"He's clearly learned his lesson." The tall kid says as he steps between us. "Why don't you show him some mercy and leave it at that; a good lord knows when to have a little restraint."
"O-of course, mercy. I-I was just getting started but I think I made my point. You better treat me with the proper respect next time." Kyle whirls around and stomps away with his posse quickly scurrying after. The tall boy stays behind for a moment and eyes me up and down. I stare silently at him until he snorts derisively at me and follows after Kyle.
'How did you do that?' Nick asks from inside my head.
"I made it clear that he didn't have any control over me. A threat is most effective when not acted upon." I couldn't help but think about the American war with Iran and how weak the country looked. Having made a threat and failing to achieve an objective actually made the country lose ground on the global stage despite its overwhelming military prowess.
I rubbed my throbbing jaw as the adrenaline began to fade a took another look around the square. A few people that were quietly watching the confrontation turned away as soon as I made eye contact. Given their unwillingness to intervene and the group Kyle had following him around, it was safe to assume he was the child of someone rather important.
"So anyway, who was that kid?"
'Kyle's Dad is in charge of the town guard and he always threatens to have people arrested if they don't do what he says.'
"Well, that explains a lot. Good thing he just punched me; I really don't want to get arrested." I chuckled.
The woman with the staff and the man with a sword were both gone now. I was hoping to ask them about the items they were carrying; was the glowing sword made with magic and could the staff cast spells? It almost felt like I was walking around a video game trying to figure out how things worked. My heart was racing at the thought.
I spent a lot of time locked away in my room and video games were a welcome escape. I could judge the emotions of my Dad and brother by the sounds of their footsteps so I always kept one ear to the door, even when I was wearing headphones.
What I found most enjoyable about video games was the progression. Life is about slowly losing ground but I never lost stats in a video game; all I had to do was keep trying and the numbers would continue to rise. It was permanent in a way that my life wasn't; I was always falling further behind.
"Mind if I keep control for awhile?"
'Go right ahead.' Nick says with the awe one would only expect from someone who invented fire.
"Cool." I push the dark thoughts from my mind and continue walking around town.
The first thing I notice are the different looking ears of some of the residents; cat ears, dog ears, and bunny ears to start. The kid explains to me that there are various races of demi-humans with a variety of features.
Next, I notice the animals. Surprisingly maybe, there are cats and dogs running around, though some unfamiliar creatures are mixed among them. The most common pet appears to be some sort of small dragon, which turns out to be a domesticated monster, called a Vespert, similar to a flying lizard and not related to dragons at all. Apparently the cats and dogs help remove small vermin from the town that threaten the food supply while the Vesperts help deal with flying pests like insects that cause havoc to the populace.
Then, I saw a man carrying a sword while covered with partial plate armor that was headed in the same direction as me. He was soon joined by another man with a bow, and then a woman with a spear. From up ahead I see another group of armed individuals walk onto the street, and then another. They all seem to be heading the same direction so I quietly follow behind. A large gate stands at the end of the road which is connected to a sturdy wooden palisade on either side.
"Careful there, kid." A man says as he lowers his spear to block my way. "You don't want to leave the town, it's dangerous out there."
"Thanks." I say, half dazed. The stream of people with weapons and armor are all headed for a forest with massive trees in the distance. I could see the tiny silhouettes of people as they approached the treeline. The trees look like they rise fifty stories in the air.
"I suppose the kid did mention that there was a forest nearby."
"Kid, you okay?"
"What?"
The man with a spear turns to his partner and chuckles before continuing.
"Are you okay? You look pretty confused."
He had curly blond hair, and wore black leather armor. If he wasn't smiling at me I would have assumed I was being arrested.
"Uh, yeah. I'm okay. It's just a lot to take in."
"Ah! you're new around here."
"You could say that."
"Yeah, we get that a lot when people first see the Argon forest. Those mammoth trees are a sight to behold."
"No kidding." Even from a mile away I had to turn my neck up to see the tops of them. "So, why are there so many people heading that way?"
"Those are adventurers. They hunt monsters and harvest plants around the edge of the forest to make some quick cash; every once in a while they may even take on a quest issued by the Adventurer's Guild but those don't come by very often." The blond man says with a wry smile.
I look the man up and down before responding.
"Sounds like you used to be an adventurer yourself, why the change in profession?"
"Yup, as you may imagine working as a town guard is much more consistent pay even if I make a little less."
"But, something had to change for you to make the switch. You got injured?"
"Damn, is it that obvious?"
"Just a lucky guess."
"Yeah, I was working with a friend of mine and I ended up taking an arrow to the hip. Why are you glaring at me?"
"No reason." I say as I cough and turn my attention back to the forest. "So you said it was dangerous, yeah? I'm assuming that's due to more than just your fellow adventurers."
"You better believe it, those woods are no joke." While the man is speaking to me, I step back so that we're standing next to each other while facing the same direction and cross my arms the same way as him. "There's tons of mean looking monsters in there but the worst has got to be the Mankas."
"Tell me about it."
"What?"
"No, I mean, I don't know what those are; please tell me about it."
"Oh, yeah sure. They're vicious little beasts that latch onto you with their spiked tails and they never let go until you're dead."
"Wow, I hope you never ran into one of those." I say as I shake my head.
"You can tell I haven't by the fact that I'm still standing here in front of you. Those bastards will hunt you down if you kill one of their own. We won't even let people back into town if we think they've killed one because the whole colony will come pouring out of the woods to find the poor sap."
"God damn, and those guys walking towards the woods right now aren't worried about that?"
"Naw, the Mankas usually hang out deeper in the woods and they rarely leave their territory."
"If you're unlikely to meet them then it sounds like they aren't the biggest threat." I say as I throw the man a skeptical eye.
"Maybe not, but one night while I was guarding the gate here, a man came back drenched in blood and begged us to let him in. I went to grab my captain to see what I should do but the Mankas got to him before we made it back up the wall; I can still hear him screaming sometimes when it gets too quiet."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't feel too bad for me, the poor sucker that watched the guy while I left had to quit because it messed him up so bad. I just heard he took himself out last month."
"Yeah, I bet it was pretty messed up what he saw."
"It must have been but those sick fucks didn't even leave a drop of blood behind when we opened the gate the next day to take a look. The ground was spotless." The man says with a shiver.
"Well, thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind."
"No problem. By the way, kid, what's your name?"
"I'm Nick, nice to meet you." I smile and put my hand forward for a handshake.
"Likewise. The name's Sampson, let me know if you have any questions about anything around town; it gets kinda boring standing by the gate all day so I appreciate the conversation."
"I'll do that, thanks Sampson." I wave at the friendly guard and walk back toward the center of town, my mind swirling with information.
'Why did you act so weird while talking to that guy?'
"It doesn't hurt to know how to get people to like you." I say with a shrug. The kid seems unconvinced but I ignore him and return to the town square. I keep thinking back to the largest building and the huge sign that hung on its front.
'Adventurer's Guild'
I stare up at the words before me. It seems I'm borrowing some of Nick's knowledge because I can read and speak the language even though it obviously isn't English.
"Hello!" a pretty girl with bunny ears cheerily greets me as I walk in the door. I can't help but stare at her fluffy white ears that match the color of her hair. Other than that she seemed like a totally normal person. I wonder if she has a tail?
"Excuse me, can I help you?" She asks again, her smile becoming noticeably more force.
"I'm sorry, I'm new around here and a little out of sorts. I was just curious about what the Adventurer guild is and what requirements there are for joining?"
'Why are we here?'
"Oh, I could have one of our guild staff speak with you if you're interested in joining."
"That'd be lovely, thank you."
"Of course. please find a seat at one of our tables and someone will be with you shortly."
"Thank you."
The guild was mostly one large hall from what I could see. There were a large number of wooden tables with benches, a bar, a counter that seemed to be something other than a bar, and a small group of people all crowded around the bar. Seems about right. I don't know if this place operated like the Adventurer Guilds I'd read about back in my world but it was certainly shaping up that way.
I sat at a table far from everyone else so I could talk to Nick in private.
"Relax, kid. I'm just asking how things work, there's nothing wrong with gathering information."
'I guess.'
"Besides, haven't you always dreamed about becoming an adventurer?"
'Not really.'
"I thought you wanted to be like those heroes you read about in your books. This may also be a way to help out your parents financially."
'I don't know.'
It was frustrating but his indecision wasn't a flat rejection so that's good I guess.
"Hello! How can I help you today?"