The World Which Is

Chapter 16

I wake up and a glance at the clock shows I slept for a little over two hours. My eyes are gummy from crying like a baby, and I slept in my clothes.

Urg.

A shower and fresh set of clothing and I feel like someone with a class again. Like someone ready to brave all the problems ahead of him.

I drop on my bed with a sigh, then pull the pillow over my head. Why is being an adult so complicated? Why do I have to deal with my dad losing it when I tell him I'm not actually a farmer?

I roll on my back. I just want to be a guard. Is that so much to ask?

Thinking of which. I take the journal out and I'm surprised the paper I slipped in isn't poking out. I could have sworn it was larger than the journal. I up turn it and shake. The page doesn't fall out.

I look through it; maybe it got stuck on a folded map.

Instead, I find it folded between two maps, and bound to the journal. First, that's kind of neat. I can add to it, and if the page it too large, the journal takes care of it. Second, it's not exactly smart in how it does it. I must have put the page in sideway, so that it's folded in half with the top, when I was writing, is against the spine. That's going to be inconvenient if I can't...

I pull gently, and with a static like sound it comes apart from the journal without any damage.

Cool.

I unfold it, right it, and put it back in. As the page touches the spine, there's the sound of static again and it attaches itself. The page pokes out on three sides. I close the journal and there's the sound again, this time with faint lights as the edges pull into the journal. It takes about a second.

That must have happened while it was in my inventory for me not to have noticed it before.

I open it, and the page is neatly folded inside where it lines up with the other pages.

No wonder the maps are so neat. Aaron pulled them out when he worked on them, then the journal folded them for him without leaving creases. I can't tell where my list was folded before.

I close it and turn it over, studying the leather work. I don't know much about leather, but this looks on simple side. The engraving feels decorative more than being part of an enchantment, but I definitely don't know enough about that to be able to tell for sure. It's scratched, so that supports the lack of magic. The metal corners are unadorned metal. And there's no stylized 'A' or some other crest to show who the owner is. The only way to find that out is to focus on it.

Aaron's Never-Ending Journal

This is the Journal where Aaron Sentino records his notes while exploring

Perception Check failed

Because it was bound to him, Aaron was able to rewrite the information. It's bound to me now, so I can do that too. Maybe after I've finished his quest. The downside, when someone does this, is that the system information becomes hidden behind the perception check, which I failed again.

Hmmm.

Edit the item's information.

Aaron's Never-Ending Journal

This is the Journal where Aaron Sentino records his notes while exploring

Do you wish to edit the information? Yes/No

Please don't delete this automatically.

Yes.

The window reappears, but it's highlighted the way my name was on my character sheet.