392 days after a wizard cursed the REALM…
Current Version:
Loraine had always been self-sufficient, self-reliant, and a bit of a loner. So she decided to look on the positive side of no longer having a village to live in. For her, it would mean more time to spend with her favorite person, herself, without any distractions or interruptions.
It was the fourth day after NIGHTfall, and she’d already fallen into a routine. She awoke before dawn, alone in her tent, and scanned the horizon all around to make sure there’d be no surprises. She’d collect the dew from a contraption she’d rigged, and it would be just enough to supply herself and a small vegetable garden. She’d check her traps for whatever had stumbled into them overnight. Usually it was just a lizard-thing with rough meat that had to be roasted for hours, but today she’d also caught one of those snail-things that could be sucked down raw. It made a delightful breakfast.
Miles away from any settlement, she’d settle down for another day of rereading her favorite books and procrastinating that novel she’d started.
But.
When she returned from checking her traps, she found a flaming skeleton lying in her lounge chair.
“Hello, new roommate,” said 388.
“No,” said Loraine. “No, no, no. This is a place of solitude and reflection. You can’t be here.”
“In such a large tent? There’s clearly room for two.”
“I said no. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be dead? Why don’t you find a grave to jump into?”
The skeleton sat up and shook out her bones. “In case you hadn’t notice, I’ve been cursed. It’s not a pleasant experience, and for me it involves a lot of wandering around and assigning tasks. People generally aren’t happy to see me.”
“I’m not happy to see you, either,” said Loraine.
“You’re not happy to see anyone,” said 388. “To you, I’m no more of a nuisance that anyone else would be.”
“This is true,” Loraine begrudged.
“A quality of this tent makes it desirable as my base of operations. Loraine, I dub thee Wordler 392. Now, give me the five-letter Word describing why I love our new shared home so much.”
“And if I can’t come up with the right word by sunset?”
“That’s the best part.” The skeleton grinned. “You will become like me, and together we will impose the Word Wizard’s curse upon other Wordlers. Either way, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”
Web3 Draft:
Revision Notes:
To be added.
