Chapter 1:

As my vision cleared I almost stumbled to the ground as my view took in the entire majesty of the gigantic falls of Niagara. Reaching forward without really looking, my hand caught hold of a handrail that thankfully was there or else I might have fallen over the edge of the cliff that had a perfect view of the falls. Stepping as close as it allowed me to, I took in the sights. Massive amounts of white water crashed into the deep blue reservoir below, before continuing on its way downstream. Mist that obscured much of the view billowed outward towards me. An indescribably fresh and cool breeze enveloped me, inspiring me to close my eyes in bliss as I let the rest of my senses take over.

Minutes went by as I enjoyed the sensation of the mist and the conglomeration of smells that tingled against my senses. “It really is something isn’t it?” The new voice startled me out of my revelry as I opened my eyes and turned to see who was speaking to me.

It was an older looking gentleman with strong elven features that were all contained in a crisp looking red and black collared suit. “Pardon my interruption, I’m Monroe by the way” He explained. “I just like to meet those that come to see the falls whom I haven’t seen before. Where are you from if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Um I’m Jade and. . . I’m actually new to the world.” I responded, hoping it didn’t sound too farfetched to this man while also hoping they didn’t have anything against outsiders.

“Seriously?!” His eyes lit up with excitement and surprise on a face that looked like it hadn’t shown such expression for many years. “Please, you must come with me then.” He didn’t grab my hand and drag me off like I feared, but rather started heading off in the direction away from the falls while motioning for me to follow.

With a last wistful look at the falls I began to follow him. As we walked for what seemed like almost an hour he overwhelmed me with a plethora of questions. “Where did you come from? What was it like to travel through time? Do you know why you are here? What sort of machine or magic brought you?” Stopping for a moment to look back at me, he paused. “Why are you turning white?” With that I stopped as well and took a look at my skin which had indeed turned much whiter than I was before. “Oh um, yeah my skin reacts to how I feel.”

It was strange to see the look of startled embarrassment fill this old man’s face as he realized that he had been acting like a little boy while trying to drag questions out of me without giving me time to really answer. “I am sincerely sorry, it’s just that you are the first of the promised Travelers to arrive in our city and we had begun to fear no one would come after it being so long.” His expression took on a look of guilty penitence that I had to struggle not to laugh at, seeing it come from a wizened old man. If normal assumptions about fantasy creatures gathered from other VRMMORPG’s could be applied to this world and its inhabitants, then this old man could be at least a few centuries old and he was acting like he was 7 again.

In the awkward silence that filled the space between us I broke the gathering tension by finally speaking up. “How about we trade questions and answers so that as you learn more about me and where I come from, I can learn more about you and this place?” Grasping onto that idea like a life line, he readily agreed. “Yes, yes that sounds like a great idea.”

Rubbing at his hairless chin he motioned to me. “Why don’t you start with a question first?” With a sigh of relief I thought for a moment as we once again began our trek to who knows where. “How big is your City?” I enquired.

“It is Gigantic” he replied with a smile and joy in his voice. “It is about 72 square miles and . . . ” Going on to explain about all the things in the city I could tell he had a lot of pride in living in such a ‘BIG’ city. Finally he asked me, “What is it like where you come from?” Patiently waiting for me to gather my thoughts, I gratefully took the time to figure out how to answer such a loaded question without spending the next few days in describing what life was life.

“Well, to start I assume you know that we come from your past right?” With a nod from him I continued. “Where I am from there are currently no major wars with little death other than natural causes. It has only been a few hundred years since we last saw what can happen when we don’t learn from our past mistakes in regards to war. I myself am a student of medicine studying the effects of biology and searching for new ways to create things that can help others to stay healthy or get well after becoming sick. To say much more would take way too much time, but I can tell you more about my life later.”

With a grateful nod the old man seemed to understand my dilemma. “Very well, what would you like to know next?” I hardly had to think about what I wanted to know but I was really hesitant about how to ask it. “I don’t mean to be demanding, but what is going to be expected of me in your City? Am I going to be able to make my own path or will others force me to be something that they want without giving me a choice?”

A troubled look on his face revealed that he too considered that there might be some merit to my concern. “I honestly don’t know what, if anything will be required of you, but I can tell you that at least here in this city, no one is forced to do anything against their own will. I will admit to there being some people in the city that will likely try to ‘Strongly’ encourage you to do certain things, but you should be able to live as you see fit for the most part.” This brought a measure of comfort to me but still I worried.

After a few more questions between the both of us we soon enough reached what looked like a grey stone wall with an entry way guarded by two sentries. “If it isn’t Old man Monroe.” The older looking soldier said while welcoming us at the entry way. “Is this another one of your strays that you have decided to bring to the city?” Standing with him was a much younger looking man I assumed to be a new recruit who just saluted to Monroe and kept silent.

With a snort Monroe retorted, “You do realize you aren’t much younger than me, and yet you call me old?” Patting my shoulder he spoke again. “This young man with me here is a ‘Traveler’.” He used heavy emphasis on the work Traveler.

A frown creased the older soldiers face while his younger counter part came rushing over from his spot. “Are you really a Traveler?” The excitable soldier enquired as he energetically grasped my hand shaking it with both of his.

Monroe thankfully pulled back the younger soldier from me with a gentle yet firm hand as he turned back to the elder soldier. “As sure as I can be, he seems to be a Traveler. He certainly has some amazing stories that I don’t think anyone from here could tell much less guess at to speak of, except for maybe the historians.” With a snicker he continued. “And you know how they lack for creativity.”

As Monroe continued to speak, I saw some of the doubt leave the old guards face as another expression seemed to take its place. Staring me directly in my eyes the soldier got right up in my face before speaking. “For your sake and ours, I hope you are a Traveler.” Then with a brief salute to Monroe, he stepped out of the way as he made room for both of us to pass.

As we left, I heard the voice of the older soldier again. “Nicholai, you need to go notify the City Elders, or at least the remainder of them.” With those words I saw the young recruit take off running towards the middle of the city.

Patting my shoulder again, Monroe started leading me in the same direction that Nicholai took except we continued at a walking pace. Soon enough, after passing several homes that seemed to get progressively better going from run down shacks to sturdy wooden homes, to fired brick residences, I even saw a few stone structures before we exited into a plaza of sorts where venders seemed to sell their wares.

Colors, scents, and sounds assaulted me as I took in my surroundings. Everyone seemed so lively. Few spared a glance at us except to bow slightly to Monroe in passing. Most of them seemed to have tipped ears to some degree or another while in some cases I saw some furry ears and slightly elongated faces as well. But even with their similarities and differences they all seemed to respect Monroe. “Are you an important person to this city?” I asked after what seemed like the 18th person we passed bowed to him.

“Every person in this city is important.” He replied to me with a firm tone, but then it softened. “But I know what you mean, yes I am on the sitting council of elders for this city. It is them that we are meeting up with at the stone tablet to ascertain your claim of being a Traveler.”

After passing through to the center of the plaza, we came upon a group of elderly people who stood in a semi-circle around a decent sized black stone tablet that was about the twice size of the Rosetta stone and infinitely stronger looking. Engraved upon it was a language that I did not understand, but just as I was thinking that, the symbols seemed to blur before my very eyes reforming into my native English language. “Wow” I whispered under my breath.

Motioning to the gathering crowd and turning towards the elder council, Monroe spoke up in a loud voice. “It is my belief, that today we are seeing the first of many Travelers! We in this city have been standing firm against the encroachments of the dangerous creatures that dwell in the outer wilds, but many of our smaller neighbors are not so well protected! If this man is as I hope, then perhaps soon we will start to see more Travelers! With their Voluntary help (I think he emphasized that part for my sake, I hoped), we may be able to gain the man power and support to protect our citizens and take back the lands that we have unfortunately lost!” With that simple and yet profound speech he then took my hand and pressed it against the surface of the polished tablet.

Once again I saw a bright light, but instead of being engulfed in it, I saw it coming from the stone tablet that seemed to produce motes of light that were instead engulfed into my body as they floated all around me. Oohs and awes could be heard in the crowd as the surrounding citizens witnessed the sight. All of the elders leaned forward to examine what was displayed on the tablet. Then in a triumphant voice Monroe raised my hand and yelled out, “Behold, Jade Storm! The First Traveler!”

*ting*

You have gained Fame +1000

Shocked, I too looked at the tablet that now displayed a simple graph of light that hovered above the original writing.

Name: Jade StormTitles: The First Traveler,Fame/Infamy: 1000/0Class: Unregistered

Ugh! This is going to be troublesome, I thought to myself.

Turning to me once again, Monroe speaks up in a way that the gathered citizens can easily hear him. “To the first Traveler, we would like to offer a boon if it is within our power to do so!” Looking me directly in the eyes he whispered, “Please make it reasonable.” Wanting to shake my head in frustration at my situation and struggling to keep the wry expression off my face I nodded my assent.

Moving to where I could face most of the crowd, I spoke up. “People of Niagara Falls, I wish nothing more than to be treated like any other citizen! I know you have many questions about where I come from, how I got here, in what ways I can help, and many other things! In truth, I don’t know what sort of effect Travelers will have upon the trials of your world! But I do know that once I have cultivated the proper skills that I seek to gain here, I will be better equipped to support you in your endeavors to survive and thrive! So again, please treat me like any other person here and I will do my best to be a productive member of this city!”

Looking back at the elders I could see several of them shaking their heads while a few were nodding with understanding in their eyes. Monroe instantly went to confront the head shakers and said some harsh sounding words that I couldn’t fully make out. Something to do with me being under his protection and that there would be other Travelers soon enough for them to take under their tutelage. A few other unkind sounding words were spoken, but soon enough they seemed to all be in agreement in which another elder then spoke up to the crowd. “We agree to your request! Let us all welcome Jade Storm, the newest citizen of Niagara falls!”

With that simple statement everyone cheered and came to welcome me to the city. After what seemed like hours, the meeting and greeting finally came to a close. Exhausted, I sat down on a nearby stone bench, one of the many that filled the central plaza. Watching the last of the citizens that had come to greet me go back to their responsibilities, I lightly hung my head as Monroe sat next to me. With him he had the young soldier that had met us both at the gate to the city. Giving him a bag of what sounded like coins tinkling in it, he sent him off on an errand of some sort.

“Whew, that was quite the gathering wasn’t it?” He said as he slapped my knee. Wearily nodding my head, I silently agreed. “Since you are the first of the Travelers, you won’t be able to escape attention that easily, but here it will at least be muted.” Pausing to see my reaction he then continued speaking. “What are your plans to begin with if you don’t mind my asking?”

Finally looking up at him I felt my eyes go out of focus as I recalled my previous failures in games prior to this. Coming back to the present I answered his question. “For now, I plan to get a job, hopefully as an aid to an Apothecary. If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll take whatever I can get. Once I become self-sufficient then my real training begins.”

Nodding his head he remained silent for a moment before speaking up. “I do believe we could accommodate you in that. There is a very talented Apothecary that has a shop at the edges of the market. The owner actually has a house that adjoins her store where she makes and sells her wares.” A slightly nauseous look came over his face before he continued. “Do me a favor though and if at all possible don’t tell her that I sent you. I’ve been having enough troubles from her to last a lifetime.”

I was about to ask why, but at that moment the young soldier, Nicholai as I remembered his name being, had just returned with a medium sized backpack and a large metal canteen that looked like it would be used for holding water. Handing those items to the Elder he then also passed to him a shrunken bag of coins that looked to be the same pouch he had been given before. “Everything that you asked for is in there Elder.” He said as he stood at attention before Monroe.

Flipping back the top flap and pulling upon the drawstrings that closed the top of the bag, Monroe took a look at the contents of the backpack before nodding in what seemed like satisfaction. Without any fanfare he just handed me the bag and canteen and said “This is for you.”

Accepting it with curious eyes I glanced at the contents that could be seen at the top of the opened bag. A bit of rope, some oddly colored bottles with liquid inside, what looked like a wooden handle to who knows what, and some travel food, I’m sure a few other things lay beneath the surface but I didn’t want to pull it all out right then.

“WOW!” I exclaimed. “How can I ever thank you enough?” I said as I was mentally thinking of how very useful this was going to be for me at the start of my endeavors here.

“You are very welcome.” Monroe replied. “Consider it an investment in the good that I feel you will be able to do for this city in the long run.” I felt a bit guilty thinking that in the long run I intended to leave this place to explore the world but what he said next surprised me.

“I could tell from the way you gazed at the falls and respected the beauty of this place that you would not be able to stay away for good, even if your travels took you far from here. For in beauty there is much to be gained.” Leaning back with a laugh he continued, “Anyways, you aren’t here to listen to the ruminations of an old man. I’ll bet you’re more ready to take nap than anything else.” Pulling out a map of the city from his vest pocket he showed where we were and showed how to get to the Apothecary store. Making sure I was headed in the right direction he left to go do his own thing.

Standing there looking at the map I hadn’t realized that there really was a lot here in their city. I had been comparing the square millage to some of the cities in Real Life but honestly this place was probably huge in comparison to most other cities in the game. Without Further ado I headed in the direction that the map led me. It was pretty much a partial trek back from the central square to the edge of the Merchant district. Looking around at the various signs for posted shops, I saw the one saying Apothecary.

Pushing open the door I almost ran into several herbs hanging from the ceiling. Having become familiar with several types of plants during my studies for the creation of pharmacological medicines I honestly had never seen anything like these plants before. They had a vivid purple and orange motif with oddly shaped leaves that didn’t seem to fade in the drying process. Either that, or they were Very colorful prior to drying them. Dodging around the remainder of the various hanging plants, I made my way to the front counter of the shop.

A middle aged woman with strong elven features just like Monroe, was busily working away at crushing some herbs with a stone mortar and pestle. Working as if she was completely oblivious to the world, I just watched as she worked the compound to be more and more fine. Finally she seemed to take a break to wipe the sweat that had gathered from her prolonged and focused exertion.

“Why hello there,” she exclaimed as she took in my appearance. “I hadn’t thought I’d be seeing you so soon since you arrived just a little while ago.” Taking up the now fine powder she poured it into an empty jar using a glass funnel to make sure none of it was wasted. “Sorry I couldn’t attend your ceremony. I had to watch over my shop with no one to cover for me.” After corking the bottle and placing it on a shelf she then turned back to me with a smile.

“So what can I do to help the First Traveler?” She asked me. I guess word travels fast around here, I thought to myself. “I was wondering if I could be taken under your tutelage and work for you?” I enquired.

Casually wiping the loose particles from her work space she seemed to consider my request. “It is true that I need an apprentice. But if you don’t mind me asking, since you got here rather quickly, did someone refer you?”

‘Awe man’, I thought to myself. ‘Is she going to ask about Monroe?’ “I didn’t come with a written referral, but one of the elders suggested I come here for training, since I told him I have an interest in becoming an Apothecary.” Not wanting to lose my chance at learning this skill I tried to be as honest as I could.

“Hmmm an Elder, this elder wouldn’t happen to be an elf like me would they, and it wouldn’t happen to be the same elf that was seen bringing you in through the entrance from the falls was it?” Guilty! “Um it might have been?” I muttered. “Dear Child, don’t try to hide things from me.” Reaching across the counter space she lightly cupped my chin before releasing me with a motherly smile. ‘These people have no boundaries’ I thought to myself.

“Oh Monroe, you are so going to owe me for this.” She seemed to smile with glee as she said this. “In fact, why not use this poor boy as the messenger? After all he is getting the best deal out of this.” ‘I am right here, and I’m most certainly NOT a poor boy’ I thought loudly, but she continued to speak to the open air. “Yes, that will make him more determined than most others to find that elusive Elf.”

Turning back to me, she finally seemed to acknowledge my continued existence. “I have a deal for you. Find that blasted Elf who sent you here and tell him that he owes me a date. If he agrees to it then I will take you under my tutelage as an Apothecaries Apprentice.”

*ting*

A Quest!

Find and convince Monroe to go on a date with the ApothecaryRank G+Terms of Failure:Cannot find Monroe in 48 hours or Monroe refuses the dateConsequences:Decreased familiarity with the Apothecary and inability to become her apprentice.Rewards for Success:Become the Apothecaries Apprentice

‘Awe, why me? Well, this lady seems nice enough. Why would he not want to go out on a date with her?’ “Ah Miss?” I enquired.

“Do call me Victoria, but yes, what do you need?” Looking off at the darkening sky I felt that night was almost here. “Victoria, is there someplace I can stay the night so that I may search for Monroe in the morning?”

“Of course dear, here I’ve had apprentices before and gave them a loft in my store to sleep in. You can use the same space.” Without further ado, she led me to the loft and brought with her some bedding supplies. “Now if you want to go get everything organized while you are here then I’ll go make us some dinner and call you when it is ready.”

“Thank you so much Victoria!” I exclaimed. Soon after she left me alone in the loft, I organized the blankets she had given me across the cot and then placed my new backpack on top of those. Excited about how things were working out so well for me already I then dumped out the supplies from the pack onto the bed to see what I had.

Rope: thin and tightly woven with a length of about 25 feet but sturdy enough to easily hold my weight and more.

Metal Water canteen: It seemed to have a tie that could be affixed to the outer siding of the backpack. If I had to guess, it could hold almost 2 liters of water in it.

Dried Jerky: I don’t know what kind of meat it was made from, but after biting off a piece of it I was in heaven. With my mouth watering at the prospect of eating more of it, I reluctantly wrapped it back in the wax cloth it had come in.

Bedroll: After unrolling what looked like a blanket at first I realized it was something I could slip into like a sort of cocoon. The tight and thick weave of the material definitely surprised me.

A knife and sheath: Pulling that out, I was impressed with the leather work of the sheath. Unclipping the latch on it, I drew out the blade. It seemed to be made of some sort of darkened metal that I assumed to be impure iron, but upon closer inspection of it, this was must more like black-steel. I couldn’t wait to try it out!

5 assorted potions that were pale in color: I had no idea what was in them and from their bitter smelling nature I assumed that they had to be restorative in nature, since there should be no other reason to drink such a vile smelling concoction.

3 cloth bags: The bags were scrunched up at the bottom corner of the backpack. They were all made of a similar material as the sleeping roll but not as thick. Each had a draw string as if to be used to carry additional items. I wondered if this was like the other games I’d been in where you can put more on the inside then could be seen on the outside. Stuffing various items in them I realized that it didn’t shrink or make the items inside any lighter. Oh well, I guess this game is more like life than the others.

1 Money bag: After having lifted up the back pack to see how light it was by itself I heard a clinking noise. Finding a semi hidden compartment in the bag I noticed that Monroe had left the money bag he had gotten back from the young soldier in there. Dumping out the contents I counted the coins. There were what looked like 3 gold coins, 23 Silver, and 34 Copper. The coins were pretty small, about the size of an old fashioned dime but with a starburst on one side and a hammer on the other (maybe a maker’s mark?). I would definitely have to thank him for all that he got for me.

Pretty soon after reorganizing my backpack to fit everything back in-side, I heard Victoria calling out to me saying dinner was ready. Walking through to the back of the shop which had a door open, I noticed it led into her adjoining house. Just following the smell of the food had me glad I had resisted the temptation of the jerky.

Talking about many things during dinner I learned a lot about this new world. Apparently a Calamity occurred long ago causing a great change across the globe. Besides just the people changing and dying, monsters started popping up everywhere. Great earthquakes and volcanic eruptions changed much of the face of the land, destroying valleys, forming new caves, and causing mass destruction almost everywhere. Among other things I had asked her, I had enquired about local currency. Apparently 100 copper equals 1 silver, 100 silver equals 1 gold, and 100 gold equals 1 platinum. Seemed pretty standard for games I had been in before. In asking about the symbols on the currency she said that they were a unique imprinted enchantment that helped to prevent forgeries. Apparently the actual rarity of the metal didn’t perfectly match the value of casted coins. Placing the coins on a magnetic surface causes them to light up with a simple glow proving they are real. Forgeries don’t glow.

Having learned so much that night I graciously thanked Victoria for the dinner and promptly lay down and logged out.

* * *

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