The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

Chapter 52: Settling Affairs

(Monday, June 28th Game Day / Monday, March 1st Real Day)

Standing in front of the quest giver that was a little off to the side of the town's center, dozens of players were gathered around me, mostly minding their own business as they attempted to turn in and receive new quests. We all had the same objective really, and most of us were waiting our turns as those ahead of us filed out one by one.

Behind the little wooden table and underneath a makeshift sunshade, there were two elves, NPCs of course, that managed the quest chains for the players. There were three people in front of me, but the line moved relatively quickly.

Without much to do, the majority of the players socialized with those that were nearby, mainly anyone fool enough to listen or friendly enough to pretend to care. Chatter filled my ears as guys and girls alike talked up their experiences and bragged about their exploits inside the dungeon, all eager to prove themselves amongst the anonymity of the crowd. It seemed laughable to me, but maybe I was just being cocky.

They were all strangers, looking to make new friends.

I didn't know of any of them, nor did I care to.

None of them knew of me, either… so, maybe, I was being a bit pompous.

As my turn finally arrived, I handed the piece of parchment that was magically inscribed over to the female elf. Somehow, the paper automatically updated as you completed your quests. I suppose it was necessary to have something to put in your hand, to add to the realism, rather than an invisible quest log system that existed solely in one's menus.

"Thank you," said the quest NPC after taking the parchment from me.

In an instant she started to immediately read through the piece of paper with the type of seriousness expected of a practiced professional. It only took her a couple of seconds before she looked up at me, then back down at the paper, clearly confused as to what she was supposed to do.

It was an interesting touch.

"Um, one second please," she uttered out, with a puzzled expression on her face.

The two elves chatted amongst themselves with hushed whispers just out of earshot as they eyed the paper a few times, and eyed me once or twice. The quest NPCs changed depending on the hour of the day, so I figured these two had yet to see the fifth completion stamp. Barik and the others most likely turned it in the night before, with a different set of NPCs working the booth.

"I'm sorry for the wait," she finally said after some discussion with her fellow worker. "Please accept our sincerest gratitude for your completion of the Call to Arms, and we hope that you find the reward more than sufficient. Thank you, adventurer, for your services to the region."

As the last word left her lips, she bowed in conjunction with the other quest giver as multiple system prompts flooded my visual field. Accepting them without bothering to read through them, I was hit with multiple beams of golden light that appeared to descend from the heavens as the warmth of the radiance soothed my soul.

Relief washing over me, I couldn't help but enjoy the feeling.

"What's going on? Did someone just spawn?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Huh? A new event?" said another.

"Is he getting healed?" questioned a young male.

No, it was none of the above.

Looking at the new system messages that popped up:

[Congratulations! As a member of the first party to conquer the Northern Outcast Goblin Dungeon, you have been awarded a bonus of +50 Reputation!]

[Congratulations! Due to your participation in the Call to Arms, you have received bonus Experience and an extra bounty of +1000 Copper Coins!]

[In response to your exploits, you have also been granted the following Title: First Conqueror of the Goblin Outcasts. All following Titles will not contain the "First."]

Oh.

So, that's how it works.

"Hey man what was that for?" asked the guy standing directly behind me, as eager eyes all around stared and listened intently as to what I would say. I had half a mind to ignore them and walk off, not wanting the extra attention, but that wasn't really a nice thing to do. Ultimately, I gave in to their pleading eyes.

"Ah, I just finished the quest chain for Outing the Outcasts part five and Bringing down the Guard part five," I replied somewhat nonchalantly, trying to play it off as coolly as one could.

"Oh my god how did you clear it!" yelled a girl from somewhere.

"Dude, join my party we're on the third floor," another one chipped in.

"No man, join our party we just entered the fourth, you're a DPS right?" asked the same guy that was standing behind me. "We're a good group, we can clear it fast with you, would be easy farm with your experience and damage."

"Uh," I muttered while looking at all of the faces that were staring at me.

Getting a little nervous at all the attention I was receiving, I was trying to look for an opening to make my escape but the group seemed to sense my indecision and closed in around me. Squeezing me, a dozen different people started calling out to me, some yelling, some pushing, all of them trying to get my attention to join their group.

I didn't want anything to do with them.

"Sorry, but I'm done with the dungeon," I said somewhat apologetically. "I'm kind of tired of the grind, good luck with your runs everyone."

With a quick nod, I started to push my way through the crowd as most backed off dejectedly. A few didn't quit though, as they tried to convince me to help them out, with one cute elf attempting the flirtatious route of winning me over, to no avail. She was definitely cute, but if I was going to be swayed by physical appearances inside the game… well, Katherine would be the first to win that contest.

And, she didn't even win the first time around.

I chose Selene to have fun with… personality won out.

Cutting through a pathway that led behind some buildings, I disappeared into the back alleys and made my way to the clothing store. With my quests turned in, the only thing keeping me in this town were a few errands that needed to be taken care of before I could set out. There were some summer dresses that I meant to buy for the girls, and then there were the saddle bags I ordered from a leatherworker for the cattle. Three heifers and a bull meant I didn't have to personally lug around the couple of hundred swords that been accumulated.

Putting a work animal to work, hell yes!

No more manual labor for me!

Entering the clothing store that I was all too familiar with, the store clerk had moved back inside instead of posting up at the front with a table, but that's because it wasn't really necessary anymore. The store was packed with players looking around, browsing through the goods that littered the shelves and tables all throughout.

Business was good.

Booming, really, and the place had been reorganized a bit as well.

The cheaper goods that generated the most interest were at the front, visible by the door and intermixed with some of the more expensive items, while the goods that were more in the middle price ranges, were all spread in the back. Wearing a mask in the dungeon was now beyond a trendy thing, and most players bought one before entering. It was a suggested item on the forums now, too.

All in all, my hunch was right.

"Ah you're back Sigurd," said the store clerk with a smile while sitting behind the counter. "Welcome, welcome. What can I do ye for today?"

"Well, I'm heading back to the North today," I started to explain as I glanced around at the goods lying about. "So, I figured it was about time I picked out those summer dresses I mentioned a while back, got any suggestions?"

"Hum, I think I have just the thing," he replied with a sheepish grin.

Waving at me to follow him, the clerk walked back towards his more expensive section of female clothing and brought me to a rack that featured some relatively fancy outfits. These weren't outfits that you would find in the dark ages… nor in the renaissance period… they were, modern.

Current age modern… the stuff people would wear now.

"Huh," I said, startled. "New fashion trend?"

"It's popular in the central kingdoms," he answered with a little puff of his chest, clearly proud of his updated selections. "After our last talk about popular clothing, I was able to get some new shipments in. What do you think? It's been a hit with the tourists!"

"Ah, man, I'm shocked, really."

That was the truth.

Modern clothing in this game seemed counterintuitive but, it wouldn't be the first time a popular MMORPG brought in alternate clothing sets for players to wear casually. Not everyone wanted to dress up like some extra in a safety dance video… though I'm sure some preferred it. They could dress however they wanted to and if they didn't want to… well, they weren't friends of mine, so it didn't really matter.

"Ah yeah, these will work," I said with a bit of a laugh.

The plan was to pick up two articles of clothing as a gift, not that I necessarily needed to buy one but, the girls were running the village while I was gone, so it seemed like the right thing to do. Selene had a tendency to try to flaunt what little curves she had, so a tighter fitting dress seemed like a good fit for her. Katherine on the other hand had ample curves that didn't really need to be accentuated, she was a distraction in every sense of the word… for her a loose and comfortable dress would do.

"Yeah, I'll take these two here," I stated after making up my mind, picking two distinctly different dresses off the shelf. "I suppose, they could use a scarf too."

A few minutes passed as I loitered about, thinking of what I could possibly buy while it was still within reach. Once the return journey started, there wouldn't be any shops along the way or nearby… not in the deserted Northern Triangle.

Eventually, I ended up buying a bit more than I had planned.

Basically, two full summer outfits were purchased along with two sets of nightwear… I figured the girls could use something besides their leather and fur outdoor adventuring gear, seeing as that was their only set of clothes.

I couldn't but wonder if it was weird to buy clothes for my NPCs though.

Eh, I didn't know the answer to that question.

"So, how much do I owe you?" I asked kindly with no reservations.

The store clerk looked over the items and then to my surprise, winked and replied, "all paid for, consider us even for the advice and help you showed me."

"Ah, no it's fine, I can pay," I countered immediately, not wanting a handout. "I made some profit off that deal as well, so it was already mutually beneficial. I'll pay for these, they're expensive. Money isn't an issue, it's fine, really."

"You're insane you know," he stated, repeating a line from the first time we interacted. "You don't just help strangers, that’s not normal, and my business is booming now. This is my thanks to you, take it. I don't want to hear another word."

As he was talking, he put everything into a complimentary cloth bag and pushed it to my side of the counter, holding steady with a serious face that conveyed his intent. He didn't want any more hassling from me, so, my battle was lost.

Well, my loss is a win of free merchandise… so I shouldn't complain.

I wasn't a fan of freebies.

"Alright you win," I said reluctantly with a soft grin, somewhat embarrassed to take the free items. "Thank you for the gift, I appreciate it."

"No thank you," he replied with a loud voice. "You saved my store, this is the least I can do to show my gratitude! Safe travels, I'm sure those girls will be happy to see you."

Leaving the store, there wasn't a whole lot left to do.

My preparation was essentially taken care of, and my shopping was complete.

Heading back towards the inn, the leatherworker was supposed to deliver the saddlebags to the front desk when they were ready, so if good fortune persisted, I would be in and out of the place in a quick minute and be on my way. This town wasn't half bad, but I was tired of the crowds… tired of the noise.

I missed the comfort of my village, the peace and quiet of being surrounded by nothing but the beauty of nature undisturbed. The rolling mountains, flowing river and creeks, bountiful forests, and even the lonely and vast ocean… those were all things that this populated city town didn't, couldn't have.

Sure there were trees, but that was it.

I guess, I was home sick.

The inn itself wasn't too crowded at this time of the day, though the connected tavern was bustling, as it always seemed to be. The food was good, the alcohol was decent, and overall the price was right. I had no complaints there, and if I ever came back I would probably return to this very same inn.

At the end of the trip, I was a satisfied customer.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if anything had arrived for me, under the name of Sigurd?" I asked the lady at the front desk of the inn, as she instantly turned around and checked the board behind her.

"Yes, do you have proof of identity?" she questioned back with a slight smile.

Handing her the inn key that was registered to my name, the process was completed in a matter of seconds. All that was left, was to get a refund on my deposit and to pack.

Then, the nearly hundred mile journey would have to commence.

At least this time, I wouldn't need to carry all of my gear by myself, or use that makeshift sled to drag all of the hides that I was bound to collect on the way. Also, there was no reason to wear a live-kitty bandolier.

They could sit atop the cows.

Or something like that.