Today is the third morning I have woken up in game. I open my eyes to see a cat butt descending to my face. It seems Bara wants me to get up quickly. Moving is difficult as the lactic acid has built up overnight. Why, for the love of god, does lactic acid exist in game? It is official! Today’s first activity will be lots of stretching.

Once movement is a little easier and a half a loaf is eaten it is time to make plans. Until now, I’ve been reacting to the introductory phase and it was good I trained yesterday; but, continuing without a plan is likely to get me killed. I’m fairly sure I’ll resurrect since this is a game; however, I have no idea what penalties will incur if I die. Besides who wants to die?

The other issue is that I’m three days into two years in a game that feels for all intents and purposes as real as the real world. I even have to use the bathroom. Calling this a game in my mind will distance me from surviving with all my might so I’m just going to have to accept this as my current reality.

The best plan for now is to go back to the basics to get me back in shape and when I say basics, I mean Army Basic Training style. This means doing exercises in the morning, training in combatives, arms training, and tactics. In my active duty unit we went over drills every day using random car toys to represent our Humvees (HMMWV also known as High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) and playing out scenarios on the ground and what each person would do. This was a sound practice and hammered into our heads to an instinctual level what to do.

Following these methods I hope to get back into battle shape quickly before I need it, but at the very least I’ll be in better shape then I am now. Without a vehicle it is even more important than ever that I don’t become as weary as I did yesterday in case I’m attacked at the worst moment. If I can’t even defend myself because of a lack of energy then my training will be useless. Traveling will have to take second seat to training for now until I can get through one day with the energy levels I need.

Since this camp is still close enough to the village to see smoke I feel that I should move further out until I find a location that serves a better temporary training base. I’m supposed to Journey after all and being within hunting range of the village is just a sad state. I break down my nest and bury the campfire, latrine, and leftovers of my stay. Once camp is broken down I call out to Bara who has disappeared again. I can only hope Bara hears me and understands.

Every step feels like I’m made of rubber, but now that I’ve decided on a plan I need to make some distance today. I keep going south and leave the shrubs I had camped at. From here, all I can see is grass waving in rolling plains. This must have been what pioneers in American felt in the early days of westward expansion.

It is like I am alone in the world. After what seems like days I’m jolted out of reverie by Bara bumping my hip. I could have been killed by another creature or beast while I was lost in the view. Training number one will have to be: Situational awareness.

As I walk into the grasses I see the path I had been on begin to peter out until it disappeared. Traffic doesn’t seem to come down this way a lot. Since I’m now in the “Wild” I’ll have to be extra careful to avoid beasts. Earth beasts of the plains tend to be dangerous predators and I imagine this game, I mean world, is no different.

Bara must have sensed my anxiousness because he didn’t leave my side once to go hunting as we traveled through the grass. On Earth I was very allergic to grass, the kind where hives and itchiness would bloom across my skin, it seems that some things don’t carry over though. I feel like I am at the peak of health with no diseases or minor defects. When this game/world goes live it’s going to go viral. Laws will have to be passed to prevent people from suiciding in the pods in their attempts to merge with the game.

As I’m passing through yet another rise in the rolling plains I hear Bara start to growl. Going into hyper alert mode I freeze listening. Bara looks at me and goes silent before stalking away. Bara appears to understand my motions even though he can’t speak. Every little rustle in the grass causes me to tense ready to attack, but nothing happens.

Minutes go by until I finally hear a new sound. It’s a yipping sound somewhat like a hyena and clearly not my Bara. The grass rustling is all around me and it doesn’t seem like a good place to be with my poor skills at this time. I wait for Bara hoping there is a change I can use to my advantage. With a threatening growl that scare even me I see the leaping form of Bara over the grass and use that moment to stab in front of me.

A yelp sounds out as a deformed looking monster comes out with a slash bleeding across its face. Oozing scabs hang of its grey skin in thick rolls with tufts of hair here and there making it look like it suffered from the worst mange or some disease. The smell was fetid and sickly sweet. This was not something I would be eating later.

My spear was already up so I stab it at the face adding a thin scratch to the slash already there maddening the beast more than it already was. RNG must effect the effectiveness of attacks as well as chance to hit. I’m not given a lot of time before another beast leaps at my side. Unwilling to leave myself open to the earlier beast all I can do is swing the end of the spear out to prevent a direct hit. Taking the bait the new beast bites down on the spear butt making it difficult to use. With my hands holding the spear all I have left to use now are my feet so I kick at the beast chewing on my spear and aim for its eyes. It won’t do a lot of damage, but all I need is freedom to swing. The other attacks at while I kick, but gets a mouthful of metal from a lucky jerk by the other and dies. Now faced with only one beast I grab my dagger and spin around with my off while keeping a grip still on my spear to stab it in the eye. With both dead I drop the dagger near my foot and place both hands on my spear in the ready.

Slowing down my breathing I listen for any new ones, but I only hear rustling on one side that is quickly revealed to be Bara dripping in blood. It seems we survived this attack so I pick up the dagger cleaning it on the ground before returning it to my side. I wipe the spear head down the same way and go to check Bara. He only had a few cuts on his side and the rest of the blood must be from other beasts. Next I look at the beast to identify it.

Diseased Plains Worg: Wolf Hybrid

Carrying a disease, this type of plains worg is poor at hunting. The skin lesions spread disease when they explode. Worgs are a mix of wolves and boards. They like to hunt in packs and are aggressive. When raging they will attack anything in sight with full power.

A quick look at Bara assures me he didn’t catch the sickness, at least for now. I guess I should be happy they were sick. This battle could have been a lot worse and I didn’t feel any wet explosions so hopefully they were in a dormant stage. Bara, though, I’ll have to keep an eye on him and clean his wounds thoroughly.

There isn’t a river or water source nearby and all I’ve got I need to keep for later. “Sorry Bara, I can’t wash all of you and I don’t think it is a good idea to wash yourself either. Who knows what disease they had. Let me clean off the cuts and we will go on, but if you hear or smell water lead the way OK?”

Bara looks at me steadily and huffs which I take for disgruntled agreement. Washing his wounds I use clean grass and make sure none of the blood flows down into it ruining my efforts. After I’m done cleaning up I pick up my stuff and we head out on alert for water.

We don’t find water until late in the day. I’m beyond exhausted, but I didn’t want to stop for a rest until we could clean up. When we get close I see we have reached a river. Bara runs quickly into the water and makes grunting noises like he is really displeased by the whole experience. I wonder if it is the water or the sticky fur he hates. Maybe it is both.

Scooping some sand I drop my pack and weapons on the shore and wade in and help him scrub off the blood. By this point it is congealed on him and it isn’t an easy process to clean him. Once he is finally mess free I am covered in it and take my turn bathing with clothes on and all. It is chilly and dark by the time I am done and have to quickly gather materials for a fire. I start shivering too much to use the tinder and try using magic again.

Bara and I huddle close to the small fire for every bit of warmth we could get. It’s too small to dry us quickly, but at least I’m not shivering anymore. With all the blood and forced march today we haven’t been able to hunt and have to eat from the travel rations. I give Bara two jerky and eat half of the loaf from the village. Thank you Laughing Crow tribe! The food is meager for the work out we had, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.

“Hey, I know you understand me even though I don’t speak lynx, but we were able to at least express to each other things. So tomorrow if you sense more of those things we need a signal so I can prepare. Maybe growl like you did today and stamp your front left paw once?” Bara tilts his head as though he is considering my words and after some time I begin to think maybe I was being crazy talking to a cat, but that changes when he gives me one nod of his head and starts to groom.

Sweet, now I know we can come up with a rudimentary conversation at least. Before I can fall a sleep I replay the events of today and think about three ways I could have done things better. First we could have followed the river from the beginning-I blame Bara since I just followed him blindly and didn’t even think of where to go since I still treated this as a game. Next I need to make more breaks in the day to practice. The expertise system is brutal in rng. The inconsistency of my attacks and skills is a difficult challenge to overcome right now. We need to at least get the basic skills for defense and safety up first. Finally, I need to...sleep overcomes me before the thought finishes.

***

The next morning I wake up more energetically then before. The soreness is still there, but it is not like real world second days after workout where the stiffness is worse. As I stretch I notice my clothes have gotten looser. It is encouraging to see the weight drop, but yesterday I barely got to eat anything.

Yesterday we didn’t hunt at all and now the food stores were down to four loaves and two jerky. I had used up the Cinnow the first night out on my meat wrap balls. It is good to have more space in my bag, but having it all be food items was not great either. Today is going to have to be a restocking food day.

Since we found the river, I decided we will keep close to it to prevent dehydration and bathing issues from before. It was still shocking to see so much open space and knowing that diseased creatures were in the grass was not good. If the disease is rampant then it may effect our hunting.

Camp is cleaned up and the fire completely buried and water poured over it. No one wants to be caught in a plains fire. I lived in Texas for most of my life and have seen the great fires that happens there. Here we don’t have the technology of Earth and I’m alone. This is just another reason to stick to the river.

“We can’t lose track of the river Bara, but I need to hunt down some food and you do too. If you see or hear me get too far lead me back OK?” I tell Bara and he huffs back at me before taking off. He’s probably more hungry than I am. At least I have some back up weight to draw on, but the poor guy is all muscle.

I start moving south and search for any plant edibles. Any supplement to the food stores would be good at this point and tomorrow it will be necessary. Looking around I inspect the ground for potential herbs.

One benefit to the panels system is that I’ll know if something is usable or not and it doesn’t take long before I find some plants I can use. By the time midday hits I’m hot and sweaty and ready for a break. I sit by the river with my feet in the water as I take a look over my haul.

Arrow Root: Medicinal

The root of the Arrow plant is steeped in boiled water to make tea for the prevention of infections. Health stops decreasing will prevent diseases.

Arrow Leaf: Cooking Plant

The leaves of the Arrow plant look like their namesake with a thin stalk that attaches to a wide base tapering to a sharp point on the end. Adding Arrow Leaf to your meal will increase Health recovery by 25% and extend stamina for half the day.

Samson Flower: Cooking Herb/Craft

This plant has light purple flowers used in cooking to sweeten food. The stalk when beaten creates a strong fiber for weaving.

Pepper Berry: Poison/Medicinal

A small black and round berry found growing on woody vines. It kills quickly when eaten raw. In powder form will cause intense diarrhea. Large amounts of powder will kill over time; however, minuscule amounts can be used to purge the body.

Lions Foot: Cooking Plant

A yellow flowered plant with leaves at the base. The older the blooming season the more bitter it tastes. All parts are edible and often used in salads, teas, and sweets.

Lions Foot looked a lot like a Dandelion and is probably a relative. It was so abundant that most of the ones I successfully picked I ate right away. After I stopped feeling starved began to save them in bundles. Right now I have five Pepper Berries and twenty-five each of the rest. I figured the poison could be useful at some point for something, but I’d rather not test it on myself or Bara.

Since I was reviewing stuff I may as well take a quick glance at my status which showed no changes in the Skill rankings. There was some progression in the subskills; however, none had reached 30% yet.

As I’m cooling down on a short break Bara runs up at a frantic pace and paws at me. I have don’t know what Bara wants, but once he starts pulling at my clothes I get the idea that he wants me to follow. After I put on my boots, put on my pack, and pick up my spear I follow him into the grass. After seeing me he takes off at a sprint forcing me to pick up my pace to keep him in sight.

He keeps a steady pace only slowing down when my breathing and flagging steps force him to slow down, but as soon as I get a little wind back he picks up his pace again. It doesn’t take long before I’m in pretty bad shape gasping like a beached whale and dragging each foot forward when I suddenly tumble over a still Bara. Whatever the rush was we appear to have arrived at the spot he wanted me to be at.

I look around trying to see what made this grassy spot so special when I see a small crumpled body with sun bleached rags, pale yellow hair, and tanned skin face down on the ground. Their back hardly rises and the sun damaged skin and chapped lips show their dire position. Approaching closer I see the body belongs to a prepubescent boy. Bara nudges me pulling me back to the situation at hand before I can study the child anymore.

Going forward I perform first aid the way I was taught. Tapping the shoulder I check for response. “Hey, are you alright?” There is no response. Careful not to move the spine or head I pat around the body feeling for dampness or broken bones. I see and feel no blood or broken bones. Next I check for breathing by leaning my head towards the mouth while looking down the body for motion of the lungs. This is difficult to do as the head is sideways and the body is stomach side down. They are breathing check.

Pinching the nails of the nearest hand I see there is a delay which could be shock or dehydration. It has been too long since I’ve trained in first aid and I’m likely missing a step, but I take the chance that this is a case that is will allow me to flip the body over and do it by crossing the feet and twisting.

Lifting the lips I see they are pale and the mouth is dry. Opening the lids the eyes are same size and respond to the sudden light. My experience tells me this is dehydration and sun exposure. What led to this state I won’t know until they wake up. I pull out my blanket, leather straps, and edibles from by pack before setting his feet on it in elevated form. Gently lifting their head I pour a few drops of water in at a time before laying him back down. To help with the sun exhaustion I need to make a shelter, but there is very little to hang the blanket off of here.

For now I lay the blanket on top the dense tall grass to create a low cover and set to work digging a shallow trench. All the grass from my trench are piled off to the side for future use in fire-making and the dirt is piled on the edges of the trench. Once I get a space the length and width of my blanket and a foot deep I gently carry the body over into the space and use the piled dirt and rocks to anchor and stretch the blanket over head. The space is tight, but the dirt is sturdier than grass.

Dripping some more water into the child I check to feel their temperature and find that it is a little cooler then it was in the direct sunlight, but still hot to my skin. Why would a child be out here alone? After rearranging him to be more comfortable in the earth shelter I go back to reinforcing it with rocks on the edges of the blanket and dig a fire pit off to the side. Bara had left me sometime during my shelter making and I can only hope he is hunting and keeping beasts away.

As the sun begins to set I hear a groan from the child who is starting to become conscious again. I hurry over and assure the child, “Don’t worry youngling you are safe. Try not to move too much until you feel better.” He seems to understand me and stops trying to get up.

His skin is much cooler now and looks darker as I gently lift his head again to drink some more water. He tries to gulp the bag down, but I pull it back before he gets too much. “You will only get sick if you drink too fast. I know it is hard, but try to limit yourself to one gulp at a time. Tomorrow you can tell me what happened, but until then just rest.”

Bara comes in once the sunlight has faded carrying a tiny deer in his mouth. When living it may have come up to my knees, but appears to be full grown as it has antlers on its head. I get to work cleaning and skinning it. The antlers are set aside as a possible sell item.

Naturally, Bara gets the guts and organs as just the thought of trying to eat them myself makes me gag. I hope I’m never hungry enough to have to eat them. I leave the head for Bara to gnaw on, but take the brains for later. It is said a creature has enough brain matter to tan itself. Not entirely sure how it works but the skin could be sold or crafted later.

My traveling gear suddenly feels lacking as I realize I have no cooking pans or ways to boil water which eliminates one of the herbs I had collected earlier. Instead I make more meat wrap balls, but this time with Arrow Leaves as that will be a big boost to recovery and stamina which both me and the kid need. I was unable to stretch since I was doing first aid and then digging with a rock, now, I’m all stiff and sore.

While waiting for the food to cook I punch my legs and arms to loosen the lactic acid and stretch in between water breaks for the kid. I’m starting to get low in my water supplies. Once the food balls look cooked I pull them out of the fire and let them cool enough to touch before cracking them open. The deer meat couldn’t all be used at once so I sliced them thin and salted them before laying them out all around the fire to dry quickly into a poor man’s jerky. The success ratio seems to be against me this round as about a quarter of the meat cooks right.

Food stores somewhat resupplied for now, I go back to stretching and watering duties. At some point in the night I fall asleep waking up to every groan or howl in the night.

I wake to find the kid tending to the fire and flipping meat. He seems to have recovered a lot despite his parched skin and is now taking care of me. Whatever he is cooking smells really good though so I stretch and yawn to let him know I’m awake.

“You’re awake!” He tells me excitedly. “I can see by your amulet that you are a Laughing Crow tribesman. My name is Rento and I am from the Dancing Gazelle tribe.” As he says what tribe he is from he gets sad. “At least I hope my tribe is still around.”

“What do you mean you hope they are still around?” I ask him. This could be a quest thing. So far no panels have popped for any of the quests I’ve done, but the narrative gives it away.

“Well, you see, we were approached by some strange men with very pale skin who demanded our gold, I have no idea what today is so I couldn’t tell you when it was. These men were in leather armor and had white metal weapons unlike what you see among the tribes. The problem is that we don’t have gold, when we go down to Resolution Point we barter for our goods as the plains have all sorts of useful items.”

“Once they heard we had no gold they started to attack us and they beat…”at this point Rento starts to cry, “They beat…our Elder Wormwood to death. After that they said they would be back for the gold and if they didn’t get it we would regret it.”

“The next day they came back and were very angry that we still hadn’t brought them gold. They beat a lot of the tribe, but didn’t kill anyone this time. When they left, one of them turned around and spoke words I couldn’t understand, but a dusty wind started to blow across the village and people started coughing and sores broke out. I was about to hunt when they came in and missed the sickness only because I was outside the village.”

“I ran to Resolution Point to warn our traders to not come back and when I came back to the village I found that many had died already and they wouldn’t let me back in. So I hid in the grass keeping an eye on them until a pack of Worgs chased me out here, but they were sick too. These pale skins seem to be spreading disease across the entire plains. Who would do such a thing?”

After hearing about the wanton destruction that even effected the ecology the only thing I could think of was it sounded like a group of players. I worry about how they were able to get away with such wide spread effects when there was a karma system in place. Clearly this was a situation where other players would also be affected and this sounds like it may be one of the other tester groups, maybe the lotto winners? I seriously doubt one of the veterans would do such a thing with all the psychological testing we had to do and with the threat of killing the program for future veterans being such a strong deterrent. The hospitalers likely wouldn’t do it either, but they don’t have long immersion which may change their perspective. The biggest question was whether karma was real, only affected Veterans, or only long term immersion.

Rento and I pack up the camp and break down my shelter before heading to the village. They may be sick, but perhaps we can help. Travel today seems to be a lot easier after the pushed exertion of the day before. The system must have a program in place to help people get in shape faster, because I should be in poor health and going by the extra fabric scrunching around my waist I’ve lost even more weight since yesterday. Taking some of the rope from my bag I make a hasty belt to keep my pants up. The left over rope I wrap around my arms and calves like a pseudo armor as an extra layer against the worgs should they show up again. The craftsmanship is janky, but it’s all I can do for now. It takes a while to get to the village and by the time we do the sun is in the afternoon half of the sky and getting close to evening.

Rento looks at me strangely from time to time as though he can’t understand how a grown up can be in worse shape then he is. Even though I’ve improved it seems I’m still worse than a tribal village kid. Once there Rento runs off towards a wigwam looking building. I catch my breath as I listen, but hear nothing other than Rento crying and saying “Mother! Please wake up!”

This village appears to be made of wigwams made from grass woven together. There are no smoke from fires and no movement. Making my way to the wigwam Rento ran to, I see discarded utensils on the ground likely dropped when they were first struck with the disease. It seems to progress quickly. Entering into the wigwam I see Rento hunched over a figure that is weakly trying to push him away. At least she is still alive.

The woman is covered in scabs and oozing flesh like the diseased worg I had encountered before. Her hair had fallen out and her body was starting to look starved. If the disease doesn’t kill them lack of food or water will. Looking over my Skills Shaman magic seems the likeliest with two subskills called Land Balm and River Cleanse. Neither have descriptions, but when I concentrate on the subskills I get a faint sense of what they can do. This must be that intuitive magic system Genesis described. Land Balm seems to be a warm healing feeling while River Cleanse gives off a faint fresh scent and flowing motion as if pushing something away.

River Cleanse may be easier to try as it creates a picture in my mind of using cleansing waters to remove the disease. As Rento holds his mother I concentrate hard on the feeling of water as it moves over me in a pool I once visited as a child. I used to just wave my hands back and forth to feel the motion of water whenever we played in pools or streams. I haven’t swum in a long time, but the memory of the hypnotic motion stays with me. Cool and silky back and forth, back and forth. It doesn’t take long before the mother lets out a long sigh. Looking at her I see the scabs start disintegrating into nothing and the skin heals. Her lips moisten and her eyes start to leak tears as the water inside her returns. River Cleanse does heal disease and rehydrate people at the same time!

Once she is completely healthy looking, I stop concentrating and feel very tired. Rento turns to me, “I didn’t know you were a Shaman! Thank you so much for healing my mother. She was almost dead and you saved her!”

After that I am not sure what happened, but I wake up to darkness. “You’re awake! It must have used up a lot of your power to heal my mother.”

“I’m not sure about how much it should take as I’ve never healed anyone before.”

“What?!! You did that on your first try? You must be very strong then.”

“Come now Rento, you shouldn’t bother her too much. I’m sure she is still tired even though she has woken now.”

“Aw, Mother, I still want to know what she did. What if we can do it to help the other villages?”

“She can’t save us all, it is too late for some and she can’t be more than a Novice Shaman. It is too much to lay on her shoulders.”

Hearing this exchange I try to sit up and only manage to raise my head asking, “If there are more close to dying I can at least try to stabilize them. It won’t be much but any delay to death is better than none.”

“That is sensible of you, but are you sure? You can barely even move your head. I will have to carry you to each person.”

“Actually if you can get them all in the same place I will try to just focus on the group every time I am able to. It will make them easier to care for as well.”

“I will try, right now I’m the healthiest along with my son. We will do our best to gather everyone, but until then eat and drink this and rest as much as possible. This is the food our shaman ate and drank when performing big magics; so, I hope if helps you recover faster.”

With that she leaves me to replenish myself. I eat a lot of the wafer things before I begin to feel a lot better, but with a stretched out like feeling in a place I didn’t notice was there until I’d emptied it. Is this magic? Not sure if it will work, I try meditating. Games often used a mechanic where meditating or sitting speeds recovery. As I sit I feel something trickling in. It’s like an itch you can’t reach only it is in a place somewhere below my heart and above my stomach. Time goes by and even though my eyes are closed it feels like I am starting to see a glow…

“Shaman Kara, we’re ready.” Rento’s voice breaks my concentration and whatever I was about to see dissipates. Bara is behind him and appears pleased. It’s hard to tell with cats when they just look at you, but the rumbling purr sounds like pleasure to me.

Using my spear as a staff I get up slowly and lean on Rento for support as we exit the wigwam and approach the bodies laid out. There are so many. Just healing one was difficult, but now I must try to stabilize 43 people. I sit down cross legged and begin to concentrate, but Bara smacks me with his paw making me scoot over and squeezes under my outstretched hand. Since he is there I start petting him as I concentrate again, but this time I see Bara glowing next to me. Opening my eyes I see him looking at me and he nods once.

Closing my eyes I see him glowing again and then some of the glow reaches through my hand and into my center which is barely glowing compared to him. Getting the idea that he is helping me with magic I think back to water and it doesn’t take as long to get lost in it again. Opening my eyes I look at the people and think hard that I want them covered in the cleansing water. To be healed and well again. Power surges through my arm and through my center to flow out through each person. It’s a remarkable sensation and distracting. I lose concentration again and again before each person’s glow is held in my mind. As I fumble to reach the feeling I had with Rento’s mother Bara glows stronger as my glow dims. As my concentration begins to waver I sense the sickness leave each person until it is all gone. Healing the people this much wasn’t intended, but it is just as well done. I black out as the first person starts to stir.

Opening my eyes I see I am in a Wigwam again. There is light so it must be the next day. I feel really good and a quick meditation shows the dim glow I saw before is now very bright. Sitting up I stretch and feel no pain or stiffness. Water Cleanse must have affected me too.

Stepping out I’m knocked down by a streaking grey shape and get assaulted with rough licks and head rubs by a very large cat. Looking closer I see it is Bara who has grown quite a bit. He must have “leveled” from last nights healing. Villagers are making a commotion, but it is too loud and noisy for me to understand underneath the mountain of cat sitting on me. Once I’m able to get out I see Rento sprinting to me with a joyful look.

“Shaman Kara you’re up! We weren’t sure if you would ever wake up. You’ve been asleep for 3 days!”

“What? 3 days?!!!” That doesn’t seem possible. Looking around the village I see heads shaking agreement, but what really stands out is that the village doesn’t look abandoned anymore. That takes some time to do and I can only agree that I’ve been out for some time.

An elderly woman approaches me dressed in sun bleached robes with a fawn colored skin around her shoulders. In her hand she has a staff topped with a gazelle skull and horns spiraling up. When she gets within arms length she bows from her waist at a ninety degree angle and says, “Thank you Kara Winters of the Laughing Crow tribe. Your assistance saved our tribe.” Standing up she continues, “You appear to be on Journey and so I cannot make you a full tribe member of the Dancing Gazelle tribe, but I can give you this,” as she says this she hold out an amulet like my crow one. This one has a Gazelle with two feet down and two feet raised. “This amulet is given to those who are friends of the tribe. Wear this with honor and pride.” With that said she stands on her toes to place it around my neck. The strap it’s on is longer than my crow amulet so it can rest below it with out blocking.

“Now that honor has been given, I have a request to make of our friend.” The elderly lady takes me to her wigwam and offers me something to eat as she continues, “The pale skins who attacked us with this disease need to be punished. If it was just a raid it wouldn’t be so important, but what they do will destroy the plains and anywhere else they go. They are too destructive to the environment and it is dangerous for all.”

“Will you go to Resolution Point and speak with the lord there about placing a bounty on our behalf? Baron Ulgelf is a reasonable man and will take this matter seriously. We may not have gold or treasures, but he understands the value we harvest from the plains. We will gift you with supplies and access to our well as you are our friend. We also ask that you notify our tribe members still there that they can return.”

“Of course elder, it would be my pleasure to do this for you. Even I have encountered diseased worgs on my Journey and can’t imagine what this will do should these pale skins attack my village. They need to be stopped.”

Having spoken the elder lets me go to do what I want. Every villager I spoke with thanked me and when I finally got to Rento I was tired and ready to leave. Too many people after so much time alone is exhausting. Rento meets me at his mother’s wigwam with a haltered gazelle at his side. When I heard the name of the tribe I assumed it was because of their totem, but it appears I was wrong.

“This is Sule and she is my first gazelle,” says Rento, “as thanks for saving me I gift her to you to use in your travels. I trained her personally to pack and love her very much; however, a life debt should not be ignored and Mother says I’m too young to serve it myself. In our tradition, when you cannot serve your life debt you must give something of value that you own. Sule is all I have and I treasure her greatly, but I think she will do well with you.”

With that Rento runs off and his mother comes up. “It was hard for him, but we will not be dishonored. Do not worry, I will find him a new gazelle to train. He would have had to part with Sule soon anyways as we teach our young about life in trading and training. She is a good gazelle and it is always good to have extra carrying space. As my life debt payment to you I must also give a treasured item as the village needs me to stay.” As she says this she hands me a folded cloth package. “This outfit was given to me by my late husband, it is dyed in beautiful colors. The plains bleach everything so we often don’t bother with colorful clothing, but my husband surprised me one day with it. May it brighten your Journey as it has brightened my life.”

I place the clothing into my pack to keep it safe and rearrange my belongings between the pack gazelle and me. The gazelle added fifty slots to my inventory which makes a big difference compared to my journey before this. Remembering some of the difficulties I had faced I make sure to ask for a pot, pan, leather working knife, and two extra water bags. The brain and leather from before seem to not age inside inventory, but as I don’t currently have time I give it to one of the villagers to use.

As I’m about to leave the village the elder returns with a gazelle wearing a saddle and bridle. “We cannot just give away a trained riding gazelle, but we can speed your journey to Resolution Point. Once there you can leave Nodo with our tribesman. To direct just lightly tap the reign in the direction you want to go. Nodo is used to inexperienced riders and will tolerate more than others will. Fare well and good Journey!”

I’ve never ridden a gazelle before; so, I’m not sure what the movement is supposed to be like. It felt like I was sailing through the air once I figured out how to hold myself but getting to that point was pure misery. Bara enjoyed the speedy travel and could be seen running back and forth to keep me on the right path.

With a dramatic shift in scenery around midday I see the thirty foot stone walls surrounding a town where two guard towers bookend a large gate facing the plains. As I near, a yell from above calls out, “Halt! State your business!”

“I’m here to speak to the lord of this region.”

“What tribe to do you hail from stranger?”

“I’m from the Laughing Crow tribe, but have come from the Dancing Gazelle tribe recently.”

“That could explain your mount and pack beast, but last we heard the Dancing Gazelle tribe was stricken with a disease. Come no closer as we wait for the Captain and a tribe member to verify.”

Since I’ve been riding a long time I get off the gazelle and stretch my legs rubbing absentmindedly on my poor butt. I hope to be able to take a hot bath later as I’ve yet to have one since starting this game. Looking at the gazelle I see it sweating heavily and loosen the saddle so it can graze more comfortably. Sule will have to wait a bit to be unloaded unfortunately.

“Stranger lay down your weapons and step away. The Captain is coming out.”

I comply as it would be bad form to get skewered for being unruly. Once I am far enough away the Captain comes out with a tribesman behind him. The Captain is wearing half plate armor with a tunic in Yellow and Green. He looks middle aged, but has grey flecks in his hair and has a heavily creased face with hard features. His movement is free despite the heavy armor and his hand rests on a longsword.

The tribesman is a few years older than me and wears the bleached clothing the villagers wore. His hair is dark blond and braided tightly over his shoulder. When he sees my amulets his stance relaxes and he runs up to me.

“What happened? Do you have any news? Did they overcome the sickness?”

“Calm down Renoke, she can’t answer your questions if you don’t give her a chance. Going by your amulets you seem to be harmless, but I can’t let you enter until I hear about this disease and test you for truthfulness.”

Renoke goes silent and backs away to let the Captain get closer to me.

“My name is Captain Madonius and this is Renoke of the Dancing Gazelle tribe. Since his questions are pertinent I request you answer them once I have set up the Truth Globe.” As he says this he pulls out a small white orb and waves the other hand over it mumbling. When the motion and words end the globe glows a soft white and he places it in my hand.

“Now that it is ready hold your hand open so it is easy to see and answer the questions. The orb will darken if you lie, but will stay lit for truth. Now speak.”

I tell the Captain and Renoke everything starting from my first encounter with the diseased worgs. I can tell they are not pleased to hear about this, but continue with my experience. When I get to the point about healing Rento’s mother, Renoke starts to cry, “Oh thank you! I was worried about them both. They are my family and it is a relief to know they survived.” After that I get to the request of the elder and riding off.

“It is worrisome that those trouble makers are wandering the plains. I will need to speak to the Baron about this, but you are free to enter town and go about your business. Now, I see you are a tribesman, does this mean you have a totem animal with you?” As he says that Bara comes out of the grass to stand by my side.

“He is a handsome fellow.” The Captain looks appreciatively at Bara, but does not try to touch him. “Welcome to Resolution Point, honored soul.” He bows elegantly and Bara nods his head like a regal king.

“We get many tribal folk visiting here, but some totems like your lynx are easy to mistake as wild beasts. Wearing this ribbon,” He pulls out a red ribbon from his pocket and hands it to me,”will identify guards that he has been checked in. The gate guard will have to write your name and your totem in a ledger. Until I contact you again you are not to leave town.”

The Captain briskly walks away after speaking and I am left with Bara, the gazelles, and Renoke. “I’ll take this one here off your hands since the elder told you to leave it with us; so, don’t worry about cleaning her down or feeding her. She’ll be happier back with the herd we have with us. If you need lessons on how to take care of Sule we can teach you later, but for now I’ll let her mingle in the herd too. We’ll watch her pack as well so you don’t have to worry about anything and just explore the town. This is your first time to one right?”

I nod since I’m not sure he’ll let me speak a word.

“Then you’ll need to know some things about these outlanders.” As we walk inside other tribesman come up and lead the two gazelles away leaving Renoke to lead me and a talk. Going by the consoling looks, he is a known talker. As we wait for the guard to wave us over to sign in I answer Renoke’s questions as best I can about his family. After I finish telling him the little I know a guard comes up to us,“Please state your name, tribe, and the breed of your totem.”

“Kara Winters of the Laughing Crow tribe and my totem is a Greater Forest Lynx named Bara.”

“Thank you and make sure to stay out of trouble.”

Once the guard waved us through Renoke begins to guide me through town while chattering like a tour guide,“There are a few inns that house the tribe when we come in to trade. I know that look and you probably thought it was just the Dancing Gazelle that come here, but I’ll have you know that these outlanders are not all the same. Many of the border lords treat us like barbarians, but look at this place-better yet smell it, they live in their own refuse. Now this town is better than many of the others, but we both smell it as soon as we enter. They are the barbarians, but they have good points too.”

“Now, Baron Ulgelf is the leader of this town and claims some of the region around. His kingdom recently expanded their borders to reach the plains, but places like Resolution Point have been here for years. For a long time their survival relied on trading with us so when it became large enough to rate a lord, Baron Ulgelf had some decisions to make. Fortunately he is a wise lord and saw the benefit to being friendly with us and has prospered from our trade. We don’t usually need money, but these outworlders are strange like that so we made a deal that the Baron gets first choice in trade and we get provided places to stay, food, and shelter for our herds while we are in town.”

“There are two inns that we stay at and you are welcome to join us. One is named The Golden Lady and has a gold coated gazelle leaping on the sign. One of our tribe married the innkeeper there and so we always make a point to send tribe members there. The other is called the Singing Dove and has a white dove with an open beak on the sign. It is run by a mercenary from some distant place where they like to sing a lot I guess. You’ll find a lot of the singing type there and something called a Bard likes to stay there. Too many outlanders go there now, but it was the first inn the lord paid to shelter our people.”

“If your Journey leads you further on from here you’ll need to get used to the strange ways of these people. They expect you to pay for services, crafts, and it seems like everything else; so, you’ll need to get earn money. Training in skills or subskills also requires payment, but you can work out deals where you work for them for a time. Just be careful they don’t take advantage of you.”

“I also recommend you get a harness for your totem. The ribbon works for here, but other places recognize them better when you mark them as domesticated and a harness will let you place your mark on it while being minimal and not degrading. One person suggested a collar to me, but my totem destroyed it very quickly. She’s a dog type that is trained for herding and helps me with the gazelles, but despite her looks she is not domestic.”

“Here we are at the Golden Lady.” The inn before me is made with wood and plaster and has many windows facing the street. When we enter I find it dim, but cool and the smell of cooking is mouth watering.

“Mirra! We have a Journeyer from Laughing Crow with us tonight!” Renoke yells out.

“Hush you. We don’t need you disturbing the guests with your never ending voice.” A small blond haired woman with soft brown eyes comes through an archway to scold my talkative guide. Unlike the other Dancing Gazelles she is wearing bright colors with a blue dress and red apron. Her dress is similar to what you would expect to see in a Medieval society, the classic wench outfit. Wiping her powdering hands on a rag she reaches out to clasp my hand.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of the Laughing Crow. I hope you are enjoying your Journey so far. Silly me, I bet you aren’t used to hand greetings. This” and she does the hand clasp again, “is a type of greeting these outworlders do so don’t forget.”

“Since Renoke isn’t sulking, I can only assume you have good news right? Please let me know!” Telling the story once again with many interruptions by Renoke I tell her about the village and everything that happened. By the end of it she is crying, “Oh please don’t mind me, these tears are of joy. I may not live with the tribe anymore, but I still worry about them.”

“We’ve kept you too long and I must let you get to your rest, but first I want you to follow me to a special treat.” She leads me up a couple stairs to a floor that has a strange cylindrical barrel set at the end of the hallway. Underneath it is a complex mosaic made with red tiles in different shades. As I get closer I feel heat coming from the tiles and give her an arched look.

“Oh yes, one of the benefits to living with outworlders is their magic abilities. This mosaic was very expensive to get crafted by an Artificer which is a type of magician that crafts with magic. The better ones create beautiful art that are also functional. This piece heats the water to a set temperature that most guests seem to like and doesn’t burn anything. The water from here is fed by a cistern above the roof and drains to tubs in the rooms along this hallway.”

“Travelers visit our inn just to bathe! It’s a great wonder and makes life so much better. Now go into this room here and see this latch here? You pull this to lock the door to keep people out while you are naked. Outworlders are very easily embarrassed so don’t change in front of them. Now you pull this lever here to fill with the hot water and when you are done pull this plug here to let it drain out. This here is oil, soap, and a scrub. They will help you clean up and smell better.”

After she leaves I quickly plug the bath and start filling it up with water. I had hoped for a hot bath, but I was imagining it to be something like filled with buckets heated on a stove. This was a pleasant surprise and so much better. I haven’t had a real bath since I first woke up here. The river incident was not a real bath as it was a river and cold, but this was a tub full of hot water and soap.

After I finish scrubbing, I empty the water and refill so I can soak in the heat. My muscle soreness was better compared to when I started, but my butt was hurting from the ride. A knock at the door wakes me from dozing making me realize that the water had cooled sometime ago. “I’m getting dressed, give me a moment,” I say as I let the bath drain and pull out the packet of clothing Rento’s mother had given me.

Opening it I find the strange outfit. The outfit was dyed in deep green, red, and blue colors and came in three pieces. The pants were loose and gathered at the ankles with a drawstring at the waist. The top was close fitting but long like a tunic ending at the bottom of my butt with split sides up to my waist. The third piece was like a vest but hanging down to my knees with splits on the sides and front and back up to my hips.

Not wanting to put my clean feet inside my sweaty boots I walk barefoot to the door. Opening the door, Mirra’s face lights up when she sees my outfit. “Oh, so this is the outfit Lynaco gave you!”

“Lynaco?”

“Rento’s and Renoke’s mother!”

“Oh, I never did get her name. This is a strange outfit, but it feels nice.”

“I think that it comes from a kingdom that is all desert. I forget what they are called, but they come through here on their ships sometimes. The colors are very strong, it should hold up to traveling well.”

“Now I came to tell you that dinner was being served downstairs. So let me get your pack to your room and you can eat your meal.” As she says this she grabs my pack and boots from my hands and walks off. I’m not even sure where my room is at yet, but I’m sure I’ll be able to find out later.

When I reach the bottom floor I find Bara chewing on a very large bone, but get distracted by the smells. I find a table in a corner facing the doorway and sit down. It doesn’t take long for a young girl to find me there and set down a plate of steak and greens. Shortly after that she places a tankard full of amber liquid that smells like beer. Using my knife I cut into the steak and coo at the tenderness-it is like cutting butter. Each bite is like bliss until the last piece. The last piece is like being in mourning knowing that there is no more left on the plate.

With my stomach full it doesn’t take long to get drowsy, but before I can get up to find out about my rooms I see Captain Madonius enter the room creating a pause in conversations. He looks around and spots me at my corner and makes his way over. “Kara Winters, you have been requested to meet with the lord, Baron Ulgelf. If you would follow me now I would appreciate it.”

It is hard to leave the table and I didn’t even get a chance to drink my tankard as I was focused on the food, but I get up and follow him. We don’t get very far before I realize that I’m still barefoot when I step on a pebble. With a detour to a sandal shop we continue on our way. Starting the trip barefoot doesn’t really bother me, but it seems to bother the Captain quite a bit as he keeps looking back at me and shaking his head. Going east we come to another wall in the town, this one is taller then the outer wall and has a double portcullis gate.

The Captain walks straight through with no challenges called and takes me to the structure within. Soldiers off to the side inside are training opposite from a stable on the other side courtyard; however the heavy fortifications on the building ahead distracts me from the people around me. This is no lordlings manor, but a battle ready keep. The doorway is heavily reinforced with metal and takes four men to open as we draw near.

Inside the entryway, a servant wearing a padded tunic stands upon seeing the Captain, “Sir, the Baron bid me lead you and the guest directly to him.”

“Very good Lupo, lead us on.”

We follow Lupo through a maze of rooms, each opening to the next until we reach an second courtyard. A man in a simple yellow and green outfit is crouching with a child showing him how to hold a bow. When we enter he stands up and looks me over carefully.

Baron Ulgelf is a big man-tall enough to make my crane my head up and his heavy muscles show that he is no stranger to hard labor. “Do you know why this town is called Resolution Point?”

“No, Sir.”

“This is because here at the edge of civilization you need to have the resolution to face the emptiness beyond. Of course, you know that it isn’t empty since you are a native, but to Alterians this is desolate territory. Contact with the Empire has to be made through mages if it is to be at all timely; so, when I heard the Captain’s report today, I summoned our mage to inform the Emperor and he was swift to send a reply back. He commands me to do everything in my power to stop these people from spreading their disease further about the land.”

“He was so alarmed that people would wantonly bring destruction without a care for the consequences that he is sending a Grim here. Grims are elite agents of the Emperor who train from birth to be killers, investigators, or diplomats. The Emperor personally requested that you assist the Grim in their duty since you are able to heal the disease. Will you accept this honor?”

The situation has just escalated quickly and I have practically no information. “Will you please give me until tomorrow to decide? I’ve had a long day today and am not very fresh. This is a very serious request and I would like to be able to respond in a like manner.”

“This is a reasonable request, as such I honor it, but I cannot delay for the answer. The Grim could be here as soon as tomorrow and as late as the day after. Any time spent is longer the culprits have to get away.”

“I’m not sure about your government, but a request from an Emperor sounds like something that is in line with a command. As such I will accept, but understand that I inexperienced and have just started on my Journey. My skills are almost all below Apprentice; so, whatever my assistance is-it will be limited.” Having said this, I attempt to bow and he waves me off.

“I will contact you once the Grim has arrived and I thank you for your grace. Now go and rest.”

The Captain leads me out and tells me, “That was well done of you, for a minute I was worried you would try to turn down the offer. Your guess about it being a command is correct. If you had said no, you would be in the dungeons right now. As the only known healer for the disease we could not let you go, but the Baron felt it would be kinder to phrase it as a request.”

“You mean no one can heal the disease except for me? Are there no priests, healers, or similar in this town?”

“We have a priest of Alta, but our god is not known for healing. Since we are a border town we have healers, but they are of the healing craft and not magical. None of the tonics or potions worked on captured diseased creatures. After that we quarantined travelers.”

“The Baron has had a room prepared for you here so I sent a servant to fetch your things and to tell your totem that you are here. Your pack gazelle will stay with the tribe herd for now until you meet with the Grim. A word of warning about the Grims-don’t let your guard down. They are the Emperors ears and eyes and should he decide that the tribes are dangerous he may decide to eliminate the possible threat.”

He leaves me at a doorway with the ominous message as a final note. Opening the door I find a room with a large canopied bed and sitting area. A maid comes in and starts a fire in the fireplace and fusses about the room before approaching me. “Would Mistress ready for bed?”

Her question confuses me until she bows and reaches for my clothes. “Wait!” She freezes and looks at me with scared eyes. “No! I mean, I can undress myself. I do not need assistance that way, but I thank you for the offer.”

“Of course Mistress, please set your clothes over here once you are finished so I may get them laundered and back to you in the morning. Breakfast will be served in your room and Supper is served in the great hall. If you are in need of anything else over night or through the day tomorrow just ask for, Kalia.” With that she quickly backs away and exits the room.

Finally alone and allowed to rest I undress and leave the clothes where I was pointed and climb into bed. Sometime in the night I hear the door open and soon after feel the comforting weight of Bara join me on the bed.

In the morning I am woken up by a shriek and subsequent sobbing of a young girl. Glancing over I see that she is staring at a bemused Bara who is sitting up at my side. “Calm silly child, this is Bara, my totem and he will not harm you.” Despite my words the girl stays crying and I get out of bed in time for the door to bang open and a couple of guards rush in. Seeing me naked one blushes a deep red while the other tries to look away from me while searching for a threat. It doesn’t take them long to see Bara, but they at least understand what a totem is or were informed there was one in this room.

“I’m sorry miss, we’ll take the servant with us on the way out. Don’t worry we’ll explain to her the situation since it seems the head maid forgot to tell her.” With that they exit, shortly after my clothes are held through a mostly closed door. “Ah, miss? The servant still had your clothes.” It certainly was an interesting wake up. Lets just hope breakfast isn’t a disaster. I would hate to have to eat it off the floor or ceiling.

I’d long lost embarrassment at being publicly naked in the military since we had communal showers and long since the gender division was removed back in 2033 we have had to get used to see the opposite sex a lot. It was only once I’d started gaining weight that I felt shame about my body, but right now I have the start of a six pack and just enough fat for curves. How could anyone be ashamed when they are healthy? I quickly dress in my newly laundered clothes and smell flowers. I’ve gotten so used to my natural musk that the flowery smell is a nice contrast.

Once dressed I remake the bed and let Bara out to go wherever he needs to go. I don’t care to be enclosed in a dark room either, but I do want breakfast. Some time passes until I hear a knock and the maid from last night enters with two others carrying covered dishes on trays. Bara comes in with them and sits beside me as we wait for the servants to leave. Opening the first dish I find a bowl of porridge, two pastries with honey on them, a server of cream, and some type of grainy pancakes. The other tray reveals to have slices of lightly seared red meat with a bowl of water. Clearly a his and her breakfast.

It doesn’t take either of us long to eat and before long I feel the urge to use the bathroom. Stepping out we set to find the nearest bathroom or john, but see only guards, servants, and fancy dress personnel. Finally unable to wait I call to a servant and ask quietly about the bathroom and they lead me to a corridor that ends in a door. Going through the door I find a rudimentary bathroom with a cistern flush.

Once I’ve done my business I take my time to really explore the keep. I discover that the keep has two central courtyards, the one I saw the Baron in last night and another one that is a private garden. Since I am in need of practice I sit in the garden and go through meditation drills while having Bara do his best to distract me. So far magic seems to be concentration based and in a fight I will need to be able to concentrate through anything.

Going into the River Cleanse thinking process I slow down and focus on every single step trying to feel what I had done before. It is hard to analyze while being focused on water, but as I do I start to feel more in tune with what is magic and what is River Cleanse. It is difficult to describe the feeling since on Earth we do not have magic.

Now that I’ve isolated what feels like what it is time to figure out another of my shaman skills-Land Balm. As before I had no description other than the name and vague feelings, but since I am in a garden it should be easier to sense land energies. At least I hope that is how that works. Balm is a type of healing so shouldn’t the ability also be a heal?

Focusing on the garden around me I concentrate on what Land and Balm mean to me. Earth… growth… flowers… life… healing… soothing… medicine… calm… as these thoughts flow through me I start to feel tranquil and a yellow, warm light surrounds me. At some point I stop thinking and just be.

“Kara Winters I presume?”

Hearing the voice jolts me out of meditation and I see, by the dimness, that the sun has almost set. The garden around me in a sphere is noticeably healthier and that my energy inside feels fuller as though I gained energy rather than used it.

“Kara Winters.”

The voice interrupts me again. Looking up I see a figure in dark clothes standing nearby. The person is about my age, but his blue eyes look older. He has dark hair and is clean shaved in contrast to the bearded faces I’ve become accustomed to since entering this world, his stance is straight and almost rigid.

“You are Kara Winters correct?”

“Oh, um, yes. That is me. Sorry I was exploring a new spell and the transition was too abrupt.”

“From what the servants told me, you have been sitting here almost all day. Perhaps you could follow me to a place we can eat in private?”

“Sure, lead the way.”

Despite my meditation for much of the day, I’m not hungry. It seems Land Balm not only hastens regrowth in plants, but feeds me with energy. I’m not sure that I could call it a heal ability, but it is definitely a type of support.

“I am the Grim that was sent here to resolve the situation. Since you are not Alterian I should tell you that we do not go by names in public we are all Grim and therefore interchangeable.”

We reach a small room with a long table and a few chairs set around it. Closing the door, I see the Grim slightly motion over a disk and feel a snap charge through air like static shock.

“Now, tell me about your encounters with this disease.” Despite his earlier comment about food there is none in this room and seems to have been a ruse for eaves droppers. I may not be hungry, but the enjoyment from eating delicious food was something I had looked forward to. Repeating my story I start from encountering the diseased worg, but he tells me to go further back to the start of my Journey.

Seeing no harm in describing the generalities of my time in game I restart from the day I first woke up in this world. He seems content with this start so I continue. Once I reach the point about first trying River Cleanse he starts to ask pointed questions like why I tried to do a spell I didn’t know, what my process was, and even how I felt doing it. By the end of the retelling, I’m getting tired of telling it.

The Grim sits back and thinks for a while the silence stretching out. “I was able to get everyone else’s version before yours so with this I have enough information to make a plan going forward. For now you will stay with me. We don’t have your type of healing in the Empire as we are more civilized, but until I know otherwise, yours is the only effective healing method on hand.”

I start to say something, but the Grim raises his hand and continues,“Be prepared to head out in two days as it will take some work to gather the resources we need. Until then you are dismissed.” After he finishes speaking he flicks the disc from before and another shock in the air goes off. I get up and bow before leaving, but he ignores me as insignificant.

For now I’ll play along, as I’m interested in getting a front seat experience with the karma system, but we’ll see about what happens after. I don’t like his imperialistic attitude.