by Edward Brody
You’ve received: 275 Gold Pieces
“The big guy had a couple rings,” Jax said. I turned to him as he stood up from the goliath’s corpse and he tossed the rings to me.
You've received: Mighty Ring of Impasse. Requires 20 Strength. Durability: 6/10. Quality: Great. Rarity: Epic. Weight: 0.1 kg. +5 Strength. 20% Resistance to Ranged Physical Attacks
You've received: Mighty Ring of Impasse. Requires 20 Strength. Durability: 7/10. Quality: Great. Rarity: Epic. Weight: 0.1 kg. +5 Strength. 20% Resistance to Ranged Physical Attacks
“That would explain why your arrows were so ineffective,” I said after reading off the stats of the rings. “Two of them stacked, and you’re taking almost half damage from bows.”
Jax nodded.
“Who can use them?” I asked. If I had invested some of my unused AP points, I’d meet the requirements for the rings, so at least one of them might have been useful to me. But being that I was now a guildmaster, I had to consider what was best for my team.
“I could use one,” Ozzy said. “It would fit my build perfectly.”
I tossed one of the rings to Ozzy and turned to the other two. “Jax, Keysia?”
“I don’t have twenty strength,” Keysia said.
“You’re not going to keep one?” Jax asked.
“Not if you want it,” I said. “Actually… take it.” I tossed the ring at Jax. “Maybe you can finally beat Donovan in a few duels with the added strength boost.”
Everyone laughed. Donovan had been pretty much destroying everyone when he visited our little startup and stayed around to spar. He was a stronger fighter than any of us but almost felt like part of our guild, despite not being on the roster.
Jax slid whatever ring he already had on his finger off and replaced it with the new one. The large-sized ring shrunk down to size once he had it on his finger.
“Gold?” I asked.
“Found about 250,” Ozzy said.
“130,” Keysia added.
“230,” Jax finished.
I nodded. “You guys know the deal. Keep whatever you need, and turn the rest over to Gerard to put in the guild treasury.”
The group all smiled and nodded.
“Did you check the big fella’s stick?” Ozzy asked. “And that shield…”
I raised an eyebrow to Ozzy. I hadn’t even considered to check his shield and weapon given their size, but I had seen some weird things in Eden’s Gate. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least see what kind of stats they had. Maybe they’d shrink down to size too?
I walked up to the fallen kobold and placed my hands on the club and shield.
Spiked Clobbering Bludgeon. 31-37 Attack Damage. Requires 70 Strength. Durability: 6/10. Quality: Poor. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 83.7 kg
Massive Crude Tower Shield. +30 Armor. Requires 75 Strength. Durability: 8/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 117.4 kg. +1 level to Block
I read out the strength requirements and laughed. With their weight and crazy strength prerequisites, there was no way any of us would be able to do anything with them.
“Maybe if we brought the shield to Aaron, he could break it down and smelt it.” Ozzy suggested. “That’s a lot of metal going to waste if we leave it out here.”
“Hmmm…” I said. “You’re probably right but 117 kg? How can we get it through the forest?”
“If we all picked it up together and hold it sideways, I’m sure we can get it back,” Jax explained. “So long as we don’t get attacked, we’ll be fine.”
I shrugged and smiled. I was lucky to have such resourceful and willing guildmates. “Let’s give it a try then.”
I took a position at the front of the shield, Jax got behind me, and Ozzy rounded up the back.
Keysia tried to take a position in between us, but I shooed her away. “You’ve done enough,” I said.
“What?” she asked. “I want to help out.”
“I know you do, but you’re still a lady, Keysia.” I looked back to the two fellas behind me. “We’ve got it… I think.”
Jax counted out, “1, 2, 3…” and we all lifted at the same time, hoisting the heavy shield off the ground. We were a little wobbly at first, but we steadied it and gathered control.
Keysia smiled at me and blushed. She had been doing that a lot lately. “Let me know if you guys need another hand or if one of you gets tired.”
“Of course,” I said with a nod and grunted as I adjusted myself under the heavy weight of the shield. “Let’s get home, boys!” I turned to Keysia and winked. “And girls…”
Chapter Two
1/18/0001
Sweat was pouring down my brow when we made it back to our homes. We stopped at the crafting stations beside Aaron’s cabin and dropped the giant shield there. All of us were panting—except Keysia, of course—and I put my hands on my knees to catch my breath as I surveyed our little settlement.
There was Aaron’s home, the smallest, with crafting stations for working with leather, metal, and wood erected beside it. There was my home, twice the size of Aaron’s, which still had Gerard’s wagon sitting nearby, giving off a very ‘trader lives here’ vibe, and across the clearing was a new building that was twice the size of mine and a few tents that those without shelter had been staying in the last few days.
With the 5,000 gold I had saved since turning in Alexander Campbell and another 1,000 gold that our trade operation had earned, we were able to erect it—our largest building yet. It was similar in style to my home—plain, dark wood, a sloped roof, two windows and a single door in the front.
Normally, a building of that size would’ve have cost 12,000—per the builders in Thorpes—but with some negotiation, we were able to get them down to only 6,000 gold if we could provide all the lumber for construction. And Aaron did just that; he slaved away chopping down trees that blocked the road we were building to the Freelands and turned them into beautiful logs that the builders used for the construction, saving us almost everything but labor costs.
Standing guard nearby our homes was Shal, the first guard we had hired, and two additional elves that we’d employed right around the time construction on the new building started.
Aaron popped out of his cabin holding a pointy piece of wood in his hand and looked over to the massive item we brought home. “What the hell is that?”
“Some shield a giant kobold dropped,” I replied.
“You killed something that was using this thing?” he asked with his eyes wide.
“If you got out more and leveled, maybe you could help kill some shit too,” I answered.
“Pfft…” Aaron said. He walked over to the shield and rubbed his finger across the edge. “And then who would turn all this metal into something useful? I expect that’s why you brought it here, right?”
I ignored his question and switched topics, noticing that the Thorpes homebuilders were gone and our latest building looked finished. “The new building is done already?”
Aaron took his eyes from the shield and perked up. “Yeah, the builders left just an hour ago. Road is done too.”
“So I heard.” I tilted my head towards Keysia and she smiled.
“Check it out,” Aaron said with a wave of his hand. He walked over to the new building and pushed open the door.
We all stepped inside, and the smell of freshly cut wood filled my lungs. The building was completely devoid of anything, but it was flawless.
“I can set up beds over in this corner,” Aaron said, pointing to the far side near the fireplace. “I imagine we can fit several in here, actually.”
I stepped into the center of the room, imagining all the possibilities. It would’ve been a good place for a small restaurant or maybe even a tiny tavern if we skipped having rooms to sleep in. But, since we still didn’t have physical homes for everyone, it would have to start out as sleeping grounds. “Four beds should be enough for now,” I said. “We can add more—if and when we recruit.”
“So Gerard, Jax, K
eysia, and Ozzy will sleep in here, I guess?” Aaron asked.
“No, I’ll give Gerard my home, and I’ll sleep here for now. He’s a huge asset and he likes to keep the shop open late. I want him to feel comfortable while he’s here.”
“You sure?” Aaron asked with a raised brow.
“The shop is already starting to run out of space with all the shit we’re trading,” I interrupted. “I think this larger building will be the shop—and Gerard’s home—eventually. Ultimately, have our own places and won’t have to sleep together in the same room.”
Aaron gave a light shrug and nodded. “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
I turned to Jax, Keysia, and Ozzy. “You guys all cool to stay here together?”
They all looked at each other and nodded.
“Better than tents,” Ozzy said.
Aaron reached into his bag, pulled out a grey circle of metal with a single key hanging from it, and handed it to me.
You’ve received: Keychain. Durability: 100/100. Quality: Average. Rarity: Common. Weight: 0.1 kg. A basic keychain used to hold keys. [Keys: 1/50]
“Key to the building is attached, and you can put your other keys on there to save slots in your bag,” Aaron explained. “I’ll get copies made for everyone else staying in the building.”
“Thanks, man,” I said. My eyes met the wooden thing that he was holding. “What’s that?”
He held up a piece of wood that had been carved into the shape of a wide flat arrow, and etched into the side were the words ‘Edgewood Village’. “If no one knows that there’s a new village here, no one will come visit.”
“Really, dude?” I asked. “We’re hardly a village now.”
“But we’re growing fast,” Aaron protested. “We want to get customers other than dark elves, right?” He looked over to Keysia. “No offense. It’s just that—“
“No offense taken,” Keysia said. “We need to maximize the number of buyers and sellers. Understandable.”
I snapped my lips together. “Well, let’s see how the road turned out.”
We exited the new building and started down the new road towards the Freelands. ‘Road’ was probably not the most accurate term to describe what had been built. A clear forest trail had been carved, just large enough for a wagon, but it was unpaved, rough, and hardly worn. I was certain that it would flatten out over time, but it still very crude.
Once we reached the Edgewood border, the trail ended, but there was a path of trampled grass, leading to the crossroads sign that pointed in three other directions: Highcastle, Thorpes, and Newich. Aaron was quick to rush down the tramped grass and to the crossroads sign, immediately locking his newly created marker on top of the other three and twisting it so that the point matched the trajectory of Edgewood.
“Looks sketchy,” I said.
“Probably for the best,” Jax said. “We don’t want too much traffic coming to Edgewood right away.”
“Edgewood Village,” Aaron corrected.
Jax shrugged and shook his head. “Edgewood… the amazing village of three shacks.”
Aaron frowned.
I turned to Keysia. “We’re going to need more security. Can we get another seven elves or so on guard?”
“Can I?” Keysia said. “I already know a few dark elves that want jobs.”
I nodded. “Put them on if we can afford it.”
“Ten dark elf guards would be 100 gold per day,” Aaron said. “I’m pretty sure the shop is making at least three times that already.”
“Then hire them on, and move all of the elves from part time to full time.” I said. “That should stave off anyone looking for a quick and easy place to loot.”
“That’ll cost us 200 gold per day,” Keysia warned. “It’s expensive.”
“200 per day so we can sleep easy at night.” I squinted hard at Keysia. “And as business and foot traffic grows, invest in more guards as they’re available and you see fit. I trust your judgement, but let’s not go too overboard so we can still save for expansion.”
Keysia nodded.
As guildmaster of Unity, I had put Keysia in charge of our military. Given that all of our guards were dark elves thus far, she seemed best equipped to talk, recruit, and work with them. Jax had been assigned as our head scout—our only scout—and Ozzy was free to do whatever the hell he wanted, so long as he contributed to the guild. Gerard was our merchant, and Aaron was our crafter, of course.
There was a loud crackle, a low boom, and I looked up to see dark clouds creeping towards us.
“We should get back inside,” Jax said. A bright streak of lighting rocketed down in the distant sky. “There’s a storm heading our way.”
Keysia’s eyes scanned the horizon. “Looks big too.”
I nodded, and we all started back down the trampled path.
Ozzy let out a sigh and grinned once we made it to the border of Edgewood. “I’m glad to be a part of this group.”
I smirked. “We’re glad to have you, Oz.”
“Yeah, man,” Aaron agreed.
I turned to Keysia and Jax. “I’m glad to have all of you, really. I’m proud of what we accomplished so far.”
Keysia snorted, ran out a few paces ahead of us, and turned around. “Unity,” she said as she held out her hand, palm downwards, and walked backwards at the group’s pace.
Ozzy immediately place his hand on top of hers, and I raised an eyebrow at her.
“C’mon,” she urged.
I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Alright.” I placed my hand on top of Ozzy’s, and Aaron and Jax joined suit.
“We got ‘dis,” Keysia said.
“We got ‘dis?” I asked.
“Aaron said it means ‘We’re going to do very well,’” Keysia clarified.
I sighed, looked at Aaron, and he just gave me one of his patented shit-eating grins. At least ‘We got ‘dis,’ wasn’t as bad as some of the things he had taught Adeelee.
“1, 2, 3…” Keysia counted.
Unity!” we all said in unison, throwing our hands in the air at the same time.
It was a corny gesture, but it made me feel at home.
Chapter Three
1/18/0001
Thunder boomed, and the hard patter of rain could be heard outside the cabin. Aaron was in his home, and I was in mine—which was technically now Gerard’s—working on inscription. The rest of the group was curled up in the new building.
You've received: Runestone of Arcane Resistance. 2% arcane resistance. Durability: 8/10. Quality: Average. Rarity: Rare. Weight: 0.1 kg
You have reached level 6 in Inscription!
I blew the speckles of dust from the top of the runestone and set it in the pile of other Arcane Resistance and Minor Fire Damage runes that I had created.
Another benefit of opening our shop and having the dark elves mining at the mines was that they brought most of the blank runestones they found in for trade. When I requested, Aaron dismantled any low-level magic items that were traded in that sometimes netted inscription powder, finally allowing me a way to grind my inscription up a few levels.
Other than Inscription, I had been putting all my focus on leveling arcane magic. Now that I had a recall scroll, I was dying to get to level 10 so I could use it. Anytime I had a chance to cast Arcane Missile on something, I chose to use it over fire magic or physical attacks. I placed both of my last level points into Arcane Magic, so along with the three points that I gained naturally from using the spell the past few days—particularly against all the kobolds we had killed—I had worked my way up to level 7 in Arcane. I needed to gain three more skill levels, but it wouldn’t take much longer.
I chose to put three of my six unused ability points in strength, two in my weakest stat—vitality—and one in willpower. That left my strength, dexterity, and intelligence as my strong points, but overall, I felt well-rounded.
I wasn’t sure why, but I had gained MP [mana points] on my last two level-ups rather than SP [stamina points
] or HP [health points]. I wasn’t complaining about that though, as gaining MP would allow me to cast more frequently, but I still wasn’t sure if there was a pattern to the way the game was assigning them to me or if it was just random.
“I gained mana points on my last couple level ups. Are stat points random or what?” I asked Gerard.
Gerard was sitting on a stool behind the store counter with his arms crossed. He looked perfectly content doing nothing but waiting for customers—despite the fact that customers weren’t likely to come in while a storm was raging outside. “When you use your bow or dexterity-based skills, you sometimes gain dexterity, right?” he asked.
I shrugged and rattled my head. “Yeah?”
“Every stat, including your health, mana, and stamina are gained depending on how you exercise them. If you’re draining your stamina a lot, you’re more likely to gain SP when you level. If you’re casting spells and draining your mana frequently, you’re more likely to gain MP, and if you’re taking a lot of damage, you’re more likely to gain HP.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. It all made pretty good sense. “That’s interesting…”
“Interesting how?” Gerard asked. “It would be strange if someone who never cast spells gained mana points or someone who never worked their body gained stamina.”
I tilted my head to the side and flicked my eyebrows. “Okay, maybe not interesting, but…” I shook my head. “I’m not sure of the word, but—”
“Logical?” Gerard interrupted.
I nodded and chuckled. “Logical.” Dr. Winston had seemingly made everything in Eden’s Gate logical.
