Find, Return, Reward: The hidden purpose of the “Fetch Quest”

We've all been there, from the lowest level Grasshopper to the highest level Troll slayer, you stumble in to a village or town, completely saturated in Knoll guts and spiders webs and do the regular routine of cleaning your boots, sharpening or upgrading your sword and of course quest gathering.

Which one to tackle first..?

Everything goes well, you get that “Clear Out A Bandit Camp” quest which makes you laugh deviously as you concoct all the messed up ways that you can dispatch those naughty bandits and desecrate their corpses (C'mon we've all done it) a few “Talk To Lady Pimplebottom” type quests and you're feeling great as you laugh your way to free and easy coin. That is until you come to that ONE NPC, they can often be found lurking in the darkened corner of the shadiest tavern in town hunched over a suspicious looking pint. That ONE NPC, that speaks in hushed tones and occasionally glances towards the door, as if to make sure its still there in case an abrupt exit is needed. That ONE NPC that gives you the dreaded quest; to fetch/kill/loot/pilfer X amount of X and become “The mightiest hero in the land”.

Yep, there's a Dragon behind me, and what?

 No one really likes these kinds of quests, they can trail on for hours or you get extremely frustrated when you are not able to find that last “Sweaty Ferret Nose” to hand in to that lazy good-for-nothing-but-a-swift-kick-up-the-arse mage so he can make his potion of extreme blandness, but these quests also have an amazing ability; to open you up to the fruits and wonders of the world that you find yourself in.

It may take you a while,and wandering through the wilderness can be extremely tedious if not incredibly boring, but if the stars have aligned and a virgin has performed a strip tease for a goat in the last 30 days you could find yourself surrounded by beautiful meadows watching the grass sway gracefully in the breeze. Or on the peak of the highest mountain, surveying all that lay before you with a mighty foot on the corpse of a fallen foe or wandering in to an unassuming cave that then leads you to finding a veritable kings ransom of useful goodies or a shiny new piece of armor that completely outclasses your current wardrobe.

I just don't know about these boots with this helmet...

These wonderful places can have you exploring for hours, finding new and exciting things at every turn can make you completely forget about the tediousness of finding that 10^th item so you can claim that measly “reward” that you get for filling your inventory with someone else's shopping list.

So just remember, when Farmer Mc'Gavin sends you to the next town to save his daughter from the mighty “Defiler Bandits” it could lead you on a brilliant quest of exploration, wonder and goodies galore. Fetch quests have their place, they may seem as exciting as watching a pig rolling in its own filth, but off the beaten track is often where the real adventures are to be had, so pick up your feet and grab that dratted quest with both hands and then COMPLETELY forget about it, you'll thank me later. 

And to think, you nearly missed this view...you're welcome!