“Good work Vrick,” I said encouragingly. “Keep on practicing, I’ll see what I can do to get you a proper workshop.”
“Thank you, Dark Totem,” he nodded gravely.
I went to the Smithy construction site. I was curious to see the progress with my own eyes.
It was located away from the center, closer to valley’s cliffs, where the ore veins were. I was delighted to see the stone structure near completion. It had three sturdy stone walls, forming an open rectangle. Inside, a large stone forge was almost complete. It was built with lava bricks left over from the shrine construction. Probably because they’re stronger than the standard limestone, I reasoned.
The roof was almost complete as well. As I watched, Bargush was laying the final timbers on the roof, hammering them down in place.
Malkyr was already there, stoking the forge and preparing a small stack of raw ore to be smelted.
I checked the progress via the Interface. 232 /250 BP.
We were getting close to completing our Smithy.
I knew I’d start getting impatient if I simply stood and watched them work, so I went looking at the nearby Quarry. The Stonemason was working hard and had already stacked a dozen bricks in a neat pile next to him. Surprisingly, Guba was also there, messing around with the stones debris.
“What are you doing?” I approached her.
She looked up at me, “Hmph, it’s you again. Better not be ‘ere to get me cookin’!” she warned.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I raised my arms in submission.
“Hmph,” she grunted. “Found me some sulfur deposits here, so I be checking to see if some can be refined. It seems promising, I can put it to use in some of my Chemist recipes. But you’ll need a Refiner worker to get me a steady supply. Anyway, I got five portions, should be enough for now.”
That piqued my interest. “What can you make with it?”
“Nothing!” she placed her hands on her hips. “Not until I’ll be getting my Chemist Lab, you ogre-witted youngling!”
“What can you make of it when you have a Chemist Lab?” I clarified.
“Hmph. Volatile chemical reaction. Or to put it in words you understand; stuff that goes ‘boom’.”
“Explosives?” that would be awesome. I guess I should start thinking about building the Chemist Lab as well.
Guba got up on her feet, sweeping debris off her clothes. “Yes. Explosives. Now go bother someone else.” Murmuring to herself in annoyance, she walked away.
Everything seemed to be in order. Time to do some crafting, I concluded. I went back to the camp, looking for more items to enchant. To my frustration, I realized we only had a single spare dagger. This was not good. I went over the lumberjacking area, where the warriors were hacking mechanically at the trees. I took their spears and exchanged the three axes I enchanted yesterday with unenchanted ones, then I went back to my house.
I sat down with pleasure on the new stool the twins had gotten for me, and spread out the items to be enchanted on the small table; a dagger, three battle axes and the two falchions that were hanging from one of my house walls. I cracked my knuckles and got to work.
A few hours later, as I was just about to finish enchanting the third weapon, the long-awaited system message popped up.
New Building added to your settlement: Smithy
Awesome! I thought in satisfaction. I turned my attention back to the item in my hand and continued enchanting.
It was getting close to the end of the night when I finally finished the fifth item. I had raised my Runecraft skill by 2 points, to a total of 8. Finished for the day, I got to my feet, stretched and made my way to take a look at the new Smithy.
I heard the sounds of Malkyr’s pounding hammer long before I had reached the building.
The Smithy’s three walled layout provided a clear view of its interior, while also allowing the place to be aired out easily, and alleviated some of the heat generated by the forge. A crude looking anvil stood next to the forge, and Malkyr was merrily pounding away at the piece of metal on it. The night was over, morning light showed over the cliffs.
“I see you decided to stick around,” I said to the giant.
He grinned, “Thought I might as well. I don’t mind the darkness as much when I don’t have to stumble around in it, walking into trees. The time dilation thing pretty much allows me to stay up and work for days before getting tired IRL. It’s pretty awesome actually.”
“So how do you like the new Smithy?” I grinned back at him.
“Not bad,” he looked around. “A bit crude. The anvil is made mostly from tin and copper, making it a bronze anvil in effect, so it’s not the best to work on. We’ll need some iron to make a better one.”
“But it is workable, right?” I wanted to make sure.
“Oh yes, it’s ok for creating simple tools. I already raised my Smithing skill by two points simply by helping to smelt enough ore to make it.” Looking at his surrounding, it looked as if he was claiming ownership of the place. A serene expression on his face.
“I like it here. I never helped build anything from such a basic level. It gives a very real sense of… accomplishment. I think I’ll stay here for a while, practice my Smithing some more.”
“Alright. Enjoy yourself, if you need anything just ask.” I turned to leave.
“Hold on a sec, there’s actually something else I want.”
I turned back to him.
He grinned at me, “I want to complete another quest.” then he reached behind the anvil and retrieved an object wrapped in fur. He gave me a knowing smile, then slowly pulled the fur away from the object. There, laying in the fur, was a brand-new pickaxe.
Crude Bronze Pickaxe
Description: A simple pickaxe, made from bronze, not very durable but serviceable.
Type: tool
Rank: crude
Durability: 10 /10
Granted quest completed: Bring a Pickaxe
Malkyr, Hoshisu rewarded: 284 XP, 20 reputation with GreenPiece clan, 10 gold
Quest Giver skill level increased to 10
I actually felt myself tearing up a little bit. I never thought such a simple cheap item would cause such an emotional stir. I’d finally gotten a new pickaxe! I could put the Miner back to work, I could get another Stonemason. Finally!
“Thanks a lot man, it means a lot to me,” I said, hoarsely.
He looked surprised by my reaction, but shrugged it off, “No problem man, my pleasure. Really. I like your quest rewards.”
I grinned back weakly at him.
I held the pickaxe in my hand. “Bring it to the miner, it’s about time he got back to work. Tell him to start mining the iron.”
“I’m not your errand boy!” Malkyr replied incredulously, “I thought we understood each other”.
I shook my head “I was not talking to you.”
“Then wh--” Malkyr jaw dropped in shock, as my purple cloak flowed out from around me, reaching with a tentacle-like appendage, to take the pick from my hand. The rest of the cloak disengaged from my shoulders, forming Vic’s body - legs, then his torso, until he was fully in his goblin shape, holding the pickaxe with one hand.
“HOLY SHITING CRAP!” Malkyr exclaimed, “Your cloak just turned into a freaking purple goblin!”
“Oh, that’s Vic, my companion.” I told the astonished man. “Vic, Malkyr. Malkyr Vic. As you can see the ritual sacrifice didn’t really harm him.”
Vic gave me a dirty look before walking away, taking the pick and muttering “treating me like his damned errand-boy again…”
“Man, you are full of surprises. Wait until Hoshisu hears about it!”
I bade him goodbye and left the Smithy. It was time to get a Smith of my own to do some metal banging around here. I went looking for my Cook.
“I was just about to go look for you,” Gandork informed me when I reached him. “I just finished preparing the twentieth unit of Advanced Food.”
“Good, br
ing them and 30 simple food to the Breeder’s Den please.” The Crafter type goblins cost the same as Advanced workers.
I opened the Interface and for the first time selected the Simple Crafter goblin. On the following screen I selected Blacksmith, then confirmed.
The Breeder’s Den began screeching and growling in a most disturbing way. What kind of psycho game developer takes the time to design such a wide range of disturbing sounds? I wondered.
A few moments later, the building spewed out my freshly minted Blacksmith. He was completely black. Even more than the standard dark complexion of my goblins. He stood there, looking around confidently, before noticing me.
He approached me, bowed his head and spoke, “I greet you, our great Dark Totem. May fire ever flow in your veins and burn your enemies.”
“Err, hello.” I was a bit taken back by the formality in this one’s tone. I analyzed him.
Barzel, Goblin crafter. Level 1; HP: 20; MP: 10; P:2, M:0, S:-1; Skills: Blacksmith 1
So, another VI seeded goblin! I immediately noticed he didn’t have the standard Noncombatant trait all the workers automatically had. How nice.
I opened the Energy Interface and invested the 50 energy points to raise him to the second level. Then, offered my hand in greeting.
“Welcome to the GreenPiece clan,” I greeted him as we shook. “We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”
I proceeded to grant him the Lucky Bastard skill.
He stared at the skill transference light show with some fascination. “When may I start my work?”
“Immediately,” I replied. “We work nights, so you have about an hour before we finish for the day.” I pointed toward the Smithy. “That’s where you’ll work. You’ll find Malkyr already at the forge, he’s an ally, so show him respect. Start by smelting the ore we currently have into ingots. Afterward, there are a lot of tools we need around here.”
He bowed respectfully, “At once, Dark Totem.”
I watched him go and yawned deeply. Unlike Malkyr, who could easily keep working for days considering the real-world time flow, I was synchronized with the accelerated in-game day cycles and got tired accordingly. Probably from living in the game for so long.
I went to my house to sleep the day away.
Today had been a good day.
25 - Food Matters
It was late in the day, well past the time I normally got up. But I was still lying in my bed-furs exhausted.
It had been a long sleepless day. Tika was growing more confident in our sleeping arrangement. After we went to bed she remained awake for quite some time. Awake and very active. She continuously and subtly squirmed in my arms, stretching and ‘accidentally’ brushing against my nether regions and occasionally licking my face. Though it was quite fun, I struggled with myself for restraint and with her attempts to ‘get her goblin-groove on’. It’s been a long while since I’ve last contended with such a determined goblin foe. I never suspected this once shy gobliness would become so daring. And so damn handsy.
It was difficult, but I behaved myself. Eventually I ended up wrapping my arms tightly around her in a bear hug, keeping her still until she eventually fell asleep.
When I woke up I still felt the leftover of adrenaline rushing through me, and I felt a bit woozy from lack of sleep.
After reluctantly getting myself out of bed, I shambled through the village, heading for the pond. It’s been awhile since I last went for a swim, but now, the cold water was just what I needed to wake up. And to cool down.
Then, still shivering from my swim, I joined my clan mates around the cookfire for breakfast.
Gandork had outdone himself, everything-the strips of fried meat, grilled mushrooms, and herbed sauce was delicious. His Cooking skill was leveling quickly with all the extra work I was loading him with.
Everyone at the campfire was sitting and eating. I was surprised to see Yeshlimashu and Zuban were having an animated discussion, apparently Yeshy got over his suspicions. A couple of young goblin children were running around.
Wait, what? Since when do we have young ones around here? They were babies a week ago! I Analyzed them.
Goblin. Male, Level 1; HP: 6, MP: 5; P:1, M:0, S:-1; Traits: Fodder
Goblin. Male, Level 1; HP: 6, MP: 5; P:1, M:0, S:-1; Traits: Fodder
Well, though they were still small, they were level 1, meaning they were fully functioning individuals now. They were listed simply as goblins, the lowest rank of the goblin hierarchy. They were smaller than the warriors or even the workers but were considered fully grown now. Their whole purpose was to serve as easy-to-kill fodder for 1st level players to hunt down, in order to gain experience. They had no work skills and no combat proficiencies. They even had a trait called Fodder.
Trait: Fodder
The least intelligent of the specie. Not trainable. Can understand and follow simple orders (up to three-word commands). Cannot gain new skills. Level does not increase. Daily upkeep is ½ normal amount. 40% health reduction.
Jeez! At least the upkeep cost for these ‘Foblins’ was reduced. Most goblin clans sported many such low-level goblins. They provided the first line of defense from wandering adventurers. In favorable circumstances two of them could present a bit of a challenge for a level 1 player.
I actually had an option in the Breeder’s Den interface to summon them; they only cost 20 basic food. In theory I could summon twenty of them right now, but that would be a huge waste. Twenty could probably overwhelm the standard hobgoblin patrol, four or five warriors, but the Foblins would suffer heavy casualties and in the end, only a handful would survive. No, if I was going to build a fighting force I’d do it properly; goblin Warriors or stronger all the way through.
But I would make use of these two peons.
“Walk the forest path until you reach a clearing with a single hut. Guard it with your life.” I was going to use them to add a little extra believability to my decoy hut.
The two goblins stared at me stupidly. Right, no more than three-word commands, I remembered. “Vrick,” I called to my lieutenant who was eating nearby.
“Yes Dark Totem?
“Take these two to the old Chief’s Hut. Tell them to guard it, get them some clubs or pointed sticks to use as weapons. Ah, and make sure to get someone to deliver their daily food.”
This should help strengthen the deception. If players found the rundown Chief’s Hut guarded by the two fodder goblins, they would be inclined to believe there was nothing interesting or valuable around. Hopefully this will be enough to discourage them from scouting farther into the valley.
I left Vrick to carry out his orders and went back to my food.
This goblin reproduction thing was unexpected, I need to be more aware of these things from now on. Looking around, I realized my intent to be more aware was belated. Everywhere I looked, goblin females were clearly showing signs of pregnancy. Five of them that I could see, anyway. I shook my head in disbelief. The saying that goblins breed faster than rabbits was not far from the truth.
Well, at least they seem to be doing fine on their own in this area even without my guidance. I chuckled and continued eating my meal, enjoying the surprising new flavors.
“Hey, Gandork,” I called across the dining goblins, “nice work with the breakfast!”
He looked back at me, pleased by my praise. “Thank you, I just reached Apprentice rank and wanted to try something new. Now if I had a proper kitchen, I could really work wonders…” he left that hanging.
Despite his brashness, that was good news. Reaching Apprentice rank meant the cooking would go a lot faster now, and with fewer failures.
This meant I had achieved my first strategic goal! I’d succeeded in establishing a settlement and providing a reliable food supply. I grinned broadly and looked around triumphantly, anticipating the admiring stares of my goblins. Everyone continued to eat, oblivious. “Stupid goblins” I murmured to myself, feeling a bit dejected.
It was time to c
onsider my next move.
The long-term plan was to build a large prosperous city, of course. One with strong defenses, and a fighting force that would support my rise through the boss ranks. But what should my more immediate objectives be?
I currently had a large stack of food, enough to summon a sizable fighting force or a dozen new workers. But what is the best course to promote my overall strategy? Where should I commit my resources next?
The Smithy was finished, and the Mess Hall would probably be completed tomorrow. To reach the second boss tier I needed two Apprentice ranked buildings in the settlement, so I had to decide what the next one would be. I considered building the Workshop, it would provide a workplace for all my crafters, allowing them to practice their trade more efficiently. A dedicated building would still be required for a crafter to practice his trade at higher levels. But the basic tools and items produced in the Workshop would be a huge improvement over the crude level stuff we had now.
I had to be objective though. How would the Workshop actually benefit us? Crafting for crafting’s sake wasn’t useful in this context. It didn’t matter that we could equip an army if we didn’t have one, or build up our stock of trade goods if we didn’t have access to a market to sell them.
No. What I had to do was solidify my claim in these lands. I couldn’t hide in the valley forever. The hobgoblin menace must be dealt with and I had to prepare for when we would eventually be discovered by other players. That meant there was really only one option. I needed to build a sizeable fighting force. I needed an army.
This kind of thinking was foreign to a normal player, who was more used to attacking monster towns than defending them. Still, me being a monster had its advantages. The most obvious was the Breeder’s Den. Even though I was only using it on a small scale right now, being able to instantly summon new troops gave us enormous growth potential. So my immediate goals would be to recruit a few new warriors and have Vrick train their combat skills. The influx of goblins would likely reduce morale further, again due to the lack of housing. I still couldn't afford to invest any resources in building housing for the clan yet.
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