New Beginnings

He feels guilty about not coming here yesterday, but there are more pressing matters to worry about. "What? How do I have a room already? We haven't even talked about the cost or amenities or anything like that! Is there a lease agreement I need to sign?" Cole asks rapid-fire.

She smiles at Cole for the first time. "Lula was right; you ask a lot of questions. She told us a bit about your situation and arranged a room for you. The rent has been covered for the first two months. You can decide whether to stick around or not after that."

Cole slowly walks up to the porch, processing this unexpected development. He takes a breath to recompose himself. Hopefully Lula didn't tell these people ALL about my situation. "Um, thanks for your help. I didn't catch your name?" He felt clumsy and awkward even as the words came out.

"Sadie. It's a pleasure." She didn't even bother to look at Cole when she spoke – clearly focused on something else, eyes scanning the horizon.

He thinks he might recognize that look of focus. Is she..? His curiosity gets the better of him and he activates his aurasight. As he suspected, Sadie's body is radiating a white-gold aura. He blinks away the aurasight and ventures another question. "When you say that Lula told you about my situation, um," Cole began, fumbling with his words a little, "is everyone who lives here, um", he continued to struggle with the way to phrase it. He was trying to phrase the question in a way that didn't give away his secret immediately.

"Kindred spirits? Yeah, you're the sixth resident of Misfit Manor."

The gravity of the reveal wasn't lost on Cole – there are five other Heroes living here. That brought on a lot of questions, but none that he felt comfortable asking quite yet. "I guess I'll go check out my room. Thanks again, Sadie. Nice meeting you." With that, he walks through the open doorway into the manor. Directly in front of him is a wide staircase leading to the second floor. He climbs the steps, taking in the tasteful wooden and bronze décor of the space. There is a delightful mixture of spicy aromas in the air. At the top of the staircase, Cole finds a long table with a very ornate incense burner sitting in the center. The object appeared to be made of carved jade and was in the shape of a bonsai tree growing near a waterfall. The perfumed smoke flowed down the waterfall, giving a stunning visual effect to the statue.

He walked down the hall to the left and found the furthest door on the right – his new room. He opens the door and walks in. The room is larger than his apartment in Beanfield. A big, comfy bed is positioned at the center of the far wall between two picture windows. On the right side of the room were closets and a doorway to a private bathroom. The left side of the room had a small table with two chairs and a small refrigerator. A round red rug covers most of the floor in the room, warming the space both literally and figuratively. Between the windows on the north and west walls, there were tapestries hanging that depicted landscapes from nearby in the different seasons. Cole takes some time to walk around the space carefully, feeling like a visitor to a museum. Intellectually, Cole knew that he was a Hero, but he still felt very out of place and uncomfortable knowing that this place was basically a Hero Hotel.

Better get used to this place. Even if I keep my apartment in Beanfield, it would be nice to have a place to crash here, especially if I'm surveying further this direction. He slips the backpack off his shoulders and lets it drop onto the table. He approaches the windows and admires the view from the second floor – he can see beyond the limits of Wakeville proper and into the untamed frontier of the First Era. That frontier is his new playground. He is no longer limited to the safest trade corridors, and will instead be ranging far and wide starting tomorrow. The thought is invigorating – he can only imagine how many hidden facilities are sprinkled through the Green Belt Region waiting to be discovered.

After around fifteen minutes acclimating to the room, looking around and getting a feel for the space, Cole grabs his pack and walks back down the stairs and out the door. Sadie is standing right where he'd left her. He waves a silent goodbye to her, and she returns a small nod of her head.

What the hell is happening in my life? Cole wonders to himself as he pulls away from the manor on his bike. Who are these "misfits" as Sadie called them, and how do I fit in? Is it because I didn't register as a Hero? Surely we're not ALL unregistered, right?

Lodging concerns addressed, Cole rides his bike out of Wakeville. He takes a new path into unfamiliar territory, spurred on by the view from his new bedroom window. He isn't technically on the job, since Lula told him he'd start tomorrow, but the urge to get out there and explore something new is too strong to deny. The road ahead is curvier and hillier than the flat, straight Beanfield-Wakeville Road. Each turn in the road shows him a new landscape, each hill he crests shows him a bit more of the world beyond civilization. He cruises at a slow pace, enjoying the ride.

He activates auravision and a dim blue glow rises from his bike. Beyond that, nothing magical can be seen nearby. Cole keeps the sight active during the trip, training himself toward mastery. Lula said that eventually this would be second nature, but she didn't say how long it would take to reach that point. Based on the eye strain I'm feeling right now, it might take a while.

Morning turned to afternoon on the road, the day passing easily for Cole. In the late afternoon, he pulls the bike to the side of the road to consult the map of the Green Belt Region that Lula gave him the day before. At this point, he finds himself further afield than he's ever been. He leans against the side of his bike and looks up at the blue sky overhead. I missed this. The last few days have been nonstop insanity, I'm glad to get back to the peaceful solitude of the road. Hopefully, this is the start of getting things back to normal.

Cole shakes out the stiffness in his arms and legs and hops back on the bike. He makes a tight U-turn in the middle of the road to head back to Wakeville. The country out here is denser and more overgrown than in the areas closer to town. In some areas, Cole must weave his bike around downed trees and other foliage-turned-obstacles on the road. It forces him to pay close attention during the travel, and it gives him a feeling of solitude that he has never experienced before. He smiles broadly on the road back to the so-called Misfit Manor, genuinely excited about his new work as a surveyor.