An odd, slithery sensation in her head made Piper gasp. A real gasp, not just a mental one. She breathed in deeply and exhaled of her own volition. Experimentally, she opened her eyes, but before she could take stock of what she saw, the view shifted suddenly downward as she dropped several feet to the ground. She managed not to scream in shock.

  A pair of brawny arms caught her about the waist, saving her from collapsing into a heap on impact with the ground. Brawny arms with leather cuffs… Cyrillus. She noticed then that she was completely naked. She struggled ineffectively against his grasp.

  “Let go of me.” Her voice sounded odd in her own ears. Different… it distracted her momentarily from the situation. Before she could renew her protest, a warm blanket settled on to her shoulders. Runa appeared in front of her, wrapping it around her body. The two of them half carried, half guided her to a cozy little alcove furnished with a low table, large pillows strewn about and low lounging sofa, which they lowered her into. How long had it been since they’d last communicated with her? Had they done something to make her sleep, or had she just done that herself for lack of anything else to do when cut off from her senses?

  “Welcome to your new life,” Cyrillus smiled at her and she felt a little silly at the panic she had felt a moment ago. “Have a little something to eat and drink.”

  Runa placed a warm cup in her hands that smelled of herbs and spices. Piper sipped. The taste, warmth and aromas combined to settle her nerves like magic. She sipped at the tea again.

  “When you’re ready.” Cyrillus slid a plater toward her filled with sticky pastries of some sort. “Honey cakes.” He explained without her asking. “They’re quite tasty, and your body needs fuel. Resurrections take a toll.”

  She nodded, but her stomach did not feel ready for solid food. At least the migraine had eased up some, and the nausea that came with it as well. She took a long drink of the tea instead. Man, this stuff was good. Was that cinnamon? Real cinnamon?

  She inhaled the wonderful scent of it in a greedy, deep breath. Piper couldn’t remember the last time she’d had cinnamon— or, more likely, some chemical compound designed to taste like cinnamon. This made her senses sing, and she felt good, like oddly good. She drank more, closing her eyes to enjoy the sensations.

  Runa cleared her throat and Piper’s eyes snapped open. “We’re running a little behind schedule, so let’s finish getting you sorted, shall we?”

  She handed Piper a plain canvas tote bag with one of those long wide handles you could sling across your body.

  “All new adventurers get a starter kit. We wouldn’t send you out into the world naked and without the means to outfit yourself properly for your first few days in the Realms.”

  You’ll find clothing, a pair of sandals, a coin purse with your one-time cash allotment. Do guard against thieves. You won’t get more if you lose it and there’s always a parasite or two waiting to take advantage of those fresh from Well. There’s also a credit token for lodging for one night only in one of the beginner friendly hostels you can find near the Agora. They offer a free morning and evening meal, so don’t waste your coin on food when you get out of here.” She looked pointedly at the cakes that Piper still hadn’t touched.

  Piper took the hint and picked up one of the cakes, dripping honey onto her blanket. She gave it an experimental nibble. It definitely tasted like honey. Under Runa’s watchful gaze, she took another, bigger bite.

  “We’ll leave you to get dressed.” She stood abruptly and smoothed out the pleats of her gown. “And finish that cake. It’s important you eat at least a little something now.” She added before departing, with Cyrillus on her heels.

  Piper took another small bite, but the nausea had returned. She replaced it on the platter since there was nowhere else to put the messy little thing and then realized there were also no napkins or finger bowls or any way to get the honey off her fingers except to lick it off.

  With no other choice, she did just that, fighting the nausea with every swallow until she had managed to get rid of most of the residue. She glanced around before surreptitiously wiping her saliva damp fingers on the bottom of a handy pillow to deal with the rest.

  She dug into the tote bag and retrieved a pile of goods. The clothing turned out to be a matched set of very basic looking, well… pajamas, two sets, exactly the same. A pair of wide legged pants cinched at the waist with a drawstring, and the long-sleeved top had a keyhole neckline and a loose fit. It hung down to mid-thigh on her. Both were plain, unbleached cotton—so boring pajamas at that.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  After checking to ensure her privacy, Piper let the blanket fall from her shoulders. Her skin, paler than she remembered it being in life, but considering she had spent that life under a relentless sun, this was probably its true shade. True and flawless— no blemishes, scars, moles or discolorations of any kind. As she examined the skin of her arms, she noted that the muscles beneath were firm and well defined. She made a muscle out of one bicep. Whoa.

  She bent down to retrieve the clothing and a cascade of long dark brown hair spilled over shoulders. A bit messy, a bit wavy and a whole lot longer than she had ever worn it.

  Funny, she couldn’t remember any particular hairstyle she might have sported in life, but she was sure short would have been the word to describe it. She was also pretty sure it had never been so thick and silky before, either. Just like her skin had never been so perfect, nor her biceps so rock hard.

  She dressed in the provided clothes, starting with a pair of basic but functional pair of drawstring boxer shorts and a lace up vest-like thing that offered only minimal support, at least when laced loosely enough to be comfortable. She felt taller too, and while she wasn’t fat, she wasn’t the same old wiry Piper as she had been in her real life. Always too many mouths to feed and not enough food to go around…

  And there it was again, a memory floating out of nowhere, detached from any other memory she could call up. She shook her head and dismissed it. She couldn’t get caught up in the past before she had a chance to figure out this strange present she found herself in. Not to mention figuring out what her future might be here. Although, her inner old lady, and she was almost certain she had been an old lady on the outside too before ending up here, didn’t feel up to the challenge of starting all over again.

  She finished getting dressed in her starter clothes. AKA pajamas. Oddly, they made her feel more like she had entered a game world than the deal with the system interface had. Welcome to the World of Warriors, Pipe, have some rustic underwear and a migraine. If that doesn’t set you up for some low-level goblin hunting, I don’t know what will.

  She put on the only pair of shoes provided, a pair of leather slip-on sandals that wouldn’t be much good for anything but walking on flat and even ground. There was a woolen hooded poncho like garment as well, obviously meant for the outdoors. The poncho part would only cover her shoulders and upper arms, making it great to wear if you needed to use arms, but not so much if you just wanted to keep warm. Hopefully, it wasn’t winter out there in the so-called Realms. She rolled it up and stuffed it back in the bag. A drawstring pouch contained the promised cash— 10 silver looking coins of unknown mintage or worth. One side imprinted with a crescent moon, and a chalice on the other. No year, no motto, no denomination.

  She also found a small set of personal hygiene items, a comb, a small bar of soap, toothbrush and the like. Maybe she should comb her hair? Then she had a better idea. She grabbed the coin purse and yanked out the drawstring. Bad hair day, meet pony tail.

  She shoved everything back in the tote. “I’m done,” she said out loud. The out of curiosity…

  < Does this still work? >

  She wasn’t sure if it did or not. Nobody answered, but maybe now that she could speak out loud, they weren’t listening. Either way, the two Harvesters returned to the alcove and picked up the conversation live and in person once more.

  “Lovely,” said Runa, but her face said that maybe Piper should have combed her hair. “Once you’ve fortified yourself,” Runa looked pointedly at the platter of honey cakes. “We’ll be on our way. “

  Cowed, Piper picked her nibbled cake back up and took another bite. Her stomach didn’t complain this time, and she polished it off, suddenly ravenous. She picked up another and ate it too as Runa continued.

  “I will escort you to orientation where you will meet the rest of your cohort and get a more in-depth tutorial on how to navigate your first few days in the Realms. You will have a chance to confer with your instructor and your cohort in choosing your Patron and accepting your Legacy Accolades. They are your first team, and the tutor will tell you that a team needs to be well rounded, but I am telling you to make sure you decide for yourself what path you will take. Don’t let anyone talk you into taking the wrong one for the sake of the team.” She paused and looked hard at Piper. “Ever.”

  This woman could stand to be less intense. “Got it. So, what’s an Accolade?”

  “You’ll find your Accolades in your Adventure Journal. You’ll learn more about them at your orientation.”

  She almost asked what her Adventurer’s Journal was, but realized she must be referring to her System Interface, because of course it would have a name like Adventure Journal

  She called it up once more. Her head pinged with pain once more, and the nausea flared as well, and she immediately regretted eating two honey cakes earlier. She noticed tabbed dividers along the page edges that hadn’t been there before. Piper assumed that must be where she would find all these Accolades and offers and who knows what all else. She shoved the journal out of her head.

  Runa hadn’t stopped talking. “In the meantime, your journal is your best resource. It’s not just a way to check your stats and status, it’s a guide, a reference, a tool to help you advance. Use it.”

  Piper nodded, as if she had paid attention to everything Runa had just said.

  “Now, we’re already late, let’s get you to Orientation.”