Kit examined the scroll. It was made from a thick cloth. It looked old and well worn, it was scattered with water marks. Kit hoped whatever was inside was still readable. Kit ran his hand along the length, he could feel coarse texture of the parchment.

It was starting to fray at the edges, loose threads could be seen hanging off the ends. A musty smell came off the scroll, causing Kit to scrunch his nose. A red wax seal stopped the scroll from unfurling. Stamped in the middle of the wax was a bird in flight. Kit tried to get his shaking hands under control, so he could open the seal.

“Mars my hands are shaking so bad. I don’t think I can open it without damaging it.”

“Don’t try to open it with your bare hands, you’ll damage the wax seal. Take out your knife and use it like a letter opener. It’s ok to wait until you stop shaking.”

Kit glanced at Mars and realised he was just as excited as he was. He could see a tremor in Mars’ hands as well. Mars’ eyes were glued to the scroll and a huge grin was plastered on his face.

‘He wants to be an adventurer, so I guess, this is just as exciting for him.’

Kit sat down on the ground and tried to meditate to calm his nerves. Snowball sat next to him keeping quiet, as if he knew not to interrupt Kit’s attempt to calm down. Slowly he regained a calm feeling. Once he was sure his hands were steady, he retrieved his knife from his inventory. He carefully slid the knife under the wax seal until it lifted away from the parchment.

Kit unfurled the scroll slowly. He didn’t want to cause any damage before he could see what was inside. Mars had moved to sit next to him, he could feel the excitement radiating from his body. As he was unfurling the scroll, he noticed the parchment was divided into two halves. On one side a map of terrain was beginning to appear. The other side looked like a map of a large, cavernous space with rooms inside.

Once the scroll was completely unfurled, he gained a clear picture of what he was staring at. The map of the terrain had a C shaped row of mountains. A large lake sat at the foot of the mountains. Next to the lake was a large rock formation that looked like a sleeping cat and a forest was bordering the cat. Halfway up the cluster of mountains there was a small red cross on the second tallest mountain.

On the opposite side were three smaller maps. Each map was for a different level of an enormous area. Each level had a maze of tunnels leading to different rooms across the floor. The tunnels lead to another room, a dead end, or they circled back into a previous room. Each floor was an intricate labyrinth of twists and turns. It would be very easy to get lost on each floor without a map.

A small red cross was found on each level. Above the three maps was written [Black winged fire bird cave]. ‘Maybe this shows the different levels of the cave. The mountain where the cave is located is huge though. I wonder if this is just a section of the cave or all of it.’

On the top right corner of the parchment was a glowing gold ring surrounding a black bird in flight with red flames trailing behind its body. The black bird was the same one that was imprinted into the wax seal. Kit ran his finger over the glowing symbol. As he was reaching the edge of the golden ring his finger became stuck to the emblem.

Heat started to emerge from image. It started to increase in intensity. Kit’s fingertip was starting to feal uncomfortable. Pain travelled up his finger to his wrist. Suddenly intense heat burst from the symbol scorching up his hand to Kit’s wrist. Once the flare died down Kit was able to remove his finger from the scroll. He turned his hand over. On the underside of his wrist was a mirroring symbol of the bird. It was now burnt onto his wrist.

‘What the flying fish was that!’

Kit couldn’t understand what he was looking at for a moment, he was too stunned.

Ding!

[Monak’s Treasure, Epic item]

Monak was a famous adventurer rumoured to have turned thief. He became best known for his supposed theft of the Bonzart southern shifter tribes most prized possession the Blue Bonzart pearl. The Blue Bonzart pearl was believed to have given the Bonzart tribe their ability to shift into a ferocious beast at command. This ability made them superior to all desert tribes.

“SWEET POTATOES! It’s a treasure Map!” Kit’s eyes went wide staring at the old, discoloured parchment. He couldn’t even feel the pain of his wrist, he was that excited.

“MARS, we have a treasure map!”

His excitement exploded. His hands that were steady a moment ago started to shake, his heart pounded in his ears. A huge smile split his face. Joyous laughter burst from his mouth, this was a feeling of elation Kit never wanted to forget.

Happy tears started to pool in his eyes. He turned to Mars to see how he was faring, he wanted to share his excitement. Mars hadn’t made a sound since the map unfurled. Mars was staring at the map blankly.

“Mars, are you ok?”

Kit shook Mars shoulder to gain his attention. Mars turned his head towards Kit. The blank look was still on his face. He then turned back towards the map.

‘Haha! The big pirate rooster can’t process the treasure map. This should be funny once his brain switches back on again.’

Mars turned towards Kit once again. Light returned into Mars eyes with a burst. ‘Here we go.’

Mars tackled Kit to the ground.

“KIT IT’S A TREASURE MAP! A FUCKING TREASURE MAP!”

“Shit, is the map ok.” Mars quickly checked the map was still fine in Kit’s hands. Once he realised the map was ok, Mars started to vent his excitement once again.

“WE ARE GOING ON A FUCKING ADVENTURE!”

Mars rolled off Kit and started laugh like a maniac. Kit couldn’t help but join in. Snowball started to bounce around the pair, joining in the excitement. It took a while for them to calm down from their happy high.

“Mars if we find this treasure, I can open my restaurant, wherever I like. I won’t be constrained by finances. I also won’t have to worry about money for the next year, maybe more and I could probably afford my sister to play as well. Snap! Let’s go now!”

Kit couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

“Slow down Kit, it’s not that easy. First, we don’t even know what part of the World this map is from or how old the map is. There is no date on the map. For all we know the treasure could have already been found or may not even be real.”

Mars felt terrible bursting Kit’s and his own bubble of excitement, but they had to be realistic.

“We have a few clues so we can follow them. We know that this is Monak’s map, and he was a famous adventurer so we can investigate him. We also know the name of the cave. But we don’t know if that is a dungeon, cave, or if this whole map is a trap.”

“We also don’t know if this is the official entrance or a hidden one. So, we must be careful investigating it. There is also the symbol at the top. I have never heard of a treasure map with a symbol like this. So, we need to tread carefully when following up the clues we have.”

Mars patted Kit’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. Kit felt his excitement dim a little, but it couldn’t fully be dispelled. The map was in his hands, and they had clues to go on with. He was going to find this treasure, even if he had to die a thousand embarrassing deaths.

Kit looked at Mars and could tell he was still excited to go on an adventure. Maybe Mars didn’t want to work himself up too much and was holding back due to his past experiences. Kit didn’t want to dim down his excitement, he joined this game to have fun.

“Mars who cares about being realistic. We have a treasure map! We are going to be RICH!”

Mars eyes sparkled once again.

“Fuck yes, we are! When we get back, I’ll make a list of all the things we need to start our journey.”

“Ok, I’ll start by asking Iris if she knows anything about Monak. We should head back anyway, so we can sell our items before helping with the dinner service for the last time. Snowball, do you want to come with me?”

Snowball gave an excited yip. He then paused and looked behind him further into the forest. He then kept looking between the dark forest and Kit.

“He looks like he is unsure what to do Kit.”

Kit looked at the little fluff ball in thought.

“Snowball, do you need to say goodbye to someone first?”

The little dog started to yip and bounce around.

“I’ll take that as a yes. How about I come to find you tomorrow? Then you can decide if you want to come with us.”

Snowball waddled over to Kit and nudged his leg. Kit bent down and patted Snowball.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, my cute little friend.”

Snowball licked his hand then ran off into the darkness. Kit hoped he could find the small animal tomorrow. He really wanted him to become his pet. Kit wiped his hand to remove the wetness from Snowball. His new burn on his wrist brushed against his clothing causing a sting. Kit remembered he hadn’t shown Mars his new addition to his body.

“Mars what do you make of this?”

Kit pulled up his sleeve and showed the symbol on his wrist to Mars.

“Is that the symbol from the map? How did you get it on your wrist?”

Kit told Mars what happened.

“I’m not sure why it burned the symbol on your body, but you should cover it. We don’t want anyone seeing it in case they recognise what it is.”

Mars pulled out his first aid kit. He found a white plaster sticker in the box and covered the symbol, hiding it from sight.

“That should do for now. We will need to get you a wrist guard to hide it properly. Damn it I want a symbol on my body too.” Mars pouted while staring at the white sticker. Kit shook his head at Mars pouting.

“Let’s head back. We have a lot to prepare before we go. We also promised Iris we’d help with dinner service tonight.”

Mars and Kit started the return journey back to Sweet Meadow village.

Kit made 210 bronze crowns from the items he had foraged from the forest. He didn’t sell the stones he traded with Snowball. Mars had recommended that he wait until they were in a city before selling them, so they could have them appraised first.

‘Mars always gives me good advice, I would have run straight back to the village and asked about the map if not for him. I also would have drawn attention to myself if I had sold the stones in a small village. Then I would’ve put myself at risk of being robbed. I really was lucky to meet such a nice guy on my first day playing the game.’

Kit arrived at the Inn with a little time to spare before the dinner service. Mars had wanted to ask around town about the adventurer Monak, so Kit decided to talk to Iris. He headed straight over to the bar where Iris was.

“Hi Iris, how was your day?”

“Good Kit and yours? Anything exciting in the forest?”

“Mmm it was ok, I didn’t get to use my new sword though. I was a little disappointed. Iris have you ever heard of an adventurer named Monak before?”

Kit decided to keep the good and bad parts of his adventure today to himself. First not to embarrass himself, second in case he was overheard by someone, and they tried to steal his map.

“You got a new sword, congratulations. You must have done well in the forest then if you didn’t have to use it. Monak, hmm its sounds familiar, but I can’t remember where I heard it. Is he a current adventurer or an old one?”

“I’m not sure Iris, I didn’t get that much information about him unfortunately.”

“Well, if he is a current adventurer, you can look him up at the adventurer’s guild. You can send him a message through there. If he is a famous adventurer from the past, you can look him up in the library. The closest library is in Flower Fields town, it’s about a 3 day walk.”

Kit was happy with the information he had received from Iris. He was a little sad they would be leaving tomorrow, he would miss her warm smile. Kit wanted to get some advice from Iris before they left. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity to find out some information about opening a restaurant. He was pretty sure now he was friends with Iris she would answer his questions.

“Thanks Iris. Umm Iris, I want to open my own restaurant one day. If possible, can you give me any advice?”

“Hmm, don’t open on a small block of land. A big block has more upgrade options as you move up the store levels. I know a few store owners that have regrated buying a small block of lad because of this feature. That’s the most common complaint. Besides that, hiring a good server is a must. They are the face of the business and will be dealing with your customers, so don’t skimp on wages.”

“Thanks Iris, I’ll make sure to note well your advice.”

“When you open your restaurant make sure to send me an invitation. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Iris smiled at Kit.

Kit was happy with the advice Iris had given him. He knew that opening on a big block of land would cost more money. He didn’t want to miss out on upgrade options. Luckily he had a map, he wouldn’t have to worry about saving extra for a larger plot of land.

Kit was sitting idle waiting for Mars to return. He glanced down at his pants. The hole in his pants had gotten a little bigger. ‘I can’t believe I forgot about the hole. I should fix it now while I remember.’

Kit pulled the needle and thread out of his inventory. He placed his foot on top of his opposite thigh so he could reach the hole easily. Kit was not worried about doing a terrible job he had plenty of practice at sewing his clothes. He threaded the needle and started to stitch the hole closed.

Once he was finished closing the hole, he examined his pant leg. He could only see the repair if he looked closely. He was happy with the result.

Ding!

[Skill learnt: Novice Stitching]

Player can make basic repairs to clothes. Player can now fix all the holes he makes in his clothes!

+ 3 Agility

+ 2 Intelligence

‘Sweet, another skill. This one will come in handy on my adventures.’

As Kit put his needle and thread away the first customer for the evening arrived. Mars walked in behind the new arrivals. Kit waved at Mars then took out his apron and headed over to take the order. The night went the same as previous nights. Kit and Mars were kept busy for the entire shift. Kit’s face hurt from his continuous smile, he was still excited to use the magic food platter. As the night was winding down Kit was glad his shift was at an end.

Kai returned before Iris closed, just like the previous nights.