Chapter Five
Chapter Five
The forest feels alive in ways that almost seem sentient. As I walk deeper, the canopy above grows thicker, and the air is filled with a deep, constant hum, almost as if the forest itself is breathing. The occasional whispering breeze rustles the leaves, but it’s more than just wind. It’s as if voices are carried through the trees, speaking in ancient tongues. If I listen closely, it’s almost like I can understand them.
The path below my feet is winding and uneven, but it’s clear that someone, or something, has passed here before. Shafts of sunlight break through gaps in the canopy, illuminating patches of soft, glowing moss. Small, mischievous creatures dart between the underbrush, periodically trying to trip me. Winged squirrels leap from tree to tree, and translucent butterflies the size of my hand glow in the twilight air. Occasionally, I see a pair of glowing eyes watching me from the shadows, though whether it’s a creature of the forest, or something far older, I can’t be sure.
I should have noticed these small details while playing the game, but I never have. Instead, I rushed from one place to the next, just trying to complete the quests. But the world around me is alive and beautiful.
Though, I probably wouldn’t say that about every part of this world. Here, the land is untouched by the War. The ground isn’t soaked in blood. The towns aren’t burning. Here, the towns are filled with all sorts of mixed races. Nobody has to pick a faction to support. This is why the village is so unhappy with the local Orc being kidnapped by human bandits. They don’t want the war on their doorstep, even if it already is.
The thought of war worries me a little, but surely, if I’m my character I’ll be able to handle it… I hope.
I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. This is my chance to live out the adventure I’ve put hours into. But, I need to know for sure that I can even do it. Aelia is a high-level rogue, which means I can’t shoot fireballs from my hands. I can’t compel people to do my bidding.
I kill things. Expertly.
I bounce on my toes, trying to figure out what move to try first. Rogues are notorious for their Sprint. They can run as fast as the Flash, darting around trees, and leaping over boulders. It makes it easier to run away if I get into some trouble, but I can also use it in the fight to give me a bit of a speed advantage.
Okay, Katie. Sprint. We’re going to Sprint.
With one foot out in front of the other, I start running like I normally would. I envision the spell, needing to move as fast as lightning, and for a second the trees around me begin to blur as I sprint forward. But now, I can’t see what’s happening around me. A tree root wraps around my foot, throwing me at super speed, face-first into the mud.
I sit up, groaning in pain as I spit the mud out of my mouth. My hand grabs my nose, the throbbing unbearable, but at least it isn’t bleeding. I pull a few twigs from my braid before pushing myself to my feet.
Anxiety floods my brain at the epic fail. I thought it would be easy, being my character. She’s already so much of a badass, but my mind doesn’t know the rules of her body, or even the land around me. And the pain radiating through my face is a stark reminder that I could probably die here. I don’t think this is a dream.
Even still, I can’t let this discourage me. Aelia has so many tricks, I just need to learn how they work.
I move to stand in front of a large, gnarled tree, pulling my short sword from my back. Slice and Dice should be easy enough with minimal damage to my body. With Slice and Dice, Aelia can do a lot of high-powered strikes all at once to maximize damage. The tree looms over me as I strike a fighter’s pose I’d seen on TV, moving the sword forward in a striking motion.
The sword hits with a dull thunk as I practice moving it slowly. I pick up momentum, chanting Slice and Dice in my head. Chunks of tree bark start to fly around me and I can’t help but feel a bit giddy at the fact that it’s working! It’s really working!
Until pain shoots up my arm and my hand cramps. My movements become sloppy as I try to work through the pain, and my sword bounces off the trunk. It flies over my shoulder, landing a few feet away. My heart sinks into my butt when I realize just how close to my neck the sword had been.
It seems so easy when I’m playing the game, hit button three when it’s charged, and I’m slicing and dicing. And for a minute there, I thought I had it down, but now I’m not so sure I can do this. Though, I have no idea what other choice I have.
Desperation sets in, as I scrounge around in the leather pouch at my side. I pull a small, gold-embossed scroll from it, and remember using it when Aelia needed a bit more help during large monster battles. If it works, it should summon a shield around me. I unfurl it, my voice shaky as I read the ancient-looking text.
A pathetic puff of air, barely enough to ruffle my hair erupts from the parchment. No shield.
I curse under my breath, tension creeping up into my neck. This isn’t going well. When I’m playing the game, I know how to do these things. I know how Aelia makes them work. But here, in her body, my limbs feel clumsy. There’s a disconnect between my brain and the moves.
Aelia is graceful, powerful, and capable of fighting huge armies and battling the most challenging of quests. Katie? Not so much.
Still, the thought of what lay ahead keeps me pressing forward. Aelia had a mission to save Gashna. An odd mission, as Orcs are usually great warriors, but Gashna is a lowly innkeeper, incapable of rescuing himself. That’s the beauty of Haven, a village where all races can come together and be whatever they want to be. It’s the last quest of the game, and Aelia always overcomes and pushes through each quest.
And I think a small part of me holds hope that completing this quest would finish the game, and send me home.
Home… It seems like a foreign concept to me now. Did I ever really have a home? The thought of home seems different now like the world around me is slowly changing my beliefs. But I push those doubts away, shaking myself mentally to pull it together.
”Focus, Katie,” I murmur to myself, my hand gripping the hilt of my sword with more determination. “You can’t be someone you’re not. You’re here now, and you have a quest to finish. Stop trying to be Aelia and be Katie.”
I move through the forest, trying to ignore the strange tug in my chest, constantly pulling me toward the unknown. The trees around me shift and sway in the wind, their tall trunks forming an intimidating wall of brown that makes me feel small.
Find the Orc Innkeeper, and return him to the village. Find Ganesh. Simple enough. I don’t know how, but the objective is clear in my head, like a beacon I can’t ignore. I have to find Ganesh. There is nothing else that matters. And as my trek slowly continues through the hours, it’s easy to forget who I used to be.
As I walk on, I begin to hear something behind me. Soft at first, a whisper in the wind I can’t quite catch, but I have the unmistakable feeling of being hunted. And the farther I go, the louder it gets, always growing closer. Footsteps. They aren’t even trying to hide them anymore, the sound of twigs snapping under heavy boots echoing through the trees.
I freeze in place, my heart beating in my throat as I do a slow turn, searching for the source of the sound. Though, I already know who it’ll be. No one comes this far into Devilwood for fun. Bandits.
My breath hitches as the noise grows closer, too close for comfort. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and my mind races. In the game, bandits are easy to deal with, just a pain because they attack in groups. But they’re predictable and easy targets for someone with Aelia’s skills. But here, I’m just Katie, and these bandits aren’t pixels or code.
I grip my sword tighter, my palms slick with sweat as I glance around the trees. Shadows stretch over the forest floor, confusing my senses, when the footsteps stop. I don’t move a muscle.
It’s as I stand here quietly, no longer trapped within my thoughts, that I realize I can hear more acutely. Small noises my human ears shouldn’t have been able to pick up. Like the soft breathing of a man standing nearby. I can see the small shifts in the energy around me, knowing where the bandits are hiding.
Holy. Shit.
Maybe my Rogue powers just needed time to warm up, or maybe my human body needed time to meld with the world around it. Either way, I’m not wasting any time sticking around to fight the bad guys when I’m not even sure how.
The bandits are louder now, not even trying to be quiet with their jovial hoots. They crunch through the foliage, congratulating each other on a job well done; catching an Orc is almost unheard of. They’ll fetch a pretty penny for his head.
I don’t move, not trusting my body to do it quietly. Instead, I close my eyes, chanting the word Vanish in my head over and over. Surely, if my senses are getting better, I can finally use some of Aelia’s tricks?
How does one know when Vanish works anyway? It’s not like I’m looking down at myself and seeing my body disappear like I would if I were home. Do I just assume it does since my senses work, or is that as far as it goes? It’s too late to run, and I’m more likely to maim myself than hurt the bandits if I try to fight.
The cacophony of Bandit noises fades around me, and I breathe a shallow breath of relief. Until pain erupts in my neck, where the edge of a sharp blade slowly presses against it.