Chapter Forty Two – Unusual Attention

Variak was wonderful. Dancers lined the cobbled streets, festively spinning signs or declaring things like “Best shop this side of the Namadell!” and “You won’t find better prices!”

There were windows with beautiful items inside — Weapons, armor, clothes, and assorted bits of gear; amulets and jewels. There was a weaver’s shop, an apothecary, a carpentry center, and four or five inns.

Unfortunately, I could barely see any of that.

“Where did you get that race?” asked Gable_the_Stout33, a man in a suit that looked like nothing I’d ever seen any adventurer wearing before.

I opened my mouth to answer but was immediately hit with another question by a girl named RizeCakes. “Your freckles are so beautiful. Do they always glow like that?”

“W-well thank you… I… uhm.” I didn’t actually know. Did they always glow? I could change their color at will but when I wasn’t thinking about them they usually still glowed with colors that reflected my emotions at the time.

So… no?

“What’s your race? Is it a Iki Confederation only race? I didn’t see it in the character selection!” asked a dirty brown haired man named InUrButtSoWhat.

Good lord, how did these people talk to each other with names like that? I supposed what Half Bold had said had been true. He went by Beastmaster. By his class, rather than his actual name. Perhaps most of these people did.

What did that make me then? Wanderer? Nomad?

“Hey… aren’t you that A.I. the news was talking about?” someone called, his voice filled with surprise.

The people gathered turned to look at the man who’d shouted. Someone questioned curiously, “A.I.?”

“Yeah. I saw an article about it just yesterday on the forums that Tread the Sky was experimenting with an AI,” he said before turning back to me. “They had screenshots of you at Bluebell Bridge!”

I… didn’t know how to respond to that. People kept shouting that at me, Ay Eye, but for once my inexplicable knowledge failed me. The two words meant nothing to me, and they were not becoming any clearer with time.

I decided it would be best to ignore the… accusation? He didn’t seem angry, just curious.

“Can… Can one of you tell me where the adventurer’s guild is?” I asked tentatively, directing my vision at the one man in the crowd who didn’t have a name with dashes and numbers in it, and also didn’t wear any obvious weapons or armor.

Gabrio Thegrate smiled pleasantly. He wore a plain cloak over a simple cloth shirt and pants. He had a small thin mustache widened comically with his grin and his blue eyes and black hair both danced as he gestured grandly.

“I can do you one better. I can take you there,” he said, his deep voice sounding somehow louder than most of the rest of the gathered group.

“Hey, I could take her!” shouted a smaller man with the voice of a child, though Gabrio ignored him, eyes focused intently upon me as he stepped out of the crowd and held his hand out to me.

“I… would like that. Thanks,” I said, my voice filled with uncertainty, staring at his proffered hand in confusion. Did he want me to shock him?

“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, dropping the gesture with a laugh when he realized I wasn’t going to touch him.

“Ohhh shot down cold!” someone shouted, and the crowd laughed.

Undeterred, Gabrio smiled pleasantly. “Come, the guild is right down this way.”

I beamed, happy to finally be getting somewhere. This place was huge and I wasn’t even inside the walls of the main city yet. “Okay! Thanks mister!”

“Any time… Gell, was it?” he asked. “Great name.”

“I’ve always thought so!” I replied.

We left the crowd unsatisfied but fortunately they seemed quick enough to return to whatever they were doing before. I wasn’t surprised. The city was amazing, and somehow I didn’t feel like I would cause any particular spectacle when there was so much else going around.

Still, eyes kept trailing to me wherever I went. The only people who ignored me were the normal named ones, those whose names ended in their profession or a unique characteristic. For example, “Hank, the Juggler,” was, rather obviously, found juggling at one of the street corners. Occasionally adventurers would leave coins in his hat and he would thank them, usually with a slightly more impressive display of his already incredible talent.

“Here we are, the adventurer’s guild. There’s one in all the major cities, but I like Variak’s the best,” Gabrio spoke with fondness as he looked at the building. “I remember when I first started. It’s only been about a year since Tread the Sky released, but it feels like I’ve been obsessed with this world for much longer, you know?”

I didn’t. How could you be obsessed with a whole world? Was he maybe one of the Moderators… or Developers?

“I don’t really understand. I’m just… looking forward to making new friends, I guess.” I said truthfully.

The man frowned as if I’d disappointed him somehow. “You don’t? I… well. I suppose it is early yet. Well, here we are. You’ll probably want to get started with your own adventure soon, so I’ll leave you to it. Would you like to be friends though? If you’re in the market for new ones, I’d love to know more about you.”

Was it that easy? I’d made friends with Iron and Amy but they’d let me down. Was I ready to attempt to give out a piece of my name again so soon?

I wilted, feeling conflicted. I didn’t know what to do.

“I… don’t think so. Please, don’t be mad. I’ve had some… bad experiences recently with friends,” I said somberly, idly pulling up my menu and looking at the list. Amy and Iron’s names both read ‘online,’ though I had no idea where they were. Bellcandy and Dull Beauty had both logged off though.

“Oh. I see. I’m… truly sorry to hear that, Gell. The world can be cruel,” Gabrio said with sympathy. “In that case, I’ll leave you to the guild and hope to run across you at a better time, then.”

I frowned, feeling guilty. The man seemed so dejected. “Alright. Thanks so much for your help, and I am sorry. I just want to learn more about what it means to be someone’s friend before I… go around accepting pieces of anyone’s name.”

He grinned at that, then wiped suddenly at his eyes.

“You… wish to learn. That’s… no trouble at all,” he said, giving me a wave and setting off towards a staircase heading into a lower section of the outer city. He turned back when he was a few steps down. His next words came out a little strained. His face was red and the smile running across it was so wide it must have been hurting his cheeks. If his freckles glowed like mine they would’ve been deep yellow with joy.

“It was… very nice to meet you, Gell.” The words felt profound. Like they meant more than their individual meanings could convey.

“Y-you too, Gabrio.”

I watched him go all the way until he turned a corner and was gone, feeling a strange nervous sensation crawl up my spine. Something about that whole encounter had been strange. No one else had acted like that. They’d been shocked by my appearance, my skin or my race. None had seemed quite so… interested as that man though. Not even Iron and Amy.

Had I just made a horrible mistake, not accepting his invitation?

I shrugged, putting the strangely emotional man out of my mind. I turned and opened the doors into the Adventurer’s guild, ready to find out what my own class and profession might be.