Ed wakes back at the hut

Ed woke up naked and alone lying on the bedroll he'd earlier placed inside the small shelter he'd made for himself. He examined his body and found the injuries he'd sustained were gone as were the items he'd gathered and he cursed his own stupidity for getting food poisoning from eating raw meat. He opened the door and peaked outside noticing that the sun didn't appear to have moved much in the sky since he died, the time between his **** and reappearance seemed to be miniscule.

Leaving the safety of the shelter he stepped outside in the sunlight and sighed to himself as he looked out across the river, the beauty of the sunlight dancing playfully across the water tarnished by the Exiled Lands brutal and deadly nature. Ed took time to prepare for his next exploration by gathering resources to replace both the axe, pick and torch he'd lost when he'd died, then he created a small fireplace outside the door of his hut to ensure he could cook meat in future. He wasn't sure how long he might stay here but he knew that he had to improve his skills, gather resources and explore further if he wasn't going to suffer the pain and indignity of dying over and over. Maybe this was some form of hell or maybe he could tame this land and just like in his dream become its master.

There seemed to still be enough daylight and Ed started to explore the shoreline in the opposite direction from his previous meeting with the imp. It didn't take long but he came across a tall campfire with a couple of people dressed in regs resting near it.

Excited to see people Ed raced forward oblivious of his own nudity to greet real life people, the first people he'd seen since he had first woken in the desert, since he'd been transported to this game. Perhaps they could explain more about this place and how he might return home to where everything didn't try to kill him. Perhaps they knew where there was food and shelter, safety or maybe they could just band together to protect each other.

Ed knew he'd made another mistake when the man and woman stood and faced, the woman drew a pair of daggers and the man a large stone sword shouting "Intruder! You can run but you can't hide!" Ed denied the reality of the situation by trying to reason with them, introduce himself and ask questions, he tried to treat them as... well people... people like him who were trying to survive.

The woman stabbed him with the daggers leaving long thin deep slashes across his body where blood poured out and cartwheeled back while the man struck Ed with his sword. Ed panicked and tried to defend himself, killing and skinning a rabbit had been tough but necessary, the imp had been self defence but this... the first people he had met in this forsaken land were trying to kill him.

Ed blocked and parried with his axe begging for them to stop but no matter what he said they refused to reply to his pleas, the womans attacks continuing to cut his body and weaken him while the man methodically struck Ed with the sword. With **** Ed struck back with the axe but it was too little too late, weakened by the **** Ed bleed to **** and died under a flurry of blows.

The Exiled Lands are a harsh place to attempt to survive.