A little further turned out to be relative, as it had taken them nearly an hour to get to the village. The village itself was large, surrounded by massive stone walls. A tower, easily taller than a skyscraper was jutting out of the middle of it. James was not sure how he did not see it sooner, his companion said nothing the entire time, content to hum, and any attempt he made at words were ignored. There was no choice except to follow along like he was yoked up on a leash.
The woman, lead him to a bar a few buildings away from the tower, and this close he could see the massive disconnect. The tower itself looked almost futuristic, covered in metal, various lines and grooves making it almost look like a giant piece of a computer. While James was in awe, the woman leading him seemed indifferent, instead, pushing a clawed finger under his chin to shut his jaw and then tugging his tattered shirt collar to force him into the bar.
The inside looked much the same as the outside, it would have not been out of place in a renaissance fair, yet, surprisingly clean, giving James even more questions as the place was practically packed. On the streets he had only seen a few people milling about, each of them as weird as the last, some resembling animals, some made of stone or wood, some surprisingly human save for a few pieces here or there that were different. In here? It was hard to see through the throng of bodies. The building was almost pure noise, unable to make out any one conversation, it was loud enough that his guide had no choice to keep leading him around like a puppy towards a set of stairs and then up.
She finally stopped outside of a door, a key being produced from thin air, which he imagined was something similar to his storage, and the door was opened. His jaw hit the ground this time. Not only was the room bigger on the inside, easily as large as the first floor they had just come from, but it looked like a modern hotel room. It had clean smooth walls painted a deep red, carpeted floor in some mosaic of black and gray made to match, chairs and tables made for conversing littered about the place. Dresser with a mirror to the right of the door, a massive bed beyond it with fresh linen on top. Towards the back of the room a long counter, with what looked eerily like a fridge on the wall behind it. At the center of it all on the ceiling a round bulb was hovering, providing enough light that he could see everything clearly but somehow not to the point that it washed anything out.
Rather than allowing him to gawk from the hallway, his guide once more pulled him, this time inwards, and as he passed the threshold a brightness engulfed him, rendering him blind momentarily. When his vision cleared he felt. Clean. Like someone had just sent him through a shower, and upon looking down he realized that all of the mess that had been stuck to his body and clothes was gone, leaving the clean tattered remains behind.
His eyes shot towards the woman, brows furrowed, confused, she for her part just ignored him, walking over to a metal box towards the back of the room and pulling it open. As he stepped away the door behind him shut on its own, a click locking it in place causing him to whirl around and look at the thing in disbelief, finally, words hit his ears.
"It does that automatically, don't worry about it." The voice was muffled, and when he to her he found her upper half gone, body jutted against that metal box. "Hungry? Looks like its shrill meat today, little bit gamey for my tastes but it should blow your mind with the way you're gawking at everything like a lost child." Not waiting for his reply she reappeared with a tray of what could have been deli meat, plopping it on the counter opposite the box in order to disappear again.
James taking all of this end was confused. To the point his knees hit the ground and hands clenched at them useless. "No more..." He started, and stopped, unable to finish the thought that had come, instead, his eyes found the woman that had brought him here once more. She had a mug in her hands, far larger than any he had seen, and beside it a mug that would have seemed normal for bar.
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"Shocking isn't it? I still remember when I first discovered a place like this, even though that was a long long time ago." Those mugs, and the tray of meat were all set on the table just beyond the counter, two chairs being pulled out following it. Then she was in front of him, a hand in his hair, her voice surprisingly soft, it was not at all like the sultry demon he had experienced in the woods, nor the playful tone she had just held, "Listen. I don't know what is going through that head of yours right now, but this is obviously a lot to take in. Come. Eat and ask your questions, I promise, if possible I'll answer them to the best of my ability."
James, unable to move just yet, rested there on the floor, his eyes closed as the surprisingly gentle hand toyed with his hair, comforting him. Minutes passed like this, before a deep breath was taken in and exhaled just as swift. "Alright... but I don't even know where to start?" Looking up beyond that arm he caught her eyes, and she just smiled at him, this one far less predatory. The hand that had been in his hair came down, gripping his wrist, pulling him to his feet, guiding him over and plopping him down in one of the chairs.
The smaller of the two mugs was put in front of him and she took the other, resting into the free seat. "Drink. The alcohol will help you digest." She brought the one in her grasp to her lips and took a drink that would have put a normal person under the bar, setting it back after and tilting her head. "How about this. What language do you think we're speaking right now?"
His brow furrowed as he looked at her, confused, "English?" A soft chuckle was his reply as she continued, "Yes an no. You are speaking the language of your planet sure, but I am speaking my own language", James got lost in his thoughts, idly draining the small mug in front of him. The alcohol was potent and burned his throat forcing him to take it slow.
Clearing his throat, he spoke once more, "So we speak our own languages.. but we understand one another, how in the hell does that work?" setting her mug down she leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "The simple answer? The system translates thoughts and intentions. Its not perfect, and the further you are from the norm the harder it is to understand but it generally works."
"So magic basically.. " A sigh came from his lips and his head rolled back staring at the ceiling, considering which of the vast questions he had to ask next. "What about the room? Why is it so different? And the tower outside?", another chuckle, this one deeper, as if she was experiencing great mirth, "Thats usually the first one that gets asked. This is a dungeon town, its special. That tower is basically a huge conduit for mana, it sucks in mana not only from the surroundings on this planet, but other planets as well. Inside is actually a huge variety of floors that get harder as they progress, and the room is actually based off the magic from inside."
She waved around the room and then towards the door. "There are safe-rooms inside the tower that are really similar, and as best as we have been able to figure out they are made of an amalgamation of the thoughts and ideas of comfort from the people visiting. This room for instance is a meshing of our two personalities, and I must say yours is rather overbearing~"
Her voice had curled at the end, velvet undertones sending a shiver down his spine. Her tankard was raised taking a deep drink from it before setting it back on the table, continuing, "The town outside is the same, although it, unlike the rooms is based on the planets culture instead. Its pretty much your races idea of a fortification. Granted, not all villages will be the same if your race has differing views on fortification you will have different village types."
James, taking this all end brought a hand up to rub his head. "Man... this stuff is complicated. I think I need to lay down..." Taking one last drink from the mug he headed for the bed, shoes kicked off his feet as he went. Right at the edge he leaned forwards and plopped onto it."We have plenty of time for questions, you're quite funny so I don't plan on getting rid of you anytime soon. That said... there is only one bed so~" She let it hang there, James, for his part, did not respond. The minute he had hit the bed he had passed out, snoring softly.