"Uh, hey. You're ... Drizzt, right?"

"That is I." 

Wow, this guy is formal. "That's cool. I'm Subz. Do you, uh, want to help, I can lend you a pickaxe, because I'm gonna be honest, you look pretty broke right now."

For some reason, only the clothes he had on him made the journey. He'd noticed that, of course, but now is the first time he has properly thought through the implications. He has no swords on his belt and is feeling acutely naked. (He is not going to pat his pockets for Guenhwyvar's statuette with people watching, but-- he doubts she came with him.)

"I am, unfortunately, but I would like to help." 

"Sure." Ender chest, purple shulker box, he's got two backup picks but Drizzt is getting the diamond one. Shulker box safely back in enderchest, he can hand over the pick. "Here you go. Let me know if it gets low on durability. Enjoy mining obsidian."

He is getting to do something good for people! He is being assisted in doing this!

...why can he only use one hand. 

The world doesn't answer him. Neither Subz nor the definitely-human seem bothered or alarmed by anything.

He mines in silence for awhile. (Obsidian takes so long to mine.)

... while he has well disposed people here, he should get more information. "Is there a good way for a newcomer to earn money."

"We don't really....do....money. You can, uh, go mining for stuff, or trade with villagers."

"Do villagers trade weapons?"

..........How the fuck do you get onto Lifesteal without knowing the answer to that question.

"Uh. Yes."

"Good to know." Soon, he can be a productive member of society. ...More productive than removing obsidian and taking night watches. 

…It’s probably not a good idea to give his base location to someone he doesn’t know. On the other hand, almost everyone already knows where his base is, it’s not a secret. And Subz has always been too nice for his own good on this server. “…Look, you can use my base to get geared up, okay? Just to get you on your feet before you get set up. But if you start blowing it up I will kill you, so don’t try anything stupid.”

He nods. "I appreciate it, and will repay you."

Nod back. "Thank you, thank you." See, chat, it's an investment. 

Nether roof portal time! (And then they'll walk for 15 minutes on the nether roof, but Drizzt might have a reaction to the nether before then.)

The people here can casually change planes of existence.

The Academy taught about the different lower planes, and this place is... too flat and uninhabited to resemble any of them. Probably this is the astral plane, and no one in his life had ever managed to describe it well.

He stays silent during the trip, but is obviously keeping an eye out for threats.

That's pretty normal for Lifesteal, especially if you don't have any stuff; Subz barely even notices, and definitely does not comment. Subz stops at another portal and they can go back through to the overworld.

Subz's base: full of large, strangely shaped buildings, a large collection of labeled chests, miscellaneous railroad lines, and a few things which are recognizable as farms (mostly carrots, but also a small amount of wheat, and a strange red plant that is unfamiliar to Drizzt). Some of the things that Drizzt is able to identify as farms are out in the open; others are in small glass buildings, with strange humanoid creatures wandering around inside. There are more of those creatures lined up in other structures--it's hard to tell if they're trapped so that they can't move, but if so, they don't seem particularly upset by it.

(Someone who knows what they look like might also identify: three villager trading halls and villager zombification chambers; a creeper farm; a huge, multilevel automated pumpkin farm; an iron farm; a slime farm; a wood farm; a witch farm. If there are other farms, they're not immediately visible. The storage system isn't automated.)

He does not want to make assumptions here. He does not recognise any of these creatures, or what it means for them to be here. 

But there's a pit of dread in his chest, where he wants to assume this is fine because he is unarmed and can't solve this. 

He looks towards the most humanoid of the creatures, the ones in the booths. "Those are villagers?"

"Yup." Once again, what the fuck is this guy doing on Lifesteal.

Okay, if they are sentient enough to produce goods for trade, they are sentient enough to climb over a lectern if they so choose.

He is going to judge himself later if he finds he is wrong, but this seems to just be a market and agriculture. That's fine. 

"Good to know."

"Cool. I'll leave you to it. If I come back and my shit's broken, I will be really upset."

"I will not touch anything unnecessary." 

"Cool." Subz will leave him to it for a while, then; he needs to finish mining the obsidian and then grind totems.

Drizzt grabs a set of armour, a sword (... why can he only use one hand and why is there only one type of blade, this world is personally cruel to him), a bow, and a shield.

He heads back to join the obsidian mining party.