Rhys shrugged. "The long sword's served me well so far," he said. [i]For the last ten minutes or so,[/i] he thought but declined to voice aloud. He fell into step as she started walking toward the next town and resisted the urge to harass her with question after question. Instead he just focused on the world around him, and his own body. 

It was incredible! Now that he was a little calmer, perhaps a little less panicked, he was more acutely aware than ever of jus how realistic this world felt. He could smell the grass and trees, feel a cool breeze against his face, and the sun on his back as the traveled West. He could feel the road beneath his boots, the weight of his clothing, armor, and weapons as they hung off of his body. Before he could think to stop himself he lifted one hand and slapped himself across the face.

"Ow," he muttered in a quiet deadpan as one hit point vanished from his health bar. "That is just amazing." The sensation was surreal. The slap hadn't exactly [i]hurt[/i] in so many words. But it had definitely been somewhat uncomfortable, and he'd reacted instinctively as if it had been to pain. He glanced at Elia out of the corner of his eye, hoping he wasn't acting too weird, didn't want to scare his new friend off before they even really got going. 

"So," he said, after ten minutes of silence. "What do you think about that letter that went out? Think it's a hoax or are we really in some trouble here?" He sighed. "Even if it is a hoax and we don't really die if our HP hits zero, who's going to chance it just in case they don't really die? And then they wouldn't be able to tell us about it after either cause no one appears to be able to log in anymore..." He trailed off and fell silent, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked. [i]Shut up stupid,[/i] he thought. [i]You're just gonna bug her and she'll leave you to fend for yourself.[/i]