Bane logged in, his avatar appearing leaning against a wall. He walked over to Dreadwolf.

"Hey. I see you got a new staff?" He smiled.

"Yep. But it's not just a staff." Dreadwolf grinned, feeling ready for adventure and combat, ready to slay any monster, any beast, any enemy. He was going to grow powerful here. 

"What do you mean, Dreadwolf?" Bane asked curiously, a spark of curiosity showing in his eyes. The sounds of players talking to each other and to the merchants was all around them, as well as new swords being unsheathed. A slight smell of smoke from the forges and the scent of food was in the air, and in the distance he could hear players training in the Arena. He felt the polished staff, finding the heads of the carved twin serpents weaving their bodies around the staff, and pressed down, twisting his staff.He gripped the bottom as it separated into a staff and a longsword. Bane looked startled, looking at the cold steel blade. 

"Nice." He grinned. Dreadwolf grinned back. 

"Yep. C'mon. Let's go fight some monsters."

"All right. Let's go."

"The basic grounds are getting a bit boring..." Dreadwolf said. "Let's go to the Forests." He was ready for a battle. It was time to face off against all the Forests had to offer.

*                                                                                    *                                                                                 *

Leaves rustled above them as they walked through the eerily quiet, dark forests. The air was cool and moist, their soft breaths the only thing that could be heard. Dreadwolf couldn't help but feel as though he was intruding upon something sacred. Any noise would feel... Wrong, somehow. Like playful voices at a funeral would. He whirled, hearing a noise behind him. He peered through the cool mists as the air seemed to go down at least ten degrees. Dreadwolf's heartrate quickened, sweat beading on his brow despite the cold. He held his sword up uneasily, feeling as though they were being watched. Bane stood next to him, also ready for a fight. A murky shape moved in the shadows... And then it began rushing forward, easily moving along the mossy ground. Before Dreadwolf could even incant a spell, it was upon them. A man stood there... But as Dreadwolf looked closer, he realized it was no human. Its body appeared human, but its skin was deathly pale. Its white fangs were clearly visible as it focused its cold, black eyes on him. It glared at them, then leapt forward. It slammed into Dreadwolf before he even knew what was happening, and he remembered how much this beast remended him of the vampires of lore. It hissed at him, its voice hard to understand, but Dreadwolf could make it out.

"Die, human." It hissed, its hand pressing firmly against Dreadwolf's chest. An eerie blue light glowed as he felt its freezing hands through his clothes, its hand pressing right in the center of his chest. Suddenly, pain gripped Dreadwolf as he saw, in the corner of his vision, his mana bar draining rapidly as the eerie blue light glowed stronger and brighter. Its taking all my magic energy!! Dreadwolf thought in panic. Bane leapt forward, stabbing at the vampire-beast, its sword slicing cleanly through its flesh. 

"Die." Bane snarled at it as its life faded. Dreadwolf pushed the corpse off of him, panting. 

"That... Was terrifying..." He said as he stood up shakily. Bane immediately steadied him, and Dreadwolf sheathed his sword back in his staff as he opened his inventory. He grabbed a mana potion and drank it. 

"Agreed." Bane nodded. "We'd better stay alert. Those things are scary, and deadly against magic users."

"Yep..." Dreadwolf agreed as they began to walk again.

*                                                                            *                                                                             *

There was no warning as the beasts surrounded them. Skeletons were on all sides, wielding curved swords and shields. Some had staves, but obviously no magical talent. They made a rattling cry as they leapt toward the group.

"Oh hell..." Dreadwolf muttered. He almost unsheathed his sword, but then realized that these beasts weren't flesh-and-blood, they were bone, and a blade wouldn't work against them. There was no more time to contemplate this fact, however, as the skeletal opponents were already upon them. Dreadwolf lashed out with his staff, taking the skull cleanly off of one. The rest of the body fell apart afterwards, and Dreadwolf felt a sense of relief. Perhaps they had a  chance of making it out of this alive. 

 "Accendat!" He shouted, casting the Flame spell with ease, and almost no drain on his Mana. He was startled by his mana drain being so low, as it normally took more to cast a spell. The crystal at the end of the staff glowed red, and flames streaked toward three opponents. Unlike the one he'd just hit with his staff, these skeletons desintegrated immediately, and there was nothing left. The reason became apparent, however, as the skeleton he'd hit began to rattle, and the bones flew back together. 

"Dreadwolf! They keep reforming!" Bane said. "What do we do??" 

"I don't know! Hold out as long as you can!! I'll try to figure something out!" Dreadwolf replied. He fought on, smashing opponents with his staff and occasionally throwing fireballs. His mana kept slowly going down, and he couldn't keep this up forever. 

"Magicae Exhaurire!" He incanted, working by instinct once again.  Four tendrils of blue light extended out of the crystal on his staff, latching onto the skeletons. Dreadwolf saw his mana bar dip lower as five more extended, and then another, connecting to ten skeletons, the blue light appearing almost solid. The skeletons let out a screeching cry as they began desintegrating... And Dreadwolf's mana kept going up. In seconds, it was back at its full power, and the ten skeletons desintegrated. 

"Nice work, Dreadwolf!" Bane said, furiously slashing at another skeleton. 

"Thanks! But I can't keep this up forever! We have to escape!" Dreadwolf said urgently.

"Agreed!" Bane nodded, and Dreadwolf smashed another skeleton to the side, both of them running in the same direction. Dreadwolf felt sweat shining over his body, cuts stinging upon contact with it. A gash on his side where a sword had cut was bleeding, sapping his Health bar slowly. Bane tossed him a Healing potion. "Here." He said. 

"Thank you." Dreadwolf nodded.

"No problem." They both sat down against the trees, breathing heavily, exhausted completely. They looked around them after a while, and Dreadwolf saw the tip of some sort of structure over the trees. 

"Let's go check that out." He panted.

"All right. Let's go." Bane grinned, and they started off toward the structure.

*                                                                                                   *                                                                                  *

They looked in awe at what was before them. A tower--Or what used to be a tower-- stood before them. The walls were made of stone brick, and moss was taking over it. The roof was collapsed, and the whole tower was about three or four stories tall. Dreadwolf took a caution step in, and Bane followed uncertainly. A smell of rotten food was in the air. He stepped into the next room... And stood, stunned, at what he saw. Three bodies were lying on the floor, deep cuts all over. Dried blood stained the floor and the walls. Dreadwolf felt faint at seeing the blood and corpses, leaning against the wall to support himself. Bane looked at it slightly more casually, but was still obviously feeling the same as Dreadwolf. He just hid it better. Dreadwolf looked at the walls, spattered with human blood... 

No way this can be a game... This just looks too real... But it has to be... What else could it be...? Dreadwolf thought as he turned away. 

The bells tolled in the starting town, but could be heard from everywhere in the game. Dreadwolf and Bane found themselves back in the town, along with hundreds of other players. A voice echoed from all sides.

"This is no game. From now on, injuries in this world will carry over to the real world. And death in this world... Will mean death there. You have ten days to decide whether you wish to proceed, and risk your life for this world in danger. After those ten days... If you have decided to stay, you cannot change your decision. You will be able to enter this world at will, and if you do not... Your dreams will take you here. Remember that. If you decide to leave and not risk your life, then you are free to leave. But for those who decide to stay... Thank you all. Please, save this world in danger, and fight for Kazana." A murmur swept through the crowd at those words, but most were in stunned silence. Dreadwolf saw the bluish light that flared as people logged out, their avatars vanishing, quickly making the decision. He stood in silence, his thoughts in turmoil. 

"I am not allowed to say any more than this. But believe me, this is no game. This is real... Save us, Heroes. Save us all." The voice said. 

"W-what...?" Dreadwolf murmured to himself. "T-those corpses... Were real people, then...? If this is no game... Then what is it...?" He remembered the corpses, the shopkeepers. If they were all alive and not computer AI, there was no way he could let them all die without at least trying to help them. He knew what he would do. He would stand and fight. He would save this world. He would save Kazana.