There are so many of them now. I used to find them so cute for some long forgotten reason. Now, those creatures nauseate me. Well, not that I can actually throw up or anything like that. Their mandibles, dripping with some life draining poison, click endlessly in the dark. Their chitin, barbed from years of growth, perpetually oozes a putrid liquid.Their size, monstrous and fearsome, exploded without explanation. I'm trapped now, something claiming me as a treasure and locked in place by something I cannot feel. I cannot hope to escape. I cannot call for aid. I cannot stand that endless clicking!!

Another sound?

It isn't those creatures, they do not know how to make this sound. It sounds like the noises I use to make when the creatures got too close to me. Talking? The word appears to me as if presented as an offering and I accept it. Yes, it sounds like talking.

Even if I were to "talk" loudly at the voice I know they wont' be able to hear me. I know they are too far away. I can try, though. I can hope.

[Hello? Can you hear me?]

My voice travels far, it is pleasing and soothing even to me. I hear my voice and it grabs my own attention. But, I get no response.

[HELLO? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!]

Though they never stop their chittering, it seems as if the creatures are currently amused by my plight. They are answering my call with laughter and mirth. They are amused at my expense. I dislike them so much more now. Had I a way to dispatch them, surely I would. I might even take a sort of pleasure from doing so.

The shadow passes over me again. It has been with me for some time now. I do believe it is the reason I cannot move. I cannot escape. From my spot in the room, all I can percieve is a shadow, a shade, darker than the darkness that surrounds me. My little blue glow cannot compete. My light suffocates in the presence of the shadow. It finally stops to rest somewhere else. It waits patiently for something.

Once in great whiles, a creature would come and there would be a noise. A tearing, dripping, clicking, ripping noise and it would stop as suddenly as it started. Then there would be a quiet, placating noise. A drinking and swallowing noise. I am filled with dread when I hear it. I am filled with fear. Had I eyes to cry, I believe they would be starting up again. I would cry if I could. I would cry to the lifegiver, had I not been taken and lost so long ago. Lost and wandering, wandering and lost, searching for home and finding a hell.

"Its a doorbell…" So soft was the voice, but so clear! I heard each word as if I had said them myself! It's the one meant to save me. A hope springs in me like a beam of light in the dark.

[I'm here! Please! I'm here! Rescue me please!]

"Don't worry, we'll be back to play soon enough."

No! No! The voice thinks I'm playing a game! No! These creatures cannot keep me here forever. I will not let them contain me! There must be a way! There IS a way! A game is the answer! And a game must have a prize. Please…

[Minor Quest: Explore Rentas Dungeon

[Activate the gate and take a single step inside

[Reward: 500XP, 5s, 5* minor rings of storage

[Send request Y/N?]

Yes!

"Come on, don't give it all up like that. I promise, we'll be right back. You're the only dungeon I'm seeing, I swear!"

Dungeon? A dungeon? Is that… is that what I am? A prison? I am a prison? No. The voice is mistaken. He confuses me for the prison I am trapped in. I am--

The shadow stirs again, I sense in it an anxiety. It is worried. It did not like the voice, the voice that wished to play a game with me. It promised to return. I have offered it a prize for our game and it promised. The creatures in the dark are louder than before. I do not hear them any longer. I only hear the voice repeating within me, "…we'll be back to play soon enough."

I am abandoned. I am powerless. But I am hopeful.

*************************

She can scarcely believe that the woman in front of her was, at one point, considered royalty. Not just royalty, but a position or two away from princess. Which, under the right circumstances, meant she could possibly have become a queen.

The fancy dresses, extravagant dinners, endless ballrooms, and charming socialites. Everything little girls still dream of. But this little girl, this woman wielding a spear with fury and precision, probably never dreamed of those things. This amazon deals out death certificates instead of invitations to some fancy engagements. Her only poise and grace could only be found at either end of a sword. This woman, no, this warrior, is definitely her in game idol.

"Come on, Gorm! That's not a ladle you're wielding now! Dawn! Slap some life back into him!"

"Heal!"

[You Heal Gorm for +12HP]

Dawn had finally reached her level 3n during Gorm's refresher course, putting 4 points into Faith and the 1 leftover into Strength. After all the fighting had settled, Victoria noticed her new level in the party screen. She asked the little Infernus about it and when she heard what Dawn did, she pinched her brows together, bit her lip, and looked her up and down.

"What do you plan on becoming down the road, Dawn?"

She hadn't really thought about it. There was no guide for her to go over and the barest of details when it came to everything else. When Ardacen improvised a spear, it blew her mind.

She never would have thought that anything in the game could be altered without rewriting code. It was still a knife on a stick, but it become a new item. It was viewed as something completely different by the system. She looked at the game in a new light. Anything is possible here. As evident by her dark skin and the horns on her head, she can do and be just about anything. And what is the one thing she loved doing in games, more than killing things?

"A want to be a blacksmith. And I want to help make Linqs into a real settlement."

Victoria squinted her eyes at her, watching her tiny body filling with a spirit of determination. "I don't think--"

"Before you say anything, let me just add something. I am probably the best person around for the task of making Linqs into something bigger and better. It's my specialty. I may not be the hardest hitter or the quickest dodger or the magical-est mage…"

Gorm is standing next to them both, forming a small triangle, "Magical-est?"

With only that slight bit of pause, "But, I am the best city planner this world has ever seen!" She almost stamps her feet to further drive her point home, but Victoria holds up a hand.

"What I was going to say, was, I don't think it'd be too hard for Mika to send us a forge and refinery. If you're willing to put the work into finding some ore, we have some picks. Maybe Ardacen will be willing to help you?"

[Minor Quest: Sweat and ore

[With or without help, gather 50 iron ores

[Reward: 100XP/1XP per ore turned in]

Now this is what she was looking for! Truth be told, she knew she wasn't really in the running for the money. But if she can establish herself here before the rest of the world shows up on her doorstep, she can impress some sponsors. Maybe she can rent out space for ads, banners hanging from the ramparts advertising sodas and cars and social media. That's where the money is. Aren't they the ones paying for everything here?