Year 4506 5A 'Fifth Age', 106 EC 'Era of Coinage'
Wondering through the road, he found a sign leading to a town or city. The words are different from his past language, but by miracle, Natalak does understand.
"Keshoval, huh, and the signs say it might lead me to its capital, Ravalind."
His head, cornering, looking if there were folks for a company and someone to banter. Nevertheless, he had no choice and quickly followed the sign's direction.
Natalak stops for a minute and gazes upon the bag the old man had given him. The only thing the old man gift Natalak was a bag and the language of Vashkeil.
"So, this bag can swallow anything." Natalak mumbles, raising it for a more precise inspection.
He continues, and safe to say there were no danger to encounter. From the far sight of another road, he could see three caravans hauling goods.
Natalak waits for a caravan to pass but the sun begins to dip— falling, so he steadies himself, running his feet as he can, knowing something is lurking through the now dimming road.
Without a doubt, something crept into the dark corners of the trees. His heart accelerates; his body is on adrenaline, not with fear but with expectation.
Stopping to meet the danger, two hideous creatures emerge from the darkness. Half of his height covered in fur, bones and grayish skin.
"What are you?" He whispers, positioning his fighting stance just as he observes the monster.
One carries a crude spear while the other holds a rusted sword and a small buckler in his left hand.
"A short sword perhaps?" Natalak ponders, his back lowering, as he prepares for a fight.
The pair snarled in their guttural tongue that Natalak can't grasp, and as they attack simultaneously. Dropping his bag, then through quick thinking, Natalak scooped a speck of dirt with his left hand and a stone to prepare for the worst.
Waiting…. The moment the enemy closed their distance, Natalak initially set his move. With a powerful pitch, he successfully hit the first enemy, knocking the creature back.
Into the fray, Natalak then swings away the dirt at the goblin's eye, stopping his movements. In a struggle, he quickly grabs its hand and punches the creature's neck. Loosening its grip from the sword, subsequently, the other goblin jumps on the back of its partner.
Using the enemy as a shield still… the creature, without hesitation, punctures its partner's body. Penetrating… the spear nearly reached Natalak's chest, but with luck, he pushed away the stabbed creature.
Retreating, he cautiously eyes the enemy without looking away. Picking up the sword, Natalak was speculating on how the goblin might take this opportunity if he wasn't looking.
Snatching the weapons from its dead partner, the creature pours a strange liquid on the spear. Noxious smoke can be seen emitting from the blade.
Pondering another strategy to overpower the enemy, Natalak scooped another dirt… hiding it from the goblin's view.
"Poison or maybe acid? A small cut from that blade would be fatal, and night begins to fall. What a stroke of bad luck did I have this day." Natalak ponders, his body now boiling for survival.
Giving a grim look, the goblin readies his spear. Feeling, tasting— the creature's confidence surged, thinking it had the upper hand, the beast immediately charges rampantly. Scattering the dirt at the creature, staggering the goblin for a mere time, Natalak quickly throws the sword at the creature, hitting his body.
Dashing into the creature while in a pinch, he then quickly pulls out the sword and thrusts it to the throat, ending the fight once and for all.
Resting for a minute, Natalak looted whatever things he could find. Two unknown potions… a spear, a short sword and a small buckler. Fortune arises, there were ten copper and three silver coins.
"Scouts? If I'm correct, there might be a horde of them near this place. Shii... Best to leave this place, one of them could smell the scent of their fallen comrade."
Stuffing the items into the bag, the silver coin into his pocket, Natalak quickly paced out of that area. After an hour of running and walking on the night road. Luck be praised, he finally spots a large building. Looking at the signboard depicting a mug and a bed, no doubt that it was an inn.
"Jack pot." Natalak smiled, gawking at the signboard.
As he makes his entrance, eyes direct towards his presence. Realizing, Natalak was still wearing his Earthly outfit.
"Damn, I should've asked him for cloak or clothes from this world before coming from this place."
Accusing himself for being a carefree man. Natalak observes— and eyes of mortals are pointing sharply at him and his strange outfit, he ignores and heads towards the man who looks to be the innkeeper.
While stepping his toe, he looks around the inn, seeing, observing a group of people. To his sight, there were different classes of people, carrying different weapons with them.
One group that interests him the most are the four people clad in superb armors and weapons.
The first one was a girl, a young girl maybe in her ripe age— wearing a cloak and reading a spellbook. The other was a man in his mid-forties clad in a full plated armor.
"Might be a paladin or a knight." Natalak assumed, seeing his plate mail armor.
The third person, an archer or a rouge from his thirty to thirty-five of age. His armor? a light armor, a flexible leather armor he wears. That's when Natalak notices a bow was position right beside the wall.
And then there her, the woman in paladin's armor who silently sits with her companions. Eyes are blue as the open sky yet earnest eyes.
"Hmm…" Natalak shifts to his priorities.
"Got any room this night?" Natalak implores in a different tongue.
Natalak was surprised by the language he never knew that uttered from his mouth. So too his ears, listening to a language he never hears.
"Got three rooms— the two rooms for ten coppers and the other for three coppers. What say you?" The taverner says, pouring some drinks on the mug ordered by the man.
"I'll take the three and perhaps some food might be good." Natalak respond.
"That would be five copper Shar."
"Shar?" Natalak ponders.
When the food is served and while on his meal, Natalak asks—
"Can I ask you about Kesh—" Biting his lips, Natalak realizes he was an alien in this world. A conversation that might provoke certain people.
Wariness he shifts to a different question.
"Strange sir innkeeper, how do you keep an isolated place where danger lurks at every corner."
The taverner slightly raised his eyebrows. Taking a quick glance at Natalak's attires, there he quickly understood.
"New to town? Stranger?" The innkeeper replied.
The innkeeper's words struck the traveler's mind. Leading Natalak for an elusive respond.
"That I am sir." The traveler responds.
After filling other costumers order, the innkeeper then continues to entertain Natalak.
"This place is a magnet for adventurers, and the road is a busy path for caravans and merchants."
Natalak— for the second time skim through the rowdy places. Slowly then he saw the people that lingers the place were a mix of adventurers of different class and different blood. Merchants drooling their ledgers and firmly computing their goods and their returns.
Lingering for a small time, he let his ears catch whatever the people were conferring.
"I heard the lady of Mavigrid was nearly assassinated."
"Bah! Go tell your stories to the children." The man retorts.
"For Shar, I hope good fortune awaits me. I've poured all my savings into these goods. I hope this better be worth it." Mutters a young merchant.
"Rumors said there's a growing tension between Keshoval and Endregar. I hope not another war is coming. I've seen enough from the past." An old man spoke.
"I hope too." The old woman replies.
The night was still fresh, fresh for the people to retch details. But as the night pass, the clean words turn into a mumbling noise.
"Sir Taverner I like to see my room please." Natalak calls at the innkeeper.
Respecting his words, the taverner then calls a kid, a guide that leads Natalak to his room. And once alone, the traveler quickly checks his bag, spewing out the things that he had looted. Then he remembers the coin he picks up from the road.
"Hmm… coins." He groans rubbing the coins.
Laying on the bed covered with straws and fur from animals.
"Not as noble as it is but, this will do."
Gazing at the night sky near the window. Moment's pass, from the other side of the room, a group of people enters. Through lack of information, Natalak takes advantage. Slowly cradling near the wall for information to unearth. Natalak eavesdrops on the people and when he placed his ears one drunken man starts to row.
"Geez, Baron making yourself look like this!" A voice of a woman shouts.
"Hema… I aren't drunk… just a chip bit." The drunk man said.
"I take care of him you two should take a rest." Comes a more matured voice of a man, and just like that, the drunkard starts to doze off.
"Adventurers?" Natalak ponders, intently listening to their conversation.
Still in the middle of eavesdropping on the party, unexpectedly a woman starts a conversation.
"What message did the king's advisor gave us madam Mishel." The lady implores.
"Nothing much, he just told us to come and report our findings that's all. But something is not right as if the king's advisor is in a dilemma, Ashalain is there something bothering you?"
"Nothing much Mishel… but just a hunch. What do you think sir Garrick?" Ashalain respond
"We'll deliver our findings first. And best we shouldn't discuss our things from this place." Garrick follows, his head nudging where Natalak was prying.
"Spies? I should better not poke my nose at their business." Natalak contemplates. "And I'm tired of walking throughout the day. I should ask some decent information from the innkeeper tomorrow morning." Natalak continues going towards the bed, while he tries to muffle his steps.
Taking a comfortable rest, the drunkard starts creating another commotion. Mumbling and joking until Natalak couldn't take it anymore.
"WILL YOU ALL SHUT THE FUCK UP, I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" Natalak shout, throwing an object at the wall.
"Okay, we got it. Now quit your whining!" Ashalain furiously respond, following a punch to the wall.
"Well fuck you mate!" Natalak retorts.
"What did you say?!" Ashalain's tone were now full of rage.
Ashalain tries to exit their room, but Garrick halts her quickly.
"Lady Ashalain." Garrick's eyes the lady paladin intently.
Ashalain's emotion quickly shifts, as if her discipline come to her senses. Mortify, she silently rests on her bed.
"Mishel, can you cast that sound block spell." Garrick interrupts.
Mishel nods. "This is why I hate inns."
Casting spell, silence invades the night giving Natalak a comfy sleep.
To where Natalak emerge, not more than two hundred meters— deeper through a certain dungeon. A shadowy figure took notice of the traveler's presence, and though it senses a great force is about to walk.