First Quest Complete!

Asterion was sure they’d been collecting berries for at least an hour, but it still didn’t feel like enough. There were certainly enough berries; he’d filled three baskets on his own, not even counting what Daffodil had gathered. He just didn’t want to head back to civilization. Right now Asterion was in a safe liminal space where he didn’t have to talk to anyone or deal with anything. On the walk back to Caspia he’d have to talk to Daffodil, and then when they got back to the city they’d need to plan their next move.

Finally Asterion decided he couldn’t push off the inevitable any longer. He stored his final basket in his inventory, stood up, and brushed the dirt off his pants. His knees ached after kneeling on uneven ground for so long, but he didn’t let it show as he plastered on a fake smile and cheerily said, “I’m sure this is enough. Let’s head back.”

Daffodil nodded and placed his baskets in his inventory as well, and the two started the long walk back to the heart of Caspia. They walked in complete silence, and Asterion could feel it like a second skin clinging to him. Daffodil didn’t seem to mind much; Asterion knew he was more comfortable with silence than mindless chatter. Asterion didn’t feel the same way. As the quiet stretched on, his discomfort grew. In Asterion’s experience, someone not talking to him meant they silently wished they could be anywhere else than with him. When he filled that void with an endless stream of words, he was able to assuage the fears, but now he couldn’t manage to do so. Now that the Wild Beasts were gone, the forest was peaceful. Breaking the soft natter of nature felt like a crime, especially if it wiped the serene expression from Daffodil’s face.

The walk back to Caspia took significantly less time now that they weren’t aimlessly wandering around in search of their destination, so Asterion and Daffodil reached the outskirts of the city in an hour. Since Asterion knew the city like the back of his hand, he led them to the alley without complication. Luckily, the shady NPC was still there.

“We cleared out the monster nest. Here’s your berries,” Asterion said curtly. Normally he would be nicer to his quest giver, but he still felt off-kilter and couldn’t bring himself to go through pleasantries. Both he and Daffodil summoned the berries from their inventories and handed them to the man. He made a show of inspecting them, although Asterion suspected he’d have no clue if they had actually tried to trick him.

After a few moments of rifling through each basket, the man said, “Looks like everything’s in order. Here’s your map.”

An icon appeared in the corner of Asterion’s vision showing that he’d successfully completed the quest. His level bar appeared briefly but the EXP he’d received barely made a dent in it. He didn’t see the map appear in his inventory, but he supposed Daffodil was technically the leader for the quest since he shook hands with the man. Sure enough, Daffodil made a noise of affirmation, confirming that he’d received the map.

“We’ll be on our way,” Daffodil said, grabbing Asterion’s hand and practically dragging him out of the alley. He didn’t take the map out of his inventory, which Asterion suspected meant he didn’t want to open it until they were completely removed from any prying eyes.

Daffodil led Asterion all the way to the outskirts of the city and away from any major entry points, holding onto his hand the entire time. Asterion noted that he didn’t dislike the prolonged contact.

Daffodil looked back and forth before seeming to decide that the coast was clear. He finally let go of Asterion’s hand to open his menu, and Asterion found himself mourning the loss of contact as his hand grew cool. Daffodil summoned the map, unfolded it, and flattened it on the ground so they could both look at it.

The map was weathered and the edges were torn in several places, but the ink hadn’t faded that much so it was still easy to read. It looked like the standard map Asterion was used to checking when he played WanderQuest and at first he thought they’d been scammed. It took a few minutes for him to find what he was looking for: a small black circle around the city of Sarina. Next to it were the words “Well of Knowledge??”, clearly handwritten but in a font that matched the rest of the map so perfectly he wouldn’t have realized it was a later addition if not for the tiny ink splotches where someone had hesitated too long before touching quill to page. The question marks made Asterion a little wary, but this was the best lead they had so he was just going to have to trust whoever had edited this map.

“Looks like we need to head to Sarina,” Asterion said as he pointed at the circle in case Daffodil hadn’t spotted it yet. Daffodil’s gaze was drawn to where he pointed.

“That’s the other side of the continent,” Daffodil said, clearly biting back a groan.

Asterion nodded, silently agreeing with Daffodil’s complaint. “It’s not ideal,” he said, already planning out a travel route in his head, “but it’s still our best shot at taking down the Demon Lord. Usually, it would take a player maybe six hours to walk to Sarina from here. It’s already three in the afternoon, so we won’t be able to make it there before dark. I think we should start walking today and then when the sun starts to set we can make camp and do the rest tomorrow.”

Daffodil clearly didn’t look happy about camping in the middle of the woods so Asterion added, “I know you’re worried about monster attacks, but I’ll be there to protect you. It’s better than risking getting stuck in a cut scene in a town.”

Daffodil still looked uncertain but the worried look in his eyes disappeared a little. With a certainty that was probably only a little forced, he said, “Alright. That sounds like our best bet. But we need to get some supplies before we go. I don’t have any real camping or fighting gear, and it’d be good if we stocked up on rations. I don’t know what kind of food we’ll find in the wilderness.”