Brian awoke the next morning. Or, he assumed it was morning. With no clock to indicate the time, he had absolutely zero idea what part of the day he was in. Living in such a low tech world was going to take a lot of getting used to. Brian's sleep addled mind suddenly had more respect for the Amish than it ever did.

While it would've been tempting to stay in bed a little longer, especially with the day he'd had previously, Brian found himself completely incapable of doing so. Without blinds to block out the sun, it was simply too bright in the room. Even if he closed his eyes, all he saw was red behind his lids. So, despite the exhaustion which gripped his bones—which wasn't much different from any other day—Brain sat up in bed.

He'd ended up taking the top bunk above Hector. The old man knew he couldn't get up and down the ladder, especially not in the morning. Calvin wasn't confident the constructions could hold his weight. So, Brian was forced into a top bunk, even though he kind of hated ladders.

A rub of his eyes, and he began his descent to the floor. To unburden himself from the covers meant the felt the unwelcome breeze from the two holes in his pants. He reached the bottom and saw Calvin on the right bottom bunk, messing with his kanabo, still clad in the leathers he most likely slept in. They must've been woefully uncomfortable. They really needed some new clothes. Beyond the damage, it felt weird to walk around a fantasy world in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Good morning, Calvin," Brian said.

"Mornin' ...or, whatever time it is," Calvin said without looking up.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one completely lost about that."

"There are clocks in this world, right? We should get one." Calvin said. Brian hummed agreement. If he remembered correctly, Percy made a clock tower in Whitestone.

"Where's Hector?" Brian changed the subject after realizing the bed beneath his was empty.

"Don't know. His bed was empty when I woke up," Calvin said.

"Well, whatever. I'm sure he's fine."

Brian went over to the foot of the bed to mess around with his pack, not because he actually wanted to get anything out of it, but because he had no idea what to do with his time. He was vaguely aware of Calvin glancing at him.

"Dude, your face." Calvin said.

"What, is it bleeding again?" Brian placed a ginger touch on his wounded cheek, but instead of the series of deep cuts, all he felt was smooth skin.

"No, it's healed," Calvin said.

"I see that." Brian poked around more frantically. Maybe he was just missing something? But no, even the other side felt brand new to his touch.

"What the fuck?" Calvin said.

Brian looked up to see him lifting up his leather top. Where there should've been the remains of a grizzly wound, there instead was solid skin. It looked like he'd never been in a fight before. He pulled up his trouser leg to find the leg, too, entirely unmarked.

"You didn't notice that earlier?" Brian asked.

"I wasn't sore, so I didn't even think about it," Calvin explained.

"Well, I guess most people don't worry about pain they can't feel," conceded Brian.

"This is fucking weird, bro. Why would we just heal overnight?" Calvin asked.

"Don't look at me," Brian said. "I know as much about this place as you do."

A knock on the door interrupted them.

"Can we come in?" Ylva called through the barrier.

"Sure," Brian said with an uncertain look at Calvin, who just shrugged.

Ylva opened the door, with Tiffany behind. Neither of them wore armor. Tiffany had on the same pink t-shirt and jeans Brian first saw her in. Ylva wore the green shirt and brown trousers, yet looked completely different without the maille on her chest and her hair in a ponytail.

"You are healed!" Ylva said, pointing at Brian. She looked over her shoulder while entering the room. "See, I told you."

"Could you guys hear us talking?" Calvin asked, sounding a little bit embarrassed.

"Not really," Ylva shook her head. "We heard you shout something, then put our ears to the wall just in case you were in danger. Then Tiffany heard you say something about being healed, so we came over. Sorry for listening in."

"It's alright," Brian batted away the notion.

"You guys, too, then" Calvin said.

"Yeah. Us, too." Ylva bent over and spread apart the hole in her pants. "Not a scratch on either of us. Show them, Tiff."

The blonde was a bit hesitant. She looked at the other three in the room and just stood there for a few agonizing seconds. Eventually, though, she rolled up her pant leg and rotated a bit to show them. Brian remembered how awful the bite on her calf had been. It went almost to the bone. Now, the flesh had been completely rebuilt. She didn't even have a scar.

"That's incredible," Brian breathed.

"She was actually the first one to notice," Ylva said. The boys looked at Tiffany expectantly.

"Yeah," she all but whispered. "I was having a lot of trouble walking on it last night, so when I got out of bed this morning and it was fine, I knew something was wrong."

"I'm not sure wrong is the word I'd use," Ylva said. "If anything, this is great news!"

"Still, that doesn't explain why we're all better," Brian said. "I mean, the Long Rest can't actually work in this world. That's just a gameplay thing."

"Obviously it does," Calvin said.

"My DM always flavored it as wild magic rewarding adventurers for a job well done," Ylva shrugged. "Maybe that's it?"

"That still wouldn't explain why evil characters get healed," countered Calvin.

Brian looked over at Tiffany. Just a glance, and he could tell how woefully confused she was. He took it on himself to explain.

"In Dungeons and Dragons, Tiffany," he began, "players can take a Long Rest to restore their hit points to full. The rest usually takes as long as a good night's sleep."

"Which we all just got," Ylva added.

"That's really stupid," Tiffany said. "Why would just sleeping for a night heal anyone?"

"The same reason why eating food does in other games," Ylva said. "It's just a mechanic. It seems to be real here, though."

"I wouldn't argue with it," Calvin said. "I mean, I can take any amount of damage and just sleep it off? Shit, that sounds like a good deal."

"I agree," nodded Ylva. "This place is really weird, but this seems to only benefit us. We should take whatever advantage we can get." She garnered no arguments.

"I wish our clothes healed, though," Tiffany said, indicating the rip in her jeans.

"I was thinking about that earlier," said Brian. "We really need some new clothes."

"Well, we just made a little bit of money, we might as well spend it on something," suggested Ylva. "And that gives us a good excuse to explore the city."

"I'm not going anywhere without a shower," Tiffany denied. "I'm still filthy from yesterday."

"I'm sure they have baths around her somewhere. Come on, we'll go ask." Ylva began to depart to accompany Tiffany, but stopped to look back at the boys. "I'm serious. We're planning a shopping trip when we get back."

With that, they left. An awkward silence brewed between Brian and Calvin. Brain thought they both could admit that was a little weird. Those two girls just burst into their room, talked about wild magic or something, and then left to have super fun bath time. Ylva was a bit more energetic than Brian would have expected from her. It was adorable. And, it seemed Tiffany was feeling a little better, even though she was probably just swept up in Ylva's enthusiasm. That she allowed herself to be swept was a good sign, though.

After several minutes of wondering what they should do in the meantime, Brian decided a bath didn't' sound like the worst ever idea. Calvin agreed, but suggested they should go separately, which was what Brian had been thinking. The latter was the first to go.

The baths were pretty easy to find after a quick question to Therdin. They were through a door at the end of the room Brian and the others had woken up in on their first day. Traversing this room felt odd. It was completely empty, no people nor personal effects inside. It was also much smaller than Brain imagined. Every single bed had been occupied by the twenty-five new arrivals, and the spaces between them were much slimmer than he remembered. This area must've been used as a sort of holding room for new recruits. Brian couldn't think of any other use for it. Otherwise, why waste the space?

Therdin's directions hadn't been perfect. In reality, there were two doors at the end of the room, one marked Armsmen and the other Shieldmaidens. Brian took the appropriately labeled entryway. Inside he found a long room with eight doors, four on each side, natural wood with simple brass fixtures. Most were empty, though some had signs handing on them. One kind of sign read used. Another said occupied.

As if to answer Brian's question as to what they meant, a man in rough clothes stepped out from one of the used stalls. He carried several large, empty buckets with him as well as a huge container on his back. As he closed the door behind him, he retrieved the sign and placed it inside the stall, before making for the exit.

"M'lord," he said while passing by Brian, who just nodded. Well, that explained how the baths worked.

Brian took one of the unmarked doors. Inside was a large wooden basin, a drain in the middle of the floor, a single white towel, and a pumice stone. He realized his lack of soap upon sight of the stone. It was better than nothing, but he'd have to pick some up on their shopping trip.

Not wanting to waste time, Brian stripped down and placed his ruined clothes in a pile next to the door. He washed up quickly. The girls already had a head start. If both he and Calvin wanted to be done before them, they needed to hurry. He made quick work of the bath, careful not to irritate his skin with the stone.

Unsure of what to do, he left the dirty bath water upon departing, though he did make sure to put the appropriate sign on the door. He changed places with Calvin in their room. Without anything else to do in there while alone, he took to picking the dirt from his armor.

Calvin returned after about twenty minutes. With both of their little outings combined, it wasn't long before the girls came to collect them. Ylva carried her sword, but not the shield. Her thick black hair was still a little damp while it fell around her shoulders. Tiffany was neither armed nor armored. She sported a ponytail and, as usual, seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Together, they walked out of the boys' room toward the common area. It was relatively full. Three humans, a dwarf, and a halfling played some card game on the coffee table. An elf woman sat at one of the writing desks, idly scrawling something in a leather bound book. A pair of dwarves decided to use the head of the dining table for an arm wrestle, which drew quite the crowd. Among them, Brian spotted both his first half-orc, and his first tiefling, the latter of which was a beautiful woman with pale yellow skin in a purple dress. She caught him starring and gave a neutral nod before returning to the match. Brian, for his part, ripped his gaze away with redness sprouting in his cheeks.

The moment would've been much more awkward, if his knight in grey robes hadn't showed up. When the party was halfway through the common room, Hector entered. Ylva gave him a big wave as they approached.

"There you are," she called out to him, then resumed speaking when they were all a bit closer. "I haven't seen you all day."

"I was down in the library," Hector explained.

"There's a library?" Brian wondered aloud.

"Yes," Hector nodded. "It's the room to the left of Edgar's. Kind of small, though."

"I wish I would've known that a few hours ago," despaired Brian.

"What were you doing?" Ylva asked.

"Ah, well, that's actually why I came looking for you all. It's about this." Hector held up the scroll they'd looted from the Madman's lair. "I was doing a bit of reading about spells and spellbooks. I think, with a combination of my research and the Gift of Knowledge, I can copy this scroll into my book. I want to know if that's alright."

"Ok, why do you need our permission?" Calvin asked.

"Because doing that will consume the scroll, and if I get it wrong, we can't use the scroll anymore. I wanted to ask the group before I risk wasting a resource."

"What kind of scroll is it?" Brian asked.

"I don't know," admitted Hector. "I didn't want to ruin it, so I haven't touched it."

"I say go for it," Ylva said. "It's huge if you can copy spells, and you've gotta find out somehow," she reasoned. Brian nodded.

"Yeah. That's, like, a big thing for wizards, right?' Calvin asked.

"What do you think, Tiffany?" Hector said.

The blonde girl started at being called on. She obviously hadn't expected to be included. Her eyes darted around the room for a moment before landing back on Hector.

"Me?" She specified. Hector nodded. "I... really don't understand what's going on. You know that."

"Maybe, but you're a member of this team. That means you get an opinion," said Hector.

Tiffany considered this for a moment with an aggravated huff. She looked down and away from her comrades, probably in an attempt to hide the embarrassment of being called out so openly. However, nothing she did could distract from the encouraging smile Ylva gave her. She sighed.

"Whatever it is you're trying to do, will it help us?" She asked of Hector.

"I believe it will," Hector said. "Copying the spell will give me another spell to cast whenever I want, which is always useful."

"Then do it," Tiffany said.

"Well, I think the majority rules," Ylva said.

"I'll get started right away, then," Hector took a step toward the space behind them, but only made it that far before Ylva interrupted.

"Why don't you come shopping with us, first? We're getting some new clothes to replace our damaged ones."

"You're spending money? I'm pretty sure this spellbook as Mending." He indicated the tome in his left hand for emphasis. "I could just fix your clothes with that."

"That would be useful in the future, but I still want to go out. It's either that or sit here all day," Ylva said.

"That's the main reason I'm going," added Brian. "I'm bored out of my mind here."

The three of them allowed the other two a moment to voice their opinions. Predictably, Calvin and Tiffany remained silent.

"Well, alright. Thank you for the offer, but I really want to get this done as soon as possible. Maybe some other time." Hector declined the invitation.

"Okay. We'll see you later then, Hector," Ylva said.

"Yeah, bye."

They went their separate ways, walking different directions. The group of four went to the exit, while Hector seemed destined for the boys' room.

A few hours of walking and a little asking for directions led the four to a clothing store known as Wendrin's Wardings. The shop was one big room laid out in every corner with various garments, most of which were of a common quality standard. This was clearly a place where the regular working folk of the town came to replenish their wardrobes.

Wendrin himself was a male high elf, with all the self-importance which came along with that. He didn't give off a very inviting air. Thankfully, there were other people in there to balance him out. Brian saw two elven women who seemed to be friends, a couple halflings, and a man who looked like a half-elf.

The four newly arrived humans broke apart almost immediately, each gravitating to their own preferred style. Brian took to the corner just left of the door. These were largely simple clothes, the sort of thing that a farmer may have worn, strong and sturdy affairs. Given Trostenwald's agricultural slant, he assumed this style was quite popular. If blending in was his goal, then any of these would be a good choice. He was especially enamored with a sleeveless cloth tunic with a trio of ties at the neckline. He wrapped it over his forearm, his first decision made.

He lost track of time—a startling trend—as he misplaced himself in a shopping stupor. Brian picked out a few more shirts and pairs of pants. He decided to be a little more conservative than he would have before, now that he knew Hector could fix up their things when the time was right. He didn't' need to worry about building a complete backlog of clothes for when he inevitably lost whatever he was wearing to the latest adventure. It wasn't the most colorful affair, but they would serve him well. He did choose one grey shirt, though, with the intention of matching his armor. It would look nice.

So enraptured was he with the first and only meaningful source of stimulation his brain experience since waking up, he failed to notice the footsteps approaching him.

"What do you think?" The voice of Ylva asked him.

Brian turned to see her standing before him, wearing a long sleeve green dress, with a neckline that showed a hint of cleavage, and a looping yellow design on the bodice. It was a much more girly choice than he would have expected from her, but he wasn't complaining.

"You look great." Brian wanted to say she looked beautiful, but he thought that would be highly inappropriate.

"Thanks," Ylva smiled. "I bought this on the off chance we ever have to look somewhat presentable. You never know. Have you tried any of that on yet?" She pointed to the garments piled up on Brian's arm.

"No, I haven't. It... kinda didn't occur to me until just now that it might not all fit."

"Typical guy." Ylva rolled her eyes, but there was no malice to be found in her expression. "There are fitting rooms over there." Ylva indicated a pair of doors directly behind her.

"Thanks. I think I'll go give these a shot." Brian said, walking past her.

"Good luck," Ylva called to him from behind.

What must've been a few hours passed, but eventually they all picked out their new garments, as well as which ones to wear home. Ylva changed out of her dress in favor of something much more practical: A deep brown tunic over lighter breeches, long dark boots, and a red scarf thing draped vertically over one shoulder.

Tiffany went with a brown sleeveless kirtle over a white dress with poofy sleeves. She also had a separate hood with a short mantle which she left down. Just as when she first showed off her armor, she looked about ready to die from discomfort, but encouraging words from Ylva seemed to lift her up just a bit.

Calvin went with a short green surcoat, split in the middle, black bordered by yellow at the edges. Underneath this he wore a white shirt, and matching pants which fed into half-calf black boots.

Brian's outfit was probably the simplest, a black coat hung open over a white shirt, tan pants, and brown boots.

They all looked like proper citizens of Exandria. Brian wasn't sure how he felt about that. Part of him was glad to have some new clothes which didn't stand out like a sore thumb. However, another part of him felt as though he were abandoning his old life completely. In coming to terms with his new surroundings, he worried about giving up what was lost in coming there. It was probably just stupid overthinking, but he couldn't rest the notions from his mind.

Upon returning to the guild hall, they found Hector in the boys' room. He had, indeed, managed to transcribe the scroll into his spellbook. It had been a Scroll of Identify. He tested it out on the ring they found in the Madman's lair to discover it was a Ring of Fire resistance. They agreed to sell it in an attempt to assuage their current lack of gold.

All in all, it had been what Brian considered a good second day in his new home. He'd spent some time with his new friends, accomplished something which needed to be done, got himself some new things in the process, and Hector discovered a new skill which would surely help them in the future. Exandria may not have been home, but he was starting to think it may do just fine in the meantime.