Another half an hour saw the small party emerge from the forest and into the open plains. Pausing to take a breather, Charles was the first to notice that their destination was now in sight. Looming over the rolling hills stretched a red sandstone wall surrounding hundreds of buildings, a few of which could be glimpsed over the parapets.
“Told you we’d make it before sundown.” He grinned confidently, clapping Isaac and Tenshi on the back.
“So that’s our new base of operations,” Isaac mused, matching Charles’ infectious grin. “I wonder how much it costs to get a guild base.”
“Nothing we can’t afford after a couple monster-hunting missions,” Charles responded, pulling out a small stack of parchment leaflets. “I already completed a couple myself, and was on my way to hand them in when I ran across you guys. Still, this is Wyndvale, meaning half of Atlantic Canada’s stationed here. We’ll have a fair amount of competition for real estate.”
“Quite a shabby hamlet, is it not?” Tenshi flatly assessed.
Silence.
“Way to kill the mood, Tenshi.” Isaac sighed. “Atlantic Canada is pretty much composed of fishermen, farmers, and foresters, so what were you expecting? We’re not exactly Ontario.”
“Well, we might as well get moving again,” Charles smirked, shouldering his pack. “We can see what this “shabby hamlet” has to offer in person.”
*******
Reaching the walls of the city, Isaac found himself in awe of the sheer size of the place; calling it a “shabby hamlet” didn’t do it justice at all. The walls alone reached an easy three and a half storeys high, with telltale arrow slits at regular intervals throughout the construction. Standing in front of the gates and looking to his left and right, he couldn’t even see where the walls ended.
Craning his neck up at the crenellations, he noted that no guards could be seen patrolling, and only one gatekeeper was stationed at the reinforced gatehouse, jutting out slightly from the rest of the citadel.
“With a fortress like this, no wonder they don’t need guards,” Isaac breathed.
“This's nothing compared to what some of the bigger regions have.” Charles laughed, strolling up to the gatehouse window. “To the east of here is Delphonte, the real capital of Atlantic Canada. The city was built on an overhanging cliff, but it grew so big that it ended up getting constructed all the way down the cliff’s face. Instead of roads for the cliff district, there’s a whole series of elevators and catwalks that can take you from the top of the cliff all the way down to the ocean’s surface. They have a small armada of ships stationed there, which they use to enforce peace across the Atlantic.”
“I remember Delphonte.” Isaac grinned to himself. “Still, I never imagined that the cities I made would get tied to specific regions like this. It’s almost too perfect, beyond anything I could’ve planned.”
“You are next, Isaac,” Tenshi murmured from behind him, breaking into his musing.
He looked up to see Charles waving him over from the gatehouse. Stepping closer, Isaac saw he had something similar to a passport in his hands.
“What’s that?” Isaac enquired, noting that the guard behind the window was staring at him expectantly.
“Your Adventurer’s Grimoire, of course!” Charles waved it in front of him. “It keeps track of everything like your experience level, stats, skills learned, party members, and all kinds of other nifty stuff in real time.”
“I have something like that?” Isaac queried, opening his menu and scrolling through his inventory.
“Tap the gear-shaped menu button in the upper right,” Charles guided. “There should be a “Grimoire” option next to a little book symbol.”
Following his instructions, Isaac tapped the indicated buttons, causing a perfect replica of Charles’s booklet to appear in his own hand. Opening it up to the same page Charles was on, Isaac saw a two-frame mug shot of himself, next to the text “Isaac D. Burke, Level 1 _________ Minioneer”.
Placing it into the waiting hand of the gatekeeper, Isaac watched as the guard examined the sheet carefully, then flipped to a different page and imprinted the book with a large double-stamp, the exact size of the opened Grimoire’s pages. When the stamp was lifted, an ornate clock face was imprinted on the paper, next to a variety of text relating to Wyndvale. Curiously enough, Isaac noted the clock was actively ticking down by the second.
Noticing Isaac’s perplexed stare, the guard handed the booklet back and rasped an explanation.
“That there is your Visitor Pass,” he explained. “As long as you’s have one, you’s can move through Wyndvale like an ordinary citizen. However,” he continued, “It’ll only last you’s one week. After that, you’s’ll need to either reapply, or if you’s are planning on staying a long time, you’s could even apply for residency at the town hall.”
“What happens if we’re still in the town when it expires?” Isaac asked, looking at the clock worriedly and holding the passport at arm’s length.
“That there is your Visitor Pass,” the guard repeated without missing a beat. “As long as you’s have one, you’s can move through Wyndvale like an ordinary citizen. However…”
“Sorry, I forgot to warn you,” Charles laughed from behind. “The AI’s pretty buggy, so don’t expect any deep conversations.”
“But…what does happen when the time runs out?” Isaac glanced meaningfully at the book in his hand.
“It’s not gonna explode bro, you’re good,” Charles assured him. “It’ll just make you emit this funky silhouette to any guards if they look at you with an Enforcement Eyeglass. If they see you walking around with that kind of aura, they’ll probably just escort you to the town hall to get it updated. Honestly, it doesn’t happen much.”
“Oh, okay, if you say so.” Isaac gingerly returned the Grimoire to his inventory.
“It helps them keep track of all the adventurers coming in and out of the city,” Charles explained. “You’ve now been entered in their system, so if they receive a warrant for your arrest or something, they can check their database and find out that you were last observed checking into Wyndvale today.”
“Seems legit.” Isaac nodded.
Behind him, the guard finally finished his lines. “Sounds like everything’s in order.” He turned to pull a rope hanging through a hole in the ceiling behind him. “We’re in dire need adventurers like you’s.” He bowed creakingly. “Enjoy your stay in Wyndvale.”
Isaac heard a low whirr of gears as, with a rebellious creak, the massive iron-reinforced doors to the gate opened, allowing the party entry.
“Well, c’mon then!” Charles gestured for the two to follow him. “Let’s check things out!”
*******
Walking through the long archway, Isaac posed a question to Charles.
“Hey, how’d you end up knowing about Delphonte anyways?” he asked. “BRYZ’s only been this way for under 24 hours, did you really walk all the way from the east just to get to Wyndvale?”
“Nah, I actually spawned in a relatively small town called Nevermoor in North-East USA,” Charles explained. “I ended up at Wyndvale ‘cause someone I used to game with lives in the region, and I was able to use my town’s teleportation rune to warp here.”
“Then how did you find out about it?” Isaac persisted.
“Well, ever since BRYZ changed, the internet’s been abuzz with hundreds of thousands of reports from across the globe about this crazy new world. A couple devoted players started to compile the information into guides and distribute it across the web, updating it regularly as new info becomes available,” Charles responded, swiping his menu and materializing a thick tome. “One of my favourite video channels, Summer_BRYZ, compiled this summary of the world as we know it, and I read up on all the nearby cities when I was deciding what direction to head next,” he continued, handing Isaac the book.
“It’s surprisingly well-documented,” Isaac grudgingly acknowledged, flipping through the heavy tome. “Never underestimate the internet, eh?”
“It’s more impressive that Summer_BRYZ was able to cross-check reports and only include verified information, while still piecing together a decent reference book in such a short time,” Charles went on, praising his idol. “She’s already used her connections with fans across the world to travel to dozens of cities, and is currently holding the title of the highest-leveled Controller class as a Hersir.”
“She’s even got a list of known classes,” Isaac thought to himself, reading the table of contents. “Still, the Top Controller? I should’ve guessed it wouldn’t be too long until players started forming a hierarchy…”
Isaac’s thoughts were cut short as he walked face-first into something hard, falling backwards and dropping the book. Rubbing his nose and looking up, he found himself completely overshadowed by a colossal armoured player, glowering down at him through slanted eye-slits!
Scrambling backwards, Isaac’s eyes were locked on the imposing nine-foot player before him. Lumbering and bulky, the suit looked more like an exo-suit than a tradition suit of armour, with disproportionately stocky legs, the lower halves being about as wide as Isaac’s own torso.
All across the body, conical metal spikes jutted out, including three wicked-looking barbs attached to the knuckles of each metal gauntlet. As the player turned, Isaac noticed what appeared to be exhaust pipes emerging from the thighs of the suit, and a large crimson thorny whip hanging from the back of the helmet like a ponytail, ending in a single dagger-sized barb.
The helmet of the suit was rounded with a large barred grill for the mouth, with a pair of red goggles strapped over the eyeholes. All across the suit’s huge frame were tattoo-like illustrations, the largest of which was a stylized eye with red and white glasses, accompanied by text in pink that read “Peppermint Eyeglass”.
Any further analyzation Isaac attempted was cut short but a distorted voice resounding from inside the armour.
“Well, excuse you then!” the muffled voice huffed, the echoing effect of the armour adding a metallic ring.
Scrambling to his feet, Isaac bent low and offered a stream of apologies. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. Very sorry, I’ll be on my way now. It won’t happen again, I swear!”
The armoured player placed one spiked gauntlet on the back of their helmet, and made a sound like spitting. Ignoring the still prostrating Isaac, the suit of armour turned to Charles and Tenshi.
“New here?” it asked.
“Aren’t we all?” Charles answered warily, not committing to a straight answer.
The suit of armour backed up a step, raising its palms in a disarming gesture. “No need to be all on guard ‘n stuff, I was just gonna offer to show you around the town.”
Charles breathed a sigh of relief and patted Isaac in the shoulder, signalling him to rise to his feet. “Sorry, sorry.” He laughed. “You can’t blame us for being on guard though, you look like you’ve seen quite a few battles already, judging by your size.”
“Jeez, you’re the ones that ran into me, remember,” the armour defending, crossing its arms in front of it. “Besides, I’m fairly new too. This suit just comes with the class.”
Planting both feet squarely on the ground and standing akimbo, the suit of armour pointed to its chest with a thumb and introduced itself. “The name’s Nor, I’m a Level 7 Colossal Fortress, and leader of the up-and-coming party, Peppermint Eyeglass!”
ns3.148.250.110da2
