"Just thinking about it alone is useless." I realized this as my mind wandered off. I can't just take ideas from my own world and expect it to work in this one as well. Sure, some story structure is universal and seeing that the people here are all humans with somewhat of a similar historical background as people on Earth, I may be able to take pieces of stories from back home. But if I really want to grab the hearts of this world's inhabitant, I have to get down and dirty with observation.
"I'll start with this town as a test audience. I'll do some research first" With my first goal set, I turned on my van again in the dead of the night. It's not like the town was completely deserted at night. In fact, I saw what seemed to be a bar or a tavern just across the city square. Lights and laughter can be heard from inside the tavern. I drove the van again and parked it near the tavern. I opened the back of the van again to retrieve some equipment. The Sony a6000 can be used to record footage as well—I'll use this to interview the inhabitants. I also brought my laptop just in case. After thoroughly locking the van, I walked inside the tavern.
The laughter I heard outside was even louder when I arrived inside. However, the second I walked in the door, the laughter turned into whispers. I realized that it was because I was still wearing the modern clothing from Earth. I was wearing a pretty standard aloha shirt and short trousers. I wore this outfit because of the tropical jungle but this Orient Republic that I am in was probably in the middle of spring currently as the temperature's significantly cooler. My light-brown skin was probably eye-catching as well as everyone here was white.
"Uh..." I muttered. In a sudden struck of realization, I forgot that I didn't have any of this world's currency so I couldn't really buy any drinks from this tavern. I would probably get kicked out if I was just loitering. Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. I looked behind to see who it was.
"Hey...you're the stranger...my friend was one of the soldiers who went on the hunt and he said the hunting squad found a strange-looking man riding a mysterious metallic beast. Is it you?" A handsome brown-haired male with blue eyes was the one who called out to me.
"....Alain Delon?" The name I just said out loud was the name of a legendary French actor, Alain Delon. The person standing right in front of me looked EXACTLY like young Alain Delon, specifically from the film Purple Noon. He was too attractive. I'm incredibly envious. I muttered the name out loud due to the sheer surprise of seeing someone familiar—especially a celebrity.
"Huh? Who's that?" Of course, the person right in front of me didn't get the reference.
I coughed to get rid of my awkwardness. "Sorry, you looked like someone I knew" I replied back to him.
He smiled in response "Was he handsome though?" This bastard seemed to be aware of his own attractiveness.
I ignored his question and answered the previous question he had instead. "Yes, I was the person your friend found in the forest. I just arrived in this town....this continent to be precise. I'm quite lost." I shrugged my shoulder as I was saying that.
"Hey, let's drink! Come here!" He dragged me to a seat near the door. The previous whispering atmosphere returned to normal after everyone saw the man in front of me dragging me to the chair.
"Hey, Brad! Hook us up with two Grakos Juice!" The man shouted to a waitress. "Coming right up!" The waitress replied with energy.
The man started eyeing me up and down. "You sure look exotic. Tell me your name" He said.
I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it considered rude to be asking someone's name without giving yours first?"
"Hmm? Since when was that the case?.... But I guess we have a different culture so that's fine. My name is Leo. Leo Denver. I'm a Magus Apprentice training under Master Marlon, who you may have already gotten the pleasure to meet with. Your turn now." Leo motioned for me to introduce myself.
"My name is Brandon. Brandon Budiman. I'm a....uh how do I say this...a film director." I decided to just tell him the unknown terminology for this world. He would be the first person ever to hear those words.
Leo was quiet for a while but started to reply. "That sounds....neat? What is that exactly? Sorry, I'm just a country bumpkin haha I don't know those fancy professions they have in the big cities."
"Ah, it's not your fault. Probably everyone in this continent won't know what it is. Let's just say that I am a storyteller. But not a normal one that only does it with their mouths or with writings, I tell stories...visually." I came up with a simple explanation so he could understand.
"So...like a play? One of those dramas they have in the capital?" Leo asked.
I guess that exists here.
"Something similar yes....but not exactly. I think I have to show you so you know what I mean." I answered.
"Ah, hold your thought. Our drinks are here." Leo said as I also saw our drinks arriving at our table.
"Two Grakos Juice served!" The waitress said with vigor as he put our drinks on the table.
"Thanks Brad! Put the bill on my tab later" Leo said to the waitress as he left the table.
"Holy shit..." The drink in front of me was almost comical for how big it is. The cup was made out of wood and probably around 20 cm in height. The liquid inside of it was a weird brownish yellow. I'm not sure I want to try this. I'm not much of a drinker even back home.
"Go on. Try it" Leo didn't care what kind of face I was making of course.
I gulped my saliva and brace myself. I picked up the wooden cup and started to sip a little bit. That was a mistake. I immediately spit out the drink back to the wooden cup. That was bloody putrid.
"What the hell that tasted like dirty sweat," I said out loud. I was amazed by how horrible it was.
"That's because it is! Hahahaha! It's made out of fermented Grakos sweat, a type of animal local to here. It's an acquired taste for sure but I thought you may end up liking it. Oh well, here we go." Leo immediately picked up the wooden cup and shotgun the whole thing in a few seconds.
"Aaaah! That was amazing" Some of the juice was still stuck in his mouth as he said that.
I was wasting my time with this hard-to-deal-with guy. I sighed. I should just be straight and ask him what I want.
"Listen, Leo. I intend to create a story based on this town. I just arrived in this continent so I want to make this town, Brent, to be a test audience for my job. Can you tell me some local stories or anything that I can use?" I said to Leo with a straight face.
"Huh? Why are you so serious all of a sudden hahaha" Leo was evidently drunk now as his speech was tipsy.
Well, this was going nowhere. I started to stand up from the table to find someone else. I didn't want to waste my time with a drunkard. But a hand reached out to stop me. It was Leo.
"Wait. Alright man jeez. Sit back down." He still looked a bit drunk but I complied and sat back down again.
Leo started to stroke his chin as if thinking about something. "The most famous story in this town is, of course, the dragon attack from ten years ago. I'm sure you've seen the skull outside—"
"Wait." I stopped Leo. I've already gotten the gist of the story. While I would definitely love to create a film based of-of that event, I have some obstacles I need to overtake first.
One, budget and time. To create such a large-scale epic of a dragon attack in a city, I would need a lot of cast and crew. This will probably include hiring A LOT of actors and extras. I definitely don't have the money to hire the townsmen to stay committed to the shooting schedule. And even if I have the money, there is the problem of special effects. A dragon attack would need me to render a CGI of the dragon, which I simply don't have the experience to make such a complex effect.
And two, familiarity. I haven't established my name and gotten the trust of the people yet. What would you think if some random stranger suddenly took your beloved culture and just appropriating it for their own benefit? People would be pissed. I think I need to create something small-scale first and attain the hearts of the population before I can tackle something more ambitious.
"What's wrong?" Leo was surprised I cut off his speech.
"I've already heard of that story. Can you tell me something else?...something a bit more intimate?" I asked Leo.
"Intimate?" Leo stroked his chin again. "Ah, there is The Boy and The Grakos..."
Wasn't that the drink we just had?