It has been a very strange day. You felt yourself being lifted out of your body while you were talking with someone you know, and then you left Earth. You soul, or spirit, or aspect of personality, or whatever it was lifted off the planet and you found yourself waking up in a new body near an ocean beach.
Fortunately, you're not alone. You have found five others nearby in a similar situation.
To call it a strange day would be an understatement. It has been outright bizarre for Russell! One minute, he had been having a conversation with his wife. The next, he was sucked off into a void, and from thee found himself inhabiting the body of a petite and curvy woman!
Dark hair falls in front of his eyes, obscuring his vision. He reaches up to brush it--only to stop short when he sees the dainty, feminine shape of his hand. "Huh? What the--" He abruptly stops talking, the sound of his soft, melodic voice filling him with dread.
Russell holds both hands in front of his face now, the fingers long and slender, the nails pointed. He takes a deep breath and looks down--
--and sees the swell of two rounded breasts nestled in a green dress. He grabs the breasts, a squeeze confirming that yes, they are attached to his body, and yes, they are real. And real sensitive. His hands dart lower, between his legs. Something is missing. Something very important. "This can't be real," he groans, feeling the odd emptiness.
Something brushes against his leg. He looks over his shoulder, seeing a hole cut in the back of the dress he is wearing. A cow's tail pokes out of the hole, thrashing back and forth with anxious dread. "What is happening?!?" he shrieks, the cry echoing across the endless grassland.
He--now, she--wasn't alone for long. She had quickly come across a tiny snake-man who called himself John, then the pair met up with four others. All shared a similar tale--they were normal men living normal lives, when suddenly they had found themselves whisked away to this strange place in these strange bodies. By fate or fortune, Russell was the only one whose new body was of the opposite gender, but the others were all of strange ancestries--the aforemention snake-man, a bird-man, a lizard-man, and a mer-man.
The merman turned out be Nick, an online friend of Russell's from back on Earth! Soon, Russell learned that others among the group had also been involved in some of the same games Russell had played online. And when the group opened the birdman's chest, they discovered the truth--they were now PCs in the world of "Shadow of the Demon Lord," with the character sheets to prove it!
The group is now making its way to seek food, shelter, and a means to defend themselves. For, as Russell knows well, this world can be a dangerous one, indeed!
It happened at a family gathering. One minute I was talking to my uncle and he was telling a joke. The next moment I found myself floating up and out of my body. But it wasn't like an anime. My body didn't fall over or anything. It just kept standing there, laughing and gesturing, without me. Then I was floating away, faster and faster the Earth shrank beneath me until it was all a dark blur.
When I came to, I was standing in a dark place. There were 5 paths stretched out before me. Somehow I knew each one was an exit and subconsciously I felt like I shouldn't take too long in deciding which one to travel. After quickly examining each one and getting a sense of what each might have held for me, I chose what felt like the luckiest path. Apparently it was my life path, my new life anyway.
I felt myself changing and there was a bright light which enveloped me until when I next came to I was in a grassy field. But I couldn't see over it. I was small now. Not child, no, definitely fully grown but small. Halfling. I used to be 6'1 but now I was about 3'8. I still had my clothes and all my items were in the pockets, not that really they fit me anymore. So that was something, I guess.
Before I could really get my bearings, I was bowled over by a tall, scaly lizard man. After talking for a minute he seemed about as lost as I was. As it would turn out, this was someone I had interacted with on a forum game before. He wasn't the only one.
Shortly thereafter we found a birdman, a bovine-elf lady, a snake, and an Undine. Turns out we were all just people and ended up here together. Some have said their names. Do I give my real name out? Should I just make up a new name since this is basically a new life? I don't know yet.
Inside of a chest was a set of scrolls were some Character sheets which depicted us directly. Also the entire rulebook set of Shadow of the Demon Lord. We're in that world now.
I don't know how or why we ended up here but this is a bad place to be. But at least for now, we'll stick together. Hopefully we can survive.
John wakes up in grasslands, where the grass is taller than he is by half a dozen feet or more.
What the f!%% was that? What happened to me just now?! John thinks to himself in a panic. That was an experience unlike any he had the displeasure of surviving through before.
Why is it so cool all of a sudden? I was barely able to stay cool before. Where am I?? Is this when the Deinonychus come leaping out at me?
John shifts his uncomfortable pants and falls face-first as he tries to move out and away from this place. He looks back at his feet to see what tripped him and finds a thick, gleaming silver tail of some constrictor snake species.
HOLY S&&~! AM I IN THE AMAZON RIGHT NOW?!
"HELP, I'M BEING CONSTRICTED!! SOMEONE HElp..."
The tail thrashed as John cried out in panic.
Is this...mine?
John wiggled his tail to try it out. He begins to desperately suppress his increasing panic as he looks over the rest of his body, finding none of it the same as it was.
Oh God...What the f@!~ actually happened to me?!
John hears a shriek coming from somewhere else in the grass. "What is happening?!" the feminine voice shrieks out. John takes stock of his situation before moving towards the voice. He looks all over himself to ensure he can move everything and that nothing hurts.
Why am I suddenly in this child's body? How do I even know it's a child's body? ...Whatever, I'll take off these pants, since I don't need them, and see what noise is all about.
John takes off his pants and ties them around his head in a makeshift hood. He finds that he is able to command his body to move with surprising ease. He silently and carefully slithers towards the shout to passively observe the situation before acting, while picking up a stick and some stones to use as makeshift weapons along the way.
As John approaches the sounds, he sees a woman - not a tall woman, but definitely much bigger than himself. She stands less than 5 feet tall.
A strange, small snake with arms and gleaming silver scales is standing in the grass, wearing an oversized polyester mesh shirt like a toddler wearing their parent's shirt, and a matching pair of black pants on their head.
An elf woman with horns wider than her body and a cow's tail poking out behind her literally stumbles over the snake-person.
-- Russell --
"Ah! P-pardon me!" the elf instinctively blurts out. She takes a few steps back to stare at the snake person. "Um, are you... Are you okay?"[b]
The elf is a beautiful brunette. She is quite petite, standing less than five feet tall, but she has a curvaceous frame. She wears a simple silk tunic and skirt with a hole through which a cow's tail emerges, lashing behind her.
-- John --
A small, leucistic snake with shimmering scales and a makeshift black hood and black t-shirt stares up at the Elf. It holds a pebble in one hand and a thin stick in the other. He freezes, his serpentine face nearly impossible to read.
Holy s~%#. She almost killed me. Who is this giant? First me as a tiny snake thing, and now a giant cow thing?! Where the hell am I?
After a brief moment, John flashes his tongue out and then quietly says, [b]"Let'sss go; quietly now. Something elsss might have been attracted by your scream. Introductionsss later. If you don't have any weaponsss, pick up some stonesss or a branch or something."
I can't speak like I normally do. But at least I can speak. This thing probably won't kill me in that case, right?
John continues to move on quickly and quietly, alert for any signs of movement in the grass multiple times its height.
-- Russell --
The elf blinks at the snake man's words. Do I really trust this talking reptile? This whole thing is insane! But... what if he's right? What if there are monsters lurking about? She glances around and nods moving to quietly follow.
-- John --
After a few minutes of walking, and with seemingly no end of the grass in sight, the little snake stops.
"Alright, here isss good for introductionsss. I'm John the Wisss, who you almost killed by accident. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
John looks around.
"And where are we?" he adds.
-- Russell --
"I don't know where we are. I was at home with my family, then suddenly I felt myself floating away from everything. I woke up here. Like this."
The elf looks down at her body and sighs.
"My name is Russell."
-- John --
"You, too, Russsell? Wait, so are you not even from here? Dang, I was hoping to get some answersss or something."
The silvery snakelet also sighs and pats Russell's knee. He passes a branch (stick) and some stones (pebbles) to Russell.
"Well, that's okay, Russell. Here, take thesss, just in casss. Usss offworldersss gotta stick together. I wasssn't alwaysss like this, either. Sss sss sss I used to be a fairly normal human, but something happened and I ended up small and snakey."
John's cute, obsidian eyes gleam with curiosity.
"No offensss, but what kind of creature are you? I've never seen one of your kind before."
John suddenly freezes and watches his surroundings with care.
"Well, maybe we should get out of here before all that, just in case a velociraptor popssss out at usss. Sss sss sss C'mon, Russell. Safety first."
He then quietly continues to move, looking out for any more sticks and stones he can use as weapons.
"Oh, and please watch your step. I nearly had a heart attack with your hoovesss coming that close to sending me to yet another world. Sss sss sss."
-- Russell --
Russell takes the offered stick and stones. "I’m not sure what I am. Besides a woman, which I definitely was not before."
The elf carefully follows John, mindful of her step.
"You seem to be in a pretty good mood, considering everything," she observes.
-- John --
"Well, it'sss a new adventure and all. A complete departure from my previousss life, which was pretty drab and boring. Plusss, I last recall seeing myself continuing to talk and respond to something someone said, which likely meansss whatever happens here won't affect the "me" over there. This is a consequence-free adventure, asss long asss I stay alive. Say..."
John pauses and hesitates a bit, awkwardly scratching his face with his small hands, before continuing.
"Would you mind hoisting me up to one of your hornsss? I think I'd be able to look out over this grass if I got a 5 foot boost. Heck, even 2 more would be more what I'm used to. Sss sss sss"
John grabs several stones while suggesting this.
"All I ask isss that you catch me and let me down gently on my signal, if I spot something dangerousss in the sky or something and I need to suddenly drop off."
-- Russell --
"Um, okay." Russell stoops down and lifts John up over her head. Luckily he isn't very heavy.
"I have a wife and two kids back home. I want to get back to them."
-- John --
John nods his tiny head.
"Alright, that'sss pretty reasonable. Let'sss see if we can get out of here and get you back home, then." John says as he looks around for any break in the grassy field surrounding them.
Between you and the sands is a creature that appears to have the head of a giant lizard; it's looking down at something in the grass.
Above you in the sky, you see a human with large black feathery wings, like a raven's, but he doesn't seem to be putting those wings to any use. He's plummeting towards the ground.
"Okay, beach isss that way, lizard thing isss in the way and Oh! There'sss some kind of winged man falling from the sky! I'll guide you, Russell. Let's see if we can save the falling bird or loot it once it "lands"."
John directs Russell to where he thinks the birdman will splat.
-- Russell --
"Right, hold onto my, uh, horns!" Russell begins to run toward the falling birdman. She tries not to focus on how certain parts of her body jiggle and bounce in a very distracting manner.
The grass sways in the ocean breeze like waves along the land. The air brings a heavy scent of salt.
Each of you get closer together, the dragon and the halfling walking together, the serpent riding on the elf's shoulders, and the bird and the waterman talking to each other.
From the grass, a feminine voice calls out, "That looked like a bit of a rough landing there..."
I'll get up when it's time to shake hands...
"I'm also from there, although I don't think this is Kansasss anymore. Sss sss sss"
As the elf lets John down, he thanks her. He stands about 1' tall from the waist. It looks over the "gracefully" landed bird with some worry.
"Oh dang. Do you think this guy will be able to survive? I wanted to know where to go to get out of the long grass."
Dang, I was kind of hoping this guy could fly me out of here. I guess I'll need another badge or something, first...
"I'd introduce myself, but I'd like to get out of this grass first. I might still be able to see over some HOA-approved grass length, unless we're in some kind of giant's world. Then at least I'm not really this short."
He gestures and begins walking. His first quest well on the way to being completed!
The elf hesitates, then kneels and offers a hand to the birdman to help him up. Her tail swishes back and forth behind her.
"Can you walk?"
"Yep! Sorry, just... Very, very sore."
He reaches a wing up and grasps the offered hand, hoisting himself up while being careful not to throw his weight onto her.
He pats himself off and says, "Thanks!"
He leans down and grabs the chest he arrived with, moseying along with the rest of the party.
"You're welcome," she says, eyeing the chest curiously.
The halfling dressed in far too large clothes says. He glanced around and cracks a half smile.
"So, did anyone talk to a self-proclaimed god or goddess on their way here? Or did we all just get pulled out of our bodies and have to choose a road leave some dark abyss?"
A rather striking young Halfling man, with bright healthy skin, wavy dark brown hair, and darting blue eyes gives a friendly grin trying to break the ice. He carries a set of much too big modern clothes with him.
Damn, he looks like a tiny bodybuilder!
"I didn't see any god or goddess. Just the void, and the paths, and then waking up here, like this."
John thinks for a second.
"Say, I don't think I did introduce myself. I'm John, but I'd appreciate it if you guys called me M'ushu in front of others. Sss sss sss Hopefully you guys are from the same time period and know what I'm referencing."
I wonder how common each of our species is in this new world and how odd this assortment of doughnuts might be to the denizens of this place.
John goes up to Con and asks, "Mind if I get a ride on your head, stranger? I hate it when I can't see where I'm going and I can keep a lookout for us, if you let me."
"God, why do I have to sound so girly?" she mutters.
The elf's comment attracts a look that seems as though a raised eyebrow should be involved, but the smooth blue face has no eyebrows to raise.
[b]"Is your... femininity a new development?" He asks. "I'm, was, am male. I assumed gender didn't change. Or did it?"
"My name is Russell, by the way."
He attempts to inject some levity into what he knows must be a wholly jarring experience.
"And don't worry, I didn't become a snake or a lizard person, either!"
He pauses for comedic effect. His transformation was just as complete and inhuman as the rest of the gang.
"Can't say I would have minded a gender swap, though. Not for just the novelty, I've had more than one time in my life I regretted my inability to wear a cute accessory or outfit. I don't mind not changing, though I wonder..."
The subject of bird genetalia flashes through his mind before being eliminated completely.
Questions for later...
"Actually, I am from Florida... If you know me, then... Are you Nikolaus?"
The undine replies, looking startled.
"Ok, this s@%~ is getting seriously weird. Just to check though. Tygrah, Sadiki and Zhi paired up with...?"
"Wow, this is definitely not how I thought we would meet! But it seems like too much of a coincidence that both of us would suddenly he pulled into another world together."
Birdman drops the chest in the sand.
"Ugh... You know what the hardest part about being Isekai'd is?!"
He leans closer to the closest person who's listening.
"Pretending I'm not excited. HAH!"
"Gah, so girly!"
She looks to Birdman. "Truth be told, I am a little excited, too. Nervous. Awkward. But excited. I only worry about my family back home."
Once more, she looks at the chest.
"Anybody else want to know what's inside that?"
"Umm, Prince Vultan, you ok with us opening this?"
Surely this has to be a dream! But everything feels so real...
"Yeah, I kinda want to know too."
He pipes up, turning to the others.
He pauses again.
"...just as soon as we get it open!"
He pats his clothes looking for a key.
He sobers up a touch.
"Serious, though. I don't know what it is, what's in it... So while I do feel some sense of possession as it appears to have arrived with me, I'm not exactly invested."
He kneels in front of the chest, eyeing the work. He runs his hands around the edges of where it appears to open and then inspects the keyhole closely before trying the lid a couple times.
"I can't really be sure of how much force I can apply with my bird body against the weight of the lid, but it appears to be locked shut. You're welcome to give it a go. I'd say be careful, but whatever is in there already lived through a long drop. Let's not destroy it outright if we can help it."
As he speaks, he sidles out of the way and gestures vaguely at it with his wings to indicate anyone is welcome to take a shot at it.
(From here forward, you're free to browse any book you like using these in-game books as reference. However, if you're not taking the time to search the books, then you'll need to make checks to properly recall knowledge, and a failure will result in incorrect knowledge).
There are two additional compartments in the chest. One Compartment has a single potion, though there is room for two more. The other Compartment has a six scroll tubes.
The elf looks inside the scroll tubes.
He checks it over noting his stats and flaws before depositing it once more.
"This will be safe in here... I wonder if there's a way to create a decent HUD for his. Hmm..."[b]
He strokes his chin, the familiar beard-related habit odd on his new face.
[b]"I really don't know what to think of all this. I'm starving though, we should find food and shelter."
He glances at the bird-man but quickly shakes his head, dismissing a thought.
"I'm an elf, apparently. That's right, they're strange in this game. 'You are unable to cry.' Okay, strange quirk... 'Breast Size--'" She stops and puts the scroll away. "I don't know why that is considered a Vital Statistic."
"It just says Russell. I guess I havent thought of a more appropriate name yet."
He mutters to his small reptile kin.
"Who knew M'ushu would be such a good fit for this new incarnation. I guess I can at least read and write in Common."
I wonder what Paths I should be taking to be useful... Hope I feel lucky like I never do. John thinks wistfully while joking around.
John memorizes his sheet and then rips it up. When he looks up from this arduous task, he finds some of his new companions staring at him.
"What? Did you guys want to see my sheet or something? I don't want anyone else to know my stats." John says as he stuffs half of the confetti into one of the pockets of his pants and scatters the rest around.
"Trust me, guys, it was bad. I might take a mount-based path just to be useful. Sss sss ss Thanksss for the boost, Con."
John begins to look around the group from his new vantage point.
He says, half-incredulous and half-startled.
"Though, mine marked my damage from falling out of the sky. I won't mind having metadata like that handy!"
"Although, I could've totally destroyed the magic and turned it mundane, too." John shrugs nonchalantly.
"Maybe one of the books has a map for this place. Let's get to the beach and see if we can get our bearings."
"You've got a point. We need some priorities. Assuming dying here is the same as back home, I'd wager we don't want to try the cowards way out. In the face of that, what do we do? I'm thinking basics are obvious, food and a place to rest, especially the latter because I'm beat."
Bruises from his fall are as obvious as they can be across his torso.
"But what then?"
Con looks up and down the beach as far as he can see.
"Gods, we've been Isekai'd away into Shadow of the Demon Lord. Of all the games to end up in, this is one of the worst ones I can imagine."
The dragonborn shudders at the thought.
The lizard would have shed a single tear if he could.
He thinks for a moment before adding:
"Ok, so you guys definitely understand teleportation as a concept, but this one's always bugged me: you step into a teleporter and get broken down into a digital signal or constituent particles or what-have-you, that gets sent to the receiver, and then you get put back together, right?"
He waits for anyone to look like they're going to answer.
"Wrong! That broken-down stream of bits or bytes isn't you! It can't think! It's not alive! What that machine did was kill you. You're dead. It's over. Your life has ended. Whatever walks out the other side isn't you, it's structurally the same, but it's an altogether different existence. Your turn is over."
"...except... You're absolutely right. I also seem to remember earth me continuing his rambling as I was on my way out. So I guess if you consider the teleporter thing, except you skip the 'getting broken down' step... It's just another you. Neat!"
He looks around before adding:
"Anyway. like I said. Rambling. I do go on."
"I pretend I understand various concepts of teleportation as they have been explained in movies, books, or T.V. But this had a lot more of a copy of consciousness feel than direct teleportation. There was more of an acceleration of speed, like I was being drawn here once my... I don't know, soul or conscience copy was made."
He then turned back to the Lizardman pointing a finger. "Garwin was the dwarf's name. Which makes you Drot'ook, right?!"
"Well, nice to be familiar with someone here. Anyway, don't let me hold everyone up. Seems like we were just about to start moving anyway."
"It looks like most of us have more in common than we thought."
Con continues his search along the beach.
I guess that helps a little. But what now? It's not I suddenly know anyone from here.
We also have our various stat sheets to think about. Does what we know about our world translate over to that in any fashion? Will that affect anything or will we simply forget who we are after a while? Or is consciousness completely separate from our characters minds? There's too many unanswered questions.
"This is easily the most dangerous stage of our journey, if any of the games I've been in have been any indication. We have no wealth, we have no friends, no place to stay, very little equipment or supplies, and we're just people. Without class levels."
"Wait, that'sss a bad thing? That was pretty much what my experiensss back on Earth was! Sss sss sss." John hisses softly.
Despite John's constant joking, his mind is furiously churning ideas and setting priorities. His reptilian face perfectly conceals his true thoughts, his eyes the only source of change on his otherwise emotionless mask. He keeps alert for any part in the grass from his vantage point on top of Con's head, trying to ensure nothing gets the drop on the group.
"It'll be fine, shorty. Sss sss sss We just need to get to the beach and we'll be able to make some shelter and basic equipment. We're also likely to forage some seafood, which I'm not a fan of, but should serve asss temporary sussstenance. I hope the fauna here at least sharesss some resemblansss to that of Earth: I'll be able to identify what'sss poisonousss and what'sss safe to eat, in that casss."
First thing to do is to create a fire and some fire-hardened spears and clubs from the flotsam. We could also probably create some rope out of this grass and maybe even a net that could serve as a blanket. Well, let's just focus on getting there first. No telling what else could be lurking in this grassfield.
The first real feeling I had after floating away from myself and everything I had ever known was dragons. There were other entities pulling at me, or at my spirit maybe, but the fierce and tenacious dragon pulled the strongest and I was happy to oblige the call.
This waking dream started in a field of tall grass, though not so tall I couldn't see over it. Which is entirely normal for me. What is not normal is the small person-sized bird above me and the large bird-sized person I tripped over.
They turned out to be people I knew, friends even. Again, a normal thing to happen in a dream, however, I've never had dreams anywhere close to this vivid.
I was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
Whether this "game" was a hallucination, a mental breakdown, or a lucid dream, it still felt real. That's more than enough for me to take this seriously.
I will not die here.
The first response for anyone drowning is to not breathe. Sadly this only prolongs the inevitable, as black spots start forming across your vision and your lungs scream at you for air. Your head becomes light and you fight your reflex until the need for oxygen becomes so overwhelming that your reflex system steals control from your fading brain and demands that you 'breathe damn it!'. What I didn't expect was for the dying gasp of water to actually help!
The gentle water carried life-giving oxygen into my mind and my brain was so grateful that it took a full minute, or maybe more, to start freaking out that I was under-freaking-water and apparently not dead in the meantime.
OK, slow down, take some time and think this through. Head? Check. Limbs? Check. Webbed toes? Che- wait? What?
It takes a moment to realise, if not understand, what's going on right now but I can't help but let out a loud laugh. It's muffled by the water, obviously, but I'm breathing water, and by the look of it I'm going to be able to swim.
So I do. And it's freakin' glorious!
Then, rolling over to swim on my back with unnatural ease I see something, or someone falling out of the sky, with wings. Which don't seem to be working. Well crud. At least swimming is as easy as walking used to be, so I pile on the speed and head for the beach. I won’t beat him there, but I can try and help at least.
Thankfully just before he hits the ground his wings whip out and catch the air, slowing the descent. His landing in the tall grass beyond the beach has to be painful, but hopefully not fatal.
I’d happily stay in the water forever, that’s how perfect it feels but despite that I pull myself upright. The drag of my wet t-shirt is immediate and thoroughly unpleasant so I wrestle it off, a lengthy and awkward process at any time. Damn you Primark and your cheap polyester!
Probably should keep it though, if my skin dries out I'm going to need it!
Sadly, I wasn't wearing shoes before... this, but my jeans, while wet, are completely serviceable so I exit the water blue, shirtless and soaking wet.
Right, he fell over that way.... better go and see whether he's OK.
"So, how much force could a secretary bird punch with if it had a 50-foot wingspan?"
Uncle Rob was encouraging my incorrigible behaviour, much to the chagrin of everyone else at the table. My sister let out an audible groan.
"Well, It would be about the same force as getting punched by 2.5 Mike Tysons, at least in pounds per square inch. The issue is the surface area of the feet on a bird that size is much larger..."
The din of conversation began to resume around our obviously facetious conversation, but suddenly took on an odd quality of distance. I pause, mid-sentence, but can hear my voice continuing on. As I stir, adjusting my sitting position to more alertness, I look out over the table of everyone behaving as if nothing is happening.
Wellp, this is it. I'm having an anuerism. Sorry, folks. See you on the other side...
But then I begin elevating, and look down as it happens, finding I'm still chattering on about biomechanics... or at least, my body is.
Good for you, me.
I briefly note that my military training was maybe too thorough, that I wasn't jumping out of my skin at this.
But just like everything else I'm uncannily stoic about, it'll hit me like a truck later... If there is a later. Huh.
I look up as I pass through the roof. I take stock of what's in my uncle's underwear drawer on my way through, and then glance around the unused attic space before levitating through the roof.
End of days, maybe? I can only hope. Rapture has certainly taken me, so that's a blessing. I wonder if anyone else is experiencing this?
I focus my eyes around me to see if I can pick out anyone else floating about, but to no avail.
It's... not like it's written in the Bible. Guess I'm just sort of on for the ride now, though, eh?
I enjoy the view as it expands before me, rising higher and higher, taking it all in and humming a peaceful song to myself as I do. I'm strictly avoiding any existential dread as it wouldn't matter as matters were clearly out of my control.
The view contracts as the planet sinks below me. I furrow my brow, concerned at the development.
So I'm going somewhere... Else?
The Earth disappears from view before I exit the plane of the solar system, Sol beginning to sink in much the same fashion. I look towards the direction I'm headed, trying to pick out what might be drawing me nigh. Again, to no avail.
Maybe I'm destined to drift through space like this forever. Which direction is the solar system going, again? How on earth did I unseat myself? What a wash.
It's not quite panic, but I'm not quite calm, either. My mind begins to cycle between what's going to happen next, what happened to cause this, and what's happening right this moment. The cycle is too fast for me to congeal any real thought into each subject before moving on to the next. Slowly but surely, all light has moved away from my direction of travel, and I'm engulfed by the darkness. I never get the sense that I've stopped my perilous journey, but then a new sensation begins. I sense paths before me, five of them. I tune myself to each in turn, feeling out the sensation and imprint each one brings.
The fourth path feels like the wind blowing through your hair.
The sensation feels freeing to me, and satisfying. I certainly enjoyed my share of bike riding and driving with the windows down. It felt liberating, and I could sense that these paths were the key to shedding the confines of my present circumstance. I chose. I could feel the wind rush upon me, the sensation of the wind blowing through my hair becomes wind pressing against my whole body. Then I opened my eyes.
Oh s#%#.
I was fifty feet above the ground, and nothing was holding me up.
Ok, ok, parkour, uh, soft landing, uh
Momentum began to take hold, but more slowly than I thought it should.
Alright, reduced gravity? There's hope for me yet. Ok how to create drag and aim... Sand? No. Water? Ehhhh... Now that is some taaaall grass.
Mind made up before I even knew it, I threw my arms out to the side to create the upside-down L I knew would create the appropriate drag to aim in that direction.
Then I looked at my...
...arms and... WINGS?!
My body reorients much too rapidly, and I tumble in a circle. I throw my wings out to either side and stabilize back into a fall. I flap once, attempting to fly.
Nope!
I slow my fall, but it's not enough.
Ok, glide slope glide slope, shift momentum from down to...
I whip my wings from their down position to forward and throw them backwards with every fiber of my being. Unaware this new body's musculature was built for just that, my wings explode from front to back, the new drag creating a cushion of air. My wings swing forward to catch the cushion by my new body's muscle memory, and I hit the grass.
Ow... Ok. Uh. Legs.
I wiggle my legs, all is well.
Torso~
A brief shift of shoulders and hips doesn't yield excruciating pain.
Arms and Wings?
I hold my wings straight in the air above my prostrate form, admiring them for a moment too long before it hits me.
I'm ok?
I stand up and shout with exhilaration.
"Woohoo!!! I'm OK!"
However, standing up and jumping while shouting yields a plane of vision I wasn't expecting.
Oh, s%**, surroundings unknown. Who's around me?
I lower myself down and do my best to peak around in a directions, the exceedingly tall grass making it difficult.
"Hey!" The blue skinned figure calls, wrestling his way out of a waterlogged t-shirt. "Are you OK? What happened to you?"
The winged man springs into the air in a too-high jump, shouting.
"WOOHOO!! I'M OK!!"
And then goes silent. He doesn't catch a glimpse of the blue-skinned individual, but hears them call out. He does his best to acquire a visual on the stranger, but the tall grass obscures his view too much. Without exiting the grass, he says, "Sure am! And you wouldn't believe me if I told you!"
He looks down at his wings.
Not sure I believe it myself just yet. If I wasn't so sore from the fall, I'd think it was a dream...
He rubs his back in unconscious pantomime, the motion yielding sight of the chest at his feet. On his feet.
Ow.
He steps back and examines it briefly before returning to vigilance. He listens carefully for anyone approaching through the grass.
Several others are approaching; while it's hard to see above the grass line, there does seem to be an lizard headed man and a snake headed man heading your way.
The huge leap was a dead give-away and makes it much easier to locate where he is, and to keep up conversation since that's merely polite.
"Well that's good. And frankly, after the day I'm having... try me!"
Emerging from the grass he finally gets a good look at the bird man...
His hand checks for his front right pocket as the blue figure approaches.
Right.
There's no knife waiting for him. He would never start a fight, but he liked to be sure he could end one if he were attacked. He does his best not to let the unsurety show and raises to full height in the least aggressive stance he can.
Then blue comes through the grass.
Oh, where the f#!& am I?
He addresses blue in a friendly fashion, keeping his feet under him.
"Uh, hey. Before I unload all my drama, why are you blue? Party on the beach?"
He quests for information, the existential dread of his own avian appearance creeping in the back of his mind.
"Side effect." 'Blue' replies. "Honestly not sure what it's a side effect of, but I woke up underwater and damn near killed myself trying not to breathe. Turns out I didn't need to worry. But... well, I'm blue now. Makes sense since I can breathe water, I guess. Given how awkward you seem to be I'm going to guess you haven't had those wings for long either?"
His drops his tension.
"That obvious, huh?"
He holds them out in front of himself. He looks back to blue.
"Well, where ya from? I'm from Arizona."
The question was loaded, but he felt at ease asking.
"England. Although I figure we're not in either of those places any more." 'Blue' replies. "This isn't... you know, normal. Don't tell me, you were on your phone and then suddenly found yourself here?"
"Oh, thank goodness. Ok, uh, allies? Friends? I'm not seeing any battle royale walls closing in."
"Sounds like a plan." Blue replies. "I've never seen Battle Royale though... frankly if something starts going down I'm back in the water. I should have a big advantage there."
The bird sinks to the ground and splays out on his back.
"Aaaahhhh, you're a blessing. This is rough and weird and an ally is good."
The adrenaline slips a bit with the relief and the all-over pain he'd been ignoring gets a step worse. He shields his face from the ambient light with one wing.
"And yeah, no kidding. Breathing water sounds friggin' neat. I like the hand I've been dealt, though. Think I can fly with these babies?"
He flaps his wings fecklessly in the air before letting them fall to either side.
"Ow. And yeah, just so. About the phone, I mean."
"Well damn." Blue says mildly. "Wait, there are some other people coming."
The day was turning out to be an odd experience for everyone. No one was in their right body; everyone's movement felt different, felt off. Not only were they transported somehow to another world, but they met other people who had experienced the same thing! And most strangely of all - they knew several or all of those other people! They were all connected through the same online community. What was happening?!?
The group talked as they meandered out of the grass and towards the white sand beach. Ocean birds flew overhead, cawing and squawking out their birdy noises. Waves crashed against the sands, and fish swam in the clear waters.
It was easy enough to get a fire started; Tamiel had a lighter and through combined effort you were able to collect enough dried wood and dead grass to get it going. It was smoky at first, but it stayed lit and was a comforting sense of warmness as the sun started to make its way towards the horizon.
"I'm hungry," someone thought, and soon brought those thoughts to voice. Quickly, all of you realized that you are hungry. And thirsty.
What do you do?
It took Russell a while to figure out what to do with her tail as she tried to sit by the fire. Eventually, she managed to get it to rest beside her leg, and she sat down to rest after all the walking she had done.
Now, though, she was beginning to get a headache from the lack of food and water. She gets to her feet and looks around. ”Alright, I used to be a Boy Scout when I was younger. I guess it’s time to see if I still remember those wilderness survival skills I learned to earn that merit badge. I’m going to try to find some berries or something, and fresh water. Be back in a bit.”
Though the area is unfamiliar, Russell sets off to forage...
John thinks a bit. Now that Russell mentioned it, he was getting hungry and thirsty. Relief washes over him as he realizes he's a warm-blooded creature.
At least this means I won't slow anyone down and can keep up with the rest of them. Alright, what do we need...food, water, weapons, and shelter. Hopefully, everyone can do a little something to help out.
John thinks a bit while resting this head on his arms. He almost looks like he's simply zoning out to his new companions.
"Okay, sinsss we're all getting a little hungry and thirsty, I guesss it'sss time to get the bare necessitiesss together. Sinsss thisss isss the beach, there should be plenty of shellfish around. I'll go foraging for some shellfish to cook and eat. Luckily I'm pretty good with animalsss, so I should hopefully be able to distinguish between the poisonousss and non-poisonousss stuff."
John takes off his shirt and ties it onto the sticks that he had picked up in the grassfield.
"I think we need weaponsss and water. Any of you guysss familiar enough with making fire-hardened spearsss? That or some fire-hardened clubs would be nisss makeshift weaponsss, if you guysss can find enough flotsam around the beach. Also, could some of you guysss carve some bowlsss to hold water out of any thick pieces of wood and heat thesss rocksss I've been gathering? We can usss my clothesss to filter any water into the bowl. We can then usss the rocksss to boil the filtered water in the bowl. It'd preferably be a biiiig bowl, so we can boil enough water at onsss for all of usss to have a good drink, but multiple bowlsss could also work. Worst casss scenario...we can empty the chest and use that to boil the water. We could also boil the shellfish I might be able to gather and call it an underseasoned Louisiana boil. Sss sss sss"
Fire, food, water, weapons...Am I forgetting anything? Oh, shelter!
"If you guysss don't have any confidence to do any of that stuff, please gather some grasss so we can use it asss blanketsss and bedding for tonight. We can think about watch and what elsss to do tomorrow. Alright, I'll be back with some more grub, hopefully. Wish me luck, since I'm not known to be very lucky. Sss sss sss"
As John rapidly suggests tasks to be split up amongst everyone, he finishes up tying the makeshift haversack and sliters away closer to the surf zone to dig up non-toxic, edible shellfish, being alert for any predators.
John was able to gather enough shellfish for everyone and feels confident that they shared enough of the same characteristics as their counterparts on Earth to be able to collect just the edible shellfish.
Wouldn't be able to vouch for their taste, though. John thinks with a grimace as he heads back to the group. He's happy to find that Russell was also able to secure more food, but most importantly, some water.
Hmm, not bad on the task ideas, but are we really planning on sleeping by the ocean?
As the others began to spread out and pick up various tasks Tamien looked around.
"Alright, well I've seen a few episodes of Naked and Afraid, I'm going to go see if I can't get some wood to make some spears and bowls out of.
I'm a heck of a lot smaller than I used to be so I could definitely use some help to make things go faster if anyone's willing."
"We don't have any of the proper tools here but I at least have a good knife to use so I think I can make some sort of bowl."
"I know the basics of fire hardening. I have a knife so shave the bark back. Sharpen into a spear. Keep it close to the heat and brush into the fire occasionally, don't let it get blackened. Let it cool every 20 minutes."
Nick, who does not come from America and therefore is not the beneficiary of umpteen trillion cable tv shows on wilderness survival, takes advantage of what appears to be his new natural gifts and slips quietly back into the ocean. Once there he sets about sneaking up on smaller fish, or at the very least driving them towards his fishing companions on the shore.
"I will go with you to find wood. I can at least carry a lot."
Con said to Tamien when he asked for help.
The impromptu prince simply did his best not to clutch his knees to his chest and rock while the party oriented on immediate goals.
Don't let the existential set in. Don't let it set in...
He marches over to the chest and withdraws his sheet again, reading furiously.
"Damn, no fly speed..."
He deposits his sheet and then cracks open a few books before finding Wing and Glamour.
Barely a pamphlet, but it's all here...
"Ahah!"
Fly speed at four. Equal to my speed, even. Speed not looking too bad, but...
He thinks back to a previous PC he had played who was notoriously less mobile than his compatriots.
Not this time!
"I'm going to recon the beach. The ocean makes a fine landmark for finding my way back, and it would behoove us to know if there's civilization nearby. Plus, if there is, they're almost certainly going to be directly on the water; won't be gone long, then I'll help with the wood."
Ok, clever cover for some exercise...
He puts the water on his left and begins at a loose jog. Feeling out his balance, drag, which motions are energy efficient for powering his legs; he looks like a newborn horse.
Ok, so if I pull my wings in behind me... and if I bring them out for lift...
He tries every combination he can think of to give himself bursts of speed, to corner more sharply than a wingless person could, to jump longer distances, gliding on his wings as he goes. From running like a character from Naruto to bouncing much too high like he's running in a dream, he explores every angle of attacking the ground with his feet as he possibly can.
He estimated travel to somewhere between one and one point five miles before stopping to rest. He puts the ocean at his back and takes more than a minute scanning landward. Very slowly from left to right, he looks for any sign of civilization, be it smoke, buildings, bent paths through the grass, footprints, sawn tree stumps... Anything between him and the horizon. He leaps straight up a couple times, attempting to gain further vision of anything he can see. He'll do one final circle of the horizon, ocean included, before checking the sky above and turning to leave.
Regardless of what he sees, he doesn't want to remain separated from the party for long, so he turns around, putting the water on his right. He starts into a furious run, exerting himself this way and that, using what little he'd learned on the way out to hasten his trip back.
It'll take some time to build muscle memory, but... I think I've just about got it.
It's only a few minutes before he stumbles back into camp, breathing heavy from the run, and half-sits, half-topples into the sand near the fire.
Running? No problem. Stopping? Needs work.
He'll wait for his breathing and heart rate to stabilize before sitting up to see how things are coming along and look for somewhere he can jump in to help.
Preferably a job that requires sitting for a bit...
Following Tamiens leadership, Com and the halfling start searching for good carving wood, as well as grab pieces to help keep the fire going through the night.
It takes a long time to find some good wood to use for the spears and bowls. Once procured, Tamien starts working on the spears, because they're the fastest. Make one end sharp, and make the whole thing more or less straight. He then lays them above the fire to dry out.
Carving the bowl took a solid hour, but you now have yourself a good sized bowl to share and carry stuff.
At the same time, Russel takes off to find some berries and water. It takes her about the same amount of time to find and return the berries, and then find a source of fresh water, as it does to prep the spears and make the bowl. So by the time that the bowl is ready, she's able to start retrieving water. There's enough fresh water in the bowl and juice in the berries to provide for everyone's water needs.
John heads off down the shoreline to find some clams and oysters to cook up, coming back with a shirtfull of them
Nick dives into the ocean to try and grab some fish!
And lastly, Vultan just seems to walk away from it all. In reality, he's scouting. He walks a mile up the beach, and then turns back and walks a mile in the other direction, trying to see what's out there and find anything that may be useful or dangerous.
(To be continued....)
At some point during the foraging, Russell stops to consider her reflection in the stream where she has started to gather water. High cheekbones, pouty lips, long lashes... There’s not a trace of masculinity left on her face. She touches her face in wonder.
This is really happening. I’m really a woman now! I’ve always been curious what it might feel like... I never thought I’d ever actually get the chance to experience it!
Her hands roam lower, tracing the contours of her body. Her heart beats faster, and she forces herself to cut her exploration short. There will be time for that later.
On the way back to camp, though, Russell feels an uncomfortable urge strike her. She panics for a while as she tries to determine exactly how to go about relieving herself in this body, eventually managing to figure it out. The whole ordeal really serves to hammer home how different her new body is from her old one. Unlike the others, she has to figure out how to operate as a whole new gender!
This is definitely going to be quite and adjustment. Crap, am I going to get a period? Do elves get those? That’s not something I’m looking forward to!
Her expression is concerned when she makes it back to camp.
Despite the recklessness of venturing off on your own, you all somehow manage to make it back to the fire safely. And with food or water! As the sun sets behind the horizon beyond the mountains seemingly far away, the sky turns orange, then purple, and slowly black. Soon, the full moon rises, shedding a faint silver light across the waters. An hour later, a second, larger moon rises. The light of the two moons is enough to faintly see.
However, those who have shadowsight can see much further than you'd expect to be able to see. And any who may have darkvision are unhindered by the night sky.
Huh, this is so strange. I wonder how I could even see this clearly. I guess the 2 moons help. We've been pretty lucky, so far. I hope this keeps up.
John ate a bit of food and drank some water, but quickly had all his small body wanted. He is coiled by the fire sitting on some rocks warmed by the fire. He remains alert as the others enjoy their bounty, watching his surroundings with a keen eye.
Despite how weird this has all been...it's kind of fun. At least I don't have to work under some idiot, anymore. Well for now, anyway. Huh, it seems to get pretty quiet at night, here, unlike back on Earth. That seems really strange...wait, what's that?
John tries not to move and give away that he's spotted something crouched in the grass just beyond the group. He slowly picks up a couple of stones in an attempt to avoid triggering the barely visible puma.
"Guysss, don't move too suddenly. Get ready to pick up whatever weaponsss are around. I think there'sss some kind of big cat stalking usss from the grassfield behind usss . Move slowly, to buy some more time: I think it'sss going to pounsss soon." John says gently and quietly.
Our first fight, and I can't even talk right. Yet. Hopefully, we can overcome this without sustaining too many injuries. We have to preserve as much strength as we can.
John is frozen, mesmerized by the danger and flicking his tongue in anticipation of what's to come. His sable eyes gleam ominously in the moonlight.
Vigilant as he was, he could not contend with the darkness that surrounded them and the firelight served to weaken any sort of night vision he might have otherwise gained.
"Tamien" was distracted but stiffened as John warned them about a big cat he could not see. His heartbeat increased and he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his body, making him shake ever so slightly as he slowly reached for a spear.
Sitting with his back to the creature and not really even registering what John had said until moments later, Con was taken entirely by surprise!
Nick is busying cooking the fish that long hours, that felt like minutes, under the water provided. The concentration required, combined with trying not to get too close to the fire - which feels much hotter than he remembers fire ever being - absorbs all of his focus and the fact that the others are talking barely registers at all.
Needless to say, he's utterly taken aback when conflict breaks out.
Russell is sitting next to the fire, watching Nick cook and idly playing with her long hair. The movement in the shadows catches her eyes, though, and she gasps when she sees the big cat! She reaches for a nearby length of wood to prepare to defend herself.
Vultan sits near the fire, lending a hand with baking the wood. He's so intent upon searing the wood, he forgets to SERE his surroundings. The alarm in John's voice grabs his attention, but he struggles to make out what he's saying over the sudden realization that it was fully night and he could still see quite well.
Well, that's not natural. Pretty coo-
The giant cat leaps out from the grass at the exact same moment that John calls out his warning. The puma lunges at the winged man...
... and sinks his teeth into Vultan's arm, drawing blood! Vultan screams out in pain as the cat prepares to latch on harder and drag the bird back into the grass!
Russell cries out as the cat bites Vultan! ”S!%&!” she shrieks. Thinking quickly, she grabs one of the wooden sticks and moves toward the puma. Her sharp eyes spot an injury on its back, but the elf doesn’t trust her fledgling fighting skills to aim for it. ”It’s wounded there!” she tells the others, then she swings the stick toward the cat’s center mass.
Con also sees the wound on the cat, but can't get his feet under him when he lunges for the feline and stumbles... Menacingly.
John perceives the attack in slow motion. He sees the puma in great detail, noting its focused glare, patterning, and, finally, a sizable wound. He makes to run, assuming he was the target, but sees Vultan fall to the puma's ferocious attack. He feels a coolness wash over his body, but then sees Vultan grit through and survive the attack.
The bastard pulled though, somehow. Excellent. Onto the original plan.
John runs over to the chest containing their books. He quickly grabs the Core book and scans through to the section on Great Cats.
"The cat is only able to pounce once every other turn. It won't be able to do that again for another round. PUMMEL IT IN ITS WOUND ON THE SIDE!! It looks injured there, which might mean it's also close to death. Careful, it can attack with its Claws and Teeth as a reaction! It's defense is 15, so don't try anything too risky!"
G!~ d$!nit, I wish I was more useful right now!
The elf jumps forward into danger, grabbing a club and smacking hard. At the same moment, the snake thingy opens the chest and pulls out a book, informing everyone of just how f%@!ed they truly are.
"Ughhhh--eh"
A brief exhalation follows the sound of frustration that exits Prince Vultan, punctuating his arrival in a disabled state. Half disgruntled and half dying, he skips across the edge of unconsciousness as the pain overwhelms his senses.
Then, for no explicable reason, a meme popped into his head. It was a bird. A bird with its wings tucked in. Some comedic text accompanied the image.
"THIS BIRD KEEPS ITSELF IN THE AIR BY SHEER FORCE OF ANGER ALONE"
The words explode from Prince Vultan as he exerts himself back to consciousness on willpower alone.
He doesn't really have enough agency at this point to gain visibility of the injury the big cat is sporting.
Russell's hands were slightly singed by the flames when she grabbed the spear. She grit her teeth and quickly stabbed out at the cat again.
Before he could get ready, the situation had exploded into motion around him. Adrenaline pumping through his veins made him excited and nervous all at once.
It's wounded, huh?
"Uh, uh, okay! The cat's probably going to try and drag its prey in the grass! Surround it and but give it an opening to retreat. Con, I'll give a signal to strike!" the halfling said, raising a shaky hand.
Well shoot! Nick thinks. Acting purely on instinct he stands, still grasping the improvised spit, complete with seared fish, and thrusts at the cat - trying to remember the fencing lessons at university.
Con steps to the side and waits for the signal before raking the cat with his new claws!
Unfortunately, he still isn't used to his new weird legs and he stumbles again.
"Found my blood pressure, hah!"
Vultan tumbles a bit, the big cat letting go as he exclaims his own consciousness.
Head right, roll left.
He flops to his feet and uses his momentum to sweep his claws across the Puma's face!
"Take that, you made-up piece of s!@&!"
He then sprints away from the animal and toward the party. He wasn't read to stop contributing, but he also wasn't ready to front-line against a medium animal.
The Puma screeches and hisses when its wound is struck, but the desperation in it's eyes says that it's not *quite* willing to give up just yet.
Then, the bird-man makes a mistake - he tries to flee from a cat. The cat immediately and unconsciously reaches out with its paw to grab the meal trying to fly away - much like a house cat does with a small bird when it flies from th cat's clutches.
[ooc]Swift Attack: When a creature within the great cat’s reach moves, the great cat can use a triggered action to attack the triggering creature with its claws and teeth.
With his prey incapacitated once again, the Puma drags it backwards towards the grass. The puma is now only a few yards from the tall grass, and he's taking Vultan with him.
”No!” Russell shouts. She rushes after the cat, jabbing with the burning spear again!
Remembering the an anecdote about a trapped mountain lion, Con suddenly has an idea!
Grabbing Nikolaus' spear/spit he pulls off the partially cooked fish. He waves it near the cat's face to make sure the it gets a good wiff and barks "Grab him!" before tossing it just to the side of the beast.
Ok, turn and--
"HRKKK"
A gutteral sound comes out of Vultan as his arms and wings flap halfway through turning to run.
The Puma swings, but slashes empty air as Vultan does an odd high-kneed gallop while dancing away, trying to avoid any follow-up from the big cat.
As Con throws the fish towards the side, the puma pounces on it and takes a bite, carrying the fish and stick back into the grass to eat.
It's gone for now, but a single fish won't keep a hungry and desperate cat away for long.
Russell backs up to the fire, keeping her spear raised, eyes never leaving the grass where the puma retreated. ”We can’t stay here. What if it comes back? We have to move,” the elf says anxiously, heart pounding.
"Oh my god, it nearly killed one of us!" Tamien said, starting to feel shaky all over.
He was glad that someone else was taking charge for the moment. "Russel's right. No telling how long it'll be distracted. Maybe throw another fish over there for good measure."
Nick grimaces at getting rid of his hard work, but it is the sensible solution. He grasps one of the yet-to-be-cooked fish and lobs it in the approximate direction of the puma.
"Hopefully that'll help. Now, let's move."
John sees Vultan barely escape another fatal swipe of the puma's claws and teeth. He instantly decides to grab the potion from the chest and run over to Vultan, as the puma is lured away.
"VULTAN! QUICK TAKE THE POTION!!" he shouts to Vultan. "No need to worry about what other uses it might have down the road, you need to be able to see what happens down the road!!"
After helping Vultan consume the potion, John's mind immediately focuses on the next thing to do: securing their safety.
"Okay, let's grab the spears from the fire and ensure that we'll have them for the next stupid beast that tries us. Russell, are you okay? Your hands are burnt! I guess these are still hot from the fire."
What else can we do? How vigilant and, more importantly, effective can we be right now, with no real knowledge of what to expect? More importantly, how can I be more useful the next time this happens?
"Good thing we escaped the grass, eh? Thank God it wasn't the dinosaur I was expecting. Maybe we should move a bit further away from the grass, although I don't know how much the tide will roll in. Let's set up some watch."
John’s words remind Russell about her burned fingers. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, the pain is kicking in. She puts the spear down, then rips a few strips off the bottom of her dress to use as makeshift bandages for her fingers. ”It hurts, but it’s not too bad. I’ll heal up when we get some rest tonight,” she says.
Once properly bandaged, Russell retrieves the spear, then offers a hand to Vultan. ”Come on. You can lean on me as we walk.”
"Our only advantage over that thing, right now, is the fire. We shouldn't stray too far until we get another one going."
Con helps Russell move the birdman as needed. He looks for a good piece of wood and tries to light the end of it for a makeshift torch.
It won't last long, but it should scare that thing away if it comes back.
"We just need to put fire between us and it."