by Edward Brody
“You spare his life?” an older elf male who was standing nearby asked. “After he killed you?”
“What good would it do for me to kill him?” I asked. “I didn’t come here to fight with the elves. I came here to live with you in peace.” In all honesty, I would’ve loved to have just killed Garrik out of revenge, but I wasn’t sure how the elves would feel about me then. They probably would have killed me. And even if they didn’t, they would assume I was some sort of crazy tyrant that might sneak up on them anytime they didn’t agree with me.
A young female elf rushed to Garrik’s side with a health potion and a wad of bandages.
I straightened my shoulders and stood tall. “If you kill me, I’ll just come back. And my friend, Aaron, is a Reborn too.”
“Are there others?” the same, older, dark elf asked.
I nodded. “There are other Reborns out there, and at some point they’ll surely wander into Edgewood. Some may be bad, but others may be friendly like Aaron and I.”
“We must protect Edgewood!” Garrik spat, pulling a now empty potion vial from his mouth. He was looking better already, but he was still sitting and the elf girl was still working on the wound at his back.
“You have no right to speak,” Keysia snapped. “Not after what you did.”
“No,” I said. I gave a slight nod towards Garrik and turned to the others. “You will need to protect Edgewood. If I know anything about gamers… ahem… Reborns, some of them will behave in unpredictable and destructive ways. If you trade with Aaron and I, you can get better weapons and armor and will better be able defend yourselves from any threats. Aaron and I may need protection as well. The trade agreement that I’m suggesting will create jobs and wealth for us all. We can strengthen Edgewood together, I’m certain of it.”
The elves were mostly silent, and I looked down to see Garrik pulling himself to his feet. He had an angry look permanently etched on his face but he didn’t say a word.
“It’ll be a long road, but we can make Edgewood just as great as the Vale someday. And as your ambassador, I’ll do everything possible to improve the relations between the two forests. But whether or not you accept me and my soon-to-be guild, we aren’t going anywhere.”
There was another long silence with all eyes glued to me.
Keysia stepped forward first. “I’m with you, Gunnar.”
“I trust you,” Donovan said and stepped forward.
“I’m ready to make a change,” another young male elf said.
The older male from before nodded his head and rubbed his chin. “We should give him a chance.”
The elves all started nodding in agreement and making their declaration of acceptance. Only Garrik said nothing else. He just turned and walked away. He ambled into his house, but this time he didn’t slam the door.
Chapter Fourteen
01/12/0001
“A fair enough deal,” I said to the young, dark elf male.
He smiled and picked up the wooden shortbow and quiver of arrows, leaving the stack of animal pelts he had traded on the counter.
“And let everyone know that we’ll pay top dollar for any metals that they find in the mine,” I said as he exited the door.
The elf nodded right before the entrance to my home closed behind him.
I took a deep breath, scooped up the pelts, and tossed them into a wooden crate sitting on the floor.
It had been three days since the incident with Garrik, and the inside of my cabin had been transformed into a makeshift general goods store. Besides the counter that Aaron had erected, several wooden bows hung from the wall and a few basic quivers. There were a couple low-level leather armor items left that Aaron had put together as well as a copper dagger, but for the most part the elves were buying up our items quicker than we could stock them. Aaron had built me a bed, which was snugged into the corner, but it was just about the only thing that gave any indication that the building was also living premises.
The day after Garrik killed me was when we first set up shop. Aaron constructed the wooden counter, and we dragged everything of worth inside my house for people to buy. At first, it looked like no one would show up, but halfway through opening day, one brave elf took the risk and knocked on the door, looking to see if we would really trade the junk he had collected around the forest at a fair price.
At first, I was unsure of the prices for things like rabbit and squirrel pelts, so I offered a little less than whatever they wanted, but after a few runs to Thorpes to trade in the accumulated items for gold, I started to get a better idea of the general value of lesser, common items.
After the first elf took his chances, a couple more elves showed up, and then they started arriving in droves, each one more enthusiastic than the last. A few of the higher-level elves walked away, disappointed that we didn’t have anything they wanted, but for the most part, the trading back and forth was happening at a phenomenal rate. And the items that Aaron created were mostly conjured from the resources in the forest and the mine, so if someone bought or traded for an item, it was mostly pure profit for us.
The door opened slightly, and another elf peaked his head inside. “Do you have any longswords for sale?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, none at the moment. Try again in a few days and maybe we’ll have one.” I had no idea if I was bullshitting. Aside from wooden swords and copper daggers, Aaron had yet to make any other hand weapons.
The elf nodded and let the door close without stepping inside to see what else we had for sale.
I had spent the last two days doing virtually nothing but buying and selling. It was paying off, sure, and I knew trade was how I was going to build Edgewood into something worthwhile, but I didn’t want to be a merchant who just sat behind a counter all day. It was profitable but boring. I needed to get out, see the world, and increase my skills. I had gained 2 charisma points through all the trading and haggling, but otherwise my character progression had fallen flat.
I rounded the counter and headed out the door, turning to lock up my home. When I was sure it was secure, I walked over toward Aaron’s hut where he was pounding out a long length of steel across the anvil that had been delivered a couple days earlier. There was a forge beside the anvil along with a workbench and some sort of tannery device with a pelt stretched across it that he had erected for leatherworking. Sweat poured down Aaron’s brow, and though he seemed to be enjoying himself, he looked exhausted.
“Maybe you should take a break,” I suggested as I approached. “You’ve been crafting nonstop the last couple days.”
Aaron looked up from the anvil and smiled. “I’m getting good skill gains,” he said. He slammed his hammer down hard on the metal. “Level 3 in weaponsmithing already. But I’m going to need a grindstone if I’m going to make decent quality blades. Those daggers that I made are blunt as fuck.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And how much is that going to cost?”
“Probably about 300 or so.” Aaron shrugged. “It’ll pay for itself in no time.”
“Buy it,” I said. “I’ve got 500 gold in the shop and another 300 worth of items that can be traded at Thorpes.” That wasn’t counting the 317 gold that I had in my bag, personally.
“I’ll order one on the next run to town.” He hammered into the metal a couple more times. “This is actually pretty fun. You should take up some more crafting skills.”
“I will if I ever get the time. For now, Inscription is hard enough for me to level up.” After getting killed by Garrik, I was back to level 1 inscription and 0 percent progress. Thus far, it had been the most difficult skill for me to progress in, primarily due to the scarcity of inscription powder and the fact that I hadn’t seen any other inscription schematics for sale. It was probably a good idea to use my LP gains in inscription considering how difficult it was to train naturally.
The sound of branches crackling caused Aaron and I to look up, and another young, dark elf male with jet black hair began to approach. He was leve
l 10 and outfitted in a set of crude leather armor and a short bow that Aaron and I had provided.
“Sir,” the elf said.
“What’s wrong, Shal?” I asked. I looked behind him, seeing if anyone else was headed our way.
“I haven’t been paid yet,” he said.
“Yeah, sure,” I huffed. I reached into my bag and handed the elf 10 gold of my own money. It wasn’t worth going back into my home to use the shop funds to pay him.
Shal was the first elf that I had hired on to act as security for our clearing. For a mere 10 gold per day, he was willing to watch and defend the area around our shop during daylight hours. Not a bad job for him since he was just standing around, and a little extra protection for Aaron and I. If we wanted 24-hour protection, the price would go up to 20 gold.
It was a win-win for both us and Shal. Shal would have a consistent source of income without having to leave the forest, and the dark elves would see that I was keeping my promise to vitalize Edgewood by hiring someone on. I wasn’t sure if we would actually get attacked by anyone, but having the security was great nonetheless.
Shal nodded after I handed him the gold then went back to his post on the outskirts of the clearing.
“We’ll need additional crafters,” Aaron said. “I’m trying to do woodworking, carpentry, leatherworking, and weaponsmithing all at once. It’s fun to dabble and all, but it’ll be more effective if we have people who specialize.”
I snickered. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we’re not going to get far with recruiting anyone if I stay in the shop all day and you stay out here crafting.” I lowered my chin. “With that in mind, I’ll need you to look after the shop. I’m heading out.”
“Oh come on,” Aaron said. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “I won’t be able to level my crafting if I’ve got to look over the shop.”
I held out my house key to him. “You can keep doing what you’re doing. Leave the shop closed until a buyer shows up. I know it’s inconvenient, but it’s only temporary.”
“And where are you going?” he asked, eyeing the key.
“I’m going to take a trip to the Vale. I also have an idea for the third member of our guild.”
“Jax?” Aaron asked.
“Nah…” I shook my head. “You’ll see… maybe.”
Aaron sat down his hammer and steel to grab the key out of my hand. “Alright, well if you’re going to go fuck that hot elven princess, I won’t cockblock you.” Aaron pooched out his lips and raised one of his shoulders.
I chuckled, gave him a slight slap on the shoulder, and turned to walk away. “I’ll be back soon enough.”
“You better!” Aaron shouted.
As I walked further away from the clearing of our homes, I heard Aaron start hammering on the steel again. I hoped that he would be safe while I was gone. Shal was strong, but given that Aaron was still level 6, a group of more than a couple attackers could easily take them both out.
There had been no other incidents since the day that I fought with Garrik, so I guess just the fact that we were Reborns was enough deter Garrik or any other elves from trying to get rid of us again, and I had seen no one outside of Edgewood enter the forest. The dark elves also returned all of my items and gear after I returned, when they could’ve just killed me again.
He’d likely be safe—at least that’s what I told myself.
I cleared the border of Edgewood and started across the Freelands towards the Crystal River with my mind spinning in circles. There were so many things going on that I felt like I was being tugged in every direction.
My first priority was getting us established in Edgewood, and while that was getting started, there was still so much to do. If my home was going to be a shop, I’d need a new home as well. No one wants to work where they sleep.
I also wanted to figure out what the deal was with Jax, and I needed to visit Adeelee. I don’t know what it was about that girl, but I had been thinking about her nonstop since the last day that I saw her. It was agonizing, really. I had been having similar dreams about Adeelee, night after night, much like to the one that I had the first time I stayed in the Thorpes inn, but every night, the part where Rachel appeared began closer and closer to the end of the dream.
Am I forgetting about Rachel? I shook my head. I didn’t think so… I didn’t think I would ever forget about her, but I guess the longer I stayed in Eden’s Gate, the more I was beginning to accept that it was going to be damn hard to find her. And a man has needs—basic needs. It wasn’t just that I needed sex. I needed companionship… and not the kind that Aaron could offer me.
It was the first time that I had tried to cross the Freelands on foot, and the journey was excruciating. Only one third of the way to the Crystal River and I was exhausted. I sat down in the grass and pulled out a food ration to take a breather.
“Fuck,” I cursed. The elves that looted me had returned all my belongings after my encounter with Garrik, but I had been cooped up in my home buying and selling items so long that I hadn’t even thought about replenishing my essentials. After eating my food ration, I only had three bandages left in my bag for healing purposes—no healing potions or additional food rations. It wasn’t the best position to be in to be traveling so far on foot.
I considered heading back towards Thorpes to stock up, but I had already traveled a long way, and the risk-taker in me got the upper hand. I figured I could make it across the Freelands without potions, and if I saw another place to buy and sell, I’d stop there.
There was no real path that led in the direction I was heading, so after the main road ended, I started across the unmarked grasslands at a fast walking pace. It was still early in the day, so I was hoping to make it to the Vale before nightfall, but worst case scenario was that I would use Divine Sight to make it the rest of the way.
“Help me!” I heard a female voice crying in the distance.
I turned around and could see a horse and wagon stopped a few hundred meters away—further up the road I had just exited—and a group of four men surrounding it. It wasn’t clear what was going on from where I was standing, but someone was certainly in distress.
None of my business… I thought. Without a health potion of any sort, the risk of helping whoever was crying out was far too high. I needed to just move on and keep my nose out of trouble.
I turned back towards the Crystal River and continued.
“No! Stop! Get away from me!” This time the voice sounded even more terrified. “Help!”
I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the wagon. Are you kidding me? I had a feeling I was going to regret what I was about to do, but I just couldn’t walk away from whatever was happening. I at least had to investigate why the girl was freaking out.
I rushed in the direction of the wagon, and when I was ten or so feet away, my fast run turned to a crawl. There were two men on the ground. One was either dead or unconscious, and the other was bleeding and pleading for the men to stop. A woman kicked out her shoe rapidly from the wagon, but two of the men were trying to grab her leg and pull her out.
“Come on, now! We won’t hurt you,” a man said. The woman’s foot struck him in the face, causing him to jerk back, and I recognized him right away. It was the blond-haired asshole—Milton—from the Thorpes tavern, who had attacked Aaron, Donovan, and I when we were having drinks and minding our own business. His two thugs were flanking him, and it looked like he had added a new member to his posse… Ozzy. Ozzy had added leather sleeves and gloves to his ensemble, but otherwise he was dressed in the same rusted, dented plate armor from before and was carrying the same sword and shield.
I couldn’t believe it. Why was Ozzy hanging out with those three jerks?
And how the hell was I going to help the girl crying out for help from the wagon?
Milton laughed at the blow and started grabbing for her foot again. It wasn’t clear if the group of men were just trying to clear her from the wagon so they could loot the cara
van—there was a small cache of cargo attached to the back—but all their focus was on the girl, and whatever they were doing wasn’t a good look, that’s for sure.
“Hey!” I yelled.
Milton and his thugs all turned to face me.
“Well, damn,” Milton said softly.
“Leave the girl alone…” I snapped. Even as I was saying it, I knew that it was a stupid move; there was no way I could fight all four of them at once. But I guess I was hoping that I could distract them long enough that the girl could jump out of the wagon and run away. I pulled my blade out of its sheath and held it in front of my face.
“Hunter?! Or was it Gunther? Ugh… I forgot,” Ozzy stuttered loudly.
“Gunnar,” I corrected.
“Gunnar!” Ozzy repeated. “What are you doing here?!”
“Shut up, Ozzy!” Milton snapped. “Let’s get him, boys!”
The largest of Milton’s companions pulled his flail from his back and stomped towards me while his smaller companion started grabbing the daggers attached to his waist.
I raised a Fire Curtain in front of the group and started running in the direction of the Crystal River. When I glanced back, I could see all four of them running after me, and the girl was stepping out of the wagon and running in the opposite direction.
I’d probably die, but at least my plan seemed to have worked to save the girl. While not ideal, that was good enough for me.
The skinnier guy with the throwing daggers flung one at me, and it landed near my feet, but then he threw another that lodged right in the back of my shoulder. I yelped but kept running, knowing that all hopes of survival were lost if at any point I stopped.
Another dagger struck me, this time in the back of the calf, causing me to fall to the grass below. The impact was jolting, and when I rolled, the dagger in my shoulder was driven further into my flesh.
My health dropped to 60%, but thankfully the attacks hadn’t triggered any bleeding effects. Maybe because the daggers were still stuck in me? I wasn’t sure.
