Chapter 12: Going Inside

I looked at the agitated Bluebird and asked, “What’s so bad about it? And is that enough questions for now?”

“What’s ‘so bad’ is that a taz of any stage or type is a creature of hunger and rage, as well as… prolific in reproduction. If we have one nearby we likely have more. If we have one that was injured in an attack and escaped… that,” Bluebird pointed at the axe next to Monday. “Could draw more than one to God’s Bath.”

“Oops.”

Bluebird simply cocked an eyebrow.

I elaborated, “Well, as I said, I’m not sure. The axe head was sunk pretty far into the face, but I’m not sure what happened to the body. Is there anything that can be done? The axe is Buckle’s, but if we…”

“Tazes are a right pain, but if we aren’t sure there’s only so much we can do. Mind if I put that somewhere?” Bluebird gestured to the axe. “I can fetch it back for Buckle if he wants it later.”

I simply shrugged in response before picking up the axe and holding the handle out towards Bluebird.

Taking the axe, and reclaiming the stone pendant, Bluebird proceeded to take a light jump past me in the direction of the woods. I turned my head to see what the guild rep was doing, and then stood up and turned my whole body to watch the blue haired person simply fly up 20 meters and pick up speed before striking the axe into a pine 50 meters away from the town wall.

The sound of the impact echoed in the clearing between the wall and the trees as Bluebird flew down, leaving the axe planted 20 meters up in the trunk of the pine.

“That should annoy and distract any taz that tracks the axe.” Said the guild rep as they landed in front of the now standing Monday.

“That was really neat,” I enthused. “Are you able to fly because of something you bought from the system?”

Squinting up at me, Bluebird eventually shook their head. “Despite your size, you really are… new, aren’t you? Yes, it is something I bought through the system. Welcome to God’s Bath, let’s go check on Buckle, and then have that talk you wanted to have with the guild.” Still with the occasional head shake and glance back, Bluebird led me towards the gate, waiting for me to gather Tom’s waterskin and the pack that the stretcher bearers had left behind when Buckle was taken into the gate.

Once at the gatehouse I handed Tom back his waterskin with a quiet thanks. Bluebird hollered for the guards to open up. Now that I was standing near it, I could see that the gate held 2 big doors, 3 meters high and 2 wide that fit together and opened outward from the wall.

Another set of thumping later the left door of the gate opened and I followed Bluebird through the narrow gap into a wide passage. It was a seamless stone tunnel that matched the full size of the gateway and looked to be 5 meters long ending in a cross hatched grate.

“Hey Bluebird…” I nervously started.

“It’s okay, Monday March. The portcullis doesn’t open when the gates are open, and vice versa. Do you mind if I call you simply Monday?”

“Might have been kind to warn me, I don’t want to be caged. Er, that’s okay about my name.”

“Interesting, we have used it like that for the occasional monster, baiting and penning it for removal. Not for people though, we’d probably have to illusion the portcullis for anyone to be silly enough to come inside the gate.”

I sent what I felt was a bit of a pointed and pouty look at her as we stopped in the middle of the tunnel waiting for the gate to close and be secured. With what I wasn’t immediately sure about, as I wasn’t seeing anything from this side of the gate. “Bluebird? What is the thumping, and what holds the gate shut?”

“I won’t give you the specifics, Monday. But the security closures are within the walls and doors, and are a bit noisy, as you can hear.”

I listened to a much louder feeling thumping than what it had sounded like from outside the walls, ‘course I’d been much further away as well,’ I thought. I could feel it through the stone in my feet, small clicks and bigger thumps going on for a little longer before hearing a deep voice filter through the open grate ahead.

“Gate secure! Is the portcullis clear?”

In tandem Bluebird’s and another voice from beyond the grate hollered, “The portcullis is clear.”

I pondered why I hadn’t heard the same sort of lines when Buckle was brought in, so I asked the guild representative waiting with me.

“Oh? Hmmm, probably should have been, but the healer likely overrode the protocol. Buckle and Dominick are trusted and valued resources here.” Bluebird replied with a casual shrug.

As more, and slightly different, thumping and clicking commenced, the metal grate slowly rose 2 meters before coming to a stop with an additional series of clicks and clanks.

“Portcullis raised and secured!”

“Exiting the passage!” Bluebird hollered and waved me forward to join her in exiting.

As we walked forward I could make out that the tunnel was blocked from seeing most of the inside of God’s Bath by an L shaped stone wall that extended from the tunnel and blocked the way forward, making us turn right to see and enter the village proper.

While it wasn’t a riot of color, the interior certainly had much more visual variety than the forest and outside that I had seen since waking the other day. Beyond a large open yard, were homes and buildings and people and animals. Each one vied for my attention as I came to a stop trying to take it all in. Some children playing with a ball and a dog were running about in the yard on the grassy half, further from the dirt ground near where Bluebird and I were standing. As I stared at the varied appearances, my companion clapped to get my attention.

“Come on Monday, let’s go check on Buckle, have a talk at the guild, and then you can have some time to look about.”

I barely had time to pull my eyes from the children and nod at Bluebird before she headed off across the yard towards a street that didn’t stand out to me from all the options. We passed through one of a few small gates placed in the low stone wall surrounding the yard, only a meter high, but it looked quite solid as we passed it.

We moved along the selected street, and I noticed several stares from various people we passed as we walked, but no one said anything about us that I could hear. Unsure if I should just ignore the looks, I asked Bluebird. “So, are they staring at you for some reason, or am I really that strange looking?”

There was a chuckle before Bluebird replied, “Well, you look interesting and new. Most likely they are staring simply because you are new here, maybe something different..." They paused, as if uncertain if they should say something. "Maybe bloodline. And folks in God’s Bath pretty much know everyone in the village. Under 1000 people live here, so even if a resident doesn’t know everyone’s name, it’s unusual to see someone you don’t recognize by sight at least. Well, and you are walking with me… So people might think you are a System adventurer or trouble, or both.”

“So there is a difference between a System adventurer or just an adventurer?”

“Simply said, you can work with the guild without being a Syssy, but it isn’t super common.”

“Buckle said ‘sissies’ last night as well. But, it doesn’t seem to mean what the word in my head means.” I said leaving the implied question hang there.

Bluebird glanced at me as we continued to walk along between buildings of various styles, constructed of stone and wood. “Not sure what meaning you have in there but Syssy, S-Y-S-S-Y, is common slang for a System User in these parts. And what did you mean by ‘what the word in my head means’?”

“Oh, okay.” I pondered for a moment before continuing. “So, I woke up yesterday and I knew how to speak. I know what language and words are, and can even read.” I point over at the sign for Goode’s General Goods that we are passing. “But some of the words I hear or see don’t… make immediate sense to me. And a meaning can pop into my head that doesn’t match what seems to be what is meant. I guess?”

“Well, interesting. That could mean a few things, but let’s check in on Buckle first.” Bluebird said and pointed at a small wooden building snuggled up against a tall wooden wall. As we got closer I noted that in addition to the blue paint, it was covered in various carvings of a figure within water. A simple word was also carved into the door ‘Bath’.