I wandered through the town. The two girls had already broken away to explore on their own, leaving me to my own devices. Not that I was complaining. The warmth from the sun kissing my flesh felt terrific, and hearing the sounds of people bustling down the road made me unbelievably happy. Yet there was a slight twinge of nostalgia that burned my stomach. It all felt so familiar, yet the memories were just out of grasp.

Maybe I was just tired, but not on a physical level. Mentally, I felt strange. It was almost light, fleeting, even with how my thoughts came and went. But maybe it was how I had to be. I could fix it.

As I thought things over, my eyes drank in the surroundings almost relentlessly. Humans bustled through the small city. It sounded like a choir of thousands of voices rising in the air. Strange creatures on four legs were gathered, carrying large wooden platforms on wheels laden with crates and various other items. For some reason, the word carriage came to mind as I walked past them.

It all felt so alien, yet it was also so familiar. It was tantalizing how it teased me. To know, yet to not fully realize. I took a deep breath through my nose, and I could detect myriad scents that wafted through the air. The soft, gentle smell of freshly baked bread mingled with the putrid scent of filth. It was almost sickening how it mixed, yet I found it somewhat peaceful. I made all of this.

I walked down the stone-laden road and through the throngs of people. A countless number of them were dressed up in what looked like ragged clothing. A sea of frayed drab browns and muddled whites rushed around me like a restless sea.

I glanced around, desperate to soak up the environment and the hundreds of faces. There were so many, yet I memorized them all with ease. There were so many that were blemished with dirt, hiding away their features. It was sad in a way to see them like that. There was so much natural beauty in the world , and it pained me to see it covered up by dirt.

But I supposed that was the way of things. This could also be part of nature. After all, if everything was beautiful, would there truly be beauty? I walked further down the road, looking at the various buildings lined the street. There were so many, and all were packed so close together. The sunlight could hardly pierce the canopies of stone and wood.

Signs hung from wooden poles and inscribed within the wood were pictures. The first one was a single mug with liquid sloshing over the top. I wish I could say there were colors, but if there were, they were long gone. I walked past the door, which stood partially open. There were a few dozen people around the door. The ambient hum from the inside crept outwards, and dozens of conversations bombarded me all at once, but it was tough to discern every little thing I heard.

I pulled my eyes away from the warm light radiating from the inside and kept walking past. A tart smell assaulted my nose, but it seemed oh so familiar, yet I couldn’t place it. But it made my stomach churn relentlessly. That was a place that I wanted to avoid at all costs. But I wasn’t sure why.

The next sign was that of a sword crossed with a shield. This time the picture was painted black and rested against the brown wood. The wind gently kicked it, causing it to rock on the draft. My eyes drifted from the sign and down toward the open building. I could feel faint waves of heat radiate from strange boxes that glowed a cherry red. Standing in front of it was a man covered in black dirt who wore a long flowing apron. In his hand was a large hammer that he was using to strike the cherry red metal that sat on top of a metal anvil.

He slammed the hammer into the metal in a rhythmic motion. The sound exploded outwards, and so did a small conflagration of sparks that caught on the wind. His muscles were enormous, almost inhumanly, and seemed to grow slightly as he brought his hammer down. His eyes were fixed on the metal that he was working underneath him, though, if I was, to be honest. I wasn’t sure what he was making.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I walked further down the road and past another throng of people. This time they were better dressed than the others I had just walked past. Their clothes looked better than the other people down the street. Here there was more variety of color. More colors stood in contrast here outside of the drab sea, which seemed to envelop everything. What made it different here?

I paused and looked around the area and saw another sign. This one had a shield, and on top of it was a panoply of stars. It was a rainbow of color and one that stood at stark contrast to the surroundings. It made me curious about what lay inside the building.

My eyes shifted down from the sign towards the stone perfectly crafted and slotted into each other. The stones glistened like freshly polished silver and chased away the dirt that seemed to permeate every inch of this town. Outside of that stood two men who wore freshly polished armor. Swords hung from their hips and dangled freely, radiating a sense of power.

Curiosity dragged my feet forward toward the building. The crowd of people here seemed a little thicker than on the street as they tried to push forward to the large double doors that sat open. Instead of fighting the flow, I just went with it for now.

After what felt like ages, I finally stumbled into the lobby. Small lanterns lined the pillars that filled the room, and each radiated a soft amber light that reached each corner. On the wall next to me was an enormous billboard with pieces of paper and hastily drawn pictures. Groups of people stood before them, quietly muttering amongst themselves while holding various sheets. Some were well-dressed, while others looked much like the people from down the street.

I pulled my gaze away from the billboard and back to the line stretched in front of me. It winded over towards a wall with a small counter that outcropped from the wall. Behind it sat a few men and women who were busy dealing with the crowd. Maybe If I stood here, I would find something interesting.

Eventually, the line dwindled, and I reached the first desk. A man stood across from me. His hair was black and tussled. His eyes were blue and danced radiantly in the amber lighting that permeated every inch of the room. “Hello! Welcome to the Adventurers guild of Lavercrest. Would you like to apply for membership?” As he spoke, he flashed a set of perfectly white teeth, and his words were enunciated perfectly.

“Yes. What do I need to do.” I lied, of course. But what was an adventurer’s guild? I knew what the words meant, so I could infer what I was doing, but at the same time, I was just here to collect information. I might as well have some fun while I’m at it.

“Can you read and write?” His voice kept an even tone, and his eyes hid whatever he felt at that moment.

“Yes,” I replied though it was a lie in a sense.

“Good; I need you to sign these papers here and present your identification so I can process you. There is no payment to apply to the adventurers’ guild. That said, you have to pay a percentage of all your income to the guild as tithes.” As he spoke, he quickly presented sheets upon sheets of paper. “This first sheet agrees that we are not responsible for any physical, mental, magical, or emotional harm that may come from this job. The next is agreeing to all tithes.” As he spoke, he quickly pointed to each piece of paper to a black bar near the bottom. “The next sheet agrees to all the rules of the adventurers’ guild, as stated in the manual.”

As he said that, he presented a small booklet that he laid gently on the table next to the stack of paperwork. Quickly, I regarded the sheets as he spoke. The strange runes at first didn’t make any sense to me until I looked at it closer. Runes morphed and bled together as they slowly changed into something I could understand. That was good; at least now I had a fighting chance here.

I went ahead and started to sign the contracts. After all, it’s not like they could actually do anything to me. But signing up for the adventurers’ guild would be good. It would be a memory to hold on to. It was time that I filled that void in my mind. But it made me curious. How would they react if they realized that their creator is standing before them filling out paperwork to explore?