My dreams were often filled with me walking, and typically not getting anywhere. Usually through what seemed like my apartment but didn’t really look like it at all to my waking mind; an endless grocery store full of items, but never the one I was looking for; but most often walking through hallways at work and not able to find my way back to the teller desk. Even in my sleep it seemed I never rested.

Tonight, however, I dreamt of walking between thick trees. I heard leaves crunch under my soles, and felt smooth, velvety moss squish between my toes. The forest stretched on and on, not unlike the one in this evening’s earlier episode. Only the stars twinkling above me between the tree tops suggested there was any end at all to these woods. I always wondered how one’s muscles can actually tire in a dream, but my legs soon began to ache. As if restricted by weights, lifting my feet became burdensome, but I found myself unable to stop moving.

Finally I spotted a break in the foliage. The glow of flickering lanterns in the dark and the muffled den of voices indicated there were people ahead, and possibly a way out of the woods. Suddenly my feet became lighter again, and I took off running. But no matter how far I ran I never seemed to get any closer to the lights ahead.

What a frustrating dream, I thought, as I slowly drifted back into the waking world. It seemed unfair to have a nightmare after such a difficult day. Especially when I really needed some decent sleep. A sudden jabbing pain in my side made me groan and roll over; I must have slept at an odd angle. Perfect. But the pain in my side was followed by another jab of pain in my lower back.

“Ow!” I cried out. My eyes shot open, but were blinded by intense morning sunlight. I knew I should have closed the blinds last night. I massaged my lower back and struggled to sit up.

“Fine; fine. I’m up already…” I groaned. “Gees… what the hell did I do to my back?” But my words quickly died in my throat as my fingertips touched something that was clearly not my bed, nor my comforter, or even the bodice ripper I’d laid carelessly aside. Whatever I was laying on felt cool, waxy and slightly damp. I forced my eyes to adjust to the light.

I was laying on grass. But how could that be? Was I still asleep? Another jab in my side made me cry out again.

“OW! What the hell-…” My voice trailed off. I must still be asleep. There was no way the characters in front of me could be real. Well, not outside of a theme park or movie set, anyway.

When my eyes had finally blinked into focus I saw three rough-looking men surrounding me. One was short and bald with a long wiry beard, a portly belly and leathery skin. The other was tall and bony with greasy long hair and a crooked smile, more gums than teeth. The last one was somewhere in between the other two’s heights with a thin, lithe frame. At one time his features might have been elegant and fine, but were now worn and emaciated. His hair was long, but thinning with obvious bits of scalp showing. I noticed one pointed ear peeking between the light brown strands, but the other ear appeared to have been partially chewed off.

Is he supposed to be… an elf? I thought. All three of them stared at me with blood-shot eyes. Behind them I could see a number of other men, equally as grimy and unscrupulous in appearance, on horses and pulling wagons. I could hear them muttering amongst themselves, and looking over at me, but I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.

I shook my head to clear it. Had I fallen asleep in the middle of a live-action roleplay scenario? Or maybe some kind of theme park? And if so, how had I managed to accomplish that?

“Um… sorry, guys.” I muttered, rubbing my eyes. “I’m not sure what happened. But give me a sec and I’ll be out of your way.” I wondered if my medication was causing me to sleep-walk. I thought I remembered reading that under the long list of possible side-effects on the prescription label.

I am so calling my therapist on Monday, I thought.

The eyebrows on the bald one furrowed. He barked at me loudly in a string of words I didn’t understand, as he gave me another kick, this time in the thigh. Maybe I’d stumbled into a movie set? But if that was the case, surely there would be a couple of cameras, and some stage crew members running around. This could only be a Live Action Role Play group, I concluded; I had apparently interrupted their gaming session and they were understandably miffed at the situation.

I didn’t know much about Live Action Role Play, LARP for short, but from my perspective it was basically tabletop gaming, but with cosplay involved. One of my friends was an active member of the local group. Once he’d asked me for a ride to his session, as his car had stalled, and I was allowed to sit back and watch them play. While I did find it interesting, it seemed to involve a lot of prop-making, costuming and a considerable devotion of one’s time, which is why I never joined though I’d been asked multiple times. I didn’t see my friend, or any other familiar faces in this rough-looking crowd, but I knew that LARP groups often met in some of the surrounding state parks.

The bald man was still yelling at me in unintelligible words, while the other two just looked down at me menacingly. Whoever these guys were they were deeply involved in their game.

“Alright, alright, I get it. You take your LARPing seriously,” I groaned, as I rose to my feet. “But can you at least break character long enough to speak English and tell me how to get out of here?” I looked around me. I appeared to be in some wooded area. The ground beneath my feet was noticeably worn into a path. I deduced that I must have wandered into a park. The bald one scowled and poked me with the long, slightly crooked, sword in his hand. It was an impressive looking weapon, far more authentic in appearance than many of the LARP props I’d seen over the years, but some players were more dedicated to the assembly of their items than others. It was certainly sharper than I’d expect a costume prop to be, also.

“Hey, watch it!” I said. “I’m not part of the game, okay? I just wandered in here by accident and I plan on leaving right away. Can you tell me where the entrance of the park is?”

The bald one turned to the one-eared elf and muttered something in their strange language. The elf nodded, then looking directly at me recited a few words while waving a thin hand, with long jagged fingernails, in the air between us. While I still couldn’t understand what he was saying exactly, the words sounded different from what the bald one had spoken to him –prettier, almost melodious in tone. I shook my head. LARPers were in a level of nerdom all their own, but I did respect their dedication.

Once the elf had finished speaking he reached his hand out and lightly tapped me on the forehead. A cool sensation bloomed on my skin where he had touched and settled on my lips and ears for a moment before dissipating.

“There that should do it,” the elf said.

“Oh so you’ve finally decided to speak English, now?” I asked curtly.

The elf arched an eyebrow at me.

“If by that you mean ‘common speech,’ then I suppose,” he grumbled.

“Okay so you guys are still trying to stay in character,” I sighed loudly, and rubbed my forehead. Sure, I admired their dedication, and under any other circumstance I’d be happy to play along. At this particular moment however I was disoriented, groggy, wearing nothing but my pajamas, and in no mood to pander to anyone. “No problem I can get behind that…” I raised my hands, palms out in a peaceful gesture. “Okay… Whilst one of you… erm, brave warriors direct me to the… um nearest town or… eh tavern?”

I looked around me again and had a sudden very uncomfortable realization. It had been snowing the night before, and bitterly cold. I remembered shivering in the alcove of my apartment as I fumbled for the keys with bulky, gloved fingers. The grass had already been covered with a layer of white dust when I went to bed, but here everything was green. Not a single snowflake in sight. Although the air was temperate, more like early fall than winter, I felt myself shudder.

Just how far HAVE I wandered off to? I asked myself.

The three men were all staring blankly at me.

“Okay, fine, I suck at roleplaying without dice involved,” I groaned in exasperation. “Can I just use someone’s cellphone, please? Then I promise I’ll be out of your way.”

“Perhaps we should leave this one alone, captain,” the greasy haired one said to the bald one, scratching his head. “I think she might be a bit mental. Why else would a woman, who doesn’t even speak common, be passed out in the middle of these woods, and wearing strange clothes like that?”

I opened my mouth to argue but the bald one, the “Captain” apparently, interrupted me with a loud snort.

“Mental or not, one with as good of teeth and skin will fetch far too pretty a penny to ignore,” he said. “Shackle her. We’ll sell her at market.”

“Wait, what?!” I exclaimed, but no sooner had the words left my mouth than the greasy haired one had hold of both my hands, and was attempting to secure ropes around my wrists.

“What the hell are you doing?!” I cried, and pulled my hands away. “Look, I already told you, I’m not part of the game!” Even if this was just a game they were taking it too far.

“I don’t want to play! Look, I’m leaving right now. You guys can continue playing and I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll find my own way out!” I turned to leave, prepared to run as fast and far as my feet would carry me from these men. But just before I could start running the elf caught me, and gripped me tight from behind. I winced as the putrid stench of days old body odor crept into my nostrils.

“When’s the last time you washed that costume, buddy?” I muttered at the elf over my shoulder. He ignored my question, and grabbed a fistful of my hair to pull my head back. I tried to kick at the greasy haired one, but he dodged my heels as he latched a chain around my neck.

“Stop!” I pleaded, punching and clawing at the greasy-haired man, but he was far stronger than he looked. Within seconds he had hold of both my hands, and had secured my wrists with rough wiry rope.

“This isn’t funny! I’m not a part of the game!” I cried. The men all laughed in reply.

“Well, this isn’t a game at all, dearie,” the bald one chuckled. “I’m not terribly fond of games…” He grabbed hold of me by the chin and tilted my head to look at him.

“But I am fond of money…” he grinned, and I tried not to gag. His breath smelled even worse than the elf who still gripped me from behind. “And you’re premium goods. We can demand a high price for something like you…”

“Price?... Goods?... What are you-,” but he cut me off mid-sentence.

“Hm… well someone might make a pretty scullery maid of you, but the asking price for a concubine these days is much heftier,” he started to run a filthy hand down my body, but took a step back when I tried to knee him in the groin.

Concubine? Who were these people? Maybe this wasn’t a LARP group. Maybe these guys were just crazy. Or something far worse…