Chapter 11: Vrung’s Quarry

  Time Remaining; 714 Days, 13 Hours, 48 Minutes…

  The two of them awoke early the next morning to set out and Alex was still quite tired too. They each took turns keeping watch while the other slept throughout the night. Yet Alex barely slept at all, his mind still preoccupied with the lizard-men from the day before. His guilty conscience blasted him with the guilt of possibly killing what could be considered a person.

  He felt like a hypocrite as he lay in his tent agonizing over this internal battle. As someone who joined the military, feeling guilt about killing a lizard-man because they could have been sapient felt stupid. As if he wouldn't have been ordered to kill a human at some point. Like he hadn't been fully ready to -and actually attempted to- kill Lance the first day they had woken in this world.

  Why was he getting bent out of shape about this then? He was willing to kill a human if he had to. He already did kill wild animals when he was hungry and cold. So if a sapient lizard attacks, why lose sleep about it? Maybe it was that he could have avoided the fighting if he talked to them?

  That didn't seem right though. Garret and the first lizard were already fighting, and the second one came at me without even trying to talk. I didn't try to talk it out with Lance before trying to put a round through his skull either. Alex admitted to himself that things were not as cut and dry as his feelings of guilt seemed to paint them.

  I'm not a murderer. But I'm not a saint either. He thought in the silence of the morning. I have to accept that things like this are going to happen. Just like Alex's previous world, this world was not fair. It was not neatly structured with easily set views of good or evil. Alex will have some days when his hands are clean, and some days when they are drenched in blood.

  "You good man?" Garret's voice pierced his thoughts, drawing Alex back into the forest.

  "Yeah, just tired. Let's get to the village already, I want to try to find out what exactly is going on." Alex said as he pulled his backpack on to his shoulders. He didn't wait for Garret to agree and simply started marching onward.

  The two of them continued their journey in awkward silence for the rest of the morning. Garret seemed to notice Alex was still in a bad mood, and by some miracle decided not to try cheering him up with his awful jokes.

  It was approaching afternoon by the time they saw a change from the thick forest in front of them. The two men noticed the trees begin to thin a bit, and eventually end after a couple hours. They stepped out of the forest and on to what appeared to be gentle rolling plains. The river still flowed on their right, winding through the plains of wild grass until it finally met with a collection of buildings far in the distance.

  This must be the town that the elf was talking about. Alex thought as he surveyed the scene.

  "What the hell is that?" Garret shouted next to Alex's ear, making him jump and pull his spear into a fighting position. He looked around and found no threat. No lizardman, badger, or otherwise. He finally looked at Garret in an attempt to figure out what he was talking about.

  He found the scout looking up into the sky, almost directly at the sun. Alex understood the reaction now, as Garret was seeing that gaping black void in the sky for the very first time.

  During the day, it appeared even more strange. The sun's light appeared to be bending and stretching around the void. The blue sky turned dark in the immediate proximity too, showing the bare peek of stars around it, but almost all of that was washed out by the sun.

  "Told you it was freaky. I think it's a black hole." Alex said as he stepped closer to Garret's side.

  "Gotta be right? Unless it's some light sucking super monster. The final boss?" Garret looked at Alex with that same goofy grin as always.

  "I sure hope not! Come on, let's get to the town already. We need clothes, gear and information. A bath sure wouldn't hurt either." He gave the man a nudge with his shoulder. Garret looked up at the sky a few more seconds before finally shaking his head and nodding.

  As the two of them approached the village across the plains, they eventually came to a dirt road leading directly towards the buildings. Alex assumed it was a road made by merchant wagons crossing the area frequently, or just over time by the foot traffic. Either way they followed it quickly enough, arriving at the edge of the town within the hour.

  People were already walking about the roads and buildings. They wore tunics and leathers, with long hair either braided neatly, or left unkempt and wild. The architecture and vibe Alex got from the place had him worrying that people will start rushing out of the buildings and calling him "Dragonborn".

  The buildings were of hewn stone and wood, thatch roofs covering the tops. Smoke drifted in long curling tendrils from the chimneys and into the sky. Each building seemed sizable enough and made for more than just the bare minimal space of survival. A few two-story buildings even dotted the area, catching Alex's eye.

  "Okay," Alex said, running his fingers through his hair. "We have to figure out where we are, find some gear, and some food. Stay sharp, we aren't in Kansas anymore."

  "Damn, I was going say that one!" Garret lamented.

  "Whatever," Alex chuckled at Garret's sullen expression and continued walking. "Look, I have the ring, so I might be the only one that can talk to them. We should be fine if that's the case but stay close."

  "Sure thing buddy, I'll be your Samwise."

  Alex rolled his eyes and just ignored the scout for now. His eyes moved about as they walked the main road. "Let's find a shop first, a blacksmith or hell even a general store. We need weapons and gear most of all."

  Their walk brought them past wooden carts piled with vegetables and dried meats, and past a butcher chopping an animal with a large knife that glinted in the sunlight. Some people walked around them, going about their own day. The village seemed quiet, but there was an obvious undercurrent of tension in the air. Like the villagers knew something was wrong. Alex caught the occasional sideways glance, furtive and suspicious.

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  He looked down at himself, noting the bloodstained and dirty uniform that he still wore. The damage from his fights was sewed up and repaired rather well, but that didn't change the bare obvious fact this he looked worn, poor, and out of place when compared to the attire of the villagers around him.

  The humans in this village looked like poor peasants of a medieval town in any fantasy world from Alex’s home, but their clothes were clean and undamaged. They seemed to understand hygiene as well, making Alex and Garret the worse looking people in the area.

  We need new clothes. Weapons, armor, gear, food, and clothes. He repeated the list in his mind over and over as Garret and he walked about the village.

  They passed a tavern, the creaky sign above the door showing a beer keg and a glass. Voices softly wafted from the windows of the tavern and out on to the street. It seemed even in this world, there were still people that were drinking in the early afternoon.

  After continuing on, they stopped outside of a small stone building near the edge of the town. Its wooden sign hung above the window, "The Merchant's Way". Alex's body flushed with a feeling of hope. It was a shop, so maybe they could get lucky.

  "Shit," Garret exclaimed, patting his hands over his pockets. "I don't have my wallet."

  "Damn it Garret," Alex felt his eyes would fall out from rolling them so hard. "Like I said, I might be the only one that can understand them. So hang close and try to listen in. We will just have to play it by ear."

  A bell chimed as they entered the dimly lit store. Inside there were packed shelves with all sorts of goods, candles, buckets and empty glassware. Cooking pots and utensils lined one wall, shelves of tools such as picks, shovels and hammers sat in the middle. The far side had bows, swords, axes and weapons of all sorts. As Alex's eyes swept the area, he saw more and more various items.

  It seems, still kind of small. Alex thought to himself. While he would first think this thought was due to him being so used to mega stores in his own world, that wasn't quite it. Alex could tell from the size of the building looking from the outside, the shop he stood in seemed much smaller than he had anticipated.

  He looked to the far counter where a stout man with a bushy gray beard looked up at the two of them. His expression was unreadable, though a flicker of his eyes between Garret and he let Alex know the man was sizing them up.

  Behind the shopkeeper, which Alex assumed this man wa, were additional small shelves, and a door in the back wall. Alex imagined that door led further into the building, perhaps a back warehouse area. More than likely the majority of the building and its goods were stored back there, away from prying eyes and sticky fingers.

  "Can I help you?" the man asked in a low and gravelly voice.

  Alex cleared his throat. "We need some gear. Weapons mostly. Armor. Food. And some information."

  Alex peeked over at Garret, who shook his head nearly imperceptibly. The signal that he didn't understand the shopkeeper. So the ring really is a life saver. Alex mentally shuddered at the thought of possibly trying to get their supplies here while not even being able to communicate with the citizens of the world. I need to see if I can get more of these rings as well.

  The shopkeeper had raised an eyebrow at Alex by this point and set down the pipe he had been smoking from. "New, eh?" He said, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Not from around here, don't recognize you from town. And your attire..."

  "No, we come from far off." Alex stepped forward towards the counter, he projected a confidence that he didn't quite yet feel. He was trying the fake it until you make it approach. "We need ten swords and spears. Some armor, maybe a map."

  He looked around the store, an item that looked like a crossbow caught his eye. He wasn't certain, but the thing looked damn lethal.

  "Aye," The shopkeeper muttered, rubbing at his chin. "I've got swords and the rest. We don't deal in fancy maps, but you'll find scrolls with directions to nearby areas like the quarry. As for information... well, I'd suggest talking to Celeste at the apothecary. She's lived here long enough to know more about this land than anyone else."

  Alex nodded, suppressing the relief in his body. He hadn't realized how tense he had been until now. He fully stepped up to the counter at this point, accepting a sword that the shop keep held out to him. It seemed rather simple in design and make, but sturdy. The metal wasn't shiny smooth like the movies, but a dull gray, slight chips here and there, but well cared for from what Alex could tell.

  "Basic iron sword will be two silver pieces, spears I can sell to you at a deal of ten spears for five silver. Armor will be a bit more nuanced, based on material and whatnot."

  The shop keep walked around the counter, and over to the wall containing many stands containing armor. A section of the store that Alex eyed earlier. The shopkeep picked up a chest piece from a stand, the armor made of thick leather that gave a slight sheen in the light.

  "Do you have any weapons that are higher... grade?" Alex probed uncertainly with his question. He had a hunch about the goods in this world. If this system made things like an RPG, there were certainly more than just one tier to items, and right now they seemed to be only shown the basic stuff. It was a gamble if this shop even had better items, but the shop keep's answer would give Alex info either way.

  The man eyed him a moment and verbally tsk'd. "Mortal Tier iron is basically all we've got. Even if we had a piece of Adept Tier weaponry, doubt you'd be able to afford it. I'm wary of the idea you even have fifty silver between the two of you, let alone the two-thousand an Adept Tier blade would cost ya."

  The shop-keep tossed the spear he had picked up at Alex and shook his head.

  Mortal tier, Adept tier, are these grades? Rarities? Not a whole lot of info, but it at least confirms there are different types of items. Let's see what we can manage then. Alex simply nodded at the man and rolled the spear in his hands. The wood shaft was sturdy, and the metal leafed-shaped blade at the head was far better than Alex's shoddy craft-work.

  "Well, you are right, we haven't the coin for that." Alex set the spear back on the rack and patted the backpack that Garret was carrying. The scout stuck close to Alex this whole time, as he had been asked. "We have items for barter though, I don't think you'll be disappointed."

  Alex was waived back to the counter with a reluctant sigh from the man. The shopkeep’s forlorn face shifted quickly to confusion, then excitement, and then back to confusion as Alex began setting items down on the counter between them. He started with the various pieces of the rifles that they had disassembled. It made it easy to pack and carry, and let them separate out the parts that were just plastic or nylon fasteners from the actual metal.

  "I've never seen so much peak mortal tier iron!" The shop-keep exclaimed as he looked over the items. "If they were forged and treated correctly, I'm sure they would have the integrity to hold Adept Tier enchantments even."

  Ah, so steel is better quality stuff than their basic iron. I should've have guessed as much. That’s basic metallurgy isn't it? But more than that, it seems getting to this Adept level requires enchanting? So even weapons can be magical? Alex thought through the bits of information the shopkeeper's ramblings fed to him.

  "If you like those, wait until you see these," Alex said as he pulled out the first set of Ion-Gear from his own bag. He saw the shop's eyes grow wide at this point and Alex shot Garret a devilish grin.