Chapter 118

Memory Attribute Red Ale

I couldn’t skip over Greditch city.

Heard of it. Never been there until then. It was an old city but the thatched buildings were well maintained and gave the impression that it was newly established. The roads told a different story. They were dirt paved and bore the scars of wheel ruts that looked to be centuries old.

Possibly the smallest city I’d ever been to. Only a handful of taverns, a couple of inns and a whole lot of adjacent farmland. I saw livestock and crops in the distance between every building.

I asked around for Hawkin, but there wasn’t a drop of his beer anywhere.

The folk were slow going. Took their time to think and to answer. Their pace of living was a contrast to my need for haste and I fidgeted through nearly every conversation.

Everyone knew everyone. No one knew Hawkin. Safe to say he didn’t reside in Greditch.

I quickly left the city after stocking up on a month's worth of food. Even bought a new yellow sundress I fell in love with.

The next leg of my journey would take me to the furthest rural farms before I even reached the plains. Then I’d follow the beaten path through the plains northwest to Lunstad, my final destination.

If I don’t find you there, Hawkin, then I don’t know where to look. If your monster is trouble, I’m going to have to get creative. Or simply tell Potere that I found you and the favor is complete. Then I’ll portal home.

My first day of travel was good and slow. I spent most of my time brewing Speed attribute beers and stocking them up for when I reached the plains. I read a little bit as I walked. Munched on some apples. Hydrated. Stopped every now and then for a quick break. Tried on my new dress.

The neckline was wide. The shoulder straps were thicker than I was used to. But it was linen. Comfortable and light. The color was slight and it was pattern stitched with the shape of huge sunflower petals that overlapped each other. I found it gorgeous and it delighted me. Thanks to Wex Hill, I was able to keep all my clothing clean.

Not sure how long I’ll be able to wear you, I thought, smoothing my hands down the fabric. It’s nearly autumn. I’ll soon need something warmer.

The hottest days of the year were behind me. Every day north brought me to an even cooler part of the world. The sun no longer swung so high. The late chicory had flowered. Queen Anne’s lace flowers were drying and closing up into tiny gray bird cages. The day lily’s were dying. The grasses were at their tallest and the broadleaf forests seemed a bit yellow to me. The trees would be losing their leaves soon. Trees that I left behind as I finally arrived upon the plains. It would be the longest part of my journey, but I’d prepared to turn a month's travel into just a few days.

At least I’ll have a stock of Brewer’s Portal attribute beers for each of these cities if I ever have to go on another traveling quest again. That’s one positive thing about this wild chase.

Dusk on the plains was beautiful. The heads of grass glowed a molten orange through the setting sun. An occasional firefly crossed the scene. The wind wrestled upon the grass.

I couldn’t help but want to share this with someone. So I brewed a Memory attribute beer.

In addition to my usual brewing skills, I activated Imbue Memory. I brewed 5 gallons of red ale. First I used a Salindune barley malt. Then I incorporated slightly roasted rye malt. Lastly, I threw in a few handfuls of black malt from rural Lavenfauvish. Just enough to stretch the color of the malt mixture from dark mahogany to a rusty red.

I held the fermenting wort aloft in mid-air as the sun went down and I meditated to imbue the time and place as a memory into the beer.

[Begin Memory.]

A montage of my first steps onto the plains. The expanse of tall grass. Cool on my passing fingertips. The setting sun lighting the kernels of flowering wild grains. The movement of flowers in the wind. The swaying of grass. The smell of the plains. Untamed sky of racing wisps of clouds. A sun that then melted behind the horizon. The night that deepened as the sun descended. The stars that were cold and shivered in the distance. Laying back against the grass as it rustled. The soft chirping of a million crickets. A lone firefly.

A deep longing…

[End Memory.]

[Memory Attribute Imbued.]

I finished fermenting the beer, brought it down to a cool temperature and bottled it in thirty, 750ml bottles. It felt like I’d added the weight of an extra pair of shoes to my inventory. Nothing I couldn't handle.

When I corked the last beer and organized the bottles into my inventory, I lay back to lose myself in the stars and occasional comet. I considered the memory I just made.

A deep longing… Where did that come from? Probably from missing home. I mean—I missed a whole growing season. But I miss more than that. I miss the migrating birds. The frequent mountain goat. The broken land. Someone to share…

What the hell was I thinking? A deep longing? Someone to share things with?

Pshhh.

I was getting homesick. That’s all.

Yet, perhaps it was more than that. Perhaps my journey was changing me. Opening me up to the world again.

The hell are you thinking, Abigail Yak?

I heaved a breath and shook my head.

Maybe I just missed the adventure of a quest. That’s what this was, after all. One big adventure. Nothing was ever easy, but I’m glad I was on it. I'd been neglecting old friendships so it was nice to let old friends know I was still alive. Hiccup was one such friend, and Margaux was a reminder of particular realities of the world.

I still couldn’t believe she’d hit me. Assaulted me. She was going to pay for that one day. I wasn’t one to jump into the fray. I was patient and made sure all my ducks were in a row before I did anything rash.

I laughed then as I considered the god we both had assigned to our quest paths. She was undoubtedly going to talk to Potere and complain about it. He probably won’t have liked that I riled her up, but, whatever. I’m no longer doing anything for her. No matter what it costs me. She crossed a line. Destroyed what little there was between us.

Oh well. It’s time to forget about her for now and focus on the rest of my travel through the plains.