Wyn’s eyes blink open. She glances about the room, eyes groggy from unconsciousness. Wooden walls painted white surround Wyn. Vast bookshelves line the room, carrying a wide variety of thick tomes and glass vials. Above her, a large symbol dominates most of the ceiling. Wyn examines it; she’s seen it before but isn’t sure where. It reminds Wyn of a woman, but drawn in flowing lines. A central oval marks the torso, with two ovals below it spreading outward. Atop the torso is yet another oval shape, though its squat appearance gives the impression of a woman bowing her head in solemn meditation. Lines curve outward from the center oval, suggesting a serene woman in quiet meditation. The art piece is beautiful, and Wyn has seen it somewhere, but can’t quite figure out where.

  Wyn hears a heavy sigh near her, the first sign she’s not alone. No longer transfixed by the ceiling artwork, Wyn assesses her situation. Her head thumps with each heartbeat, a drilling migraine pressing against the back of her skull. Sitting opposite the bed in a hard wooden chair is the gruff captain from her battle with the shaman.

  “Ah, you’re finally awake. You were caught trying to cross the border into Lethisburg,” says the Captain. His lips press together into a thin line, forcing a serious air about him.

  Wyn snorts with laughter, which swiftly breaks into a coughing fit. The corner of the Captain’s mouth curls into a cheeky grin, betraying his harsh exterior. He stands and walks to Wyn, giving her a pat on the back as she coughs.

  “You’re Wyn, right?” asks the Captain.

  Wyn nods, her coughing subsiding. “Yeah. And you’re the Captain I guess? Almost didn’t recognize you without the armor.”

  He nods, “Captain Drell. How are you feeling? You took one hell of a fight back there.”

  “Oh, you know, I’ve been better. Feel like a herd of Lionbears just trampled through my head, but otherwise I’m doing alright. How long was I out?” asks Wyn.

  “About 13 hours. It’s 8 in the morning, day after you first logged in,” says the Captain.

  Wyn’s face pales. Wyn wills her system window to appear and starts searching for a logout button. Her breathing accelerates, and her eyes dart across the screens as they appear.

  “Whoa there, Wyn. Calm down,” says Captain Drell. “It’s only been about an hour in the real world. Take a breath. You’re fine. And you can’t log out here anyhow.”

  Wyn furrows her brow and shifts her attention to Captain Drell, dismissing the system window. The man sports a well-trimmed brown beard and a gray tunic. He plops back down into the wooden chair, making it groan under his weight.

  “What do you mean it’s only been an hour in the real world? And why can’t I log out here?”

  “That’s… complicated. I don’t understand the mechanics, but somehow, each day in Eden lasts only two-hours in the real world. And you can only log out at the special logout taverns. There’s a few strewn about Lethisburg.”

  Wyn freezes, deep in thought. The implications of time dilation are massive. One in-game day equating to roughly 2 hours in the real world means that 2 weeks pass in a single day. Every 4 days is a month. Every 48 days is a year. If someone logs out and goes to work for a few days, they could lose out on months of time. Or a person could bring their work to Eden and get weeks of time to work. Wyn’s mind races with the possibilities, while Captain Drell gives her a lengthy sigh.

  “It’s best not to think about it. Your system will remind you to log off every 12 real-life hours.”

  “And what about food? Sleep?” asks Wyn.

  “Your body treats Eden like it’s a dream. As far as the real you is concerned, this is all a very vivid dream. You need to eat and sleep in the game, though. Eating helps restore stamina, and sleeping gives you the ‘Well Rested’ perk. It gives you a buff to your XP gain.”

  “Got it.” Wyn takes a deep breath. It’s a lot to process, but the information is very useful. Eden hasn’t told her anything useful about how to play the game. All Psai did was make her class, and then tag along in her head. He gave no indication of this information, nor did the game. At least this friendly captain is here to give some useful advice.

  “Anything else Eden didn’t tell me I should know about?” asks Wyn.

  Captain Drell strokes his beard in thought. “Be careful about breaking immersion. If you talk about our world, NPCs get confused. So stay in character unless you’re around other players.”

  “How do I know someone is a player or not? Hell, how’d you know I was a player?”

  Captain Drell chuckles, “You haven’t ranked up your insight ability, have you.”

  Wyn shakes her head no. “Just have the Rudimentary Insight ability.”

  “Ranking up that ability should be a top priority. Information is always helpful, and the system rarely provides it for free.”

  Wyn rolls her eyes. “I noticed. How do I rank up abilities?”

  Captain Drell stares at Wyn for a moment, his deep brown eyes riddled with questions.

  “You’re brand new, aren’t you? And the game spawned you here?”

  Wyn nods in agreement.

  “That’s… that’s not supposed to happen. Humans spawn in at small farming villages near the capital, not in a fortress city at the border amid a crisis,” says Captain Drell.

  Wyn raises an eyebrow. “So, a horde of goblins isn’t the usual welcoming party?”

  Captain Drell shakes his head and rises to his feet. “Certainly not. Are you good to walk?”

  Wyn slides her legs off the side of the bed and rises to her feet. There’s a slight stab of pain in her calf where the arrow pierced her, but otherwise Wyn feels great. She gives a thumbs-up and a wink to the Captain. He nods and turns the brass knob on the wooden door, pulling it open.

  Outside the door is a hallway buzzing with activity. Dozens of people in gray robes rush past, entering and exiting rooms as they go.

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  “What is this place?” Wyn asks.

  “Barracks hospital,” says Captain Drell. “They’ve been working overtime since the attack.”

  Wyn steps into the hallway and is almost flattened by a gurney. Captain Drell yanks on the back of Wyn’s shirt to stop her. A blue-scaled woman pushing a gurney hisses at Wyn to stay out of her way before ushering the gurney and its groaning patient into the room next door. Wyn glimpses a pendant around the snake woman’s neck and puts the pieces together.

  “Wait. That Mirana girl had the same pendant, and the symbol on the ceiling is the same thing. What is it for? Church of the grumpy people?”

  “Only if you get in their way. Priestess Shalathztar and most members of the Church of Healing are very kind. Mirana is a… unique case.. Come on, let’s move.”

  Captain Drell steps into the hallway with Wyn close behind. The busy hallway has a momentary lull in the chaos, allowing the two to pass unscathed. They walk through the hallway, down the stairs, and to the front desk. A pair of men in matching suits of armor salute the Captain as he walks buy..

  “Relax, boys, I’m not on duty. Just helping our guest here,” says Captain Drell.

  “Yes, sir!” say the two guards.

  “Excuse me, Captain, one moment,” calls a voice from the front desk. Captain Drell rolls his eyes, knowing the voice all too well. Wyn and the Captain turn to face the voice’s source. An ancient woman with a face full of wrinkles taps a pen on a piece of paper. A glint of righteous indignation fills the old woman’s eyes as her lips curl into a proud grin.

  “I think you’re forgetting something, Mister!” the woman says.

  “Yes, Mother Ywla,” Captain Drell sighs.

  “Can’t let you just scurry off with one of my patients, can I? Just sign here, and here, and here, initial here, and sign here.”

  Captain Drell suppresses a groan and does as Mother Ywla ordered. Wyn fidgets beside him, wanting to get out of this strange hospital and away from these healing priests and their sour attitudes. With a dramatic flourish, Captain Drell finishes the papers and passes them off to the priestess.

  “Much better. Now get along. Can’t have you hogging up space in my hospital!” says Mother Ywla.

  “Yes, Mother Ywla,” Captain Drell groans. “Come on, Wyn, let’s get out of here before her holiness finds something else I’m forgetting.”

  Captain Drell pulls Wyn by the arm and through a pair of large wooden doors, marked with the same symbol as the priests. The moment Captain Drell pushes the large doors open, the sound of clashing steel rings through Wyn’s ears like a warning gong.

  Wyn wriggles out of the Captain’s firm grip, and onto a wooden deck. She stares down at a wide courtyard filled with all manner of people clashing. A group of armored soldiers clash in a small sparring ring, their swords ringing out with each strike. Opposite the sparring ring, a group of archers fire off dozens of shots at targets, while healers scurry about the training yard healing minor injuries.

  Captain Drell clasps Wyn’s shoulder. “Impressive, isn’t it? Welcome to the local chapter of the Gilded Legion.”

  Wyn shakes off Captain Drell and takes a step back, her lips curved into a frown. “Can you stop grabbing me? I don’t need you to drag me around by the arm, or to keep checking on me. I’m fine.”

  Captain Drell takes a step up, raising his hands in apology.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re right,” he says.

  Wyn turns her attention back to the courtyard. It’s a sight to behold as dozens of people fight. While mostly human men, several elves, green-skinned orcs, and stranger individuals all hone their skills in battle.

  “What did you call this place? The Gilded Legion?

  Captain Drell nods. “We serve as the greatest fighting force on Eden, serving the Arazid Empire, and protecting its citizens. You should consider joining sometime.”

  Wyn nods as though she’s considering it, but files the idea away into “Hell no” territory. If games, books, and history have taught her anything, a place calling itself an Empire is never good. She’d bet money on the Arazid Empire having some secret evil underpinnings, regardless of whether there’s truth to the matter.

  “—so I’m happy to serve. If you ever want to join up, let me or a recruitment officer know,” Captain Drell finishes.

  Wyn nods and gives her best winning smile. She wasn’t listening to him, and has no idea what he said. Thankfully, the Captain doesn’t notice her social blunder and moves on, giving her a tour of the area. He points back to the large wooden and stone building they exited moments ago.

  “That’s the Barracks Hospital, as I said. The Gilded Legion works with the Church of the Healer. It’s run by Mother Ywla, who you met.” He takes a long pause, trying and failing to find something nice to say about her.

  “She seemed strange,” says Wyn, interrupting the Captain. “Aren’t you like the big boss around here? Those soldiers treated you like the boss.”

  Captain Drell shakes his head no. “No, I’m just their commanding officer. Marshall Brunting is the lead commander around here. And as for Mother Ywla… I’ve not met any who she doesn’t lord over. ‘My hospital, my rules,’ she always says. Anyhow, can we continue?”

  Wyn nods, and Captain Drell guides her through the barracks. As they walk, he points out various points of interest. The barracks is organized by duty, with healers living near the hospital, cadets living near the training grounds, and trained soldiers occupying the exterior stone wall. A great stone wall encloses the entire city of Lethisburg, standing at thirty feet tall. Lethisburg’s central district is a near-perfect circle, with major districts on the edges, adding bumps to the mighty wall at regular intervals like the spokes of a wheel. Some outcroppings house different trades or, in this case, the Gilded Legion Barracks.

  After a while, Wyn tunes out as Captain Drell drones on about the greatness and history of the Gilded Legion. After the fourth or fifth reference to how great the Legion is, Wyn is well and truly bored with it. While the Legion would no doubt provide her with ample opportunity to gain XP and learn how Eden works, the idea of sleeping in a smelly bunkhouse with a bunch of soldiers is her personal hell. She’d much rather go on a grand adventure and uncover mysteries. Thankfully for Wyn, Eden seems filled with more than enough strange happenings and unexplained strangeness.

  “Captain,” says Wyn, interrupting his endless ranting, “is there some sort of wizard college or adventuring group I can join up with?”

  “Lethisburg isn’t a big magic town. We have mages in the Legion who are experts in combat. You’ve a natural talent for it, so you should consider it,” says Captain Drell.

  Wyn considers it for a moment. “And how soon would I be able to work with those mages?”

  “Well. We don’t have any here; you’d have to transfer after basic training,” Captain Drell says.

  “That won’t work for me. Is there anywhere around here I can find some magic training?” asks Wyn.

  Captain Drell frowns. By now they’ve walked the full length of the courtyard, and are reaching the 15-foot wooden gate that leads back into the city center. He looks around and shakes his head.

  “Not here; let’s step outside the barracks.” says Captain Drell.

  Captain Drell leads Wyn outside of the barracks, and into the primary district of Lethisburg. They walk through the winding cobblestone streets, getting away from the Gilded Legion barracks. After two minutes of walking and taking random turns, Captain Drell turns to Wyn.

  “Sorry, the higher-ups wanted me to recruit you. We were all impressed with how you handled that shaman with Mirana. They’d get mad if you left without being recruited. Hell, we’re not supposed to provide medical care to civilians, so you leaving at all gets me in trouble.”

  Wyn laughs, “And here I thought the Church of Healing would heal anyone.”

  “They do, but the Legion doesn’t like it. The Church operates elsewhere in the city; the barracks hospital is for Legion personnel only. As far as the Legion is concerned, you’re supposed to enlist.“

  Wyn frowns. No wonder the captain was working so hard to recruit her. To Wyn, this sounds like forced enlistment, even more reason not to join up with the Legion. Captain Drell seems nice enough, and if they had people to train her, she would’ve considered signing up, but she’s happy she didn’t.

  “So what do I do now?” asks Wyn.

  Captain Drell grabs a map from his pocket and marks a location using a simple pencil.

  “Go here. Lethisburg has a chapter of the Mage’s Guild, but it’s in rough shape. They’re your best bet.”

  Wyn nods. “Thank you, I appreciate it, Captain.”

  “Just call me Neil. Please.”

  “Thank you, Neil,” says Wyn.

  Neil’s head jerks to the side. “Shit, they’re wondering where I went. I have to go.” Wyn stares at him, confused, until she hears it as well. A voice calls out nearby, searching for Captain Drell.

  “Head away from the barracks, and then head to the Mage’s guild. I’m sure they’ll treat you right. And, Wyn,” he pauses, “good luck. Welcome to Eden.”