“Jackpot!”

I couldn’t help but yell out in joy. Stagnant water was deadly water. If water stood still for too long all kinds of bugs and bacteria would make it their home. I would still boil the water just to be sure I killed any living organisms. A few dusty wooden buckets stood upturned next to the wall. I picked one of the top ones, not trusting the bottom ones not having been touched by the mushrooms. Apart from the layer of dust, it looked to be in a decent enough condition. I looked around for a rope but came up empty-handed. I had no rope nor did I have any idea on how to make rope. I only needed something strong enough to pull up a bucket of water.

I went over my mental map of the places I had already explored. Nothing stood out as being a rope. The trees didn’t have any vines either that I could use as a rope either. I made my way to the front door and peered outside to see if anything caught my eye. And that’s when I saw all the vines growing over the wall in a different light. They were long enough to reach the water and hopefully strong enough to hold the weight of my water-filled bucket.

I pulled out the hatchet from my backpack and set my torch into the sconce near the door. Hopefully, it would still be burning when I got back. I gave it a weary look and decided to search for another one just in case while I still had light. It took no more than a minute to grab two other torches from their own sconces and make my way back to the door. I placed them next to my backpack and wiggled my way outside again. Gauging the vines clinging to the wall I’d need one went from the bottom to most likely the top of the wall just to be sure. It would also need to be sturdy enough so I went around looking for vines with a thick base.

My first choice had a pretty thick base and after a few minutes of chopping, I pulled It from the wall. It came away from the wall quite easily at first but soon it would not budge any further. A bunch of other vines had intermingled with my vine and would not budge. I dropped the vine to land back against the wall and went looking for another one.

I took care to look for a more isolated vine this time. I found another candidate and started chopping again. Having learned from the first vine I cut this one down a bit faster. I grabbed the base of the vine and started pulling. It came away pretty fast but the branches went into to many directions for it to be useful as a makeshift rope. I still dragged it over to the door. If I could not find a suitable one then maybe I could DYI some stuff to this one to maybe make It useable.

After my second misfire, I adjusted my criteria to the somewhat slimmer stems. I need a long vine and the younger growths might be a better fit for that criteria. In the end, I cut down two similar-looking vines. I wasn’t too sure about the length of my third vine so I opted to pick a fourth one. I dragged them both back with me. I jammed their base through the door opening then wiggled myself back inside. The branching vine made some snapping sounds as I pulled it inside. Most of the vine had made it inside but I didn’t think it would be very useful as a rope anymore. With the torch in my right hand, I dragged my other two vines towards the kitchen.

I tossed the end of the shorter vine into the well while I held onto the base. I heard it hit the water below and pulled it back out. The top was indeed wet from hitting the water but I already knew it would be too short. The end of this one was way too thin to carry the weight of a full bucket. I tested it anyway by wrapping the end around the handle of a test bucket. The bucket barely lift off the ground before the vine snapped.

I repeated my dipping test with the second vine and kept dipping it after hearing it hit the water. Knowing where the water would hit on this vine gave me the cutoff point for how long it had to be. I could trim the top part of the weak vine and wrap the sturdier part around the bucket. I only had to cut a small part after wrapping it around the bucket’s handle. I gave it a quick shake test before lowering it into the well.

I heard the bucket hit the water and slightly moved the vine around until I felt the weight increase. I wasn’t sure how much water I got into the bucket but it was best to grab some water and test out the entire construction before scooping up a much heavier bucket full of water. My muscles protested slightly at all the sudden physical labour I was putting them through but I soon grabbed the handle. I had roughly half a bucket full of clear water filled with dust particles. Step one was to clean the bucket of all the dust it had accumulated. Lacking a cleaning cloth I ripped one of the sleeves from my shirt. I was about to sit down and start cleaning the bucket when the torch started flickering.

I pulled it free from the sconce I had placed it in and made my way back to the door. I used the torch to light one of the other ones and placed the failing one in the sconce by the door. Since I was already there I shouldered my backpack and picked up the useless vine. If I was going to spend my time in the kitchen I might as well have all my belongings there. The useless vine could be used to make a fire in one of the fireplaces. I had never made a fire before in my life so I went by good old television knowledge. The kitchen still had firewood so I placed that in a teepee form. I stuffed a bunch of the vine material inside the teepee and held the burning torch close till it caught fire. Compared to the torch the cooking fire cast a wide glow across the kitchen. I sat back down next to my buckets and started scrubbing.

I emptied the water from my cleaner bucket into one of the dirty ones. The logs inside the fireplace had caught fire and were merrily burning away. I still needed a way to boil my water and a wooden barrel into an open fire would not solve that issue. At first glance, nothing useable had popped up when I first inspected the kitchen. Now with the much better light from the open fire, I spotted a pot in one of the other fireplaces. I walked over and pulled it out. The pot looked to be made out of some cast iron because it was pretty heavy and even dirtier than the buckets. I scooped out another half bucket of water and put it into the pot. I hung the pot on the fireplace arm and put it over the fire. I thought cleaning the pot first but cleaning with warm water would do a better job than cold water. My cleaning session lasted for roughly an hour before I was happy with the state of my pot and bucket. I filled up my pot with water and set it to boil my first batch of drinking water.

I stretched out my sore muscles from all that cleaning and left the kitchen. The torch at the door had gone out and I could see that dusk was beginning to set in. A growling stomach reminded me of the fact that I had yet to have a proper meal. The fruit I had eaten sated my hunger that afternoon but the small ration I had left would only see me through the night. I hadn’t seen any trees bearing fruit on the way over here and going out looking for them in the dusk and dark would be a futile endeavour. My best option would be to go out and hunt an animal as the goblins had done.

Rose had said a good night’s rest would replenish my health points but she had not told me by how much they would recover. I was currently missing two points out of twenty. A percentile recovery made the most sense but it could be any percentile. I had ten per cent covered but without knowing the upper limit I wouldn’t know the exact amount. Fifty percent was an option but very unlikely and I was not planning on testing out that theory by choice. Twenty-five or twenty per cent seemed like a far more reasonable amount. Since I was already going out to find dinner a calculated risk was in the planning. I was willing to lose three points of my life. I could find one of those five goblin patrols and blow them all in one fight or look for smaller groups and take three individual hits. So I would aim for an ambush against three opponents or fight two in a head-to-head. While results from the past didn’t guarantee the future, I decide to leave the keep in the same way I came in. I knew it had both goblins and rabbits so hopefully I would find both.

I took a quick peek over the rubble before venturing out. The rabbit remains that the goblins were eating still lay on the ground. A quick glance at the bloody mess told me there was nothing I could, or was willing to, salvage from it. I would have to go out and hunt my own meal. Thinking about the best way to prepare my freshly caught rabbit made me forget what kind of place I was in. A distant howl echoed through the forest and reflexively I dropped into a crouch behind a nearby tree. I strained my eyes and ears while peeking around the tree trying to pick out any dangers. A few minutes passed with nothing popping out and I calmed down. Eyeing the deep forest and the relative safety of the wall I opted to first make a round around the wall. I walked till I could barely make out the wall on my right and then took a few steps back towards in. I decide to circle the wall twice before heading out any deeper.

My first loop around the keep netted me zero results. I did have to hide from another big goblin patrol. Seeing as they all made their way over to the same direction it might be a good opportunity to find their camp. I still had eleven open slots in my deck and only three equipment pieces. And if I counted the required experience to upgrade all those cards I had to pick a fight. And while I wanted to visit the mountains, the keep was just such a good place to make my base for now.

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For the second round, I slightly increase my distance from the wall. I had just started my round when another howl sounded out in the distance. I reflexively crouched down behind a tree. I strained my eyes and ears to see if the owner of that howl was close by. The fact I was trying to find that source made me spot something else.

Near the base of another tree and mostly hidden by the underbrush I spotted a brown hare digging up the soil. I tried to initiate a duel but the hare was too far away. I could jump out and try to quickly close the distance but that might also spook the hare into running away.

Keeping my gaze on the hare, I put the tips of my fingers on the ground. With very slow steps I crouch walked on my fingers and the tips of my toes towards my prey. Something deeper in the forest made a sound and the hare´s ears perked up. Its ears twisted this way and that while it listened for any danger. A tense minute passed before it resumed digging the hole. While I could have sprinted the last few paces and initiated the duel, the best practice was to aim for the flawless bonus. And with the fight against the wolves still fresh in my mind, going into fights without advantage was not a habit I should pick up. I crawled four more steps before the hare´s ears went up again but it was too late. I was in range and initiated the duel.

Combat initiated with advantage (all opponents unaware).

You’ll receive one bonus crystal for the first round of combat.

The battlefield popped into place and to my surprise another brown hare popped up on the field. I felt some instant gratification for going with the ambush instead of initiating the fight head-on. Before I drew my cards I took the time to inspect both of the hares.

Brown hare (male)

Beast – Hare, Furry

When a Brown hare (female) enters the battlefield gain 1 Block.

Block - Negates 1 instance of damage then reduces its value by 1.

Attack 2 Health 2

Brown hare (female)

Beast – Hare, Furry

When killed, give a Brown hare (male) +1 Enrage.

Enrage – Increases attack by 1 per stack of Enrage.

Attack 1 Health 3

Seems not all uncommons were created equally. While their stats totalled to only four their abilities made up for it. The male was slightly harder to kill but focussing the female down would make the male more dangerous. It was a good thing that I was only facing one set of them. An entire deck of them could cause severe issues if they kept playing females to make the male basically invulnerable and killing the females made them unstoppable juggernauts.

“Draw,” and four cards popped into my hand. Skeleton (1/2), Skeleton (1/1), Skeletal Knight (2/2), Skeleton (1/1).

Playing the 1/2 or the 2/2 against the male was pointless in the first round one due to the block. I played one of the 1/1 skeletons in front of the male and my 1/2 in front of the female. The extra point of health meant I could play my Knight against the male next turn and kill it. Then any card would kill the female rabbit in the third round.

My skeleton swung its weapon against the male rabbit but it ducked under the swing. Using its powerful hind legs it jumped up and roundhouse kicked the head off my skeleton. I was surprised that my skeleton actually had a visual for the shield I had equipped to it. It swung its weapon and scored a hit on the small female hare’s back. In return, it blocked her kick with its shield which felt to the side as the arm that held it broke into pieces from the impact.

I drew my second knight for round two and played it opposite the male hare. The hare launches a hindleg-powered flying kick and repeated its stunt of kicking the head of my skeletal knight. As the head went flying it swung out with its sword and diagonally bisected the hare as it was coming down from impacting the skeleton’s head. Like having its strings cut, then the skeleton fell apart in a loose pile of bones. The other skeleton landed another hit on the back of the female hare before she kicked straight through its chest and it crumbled to the ground.

The third turn draw was another 1/1 skeleton and I played my other knight against the female hare. She jumped up to repeat the same kick she used to take down the previous skeleton but this time she bounced off.

“Sword through the head,” I yelled out to my skeleton. I still needed to eat them and making a bloody mess wasn’t an optimal result. Its free hand shot out and grasped the hare’s torso. With surprising speed, it slammed it into the ground before spearing it through the head with its sword. The fact that my skeleton exactly followed my order took me by surprise. I doubted it would be handy in a situation but it still shelved the information in case it became relevant in the future.

VICTORY!

Exp gained: 4 + 1 (flawless)

Coins gained: 8

Cards gained: None

Additional rewards: None

Claim

I picked up the female hare’s remains. Some dirt had gotten into the wounds on the back but those could be washed if I needed. The male hare was still bleeding somewhat from where it got bisected. I picked it up by the hind legs and held it at arm’s length. I decided to return my dinner to the keep before venturing out again to fight some goblins.

Back in the kitchen, I tied the back legs of both hares together with the shorter vine I had harvested that afternoon. I put one of the filthy buckets under a sconce and hung them there to bleed out. The fire had turned into a slow mostly charcoal pile so I took that opportunity to place a few more logs into it. I also took a few quick sips from the now-cooled water I had boiled earlier. It didn’t taste weird, but I kept it to a few sips just to make sure I would get too sick if it turned out not to be drinkable.

It took not even five minutes before I spotted a patrol of three goblins walking in my direction. I hid behind a tree till they came into duel range. I won the fight in two rounds and lost one point of life. I dodged another patrol of six goblins and didn’t spot any others over the next thirty minutes. The grumbling of my stomach started to become worse and I decided to give it one more lap around the wall before calling it a night. I had almost completed the entire lap when I spotted a patrol of four goblins. Since this would be my final fight for the day I initiated the duel.

Four goblin occupied the front and I drew my hand. Skeleton (1/1), Skelton (1/1), Skeletal Knight (2/2), Skeletal Knight (2/2) and I internally swore. The lack of a third one-drop skeleton meant I couldn’t finish it two turns and would lose one more point of life than I had expected. I played my two skeletons with the advantage bonus and ended my round losing two points of life during combat going down to fifteen. My card for the second round was my Skeletal commander (3/4). I played one of my knights and ended the round going down to fourteen life points. Drawing one of my basic skeletons I just played my commander because I could and ended the combat. I claimed my rewards and went back to the kitchen.

I cleaned a piece of stone and put it in the middle of the fire to use as a primitive grill plate. I put the pieces of meat I cut away from the hares onto it. While the meat was cooking I pulled out my deck box.

Current life: 14

Experience : 17

Coins: 40

I had enough experience for three upgrades and I pulled out my Skeletal horse card. It was the best card to upgrade due to its Mount tag. This card would be with me for a, what I suspected, a long time. But that was also the dilemma. Which upgrades would be the best option. Standalone the 2/2 seemed the best option but as an equipment 3/1 or 1/3 might serve my late-game deck better. The long spear said it would be consumed after an upgrade so what if I found a similar card that would fuse with my mount? I tapped the card against the deck box for a while thinking over my options and ultimately put it back into the box. I finally sated my hunger with the hare meat. The taste was bland but gamey. I drank some more of my boiled water and made my way over to the captain's quarters. The door opened into the office so I barricaded it from the inside by pushing one of the desks against it. I picked the bunk that looked the most comfortable and was soundly sleeping within minutes.