Day one, Time, ah Forget it
Carefully rerolling the scroll, she stood and walked toward the stream, wanting to see herself for the first time. She looked down at herself and slowly nestled the breast dagger in her cleavage. Her feet were tickled by the grass and didn't even hurt when she stepped on a pebble. 'Must be callouses,' she thought. She got closer to the stream and her head and shoulders were visible.
Her hair was luxuriously long and sleek black, her ears poking out slightly at a point, trailing past her reflection. 'Vanity be damned,' she thought and reached up to to see how long it went. She watched the dark locks flow down her body, resting at her hip and smiled. She always wanted long, straight hair but genetics of short curls refused.
She looked back to her reflection and saw green eyes against alibaster skin, a small nose rested above blood red lips and her smile returned, revealing white pearls in her teeth. She was everything she wanted to look like and more and she loved it.
Soon her smile faded and a blurb from the Beginners Scroll popped back up into mind.
"Your life in the outside world is over and all you have is this life now." She shivered and reached up to take her VR helmet off but all she felt was the silk of her hair. She tried lifting the helmet again but ended up pulling her hair.
"OW!" she yelled and looked up. "Okay Shawn, stop pulling my hair and take the helmet off!" Nothing happened. "Shawn?" she called again. No answer. "This isn't funny, Shawn!" She felt the tears run down her cheek and collect on the corner of her mouth.
"Shawn?" Her voice came out shakey and she tasted the salt and felt the warmth of her tears. She looked down at the reflection in the stream, at the woman she was now, and fell to her knees sobbing.
She ended up in the fetal position by the stream, dabbing her eyes with the hem of her linen dress before a soft, masculine voice sounded behind her.
"Don't cry, my dear," it said. "It's not over."
"Yes it is," she cried, thinking it was her imagination. "I won't see my mother again, hear my father complain about my job, watch my nephew chase his cat, see my brother finally graduate!"
A warm hand fell on her shoulder and another slid under her to sit her up. "Instead of thinking about what you'll miss," the voice said. "Think of what you could do."
She snuffled slightly and looked into the stream again. She saw a man kneeling behind her with blurred facial features, black hair and pale skin like hers. "Who are you?" she whispered.
The face turned toward her and whispered after kissing her head, "You can call me Ronim, and I will be there when you call. If you need me, just call."
She started to turn her head but an invisible force stopped her. "Ronim?" she whispered.
"Yes, my dear?" he answered and kissed her head softly.
"What do I do now?" A tear fell slowly from her eye and dangled on her chin.
A gently, strong hand wiped it away and covered her eyes. "This stream and tree are your birth place," he whispered. "Once your eyes open, you'll see a simple cottage with a few scrolls that will help you get ahead. But first a little gift."
The hands shifted slightly until only one covered her eyes.
"Why can't I see you?" she asked.
"You've seen me in your heart, darling. That's how you called me first. Now do you want your gift?"
She sighed and nodded slightly.
A large, firm hand gently caressed her cheek as gentle, warm lips pressed to hers, power flowing over her lips and warming her body, settling in her heart, and suddenly a surge of power exploded from her body, surrounding her in a warm wrap. Slowly her lips began to part as another kiss was slowly presented to her and another wave of power crashed into her, warming her heart and mind. A tongue was introduced, gently over her lips, slowly grazing her own tongue as a hand slid from her cheek and rested on her lower back. She reached her hand up slowly and caressed the cheek of this mystery man, melting slowly from the heat these kisses were giving.
A cracking sounded behind her, like a fire, and the man slowly moved in closer to whisper in her ear, "Keep your eyes closed and count to ten, my dear. Do you trust me?"
She nodded and whispered, "One... two..."
The hands disappeared from her eyes and back but the warmth remained.
"Three... four..." A snap from behind her made her jump and squeeze her eyes shut tighter. Her hands went to the ground and she felt smooth wood.
"Five... six..." She moved her hands forward, looking for the stream ahead of her but felt more wood.
"Seven... eight..." Her hands travelled around her within arms reach, trying to find something that could tell her where she was.
"Nine..."
"If you need me, my dear," Ronim's voice sounded all around her, "just call my name."
"Ten," she counted and opened her eyes.
She saw a stone wall with a simple window and soft white curtains drawn to the side. After looking around, she saw a fireplace with a small pot simmering over a fire, which explained the cracking and snapping behind her, a table and single chair, a bed and a trunk in the corner with a single piece of paper. She stood slowly and saw a new dress over her linen dress. The fabric was almost as soft as her hair, a brilliant, bright white with golden string weaved into a tightened corset. It was almost like a wedding dress and almost got worried.
She picked up the note and read:
Dearest Eve, no, we did not marry with that kiss but may I say, it was wonderful. In this home, you'll find all the basic necessities of a woman in this world, as well as a few tokens of my appreciation for our kiss. I hope they will help in any way you need and, fear not, they will not cause you any harm. Magic does come with a price but I made sure these were cheap prices.
If you ever need me, you only need to call. If you ever want me, you just have to call as well.
My heart is yours to command, my dear.
She set the note down and opened the trunk. Inside were three simple dresses, one straight brown, one tighter and green, one black with gold lacing and bodice. She picked up the black dress and another box appeared.
Evening gown
Durability: 50/50
Rarity: Legendary
This gown increases charisma and dexterity by 2 points and increases with level, making any man you speak to putty in your hands.
She set the dress down and picked up the brown dress.
Dress
Durability: 10/10
Rarity: Common
This dress is used for housework and gardening, making it easy to clean. Increases stamina and strength by 10% for 2 hours.
She set it down and picked up the green dress.
Dress
Durability: 10/10
Rarity: Common
This dress is used for house work and gardening, making it easy to clean. Increases stamina and strength by 10% for 6 hours.
Once the box disappeared, she decided to take one last look at her stats page to see how good that would be
Name: Eve
Age: 23
Level: 1 - 0%
Race: Half-elf
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
Mana: 100
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10 +3 for 1 hour 55 minutes
Intelligence: 15
Charisma: 10 +3 for 1 hour 55 minutes
Luck: 10
Abilities:
Analyze lvl 1
Analyze any item by touch as long as you own it
Gardening lvl 1
Create, care for and grow a simple 8x8 foot garden
Resistances:
Inability to Burn lvl 1
Sun and minor burns will not effect you
Charm Resistance lvl 1
Weak charm spells to sway your eyes or mind will not effect you
Mastery: None
'Analyze, gardening, sun block and ignoring fancy words were his gifts? Well, knowing what I have will be nice, gardening is useful, I don't know what to do with sunburns here. I guess the charm resistance is his way of keeping my eyes on him,' she thought and chuckled. She moved the dresses and saw four scrolls over burlap satchels and bottles of different colored liquids. She picked up each scroll and read each box.
Spell of Rainfall lvl 2
Create an 8x8 foot rain cloud that lasts 45 minutes
Mana required 40
Intelligence required 40
Spell of Pest Repel lvl 1
Banish small rodents within 30 feet
Mana required 10
Intelligence required 10
Scroll of Gardening lvl 2
Increase size of gardening area to 12x12 foot
Gardening lvl 1 required
Intelligence required 40
Scroll of Analyze lvl 2
Analyze any item by touch when prospect of ownership is involved
Analyze lvl 1 required
Intelligence required 80
'Some useful scrolls,' she thought and moved them aside to look at the burlap satchels. Each had a leather lable with an image of what each satchel held; carrots, wheat, corn, and potatoes. Between each satchel was a glass bottle with color liquid in each.
'Booze?' she thought and picked one up.
Potion of Sight lvl 1
Allows you to see in the dark for up to 2 hours
'Nice enough,' she thought and picked up the others one at a time.
Potion of Cooling lvl 1
Allows you to keep cool before going into the sun. Lasts 4 hours
Potion of Restful Night lvl 1
Allows 3 hours of undisturbed sleep
Water Lvl 50
One drop added to ANY liquid makes it safe to drink
'Damn,' she thought. 'Thank you, Ronim. I don't want to boil water and wait for it to cool to get a drink!' She smiled and looked out the window; the sun was dipping below the hills and her stomach was growling.
'Guess I should eat,' she thought and looked at the simmering pot in the fireplace. A bowl and spoon sat on the table, steam continuing to rise as of it's just been set there. Sitting down at the table, she set her hand on the bowl and knew instantly this was elk's stew with carrots and potatoes in broth. She dipped her spoon carefully and took a sip. The liquid was warm and delicious; it didn't burn her tongue, it warmed her from the inside out.
Greedily, she wolfed down the rest of the bowl, scooped seconds out and ate happily. She carried a bucket outside, brought in some water from the stream and carefully washed off the spoon and bowl, putting them in a cupboard and looking toward the bed.
'Ronim, thank you for the food,' she prayed silently, unlacing her dress. 'The garden and analyze ability, the seeds and potions, the home and bed, the clothes and scrolls, everything. I hope there would be a way I could repay you.'
She gently folded the white dress, set it in the trunk, shifted her linen dress slightly and lay on the bed, smelling the goose down and draped the cotton blanket over herself.
"Sleep well, my dear," Ronim's voice spoke quietly as she drifted to sleep. "There's no debt to repay."