- I -
"Couldn't he have just, I don't know, asked?"
"Would you casually banter with trespassers? After countless goblin scouts, you really ought to know better."
"But I was n— owww!"
"Don't be such a kid."
Timothy was squirming around in a table while a nurse tended his wounds. Were he a few years older, he would be delighted to ignore the terrible sting the ointment caused and focus on her most common superpower. The nurse was a tall, well-endowed lady, and that certainly factored into how well she performed her job in the eyes of her clients.
But alas, he was twelve and it hurt like hell.
"I'm just saying, maybe shooting anything that moves isn't the right answer to everything!"
"We don't get many new faces here, Timmy. Not friendly faces. To survive, he has to act like that."
"I... noticed the, uh, zombies?"
It was embarrassing to say the z-word like that, but it also made him feel funny, like someone in his world had gone through that situation as well. Maybe in a movie? His memory was still fuzzy, so he couldn't say for sure.
"The undead, yes, but they are only one of many dangers in Terraria. I'm not the right person to talk about this stuff, though; look for the guide when you can."
The nurse put one last stingy ointment on the huge bruise in his belly, and then covered it up in bandages.
"And done! I will get my payment later."
"What! I have to pay? Won't that guy pay for me?"
"You should try and ask him!"
"Uuuuuuuugh..."
"Now, go get a shirt from the clothier a few levels down. He is the old man with the nice fashionable hat."
"I dunno, will I have to pay for that too?"
"Maybe not. Be nice to him!"
Tim was hesitant to leave. Not so much because of the nurse; she was nice, yeah, but what he really was afraid of was to climb the tower right outside the room...
The knight had carried him back to that place in his arms like a baby, and it was surprising because Tim was expecting to find something like a huge floating castle chained to the ground (and to walk), but instead he got this two story wooden building.
"Do you really live here?"
"YOU SOUND SURPRISED."
"I... yeah, I was expecting something bigger."
"I HOLD NO DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR. THIS FORTRESS WAS BUILT FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT."
At the very least a moat would help, Tim thought, but before he could say it, the knight went on:
"YOUR TONE WILL CHANGE SOON."
Tim was again disappointed when he saw a standard dining room inside; a table, some chairs, a chandelier... the most exciting thing about it was the guy sleeping on the table, to whom the knight paid no attention whatsoever.
Instead, he moved a chair and opened a trapdoor right below it. The dining room they were in only had two dim candles, but opening the trapdoor immediately filled it with light. It wasn't just any old basement.
Tim looked inside.
"I can't see the bottom at all. What is this place?"
The knight didn't answer, and the nurse soon called Timothy from somewhere deep inside that place. It was a tower, the boy soon found out. No windows, a door between every few levels, and thin stairs infinitely leading downwards in spiral. An underground tower.
The worst part: no handrails. The stairs weren't connected either; the steps were wooden platforms hanging against the walls. Not safe in the least, most of the enemies would probably fall and die horrible deaths if they ever stumbled upon the place...
Timothy went all the way down to the third level to tend to his wounds, but he did not enjoy it. And now he had to do it again! Who knew so much drama could be generated from simply going down the stairs?
"Do you need help?"
Someone suddenly grabbed his hand, which made his heart race and his body jump; fortunately for him, this someone had a strong grip. Tim tried to look back, but he was too afraid of letting his other hand go off the wall.
And... suddenly the place became darker? He quickly looked at the candle next to him, and it was burning a dark blue instead of the bright orange of a second ago!
"Are you seeing this?" he asked the person holding his hand, and he suddenly remembered that he used to think he would be very brave in case he was transported to a strange new world. That was obviously not working out.
"Yes, yes, no need to be afraid. It is a side effect to my presence. Does it make you feel nervous?"
Timothy realized how kind that voice was. The hand was very skinny and frail, but the man seemed a good person.
"No," he decided, "but I am nervous about these stairs. I do not like heights, sir."
"Even if you liked heights, you would likely have a problem or two with this layout, I think!"
"Yes. Yes, I would. I think I understand what that guy meant when he said it was a practical standpoint, though."
"Most people here had a hard time adapting to this place, so you needn't feel a coward. The lord of this fortress lost his fear of heights a very long time ago, so he obviously built it to his own specifications."
"The lord... you mean the knight?"
"I do. Even though he looks a little evil, he houses and protects us all from the harms of Terraria."
"I think he looks harsh."
"You will get to know him with time. Now, I believe we have reached the place you wanted to come to?"
"Huh?" Tim looked around. He saw a door right in front of him, and after the man gave him a small push, he opened it. Countless clothes and hats were inside.
"This is where the clothier lives," said the man.
"I, uh... did I tell you I wanted to see him?"
"You might have mumbled without realizing it. You were very afraid at first, you see."
Tim was wide-eyed.
"We walked all the way here," he thought aloud.
Now he could feel his fingers hurt a little from dragging them against the wall so forcefully. And the man was still holding his other hand, and it felt warm.
He slowly turned his back, fully expecting his new friend to be a ghost of some sort. To his surprise, it was an old man in a very fashionable red hat.
