Requiem Online: Synergy

Chapter Four: The Kingdom of Altania

Johnathan and the caravan arrived at their second checkpoint. At the checkpoint was a little cabin that was big enough for a few people. Sitting outside of the cabin was the Altanian crew members that were to replace the Anne crew members.

As the crews switched places, Sarah said goodbye to Johnathan.

"I guess this is it." She spoke. "I don't know when we'll see each other again, but I hope it's soon. I'll be stationed in Anne for at least a few more weeks, you should come visit when you have the time. I'll send you a link request so we can talk to each other until then."

"Yeah, that sounds good actually. I'll accept it once the caravan and I are ready to go. It was nice meeting you and your brother, even though he hasn't said a word to me." Johnathan said.

"Yeah, he doesn't really talk to other players. He thinks they'll just view him as an NPC and leave him alone. If you do come visit me in Anne, talk to Tars and he'll give you directions to my barracks."

"Okay. It seems that it's time for me to go. Goodbye, Sarah."

"Bye, Johnathan."

The new caravan crew was full of nothing but NPCs. The lack of player interaction was something that Johnathan was used to, but after traveling with two other players all this way, it seemed more empty than usual.

After a day's travel, the caravan arrived at the gates of the Altanian Kingdom. The kingdom was the seat of Altania and controlled certain parts of nearby regions. The kingdom was separated in four parts: slums, workers/artisans, low royal ranks, and the Rulers. Each section was separated by gates with guards. These guards were in charge of checking credentials and preventing the unqualified from accessing other sections.

The brewery was located in the worker/artisan section. Once the caravan arrived to the gate, the guards asked for the necessary credentials. The driver pulled out a little piece of paper and the guard waved them through. As they went through the gate, the difference in the areas became completely obvious.

The slums were full of rundown housing with poor NPCs that were dressed in rags, but the worker/artisan section had nice houses, well-fed NPCs, and other factors that the slums didn't have.

"If the difference between the two districts is this wide, I can't help but wonder what the other districts look like, especially the Castle in the top district." Johnathan thought to himself.

"Are you Johnathan?" A man asked walking up. "I'm Codie, the owner of Pegasus Flame Brewery."

"Yeah."

Codie thanked Johnathan for helping with the delivery. As promised, both Codie and Tars, who got a notification that the contract was fulfilled, paid the reward money.

"Is there a motel around here?" Johnathan asked.

"Yeah, take this road north for about 10 minutes. You'll come across a 4-way section. Take the left road for about 5 minutes and you'll get to the Boar House Motel. It offers hot food, baths, and nice rooms for a moderate price or you can get a standard room for about 100 skole a night. The owner is an NPC, but it's managed by a player during the day. "

"Thank you."

As directed, Johnathan followed the road north and then west. After a 15 or so minute walk, Johnathan arrived at the Boar House Motel. The motel was nicer than the other motels that Johnathan has encountered. It was two stories, had marble pillars in the front, and the building was made of a mix of stone and wood.

On the inside, the walls were covered in paintings that depicted battles of the games past lore. The tables were made of a nice mahogany type wood, the stools as well. As Johnathan sat down, he received a message from Sarah.

"We made it to the location of the first checkpoint. Tars informed that the caravan made it safely to the brewery. Thank you for keeping us safe on the way there. I'll message you again once we get back to town. -Sarah."

This was the first time Johnathan was thanked for keeping someone safe. A feeling of peace waved over him.

"Hey, bar-keeper!" Johnathan called out.

"The name's Kelley, not bar-keeper."

"Kelley, sorry. I need one order of the house special, a pint of ale, and a room for tonight."

"The food and ale will be 75 skole. The room, depending on whether you want the standard or deluxe, runs between 100 a night and 300 a night. Baths are free, if you pay for a room of course. "

"I'll take a standard room. Do you know where I can get a contract around here?"

"Check the Warrior's Guild in the upper section of this district. They normally offer players contracts to hunt certain beasts or to protect certain diplomats for a set period of time. It opens at 9 in the morning."

"Thanks."

After eating his meal of shredded pork on rice with butter and finishing his pint of ale, Johnathan retreated to his room. After putting his equipment up, Johnathan bathed. This was the first bath he's had since the game started. It was nice to feel the hot water on his body.

Once he finished his bath, he headed to bed.