Fetch Quest

Collect 30 Gooseberries

"You don't have any spells to find a gooseberry bush do you?" Lang asked.

"If I did, I would have used it an hour ago! I thought you were supposed to be good with plants, what with your alchemical ingredients and whatnot!" Azazel complained, "Can we just go back to town and buy some gooseberries?"

"We could, my dear Azazel, but you forget one thing," Lang held up a finger, "We are very cheap." That earned him a kick in the shin.

"Oh come on! How much would thirty berries cost?" she yelled, "Besides, my back hurts and my hands itch!"

"That's just the feeling of adventure," Lang chastised from his place on the ground where he was rubbing his leg, "We can't take the easy way out even if it would be faster and, oof, less painful."

"You're an idiot!"

"An idiot who found some gooseberries!" Lang said as a grin broke out on his face. He pointed to a large bush. Underneath of it was a shrub upon which grew a multitude of shiny green berries.

"You only saw those because you bent down after I kicked you," Azazel crossed her arms, "So really, I found them."

"Ah, but if I hadn't made a comment to anger you, I would never have been assaulted," Lang countered, "So in the end, I found the berries."

"It's not a contest," the woman shook her head, hiding a smile.

"You're quite right, perhaps we should just find another bush," Lang agreed.

"C'mon, we have to pick them," Azazel playfully nudged her companion as she crouched down to get at the small plant. With the two of them working at it, picking thirty berries went by in no time. When they both had fifteen, the two stood up again. Azazel handed over her collection and Lang put them all in a small leather pouch.

"There's more on the bush. Do you think she'd pay us more if we picked more?"

Lang shook his head, "People are very particular about their requests. When they give you a number, that's what they want. No more, no less."

"Oh," the woman said with a confused expression. Lang bent down and plucked a few more berries. He popped one into his mouth and smiled, "These aren't bad." The man tossed one to Azazel and she caught it between her teeth. Lang clapped and the woman bowed before biting into the berry.

"Ack!" she coughed and spit it out, "That's sour!"

"I suppose so," Lang said as he ate another one and started walking back to town, "But on the scale of sourness, these are pretty mild."

"Regardless, I think I'll stick to apples and strawberries," Azazel responded as she fell into stride beside him, "Sweet things are far superior to your gooseberries."

"I'll keep that in mind," the man winked.

Back at the bakery, Lang handed the bag of berries to the woman. She took them and carefully counted them before thanking the duo and handing over a single silver coin.

"Actually, could I use that coin to buy an apple pie?" Lang asked before Azazel could take the currency. The baker smiled and nodded. She took a pie that was cooling by the window and presented it to the man. Lang accepted it with a word of thanks and handed the change of seventy copper to Azazel. Upon exiting the shop, Lang gestured for his companion to sit on a stump outside.

"Your pie, my lady," he said, getting down on one knee in order to present the dessert to Azazel, "As sweet and savory as you are."

The raven-haired woman stared at him in surprise as her face became a deep scarlet. After she didn't take the dish from him, Lang sat down next to her and began to deftly cut it with his dagger. He carefully lifted a slice and placed it in her hands.

"It's holding together pretty well but I'd still be careful," he said as he got a slice for himself.

"I thought we were really cheap," Azazel mumbled, her cheeks still glowing.

"I saw this as a necessary expense," Lang replied. The woman took a bite of her pie, finding it difficult to participate in the banter any longer. The two ate in happy silence as the sun began to set. After finishing the pie, the two found the only inn in the village. They each paid for a room but Azazel stayed in Lang's to talk for a while.

"Are we going to go to the fort tomorrow?" Azazel asked, "I really think we should."

"Do you know what the phrase 'clearing an area' means?" Lang asked, not even acknowledging her question. Azazel sat up from where she had been laying on the bed.

"Um, you used it once," the woman racked her brain, "Oh, after we killed all of the cult members in those ruins near Vasili. You said we cleared the area."

"Indeed," Lang nodded, "This phrase can be used for dungeons as well as towns, regions, or even worlds."

"Worlds?!" Azazel exclaimed.

"That's beside the point," Lang waved his hand to calm the woman, "One clears an area once they have completed every quest available, discovered every location, and found all of the collectibles."

"Collectibles?"

"Yeah, I think it's a dumb mechanic too, but what can you do," Lang shrugged.

"No, I mean, what are they?" the woman clarified.

The man reached into the satchel resting atop the table and withdrew a shiny purple stone about the size of a marble, "There's a bunch of these gems scattered bloody everywhere around the world. I am supposed to find them all."

"Why?"

"Because our lord and savior David Amos told me too."

"Oh right, the God you worship which no one has ever heard of," Azazel rolled her eyes.

"Don't blaspheme the great developer!" Lang huffed, "He created you after all."

"Uh huh, sure."

"Anyways, to clear an area you have to remember questing, exploring, and collecting," Lang continued, "Once you do that, you get cool rewards."

"Wait, why are you telling me all this?" Azazel asked, suddenly suspicious.

"We're going to clear this area!" Lang declared, but upon seeing his companion's glare he continued, "I mean think about it, we've already made some headway with the two quests we've done."

"But the fort! The skeleton army!" Azazel shouted.

"They'll be fine!" Lang replied, "Try to remember all the time sensitive quests we've done in the past, have we ever been late to anything important?"

"That's because it's always the priority!"

"Not so! Remember when we got tied up with those mercenaries in Derkin? Took us almost a month to get out of that mess," Lang interjected, "And what do you know? When we arrived at the castle it turned out the coronation had been pushed back for just long enough that we didn't miss it."

"Okay, that was a little... convenient," Azazel conceded, starting to feel uncertain.

"I know it doesn't make sense, but I can personally guarantee that the fort will not be attacked until we get there," Lang said.

"But you don't know that! What if this doesn't conform to your preconceived notions about the passage of time!"

"Okay, how about this. We can experiment," Lang proposed, "Tomorrow we shall find some quest that is in urgent need of completion. After accepting it, we'll go somewhere and do something else. If we return and something bad has occurred because we took too long, I will go directly to the fort."

"Fine, but I get to pick the quest," Azazel decided.

"You're on," Lang gave her a confident smile, "You might want to look at some real estate because we'll be staying in this village for a while."

"And you should look at horse prices so we can get to that fort as fast as possible."

"Sleep well, my angel," Lang winked, "The victor will be decided tomorrow."

"Indeed, my hero," Azazel mimicking his eccentricity.