Ethan made his way down the street. He passed the message board that would give him several breadcrumb quests and help him level. He wanted to finish this bonus quest quickly and just be done with it.

It was mid afternoon and the town was mostly quiet. People were working and Ethan didn’t see anyone he immediately thought was another player. This part of the zone was instanced, only a handful of players at a time were allowed in the same version of the town. The NPCs and shop names rotated through each instance of Grassmere. The layout stayed the same, but new faces greated him every time he walked through the town. It also meant players could do the entire town by themselves so they didn’t have to worry about queueing for quest items or turn ins. Ethan could have brought a friend into the instance with him, but he liked to do this leveling by himself. It gave him the opportunity to explore his class on his own without someone trying to rush him.

A wooden sign hung from the building with a carved dog and horse on it. “Ye Olde Dog and Pony Inn” was scrawled under the image in a fancy script. Planters of daffodils hung from the window. The entire inn had an inviting appearance.

He made his way inside, noticing that there weren’t many people here at this time of day. A couple guys were at a table being served by a rather large man, two women sat knitting by the fire, and the pretty young innkeeper behind the bar was stirring a large pot on a second fire. Overall the atmosphere was friendly and physically very warm due to the pair of fires.

Ethan approached the young woman behind the bar, he’d gotten over his hesitation of just randomly talking to NPCs early in the game. That’s what they were there for, him to interact with.

“Um, excuse me, Mihal at the gate gave me this necklace and asked me to bring it to you. He said you were so beautiful and that he loved you.” Ethan presented the hideous necklace to her. Mihal hadn’t said those words exactly, but Ethan felt the need to embellish just a little due to the atrociousness of the jewelry.

“Oh that’s, very sweet.” The innkeeper blushed as she smiled. Her accent was almost Scottish, but had a warm tone to it. Must be the mustache that attracted her to Mihal. “But that’s actually probably for Jerry.” She pointed at the beast of man in a green tunic serving the few other patrons in the inn. “Jerry, hey Jerry! Mihal sent you another one!”

The huge man serving drinks turned to face Ethan and the woman behind the bar. He was one of the biggest NPCs Ethan had ever seen. He towered over him by a good six inches and his entire lower face was covered by a massive black beard. Jerry’s eyes peaked out behind hair that fell messily in his face. His expression did not look pleased.

Ethan’s mouth fell open in amazement at this bear of a man. He fully expected the innkeeper to roar at him in disapproval.

“How many does that make now, Alera? Ten? Twelve?” Jerry’s voice wasn’t especially deep or angry. In fact he sounded like someone who was exasperated by their love.

The barmaid, Alera, just shrugged, her braided pigtails bouncing with the rise of her shoulders.

“I think it’s fourteen at this point.” She started wiping the counter top. “I thought you asked him to quit sending adventurers with those? The sentiment is sweet, but they kind of smell.”

“I did!” Jerry definitely sounded annoyed by Mihal’s choice of gift. “I told him to just send me flowers! I don't know why he insists on the awful necklaces!”

Ethan was still standing dumbstruck by this entire conversation he’d somehow found himself part of, the necklace in question hanging from his outstretched hand.

Jerry turned back to him.

“I’ll tell you what Adventurer,” Jerry paused, “um, you got a name?”

“Oh… umm…” Ethan hadn’t found himself lost for words like this in a very long time. Somehow the game had surprised him. “Eth-Ethan.” He was still shaking his head at the ridiculousness that was going on in front of him.

“Okay, Ethan, I’ll let you keep that necklace. Hell I’ve got 13 others, if you’ll do me a favor.” Jerry stood with his hands on his hips looking him over appraisingly. “I’ve got some beautiful daffodils growing out front. I want you to take them back to Mihal. Just tell him I said thank you.”

Bonus quest: Labor of Love Completed!

You gain 10 experience

You gain 10 Silver

Bonus quest: Labor of Love II

Jerry has asked you to return to Mihal with a bouquet of flowers.

Reward:

Hideous Tooth Necklace

Unknown

Ethan palmed his forehead as he hit accept. What the hell have I got myself into? This is the most insane quest I’ve ever found.

“Thanks.” Jerry smiled down at him. This behemoth of a man was actually incredibly sweet. Ethan was in awe of the affection that these two NPCs had been programmed to have. “You planning on staying in town for the night? We get a lot of Adventurers through here, but we have a couple rooms available right now. One of them even has a bath in the room.”

Alera coughed back a laugh from behind him as Ethan looked down at his avatar’s body. He’d forgotten he was covered in dried wolf viscera.

“Yeah that would be great actually. You mind if I hit that bath up before I head out?” Ethan became acutely aware of how badly he smelled and was suddenly embarrassed.

“No, I think that’s probably wise. Maybe swing by the armorer or tailor in town too. It’s kind of weird you’re just walking around without a shirt on.” Jerry glanced down Ethan’s mostly naked chest. “Most people in town tend to wear clothes when they’re out in public, but you do you man.”

Behind the bar, Alera couldn’t hold back her laughter as her boss further embarrassed Ethan in the common area of the inn.

“Alera!” Jerry yelled back to the barmaid, “would you kindly show our new guest to the room with a bathtub?”

The attractive barmaid came around the counter and motioned for him to follow her. She was quiet as she led him up the stairs, Ethan noticed she stayed a couple steps ahead of him. He felt his face burn from embarrassment as he realized why.

“Do I really smell that bad?”

Alera stopped quickly and Ethan almost ran into her. She turned around, this time her face red as she scrunched her face at his odor.

“Ummmm. Yes. You smell awful.” She turned back up the stairs and continued to the rooms.

“Wow, don’t sugar coat it for me.” Ethan was starting to get a little angry at being treated like a smelly errand boy for NPCs.

“Hey, you asked.” She called back to him without turning around.

This may be one of the most sarcastic NPCs I’ve ever met. Ethan was lost in thought and didn’t notice Alera had stopped abruptly and turned around, this time he did bump into her.

To her credit, she only glared at him like he was a wet dog that had run into her in the street as she pushed him away, wiping off her brown apron to make sure none of the crud that covered him had gotten onto her. She looked directly at him before glancing at the door she stopped next to.

“This is you. The bath is in the room off the bedroom.” Ethan noticed she stressed the word bath, he was starting to get embarrassed by the constant digs at his hygiene.

“Uh, thanks. What do I owe for the room?” The cost of the night hadn’t come up. Usually it was just a few copper, but with the private bath he expected the cost was higher.

“I’ll let you take that up with Jerry.” Alera pushed the door open for him. “When you’re clean.”