To actually make the [Spice Rum] that he needed for his plan, he had to have [Spices], and those were harder to come by. They weren’t an ingredient he could simply go out and collect; no, he needed to buy them, and for that he needed money. Money that he didn’t have any more, having spent the small amount he had previously had on alcohol, a most worthy usage. Which meant now he had to go and earn some more, by one means or another.
The Mayor had given him three quests, to seek out three people, starting quests that would be easy to accomplish and would provide at least a small amount of cash - it was just how things worked.
With but a thought, the quest log popped up before him, listing the current active quests.
PRIEST FOR TIME: FIND YUL’AJI THE PRIEST
START HAMMER TIME: FIND ANH’VEL THE BLACKSMITH
IS THERE FARMER TO GO?: FIND FEE’ELD THE FARMER
The one for Yul’aji the Priest was first, and seemed the closest as well, indicating he was just at the edge of the north side of town. Leaving The Troll Inn, Max sauntered northwards, or perhaps nor’nor’west a touch. Whatever the exact direction, it mattered little, for he quickly spotted a Proto-Troll in the robes of a priest, standing by himself just outside town, looking north, along a path, a concerned look on his face and a golden ? over his head.
QUEST COMPLETE: PRIEST FOR TIME
YOU RECEIVE 30 COPPER
YOU RECEIVE 150 XP
“Ah, adventurer, thank the Holy Mountains you have come. Dark tidings are indeed upon us. If we are to drive back the minions of the Leech Queen then we must call upon the protection of the Holy Mountains, and for that we need a Sacred Chalice, one that lies secure in the Mausoleum of Mis’teri in the town’s graveyard. I sent my loyal aide, the Holy Knight, Sir’mon, to seek it out but he has not yet returned. Can you go and look for him, and aid him in this noble quest?”
“Yeah, sure.”
QUEST ACCEPTED: HOLY KNIGHT, SILENT KNIGHT
Max could actually see the graveyard from where he stood, off north a little way, with its tall iron fences and a mist that lingered around it ominously. If there weren’t undead involved, he would eat his jaunty sailor’s hat. Yul’aji could have easily gone himself, but that was never how the System worked. It was easy money at any rate.
He wandered his way north, picking a few stray ingredients as he went for later use, arriving at the open gates to the graveyard. Numerous tombstones stuck up out of the ground, not a one of them straight; they were all at various angles. There were also a number of skeletons ambling around among them, and the information panel noted that they were all of level 1. Just inside the gate stood another Proto-Troll, this one wearing shining plate armour and carrying a sword and shield. He could see the skeletons, and they could see him, but neither made any moves towards the other.
QUEST COMPLETE: HOLY KNIGHT, SILENT KNIGHT
YOU RECEIVE 30 COPPER
YOU RECEIVE 150 XP
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“Ho, adventurer!” Sir’mon boomed loudly. “It is good that you have arrived. I have been sent to recover the Sacred Chalice of Mis’teri, but find the way blocked by foul undead. I could use a brave soul to aid me in clearing the path and recovering the chalice. Will thou aid me?”
‘Yeah, sure, why not?”
QUEST ACCEPTED: GRAVE TIDYINGS
An escort quest. Of course they had to give one of the dreaded escort quests so early on. He could come back to that; Sir’mon was not going anywhere. Besides, just following the start of the quest chain had netted him a small amount of money or no risk, and he hoped that the others would do the same.
Leaving Sir’mon behind to patiently await his return, Max headed for the next quest on his list, to find Anh’vel the Blacksmith. On the east side of town was a small smith, and in it was a Proto-Troll blacksmith, steadily hammering away at a piece of glowing iron on an anvil, though he showed no signs of doing any more than that with it.
QUEST COMPLETE: START HAMMER TIME
YOU RECEIVE 30 COPPER
YOU RECEIVE 150 XP
“Adventurer! If we are to defend ourselves from the dread minions of the Leech Queen, I shall have to forge arms and armour worthy of the task. Sadly, my supply of iron has gone missing. Can you help me find my missing iron supplies?”
“No worries about that.”
QUEST ACCEPTED: IRON THIS WAY, IRON THAT WAY
Max really had no desire to go searching for items scattered around - and suspected that it would involve hunting mobs down who had a low drop rate to boot. So it was off to find Fee’eld the Farmer and get the easy reward from him.
Fee’eld was to the south of town, standing near a large farmhouse that was surrounded by farmland. He also looked worried, and also had the ubiquitous golden ? above him.
QUEST COMPLETE: IS THERE FARMER TO GO?
YOU RECEIVE 30 COPPER
YOU RECEIVE 150 XP
“I need your help, adventurer! I promised that I would harvest my crops to provide food for the defenders of the town against the hordes of the Leech Queen, but my son, Urch’ard and daughter, Vyn’yardh, have gone missing and I am too worried to do any work. I fear that the snow goblins have kidnapped them again. Can you rescue them, and then aid me in gathering in the crops?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
QUEST ACCEPTED: THERE’S SNOW GOBLINS HERE
And there was the expected rescue mission, and he had no plans to do it, nope. With 80 very easy coppers to hand, Max wandered back into town, the quests largely unfulfilled. If everything worked out as planned, they were largely irrelevant. Back at the merchant’s, he bought every last [Spice ] he could, before once more doing some harvesting for brewing ingredients. He was only after two things in particular - [Sugarcane] for [Rum] and [Juniper Berries] for [Gin]. The rest he ignored, for now. He filled his apron with as many as he could get, completing a sweep of the nearby fields. When he reached the start again, he waited for them to start respawning, then did a second sweep.
When at last he could carry no more, it was back to the [Brewer’s Workbench] at the inn. His first order of business was to mix up some [Basic Gin].
[Basic Gin]
The drink for those who consider themselves a cut above, but aren’t
Effect: + 1 INTELLECT, -1 BRAWN, 2 DRUNKENNESS
Value: 2 Copper
When he had brewed up as many as he could, he tossed back fourteen of them, maxing out his drunkenness.
YOU GAIN 14 INTELLECT
YOU GAIN 14 DRUNKENNESS
A quick check of his character sheet showed that his INTELLECT stood at an impressive 20, at least for a lowly 2nd level character. That, in turn, meant that, thanks to [Industrial Brewing], he would receive ten units of alcohol per batch. For the cost of just 1 [Basic Rum] and 1 [Spice] he would get 10 [Spice Rum.] And he could make a lot of them. He started to brew, and brew, and brew, until he ran out of [Spice]. And then he went on making more [Basic Rum] until the [Sugarcane] ran out. His keg filled, and then some, with bottles spilling out over the floor, dozens of bottles.
When he was done, he picked one up, his hands actually trembling as he did so. There it was, his ticket to ULTIMATE POWER, to immortality. And a harem.