by Galen Wolf
Then I have an idea. I run across to the entrance of the Silver Drift Mine. Inside its sheltering entrance I sip health potion taking me up to 130/200. They move so they get a better shot and an arrow clatters against the stone wall. I go deeper down the tunnel, round a twist. I wish I had some stealth skills, but I don’t. I hear them come into the mine entrance. They’re searching for me. I go deeper down and duck into a side tunnel.
I hold my breath until the four Dwemmers have all come in and they walk past me. Dumb AI, thank goodness. I stab the last one in the back and because his back is to me I get a crit.
The Dwemmer dies, they’re not as tough as the hobgoblins. The others turn but I’m on him, raining down blows. I hit for 20, 20, 20, 20 without him getting a hit back in and he’s down.
That leaves two. I see them looking uncertain, fingers on bow strings but not firing then I get messages.
They simply disappear. I didn’t know the game had a morale feature. That makes it better than most MMOs whose NPCs stand and fight to the death every time. It’s far more realistic, and more like wargames I’ve played.
Very handy. Then I remember my NPCs. It would be a real shame if I’d lost them. All that money and work.
Blodeuwedd flutters outside. “You got them all?”
I nod.
She says, “Great job! I didn’t think you’d make it. I thought you’d get slaughtered easily.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I need to be able to do more damage.”
“You focused on making money from mining first.”
“I need more money.”
“You need a tower. You need more levels. You need lots of things.”
I glare at the owl. “Yep, you’re right. It’ll come. Just takes time. I still think I was right concentrating on resources first.”
“Only if the Dwemmers don’t come back and steal your mine from you. That was a scouting party only.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She’s worrying me because she’s right.
I step outside and am really pleased to see Thorvald leading the three mules. “Hey boss,” he says. “You done good. You killed all them bad guys.”
I shrug. “Well, you know.”
“I would have helped.”
I clap him on the shoulder. “I know. But you’ve got other skills.”
He looks baffled. “I do?”
I nod. “Get into to the mine and start mining.”
He gives me a salute, pulls a pick from his inventory and disappears into the mine entrance.
The three mules stand there looking at me. “What do you want us to do?” Henry says. He’s the boss of the mules, being Level 2.
“I don’t have anything for you to do at the moment. Wait till we get some more ore. In the meantime eat grass.”
Henry looks around at the poor grass that grows there in sparse tufts. “Oats though?”
“Oats later. I’ll be a while.” And so I get back to the grind.
It turns out that because Thorvald is only Level 1, he can only mine copper, worth a measly 2 groats a lump. I go for the silver. Having levelled, I got another 100 skill points. I’m very tempted to put them into mining. Then again I’m tempted to put them into smithing so I can work the silver I can already mine into better armour and a sword. I’m also tempted to put them into archery so I can hit enemies for afar and not be a sitting duck to ranged opponents. And then again there’s swordplay. If I don’t put points into swordplay, I’m not going to be able to hit enemies.
I put fifty points into Swordplay which gets me a to hit of 75 and a Melee Critical chance of 12%. That will help.
Then is it mining or smithing? I go for mining. I need to make money fast. I put the remaining 50 points into mining, which gets me the ability to prospect for and mine mercury, gold and titanium. I see the gold gives armour strength 120, mercury gives 5% Evil Resistance and titanium gives 5% electricity resistance. Of course I can’t work them yet, but when I get more skill points, I’ll put them into smithing.
I go looking for gold. After he’s been digging an hour Thorvald levels to 2, so he can now dig tin, after another two hours he can dig cobalt and after a further four hours he can mine nickel. We could go on but I’m heartily sick of mining. I have got 100 lumps of titanium and Thorvald has 65 lumps of copper, 20 lumps of tin and 5 lumps of cobalt. That’s it. We are going to make a trip down to Camelot.
I make just over 293 marks for that lot. I go the employment agency and with no hesitation I hire two more NPC miners and make Thorvald their gaffer. I don’t need more mules just yet.
When I’m with Asterix, the dwarf employment agency guy with his green beard, I ask, “What other NPCs do you hire out?”
“Farmers, priests, fishermen, others. What do you need?”
I scratch my chin. I’m thinking of the Dwemmers and hobgoblins and suchlike. “Soldiers? Guards, you know?”
“Sure, of course.” He winks at me. “They’re a trifle more expensive, but for a man with your position, that should be no problem.”
“How much?”
“75 marks down payment and a monthly wage of 200 marks each.”
I try to figure out whether I can afford that. I ask, “If they get killed?”
He shrugs. “Then obviously, you don’t pay for them when they’re no longer with you.”
“They’re level 1s?”
“Yes, but you can train them. If you set up training dummies or archery butts, then they will level by training.”
“And what do they eat?”
“Beer.”
“Ah, beer. That’s okay. Good.”
“I’m guessing I need to buy the training gear — the dummies and things?”
He nods. “Of course. 10 Marks a set.”
“That’s actually cheaper than I guessed it would be.”
“We aim to please.”
I get everything slightly cheaper and lament I don’t have skill points to put into haggling to get better deals.
I take two soldiers. They step out of the walls and I name them Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub. Grub is going to be an archer. I guess I could dual train them all. Maybe there’ll be time. I stop by Old Tom’s brewery. Old Tom is pretty pleased to see me.
“Hey there Gorrow. You want more beer?”
“Yep. Do you deliver?”
“For a fee. Where do you want it sent?”
“Alston Moor.”
He shakes his head. “Not going there. Too dangerous. My mule train would get killed. Sorry.”
That’s okay, really. I’ve got mules coming down with ore, so they might as well go back with beer. That suits him. We part with a handshake.
As we’re leaving Camelot, Henry says, “Oats?”
I shake my head, but Blodeuwedd says, “He’s got a point. The mules need oats.”
“Okay.” I had 23 marks left after all my purchases and I spend it on oats. Broke again.
We begin our trek back up to Alston Moor.
Blodeuwedd’s on my shoulder and I’m riding Henry. I walked down because he was laden with ore, he can carry me up and he doesn’t seem to mind, he’s happy walking alongside Bessie. John’s whistling out of tune. He seems happy enough.
Thorvald’s talking to the miners and they seem to have separated themselves from the three soldiers. The miners stroll along, shovels over their shoulders but the soldiers insist on marching. That’s fine.
As we climb the escarpment Blodeuwedd says. “So, this could work out well. Set them mining, and as long as you have beer, they’ll work and level. Same for the soldiers,
just put them on auto practice. You can set a guard function so they’ll automatically defend a perimeter if enemies come within a certain distance.”
“You seem more enthusiastic about my mine project than you were.”
Blodeuwedd gives an owl shrug. “You’re maybe not as dumb as I first thought.”
“Thanks.”
“But you need to get questing. You need to get more blessings on your weapon and level faster, the only way you’ll do that is through questing.”
“I need to run the mine.”
He hops on my shoulder. “No, you don’t. Automate the mining, automate the soldiers. You can even automate the trade trips.”
“Really?”
“Yup. You can set it so when you get to so many lumps of ore, you send the mules with the soldiers down to Camelot. They can sell the ore, buy beer and oats and return to do it all again.”
Now she’s suggested it, I look through all the controls and find that he’s right. At first of course the ore will be low level stuff until the miners level but then as they get higher level, the ore will be better and each trip will make more money. Ultimately I’ll buy more mules, miners, soldiers, then begin on the tower. It sounds good.
Henry levels to 3 and Bessie and John to 2 on the way back.
I set the miners to mining and the soldiers to practising. I set the automation so two guards, Cuthbert and Grub will guard the mule train down into Camelot and back again, leaving Dibble at the mine with the miners in case of attack.
I stand watching it all go on. The sun is setting. I’m now free to go questing. It’s with some anxiety I leave my little mine to do its work, when we’re about two hundred yards away I turn to watch the soldiers practising their swordplay and archery. They all level to Level 2 about the same time and the other miners are now Level 2 as well.
“Is it safe to leave them? Won’t they get killed if the minions come?”
Blodeuwedd hesitates. “Maybe. Maybe not. It could work out. Me, I’m an optimist. Anyway, you need to apprentice yourself to a knight and the only place to do that is in Camelot.”
11
Sir Mercurius of the Isle
I walk in Camelot’s East Gate under the upraised portcullis and between the towers with their fluttering pennants. The city is busy; it seems it’s market day. I bump into Luc in the main square of Camelot and he seems really pleased to see me.
“Hey, man! Gorrow! We need to get back to questing together. It was really fun.”
His horse is just the same, but he’s got new stuff. I eye up his improved gear. “Looks like you’ve been doing well, Luc.”
He is uncharacteristically modest. “Oh you know. I went of a few good quests. I’m squire to a really great knight. You should meet him — Sir Duncan of Dunragit. He’s the epitome of chivalry, and what a badass! But only against the good guys though. He’s got me to Level 8 already.”
I don’t volunteer that I’m only Level 5 but he must be wondering because he asks, “How about you? What’ve you been up to?”
I shrug. “I’ve been mining.”
“Mining?” He looks surprised. His lips begin to form a question but then he stops. I guess he’s too good mannered.
Even so, I’ve picked up by now, that my focus on mining isn’t generally considered to be the right one for a wannabe knight, but I’m sure it’s the right one for me.
“So where are you going now?”
I jerk my thumb towards the tower of Sir Bors de Ganis. “I’m looking for a knight to apprentice myself to. You know, to do some quests. Do I go to the tower we were at before?”
He shakes his head and strokes his horse’s nose. “No, the that’s for people wanting to be squires. We’re past that now. You need to go to the Knights’ Tower .” He points down a wide street to the west. Go down there, turn left and you’ll see it at the bottom. It’s got the flags of all the knights who are looking for squires fluttering outside.”
“Okay thanks.” I scratch my cheek. “Why do knights want squires anyway?”
Luc smiles. “Free labour. You fight for them for nothing.”
“So when you quest with them you get no loot?”
“No. Well. You sign a contract to say that the loot isn’t yours, that it belongs to your knight. Most of them give you some pickings. The good ones anyway.”
“Thanks, Luc. Good to see you again. When, I’ve done a few quests with a knight, maybe we’ll hook up and go questing again?”
He nods. “I’d like that.” Then he turns his head. A tall, dark bearded knight with a stern but noble face is riding down towards us.
“Sir Duncan?” I ask.
“Yep. Anyway, Gorrow. Later.”
When he’s gone Blodeuwedd reappears. “You didn’t used to like, Luc, did you?”
“Nah, but he’s warmed up on me. He’s not a bad guy.”
“You didn’t like him because he’s got money in real life and you haven’t.”
I look harshly at the bird. “What are you now, a moral philosopher?”
“Just saying.”
“Well, don’t.”
We trudge down the street in search of the Knights’ Tower . I turn the corner and see the mighty building in front of me. Many flags flutter from its battlements, silk banners with running stags, oak trees, lilies and lions on them. It’s a bigger and more impressive building than the Squires Tower, but that’s to be expected.
I walk up to the huge oak door. There are mailed guards on either side. As I’m about to go in, they cross their spears to bar me entry. A man steps out from the entrance hallway, to stand behind the crossed spear.
“I am Cynan the Doorguard, who art thou?”
I stop, take a breath and say, “I am Gorrow, a squire.”
“And what dost thou wish here, Squire Gorrow?”
“I want to become apprenticed to be a knight.”
Cynan the Doorguard looks me up and then nods as if he’s satisfied. He speaks to the guards. “Allow the squire entry.” And when they uncross their spears so I can walk in, Cynan bows and says, “Welcome, Squire Gorrow. You have come to the right place.”
He shows me through to a central hall. There are wooden tables around the sides of the room and knights sit at them with their dogs and their servants. Ahead of me is a line of around fifteen squires. I’m at the end of the queue. Cynan says, “Just join the line, Gorrow.” Then he gives me an encouraging smile and bows before going back to his station at the door.
So I’m there. I feel slightly nervous and I notice Blodeuwedd has once again vanished.
It works like this. Each squire in turn walks into the centre of the hall so that he’s surrounded by the knights sitting at their tables on three sides. The knights then ask him questions and he answers. Eventually one knight nods, and offers him employment. It seems to depend on the squire’s skill and aptitudes and whether they are what the knight wants. The knights are all player characters, as are the squires. Sometimes there’s a particularly promising squire and a bidding war ensues.
One grey bearded knight says, “You’ll do.”
The squire grins, delighted he’s picked, but then another knight on the other side of the room raises a hand. “Hang on. I want him too.”
The first grey bearded one says to the squire. “I’ll offer you 5% of the loot on our quests.”
The squire’s absolutely delighted at that, almost running to accept, but the second knight shakes his head. “Not so fast. I’ll offer you 10%, kid.”
Then a third knight butts in. Soon the squire is offered 20% of the loot and a stallion and he goes to the greybeard who first wanted him.
But it’s not all like that. The squire after him doesn’t get any offers at all and has to leave the tower with his tail in between his legs. I don’t even know what he’ll do. Maybe change profession?
This goes on until it’s my turn. I swallow hard as step into the middle of the hall. There are twelve or so knights still in the room. They show only the slightest ans
wer as I stand there ready for questions.
A knight with ginger beard asks, “Tell me about your skills.”
So I run through them. I get to ‘Mining - 150’ and he seems incredulous.
“You put that much into mining? Why?”
I shrug. “To get a firm financial foundation.” I hesitate then say. “I want to build a tower.”
One of the others says, “A tower? Don’t you think you’re trying to run before you can walk?”
“I don’t think so.”
This guy, who’s blond sits forward like I’ve challenged his authority or something. “You don’t think so? And who are you exactly?”
“Gorrow,” I say.
“Gorrow the Miner,” the ginger one says then laughs. They all join in. Or most of them. There’s a dark skinned guy, he looks North African. He doesn’t laugh. His dark eyes just watch me.
An older knight with grey hair says, more kindly. “What about your swordplay?”
“75.” I’m glad I put something into it recently.
“Just 75? And what level are you?”
“5.”
“Level 5 and only 75 Swordplay?” The knights look around sneeringly. At least most of them do, not the grey haired knight or the dark skinned one.
Ginger beard says, “He put it all into mining,” and that causes general mirth. I’m beginning to get angry. What do they find so funny about all of this? These are just game choices I’m allowed to make. Perfectly rational — just because most people don’t make these choices I’ve made, so what?
They ask some more questions then I see they’re getting bored. Ginger beard says, “Any offers for the miner?”
I see lots of heads shaking. It looks like I’m going the way of the other guy. Maybe I really should abandon the idea of being a knight. Then the older grey haired knight says, “I’ll take him. He’s a man who knows his own mind, doesn’t follow the crowd.” He looks around to see if anyone nods , showing support for what he’s just said, but no body does.
I feel relieved but immensely grateful to the older knight. I don’t even know his name. It looks like I’m going with him and that’s fine, but then the dark skinned knight speaks for the first time.