Towns and Towers: A New Land Page 5

  Distraught, Sam cursed, “$%*#!” and was shocked when it came out sounding like gibberish. Repeating himself, he tried to say the word again, but the same garbled nonsense came out. Curious, he tried a few other words, “@&%, *$&^, @%^&%(#*,” but each of them sounded like nothing recognizable to him.

  Anna, on the other hand seemed to understand his meaning perfectly and responded, “I’m so sorry. He must have been a close friend of yours.”

  Confused by her statement, Sam looked up at her stupidly and asked, “Who?”

  “Jimmy,” answered Anna as she gently placed a consoling hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize that you two knew each other or else I would tried to soften the news of his passing.”

  Understanding finally dawning on him, Sam covered for his foul language by saying, “Oh yeah, Jimmy. Poor guy always had the worst luck.” Then remembering what she had said, Sam asked, “When he was in the bar that night, I just want to make sure, did he say that he would be able to get back home to Earth only if he conquered the Tower, or was that just something he wanted to do before returning home?”

  Thinking back to that night, Anna said, “Well, it’s kind of hard to remember exactly, but I believe he said he would return home upon conquering the Tower.”

  Nodding, Sam understood as the protagonist of this story that conquering the Tower would be the only logical way to beat the game, and that this Jimmy guy must have been trapped here like him, possibly by the very same device if the one he had received had been refurbished. That meant that now, instead of simply finding a save point or a kindly wizard with teleportation skills, he would most likely have to reach the top of the monolithic building in order to find his way home.

  Craning his head back to try and see where the top of the Tower was, he asked, “Conquering the Tower was his way home, huh? How far did he make it?”

  Sheepishly, Anna admitted, “I believe the party that went in said they found him in one of the first few rooms closest to the entrance.”

  “Wow, so I guess he wasn’t very good at all, then?

  Sighing, Anna said, “Well, considering what he went in with, making it that far isn’t really that bad.”

  “Really?” asked Sam confused.

  “Yes, from what I’ve heard, it’s actually quite difficult to make your way around in there. Apparently there are traps as well as creatures which hinder one’s progress.”

  “Traps and creatures,” repeated Sam, and then already doubtful about the answer he suspected she would give, he asked, “So, how many people have made their way to the top of the Tower?”

  “To the top? None.”

  “None,” repeated Sam again. “Sounds like it must be pretty tough.”

  Nodding as if everyone knew this information, she confirmed, “Yes, it is quite difficult from what I hear. I’m afraid no one has ever gotten past the first floor.”

  Eyes wide, “Seriously? No one’s ever gotten past the first floor? Then how am I supposed to get home?”

  Answering him seriously, Anna offered, “I am not sure. I suppose you could walk back the way you came.”

  “Yeah,” began Sam, drawing out the word. “I was just there. That path looks pretty closed to me.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Well, as I suggested, perhaps Cole might be able to get you where you’re going.”

  Considering what he knew about JRPGs, Sam understood that game logic dictated that this was the point when characters needed to gather as much information as possible and take on whatever minor side quests might be available from the town’s folks which he could use to gain experience and better prepare himself before attempting take on the Tower. Nodding to himself, even without realizing that he was doing it, Sam accepted that conquering the Tower was his only way forward and that he would probably have to use every trick he could think of, both from gaming as well as the real world, in order to survive.

  When he did finally look up from his thoughts, he asked Anna, “I don’t suppose you have a few minutes in which you could show me around Anozira?”

  Chapter 5

  Leaning his sticks up against the wall near the gate, Sam followed Anna into the town where she showed him around and introduced him to several people which he immediately committed to memory. The first was Nivek, who owned the local pub. As expected, aside from serving food and drinks all day, the pub also had a wealth of customers who all seemed more than ready to talk to the newcomer. Sam made a mental note to return here in order to gather more information, and to check out what he thought looked like a job board on the back wall.

  The next place Anna took him to was a blacksmith’s shop where it looked like there were a few pieces of gear available for customers to buy hanging from the wall. From the look of it, the Lv: 1 Dagger hanging on the wall seemed to be about as sharp as a butter knife and not much bigger either, while the available Lv: 1 Armor appeared to be made from nothing more than a burlap sack and was only a tad bit more protective than the traveler’s clothes he had on currently. He tried not to sound insulting when he asked if there were any other weapons he might look at, but he was sure that at least some of his disappointment came through anyway.

  The blacksmith on the other hand, either didn’t notice or didn’t care about his disappointment, and simply said, “If I had better materials to work with, then I know I could come up with better gear.” Then pointing to a pile of crumbling looking rocks in the corner, he added, “But right now, this is the only ore I have on hand.”

  Sam made a mental note to keep his eyes open for different types of ore, or any other special materials which might be useable for a blacksmith to make into weapons and armor. It wasn’t the same as getting an official side quest, but it felt like Sam had just been presented with an excellent opportunity which could pay off huge dividends by the end of his time here.

  Thanking the blacksmith, he followed Anna back out onto the street where she introduced him to the softly mumbling Mr. Rokas who apparently had nothing better to do than to walk around aimlessly in the middle of the street. Seeing how the man didn’t seem to have a first name and wasn’t doing anything important, Sam categorized him as the townsperson who appeared in most JRPGs whose sole purpose was to wander around in circles, never really getting anywhere, and mainly just adding a bit of movement to the scenery by getting in the way of the protagonist more than once when he was in a rush. It was just one of the many tropes of most JRPG worlds.

  After taking a left and walking a couple of blocks, Anna eventually stopped in front of building with a placard on the door which showed the image of a mortar and pestle seared into the wood. Before she could say anything, Sam offered, “Let me guess, this is the item shop?”

  “Yes, how did you know?” Unable to tell her that it was the typical sign used in most games, he answered, “We have a place just like this back home. Uses the same looking sign and everything.”

  Satisfied by his answer, she asked, “Would you like to go in, or would you rather wait out here? I have to pick up a package that I ordered last week.”

  Knowing that he would need to come back to most likely buy herbs, antidotes, and the like, he shrugged and said, “Sure, I can come in. Maybe they have some better stuff than what’s available back home.”

  As he stepped through the doorway, Sam’s senses were hit by what seemed like a wall of fragrances, and it only took one look inside to see the reason why. Different colored plants of various size and shape stood on every shelf and cluttered the floor space of the shop. He couldn’t tell from the door what any of them were, but he suspected if he got closer he would find their description written on their leaves or something.

  Overall, the place didn’t so much look like an item shop as it did a makeshift greenhouse. The only difference was that there was a stack of cages sitting along one wall with a loose sheet draped haphazardly over the top of them, so that Sam could still see several pairs of eyes peeking out from behind the bars.

  “Good mo
rning, Sekuri,” called Anna in a loud but cheerful tone towards the back curtain.

  “Morning, Anna,” came back a high-pitched voice.

  Continuing loud enough to be heard, Anna asked, “I don’t suppose my package came in?”

  “Actually, it did. Cole unloaded it off the boat this morning, and then had one of his men deliver it as soon as the store opened.” Pushing the curtain aside, a short Asian looking woman with a round face and a pleasant smile emerged from what appeared to be a storeroom in the back. Upon seeing Sam, she stopped and added, “Oh, hi there. Anna, who is your friend here?”

  Looking back over her shoulder at Sam, she answered, “This here is Sam. I found him at the front gates.”

  Smiling even wider, Sekuri asked, “And how is Marvin these days?”

  “He got to welcome Sam here, so he’s having a good day.”

  Nodding, she turned to Sam and asked, “Well, Sam, welcome to my shop. Are you looking for anything in particular? If you plan to head into the Tower, I might suggest you pick up some herbs before you leave.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Looking back at Anna, the woman commented, “Oh, look at him. So polite.”

  Smirking, Anna said, “Sekuri, Sam isn’t trying to take on the Tower. He was a friend of that poor guy Jimmy, and he is trying to get back home.”

  “You mean James, the one who tried to go in there with just a short sword after a night of drinking?”

  “Yes, James, that was his name.”

  Looking down, Sekuri commented sorrowfully, “Poor dear never had a chance.”

  “No, not like that he didn’t,” agreed Anna. Then in an attempt to get past the unpleasantness, Anna asked, “Sam here says he, too, is from Urth,” mispronouncing the name, “but he says he doesn’t know a way back. I was just wondering if you had heard of a way there.”

  “Earth,” corrected Sam, with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

  Looking up as she scanned her memories, Sekuri repeated the name of his planet several times before she finally answered, “No, I’m sorry. I’ve never gotten a shipment from there, so I don’t know of it. Perhaps when you make it back, you could send me something indigenous to that region, and if it sells, we can work out a deal for more.”

  Slightly disappointed that the woman hadn’t heard of Earth, but not expecting much more, Sam agreed, “Sure, I could do that. I just need to find my way ho…,” but cut himself off short when he felt a strange tugging on his pants which quickly moved into his pocket. Looking down, Sam spotted a long green tail with what appeared to be a bony white hook at the end, squiggling and squirming back and forth as something continued to try to climb deeper into his pocket. His reaction to the sight was not so much surprise as it was fear that whatever it was might bite through his pocket and into what lay beneath.

  As Sam screamed and tried to find something close by with which he might be able to strike the creature, Sekuri tilted her head and said, “Well I’ll be.”

  “What? What is it?” asked Sam desperately, still reaching for a flower pot which he thought might be able to crush it.

  “That little guy there was found on one of the boats which came back from the Miasma Pits of Detanob, and when the sailors couldn’t get him to eat anything, they got worried and brought him to me.” Pointing at the now open cage, she went on saying, “As you can see, I have a collection of animals for sale. Some people keep them as pets and whatnot, but that little guy there has been sitting in the back of that bottom cage all curled up in a ball ever since he came to this place. He hasn’t shown anyone the slightest interest until you came in here.” Then, absentmindedly, she marveled, “Come to think of it, I know that cage was locked. I wonder how he got out.”

  Finding himself simultaneously unable to reach the pot without moving and also concerned about what damage he might cause to himself if he did successfully break said pot into his own groin, Sam squeaked out a question in a voice which was much higher than normal for him. “Is he dangerous?”

  “Probably. Maybe. I don’t know,” responded Sekuri as she continued to eye the wriggling lump in Sam’s pocket. “I mean it is a wild animal, so I imagine he has some sort of defensive traits, but whether or not he would use them on you, I couldn’t be sure.” Then, as a thought struck her, she asked, “What do you have in there? He seems quite interested in whatever it is.”

  Remembering his journey into the town, Sam said, “I...um…picked up some mushrooms on my way to town. I thought they might be worth saving in case I got hurt or something.”

  “Mushrooms?!” said the woman, alarmed. “What kind of mushrooms? Please tell me they weren’t Devil Caps.”

  “I…um…don’t know what kind they were,” said Sam honestly. “I’m new here, and just thought they could be eaten if my hit points got too low.”

  “Hit points?” asked Anna. “What are those?”

  “If you picked them anywhere near the town, then chances are that those were Devil Cap mushrooms, and they’re poisonous. Poor little guy probably won’t make it very long if he’s eating those. One cap can kill a grown man if he doesn’t get the antidote into his system quick enough.”

  Still feeling the little creature moving around in his pocket, Sam said, “Well, it doesn’t seem like they’re bothering him at all, right now.”

  “No,” agreed Sekuri. “You would think for him being such a little guy that those things would have finished him off on the first bite.”

  Considering what he knew of games and what Sekuri had said earlier, Sam asked, “Wait a second, you said that he was found near the Miasma Pits and hasn’t eaten anything people have given him so far?”

  “That’s right,” she agreed.

  “Well, it must be the fact that he was from the Miasma Pits. Those places are always full of toxic fumes and stuff. The little guy is probably used to eating only poisonous things.”

  Snorting as she stared down at Sam’s pocket where a little green head had popped up with its bright red tongue flicking in and out, Anna said, “If that’s the case, it looks like you’ve made yourself a friend there, Sam.”

  “It would seem that way,” agreed Sekuri. “Why don’t you see if you can hold him?”

  “Will he bite me?” asked Sam.

  “I doubt it. Unless you’re poisonous,” joked Sekuri.

  “Funny,” commented Sam, before he slowly lowered his hand down to his pocket and held it as steady as he could.

  The little lizard’s red tongue touched Sam’s hand a few times, and then it stretched out one yellow clawed foot to place on his palm. After waiting a second, the lizard looked up at Sam as if he were trying to read what Sam wanted.

  The look itself lasted nearly a full minute, with Sam only taking one slow shallow breath during the whole time so as not to scare the creature before the lizard finally broke eye contact and scurried up his arm. A second later, the lizard made its way up to Sam’s right shoulder where it turned around and sat facing forward as if it were intent on seeing the sights of wherever Sam decided to go. To reinforce this fact, it wrapped its long green tail around the back of Sam’s neck so that the little white bone which protruded out at the end hooked itself onto Sam’s shirt.

  “Okay, I have seen enough,” said Sekuri. “You take the creature, he is yours.”

  Shocked, Sam asked, “What? No, I don’t know what to do with him. Besides, I don’t have any money.”

  “Nope, no money. He is yours. He hasn’t shown the slightest interest in anyone since arriving here, and yet you come in, and in just a few moments, he has claimed you. You take him and treat him well.”

  He knew he could at least go back out to the fields around the city and get more mushrooms for the lizard to eat, so feeding him wasn’t an issue to worry about. What Sam didn’t know was what to do with him while he tried to conquer the Tower, and of course, what would happen to him once he left for the real world. Looking to Anna for help, he asked, “What if I can’t bring him with me? I mean, it co
uld be dangerous for him in some places. Do you really think I should have a pet when I still don’t even have a place to stay?”

  Before Anna could answer him, however, Sam felt a sharp prick on his left collar bone and reached up to see what it was. To his surprise, Sam’s finger came back with a spot of blood on it.

  “Better watch it, Sam,” began Anna. “I don’t think he likes being referred to as your pet. He did seem to claim you after all.”

  Lifting an eyebrow as he looked at his own blood again, he said, “I think you’re right.”

  “You should have no problem getting a place to stay at the Inn,” said Sekuri. “Just try to see if you can get your new friend to hide out in your pocket or something while you’re in front of the innkeeper. Once you’re in your room, you can let him out to run around. No one will see him in there.”

  Not sure how the little lizard would play along with this plan, Sam figured that this must be one of the plot points in the story, so he simply said, “Thank you,” and turned to leave.

  “And Sam,” began Sekuri, “You said you came here on foot, right?”

  Without being able to go into detail about it all, Sam nodded and said, “Yes, I did.”

  “Well, you’ve been out in the wild without any problems, then. If you really are out of money, I trust you’ll be able to find some work around this town. You must be fairly capable of taking care of yourself if you have made it this far.”

  Hoping this meant that there might be some future side quests available, Sam asked, “Really? That would be great.”

  “Tell you what. Once you get settled, you can come by, and I’ll give you some work to do. I could always use someone willing hunt down more supplies and items.”

  “Thanks,” said Sam. “I’ll do that.”

  As Anna stepped over to the counter to pick up her package, Sam stepped outside and held the door open for her. Once the two of them were back on the street, Anna said, “Wow, she must have really liked you. I have never seen her give up on a potential sale and just give away stuff to a stranger like that before.”