It was past midday and the sun had begun traversing its way back down across the sky. Two figures walked through a thick wood, the path winding and twisting its way between the trees. Adam had given up many hours ago on trying to start a conversation with his new chaperone, or whatever Malchus was supposed to be.

Finally they stopped. Adam heaved himself onto a log. He hadn't had a break since they had set out, perhaps five hours ago. And it was immediately after leaving the fake dungeon where Adam had almost died.

“So do you have some water, or food?” Adam asked, taking a breath between every few words.

Malchus laughed and produced a large waterskin from under his cloak and tossed it at Adam. Adam caught it, or more accurately was clobbered by it. He nearly fell off of his log.

“You’ve just been carrying this thing this whole time?” Adam said while taking a drink, it was surprisingly cold.

“Are storage rings so rare out in the country,” Malchus replied, pulling two loaves of bread from beneath his cloak as well.

Adam felt a little embarrassed. He had heard of them growing up, even out in the remote town the occasional adventurer would come by. Not to mention merchants, priests, and others of the like. No one had one in Lockinge though. Alastair had claimed that his father had one, but the man didn’t stoop to entertaining children in the streets.

“Sorry, I should have realized,” replied Adam. “They are rare, that is.”

The pair ate in silence. Adam was glad for the rest, he took another drink from the waterskin.

“You were so full of questions at the beginning of our journey,” said Malchus. “Do you have no more questions now?”

“Oh I have tons of questions, all of the same ones as before and more. Like who are you, what do you want with me, and what is this tower you mentioned earlier?”

Malchus put the waterskin and his bread back under his cloak. Adam saw them disappear in a flicker of light as they were stored back in Malchus’ storage ring.

“I’m just an old man,” laughed Malchus.

“Should I be worried that an old man lured a teenager out into the forest, gods know where and for what purpose?”

Malchus smiled at Adam. It wasn’t threatening or worrisome in any way. The man seemed more amused than anything.

“You know you talk strangely for a youth,” replied Malchus after a moment. “In my day I remember talking with respect to my elders.”

Adam froze for a moment. He wondered if he had given himself away, if Malchus knew what he was, or where he was from. Adam wasn’t completely sure himself. His memories from before waking up in the body of an eight year old were fragmented at best. He knew he was from Earth, and that this strange fantastical world was most assuredly not Earth. He didn’t know how he got here. In fiction it usually meant that he was dead, or in some kind of game or simulation. Adam wasn’t even sure how old he really was, he had memories of being somewhere in his twenties, maybe mid to late. He’d been here in this world for seven years now, did that put him in his thirties?

“Perhaps I don’t talk or act like a regular youth,” Adam began. “Being an orphan in a poor town where people resent having to feed you isn’t exactly a normal upbringing I’d imagine.”

“Perhaps,” replied Malchus. “All of the larger cities have some sort of slum district.”

“And the children that live there are all well adjusted members of society?”

There was a moment of silence that hung in the air. Adam wasn’t sure if he had overstepped somewhere, maybe been too forward. He was after all an orphan, in the middle of some forest hours away from the only form of civilization he had ever known. With a stranger no less, no ability to defend himself from Malchus or any monsters that might appear.

“You’re not wrong,” said Malchus, breaking the silence. “Well that’s enough of a rest we should keep going.”

Adam sighed internally, although externally he sighed as well. Malchus smiled and set a brisk pace, much to Adam’s dismay. While walking didn’t drain any stamina it was still physically taxing to exert oneself.

“As for your other questions I want you to work in the tower with me,” said Malchus as they traversed the increasingly difficult forest path.

“Doing what and what tower?”

“Well fishing I suppose.”

“Fishing,” said Adam confused. “I don’t have that skill and how do you fish in a tower?”

“The Tower of Creation,” replied Malchus. “Have you never heard of it?”

Adam thought for a moment. No he hadn’t, what was the Tower of Creation, some sort of dungeon? Or like a mage’s tower maybe.

“No, I haven't heard of such a place.”

“Well that’s not surprising I suppose, it’s not a place that anyone can get into. It’s harder to get into than the royal palace.”

“You’re joking,” said Adam in disbelief. What could possibly be harder to get into than the royal palace, and why did they need to fish there?

“No, it has to do with ancient pacts and bureaucratic nonsense, I wouldn’t worry about the details it won’t matter to you anyway. Best to ignore all of the faction politics.”

“So, we need to go fishing in this tower, why exactly?”

“It’s what you do in the tower,” said Malchus simply. “It’s how you get the items.”

“Items,” said Adam raising an eyebrow, not that Malchus could see traveling at the front.

“Yes, every item in existence resides within the Tower of Creation, or so they say.”

“And you get them… by fishing?”

“Salvaging might be a better term.”

“So everything’s in there, and you can just get whatever you want? That sounds overpowered.”

“Overpowered? An interesting word. It would be yes, but you don’t get to choose what items you acquire, you get what you get as they say.”

Adam pondered this as they walked. The sun was starting to set and other than heading east Adam had no idea where they were. Or even how far this tower was. The Royal Academy by comparison was about ten days by wagon from Lockinge.

“We’ll camp here for the night,” said Malchus.

They stopped in a small clearing just off of the main path. A small creek bubbled nearby and the ground seemed relatively free of rocks.

“This seems like a good enough spot,” said Adam. His calves burned and he just wanted to lay down. “Do we have to build a shelter or something?”

“If you want to,” said Malchus. He pulled a tent out from under his robes and two bedrolls.

“Can I get one of those rings in the tower?” Adam asked, shaking his head. A storage ring would be amazing, he could just keep whatever he wanted in one. Not that lugging around a backpack full of supplies, a tent, and cooking equipment wasn’t fun as well, well to be honest it sounded terrible.

“Maybe,” replied Malchus. He tossed the tent lightly up into the air. It popped open and landed back on the ground ready to go. “I’ve never seen one appear, I think perhaps one of Duke Varchists men found an extended storage one a few years back.”

“A Duke lives in the tower?”

“His younger brother does. Don’t get involved in politics, it’s my only piece of advice. Get some rest, there’s food in the tent.”

Adam nodded. He was indeed tired, his aching legs reminding him of how far they had walked. Adam crawled into the tent and flopped down on one of the bedrolls. It didn’t take him long before he all but passed out.

“Now then,” said Malchus, turning to the forest. “It’s time to deal with you.”

~~~~~

A number of shapes moved through the darkness of the forest. They lumbered on, covered in animal skins and clutching fallen trees as makeshift weapons. Their flabby heads sitting just barely under the tree tops. The wind shifted and a new scent stopped them. A lone figure stood in the path before them, wearing a cloak and large sun hat.

[Forest Troll Level 47 - Elite]

[Forest Troll Level 45]

[Forest Troll Level 45]

[Forest Troll Level 44]

“Oh what’s this, trolls traveling in packs, and roaming?” Malchus said, walking toward them. He rested his hand gingerly upon the hilt of his sword. “And one of you is special, a rare spawn.”

The trolls grumbled and gurgled at the approaching figure. They beat their tree-clubs against the ground. Spit and snot flew from their mouths as their voices boomed through the night. They seemed confused as the figure kept approaching them.

“I’m sorry my friends but such status effects won’t work on me,” said Malchus.

Angrily the elite troll raised his weapon and brought it down with a crash on top of the figure. It lifted its weapon away and stared in confusion at the broken yet empty patch of ground. Snot dripped from its nose. A troll behind it yelled in alarm and the creature whirled around. The two level 45 trolls crashed to the ground, their heads tumbling from their shoulders.

“I forgot how weak these things were,” said Malchus. “And those were just basic attacks.”

The elite troll bellowed again.

“Impressive cooldown time, but still no.

The figure disappeared and the level 44 troll was flung off of its feet and crashed through a stand of trees. A cloaked figure standing atop its twisted body. The elite troll charged, raising its tree turned makeshift weapon. The figure raised its sword and leveled it pointing it at the creature.

“Dash Strike.”

The elite troll barely registered that the figure was now in front of it, as the cloaked man’s sword pierced its chest. The figure kept going, tearing through the troll’s body killing it.

[You’ve received Inferno Spear of Beast Slaying +5, 3 Large Health Potions, and 3 Gold 60 Silver.]

“Not even worth putting into my ring,” said Malchus, discarding the items and money.

~~~~~

Adam awoke to daylight filtering through the tent. His back was wet and the bedroll clung to him. It was an uncomfortable feeling to be sure, he must have sweat from the humidity during the night. The second bedroll was unused.

Adam left the tent and shielded his eyes from the sun. It had to be close to approaching midday. Adam was surprised that Malchus had let him sleep this long. Oh well he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Adam headed to the small spring by their camp to wash up. Instead he found a rocky outcropping jutting out of the ground. He looked around, the trees seemed different too, taller and with thicker clumps of leaves.

This wasn’t right at all. Adam shook his head, he’d have to find Malchus and figure out what had happened over the night. Adam turned around to head back to the tent and froze. His head shot up as he looked up into the sky.

A large tower sat behind their tent. It was massive. The architecture reminded Adam of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This tower however seemed as wide as the Colosseum in Rome and stretched up into the clouds.

“You should probably close your mouth,” laughed Malchus, vaulting off of a large rock and landing without effort.

Adam closed his mouth not realizing that it had fallen open. He looked between the tower and the man, then back to the tent and back again to the tower.

“How?” Adam began.

“We made good time in the night,” replied Malchus with a shrug.

“I was sleeping in a tent!” Adam was flabbergasted.

Malchus ignored him and walked over to a set of large metal double doors set into the tower. They had depictions of creatures and items woven into the metal with strands of bronze, silver, and gold. It seemed almost more of a tapestry than a door. Malchus held up his hand, he was holding a small metal rod, Adam focused on it.

[Repository Key Theta 6].

The double doors cracked open, their hinges groaning as they swung inward. Malchus entered and Adam followed suit.

The inside was completely underwhelming. They were in a narrow hallway. The walls were made in a similar style to the outside. Semi-circular stone arches lined the walls of roughly cut stone blocks, held aloft on stone columns. Glass lanterns lined the walls lit by a floating flame. Dirt was caked up in the corners of the walls where they met the floor and ceiling. And the walls, arches, columns, and sadly every surface seemed damp. Worst of all though was the smell. A mephitic tang was heavy in the air, it left a bitter taste in Adam’s mouth.

“What is that smell?” Adam asked, trying not to spit the taste out of his mouth.

“That’s the quicksilver watercourse,” replied Malchus. “It flows from somewhere at the top of the tower, down through different canals and channels, to a central chamber.”

The pair entered a larger chamber, it looked like a great hall of sorts, with the same style as the hall, only open with a high ceiling. Long wooden tables ran the course of the hall. Cloaked figures sat at the tables or milled around talking to one another. One of them approached, surrounded by several other figures.

“It’s been awhile, Malchus,” said the stranger. He had sharp features and piercing blue eyes. Malchus nodded a greeting.

[Randal Varchists - Level ??]

“Randal,” he said. “I’ve been out recruiting.”

Randal looked at Adam. Something flashed across his face, disdain perhaps.

“He’s rather weak,” said Randal. “He won’t do you any good at delving.”

“Well it’s a good thing I only need him to man the nets. Although I feel like he’s going to be useful in a way that has yet to reveal itself.”

“I’m sure he will serve you well then,” Randal laughed. “We’re close to opening another room for the glory of the Varchists Family. Soon all of this tower’s secrets will be ours. Good luck fishing for scraps.”

Randal and his group left. Malchus continued across the hall with Adam in tow.

“Is everyone just a raging asshole in this world,” asked Adam. “Or just the nobility?”

Malchus laughed, he nodded an agreement. They left the hall and went down a series of halls and corridors. At some of the points large windows were cut into the walls between the arches. A silver river ran down channels through the windows disappearing into openings in the walls.

“Is that the quicksilver water you were talking about?” Adam asked, his eyes transfixed upon the shining liquid.

“It is,” replied Malchus. “We fish the items out of it. We have a system of nets set up along most of the major watercourses that have been discovered. Items get caught in the nets and we collect them.”

“So you guys are just glorified salvagers then,” said Adam. His face fell. “And you just absconded with me from my small town to pull trash out of nets for you?”

“Well when you put it like that it sounds so much less magical and important.”

They entered a small room that was their sleeping quarters. There were a couple of beds with simple wooden frames. They’d be better than sleeping on bedrolls outside at least. A small table was pushed against the far wall with a couple of stools. And lastly there was an empty bookcase in the corner. The furnishings were Spartan but no worse than Adam had lived with for the last seven years.

Next they headed down several flights of stairs and through a zigzag of corridors until they entered a tunnel of sorts with a downhill grade. A river of silver ran through the tunnel. Several layers of netting were set up in the river. Most were in varying states of disrepair.

“This is our fishing site,” said Malchus. “There’s leather gloves and an apron against the wall, and several retrieval poles.”

“You’re joking,” said Adam.

“No I’m not, and don’t touch the quicksilver, it’s toxic. Just come here when you want, stay as long as you want, sleep when you’re tired and get food from the main hall when you’re hungry. If you catch anything, leave it in the bookshelf in the sleeping quarters. Oh and don’t go over the waterfall down at the bottom you’ll die.”

Adam looked down the silver river and saw a large round opening at the end. He couldn’t see anything beyond that, but he could hear the roar of rushing water.

“You’re joking,” Adam reiterated.

“Nope. Welcome to the glamorous life of a servant of the tower,” Malchus said with a grin.