Marcus crawled through the tunnels, making his way towards the entrance to the station. His pack, filled with weapon parts, was being carried by a goblin ahead of him while he carried the PKM on his back. He had recently cleaned it and freshly oiled, along with a thousand rounds of 7.62x54mmR packed in a crate and 400 rounds of belted ammunition.

Being sent out as the gopher still irked at him. The waiting paycheck at the end of the quest alleviated the feeling somewhat, but the job itself felt demeaning. Was it just him? Marcus wondered as he dropped from the hole in the wall and finally felt his feet touch ground.

They passed through multiple checkpoints manned by goblins that were armed with a variety of makeshift weapons, sometimes not even armed at all. The further they went, the brighter it got and soon the dark gave way to the combination of weak electric and firelight in the distance.

They passed an open bulkhead serving as the main entrance of the station. A spider turret also guarded this entrance, currently recessed in its nook with other goblins positioned behind sandbags and bunkers. Marcus could already see an excellent position for the chief to put his upcoming gift.

A runner sent ahead of the group forewarned their arrival and an entourage led by the Tiul, the Goblin chief, greeted at the entrance. The Chief’s bodyguards were among them along with Bo.

Columbus had logged out an hour prior, but not before being informed that the shipment arrive tonight. Marcus didn’t get a response, but was instead given half of his pay in advance with him to expect the rest after Columbus would confirm the quest’s completion.

“You have it. Yes?” the goblin chief said as they exchanged greetings.

“Everything on the list.” Marcus nodded. Bo was already busy cataloguing the materials and made sure that none was ‘dropped’ on the way. Knowing the goblin’s propensity for things to go missing, Marcus made sure that it never happened.

“I also have a gift for you.” Marcus continued, unslinging the PKM and offered it to the chief. “It’s a general purpose machinegun shooting 7.62x54mmR. Powerful and designed for long range and lasting engagements. It would be perfect for your personal troops or set up at a checkpoint. I also brought some ammo for it.”

The goblin chief took the weapon off his hands and looked over it. The long weapon was comically large compared to the chief’s size, but he held it in his hands with little effort. “Is good gift.” He said, smiling and revealing rows of sharp teeth that, if Marcus didn’t know better, would look like a threat rather than a friendly gesture.

Attention! Your relation level with Tiul had increased to: Friendly

Marcus caught Bo look up from referencing the list against the growing pile of parts and materials. Bo gave a quick nod, which meant that everything had proceeded as planned on their end and it’s his turn to present the chief with their offer.

“I also have something we might want to discus. Something that will benefit your station.”

“Come, then.” Tiul nodded and passed the PKM with one hand to one of his bodyguards. They followed a few steps behind but didn’t stop Marcus from walking alongside the Chief.

The Chief led them through the bustling market, the station’s residential area and into his personal abode. Tiul took back the PKM from his guards and laid it on the wall behind him as he sat on his cushioned seats while Marcus took his spot near him.

Tea was ordered, and his bodyguards left the room to let the two of them talk privately.

“How is surface?” Tiul opened up as to break the ice.

Marcus would have preferred to get into business, but he had heard that some cultures prefer to start off a round of small talk. He guessed it was the latter here and so decided to simply get it out of the way. “A bit hot and sunny. Other than drying off, I prefer the cool damp of the tunnels, mostly.” He replied.

The chief smiled at that, and the two continued exchanging small talk. The tea arrived, and the Chief served them both. Marcus sipped at the bitter drink and the two settled in silence until the Chief broke it by smacking his lips.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Tell me what you want.” He said.

Marcus nodded and set his cup. “I noticed your gunsmiths need reliable gun parts. I thought I should help with that, so I went ahead and found some for them.” Marcus started and reached for his bag. He pulled out trigger sets and springs as proof. “Now, I don’t want to offend you by doing business with your station without your blessing and so I’m here to tell you about it first before going ahead.”

The chief said nothing as he took an AK trigger pack and fiddled with it. “Why not guns?” He asked.

‘Because I don’t know if you can afford it,’ Marcus thought. “I thought we’d start this business relationship small first before jumping into larger projects. I’m sure I’ve already showed that I can get you what you need.” ‘For a price,’

“What trade for?”

“I was thinking tea.” Marcus replied, sipping his cup for emphasis. “It’s pretty good. You can, of course, suggest things we can trade for guns, and maybe even explosives.” Marcus said, dangling the prospect of giving access to more weapons. If there would be something that is the same with warlords, they like big guns and bigger weapons. “One question, did you like the shotgun Columbus gifted you?”

“Is good. Fast to kill enemy. Want more.”

Marcus nodded. “I can give you one like it for a price of a kilogram of tea. A PKM for five. And everything else in between. I only need your blessing of being able to buy as much as I can.”

The chief didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he simply watched Marcus and he could almost see the little gears in the chief’s head whirring into overdrive, weighing the pros and cons of such an agreement.

“I allow it.” The chief finally nodded just as Bo entered the dwelling.

“Everything is there.” He declared. “We have enough supplies to last us till the next month, less if we start expanding.”

Quest Complete!

Supply Run

The Songbird Station needs supplies, and the Chief had given Columbus and, in extension, you, the privilege of being the station’s first supplier. Prove your ability by coming through with the orders.

Requirements: Fill the required order and deliver it within the assigned time. (Completed)

Rewards: 100,000 Exp.

Congratulations!

Level Up!

Level Up!

Congratulations! You have reached level 15!

“Good.” the chief said, sipping his tea. With a nod, he sent Bo away and Marcus mirrored him as he raised his own cup to his lips. He’d like to get on with his tasks but doesn’t know how to excuse himself.

Still, he had to risk it. The chief was content on sipping his tea and Marcus finished his. “I think I should be going. You know what? I think you should try out the PKM and get all your answers questioned then.”

The chief nodded, grinning. “Good idea.”

“You know, I wasn’t expecting stellar safety standards, but I wasn’t expecting this either.” Marcus muttered as he closed the PKM’s top cover over the belt. He loaded it with only 20 rounds for demonstration reasons, then handed the PKM to the chief and let him rack the charging handle.

Marcus looked up from the Chief to see everyone lined up to the sides, watching their leader line up a shot to a painted tile serving as the target set up on the other end of the market. The Chief then squeezed the trigger and let off a short burst.

The full sized cartridge was loud in the closed confines of the station and echoed down the tunnels. The crowd flinched from the sharp noise and the Chief laughed as the target disintegrated under the fire.

The rest of the goblins in the market cheered. Happy of their newly acquired weapon. The chief then raised the PKM above his head, not even bothered by its weight, and yelled. He shouted a long string of chittered words in their language, and the cheers doubled as the chief pointed over to Marcus.

“You know what he said?” Marcus asked as he leaned over to Bo.

“He said that you’re the source of the weapon, and the source of even more. At least that’s the gist of it.” Bo answered.

“Should be good then, as long as they can keep affording it.” Marcus said, then caught Bo shaking his head. “Is there going to be a problem?”

“They’re only able to keep production of two kilograms of tea per week as of now. I checked to make sure.” Bo replied, “They could expand the farms but that brings its own problems.”

“More work means more experience.” Marcus replied, then looked to the side where the gunsmiths gathered, sending him looks. “They don’t look happy.” He said, nodding in their direction.

Bo turned his head to follow. “With what the Chief said, I’m sure they’re thinking you’re here to get and take them out of business.”

Marcus nodded. “Not surprising. Did you finish the designs?”

“Almost, only need the finishing touches. I’m having problems with calculating the tolerance between the parts.”

Marcus chuckled. “You think they’re concerned with tolerances? You’re just at the designing phase kid. Even if everything goes well with our little project, you’d still be redrawing and fiddling with the drawings until you think you perfected it, only for more problems to pop up when you start building it. Besides, it’s not like you don’t have a group of gunsmiths willing to test everything out and find the bugs for you.”

“But it’s not ready.”

“Let me handle the rest kid.” Marcus replied, patting Bo’s shoulder. “Get the plans and get those gunsmiths gathered up so we can address their concerns all at the same time.”