11 Homesick

That evening, they made sure to return to the Town of Beginnings well before dark in order to get their hands on a room at one of the taverns. In spite of their efforts, however, all the inns that they could afford were once again full: there were simply too many players living in the starting city, and Jae and Toyo had lost too much and were now a day behind most of the other players in terms of Col. In spite of their hard work killing mobs all day, they still had to pay for food, for drink, for constant repairs to their gear. There was too much to pay for, and not enough to pay for it. They needed more money if they wanted to have a wider pool of rooms to secure for themselves.

Much more.

As the sun went down and darkness again descended on the Town of Beginnings, Jae and Toyo briefly reached a low point. It seemed they would once again have to huddle in muck and sleep out in the street, where anyone could walk up and rob them while they slept.

For just a few moments, Jae began to think about breaking into one of the NPC houses. Anyone living inside would no doubt resist, and in the scuffle the city guards would probably end up getting involved, but just then, he was close to no longer caring. If this was how they were doomed to live, why not start taking matters into their own hands?

Jae wondered what Toyo would say.

Then, when all seemed lost and even Toyo looked ready to give up, Jae spotted players gathering near a familiar-looking church. Players they had seen on the street among them the night before.

Thus they found Alara's Holy Sanctuary: a monastery dedicated to an angel or archangel of some sort, in which the monks and priestesses offered shelter for all those in need of it- in exchange for a small tithe to the church, of course.

Pooling their meagre coins, Jae and Toyo was just able to afford entry.

The sanctuary itself was small, bland, and unassuming. It consisted of a praying area, an indoor garden with an altar to Alara, and a featureless community room in which all those needing shelters were housed. The conditions were cramped, uncomfortable, and anything but private as Jae and Toyo struggled to sleep amidst several dozen other players and NPCs all vying for more room, but, at the very least, there was a roof over their heads.

The next morning, the senior monk informed everyone that they were allowed to come back as many nights as they needed, so long as they could pay the tithe.

It seemed, for now at least, that they had found a temporary place to sleep.

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Jae blinked as his thoughts on the past few days faded, his attention returning to the hilltop on which they now stood. Looking up at the sun, he guessed by its location that it was drawing close to late afternoon. In a few hours, they would need to head back in order to get a spot in the community room. He dropped his gaze back to Toyo, who still stood silently by the overlook.

With the fear and anxiety he had felt during the fight now mostly gone, for the time being, Jae was able to recognize the distantly troubled look in his brother's cobalt blue eyes, as well as in his demeanour. It was a look he knew well, and one which he knew from experience would quickly pass, yet it was surprising to see how worried Toyo suddenly was about the other players.

Jae worried too, but up until now, he hadn't spent much time considering anything else beyond the two of them; they simply couldn't afford to. It was of paramount importance, after all, that they never lose focus or grow distracted. If they made even one mistake...

Slowly, very slowly, Jae raised a finger to his menu and selected the Settings option. When the screen opened, his eyes went straight to the blank space where the Logout button should have been. He stared at it a moment, unsure why he was even bothering, unsure why he continued to do this. Yet he couldn't help it. He had to try. He had to get back home. He wanted so badly to be safe again.

Before going any further, he glanced over the open menu to be sure Toyo wasn't looking. Then, for what felt like the hundredth time, he tried selecting the blank option in a quiet bid of desperation.

Nothing happened.

Though he had known full well it wouldn't work, he still couldn't help but feel like he had just taken a heavy blow.

They were still no closer to getting out. They were still no closer to being saved by the outside world.

Closing his menu, Jae allowed his bitterness and anxiety to sweep through him again as he strode up beside Toyo and gazed out over the slope.

From their position atop the hill overlooking the outskirts of the fields around the Town of Beginnings, he could see a good portion of the surrounding area, as well as the walls and rooftops of the city itself in the distance. It was difficult to believe they had come so far, especially when one considered how terrified they had been to simply leave the shadow of the stone walls but a couple of days past, and yet, from what he could now see of the wide world around them, he had a difficult time being impressed with their progress.