"Mammoth." The woman who had rescued her was tall. Fall vaguely recalled that there was a race of giants in the game that were playable, but they hadn't looked quite so big from the selection screen. 

Fall swallowed hard, wishing she could see through Mammoth's helm. All that was visible under the gleaming red armor was Mammoth's mouth, her long neck, and her raven locks. She still smelled like lavender. 

"Yes?" 

Fall realized that she was staring, and felt her face grow even hotter. "Oh! Sorry. I ... I don't know what I was saying."

"I get it. I have those moments too." Mammoth smiled. "So, what's a beautiful little faerie cleric doing all alone in a dragon's den?" 

Anger helped Fall move past her embarrassment. "I was with a party, when I came here. They said they'd show me around and it'd be easy to level up with them." She scowled at the air. "But the second the dragon showed up, they all abandoned me. I don't know how to get back to the starting area."

"Buncha bastards," Mammoth growled. "How could they leave you alone?" Her righteous indignation made Fall feel just a little better. 

"Obviously, they were dropped on their heads as infants. Repeatedly." A glittering cloud of blue and gold cloth fluttered down to the ground in front of them. Fall had forgotten they weren't alone. 

"Alex!" Mammoth grinned widely and held out her hand. Alex the mage promptly gave her a high five. "Excellent DPSing, my queen."

Alex lifted his skirts and curtsied. "Only the best for my princesses." He turned to look at Fall, his vivid red hair falling in long curls all around him. <AlexTheAccident [AC] > hovered over his head.

What an odd choice for a name. 

"M, would you like to talk to our new companion about joining the Castle? I can wrap up here."

Fall felt Mammoth stiffen beside her. "I can help, Alex. I'm not that wounded."

Alex snorted. "Yeah, you are. Don't argue. I outrank you."

Mammoth muttered something under her breath, and Alex rolled his eyes. He lifted a hand and made a shooing motion. Mammoth stood up straighter, taking her weight off of Fall. "Yes, my queen." She turned to Fall and offered her hand.

Fall took it, curious about the interaction, but she sensed that Mammoth didn't want to talk about it. Not yet, anyways. They walked together, toward the place where Fall's map told her she had first entered the cavernous maze that had brought her here. 

She waited until she thought Alex was out of range. "So, what's the castle?"

Mammoth started, like she had forgotten she wasn't alone, and turned to face Fall. Her fingers squeezed Fall's gently. "Sorry." She lifted her free hand and tapped her helm, and the red metal disappeared. 

Under her helm, Mammoth's eyes were a piercing purple, and almond-shaped. Fall stopped breathing for a moment. 

"Alex is usually the one who does this, but he's tied up so..." She shrugged. "Basically, we want you." 

Fall's mouth fell open. 

Mammoth smiled down at her. "Whaddya say? Wanna be with us?"

Suddenly, all Fall could hear was her heart pounding in her ears. Mammoth's eyes were so beautiful, and they looked right at her. Her gaze was an enchantment that wove itself gently around Fall until she couldn't look away. 

Mammoth lifted an eyebrow. "You okay?" 

Her voice snapped Fall out of her daze. "What? Yes! I'm fine. Sorry. Yes. What now?"

"I was asking if you want to join our guild. It's called [Another Castle]." Mammoth chuckled. 

Guild? Disappointment pierced Fall, but she buried it deep. "Is that something I can do? I'm only level one."

"Officially, you have to make it to level ten before you can accept a guild invite. But we can help you out so that you get there quicker. We don't mind, even if you don't end up joining us. We just like to help."

Fall nodded. "Of course I'll join you. I owe you guys so much already. That dragon would have literally eaten me without your help."

Mammoth shook her head. "That was just the decent thing to do, Fallina. You don't owe us for that."

 "And that makes me want to join you even more! You seem really nice." Fall watched a smile bloom over Mammoth's face, and she wondered that such a simple expression could be so beautiful. 

"Thanks. We try. I'll add you to my friends list. That way you can send me a whisper when you're on, and I can come help you out. I know all the best spots to murder things at." She laughed, but Fall was fairly certain that she wasn't joking.

"Deal. I promise to try to help you too, any way I can." Fall knew she couldn't do anything right away, but she didn't want to be a burden on anyone. 

"Come on, then. Let's get you to town." Mammoth turned and walked on, still holding Fall's hand. 

When Fall had finally managed to log off, she stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom. The feel of Mammoth's hand over her own stayed with her, even in the real world. 

Fall slept with a smile on her face. 

Glossary :

Whisper - pretty much a private message that only the player you send it to can read.

Guild - teams of players that work together to achieve results beyond what a single player could. Usually they require an invite to become a member, but some games are more lax than others when it comes to joining one. 

DPS - Damage per second. This is a common phrase for classes that specialize in high damage (usually spellcasters but sometimes rogue/assassin character classes). More often than not, your DPS characters don't have a lot of health, so they tend to hang back, or dart in and out of the combat area.