Shay

Chris stepped inside of his new home as the musty smell of spilled ale wafted into his nostrils, then he took a look at the people sitting around the place. Men of large and small stature were engaged in conversations of strength, and particularly, there was a man drinking an entire keg by himself. He had seen this scene many times.

[Oh, that must be this city's old George.] Chris tipped his non-existent hat to "old George" and kept moving along with the group of kids. He noticed that there were even "other" kids running around.

[Do people live in Inns? Well, I guess we have people that live in hotels soooo..not too weird I suppose.]

There were lamp like lights on the walls letting out a nice and yellow-orange glow. The fixtures to which the "lamps" were mounted appeared to be some sort of "old-timey" model.

Chris was wondering if the people that were transported here DID actually have a difference, that meant that hopefully a hot bath was not out of the question. Then as he thought about the magical material that he was missing, toilet paper, he remembered he had not done THAT deed in a few days.

[I have to find a replacement soon.]

The door to the large room was opened and the kids poured inside, 18 people total. Alice led the girls and Daniel led the boys to their corners. The kids actually enjoyed having close sleeping quarters as most of them had night terrors and they could wake up next to their new families…

Chris sat his stick against the wall and unpacked while Sarah walked out to talk with the redhead. He looked around and decided to tag along with her as the kids were probably going to play soon and he didn't want to be the weird dwarf that watched.

As he walked into the hall, a head popped out of another room and then a hand yanked him inside before closing the door.

The red-haired woman stared at him.

"Is he allowed to listen to this?" Asked the woman.

Sarah nodded her head as Chris was just watching and listening.

"So, the northern Lords are levying new peasant armies. There is not much that is expected to occur in the south, but this would put a target on our backs."

Sarah nodded, "The supply line is going to be a priority for the Federation if they are not incompetent. How many peasants have they levied?"

The woman shook her head, "I am not totally sure, but rumor has it that they have at least 30,000 peasants in training at the moment."

Sarah's face hardened, "Nobles…" then she muttered something under her breath, "-…Cowards."

The woman with red hair nodded her head, "This is looking to be a long war, the good news is that there will be work for you escorting. Maybe we can go on a trip or two?" She said with a large smile.

Sarah returned her smile with a hug. "Yes, that would be great, but I have to deal with a certain "thing" first."

Chris spoke up, "Can I go too?"

They left the embrace and looked at him, they were both taller and stronger than him.

Sarah laughed, "Yes, you can come with us. But we need to work on making you an adventurer first."

The red-haired lady nodded, "You wouldn't be able to defend a caravan without the ability to kill." A wicked grin spread across her face.

Chris gulped and meekly said, "I can learn to defend myself and those around me."

Sarah looked at her, "I have something secret to tell you." And she nodded before shrouding the room in a darkness, that of the void Chris experienced.

[MAGIC!] Chris was about to cry. The fabled stuff of myth was finally around him. [This is amazing..]

The eerie darkness was encompassing all vision and sound, at least, that is what Chris thought, but Sarah and Shanks could hear just fine.

Sarah spoke, "Shay, this kid is different. I need to tell you before something goes wrong…this kid is from the Land of Heroes."

Shay just nodded quietly and asked, "How is that possible? He can't be a Hero, it isn't time." She sighed and remembered her lamenting about not being able to see a Hero as a human.

Sarah responded, "I am not fully sure, but he is from another world. That I know. I questioned him during his awakening."

Shay was shocked, "Really?"

Sarah nodded, "He has been touched by the Gods. They bore witness to his awakening and did not bathe him in Divine Fire."

Shay was confused, "How did you…did you use Rufus' core?"

Sarah nodded lightly and her expression saddened.

Shay leaned in to hug her, "I am so sorry."

Sarah had used the core of her husband, something that is rarely done but in elven culture, it would be considered proper to cherish the loved one's core after their death. Cores are normally only seen on beasts but almost anyone can form them with enough practice. The core gives the person more regulated mana and is simply a byproduct of becoming very strong.

Sarah looked at Shay, "I never thought I would use it to awaken someone, but we needed to move, and I had a strange instinct about him. He was like an elf seeing the World-Tree for the first time, and everything about the world he knew was being shifted."

Shay nodded, "So you are SURE that he is who he says he is? Even the Gods are a little…absent sometimes."

"I am sure. I have even seen his status screen; he is definitely going to need our help." Sarah pulled out her piece of leather while Chris was wandering around and bumping into things.

Shay was casually reading the leather as she saw a dwarf stumble over next to her. He had his hands out as he was trying to feel his way around the room, tired of having his knees knocked by chairs and tables.

"Sarah…" whispered Chris.

"Where are you…"

[Ah fuck…ope, wait..what is this?]

Chris felt two lumps that were soft to the touch.

He gave one a squeeze and the darkness ended.

Across the room, Sarah and Shay were staring at Chris molesting two Dreamfruits. His smile quickly went away as he could see…

Sarah facepalmed as Shay burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! LOOK AT THE HANDSY DWARF! Hey kid, we have some ladies downstairs that could use your Dwarven "touch", HAHAHAHA!"

Chris' face went completely red.

[I just thought that…but…oh man..I didn't wanna' be seen as the pervy dwarf…]

He hung his head and left the room. The laughter could be heard from down the hallway as he went to get some ale.

[FUCK, no money…]

Chris was thinking about his lack of funds when he remembered about the lamps. He headed over to see one and looked at the patterning.

[It looks like there is an etching here. It reminds me of the old Motherboards that we used, the etching seems to be letting something flow, causing it to light up. Is it mana?] He went to touch it as it reacted by pushing his hand away. [OKAY, THAT FELT COOL. I am a magnet? I am a magnet! The mana must be making some sort of field where it is contacting, but why not just accept my JUICE?]

An older gentleman shouted, "HEY DWARF, BETTER NOT TOUCH THAT! IT CAN HURT YA'!"

Chris retracted his hand as he began to theorize about enchanting.