Blog Post

Blog Post 45: The Adventure Shop: Part 12

4/13/23

Adventures. Adventures sounded magical, wonderful, fantastic.  Most often all I heard about is the battles, the towns one could see, the creatures and people that would be met along the way.—Never this.

The ache of my feet as I put one in front of the other. The dirt that slowly seemed to be building up over time, all over my clothes, my hair, and my body.

The bugs… Every one landed on or attempted to bite me, continuing to pull my mood from peaceful to irritated. 

And the heat… So hot the thought of shade, water, or even a slight breeze sounded wonderful at this very moment. 

Aster cleared his throat as I looked up, waiting for whatever statement he would make. “How are you doing?”

“This is the part of adventures you have never told me about,” I said less than pleased.

“What part do you mean?” he asked with a smirk. I knew full well that he knew what part. After a slight huff I decided to answer anyway. 

“This! The dirt, the aches, the bugs, the heat! It is too much. I feel absolutely gross. I don’t know how any of you do this. I prefer portals as a method of travel.”

“I believe you may also have low energy. You need to eat. Usually it helps alleviate some of the effects.”

“Which ones?”

“Well, maybe not the effects, but one’s ability to withstand all of this that adventures entail.”

“I could see that. But still this is awful.”

“What is wrong with Dahlia?” Borg asked, coming up behind us.

“She is getting to experience the less divulged part of the adventure,” Aster explained. Borg laughed a hearty laugh, that I used to love but now seemed to annoy me.

Looking at my face, Borg said, “Oh, I can see what you mean. She may need some of your assistance.” I raised an eyebrow at Aster as he avoided my gaze. 

“You didn’t tell her that you could use a spell to cool her off? You’re a wizard Aster! That is the least you could do to help her,” Borg exclaimed as I began to glare at Aster.

“I thought she should have the full adventure experience,” he shrugged as I began plotting my revenge.

Aster handed me a white stone necklace. “Wear this and it will cool you off and you will no longer be hot.” 

“Thank you. I am going to see what the others are doing,” I said, walking faster as I did not have to look at Aster or Borg. I heard Borg say, “That is not how you win the heart of anyone. If I lose the bet to Hazel, I will be very disappointed in you.”

I kept walking up to Aislin, Riskar, and Xaxol.

“Oh Dahlia! Yay! I am so glad you joined us! I was just asking them if they preferred cold adventure’s through the snow or walking through the woods while being hot. I was just about to get an answer from them,” Aislin told me as I settled into their pace.

I stole a glance at Aster, who looked like he was pouting, and I smiled, but would not let that stop me from going back to him so easily. 

Riskar hummed in thought. “I would say I prefer being in the cold wintery parts. I prefer bundling up to being in the heat and dirt with all the bugs.”

“I would rather be at our destination or in battle. The journey is not preferable in my opinion,” Xaxol explained. “The journey does not offer any challenge.”

“The journey is my favorite part. It challenges what we can do and experience. Like this heat for instance. It is horrible, but each time we journey I feel like I grow. My attitude is not affected by all of these inconveniences. And now it is uncomfortable, but it does not lessen my enjoyment talking and being with the people around me,” Aislin spoke thoughtfully and turned to Dahlia. “Dahlia? What do you think?” 

The others seemed to share a glance and Dahlia sighed. “I don’t know, but I don’t like this.  I was so used to going wherever I needed to whenever. Never having to get dirty or hot. It was nice.”

“But did you really live or experience anything that challenged you? Did you ever feel uncomfortable and have to learn or grow from the experience?” Aislin asked, making Dahlia realize once again how sheltered her time at the adventure shop had been.

“No, but this day has been awful. I feel itchy from the bug bites, gross from the dirt and the heat, and tired from the amount we walked.”

“Making the battles and the destinations the best option if you could choose,” Xaxol again stated.

Riskar tilted his head. “I do get the point all of you are making, but Aislin I feel like you have more to say.” Aislin seemed to be happy as she seemed to float for a moment before answering,

 “I have heard you talk to the others before about things that have challenged you and things that have assisted in gaining new perspectives and knowledge. These moments where you are tired and being pushed past your limits are the same as those that you have experienced before. How will you react with others in these moments? How do you want to react?” Dahlia appreciated the lesson, but also hated how true it rang. So much at the moment seemed like a lesson. Things she was not prepared for or equipped to handle. 

“Do you like to learn?” Aislin asked her.

Dahlia sighed. “I used to, but this is a different type of learning. I am so tired of trying to feel like I am gaining any ground. As if every moment all I knew was not enough.”

“Truthfully it is not,” Xaxol commented, making Dahlia turn in surprise. “You stayed in one place with the knowledge you needed for what you were doing. Now you are here. Every place, experience, emotion is new. You are not equipped to do any of this.”

“But no new adventurer is. Every first timer has the wind knocked from their sails the moment they step out of the safety of the towns they were familiar with. You are not equipped for a lot of this, but that is why you are learning and we are all willing to help you. To talk you through this. Let us help you and give yourself grace while you grow. Enjoy the journey and all the lessons that are equipping you to what may help you to your end goal,” Riskar said. 

Sobering thoughts entered Dahlia’s mind. This moment, as uncomfortable as it was, was just a moment and not what would decide Dahlia’s fate. 

Aster called out to the group. “There is a town up ahead. We will stop there for the night at an inn, and rest for a day while we make a plan for a new direction.” 

Killian and Marianna came up to the four as relief flooded Dahlia’s mind. The thought of a bath would be amazing. 

“We will be stopping for a while. If you would like, we will start training you with archery while we are there?” Killian offered. 

“After I take a bath and feel more like myself I would love that!” Dahlia smiled, and looked to where Aster was planning with the others on their approach to town. 

Part of her knew that he was planning the stop for her, but she realized he wanted to help her grow. Even if she didn’t appreciate his methods, now she understood why they all seemed to look after her like a mother hen with a baby chick. She was the only one so unequipped and inexperienced, that they were all trying to help her grow as fast as she could in a way each thought best. 

Dahlia looked around at every member of the party. It would be a lot of information and assistance from everyone. Would she be willing to ask for help? 

To let others help her learn and grow? Just the thought after the long day sounded exhausting. 

With that thought came another. For as weathered and wise as she appeared within the confines of her own shop, out here– out here she turned into a whiny baby who cried the moment it did not go in her favor.  The others had to constantly care for her and must be exhausted. Luckily there were a lot of them.

“You are thinking a lot,” Aislin commented as the other four in the group took notice of her. 

“I have been thinking about what a poor attitude I have had since being out here. All of you come to my shop and I spout wisdom and knowledge, but out here the heat is enough to make me snap at all of you who have gone on this journey to help me. You aren’t even gaining anything by this journey. I feel very silly,” Dahlia admitted after reviewing her behavior.

“At least you realize that now. Most don’t realize till the end how much like a child they acted like,” Xaxol stated bluntly.

“Xaxol!” Marianna said shocked.

Dahlia laughed. “He is right. I have been awful. If you all are willing to continue to help me, I would be honored. Aislin you were right. The journey teaches a lot.” 

“We all have a lot to teach. If you are ready to learn. It will be hard, but good when it is time to battle,” Xaxol confirmed.

“Thank you. I think starting while we are at the inn would be perfect. Unless you have anything else you would like to teach now?” 

They all looked at each other and began to confer what would be the best thing to teach her while they traveled. 

“While you decide, I have another person I need to talk to. I’ll be back!” 

They all nodded and continued to discuss how to best help Dahlia as she walked over to where Aster, Borg, and Hazel were talking.

“Aster, can I talk to you for a moment?” Dahlia asked as the three people she had known the longest, and thus far admired the most, looked at her. 

“Of course! I will be back in a moment to discuss this further,” he noted as they looked at Dahlia and Aster with a smirk. Aster rolled his eyes as he let them walk ahead while he and Dahlia remained at the back of the group. 

“What’s wrong? Are you still too hot? I have some ointment for the bug bites. I asked Hazel to make some from the herbs you gathered with her.” Aster seemed to be trying to take care of her again. Dahlia realized the extent that she had overlooked how much he took care of her. How long in the time that she knew him, did he look after her like this? 

“I am fine. I actually wanted to thank you and give you this back,” she said, handing him the necklace with the pendant. 

“Did it not work?” he asked as he started to apply the ointment to the bug bites he saw on her.

“It worked, but after another lesson, I realized what you were doing. You were trying to help make me stronger. And I am a very bad student. I apologize for overreacting earlier. I am realizing each day how far I have to go.” 

He paused and looked at her. “You do have a long way to go, but I will try to help. And you are not a bad student. I am sorry I did not offer you anything to help before.”

“Even if it wasn’t a great way to do it, I do see what you were trying to do. And you are right. I do need to learn a lot. How about now we communicate what I need to learn and I let you know if I need a little help?”

“How about both of you catch up, so we don’t have to keep waiting for you?” Killian called. Dahlia looked to where the others were waiting and watching the interaction. Her cheeks felt hot, and she was not prepared for the moment in the stoplight. 

Everyone laughed as Dahlia and Aster joined the group and they continued to journey together.

“How long till we get to the inn?” Dahlia asked. Everyone looked at her and she shrugged. “I am learning, but it would be nice to be there.”

“See? The journey is not so bad after all,” Aislin said as the groups started to talk again as they continued forward.  Dahlia smiled and started to listen to the others. She may have been known a lot before she left and taught others, but now… Now as she listened to the others, she valued what they could teach her. 

And that gave her a lot of opportunities to learn.