Ash bent down, plucking the small blue bauble from the ground. After using the health potion, Ash assumed the blue would be for mana. He shook the bauble gently in his hand, sloshing the vibrant blue liquid inside.

Ash raised it up and turned it to face Proxi “Mana?” he asked, raising a brow.

The health potion had magically fixed Ash’s wounds and with it, his demeanour.

Proxi offered a curt chirp to answer his question.

Ash narrowed his eyes; this must be their way of nodding, he thought. He stuffed the blue bauble into his pocket, stashing it away for later.

Ash turned his attention to the ring. It was small and thin, a series of woven strands of wire twisted to create a circle. The golden strands met directed towards a small platformed that was embossed with a lightning symbol. Ash turned the item a few times, wondering if the symbol related to the monster he felled. That was often the case in RPGs, that and dropped loot usually gave some stat bonus too. This world hadn’t failed with the game design elements yet. Ash paused as he studied the ring. He hadn’t really had time to process the strangeness of it all. The world, the monsters. It was shock, act and move on. There wasn’t much he could do than try and complete this quest that was pushed on him, that or die apparently.

“Proxi, anything about this ring?” Ash asked, lifting it up to show his companion.

“I can show you?” Proxi offered offered.

Ash shook his head lightly. He gestured at his worse for wear T-shirt and shorts. They had been torn in the heat of melee, large holes and ripped segments hanging from his body like an arthouse fashion show.

“Stopping to read might not be the best idea here. Might be faster if you just tell me” Ash answered, adding a “Please?” at the end.

“Since you asked nicely” Proxi responded, pausing to make a strange sound as if clearing their non-existent throat.

“You have acquired a basic Arc ring…” Proxi said, their voice sounding like a forced text-to-speech impression.

Ash snickered, caught off guard by the odd behaviour. Proxi paused as if waiting for him to stop. Ash stifled the laugh, rolling his hand for them to continue.

“Arc Rings are electrically attuned accessories that when worn improve the wearers mana regeneration” They finished.

“Neat” Ash said aloud.

“Neat?” Proxi repeated.

“It’s…neat?” He affirmed.

“Not what you had hoped for?” Proxi probed.

“I mean we still don’t have a weapon and there’s a lot more golems till the tower” Ash explained, “But this is good too. Just uh a little more lowkey helpful.”

Proxi hovered silently for a moment.

“We could try seeing what’s inside some of these buildings” Proxi put forward, “They can’t all be empty. Maybe we can…uh…find you a change of clothes?”

Ash looked down at his tattered clothing, tugging at one of the smaller holes that had opened in his now grime-stained t-shirt. His home wear hadn’t fared well in the golem fight, not really suited for combat. His uncovered feet and tiny running shorts hadn’t offered much protection either.

“Maybe some shoes too” Ash replied with a hint of snark.

“Let’s try this one then” Proxi said.

They hovered over towards the building to the left; the one that hadn’t been half destroyed in the fight.

--

Over the next hour, Ash and Proxi searched through the abandoned city, slinking their way from building to building with light steps. The identical exteriors presenting stark contrast to the unique and often personalised decorations that lay inside each complex. It was as if to the people of the city, the inside of their homes was for personal expression; a private affair where creativity ran wild. Perhaps it was simply the culture.

Trawling through blocks of buildings provided some much-needed respite for the duo, safe refuge from the monsters outside. Not keen for another unfair fight, Ash had done his best to keep quiet, tiptoeing through the buildings and shadow stepping between blocks, avoiding the streets all together. Everyone so often Ash would freeze, waiting quietly as the heavy thuds of a patrolling golem passed by. Thankfully, the monsters kept to their set route; ignoring what little noise the pair made.

In their searching Ash and Proxi had managed to scavenge a single pair of dark blue, near black breeches that ended below the knee and lined with a silver thread running along the outer sides. They had found them in the third building, the previous two barren and completely lifeless. Ash laughed when Proxi had called him over to her discovery, prompting a comment about ‘adidas’ and the pants being very ‘cheeki breeki’. Proxi failed to understand the joke despite Ash’s attempt at explaining; leaving Proxi with an unsatisfying “Trust me, it’s funny on my world.”

--

Moving on from the first block, Ash and Proxi delved deeper into the abandoned city. Along the way finding three separate leather boots of which, luckily, two fit. One was a deep chestnut colour while the other was a cool charcoal grey. Ash dusted the dirt caking his bare feet and slipped them on.

The boots were flexible, snug but not uncomfortably tight. Each distinct boot was long enough to reach below the knees, allowing the new breeches to be tucked inside them. The differences in each boot didn’t end with colour though. The chestnut boots had flaps that flopped over and outwards, hanging free with a gold threaded inlay. In contrast, the charcoal boots were tucked neatly at the top and lacking any embellishment, an understated design. Ash pouted as he looked down at his feet; they definitely looked odd, but he couldn’t really complain.

--

Unlike the previous two blocks, the third had proved a complete bust. Every building was entirely abandoned and cleared out. It was as if the previous tenants had purposefully left no sign of their presence. Even the trappings; doorknobs, handles and the hooks had been stripped from walls, windows and doors. Ash wasn’t sure what to make of it, feeling an eery disquiet from the block.

“Do you think something bad happened here?” he asked quietly.

Ash pulled a cupboard open by the empty holes that would have once held handles, revealing another empty space.

“I don’t know, is it normal for people to leave their homes and move on?” Proxi responded naively.

Ash paused, Proxi often seemed to know as little about this world as him.

“I guess they do…” Ash answered, thinking about the various moves he and his parents had made, “but not like this. Not where everything is gone. This is… eery”

“These are quite old though. Maybe everyone left a long, long time ago?”

Proxi had a point. They were rifling through old gothic/medieval buildings in a strangely uniform city whose sole remaining inhabitants were magical golem monsters. Maybe the quiet was making Ash uncomfortable. He never did like to be alone with his thoughts. The way this block had been stripped compared to the last two unsettled him though.

Why here he thought, why this city? Why am I here?

“You said I was chosen, right?” Ash asked.

“Yes” Proxi answered, hovering to the other side of the room, “that’s why you’ve got me. “

“By who? Why am I here?”

“I’m not sure Ash. I just know you were chosen”

“You don’t know?” Ash responded, frustration behind his voice, “Why can’t you tell me anything? I thought you were meant to help me! I don’t know anything about this place. I don’t know why we’re doing this.”

The frustration bubbled up from the lack of answers, try as he might to brush things aside. He knew so little of what was happening around him. He had so many unanswered questions. All Ash do could do was act, follow what’s in front of him. How could anyone expect him to just, fall in life with a magical fantasy world? He wasn’t even sure it was real yet, despite the evidence.

“I’m sorry Ash. I don’t have all the answers. I know things when I know them, I don’t what that will be until I do” Proxi replied despondently, “what I do know is that when you awakened, I was your partner, and I knew I was here to help you.”

Ash turned to look at Proxi floating closer to the ground with a slow bob. The colour running along the shadowy orb shifted to a pale blue.

Sadness? Ash wondered. He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, had he upset Proxi?

Ash looked down, away from his supposed partner.

Proxi broke the momentary silence “I do want to help you Ash” their voice hesitating.

Ash had been harsh. He didn’t mean to put that on them. He was frustrated, how could he not be? That wasn’t an excuse to take it out on the only companion he had in this strange place though. Ash didn’t know anything; how could he expect Proxi, who had appeared from an orb he picked up, to know anything either?

Ash sighed, scratching his head, “I’m sorry. I just…it’s frustrating, y’know. I’ve been thrown into whatever this world is… it’s hard to accept.”

“It’s okay, it is very weird. You know, you have told me a few times” Proxi replied with a hint of a joke.

Ash smiled softly; he couldn’t be pushing away his only ally.

“We’ll find answers” he offered, “together.”

“together” Proxi affirmed.

--

An awkward energy hung in the air as they left the cleared-out block of buildings. Proxi had been quieter than usual since Ash lashed out and while he had apologised, he still felt guilty. This kept Ash from trying to make small talk. He had always been this way; prone to dwelling on any misstep or mistake. He wondered if they were still mad at him. He wondered if he should try to make it up to them.

How do you make it up to a floating orb of darkness? he thought.

Ash had no idea.

As the pair continued searching through the ruined buildings, they had realised that the golems couldn’t see Proxi. It was if they were invisible to the monsters. Proxi had led since that realisation, acting as scout before crossing to a new building block. Despite the small talk, they had devised signals. Proxi would bob up and down three times and then Ash would shadowstep across the gap, through an open window and into the building before ducking out of sight. The spell itself was becoming a natural for Ash. More instinctual, like a simple extension of his body.

Ash landed deftly in the next block of identical buildings, slipping through and crouching beneath another window.

“Wow…” Proxi said with awe.

Ash looked around; this building was different, more so than any other they had come across. The walls were adorned with splashes of colour; red and yellow stripes that criss-crossed a carnival. Every other building had been a mix of cool greys, whites and neutral pastels. Large hooks adorned the walls of this room, they seemed sturdy as if they had once held heavy items aloft.

A long counter bisected a third of the room, adorned with a metallic shield cross with two swords that rested on the front. Upon the shield read “Jensen and Jensen. Armour and Arms”.

There was a glint in Ash’s eyes. Jackpot he thought, finally a lucky break.

--

“Do you think they hid everything?” Proxi asked.

Ash’s mouth sunk into a bitter frown. The walls of the room were empty. The hanging hooks contained no weapons… no armour. He hurried over to the counter topped with glass, wiping away the built-up dust. Nothing. His hopes dashed. Ash paced from wall to wall, checking behind each counter searching for something, anything he could claim. Every possible surface was empty. Ash would have to continue without any real way to face the golems. No weapons, no armour. The room, while vibrant, contained only a single dirty rag on the floor. Ash kicked at it, driving it up and into the counter. It fell limply back to the ground.

“Ash what about these?” Proxi called out.

They had hovered off into another room, leaving Ash to scurry about the first. He hurried through, trying not to get his hopes up.

Inside, Ash found a room full of stands and another counter. Scanning the room, his eyes were drawn to a single cloak hanging from one of the stands. It was black and segmented with silver lining; the long portions ending in triangular tips.

That’s oddly convenient, Ash thought, noting the similarity to the silver lining of his new breeches. The segments reminded him of large feathers, glossy like the wings of a crow. At the top of the cloak sat a scrunched cloth hood.

Ash pulled the cloak from the stand to get a closer, revealing a jerkin beneath it in the process. The new item was made of a midnight blue cloth with white lining and silver buttons that contrasted like stars across a night sky. A single cloth sleeve hung from the left shoulder while the right shoulder was curiously empty.

A stylistic choice perhaps?

Ash gently placed the long cloak on the next stand over and pulled off his tattered shirt. He unbuttoned the Jerkin and swung it over himself, looping his arms through the shoulders.

So far, so good.

He felt a pang of nostalgia as he buttoned the jerkin to the top, the collar fitting snugly around lower half of his neck. It felt strangely familiar, reminding Ash of his old duelling Jacket; the same jacket he had stuffed into the back of a closet and left there for months after his accident.

“That’s … oddly coincidental” Ash muttered, looping the last button.

“What is?” Proxi asked.

“It’s just…really familiar to something I used to wear.”

“That’s good then, right Ash?” they asked.

“Yeah…it’s just kind of weird.”

The front section was layered with a hard leather padding that pleased Ash. That would give him at least some protection. Ash stretched and paced around the room, feeling the movement of the blue chest piece. It felt good, flexible. The bare arm felt less strange than he thought, offering a wider range of motion compared to the left, sleeved arm.

Too coincidental, he thought. The coincidence felt a little too on the nose for comfort.

As he paced by the second counter, Ash saw that it wasn’t empty. Inside sat a single shimmering sheet of layered metal. Dark leather straps slide out from beneath the silver surface. He walked around and pulled the item out from the counter. It was light and carved with a simple decorative filigree in the corners. By the shape, it was a single shoulder pad.

Ash glanced at his bare shoulder.

Was it designed to match the bare arm of the Jerkin?

Ash slipped it up and over his right shoulder, fastening the hanging straps with the metal clasp. It too fit snug. Ash rolled his shoulder. It didn’t impede any movement.

Come on, Ash thought, this is too on the nose now.

Ash wondered why all the clothing fit him so well. If this was happening in a game, then it would make sense.If this was a fever dream though, shouldn’t it reflect reality a bit more? Ash shook his head, brushing aside the line of questions that was forming. Every new discovery raised more questions. Questions he had no answer for. Questions even Proxi couldn’t answer. Ash looked down at himself, he would at least look the part of an RPG character now. He hoped it might help him blend in whenever he escaped this damned ruined city. Ash walked over to the cloak, picking it up as he moved out to the armourer’s storefront. The one thing he had was a quest to get out of this city. There had to be answers if he kept going.