Ascend Online

by Luke Chmilenko

  "What sort of help do you need?" I asked, torn between curiosity and hesitation.

  At least Eberia is nearby; I still have no idea why I was spawned here, I thought as I listened to the Bann speak.

  I was hoping to have some time to catch my breath and sort out my character. Right now I was a somewhat inept rogue/warrior hybrid with high intellect for my level. I needed time to train, read my character sheet and find a spell or two. Not to mention getting in touch with the group.

  "Supplies. More specifically any and all help you can offer in helping us get back on our feet again. The horses we captured from the goblins will go a long way to helping move goods and plow the fields. But we still need everything from meat to pelts to help replenish the stores the goblins spoiled." The Bann sighed and looked at me with concern in his eyes. "It is imperative that we get this village in shape before the next round of settlers arrive at the end of the month.”

  “The end of the month?!” I exclaimed with surprise. “That isn’t a lot of time! What happens if it isn’t?”

  “Then I stand a very good chance at being removed as Bann,” Aldwin replied softly. “And thrown into a debtor’s prison or worse.”

  “What?!” I nearly shouted. “Why?”

  The Bann looked at me for a moment, as if mulling something over in his mind. “In order to fund this village, I was forced to take out a loan from a noble house, House Denarius in fact. As part of the agreement, they allow me considerable freedom to run the village as I see fit. However, the agreement also stipulates that I must have a prosperous village to show for their investment within a month’s time as they are putting a considerable amount of effort into recruiting settlers and obtaining supplies on my behalf.”

  “That’s reasonable, I suppose,” I said to Aldwin, understanding his predicament.

  “It would have been, if not for the goblin attack,” The Bann agreed with a sigh. “Which is why I’m turning to you for help. Any aid you could offer us would be greatly appreciated.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I replied earnestly, seeing a new quest appear in my vision.

  New Quest! Rebuilding Aldford (Evolving-Quest)

  The Village of Aldford needs your help in getting more supplies and rebuilding after the goblin raid! They are in dire need of Food, Crafting Materials and Defenses!

  Warning! This quest is timed! 30 Days Remaining!

  Objective: Find Food and Supplies for Aldford.

  Difficulty: Hard

  Reward: Experience and Reputation with Aldford.

  "I haven't forgotten what you've done for us during the attack, however." Bann Aldwin continued as I accepted his quest with a nod. "We collected everything we found on the goblins. Hopefully, you can make use of them. If not I'm sure Ritt and Jenkins will scavenge or burn them later. The villagers aren't keen on seeing or using anything they saw in the goblins hands."

  You have received a [Sturdy Backpack - 30 slots] from Bann Aldwin.

  Warning! [Sturdy Backpack] is currently full!

  Oh geez! I completely forgot about loot during all the fighting! I peered inside the bag and saw that it was filled with random items from the goblins. A few spears, a fair number of shivs, similar to the one I found before, and some scrap leather armor pieces. The biggest prize, however, was the bag itself! Thirty slots tripled my carrying capacity! "Oh wow! Thank you! I'll see what I can do to put this to use in helping out Aldford."

  "No, thank you, Adventurer. You helped us out of a bind with the goblin raid. We were caught unprepared, and that was my fault. I'll not let it happen again. I've spoken with Jenkins and Ritt, I've asked that they help you out should you need any spare tools or instructions to get you started."

  I nodded at the Bann as I stood to leave, sensing the implied dismissal. "I’ll go see them right away, and see what I can do to help Aldford."

  ***

  Walking downstairs, I found a spot in the Town Hall downstairs to take a break. The barricade had been disassembled, with the tables and benches now organized into rows.Taking a seat at a table I pulled up my character sheet, and began mentally reviewing battle against the goblins.

  I need to be faster and stronger. I had some success in using my size against the goblins, but I was fairly confident wasn’t going to last. Right now my innate bonuses to Constitution and Intelligence kept my health and mana pool growing, not that I had anything to use my mana with yet. With 15 attribute points to use, I carefully looked over my sheet before assigning 10 points to Agility and the other 5 points to Strength. Accepting my changes I took a moment to look at my updated sheet.

  Lyrian Rastler – Level 4 Novice

  Human Male (Eberian)

  Statistics

  HP: 341

  Stamina: 310

  Mana: 360

  Armor: 10

  Attributes:

  Strength: 20

  Agility: 20

  Constitution: 23

  Intelligence: 28

  Willpower: 10

  Abilities:

  Stealth – Sneak Attack I (Passive) – Attacks made before the target is aware of you automatically deal weapon damage+13.

  Power Attack I (Active: 50 Stamina) - You slash viciously at the target putting extra strength behind the blow. Deal weapon damage+7.

  Skills:

  Unarmed Combat – Level 1 – 1% (Increases knowledge of hand-to-hand fighting and improves related Abilities.)

  Stealth – Level 1 – 66% (Decreases chance of being detected while attempting to stay hidden. Improves related Abilities.)

  Swords – Level 1 – 90% (Increases knowledge of sword fighting and improves related Abilities.)

  Wordplay – Level 1 – 15% (Increases chance to persuade others, resolve differences and/or get information.)

  The moment I assigned my stats, I felt… different. My arms instantly felt a little thicker and my body just a bit more energetic. Like I suddenly had an extra spring in my step, and everything was just a little bit easier. Would my body change as I gained levels and assigned my stat points? What about my mind if I added more to my intellect? I shook my head; this was too much to think about right now.

  Looking at my character sheet, I noted that my stats were relatively balanced for the moment, but I had to pick a path soon. Sneak attack was reliable as ever, though it was unlikely I'd be able to get the opening blow consistently, and unless I focused in stealth, the damage bonus would likely remain small.

  Scrolling down my sheet, I saw the little progression I had made in my skills, noting that the more I used a skill, the better it got. Seeing how I was level 4 already, and all of my skills a measly level 1, I considered myself seriously behind.

  A message appeared in the corner of my vision:

  Constantine: Yo. It’s Peter! Are you finally out of the tutorial?

  During our night of reading and debating the information that was given in the Primer, we all made sure to trade a list of character names that we’d try to take when we made it in game. Peter chose Constantine; Deckard chose Drace; Zach chose Caius; Heron chose Halcyon, and Misha chose Sierra.

  Lyrian: Yeah. Shit. Character creation overwhelmed me a bit, I ended up with tunnel vision and just kept reading through the character menus. Odd thing though, I got blocked from starting in Eberia. What about you guys?

  Constantine: Eh? No, we all loaded in here fine. Wait, how are you level 4 already if you’ve practically just started? Where are you?

  Lyrian: I got bumped to a different village. When I finished making my character the system tried to load me into Eberia, but all I got was a message the area was locked due to an event. So I was dropped into the middle of a village called Aldford under attack from a horde of goblins. I just finished clearing them out of here.

  Constantine: You’ve already been in combat? All they’ve had us do are fetch quests and then had to sit through this stupid Call to Arms ceremony the King put on; that’s probably what blocked you. He’s a massive twat by the way, but it got u
s three silver and a starter's kit. Any idea where Aldford is?

  Lyrian: No idea, I don't have a map. It's near Eberia though, one of the locals just mentioned it.

  Constantine: Let me check with the Surveyors Guild here. They have a free map everyone can use.

  Lyrian: Sure.

  I idly waited for a few minutes, reading over my character sheet until Constantine replied.

  Constantine: Okay. From the looks of it, Aldford is about seven days travel away on foot, but I just heard another group talking about a shortcut that we’ll check out. With any luck, we can cut it to two days if it pans out and if we walk late into the night. Eberia is crowded as fuck right now anyway, probably close to ten thousand people here if not more. Fewer players will be out your way.

  Lyrian: Works for me. Be careful in combat, though. It really hurts if you get hit.

  Constantine: Really? Shit. We saw a guy take a dive off a balcony because he was too lazy to go down the stairs. Broke both his legs and was screaming the whole time until he was healed. I thought he was just playing it up.

  Lyrian: The pain is very real at the moment, but the memory of it fades fast.

  We chatted for a few more minutes before they set off. During which we both found out that player messaging was only enabled when both players were in a ‘safe zone’, if a player was out adventuring in the wild, the messages would be held in limbo until they returned.

  Makes sense to limit communication. I thought to myself. It forces people to cooperate closely and gives them another incentive to return to a city.

  I stood up with a stretch; it was time to see Ritt and Jenkins about the Bann's promise for assistance. Maybe they’ll be able to able to teach me a trade skill or two.

  ***

  A few minutes later I found Ritt outside the Workshop. “Hey, Lyrian. I was about to look for you. The Bann have a chance to talk to you yet?”

  “Yeah, he mentioned that you had tools for me?” I asked hopefully.

  “I have a few tools, and a handful of Tradeskill Primers here too,” Ritt replied handing me a stack of books.

  “Primers?” I asked taking the books.

  “The trade guilds decided it was easier and cheaper to write out the instructions for the more common trades and basic recipes and sell the Primer books than it was to have their workers training each and every adventurer that threw coin at them. Once the scribe’s guild caught wind of the idea…” Ritt rubbed his fingers together in the universal ‘money’ motion. “Sure helps us out here in the middle of nowhere though or if you can’t easily find someone that’ll teach you.”

  “Definitely! Thanks, Ritt,” I said as I looked closer at the books.

  Tradeskill Primer – Blacksmithing

  Tradeskill Primer – Leatherworking

  Tradeskill Primer – Cooking

  Tradeskill Primer – Mining

  Do you wish to learn these Tradeskills?

  This will consume the Tradeskill Primers

  Yes / No

  Blacksmithing - A Crafting skill used to work metal.

  Leatherworking - A Crafting skill used to work leather.

  Cooking - A Crafting skill used to cook meats and plants into tasty meals.

  Mining – A Gathering skill used to spot and identify raw stone and ore in the world, Minable nodes will be highlighted with a green outline.

  Yes! Now we’re getting somewhere! The books crumbled into dust, and I saw messages fly by as the novice level blacksmithing, leatherworking, and cooking recipes were added to my recipe book.

  “Here’s a pickaxe you can use as well,” Ritt continued, completely ignoring the dissolving books.

  “I appreciate the help getting started,” I said as I accepted the tool, then pointed towards the workshop. “I was thinking to take a few minutes to look over the things the goblins had on them. Maybe I can learn something useful from them.”

  “Sure, be my guest and use the forge. Jenkins said you could have free reign. He’s… busy at the moment.” Ritt smirked, eyebrows raised, silently begging me to follow up with more questions.

  “Thanks, Ritt.” I replied, pushing past the young merchant. I wasn’t in any mood to pry right now; I had better things to do.

  ***

  I figured things out quickly once I sat myself down in the workshop. I didn’t have the material I needed to craft just yet, but after unlocking the different tradeskills, I found out I was also able to Deconstruct items and gain resources and experience from them.

  Wasting no time, I quickly deconstructed the bag of goblin loot. As a whole, I was somewhat disappointed with the result, half a level in both blacksmithing and leatherworking along with a few leather scraps from the armor, and some low-quality copper metal, along with a number of miscellaneous items, some bone, plant fibers, and wood.

  You have learned the Goblin Skill - Improvisation.

  You are the first player to learn this skill! Congratulations!

  Improvisation - Goblins are often scavengers, making do with whatever they can find. Your study of goblin craftsmanship has given you the insight to make adjustments to standard and learned recipes by replacing required materials with something else. E.g., Replacing metal with wood in an armor recipe will create a set of wooden armor instead of metal. The higher your level in Improvisation, the more changes can be made and the fewer materials they will require.

  My jaw dropped, that was an incredible skill! The Open-Minded trait was paying dividends already! I felt my palms start to sweat as my mind raced at the thought of crafting unique items. First thing first, though, I needed to get crafting materials. Unfortunately a quick look over the basic recipes I’d managed to unlock after learning my tradeskills showed me that I didn't have enough materials to make anything at all.

  Time to go hunting then. I started to throw the mess of deconstructed items into my backpack as I stood up and left the workshop.

  Outside, I ran into Ritt again. Apparently, he had nothing better to do for the moment but sit on a crate outside the workshop. "Hey, Ritt. I don't suppose you have any spells for sale?"

  "Spells?" Ritt frowned. "I didn't take you for a caster while you were laying about with that sword. I have a single scroll actually, won't do you any good without a spellbook, though."

  "I have a Spellbook," I said pulling the book out of my pack, excited. I was finally going to rectify my haste in character creation. "What spell is it?"

  "Flare." Ritt stood and pulled a scroll out of the crate he was just sitting on. He waved it in the air, baiting me with it. "I'm going to need something in exchange for it, though. Five silver."

  "Seriously? I'm going to be going out there into the wild trying to get supplies for this village, and you're hocking me five silver pieces for a spell no one in this town has a Spellbook to even learn?"

  "Demand has suddenly skyrocketed…" Ritt grinned greedily. "You know… market forces are hard to predict now that adventurers are about. Might go up even further. Besides, with the Primers and tools I've given you, I'm already out double that."

  As greedy as the NPC was being, he had a point. "How about this. Give me the spell now; it'll help me out while I'm out there in the wild, and I'll pay you seven silver pieces worth of pelts and ore."

  I could see as the wheels turned inside Ritt's head. "Fine. That works too."

  He handed over the scroll.

  New Quest! Ritt's Loan.

  Repay your debt to Ritt.

  Difficulty: Average

  Penalty for failure: Loss of Reputation with Aldford

  Arcane Spell – Flare (Evocation)

  Favored Class: Novice

  Mana: 30

  Range: 50 feet

  The player conjures a ball of fire in their hand and throws it at the target dealing 13 damage.

  Do you wish to scribe this spell? Yes / No

  Once again I was rewarded with the scroll crumbling away into dust, and I saw magical script slowly appear on the first page of my Spellbook. Mentally
selecting the spell, I activated it, conjuring a small ball of fire in my left hand with a bright orange glow.

  "Oh shit!" Ritt yelped, hopping off his crate. "You learned it already?! Don't do that in the village! Put it out!"

  "Right! Sorry." I flinced, waving my hand to cancel the spell. It looked like I could conjure this spell on the fly, something I appreciated. Standing still was a sure way to get yourself in trouble. I would have to practice more with it once I left the village. "Thanks, Ritt. I'll be sure to put this to good use!"

  I waved goodbye to Ritt. It was time to go hunting before I got roped into the rebuilding efforts at the gate.

  Chapter 6

  The lands surrounding Aldford was lush and fertile. I figured it was only a matter of time before the coming wave of players cleared the land and settled it for farming. It had the perfect mix of trees, greenery and scattered ponds without being too hilly. You could drop a seed on the ground here, and it would happily grow in no time. I had even found a few veins of copper ore while I was exploring the area. Truthfully, the only downside of the area was that it was absolutely crawling with animals and other creatures.