by Rick Scott
“Reece, where are you going?” Gilly shouts through the chat.
“I’m going to try something!”
I just hope I’m right.
I reach the LM and sprint up its side easily while it’s focused on casting its spell. I pull my way up to its back and spot the thing I saw on my HUD again, but this time I see it clearly for what it is.
Target: Weak Spot
Yes!
I pull my blades and stumble toward the small hairless patch of pink skin at the top of the animal’s huge humped back. I plunge into it with a series of attacks, taking off a whopping 1% with each hit. Wow! I get it to 30% but I need to kill faster. I use hide and then hit it with a backstab.
You Backstab the Lakota for 60142 (601) damage!
Dang what a hit! I suddenly see the permissive for my new Assassinate skill go active.
No way!
Could this really work? I have a one in four chance if it does. Or I could try just hitting it again. I see the monster slowly turn translucent. It’s about to disappear! No time for normal attacks. It’s now or never. I use Assassinate and a dark aura surrounds me as my new ability activates.
My weapons flash as I plug my kunai into the beast’s exposed flesh.
A bleating moan escapes from Lakota as the huge beast wobbles beneath my feet, it’s HP bar dropping from 15% to zero in a flash. An area wide message appears.
Reece has defeated Lakota
You successfully assassinate Lakota!
You have defeated Lakota!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
Gilly gains a level!
You gain 850,000 experience points.
Congratulations! You have gained a level!
Congratulations! You have gained a level!
You are now level 82!
You have gained 3 Attribute points.
Congratulations! You have completed the Quest: Taming of the Herd
Congratulations! You have gain the title: Lakota Lambaster
You gain +100 Favor Brookrun Village,
You gain -500 Favor with mountain clans.
You may now access the Herd Resource of Brookrun Meadows
I jump from the beast as it falls to the ground in a massive crash. I check the log again and note that -500 favor. The quest didn’t mention anything about that. Who the heck were the mountain clans anyway?
I push the thought aside as I eagerly check to see what drops the beast might have. I press my palm to the massive corpse and it dissolves as I covert it to nano.
You find 5 Nano Crystals
You find a hung of Lakota meat
You find a hung of Lakota meat
You find a hung of Lakota meat
You find a Lakota’s Ring
You find a Lakota’s Horn
The guys rush in to join me, Gilly leading the pack. She tackles me with a hug while laughing. “Oh my gosh! That was so cool! How did you do that?”
“Not bad, Reece.” Val Helena gives me a wink and a smile.
“Leave it to a bloody ninja, mate,” Rembrandt says cracking a grin. “Damn OP class.”
We all laugh, save for my brother who’s still wearing a scowl.
“How much it give you?” he says. “Let me see.”
Man, what a buzz kill.
I open my palm and focus on materializing the crystals I just absorbed. Five pink crystals the size and shape of miniature candy bars appear in my hand. Maxis snatches them from me. “I’ll hold on to these.”
“Hey!” Gilly says.
“Relax,” Maxis says. “They’re all headed to the same place. What else it drop?”
I check the other items next and then send the links to the party chat.
Lakota’s Ring
+60 STR +2% health regeneration per second
Blessed by the great mountain spirit, this ring empowers the user with boundless strength and vitality.
“This one looks made for you, Val,” I say and produce the iron ring in my hand to trade with her. “Plus I think I still owe you a ring anyway.”
Her big gray eyes widen when she reads the trade details. “Wow, that is good. Okay you can keep the old one.”
She chuckles as she completes the trade and places the rough iron ring on her finger.
“What’s the horn do?” Gilly asks.
I check that link next.
Lakota’s Horn
Summons: Great Herd Stampede
Uses: Once per day
Lakota draws strength from her herd and is never far from reaching them.
Hmm…guess Lakota was a girl after all.
“Summon a stampede, one use per day?” Gilly says.
“Useless gimmicky crap,” Maxis says. “What else?”
I link the meat.
Lakota Meat
Cooking ingredient
The prized meat of the great Lakota is perfectly marbled and more tender than any cut of buffalo meat.
“Now that’s an item that looks worth fighting over,” Val Helena says with a grin.
“Who wants to barbeque!?” Gilly says with a cheer.
As we laugh a bright white light appears behind me. I shield my eyes as I turn about and take a reflexive step backwards as something pushes itself up from out of the ground. When the light subsides I see an obelisk about four feet high and made of crystal standing in the middle of the meadow.
What the heck?
[A Wayfaring Stone has appeared!]
“Holy crap!” I say. “Is this one of those things we’re looking for?”
Maxis sighs folding his arms. “Yup. I told you killing bosses can spawn ‘em. If it works you two can get yourselves home.”
“What?” I say.
Maxis merely nods. “Touch it and see.”
I reach out and touch the crystal.
[Node Terminal 27EE: NULL_ERROR_541]
Whoa. That looks familiar. The same weird message I saw down in the mines when I touched that crystal column. Are the two connected? When I look closer, I see it could possibly be the same material even.
“I got an error,” I say.
“Figures,” Maxis says touching it as well. “Yup. Freaking place sucks.”
“Oh well,” Gilly says cheerfully. “Back to plan A. Helping Val and then finding Citadel.”
“Guess so,” Maxis says.
I ponder a moment. This stone has me curious. “Hey, there’s one of these in the village too right?”
“Yeah.” Rembrandt says. “A little path behind the common hall leads to it. I checked it out already though. No dice.”
I wonder if it will give the same node number and error message as this one. I can’t recall the node number of the one in the mines. But I think the error code was the same. Node 27EE. I make a mental note to recall that later when I check the Wayfaring Stone in Brookrun.
“Why?” Gilly asks. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” I say. I’ll have to tell her about it later. “Hey let’s head back and tell the villagers the good news!”
“Yeah…” Maxis says interrupting me. “…that we’ll be leaving in the morning. You guys are high enough level to move on, I think. We need to get this show on the road.”
“What?” Gilly says. “But I just hit 60. I can’t even use my bow yet!”
“We did good enough out there,” he says and then he looks directly at me. “So long as we stick together as a team. No more unilateral decisions, got it? You could have died out there today.”
My stomach flutters and I swallow a hard lump in my throat. I want to protest but I can’t say anything to deny the fact. “Sorry…”
“You made up for it though, mate.” Rembrandt pats me on the back. “That kill was brilliant. Reminds me how bloody magical a ninja can
be. I think we’ll be fine. We usually scrape through with much less out here, don’t we, Max?”
Maxis only grumbles.
“So it’s agreed,” Val Helena says. “We leave tomorrow.”
And then she turns to my brother and rubs his forearm. “But before we go, let me cook that Lakota meat for you tonight, Max. I promise you won’t regret it. A fine piece of meat like this can’t be left to go to waste.”
An awkward silence descends as the two grin at each other.
Gilly: OMGZ! D: Val is hitting on your brother soooo hard >_<
Me: I know right! xD
Maxis raises a brow at her. “So you can cook too?”
Val Helena just winks. “Guess I’ll have to prove it to you. Come on, let’s throw a feast before we blow town.”
They walk away together leaving Gilly, Rembrandt and I just staring.
Gilly: I think I’m gonna be sick. :P
I can do nothing but laugh.
Chapter 16: The Feast
The roar of laughter and the sweet smell of roasted buffalo fills the common hall as I take my seat at the center table next to Gilly. The entire village has gathered together. Along with the laughter, a trio of musicians play lively folk tunes on two fiddles and a flute, adding to the festive atmosphere. A hunk of prime rib the size of an entire cow sits on the table in front of me and Val Helena does the honors of carving her masterpiece for the entire crowd.
It took ten whole nano fragments to materialize the Lakota meat from my inventory and looking at the final product, I think it was well worth the price. And I still have two more in my inventory as well. I wonder if it’s something I could eventually take back to Mom. She’d love this. I think about her for a moment and feel a bit sad. Or guilty, perhaps. I hope she’s all right back there. We’re coming home soon Mom, I promise.
My thoughts are interrupted as one of the serving women brings two thick slices of the roasted meat for Gilly and I. My mouth is watering already. I’ve never eaten steak before and part of me is afraid that after tasting this, even the real thing won’t compare. If I ever get that chance, anyway.
“This looks amazing,” Gill says wide eyed. She then looks to Val Helena, who’s armed with a curved blade that looks more fit for a samurai than a chef. “Great job, Val!”
The big lady laughs. “Wait till you taste it!”
Seated next to Val Helena is my brother, who seems to be admiring Val Helena’s rump as much as the rump-roast on the table. Next to him is Rembrandt and further down is Wilbur. Opposite him and filling the last seat next to me is Blacktop.
“I’m glad you decided to come,” I say to the gnome when I turn to him. I’d taken a jog through the woods to invite him. Being the recluse he is I wasn’t surprised when he declined at first. But the mention of the Lakota meat changed everything.
“I can’t say I like the crowd in here,” he says looking over his shoulder at the room full of merrymaking villagers behind us. “But it’d be worth it for a slice of that heaven over there.”
I laugh and take a sip of my freshly squeezed citrus juice. No ale for Gilly and I tonight. My brother’s orders. Not that I mind. I was never too fond of the taste anyhow. And I want to remember this night clearly.
Once everyone is served, Wilbur stands and clangs a knife against his tin mug to get the room’s attention. When it quiets down he speaks. “Friends, let us all be thankful to the great goddess Karlis for this feast. And to the great Shard Warriors who have delivered it to us. Not only have they freed us from the goblin plight, but now they have returned to us, the grazing lands!”
A round of cheers and applauds fill the common hall, the villagers drumming on the tables. “To the Shard Warriors!”
“And, to our young master, Reece!” Wilbur continues. “I trust when the feasting is done, you’ll share with us the tale of how you vanquished this beast. Single handedly, I hear!”
What?!
Gilly: Sorry I embellished the story a little. xD
Gilly laughs as I wave my hands profusely in refusal of the claim. “No no! It was nothing like that!”
The whole table then laughs, including Maxis who lifts his mug to me. “To my little brother. Ninja extraordinaire!”
“Aye!” Rembrandt echoes him. “To the ninja!”
“To the ninja!”
I burst out laughing from embarrassment and how silly the proclamation sounds. For a moment I can’t believe I’m even here and enjoying this. I look to Gilly and give her a quick kiss and a gentle squeeze of her hand. “I’ll get you back for this.”
She only laughs.
“And to our chef,” Maxis says raises his mug again. “Val Helena!”
Val Helena, with her muscular eight-foot frame, does a surprisingly cute little curtsey for the crowd.
“Now let us feast!” Wilbur exclaims and another round of cheers go up.
I can hardly wait!
I cut off a big hunk of the meat and inhale its savory aroma before popping it into my mouth. My brain nearly explodes from the intense smokey flavor of the charred meat and fat while it’s tenderness causes it to melt in my mouth. “Gilly…” I groan. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
She laughs with her mouth full. “I know right! So good!”
We enjoy ourselves like we never have before. Sides of roasted vegetables and potatoes are served along with more ale. Although Gilly and I stick to our fruit juice. After the meal Wilbur convinces me to tell what happened in the meadow and although I feel a little uncomfortable at first, I get in front of the crowd and just start talking. The way they respond with honest smiles of wonder, puts me at ease and Gilly even interjects with a couple of funny anecdotes, mostly of me panicking. By the time I finish the story the whole crowd is laughing and cheering for me once more.
“Well told, young master!” Wilbur says clapping. “I think perhaps you were a bard in your last life.”
I laugh. “Thanks.”
I then get an update on my HUD.
You have learned a new skill “Oration”
Your ability to positively influence a crowd is increases with this skill.
+20 Favor Brookrun Village
Level Up! You Favor Level is now 4.
Wow. I didn’t expect that!
“So I hear you’re all leaving tomorrow,” Wilbur says. “You’ll be sadly missed. Is there anything you’d like to take care of before you go?”
I bring up the village administration screen before me. The mine shaft works and the foundry are still days from completion. Other than that, the only thing I can think to do would be to get the mine in full operation and set up two mining streams: one for coal and one iron ore. I tell Wilbur as much and he nods.
“I’ll see to it that it happens,” he says and the mining works fall into the queue. “Would you like to communicate with me while you’re away?”
My eyes widen. “We can do that?”
“Not as well as we used to,” Wilbur says. “In the days of the Wayfaring Stones it used to be instantaneous. But we could raise some homing pigeons that can be attuned to find you wherever you may be. News could take days to reach you, of course.”
I find the homing pigeons under build items and bring it up.
Homing Pigeon Coop
Cost 5 wood 5 food 10 labor
Do you wish to build a homing pigeon coop? (Y/N)
Pretty cheap for what it will do.
“Yes, can you make us a coop please, Wilbur?” I say choosing the affirmative.
“Of course. Once it’s built I’ll send you updates regularly, one every two or three days. That way if you need to send something back you’ll always have one at hand.”
“Sounds good,” I say. “By the way, is there other ways to communicate long distances here besides the stones? We could have really used something like that earlier today.”
Wilbur considers it a moment. “Some enchanted items can do that. But you will have to travel to a large city to find such things.”
“Or we can pick up a couple of comm links in a tech world,” Rembrandt says dropping in on our conversation. He then cracks a grin and I realize he must be joking. Or maybe he isn’t.
“I suppose they wouldn’t work here even if we got them?” I ask.
“Afraid not, mate. We’re stuck in the dark ages for now. It all runs off the same network, like the Wayfaring Stones.”
That reminds me. I need to go check on that Wayfaring stone here in the village. “Will we be heading to a city at some point you think, Rem? Maybe we could find a magic item for us to communicate better.”
“We were just talking about where we’re headed next,” he says. “Come join us over here, you two.”
Gilly and I move around the table to where Blacktop is pointing out a few things on a map to Val Helena and Maxis. From the map, Brookrun Village looks to be in the western region of the continent we’re upon. To our north is a mountain range and to the east a large forest. To the west the map is blacked out and labeled “The Wild”.
“If you want to get to the Vale of Sorrows,” Blacktop says pointing to an area past the northern mountain range. “You basically got two choices. You can either take a shortcut over the mountains, but that won’t be an easy haul. The mountains are a treacherous climb. Plus the monsters are strong and the tribes up there are none too hospitable. But it can get you there in a days or two of hard travel. The longer and safer way is around the mountains, through the eastern forest first and then the trade routes, but it’ll take you a couple of weeks, maybe three.”
Val Helena shakes her head. “I don’t want to take that long getting there.”
Blacktop looks up seeing Rembrandt and then says, “Oh, and as for you. The direction of the tech world is this way, I think.”
He points to the black void west of us and then traces a line in a somewhat Northwestern direction. “Travel for a day in that direction and you should hit it.”