Day 1

Effie

It is said that on the first day, Padarak was discovered by King Leo and his retinue of two. The perfect place to establish a kingdom - it is said that this was a gift from King Leo's father, King Epitav. Padarak became a new home for our people. The king (um, Leo, not Epitav) used his powers - fuelled by legendary magic stuff elementite - to create houses for some of our people.

That's what's said, anyway. To be honest, I didn't really check out what was going on until Day 2. Not sure why you're asking me, really.

Ooh! You should talk to Arnold. He's a friend of a friend, and the king named him adventurer. Yeah.

I suppose this has been a prologue.

Day 2

Arnold

Oh, dear! Look, it's not that I don't appreciate being the king's chosen adventurer and all that, but I assumed Reginald would volunteer too. Either we'd both go adventuring together, or the king would choose Reginald alone. He's a lush fighter, Reginald is. I didn't expect this.

Okay, so I'm a bit scared and a bit lonely, so that probably makes me a bit of a rubbish adventurer. But I did it properly.

The king needed elementite, which is a thing, apparently. I went off to Pallum Dei Caverns. I think "Pallum Dei" means "really confusing" in foreign.

Could've been worse. It wasn't dark, and almost all the monsters there were Mu. Mus. More than one Mu. Their name makes them sound like cows, but they're actually rodents. I chopped them all up with my sword. Can't say it felt that heroic, to be honest, but monsters is monsters I suppose.

Now. I did see something frightening, and stayed well away - a Worm! That's a Worm with a capital W, not an earthworm. A proper monster! I was telling Reginald about it when I got back, and it turns out the one I saw was just a wee one. Not impressed - it looked huge to me.

Still, I was back by midday, and spent the afternoon writing a report about my adventure. Much more like it. I can do reports.

Oh, and it shouldn't be so bad from now on, as the king hired a new adventurer when I got back. Not Reginald, sadly - his weird friend Effie. Bet she'll be better at it than me. She looks like she'd be good at killing.

I count as a "level 2" warrior now. Numbers!

Day 3

Effie

Today came the day that the king asked his adventurers (there's, um, two of us) to kill the Wee Worm in Pallum Dei Caverns. It's the boss, apparently. Never understood that word. Boss boss boss. Oh, okay, it's lost all meaning for me now.

Arnold - that's the other adventurer - was at the caverns too, training up. I was a bit cross he had a head start, but after an hour's fighting, we both came to the Fountain of Restoration at the same time. Oh, I should explain that - it's this enchanted spring at ... hang on, it's self-explanatory, isn't it? Sorry about that.

"Are you really going to take on the Worm?" asked Arnold.

"Of course," I said. "I'm an adventurer. The king asked one of us to do it, so I'm going to do it."

"Do you really think we can?"

"Arnold," I said. "The king made the decision, and the king's decision is infallible. If he thinks we can take on the Wee Worm, then we can. That's basic kinging, that is."

"I think the king is wrong."

"The king can't be wrong."

To prove my point, I went and killed the Wee Worm. Not the easiest fight, but y'know. I took care of things.

When I got back, the king had built a bakery. You see? Good kingly decisions.

Day 4

Arnold

New dungeon, new challenges - today, the king sent us to Kubito Grotto. How can Effie be so confident? She's doing better than me, and I'm a level ahead of her (I hit level 3 today, she hit level 2). Surely levels are meant to mean how good we are at being warriors and stuff? She got a medal for beating the Wee Worm. She's welcome to it.

We didn't have long to compare notes today, but we passed each other in the grotto (which was far nicer than I expected - not nearly as dark as it sounded).

"I've killed two Bitsy Bats," she said.

"Me too," I said. "I found a bunch of elementite too."

"Yup, likewise," she said. She seemed irked, but I don't see what she's got to be annoyed about - I've got a head start, and she's racing ahead!

Adventuring isn't the only thing we're having to share. There's just the three families living here now - me and mum, Effie and her dad, and Reginald and his mother. I've hardly had any time with Reginald, since he's always with Effie.

That might change soon - Sophia and Nicholas have moved in. Sophia and Effie were best mates back home. Nicholas will want to be an adventurer for sure. I'm not sure why the king's not hired Reginald yet - he goes to the castle every morning to try his luck.

Day 5

Effie

Another day, another boss. This time, the boss of Kubito Grotto - Small Scorpion. Arnold didn't even come to the grotto - he went back to the caverns to train.

Reginald talked to me about it yesterday.

"You're giving Arnold an inferiority complex," he said.

"He's on level 3!" I said. "I'm on level 2! We wear those numbers on our sleeves. And I'm making him feel bad?"

"I'm not saying you need to do anything," said Reginald. "But you've been moaning about him, and I just wanted you to know, he's not a threat. I know you want to be the super best warrior or whatever."

"Oh, please. I just like the quests. I don't need to be the best."

"Just remember that some of us don't get to go on those quests at all."

Okay, I suppose I deserved that. I'd feel like the most terrible loser if I kept going up to the castle and kept being rejected.

"Anyway, as you should realise, the king's committed to building more and more houses. It won't be just the three of us for very long. You don't need to be negging Arnold or whatever to make yourself feel better. One day, you'll have serious competition."

It's a good thing Sophia's moved back in. Reginald's being a real buzzkill.

Mind you, Nicholas's friend Tabatha has moved in, as has her mate Almos. So Reginald did have a point. They were all at the castle when I got back from Kubito Grotto - I think one of them's already been picked as a new adventurer.

Oh, I beat the Small Scorpion, by the way. Naturally. Got a medal from the king and everything. And I'm on level 3 now. Super best warrior.

Day 6

Tabatha

Let's be clear about this: I'm not a terrible fighter, and I can earn money doing it. I don't want to become my dad, living from day to boring day, going to the bakery every day for the conversation (for the CONVERSATION!). I don't need a mountain of treasure - just enough money for a big house, in a nice part of town.

Not that there are any nice parts of town yet. Barely anyone living here. Still, off I went with Nicholas and Almos, and I got picked immediately! Nicholas said he's been here a few days - and Reginald's been here all week - so it's a big deal to be chosen so quickly. Strange, though. Nicholas is a great fighter. Why's he being overlooked?

I've got my work cut out for me - the king's got two warriors already. Arnold took the day off today, but Effie came with me to Kubito Grotto for training. Full of Bitsy Bats. I killed two - Effie killed six! She's really driven. Fine. Leave her to it. She can take all the risks, I'll be back here like the sensible Clavat I am, taking care of what I can handle. Mind you, they opened up a weapon shop today, so that'll be a big help.

But you don't care about this. You want to know the big news - and there is big news. At the grotto, while Effie was killing all the bats, I spent some time finding my feet. And nearby, I saw a hoard of goblins. More than I've ever seen before. The miasma's gone from the world - we should be safe from monsters now. How can they be organising themselves? Something's going on. I don't like it.

Day 7

Arnold

Disturbing news yesterday - the new warrior, Tabatha, reported a goblin uprising. I wasn't happy, but Reginald took me to task for it.

"The king's paying you to defend Padarak," he said. "So you do everything you can to do just that."

"I can't take on goblins!" I said.

"Yes you can," said Reginald. "Go now. Buy a sword, and go and check out their den."

And you know what? I did. I actually did. The sword made me feel much braver, I have to admit. But I went to the Goblins' Den, and I killed two goblins, and ... okay, so I didn't take on the Goblin Boss, but that wasn't cowardice. It was strategic. No, it was! Honestly, I'm not just saying that. We'll need to prepare ourselves for the Goblin Boss.