Hey! I know him!

“So,” she says between mouthfuls of meat, “You have Taurans and Minotaurs, Lycans and Werewolves, Orcs and Urikan, Demonfolk and Devils and a whole variety of Demi-Humans including Halflings,” she gives an exaggerated smile and Jazz Hands, “Elves, Dwarves and Beastfolk.”

“I get all that, but I don’t understand why. Why are some Minotaurs… civilized? Would that be the right term? For want of a better word, let’s say civilized. Why are SOME Orcs, Minotaurs and Werewolves civilized and others aren’t?”

“That’s where the Gods come in.” She takes another bite, “mmm, so good! Anyway, about a thousand years ago the twin gods chose a select few monsters and transformed them into Demi-Humans. No one really knows why or how they chose. I mean who are we to ponder the minds of the gods?”

“Indeed. The Gods whims can be puzzling at times. Tell me about the gods. You said there are two?”

“I’m not exactly what you would call religious, but I know a couple of stories. About a thousand years ago, the twin gods Pearlight and Ashward chose a group of monsters that helped them to defeat The Dark One and transformed them. Pearlight chose Werewolves and Devils to bestow her gift to. That’s why many of them have Blessing Of The Moon. Ashward chose Minotaurs and Urikan and gave them the Blessing Of The Dawn.”

“So,” I think, “he’s got a sister.” As soon as that thought pops into my head it’s followed by an intense migraine. “I’M KIDDING! I’M KIDDING!” I yell, and the headache subsides.

“Uh, who are you talking to?” Seline asks with genuine concern.

I hold up a hand to ask for a moment and open my Stats, tapping a tab I noticed before: Contact Admin. Sorry. Bad joke. Poor taste. Won’t happen again. Real quick though, can I tell people I’m from another world, or that we’ve spoken? and tap Send. A moment later the response comes. Dude! Not funny, she’s my sister! Ok, maybe a little funny. We can be a little overprotective of each other. Keep our relationship a secret, but if you want to tell people that you’re not from this world, it’s up to you. Just know that it tends to draw unwanted attention.

I nod and turn my attention back to Seline. “Sorry, must be resurrection sickness or something. So is there like some sort of formal church to the gods?”

She eyes me warily but continues. “Not exactly. Folks send prayers and offerings to the gods and there are a few clerics and Demi-Humans have their Blessings but mostly, the gods are pretty chill about their worship.” We finish our meal and continue through the forest while she continues, filling me in on some of the basics: Currency exchange, 10 copper coins to a silver, 50 silver to a small gold, 100 silver to a large gold and 10 large gold to a platinum, but most common folk have never even seen a single platinum let alone earned one. A decent meal will cost a silver, a cheap one will cost 5 copper. A bottle of good wine will cost 2 silver and cheap hootch will run about 7 copper. Adventurers often earn most of their money hunting monsters for food or filling quests. The truly brave, or foolish, or **** will hit a Dungeon. While the payoff is the highest, that’s only if you beat a Boss, and once you enter a Boss’s lair it’s a fight to the ****. We finally hit the main road and she points North and says it’s a day and a half to town. As we walk, I keep Observe on, just to see if there is anything worth harvesting but with the Travelers Apples and Black Boar meat I’m not looking for anything in particular. About 20 feet past the tree line something catches my attention.

Selina peers over my shoulder at the patch of mushrooms I see. A wicked smirk crosses her face, “Blushrooms, eh? Planning to **** a certain beautiful Halfling to get her between the sheets?”

I blush crimson. “What? N-no! I-I ! I was just trying to figure out what this was! Blushrooms? What?”

She burst into a fit of laughter. “Relax, Boss! I’m just messing with you. Ha ha ha ha! The look on your face! Blushrooms are an ingredient in lots of aphrodisiacs including Love Potions # 3-7. Almost worth their weight in gold.”

“Good to know.” I say, harvesting the pink mushrooms and putting them in my Item Box.

We press on down the road and she continues explaining the world, the four kingdoms, one of Elves and Dwarves and other Demi-Humans, one of Demonkind and Beastfolk and two of Humans, “Because humans,” she explains, “always need someone to fight, so we figured, just let them fight each other.”

Evening falls and we make camp. I cook some more of the boar meat and as we sit by the fire I go through my Item Box inventory. “A handful of change, a sword, some herbs and the mushrooms. Not much else.” I muse and pull one of the mushrooms out. In the dim light I can still make out its pink color and red flecks. I can’t help but notice its phallic shape.

“Can I see that for a second?” Selina asks.

I hand it to her, she looks it over for a moment and pops it in her mouth.