As the sun set, my eyes fluttered open. There was no alarm blaring in my head, my character simply awoke around the time I wanted her to do so. What happened to me while I was asleep this time? I hadn’t logged out to Sanctuary, simply closed my eyes and time had moved forward.

I guess I had ‘really’ fallen asleep but technically I was always dreaming while playing the game.

Crawling out of the shack, I confronted a neighborhood that wasn't interested in settling down just yet. People hung around their porches, chatting and drinking with one another. A drink would be nice to warm me up but tonight wasn't the night for it.

The meeting place was in an even older part of town than what I'd seen. Someone had carved away at the stones of the road and filled the furrow with salt. I tried to recall what salt was good for–protecting or warding against ghosts, I thought. Though Penumbra could put their own spin on it. It might be to protect against the sort of plagues that ran rampant in densely packed and unsanitary quarters. I crossed it, hand resting on the pommel of my blade as I scanned the surrounding area. Lots of dark corners for things to leap up at me from.

The highest building in sight was a bell tower. A chunk of its side had been blown off and it listed to the right. Scaffolding covered in moss and bird shit reached almost to the top. I leapt up to the lowest wooden beam and hung there. It was soft and damp to the touch, not what you want in wood you're going to climb, and the gentle force of my swaying back and forth caused the scaffolding's joints to creak. It didn't, however, snap or even bend under my weight and I slowly pulled myself up until I stood on the beam, my front pressed against the cold stone. My heart pounded against my chest and my palms grew sweaty. Instead of forcing myself forward, I took calm, steadying breaths and reminded myself that this was a game.

I had died once already and it hadn't been that bad. The chunk of my brain that told me being this high up was dangerous was hearing none of that but as a minute passed and I didn't plunge to the ground, my heart rate settled. I took a deep breath and shuffled to the side. My face was a breath away from the outer wall and I got a fine view of the moldering, water damaged stone some artist had no doubt poured blood, sweat, and tears into creating a texture for. At the corner, I grabbed a hold of stone outcropping. The worn face of a medusa passed by me as I pulled myself up to the next level. The muscles of my upper arm and back twinged in sharp pain as I snagged the next wooden beam, taking a deep breath, I swung my body to the right, wrapped my legs around the beam and twisted around until I was atop it.

From there, I made my way around the corner to the next highly convenient stone outcropping.

It was a slow, laborious process as I made my way up and up. Pigeons flew off, calling out in alarm as I inched by their nests, and the air chilled as the last of the sun's light vanished from the horizon. The scaffolding had five tiers. After that, it was rough stone covered with dozens of raised bricks. I stared up at the copula of the bell tower. From my spot on the top of the scaffolding, I could see the inside the wide mouth of the iron bell. Amazing how the rusted yoke holding it hadn't given out yet.

Though I knew it was a bad idea, I glanced down at the street far below. My knees went soft as I saw how far up I was and I dug my fingers into the wall to try to keep upright. My body shivered, quite outside my control, but I felt a sudden rush of pleasure as my heart picked up in tempo. A giggle escaped my lips, the heady mixture of fear and excitement turned to laughter.

I forced myself to continue my climb, fingers and toes digging into cracks, gripping any outcropping I found. Time seemed to stretch those last ten meters as the wind tugged at my jacket and hair. My body ached, the muscles begging for release, but I ignored them and pushed on—onward and upwards.

It felt like it took forever but suddenly I was there at the top of the tower. It was a tiled dome. Shingles cracked and broke off as I hauled myself on top, walked to the dead center, and sat down. Sweat covered me and soaked into the cloth of my Novice Uniform. I felt as though I'd run a marathon and then gone nine rounds in a boxing ring. Hopefully, I hadn't spent myself too much: I hadn't even begun whatever quest they'd give me at the thieves' guild. When I had enough gold, however, I resolved to pick up those advance volumes of Athletics. I was sure it was worth it.

I took a deep breath and scanned the surrounding area. The burn damage was extensive but I could now also see where something had plowed or cut through the entire district. There was a line of buildings that had simply been knocked down or trampled and I wondered what had caused that.

My map had updated and now I had a detailed route to my destination displayed with breadcrumbs. I was finished here. Looking towards the street, I realized I was wrong. I still had to climb back down the way I'd came.

Jump! Jump!

Quest: Ring the bell atop the old tower and leap to safety.

Rewards and Consequences: ???

I read the sudden quest message with amusement. This game was starting to remind me of that friend parents always warned you about. 'If System told you to jump off a bridge, would you follow?'

If the system was suggesting I jump, there must be someplace safe to jump to. At least, I hoped so. AIs could be intelligent but they weren't malicious; it was unlikely that the game was going to encourage me to plunge to my death.

Not far from the tower was an abandoned cart filled with something. It looked like hay though it was hard to tell in the dark from so far away. If I took a running leap I might, just might, be able to reach it. In the real world, it wouldn't matter. I was too far up for it to properly break my fall. I nibbled at my lip, curious as to what might happen. Satisfying that curiosity was enticement enough. Besides, death or not, I'd at least not have to crawl back down the outside of the building.

The question remained as to why ringing the bell first was important.

"In for a penny, in for a pound," I murmured and I clamored to the ledge. The bell was wide enough that I could tap my foot against it without issue, but heavy enough that it needed a solid push. Digging my fingers into the edge of the roof, I braced both feet against the bell's rounded side and then straightened them. The bell only moved an inch away before swinging back. I let it do so and then kicked out again. The clapper stirred within as the bell swung on its yoke. I did this three more times, each time the bell swung farther until the baring seemed to loosen and I pushed it as far as it could go.

I scrambled up then, lest the force of the return swing knock me down. A deafening clang rang out and the entire tower shook. Stone crumbled and cracked below me. It was now or never.

As another clang reverberated through the air, I sprinted forward and leapt from the roof.

For one long, glorious moment, I tumbled through the air. The wind whistled in my ears and the tail of my jacket slapped and fluttered behind me. The cart rushed towards me and I readied myself. Even if I were dashed to bloody elf pudding in a few seconds, it would be worth it for this moment of freedom.

I landed in a soft pile of cloth that reeked of mildew. It knocked the air from my lungs and I laid there in a daze. As I watched, the bell gave one last, fearsome groan before the yoke snapped and it fell, smashing through the interior of the tower, the iron clanging in pain all the way down. The ringing persisted in my ears after the bell came to rest at the tower’s bottom. There was a rumble of stone and my instincts told me this would be a good time to move.

With a grunt, I heaved myself over the cart's edge and back on my feet before stepping back from the bell tower.

There was something magnificent in its death. The sides crumpled inwards and the entire top half fell in on itself in a roar. I raised my arm to cover my face from the blast of stone and dirt that washed outwards. When it was finished, I was treated to a giant pile of rubble and little else.

"Fun times, fun times," I said. I shook my head trying to get rid of the persistent ringing tried to focus on the updated quest message as it coalesced into a floating card. I plucked it from the air and read.

Feather Fall, Passive (1/3)

Prereq: None

While this ability is equipped, the character takes only half damage from a fall.

See mom? When the voice inside your head urges you to jump off a building, you should totally follow its advice.

I tossed the card into my inventory. I had a clear path to my destination and wanted to see what else the night would throw my way. As I jogged the wet streets, my hearing returned to normal. There was a murmur in the air I didn't remember from before. My stunt at the bell tower must have woken a few of the poor souls forced to live in this section of the city. I could hear them shuffling around the dark buildings and grumbling with discontent.

Turning a corner, I spotted a miserable soul out in the cold. His thin rags hung off skin and bones as he shuffled down the street. My step caught short as he jerked forward, his gait far too unnatural. I turned on my [Stealth] ability and moved out of his way. There was no light in this part of town and the street too narrow for me to hide. Instead, I held my breath and hugged the wall as he neared. The closer he got, the clearer it was that something was very, very wrong here, until the breeze shifted and I caught the scent of rotting flesh.

I didn't move, didn't breathe, as the corpse passed me. I could have reached out and brushed my finger tips against his arm if I wished. The evening's previous boldness had been used up, though, and I let it shamble by me and down the road. Once it was far enough away, I made a speedy retreat. I met another corpse along the road, and then a third. By the time I reached my destination, I had to dip into the ruins of buildings to avoid small groups of them.

That would explaining the line of salt. Waking a district full of undead was not the best thing I'd done, but I got a free ability from it and it didn't look like anyone was being hurt. At least, I didn't hear any screams of living souls mixed in with the zombie moans.

The breadcrumbs led me to short stone bridge above a dried canal. I worried for a moment that I'd have to hop in the sewers. Sticking a thief guild in the sewer was wildly popular for some reason, as though developers didn't understand how badly dank walls and the scent of human waste clashed with an organization that ought to, by all accounts, be rich.

I dropped into the canal and found a stone doorway carved under the bridge. It didn't appear to have any locks or handles. On its face was, of all the strange things, a painting of a flower and cricket. I knocked firmly against the door and waited. Something stirred on the other side.

"Password?" a low voice whispered.

My mind went blank for a few seconds as I tried to remember any password I'd been given. The note Mon had given me was in the quest item section of my inventory and I recalled there'd been a word written on it.

"Vambraces," I replied after a quick reread.

The stone sighed as though tired and scraped open. I saw no one within, only a hall leading into darkness.

If luck was on my side, none of the corpses I'd awakened would be wandering around down there. Squaring my shoulders, I stepped through the archway... and the trap door under my feet opened.