Selle

CH. 4: Time to give it my all!

As we get closer to the entrance, I can see the vendors again. The carriage comes to a halt, and I look over to Isaac. "So what got Rin so excited?" I ask him. Isaac chuckled to himself. "You got your hands on an egg us humans never have the luck of finding." Isaac pulls out a book that has some age on it. He flips to a page and reads out loud. "A yellow dotted egg with gray swirls, approximately 1-2 inches in height, is thought to be of great importance. Inside this egg is a lyfin, a small creature with tremendous power. The closest anyone can describe it to, is a tortoise. Lyfins can be very loyal to the first person it sees, and will grow fast if kept close." Isaac finishes his passage and closes his book. "The egg you have is special. You must keep this egg safe, and in return, the creature that hatches will be your closest friend." I can't believe I found something that helpful. "So, the story mentioned tremendous power. What kind of power does this lyfin have?" I ask Isaac. "Each lyfin is hatched, and attached, to one person. That power is changed due to what the person lacks. If I was to hatch it, it would be able to use some form of magic. I lack that ability. For you, you will just need to find it out." He chuckles ever so slightly to himself. "Like I said, very few humans have that kind of luck. So very few humans have seen one for themselves. So keep this little guy safe, even if you have to die for it." Isaacs words start to ring in my ears. 'Even if I have to die.' That reminds me, what if I die here? Will I be able to get back home to my family? Will I see them again?

At this time, Rin starts walking our way with a huge grin on her face. She's holding a necklace up to show what she had just bought. "Here you go Selle! Custom made just for you!" She hands me the necklace gently. Its silver colored chain is beautifully braided down, with a clasp on the back that joins them. At the pendant, it looks like a golden cage inside of a shield. Inside the cage is the lyfin egg. I flipped the pendant around to inspect the backside of it, and she had placed a rune on it. "What is this rune for?' I ask Rin. "It's a protection barrier. It's not the best, but it should help you keep it from being damaged." I smile at her response. "Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you." I slide the necklace on, and tuck it behind my shirt. "How much do I owe you?" I ask Rin, making any finishing touches to position the necklace. "Just stick with us, at least until the egg hatches. I really must see a lyfin for myself." Rin smiles ever so slightly.

"Food, anyone?" Isaac asks with a hearty laugh. "I am starving!" He pats his stomach to gesture an empty belly. We go to a nearby vendor to purchase food. There are so many options to choose from. Ranging from soup to full bulls head. Isaac passes Rin and I thirty gold pieces each and tells us to meet back in an hour. I gladly accept, and rush to find what weird thing I should try. I come across a flower-like dish that is flared open, and holding some sort of diced meat. Upon asking the merchant about it, he told me about the gamey flavors, and how spicy it is. This was a dish created for dragonborn, but altered for human consumption. It's housed in a purple flower, flayed out to act as a dish. Deer and rabbit meat was diced in perfect cubes, seasoned with the merchant's very own smoked kilshin pepper recipe. I order the flower dish and start to find a drink of some sort.

I meet back up with Isaac and Rin, who have already found their food. We decided to take our meals back to our room, and try to call it a night after eating. We make it back, and we all sit together and start chowing down. Rin got a bowl of cucumber soup with a fresh salad on the side. Isaac got a giant steak the size of his hand, which looks way too big for any average person to even attempt to eat. I tried my flower meat, and it was a lot spicier than I could have imagined. The flavors blended amazingly together, the pepper seasoning caused the meat to just melt in my mouth, and the aroma from the flower just made the dish taste a hundred times better. "So what are you going to name your lyfin when it hatches?" Rin speaks up with a mouthful of food. Isaac glares at her to let her know she needs to swallow her food before speaking, but Rin does not take notice of this. "I don't know yet." I answer, "I guess the name will just come when it comes." We spend the rest of the time talking about my training. Isaac wants us to go hunting in the morning to help me get a feel for combat. He recommended we hunt in a nearby dungeon. Not only will I get stronger, but a possibility of some good loot is at hand. I nod in agreement, it definitely sounds like fun. "Hey Isaac, when you found me in the woods, why did you save me?" I ask quietly. Isaac puts down his plate, and takes a sip of his drink. "To be honest? I don't know." He takes a moment to think. "I guess, something told me it was the right thing to do. You didn't have anything to defend yourself, no food, barely any clothing." He looks at me with a concerned look. "Why do you ask?" I lean forward with my head lowered to try to hide the worry on my face. "Why do you allow me to stay?" Isaac smiles at this. "I don't know what it is about you. We had full intentions to make sure you're all packed up, and send you on your way. But you seemed too confused for your own good. You didn't seem like you would have survived on your own." I shake my head at his words. "I wouldn't have. I'm not from here." I reply shakily. "I don't know how I got here, but I don't belong in this world." I have tears streaming down my face at this point. Isaac laughs at this. "Listen Selle. You were out here for a reason. You were found by us for a reason. Whatever that reason may be, may the gods guide us." I look up at him, wiping away my tears. "We will do our best to make sure you get home. Until then, no more tears. Warriors aren't allowed to be weak!" Isaac gives another boisterous laugh.

After everything settled down, we decided to lie down for the night. I tried my best to sleep, but instead, I found myself thinking about how different my life is going to be. How will I change the way I am to be better suited for this world? All I know is, hopefully Isaac and Rin will be by my side. I get out of bed, grabbing my sword, and I leave the room. I walk outside, and look around, making sure no one is watching. I then decide to start heading back to the entrance to the town. After a few minutes I make it to the vendor booths. All of them are empty with it being this late at night. I continue to press forward, I plan on training early. I have to get my body ready for the dungeon. I venture out back to the forest where we fought the goblins. I remember Isaac telling me about the gilfurs, I wonder if anything else will be out here like those creatures.

*click, click, click*

I start hearing a weird sound from behind some trees to my left. I decided to go check it out.

*click, click, click*

The sound is getting louder, sounding for around me instead of in one direction. I try to turn back around to go the opposite direction, but instead, I'm greeted with an odd creature. It is a flesh colored demon standing on two legs. There's no arms or any eyes. The back of it raises up to form its body to a tear-shape. It opens its mouth, and it has extremely long teeth. The tongue is extremely long, giving me more than just the creeps. It lunges towards me, slicing at me with its talons. Abyssal chicken rolls 2 to hit Selle. It missed by a good bit. I ready my sword to prepare for the fight ahead of me.

*Selle* 19 *Abyssal Chicken* 12 Initiative

I charge at this creature, trying to slash at its legs. *Sell rolls 11+4 to hit Abyssal chicken, with 2+2 rolls for damage.* I managed to hit its left leg, gashing it open. The monster screams an ear piercing sound, wincing in pain. The creature looks at my direction and lunges again, this time trying to use its mouth. *Abyssal chicken rolls 4+4 to hit, missing Selles AC* As it is coming at me, the creature lands at my feet. Its wound to its leg is too much for it to bear. I bring my sword up above my head and cleave it down to its head. *Selle rolls 18+4 to hit, with 4+6 roll for damage* I slice right through its neck, causing the body to flop around. I let out a deep sigh of relief. That was my first full fight by myself, and I won!

*Click, click, click*

I look up to see two more of these creatures. This is no good, I was lucky to handle just the one. I try to run back to the road. *Selle rolls nat 20 for dex* I make it to the edge of the forest line, the weird creatures following close on my heel. As I approach the road, I can hear hissing from my left, as well as my right. I'm starting to feel surrounded by these things. I decide that if I am going to fight, I need to do it close to the gates just in case I need to make a clean break. I ran closer to the entrance of Glintstone. Four more creatures appear, cornering me.

*AC1- 11 AC2- 9 AC3- 20 AC4- 13 Selle- 16*

The creature standing in front of me jumps in the air at me, swinging its talons. *AC3 rolls 6+4, not meeting Selles AC* I manage to block its attack with my sword. I throw the creature off of me, and take a swing at him. *Selle rolls 15+4 to hit, with 2+2 damage to AC3* I manage to slice the tip of its back with the tip of my sword. The creature to my left witnesses its partner get hurt, so it tries to bite at me. *AC4 rolls 19+4 to hit, with 6+2 damage to Selle* I feel a jarring pain to my left side where the creature's teeth sank in. I try to cover the wound with my hand, feeling as if the world is fading. I know this feeling. I try to get past the gates, but I'm only able to limp slowly. I collapsed to the ground from the pain. I try to keep myself awake, but I am starting to feel weaker by the second. I hear screaming coming from the creatures, along with a jester-like laughter. It's almost high pitched, like a woman's laugh. The screaming stopped, but so did my sense of consciousness.