The long trek through the arduous mountain had left Jack exhausted, yet invigorated. It had barely been a week since his last adventure in Arca, something he wanted to forget as quickly as possible. The stench of death still clung to him no matter how often he scrubbed himself, and even days upon days of binge drinking hadn’t been enough to shut out the horrors from that awful time. Nightmares still plagued him; in fact he’d taken to sleeping with his flaming sword. Who knows how long he would’ve continued on in this twilight state had it not been for that treasure map?
To cut a long story short, to pay for his long periods of binge drinking, Jack had had to learn â€"and master- six new different gambling games. One game of dice led to another, and now he was the proud owner of an authentic creased yellow treasure map. Being a jack-of-all-trades included treasure hunter, didn’t it? And so he’d taken on this new job with renewed vigour. Anything to escape from Arca.
Pushing the last branch aside, Jack emerged onto a clearing that overlooked a cliff. Here, he could see over the mountains, see the forest he’d scrambled up, and see the few villages he’s passed too. Rings of smoke indicated supper time, something his belly hastened to remind him of. Jack brushed the brown hair from his eyes, wiping away the beads of sweat that had appeared from the physical exercise he’d abstained from for so long.
“I need a shave,� he mused quietly to himself.
This trip was perhaps a time to do a bit of self rediscovery too- he missed his old happy go lucky self. In time his old self would return, as it always did after every other hardship he’d been through.
He sat on a grey boulder and surveyed the deep orange hues of the sky. The sun was setting, taking on a brilliant ruby glow whilst streaks of colour dashed across the sky like the brushstrokes of a painting he’d once been commissioned to find.
Jack slung his backpack and heaved himself up. Just a bit further up the map indicated a village/settlement of some sort. Best to make it before nightfall. Checking to make sure his flame sword was still there- a present from his grandfather he cherished more than anything in the world- he set off again, following a rough dirt path that wound through the cool, dappled forest.
It was definitely night by the time Jack stumbled into the nearest bar.
“Pint,� he muttered automatically to the barman as he dropped his backpack to one side and perched atop a stool, stretching carefully.
“Here ya go,� the man said cheerfully. “A stranger to this town, no?�
“Yup,� Jack agreed, nodding as he took a sip. “Mmm, this stuff is fresh. Much better than what you get in the towns.�
“Aha, secret recipe,� the barman winked, tapping his nose.
“Speaking of secrets…� Jack produced the map from the inner pocket of his beige travel clothes and leaned forward so as to keep his voice down. “I got myself here a treasure map.�
The man raised his eyebrows in response, but said nothing more.
“You tell me the secret behind your beer, and I’ll give you a share of the treasure. And in case you don’t believe how serious I am…� He dumped a few gold coins onto the bar. “I’ll even let you hold onto this for safekeeping, in case there isn’t any treasure.� Shrugging, he continued. “Of course, if there is treasure, then that there money might just have to contribute to the best night of my life. Measured in pints, of course.�
That was the entire money he’d won from his last stay in Arca. It wasn’t much, but Jack lived life on the edge. After all, you only lived once, so why not have fun whilst you’re at it?
((Hey, don’t know how much of that you can respond to…let me know if I need to change my post or not! Oh and sorry for the extremely long post!))
