I stretched and with a yawn sat up, the morning had dawned and I had almost missed it. Getting up I made my way out and down the hallway to the common wash area on the second floor. Once my morning absolution's for the late night were complete, I started downstairs towards my morning shift at the Inn. I could smell the rashers of Bacon and the spicy sausages on the racks cooking in the open-air ovens of the kitchen. It smelled damn good. I had always been a breakfast person and being Ingame and not changed that.

Once downstairs I made my way through the crowd of people eating and drinking kavaa, the local version of coffee. I noticed that most of the people who had finished breakfast had once again lit up pipes and were relaxing with the kavaa before leaving for work. I wondered why I saw no one smoking cigarettes, being Ingame there were no ill health effects. Another mystery I mused to myself as I walked into the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen, I grabbed an apron and quickly started on the dishes. Working all those years in the kitchen of the orphanage had prepared me for doing this type of work. A couple of hours later and the kitchen is clean with everything put away. As I was about to leave I noticed the innkeeper gestured at a trencher full of meat goodness. There was a whole rasher of smoked bacon and a link of five spicy sausages. It was all sitting on a mound of cooked potatoes with four freshly fried eggs on top. It looked like a heart attack on a plate and I could not wait to eat it.

After sipping my second cup of kavaa and discretely trying to loosen my pants, I stood up and slowly made my way to the door. As I left, I held open the door for an Npc and gestured for him to precede me out. As we both walked down the street, I asked him why the Inn was so busy at mealtimes. He explained to me that it was the only Inn still open near the abandoned area. He further mentioned that most people did not do any cooking in the small apartments and tenants that they lived in.

As I continued on to the main Bank of the city, I reflected that in a large urban area without electricity there would be no way to keep food cool. Indeed, it would be difficult to cook, as a fuel needs to be located and then distributed. In addition, all dwellings would need stoves. To achieve all of that would be a huge undertaken. Glad I had worked out why so many people ate at the Inn I arrived at the bank.

Looking up, I could see several pairs of City Guards strolling along the portico. Climbing the steps, I walked through the large open doors and entered the bank proper. Once inside I joined a queue to speak to the first available teller. I guess that the bank would not have ATB machines within a fantasy world. Still what a pain in the ass it is to wait in a slow line. I was glad that waiting like this had disappeared in the nineteen nineties.

Finally, it was my turn and looking at my teller, I noted he was green and had long ears and sharp teeth. A goblin I would guess. He spoke in a surprising professional tone, “Hello sir, how may I be of service?”

“Hello, I would like to open an account and deposit some coinage. In addition, I would like to use the banks anonymous auction house feature to list an item.” Within the span of several minutes, I had my account opened and the Methrill bar listed. The little goblins eyes had widened at the sight of the bar and his forked tongue had darted in and out in an involuntary movement. Clearly, he had recognized the bar and had made a fast estimate on its value. I give him credit for his discretion as he had only asked once at where I had located something so valuable.

Leaving the bank, I began to explore the second level of the city. My forays had all been at nighttime near the abandoned area. I decided that I wanted to meet more Npc from this area and see if I could find any quests to do. Having received all those Dragon buffs and abilities was nice but I really needed to start the leveling process. I could not stay at level one forever. Heck I am not sure what path I should take once I hit level ten to develop my skills and abilities.

I knew that I would have to prepare for pvp, for those player killers, as I would not have the protection of a Guild or the Guards. At the same time, it was exciting knowing that I was making my choices and doing what I had to. I felt renewed and ready for this game.

This thought persisted as I walked along the street. I knew that I was going to be here Ingame for a year as far as subjective time was concerned. Perhaps that is the problem; I was not accepting the reality of the situation. I was still thinking on some level that this is just a game. I had to deal with the fact that for all practical purposes this was not a game but my life for the next year. I had had some fun and things were looking up but I needed to do more. To put forth more effort and succeed in whatever I was doing.

Feeling strangely challenged by my thoughts I approached several shops along the street. Being level one, I could only wear cloth and leather gear. Finding the leather section of the shop, I began to peruse through the selection of items. Most of the items were a drab brown or a sickly yellow. However, there was a complete set of leathers. All done in black, the outfit had slots that were designed for armor inserts. These were made from what appeared to be bone, they were light but very dense.

I called out to the shopkeeper “sir what are these inserts made of and what was this leather set made for?” The shopkeeper waddled over; clearly, he was as fond of breakfast as I was. “Aha good sir,” he began. I see that you have found the black set with the Drake bone inserts. I took it in on trade it was a custom design for a rogue however it was never finished.” “It looks complete to me, I don’t think I see any pieces missing.” “ It is all there sir. However it was never enchanted and as such is just a slick set of leather armor.”

“It has no bonuses and no special attributes.” “The leather has been in my shop a long time and I will make a deal to get rid of it. Today only, I will sell the set for two gold pieces.” I considered it; I did not want to barter with the shopkeeper. I had seen his eyes gleam as he named his price. I had the feeling I would end up paying more than his first offer. “It is a deal sir” I replied and with that paid him.

He invited me to use the change room to put on the leather. Enchanted it might not have been, but I had never purchased anything that fit so well in my life. As I walked out the shopkeeper made the appropriate noises about my appearance and then offered to sell me a new cloak. It was as dark as what I now wore and was leather. Costing ten silver coins, it seemed like a bargain and I quickly purchased it. Thinking of the saying “if you look good you feel good”, I stepped out of the shop feeling damn good. Looking across the street, I made eye contact with a Guilds-man. Shit, it was that a-hole I had the run-in with at the park. Well sucks to be me I thought just as the dimwit realized who I was and began to yell.