The Vagabond

1: Into the Unknown

Kass ran for her life. She had never run so fast in any of her races even though she always told herself she had given her all. No, now she was giving it her all. A tree snapped to her left, crushed by a larger tree that had literally been thrown in her direction. Splinters exploded around her, pelting her in a hundred different places, some digging into flesh and sticking. Kass didn't feel it though. Her heart was pumping as fast as her arms and legs were, adrenaline coursing through her like she had never experienced before. She knew she was hurt, but she also knew if she stopped now she would become human paste soon enough.

The monster behind her was one out of a fantasy book. A large, one eyed humanoid whose only goal seemed to be eating humans and smashing things. How the hell did I get myself into this mess? Kass had no idea what was happening, but she really didn't have the time to think about it. One lapse in judgement, in calculation, meant faceplanting in the dirt and then dying to the scariest thing she had ever seen. She was getting tired though, and knew she could only keep this up for so long. All that training only to die because I couldn't run long enough? She knew it wasn't that simple but she couldn't help but doubt herself. Running for the university team was different than running for your actual life. She breathed hard and gritted her teeth, not willing to give up. If her training had taught her one thing it was to not give in when her body begged her to do so.

She hurdled a fallen log and dashed underneath a thick tangle of branches, coming up quickly only to have to hurdle again, and again. At least this is familiar, right? Sunlight peeked through the forest canopy in beams that flashed across her body as she sprinted on. A glint of metal in her left hand caught her attention for a split second and she glanced its way. She was surprised to see that she was still holding onto the sword she had discovered earlier, before the ogre. She found it to be quite light, especially with it still in its sheath. Kass focused her eyes back on the obstacles in front of her but then realized that maybe the ogre wasn't after her because it wanted to eat her so badly, but because she had stolen its treasure. Great, just great. Why am I still holding this?

She looked at the sword again, drawn to the beauty and intricacy of it. It was slim and sleek, colored a glossy pitch black, with an ornate hand guard that twisted and turned around the grip. Not sure exactly why, she couldn't let go of it. She would only be guessing that the ogre would stop chasing her if she did drop it, and she might need something to defend herself with in the future. She was alone in the woods in a place that ogres existed... Who am I kidding? I'm dead anyways. Even though that might be true, she wouldn't let herself die easily. She knew that most living things did everything they could just to survive, and she would do the same.

Another tree splintered behind her, crashing through multiple others before losing its momentum. Kass knew she was lucky to be running through a forest. The ogre was easily much faster than she was, but with the trees she actually had a chance of escaping. Even if it was a very small chance. She did her best to weave through tight gaps between trees and around the large rocks that spiked out from the earth in hopes to slow her pursuer down, but whatever she did she couldn't shake the thing. It crashed through trees and stone alike, only marginally slowing as it pounded after her.

Kass' body began to fail her then, not responding as quickly as she wanted it to. She stumbled and almost fell, using her hands to keep herself upright. She still held onto the sword somehow and pushed on, her legs feeling leaden as pain began to seep into her. It was slow at first, like a dull ache that came and went, but soon she was sure she was feeling the full effect of the state of her body. She cried out in pain as she stumbled onwards, desperately trying to keep her feet under her. Ahead she could make out a change in the forest and prayed that it wouldn't be just an open clearing.

Seconds later she burst from the underbrush into the full sunlight of midday. Momentarily blinded by the light Kass tripped and fell. She tumbled and rolled for a few yards before skidding to a stop, gasping for air and clutching her side in pain. It was all too much and she was having trouble focusing. But she didn't have trouble focusing on the large circular hole in front of her. Almost one hundred feet wide and one hundred feet long, the hole filled most of the clearing she stood in. Somehow she hadn't fallen in after her little tumble, and now lay very close to the edge. Kass stood quickly and peered into the opening. Instantly she felt a little sick at the sight of an incredibly dark hole that seemed to have no bottom.

She only had a mere three seconds before the trees behind her split and a fuming ogre charged straight for her.