The small trail led further inland into the trees, before it turned and moved parallel to the ocean, gaining shelter from the chill winds. Strange bird calls echoed throughout the canopies and strange scents mixed into the sea air. As I walked, I tried to open my menu.

It… somewhat worked. I could get a status window, which showed what I already knew, that I was a level 1 scout. However, I couldn’t open the pause menu to log out, change graphics or the like, nor open my inventory. I could still open my skill and spell windows, but I didn’t know how to make use of that so that wasn’t helpful at all.

“Orisaa kaiun tanthair!” I looked over at my guide, who waved to get my attention then pointed forwards. A small quaint village nested around a small bay. Smoke was rising from some chimneys, and I could see small boats glide about in the water. As we approached, I got a good look at the houses. They reminded me of historic pics of cottages back at the education center, with vines climbing up trellis attached to the walls, small well-maintained gardens growing produce.

As we passed one house, the wind turned and the most delectable smell wafted out of the open window, causing my stomach to growl. How long ago was my last proper meal? Nutrient paste kept you going, but it didn’t make the stomach happy.

My guide stopped at the sound and gave a small giggle. Then waved me along down a small side street towards a smaller, but pretty cottage. “Motra, patra! Brai quiln abruk!” She called out as we entered. Shortly after, a middle-aged woman and a man who seemed only slightly older than my companion entered the room.

My companion began speaking to them at a rapid pace, and while I didn’t understand a word, I could guess at the content of the conversation, given she nodded towards me more than once. The young man walked up to me, and as he got closer, I noticed a familial resemblance to the woman that I rescued. With the most obvious difference being the larger, pointy ears. “Ravje braiuk, gol doria noin meilim.”

His smile faded as it became clear I didn’t understand a word of what he just said. He turned and said something to the other two. My guide nodded and ran out while the other two smiled in a friendly manner and offered me a seat at the nearby table via gestures. A few minutes later, my guide returned, followed by an elderly gentleman in a grey wool robe. “Grhad heril?” He looked at me. I opened my mouth to answer, but he waved me off.

He then pulled out a small ring and tossed it at me. It was made of wood and had some intricate runes carved into it. “Gotha.” he pulled out another one and put it on, then pointed at me. It was obvious what he wanted. Well, with nothing better to do… I put it on.

There was a slight discomfort as a strange energy washed through my body as the ring was put on. “Sorry about the discomfort, an unfortunate side effect of the magic, I’m afraid.” The old man now seemed to speak in perfect English. Wait, magic? Ok, Cassandra deep breaths, DEEP breaths. The portal must’ve caused a malfunction in the game program somewhere.

That was obvious. However, these people were behaving far too fluently to be NPCs, not to mention I couldn’t see a single name tag or anything. What was going on? For now, it was best to just try to keep calm and figure things out. The old man put a hand on my shoulders.

“You seem troubled. Is something wrong?” Oh right, I wasn’t alone. “I-I’m fine. Just disoriented, as I don’t know where I am.” The old man shot me a curious gaze. “Would you three mind if I talked to this one alone for a bit?” The middle-aged woman bowed her head.

“Not at all, Father Graion. Come along, you two. We’ll be waiting in the living room.” The middle-aged woman ushered the other two out with her, leaving me alone with the old man. The old man’s friendly smile faded as soon as they were out of the room. “Mind explaining now? If it’s something you find uncomfortable to share with multiple people, know I am bound by sacred oaths to not reveal anything said in confidence.” His demeanor was as night and day as his friendliness was now mixed with dead seriousness. I hesitated for a moment. How much could I tell him?

The NPCs really didn’t like it if a player broke immersion. However, it wasn’t as if I had anything to lose, and with some careful wording, it might not make me seem mad either. “I… had an accident involving a portal. It… it malfunctioned and dropped me into the sea a bit off the coast.”

The old man blinked, and his demeanor melted into one of worry. “Oh dear. That explains things. Who knows what kind of mayhem that might have caused. Any gaps in your memory, aside from the obvious loss of language skills? No, wait, don’t answer. It’s not like you would know, anyway.”

He seemed out of sorts himself. “Look child, I wish I could do more than hand you a magical item, but this isn’t the only strange thing that’s been going on of late. Something’s brewing, I know it. Your arrival might be a dire portent.” He seemed lost in thought for a while. “I will attempt to pray to the gods for information. Maybe see if the Tidal Twins might give some sage advice.” He didn’t seem hopeful.

“Alright, you three, you can come back in now. Keep the ring, child. It will help you until your language skills returns. Now then, Yrsha, let’s have a look at that leg of yours.” My guide nodded and sat down and let the old man carefully check out the bruise on her leg. “Hmm, it’ll be fine on its own. You’ll be sore for sure, but it’s a valuable lesson in being careful when out on the rocks.” He rose and nodded to the family. “May I ask that you look after our little stranger here? She’s been involved in a magical accident that could have had unforeseen effects on her.”

Yrsha and her I would guess mother and brother? Nodded. “We’ll take care of her, won’t we, honey?” The man looked over at the middle-aged woman with a loving smile. Honey, the age… wait… pointy ears. He was an elf, wasn’t he? I should’ve seen that coming. I looked over at Yrsha. So, that meant she was a half-elf? “If you keep staring at me like that, a girl might get ideas, you know?” Yrsha was giving me a coy and confident smile. I blinked in confusion, then realized I was indeed staring, causing me to go beet red.

Yrsha’s smile widened. “Hmm, say I don’t think we ever caught your name.” Great first impression, wait what did she just say? “Oh… err… right. I’m Cassandra.” Great work, Cass. You just stepped even further into the salad. The woman gave Yrsha a small smack over the head.

“Alright young lady, since the injury isn’t anything serious, get back out and set the damn net. If you want to keep staying under this roof, you better do your chores. No slacking. Oh, and I’m glad you’re alright dear.” She bent down and pulled Yrsha into a warm hug.

Yrsha allowed the hug with a begrudging expression. “I know, mom, I know. Won’t get any dinner tomorrow if we don’t get any fish. Hey Cassandra, mind coming with? It would be easier to get the net set if I had some help. Besides, you turned the net into a rope, and I could need some help to untangle it.”

She put a hand on my lower arm. Then, after a moment, she leaned in and whispered. “Besides, cutie, I want to show my appreciation… in private.” If I wasn’t beet red before, I was now. Yrsha’s mom seemed to notice. “For crying out loud Yrsha, could you please stop flirting with anyone you find remotely attractive? Besides, look at the poor waif. At this rate, you’ll fry her brain.”

Yrsha just shrugged and grabbed my arm. “I could, but not flirting with my super cute savior would be a heinous crime. Especially when she gets even cuter when she’s flustered.” With that, she grabbed the spear and the basket with the net in and dragged me out of the hut.

She turned to me, now with a slight blush of her own. “I am serious about that reward though, if you want it.” Yrsha was way more forward than I’d expected. But I couldn’t say that wasn’t refreshing. We spent the next few hours fixing and setting the net. While we did, I got to know Yrsha better, and I told her about myself. By the time it was time to check the net, Yrsha was back at flirting with me. Though now that I wasn’t so shocked by her flirtatious behavior, I handled it better, or so I hoped.

The sun was now setting, and we were on our way back. “You know, Cassandra, I like you, and that’s not just because I’m grateful you got me out of that jam back there. You’re so different and new, everything else on this island is so boring in comparison.” I… wasn’t really sure how to react to that. Yrsha was attractive, sure, and I might have a small crush on her. I wasn’t so dense as to not know that. As we arrived at the door, Yrsha glanced around, and then, before I could react, gave me a quick kiss. “Just thought you ought to know.” Then she hurried inside, leaving me standing outside, dumbfounded.

It took about a minute before I shook out of my stupor and followed Yrsha inside. Maybe this accident wasn’t as bad as I thought, or was it worse. I still didn’t quite understand whether I was inside the game. But when I put into consideration, the amount of emotional turmoil I was going through about all of this, I didn’t think so. I didn’t have enough cash to afford my rig, so the company had put me inside on at their local HQ. I might be expendable, but if I got hurt because of their tech, that would be bad PR. Besides, I doubt they would give me a faulty rig when I was helping them investigate the worst PR scandal in ages.

That meant this was not home, but another reality altogether. Was that what happened to the owner of that Dungeon? They went through the portal and were transported to another reality? If that was the case, that might explain the coma. They left their physical body behind since they got a new one here. Another, far less appealing option was that I was dying, and this was just a final hallucination before I bit the dust. Hmm, nah. That was even more farfetched than the otherworld theory. Either way, I was stuck here for the foreseeable future, so I might as well make myself comfortable.

Dinner passed in relative silence, with only light questions about where I was from. Which I answered as best I could without outright claiming to be from another world. This place might have magic, but I don’t think even they would think me sane with such a claim. After dinner, they called it an early night, and it turned out Rithe, Yrsha’s mother, made a bed for me on a bench in the living room.

“Seriously, mom, she could share my bed.” Rithe and Arlaan, her father, shared a knowing glance. “Look honey, you might be an adult, but as long as you live under our roof you are not sharing a bed with someone on the first night you know them, regardless how much you’d wish otherwise. And that’s final. Especially not when you refuse to stop flirting with them.”

Arlaan put a hand on Rithe’s shoulder. “Now, now honey, you were just as bad as her when you were her age. I seem to recall someone throwing rocks at my window in the middle of the night, so we could sneak off and have fun without our parents knowing. Even shattering the glass at one point.” Rithe turned a nice shade of scarlet. Then she mumbled something under her breath before she left.

So, it ran in the family, huh? Well, it wasn’t like I disliked Izrah’s clear interest in me, though I certainly wasn’t used to such things either. I was never the center of attention back home. Then again, wasn’t much of a people person either. I fell asleep faster than I expected. I must’ve been more exhausted than I thought.

The next morning I was met with sunshine from a beautiful clear sky. In the distance, I could hear birds calling out and the waves crashing against the rocks. It was time to admit to myself this wasn’t inside the game. If you lost consciousness when playing, you were supposed to be ejected immediately. Yet here I was, eating a simple breakfast comprising pieces of small bread and dried fish.

Compared to the nutrient paste or cheap junk food I usually ate, this was heaven. After eating, Izrah grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door, so I could meet the other villagers. It was a small, but tight-knit community where everyone knew everyone. “There are several such villages scattered across the island, and in the center, near the base of the mountain, is the capitol. It’s not big compared to the mainland, or so dad says, but it’s still home to a few thousand souls.” Izrah’s explanation was short and to the point.

After meeting everyone, something that took the better part of two hours, it was back to Izrah’s home to fetch nets for another day of fishing. “We live simple lives out here, but it’s a happy life. It becomes so boring after a few years, though.” I looked over at Izrah, as I picked up the basket with the net in it. “Even if it’s boring, it sounds like a nice way to live. No stress or anything.” Izrah looked at me with a curious expression.

“I’m not sure what sort of life you’ve lived to think that, but it can’t have been fun.” Now that was an understatement. From the moment I could be old enough to be in debt, I was in debt. Inheriting the debt my mother accumulated with her gambling addiction, and the medical debt my father incurred as he worked himself to death to pay it off. Add in my own loans…

No, I didn’t want to think about that. “I’d prefer not to talk about it if you don’t mind. It’s… a pretty dark subject.” Izrah stopped in her tracks. “The portal that failed. It was an experiment you were forced to undertake, wasn’t it?” I stopped and looked at her. It wasn’t too far from the truth, honestly.

I mean the company knew nothing about what was on the other side. And any programs that the company tried to send through simply stopped working on contact rather than passing through. “… Something like that…” Izrah turned around and gave me a sudden hug. “Well, look at it this way, cutie. You are here now and don’t need to do anything of the sort here.”

I flinched for a moment. Then I slowly returned the embrace. This was… nice. I could get used to this. No more running, no more scrambling to pay off ever-increasing debts, no more stupid companies to tell me what to do. Staying here was getting more and more appealing. When Izrah suddenly leaned in and kissed me, I didn’t hesitate before I returned it. Yeah, staying was what I should do.

The rest of the day passed far faster than I expected. Then again, such things happen when you’re having fun. After setting the net, Izrah took me to one of her favorite spots on the beach. A small set of stones overlooking the ocean. Seabirds screamed in the distance, the sound of waves and a gentle, if slightly chilly, breeze. We just sat there, enjoying each other's company. “Is it really fine to sit here like this, or do you have other chores you’re supposed to do?”

Izrah looked up from where she was resting her head on my shoulder. “As long as I set the net in the morning, and collect the net set the previous day by sunset, I’m good.” She looked up at me. “Say I know this is all sudden, but you don’t mind being my girlfriend, right?” I looked down at her. “You think I would have returned the kiss if I did?” She shrugged at that before making herself more comfortable. “Good point.” We spent the rest of our time waiting for sunset in that spot.

It happened just before midnight. It wasn’t so much a sound as a feeling. One moment I was sleeping soundly, the next I was wide awake. Something was wrong. I looked out the window and into the night. Nothing. It took me a moment to process that. There was nothing. No moon, no stars, and no clouds. Just pitch darkness.

“Is something wrong, Cassandra?” Rithe’s voice sounded behind me. I turned around and saw all three of them awake. They seemed out of sorts, too. “The sky’s just darkness, no moon or stars or even clouds. It’s like I’m staring into a bottomless abyss.” Arlaan pushed past me and looked out the window. “Honey, grab your bow. Izrah, take our friend here and sound the bell. Whatever this is it can’t be good.”

Izrah grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house towards the village center, where a large bell was hanging. Without hesitation, she grabbed the rope attached to the ringing mechanism and pulled. A single loud gong rang through the village. She pulled again, and again. It didn’t take long for people to exit their houses. And upon noticing the utter lack of light in the sky they seemed to catch on too. Some even began going from house, to house, rousing those who didn’t wake by the bell.

Using magic, torches and some glowing crystals, it didn’t take long for the village to assemble, and a runner dispatched to the nearest village. It would seem there were contingencies in place in case of emergencies. Aside from the eerie darkness, nothing else seemed to happen, though. The hours ticked by and dawn should have been approaching. Nothing but darkness. Despite the darkness, Izrah and I still went to check the net. It wouldn’t do to leave the fish in it to rot if there even were any.

My suspicions were proven right, as the net was empty. Izrah did not seem happy about it. “I don’t like this at all. This is usually one of the best spots to put coastal nets.” Since I didn’t know a single thing about fishing, I’d have to take her word for it.

The days stretched on, we were all staying indoors. There was no way anyone wanted to be outside in the oppressive darkness longer than necessary. Then word came that Father Graion was dead. According to the messenger, he was in the middle of a prayer to a pair of gods known as the Tidal Twins, when he suddenly grabbed his head while screaming. “The Void is coming! The Void is coming! Embrace the coming oblivion and find salvation in nothingness!” While clawing at his eyes. Then he ran into the temple wall, head first, snapping his own neck.

The news did not sit well with anyone. I didn’t know what the Void was, but Father Graion seemed like a kind man. Not to mention he’d given me the ring that let me talk to everyone to begin with. And by the reaction of the rest of the village, my read on him wasn’t far off the mark.

This, however, was only the beginning. When the runner returned, he was in bad shape. Something attacked him on the way back. He didn’t get a good look at it in the oppressive darkness, but the effects were obvious. Purple puss was leaking from the wounds. His skin was taking on a pale grey hue and his eyes were slowly turning amber yellow. Whatever the monster did to him, he was slowly changing into something else… something monstrous. And without Father Graion to offer divine healing, there was little the villagers could do.

As his form began to twist and change even faster, he begged to be allowed to meet his end as a human. The runner’s father, with tears in his eyes, did the deed. Begging for forgiveness as he did. It was heart-wrenching to look at. By the time Father Graion and the runner were buried, it was almost midnight. Several villagers had barricaded the ways into the village to ensure that the monster that attacked earlier couldn’t sneak inside.

Morale was low. Yet despite all this, no one in the village seemed to blame these problems on my arrival. Or maybe they did, but didn’t say it out loud. Izrah, as if reading my thoughts, gave me a hug. “Hey cutie, chin up, being negative at a time like this won’t do anyone any good.” I looked up into the dark sky. “It’s hard not to, given bad luck seems to follow me like an ill wind.” She squeezed me harder. “Don’t say stuff like that, besides this isn’t your fault. There’s no way a single person could cause all this to happen.” I just hoped she was right.