Farmer

by Tom Larcombe

  The evening passed quickly. Eddie got along quite well with Karl and Tiana, but he couldn't get a read on Allie. Karl seemed to have done so pretty well though and the two got along well. They told him that the road they'd mapped led all the way into the mountains and that the far end of it, just before leaving the Meadowlands, or maybe right after the Meadowlands ended, they weren't quite sure, showed signs of recent heavy traffic.

  “Looked like a horde of orcs, well maybe not quite a horde but thirty or more of them, had been moving west along the border of the two zones,” Allie said. “No clue why, of course, but still not a good thing. I haven't been to the mountain zones yet, I'm only level nine, but from what I've heard that doesn't happen much. The orcs normally stay in the same place all the time.”

  When they closed down for the night, there were still a couple of hours of sunlight left. Eddie decided that he was going to start the cart right then. Karl and Allie decided to head back to the house and Tiana went with them to heat water for them to take baths. Eddie wasn't worried since Lucky was with him. She'd been wandering most of the day but now that he was alone she just settled in near him, watching what he was doing.

  So how is this one going to work? he wondered. Is it just going to light up a space like the bunkhouse did or what?

  A quick glance at the blueprint didn't tell him how it would work.

  Cart Blueprint

  Capacity: 1 ton

  Level: common

  Crafted: Paul Rogar

  This item is designed as a transport item. One beast of burden is required to pull it. Carrying capacity of one ton.

  He triggered the blueprint and got his answer. The first things that showed up in front of him was the glowing outline of a wheel. He pulled a rough plank over and placed it over the light, then repeated the process until the planks filled the outline. With a large rock he rolled over, he leaned the planks up and cut them to size with a saw he'd taken from the farm.

  As soon as he finished the last cut it shimmered, solidified, and he had a large wooden disc in front of him, with a circle flashing in the center of it.

  Got to cut out a spot for the axle, he thought. Although Paul's trick with the coals ought to work well here. I don't think I've got anything else that could cut a circle out of the center.

  He set the wheel to the side, and focused on the other wheel in the blueprints. Once again a shimmering circle formed in front of him. While he was working on this one, he heard voices approaching. Lucky's ears laid back alongside of her head and she gave a soft growl.

  “No Lucky, stick with me,” he said.

  Eddie looked up and realized that he'd been working a lot longer than he'd thought since it was almost dark out. He moved around behind the pile of lumber, dragging Lucky with him. The voices were louder now, and they sounded at least a little drunk.

  “I can't believe those bitches would leave us for some cruddy low level merchant types.”

  Eddie recognized the voice as Terrod's. When there was a reply, he also recognized Sombra's voice.

  “Yeah, I had my sights set on that elf. It wouldn't have been long before she'd have been mine.”

  “Well, the very least we can do is pay them back for the insult. He fixed the damn food stand, but this time he won't be able to it again. With all the wood burnt up, that ought to be more of a pain for him.”

  “Well, I know he's been working on this stupid shack thing, so we can get a little more payback now,” Sombra said.

  Eddie saw the light of a torch spilling onto the ground along the edge of lumber pile. He peered out over the top and saw Sombra holding the torch to the corner of the incomplete bunkhouse.

  “What the fuck?” Sombra said. “It won't burn. I got some stupid message too, saying no PvP is allowed in the Meadowlands. What PvP is it talking about? Is he in there?”

  The two men rushed into the empty bunkhouse and Eddie heard them stomping around inside.

  “He's not in here? What the hell, why won't it let us burn it?” Sombra said.

  I bet they could trash the food stand because it was just out in that field, Eddie thought. The bunkhouse is on my claimed land though, making it probably register as one of my belongings so they can't mess with it. The inn is definitely going on my claimed land so I don't have to worry about anyone damaging it.

  It wasn't long before Sombra and Terrod gave up on their attempts to damage the bunkhouse.

  “Well, if we can't do it like that, maybe there's another way,” Sombra said as the two men walked away. The last thing Eddie heard was barely audible.

  “I bet our new friends jump at the chance,” was what he thought he'd heard.

  Eddie was just happy to let them go. If Allie was level nine and Tiana level seven, those two were probably in the same range since they'd been grouping. At level two he knew he had no chance against them even if PvP were allowed in the zone.

  ~ ~ ~

  Once he was sure they were gone, he finished the second wheel as quickly as he could before heading towards the farm at his alternating trot and walk pace that left his stamina near full. It was completely dark out by the time he made it to the farm, and fairly chilly out. When he got inside he found that someone had built a fire in the fireplace and the inside of the farmhouse was warm.

  Lucky slipped in through the door while he had it open and the next he saw of her was when she sprawled out on the hearthstone in front of the fireplace, soaking up the heat.

  He poured himself a beer and sat down at the table. Karl was there, so he started telling him what had happened.

  “Assholes!” Karl said when Eddie had finished.

  “Now you see why we didn't have any problem with just leaving them,” Allie said from the doorway where she and Tiana stood.

  “I don't blame you. I'm surprised you were with them at all,” Eddie said.

  Allie shrugged.

  “They were the only group near our level that adventured during the day. I wondered why they didn't have their own group and now I know. We were only with them a few days, a little less than a week. Probably we should've left at the first signs that they were assholes, but it wasn't consistent.”

  “Well, apparently they've got it out for me,” Eddie said. “I do wonder what they meant about new friends jumping at the chance though. Anyone else isn't going to be able to burn it down either since there's no PvP in the zone.”

  Karl shrugged, spreading his hands.

  “Who knows,” he said.

  A glance at Allie and Tiana showed that they had no idea about it either.

  “Well, at least I know it'll be safe. Tomorrow I'll finish the cart, finish the bunkhouse, then haul the mattresses down. Maybe I can open the bunkhouse for business tomorrow.”

  He drained his beer and felt himself finally relax a bit.

  “I think I need to change my pricing though,” Eddie said. “I feel like I'm gouging people and don't feel right about that. What do you guys think?”

  The ensuing discussion took nearly an hour and when they were done talking, everyone headed for bed. Eddie paused first to throw some more wood on the fire and found Lucky crashed out on the hearthstone, purring in her sleep. He shook his head, carefully added wood to the fire, then went to bed himself.

  When he woke in the morning Eddie immediately got to work. His list for the day was crazy long. He had to go hunting for more meat, pick produce to sell, lead a pseudo-oxen down to the new bunkhouse, finish the cart, finish the bunkhouse, come back here with the oxen leading the cart, load up the mattresses then go back down to the new bunkhouse with them and distribute the mattresses. If he had the time he had to arrange for replacement mattresses as well.

  After all that he'd have to open his food stand, after remaking the stand itself.

  I wonder if I ought to move the stand up to the bunkhouse. Hire one of those little kids in the hamlet to go through shouting out that food and shelter are for sale there. That way it would be protected just like the bunkhouse is. Mea
ns I could put more effort into the stand, make it a little fancier maybe.

  He groaned as he realized he was thinking of even more work that he'd have to do if he went with the idea, but since he had to rebuild the stand anyhow, and the rough planks were easily available, he decided to go with it. He could make a basic stand from them for now, then improve it over time. Plus it would be an easy advertisement for his bunkhouse since anyone coming to the food stand would see it.

  He nodded, having made his decision, then got to work.

  The day passed quickly for Eddie and when it was time to open his vendor stand he'd finished the rest of his list. The stand was just a few planks for the moment, he'd improve it later. But he'd taken a second plank and used charcoal to write 'Food and Shelter' on it, with an arrow pointing towards the new bunkhouse. Then he'd driven it into the dirt down at the corner of the field where his old stand used to be.

  And even if someone destroys it I'm not going to bemoan the loss of a single plank and a couple of minutes worth of writing, he thought.

  Allie and Karl had hunted with him earlier and Tiana had come down to finish the fireplace. Tiana was still with him, but the other two had gone mapping down the road in the other direction today. Allie had warned that it was a long way to where the road left the Meadowlands in that direction and that they might not be back before dark, or not even until tomorrow.

  She'd also gritted her teeth and gone into Old Jeffries' trading post to replace the shredded tent.

  “So what do you want to do in the game?” he asked Tiana.

  “Well, just be in here so I don't have to feel the pain of my physical therapy. I was never that much of a gamer, so I don't know what there is to do really,” she said.

  “Most people play to gain levels and power for their character. Means killing things and finishing quests mainly.”

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “Well, you know I can't really talk about it very much, but I can say that I joined the game to make money. I'm not doing it the way I thought I would be, but I am making some at least. Don't know how long I'll be in here though. I hope to get all my holdings staffed with NPCs before I have to leave. Then I can at least log in with a helmet and gloves to keep things running. That won't be nearly as nice as the setup I've got now, but I'll do what I can.”

  “So, you're just trying to make money? That's all you're doing here?” she asked.

  “Yes and no. I have an idea about something I saw in-game, and that's helping guide my actions, but overall, yeah. I need to have some money when I'm finally out of here or I'll be kinda screwed.”

  “Really? That broke? When you said broke, I thought maybe just no liquid assets or something.”

  “Nope, all of about three hundred dollars in my bank account, no apartment, nothing but a few duffel bags worth of belongings. Which I stored since I was going to be in-game for a while. Sorry, things are tight where I am, no jobs anywhere and half the ones that used to be available are being replaced with automation.”

  “Is that what happened to you?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I had a job in a nutrient solution factory for a couple of years. Got replaced by automation a few months back.”

  He stopped and peered down the road, pleased to see several people walking his way.

  “Oh good, I was hoping I wouldn't lose too much business by moving the food stand up here,” he said.

  By the time he'd been selling meat on a stick and vegetables for an hour, now at a reduced price of one silver for either two meat on a sticks or one meat and a serving of vegetables, he'd also rented out the ten rooms in the bunkhouse that he was willing to rent. The other two he'd reserved for Karl and himself.

  The profits weren't as good as the previous few days, but he also didn't hear anyone griping about the price, which he had the last few days.

  Good, I'm richer and they're happy. Looks like I've got the prices set right for now, he thought.

  Finally he got around to opening the notifications that had been flashing in his panel for the better part of the day. He'd had so much to do that he hadn't bothered earlier on, figuring he'd wait until things were calm to take care of it.

  There were a bunch of experience notifications from hunting by himself and with Lucky earlier on, including a one point advancement in his hunting skill, before anything interesting showed up, then he'd gained two more levels in carpentry and one more in cooking, but the next item was this:

  Success:

  You have completed the Hidden Quest: Developmental Issues (1/5)

  For being the first player to build a permanent public building in: The Meadowlands. You have been awarded 1500 Experience and twenty-five Gold Pieces. You have unlocked the quest: Developmental Issues II

  Developmental Issues II:

  This quest is all about developing: The Meadowlands.

  To complete part II of Developmental Issues you must build one of the following buildings and open it to the public.

  Blacksmith

  Leatherworker

  General Store

  Tavern

  Inn

  Rewards:

  + 2500 Experience

  + 50 Gold Pieces

  Increased reputation and renown with inhabitants of: The Meadowlands

  The next message brought a grin to his face.

  Success:

  You have obtained enough experience to advance to Level 3

  Do you wish to advance?

  (Y/N)

  Yes, he thought.

  You have advanced to Level 3.

  You have 3 stat points to distribute.

  You may choose a skill.

  You have received one stat point in: Heartiness

  Your Health has increased.

  Your Mana has increased.

  Your Stamina has increased.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Twenty

  Aaron stared down at the contracts in his hands. He needed to finish reading them through himself before submitting them to the company lawyers, then finally seeing if Eddie and Karl were interested. He was hoping to get them to make a snap decision and wanted the contracts ready in case he was successful.

  They'll actually get real pay and benefits if they sign on this time, Aaron thought. None of that twenty bucks a day crap they were telling me about. A flat thousand a week, plus they get to stay in the pods for the duration of the testing, which will depend on how well the tests work. We'll keep them in until they report problems or the pods detect problems. I'll need them to come out for a bit first so we can do a medical exam and get baseline readings, but then maybe as long as a year in pod.

  He chuckled to himself, recalling a book he'd enjoyed where one of the side characters had spent a year dead for tax purposes. Then took a moment to seriously wonder how a person who stayed in the pod for a entire year would be classified by the government, or if people would somehow find a way to use the pods to disappear from their old lives.

  They could set up a pod somewhere no-one knows about and just go there and stay gone for a year as long as they pay the electric in advance. Although there probably ought to be someone there just in case. Imagine a nutrient line getting clogged and someone dying because no-one checked up on them.

  Aaron decided that he'd include a recommendation that the year long pods only be allowed to be used from registered pod centers, where they knew someone was keeping an eye on things. He'd include a long list of the potential problems that could occur if use out of the centers were allowed; power outages, net outages, hardware malfunction, etc... He could create a list that would go on and on and each of the items on it were something that was much less likely with a daily inspection like they'd get in a pod center.

  He shook his head, realizing that he'd let his thoughts wander again. Reading Legalese did that to him. He sighed, jotted down a quick note about the recommendations he wanted to make, then got back to reading the contracts.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie quickly ass
igned his new stats. He knew that he wanted a better charisma, especially if he planned on running the inn at all himself after he had it built. The other two he decided to dedicate to agility in order to keep it well over average for his level.

  Assign one point to charisma, assign two points to agility, he thought.

  His problem now was that he had two skill points that he could select skills with and had no idea what other skills he might want for his build.

  If you can call it a build, he thought. Lots of unnecessary or minimally useful skills in it. But you know what? I never checked to see if those points could be used for weapons skills. That might be useful.

  Help skills, he thought.

  The thought just brought up a massive scrolling list of skills.

  Stop, he thought.

  After a moment of pondering over the problem, he tried something different.

  Help weapon proficiency, he thought, remembering back to what the game had said when it had given him his bows skill.

  Weapon proficiencies are skills used for weapon slots. The amount of weapon proficiencies you can have is determined by your class and level. As a: Warrior (Ranger), you currently have a maximum of four weapon proficiencies.

  Current weapons:

  Staves (1)

  Bow (1)

  You may have up to 2 more weapon proficiencies at a cost of one skill point each.

  He knew he wanted swords of one type or another, he also knew he'd like to be able to use a dagger or knife.

  Help short swords, he thought.

  Short swords are blades that are longer than a dagger but shorter than a classic long sword. They are primarily used for thrusting, although some may also have an edge. A classic examples would be the Roman Gladius.