Tangurple woke up the next day, slightly cold but alive. He found his book laying on the ground in front of him. He pushed himself to his feet, scooped up the book and stuffed it back into his inventory. He yawned and stretched taking a quick look around at his frozen shelter. It was much smaller in comparison to yesterday. Behind him was a solid wall, like this cave was a shallow ditch. Curiously, Tangurple walked over to the wall and poked it with his sword.

The sword dinged off of it. The wall was real no doubt. He shrugged it off as a mental moment and quickly departed the cave. He pulled his newly obtained werewolf hide from his bag and held it. The raw form was bundled up into a large roll and couldn't be reconfigured. It was soft, heavy and very furry. He decided he was going to make a pitstop to Jonkas to get it crafted into a warm jacket.

The city of Jonkas was only half the size of Randstad and was obviously much poorer and weaker in comparison. The walls were tall wooden logs with sharp spikes jutting out from them. The snow near the base of the walls was lightly blotted with blood stains. Tangurple reluctantly approached the city gates which were closed. He looked up towards the overlook tower and waved at it. No response. He tried grabbing hold of the door and pulling on it but to no avail.

He looked around for a quest giver but none were found. With a frustrated sigh, he shuffled off towards the south. A hunt for the spectral mammoth would have to be done on his own since Jonkas wants nothing to do with him.

To the south was just more deep snow which almost completely hampered his movements. Three feet deep of thick wet snow wore out his stamina fast. Knowing his luck, he kept a vigilant eye out for inbound roamer bosses; fortunately, none came. Instead, he found a quest giver.

He was only a little way south of the city to find this quest giver. Tangurple approached and hailed him. The quest giver gave a slight jump in joy as if he'd not seen anyone else for years.

The quest giver smiled and began his monologue. "Greetings traveler. I've been trying to get into Jonkas for some time now and to my unfortunate luck, the city gates have been barred. I have goods I need to trade there so I have money to support myself back home."

Tangurple tilted his head to one side and rolled his eyes. "You know that if you go like another day east, there's a much more stable town?"

"That's beside the point traveler. I need to get into Jonkas. I have important trades to make. I know of a back entrance into the city through the sewers but there are quite a few rats in there and I have no combat ability. I was wondering if you could clear a path for me and open the city?"

Tangurple sighed heavily and accepted the quest. "You're a dumbass," he said walking towards the large sewer entrance. He pressed the gate and inside the sewer he appeared. It was dark, damp and stunk of rotting corpses. Tangurple walked the platforms that were just slightly above the stagnant body of dark green murky sludge. The NPC quest giver was in tow and obviously not dragging his goods with him as one would expect.

Tangurple casually strolled along the platforms into what seemed to be a main storage area for the sludge. Six large sewer rats munched away on a mound of dead things. The path ahead was behind those rats, naturally. Also in his way was a deep stream of literally nasty sludge. Fortunately, there was a bridge that linked his side to the other and walked over it. He equipped his tower shield and sword and approached them.

The aggro kicked in and as one became aware of his presence, they all knew. In an instant, six sewer rats rallied up in front of him and attacked. Tangurple laughed at their weak attacks and use of teeth and claws against his heavy plate armor. Tangurple glanced over his shoulder and saw the quest NPC cowering in fear, as was usual.

Tangurple turned and targeted one rat. He swung his sword and slashed the rat's face. It rolled over and quickly reacted, jumping at him with its mouth agape. It bit down on his armor and took extra damage. Tangurple turned to the next rat and jammed his sword into its head and frmly jerked it, killing it instantly.

The other four rats attacked simultaneously and threw Tangurple off balance. He stumbled backward and almost into the sludge. Tangurple grabbed one by its neck and threw it into the sludge where it seemingly drowned. The remaining four, including the injured one, struck again and clawed at his armored legs. He chuckled and stepped on one, crushing it beneath his boot heel. The other three reacted frantically jumping all over him and clawing everything.

Tangurple grabbed another by its tail and swung it into its friend, launching them both into the sludge where they both drowned. The last one was terrified and slinked backward trying to get away from him. Tangurple took one heavy step forward and the rat shot off down the tunnel.

The battle sequence was over for the moment and the NPC glanced around the room and resumed its following position. Tangurple walked forward down the tunnel and into the next sub-room. His rat friend had linked up with a few more of its family. A total of twelve now stood before him and blocked his path. Tangurple shrugged and tightened his grip on his sword.

He roared his battle cry and all twelve rats swarmed him quickly. Tangurple lunged forward and skewered two of them. A few ran around back and jumped onto his back, clawing at the gaps in his armor.

Tangurple twitched in pain and flopped onto his back and squished them. The remaining rats jumped on top of him and made numerous attempts to break through his plate armor. Tangurple dropped his shield and swung his arm, knocking them off of him. They quickly recovered and leaped back onto him. He grabbed one by the neck and squeezed hard. It was dead shortly thereafter.

Tangurple pushed himself to his feet causing the rats to fall off and hit the ground. He punted one, stepped on another; the rats were quick to realize they couldn't win and ran off again. After the battle encounter ended, the NPC made mention of the ladder to their right. Tangurple looked up, nodded and climbed it. Seconds later, he was in the city.

Jonkas was filled with snow only about a foot deep and hundreds of people walked the roads. The NPC smiled and initiated the talk menu. "Thank you, adventurer. I never would've gotten in without your help. Here's your reward." the NPC handed him a hundred coin.

Tangurple eyed the tiny pouch then glared at the NPC and punched him square in the face. The NPC fell over and made a mad scramble to get away. Tangurple sighed and wandered the town aimlessly.

I should've expected the NPC's reward to be lacking, but after getting nearly eaten alive by a swarm of sewer rats, a hundred gold is hardly fitting and will barely cover the cost of armor repairs. He got what he, an important merchant, deserved for scamming me.

As usual, the tallest structure there was the stone chapel steeple. The building itself was disproportionately tiny to the steeple. If any place had the location of such beasts, it would be the chapel. Tangurple walked up to the chapel, pushed its large doors aside and stepped inside. He closed the doors behind him and removed his helmet. "Hello? Anyone here?" he called out.

An older man in tan and orange robes approached him. "Welcome to the chapel of Jonkas. It ain't much but it is a sanctuary for those who need it." he calmly said. "How can I be of service traveler?"

Tangurple replied to the old man, "I'm looking for the spectral mammoths. Do you know where I can find them?"

The old man eyed him curiously. "What do you need those beasts for?"

"A cure for Vampirism. Syna needs them for the ritual."

"So Odis was right. The age of the pale is upon us." the old man quickly rushed over to the altar on the other side of the chapel and immediately began praying in frantic tones.

Tangurple shook his head and walked over. "Excuse me, you done? I have things I need to do."

The old man stood up. "The mammoths lurk in the northern mountain forests, just to the northeast of here. They are gentle creatures-"

"For now. I'll be changing that. I don't suppose you'd know where I could find a vampire lair either?"

"I don't but maybe one of the Fighter's Pact would."

"Who are they?"

"Small group of locals from both cities that take on the tasks of disposing the evil from the lands. Vampires have recently become their main target and monetary income so they may not be easy to give away their job sites."

Tangurple cracked his knuckles. "I have the ability to persuade them, I'm sure."

The Fighter's Pact had a small home in the city itself. Tangurple pushed in the doors with fury alerting the twelve of them, those in the immediate area, to his presence. Tangurple removed his helmet and hailed them. "Mornin lads. I need to borrow some vampiric hearts, either that or a place I can farm it."

A midget, in comparison to the rest, strutted his stuff and marched up to Tangurple. "Who in hell do you think you are that you can just walk in here and-." With an abrupt end, the midget went flying out the door.

"I only need one damn heart. I'm not here to steal your loot or jobs." He then mumbled to himself, "Although I could probably do it better..."

A calmer but beefier orcish woman stood up. "What do you need it for?"

"According to Syna, it's a necessary ingredient for the cure to vampirism"

The orcish woman was shaken by that. "There is an actual cure now? Since when?"

"Uhm... Since I was told about a day ago. I take it Syna hid that from you. Good to know the gods can be merciless bastards." Tangurple mumbled. "Oughta not piss this one off."

"We have a few sitting in a chest, not sure what to do with it until now." The orcish woman opened up a silver safebox in the next room and returned with a shriveled sandy-tan heart. "This would be it. But it is not easy to come by so I will not give it for free."

Tangurple sighed and tossed the coin pouch across the table. "Take a few hundred." when the pouch hit, it spilled open, dumping the gold coins all over the table.

The orcish woman walked up to him. "Be careful with this, it seems to be fragile and would not survive a throw." Before she handed him the heart, she told him her name. "Yagash Durz-Umog. Second in command of the Fighter's Pact."

Tangurple took the heart. "Tangurple, Guardians of the Collapsed." He then put the heart into his inventory, which to them looked like he just dumped it into a bag filled with random sharp objects.

The orcish woman eyes went wide momentarily, then resized. "Erm... who you trying to cure anyways?"

Tangurple looked up. "My wife. She was taken and infected. I've got everything riding on Syna's little cure."

"If it does work and she is cured, pass the word. We have lost a few of our own to that disease."

"I will. Thanks for the heart." Tangurple smiled and turned to leave only to be face to face with a few town guards and the midget.

"Halt." the Guards demanded.

The midget was blistering mad. His face was as red as lava and the anger steamed off of it. "He's the scum that threw me out of my own house! Arrest him for trespassing, I demand it!"

Tangurple held up his arms. "If you hadn't made an ass of yourself, I wouldn't have done that. You should think about who you attempt to fight."

The guards shifted their glares to him. "You said it was unprovoked."

The midget was beginning to panic. "It was unprovoked, He entered MY HOME demanded some items then threw me out the door."

Yagash stepped forward. "It is a misunderstanding. The traveler here was looking for something and we sold it to him. We run a demon hunter guild and he" she gestured to the midget. "Tends to run a temper matching that of hell itself. I have this covered. Thanks." Yagash closed the door on the guards after brutally yanking the midget indoors. "You went to the city guard. How stupid are you?!"

The midget was almost in a panic in front of her. He stumbled over his own words faster than if he was on fire. "I... I..."

"For the love of-" Yagash sighed heavily and pointed to a back room. "Gober, to your damn room."

Gober, the midget, drooped his head and headed to the back room. Yagash apologized to Tangurple. "He is a dwarf and dwarves have temper issues. Gober was no exception."

"Tis alright. I should've expected it considering I did throw him out the door."

"No hard feelings then."

"No charges either."

They shook forearms in agreement.

January 4, 2043

To my luck, I got my hands on a vampire heart for like 500g. In the world of RPGs, 500 gold is pocket change for adventurers. MMORPGs turn thousands into pocket change because of inflation. If this game allowed people to be in multiple guilds at once, I think I'd go become a crafter and do some home making. Furniture in this game is where the market is at. While realestate is run by the system, furniture is entirely player based and that runs like a storm. Thousands of gold just for a chair. A quarter million for a desk and I've seen it get as high as a million for a chandelier. Player based markets are a scary thing. Perhaps after this disaster, I'll become a crafter; make furniture or something. There's money to be had and I know Dailin could use the economic boost for the guild.

With the heart in my bag, I hope I can find the spectral mammoths soon. I don't understand the need for the pelt. In every sacrificial thing, it's usually the creature itself or some internal organ belonging to it. I wonder how it works. Probably no different from all the others.

I'm staying in the Fighter's Pact home. It's a small two story house that is meant to hold like six people but instead houses twenty or more. It's crowded in here but definitely warmer and to be frank, I'm fine with a crowded room, just as long as I'm out of the cold. Yagash, the orc lady and second in command of the FP, used this as kind of an apology for Gober's rash behavior and as a thank you for the gold. I guess they don't get much in terms of money. I made the suggestion of giving hands on more casual matters like caravan guarding or bandit hunting. With the zones becoming more and more open, trade between the cities and regions is bound to grow and along with it, the bandit problem.

I wish them the best of luck. Granted, they're NPCs, they feel real. Most characters in a game have a weak but present personality. Just enough to keep you immersed but not enough that the developers have to rack their minds to create fully functional individual people. This guild and Yagash especially, seem to have their own distinct personalities. Whether that was deliberately designed or simply just happened, I don't know.

I know Richer and his crew spent nearly if not more than a billion in this game's production so to have this kind of personality distinction is likely. I'm baffled now as well. Ever since that update that launched months ago that brought the new class systems, the NPCs feel more alive than ever before.

W3 aRE reaL... JuSt y0U waIt...

Mia...

That's a name I've long forgotten. Poor girl. At least she's out of this place. Hopefully, she's peacefully resting, along with the other million who've died here as well.

Tangurple closed the journal and set it back into his inventory. He looked out the window towards the night sky. The moon was full again and it lit up the world with its cold white light. Snow was beginning to fall again as tiny white dots floated down from the frozen heavens. It was a calming sight to behold and while the NPCs were in a slumber, Tangurple waited out most of the night just watching the peaceful snowfall.