The Darkness Within

Awakening

I woke, drowsy, with my head ringing as if I'd been drinking all night long. Eyes still closed, I massaged my temples in an attempt to somewhat soothe my pounding head. I came to the sudden realization that something felt..."off". "Why does my head feel so weird?" I asked myself. I started to feel around my cranium and that's when I felt them. "Horns?!" I shouted. My eyes bolted open and I inspected my hands as well. They were something akin to claws and my skin had turned a deep purple, almost black. "OH MY GOD!" I screamed, jumping out of bed. That's when I realized something else as well. There was no more pain in my bones. I could move freely and no longer felt like a corpse with rigor mortis. No more fused spine, or bad hip, or knee pain. No pain at all, aside from a splitting headache, which I'd nearly forgotten in all the excitement.

Suddenly, another man with horns burst through the door. I hadn't even stopped to check my surroundings. Where was I? "Sarvin?! What in the hells is going on in here?! We can hear you stomping and shouting downstairs!", said the man. "Wha-...Sarvin? Who the hell is Sarvin?" I shouted back, in apparent surprise. "Look, I don't know what you got up to last night, but it's too early for your foolishness this morning. Stop making such a ruckus and meet us downstairs, we have to head out soon, and by the Seven, put some damned clothes on first!", said the man, before slamming the door shut with a huff of irritation. As the door closed, I looked down at myself to find that I was completely nude...and completely changed. My skin was this same dark hue all the way down. I was much more athletic looking than before as well.

I sat back down on the bed for a moment and the memories of last night inched their way back into my brain. The shop. The old man. The book. The darkness. What had happened? There was also the name..."Sarvin". Suddenly, it dawned on me. "That's the name of my character. The horns...The skin...The claws... I'm...inside...the game...", I said to myself, still confused, but convinced I'm putting some of the pieces together. For the first time, I began to take in my surroundings. I was sitting upon a bed stuffed with straw, a window directly beside it. An armoire and a chest sat against the wall across from me. A carpet, covering a wooden floor lay beneath my feet. I can only assume I'm in a room at an inn. It didn't seem homely enough to be a permanent dwelling.

I peeked out the window beside the bed in a sort of attempt to confirm that this was real. Outside I could see a bustling town, most people dressed in what I can only describe as medieval garb. Based on the smell in the air, I gathered we were in some sort of port, as I smelled salt water and fish on the wind. I could even see the masts of a few ships just on the horizon, towering above several of the buildings that weren't quite so distant.

A knock at the door snapped me out of my bewilderment, if only for just a moment. "Sarvin, are you coming?! Jackal said he'd been up here nearly half an hour ago and you'd be down soon.", came a female voice from the other side. "I'll be right down!", I shouted back to the voice. Good enough, apparently, as I heard footsteps retreating. "Jackal?! Oh my god, it's our adventuring party! Now, I just wonder who the hell that was. Contessa, perhaps...", I thought to myself. With that, I jumped up and walked over to the armoire and chest, hoping that's where my clothes and other belongings were stored. Knowing my character, however, they could be stored anywhere. I was often the comic relief and agent of chaos in many of our games. Based on what Jackal had said earlier about it being too early for "my foolishness", I can only assume that remains the case in this world as well.

"Ahhh, thank goodness, it all seems to be right here!", I said aloud to myself. Dawning my underclothes, chainmail armor and black, hooded leather cloak was a simple enough task. "Thank goodness I never played a tank!", I laughed. I didn't even want to imagine the hassle of putting on full platemail for the first time. Opening the chest, I inspected what had been left inside. A hefty bag of gold pieces, a quiver full of bolts and the crossbow they go with, and finally, a small, ornate dagger, probably stolen. "Best to hide this inside the cloak, I'd imagine!", I chuckled to myself, knowing the sort of antics that Sarvin gets into from time to time. With that thought came another, "s**t, I have to get into character! This should be exciting!".

As I picked up my crossbow, I felt a mystical sort of energy flow through it and into me. It felt as though I was in command of this object and it somehow understood that. Maybe I was just crazy, what with all these new adjustments I was trying to make all at once. I took a deep breath and announced to my empty too, "crazy is as crazy does! I'm off!". Feeling confident and in-character, I finally exited the room.

Having exited my room, my suspicions we're quickly confirmed, I was at an inn. I found myself in a hallway, to my left were several doors lining either side of the corridor, to my right was a stairwell leading downwards. Though I really wanted to inspect the other rooms, I figured it best to head downstairs and join my companions, who were apparently waiting for me. As I descended the stairs I was hit by a familiar smell, sweet, like whiskey, with a hint of vanilla. "Just like the game shop back home! He really had his vibe spot-on.", I mumbled to myself.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stopped and looked around, searching for Jackal, who, if I'm correct, is my brother in this world. Instead, I was greeted with the sight of an old man with long, flowing white hair and a long white beard, with a small reptile perched on his shoulder. He took one quick look at me and pointed to a table in the corner of the room where several people of varying races were seated. However, I remembered this old man from back home and shouted "what the hell are you doing here?" He only smiled and suddenly I heard a voice shout, "Sarvin, get over here! Stop harassing the man!", followed by heavy footsteps and the clanging of platemail. "Arsemis! This man has performed some sort of spell and transported me to another dimension!", I shouted back. "Dammit, Sarvin, it's too early for your antics!", Arsemis shouted back, grabbing me by my scruff and dragging me to the table, where the rest of my party sat.

Arsemis isn't an overly large man, being a half-elf, but he was bigger than average, and certainly stronger. He wears platemail, adorned with silver, blue and gold, the colors of his church, to which he is a faithful paladin. He has long, brown hair, not that you can tell beneath that helmet he refuses to take off. Beside him was Contessa, an elven woman dressed in light armor, mostly the colors of the forest, as she is a ranger. My brother Jackal and I are half demons, his skin tone greatly contrasting mine, as he is a pale red, and I'm nearly black as pitch. His clothing and weapon are quite similar to mine, however he sports more the look of a bandit, wearing a mask and trench coat.

Luckily for me, my little outburst is exactly something you'd expect from me, so nobody seemed particularly perturbed by it. "Wow, I wonder what other characters exist in this world, we've made so many over the years.", I thought to myself. However, I was quickly snapped away from those thoughts as Arsemis banged his fist on the table. "We are here to work! We were given a mission by the king himself and I won't have you messing this one up, Sarvin!", Arsemis exclaimed. "He's right, brother. We were told that this is our last chance and you know what that means. No work, no money!", Jackal agreed."Oh, there's always work to be done and money to be made, if you know where to look.", I responded with a smirk. "True, but that fifty thousand gold pieces the king has agreed to pay us is nothing to sneeze at. Could keep us all fed and warm for a nice long while! Plus, you know this one...", Contessa interjected, pointing at Arsemis, "greater good and all that stuff. Haha!". My eyes widened and I was immediately much more awake at the sound of fifty thousand gold pieces. "Aye, so let's get to it then!", I exclaimed. "Now what's the plan? Hells, what's the mission?! It's too early for your shenanigans, Jackal!", I said, mockingly, as I sat down at the table.