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.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

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.”