Our dinner was eaten in sullen silence. I kept my eye on the horses just in case they should wander too far. They seemed content to pick amongst the undergrowth for flowers and mushrooms. My first instinct was to panic, but seeing Sun glance their way without concern as they gnawed at the fungi told me all was well.

The salted pork was astringent enough to have my eyes watering. My poor tongue felt like a snail doused in salt. I had to drink a mouthful of water for eat bite of the meat. I could feel my blood pressure rising from the astronomical intake of sodium. It was little wonder people in these times barely made it past thirty.

The cheese and hard bread were a welcome relief to my tastebuds, which I never thought I’d say. I nibbled at the small chunk like a mouse, savouring the tang while breathing fully through my mouth. The pungency of the cheese was eager to ruin my enjoyment by drifting up my nose.

“I’ve been thinking,” Sun said, catching me off guard.

I took a snootful of the cheddar stink and my stomach roiled. I laid the unfinished lump aside. “Me too. I’m sorry I laid something like that on you. It was unfair.”

“I want to know more. You say this is a game to you? Like the snatch skulls we barbarians play?”

“I don’t even want to know what that is, but yeah. In our world, we have things called computers that can generate different worlds. You can fly. You can be a wizard. You can take on hordes of zombies, all from the comfort of your bedroom. Imagine all of this, but you see it through a screen, a window, and you can interact with it without ever actually being there.” Fuck me, trying to explain the intricacies of gaming to a people who could die from an infected scratch was really hard.

Sun gave it some deep thought. “So the worlds on your computers, they’re like mine?”

“Yes and no. We have games where we play as sword wielding warriors, but they’re far more basic. This place is infinitely more detailed and involved. We don’t have the ability to smell, touch, taste. We can only see and hear the game world.”

“Does that not serve to prove that this isn’t just a game? I can see you. I can hear you. I could feel you if I so wished. You yourself admit to taste and smell judging by the faces you’ve pulled while eating.”

She was unbelievably cogent in her thinking. My own mind had readily accepted the arrival of the aliens because humanity had reached a point where our thoughts were moving beyond the limits of our own planet. For a relatively primitive, medieval dwelling warrior, it was incredible. Or was it? Sun was, after all, a construct of the game. It wouldn’t work too well if the characters were all moon worshipping cultists who saw omens in the changing position of their luminous, white deity. I had the same feeling of conflict that I’d suffered in the dungeon. The knowledge imparted by Bart was hard for my psyche to acknowledge when everything in my body was telling me this was real. I was going round in circles again, just when I was trying to put myself on an even keel.

“It can’t be real. They told me it wasn’t real.”

“They who?”

Time to set the cat amongst the pigeons. “The beings who sent me here.”

She clapped her hands, drawing aggravated snorts from the startled horses. “So you are Godspawn! I knew it!”

“I’m…” Before I could deny it, was it so far from the truth? I’d been spawned in this world by beings with the power of gods. “I guess I am.”

“That’s how you can conjure torches from nowhere!”

“I suppose so.”

“I watched a jester at court once. He had coloured cloth that seemed to vanish inside his hands. I found them up his sleeve when I ripped it off. Foolish man.”

“I don’t think the torches would fit up my sleeves.”

“They might,” she argued, “but you’d be horribly burned by them. That’s not to mention how you can hide your companions.”

“Do you believe me then?” I asked.

“That I’m just a thing in a game?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course not. I’ve lived a life. My memories are my own. They’re not dreams put there by your gods.”

This was getting us nowhere and my head was hurting. I decided to bring up the topic of a newly flashing tab that had appeared in one of the empty boxes of my HUD. The Party option had changed Sun’s icon from the blue of friendly to the green of a potential fully interactive team member. “I’ve got something I can use on you. I suppose it’s like a spell.”

“What does it do?”

“All it says is that it will allow you to grow stronger in the same way I do. We call it levelling up.”

“I’m already strong,” she argued.

“I know that. But you can be a lot stronger. The trick where I can make things appear out of nowhere? You’ll have that too.”

“And this is a gift from your gods? One that you can bestow on me?”

That was a pretty good summation. “Yeah. Eventually you’ll be unstoppable.”

She tore off a hunk of pork while she considered my offer. As she turned to look at me, my quest icon began to flash. “Ok, I’ll do it, but first I want to tell you a story. Before this war is done, I’d like to beg your help.”

“Go for it.”

“My name is Sunlith. I was daughter to Thorberg Wolfkin, clan leader of the Lothia Fjord. We fished from the waters and we mined from the mountains around us. It was a hard life, but we were accustomed to it.”

“If I may interrupt? On our world, barbarians usually fought instead of toiled.”

“We did both. The armies of Milton Dawnstar never made war against us. The same can’t be said for the ogre kingdoms of Azor. Their attacks were frequent, and brutal. Many bloodlines were cut short by the vile flesh eaters. For centuries this had been the way of things. They would strike, we would counter. Enough blood was spilled on both sides to fill the oceans. That changed when Dhaulf came of age.”

“Bearbane? The one who united your people?”

“In my culture, the only way to unite is to conquer,” Sun growled, her jaw clenching in anger. “We’ll come back to that. Dhaulf was a warrior without home. The fjord of his people had been crushed many years before and was now a place of only ghosts and grief. He drew all likeminded nomads to his cause, creating an army the likes of which we’d never seen. As was the way of things, we were attacked in the spring. The ogres were killed to the last man. Dhaulf then did what no warchief had done before; he invaded Azor. They put a hundred villages to the torch before the ogre leaders sued for peace. Dhaulf razed twenty more before accepting their eternal vassalage.”

“You had peace?”

“For the first time in many generations. Our ancient enemy was now enslaved. It was at that point Dhaulf’s gaze turned to Kherrash. A gathering of clan leaders was called in Dhaulf’s newly rebuilt fortress. My father and mother went. They never returned.” A flicker of sadness passed over her. Raking her leather gauntlet across her face wiped the weakness away and her eyes blazed with hatred.

“I’m so sorry, Sun. Did he…”

“Kill them? Most likely. Anyone who argued against going to war with the Dawnstar Alliance were never heard from again. It was during the preparation for the first attack that I escaped and brought news to Randulf. I betrayed my own people…”

“You did the right thing. It was Dhaulf who betrayed your people.”

Sun gathered herself and smiled sadly. “So there you have it. The traitorous barbarian girl who turned her back on her kin. Are you still sure you want me as your companion?”

“You turned your back on a warmonger. There’s a difference.”

“My people still died in their hundreds during the first attack. If I hadn’t warned Randulf, they would’ve swept over this land until goblin and barbarian met to the west of the Barrowlands.”

“And thousands of people in places like Pitchhollow would’ve died. You’re not to blame.”

“I still feel I am, but that brings me to my request. You may do what you wish to me if it will aid you. All I ask is that you help me to kill Dhaulf Bearbane and regain my honour if the chance should arise.”

I didn’t know what to say to this. Nothing in the world description gave a hint that the task revolved around anything except wiping out Gutrender’s forces to the west. I clicked on the glowing quest icon and got my answer.

Quest – Avenge Sunlith’s Kin (Optional quest/Companion)

Description – Help Sunlith to kill Dhaulf Bearbane and regain her family honour.

Reward – Companion Loot Box (Legendary)

The task sounded impossible, hence the incredible rewards that were on offer. “If there’s a way, you have my word. I’ll do anything I can to help you.”

“Thank you, Mark. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any reason to hope.”

“Don’t be too grateful just yet. There’s another reason I asked for your help that I’m not too proud of.”

“You can tell me.”

“I’m not a warrior,” I admitted.

“That’s not what people are saying.”

“Nothing but the truth, ok?”

Sun agreed.

“I’m not a warrior. I was lucky, that’s all. I’ve had no training. I just lashed out with my flail and hoped for the best. I want you to teach me how to fight. I need you to teach me how to fight. For what’s coming.”

“Thank you for your honesty,” she replied, smiling. “I’d be honoured to help you.”

It was such a relief to finally have some semblance of a path forward. One that wouldn’t see me dying unnecessarily over and over due to a mistimed swipe or poor footing. I was so elated I scoffed the last hunk of cheese.

“You may do your spell now, Mark. I’m ready for whatever your gifts will bring,” Sun said, standing and holding her arms wide.

“I’m not sure you have to make a cross,” I mumbled between chewing the stinking food. “But here goes.”

Are you sure you want to use – Party Member on: Sunlith Wolfkin?

I selected Yes and the same swirling light that had encompassed me in the cell coiled around Sun’s body. She tried to hide her fear as the sigils formed and floated through her skin. Her awed expression changed to one of terror and she whirled around on the spot. “What is this? What have you done to me?” her axes were a blur as she tried to cleave through nothing.

“What is it, Sun?” I blurted fearfully. “What can you see?”

“Runes. Shapes. Lights! Make them stop!”

“Sun, calm down. That’s just your own HUD.”

Realising the axes were useless, she slipped them into her belt and reached out at towards the bizarre glyphs marring her vision. “What is a HUD?”

I watched as she tried to grasp the icons and boxes. “It gives you information. If it’s too much for you to take in, just think of it disappearing and it will.”

Her eyes darted back and forth, up and down as she tried it. The tension left her body and she sighed. “It’s gone.”

“Good.”

“You see the same thing?” she asked. “Is this a tool of your gods?”

“I do, and I guess it is, yeah.”

“It scared me. I thought I’d eaten the meat from a cave toad.”

“Cave toad? Oh, you mean you thought you were hallucinating?”

“Does that word mean seeing things that aren’t really there?”

“It does. We have mushrooms and toads in my world that give you strange visions. That’s why I was worried about the horses eating those funny looking toadstools earlier.”

“I see. This forest has no dangerous fungi. There are some purple berries you should avoid unless you want your eyes to bleed and rupture before your guts melt and leak from your backside.”

Gross. That sounded like a bad time for anyone. “I’ll steer clear of the purple berries.”

“Good idea,” she replied sarcastically. “Do I need to become accustomed to having this thing you call the HUD in my vision?”

“Not necessarily. I’ve made it less obvious so it kind of blends in now. You can do the same. Pull it back up, then think of it gradually fading like a… umm…”

“Like the daylight at dusk?” she suggested.

“That’ll work.” I thought back to her strange glances at my uncanny navigational skills. “Oh, and the reason I found the water and knew which directions to take was the small map on the top right of the screen. It beats any parchment.”

She flinched as she recalled her display.

“Remember,” I told her. “you can make it less visible with a thought.”

Her face twisted in concentration. “It worked! And I can see the map!”

“When we hit the trail again tomorrow, I’ll help guide you through it. I’m not sure if yours will be as interactive as mine.”

“There are words that I don’t understand making strange lights at me.”

“Wait. You can’t read?”

She folded her arms defensively. “I’ve never needed to.”

“I’ll make you a deal. You teach me to fight, and I’ll try and teach you to read. The only reason I say try is that I’ve never taught anyone how to read before. I’ve never taught anyone anything.” Honey’s ability to roll over and play dead notwithstanding.

Her embarrassment faded as her arms dropped. “I consider that a fair deal. This has been a momentous day, Mark. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Don’t be too hasty. We’ve got to fight our way through thousands of orcs, goblins, and now the barbarians.”

“And the ogres,” she cautioned. “They’re slaves, yes, but still hardy warriors. Imagine someone of Edric’s stature, but twice as tall.”

I imagined it and didn’t like what I saw. “I think I’m in trouble.”

Sun laughed. “It’s still a momentous day.”

“I’m lucky to have you at my side, Sun. Now, where do we sleep again? Under the cover?”

“Wherever you want. The whole forest is our bed.”

I looked around for a suitable spot.

“You’ve never slept under the sky before, have you?”

“Do you consider glamping sleeping under the sky?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes at me. “You’re a very strange man, Mark from England. Goodnight.”

“Sleep well, Sun.”

She tucked a folded blanket against her saddle to use as a pillow. Within a minute she was snoring softly. I sat there for a while listening to the sounds of the awakening forest around me. Twigs cracked as unseen creatures either hunted or hid themselves away from the hunter. Without my prompting, the horses returned and stood nearby. I let the fire die down to glowing embers in the base of the pit before I took up a similar position to Sun against my own saddle. I expected my overwhelmed mind to keep me awake for hours. I was asleep in seconds.