5 – Do Your Dailies

Alexandra opened her eyes right before 6:00 a.m. At least, she wagered it was about that time. She didn’t know if it was all of Laika, or just Lanterne, but her hosts didn’t have a clock.

Somehow, her back hurt even more than yesterday. “Too used to modern comfort,” she grumbled as she pushed herself up from the straw pallet. Lara and Therion were already up. She could hear them busying themselves in the main room.

It felt strange to wake here. No, scratch that. What felt strange was that her mind was perfectly clear. There was only one thing occupying her thoughts: her next quest.

Two minutes passed as she stood up, stretched, and chased the morning haze away.

She summoned her journal.

Perhaps years of following the exact same routine had conditioned her for this moment, but she was just in time. On the first page, new words were etching themselves on the paper, her previous daily quest already erased.

Quest Journal

Daily Reset: 06:00 | Streak: 1 Days | 0% All Stats

Next Milestone: 10 Days

Daily Quests:

• Slay a goblin (0/1)

“Shit,” she cursed under her breath. That would be a lot harder than picking flowers. Yet, at no point did the thought of giving up cross her mind. She would do it.

It was just a goblin. Not a dragon. The weakest creature in fantasy, allegedly.

Shaking her head, she pushed the door to the main room open, and was greeted by her hosts. Lara was sitting at the table, sharpening a small sickle, while her husband tended to the fire, feeding it wood to revive it.

Lara smiled when she saw her. “Alexandra, I hope we didn’t wake you up.”

Alexandra shook her head. “I’m an early riser. Don’t worry about that.”

Following Lara’s gesture, she sat down in front of her.

“I’ll get you something to eat in a minute.”

Alexandra thanked her, but insisted that they didn’t need to bother with her. Lara had a task to accomplish, and she didn’t want to interrupt.

“Nonsense,” Lara chastised her. “A guest’s a guest. This sickle isn’t going anywhere.”

Breakfast was the same as last night’s dinner, along with a few slices of bread. Nothing fancy, but it was nutritious enough.

Lara returned to her sharpening. “Tell me, did you receive your daily quest?”

Alexandra nodded. “I wanted to ask your advice about it. Are there goblins around here?”

Her host paused, and even Therion looked at her from beside the fire.

“Goblins?” he asked. “Why would you need a goblin?”

Alexandra shrugged. “I’m not the one writing the quests. It says I have to slay one.”

Therion scanned her with his gaze, her slippers, her earth clothes filled with holes and grime from yesterday’s adventure.

“I know how I look. But I have to try.”

Therion snorted. “You don’t have shoes, let alone a weapon.”

Lara sighed. “Speaking of which, I should lend you a pair.”

“Of shoes?” Alexandra asked.

“Well, I can give you a sickle, too.”

“Lara!” Therion protested.

Alexandra nodded. “Please.”

“I’ll need to sharpen the spine.”

“You’re not seriously entertaining her?”

Lara rolled her eyes. “Therion, look at her. She’ll hunt barehanded if she has to.”

Alexandra choked on her spoonful of soup as she heard that.

“Don’t give me that,” Lara said. “You know I’m telling the truth.”

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“But…” A stern look from Lara was enough to stop her protests. “Sorry, you’re right.” She would absolutely try barehanded if it came to that. Could they blame her? Well, they didn’t know about her streak.

Therion stood up, leaving the fire to sit with them. “Fine. That’s a terrible idea, but fine. A sickle isn’t really a weapon, though.”

Lara agreed. But that’s all they had to offer. “Still better than a kitchen knife.”