By the time his health bar had recovered to thirty points, Gordo felt that he had spent enough time sitting there, doing nothing, and rose to his feet. He felt confident enough to believe nothing more would disturb him and allow his health and fatigue to keep on improving even as he continued on. The tunnel roof above him was low enough that he couldn’t stand fully upright, so he walked over to the shining ring in a hunched position and collected it from where it lay. It was a nice bauble, he saw, and probably worth a fair bit of money, but didn’t have any benefits attached to it, so he placed it on his little finger, the only one it would fit on.

Next Gordo turned to the rats nest with some distaste, thinking he would have to pull the thing apart to see if it contained anything of value, but the minute he touched it, the whole thing fell apart, all the valueless items disappearing. This left a small pile of mixed items where it originally was, making his search a little easier. The first thing he spied was an object he was in desperate need of, a rather dirty small cloth bag. He picked the item up and equipped it, gaining ten inventory slots as he did so. Even though it was dirty and worn looking, he knew that this item was indestructible, an item without any durability attached to it. He took a quick peek into the bag page, and was not surprised to see it was empty. Sighing, he closed it. Well, he thought, it was worth a try, for sometimes these things could be found with useful stuff already in them.

Nudging the rest of the items about with his foot, he saw they were a variety of ripped and damaged clothing articles, all with minor monetary value, not worth filling his inventory up with, for each occupied one slot of inventory space, and it would be difficult to find a shop owner who would take them off his hands. This choice to leave them behind was difficult, for in his present condition every copper counted, but then he changed his mind, for if something more valuable came to light, he could always just drop them. Picking them up, he shoved them into his bag.

Once he had removed all the cloth items from the floor and into his bag, he could see a small sprinkle of coins on the stones, obviously collected by the rats for the nest because of their shiny appearance. Picking them up gained him another twelve copper coins, leaving him with a total of seventeen copper coins, equal to the buying power in the game of one dollar and seventy cents. He had no idea what this would purchase him, but he knew it wouldn’t be much, that was for sure.

Now he possessed a bag, he took off the ring and dropped it into one of the remaining slots, no use risking it getting lost again, he thought, as the ring disappeared. He took a quick look about to see if there was anything that he had missed, or forgotten, then made his way down the slope.

The return trip to the exit was uneventful, for which he was thankful, and by the time he was climbing up the ladder his health and fatigue were just about fully restored. The alley was just as he had left it, dim and empty, so he closed the grate, dropping it into place with a resounding clang, and letting the latch click back into place. His trip through the sewers had left their mark on him, the pants he wore were mired with filth right up to his thighs, dripping sewer water onto the alleys cobblestones.

In a vain attempt to clean some of the muck off his clothes, he brushed his hands over his pants but only managed to smear the mess even further. Giving up before the situation became even worse, he decided to wait for the stuff to dry and hopefully it would be easier to remove. He looked along the alley to the road at its mouth, bathed in afternoon sunlight. Grinning to himself, pleased at how quick this task had gone so far, he stepped forward and out of the alley.

The road was well occupied by the locals of this area and his appearance on the road in such a disheveled state attracted much attention, none of it welcome. Those near him stopped in their tracks and stared, shocked at the appearance of such a disreputable looking person into their small part of the world. As Gordo Watched, he could see them slowly ease themselves further away for where he stood.

Uneasy with the scrutiny that he was attracting, he remembered a small fountain he had passed on his way to the alley and decided to make his way back to it to clean himself up a little. He jogged all the way there, the trip taking almost no time at all and jumped into the water.

After he had rubbed at the worst parts of the filth coating him, ducking under the water to wash away whatever he had managed to loosen, he emerged, while not sparkling, mostly clean. His clothes would dry as he walked in the late sun, and the smell that had impregnated itself onto him was mostly gone. Stepping out of the fountain, he allowed the water to drip off him as he pondered his next move, the visit to Lady Gisselles to return the ring and gain his reward.

A small street urchin provided him with the directions to her residence, though it cost him one of the few copper coins he possessed. From the directions received, it wasn’t that far away, about a twenty minute walk into the nobles sector of the city, and briefly he wondered how a street urchin knew so much about the noble sector. Probably a thief, he decided in the end, they always seemed to know their way around the rich parts of any settlement.

Following the directions, he quickly made his way through the city streets, occasionally stepping out of the way of carriages and carts that travelled along them, stopping once to purchase from a food vendor something that looked like meat, skewered on a stick and roasted over a brazier that was placed on the carts flat surface. It cost him another of his copper coins, but tasted wonderful, and removed the hunger icon that had been flashing urgently in a corner of his vision. The meat resembled chicken in texture, but the taste reminded him of the best steak he had ever eaten, moist and slightly spiced. He was tempted for a moment to go back and buy a second but decided against it, once the task was complete he could always return for another.

He suddenly stopped, and slapped a palm against his forehead, realizing what an idiot he was. Lady Gisselle had already provided him with directions to her residence, and he had wasted a copper coin on the urchin to gain exactly the same information. How could he have forgotten. With a shake of his head, he continued on, determined next time to think before he parted with any of his money.

He could see that Lady Gisselles residence, once he had arrived, was the most opulent residence in this street, if not area, indicating she must be a person of some importance, one who seemed to have easy access to the ruler of the city, something worth remembering. The mansion was a three story residence, made from reddish gold granite, marble steps leading up to its entrance, which were protected from the elements by a portico held up with a series of carved columns.

At the top of the steps, just in front of the wooden door, stood a guard dressed in blue leather armor, a polished steel breastplate strapped around his chest and a matching helm on his head, with a long green feather affixed to it. The guard stood at loose attention, watching him closely as he started to climb the steps. In one quick movement, the guard spun the spear he was holding across his chest, blocking Gordo from advancing any further, then pushed forward until Gordo was forced to retreat back to a lower step.

“Halt.” The guard demanded, looking at him down his nose, a look of distaste on his features. “State your purpose for being here, or depart before I have you arrested.”

“I am here to see Lady Gisselle.”

The guard laughed at this, and it was not a pleasant laugh. “You.” He exclaimed incredulous. “Lady Gisselle wants to see you ?” The guard gave another thrust with the shaft of the spear, knocking Gordo down a further step. “I don’t think so, she does not consort with your type of… person. Now go, before I lay this spear shaft alongside your head.” The guards voice had acquired a nasty inflection by this time, and Gordo was starting to feel afraid for his wellbeing. He took a quick look at this NPCs information and found the guard to be at level one hundred. His fear deepened.

“Hold one a minute,” exclaimed Gordo urgently, “yes, she did ask me. She lost something and asked me it return it to her.” He lifted the ring he had found to where the guard could see it, to illustrate this statement

The guard looked at the ring and held out one hand. “Yes, that is Lady Gisselles.” He said in recognition, and held out one had, palm upright. “Give it here, now.” The guard was now speaking angrily at Gordo.

Pulling the ring back out of reach, just in case the guard tried to grab it, Gordo reached into the pouch at his waist and retrieved the card that he had been give. He held this out towards the guard instead. “I was told to give this to the doorman, is that you ?” The guard snatched the small piece of cardboard from his fingers and raised it to his face, reading it.

Reaching back, the guard rapped on the door, then returned his attention back onto Gordo, obviously waiting for some response. Behind his back the door opened, letting forth the sound of many people talking. A liveried servant dressed in yellow stepped out, looking back and forth between Gordo and the guard.

“Yes, Sir Lian ?” he asked the guard, looking askance at Gordo.

The guard, not taking his eyes of Gordo, held out the card towards the servant. “Take this to Lady Gisselle and inform her that there is one of the lower classes here, and they have one of her rings in their possession. Tell her it would be my pleasure to confiscate the ring and beat a lesson into the lout.” The servant took the card and disappeared back through the doorway.

The guard, Sir Lian, and Gordo stood there, a couple of steps apart, looking at each other. The silence made Gordo apprehensive, so he decided he might try to use this time to gain a little information. “So, Sir Lian,” he started nervously, “what’s happening inside ?” he asked the guard.

“None of your business, vermin.” Snapped back the reply, coldly. “Don’t stick your nose in the business of your betters or someone may cut it off.” He rubbed the dagger at his side suggestively, so Gordo wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

The servant had left the door open when he had departed, so Gordo was able to catch snatches of conversations from within, mostly unintelligible, but a few came through in little clear cryptic remarks.

….and when is Dark Lord Voltanus due to arrive?......

… the Darkland spies are everywhere, the king is worried …

… you want a Settlement Stone ? Oh, my gardener claims there is one in the Green Forest Caverns…

… no sooner did the last infection get cleaned up, that Silverbrook spawned a new one…

… Moongates are a myth, my dear fellow, a myth. ….

… got to do something about the tower, no one has been able to gain access to it ….

His studious listening was cut off with the reappearance of the servant, who, upon noticing Gordo concentrating on the voices that were emerging from it, close the door firmly. “Sir,” he started, a touch of sarcasm in his voice, “Lady Gisselle apologies, but she is unable to attend you at this time, but has instructed me to accept the ring from you in return for a payment of two silver coins.” He held up the nominated amount between his fingers, his other hand held out for the ring.

Shrugging, Gordo placed the ring in the servants palm, while taking the coins with his other hand. The exchange made, the servant retreated back into the mansion, again closing the door behind him.

Task Complete

You have returned the ring to Lady Gisselle and she can now attend the royal dinner. You have received 2 Silver Coins as your Reward. You have gained 100 reputation with the house of Manaheim as your reward. You have received a hidden reward. You have received experience.

Congratulations, you have gained a level, You are now Level Two

Level two already, thought Gordo gleefully, I’m on my way back, and rubbed his hands together while opening the game ladder to see his improvement.

Gordo. Level 2. Current standing : 7,985,354

He had actually fallen in the rankings, rather than risen, also noting the number of players signed up had dramatically increased, now at nearly ten million.

His introspective thought were interrupted by a rough nudge to his chest. “Get a move on, you. Clear the steps.” He looked up to see Sir Lian preparing to give him a harder poke with the butt of the spear so Gordo quickly stepped downwards, leaving the mansions entrance. On his way down a carriage pulled up at the bottom, and a darkly cloaked individual alighted. As Gordo passed the person swathed in the cloak, he couldn’t make out anything at all in regard to nature if the individual, for the cloak covered him ?… her ? from head to toe, the cowl casting darkness across the features. Whomever it was that this cloak obscured paused as he passed, as in allowing passageway, but Gordo had a feeling it was in observation of him and a shiver ran down his spine. There was also a subtle aroma of death and decay about this person, and Gordo walked as quickly as he could away, trying not to break into a fast run.

He didn’t look back, but could feel the yes on his back, following him.