It was evening by the time that the two adventurers made it back to the humble mountain village. The sky was already giving itself over to stars, and there was a bite of chill to the air.

“We’ll collect that money, then check in at the Inn,” Dargan said as they made their way down the final stretch of a lane that lead to the back of the Woodville houses. It had turned out that the dwarf Dargan was quite an eager talker, and, although at first that had made Connor frustrated, he had to admit that it was nice to be adventuring with someone again.

Dargan was enthusiastic, brave, and optimistic, and spent half of the journey telling Connor how he was going to be legendary, one day. He was going to be a giant killer, which was apparently one of the most important things for a dwarf to become.

Connor didn’t really have much to offer in return in the way of half-elf culture. From what he had gleaned, the story of his chosen race was one of being outcasts, hated by elves and humans alike.

“Yeah, in it to win it, right?” Dargan had crowed. “But I’ll be glad to get back to the Inn. There’s an option there to save and log out, you see…”

Oh, you’re a player too, Connor thought, though he had kinda guessed that already. There was no way that a non-player-character would be this chatty.

“Hm,” Connor nodded, pleased for the information, at least. “You noticed the problem with logging out, then too, huh?”

Dargan looked up at him as they passed the first of the peasant’s homes toward the main road of Woodville itself. Connor was sure that he detected a moment of panic, quickly covered over by a snort of blustery good humor.

“Oh that? Yeah, I figured it was just a feature for the start of the game. Kinda forcing you to log-out through the Inn so you’ve always got a place to re-spawn from?” Connor watched as the dwarf shrugged like it was no big deal.

“Yeah, it’s a bit restrictive, isn’t it? A bit too much hand-holding, in my opinion, but I expect the game gets a lot freer after that. Tir’Nan’Og is just showing us the ropes during the first few levels, right?” the dwarf said, continuing unabashedly. “And wow, I’ve never seen a game like this. Seriously, check out that reality definition! Have you ever played anything even remotely as real as this? I can literally smell and taste things in here!”

He was right, Connor had to admit. The game was indeed, impressive.

Which was another reason why I have to get to Mr. Grey and renegotiate my price! He thought as they stepped out onto the main street.

They instantly noticed that something was wrong.

“It’s uh, it’s very quiet, don’t you think?” Dargan clomped his heavy, steel plated boots, right beside him.

The dwarf was right, Connor saw. The entire village in front of them appeared to be deserted. No people in the streets, even though the sun was only just about to set. No horses or carriages, nothing.

Suddenly, they heard a distant, muffled shout, coming from further up ahead.

“That’s the Main Plaza,” Dargan said, already striding forward, with one hand moving to pull the war hammer from his back.

“That’s the Lucky Dragon, you mean,” Connor said, quickly following suit.

The sounds of alarm only increased by the time that they got to the Main Plaza, only to find that just like the rest of Woodville, the central well and the opposite streets were deserted. There was a large crowd of people assembled at the doors to the Lucky Dragon Inn, though, and they were getting rowdier and rowdier. Connor spied at least two more dwarves in the mix, alongside a wide variety of would-be heroes, rogues, and ne’er’do’wells.

“Adventurers always have a certain look about them, don’t you think?” Connor grumbled, noting how he saw at least one apparent shirtless barbarian, another human fighter dressed all in black, several warriors with long hair tied back, at least one other halfling, and a cleric or two. And they all appeared to be panicked about something.

“What is it? What’s going on, friends? You sound as though the Gates of Hell themselves have broken open!” Dargan waded into the crowd, easily moving—and shoving—his way through the crowd.

Definitely a tank, Connor thought to himself as he squeezed through the throng behind the dwarf, taking advantage of the space he was making.

“Look! It’s the game – the game!” someone was shouting as Dargan and Connor pushed their way through the door, for a hush to fall through the crowd.

“What do you mean?” Someone from the back started to grumble, an adventurer who clearly didn’t have as much information.

“What the heck…” Connor heard Dargan whisper, as the dwarf stopped in front of the giant noticeboard that was just inside the main door of the Tavern.

‘Need Work? Find the Ranger-Marshal, Gustav H. Fenwalker.’

‘Elvish unrest reported at Bluster Point!’

‘Party needed to investigate…’

There were numerous notices pinned to the board, but Connor was sure that none of them were what had upset so many people.

No, that dubious honor would surely have to be reserved for the central message, black ink inscribed over parchment.

‘New Legend-wide proclamation! All adventurers and citizens are respectfully advised that the Six Realms have come under the management of Lord Pwyll of Annwn. Saving, re-spawning, and logging out are no longer available. Welcome to the Six Realms. Can you escape? To do so, you will need to conquer all Six Realms!’

“What!?” Connor froze in place, and the hubbub and angry shouts around him faded as he concentrated fiercely on his own thoughts. “Who was this Lord Pwyll fellow?” He grumbled. He stared at the notice for several long moments before things started to fall into place.

Hadn’t the Fey Warriors he’d fought mentioned the name?

Only In, now, the Faun had said.

The changeover is almost complete, the Fey Warriors had also said.

Connor didn’t understand what was going on, but he knew that whatever it was, it was something that was terribly, terribly wrong. He, like most of the other adventurers standing there, quickly scrambled for their backpacks and their own small guidebooks, searching for any updated advice as to whether it was true or not.

Logging-Out, Saving, & Re-spawning.

UPDATE:

Since the successful connection between the Realm of Annwn and the Legends of the Six Realms, several things have now changed. Previously, a few, rare artifacts or spells allowed players to respawn (grant a second life). However, all of those functions have since been disabled. Logging out is disabled. To exit the game, you will need to pass through all 6 Realms. The ability to save the game at a desired position and return when needed, is also disabled as there is no way to disconnect. The combined worlds of Legends of the Six Realm and Annwn are now a real-time, real-threat experience. All deaths are, therefore, permanent.

“Annwn? What the heck is this Realm of Annwn!?” Connor asked, his voice joining the cacophony. He could hear that several other of the adventurers behind him had started to loudly speculate about what this Realm of Annwn could be. Some side adventure? A hidden realm in the game? An easter-egg or entire mini-game?

Whatever it was, this really wasn’t funny, Connor thought.

“And just what does it mean when it says that all deaths are permanent!?” He heard someone in the Inn’s grounds outside shouting.

That particular shouter, the tall half-naked barbarian, got to experience first-hand just what that meant a second later, as there was a sharp, ripping sound, followed by a wet gurgle

The barbarian adventurer suddenly slumped to the floor, the head of a black arrow protruding from his neck.