This post is part of a chronicle of the journal entries of Alarian Vasz, my wanderer in my first ever playthrough of Her Odyssey, a caltrop core solo journaling RPG.
The sun was just rising when I work from my involuntary slumber. My mouth felt dry and dusty, tasting of pennies. I took a swig from the water skin, swished, and spit out the lovely crimson of rehydrated blood. After a few rushed breaths I attempted-and barely managed-to stand. The entirety of my back felt like one singular bruise and the violent cough followed by a rapid gasp of pain as my most assuredly fractured ribs shifted under the strain. The shovel handle snapped off as I tried to pull it from the stag's corpse. It would have been a luxury to be able to lean on that as I continued west, but alas, I suppose that was the King's one final victory over me after our brief battle yesterday.
The sun filtered through the trees onto my back, providing a comforting warmth. I made it out of the woods by midday and onto a gravel road which followed the tree line to the horizon in both directions. Taking a few minutes to get my bearings helped me deduce that taking a left and following the road south should put me in Pallof before sundown.
The little farming town wasn't too busy as I came upon it in the evening. The combination gas station-grocery-pharmacy was only populated by its attendant and one other customer waiting on their food order. I grabbed the usual suspects for pain relief acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen plus a sewing kit and waited at the counter for the attendant to finish cooking the previous customer's food. The look she gave me when she saw the bloody hole in my jacket was nothing short of pure concern, like a parent seeing her child in trouble. I paid for my goods and asked for the bathroom key. "Oh no honey, you don't want to do your work there," she said as she guided me back and unlocked the storage room, even pulling out the store's first aid kit for me. The sewing kit and ointments from the first aid kit made decent work of my wound, and I shoved extra supplies from the first aid kit in my pockets to help keep things clean in the days to come.
When I exited the back room there was a clean QuikGo t-shirt and fresh cup of coffee waiting for me on the floor beside the door. I thanked the attendant profusely for her kindness, asking her name that I might bless it. She said "Oh I don't need much for blessing, but you can call me Lee."
I introduced myself as Alarian.
Today was truly an auspicious day.