A few steps from the end of the street, it was like I tore through a veil.

A cacophony of sounds washed over me; the wind that howled through the street carried shouting, laughing, and yelling voices, while the sound of crashing waves from farther away sounded like a giant softly tapping a drum.

I shivered as the temperature plummeted, and I took a quick look back. The alley behind me had changed. The rat was gone, as were the broken crates. On the other side of the alley wasn't a smithy, but the solid dark-wooden side of a building.

Soft murmurs sounded through the open door ahead, while the buildings all around cracked as the wind pounded them.

Feeling my body start to tremble from the cold, I hurried to the door and stepped inside.

A fuzzy and smelly warmth surrounded me, part rot, part chemical. Two torches lined one wall, and the crooked back of a grey-haired, grey-robed granny blocked part of a tanning rack. A brown hide hung on it, and she was busy scraping gore and flesh from the inside with what looked like a bone knife.

I took a quick scan of the room and saw a wooden rack filled with tanned hides lining the right wall. A table with smaller, fur-lined, and pretty hides stood in front of it. A stair at the back of the low room seemed to lead up, and smoke from the torches flowed along the ceiling to the stair and away.

"Are you just going to stand there like some fool kicked by a mule?" A gravelly, smokey voice asked.

Snapping my head back to the granny, I saw she was staring at me with piercing yellow eyes that almost seemed to glow from the inside out. They sat in a weathered face almost like one of the hides she tanned, grey strings of hair lining it.

"Hi," I said lamely, raising my hand for a short wave.

"Yes, hi. Now tell me, did Hans tell you what to do?"

I blinked in confusion, and the granny shook her head with a sad sigh. "Of course he didn't." she twisted her voice to a more masculine tone and called in mock sincerity. "Don't worry, Agatha, I will send you someone to help out! He will know what to do, yes-yes! Useful and all that!"

She stamped on the ground and moved towards a small stool next to the rack. Sitting down, she stared at me with her creepy eyes.

"Just look at you, boy. I think I can carry more weight than you can. Were you sick or something?"

The question jogged me out of my confusion. Somehow I had just forgotten I was in a game; that's how lifelike the granny was. Cursing myself, I quickly went over what she had said before shaking my head hurriedly.

"Not anymore, madam, and Hans said I should go here if I wanted to learn something…"

"Madam? Hah, now that's grand! Call me Agga; everybody besides that oaf does."

She sighed, and her shoulders hung down a bit as if a large weight pressed it down. "Not that it matters. Fine, the way you look, you won't be any help right now. Go find yourself a place beside the fire and sleep. We will get started in the morning."

I followed her finger to the hard wooden floor beside the fireplace and shivered. Sleeping on the ground? Damn, this game was hardcore.

Agga cleared her throat, and I jumped, quickly moving to the designated spot. As I lay down, I wondered if I could even sleep. Wait, perhaps I would wake up in the real world? The warmth of the fire wrapped around me like the warm, smokey breath of a dragon. An apt comparison I would one day find out. Today, however, I just knew that I was actually tired. So tired, in fact, that as I curled up on the ground trying to ignore my extra arms, I quickly felt myself fall into a slumber.

Had I known this would be one of the few easy rests for a long time, I would have done my very best to enjoy it more.

--

"Wake up, you lazy boy!" A solid kick to my legs woke me from an odd dream where I saw my own face look at me from a mirror while I couldn't move. Instead of seeing a reflection, I was the reflection, moving automatically.

A slight headache made me think of coffee, and as I rubbed my head, I groaned. I had instinctively used both left arms. Letting the extra limbs drop, they knocked against the ground, my knuckles scraping painfully across the rough wood.

A second kick hit my shin, and I opened my sandy eyes.

The granny stood beside me, an angry frown on her lips. "Last warning, get up. I have no time for lazy people."

Seeing her leg go back for another kick, I nodded and scrambled up.

It was light in the room, the wooden covers taken away from the windows and the door wide open, letting in a chilly breeze.

"Alright, I am going to give you some food, but only because I fear you will drop dead if I don't." Eyeing me up and down with distaste, she sniffed. "Don't make me regret it," she said, shaking her head as if she didn't expect anything else. She turned to a small table hidden below the staircase and pointed at a small stool.

Grumbling about ridiculous game loops, and unfriendly NPC's, I shuffled to the stool and sat down. A clay bowl with a spoon stood on the table, something steaming hot inside. Looking inside, I saw a grey, pasty mass that looked like liquid cardboard. Are you kidding me? Wondering if she was trying to poison me, I sniffed it, and my eyes widened. It was some kind of vegetable stew, but it actually smelled far more appetizing than it looked.

Taking a bite taught me something about this game that I would find worked into many of its elements. Things didn't always taste as advertised. A soft, pungent oily paste filled my mouth, and I almost wanted to spit it back out. The taste wasn't the problem, nor the smell. The problem was the structure, which reminded me of the time I had accidentally eaten Sandra's fish-soup. Without thinking, I quickly swallowed the goo. As it slid down, I shuddered.

A soft ping was followed by a small hovering green bar above the bowl. It was mostly empty, only the far left side having a sliver of bright green.

I stared at it for a second before carefully and reluctantly taking another spoon full. As soon as I swallowed it, the bar filled another bit. Great, now I know for sure when I'll be starving!

Agga slammed her hand on the table, scaring the shit out of me and almost making me spit in the bowl.

"Eat faster. We need to get a lot of work done today, and don't expect to sleep until we are done!"

Looking at the NPC stare at me with narrowed eyes and pursed lips, I wondered if I could still switch to the blacksmith. Then the memory of the first NPC's words floated through my mind. No going back! Suppressing a groan, I began shoveling the food in, keeping an eye on the small bar. When the bowl was empty, the bar was half full, and I did feel mostly satiated.

"Good. Now let's go, no more dilly-dallying."

Agga wrapped a scarf around her neck and stomped to the door. I followed, wondering if it wouldn't be faster to just go outside of town and grind some wildlife. Remembering the rat, I decided the afternoon wouldn't be too late for that decision.

The bleak sunlight outside changed the street from a dark, dangerous alley to a filthy disgusting cesspit. A sludge of brown water and other things flowed down like a small stream, and when I recognized a turd, I had to swallow back some bile. With the image came a disgusting, swampy stench, and as I stepped into the muck, I felt my stomach roil. The sludge on the ground suddenly reminded me of the sludge in the bowl, and I felt my food come up.

With a hand on the wall beside me, I puked most of what was in my stomach on the ground, and with a small ping, the green bar showed up, emptying almost entirely. I couldn't care less.

"Dammit, boy. You said you weren't sick anymore! If you had told me, I wouldn't have wasted my food on you!" Agga said as she took a step back from the steaming pile of muck inside the colder pile of muck.

Through my hazy mind, I quickly came up with a response.

"Not sick! I just saw an eyeball float down, and it reminded me of my father." I cursed myself for being an idiot, but Agga only frowned and nodded.

"Aye, nasty things, those crawling eyeballs. Alright, follow me." She walked down the small alley, stepping around the nastiest.

Wait… did she just say crawling eyeballs…? I quickly jogged after her, ignoring the filth that splashed on my naked legs. She is joking, right? I wanted to ask but didn't dare.

The narrow alley led towards a slightly wider cobblestone street. A small gully in the middle collected most of the brown sludge, where it mixed with more of the vile stuff to flow down the road. The street sloped down towards a small harbor. Three wooden docks, all empty save for a single small sloop that lay upside down, and a large amount of piled up fishing nets. The gully of filth ended beside the harbor, the thick stream clattering in the water.

A slight, salty breeze came from the dark sea beyond, and I raised my head to sniff it.

"Odd boy…" Agga muttered beside me as she shook her head. With long paces, she walked up the road away from the sea.

Staring at the promise of fresh air and a bath, I sighed and followed her. The buildings around us appeared to all be homes, and I didn't see a single storefront or board above a door: just one and two story wooden buildings, some with stone foundations. Everything looked old and decrepit, and only a few people walked around.

Following closely behind Agga, I examined the other NPC's. Damn, they had put a lot of effort into this! All of them looked completely authentic, moving towards a house or away down or up the street. None of them looked even remotely alike. A young boy pushed a cart forward, four-armed and muscular, he took a single look at me and turned his gaze away with disdain.

Great. So even the other Grablons didn't like me. I guess this game would put me in the underdog position right off the bat. I could roll with that.

Stepping forward, I felt my energy draining. Can't even walk up a slope… fucking starter bodies.

The street ended in a small muddy square lined with cobblestones, and by the time I got there, I saw spots in front of my eyes.

A soft ping barely registered, and with my head down, I stepped forward. I collided with Agga, who turned and scowled at me. Her face only seemed to have two expressions; annoyed and tired. She didn't seem to have any other expressions. I'd soon learn that it wasn't because the developers skimmed on facial animations. She was always just either of the two.

"What do you even have for a constitution, three?"

Her snarled mumble made me stumble, and I looked at her slightly hunched back in shock. NPCs here know about game elements? The whole idea seemed so preposterous that I almost didn't believe it.

"What?" I mumbled before I could stop myself.

Agga just snorted and shook her head as she walked towards a wood and stone wall. A tall gate in the middle was closed, but the left side had a small door. A disheveled man, in what must have once been a grey tunic, looked at us.

"Found another fool, Agga?" He said before spitting on the ground. A yellow and green puddle showed that he probably did that every time someone came.

"Don't be an ass, Haltir. I'll be repairing your boots come fall…" Agga said with a warning. She marched towards the door, and the man stepped aside, letting us through.

There was a glimmer of mirth deep in his bloodshot eyes, and he winked at me.

The door led to a wide, well-trodden road that disappeared after a hundred meters. Beyond it lay what must be the pinnacle of a Hitchcock forest. Dark pines, the first row only a bit taller than the wall, quickly became towering things Santa Claus would love. That was if they weren't filled with red and brown needles and had a slimy yellow fungus covering their trunks.

A musky scent wafted towards us on a warm breeze, and my nose turned stuffy instantly.

"Come!" Agga shouted, her grey form almost at the forest's edge.

Trying my best to jog, I pictured her with a broom and pointy hat and shivered.

"You probably don't even know what we are doing here…" Agga grumbled, as she moved from the beaten path and across the dense carpet of brown needles.

"No," I responded, resisting the urge to add some extra sauce to the word.

"Damn you, Hans, damn you to Teroc and back." She spat.

Looking at the yellow dot of mucus on the ground, I wondered. Did I have to start spitting to fit in?

"Fine. Even you must know, my shop deals in leatherworking and woodcarving. My main profession is Fletcher, though. The problem is that there's a great shortage of wood for anything but houses here. Most of this-" and she waved at the trees, "is poisonous."

I drew my hand away from a long, solid-looking branch. No club then!

"You're going to help me carry, good not poisonous wood back."

Fuck… perhaps I should just die. I could save for a few weeks and buy a new life.

The forest became darker and smellier the further we went, and Agga repeatedly cursed our luck. All the trees looked the same to me. Dark, tall, and ready to grab us.

Rounding a few bushes, we came across a partially uprooted tree. From the wet earth sticking to its roots, I guessed it had happened recently.

"Ah, blessed by the Stone." Agga rushed forward, knocking on the base of the trunk.

Damn, she better not expect me to drag that back!

Agga turned away from the tree and opened a small pouch. Retrieving a leather folded square, she kneeled and unfolded it on the ground.

The square started the size of her palm, but she kept unfolding it. In shock, I watched as she continued until it was the size of a large rug. On the last unwrap, she visibly strained, and a metallic rattling came from the rug. An assortment of axes, hammers, and chisels glittered in the little light there was.

"Bag of holding," I hissed, but Anna just snorted.

"Not in your wildest dreams! What do you take me for? A noble or a mage? Pah!

Before I could retort, she pressed a long-handled ax in my hands. A crystal clear ping showed the system must have registered me acquiring something. Or so I hoped.

"Chop it up. Start with the branches."

Feeling the solid weight, somehow giving me a secure and comforting feel, I stepped to the smaller branches.

"What's wrong with your other arms?" Agga asked.

"I sprained them while walking," I muttered automatically.

Agga's eyes narrowed, and I quickly turned and chopped at the root of a branch. The ax cut deep into the wood. Never thought chopping firewood for nana would ever pay off!

Four swings later, I was sweating and shaking, my breathing ragged. I did hear two pings.

"You're weaker than a newly born… I'm going to look around for more. You had better finish before I get back, or you can return to Hans tonight!"

Agga walked away, the leather not-a-bag-of-holding folded and back in her pouch.

"Stupid, lazy, no good… I can't believe I ever helped that boy!" I heard Agga muttering until she disappeared.