There I stood, with the comforts of home behind me and a vast, treacherous swamp ahead. The Hallowed Marsh, they called it. The entire land seemed hostile to life itself. I knew what needed to be done, no matter how much I longed to return to Oliele's comforting presence. Yet deep down, I knew I was under Elatt's watchful eye. My fears melted away. I gathered my resolve, checked my inventory, grabbed my trusty bow and began the journey.
After days of travel, I finally reached the last Sun Pillar. In the process, I had turned the entire Marsh into a minefield. I pitied the next traveler who would make the journey, hoping they had spec'd into Pressure Plate Expertise. Elatt protect them.
Now I could finally see the road to Chersonese. The radiant halo of the Sun Pillar renewed my resolve. I was ready to cross the border. Then, my legs defied me. Some invisible force brought me to a halt. Just as I was about to curse the Five Winds for their treachery, I received a divine message:
"You need more Travel Rations to travel to another region."
I did not recognize the voice. Perhaps it was the Dusk Father, or the Dawn Weaver. That mattered little. But what did they mean by this? I could have sworn I had enough rations with me. I immediately looked inside my bag and realized they were gone. I must have sold them to that Soroborean Caravanner in Monsoon. Oliele always warned me against hastily clicking the "Confirm Transaction" button. I knew I had messed up.
Yet not all hope was lost. I quickly gathered some wood, lit a fire and placed my cooking pot on top. Thankfully, I had collected some Star Mushrooms along the way. All I needed now was one last ingredient, but I hadn't brought any with me. I searched the area, but it was in vain. Like the land itself, the water was wicked and rancid. For a brief moment, I felt the Marsh's ire upon me. I felt it in the air. Even the wretched trees seemed to mock me.
Falling to my knees, I prayed to Elatt. At that very moment, a glowing cube began to materialize before me. I heard Elatt's voice again. "I call it... the ElattCube," he said. "We're eventually going to mass-produce it. Soon it'll reach as far as Levant. We are gonna make so much money. We'll make Monsoon great again! I think the price should be around 1,049 silver, but it depends on the availability of..."
I stopped him mid-sentence. He sounded like he was going to go on forever. I thanked him and laid my hand upon the machine. Suddenly, light poured out of it, forming a hard-light display before my eyes. Outward's store page greeted me immediately, as if the machine was responding to my will. With a mere thought, I scrolled down to the comment section.
There it was. The ingredient I needed.
All the salt I could ever need!
Praise Elatt!
