The wooden wall around the village started to take shape, despite construction having started very recently. It almost went around the whole village now, but there were still supports, plateaus and probably some towers left to build. At this speed, it should be done in another day or two. Which was ridiculously quick.
Nathan didn’t know how long it took to build something like this in real life, but if he were to estimate based on the building crews he could see running around, he would guess months, not days.
It was weird, because if you actually took the time to look at what was done, it didn’t go nearly that fast. Or, well, it went fast, but not unreasonably fast. You could stand around and look for 20 minutes, and in that time, they would perhaps raise one pole. Then you could walk away for 10 minutes, and when you came back, they would have raised 10 more. And the number of poles on the ground waiting to be raised would remain the same.
Weirder still, if you compared notes with someone who’d been watching the whole time, they hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. However it was done, you couldn’t argue with the result.
“It’s a real beauty, isn't it?” said Bruce deNile as Nathan walked up from behind. The mayor was admiring the construction as well.
“If you say so,” grumbled Nathan.
“I do! I do, indeed.” Bruce sent the future stockade a last loving look before he turned to the adventurer. “Did you just log on? I thought you usually went for the early start?”
“I struggled a bit getting into the pod, and, well... I suppose I just had a rough morning.”
Bruce smiled. “Oh, I see. Late night, I imagine. Clubbing, perhaps?”
“What, no I-”
“I’m just messing with you. None of my business either way.” Bruce moved his head a little closer and briefly examined Nathan. “Although you do look like you’ve had better days. Are you feeling fine?”
He didn’t.
Between shifting and turning the whole night and having weird dreams, Nathan had felt even worse this morning than he had the night before. He couldn’t stop his hands from shaking—whatever he did—and hadn't been able to eat anything. A long hot shower had helped some, but he had still needed another long rest before trying to get into the pod. Which had been a struggle in itself. Small movements that he’d done easily just the day before were suddenly much harder. If he’d had the help of Richard, he would have been fine, but Nathan had asked him to stay away, and so he had.
That had made Nathan angry. Angry at Richard, but mostly at himself. Angry and lost.
Nathan brushed those thoughts away. “Yeah, I’m ok. Just a headache. Being here removes the pain in the rest of the body, but if your head hurts, you just have to suck it up. I’m sure I’ll feel better soon enough. If not, killing something will probably take my mind off it.”
“That’s the spirit!” Bruce slapped him on the back. “So, are you looking for something to do? I have a couple of quests lined up that you might be interested in.”
“Do they pay well? I need to upgrade my armor, and Ruth’s stuff doesn’t come cheap.”
Bruce got a bit defensive. “Ah, that depends on how you look at it. You would help the village, and isn't that payment in itself? You know what, don’t answer that. They pay some. Not a lot, but not nothing either.”
Nathan sighed. “Any that I can do on my own? I don’t feel like being around other people right now.”
Bruce considered. “You could join the loggers in clearing the forest, but that is hardly fitting for a man of your talent... and level. There is a bounty for goblin ears; 5 bronze each – left ear only – so you could just head into the forest and hunt.”
Nathan didn’t like any of the options. Chopping trees for a silver an hour, or whatever it paid, was not happening, but he didn’t feel like blindly walking around hoping to bump into some low-level goblins either. He would if he had to, but he preferred not to. “That’s it?”
“Yeah, sorry. Unless... Do you know how to ride?”
“Uh... Like a horse?”
Bruce nodded.
“I have done some horseback riding, but it was a long time ago, and frankly, I wasn’t very good at it. Why?”
"Hm, still more than anyone else I've talked with. It'll have to do."
Bruce indicated to Nathan that he should follow him to his office. As they walked, he started to talk in a much lower voice to avoid being overheard. “There is something. It might be nothing, but also, it might not be nothing. Probably the last one, if I’m honest. And if it's not nothing... chances are it’s something big.”
“Ok, you have my attention.”
“One of the first things I did when I was elected was to send word about the goblins east. I hired some NPCs to bring messages to Fort Dreadlake and then Port Flaveer. My message was a warning first and foremost, but I also asked for help. In addition, I instructed the NPCs to spread the word and alert other communities of the danger as they went, so that no-one could be taken unaware.”
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Bruce noticed that Nathan looked a bit lost. “Are you familiar with the geography and surroundings outside the valley?”
“Not at all,” Nathan admitted. “I started in this valley, and so far, I’ve not needed to know about anything outside of the closest vicinity. I haven’t even heard about the places you just mentioned.”
As they talked, they’d arrived at the office, and Bruce started to look through his shelves and drawers, looking for something. “Where is the damn... ah, here it is.”
From one of the drawers, he pulled out a handwritten drawing and spread it across his desk. At the northern edge of the sheet, there seemed to be mainly mountains, to the south a desert, in the east the open sea, and to the west mountains and desert. Different marks indicated the localization of several towns, cities, and forts. And some ruins. All in all, it looked like a map, which was good, as that was exactly what it was.
“Ok, so I don’t know how accurate this map is, but for now, it is the best we've got. So, first of all, we are here.” Bruce pointed to a small, round valley at the top left of the map. The valley was surrounded by trees and mountains. “There is only one way in and out of the valley, and that is to the east.”
His fingers traced what could only be a small road which was drawn heading east out of the valley, over a river, passed a village, passed another village, over yet another bigger river, and then continued until it reached what looked to be a large town located by the sea. Along the way, the road—or the drawing of the road anyway—got thicker and thicker as it went. Bruce pointed at the city by the sea. “This here is the biggest town in the area; Port Flaveer. And here is Fort Dreadlake.” He moved his finger a bit northwest from the large town, which put his finger about straight east from their current position, at a large lake far above the road. “I’m not sure what most of these other villages here are called, but it doesn’t matter.”
“What about this one here?” Nathan pointed at a fort close to the southern edge.
“Fort Sun or Fort Heat or something like that, but that isn't important right now. Fort Dreadlake is important, and Port Flaveer is important. And this village right here.”
Bruce pointed to the second village along the road leading eastward.
“What happens there?” Nathan wondered.
“That’s just it. Nothing.” Bruce stared at Nathan for a bit before realizing that he’d jumped a bit forward in his explanation. “Right, so the walk to Fort Dreadlake should normally take a workday in real time, with another half a day to reach Port Flaveer. As I sent the NPCs as soon as I could, I would expect them to have reached Port Flaveer by now and hopefully recruit adventurers like you to come help us. Do you follow so far?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“When you cleared the mine yesterday, I sent a bird to the two closest villages, asking for miners and such if they had anyone who needed work. Some took the offer and arrived this morning. In passing I asked them if they’d done any preparation for the goblins. And you know what they said?”
Nathan could see where this was going. “’What goblins?’”
“’What fucking goblins?’ They were clueless! And if they haven't heard anything... Well... What are the chances that word has reached Fort Dreadlake or Port Flaveer? Slim, I’d say. Slim.”
“Could you just... send a bird?”
“No. Well, yes. To the villages I could – and I have, now – but we don’t have any birds for the Fort and further on. I didn’t think it was necessary to use the ones we had since the messengers would go through the villages on their way. Hindsight is a bitch, I guess.”
“That it is.” Nathan mulled over what he was told. “Ok, let’s think this through. The messenger NPCs didn’t reach the first village? Could be they walked into an ambush. But workers from that village traveled here without any issues, right? What does that tell us? Could it be that they just took your money and fucked on off?”
“Possible, I suppose, but one of them had kin here, so it would be a bit cold-hearted.”
“One of them, you say. How many did you send?”
“Only two. Local farmhands. Not the brightest or the most experienced boys, but I was told they were reliable.”
“And how many arrived from the other villages this morning?”
“I didn’t get an exact count. More than fifteen, less than twenty.”
“Right, then ambush is back on. Small enemy group, confident enough to attack two farmers walking alone, but not confident enough to risk attacking a larger group. Either that, or someone who has orders to keep people in the valley, and just that.”
The mayor nodded. “That makes sense.”
“I guess you want to ensure that the message goes through this time? The smart plan would be to send a large, well-armed group.”
“I agree, but I don’t think we have time for that. We are already way behind, and despite the progress on the stockade, we are not ready. The reports from the scouts in the forest are dire. There are a lot of goblins out there, and they are getting closer. We need some help, and we need it now.” Bruce took a deep breath. “The message needs to be heard as quickly as possible. That’s why I want to risk sending a lone courier on a horse.”
“You want to risk me?”
“I do. You up for it?”
“If we are correct in our assumptions, there’s a greater than average chance I’ll be attacked as well. I could very well be killed.”
“That is a sacrifice I am willing to make,” Bruce said with a grin. “If we had more horses, I would send someone with you, but we don’t.”
Nathan considered it. He had been thinking about seeing more of the world, so to speak, and so long as his head hurt, he preferred to be alone. This could be just the thing. “How far is it, and what was the pay again? Keep in mind that I very likely will ride into a goblin ambush.”
“If we assume that you’ll cut the travel time in half by riding, it should take just over half a day to reach the fort. As for pay, if you leave immediately, I'll give you 5 silvers for the effort, 1 gold if you reach the fort, and another gold if you manage to get them to send some soldiers.”
“And a horse?”
“Sorry, the horse is just a loan. It’s not even mine to loan as I have to borrow it from one of the farms. Most of the horses around here are raised to plow, so pickings are slim.”
Nathan chewed a bit on what to do. “Ah, what the hell! Time to brush up on my riding skills, I guess. You have yourself a deal.”
[New Quest] Get to the fort
Fort Dreadlake needs to know about the impending goblin attack. Reach the fort and warn them before the day is over.
Warn Fort Dreadlake: 0/1
(Bonus) Persuade the legion to send help: 0/1
(Bonus) Return the horse: 0/1
Reward: 100-300 XP, 5 silvers – 2 gold 5 silvers, reputation with the Last Valley village
Bruce was all smiles as he handed Nathan a rolled-up note. “Excellent! Here’s the official communiqué. Just give it to the fort commander—or whoever you are able to speak with. If you are ready, let's get you on your way right now.”
They both rushed towards the door when a thought struck Nathan. “Say, why is it named Fort Dreadlake anyway? Kind of an ominous name.”
“Oh, you know,” Bruce said offhand, “it’s probably due to all the undead roaming around up that way.”
Eclipse
Level 9, Adventurer
XP 50/720
Health 18/18
Damage Resistance: 1
Strength – 9
Constitution – 10
Dexterity – 14 (15)
Perception – 13 (14)
Charisma – 10
Weapons:
Goblin bone mace – 1d8+1 blunt dmg
Cracked homemade crossbow – 1d6-2 piercing dmg
Steel dagger - 1d4 piercing dmg
Armor:
Hide armor – 1 DR – Durability 20/20
Items:
Ring of Awareness – +1 Dex, +1 Per
Other:
Brown wool cloak
Baldric
Gold: 3g 4s 7b
Pouch:
Outside pouch:
3 x [Chemical lights]
