I sat down on the grass to try and blow away the cobwebs in my head.
After I had closed my eyes and taken a few deep breaths, I realized that I had no other choice but to accept my current situation. Even if this did end up being a dream, or some kind of bad trip, I was at least safe for now. And on the off chance that this was now my new reality, I figured that I didn't want to endanger my life any more than necessary.
I threw a glance down at my body. What I saw was the typical Asuran body structure: slim shoulders and nothing that appeared to be breasts. From the waist down, it looked to be all sorts of clumsy.
Perhaps it wasn't the most desirable-looking figure compared to human standards, but perhaps the male Asura had different definitions of beauty instead?
The thought made me giggle aloud, the strange sound of my new voice catching me off-guard in the moment.
"That's still not my voice!" I thought. But with each syllable, the voice grew to be more familiar.
A hum escaped my throat. "It's the same as tiring your voice to where it sounds terribly hoarse. It'll reach a point where you can't even remember how your voice sounds in a healthy condition."
Eyes looked down to observe what I was now wearing.
My clothing was very simple. I wore a cream-colored shirt which was corded up to the top and was fitted with blue shoulder pads. The cloth was garnished with blue and pink geometrical figures.
A skirt of similar color sat snug on my waist, the front of it opened to reveal a pair of dark brown pants underneath. The material was comfortable, and soft to the touch. Also sitting around my hips, was a dark wide belt which was equipped with a few smaller bags. Opening one of them had revealed some copper, silver and even a handful of gold pieces.
I lifted up a foot, looking down to see my shoes were made of dark leather and crafted in such a way that allowed my claw-like toes to be freed.
With a raised arm, I spread my digits outward to look at the gloves they were now sporting. The material was in the same color of my shirt, and decorated with blue cubes.
Well, not too bad for a start.
A backpack sat nestled in between my legs, its contents containing a few food supplies, a filled water pouch, and a map. There were also a bunch more items stuffed into it, but I had never seen them before so I had no clue of what each of their purposes could be.
In a side flap was an attached hammer, which was quite impressive and rather heavy. It had the typical-asuran designs too. I reached down to grab hold of it in my hands, figuring it to be a rather suitable fighting weapon.
Wait a moment!
While only virtual and with my keyboard, I had fought many times before. But I had never actually held a real weapon before, and my combat experience was practically non-existent.
This was the real world of Tyria though, and that meant I wouldn't be able to skip fights completely.
The thought of potentially really hurting someone with this hammer made me feel fairly uncomfortable.
Or rather, I could get hurt in combat myself.
I shoved the thought away and hastily plugged the hammer back into its flap. The sun still stood high in the sky, but I figured that I couldn't sit on this meadow forever.
First things first, I needed to search for an accommodation for the night. And then I would start working on gaining control of my new life.
With a sigh I stood up, and shouldered the backpack. I kept an eye out for a location that could be proven promising for a night quarter.
Just a few meters beside me, was a winding path that led into the landscape. From what I could see, it was leading towards the direction to a few cubic buildings. With a nod, I followed the path, staying attentive and watching the nearby surroundings.
Who knew what dangers hung around this place, searching for prey?
Occasionally there would be bundles of trees outlining the area, the similar-looking foliage granting me some sense of familiarity to my previous world.
On the left side of the path I was walking on, I spotted a small platform hovering in the air. Stony footbridges led towards it, its construct sheltered by three pyramidal frames filled with glittering blue diaphragms in the center.
The closer I came to the platform, the louder I could hear a steady, humming and buzzing noise filling the air around me. I figured its source had to have been the structure's glittery blue middles.
Floating all around the platform were small cubes. Some of them were overgrown with pink and blue plants, a few even covered with vines that were wired to the ground.
Although I had seen this more than once before in-game, it had never made such a majestic impression as much as it did right now.
Slowly I ascended one of the footbridges, unsure if the construction was truly as steady as it looked.
Above I could see two golems standing guard. "Whoa!" I muttered, not wanting to mess with them. Luckily for me, they seemed to be in some kind of standby-mode which was made apparent by their beeping and lack of obvious care when I walked by.
Curious as I was, I reached out to stroke one of the vines growing on the platform with my hand. Startled, I retracted my hand very quickly when it constricted under my touch.
"You've never been the one for plants..." I thought to myself. I carefully descended the platform, suddenly glad there hadn't been any rain recently to turn the mossy stones into a slippery trap.
To my right, was a classic laboratory which appeared to be housing a brisk-looking business.
Everywhere I looked, were Asura. Their appearances were diverse, and they bustled around while calling numbers and random tidbits of information to each other. If not that, then they were cursing aloud or beckoning to some absurd thing.
I didn't dare to disturb them in their work, and continued walking towards the center of the town. There was little chance that a lab such as the ones I just saw would offer hotel rooms, which meant I needed to find better options.
Along the way, a few stray Asura and their golems briskly walked past me in a hurry, but none of them seemed to pay much attention to the stranger walking through their settlement. Few gave much greeting, and I kept my head hanging while muttering the occasional 'excelsior'.
While walking along, I started to feel anxious about my ability to find a rightful place in this new world.
"How was I going to earn money to live?" I asked myself.
I didn't have the faintest notion of how golems worked, nor did I understand the techniques of something similar. With that lack of knowledge, I assumed most were going to call me the biggest-Skritt brained idiot in all of Tyria.
I sighed.
Perhaps there could be some dirty work that wasn't already completed by the golems around here.
At least I hoped so.
I threw a glance down to the coin pouch around my waist from when I had dropped into this new world. I still had a few gold coins, which meant I could possibly manage to get by for a days. Hopefully by then, a better path will have revealed itself for me.
After walking through the town some more, I finally arrived at the city entrance. It was a big triangle made of stone, its sides both flanked by pillars of light.
Soren Draa, as I remembered. At least that meant I was near Rata Sum, the main city of Asura. My midsection suddenly felt like it was doing somersaults.
I liked Rata Sum the most out of all other Tyrian cities, but I couldn't wait to see this masterpiece of architecture. Not only that, but to see the everyday life of the Asura who lived there with my own eyes.
I just had to walk through a simple portal in Soren Draa and...
I swallowed. "What would portal-travelling feel like?" I thought. "Hopefully not like my journey to Tyria..."
Awestruck, I passed the light pillars and went through the city gate. A comfy sound originated from the pillars, similar to that of a technical humming. It wasn't loud enough to cause a bother, but it lingered all around.
Soren Draa on its own was a real masterpiece. A city - half built in stone with towers and floating hammocks. There were even hovering cubes that seemed to be planted with trees! Blue lights surrounded me everywhere I looked, and the sounds from the nearby labs assaulted me on all sides.
It was a choir of cries, clanking, beeping, humming, and golem's heavy metal steps echoing loudly on the stone.
I assumed I must have looked quite silly then, standing there with my mouth open and looking around in sheer awe.
Another Asura who had been standing just a few feet away and watching my astonishment finally spoke. "Each time you come to the city, it's a treat to the eyes, isn't it?"
Startled, I forced myself to close my gaping mouth once I realized someone had been watching me.
"Eh... yes. Absolutely fantastic. It's just as amazing as the first time I saw it", I said, staring at the ground to hide the blush ascending my neck.
The Asura shook his head in amusement, and when I finally dared to lift my head, he had long since disappeared back into the bustle.
"Huh. Maybe I shouldn't behave so stupidly next time, if I don't want to be the main attraction today," I thought, staring towards the area the curious stranger had just been.
I straightened myself out and continued along the street, now attempting to look as inconspicuous as possible. I climbed an impressive amount of stairs, quickly taking notice of a portal at the end of the street which I knew would lead me to Rata Sum.
But seeing the intimidating portal was more than enough to snap me back to the reality that evening was coming, and I still wanted to rest a night before I hurled myself into the next possible adventure.
I glanced up to the sky, noticing that the fair blue color from the afternoon had now been replaced by varying tints of yellows, violets and pinks. The colors painted the clouds in whimsical patterns, and it created a window to look upon the first shining stars of the night.
When did it get this dark?
With another quick look around the area, I observed a pyramidal entrance just to the right. Even from the sliver of a doorway, I could see quite a few tables and chairs littered around inside. Above the entrance was a sign, which tagged the location as a tavern.
I blinked at the words, surprised I was even able to read the Asuran writing. Perhaps I didn't know how to work a golem, but at least I could read a strange new alphabet.
Happy to have finally found a place to stay for the night, I veered to the right to enter the tavern. Compared to the outside, it was far more bustling and busy-looking on the inside. But there were still a few empty tables, which meant there was a very good possibility that there would also be some available rooms as well.
Single-mindedly, I walked straight towards the counter to see a slightly-miffed looking Asura standing behind it. From the glance she threw at me, I wasn't sure if it was friendly or just annoyed.
The Asura had brown hair that was tied to a simple knot above her head. Her eyes were a dull-blue color that seemed to lack much expression behind them. But her ears - they were gigantic!
I knew that most Asura had really big ears, but these particular specimens had surpassed anything that I had seen so far. If they didn't extend out as far as they did, then they likely would have reached all the way down to her midsection.
"Excelsior. So, what do you want?" she spoke, her voice far louder than what I had expected from such a tiny body.
"What did you expect from someone who works inside a tavern? A place that is almost always incredibly noisy?" I thought.
I then cleared my throat. "Eh, I... I am searching for an available room tonight. And if that's possible, then maybe something to eat and drink as well."
I was readily made aware of how impolite I must have just sounded, but the Asura behind the bar didn't seem to mind. She toddled over to the wall behind her and took a key from it which was carved with the number 13.
Always a good sign.
She handed me the key. "That'll be a room for one night and one meal, which makes your total three silver."
Nervous, I fumbled around the inside of my pouch until I was able to find the correct amount of coins before handing them to the innkeeper. She nodded, appearing satisfied before pointing me towards the direction of one of the empty tables. I walked over and sat down, waiting for my meal to arrive. It felt good to be able to sit after all of the tedious walking from today, and I rested my head upon my arms and closed my eyes.
It seemed these upcoming days were going to be incredibly long and possibly just as tiring.