“ Five… Four… Three… Two… One… “ Gordo counted down in time with the respawn clock.

The respawn page blinked out of existence as he finished the countdown, only to be replaced with a swirl of grey snow, spinning around him like he was in the center of a tornado. Within seconds it had dissipated, leaving him standing, whole and unharmed, next to a headstone. Looking around, he saw he was standing in the middle of a graveyard, rows of other graves and crypts spread out around him. From where he stood, he could see the wrought iron gates of the entrance, open, and make out buildings beyond them.

Gordo looked down at his chest, to the area where the sword and been thrust through him, and explored the region with one hand. There was no blood, no wound and the only indication he had received a fatal blow there was a small hole in his shirt just large enough for him to poke two fingers through.

As he stood there, he thought himself alone at this dismal location, but slowly became aware that other people, most probably players, occasionally appeared in a swirl of grey, then departing towards the gates to continue whatever they had been up to. He didn’t have anything he could return to, so just stood there, watching the parade of respawned players for a few minutes. He knew that being respawned would return him with full health and vigor, but somehow he suddenly felt weary and took a seat on the raised tomb next to him, leaning back against the headstone, eyes closed. It had been a long day since he had departed the hospice this morning and he almost considered returning there, risking the miasma that surrounded it, but realized that he had no idea where he had respawned, nor the direction where the hospice lay. He sighed, wondering what his next move would be.

Someone next to him spoke as a hand was placed on his shoulder. “Wow, man, you really have a crappy character.” Gordo had not heard anyone approach him, so the touch caught him by surprise, making him jerk away instinctively, eyes flying open, head spinning to seek out the perpetrator of the touch.

Before him stood two players, one a short dwarf, the other a tall elf. The dwarf looked to be just under five foot in height, dressed in what Gordo would call typical dwarvern chain mail and carrying a small war axe in one hand, red hair hanging out from beneath the sides of the conical helm that he had jammed down firmly onto his head, a long beard of the same color, ornately braided, hanging down to his belt.

The elf, tall and willowy as most elves were, was dressed in a forest green leather tunic and pants, his head bare, showing off his long curly blond hair, slightly pointy ears poking out from the sides. The elf was armed with a bow, which could be seen poking out over one of his shoulders, and a sword, belted to his waist. Both of them were observing him as much as he was doing to them.

“Uhh… what ?” Was all that Gordo could find to say, still mentally shocked by the suddenness of their arrival.

The two looked at each other, then back at Gordo. “I said you like crap…” the dwarf looked at something above Gordo, “… Gordo.”

Gordo laughed at this, and examined the information above them. The dwarf was called Garal and the elf’s name was Shan. “Never a true word spoken.” he replied. “Not only do I look like crap, but I also feel like it at the moment.”

“Where the hell is your equipment, Gordo ? You’re just about bare naked there.” asked the elf, Shan.

Gordo looked down at himself. “Well, due to unfortunate circumstances, this is all I have at the present time.”

“Your kidding.” laughed Garal. “If that’s true, then I seriously suggest you delete that character and reroll a new one. This town may be a starting location, but boy is it tough to survive in, and that’s the voice of experience telling you. We have been here for four days now, and still struggle. From the look of you, I can’t see you improving your position any time soon, so stop wasting your time and get rid of that character.”

“I’ll think about it.” replied Gordo, knowing that that option was not possible for him, but also wishing he could do exactly as they were suggesting. “I may give it another day, and decide then.”

“Look, we have to get going, we were in the middle of a quest and need to get back to it before it resets itself, but if you find yourself anywhere near The Broken Sword, pop in and ask for us, we are usually there when not adventuring. You sure you’re going to be alright ?”

Gordo considered asking for a handout to help him get a start, but decided against it. He had tried that once, and look how that had turned out for him. In addition to this, the whole concept of begging in a game defeated his idea of what a game was really about. He would do it himself. “No, I’m fine, fellah’s, but before you go, I have one question, if you don’t mind ?”

“What ?”

“Where the hell am I ? This is my first death and I have no idea at all where I have respawned. I have no map yet, so can not even pull that up to locate myself.”

The elf looked at him with pity. ‘Christ, you really are in a bad way, aren’t you… Well, you are in the royal cemetery of Angelwood. On the other side of those gates, ”he indicated the wrought iron gates that everyone was leaving by, “is the main road that leads to the city center. If you turn left, it will take you to the harbor, and turning right will take you to the city gates. The broken Sword, if you’re interested, is neat the center of the city. Until you bind your respawn location to a site blessed by your chosen deity, you will always respawn here.”

Gordo considered this information, realizing it was all really useless to him at this point, as all areas were equally unknown. “Thanks for that. You better get going, I think I have delayed you two enough.” They gave him a nod then started walking towards the gate. Gordo watched them as they departed.

About half way towards the gate, they paused in animated conversation, but too far away for Gordo to hear what they were saying. Whatever they had been discussing finally halted and the elf turned towards Gordo. “Hey Gordo.”

“Yes ?” he replied

“Sorry, but I can’t leave you here alone, in that state, Here, take this to help you.” He reached into his inventory and pulled something out. “Its not much, but we have no use for it and we wouldn’t get much from the traders if we sold it to them.” He raised his hand and threw the item towards Gordo. It spun through the air, the sunlight glinting off its surface as it twirled, falling to the ground about three foot in front of him. He stood up and walked over to it, and found a dagger sticking in the ground, the point sunk deep into the soil. Reaching down, he pulled it free, wiped the dirt from its blade, then examined it.

The blade information showed that it was a common dagger in poor condition, with only four durability left of the twenty it would have had when new. He looked up from his examination of the blade, prepared to give thanks for this gift, but couldn’t sight the two, as they had already departed. He looked up and thanked god that he didn’t need access to an inventory to possess this weapon, for he could equip it in one of his weapon slots, allowing him to travel without having to hold the thing constantly. Quickly, he opened his profile and placed the weapon in one of the slots.

Now he was armed, even if poorly, he felt a lot better about his future prospects, for with a weapon he could hunt for food and gain experience. He knew that until he gained the right skill to use this blade properly, it would only impart the minimum damage possible, along with a chance to backfire on him, but that was still better than being unarmed. He was quite happy to accept the 50% fail rate of the weapon, as it now gave him the chance to inflict from one to three in damage, not much, but enough for the smaller critters.

He looked at the gates, deciding this was the time to venture forth, for his next urgent matter was gaining food, he could feel his stomach starting to cramp a little from hunger, he hadn’t eaten since this morning. Food and money, he corrected, foreseeing his need to also purchase equipment and lodging.

Departing through the gates, Gordo started walking down the road towards the city center, deciding this was just as good as any. The houses he passed were of far better quality than the ones near the hospice, so he assumed this was a more affluent area. The houses themselves were constructed of fired brick and roofed with either slate of tile. On the streets NPCs bustled about, doing chores and tasks, just like Gordo would have found in any city in the real world. It was fascinating to watch, so realistic, so accurate.

He passed among them, gathering the occasional glance as they noticed his disheveled appearance, something they were not accustomed to in this part of the city. Even though the glances were ones of distaste, and they avoided his presence when he neared them, not one spoke to him. He really didn’t notice this, as his mind was occupied marveling at the scenery around him.

It was with some surprise when he found his pathway blocked by one of the NPCs, and he stumbled to a stop before he tripped over them. It was an older woman, looking somewhere in her fifties and dresses in a rather voluminous yellow dress. The dress were rather horrible to look at, but expensive from the material and design used in it. The lady obviously had not noticed his approach, for she was bent over, looking down into a grate that was set into the surface of the street.

Gordo looked down at the grate, realizing that this indicated that this part of town had a rudimentary sewer system. As his shadow played across the lady, she looked up at him, then took a step backwards instinctively, the beehive hairdo on the top of her head bobbing from side to side. It was then he noticed the fine jewelry she was wearing, which, if real, indicated she was most probably also a visitor to this area, for only the well to do wore that kind of frippery.

Her eyes widened slightly, mouth open as she looked at him., then spoke as her senses returned from the surprise of his arrival, and appearance. “Oh… I’m terrible sorry, you just surprised me.” She then took a step toward the footpath. “Am I in your way ?”

Gordo smiles at the lady and gave a slight bow. He was always respectful to the well to do in games, for it could always lead to some kind of reward or quest. “No, my lady, you are not in my way at all. I was just wondering what you found so interesting about a dirty sewer grate.” He looked down at it again, not seeing anything out of the ordinary about it.

The lady followed his glance and pouted a little in annoyance, then looked at one of her hands. “I have lost one of my rings, and it went down that.. that thing when it fell off.” Her expression changed, as if some revelation had made its presence known to her. “You know what this thing is, don’t you, and where it goes ?” she asked Gordo, pointing at the grate

“Sure do, it leads to the sewers beneath the city. That’s where all these things go. If you dropped a ring down there, then it’s in the sewers. I hope it wasn’t an expensive ring.”

“Yes, my dear man, the ring is expensive, but it is much, much more than that to me. The ring was given to me by the king, personally, and it is something I treasure more than money. I am supposed to see the king tomorrow, and if I do not have the ring, he will notice and be annoyed with me.” Her face fell at this. “I will have to decline the opportunity until I can replace that ring.” Then again, an idea came to her. “You, my man, you could help me. You look like you need some assistance, so let me be the one to provide it. Get my ring back and I will reward you.” She looked at him expectantly.

Task offered

Lady Gisselle needs to attend the royal dinner tomorrow, but she unable to attend until her lost ring has been found, or replaced. Lady Gisselle is offering you the chance to assist her with a task. Enter the sewers and locate the lost ring. Return the ring to Lady Gisselle and you will be rewarded

Reward 1 : 2 Silver Coins

Reward 2 : Improved reputation with the House of Manaheim

Time Requirement : 12 hours

Penalty for failure : None

Do you accept this Task ?

Manaheim ? Gordo wondered, trying to remember anything at all from the locked area of his mind, before making up his mind, after all any positive reputation has to be a benefit, plus the money will definitely come in handy. A thought occured to him at this point, wondering how he would be able to locate this specific gate position when he was in the sewers. He looked down at it, and noticed a small engraving on one end of it. Bending down he managed to make out what it was, 2135 West / 7541 South. “Yes, I can help you, Lady Gisselle. I will find your ring.” There was a light ding, and a message appeared before him.

Task accepted. Time remaining 11 hours, 59 minutes, 46 seconds

Lady Gisseles face lit up with happiness. “Thank you,”she effused profusely, “Oh, thank you. When you find my ring please return it to my home and the reward will be yours.” She handed him a card. “Here, take this and show it to the doorman, he will call me instantly. It also shows where you can find my residence.” Gordo, looked at the card, it listed the address, a street that he had no knowledge about in regard its location in the city.

He tried to hand the card back, stating “I’m sorry, my lady, but as you can see, I do not have anything I can keep your card in, I have no purse.” He winced at this, thinking how silly it was that both men and women in the game carried purses to store their money in, for there was no such thing as a wallet here. Without notes, the wallet was never conceived, and not needed.

She just smiled at him. “Oh, you silly man, no need to worry about that, for you can have mine. I carry no coin, for all know who I am, and send their bills direct to my home. Here, “ she untied her purse from about her ample waist, and handed it to Gordo, “Take it.”

Taking the purse, he tied it about his own waist, the waistband shrinking to suit his character. Instantly, he felt it grow a little heavier as five copper coins dropped into it, the earlier reward from the Admins, as promised. Quickly storing the calling card within it, he bowed to Lady Gisselle. “Thank you, lady Gisselle, I will be as quick as I can.” Turning on one foot, he strode off in search of the entrance to the sewer system.