There wasn't much time to process anything anymore, the hustle and the bustle of a loud place rang through Mikel's head before finally subduing. A stench followed close by and he sits up with a cough. "Holy.." his voice is raspy and dry, along with the smell of trash throwing off from the rest of him, he shakingly gets up, his arm resting on a wall.
'What is that smell..' finally coming to his senses, his eyes wander through the dim light. The alleyway he was in had a thick stone roof, clearly trapping the foul odor of the garbage inside, while keeping the fresh air outside and leaving the light of the sun barely reaching.
When his headache turned manageable, he steadily made his way outside the rubbish alley.
The sun was bright, but fortunately for him, it was nothing new. With careful consideration, he began examining his surroundings. His breath hitched as he saw the crowded road facing him. Dusty track between rustic and beautiful buildings, roamed by a swarm of people with different features.
Unsure, he immediately retreated back into the familiar stench like a mad man. "Where the hell am i!?" He's not sure where he's coming from, but he's definitely not used to this… A dry cough immediately silenced his mind. He could barely talk.
'I need water..' The thought of worry immediately got overshadowed by the basic needs of survival.
He slowly moved his gaze down towards his attire, it looked... Poor. This quality is awful!! A frown immediately spread across Mikel's face as he realised he was practically wearing rags, with torn apart boots and terrible hygiene.
Now, rather than confusion, all he could feel was disgust. Is this really him? Why does he feel so wrong?
He slightly stretched his shirt, to notice it immediately tore without much effort, his mood shifted. There's no way he's gonna run around looking like a bum!! No matter where he is, or who he is, that is not okay!
After taking another unpleasant deep breath, he started gathering the courage to get up and leave this stinking place once more.
There were some eyes immediately wandering towards him, but that didn't matter. With a pounding heart and a filthy state, all he could really think of was how to fix his current situation.
His surroundings were far from his condition, in fact they were nothing alike. The place he was in was bustling with people's voices, people wearing colorful attire and carriages slowly carrying cargo across the street. The crowd surrounding him was in far better shape than him.
'This looks nice..' but it's not home. Thus, his first goal began, move.
He caught many people's eyes, shooting glances if not judgement towards his direction. Ashamed, he walked as fast as he could, head and back kept straight by tension.
'so uncivilised..' It took him a while to adjust, but the air here was at least cleaner than what he was used to. He's been watching carefully how people were using their currencies. It may be nothing like the one his country uses but he can still grasp the basics of it.
Gold is the highest and what looks to be copper is the cheapest, silver appears to be more in the middle. Quite simple, in fact maybe it won't take too long to learn.
The sun didn't move much so he couldn't tell how much time passed, but now he had to take action. After some serious consideration he decided to first get some money, in some unethical ways…
Well, you know, a man has to do what he's got to do. His shoes didn't seem to be in a state of sprinting and he's not sure his body was either. He thought of drinking water first to regain some strength, but he couldn't even begin to find a place, so it was either all or nothing.
He already chose a spot. It was around a crosswalk. This position would allow him to easily make a run through a thick crowd to get away in the worst case scenario.
Letting a lot of people walk by, biding his time, he waited. Patience is the most important thing if you want to steal in a bodily condition like his. As he was observing people, he noticed some had ears, or skin tone, that just… didn't seem right with him. They looked out of place. With a frown, he rubs his forehead.
Finally! His eyes hovered onto a good target and with a quick reaction, he snatched up a tiny pouch in a single move. It was nothing to be admired for, but that didn't stop him from immediately moving away after obtaining his bounty. To begin, he was never someone to restrain himself with notions like respect and law… probably. Anyway, he doesn't care.
His heart immediately came to a stop when he noticed the other person come to a halt, he seemed to realise something was missing, yet he stayed casual as he finally vanished behind the corner.
'Oh man! He noticed fast! Maybe not again..' there wasn't much room to think as he picked up the pace, making sure to vanish behind another corner until he felt like he was far enough.
From one trashy alley to another, he went right back towards a familiar reek to carefully examine his findings.
Well... He's not sure, three golds, ten silvers and ten copper.
'Must not be as simple..' his mind was swirling but by simply guessing, he already deduced that the gold is of most value, but how much exactly?
Judging by this lavish place and the undeniable quality, he could make better use of his money by not spending it here, but how would he know where to go?
It took him a few minutes to formulate a plan. An idea struck as he finally left the trashy alley once more, starting his search for a city map.
------
After some time, his body heavy and his cough dry, he felt his vision blur as he had to lean up against a wall to maintain balance. A loud rumble emerges until he finally recognised his second problem.
He couldn't think long before his world began to fade, but he knew that this body was only gonna get worse from here if he didn't find anything.
It was too late. Feeling the weight of his body pull him down, he finally lost his grip on the wall, and, unable to keep himself up any longer, he ended up crashing onto the ground, groaning at the impact.
It was a humiliating sight, but what could he even do about it? There was seriously nothing left.
Just as he thought the worst was going to happen, he heard a clunk from next to him. Raising his head weakly, he saw a small glass of water, half filled, placed by what seemed to be a worker.
He was avoiding the beggar's eyes as he walked off back into the restaurant he came from.
'water.' was the only thing on his mind as he shakingly grabbed the cup, chugging it down as if nothing. Rehydrating his dry throat.
An immediate sense of relief washed over him as a semblance of substance graced his dying body.
He's back on it. He took his time before getting up. He carefully placed the empty glass on a table before straightening his posture. His stomach may be still on bad terms with him, but that's manageable. He needs to get used to it if he wants to keep living. He can't lay and wait for the end or for another act of pity from a stranger.
With his vigor freshly renewed, he made his way to finally find a map. It only seemed to detail the insides of this strange city, however, that was good enough for him.
He couldn't read the language, all was unfamiliar, but the symbols and pictogram depicting the places were enough for him as he raised his hand towards his chin in focus.
Spotting the restaurant that gave him that bit of water on the map, he began to pinpoint his location, ignoring the ones chatting around him.
No judgement will keep him from living if his friends are not there to die with him. His body stiffens as his hand drops onto his chest, are they okay? Instinct took over as he looked among the crowds for any sign yet to no surprise he was alone. He froze again. Who are they… he can't quite put a face on these people in his heart.
It's been so long since he had this empty feeling in his stomach…
'focus!' Another long minute passes as he stares at the map. He notices landmarks or rather symbols that repeat multiple times. Well it doesn't take a genius to decipher their meanings.
"Alright.." he coughs to himself, his body feeling much better after a good drink.
Mikel finally took way as he moved towards the next public map, navigating the way through memory, more confident in his stride.