Quest 2: The first quest?

Arriving at the gate to the castle town, we’re stopped by the town guard for looking suspicious and so we face our toughest challenge yet. Convincing the town guard that we aren’t demons or any other hostile race but are in fact normal humans who are traveling around the world in search of adventure. Before the guard starts questioning us, he grabs an orb from a cupboard in the interrogation room and sets it on the table with a hefty thud.

“Who are you all? And don’t think about lying this orb will detect what’s true and what’s false.”

The producer answers for the group and introduces us all.

“Were all humans. I’ll introduce my guild, we have myself Ilev I’m the leader of this traveling guild and an arch-wizard, then we have my second in commands the first being Arano who is an unarmed fighter and Suieol the summoner of the group, then we have the Knight Aromi, Lexa the wizard, Lekly the axe fighter and finally we have the healer Ami.”

Once Ilev finishes the orb doesn’t change, and the guard remains silent, casting a heavy tension over the room. As we all wait in thick silence to see if the lie has worked or if we’re doomed to meet our fate out in the wild or be made an example of in the town square, requiring another escape from certain death only hours after we cheated death the first time. Then the orb starts to glow, illuminating the room orange like it was made of glass during a summer sunset.

“You have given me a partial truth outsider. I will ask you once more, who are you all?”
“Our names are the truth, in reality we are the seven creators of this world. We found ourselves here after some sort of magic event happened in our office during a deadline crunch while working on this world, and now we’re here with no skills and no reason as to why.”
“Enough lies, I’ll be taking all of you in fo…”

The guard is cut off by the orb glowing a bright green, we breathe a sigh of relief as the guard’s face moves from anger to confusion but then settles back in its formal blank slate we had seen before.

“It seems you tell the truth, but many won’t believe it. I don’t truly believe you but the orb is saying your words are truthful so I must cast aside doubt and believe in your words. However, due to your circumstances you will be taken to have an audience with the crown, they’ll decide what will happen to you.”

The worried glances that had only just disappeared from the faces of my friends return mere seconds after they were dispelled, and the room fills with a tension that feels like it would be heavy enough to crush someone if it had physical properties.

“Do not fear visitors from another world, the wearer of the crown is a kind soul. I’m sure they’ll take pity on your troubling situation and will allow you to stay inside the castle walls for your safety while you find your bearings here. And if you are for adventure then you might be able to join the adventure’s guild and take on the classes you tried to lay claim to without proper testing, which I must warn you if you attempt again or in front of the crown you will find yourself in the dungeon as it is a capital offence to lie about your job in Ehccihster.”

Another wash of dread washes across our faces as we find out that the lie Ilev originally told could have gotten us all killed. The following silence had a thousand words written into it, most of which were trying to calculate how we would conduct ourselves in front of the crown and what we would have to say for ourselves if things got tricky if the guard wasn’t in attendance with us. Sensing the unease amongst our group about what could happen in the meeting the guard once again speaks.

“Don’t worry visitors from another world I shall accompany you with your visit to the castle and crown, with the orb results in hand, not even the crown is able to overrule the orb’s ruling on the truth. Therefore, there is no need to fret, but we must get you cleaned up and dressed in something a bit more formal if you are to meet with the crown and enter the castle grounds.”
“Well that’s a relief. And whatever you think is best for meeting the crown, we’ll leave to you as we’d rather not offend the ruler of this land.”
“Do not worry I will ensure the best preparations are made for you to meet with the crown. Now let me show you to the private washing quarters we will provide a suitable set of clothes for when you are done.”
“Thank you.”

The guard dispelled all the tension from the air and our bodies in one simple declaration, with the mood and air significantly lighter than before we followed the guard to the bathing area and cleaned off the dirt from our adventure. Once we finished, we found a set of formal clothes of the region set out for us ready to be worn for our castle visit. Once we were ready to head to our audience with the crown, we gathered ourselves together and made final alterations to our dress and followed the guard through the corridors of the walls around to the closest point to the castle before stepping out into the streets and towards the main castle doors.

“Prepare to enter the castle visitors from another world, please keep to your best behaviour after passing through these doors and pay no mind to any of the castle workers. You are here at the behest of the crown to be questioned and a resolution to your situation arranged. You are permitted to do no more than that. Now please follow me, the crown is awaiting your arrival.”

And so, we marched into the castle behind the guard, ready to meet the person behind the crown that rules the land we have found ourselves in.