Not long after leaving Craig, Nathan was back in the pod, ready for a new virtual day. He found himself walking out of a random hut in the village.
Looking around to get his bearings, he discovered some villagers busy building a big new structure –bigger than most of the others, possibly with the exception of the tavern. They were further along in the construction than he assumed they would be, considering they would have had to have started that morning.
He moved closer to get a better look and saw Bruce's familiar face sitting next to the construction area behind a wooden desk with a lot of papers in front of him.
“No rest for the wicked, eh? You’re here when I log off and when I log in. When do you sleep?” asked Nathan as he walked up.
Bruce raised a hand and made a couple of notations on one of the sheets before he looked up. “Good morning, Eclipse,” he said with a tired smile. “What was that? Oh, you can sleep in-game, you know. But you can’t eat yet, so I’ll have to log off shortly. Anyhow, what do you think?”
“Think about what?”
“The town hall, of course! I picked the location myself.” Bruce stood up and pointed to different areas as he explained. “There will be a recreational area – a meeting place of sort – for travelers there, and some barracks there, and then my office will be over there on the far side. I think it looks good.”
Nathan nodded along as Bruce talked, imagining how it would look when it was done. “Looks good. When do you think it'll be done?”
“Sometime tomorrow. They’re quick builders, I’ll tell you that. The moment I finished the design, they showed up from nowhere carrying tools and materials and got started. I don’t see exactly how they do it, but when they put one piece of wood in place, three others are placed at the same time. But never when I watch. Fascinating.”
“I take it you got your wish? You’re the new boss?”
“The Headman, yes. The elders voted unanimously in my favor. The goblin threat was a call to action. None of them wanted to deal with it, so when the opportunity came, they were surprisingly positive to hand me the reins. All it took was a promise to prepare the village and the surrounding area for the potential intrusion of a green horde, while also improving trade and the other areas I want to focus on.”
“You think it will come to that? An invasion of goblins?”
“Not just goblins. Orcs and ogres and such as well. I got a quest; ‘Protect the village’. Very few details, but there is a timer. I don’t know what, but something will happen in 10 days. We’ve got to be ready. I’m going to need all the help I can get, so I would appreciate it if you stayed in the area.”
“Sounds like it’ll be worth it to stay for a while longer. You mentioned a proposition yesterday?”
“Yeah. As the Headman, I can generate quests and also have a pool of funds that I can use to award players who complete them. So far, I’ve sent one crew to scout the forest to the north past the goblin camp, and I’ve created a repeatable quest to gather wood and other material in the forest. Any new ones will be posted on a board in the town hall.”
“And you have one for me?”
“Yes, an important one. There is an old mine to the west, just inside the forest. It’s close –you can almost see it – but far enough away that the villagers have been able to ignore it for some time. One of the elders mentioned it in passing when I talked about how we needed iron, and suddenly everyone remembered it. Convenient, but not too convenient, because as is the norm with old forgotten mines, people have disappeared and something scary has been seen in the night. Screams and weird noises and such. Bla, bla, bla, you know how it goes. Long story short, I need a team to go and clear it. You in?”
“I’m interested, sure. Need some more info, though. Who’s going, when are we going and –most important- what does it pay?”
Bruce let out a disappointed sigh. “If I had the funds, I'd drown you in gold, but I don’t. I’m struggling to see how I’m going to fund all the things that need to be done before this place is ready, so I have to stretch the coin I have. The mine will help, as we can trade some of what we gain, but that will take time, and I have to pay the miners first as well.”
Bruce had a quick look at Nathan’s grimace and quickly spread his hands in resignation. “That doesn’t mean that I can’t offer something. As things are now, I can offer 1 gold and the gratitude of the village. I know, I know, it isn't much, but keep in mind this is an old place. There is a good chance there is some good loot, from before whatever happened to this world. Everything you find is yours, including any ore you’re willing to drag out.”
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Nathan thought it over. “Ok, what the hell. Not like I have anything else to do.”
Bruce smiled. “Thank you. That is a load of my chest. As for who, it will be a smaller team than last time. Four or five people, and so far, the only member is you. I was thinking about reaching out to the other survivors from yesterday, but if you have any preferences, I’m all ears.”
“Nah, they did all right. Should do nicely. You not joining?”
“I think we both know I was lucky to come out unscathed yesterday, and I have no desire to tempt fate again so soon. Besides, I have plenty of things to do here. Tell you what, if you come back around noon, I’ll have a team for you. If you need something to do before then, feel free to help out gathering wood. The pay is 1 silver an hour. Or, if that’s not for you, Ollie was looking for someone to do him a favor earlier, but I didn’t catch the details.”
“I’m not much of a lumberjack, so I’ll check in with Ollie.”
“Allright then, but before you go, let's make it official.” Bruce did some gestures with his hand and looked into nothing for a while, and shortly thereafter Nathan received a prompt.
[New Quest] Clear the mine
Headman Bruce deNile of The Last Valley village has requested that you help clear the local mine of any creatures that might hamper future mining endeavors.
Mine explored: 0/1
Mine cleared: 0/1
Reward: XP, 1 gold, reputation with the Last Valley village
He accepted and nodded to the Headman. “Until noon.”
Nathan left Bruce to his documents and walked over to Ruth’s shop to pick up his custom-made baldric. It fits like a glow, and his mace was neatly held in place on his back by putting the head of the mace inside a leather cup while the shaft was kept in place with the help of a metal vice. He could jump around quite a bit with any issues. To get the mace free one-handed was not straightforward, but there was a trick to it, and with some practice, he managed it just fine. All in all, he was happy with his purchase.
Ruth wasn’t as happy when he admitted that he wasn't quite ready to buy the daggers yet, and he quickly retreated over to Ollie’s tavern.
“Hey, Eclipse. Good to see you. What can I do for you today?” Ollie asked as soon as he walked through the door. There weren’t many guests there, which made sense because it was a weekday so most players would be busy. The NPCs had their own virtual lives, and most of them were also busy with something. Despite that, there were a handful or so spread around the establishment, but few enough that Ollie didn’t have anything to do.
“It’s the other way around, actually,” answered Nathan. “What can I do for you? Bruce mentioned that you had a task that needed doing?”
Ollie got a distressed look and wiped his hand through his lack of hair. “Nice of the Headman to think of me, but if only you had come in half an hour ago. It’s true, I was looking for someone to do a checkup on an acquaintance of mine, Shaun Shearer. He lives with his wife southwest of here, about 30 minutes of walking or so. Last time we spoke he mentioned that some of his sheep had gone missing in the mountains and that he thought it might be a predator of some type. I haven't heard from him since, and with the goblins and all, I’d sleep a lot better if someone could check in on him.”
“I’d be happy to do that for you. I have some time to kill anyhow, so I don’t mind the walk.”
“Ah, but here’s the thing. I’ve already sent someone. Two men came in earlier looking for something to do, and as there weren't too many other takers around, I asked if they would be willing to go. They reluctantly accepted.” Ollie waved Nathan a bit closer and lowered his voice. “Now, I don’t like to speak badly of anyone, but to be honest they rubbed me the wrong way.”
“How so?” asked Nathan curiously.
“They struck me as unreliable and ridiculed the notion that they would do me a favor without payment,” answered Ollie with a bit of dislike in his voice. “I offered them a silver each, and even then, it wasn’t before I mentioned how the Sheares live relatively secluded and that I’d pay them upfront, that they agreed to go. Foolish of me, I suppose. After they left, one of my regulars also told me that the very same men had been in a brawl with one of his farmhands the day before.”
To Nathan, it sounded like someone who’d not given too much thought to their charisma attribute. He found it interesting to see how NPCs reacted and was curious about how low it had to be to get this sort of reaction. “I understand. Some people give off a bad vibe without there being any obvious reason. Often that feeling is proven right at a later time, but not always. Perhaps these two men just needed someone to give them a chance.”
“Perhaps,” doubted Ollie, “but I fear those two lads are gone, and my silver with them.”
Ollie suddenly stood up straight again, and his mood brightened. “Here’s a thought. Why don’t you go over to Shaun’s farm? If the men are there, you can help them resolve any issues that might arise. If not... Well, then at least someone is checking in on the Shearers.”
“Sounds good to me,” he said, accepting his second quest of the day.
[New Quest] Check up on the Shearers
Ollie is worried about his friend Shaun Shearer and has asked you to drop by his farm and help with any issues they might have.
Speak with Shaun Shearer: 0/1
Reward: XP
“Here, let me show you exactly where to go.” Ollie brought out a map of the area. “Just follow this road southwards and go right on the second fork. After a while, you should see a small path heading left, and that will take you there. It is more of a cabin than a house, and it’s in a small depression, so you will not see it unless you’re practically on top of it.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find it. You just have an ale ready for me when I get back.”