Daniel pointed out the architecture looked advanced, “I mean, it’s not like I expected steel frames and huge walls of glass, but this looks nothing like anything from Lord of the Rings.”

Orrin shook his head at his friend, “I definitely wasn’t expecting...this either.”

Three main gates on the east side of Dey funneled into a large entryway. Madi and Brandt had left them in that area, called the Gateway. The buildings were modest there, flat for the most part and with just the hint of what was to come.

As Orrin and Daniel traveled further into Dey, the buildings soared higher. Orrin peeked into a clothing shop. The floor was a clear stone, not glass, but still easy to see through. Underneath the feet of shopping patrons, twenty bodies hunched over dresses, suits, robes, and what looked like a big floppy hat. Entertainment while you shop, Orrin thought. And management can make sure the workers aren’t slacking.

“Move along,” a voice demanded. Orrin moved quickly and wasn’t hit this time. The guard at the first shop had simply kicked him earlier.

Daniel had left him behind and was standing in front of one of the taller buildings in this middle district. They had decided to go straight to the Guild building at Madi’s recommendation but were getting sidetracked easily.

Orrin came up beside his friend, “What’s this one?” They had found clothing shops, armor shops, food shops, and even a shop for just gloves...hundreds of different styles of gloves.

“It’s beautiful,” Daniel muttered and nodded his head towards the open doors.

The two metal doors stood open to the street, with no guards at the front. Inside was a squared marble floor with workstations at each corner. Furnaces larger than the men working them spewed flames into the air. Orrin could feel the heat from across the street.

Along the walls hung weapons. Spears, swords, pikes, maces, daggers, and more.

“Oh, it’s a weapons shop. We saw a few of those already but I guess none that were making them as the customer waited huh,” Orrin really didn’t get Daniel’s new fascination with weapons.

“The sword in the left corner,” Daniel started walking. “I need that one.”

“D. We’ve been over this like five times. You can’t buy a sword right now. You HAVE one already,” Orrin started.

Daniel kept walking. Orrin hurried after his friend.

The heat from the forges kept most people from entering the shop but as they entered, Orrin saw the beauty of the inside being missed by everyone outside.

A small stairwell to the side lead up to another floor above, but the center of the store was vented with a large open space flowing up to the ceiling. The ceiling was a puzzle of interlocking metal blocks. Orrin watched as the smoke and grime of the workstations flowed up and settled on the slanted metal slats. The shiny metal darkened with soot.

Clink.

The smallest noise preceded the slats’ movement. If he had blinked, Orrin would have missed the turning motion as the metal turned in a cascade motion up. Suddenly, the darkened metal shone bright again.

“What the hell?”

Daniel was already standing on the other side of the shop. He was pointing at a sword five feet long and six inches thick. The blacksmith chuckled at Daniel and waved him off. Daniel raised his voice but over the hammering of metal on metal all around, Orrin missed whatever he said.

He walked closer just as the man in the long stained and burned apron turned in anger and snapped at Daniel, “And I’m telling you boy, you can’t handle that sword. It’s not made for the likes of you, I don’t care how strong you think you are.”

“How much is it?” Orrin asked as he came to a stop next to his friend.

“It’s 200 gold, but I’m not selling it to anyone I don’t approve of. And I don’t approve,” the man turned his back again and went back to hammering a long spearhead.

Daniel and Orrin had spent some money as they’d been walking and figured out a rough estimate of how much the coins were worth. A single copper was something like $4 to $5 dollars, which made a single silver about $50 dollars. A single meal or some snacks had only cost a copper. The few cheap hostels they’d found were charging five coppers a night or a silver for two nights with stew for dinner. 200 gold was the most expensive item they’d seen. That’s about $100,000! Orrin thought.

“D. He’s not selling, we can find another sword later. Let’s go.”

“Can I at least hold it once, sir?” Daniel was using his teacher voice again. The polite golden boy persona shining off him.

“Boy, I can barely lift that monster,” the man sighed, realizing this customer was not going to leave. “I made it for a friend who never returned from beyond the Wall. I charge 5 silver for even nobility to see it. Do you really want to waste your money?”

Daniel pulled out a gold piece and handed it over.

The man shrugged, hit the spearhead three more times, and put it in a barrel of water. It hissed with steam. Then he grabbed a metal cube with handles and dragged it over the wall.

“It’s mostly Mythril and cold iron but the shaft and grip is the femur of a dragon, sworn and validated by the Guild. Took me three months to grind that smooth and another two to beat the thing into shape here,” he said as he stood on the metal cube and put a sheet of chainmail in his left hand. He balanced it under the sharp edge of the blade and grabbed the handle with his right. “Arden, come spot an old man.”

A lanky boy their own age came up and hovered nearby. The blacksmith hefted the sword into the air and stepped off the box at the same time. Orrin heard it creak and moan for the second all the weight had rested on it.

Daniel kicked Orrin in the foot. Orrin looked to his friend and said “What?”

“Buff please,” Daniel muttered. Orrin smiled evily.

“I’m sorry D. What was that?”

Daniel took his eyes off the sword for the first time since he’d entered the store to quickly lay them on his friend, “Now O.”

Orrin grinned but acquiesced, sending five quick strengths to his friend. With Daniel’s bonus, it was an extra ten strength.

“If you drop this sword, I will not pay any hospital cost or penalty fee.”

“Give it here,” Daniel stood tall with his legs apart as if he were about to hit the weights. He put his hands on the hilt and tried to lift the sword up.

Nothing happened. The tip of the sword did not leave the blacksmith’s hand.

“I tried to tell you son. It is not weighted for a human.”

Daniel continued pulling his arms up, trying to get leverage. It was doing no difference.

Orrin took a look at his Store list and made an impulsive decision.

Would you like to Upgrade [Increase Strength] (1000/1000) for 2AP?

Yes or No

Yes.

[Increase Strength] Level 2 (0/5,000): increase target Strength by +2 for 10 minutes. 10MP

Double strength and double time but double cost, Orrin thought as he cast the spell on his friend, hoping it would override the weaker level one spell.

On the fifth cast, the sword’s tip raised a few inches from the blacksmith’s hand. Daniel’s face was covered in sweat.

“Well I’ll be damned,” the man muttered before deftly catching the sword again as Daniel let it drop back down.

“S- sorry sir,” Daniel groaned as he sat back on his heels. “I should have listened to the expert there. It’s just so pretty.” He let out a smirk.

The blacksmith grunted as he stood on the box, depositing the sword back to its horizontal stand.

“No ‘sir’ boy. I’m Jovi. This is my corner of the Blast Furnace and you got further than anyone in a long time. Keep the money, that was worth the workout,” he cracked his knuckles and handed the gold piece back. “If you get that mighty strength of yours higher, you might even swing old Gertrude someday.”

“Gertrude?” Orrin cut in.

“Named after the one who should have wielded her,” Jovi whispered reverently. Orrin wisely dropped it.

“Thank you Jovi. I’ll be back for her,” Daniel was still panting.

Just how heavy was that hunk of metal? Could he even swing it? Orrin thought as he dragged Daniel out.

The dirt road had turned to cobblestone inside the city, but as they got near to the western part of the wall, the cobblestone gave way to finer inlaid stone. The houses and shops lay further away from each other, with more height and small gardens. Fences and walls were more frequent. Orrin and Daniel received more looks as they followed Madi’s directions to the Guild.

“I don’t get it,” Daniel whispered. “We’ve got on basic clothes and armor. We don’t look too different from everyone here. Why are we getting all the looks?”

Orrin was also starting to get worried. Humans of every shade were prevalent. Madi had dark skin but Brandt had been as white as he was. Daniel’s Hispanic caramel was mirrored by a dozen different people they’d passed as well. Orrin had grabbed Daniel and stared as a group of dwarves had carried large boxes across the street. But nothing that he could see allowed for the constant glances at them.

“Let’s just hurry and get to the Guild. Brandt said we’d be able to rent a room there cheap and we need to discuss our future here,” Orrin hitched his backpack on his shoulder and sped up.

The Guild was housed in one of the largest buildings they’d seen. As they rounded the last corner, it took an entire block, one street off the main road.

Daniel gestured, “It looks like an old Spanish fortress.”

“What fortress had six stories and...a dozen different towers? I lose count every time. How many do you see?” Orrin asked.

“There’s only six...no wait ten? Magical fuckery,” Daniel gave up and started walking again.

It was nearing the end of the day and people were starting to leave their jobs. As they climbed the steps to the Guild building, about a dozen others were entering as well.

Through the doors, the boys were jostled along with the small sea of people. They were deposited to one side, as most of the group traveled through another door to the right. As the doors swung open, laughter and banter echoed through the hall. Food, Orrin nearly floated to the smells coming from the dining hall.

In front of them was a small window in the wall, with a bored man sitting behind the metal bars. A sign above read “Reception.”

“Excuse me, we were looking to join Dey’s Guild?” Daniel inquired politely.

“Not Dey’s Guild. Just da Guild,” the man drawled. “More kids from the warfront trying to strike it rich huh?”

Orrin and Daniel glanced at each other. Madi hadn’t mentioned a war.

“Uh... yeah,” Orrin muttered.

“Well it don’t matter much to me,” the man pulled out a piece of paper and fountain pen. “Sign this. It says you won’t break the laws of the country you’re in. You WILL defend any city you are in from a Horde. You WILL take on one quest a month. Break the rules and you get booted. Depending on the local Guildmaster, that could be a week before you repay your join-up fee or forever. So don’t push your luck. Can you both read and write?”

“Yes,” they chimed together.

“Better than most. Sign here and here. If you want to rent a room, this form. Here for a single, that’ll be 5 silver a month. A double is 4 silver. A quad is 2 silver.”

“Why so cheap?” Daniel asked. The hostels for a week had been just a few silver.

“Most who pay don’t return much if ever,” the receptionist shrugged. “Meals ain’t included. Your room is only yours for the night, they get switched up regular. Cuts down on the murders you see.”

With [Dimensional Hole] it wouldn’t be a problem not having a solid home base to store things at. “Well take a double,” Orrin signed the papers, with Daniel adding a scrawl after.

“It’s five silver each for registration plus your 4 silver for the room. One gold, four,” he held out his hand and Daniel paid him.

They got a room key with so many nicks, Orrin was sure he’d cut his fingers. They also got a beaten copper ring to wear on their pinky or “smallest finger you got left” to show they were in the Guild now.

“D. Lets grab some food to go and talk in our room. We haven’t really had a chance to decompress and I’m starting to feel my lack of sleep,” Orrin suggested.

Daniel nodded and the two made their way through the door to the right of the Reception area into the dining hall. A man sitting on a stool reading a book glanced up as they entered and put a finger on the page he was on.

“One silver.”

“A silver for food? What are you serving?” Daniel asked.

The man grunted and folded the book on his finger. “Newbies, huh? It’s 5 copper a person for as much food as you can eat here or carry off in one trip. It’s really more just 5 copper to come through the doors, as we’ve also got the Quest Board over yonder,” he nodded his shaved head to the back of the long dining room with 20 large wooden tables lined up four long and five deep.

“We have to pay to get a quest?” Orrin said in shock.

“And to eat,” the man opened his book again. “As I said, one silver.”

Daniel grumbled and paid the man. They filled the largest bowls they could find with the night’s menu: beef stew. They also each took a large loaf of a hard brown bread. Beer was being served for another charge, but they had their waterskins.

Returning to the Reception area, they entered the second door to the left of the entrance. Inside was a hall of doors and a large staircase at the end. As they trudged to climb the stairs, one set of doors swung up with a bang, just missing Orrin’s bowl of soup.

Adventurers clambered out of the doorway. Orrin glanced in and saw a large green field with dummies for archery practice and some people fighting in practice. A training area? I though the whole thing was a solid building.

They trudged up three flights of stairs to find their room. It was small, with two single beds, a table, and two chairs.

Once inside, neither spoke for ten minutes as they scarfed the food. The beef stew was chunky, with carrots and potatoes swimming in the broth with generous slabs of beef. I hope it’s beef, Orrin thought.

The real star was the bread. When Daniel had broken his in half, the smell had stopped both for a second. Warm honey and cinnamon drifted in the air, with a hint of something flowery that Orrin couldn’t place. It paired so well with the stew that Orrin used bread pieces as a spoon, mopping the last up with a sigh as he sat back content.

“So, Orrin. What’s the plan here?” Daniel took a long drink of water.

Orrin had spent much of the previous night planning everything he could...before everything went sideways. But he still had some thoughts.

“I think we start with three simple rules. One, survive. That means everything. We figure out what we need to get by here. We need to find a library or bookstore and learn about this world. We are screwed if they find out we were…” Orrin lowered his voice. “summoned, or that you’re a…” He mouthed ‘hero.’

“Two, really goes without saying, but we’re a team. We each get a veto on anything party related. We need to see what kind of quests we can do to make money, especially if you plan on blowing it all on some hunk of metal.”

“Gertrude is not a hu-“

“Three,” Orrin interrupted Daniel. “We find a way home. As much as I love reading stories, I do not want to end up monster food.”

Daniel nodded along, “Survive. Teamwork. Get Home. Simple plan, but I like it.”

“So tomorrow, we’ll go out for breakfast, get the lay of the land, and figure it all out. No pressure,” Orrin lay on the bed. It was surprisingly soft.

He pulled up his Status and went to the store. He’d already bought the upgrade for [Increase Strength] and still had 8 AP left.

“D. I have 8 AP left after upgrading [Increase Strength] and was thinking of upgrading Dex, buying Will and Intelligence buffs, and maybe upgrading my heal. Think I should go for that or start buying other things?”

Daniel was also laying down looking at the ceiling, likely reading his own status. “I knew you upgraded strength. When you cast it the second time, I think I could almost feel it.”

“You don’t get a notification or something?”

“Nope,” Daniel moved his hand like he was scrolling down pages. “I think you should focus on your buffs and healing. I’ll tank. I’m going over some options now, but I shouldn’t have bought all this gear. I got a lot of AP to start but it looks like I only get the normal 10 per level now.”

“Save your points then. I want to try and find out more about Heroes. I’m sure some of them found overpowered builds and we can make you the very best.”

“Like no one ever was,” Daniel sing-songed.

“Nerd,” Orrin threw at him.

“Geek.” Daniel smiled.

Orrin hit Yes.

[Increase Dexterity] Level 2 (0/5,000): increased target Dexterity by +2 for 10 minutes. 10MP [Increase Will] (0/1,000): increased target Will by +1 for 5 minutes. 5MP [Increase Intelligence] (0/1,000): increased target Intelligence by +1 for 5 minutes. 5MP [Heal Small Wounds] Level 2 (0/5,000) heal up to 20 HP. 10MP

Orrin looked at his list of spells. It had really grown:

Spells:

[Heal Small Wounds Level 1 (max)

[Heal Small Wounds Level 2 (0/5,000)

[Increase Strength] Level 1 (max)

[Increase Strength] Level 2 (0/5,000)

[Increase Dexterity] Level 1 (max)

[Increase Dexterity] Level 2 (0/5,000)

[Increase Will] Level 1 (0/1,000)

[Increase Intelligence] Level 1 (0/1,000)

[Camouflage] (1,490/10,000)

[Calm Mind]

“Oh cool, I guess upgrading leaves the last level available too. That’s good to conserve some MP if I need I guess,” Orrin noted.

Orrin suddenly stood up from his bed, “Damn it.”

Daniel also stood up, hand already going to his sword. “What? Are we under attack?”

“...I’ve got to shit.” Orrin looked at his friend. “God, I hope they’ve invented toilet paper.”