Farmer

by Tom Larcombe

  “I think she can?” Eddie said. “I'll ask her about it. But this looks great, thank you.”

  “You're welcome, but if you want to really thank me follow through with your plans so I get the rest of that business you were theorizing about.”

  “Don't worry, they're underway already,” Eddie said. “But on that note, I need to get back and start preparations for tonight's business.”

  Paul waved towards the door.

  “You're welcome here any time,” he said. “But don't let me keep you from your work.”

  They shook hands and Eddie headed towards the door.

  “I'll be starting the inn tomorrow morning, if you want to be there for that,” Paul said.

  “What time?”

  “An hour after dawn.”

  “I'll be there,” Eddie said. “Even if it means missing out on part of a day of adventuring.”

  Eddie's evening passed quickly. Between checking on the garden and crops at the farm, selling his food and coffee near the adventurer's encampment, and travel time, it passed in a flash. He did, at least, remember to tell the rest of the group that he wouldn't be able to go adventuring the next day. They took it in stride.

  I'm starting to think that they want an inn to hang out in when not adventuring as much as I want one to run and make money off of, he thought. Or maybe they just want to get their hands on some of the booze they've seen stored down in the cellar.

  He was out like a light when he laid down for the night.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie was up before dawn the next day, eager to see his inn get underway. He took a moment to remember the cockeyed way he'd ended up in the game, and to be thankful that now he was here much more legitimately.

  And getting paid well for it, he thought. Can't forget that.

  He made it to the site where his inn would be built by a half hour after dawn and found himself waiting impatiently. While he waited he thought through some logistical problems.

  I don't know how Light Online repopulates the game species. Do the rabbits and deer respawn like mobs do? It seems that way, otherwise there would be a lot fewer rabbits around the farm now. Although that might mean there's another lair building up around there too. I hope not, although that would be easy to take care of now. But I need to keep having meat ready for the inn. I wonder if animal husbandry will work for rabbits, or if I can find chickens around anywhere?

  While he was thinking Paul showed up with his cart. He'd borrowed it the night before to bring the rest of his family's belongings down to their house, but now it was filled to the brim with finished boards. Filled enough that the ox was moving even slower than normal.

  “Eddie, here I am. Right on time. You ready to start your inn?” Paul called out.

  Eddie saw the five men traipsing along behind the cart, several of them still blinking sleep from their eyes. He didn't recognize any of them, which wasn't saying much. He had yet to try to find out how many people were currently in the hamlet and meet them all.

  Ingolf and his cousins were already out chopping. He'd been listening to them while he thought through his problems with logistics.

  “All ready Paul. I don't suppose I can help at all?”

  “Not unless you just want to carry materials. More than one person with the same skill working a building can cause some...”

  He paused for a moment, considering his words.

  “issues,” he said finally. “You'd think the game would just average out the Skill scores or something, but it doesn't. You can get some strange problems otherwise.”

  “That's okay,” Eddie said. “I'd been thinking about a few other things I might want here. I'll just see if I can work out plans for those while you're working.”

  “Good man. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a building to build.”

  Paul unrolled the blueprint onto the bench of the cart, read through it and triggered it. A dim glow formed in the air where Eddie had said he wanted the inn. It was a long L shape, with the longer arm leading from the road back into the area Ingolf had cleared of trees. Paul grabbed a board from the cart and walked towards the slot that was flashing. The five men behind him each grabbed one as well and followed.

  Eddie went over to the rough-hewn plank stack and picked up several of them.

  I know what I want. I want a ground level floor with a roughly box shaped structure above it. A full sized door on one side and a smaller door on the adjacent side. Then I'll use green wood to weave a rough fence for a run or maybe willow if I can find enough.

  The structure he wanted to make took shape in his head. Unlike the flashing lights of the future inn, he had to go on instinct to create what he was thinking about. It took him nearly until lunch, but then a notification popped on his panel.

  Success:

  You have created the Blueprint: Chicken Coop.

  He thought for a moment before bothering Paul, but couldn't figure out how he was supposed to manifest the actual physical blueprint. When he gave up and called out the question to Paul, the answer was surprisingly simple.

  “Just grab some paper and a pencil and draw it. Your hand will work on automatic,” Paul called back.

  I should've known, Eddie thought.

  He had paper and a charcoal stick in his inventory, so he settled in next to the cart and started sketching. Ten minutes later he had a finished blueprint.

  Now to test my idea. I don't trust myself to have done it with no errors, so I'll use this blueprint and hopefully it'll show me if anything is out of whack with the coop, he thought.

  When he went back and triggered the blueprint, sure enough he saw several boards glowing red. After he made some adjustments, the whole coop glowed a bright blue for a moment before the glow disappeared entirely.

  There we go, one chicken coop, Eddie thought. Now I just need to build them a run so they can be outside, then actually find some chickens. The other things I want here are going to need materials that aren't handy though. I bet I could make part of the rabbit hutch, but the fish trap is definitely going to need flexible but sturdy materials. So for now, I'm going to take a break.

  There was a pile of slash where Ingolf and his cousins had been trimming the trees, so Eddie went over and found himself a stick almost as long as he was tall. He trimmed all the smaller side branches then tested its strength. After cutting it off where the top got too weak to bend without breaking he was left with a five foot length of wood.

  He still had some rope that he'd unwoven to test as a bow string in his inventory, so he took out one of the thinner strands and tested its strength. It felt like it would take about fifteen pounds or so before breaking, so he tied it to the thin end of his wooden stick.

  Now the hard part, what can I use as a fish hook? I've wanted to try fishing in this pond since I claimed it and haven't had the chance until now.

  Finally Eddie had an Aha! moment. He'd been using something like baling wire to hang the percolator over the fire for the coffee he brewed at the bunkhouse he rented out. He went out and, after bending it back and forth about a hundred times, managed to snap off a piece several inches long.

  And the snapped end is even sharp, awesome, he thought.

  He bent the sharp end over to form a hook, then tied it to his line. After digging around near the shore of the pond he found himself a worm as well. Threading it on the hook, he tossed the line out into the pond and settled down to wait.

  The wait didn't take long. Less than five minutes later he felt a tug on the line. Knowing that he was using less than optimal equipment, instead of trying to set the hook without a barb, he simply yanked and hoped that his yank was hard enough to pull the hook, line, and fish out of the water. Sure enough something that looked a lot like a trout came flying over onto the shore next to him and his panel started flashing.

  You have obtained the skill Fishing.

  You have upgraded the skill Improvisation to (2). Way to make do, although you might just try buying a fishing hook next ti
me, skinflint!

  Huh, I didn't expect that, he thought. I was just trying to relax some. Oh well, it kind of fits with my build anyhow.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Aaron stared at Cynthia in disbelief.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Just what I said. I checked your records and you haven't taken any time off in two years, since a year before Light Online went public. You need to take some of your accrued vacation time. I don't want you burning out on me.”

  “But... but... I've got projects going on, and my debugging?” Aaron pleaded.

  She chuckled.

  “Yes, and I've brought one of the medics onto your project to monitor their vitals. Your programmers have their instructions and are going full blast, especially now that you altered their hours so they don't spend the first hour or two at work trying to wake up. As for the debugging, it's out of our department, you don't need to do that any more. Greenshaw has brought in three new debuggers.”

  She laughed out loud.

  “He tried just one at first, then added a second. Between the two of them they almost did as much work as you've been doing. When he brought in the third, they finally picked up all of your workload, plus a bit more. He was astounded when I explained to him that any of those debuggers were fully qualified for the position and that you were just that good and knew the code that well.”

  “So, we could finally clear the bug backlog with that extra help,” Aaron said. “At least we could if I didn't have to go on vacation.”

  “Aaron, now I'm not going to order this,” Cynthia said, “but were you aware that we have vacant thirty day pods for use by our own employees? At no cost? I suggest you take a month off. I perused your logs and noticed some mention that you've never spent any time in the game as a player? I can't order you to do it, nor can I pay you for it, at least not more than your vacation pay, but perhaps you should look at the game as a player for a while, not as a developer. You're a valuable asset to this company Aaron. Greenshaw has finally realized just how much of one. Any ideas you generate from being a player for a while would be taken very seriously. We can't have the game going stale, now can we? While we have new ideas for additions to the game, the ones from our own team seem kind of tame and the ones from the players are very unbalanced.”

  “So, you want me to take my vacation in Light Online?” Aaron asked.

  “Did you know that my department, which you are now part of, plays a major part in the R&D of this game? Of course you do, that's why you're part of it. It isn't just the hardware though, it's also the game itself. If we don't change and adapt then our current popularity won't matter in the slightest. Players are fickle. We need to be the best, and I can't think of a better person to make suggestions on improving the game than you.”

  Aaron's eyes lit up.

  I'm not being given carte blanche to make changes, he thought, but she's suggesting that my opinions on changes to enhance the game are going to be given a high priority.

  His grin grew as he thought through what she'd said.

  What the hell, I get paid anyhow since it's vacation. I don't have to pay for the pod, and maybe I can go hang out with Eddie and his friends. It looks like they've been having a blast even if they aren't adventuring as much as regular players. That might even be a place to look for enhancements. Things to draw in the people who don't want to adventure as much, but still want to participate in the game. Overhaul the crafting system perhaps, make it so playing as a crafter is more appealing?

  He stood there lost in thought for a minute or two and when he recovered Cynthia was staring at him, a grin on her face.

  “You already thought of something to work on, didn't you?” she said.

  He nodded.

  “We're very popular with the people who want to adventure, but as Eddie pointed out to me there's a lot more to the game than just adventuring. I think I want to spend some time looking into that end of things. I bet that there are a fair number of people who'd enjoy a crafting style experience in the game. See what it's like to be a blacksmith, or any number of other professions. What do you think?”

  “I think you need to submit a request for vacation, thirty days minimum,” she said. “Don't worry, your job will still be here for you when you get back, plus there could be a promotion or bonuses if you come up with some ideas that prove to be popular.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Over the next three days one thing or another kept Eddie from doing what he wanted. He spent some time just watching as his inn was built, pitching in to carry some boards before realizing that his efforts weren't speeding it up at all, not with Paul's five helpers already there. He wanted to do more adventuring, and they did manage one day of it. That day got him frustratingly close to level five, but he was still shy of it by several hundred experience.

  His most progress came in his latest unintentional skill acquisition. His fishing skill was up to a three by now since he'd discovered that sitting at the pond and fishing was the only way he'd been able to keep himself calm when he was so close to level five, so close to getting his inn finished, and so close to getting someplace with Tiana. The night before they'd spent several minutes after Karl and Allie went bed, just sitting there talking, then kissing. Tiana had abruptly pulled herself away after he thought she'd lost herself in the kisses. She'd apologized before going to bed, but had still seemed a little nervous and distant.

  He pulled on his makeshift fishing rod as he felt another bite, but this time the line came up empty, even the bait was gone. He sighed and stood before tucking the rod away under a nearby tree where he'd been leaving it when he wasn't fishing. He already had three trout in a little makeshift creel. His weaving skill had actually come in handy a lot more than he'd thought it would when he first received it. The creel was made of supple green branches woven together. He had it fastened in the shallow water at the edge of the pond to keep the fish alive and fresh. Now he pulled that out.

  Maybe some trout for lunch today, he thought. I'll see if Paul wants some also.

  He nearly staggered as Lucky came writhing around his legs, purring as she sniffed pointedly at his creel.

  “Fine, glutton,” he said, “you can have one fish.”

  He pulled out the smallest of the trout. It was very obvious to him that Lucky needed no help keeping herself fed, but she still enjoyed it when he fed her. She gingerly took the trout from his hand, then trotted off and laid down, taking small bites out of the fish. Eddie headed up to where Paul was building the inn.

  “Hey Paul,” he called out. “Want some fresh grilled trout for lunch?”

  He didn't get an answer immediately. It was more than a minute later when the other man stepped out of the nearly finished inn.

  “That's what you've been doing? Just sitting down there, fishing?” Paul asked.

  “Yeah, I tried helping here but I wasn't actually any help. Allie and Karl are off mapping and Tiana said she had something to do today, she wouldn't tell me what. What else am I supposed to do?”

  “Brainstorm how to make more money would be my guess,” Paul replied. “It seems like you've been coming up with plan after plan for that and they all seem to work, you lucky devil.”

  “You're awfully chipper today, what's up?” Eddie asked.

  Paul broke into a wide grin.

  “My wife decided that she's more than happy to stay in game. She loves that she can do her regular 'housework' in a fraction of the time and with minimal effort. It leaves her time to do other things she always wanted to, you know, like pick up a hobby or three?”

  “How's your daughter doing?”

  Paul nodded thoughtfully.

  “I'm not really sure. She spends a lot of time outside. She seems happy but hasn't been talking a lot. What little she does say tells me she's thinking about adventuring. She's been asking about classes and what different types can do in game. Spends a lot of time in her browser too. Although, I'd meant to ask. H
as Lucky been coming down to visit her? I swear I saw your cat with her just yesterday while she was wandering down near the lake.”

  Eddie shrugged.

  “Maybe? I don't exactly keep track of Lucky like that. She frequently disappears for an hour or more at a time. So it's possible.”

  “Well, I hope it's Lucky. I don't want to think about her playing with a wild bobcat.”

  “Why not? If it didn't attack her while you were watching then maybe she made a friend.”

  “I'm just going to assume it's Lucky and not think about it too much,” Paul said. “On a totally different subject, I should finish the inn tonight or tomorrow before lunch.”

  Eddie broke into a wide grin.

  “Only a couple of days until I get to open for the first time. This is gonna rock, you know?”

  Paul grinned back at him.

  “You know, your enthusiasm is contagious. I'm looking forward to kicking back with an ale in front of that fireplace in there. You were right, by the way, Tiana managed to make it just fine. It did take her a couple of attempts, but it's sound now.”

  “She did the one in the bunkhouse so I was sure she could. Now, about that trout?”

  “Oh, no thanks, Delilah packed me a lunch. She's already almost as good a cook as I am in the game.”

  Eddie grinned, thinking back to the first taste of rabbit he'd had, after Paul had cooked it over an open flame.

  “That good, eh?”

  “From what I hear you're getting pretty good yourself too.”

  “Nowhere near your level yet, I'm just at a nine as of yesterday. After I cooked a few of the fish I've been catching I got another point. It looks like you need to keep cooking new things all the time if you want to keep your score going up.”

  Paul nodded.

  “You do, or at least it goes up quicker that way. I'm at a twelve, but I'll tell you what, you really want to get your next point as soon as you can. Especially if you're selling the food you cook.”