The Road

The sound of wooden wheels spinning slowly on their axles as they were pulled forward by a horse filled the surrounding area. A burly man and a woman with freckles rode in the driver and passenger seats of the covered wagon along the dirt road towards the city of Niris.

"Fooo…" Tunir exhaled. The long travel had been exhausting, even in a carriage. The stress from worrying about encountering dangerous monsters had taken its toll on the mental wellbeing of the smith. Now he was finding it hard to even watch the road anymore.

"Tunir, do you want me to drive the wagon for a little while? You look like you're about to fall right out of your seat!" Mary asked. Though Tunir never felt the need to sleep, the mental exhaustion from doing daily tasks still left their toll on him. Now that there is a very real chance of death, he is more stressed than he ever has been.

"Yeah… I think you should take the reins for a little while. I'm not charging you with driving or anything, just give me some time to… relax for a moment." Tunir said as he laid back in his seat and handed the reins over to Mary.

Tunir slowly closed his eyes as he cut off the visual information he had been constantly getting. He thought about his situation and how the future could play out. He reflected on his immense guilt over being the reason why the city of Renevault is under siege.

Time went by slowly. The only thing that ensured that it was moving at all was the constant noise of horse trotting and wheel spinning.

After a little while, Tunir noticed a strange sound.

"What's that?" He asked Mary.

"Hm? What do you mean?" She asked back.

"Do you hear something like a rumbling noise?" Tunir began to worry. His anxiety had quickly returned.

Before Mary could answer him, Tunir saw a cloud of dust on the horizon. What appeared to be several creatures riding horses were riding closer and closer to their covered wagon.

These were enemies. Whatever they were, they were most definitely going to try to rob and attack them. Mary quickly went to hide behind Tunir in fear.

Tunir had no idea what to do. He's forged many swords, but he's never actually used one. What should he do?

Suddenly, a plan formulated itself in Tunir's mind.

"EMERGENCY QUEST!" He shouted out. He waited for a moment and hoped that anyone would appear. This was a gamble, but it's the only option he has.

Moments passed as the creatures came closer and closer to the wagon. With each second that passed, Tunir lost more and more hope.

As the creatures were about to get close enough to attack, Tunir saw his saviors arrive.

"Ayy! I saw an emergency quest?" A player in gleaming armor asked. He wielded a brilliant sword and looked absolutely massive.

"Y-Yes! We're under attack! Defeat these creatures and keep us safe!" Tunir shouted.

"Okey doke. I'll do that. They're like, half my level anyways. I'll just grind them for experience." The player announced as they held their sword up in an offensive stance.

The creatures warily approached the carriage in response to this new individual that arrived. Unlike Tunir and Mary, this one looked like they were prepared to battle and would not be so easily pushed around.

"Not gonna come to me? Then I'll come to you, lol." The player said. Tunir doesn't know what "lol" means, but he's not concerned about that right now.

The player rushed the creatures and cleaved them apart with their sword in an incredible display. One after another, the creatures were sliced apart. After what felt like only a few seconds all of the creatures had been slain.

"Nice." The player declared in victory.

"W-Wow!" Mary shouted in relief.

"Thank you for saving us!" Tunir shouted to the player.

In response to this, a brown screen appeared in front of the player that read out "Quest Completed!" and he read out the rewards.

"Huh? Hey, this is weird." The player said out loud.

"What's the issue?" Tunir asked.

"Well, it's just that this quest says it can give me a special drop if I stick with you." The player declared.

Tunir had no idea what the player was talking about, but felt that having a bodyguard for the remainder of this trip was not a bad idea. He thought about anything he could give the player in return for their services, and then remembered something that he was capable of giving out that every player was clambering to get from him in the past.

"If you escort us to the town of Niris then I will give you the cold day driver mount." Tunir stated.

Immediately in response to this, an icon on the brown screen appeared and the player held an expression of surprise on his face. Tunir knew he had made the right call here.

"Alright! I hate escort quests but that mount sells for a stupid amount at the auction house! I'm gonna stick with all of you for the time being and get that ride!" The player energetically declared.

With that, the group began to head out on the road towards the city of Niris. Now, Tunir and Mary were safe from harm thanks to the powers of this unnamed player. The compensation that they would receive would be something that meant nothing to Tunir but meant an incomprehensible amount to the player. Thanks to the fact that Tunir no longer has to worry about being safe anymore, he is now able to think about how he can manipulate this system he has found himself in more.

Perhaps I can choose how much gold or experience my quests give out? He thought to himself.

After a little bit of time had passed, the wooden walls of the town of Niris came into view. The player was given the cold day driver and their look of elation said it all. Tunir and Mary parted with the player and they entered the city, ready to start their temporarily new life.