by Prax Venter
The other man stepped forward at this point and crossed his arms.
“Name’s Harnal. So, you’re only the makeshift mayor and some strange type of Hero ta’ boot?”
Jack got the sense that this sour-faced older man was going to be Sol #2, and he really didn’t have the patience to go through that again. Since this Harnal had obviously inspected him, Jack returned the favor.
Harnal - Townsfolk: Dock Master | 93% Proficiency
[Health: 10/10]
Relationship -
[Disposition: Disappointed]
He was already a resident of Blackmoor Cove and had a job? Alt answered Jack’s train of thought in his mind.
“Yes. I discovered some interesting data with the recent Town Level that we can talk about later, but the Town spawned all of these people after the upgrade to fill in some of the missing roles. The woman and her child are a new Townsfolk, too.”
Jack fought the urge to look at her and kept his eyes on the older man as he answered.
“Harnal, yes. I make the decisions here, and if you have a problem with that, you can turn your ass right around and take a long walk off my pier.”
The other man seemed taken aback, then he began to chuckle and offered his hand.
“I like a man with a bit o’ fire in his belly, Jack. Blackmoor might just be the place I’ve been looking fer.”
Jack gripped his hand firmly and said, “Welcome home, Dock Master.” Then he turned to the woman and small child. A dark green cloak covered her from head to toe, but Jack could tell she had a bulky frame that looked more like muscle than fat. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled tight into a bun, and if their matching features were anything to go by, the sandy blonde, green-eyed child was hers.
“Welcome,” Jack said with a warm smile and an extended hand, but it was the child who spoke.
“Hi, mister! I’m Perix, and my mama’s name is Meri, and we might live here now.” He turned his big green eyes up to his mother. “Isn’t that right, Mama?”
The woman put her hand on the child’s back, and her cheeks flushed red. She looked deeply ashamed for some reason.
“Shh now, dear.” She spoke so quietly that Jack had to strain his ears to pick up her words. Her eyes remained focused down on the wooden boards of the Dock and she seemed terrified.
Jack squatted down to the kid’s height and ruffled his hair. He couldn’t be older than ten.
“Nice to meet you, Perix,” he said. “I’d be thrilled to have you and your mother come live with us.” From his squatting position, Jack turned to look up into the green eyes of Meri, and she turned away again, finding something interesting in the heaving waves surrounding them.
He took the opportunity to inspect her.
Meri - Townsfolk: Lumberjack | 74% Proficiency
Marked for Violence [-10% to all Skills and Proficiencies]
[Health: 10/10]
Relationship -
[Disposition: Apprehensive]
Jack blinked and let his mouth hang open involuntarily, stunned by what he saw on her character panel. Her child watched the exchange and decided to blurt out some of the missing information.
“My momma doesn’t talk much after she stabbed Papa in the heart with a very sharp knife.”
“Perix!” she yelled and turned her face down to the dark ocean again. Her relatively huge hand moved over her mouth, and tears began to well up in her eyes. The other two men standing on the docks exchanged uneasy looks, but they didn’t seem too surprised. They probably already knew this. Her boy continued as he reached up for his mother’s other hand.
“Mama won’t let me have a sharp knife, and I’m not a Hero yet, but I’ll protect her with my punches if anyone tries to hurt her.”
Meri just squeezed his hand and didn’t try to stop him anymore. Jack wondered if the negative mark on her panel was the punishment for attacking someone in Town.
“It is,” Alt confirmed quietly in his mind.
Jack regained some of his composure and cleared his throat as he stood.
“Meri, welcome to Blackmoor Cove. Your past doesn’t matter here, only your willingness to help us grow toward the future.” He let that sink in and saw her sad green eyes flick up to his briefly. “Come on,” he said addressing them all. “Let’s get up to the main Town area. It was a long climb in the Tower today, and I’m starving!”
Denig whistled much like Garl did when he pulled the men back from fishing, and Jack saw four sailors come stomping down the gangplank.
Once everyone had gathered, he led them back up the stairs to the top of the cliffs, and the kid chattered the whole way. Jack considered splitting off and taking the violence-marked woman to her new home within the forest so he could talk to some of the Townsfolk first. But he thought better of it. If he meant what he said about her past and the Town’s future, he was going to lead by example and treat her no differently.
Jack pulled open the door to the Inn, and it looked like the entire Town was crammed inside. As soon as they saw him, a rowdy cheer went up, and everything was chaos as he was congratulated again and again for his new title.
Ryea’s loud voice carried over everyone else as she began to chant, “Speech!”, over and over. The request was quickly picked up by nearly everyone in the common room.
Holding his hand up for silence, Jack walked up to the small wooden stage that was tucked into the back corner. A hush fell over the gathered Townsfolk, and he caught the eyes of some of the people who had come to mean everything to him.
Lex, Ryea, Demi, Thymus, Garl, and even the frowning Sol were all fixated on what he was going to say. He quickly gathered his thoughts, pulled in a huge breath, and tried not to say something stupid in front of his huge new family.
“Our little Town continues to grow,” he began and gestured to the newcomers standing together near the back. “I may be your mayor, but this changes nothing. Blackmoor Cove is nothing without each and every one of you. A great Town starts with its Townsfolk, and if we are all moving in the same direction… nothing can stop us.” Jack began to grow louder as he continued. “The fiery change that will sweep across our world starts here, with everyone in this room. Together, we will push the Corruption so far back from our home that its disgusting presence will become a distant memory!”
A deafening cheer filled the common room of the Eye o’ the Storm, shaking it to its foundations, and with these wonderful people around him, Jack felt utterly unstoppable.
- 13 -
Jack navigated the boisterous common room as he worked toward his usual table in the corner. He stopped to talk to Garl and Thymus for a bit and then was approached by a group of smiling guards all looking to shake his hand. He chatted with the sailors about another Town called Kenshire they had just come from far to the southwest. It was the first other place Jack had ever heard of and pressed them for as many details as he could. They didn’t have much to say other than that they were currently holding their own against the Corruption. According to Captain Denig, many familiar ports had become ‘removed from his navigation chart’ in the last few years. Jack also learned they were carrying casks of rum to a thriving Town called Hammerlark located three days around the coast to the east. Jack tried to get the man to sell his cargo, but the traveling trader had to decline as it was already paid for. He did promise to include Blackmoor in his normal trade runs in the future, however. To motivate the captain into keeping his word, Jack handed him 50 coins to seal the arrangement. Captain Denig and the new Dock Master worked out the rest.
Pan had even been pulled out of his typically reclusive ways after discovering his small shack had been upgraded to hold cots for four people. Jack introduced the shy Meri and her son to the silent Pan, and they wordlessly sat together, trying to avoid eye contact while Perix chattered plenty for the three of them.
When Jack finally sat down, he felt the weight of the day finally settle into his bones. He found a beautiful blonde with pointed ears waiting for him across the tabl
e and let out a sigh of contentment as they simply gazed into each other’s eyes.
Then the looming presence of Sol was over him.
“I’ll be happy to take your order now, Mayor.”
Apparently, Demi was so busy cooking that she’d sent him out to help take orders. Jack looked up into the man’s owlish eyes, but there was less anger there than he expected.
“Hey, Sol,” Jack said with a smile. “Any specials today?”
The tall man clasped his hands behind his back. “Fish-stuffed crab and a bean and pheasant casserole. Also, since our Farmer has begun producing strawberries, I can offer you a new competitively priced flavored drink Demi has concocted.”
Jack’s eyebrows raised a little higher than he intended at how much this ordinarily venomous man was embracing his new role. They all placed their orders, and their waiter nodded before stalking behind the curtain.
“I’ve been working on them juicy red buggers for a while,” Ryea said. “Takes a lot of my precious attention to get them to grow in this climate. Our previous Farmer produced all kinds of fruit, and I wish I had a chance to learn from him… but anyway, get them strawberries while you can. With the new cows and larger fields comes more responsibilities for me. If only I had more time in the day.”
Jack nodded. “Maybe I can send you someone from the Wall to help out on the Farm.”
A loud cheer went up across the common room, and Jack turned to see Captain Denig and his crew enjoying themselves. Sol was standing there too and appeared to be serving them their orders. Jack had to wonder what was driving the man to so cheerfully wait on a room full of people. If he had to guess, Demi was paying him some cut of the sales.
They were about halfway through their meals when Harrak came back from the Wall to join them. He sat down heavily on the bench next to Jack.
“The Wall is nearly restored,” he said, “and that at least allows us to focus on three main entry points. If my old twitching nose is anything to go by, however, we can expect tougher Demon Spawn soon. I don’t know if we have enough able bodies to handle them.”
Jack sighed. “On the cliffs, you mentioned that the Town is Leveling impossibly fast. Do you think we should slow it down? Give Blackmoor some time to acquire some Townsfolk.”
Lex’s father turned his clear, steady eyes on him.
“Let me ask you, Jack, what was the total Value you fed the chest today?”
Jack shot his eyes over to Lex before answering. She gave him a short nod.
“13,820.”
Harrak shook his head. “No, with just the two of you… I want to say your number is wrong, that it’s impossible. But I’ve learned better with you, Jack. Your Hero Class is truthfully far less Irrelevant than it sounds, after all.”
Sol came to take Harrak’s order, cutting off the conversation and giving Jack some time to think. Should they continue to push so hard? Would it be best for Blackmoor if they took a year or so to just keep the Town Level steady?
Alt answered in his mind. “It will be weeks before the next Town Level, even at your current rate, and there are systems in place to spawn NPCs when there is such a deficit. Besides, I don’t have to dump everything you collect in the chest. You might not want to hear this right now, but you need to increase your Hero Level and burn that swath across System Sana you keep boasting about sooner rather than later. I’m still fighting the Corruption in the real world, remember?”
Jack nodded to the entity of pure energy linked to his leather sheath. He knew it was the right answer.
When Sol left, Jack smiled at Lex’s father.
“Don’t worry, we got this,” he said then finished shoveling the delicious and slightly spicy casserole into his mouth. Then another thought occurred to him. “Speaking of strong defenses, how’s Thymus’ Lightning Turret working out? I figure having an extra Hero up there would be substantial.”
Harrak kept his eyes on the table, a single grunt as his only response. Apparently, despite his new outlook on life, the old Knight still held a grudge regarding the old Arcane Mage.
As soon as they all finished their meals, Demi came out from behind her white eye curtain to stand on the stage and called for everyone’s attention. More than a few Townsfolk hushed their still-chatty neighbors until all was silent before the silver-haired proprietor.
“We have a lot to celebrate on this night, and Reno has asked to honor us all with a performance on this very stage. He will begin in ten minutes. The kitchen is now closed until the performance is over.”
The tall woman glided off the stage, and Jack turned to look at the relatively new addition sitting at the bar. He watched Demi graze her hand over his shoulder as she went back to finish up whatever she did behind her curtain.
“Reno?” Ryea said. “He can sing?”
Jack turned back to face her as others around the room began to mumble similar questions.
“Maybe the guy can juggle,” he said, with a shrug.
A wood-on-wood scraping sound pulled his attention back over his shoulder to see the captain and his crew moving their benches right up to the stage. The Townsfolk of Blackmoor looked at each other for a moment before a few agreed that moving their seats closer was a great idea. Chaos reigned for a few minutes while almost everyone tried to rearrange the common room into a concert hall.
Jack, Lex, Ryea, and Harrak left their table where it was and either stood or sat by the bar. Haylee moved nearby as her seat had been taken away, and Sol arrived shortly after, his sour frown back on his face.
“I wonder who’s going to clean all this up…” the owlish man asked his rhetorical question to no one in particular.
Jack clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, my friend. As Mayor, I’ll pull my weight and make sure every scrap of wood is back where it started.”
Sol shot him a frowning glance and crossed his long arms but nodded all the same.
“Good,” he said, “but this amateur performance is still gouging into my cut from kitchen orders.”
Jack caught Haylee shooting her father a disgusted look before sighing and turning back to the unusual spectacle unfolding before them. He’d guessed correctly, and Sol getting a percentage of the income not only explained why he was so happy taking orders, but why he was trying to upsell expensive strawberry drinks to everyone.
Moments later, the dark-haired man with a bit of gray in his temples stepped out from behind the curtain. Clutched in his hand was a string instrument Jack recognized as a lute. The group of murmuring Townsfolk and sailors lined up in front of the stage fell silent as Reno took his position.
With a confident smile and a deep breath, he strummed the first chord. The melody was slow and mournful, but intricate and mesmerizing. After the intro, Reno lifted his eyes and added his voice to the song.
Alas, my lass, our fate was never true
I now walk alone and think only of you
Your eyes held me fast and your skin made me slow
But our ways wouldn’t match and now I must go
At this point, Reno’s strumming grew faster, and Jack could tell his focus was locked on Demi the whole time.
You wanted rain while I’m happy dry
My stories are true while you always lie
You tried to fight while I preferred love
We’d never work out, below or above
The verses continued to illustrate how two lovers were never meant to be and knowing that Demi and Reno were certainly working out made the whole thing rather cute. Movement caught Jack’s attention, and he noticed Sol wiping his eyes with his fingers. He averted his gaze before the owlish man realized that he’d been caught moved to tears by Reno’s mournful song and remembered how his wife left him to raise their daughter alone.
When it was over, there were many more people wiping their eyes, and the sailors were the first to stand and toss coins onto the stage. Reno bowed deeply as others followed suit and tossed a coin or two in appreciation for the moving ballad.
&
nbsp; Sol let out a snide chuckle as he watched.
“What a shame to see all these Townsfolk wasting their coin like that.”
Haylee was sitting at the bar, and her intense gaze shot straight to her father.
“He made you feel something! You make me feel shame for being your daughter.”
With all the commotion, only a handful of people heard what she said. The girl in the burgundy dress hopped off the bar stool, shoved past her mortified father and headed for the door. Captain Denig was correct, it was certainly pouring outside, and Haylee was gone in a silent flash of lightning.
Sol tried to brush it off as he took his daughter’s spot at the bar, but this was the second time she had publicly humiliated him. The owlish man clenched his jaw, his bald spot growing red as he tried to stem the tide of his emotions, but in the end, he slumped forward, put his hands on his face and began to sob quietly.
Jack was at a loss, and after glances to Lex and Harrak, he just quietly placed his hand on the tall man’s shoulder.
The people of Blackmoor Cove didn’t need to be told to return the Inn back to its original state, and the benches were all moved back where they belonged. Reno came off the stage and was immediately embraced by Demi, making it quite clear how she felt about his performance. People began to leave for the night, their homes now strong and warm against the frequent rains. Eventually, only the two of them remained, and Jack sat by Sol’s side the whole time.
“She is much like her mother,” the owlish man said finally. “A tongue of few words that still lash the flesh right off your bones.”
Jack nodded and remained silent. Sol looked over at him then, all the normal disdain and anger gone from his face.
“I need to ask you for a favor, Jack.”
“What do you need?”
“I want you to assign me to the Farm. I need a change. I need to change, and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do it without some humbling framework to guide me. Haylee is all I have, and nothing in this world will have any meaning if she left me too.”