by Adam Myhr
Your companion defeated a zombie dog! +4 Exp
You sliced a zombie! Critical hit! (x2) 12 Damage (Decapitation)
You defeated a zombie! + 13 Exp
The remaining zombie lunged forward, catching me by surprise.
A zombie groped you! -3 HP
I pushed the zombie back and took a wide swipe at its arm. The wolf checked herself as she jumped down on the zombie, allowing my sword to miss her after it missed the zombie. The zombie made another lunge at me, but I was ready this time. I shifted to the side and brought my blade down on its back, followed by a slice that would’ve hamstrung a living person.
You sliced a zombie! 5 Damage
You slashed a zombie! 4 Damage
The wolf took a bite out of the zombie’s other leg. Seemingly unfazed, the zombie continued its attempts to grab me, missing but crowding in on my space. Unable to get a solid swing out I pushed it back with my shield and stepped behind a chair. The wolf lunged up onto the zombies back, causing it to stagger forward before she fell back to the ground. I took a swipe at its neck, barely making contact.
You slashed a zombie! 4 Damage
The wolf circled, looking for a better angle to attack while the zombie turned towards me and stumbled forward. I stabbed it, pulling my sword out and slashing it immediately after.
You stabbed a zombie! 5 Damage
You slashed a zombie! 7 Damage
You defeated a zombie! +15 Exp
I scanned the room, looking for any more threats. I didn’t see anything, and the wolf seemed to have relaxed. I took a couple of turns to eat and heal myself, unwilling to risk death this close to my goal. With only a few turns left before the portal was due to close I rushed out the door on the right, landing facing a wall, the hallway extending to either side.
To my left there was a junction, passageway’s going all over. To my right, the hall went forward and turned. To my right should also be the outside wall I came in on, so I rushed down the hall and around the corner. The corridor stretched out in front of me, a door on the left and another on the right. I tried to hurry, passing the first room without a thought and rushing to the door on the right. I burst through the door, seeing the portal still shimmering along the outside wall. I jumped across the room, knowing my time was short, and landed just in front of it.
Before I could step forward, the light faded, leaving behind the same gray walls the rest of the keep sported. I slammed my fists on the wall. After a turn spent in frustration, I calmed down and resisted the urge to cast a new portal and run. I only had enough spell points left to cast one, and I didn’t know how to get more back.
I traced my steps back, through the dining hall and kitchen until I was facing the door to the outside. I checked the door to be sure, it did ask me about going to a new area, so after casting a portal to the side of the door, I stepped through.
Frank: Average Human
Str:6
Dex:8
Con:5
Int:6
Wis:6
Luck:6
HP:16 (20)
SP:0 (6)
Food:100% (34/50)
Turn:745
Exp:334
Lvl:2
Weapon:
Tarnished Steel Short Sword
Normal, 3-6
Armor:
Tree Folk Basic Outfit
0
Leather Vest
2
Stone Studded Shield
Equipment:
lock picks, 4 carrots, Small Light Brown Vial
Silver: 27
Skills: (1)
Dodge (2)
Short Blades (3) +1 Dam / +1 Att/2 turns
Magic:
Cracked Wooden Wand of Light Healing (??)
Lesser Transition Portal (2 SP)
Twenty
I caught the portal’s glow from the corner of my eye when I came out of the door, so I knew it was there. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only thing there. Rushing out the door caused me to stumble into a large bear, and it wasn’t happy with me. Luckily, it’s move was to turn at me and roar, scaring the shit out of me, but not causing any damage. Unluckily it was now positioned between me and the portal.
The wolf circled behind me, waiting to see what I would do, and how the bear would react. I drew my sword and swiped at the bear, not trying to hit it. I held my shield at the ready in case it struck, hoping my aggression would scare it off. I had no such luck, the bear’s heavy paw coming down so hard on the shield I thought my arm would break.
A bear mauled you! -1 HP
The sound of the claws scraping along the wood is something I won’t soon forget. I circled to the side of the bear, jabbing at its side while angling for a way into the portal.
You stabbed a bear! 5 Damage
The wolf bit at the other side of the bear, almost completely out of sight behind the beast. The bear didn’t seem to care about the wolf, shuffling to keep itself between me and the portal as it made another swipe, this one connecting with my shin in an explosion of pain.
A bear sliced you! -7 HP
I couldn’t last long against an opponent like this, but I couldn’t let it keep me out of the portal either. I lunged, stabbing deep into the bear, twisting the sword as I pulled it out and slicing down along its muzzle while prepping to block the next attack.
You stabbed a bear! 7 Damage
You sliced a bear! 4 Damage
The bear responded by biting at my sword arm, narrowly missing. I’d lost sight of the wolf but heard it panting and growling on the other side, completely ignored by the bear. I risked another attack, but with a defensive posture in hopes of lasting long enough for a dual attack again.
You slashed a bear! 5 Damage
The bear swung at me with its massive paw again, catching the shield with a glancing blow, not nearly as bad as the first one. I moved in, slicing at the bear’s throat before backing out to the side, stabbing at its side while trying to get closer to the portal again.
You sliced a bear! 6 Damage
You stabbed a bear! 4 Damage
Suddenly the wolf appeared on the bear’s back, biting down at the back of its neck. The bear let out another roar, shaking its massive head from side to side in an effort to rid itself of the unwanted passenger. The wolf managed to hold on though, clamping tightly enough to draw blood. Afraid I wouldn’t survive another hit I took my next turn to heal myself while continuing to try circling the bear. Just before the bear’s turn, I saw there was a bigger problem here than I’d realized. A bear cub was sitting right in front of the portal, it’s gaze locked on the portal and not a muscle moving. The bear roared again, rearing up on its hind legs and finally throwing the wolf.
The bear was still on its hind legs, exposing a huge soft target to me. I jumped and drove my sword into the bear’s chest, letting my weight pull the sword down and slice the bear open on the way.
You stabbed a bear! Critical hit! (x2) 14 Damage
You defeated a bear! +23 Exp
A bear fell on top of you! -2 HP
The bear fell forward on top of me, trapping me beneath it with my sword buried past the hilt. I heard a roar that put this bear’s roar to shame. Tilting my head back I saw a bear twice as big on its hind legs at the edge of the woods. The roar seemed to break the bear cub’s spell as well, causing it to turn and see the dead bear on top of me. It let out a cry of pain I swore I could feel in my soul. I tried pushing the bear off the top of myself but was unable to budge it.
The bear in the woods fell onto all fours hard enough I felt the ground shake. The wolf appeared by my side, pushing at the bear on top of me. I tried pulling myself out from under the bear, managing to shimmy a little bit closer to freedom. The bear cub continued to cry in the background, but as the large bear started to charge our position I completely forgot about the cub, frantically pulling myself harder to get out. I made significant progress but lost hold of my sword. The wolf pulled at me, getting me clear down
to my knees before her turn ended. The bear covered almost half the distance across the clearing in its charge, primal rage visible in its eyes.
I pulled myself the rest of the way out, standing and glancing at the portal. The cub was running to the woods behind the large bear. The large bear that was going to maul me to the next world on its next turn. My sword was gone, and even with it, I wasn’t sure the wolf and I had a chance outside of the portal. With no other options, I started to run for the portal. The bear shifted its charge slightly, aiming for me. It came closer, the gap between us almost gone when the wolf threw herself into the bear’s face! The weight of the wolf in a full leap caused the huge bear to stumble, and its eyes left me while it assessed the new threat in its face.
I stumbled from the close encounter, but continued my run to the portal, getting within a turn of reaching it. I could hear the bear roaring and the wolf growling behind me. Unable to see them while running all-out to the portal I went another turn, reaching the portal and shifting to face the battle behind me.
The wolf was faced off against the bear, battered but not down. The bear looked untouched. The wolf looked my direction, and I swear she nodded slightly before leaping directly at the bear’s face again. The bear swatted the wolf with a paw at least the size of her head. I heard bones snapping as the bear’s claws dug furrows of red deep into the wolf’s neck, bending it back almost against her side as she was flung ten feet to the side.
A giant bear defeated your companion! -8 HP
I howled in pain, and not just physical. I was in shock as the bear turned back to face me. It stood and let out another massive roar before landing on all fours and charging. I snapped myself out of it, turned, and fled through the portal.
The portal’s light consumed everything. I was lost in light and static again, but it was different this time. The static became harsher, the light bluer. I didn’t feel myself fall onto a hard surface. Instead I felt a bed materialize beneath me. The light went through blue and into black, the static faded with the light. I cherished the quiet, the dark. Then I noticed the HUD, still on the edges of my vision.
With a sigh I opened my eyes, taking in my new environment. I was laying on a pedestal in the middle of a small room. The collection of small round lights above me were dimly lit, providing minimal illumination. The large square tiles in the ceiling reminded me of a modern office building. I got up and looked around the room. The walls were tiled like the bathrooms in a college, leading to a single slab cement floor. The floor was slightly graded, leading to a drain visible under the pedestal. The single door was free-swinging, a modern version of the doors from the kitchen in the keep.
Through the swinging door was a small hallway leading to a control room. Immediately to my right was a wall containing a multitude of displays, gauges, dials, and lights of unknown purpose. Directly in front of me, across the room, was a computer console. To my left, a wall of lockers went forward to another door in the opposite corner of the room. A sign above the computer console identified it as the Hardware Control System.
The screen snapped on as I approached. When I sat down a small rectangle glowed on the desk in front of me. The screen displayed a looped video of a hand moving from a blank spot to a glowing rectangle.
I placed my hand on the rectangle in the desk, causing the screen to pause for a moment. Shortly, the video was replaced with a menu of options, and a voice came from unseen speakers.
“Customer identified. Hello Frank. Did you arrive in this room by chance or on purpose?”
The screen had two options showing.
I arrived in this room by chance.
I arrived in this room on purpose.
Directly in front of the screen two glowing buttons appeared, a green one with the number one to the left and a red one with the number two to the right. I hesitated, but ultimately pushed the number 2.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience Frank. Please state the nature of your problem.”
The simulation is too hard.
The simulation is too easy.
The simulation has strange glitches.
The simulation has stopped.
The simulation will not exit.
The buttons appeared smaller this time, and all but one with a blue background. The last option displayed with a red background. I pressed the red button again.
“This rare situation is unfortunate. What would you like to do about this failure?”
Return to the simulation at the point you left.
Return to the simulation at a new point with your existing spec.
Restart the simulation.
Exit the simulation.
At this point, I wasn’t surprised to see the final option framed in red. I pressed it, starting to get annoyed at the process.
“Please attempt to use your exit phrase again.”
“Get me the hell out of here. You want me to type it too?”
“Thank you. I have determined your exit phrase is not working. Please wait one moment.”
I leaned back in the chair and looked around the room again. I still didn’t see anything that made sense to me. For all I knew, the wall of dials and screens was a prop, not connected to anything real. I spun the chair around, first one way and then the next. I turned back to the screen.
Please wait.
Nothing new. I was getting bored and antsy, nervousness about the whole process closing in. I got up and paced the room, unable to hold still while I waited. I was mindlessly looking through the empty lockers when the voice came back, bringing me rushing to the chair.
“Thank you for waiting, Frank. I am detecting a system failure. You have three options at this time.”
Return to the simulation and wait for the system problems to be resolved.
Remain here and wait for the system problems to be resolved.
Attempt to leave the simulation from here while the system still has problems.
I didn’t even look, jabbing at the last option as soon as it came visible. A small slot opened on the console next to the monitor. Sheets of paper dense with text started popping out.
“You have chosen to attempt leaving the simulation from the hardware console. To attempt this, you must sign the wavier now printing at the workstation.”
After about two dozen pages the slot finally closed and a small pen jutted up from the console. I quickly leafed through the documents, finding all the points requiring a signature or initials and providing them.
“Thank you, Frank. As you know from reading the documents you just signed there is a significant chance of brain damage from this process. Because of this risk, we need further auditory confirmation that you do want to move forward with the process.”
“What?”
“Do you, Frank, accept all responsibility for any damage to your physical, mental, spiritual, or psychic health, as well as any damage to any other form of health you feel is a part of you, from the process?”
“I, I. I guess I do?”
“Are you, Frank, under instruction of any kind from another to move forward with this process?”
“That one’s easy, no.”
“And finally, Frank, do you want to move forward with the process?”
“Yeah, let’s get it over with.”
“Very well. Please leave all your equipment in one of the provided lockers. This includes all weapons and armor you have accumulated during your time here.”
“Why should that matter?” I realized I was talking to what was essentially a set of recorded messages. “Never mind.” I went over to the locker and started placing what meager belongings I still held into the locker. The worst was ditching the vest and tree folk outfit. I felt almost naked without them. In fact, wearing only rags again, I was almost naked without them.
“Thank you for your cooperation. Please follow the red arrows on the floor.”
A set of red arrows lit up, leading me out the other door, down a hallway to the right, and into another small roo
m with a pedestal table in the middle. The room was very similar to the room I’d come into the simulation in. I laid back on the table as in the real world - not needing a disembodied voice to tell me that’s what I had to do.
“The process will start momentarily. This is your last chance to abort the process and remain in the simulation. Would you like to abort?”
“No dammit! Get me out of here!”
The red light from the arrows faded, as did the dim overhead light. The blackness became absolute, taking on a physical presence as the HUD faded from view. I let out a breath and didn’t draw one in. I couldn’t, but I didn’t feel the pain of suffocation. The sensation of the table pushing against my skin faded. The warmth of my own body faded, replaced at first by cold, and then by nothing. I started to feel as if I was floating up, then the sensation of up faded, and I just was. I existed in the blackness. I was the blackness. The blackness was me. I tried to scream, and nothing happened.
Frank: Average Human
Str:6
Dex:8
Con:5
Int:6
Wis:6
Luck:6
HP:8 (20)
SP:0 (6)
Food:99% (-2/50)
Turn:786
Exp:334
Lvl:2
Weapon:
Armor:
Equipment:
Silver: 0
Skills: (1)
Dodge (2)
Short Blades (3) +1 Dam / +1 Att/2 turns
Magic:
Lesser Transition Portal (2 SP)
Twenty-One