"G'morning, bud. How'd you do down there, all good?"

Red's eyes fluttered open as Dustin's voice wormed in through his ears and demanded his attention, recalling him to himself and making him aware of a stiff back and neck. The sounds of the monsters outside were gone, but he was inwardly surprised he hadn't been woken up by them in the night.

"Could be better," Red grumbled, slowly hauling himself to his feet despite his soreness. "Wood sucks for sleeping on."

"You're tellin' me," Dustin chuckled easily as Red grimaced and stretched. "Still, it's not much better sleeping outside. I'd guess the first thing you'd want to do today would be to sort out something to sleep on, huh?"

"I don't know, I just woke up," Red snapped. He blinked at the golden light filtering in through the door. "What time is it?"

"Not too long after daybreak," Dustin said. "Looks like a fine morning out there, though."

Finally taking proper stock of his situation, Red saw Dustin still on the chair and leaning back against the wall, as casual as anything. The rest of the house stood strong and sturdy - the door appeared as though it hadn't been disturbed at all in the night.

"So it really did hold..."

"I reckon you would've woken up if it hadn't. Anyway, I told you it would, didn't I?" Dustin beamed. "So, what do you want to get doin' today?"

Red returned to stretching, trying to work the cramps out of his body. "I don't know. Do I have to do anything?"

"Well, it's your call really," Dustin stood up from his chair and stretched. "I'd recommend you do something, though. Idle hands won't serve you very well when it comes to clinch time, will they?"

"What are you talking about? Clinch time?"

"Sooner or later your luck's going to crap out on you, bud. Remember I said last night was quiet? Yeah - yeah, that thumping and trying to smash down the door - that's quiet. When a loud night rolls around... well, you won't do too well if you're still lazing around here with the crap I gave you." Dustin rolled his shoulders, still talking as casually as one would while discussing the weather. "So - yeah, it's best if you do something each day. Fortify the house, get some creature comforts going - like a good bed or two, a fireplace - get exploring, you know. Just something."

"Uh... A bed sounds good right about now, I suppose," His Guide's speech had rattled him a little, but he kept his voice level. "How would I go about making one of those?"

"Well, that's not too hard a task, but there's a lot of legwork involved. More sweat than elbow grease, if you know what I'm saying. You can assemble a bed at a sawmill with silk and wood. You can make a sawmill at a workbench - like what you've got over there - with an iron chain, around about three iron bars and some more wood. An iron chain is probably going to set you back three more bars, assuming you don't botch it the first time. And you could probably put together something that'll pass for silk out of some cobwebs if you scrape enough up. Good enough to sleep on, for sure. You'd be able to do that on a loom, for which you'd really just need more wood and I'd show you how to get it done." He counted off the items on his fingers as he listed them, smiling sardonically.

"God, all that for just a bed? Maybe the wood is better after all."

"Not by a long shot, trust me," Dustin grinned. "You know how easy wood is to get. Only things you'd really need that'd set you back any effort are the cobwebs and iron. Both of those you can find underground, incidentally,"
"I see," Red spent some time processing this information in his head, until Dustin interrupted his musings.

"I can add a bit of incentive to it beyond just a soft place to sleep, too. You make a bed, and I'll bind you to it for you. How's that sound?"

"You'll what me?" Red asked, eyes narrowing.

"Bind you. You know, you, as in the most primal part of you, the part that sticks around when your body can't hack it anymore - your soul, spirit, essence, whatever you want to call it. What, did you think I meant ropes or something? Head out of the gutter, if you would -"

"What are you talking about?" Red asked, confusedly.

"Wow, you really are out of it, aren't you? Answer me a question first - how much do you remember, before you woke up in Terraria?"

"Bits and pieces. Nothing I can make any sense of," Red answered immediately. He didn't need to think to answer that one, he'd been struggling with his faulty memory even in his sleep.

"That makes me feel a little better, then. That's even less than what I've got," Dustin gave a cheeky grin. "Well, like I say, there's still a bit of a chance even if you end up in way over your head. You can die, but you - your soul - it'll linger here for awhile. People are all different, but their souls are all the same - they'll flit around for a while, just hoping that they run into something that will help them. If your soul's properly bound to something, then it'll be drawn to that place or thing in particular. The idea is that I'll meet it here, and with it I can bring you back to life, good as new. It's a fairly reliable process, as long as it hasn't been long since you died and nothing's severely wrong with whatever makes it back here."

"Wait, what? No way you can just bring someone back from the dead, just like that," Red snapped. "That's impossible."

"Hey - Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do? You just said not thirty seconds ago that you can't remember jack," Dustin seemed affronted. "And no, I can't do it just like that. It's hard. It takes a hell of a lot out of you. But I can do it, and if you bring all the stuff back to make a bed then I'll be able to make death nothing more than a bad dream for you. You'll wake up, good as new in your nice, warm bed. Don't that sound nice, huh?"

"Sounds too good to be true, to be honest," Red said bluntly. "Unbelievably good, I could say."

"Well, you'd better believe it," Dustin grinned. "It's all true."

"How do I know that?"

"Ask the next person you see, they'll tell you the same thing. I'm not the only one who deals in souls, or whatever you want to name 'em. Far from it, as a matter of fact, and I'm pretty much only a dabbler, I'll admit that straight up. Lots of people and things out there who could give you some damn convincing corroboratory evidence." Dustin kept smiling easily at Red as he spoke. "Anyway, have I given you any reason to doubt me so far?"

"I suppose not," Red relented. "Why exactly do you need a bed to do this? Can't you... uh, bind me to something else?"

"Don't rightly know," Dustin said brightly. He already seemed to have forgiven - or at least forgotten - Red's outburst. "But I do. I've thought a few times that it might be the silk, but I can't do it with anything else - you know, clothes or whatever. Oh yeah - just a by-the-by and to give you a little peace of mind, I would probably still be able to bring you back from death right now without a bed, should anything unfortunate happen while you're out - but I should say it's riskier. Like I said, you can't really predict where a soul that hasn't been bound will go. If it comes near then I can bring you back, and that's about all I can promise you until you get a bed built."

"Okay. I'll try and get -"

"Wait - word of warnin', too. If you encounter any people or things who properly work with or even just eat souls or whatever, you'd do well to be very damn careful. There's not a lot I can do to save you if they've already got your claws on you, you know?"

"How will I be able to tell what can do that, then?" Red asked, a little bit of apprehension in his voice.

"Well, I've found a good rule is to not take risks with monsters or people at all if you can help it," Dustin smiled wryly. "Failing that, well... no real, solid way to tell, I suppose. General rule of thumb is the best I can manage - if it's hard enough to kill you it's hard enough to carry your soul off, too. Obvious exceptions apply, of course... If you get wasted by a slime, no matter how big or tough it is, you'll probably be alright, because they're stupid as hell. That's assuming we've got a bed going, like I say."

"So just be careful, then," Red furrowed his eyebrows. "Got it. Would I be likely to run into anything like that if I just wandered around a little bit?"

"What, above ground? During the day? Nah, you should be alright. Just keep an eye out for anything funny and play your hand careful if you run into anything unexpected. You planning on getting a bed going today, then?" Dustin asked.

"I thought you said I'd need iron to do that - wouldn't I have to go underground?"

"Probably. You might get lucky and catch a vein on the surface, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Anyway, it's not too bad going underground if you stay relatively near to the surface and mark down where you've been. Leave torches behind you, or something - simultaneously light the place up and mark where you've been. Just below the surface you're much more likely to find what you need, and really, there shouldn't be anything more irritating than bats and slimes around." Dustin wandered over to the door as he spoke. "Gonna catch some fresh air - you comin'?"

Red joined him outside, shielding his eyes from the sun until they adjusted. "So, do you think it would be a better idea to start with finding the things for a bed or just exploring? Or something else?"

"Pick one, any one. I'm here to guide you, not baby you," Dustin said lazily, stretching in the sunlight. "You've got some time, whatever you want to do. Like I say, the only thing I wouldn't do at this point is laze around doing nothing."

"That's rich," Red said dryly.

Dustin flopped down onto the grass, an easy smile on his face. "I know, right? Anyway, I'll be here if you come across anything you don't understand. I know pretty much everything about this place, you just ask and I'll tell you if I can."

"How come you don't know how the pouch works, then?" Red jibed.

"Technically doesn't fall under the heading of 'this place'," Dustin waved a hand dismissively. "Not really important, anyway. What's important is that it works,"

"Yeah, you said that," Red muttered, slightly disappointed that he hadn't played along. "Well, I think I will try and explore then, maybe just a little bit. Maybe find a cave, or something,"

"Okey doke. Make sure you've marked a path back or something, and be back well before sundown, or a bunch of monsters are going to be having a big, hearty laugh at your expense. And enjoy yourself too, huh? Like I said yesterday, it's a beautiful place in the daytime. Enjoy it while the light's above your head," he smiled easily, closing his eyes. "I'll be out here when you get back, unless you're late - I'm gonna pack it in when the sun goes down. Obvious reasons, you know."

"Yep, right. Okay - I'll be back before night, then,"

And with that, Red set out. He couldn't help but feel giddy - he'd been pushed and kicked around a little bit on his first day, but he felt like his position in the world was solidified and he was finally taking charge. Dustin had said he'd been chosen to be dropped here by the powers that be - all he had to do was find them and ask to be taken back, surely they wouldn't be too unreasonable. Finding them would be something to do, anyway - Dustin had said it was better to stay busy. He took his first steps out of the clearing with the tiny sword in his hand, the clothes on his back and the beginnings of a grand plan in his head, smiling as he did.