“Alright let's stop here, I´ll go get some bread and water, you should rest, your hands are shaking” - I feel exhausted, yesterday it didn´t took me long to fell asleep but i don't feel rested, I don't know how much has passed but two swords are completed.

“Here you go, try to relax a little, when you feel ready to keep going we make the remaining two swords” - What a nice man, I know he doesn't have much choice but to wait for me since I can't work a thing right now but I appreciate that it doesn´t bother him.

This town is pretty quiet, that makes sitting down and relaxing quite easy but it´s also a little annoying, this place looks pretty deserted, I don't want to start my new life in a lifeless place.

“Hey Smith, besides you and the cook is there any other people with an occupation? “ - I wait for Smith to finish his meal, which he does rather quickly, after that he stays quiet for a moment, I suppose that´s because he is thinking before answering my question.

“Besides us two there´s the farmer and the mayor, even though the farmer was focused in raising livestock, after an attack most of his animals were eaten by beasts” - That sounds tough, now I´m certain I revived in a place that is not friendly at all.

“After the attack the farmer sold the rest of the animals and used that money to buy seeds, if you ask me, trying to grow something in this arid place is not the best move” - compared to the farmer at least Smith has enough to eat.

“And the mayor, even though he has a title like that he is not powerful nor influential, he was actually the first person you met when you came here” - So that´s the mayor, undoubtedly a person with little presence, the role of a mayor consists in helping out the citizens but I guess there´s not much of that to do here.

“His job is to look out for beasts in exchange of some bread, also once a week he goes out to a town near the capital to sell these swords for a little commision, enough money to buy water” - so he barely makes enough money, as it is the only two options at the beginning to look for shelter were the cook and smith.

“How about the others? I mean there´s more houses” - awkward question it seems, Smith´s face gets grim and he hesitates a little before answering my question, I notice his voice cracks while he speaks.

“The rest have no work or name, at first they asked the cook to give them the bread leftovers” - obviously a hard thing to remember, I put my hand on his shoulder so he knows he can stop, but he just gives me a bitter smile and continues.

“Some of them out of hunger stole the bread from her, those were hard times for that poor woman, the brave ones decided to steal equipment from me and try their luck away from the town” - must´ve been a hard time for Smith too, I wonder how many years of work he lost because of that.

“The ones that stayed because of fear, little by little started making less noise, as the time passed the entire town stayed in silence, maybe the hunger gave them the courage they needed to go out and look for food, maybe they just starved to death in their holes.

The place that I'm in seems to be a town of 4 people, being like that is not surprising it´s so quiet here, looking at the situation in a cold way it means there's around 10 empty houses right now, I don't like this but it also means that if I need a house I can stay in one of these, though I don't know if I have to pay to stay in one.

“How about the water? you told me we get charged for the water we use, but who is charging us?” - “that would be the farmer, the well is his property so it's only fair, even though he built it for his animals right now that well is his only source of income”.

Once I finish eating and feeling a little depressed for my current situation I get up, I take some wood and put it in the oven to start working again, gladly we manage to finish the swords before sunset, I must say, my arms are aching all over, if I wasn't doing this to survive I wouldn't push myself to this extent.

“Good work young man, I know it must be complicated for a merchant to get used to physical labor but you haven´t complain even once, I applaud your determination” - You have no idea how much I want to complain, I´m slowly dying by overexertion, that being said, even though I'm exhausted there's still a few hours of sunlight left, I feel like I have to use my day to the fullest, but I have no idea of what can I do with my time.

“Hey Smith, what do you do in your free time?” - confused by my question Smith gives me some bread and just sits looking at the sky while he eats, I guess he rests on his free time.

“If you have some energy left you can go see the farmer, it´s around this time that he goes out to water his plants, you can also go take a look around, but don´t go too far away or you could bump into something dangerous” - the second option sounds like a chance of dying so I´ll go see the farmer, once i finish eating I ask Smith for directions and stand up feeling a little minced.

The farmer works pretty much in the other side of the town so I have to pass by some empty houses, something that I'm not very happy to do, who tought that this one as a starter town was a good idea? I need some kind of map so I get to know my surroundings and see if there's another way to make money besides forging weapons.

Walking around the town is baffling now that I know the reason behind the previously relaxing silence of the place, I ask to myself if some of these houses still have people inside, but my fear of a horrifying sight is more than my curiosity.

I arrive at the other side after some oppressive minutes of walking, but upon arriving I cannot see the farmer, not even his crops, I jump over the fence and start looking at my surroundings, this land is with no doubt arid, I can't imagine crops growing here.

“Careful with my plants, don't you dare stepping on them!” - That must be the farmer, just like the other guys this man is in a bad shape, but this one has a special characteristic, the bags under his eyes are very notorious, I guess not knowing if you will be able to eat makes harder going to sleep.

“I'm sorry, could you tell me where did you plant your seeds?” - “dont move I´ll just get closer” - The man starts walking to me looking pretty tired, didn't he arrive not too long go? I guess he doesn't have much energy to begin with,

“Did you get lost in your way home or something like that?” - An usual question at this point, I explain that I got robbed and I´m staying with smith in exchange of helping him make swords, I´ve said this story a couple times already so it now comes naturally.

“So you´re bored and came to see me work, well I'm just here to water the lifeless ground so you must be really bored to come and see that” - He has a point, but knowing how to take care of the land is something that would prove beneficial to me if I want to plant something myself later, also….

“More than your work I'm more interested in asking a couple questions if you don't mind” - that man looks confused but accepts to answer my question anyway, I have the feeling that since I came here I say weird things to the people I talk to.