Slados gulped down air, feeling as if she had been submerged in the ocean for hours instead of standing in a circle in a forest. Resting her hands on hr knees, she bent over and did her best to catch her breath. She only barely took note that the screen had shifted position to remain in view as she angled her head down. After a a few moments, she felt like she could start breathing normally again and stood up straight, stretching. "Oh jeez. What *was* that..?" she let the words trail off as she looked at the screen.

  [FANCY TEXT BOX]

  CONGRATULATIONS, SLADOS. I KNEW YOU WERE THE RIGHT CHOICE, DESPITE YOUR ODD MISSIVE. YOU WERE NOT THE FIRST, BUT I DO THINK YOU TO BE THE LAST.

  WELCOME TO TARAC CLEICH, OUR RESTORATIONIST. OUR -HERO-.

  I HAVE ENCLOSED A STARTER BAG WITH THIS NOTE AND CAN NOT SPEND ANY MORE TIME OR ENERGY ON COMMUNICATING WITH YOU AT THIS TIME.

  - ENGERZINE

  [/FANCY TEXT BOX]

  As soon as she had finished reading the signature, the screen vanished and was replaced by a grid of blue squares. She marvelled at this change and began to study it. There was a main grid with large squares and then a smaller set of them to the side of it. She looked at the larger grid and counted ten columns, and five rows, the topmost row having a one through ten in the top corner. An icon of an orange bag was in the Number 1 slot, she felt her attention pulled there and decided to give in to the curiosity. When her gaze focussed on it, the words "Starter Bag" came to her. She instinctively reached into the slot with a gentle ripple. Once inside, her hand felt cool and comfortable and her fingers brushed across fabric. She grasped the top of the bag and pulled with no resistance. The bag was larger than the square but it slid out with ease. Once outside of the square the grid vanished. The outside of the bag was soft and smooth, the opening tied off with some green string. With a single tug, the string came loose and vanished. Before she could remark on this, the bag opened with a 'POP' and scattered some items out onto the ground. Instead of landing in the dirt, the items hovered slightly above it and slowly spun around horizontally. "Woah..." was the only thing Slados could say as she marvelled at the magic on display.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  It was then that Jacob approached. "Ah, congrats seem to be in order." He paid attention to the items on the ground, instead choosing to make eye contact with Slados. Reluctantly, she tore her gaze from the floating things and responded "OH, uh. Thanks. Glad you don't have to, murder me or whatever." Jacob nodded. "Yes, it would have been rather awful to kill another failed hero. Now, you are as bound to this land as I am to it. Which means, I am bound to you as well." Kneeling before her, Jacob lowered his head, leaving Slados confused. "...what?" Without raising his head, he spoke to her. "My life, and all that come after me are sworn to you. We will put forth our maximum efforts in order to assist in your tasks, some more than others, but mind them not. We will all stand true, no matter the tribulation." Too stunned, Slados stayed silent. Jacob looked up, a fervor in his eyes that was not there before. "You need not accept this pledge, just know that it is made. We will serve you forevermore." Bowing again, silence fell over the forest, and seemingly the world itself. Nothing stirred, there was no wind.

  With a cough into her hand, she broke the sudden stillness. "Ok. Sure. Sounds good. Rise, I guess?" Too much was hitting her at once. She was feeling the pressure to collapse into a pile and disassociate for a few hours, but she had nowhere safe to do it, so instead she wandered over to the stump that Jacob was sitting on earlier. Jacob just placidly watched her and waited for her to speak again. It turned out that he needed to wait several minutes for this to pass. "Ok. So." She looked up from her hands finally. "I have power over Creation and Destruction. Cool. Cool, cool." She glanced at the items spinning merrily on the ground. "Do I just open bags? Is that what that means, Jacob?" Jacob followed her line of sight and stated "No." He reached down and swiped at a spinning sword that came up to his knees. "It seems that your form of Creation has created an Inventory System." His hand passed through the blade of the sword harmlessly. "I cannot interact with it, though I can see your items and your screen." He turned back to Slados. "Please, will your screen back and we will examine it together."