Milk for supper

At home there is always a lot to do.

“Well, never mind,” says your mother, still bustling around the kitchen. “Will you do me a favor? Go to the farm and fetch some milk. I need it for tonight’s supper. It’s to the north: cross the bridge and you’ll find Fernandel.”

Before you are out the door she adds, as if remembering something important, that you should keep track of your errands. It’s like a notebook, she says. That way you won’t forget what you have to do. (Travelers from other worlds call it the quest log and open it with Alt+U.)

The farm

Fernandel greets you among buckets and hens, in a rather foul mood.

“Help from Arsinoe, our capital, never arrives on time,” he complains. “I’m losing money producing all this milk!”

It is the first time you have heard anyone speak of the capital that way. It will not be the last.

Your mother had already told him you were coming, so he points you to his only real company: Margaret, a cow with a wise gaze and a difficult temper. Milking her is not as easy as it looks. Sometimes the milk lands in the bucket. Sometimes the cow shows you a certain hostility. But sooner or later you manage it, and you head home with the bucket full.

Strange dreams

“Perfect!” says your mother. “I’ll get supper ready. Go up to your room and rest a little. Your sister Anna is already upstairs.”

Sister Anna is not resting. She is worried.

“The novices are having strange dreams,” she tells you in a low voice. “At the temple they’re talking about great changes in the universe.”

You think of the lava shrine. Of the black fan. You say nothing.

Your bed is by the window. You are not tired yet… until, suddenly, you are. Exhaustion overwhelms you all at once and you fall into a deep sleep, and the visions return, one after another, as in a nightmare.

A spiral of light drags you in.