Laucian's metrianda introduction

Day 1
The rain had soaked through every single article of clothing at this point, but the most annoying piece was of course the shoes. The shoes made a sloshy squeaky sound as he walked. Great, now his shoes were going to be destroyed as well. 

Laucian stopped in his tracks and looked down at himself. What was he actually wearing? This was not the outfit he had chosen for the day, and these were certainly not the shoes he was thinking about. Actually he wasn’t even thinking about the fact that he was previously wearing his combat boots either. Was this chainmail? It was. Who in the world wears chainmail? This isn’t some medieval fantasy. He felt utterly ridiculous.

Hoping he wouldn’t have to use his sword anytime soon, he sheathed it and strapped over his back. It felt odd holding such a heavy and brutish sword, at least it felt properly balanced and actually quite nice to swing. 

As he walked he kept his eyes on a big landmark ahead, a tower. He had no idea where to go, so that place seemed just as good as any.

He did think back to Kians words, she did mention a tower. ‘The final city, Robasa’. What does she mean with final? Does it sit on a peninsula far away? That was the only thing that made sense in his head. Was this Robasa? Was this the tower she meant?

Laucian had slowed down his march as he thought. There was a small feeling in the back of his head that he should go back and ask more. Not knowing the area truly made him feel uncomfortable. Normally he would research an area carefully before going there, knowing every major landmark and every important location. 

There was a slow petty feeling growing inside him though. This is exactly why he shouldn’t go back to ask. She had ‘summoned’ him here and he was completely unprepared for it. She probably would love for him to turn back right now and beg for more information. Truly malicious. No way was she going to have that satisfaction. He hoped he never had to cross paths with her again. 

On the way to the tower he noticed some stores on either side of the road. He’d really prefer to find someone in charge, but he supposed that asking a store clerk felt somewhat better than asking a random person on the street for direction. Well.. they were barely a ‘person’ now in the first place where they.

He walked inside and the door opened with a little ‘cling’. It was quite a cozy little coffee shop. Many eyes were drawn to him as he sploshed his way over to the counter. 

A strange grey skinned… tall… thing… That mostly looked female… Greeted him.
“Oh hello? Please, take a seat and we will come and get your order.”- She said in a very soft and polite tone. 

Laucian shook his head.

 “I need directions, or information of how to get to Patzapolis.”

She looked positively puzzled and shook her head rapidly.

“I eh, I am sorry I have never heard of it.”
“Tsk.” He rolled his eyes. “Aureapolis. You know at least what that is, right? Or are you yet another one who is insane too?”

She looked like a deer caught in headlights before giving him a slow nod.
“Oh… oh you… are new? Here? To Metrianda I mean.”
“So you are insane. Great. Thank you for letting me know not to waste any more time here. I’ll ask someone else.”

Laucian turned away and walked out the door. So the first person he asks is a lunatic as well. Grand. Maybe this entire… town? City? Is filled with lunatics. Ugh.. 

Let’s try the next shop.

After asking 12 store clerks he only got so much info. That he was being weird, pushy and rude for one, but it was very difficult to not be ‘pushy’ when they refuse to give him any information that made sense. One of them even called him a ‘hero’, referring to his outfit. That had him even more confused, insulted even. It was as if everyone was insulting his intelligence and sanity. Who even calls someone else a damned hero to begin with? Damned children.

Back on information he had gotten… the info was the same as what Kian had told him previously. He should probably go finds a mayor or someone else in charge, or that he should go to Robasa… 

No, he wasn’t going to go there just yet. If ever. Sooner or later he’d find someone who knew something more. Not everyone could be insane… right?... right… Because that did not make any logical sense. 

For now he needed a break from all the lunatics. He headed straight towards the tower and made his way up onto the top of it. (And apparently he did so without paying for tram)

He walked around and looked through windows. This city was quite huge. He was quite impressed with the size and tried to compare it to Aureapolis… probably not as big but there was really no way for him to make a good comparison. 

Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t find any landmarks that he recognized either. As he walked around he was even getting uneasy over the fact that he could not find a mountain range. There is a very distinct mountain range going through most of Platun. It… should be visible from such a high point as this one. Though, the sky was shining a weird color, so perhaps the city dome was opaque… for some reason. There was some specks of light in the distance which seemed like other cities. This also suggested that the ‘dome’ was not opaque. 

Laucian started to feel very uneasy and went over to sit by some chairs in a waiting room. 

Okay. This was the highest point he could see. There must be some reception here, hopefully. 

None.

He turned the ring off, and on again. Nothing. He tried to find a fix, maybe it was on some strange mode. Nothing. He tried calling his commander anyway. Nothing. He tried calling Mei-Dee, three times in a row. Nothing, nothing, nothing. 

With a grunt he stood up and started looking for more people. There were three, and one of them walked quickly away when he started to interrogate the other two. Nothing from them either. Fine. Back to the seat.
That made 14 useless people so far...

He spent the rest of his night trying to figure out how to ‘fix’ his ring. 

Day 2

A glare of morning light woke up Laucian from his hyperfocus on the ring. Had he really been sitting there the entire night? Time flies it seems. 

Through the window he looked at the strangely colored sky, still wondering if it was a dome. 

In some ways it reminded him of his childhood. Back when he was a young kid and was playing with the dome’s sky settings. He remembers wanting to paint the sky green with yellow and pink clouds, and so he did. Thinking back on it it must have looked eye bleeding and horrendous, but he distinctly remembers that he thought it was beautiful at the time. 

It hadn’t taken long before his mother had come out and scolded him for playing with the sky. ‘The sky doesn’t look like that, it shouldn’t look like that’ , she had said. He also remembers thinking to himself ‘Then why can I make it look like that?’. Not that he dared ask it.

He hadn’t touched the dome weather controls again until he inherited the mansion later as an adult.

The sound of a door and people walking in snapped him out of those thoughts. Oh right. More peo… eh… pets. Not real people. He stood up tall and proud and walked up to the first one he saw. 

“Morning. I need to get back to Aureapolis. How do I get there?”
The young orc man shrugged and gave him an awkward smile back.
“I, sorry. I don’t know, man. Never heard of it.”

15. Laucian scowled and walked over to the others, asking the same thing and getting the same results. 16, 17, 18… So many useless pets.

Well, staying in the tower didn’t get him anywhere. Better to just go back to the marketplace where there are more people. The clerks didn’t seem to be very knowledgeable, so this time he’d just have to start asking random people. His pride took a bruise just thinking about it, but what else was he supposed to do?! He needs to get back to the order! There was a demon on the loose here somewhere and he cannot deal with it alone. 

Back to the streets. 23.
Going from store to store asking everyone he could see. 53

Even going so far as to try to bribe people to help him, even though he had nothing of value until he came back home. 71

73, 74, 75….

So hungry… When was the last time he ate? It was sometime before he was summoned here. Ugh.. he really didn’t like going this far without eating. He had a very strict eating and exercising schedule damnit! He’d lose muscle mass like this! There was no way he could hunt demons properly if his body was not up to task. He even hated the tedium of keeping his exercise and diet on a schedule but he did it cause he was disciplined! This damned place completely fucked over his rigorous discipline and-...

Okay. Calm down. A day here and there… hell, even a week isn’t that bad. Calm down. The frustration is getting the worse of you. 

Despite him telling himself to calm down, there was only more and more frustration building with every person who had no idea what Aureapolis was or how to get there. He started patrolling the streets like and angry madman and a few guards were watching him from a distance. 

80, 84, 89

In the corner of his eye he saw one man that he swore looked exactly like a bunny breed. That one is definitely made in a lab. He’d seen those disgusting sex slaves before. They were also specifically made from one of the pet producers in Aureapolis. THAT ONE KNOWS.
Laucian stormed up to him, grabbed his shoulder and forcefully turned him around.

“Aureapolis. How do I get there?!”
-”I-I am sorry I don’t know wh…”

He just felt something snap in his head. The left eye twitched and he just lost his patience.
“You pets are all damned useless! How have you never heard of Aureapolis?! The city of gold. The city that most likely MADE you, whore! Are you dumb?! Insane?! Dense?!

Laucian grabbed the strangers collar and pulled him close. 

“You will tell me how to get there RIGHT NOW! GODS HELP YOU IF YOU SAY YOU DON’T KNOW ONE MORE TIME!”
Two female drow guards got close to the two them. One grabbed Laucian and pulled him off and the other one interposed herself between Laucian and the poor random bunny person.
“Okay, break it up. We’ve kept an eye on you and you better calm down or you have to come with us to the station.” The interposing Drow guard commanded.

“You are all keeping me here against my will!” Laucian tried to wiggle free from the grasp but she had a pretty tight hold on his harness. “Unhand me you filth! LET ME GO OR I WILL…”
The first guard nodded the stranger to back off and she then helped to restrain Laucian.

“Fighting and resisting is only going to make-...”
She was promptly interrupted by Laucian striking his fist right in her face.

“LET ME GO YOU FUCKING CUNT!”

Seeing the other one was holding a firm grip behind him, he had no choice but to just repel everyone right now. Fuck everything. He wasn’t going to go to any ‘station’. There was no way they’d make him more of a prisoner than he already was!

He roared out and the inside of his body felt like it was on fire. His eyes and mouth glowed up an intense and bright yellow light. Radiant energy was discharged out of every pore and bright embers flew out of his mouth with every exhale. The two guards were struck by the light and felt a sharp pain as if they were burned just from standing next to Laucian. The second guard released her grip and moved backwards, startled by the sudden brightness and pain. 

Laucian grit his teeth as this burning radiance hurt him as well, but at least he was free. He took the chance and ran, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him, tackling people out of the way that stood in his path. This wasn’t the best idea, if they wanted to pursue him they would have no trouble doing so. He was a damned beacon of light running through narrow streets on a cloudy day. 

Eventually his light fizzled out. His sprint slowed down and he took shelter in an alleyway. His body hurt so much and there was a taste of iron in his mouth. Pretty sure his tongue was burned as well. 

‘What am I doing?’

The absence of adrenaline was hitting him hard. He slowly slumped down in the alleyway, dragging his back against the wall. The floor was probably covered in piss and whatnot but he really didn’t care right now. Only breathe. His skin felt as if he had gotten an extreme sunburn, lungs were stinging and so were his eyes. Everything just hurt. 

‘No. Really. What am I doing?’

Fatigue, hunger and frustration had gone to his head. There was no reason to get angry at random people on the street, no reason to brawl with guards… Need rest… no… need food and water. 

After just sitting and breathing for about ten minutes he got up again. It didn’t seem like anyone had tried to pursue him, which was good. Though he was starting to feel like a criminal. No matter. As soon as he got home it would all be solved. 

The street outside the alleyway was one he had not walked on before. For a moment he felt a bit lost, but then figured that he is lost no matter where he is. This is merely yet another unfamiliar territory, for now. He’d probably acquaint himself with it quick enough after patrolling it.

Asking people around here was as good as any other place.

91… 95… 97...

So thirsty… 

There was a small drizzle starting which quickly made the streets go empty. 

And where should I go?

He looked up at the different signs around him and looked longingly at one that that said “The Pepper Petal” and it looked like a small cozy diner. Maybe he could ask for some water, maybe even some leftovers. Gods did he think about eating leftovers? How low could he sink? But again, what choice did he have? He literally did not have any eligible money. Everyone around him was using coins. He’d only seen coins in history museums, that is how long they’d been using digital credits on Platun. 

The interior of the diner was quite different from the high tech streets from the outside. The first thing that hit him was the smell of oakwood, then the warm smell of food. It was dimly lit with cozy lights and wood was paneling the floor and walls. It reminded him of a small cabin of sorts. The walls were also decorated with paintings of pine forests, enhancing the feeling.

Again, he walked up to the counter and this time he talked with a softer, more quiet voice. It wasn’t intentional, but he actually felt quite embarrassed to have to ask for scraps. Behind the counter was a pink skinned… elf? With small slender antelope horns. 

“Evening! Would you like a seat?” She beamed at him.

“H-... Evening… Actually… I…” Damn, how was he going to phrase this? He wasn’t one to dance around a subject. Let alone stumble on words.

‘Get it together. You’re being childish.’

“... I…” ‘sigh’  “... I wonder if you could spare some water and perhaps a meal.”
She looked questioningly on him but before she got a word out Laucian continued.

“... I am sorry, I don’t have any money. I frankly… I don’t know where I am. If you could spare even water it would be much appreciated and I will try to pay you back when I am able.”

She looked at his outfit for a moment and then gave him a slow nod.

“Uhm, wait right here. I’m getting Ma.” She said as she walked out into the kitchen area.

‘At least that wasn’t a no.’

Soon, a much older, pinker, elf came out. She looked like a hunched raisin and Laucian wondered if this ‘Ma’ was a mother or a grand grand grandmother. She gave him a suspicious eye and inspected him for quite a moment.

“Yeh? What’ya wanted?”

Laucian still spoke in his soft and quiet tone. At this point he had gotten the attention of five other patrons in the diner.

“I asked if you could spare some water and maybe a meal. I am… new, and I don’t have any money that is… that works in this… world.”

GODS HE felt like a complete lunatic saying this. What would the odds be that these were the only two sane people so far? That they would laugh at him for saying he was in a different world altogether? In a way he did hope that it happened. He deserved to be laughed at for telling this story. Was it a lie? He couldn’t tell anymore. It felt like a lie, a lie he was being forced to tell.

“Are you one of those heroes?”

Laucian stared at her for a moment and then glanced down at his clothes. She wasn’t the first one to have asked that. He certainly didn’t feel like a hero. Only children dreams of being heroes, real heroes doesn’t exist. 

“No… I don’t think I am.” He shook his head but he couldn’t say it completely convincingly. He had no idea what people assumed a hero was in these parts.

Her stare continued but she then gave him a shrug and pointed at one of the tables with a sloppy wooden spoon. 

“Sit. I can getcha summin.”

A huge feeling of relief washed over him. At this point he didn’t care if it was water and bread butts, he just needed something, and also shelter from the rain. He gave her a deep nod. 

“Thank you. You have my gratitude.”

He took off his harness and leaned his sheathed sword on the table. A quick glance around the room revealed that people had still been looking at him, but quickly started to mind their own business as soon as they saw him looking at them back. It felt so odd. Pets were meant to serve him, and here he was begging for something to eat. He hated it. With a passion. 

It was probably for the best to calm down on asking people, at least the patrons. He had found a miniscule sanctuary, and he didn’t want to rock the boat just yet. 

Soon enough, he was served food from the younger elf. A bowl of soup, a bowl of something that looked wetter than mashed potatoes, but thicker than stew, bread, and a jug of water. As she was setting everything down he looked up at her and asked.

“You wouldn’t know how to get to Aureapolis, would you?”

“Sorry. Haven’t heard of it… But if it’s outside of Metrianda then… yeeee. Tough luck bud. There’s no way out.”

He sighed which doubled as a ‘thank you’ (to him) and then looked down at the food. The paste caught his attention the most since he had no idea of what it was, but there was definitely pieces of something orange in there.  He scooped a piece up on the corner of his spoon, inspected it… hmm… very square… and carefully started to chew on it.
‘UGH. Ffff. Of course. It was. It fucking was. WHY DO PEOPLE INSIST ON PUTTING CARROTS IN EVERYTHING?!’

Sickly sweet and slightly soggy but the middle still had some toughness to it. OH GOD it was disgusting. In an instant just like it was magic, he was not hungry at all anymore.

Was this really the time to start getting picky about food? He was given free food for crying out loud and the first thing that comes into mind is how disgusting carrots are. Well… They they are, but beggars could not be choosers. 

‘Eat the gods damned carrots, Laucian.’

With a long sigh he instead turned to start with drinking water and having the soup. At least the soup didn’t look like it was hiding something nasty in it. 

The carrots aside, he did find himself enjoying the meal. He didn’t consider himself a picky eater, it was just some tastes, and textures and especially vegetables were completely inedible! They shouldn’t even be fed to livestock. Disgusting…. Not a picky eater though. (Not at all)

Laucian lounged in the diner for quite some time, waiting out the rain. Eventually he figured that he had overstayed his welcome and he excused himself out. ‘Ma’ who seemed to be the owner didn’t look like she was trying to throw him out by any means, but he didn’t feel comfortable staying longer. Besides, he still had a mission. 

Feeling revived by the meal, he sets off and asks more people, yet again… Walking the streets for hours.

100… 101… 102...

What a day. What an awfully long day. A day that started with  morning exercises, continued to doing the whole ‘drill’ with the order, showing the new guys the ropes, helping them subdue and kill a captured demon, to doing the patrols in the evening… then get thrown into a fantasy battle against dragons… Ask for directions home… starve… beg for food.. ask more people in vain.
It now came to him that he had more or less been awake for almost two days. The realization alone made him even more tired.

He found himself in a park, not sure how he got there either. Thoughts were starting to blur together, and sometimes it just felt like his mind wasn’t registering at all. 

Slowly he walked over to a park bench. As much as he tried to keep his proud posture, he was not used to being this tired. Sometimes he lost his balance for a moment, making him look like a drunkard. He tried to sit down, forgetting the huge ass sword on his back which gladly interfered.
“GHhh Get this thing OFF!”
The harness suddenly felt like the most constraining and limiting item in the entire world. It needs to get off NOW. He tried to lift it up and rip it off with no avail. Soon he realized he must look like some lunatic and he forced himself to take two deep breaths to calm down.
‘I just want to sit, damn it.’

Second try, unbuckle the harness. There, much better. Laucians legs just gave way and he slumped down onto the bench. So tired… But he shouldn’t sleep. He refused to sleep. He needs to find a way to get back home. Then he can sleep. 

‘Just going to close my eyes for a moment…’
‘Just… a moment… ‘

Day 3

A child's voice tore through his head.

Where is he?

His head really hurt. Inside and out. 

Laucian turned his head towards the voice and saw a pet child pointing at him, promptly being removed by their parents. He thinks it was in a language he could have understood, but he was just too groggy to get any of it. 

Right, he is at the park. It looked very different during the day.

Wait, it is day, or at least morning. Light, it is light. Had he fallen asleep on a damned park bench?! Like some homeless bum?! How low can he fall?! What a damned disgrace. 

He slowly sat back up. Damn his head hurt so much. He was so thirsty and hungry too, again. Yes that is how the body works. It keeps getting hungry and thirsty when you don’t feed it.

What was this madness? A month ago he’d been at his mansion. His comfortable, warm, cozy, elegant… lonely... agoraphobic… deathly silent…

‘No. Stop that. That was still miles better than sleeping on a gods damned park bench.’ 

Even the bunk bed he slept in just the other day was better than this. In some ways, that bunk bed was better than the sizeable bed in his mansion too. For one, it didn’t feel ridiculously big for only one person. 

He really needed to go back. They needed someone like him there. Who else was going to patrol the borders every night? Maintain all the equipment? Make sure everyone is up and running with sunrise? They’d get lazy without him there, and laziness would kill people. They couldn’t afford to get lazy… They probably think he either died while patrolling or went AWOL. Unsure what is worse...

And what about the mansion? Sure Mei-Dee could maintain it but only for so long. At some point the master of the mansion has to return… If people think he is dead then she will be in a world of pain and trouble. If they think he is AWOL and simply gone then she has more time, but how much time? The taxes are due in three months! He couldn’t force this poor pet to do his damned taxes!

“GAH!”

He sighed and rubbed his face into his palms, making sure to rub his forehead and temples extra hard. Face felt greasy, his hair was still a mess. Everything everywhere was itching. He could swear that his feet were still damp from the rain two days ago.
“Ugghh….”
He leaned back on the bench and tried to comb through his hair with his fingers. They got stuck several times in knots and clumped up hair. It wasn’t like he was very vain, he just wanted to look somewhat presentable. He would never look the way he did back then ever again. 

…
...He really missed Mei-Dee right about now…

With a grunt he got up again. If he didn’t get on the road he wouldn’t get home. No point in sitting here and be miserable, he had somewhere to be. 

As he stood up and stretched he really could feel the chainmail weighing him down at this point, but what should he do with it? It wasn’t like he had a bag or something else to put it in, and who knew if there was someone with ill intentions around the corner, like those dragons? Fine, his body is sore, but it’d keep his mind at peace. Better wear the protection. 

He saw a man walking past and he immediately reached out a hand towards him.
“You.. Do you know the way to Aureapolis?”
The man just shook his head, shrugged and moved on. Laucians arm felt limp and he sighed again. 103. Was he starting to give up? No. Not yet. There is no way he is giving up now. Just keep going. Someone has to know something. 

104, 105, 106, 107

Gods. He was so hungry again. Should he go back to the diner and ask for more food? Ask for more scraps like some beggar? Being the cat that comes back cause they fed it? Life was really crashing real fast now, wasn’t it? Next, he’d have to sit on the street and rustle a can in hope to get some change. 

He shook his head with a sad chuckle. 

‘C’mon, let's continue through the park.’

109, 110…. Eventually he reached a square. 111, 112, 113, 114… He wouldn’t say it was a lot of people, but it seemed to be sprawling for such an early morning, if it was an early morning. Ring told him it was but the sky looked weird still. 115… 

Laucian glanced over to the tower. He didn’t know exactly where he was, but at least that tower was a very good landmark. In one way it felt like he had been walking forever and gone miles and miles away from it, on the other hand it still felt so close, like he had not been making any progress at all. Someone has to know. 

117, 120, 123…

Maybe he is stuck here after all. What are the odds that he suddenly, randomly found himself in a strange city full of lunatics who are all chanting the same insanity? Would it be less than the fact that he was actually teleported… somehow... to a different universe all together and everyone is actually sane and truly have no idea what Platun or Aureapolis is? Logic would dictate that the easiest solution is probably the correct one. Well, it is either that or he has completely lost it. Gone insane. Maybe a rock fell on him in the mall and this is all a coma dream. 

He did not like the thought of that either. 

Again he glanced over to the tower. Say it is true… then he’d actually have somewhere to stay. Even if it isn’t true he’d have somewhere to stay. Anywhere was probably better than the park bench. He was lucky it wasn’t raining last night. 

Slowly he approached a young woman walking her dog.

“Hey. Do you know how to get to… Platun?”

She shook her head and shrugged and looked Laucian up and down.
“No sorry?... Are you one of those heroes?”

‘124’

Laucian opened his mouth and closed it again. This was pointless. He hadn’t been getting anywhere, and always with the same questions back. Utterly pointless. 

‘Fine Kian… Fine.’

He shook his head and stood up slightly straighter, feeling somewhat better about having a new goal with hopefully better results.

“I don’t know if I am… Alright. Could you instead tell me how to get to a place called ‘Robasa’?”