When Noah awoke he was lying on a bench in an empty office room of the town hall. There were no windows, and the lamp had long since burned out, leaving him clueless as to the hour. He got up and stretched before reaching around for the door. He stepped into the lit room, illuminated by the fire in the hearth and the lamps along the wall. Noah yawned causing the lady sitting behind the front counter to start.
“I didn’t know you were there! Where did you come from?” She asked. Noah scratched the back of his head.
“Uh. Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to startle you. I slept here last night after the events. Julie said it was fine.” Noah explained. She gathered herself.
“The lady–Julie did actually mention that. It must have slipped my mind. She is back in her office if you’re looking for her.” She replied. Noah nodded in thanks and went to Julie’s door. He knocked.
“Come in.” Julie called from the other room. He stepped into her room, appreciating the natural lighting that came through the opaque glass window.
“Good morning.” He said, smiling.
“Good morning, Noah. Sleep okay?” She asked.
“I did. I seem to be able to sleep anywhere these days.” Noah replied, finding it strangely difficult to make small talk.
“So–” Noah started.
“What–” She said at the same time. Noah laughed.
“You first.” He said.
“What’s your plan now? Will you stay for a while?” She questioned.
“I plan to leave within the next couple of days. After that, I am not sure. I will meet with Ta’Ku, my Dan’Kar, and then decide from there I guess.” He answered. She nodded slowly.
“I see. And Dan’Kar–what is that?” She asked.
“It’s an orc-thing, basically he is my friend and life-long battle companion.”
“Oh.” Julie responded, pausing for a moment as she found her next words.
“Noah, I have thought a lot about these last few days. I am glad that I got to see you again, and I am so thankful for your help rescuing Kyle and for freeing us from the charm.” She started.
“But.” Noah offered. She nodded, giving him a half smile.
“But the way we look at the world is too different. I appreciate that you spurred the people into action, but I don’t like the way you went about it. We are building something here, and frankly I don’t want it to look like the world you see. I know that sounds naive, I said so myself last night, but I believe its possible to maintain some semblance of society. But–I don’t think it will be possible if you’re here.” She finished.
Noah took a deep breath as he sorted through her words. As much as he tried, he just couldn’t imagine her plans working the way she was picturing.
“I think you may be right.” He answered her with a sigh. “I am happy I came as well, and I hope to see you and Kyle again. But I think I will be gone for a while this time.”
“Thank you for understanding.” Julie responded. “What was it that you were going to say?”
“Oh right, I’ve been wondering about the whole ‘lady’ thing. You don’t seem to be the kind of person that would get other people to call you that.” He stated. She groaned.
“It’s actually a System thing. It gave me a quest called ‘path to nobility’ when we founded the town and the people officially recognized me as the leader. I have a count attached to the quest that lists the population of the city out of 10,000.” She explained.
“That’s interesting. Does the quest require people to address you as lady then?” He asked. She laughed and shook her head.
“No, word got out about the quest and what started as a joke ended up sticking. We are planning to model our government as a sort of noble council, similar to what has been done in Earth history.” Julie replied.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Funny, I would have thought people would be resistant to that kind of structure. I guess the idea of giving responsibility to a governing body could be comforting though.” He mused.
“Part of it is actually to appease the other races living in our settlement. All of the different parties present have been exposed to a noble led government in their worlds. It makes it easier for everyone to participate and understand.” Julie explained.
“I guess that makes sense.” Noah responded. “One more thing. I was hoping to catch Matt before I leave. Do you know where I could find him?” Julie smiled at the request.
“He will be on the mountain side of the fort, in the crafter’s district near the wall. Look for the overflowing workshop.” She said.
“Perfect, thanks.” Noah replied. “Well, I guess this is goodbye then.”
“I guess it is.” Noah stepped forward and gave her a hug.
“Take care of yourself, Julie. I’m rooting for you guys. And no hard feelings about parting ways, I think it will be healthy for everyone.” Noah shared.
“Thank you, Noah. Take care of yourself too. After some time has passed, I hope you will visit again. Otherwise, I will keep an eye out for your name on the leaderboard.” She said with a grin. With that Noah left the town hall and made his way toward the gate he had first entered through. The streets were filled with people, and their was an anxious bustle in air. He heard the whispers of passersby as he maneuvered through the crowds, and laughed at the mention of his actions from the day before.
“I heard that he killed the commander with one look.”
“No he didn’t kill him! He gave him a panic attack!”
“Can you believe he is going to let us get charmed again? He must have been one of the corrupt elite from before, he doesn’t care about us mere mortals.”
“He acted like it was our fault for being manipulated at all!”
“But it kind of was, wasn’t it?”
Noah chuckled as he finally came to what he assumed to be the crafters district. Several lines of smoke snaked into the sky, and the anxious air transitioned into a more industrial one. He looked around for the workshop Julie described, and found it after just a few minutes of searching. There were scraps of metal and discarded gadgets piled by the entryway, and the sound of hammer strikes could be heard from inside. Noah tried knocking but after a minute of waiting he decided to make his way in.
“Matt!” Noah yelled. “Are you in here?” He ventured further, looking for the source of the clamor. He eventually came to another, thicker door and peered in side. A wave of heat buffeted his face as he opened it, and the intense glow of a fire filled the room. Near the flames stood Matt, wearing a thick leather apron and heavy gauge gloves while he slammed his hammer into glowing rod of metal on the anvil. Noah watched in awe as the boy demonstrated an impressive amount of strength as he warped the rod into a blade. He contented himself to watch, not wanting to interrupt the process.
After some time, Matt lifted the rough blade and plunged it into a nearby barrel. After half a minute he withdrew the blade and inspected it for distortions. With a satisfied grunt he set the quenched blade on his work station and turned to Noah, acknowledging his presence for the first time. He blinked several times, as if not quite believing that Noah was actually there.
“Noah?” He asked.
“Hey Matt.” Noah answered.
“How long were you there? I didn’t see you come in.” Matt replied. Noah laughed.
“Long enough to see the action, what you’re doing is amazing. You must be quite high level.” Noah commented. Matt nodded.
“I just passed a hundred the other day.” He said nonchalantly. Noah’s mouth fell open.
“How did you manage that? I’m not even level 100 yet.” Noah replied.
“All I do is craft, so I am constantly gaining XP. I also haven’t looked into advancing my caste like you have.” Matt answered with a shrug.
“I guess that would make sense.” Noah agreed. “Anyways, I came to say goodbye before I leave. I will be heading out today.”
“That’s perfect, I was hoping to catch you before you left. Axe or sword?” He asked, not missing a beat. Noah frowned in puzzlement before remembering who he was talking to.
“Let’s go with sword.” He said on whim, still holding to his childhood fantasies. Matt smiled and crossed the room, taking a weapon from a large rack.
“I just made this one last week” He said, handing the massive greatsword to him pommel-first. Noah took it, surprised at its weight.
“Its enchanted too.” Matt said with a grin.
“Enchanted? So it’s a magic sword?” Noah wondered aloud.
“Oh yeah, just wait until you try it. I will let it be a surprise.” Matt said with finality.
“Well thank you once again for the weapons. I have made good use of the others you have made for me.” Noah said.
“You’re welcome. Its nice to have someone who can actually use the weapons I make. Only Kyle and a few others could manage the larger weapons but he prefers a bow and I don’t care to advertise.” Matt explained.
“Well, I mainly wanted to say goodbye. I will be gone for a lot longer this time, so take care of yourself.” Noah said.
“I will. You too, Noah.” He replied, extending his hand for a handshake. Noah took it and gave him a smile before leaving him to his work. He felt ready to leave the city, and only needed to say a quick goodbye to Kyle before departing. It took him some time to track him down, and some explaining as to his advanced schedule, but eventually he bid Kyle farewell and made for the gates.
He took the final step out of the settlement and took in the familiar sight of the endless mountain. He took a deep breath as he stared up the path. His heart felt settled and the weight from before had lifted off him. It was time for the next leg of his journey. With a newfound energy he began to run up the mountain, a smile spreading across his face. This time he wouldn''t stop until he reached the peak.