A cloudless sky overlooked a small snow covered mountain valley. The two full moons and bright shining stars reflected brilliantly off the pristine snow. Quiet permeated the land as if nature itself was appreciating the idyllic scene. This peacefulness was suddenly disturbed by an angry voice.
"Where in the gods damned forsaken world am I? Oh gods, I'm going to be sick again!"
Callum was near one end of the valley. The unblemished snow was only marred by a cut in the snow directly behind him. It was a void in the snow 10 ft (3m) long, as if that snow had suddenly vanished.
A steaming pile of mess on his right showed where he had already lost one battle with nausea. He was hunched over trying to control his dizziness and quell his nausea. The portal trip had not been kind to his senses.
A notification popped up. 'Note, you are Chilly. Effects: -7.5% stamina regeneration for the next XX:XX:XX.' Callum suddenly realized he was in snow up to his knees and he didn't have warm clothes. 'Well this is not good, not good at all!'
He had on a short sleeve tunic and a straw hat. Perfect for summer weather, but less than ideal for the wintry night. At least he had on long pants and boots to protect his lower body. But the snow was already soaking through his cotton pants.
'Ok, I need to find shelter or something before that debuff gets much worse,' Callum thought to himself as he examined his surroundings. He tried to find the bright glow of a fire or smoke in the sky to guide him to safety.
Sadly, no such clues offered him a path towards immediate safety. Callum suppressed his emotions as he knew how critical his situation was. He needed to survive first before he dealt with what had just happened in that plaza.
Luckily, he still had his bag slung over his shoulder. It had all kinds of random items in it that might prove crucial to his survival, including a light cloak. It wasn't much as it was meant to keep him dry from a light rain than to provide warmth.
Quickly donning his cloak, Callum surveyed the stars to see if they could provide him some clues as to where he was. 'Wait, stars? How long was I in that thrice cursed portal for anyway?'
He didn't see any recognizable constellations. There were a couple that looked almost right. But they weren't in the right places and they looked off. And the presence of snow was throwing him for a loop, it was supposed to be summer.
"So either I've been portaled a very long way from home, I've been sent to another world, or I was somehow trapped in that portal for months."
Callum had a sudden need to talk to himself. The severity of his situation was starting to set in. And he was feeling very alone. He thought he'd been alone when the community ostracized him. But now he knew the real meaning of that word!
Callum had trouble making out details even with all the light provided by the twin moons, stars, and snow. Luckily, Callum had a cantrip for that and soon he cast
With nothing better to do, he picked what he thought was south and started on his way. He didn't know what he was looking for, but surely anything was better than his present situation. It couldn't get worse right?
Trudging through this much deep snow was a new experience for him. And he quickly realized how fast it was depleting his stamina. The nasty cold debuff wasn't helping matters, and it was only going to get worse unless he found a way to warm himself up.
"What I wouldn't give to know a
He ignored his need to speak out loud. It was completely normal to talk to yourself! And so he slowly made his way down the valley. He tried to set a pace that let him slowly replenish his lost stamina from his earlier fast pace.
Unfortunately his simple
He angled to one side of the valley as he continued to move down the valley. The jumble of rocks, folds in the land, and height changes might give him a better chance of finding shelter. He huddled under his cloak and plotted murder in his heart.
With nothing to do but walk, his thoughts turned those who had wronged him. His rage seemed to lend him extra warmth to fight off the cold. He pictured a special death for each one that wronged him. Each way was ever more creative and brutal.
He nourished this hate. Because it was easier to give in to the anger in his heart than examine the heartache his brother's actions had caused him. The last family he had left had betrayed him and quite possibly was involved in their parents deaths.
A tear streaked down his rugged face as he tried to focus once again on the anger. Rage seemed like the much safer emotion to deal with right now. He might collapse if he contemplated Alister's betrayal.
"Oh, what should I do with the mayor? He's kind of a giant toad of a person. I wonder if I can boil him alive? One toad soup special . . . hehehe"
Sadly, the inner rage didn't actually provide any extra warmth. And before too long Callum received the inevitable notification that his debuff had worsened. 'Note, you are Cold. Effects: -15% stamina regeneration for the next XX:XX:XX.'
Callum knew that each 'cold' debuff doubled his stamina regeneration penalty. And the next one would start to affect his dexterity and HP. Each progressive penalty would make it that much harder for him to find shelter. His time was running out.
Judging by the moon's passage, Callum estimated he had been traveling for two hours. He had recently given up trying to husband his stamina and now it was near half full and continuing to drop. He refreshed
He had found two possible shelters during that time, but a quick investigation on his part found them sorely lacking. Neither would have done much to shelter him from the cold. Both had turned out to be more shadow than cave.
He was starting to consider turning back to the last one, when he spotted another possible cave. It was set in the side of a 20ft (6m) cave and seemed to be about 8ft (2.5m) across.
"The last two were busts, but hopefully this one is usable! I'll have to settle for it either way."
As he climbed up a small rise, another notification popped up. 'Note, you are Frostbitten (minor). Effects: -30% stamina regeneration, -25% dexterity, -5 HP/min, HP regen at combat rate for the next XX:XX:XX.'
He wished he had an abacus handy or had put more into his intelligence stat as he tried to figure out how much time he had left. Usually HP, stamina, and mana regenerated at 5% every 5 minutes. But combat rates saw all those values drop to 1% every 5 minutes.
Callum Murray | Lvl 19 Human Farmer (XP: 68%)
HP:(600/600) Stamina:(220/480) Mana:(95/100)
ST:60 | Con:60 | Dex:15(-5) | Int:10 | Will:10 | Cha:12 | Luck:16
He winced internally as he sped up. His rough calculations put him somewhere around 130 or so minutes of life left. He had a lifetime of doing those types of calculations, but he desperately hoped he was wrong this time!
As he reached the spot, he realized that it was indeed an actual cave and not another trick of the shadows! He shouted his joy for the world to hear.
"Thank the gods! A cave! I am going to live!"
"Grrrrryowl," responded something in the cave.