15 – New Dawn

As she watched the morning sun rise above the sea from the top of a cliff, Alexandra wondered how far she would go to keep her streak alive. So far, she’d done everything the journal asked of her.

Would she jump off a cliff like a good little sheep if it told her to? Turns out, the answer to that question was yes.

Quest Journal

Daily Reset: 06:00 | Streak: 3 Days | 0% All Stats

Next Milestone: 10 Days

Daily Quests:

• Dive from a height of at least 20 meters (0/1)

She looked down at the waves crashing below, and shook her head. She’d do it, but not here. It was too high, and she needed a way to climb back up. With that in mind, she started making her way back west.

While she hadn’t spotted a good diving spot yesterday, she hadn’t been looking for one. This time, it only took her an hour to reach something worth a deeper look.

The cliff was low. Lower than everywhere else, at least. It was still above twenty meters high, she thought, though she couldn’t be sure.

Down below, the waves were hitting the shore a bit too strongly for her taste. Alexandra knew how to swim, so she knew how dangerous it could get. No place would be completely safe, but this was as good as she’d find.

Here, there was a beach she could reach after her dive, the cliff looked climbable. Might as well give it a go.

Methodically, she took off her clothes, wincing as she noticed that in some places the fabric was glued to her skin by blood and remnants of the plant monster’s secretions.

She looked down again. The water seemed cold.

Her parched throat tightened, reminding her that she hadn’t drunk since the day before. At least, her stomach had handled the raw Aetherveil fine enough. It wasn’t enough to feel well fed, but it helped.

Dancing on her feet as they struck the hard, painful rocks of the clifftop, Alexandra was building up the courage to jump. She threw a rock from her selected diving point. It fell neatly in the water.

She should go now.

Just get this over with.

Alexandra closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stopped listening to her preservation instincts. She just needed to jump, gravity would do the rest.

So she did.

She didn’t have time to regret it. One moment she was flying in the air, the next her feet touched water, her body soon engulfed by the waves. She swam to the surface, wiped her eyes.

The water was indeed cold.

It took longer than expected to reach the beach. When she dragged herself ashore, she was shivering. The wind blew on her back, whipping sand and salt on her skin. At least, she would be dry soon.

From below, the cliffs looked even taller.

Dive from a height of at least 20 meters (1/1) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 DEX, Skill Quest Unlocked: Diving.

Daily Quest Streak: 3 -> 4

She didn’t bother checking the skill quest for Diving, dispelling her journal as soon as she confirmed her quest was complete. She smiled.

Done and dusted. A good start to the day.

When she was dry enough, Alexandra walked toward the section of the cliff she’d identified as the easiest to climb. At the very end of the beach, it was less steep than the rest, and made up of a heap of collapsed boulders. In a few minutes, she was back at the top.

She put her clothes back on, ignoring the itching sensation from the salt.

It was time to return to Lanterne, and hopefully find something to eat and drink on the way. She briefly considered running there, to get started on the skill quest for Running, but decided otherwise. She wasn’t ready to run a hundred kilometers today. Especially not on an empty stomach.

The journey was uneventful, if longer than the time it took her to come out there. Having to make sure she was going in the right direction delayed her more than she’d like. Furthermore, she had to avoid several groups of goblins, and two clusters of the sweet orange flowers she now knew hid plant monsters underneath.

It was a blessing in disguise, as the detour allowed her to find a small stream that she used to fill her gourd. Combined with the regular wild Aetherveil, it was enough not to starve.

The sun had long gotten in front of her when she spotted Lanterne in the distance.

She was already salivating from the bowl of soup that was no doubt waiting for her. She moved faster. The smoke rising from the chimneys called to her. With the sun already low, they were probably already winding down for the day.

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The pain in her feet, legs, and everywhere almost subsided. She wanted to run, but her body protested.

A few minutes later, she reached Therion and Lara’s house. She knocked on the door, waited. No answer. Her hosts were not in their field. She knocked again.

Still nothing.

Shrugging, she tried pushing the door open. It worked. She stepped inside. “Lara?”

A steaming bowl of soup was placed on the table. “Therion?”

She moved closer. “Hello?”

Alexandra sat, and brought the bowl to her lips. She froze. Bitter. So bitter.

Her hand wanted to drift to her sickle. But it couldn’t move.

The illusion fell apart.

The house morphed into a mass of green and brown moss, the chair into roots coiled tight around her body, blocking any movement.