The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

by Brent Roth

  "You very well know the answer to that," Selene replied, somewhat seriously.

  "Quite right you are… I'm not really sure what to do about it."

  She stopped for a second as she turned to face me, clearly wanting to make sure I heard her correctly. "If you keep pushing Kate away, I'm afraid she will lose all confidence in herself… the least you could do, well, I think you know what I mean."

  What, was that supposed to mean.

  Elaborate, please.

  I wanted to ask, but the gist of it sounded like I should not turn her advances away and actually accept them… that, didn't sound right. Was she encouraging a harem? Was she in league with these developers, or did they code that into their personalities as a way to free up the polygamist route for players to pursue.

  This was all insane to me.

  As much as I wanted to though, I wouldn't dare ask her to describe to me in detail what she was requesting. She didn't seem to enjoy saying it as her face wore a complicated expression, one that seemed torn by her decision. If my intuition was right, Selene was stuck between being a good friend and wanting to monopolize me for herself, the latter of which was perfectly reasonable.

  I was on the same page, until now.

  Now, I was confused.

  As I was busy thinking, I didn't even notice that Selene had crept up beside me.

  "Oh, I nearly forgot," Selene said with a devilish grin.

  With the kitten in one arm, she twisted to the side and put the other arm around my neck, hooking me forward and down into her. A deep, passionate kiss followed as she took the initiative and left me speechless. Then just as quickly, with her lips near my ear, she whispered seductively, "welcome home."

  I think my heart skipped a beat.

  Yeah, it was good to be home.

  Chapter 54: A Simple Village

  (Wednesday, July 28th Game Day / Thursday, March 11th Real Day)

  A man could get used to days like these.

  Lying out on the river bank with Selene by my side, Katherine was a ways away, asleep in the warmth and comfort of the cabin with the kittens and Barkley for company.

  Selene and I had snuck out for a little fresh air and privacy, wanting to enjoy the late night skyline before it turned to day. A few days had passed since I returned, and I had been strangely pushed into accepting Katherine's flirtatious advances as if it were a normal thing while Selene and I continued on.

  It was a weird situation, but it made both parties happy.

  Happy for now, at least… there was no telling when this silly plan of Selene's would backfire. But, so long as things continued as they were, I wouldn't mind it.

  Yeah, as long as they were happy, I could bear with it.

  Lying on my back, I stared up at the partial moon peeking through.

  The moon was barely visible behind the clouds out here, which was a bit disappointing as the aurora was obscured as well, but it wasn't all that bad. If every night was a great night for stargazing then it probably wouldn't be quite as special.

  So in a way, I guess there was a silver lining for future evenings.

  Well, not everything was a waste actually.

  It was a cold summer night out, which meant Selene was snuggled up to me, nice and tight, in order to keep warm. She wasn't exactly a soft girl, seeing how in-shape and athletic she was, nor did she have the curves to flaunt either, but she was still feminine.

  Having her next to me, was a comforting thing.

  Holding her, was a simple pleasure.

  Something I had been missing in my real life.

  There was a chance, that I might have broken my own rule.

  I was starting to get attached to an Artificial Intelligence. There weren’t any real feelings, but I could tell that I enjoyed her presence more than normal… what worried me, were that future feelings might be seriously developing.

  An emotional connection with a Non-Player Character… was odd.

  A few years ago, I might have even called someone who fell for that sick.

  Now, I was falling into that trap.

  "What are you thinking about?" she asked, calmly and quietly as she stared up at me. Keeping her hands on my chest, she played with her fingertips and ran them up and down, teasing me as she waited for a reply.

  "Nothing important," I replied, somewhat a lie; mostly to myself.

  Leaning in and giving her a kiss on her forehead, I looked up at the sky once more as the darkness began to fade. The sun would rise any minute now, as light began to cross over the edge. Soon, it would be a bright sunny day.

  I wasn't used to it, and it came faster than expected.

  Yeah, that was life, though.

  "Long day ahead," I mumbled to myself.

  "Again?" asked Selene as she buried her face into my arm. "Do you never take a day off… you've been working all day, every day, since you returned from your journey."

  No, I couldn't take a day off.

  Not when I was behind schedule, with a lot of work needing to be completed.

  As the sun finally broke past the mountain tops and shined light onto my world, I knew it was time to get started. There were plans and I intended to carry them out, without fail. My village was going to become a town, soon enough.

  Standing up slowly, Selene tugged at my arm and brought me back to the ground, giving me a quick peck before finally releasing me. She was dangerous… if this continued, I would be falling for an NPC.

  Maybe it was already too late.

  I gave her a smile, a fake one though, as I worried over how realistic her AI was.

  Ah, nothing was ever easy with me.

  Oh well.

  By the time I made it back to the village the majority of the NPCs were already awake and hard at work. My first stop, was going to be the blacksmith. There were two of them, but I heard they picked up another one, a child that showed some aptitude.

  It was interesting, how it worked, really.

  Through the NPC-Recruiter, I was able to draft numerous Non-Player Characters for a relatively low cost but in order to get the best available, I took on some baggage in the form of tag-along NPCs such as spouses and children. It didn't bother me too much, as it filled out the village. I also figured most of them would be dead weight in the scheme of things. I mean, a child couldn't be expected to produce.

  That's what I thought.

  And I was completely wrong there.

  Everyone ended up carrying their own weight quite well, far beyond my expectations. To the point, honestly, that I felt guilty about doubting their self-responsibility and efficacy.

  The children surprised me the most.

  If they were old enough, they helped with the farm work on the two parcels of land across the river, helping to set up and maintain the crops. For those that weren't quite up to par in physical ability yet, they spent their time with the fishermen on the river banks, helping pull nets and other such minor work that mostly kept them busy.

  Sure, they brought in some fish too, but mostly, they weren't in the way.

  A select few children though, were picked up as apprentices.

  When I recruited the NPCs originally, I focused on the best available, ensuring that their potential ratings were the highest along with good personality quirks. Maybe through transference, those positive thoughts were passed along to the children, along with the ability to seemingly fetch out the most-skilled children out of the bunch.

  I couldn't tell the children apart, let alone see which one had potential.

  Yet, they could.

  The NPCs were doing the work for me.

  They were building up Dragon's Breach without my guidance, and the results weren't disagreeable, not in the least. Yeah, I was quite happy with what had transpired.

  When I left, all of the minor buildings had been completed, and a few others were constructed while I was gone. They all fit the same style, so the village still looked aesthetically pleasing to my eyes.

  A shipyard with a
nearly complete Longship was at the edge of the river, while a palisade had been erected around the entirety of the village, along with a rampart just behind the walls to allow some of the warriors to patrol the edge in relatively safety and with improved vision. The blacksmith's shop had long been completed and was expanded while I was gone, along with a small shop for the leatherworker and weaver too. There was also a tavern now, with imported ale that was brought by the trade master who ran a small trade post attached to the tavern.

  The fishermen had a small dock by the shipyard as well, with a small row boat that doubled as a fishing boat and a transport to cross the river and reach the farm on the other side. All in all, everyone was settled in quite nicely. I almost forgot about the herbalist slash apothecary, but her craft was a mystery to me. Supposedly, she could make tonics, potions and such, but she lacked ingredients and experience.

  I wanted to help her out… but yeah.

  Her profession was unknown to me, and there was little I could do to help her without having to invest considerable time to learn the ins and outs. She would have to find her own way, unfortunately.

  Although I couldn't help the apothecary, I could help the others.

  Standing outside of the blacksmith's workshop while peering through a window cutout, I could see the two NPCs that I had recruited plying their trade. With their apprentice off to the side, handing them materials as needed, the extra hand was learning on the job.

  Entering the shop, I knocked lightly as I came in.

  "How is it coming along?" I asked somewhat enthusiastically as I entered through the doorway. "Looks like you're making some steady progress."

  "Ah my liege, welcome," replied Ansgar with a slight bow.

  "Eh, Sigurd is fine," I interjected before he could continue, wanting to get rid of all the odd titles that the NPCs had been calling me. Even with Katherine, it was my liege and my lord, then it turned into master… after a while, I gave up. But with these new NPCs, I wanted to iron out the practice before it caught on.

  "Ah, yes, my apologies," he said, followed by another slight bow. "We have made some progress, as you have noticed. At first we had some issue with melting down the swords, but your assistance with the bloomery has proved quite fortuitous."

  "And what of the crucible, has there been any progress there?"

  To this, Enok replied, "um no Sir, it has thus far proven too difficult for my skills."

  "Is that so," I said with a frown. "That's alright, in time."

  Ansgar was the 9.4/10 potential, twenty-four year old level four NPC that I recruited, the one that came with two children and a young wife. He was now level six, but was progressing rather slowly. Without the materials to practice his craft, he was limited to menial tasks such as providing iron nails for the Longship.

  The other blacksmith that I recruited was Enok the eighteen year old male. He was the 9.1/10 potential, lowly level zero with no tag-along NPCs. I considered him an amazing steal at first, with his only negative aspect being his level. Now after some time, I have come to realize that there were little to no drawbacks to having a family. At least out here in the wilderness with plenty of space and food.

  Perhaps, in a crowded town, those were larger negatives.

  Not here though… out here, it was inconsequential.

  The two of them had been working together but I decided to have Enok spend extra time on the crucible. It was possibly the most important aspect to this blacksmith workshop going into the future, seeing as it allowed for the possibility of high-grade steel. In the past, there was such a thing as Damascus steel, by far the greatest steel of the timeframe, and there were a very select few who could utilize it properly to forge weapons of incredible strength and durability.

  Historians roughly say that the Vikings had one sword maker, around the 900-1000 AD period that had perfected the work. Producing high-quality steel swords on par with weapons seen five hundred years in the future. With a manufacturing process lost to the ages, and not seen again until almost the 1700s, he or she, or them, were considered the very best the world over at the time.

  A steel sword strong enough to withstand the rough nature of a battle without shattering or warping, keeping the user alive while his opponents' weapons broke mid-fight. Life or death could be decided not by skill but by quality of equipment.

  I knew very little of how an ancient crucible worked, but I had an idea.

  The process wasn't that difficult if generalized… of course in practice, that was an entirely different thing. I lacked the skills, to work metal.

  I was no blacksmith.

  They were, though.

  No one in this game had true manufactured steel yet.

  Not a single NPC or Player.

  What was available, was accidental steel.

  I was hedging my bets here, putting my faith into these two NPCs that they could figure it out if I gave them the right direction. They had the skills or would develop them overtime with due diligence, all I needed to do, was support them.

  Building a bustling town or city with a strong agriculture and production industry was a goal, but there was no telling if I could actually corner any market share. There were bound to be hundreds if not thousands of other players thinking the same way.

  My situation was slightly better due to my location.

  Out here in the desolate wastelands, where my competition wasn't nearly as fierce and my resources were seemingly endless, I was sitting pretty. Yet even so, I needed a fallback plan, something that could be a homerun if pulled off.

  Letting Enok experiment with the crucible while Ansgar toiled away with the more basic forge works, allowed me some flexibility going forward. If Enok failed, Ansgar would be well on his way to becoming an excellent smith. If Enok was successful though, Ansgar could be brought up to speed and the possibility of controlling all of the steel in-game would make me incredibly rich for a time.

  Sure, all things come to an end, and the riches would only be temporary, as the cash flow would eventually slow and cease as others caught on, but for a time, I could make a fortune. The principle was the same as the masks by the dungeon town, capitalizing on a booming market before others are aware or able, and pulling out before any loss is incurred.

  "Keep at it Enok, you'll get the hang of it," I said after some time, intending to bolster the young man's self-esteem rather than disparage and discourage. "Though, when do you believe you can start producing weapons, Ansgar?"

  "Ahh I don't know, maybe after a few more days of practice here."

  "Instead of a sword, do you think you can make an axe now?" I asked calmly.

  Ansgar started to scratch his beard as he looked over the shop, trying to gather his thoughts. Eventually, he started nodding to himself as if he were starting to piece things together, then he finally replied, "I believe I can start crafting axes within a day."

  "The warriors are all carrying worn-out, brittle axes that should be replaced as quickly as possible," I stated clearly but kindly, not wanting to pressure him too much. "I believe there's enough iron in those three-hundred plus scrap swords to make at least forty quality axes, preferably of the two-handed variety."

  "Would you have me focus on the axe production as well?" interjected Enok with an innocent look on his face, befitting his young age.

  "I'll leave that up to you two," I answered with conviction.

  Another twenty minutes passed as we talked shop and the two showed me what they had been working on, to which I intently listened and watched, mostly out of interest and a desire to learn. What they were making were the basic of the basics, but everyone had to start somewhere.

  By the time I finished my visit and walked back outside, the sharp pangs and clangs of metal hammering on metal could be heard resounding off the log cabins and other wood buildings nearby. It was a noisy business, but it was a necessary one.

  My next stop was the leather worker, then the shipbuilder, the tavern, the lodge, the weaver, and then a sho
rt visit with the warriors, too.

  It would be a long day indeed.

  Chapter 55: A Quick Hunt

  (Friday, August 6th Game Day / Sunday, March 14th Real Day)

  A small creek, maybe three feet wide and no more than a foot deep had led the way. The soft sounds of water trickling and running off the short falls were calming, but did little to appease my worsening mood. It felt, like I had been tricked into a goose chase.

  Katherine paced at my side while Selene stayed slightly ahead, with the source of the creek being our intended destination.

  Supposedly, there was a dungeon there.

  The problem, was the trip had taken more than two hours and there was no end in sight. They were eager to show me this natural cave system that they had found, filled with creatures that weren't quite as natural.

  Goblins, I thought.

  That idea was wrong, though.

  The creatures were hairy, rodent-like, and a bit smaller in stature than a goblin. They also didn't rely on melee weapons like the hourglass-eyed goblins, rather, they utilized magic. That was all the girls would tell me, which left a lot to the imagination.

  Of course, I was curious.

  When they asked me if I wanted to check it out, I couldn't refuse.

  Well, after nearly two hours of walking, I was bored.

  I had finished my journey from the south a few days back… and yet here I was, on another mini-journey out into the wilderness. Surrounded by trees as far as the eye could see, with a mountain range off in the distance that appeared to be the same size no matter how long we walked.

  "Katherine," I bemoaned, while tilting my head towards her. "How far away is this place exactly… it doesn't seem like we'll be reaching the end of this creek anytime soon."

  "We're almost halfway there," cut in Selene before Katherine could reply.

  "Half," I said with a slight laugh. "Hah, you girls, why didn't you tell me how far we would be traveling before we set out… 'oh it's just a short walk,' you said."

  "You're being rather incorrigible Sir Sigurd," replied Katherine with a nudge.