Noah walked deeper into the ship, looking around in amazement. People bustling around carrying goods in and out of the ship. It was like a small city had taken to the air and landed here.

“Halt! You. Stranger. Who are you?” A guard deeper in the ship called out.

“Oh hey, I’m Noah, Dakon, the leader of the village we are in told me to come here to get a trip to the capital?” He replied with a thumb pointing over his shoulder at the village still slightly visible through the ship entrance.

“Well if Dakon okays you then we shouldn’t have any problems. You do need to go to processing first though.”

“Processing? Ok, lead the way.”

With that, the guard started walking through the corridors taking a dizzying array of turns.

“I wouldn’t advise you run off, it is a bit of a maze, once we get you processed, you’ll have a map uploaded to your ACAS, it should help out a bit.”

“You know about ACAS?” Noah asked surprised.

“Yeah, Of course. Everyone integrated into the system has one, your ACAS should have mentioned that it would be noticeable only to you. Are you Newly integrated or something?”

“Yeah, yeah I am. I was integrated about a month, month and half a go? I was sleeping and all of a sudden I was in the middle of the jungle.”

“Damn that’s shitty, you must have had some decent luck to survive and make it to the village.” The guard replied conversationally.

“Ah here we are.”

The pair walked up to a low desk manned by another ship member. Noah recoiled in shock upon seeing the receptionist. Everyone that he had seen since being integrated looked much like the villagers, your basic humanoids with two arms and legs, and slightly iridescent scaly skin. That included the ship members that he watched. The receptionist however reminded of a creature he last saw in the Bestiary of a D&D group. It took him a moment, but then he remembered the name that came with the creature.

“D-D-Drider!” Noah exclaimed in shock, pointing at the receptionist.

The receptionist fortunately took his shock in stride, which may have been easier for her. It could have been because of her eight legs or the fact she was used to people not seeing members of her species before.

“Close, but no, my species is called Drideronin, you may call me Samantha. Have you seen one of us before?”

While Noah recovered from his shock, the guard replied in his stead.

“I don’t think he has Samantha, apparently he was only integrated about a month ago. I don’t know why he would have seen one of you before.”

“Talking of this guy, he needs to get processed, he wants to travel with us to the capital.”

“Ok, that’s easy enough, ill take care of him from here. Thanks, Dorcan.”

“No worries Sammie, Good luck with him. Goodbye Noah, and Good luck.”

The guard started walking away and Noah blinked out of his shock into time to stutter and goodbye and wave a hand.

“Ok dear, lets get you squared away. I’ll need your name, your Path, your destination and a list of possession you have with you at the minute.

If you don’t have a list, or don’t know what something you have is, then I can have a look for you. If I can’t identify the items, I can help you organise a specialist to help you find out what the items are.” She glanced at a screen that had just dinged with an update.

“Apparently you made a good impression with the village you were staying with; your boarding and processing fee has been paid. They have also left some funds in the system to be transferred to your ACAS to help you with anything else you might need.”

Noah reeled slightly from all the information that was being thrown at him.

“Uh yeah can we do that please. He said handing his bag of Holding over to the woman.

“Can you make the list please, there are a couple of items in there that I found that I couldn’t identify hopefully you or a specialist can.”

“That’s no problem dearie, hold on a minute and ill have that list for you.”

The woman dived deep into the bag of holding, pulling out item after item, murmuring away to herself as she did so. After what seemed like an age, she was done and packed everything neatly back into the bag of holding.

“There we are dear, I’ve logged your items onto the system, if you lose any of it, we will now know who it belongs to. I have also sent a list of the items I found to your ACAS should you wish to view the list at a later date. All I need now is your name, your Path and your destination.”

She stopped there, looking expectantly at Noah.

“Well my name is Noah Clark, my destination is the capital, but I have no idea what you mean by Path? I’ve heard that said every now and then, but I still don’t know what it is.”

Samantha nodded slightly as she transcribed Noah’s details into the terminal. That done, she looked up and started to explain.

“A Path is something that everyone who wishes to get to the higher levels in the system must walk. A Path leads to great abilities and ability to survive. As you walk a Path, you gain more power and strength. There are plenty of manuals in the stores that tell you the details of specific Paths. However, you should be wary of walking these Paths, as they tend to be weaker. The science of Paths has been studied, and it has been found that those that find their own Path and walk it with no one leading the way will uncover greater secrets of the system and universe. If you have not yet found your Path yet, then that is perfectly ok. I would say however, that if you plan to be surviving in this part of the galaxy, a path will suit you well.”

“On a personal level, I’m really jealous! That Weapon is gorgeous, where did you find it!” Sammie squealed in excitement.

“Thanks for the information Samantha. As for the weapon, I’m sorry I can’t divulge that yet, I need to get stronger before I can share. When I do though, ill let you know first ok?”

“OK, that makes sense.” Sammie replied glumly. “Hey! You won’t be able to do that if you can’t get a hold of me. Here, I’ve just sent my contact details to your ACAS.”

“Sounds good, I’m sorry to cut this short, but do I have anywhere to stay? I want to put my stuff down and explore for a bit?” Noah replied.

“Ah yes, I’ve sent the directions to your ACAS, it should be able to take you there. Enjoy your stay aboard the Karnack”

With that Noah waved his goodbyes and walked out of the doors. stopping in the hallway, the doors closed behind him, Noah blew out his breath.

“Ok, OK, ACAS, do you have those directions?”

“Of course, this way.”

Noah quickly walked through the ship, following the direction given to him by ACAS, until he reached a plain steel door. The door had what looked like a hand scanner next to it, and shrugging, Noah put his hand on it.

SCANNING….

SCAN COMPLETE. WELCOME HOME NOAH CLARK.

Text appeared on the screen above the scanner and the door swished open. Walking inside, Noah dropped his bag on the floor.

“Right, I guess I should have a look and see what Samantha sent to you. First things first.”

“Inventory!”

Inventory

Machete

Assorted Spare Clothes

Flick Knife

Fire Striker

Camping tent

Empty canteen x 2

Glavenius

Quilaxon Hide x 20

Unidentified relic x 3

“Well I take it she couldn’t identify the relics then, gonna have to find a specialist. Let’s see what’s in your Inventory ACAS.”

“Inventory ACAS”

ACAS Inventory

Jungle Map

Ruins Map

Credits x 200

Karnack Ship map

“Notification. Contact request has been sent. The name of the contact is titled Sammie the “Drider”. Do you wish to accept?”

“Yeah why not, it can’t hurt.”

With that, Noah got up and walked to the door.

“Time to explore.”