Day one

John knew that he shouldn't have messed with that stone. It had only been a few weeks since he brought it home from India. The merchant that he bought it from said that it had the potential to grant him great fame and fortune. He didn't really believe it but the stone was a polished onyx. John just had to buy it for his collection. The stone sat proudly as his center-piece and his proudest find. But his curiosity got the better of him. So on the eve of the summer solstice, the time which the merchant had suggested, John held up the stone so the moon was reflected on the stone's surface.

He could feel a slight tingle in his fingers as he began the chant. "My body is weak but my will is pure. Grant my desire and shine your glory on my path."

His mind freaked as the stone dropped through transparent fingers. The mist infected his arms next, then his chest and worked their way down to his feet. Before the mist finally took over the rest of his body, John thought I'm not ready to die.

During his time as mist, John felt like his body was being pulled apart. Raising and falling with, what felt like, every breath of wind. Twisting and turning, John wasn't sure if he was facing right, left, up, down, or if he was facing anywhere. However, after a few minutes of distortion, he noticed that parts of his body were coming back together. Slowly, but surely, pieces of his body returned to a solid form and John once again found himself in his original form once again.

John celebrated his return to normality…until he realized that he was hanging about 30 feet in the air. And this time, gravity no longer had any effect on him.

"YAAAAAAAA!"

"Ohf" The air in his lungs rushed out of his mouth as John landed on a grassy knoll.

Thankfully John was only winded and bruised, no broken bones. He placed a hand on his head, rubbing it, as he slowly sat up. "Ow ow ow ow."

John finally looked around him, and his mouth dropped open. Five minutes ago, he was sitting in his apartment. Now he was out in the wilderness surrounded by trees, grass, rocks, and who-knows-what-else. He stood up to attempt to find something familiar, a landmark of any kind to give him a sense of where he was but there nothing stood out except for how massive the wilderness was.

He froze as a low growl comes from behind him. Slowly, John turned around to spot a large saber-tooth cat racing to attack him. In a split second, he started to run away as fast as his legs could carry him. But as the growling reminded him, John wasn't really that fast and the cat was closing in every second. He scanned the horizon trying to find somewhere to lose it, but he tripped. Landing face first, John could hear the thumping of the cat's footfalls behind. He covered his head and let out one cry of help.

"FUS RO DAH!"

A torrent of wind rushed over John, nearly knocking him over and most certainly pushing the saber-tooth cat away. Heavy footsteps thudded past him as a loud voice screamed out a battle cry. John hesitantly raised his head to look behind him. The cat was defending itself from a rather muscular man carrying a sword that looked like it was made out of bone and, surprisingly, very deadly looking.

John had another heart attack when another voice, a quiet female one, appeared above him. "Are you alright?"

He jerked his head around to land on a set of worried hazel eyes. A tanned hand sat in front of him, which he tentatively accepted. John's eyes widen at her grip as she pulled him up. Careful hands then assessed his arms and chest, looking for any broken bones, after he nodded. He jumped slightly when one more yowl came from behind.

The young girl placed a calming hand on his shoulder. She yelled to the man behind him. "Did you get anything good?"

"Just experience and another hide." On closer inspection the man was actually a young boy who sheathed the sword and walked over to them. He folded his arms and leaned a little to stare at John with a questioning look. "But who is this guy? Never seen him around before."

She laughed. "And you would remember every single person we've seen on our travels?" She turned to John. "However, it would be nice to know your name."

"Uhhh…..my name's John. Thanks for rescuing me."

The girl offered her hand once again, this time for a handshake. "It was our pleasure John. My name is Natasha and this is my brother Nathaniel."

Nathaniel jerked a thumb over to the dead cat. "Now care to explain why you were attempting to fight the Saber Cat without any weapons or armor, just plain clothes?"

John felt extremely weird, as well as unprepared, while he explained what just happened. The siblings listen without much comment, except to ask a question or two. Natasha shook her head at the end of his short story. "Of course."

Nathaniel placed his hands behind his head. "Everything makes perfect sense now."

"It….does?"

John winced as Nathaniel punched his shoulder. "Of course it does. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

Natasha motioned for both of them to follow her. "Enough Nate. He doesn't understand yet so let's head home and explain in a place where we won't get attacked. "

"Fast travel?"

"And leave our poor friend here in the dust?"

"Oh, right."

Natasha shook her head again. "You should stick close to us for now John. There aren't many bandits here but the ones that are here won't last long between the two of us."

Nodding, John moved to walk between Natasha and her brother as they moved in a south-east direction. He casted an eye on their apparel as they guided him past the grassy wilderness and onto a path heading north. Nathaniel appeared to be unhindered by the metal armor he was wearing, his sword bouncing easily on his hips. His wrists were bound with studded, brown gauntlets and his muscles showed that he was no push over in any sense of the word. Natasha, on the other hand, opted to wear lighter armor which looked more like a robe, but it emitted a light blue color if John squinted his eyes a bit. The bow sat proudly on her back, however he noticed that she too carried a sword on her waist, its sheath also showed the wear and tear of battle, showing that she knows how to use it.

He looked up as the sky started to grow darker with every minute. Even though John trusted the strength in the two siblings, the unfriendly landscape turned scarier in the fading light.

Natasha noticed something wrong first. "What's the matter John? Noticed something?"

"Oh! Nothing serious, it's just….the dark doesn't look to friendly after that trouble with the cat."

She tilted her head and smiled. "Well, that's an easy fix." She halted her brother. "Wait here for a moment."

The trio halted as Natasha lifted her left hand. She blinked once and John noticed that her eyes were unfocused, as if she was looking at something only she could see. He jumped back into Nathaniel after her hand started to glow with a clear, blue light. She then lifted her hand higher to let a small orb of light leave.

She turned back to the others as the ball of light cast relief upon their surroundings. "Problem fixed. Ready to move on?"

Nathaniel nodded as he gently nudged John back to reality. "I'm ready, but Johnny here seems to be lost in shock."

He fumed slightly, but let it go once he heard them laugh. Natasha took the lead. "Sorry about that John. I should have explained a bit before I casted 'Candlelight'. Basically I performed a magic spell that casts a small amount of light for a few minutes."

"But you can't use magic in the real world. It doesn't exist."

Nathaniel chuckled. "Then what would you call what just happened to you? And whoever said you were still in the real world? I thought the Saber-Cat would have clued you in."

That caused the wheels in his head to turn as stone walls began to appear in front of them. Guards also started to share the road with them, patrolling the area as well as greeting Natasha and Nathaniel as they past. They also asked the two questions as well, namely about seeing any dragons in the area. Obviously, John began to feel more and more nervous as more guards asked about the situations about dragons. It was only at the gate did one of the guards asked him a question instead of the siblings.

"HALT! What business brings you to Whiterun?"

John fumbled for the right words to use when Natasha stepped in, literally by stepping between him and the guard. "Enough Cyneweard. He's with us."

He bowed in recognition. "Forgive me Thane Natasha, but it is my job to check all who enter this city."

She waved Nathaniel and John forward, but kept it hidden from the guard. "Of course, of course. But how goes it with you and your family?"

As she continued to talk with the guard, Nathaniel grabbed John's arm and pulled him through the gate with barely any sound. He kept his tight grip as the two boys walked through the near quiet city. They finally managed to reach a decent size house not too far away from the gate. Nathaniel pushed open the door, allowing both of them to enter a well-lit room. The fire radiated warmth from one side of the table with a small bookshelf on the other side.

Nathaniel sat down at the table with a sigh and motioned John to do the same on the other side. He did so nervously, but the warmth of the fire on his back relaxed him slightly. He leaned forward, head resting on his hands, as Nate pulled out a carrot.

"Here. Eat this and get some strength back." John took it cautiously. "When Tasha gets here, we'll have a proper dinner. She's better at cooking anyway."

He bit into the carrot as he looked around the home more. There was a simple wooden staircase to the side. Beside it stood a large bookcase completely full of books and a bit further a closed wooden door. It was decorated sparsely but elegantly with gold decorations.

The front door squeaked open, allowing Natasha to enter with a sigh of relief. Nate laughed. "Dear old Cyneweard wear you out?"

She sat down with a huff. "I swear that guy could talk a Draugr to death." Leaning forward, she motioned one hand toward John. "I expect you would explanation now, am I right?"

"If you would please?"

"First a question, are you aware of a game called Skyrim?"

"Of course I do. People have been going crazy over it."

Nathaniel leaned back, hands cupping the back of his head. "You are now in that game."

John's jaw dropped. His glance bounced between Natasha and Nathaniel. "Wait! We are, as in this moment, in a fictional world created for a video game?"

Natasha tipped her head to the side. "Having a hard time believing it?" At his nod, she leaned back a bit. "We didn't either, at first at least. But this game is one that we both play, as well as our favorite, so we were able to recognize it pretty quickly."

"How?"

Nate tilted his head back and laughed. "First of all the armor. Some of it is what you expect from a medieval era but some are unique just to this game." He patted his sword. "Take this guy for example. It's a Dragonbone Sword, made completely made out of Dragon bone. Unoriginal name but unique to this game."

Tasha lifted up two fingers. "Second, the Dragon language." She lowered her arm. "More specifically the Thu'um, which are the Shouts. You heard one earlier when we found you and Nate fought that Saber-Cat. It was how we got that thing off of you."

"We would repeat it now but it would ruin the house." Nathaniel stretched, covering a yawn. "But beyond that, Sis recognized the different areas and I noticed the Jarls sounded familiar."

"Jarls?"

"Think of them like the lords during the medieval era. The chain of power goes with the High-King on the top, the Jarls who serve him, the Thanes who serve the Jarls, and then the usual nobles, craftsmen, and peasants."

John blinked in shock a couple of times before nodding slowly. "Okay, that makes sense. But how did you two end up here?"

Nate shrugged. "To be honest, we're not entirely sure but I remember seeing a bright flash and feeling like I was being turned into mist or something like that."

"And I remember hearing thunder pretty close by."

"How long have you guys been here then?"

Tasha scratched her chin. "Uhhh…two years I think?" She turned toward her brother. "Does that sound right?"

"I think it's been closer to three."

She shrugged. "Well, at least two and a half."

John nearly jumped out of his seat. "TWO AND A HALF‼!"

Nathaniel shrugged. "We spent half of the first year seeing if we could figure out if there was a way to get back. But we couldn't get very far."

"Because…"

Natasha scratched her head and chuckled a bit. "It turns out that our level was set on the lowest it could for a Nord. We were too afraid of traveling too far in case we ran into too much trouble and died." Lowering her hand, she laid her head on her arms. "The rest of the time, we spent leveling up, doing quests and learning the land. But we haven't found any clues yet."

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. John started to yawn as well, causing the siblings to laugh. Tasha stood up and placed a small cauldron over the fire. "How about I make a quick meal and then we go to bed. Okay?"

Both boys agreed and she tossed in water, mashed potatoes, and other random plants. A few minutes later, a potato soup came up and the trio dug into it. Once they were done, Nathaniel went upstairs while Natasha showed John the small, two-bed bedroom on the first floor. He flopped onto the one on the right side and was soon snoring softly.