Farmer

by Tom Larcombe

  Eddie cocked his head inquisitively.

  “Oh wait, do you start getting the well-fed bonus at a ten in cooking?” he asked.

  Paul nodded.

  “Not all the time, I'm guessing there's some sort of check against your skill. But skill level ten is where I started seeing those from time to time.”

  “Awesome. I was thinking I might have to lower my prices, but if I'm giving buffs from my food sometimes, I think I'll leave them right where they are.”

  “Sounds good,” Paul said. “I've got to get back to work if I want to get this place finished though. Talk to you later.”

  “I'm going to start up my fire pit over there. If any of your lunch needs warming, just come on over,” Eddie said.

  He moved over to his food stand and quickly got a fire going in the pit. They stored fire-starting materials as well as kindling and logs in the back of the small stand he'd built for selling the food. It saved a lot of time when he was starting up in the afternoon and it also saved him a few minutes now. As he smelled the cooking fish, he let his mind wander a little, trying to plan out the next few days.

  While he was working Eddie was disturbed as a global broadcast showed in his panel, then relieved when he actually read the actual message.

  Global Broadcast:

  Congratulations to party: Edge Lords for expanding the world.

  “Uhh, Paul?” Eddie called out.

  “Don't worry,” came the reply. “That happens once or twice a week most of the time. There's occasional other messages like that as well. I've seen a fair bunch of them come up while I've been building.”

  Eddie was relieved. The only global broadcast he'd seen since he got into the game was his own. Now he felt like he might be less of a target because of it. Although this one had been a party and the party name, not the player name. Even so, he was in a non-PVP zone so he knew he ought to be safe even if he had drawn attention by his own achievements.

  ~ ~ ~

  When Eddie got back to the farm, there was no-one there. He'd expected Tiana to be there at least, since she hadn't announced her intentions to do anything today and he was confused by her absence.

  Crap, he thought, I hope I didn't scare her off last night. It was like she was really into things until the end, then she got distant. Shit! I really hope I didn't scare her off, she's really attractive and, better still, I enjoy her company.

  His mind was put to rest later in the day when Karl and Allie returned.

  “Either of you seen Tiana today?” he asked. “I haven't seen her since last night.”

  “She didn't tell you?” Allie asked. “Today is her day out. She should be back at midnight, that's when they normally pull her out and twenty-four hours later, on the dot, they put her back in.”

  “Oh,” Eddie said. “No, she hadn't mentioned it, although she did seem distracted last night.”

  “That'd do it,” Allie said. “I won't go into details, but she's told me her days out are awfully painful since they put her through a lot of tests to see how her physical therapy is working.”

  Eddie nodded.

  “I understand, knowing that was coming up soon might make me kind of distracted too. Well, time to set up for tonight's food sales. It looks like Paul will finish the inn tomorrow, so I'm going to have to track down some help for running it. Figured I'd go talk to old Arvid first, he seems to have his finger on what pulse there is to the Meadowlands. He can help me find a couple of trustworthy barmaids, maybe a farmer or two to run the farm up here while I run the inn also.”

  “You're going to need more help than that,” Karl said. “Probably a stable boy and a cleaning maid too. Plus I'm sure there'll be things you haven't thought of that you'll need more help with.”

  “Yeah, it's going to be a pain, but I bet it's worth it.”

  He broke into a wide grin.

  “Hell, even doing what I have been is worth it to me. I can't help but think that this is going to be even better.”

  Karl shook his head.

  “Eddie the innkeeper. Not the title you'd expect to get in a game, but hey, if it works for you.”

  He clapped Eddie on the back.

  “Seriously, congratulations man. I know you needed to make this work for you after we got the shaft, but you've managed to make it work for both of us even. Let's hope it keeps going that way.”

  “Speaking of missing people, has anyone seen Jern?” Eddie asked.

  “Oh. I hope you don't mind, but when he was asking about any caves on the land to make himself somewhere homier to stay I directed him to the warren we cleared. I figure if he's in there nothing will respawn. We checked before he decided to move in and it was still empty,” Karl said.

  “I don't mind at all, especially if it does prevent it from resetting,” Eddie said. “Dominic's still in the bunkhouse?”

  “Yup, happy as a clam too. After Paul moved his family out, Dominic took over the rooms Paul had made in there. So now he's even got a private room out there.”

  “Good, so the only things I have to worry about right now are tonight's sales, the inn, and staff for the inn.”

  “Looks like. Hey, we're almost finished with the map so we're going to go out again today. We'll come down and meet you near the inn when we're done, okay?”

  Eddie nodded.

  “Sure man, go for it. Maybe you can start selling maps out of the inn once you finish it.”

  “Maybe, but I had an idea,” Karl said.

  Eddie raised an eyebrow.

  “Do tell,” he said.

  “Nah, I'm going to wait. If it works out, you'll see. You said Paul is almost done with the inn, right? Think he'd mind building me a house? Just a small one, a little ways away from your inn.”

  “I'm sure he'd love the extra work. He will charge you though.”

  “Wouldn't have it any other way. Talk to you later Eddie.”

  Allie and Karl left, leaving Eddie to harvest his produce for the day and hook up the wagon.

  ~ ~ ~

  Once he was down at the food stand and setting up, starting the fire so it could burn down to coals, Eddie tracked down Ingolf, who was just about done clearing his land.

  “Ingolf?” he called, once the man was no longer chopping wood.

  “Eddie, what can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering. You said that your cousins were farming? But they had bad luck?”

  Ingolf nodded.

  “A small goblin raiding party came out of the woods. They don't do that often, but this one came out right on top of their farm, before they'd even planted. Burned down all the construction that had happened already and my cousins didn't have the coin to replace what was lost. So they gave up and have been doing odd jobs since.”

  “They know farming though?” Eddie asked.

  “That they do.”

  “Think they want to take a longer term position with me? Not clearing wood, but tending my farm. It's about a mile away from here so they'd still be fairly close to this area.”

  “I think they might indeed be interested. Although I know they'll ask about price. Don't let them skin you, don't ask Arvid to negotiate for you either. He'll skin you himself, charge you to do it, and then get them a lot more than they'd be willing to work for.”

  “I've got no clue what the going wages are around here. You took me a bit for the wood cutting job too, didn't you?”

  Ingolf shrugged.

  “Not so bad there, less than twice what I would've been willing to do it for.”

  “So would the five copper a day I'm paying them now be more appropriate for something they're skilled at?” Eddie asked.

  “Probably. You could get them to take less, but they might be unhappy about it.”

  “So, five copper a day, food provided out of the crops they harvest, and shelter. They'll each get their own room in the farmhouse there.”

  “That is far more than most would offer them. I think they'd be happy with that,” Ingolf said.


  “I need to keep them happy since I'm going to need to hire even more people from around here. I'll need maids for the inn, barmaids for it also, maybe a cook. I'll start cooking myself there, but sooner or later I'll probably want to hire someone for that position. It just goes on and on.”

  Ingolf chuckled.

  “You were the one that wanted to run an inn.”

  “Yeah, I'm just kind of griping, I don't really mean it. It just seems like a lot to do and not long to do it in since the building itself should be finished tomorrow.”

  “Well, I'll tell you a secret. Go about a half mile past the crossroads, heading away from your inn. There's a faint path there. If you follow it, it'll take you to a small hut. Old Liv lives there. Much like Arvid, she knows everyone in the area. Unlike Arvid, she'd be willing to help you just to get those people the work, and not try to skin you in the process. Although you might bring her a gift to ease the proceedings.”

  “A gift. Such as...”

  “Perhaps some of the venison you sell. Before it's been cooked. If you bring her cooked venison then she may well think that you're insulting her own skills. But, she'll know the best people for the jobs you need filled. The ones that will be reliable, able to do the work, and not have a problem working for someone else.”

  “Thank you Ingolf, you could've charged me for that information but you didn't.”

  “Ah, but I do have an ulterior motive,” Ingolf replied.

  “Yes?”

  “Well, you've completely missed out on something you need for your inn.”

  “I've got food, drink that I'm not making available until it's open, what am I missing?”

  “Things to serve it with. Platters and mugs to be specific. You can only serve meat on a stick for so long before your customers begin to tire of it.”

  Eddie slapped the heel of his hand to his forehead.

  “Duh!” he exclaimed.

  “Not to worry,” Ingolf said. “You've seen my work and I have a chest full to the brim of just what you'll need. We can negotiate the price after you see the pieces.”

  “Plain and simple is all I'll need there.”

  “There's plain and simple, but then there's well-crafted plain and simple. One will last you a month and the other a year or more.”

  Eddie groaned, mostly mockingly.

  “Alright, bring it by tomorrow so I can take a look?” he asked.

  Ingolf smiled.

  “I'll do that. Even if I have to get my cousins to carry it for me. They'll be happy to do so since the man I introduced them to will be offering them a long term job.”

  ~ ~ ~

  He ticked off the things he needed to do tomorrow on his fingers.

  Get the platters and mugs from Ingolf along with the bed frames, pick up all the mattresses that are completed already, move some to the bunkhouse on the farm, move the rest into the inn, Stock up the pantry, move the alcohol, the list just goes on and on. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I think the inn won't open until the day after tomorrow, or maybe even the day after that. I'll have to see how quickly I can get everything done.

  He couldn't wait for the morning, when Tiana should be back. He was sure she'd want to help and that, by itself, would make everything seem easier and quicker. At least he hoped she'd want to help, he was still uncertain because of the way she acted the last time he'd seen her.

  Eddie shook his head, then laid out piece after piece of meat on the counter in his little food stand. He chopped each one to the right size and put it on its stick after spicing it. Before long he was lost in the rhythm, taking meat out back to cook over the fire while he kept working on the ones that still needed to be prepared.

  Throughout the night he kept getting questions about the building that was nearly completed nearby. When he told people it was an inn, his inn, and that it would be opening in a few days almost every person he was talking to followed up with the question.

  “Will there be beer or ale, or some kind of alcohol?”

  When he replied in the affirmative he could feel his reputation with the adventurers soaring. More than one asked if there was anything they could do to help speed up his opening. So he told each of them that if they wanted to help they should be here near the food stand tomorrow at noon. He'd see how many people showed up, then break them into groups while splitting out the tasks he'd been mentally listing.

  And any of those volunteers are going to get the first round of ale on the house, he thought. Even if only half as many as volunteered turn up there'll be enough people to get everything done tomorrow.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Aaron scanned Eddie's logs.

  Hmm, Aaron thought. I wonder if he knows just what's going to happen when he officially opens his inn. I've looked at that quest line and I know that a lot more is going to happen than at your average ribbon cutting ceremony.

  He chuckled to himself as he pictured Eddie's face when he got hit with the string of messages that was going to appear.

  I think I will try that blacksmith character I was thinking about. I know the crafter classes are kind of bare bones as it stands right now, but with some experience I can determine where things can be enhanced. Starting my character right after he opens the inn will give me a bonus for that as well. Don't see many players of that race in the area yet, but I bet we will soon. Opening up a new territory to start in and a new sub-race to start as will see to that.

  Aaron went ahead and sent in an email requesting thirty days vacation. Based on what he'd read in Eddie's logs, he asked for it to start two days from then. If he started in the evening, then Eddie should have his inn finished and the new options should be available for players.

  Aaron spent the rest of his own evening plotting out his character. His familiarity with the game itself lent itself to bare facts about the classes, but the amount of options there were that allowed you to specialize your character were far too numerous for him to know all of them. So he researched them online as he planned his character out.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie was disturbed once overnight when a cold breeze managed to make its way under the blankets. It was replaced by a warm weight a moment later though so he simply muttered in his sleep and shifted in his sleep a little.

  He slept well, better than he had in a long time. When he woke, it was to a movement in the bed with him. He rolled over only to find that he'd slept so well because Tiana had slipped into the bed with him and been spooning with him all night. As he moved, her eyes fluttered open.

  “Good morning,” she said with a bright smile.

  “You're in a much better mood than when I saw you last.”

  “That's because the doctor answered my questions. I'm going to be in the pod for at least another year, possibly longer. There's incredible progress so far, but there's still a lot to be done.”

  “And that's a reason to have you in a better mood?”

  “Yes silly, it means I don't have to keep getting distracted thinking about what might happen between us if I'd been yanked out of the pod for whatever reason. I get that you intend to stay in as long as you can, and now that I know I won't be yanked out either, it means... well, we'll see what it means.”

  Oh, I get it, he thought. It wasn't anything I said or did. She wasn't even sure she'd be back in the pod today and didn't want to get too involved with me if she was going to have to leave. But a year is long enough for her to let herself get involved? I mean, I guess that makes sense. I'm not going to question it at least.

  “Well, as much as I'd like to celebrate that right now, I have an incredibly long list of things to do today. So I'm afraid I have to get out of bed now,” he said.

  “Not just yet,” she replied.

  Then she leaned over and kissed him, passionately enough that he had no doubts about what she wanted. The only question was when they'd find the time.

  When she broke the kiss off he was even more reluctant to get out of bed, but when he heard s
omeone moving around downstairs, he heaved a sigh and slipped out, wincing as his feet came down on the cool floorboards.

  He, Karl, and Allie headed out to hunt after he was dressed. Munching a leftover piece of meat from the night before, he slowly woke as they headed south into the light forest that preceded the forest of fools.

  “I saw a few deer tracks in the area when we were mapping yesterday,” Allie said, “so I figured this would be a good spot to hunt this morning.”

  Eddie asked the question that had been on his mind for a while.

  “Does anyone know if the game just respawns the deer and bunnies? Or do they have to breed. Can they breed even?”

  “I know they can breed,” Karl said. “You should know that too, you've got animal husbandry. But I think the game probably does respawn them. It doesn't seem to matter where we hunt, there's always more game there a day or two later.”

  Eddie shook his head.

  It's like the looting/skinning bit, he thought. You can get more out of it if you're willing to put the effort into it. Breed the animals and hunt and you'd have twice as much food, and hides for that matter.

  Hunting went quickly. Especially with the targeting circle the game provided on animals it considered worthy of hunting. At least that's how he explained away the fact that he got the circles on deer, but not bunnies. Even if the bunnies could also increase his hunting skill.

  Or maybe it only gives the circle on the things I need the bonus from hunting to kill in one shot? I don't know, he thought.

  The hunt went well, and quickly. Eddie was more interested in the latter today since he had so much to do. He left Allie and Karl butchering the deer they'd gotten in the yard while he started harnessing up the cart. Tiana came out while he was doing that.

  “So, what's all the stuff you have to do today?” she asked. “What's important enough to drag you out of bed with me.”

  Eddie winced as he saw Allie's ears perk up at Tiana's comment.