Chapter 3

Day breaks with the sound of song birds. My eyes open to the sight of the marble walls. I am still here. This should have been a dream. No way, this nightmare could be real.

The camp is struck, quickly. We set out, away from the marble building. Todd and Dolan chat cheerfully. Todd has always made friends easy. I follow behind the group. Malfor is directly in front of me. I am reminded of the questing games that I have so recently played. The heroes traveling across the country. Always looking for trouble and people to save. If there were not people waiting for me back home, I might think of staying here.

Since we are walking, I take the opportunity to investigate Alex's stats.

<Alexus Friedman>

lvl NA Job: Paladin

Experience:0 Age: 22

HP:700 Spouse: none

MP:150 Children: 2 (Boy, Girl)

Strength: 21

Dexterity: 18

Vitality: 22

Intelligence: 18

Charisma: 25

Skills:

Weapon Mastery: Swords 55/100

Armor Mastery: Plate 45/100

Chain 32/100

Holy Spell Casting

Mighty Throw

Battlefield Command

Battlefield Strategist

Exceptional Defense

Divine Blessing

Alex is a powerhouse. Maybe not to the level of Todd, but she could be a hero in her own right.

<Darcelia Ferngrowth>

lvl NA Job: Elemental Mage

Experience:0 Age: 98

HP:250 Spouse: Twaller Ferngrowth

MP:478 Children: 0

Strength: 11

Dexterity:18

Vitality: 18

Intelligence: 38

Charisma: 12

Skills:

Elemental Magic

Electricity 66/100

Fire 12/100

Water 15/100

Force 2/100

Dark 69/100

Nature 25/100

Weapon Mastery: Bow: 40/100

Staff 25/100

Dagger 20/100

Armor Mastery Leather 35/100

Survival:50/100

Darcelia seemed more normal, except that she is married. Then something even more out of place is the "Dark" mastery. How is a force for the good, specialized in dark magic? I will need to ask later. Maybe, when Darcelia doesn't look at me with scorn.

Nothing much worth mentioning happens before midday. The company lets Todd and I handle a few mana infused animals. I get to kill the wild cat. I only get a small cut on my forearm. Alex heals it while Dolan tells me what I did wrong. I come within 2 experience points of level 2.

After the midday meal, we encounter a bear. Alex reacts stronger than I would think for an animal. A shimmering shield appears around me. As I hesitate, Malfor lays a hand on my shoulder. "Hold, that beast has a curse."

"Curse, like the mana shades?" I look closer at the beast.

<Cursed Bear>

<The cursed bear has been infused with energy from the Dark king. Any successful attack has a chance to paralyze the recipient. If the victim dies from the attack, the soul will instantly rise as a mana shade.>

"Oh crap. No wonder everyone is freaking." I look for the others. Darcelia has moved behind Dolan. He hand is out, mana gathering in her palm. Todd is being held lightly by Dolan. "Wait boy, even a hero must be careful. Let Alex handle this one. If you get hit by the curse, we could all die."

While Dolan speaks, the bear roars. A full-on charge follows. Alex braces herself. Before the beast impacts Alex's shield, Todd slams into the bear. The two roll to the ground. The bear's back is facing us. A mighty shoulder flexes, and we see Todd fly away from us.

Darcelia screams as Todd crashes into a tree. Electricity explodes from her hands. The bear roars in agony. As the sparks fade, an evil gaze turns to us. Dolan places himself in front of me. "Alex, you need to break that curse quick. I will hold it back."

"Yes." Alex's eyes close in concentration. A golden glow begins to coat her hands.

A grunt brings my eyes back to the bear. It's focus is entirely on Alex. I can't let it get Alex. With little thought, I hurl my dagger. The blade flies through the space between us. Time slows as the small blade arcs into the face of the bear. Breaths that were being held are released as the flat of the blade slaps the cheek of the raging beast. Palm sized eyes turn to me. Shock at the brazen attack is clear. The lowest threat has dared to try to hurt the beast.

An aura of evil intent grows. Haunches coil. I know this will be my last moment. I brace for the impact.

Before the bear can pounce, two things happen. Alex finishes her chant, a column of light envelopes the bear. The curse is broken.

The second thing occurs a heartbeat later. The bear is suddenly blasted into the air. Over our heads it flies. Destroying trees, the beast lands yards away. The side that was struck has been blasted open. Blood and organs flow from the open wound.

I tear my gaze from the dying animal. I turn to see Todd. His clothes are torn. A small trickle of bleed comes from a scratch on his forehead. The expression freezes everyone. An intensity I have never seen. Todd strides past us to the bear. Reaching, he lifts the beast's head. "You will not hurt my friends." With a violent twist, he rips the bears head off.

The forest is quiet. Even the birds have stopped. Todd stares at the carcass for a few heartbeats. He finally lets out a large sigh. Turning, "Well, that was fun." The smile returns. "Thanks for the help, Alex. It was a lot weaker without the dark glowing."

Thinking back, it did have an eerie dark aura.

As the sun approaches the horizon, we set camp for the day. I have stored the meat from the earlier kills, but Malfor decides it is better to hunt now, and save the meat for an emergency. Since things in my storage do not age, this makes sense.

Malfor leads me into the trees. We search for signs of prey. Soon after we begin searching, we find tracks from a deer. I am trying to reach the mana inside myself. The tingle is eluding my efforts. Try as I might, the mana is not moving. Darcelia and I talked a little, as we walked.

"The mana will obey you once you can grasp it. People can spend months or even years before they finally manipulate the power." Most likely, what I saw while meditating, was not the mana, just an image conjured in my mind. She would not tell me what it looked like to her, just that she could see it.

We follow the tracks for a dozen yards, to a small clearing. Two large deer are grazing. Malfor has me wait while he sneaks around to the far side. The deer are a dull brown. The male has an 8-point rack. With that size rack, I would think he would have more than one female.

The male catches Malfor's scent, just before he attacks. The deer bolts, straight at me. The female is a step behind.

Crouching, I ready my dagger. I take a deep breath. My legs tense. A rustle to my right catches mt attention. At the same time, the deer skid to a stop. Emerging next to me is a huge beast. The head is feline, with long shark teeth. Mighty paws from a bear rip the ground. Tan wings lie along the back, while a snake head peeks out. The last, and to me the most terrifying, is the scorpion tail.

A chimera. This beast is a common troupe in my fantasy games. No way I would dream to see this here. Even seeing elves and dwarves, this is something else. The chimera pays me no attention as it pounces on the male deer. As the feline teeth rip the throat out of the male, the tail pierces the female's side. Dropping to the ground, the female goes into violent spasms.

The violence is over before I can react. I see Malfor slowly back into the brush. I follow his lead. The beast notices the movement. The heads whip to stare at Malfor. A low feral growl begins to come from the creature. The body of the deer is forgotten. The chimera turns to face Malfor. The tail arches, pointing. Lowering slightly, the chimera prepares to pounce.

Desperately, I try to think of any way to help. I know that I will be of little use in any fight against such a fearsome foe.

A savage cry emits from the beast. The legs tense. Desperation reaches the limit. I throw my dagger with all my might. The blade glances off the left wing. A startled creature flips and launches itself at me.

I fall to my right, behind large a tree. The chimera bashes into the tree. The tail comes swinging at me. I roll, barely avoiding the tail. The sharp point lodges in the tree. Not waiting for the tail to be dislodged, I jump and run. Malfor catches me after a few steps, berating me for interfering. We run through the trees, as a savage scream follows.

We make a few dozen yards, when the brush before us explodes. The chimera lands on top of me. The tail flies through the air and pierces my shoulder. I scream as Malfor sends his spear at the feline neck. The spear does not penetrate far, but the beast leaps back. Standing over me, Malfor readies for the next attack.

Lizardkin and beast face off. The chimera begins to circle, Malfor pivots to match. Eyes locked, the two search for an opening. I squirm on the ground. My shoulder burns.

I begin to believe that I will die before either makes a move, when thundering hooves appear behind the chimera. Three female deer explode at the terrifying beast. Rearing, they use hooves to slash at the chimera. As the chimera turns to attack, Malfor steps forward and impales the beast. The spear enters where the snake is attacked to the beast's back. It slides easily deep into the body. A different scream escapes the chimera. Turning its head to try and grasp the spear in its mouth, it leaves its neck open to the lead deer. A hoof penetrates the throat of the chimera. Blood sprays from the wound. I crawl away from the writhing beast. The deer disappear into the undergrowth. Malfor draws a dagger from his waist. Approaching the weakening beast, he kneels on the flailing chimera. With a swipe, he widens the wound made by the deer. The blood pours faster.

As we watch the chimera die, Dolan and Todd appear. The beast's screams reached the camp. I try to stand, but the strength has left my body. As Todd lifts me, I lose consciousness.

Colors swirl. Trumpets sound. Trees sway. A child giggles. Visions parade across the backdrop of my mind. A swirling mass swells into view. The constantly changing colors are strangely peaceful. I try to reach out, only to realize, I do not have hands. I try to look down, I have no head to move. I open my mouth, I have no mouth.

Panic swells. If I had a body, I would run. I would scream. I would fight anything I could find.

The mass continues to swirl. The sight begins to invade my every thought. I begin to notice patterns. A blue swirl moves horizontally, in parallel with a pair of red swirls. A green smudge snakes vertically, intermingling the other colors. Other smaller swirls of other colors writhe. Deeper I see a golden patch slowly zigzagging around. Green has taken over the top and bottom of the sphere. A dark spot appears and disappears. Occasionally, a white aura surrounds the mass.

I concentrate on the green patch on the bottom. Focusing, I form the image of a vine, in my mind. The green begins to copy my thought. The vine begins to wrap around the mass.

Before the writhing mass is completely covered, I switch to the red. A flames forms, devouring the green. Next, blue water overwhelms the fire. Yellow electricity dries the water.

And, finally white light calms all of the colors.

The sphere begins to spin. As the speed picks up, the colors segregate. White, blue, yellow, red, and green layers form. The colors are separated by a thin black line. As I consider the boundaries between the colors, a voice interrupts. "Jon" A sweet voice calls to me. "It is time to return."

As I lose my concentration on the sphere, it begins to fade. I want to see it more, but the voice beckons. The voice leads me, caressing my thoughts. The colors are forgotten, as I soar into the sky. Last thing I notice as the mass fades is an oily sheen surrounding the whole scene.

A warm pressure on my forehead wakes me. I open my eyes to the beautiful face of Alex. Her eyes are closed in intense concentration, sweat forming on her brow. A chant is being repeated as her hand caresses my face. I gingerly reach to place my palm on her cheek.

"Alex, I'm here."

Alex flinches, her hand flies to mine. "JON...." Her voice falters, "I thought I was going to lose you. Chimera venom is lethal. The stinger pierced all the way through you. Most of the venom went into the ground, but there was some in your system. Since your defense is not very high, I had to push all my mana into you. I was afraid that my strongest healing spell was not going to be enough."

With hopefully a gentle smile, I do my best to put her at ease. "You did great. You calling to me, brought me out. I think I was headed down the rabbit hole, when you called me."

Alex frowns, "I didn't say your name. I was repeating the incantation to focus the healing magic. For four I have been keeping mana infused in you."

"Four hours, really? Damn, I'm sorry. Wait, how is Malfor?"

"He is fine. The beast never touched him. He does want to start training you to fight, when you gain your strength." Alex begins to stand, then hesitates "The one good thing, once you survive the chimera venom, you now have an immunity." She smiles faintly, then moves a few feet to lay down.

Setting up causes some pain in my shoulder. I guess this is better than death. The worried expression from Alex reminds me how lucky I am to be alive.

The night sky is full of stars. Dolan is standing watch. Making my way to him, "Sorry I have caused so many problems. I didn't get gifted with the strength Todd did."

"Don't worry too much, not everyone can survive being stabbed by a chimera. It will be a great story to tell in taverns. The scar alone should get you into girl's beds." Dolan claps me lightly on the back.

"I am going to go sit by that tree." I point to a tree a few yards away. As I walk, I notice that there is no barrier. Alex must have been too occupied to set one,

Taking a seat, I open my stat page. First thing I notice is <LVL 2>. This is exciting. I am even close to level three. I guess surviving a chimera attack is huge experience. I see that there is one point to allocate. I put into Intelligence. This should help when I can use magic and help gain experience faster.

Now it is time to meditate. I close my eyes. The sounds of the night prick my ears. An owl like bird screeches in the distance. The leaves rustle as the wind moves them. A small rodent of some kind slinks through the underbrush. Snoring of my comrades.

My thoughts are all over the place. Concentration seems impossible, then I hear Alex talk in her sleep. "Do not give up, fight, fight, fight." Her voice makes me think of the voice that I heard while unconscious. The voice was male, I wonder why I thought it was Alex.

A vision of swirling lights begins to appear in my thoughts. I try to focus on the colors, to have them evade my grasp. The colors begin to fade, I start to panic. I know this is the key. Taking a deep breath, I try to pull one color into focus. I feel like one of them is being pulled, but I cannot see which. The rest of the colors fade, the backdrop of my mind swirls with an oily sheen.

Lifting my hand, I push the feeling into my hand. I can feel a tingle on my fingers. Opening my eyes, I see nothing. The tingle remains. Maybe I must form it into a usable form. Turning my palm out, and pointing to a bush, I push with my mind. A force leaves my hand and lands among the leaves. The branches sway violently.

I open my stats to read:

<Magic: Force-1/100>

I did it, I performed magic. It is one point in the force category, but it is a start. Looking around, I see a rock a few feet away. I point at it and feel for the magic. The energy is easier to find, now that I know what to look for.

With a thought, I send an invisible projectile at the rock. The rock is flung into the air, landing a few yards away. I target it again and blow it further. A third attempt is unsuccessful, the dirt a few inches behind where the rock was setting is disturbed. So, my range is just over a dozen yards.

When I shoot my projectile, I can't see it, but I can feel the form. An unstructured mass flies at my target. Maybe I can change the form to be deadlier. Gathering mana in my hand, I use my will to spin it. The faster it spins, the thinner it gets. Finding a tree, the width of my arm, I send the force spike flying.

A chunk is taken from the tree. A successful test. Too bad I didn't have this with the chimera.

Dolan strides over. "So, you do have a talent. Keep at it, and you will be a benefit, instead of a hindrance."

"That is the goal. I just wish that I didn't have to almost die to learn this." I try to cast the force spike faster, I miss the tree, making the brush dance in the distance. I will master this.

I can only cast a few spikes before I must rest. Darcelia has woken for her watch shift. At her suggestion, I meditate after expending all my mana. Meditation improves the mana regeneration significantly, down from fifteen minutes to only five.

After a few hours I feel sleep calling. I have begun to see the magic as I cast it. This has helped with my aim.

With reluctance, I return to the fire. I lay down to sleep. Thoughts of fire storms mowing down ranks of enemies fill my last thoughts.

We travel for two more days. No dark forces appear. Darcelia has worked with me to improve the control of my force spikes. After the second day or training, she reveals that most people must chant an incantation to cast magic spells. The chanting would improve the power of the spells, but I don't want to take the time to learn the chants. I plan on trying to use my will to improve and strengthen my magic.

A small farming community appears down an overgrown lane. We have arrived at the village that Drag lived in. Todd and I are asked to wait in a crumbling shack just outside the village. Alex is concerned that people will blame us and try to kill us.

Todd suggests that we use the time to spar. I quickly agree, I need to improve my fighting ability if I am to survive this world.

Todd takes it easy on me. If not, I'd be dead. I hit him with a few force spikes, only tearing his shirt. Todd uses a stick wrapped in a blanket to knock me around. My casting speed is becoming faster the more we work out. To keep the mood light, I even include a few attack calls from my favorite games. Todd especially liked the call from a fighting game. He did like to play that one with me.

The work out lasts a few hours. Alex returns for us. "The family of Drag has forgiven you. They agree that Drag knew the danger when he took the job. I did have to provide them with a few extra coins, but that is the least I could do."

Dolan holds out a parcel each for Todd and I. Inside are weapons. Todd is given a two-handed sword and a leather breast plate. Mine holds a slender blade with a light leather set of clothes. "The weapons are very basic, but at least you can defend yourself now."

"Todd, we know that there is very little that you cannot easily defeat with your bare hands, but it would be better to learn how to handle a weapon. Jon, we will take turns teaching you to fight. That rapier will suit you. You can move faster and be able to cast spells with a light sword." Dolan takes the rapier and slices the air. With practiced grace, he performs a complicated set of movements, ending with a stab. "This will do to learn with." Dolan imitates the pose Todd uses when he is feeling cocky. This is going to be stressful. I think I am going to be instructed by a group of impatient weapon masters.

Darcelia takes the blade from Dolan and gives it back to me. "It is time to proceed. We have provisions, let us leave."

"Where are we off to?" Todd is waving his sword with one hand. He looks like he has been using a sword all his life. Must be his skill.

Alex pulls a parchment from her pack. "The capitol city Balrotta. The trip will take about two weeks. If we hunt for game, our provisions will last the whole way. We will leave immediately."

Fate has a way of changing your plans. No matter what we want with life, it can always elude our grasp. The road before us looked clear. In two weeks, we would learn what our future held. I did not notice the absence of one of our members. I was so wrapped up in the thoughts of heroic acts, and defeating evil enemies, I was blind to reality.

Even though being relocated to a magical realm was was much to bear. Looking back, I think I was actually excited. The thought of living the life that I used to play in games, was a dream come true. So, what if I was not made the hero, Todd was. I can support Todd as he needs. Just because I do not have the title, HERO, it does not mean that I cannot be heroic. I can stand and be a shield against the darkness too.