Chapter 2
A Crane in the City
Hyup pulled himself into the capsule and closed the top.
The guide was clear on what was going to happen but it was still beyond him to imagine it actually happening. He placed his head down making sure his neck rested within the metal semi-circle and felt it hum to life.
A moment passed and his eyes blacked out like he imagined would happened if someone was knocked unconscious. Words appears in his field of vision along with a woman's voice.
Connect to Royal Road?Yes|No
He answered, "Yes."
-Welcome to the release of Royal Road Version 1.0
If there are any problems or glitches, please send a report and it shall be dealt with as soon as possible.
-Select the name of your Avatar
The Name you select cannot be changed without deleting your account
Do Hyup took a while to think of a name after he learned of its requirement from the intro guide. Then he stared at his favorite poster on the wall above his bed and he knew what it had to be.
"Crane."
-Select your gender from male, female or neutral
The concept that there could be women in Royal Road who were actually men disturbed him slightly but he decided not to give it another thought.
"Male"
-Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary seven races that are currently available.
More races will be unlocked in the future.
"Human"
-You may alter your appearance using the index or use your original appearance.
This was a point Do Hyup had considered for a long time. When people looked at him, they had pity in their eyes, when he looked at himself, he saw the same. It wasn't that he didn't have good features, it was that he wanted to escape the feelings that others had attached to them.
He brought up the menu for altering the appearance and glanced over it's options. However he didn't want to choose an appearance. A person doesn't choose how they appear when they're born and Do Hyup felt they shouldn't be have that right.
"Random, age fifteen."
The appearance came out as someone with shoulder length black hair and taller than average, but lacked any adult features making him look childish.
Hyup hesitated for a moment but confirmed the avatar. The game aged the avatar at the same rate as the real world, so his avatar's age would always match his own.
-Your account has been created. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road.
-Select a city and Kingdom you want to start.
A map of the continent opened before him. It had the appearance of an old stained map with three different colored areas highlighted in the center with five glowing dots dispersed between them. The continent's north, south and east edges were surrounded by blackened countries, signifying they were forbidden, dangerous lands, while the west edge lined a coast. The three colored areas were the Kingdom of Haven, Kallamore Kingdom, and Aidel Kingdom, and the five dots were his options for currently available starter cities.
According to the guide, new players would have access to more cities to start from in the future, but a user had to discover them first. This of course was no help to him as no new cities would be available for at least a week.
"Random."
Crane didn't know anything about the cities so he he let chance decide for him.
-You have chosen the Fortress of Yarsan, Kallamore Kingdom
-Welcome to Royal Road
A bright flash washed over his eyes and when his vision returned, he was standing on the side of a cobble stone street busy with activity.
His first instinct was to take advantage of his regained movement and walked around, but restrained himself and sat down on the ground. His father had told him this game was different from any game he had played before, and Crane wanted to prove that to himself by doing something that you can't do in another game. Nothing. Do nothing and watch the world move around you. Watch everything move about, watch the birds fly over head, watch people living their lives, independent of his actions. If the actions of others did not require his own to progress, it meant he was free to do what he wanted. The biggest feature of the city he could see was the massive cliff of the plateau that extended further to the left and right than the city walls. The cliff must've been thousands of feet high, and would be visible from anywhere in the city. He could not see it clearly but at the very top seemed to be a shining palace. Although the features were obscured he could see the light reflecting off the buildings from the sun.
An armored soldier walked up to Do Hyup and said, "Who're you? Haven't seen your face before."
Holding back a chuckle at the irony of the statement he answered, "I'm Hyu-, I mean, my name is Crane. I just logged in."
The soldier gave him the look one would give a shabby stray cat and said, "Huh? Oh I see, you're a foreigner, a freeman sent by Gaea the Holy Seer."
Crane recognized that statement from the guidebook as the backstory all users in Royal Road had for their origin so he nodded.
"Well alright then, move along, soon they'll be a mess of merchants coming through and they'll need the room."
Crane got up and walked to the wall. As promised, a caravan of what seemed to be over a hundred people came through the gates on foot, in wagons, and riding horses or in some cases oxen.
Crane followed the tail end of the group until they split into two groups, a larger one continuing straight through another gate into another section of the city and a smaller one going left to what appeared to be the shopping district. Crane chose to follow the smaller group.
As Crane entered the shopping district, a skinny man who looked older than he probably was yelled in Crane's direction, "Come here, come here, I have exactly what you are looking for."
Crane walked over to his store and recognized the type of wares for what they were. 'Tourist Shop.'
Crane feigned interest in some of the items, and Tanner, the owner tried to convince him of their usefulness. Crane did not want to be rude, nor tell him he was penniless, so he asked when Tanner's was next due to get new merchandise. Tanner said next month, and Crane asked him for some help with directions, so that he would always know where his shop was. Tanner smiled and went to his desk and pulled out a map of Yarsan, and circled a spot with an inkwell feather pen. Crane thanked him for the map and moved on.
The map showed that the city was a massive half circle divided up into four parts within a semicircle and built into the massive cliff that overlooked the city. The center of the semicircle was the military base, a small half circle built in the into the face of the cliff. The second section was a wide ring around the base called the Central ring. The public structures were located there. The wide ring around the Central ring was split into two halves, with the right half designated the Residential area and the left the Shopping district. The walls that surrounded the city ran around the circumference of the city and along the base of the cliff connecting to the military base.
The map showed a basic diagram of the city sections but little else. Crane decided the best thing to do was to explore the city and improve his map. He stopped at the visitor center near the tourist shop and got a feather pen to write with.
Crane walked along the length of the shopping district, marking each shop's unique specialty.
After marking each shop in the district, Crane turned around to walk to the residential district.
The housing district itself seemed to be divided into three general sections. Closest to the center line was the higher end houses, neatly lined up with gardens, trees, and a few parks spaced between them. After that seemed to be average quality houses, no yard or space between houses but the houses themselves were respectable enough. The last section was the slums. Tall apartment type buildings that attempted to cram as many people as possible into the smallest possible space.
Crane marked down the name of each street and moved onto the city's Central ring. Crane passed the wall that divided the second ring from the third and realized the walls were much thicker than he had first guessed, at least fifteen feet thick. The buildings in the Central ring numbered in the hundreds, each with their own purpose. Crane only marked the road names and prominent buildings. When Crane arrived at where the Central ring met the cliff face, he saw a fifty foot tall relief statue of a warrior carved into the cliff, with a stone door by it's side. Crane walked over a colorful tile courtyard and found a man who seemed to be a Priest and asked him who that was.
"You must be new to Kallamore Kingdom. That of course is Magni, son of Thor, and I am a Priest of the Church of Magni."
Crane wasn't aware there were actually religious orders within Versailles, and was caught off guard by the concept. He knew practically nothing about Versailles, and didn't want to fall behind.
"Where can I learn more about your church and this kingdom?"
"The library of course."
A shiver went up Crane's spine. He had not considered that this world would be in such detail as to include books and libraries.
Crane pulled out his map and showed it to the priest asking where it was.
The priest pointed to the west edge of the Central ring, opposite the center line of his own location, and said, "The entrance is here." Crane bid him a good day, and began to leave.
As Crane turned, the priest said, "Wait, if this is your first time visiting here, might I make a recommendation? Opposite the church of this courtyard is a large viewing deck, you see it there?" He pointed behind Crane at a wooden deck thirty or forty feet off the ground with a ramp leading up to it. "Before you leave you should take in a view from it." With that the priest turned around and walked off. Crane found the entrance to the ramp and walked up a flight of wooden stairs to the platform that overlooked the courtyard. When he reached the edge he let out a small gasp. The colored tiles that made up to courtyard were arranged to make a mural circle, two hundred feet in diameter. A warrior on a golden horse stood against a dark landscape, arm raised wielding a glowing hammer.
You have seen the Mural of MagniStrength +15
Vitality +15
For a day
The effect does not stack with other works of art
Crane made a note to return to this point before his first engagement.
Crane made his way to the library, marking down buildings and streets along the way. When he found the library, his heart dropped to his stomach. It was a two story building nestled in the corner of the cliff and the outer wall, and was only marginally bigger than his house in the real world. He considered avoiding it altogether but he at least wanted to see what their limited selection contained. Crane entered the door, first noticing the lack of books on the first floor. To the left of the entrance was a wide counter with a young woman at the front. Behind the counter was a single bookshelf, with what appeared to be no more than fifteen books. The back of the library had a door that probably lead to a small back room and a guard standing next to it. To the right of him was a staircase leading to the second floor. Crane figured there were a few rare books in the back behind the guard, and the library's collection must be on the second floor. The space would be large enough to carry less than a dozen shelves but it was still worth a look. As Crane walked towards the stairs, the woman at the counter asked in a somewhat annoyed voice, "Do you have your library card?"
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Crane stopped dead, and turned to face the woman at the counter.
"I do not have one, may I please get one?"
The woman replied, "That'll be one silver."
Crane looked in his inventory to see that his starting money did not even add up to a single silver. He thought maybe he should just give up and find something else to do, but he was far too stubborn to do so or admit he was wrong.
"I have no money, is there another way I can get a Library card?"
At this question the librarian closed her eyes and remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Well, quite a few people in the city have borrowed books beyond their return date, if you can find these people and retrieve the overdue books, I'll wave the fee for you."
The sound of a bell briefly appeared along with a message.
*Ding*
Over Due
The Librarian has requested you to find the houses of several people who have over due books and retrieve them.
Difficulty: E
Progress
-The vampires of Morata Incomplete
-Baking with Rye Bread Incomplete
-The Prince and the Bard Incomplete
-Four Heroes of Salim Incomplete
-The City of Zinge Incomplete
-Sticks and Bones Incomplete
-Joke Book Incomplete
-Organizing your Gnome Garden Incomplete
-Sharing your sword Incomplete
-Hiking the Senbain Mountains Incomplete
-Utilizing your shield Incomplete
-Arguing with Bandits Incomplete
Quest Requirements:
Less than one silver on person
Reward
Library Card
If all returned within 24 hours, you will an receive additional reward
It was Crane's first quest, and he had no reason to refuse. "I'll retrieve those books for you."
-Quest Accepted
The Librarian passed a piece of paper to Crane and said, "Here is the list of books and the addresses of the peoples who borrowed them, as for finding those addresses, you're on your own.”
Crane looked through the address street names and took out his map.
-----------------------------
Progress
-The vampires of Morata Complete
-Baking with Rye Bread Complete
-The Prince and the Bard Complete
-Four Heroes of Salim Incomplete
-The City of Zinge Complete
-Sticks and Bones Complete
-Joke Book Complete
-Organizing your Gnome Garden Complete
-Sharing your sword Complete
-Hiking the Senbain Mountains Complete
-Utilizing your shield Complete
-Arguing with Bandits Complete
Crane was on the last book, the other people on the list mercifully had all been home and gave him the books they borrowed, but the last person had moved out, and forgot to leave a forwarding address. Crane had little choice but to knock on every door in the surrounding area, asking for any information anyone had on him. But to no avail, the people said they barely knew him, and couldn't tell Crane anything useful about him. On what must've been at least the twentieth door, Crane met a person who was the borrower's drinking buddy, who said that the man was a regular at a certain bar in the shopping district around that time. Not wanting to miss him and map in hand, Crane ran across the city, trying his best not to bump into anyone on the way. When he made it to the bar he asked the bartender if that person was around. The bartender pointed across the bar to a middle aged man chugging a glass of beer. He was a skinny older gentleman with sharp features, premature balding, a scar over his forehead and a sword at his waist. Crane walked over to him.
"Are you Kalt Owens?"
The man looked down at Crane and said, "Who's asking kid?"
"My name is Crane, and if you are Kalt Owens, I am going to need you to hand over the book, Four Heroes of Salim, so I may return it to the Library, it is long past overdue."
The man stared at him for a long moment, and burst into a roar of uncontrollable laughter.
Crane maintained a calm expression and waited for him to stop laughing. After three minutes his patience ran out and he yelled, "DO YOU HAVE THE BOOK OR NOT YOU DRUNKEN BASTARD?!"
The man's laughter died, and he stared at Crane for a long moment with cold, intense eyes. Crane suddenly felt that he should be apologizing or maybe begging for mercy, but he used every ounce of willpower he had to keep his panic at bay and remain calm.
"Yea kid, I'm Owens."
The man's hard face soften just enough for Crane to know he was not going to kill him.
"I got that book up in my place. I'm done here and fixin to head back, follow me."
Owens put down his glass on the bar table and started walking.
Crane knew that he was in the presence of a dangerous man. In Royal Road, a person's level closely affected their strength, and a massive difference in level made for an unreachable gap between the two respective people. This NPC was likely at least a hundred levels over Crane, and killing Crane would take as much effort as swatting a fly. Crane considered all this as he followed Owens and a very real fear started to envelop him. What would he do if Owens decided to kill him, what could he do? He had no actual experience fighting and lacked even basic moving experience. He would be as helpless as a headless chicken on a butcher's table.
Owens came to a sudden halt during Crane's train of thought. Crane just barely managed to avoid walking into him.
As Owens turned to face him, Crane felt almost paralyzed by fear.
"We're here kid, welcome to my home. I'll just pop inside and get that book. You wait right here for me."
After the door closed Crane's legs gave out on him and he collapsed to the ground.
If a user kill someone he'd receive a murderer's mark. Anyone with a murderer's mark can be attacked on sight or ambushed by guards. However the intro guided did not state if the same was true for Non Player Characters, so the possibility did exist.
Crane picked himself up and stood straight, pretending he was just fine.
The door swung open so fast Crane may have soiled himself in surprise if it weren't for the fact that Avatars can't do that. As quickly as he was startled he regained his composure, hoping that Owens wouldn't notice.
Owens stretched out his arm and gave Crane the book.
Quest: Over Due Complete
Return to the Library for your reward
Owens looked at Crane and said, "kid, I've got a gut feeling that we'll meet again."
After Owens closed the door Crane walked away at a slightly faster than normal pace.
----------------------------------------
Crane finally handed the last book to the librarian. She placed the book onto the shelf behind her and said, "Thanks, here's a little something for your troubles."
You have leveled up
You received a Library card
You received 2 silver pieces
Crane had returned every book with a couple hours to spare and got some pocket change for his legwork. Crane thanked the Librarian and walked to the stairs next to the guard by the back door.
The Librarian asked, "Where are you going?"
Puzzled, Crane says, "The second floor."
"The second floor is where we keep library book check out history. You don't need a library card to look through it."
For the second time since regaining the ability to walk, Crane's legs gave out from beneath him and he slumped down onto the stairs. If there were no books upstairs, then the only books in the library, were the thirty some books in the shelf behind the librarian. Crane considered not getting back up. He didn't mind going through a lot of effort for nothing, and the quest was fun in it's own way. But looking at the shelf behind her gave him no real energy to move.
After a couple of minutes just sitting on the stairs, a small curiosity wandered through his head. 'What kind of book did Owens checkout?'
That small thought was just enough to get Crane onto his feet and back to the Librarian.
"I would like to read The Four Heroes of Salim"
The librarian responded, "Sorry, no can do."
Crane let out a long sigh and asked, "Why not?"
To this she said, "All the books behind me are books that were checked in today from the library, at the end of the day I need to catalog that they were returned and place them back in there shelves."
Crane's mind went blank for a second.
"Umm, where exactly are this library's book shelves?"
"The books are behind Dravo, you need to show him your card for him to let you through, I thought you were heading for that door when you first came in, that's why I asked if you had a card."
"Isn't that a backroom?."
"No, it leads to the Library, the library is built into hollowed out caverns inside the rock plateau, this building is only the library entrance."
At that point Crane remembered what the Priest had said about the library's location, 'The entrance is here'.
Crane walked up to to the guard, Dravo, and showed his library card.
Dravo stepped to the side and opened the door.
Crane walked inside and stopped breathing.
Endless bookshelves as far back as the eye could see. The roof of the cavern, forty or fifty feet high, had large lanterns hanging evenly spaced from the ceiling, granting a warm light to every inch of the void. Crane walked till he found an empty table.
"Four weeks in the city, I think I'll manage."
Chapter 3 Into the Past and Present viewtopic.php?f=91&t=574&p=2353#p2353
Chapter 1 The first step viewtopic.php?f=91&t=833
http%3a%2f%2fi39.tinypic.com%2f28sqb0l.jpg [http://i39.tinypic.com/28sqb0l.jpg]