I reincarnated in game

11 Lost and Found

Hugh was in a panic.  He ran back to the shack where he had awakened, watching the ground along the path which led up the hill … nothing.  He entered the shack; again nothing.  He had to find Morris.

Hugh ran back down the hill to the house where Morris lived and banged on the door.  Morris responded to his knocking and came to see what the dilemma was. 

“I have lost the urn with my mother’s ashes … I need to find it.  Can you please tell me where the wanderer found me?” Hugh asked, in desperation.

Morris pointed to the edge of town, “The wanderer said she had found you in a trash pile over there, close to that tall tree.  The trail that will take you there goes off to the left just past the community garden.  That is the track she brought you along.”

Even though it was fairly late into the evening, Hugh decided to try and find the urn by the light of the full moon which was now visible on the horizon.  He hoped that the moonlight would be reflected off of the metal urn and chain, leading him to wherever it might have fallen.  He continued down the trail to the track which Morris had indicated.  His eyes were glued to the ground; he desperately searched both sides of the path; looking for the tiniest glint of moonlight shimmering off of metal. 

He reached the edge of town, nearest the tall trees, and saw there were several trash piles all around the area.  “This must be where I was found,” Hugh said to himself, “but where do I start?”  At that point, he noticed a sticker on the ground and felt that he could use it to make a tool to pick through the clutter.  He closed his eyes; extracted some energy from the earth and wind, then used it to transform the wood in his hand to a staff with a sharpened hook at the end.  A surge in his health had him look inwardly; he had just levelled up and gained an attribute point.

“I will save that point for later; I am not sure what I want to spec into just now,” he said to himself.

Hugh skirted along the edge of the trash piles; he would start his search along the outer perimeter and work his way towards the centre, looking for signs of where he may have fallen, or drag marks from where he was pulled out.  Searching was made more difficult because of the shadows cast by the various piles, and the fact that there were miscellaneous metallic objects in the debris.  Hours passed as he crisscrossed the area, poking through the piles with his tool; he had no success. 

At one point during his searching, Hugh got a feeling he was being watched.  He hadn’t seen anyone in the debris field, but couldn’t shake the feeling.  He looked towards the stand of trees which were now silhouetted in the moonlight.  High up, at the top of the tallest tree, he saw a shape perched on a branch.  The shape moved, and then stood up; it appeared to be a small person; whoever it was, was definitely watching him.  An epithet appeared above the head which showed, “Wanderer, Level 20, full health.”

The figure pointed to a hollow spot just beyond a mound of refuse which Hugh hadn’t yet checked.  He made his way to the place the wanderer had indicated.  Nothing was immediately apparent; no metallic glint.  He used his tool to sift through the garbage at his feet.  The moonlight glinted off a metallic object.  Hugh bent down and picked it up.  “Here it is!” he exclaimed, as he clutched it to his chest. 

Hugh, preoccupied with finding the urn, had not noticed that the wanderer had climbed down the tree and was now standing just behind him.  As he placed the urn around his neck, he turned and was surprised to see a young woman; the wanderer from the tree.

Hugh jumped back, taken by surprise due to her silent approach.  After he recovered from the initial shock, he said, “Thanks for your help in directing me to where my mother’s urn had fallen.  It means a lot to me.”

She nodded, and then said, “You will have to be careful with that then.  There are lots of thieves roaming around who would be happy to rob you of anything of value.” 

Hugh noticed that she was wearing a brownish, hooded cloak that was belted at the waist; the belt held a short knife in a sheath.  Her skin was very pale; her features angular; her frame was very slight.  She was obviously athletic by the way she could climb up to the top of the tree and was definitely stealthy in her movements.

“By the way, are you the one who found me and dragged me back to the village?” Hugh asked. 

“Yes.  I saw you fall.  I have never seen anyone arrive like that … usually, new arrivals come by prison barge; not by free-falling through the sky!” she replied.  “How did you survive?  You’re part Crystal, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am part of Crystal.  About my arrival; it is a long story, but the short answer is that I was able to use the energy of the winds to somewhat buffer my fall.  I guess it wasn’t a complete success because you ended up having to rescue me after I hit the ground,” Hugh ended his explanation with a little smile.  “By the way, I was looking for you in the village; I wanted to thank you for saving me.  My name is Hugh Bean.”

“Judi Smith.  How do you know how to use wood magic?  I haven’t seen anybody using that since I’ve been here.”  Her epithet updated to show her name, as she asked inquisitively, “So is that your mother’s urn?”

“Yes, it is,” Hugh said, as he reached for it, and held it close to his heart.

Judi responded with a shy smile, and then said, “We should get back to the village.  We wouldn’t want to get beset on by bandits.”  She turned quickly and started walking back towards the village.  Hugh hurried to catch up and then fell into step beside her.