The Calm

Chapter I: The Calm

My name is Nick Thunder. I woke up this morning with a throbbing headache. Of course, I had just hit the nightstand when I fell out of the bed I was in. As I stood up from the smooth, wooden floor I thought long and hard about the unfamiliar room I found myself in. Not only did I fail to recall that, I failed to recall anything prior to waking up, save for my name and a strange dream.

I scanned the room I was in for any clues to my identity. Unfortunately, the room didn't belong to me, so the only thing that I could confirm as mine while looking around was my reflection in the intricately decorated floor-to-ceiling mirror in the corner of the room. I became so entranced just peering into my shining amber eyes that I barely noticed the elegant footsteps approaching the room I was in.

Uncertain whether the person approaching could be trusted or dangerous, I found myself instinctively raising my arms up to my well toned chest and slightly below my face, fists clenched. The footsteps stopped just outside the door. The iron handle creaked as the dark wooden door opened to reveal a girl in her twenties.

Did I know her? A lock of light brown hair swung from her forehead obscuring her view for a moment before a petite, yet calloused hand brushed the hair out of her eyes. The color of her hair isn't so different from my own, just a little bit lighter. She doesn't seem all that tall, either. Her deep green eyes took on a serious look when she saw me out of bed. She radiated with a slight sense of authority.

"Uhhhhh, hi. So, I don't know who you are or how I got here. Wherever 'here' is. Could you enlighten me?"

The girl looked disappointed, and didn't speak for several minutes, "My name is Faith. I'm a former adventurer and the current mayor of the town of Cottonville. I was coming back from a meeting with a neighboring town's mayor when some lightning struck a tree a couple of miles up the road. My escorts and I went to go see what happened, but when we got there, a ball of shimmering light started expanding in the air and you fell out of it, gravely injured and unconscious. We didn't even know if you'd wake up, ever. We took you back to town, and you've been asleep ever since. You've been out for almost a week. The town's healers have been in and out of my house nursing you back to health the entire time."

I sighed, "Well that's unfortunate. I have never heard of this town before, and it appears that I have forgotten all but who I am. Thank you for taking care of me. It seems like I owe you big time. How can I ever repay you?"

Faith tilted her head for a moment in thought, "You can rest up a little bit more, then you can head over to The Guild and they can help you out. You don't owe me anything. This world is too tough to live in in the first place."

Grateful for her generosity, I responded, "Thank you so much!"

At least I was okay, and I have a general direction to go in, too. For now, I'll get some rest and worry about what will happen at The Guild tomorrow.