Seeing an end to the tree’s I let out a sigh of relief, I made it. It took 2 hours of lugging a heavy sword around (where I got an extra point in strength) but I could see what I was looking for. Wood spikes protruded from the top of a metre tall wood poll, and every two metres there was a small square hole which I assumed were used to shoot arrows through. In the centre of the wall, there was a 6-metre wooden gate that just happened to be to closing at that exact moment. 

Rushing over to the gate, ignoring my exhaustion and pain, I shouted to wait while waving my uninjured arm in the air. Which I soon realised may not have been the best idea seeing as I was carrying a sword in that hand. And nothing says I come in peace like waving a sword above your head. I realized just in time to reverse my sword grip before someone peeked from around the side of the gate. After the guy saw me he stepped from behind the gate fully clothed in plate mail and equipped with a spear. I reached the gate a minute later doubling over trying to catch my breath. 

The man mercifully waited a minute for me to catch my breath before staring down at me and talking. “Ye’re lucky to get’ ier before night. We ah had some reports of te’ spooky monsters out here a’ night. I don’t say I believe em, but some’tin definitely happenin out there.” The man talked strangely, seeming to swallow some words and hyphening others. At least I think he was, I did just learn a new language and the only person I have talked to was a god. So not exactly the most common person to compare to. 

“Yea, I got attacked out there and it took me a while longer to get here,” I said gesturing to my broken hand. Being very careful to make it not a threatening gesture. I skirted around the truth, not sure if new people were not welcome, or had to pay some fee to enter. 

I could see him nod, before gesturing me through the gate. “Ye better get in here befo night, if ye want t’ doctor he is 800 steps down to the right near t’ dungeon. People always gettin hurt in there. He closing soon, but if you rush ye may make it.” Well, it looks like he already knew I wasn’t from around here seeing as he pointed me to the doctors. 

Nodding my head in thanks and seeing no reason to daddle I started off towards the doctor. Taking a few steps forwards I turned back to him, “I forgot to ask, but do you know anywhere I can stay the night?.”

I could see him turn around from the gate a point towards a random street. “Down tha’ way is the more pricey places, near the dungeon you see. But there a nice place 200 steps forward and to t’ right of here, it’s called the drunken barber and it ain’t too pricey but also won’t giv’ya fleas if ya know what I mean.” Nodding my head in understanding I thanked him and started back towards the doctor. 

By the time I finished talking with the guard, the sun was behind the horizon, leaving only an orange glow, lighting a small part of the sky. Walking past tents and houses I could see that the houses grew bigger and more common the closer I got to where the guard pointed me to go. By the time I go to the place I was meant to turn right in, there were no more tents and most of the houses were either shop or inns. One of these stores had a large sign hanging from the front with a potion bottle painted on it. Another had a hammer and anvil etched into the wood and coloured silver. But most importantly of all, I saw a sign gloriously showing a plate with a fork and knife on it. I was seriously tempted to go straight there, but the doctor was going to close and I would rather not sleep with a broken hand. 

It was at this point that I realized I have no idea how far 800 steps were. I must have been seriously distracted from my hunger and broken hand to miss something that obvious. Thinking back over our conversation I do remember him mentioning something about the doctor being next to the dungeon. Now all I have to do is find the dungeon.

Just as I came across the next intersection I saw a giant stone archway leading down into a dark depth. Turning right down the street (which was around triple the normal size of a street here) the archway of polished stone seemed to be faintly glowing with a soft blue light as if inviting you to go inside. That, however, wasn’t the main thing that drew my attention to the hole. It was the seemingly infinite darkness underneath the stone. That darkness seemed to convey a sense of death and danger. When looking into that abyss I could feel a chill crawl down my spine. 

This was definitely a dungeon if I ever saw one. Which in this case was the first time I ever saw a dungeon. The thing in the forest was definitely not a dungeon. It was probably just a place where a bunch of monsters decided to make a nest. I shook my head trying to get back on track. Right got to get to a doctor. I can check out the dungeon when I’m no longer crippled.

It took another few seconds before I could see the doctor store. Everything seemed normal except for the sign. The sign proclaiming the store was a double snake surrounding a golden staff. It was the exact same symbol we used back on earth to depict a doctor/healer. If I remember correctly we got that from some Greek myths or something like. But how did it get here? I could only think of two options for this happening. 1. Both are planets somehow managed to create the exact same symbol for the exact same profession randomly. Or 2. One of the planets copied it from the other. Seeing as the earth was inhabited after this planet was, and if Wade was to be believed hadn’t had any contact with this one, it probably means that we copied it from them. Unless of course, it was completely random, which seems rather unlikely. 

My thoughts were interrupted when I came across the front of the doctor's house. Finding the door I noticed a man who was in the middle of turning an open sign into a closed one. “Wow, my timing is impeccable today.” Running forward and waving my hand in a non-threatening manner, which was somewhat redundant as I had a sword in that hand, I called out, “hey, do have time for one more.”

The man turned around and gave me a full view of him. He was a middle-aged man, maybe in his 40-50, that had a resigned face on. As if he spends the entire day around morons and one especially dumb one decided to visit him. But for all that he spoke in a much more educated way, (at least compared to the guard). “Put down that sword if you don’t want to cut your own head off. I mean adventures, always getting hurt and expecting me to heal them. I mean seriously, can’t think …” I couldn’t hear what he said after that, he just started mumbling about the adventures and idiots. 

Waiting politely for the man to finish. And when he didn’t I discreetly coughed, and when he still didn’t stop, I less discreetly coughed. After that, he finally looked up, as if forgetting I was ever there. Waving my hand again I asked “Hello you there? Will you heal me or just keep blabbering on?”

“I’ll heal you if don’t cut your arm off with that stupid sword you keep swinging around. And hurry up and get in before I change my mind.” After speaking his my mind he turned around and started towards the store, expecting me to follow.

Spluttering for a moment and trying to think of an appropriate reply, I saw that the man already had one hand on the doorknob before I could even open my mouth. Sighing in resignation, I hung my head and followed the middle-aged man inside.

Compared to the man the store was quite cozy. The walls of the room were made of rich dark wood with a fireplace to the right of the entrance, facing a comfy looking brown couch that had a sign saying ‘please wait for the doctor to see you’. Two doors lay ahead of the front door, one with a sign saying ‘authorized personnel only’. Looking around for what was giving off the light for me to see everything I saw multiple crystals on the walls giving of soft yellow light. All in all, it gave this place a comfy and relaxing look. 

The doctor walked through the door on the left, the one without the ‘Authorized personnel only’ and brought me into a small room. The walls were made out of the same wood as the other room. With the same crystals lighting the room. Except in this room, there was a chair and desk with a lot of labelled drawers underneath. The names all seemed to correspond to something to do with medicine. On the other side of the room was a bed. Which was currently being pointed at by a grumpy man. “Get on the bed, and put your sword away, I’m not having you cut up my nice clean sheets.” 

Complying with the annoying man I leaned my word against the wall and lay back onto the bed. Once I was on the bed the man became much more serious. “So, what's wrong. From the looks of things it looks like you have a broken hand, and multiple scrapes and bruises. Did I miss anything?”

Shaking my head and replying “No,” the man nodded and rummaged around in one of his draws until he pulled out a roll of bandages.

“I can heal your heal in two ways” He brought one finger up and said, “I can either instantly heal your hand and you can walk fine within a few seconds.” He brought his second finger up, “Or I can set your bones and infuse them with regenerative magic, if you keep your hand in a cast it should heal by tomorrow morning. Assuming you get some sleep of course.” putting his hand up, the man stopped me before I could say anything. “It may seem like an obvious choice but hear me out first. The first option is faster, but there is a slight chance of complications, and using it too much of this magic may make you resistant to healing magic. It also costs more.” Pausing a second to make sure I understood he continued. “On the other hand.” I narrowed my eyes at him. trying to tell if that pun was intentional, but he gave no implication of guilt and just continued talking. “The second method has almost zero chance of going wrong, so long as you keep the cast on. It also cost less.”

Thinking about it for a second I decided to go for the second option. It was safer and besides, he said my hand will heal overnight, so it won't be too much of a bother. It also had the added benefit of being cheaper and money is always good. 

The man smiled and gently grabbed my hand. Thinking back on how my magic experience has been, I assumed he would do some motions and chant. But nope. His hands simply turned green and then that green light went into me. I also assumed it wouldn’t hurt. But I was wrong, again. I could feel the bones in my hand move, getting adjusted into place. I swear I could hear them grinding into one another. My mouth parted and I screamed out in a hoarse cry of pain. 

After what felt like hours, (probably on a few seconds), the green glow around the healer and my hand faded away. He quickly got the bandage from his desk and efficiently wrapped my hand tightly. “There, that should keep bones in place. Don’t make any sudden movement and try to avoid putting any stress on your hand during the next 12 hours.”

Getting into a sitting position I glared at the man. “Was the pain really necessary”

He gave me a sheepish look before replying, “no, not really, but you did disturb me right before closing, so it was only fair I got to have a little fun of my own.”

Ignoring my flaming glare and sputtering mouth he continued on as if I wasn't there “So that will come to a total of 3 silver, I could also heal your bumps and bruises, that would usually cost 6 copper, but since I’m feeling a little bit bad I’ll do it for free.”

The grouchy man from before was completely replaced by a smiling amicable man. Still glaring daggers at him I eventually snapped “fine” and placed 3 silver coins on the bench and lay back down onto the bed. “This better not hurt or I want a refund.”

The man chuckled before placing his hand a few inches above my chest and pushed them down slowly. A familiar green light appeared around his hands. As his hands came closer to my chest, aches and bruises around my body started to go away. Once his hands were on my chest it only a minute before all my bruises and scrapes were gone. Getting up and out of bed I let out a sigh of relief. I could finally get what I came here for. It almost brought a tear to my eye. Begrudging thanking the man I walked out to find what I heaven. 

Retracing my steps until I found the house I was looking for I walked inside to the sound of people laughing and the delicious smell of food. I could already hear my stomach grumbling from the smell. The front desk was manned with a pretty young lady who looked up when I approached and gave a wide white-toothed smile. She was your average women serving at a restaurant. Nice looking but not knock your pants of beautiful. She had long brown hair and a slim petite frame. But what really stuck out about her was her small antlers peeking out from above her head. 

Her gaze turned slightly confused when she looked at my bloody shirtless appearance and then turned to a scowl when she caught me staring at her antlers.“What never seen an erl before!” She nearly spit those words out. Venom seeming to course out of her mouth and into my ears.

“Actually no I haven't! I lived in a rural village and never seen an erl before. I just got here tonight. So if you could please find a seat for me that would be much appreciated. I literally haven't eaten in days” I gave a returning glared that seemed to make her sheepish. I guess there's some prejudice going on here. But she did still accuse me of something I didn’t think, and if I play this right it could come in handy if she feels like she offended me. 

After apologizing she brought me to a table and gave me a menu. Not even bothering to look at it I just told the young elf to get me multiple dishes of whatever she thought best as long as it was not fish. I really hated fish. Retrieving the menu she walked off and gave my order to another waiter.

Seeing all the food I could barely suppress my urge to go over and steal food from the nearest table, but I managed to hold myself by focusing on the other customers. Most of the people inside seemed to be elves at least from what I could guess, however there a few other races present. There were a few tables of dwarves who were loudly talking and a few were singing. Another table was filled with slim elves dressed in finery and elegantly eating. Another two tables were occupied by a mix of races, including elves. However, the elves that we're conversing with other races seemed to be less elegant than the ones sitting with their own kind. There were also a few people that seemed to be gnomes but I couldn’t really be sure if they were gnomes or dwarves. 

The race that really stuck out was the humanoid wolves. There were only two tables of the wolves, them seeming to be the most unsociable of the races here. Or at least the most prejudiced against. Either way, they were the most different from all the other races. They either had drooping ears or pointed ears, and were covered in a soft fur, (it looked almost like coloured skin). From the top of there head to the tips of their tails, excluding there faces. The other thing that stuck out about them was their size. They were all at least 6 feet tall and broad shoulders. Even the women seemed to be gigantic. However, when I saw their teeth I decided to stop staring, just in case one of them decided to take offence. They could probably chop my head off in one bite. 

Quickly looking and hoping they didn’t see me, I scoured the rest of the restaurant looking for other races. There was one more race that happened to be very cute and made me forget about my hunger for a second. On one table looked to be cat women and men. They were short and slim, kind of the opposite of the wolf people, and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, and well, other places when I saw there ears and tails. A part of my mind told me I'm a perv, but a much more friendly one told that part to shut up and stop kink-shaming me.

One thing all the races had in common was that none of them were shirtless and covered in blood! Actually, most of the customers were nicely dressed, so I stuck out like an eagle in a pigeon's nest, (giving myself a mental high five for creating that amazing simile, or wait is it a metaphor? Never mind, that’s beside the point now where was? Right talking about being an eagle in a pigeons nest). The only reason the front lady didn’t kick me out was probably that she felt bad for accusing me of racism, or is it specism? Shaking my head I tried to get back on track. Those mental debuffs must seriously be affecting me, not to mention my tiredness it probably making me struggle to remain on one line of thought. That or I have a serious case of undiagnosed ADHD.

During my contemplations of whether I have ADHD, my food finally arrived. A different waiter brought it over and he barely had time to put the food down before I was stuffing it into my mouth. It was the greatest thing I had ever eaten in my entire life and I was shoving the food in my mouth so fast that I couldn’t even eat taste the food.

 . . . 

Leaving the restaurant with a stomach full of food and a purse 2 silver lighter I headed to an inn. It took me many wrong turns but I eventually made it. Or at least I think I did, I’m not completely sure if this was the inn the guard recommended since I forgot the name of that one and got seriously lost, but it’s still a place to sleep that doesn’t look like i’ll catch an untreatable disease from. 

Entering through a wooden front door into a room that was filled with loud laughter and even a dwarf drunkenly sinking on top of a table, I hazily made my way to the bar. All the days fighting and walking and broken … arm-ing finally caught up to me. It also didn’t help that I just had a giant meal after not eating anything in 3 days, it was like a food comma times eleven. Suffice it to say I was dead on my feet.

The bartender came up to me after serving a customer and said something and I just nodded, barely hearing what he was saying. Plopping the money he asked for on the bar I grabbed his key and stumblingly made my way up the stairs into the room number on the key. Failing a few times I eventually opened the door and let myself in, hastily tearing my pants off and flopping onto the bed. Passing out near instantly.