My head was pounding. I sat up and the vertigo kicked in. Buildings spun, and shapes of dwarves came to my side. I looked at my inventory. My health was red. I slammed my Heal spell and watched my health climb back up. It took a moment to register, but the obvious concussion slowly faded.

  Paco came bounding over to me and plopped down. His tail twitched as he did so. He looked scared, but also excited from the rush of adrenaline coursing through his body.

  “They killed the mama bird once we got inside. Ballistas appeared out of those two roofs,” he pointed at a pair of buildings. There were no ballistas on top of them.

  “Where’d the ballistas go?”

  “I don’t know. There was a crunching sound and they slowly descended. I guess they’re on like an elevator.”

  “Interesting,” I said looking down at the raccoon. He was twiddling his fingers. “What’s wrong?”

  “They wouldn’t let me keep the talons of it. I wanted them.”

  “Well, it wasn’t your kill. You can’t go stealing everything just because you want it.”

  Paco looked up at me in annoyance. “I know,” he muttered. “But I still want them.”

  “Maybe we can level up and get you some talons later.”

  “Like a quest?!”

  “Yes, like a quest.”

  New Quest!

  This is a party quest. Get Paco the talons of a Demon Hawk. A mother or a father will do. Baby Demon Hawk’s will not drop talons as loot. Do they have magical properties? Who knows! Only one way to find out.

  Reward: Nothing. You get talons that you have to give Paco.

  “Chris, our first real quest,” his eyes lit up.

  “Yeah, I got the same thing,” I said scrolling through my menu. I pushed myself up off the ground now that the world had finally stopped spinning. Paco walked on all fours. It was strange to me. He could obviously run on both legs with whatever the Grays did to him, but he still chose to walk around like the raccoon I knew him as.

  There were dwarves throughout the town. The women dressed like old-timey fantasy women with white blouses and brown dresses which had overall straps going over their shoulders. Most of the men were clad in leather and animal pelts. There were foxes, coyotes, and the occasional albino animal skin draped over their shoulders as we walked further into town. I opened my map and could see the center filled with merchants.

  “Let’s go here,” I pointed to my map. A red ping placed itself. I put my map away and saw that the marker had generated itself into the world. There was a glowing beam which reached to the sky in front of us.

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  “Chris, do you think other people can see that?”

  Before I could speak, the AI chimed in.

  No. This is a marker designated only to the party. Unless, of course, someone has a spell that allows them to see markers by other people. Then, that would be bad. Highly unlikely here, but still, keep that in mind, little one.

  “Understood,” I said.

  The center of town was bustling with people laughing, playing music on instruments I didn’t understand, and dancing. Merchants argued back and forth with customers and sold their wares.

  “By the gods!” A familiar voice shouted.

  “Mr. Shoulder!” Paco shouted as he ran up to the dwarf.

  “We thought you were dead once you took off in your war wagon.”

  “Good to see you, Bruk,” I said as I nodded my head.

  “By the ax of Lord Greatwood, may our swords never dull and our shields never splinter. With his fury may the ground we walk upon give way to dust and rubble. With his patience may the waves still and the winds fall silent in our presence. With his mercy, may our souls find peace within the earth we once emerged. Lord Greatwood, guide my hand. I am Brukrag, your humble vassal, come to this land to do thy bidding until I am once again called home. Hoy.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s just a prayer in my culture.”

  “Who’s Lord Greatwood?” Paco asked.

  “Not now, little one. I’ll tell you at our feast later,” Oakshoulder reached town and patted Paco on the head.

  “Feast?”

  “Of course! Always a feast when we have guests.” He laughed a hearty laugh. “Let me show you the guest quarters. Come.” Oakshoulder turned away and started walking away from the center.

  The buildings became less ornate as we walked a couple blocks. The wood carvings slowly disappeared and all that was left were wooden buildings shaped like blocks.

  “Pick any of ‘em, they’ll take you to your rooms.” Oakshoulder waved his arm at a row of buildings. All brown. All brown doors. All handles made of wood.

  “Where should we meet you later for the feast, Mr. Shoulder?”

  “Pull up your map.”

  Paco scrolled through his menu and got to his map. I watched as Brukrag touched the empty air in front of him. There was a blue marker that appeared.

  “How’d you do that?”

  “I’m the Mayor of this town. I have abilities to do things most can’t. You’ll find other mayors can do this as well,” he said. “Anyway, go there where the sun begins to set. It’s time for me to go. By the ax of Lord Greatwood, may our swords never dull and our shields never splinter. With his fury may the ground we walk upon give way to dust and rubble. With his patience may the waves still and the winds fall silent in our presence. With his mercy, may our souls find peace within the earth we once emerged. Lord Greatwood, guide my hand. I am Brukrag, your humble vassal, come to this land to do thy bidding until I am once again called home. Hoy.” He nodded and turned away before Paco or I could say anything.

  “Okay, so which one?” Paco asked.

  “Any of them. Just go to that door,” I pointed at the closest building.

  I put my hand on the wooden handle, depressed it, and opened the door. Inside was our common room just as we had left it.

  Paco’s eyes widened. “That’s crazy,” he whispered before he trotted off and pulled the manhole cover to his room. I watched his feet and tail slide away.