My dearest followers,
By now you’re probably familiar with Talha, my closest friend from the Academy and one heck of an adventurer, pardon my language. Being close in age, she’s become a bit of a role model of mine. Now, I know what you’re all thinking: “But Aurum, you’re the GOAT!” While that might be true when it comes to some things, no one is good at all things. Many of you are the GOAT in your own way, it’s just a matter of finding what that is, right? That’s what World by Windstorm is all about!
Talha knew I was struggling with adventuring. I was afraid to stray too far from campus without wearing my armor. Too many strange happenings and people getting injured for me to feel completely confident in staying out of harm’s way, fortuitous luck aside. I helped her with a few things, so she wanted to return the favor by bringing me along on an adventure – to prove I had what it takes.
We met up near Poor Maid Hill, just outside of Limsa Lominsa and not far from the old family farm. There was work to be done! When we met with the quartermaster, an older gentleman who seemed in dire need of beard wax by the looks of his scraggly excuse for facial hair, he informed us that a local camp of kobolds had settled in and, in doing so, had stolen a shipment of tools the town desperately needed.
We were instructed to retrieve these tools from the kobolds, preferably without drawing blood, so as to avoid inciting retaliatory violence against the small town. The reward? A measly five hundred gil, but it was the experience that mattered, something Father often said was worth more than the pay rate.
So off into the hills we roamed. I didn’t know much about kobolds, but according to Talha they can speak common, which meant they could be reasoned with. Or tricked. My first suggestion was to offer them coal or shiny rocks in trade, but Talha informed me they’re fairly adept miners, so that wouldn’t fool them. That’s when the inspiration hit me and, gods bless her, Talha put her full faith in me and followed my lead.
Sometimes you’ve got to fake it ’til you make it – carry yourself with confidence when you’re lacking – pretend you’re meant to be somewhere when you know damn well you aren’t. So, with my chin held up (to simulate confidence), we walked right into their camp, claiming to be Curse Menders.
When we found the supplies, we had a little chat with what appeared to be their quartermaster and, as expected, he was pretty dumb. I told him the tools held a terrible curse that caused its victims to be aware of the tongue in their mouth. I don’t know why, but if you tell someone they’re aware of the tongue in their mouth, it’s, like, the only thing they can think about for a while. You’re probably thinking about yours right now, right? Weird, huh? Anyroad, I had a feeling that would work and it sure did! We offered to trade for the cursed goods, as that was only fair, so I tossed him my change purse. It was mostly small denominations of gil, but it probably felt like a nice haul if you only judged it by the weight. It was about one hundred and fifty gil, but I had a plan to get that back later.
We departed their camp with the stolen tools in tow and no blood spilled. When we returned to the quartermaster, I informed him that we had bargained with the kobolds and bought the tools back from them for two-hundred and fifty gil, asking that we be compensated for the business expense on top of the reward. Fair readers, I wasn’t looking to cheat anyone out of coin, that’s not the way I do business. I knew the man was going to haggle just by the way he carried himself. He countered with six hundred gil and I blew a long sigh out through my nose and came back at six-fifty. He begrudgingly agreed and we walked away breaking even! That’s how you do it, folks. I should teach classes on this stuff.
There’s nothing better after a long day of adventuring than relaxing in a hot spring with a handful of World by Windstorm healing bath bombs. Talha took me to one of her favorite spots and we shed our armor to soak in the healing waters. It wasn’t long before one of the kobolds from the camp found us, completely defenseless! He claimed that the kobold quartermaster we bargained with was, as predicted, a complete idiot and didn’t speak for the rest of their clan. Scooping up my gold-leafed armor as well as Talha’s gear, the little bugger tried to make off with our stuff! He underestimated our speed, though. I’m sure it was quite the sight for any onlookers, but the two of us were able to catch up to him, Talha with her monk-like speed and me with a burst from my wind aether. I’m still learning how to control it, but it’s there when I need it, and, let me tell you, I needed it at that moment. The kobold had to drop our gear in order to make his getaway, but I’m sure he’s still out there somewhere, plotting his next heist.
So that about catches you up on one of my most recent adventures. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you’re always in the loop of the latest goings-on of Aurum Windstorm and her closest friends!