Terra

“Good, very good!” A mature female voice called, “you’ve grown so much since I last tested you!”

Gil and his girls crowded around the bend so they could listen in. In a large cavern lit by a single campfire, a wolf looked down into one of many pits. It wasn’t a normal wolf, though Gil felt the Nuzlocke ball settle in his pocket moments after seeing it. No, its face and snout were both enveloped with acid green chitin; a diamond shaped red patch rested upon the wolf’s forehead like a third eye, pulsing with light as it spoke.

Despite the bizarre appearance of the creature, it had a cheerful, motherly sort of voice. That impression grew as the trio watched from the shadows. She crept around, clearly elderly, and looked down into one of the pits to call out suggestions.

“Remember!” She yelled, though the snout didn’t actually move, “Leap, and kick off its head or chest! Use your momentum!”

A young woman, Gil suspected precisely 18, hauled herself out of the pit one handed. She was breathing hard, but Gil didn’t get the impression that was from the climb. The girl was fairly ripped, at least by the standards of women in worlds he tended to get assigned. She had pink hair tied up in a ponytail, and spoke to the wolf with clear excitement.

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“Terra! Terra!” She said, her voice an excited chirp, “Did you see? I did it that time, no problem. I’m not even scratched!”

“Oh yes, you’ve grown so much.” Terra the wolf answered, nuzzling the young woman. “You should be ready soon. Would you like to get something to eat?”

Gil had his suspicions that Terra was not the wolf; it seemed much more likely she was the symbiotic creature, known locally as a Seru, on its forehead. Then again, sometimes wolves did indeed talk. Who was he to judge?

“Nuh uh!” Noa yelled, throwing her arms out like a bird, “I’m gonna practice even more!”

With that, she vaulted directly into another pit, from which Gil heard the slapping of flesh against flesh and high pitched war cries. It was impulsive, but he decided to bring out his Relationship Forgery. The wolf seemed important; so far he’d only seen a few intelligent symbiotes in this world, and this one was apparently raising a teenage girl on a diet of enthusiastic pit fighting.

“Probably a party based game, or multiple playable characters.” Gil muttered, stroking his chin. “Girl raised by wolves is definitely an archetype.”

He held up the Relationship Forger, a length of red thread. He grasped one end against his heart and willed it to activate. He was fairly certain he was the only one who saw the other end of the thread animate and snake towards the creature clinging to the wolf’s forehead. He felt it snap taut, and that was all. It was now or never. He gestured for Zena and Keilnei to hold back and wait.

“Hey, Terra.” He called, walking openly towards the wolf. Supposedly the forgery would inject him into her life as some manner of friend or ally, and she was obviously the adult in the room. The wolf turned towards Gil, her frosted fur stark in the gloom. Her tail wagged.

“Ah. Gil.” She said, “Thank Tieg. Are you well?”

“As well as I ever am.” Gil said, smiling, “It’s a dangerous world.”

The pink haired girl leapt out of her pit and assumed a ready position, her left forearm presented defensively and her right held back, ready to strike. She met Gil’s eyes and her jaw fell open. Seconds later, she noticed that Terra wasn’t showing any signs of aggression.

“Terra. Who is this?” She asked, stepping out of the martial stance. She cocked her head to the side, and flicked her gaze between the two. She obviously still had a ton of energy to burn off.

“I must have told you of him.” Terra said, confused. “This is Gil. He has visited our cave before, years ago. He’s a traveler, who has walked through the mists.”

Noa perked up and started examining him. She circled around the strange man, taking in his appearance. Without a single thought to personal space, she lifted his arm and sniffed him, wrinkling her nose thoughtfully. Back in the shadows, Zena stifled a snort.

“Hey, stop that.” Gil said, pulling his arm away. He wasn’t opposed to innocence, but he hoped this girl wasn’t “comedically” dumb. Those were painful to interact with for any length of time as real people. It even spoiled his ability to enjoy them as characters when he lived in a modern setting, because he’d remember some dumbass almost getting him killed when he was supposed to laugh.

“Yes, Noa.” Terra chimed in, “Remember? I told you that you were not to touch others without their permission. It is rude to other humans.”

“Right!” Noa said, taking one long step back. She bent to either side and craned her neck, continuing to examine Gil like some foreign specimen. “I do have a question, though.”

“Uh. Sure, shoot.” Gil said, prompting a confused head tilt. “I mean you can ask.”

“Why do you have whiskers?” She asked.

Gil brushed his chin sheepishly, knowing that it was something of a patchy mess. He wasn’t blessed with an evenly growing beard, nor had he gotten his hands on any good modern razors. Ireena had known how to shave a man’s face with a knife, but he’d had no such luck with the rest of his girls. Candress would have tried anyway, but was only vaguely aware of the concept of shaving. Apparently some elven men just naturally grew immaculately styled facial hair and the rest just did without.

It was an issue he ended up facing early in most tests, but not one he worried about too much. He’d once managed to seriously scar himself by taking a knife to his own face, forgetting that all his skill with light blades faded with each incarnation. Apparently allowing him to easily groom himself without at least a straight razor was a bridge too far for The Company.

“Well, it just grows that way.” He answered honestly. “I clean it up when I can, and when I can’t it’s not that big a deal.”

“Oh.” She said. “Can I touch them?”

“Noa, you’re making him uncomfortable.” Terra correctly interjected. “Come, let’s get something for dinner. Would you like to eat with us, Gil? I’d like to know of any changes happening outside. We don’t have much, but… well, news would be most welcome.”

“That sounds great.” Gil agreed, then considered what he did know. “There’s one bit of news I think you’ll be thrilled about. A genesis tree woke up in a place called Rim Elm, and a red seru named Meta came out.”

The old wolf stiffened, then started wagging its tail frantically.

“Rim Elm?” The symbiote cried, “That's not very far away at all! Did Meta find herself a partner? Where is she going? Did you speak with her yourself? Oh Noa! Maybe it is time. If we have friends waiting for us in a safe place, we must go and meet with them.”

“Yes, I spoke with Meta briefly.” Gil said, bemused. “Give me a moment. I need to gather my things.”

Gil ducked away and met with Zena and Keilnei in a side passage of the cave.

“I think I’m reasonably safe here.” Gil said, “Those two are probably as dangerous as you two if something tried to hurt me, and I have these if I need them.”

Gil gestured at his belt, where two red and white spheres clung to his hip as if with Velcro. They just hung there if he willed it, and he didn’t feel inclined to question the workings of company assets.

“What, so you’re going to stay with these two?” Zena asked, “For what?”

“I’ll see where the winds take me. Maybe do the mission to go to the mountain if it isn’t too much trouble.” Gil said with a shrug, pulling out his tablet. “You two have better things to do, though. Zena, I’m fairly certain you’ll get stronger by killing things that are potentially a threat to you. I want you and Keilnei to go to the area near Rim Elm and start hunting. You’ve got that magical tracking ability, right? Take any kills back to the town and see what kind of price Candress can get for them, or we can see about preparing the meat if either of you know how to smoke it. Hunt through the night, make your way back to the skyblock after dawn. The portal seems to close around noon, usually.”

“Gather game for the coming week, understood.” Keilnei agreed. “Stay safe. You’ve already admitted you know little of this place, and none of us know the way back to my home.”

“Come on, he’ll be fine,” Zena said, “Let’s get out of this cave, eh?”