Ugghh… it’s been a long day. I spent most of the day blending into the crowd at the market. I was able to learn more about this city and this world though. Looks like these three gold ‘draughts’ are pretty valuable, as food only costs copper pieces, while weapons were mostly only about one to two silver pieces each. 

I stretch my tired muscles in my rented room. It’s a little stuffy with a strong smell of straw and wood, and unfortunately the window faces a wall of another building, so the fading light mixed with the stuffy-ness makes the space feel claustrophobic. A small, rickety wooden table is under the window, with a lit candle on top. The bucket of water brought in by the innkeeper is on the left, and the straw bed right.

I spread the results of my shopping spree on the table. A dagger in a scabbard, a smaller knife to be placed in my bootstrap, a used beige cloak, a clean but ratty dark red scarf, a set of leather padded clothes, new boots and socks, leather bracers, and gloves, a pair of scissors. A shaving kit, a small silver mirror, and a couple pieces of jerky. Even with the room, I still have 7 silver draughts, and 2 gold draughts.

Picking up the mirror, I check my face over a bit more in detail. A stranger is looking back at me. Grey eyes with thick black eyebrows stare back. A black, tussled head of hair seems to go in each direction. Touching my face, I press in my thick chubby cheeks and trace my fingers from the checks down to my jawline and across my chin. Unpleasant patchwork stubble makes itself known as I brush my fingers up against it.

Drinking as much water as I can, and filling my canteen, I get to shaving my face and head. Hopefully with the clean shaven, bald head, it will make it a bit harder to be recognized. I have never been bald or clean shaven like this before, so as I watch the hair fall to my feet, I keep telling myself this is a good idea.

Finishing, I move the mirror and pass my hands across my naked scalp. Looks like I have a lumpy head. 

Bald is not the way to go. Guess it shouldn’t matter, what do I care about how others see me?

Cleaning up my mess, I flop on the bed.

“Ok, lets review.” I say out loud. Still none of the voices to respond to me, but it's pretty soothing just talking out loud to yourself. 

I quickly reviewed some of the new skills I seem to have collected. 

I slowly look over the table. I activate my Merchant’s Gaze again just by thought. All the smaller items in my view pop up a small text above each item. Looking around at the market, this was the most useful skill by far! It appeared that trash and broken things had a grey text, common-esc items a white text, valuable items a blue text, and treasures in a purple text. That said the only purple thing I saw was a sword in a glass case at the armory, that was ‘not for sale’.

Focusing on my dagger, the blue text hovered over it.

The dagger was in with all the white text daggers, so I am sure I got a deal. The seller had no idea what I was talking about when I asked him what an ‘empty slot’ on a weapon means.

I close my eyes as I turn off the vision. It’s very draining and hurts my eyes with all the floating text. Feels like I am hallucinating.

Fuck, why do I have to learn everything from trial and error. I just need someone to tell me how this world works.I am so tired of getting inundated with all this stuff I don't know!

I navigate to a new window that popped up after murdering the guard. My stomach still feels sick when I think about it. Hundreds of tiles pop up in a list. Each tile has a “???” written in the Center, except for two of them. One had written in white text, “Borris Goodman”, and the other in a deep red as simply “The Sandman”. I only tried pressing the red tile once, and I couldn't seem to open it. When I did try to press it though, I was just filled with a terrible sense of dread. 

Selecting “Borris Goodman” on the other hand gave me a splitting headache on the first press. Maps, guard routes, memories of his daughter, a brief memory of him trapping me in my own home and eating the drugged food. Everything had been jumbled up, and been pushed into my brain within seconds. With it brought skills and info I am sure I will need. 

I learned a bunch of skills, some combined into Cartography. It gives me a pretty rudimentary map in my head, and places a marker on where I am exactly. The map seems to get more filled in with details the longer I stay in the place, in which I can even mark the map with some points of interest, such as the armory and favourite food stalls. Curiously though, it also gave me “Quests” on one of the screens.

Quests

Revenge for my daughters hand! - Take revenge for his daughters hand

Description: Take revenge on the one that did this atrocity to my innocent daughter. 

Reward: Syncronization 100%, 100 EXP

Was I really the one to blame for Borris’ daughter’s hand? Would the quest instead be completed if I got revenge for the actual person who chopped it off, or how about the person who ordered it? Does it even matter?

I keep my eyes closed but before too long, I fall asleep, deep in thought about Borris and his life. Going through the smattering of memories I have from Borris, it felt almost like a lived another life in the short time.

…

“Hello? Are you awake?”

I open my eyes, “huh?”

I am… floating in a deep darkness. The type of darkness that lets no light exist. Yet… my new body, with the hair still in place, is standing in front of me, emanating light.

“Who the fuck are you? Or what are you?”, I reach for my eyes to rub them, and see just a swirling dark form where my hands should be.

“I should say the same to you sir.” He rubs his forehead, ”I thought in my moment of weakness that a demon had taken my soul and possessed me.”

“Wait, are you Linden?”

“That I am sir” He nods along, looking happy to be recognized.

“Wait… Wait… You have been in the body all this time? I thought the shitty god put me into an empty vessel.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I have been trapped here since you came into this world and have seen everything you have done.” He looks away trying to hide his disgust.

“What the hell would you have me do? He was going to kill me… He was going to kill us! Should we have died!?” 

“I do not know if we should have died, but I know I have certainly tried, and to see myself take such...dreadful actions… I do not wish for such a fate.” His face is clearly in pain as he looks directly towards me. He pauses for a bit, “It seems sir, that I am now a part of you. For whatever reason, I can not leave here, I can not interject in my own fate…”

Linden pauses again. 

“Hahahahah.” He breaks out in laughter suddenly, “I suppose I was never a party in my own life, let alone someone who controlled his own destiny. Seeing you, you are someone that can bring change to this world. Will you answer my plea?”

“Ughh, I am barely keeping up with everything that’s going on… I don’t think I am the right guy to bring ‘change to this word’ or some nonsense. Find someone else to do that.” I can’t help but to feel frustrated at this whole situation. “Also, I don’t know if you are dead, or I am ‘possessing your body, but if you can’t control this body, go find someone else to haunt, I already have a goal for myself.” 

“Sir, I know it’s to kill that so called ‘shitty god’ you keep referring to. Might I add, it’s a little coarse to keep using such vulgar terms. Speaking of vulgar, WHY WOULD YOU CUT MY HAIR OFF! A BALD MAN ISN”T MUCH OF A MAN YOU KN-”

“HEY, if you have been watching me, and listening to my thoughts, you know I did this because you had been recognized once before.” I interjected. The light around him started to flicker with an orangish hue when he was shouting, but resumed a pale warm glow once he settled down.

“Oh my! My apologies. Ever since being trapped here, my emotions have been all over the place. Not gentlemanly in the slightest.” He straightens up his posture and dusts off his shoulders. “My apologies again. It may not be much, but the request I have is a simple one, and the world I request change in is just my simple little world, nothing as grand as what you have your sights on. My world ended some time ago when my child died, but I didn’t realize until just a few months ago.” His eyebrows relax and his eyes water up. 

He resumed, “Sir, you see, I know I am dead. I know as I know the colour of the sky. I seem to be trapped here with the souls of the dead within you. Surely you know that much. What I ask is not much. It will be mere seconds of your time from all I can tell. I only ask that you experience my world and see my story. I know the afterlife my church taught me was a lie now and just want someone to remember us, that is all. It seems that you are using my skills in some modified form, so I do not know what I have to offer, but this humble plea.”

Linden is looking at his feet. A thick loneliness seems to be funneling into my core. Is this what Linden is feeling right now?

Quest:

Listen to My Story - Listen to Linden’s Story

Description: Please listen to my story. Experience my world and not let it be forgotten. The afterlife is a lie and I just want someone to remember, and care, about my wife and daughter’s lives. 

Reward: Full Synchronization, 100 EXP, Linden’s Secret Weapon

Accept Decline

I nod and select “Accept”

Linden meekly smiles