by A O Storm
Paul the smith, in particular, had wanted to work with the ore but knew that he needed to wait until they had a larger stockpile, not to mention the services of a wizard. Kano had done some research on his own to see if he could transform the Mananite himself, but nothing had worked. The ore could not be worked without magic, no matter how hot the forge.
Thomas believed the opportunity to create magic items would lure somebody, however, Paul had agreed with Kano even with money as a motivator, it would be difficult to convince a stranger to move to a podunk village with half a dozen buildings out in the boonies. Kano had used different words, of course, to ensure Thomas got the gist of his point. Thomas seemed to have a solid grasp of what he wanted; however, the power of the evil druid and his acolytes had set back his plans by some time. In turn, Kano knew that if he wanted to ensure his own safety, the village would need to grow at a rate as fast, or even faster, than the mayor's dreams. The first lesson was always one of trust, as Kano knew. The second was about extending that trust and so far, the mayor had not budged.
Rowing, Kano was lost in his own thoughts as the river flowed by and the other men kept in tune with the craft. He could see how a bigger ship with similar enchantments would further the aims of the village, but he knew that was even more difficult a challenge. The village had been gifted the enchanted oar locks, and boat, several generations before and without it, they’d never have been able to trade the herbs Three Rivers was known for. Future trade would change many things for the better, and it all started with this trip.
Growing up with modern amenities, Kano viewed the whole situation with his business with a certain mild horror. Despite his intention, he had made zero progress in learning about plumbing, or how he could use his new smithy skills to start an experiment or two. On top of that, the water hygiene was difficult, and frequently, cleaning was done with soap and cold water. From all the changes, Kano had never felt so unhealthy. The only reason he thought he had not yet suffered a disease was the alcohol, which also the village happily consumed at the inn on a regular basis.
Or the developers did not include irritable bowel syndrome, or worse, as part of the realism, Kano snorted, laughing softly to himself.
There had been some basic changes put into practice, but, other than Bertha, a lot of the villages were set in their ways. After Kano had presented Thomas with a chamber pot to compost system, the mayor had thought Kano truly insane. Maybe I am, Kano thought, New Lands Online is not Earth, so I should start learning how this place is different, and pay closer attention. Maybe some other characters could give me a few tips, if I meet any that aren’t trying to kill me.
Luke and Randy called for a halt before Kano knew it and they pulled into a small alcove. Kano took the time to investigate both of their stats and opened up their character sheets.
Name:
Luke
Level:
3
Class:
Farmer
Energy Points (Max)
30 (30)
Health Points (Max):
30 (30)
Skills:
Unknown
Name:
Randy
Level:
3
Class:
Farmer
Energy Points (Max)
30 (30)
Health Points (Max):
30 (30)
Skills:
Unknown
Luke was clearly better at social interaction; as a result, Kano assumed he must have a higher beauty score. Where Randy appeared much stronger, he suspected the man had a higher strength stat, possibly as high as his own. Kano kept wondering if there was a way to see the expanded character sheet from somebody else, but so far, had not been able to see the specific ability scores, or any of their skills. That would be very handy, Kano thought.
When they parked, Kano had the chance to ask them about their role in the village. Their father had passed away only a year prior and despite their being sufficient work on the family farm, they both wanted to explore and learn more about the kingdom. With their family gone, they had liquidated and deposited their assets with Thomas, who also served as the default banker in the village. Somehow, Thomas also being the bank does not surprise me in the least.
"What do you guys want to do?" Kano finally asked, curious.
"Ned has said more than a few times, you seemed good, not just for the village, but, good in intent," Luke said. Randy nodded his agreement. "So we figure you won't mind if we tell you we were thinking of getting jobs, if we can find them, and staying."
"Really?"
"The only thing left for us in the village is working in Thomas's mine," Luke continued, then frowned. "I'd do almost anything other than that," he said. "Aren't mines better suited to dwarves?"
"Good point," Kano said, then started thinking. The three men ate a brief meal of jerked meat that didn’t have much flavor and a hard biscuit, afterwards sitting in silence.
"If the inn picks up, I might be able to use some help at The White Rabbit." Kano offered, after thinking about his future plans. "Would you be open to that?"
"Sure," Luke said, "But why would the inn get busy enough for you to hire us?"
"Well," Kano said, "We'll see. After this trade trip, I'll have several new things I will need help with when we return."
"Okay," Luke said, "Let's chat more after we get the ore traded then."
Though the ambition was small, Kano would happy if he simply grew the village economy, or improved it's defenses to ensure he didn't die a crappy death. On top of that, he knew he could help the people grow. He knew it sounded pompous and he was likely to fail, but, talking to these two young men, he felt resolved. A moment later he realized they were both nearly his age and then thought about the horrific onboarding to this world he had experienced. That was nothing like growing up in the sticks, he was certain. Every character that came through their village had to survive that shit-show; they probably don’t get too many friendly players through here.
While thinking about how he could help the village and ensure sustainability, he felt a breath of cool, pine-scented air. He could not be certain, but he felt that the goddess Abnoba would be happy with his decisions this day. Damn, she’s got me feeling for these NPC’s.
Eventually, energy restored, they started rowing again and passed the next few hours in shifts, to ensure that they could make steady progress without any of the group being too tired to contribute. They lasted longer rowing than Kano might have guessed; he thought it was probably due to his constant improvement in his stats combined with the magic of the oarlocks. The dinner break was short and they settled in for the night rather than risk rowing in past dusk into night, when they couldn’t see obstacles or rocks in their way.
They slept, alternating who kept watch, and Kano took the last shift but despite their precautions, nothing happened.
The next day, just after lunch, Kano was rowing with Randy, while Luke was keeping watch at the rudder. The boat was alone on the river and the passage up ahead was narrower than the majority of the previous terrain. Sunshine shone down from a clear blue sky, making the trees and river water almost sparkle. Kano narrowed his eyes against the glare, concerned he would get a headache from the bright glow. Can my Fix Injury spell deal with a headache, he wondered.
Looking out toward the horizon, Luke pointed at the riverbank and explained the signs of recent activity, despite nothing being out of place. There were tracks, footprints and broken branches on the side, to the left. After the explanation, Kano nodded, understanding. When he did, a notification blipped in his vision and he smiled, and then quickly dismissed it.
Skill Acquired: Tracking, current rank Ignorant, +10 skill points gained
Luke went back into the gear they had packed and then started to string the bow he'd stored. Once he started to string the bow, the other two men paid closer attention and slowed their rowing. "Everything okay bro?"
"Something wrong?" Kano
asked, talking over the other man.
Twenty Five - River Travel is for the Birds
"Not sure," Luke said, looking around and nocking an arrow.
Kano studied the tree line, looking around and then peering around the riverbank bend in curiosity. The sand he could tell showed signs of recent disturbance. His senses of what was natural and what was not had improved since becoming a druid.
Randy continued rowing, unconcerned, as his older brother was sometimes prone to paranoia. Steadily rowing, the man continued to push the boat along the waterway. There had not been any news of attacks along the river previously. But he knew if an entire crew had been murdered, there would not be any news. Still, given that no boats had been heard of drifting into the Three Rivers without a crew, Randy believed it was most likely a false alarm.
A shadow loomed over the riverbank and each man looked up into the sky. "What the shit," Randy exclaimed, dropping the oars.
Luke, however, stayed focused and searched the sky with his bow. A moment later, he loosed the arrow.
Kano looked and finally saw the massive bird circling overhead. He looked closer and then thought, more like a dinosaur, and examined its details as the arrow narrowly missed striking. The creature was large, easily fifteen feet across at the wingspan, larger than a condor or any bird on Earth.
Name:
Mature Flying Draki
Level:
13
Class:
Drake
Energy Points (Max)
200 (250)
Health Points (Max):
300 (300)
Skills:
Unknown
The face was reptilian and the head bald, not like a bald eagle, but covered in scales and bony ridges along its head and jaw. A similar bony outcropping covered the edges around the wings. Kano was surprised as the thing looked like a bird dinosaur hybrid, and with its size, the creature must consume a lot of meat. While in the village, Kano had not seen anything like the ogre bear he fought in the arena, despite assurances from Paul there were many nasty, dangerous predators in the wild.
"Damn!" Luke swore, just as his arrow took flight, off target. The creature took off flying and flapping fast to dodge the missile.
Kano did not know how dangerous the almost dinosaur was but he had no desire to find out. While Luke loaded another arrow, he dove into the storage, grabbing and preparing his own bow as fast as he could. By the time he was able to draw down, the creature had flown away, out of sight.
"Did you get it?" Kano asked, watching the skies and hoping for a yes answer from Luke.
"No," the man replied, arrow knocked and turning, standing in the boat even though the terrain had grown rougher, making maintaining balance tricky.
A moment later, the dinosaur entered their vision once more and Luke fired too quickly. Kano watched as the arrow missed, then started to breath more calmly, focusing on his shot. He knew that going off without preparing would ruin his chances and before Kano was ready, it dipped again beyond the treeline and reach of his bow.
Not for the first time, he really wanted magic augmentation. It was a game world, after all, and he knew that there were different rules than Earth. Despite the rarity of magic items, the ore Kano had obtained could change things, maybe for the whole village. If the Mananite ore was truly rare, indeed, perhaps it could even change the entire world. Kano shuddered at the thought, feeling a cold sensation down his spine at the thought of people with evil intent creating magical weapons of destruction.
Luke and Kano continued to scan the skies and then the creature came back for another pass overhead. This time, their arrows struck true, one in the beast’s shoulder, and a second through the draki’s throat. The left wing pumped and the right fell, useless, as the creature let out a half scream, half gurgle, and plunged in to the deep river water below.
Kano breathed a sigh of relief as the creature splashed down. He pumped a fist into the air, grinning, and then saw the confused look on his companions’ faces.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked, and Randy nodded, pointing to his brother as if to imply, what he said.
"Ah, celebrating?" Kano replied, chagrined.
"We don't know what or who made those tracks. That wasn’t the draki," Luke reminded him, drawing a fresh arrow and looking around the shoreline for danger.
"Right," Kano said, feeling a bit embarrassed and then doubling his efforts to spy any potential issues or bandits.
Randy had resumed rowing, the other two men on guard. While the prints on the sides of the river were a concern, without proof, they decided to continue down the river, rather than stop or return to the village. A minute passed, then two and they were closer to the narrows. Kano and Luke were scanning the horizon while Randy continued working the oars on his own. He had started to scan the horizon himself, expecting something else to happen. When more minutes rolled by the group gradually relaxed, despite navigating the narrowest passage along the entire river as the currents grew frothy.
Kano suspected something else was going to happen ever since the weird bird creature had appeared. However, as the minutes ticked by and his shoulders started to ache from waiting for something, anything, he gradually started to relax. The ideal place for an ambush was the narrows, as Luke had described this stretch of water, and there was not a bandit in sight. Nor were any other dangers in sight, for that matter, other than a narrower pass amidst a faster moving current.
Thoughts about putting down the bow, or at least releasing the tension, crossed Kano’s mind as his calloused hands grew tired from pulling on the string. He pulled back, harder, ensuring the arrow was ready and decided, if he saw nothing soon, he’d put the bow away. The next flying creature appeared just as he increased the tension on the bowstring.
This time, Kano and Luke both fired an arrow at the same time. Then they reloaded, faster than before, and got off a secondary round even before the first struck home. The arrows had flown true and the multiple flights sank deep into the draki’s abdomen, chest and wings for a massive amount of damage. This beast dropped out of the sky, same as the first, and Kano breathed a sigh of relief.
"Surely, there won't be any of those where we camp," Kano said, stretching his tense shoulders and scanning the horizon and riverbank for further hostiles.
"Let's hope not," Luke said, "We've been lucky so far."
The craft continued to navigate the narrows, with Randy's steady hands on the rudder and the oars gliding effortlessly through the rough water. The boat went through without a problem, and Luke made a wry smile about it as the current let up and the river grew wider once more.
"Sometimes it's harder than others through that stretch, especially if the rains have been light. If we’d had a drought this year who knows, maybe we'd have hit a rock!" He laughed openly when Kano squirmed, his face going pale.
Just then, as if Luke was a prophet, the boat hit a rock and Randy fell over his seat from the impact, turning the boat sharply to the side. Kano lost his seat, sent sprawling forward and almost broke his bow in the fall. Luke managed to fall without losing his grip on the bow and arrow he was holding, at the cost of his knees. He grit back a scream from the pain of slamming his knees into the hull.
Randy strapped down the rudder into a straight position and took up the oars to push the boat faster, ensuring they could continue in the rough patches in the current with less trouble. The momentum helped and the stout man masterfully guided the boat through the last of the narrows, just as Luke sat heavily down onto the front bench, rubbing at his knees in pain. When they returned to The Three Rivers, the narrows would be where the magic oarlocks helped the most.
"We’re all clear!" Randy pronounced, the rough patches in the water receding to the stern, their white caps on clear blue water fading. He used the oars to reposition the boat into the middle of the slow moving river once again. Once satisfied with the boat’s position in the river, smack in the middle, he pulled the oars in and stretched.
"You first, of course," Luke said, getting up unstringing his bow. “The danger is passed,” he said, and stowed the weapon. Kano inspected his bow and then followed suit. Afterwards, Kano sat back down on the middle bench and grabbed the same oars he used earlier at the start of their journey.
"Could we stop in a few minutes? I think I need to relieve myself," Kano said, a bit embarrassed. He knew if needed, he could pee over the railing as he had done before, but, in this case, he needed to do a bit more.
"Sure," Luke said, relaxing in the front after stowing his gear. "I'd be okay with that," he said, looking around at the riverbank. It was much wider now, slower current and forest up to the edge. There were some places for creatures to hide, but not enough to enable a large-scale ambush.
The river bent and after the curve, the current dissipated completely, making progress even easier. Kano continued rowing and then Luke turned the rudder and steered them into the first likely spot they could use to park and go ashore. When the group pulled in alongside the riverbank, Kano was the first overboard. "Back in a minute," he cried, while running for the nearest tree. It was obvious the innkeeper was going to take more than a minute.