Frostbitten Wayfarer

Zoe took her new camping stove and made the long trek out to her small cave in the hill. She dropped off most of her gear as she prepared to go hunting for a deer taking only her quiver, and knife.

It had been a while since she’d done any hunting, but she thought she remembered the basics. She checked her arrows, making sure all twelve were in good condition. No cracks, all the fletchings were in good condition.

She nocked an arrow on the string, aiming for a mound of snow not far from her cave. Her [Archery] skill providing a gentle pressure to twist her elbow out of the way and assisting her aim. The arrow flew straight, embedding itself in the snow mound just next to the spot she was aiming for.

Zoe walked out into the snow, grabbing her arrow and putting it back in her quiver. She turned to the river and followed it back towards the lake, hoping to find a deer she could call her dinner.

There were a couple groups of deer grazing at the lake when she arrived. Zoe nocked an arrow and pulled her bowstring back, aiming for the one with the largest antlers about thirty meters away. She released it, and the arrow soared through the air, smashing into the buck’s antlers startling the herd. The deer rushed into the forest, disappearing into the trees.

“Shit,” she said under breath. Should she follow them? It would be easy enough, she supposed.

Zoe followed after them, trying to keep out of the path they took while watching her surroundings for anything that might jump out at her. She followed the trail for a few hundred meters before she saw the buck she fired at before.

She drew another arrow, nocking it on the string and taking aim just before she heard heavy footsteps rushing through the snow to her right. She turned her head and saw a massive boar barrelling through the snow at her and dove out of the way.

The boar smashed through where she was standing, flipping into the snow and landing on its back. Zoe drew her bow and aimed as it recovered. She loosed the arrow and it flew, smashing into the boar’s face as it stood, shattering into splinters.

Her eyes widened in shock.

[Boar - ??]

Zoe panicked, looking around to get her bearings. She followed the deer into the forest but had no idea which direction they went. She could follow the tracks back to the lake and then make it to town, but would the boar follow her?

The boar rushed at her again, carving a path through the deep snow. Zoe tried to sidestep it as it passed but her leg was grazed by the razor sharp tusk, leaving a gash in her thigh.

Zoe dashed towards the nearest tree, her leg screaming in pain.She clambered her way up it with the help of her sharp claws that dug into the frosty bark. The boar smashed into the tree just below her, almost knocking her off and showering piles of snow from the canopy above.

She hung from a branch, watching as the boar snarled and circled the tree she was in for a few minutes before it ran off into the forest.

“Fuck,” she said, wishing she’d paid more attention to all the warnings she was given.

She thought she’d be fine. Her parents had taken her out camping when she was younger. They’d hunt for food and enjoy themselves in the vast wilderness where they lived. She knew how to handle herself, how to keep herself safe and avoid problems. There was always a risk, but it was controlled.

But she was overconfident. The boars here had levels, and they had more levels than her. This wasn’t earth, and she couldn’t keep pretending it was. This place was full of magic and mystery. The deer could have had spells, the boar could have been even faster.

Zoe tried to think about how to get back to town safe and sound. Most of her stuff was left at the cave she planned to call home, a stupid decision now that she thought about it. The boar was active in the day, it would probably be asleep at night. Wolves are around too but she hadn’t even heard one howling, and hoped they would be crepuscular like they are on earth.

If she waited until the middle of the night, the predators should be asleep. If anything happened, she could climb a tree and hope whatever was after her couldn’t climb up after her.

She waited in her tree, hugging her branch until nightfall and then waited for a few more hours as the moon rose high in the sky.

She climbed down the tree, wincing at the pain as she stepped on her gashed leg.

Health: 143/200

She scoffed at herself. What was the point of adding it to her vision if she was just going to continue ignoring it constantly.

Her arrows were scattered around the ground, having fallen out of her quiver in the tussle. So she gathered them and put them in her quiver before she started on making her way back to the lake.

The journey was slow as she focused on her surroundings, every noise sending her nerves on edge, every movement making her question where the nearest tree was. There were no animals drinking at the lake this late at night, and Zoe continued following the river to the cave she was planning to call home.

She grabbed her stuff, and began the long march back to town. Every boar track sending her heart racing. A few times she saw what she thought was a boar and climbed up the nearest tree, but it always ended up being a bush, or a strange shadow cast by the reflections on the white snow.

By the time she made it back to the town walls she felt as though she’d been run over by a dump truck, every muscle aching and screaming for a moment to relax. Her eyes felt strained, and her head was throbbing in pain. She waved to the guards as she passed, and stumbled her way through town to the first bench she saw.

Zoe collapsed onto the bench, and checked her vitals.

Health: 170/200

Stamina: 12/200

Mana: 200/200

Nap time, Zoe thought, passing out on the bench a moment later.

A few hours later, Zoe was woken up by a carriage clattering through the road she was sitting by. She checked her vitals again.

Health: 181/200

Stamina: 45/200

Mana: 200/200

She tried to stand, feeling her muscles scream at her when she did.

Zoe focused inwards, trying to feel the energy in and around herself as the book described. If she couldn’t get up and walk around she could at least try and get a new skill. But all she felt was a growing headache.

Today would be a nothing day, she decided. She survived, and that would be good enough.

She sat on the bench for the rest of the day, drifting in and out of sleep. She would wake up from some sudden noise, watch the people travel up and down the road for a while and then fall asleep again for a few minutes to repeat the whole cycle.

A few times, people would come to her and ask if she was alright, but she would wave them off telling them she was just a little worn out. At least she thought they did, the times she was awake blurred with the frequent dreams as she dozed off.

It was late into the evening when she felt some energy returning to her, the aches and pains mellowing out a little. She checked her vitals again.

Health: 200/200

Stamina: 132/200

Mana: 200/200

Zoe continued to sit on the bench late into the night, watching her stamina tick up at a snail’s pace.

She focused inwards on herself once more, trying to work on her meditation skill again. Every few minutes she thought she’d feel something and then just as quick as it came it would disappear. She tried imagining different types of energy swirling around her.

She thought of black wisps similar to John’s writing flitting through the air around her, coursing through her veins. She imagined aggressive energy spiking from her body, dissipating into the air as she screamed. She pictured her blood coursing through her veins, pulling in an invisible energy with each breath and distributing it through her body.

None of her imaginary energy seemed to work, the tangible somethings she felt always vanishing as soon as they came. It felt like she were being pressed on from all sides by some gentle force, but the very instant she noticed, the force pulled away from her.

She scratched her head in frustration and took a few deep breaths, letting the tension in her body wash away with every exhale. She sat in silence for a while longer, trying to let existence wash over her. She listened to all of the sounds around her, people chatting, crickets chirping and owls hooting somewhere off in the forest.

The gentle pressure bared down on her, but she ignored it, continuing her deep breaths. With each one the tension in her body relaxed, and the pressure grew. It kept growing until she felt like she were wearing a weighted blanket that conformed to her body.

*Ding* You have unlocked the Meditation skill.

“Yes!” She cried out. The pressure washed away, but she didn’t care anymore. She did it, and she was happy. She wondered what it did, realizing she hadn’t checked her other new skills yet either.

*Ding*

[Gathering]

Become more adept at foraging for plantlife.

[Archery]

Master the bow and take deadly aim.

[Meditation]

Draw in the untamed, wild energies and turn them to mana.

The untamed, wild energies must be that gentle pressure, she thought. Zoe tried to focus inwards on herself, feeling the energies in and around her again.

The pressure grew easier than she expected, the struggles she had with keeping her focus lessened. But not gone, as her excitement snapped her out of the trance and the pressure vanished.

Zoe stood from her bench, grabbing her bag and quiver, strapping them to her back. She decided to go to John’s bookstore and find a new book on easier skills for her to learn. Something she could do within the safety of the city’s walls.

The sun was beginning to rise as she arrived at John’s door, the familiar strange black book casting a shadow on the orange door. She tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. She looked in the open windows on the front of the building but it was too dark inside to make anything out.

That wasn’t quite right, she thought. Zoe could see in the dark, this was something else. She squinted at the windows. It was as though the inside was devoid of light. There were no curtains, no physical barriers preventing her from looking in. It was just complete darkness.

Zoe shuddered, something about it gripping her with a primal fear. As though she were staring at a pack of starving wolves who thought she was dinner. It felt eerie, and she backed away from his building.

Joe said he had some errands to do, so she started making her way back to his inn. She’d spend some time away from the scary boars and green alien monsters for a bit.

Joe was just leaving his inn when Zoe arrived and she called out to him, waving. “Morning Joe!”

He looked at the bloody stain on her leg and shook his head. “Good morning, Zoe.”

“So you were right, Joe. I messed up. I thought I’d be okay because I’ve been camping before but it’s not the same here. Back home the forests are pretty safe and animals tend to stay away from people.” She said.

Joe nodded his head, gesturing for her to follow as he walked down the street.

“So when I thought of going camping here I just assumed that animals would avoid me. And then a boar ran out of the woods straight for me. I barely managed to get up a tree in time and by the time I made it back to town I was completely worn out.”

“I told you it was dangerous, Zoe.” Joe said.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry, Joe. I guess I just didn’t want to accept it. I wanted to believe that I was still on top of the food chain, wanted to think that things would be okay and everything I learned in school would still be relevant. But, ” Zoe leaned in to whisper, “the boar had a level, Joe. And it was higher than me.”

“I’m glad you’re alright, Zoe.” Joe said.

“Yeah, me too Joe. I think I’m going to stay inside the walls for a while probably.” Zoe said, the pair turning a corner onto another street.

“Good. The walls are there for a reason, you know?” He asked.

“Yeah, I thought it was for war or something, though.” Zoe said.

Joe laughed, “War? Those walls won’t do anything in war time Zoe. They may as well be flimsy sheets of paper to a high level mage.”

“Wait so they’re really just to defend against wild boars then?” Zoe asked.

“Pretty much. Without the walls the houses on the outskirts might get raided at night by wolves, pets might wander away and get attacked. They’re an important barrier between us and the outside.” Joe said.

“That’s only a little terrifying. In other news, what are we doing today Joe? Got lots of exciting adventures to go on in the city?” Zoe asked.

Joe sighed, “If you consider taxes exciting, then sure. I’ve got to get down to city hall and report the inn’s earnings and pay some dues. Got a bit of shopping for some supplies and I’d like to pay a visit to Herb as well, see what’s up with him since he hasn’t been around since the vampire attack.” Joe said.

“Do I need to pay any taxes? I don’t know how that works here.” Zoe asked.

“No, you’re fine. I need to because I own a business. Though if you keep taking odd jobs you’d qualify as an independent business and need to pay taxes too. I don’t know the specifics, you could ask somebody at city hall.” Joe said, leading Zoe down an alleyway between two crystalline buildings.