Unfortunately, not all Alpha Testers were so magnanimous. They were selected from famous beings throughout their culture’s history. Not good beings, not kind beings. Beings that changed the world around them for better or for worse. Some created true horrors meant to destroy people in mind and body. Various hypotheses exist for why they did this. Whether anger at their fate, jealousy that others would get to live in this New Reality and they would be killed the moment they ceased being useful to The Moderators, or just a sick enjoyment of pushing people to their breaking point. Thankfully, The Moderators also required that all great dangers created by the Alpha Testers have equivalent reward. - History of a New Age, pg 27 (cont.)

Far sooner then he would have preferred, a ringing intruded upon his sleep. “One hour remains within the Setup Stage Elijah,” the Voice calmly announced. It had selected a sound that was exactly like the alarm on his phone to awaken him with, and the sheer familiarity lulled him into a calm that took him a moment to shake off as he remembered what had happened. He recalled more than when he had first arrived in this place now. The bank, the kid, Ryan yelling. It was all becoming more clear. Even after sleeping so long, he felt tired. Nearly overwhelmingly so. Unfortunately, he had things to do, which was probably a good way of keeping his mind occupied. Nothing distracted someone quite as much as immediate threats, a good way to keep him from thinking about his old life. Everything he had lost. Jason, Triss, and his old corner apartment.

He let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and refocused on the task at hand. He double checked what supplies he had managed to bring with him on this strange trip: one comfortable set of clothing, his coat, the first-aid kit he kept in the coat’s large pockets, his phone, his wallet, the candy bar he had been saving for later, and his now useless car keys. Not anything particularly useful right now, but you never knew what would end up being lifesaving later. He briefly debated buying a bag from the Voice, but didn’t want to waste the points right now. Everything could be carried in his various coat pockets and worse comes to worst he could just tie the coat around his waist if it was too warm.

“Alright Voice, what can I expect when I go down?”

“Officially entering your new reality. Your body will be fully realized upon arrival and you will leave your semi-spiritual current state. Your location of arrival has been randomized, but will be near a place of power. From there you will decide the best route to you and your species’ continued survival.”

“Thank you, Voice. Any last advice before I go?”

“Don’t die.”

Raising his eyebrow at the slightly sarcastic tone of the answer, Elijah could only reply, “Thank you.”

“Also lie down, you are less likely to hit your head.”

Seeing the counter hitting 3 seconds, Elijah didn’t have time to question it and quickly lay down. He was thankful for it when he lost consciousness shortly afterward.

Welcome Challenger, to a Death Trap designed by one of the greatest in the history of your people. Here you will be pushed to the edge, forced to prove what you are willing to do to survive. Rejoice, for here may find true strength if you survive. Welcome, mortal, to the Forest of the Final Sleep.

When Elijah awoke, he was lying in a picturesque forest. The trees rose above him and the branches were filled with emerald green leaves. He heard bird song in the branches around him and small creatures scuttled through the undergrowth. Through the leaves and branches above, a little bit of golden light filtered through. Just enough to make out the ground around him through the surrounding gloom. While he would not say that the forest was dark, it was obvious he was deep in the old growth of the forest and the area would never be truly well lit. Deep shadows were a constant around him, making it hard to tell what might be hidden in their umbral depths.

None of that was truly strange though. It was vaguely creepy, praying on his more animalistic instincts and awakening instinctual fears of being stalked, but not strange for a forest seemingly untouched by humanity. No, the only truly strange thing in this forest was the temperature. The plants around him looked to be in the full flowery growth and majesty of late spring or early summer, but Elijah could feel a deep chill that seemed to force itself into his bones. Even walking into one of the rare beams of pure sunlight that managed to break through the canopy above didn’t dispel the chill.

He wasn’t truly cold, at least not enough to make him fear hypothermia or frostbite, but it was a late fall chill. The type that cut through whatever light jacket you were wearing and warned you of winter just around the corner while sending a shiver rushing down your spine. It was also clearly supernatural in origin, as his heavy winter coat did nothing to prevent the chill. The frigid aura was quickly causing his skin to goosebump, but, once again showing the unnaturalness of the sensation, his breath did not cloud the air in front of him.

Elijah was tempted to activate his Blooddrinker Armor for added safety, but the constant mental drain of the armor consuming his Mana made him hold off for the time being. Better to save it for when a more obvious threat presented itself. For now, best to start securing resources. Water and shelter were his primary concerns, food would come after that. Anything else was of tertiary importance for the time being. No telling how long he would be lost in this forest.

With this in mind, Elijah began walking. Initially he followed his training on how to properly find your way through a forest without accidentally walking in giant circles, however he soon discovered these precautions were unnecessary. The chill he felt had the very strange property of being directional, like some kind of magical version of hot and cold. As he had trekked through the forest, he had felt the coldest part of his body move from his shoulder toward his back, an unwavering thread leading back toward something.

The real question then became, should he walk toward or away from the source? Walking toward it would almost certainly mean greater danger, The Voice had called this place a “death trap” and the source was obviously something important, dangerous, or both. The Voice had also said this place was an opportunity though, and an opportunity usually meant people trying to seize it. It might be his best chance of finding someone, anyone, else. And really, what better choice did he have? Keep walking in a straight line until he eventually left this forest, no idea where the closest town might be? All while having no idea how big this forest was?

At worst he could just walk toward this source until things became too dangerous for his liking, then he could turn around and walk away. His brief exploration of the forest so far showed there were plenty of animals like rabbits and squirrels he could kill for food and he’d seen several small streams so far. In fact, he had been just about to sit down and figure out how to best allocate his remaining points now that he knew what kind of situation he was in. Specifically, he had plans to get a canteen and some form of water purifier.

It hurt spending sixteen of his remaining seventeen points, but was worth it to prepare himself for heading deeper into the woods. Most of the points went to a large canteen that was enchanted with a water purification spell, but he was still able to pick up some other useful items. A simple sleeping bag that could be hung over his shoulder like a sling bag when rolled up, a lighter, and rope were Elijah’s other acquisitions. At this point, He slightly regretted not getting a proper bag to carry everything in, but it was really a chicken or the egg situation. If he had purchased the bag, he wouldn’t have had the points to but the things he needed the bag to carry. For the time being he would just have to deal with a slight bulkiness and work on collecting some points to fix the situation.

Pockets bulging like a squirrel’s cheeks with his equipment, Elijah began working his way toward the source of the chill. When he passed a stream a short while later, he paused briefly to fill his canteen. Other then that brief interruption, his walk continued for what he estimated to be several hours. He couldn’t be entirely sure as he had turned his phone off upon first arriving to save what battery remained and had apparently not been wearing his watch at the time of his death. Not that the thing would have necessarily told him anything, who knew what kind of timezone he was in. Based off the movement of the sun so far though, it would be dark fairly soon. An hour or two maximum if he was correct in how long he had been walking.

For a supposed death trap, this place had been very peaceful. Throughout the day the only violence he had encountered had been inflicted by his own hand upon the local wildlife. He had tested his Blood Roil Aura on a couple rabbits he had seen in his path, hoping to use it to secure dinner for himself, and it had not disappointed. When the red circle appeared at his feet, rapidly expanding outward until the rings edge passed the bunnies, they had quickly tried to flee. Unfortunately for them, neither had been able to do more than sprawl and trip in a drunken meander in a desperate retreat. Slightly sickened by the obvious fear of the creatures, but also needing to eat, he had quickly used the short sword to put them out of their misery. The entire thing had felt vaguely villainous to him. Still, his survival came first and the rabbits were the only food he had found for himself. On the plus side, this approach was far faster than traditional hunting and was ideal for optimizing his use of time and allowing him to spend as much time advancing toward the source as possible. Much too fast to give it up for a different method.

Focusing back on the present, Elijah began whistling happily to some half-remembered pop song that had been popular for the last year as he began searching for the nights shelter. The rabbits were a comfortable weight hanging from his belt with small pieces of his purchased rope. While the three already there promised a full stomach and no immediate fear for his food supply, the entire experience had meant more then that. As he had observed throughout the day, the forest was positively teeming with life. With such an effective hunting strategy and so much potential prey, he had no fear for his long-term ability to feed himself.

#

Eventually, Elijah found a promising camp site. An old tree with a large split about ten feet up its trunk. The trunk of the mighty tree was very wide at its base and the split only served to increase the available space as the trunk divided into four large branches that continued upward into the canopy. He could easily sit in that fork, leaning back on one of the less vertical branches, and be safe from any predators on the ground below. He had passed a stream not far back, maybe fifteen or so minutes ago, and the fast-flowing water had offered a fantastic spot to cook his meal. Close enough he could easily access it, far enough away he didn’t have to worry overly much about it attracting predators to his chosen sleeping spot.

Knowing enough not to keep food at a campsite, Elijah turned around rather than approach the tree. The supernatural chill at his back, he began working back toward the stream. The tree had been rather distinct in its width, he should be able to easily pick it out on the way back without making any special arrangements. It had also been taller than many of its neighbors and situated on a small hill. He could almost imagine it as an individual standing on tiptoes in a crowd of people, hoping to catch a glimpse of the area around it.

He debated attempting to climb to the top to scout the area around him when he got back, but decided the idea was untenable. The upper branches were likely too thin for him to feel safe going out on them and the thick canopy of the surrounding trees would probably hide anything of note anyway. He would keep the option in mind in case he found himself in a more desperate situation, but right now a broken limb from a bad fall was not something he was willing to risk.

#

Soon enough, the sound of running water could be heard and a small brook could be seen flowing through the forest ahead of him. The water was shallow, barely even two feet at its deepest, and clear enough to easily see the pebbles and sand that lined the bottom. A large shale shelf lined the bank on his side, separated from the water itself by a good two or three feet of mud. Further up the stream Elijah could make out the rocks he had used to initially cross from one side to the other. He had been trying to stay as dry as possible at the time, fearing exacerbating the effects of the strange chill invading the otherwise pleasant weather. This time though, he wanted easy access to water so he could clean up after he butchered the rabbits and had no plans on crossing.

Working quickly, he found some extra stones to build up a fire ring on top of the shale ledge. He proceeded to create a small fire using branches and leaves he scrounged from the surrounding forests, then whittled a spit out of a few larger sticks and two relatively straight branches he cut from a tree and peeled the bark off of. The green wood hopefully wouldn’t burn and drop his dinner into the flames below. Following his cookware preparation, he skinned and cleaned the rabbits as best he could. While not completely new to the process, it had been almost a decade since he last went on a hunting trip and the result was not the best. He had wasted a lot more meat than he meant to. Then again, distrust in his own butchering skill was part of why he had killed more than one rabbit.

He washed the carcass with purified water from his canteen, stuck them on the spit, and placed them over the fire. The skin, offal, and other remains he proceeded a short distance into the forest with, then buried at the base of a tree. That was not the most fun for him, as he did not have a shovel or an implement to carry the various remaining parts of the rabbit. He had to do both with his bare hands. Returning to the creek, he walked a little way down stream before proceeding to heavily scrub his hands. He then returned to his makeshift cook site and refilled the canteen with fresh water, giving the enchantment a moment to do its job.

As he sipped on the water, he couldn’t help but reflect on his day so far. It was slightly unnerving how easy it had all been. A walk through a forest teeming with beauty, easy to catch dinner, and accessible water everywhere. It honestly hadn’t even been that difficult to find a safe place to spend the night.

“Suppose it’s best not to tempt fate by bellyaching over easy travels. Still, I will feel better when I find this supposed danger I’m being asked to face. Soon enough I will be jumping at shadows expecting the worst. That or I’ll get so comfortable that I won’t even know it when something shows up to kill me.”

The rabbit meat ended up bland and a little burnt, but Elijah was hungry enough that that barely mattered. His ravenous appetite meant he consumed the first and about half the second rabbit before his stomach was satisfied. Probably should avoid bringing any food back to the campsite huh? Reluctantly abandoning the last of the second rabbit to scavengers, Elijah once more washed himself off using water from the stream. Then, figuring that this moment was as good of an opportunity as any, he shucked off his shirt and splashed down his upper body, quickly removing the worst of the day’s sweat and grime. He did this quickly, as the sun was rapidly setting and he did not want to try to find his way around in the dark. Satisfied with his quick rinse, Elijah packed up and found his way back to the tree. Quickly making his way up into the safety of the branches, he crawled into his sleeping bag tied himself loosely to the nearest branch to prevent himself rolling out of the tree. Stomach full and overall content with the events of the day, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

#

His rest didn’t last long. As far as he could tell it was the tail end of twilight, the horizon still looking a little grey as the very last of the sun’s light found its way into the nighttime sky. In that darkness, something was screaming. It was a bone-chilling, high pitched shriek of pain, like a child being murdered. The shriek was quickly joined by other similar screams, until it sounded like they were coming from all around him. Different cries soon created a veritable symphony of pain as seemingly the forest itself worked to make its pain known. Everything from the roars of large predators to the squawks of birds and even squeaking from mice, rats, and other small rodents hiding in the underbrush. All seemingly suffering the greatest pain of their existence.