The mist formed around my hands, formless, yet I knew there was some sort of substance to it. I could juggle it around like a ball or pull it apart like a spring. But no matter how much I tried to pull it apart, it always stayed together. Huh, that’s neat. I still had no idea how to operate the thing, much less use it, so I just put it away for safekeeping. Hopefully, the quest-line will show me how to use it eventually.
A wave of nausea passed over me for a moment and a sense of loss overcomes me. I shrugged it off, now’s not the time to remember my sad past. For now, I decided to head into Epic City, seeing as I was already quite exhausted from that fight. Along the way, I decided to check my basic stats to attempt to glean information off it them (it was probably an oversight to not check them beforehand, but nothing I can do about that now):
Profile - Basic Stats
HP: 36/36
MP: 25/25
Stamina: 10/100
Level: 1 (60%)
Speed: 40 (DND Terms)
Strength: 14
Evasion: 13
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 10
Luck: 9%
Attack: 5-10 damage per strike
Defense: 11
Magic Defense: 0 + 10 (Iridescent Bonus)
Weakness: All
Strength: Unknown (Iridescent Bonus)
Auto Abilities: Unknown (Iridescent Bonus)
Ouch, didn’t think my stamina was that low. That would really affect my ability to fight other monsters. Good thing I decided to take a breather for now, all that sprinting really did take a lot out of me.
“Phew.” I let out a big breath. Taking in the fact that I just defeated whatever that thing was. I pull up my quest log and see the next part of the quest locked for some reason. “Huh, there must be a trig-- Wait a second.” I take a closer look, something on the tracker has changed, but I can’t tell what. I stopped to ponder for a second, trying to parse together information I might have missed. Hmm, nope nothing rings a bell. Well, whatever, that can wait until after I’ve met up with Suzie.
The gate now looms over my head as I arrived while lost in thought. I shift my gaze from side to side to take in just how large it is. Must be like twenty feet wide and forty feet tall and it takes all of my willpower to not feel sad about the whole thing. Sad? Shouldn’t I be amazed? The guards on either side, eye me warily, almost like there’s some sort of concern for my appearance? Meh, probably will get those looks a lot while looking like this.
I shrug off the lingering depression. “Hello, gentlemen.” I greet them as well as I can. “Is there a simple way to restore my stamina?”
They all shift uncomfortably. One of them finally speaks after a few seconds. “T-there’s a b-bar around here t-that’ll give you s-something to h-help with that.”
I grin at him, “Thanks, I think that’s just what I need.”
I walk merrily between them, trying to forcibly shake of this weird sense of unease washing over me. I pause for a moment as I hear whispers about some Iris? “He must be one of those.” What do I have to do with them? Hmmm, maybe it is best to check out a tavern just to see what gossip I might find about these guys.
I quickly walk through the gates and gaze upon the market, not really stopping for the scenery of it. I catch a few people sneaking glances at me before hurriedly turning away once we make eye contact. Okay, now I’m almost entirely convinced there’s something strange going on. Need to find that tavern posthaste.
I hastily locate the place that looks the most run down and run that direction. Common RPG logic says that this is most likely where the best gossipers are. Sure enough, I find a cozy little tavern in the middle of the slums after traversing countless small roads. I bumped into some strange elves though on the way, but they didn’t stop for me as if they were in a rush to be somewhere. Paying it no mind, I step into the bar.
It’s a quaint place; low handle chandeliers, candles on each table and even a few barmaids who are dressed in lederhosen. It feels as though I’ve stepped into a strange old timey film. Feigning confidence to hide my strange queasiness, I waltz up to the bar.
The bartender gives me a look. “What’re having?”
“Is there a drinking age requirement?” I ask pensively.
He scoffs. “For the likes of you, there ain’t ever been a requirement.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say a bit too defensively. Several other customers look my way. I shrink away slightly at their hateful eyes.
The bartender slinks his way next to me and speaks in a hushed manner. “Boy, you better watch what you say around ‘ere.” He pauses to look around. “You might be new in town, but that doesn’t mean that the bad blood of the other Iris won’t cause you harm.”
I gulp audibly and whisper. “What does that mean for me?”
“Stay out of sight, it’d be in the best interest for all of us.”
I get up from my stool. “Can I have something for stamina to go then?”
He picks up a bottle and tosses it into my claws. “On the house. Just don’t come back asking for more.”
I hold a glum look as I head towards the door. Stay out of sight? Why is that necessary? The only logical reason I can come up with is that someone’s out to get anyone whose like me. It still doesn’t tell me what an Iris is, maybe someone else could help me understand that. Maybe I should take his advi-WHUMP. I smack hard into something as I round the corner just outside of the exit.
“Oh I’m sorry, I wasn’t watchi-” I pause as I gaze at who I stumbled into and gasp in surprise.
