Exhausted from the day’s efforts Lyn walks back to her room lowering her head as she walks into a dark alley. Back behind various buildings in the darkest of the dark allies, a large decrepit building sits at the end with Lyn walking up to it exhausted. She opens the door and walks inside as she passes an open door with a figure rushing to the front door towards her.

“You Guard Girl, rent due tomorrow! Better not be late or else I throw you out!” A short man with a large cigar in his mouth looks towards Lyn as she stumbles past him.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” She waves him off and walks ahead, climbing up the shambled stairs and up to the next floor. “I promise I will pay you tomorrow.”

“Your promises mean little, Guard Girl.” He walks off back into his room blowing a large puff of smoke into the hall spreading throughout the area.

She climbs the stairs and walks onto the floor walking to the back of the hall and opening a door with the knob falling off easily. With a sigh, she picks it back up and puts it back on the door trying to secure it on the door before entering closing the door only for the knob to fall off once again.

She enters a small room, barely enough space for her bed which takes a majority of the room, jumping onto the bed as it squeaks and the floor under her buckles. Her muscles relax and she sighs happily as she lies on the bed with a grin on her face.

“Ah, it’s been a long day.” She says happily. “And even a crappy room is better than nothing on days like this.”

“If room’s so crappy then you find better place!” The small man’s voice yells out from below.

She looks down to see a hole in the floor and can see the man as he glares up at her. “Are you spying on me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Make sure you not trying to run out on rent.” He says taking a puff of his cigar. “Had number of tenants pull that trick.”

“Well, I promise, I’m going to pay you okay?”

“Fine fine.” He says in disbelief. “Just pay and everything will be okay, but I still keep an eye on you.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“I was wondering, do you have a dream?” She asks curiously.

“Yes, I dream of my tenants paying their rents on time.” He says jokingly. “Put talk of dreams to side and make money to pay rent.”

“Okay fine.” She says in a huff as she lays back onto her bed to stare at the ceiling.

“Don’t get so worked up, just live day to day and make sure to pay your rent.” He says walking off.

Lyn lies on her back staring at the ceiling with a scowl on her face. “I wish I could take a bath.” She says as she tosses and turns in her bed.

Her mind drifts off back to the past, thinking back to her home village. A nameless village a completely unremarkable place in the middle of the forest with nothing to set it apart from any other place. There she would play with the other children and watch for any travelers that came in or out of town, and the sight of these travelers always excited them. But none more so than the adventures who explored the forest and slayed monsters. Walking in and out of the drab village with their weapons, armor, tomes, and tales of foreign lands always got a rise out of the children of the village, and none more so than Lyn in her youth.

“Let me tell you about a special place.” A voice says echoing through her mind. “It’s a legendary land, a place called Avalon. No one’s ever been there, and it’s said to be impossible to get there, but everyone wants to find it. This miraculous legendary land, I wonder what could be there.”

Lyn opens her eyes noticing she’d fallen asleep somewhere along the line of reminiscing about her past. She finds herself on the floor just over the hole as she lifts herself back up and climbs onto the bed.

“How long was I asleep?”

“It’s almost noon!” A familiar voice rings out. “It’s tomorrow now, so when you pay?”

She looks down to see her renter looking up at her with his eyes filled with irritation. “I’ll pay after I go pick up my pay!”

She grabs her bag and rushes out of her room causing the door to tilt off its hinges as she slams it. She leaps into the air carefully making her way down to the bottom floor without touching the stairs to land directly in front of the entryway as she grabs the doorknob and twists it. In the split second before she can open the door the manager rushes up snatching the bag from her back and lands on the ground looking up at her.

“Hey what was that?”

“Need collateral, make sure you pay.”

“Come on.”

He turns away slinging the bag onto his back. “Go get money and then come back, then you can negotiate release of stuff.”

Lyn clenches her fist and rushes off. “Fine I’ll be back, I promise you that!”

“Dumb Guard Girl, she’s never going to be an adventurer.” He says as she pulls out a cigar and snaps his fingers to spark it. “She lacks the skill for such a thing.”

Lyn rushes down the streets at an intense pace before leaping high into the air. “Damn it I need to do something, something.” She thinks to herself as she unconsciously raises high into the air to look over the city towards the forest outside of town.

“That’s it, I have the solution to my problems. I’ll do it, I’ll do it and this time I’ll succeed. I’ll go on an Adventure!”