The night slipped by calmly, and the monotonous plodding of the Pluf’s thick hooves on the packed dirt started early the next morning. Eric settled into the same seat in the thick wooden wagon from the day before, keeping an eye on any approaching travelers from the rear. There was a tense silence between the small group, and Eric felt the sense of worry in the air from Mattock. He knew he had to be full of doubts after having to suddenly pick up his life, not to mention the recent loss of his loved ones.

Eric was reminded of the bitter reality of the world for the NPCs who didn’t have the gift of immortality. Even though he knew they weren’t controlled by real people from his old world, only bits of code strung together in complex combinations, it still felt all to real for him. He looked down at Erwin sitting next to him with a soft expression. Erwin was only a child and he had already seen so much death and suffering. Eric carried the heavy weight of his own loss and pain from his childhood and was saddened seeing a similar outcome for Erwin, even if he was a virtual creation. Eric could feel real emotions exuding from him, and he was able to relate to his grief.

Eric sat in silence with the others until a wonderful feeling flowed through him right after dawn. He had been anxiously waiting for the moment since he returned from his brutal death the day before. The debuff timer finally expired, and his full attributes were returned. The feeling overwhelmed him for a moment and was a potent reminder of the high penalty for dying.

Eric felt fortunate there wasn’t more experience loss due to his death. He only lost the experience he gained from killing the two other players which was minimal due to player deaths providing greatly reduced experience gain to discourage chaotic killing for the sake of grinding levels. Eric put away his thoughts of the Flooding Death guild and the agonizing experience of dying. Even at 50% pain the splitting of his skull with a heavy battle axe was unpleasant and would keep him more vigilant in the future.

Eric instead changed focus mentally on his combat skills and the mistakes he made leading up to his death. Although his training had been limited, Eric had been able to gain insight into many techniques from a variety of weapons. He realized he needed to spend much more time analyzing and applying these insights to battle to become an advanced fighter. He went over each of the techniques in his head meticulously over the course of the morning and tried to visualize each one in detail. He knew if he wanted to avoid falling to future enemies, he had to be resolute in mastering his skills with the Grand Bow.

Eric was already leagues ahead of those focused on the more common weapon proficiencies, but he learned skill and combat awareness would keep you alive in a fight and not your weapon of choice. Fortunately, he realized since being virtualized his memory and aptitude for learning had increased exponentially. He could now access any of his memories and experiences since entering Teurilia as if they were stored in a detailed file cabinet in his brain. He found this intriguing and yet somehow disturbing.

He sat in continued silence gazing out over the growingly rugged terrain during his mental exercises. He was lost in thought for some time until the cart hit a bump in the road and jostled him back into reality. According to the map Mattock briefly rolled out before they made our hasty exit, Eric presumed they were entering the foothills of the mountain range, and the journey would become increasingly rough. Mattock explained that Fraylin was set into an abnormally formed canyon deep in the foothills of the Galot mountain range. The mountain range ran north to south all the way to the Orylan ocean which provided Fraylin a natural border from the frontier to the west.

According to Mattock, the city had flourished from the easily accessible mineral deposits branching out into the canyon walls that surrounded the metropolis. His description allowed Eric to picture a striking city naturally protected by the landscape, and Eric was anxious to arrive and see it with his own eyes. Unfortunately, their current pace wouldn’t have allowed them to arrive at city’s borders for a couple days. The distances between settlements in Teurilia took some adjustment. Coming from modern world of bullet trains and mass transportation made traveling by horseback or wagon seem truly archaic to Eric.

The morning passed quietly, with Erwin and Eric maintaining a comfortable silence in the back of the wagon and Mattock and Clarke speaking softly from the driver’s bench. They stopped for a short break around mid-day to give the Plufs a well-earned respite and hardy meal. The supplies they acquired before leaving Drail included plenty of dried rations to keep them well fed throughout their journey. They each took a portion and chewed on them while stretching their legs in a flat clearing near the top of a rise in the road. The party peacefully watched the Plufs eat from the tall grass flowing down the hillside before continuing their trek.

Eric noticed a small dust cloud rising to the south by mid-afternoon. So far they had only passed a handful of travelers and thankfully all of them had been friendly. As they crossed over a small rise, Eric was able to identify the source of the dust cloud as an approaching group of riders moving quickly in their direction. A feeling of anxiety washed over his as they steadily closed the distance. Eric had a feeling of paranoia after being threatened and it was slowly starting to grind away on him.

As the riders approached closer, Eric was able to make out their mounts as well-bred horses covered in gleaming armor and polished brown leather saddles positioned firmly on their backs. The party riding the horses fit in perfectly with the theme of knightliness with shining chest plates decaled with a royal looking lion. They also carried long whipping flags at the front of the column colored red and gold with the same symbol.

Mattock pulled the wagon off the road to a stop to allow them to pass unimpeded and turned around from the driver’s bench and said, “Those are Yasling mercenaries. They must be traveling back to Fraylin after a mission. The Yasling mercenary guild is one of the most prestigious guilds in this part of the continent and has a large branch stationed in Fraylin.”

Eric digested his words and recalled reading about the various NPC guilds that existed in Teurilia. These included a variety of professions including mercenaries, explorers, rangers, farmers and many more. He was impressed by the sight as the stream of riders seemed to continue on for almost a full minute as they passed.

“Impressive,” Eric stated with curious eyes.

Clarke nodded in approval and said, “They look like a force to be reckoned with.”

“They are likely in high demand in these times. I’m not surprised to see such a large force traveling together,” Mattock replied calmly.

The group watched the dust cloud form ahead of them as Mattock pulled the wagon back onto the road. Eric thought back to the detailed information he remembered about NPC guilds and recalled how difficult it was to become a high ranking member in such an organization. The resources and reputation were far beyond anything that player created guilds had access to because of their deep history. He hoped one day he would eventually rise to the reputation and power required to be a member of a guild like Yasling and thought carefully about the future he envisioned for himself.

The rest of the journey passed dully and within two days the companions got their first glimpse of Fraylin. The city was even more spectacular than Eric could have imagined. They got a long distance view from the top of the steep valley walls on their initial approach. The city was split by a magnificent river flowing down the center of the large canyon. The city spread out from the river in all directions with massive stonework bridges visible from a distance connecting the two sides of the city in several places. Eric took in the scene in all its glory for several long minutes with the rest of the group before they proceeded toward the checkpoint at the top of the canyon.

The only path down to the city was a winding road cut deep into the canyon wall that twisted back and forth all the way to the canyon floor. Eric was impressed with the stone block construction of the road. It even had thick walls preventing someone from slipping off the steep edge. He mentally applauded the designers for the beauty of it all.

As the group approached the massive fort guarding the road down to the city and entered the gateway, they were stopped by a complement of dwarven guards wearing thick steel armor stamped with the crest of the city. Eric was shocked by the long process and detailed questioning required to pass through the fort to travel down to the city. Without Mattock’s family contacts within the city and the paperwork he carried confirming his identification, it would have been impossible for them to enter. Even with all the paperwork it took them several long hours before they were allowed to pass and begin the careful descent down the winding road to the floor of the canyon.

Once they reached the bottom, a pleasant sight greeted them. The remaining road stretched between the canyon wall and into the city was surrounded by grassy meadows and fields full of flourishing crops. Eric smiled at the scene that seemed completely untouched by the madness elsewhere in the kingdom. They passed by cottages scattered throughout the fields, and well-kept fence lines separated the various estates. Eric even got some friendly waves from the farmers going about their business.

By the time the party reached the edge of the city, the sun had already dipped below the canyon wall to the west and dark shadows were cast across the landscape. They made it to an inn at the edge of the city suburbs with little light remaining and decided to stay put for the night. They were fortunate to find an affordable place to house the Plufs not far from the inn.

The next morning, they got an early start to meet up with Mattock’s family within the city. Mattock explained his family had built a strong reputation within the city for being talented architects and had helped design many of the city’s landmarks over the years, including one of the most recent bridges that connected both sides of the city together. Eric was captivated by the craftsmanship of the city and as they passed into the urban districts and he observed a variety of designs. The party got the opportunity to cross to the eastern side of the city which allowed Eric to inspect one of the bridges that acted as a centerpiece of the city.

As they toured the city on theri way to meet Mattock’s family, Eric noticed a striking difference between Fraylin and Drail was the lack of refugees. The strict entrance policies enforced to enter into the city had turned away anyone without proper business including any refugees. He also observed the majority of the population was either humans or dwarves. The race diversity found in Drail was nowhere to be found. Mattock explained that the city was controlled by two royal families, one human and one dwarf.

The dynamics had resulted in a variety of strange policies and laws, but the one constant was the strict immigration policy. The dwarves controlled a variety of economic power from the industries established in the city while the humans had built their fame and power around the various guilds that resided in the city. This included the Yasling guild that they crossed paths with several days before. Eric learned a lot about the political structure of the city from Mattock and filed it away for later as they approached their destination.

They arrived at the residence of Mattock’s family by mid-morning. Their home resided in a district not far from the main city square on the east side of the city. The family seemed to have done quite well for themselves, and Eric was greeted by a beautiful home with tall white stone pillars supporting the entryway. The street was lined with large homes, and clean brickwork streets gave the appearance of a wealthy neighborhood.

As they approached the front door of the home, there was a silence that passed over the small group. Eric felt the emotions starting to seep from Erwin and Mattock as they reached the front door. Mattock stepped up to the door and lightly knocked. They didn’t have to wait long for a response as the door swung open only moments later. Standing in the doorway was a young girl with curly brown hair dressed in a white sundress and wearing a wide smile. A woman of middle age stepped up behind her, and Eric noticed Mattock’s posture soften when she entered the frame of the door.

“Anwen… It has been far too long,” Mattock mumbled as he stepped forward toward the door.

The woman gave Mattock a warm smile. She had a flowing blue dress on and kept her curly brown hair in a loose ponytail down the left side of her body. Eric suspected she must be the small girl’s mother by the similar features exhibited.

“Mattock…welcome. We are so happy you have arrived!” she said cheerfully.

They strode up to each other and after a short pause embraced into an emotional hug. Eric watched the exchange with a smile and appreciated the emotional reunion.

After a few long moments, the reunited family members separated, and Anwen looked toward Erwin and said, “You must be Erwin, I’ve heard so much about you over the years. I am so glad you are here; I only wish it was under better circumstances.”

Erwin looked shy for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and stood tall between Clarke and Eric. “Thank you, it has been a difficult time for many,” he replied kindly.

Eric nodded and felt impressed with how quickly Erwin had grown from the scared injured boy they found less than a week before.

Anwen’s eyes grew sad for a second at Erwin’s words, but she put on a forced smile before changing focus on Clarke and Eric. She said, “Mattock’s letters spoke of you as well Clarke and Eric. You have my gratitude for all you’ve done for my family. I…” her words were cut off by the small girl at her side tugging at her dress.

“Ahh. Everyone, please meet my daughter Mari. She is very excited to have visitors,” Anwen said looking back up from Mari.

Mari beamed at them and said, “Mommy… when can we go play?”

The group chuckled at her cute response and Anwen gave her a light pat on the head, “Let’s allow everyone to get settled in first. There will be plenty of time to play later,” she responded.

She looked back up at her guests and said, “Please come inside. My husband, Bryn; should be back later this afternoon, he has a few appointments to attend to, but he will be very happy to see you.”

After the short introductions, everyone was ushered into the beautiful home. Eric was not let down by the design as they stepped inside. There were two large staircases running up the side of the main entrance and many rooms branching out from the main floor. The most interesting piece was a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling that emitted a display of many different colors that continually changed hues in a soothing manner.

They passed under the centerpiece of the main entryway and walked into a cozily decorated sitting area off of the main floor. Eric found a comfortable seat on an overstuffed sofa next to Clarke, and they began the long explanation of events leading up to their appearance at Anwen’s home.