"Of course.  We don't have the accomodations to house you at the Town Hall, but I'll be happy to cover the cost of your room and board at the Inn while you consider your next course of action," Mayor Leng assures Chaos. "I'll have Felosial leave word with Garon."

"That's truly kind of you, Lord Leng." Chaos blushes slightly, looking down.

The mayor directs his stare to Seth.  "Well.  If you've nothing else to say, Mr. Vandran, you could always let your spirited companion here take the lead for you, as she's acquainted with each of the individuals Felosial has mentioned."  He leans forward.  "I would suggest you also use this time to get to know the locals a bit better.  They may be more forthcoming with rumors to strangers of your bearing than they are to myself or Felosial.  You might discover something useful from the effort."

"I think that's our cue," Chaos whispers to Seth, poking at him with her elbow.

"Thank you for relying on us, Lord Leng. We will put our best efforts into answering your expectations, starting immediately." She bows deeply to the Mayor. "And you too, Captain." A slightly less deep bow to Felosial.

After the greetings, she turns to leave the room, tugging at the Sorcerer's sleeve.

'You don't have to tell me twice.' 

"Thank you for your assistance on the journey to Oakhurst." Seth addresses Felosial before inclining his head in Leng's direction. He leaves the room, wondering at the half-elf latched onto his sleeve.

Felosial turns and follows the two of you out of the door.  As she leads you back down the staircase and towards the front door, she takes a moment to turn and address you.

“I imagine you’ll want to meet your potential fellow adventurers for this journey to the Citadel,” Felosial says.  “Gerno is stationed outside of the Town Hall for today.  I will let him know he has leave to speak to you while on duty.  Therlyn is on patrol, but you will be able to find her at the chapel this evening as the sun sets, as is her routine.  Maryln will likely be in the barracks at the moment; Karakas gave her a special assignment before he left, and I have not yet relieved her of her duties.  Argus has the day off and will be with his family; you can find his home  at the easternmost end of town, two houses across the way from the Ol’ Boar Inn.

I suggest you spend some time familiarizing yourself with the services Oakhurst has to offer.  While we are asking for your help, I recognize that this is a daunting task we’ve asked of you both.  You are always welcome to return to Oakhurst to rest or recover from any wounds you might receive.  In fact I would rather you do that than press on while injured; we’ve lost enough people to that damned sunken fortress,” she curses.

 “Rurik runs the blacksmith here; he can provide you with any weapons, armors, or metal goods you require.  You should also introduce yourself to Corkie at the temple; I hear she was close to Timbers while he was in town.  We don’t have alternatives for general supplies other than Hucrele’s Goods and Sundries, though.  Kerowyn keeps a monopoly on almost all trade in this town; you simply can’t avoid her.”  She sounds irate as she says this.

“If you need me, I will be with Mayor Leng for the time being in the Town Hall.  I’ll instruct the guards to let the two of you pass freely.  You can always leave a message at the barracks if I’m not available.”  She nods at the two of you.  “I speak for both the Mayor and myself, when I say you have my heartfelt thanks for your aid.”  With that, she moves out to leave instructions for her guards.

After saying goodbye to the Captain, Chaos turns to stare at Seth. "We have a lot to talk about," she says. Then she links arms with the sorcerer and starts walking around town, dragging him along.

"So... I think we should be honest with each other. I can see you're quite into this role-playing thing, and how to blame you, it's such fun! But there's a good chance we might die for good here, so we should do our best to cooperate, have each other's back. I'm sure you understand,"  she smiles.

"I dig that look, by the way. Of course, I get it, you're not going for the full Corvo vibe, otherwise you would have gone with a Rogue and maybe Multiclass later, instead of picking a Wizard class. But that's totally okay! I'm on the same page, really, just look at me,"  she points at herself, an eloquent grin on her face.

'She starts off making sense, but... Really, who in all the nine hells is Corvo? And why am I being compared to him? ...Multiclass?'

Seth's confusion only increases by the second listening to Chaos' commentary on... something. "Cooperation is important, of course, I agree entirely. Especially if we do not want to die. However... I am not a wizard. And I really have no idea who you speak of when you mention this Corvo." 

'In addition, I have a massive headache coming on. Ugh. Shut up, you stupid things.'

"Not a wizard? Okay, it's the other thing, then. What was it, Enchanter? Witchcrafter? Sorceror?"

Chaos looks evidently displeased as Seth denies any implication with Corvo. "Uhm, so you just pulled up a skin at random and it happened to have Corvo's face? I'm not a big fan of that. You should at least have a clue as to whom you are impersonating." She shrugs. "But yeah, it's not that important. Let's do this quest, and then we can look for a way to go back home together. Or hang around some longer."

(is there any sign that Seth is getting a headache?)

(There will be soon if Chaos keeps this up.)

Seth looks down at this complete weirdo impassively. "I know my way back home just fine. And my skin is my own, thank you very much." 

'Dying sounds like a fun prospect right now...' he finds itself thinking idly, as Chaos pulls him around with no intention of leaving him alone. His expression barely changes but the air around him seems to be growing somewhat heavier as time passes.

Chaos stops walking and turns around, her features now turning deadly serious.

"Look," she says sternly. "I understand you want to keep your privacy, and that's all right. I'm not asking you to tell me your real name, or your address, or if you're actually a girl. But it's important that we know we are on the same page. Maybe you don't take things seriously because you haven't been bitten to half-death by a bunch of Hell Hares, but this is not a game. I mean, not only that. We can't afford to feign ignorance." She scowls in frustration.

"I don't understand why you keep denying who you really are." Then, there is a spark of epiphany in her eyes. "Unless..."

An eye twitches. 'A girl?'

Seth takes a moment to forcibly clear his mind. It is not terribly hard. He has had to do it often. Half of it is numb anyway these days, what with the voices. "...Unless what? I have met some very unreasonable people in my time but none so weirdly unreasonable as you. Of course this is not a game, it never was. It is dangerous business that I only undertook to help a friend.You can carry out your little make-believe identity assumptions elsewhere."

Chaos nods vigorously, happy to have reached the bottom of this well of mysteries. "It's clear, yes. You have lost your memories. There must be something wrong with your system..."

"I bet you can't even hear the messages at all. Either you hear nothing at all, or you've got a lot broken sounds and voices in your head. Man, I wouldn't envy that..."

"In any case, don't worry. I have no intention of leaving a fellow gamer stranded in this world. Even if this sounds weird to you, I'm here to help, and I will find a way to recover your memory... No matter what. It's only right; I would want you to do the same for me."

Chaos turns around, beckoning Seth to follow her. "Now, come on, Mr Vandran. We've got a guard to pick and no time to lose."

"All I have established is that you do not listen to a word I say." Seth sighs. And with no real destination in mind, reluctantly chooses to follow her into - how did it go, again? Oh, yes. Into the mouth of hell.

You spend the rest of the day familiarizing yourself with the layout of the town, and searching after the members of the guard where Felosial told you they could be found.  It actually takes you a day to talk to each of them thoroughly.

Of course, by the end of it, Seth, you feel rather frustrated, because it seems that Chaos was dead set on chosing on the guard calling herself Mary from the start.  In fact, Chaos’s presence is so overwhelming that you decide to take a day off from your eager and strange new companion, and the odd gibberish she spouts.

Chaos, you spend your time humoring Seth out of a sense of pity and concern for her well-being.  You’re beginning to wonder if you’re a special case in this game – maybe there was a system-wide error that wiped everyone’s memories, and you’re the only player who can still recall the real world?  You’re not sure, but what you are sure of is that VivaVox has been despairingly silent.  There’s no guidance being given to you, no tutorial to follow, and no helping hand to tell you what to do.  It looks like VivaVox is leaving you on your own for now, for better or for worse.

By the third day, you’ve both decided to collect your choice guard.  Together.  It’s not an easy alliance the two of you have struck, but the lure of Leng’s mission has brought you together, whether it be for idealistic reasons, or for monetary reasons, or just out of sheer boredom.  No matter the case, you know you’re going to have to work together, and so, you meet at the taproom of the Ol’ Boar Inn and spend the morning debating over which guard to take.  It’s a close thing, but Chaos wins out, and Maryln looks like she’s going to be your choice.  You set off for the barracks to collect the newest member of your team just as the sun reaches its zenith in the sky.

Seth, as you are walking down the road, you notice a familiar face approaching you.  You’d recognize that vest anywhere, in fact.  It’s that druid woman you traveled with to Neverwinter.  She spots you at roughly the same time you spot her…

“Well, well, if it isn’t Seth Vandran!” Valeri excitedly approaches him. “This town is a bit, poor for your tastes.” She notes his fine clothing. “What work brings you this place?”

"Wait, you mean your name is not Mr Vandran??" 

Chaos asks, hurt and shocked as she finds she has been kept in the dark for the whole time.

"Miss Valeri, we meet once more. It is my pleasure. I trust you had a good journey from Neverwinter?" Seth inclines his head, in the usual way she has seen him. However, his tone seems to contain a hint of... relief? He seems also to be resolutely ignoring the white-haired half elf beside him, even as she speaks.

“My journey was most pleasant. You know, minus the savage, rabbid, magically affected animals...” She says the last part with a hint of worry in her otherwise uplifting tone. “Have you been here long? I only arrived just today.” 

“Who might you be?” Valeri turns to the white haired half-elf with great curiosity. “You look kinda strange... for a half-elf.”

Chaos turns towards the newcomer, the reproach on her face quickly wiped away by a smile. "Hello, Miss Valeri. It is a pleasure to meet you. I go by the name of Chaos Stone, I am a friend of Mr Vandran, whom you also seem to be acquainted with." More NPCs... Just what I needed.

"Forgive me if I ask, but... Would I be right to infer from your words that you have come across the Devilish Horned Rabbits? In that case, you are very lucky to have made it out with your life. Those are vicious beasts."

If this person is an acquaintance of Vandran, they might have some clue regarding his memory loss. It's worth a shot, at least. "What, then, brings you to this lovely town?"