Dawn came as Jake approached the southern edge of the Dark Woods, pausing at the edge of the treeline as he looked over the swathe of stumps in front of him. A crescent had been cut out of the forest, about fifty feet wide at the middle, marring the edge of the woods as Jake stared at the stumps. There was new growth on the furthest of them, what had once been the edge of the woods, but it was obvious that those closer to him had been recently cut down, and Jake knew exactly where they’d gone.
A large wooden wall, built out of the trees of the forest, stood defiantly against it, only about a hundred feet from the original edge of the forest, making Jake clench his jaw slightly. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like the trees had been taken without thought, just that they were wanted, so they were cut down. Shaking his head at the senseless destruction, Jake stepped forwards into the light, the Ability of his cloak deactivating as the first rays of the sun hit him.
The notification symbol appeared in Jake’s vision, making him sigh as he called it up, pausing when he saw the reason for its appearance.
Quest Complete: Lay of the Land
Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, has tasked you with fully exploring the Dark Woods.
Objectives:
Progress: 100%
Return to the Northern Shrine to receive your rewards.
Rewards:
Magic Map
“Dammit,” Jake sighed, looking back into the woods, before shaking his head and turning back to the town, “This first, then I can hand in the Quest.”
Jake walked across the fifty-foot span of stumps, pausing occasionally to look at a particularly thick one, before stopping at the edge of the woods, calling up his first Title.
Owner of the Dark Woods (Conditional)
You are the owner of the Dark Woods.
Unique Title
You will need to spend a minimum of SEVEN (7) in game days occupying the Dark Woods to complete your claim.
You have a maximum of ONE (1) week of real time to complete this task, otherwise the claim will be lost.
Time remaining: 2 minutes
Jake watched as the timer ticked down, dropping below one minute, then thirty seconds, then ten seconds, before finally ending, the screen in front of his being replaced by a new one.
Owner of the Dark Woods
You are the owner of the Dark Woods.
Unique Title
Allows for the development of the Dark Woods.
Jake stared at the new description in confusion. It was deceptively simple, though Jake felt it was far more complex than it let on. What exactly did ‘development’ mean? Could Jake build inside the forest now? But how would that affect the ecosystem? He would need to find out more about his “new” Title, but right now he had more important things to do. Like address the small group approaching him, a familiar figure at its front.
“So, you really came,” Bertram chuckled as he walked up to Jake, holding out a hand to shake.
Jake looked down at it for a moment, before reaching out and taking it, the two men shaking hands as the rest of the men behind Bertram seemed to relax slightly. Jake glanced over them, using [Observe] on a couple, surprised to see that they were low enough level for him to actually see.
???
Human Hunter
Level: 21
The other thing that caught his eye was that all the men wore near identical armour, all of it looking slightly ragged and unmaintained. Shaking his head, Jake glanced down at his own armour, revealed when he’d shaking Bertram’s hand, noticing the envious looks of the hunters as they stared at it.
“Well, enough standing around, I think,” Bertram laughed, pulling Jake from his thoughts, “How about we go into town? Like I said, it’s a shit hole, but the Boar has decent enough drink to make it worth it.”
“The Boar?” Jake asked as he stepped over the boundary of the Dark Woods, pausing for a moment as he felt something inside him vanish, before shaking the feeling off and continuing on after the other men.
“The best tavern in the whole bleeding town,” one of the hunters spoke up, “I mean, it’s the only decent one anyway, serves better drink than the swill the rest have to drink.”
“Swill? The rest?” Jake muttered as they approached a large gate built into the wall, Jake looking up as a pair of faces peered down at them.
“This your mark, Bertram?” one of the guards atop the wall called down, the other man nodding, “Poor bastard. Alright, open up, let ‘em in.”
The gates opened just enough to let them walk in in single file, Bertram taking the lead as Jake followed him, the hunters moving in behind them. They moved down the barely cobbled street, kicking up dust, the smell of sewage immediately making Jake supress a gag. To distract himself from the smell, he looked around, inspecting the town as they moved through it. The buildings were dilapidated, built of sagging wooden planks, Jake even spotting patches of rot in places, making him wonder how some of the buildings were even standing. They quickly made their way into what Jake assumed was the town square, a number of people milling about, their clothes threadbare and worn, many going without shoes.
Jake’s gaze was drawn to the only three buildings that looked to be in decent condition, the first built of crumbling stone, a haze of heat coming from the top of its tall chimney as the sound of metal being struck echoed from within. The next was a small shop, a brightly painted sign advertising it as Jerry’s Wares, Jake figuring it was the General Store that Andy had told him all towns had. The last, and grandest, of the three was a towering manor house, four stories tall, and the only building that looked like it had seen any maintenance in the last few months, the paint only slightly peeling.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
They approached the manor quickly, crossing the square as numerous people stared at them as they ascended the steps to the front door. The sound of people erupted from the room beyond when Bertram opened the door, Jake noticing a small sign beside it that read ‘The Boar’s Arse’, making him realise that this was probably the tavern the hunters had spoken about. The inside was simple, wooden chairs and tables scattered about, with a long bar in the far corner, a man cleaning a dirty glass with an equally dirty rag standing behind it.
The place was crowded, many men and women in ragged leather armour drinking and eating as they gambled and talked. A few quick uses of [Observe] told Jake that they were mostly hunters, with the exception of a towering man sitting at the back of the room, his eyes locked on Jake as they moved towards him. A quick check almost made Jake pause at what he saw.
???
Half-giant Fighter
Level: ??
“Oh yeah,” Bertram suddenly spoke as he turned sharply away from the man, leading Jake towards a set of stairs at the back of the room, “I was wondering what happened to that wolf that was with you before?”
“Luna?” Jake asked, “I left her at my camp. Figured it would be…dangerous to bring her with. Didn’t want to risk scaring anyone.”
“Fair enough,” the other man grinned as they walked up the stairs, the room quieting slightly as the other hunters watched them, “Anyways, time to meet the big boss of this shit hole. Come on, he doesn’t like being kept waiting.”
------
Pereion Machie sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He’d been woken up in the early hours of the morning by his right-hand man, the Assassin giving him a quick rundown of the Traveller that had apparently invaded his woods. Shaking his head, Pereion forced the feeling of sleep down as he heard the knock at his door, straightening his clothes before speaking in his rough and deep voice.
“Enter.”
The door swung open to reveal Bertram and another man, his face and body hidden beneath a wolf’s head cowl and dark cloak. Pereion immediately used [Inspect] on him, getting a slew of information for his efforts, both making him smile and wonder just how this Traveller had managed to end up here of all places. Pushing the thoughts down, he waved to the two plush seats opposite his desk, the two men sitting as he watched.
“Hello,” he said politely, “I am Mayor Pereion Machie, a pleasure to meet you.”
“Jake,” the other man said, seeming to think for a moment before continuing, “Jake Grey.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Ser Grey,” Pereion nodded his head, steadying his smile in a pleasant curve, “I have quite the number of questions for you, as I am sure you do for me.”
The cloaked man looked around the room, apparently taking in the splendour and luxury that Pereion liked to surround himself with. While it drew from the town funds, Pereion was used to a certain level of comfort, and he saw no reason not to keep that up for himself. He was the mayor, after all. He pushed away the thought as he felt one of his numerous rings pulse on his finger, the large jewel set into it flashing with pale light. Pereion couldn’t help his smile growing slightly at the confused frown that formed on the hooded man’s face.
“It is rather rude to do that, you know?” he hummed, looking at the other man as he stiffened, “To use a Skill like [Observe] on someone without their permission. Of course, most cannot tell when it is occurring like I can.”
“I see,” the man nodded, his hood bobbing up and down, “I apologise.”
“I accept your apology,” Pereion smiled a little wider, showing off his teeth, thick and flat, and just as intimidating as any predator’s, “Now then, onto the questions?”
“Sure,” the man shrugged, Pereion pushing down a feeling of annoyance at his casual demeanour, “How did you hide your information?”
“Quite the bold question,” Pereion laughed, before holding up his hand and pointing to the ring that had pulsed earlier, “This little bauble helps to keeps my information private from all but the most powerful of information Skills.”
“I see,” the man nodded again, speaking as though he wasn’t sure of his words, “So it’s…enchanted, right?”
“Yes,” Pereion nodded, “It most certainly is. Cost quite a bit to have it custom made as well, being as…well-proportioned as I am.”
The man just nodded again, falling silent as he stared at Pereion for a moment.
“No other questions?” the half-giant asked, the man shaking his head, “Very well, then I would like to ask some of my own. Firstly, you are a Traveller, correct?”
The man nodded, Pereion nodding back.
“Excellent, that would mean that you have been appearing in the Dark Woods over the last two or so weeks, correct?”
The man paused, seeming to think about it, before nodding again.
“And during that time, you managed to reach level twelve?” another nod, “How did you accomplish that, if you do not mind me asking? My understanding is that Traveler’s appear at level one, and most beasts in those woods are at pace with even me.”
“Luck and skill, I guess,” the man shrugged as he finally spoke again.
“Luck and…skill?” Pereion muttered, before laughing loudly, “My word, you are quite the individual, aren’t you? Impressive, very impressive. Now, my final question for the time being, how, in the name of the burning lord himself, did you get that Title?”
------
Jake stared at the large man in front of him, easily ten-feet tall and equally imposing. He had seemed nice enough at first, allowing Jake to ask a few questions, but his own questions had made Jake worried. Not as worried as the fact that he couldn’t see a single thing about the man, apparently thanks to the ring he wore and not a Skill, which was some relief, but Jake still felt worried none the less.
“I bought it,” Jake answered truthly, watching the giant’s expression switch from a wide grin to mild confusion.
“Bought it?” Pereion muttered, clearing his throat before talking more clearly, “And how did you manage that? It is impossible to buy land in the Wilds to my knowledge, you can only lay claim to, and defend it.”
“I…had a work around, I guess?” Jake replied, not sure how to answer the question, “My Title was conditional up until recently. I had to spend a certain amount of time living and surviving in the Dark Woods to properly earn it.”
“To properly earn it?” the large man grunted, “I see. Well, you have it now, so it would behove me to form an agreement between the two of us regarding the acquisition of goods and materials from the forest.”
“Acquisition of goods and materials?” Jake replied, slightly confused, “What do you mean by that?”
“Ah, but you must be tired, and I am sure that you have much in that pack of yours,” Pereion continued, apparently ignoring his question, “How about I have Bertram escort you to the local general store to sell some of your collected goods, and then bring you back to rest?”
“I am not that tired,” Jake blinked as he felt a strange sensation waft over him, his eyes drawn to another of the mayor’s rings, the blue gem in it glowing slightly before dimming, “But I would like to see the general store.”
“Excellent,” Pereion hummed, glancing down at the ring that had just glowed in mild annoyance before schooling his expression back to a smile, “Well, I hope you are able to find what you seek.”
“Oh, thank you,” Jake nodded as he rose from the chair, shaking the man’s massive hand before leaving the room with Bertram.
“Well, that went well,” the Assassin grinned as the door closed, “I think the big boss likes you.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Jake muttered as he quickly checked the notification that had appeared at the end of the conversation.
Resisted [Suggestion] effect.
Scowling slightly, Jake quickly pushed the expression off his face as he turned to Bertram, the human picking his nails with one of the long stiletto daggers.
“So then,” he said, “The store?”
“Yes,” Jake nodded, “I do have quite a few things to sell.”