Navigating the city of Stalt was an affair of instinct, both in the way to go and to whom one should ask for directions. Optimally one walks in a direction that feels right and stumbles upon a well-versed local who specializes in where everything is and can tell a unique yet poignant story for even the most overlooked of places. In the worst-case scenario, the wandering wayman might call to a confident warrior with green hair and three swords, thinking that anyone so manly would surely know which way to go.
Jasson found extreme anxiety in asking random people for directions, so he tried to find the most approachable people to do so. These were largely sweet old ladies, who would indulge in a tale while giving nostalgia-filled directions to the baker on Cogswick who they swore was a freshly born baby only yesterday.
So it was that Jasson arrived at the front door of the baker on Cogswick, whose loaves were cooling beautifully in the morning sun. As Jasson watched, a man in a flour-dusted apron emerged from the back with a steaming pie and slid it onto his display shelf. Jasson's stomach rumbled, but not in hunger. Petra's cooking sat in his stomach like a greasy Atlas Stone, and the sight of even more food nauseated him.
"Excuse me," Jasson said as he held out the quest flyer towards the baker, "I'm looking for the Harrisons?"
"Eh," The baker coughed to the side and a plume of flour spewed forth, "Oh. Right next door but around the other side."
"Okay," Jasson said, watching the man wave away the cloud, "Umm...What?"
The baker slapped his hands together, spraying flour onto Jasson as he said "In the back. They're my backdoor neighbors. So go all the way around the block."
Jasson nodded and backed away before the flour-fog could engulf him. He rounded the block and tried to count the houses in an attempt to find the Harrisons. Every house looked the same, built wall to wall like some kind of medieval condominium complex. Jasson was about to ask for directions again when a kid ran up to him.
"Hey mister," the boy said, "Are you here for our quest? Mama said to look out for an adventurer. Said that they'd look weird."
The boy couldn't be more than ten, and Jasson briefly wondered why the boy wasn't in school. Then Jasson remembered what the troublemaker this morning had said. That there wasn't an education system in Stalt, and so no school for the beaming boy.
"I got this quest," Jasson held out the paper and said, "Recognize it?"
"Yeah!" the boy said, pointing at the paper, "That's our name! Harrisons."
Jasson nodded and said "Your mom told you to keep watch then? What's your name?"
"Ethan," The boy said, straining to stand taller, "It's nice to meet you, mister. Mama said to come on in. Also that she's making lunch after you finish and said you're welcome to eat with us."
"Oh?" Jasson said, "That's great th-"
"Hey, hey," The boy said, bouncing down the road, "You're an adventurer right? Have you killed anyone?"
"Nope," Jasson said, following the boy, "this is my second quest actually."
"What?" the boy stopped bouncing, "Aww...I was hoping for someone cool."
Jasson smiled as he followed the boy and thought. Yeah. I should be able to finish this. No problem.
****
An hour later and Jasson was back in the guild, burning with shame and cold fear as he tried to return the 'easy' quest. He fumbled with the tack, balancing it against the paper as he tried to pin the quest back up. Pushing, Jasson tried to force the pin through the quest but it was like the paper was made of steel. There was some kind of magic keeping him from putting it back up. Jasson could feel the eyes of Grog on him as an attendant left her desk and hurried up to Jasson.
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The Smartphone Saga: A Distracted Journey of Spells and Signals
FantasyTruck-kun fell from the sky. It was a terrible accident involving several casualties who found eternal rest. Unfortunately for Jasson Boar, a normal modern teenager, death was just the beginning of his problems. After a brief conversation with Kami...
