"Horgoth," the plump, smiling merchant said, extending his meaty ring covered hand. "Jack," Jack replied. Jack couldn't help but smile back as he took the man's hand. He tried but couldn't find any way to view the man's stats. Jack would have put money on the trader being high in Charisma because he just found the man likable. The portly trader was pleasant and immediately begun his craft. " Well, Mr. Jack, you have me at a disadvantage as it appears I am in your debt..." Jack laughed, interrupting the man "Nooo," he said, holding his hands palms out in front to himself appeasingly "....just Jack." "Well, Jack, I owe you, so, how about this. I am headed toward Pendershold two days way. If you agree to serve as an extra guard, I will see that you are out of those rags you are wearing and into a quality set of arms and armor." With that, a quest prompt came up, offering a quest. Ride Shotgun Will you provide protection to Horgoth the trader until he reaches Pendershold? Reward: 100xp Set of quality weapons and armor Yes Or No Jack selected yes, excitedly. The other side of the charisma coin as Horgoth was the guard who the trader introduced as Borstan. The scared and grizzled man only grunted in acknowledgment of the introduction while he bandaged the wound to his thigh. Jack was astonished at the man's overall ugliness. Borstan's nose had been broken at some point and healed out of alignment, turning to his left slightly after a large lump at the bridge. Borstan's teeth, or more aptly said the remnants of his teeth, were a combination of jagged, yellow, and missing. This was rounded out by the thickest eyebrow Jack had ever seen. Yes, one, not like two with some random hairs, but one single thick ass eyebrow spread across the man's forehead like Bert, or is it Ernie, from Sesame Street. Jack spent the next two uneventful days working on his skills. He killed small game raising his Archery skill to level three using the looted bow he had acquired from Stench. He gained the skills skinning and cooking along with raising them both a level the first night. Borstan showed Jack a great way to prepare the abundance of small game. Jack filled the internal cavity after the animal was gutted with common herbs found beside the road. Then skewered the beast carefully using the stick to close up the cavity. Finally, roasting it over the fire dripping some ale on it periodically to keep it from drying out. More importantly, Jack found out more about the world in general from his new acquaintances. It seemed that this world used the metric system, same cardinal directions, and many other concepts from Earth that would make interactions more natural. Jack even got to talk to Borstan a little more the first night as they feasted on an abundance of rabbits and squirrels. Jack paid close attention as the hard warrior explained the constellations with an outstretched finger and gained the Star Navigation skill. When they got closer to Pendershold the road, the three men were on merged with a wider paved road that had people moving in both directions. There was a signpost on the far side of the road Pendershold 12 km to the left and Edersford 20 km to the right. Jack observed the other travelers as he passed them in amazement. Jack thought the game was impossibly perfect as he took in all the travelers and tried to catch pieces of the conversations before deciding it was useless. Soon Jack saw his first patrol. The group consisted of a mounted warrior in full plate, two other warriors in mail, an archer, and a caster. Jack guessed that due to the man's staff inscribed with symbols and overall bearing. The five-man group certainly looked capable enough. Jack thought, even if looks can be deceiving. Jack checked his map and found it updating like he would expect, but to his surprise, the side roads were labeled with where they went as well. Jack hadn't been focused on walking while he checked the map and was caught unaware when at the apex of a gentle rise. To his amazement, the forest cleared, and a sprawling city was spread out before him in the distance. A hundred yards from the edge of the forest, sheep and other livestock grazed, and farms of all sort were seen about. The castle was built on a small knoll and stood imposing against the sky with a banner adorned central spire. A yellow banner with a black animal head on it that Jack couldn't make out blew gently in the breeze. The castle was situated in a river valley filled with farms, steadings, and animals. The base of the castle was surrounded by a city. There as no definitive end to the city. Instead, it became less and less dense until dwindling down to the sheep Jack was walking past. Jack was sure how far away the castle was, miles he was sure but couldn't really guess the number. Pendershold was a fine frenzy of activity. Jack found it hard to concentrate on anything as the three men approached the madness. Every direction was a sight that Jack wanted to watch. Still, nothing managed to keep his attention for long before some other sound or sight distracted him. There was a group of five dwarves walking in the opposite direction of Jack. One of the dwarves was holding his arms wide apart, and he must have made a joke of some sort because the others irrupted in laughter at whatever had been said. Jack was shocked when he walked past a man with a cart containing a caged animal that looked like a gorilla with rhinoceros skin and a spiked shell on its back. Oddly, considering how vicious-looking it was, the animal just lay in the cage docile seemingly more at ease than Jack. All of those things were secondary to the wealth of smells that took him from wanting to vomit to mouth-watering deliciousness and back more times than he could count. Jack was happy to be with Horgoth and Borstan, who appeared to know the city well and were unaffected by its magic. The two pushed their way through the crowd expertly, managing a greeting to this man or that without ever slowing pace. They eventually arrived at a tavern called Maven's. Horgoth talked with a man who was obviously boarding the donkey, presumedly about the cart, while Jack and Borstan went inside. The interior was dim compared to the sunshine outside, and it took Jack a few moments to adjust. There were two waitresses busily working the tables weaving expertly among the patrons. A beefy man behind the counter at the opposite side of the building as the entrance poured drinks and served the people sitting at the bar. Jack and Borstan sat at a table. Borstan yelled a greeting to the man standing at the counter who responded by waving a hand. The waitress was a plain-looking young woman with dirt smeared on her forehead. Borstan ordered three ales, cheese, and bread. Horgoth had seen to the cart and donkey and made it to the table mear moments before the food and drink arrived. Jack was shocked at the ale. It was far from an earth equivalent. There was no foam or carbonation, and it was a good deal stronger even though the overall taste was similar. Jack had once purchased a breadmaker on Earth and made all kinds of loaves of bread for about six months before the novelty had worn off, and he just stuck to plain white bread. Due to his time using the breadmaker, Jack knew that this was a yeastless bread. The texture of yeatless bread was drier and more crumbly. Jack briefly wondered if there was even yeast in his world. Jack liked the cheddar like cheese that was drier than most earth cheeses and very sharp. As the effects of the ale begun to take hold, Jack felt himself relax for the first time since starting the game. It wasn't until the knot of tense muscles in his neck, and upper back began to loosen that Jack realized how tightly wound he had been. Jack was just starting to enjoy the music coming from the table next to him when recognition hit. Jack looked over at the man sitting behind him, playing a guitar-like instrument with intense focus. Jack knew that he knew the name for the instrument but was drawing a blank, and it irked him. The man playing the music had to be a player because that was a slightly off version of something Jack knew he had heard before. Jack excused himself from the table with Horgoth and Borstan then settled into a chair at the table of the man playing the music. The man was focused, and Jack sitting down made him jump a little and stop playing. "I know that song," Jack said. The man lit up and smiling broadly said, "Holy shit!" "Jack," Jack said, extending a hand. "Tom A.K.A. GutairHero" the man replied with a childish giggle extending his hand in excitement. Over the next few hours and plenty of drinks, the men bonded. The shared relief that this wasn't solo insanity mixed with the drinks provided all the help they needed to become fast friends. Tom, who introduced himself as Guitar to the NPCs of the tavern, was soon playing American classics slightly off-key due to it being played on a lute. That's right, Jack remembered the name of the instrument. It was a fucking LUTE. In Jack's opinion, what came next, was a drunken, lute playing, karaoke singing great fuckin time. Along the way, Jack got more information out of Tom and was happy to find out that he was also on the ship and headed to teach music at a fancy private school on the edge. At some point, Hargoth and Borstan's table was slid against the one Tom, and Jack occupied, making a big table that more than a few random NPCs sat at for a while. Tom wasn't the only one playing music. More than once, the tavern erupted in a local favorite played by Jasper, a local bard. Jasper led the patrons with his flute and pleasant voice. The party went on well into the night. It was highlighted by Tom's lute version of The Devil Went Down To Georgia, where the man in the song's name was Tommy, and he played the lute. It wasn't a significant change, and before long, Jack was lending his bassy voice to the lyrics, and they had the place rocking. It was the closest to being a rock star Jack had ever been, and he couldn't have had more fun. It was well received by the NPC's who thought of it as a bardic tale about some grand champion.