The chain didn't end.
It went through a hole in the ceiling. There was a bright orange light coming from that hole. Eagerness and excitement filled me. Everything else forgotten, I scrambled up the chain…
My hand slipped, a foot wasn't set right…
My leg slid into the link, reminding me how male I was. Pain flooded me. Muscles twisted and protested. I was hurting…
And falling!
I managed to twist, wrenching something in my hip to breaking just to wrap my arm around the chain and hug it tightly. My other leg dangled, unable to find more than a fleeting illusion of a foothold.
I could hear voices coming from above and looked down the length of my body to get a look up into the light. It was so close, just a few arm lengths away… and I was upside down. I desperately needed help.
I tried calling out… then stopped with the shout still in my throat. What if they were the people that put me here? Who wanted to keep me here? Would they put me right back in my cage? To hell with that!
I hugged that chain tightly like my life depended upon it… because it did. The pain in my hip was unbearable, and I bit my lip to keep quiet. A trickle of blood found itself in my nose. Before one last look up into the light without seeing anyone, I looked down into the hungry darkness below. I spit out blood and mentally cursed.
How was I supposed to get outta this?!?
Whatever language they were speaking, I didn't understand it.
The darkness was ready for me. It glared at me. I could almost hear it say, 'Just let go. I shuddered.
I focused on thinking a way out of my predicament.
Finally, the voices quieted, growing distant.
I inhaled deeply… and violently coughed up blood and mucus. I sighed in relief.
Now comes the hard part.
I couldn't reach two links up or down, and I couldn't twist to get my arms securely through just one link up or down, not with my leg inside one of the links.
I had to do something.
One arm at a time, I changed my hold on the chain and put my hands through the link. One hand firmly grasped the other while the other cupped the chain. I pushed. My leg shifted, but not enough to slide free. Again and again, I tried…
And then I was free and falling. With an arm through the link in the chain, both hands grabbed the wrist of the other.
I swung right side up with my legs splayed out…
I almost let go when my groin PAINFULLY came in contact with the chain.
My legs wrapped around, my feet twisted, and I hung there unsteadily, grinding my groin into the iron.
Something wasn't right with my hip and leg.
I was too afraid to move.
Something changed. I glanced up. The orange lights above were gone. I was alone again.
Fatigue burned my arms.
I had to get my good leg back under me.
Risking a fall, I untwisted my feet and swung the leg down.
My arms shook.
My leg flailed, desperately prodding the link to find the sweet spot… and relief filled me as it took my weight from my arms.
My other leg hung weakly, unable to assist.
I changed my arm positions, gaining sustainable comfort while keeping me secure.
I couldn't climb. It took two legs.
I avoided looking down. I didn't want to think about why.
I avoided looking up. My goal of an end was so close… too close. It was too tempting a lure.
I needed something else to do, to distract myself, and only one thing came to mind.
"Status screen."
Name: Toll. Origin: Otherworld Gamer. Class: Rogue level 1. Race: Troll Cursed Halfbreed - Stage 2. Medium humanoid. AC: 12. Health: 7 of 10. Strength 15, Dexterity 11, Constitution 15, Intelligence 11, Wisdom 10, Charisma 11. Saves: Dexterity +2, Intelligence +2. Feats: Skilled. Proficiency Bonus: +2. Skills: Athletics +7, Acrobatics +2, Insight +2, Investigation +2, Perception +2, Persuasion +2, Stealth +2, Thieves Tools +2, Video Games +4. Class features: Expertise in Athletics and Video Games. Sneak Attack +1d6, Thieves Cant, Weapon Mastery. Racial traits: Darkvision 60 ft., Keen Smell, Regeneration of Proficiency Bonus + Constitution Bonus per 6 seconds, Multiattack, Natural Attacks - Bite, Claws. Natural Armor of 10 + Constitution modifier. Languages: Common, Thieves Cant.
I had changed again. I hadn't meant to change. It had just happened. Frustration boiled up in me. Why had it taken the choice from me? It was so unfair!
I had a class. Rogue? Usually regarded as thieves and scoundrels, my knowledge of Video Games told me they were rebellious individuals who used their skills to survive. Had I rebelled by escaping the cage? That made a sort of sense, and I could see the connection.
I still wanted to have made the decision myself.
A small window popped up in front of the status screen.
Disable Auto-Leveling? Yes / No.
"Yes! Disable that!"
The small window went away.
Then I worried. What if the only reason I had survived the climb had been because I had auto-leveled? What if the only reason I was still alive was because of it?
"Turn on Auto-Leveling!"
Enable Auto-Leveling? Yes / No.
"Yes."
The screen disappeared.
I could always turn it off later.
Then my health increased from 9 to 10 of 10… I was healing. I had regeneration, and it was fast, too.
I skimmed through the words, desperate to confirm this. There it was: Regeneration of Proficiency Bonus + Constitution Bonus per 6 seconds.
Did that fix broken bones? Was my leg fixed?
I closed the screen and checked my leg… It worked just fine. It wasn't even sore. Carefully, I climbed up through the deep hole. The walls of that hole were just wide enough for me and the chain, simultaneously making climbing easier and more difficult. Mostly, it made it safer.
When I found a floor, I flopped onto it and went spread eagle. Seeing the stone ceiling and walls around me was reassuring, and feeling the stone floor beneath me was comforting.
It felt so good to relax finally…
I fell asleep.