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 the rest of him he shakingly gets up his arm resting on a wall.
'What is that smell even..' 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 smell of the trash inside while keeping the light of the sun barely reaching.
Finally his headache turned manageable and he steadily made his way outside the trash alley.
The sun was bright but fortunately for him it was nothing new. With careful consideration he began examining his surroundings but his breath hitched.
Unsure he immediately retreated back into the familiar stench like a mad man. "Where the hell am i!?" A dry cough immediately started silencing him. He could barely talk.
'i need water..' the thoughts 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 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?
He slightly tore at his shirt to notice it immediately tear without much effort, his mood shifted, there's no way he's gonna run around looking like a bum!! No matter where he is that is not okay!
After taking a 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 is to fix his current state.
His surroundings were far from his condition, in fact they were nothing alike.
The place he was in was bustling with peoples voices and carriages slowly carrying cargo across the street while the people surrounding him were in far better quality than he is.
'this looks expensive..' but it was not home. His first goal began, move.
It was not ideal and he could catch many people shoot glances if not judgement towards his direction.
'so uncivilised..' it took him a while but the air here was at least cleaner than what he's used to and 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 seems to be more in the middle.
Quite simple, in fact maybe it won't take too long to learn.
The sun didnt move much so he knew not much time passed but now he had to make a move. 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 seemed to not be in a state of sprinting and he's not even sure if his body is either. He thought of drinking water first but he couldn't even begin to find a place so it was either all or nothing.
He already chose a spot where it was around a cross walk and he could easily run through a thick crowd to get away in the worst case scenario.
Letting a lot of people walk by biding his time, patience was the most important thing if you steal in a bodily condition like this.
Finally! He locked onto a target and with a quick reaction he snatched up a tiny pouch, it was nothing to be admired for but that didn't stop him from immediately moving away after obtaining his bounty.
His heart immediately came to a stop when he noticed the other person come to an halt realising something is 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 stench 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?
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 a few minutes until an idea struck as he finally left the trashy alley once more before starting his search of a city map.
------
His Body heavy and his cough dry he feels his vision blur as he has 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 didnt find anything.
It was too late. Feeling the weight of his body pull him down he finally lost balance unable to keep himself up any longer he finally crashed onto the ground groaning at the impact.
It was a humiliating sight but what could he even do? There was seriously nothing left.
Just with that he could hear a clink from next to him, raising his head weakly he sees a small glass of water half filled placed by what seemed to be a worker.
He was avoiding the beggars eyes as he walked off back into the restaurant.
'water.' that was all on his mind as he shakingly grabbed the cup chugging it down as if nothing.
An immediate sense of relief washed over him as finally a semblence of substance graced his dying body.
He's back on it. He took his time before getting up as 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 managable.
With his determination freshly renewed he made his way before finally finding an map.
A city map, it only seemed to detail the insides of this place however that was good enough for him.
He couldn't read the language but the symbols and art depicting the spaces 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 around him.
No judgement will keep him from living if his friend's 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.
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 noticed land marks or rather symbols that repeat multiple times.
Well it doesn't take a genius to decipher their meanings.
"Alright.." he coughs to himself as his body feels 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.