2 | Sunny-day Sleepies

In this story, you are Ebi, a bright-eyed strygi beginning their adventuring journey!

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"Thank you for your help, young one! Enjoy your adventure!"

— Parting words from Nana Liliwen

With a stomach full of pumpkin pie and a heart brimming with love, you departed Lilipond Acres with a bounce in your step. The road to Iverra called and, with one little side quest under your belt, you were fired up and ready to answer! You took to the path bristling with excitement, each footstep propelling you forward with haste — but the afternoon sun was high overhead, its rays so warm and comforting. Around you, the grasses and grains swayed gently in the soft breeze which rolled over the hills and, before long, you felt yourself matching that motion as the sunlight warmed your face.

Your gram-nana always warned you about the dangers of a full belly on a sunny day. "Be careful, egglet, eating so much today!" Gram-nana cooed gently, as a fledgling Ebi scarfed down yet another plate of food. "You catch a single sunbeam, and you'll be out like a light!" You laughed, back then, fueled by the wellspring of energy that came with your childish youth — and that delicious cooking — but, as you now toddled and waddled in your pie-filled state down the path, suddenly the soft, sunlit patches of grass called your name.

In but a few short steps out of the gate, you knew: you had a case of the sunny-day sleepies.
Condition Gained: Sunny-day Sleepies

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Even in the face of your sudden exhaustion, you valiantly pressed on, determined to continue down the road, but with each step forward your eyes grew heavier and your steps fell in less regular patterns. You finally caught on that you were beyond sleepy; this was something far more powerful. Shaking your head and patting your feathered cheeks only did so much to keep you alert after the first few tries.

Against your better judgment, you teetered off the path, placed your pouch down on the ground, and laid between the gnarled roots of an old oak tree, in the warm caress of the afternoon sun filtering through the leaves above.

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"You did it! You have the relic!"

You found yourself once again with the relic in hand, stood atop the precarious stone pedestal it once rested in. You got yourself here, but how do you get yourself out again?

As the enemies advanced, you raised your wings in anticipation, preparing to take off at any moment. Flight wasn't one of your strong suits quite yet; the birds of the wild certainly had the upper hand in this skill, as opposed to your more humanoid frame, but you were prepared to try nevertheless.

"Ebi, no!" Ymeta's cry rang out with the force of a cathedral bell. In that moment, divine inspiration rose within you, unlike any you'd experienced from the cleric before. Effect Gained: Mysterious Blessing.

You caught a glimpse of your party, still fighting on the platform you had left behind you in the great chase for the artifact now resting in your hand. Their eyes were locked onto you, their faces stuck in expressions of apprehension and wonder. As the enemies descended upon you, it was clear that they were holding their breath, awaiting your next move. "How are you getting out of this, Ebi?"

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Getting out? The world around you began to sway, and the temple scene melted away into the warm, sunny day you remembered — but the swaying continued even as you opened your eyes from your naptime dreaming. You laid there for a moment, blinking in the rays of light that filtered through the leaves above you. At this point, you had barely processed the fact that you were even awake again, only the fact that you were so incredibly cozy, which was a little bit odd, considering you'd fallen asleep against a gnarly bundle of tree roots.

With a great yawn, you stretched your legs and your wings — and nearly fell over, as the ground below you was not nearly as solid as you remembered. In fact, you weren't even sure there was ground beneath you at all! With a panicked start, your cozy lounging quickly turned into a scramble as you fought to get yourself upright in what now felt like a tightly-woven coccoon. Did a giant tree spider come down and take me away while I was sleeping? Is my adventure already over?

Your laments were mostly internal, though your labored grunts were certainly not — and they were met with a quiet, confused voice.

"Are you okay? Did you get stuck?" Hearing a voice made you pause, leaving you to gently sway in your coccoon for a moment before clarity allowed you to see the sky truly was above you, and that you weren't trapped in some spider-web trap. Slowly, you pulled yourself up by the edge of your supposed coccoon to see what was really going on around you.

The Path to Adventure - A Sunny Start by Strixxline

The scene around you was exactly as you remembered it; the trees around you blowing in the light breeze, the farmlands still behind you, beyond the little path you took to your nap spot. What did change, however, was that now you had company! Sitting against a tree on the opposite side of the path was a lone khiroph, hard at work, weaving, pulling material from a basket of grasses at his side. He looked at you, with some concern, but his nimble hands kept working away at his project without missing a beat.

A khiroph? You looked on with some wonder, no doubt the bewilderment reading plain in your wide-eyed stare. You knew a few khirophs yourself, but they all lived back home, where they were pretty common. Brightfield didn't seem like the typical place you would expect to encounter one, but you figured that the anseni at Lilipond Acres might have been just as surprised to see a strygi at their doorstep.

"Did I scare you? Goodness, I really ought to be more mindful..." The khiroph managed a nervous little laugh, turning his gaze quickly back to his hands, but his eyes kept darting up to you and back again while awaiting your response.

"N-no! I'm not scared or anything..." You tried your best to play it cool, but as you made an attempt to smoothly emerge from what you now realized was a grasswoven hammock, your balance faltered, nearly sending you crashing to the ground. Thankfully, you didn't fall, but that might have been a more dignified outcome than hanging on for dear life from the underside of a flipped hammock — which was precisely where you now were. The khiroph couldn't help but stifle a laugh, rising rather quickly to come to your aid. I've got this handled, you thought to yourself, even as you allowed the stranger to help stabilize your rather precarious position. With a huff, you set your lower half down on the ground before releasing your grip on the hammock.

"I thought you might be comfier in a hammock than on the ground—" He began speaking, with an apologetic tone.

"It was comfy! I just thought I... woke up in a spiderweb. I thought I was spider lunch."

The khiroph laughed, seemingly at ease now that your panic had ceased. Kneeling beside you on the ground, he flashed a big, toothy smile, and extended a hand. You took his hand in yours and gave it a firm shake, as if you didn't just say something that embarrassed you terribly. "I don't imagine these lands have spiders big enough to snatch you, but I'm glad you weren't actually spider lunch. I'm Arelio, a Leafweaver! I'm on the road to Iverra, looking for work."

"I'm Ebi! I'm on the road to Iverra, too! But, I'm an adventurer!"

"Oh! An adventurer!" Arelio's eyes lit up as you said those magical words. Well, they felt pretty magical to you, anyway. "This road isn't a dangerous one, by any means, but perhaps we could make our way there together? I might not need an adventurer to fight off wandering beasts, but some company might make the last leg of this journey less taxing."

"You want me to be your travel buddy?" A giant smile crept across your face as you said those words. You may have even started bouncing a bit in your seated position, but you weren't too sure. The entire time you marched on from your home, Iverra-bound, you did it alone. Sure, the travel wasn't too intense, and the roads were fair, but you'd been out there for so long that you've become a pro at talking to yourself and daydreaming the time away. Your intense enthusiasm seemed to catch Arelio off guard, but any shock melted quickly into an excited grin. "That sounds way more fun than going alone! Let's go!"

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Together, you packed up the grasswoven hammock, which he invited you to keep, and you helped him gather some of his scattered weaving supplies as you worked as a pair to ensure the lovely patch you decided to take a rest in looked just as you had found it — aside from the you-shaped patch of smushed grass. Grasswoven Hammock added to inventory. Between the two of you there was laughter, tons of chatter, and some warm fuzzy feelings that brought you back to when you were still home, having fun with your friends. Hopefully you get to see them again soon!

"I'm still pretty sleepy..." It didn't matter how much you fought against them, or how much sleep you managed to get during your nap, the yawns just kept coming. The sun was still high and warm, so you really must not have been out for too long.

"There's not much road left to reach Iverra, but you might not get too far if you're sleepy and stumbling the whole way. Here — this might help!" Arelio propped open his bag and began digging through the contents. Some of the trinkets you caught a glimpse of reminded you of home, while still being quite foreign to you. "Ah! This, right here!"

That sure took a while! In Arelio's hands was a small tin, which he pulled open to reveal some small, marbled green morsels. They were cut up into tiny bite-size squares, and he offered for you to take one.

"What are these?" You asked the question while simultaneously popping one in your mouth without waiting for his response. Man, that really could have been anything, and you started chewing on it just like that? You really were sleepy.

"It's chewing gum! I made it myself." Tucking the tin away, he smiled as you offered some contented mms as you chewed. It was sweet, but had an odd herbal taste you weren't expecting. "Chewing on something helps keep me alert when I'm on the go, but I made this blend with brisk nettle for some extra punch. It's a great herb for energy-restoring teas, but we don't always have time for a proper brew on the road..."

"Oh! So cool!" You nodded along as he explained his creation, marveling at just how quickly it seemed to be working. Effect Gained: Energy Boost (Brisk Nettle). You pulled your pack off the ground and put your arms through the straps, ready to go on! But first, a curious quip: "Can you teach me to make these?"

"We can see about that once we reach Iverra, yes?" Not eager to press, you gave Arelio a determined nod, signaling that you were ready to move. Like you, he pulled his own belongings up onto his back and followed your lead as you returned to the farmside road that led to Iverra.

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Just as Arelio had said, the stretch of road that remained ahead of you was a short one, and having a companion at your side made it feel even shorter still. The walk onward was filled with questions — mostly from you — about life and travels, plans and goals. Towards the end of the road, he mentioned something that made you stop short and grab your map. With a huff, you searched hard for the big red circle that marked HOME and scanned the surrounding names.

"We're almost neighbors!" You beamed, thrilled to have pulled this piece of information together from your limited geographical knowledge. "Catrao is right around the corner from Nahuara on this map!"

"Oh, you're from Nahuara!" Arelio's chuckle made you second guess your assessment of the two regions' proximity, but he didn't outright deny it, so you hoped it was a sign that you weren't terribly far off. "I wouldn't call it neighborly, but I passed right through it on my route here. How small the world truly is!"

You pressed on, sharing stories and tales from the road between home and here, both of you delighted to know you've followed such a similar path the whole way. He showed you some of the baubles you'd noticed earlier, confirming that they did come from regions close to your own! This joyful exchange continued uninterrupted, until you reached your shining destination: the gates of Iverra! Location Discovered: Iverra.

"We're really here!" Looking up at the gates of the town, your big eyes got a little bit misty. This was it, the very first major stop on your grand path to adventure! You looked over to your new friend with those same misty eyes, your elation mixing powerfully with a soup of overwhelming emotions. "What do we do now?"

"Well, I came here to seek work... but I think it's time for you to seek out your next quest, adventurer!" Those words knocked you out of your emotional haze right away. That's right! I AM an adventurer! Your thoughts buzzed with the affirmation; you just needed to find your next step. "Surely you chose Iverra as your destination for a reason?"

"I heard there's a school here for brand new adventurers! I just... didn't do a whole lot of research beyond that. But I'm sure I'll find it!" You scratched your head, laughing at how absurd that sounded, now that you said it out loud. Your expression drooped a bit, as another realization hit you, and you looked back up to Arelio with sad eyes. "I guess we're splitting up now. Will we see each other again?"

"I'll be in town for a while, I imagine." He reached over and gave you a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Either way, I won't forget my 'travel buddy.' We'll catch up again soon!"

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The warm fuzzies persisted long after you watched Arelio disappear in Iverra's busy market square. As promised, he did leave you his herbal gum recipe — but you'd have to learn some new skills to put it to use, just like the pumpkin pie recipe you tucked it away with. He also reminded you: that brisk nettle boost won't last you the whole day, and you could feel it wearing off already. Effect Lost: Energy Boost (Brisk Nettle).

A local inn wasn't hard to find, and a soft bed awaited you, where you got your first night of cozy sleep since you set off on your journey. Silver Piece (x2) removed from inventory. Before drifting off to sleep, you did remember to take out your journal and record your experiences — after a long, uneventful journey, you finally completed your first two quests: a delivery AND an escort! In one day!

You wrapped up your entry with a few final scribbles:

"We defeated the sunny-day sleepies, the fiercest of foes! All it took was a nap and some bubble gum."

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Adventure Complete!

The Path to Adventure

Side quest: Sunny-Day Sleepies

Rewards

Recipe: Brisk Nettle Gum added to inventory.

Copper Piece (x15) added to inventory.

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