The City: PuzzleLocked Book 1

The city map lay on the table out between them. After borrowing a pencil from Horace, Flor allowed Alastair to go first with marking it to identify the places they had been. He compared the interface map to the map on the table, marking the route they had taken yesterday from the pier to the bridge when they had found a cat and back to the tavern then out to the procession then the market and tavern and guild and tavern then out the east gate for a search party.

“Busier day than I remember. On to today. Or should I not, since we know it matches yours?”

“I’ll include it in my markings.” She compared her interface and added the route they had taken today from the guild to the shed clearing to the garden patch and the cafe. Finally, she circled a single location on a side street between the university and the prison tavern. “This is the only thing that differs. It’s isolated from everything else, so it’s probably where I died after I unlocked the daemon.”

“The major thing that tells us is that there aren’t recordings of your travels before then, so your first day truly is lost.”

“Should we put away the map and talk to the warden?”

“Let’s eat, first. Horace is breaking out the slop. And maybe he’ll be able to answer a question or two. Do we even need this map anymore?”

“I don’t know. Maybe for the island side?”

“Oh, yeah, let’s look at that later.”

The tavern had filled in a bit, but since they had been there the longest, Horace brought their slop and beer first. “First in, first out, you know.”

“Horace, when you’re done serving, can we ask you a question or two?”

“Too much to do. Mop my kitchen and maybe we’ll have a deal.”

“Sure. There is nothing like a good moping to encourage conversation. I’ll do it right after I eat.”

The two ate relatively quickly then Alastair slipped away to mop now so they didn’t delay further activities. Horace finished taking away empty plates before Alastair finished up.

“What sort of questions can I answer?”

Flor wanted to wait for Alastair before the important stuff. “Only a couple of minor things. First, do you know if we can visit the brewery? We like to taste different types of beer.”

“That’s probably not going to happen. I’m sure they don’t let just anyone in the brewery. Do you still have that map you were looking at? I should put one of these up on my walls, it would certainly help when I’m giving directions to new arrivals. Out this gate, down the road for a bit, and you wind up at a Monastery for the goddess. The brewery is in there. What’s your other question?”

“Well, I’d rather Alastair was here so I don’t have to repeat it to him. Do you mind waiting a moment? Or I could ask the question and you could formulate an answer.”

“Just ask. I don’t have all day.”

Here goes some speculation. “Alastair and I were imprisoned for subversive behavior and released to make amends. But part of our release was to muddy our memories of our subversive behavior. What can you tell us of the war, and maybe even our part in it?”

“Oh, that’s not a minor question. You might want to talk to the warden about it, rather than me.”

“We’re not looking for specifics. Just a general understanding of who is fighting and where?”

“My understanding of the situation is minimal. Outside of those of you who they send through my tavern, I don’t keep track of the details. Fortunately, the war is so far away and the empire has enough men and machines to avoid needing to impress those lowly of us into service. But, generally, it’s been going on as long as any of us can tell, at least before I was born. Now that you’re here, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

Alastair had joined them about halfway through. “So, it’s the empire versus the great northern hoard?”

“Sounds like you remember more than you’re letting on.”

“That was a wild guess. If we’re prisoners, released or otherwise, does that mean we were members of that hoard?”

“Either you’re a prisoner of war or you were a member of the empire who did something dreadful. Again, I can’t say. You might be a known killer or a money launderer. Who am I to guess? Again, maybe the warden has better information on who you were.”

“One final question, if you don’t mind?”

“You’re all out of questions, I’m afraid.”

“It might be quick. Do you know where the boat skipper goes after he hands us off to the warden?”

“Maybe I can answer that. There are barracks on the Manor grounds. He’s likely there.”

“Thank you. If we think of more questions, he’ll happily mop your kitchen again.”

Horace left and Alastair glared at Flor for that last statement.

“So, where next?” she said to break the tension.

“We still have 37 coins between us, and at least sixteen hours until the day resets. Let’s either see what we can do for lodging tonight or if we can break into the manor to have a chat with the boat skipper.”

“That’s a pretty big jump. One seems accomplishable and the other rash. We don’t even know the guy’s name.”

“What are they going to do to us? Put us in prison?”

“Maybe. And then the day is wasted and we need to start again tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah. Maybe we should rush to the manor first thing in the morning to find him that way. Should be easy to tail him since we know where he starts and ends.”

“That’s a better plan. Let’s find proper lodging, then wander through some of these districts we haven’t been through.” Flor had a thought. “If NPCs run on a static loop, I bet the cats also do. We could try to camp them by asking randoms if there is normally a cat in the area.”

“It might work. I’ll bet most people don’t observe them, though, especially as they keep their heads down for the rain.”

“Yeah, but we could get lucky. It would be nice to mark where I found those other cats on my map. There has got to be some cat population density that makes sense in game terms.”

“Do you think you could lure a cat? That last one seemed to like treats. We might lure out others with treats?”

“No harm in trying. Let’s ask the warden if the boat skipper has a name.”