I awoke to the sound of chirping, and the soft, earthy smell of dirt after a rainfall.
"Five more minutes... Wait." I sat up abruptly, "No @#$ing way. You're joking."
I looked around, this wasn't my room, nor was this the school. This meant that whatever happened, probably wasn't a dream. I got shivers just thinking about it. The towering trees around me only amplified my fear.
I took a few deep breaths to calm down.
Gathering my thoughts I appeared to have awoken next to a desolate alter, whose vine-wrapped base indicated a certain level of dilapidation. The towering woodland surrounding the now unholy site were indicative of a dense forest, and the strong scent of pine only reinforced this assumption.
"I'm really not your outdoors person," I complained.
As I stood, my hand knocked over a notebook.
"Oh yeah, I got you didn't I?" I picked it up and gave it a closer inspection.
It was almost entirely white save for some golden decorations around the spine and the edges. It gave off no smell and its structure seemed rather sturdy. I flipped to the first page and saw the following entry.
{Our Hero awoke at the forgotten alter of Imaltia, well equipped with his wits, his confidence, and record by his side!}
Well equipped my foot, at least give me a tent or something. Upon inspection my Interface also had something to say:
[Imaltia/Unknown deity]
Wow, thanks.
After pondering what to do for a few minutes, my contemplation was interrupted by a small gasp behind me. I whipped around to spot a child wearing a green robe. Unsure of what to do I held my hands up in the most non-threatening fashion I could imagine.
"I come in peace."
At my words the child ran away.
"You've got to be kidding me."
And with nothing else to guide my actions, I gave chase.
My feet stumbled upon the many tree roots as I struggled to move through the dense undergrowth. Small branches scrapped against my arms and legs as I clutched the book against my side. I could see child getting further and further away through the foliage, quickly and gracefully navigating around the forest as if they had been running through it all their life.
[Warning: Dangerous entity nearby, caution is advised]
Words suddenly popped up in front of me and I fell over
"What do you mean dange-" My words were stopped short by an ear-piercing screech and my mind drew a blank.
A giant six-legged creature that was a cross between a scorpion and a green centipede dropped in front of me and I nearly wet myself.
Furry, stumped legs that ended in lethal spikes. A scale covered backside that shone eerily in the forest light. An arched, hairy tail, covered in some strange disgusting liquid and ending in a strange bulb like shape that seemed to blink.
Horrifying was the word.
[Ithliyad/Ambush Predator/Dangerous]
[Running is advised]
I would, Interface, I really would. But my legs seemed to have lost all functionality. Wait, no, they were just entangled in this strange vine like object that I couldn't pull out of. Lucky me.
"So it ends like this huh." as the monster approached, I could see the fleshy, toothy, underside of that creature. It seemed to have landed just where I would have been if I didn't trip earlier, and the giant gaping maw was tearing up the forest floor as it came crawling towards me at alarming speeds.
I was surprisingly calm about the whole thing, but that changed when it stabbed my leg with its spiked feet.
P A I N .
I screamed in pitches I never knew I could reach as the serrated tip tore through muscle and sinew with a slurching noise. I felt my femur shattering under the weight of the creature, and tears erupted from my eyes. Blood spouted from the wound as the spike bore deeper and deeper into the muscles and I prayed for something to make it stop.
I thought I had experienced pain before, but something as controlled as a dentist appointment, or a bone fracture could not compare. This, this was something far more visceral pain, its cause was something that cared not for limits, something that had a primal urge to kill and consume, and I was its prey.
I heard a soft, sharp noise amid my blasphemous screeches for help and the creature lifted its leg, causing me to feel all that pain once more, twice fold.
And then I fainted for what I thought would be the last time.
+++
But I awoke once more, to my surprise.
My first thought was that this time the ceiling was brown and earthy, and I should make a collection of weird places I've awoken from.
My second thought was the absolutely mind-numbing pain that scorched my brain and I nearly screamed again.
But a soft, smelly object was shoved into my mouth and all that came out were muffled sobs of despair. I tried to look around, but I couldn't. Almost as if my head was clamped down.
"@#$%^&"
[Foreign Language Detected. Translating]
"Be quiet please."
The soft voice echoed in my head, and I tried my best to follow its directive, but I really couldn't help the fact that it hurt so much. A soft whimpering escaped me.
Soon after, a soft wave of warmth overcame me, and the pain got better, just a little. More importantly, the warmth felt really nice, almost disguising the pain. It felt I was back at home, at my safe place, albeit with a giant spike through my leg.
"This is a calming spell; I hope it helps you."
I nodded, hoping the creature could understand me.
"I will treat you, but first will you answer my questions?"
I nod again, this time with vigor.
"Hmm, you appear to be doing strange gestures with your head, I shall remove the muffle"
The creature removed the object from my mouth, and I managed to not scream this time.
[Translation enabled]
Oh goodie, this Interface was more useful that I thought.
"I will answer whatever questions you have, err, sir."
"I am female."
"Ma'am, sorry ma'am." I seemed to be off to a grand old start huh. Hey interface, I hope you're translating my politeness over.
"Do you know the name of Talisbane?"
"No ma'am I don't." I'm mentally crossing my fingers, hoping I didn't set off any alarms with that answer."
"I see." the hold on my head loosened a bit and I could now wriggle my head a little, looks like I got that question right.
"Ah, you shouldn't move your head so much. It will hurt."
What does she mean, I tri- OW. The soothing sensation disappeared, and only the pain was left. I quickly jerked my head back and the warmth returned.
"Forgive me if my spells are a bit inexact, I haven't had much practice recently."
As I tilted my head to the side despite the pain, I was greeted with the sight of a strange round room. Crisscrossing vines of dark green stretched up to the ceiling and a mosaic of blue plants seem to cover the floor, almost as if I was within a jungle's cradle.
A second's glance before I was struck once more by the pain and returned by head.
"I would recommend you work on your listening skills." a jingle of amusement came from her tone.
"Sorry ma'am I was curious." I replied sheepishly.
"I understand, not many people come so deep into Borowood."
[Borowood: a forest named after the legend of Boroglian the Betrayed]
Sounds ominous, what about Talisbane? Wait I don't want to know.
[Talisbane: an individual of great influence]
Too late. Ah, well I'm sure that knowledge is widespread. I'm guessing this Talisbane guy is a real bad dude?
No answer, maybe I need to level up my interface or something.
"Your wounds have stabilized; however, it will take some time to recover. You may sit up now if you wish."
The pain dulled down to a small aching and the warmth also went away. My body was no longer walked the tightrope between agony and comfort, and I let out a sigh of relief. I reveled in the sincerely calming sensation of not having a spike in my leg for a minute before I remembered that there was someone else in the room.
I sat up hastily and was greeted with the face of a strange yet beautiful woman sitting on a wooden chair beside me. She had mismatched eyes of yellow and green that you could lose yourself in, coupled with straight golden hair that reached her shoulders and shone despite the dim earthy lighting in the room. It wouldn't be strange to see her on the cover of some magazine, actually it would probably be stranger if she wasn't.
Despite being awestruck by her beauty, I managed to notice that her green robe appeared to be awfully similar to the one worn by the girl when I first woke up.
"Um, ma'am may I ask a question?" then I noticed my mistake, "Ah wait first, I'd like to thank you for saving my life, it uh, means a lot to me." Gee real smooth there.
She chuckled a little bit before responding, "It's not me you should thank, but Cecily. However, rather than answering your questions I believe I should be asking some of my own first."
"Yes, of course, I was getting ahead of myself there. I apologize." I wonder if the interface can tell me what I should respond with.
No answer, guess not.