A howling screech of wind rustled through my dark hair, cold and sharp, it cut through my well worn rags like an eagle's talons.
Though, unlike what many would expect, a broad smile graced my new face. The call of adventure lit a fire in my soul that could not be quenched by a mere gust of wind.
Varamore, the high north of this digital realm, was my new home and boy did it sing a sweet siren's song.
...
(ouch... Ouch... OUCH!) One factor one might not take into account when moving to a digital world set in medieval times are the rocks. Rocks, pebbles, tiny sharp stones that have the one singular pleasure of digging into your soles. When you're barefoot you quickly begin to appreciate what's under you and when you're traveling down a frost laden mountain path with bears, wolves, and other ungodly creatures, you begin to appreciate everything else too.
Snap!
"Fuck!"
Trying to move in what would have been a fluid somersault to the left, away from any unknown danger, but was in fact a series of rolls, bangs, and mangled hisses, I fell on my ass.
A squirrel peaked out from the evergreen brush.
I sighed, (See, everything scares you when you've never seen an animal before, or nature, or a planet for that matter... any way, I better keep moving before frost bite sets in.)
Looking up from my new, low, vantage point, I could make out a split in the road, a small wooden sign standing limply between the rocky paths...
Left to Veller Mill
Right to Marifort Village
Back the way you came for death, or dragons... they're both the same really.
(Well that inspires a lot of confidence, looking back up the mountain path I had traversed, all windy and rocky and wet, I gulped. I looked down at my red, irritated, cut up, and quite possibly frost bitten feet and gulped again. (You mean to tell me, that a beginner, someone who has never joined this world before, is supposed to spawn near a FUCKING DRAGON!)
Taking a few minutes to calm down I tried to look on the bright side of this quickly darkening situation, (It's fine, you're down the mountain, away from the very dangerous, fire-breathing dragon. Oh and look, there's a village close by, maybe you can get some warm soup. Oh! My inner voice pipped up in delight, maybe you could even get some shoes, you'd like that wouldn't you Benjamin, yes you would wouldn't you!)
(My inner voice began to sound oddly similar to a dog trainer. That actually reminds me of a theory stating that your actions were actually dictated by your subconscious, that what you perceived as yourself, the "conscious" mind, is actually just a veneer of free will and that in the end, we are all meat puppets enslaved to our own...)
ROAR!!!
"Oh for fucks sake already!"
...
Village of Marifort: 436 K.D.
...
"So you mean to tell me that there really is a large man-eating dragon hidden away up on that mountain?" My thin pale hand pointed out the window of what was a very dirty, well-worn window, of a very dirty, well-worn tavern, in the very dirty and well-worn village of Marifort. "Did you guys know of the dragon before coming here?!"
The bartender of this particular establishment, The Frosty Troll, stared at me with a flat impassive face, his hands methodically cleaning glasses... wooden glasses. His rough Marimortian accent drawled, "Well... no..." He chewed on his words a bit, spitting some yellow phlegm by my feet, "You see... the men who established Marifort... got the information on this mountain range... from the dwarves... who had mined in this area... for a while."
Listening to the bartenders slow, methodical speech, I quickly grew impatient, (What were the founders of this village thinking, I mean, when has anyone ever heard of dwarves leaving their mines?! The people of this world must be brain dead!)
Rubbing my forehead in annoyance I continued, "Okay, I understand moving here without any knowledge of the dragon, but why, ARE YOU GUYS STILL HERE!"
The bartender stared vacantly at my quickly tapping bare-foot, "Hot springs."
"Hot-springs?"
"Yup"
"Care to elaborate?"
The bartender sighed, "Well" He polished off a wooden mug, and picked up another with practiced ease, "When everyone one found out... we had already... settled down... and there are... hot springs."
"But doesn't the dragon eat people?" My foot began tapping faster, my arms crossed.
"Well... yeah. But if the dragon didn't eat a few people... then it wouldn't vomit in the lakes up on the... mountain." The bartender nodded towards the window, where a picturesque view of the largest mountain peak sat in all it's frosty glory. "And if the dragon... didn't vomit... in the lakes... then the springs... down here." The bartender nodded to the opposite window where many butt naked people ran about a shabby wooden structure, "Wouldn't be... hot."
My foot grew still, my arms fell to my sides in defeat. Looking around the tavern forlornly I realized that maybe... just maybe... it wasn't such a good idea to pick this particular world to travel to.
I sighed, "Got a room?"
The bartender stoped wiping his wooden mug, his eyes slowly lighting up with an uncanny intelligence, "You bet ya, I'll give you a room for 6 coppers a day, breakfast and lunch included." The bartender grinned a toothy smile, a smile you only saw when you were making a very poor financial decision, (Is that cheese I smell?)
I knew this was a bad idea but all starter players were given 10 gold so I wasn't hurting for money anyway, I could have time to be frugal when I had shoes... or clothes... or well anything, hmm... I should probably work on that.
"Fine." I pulled out a gold coin and slapped it on the wooden counter, "Got change?"
The bartender's smile widened, putting his old yellow teeth on full display.
I sighed again, (This was a terrible idea)