“Ahh!” He awoke with a fright, his body convulsing as flames charred his flesh -- or so he thought. He gazed around only to find himself in a small room. Upon closer inspection it looked like a cabin, the scent of old wood oil lingered in the air along with the staleness of unbothered, unmoved air. As he sat up and continued to look about the room he wondered if the sensation of flames melting his eyeballs had all been a terrible dream. He was ready to dismiss it as such when he looked down at his forearms. The marking of barb wire wraps gouging out his flesh remained, though the wounds were now healed over with seared scabbing. The same was true of his feet and lower legs as well.

His body was covered in sweat, a fact he soon took note of as a chill overcame him. Dressed in little more than a waist cloth he slowly began to awaken to his senses once more. Hearing, the sound of air currents wafting into the room -- otherwise filled with a dead silence. Taste, the metallic flavor of blood in his mouth. Touch, the throbbing pain on his tongue, arms and feet from the newly inflicted wounds he’d sustained.

A plain text alert with stylized letters floated before him, almost like a hologram. He reached out to touch the text, only to find that the writing itself was a part of his sight rather than a projection.

“Search the cabin.” The next alert appeared shortly after the first faded away.

Slowly, steadily, he got to his feet. The weight of his own body was enough to send a slight pain shooting up his thigh. It was then he noticed a small, red bar near the top left of the HUD. It flashed for a moment, a miniscule portion of the bar turning yellow before it fell away.

He took a moment to adjust to the sensations running through his body, the most prominent was pain. His hands and forearms particularly, where the barb wire had ripped his flesh several inches deep were most sensitive. Though the wounds were healed for the most part there were deep indentations where gouges of his flesh had been sliced and torn away in his struggle to escape imprisonment. He ran the tips of his fingers over his forearm in lamentation before biting his lip. Lingering on the past would do little good, especially after finding himself in a strange, foreign place such as this.

The room was completely dark, save for moonlight which shone in from a nearby window. He could make out the faint shadows of a bed, a table, a chest and several other items like chairs and desks thanks to this. He decided to go for the most obvious choice -- the chest.

“A blade.” He thought to himself as he took note of the hilt of a bastard sword, only to then notice that the blade was broken.

“Broken Blade” A tooltip appeared as he picked up the weapon and turned it over in his hand. He decided to take the weapon with him, after all the blade was thick and in good condition for the most part. It was a little over a meter long, which made him wonder how the completed blade would look. Along with the blade, the hilt was also broken on one side -- in all reality the weapon could best be used as a short sword. It’s heft was the only downside, he waved the blade around a few times to get a feel for it and quickly realized it would take some getting used to.

Also within the chest he found a cloak. It had holes in several places and its edges were tattered, other than this it was a good addition--it even had a hood to warm his head. He also found an old leather waist pack. These three items were in great condition given the state of the old cabin. They had no doubt been sitting around just as long as the structure itself.

He had no sooner draped and fastened the cloak over his shoulders when he heard a sound which gave him pause. It was more like shuffling, or perhaps tapping -- he couldn’t place it but the noise was enough to draw his attention to his rear. He turned quickly, quietly, as he gazed into the darkness. He strained his eyes with all of his might in an effort to determine what, if anything was moving in the shadows but after several tense seconds he dismissed it as the cabin settling.

He next turned his attention to a nearby desk. There atop the wooden surface he spotted several small vials. He lifted one to his nostrils and took a small sniff. A sweet smelling residue remained on the vial interior, simply sniffing it made his mouth salivate. He fiddled around with the vials, hoping to gain clarity into their purpose but it wasn’t until he found a half filled vial that he got the information he desired.

“Vitality Potion” The tooltip supplied.

He placed it into his waist pack and searched the desk for more but of the nine vials there, all but one had been used. As he glanced at the old papers on the desk and rummaged through the draws once again he heard a noise, this time to his right. Rather than the sound of rustling it reminded him of creaking wood. Of course he gave it a moment’s attention but again dismissed it. He’d found something much more interesting pushed up against the cabin wall at the rear of the desktop.

“Oil Lantern” He inspected it carefully and noticed that it was one third full with lamp oil, the wick singed black near the tip. It would be difficult to carry anymore as his Broken Blade must be carried as well. After fumbling about on the desk a few minutes more he came across a crude lighter. A strange device that allowed him to squeeze a handle to generate a spark perfect for kindling. He placed his blade on the desk and quickly twist-crinkled a sheet of parchment so that he could light the lamp.

“Perfect.” He thought to himself as the flame flickered warmly within the confines of the lamp. He would now be free to explore the rest of the room without trouble -- or so he thought. Something told him to venture a look to his right, perhaps instinct or a sixth sense. He held the lantern up at chest height and gazed into the corner of the cabin. For a second he was perplexed as eight flickering flames danced before him - almost as if they were trapped in pools of black tar. It took a moment for him to register what he was looking at, and in that second the creature shuffled its hairy legs and attacked in one swift leap.