"Oh by the way," she said, "the elder wants to see you."
"Okay," I said. I immediately headed out the front door, greeted by a bright beam of sunlight.
The elders house was a couple of yards away, on the summit of the mountain on which Lifecod was built. Immediately upon entering the elder's house, I was greeted by this red-haired girl. She was Judy, the elder's daughter.
"Hi," she said.
"Your dad wanted to talk to me about something," I said.
"That's right," said the Elder of Lifecod, a graty haired man with a beard.
"Would you like me to let you two talk alone?" asked Judy.
"Oh no, my dear," replied the elder. "This isn't a private matter."
"What do you want, Elder?" I asked.
"As you know, tonight's the Spirit Festival and we need a Spirit Crown. A woodworker in Shiena - his name is Bilte- has been making Spirit Crowns for us for years. What I want you to do is to take a bag of our homemade goods and go down the mountain to Shiena and sell them to raise enough money to buy the Spirit Crown. There's a bazaar going on there, so you should be able to find a buyer. Ifg you have leftover money, you can use it to buy a Wing of Wyvern and just fly back here."
"Here's the bag of goods," said Judy, handing me a leather sack full of clothes and stuff made right here in Lifecod.
"Very good. Here is a map of Shiena. I marked the spot where the sculptor of the Spirit Crown lives. Make sure to be back, okay?" said the elder.
"Yes, sir," I replied, taking the map.
I immediately headed out, hauling the bag of goods.
"What's going on?" asked Tania. "What did the elder want?"
"I'm going down to Shiena to trade these for the Spirit Crown," I said.
"Get backj safely, brother."
And so I left Lifecod and walked down the mountain path. Just a few yards from Lifecod, I saw this blond-haired boy.
"Hi, Rand," I said.
"Oh, what's up?" he asked.
"Elder asked me to go to Shiena to pick up the Spirit Crown."
"Uh, how's Tania doing?"
"She's doing well. Have a safe trip."
And so I left Rand, heading down the path to the base of the mountain. As I was walking, I wondered if I had left Lifecod before. I must have, after all I was seventeen and surely I must have gone down the mountain with Tania or Rand.
But I rtried the recall the last time I went on a trip down the mountain and I couldn't remember.
Suddenly something hit me. I looked and saw some spotted slimes!
The mountain path had some dangerous wildlife. Fortunately I packed a cypress stick and started jabbing at the spotted slimes. Sooj the spotted slimes were vanquished. I then continued by journey down the mountain.
The mountain had severeal tunnels dug into it, and the path went through the tunnels. The tunnels were dark, with the only light from torches.
After about half an hour I finally emerged at the bottom of the mountain. Ahead was a flat expanse of land. I looked at my compass. Shiena was south of here, and so I continued along the path. I soon reached a painted wooden sign.
Shiena 4 miles
Reidock 11 miles
It took me another half hour before I reached Shiena.
ooooooooooooo
Even from a distance, the bazaar at Shiena can clearly be seen. Colored pennants were hung between the stone buildings. The streets were paved with stone. Hundreds of people were walking about.
The bazaar was held in the town square. The town square was larger than Lifecod itself! There were so many people hdere, so many merchants calling for people to buy their wares. The number of people here was at least ten times the entire population of Lifecod!
I must have seen such huge crowds of people before, and yet I can not remember the last time I did. Looking around the town, it did not look familiar to me, so this was probably my first time in Shiena.
"Over here!" yelled one of the merchants standing at one of the stalls.
"Yes?" I asked.
"You from Lifecod?"
"That's right."
"Show me your goods."
And so I did, revealing the colored clothes that were hand woven in the village's textiles.
"I'll give you three hundred gold for this," said the merchant, a man wearing a turban and baggy pants.
"Okay," I said, taking the gold. I then looked at the map. Walking along the streets busy with foot and wagon traffic, I soon reached the house.
Knocking on the door, this woman answered.
"You must be from Lifecod," she said.
"Yeah, that's right?" I said. "I'm here to buy the Spirit Crown. Is Bilte here?"
"My father? He went to the woods to the west to gather wood for the Spirit Crown," she said. "He's been gone since yesterday and I'm really worried."
"The Spirit Festival's tonight," I said. "I can't wait for him."
"Then could you go look for him please? I'm really worried."
"Okay," I said. I immediately left town and headed west. I was a little annoyed at this delay. Maybe the dude was taking a nap. I crossed a bridge and followed the dirt road to the west. I noticed that there were no signs or anything.
I hoped the sculptor did not get lost.
After an hour of walking, I soon spotted some woods. I ran over there.
"Hello!" I yelled. "Is anyone over here? Hello?"
"Help me!" yelled this voice.
"Where are you?" I called out.
"Over here!"
I ran and saw someone hanging over the edge of a cliff! I looked and I saw the ground a long way below - at least thousands of feet. Something did not make sense.
"I'll pull you up!" I yelled. "Grab my hand!"
And so I grabbed him and pulled him up with all my might.
But then I slipped and fell.
I soon touched ground. It was a softer landing than I expected.
I immediately looked up to see where I fell from. But all I saw was the blue sky.
"What the hell?" I asked. I obviously fell off a cliff, so why could I not see where I fell from?
I looked at my surroundings. I could see some buikldings near the horizon. I fugured there must be a town west of Shiena.
It took me a good ten minutes to reach the town. A signpost identified it as Torukka. I had never heard of the place, and I am positive I have never been here.
I should stay calm. All I had to do was ask how to get to Shiena. There was a bazaar there, so someone here should know.
I went to the inn. Several people were drinking at the bar. I approached the lady at the counter.
"Excuse me," I said. "I'm a traveler heading to the bazaar in Shiena. Could you tell me how to get there? I'm kind of lost."
The woman behind the counter did not respond.
"Did you hear me, miss?" I asked. "I'd like to know how to get to Shiena from here."
She still did not respond.
I decided to ask someone who would hopefully be a little more polite. "Sir?" I asked. "Would you hapopen to know how to get to Shiena. There's a bazaar there and I want to do some shopping."
The man did not respond.
"Hello?" I asked. "I just need to know how to get to Shiena."
I then approached someone else. I asked them where Shiena was.
And they did not answer.
"What the hell?' I asked. "Why is everyone ignoring me. Do I have to stab someone to get attention!"
It was then I saw a mirror. It reflected the inn's pub. I could see the customers with their beers and the bartender serving them.
I could not see my reflection.
It could only mean one thing.
I was lost.
I was dead.