake up and walking in no time.


    He¡¯d all but promised it.


    Everything clicked into place in Jake¡¯s mind as he stumbled on a dip in the path. This wasn¡¯t reality - this was the game the doctor had talked about. He¡¯d realised he¡¯d been playing a game of course - the prompts made it pretty hard to ignore - but he hadn¡¯t quite connected his playing to everything that had come before.


    It was the better part of an hour after leaving the clearing before the township came into view. It was smaller than Jake had first thought it would be, from this side he could see that the dirt path he was following led straight through town, continuing to fields on the other side.


    The town seemed to be no more than a dozen buildings deep, with only 2-3 buildings off each side of the path. It hummed with the sounds movies had taught Jake to expect from a medieval town - chickens clucking, children playing, and the distant clanging sounds of a smithy at work.


    The path had been empty ever since leaving the clearing, but Jake could now see the first characters in the game. A young woman was pegging up washing on a line strung between two trees, a small child hiding in her skirts. A few men were carrying a chest between two of the houses. No one seemed to take any notice of his approach.


    As he reached the first building, he saw a well crafted wooden sign affixed to it¡¯s wall. Large block letters were carved into it, and stained dark with soot, spelling out ¡°Greenest¡± - identifying the township for everyone. He¡¯d barely made it halfway from the sign to the inn when he heard a voice.


    ¡°Greetings traveller. Are you ¡®ere ta join the Adventurers Guild?¡±


    Jake turned around to see where the voice was coming from. An old man stood a few meters away, leaning casually against the back wall of a house. He was dressed in dirty clothing made from the same coarse fabric Jake was wearing. He grinned at Jake through a scraggly beard, revealing a maw with only a few teeth remaining. Jake had no idea whether he was another player or not, and wasn¡¯t sure whether it was appropriate to ask.


    ¡°Yes sir¡± Jake replied.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be wantin¡¯ ta talk to Annie then, up at the Inn.¡±


    The old man inspected his gnarled arthritic knuckles for a moment, then turned back to Jake with a look of surprise.


    ¡°Most of ¡®em run along real quick like. No ones got the time to be talkin¡¯ to the likes of me.¡± He made a wheezing sound, and Jake realised he was laughing.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Jake asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m just an ol¡¯ man now. Was a time I was an adventurer me¡¯self, but I gave it all up when I found this place. Greenest is the best thing tha¡¯s ever happened to me. Well, aside from me kid o¡¯ course.¡± He nodded in the direction of the woman Jake had seen pegging up the washing, or perhaps he was motioning to the young child at her feet. Jake didn¡¯t much want to know.


    The old man had returned to studying his knuckles, so Jake muttered a quick goodbye and made for the Inn. He was certain that the old man had been an NPC - a Non Player Character - but they didn¡¯t seem to have anything more to offer him, not at the moment anyway.


    As he stepped into the Inn, Jake saw that it was a small establishment. The tall roof boasted a mezzanine floor, against the back wall of which were three doorways Jake assumed led to bedrooms. The section near the fire was populated by a few crude wooden pews. In the back, next to the ladder leading to the bedrooms, was a bar. Judging by the clanging pots he could hear, the kitchen lay beyond it.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    The room was empty but for a middle aged man leaning against the bar. He was bald, bearded, and built like an Ox. A dishrag hung over his shoulder, indicating that he was an employee rather than a patron. Jake decided to approach him.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for Annie, about the - ¡°


    ¡°The adventurers guild, yeah we know Annie. She normally sets up shop by the fire. You¡¯re in too early though, try looking by the craftsmen across the way¡± The big man pointed at a side road across the path with one enormous paw.


    ¡°She¡¯s the blond one. Hard to miss.¡± He gave Jake a wink and made his way toward the kitchen before Jake could respond.


    Jake wasn¡¯t sure what exactly he¡¯d expected from his interactions with NPCs, but it certainly wasn¡¯t this. He was careful to keep his sigh quiet, lest the big man hear, as he made for the door. He hadn¡¯t officially been given any quests yet, and he seemed to be walking around blindly. He really hoped Annie was going to be as easy to find as the big man had said, he wasn¡¯t in the mood for a wild goose chase.


    The crafting district dominated one side of Greenest. From what he¡¯d seen, Jake was sure the other side of the township was reserved for housing. The workstations were in neat little rows, each station under a small awning to protect the occupants from rain if the weather were to turn. The whole district was built up on bare earth, much like the path he¡¯d followed into town. It was abuzz with the clinking of tools, and the low rumble of conversation. Several of the stations had fires burning, casting up smoke to tickle at Jake¡¯s nostrils.


    The barman had been right, Jake spotted a blond woman the moment he walked over. She was talking to a slender young man who was part way through scraping an animal hide. Annie was a plump woman, so short her weight almost made her round. Her blond hair hung halfway down her back, and seemed almost radiant in how clean it was. Though she was only talking to the one man, all of the workmen seemed to glance in her direction every now and then; though Jake wasn¡¯t able to read any of their expressions.


    He approached from the side, wanting to position himself so that both Annie and the crafter could see him coming.


    ¡°Excuse me, Are you Annie?¡±


    The woman turned to look at him, and he felt like he was being pinned in place by her gaze. Her eyes were jet black, with no differentiation between where her pupils stopped and the rest of her eyes began. The smile that greeted him however, was pleasant enough.


    ¡°That¡¯s me. Are you here about joining the Adventurers Guild?¡±


    Something popped up in the corner of his vision, but Jake ignored it for now.


    ¡°Yes, I am¡±


    ¡°Good, good. I¡¯ve got a few things for you to do, after which you can meet me at the Inn and we¡¯ll sort the formalities. You¡¯ll need to attune with the Aetherstone by the northern gate, visit the Druid Enclave to the east, and speak with Wilkes over there¡± she pointed to a tall man sat at a desk near the smithy.


    A prompt appeared between them, and Annie looked at it pointedly.


    You¡¯ve been offered a quest:


    Annie wants you to perform 3 tasks and report back to her.


    Rewards: 250 XP, Adventurers Guild rank.


    Do you accept?


    As with all the prompts so far, Jake punched the green button.


    ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll see you back at the Inn later. Unless you have any questions?¡±


    Jake mentally reviewed the list of tasks and decided he didn¡¯t.


    ¡°No, thank you. I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    Annie returned her attention to the man she¡¯d been speaking to, and Jake turned his to the icon that had flashed up during their conversation. As he focused on it, a prompt popped up just below his centre of view.


    Congratulations, you found Annie!


    50XP awarded.


    Jake smiled to himself - he¡¯d just earned his first experience in game!


    Deciding to get the quickest part of the quest out of the way, he approached Wilkes¡¯ desk. The tall man looked up from the myriad of papers spread across the old desk, peering at Jake over the top of his glasses.


    ¡°May I help you?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah. Annie told me to talk to you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, another adventurer I see. Have you given any thought to the crafts?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s much to this world beyond combat and exploration young man. Skill in the crafts can take you far in life - people always have a need for the weapons of a smith, or the armour of a leather-worker.¡± As he spoke, he pointed a long slender finger at different stations around the square. He seemed to be pointing out only the stations that Jake already recognised, shedding no light on the others. Perhaps that was the point.


    ¡°You can choose to activate any two crafts at a time. These can be replaced at any stage by talking to the relevant craft masters.¡±


    Wilkes paused for a moment, looking Jake over.


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d be best suited to woodworking to start? Miko over there can teach you the basics, no doubt he could sell you the tools of the trade as well. Most new adventurers only take one craft to begin with¡± Wilkes gave him a knowing smile, though Jake wasn¡¯t quite sure what it was that he knew. The icon had flashed in the corner of his vision again, but he felt it would be rude to pull it up now.


    ¡°Thank you Wilkes. Say, you wouldn¡¯t know where I could buy some shoes would you?¡± Jake gestured to his bare feet, though Wilkes¡¯ gaze never left his face.


    ¡°Stannis, the leather-worker over there, should have something that will fit you.¡± The tall man nodded to the man Annie had been talking to when Jake had entered the square. At some point during his conversation with Wilkes the plump lady had moved on to another stall, leaving Stannis free to approach.


    Jake thanked Wilkes for his advice, and examined the prompt as he approached the leather-worker.


    Congratulations, you have learnt about the crafts!


    50XP awarded.


    2/3 quest objectives complete.


    Stannis was willing to sell Jake some comfortable shoes for just 5 Silver Pieces, which Jake learnt was exactly half of a gold coin. He couldn¡¯t tell whether he¡¯d gotten a fair deal or been swindled, but it hopefully wouldn¡¯t matter. His feet in this world were tough and callused - the walk along the path had not been uncomfortable - but it was nice to not have to worry about stepping on a thorn or sharp rock, surely worth the price?


    Jake smiled to himself as he slipped the shoes on, and decided to head for the northern gate. From the position of the sun, he deduced that it was the gate at the opposite end from where he¡¯d come in. All he had to do now was figure out what the hell an Aetherstone was.


    Finding the northern gate was dead simple. And identifying the Aetherstone didn¡¯t take any great skill. It was a shard of glowing blue crystal that looked solid, and levitated at his shoulder height. The thing was about three feet tall, and bobbed up and down ever so slightly - as if moving to an unseen breeze.


    On instinct, Jake reached out to touch it. The stone was cool, like an icepack fresh from the freezer. It took a second of holding his palm against it before anything happened, and then a flash of light blinded Jake for a long moment. A few prompts appeared at the corner of his vision, but he was focused on how the steady glow of the Aetherstone had become a rapid pulsing. Sensing that it was time he withdrew his hand, and the shard soon returned to it¡¯s steady glow.


    Jake decided to read the prompts.


    Greenest Aetherstone activated!


    You can now teleport to this point using the <Teleport> command.


    Congratulations, you attuned with the Greenest Aetherstone.


    50 XP awarded.


    2/3 quest objectives complete.


    The prompts drew a smile across Jakes face. He could teleport in the game?


    That¡¯s awesome!


    Granted, he had no idea how to activate the teleport command, but he was sure he¡¯d be able to learn soon enough.


    Annie had mentioned a druid enclave as his third task, but Jake was couldn¡¯t remember what direction she¡¯d said it¡¯d been in. Unbidden, a window appeared on the right of his field of vision, listing out his quest objectives:


    Join the Adventurers Guild:


    * Speak with the trades representative


    * Attune with the Aetherstone


    * Visit the Druid Enclave


    Beside the instructions was a small fragment of a map. A village dominated the centre of it, the boundary fences clearly marked. Beyond the village however, everything was a solid black swirling with pale smoke. A compass icon in the top right corner indicated that north was up.


    A yellow dot showed on the map some way to the right of the village - the village must be Greenest, so he had to go east for the Druid Enclave.


    Happy with his deductive skills, Jake waved the prompt away. It seemed like he just had to think of what he wanted to see, and the prompts would appear. Curious, he thought again of his quests. Sure enough, the prompt reappeared in the same place, the map ready to guide him.


    Jake was already standing at the northern edge of the town. The main path continued due north, but there was also a well trodden track leading east. It wasn¡¯t packed dirt like the northern trail, just a track of shorter grass, but it seemed to be heading in the right direction.


    Jake left Greenest to continue his quest.

 Chapter 4

    Jake had been following the trail for about half an hour when he heard the sounds of a scuffle. He was surrounded by trees now, the path lined by thick walls of brush that grew in the shade of the old oak trees. He heard someone cry out in pain from around the corner ahead, and decided to prepare himself before running into what could be an ambush. His club had been latched to the rope belt around his waist by a small metal hook driven into the handle. He unlatched it, taking the weapon in his right hand. The shield was already strapped to his left arm, but he adjusted it slightly, making sure that it was held tight enough to keep it in place if it were struck.


    Satisfied that he was physically prepared for a confrontation, Jake approached the corner at a quick jog. Snarls and growls were greeting his ears now, but Jake decided he couldn¡¯t stop. The person who¡¯d cried in pain earlier was whimpering now.


    Jake rounded the corner to see a wolf leap toward a young man on the ground. The man was clad in furs, a short-sword just out of his reach on the ground beside him. He was on his knees, looking like he¡¯d just struggled up off the ground. The wolf hit him centre mass, tackling him to the ground. The beasts jaws snapped as the man fought against the animals weight, barely keeping it¡¯s fangs away from his throat.


    Jake charged the creature from behind, lashing out in a wide arc with all his strength. His club struck the wolf and knocked it aside with a heavy thump. The animal whimpered, turning around and retreating away from the new threat.


    ¡°Thanks¡± the man breathed as he scrambled for his sword.


    Jake didn¡¯t dare take his eyes off his foe. The wolf was circling around, trying to position itself to attack the man again. It¡¯s hackles were up and it¡¯s teeth were bared, painting a terrifying picture. He could see that the man had managed to slash it a few times before being disarmed - a deep cut ran across the beasts ribs, vibrant blood matting it¡¯s grey fur.


    The beast lunged, charging for Jake. Instead of retreating, Jake rushed to meet it¡¯s assault. He held his shield arm in front of him, keeping the club held up ready to swing. The wolf pounced at the last instant, it¡¯s bulk smashing against the shield. Jake managed to get in a swing with his club as his momentum halted, crushing it down onto the animals skull. The wolf let out a high pitched whine, and then fell silent.


    The swordsman appeared beside Jake, and thrust his blade into the limp animal with a cheer.


    ¡°You really saved my ass there, thanks.¡± He smiled, offering his hand.


    Jake hooked the club onto his belt, and shook the mans hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. We need to look after each other out here.¡±


    A prompt suddenly filtered into Jakes view.


    Combat log:


    You hit the wolf for 12 damage (Critical hit!)


    Your shield blocked 2 damage


    You hit the wolf for 5 damage


    The wolf is dead


    10 XP awarded.


    It seemed Jake had got the hang of combat pretty quickly. He smiled at the success, confused by the 10 XP reward. He¡¯d heard of people grinding out kills to level up, but the rewards for combat seemed pretty terrible. He¡¯d have to work his way through quests if he wanted to level up any time soon.


    ¡°Anyway, thanks again. I¡¯ll catch you around¡±


    Jake realised his companion had been standing there, awkwardly watching as Jake had read through his combat log. The man turned away from Jake, heading along the path toward Greenest.


    ¡°Yeah, no problem¡±


    Jake turned his back on the stranger and the dead wolf, and continued east.


    The druid enclave was a small settlement, able to house perhaps a dozen men. However it wasn¡¯t it¡¯s size that drew Jakes attention - the buildings of the settlement were built from the trees themselves. Great old oaks grew together in clumps, their branches intertwining with one another to form a roof over which someone had stacked fern leaves to keep out the rain.


    A few people milled around a large empty fire pit, talking quietly to one another. Jake saw that some were dressed similarly to him (he noted that none of them wearing shoes and couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself) huddled outside one of the buildings.


    Figuring they would have grouped around something important Jake approached them, joining the back of their semi-circle. The group were arrayed before an elderly man dressed in animal furs. A thick silver beard reached halfway down his chest, and his long hair fell onto his shoulders. He leaned on a quarterstaff that was just slightly taller than him, gripping the wood with strong looking hands. Though he was using the staff for support, he didn¡¯t look to lack in strength. Jake was just close enough to hear his soft voice, projected just loud enough to reach everyone in the crowd.


    ¡°The power of the druid comes not from within, but from nature itself. You¡¯d do well to remember that.¡± He seemed to have just finished his speech. The students soon dispersed, leaving just Jake behind. After a moment he approached the old druid.


    ¡°Excuse me sir, Annie sent me to learn from you.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, I can see you have the gift of nature. Come, walk with me.¡± Without waiting for a reply, the man began to walk toward the edge of the enclave. Jake fell into step beside him.


    ¡°We druids are the guardians of nature. We care for the earth, and it in turn grants us the powers that we might need. We can be utterly destructive if called upon, though most who walk the druid path turn their skills toward healing and preservation of the natural order.¡±


    The druid had led Jake to a small stream running past the enclave. A young man was just a little downstream from them, washing his clothes in the swift flowing water.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Druids are the ambassadors for all of humanity. Do you hear the voice of nature?¡±


    Jake¡¯s first impulse was to laugh at the question, but the old mans face was serious. Instead of responding out of turn, Jake took the time to calm his mind and focus solely on what he could hear. The stream gurgled as it passed, and the young mans breathing mixed with the sloshing sounds of his washing coming from further downstream. Birds sang from the trees around the enclave. Across the stream however, the trees were quiet. Jake tried to tune out the other sounds so that he could focus on the far side of the stream, but still he couldn¡¯t hear anything.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear anything from the forest¡± Jake pointed at the trees as he responded.


    ¡°Ah, so you can hear the earth mother. She is ill, something dark stalks the woods, poisoning her children. As a druid, it will be your job to seek out such places and cleanse them of whatever ills have befallen them. Do you accept this calling?¡±


    A prompt appeared before Jake


    You are being offered a chance to activate your Druid class.


    Once active, you will be able to use Druid abilities, and your experience will count toward improving your Druid level.


    You can only have a single class active at a time.


    Do you accept?


    Smiling, Jake punched the accept button. Druid abilities? How could he say no!


    The old druid smiled at Jake, bowing his head ever so slightly.


    ¡°Welcome to the order lad. The forest needs cleansing, but before you can take on such a challenge you must tame an animal companion. In the forest between here and Greenest there are many wolves. Perhaps you could tame one of them.¡±


    Quest accepted: Taming an animal


    To complete this quest you need to tame an animal, making it your companion.


    Rewards: Animal companion, 100 XP


    Skill unlocked: Animal handling


    This skill increases your interaction options with wild animals.


    Non-hostile animals can be tamed with a Will check.


    Hostile animals can be calmed with a Will check.


    Spell unlocked: Entangle


    Thick vines sprout from the ground near your target, rooting them in place.


    Jake was too busy reading the prompts to hear the druids parting words. The old man made his way back to his post in the enclave. Jake was grinning from ear to ear. He had access to his first spell now, and a chance to get a companion, how cool was that?


    Even better, he¡¯d completed all the objectives for his adventurers guild quest. All he had to do was hand it in, and he¡¯d get enough experience points to level up.


    Almost skipping with joy, Jake cut through the enclave and started on the path back to greenest. If he saw a wolf along the way he¡¯d try out his new abilities, otherwise he¡¯d turn in the adventurers guild quest, then double back to scour the woods. Presumably, after getting a companion his task would be in the woods beyond the druid enclave, so it only made sense to hand in the quest at Greenest first - he might not return to the settlement for a long time.


    Traversing back to Greenest was an uneventful experience. At one point, Jake had heard the scuffles of combat somewhere in the distance, followed shortly by a cheer from what sounded like several people. No violence erupted anywhere near him as he walked though - Jake didn¡¯t even so much as see a wild animal.


    What he did see however, were plants. On the walk out to the enclave, Jake had seen little but the undergrowth and the trees - all of which had merged into one in his eyes. Jake had never learnt more than the most common names for plants. His mother had been an avid gardener but he¡¯d not been lucky enough to inherit her green thumbs. He was fairly certain the trees were oaks, but that was the extent of his botanical classification skills. As he now wandered back toward Greenest individual flowers further off the path caught his eye. Plants that he hadn¡¯t noticed while walking to the druid enclave, but which must have been there. It was almost as if they were calling to him now. He didn¡¯t want to stray too far from the path - the underbrush was difficult to see through, and the old druid¡¯s words that ¡°many¡± wolves lived out here concerned Jake a little - but he finally came upon a small bush covered in berries that he felt comfortable approaching.


    Each of the berries had a slight glow to them, as if he were seeing their auras. Curious, Jake picked several. They stained his fingers a deep purple as he plucked them from their branches, but didn¡¯t seem dangerous. Shrugging to himself, Jake chewed on a couple of them.


    They were tangy and sour, cool as the morning dew had been. He fought off the twitch near his eyes that always struck him while eating sour things, and waited for something to happen. It took a moment before a prompt appeared, which he focused on immediately.


    You¡¯ve consumed blueberries.


    Mana restoration rate increased.


    Well, there you have it. Jake had no idea what his mana restoration rate had been, or even what it was now, but an increase was obviously a good thing. Come to think of it, Jake didn¡¯t really know much about what went into his character. He¡¯d unlocked a spell (that he had no idea how to cast), and knew he¡¯d have health and mana scores somewhere, but he¡¯d yet to see any of it.


    Jake distracted himself from the rest of the walk by trying to call up the various prompts he was interested in, starting with the spell. He found the prompt easily enough - he only had to think about the spells he could perform, and it appeared before him. This one was a little different to most. Where the informational prompts were a mostly-translucent sheet covered in text, the spell prompt appeared as an ancient book hovering before him. It was open in the middle, showing a surprising number of pages either side of the point that it had opened at. Entangle showed as a small icon of a vine, with the name in handwritten text next to it. Surprised by the prompts appearance, Jake reached out and grabbed this one. The book became real in his hands, and he almost dropped it at it¡¯s sudden weight. It¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t changed, but Jake had a sneaking suspicion that other players would be able to see it in it¡¯s present state. Perhaps this was how mages shared their spells with one another?


    As soon as he willed it away, the physical book vanished. He thought it back into existence, leaving it as a prompt this time, and selected the Entangle spell. His right hand began to tingle, and when he looked down he could see a ghostly vine tracing circles around his palm. It glowed a faint green against his skin.


    Jake pointed his hand at a patch of grass off the side of the path ahead of him, and willed the spell forward. It streaked like an arrow toward the ground, leaving the ghostly green trail behind it. A moment after it hit the ground, several vines grew up out of nowhere, reaching to the sky like the tentacles of a kraken. They swayed in place for a while, their swaying motions like a snake tasting the air, and then receded back into the earth. Apparently the spell dispersed quickly enough if it didn¡¯t find anything to latch onto.


    Now, the second order of business was to figure out just how much mana he had. Again, it only took him a moment to summon the right prompt with his mind. The numbers glowed an ethereal blue at the edge of his vision, just far enough aside that it wasn¡¯t distracting, but he could still examine it at a glance.


    20/25


    His health he found similarly. It displayed on the opposite side of his vision, with a soft red glow


    20/20


    Jake had no idea how his mana and health were determined, but assumed it must be based on his class. Druids seem to have a spell-casting focus, it stood to reason that they¡¯d have a higher mana value. Relating his health back to his weapons however, worried Jake somewhat. If his maximum health was only 20, and his starting weapon could deal 3-6 damage per hit, it wouldn¡¯t take much to take him out. He¡¯d have to keep an eye on that, and figure out just how much of a threat animals like the wolves might be - judging by the wounded player he¡¯d found on the way to the enclave, they probably dealt damage as quickly as he could.


    Jake still hadn¡¯t had a chance to look at it¡¯s list of abilities, but he had reached the edge of Greenest again. His abilities could wait - he had a quest to turn in!

 Chapter 5

    ¡°Back so soon are we?¡± Annie asked. She was sat on a stool next to the fire at the Inn with a great big book open in her lap.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am¡± Jake responded, not quite sure what the expected answer was. Obviously he¡¯d made it back.


    ¡°Very well, you¡¯ve demonstrated that you can follow instructions, and started on your class path to boot. There¡¯s only one thing left for you to do. Just sign your name in our register of adventurers.¡± She hoisted the large tome off her knees, and deposited it on the table between her and Jake. She put down a quill next to it, and waited patiently for Jake to make his move.


    Jake took the feather, dipping it in it¡¯s ink pot. The book had the same appearance as his spell book, though it was much larger. Just like his spell book, it was a ¡°real¡± prop representing a game prompt.


    Enter your character¡¯s first and last names.


    Your name will be visible to all other players.


    In the interest of security, we advise you not to use your real name. For further information about securing your identity in game, please read our security guidelines.


    This prompt stumped Jake for a moment. He ran the last few hours back through his mind, realising that no one had referred to him by name; nor had anyone asked him for it. Perhaps that was part of the game tutorial - an easy way for more experienced players to identify those who hadn¡¯t yet finished the introductory quest line.


    Beyond the curious design decision of the game however, Jake was stuck with a very real problem - he hated naming things. Even worse, it was clear that the game expected him to pick two names, doubling hist troubles.


    He¡¯d always liked Irish names. He wasn¡¯t Irish himself, but who could resist that accent? Jake had also been drawn towards names that confused people, names that strangers would have trouble pronouncing. His own name bored him in that regard, it was about as plain as they came. As all of this flashed through his mind, a mostly transparent prompt appeared next to the pages of the book, listing out a bunch of Irish-looking names. Apparently the developers of the game had realised people struggled to name themselves, and had included a little helper to keep the ball rolling.


    For his first name, he wanted something with some sort of meaning. The naming helper prompt added definitions next to each suggestion. It didn¡¯t take long to find a name that jumped out at him. Felan, meaning little wolf. Jake thought it suited his personality well enough - he considered himself independent, a bit of a loner. Besides, the image of a wolf howling to the moon was a classic emblem of badassary.


    He wasn¡¯t too worried about his last name, in the games he¡¯d played previously people had only ever used their first names - just like in real life.


    One jumped out from the list - Oisin - pronounced ¡°oh-sheen¡±. Jake hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d had any criteria, but this was exactly the kind of name he¡¯d been looking for. It was near impossible to pronounce if you didn¡¯t already know how to say it, making it the kind of name that chat-spammers would give up on, rather than shouting out in a crowded market. As far as Jake was concerned, Oisin was perfect.


    Felan Oisin, the druid, signed his name.


    ¡°Felan Oisin? A fine name¡± She pronounced it perfectly. Jake - no, Felan now - wondered if she had access to the same prompts he¡¯d seen while picking the name. For all he knew, the NPCs of the game were connected to his brain, able to pronounce everything exactly as he expected. Once he logged out, he¡¯d have to do some research.


    ¡°Well, that about does it then. You¡¯re now a registered member of the Adventurers Guild, we just need to sort out your dues and -¡±


    ¡°Sorry, what dues?¡± Felan interjected


    ¡°The guild dues of course. 50 gold per month, payable at the end of each month.¡± Annie seemed to be struggling not to laugh at the look on his face.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be free did you? We offer a lot of services to adventurers like yourself, and we¡¯re not running a charity here. Your dues give you authority to take jobs from the hunting board¡± She pointed at a noticeboard to the right of the door that led outside. A few yellowed pages of parchment were tacked to it, but Felan was too far away to make out the writing scrawled across them.


    ¡°Being a member of the Adventurers Guild also gives you some standing with the other guilds. Many of them will only hire official adventurers when they need help with a task.


    Don¡¯t worry too much about the dues. Like I said you¡¯ve got until the end of the month, giving you - ¡° she consulted a page in her book that looked like a calender, though each little box was crammed so full of writing that Felan couldn¡¯t see any of the dates.


    ¡°A week. Exactly a week from today. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no leniency with dues, if you can¡¯t pay on the day you won¡¯t be able to access any guild services until you¡¯re caught up. But you¡¯ve got no need to worry. I¡¯ve got just the thing right here¡± she fished around in a bag beside her, and withdrew a scroll.


    ¡°50 gold pieces, 300 experience, and a piece of armour of your choosing. Sounds like a winner!¡± She smiled to him, and then froze


    ¡°Oh dearie me, I¡¯m afraid this quest is only available if you¡¯re level two or above. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have any trouble getting there though, just come on back after you¡¯ve levelled up and it¡¯s all yours.¡±


    Felan glanced over at the hunting board. Sure, he just needed to finish his druid quest to level up, but if he was heading out anyway¡­


    ¡°So I can take the hunting quests now?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely. Like I said, you¡¯re a full member of the guild until Dues day.¡± She smiled, letting him know he was all but dismissed. Clearly she had little to say to him until he levelled up.


    Mumbling a goodbye, Felan made for the hunting board. There were four pieces of paper pinned to the wall, and as he approached a numeral faded into his view in the upper right corner of each. Two of them had a red four, one was a yellow two, and the other was an orange three. It didn¡¯t take a genius to work out that they were the recommended level for each quest. He turned his attention to the level two quest


    Wolves have been attacking the animals on Waylons farm. Cull ten wolves in the area, keeping their tails as proof.


    Reward: 5gp, 300xp


    Felan punched the ¡°accept¡± button as soon as the prompt appeared. He needed to tame an animal companion anyway, why not tame one of the wolves near the farm?Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Satisfied that he¡¯d achieved everything he needed to do in Greenest, Felan stepped back out of the bar, straight into another player.


    ¡°Woah buddy!¡± The stranger exclaimed, taking a step backwards. His foot missed the step and he collapsed into a heap on the dirt.


    ¡°Sorry, are you OK?¡± Felan could feel a blush creeping up from the collar of his shirt.


    ¡°Ha, yeah. No biggie. Names Andross¡± The man laughed as he got back to his feet, brushing dust off his pants. He was dressed similarly to Felan, but instead of a wooden club he had a short sword in a scabbard at his hip. The man extended a hand toward him, and Felan shook it.


    ¡°I¡¯m Felan, sorry to uh - meet like this.¡± Felan¡¯s face was glowing warmly. The blush had spread.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it man, it happens.¡± Andross took a moment to run his eyes over Felan before continuing.


    ¡°Say, you¡¯re a Druid right? Have you tamed a beast yet?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no. I was just going to do that now.¡±


    ¡°A wolf right? Man, there¡¯s something way better that they don¡¯t normally tell you about.¡± Andross glanced around, as if to check whether anyone else was within earshot.


    ¡°There¡¯s a dire wolf. A couple friends of mine found it last week, but none of us are Druids. I could show you where it is if you want.¡±


    Felan half expected a quest prompt to appear in front of him. It sounded too good to be true didn¡¯t it?


    ¡°What do you want for it?¡±


    ¡°Ha! You caught me. Truth is, the dire wolf is guarding a quest item. Only we can¡¯t kill the Dire Wolf - it¡¯s a condition of the quest. None of us have any sort of magic to calm it or put it to sleep, we¡¯re more of a charge in and kill things kind of a group.¡±


    ¡°So you want me to tame it, and you get the loot?¡±


    ¡°Yeah man, that¡¯s a win win right? We can complete our quest, and you get a bad-ass companion¡±


    That made a lot more sense to Felan. In his experience, very few people did anything without getting something in return. And a dire wolf sounded significantly more impressive than a plain old grey wolf.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in. When do we go?¡±


    Andross¡¯ eyes glazed over for a moment, and Felan realised he was checking a prompt of some sort.


    ¡°Only one of the guys is online at the moment, but to be honest we shouldn¡¯t have much trouble just you and me - the hard part of the quest was subduing the dire wolf without killing it. I should be able to weaken it enough for you to tame. Wanna go now?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely!¡±


    Together, the pair made their way to the edge of Greenest. This time, instead of turning to the east and heading into the forest towards the druid enclave, Jake was led to the west. The duo cut across a field of grass up to their knees, clearly feed being grown for the local livestock. Felan found himself wondering whether this game world had seasons, and whether this field would die away in winter.


    He was about to ask when Andross turned to look at him.


    ¡°See that tree-line over there?¡± He pointed into the distance. Felan could make out the same trees he¡¯d seen everywhere else so far. He nodded.


    ¡°The dire wolf is just past them. If I¡¯ve got my bearings right - ¡° Andross turned in a slow circle, then continued forward ¡° - we should be on the right path here. It took us two full days before we found the spot. The damn woods over there are super dense. Fair warning - you¡¯ll probably get a prompt when we enter the forest. Technically it¡¯s not meant for low level characters, but we don¡¯t have to go in very far.¡±


    Felan followed in silence. Truthfully, he didn¡¯t much care for the details of Andross¡¯ quest. He was only doing it for the chance to tame a dire wolf. Felan pulled up the skills screen again, figuring he might as well learn how it worked while they walked. The tree line was a while away, probably a ten minute walk from here.


    Animal handling


    This skill increases your interaction options with wild animals.


    Non-hostile animals can be tamed with a Will check.


    Hostile animals can be calmed with a Will check.


    Unfortunately, it gave no clues as to how Felan was meant to activate the Will check. He wasn¡¯t even sure what a Will check really was.


    ¡°Hey Andross, you been playing long?¡±


    ¡°Long enough to gain a few levels, why?¡±


    ¡°How exactly do I use my skills¡­¡±


    Andross explained that, like most things in the game, most skills were activated simply by thinking of them. Although apparently there were a tonne of physical-based skills like Climbing, that depended as much on player ability as the skill itself. Others, like Felan¡¯s Animal Handling skill were automatically active - animals should act more friendly towards Felan, though he¡¯d have to think about activating the skill if he wanted to tame or calm anything.


    What had really stuck out with Andross¡¯ explanation though, was his description of a Will check. If he was being entirely honest, Felan was a little worried by that. In essence a Will check was a battle of the mind. Felan and the Dire Wolf would be connected psychically, and the stronger mind would emerge victorious. Any failed Will contest always left some sort of debuff - there was no way of predicting what kind of debuff it might be, though they were often tied to the source of the failed willpower check. Presumably that meant the opposite of what you were intending, and Felan didn¡¯t want to dwell on what the opposite of ¡°taming a direwolf¡± might be. If everything went wrong, he might spend the next week on all fours howling at the moon.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that man. I¡¯ll get that puppy so weak it¡¯ll be begging to be your friend¡± Andross laughed, slapping Felan on the back hard enough to make him stumble forward an extra step.


    ¡°Here we are. Remember, as soon as we step into the forest you¡¯ll get a prompt warning you the place is too high level. Have a look for the dire wolf before you read it, we don¡¯t want to get jumped when we go in.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t see it from here?¡±


    ¡°Na, something to do with the game zones. You can¡¯t see mobs in there until you step in yourself. You ready?¡±


    Felan nodded, and followed Andross into the tree line. He¡¯d been right - Felan got a notification prompt as soon as he stepped into the cool shadows. He scanned in all directions, and couldn¡¯t see anything except for Andross. Satisfied, he opened the prompt.


    Attention player,


    You have entered the wilderness.


    This is a Player vs Player zone.


    While in the wilderness, any players can fight one another regardless of dueling or clan settings.


    What the? This wasn¡¯t the prompt Andross had told him about!


    Felan dismissed the prompt, and stood face to face with the pointy end of an ornate rapier. Andross¡¯ old weapon had vanished, the scabbard at his waist now was even more ornate than the sword pointed at Felan - it swirled with golden roses and rubies.


    ¡°What the -¡±


    The rapier struck with ferocious speed. It whistled through the air next to Felan¡¯s head as he twisted aside, his body moving before his mind had fully registered the situation. Andross wasn¡¯t here to help him tame a dire wolf, he¡¯d been lured into a trap!


    Andross cursed as he stepped closer, readying another strike. Felan lifted his shield arm into position in front of himself, ready to deflect the incoming attack. Judging by the ridiculously flashy weapon, Andross must be a lot stronger than he¡¯d let on. Felan wouldn¡¯t be able to fight him one on one, his only chance would be to retreat back out of the forest. It was only a dozen paces away.


    He took a step backwards, and Andross lunged. Felan¡¯s shield met the blade. Instead of blocking the thrust though it merely glanced off his shield, redirecting towards Felan¡¯s body. The point skewered him through his right shoulder. It felt like he¡¯d grabbed hold of a live wire, pain jolted down his arm to his hand, loosening his grip on the club he hadn¡¯t quite unhooked from his belt yet.


    His breath caught in a gasp as he stumbled backwards, away from the pain. He was only a few paces from the edge of the field now.


    The rapier struck again, lunging too fast for Felan¡¯s eyes to follow. The point buried itself in his chest and Felan suddenly felt very cold. Like ice had formed in his lungs. He gasped for air but couldn¡¯t breath.


    Andross glared at him as he fell to his knees.


    The last thing Felan saw was a wispy purple gas floating away from his chest. It was being drawn to a ring on Andross¡¯ finger like a vortex of water draining from a bath.


    The world went dark.


    Combat log:


    Andross hit you for 15 piercing damage


    Andross hit you for 10 piercing damage


    You have died


    Attention player,


    Your character has died.


    You will be able to return to the game in 7 days.


    Felan was alone in darkness now, with nothing but the prompts to keep him company. He fought back the urge to scream. It wouldn¡¯t do anything to change what had happened. He¡¯d heard of those sorts of ass holes in games before, but didn¡¯t think they¡¯d ever catch him off guard!


    Felan swore once. The silence that followed unnerved him, so he swore again. And again.


    After venting his anger (and exhausting his vocabulary) Felan logged out.

 Chapter 6

    The stench of disinfectant hit Jake before he even had a chance to open his eyes. It was the smell everyone associated with a hospital, chemicals you could never quite escape from. Like someone in the room over had bathed in bleach, then done jumping jacks in the corner of the room.


    His first sight was of the ceiling. It was covered in tiles, each with dozens off small holes drilled through. Some OCD-like tendency to count them kicked in, and Jake realized there were thirteen holes per rows in each direction of each tile. The horizontal rows were offset, causing the holes to sit diagonally from the row below. For reasons he couldn¡¯t quite explain, Jake was angry that there were an odd number of holes in each tile.


    He heard the doctor before he saw him. It was the shifty eyed one, the one who¡¯d suggested he enter the game in the first place. He crossed the room with quick quiet footsteps.


    ¡°Hi Jake. H-How are you feeling?¡±


    The man¡¯s voice was soft, almost a whisper, but he was standing close enough that Jake could hear him clearly. Jake looked down toward his feet and considered his answer before replying. He couldn¡¯t see them underneath the hospital sheet, but the shape of his feet at the end of the bed didn¡¯t move when he willed them to. The doctor had been wrong, the game hadn¡¯t done anything for him.


    ¡°Alright I guess. How long was I playing?¡±


    ¡°A couple of hours. Were you enjoying it?¡±


    ¡°Only a couple? It felt a lot longer.¡±


    ¡°It does. All im¡ªimmersion games work that way, in game time passes much faster than real life. You didn¡¯t answer my question¡±


    Jake paused before responding. Truthfully, if it weren¡¯t for the accident he didn''t think he would have tried an immersion game. He¡¯d heard of people getting addicted to immersion games, not wanting to live in the real world any more. Jake had always worried that he¡¯d had an addictive personality. He often fixated on a particular hobby for months at a time, almost to the exclusion of all else. He had avoided immersion gaming for the same reason he¡¯d avoided drugs all his life - after the first taste he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to resist their call.


    His reservations about playing aside, he had been enjoying the game. There was something incredibly satisfying about seeing prompts announcing he¡¯d gained experience. He had something to work toward. His real life healing was the priority, but progressing the Druid quest line held an allure for him. He wanted to see that level up effect, he wanted to play again.


    He¡¯d been right to avoid immersion games until now.


    ¡°Yeah, I think I am. How long do you think I¡¯ll have to play it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell. M-my other patients started showing signs of recovery after a few weeks. Dozens of hours. B-but I don¡¯t want you to think about that, we¡¯ll do it for as long as we need.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t log in for another week. Is there something else I can do?¡±


    ¡°Oh.. You died. I-I¡¯m sorry Jake, you¡¯ll have to wait it out.¡±


    Those words hit Jake like a train. He¡¯d assumed he was playing one of many immersion games available, that he¡¯d be able to jump to another one until he could log back in. This game was his lifeline, and now his chance at recovery was on hold because that bastard had tricked him?


    Jake wanted to scream.


    The doctor must have noticed the rage written across his face.


    ¡°There are o-other things you can do for a week. You need to do physical rehab anyway, we¡¯ll focus on it more heavily for the first week.¡±


    Jake bit back an insult. Of course he¡¯d known he¡¯d have to do physical exercises as well. He wasn¡¯t an idiot. But neither was the doctor, he was clearly just trying to do his job. Yelling at him wouldn¡¯t get Jake anywhere.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. When can I start that?¡±


    Despite all the bad that had happened during the day - the death in game, the boring drudgery of sitting in a hospital bed with no idea how to entertain himself, and the sickening realization that this was possibly his life now - Jake found an upside that afternoon.


    He rolled himself into the physio room - it had taken some amount of arguing with the nurses to convince them that he didn¡¯t need to be pushed around the building. He was more than capable of navigating the halls by himself. Truth be told, it was rather exhausting. He¡¯d never had to use his arms like this before, and his shoulders ached after traversing the first few hallways. But he hadn¡¯t been able to back down, he didn¡¯t want anyone looking at him in pity. It was a matter of pride now.


    The physio worker assigned to his case was gorgeous. Five and a half feet tall, slim, all long legs and womanly curves. A warm smile combined with bright eyes make a woman that would turn heads anywhere. Unlike a lot of women with her looks she seemed oblivious to her beauty. In the hour that Jake spent with her he quickly realized she¡¯d devoted her life to helping others. Using her beauty to manipulate people would have come as naturally to her as running to a fish.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    He also noticed the wedding ring.


    By the end of the session Jake¡¯s was exhausted. They¡¯d focused mostly on his shoulders and arms - she hadn¡¯t wanted him to hurt himself pushing the wheelchair around the building. She¡¯d been ecstatic to learn that he could feel the strain in his muscles as she¡¯d moved his legs through the exercises. If he could feel his muscles straining, he should be able to control them sooner or later. She¡¯d been gentle in reminding him that his condition was bad, and that he would be better expecting results later rather than sooner, and for that he was grateful.


    Even though it was awful being reminded of his injuries, it helped to know that other people believed he could recover - even if it would take a long time. That gave Jake something that he could focus on when he started to doubt it himself. If the professionals all believed in him, it didn¡¯t really matter what he thought. And he¡¯d be damned if he wasn¡¯t going to work his butt off to get walking again.


    The second day was far worse than the first.


    Jake didn¡¯t have a physio session today. Instead he had exercises to work through in his own room. Alone. He spent the day browsing the internet, searching for anything to distract him from the chemical smell that lingered in the air, or the echoing clack of administrators in heels walking the halls.


    He hated being confined to his bed, but he couldn¡¯t get into the wheelchair unassisted. He was helped into it just twice during the day - once for his exercises, and again later in the afternoon to use the bathroom. Both times he¡¯d been flushed with shame at needing help getting out of bed. The nurses were adamant that it wasn¡¯t a problem, but Jake hated feeling like a burden. After he¡¯d finished his exercises he tried arguing that he should be allowed to roam the halls at will, but the orderly had insisted he spend a few more days in bed before then. The man had struck a deal with Jake. If Jake could maneuver himself into the wheelchair unassisted, he could roam the halls as much as he wanted.


    It gave Jake something to work toward.


    On the third day, he made it into the wheelchair from his bed by himself. It wasn¡¯t until he was wheeling himself through the halls with a grin plastered from ear to ear that he considered that might have been the orderlies plan all along. Jake had needed a win, and becoming mobile again - even if it wasn¡¯t in the way he really wanted - gave him a strong sense of victory.


    Again, he only had his exercises to do that day. The physio ward seemed a lot busier than Jake had thought it would be. They were in a small town, and the hospital wasn¡¯t exactly large. After completing his exercises, Jake explored the halls. He made it most of the way to the other side of the hospital before anyone even questioned his presence, and even then they barely chastised him for terrorizing the halls. Everyone seemed genuinely glad to see a patient grinning as they rolled themselves around the building.


    On the fourth day after his game death, Jake had physio again. This time he was disappointed to learn that his therapist was a balding middle aged man. That disappointment quickly faded however as he learned a variety of new exercises, and was pushed to his limits. Matthew - the new therapist - was almost bordering on personal trainer territory as he pushed Jake through several difficult challenges. Matthew seemed to prescribe to the school of thought that if it didn¡¯t hurt it wasn¡¯t working, and by the end of his session Jake could barely wheel himself back to his room. His whole body ached, and he¡¯d been sorely tempted to take Matthew up on his offer to have an orderly push him back.


    The last three days of his out-of-game ¡®incarceration¡¯ were by far the worst. Jake didn¡¯t have physio appointments to attend, and after his first lot of exercise each day he couldn¡¯t motivate himself to push harder. His muscles still ached from the work he¡¯d done with Matthew. He spent time on the internet, browsing the same sites over and over. He was reading everything that was posted, clearly having more time on his hands than the content creators.


    His boredom soon turned to anger again. Anger at the worthless driver who¡¯d sent him here in the first place - the police still hadn¡¯t been able to find him. Anger at Andross for killing him in his only escape from this hospital and it¡¯s chemical stench. Anger at himself; even after almost a week of constant exercises his feet wouldn¡¯t so much as twitch on their own. The shifty eyed doctor had been adamant that more time in-game would help, though Jake wasn¡¯t sure whether he was saying that for Jake or himself. Perhaps the doctor was more concerned with seeing his treatment work than he was in Jake¡¯s prognosis.


    Andross was the one that bore the brunt of Jake¡¯s frustration. Perhaps it was because Jake had convinced himself he¡¯d be able to get some sort of revenge for his in-game death. Plotting his revenge gave Jake something to do when the boredom set in. He didn¡¯t understand a great deal about the game, but he was fairly confident he¡¯d be able to track down Andross again.


    To aid his scheming, Jake took to scouring the internet for information about the game. The corporation that created it had worked tirelessly to take down sites that leaked secrets for the game, they¡¯d cited copyright and intellectual property concerns; though many forums attributed site outages and hacked servers to the corporation as well. They seemed intent on keeping knowledge of the game out of the public eye, which made Jake¡¯s task of learning incredibly difficult.


    In the end, he found the official site of the game to be the most useful. It explained that the game was largely player driven. Players could form Guilds and create their own quests. Almost all industry in-game was now driven by player guilds - in the first few years of the game NPCs had done most of the resource gathering and crafting, but they¡¯d slowly been phased out as more players took on those roles. There was speculation that the corporation was using the game for economic studies, though no official data had been published yet.


    What drew Jake¡¯s attention to the guilds however, was the guild wars. PVP (Player Vs Player) combat was restricted to duels between two consenting players - which were a one-off event - in cities, the wilderness, and guild wars. The wilderness seemed to cover the entire world outside of NPC settlements, which all had a relatively large safe zone around them. By the looks of it, players could do almost anything they wanted within the safe zones if they wanted to avoid PVP altogether. The guild wars were where players from opposing guilds could fight each other at any time. They¡¯d been very controversial during their introduction to the game - players had complained a lot about being under threat of other players at any time - but eventually they¡¯d been accepted. Guilds had formed that refused to participate in the wars, and players that weren¡¯t interested in fighting one another tended to flock to these, and keep within the safe zones around settlements. What mattered to Jake though, was that he¡¯d be able to create a guild. With a guild of his own, he¡¯d be able to declare a war on whatever guild Andross was in. Jake would then be free to hunt him all over The World.


    All he had to do was wait until he could get back in game.

 Chapter 7

    The smell of a stew being cooked roused Felan from his slumber. He was upstairs in the inn, resting on a straw packed mattress that was far more comfortable than it had any right to be. It took him only a few minutes to gather his things and make for the staircase. He¡¯d learnt one thing since waking - if he died again he¡¯d find himself back in the Greenest Inn.


    Annie was sat by the fire, though she didn¡¯t seem to notice Felan as he came down stairs. The same enormous man tended the bar - he was being kept busy by a surprising number of patrons lining up. Outside the door, Felan could see that it was late afternoon to early evening. He guessed that the people crowding the barkeep were the town NPCs, and soon saw a few familiar faces amongst the crowd - men he¡¯d seen working in the crafting district when he¡¯d first sought out Annie.


    This evening however, he ignored everyone. He already had his goal for the next few hours in mind, and didn¡¯t want any distractions. He noticed a few players milling around as he made for the door, but he didn¡¯t recognise any of them from the druid enclave. He only knew they were players because of the icon that appeared with their name when he thought about their identities. Felan was quite impressed with the name system - it only appeared when he was actively trying to recall a name, or briefly when he first met someone new. It was simplistic, but perfect for it¡¯s purpose.


    The night air was cool on his skin as he stepped away from the warmth of the inn. The fire combined with the assembled patrons had made for a pleasant atmosphere, and the night air was surprisingly cool in contrast. A half full moon shone overhead, casting plenty of light on the township. Torches burned in sconces mounted on posts throughout the village, ensuring that it would remain bright enough to navigate on even the darkest of nights.


    Felan doubted himself for a moment. He had no torch of his own and though the moon was bright, he doubted it would illuminate much of the forest. The wise part of his mind urged him to wait until morning before striking out. Felan certainly didn¡¯t want to risk another week out of game. On the other hand, he was in a beginner area of the game. Surely the wildlife wouldn¡¯t prove too much of a threat.


    Felan decided to gamble on the mercy of the developers. He headed toward the northern edge of the town, following the dirt path that was now very familiar to him. This time however, unlike every other time he¡¯d followed the path, Felan continued north after passing the Aetherstone.


    The forest to his east definitely held wolves. He would probably be able to track the wolves there, though he had the other quest to lure him further north. The same logic excluded the west from his interests - he had no desire to stray from the Greenest safe zone. Not until he had a chance to level up anyway.


    As he walked, Felan thought again of his quest log. The translucent prompt appeared as expected. He selected the Wolves at the door quest to mark it active. The map fragment showed a yellow marker some distance to the north, shrouded in that swirling grey smoke that covered most of the map. He had to kill ten wolves plaguing the farm, and he wanted to tame a wolf to be his companion.


    Ideally, if he could separate one from the pack, he¡¯d be able to tame it before fighting the others. With any luck, he might even get his new companion to fight alongside him against the rest of the pack. This quest seemed like the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone - and level up for the first time in the process.


    Felan¡¯s attention was drawn from his quest log by a howl in the distance.


    It took another ten minutes before Felan reached any further sign of the wolf. It¡¯s howl had gone unanswered, and it had howled just once more during his approach. He spotted the paw prints easily enough in the moonlight, though he had no idea how to tell how old they might be. From the shape of the prints he was fairly certain the wolf was following the path further north.


    A shiver ran down Felan¡¯s spine, the sort of tingling sensation that told him he was being watched. Moving slowly so as not to surprise whatever it might be, Felan shifted his right hand across his torso to grip of his club. His shield was already fastened in place on his left arm. His weapon in hand, he spun around to face his foe.


    There was nothing there.


    Felan strained his ears, but couldn¡¯t hear a single thing. It was as if the whole world had gone silent. The hairs on his arms were standing on end. He was certain he was being watched. Felan turned again, sweeping in a circle to examine his surroundings.


    The old trees stood silent and still not far from the path to his right. On his left the open fields looked empty, but for a few clumps of trees casting patches into darkness. The path was wide, and stretched both ahead and behind him, leaving few places for something to hide. Perhaps the sensation of being watched was all in his imagination, prompted by the howls of the lone wolf. He had to admit that it was unnerving being out here, knowing at least one wolf was on the prowl. The moonlight saturated everything, making his vision almost seem to be in grey scale.


    Something moved in the shadows under the tree line, and Felan whirled to face it. No matter how hard he studied the shadows though, nothing seemed to be moving now.


    Could it have been his imagination?


    He heard something from his left, and turned to look along the path to the north. He could have sworn something slipped back into the shadows of the tree line as he turned. Felan started backing up, retreating toward the field. He was no longer sure that he was dealing with a single wolf. It had been foolish to come out here at night, he had no idea what might be prowling in the shadows. This was a fantasy world, whats to say it wasn¡¯t some sort of intelligent player-eating monster stalking him from the tree line?


    Taking a gamble, Felan pulled up his quest log once more. The map indicated that he was slightly closer to Waylons farm than he was to Greenest. Though he was sorely tempted to turn tail and retreat, it made more sense to push further north - toward the farm. Surely he could find safety amongst the buildings there. At the very least, there should be other people.


    Felan made his decision, and resumed his course north along the path. He kept the club clenched tightly in his fist as he walked, and his head was on a swivel scanning for further signs of movement.


    He made it perhaps a dozen meters before something burst out of the darkness of the tree line and sprinted for him. He had enough time to turn to face his attacker, raising his shield arm in front of him and readying his club before it came within striking distance.


    The wolf was built much more solidly than Felan expected. He¡¯d always thought of wolves as somewhat dainty predators. This one was built like a war hound, with thick broad shoulders that were knotted with muscle. It¡¯s teeth looked like daggers as they lunged toward him, and Felan blocked it¡¯s jaws with his shield. His club swung down with as much force as he could muster, catching it at the base of it¡¯s neck and knocking it away from him. The creature growled at him, slobber dripping from it¡¯s fangs.


    Felan lunged at it, charging with his shield arm outstretched and then pivoting at the waist to deliver a powerful strike with the club. The wolf sidestepped him at the last moment, revealing that it was far more agile than Felan had anticipated. His momentum carried him in a half circle, exposing himself to the beast.


    He screamed as its fangs sank into his side. His vision took on a red tint, warning him that his health had plummeted. He swung blindly with the club. The thick wood caught it in the shoulder and forced it to release him. Before it could recover he twisted again, this time using his shield to swat it backwards. The wolf missed a step as it stumbled, and its front legs gave out from under it for a moment. Felan swung his club again, this time striking it¡¯s hind quarters, and the wolf was knocked prone.


    On instinct, Felan leapt onto it. He straddled its back, his shield arm pushing its jaws down into the ground. The beast wasn¡¯t strong enough to rise up, not with all of Felan¡¯s weight pressing down on it. It thrashed violently, but he managed to keep it restrained enough with his shield that it could only snap at him - biting chunks of fresh air frighteningly close to his legs but causing no harm.


    Felan focused on the creature, trying to will his animal handling skill into working for him. After what felt like a moment of mental fumbling, he felt a presence join him in his head. The wolf¡¯s mind reminded Felan of the smell of freshly cut grass - natural, and safe. It also felt like a tornado that was bouncing around in his skull. The wolf had gone still underneath Felan, but in his mind it was raging against his very existence. It howled and scratched, snarled and bit; and Felan felt like he was losing his mind to some insidious madness. He began to imagine a tidal wave washing through his thoughts, like an enormous moving wall of water cleaning everything away. The wolf presence sensed its impending doom and raged even harder, digging into Felan¡¯s psyche. It seemed to sink it¡¯s teeth in, holding his mind with tooth and claw. It continued to rage for a few moments longer, and then the water enveloped it. It was like it had been wrapped up in cotton wool - though it still fought against him, it was more like the dull thud of a pillow than sharp teeth.


    And then it went still.


    Felan could feel that it¡¯s consciousness was still married to his, but it no longer fought him. It seemed curious now, rather than frightened and angry. The wolf-presence sniffed at his memories, as if to judge his character. Felan dismissed the thoughts of water, and his mind adapted to the natural scent the wolf presence carried. In his minds eye he saw a clear picture of the clearing he had first entered this world through. The wolf was lapping at the cool river water, then skipping through the soft grass. It turned to look at Felan, and it¡¯s lips were pulled back in a smile.


    Slowly, Felan lifted himself off the wolf. He kept his shield arm between them and stepped back a few steps. The wolf rolled over until it¡¯s feet touched solid ground, and then it gently rose up. It stood as tall as Felan¡¯s waist, and looked somewhat smaller now that it¡¯s hackles weren¡¯t raised. Felan watched it for a long moment before lowering his shield.


    ¡°Who¡¯s a good boy?¡±


    He took a step forward, hooking the club to his belt as he did so. He reached out his right hand, letting the wolf sniff at his open palm. After just a moment it nuzzled against him, pushing it¡¯s cold wet nose into his palm.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to call you Baxter, how does that sound?¡±


    The wolf nuzzled harder, which Felan took as approval.


    It took Felan and Baxter another half hour to reach the farm. They encountered no one else on the path - in fact the only sign of life anywhere was a rabbit that Baxter chased back into it¡¯s hole in the fields. Felan hadn¡¯t ever seen a rabbit run so fast in his life.


    The farm buildings seemed empty as they approached, though it was still deep in the night. The faint smell of smoke came from the largest building, no doubt the family house. Felan didn¡¯t want to risk frightening its occupants by approaching in the darkness, so he and Baxter took up a position outside one of the other buildings. It was a tall wooden structure that smelt strongly of silage. Dry grass cuttings were piled up against the outside wall, making a comfortable seat for Felan while he waited until morning. Baxter curled up against his shins, draping his tail over feet.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.Felan woke up to a voice nearby, and opened his eyes to see a farmer standing over him, leaning on a pitch fork. Felan hadn¡¯t intended to sleep, but the grass he lounged on had been far more comfortable than he could have expected.


    ¡°I said, whatcha doin¡¯ there?¡± The farmer drawled, apparently not for the first time.


    ¡°Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. Is this Waylons farm?¡±


    ¡°Aye, I¡¯m Waylon and this is me farm. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°An adventurer, sent by the guild. You¡¯re having -¡±


    ¡°Wolves! ¡®Bout bloody time someone came to take care of ¡®em. I put up that contract weeks ago. ¡®Don¡¯ worry¡¯ they said, ¡®someone¡¯ll be along soon¡¯ they told me. Codswallop, you¡¯re the first to come.¡±


    The farmer extended a hand and Felan was quickly pulled to his feet.


    ¡°Aw well, ain¡¯t no use in moanin¡¯. You¡¯re ¡®ere now anyways. Over there they were¡± he pointed toward the paddock nearest the woods.


    ¡°¡¯Aven¡¯t seen them in a day or so, but they always come back. Blasted things.¡±


    Felan realised the farmer hadn¡¯t said a thing about the wolf who¡¯d been sleeping beside him. It took a long moment longer before he realised Baxter had vanished. Felan tried his hardest to hide his surprise as he looked around for his companion.


    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve got work ta be doin¡¯. My wife¡¯ll be in the ¡®ouse if you need anything else.¡± Apparently convinced that he¡¯d given his new employee all the required information, the farmer wandered off toward another of the buildings. Felan watched him go for a moment, he was a tall healthy-looking man but he leaned on the pitchfork as he walked. Something about his gait made Felan think it was an old injury that gave him trouble, which was probably why he had to recruit help to deal with the wolves. Once the man disappeared out of sight, Felan studied the ground around where he¡¯d slept. There was the faintest hint of dew on the grass around him and Felan could see a few patches where it had been brushed away, but he couldn¡¯t tell if the disruption to it was caused by Baxter or the farmer.


    Perhaps his companion had gone into hiding so as not to worry the farmer and his family. Felan didn¡¯t really know what to expect from Baxter¡¯s behaviour. The wolf had seemed to understand him during their travels the night before, but he had no idea how intelligent the wolf was. Perhaps he followed Felan¡¯s orders because he was a companion animal, and it was built into his programming. Maybe Baxter was intelligent in his own right, and merely did as Felan asked because he thought it was in his best interests.


    Regardless of Baxter¡¯s whereabouts, Felan did have one last thing he needed. He¡¯d realised it during the walk to the farm, and the farmers wife might present the perfect opportunity. He made his way toward the house, making his footsteps as heavy as possible to announce his approach. He didn¡¯t want to scare the woman, and he¡¯d always hated the social awkwardness of trying to get someone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Hello young man, what can I do for you?¡±


    Felan nearly jumped out of his skin. He¡¯d been so focused on making a noisy approach that he hadn¡¯t noticed the window beside him swinging open. The woman who¡¯d spoken looked to be pushing fifty, with long grey hair stacked up in a bun above a tanned face heavily wrinkled by smile lines.


    ¡°Your husband said you might be able to help me with my quest to cull the wolves.¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be much use in a fight¡± the old woman laughed.


    ¡°No, no. Of course not. I just need a knife, I¡¯ve only got this club see.¡±


    ¡°I can do that. You¡¯re not thinking of eating them are you?¡±


    Felan could honestly say the thought hadn¡¯t crossed his mind, but now that she¡¯d mentioned it¡­ well, he might be able to sell the meat at least.


    ¡°Mangy things those wolves. Though I suppose they wouldn¡¯t be giving us so much trouble if they were healthy. They seem to be hunting here because they can¡¯t catch things elsewhere.¡±


    As she talked she moved away from the window for a moment, and returned with a bone-handled carving knife extended toward Felan. He took the blade, tucking it into his belt. He had no sheath for it, but he didn¡¯t think it¡¯d cut through the belt unless he twisted awkwardly, and it didn¡¯t seem too likely that he¡¯d cut himself.


    Felan thanked the woman, paying a few coins from his inventory, and then returned to where he¡¯d spent the night. He wanted to try and find Baxter before going after the wolves.


    Felan finally found Baxter after he¡¯d given up the search. He¡¯d spent half an hour following anything that could have been Baxter¡¯s tracks leading away from the pile of hay that he¡¯d slept in, then given up and set off to hunt the wolf pack. He¡¯d hoped that Baxter might find him once he was further away from the farm buildings, and he¡¯d been right.


    The big wolf loped up with a goofy grin on it¡¯s face, and a splash of red across it¡¯s muzzle. Judging by the fur lodged in it¡¯s teeth, Felan was fairly certain it had caught a rabbit for breakfast; a thought that made his own stomach grumble. He hadn¡¯t considered the need for food when he¡¯d left Greenest, so he wasn¡¯t carrying anything edible. He¡¯d best make quick work of these wolves, so that he could settle in somewhere for a decent lunch. Perhaps Waylons wife would be so kind as to cook him something when he was done.


    Baxter quickly took the lead, and Felan fell in behind him. He¡¯d explained why he was here, and the wolf seemed to have understood, but Felan still wasn¡¯t sure whether they were tracking wolves or rabbits as they moved further from the farm buildings. Given his own tracking ability though, he would just have to trust that Baxter was leading him the right way. Felan decided that his companion would warn him of any trouble, and summoned his spell book again.


    During his fight with Baxter he¡¯d been so caught up in trying not to get eaten that he¡¯d completely forgotten about the Entangle spell that he¡¯d learnt. He was hoping he¡¯d be able to fight these wolves one at a time, but if they attacked as a pack he should be able to stop - or at least slow - them with the spell. He kept the spell prompt ready off to one side of his vision so it would be ready when he needed it, and returned to sight-seeing. The farm buildings were a long way away now, and the trees of the forest loomed tall and foreboding. After the incident with Andross, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever be able to look at a forest the same way again.


    It was almost half an hour later when Baxter halted, his hackles rising. He started growling - a sound that started with a grumble and quickly grew into a throaty rumbling. Felan froze in place, his eyes frantically scanning for the threat. He¡¯d been studying his spellbook again, looking to see if the prompt had any hints on how he might learn more spells. It took only a moment to see a shadow of movement off to one side. As he turned to look at it, movement flashed out the corner of his eye in the other direction.


    Wolves were trying to flank him!


    Felan activated the Entangle spell, and his arm began to tingle as the ethereal vine swirled from his elbow to his wrist. He counted three of them now, one from each side and one directly in front. Baxter was growling at the one directly ahead of them, so Felan turned his attention to the one on the right. It was quite a bit smaller than Baxter - it¡¯s ribs were clearly visible, and it wasn¡¯t nearly as muscled. It took a few steps forward, and Felan cast the spell at its feet. The bolt of green energy streaked across the distance between them, splattering over the ground just short of the wolf. Vines whipped up out of the ground but only grasped at empty air.


    Felan cursed and pulled up the spell again. He checked over his shoulder, but the wolf directly behind him hadn¡¯t come any closer. Baxter was taking slow steps toward the third wolf, crouched low and ready to charge. The spell buzzed into life around his arm again, just as his target started to charge at him. He fired Entangle between them, hitting the ground at the same time as the wolves front paws. Vines leapt up to snatch at its ankles, causing it to tumble headfirst onto the ground. More vines swept up, wrapping around it¡¯s prone body and holding it in place.


    Baxter barked - Felan hadn¡¯t known that wolves could bark - and charged to meet his foe. Felan heard something behind him, and turned to see the third wolf barrelling towards him. He leapt to one side, rolling awkwardly as he landed, and rose to his feet with his club in his hand. The wolf was circling back around again, giving him enough time to activate Entangle in his left hand. He wouldn¡¯t be as accurate with his off hand, but with the wolf so close he probably didn¡¯t need to be.


    For a moment Felan and the wolf stood still eyeing one another. Then the wolf pounced. Felan threw his spell in front of him. Unlike last time the spell hit the wolf directly. Instead of vines leaping up into the air, the ethereal bolt of green energy began to circle around the wolf instead. Nothing seemed to happen until the wolf landed on the ground right in front of Felan. As the wolf came close to the ground, the spell leapt from it¡¯s fur and hit the dirt. Vines swarmed up to ensnare the beast.


    That was good to know - he could target creatures as well as the ground.


    Felan dealt one solid blow to the wolf with his club, and was winding up for another one when something smashed into him from behind. He stumbled forward, tripping over the vines that ensnared his prey, and collapsed onto the ground. His club slipped out of his grip, rolling to the side. Something sharp stabbed against his shoulder, and he realised the first wolf he¡¯d Entangled had just bitten him. The spell must have worn off already.


    Felan rolled onto his back, momentarily dislodging the wolf. His club was just out of his reach, but his hand met with something else that felt solid. Without having time to look at it, he grabbed hold of the object and swung it at the yellow eyes that were glaring at him. The rock scored a direct hit between both the wolves eyes, causing it to retreat.


    That gave Felan enough time to grab his club and scramble to his feet. He closed the distance between them and swung the club as hard as he could, catching it on the side of it¡¯s jaw. The wolf went still, crumpling on the ground.


    Felan turned back to the other wolf in time to see the Entangle spell wear off. The vines shrivelled, darkening to black before falling away. Just as the wolf regained its footing, Baxter rushed in from the corner of Felan¡¯s vision and tore at its throat. The wolf was already wounded by Felan¡¯s club, and Baxter¡¯s assault ended it¡¯s life.


    Felan looked in the direction Baxter had come from and he could see the third wolf lying unmoving on its side a few meters away. Baxter turned to look at him, cocking his head to one side with his tongue lolling out.


    ¡°Good boy¡±


    Felan patted the friendly wolf on his shaggy head. Were it not for the adoring look in his eyes, the wolf would be a terrifying sight. A few chunks of fur were missing after his scuffle, and his chin was stained with wet blood.


    ¡°We got ¡®em. Good boy.¡±


    The combat log prompt flashed into sight, but Felan only skimmed it. It showed each of the times he¡¯d cast Entangle but didn¡¯t show when the spells had worn off, so he wasn¡¯t sure exactly how long the effect lasted. It only felt like it had been a few seconds each, but it was hard to judge time. The only other entry of interest was when he¡¯d struck the wolf with the rock:


    You hit the wolf with an improvised attack for 3 damage.


    So, the game noted that it was an improvised attack, and recorded it differently in the combat log. Perhaps that meant it was related to a skill? Felan wasn¡¯t sure but the damage from the rock was lower than his club, so he wasn¡¯t planning on discarding his main weapon any time soon.


    It only took a few minutes for Felan to drag the wolf corpses together. He used the knife he¡¯d got from the farmers wife to remove their tails, dropping them into his inventory without so much as a second look. With the quest components out of the way, Felan decided to try his hand at skinning. He¡¯d seen the leather worker in Greenest working on some sort of animal skin, so he knew that it must be a part of the game. He had no idea what a wolf pelt was worth, but given the difficulty he¡¯d had in fighting them, the townsfolk probably didn¡¯t gather many themselves. The basic law of supply and demand taught Felan that wherever there was a shortage of something he could make a profit.


    Unfortunately, this wasn¡¯t like the spellbook where a prompt handled the complexities. Skinning the wolf was an entirely manual process, and significantly harder than it looked. The first wolf was roughly butchered. Felan¡¯s knife poked through the beasts skin several times when he cut too close to the surface, leaving him with a ragged pelt he was certain was worthless. The second fared a little better. This time he started from one ankle, and worked his way up the leg. He got as far as it¡¯s belly before making a major mistake - he drove the knife in too deep as he cut across it¡¯s torso. He accidentally skewered its intestines, and a putrid goop came flooding out. Because he had the wolf on its back the liquid matted its already bloody fur. Not entirely useless, but much less valuable than a clean cut.


    With the final wolf Felan changed tactics again. This time he started by rolling it onto its back. He pinched at its tummy and lifted the skin up, easing the knife through without nicking any of it¡¯s organs. With the initial incisions complete he was able to run the blade from it¡¯s genitals to it¡¯s throat and peel the pelt back. The hardest part complete, he cut up each of the legs, and carved a ring around each ankle. The rest of the job was largely pulling and gently slicing. He made a mess of it¡¯s tail area again, cutting it unevenly away from the body - he still had no idea what he was really doing - but this pelt was at least serviceable.


    One out of three wasn¡¯t so bad was it?


    As he finished up with his gory task, another prompt popped up at the edge of his vision.


    Wolf skinning failed. 10xp


    Wolf skinning succeeded. 50xp


    Wolf skinning succeeded. 50xp


    Felan broke out in a grin, that was a good chunk of experience!


    While Felan had been working on skinning the last two wolves, Baxter had eaten his fill from the first one. Cannibalism didn¡¯t seem to bother him, and Felan couldn¡¯t help but wonder if his body would suffer the same fate if his companion outlived him. That was a thought that didn¡¯t pay to dwell on. Felan¡¯s stomach was growling now but he had no way to start a fire, nor did he have any real cooking knowledge. He¡¯d been more of a fast food guy in real life.


    Instead, he left the corpses where they lay. Baxter took the lead again after just a few steps, and the duo set out in search of more wolves. A quick glance at his quest log confirmed that Felan needed to slay another seven wolves and claim their tails. If things went as well as the last fight, he should be done in an hour or two. Late enough that he¡¯d be starving, but hopefully not painfully so.

 Chapter 8

    Felan and Baxter had been walking for about ten minutes when the sounds of battle reached them. Baxter¡¯s ears pricked up, and he immediately ran toward the racket, forcing Felan to jog after him. They crested a hill and saw the fighting below them - several wolves attacking a group of four people. Based on their clothing and simple weapons, Felan guessed they were low level players like himself.


    He had a flashback to Andross¡¯ betrayal, but he wasn¡¯t in the wilderness here - the rules of the game would prevent the players from attacking him. Besides, if he stepped in now to help them he might have a shot at claiming the tails for his quest. He made up his mind and ran toward the battle as fast as he could.


    As he was covering the distance to the nearest wolf, he activated Entangle in his left hand, unhooking his club with his right. He threw the spell as soon as he was in range, scoring a direct hit on a wolf circling round the group of players. Vines wrapped around bloody fur and trapped it in place. A moment later Felan reached it, and caved it¡¯s skull in with a solid blow. His attack had positioned him behind a wolf that was gnawing on the wooden shield of one of the players. Felan took the opportunity to hit it from behind. The attack knocked it¡¯s hind legs out from under it, leaving it dangling from the players shield. The player thrust his crude sword through it¡¯s ribcage, finishing it off.


    Felan was already turning his attention to the other wolves. Two of them were charging in unison toward a skinny pale faced man. Felan cast Entangle on the ground in front of the player, and both wolves were caught in the vines. His vision took on a pale blue hue, making everything look colder. He saw that he was down to five Mana - only enough for one more Entangle spell. Distracted by checking his Mana level, Felan failed to notice the wolf that had edged around behind him. It leapt at him, tackling him face first to the ground.


    The beast had just clamped it¡¯s jaws on the back of his neck when it suddenly went limp, all of it¡¯s weight bearing down on him. Felan managed to struggle out from under it to see Baxter lapping at the blood pouring from his assailants throat. The other players had killed off the other wolves, all except one that was pacing backwards and forwards. It seemed uncertain whether to attack or flee. Felan rising to his feet seemed to settle the matter, and the wolf turned tail and ran.


    Baxter took two limping steps toward it, then gave up on the chase. There were deep cuts on his front shoulder, and chunks of fur missing from his spine. The other players all looked whole. The skinny pale one Felan had saved looked like he might collapse at any moment - if the wolves had sunk their teeth into him he¡¯d have been done for. Thanks to Baxter¡¯s final attack, Felan still had half his health remaining. He didn¡¯t want to dwell on what might have happened if his companion hadn¡¯t reached him in time.


    A quick glance around the battlefield made Felan smile - there were exactly seven wolf corpses strewn around. His quest would be sorted if he could just convince the players to hand them over.


    ¡°Hey man, thanks for the help.¡± The first of the players to say anything was the thin pale man. He sheathed his sword and approached Felan, extending a hand.


    ¡°No problem¡± Felan said as he shook. The strangers grip was weak, and Felan wasn¡¯t surprised to see him sway slightly on his feet. He looked to be on the verge of passing out. One of his companions seemed to have noticed as well.


    ¡°You should sit down for a bit. I¡¯ll cook these up.¡± She waved her hand at the dead wolves around her, then met Felan¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°You wanna join us for some grub?¡±


    Felan nodded, ¡°Absolutely. You uh.. You guys don¡¯t have a quest for these wolves do you?¡± he asked


    ¡°Nope, we just got jumped taking a shortcut¡±


    ¡°Hey! It was definitely shorter. How was I supposed to know about the wolves?¡±


    The guy defending himself was on the far side of the group. From his grin, he seemed to have enjoyed the fight - or maybe he just liked the teasing.


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I was hoping I could take their tails for a quest I¡¯ve got.¡± Felan could feel a blush creeping over his face. He hated asking for things at the best of times, and this felt dangerously close to begging.


    ¡°No problem. I don¡¯t think any of us need them?¡±


    ¡°I need to skin them!¡± the defencive one piped up.


    ¡°Fair enough, you can help yourself to their tails though. What was your name anyway? I¡¯m Mira¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m Felan, and that¡¯s Baxter.¡± On queue, his companion plodded over to them. He was moving more gracefully again. His wounds seemed to have started healing already, thanks to the magic of video games.


    The others introduced themselves as Felan helped them gather firewood. The pale man was Tobias, the defencive one was Atton. The final player couldn¡¯t have matched his name any better. He went by Brutus, and stood about seven feet tall. His biceps were easily larger than Felan¡¯s head, and he had an equally enormous great-axe attached to his back. He¡¯d introduced himself with a nod and his name, and hadn¡¯t said another word since.


    With the firewood gathered, Mira started a small fire and prepared her cooking utensils. As the others stretched out to relax, Felan took his knife to each of the wolves, gathering the remaining quest items. He had everything he needed now, but he was in no great rush to turn the quest in, it was nice to rest with some players that weren¡¯t utter dicks. The Andross situation had left Felan worrying that most of the players he¡¯d run into would be horrible people, but this group seemed pretty cool.


    While Felan had helped gather firewood, Atton had skinned the first few wolves. Mira was now carving them into something she could cook. Felan took the opportunity to sit with Atton and watch as he skinned the remaining wolves. Atton already had a few levels in leather-working - mostly from skinning his kills - and he was more than happy to talk through what he was doing as he worked. As he finished off the last wolf, he broke out in a big grin. Felan worked out that Atton had gained a level at the same time as a prompt appeared in the corner of his vision. He pulled it up, and found himself smiling as well:


    Leather-working observed. 10xp


    That was another nice discovery - watching someone else crafting was enough to build up experience for that craft. It seemed to be a lot slower than trying it himself, on par with failing on his own, but what else could he expect from passive learning?


    Atton¡¯s task now complete, the pair sat down with the rest of the group.


    As they waited for the wolf meat to fry up, they told him about their travels. They¡¯d started the game together just a few days ago - all except for Brutus. They were all friends in real life, and Brutus had convinced them to give the game a shot. When Felan told them about his experience with Andross, Brutus finally added his voice to their conversation. He¡¯d heard of Andross before - he explained that Andross was a member of a clan called the Sirens of Silence, which was renowned for player killing. They¡¯d risen to power pretty recently, and seemed to be on track to become one of the most powerful clans in the game.


    After Brutus said ¡°You want to forget about that man.¡±, he was done with the subject. Fortunately, the silence was soon replaced with the sounds of feasting. Mira had cooked the wolf steaks to perfection, and the others had produced bread and cheese from their inventories. Felan had nothing to offer, but no one was insulted by that - they were most welcoming of him.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    As they ate, Baxter patrolled around their rough encampment. His wounds seemed to have completely healed - his health regeneration stat must be particularly high. Until his first few mouthfuls of f3ood, Felan had only recovered a few points, but Mira¡¯s cooking provided enough of a health bonus to put him back to full.


    With the meal complete, Felan said his farewells to the group. They each wished him good luck with the game, and then left. Felan stood behind with Baxter for a while, enjoying the fire. The meal had left him feeling more full than he¡¯d been in weeks. It also made the prospect of walking anywhere rather horrifying. Truthfully, he was half tempted to curl up beside the fire and have a nap - a food coma - for a few hours. He dismissed the thought when he checked his quest log though - he definitely had all the wolf tails he needed to turn in his quest, and that would give him enough experience to level up!


    He thought about teleporting back to Greenest, and a small semitransparent prompt appeared in front of him.


    Would you like to Teleport to the Greenest Aetherstone?


    As your first Teleport in 24 hours, this trip will be free.


    The free part of the prompt caught his attention. Felan had assumed teleporting would always be free. No matter what he thought of though, the prompt didn¡¯t elaborate. He¡¯d just have to check it again after teleporting, to see if it listed a price. He punched the accept button, and a bolt of blue light shot down from the sky. Everything grew brighter until he couldn¡¯t see anything at all. He closed his eyes against the light, but even the inside of his eyelids seemed to glow like the sun. A buzzing sound rose up to drown out everything else. It was like he was standing in the centre of a swarm of locusts. The pressure of the sound was crushing his skull.


    As quickly as it came, the brightness abated. His ears popped, like when he drove high up a mountain. The smell of smoke from the fire was gone now, replaced by the smell of a home cooked meal. Felan opened one eye a crack to check it wasn¡¯t just his imagination, and was greeted by a view of the northern gate to Greenest.


    It only took a few minutes for Felan to make his way from the northern gate to the Inn. Baxter followed in his footsteps, never straying more than a few paces away. The wolf didn¡¯t seem nervous, despite this being his first time in a settlement. Instead, he was acting like an exceedingly well trained pet. Felan wondered if the game enforced such behaviour within settlements - he could understand the need to keep player companions from running around terrorising everything.


    When he got to the Inn, Baxter sat down to one side of the door, stretching out over the dirt. The wolf seemed perfectly happy there, so Felan stepped inside.


    The aroma of mushroom stew clouded the room. Annie was in her normal spot near the fire, that great tome of hers open on her knees. There didn¡¯t seem to be any players here at the moment, but the locals were milling around. The big barkeep was kept busy - it seemed that there was always someone queueing for a drink.


    Felan made his way to Annie, weaving around the scattered tables. She looked up with a scowl as he approached, catching him off guard.


    ¡°Come to pay your dues have you?¡±


    Shit! Felan had completely forgotten about that. He was meant to have had the whole week to raise 50gp to cover the cost of being in the adventurers guild. He¡¯d spent that week out of game instead. He only had a few gold pieces to his name, and a quick glance at his quest log confirmed that the quest he wanted to hand in only paid 5gp.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. But I¡¯ve got something else for you¡± He tried to arrange his face into a winning smile, but it came off as a grimace.


    ¡°There are no guild services until your dues are paid. Was I not clear about that?¡±


    ¡°No, you were. Clear I mean. Perfectly clear.¡±


    ¡°Then I don¡¯t think we have anything to talk about do we? Not until you have the money for your dues.¡±


    ¡°I took a quest, and I want to turn it in.¡± Felan hoped that didn¡¯t fall under the list of guild services - surely turning in an existing quest wouldn¡¯t require an active membership?


    ¡°Ah, so you have been doing something. Let me take a look.¡±


    She glanced at her book, then back at him. Her scowl had softened, she certainly wasn¡¯t smiling, but she didn¡¯t terrify Felan quite so much anymore.


    ¡°That was an old one, no one seemed interested. You¡¯ve got the tails then?¡± She held out a hand expectantly.


    Felan pulled the wolf tails from his inventory and handed them over. Annie made them disappear in an instant.


    ¡°Good job. Waylon will be glad go hear it. Here¡¯s your reward. Now, if you don¡¯t have your dues -¡±


    A flash of light washed over Felan, distracting him from the rest of her sentence. A wave of euphoria rushed over him - Felan felt happier than he had in a long time. It was like the flow state he¡¯d felt while riding his motorcycle, the perfect connection between his mind and the universe. Like a runners high dialled up to eleven. All of his concerns washed away, it didn¡¯t matter that he couldn¡¯t afford his guild dues - he was alive, and that was all that was important.


    The light faded away, but the warm feeling remained for a time. Annie was staring at him, five gold coins resting in her outstretched hand. Felan snatched the coins away from her as a golden prompt appeared in front of him.


    You¡¯ve reached level 2.


    You have 5 attribute points to distribute.


    Whatever Annie had been saying, she seemed to have lost interest in him once he¡¯d taken his payment. This left Felan free to focus on the challenging part of the level up. Even though he¡¯d been playing for several hours now, Felan still hadn¡¯t even looked at his character sheet. Now that he had points to distribute, it was definitely time to take a look. He thought about his character, and another prompt appeared in his view. This one was decorated like a scroll, edged with spirals of gold.


    Name: Felan Oisin


    Level: 2 (65%)


    Class: Druid 2 (52%)


    Subclass: N/A


    Profession: Leatherworking 1 (40%)


    Profession: N/A


    Strength: 5


    Dexterity: 5


    Will: 5


    Intelligence: 5


    Luck: 1


    HP: 20/20


    MP: 25/25


    CP: 0


    That was a whole lot of info to take in, and Felan was glad that an additional prompt appeared whenever he focused on each of the details. His level was the important thing - he¡¯d reached level two!


    Beyond that, he seemed to have levelled up his class as well. It looked like he would be levelling his class and professions independently, and they probably both counted toward his overall level. That was a little weird - it meant that someone could reach a high level working almost exclusively on their professions, which would leave them horribly under-levelled for combat. Felan would have to watch out for that.


    He needed to refer to the helper prompts to understand his attributes. Strength determined his melee damage, and physical resistance. Dexterity contributed to ranged attacks and finesse weapons, as well as his dodge chance. Will and Intelligence governed different styles of magic - the prompt helpfully identified Will as more important for his Druid skills. Intelligence also contributed to levelling speed, so it might be worth picking up early on. Luck covered critical chance and loot drops.


    His HP was derived from his Strength, and Dexterity, with a base +5 for being a druid. Whilst MP came from Will and Intelligence. CP was tied to his Subclass, which he didn¡¯t currently have. No matter what questions he phrased in his mind, Felan couldn¡¯t get a prompt to elaborate further - he didn¡¯t even know what CP stood for!


    Finally, Felan concluded that he knew enough to spend his attribute points. There didn¡¯t seem to be any sense in holding onto them. He knew some hardcore players normally checked the ¡®meta¡¯ of a game before spending any points, but he¡¯d never been like that. Sure, there were guaranteed to be some builds that were better than others, but Felan didn¡¯t want to just copy what had worked for someone else. Besides, the company running the game spent so much time taking down game information websites that he doubted there was a well known meta. Not one that he¡¯d be able to find anyway.


    Felan decided to apply 3 points to Will, since he planned to learn more spells as soon as he could. The remaining 2 points were split between Strength and Luck. He only had his club to fight with, and he wasn¡¯t sure that he¡¯d be any good with ranged weapons. He¡¯d tried archery once in the real world, one of his friends had hired out an archery range for their birthday. He¡¯d tried both compound and recurve bows, but even with the sight on the compound bow he¡¯d barely been able to hit the target, let alone the bullseye. So Dexterity didn¡¯t seem that useful. If he had more points up his sleeve he¡¯d have liked to stack up some Intelligence, just for the levelling bonus, but he didn¡¯t want to spread his point allocations too thin. Not this early anyway.


    With his attribute points now allocated, his HP had increased to 22, while his Mana sat at 31. The odd number irked him, but seeing as he only actually looked at his mana when he was on the verge of running out, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal.


    Finally, he focused on his Druid level. He was sure he¡¯d seen a prompt somewhere saying abilities came with class levels. As he called up information about his Druid level, a prompt expanded to inform him he should talk to a Druid trainer each time he levelled up. Not exactly helpful, but fortunately he was still within walking distance of the Druid enclave.


    Seeing as he didn¡¯t have any money to cover the adventurer guild dues, and thus wasn¡¯t able to pick up any quests from Annie, Felan decided that his best course of action was to head for the druid enclave. He¡¯d hopefully be able to improve his druid skills, and they might have a quest for him - perhaps it was time for him to look more closely at the corruption in the forest.


    Baxter sprung to attention as Felan stepped outside. The wolf fell into step behind him as he made his way back to the northern gate.


    He had class skills to unlock.

 Chapter 9

    The path from the northern gate of Greenest to the druid enclave hadn¡¯t changed in the week since Felan had passed through. The near-silent whispering of a gentle breeze through the trees made the walk even more serene than last time. It was beautiful. No animals stirred around him though - aside from the rustle of leaves, the forest was silent.


    That had to mean that the corruption was still settled over the forest, and Jake wanted to clear it.


    Even if it didn¡¯t further his druid progression, it would hopefully restore life to the forest. He¡¯d love to walk this path with the birds singing, and more than just Baxter bounding around. On the other hand, perhaps the rabbits of the forest preferred hiding from the corruption to fleeing from a semi-tame wolf.


    As he neared the druid enclave, Felan began to feel eyes on him. He couldn¡¯t see anything, but the hairs on the back of his neck pricked up. His instincts about being watched were never wrong. He tried to look around for the watchers without giving away that he knew someone was out there. Felan had watched a lot of spy movies as a kid, in the movies it was always easy to spot where the bad guys were watching from, and equally easy to spot them without giving away that you knew they were there. Reality made everything much harder. In the movies it was always easy for the hero to slip away, to disappear into a crowd or something.


    Felan could do none of that.


    Instead, he continued along the path. Baxter seemed oblivious, which unnerved Felan even further. The wolf had demonstrated a natural talent for identifying threats. Maybe that meant...


    ¡°Who goes there?¡±


    Felan jumped. The voice had boomed out from ahead of him - the direction of the druid enclave. He could feel a blush creeping up his neck. He¡¯d been startled like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.


    ¡°Felan Oisin. Returning to the druid enclave for training.¡±


    There was a rustle in the undergrowth on both sides of the path. A moment later two figures appeared. They were cloaked in dark green robes - long flowing garments that dragged along the ground as they walked. Their faces were hidden by masks and buried under hoods. They hadn¡¯t been at the enclave last time he visited.


    The duo stood perfectly still, surveying Felan and Baxter. Baxter had retreated a few steps closer to Felan, and was studying the figures, but his hackles weren¡¯t up. The wolf was silent. Almost relaxed. In the time Felan had been weighing the situation, a third figure had stepped onto the path ahead. The old man from the enclave. He was dressed in furs just like when Felan had seen him last.


    ¡°Ah, I remember you. Come lad, there is much to discuss.¡±


    He beckoned closer, and Felan obeyed. Once they were within arms reach of one another, the old man spoke again.


    ¡°The corruption is spreading. The enclave is no longer safe, and we were on our way to Greenest for aid. We have found it¡¯s source, but cannot reach it. Will you go in our stead?¡±


    The Druid Enclave is under threat. Cleanse the corruption to save the druids.


    Reward: 50gp, 500xp, Reputation increase with the Greenest Druids.


    Felan punched the accept button without really reading the prompt. It was clearly the next major task for him to do, and the increased reputation with the Druids would no doubt be key if he wanted to progress further in his class.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help, just tell me where to go¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve marked the location on your map. It¡¯s East of here, across the river. No more than half an hours walk.¡± The old man shook Felan¡¯s hand again, bowing as he did so.


    ¡°Before I go, I would like to talk to you about druid skills.¡±


    The old man gnawed on the corner of his moustache for a moment, looking Felan over.


    ¡°Ah yes, you do seem stronger now. You have a companion now as well,¡± he turned his intense gaze toward Baxter for a long moment.


    ¡°Druid magic takes many forms. Some use natures blessing to heal those around them, others to fight those that would harm them; some even channel spells to defuse situations without bloodshed. What would you like to learn?¡±


    His voice had taken a more solemn vibe, as if he¡¯d forgotten about the danger to his home, and was entirely invested in the role of the teacher.


    Felan hadn¡¯t realised he would have to choose between different types of magic - especially not at his first level up. Entangle had been incredibly useful so far, and Felan¡¯s club seemed to do the job pretty well. Though it¡¯d be nice if he could take things out without having to get quite so close - offencive magic might be what he needed. And then there was healing. From what he¡¯d seen of the game so far death seemed likely. Combat was short and brutal. Felan though of Baxter limping around after the battle with the wolves. What would have happened if the fight had lasted longer than it did? What about Tobias, the pale one? He¡¯d barely survived the encounter.


    ¡°What can you teach me about healing?¡± Felan asked.


    A smile twitched at the corners of the old mans beard.


    ¡°I wish more of you young ones asked that question. Close your eyes,¡± He pressed his index finger to the centre of Felan¡¯s forehead. Felan closed his eyes and tried to focus on the cool touch, but nothing seemed to be happening. He was about to ask when the old man withdrew his finger and spoke again.


    ¡°Open your eyes child.¡±


    Felan¡¯s eyelids fluttered open. Nothing had changed.


    ¡°Do you have any other questions?¡±


    Felan was about to point out that nothing had happened when a prompt appeared at the edge of his view. It expanded like a translucent scroll in front of him as he focused on it.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Congratulations, you¡¯ve been granted access to the Druid Healing specialisation. You can assign skills from your character sheet.


    Seek a Druid trainer after gaining Druid levels to unlock further specialisations.


    Felan hadn¡¯t unlocked a single ability, he¡¯d got a whole new skill tree!


    ¡°No, no more questions.¡±


    ¡°Go with natures blessing child, the corruption awaits.¡±


    The old man patted him on the shoulder once in passing, then strode into the trees at the edge of the path. Within moments he had faded from view.


    The two sentinels stood guard for a moment longer, and then they too retreated into the forest.


    Once he was alone Felan pulled up his character sheet. As promised, there was a new section devoted to Druid skills. He had three options to choose from, but only a single point to spend for now. Mending would allow him to channel his magic into strengthening and repairing objects made from natural materials. Felan took a moment to check his club, and saw that it¡¯s durability had been heavily reduced by the fighting he¡¯d done so far. It was now sitting on 4/10. A useful spell, but Felan felt like he¡¯d be replacing the weapon soon enough. He should have a little bit of money left over after paying his guild dues - hopefully enough for a new weapon. He wanted something with a little more reach, to keep him further away from his foes.


    His second option was a group healing spell, Natures Bloom. It restored a reasonable amount of health to anyone standing within its range over a few seconds.


    His final option, Goodberry, was a single-target heal, giving a decent instant health boost and then a small heal-over-time effect. Felan only had himself and Baxter to worry about, so the group healing from Natures Bloom didn¡¯t appeal to him as much as the faster, more powerful Goodberry.


    Felan assigned his skill point.


    His spell book opened, showing Goodberry alongside his old Entangle spell. Felan took one last look at his current experience before closing his character sheet. He was sitting on 590 experience, which was 65% of the way to his next level.


    Keeping his quest log at the edge of his vision so he could refer to it¡¯s map, Felan started along the path again.


    The forest was entirely silent except for Felan and Baxters heavy breathing. The wolf was sticking close to Felan, his head low to the ground and his tail between his legs. They had crossed the river outside of the druid enclave, and spent a while following a path made by wild animals. Now, they were doing the hard slog through the underbrush. If he¡¯d had a bladed weapon, Felan would have cut them a path. Instead they had to push through the undergrowth. Trampling vines and gorse while clambering over fallen and rotted trees.


    The going was slow.


    Felan was following his gut as much as his map. Something about the direction he was travelling seemed wrong. It was a primal feeling that something bad lay ahead, an almost subconscious understanding he shouldn¡¯t be going this way. From the way Baxter stayed close to his side, Felan could tell his companion also felt it. The trees seemed too still, the forest too quiet. The last living thing they¡¯d seen had been just out of Greenest. And the source of the silence definitely lay in the direction they were heading. It was enough to put Felan¡¯s nerves on edge, which in turn led to him jumping at every shadow.


    He was beginning to doubt that this was a worthwhile endeavour when the trees abruptly parted.


    Felan stumbled through into a clearing, Baxter hot on his heels. After spending so long with shrubbery pushing in from all sides, he suddenly felt very exposed in the open like this. He kept his back close to the underbrush, not straying too far into the clearing as he surveyed it.


    There wasn¡¯t much to look at.


    Knee high grass stretched out in an almost perfect circle, framed by the forest on all sides. In the very centre of the clearing was a stone structure a meter or two in diameter. It rose up a bit over a meter from the ground, like a small pillar. Like the clearing it stood in, it was perfectly round. The primal part of his brain was screaming at him to run away. It felt like the air was denser here - harder to breath, and pushing in on him from all sides. Aside from the pillar the clearing was empty.


    Ignoring the voice of reason, Felan stepped away from the safety of the trees. Baxter didn¡¯t move. It was almost as if he was waiting to see what happened to Felan. Nothing happened. Felan took another few steps. There were no sounds warning of impending doom, nor could he see anything move in the clearing. The sense of dread was ever present, but it hadn¡¯t changed. It didn¡¯t seem any more terrifying standing in the clearing than it had from the tree-line.


    Felan continued forward. After he¡¯d crossed half the clearing, Baxter trotted over to join him. The wolf still had its head low to the ground and its tail between its legs. But it wasn¡¯t growling, and Felan took that to mean there wasn¡¯t any immediate threat.


    Together they covered the last of the distance to the stone structure. Felan realised what it was as soon as he saw the top of it, and his stomach sank. This was different to the feeling of dread that the clearing gave off. The stone pillar was topped with a metal grate - a disk of bronze with dozens of round holes drilled through haphazardly. A handle was mounted on one edge, with a matching hinge on the opposite side.


    Felan was standing next to a capped well.


    Baxter whimpered. The wolf seemed to have worked out that it wouldn¡¯t be able to descend the ladder. Felan didn¡¯t relish the thought of descending into the darkness alone. On that note, he didn¡¯t have any sort of torch. Going down would be a death sentence without light - he¡¯d have no way to defend himself from whatever it was that lurked down there. Felan leaned over the well and peered through the holes. There was a flickering light down below, and some sort of shadow blocking the middle of his vision.


    Felan grabbed the handle and swung the grate open. Sunlight flooded the opening to the well, and the shadowy figure took shape. A woman, climbing the ladder at pace. Her wavy blond hair was loosely held by a bun on top of her head. Her face became a mask of fear as sunlight flooded down on her, but she didn¡¯t slow her ascent.


    ¡°Out of the way!¡± she shouted as she neared the top of the ladder. Felan realised he was blocking the opening by peering down. He straightened up, and she burst out of the well. Before he could even say anything she slammed the grate back into place. She was feeling all around the edges of the disk, muttering under her breath.


    ¡°No lock. No lock. Shit, why isn¡¯t there a lock?¡±


    ¡°Um..¡± Felan began.


    ¡°No time. You didn¡¯t break a lock off this thing did you?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no, never saw one.¡±


    Felan looked to Baxter, as if the wolf would confirm his story. His companion gave him a blank stare.


    ¡°Shit. How about.. Heavy. Do you have anything heavy, like, really heavy?¡± She¡¯d spun in a circle as she spoke, as if she might spot something in the clearing. Now that she was out in the open, Felan could see that she had a shield strapped to her back, and a sword sheathed at her hip. She was clad in thick leather armour, with panels of steel strategically fixed to the shoulders, joints, forearms and thighs.


    ¡°Ok, looks like we¡¯re gonna have to do this,¡± she gave him an appraising look


    ¡°you¡¯re a healer right? I can tank it, hopefully that wolf there can do some damage.¡±


    ¡°How did you - ¡°


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a wild beast for a friend, and a lump of wood for a weapon. Druid right? We don¡¯t have any DPS but -¡±


    ¡°Sorry, DPS?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, DPS. You know, the holy trinity?¡±


    Felan gave her a blank look.


    ¡°How new are you? We really don¡¯t have time for this. Just do your best to keep me alive, and I¡¯ll figure something out.¡±


    She started backing away from the well, unlimbering the shield as she walked.


    ¡°You might want to step away from that.¡±


    Felan heard the answer before he could ask why. A deep rumbling was coming from the well. It sounded like a stampede of elephants charging through the tunnel below ground, and it was definitely getting closer. The feeling of dread in the clearing intensified. Felan had to fight for every breath. The earth was beginning to vibrate under his feet.


    Felan turned and ran from the well.

 Chapter 10

    Felan had made it half way across the clearing, Baxter a little further, when the thing burst out of the well. It came up with the sound of nails on a chalkboard as thousands of legs scrabbled for grip. Keira was yelling something at him - he could see her lips moving - but he couldn¡¯t hear it over the clicking sounds that seemed to be the things war cry. The screeching was like a forest full of cicadas on a warm summers day, even drowning out his laboured breaths. The feeling of dread was omnipresent now, almost physically restraining. It felt like he was running through treacle, every step becoming a little bit slower than the last.


    The creature screamed again, and Felan¡¯s arms began to itch. The thing¡¯s voice was irritating his skin, and no matter how much he scratched at it the itch wouldn¡¯t abate.


    He glanced back over his shoulder and instantly regretted it.


    The thing was at least ten meters long. Serpentine, with countless little legs poking out from a thick carapace. The last two meters of its body stood upright, and was adorned with two bladed arms instead of legs. Long lethal appendages that reminded Felan of a praying mantis. Its face was reminiscent of a mantis as well - a long wedge shape with its eyes at the larger end, grey flesh tapering down to enormous mandibles.


    The monster scraped it¡¯s scythe-like arms together, producing the screeching scream again. Felan wanted nothing more than to run for the forest, but it looked like the creature would have no trouble cutting through the trees. It was several meters away from him still, the last of its legs finally slithering out from the well. The screeching noise stopped as it separated its bladed forearms, holding them in front of it like a poised samurai. Its head cocked sideways, like a puppy trying to read lips, training its black eyes on Felan.


    It charged.


    Felan felt like he was rooted in place. The ever-present press of dread dulled his reactions. The thing rushed at him on thousands of feet, each making a heavy thud as it hit the ground. Damn it was fast. Knowing he couldn¡¯t outrun it, Felan raised his shield arm in front of himself. He didn¡¯t really expect his little wooden buckler to block one of those scythe appendages, definitely not both of them, but he raised it on instinct.


    Keira stepped in front of him a moment before the creature struck. He wasn¡¯t even sure where she¡¯d come from. He¡¯d been so focused on his approaching demise that he¡¯d lost track of where Baxter and Keira had gone. Her enormous shield caught the slashing blades, deflecting them to either side of her. Both drove themselves a few inches into the soft dirt, the creature¡¯s torso bent down over them. Felan was almost face to face with its slathering jaws, his gaze transfixed on its dead eyes.


    The beast straightened, pulling its claws out of the earth. As it rose it twisted backwards, its long form coiling on itself like a snake preparing to strike. Its torso was out of range now. Though he¡¯d missed his chance to strike, Felan could at least think a little more clearly now that the immediate danger had passed. Keira looked unharmed by the attack, but Baxter was still nowhere to be seen.


    Felan unlatched his club from his belt and gave it a gentle swing in each direction to limber up his shoulder. The creatures lower body was coiled around itself now, the thick shell of armour along its spine protecting its legs. As far as Felan could tell, that armour was as good as impenetrable, but its torso was unprotected. Well, if he were to ignore the scythe arms and twitching mandibles. Then again he didn¡¯t think his club would be doing all that much damage. A sword would hopefully be able to open it up, there must be some important organs they could get at in there.


    Keira was armed with a sword, but she was also their only line of defence. Damn, everything depended on her. Felan almost slapped his forehead when he realised what he was missing. Keira would defend them. Baxter, if he showed up again, would hopefully get a few attacks in. Felan''s role was to keep Keira healthy and hinder the creature as much as he could.


    He thought about his spell book, and the prompt appeared in front of him. His arms moved from muscle memory, without him needing to look at the book. He selected the Entangle spell and threw the coil of energy toward their foe. Vines leapt up from the grass to wrap around the creature, lassoing its legs in place. The monster struggled against its bonds for a moment and then began to rear up. Felan was pretty sure it couldn¡¯t strike out at them from where it stood but he backed up nonetheless. Keira fell back beside him, her shield still raised in front of her.


    ¡°We need to hit it¡± She shouted out the corner of her mouth at him, her eyes still fixed on the creature in case it attacked.


    ¡°My clubs not going to do much. You¡¯ll need to cut at its belly.¡± Felan replied.


    That got her attention. Keira diverted her eyes from the beast to glare at Felan.


    ¡°You want me to block it¡¯s attacks and cut it open? What the hell are you gonna do?¡±


    Despite the threat of a giant centi-mantis, Felan could feel a blush creeping up his neck. She had a point, it wasn¡¯t fair for him to expect her to do everything. But what could he do?


    ¡°Throw me your sword then¡±


    Before Keira could respond, the creature broke free of the vines that had been holding it. It barrelled towards them on its countless feet, covering the distance between them frighteningly fast. The monsters torso began to rise up.


    Felan grabbed the icon for Entangle again and threw it at the creatures forward-most legs. Vines lashed out, tripping it. For a moment, it looked like the thing would recover - somehow turning its fall into an attack. But then it tumbled forward, only one of its scythe-like arms reaching toward them. Keira blocked the clumsy attack with her shield, again driving the appendage into the ground.


    The monster was stretched out now. Its vulnerable belly pressed to the ground, its mandibles clacking together close to them. More vines had sprung up from the grass and jumped over its carapace, holding it to the ground. Its back legs were scrabbling at the ground, causing its hind section to sway back and forth.


    Felan took his opportunity.


    He charged forward, swinging his club with all of his might. He aimed for the joint between the start of the scythe-like blade and the rest of the creature¡¯s arm. His club struck true, breaking the joint with a satisfying crunch. The creature screamed. It was the sound of a wounded animal, high and terrified. Felan showed it no mercy, smashing his club down again as hard as he could. The creature screamed again. It thrashed against its bonds, trying to free its wounded arm from the ground. Felan got one more strike in before his spell withered away, and the monster rushed forward again.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    As it charged, it tried to pull it¡¯s damaged arm from the ground. Instead, it¡¯s momentum carried it forward faster than it¡¯s damaged ligaments could raise it. There was a popping sound that made Felan shudder, and then the flesh around the joint tore free. The creature¡¯s torso knocked Felan to the ground, leaving him lying next to the bladed, amputated, forearm. Keira yelled something as the beast reached her. Felan could do nothing but curl into a ball as he was trampled by hundreds of feet. At one edge of his vision, a red bar appeared and started flashing. It was falling fast.


    80%


    70%


    60%


    50%


    The monsters legs were coming in an endless stream.


    40%


    30%


    The monster finally passed over him. For a few moments, all Felan could do was take in gasping breaths of air. He¡¯d felt like he was going to suffocate as it had been trampling him, it was good to breath again. He rose to his feet as quickly as his bruised muscles would allow. The creature was at the far side of the clearing, curling up on itself again so that it¡¯s armoured spine protected its legs. Its torso was low in the coil, ready to strike if they came close.


    Keira was on the ground between them, still curled in a ball. As he was watching her, a little health bar appeared above her head. She had no more health than him!


    Felan pulled his spell book into view again. This time he selected Goodberry instead. A little berry appeared in his palm. It was the size and shape of a strawberry and cast a faint red glow on his skin. As he held it the knowledge of how to use it flooded through his mind. If he threw it at Keira it would heal her, crushing it in his fist would restore his own health. In the distance he could see the creature¡¯s torso rising up into the air as it prepared to charge. Cursing under his breath, he threw the spell at Keira. It hit her in the center of her back as she was rising to her feet, and splashed like a blood filled water balloon. The little bar above her head rapidly filled. Once the heal-over-time component was finished, she should be pretty close to full health. Assuming the creatures charge didn¡¯t wipe her out again.


    Before Felan could cast the spell on himself, the creature barrelled towards them. Keira planted her feet, holding the shield in front of her. The creatures wild swing with its bladed arm glanced off her shield, and then it dropped its shoulder to collide with her steel barrier. The impact knocked her back a few feet, but she quickly regained her footing. The creature chattered in an alien language, it¡¯s mandible scratching at the top of her shield. With all of it¡¯s legs pushing in unison, it was driving Keira backwards. Her boots were sliding along the grass, failing to grip the slick surface.


    Baxter finally returned to the fray.


    The wolf came from left field, sprinting at the beast and taking a flying leap. His jaws snagged the creatures wounded forearm, tearing shreds of flesh away. The monster howled in pain again, shaking the wolf loose. Baxter fell to the ground, landing on his side, but recovered in an instant. He retreated again, looking for another opening.


    Felan turned his attention back to his spell book. He checked his Mana, only 11 points remaining. Enough for one Goodberry or two casts of Entangle. His health was low enough that a strong breeze would probably knock him out of the game. But was it worth spending his last healing spell on himself?


    Striking its unarmoured belly still seemed like the only way that they might be able to kill it, and Keira¡¯s sword would be needed for that. The sensible thing would be to keep the spell in reserve, and hold onto his Mana, in case Keira got wounded again. Felan checked on Baxters health. Down to about 80% - enough that Felan didn¡¯t need to worry about him for a while.


    The creature broke off, realising it couldn¡¯t topple Keira, and circled back on itself. Something about that pattern was nagging Felan. The creature would attack, then retreat and coil up, giving itself a breather before it attacked again. Maybe there was something about that action that he was missing?


    ¡°You got any ideas?¡± Keira shouted, backing up without turning her back on the monster. Baxter was circling around behind it, but Felan couldn¡¯t imagine the wolf would be able to do much against that armoured hide.


    Keira didn¡¯t seem interested in surrendering her sword, and Felan¡¯s club wasn¡¯t going to have the desired effect. Even if they baited the monster into losing another arm to the same trick again, it would still be able to trample them to death.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got something. You¡¯re gonna need to distract it for a bit.¡± And I¡¯m going to have to time it well Felan added silently.


    It took a minute to prepare his trap. Keira and Baxter worked in unison to distract the creature. Baxter would leap at its armoured spine, scrambling up to attack the back of its torso. When the creature turned to face the wolf, Keira would do the same thing from the other side. It was a dangerous game. If one of them withdrew too soon, the other wouldn¡¯t last long against the creature¡¯s wildly slashing blade arm.


    While his companions held the monsters attention, Felan set to work on its amputated forearm. He hefted it up out of the ground and flipped it upside down. The joint end was now buried in the hole that the blade had made when it was first stuck into the earth. With the sharpest end pointed toward the sky, Felan pushed his club into the earth behind it to act as a brace.


    He held it from the back and wiggled it a little. The makeshift trap seemed sturdy enough, at least for one use. They¡¯d have to make sure it counted.


    Felan stepped between his makeshift trap and the creature, using his body to hide the makeshift weapon from the monster¡¯s view. He pulled up his spellbook and threw another Entangle at the monster. Vines leapt up to hold it in place, granting his team enough time to retreat away from it.


    ¡°To me!¡± Felan yelled.


    Keira turned her back on the monster and ran toward him, trusting his spell to hold it for a few moments longer. Baxter retreated in the other direction, heading for the edge of the clearing before slowly circling around. The monster kept its gaze fixed on the two human targets.


    As the magical vines blackened and died, the monster burst into motion. As with last time, it kept its torso low to the ground as it rushed forward with its bladed arm extended in front of it. Keira turned around just in time to throw her shield up and block its slash as the creature reached passed her. The blow knocked Keira out of its path, and its momentum pushed it onward.


    As soon as it had struck at her, its eyes fixed on Felan. He could almost read glee in its beady little eyes as it rushed toward him. It seemed to know that he was low on health, and it could trample him to score a kill.


    At the last moment, Felan dove to his right. The monster was too close, and moving much too fast, to swerve with him. By the time Felan clambered back onto his feet and turned to watch, the creature had passed completely over his trap. It took a few steps on its path to turn back toward Felan and his team and then staggered sideways. Its front legs sagged first, dropping its torso close to the grass. It stabbed its remaining arm into the dirt, supporting itself for a moment as it twisted to look at them.


    Felan could see that his trap had worked. The monster was carved open from the top of its torso - where a humans ribs would be - to where its first sets of legs met. The rest of its long body was flat against the ground now, so Felan couldn¡¯t see how far the wound continued. Loops of intestines had piled out of the cut, dripping onto the grass.


    The creatures dead eyes bore into Felan with an accusatory glare. Its mandibles waved violently for a moment longer before a still settled over the creature. Even though he was still standing several meters away, Felan could tell that it was dead. He saw the gory trap, bent over backwards now that it had been used. His club had splintered on impact and now lay in several pieces behind the bladed limb.


    A wave of euphoria washed over Felan. It was accompanied by a bright flash of light, and a warm tingle across his entire body. Every moment of worry during the fight suddenly rewarded him. His eyes cleared, and the level-up indicator appeared in the corner of his vision.


    ¡°Holy shit.¡±


    Keira had come up beside Felan, and her words startled him. Baxter padded over a moment later to sit by their feet.


    ¡°What the hell was that thing?¡± Felan asked


    ¡°That, my friend, was your first group boss.¡± Keira slapped him on the back with a big smile.

 Chapter 11

    Claiming his loot from his first boss was a lot more gory than Felan had expected.


    This wasn¡¯t anything like the old non-immersion games where a loot box would pop up and you¡¯d drag what you wanted into your inventory. Nor was this as simple as the work he¡¯d done to skin the wolves he¡¯d killed.


    The monster had collapsed in a stinking pile of it¡¯s own innards, which stank like rotting meat even though it was freshly killed. Given it¡¯s armoured hide and thick skin Felan¡¯s knife wasn¡¯t going to have much of an effect on it either.


    ¡°Hey, gimme a hand taking this arm off¡± Felan said.


    Keira drew her sword and handed it to him, keeping her distance.


    ¡°Seriously? You popped out of a sewer¡± Felan nodded toward the well that the creature had chased Keira out of.


    ¡°Totally different situation. What do you want it for anyway?¡±


    Felan paused between swings of the sword. He was trying to sever the creatures bladed forearm at it¡¯s elbow, like what had happened to the other arm. The monster must have put a lot of effort into tearing it free during their fight, because Felan was struggling.


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re asking why I want a giant blade?¡±


    ¡°I mean, you were using a club. I figured blades weren¡¯t your thing.¡±


    ¡°Na, the club was what I got when I woke up. Haven¡¯t had a chance to replace it yet, ¡° He gave it one massive swing, and the sword finally cut through the arm. The creatures corpse slumped to one side with a thud. Felan handed the sword back to his companion.


    ¡°What about its armour? Reckon I could make a shield from it?¡± Felan knocked his knuckles against one of the armoured plates. They seemed solid enough, though a bit too big for him to wield with one arm. He thought of Keira¡¯s enormous shield.


    ¡°Do you want one?¡± He looked at Keira, and caught an expression of disgust on her face.


    ¡°Hell no, I¡¯m sticking to steel.¡±


    Felan took one last look at the armoured hide. He couldn¡¯t exactly blame her, that shield of hers had worked pretty flawlessly. Besides, he wasn¡¯t sure they¡¯d have much luck removing one of the segments without damaging it.


    ¡°So, what, you going to swing that arm at people?¡± Keira asked as Felan picked it up. It was heavier that Keira¡¯s sword, and over a meter long. Certainly not what anyone would describe as a practical weapon.


    ¡°Na, but I¡¯m going to need something more than your sword to cut it down to size.¡±


    From the way the blades had scraped along Keira¡¯s shield during the fight, Felan was pretty confident her sword wouldn¡¯t be able to cut through the blade. Truthfully, he had no idea how he was going to cut it down to size, but he was hoping that one of the craftsmen in Greenest would help him come up with a plan.


    ¡°So we kill that big bad beastie, and all the loot we get is it¡¯s arm?¡± Felan asked.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s more. But it¡¯s down there,¡± She pointed at the well, and Felan¡¯s heart sank. He¡¯d been worried that was the case.


    ¡°Fine, just let me deal with these first.¡±


    He focused on the prompts he¡¯d been ignoring since the victory. He¡¯d definitely levelled up - one of the prompts confirmed what he¡¯d felt after the fight. That granted him another 5 attribute points to distribute, along with another skill point. Currently he only had the healing tree unlocked, so he could only put his skill point into the same three options he was given last time. Goodberry had been useful, and upgrading it with another skill point expanded it¡¯s heal over time to also restore 10 Mana over the course of a minute. That¡¯d certainly be a useful trick if he started adventuring with someone who focused on Mana usage, but at the moment it was just him and Keira. It seemed like a waste of a skill point just to give himself a small amount of Mana regeneration; after a minute it would restore the same amount of Mana that it cost to cast it, so it was basically guaranteed free healing every minute. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how long they¡¯d fought with the boss, but it wouldn¡¯t have been more than a few minutes. Useful, but possibly not the best use of his only point.


    Felan decided to hold onto the skill point for now. That way he¡¯d be able to unlock a new skill tree when he next visited a druid trainer. He might be able to unlock something a little more offencive.


    As for his attribute points, Felan added two to his Strength, and the remaining three to Will. This brought him up to 8 and 11 respectively, bolstering his max health to 26 and his max Mana up to 37. Felan realised that his current health and Mana had also increased with each attribute point he spent. He now had enough Mana available to cast Goodberry again. He popped the glowing berry into his mouth as quickly as it appeared, making his health jump up. He¡¯d be back to full by the time they reached the bottom of the well, which should keep him alive if they ran into any traps.


    Felan was about to tell Keira he was ready when there was a clap from the woods nearby. Baxter snapped to attention, his ears pricked up and his tail low between his legs. Another clap followed, allowing Felan to zero in on the source of the sound. Three figures were standing at the edge of the clearing. From this distance Felan couldn¡¯t recognise any of them. The leader clapped again as he approached, and Felan realised they were giving him and Keira a slow clap.


    ¡°Shit¡± Keira swore.


    ¡°You know them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Just keep quiet, let me handle this.¡±


    The three figures had already started toward the two of them. Felan was acutely aware that the bladed monster arm on the ground by his right foot wouldn¡¯t be any use if they attacked.


    ¡°Uh, Keira..¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they can¡¯t attack us. Just don¡¯t accept any duels.¡±


    As she spoke, the lead stranger¡¯s indistinct figure solidified into someone Felan recognised.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!¡±


    Before Keira could respond, Andross shouted to them.


    ¡°Well done Keira. Top of the leader-board.¡±


    ¡°Andross¡± she nodded first to him, then each of his associates. Felan recognised neither of them but judging by the ornate hilts of their swords, and the stockiness of their armour, they were both higher level than him.


    ¡°Why are you here, Keira?¡±


    ¡°Bosses to kill, loot to plunder. You know how it is. Why are the Sirens in town?¡±


    Felan remembered Brutus mentioning that Andross¡¯ group were called the Sirens of Silence. It seemed Keira knew about them as well. And they knew about her. Andross and his compatriots came to a halt a few meters away.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t concern you. We just thought we¡¯d give you your one warning. You¡¯re not welcome here Keira. Keep out of Greenest.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Fuck that,¡± Keira growled, ¡°you don¡¯t tell me what I can do¡±


    One of Andross¡¯ lackeys took a menacing step forward. Keira held her ground, the ferocity in her glare stopping him in his tracks.


    ¡°Same ol¡¯ Keira. You¡¯re right though, I can¡¯t pull rank on you any more. All I can do is warn you. Don¡¯t let a Siren see you anywhere near Greenest. You know what can happen.¡±


    After threatening Keira, Andross turned to face Felan. Felan saw a flicker of recognition, followed by what might have been confusion, and then Andross¡¯ face was impassive once more.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Felan held his tongue, letting the question hang in the air like a bad smell. The other goon flexed his muscles, but didn¡¯t follow his implied threat with any further action.


    ¡°Very well. Whoever you are, you should take heed as well. Neither of you are welcome in Greenest. We¡¯ll remember you.¡±


    With that vague threat, the trio were bathed in a flash of blue light. A moment later they had vanished.


    ¡°Did they just -¡±


    ¡°Teleport, yeah. Do you know Andross?¡±


    Felan debated telling her about their previous encounter. He¡¯d known her long enough to fight a giant centi-mantis and face down an apparent player gang. Was that long enough to share everything with her?


    He decided there was no harm in telling her about his first death. His situation in the real world would be better kept private.


    ¡°He killed me. Lured me out of the safe zone on my first day.¡±


    ¡°Shit. I¡¯m sorry. That¡¯s probably why they¡¯ve set up here - the spawn point for new players rotates between different starting towns. It must have settled on Greenest.¡±


    ¡°What does he get out of killing new players? There¡¯s no challenge in that!¡± Felan was seething. His sense of justice in the world was being called into question again. They¡¯d never be able to get away with something like this in the real world; why were they able to do so here?


    ¡°Risk free kills I guess. He¡¯s gathering Essence, but I don¡¯t have a clue why¡±


    ¡°Essence?¡±


    ¡°Essence is like a¡­ a currency I guess. If you¡¯ve got the right gear, you can gather some whenever you kill another player. It¡¯s why PVP is enabled everywhere outside of settlements and small safe zones, to give everyone a chance to farm it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess - Wait, how do you know Andross? Certainly seemed familiar with each other just then.¡±


    ¡°I -¡± She took a big breath, studying Felan¡¯s expression for a moment, ¡°I used to be one of the Sirens. Back when it first started. Andross wasn¡¯t as bad back then¡±


    She was looking at the ground now and shame burned on her face. Felan wasn¡¯t sure whether he wanted to comfort her or punch her. She had been on the same team as Andross? He was suddenly glad he hadn¡¯t shared any more of his life story with her.


    ¡°You were a Siren? Aren¡¯t they, like, the biggest dicks around?¡±


    ¡°They are now, yeah. Back when we formed¡­ we were just a bunch of friends running dungeons. Things started going down hill when Andross started calling the shots.¡±


    Keira went on to explain that the Sirens had become embroiled in a guild war, and the guild had voted Andross in as the guild-master to coordinate them during the war. He¡¯d led them to victory, but many of the members had disagreed with his methods. Afterwards, he¡¯d refused to step down as guild leader. The previous guild leader and his closest friends had been expelled, and Andross¡¯ devout followers had taken their positions. Keira had stayed in the guild a while longer, but eventually Andross had turned everyone against her. No matter how hard he questioned her, she wouldn¡¯t elaborate on what had happened between her and Andross to spark his rage.


    Ever since being forced out of the guild, the Sirens had made it their job to run her out of any town they found her in. Apparently this clearing was close enough to Greenest to warrant their anger.


    Their conversation slowly shifted from a history lesson about the Sirens of Silence, to a discussion about Andross. Andross refused to duel with Keira since she¡¯d last bested him - when she¡¯d been expelled from the guild. The Sirens had been plaguing her since she¡¯d left the guild, taking any opportunity to attack her. They normally travelled in groups, and even if she could beat most of them in single combat Keira didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be able to take on many of them at once.


    It seemed like the two of them both wanted him dead.


    ¡°You¡¯re serious about going after him aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Deadly. Just need to get myself some decent weapons and a few more levels I guess¡±


    ¡°Well, I can help with at least one of those.¡±


    Keira led the way to the well, looking back at him at the last moment.


    ¡°You coming?¡±


    It was cold and damp. Felan was surprised how bright it was though, torches burned in sconces every fifty meters or so along the tunnel. The torches were in pairs; one on either side of the path. They didn¡¯t give off any heat, just a flickering orange light. Despite it being bright enough to keep Felans fears at bay, his flesh was covered in goosebumps. He¡¯d never done well with enclosed spaces.


    Keira was leading them, and Baxter had been left in the clearing by the well. It was the first time since befriending the wolf that Felan and Baxter had been separated by choice, and Felan was painfully aware that his friend was alone up there. And that there was no one to watch Felan¡¯s back.


    They¡¯d been walking in silence for about five minutes, the tunnel occasionally curving to the left or right, but always leading them away from the ladder and it¡¯s promise of safety. The walls were made from head-sized cobblestones, glued together with thick wads of blue-grey mortar. They were clearly in a man made structure, an old one, though Felan couldn¡¯t guess at it¡¯s purpose. As far as he knew, wells were supposed to drill down to a water source. This didn¡¯t seem like the kind of place that flooded.


    Keira had sworn him to silence before he¡¯d descended the ladder, so he couldn¡¯t ask her why it was here, or even how far they had to go. Given that she¡¯d been chased up the well by the boss, Felan figured she must know where it¡¯s lair was. That said, the tunnel didn¡¯t have any forks in it. There were two directions they could have chosen from the foot of the ladder. The torches had stretched off in both directions, but the other way had turned a corner only a dozen paces from the ladder, so Felan hadn¡¯t been able to see much.


    Perhaps the whole thing was one long tunnel with no off shoots. Felan wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that. On one hand, it meant nothing could sneak up on them. On the other, they¡¯d have nowhere to hide if they ran into something. He just hoped Keira knew what she was doing.


    It took a few more minutes, but eventually they came to the end of their path. It opened out into an enormous cavern that was shrouded in darkness. The last of the torches burnt in the opening of the tunnel, but the light didn¡¯t reach far enough. Looking upward, Felan couldn¡¯t see the roof. An image flooded his mind - an enormous bat hanging upside down from the roof waking from it¡¯s slumber and swooping towards them.


    ¡°Here we are¡± Keira announced, pulling Felan back to reality.


    He stepped around her to get a better view of the cavern. The floor sloped downward toward the centre, and at the lowest point was a small pile of treasures. There was a wooden chest that looked too big for the two of them to carry, let alone haul up the ladder. Piled against it were a collection of gold coins and a few rusted swords and axes.


    ¡°Is it safe?¡± Felan asked, scared to approach the treasure. It all seemed to easy.


    ¡°Absolutely. Normally you have to fight the boss in here, but since we handled it up there we just get the loot¡± She laughed, and led the way.


    The chest contained a number of crafting ingredients that Keira quickly gathered into her inventory. Felan couldn¡¯t begrudge her that - he knew nothing of crafting, so couldn¡¯t have said what he might need. She seemed reasonable enough anyway, he was sure that she would give him any crafting equipment he might need. There was an old leather scroll left by the time she¡¯d done claiming her goods.


    ¡°That¡¯s a navigation scroll¡± Keira said, as if that explained it. The puzzled look on Felan¡¯s face prompted her to elaborate.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know about the navigation spell? It¡¯ll help you find your way if you¡¯re lost. Like if you get turned around in a dungeon or whatever. You¡¯ll probably need it¡± she laughed.


    Felan grabbed the scroll and dropped it in his inventory. A single use scroll that would help him navigate no matter how lost he got sounded like something he¡¯d definitely be using. He had a fairly decent natural sense of direction above ground, but even this simple tunnel had him feeling a little unsure of exactly where to point to aim at that ladder.


    The weapons leaning against the chest seemed useless. Felan took a rusted short-sword anyway. The creatures amputated arm was taking up a sizable chunk of his inventory but it wouldn¡¯t do him much good in a fight. The rusted sword would at least give him something to swing if they encountered any trouble. It¡¯s edge was dull, but he could probably use it about as well as his old club.


    Keira let him gather all of the coins, but she swooped in to claim a small blue gem that was buried amongst the pile. Again, Felan didn¡¯t argue the point. He was pretty sure he was getting the lions share of the loot already.


    Once they¡¯d gathered what they could the pair started on their path back to the ladder. Keira took the lead once again.


    ¡°So, are we going to Greenest?¡± Felan asked as they walked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you can teleport to Yaldhurst?¡±


    ¡°Never heard of the place¡±


    ¡°Shit. It¡¯s up to you I guess. We should probably avoid it though¡±


    ¡°What can Andross do? I thought he couldn¡¯t attack in town.¡±


    ¡°He can¡¯t attack us, no. But he and his goons can hurt the NPCs, and that gives them the chance to threaten them. We won¡¯t be able to do much trading there¡±


    ¡°Seriously? The devs let players go around bullying NPCs?¡±


    ¡°Seems ridiculous right? But it¡¯s what the players wanted. They fought hard for the right to do shit like that. It¡¯s what Ether was created for - it lets guilds buy perks that let them influence the world more directly. Some of the frontier towns are pretty tightly controlled by the bigger guilds. The main centres are too big - no guilds can gather enough Ether to really mess things up.¡±


    ¡°And Andross is here farming Ether?¡±


    ¡°I guess so¡±


    ¡°Then we need to stop him.¡±