He woke up early the next day or he hoped it was only the next day with the sun just starting to lighten the canvas above him. No one else was in the large room with him now so he got up out of his cot and found the chamber pot in the corner and soon felt better. It was only then that he thought about yesterday and Innosaa.

  “Who am I?” he said to the empty room around him as he sat back down hard on his cot. He hoped his mind would answer; but sadly, he still could not remember his own name or much of anything else. Nothing besides some vague flickers of a fight, and him lying on his side before waking up in this room. He sighed and felt his worries grow. It was so strange to him he could look around the room and know what everything was. He pointed to the cot next to him.

  “That’s a cot and that’s a too thin wool blanket. Adventuring Guild classic. Those are glow orbs or Light Crystals; but that seems like an old name, he said to himself, pointing at the lights hanging above him. He saw a hanging canvas acting as a door in a door frame move against the fall wall as Innosaa peeked her head in.

  “Good morning, [Healer] Innosaa” he said as he waved his right hand as he started to look around for his clothes. He hoped he had some.

  “Good morning to you. Feeling better?” She asked as she stepped into the room. She had a long loose fitting dark blue shirt that went past her hips and a thick black leather adventurer's belt around her waist that had many small vials and pockets on it, with a nice silver handled dagger on her left side. The shirt was over tan pants, tucked into dark brown boots that went halfway up her splendid calves.

  “Nice outfit [Healer], say do you know where my clothes went?” he stood up looking for them on the cots behind him. He could hear the smile in her voice.

  “You must be feeling better with all this moving around. Sit, I have clothes for you. Sit. Let me get them and some food for you”.

  “Yes” he said as he sat down. She smiled at him before leaving the room. He was feeling much better. His head didn't feel so off but he still had that fear in the back of his mind, worry that ate at him. He wasn't sure who or where he was.

  He looked over his body and beside his underwear he had nothing else on. The bandages from yesterday were gone, as well as most of the pain except for a strange feeling on the left side of his face. He poked his left check and felt it and then ran his right hand over the left side of his head. It was bald with a scar that felt deep from the left middle of his head that went wide down towards his neck and another at that same starting point that just crossed the first scar and was only a few inches long. The right side of his head had long dirty blond hair that went down past his ear and felt thick. Long enough for him to hold it in front of his eyes.

  “Well, I must look like the fool” he mumbled to himself. He looked at his fair but tan arms while the skin of his chest was much lighter. “Who am I?” He had no idea.

  Innosaa came back with an earthy large brown decorated clay bowl that's contents were steaming in the morning chill. With another woman, this time a human behind her carrying some folded clothes.

  “Perfect, just put them there.” Innosaa said as she pointed to the cot just next to him and waited for the woman to put the clothes down. “Gods, now if you feel like you can do it without making yourself sick, try and eat as much as you can.”

  He took the warm bowl of food from her, and it was a large portion of oatmeal porridge with lots of dried fruits and some cinnamon in it. He ate it and felt the warmth run through his body. She sat on the cot across from him, right next to his clothes and watched him eat in silence for a few minutes. He physically felt good, he really did. His head was a little strange but not much and this food was amazing.

  “Got anything to drink there, [Healer]” he asked.

  She smiled and nodded towards the head of his bed. Right next to it was a small polished wooden folding table with a few items on it. One of them was a canteen.

  “Oh, didn’t see that” he said with his mouth half full of food. He put down the bowl on his cot and felt a sudden pang of embarrassment for speaking with food in his mouth before he took a long drink of water from the canteen.

  “Do you remember our conversation from yesterday and how you got here?” Innosaa asked. Her eyes fixed to his. He shrugged under that stare. Full elves like Innosaa made him uncomfortable, he thought.

  That thought surprised him. Huh, he wondered, where that came from. He couldn’t remember his name, but he knew that. He peeked at her before picking up his breakfast again before answering.

  “Yes, of course I remember your name, Innosaa the [Healer]; and if my memory doesn’t fail me in this, you have [Diagnosed Minor Wounds]. Sadly, besides that, I have no idea how I got here. Something about a fight, I think, but still no idea who I am, unfortunately” he said between warm spoonful’s of his breakfast.

  “Truly” she asked with concern in her voice. He made himself look into her eyes. Those eyes that were old enough to be his grandmother’s, probably, but attractive like most elves. Those eyes that showed real concern, before he broke away.

  “Yes, um - can you tell me perchance?” he asked.

  “Yes of course.” She said; but then she hesitated, a thought ran through her.

  “I’ll let the Expedition Leader talk to you about your identity. Sorry but I think he would be best for that, as there are some questions about just who you may be. But I can tell you about what happened. “Let’s see” - she held out her right hand and started counting her fingers with her left pointer finger. He noticed that both hands had black fingerless gloves on them this morning.

  “First, we are in an old, abandoned village in the southern range of the World Breaker mountains, a good week out from Gemport. Two hundred and two persons in this expedition, called and led by Helmric Finstrider. He is a famous Kimber Gold rank Adventurer and a [Spear-Venturer]; who is thought to be near level 35. “What else?” - she thought to herself as her eyes looked away from him in thought.

  Level 35, he knew that was high. Right? Yes level 50 was the fabled highest level, and no one was known to have hit it. He was sure of that. Not comfortable with how sure he felt that to be true, but apparently, he knew it just like he knew he had hit level 7 before waking up. I leveled up, twice. Nice he thought.

  She continued “Well to be brief, Master Helmric, some months ago, bought an account from a local sheepherder about these ruins and the doors into the mountain side. He then found this place, saw the partially uncovered doors and went back to Gemport and put together this expedition. We had been here sixteen days setting up camp, clearing out the outer doors and clearing the thousand feet of the passage to the true inner doors. That hallway, well it's more the size of a street, is crisscrossed with stone scarab and rock slime tunnels. We have been clearing those this entire time and sealing many of those off.”

  She took a breath and then took a drink from a small water flask on her belt. He finished his breakfast and put it aside and waited for Innosaa to continue. She took a breath.

  “We are all here because Helmric thought these were the fabled ruins of Desanigh. The infamous lost city of the Kimber. Lost right before the fall of the Five Evils. The capital of one of the lesser Evils. Said to have been destroyed and sunk into its mountain in a day after a year of siege. All of us here thought that it might be true, and the fact that Master Helmric was putting an expedition together in just two weeks; and that he made it public to all the adventuring guilds in the world, got you and I here from wherever we were as soon as a ship could sail. Well, those inner doors we found say as much if you remember. Standard beware ye who trespass on the grave of Desanigh stuff. We then opened those doors, that was two days ago, and we found eight ancient stone golems and the largest stone scarab colony I have ever heard of”, she sighed and shook her head at that last part, her long ponytail swinging behind her.

  I must have been there, he thought.

  “It was the scarabs that did us in. They poured over the Gold rankers up front, allowing the stone golems to become the real threat; while hundreds of scarabs passed them and got behind our front line and into are secondary forces. Add in the side tunnels that we had not fully cleared and it was a right witches brew. We had prepared of course and many of the lower ranked teams were holding the uncleared side tunnels. I’m not sure where you were fighting or with whom, but you came out behind the stone golems dragging a man missing one of his legs with half your skull crushed in.” She had just a faint expression of sadness on her as if she had lived through similar experiences before.

  “And thirdly, we lost River Mar and Jackson Stonehoof, two of our sixteen Gold rankers and thirty-one other adventurers. I sent back the man you dragged out and eight others too wounded to stay here yesterday. It was as bad as any adventuring or Expedition disaster I have heard about in the last fifty years”. She stood with those words and put a hand on his left shoulder squeezing it.

  “Well, it is Desanigh, so it might be worth it. So get dressed and I will take you to Master Helmric.”

  The old village still lay in mountain shadow, while sunlight was clear in the eastern sky. The unseen rising sun lit the eastern mountain tops, bringing the ruins around him out of darkness. The old stone buildings lay there, mostly half ruined, with each building sharing walls along the overgrown cobbled street that Innosaa led him down. It looked like only the infirmary was occupied on this street, or what they had turned into the infirmary in any case.

  They headed west and he wished he had something more on than the light worn linen travel clothes he was given. The morning chill made it clear that they were high in the mountains and while he could hear the waking camp around him, the wild sounds of birds and other animals also made it clear they were in no settled place. They reached the cross street, and he saw that it was the main street of the old village. There were more people moving around here and he saw that a lot of the buildings, especially those facing the main street, were occupied. With canvas roofs and newly placed stone rubble or wood resealing the buildings. Many, with light leaking out of the canvas windows or doors.

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  Innosaa led him to a large corner building that must have been built as a town meeting place. It was at least twice as large as any other building he could see, and its second floor looked mostly intact compared to most. It had a real door in its door frame, new like the new wooden shutters in its old stone windowsills. They entered the front room and found it occupied by a lone Kimber sitting behind a portable desk in front of the two doors near the back of the large space. The room was warm with a fire in the large fireplace that took up most of one wall, with a brick hearth extension allowing you to cook from it also. The stone floor had been swept clean and four glow orbs in rope holders placed around the room, made the room bright compared to the morning shadows. With three large lacquered wooden folding tables with stools around them taking up most of the main room.

  He did a quick count as he scanned the room, enough stools for forty people and a few coffee pots near the fire on the raised hearth. He assumed that the Kimber was Helmric who sat behind his large folding desk. It was light-colored lacquered wood, with a slight shine from the glow orbs. It was half covered in paperwork and five large codex’s, one of them open in front of him. He paused as he walked through the room and took a second as he looked at Helmric, the expedition leader, thought to be near level 35 [Spear-Venturer], whatever that was.

  The Kimber.

  The expedition leader stood as he and Innosaa approached his table. Helmric must have been four and a half feet tall and thick of body. His entire body was covered in a thick coat of short glossy brown fur. His short duck-like bill mouth opened to show small yellowish teeth and his intelligent white in black eyes. He adjusted a pair of thin wire frame glasses on his bill as he walked around his desk. His two wide dark leather boots shuffled on the floor as he lowered his two large arms to his side while his third arm, that was just under his other right arm came up. It was longer and thinner than the other two, with a much more human-like hand with three thin fingers and a thumb. He raised it in greeting. He wore a black cotton shirt that was tucked into light tan pants, with a chainmail shirt over it that went to his knees, encircled with a small adventurer belt around his waist. It had numerous pockets, as well as small potion vial holders, all full of odds and ends.

  “Welcome, Welcome.” Helmric held out his third hand, and he and Innosaa took turns shaking it. “Nasty scar you got there on your head boy.” His voice was deep and then he trilled as if annoyed “Nasty day that was, my fault but still a nasty day. Well anyway Innosaa here told me you still don’t remember who you are. Nasty business that.” Helmric poked Innosaa in her side with one of his arms while another tapped the table hard while his third thinner arm adjusted his glasses again. It was a little overwhelming to see all three moving at once and doing different things.

  He found himself a little overwhelmed by it all, and could only reply “Yes”.

  “Well, Well I shouldn’t keep you waiting.” Helmric said, as he turned the large codex on his desk around to face them.

  “I have your name here, Franco Young. Team leader of Duncan's Fury.” Helmric tapped the book with one of his large three finger hands. “Strange name, strange name but I have it here and it lines up with what we could find. Says you formed your team up in Abigail last year. High Valley folk it seems. Copper ranked team with you and the two girls being true Coppers with that man you saved, a Silver rank adventurer, odd that.”

  When Helmric suddenly stopped talking it was a surprise. This was a lot. His name was Franco Young, was that me? Maybe? He wasn’t sure. Franco seemed like a fine name, but he wasn’t sure he liked it. Abigail sounded better. He got the impression of huge snowcapped mountains and of a mountain lake when he thought about it. A lake in a valley with a vast city built on a peninsula into it. It was more a hint of a memory than a real one but it was enough for him to feel it was true.

  “Franco Young? Are you sure Master Helmric.” Franco asked.

  “Yes, Yes, I had three people take a census after that disaster the other day and I am sure it’s you. Level 5 Copper ranked adventurer that apparently only needs half a brain to live.”

  Franco found a stool and sat down; a little overwhelmed by it all. His name was Franco and he was from Abigail. That felt right. Did it? And he was a team leader with three other people, two of whom were now dead. It was a lot, but it was also just information for him. Shouldn’t he feel bad about his people being dead? He thought he should, but they were just strangers to him now. Not people he knew, not really. Also Copper ranked and that felt right to him. He suddenly knew or remembered? The adventurer guild rankings. He wasn’t sure which it was, and it seemed to be a bit of both for him.

  Tin, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond. He was or he had experience adventuring before and had a team but trying to think about his past or his former team members didn't bring anything up in his memories. He felt very strange and detached from the fact that his team was gone. He could think in circles about what he was and what he thought he should feel like. He shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the pair looking at him.

  “Level 7 now.” Franco mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair on the right side of his head.

  “You gained two levels from that fight?” Innosaa asked quickly. “Wait, you remember gaining those levels?”

  Helmric went back to his side of the desk and turned the large book around to face him while his third hand picked up a pen to write in it

  Franco searched Innosaa’s suddenly intense face. “It’s not really clear. but I remember hearing that my time had ran out and I was being assigned my Enhancement and Skill”

  “Amazing, two Gods assigned levels, praise be to the Four.” Innosaa whispered.

  Helmric trilled at her words “Apparatus assigned” he said more to himself. Franco saw them quickly look at each other before they looked back at him.

  He suddenly felt worried. “Is that going to be a problem?” he asked, his worry clear in his voice.

  Helmric waved two of his hands as if to wave off the comment and Innosaa just shook her head no, before answering. “No but it makes you special and if you share that fact it will bring you attention, a lot of attention in some places. It is very rare, Franco for that to happen. It’s not myth but for many it is a thing of stories”

  “Would you share your Enhancement and Skill Skill that was chosen for you with us Franco. We can help you to understand them if you have questions. You do not need to, but I am curious.” Helmric asked.

  Franco looked at the two and he could tell that they both wanted to know. Should he share it? He wasn’t sure. He felt like he shouldn’t, but he didn’t know why.

  “Is it not common to share such things?” Franco asked them.

  Innosaa turned to Helmric. Waiting for him to answer. The old Kimber man trilled again this time in thought before answering. “That is a yes and no answer for most Franco. If you cannot remember this talk then that is sad. That hit took much. It is a thing a father has with his children. As an adventurer you will tell your team all or your team will not live. Same with your family or if you become a Guard or sometimes to even enter a city. Not all all places have truth spells, but enough that you should not lie to those people. But you should not tell all over a drink or to someone not in your team or leadership during a delve or expedition when out in the wild like this. But I as Expedition leader could demand if I thought I needed to know for this expedition but for now I ask,”

  He sighed and shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t really care, and he wasn’t sure what they were. “I got [Spirit Mind: More Than Flesh] for my Enhancement at level 6 and I got [Learner] as my skill at level 7.”

  Helmric and Innosaa both looked at each other before Helmric jumped off his stool and ran into a room behind him. Franco noticed that Helmric had a wide flat tail. It was fur covered like his body but with two bands of metal on it. One on the end of his tail, a thick iron colored band with deep engravings. Almost weapon-like, while the second band closer to his back was gold, with fine detailed engravings on it. Franco found that tail fascinating. It didn’t reach the ground, but was always a few inches from it, as Helmric moved quickly into the back room.

  Innosaa stepped closer to him, her eyes wide in wonder. “[Learner] is a Superior skill or Major, depending on what classification you use. It is known but rare, and that skill alone would see you get work in many places. It means that you learn faster than others, Franco. You learn everything faster, noticeably so. What might have taken you a year to learn will now take you three or four months, and you remember everything better. Not like a direct memory Skill or Enhancement, but almost as good.”

  Helmric came hurrying out of that back room carrying a large book. Half his size at least and thick enough that Franco didn’t think he could grip it with one hand. He flopped it onto a clear section of his table and with two of his hands opened it and flipped through it. His large right hand pointed at Innosaa. “She is right, [Learner] is a most worthy skill. Especially at your level. It will change your life, but what really has Innosaa and me excited is that Enhancement, what was it called”

  “[Spirit Mind: More Than Flesh]”

  “We have not heard of that Enhancement, so I am checking the Book of Levi.” Helmric looked distracted as he flipped from page to page looking for something. Franco stood up and along with Innosaa stepped closer to see what was in the book. Small, printed writing covered the huge pages. Pages that were divided into different columns. He saw that many of the pages also had handwritten notes next to different boxes.

  Franco nudged Innosaa and pointed to some small handwritten notes near the top of the page that Helmric was looking at.

  “This is Helmric’s personal or most likely his family’s Book of Levi, it details all we know about Levels, Skills, Enhancements, Titles, Attributes and many other things. Look here.” She pointed to what was closest and upside down to them, but what would be the top right of the page to Helmric. “This was published in 3890, a little over a hundred years ago. But the Scholaria in Abigail issues a new edition every 10 years with whatever new things they have learned, so Helmric’s family has been updating it themselves or adding notes or tips. He is looking for your Enhancement, but I do not think he will find it. It is new. I am almost sure of it, Franco, and that is exciting.”

  Franco saw by the title of the pages that Helmric was in the Enhancement section of the book, with Helmric searching in the S’s pages looking for some reference to his new Enhancement. Helmric’s third arm stopped on a small passage. A thin finger now moving back and forth as he read from it. He trilled in excitement.

  “No [Spirit Mind], but here there is a [Spirit Hand], [Spirit Arm] and a [Spirit Leg]. All extremely rare, highest grade for an Enhancement. [Spirit Hand] has been the most common, eight have been known to have gained it. All by doing some heroic deed where they lost a hand. All manifested a spirit hand to replace their lost one, but only some had it always. Others could only manifest for a few minutes at a time. It had both a feel to it and could feel like like a normal hand. Its grip strength was that of a level 40+ class.” Helmric continued to lean over the book reading and summarizing for them. “Yes, Yes, very good. It seemed all the ones listed greatly improved them both in body and the spirit attributes.”

  “Do you remember anything else about it Franco.” Innosaa asked quietly.

  “Let me think for a second, I believe it improved my Fate, Soul, Wisdom, Intelligence, Will, and Perception. Yes, that sounds right to me.” Franco said.

  Helmric stopped reading and looked up at him. His bill opened wide from what Franco could tell was surprise. He felt a little awkward seeing the surprise on both their faces.

  “Ah I assume that is good.”

  Helmric closed his bill and sat up straighter before he answered “Six attributes is amazing, no matter which six but one of those being Fate is very rare. Yes, Yes.”

  Innosaa got closer to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. He just realized that she was at least six inches taller than him. “That is something you should only share with your team and family, Franco. Fate is both the least well-known attribute, but also the most studied. Maybe before the Five Evils and the end of the First Era, they knew more, but what we know now is little before those heights. To see something affecting fate at a level 6 Enhancement is unique, rare and very interesting, because the one thing that we know about Fate is that it begets more.” She whispered those last words to him, and he felt a shiver run down his spine at them.