Chương 11: Deeper Into the Plains

No sailor has gone a trip without cursing Valudipan's name. Yet, none has gone a trip without praying to him. Master of the waves, of what lurks below. The tide flows, the world suffers. The tide ebbs, it breathes. Excerpt from Demonology, by Alfred Dumries, Keeper of the Iron Ink. Alexandra used her spoon to stir her soup. The blue liquid was scalding hot from a night of simmering.

"Come on, try it," Lara pressed.

"You'll need this if you want to complete today's quest."

"I know it's because of the Aetherveil, but I've never had blue soup," Alexandra said.

"Give me a moment." Hearing the content of Alexandra's new quest, her friend had immediately dropped a pinch of fine powder into her bowl. It was a by-product of Aetherveil that gave a slight boost to endurance. Alexandra wasn't above using drugs, and she recognized that today's daily required all the advantages she could get. But… She sniffed the fumes that emanated from it. Earthy, with a slight medicinal bitterness.

"Tastes better than it smells," Therion suggested. She raised the bowl to her lips, blew on it to reduce the temperature, and drank. Therion was right about the taste, but she still winced at the bitterness. It was like drinking medicine. Alexandra sipped on the soup slowly, the liquid warming her up as she drank. She put down the bowl, and exhaled.

"Done. Not too bad." Curious, she summoned her journal and flipped it open. Name: Alexandra Ward Class: Heroine of Quests Rank: - Level: 1 (20/50) Strength (STR): 8 Dexterity (DEX): 8 Constitution (CON): 7 Intelligence (INT): 9 Perception (PER): 10 Class Art: [Quest Journal] – A living record bound to its bearer. Generates daily quests tailored to the surrounding environment. Completing quests yields experience, rewards, and contributes to an ongoing Streak. The longer the Streak, the greater the bounty.

Class Perks: - General Skills: [Inflict Weakness] (Uncommon) - 3 [Sickle Mastery] (Common) - 1 Achievements: -"Temporary boosts won't show up there. If that's what you're looking for," Therion explained.

"Endurance is strongly correlated to your constitution, but your other attributes also play a role. It's not as simple as adding a point here and there." Alexandra nodded, and flipped the page. Quest Journal Daily Reset: 06: 00 | Streak: 2 Days | 0% All Stats Next Milestone: 10 Days Daily Quests: Travel 50 kilometers away from Lanterne (0/50) 50 kilometers, that was more than a full marathon.

Granted, Alexandra didn't have to run, but as she didn't have a car, or a horse, she'd have to walk the distance, which wasn't simple either. Then she'd have to come back.

"That's rough," Lara said, patting her shoulder.

"The thing is, if you follow the road, you'll reach Esmera in about half that distance. Since it's on the coast…" She wouldn't be able to continue.

"I guess I'll have to cut through the plain. Which direction would you suggest?"

"Erm, except south either way is fine—" Lara started, only for her husband to interrupt her.

"You should go south-east. The coast is about fifty kilometers in that direction, and that's the safest part of the plains, save for the road." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Lara nodded.

"Good point."

"Okay, thank you," Alexandra said, furrowing her brows as she realized that her summoning point had to have been quite close to the city. She had wandered a long time, that day, but not that much. Before she left, Lara wanted to give her a loaf of bread, and a gourd of water, along with a cape to keep her warm. Alexandra wanted to refuse, but yielded under her insistence and promised to repay them in the future, though she wasn't sure if her hosts counted on it. Lara walked her to the door.

"And don't push yourself too hard. You only just healed."

"I'll be fine." Lara gave her a look that suggested she found that unconvincing.

"You said that yesterday too."

"Well—" Alexandra trailed. One look from her friend was enough to stop her from arguing.

"Right. I'll be careful." Therion was already back in the field. He looked up as she passed, and raised his hand once in her direction before going back to work. She raised hers back. With the sun in her eyes as it rose above the horizon, she was on her way. It was her third day on Laikal. The low rolling plains covered in flowers shone pastel under the morning sun. She started her walk at a good pace. Having real shoes instead of slippers made it a lot easier.

She was regularly checking her journal to see if the quest counter was going up. Eventually, it did. As she had no way to tell time, she couldn't really estimate her speed. The sun had gone up a little. Not much. She had already spent a lot of time in the plains, but between searching for shelter and hunting goblins, she hadn't been in the right mental state to appreciate it. Today was different. Walking next to a cluster of translucent, white bell flowers, she heard them chime softly as they swayed with the wind.

Soon after, she spotted a wild aetherveil. It was smaller than the cultivated version she'd seen in Lanterne, yet its smell was more pungent, reminding her of her medicinal breakfast. How many of those plants had magical properties? Perhaps not that many. She thought about Lara and Therion. They only did Aetherveil, probably for a good reason. Maybe it was the most economically viable herb. Maybe there were other magical plants with no practical use. If only she'd unlocked Basic Herbology.

Unfortunately, she hadn't found the opportunity yet. Most likely, she would have to leave Lanterne to find enough resources and knowledge about that topic. Five kilometers in, she spotted something moving between the flowers. Tall enough for its head to poke out of the grass, yet small enough to hide in it. It was somewhere between a rabbit and a deer, with fur so pale it had a lavender tint in the morning light and a pair of small horns poking out of its head.

It was watching her between two clusters of flowers, one white, the other red. Completely motionless. She stopped. It sank into the flowers and disappeared. She stared at the spot for a moment. Then kept walking. At the eleven kilometer mark, she came across a group of birds picking through the grass on legs thin enough that she wasn't sure how they held the weight. Their plumage was pink, bright enough to spot from a distance, yet in the sea of flowers, they blended, seamless into the background.

She slowed as she approached, expecting them to scatter. They didn't. One turned its head and looked at her with a single eye, then went back to the grass. She gave them a wide berth. Just three kilometers later, her nostrils filled with a sweet, insistent smell. Almost grating. She grimaced, and switched to breathing with her mouth. Cresting a small rise, she found the source — a dense patch of orange blossom pressed flat against the ground. Pretty. Bees drifted lazily between the clusters. She didn't tarry.

Sixteen kilometers in, she started getting thirsty. She drank from her gourd, and immediately realized that it wouldn't be enough for the whole trip and back. A single loaf of bread also wasn't going to cut it. Twenty kilometers, the sun was high above her. It was noon. Somewhere around that time, anyway. Her feet were starting to hurt. Twenty one kilometers. That one took a long time. She couldn't stop checking her journal every few seconds, hoping for it to pass. She sat on a patch of packed dirt.

She needed a break. Removing her shoes, the fresh air hitting her skin was a relief. She massaged her soles. Not even halfway there. Five minutes later, she was back on the move. Alexandra wasn't sure if she'd kept her direction straight to the south-east. Perhaps that was why each kilometer felt longer than the last. A bundle of tall grass swayed in the wind, shifting from blue to green with the undulation. She wondered what she was doing here.

To think she could have been at home, grinding her quests on her computer instead of this senseless walk. She couldn't help but wonder how bad her dailies could get. If it was about gathering plants or hunting monsters, she knew that experience would make those sort of quests easier. But this… This would never stop being a total chore. Even if her stats tripled. She chuckled. What she wouldn't do for her streak. Twenty six kilometers, she spotted a bird flying high above.

She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look, but it was too far. Twenty eight, she heard the laughter of a seagull flight. She didn't see them, but she felt the mockery in their cries. Thirty kilometers. She uncorked her gourd and tipped it. A mouthful, maybe two. She'd been rationing since the sixteen kilometer mark and it hadn't made much difference. She corked it back and kept walking. She'd have to find water on the way back. Or before. She didn't love either option. Her thoughts drifted back to Hakim.

It was the kind of problem she couldn't leave alone. A century ago, a healer named Hakim had been summoned to this world by a god, and had been doing his job well enough that a priest in a village she'd stumbled into by accident still invoked his name with reverence. Alive at more than a hundred years old, the Saint was either a crumbling old man, or this world's magic could allow one to extend their lifespan. Did stat points have an effect on lifespan? It seemed likely. Thirty two kilometers.

The same sweet smell from earlier found her. She frowned. She was nowhere near where she'd last encountered it, though she guessed the same plant could be growing here too. She scanned the field ahead. She spotted the orange blossoms twenty meters ahead, the same dense clusters from before, or close enough. She angled left to go around them, giving herself plenty of room. Something latched onto her ankle. She stumbled, caught herself, and looked down.

A vine, thin but taut, had wrapped itself around her feet, just above the heel. She hadn't seen it in the grass. She hadn't heard it either. She pulled. It held. Then a second vine found her other ankle.

"Shit."