Brin had to wonder why Oud’s Bog was considered a Bog town at all. Maybe once upon a time it had been like the others, a small hamlet snuggled tight against itself, huddling behind wooden walls to ward against a looming forest. Here, the forest was far away. By the time they reached the bottom of the hill, there was no sign of the forest at all. Every tree that wasn’t clearly decorational and owned by someone had been cut down to make way for farmland, suburbs, and then the city proper.

The city wasn’t huddled or crowded, either. Oud’s Bog spread out wherever it pleased in all directions, seeming to take for granted that it was safe here. The town walls were a mere formality; no one manned the gates and there was no real difference between the homes inside or outside of them.

The design of the houses were much the same as Hammon’s Bog, wood homes favoring thick beams and carven designs on the windowsills and doors. The key difference was the spacing, instead of townhomes built together, they’d often be single-family dwellings. If Brin had come here first, he probably would’ve liked it, but after living in Hammon’s Bog for so long, it felt uncomfortable, like a gap-toothed smile.

He used [Inspect] as much as he could, firing it off on everyone he saw. There were all kinds of Classes, but it surprised him how many people he saw who were still fairly low-level. Most people hung below level 25. You really did get better chances for levels out in the wild.

[Inspect] leveled up! 36 -> 37