I rested on top of the ox called "Ford". The fat ox obediently followed Mountain-man Toby closer to the village up ahead.

The sun rested high in the sky, showering us with warm rays. This, combined with the gentle sea breeze made the world seem like a lullaby.

Toby led us closer and closer until we reached a wooden fence.

"I believe you have your own two feet to walk with from here on," Toby said, as he helped me down.

With a quick pat on Ford's bum, Ford quickly ran off to his herd.

A couple of birds flew by, singing together with the wind and the sun.

"Hey, Toby," I said.

He looked at me, with patience. He didn't seem to mind whether I continued talking or if I remained quiet.

"Thank you for helping me," I said.

Toby smiled as his eyes closed.

"Don't worry about it" He replied.

Then he opened the unusually large fence gate and held it open.

"After you," He said, making a small motion with his hand and a small bow.

I walked through the gate and looked towards the buildings in front of me.

[First to discover Sea-Bird Harbour]

*You have gained 1+ in all stats

*You have gained 10 % of the current level’s required XP.

They were so well built, I couldn't help but wonder how they got the resources to make such a view.

I heard kids laughing, but I saw no children. Wherever I looked, people were either taller than me or had long...

"Long ears?"

"Fur?"

"Snouts?"

In front of me were people that looked like wolves, pigs, and lamb.

And there were tall humans, but with a closer look, you'd see their childish faces!

"Yes, there are all sorts of races living here in Sea-Bird. But no humans." Toby said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

Then he leaned towards me and stared straight into my eyes with a serious expression.

"And this is not an issue, I hope?" He continued.

His demeanor made me gulp.

"None, none at all!" I said.

Then I realized how this could look so I straightened my back and stared back at him.

"There is no issue, quite the opposite!" I said.

Toby's serious expression softened immediately and turned into a grin.

"You know, I had the feeling you wouldn't mind!" He told me.

Suddenly I realized that I couldn't hear the songbirds anymore and that the gentle breeze couldn't reach me.

We were surrounded, with people of all kinds flocking around us.

"You brought a human into our village!?" A woman roared as she crossed the crowd and appeared right in front of us.

She was a tall woman, with a pig snout. Although she appeared pig-like, her eyes seemed more like a hungry wolf to me.

Toby put himself between us as he talked calmly to her; " I know, I know. This is risky. But think about it, you know well how our situation is, and it doesn't hurt to make a new friend."

The woman was baffled. "After all they've done to us, and THIS is what you give in return?" She almost yelled.

"Yes, think about what they did to my wife!" A wolf yelled from the crowd.

"And my son!" A sheep-like person roared.

The woman causing the commotion lifted her arms out and proudly said; " I think it's time for us to show the humans what we think about them! "

"Sorry about this, kid," Toby whispered to me, still proving his determination to remain calm.

I couldn't remain silent any longer.

"Excuse me Miss.." I began.

"You be quiet!" She said, with spit flying all over my face.

But I didn't back down. I stood my ground and kept my cool.

This was my only chance to act as a diplomat.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"I am just wondering if you need any stones. You see, I'm having a hard time moving around with all the stones I'm carrying. Perhaps we could trade?" I politely asked.

"Not helping, kid," Toby whispered to me.

"Listen Agda, give him a chance. Give him a chance to prove himself and I'll gladly support him. If he fails, I'll take the punishment with him!" Tony proclaimed.

Agda seemed to calm down, but her brows remained furrowed.

"Stones you say... But I see no stones on you." She said.

"Show me where to put them and I'll set them down there for you!" I said.

Inside I was shaking, I wanted to run and my instincts screamed at me.

Not because I was afraid of dying here, but because I had just stood my ground.

I had talked with someone, trying to convince them. The last time I did this, my eyebrows started shaking so madly, the person I begged laughed at my face and let me go anyway.

But this was different. I could prove myself!

"I also have copper, if you are interested," I added.

A small twitch appeared in Agda's face.

"We do have a copper shortage... Very well, if you give us all the stones and copper you have, we'll allow you to stay with us." She said.

Agda led me through the crowd towards what appeared to be a storage house, or a barn from the old days.

"You can put them here. Toby will follow you while you go to get them from wherever you came crawling." She said as her upper lip curled in disdain.

"There's no need for going anywhere," I said, as I mentally said the words 'Open Inventory'

Immediately I took action, pulling out stones and rock fragments with my left and right hand in a synchronized rhythm. In less than thirty seconds. The storage barn was filled to the brim with stone, roughly 500 tonnes!

I turned around to speak with Toby and Agda, but their mouths were open wide enough to fit a man's head inside.

Toby started stuttering, unable to form a single word.

Agda's eyes watered as she stared with shock, horror, and at the same time joy at the insane amount of stone in front of them.

"Where did you get all of this?" Agda asked me, slightly shivering.

"From that mountain over there!" I said, pointing at Mount Autumn.

Agda looked at me with vary eyes.

"And you also have copper?" She asked.

Before I could answer she grabbed Toby and lifted him off the ground, gently putting him down in front of her.

"We could send him back to gather more stone with us. We can finally build a real wall around the village!" She told him with almost every sign of fright gone.

I stepped between them as I said; "If you need more stone, I have way more already. Just lead the way!"

Somewhere, in front of a screen, a woman bit her nails as she stared at the lunatic changing the future of the game with no words, but sticks and stones. The stick being his Pickaxe, the stone being... Well, stone.

Agda took me back to the wooden fence. A trail of villagers followed us to see how I would be punished. They had not seen what I did in the barn, and revenge clouded their vision.

We arrived at the fence gate and she pointed me in the left direction.

"If you set down the stones, we'll work on shaping them later." She said.

I didn't hesitate to do what I like, monotonous actions, as monotonous as the word itself. Stone hailed, origin me.

The villagers watched in horror as stones flew simultaneously as my body moved faster and faster.

But over time, as the villagers followed close behind and realized what the stones would be used for, that fear turned into awe.

And that awe set a seed of pride in their hearts.

The villagers of Sea-Bird Harbour felt like this was a turning point in their lives. They would be able to increase their trading and feel safe from plunderers. Before, they had kept their trading at the bare minimum to not attract attention. The mountain and the valley, acting as a natural wall, protected them from all angles but the one leading to the open waters. With a wall around their village, they could withstand attacks. With the copper, they could produce better tools.

[You have gained the admiration from the inhabitants of Sea-Bird Harbour]

As the sun was setting, I placed down the last piece of stone needed to build the wall. Toby walked up next to me and placed his hand neatly on my shoulder.

"You know, I knew I could trust you. But this... I never expected this." He said as he pulled me into a warm hug.

A hug? My eyes teared up.

I don't remember the last time I received a hug.

I answered his hug, and that small moment of two seconds felt like an eternity.

I wish it had lasted longer, but if it had, it wouldn't have meant as much.

"Thank you," I told Toby.

"No, thank you, Rune," Toby answered.

Agda coughed, forcing us back to reality.

"I'm letting you know that we are grateful for what you've done, but I still don't trust you entirely." She said although the look in her eyes told me that might not be the case.

"Anyways, feel free to stay some time in our village. If you have any copper, we'd gladly receive them though we can not offer you any coins in return." She added.

"I'd love to," I told her.

We returned to the village. Soon, song and dance broke out as laughter filled the streets.

A great bonfire was lit in the middle of the village, right beneath the tower that watched over everyone.

Some Mountain-men and women prepared roasted ox for everyone. Water boiled on small fires everywhere, and everyone got a serving of hot water.

I hesitantly accepted the hot water. It felt weird drinking it hot like that, but Toby explained that they had a hard time getting clean water around here, so they boiled seawater.

Knowing this, I could not bear not to drink it. I took a sip of the warm water, and unexpectedly it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The roasted ox meat proved to be food made for a king.

It was incomparable to the gray goo I ate every day in the real world, and the herbs sprinkled on top enhanced the taste to new levels.

The moon shone brightly, with every star twinkling to the sound of the happy villagers.

I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment with my other senses. I did not need to see everything, because I could still feel the warmth of the fire, and hear the joy from the people around me. I could feel the vibrations from their music bouncing inside my body and it all felt so real. Why couldn't this be the real world?

Toby pulled me out of my daydream.. or should I say nightdream?

"You know, Rune... Although we've only known each other for a day, it feels like you've been here far longer" He said.

"I feel the same way, and you all seem so happy" I answered.

"But people here aren't always like this. Living out here is hard on us, and we lack so many resources. You arriving here today was a gift." He told me.

I lifted my boot from the ground and placed it neatly on top of my other leg.

"If it is so hard to live out here, then why are you staying?" I asked.

He looked at me for a moment, contemplating whether he should tell me or not. Wondering if I didn't know, or if I feigned ignorance to protect myself.

"We were all slaves before. About thirty years ago, we belonged to a kingdom far from here. When war broke out, we managed to escape. We stole a ship from a bunch of traders and set sail." Toby explained.

The fire crackled, as the people dancing cast shadows on the house walls.

"We drifted at sea for a long time, until we saw two mountain peaks stand tall on the horizon line." He continued.

"During the escape, a couple of soldiers managed to catch some of us. We could do nothing as we ran, but throwing a glimpse back we could see their swords sink into our loved ones. Out of the survivors, many got sick on the ship and some of us died before arriving." Toby added as his body sunk. He lost his posture as a tear made its way down his cheek.

"My wife was killed by one of the swords, and I had to continue running with my daughter. But it didn't matter, how could I have known she would get ill and die on the ship?" He cried.

The single tear turned into many. A tiny river flowed through the valley that was his cheek, like the river that slithered down the valley of the mountains.

I pat his back.

"You can only honor their memory, and do your best to live on. Make each day a day worth living, you owe them that." I told him, trying my best to keep my posture. It was hard, and it felt as if someone gripped at my own throat, slowly strangling me.

"You know what, you are right!" Toby said as he stood up. He was energized, and his body seemed ready to start jumping any second.

"I am?" I asked.

"Yes! From now on, I'll do my best to make this village the safe place my family always dreamed of!" He laughed as he stretched his hand to the sky.

It felt cringy, like in one of those bad shows where the main character tries to catch a star.

But at the moment, I didn't mind.

I stood up beside him and reached for a star myself.

A promise that I, too, could make a change.'

[Quest ‘Toby the mountain-man's story’ (C) has been cleared]

[Toby the mountain-man's story]

Mountain-man Toby suffered greatly when he escaped from a kingdom far away. With trust in you, he shared his story, and as he did, you grew closer. With new vigor, he vowed to turn Sea-Bird Harbour into a flourishing city someday.

Toby now views you as a great friend.

*You have received rewards: Mountain-man's blessing

             Access to Sea-Bird Harbour's market

             Title: Friend of the Mountain-men

[Mountain-man's blessing]

Permanently increases "Strength" and "Dexterity" by 2.

[Friend of the Mountain-men]

Increases your ability to befriend mountain-men.

Increases your chances of convincing mountain-men in arguments.