Stercusville

That afternoon, we followed a dirt road for several miles. We had been trekking for a few days now. Finally, the forest was becoming less dense, which hopefully meant we were close to civilization.

Eventually we came to a fork in the road. Between the two paths, there was a sign post with two wooden arrows pointing in each direction. There was writing on each arrow.

"What do those signs say, Mr. Arno?"

For a moment I had forgotten she was illiterate. I still needed to find some time to teach her how to read. At the rate she's going, she's closer to becoming a sorceress than being able to read a book.

"Each one has the name of the town they point to. The one on the left is called Stercusville and the right one is called Vomitus Town."

"So which one are we going to?"

Vomitus Town, I never heard of before, but Stercusville was around when I was alive. I'm not sure how much it's changed since then, but there used to be an adventurer's guild there. Going there would probably be our best bet.

"We'll take the left path."

We traveled along that road for a bit. Eventually the path changed from being dirt to it being paved with stone. Soon we made it to the outskirts of the town.

I stayed off to the side of the road to try and avoid being seen in case someone passed by. Before I could get any closer I needed something to cover my face.

"Girl, listen closely, I need you to do me a favor. Run up ahead and find me something to conceal my face."

"Don't worry. I'm on it!"

She ran up ahead and I waited for about ten minutes. She returned and had something in hand.

"Here, I think this should work."

She handed it over to me. I inspected the item... It was a crumpled up brown paper bag that looked like she pulled it out of the trash. At first I thought about making her look for something else, but for now I’d just deal with it. I didn't want to risk being uncovered any longer. I put the bag over my head and poke two holes in it so I could see.

The outskirts of Stercusville were mostly stables and farm fields. In the heart of the town there were typical shops and stalls you would see in any small rural town.

Something about the town stood out to me right away... everything was the same.

It had been almost a century since I was last here and nothing has changed. The houses and the roads all look the same. The sketchy tavern/inn called "Rat Feces" and the adventurer's guild were still here. Even the people looked the same. Probably because most of them were the descendents of the people who lived here in my day. It doesn't particularly surprise me. The people of this kingdom aren't too fond of change.

Erika and I stopped outside of the adventurer's guild. I took her off to the side.

"We're going to go inside and at least get orientated. We probably won't be able to join yet, since there will probably be a membership fee. It's important that we keep our story straight."

"Sounds good to me. I'm guessing it's because you don't want people freaking out because you're a skeleton."

She spoke, in an obnoxiously loud tone.

"Shhhh. Keep your voice down!... Now pay attention. Here’s our story; we are two mages from a small secluded town far away from here. We are traveling the kingdom taking quests and odd jobs. I'm fine with us using our real names, but I'll be using the last name 'Osseus'.

If anyone asks why I have to cover my face, it's because I have horrible, unsightly scars. Under absolutely no circumstance can you tell anyone about who we are. Don't even say anything about being raised by goblins. The less people know the better." I spoke in a quiet, but stern voice.

Erika looked as though she was distracted by something.

"Were you even listening, Girl!?"

"Mr. Arno, did you see that fat cat over there!?"

She wasn't paying attention at all. I huffed and then proceeded to re-explain everything to her again... three more times.