Despite everything, Theora still managed to fall asleep eventually, and woke back up the next morning seeing Bell and Iso pack up camp. Dema was still cuddled against her, although Theora could hear from her breathing patterns that she was awake.

“Enjoying yourself?” Theora asked, turning slightly inside the embrace.

“I do,” Dema rasped in response through a smile. “Gotta cherish the moments I get!”

Theora shook her head in gentle exasperation. “You can receive as many ‘moments’ as you require.”

Dema chuckled. “Dang, how gracious of you! And I thought I was the one coddling you tonight.”

Theora swallowed. “You were.”

Dema pressed her face into Theora’s hair and neck, then peeled herself away from the bed to help the others. 

For a while, Theora just lay there, missing the warmth and company. It was a cruel trait of reality that nights were not in fact endless; for if they were, she could sleep and cuddle forever. Theora still felt exhaustion in her bones and fog resting over her mind, both demanding another few decades of rest.

After a few minutes, Iso scuttled past to put the last few of her items into her backpack. Their camp structure had changed tremendously with the two new companions. Dema and Theora used to just lie down and sleep wherever. They’d often do it in rain and snow, during storms, without preparing tents or mattresses. Of course, it was unpleasant sleeping in the wet so they avoided it when possible, and once Dema had gotten acquainted with using Skills around Theora, she’d begun creating rock shelters. 

Putting up proper camps had always just been too much effort for Theora when she was tired enough to just close her eyes no matter the weather. 

But now? Bell and Iso both preferred to sleep in the wet, so rain still didn’t affect them much, but they had buckets with them, iron constructions to hold campfires in, as well as cooking utensils — Bell needed to eat, after all —, backpacks containing clothing that wasn’t supposed to get wet, and lots of other things that required set-up and shielding from precipitation and winds, at least on some days. 

When Iso put the last item away, she clacked to a stand. “So, where we going next?”

“Place to rest!” Dema shouted from the other side of the camp. “Little rabbit’s gotta sleep more.”

“Oh,” Bell let out. “Any particular spot in mind?”

Theora pressed herself into a sitting position and watched Dema put her chin in a hand. “Hmm,” she hummed. “She likes the stars… but those didn’t help her much tonight! Maybe somewhere indoors?”

“We have this side quest!” Isobel said. “There’s this… hot spring… bath house inn?”

Bell nodded, checking a System screen. “Two hours travel. Not a large detour, either. You and Theora could rest while None and I do the task. We were planning on just ignoring it like the other quests, but it fits.”

Dema grinned. “Perfect! I’m gonna take millions of hot baths.”

Theora was already trying to come up with excuses as to why she couldn’t join her in those, since that was going to mess with her, badly. That said… She still wanted to go to that inn. To sleep on a warm bed, in a cosy little space, maybe even in the same room as Dema if she was really lucky. 

And so, no objections were raised, and they made for the journey. A journey mostly alongside hills, then mountains, as they walked up and down unmaintained paths between green forests.

At one point, Iso got distracted with a patch of moss on the wayside. Theora waited for her, and looked at the little girl inspecting the growths on the forest floor with deep interest.

“What’s the quest?” Theora eventually asked. “The one in the inn.”

“Doesn’t say much,” Iso shrugged, picked up and swallowed a bundle of moss, then carefully closed up the hole where she took it with her fingers. “Someone went missing, apparently. We’re supposed to investigate.” She straightened up, and grinned at Theora. “But, don’t worry about that! Just enjoy your break. No interfering!”

“I wasn’t going to interfere,” Theora murmured. “Not without being asked to. I was merely curious.”

Iso shrugged. “It’s not a hard quest. We get littered with them, since I’m so low Level. I have, like, twenty to choose from. The System doesn’t expect me to complete everything. In other words, nothing urgent, and nothing for you to worry about!”

“A missing person sounds a bit urgent,” Theora said.

Iso rolled her eyes. “Of course it is. I meant that other heroes will take the quest if we don’t! But we happen to be in the vicinity, and you happen to need rest, so we can go and do it. Easy!”

Theora watched Iso for a while, as the girl jumped back on the path and hurried after Dema and Bell.

Not completing all quests one was assigned… what a foreign concept. Sure, yes, Theora sometimes refused to do her quests, but that was only if her investigation couldn’t support the outcome the System was aiming for. Just picking and choosing side quests seemed… Well, almost like a healthy approach. Although Theora’s side quests weren’t typically such that could be cleared by other people. Either she completed them, or nobody would. 

Or, the heroes sent to complete them instead would have to make sacrifices.

Still, Theora was really happy that they ended up investigating that missing person, and she almost wanted to urge Isobel to complete all those other quests as well. With a sigh, she finally made to catch up with the others. Was it really alright for her to travel with these two, if it meant they couldn’t complete all quests? If it meant they could help fewer people?

That said, if the number of heroes was too small to cover all the current tasks, the System would simply recruit more into the project. That was its point after all; the reason it existed. Looking at it from that perspective, it was certainly understandable why Isobel wouldn’t just clear all the quests she was given; it could potentially lead to her burning out. So, she was taking care of herself, and that was good.

Maybe Theora should just ask Iso to share those quests so she could do them herself instead. Although she had to admit there was a certain limit to what kinds of quests Theora could actually complete; the one thing she was good at was killing and destroying things, and most certainly Bell or Iso — or other heroes, for that matter — would have a more diverse toolset at their disposal to complete many tasks in a less gruesome manner.

The truth was, Theora couldn’t even complete low-level quests without leaving destruction in her wake. She was the Roaming Blight, after all. 

“You alright back there?” Dema’s voice echoed back, and Theora noticed she’d fallen further behind instead of catching up.

“Yes,” she shouted, nodded and hurried up the hill. 

 

The bath house was perched between boulders and maples on a steep incline that they only managed to reach after a meandering ascent through a narrow trail hugging the mountains. Isobel’s quest navigation made reaching it a lot easier than it should have been, despite the occasional signposts along the eroded path.

Parts of the wooden bath house complex seemed in disuse. Smaller buildings to both sides had been ravaged by storms and time, were flawed with broken chunks of rafter, crooked plinths, and dishevelled roof tiles. The remnants of one or two stone statues cluttered the entry to a shed, giving Theora an uncomfortable flashback of Isobel’s demise. She closed her eyes to shake it off.

The main building, however, still gleamed with hints of life, light glowing in the windows, the structure well-maintained. Isobel ran up to the main door and knocked, her stone hands resounding on impact with thick wood.

Soon after, a silver-haired old woman with a plump figure and a soft smile on her lips led them inside.

It was a cosy space, minimalist and elegant ink drawings hanging on the walls, the ground made up of soft woven fibres, the ceiling a net of wooden beams. The old receptionist gestured to a wall of square shaped shelves containing footwear. She introduced herself as Rumi.

There was something amiss about her, though. Her eyes kept flickering to a corner of a room, her brows twitching ever so slightly. However, all Theora could see in that corner was a patch of bamboo grown in a large pot embedded in the ground.

Dema wiped off her bare feet with her torn cloak and Isobel scrubbed hers with a brush while Bell and Theora undid their shoes to place them inside the wardrobe. Then, they all put on the little wooden slippers Rumi provided.

“We wanna stay here for a few days, if that’s alright!” Dema explained when she was done.

“Yes,” Rumi said with a weathered voice, pulling her attention away from the corner. “We don’t get a lot of visitors lately, so if you are able to help with repairs on the other buildings, please feel free to. In any case, welcome.” She grazed through her thick hair to shift a few strands away from her face. “A few things to keep in mind — please, when you use the bath areas, wash yourself first in the antechamber, and only then enter the bath, with one of the small towels. Don’t enter with clothes. Please wear clogs at all times while indoors.”

“Alright!” Dema cheered. “Anything else?”

The woman nodded. “This is a place where people come to relax, so be wary of making noise. At night, traverse well-lit corridors only, and avoid dark corners. When you hear sounds you can’t identify, retreat.”

“Okay!” Isobel said.

“Would you stop that please?”

The last sentence washed down Rumi’s throat just as practised as the others, although it clearly wasn’t addressed at the group. Instead, she was staring at the corner, and this time, Theora could see a slight disturbance within the bamboo stems.

When nothing else happened, Rumi added, “I’ve told you many times. Only in darkness. Not in the light!”

With that, and a sudden flicker, a little girl appeared out of nowhere right between the plants.

She barely reached Theora’s knee, had brown skin and short, curly hair, and wore a dress. She looked caught, a bit of a flushed expression on her face.

“I apologise,” Rumi said, facing Dema. “This little cause of mischief is Kara.” She turned back to the girl. “Don’t disturb our guests. Doesn’t anyone have time to play with you right now? I’m busy.”

“Damn!” Dema shouted, kneeling down to get on eye-level with the child. “[Invisibility]! And she’s only five!”

“Circumstances require us to be careful,” Rumi sighed. “She stays invisible most of the time, at my behest. But — not when others are around!”

“Yes,” the girl murmured, and nodded, grabbing the hemp of her dress. “Was just playing!”

“You can play while visible,” the woman dismissed harshly. “What if someone hurts you, not seeing where you are? Only. In. Darkness! Understand?”

Kara nodded sheepishly, but didn’t seem too bothered since she immediately changed the topic. “Can I go play outside?”

Rumi rolled her eyes, and then nodded. “Sure. Do whatever pleases you.”

With that, the girl disappeared as quickly as she’d come into existence, and a moment later, the door was magically opened and closed.

“No need to be invisible in daylight!” Rumi cried after her. Then, again, she turned back to her guests, and sighed, this time much more deeply. “I swear, I’m not cut out for children. True pity. Again, I apologise. Where were we?” 

Isobel grinned, and raised her hand. “We just went over the rules! They sound easy enough to follow. So, how do we do this? Do you have empty rooms? How do we want to split up?”

“We have rooms with individual hot water baths attached,” Rumi explained, “But they are in the back of the building, close to the mountain. If you want to enjoy the view, I recommend the higher level rooms instead.”

Dema nodded, and turned to Theora. “Let’s get a room with a view! Bell and Iso can get one with a bath to sleep in.”

Theora gulped. A room together with Dema.

She was so lucky.

The receptionist explained a few more things, then Iso suggested she bring Theora and Dema to their room. She’d probably only bring up details of her quest once Theora was out of sight and hearing. Begrudgingly, Theora had to admit it was a good call, because she was already wondering how that person might have gone missing, and if she could help.

She took a deep breath. Not what she was here for. She was travelling with some of the most reliable people in existence; plus, Theora actually had no notable Skill to add to this undertaking to begin with. She needed to rest, and everyone knew it, so she fought her weary knees up the stairs.

They came by a few other people; some of them looked like members of the staff, and a woman with black hair who appeared to be another guest. It was a little more lively inside than Theora had anticipated.

After making it through the floors and into their room, Rumi gave a short introduction, then left.

Finally, Dema gave a mischievous smile as the receptionist’s footsteps petered down the corridor outside. Theora was just dropping her travelling coat into one of the shelves in a compartment at the side of the room, and then stared back with a questioning look.

Dema slid the door shut behind her, and raised her eyebrows. “So then, little rabbit,” she went, her voice containing a challenging curl. A little shiver went down Theora’s back at hearing Dema talk that way, and it got worse as she continued. “Finally got you to myself again! Been a while, hasn’t it? What are we gonna do now?”