Rolly thought that sedge beasts must have been bred to be stupid. No animal could be so dumb naturally. They seemed to be able to get stuck in anything: thickets, trees, and quicksand, to name a few. If there was a way to get stuck, they put a hoof into it. Which made his current job of rounding them up a lot more difficult. His Shepherd skills helped a little, but it was nearly impossible to get a sedge beast's attention unless you had food to offer them. He wished he had a good dog to help him find and herd them.

Skill: Heal Animal (WIS)

Skill: Talk to Animal (WIS)

Skill: Herd Animal (WIS)

He wasn’t sure how much help he was going to be to his friends when they tried to grind some experience on their first day off. In his explorations of the area, while searching for sedge beasts, he’d found a great spot for them. A low hill was populated by very fat, slow rabbits that had barely tried to avoid him. It must be a low-level starting area for players. They were going to head there as soon as they could.

He'd been working up in some light forest north of the village, running the ugly cows out of the thickets and down to where Lyle could charm them into the corral. The things seemed to be everywhere and probably had no natural predators; well, until now. He was pretty sure Ozzy now held that spot in their 'circle of life.' The Butcher killed dozens every day and they had only gotten him once so far.

Rolly was amazed at how fast they bred. He swore that some of the cows were already pregnant again after having a calf only a few days ago. Some even gave birth to two or three at once! There seemed to be a correlation between how many calves they birthed at once and how ugly they were. There was one he called Big Bertha. She was nursing three calves when he first started in the game, and they had looked like newborns. Now, a week later, they were half grown, and she looked like she was going to put down another batch any day now. She was at least half again the size of the more normal-looking cows. She had a third eye in the middle of her forehead, a double tail, a rack that would make a longhorn steer envious, and a middle horn that put any unicorn to shame. She also had a club hoof, a hairy mane like a buffalo, and two udders.

Bertha was beautiful, in an ugly sort of way. She had a preferred bull he had nicknamed Ferdinand with an equally impressive set of horns, one cyclopean eye, and a bright red hide. Rolly wondered if having one parent with three eyes canceled out the other having one eye. He'd have to take a tally as they kept breeding and see if the calves averaged two eyes.

They obviously wouldn't be slaughtering the whole herd, even if they could. There were simply too many of the animals in the area, and he was finding small herds in the forest every day. He was slowly moving his favorites over to a large pasture and creating a second herd of the best breeders on the other side of the stream. Big Bertha and Ferdinand hadn't taken much convincing to move to the second pasture, and most of the cows and bulls he sent after Bertha went amiably after he got their attention.

To keep them there, he'd put out salt licks for them and bribed them with some bags of groats each day. Ferdinand had tended to wander back until he figured out that Rolly was moving more and more cows over to his private pleasure field. He approved of the situation and was sharing a hundred females with only three younger bulls who treated him with respect. They had plenty of water; the river that ran past the town and under the bridge bordered the pasture, and there was more good grazing on the other side. The only problem was getting them to swim the small stream. He needed to look along the lower section where it widened and see if there was a shallow ford he could herd them across easier.

In the back of his mind, Rolly was thinking about trying to breed the best of the sedge beasts and see if he could raise one as a pet. Maybe he could even get a riding pet out of it. Every game had pets. People loved them, and he considered it a huge flaw that his Shepherd specialty didn't come with one. In fact, his skills were a bit meager. But Ozzy had told the group about the two skills he’d found, so he had hopes of developing some sort of taming or pet skill.

The stream was fairly deep by the pasture, but as Rolly walked further down past a tangle of willows, it widened out, getting shallower. A large gravel bar stretched across the center. It might make a good ford, but he'd have to get rid of the broken logs and other flotsam that got deposited on the gravel bar, or the stupid cows would somehow get a horn or hoof stuck. He waded across the shallow water to the bar and saw something that made his heart sing!

A huge caterpillar was lying on the gravel, partially in the water. It looked like a Squirmie from Pokemasters3000. The big caterpillar with orange and black fur was easy to recognize, although this Squirmie had an upgrade of big, nasty jaws it could use to attack other Pokefriends in duels. But it was hurt! The poor thing was just lying there and not moving. Some of its two dozen stumpy legs were injured and it had a nasty look to its head, all swollen up. He had to act quickly!

The VHC heard a noise and was certain an enemy had found it while it was vulnerable. It could barely turn its head to see what was making the noise.

Moving down by the poor critter, he used his Talk at Animals skill. It didn't really let him pull a Dr. Doolittle and communicate with monsters, but would communicate his intentions to them. Right now, he was trying to say, "Don't worry, little buddy, I'll get you out of the river and fix up all your ouchies." It was remaining calm, so he bent down and picked the Squirmie up. It was soft and fuzzy. A little stiff, too, probably from the cold water. Rolly ran across the gravel bar and up the bank with his bundle.

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He needed to get the poor thing warm and find a safe spot for it. There was a tight grove of willows growing next to the bank and up above the water. He set the caterpillar down and cut enough of the tight stalks that he could get inside the thicket to a small open area. He wove the cut willow into a sort of wall around the area, then bent the willows into the center and tied them with strips of the long flexible bark, creating a little shelter. He'd make it better later. First, he needed some straw from the barn for a nest. He ran there quickly, grabbing some of the loose hay that he’d cut for the sedge beasts and then back to the willows. Once the nest was made, he moved the Squirmie into the hidden area, covering it up to keep it warm.

Rolly’s animal healing ability was pretty weak, but he had a lot of stamina, and he knew that if he kept at it, he could heal most wounds. He'd healed a big cut Ferdinand had on his ass where Bertha bit him. She got a bit jealous at times when he flirted with the other cows. He put his hands on Squirmie's head first and kept healing until it looked better and its jaw pinchers started moving.

“Oh, the way your mouth is moving, I bet you’re hungry. I’ll be right back, little buddy. I'll get you a big batch of yummy leaves to eat."

"Or maybe some meat; I bet you'd love a big bunch of fresh meat!"

Rolly ran over to where Ozzy piled up all the parts from the sedge beasts he killed. He saved the brains for Ben for tanning. But the entrails, liver, and other organs just went into a stinking pit for now. He stole a grain basket from the barn and filled it with squishy meat bits from the pit. Squirmie will love these. Squirmies always eat meat, don't they? It had been a long time since he'd been in a Pokemasters3000 game.

Squirmie just ate and ate. Then rolled into a ball and seemed to sleep. Nearly the whole basket of offal was gone. Rolly went back for another basket in case he woke up and was hungry again. It was getting late. He knew he was supposed to sleep in the huts, but they got stuffy, and he often slept outside near the barn. He got his blanket and more straw and made a bed for himself. Then he put another two baskets of offal by Squirmie. He'd sleep out here with him and heal him more in the morning. This was so great! He just knew he was going to get a pet now. He wouldn't screw this up.

Squirmy was at this moment feeling a bit better and was slowly working his thoughts into the two-leg's brain. This two-legs surprised him again; there was a lot going on inside there. And it was fond of him? Wanted to form some type of bond with him? Well, he would need an animal to incubate in. He could do far worse than use this beast. He might even be able to assimilate some of its rudimentary healing ability into his next form. It retreated from the two-leg’s thoughts, leaving an anchor in its brain to help them communicate. Then, confident it could rest safely, it fell into a deep sleep to help it heal and grow.

Rolly was surprised to get a message from the System.

[Quest: Someone wants a new pet!

'Squirmie' has offered to form a bond with you. It needs help with its next evolution. Will you help this poor Squirmie and agree to a Master-Pet relationship?

The benefits and drawbacks of this relationship are unknown and will depend on the strength of the partnership. This may influence your heritage.]

Rolly felt a tear roll down his cheek. It was the BEST DAY EVER! He didn’t hesitate and accepted the quest.

Wow! The others will be so jealous. Squirmie wanted to be his pet. He'd keep him secret until he got better and evolved. This was so awesome. It was sad that his pet was going to miss rabbit hunting on their first day off, but hopefully, he could make it next week!

Rolly lay down and was soon fast asleep next to Squirmie, totally exhausted from using all of his stamina to heal the wounded creature. He didn’t even see the next System message.

[You have successfully rescued a creature and healed it, earning experience in all of your skills.

+350 experience in Heal Animal. Heal Animal is now Rank 3.

+350 experience in Talk to Animal. Talk to Animals is now Rank 3.

+100 experience in Herd Animals. Herd Animals is now Rank 3.

You have gained a total of 1050 experience and advanced to Level 1.

WIS has advanced to Rank 5.]

Name: Rolly

Height: 5’ 8”

Weight 150 lbs.

Heritage: Human 96% (+2 CON, +2 WIS)

Creature Type: Contract Worker

Class: Contract Worker: Shepherd 1

You have a role to play in the village of Sedgewick. You have no current quests.

Health: 440

Stamina: 1260

Mana: 505

STR: 0 (+20 Stamina, +10 Health, per point.)

CON: 2 (+10 Stamina, +20 Health, per point.)

DEX: 0 (Increased chance to hit in combat.)

AGI: 0 (Increased avoidance in combat.)

WIS: 7 (+15 Mana per point.)

INT: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)

CHA: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)

PER: 0 (Decreased chance of ambush.)

Skill: Heal Animal (WIS) Rank 3

Skill: Talk to Animal (WIS) Rank 3

Skill: Herd Animal (WIS) Rank 3