Tiberius, Theo’s rescue mutt, wagged his tail as he came over to him. The dog’s maw still dripped with blood, but he looked as sweet and innocent as ever as he came over. Tiberius looked like he’d just brought back a stick in a game of fetch, not slaughtered something called an Armor Bear.

“W-w-wolf!” Leyah said, “Theo, stay back!”

“No— no. It’s Tiberius,” he said, “my dog. Come here buddy, come on!” He gave Tiberius a click of his tongue, and the mutt came over and nuzzled his outstretched hand. Theo could see why Leyah thought Tiberius was a wolf. He might be a mutt, but he had some husky in him, and he certainly looked like a small wolf. His eyes were golden and angular, and his fur was mottled silver and black.

Suddenly, a notification flashed across his vision.

Achievement unlocked! Animal Companion

As a Druid, your animal companion has followed you from your reality to assist you in the Arena. It has its own stat and ability blocks. See the stat blocks below:

Name: Tiberius

Species: Dog (Basic)

Class: N/A

Character Level: 1

Essences:

Strength: 1.8

Agility: 1.9

Durability: 1.4

Charisma: 0.2

Intelligence: 0.1

Wisdom: 0.1

Skills:

Pounce (Basic)

Packbond (Basic)

Languages:

None

He read through the skills sheet for Tiberius. Hey, I think he’s charismatic. Maybe not smart or wise, though.

“That thing… is your dog?” Leyah asked.

He admitted, Tiberius did look different. He was bigger for one thing, and more fierce looking than back on Earth. But it was definitely Tiberius.

“Guys!” Jessica shouted, “I need help over here!”

Blake, Leyah, and Alice turned to see Jessica leaning over Ron. White light flowed from her hands and into Ron’s body, but he still lay mangled on the ground.

Blake and Leyah turned and ran to Jessica. Theo followed, with Tiberius by his side. But Alice stayed back, her arrow still nocked.

Theo saw Ron laying on the grass. His left leg and arm were bent at unnatural angles, and a huge patch of blood stretched across his chest.

“I… did what I could… I don’t know how this spell works! He’s alive, but I’m out of magic…” Jessica said. Tears streamed from her eyes.

Ron blinked. He seemed in a daze, hovering between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Theo knelt by Ron and tore open his shirt. Beneath the bloodied cloth, there were four wounds. They weren’t as deep as Theo expected, certainly not for a bear attack. In fact, they had already healed some, and were beginning to scab over.

“No, you did great, Jessica,” Theo said, “we need to splint the wounds and then carry him out of here. We can’t risk spending any more time in the open.”

Quickly, Theo removed his cloak and set his quarterstaff down.

“Alice, give me an arrow,” he said, extending a hand.

“Why?” she said, narrowing her eyes.

“Don’t argue with him, just do it,” Blake barked.

“No, I mean, why heal him? Look, we can’t carry him out of here. If we stay, we might all die,” she said.

Theo looked at her, mouth open.

“Are you saying we should just leave him here to die?” He asked.

“I’m saying… let’s save ourselves,” she said, “we don’t even know this guy.”

“He got hurt protecting you!” Jessica said, stepping towards Alice, “if it weren’t for you attacking that bear, he might not be hurt at all!”

Alice began to retort, then ground her teeth instead.

“We’re not leaving him. End of discussion,” Theo said. “Now give me an arrow, Alice. Now.”

Alice stared daggers at him, then stepped over and drew an arrow from her quiver. She handed it to Theo, who brought it to Ron’s lips. “Bit down on this,” he said. Ron took the arrow and bit down on the wooden shaft.

“This will hurt,” Theo said, “one, two, three!”

With that, he jerked Ron’s leg into a straight line. He felt the grind of the bones as the bone snapped back into place. Ron yowled through the arrow, and tears began to stream down his face.

Quickly, Theo began to use his quarterstaff as a splint, wrapping it around his leg with his cloak and tying it off. He took Blake’s shortsword and cut his cloak in half, despite grimacing while he did it, and used the second half to create a sling for Ron’s broken arm. When he was done, his brow was coated in sweat.

Skill Detected! Wilderness Medicine

The notification flashed in his vision, then faded. He guessed that one made sense as well. He had a certification in wilderness medicine, because you needed some to camp in certain areas. It was nice that at least the basic rules of the human body were the same in the Hex.

He scooped one of Ron’s massive arms over his shoulders, and ordered Blake to do the same. Slowly, they got the big man onto his feet.

“Where to?” Blake panted.

Theo scanned the terrain in front of them. He couldn’t tell which was north or south, but they seemed to be standing on the very edge of the Hex. There was only the sea behind them, and the forest and mountain ahead of them. The small glen were they stood was the size of a football field, surrounded by seaside cliffs on one side and woods on the other.

“We’ll need cover. Head for the trees,” Theo said.

“But what if there are more animals in there?” Alice said, sounding worried.

“There almost certainly will be, as that is where animals live,” Theo said, “but it’s better than being out here, for now. Besides, we’ll need fresh water and food, and to find fresh water and the animals that rely on it, we need to go downhill. You know, the direction that water goes.”

He didn’t want to sound like a dick, but then again, Alice hadn’t been Ms. America to him, either. No one else seemed to question his decision. It seemed as though, for the first time, Theo was actually the best prepared for the situation he found himself in. He understood video games and he understood the outdoors. What could be more perfect?

They began the long, difficult task of carrying Ron downhill. Jessica had the bright idea to stop and remove his armor, which could be handed to the other members of the party. That made things move considerably faster, and soon they were down the hill and walking through a dense pine forest. The trees soared, bushy pines with patches of trembling aspens, and the forest floor was clear except for orange needles and the occasional sapling. Boulders the size of minivans rested at odd intervals, covered in moss and lichen.

Tiberius trotted faithfully alongside Theo. He stopped occasionally to sniff a rock or mark a tree, but always returned. He seemed as happy as if they were going on their afternoon walk, not dragging the maimed body of the man through a forest in another dimension.

“Something up ahead,” Alice said, coming back over a small hill. She was the fastest of them, so she made a natural scout, “some kind of ruin. Might be worth checking out as a shelter. Looks like there’s a creek running nearby.”

Theo nodded, and they carried Ron up the hill.

What he saw took his breath away.

It seemed to be a giant head made of stone, tilted sideways and half-buried in the earth. The style was blocky, almost Aztec or Mayan, and it was ancient, so ancient that the features were almost entirely obscured by lichen and moss. Twisted trees like bonsais latched onto the stone, growing up into the canopy above. The mouth of the giant head was open, and a small car could have easily driven through it. Within, it seemed that the head was hollow.

“Whoah,” Theo breathed.

“Could be dangerous,” Blake said, “all that old stone. Could collapse on us.”

“Or there could be more monsters inside,” Jessica said.

Theo looked up at the sky. It had been darkening by the minute as they walked, and not only because the canopy was growing thicker. The sun — well, something that looked like the sun — was lowering in the sky. Night was coming.

“We might have to risk that,” Theo said, “it’s getting dark. Something tells me things are going to worse after dark.”

Blake looked grim at that. “Alice, go check out inside. Let us know if it’s safe.”

“Since when are you the boss?” Alice said.

Blake ground his teeth. “I’m not the boss. I’m the guy carrying a half dead dude who can’t go do it myself. And you’re the person making that difficult.”

Alice frowned, but didn’t say anything else. She stalked forward, drew her bow, and then disappeared into the gaping maw of the stone head. There was a tense silence for a moment as nothing moved.

“Alice?” Leyah called, sounding worried. She took a step forward.

Then Alice came out, grinning. She held up a small vial, about the size of a shot glass, that contained red liquid. She pinched it between two fingers, then stuck her hip out.

“You might want to change your tone with me,” she said.

Blake sighed. “And why is that?”

“Because I’m the one holding the health potion,” she said.

“Wait, what?” Theo asked.

She shrugged. “Found it in there. Come on, bring that big lug inside. Looks safe enough to me,” she said. And with that, she turned around and entered the mouth once more.

Theo and Blake hauled Ron into the cave, behind Jessica and Leyah. The mouth of the giant head vanished to reveal a large opening within the skull of statue. Above, a crack in the stone let in light, and tree roots crawled inside. The floor was soft pine needles, and the walls were the same gray stone covered in green moss.

Alice handed over the health potion to Theo without a fuss. He quickly summoned its information menu. The runes began to glow and dance over Theo’s outstretched palm, creating a panel with the health potion at the center.

Health Potion: Weak

Restores up to 20 Health Points

He shrugged. He didn’t exactly know what that meant, but he knew that Tanks in video games tended to have a lot of health points. Maybe it wouldn’t make him better, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

“Alright, Ronny,” Theo whispered, “down the hatch.”

He uncorked the vial and tipped the small potion into Ron’s mouth. Instantly, red light flooded his features, like someone had run a flashlight under his skin. His veins were briefly illuminated as the potion moved down his gullet.

Ron shot up in a flash, screaming in pain. His left leg, which had been bruised and bent at a strange and unsettling angle, snapped back into place with a sickening crunch. He gasped, breathing in air.

“Jesus bloody Christ!” he said, sucking in air, “that hurt like hell in a hand basket!”

He ripped the sling from his arm, then flexed his hands. Shakily, he stood, pushing himself up from the floor.

Okay, so, twenty health points is enough to heal a broken leg and arm. That’s good to know.

Ron wavered for a moment, then clutched his head and sat back down. “Still not all the way there,” he said, patting Theo’s shoulder, “but thank you. Thank you for carrying me. For a moment, I thought you were going to leave me.” His eyes flickered to Alice, who looked away.

“Well. Thank Alice. If it wasn’t for that health potion, I’m not sure you would have made it,” Theo said, “where’d you find that health potion anyway?”

Alice shrugged, then nodded to the far wall. “In that thing,” she said, “there’s some more stuff too. Seemed like junk, though.”

In the corner of the hollow head, a wooden chest sat half buried. It was open, and a few more vials sat inside. Theo moved over to it and cast identify. His hand glowed with a ring menu, which said:

Chest (Ubiquitous): The most basic chest in the multiverse. A species of object that gathers and collects mana, health, and stamina into potions. Maybe also collect basic items from the multiverse.

So the Great Game even had chests. He wasn’t complaining, but it seemed a little on the nose. There were two more vials in the chest, and he cast identify on both.

Mana potion: Weak

Restores up to 10 mana points

Stamina potion: Weak

Restores up to 20 stamina points.

Okay, so the same thing as health, but for stamina and mana. He hadn’t seen anything for stamina or mana in his menus yet. In fact, he hadn’t even seen anything for health. They’d been attacked by the bear almost the minute they’d gotten into the Great Game, with no other chance to explore the menus. He pocketed the two vials just in case.

Now, they had shelter, water nearby, and a place for Ron to fully recover.

He sat, pulled up his menu, and assessed the options.

It was time to figure out this Game.