by A O Storm
Kano shivered a little and then looked at the assembled group with an apologetic frown. "Bob's dead," he said. "Human sacrifice is not acceptable." He wasn’t sure if he should mention the goddess visited in person and tilted his head toward the inn. "Maybe we could discuss this inside? Maybe without the torches?"
The man in the lead promptly broke down into tears and a few others in the group did as well when they processed the news about Bob. "Did you find..." one person asked and then they trailed off, seeing the look on Kano's face. "Will they at least be greeted by the goddess into the eternal glory that was promised?"
Feeling his stomach twist, Kano nodded, unwilling to give voice to the lie. He didn't want to say that Bob had clearly misunderstood their goddess. The innkeeper may have damned himself and or others to Abnoba’s version of hell, but he didn't want to explain. He wasn't sure that they'd believe him anyway.
Half of the villagers were clearly mollified by Kano's words, where a few others were clearly not. "Come in, drinks are on the house," Kano said, turning from the crowd to enter the inn. The villagers followed him slowly inside.
"Can we see him?" one woman asked. Another chimed in, "What about Chuck?" Then a few more names were tossed out and Kano knew he had no choice but to share the grisly truth.
"I'm terribly sorry, but the goddess was displeased," Kano said.
The woman he addressed nodded, giving Kano a smile after a moment. Her voice was thoughtful when she spoke to the others. "Bob never showed you that scripture he was quoting did he?" More than a few people shook their heads, surprise still painting their faces and realization dawning on them that Bob had been conning them.
“Yeah,” Kano shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Unfortunately, his towel chose that moment to slip once more, leaving him naked in front of the villagers.
"Lad, you aren't bad looking at all, but it is a bit chilly out tonight. As we can see," the older woman said, making him blush as he picked up the towel again.
"Let me just get something to wear," he said, practically running for the stairs. He mounted them three at a time, holding his towel with his left hand as he ran. Eventually, when he got to the second floor and walked down the hall, he wondered what he was going to put on, then remembered that Bob should have some clothing somewhere. He ran downstairs and outside towards the cottage behind the inn and smiled as he found a clothesline strung up with his partially ruined clothing and armor, as well as a complete outfit similar in style to the one Bob had on earlier.
The pants were too large, as was the shirt. Luckily, Kano found his own boots nearby and pulled them on. There was a plain belt on a shelf and Kano grabbed it, happy he could adjust the ill-fitting pants. The tightest setting was barely enough to keep the pants up with enough tension so they wouldn't fall off. Bob had been a much wider man. "Beats wearing a towel," Kano muttered, finally ready to face the throng of curious villagers.
He walked back inside and headed for the bar, only to see that Bertha had taken care of the group.
Fourteen - Intro to NPCs
Surprised at the woman’s competence, she did work for Bob after all, he told himself, and Kano approached the bar and surveyed the dozen plus people. The villagers were dressed similarly to what Kano had seen so far, with small variation. Dyes and colors were more muted, beige, brown, tan, muted blues and greens were the common colors. The clothing generally was better kept than he would have guessed, considering the amount of manual labor and washing. He shelved those thoughts and accepted a drink from Bertha, who was tending the bar with a smile and making the villagers seem at ease.
Whatever I'm paying her, I'll double it, Kano thought, realizing that Bertha had supported him without question and, so far, without request. Now, I think I need to meet these people. Kano surveyed the people with his drink and then started to focus on the details.
The older woman who had spoken to him before seemed to hold a fair bit of esteem from the other villagers, introducing herself as Wilma. She explained that she owned the magic shop, one of the few buildings in town. When pressed about her wares, she only smiled and patted Kano's shoulder. "You don't need my shop," she said, giving a small laugh. "However, for the men of the village, well, it's something of a necessity."
"Really?" Kano couldn't help expressing his disbelief.
"Yes," Wilma said, smiling and taking a sip of her drink. "Anyway, let's save that discussion for another time, shall we?" She gestured to the other villagers, one of which was clearly agitating for a moment of Kano's time.
"Sure thing. Nice to meet you, Wilma," Kano said, bowing his head incrementally. He didn't know the traditions in their village and figured that was the safest move. She patted his arm again and then strolled to the far end of the inn, leaving Kano to the man who had been almost bouncing on his feet to chat.
"Hi, I'm Kano," he said, holding out his hand to the other man.
"Thomas, I’m the mayor here. I can't thank you enough," he said, holding Kano's hand and shaking vigorously. He was nearly the same height as Kano, though less heavily muscled. Kano realized with a shock that the attribute points had changed him more than he'd noticed, physically, as before those, he would have been about the same build as the other man. Thomas had a shock of wild red hair and a beard to match. The eager man was dressed in forest colors of similar style clothing to other villagers, if perhaps made from nicer material. "Do you have any idea what that idiot did to trade?"
"He ruined it?" Kano had no idea what the answer was but he could imagine human sacrifice was probably something most people believed was a bad thing. Thomas proved him right.
"Exactly!" Thomas pounded his drink and set the glass on the counter, gesturing to Bertha to get a refill. "You have no idea how terrible things have been, ever since that stupid decree of Bob's." Shaking his head, Thomas fixed Kano with a green-eyed glare.
"I need to know something, since it seems like you might be taking over here," Thomas said, gesturing to the inn. "What are your plans? Do you follow Abnoba as well?"
Kano gave him a look, since Thomas was the first of the villagers to mention the goddess by name. He needed to play this carefully.
"What if Bob had it all wrong?" Kano asked, curious.
"Excuse me?" Thomas had a doubting look.
"Suppose Abnoba was against sacrifice, and she was trade friendly."
"Hmm." Thomas rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, I have no idea what the goddess wants or doesn't, all I know is I know what I want in my pocket. If she was pro-trade, as you say, then, well, things could be different." He said, moving to the side, indicating he was going to leave.
"Bob had no heirs, and since Bertha seems to like you, I believe it's acceptable to transfer the White Rabbit to you." Thomas smiled, showing straight, white teeth. "We'll discuss the taxes later, innkeeper." He walked off, leaving Kano to wonder how much money the man would ask for, and when. Still, it was one load off his shoulders, with the village mayor officially giving him the okay to possess the White Rabbit.
He briefly considered changing the name, but didn’t know how many others, outside the village, might have known about the sacrifices. So he shelved the idea until later and he knew more. While thinking, another man walked up to introduce himself.
"William!" The man said, extending a hand to greet Kano. The man was a little shorter than himself. However, he easily weighed twice or more what Kano did. The man had a stained brown apron tied back over a plain long sleeve shirt and pants. His stomach bulged a bit and he was balding, with only a small brown fringe remaining. William's face was cherubic, with a dimpled smile and puffy cheeks that held a pink blush above his thin beard.
Kano thought to himself, how am I going to stay clean-shaven, when he took the man's hand and shook it. Everybody in the group, other than the women, had some sort of beard.
"Nice to meet you, William," Kano said. "What do you do?"
"My friends call me Bill," he said, grinning wider, "Bill the Butcher, at least
sometimes. I work with the trappers, furriers, hunters and others, processing their catch into goods for the townsfolk. If you want meat for the inn, you'll be working with me."
Kano nodded, understanding. "So was Bob a good customer?"
He tried to make it sound casual, but Bill guffawed in response, slamming a hand down onto the bar. "Hell no! He was a fool. Sure, a year ago he was new and everybody thought he was great, but then as soon as he got a few idiots listening to him, things went crazy. My business suffered, the inn’s always been my biggest customer." Bill looked around the inn and nodded, then looked back at Kano.
"This place has a lot of potential, kid. Don't screw it up, and we'll both get rich!" Bill gave him an encouraging smile and a toast before walking off, giving Kano a whole new perspective on how the business worked.
Without the inn the butcher has a lot less business, so it's important to him I succeed. Good thing he seems happy with the change in management. Kano smiled to himself, leaning over to grab a glass bottle and refill his cup with water. Plumbing, both for the bar and the bath, was something Kano thought about and added to his mental list of things to investigate later.
Next, a young woman with her brunette hair tied in a leather strap behind her neck walked up to Kano and stuck out her hand. "I'm Victoria," she said. "I run the seed and plant business in town," she continued, tilting her head to the side. She askance to see if anybody else was near and then leaned closer, whispering, "I heard what Bill told you, about being your biggest supplier." She shook her head. "I don't want to say this where he can hear, but he’s not as big as he thinks."
Kano couldn't help but smile and chuckle at the innuendo, then nodded. If I can leverage some merchant rivalries in town amongst my suppliers, Kano thought, then it could be even easier than I expected to run the inn.
"The invoice, I mean," she said, giving Kano a smile. "The thing is, we supply the vegetables, grains and more. Your chickens, for example, wouldn't last long without a steady supply of grain."
"Right," Kano agreed, nodding. I need to figure out where the chickens are, he thought, noting he may not have explored everything earlier in the day. Maintaining good relationships with these people is key. He decided he would try to make her feel like she was getting a better deal in the future, if he could, than Bill. That way, even if the prices were raised, so long as she believed it was a better deal than Bill was getting, Kano might be able to win them both over by playing them against each other.
Smiling wider, he raised an eyebrow, as if he'd just thought of something. "Let's have a follow-up meeting later, to discuss those contracts," he said. "I'm sure we can reevaluate whatever agreement you had with Bob."
Victoria grinned and then lifted her glass, untouched so far, in a toast, and took a small sip. She stepped back and then moved toward the front of the room, leaving space for the next villager to approach.
The next man stepped up to introduce himself had light brown hair atop his muscular frame, with a shock, Kano realized his own muscles had grown to nearly this man’s size. Just shy of Kano's height, the muscular man held out a hand and gave him a firm shake. "Steve," he said. "I've got wood."
"What?" Kano asked, chuckling at Steve’s introduction.
"Ah, it's a business slogan or tagline I've been trying out," Steve said, frowning at Kano's reaction. "You know, since we do woodworking, carpentry, building and that sort of thing, I thought it sounded good. Like, ya’ know, I have the inventor and can deliver."
Kano continued to chuckle and then Steve frowned further.
"Why you laughing?" Steve asked, as Kano pounded the bar and took a long drink of water. Next, he wiped the small tears that had started when he was too busy laughing.
"Sorry, I'm not from here, Steve," Kano said. "Accept my apologies for the laughter. It’s a cultural thing, you’ve got wood?" He choked back a smile. "Let's just say that where I'm from 'wood' can have a double meaning."
"Right," Steve said, nodding his head in doubt. The man looked concerned, then backed away and walked to the front of the room to converse with another villager, as another stepped up to chat with the new innkeeper.
"Paul," he said, reaching out a meaty fist to grab Kano's hands. The man was dressed in a leather apron, with shoulders twice as wide as Steve’s. "I'm the smith," he said. "Steve doesn't always have a good sense of humor. I got the joke. The werebeavers?"
Kano stared blankly in return for a second but then smiled broadly back, “Yes, the uh, the werebeavers.” He made a mental note to get acquainted with animal life in the region. What did a werebeaver transform into, Kano wondered, and if shapeshifters are a thing here, what else is?
Paul gave him a serious look. "I appreciate you getting rid of that bastard, by the way. My apprentice, he was a good lad." The man's voice choked up, and Kano could see tears forming. "Anyway, if you need anything from me, let me know. I like the peaceful lifestyle here, but without meaningful business, it's been a hard year for us, to tell the truth."
Nodding, Kano simply listened as the man spoke and told him more details about the changes in the village. Some of the story overlapped with what the others had said, but it was nice to have a bigger picture. Clearly the smith's apprentice had been one of Bob's victims. From what he gathered, the human sacrifice thing was a new development.
He couldn't be certain, but from what the smith said, it sounded like Kano was going to be the latest sacrifice, after the apprentice. Maybe Bob was killing off young men for a darker reason, but he didn't want to give voice to that thought. Enough that the man had lost somebody, no need to speculate on what else might have happened to the apprentice.
"So now that you're the innkeeper, I expect we'll hold the village council meetings here in the future again," Thomas said, interrupting them and clapping a friendly arm on the smith's broad back.
"Sure thing," Kano said, nodding. That would give me some steady business and keep me informed, Kano thought.
"Naturally, you'll be sponsoring the food and beverage, since that was what the previous owner did, before Bob started making changes."
Frowning, Kano looked at Thomas and tried to figure out if he was messing with him. The man's red bearded face was inscrutable, however, and Paul did not look shocked at the request from the mayor, so Kano just nodded in acceptance. He forced a smile.
"Sure, no charge," he said. "What's a guy to do in the face of a government request?” When neither said anything, Kano said, “Lobby, of course." His grin didn’t fool either man.
Still, Thomas looked happier than he had earlier. Paul also looked happy, and Kano relaxed, realizing Bob had been an outlier. The villagers he’d met were all good, normal people.
The remaining members of the crowd came forward and introduced themselves, with most of them being farmers, Kano didn’t have much to talk to them about, as they did not have contracts with the inn, nor relationships with any of the recently deceased. For the rest of the evening, Kano enjoyed their company. Bertha brought around a few platters piled with sliced breads, assorted bits of smoked turkey and chicken. Kano took the bartender role and poured everyone in the group who wanted another round of drinks.
Even though it had started with a threat from an angry mob, the impromptu party lifted Kano's spirits and convinced him that this village was a great place to be. Sure, there was probably an interesting city somewhere but to get started, Kano was very happy to be in the village. The camaraderie of the evening with the villagers was enough to convince him that, in the end, he might take up Abnoba's offer after all.
Hours later, the group filed away, one by one, until Thomas wandered over and nodded at Kano, gesturing to the bar. "Pour me another," he said. "It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be longer still."
"What do you mean?" he asked, pouring the man a refill while he also grabbed a second glass for himself. He'd stuck to water after the one drink, wanting to keep a clear head when meeting so many new people, and to make sure he gave a good first impres
sion. People appreciated when you remembered them, Kano knew, so he had tried to file away all their details into his long-term memory. When he did, he was surprised that he could pull up the details from the evening in a journal entry in the Player Log.
"Nice," he muttered, dismissing the display and walking around the bar to have a seat next to the mayor.
"What's nice about a long day, Kano?"
"Nothing. Sorry, I was distracted, thinking about something else. Please, continue," Kano said.
"So as I was saying," Thomas said, sipping, "First, I need to talk to the widows and then arrange for them to get a little something, since those two women might not have heard the news. Their farms are a bit outside the village." Sighing, he continued with a glum tone, "After I take care of that particular piece of fun business, I'll need to craft a piece of correspondence for the local ruler in Boon Peak. While we are a village, the capital is not too far away and provides us with military protection in case the creatures of the forest get too rough, or if bandits start to pray on any of us."
"Murder is just one of those things, like human sacrifice, they tend to freak out about." Thomas still couldn't believe that, when he'd relayed the initial story, the government had completely ignored him. "Anyway, while I'm doing that, I need to collect a blood price from the man who killed them, even if it was in self-defense, for their widows."
The look he gave Kano left no doubt that he intended to obtain payment for the women. Kano nodded, suddenly wishing there had been another way to survive his encounter, rather than killing the lot of them. "Violence seems to be a short-term solution to a long-term problem that only complicates things in the end," he muttered.
"I'm sure you can afford it, Kano, the amount is only ten large silver."
Kano nodded and then disappeared upstairs before returning with the special bag he’d used to store the coins he had collected. What Thomas required was a lot less than the amount he had picked up. Ten large silver coins did not fit easily in his hand, so he fished out two handfuls of five each, placing them on the counter.