Greetings, heroes ______another ___. I have _____to fight ____ great cause. _________ world and heard your ____________ ______black dragon. I was _____ I am sorry ___________________you, but scrying across ______ incredibly costly, and I can't__________required ________________this message ____________forgive me in____ and join ____________great danger ________________I am afraid __ common people are __________________dire need ________ defy the odds. When you ___ world________________find me at _________Northsong. _____ well. ____________ soon.

  Zig was growing up. Fast. He had nearly died, three... no four... no, he lost count how many times. Just in the past week. He had killed monsters. He had triggered a rockslide that wiped out half a mountain. He had met new people and was just warming up to them, and in a moment they were gone. Eaten by a stupid horse, perhaps. Zig thought about home, and how the biggest thing he'd ever killed was a mouse that didn't quite die from a trap. It had felt so solemn, killing the mouse. A big deal. Zig wondered if the mice in this world had sharp teeth and were as bloodthirsty as the rabbits. Probably. Was anything cute and tame? Zig sighed. The cute and tame things of this world probably got eaten by the rabbits.

  Zig lay on his bedroll. Somehow he had just taken a few supplies from the general army wagons, and no one had questioned it. The bedroll was basically a very thick blanket to lie on. It stopped Zig from feeling the stones in the dirt and thinking about fighting with them. He still dreamed of fighting. Fighting, and running from that green monster. It must have been a troll. Zig asked people to describe goblins, and while green-skinned, goblins were short creatures that lived in large packs. The troll must have been seven or eight feet tall. In his dream, Zig was running up the mountain, and the troll was chasing him. Instead of a spear, though, this troll was holding an old fashioned paper scroll, and shouting that Zig had a message. Just before waking up, Zig saw the same sort of message as he had a few nights ago. This time, a few more words filled in the blank spaces. It still didn't make sense. At the end though, there was an unfamiliar word.

  "Northsong? That's the capital, way up north. What small village are you from that you haven't even heard of Northsong?"

  Zig was marching again with the army. He was fitting in more every day, but he still found ways to stick out accidentally. Apparently everyone knew about Northsong.

  "Northsong is where your king lives, boy! You better remember that if you ever talk to a noble. You might hang for the insult, if it's a nasty bugger. And they're all nasty buggers."

  Others shushed the one speaking so loudly about nobles. Zig glanced around and saw some guards nearby. He looked down before they could make eye contact.

  "How far away is Northsong then?"

  "Ha! Fancy a holiday? Must be about two weeks ride. That's riding, mind you. You could walk for a month or so to get there."

  A month? Zig wondered how far away cities were back on earth. Driving on a highway sure was taken for granted.

  "It doesn't matter lad, you're not going no matter how close or far it is."

  "How come?"

  "Because..."

  The man gestured at the people marching all around.

  "You're in the army."

  Ah.

  Zig was so happy to be with people after being stuck alone in the mountain, he didn't realize what it meant to slip into the ranks of an army. He could find food, shelter, and company easily here. What he couldn't do, was leave. Desertion was imprisonment, if the guards believed you could learn your lesson, or just death. The army couldn't survive if people left, so they didn't tolerate it. The pay was good, people said, and fighting in the army was a good way to gain skills and abilities. When they returned home, that was an opportunity to stay and not go out with the army again. But when the army marched out, anyone who signed up was stuck with them until they returned home.

  Home was Lancre. A city surrounded by small villages. Not many soldiers were from Lancre proper, but from Yonder. Yonder, Zig discovered, wasn't a place, but rather any small town or village that wasn't big or famous enough to be known to the world. Drifting among the groups of soldiers, Zig eventually found another boy his age practicing with a bow. This was pretty interesting, since almost the entire army had spears.

  "Ho stranger! Name's Zig. How come you have a bow while everyone has spears?"

  Zig was getting used to the local parlance. A good "ho" was always the start of a conversation. The boy released his arrow and it flew into the target, hitting it dead center. He looked around at Zig, eyeing him up and down, and replied.

  "Ho. Name's Hepp. I have a bow because I can hit a target. Where's your spear?"

  "I, uh, fight with rocks."

  "Now that's even cheaper than a spear. Don't tell the general or we'll all be given rocks next time."

  "Is that why everyone has spears? It's cheap?"

  "Mister Zig, a spear is literally a long stick that someone sharpened."

  "Ah. So no swords?"

  "Do you have five pounds of iron and a blacksmith on you?"

  "I'm... fresh out of both of those things."

  "Well, there you go. Where do you hail from Zig? Must be far away."

  "How do you know I'm not from Lancre?"

  "Your name is Zig."

  "Is that not common here?"

  At Hepp's chuckle, Zig thought about Hepp's name, then remembered Hellic and Haynes. Did everyone's name start with "H" around here?

  "If you want to blend in, you might start calling yourself Higg."

  "You're lying."

  "You not believing me is proof that you're from a long, long way away. Your town doesn't start all names with Z?"

  "I think we would run out of names if we did that."

  Hepp thought that was quite funny, and explained to Zig that many people did have the same name. He invited Zig to try the bow and arrow. Zig gave it a go, and nearly missed the target entirely. Zig and Hepp looked at each other, and decided not to try that again.

  "How did you get a bow instead of a spear?"

  "I hunted with a bow back home, snagged a wolf one time and got Focused Shot. It lets me shoot a bit further and if the target's not moving it's pretty accurate. When you have a skill for a specific weapon, the army doesn't mind equipping you for it. You should know all this, if you're a rock thrower. Didn't anyone explain, or did you just walk out of the bushes and join the army?"

  "Something like that. Hey, so if you have a skill that gives you accuracy, why do you practice? Just for fun?"

  "Skills are based on your own ability. If you're a decent shot without a skill, the skill is even more effective. Also, there's always the chance to upgrade. I'm Basic, but my Focused Shot moved up to Adept while in the army. I got Weapon Proficiency - Bow as well. I'm basically a noble around here."

  Hepp winked at Zig, whirled back to face the target while drawing an arrow at the same time. He loosed before he'd even finished turning and the arrow flew toward the target. It didn't hit the center perfectly like last time, but it was pretty close. Zig whistled and clapped.

  "Let me try it."

  "Not on your life."

  Zig was reluctant to show anything rock-related, but the two of them found some practice spears and Hepp showed Zig some basic stances and patterns. It was fun. Despite all the chaos Zig had seen since coming to this world, he was warming to it. He woke with the sun, marched with the army, learned some basic combat, and listened to stories around the fires at night. It was almost like a wilderness retreat from back home. No phones, no laptops, just being out in nature. It was surprisingly nice.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Until it wasn't.

  The army changed directions again. There were murmurs of complaints, they had been heading home, and were only two days march away from Lancre. Everyone was in good spirits, talking about things they'd do when they got home. The pay was given out on arrival to Lancre, so soldiers were daydreaming of what they'd spend it on. Changing directions meant no home and no pay. Changing directions meant another fight was approaching. A little extra pay. An opportunity to gain more skills. An opportunity to die.

  This time it wasn't goblins or wild beasts. It was people. Zig listened to others talk about another army marching toward them. Some lord of a nearby land got insulted by Lancre's lord. So the people would pay in blood. Zig didn't like that, not at all. After so much, he was desensitized about killing in general, but he still felt like there was a distinction between killing animals and killing other people. He wondered if he could run off to Lancre. It was only two days walk. Maybe one if he ran? But the land was pretty flat, and someone running off was pretty noticeable.

  "Ho Hepp, have you... killed a person? Not an animal or monster but a human?"

  Zig tried to sound casual and indifferent. It didn't work. Hepp gave a tired smile.

  "Yea. It weighs on you. Much better if you're defending yourself, or if the other person is a bastard. Not easy when they are the same sort of poor bugger that you are. Not easy at all."

  Hepp definitely didn't have his normal bravado and confidence today.

  "There's no running in the army. But fighting at range is nice. You can always miss a shot or two, nobody will notice. Then again, you also want to win, right? Otherwise it's surrender or death, and neither option is fun. Honestly, I've closed my eyes more than once, shooting into an army of men. No shame in it Zig, no shame at all."

  "Do you like being in the army Hepp?"

  "Not... not really. I'm used to the fighting, and with the bow I'm never on the font lines. It helps me get skills, and the pay beats farming potatoes for sure. If I could do it again..."

  Hepp looked wistful.

  "I think I'd be an adventurer. It's similar to the army, I suppose, but just a small group instead of thousands. The main thing is you pick your own battles. No killing for some other lord's whims. You travel on your own terms, you know?"

  "Why didn't go take that path then?"

  "Teams are not quite willing to take on a boy with a single skill. They have to share their gains, and what do they get? A couple of arrows. They might take me now, but before I didn't have a shot. There's also safety in the army. Supplies, training, guaranteed work and pay. That sort of thing."

  "So if we went to Lancre now, would you switch?"

  Hepp looked over to his new friend.

  "I'm thinking I would."

  "We're dead."

  Hepp and Zig stood on a small hill, looking out as the battle began. The other army was smaller than theirs. Much smaller. But their clothes were colorful, blues and greens and traces of gold and silver. Looking out at his own army, Zig saw all the plain shades of brown and beige. He was suspecting this world didn't have clothing dyes at all. Then he thought about how everything was done as cheaply as possible, and realized Lancre's Bastards probably wasn't a well-equipped army. The smaller army had a variety of weapons too. Plenty of swords, shields, bows and crossbows. Instead of spears they looked more like pikes and halberds, with shiny points and small axes on the ends of the long poles.

  It wasn't just the equipment. When the two sides clashed, Lancre's side fell down. Almost none of the enemy did. They hit harder. Their shields knocked aside Lancre spears without a problem. The archers shot like Hepp did, but instead of one Hepp they had whole squads of them.

  "Who are they?"

  "Nobles. Knights. That sort of thing."

  "How are they doing so well? We outnumber them."

  "Almost all nobles have the Advanced class. You never met them before?"

  Zig shook his head.

  "Hepp I'm gonna be honest with you. About a week or two ago I didn't know a thing about skills or classes or anything. I'm gonna need a little help here. Hey, how come you don't look surprised?"

  "Zig you've been asking me weird questions for days now. It's like you were born yesterday."

  "Well maybe I was! So what do you mean Advanced class?"

  "Everyone's born Basic. If you get a skill like Focused Shot, it's at a basic level. Very powerful against someone with no skill. If you're lucky enough to level Focused Shot again, it will become Adept. That's like half as strong again as the Basic version. Then Advanced is stronger still. If I can shoot an arrow halfway through a plank of wood with Basic, then Advanced would break the plank in half, you follow?"

  The two of them stood on the hill, watching the bloodbath in the distance. They'd have to join it soon.

  "So is the skill Advanced or is the person Advanced?"

  "Both. If you're basic then all your skills start basic. You can level them up, and some farmers are Basic but end up with Advanced farming skills. They're worth their weight in gold. But if the person levels up to Advanced, then every skill they earn starts at Advanced."

  Hepp gestured at the fighting ahead of them.

  "That's why we're getting slaughtered. A noble can play around and get one or two skills, and they become worth 10 men on the battlefield. That's why you never mess with nobles."

  Zig was about to ask where Legendary fit into all this when a nearby captain gave the order. Everyone shouted as if it would give them courage, and headed to the front. It was an odd half-walk, half-run. Running because of excitement and nerves. Walking because it would be stupid to reach the front and fight after sprinting half a mile.

  Zig kept an eye on the ground, and pocketed stones as he came across them. They reached the fighting and Hepp pulled Zig to another small hill where he could shoot from relative safety.

  "Hand me arrows, be my helper. Stay out of the front. And for the love of beets and potatoes, if we get out of this alive we're quitting the army."

  Hepp dumped his quivers on the ground and showed Zig how to hold arrows out for Hepp to rapid fire into the fray. Hepp was good. He took careful aim, loosed, and the arrow sped through the air right into the chest of a man holding a sword. He stumbled, and a Lancre soldier speared him though, grabbed the sword off him, and started swinging that. Hepp was already lining up a second shot, and Zig tried not to get disctracted by the dozens of small battles playing out, each with their own triumphs and tragedies. He handed Hepp another arrow, looked back at the battlefield and saw the soldier with the sword had already fallen. An arrow flashed past Zig and struck another man, this time in the neck. It was a perfect shot, the man wore platemail and was almost immune to the spears jabbing at him. He fell down and soldiers on both sides started fighting over the body, people tried to grab pieces of armor off without being stabbed in the process.

  They got into a rhythm, and after a few more kills, Hepp shouted "Level up!" and all the nearby soldiers cheered. Hepp's shots came even faster after that. Not all hit, but he was perhaps doing more damage than any other member of Lancre's army that Zig had seen. The enemy took notice. Zig saw a tiny arrow fly into the air, getting larger very quickly, and realized it was aimed right at them. Zig panicked. There were many things he could have done, but at the time his only instinct was to jump protectively in front of Hepp. The arrow went right through his left forearm, stopping where the feathers didn't quite fit through the hole in his arm.

  "Ow. Ow. Owowowowowow."

  Zig barely felt it, really. He was in shock. But there was an arrow in his arm, so saying "ow" felt appropriate. Hepp's eyes widened, and he grabbed Zig and ducked behind the hill, out of the line of fire. It was just in time, because two more arrows hit the top of the hill.

  Hepp ripped the arrow out completely, before Zig had the chance to react, and started wrapping a bandage tightly over the wound.

  "We need to get to Lancre. We can fix it there. Are you still with me?"

  Hepp slapped Zig in the face. Zig snapped out of his shock.

  "I'm still here. This doesn't seem good. Does... anyone have a healing skill?"

  Hepp shook his head.

  "Not here."

  "Is that my clothes?"

  Hepp looked around, and saw a man in strange clothing running from Lancre's side to the enemy, waving his hands.

  "Must be a prisoner we had or something. Zig, I know you're hurt, but the fight isn't going great. I think I need to keep going. Can you sit with me?"

  Zig nodded, and they crept back up the hill. Not on top like before, but just high enough to see the other side. Hepp planted a bunch of arrows into the ground this time, instead of asking Zig to hand them over. He'd grab one, swing it into his bow, draw and loose in a smooth motion.

  "You're better than before."

  "I think I killed some important people. I leveled up. You're looking at Adept Hepp right now."

  "Congrats buddy. What's Legendary?"

  "What?"

  "What?"

  "You don't know about Adept but you know about Legendary?"

  "No I don't, that's why I asked. Keep shooting."

  "Basic, Adept, Advanced, Extreme, Heroic, Legendary. That's the order."

  "Ah."

  "Zig, buddy, we might need to retreat."

  Zig had been staring at the bandages on arm that were turning red. He looked up and saw the front lines were breaking. If a soldier had the strength of three men, did that make him worth three men in a fight? No, it meant that each time he found a new opponent on the field, he had triple the strength. Bodies were everywhere. Fighting became difficult from the sheer attempt at not tipping up over fallen soldiers. Zig stood up.

  "Hepp. Point me to the biggest threats. The ones that need to go down."

  Hepp instantly pointed at one knight. He was in full plate, and swinging a mace. The way men folded up after a single blow indicated he had some sort of strength skill. His armor and strength together meant he was carving a path through Lancre's army. Zig threw a rock, then instantly hissed as the motion shook his left arm. After a second, there was a loud bang, almost like a car crash, and the sounds of fighting died down a bit as people turned to look. The knight was lying crumpled on the ground. Nobody quite knew what had happened, since the rock itself had turned to powder on impact. The battle started to resume as people went back to the fighting, but there was a hesitance in the advance now.

  "Zig, what did, just what. It, that, what?"

  "Legendary Zig, at your service."

  Zig said it weakly, a little delirious from his wound. Hepp pointed at another powerful knight. This one wielded a thin sword and he danced with superhuman speed and athleticism. He was untouchable and danced through the battle, stabbing as he went. Zig threw a stone. This one missed, but there was still a loud bang as it hit the ground. Dirt flew up, the knight jumped in fright and quickly retreated from the front lines.

  "Ah, shame. Would have been cool, you know? Two for two."

  Zig's face was white with the effort. Hepp stared at his friend like he was from another world. Which, to be fair, was true. Zig threw a third stone, which also missed but still made a loud bang. Enough for a horse to rear backwards, toppling the knight onto the ground. Then there was a horn call, and the enemy started to retreat. Lancre's army stared in disbelief, some started a half-hearted cheer. About half the army was lying dead on the ground. If it was a victory, it didn't feel like it. But the ones that remained were alive.

  The army headed home, and Zig wondered if any soldier would remain the next time Lancre's army marched out.