Keeper Read online

  “Anyhow, I came by to see how you were doing.”

  “Quite well now, thanks Eddie,” Opron said. “Delgar is going to make the third anvil for the forge since each smith needs to make one themselves to qualify for third level in smithing.”

  Delgar started nodding vigorously.

  “I had no idea how I was going to manage that any time soon, but Opron offered to let me use the mold and help me make the cast.”

  “Speaking of which, did you get enough sand and clay?” Eddie asked.

  Opron chuckled.

  “Yeah, but not from the expected source. I only had a couple of players bring some in, but I must've seen at least ten different NPC children, most of them more than once. Coppers are a big deal for them, not so much for the players.”

  “Hey, so long as it worked,” Eddie said. “How's the apprentice working out?”

  He glanced across the room at the young NPC.

  “He's doing well, mostly filing so far, but every now and again I let him take a break and teach him a tidbit about smithing.”

  “I know this is a loaded question, but when will you be able to start making items?” Eddie asked.

  “I'll help Delgar with the melt for his anvil tomorrow. The day after? Like I said, at first it'll be simple things.”

  “Which is what I want. I want to put in an order for a variety of sizes of pans, pots, eating utensils, and the like. I don't have enough pots and pans at the inn yet, and the wooden utensils have a tendency to break quickly, especially in the hands of the adventurers.”

  Opron laughed out loud this time.

  “Kind of like you'd expect, right? Hamfisted adventurers? I'll do the utensils first then. Have, say, fifty of each? I'll start with spoons and deliver them when I'm done, then forks, and finally knives. They won't be super sharp, more like a butter knife, but most of the people will have their utility knife, right?”

  Eddie glanced down at the one he had on his belt. He'd replaced the original tattered rope laces with something stronger, but kept the knife. He had a suspicion that the utility knives would never get dull, at least his hadn't yet and he'd used it for all sorts of things.

  “Yeah, that should work great.”

  Delgar stared at the two of them.

  “No mention of price?” he asked.

  Opron grinned and turned to face Delgar.

  “Eddie built this place for me to use even though he owns it. He's giving me a room at the inn, plus food and drink. He and his friends brought in all that scrap metal that you'll use for your anvil and that'll also keep us in metal for a few weeks. No mention of price indeed, he's paid already, and then some.”

  “Oh,” Delgar said. “I knew he built it, I didn't realize he owned it also. I didn't know he was the one that supplied all the metal either.”

  He turned to Eddie.

  “Sorry. I'm a little eager for coin, so...”

  “I get it Delgar,” Eddie said. “So was I when I first got here and look where I am now. I'm not taking advantage of Opron. Anything he makes that isn't for me, he can sell as he likes. My only conditions were making some things for me and taking on an NPC apprentice.”

  “Huh, I suppose I'll have to work a deal with you after he's gone then? Opron mentioned he was only in for thirty days.”

  Eddie smiled.

  “Well, you don't have to work out a deal with me, you could build your own smithy.”

  “Yeah, umm... We'll talk later, when Opron's closer to leaving and I know just what I can do with this class.”

  “It's a deal,” Eddie said. “So you guys are all set here?”

  “We're good,” Opron replied. “Although if you do run into any more scrap metal...”

  Eddied laughed.

  “You got it. I'm outta here. Karl's slightly missing and I feel like I ought to help find him.”

  As he was walking out, he heard the two dwarfs talking.

  “Slightly missing? How does someone go slightly missing?” Delgar asked.

  “Don't ask, I'm not sure I even want to know when it involves Eddie,” Opron replied.

  Eddie groaned mentally, wondering just what Opron had meant, but unwilling to ask.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie was walking slowly along the road, trying to figure out where Karl could've gone, when something caught his attention.

  He looked from side to side, trying to decide what his subconscious had alerted him about. Then it struck him.

  “It's not something, it's nothing, no trees, big rocks, or anything else in the way. That little clearing right next to the road is big enough for a small house and garden, and it's close to where the charcoal burning area will be, so it's perfect for the Collier. Now to find blueprints for it.”

  He walked into the clearing and paced it off. While he did, Lucky darted back into the thicker woods behind the clearing.

  Alright. I've got dimensions, now I need to find a blueprint to fit, he thought.

  He settled down into a sitting position in the middle of the clearing and pulled up the auction screen, all thought of Karl forgotten. It only took him ten minutes, and five gold, to acquire the blueprint he needed.

  I could start this now, he thought. But no, I was looking for Karl. I've got the blueprint and the location though and there's plenty of lumber where my farmers and Ingolf were clearing trees, more than enough for this place at least. So when I have a chance I'll bring up the cart and ox, haul wood over here, and start building. If I get Tiana to help for the fireplace and chimney, I can probably have this place finished in a single day.

  He whistled for Lucky, who came and dropped a bunny at his feet. Reflexively, he picked it up and added it to his inventory, then walked along the road moving much faster than he had earlier on.

  When he got back to the inn, Lucky ran around back. Eddie went in to see how business was. There were still some crowds for the afternoon swap meet but what caught his eye was the table closest to the door. There sat Allie, with Karl who was obviously out of it. A hint of a snore caught Eddie's ears as he approached the table.

  “What happened to him?” he asked.

  Allie shook her head.

  “I've got no idea. I headed west and found him collapsed off the side of the road, sleeping. He didn't even wake up when I picked him up and carried him back.”

  “Should we get Tiana? Maybe she's got a spell that could help?” Eddie asked.

  “I saw her on the way back. She said that he's just asleep, that his body was trying to recover from something.”

  “Huh, when I saw him this morning he was downright chipper,” Eddie said.

  “Karl? Chipper? In the morning?” Allie asked incredulously.

  “Yeah, that was my reaction too, but he just shoveled down a couple of plates of food and said he was going for a walk.”

  “Karl? Going for a walk?” Allie said.

  Her eyes moved from Karl to Eddie, then back.

  “You're not pulling something on me, are you?”

  He shook his head.

  “Nope, that's what he said. I wonder what it is that he's recovering from? He doesn't look like he was in a fight or anything.”

  “No idea. I'll just take him over to our house and tuck him in bed though. This probably isn't the best look for your inn.”

  “No big deal, everyone around here knows Karl. They'll just think he's pulling some sort of prank.”

  Allie's eyes got thoughtful at that.

  “I wonder if he tried something and it backfired?” she said.

  Eddie shrugged, but stopped to help her as she carried the sleeping scout across the street to the house that Paul had built for Karl there.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Thirteen

  Specialist Harmon stared at Olson. He knew that the man's consciousness was back in his body now, but nothing Harmon tried seemed to wake the man up. The only thing that showed in Olson's buffs was a strange entry called “Comfort”. It had no duration and when he tried to call up the help
file for it, he got nothing. When he searched the database, he didn't find it listed. Meanwhile Olson kept snoring away on his cot.

  Harmon turned away from the puzzle and went back to the latest report from Campbell and Ferring.

  'The goblins are easily led, they'll follow whoever is the strongest. One of the mid-tier villages turned up a curiosity though. Two players had taken it over and the goblins were following them. Their character names are Terrod Parist and Sombra Caminante if you want to check them out. I recruited them to our cause. Well, more like I told them to follow me or die and after they'd Evaluated me, they chose to follow. I don't know if we can trust those two, but apparently they have a grudge against the adventurers in the Meadowlands as well. I was thinking that I could give them a small force of goblins and tell them to attack some point as a feint, while leading the main attack in at another point. Divide and Conquer, you know?'

  Harmon shook his head at the informal report, not that he'd expected anything else from Campbell, then he noticed the attachment on the message.

  'I know, I know, you want hard figures, so here you go:

  Armament and Weaponry: 50% of the goblins now have upgraded equipment. This includes armor, swords, and arrows. Basically anything our smith could make for them.

  Magical capability: We've managed to increase the percentage of casters among the goblins from 0.5% to 2.5% although most of the new ones are not very powerful

  Overall troops: We've recruited most of the tier three villages, all of the tier two villages and several tier four villages. Essentially all of the ones close enough to matter for our purpose. The tier one villages will be used as cannon fodder. We'll drive heavier troops through them as a prelude to our attack and herd those goblins towards the Meadowlands to take the brunt of the player's initial attacks.

  The goblins claim there are tier five villages as well, but those weren't listed in my mission packet. They also spread rumors about a goblin city, ruled by a king, beyond the tier five villages. This city is also not included in my mission packet. I'm dismissing both these tier five villages and the city as rumors since we've been unable to locate a tier five village for confirmation.

  Campbell.'

  It still wasn't up to the military's standards, but at least Campbell had given him some hard figures that he could repackage and send up the chain of command to report on their progress.

  Harmon sent off a quick reply to let Campbell know that Olson was finally back in his body, but wouldn't be rejoining the mission for a while.

  Not until I know what went on with him while he was gone, Harmon thought.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie walked down the stairs. It was early, but he and Tiana had gotten to sleep a bit earlier than normal the night before. He was shocked to see Karl sitting at a table, his head buried in his hands. Karl glanced up as Eddie stepped off the staircase.

  “Eddie, how much did I drink last night?” Karl groaned.

  “What? You weren't drinking last night. Don't you remember?”

  “Remember what?” Karl asked.

  “Yesterday morning, you were full of energy and went for a walk. Evidently you collapsed on the side of the road. Allie found you yesterday afternoon and brought you back.”

  “I vaguely remember going for a walk, at least. Nothing else until I woke up in my bed this morning.”

  “Yeah, well, you weren't drinking last night, not yesterday morning either, besides an ale with breakfast at least,” Eddie said.

  “So what the hell happened?”

  Eddie shook his head.

  “No clue. I was hoping you'd know.”

  “No idea, all I know is that I'm parched and ravenous. Not so full of energy today either, as a matter of fact I feel pretty drained, just like I would after a real bender or something of that sort.”

  “Well, let's get some food into you then. I recommend water only with this breakfast, maybe coffee.”

  “That works for me,” Karl said. “So long as it's soon.”

  I wonder if we should contact someone about that? Eddie thought. I'd normally contact Aaron, but he's in game as Opron. I'll ask him who to contact and how to get a hold of them. Ask them to check and make sure it isn't a problem with the pods. Although it was just Karl, not me, so that doesn't sound right either.

  He went back and got Karl a plate of food and a mug of water. After getting his own breakfast, he sat down and waited. Since he'd talked with Opron about not staying out of sight all the time the dwarf had been staying at the inn, Eddie still wasn't sure where he'd been sleeping before that. He knew that Opron was normally up early though, so he could get to work at the smithy. It wasn't long before the dwarf stumbled out into the common room, apparently still trying to finish waking up.

  Eddie waited, Karl seemed fine right now so he wasn't in a rush. Opron got coffee and food and started eating. Once he was close to finished Eddie walked over.

  “Opron, I need to talk to you,” he said.

  “Probably somewhere private would be best,” he added at a much softer volume.

  Opron cocked his head, a look if interest sparking in his eyes.

  “Well, let me get another cup of coffee and we'll go talk.”

  A moment later the dwarf was back.

  “Private, like in my room? Or really private, like up at the smithy since no-one else will be there yet?” Opron asked.

  “Room should be fine, so long as we keep our voices down,” Eddie replied.

  He followed the dwarf as he made his way back up the stairs and, once they were in the room with the door closed, explained the problem.

  “That's odd,” Opron said. “I don't know that anything in the pod could've done that without triggering an alarm or at least showing up in the monitoring. But I agree, I'll send a message to Tom and have him check it out. I'll send his contact info to you also in case something else like this happens and you can't find me quickly.”

  The dwarfs eyes unfocused for a moment, then Eddie showed an incoming message. He pulled it up to find three different forms of contact information for the head researcher.

  “Thanks Opron,” Eddie said. “Let me know what they find out, if they find anything? Probably let Karl know too since he was the one that experienced it.”

  “They may contact him themselves, if they have questions about anything.”

  “I'll warn him then. When will they get to it?”

  “No clue, I don't even know what time it is out of game right now, wait...”

  His eyes unfocused again for a moment.

  “It's about five AM for them now, they'll be in at ten or eleven, so it'll probably still be a few hours, although Tom may come in early if he's up already and gets that message.”

  “Okay, I'll let Karl know what's up.”

  “Thanks for letting me know, this test is still in my ball court, even if I am in game. It's my team doing it and I'm sure they'll still hold me responsible for any problems with it even if I am on vacation.”

  Eddie waved and headed back downstairs. Karl was still sitting at the table, although he no longer had his head in his hands.

  “Feeling better?” Eddie asked.

  “A little, still kind of drained though.”

  “Feeling up to coffee? Maybe that will help.”

  “Can't hurt, can it?”

  “I don't know, but the problem has been passed up the chain of command. They'll check it out and might contact you if they have questions.”

  “Oh, Opron—” Karl began, before Eddie interrupted.

  “Assured me that he'll have his guys look into it,” Eddie said, worried that Karl was going to say something he shouldn't.

  Karl sighed.

  “I hope it's nothing, I really do.”

  “Me too, Karl, me too.”

  He paused for a moment, then remembered the other news Karl was unaware of yet.

  “And now for something completely different...” Eddie said, pausing dramatically after his words.

&nbs
p; Karl looked up, waited, then motioned for Eddie to continue.

  Eddie leaned in close and spoke softly in Karl's ear.

  “We've got a dungeon to run.”

  Karl snapped upright.

  “A what?” he exclaimed.

  “Hush,” Eddie said softly. “We'd rather no-one else know yet. At least not until after we run it.”

  “Where did you find that?” Karl asked.

  “I didn't, and that's the other portion of the news. We have to take the newbie who did find it in with us.”

  Karl sighed.

  “Might not be that bad, we kind of got helped out like that too.”

  “That's the spirit. It's Becky, by the way.”

  “She's got a class?”

  “She's a druid, level two right now.”

  “Huh, I'm impressed that she managed to level on her own. I know Paul's been trying to keep her away from all the adventurers.”

  “Not quite on her own, but I'm not going to get into that right now. Anyhow, if you have no objections to her joining us, then we're going to run that soon.”

  “Soon as in today or soon as in tomorrow?”

  “We haven't decided yet. We wanted to make sure you were okay with it too.”

  “Yeah, works for me.”

  “Good, once I can get a hold of everyone again, we'll decide when we're going.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie went out back to continue his work on the garden. He hadn't brought a tray to Tiana today because she'd still been sound asleep when he slipped out of bed, but when he heard a whistle he looked up to find her leaning out the window and waving at him. He packed in his efforts on digging for the time being, getting ready to go back inside.

  Lucky came racing down the impromptu steps he'd built into the back wall for her and started romping around him. He took the time to play with her for a few minutes, something he knew he hadn't been doing enough of lately, before cleaning up and heading in.

  Tiana was down in the common room by the time he got there.

  “Lucky ambush you?” she asked, sweetly.

  “You didn't, did you?”

  “Well I did mention to her that it looked like you needed a break and maybe playing with a certain bobcat would be just the ticket,” she replied.