Towns and Towers: A New Land

by Shawn Kass

  As if to emphasize Anna’s point, both of the women’s voices from behind the curtain rose dramatically, but despite their increased volume, they remained unclear, almost garbled sounding.

  Seeing Sam’s head cock to the side as he tried to listen in, Anna raised her voice and said, “Don’t even bother. She has a distortion spell on those curtains. You won’t be able to hear anything as long as they’re closed.”

  “Really?” asked Sam, raising his voice to match.

  Leaning in so that she was speaking directly into his ear, Anna explained, “Yes, my mother did it for her a few years ago.”

  Looking at her as if he didn’t hear her correctly, Sam leaned in and asked, “But I thought you said they’ve hated each other since they were in school together?”

  Nodding first, Anna leaned in and elaborated, “I did, and they do, but Madame Esmerelda commissioned her to do it and paid her a fair price for it.”

  From there, the two sat in silence, and after a few moments, the voices from beyond the curtain began to recede. Ten minutes later, the curtain opened back up, and Madame Esmerelda emerged saying, “Well, now that the matter is settled, Sam, how about I take you back here?”

  With a gulp, Sam poked his head around the corner and asked, “Where is Mrs. Emirp?”

  Sighing, she answered, “She didn’t like all of my answers to her questions, and so, just like she did when she was a child, she teleported off somewhere to cool down.”

  Relieved that he wouldn’t be stuck sitting in the middle as the two of them continued to fight, Sam said, “Well, in that case, I hope she takes her time.”

  “As do I,” Madame Esmerelda quipped. Then, gesturing towards the back once again, she added, “Now, if you would, there is something I think we should both see.”

  Nodding, Sam stood up and asked, “Do you want Anna to come, too?”

  Speaking cryptically, Madame Esmerelda said, “That is up to you and to Anna. She will not be able to follow you throughout all of this journey, but if you would like her to accompany you for now, you may.”

  Looking at Anna, Sam asked, “Well, what do you think?”

  Standing up to join him, Anna asked, “Will I have to do anything or can I just watch?”

  With a strange, penetrating look in her eyes, Madame Esmerelda stared at Anna and said, “Watching is fine for now, my dear. When it is time for action, you will know it,” and then again gestured for them both to enter the room behind the curtain.

  As Sam sat down at the table, he found that he had to readjust his pants once again due to Tezukayoshi being in his pocket, but this gave Madame Esmerelda a moment to pull on the curtain closed. Before it could be closed all the way, however, he heard the man out in the lobby sarcastically comment, “Well that didn’t sound ominous at all.”

  With Anna standing in the corner just to the right behind Sam, Madame Esmerelda returned to the table and said, “From the look of you, it would appear you have been very busy in these last few hours.”

  “Yeah, you can say that again.”

  “Are you ready to hear more?”

  Nodding, Sam asked, “Sure, but are you planning to do that weird snake skin thing again, because I’ve got to tell you, I think there has to be another way.”

  Affecting an even more cryptic and spookier voice than the one she had used earlier, Madame Esmerelda said, “If we are to see beyond the veil, then we must have the strength to be willing to pull back the curtain,” before she held out her hand across the table and gestured for him to do the same.

  Looking over his shoulder at Anna, Sam said, “You might not want to watch this next part. It can be a little intense.”

  Lifting an eyebrow, Anna said, “You are the one who is new to this place. I am sure that I can handle whatever she has to show you.”

  “Okay,” commented Sam, as if he didn’t believe her. “Just remember I gave you the chance to look away.” Then, looking back at the psychic, he placed his hand in hers, palm up, and waited.

  As she had done earlier, Madame Esmerelda held his hand with one of her own and began tapping at Sam’s open hand with the other. Again, she began by first tapping on each of his fingers and thumb before she started to trace a long inwardly spiraling circle on his palm. When the circle finally became too small to continue, she lifted her finger and poked the spot. The sensation felt sharper this time, but he forced himself not to flinch away.

  Next, she used her right index finger to gently caress along the blade edge of his hand until she finally found what she was looking for and started to pinch at the flesh there until a small flap of skin began to lift away. Wincing a bit from the grossness of the situation, Sam watched as, for the second time today, Madame Esmerelda pulled up the top layer of his skin and produced what appeared to be a thin piece of paper with all of his statistical information on it.

  Behind him, Anna covered her mouth as if she were about to throw up and looked away as she admitted, “Okay, that was a little more than I was expecting.”

  “I tried to warn you.”

  Risking a look back at him so that she could glare at his ‘I-told-you-so’ comment, Anna caught a glimpse of the sheet of skin in the candlelight and asked, “Is that writing on there?”

  Nodding, Sam said, “Yeah, come take a look. It shows all of my stats at the moment.”

  Allowing her curiosity to push aside her disgust, Anna stepped forward and asked, “What do you mean by ‘your stats’?”

  Running his finger down the left column where the names of each stat were listed, Sam explained, “If you look here, you can see my current statistical information. This area here lists my capabilities such as strength, health, and agility, while over here,” pointing to the column just to the right of each word, “we can see a numerical representation which indicates how high each area is. Together, I can see what my performance levels are in each field and how I am growing.”

  Looking at the psychic, Anna asked, “Madame Esmerelda, is this something you do with all of your clients? I have never heard of this.”

  “No, Anna. This technique is only used in special cases.”

  Reaching into the pocket where Tezukayoshi wasn’t currently sleeping, Sam withdrew the sheet of skin from his last visit and laid it next to the new one to compare. As his eyes slid back and forth between the two, he exclaimed, “That’s incredible! I’ve gone up from level one to level seven after just one side quest, and all of my stats have more than doubled.” Scanning further down the page, he located his magic ability and was surprised for a second to see that it had grown the most before he realized that this fit with the theory he had given the mage. It had grown and evolved as much as it had because it had been used to gain the most experience.

  Towards the bottom of the skin paper, he found Tezukayoshi’s information, and it made him smile when he saw that the lizard’s level had gone up as well. Looking up at Anna, he said, “Check this out. My familiar is now at level five.”

  Not really understanding all of the numbers or their implications, Anna asked hesitantly, “And this is a good thing?”

  “Yes,” said Sam, excitedly. “The higher the level someone or something is, the stronger they are.”

  “Does everyone have a level?”

  “In most areas like this, yeah. Levels determine everything from health points, to strength, and magic. Typically, people, animals, and monsters have levels, and in some cases, so do inanimate objects like trees, weapons, and more.”

  “Why would a weapon have a level?” asked Anna.

  “A weapon’s level tells the user how much damage it can take, as well as how much it can inflict. It also tells the user of any special abilities it might have, like being fire retardant or whatever.”

  Quizzically, Anna looked at Sam and asked, “How do you know all of this stuff?”

  Falling back on his previous comment, Sam said, “Where I come from, things can be very dangerous for people in a new land like this, so we make it our business to k
now about these things so that we can survive.” Then looking back to the sheets, he added, “A lot of this is similar to information I’ve seen before, but to be honest, this is the first time I’ve dealt with it all first hand,” smiling at his own pun.

  Placing a hand gently over Sam’s, Madame Esmerelda cut in and said, “It looks as though you are beginning to accept your destiny, but beware, there are many more steps in your journey before you will find your way home.”

  Taking a second to purse his lips together in thought, Sam ventured to ask his original question once again. “Do you know how I can get home?”

  “Only by completing what has been laid out before you will you be able to move on,” answered Madame Esmerelda.

  Knowing by now that asking again would only lead to even more obscure and incomprehensible answers, Sam simply nodded and rolled up his two skin sheets together. Then, standing up, he reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the medium sized coins he had found while looting the spider cave after the flames had died down and set it on the table before he left with Anna following closely behind. He had no idea what it was worth, but he knew from past games he had played that tipping the local psychic eventually earned most players special items they could use, and he figured while he had the loot on him, he might as well put some of it to use.

  When they stepped back into the brightly lit outdoors, Sam asked, “Is it too early for us to head to the pub? I don’t know what time it is, but I feel like I should have eaten some dinner or something by now.”

  Shaking her head, Anna said, “Nivek’s is always open. I’m sure we can get you something. Follow me.”

  Approaching the pub, Sam took note of the large wooden building's appearance and decorative green ivy which grew up its walls. Somehow, it seemed as though more interest had been placed on details of this building’s outer décor than the ones immediately around it, which left Sam figuring that the game designers’ goal was to get players to pay more attention to this place. With that in mind, he stepped up to the doorway and listened to what sounded like Celtic music coming from inside.

  Whether it was the volume of the music, the smell of the food, or just that he had finally had enough sleep by this point, Tezukayoshi woke from his nap and began to crawl around within Sam’s pocket. It took him a second to squirm around so that he could poke his head out, but once he did, he flicked his tongue out several times to sample the air and cocked his head from side to side as he considered his surroundings. He went through this routine three or four times before he finally looked up at Sam and met his eyes.

  Gesturing towards the pub’s entrance, Sam said, “I don’t think they’re going to be willing to serve you at the table, pal, but if you want to go hunting, I’m sure you can find something around back.”

  Looking towards the corner which led behind the pub, Tezukayoshi flicked out his tongue once again before he emerged fully from Sam’s pocket and made his way down to the street. Then with one last look towards his human, the little lizard scurried off towards the shadows.

  By this point Anna had already gone in the doorway, and she turned around and teased, “Are you coming in, or shall I ask the waitress to bring you your food out there?”

  “Yeah, I was just letting Tezukayoshi out. He looked like he wanted to go investigating,” said Sam. “First time here, you know.”

  Coming up behind Anna, a waitress in a tight white shirt and short plaid green skirt asked, “Hey Anna, do you need a table?” and then upon seeing Sam, added, “Who’s your friend?”

  Making the introductions, Anna said, “Asil, this is Sam. Sam, this is Asil. She’s Nivek’s daughter, and our waitress once you get in here.”

  Stepping inside, Sam apologized and said, “I was just admiring the ivy outside. Is this the only building in town with it?”

  “Yes,” answered Asil. “My father had it brought in purposely to set it apart from the rest of the buildings in town. Said it was some kind of good luck charm for a business. I don’t know if it’s true, but all I can say is, we’ve always got customers at our tables.” Then looking at Anna, she asked, “Since he’s with you, I assume he’s not one of the Tempters?”

  “No, he just came to town for a few days before he heads home.”

  “Good,” said Asil with a look of relief on her face. “I’ve got a pretty rowdy crowd of them in here already. I guess they’re planning to head back in first thing in the morning, and they’ve got it in their heads that it’s some kind of a requirement to get completely inebriated the night before.”

  “Well, how about we just sit up at the bar then, so we don’t take up too much of your time?”

  “Honestly, I would prefer if you just kidnapped me out of here. Not only are they loud and obnoxious, but I think they already spent most of their money on items and gear, so after settling their tab, I’m not expecting much of a tip out of them.”

  Looking over at the group, Sam saw that there were two men, two women, and one other person who looked like an adolescent beneath an oversized poncho, but he couldn’t tell if that one was a boy or a girl with the hood pulled up the way it was. The men were talking loudly and occasionally hitting each other as they made their point about whatever they were discussing, and with each hit, he saw that they tended to spill a little bit more of whatever type of ale they were drinking. The two women, on the other hand, sat talking conversationally while they ate and drank what looked like wine, leaving the other person to have no one to talk to while he/she stared at an empty plate. It was kind of sad how none of the group tried to include this person, but then again, maybe he/she simply didn’t want to be included.

  Seeing Sam looking in their direction, Asil said, “They’re regulars here. They call themselves the Reckoners. They claim that they’ve made it further into the Tower than any other group so far.”

  “Really?” commented Sam. “What else do you know about them?”

  Pointing to the far end of the table, Asil began, “Well, the large black guy at the end is named Mace. He and the guy to his right, Hugo, make up the group’s frontal assault.” Pointing to the women, Asil continued, “On the other end of the table, you have the blonde woman, Sherri, and the brunette, Kat. Sherri is some kind of offensive mage, and Kat is a ranger. She might not look it, but Kat is the leader of the group.”

  “What about the kid?” asked Sam.

  “Who, Raven? I think she’s just the group’s supporter or something. She’s new. I heard she was training to be a squire or something and then just stopped. I’m not sure why, but she doesn’t talk much. As far as I know, she’s just accompanied them into the Tower once, carrying whatever extra supplies they needed and picking up the loot and stuff for them.”

  “Sounds like a crap job,” commented Sam.

  “Yes, I suppose, but it does free up the rest of the group to focus on fighting. It is quite dangerous in the Tower, you know.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Speaking up, Anna said, “Come on, Sam. Let’s take a seat at the bar so Asil can get back to work.”

  Following Anna, Sam noticed the bulletin board in the back of the room and confirmed his earlier suspicions that it was indeed a job board. Making a mental note to check it out before they left, he took the stool at the end of the long wooden bar while she took the one next to him. Then, reaching across him, she plucked two of the menus out from the small stand at the end and handed one to him, asking, “What are you in the mood for?”

  Opening it up, he answered, “I don’t know. What’s good here?”

  “Everything,” replied Anna. Then asking a question of her own, she asked, “What was with the questions about the Tempters? You haven’t changed your mind and decided to become one, have you?”

  Not wanting to tell her about his idea that conquering the Tower might be his only way home, he shook his head and answered, “No, I was just curious. Where I come from, it’s always a good idea to know a little something about people like that.”

&nb
sp; “People like what?” asked a gravelly voice.

  Turning around, Sam saw that one of the men from the table, Mace, if remembered correctly, was standing behind him. Noticing that Mace held an empty mug in one hand and that his other hand was resting on the hilt of a giant axe, Sam decided to play dumb and asked, “What?”

  With a mean look in his eyes, the giant man leaned in and said in a British accent, “As I came up here, it shounded like your girlfriend and you were over here talking about my group, sho I would like to hear how you planned to finish that last shatement,” which, by the way some of his words came out, proved that he was more than a little drunk.

  Thinking fast, Sam looked at Anna and then back at Mace before he chose what he hoped would be the most politically correct way of getting out of this as he explained, “Well, people who have more experience than you. I mean, I have no idea what it’s like in the Tower, but everything I’ve heard makes the place sound brutally dangerous, and yet your group has been able to go in there repeatedly and make it out again.”

  Slurring his words, the big guy said, “That doesn’t explain how knowing shomething about us helps you. You clearly aren’t shrong enough to make it in there on your own.”

  “I wasn’t saying that I could. I just thought I might be able to ask you for some survival tips sometime.”

  “Bullocks!” exclaimed the large man. “You were cracking up on my group, weren’t you?”

  Seeing that this wasn’t going the way he had hoped, Sam held up his hands and said, “Look, big guy. I didn’t say anything bad about your crew. I was just talking about the fact that you guys must be pretty good at what you do, considering the stories I’ve heard about what’s in there.”

  Raising his voice so that fermented spittle came flying out with each word, the big guy said, “Sho, you have no idea what you’re talking about. If you haven’t been in there, then you don’t know.”

  “Okay, okay, I was just trying to pay you guys a compliment.”