by Jamey Sultan
The Gnome led James out of the building. Outside, the sound was much less pervasive, and they could converse at a lower volume. The Gnome looked at James excitedly. “The whole thing is powered by water.”
James already knew what a watermill was, although he hadn’t known how it worked. Still, he could tell the Gnome was waiting for a reaction, so he pretended it was a fantastic, groundbreaking invention. It probably was a fantastic, groundbreaking invention. Just not to James.
The Gnome, who’d apparently gotten over his grumpiness from earlier, continued chattering the entire way they walked down the stairs about how he’d come up with the idea to use water to grind wheat.
Without thinking, James replied, “I bet it could power a saw too.” To him, it was a no-brainer, but apparently, the Gnome hadn’t thought of it because he’d stopped in his tracks with his jaw hanging open.
The Gnome dropped to a sitting position and sketched out a design for a sawmill in less than a minute. Then he slid the notebook back into his pocket and grabbed James by the elbows, the highest points he could reach. “How did you come up with that? It took me years to put this together, and you… How?” he breathed.
James shrugged. “Inspiration?” he replied, gently removing the Gnome from his arms.
“You’re a genius,” the Gnome said, bouncing in place. “Please stay and help me with my designs.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs, and James shook his head as he rejoined his friends. “I’m flattered, but I have to refuse.”
The Gnome’s face fell. Then it brightened again. “Well, then, please, can I offer you a place to sleep for the night?”
James shook his head again. They still had a few hours of daylight left and needed to make it to Hess’ farm that night. Besides, he didn’t fancy sleeping next to the loud grindstone. “I’m sorry. We need to make it to Hess’ farm by nightfall.
“What is all this?” Arik asked curiously, interrupting their exchange.
The Gnome’s attention immediately jumped from James to Arik, and he went into a long, detailed explanation on how the mill worked.
Arik eyed the entire thing skeptically but didn’t say anything else. When it was clear the Gnome wasn’t going to get the reaction he wanted from Arik, he turned back to James. “You said you lot were headed to Hess’ farm?”
James nodded and showed him the flyer. “Yeah, seems like they need help killing a Spike Thrower.” He wasn’t sure what a Spike Thrower was, but since the valley they were in was called Hedgehog Valley, it seemed reasonable to assume that a Spike Thrower was probably some sort of hedgehog-type monster.
“Are you headed to Silencia anytime soon?” Yoav asked hopefully.
“Tomorrow night if we can make it,” James replied.
The Gnome clapped gleefully. “I’ve got a few flour deliveries to make if you’re interested in earning some gold.”
James nodded immediately. He desperately needed gold, and he wasn’t sure how much he’d get for all the unenchanted gear he’d collected so far. He only had a few items that he thought might sell for a lot.
You have been given a quest: Wheat for the Wheatless
Wheat for the Wheatless: Deliver flour to the following people:
● 450 lbs for Orrin at the Flying Tart
● 900 lbs for Sil at the Green Roof Inn
● 357 lbs for Steve at the Spitting Cat
● 1 lb for Gertrude*
Suggested level: 1
Reward: 2 Gold.
Penalty for failure or refusal: None.
The reward wasn’t stellar, but it should be an easy enough quest, so James accepted.
“Excellent.” Yoav handed him a ring coated in white powder that felt like it would fall apart in his hands.
Ring of Flour Storage:
Rank: Uncommon
This ring can hold up to 10,000 lbs of flour. If you try to store anything else in this ring, it will be destroyed.
James tried to rub off the flour coating the ring, but all he succeeded in doing was sprinkling flour all over the ground. Every time he moved his hand, a thin white dust fell off the ring. James wondered what would happen if he just spent a day shaking the ring. He also wondered if it was making its own flour inside the ring or leaking flour it was holding?
Unwilling to spend the day leaking flour, James reached for his pouch to deposit the Ring of Flour Storage where hopefully it wouldn’t leak.
Nidra stopped him before he could store the ring. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” James replied. “I’m just putting away the ring.”
“You can’t store a dimensional item inside of another dimensional item,” she explained, rubbing her temples exasperatedly.
James took her advice and slipped the ring into his pocket instead of risking the pouch. Then they bid the Gnome farewell and continued down the road. He barely glanced their way as they left. As soon as he’d given James the quest, he’d pulled out his sketchbook and was busy scribbling notes around his drawing of the sawmill.
“So, what happens if you try to store a dimensional item inside of another?” James asked as they walked.
“They implode and suck in everything around,” Arik explained. “That’s how Krissa the Learned died.” He then launched into the story of the Gnomish inventor. It was a silly story that seemed meant for children but entertained them as they walked.
They spent the rest of the walk swapping stories from their respective homelands. Nidra told a sad story about a Wood Elf that fell in love with a High Elf. It was sort of like Romeo and Juliet if they had both been executed by their own families. James told the story of the ugly duckling. Neither Arik nor Nidra really understood the message, and they skipped over him when it was time to tell the next story.
***
They arrived at Hess’ farm a few hours after the sun had fully set. The last few hours of the walk had been dark enough to level James’ Night Vision up to 13.
It had been easy to find; there was a signpost off the main road pointing straight to the farm. They had to follow a dirt path off of the main cobbled road to get there. The path led them through a field of orange wheat all the way to a farmhouse, where they were greeted by a middle-aged man with a stern face.
Name: Tom Hess
Race: Human
Level: 24
Class: Planter
“Hey there,” James waved as they approached. He handed Tom the flyer with the quest on it. “I’m looking for Kevin. Do you know where I can find him?”
Tom nodded and, without a word, started walking toward the house. James exchanged a confused glance with his companions. He wasn’t sure whether they should follow or not.
“Follow,” Tom called over his shoulder when he saw they weren’t behind him. His voice was deep and rough as if he didn’t use it very often.
“Guess he doesn’t talk much…” James muttered.
James noticed that there weren’t steps up to the front door when they reached the house, just a ramp.
Tom pointed at a bench near the door. “Stay.” He waited, staring at them until they sat down. Then he went inside. The door slammed shut after him, and James flinched.
They waited awkwardly, the three of them squished together on a too-small bench. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Finally, just when James was about to get up and knock on the door, it opened. An older man, who looked to be in his seventies or eighties rolled out in what looked to James to be a wooden wheelchair.
Name: Kevin Hess
Race: Human
Level: 47
Class: Farmer
Kevin was bald and had a bushy beard and mustache. He was dressed in the same loose cloth that most of the non-adventurers in the area wore and was missing his left leg above the knee. He greeted them enthusiastically and invited them in for dinner.
***
Kevin led them through the house to a midsized dining room that exuded warmth. It was lit orange from the glow of a wood stove.
&nbs
p; Tom was tending to something at the stove, and when they were all seated, he brought them each a bowl of stew.
Once they all had food and Kevin had sat down, Tom started to talk. “You’re here for the quest.”
You have completed the quest: Full of Holes I
+ 15 experience
It wasn’t a question, but James answered it anyway. “Yep. We saw the flyer in Cherryhall, and your farm was on our way to Silencia.” He took a bite of the stew and almost gagged. He’d bit into a mouthful of something that tasted suspiciously like cilantro. He hated cilantro.
Trying to swallow his food without offending the farmers, James managed to choke out, “So, tell me more about the Spike Thrower.”
Kevin shrugged. “Not much to tell. Tom saw one at the edge of the field the other night.” He paused to think for a second. “Maybe about a week ago? Little one. We’re thinking there’s a nest nearby.”
“So, you want us to kill the Spike Throwers and destroy the nest?”
Kevin shook his head. “A few around aren’t too bad. They kill the animals that ruin our crops. We need you to destroy the nest and kill the Spike Thrower Matriarch. It doesn’t matter if you kill the rest. If you can kill the Matriarch, then I’ll pay you five gold.”
You have been given a quest: Full of Holes II
Full of Holes II: Find and kill the Spike Thrower Matriarch
Suggested level: 25-30
Reward: 5 Gold.
Penalty for failure or refusal: None.
James accepted the quest, although he couldn’t help noticing Tom’s frown at the mention of the gold. Then a thought occurred to him, and he shoved his concerns aside. “You said Tom spotted it at night?”
Tom grunted in affirmation.
“Great.” He grinned. That was good news because it meant that Spike Throwers were probably nocturnal. Tomorrow morning they’d be able to surprise the creatures as they were going to sleep.
The table fell silent again.
James tried to make small talk with the farmers, but neither one was much of a conversationalist. Eventually, he gave up and finished his meal in silence, broken only by Nidra’s snickering at his discomfort. He hated silence.
Chapter 40
The next morning Tom led them to the edge of the field. The transition between neat rows of red wheat to the tangled undergrowth of the dense forest was sharp and jarring. He pointed in the general direction of where he’d seen the Spike Thrower and then left.
James, Nidra, and Arik split up to search the area. It wasn’t long before Nidra called them both over. She pointed to a long black quill lying in the ground next to a partially stripped tree. James picked up the quill and turned it over in his hands.
Spike Thrower Quill:
Rank: Uncommon
Ancient tribes used these quills as needles to administer medications and poisons.
James wasn’t surprised that the quill could be used to administer medications. It was razor-sharp and hollow. When James squeezed the end, a drop of greenish liquid dripped out from the tip and landed on the ground next to him, where it sizzled against the earth.
The black and white striped quill was about as thick as a knitting needle and a bit longer than his leg. It had a thin coating of a foul-smelling waxy substance and was patterned with a series of small diamond barbs that would make it almost impossible to remove.
“You think it’s too late to quit?” James joked. “I do not want to get on the bad side of whatever monster this belongs to.”
The other two laughed, and they spread out around where Nidra had found the quill. Hopefully, they’d be able to pick up a trail.
***
“Over here,” James called to the group. He’d found a line of footprints with a distinctive texture and long claw marks at the end of each. It should have been easier to spot the massive prints, but for some reason, they’d been obscured by leaves and dust, as if the Spike Thrower had been dragging a heavy blanket behind itself.
Upon finding the prints, James was awarded a welcome notification.
You have gained the Skill: Tracking.
Tracking (Skill Rank 1):
This Skill improves your focus and attention to detail while tracking prey.
Try as he might, James couldn’t feel a difference after gaining the Tracking Skill. He figured it would probably get stronger as he leveled it like all of his other Skills.
As they followed the tracks deeper into the forest, James’ new Herbalism Skill came to life. It wasn’t like his other Skills, the ones he’d gained through actual practice or study. Those Skills presented themselves by subtly guiding his thoughts along pathways he’d already learned. Instead, every once in a while, he’d get a flash of insight about a plant that they passed. When that happened, he would stop and pick the plant, taking care to focus on the correct way to Harvest it.
The journey continued this way for a few hours until they reached a break in the normal greenery. Ahead, the tracks cut straight through a circle of trees sporting bright red leaves. Most of the undergrowth in the forest was ornamented in green, so this particular section stood out like a flashing red stop sign.
If that weren’t enough to discourage entry, James started to feel the ominous prickling in the back of his neck that warned him when he was about to make a poor decision.
The group stopped at the edge of the discolored forest and peered through the foliage. The trees weren’t clustered together too tightly, and they could see a black stone obelisk in the distance.
The trees in the clearing rustled, but there was no wind. It almost looked like they were shuddering in anticipation.
“Do you think the Spike Thrower is in there?” Arik asked, his voice hushed even though they’d been talking in a normal tone only a few minutes before.
Nidra shrugged while James dropped to his knees and examined a flower growing near the edge of the grove.
“That’s odd…” he muttered to himself. Not the flower—Blue Penelopes were common enough that he’d seen quite a few today already. No, what was odd was that the flower was growing along the edge of a glassy black rock that had been mostly obscured by moss and fallen leaves.
“Is this obsidian?” he asked Arik, pointing out the strange stone.
Arik nodded. “That’s interesting. There shouldn’t be any obsidian around here. It’s made from cooling lava, and there aren’t any volcanoes around here.”
“Something about this doesn’t feel right,” Nidra said. “We shouldn’t be here.”
“How about we go around the grove?” James suggested. “We can follow the obsidian bricks and see if the footprints pick back up. If they don’t, then we’ll probably have to go into the grove. But this doesn’t look like an animal nest; it looks like something else.”
The other two agreed, and the three of them skirted around the edge of the grove. They took care to stay outside the circle of obsidian stones. As they walked, they looked for any trace that the Spike Thrower had exited the circle. It wasn’t long before they found another set of deep footprints leading away from the red trees. James breathed a sigh of relief when he realized they wouldn’t need to enter the strange circle.
***
They’d been walking for another few miles when James noticed that the trees seemed more scratched and beaten than they’d been earlier. The deeper they traveled, the more trees were stripped of their bark. There was also a heavy musk in the air. Its putrid smell was a hundred times more powerful than Human BO.
James sniffed at the air and wrinkled his nose. “It smells like the quill did. Keep your eyes peeled; we must be getting close.”
Soon they reached a clearing of completely stripped rotting trees. At the center of the clearing was a cave. It was too dark to see inside it, but James was pretty sure that was their target. He gestured for his companions to follow him back out of sight of the cave.
Once they were far enough that he wasn’t worried about accidentally waking the Spike Throwers, James s
tarted talking. “We need a plan. We don’t know how many Spike Throwers are in there, their levels, or how strong they are. If we just rush in, we’re probably going to get hurt.”
“Do you have something in mind?” Nidra asked.
James grinned wolfishly. “I might have something in mind…”
As James described his plan, both Nidra and Arik broke into wide grins.
***
The first part of the plan was the riskiest, and because his Stealth was the highest, it fell on James to do most of the work. While Nidra and Arik gathered wood, he piled it in a semi-circle around the Spike Thrower nest entrance.
Stacking the wood into a large pyre without making noise was difficult, but by moving slowly and methodically, James managed to complete the structure without waking the Spike Throwers.
Once the pyre was ready, James and Nidra clambered up the side of the cave to the top so that they could look down into the clearing James made in between the cave entrance and the stacked wood. Meanwhile, Arik waited on the other side of the wood for any Spike Throwers that looked like they might escape through the fire.
“Okay, are you ready?” James asked once they’d gotten settled.
Nidra nodded. “I’m ready. Are you?”
James gave her a thumbs up.
“This would’ve been so much easier if we’d been able to form a party first,” Nidra grumbled before she let loose her Mana. If they’d formed a party, then James wouldn’t have to be the one to kill the Matriarch because they’d be able to share kill experience.
