Name: Todd Longfellow, Race: Human

Height: 5’6”, Weight: 130, Sex: Male

Archetype: Fighter

HP: 18 / 18, Mana: 0 / 0

Stats:

Physical: 4, Moxie: 2, Spiritual: 2, Luck: 2

Agility: 2, Magic: 2, Mental: 2, Energy: 3.

Relevant Skills: Physical - Awareness, Mental - Appraisal, Moxie - Deceive

_________________

"Let me come with you," Mark said.

Todd, Mark, and Reggie stood near the city gate closest to the refugee camp.

"We need one person to stay inside with the caravan to let Samson know," Todd said.

"Have Reggie stay," Mark grumbled.

"I didn't realize you had some healing ability," Todd said.

"Then you stay inside, and I'll go with Reggie,"

"Do you have some flares I could use?" Todd sighed and shook his head.

Mark stormed off in the direction of the caravan wagons. Todd kept shaking his head as he turned back around to the gate. Guards stood along the parapet, bows in hand, watching the people gathered near the entrance.

Todd started counting the number of people in the crowd, stopping after he hit 20, a few more stragglers hanging in the back that he could barely see. His muscles ached from being tense the past few hours after the raid ended. The guards standing on the ground blocking the gate hadn't moved since Todd and his friends arrived hours ago.

Ding, ding, bong! A bell tolled from the center of the city.

"Praise the light, end of the night." The guards said in chorus. The four guards blocking the gate, moved to the side, two on each. Another guard with some cloth tassels on a shoulder stepped out from a guardhouse, walked over to the gate and knocked three times.

"Day has begun," the guard said before pushing the gates outward.

Todd looked at the man pushing the two massive gates open by himself. Marveling at the engineering to balance the gate; until he saw guards on the other side took hold of the edge and helped walk the gate open. Standing a couple of dozen feet away from the guards on the outside of the town, a scared and tired looking crowd of people stood.

"Worthington is open, please form a line and have payment ready." The tasseled guard said as he stepped to the left.

Jax stepped forward before anyone else, his armor bent, bloodied, and his helm off. No one tried to stop him from cutting or enforce a semblance of a line.

Todd took a step to go through the gate, but one of the guards on the inside stepped out to block him. Reggie also placed a hand on Todd's shoulder and gently pulled him back.

"Why didn't your men help fight off the goblins?" Jax said softly through clenched teeth. His hands were clenching and unclenching, but his large hammer was nowhere on him.

"Worthington defends itself; the law states we guard our citizens in the town. Those not in the town are not considered active citizens of Worthington." The tasseled guard said. He held a hand out toward Jax, "if you wish to enter to argue the law with the magistrate, you still have to pay."

Jax closed his eyes and sighed. Todd watched his friend almost shrink a little before shaking his head and walking back to the gathered crowd.

"Can I leave?" Todd said to the guard on the inside who stepped in his way. The guard nodded his head.

"Stick to the right side, single file, even if you paid or left something in the town, there is still a cost to reenter. No exceptions." The guard yelled, punctuating the last statement with a pat on his sheathed sword.

"Maybe you should stay in?" Todd said with a glance at Reggie.

"If there are people hurt, I can help, besides I don't want to listen to Mark moan about having to stay in." Reggie stepped ahead of Todd and started walking to Jax.

Todd followed, trying not to look at the guards who kept a hand on their weapon.

Failure! Physical roll 7d10; 1, 3, 2, 4, 2, 1, 5. Zero Successes; Skill Physical - Awareness failed.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Scanning through the crown, Todd didn't see Charisse. The blood on Jax's armor allowed worry to creep into Todd's mind. After a few steps, he jogged to his friend without regard to the guards and their weapons.

"Jax, you alright?" Todd said once he was a few feet from Jax. Not waiting for a reply, "I don't see Charisse, is she ok?"

"Yes," Jax said. His jaw clenched as he looked to Todd. "We both are alive and ok, and sadly others were not so lucky."

"Do you want to talk to the magistrate? I have some coin." Todd stepped next to his friend and set a hand on the armored shoulder.

"No, it is the law, I may not like it, but I have to honor it," Jax said. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and started standing straight. "Where is Mark?"

"With the wagons, we have two more towns to finish our agreement with Samson," Todd said.

Jax turned and looked toward the shantytown, the smoke, the awakening mass of people getting ready to recover from a long night. His right fist was shaking a little as it hung clenched by his side.

"We can try to help them," Todd said.

"I thought that too," Jax turned, looked around, then pointed at a white-haired man sitting a little ways away on a barrel. "Jonathan told me the land south of here has several large goblin tribes. They are kept back from the main road by patrols, and most cities have walls to protect them."

"Why did their village," Todd glanced at the walls and the guards taking coins from people entering. "I get it."

"A dozen or two we can handle, three or four if we have a choke point, and they lack a caster." Jax sighed and shook his head. "I don't think we can help them."

"How tied to this area are they? Maybe have them follow the caravan?" Todd said as an idea started forming in his mind. "We can use game mechanics to our advantage. We could easily skill up a dozen or two people into rank 3 for weapons, defense, and awareness."

"Help them, help themselves." Jax nodded his head and smiled. "Yeah, I think that'll work."

"I'll go into the town and buy some supplies; Mark is supposed to throw up a flare when Samson is ready to leave. I think its the east gate." Todd said. Jax nodded, reached into his armor, pulled out a pouch, and handed it to Todd.

"Use this; it is all the coin I have," Jax said.

"Ok. Is Charisse ok?" Todd said.

"Yeah, she saved some kids, I think they are playing hide-n-go-seek," Jax said.

Todd nodded, shook his friend's hand, then stepped in line to reenter the city. When his turn came up, the guard laughed at him.

"As I told ya, you have to pay to come back." The guard said.

"Yeah, I know." Todd handed two silver coins to the guard. "Do you know of a reputable weaponsmith in town?"

"Sure, Ol' Man Wilson, three blocks then a block to your left." The guard said, pointing in the direction.

"Thank you." Todd jogged off in the direction.

Less than a minute later, he realized there was no weaponsmith around. Silently cursing, he turned around and headed the other direction. He was looking down every street for a sign that would indicate a weaponsmith. A sigh of a knapsack with rope, arrow, and a hilt of a sword poking out, pulled Todd toward it.

Stepping into the shop, a short, white-haired, middle-aged man smiled at Todd.

"Welcome to Tully's Pawn, my name is Tully, do you wish to pawn something?" Tully said.

"Um." Todd looked around; the shelves had an eclectic array. A massive tooth, a couple of swords, some glimmering stones behind a glass case, coil of rope, and rings. "I'm looking get some practice weapons for training. Do you have some cheap swords and maybe a bow or three?"

"Not a weapons shop, but someone pawned many high-quality swords a few weeks ago. How much are you looking to spend?"

"Ten, twelve silver?" Todd jingled a coin pouch.

"I'll sell them, one silver a sword, and throw in thirteenth for luck." Tully smiled and spread his hands wide.

"Can I see the swords first? How many do you have?"

"How many do you need? I do business across the land and currently store my inventory in this city so that I can accommodate any need."

Success! Moxie roll 3d10; 4, 10, 10; Two Successes, Skill Moxie - Deceive gained 1 experience.

Skill points to the next level, 5.

"I can train with two swords or thirteen; it doesn't matter to me. What matters is how much profit I make from these saps for training them." Todd said, suppressing a shiver and thanking the gods, Jax wasn't here.

Tully sighed and stepped back from the counter, disappearing briefly behind a rug on the wall. Todd had thought it was just a decoration. Stepping back himself, he readied himself for a possible attack on the off chance he insulted the shopkeep.

Tully stepped out from behind the rug, holding a small bag. Setting it on the counter, he beckoned Todd closer and opened the bag. Reaching a hand inside, he pulled out a short sword from the container. It was carefully setting down on the counter.

Todd stepped up and looked at the weapon.

Success! Mental Roll 3D10; 9, 3, 9; One Success, Skill Mental - Appraisal gained 1 experience. Skill points to the next level, 8.

Several notches on the blade almost gave it a saw-like quality. The metal had a couple of discolorations along with it. Todd guessed if he had a few hours of blacksmith training, he could make the same weapon.

"Is this the best one out of the batch?" Todd said.

"Nope, this is the worst," Tully said. He turned it over to show the other side.

"Can I see the others?"

"Uh yeah," Tully reached into the bag and pulled out another shortsword then set it on the counter next to the other.

Success! Mental Roll 3D10; 8, 8, 6; Two Success, Skill Mental - Appraisal gained 2 experience. Skill points to the next level, 6.

Looking closely at the revealed sword, Todd almost swore it was worse. A crack about halfway in the blade threatened to make it a dagger rather than a shortsword.

"Clearly, I'm wasting my time," Todd said, taking a step back away from the counter.

"No, no, you said it was for training; these would work great," Tully said.

"Sure, and because they are in such poor condition, there is little chance of people hurting each other." Todd shooked his head. "Thank you for your time." Turning around, he was to the door when Tully called out to him.

"I'll sell you twenty of them for five silver. I planned on melting them down, but the Smith said the metal is too poor even to reforge." Tully said.

Todd turned around, "you've got a deal," he said, smiling widely.

Walking out of the shop carrying a large barrel and ten silver lighter, Todd stopped on the street and listened.

Success! Physical roll 7d10; 2, 1, 5, 8, 8, 10, 5. Three Successes; Skill Physical - Awareness has gained 3 Experience. Skill points to the next level, 9,991.

The sounds of the town still waking up filled the air. The plodding of horses, creaking of wagons, the din of voices, and a faint ding of hammers hitting metal. Turning in that direction, Todd carried his barrel of swords, wishing he would have sprung for the magical bag as well.

Smelling the blacksmith before he got to it, Todd turned a corner and looked upon a squad building that filled an alley between other buildings. A faint haze hovered around the area, wide-open barn doors rather than a normal one. Stepping inside, the floor covered with fresh hay. Following the sounds of the hammer, Todd slowly walked deeper into the dimly lit building.

"Hello?" Todd said as he walked through the dim hallway. His eyes burned from the thick air.

The hammering stopped. A loud sizzle as if water poured onto a fire.

"Be right there." A voice called out from the back of the room. A shadowy shape moved in the haze from one corner to the next. "Load up on coke. The next one needs to be hotter." The voice said before the shadow moved toward Todd.

A squat looking man walked out of the shadows to Todd. The same height as Todd, but much, much broader. A short beard on the chin, marked with the occasional bald spot.

"How can I help ye?" the man said when he got a few feet from Todd.

"Before I became a guard, I apprenticed as a smith," Todd said.

"Don't need another helper." The Smith said.

"I don't plan on staying here, I planned on setting up a shop in lower Thropville, I just need some supplies." Todd looked around, the haze and dim light hid everything.

"I got a spare hammer and anvil, but you'll need a cart and a hundred silver. You'll have to get your coke and bellows." The Smith said.

"Hundred and five silver, if you provide me with a small cart to carry it," Todd said.

"Aint got a cart, the wheelwright down the way may have one," the Smith said.

"Eighty-five then, if I have to get my cart."

"Ha, unless ye want a cart coated in silver, it should be more than ten silver. Ninety-Five is the best I can do; these things are not easy to haul out here."

"I don't have that much, how much for a couple of hammers and sharpening tools?" Todd said, jingling his coin pouch for emphasis.

"Thirty will do, but ye not gonna get far without an anvil." The Smith said.

"I know, I'll see if I can sharpen some weapons, maybe simple stuff to get the money for the rest," Todd said.

A few minutes later, Todd walked out of the shop, thirty coins lighter, and a bundle of tools in his backpack. The fresh air was intoxicating; his eyes ceased burning. Heading to where the caravan was, Todd wondered what other professions could they pick up to help ensure their success.