Jake opened his eyes to a pale blue sky scattered with fluffy white clouds. He could feel the moisture on the grass beneath him against his skin and decided it must be early in the morning. Birds were singing somewhere nearby, a cheerful melody to welcome him to this world.

He sat up slowly and turned his attention from the scenery to his body. His arms looked exactly as they did in the real world, but his clothing was alien to him. His pants reached only halfway down his shins, and were made from a coarse fabric that reminded him of a sack. His shirt was made from the same material, and featured an uneven v-neck that plunged halfway down his chest. The sleeves were short, barely reaching the midpoint of his biceps. A hempen cord was tightened around his waist, giving the loose cut of his shirt some shape. A small pouch was tied to the belt, like an old coin purse. Curious, Jake pressed a hand against it. A translucent square appeared next to the pouch, with a small gold coin icon in the middle next to the numeral six. Jake took that to mean he had just six gold coins to his name, and he had no idea how much spending power that gave him. Given his attire, he had to assume it wasn’t much.

A club lay on the ground beside him - a crude lump of wood with leather strapping around the slender end. On his other side was a round wooden buckler, about a foot in diameter. It was lying shield-side down on the ground, two loops of leather reaching toward the sky. It didn’t take a genius to work out that the loops were to affix the shield to his arm.

Before taking the items, Jake slowly rose to his feet.

He took a moment to look around. He was standing in a small clearing a few meters from a dirt path. In one direction the path soon curved out of view behind a stand of trees. In the other, Jake could just make out what looked like some smoke rising from a chimney in the distance. His little clearing was flanked on two sides by the same tall trees that lined the path in both directions, Oaks perhaps. Something triggered in the back of his mind. A sense of deja vu - like when you walk into a room but forgot what you’d come for. Jake wasn’t even sure what had triggered the thought, but it seemed like the tree was important somehow. He struggled with the thought for a few moments longer, but it was like trying to catch water with a sieve. Whatever it was, it can’t have been important - surely he’d remember if it were.

Jake turned his attention to the side of the clearing opposite the path. A thin stream meandered by, seeming to follow along beside the dirt trail in both directions. It was flowing slowly away from the village, going just fast enough to prevent stagnant pools from forming.

Jake took a step towards it, suddenly thirsty. He realised he wasn’t wearing any shoes - the moist grass was surprisingly soft against his bare feet. There didn’t appear to be any shoes in the clearing either, it seemed he’d be proceeding to the village barefoot.

The stream was cool and refreshing as he cupped his hands to drink. He could taste a hint of the mud from the stream bed, but it wasn’t unpleasant. With his thirst now quenched, he returned to gather his weapons. As he picked up the wooden staff a translucent prompt appeared just below the centre of his vision:

Simple wooden club

3-6 bashing damage

9/10 durability

The prompt remained in his vision until Jake willed it to leave, at which point it faded from view. He picked up the shield, sliding it onto his left arm.

Simple wooden shield

+1 physical defence

8/10 durability

Satisfied with his new items, Jake turned onto the path. He studied both directions once again but couldn’t see anyone around. There were tracks aplenty - foot and hoof prints, long thing lines that must have been left by passing carts - but Jake had no idea how fresh they were.

Figuring civilisation would be his best bet, Jake started toward the village.