Cassius groggily opened his eyes. What met his gaze was an unfamiliar ceiling. Soon, memories of last night flooded his mind. "Ugh, never again Lilith, never again…" A splitting headache began pounding his head and he had the urge to vomit.
"Blurghh" Luckily there was a bucket in the room, probably for any sort of human waste. Nearby on a table was a pot of water with a ladle in it. Cassius rushed over to it and poured himself some water. Finally feeling the dryness in his mouth easing away Cassius was feeling somewhat better. But the headache still pounded away.
Cassius began smelling his questionable clothes and body. "Urgh" the smell was awful, and even pinching his nose didn't help. It reeked of sweat, alcohol, vomit, and blood. Wait, blood? Cassius noticed a nearby small mirror and picked it up. "Dear God, what did I do last night?"
A dark ring circled his right eye. Bruises could be seen along his jaw, and dried up blood was all over his nose and mouth. "Damn, must have got hit in the nose…" Cassius couldn't help but wonder what the other guys looked like. Shaking his head he quickly headed out, he needed to find some new clothes and find a way to wash up.
Cassius exited out into the wooden hallway, nearby he spotted some stairs. Walking down these stairs a welcoming smell and sight greeted him. Some people sat around talking, there were a few long tables for people to eat together, and in the center of the room was a large fireplace with a huge cauldron. Some amazing smells were coming from that pot, and Cassius's stomach had been emptied last night unexpectedly. Grabbing his growling stomach Cassius walked to where it looked like the innkeeper was.
Behind a bar a man was listlessly looking towards the wall, maybe he was looking at the Guiding Light. "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be the innkeeper, would you?" The man looked up at Cassius before furrowing his brows a bit. "Ah, you're the new one that Lilith brought in, correct? You were a sorry sight last night son, you looked to be on death's door!" Cassius sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Well, Lilith's spur of the moment drinking party put me in some deep water."
The innkeeper shook his head, "That Lilith, she always does this to poor newbies, granted most newbies just vomit their guts out. You seemed to have made quite the splash at the Cask & Keg." The innkeeper laughed a bit, "Picking a fight the first night you're here isn't too great of a look, but at least you have guts!" The innkeeper then pinched his nose, "Anyways you seem to have a bit of an… odor. Right down the street is the public bathhouse, go wash up before you stink this place up to high heaven. Once you're done you come by and get some stew and bread, it comes with the room"
Cassius embarrassedly thanked the man before exiting the inn. Upon exiting Cassius walked down the dirt road, as the innkeeper had instructed. Arriving at a stone building with a sign that displayed steaming water Cassius walked in. Inside there were two baths, one for men and one for women. Using the bath was free, however any soap or perfumes cost extra. Luckily the place offered the man some fresh clothes out of pity, otherwise the man would have to run naked out in the city.
Cassius then changed out of his old clothes, wrapped himself in a cloth for drying himself off, and set off to the bath. Inside there were a few men already cleaning themselves. The water looked very welcoming, and had a green hue. The spring that enabled all this hot water supposedly had health benefits, so Cassius was fairly excited.
Splash! "Ahhh, that feels great!" The unbearable stench was finally being washed away. The heat of the water also felt revitalizing, and Cassius even felt some pain relief in his jaw. Cassius relished it for a bit before getting to work scrubbing off any grime on himself. Once he exited the bath dried off and in his new pair of clothes, he could've sworn his skin was glowing.
Cassius made his way back to the inn where he ate some stew and bread. The bread was a bit stale, but the stew was filling. He then went to ask the innkeeper a few more questions. "Sorry to bother you, but what exactly do I do now?" The innkeeper raised his head from beneath the bar, "Well you have quite a few options. You could apply for the workforce where you'll be sorted via your runes and specialties. Most newbies take that route, as it's the safest and most mundane job. But there's not too many credits up for grabs in that line of work." Cassius thought for a bit, "That sounds a bit boring, what other options are there?"
The innkeeper grinned, "We've got a gutsy newbie that's for sure! The other options are to apply to be a guard or soldier, try to create your own business, apply to be a craftsman of a certain special trade, or lastly, join the Expeditionary Group."
Cassius inquired further, "Expeditionary Group, what's that?" The innkeeper scratched his neck as he explained, "They're a group of individuals looking to kill abyssals, collect runes, uncover truths of the abyss, and everything in between. But be careful, it's by far the most dangerous occupation here in Poplis. I've known too many dreamers get eaten while foolishly chasing after power." The innkeeper shook his head dejectedly. It appeared Cassius was not the first newbie to show interest in this group.
"I'll take your warning to heart sir, unfortunately I've no clue what my runes even do. All I know is they're not good for a normal occupation." The innkeeper smiled as he patted Cassius on the shoulder, "That's fine son, you'll want to go get your aptitude tested. The analyst there can get a rough estimate of what you would excel in, and what your runes can somewhat do. If you go up the dirt road to the stone path, you should see a large stone building near the rampart. That's where you need to go."
Cassius thanked the innkeeper as he made his way to this aptitude tester. Climbing up some stone steps Cassius saw the remarkable building that resembled a castle. It even had a little moat around it, meaning a drawbridge had to be lowered for access. Once across, guards interrogated Cassius, asking him a few questions. "State your purpose and name!"
"My name's Cassius, I was brought here yesterday by a scout named Lilith. I'm just here to get my aptitude tested." The guards looked at each other briefly before nodding. "Right this way then." Cassius followed after them into the building.
They made multiple left and right turns, went down long hallways and went up a few floors. Overall the place felt similar to a labyrinth, and the walls made Cassius uncomfortable. Like at any moment he could be trapped there forever. Shaking off the dreadful feeling he continued forward.
Soon they stopped at an ornate wooden door. "Right then, this is where you will be analyzed. Good luck." The two guards walked off synchronized in steps. Cassius slapped his face, chasing his nervousness away. He couldn't help but dread the potential reality that he possessed runes not fit for exploring the abyss. "You may come in now." A scratchy voice echoed.
Walking in Cassius saw a table where one elderly lady with a robe and a monocle sat. Her eyes seemed to hold a stern look, and her wrinkles showed she frowned more often than smiling. "Please sit". Cassius did as he was told, sitting down in a wooden chair in the middle of the fairly empty room.
"Now close your eyes, and when I tell you to open them do so immediately." Cassius closed his eyes, before a shock ran up his spine. The runes on his back began to itch and burn, and whispers filled his ears. "Don't open them yet." Cassius began to sweat, and he felt as if something alien was watching him. The creepy feeling only increased as an eternal silence reigned in the room. "Open your eyes now."
What met his eyes was a huge single eye. Within the pupil he saw fire, blood, and metal. The eye's whites were full of red veins, as if the eye had been straining his eyes for hours. Then, it disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place.
"Hmm, you possess an aptitude for combat and science. An interesting combo…" Cassius's eyes gleamed in anticipation, "And what about my runes?" The analyst rubbed her chin, "I've never seen your runes before, but for combat and mystic runes that's fairly common. All I could gleam is that your mystic art enables some level of manipulation of the world around you, while your combat art is focused on using extremely heavy and long weaponry to level the battlefield. It has some mental effect as well, albeit I'm not exactly sure what it is. I suggest you use something like a battle ax, halberd, or greatsword."
The man was full of glee. I mean those runes sounded pretty useful! "I would recommend either joining the Research Society, Bastion Garrison, or the Expeditionary Group." The woman made her final comment. "Now if you don't mind I have better things to attend to." Cassius had one last question however, "Where can I sign up for the Expeditionary Group?" The woman first took out a small tablet of what looked to be clay. Using her bare fingers she scraped a few words into it. "Here, go down to the town center where the fountain lies. Give this to the Group's head and sign up there."
Cassius thanked her and quickly made his way to where she said. The clay tablet read a few simple words, [Fit for combat, needs a heavy weapon.] The man's excitement and anticipation were through the roof. He could finally try to uncover some of the truths of this abyss himself with the help of others. Clenching his fists, he hurried to the Expeditionary Group.