Xander snorted at Connor's antics. "Suit yourself, I'm going to check on the new guy." He turned and walked away, leaving Connor to his looting. The battle was now clearly done, the weariness of the Challenge was starting to catch up to him. In retrospect, he had to thank his old Master for his training. He had applied, with success, the kiting technique his Master had been known for. But now, looking back to the battlefield, he could see both the carnage that it had been, and the luck that had been on their side. He could hazard a guess at how many goblins had been in the horde at around a hundred beasts. Even alone, they stank as if they'd crawled out of some latrine pit. But there, right by the field of death, the stench was unbearable. He had to get away from it, and fast.

While he was enthusiastic at their first completed Challenge, Xander could easily distance himself from the lootmania his friend seemed to be in. He was deeply grateful that this first Challenge hadn't seen them dead. It was always a risk when treading an unknown Path, and that had been their gamble. They wanted to make their own Path and not rely on the knowledge of others. While he had been waiting for the right time to jump through the Hero's Door, training, he had observed the crystals on the door regularly change colors. Every minute or so, they'd randomly change, and alter the Door's destination. A few of the color codes that went by had chilled him, but when the time came, the code coalesced into something bearable. He had jumped through the Door and had found himself there.

The new guy was still in shock when Xander arrived next to him. He was lying on the floor, beside the goblin's corpse and its awful stench. Everything about this new guy screamed that he was a Newcomer. He wasn't equipped for combat, or anything. He was wearing a simple robe that the priest of the Holy Church used while lacking the other symbols of the priesthood. He was also quite skinny. Lean happened, like Connor's body shape, but it was still rare that a new Pather hadn't at least some muscle mass. Xander mused about this unexpected situation.

Church teaching was quite insistent about such meetings. Newcomers were like dangerous babies, even if the young man was probably the same age as them, they didn't know anything about the Path and its requirements, which led many to premature death. But they were dangerous also because they had no idea how their Seal worked, and an ill-placed fireball was much more dangerous than a hobbling goblin. The Church insisted that any Pather that met such an individual should take it upon himself to teach them the basics of the Path and lead them to the nearest Haven. It was a sacred duty that Xander had never expected to have to fulfill, but he was kind of excited about it.

"Hello, friend! Sorry about that, okay? We're new on the Path as well, so things can get a bit messy," Xander said, scratching his dark blue hair. Maybe not the best introduction...

He presented his hand to the bald young man. "I'm Alexander, but you can call me Xander. This over-enthusiastic guy over there is Connor, my friend. What's your name?" he asked, feigning innocence. There were many myths around Newcomers, but the Priest at Sandford had explained that all Newcomer were both blessed and cursed. What the blessing was, he hadn't explained. But the curse was that they couldn't remember any names from their previous life. It was, according to the Priest, a curse that helped them to distance themselves from their past. A curse most Pather tended to emulate for their own benefit. As most would never find a way back to their birthing Haven, it was better to leave it all behind.

The young man was still panting but seemed to slowly calm himself. "Hi..." he wheezed. "What happened?" he asked, looking around. His eyes fell on the goblin's corpse and he paled. "What is that?" he asked, pointing at the corpse and pushing himself away some more.

Xander shrugged, "I guess we're going to have to explain a few things." He looked around and heard Connor's happy exclamation. He smiled and continued, "But maybe we can manage that a bit further right? It must not be that comfortable down there on the sand?" He did his best not to mention the corpse's growing pool of blood that got slowly caught and drained into the sand arena.

He tried to give his smoothest voice as if trying to coax a scared animal. He could see the young man was still a bit beside himself. "There, take my hand. We'll get you up and then we can walk further from here, okay?" he said, trying to be as reassuring as possible.

The scared youth nodded and took Xander's hand. He was still shaking but managed to get himself up. Contrary to what Xander had assessed earlier, he was fitter than he looked, despite his thin shape. Furthermore, his Seal was glowing and moving. What the hell? Xander wondered his eyes widening, taking one of Connor's favorite idioms. He tried to keep his surprise to himself, and probably succeeded as his new friend seemed too preoccupied with his situation to notice.

No Seal-glove either, another point toward Newcomer then? But he didn't confirm his lack of name... Xander mused. He still had to get the boy moving. "Come with us by the Doors, you've got your share of the Reward as well. We'll explain everything there, okay?" he said, soothingly.

"R-Right," he tentatively replied, "Right. But... what is that?" he asked, pointing at the goblin's corpse again. "And have you seen my book?" he asked, looking around.

Xander complied, "Well that's a goblin. A monster, you see? This one is deader than dead. Watch." He moved beside the corpse and prodded it with his foot. "See, dead." Of course, the major indicator that it was dead was the arrow firmly planted in its head. But it seemed to help the young man realize that it was indeed dead.

"About your book, well, I've no idea. We'll look around if you want, okay?" he added. "You were behind a pillar at some point, right? Do you remember which? Let's check them out." The Newcomer's head shook and nodded, seeming quite unable to come up with a satisfactory answer, and started to walk with him, only to stop just as suddenly. "What's wrong?" Xander asked.

"Ahmm, sir, Xander, right? Why do you have your sword still drawn?" he asked, pointing at Xander's sword, still bloody, half of a goblin's ear somehow clinging to the gore. "Are we still in danger?" he asked, looking around fearfully.

Surprised by the question, the young swordsman took one second or two to assess his state. Fighting goblin sure is a messy business...

"Ah right, right." He pulled out his backpack and drew a piece of cloth from it. He then proceeded to clean his sword and sheathed it. "There, all good. We're safe now, okay?" he said, trying to reassure his new friend. "Can't have blood in the sheath, it would ruin the blade! And I can't have that, can we?" There was nothing he could do right now for his overall appearance. They had some cleaning powder in their backpacks, but the process was a bit tedious. He still pulled some scented wax, applied some under his nose, and proposed the scared youth to do the same. "It's not perfect, but it helps with the smell," he said, smiling.

"Sure..." replied hesitantly the young man. He fearfully helped himself and applied the wax as if expecting it to bite his nose off. They walked toward the pillars, and Xander started to look around. He was still a bit surprised by the whole situation. The young man also seemed a bit lost in his thoughts. Maybe he's still in shock? Xander wondered. He was about to ask him about it when Connor's voice rang out.

"Yo, guys, you should come to check this out!" he shouted, "It's sooooo coool!" he added, his voice full of excitement.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Xander hadn't had yet time to touch base with his friend. He was dying to know what his Seal was, and getting a look at their first Reward as well. But he had to take care of his new friend first. "Hey, Connor, we're coming in a bit! Have you seen a book lying around?" he shouted back.

The young man had been startled by the shouting exchange but was better at getting a hold of himself. As they neared the third pillar, he made a slight detour, seeming nauseated by the horde's corpses. Xander didn't comment, but they'd have to get him used to this, as later they would have to loot the corpses themselves.

"Are you okay?" asked Xander, softly.

His unfortunate companion shook his head, "Yeah? Not really..." he replied gripping his strange silver staff. "Does that kind of thing happen often?" he asked, pointing at the corpses piled haphazardly.

Definitely a Newcomer then, or a faker... Shit. Xander left his thoughts hanging and replied, diplomatically. "Not that often? ... Fighting is part of the Path."

The young man shrugged and seemed to solidify somewhat before Xander's eyes. He vired toward the next Pillar, and this time walked through the minefield that was the battlefield. Slowly, and hesitantly, of course, prodding here and there with his staff. He was still green in the face and seemed to hold his breath the whole way. But he was trying. Good, but baby steps, mate. Baby steps. He posed as he made another horrifying observation, He is barefoot?! He refrained from shouting that one just barely.

"So, what's your name again?" he asked but saw that it wasn't the right question to ask. Too soon. This stuff is complicated, I should have left this to Connor... By essence, Xander wasn't a nosy person. He liked to know people sure, but usually, he would only let them talk. Still, he had to know.

His young charge seemed to deflate and used the bloodied pillar to keep himself up. He tried to take a deep breath but gagged right away. The corpses were getting smellier by the second, despite the wax. He grabbed the young man by the shoulder and took him further away from the battlefield. "There, there," he tapped the young man's back and tried to be comforting.

"I... I don't know," he replied, his voice muffled by his hand. "I don't know my name. I don't know anything. I don't know what's happening. I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know anything!" he shouted, his voice cracking, his distress so clear.

Guess that solves it, ain't it? He sighed. "It's okay, it's okay. I guess we know some of what you're going through. Though don't get your hopes too high." He didn't want him to have another breakdown.

"You don't know your name either?" he asked, looking up at Xander, his eyes full of hope. What a dreadful situation...

Xander shook his head, "What? No! No, I know my name. It's just... We are taught about people like you? Somewhat?" he replied, hesitantly. This is SO awkward...

"There are others like me?" he asked, his eyes wide open. "What are we? What's happening to us?" he asked again, almost pleading.

"Sure, plenty of people like you. You're what we call a Newcomer," he tried to explain with conviction. "I don't know where you come from, of course. Just that it happens. One day there, the next here, in the Realms." He felt a bit like a shit. Of course I don't have any true explanation, I'm no Priest! I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be dead in his world, then somehow reincarnated here. But can I tell him that?

He shrugged and sighed, "I know that's not much, alright. But, when we reach the next Haven we'll get you to a Priest of the Holy Church. They know more!" he added with a heavy nod. "In the meantime, it's our responsibility in a way, to introduce you... to the Path?" he said this time a bit more uncertain. Hopefully his weird Seal is a good one...

The young man didn't seem that convinced but relented. "I'd just wish the book had followed me..." he mumbled. "He had all my Orbs. You know Orbs?" he asked this time with more assurance. I'm dizzy just looking at him getting a hold of himself and losing it the next second. This is going to be complicated.

Still, he had to reply, "Orbs? like those?" He had gathered a few from his Challenge's Reward. He snatched his Orb purse and took out a few of them. These were the least denomination, and besides, the true Reward he had already slotted.

"Yes! Yes! Just like those! Woah, you have a lot of them!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide open. "There are even yellows and blues in there!" he added, pointing at the two Orbs of each color.

"Sure thing mate. Six standards are red, brown, green, blue, orange, and yellow, that respectively enhance your Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma and Wisdom," he recited. "Those are the dimmest of dim, so they're worth one credit each."

"Credits?" he asked, his eyes still wide open. "So you can buy stuff with them?" he asked, intrigued. His mind jumps from one thing to another... But that's for the better, I guess?

"Sure, you can buy stuff with them in Havens. But you can also use them to enhance your stats," he repeated. I'm not sure I'm doing this right...

The young man seemed... uneased, once again. "Will that make me pass out again?" he asked, his voice trembling. "I don't want to pass out again..." he added, his voice barely a whisper.

Xander was a bit surprised. "Of course not! You've just recently got your Seal, right?" he pointed at his gloved right hand. "That's a harrowing experience, true. I've just been through it myself. But you're not going to pass out again, okay?" he said, "That was a one-off thing. You're Seal is now part of you and you can add all the Orbs and Jades you want without fear of passing out again."

The young man seemed dejected by the revelation. "A shame I fed all my Orbs to the Book then..." he mumbled. "I guess I'll have to collect new ones?" he asked, looking at Xander, "How do I get some?"

The young swordsman pointed toward Connor's location. "The chest there contains your Reward. We can't touch it, so it's yours, of course. Within there might be Orbs, along with other things," he explained. "Reward content varies, so I can't tell you that for sure there will be Orbs. But it's a good bet." He smiled, "You can also get Orbs from the monsters you kill. But that's a bit more complicated, as they often condense within their brain, heart, or stomach. It is a bit gruesome but money needs to be earned, right?" he added, trying to be as reassuring as possible.

Still, Xander was perplexed by the young man's previous remark. "What did you mean by feeding your book?" he asked.

His companion seemed to waver between continuing to look for his book, as they still had a few pillars to check, and going toward Connor and the Reward chest. He seemed to decide for the latter and started to walk toward the chest. "I don't know. It had appeared when I came back to myself... Somehow it knew what I held in my hand and somehow it wanted the Orbs to complete Tasks." He shrugged, "I don't know, it's weird. Maybe it was some sort of Quest Log?" he asked, looking at Xander, clearly fishing for information.

"Hmmm? Quest Log you say?" Xander wasn't that well-read in the matter. "I don't know. I've never heard of such a thing. But it's possible, I guess?" he said, shrugging. "There are many Abilities throughout the Realms and this Book might be one of them. In which case, it would mean that you can summon the Book back."

The young man seemed troubled but intrigued. "Summon the Book? How?" he asked, his eyes wide open. "How do I know what Abilities I have?" he asked, looking at his Seal. "I don't know anything about this weird tattoo thingy, except it appeared during my blackout."

The swordsman replied with a sigh, "I can't tell you? Just Will it be there? That sort of stuff should be pretty instinctive. As for what Abilities you do have, well, you can check them out on your Seal. The rectangular gems are called Jades and represent Abilities. From the colors, you can infer their types." He pointed at the youngster's apparent Seal. "You have four Abilities: The Blue one is a Utility Ability, possibly your book. The Yellow one is related to Perception and information gathering, also a possible match for your book. The Green one is a Movement Ability and lastly, the Brown one is related to Protection in some ways. Beyond that I can't say, you'll have to find out by yourself, until we reach a Haven where you'll be able to ask a Reader to provide you detailed information."

Wow that was quite a speech... Xander thought, Hope he gets it... And added, "Also, you should keep your Seal hidden. It's a good way to keep your Abilities secret. You don't want to show your hand to everyone, right?" he said, pointing at his own gloved Seal. "I've got a few Abilities myself, I'll show you them later, in exchange for showing me yours."

But the young man didn't seem to be listening. As they finally reached Connor and the Chest, he was positively red with concentration, and suddenly a grimoire popped in the air beside the young man. He was so surprised that he fell on his butt. "Woah!" he exclaimed, "I did it! I did it!" he shouted, his eyes wide open. "I summoned the Book!" he added, his voice full of youthful excitement.

Connor and Xander exchanged a glance. It's going to be complicated... Xander thought. "Sure you did, mate. Sure you did," he said. "Now, let's check out your Reward, okay?" he said, pointing at the chest. "And then we're going to give you a name."