I pour what seems like a gallon of water out of my new leather boot then slip it back on, once again marveling that it’s my size. Strange how in games looted gear always seems to fit. If only it was the same in the real world. My previous small but wide feet always made for difficult shoe shopping.

Only when a few drops of water splash my face and a sweet sounding “Brian?” tickles my ears and do I realize that Cinnamon has been chatting away to me while I’ve been lost in my own thoughts. I glance over with a “Pardon?”

“Gosh, you were really daydreaming there, huh?” She squeezes out a bit of water from her back length hair. “Copper for your thoughts?”

“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about... Never mind, it doesn’t matter.” I shake my head.

We have been sitting and wringing out our clothes and emptying both bags and our boots of water at the edge of the pool I’d arrived in. After swimming through the cave tunnel I had tried diving down to the pool floor simply to double check if there was a pitch black tunnel of oily ether stretching between worlds, but I only found smooth water polished rocks and a few handful of weeds that squished between my fingers like jello.

I’d pocketed a couple of the rocks, but washed off the disgusting river weed slime.

“What were you saying, Cinni?” I ask while emptying my other boot of its contents.

“Oh yes, well I was just going to go and get a better look from up on the ridge.” She turns and points up to where the waterfall crests the rock cliff.

“Okay, sure.” I look up to where she is pointing and try and work out a safe way up and around.

The twin waterfalls made the rocks below it way to slick and dangerous looking to attempt a climb, so I study the rough cut cliff banks which disappear into the surrounding forest on either side of the pool. On the left I spot a series of broken boulders and stone that must have tumbled free some hundred or so years ago. It might take a little effort but the piled rocks should allow us enough ledges and handholds to climb up to the top of the precipice.

“Hey, Cinnamon? If we head over that way, I think-- ”

Cinnamon Butter uses Special Ability: Lepus Super Jump

My jaw drops as Cinnamon dashes forward with a couple of short hops then launches into the air toward the cliff, in-between the twin sheets of water.

Her feet touch slick stone a good thirty feet up the wall and she bounces off again, twisting like an aerial acrobat to land on the same rocky outcropping the lizard like monster had leapt too.

The thought of that creature immediately breaks me out of the stunned shock of watching a beautiful bunny girl parkour forty feet up the wall like a comic book superhero.

“Cinni, be careful! That’s where I saw that thing I told you about.”

Her ears twitch in my direction and then toward the surrounding forest.

“It’s okay. I don’t see or hear anything.” She gives me a wave then turns pointing downriver. “But I do see where that nasty Naga ambushed me. It’s not far.”

I grab my knapsack from the ground while Cinnamon hops down the wall in a similar fashion to what she used to scale it. The second display is enough to make my guts squirm in envy and I can’t help but wonder if I could somehow gain the same ability.

“That was awesome.” I grin.

“Well, it’s not that impressive. There is a big rock formation I had stopped at next to the creek. So it was pretty easy to spot.”

“No, No. I mean the way you jumped up there. How did you do that?”

“I’m Lepuri, silly.” Cinnamon looks at me and smiles, her long ears twitching. “Remember?”

“Can you teach me?”

“I might be able to show you some moves, I guess. But you won’t be able to jump like me. Not unless you have some bunny in you.” She giggle coos.

I’d rather put some Drow in you! You delicious little... I have to literally shake the naughty thoughts from my head as she slides past me and starts to head in the direction she’d pointed to from the top of the ridge. Hopping around the water’s edge.

Only a few feet from the banks of the rippling pool the trees grow tightly-knit, their boughs tangling into one another to form a dense cover painted in lush shades of green. It was almost too beautiful. As if I was viewing my surroundings on a color corrected, hi-definition screen. I take in a deep breath, marveling at the sweet scents of earth and water before making to follow Cinnamon.

We trek along, following the river a short distance before veering off through the trees. As I gaze around the forest I notice the sky is getting dark with the setting sun, giving it a red tinge between the branches of the treetop canopy. I find that to be great for me though, since my eyes don’t sting nearly as much within the long shadows of growing dusk.

The dim light doesn’t seem to bother Cinnamon much either, though our wet clothes and the growing chill in the air does make for an uncomfortable walk. Like me, I notice her shiver more than once.

“There it is!” Cinnamon exclaims pointing to then jogging over toward a moss covered boulder with a backpack, quiver of arrows and a rather nice looking shortbow leaning against it. She lets out an audible sigh as she kneels next to her stuff and looks it over.

“Is everything here?” I ask.

“Yup.” She grins moving over to the creek at the boulders edge and recovers a pair of boots from the base of a large tree. A breeze makes the tree branches quiver and we both let out a brrr at the sudden cold air.

“Think that we should just camp here for the night instead of trying to find another spot?” She asks stepping closer and away from the creek.

“Maybe.” I glance back in the direction we had walked. There was still that weird creature out there but setting up a campfire and getting out of our wet clothes was too appealing to resist. “Yeah. I’ll gather up some wood for a fire.”

By the time I return from scouring the immediate area for broken logs and wood Cinnamon has already pulled out a bedroll and placed a ring of stones together. She tosses me a flint and steel and I can’t help but grin while holding the essential adventuring kit item in my hand. A few minutes after that we have a warm blaze going and she dips into her backpack again.

“I hope you are hungry.” She smiles and holds out a cloth wrapped package. My stomach immediately growls at the thought of food.

“Girl, you are a life saver, I’m absolutely starving.” I smile and lean forward on the large log that I’ve pushed a little closer to the fire to take the offered bundle. Unwrapping it I find a massive sandwich hidden inside. The bread is a thick crusted roll speckled with what looks like oats and I pry it open to get a look of what kind of sandwich it is. My stomach does another growl as I flip through the layers and layers of lettuce, carrots, raw string beans, radishes and other vegetables while searching for the meat.

“Mumm, this looks delicious.” I lie.

Unlocked: General Skill: Acting vs Cinnamon Butter: Success!

“Thanks! I make them myself.” Cinnamon gives me her closed eye smile and bites into her own chlorophyll quarter pounder. “And I have some dried nuts and berries we can have for desert too.”

“Oh? Yummy.”

I bite into my sprout sandwich chewing it like a cow before choking it down. Yuck. Cinnamon takes a few more bites then places hers in her lap and pokes about in her pack again.

“Now that we have a fire going we should probably try and dry our clothes.” She says.

“Yes! Good idea!” My thoughts regarding food quickly switches to the satiation of another form of hunger.

Maybe you can use your rope and hook to make a clothesline between the tree branches here?” She motions to the overhanging boughs.

I nod and after another bite of my vegetable medley jump into action. Soon the makeshift clothesline is hung and I’m stripping off my armor and shirt and tossing whatever I can over the rope. I glance back and see that Cinnamon has retreated behind a tree. One hand appears holding a bundle of wet clothes and I hold my breath as she moves around and into view.

She steps out into the growing moonlight and I stifle a groan when I see her wearing a new set of dry clothes and holding a large blanket in her other hand. She pauses, a blush flushing her cheeks as she looks at me standing there in only my trousers.

“Here you go.” She hands me the blanket and tosses her own damp clothing over the line.

“Thanks.” I accept the blanket and wrap it around my shoulders. With my heart thumping loudly in my chest I pause then pull off my pants under the cover of the warm blanket and toss them over the line, praying those long sensitive ears of hers can’t pick up the increased nervous beat.

Cinnamon retreats to sit on her bedroll and fishes around in her bag for her pouch of dried nuts and berries. She fills a battered tin cup with water from a leather waterskin and offers them all to me with a smile.

I accept the cup and a handful of trail mix then return to my log. Now that I’m out of my wet clothes the warmth of the fire combined with the soft wool blanket feels divine.

“So how far is it to this RedTree place?” I ask.

“Oh, not far. Maybe a day if we make good time tomorrow.” Cinnamon unbundles the tattered pouches from the Naga nest. She takes the arrows we recovered there and stuffs them in her quiver. “If we keep following the river we should come to the Twinwater Bridge sometime in the afternoon. After that its only a couple more hours walking.”

“So you have been there before?” I crunch away on a combo of my sandwich and so called dessert, washing it all down with gulps of water.

“Uh huh” She nods, “Not for awhile, but it’s a pretty big town and they have an airship port there too. I think they only stop by maybe every fortnight. So it’s not super busy, but you can usually book passage. That is if you have the coin to do so of course.”

Crap! That’s right! I’m going to need money. “Hey Cinni? Uhh.” How much does a night in an inn or like a meal usually run?

“An inn? Gosh.” She shrugs, “It varies. I suppose it's pretty much comparable to most towns. So, I'd say between two to ten gold depending where you stay. A cooked meal, I figure you can usually get a fairly decent one for around three or four silver or so. I can't say for certain, I usually just go and get yummy fresh veggies at the market stalls.” She shoots me her eye closed smile and nibbles her sandwich.

Double crap! I glance to my pile of stuff next to my feet and the coin pouch resting on top of my gun belt. All I have is the few coins that we got back in that cave and that’ll only be enough for few days worth of food and lodging. The very real threat of being homeless and destitute in a strange world tightens my throat with worry.

“Brian? Are you okay?” Cinnamons cocks her head in my direction a concerned expression crinkling her brow. “You don’t look very good. Umm, no... Well, I what mean is, you look like you might throw-up.”

“Huh? Yeah, actually I don’t feel so well.”

“Did you...” Cinnamon pouts a little, “not like the sandwich?”

“Oh no. It was great.” I try and give her a reassuring smile, “Probably that bite that Naga gave me, just has me feeling a little under the weather is all.”

Acting vs Cinnamon Butter: Success!

“Awww, you poor thing. Venoms like that can last for awhile in your body. We probably pushed you to hard with all the activity too.” Cinnamon stands and motions to the bedroll. “Here, why don’t you get some rest. I’ll take the first watch. I’m sure after you get a little sleep you will feel a lot better.”

“Thanks, Cinni I appreciate it.” I do feel tired, my muscles ache and concern has my stomach tied in knots. Though the near half pound of roughage sitting in there like a brick certain isn’t helping.

“You are very welcome, Brian. Besides, your eyes are probably much better than mine in the early hours of the morning anyway.”

“Those pretty peepers? I doubt it.” I shoot her a smile, and I get a little blush out of her.

“You don’t need to let me sleep too long.” I recall from my character sheet, and my knowledge from years of gaming and fantasy novels, that Drow, just like most elves, don’t need much rest. “Could you wake me up in say four hours or so?”

“Sure.” Cinnamon says.

With a nod and a yawn I get up from my log and make for the bedroll. A moment later I hear a coo giggle and realize that I may have inadvertently given Cinnamon a naked butt in the moonbeam shot as I drop my blanket and snuggle down.

I don’t dwell on it. Now that I’ve committed myself to getting some rest it feels like all the aches and stress from the day is pressing down on my body like I’m trying to bench-press a eighteen wheeler loaded with elephants.

Elves usually enter a sort of meditative state in most game systems that I’ve played and I wonder just how I’m supposed to slip into it.

I have listened to a few YouTube relaxation techniques to battle depression and the resulting insomnia. Maybe that will help. I try try to recall how they begin. Usually they tend to focus on deep breaths and telling yourself to relax.

Fat chance of that happening. With all the tension cramping my shoulders I'll probably be tossing all night. With a heavy sigh I close my eyes.

I lay there for what can be no more than ten seconds when I realize I’m in that same black void I was in when I fell unconscious back in the cave.

You are Resting.

Huh? Okay, well, that was easy.