I awake to the smell of broiled chicken with tubers topped with a spice sauce wafting up to my room. It smells pretty darn good. Looking at the foot of my bed, I see Twink stretched out asleep. I had left the window open for her to come and go and she had returned sometime while I was sleeping.

I wondered how the little dragon could have two personalities. One was of a self-aware young individual, the other an analytical operating system with no self-awareness. I hoped the two would merge as the character of Twink developed. Having a possible psychotic companion due to multiple personality disorder was not on my Christmas list.

This could develop into a problem as she was also a dragon. Dragons are habitually greedy, grouchy, and grumpy in all the literature and games I had played. I was also definitely getting a female vibe from our communications. I am not even going to think about what that might mean.

Making my way to the door I open the latch and leave the room. Descending the stairs, I enter the common room, which is full of people eating and drinking. The smell of good food and beer is overwhelming and I have to stop from drooling. Seeing a small table in the corner, I sit down and one of the barmaids quickly brings me a huge trencher full of food and a beer stein that must hold at least two liters.

The serving girl gives me a smile and says, “This comes with the room but anything else you have to pay for.” Then with a wink, she was gone. Gone but not forgotten, whoever had designed this world deserved a medal for the women Npc characters. First, there are no bras on any female players or Npc, second only C to DD chest sizes are the norm. Gravity and age also has no bearing on the female anatomy. Add a universal semi transparent blouse for the women to wear. Truly, this game could develop a fantasy theme for young men to enjoy.

Breaking my fast, I ate quickly with enjoyment until the last bite disappeared and I began to nurse my beer. Sitting back, I observed the crowds for a few minutes; most of the people were finishing off their meals, settling in and lighting a pipe. The inn had filled with Npc men, and a few scattered players, overall it was a very relaxed scene.

I could see by the tabards of the players that they belonged to the four guilds, although I did not know the house patches on their shoulders. I began to listen in to the conversations around me, hearing about children not listening and how wife's are not appreciative of their spouses. This game was too real in some respects.

Standing up, I made my way over to a table with several gamers from the guild of Mars. I looked at them and then asked “hey guys can I get you a round?” The leader invited me to join the group sitting at the table. Once the beer arrived, the group lifted their mugs to acknowledge my gift and began to drink. After quenching their thirst, most of the people reached for their tobacco pouches and pipes.

Lighting up, one of the more mature players looked at me and spoke. “Thanks for the brew little dude. Just so you know, we do not run low-level players to help them level up. If you want, I will put in a good word with the guild master for you and you can join the guild. We have custom quests and that is really the quickest way to get to those higher levels fast.”

Listening to Abien he was the player who was speaking, I thought quickly and replied. “You have me wrong, friend I am not looking to have a group power level me.” Smiling at the group of players I said “I am just looking for some free information, I cannot seem to find what I am looking for on the forums and was wondering if you guys might have the info I seek.”

Seeing a few of the people nod at me, I asked, “I am interested in the Kradula and the abandoned city behind it.” Hearing me, a couple of the players laughed and one of them spoke. “Man I admire your interest, but the basement and the first two levels of the Kradula are minimum level twenty five. The second and third floor scales up to level thirty five to forty mobs.” “You are what, level one; you are not even in a guild or a guardsman. You would have no chance in there." “All true” I said with a smile, “I am just interested in the story of it and the abandoned city.” “I won’t be going there for a while but I have heard it is a pretty cool story line.”

One of the players nodded and said, “it is a cool story, and I will tell you what I have found out. Thirty years ago it was the city's orphanage, full of youngster who would have been on the street but for the patronage of the king.” No one really knows what happened but it has been speculated that one of the priests of light became enamored with the powers of darkness.” “Really wow, what happened next?”

“This dark priest desecrated the shrine of the Gods.” “How did he do that?” I asked. “The story is he took the youngest of the children to the shrine and there he sacrificed them.” “Then what happened?” “No one really knows, the Kradula became overwhelmed with the shades and zombies of the kids.” “That whole area of the city was closed off and the wall was built around it.

Thanking the players for the information I slowly walked up to my room. An abandoned city area, I am going to guess that there were many valuables left behind. These valuables were things that the living could use the walking dead and any other unnatural beings did not need them. I decided I would continue to search the city for all the lost treasure that I could safely find. I would do this for the next two weeks while trying to nurture good relations with all Npc.

I knew that once a player became friendly with them they could give out all kinds of quests. Smiling to myself, I was happy to see that I had a plan and a goal. Even if I spent the next year living at the Inn and flirting with the barmaids I would be content.