Chapter One [3,112]

Monday, October 18, 2021

4:30 PM

Drip. Drip. Drip.

My head ached, and a flickering light stung my eyes. The dripping water echoed around me, a quiet cacophony. Where was I? Lying on a stone slab. A cold one at that. The effort of pushing myself upright left me weak, and my stomach turned as the world spun. The dancing shadows didn't help, and I focused on breathing until the nausea passed.

Uneven stone walls surrounded me on three sides and a corridor stretched on into darkness. My only light was a flickering torch held in a sconce. I had woken up in stranger situations, but… had I? Memories danced out of my grasp. I was a man; that much was obvious. Adult male, human… I thought there had been a… man? Or maybe a woman? Remembering brought the pain back, so I stopped trying. There would be time for that later.

I wore rough spun clothing, barely more than burlap, on my chest and legs, and I had simple leather sandals. They did nothing to ward off the icy chill of the room, and they rubbed uncomfortably at my skin.

[2 Ability Points Available]

[Explore]

The words stuck in my mind, intrusive and alien. I could ignore them. It wasn't difficult, but they wouldn't go away. Even as I pushed myself from the slab and took the torch from the wall, they hung in my mind like food stuck between teeth.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Heh…"

My throat was sore, my voice raspy from disuse, and the word didn't come out. I was so thirsty. The dripping was maddening in its consistency, and it brought to mind cold, clear rivers. I swallowed and tried again.

"Hello?"

Not much better, but good enough. My voice too weak to be worth an echo. There was no response. The darkness slid away in jerks as I led the way with the torch. My legs shook, but I pushed on. The wall was cold stone, moist under my hand as I braced myself against it for balance.

"Is anyone there?"

There was a response of a kind. A soft hushing came from the dark ahead of me, then fell silent. Shuffling footsteps of something small trying to hide. A child maybe?

"I'm not going to hurt you, but I need help. I don't know where I am."

The corridor opened into a chamber without warning, and I almost fell as the wall stopped, leaving me grasping at open air. Whoever had made the footsteps was silent. Were they scared? The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and my heart pounded in my throat. The room was pitch black; I swept the torch back and forth.

And saw the dead body.

I shouted and lurched away, dropping the torch in my revulsion. Someone, or something, had mutilated the man. His stomach and chest were torn open, and his arms were covered in slashes. His belongings had been organized into two neat piles. The torch rolled to a stop beside the corpse's face, and his expression was frozen in agonized terror.

"Meat! More meat!"

I spun toward the voice and felt an icy fire slide into my stomach. A hideous creature with bulbous eyes and jagged teeth held the handle of a makeshift sword, the blade of which…

Was buried inside me.

I screamed as the creature yanked the blade out of me. I cradled my injury and tried to stumble back. The pain was unlike anything I had ever known, and my body acted on its own, trying to escape it. There was another pain from behind me, and a similar creature laughed cruelly as it slashed at me.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground beside the dead man. The pain faded away, along with my vision. I saw my reflection in the clouded eyes of the dead. Then everything went black.

[You have died.]

Drip. Drip. Drip.

My head ached and a flickering light stung my eyes, even through my eyelids.

"No!"

I sat up in a rush and grabbed my stomach. There was no pain. No injury.

[2 Ability Points Available]

[Explore]

The room was the same. The same slab, the same torch, the same incessant dripping. The words still hung in my mind. I had died, but I was alive? And back here…

What the hell was going on? Panic bubbled up inside me and my hands shook. I had died. I felt the pain, saw the creature's face.

"Stop it."

My voice was shaky, and I could hear the tinge of hysteria clawing its way out of my throat. I coughed and repeated the words, fighting down the panic. Eventually, the shaking stopped and I could breathe again. As much as the musty air would allow, at least.

[2 Ability Points Available]

I focused on the words, eager for any distraction. Anything to stop thinking about the monsters and their blades.

Name:

Level: 1 (0%)

ABILITY

Body: 5 (+)

Mind: 5 (+)

Spirit: 5 (+)

SKILLS

The words blossomed in my mind. I should have been confused, but they all made perfect sense somehow. I couldn't explain why, but it was normal. How things were. But why?

I rubbed my stomach again absentmindedly, remembering the pain. How it had felt to die. Perhaps… this could help me avoid feeling it again.

[Body improved to 7.]

[Maximum health has improved.]

[Maximum stamina has improved.]

[Healthy skill unlocked: Improved Body]

[Thick Skinned skill unlocked: Improved Body]

I felt a subtle wave of strength. The kind that follows a good meal and a brief rest. I felt the shakes pass, and I took a deep, steadying breath. The words faded away and the nagging reminder of ability points available didn't come back. One less thing to distract me. The room was still empty, but the darkness seemed malicious, knowing what waited within. Still, I couldn't just stay here. I had to move forward.

I took the torch from the wall and moved down the hallway. I didn't call out this time. The flickering light would be enough of a giveaway to my presence. No need to advertise it further. Adrenaline burned through my veins and my heart pounded. Anger replaced fear. My knuckles ached as I squeezed the handle of the torch. The voices came again, in hushed mutters. They shuffled and this time I knew they had split up, waiting on either end of the corridor to ambush me. This time, I was ready for them.

"I-is anyone there? Please, I'm hurt. I need help."

The tremor hadn't been intentional, but it added credibility to my ruse. I clutched the torch and slipped into the room. The dead man lay as before. The neatness of his belongings, split up and organized, stood in sharp contrast to his ravaged body.

I heard the snickering laugh before the monster shouted and lunged at me. I stepped back into the corridor quickly, dodging the attack, then smashed the torch over its head and felt a crunch, satisfying and sickening.

[Critical Hit. Sneak Attack.]

The creature howled and collapsed in a shower of embers. It cradled its head in both hands, writhing in pain. I lunged for its fallen weapon and barely brought it up in time to block the swipe from its companion. The other monster attacked in a fury, swiping wildly at me. Now that it hadn't caught me by surprise, I could see just how poorly it used its sword. It swung like a child swinging a stick. Still, I knew damn well how dangerous it could be.

I backed down the hallway I had come from, keeping my stolen sword between me and the creature, blocking a well-aimed swing. Soon enough, the creature started gasping for breath and its swings slowed down, giving me an opening. I attacked. The blade slid easily into the thing's exposed flesh, and I felt it scrape bone. My enemy screamed and attacked again, but I dodged back, leaving the weapon buried inside it.

The creature tried to remove the blade, futilely clawing at the handle. I watched as it lost its strength and collapsed to the ground. Its breathing slowed down and lost strength, and blood bubbled with every breath. Its eyes clouded over and it stilled.

[Goblin killed. Exp gained.]

I waited, but it stayed down. Now for the first. The injured survivor writhed on the ground, cradling its head. I could see flashes of white bone through the wound and between knobbed fingers. There was so much blood.

The creature noticed me standing over it and tried to crawl away from me. It whined in its guttural tone, broken by wails of pain and tears. I'd have felt pity and may even have let it go.

If it hadn't just killed me.

I stabbed the creature in the back as it tried to crawl away. Twice. Three times. I lost myself there for a moment, swept away by the terror and pain. I kept stabbing until my arm was too heavy and I dropped the blade. My legs gave out again and my throat was sore. Had I been screaming? I wiped my face with my hand, smearing foul, stinking blood all over it. The world span around me. Then went black.

I wasn't on the slab when I woke up this time. I almost would have preferred it to the reality. Instead, I awoke to the mangled remains of goblins and man. The blood on my face had cooled and was a sticky mess, mixed with my sweat and tears.

Not my finest moment. I couldn't remember ever waking up worse, of course, but I couldn't imagine it having happened. Surely I would have remembered that, right? The torch burned merrily where I had dropped it. How long had I been out? Or was the torch magical?

"Get up." My voice was hoarse. More so now than when I awoke. "Get up, you idiot."

I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the aching weakness in my legs. I couldn't stay here. What if more of them came? I had to find a safe place. I stumbled to the dead man and poked through his belongings that the goblins had helpfully separated into piles for me. Setting my torch carefully aside as I dug through them, and feeling like a thief, I searched the pile for anything useful. Still, not like he was going to use them anymore.

A half-empty waterskin, which I greedily emptied. I forced myself to swish and spit the first mouthful to wash away the lingering taste of vomit, and drank the rest. A small pouch with half a dozen gold coins. Worthless to me right now. A thick book with scuffed edges, and a heavily worn cover and spine. I couldn't make out the name. A gnarled walking staff, just shorter than I was. It felt good in my hands, thick and sturdy. Holding it felt right, and my thoughts came more clearly and sharply.

[Novice Staff gained. +2 Mind. Allows casting of novice spells.]

[Novice Spell Book gained. Spells: (Novice) Light, Firebolt, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Shield, Sleep]

[Novice Mage skill unlocked: Novice Spell Book]

Spell book? Magic? That fog still clouded my mind, making it hard to think. To remember.

A noise to my right snapped my head around. More of that same shuffling, uneven gait. I heard muttering voices coming from another hallway, one I hadn't explored yet. More goblins coming this way, and quickly judging by the sound of it. Had they heard the fight earlier? I pushed myself to my feet with the staff in my hand. It was hot to the touch, and I could feel an unfamiliar, roiling power. I clutched the book and brought the list of spells to mind. The book opened itself and the pages flipped quickly, resting on the page of whatever spell I focused on. It hung there, burning in my mind, waiting to be called up.

"Meat! Human meat!"

Two more goblins rushed out of a dark corridor and into the flickering torchlight, charging toward me with cudgels. I focused that power through the staff and pointed it at the lead goblin.

"[Firebolt]!"

A ball of flame burst from the tip of the staff toward the creature. It splashed across its naked chest, and the air filled with a horrid sizzling, agonized screaming, and the smell of burning meat. The creature collapsed, and its companion leapt over it to charge me. It had a crude cudgel and swung at me, but I knocked it aside with the staff.

Too close for me to cast another spell, I grabbed my staff with both hands. The book vanished as I did so, but I knew I could retrieve it from wherever it had gone. I blocked another blow and swung the staff, bashing the creature across the head. It groaned and stumbled, and I pressed my advantage. I struck it again. A third time. It collapsed on the third blow with a crunch, splaying boneless on the ground.

[Goblin killed. Exp gained.]

The final goblin, the one I had burned, had recovered from the damage. Enough to stand, at least. It held its cudgel in front of it, eyes darting from me to the hallway it had just come down. Not liking its odds, it turned and fled with a loud shriek.

Oh no you don't.

I conjured my spell book up from that place and flipped pages again, searching. I pointed the staff, now as comfortable and familiar as a dear friend.

"[Magic Missile]!"

An arrow of soft, white light flew from the staff and struck the goblin between the shoulder blades. It dropped, its cries dying as it did.

[Goblin killed. Exp gained.]

[Level up. 2 Ability Points Available. 1 Skill Point Available.]

The room fell silent again, except for my rough breathing and the crackling torch. My head pounded and ached. I leaned against the staff for a moment until the pain receded. An effect of the magic? Had casting the spells exhausted me, just as swinging a sword would? A mental fatigue, not a physical one. It made sense, in a way.

I took a minute to recover and followed the flow of words again.

Name:

Leve: 2 (7%)

ABILITY

Body: 7 (+)

Mind: 5 + 2 (+)

Spirit: 5 (+)

SKILLS

(+) Novice Mage: Improved Focus. Learn Novice spells.

(+) Healthy: Improved health. Improved recovery. Improved disease resistance.

(+) Thick Skinned: Improved physical resistance.

SPELLS

I rolled the staff in my palms as I considered my options. The magic had felt good, right even. Cutting down the goblin from a distance had been satisfying. And cleaner. I wiped more of the blood from my face thoughtfully. Magic it would be.

[Mind improved to 7.]

[Maximum Focus improved.]

[Focus Recovery improved.]

[Arcane Sight Skill unlocked: Improved Mind]

[Investigate Skill unlocked: Improved Mind]

The sense of sharpened mental acuity rose again inside me, and I welcomed it with a smile. Thoughts came quicker, more sharply, and wandered less. It felt good. I could get used to this. I needed more.

[Novice Mage skill acquired.]

[Maximum Focus improved.]

[New spells available to learn from Spell Book.]

I considered the tome in my hand. I could take the spells from it. Internalize the knowledge and have them available forever, no need for the book.

[New Spells Gained: Light, Firebolt, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Shield, Sleep]

The book dissolved as I drew the knowledge from it, breaking down into sparks that quickly faded away. I raised my staff and focused on that new knowledge.

"[Light]."

A bright light pooled at the tip of my staff, brighter than the torch and perfectly consistent without the dancing shadows. The spell would linger, reserving a portion of my power while it did. But it would leave my hand free.

"Now," I wondered aloud. "Which way."

The room split off. The goblins came from the right.

"Left it is."

I spared the dead man one last glance.

"Thank you, whoever you were. Hopefully, these things will serve me better than they did you."

"No, get away! Help me!"

The scream split the silence, startling me. It was loud, but the echoing hallways made it impossible to judge distance or direction. My best guess put whoever had shouted further along the corridor I had chosen. I swallowed my fear and ran down the corridor, listening for any clues about what was waiting for me. The scream came again, closer now and more panicked, followed by snickering laughter. From three throats.