Survival Quest (The Way of the Shaman: Book #1)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  I got up and headed for the barracks. I had no desire to focus on wire-making, so sleep was the only other option. I would soon have to resolve the situation with that pair that decided to set some thugs on me. The sooner I do it, the better things will look for me — I really hated living in a state of uncertainty.

  The morning greeted me with pleasant sunshine, a cool breeze and slight problems.

  During the morning meal, the place where the empty bowls were kept turned out to be empty. When the prisoners complained to the guards, they said that there were enough plates for everyone and that if one of the prisoners took them all that's between that prisoner and the rest. They should have come earlier to get their portion. In the end the food was put straight into the hands of the prisoners. Good thing it wasn't too liquid and did not flow out between the fingers. But even this was no simple solution. The green and bubbly porridge was hot, so almost everyone threw it to the ground, screaming, waited until it cooled down and then ate it. Well, well. It looked like we weren’t going to see much surplus ore being sold - people would be lucky to hand in their daily quotas. But what bastard nicked all the bowls? The answer came soon enough. When the next prisoner dropped the hot porridge to the ground, thereby turning it into "spoiled food", one of the prisoners standing nearby was engulfed in a whirlwind of light. He probably just levelled up in Meanness. I made a special note of his disgusting mug, which was now smiling at others' misfortune.

  I did not have to check the temperature of the porridge with my hands — Kart shared his plate with me. The thing turned out to be quite useful and I decided to ask him to make me one as well.

  In the evening, after handing in my quota, I saw five prisoners standing around the guard handing out the food and looking silently at the vat. I came up to Kart and pointed out the group to him with a questioning glance.

  "Those five were unable to meet the daily quota, so they didn't get any food. Tonight they will be respawned," said Kart with a sigh. "Despite working until the very last moment, until just thirty minutes before the food stops being served, each is still short of 10 to 12 pieces of ore. It's a pity about Sakas. He's a good guy, despite being an orc."

  "Hang on, you're saying just 60 pieces of ore would save them? Then why hesitate? I have 24 pieces, how many do you have left?" I gave Kart an exacting look.

  "I have around 40 on me. Hang on, you want to sell them the ore?" it finally dawned on Kart. "I must be getting slow not to think of it myself," he lamented.

  We made it in time. All five of them had money on them, so Kart and I were not left out of pocket. Although for myself I decided that I'd give them the ore even if they had no money. Even if I didn’t really know any of them, one can't run away from one's conscience: if I had a way to help and didn’t do it, it would eat me alive.

  The next day witnessed a harsh set up of yesterday's bowl prankster and I discovered another interesting feature of the local cuisine. The people in the mine turned out to be quite inventive: if you buy a granite stone from Rine, crush it into crumbs and mix it into a plate of food, the meal would acquire an 'interesting' debuff. In particular, the prisoner loses 10 Hit Points every 10 minutes. Thus, if you don't want to die you have to drink water at least once an hour. With the excess water he started to lose profession and stat points. All that with six more hours of the debuff ahead. That's why the prisoner was now running around the guard and demanding a change in food. He begged, threatened, threw himself at the vat - and went right through it. When his shouts changed to screaming, the governor turned up. The orc saw a recording of some sort, said something to the prisoner, who then immediately shut up, turned around and left. Needless to say, from that evening no-one saw that prisoner around the mine any more.

  Chapter 6

  The Pryke Mine. First months. Part 2

  In the evening I discovered what levelling up in Jewelcraft was like. It took me just an hour to make the second wire. Quickly glancing at the message telling me that I had gained experience in my main profession, I took out the next Copper Ingot… and the world suddenly stopped. A strange feeling came over me: Kart stood nearby, ladling molten copper from the smelting pot, and it froze in the air, barely touching the ingot mold. Walking around Kart and marveling at this effect, I noticed that a point of light began to form somewhere in my chest and shine out through my robe. The shining started to grow and increase in brightness, while a pleasant warmth started to spread through my body. In a few moments the light became so bright that I almost shut my eyes. When it had filled the whole of the smithy, there was a flash of light, and for a few moments I shone like the sun. I opened my eyes and saw that the world around me was so full of color that even the perpetual greyness of the mine could have vied with a rainbow in the richness of its hues. A couple of seconds went by and everything started to move again, returning the world to the familiar grey. It was simply impossible to describe the sensation that I felt at that moment - the reluctance to return from such a beautiful, colorful and wonderful world made me utter an involuntary exclamation, "Noooo!" That's when I understood that levelling up in Jewelcraft would now become my top priority. The effect from levelling up in the profession was only slightly spoiled by the swearing of Kart and other workers, who cursed as they rubbed their eyes from the bright light.

  Kart also worked hard for the past two days: he had a stable supply of ore from other prisoners. Our savings diminished, but we stuck to the plan, not deviating from it in the slightest. Our main aim was to start making rings.

  And that moment finally came: the day of the forging of the rings had arrived.

  According to the Jeweler's handbook, the technique for making them was quite simple. You take Copper wire and wind it around a mandrel (a circular core of the correct diameter). After making two rows of ten turns, you carefully take the ring off the mandrel and wind a second piece of wire across it. You then weld the ends of the second wire and that's it - the ring is ready. Or so they say!

  I killed the first four hours on winding the wire around the mandrel. You wouldn't call the result of my efforts neat even if you've had a few drinks too many. Even when it looked like I’d succeeded in winding the wire correctly, there was the problem of how to take the resulting ring off the mandrel without breaking it. I spent another four hours on this, because it meant I had to rewind everything once again. And when I finally managed to take the coiled wire off the mandrel without destroying it with my clumsy fingers, I accidentally squeezed the ring and crushed it. My agitation knew no bounds. Why is this so hard, compared to working with ore? There you just come, swing your pick a few times and get a result, but here you make one wrong move, breathe out of turn or look the wrong way and any result evaporates. At least the wire didn’t break with such frequent use.

  I spent a couple more hours mucking about with it and understood that it was time for a break. It wasn't working - by now I was ready to tear this wire to shreds. In the absence of any better ideas, I came out of the smithy and sat by the wall. As Kart put it, other prisoners had started to call this spot the 'Place of Shaman's Power' amongst themselves. I spent all my free time there, turning the stone I had mined around in my hands. Of course a Shaman wouldn’t do something like that for no reason! He's probably communing with the spirits and the stone is his conduit into a different world… What a bunch of morons.

  My first day of ring-making ended in my complete capitulation, but it did have one positive point: Kart made Rat-skin coats, trousers and boots for us. Even if these clothes gave no stat bonuses, the total increase in armor from 6 to 13, as well as the look of the outfits, made us feel a lot more safe and comfortable. At least now I no longer resembled a zebra.

  The morning of the next day found me in the smithy: for the first time I was up before the alarm. It was a sign of progress and that today was the day I would make a ring. Not making one was out of the question!

  I took the wire in my hands, closed my eyes and started to imagine the sequence of my actions. For
a while I could not concentrate, until a Copper Wire appeared before me. I could then begin visualizing my actions, which was a lot more effective. So, I had to develop an algorithm. I would start with winding the wire around the mandrel. Where's the mandrel? Here it is. Turn after turn… no, I don't like this turn: let's unwind it. And again, turn after turn. Now it was coming out all right. No, just here it needs to be tighter. This one came out well: I was pleased with the result. Now to press a little here and hold it here – that's it! The ring came off. Now I take the second wire. It's long, but that's all right. Starting just here, holding down with a finger. The first turn was good, so we go for the second. No, this I don't like – the gap between the turns is too large. Trying again: the first turn, second, third, and on and on. That's it. Now we connect the ends of the second wire, heat and weld them. Yes, the ring is ready. So that's the algorithm that I had to follow.

  The first thing that I saw when I opened my eyes was the reflection of a bright light in Kart's eyes. What's he doing here? Everyone's still asleep! And where did all this light come from?

  Skill increase:

  +15% to primary profession of Jewelcraft. Total: 15%

  +5% to Agility. Total: 5%

  +3% to Stamina. Total: 3%

  Item created: Lesser Copper Ring. Durability 30. Intellect +1. Minimum level: 1

  My hands were holding a completed ring, surrounded by a gradually fading glow. Did this mean that instead of imagining how to make a ring I was actually making it? Was I meant to do it this way every time? Seems a bit daft. Illogical. I should try once again with my eyes open and do everything with my hands and not my thoughts. I did, however, like the fact that my Stamina and Agility were increasing, if only slightly, with every ring I made. Did this mean that the more intricate and repetitive work I do, the more I improve my stamina and agility? Pretty good, if you ask me.

  I spent just a little under four hours on making the next ring. The second wire was not as easy to twist with my eyes open, but I managed it.

  Skill increase:

  +15% to primary profession of Jewelcraft. Total: 30%

  +5% to Agility. Total: 10%

  +3% to Stamina. Total: 6%

  Item created: Lesser Copper Ring. Durability 30. Stamina +1. Minimum level: 1

  I had enough time to make one more ring before the day was out. It gave +1 to Agility. Something had to be done about this - I was not a big fan of creating rings with uncontrollably random stats. Of the three rings that I made only the one with Stamina was useful, which could not be said of the others.

  I took the Intellect ring and stated turning it in my hands. So why did you end up with an Intellect bonus? Was it because I made you with my eyes closed? Why don't I try and remake you?

  Closing my eyes, I imagined the ring before me with its Intellect bonus. Letter 'I' appeared next to the imagined ring. Other possible stat bonuses were Strength, Agility, Rage and Stamina. A row of letters 'Str', 'A', 'R' and 'Stm' appeared near the rings. Now came the question: why was letter 'I' chosen at the creation of the ring and not any other letter? Good question, for which so far I had no answer.

  But, what if…

  Creating imaginary pliers, I pulled letters ‘Str’ and put them right next to the ring. Letter ‘I’ moved to the row with the others. Eh... if I could only do this with my eyes opened! I could not think of doing anything else, I left letters ‘Str’ on the ring and opened my eyes.

  I then shut and opened them again. The message that popped up remained in place:

  You used a Jeweler’s ability to change stats on crafted rings. The maximum durability of the ring has been reduced by 3. The ring stat bonus of +1 to Intellect has been replaced by +1 to Strength.

  Right, let’s have a look at the ring properties.

  Lesser Copper Ring. Durability 27. +1 to Strength. Minimum level: 1

  Bingo! Watch out Pryke Mine, here I come!

  I redoubled my efforts in ring-making and the first takers turned up in just a couple of days.

  "Hello Mahan. Do you have a minute?" I opened my eyes and saw Alt before me, looking somewhat impatient.

  "Hello, Alt! Take a seat. What can I do for you?"

  Settling himself next to me, Alt took a moment to gather his thoughts and finally began:

  "Mahan, a rumor is going around the mine that you know how to make rings with stats. Is that true?" I nodded and Alt continued: "That's good. Sell me 8 rings with Strength. In return, seeing as you are an old friend, I will give you one silver for each ring!"

  “A whole silver!” I chuckled. “You’re the very picture of generosity, Alt! But try to use your head for a moment. To produce every ring I use 2 Copper Ingots. Each Copper Ingot is made from 5 pieces of Copper Ore. The cost of ore with Rine is 10 copper and Kart probably buys it for 11. Therefore just the cost of materials for making a ring comes to two and a half silver, excluding the work itself. Can you imagine how much time is needed to make an ingot, then make the wire and then twist a ring together? And you want all that for one silver? Alt, I thought you a more reasonable guy.”

  "All right, so how much do you want for it?" asked Alt, somewhat befuddled.

  "I won’t sell a ring for less than two gold," my reply was firm.

  "But this is daylight robbery! This is"

  "Alt, one ring with a stat bonus costs two gold. If you don't want it – don't take it, you're the one who came to me. Just think of the benefits you'll get if you buy my ring."

  Skill increase:

  +10% to Trade. Total: 10%

  "You're one greedy Shaman. No human kindness in you," said Alt, disappointed, and started to get up. "What benefits are you talking about if the cost of the ring will never be recouped?"

  Alt turned around and was about to leave. Hang on a second! What happened to buying the ring?

  "Hold a moment, Alt! Before you leave me all fraught with anger and disappointment, let's have a little chat. Have a seat again and let's make your brain do some work, Mr. Artist. Now, look: the maximum level of Strength that you can get working in our mine is 12 and the average level that most have is 9. Even if you buy only 2 rings and increase your Strength by just 2, you are set to gain a much bigger profit from it than the four gold you'll spend. In effect, for you two Strength rings mean 4 additional Copper Veins mined out a day, that is an additional 20-25 pieces of Copper Ore. Even if instead of selling it to us you sell it to Rine at 10 copper, you will be getting 4-5 silver coins a day. That's at the very least! Thus, in 40 days you'll earn back the money spent on the rings right now. And then you'll be simply working for your own extra profit. This will lead to a new pick, a larger bag, and even new rings, which will also start earning extra for you in a month's time. Think Alt, just think! By investing in the rings now, you are investing in the future."

  Skill increase:

  +20% to Charisma. Total: 20%

  +10% to Trade. Total: 20%

  I'm some talker!

  "Another thing. I haven't forgotten who helped me to get the hang of Cooking, so here you go. This Strength ring I'm giving you for free. See the difference when you are mining the ore with it and without it, and then come talk to me tomorrow," I handed Alt one of the rings I had made, doing all I could to fight the thrift fiend within me, which was screaming that this was robbery and sheer wastefulness. Calm down, horned one: this is advertising!

  The next day the whole of the mine knew that I could make rings with stats and the stream of gold began to flow.

  Kart and I had a strict daily timetable. In the morning I went to the mine and spent a couple of hours killing rats, levelling up my Intellect, gaining Experience and getting skins for Kart, I then handed the tails in to Rine and made rings until the end of the day. Hunting Rats became sheer pleasure - after I put on eight Intellect rings I killed Rats non-stop, without ever running out of mana. My section, Kart's section and those of a couple more prisoners who, for the price of a ring permitted me to hunt there, had enough Rats for me to bring down 30-40 b
y noon and increase my reputation with the guards by 60-70 points every day. Kart began his mornings with making Copper Ingots, then moved on to work on Leather and finished the day by trading with other players. It turned out that clothes that he made were also in demand with the prisoners - everyone was fed up with the stripy robes. The only downside of this lifestyle was that there was practically no time left for rest.

  A couple of weeks went by with such a work schedule. I even forgot that there were plans to bump me off and the date set for that had come and gone. Such thoughts were completely displaced by the daily routine. With the aid of Rats I advanced to level six, bringing my free stat points to 22. I increased my Intellect to 8 by killing Rats and healing Kart. By constantly crafting rings I brought my Jewelcraft to level 6 and also increased my Stamina to 10 and Agility to 3. The main thing was a guaranteed daily income of 16 gold coins, out of which only one was spent on buying materials. Thus the net profit was… Well, one could say it was something to be proud of. I wondered what we would do once the prisoners ran out of money, although each was probably able to pay at least 16 gold. I hoped to get about 3500 gold off all the prisoners. We did agree at the start that 30% of this money belonged to Kart, but this was a minor detail. And why did I first think that Jewelcraft wasn't a worthwhile profession?

  'As soon as I hit level nine in Intellect, I will assign all my remaining stat points,' I decided and then heard a shout from the overseer:

  "Mahan and Kart - the boss wants to see you right away!"