The City
Your sleep is dreamless and over almost immediately, or at least that is what it feels like to you. You feel rested and not at all sore despite all of the walking that you did yesterday. Because you have no real idea of what to do, you decide to roam through the town today and see if you can earn any more of the golden coins. You will need more money if you want to spend the night here again, that much is for sure.
On the way out of the inn, you thank the woman behind the front desk. She smiles at you and then looks at a stack of paper in front of her as if you were no longer there. You figure that this is probably because she is just an NPC in your experience.
Now that the entire town is lit up in the light of day, you can see how much detail has been put into it. The cobblestone that you are standing on has fine cracks that are filled with sand and pebbles. There is a large fountain in the town square with clear, flowing water that contains coins as if the people living here had tossed them in to make all of their wishes come true. Each store has its own, original sign and contains useful and luxurious products of all kinds.
There are many people in the town too, although not all of them can really be described as people. You see some other Sphinxes and Lamia, but now there are also Centaurs and smaller humanoids covered entirely in scales. Some of the beings do appear to be entirely human, but they are few and far in between.
You start your tour of the town by walking past all of the store windows and gazing at the vast variety of products. You can barely afford any of it, but seeing the food makes you realize how hungry you are. You hadn’t eaten in nearly a day now which made you feel weak and tired now that you paid attention to it.
Thinking about this made you worry. Was this how you felt in real life? Were you starving because you couldn’t move your body in order to nourish it? Were the events of the game happening in real time? All of these questions strike fear into your heart, making you freeze in the middle of the plaza. The only thought that eventually calms you down is that you are wasting time by panicking and can’t change your current situation like this anyway.
Your journey through the town continues, although at a much quicker pace. A few streets from your starting point you find yourself drawn down a dimly lit alley. At the end of it, you find another store but it doesn’t seem to be selling the same things as the other places. The sign above the door reads ‘Quests’. You can practically feel your heart flutter in your chest when you read it. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction!
Written by Quuentong on 17 September 2018