The Copper Rose

by David Lingard

  “So what do I have to do?” I asked. “Do I need to house and feed all of these dwarves?”

  Gorin laughed right from his belly. “Of course not! These aren’t members of your village, merely visitors. The tavern will address their needs and when they are done with merriment and trading, they shall leave once more!”

  I followed the logic that the tavern would house and feed the dwarves in some kind of magical and mystical game mechanic, which was brilliant as it meant that I wasn’t about to be eaten out of house and home for these belligerent bastards.

  My mind returned to the tavern, where I’d seen the request for a pick from Gorin on a greencard and I couldn’t help myself but ask.

  “Gorin, in the tavern you’ve put up a notice asking for a new pickaxe, is that right?” I noticed that at the mention of the quest, his head dropped slightly.

  “Yes, that’s mine” he answered slowly. “I…uh…lost mine…and uh…well I need a new one!”

  “Can’t you get on at the trading forum?” I asked.

  “Do you have any at the trading forum?” he replied

  “Oh, I uh…” I started, It was apparent that I was still unsure of how exactly the forum worked. It didn’t sound like the magical marketplace I’d hoped for.

  “Because none of the dwarves in the village now will be willing to trade anything for their picks. A pick is a dwarf’s entire life, without it he is lost.” I could hear the sombre tone to his voice and decided not to press too much.

  “Right, I didn’t realise,” I replied thoughtfully.

  “You can have one made though,” he continued a little more encouragingly. “A decent enough crafter will be able to put something together.” He looked around quickly and hushed his voice slightly, “nothing made for goblins though, those things always tend to be a little…small.”

  His muscle size and battleaxe told the story of a strong, proud dwarf and I certainly couldn’t see him using a tool that would look as though it was designed for a child.

  I bid Gorin a farewell as I made my mind up, I would try to craft the axe myself.

  It was a simple enough item to visualise, I started off with the simplest of pickaxes, a wooden handle with an iron head hammered onto its end, a triangular chock forced into the top to provide friction to keep everything in place, but as I worked it make my mind wander about why I should just follow the status quo. I immediately scrapped the traditional mental image of the pick and started over again. It stood to reason that the pick was made to be swung at a rock to break it, with either side providing either a pointed stabbing motion or a flattened breaking motion. I knew that they were counterbalanced so that they could be swung easier, but essentially the efficiency of the tool relied upon the wielder even more than the tool itself – with each link in the chain not able to work without the other.

  Would it be possible to automate something to make mining something that anyone could do, regardless of their skill or competence?

  I thought about how I would break a rock in a scenario where it was too hard or too big for me to simply chip away at, and how I would tackle it in practice. Firstly and most obviously there was dynamite, but I was still unsure of how to craft that, or even if it existed in this world. Secondly, I recalled a rather curious way in which I’d seen gold miners break up a rock, by drilling deep into it and implanting an expanding gel, essentially forcing the rock apart from within. I wondered if that would work by simply filling the inside of the rock with water somehow and freezing it, but again my mind was simply wandering.

  My final thought was of a battering ram. In times of war, these huge machines were used to break down reinforced walls or doors, and the physics of the matter was usually rather simple – a huge horizontal suspended log would be swung and its inertia would cause a tremendous force to be exerted on its target. I am no fool though, I knew there was no way for something that size to actually enter a mine, but the idea evolved and grew in my mind.

  What if I combined that philosophy with that of a catapult? An operator could wind a huge elasticated horizontal pick back and release it, at which point all of its stored potential energy would be released onto the rocks in front of it in the form of kinetic energy. It took me a moment longer than I care to admit, but I became acutely aware that I had just reinvented and somewhat overengineered a hammer drill and with that concept in mind I refined my idea.

  The final result was indeed a big hammer drill but for some small amendments. It still had a single spear-like pick protruding from its base, adjustable to differing heights and angles, but attached to the elasticated arms that provided the machine its power was a huge staged cam, so that constant revolution would result in an uninterrupted stream of blows. It looked like one of those puckle guns – a manual machine gun with a crank on it. My instincts however, made me extend that handle so that it was wide enough for two people (or goblins) at once, as it did look as though it could get a bit heavy.

  You are attempting to construct a Drill.

  This drill is of a special design which the Human Tandy has envisioned. The drill is used to mine stone and other naturally occurring materials, and may require workers and/or additional resources in order to function.

  Material Cost:

  Wood 150

  Stone: 20

  Iron Bar: 3

  Would you like to craft the Drill? Yes/No

  ‘Holy hell it worked’ I thought as I agreed to the terms. It wasn’t quite an item but also it equally wasn’t a building – it was something in between, which was probably why the drill didn’t materialise right away, rather it appeared before my feet in a kind of mini construction zone. It didn’t take long to work on though, and really it was no effort because as per usual I simply needed to be ‘working on it’ for the progress bar to slowly fill. Before too long my new mining drill had been completed and I couldn’t be happier with it.

  I quickly realised that this wasn’t exactly the pick that the greencard had asked for, so I recalled the mental image of the standard axe and called it into existence. I took my time on the pick, I imagined the sleek lines of the wooden handle, curved slightly so that it would feel smooth to the user. I mentally sanded the wood before applying an oil coat to finish it and in my mind I could almost see the grain of the wood, every ridge, every knot, every imperfection. When I imagined the head I made it from hard black iron. I considered steel but decided on iron partly for the colour and partly because I already knew iron picks were a thing. I pointed one end of the iron and flattened the other but made sure that the curve of the metal was gradual and consistent. Viewing the object as a whole, I could see that although as sure as eggs are eggs, this pick looked particularly well put together.

  Iron Pick Axe

  Quality: Good

  Durability: 10/10

  Crafted by: Tandy

  This is a good quality item. It will fulfil its intended purpose dutifully and will stand the test of time, however it is not likely to turn any heads.

  It sounded as though I was being mocked for my inferior item, but I kind of didn’t care for I had made something of ‘good’ quality and could hand in the quest attached to the greencard. It did make me wonder exactly what I’d have to do to craft something better than a ‘good’ item, but I was sure that that bridge would present itself for crossing at some point.

  I found Gorin and a handful of other dwarves sat outside the tavern around a small fire that they had evidently made as a precursor to the darkness that never failed to take Freedom Online into night. It looked funny to me that they were so stereotypical, but I guessed that it made sense really, why wouldn’t they be?

  “Oh Gorin?” I called playfully as I approached the group. I held the pick in my hand and spun it as if to emphasise his presence. The dwarf practically jumped to his feet and barrelled towards me.

  “Is that for me? Oh, heavens above that is a wondrous thing!” His thick accent only served to emphasise his delight and as much as I had a strong desire to
tease him, I thought better of it. I handed him the pick and accepted the notification that confirmed the transfer.

  Gorin was silent for a moment as he examined my pick in detail before attaching it to his crossed back straps.

  “That’s not all I made…” I trailed off in an attempt to build a little suspense for my drill.

  I beaconed and encouraged Gorin to follow to where I had created the machine that I knew would speed up our mining process to no end, and was happy to see that a few of the other dwarves had decided to follow to see what all the fuss was about, but when we arrived at the drill the reception was not one that I had been expecting.

  Gorin kicked the drill with his booted toe. Not enough to cause it any harm, more like in utter disgust.

  “And what in all creation might this be then?” he grumbled, the only dwarf to speak.

  “It’s a mining drill” I replied rather proudly, “so that mining for stone and metals can be easier and quicker.”

  Gorin’s voice started to rise “There’s no skill in letting a machine, a MACHINE do the work of skilled dwarven miners!”

  I hadn’t thought about it that way but persisted on in an effort to placate the miner. “No, no its for you to use! So that you can use your skill as a miner, and the drill as a tool to make your life easier!” I quickly protested.

  “But just anyone can use it right?” Gorin asked.

  “Well, yes.” I said, “But it’s not just for anyone.” I knew what he was getting at, he wanted to be the only miner in town. “Why don’t you just have a go and see how you get on?”

  “I will not use this piece of machinery designed to remove me from my post! All I need is a pick and a rock, not any of this new age rubbish!” he growled, growing ever louder and with that, he turned on his heels and walked away without speaking another word.

  It was a bit of a loss for my ego which was about to be remedied, as the two dwarves that had followed had begun to examine my drill a little closer, turning the handle and watching it work. They seemed excited by the speed of the drill point and at how much faster they would be able to work with it.

  “Can…we use it?” the first one asked in an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice.

  “Well, yes,” I replied, “It was made to make mining easier, and if you want to use it then go right ahead.” Their enthusiasm soothed my bruised ego somewhat – perhaps making the drill was a good idea after all, and Gorin was just one of those people who was dead against change of any sort.

  I watched as the two dwarves pushed the drill with some considerable effort away from where it had been constructed and into the mine, but something occurred to me that I hadn’t yet taken the time to think about – would these dwarven miners be gathering resources for me, or for themselves? I knew I’d never be able to tell from my information panels, as I didn’t know exactly how many resources I already had or even their collection rates so I just made a mental note to ask at the next opportunity, it was getting late anyway.

  I left the mining area to head back towards my Chief’s Hut where I could get some well-earned rest. Along the way, I could see that where Coyote Creek would typically have ceased to operate and plunge into darkness at this hour, it seemed to now be running throughout the night as though it was some kind of lively city. Fires and torches burned on the outsides of buildings and on the insides of walls, goblins seemed to be going about their business all around me walking from building to building while chatting merrily in the orange glow. In fact, where once the creek was silent, it was now a buzzing hive of speech, laughter and merriment. I couldn’t help but smile to myself knowing that this was all because of me.

  Chapter Twenty-Two, Devastation

  I

  Couldn’t have been asleep for very long when I heard the first screams, as when I emerged bleary-eyed from my hut it was still dark, the fires were still burning but there were no longer any goblins merrily roaming the streets. The settlement seemed empty but for the long shadow of a single figure heading towards me in a slow, lumbering state. I didn’t know who could’ve made the screams, but they were long gone now.

  As it approached, I could see that the figure was carrying a huge club that reached down to its ankles, and the creature itself was a few feet taller than me if not bigger – so to the goblins the thing was monstrous. It was pretty fat, and if it was any bigger I would’ve instantly recognised the thing as an ogre – but it was definitely too small to be an ogre, perhaps it was a juvenile or a cross breed? It didn’t matter – I could see that it wasn’t a particularly friendly creature, as in its other hand it was dragging a goblin along the ground by its ankles. One of my goblins.

  I couldn’t tell who it was but I was filled with instant rage. It almost blinded me and if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d now been flanked by Ushuk and Snafu, thank God they were OK, I would have charged the beast down with nothing but my fists.

  It was strange to think that my Lieutenant, Grish, or any of his soldiers hadn’t made it to my hut to warn me of the impending danger but there was no time to worry about it as we needed to act as quickly as possible. Ushuk handed me a wooden spear tipped with a steel arrow pointed head, and I could see that he and Snafu also held one each. I made a quick assessment and realised that in this scenario I was going to have to be the tank due to the goblins’ lower heath points.

  I took a step forward and shouted the first thing that came into my mind.

  “HEY! Leave him alone!” I called towards the creature. Once its attention focussed on me and it started to move towards me, I could analyse it for its vital statistics.

  Name: Ogre (Adolescent)

  Level: 15

  Race: Ogre

  Attributes:HP: 99/100. MP: ?/?

  Strength:?

  Wisdom:?

  Social:?

  One hundred health was a steep mountain to climb, but I smiled inwardly at the fact that someone had managed to get a hit in on it even if it did only take away one health point.

  I would’ve guessed that an ogre would have high strength, and probably resistance to physical attacks – and that generally meant one thing, that it would be weak to magical attacks. I could almost rub my hands together maniacally – that was if I actually knew any magical attacks. As it was we were pretty much on our own with the spears that we had.

  My first attack landed for a solid five points of damage, but the retaliation of fifteen points and a very painful club blow to my shoulder returned me to the reality of my own situation. I was not a combat build. I was barely a healer but here I was, mano-e-mano with an ogre, something that is generally assumed to be a strong fighter.

  Luckily for me, I had two companions with me. Snafu’s spear came within inches of my waist as she did her best to keep out of the ogre’s range of attacks, and Ushuk thought the best way to attack would be to treat the ogre as if it were an alligator. He jumped as high as he could towards the enemy with his spear outstretched. I could see from the get-go though that he would not be able to reach the full height of the ogre and he was swatted out of the air like a plane circling King Kong. Ushuk fell to the ground a few feet away but I could see that at least his spear-tip had damaged his target.

  Our flurry of attacks had caused nine more points of damage to the ogre, but in return we had suffered much worse. I quickly cast Healing Aura on Ushuk, which allowed him to return to his feet at full heath, then again on myself, which didn’t quite fill my bar back to its capacity but the pain in my shoulder all but disappeared.

  We followed the same pattern again, I attacked the ogre, I cringed as it hit me back, Snafu snuck in a hit and Ushuk charged in as hard as he could. The ogre stood strong at eighty-one health points, and although by the time we had healed again, my mana pool was only just over half. In this particular battle of attrition, I could see that we really had no chance unless something was to drastically change.

  After one more flurry of attacks, I knew I was on my last roll of the dice. The ogre fell to seventy-
two health and I used my last mana on healing myself and Ushuk again.

  “Stay behind me!” I commanded Ushuk and he knew not to question the order, he would be far better off staying out of the firing line, but I could see straight away the downside to that as instead of damaging our enemy for nine points per turn, we now only caused seven damage. As much as that might not sound like a lot, it meant that over one hundred health points we would have to attack an extra four times, or suffer an additional four hits of retaliation.

  Stab, Bang. Ouch.

  Stab, Bang, Ouch.

  Stab, Bang, Ouch.

  Stab, Bang, Ouch.

  It took no time at all for me to reach the last dregs of my health pool. The ogre had damaged me for sixty points of my seventy point health pool, and as a group, we had managed to reduce him in turn to forty-four. My choice now was to either sacrifice one of the goblins so that I could continue my attacks, or let the ogre finish me off.

  It wasn’t a choice really. No matter what I thought about my self-preservation instinct, I knew I could never throw a living being under the bus like that. I simply closed my eyes and waited for the final blow to arrive.

  The sound of a club crunching bone made my teeth hurt. But…nothing else hurt. I wasn’t unconscious and it didn’t feel like the club had taken my last breath. I opened my eyes and before me was Bones, placed squarely between myself and the ogre.

  “Bones you beautiful beast you!” I called out and if I didn’t know any better I was sure that I saw him smile.

  “Get out of there!” Rachel’s call snapped me back to reality and I dived backwards and out of the arena of battle.