[CHAPTER FOUR]

When Sloane came to her senses she found herself standing in a courtyard. A large U shaped building with a large arch over the open side. A massive tree surrounded by a ring of water stood in the center of the courtyard. She shifted, her backpack felt too light against her back, she made a note to check its contents later when she was alone. She recognized some of the faces around her as those who had gone through when she did.

"Greetings," a tall and extremely slender woman spoke and emerged from the building's main entrance. "Welcome to Ohiris, please follow me to register your presence in this world."

Sloane glanced at the faces around her as they all fell into line and trickled in behind the woman. Once inside the building they were directed into a line and processed in order. After the registration process was completed they were walked through the expectations and requirements of these new arrivals.

This world was divided by temporal rifts. Creatures would cross rift boundaries and must be either repelled or exterminated. Travelers were the only ones able to cross rifts unscathed. This entry point was considered to be the furthest edge of the known space, but the further in you went the more dangerous the creatures became.

It is just like he said, it's like a video game.

Sloane froze.

How? I can remember? 

"You can check here for requests from this zone and its neighbors." the tall woman gestured to a digital board. "You must accept a quest with your issued id. You can only accept quests you qualify for. You will not be rewarded for quests you haven't accepted. Quests can only be shared with those who qualify to accept it."

She turned and gestured to the adjoining hallway. "Please follow me to choose an appropriate weapon."

"This is the most basic of equipment," the woman explained, "it is only meant to last you until you become familiar with this world and gain a more specialized proficiency. First, choose your weapon. You may test them in the practice space to the right."

Sloane followed the group in, scanning the weapons hung on the wall. Swords, shields, axes, knives, maces, spears and every other historical weapon one could imagine. She watched as the others chose axes, of varying size, swords, and shields. Each picked one as if intrinsically and instinctively drawn to it. Sloane studied each weapon in turn, waiting to see what would draw her. Finally she came across a bow and quiver.

That one.

Sloane lifted the bow from the wall and slung the quiver around her hips. When she stepped into the practice room she found that it was an instanced room. A target appeared at the far end of the room. She nocked an arrow and drew back to her ear taking aim at the target. It was her first time holding a bow but it felt as if she had done this thousands of times. She released the arrow and knew it was going to hit the bullseye. More targets appeared, more arrows loosed, and she fell even more into a groove. Moving targets appeared and provided a challenge. But the feeling that she had done this thousands of times didn't leave her.

Finally she stopped. There was one more thing she wanted to try, but she preferred to make the attempt where she would not be observed. She put the bow away and stepped through the doorway and back into the armory.

The woman smiled politely, "Now that everyone has selected their preferred weapon it is time to equip the appropriate armor. Please follow me."

The woman led them farther down the hall to another room. It was long and lined with mannequins displaying various kinds of armor. Attendants waited within to assist with selecting and equipping the appropriate armor. It was a simple and straightforward process.

"Lastly," the woman drew their attention to a table at the farthest end of the room, "provisions for your excursions. These are the very basics to get you established, use them wisely."

"What are they?" A young man about 30 years old asked as he pushed through the crowd.

"First," the woman lifted a thin loop of fiber, "this will allow you to access a pocket dimension. It is a storage device and perhaps your most valuable tool. Affix it firmly to a pouch, pack, or pocket and it will automatically activate turning the interior into the storage space. It is not infinite but it will allow you to carry more than a satchel or cart worth of inventory."

Murmurs rippled through the gathered travelers. 

"Next," the woman held up brown paper bundles, "meal packs. Each of these contain a day's worth of food. Use them wisely. Lastly, she held up a small pouch with a clasp, currency. Once registered the pouch will only open for its owner, the total amount of currency will be displayed for the owner of the pouch at the opening. In each pouch is the total amount of currency you will receive from us until you begin accepting and turning in quests. So work hard and prosper."

Sloane lined up to receive the provisions. She didn't have much experience with playing games, but she recognized that this setup was to create a familiar format. She accepted the provisions and stepped aside.

"Now," a young man spoke from the doorway, "if you will follow me I will show you to your lodging. You may stay here while you become established. Higher quality rooms will become available as you rank up."

Sloane followed along with the others. They went up a narrow set of stairs. The rooms were small, just big enough for a narrow bed, a trunk, small table and a basin and pitcher. She set her pack down on the bed and began unpacking to see if anything had been removed from her supplies. To her amazement the pack had been turned into a pocket dimension.

So, I have an extra pocket dimension.

All of her outdoor gear remained, sleeping bag, hatchet, hunting knife, matches, paracord, tarp, and the extra clothes she had packed. Her preserved foods and canteen also remained. Her first aid kit remained intact. Lastly she lifted the bottom of her pack and slipped out two photos from the false lining. One was a photo of her and Danny, the other was of her and her father. She slipped them back in and closed the pack. There was still a lot of room left in the pocket dimension.

Sloane repacked her supplies, adding the provisions from the woman. She picked up the extra pocket dimension she had been provided. Decisively she attached it to the mouth of her quiver. The sheaf of arrows vanished when she placed them in the quiver.

Function unlocked.

The interface on her bracer flashed. The interface now displayed several new tabs. She scrolled through them, the first was the amount of currency in her possession, the second was the contents of her pack, and the third was the inventory on her quiver. When she opened the quiver tab it had an "equip" button. She pressed it and the tab changed to read "swap". She only had one sheaf of arrows so she chose those to equip. The arrows appeared in her quiver as they would have had she not attached the pocket dimension. 

Time to get moving.

Sloane picked up her pack, she didn't trust the doors to lock and went back down to the lobby. She went directly to the quest board and scanned through the ones she could accept. The low tier quests were all centered around providing provisions for the town.

"Makes sense," Sloane muttered to herself, "get us familiar with the area while we adjust to this place. Might as well give this a go."

She selected two quests. The first was to gather herbs, the second was a hunting quest for what looked like a large rabbit crossed with a frog. Both were marked as one star quests and both gave bonuses for turning in extra beyond the minimum completion requirement. Sloane exited the building and saw a sign that read "shops" across the courtyard. She expected the most basic of equipment. And was not disappointed.

Perusing the stalls and not seeing anything she really needed she asked the shopkeeper, "Is there anywhere I can get a map?"

"I have one," he smiled warmly, "I'll give it to you for just one copper. Help ya get a foothold here."

"Thank you," Sloane returned the smile and paid him. She opened the map and studied the area around the town.

The description on the quests only gave a general indication of the locations. She saw several likely areas on the map. She folded it and placed it in her pack.

Function unlocked: mini map.

Sloane opened the new tab on her bracer. The map was now displayed on the screen, with her current location marked and the zones she had observed that met her quest requirements marked as well.

This feels like a cheat.

Sloane closed the tab. 

"One more thing sir," Sloane turned back to the shopkeeper, "where can I acquire more arrows?" She gestured to the quiver on her hip.

"Ah," he wiped his hands on his apron nervously, "the last stall on the end may have some in stock, but you won't find anything better than basic until you move on to the next town."

Sloane nodded thoughtfully, "Thanks." She started to turn away and then halted, "Oh, one more thing. Where can I find books? Specifically history, or books with information about this region."

The shopkeeper looked sympathetic as he replied, "Miss, all that is controlled information. We are restricted here on what we may provide. You will have to press on to the next town to get information like that."

Sloane nodded. She was annoyed but not with the shopkeeper. Refusing to provide more advanced supplies or support meant that the travelers were forced to move farther and farther from this arrival point. It also meant that higher concentrations of them would create a barrier keeping the monsters that spawned on the edges of the dimensional cracks far from them. 

I have people to find. I didn't intend to stay here long anyway.

Sloane purchased more arrows and as well as components to assemble her own. She had spent about half her funds and now she felt confident enough to head out on her quests. The map made finding her way to the locations quite easy. And within a couple of hours she had collected the required item amounts as well as a surplus. She had also climbed high enough to survey the surrounding area. The arrival point was a hamlet inside the castle's walls. The main fortress stood tall at the opposite end of the arrival site. There was an exit in the walls between the arrival point and the castle.

The land as far as she could see consisted of rolling plains. Scattered clusters of trees indicated springs. That was where she had found the rabbit frog things. As she examined the surrounding terrain she wondered why the inhabitants hadn't set up a single farm. The land was fertile enough. She didn't understand why they hadn't developed more to be self-sustaining. 

The sun was beginning its descent as Sloane began the trek back to Ohiris. It was fully dark when she walked into the hub and approached the turn-in counter. The interior was illuminated by candles and lanterns.

"Good evening," the clerk spoke with pleasant surprise. "How can I help you?"

"I have two quests to turn in."

"First time turning in?" The clerk asked, lifting a heavy book onto the counter. The edges of each page glowed faintly.

"Yes," Sloane tried to maintain a polite smile.

"ID?" The clerk held out their hand.

Sloane passed it over. The page illuminated with her information and the quests she had accepted. The clerk scanned the information.

"The items?" He prompted.

She opened her inventory and withdrew the herbs and the animals. After she passed them over the clerk updated the file.

"If you have any extras you can turn them in for bonus rewards."

Sloane smiled, then dumped the rest of her inventory on the desk. The clerk's eyes widened and he looked from Sloane to the pile in shock.

"One moment please." He scrambled to sort and process the extra items.

Sloane leaned against the counter and watched in amusement. Part of her felt bad for the clerk. It wasn't his fault the system was set up this way, that there weren't many resources here for travelers to develop and improve. 

"Miss," the clerk finally stored away the rest of the materials. "I have your payment ready."

"Thank you," Sloane held out the money pouch. The clerk touched another pouch to it and she felt a small jolt as the funds transferred.

She checked the balance on her bracer and had to hide her shock. The starting amount each traveler had been given was 10 gold coins, 50 silver, and 50 copper coins. After buying supplies she had only 5 gold coins left. Her new balance was 25 gold coins, 70 silver, and 89 copper.

Sloane stored the money pouch and headed to her room. She stripped out of her dirty clothes and washed with the water in the basin. She looked at her face reflected in the water.

 One week. She told herself. I'll stay here one week and then move on to the next town.