Awakenings: Tuatha

The last thing she remembered was sitting down to give herself a well-earned escape from the realities of her life. Launched the game and the moment that it loaded up: she blacked out.

Where was she? How did she get here?

As Tuatha got up, dizziness washed over her. Nothing seemed to work the way she was used to. It was as if she'd grown in length. The muscles of her body burned as if they'd never been used before, and her eyes stung even in the low light. She pushed her arms underneath her to get up and ended up lifting herself much quicker then she'd intended; as if she had more strength then normal. When the odd sensations slowly abated, she took a look around her. She seemed to be in an inn, up in the second floor in fact. Tuatha remembered that she had left her character here last she played. From downstairs she could hear voices; as well as laughter and shouting, along with the sounds of plates and mugs getting their due use. Something about the noise made her feel like she should stay up here… that it was safer.

Stumbling when she began to walk, and it took some time before the druid could make her legs work like they should.

There was a shining copper plate in the empty room, and she took a chance to look into the reflective surface. Staring back at her... was her. Her, but as her Elf Druid. Though that character looked different; perhaps it was because before it was just pixels and cartoonish graphics. Perhaps part of this appearance was affected by her own impression of what this character should look like. For even though the person staring back at her was not exactly how she remembered the character to be, there were still certain things that she recognized. The eyes were different. Kind but fierce, and stunning she had to admit. While in the game the elves eyes were just two glowing orbs, now she kept normal eyes that had an iridescent green color. The rest of her was stunning as well; curvier then what the game normally allowed, but that just added to the appeal. Her skin was lighter than what it should have been, but still sun-kissed. Her hair was long and multitoned in color, ranging from copper to deep umber; if this was truly a real world, she'd have to braid it to keep it out of the way.

Her Elf Druid was normally classed as the Feral aspect; for she loved the power and ability to shift into animal forms; but at the moment, was specialized into a healer class because some friends needed a competent healer to raid with. Still... a druid healer could still fight; she could feel the strength within her, but not any magic. She thought magic would have a certain tingle, but that was absent.

With a laugh, Tuatha started going through her wardrobe and items; finding more about the body she was in inhabiting and the gear upon it. The small pouches held more than their size could account for; but otherwise what was in her inventory when she last played was still there. Incredibly, it didn't hamper her movement. The magical items didn't feel magical... or maybe she didn't know how to work them yet? Her gear looked much like the gear she'd had on her character.

Her staff was beautiful of course; most high level staves were, and it fit in her hand as if it were a part of her. It was a long slim piece of walnut wood with geometric designs along the shaft. The bottom held an iridescent purple column amethyst. The top widened and the first level curved in slightly while the second level created a spherical claw surrounding a purple orb. It was the jewel of her collection.

The rest of her cloths were much the same in regards of design. It was a hard earned gear set that was versatile and in its present form, functional as well as fashionable. Still, there were patches of bare skin that may or may not become tiresome. Perhaps she could pass it as more to keep her keyed into nature? That was the usual in game character explanation she would give people when she'd wear some of the more revealing female outfits. She didn't feel sexy in real life; why couldn't she indulge when she played the game?

So now, besides some obvious world mechanics, she was in a real place, in a real body, with real needs. She was in a real survival situation.

That thought stopped her dead.

This character knew how to survive alone or with a group... but would the knowledge be ingrained in her now? Or would she have to learn it all?

She looked around the small room again. There were some NPC items to make the place look lived in; though she did note that the NPC that was normally in here was absent.

Tuatha took out her skinning dagger and pricked her finger. It bled; and stung. It would be safe to say that she could die here; most likely permanently, either by the elements or by other people. Or was she the only one? It seemed a bit ridiculous to think she was the only one this had happened to. She was certain beyond a doubt that she wasn't sleeping or dead. She'd been at her computer one second and here the next. In one fluid conscious thought. Poof. And even if she was wrong, it was better to error on the safe side and presume that this was real and that she had one life.

Going to the door, she looked outside and had another listen to make sure no one was coming up. Carefully, and as quietly as she could, the Druid opened the door and slowly made her way to the railed balcony then looked over to the tavern level of the inn. She kept low and hoped her movements were slow enough not to be noticed as the scene below came to view.

The sight below did not look very hospitable to her person. Apparently the current inhabitants –who she could only presume were players- decided the inn was the ideal place to completely debase themselves. Complete with unwilling participants.

Most of the chairs were broken and scattered on the ground, leaving only benches strewn in disarray. The tables were cluttered with jugs, tankards, and plates of barely palatable food.

Still no signs of the innkeeper or anyone else who could be a NPC.

As Tuatha was scanning the level below, she made eye contact with one of the unwilling women who was currently on a large players lap, being manhandled absently as he jested with the others. When he caught her staring up, Tuatha hurried away from the balcony, wishing she knew how to turn into a cat and become invisible.

She could hear the lout call to one of the others to check upstairs and started to panic. Tuatha went into one of the rooms and looked out the window. It was far too high up to jump nor was there any other way down.

There was, however, a wardrobe. She leaped into it and shut the door as quietly as she could. While trying to control the sound of her breathing, she tried to listen, hoping anyone who came in would only give a visual look and leave.

From the other side of the wardrobe doors, she could hear a soft thud of heavy boots.

Tuatha swore if her heart beat any louder, all of Sedarion would be able to hear it.

It felt like several minutes passed and she started to wonder if the man had gone. She was about to chance opening the doors herself when it was wrenched open from the outside. A very loud scream came out of Tuatha, much to the chagrin of the man still holding open the door.

"Bloody hell woman!" The barbarian human grabbed her and dragged her out. "How did you get up here?" he growled as he yanked her staff out of her hands. When he had her disarmed, he pushed her out of the room.

Catching herself, Tuatha gave him a glare. "I spawned here. I'm sure that's how you've captured many players." She huffed.

He grinned unkindly as he gripped her arm to steer her towards the stairs down. "Unless their useless. Then we just kill 'em."

"What?" That alarmed her. He spoke with a finality that suggested player death was now indeed a permanent thing. It also sounded like he enjoyed murdering. She stayed uneasily silent as she was brought in front of the same man that had the woman in his lap. He must be the degenerates' leader.

He gave her a leery once over before shoving the girl off his lap and standing up. The girl was yanked into the arms of another player. The leader towered over Tuatha by at least a foot, and looked capable of tearing limbs. He motioned for her staff and examined it in his big meaty hands. After handing the staff back, he began examining her person more closely. "Do you have a name, Druid?"

Choosing not to answer, Tuatha tried to keep still even as his hands began to take liberties.

The leader smirked. "Silence won't save you, girly. If you won't talk, we may as well find another use for that pretty mouth." His comment was met with jeers and laughter. With a quick motion, he pushed down on her shoulders, forcing her to her knees. He grabbed her chin to force her to look up at him. "What is your name?" he asked again.

Again, Tuatha said nothing. While quite a bit of it was because she was stubborn, she was mute more out of fear. A fear she was hoping to hide from him.

"Have it your way." He continued and began undoing his belt. "I'm sure once me and my men are done, you'll be more talkative." He jeered and began on his trousers.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" A new voice asked from the bar.

Apparently it was a voice none of the others had heard, for everyone in the room turned. It was the bartender NPC, looking over at everyone as if they were the ones who suddenly appeared from nowhere. He wasn't alone. The Innkeeper appeared as well, though no other patron NPC's materialized.

After a moment, the two NPC's shared a look, seeming to recognize that this group was dangerous. "Why not settle down, lads. And have some more ale." The bartender declared, moving to the Innkeeper who was closer to the kitchen entrance. "We'll go fetch some casks and defray in the morning." The female NPC was already heading towards the cellar.

"Defray?" the leader demanded, redoing his cloths and facing the NPC's.

The bartender smiled and clasped his hands. "Otherwise, settle. I only mean, master fighter, that I'm sure you'll be needing me to replace what furniture that has, accidently, been destroyed… to make your stay more comfortable."

Tuatha hoped the NPC realized there was no chance in hell these wankers would be footing any bill he gave them. She was also hoping that the fighter didn't just go up to the NPC and run him through with the nonchalant vigor she'd seen a lot of players do in games like these.

"David here will go with you." The fighter gestured to one of the rogue looking men in his group.

The Barkeep bowed shortly. "Thank you, my lord. The casks can be quite heavy." He nodded to the rogue and the three of them disappeared around the corner and down another set of stairs.

With them gone, the leader looked back over at Tuatha and seemed to make a decision. He grabbed her staff from the other man who was fondling it too intimately. "You look like a healer, Druid. That makes you useful. Stay that way, be my little pet, and no harm will come to you. Understand?"

After studying him for a moment, and knowing he was fully prepared to 'teach her obedience' if she resisted, Tuatha nodded. Every nerve in her body was buzzing with adrenaline but any action against these jerk offs now would only end badly for her.

"Good." He thrust her staff back at her and smiled when she took it possessively. He sat down and gave his lap a suggestive pat.

Keeping her staff firmly gripped in both hands Tuatha stood up. Without waiting for her to take the two steps towards him, the leader yanked her to him and pressed her into his lap. She winced as his hands wasted no time finding places to grip and fondle. At least, perched so, Tuatha didn't have to worry about the attentions of the rest of the rabble. Though she was aware that many still gave her very lewd looks.

The other woman wasn't fairing nearly as well now that she'd been replaced. More of her cloths were missing and the lap she was sitting in was gyrating within what was left of her skirts. Though the woman seemed more stoic to the abuse; having had to deal with it for a fair amount of time.

Sometime later, the barbarian boss had just swept Tuatha's hair back to latch onto her bare shoulder while his hand explored lower, when it all happened.

With multiple crashes and ringing of metal; suddenly there was a whole company of NPC guardsmen in the small tavern, coming in from the main entryway as well as the back, effectively surrounding the group of miscreants.

Barbarian man stood up so suddenly that he dumped his new druid onto the ground. Tuatha took that chance to find a table to hide under; pushing back the wave of shame at such an action. She was joined by the other woman, who Tuatha tried to shield as best she could.

There was very little initial clash of weapons. A few drunken lackeys raised their weapons to the NPC's but were soon disarmed and subdued. The captain of the guard surveyed the occupants of the tavern with anger and scorn. His gaze soon fixed on the appointed leader. "Your group of ruffians are not welcome in this town. Leave now, or be arrested." He announced proudly as well as loudly.

"Yeah? Well, you should have done that when you had surprise on your side." The leader smirked and spit on the ground. "Just try it now!"

He could not have chosen such poorly timed words, for just as silence descended, nearly every player race and class with even an ounce of magical ability were suddenly struck with a strange, all-encompassing flash and sting. As if every nerve in their body was being electrified and their eyes and ears blazed. A good three quarters of the group, including Tuatha, became immobilized and some even went prone. It was all the guards needed to swarm the group and effectively arrest them all.

The sensations on her skin, the buzzing in her ears and the itchiness of her eyes began to abate just as one of the guards guided her outside with the other girl. The guards were not inclined to arrest the women until they were certain that they were with the group willingly. It was easy enough to convince the NPC's that they were not. The other female player was taken to a nearby temple for healing and Tuatha was told that she was free to go where she wished.

Shaken and uncertain, Tuatha was only sure of one thing; she needed to learn how to survive here. That meant learning how to fight, but also how to hunt and survive in the wilderness. She wasn't sure where she could go to learn these things, but perhaps a good start would be travelling to the Druid's Sanctuary. Unfortunately, that was a good two weeks travel, and she wasn't sure if the in game transport system had spawned yet, or was as efficient as it used to be. She preferred not to trust it. Nor was she sure she could afford it now.

Standing in the middle of the street, Tuatha gazed at the road that would lead her away into the world of Sedarion.

She had magic now. Could feel it in her very cells. Her blood pulsed with it. And not only with magic, but with strength and agility. Her body responded quicker than she could think. Even though it would take time to train the muscles, she knew it would be easy to learn and gain that muscle memory. There was also an underlying sense in her body; something feral. Must be from her Druid aspect of her body. Tuatha's eyes were also keener; she could see clearer and farther, seeing things she never would have guessed were there. Her ears were also enhanced. She could hear that squirrel clamber up the tree several meters in the woods, could hear it over the low din of voices, metal, and leather that were behind her as the guards organized the creeps into a wagon. She could also feel the earth under the stones, and all around her! It sang to her in a melody that made her want to laugh and cry. Could feel it from the ground right into her core.

Tuatha looked at her hands and concentrated. Right away her hands were aglow in green light that twirled around her hands and arms. She felt rejuvenated; any damage she'd taken in the last hour or more was gone.

She suddenly felt like she could do anything. Even travel by herself and get to the Druids Sanctuary on her own.

With a broad smile, and hefting her staff as well as her pack she'd been able to retrieve, Tuatha took one last look at the small town she'd fallen into before turning and trudging down the lane, looking to prove that she could handle being an adventurer.

It was just a week or so later that Tuatha found out just how hard it would be to survive on her own. She was tired and hungry. The cities were all looted-the NPC's were too busy cleaning and starting over to be much help to her, and she had to keep an eye out for gankers and other types of player killers. She was wary of any group of players, so she stayed in the shadows when she could.

What she knew about survival was basic at best; she had no way to hunt and no knowledge of traps. She did know some basic herb lore, just enough to keep her alive; she would get odd memory surges when looking at certain plants or scenery, but it seemed to only work if it was jogged.

That was how she found herself alone, hungry and tired, in the forest trying to find some place of safety.

The only thing she seemed to be good at was her magic, especially the healing aspects, which didn't surprise her. Even so, her magic felt weak and her body unused to the strain. It felt like she had to "level up" her magic abilities once again. At least she –had- magic; while it couldn't do anything about her empty stomach, it could heal her weary feet and body, allowing her to cover more ground then she normally would have. Not to mention her elven traits: her hearing had kept her out of the hands of unscrupulous lots more than once.

Her mind was preoccupied with worries and needs that she wasn't paying enough attention on her way down a foliage blanketed embankment. One moment she was plodding along, the next her foot slipped over leaf covered mud and she went tumbling down all the way to the watery bottom. Tuatha had managed to protect her head, but her limbs and backside took one hell of a beating.

For a moment she just lay on her back and stared up at the canopy. When she sat up and took stock, Tuatha found her arms as well as much of the rest of her person covered in mud and decaying leaves. She tried to take a few twigs from her hair, but decided it would be better to try it when she could bathe.

She was getting shakily to her feet when her elven ears heard it; soft laughter coming from one of the trees. Tuatha gripped her staff, which somehow had stayed by her side on her unceremonious decent, and looked around for the source.

Just as her gaze swept a large tree, an arrow zipped and thudded by her, embedding itself in the soil inches from her feet. "What do you think you're going to do with that little staff, girly? I'm way up here. Don't think you can reach that far." The voice of a man sounded through the leaves; his tone was very amused. His accent sounded European, possibly Irish.

Tuatha took a few steps forward until another arrow warned her against any more. "I'm not looking for any trouble, mister. I'm just looking for a safe place." She paused. "You wouldn't happen to have any food to trade, would you?" She found her gold stash, so she'd be able to pay for it. She wasn't so sure about bartering for it though.

Another chuckle. "How long have you been in the game?"

"Several days… a week. Used up my rations already," Tuatha admitted sheepishly; she should have taken some food from the NPCs that had been willing to give it. The lack of forethought embarrassed her.

The sound of a tree limb groaning and leaves rustling sounded almost right above her and after a moment, the body of the voice jumped down neatly in front of her. He was tall with broad shoulders and an unshaven hard lined face. The classic hero-adventurer body type that would have been the protagonist in many a fantasy movie. "That depends... Class?"

"Druid." Tuatha answered with a sarcastic wave at her dress.

He rolled his eyes. "I gathered that by myself, thanks. Do you do damage? Tank? Heal?"

After hesitating slightly, Tuatha shrugged, "I heal."

The grin on his face was neither predatory nor condescending. It was one of relief. "Then perhaps I can do one better than food. If you'll indulge me, I'll bring you to the group I hunt for. They need a good healer, and you look like you could use some training up if you'd be inclined."

For a moment she was tempted to accept right then, but caution held her tongue. "How do I know this isn't some sort of trick? There are dangerous players out there that seem to think killing and robbing real people to be hell of fun." She wanted to be far, far away from such psychopaths.

"You don't. I'm not one of those, neither are my friends. You'll just have to trust me." He simply replied.

"How can I trust you when I don't even know your name?" Tuatha snipped back.

At that, he merely smiled. "You can call me Buckey." He held out his hand for her to shake.

After checking to see that his other hand was nowhere near a weapon, Tuatha took his hand and they shook. "Tuatha," She said awkwardly when their hands parted.

"Sorry?"

"That's my name... Tuatha."

Buckey looked amused at her name for a moment then shook his head. "Alright then... Trust me enough now to come with me? I promise you will be safe. I'll vouch for you." This time he held out a hand for her to take so he could lead her through the forest.

Tuatha took it firmly. "Sure... Lead the way." She hid a grin when he gave another laugh and followed him. This somehow felt right, like this meeting was meant to happen and she was meant to follow him. What this would lead to, she did not know, but all she could do was trust.

.

..