Doc turned about-face to see the newly-opened hallway leading from his cell. One way out, only. “Time for this First Human Shaman Healer to get his Nine Mountains on”, Doc said to himself in a barely audible mumble. His speech activated the sub-vocal dictation mode of his UI and he saw his words appear in a comms prompt on the left side of his UI periphery. With one last glance around the cell, Doc proceeded slowly into the dark hallway, still instinctively reaching for his absent rifle.

As he moved into the corridor, he heard the door slide shut behind him. A dim orange light further down the hall gradually became visible. Doc moved slowly towards the light and after some 20 meters, Doc could see that the narrow hall led into a room where the orange light could be seen flickering against the far wall—like a campfire illuminating its immediate surroundings.

Before entering the room, Doc attempted to “slice the pie” by pressing himself against the wall on the left side of the corridor. Approximately two meters before the hallway’s doorless entry into the room, Doc gradually moved across the width of the hall, bringing segments of the room into view as he crept. This slow, tactical movement gave him a safe view of approximately one quarter of the room prior to entry.

The source of the light inside the room looked like an old-fashioned oil lamp. On the opposite side of the room from him was a similar hallway which exited the antechamber. Doc could see unmoving legs of a prone single individual lying supine adjacent to the lantern. There was a yellow halo showing around the figure in his UI, indicating that he was confirmed neither as friend nor foe. Not just lamplight.

Drawing closer to the entrance and continuing to steal peaks into the room as it opened before him, Doc was satisfied that there was only one individual in the room—the motionless prone figure by the lantern. A male it looked like—Doc could see a bushy beard.

There was a primitive weapon at the guy’s left side, a large crossbow made of some sort of composite material. The crossbow was cocked with a bolt loaded. The tip of the bolt pulsed in the flickering light, perhaps iron. Or maybe the UI was drawing his attention to the sharp end of the weapon. Thanks, I know what crossbows do. Doc, thought to himself.

Stepping into the room, Doc was taken aback by sudden sensory input. He could smell the acrid fumes from the oil lamp. He had never smelled anything in the VR simulations before. And boy could he smell the dude on the floor, now appearing as a very short bearded male with abnormally short legs and stout upper body. Well under five feet tall, maybe four and half, Doc also noted caked blood on his hands, neck, face and beard. Injured and unconscious, Doc thought and began the process of triaging and evaluating his new patient. Doc began to dictate a log entry in sub-vocal mode, emitting only a whisper.

“Male, approximately 4.5 feet in height, abnormally heavy build for that height, approximately 180 pounds, proportions of limbs suggest individual may be affected by dwarfism. Seems to be dressed in leather and mammal hides. Strong odor emanating from the body, EtOH present,” Doc used the medical term for ethanol, indicating probable alchohol intoxication. Doc gingerly picked up the crossbow and moved it against the nearest wall. He then examined the hands and fingernails of his patent and continued his dictation “terrible hygiene,” then taking a pulse reading from the neck and left wrist, “low heart rate, approximately 50 beats per minute. Hands clasped about thoracic area, congealed blood present on skin and facial hair, potential wounds to rib cage, possible pneumothorax.” Doc was concerned of a possible sucking chest wound. “The subject is breathing but appears unconscious, whoa shit…” the guy moved, eyes suddenly open, staring at Doc, with weak, pleading eyes.

Doc withdrew quickly into a crouch. This short, shaggy, medieval freak had a booming voice, with an accent he couldn’t place. “First human,” he said. “I request hospitality.” A prompt appeared on his UI:

Language: Old Norse

“Who are you?” Doc asked firmly, “and what happened to you?”

“I am Mjuulborn of the Baugi Dwarves, mightiest clan of Mount Skadi. I seek hospitality from you, first human.” The name was pronounced mule-born. The plea for hospitality was expressed with urgency. Doc gestured towards the chest wounds. “I was…bitten,” Mjuulborn growled.

This put Doc at ease somewhat. “Ok mule-guy you were attacked by an animal,” Doc replied “and I can help you with that. As far as hospitality goes, this is actually not my house but I’ll patch you up, just let me take a look at those wounds.” Mjuulborn stared at him, waiting expectantly. “And sure I offer you hospitality, feel better? Yeah? Call me Doc.”

Mjuulborn grinned in response and let out a delighted roar of delighted which ended in heavy coughs and (more) bloody sputum on his beard, which was not at all delightful to behold. Mjuulborn said to Doc, “First humans are strong and honorable. Your kind has not been in the Nine Mountains for many seasons, very many. Here, we drink this.” Mjuulborn extended what appeared to be a flask made from tanned animal hide.

“What’s in that thing?” Doc asked.

Mjuulborn seemed to offer a wink, which was only partially executed due to scar tissue and partial paralysis along the brow bone and upper eyelid. He blurted,“Strong mead, hahaha!”

Doc found himself staring into Mjuulborn’s face, examining his facial features. The pronounced supraorbital ridge of his forehead gave him something of a Neanderthal-like appearance. Perhaps associated with expanded sinus cavity evolved from acclimation to extremely cold climates, he hypothesized. Doc had to shake himself out of an awkward stare-off as he considered this. “Uh, no thanks on the mead, Mjuul-ster. Let me have a look at those wounds.”

Doc reached for his corpsman medical kit, usually carried in a backpack with one or two straps, depending on what else he was hauling. Doc was never far from it. Even when they went to Spanky’s, it was in the back of his truck, ready to zap inebriated Marines with electrolytes and stitch-up bar fight injuries on the down-low. The corpsman’s kit was replete with personal protective equipment, assessment tools, even trauma supplies that could maintain a damaged or severed artery. Plus medications, of course. Strictly over the counter.

Like his M4 rifle, corpsman’s kit also not present. Doc cursed. What was he supposed to treat this little caveman with? Doc began pulling away pieces of torn leather clothing from Mjuulborn’s upper body, exposing deep lacerations on the left side of his chest, along the ribcage. There were also puncture wounds along his collarbone, consistent with the bite of a large animal that was clawing at him while biting. The nature of the wounds were consistent with an attack from an animal like a large mountain lion. He had seen such injuries during his internship at a hospital in San Diego, California.

Doc looked at the wounds and then the glazed look in Mjuulborn’s eyes. He seemed barely lucid. The mead that he kept swigging at wasn’t helping. The dwarf (a freaking dwarf, Doc thought, seriously?) had lost a considerable amount of blood and Doc badly needed a hemostatic dressing and chest injury seals, not to mention gloves, disinfectant and antibiotics.

“What kind of an animal was this?” The claw-like lacerations were particularly deep and the bite marks looked canine, maybe not a mountain lion in fact.

“Wolf. Big wolf hehehe.” Mjuulborn replied with a growl and then pointed to the hallway exiting the antechamber.

“And how much can you bench by the way? Dude you are ripped.” Doc noted the exceptionally developed pectoral, biceps and trapezius muscles.

Doc looked into the dark hallway and then around the room again. It was as bare as the cell he was in before, save for Mjuulborn and the flickering lamp. Doc noted that the light from the lamp appeared to be dimming. Mjuulborn seemed to have noted this as well. “The wolf fears the light. When the light is gone, she will come in for the kill. She will come for both of us, Doc the first human. Then that will be the end.” Mjuulborn took another swig of strong mead, which was starting to look tempting, but the dwarf was no longer feeling generous, apparently.

Doc switched his attention back to his UI, which was all he had actually. He scolded himself for not examining it earlier. Too caught up in the vivid dwarf encounter. Why are they training me on virtual dwarves? No real dwarves in Jacksonville? Doc tried to put the thought out of his mind. Focus.

Doc scrolled through options with practice eye and tongue movements. Most of the functions such as map, drone imagery, team vitals, comms were unavailable. But one prompt was blinking, awaiting his attention:

Cast: Light of laeknir (Shaman, Sun)

Well that’s it then, Doc thought. “Fuck it I cast light of laeknir”, he selected the prompt. Immediately, a bright light shone from the ceiling. Just sunlight totally appearing out of nowhere. Warm and reassuring like sunlight, but more pale. Mjuulborn squinted at the sudden brilliance. Doc’s hands were illuminated as well. Instinctively, he felt a power inside of him, waiting to burst out. He wanted to share the feeling with this strange, needy creature. Doc laid both hands on Mjuulborn’s torn chest and punctured shoulder and in seconds the wounds had closed.

“Un-fucking believable.” Doc gasped, releasing his hands. He felt elated but strangely drained. Another prompt drew his attention:

Mana: 30/60

Mjuulborn grasped Doc’s hands with his own, proclaiming: “You are a healer. I did not know the first humans had your kind. The Gods have sent you to aid the dwarves. We are brothers now.” Mjuulborn stood, picking up his crossbow and emanating a new vigor. The once yellow halo surrounding Mjuulborn in Doc’s UI now switched to green. The dwarf was a friendly now. “Now let’s go kill that wolf.”

The map interface in Doc’s UI activated and he could see his own location within the square antechamber, adjacent to the green orb emboldened with the moniker ‘MJ’, for Mjuulborn apparently. Beyond the exit corridor and amongst the undefined gray matte background of the unexplored map was a lone blinking red object.