Day 22
Effie
We're progressing well, but the king is short of elementite.
I'm getting used to being part of a team. When Sian reported her victory against the Wolf of Polpus Mistmoor, I was fine with it. Good for her. There's still plenty of work to do.
Today, after getting some chainmail from Elbert's new Armour Shop, I headed for Terun Westway. It's a pretty straightforward path - open land, nothing too difficult - but it needs exploring. Time was, I'd have resented anyone else stealing my thunder. But today, Natasha came along, and it was nice to feel like part of something bigger.
I suppose we're all the king's chosen subjects. I said this to Natasha. She didn't really respond with the enthusiasm I'd hoped for, but that's fine. It'd be a funny old world if we were all alike.
We got a lot of work done. Mapped out the area nicely, and made note of the boss's location. A Worm. Reminds me of my first boss. Boss boss boss. Still just a nonsense word to me.
Day 23
Tabatha
Today, we headed out in two teams, determined to make Terun Westway safe for us to cross.
Effie and I went exploring. The other team would follow and take care of the Worm boss. It impressed me that Effie was happy to come exploring with me - I didn't expect her to accept less than the head of the boss hunters.
"Tabatha," she said today. "You're loyal to the king, aren't you?"
"I suppose so!" I replied, taken aback by the question.
"You suppose?"
"Well, yes," I said. "I am loyal to the king, yes."
"Alright."
She didn't bring it up again. Very strange.
We split up, taking care of plenty of Mus and - oh, do be quiet, I know, I know. Splitting up can be a stupid idea. Well, we both survived, and we both killed loads of monsters. So that shows how much you know.
Natasha
With the Westway mapped out by the first pair, Sian and I were charged with hunting down the boss.
I levelled up as I fought my way through the area. It was good to know I had a competent warrior like Sian as backup.
"I talked to Arnold yesterday," she said at one point. "Things are better between us now."
"Now that you are allies?" I asked.
"Maybe," said Sian.
I was disappointed. I assumed her only loyalty was to the campaign now. Still. There's plenty of time.
"You don't do love stuff, do you?" asked Sian alarmingly.
"No interest," I said stiffly. I won't let her put those thoughts in my head. Romance is for the commoners.
I made my excuses at that point, and it wasn't long before I found the Worm itself. I was victorious, needless to say. Sian arrived on the scene shortly afterwards. She wasn't envious of my kill, which won her my favour again. Too much pride can be damaging.
Day 24
Tabatha
With the Worm of Terun Westway dead, I spent the day mapping out the last of it. It was that or start exploring the Auris Swordpath, and I chose the safest option.
A bit boring, to be honest. Mind you, I kept the head of a Mu I killed. Tempted to hide it in Almos's bed. Distract him and stop him tailing me everywhere.
Sian
I went with Effie today to explore the Auris Swordpath. I was thinking it'd be a bit like the Westway - a handy road, some monsters to take out, simple enough. But it's a nightmare! We kept getting lost, couldn't work out where we were going. Didn't fight any monsters - didn't even find any. Very disappointing day.
Effie's good company, though. She really loves fighting. As we headed back, she shared some of her adventures. We had a really lovely time.
Day 25
Arnold
The perfect quest today. The king wants information about the Auris Swordpath, so I genuinely spent the day knocking on people's doors, asking if they knew anything useful. Got some good info, and a woman named Mary tipped me 10 gil! That'll come in handy for kit. She invited me in for lunch, but her son Almos was there, and last week he cornered me to talk about Tabatha. Super creepy. Won't go near.
Tabatha
The king built this park recently, just for adventurers. I've been chilling there, it's been lovely. I need to get out of the house - my dad's driving me up the wall. He's been trying to get me a job at the armour shop! Dad, I've GOT A JOB. And even if I didn't, as if I'd want to work with armour. It'd be swords or nothing for me.
I was planning to head for Auris Swordpath today, but after Sian and Effie had a rotten time yesterday, I just went to Terun Westway for experience. Prepare myself.
Day 26
Natasha
We still don't have enough information on Auris Swordpath, so Arnold, Sian and I spent the day going around the houses again, finding every last scrap of information on the place.
We found enough to come up with a plan of attack, at least. Sian and Arnold stuck together a lot, which annoyed me. It was like a jolly day out for them. Sian especially should know better.
Effie
I took a risk today, and headed for Auris Swordpath. It's no good planning from home - we need to have a look at this place.
Made a bit of progress. Fought a Worm, which is more than I'd have done going door to door like a little kid. But blimey, it's slow going. It's just enormous, this place - and it's only meant to be a route. I dread to think what's on the other side of this place.
Day 27
Sian
A good day yesterday, finally working together with Arnold, so he, Natasha and I headed for Auris Swordpath itself today. We had a really great day. We'd decided in advance where we'd be mapping, and we killed a whole bunch of Worms, found a huge amount of elementite, and Arnold found out where the boss is hiding. It's a Dire Wolf.
"We will fight it tomorrow," said Natasha.
"Sound good!" I said.
We looked to Arnold.
"Yeah," he said. "Sounds good to me too."
"Really?" asked Natasha, clearly unconvinced.
"Yes, really," said Arnold. He didn't sound annoyed. He understood. "Let's do it. Whoever kills the Dire Wolf, the other two has to do their chores for a week. Agreed?"
"Too good to be true," said Natasha. "I'm in."
"Me too," I said.
I'm glad Arnold's throwing himself into things a bit more. I'm secretly hoping he wins this bet.
Effie
The Swordpath is more hassle than it's worth. Thankfully, the king finally issued a behest to go beyond the Goblins' Den and see if there's another way to go beyond there. I headed there today, and found Dolsam Gulch. It's dark and rocky, but it's much more straightforward than the Swordpath.
I went over Benjamin's when I got back. I've been helping him polish his royal memorabilia plates.
"I'm glad he's finally seeing sense," I said.
"Do you mean King Leo?" asked Benjamin.
"Oh, well, you know what I mean," I said. "He knows best, of course. Yeah. I'm sure the Swordpath is important."
"He's put all his resources into exploring the Swordpath," said Benjamin. "You shouldn't be so eagre to go against his wishes."
"He did say I could go to the gulch," I muttered, but I think he might be right. I shouldn't question a king's wishes.
I will explore the Swordpath tomorrow.
Day 28
Tabatha
Effie and I explored the Swordpath today. Not much left to do, but it still had some surprises. I was attacked by an Orc. Nothing I couldn't handle, but a bit of a shock nonetheless.
These monsters seem so organised. These can't be random attacks. They're too logical, not random enough.
Arnold
Natasha, Sian and I headed for the Swordpath, each of us determined to be the one to take down the Dire Wolf.
We headed through the Pallum Dei Caverns, passed Terun Westway as quickly as we could, and took advantage of every shortcut we knew once we got to Auris Swordpath itself. We hacked our way through Worms aplenty. Now that we know our way around, we're having much more fun with it - we kept seeing each other around, and I saw Tabatha and Effie a couple of times.
I was the first to reach the Dire Wolf. It put up a good fight. Not good enough.
I've killed a boss! I feel like I could kill a dozen Dire Wolves today. Natasha and Sian are grumpily honouring our bet, so I've got a week off chores.
Back home, I told Lulu what I'd managed to do. She was happy for me, but I'd been hoping she'd finally open up. Does she still have feelings for me? We left things so open-ended. If she doesn't say anything soon, I'm going to have to.
Although to be honest, I'd sooner fight that Dire Wolf again.