"Let's change floors again!" Karla suggested. "Aw, I was just about to paint the room and I'll have to cancel the curtains I ordered. Next time you do the decorating." I teased, pretending to be insulted. "You're weird, and yes you can be sure that I'll do the decorating if I ever get the chance." she replied. I was slightly taken aback that she wasn't entirely kidding.

"Seriously, do you want to change floors, or not?" Karla insisted. "That's a really good question." I responded. We had been in this medieval town for a while now. It was a comfortable floor for me. It was raw, clear cut, and predictable, which made it safe. It was really good for leveling, and we had put it to good use. We'd honed our skills and managed to make a nice amount of col. We had also upgraded our equipment as we leveled, not changing it drastically but improving it and adding little extras here and there.

My battle axe now had a substantial damage bonus and an increased chance of stumbling my opponent. My armour comprised of more plates on the arms and legs riveted to my leather undershirt. I also had shoulder guards and a larger breastplate. It increased my confidence as it gave me just enough power to turn the tide in a battle.

Karla had kept the general setup of her outfit. The changes she had made were mostly on the quality of the leather in her armor and the fact that it seemed to fit her even better than it had before, it really looked tailor-made for her. I had noticed that other players would sometimes pay attention when they saw Karla. At first I thought it was because she was a girl, and being a male dominated game, it didn't surprise me. But it turns out she looked really good in her get-up, appealing in it's usefulness and it's aesthetics.

"What are you starring at?" Karla asked. I hadn't realized it, but I was looking straight at her. I blinked and stuttered "I ah ... hum ... I was lost in my thoughts." I said trying to avoid the subject. "You were starring as if my armour was out of place." she said. "No. No. You look good. I ... I mean your armour is fine." I babbled. I felt I was blushing wildly from embarrassment, and hoped Karla had not noticed. I don't know what I would have said if she had decided to pursue the subject further, but she was kind enough to ignore the redness of my cheeks and my sudden speech impediment. Her mouth did curl slightly, thus giving me the impression that she was mocking me.

"How about we do a little floor hopping?" I suggested. Karla glanced at me quizzically. "You know, just teleport to a random floor and look around for ten minutes to see if we like it. If we don't, we just get back on the teleporter and choose another town. If we find a floor to our liking we can rent a room at one of the inns and start exploring." I explained.

"Sir! Are you proposing I abandon my place here and follow you on a trip around the world?" Karla said as she pointed to herself with her hand just below her neck. I smiled at her high society ladylike acting, I really liked the way she did it. I played along. "Madam, this trip requires your presence, and I will not take no for an answer." I proclaimed as I got up. I bowed slightly and extended my hand to her "Shall we?" I proposed. Karla took my hand with the tips of her fingers and got up in one fluid motion. "Lead on!" she commanded.

Floor hopping turned out to be a lot of fun. Each town we ended up in had a different style or structure. Some sported large stone buildings, great archways and paved streets while others were seemingly carved out of the very rock. Some had a medieval feel, others appeared far more modern and everything in between. Each floor also had it's own season. As we went to different floors the weather could change drastically: one floor it was warm and lush, the next one the ground was covered in snow, some with trees bearing fruit, while others the trees were in bloom.

We took in these season changes and city styles as if we were on a sightseeing tour. Spending our time looking at the places and the people and generally wandering around. We also walked to the edge of the town's safe zone to take a good look at the surrounding countryside. The views were on many floors quite breathtaking: from rolling countryside to impenetrable mountain ranges. Deserts, forests, swamps, lakes, it was all here.

I felt the bitter sweetness of what the game was offering. The equivalent of a fantastically decorated prison. It's a strange feeling to be trapped in a world you would normally want to spend all your free time in. I comforted myself in knowing that I wasn't trapped by this intricate and beautiful world, but by a madman who just wouldn't let me leave.

We finally ended up on the eighteenth floor in the town of Ravenheim, situated on one side of a large river and connected to the opposite bank by a wide bridge. Barges glided lazily on the river, guided by NPC merchants wanting to sell their wares at the huge dockside marketplace. Buildings, up to three stories high with large sloping roofs, spread out along the river side and a little inland. Most top floors were white washed framed in dark wood with diagonal beams cutting the white into many right angled triangles.

The weather had a late summer feel, with warm days and cool nights. The pleasant weather was reflected in the lush vegetation and seemingly fertile surrounding land. A patchwork of vineyards covered the hillsides just outside of town, with grapevines that were ripe with their fruit, which was incidentally a boon for artisan players who were into wine making and juices of various kinds. The barge riding merchants brought in all sorts of wares typical of early harvests with summer fruits and vegetables.

Further out, the surrounding forests were dense with vegetation and probably filled with mobs of all kinds. It would have meant death to inexperienced players wandering off into this particular wilderness. The mobs had many ways to stay hidden in these woods. But this was the eighteenth floor; only those strong enough or foolish enough would venture out.

This forest was just difficult enough for us to make our hunting worthwhile. We wanted to give it a little test before deciding if we would make this level our new home base. So we ventured out a little, just off one of the roads, looking for prey. We came across a pack of wolves, about five of them, surrounding a tree. Something was out of place as they growled at it and every few seconds one of them tried to climb it. That's when we heard a voice higher up in the tree:

"Someone help me?"