by Jamey Sultan
She nodded. “You looked like you could use a little something.” Then her gaze grew stern. She slapped him over the head with a rolled-up leaf and started lecturing him. “Are you that stupid that you would go out adventuring and challenge a monster three times your size with this?” She held up the dagger. “This toothpick couldn’t hurt a fly. Honestly. Sometimes it feels like you young people have a death wish.”
James stared at the dagger. “But I—”
“No.” She interrupted him. “No excuses.”
Who is this woman? She saves my life, then she lectures me? He supposed he should be grateful, so he nodded and apologized.
She sat in silence for a moment, as if thinking. “I’ll tell you what. Come to my house in Riverside and I’ll help you get stronger the safe way. Follow the road to the east once you’ve left the cave and gone up the hill. Look for the sign after you cross the first bridge. If you pass the second bridge, you’ve gone too far.” She turned and headed out of the cave.
Her sudden departure caught James off guard. “Wait! you—“
“And bring my bag with you when you come. It’s too heavy for a frail old lady like me.” With that, she disappeared, moving much faster than she had any right to.
James looked down at the pack. It looked heavy. He picked it up and hefted it in his hands, groaning at the weight. Putting it down, he spent the rest of the day exploring the cave. He wanted to make sure he hadn’t missed anything important. Riverside could wait—he wanted to check out the spider’s nest. But before he could go deeper into the cave, a notification awaited his attention.
You have been fully healed and all status effects have been cured.
You have been given a quest: Helping the Elderly I
Helping the Elderly I: Nana Rasner is a frail old lady, and she needs your help! Deliver her pack to her in Riverside by following the river to the east.
Suggested level: 0-2
Reward: Unknown
Penalty for failure: A savage beating
James rubbed his head where Nana had hit him and sighed. He didn’t want to get on that woman’s bad side, whoever she was.
His first order of business would be to harvest the poison gland from the Cave Spider Matriarch corpse. He wouldn’t have had a chance against the Cave Spider Matriarch if he hadn’t used the other poison gland. Using his knowledge from the previous spider, he cracked the carapace closer to its poison gland. It only took him a few moments of rooting around to find his target.
Cave Spider Matriarch Poison Gland:
Rank: Unusual
1-3 poison damage/second for 30 seconds if ingested
The poison gland taken from a Cave Spider Matriarch.
You have gained a Skill Rank in Anatomy.
You are now Skill Rank 4.
James looked at his prize with satisfaction. It did slightly more damage than the other gland, and his cuts looked neater. He had learned something from his previous harvesting.
A flash of lightning interrupted his musings and made him jump as, outside the cave, bucket-sized drops of rain fell from the sky. Briefly, James worried about Nana Rasner, but the woman could hustle. She was probably already back at the village.
Looking over the spider, James wondered if there was anything else he could harvest. With a flash of inspiration, he remembered how tough the spider’s armor was. Whistling as he worked, he chipped five large sheets of carapace off of the spider.
Cave Spider Matriarch Carapace (x5):
Rank: Unusual
A tough exoskeleton from the body of a Cave Spider Matriarch. Can be used as a crafting ingredient for low to mid-tier armor or weapons.
James smiled. One of his favorite parts in any video games was collecting loot after a battle. Nothing could beat the feeling of vanquishing your foe and using their defeat to grow stronger. Sure, this wasn’t a legendary sword or anything, but it was still a great feeling. Luckily, when he placed the carapace in his pouch, its mouth expanded to fit the larger item.
He turned his attention to the spider’s web. It was dark grey and matched the cave wall closely. If the spider hadn’t been sitting in the middle of the web when he first saw it, he probably would have missed it.
A cluster of four oval-shaped sacs lay in the center of the web. James picked them up gingerly and deposited them in his pouch, trying to touch them as little as physically possible.
Cave Spider Egg (x4):
Rank: Unusual
+ 5 dexterity for 60 minutes when eaten
Some cultures believe that by eating the eggs of a cave spider, you can cling to walls like a spider.
Absolutely not. No way in hell I’m eating one of those eggs. Ever.
Still shuddering at the thought, he checked out the spider web. First, he plucked the web with his finger. He expected it to vibrate like a string, but it moved with his finger but stayed fixed in its new position after he’d moved it. James felt the web between his fingers. It felt like he was holding the cold stone wall of the cave in his hands. He tried to pull on the silk, but it had no give. James even gave it a quick lick but learned nothing. He knew some people would judge him for licking a spider web in a magical cave he’d been teleported to by a strange demon hanging out in a medieval cell, but fuck ‘em.
Twenty minutes of chipping later, he finally freed the last bit of web from the wall.
Rocksilk:
Rank: Unusual
A 30-foot-long segment of Cave Spider silk, also known as Rocksilk, for obvious reasons.
As James happily filled his bag up with the silk, he noticed what the web had obscured. A… passage? It only extended a few feet into the cave wall, basically an indent and barely worth noting.
He was about to head back to his sleeping spot to catch a good night’s sleep, when some scratches on the cave wall caught his eye. If he squinted, they loosely resembled a skull. He lay his hand on it, which in hindsight perhaps not a good idea when the wall had an ominous skull on it. For a second nothing happened, then the wall flashed red. A notification appeared.
Would you like to enter the Dungeon of the Lion-Ant?
Recommended level: 5-9.
James quickly backpedaled. No, thank you. He’d almost died fighting a level 3 spider. But maybe in the future. He mentally marked the dungeon as an interesting location that he would come back to and returned to his pack, settling down for the night.
Tomorrow would be an adventure.
Chapter 6
James sat up, stretched his arms over his head and yawned. He felt much better than yesterday—whatever Nana Rasner had done really helped. James rolled out his surprisingly limber neck. Apparently, large bags of leaves made great pillows. He carefully peeled back his bandages to reveal unblemished skin coated in a sticky, sweet-smelling paste.
There was nothing James hated more than being sticky, except maybe spiders. He approached the small pool of water in the dimly lit cave and set to washing himself off. Days of sleeping on the cave floor had coated him in spider guts and cave dust, so he was due a nice bath. He dressed, gathered his belongings, and prepared to leave the cave that had protected him since his arrival.
He hefted the pack and groaned. It felt heavier than it had last night. What did she put in here, rocks? Once it was on his back, it was much more manageable, and he headed to the mouth of the cave. The silence gave way to birdsong and rustling leaves.
The morning was still young, but after a week in a cave, it was unbearably bright. Still, James relished the feeling of the warm wind against his skin. If Novis followed Earth conventions, then it was probably late spring or early summer. He squinted, waiting for his eyes to adjust before taking in the scene before him. Details that had escaped him during the night were much more apparent in the harsh sunlight. He was in a ravine, cut by a fast-flowing river with a forest on the far side. Even in the daylight, it was still difficult to make out anything other than dense foliage through the thick fog, but James heard the terrified cry of an animal as it
dodged through the underbrush.
James’ side of the river wasn’t nearly as interesting. He was standing on a spit of loose gravel that extended about fifteen feet in either direction. The only point worth noting on his side of the river was the cave mouth at the base of the cliff. To get anywhere, he’d have to scale a twenty-foot rock face. James took a deep breath, trying to suppress his fear.
No time like the present.
His heart skipped a beat every time his foot sent another shower of scree plinking down the cliff wall into the river below. Eventually, he crested the top of the cliff and tossed the heavy pack onto the level ground. James collapsed next to it, alternating between gasping breaths and cursing Nana Rasner. “‘Hill’ she says. I’ll show her a hill. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, beating old ladies is not below me,” he muttered. He staggered to his feet, hoisted his pack and trudged towards the road ahead of him.
James looked to the left. A path followed the ravine into the distance.
Same to the right, but there was an impressive red mountain range in the distance.
“Where the hell is east?” James muttered under his breath. Nana hadn’t provided him with any direction except for east. Does the sun rise in the east here? James looked around for any landmarks that might point to a town, but he saw nothing useful.
He sighed. Luckily, he only had two directions to choose from. He could head towards the red mountains, but when he looked at them the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, as if something watched him. The other direction led through a much tamer forest than the one he’d seen across the river. The trees were widely spaced, and there was no trace of mysterious fog.
He gave up and headed for the trees, putting the unnerving mountains behind him.
After an hour of walking, he was startled by a rumbling behind him. He’d zoned out, staring into the trees to see how many animals he could see, completely tuned out to everything else. The answer: not many animals. Apparently, life in a major city did not prepare someone for the great outdoors. James could spot a crackhead with a knife from fifty paces, but he’d be damned if he could see a moth on a tree right in front of his face.
The rumbling intensified, and James turned. Behind him, a rickety cart filled with carrots trundled up the path, led by two horse-like creatures. A sizeable man sat at the front of the cart, working the reins.
Name: Ferko Lassen
Race: Orc
Level: ???
Class: Agronomist
“Whoa, there,” the Orc called out to his horses, slowing their gait. “Ho, traveler!” He waved to James cheerily.
James considered the Orc riding the cart. He’d never seen an orc before. Ferko was big and burly, with a pronounced belly, and deep smile lines around his eyes. Two short tusks poked out from beneath his lips. They were only a few inches long and looked dull at the end, as if he’d shaved off the tips. His skin was leathery, with a dark greenish color. A wide-brimmed straw hat perched on his head.
My lucky day! “Hey, there!” James waved. “You wouldn’t know how to get to Riverside, would you?” Normally, James might have been more wary of an orc. They were always portrayed as the bad guys in books and video games, but Ferko had one of those faces with an infectious smile that made James want to trust him.
The farmer squinted at him suspiciously and scratched the side of his head. “You don’t know where Riverside is?”
“I’m not from around here,” James replied.
Ferko quirked an eyebrow and waited for James to elaborate. When he didn’t, the farmer’s eyebrow jumped higher. When he realized James wasn’t going to talk, he pointed down the path he was already on. “Riverside’s that way. Follow the road and you can’t miss it.”
“Thanks.” James said, waving to the farmer.
“Well, hang on.” The farmer called out, following James along the road. “Why are you heading to Riverside?”
James gestured at the bag of herbs on his back. “Delivering this.”
Ferko’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Is that Nana’s bag?”
“Yea. How’d you know?”
Ferko grinned. “Everyone knows Nana.” He patted the cart next to him. “Come on up. I’ll give you a ride.”
James thought about it for a second. Should he seriously consider taking a ride with some stranger? He knew nothing about this world or the people in it. What if Ferko tried to attack him? But the farmer seemed nice, and James considered himself a decent judge of character. “Sure. I’d be glad to get this off my back.” James grinned and tossed the pack in the back of the cart before hopping up next to the farmer.
They sat in companionable silence for a bit as the cart rolled along, but James was getting bored with the scenery. “So, what brings you out here?” he asked.
Ferko gestured at the back of the cart. “I’m bringing my cinderstalks to Fallmire to sell.” James turned and picked up one of the orange sticks piled in the back of the cart and examined it.
Cinderstalk:
Rank: Unusual
+ 1 to a random stat for five minutes when eaten.
Sought after for its renowned health benefits, the cinderstalk is a rare vegetable that can only be grown in the mana-rich soil of the Fertile Expanse.
James turned the cinderstalk over in his hands. It felt rough on the outside, like sandpaper, but was otherwise carrotlike. “It looks… crunchy?”
Ferko laughed, slapping him on the back. “Good one! Just for that, you can try one for free. But don’t go telling people, I don’t want them to think I’m getting soft.”
James sniffed the cinderstalk cautiously. It smelled like cinnamon, but spicier.
“Go ahead.” Ferko encouraged. “It’s not every day you get a chance to eat nobles’ food for free.”
James nodded and bit into the cinderstalk. His teeth sank into the unexpectedly soft vegetable with ease. It flooded his mouth with a sweet, smoky flavor. “Mmm. That’s good.”
The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a bit longer until Ferko turned to James. “Truth be told, I’m glad for the company. Road’s been dangerous lately.”
The opening was perfect for James, who had been trying to think up some good questions to ask that would indirectly give him a little information about the surrounding area while at the same time not revealing that he wasn’t from this world. “Oh? I haven’t heard anything.”
Ferko nodded vigorously. “Oh yes, people have been disappearing on the roads between Fallmire and the Crimson Mountains.” He gestured at the reddish mountains behind them. “People have been disappearing from Riverside all the way to Fallmire.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Rumor has it the slavers have started to move again. The Red King and Vorgak the Vile finally came to an agreement.”
That wasn’t great. James hadn’t planned on staying in Riverside very long. His primary goal was still to figure out why he’d been sent to this world, which meant he’d need to visit the temple of Sytar in Fallmire. Hopefully, he’d be able to hitch a ride with someone else—safety in numbers and all that. There was a brief pause in the conversation, but James wanted to keep it going, so he asked the first question that came to his mind. “So, why are you headed to Riverside anyways? Just selling the cinderstalks?”
Ferko grimaced. “Unfortunately, no. I was actually headed to see Nana Rasner for some help getting rid of a couple of pests. Normally I would deal with them myself, but this year they’re acting—” A crossbow bolt interrupted him, hitting the wood about an inch from James’ thigh.
Two figures stepped out from the tree line. The first was larger than any Human James had ever seen in his life. He was about seven feet tall, covered head to toe in heavy armor. His face was marked by a cruel scar that ran from the tip of his ear to the corner of his mouth, twisting his face into a permanent smirk. He held a heavy broadsword easily in one hand. James stared at the weapon—he wasn’t sure that he could lift it, let alone wield the brutal weapon, even with two hands.
<
br /> Name: Bato Enkel
Race: Human
Level 27
Class: Highwayman
Bato was imposing, but it was the woman pointing the crossbow at him. That held his undivided attention.
Name: Mirabell Nunn
Race: Human
Level 17
Class: Archer
Slowly, James raised his hands into the air. He looked towards Ferko pleadingly. The farmer was such a high level that James couldn’t even see the number, all he could see was three question marks. He hoped that meant that the farmer could take care of the bandits. It was a small hope, but still...
The farmer gave him a reassuring wink, then calmly addressed the two bandits. “Does the Red King know you’re out alone?” His calm voice settled James’ racing heart. Maybe he had a trick up his sleeve.
The two bandits exchanged surprised glances. “ Of course. Why wouldn’t he?” Mirabelle replied nervously, dropping her crossbow just a bit
“You know how the Red King punishes freelancers,” Ferko said. “Walk away now and we can pretend this never happened. We both know you aren’t working with him.”
Mirabelle considered the offer. “Nah. If you’re dead, there won’t be any witnesses.” She whipped up her crossbow to fire, but Ferko was faster. A dark green glow surrounded him, and the smell of forests, oceans, and fresh rain suffused the area. Tendrils of energy reached towards the cart.
