Frostbitten Wayfarer

Zoe sank in to the private spring in her room, the water coming up just below her nose. As she breathed, small waves rippled across the surface of the warm water. It was so much nicer than she expected it to be. Back home on Earth, she’d never been in a hot spring. She’d heard of them, she’d watched videos of them. Seen lots of scenes in movies and television with people relaxing in hot springs.

But she’d never been. Back in the scalding spring Peter took her to, she had too many things going on that distracted her. The water was just a little too hot, there were plenty of people around and she felt more than a little self conscious. Something odd was happening with the tunnels below, and as much as she enjoyed the company of the goblins she couldn’t quite trust them so much.

Here in here room however; those anxieties fell away. There were no watchful eyes that could stare at her body — even if she knew logically they weren’t anyway. There were no goblins nearby that made her want to keep her guard up. No tunnels below.

No tunnels below? Zoe sank deeper into the spring and crawled around on the rocky floor so her perception would reach as far down as it could go. Nothing, not even a hint of emptiness below. Or if there was, something was blocking her ability to see it.

Why would there be tunnels beneath one of the other springs, but not beneath these ones? Were they not for spring maintenance at all then? If the tunnels were necessary to keep the springs running well, then they’d be beneath every spring not just the ones outside.

Zoe thought back to when she was in the restaurant enjoying her meal, but couldn’t remember seeing anything below the spring there either. Was Zoe just lucky and found the one spring where her perception reached into the tunnels below, or was it maybe just a pocket of air and she assumed they were tunnels for no reason?

It didn’t matter, she supposed. Whether there was an expansive tunnel system below the springs or not wasn’t her problem. When she left, she’d ask if she could get a tour of the facilities below the springs and if they showed her, then that would be great. And if they didn’t, she’d have a moral dilemma to solve someday in the future when her desire to see them grew too great.

She got out of the water many hours later and pulled all the water off of her with her Water skill, dumping it into the spring again. Being naked in a hotel was one of life’s greatest pleasures, in Zoe’s opinion. She was never into the whole nudism or naturism, or whatever it was called now. But hopping in the bath and then getting out and making some ramen and falling into bed without dealing with straps and buttons was a great feeling.

Though, with the help of her storage items putting clothes on was hardly a hassle these days anyway. She pulled out some baggy purple pants and a bright yellow sweater from her storage ring to wear, and then sat down on the bed.

Which she found deeply uncomfortable. The mattress was hard and filled with rough, prickly furs and each wooden beam beneath the mattress dug into her behind as she sat on it. The floor seemed nicer, just because at least the floor didn’t have wide gaps with sharp edges. She moved the mattress to the floor and laid down, drifting off to sleep.

She woke up the next morning and hopped back into the water to relax for a few more hours as she thought about what her next step would be. There wasn’t much else to do though at the Springs of Gir. She could go enjoy the arcade area a little more, or relax in the hot springs for a while longer. But it felt complete, somehow. She’d seen what the place had to offer, and she was excited to move on to somewhere new.

Zoe left her room and made her way out of the inn back to the entrance of the springs where a couple goblins sat behind a counter greeting guests and handing out visitor passes for people to dump mana into.

“Hello,” Zoe said to one of the goblins.

“Hi! Here is visitor pass, please fill with mana!” The goblin said, handing another of the crystalline blue boxes to Zoe.

“Oh, no. I already have one, I just wanted to ask a question. There are tunnels below some of the springs, I was wondering how I get to them? Is that a place I can go wander around in as well?” Zoe asked.

The two goblins looked at each other and then knocked on the wall behind them. Another goblin came up a moment later, crawling through a small door that opened. “Customer wants to see tunnels, is allowed?” The goblin Zoe was speaking to asked.

The goblin paused for a moment, and then looked at Zoe. “Will ask boss, please wait.”

“Okay. Thanks!” Zoe said and watched the goblin crawl back through the small door. She stepped off to the side as she waited, and about ten minutes later the goblin came back.

“No, can not see tunnels. Very sorry.” The goblin bowed to Zoe.

“Oh, that’s okay. I’m sorry to pester you but is there maybe something I could do to be allowed? I could pay, or sign a contract or something. I’m just really curious about them is all.” Zoe chuckled.

“Will ask boss, please wait.” The goblin said and crawled back through the door again. Another ten minutes later, it came back. “No, very sorry. Can not see tunnels.”

“Okay, that’s fine. Thanks for checking.” Zoe smiled at the goblin as it climbed back through the tiny door. “Do I keep this or do you take it back?” Zoe asked the goblin sitting at the desk.

“We take back if you’re leaving.” The goblin stuck its hand out and Zoe gave it the blue box. “Thank you!"

Zoe nodded to the goblin, then looked up to the south west and focused on a space a couple kilometers away and Cosmic Stepped into the sky. She caught herself in a suit of earth and looked around.

In the distance where she came from were the Springs of Gir, while everywhere else around her was forest. Trees as far as the eye could see, with a handful of lakes just poking through the green canopies. Zoe didn’t have any plans, and almost couldn’t believe that just a day earlier she was relaxing in her cave toying around with her skills.

She chuckled, floating in the sky far above the ground. In moments, she could be back home. Say hello to her friends, play with Emma’s cats a bit. Maybe take them out for a walk or finally build her home. So far away, in the middle of nowhere, and yet everything felt so close. Just minutes away for her.

Zoe shook her head. One day, the feeling might not be so special to her. Some day, far in the future, it might just be a normal part of life. Visiting friends one moment, and delving into a dungeon thousands of kilometers away the next. But for now, it was special. It was emotional and exciting, and she loved it.

In minutes, she was dozens of kilometers away, the Springs of Gir no longer visible on the horizon. Zoe continued Cosmic Stepping through the sky, following along the road far below until she saw something interesting. A gravel road leading up to what looked like a small village hidden in the trees.

She fell down to the road and walked up the village. A wooden palisade surrounded the two dozen buildings that made up the village, while the gravel path cross split the village in half. From the entrance, Zoe could see a small village center with an ornate fountain of some man on a horse and a handful of benches set up around it.

A man stood at the entrance with a wooden spear, a dark blue level one hundred fifty four to Zoe’s identify. One of the highest level people she’d met, though if he was to be guarding a village in the middle of nowhere she supposed it made some sense.

“Hello!” Zoe waved as she approached.

“Hello,” The man responded. Zoe’s Vampyric Empathy was flooded with suspicion and frustration. “What is your purpose here?"

“Oh I’m just exploring and saw this village. If you don’t want me here I can leave, I just thought it might be fun to meet some new people.” Zoe answered.

The man looked at her, his emotions twisting between anxiety, fear and frustration. “You may enter.”

“Okay. I’m Zoe, by the way. It’s nice to meet you. And really if you don’t want me here, I can leave. I just saw your village and thought it could be fun to come say hi.” Zoe told him.

The man radiated suspicion at Zoe’s comments. “I’m Jolg. We don’t get many new visitors here, just don’t cause any problems.”

Zoe nodded. “Alright Jolg. You got any advice for what I should check out first? Is there like an inn I could get a room at or am I basically on my own?”

“Kurn runs an inn if you need a place to stay. He’s just in that building there.” Jolg pointed to a larger building a few doors down the gravel road. “Otherwise, I would recommend the village center. Our fountain is our greatest joy.”

“Yeah, I saw the fountain as I walked up. It looks really nice, who is it of?" Zoe asked.

The man oozed anxiety and doubt. “Tor, our village’s hero. He started this village four hundred years ago, and we’ve been here ever since.”

Zoe nodded. “Cool. That’s cool. Thanks, I’ll go check out Kurn’s inn then.”

Jolg nodded, waves of concern wafting off of him to Zoe’s Empathy. She felt a little bad, but supposed it couldn’t be helped. An unknown, relatively high level person showing up unannounced to their small out of the way village was probably not something that happened often. But if they wanted to let her in, she’d enjoy the stay anyway.

Kurn’s inn was rather uninspired. A wooden building with open shutters for windows, and a hefty front door held open by a worn down doorstop wedged between it and the gravel road outside. Inside were two round wooden tables to one side and a small kitchen on the other, with a few doors on the furthest wall from where Zoe entered.

One man was inside, sitting at one of the tables reading a book about a librarian who tended to adventurer’s needs. Dark blue eighty seven to Zoe’s identify. Quite low for having five classes, Zoe thought. He looked up when Zoe entered and she felt a wave of confusion wafting off him from her Empathy.

“Hello?” He questioned.

“Hi. Um. Jolg said a person named Kurn ran this inn?" Zoe asked.

“Yes, I’m Kurn. Might I help you?" He asked.

“I’d like a room, I guess. I just saw the village and thought it might be fun to stop by. Hope I’m not intruding on you all.” Zoe said.

“No, no!” Kurn said, radiating excitement. “You’re not intruding at all. We get new people here so very rarely, these days especially.”

“Oh? What’s happened?” Zoe asked, sitting down at the table across from Kurn.

“Did you not hear? Flester was destroyed a few years back. A terrible shame what happened to it.” He shook his head. “We used to get people travelling down the road every so often to Flester, but without that stop in the way people use that road a lot less now. Just the odd person heading to the Springs of Gir and stopping by.”

“Ah. Yeah I lived in Flester, actually. I just didn’t think that would be affecting you that much.” Zoe said.

“Oh yes, a great deal. Not as much as it must have affected you, I’m terribly sorry you had to go through that.” Kurn said.

“Well I say I lived in Flester, but I lived just outside Flester really. I wasn’t too affected by the attack. We’ve got a bit of a town coming back there now, too.” Zoe said.

“Yes, uh Foizo was it called? I think I’ve heard of it.” Kurn said.

Zoe nodded. “Yeah, Foizo. How much for I dunno, a night here? I’m not sure how long I’ll be around. I’m just trying to broaden my horizons a bit, you know?”

Kurn nodded. “Stay as long as you like and pay when you leave then. Say thirty copper a night, meals included?”

Zoe summoned a gold coin and handed it to him. “Here, keep the change.”

“Oh, no no. I couldn’t possibly, that’s far too much.” Kurn tried to push it back but Zoe refused.

“Really it’s no big deal. I’ll just stay around for a bit and then head out. You got any suggestions for places I could visit? I’ve spent most of my life in Flester and then Foizo and been wanting to get out and see things a bit more. Went to the Springs of Gir and Korna far to the east. You got any fun ideas?” Zoe asked.

“Really this is far too much I couldn’t possibly accept this.” Kurn pushed the coin back to Zoe.

“It’s really not a big deal. I feel a little bad intruding on your village anyway.” Zoe said.

“Well… If you insist, I suppose.” Kurn said, reluctantly placing the coin in his pocket. “Hmm. If you’re looking for something fun to do, there is a big city not too far west of here. If you go back to the main road and keep heading west you can’t miss it. Darpi, nice place. We get some of their carriages stopping by now and then.”

“Carriages?" Zoe asked.

“Darpi is known for their carpentry. I’ve heard their houses are beautiful, but I’ve never been. Every so often somebody stops by in the village with a carriage made in Darpi and it’s simply gorgeous. I’d love to see their houses someday.” Kurn said, a feeling of longing and loneliness wafting off of him.

“Alright, thanks. Do I just pick any room I want or do you give me a room key, or how does this work?” Zoe asked.

Kurn laughed and pulled a metal key from his pocket. “Here you are, room two, on your left.”