by Tom Larcombe
Aaron gulped again and quickly backed out of the office.
I always thought that guy was a bumbling blowhard, he thought. I guess I was wrong and he just isn't in his element with what they had him doing. Gotta remind myself to show the man a little more respect in the future.
~ ~ ~
Allie was done for the day after they destroyed the goblin village, so they headed back towards the farm.
“She's like this all the time,” Tiana said softly. “I hate to talk about her this way, but she only ever wants little chunks of adventuring. I could probably be level fifteen by now if I'd spent these last couple of weeks with a group that spent more time adventuring.”
I'm not that worried about levels right now, I'd rather just get my inn done. Still, even I could've gone on to do another village or a few more patrols without feeling it in the least, Eddie thought.
“Well, we've got an overlarge group here, right? Maybe after Karl and I get a few more levels we can go out without her. Maybe that'll spur her to want to do more?” Eddie asked, equally softly.
Tiana shook her head.
“I don't think so, but I'd be willing to do that. Jern looks like he wants more levels too, so he'd be up for it. Dominic would at a guess, but we'd have to check that. Karl might not want to though, it looks like he's kind of head over heels for Allie. So if he didn't that would leave us one short of a normal group size.”
She stumbled as Lucky headbutted her calf.
“Okay, maybe not,” Tiana corrected herself, “but I don't know if we can count you as a full group member Lucky.”
Lucky proceeded to almost trip her up again, twining between Tiana's legs and rubbing against her ankles.
Tiana stopped, laughing lightly, and bent over to pet the bobcat.
“She really did get bigger,” Tiana said.
“She got a level too,” Eddie replied.
“I didn't know pets leveled. Then again, you're the first person I've met that has a pet that can fight so what do I know?”
Eddie was still thinking about Allie's reluctance to adventure more, so he just gave a non-committal grunt. A few moments later he spoke again, once more soft enough that the others wouldn't overhear.
“Do you know why Allie doesn't want to adventure more?” he asked.
Tiana shook her head.
“No, and I didn't think it was my place to ask her either. After all I've got things I prefer not to talk about too.”
“Well, maybe if we ask her we could keep the whole group together and do a little more adventuring each day,” he said. “Besides if it's something bothering her, maybe talking about it would help.”
“Sorry Eddie, that's gonna be all you if you want to do it. I just don't think it's my business to ask her.”
When they got in sight of the farm Eddie stopped dead. There were several people walking around and a number of large crates sitting dead in the middle of the main yard. Then he heard them speaking, the first voice was a feminine one he didn't recognize, the next one he knew though.
“Hey Paul!” Eddie yelled out.
One of the figures in the farmyard turned towards him, waving.
“Eddie, how are ya?” Paul called out.
Eddie trotted up to the man and they shook hands.
“I hope you don't mind,” Paul said. “I had the coordinates for this location from the teleport that brought me here to build the place so I just had the wizard teleport us here.”
“Nah that's fine, just took me off guard is all.”
The two other figures in the yard were both women, one noticeably younger than the other.
“This your wife and daughter?” Eddie asked.
Paul nodded. He turned to the women with him as the rest of the group filed into the yard, gesturing them over.
When he turned back around his arms encircled the two women.
“Eddie, this is my wife Delilah, and my daughter Becky.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Eddie said.
He gestured back to the group that was with him.
“I'm Eddie, this is Karl, Tiana, Allie, Dominic, and Jern,” he said, gesturing towards each in turn.
When he went silent he took a strong headbutt to the shins.
“Oh, and this is Lucky,” he added, “Sorry Lucky, I didn't know if you were going to disappear into the woods or stick around.”
The bobcat twined around his legs, apparently mollified by his explanation. Becky dropped into a crouch, her eyes wide.
“Lucky?” she called softly. “Do you like getting pets?”
Lucky turned and stared at her for a moment before cautiously making her way over. When she got in front of Becky she turned and looked back to Eddie. He grinned and nodded so Lucky plopped back on her haunches and stretched her front body out towards Paul's daughter, keeping herself low to the ground.
Becky hesitantly reached out towards the bobcat, breaking into a massive grin when her fingers felt the cat's soft fur.
Eddie turned back to Paul, feeling like Lucky had actually wanted to go to the younger woman, but had just asked his approval first. So he didn't think there'd be a problem.
“So what's up Paul?” he asked.
“First off, that smaller crate there is filled with coffee beans. Got a good deal on a bulk buy.”
Eddie's eyes widened. The crate was about as large as he'd be able to lift on his own.
“That's a lot of coffee,” he said.
“Yeah, don't worry, part of it's mine,” Paul replied. “We're moving out this way so I hope all those hints you were dropping are still accurate, if this area grows, I can get some business building things. If not, we'd better hope your inn does well.”
“Inn first,” Eddie said, “then I have to see what I'll need to do next. You aren't interested in the quests and everything?”
Paul shook his head.
“Nah, this is just a much nicer place to raise my daughter, even if it isn't the real world. It's not like she's under eighteen or anything, but she's still been living with us. Never been able to find a decent job, there's nothing available out there. But maybe here she can do something?”
Paul shrugged.
“Plus it's just so much nicer here, even my wife commented on it back in Brightport and that place isn't nearly as nice as the Meadowlands,” he said.
“Okay then, why don't you do a 'help player hamlet', pay special attention to the last paragraph. I extrapolated from that, and from Aaron's comments, that some sort of progression will continue beyond that point. I've yet to try some of the other help files that might be pertinent, like the same help for village, town, or city even. That doesn't mean I'm not shooting for something like that though.”
Paul's eyes were vacant for a moment as he read the help file.
“How far do you think that will grow?” he asked when he'd finished reading.
“I'm hoping at least to city. If I had to guess I'd say it will go: hamlet, village, town, city. I'm guessing that the population size will increase radically between them. So, that was what I based my hints, suspicions, and my own plans on.”
“If that's the case I'll have a lot of lower paying work at least,” Paul said.
Eddie nodded.
“Just think about it. Something the size of a town even would need lots of things: a smithy, temple, general goods store. And that last would get cheered by all those adventurers in the fields, they hate the trading post with a passion. But there would also be lots of specialized buildings that you could charge more for if you were the one to make them. Plus if you can get blueprints for them they'll go up much faster, helping the whole area grow faster.”
“I see you've been thinking about this,” Paul said. “It sounds good to me. I came here already figuring I'd build your inn for you for a share of the profits and then see what happens. Sounds like what's going to happen is that I'm going to stay busy after that.”
Eddie nodded.
“That's my hope.”
“More so than you thought. A lot of blueprints, like your inn, require finished boards, not rough hewn. One of those crates has a few saw blades in it, big things, meant for a sawmill. That's the first thing I'll be building. I need to see where there's a fast enough stream nearby to power it though. Hopefully near where I want to put my house, which will be project number two. Then I'll get to work on the inn.”
“Ah, you're playing both sides of the fence? If you supply your own materials you can bid on things cheaper, but if someone wants to compete with you, or they want to build their own building, you can still make some money supplying the planks and blueprints?” Eddie asked.
Paul laughed.
“I thought you might catch on quickly, just not that quickly. Yes, that's my plan. I'll supply lumber to anyone who needs it; logs, rough hewn planks, or finished planks. I just need to hire myself a couple of lumberjacks and provide transport for the lumber and I'm in business.”
“Well, I've got a few guys clearing my lot for the inn,” Eddie said. “I don't know how much longer they'll take, but you can ask them about hiring on with you after they're done. Ingolf might be interested, don't know about the other two though, they don't seem to be nearly as skilled as he is.”
“I talked a little with Ingolf, those are his cousins,” Paul said.
Eddie nodded.
“Yeah, I knew that.”
“Well, they were trying to start a farm all the way west in the Meadowlands. Didn't work too well, goblins burned the place down before they even finished building the farmhouse. That's why they were available to fell trees.”
“So, they aren't lumberjacks at all?”
“Well, no more or less than most anyone else around here. Everyone needs some wood from time to time, so they can all do it, or at least most of them. Ingolf seems to have the skill at a fairly high level though, so I will talk to him. What was he charging you?”
“A silver a day, I jumped all over that. I mean the equivalent of two bucks a day isn't very much.”
“I think I'll offer him a bit more than that. He's a good guy, got some connections I can use too,” Paul said.
Eddie cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Hadn't you noticed?” Paul asked. “There isn't much for beer or other alcohol around here. Ingolf, being a woodsman, has some friends that he's played guide for. He can get them to bring a few things to the area that aren't very common.”
Eddie nodded.
“Yeah, he's the only one I've found that had anything like that, other than that cheap beer that was at the farm.”
Paul grinned.
“So now you know why I want to be on good terms with him.”
“I get it, but I don't think it'll be that important in the long run. When I said I intend to build the area up, I meant a lot. As in we'll hopefully get some trade going here. Then we can buy things like beer at non-smuggled rates.”
“Speaking of beer,” Paul said. “We all need a spot to unload our inventory and I hope you've got some cash on hand. One of the things we brought was a variety of casks of beer and ale, the firkin size. So you'll have a decent supply on hand to start your inn. Should be about five hundred gallons, or a bit more, minus the couple of casks I brought for myself. We put those in our inventory so the weight wouldn't count towards the maximum weight of the teleport.”
Eddie broke into a grin of his own.
“You're a life saver. I was planning on bringing the other casks of that cruddy beer from the farm down, but I was going to have to charge dear for it. How much do I owe you on those?”
“Roughly a hundred and twenty-five gold, but I know you're tight on funds. Can you do a hundred and we'll consider the other twenty-five the rest of my investment in the inn? Then we split the net profits with seventy-five percent for you and twenty-five for me.”
“I was thinking I'd give you a flat ten percent for building the place,” Eddie said.
“That works, but then I'll need the whole one hundred and twenty-five gold for these. Plus another seventy-five for the coffee and other items I brought you.”
“Your in-game account is linked to your full character name, right?” Eddie asked.
Paul nodded.
Eddie pulled up his inventory, clicked into the pouch icon, and looked at the settings for transferring coins. It took him a minute or two to figure it out, then he transferred one silver first.
“Did you just get that?” he asked.
Paul looked distant for a moment.
“One silver?”
“Just making sure it worked right and that I had the correct person. Here you go.”
Eddie transferred the two hundred gold and was surprised to find that he still had a fairly substantial amount remaining. He couldn't make another payment like he just had, but at twenty bucks a pop, he still had almost the equivalent of a thousand dollars in gold pieces.
I guess selling food and shelter here was a good plan, he thought. I haven't made nearly as much going out and adventuring. Although a lot of that was from the quest rewards.
“I've got a receipt for you too, just so you know which cask costs what. Some of the beers were pretty cheap, but there's also a couple of casks of ale that were a lot more pricey,” Paul said.
“Well, let's find a spot for you to unload. Don't want to do it in the bunkhouse, too public.”
“Speaking of which,” Paul said, a little abashed, “we need a place to sleep for a week or so while I build our house, any chance...”
He trailed off.
“Sorry, you're welcome to use the bunkhouse,” Eddie said, “but there is someone else staying there. I'd offer you the rooms in the farmhouse, but those are full with my adventuring party. Worse still, I stole all the mattresses out of the bunkhouse for the rooms I'm renting out closer to the crossroads.”
Paul brightened.
“Can I steal a little bit of lumber too? Just enough to section out a couple of rooms in the bunkhouse so it isn't dormitory style.”
“You're welcome to it. Let me harness up an ox to the cart and you can go snag as much as you like from the pile over near the bunkhouse I'm renting out. There's a lot of it, more than I expected.”
“Your turn to be a lifesaver. My wife would've been more than a little irked if we'd had to sleep in a tent for a few days. Hopefully the sawmill will only take a couple of days and there will be a good site for the house near it. I'm hoping for a view of the lake, maybe even claim some lake shore acreage too.”
“I've got just the man for you to talk to then,” Eddie said. “Follow me.”
Eddie led Paul into the house where Karl had gone. He found him in the kitchen, eating.
“Karl, Paul could use your help,” Eddie said.
“Huh? How?” Karl asked.
“Well, you already mapped west of the crossroads right, down near the lake?”
Karl nodded.
“Yeah, why?”
“He wants to claim some land, put in a sawmill and a house. Is there an area near the lake with a fast moving stream?”
“Or just where the stream drops elevation quickly,” Paul added.
“Sure, I think I saw something like that. Come with me and we'll check,” Karl replied.
Eddie left the two together, checking out Karl's maps. He headed back outside and immediately went to the crate of coffee beans. When he pried the lid off, he found several percolators and bean grinders lying on top of the sacks of coffee beans. He grabbed a percolator, grinder, and a bag of beans, then made his way to the kitchen.
When Tiana wandered into the kitchen about twenty minutes later, she was following her nose. Eddie had a pot of coffee brewing atop the wood stove in there. By the time it was done, Karl and Allie were waiting also. He presented the first cup to Tiana.
“Coffee, as promised,” he said to her grinning face.
Rather than take the cup right away, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, then took the cup while he was standing there stunned.
�
�Hell,” Eddie said, “with a reaction like that I ought to serve coffee instead of booze at the inn.”
“Do both,” Karl said, “Get 'em coming and going. They'll want drinks at night and coffee in the morning to help shake the hangover.”
Eddie took the fourth cup poured, despite his eagerness to taste the brew. As with all the other food he'd tried the coffee tasted much better in the game than he remembered it tasting in real life.
As a matter of fact, this is the first time I've ever had coffee that tasted as good as it smelled when it was being ground and brewed, he thought.
Paul came in while Eddie was on his second cup.
“I see you found the percolators,” Paul said.
“And the grinders. I assumed at least one of each was for me.”
“Yeah, we'll split those down the middle, three each. Just to have backups in case something happens,” Paul said. “But that's not what I came in to talk to you about. Any chance I can borrow your ox and cart tomorrow too?”
“You can have it in the morning, all the way up until just a little after lunch. Then I'm going to need it to haul me and my food down for sales in the afternoon. By the way, I think the best place to unload all that alcohol, for now, is probably in the basement. The other kegs of cruddy beer are down there, but there's room for a lot more I think.”
“That'll work fine for the beer and that should be fine for the cart as well. I think Karl found me a spot, just a quarter mile upstream of the lake, that will work for my sawmill. There's a level area there too that'll work for the house and garden as well, right between the lake and the sawmill spot. I'm going to walk down and check that out now. If it'll work I'll get started on the sawmill tomorrow.”
“I know you said the sawmill first, but why?” Eddie asked.
“I'm not going to ask my wife to live in a house made out of rough hewn planks. That's a great way for her to decide that she doesn't want to live in game. Finished planks for the house, that's why the sawmill first. With the way the game works I ought to be able to churn out enough finished planks for the house in a couple of days.”
“Tell you what, I'll have the guys here not split some of the trees they're felling for me and you can get started with those. You still want the rough hewn for the sawmill though, right?”