Maverick walked down the street taking in the strangeness of his situation. Stalls lined both sides of the wide road. Some were selling goods while others offered the aroma of baked breads, pies, and nicnaks. As he weaved in and out of the stalls and through the people Maverick attempted to figure out where he was headed. Not all shops were out in the open as some were more established. Signs hung from the door ways on poles extended overhead yet visible to those who passed by.

Taking note of the store signs, Maverick observed that symbols were used instead of words to indicate the nature of each establishment. He saw one sign depicting a chain link intertwined with a hammer, suggesting perhaps a blacksmith or hardware store. Another displayed a spoon and a two-pronged fork, clearly marking a place for dining or utensils. However, many symbols remained undecipherable to him, reflecting his unfamiliarity with this world.

The architecture of the buildings provided additional clues about their functions. As he walked past one structure, its design reminded him of a church from his homeland; it had a tall rod with a shining light at its apex, hinting at some form of worship or spiritual center.

Opening and closing his inventory Maverick had his fill of the blueberry tomato. He focused on the inventory bringing the whole screen in front of him. Shoving the berry in he noticed two things. The berry now had a quantity next to it with a label under the berry. "Glade Berry Qty:1" Maverick felt in the back of his mind that he could call the berry in and out of the inventory as he wanted. It was odd as he could mentally, not physically feel the weight, size and importance of the object.

This was a new feeling as he had never really thought about each of those traits before with the level of clarity the system had. The coppers he had were of less weight but more importance than the Glade Berry.

Maverick closed his inventory as he came to the end of the road. The street and buildings continuing down another direction. If he turned right he would see that both the street he was on and the one beside him skirted what looked to be a wide city. The city was built against a mountain, allowing him to see the expanse of the city leading towards what looked like a palace half way up the large hill. Looking forward he could see that the road went from rock and rubble to a trail of two paralleling ruts with small grass like roots in the center. If he had to guess this was a path traveled by something large on wheels.

Looking for any obstructions he crossed the dirt road and joined the path picking one of the ruts to travel. As he walked the dirt path turned weaved around pits in the ground and large boulder like rocks. Observing ahead he could see a tree line in the distance. The disparity of where the city and the tree line meet made a stark contrast of dust and vegetation.

Still a hundred or so feet away from the Woodline Maverick could hear chirping and the sounds of rustling between the trees. They were thick and close together. He could tell the city did not attempt to cull the growth of the forest at all. Nearing the forest he found a pronounced path connecting to the same ruts he was traversing down. Bending down he picked up another rock off the ground and added it to his inventory. He figured he might as well test the capabilities of his inventory. Currently he was able to store the half eaten Glade Berry, 43 rocks, Sun Rot seed, pebble, and a shard of wood that he found along the way.

He had attempted to place a flower and a beetle into his inventory. The flowers body pressed against the screen and phased through it. Depositing its seeds the flower was now mangled leaving the organic item without seeds but also it appeared to had not survived the experience. The beetle also phased through the screen leaving nothing in his inventory. It simply past through with no fan fair.

As he was pondering this a new noise entered his range. At first it was soft.

*thud, thud thud.*

Then it was louder and grew at an increasing rate. The sound rushing his way from down the path leading further into the tree line. Down the road he could hear the patters of hooves and the shouts of something being yelled from center object careening his way. Intently watching the spectacle Maverick failed to grasp what was happening as several human sized blurs darted from the left and right side of the caravan. They neared the entrance at a tremendous pace. Seeing that he would be in the path of the wagon Maverick rushed to the side tripping and rolling head over to his back as the Wagon pulled out onto the open dirt.

A haunting howl echoed from the woods, followed by the thud of a massive form landing beside him. A blur of motion as a man sized dogs leaped over him heading straight to the wagon.

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*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

The wagon curved left as two people jumped from the front of the cart seat and landed between the dogs and the cargo. The boy pulled out a shield and sword and ran forward while the lady used her right hand to grab her left wrist, pointing it in the direction of the pack of man dogs chanting. Unlike the words from the cart lady he could understand the words she spoke.

"Blessing of fire pour out. Give heat to my heart. Expand, grow, burn. Burn my enemy!" - Lady

Just before the Swordsman reached the beast several darts of fire weaved over his shoulder landing on the leading man dogs chest.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The first three dogs flew backwards landing next to Maverick. Two of them were unconscious while the third groaned. With his heart racing, Maverick scrambled up, snatching a makeshift saber from the limp paw of a fallen man dog. As he stood up the smell of the beast hit him like a wall of musky soured dog breath. The smell causing him to dry heave as the groaning dog snapped its head to stare at him. They locked eyes. One set scared stiff while the other set hungry and wild.

A brief stillness held tension in the air. Then, the beast crawled to his feet ambling over to Maverick. It cackled as it neared. Giving a high pitch whine as pain still racked its body. Maverick stumbled back, the beast's snarls growing louder with each thunderous step toward him. With them both being in such close quarters, Maverick could not do anything but shove his sword forward. The beast was too close to counter the blow. A slight keen sounded as the beast hit the end of the saber. Warm blood sprayed across his face as their bodies collided, the saber piercing through fur and sinew.

The beast's momentum drove them both into a chaotic roll. The saber buried deep, its weight pulling at Maverick's arm. The event took a brief moment, our hero frozen in fear opened his eyes to find two staring right back into his. A warm wetness ran over his hands. Looking down Maverick took in what had just happened. Screaming, Maverick shoved with his legs, sending the beast sprawling, and wrenched the blade free, slick with blood. Shock numbed his mind as he moved on instinct, the saber rising and falling twice more before he could think again. Tears fell from his eyes. The innocence's had slightly faded from his once honest eyes. Huffing for breathe and looking all around him Maverick yelled in short burst as the moment over took his senses.

Two dings sounded in his head as it left also a ringing sound with the flow of adrenaline coursing through his frame. Heaving, Maverick threw the blade down and fell to his knees. Staring at his bloodied hands, the moment passed as another hand landed on his shoulder.

"Ble dey? Sr. Ble dey?"- man

His reaction was to swing his arm for a strike but found that his arm was already held back by the voice. Looking up the man through him a black cloth. Maverick could see the man wiping off his hands and sword. Mimicking the actions he was astounded to find the black clothe soaked in the blood leaving not a trace on him. The only thing that lingered was the warmth transferred in the exchange.

Maverick looked at the saber and picked it back up. Placing it quickly into his inventory he noticed his quest log was somewhat shining. With the quest log minimized to the corner of his vision he could see the words accept next to two of the quest. Mentally he accepted the awards. Turning around he glanced back to the man dogs. When he was entangled with the beast from before he learned this beasts were called Knolls. They were large bipedal dogs. From what he could see they ran like humans with the speed of a canine.

"I asked if you were okay?" -Man

Maverick turned to stare at the man. "Yes, I am. I thought I was going to die for a moment."

"You did well. I hope we did not harm you with our attacks. My name is Jonah" - Jonah

"Maverick. My name is Maverick. No you did not hurt me."

"Can you tell me why these things were chasing you?" - Maverick

"We are currently bringing supplies into the city. The smell of our goods tend to attract the unsavory."

"Say, you looked like you were just about to head into the forest? I'd advise against it. You don't look dressed for it." - Jonah

Maverick scratched the back of his head as he responded.

"Yeah, I was trying to finish a quest. But I am also in a bit of a situation. I kind of found myself here."

"Well, if it means anything, thanks for jumping in. We're headed into the city now." - Jonah

The man turned and started walking back to the caravan. Maverick stared at the ground then back at the beast.

"Jonah! what was that your friend did to them." -Maverick

Jonah turned around with a skeptical expression on his face. This time Jonah looked to the knolls then back to Maverick.

"It was fire bolt. Its a basic spell. It comes from one of her blessings. Do you not know basic magic?" - Jonah asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, Magic? is that something everyone can do?" - Maverick

Maverick started to walk in the mans direction, following him back to the lady. As they approached Jonah yelled out to her.

"Annika! The beast are dead. Lets check the wagon and horses while we break here for a moment. This man here wants to know what Magic is." - Jonah smirked as his words were received by the lady.

Annika's face looked like her jaw would fall off as stared at Maverick. At that moment another blip sounded in Mavericks ears followed by another alert from his quest system.