Dravincia Read online

  “That would explain all of the overlapping wood and quick looking repairs that are patching this place together. I wouldn’t be surprised if one stray spark could send this entire town to ash.”

  “You would probably be correct. The problem is no one here can do much about it. We have a local smith who can make a few things, but just like everyone else, he rarely has any supplies and can’t afford much of anything. Tools are almost unheard of, besides a few for planting, but without seed stock, that is also a worthless endeavor. I honestly have no idea how the cities and the Lord himself even survive. They keep taking what little food we have and never leaving seeds to plant with, so each time it is less and less food. They must be suffering from at least some shortage, although I doubt it affects them personally. I’d hate to see the state of some of the larger cities.”

  “Why does no one do anything about it? You can’t keep surviving like this? Everyone will starve and die before long. The land itself looks horrible being so barren. Is there no recourse?”

  “No one can do anything to the Lord Golgara. He controls the only armed force in the region, although most of it consists of his little force of bandits he has, that act like they are an army. None in the towns have anything to fight back with either. The few that had weapons of some kind have slowly been forced to sell them off just to survive. With no one willing to brave the woods, we can’t even gather wood to make bows. It seems everyone who ventures there never returns for some reason or another. Everyone but you, of course.” She smiled at Arthur.

  “Is there no one this Golgara has to answer to that can be petitioned?” Arthur asked.

  “I guess you could petition the King here, but the few who have tried have mysteriously been found dead every time. I cannot imagine the King doesn’t know, though, and if he does, he has done nothing to stop it. Although I have never met him, I would guess he operates similarly.” She sighed.

  “Well damn, I can help supplement supplies in the village in the forest, but there is no way I can hunt and forage for an entire town. The food problem is the worst problem at the moment and the number one issue to solve. If I can get that fixed, we may be able to convince some of the other villagers to start assisting with other projects. It would be nice to team up with the smith and get a rudimentary sawmill running to start harvesting some lumber nearby. If we could start improving housing in addition to the food issue that would greatly swing the population in our favor. The bad thing is we have limited time. I will need to find some people in town to start assisting soon because we have a limited time to get this place defensible and back on track before Golgara’s men decide to return for another raid.”

  “Look at you with your big ideas. If you can work to get this city into better shape, I can work on getting my nobility recognized and then having my title transfer to the city under my family name. This would ensure that no one could demand anything from the city without my approval short of Golgara himself. That might give us a delay when the next group of his thieves comes through. We will need to be able to defend the place, though.” She said with a look of concentration on her face.

  “You are pretty sexy when you are concentrating that hard,” Arthur told her as he swatted her lightly on the ass.

  “You have work to do, sir, no more playing around. I better see some progress in this town if you wish to sample the wares again.” She said with a coy smile.

  “I will have to endeavor to get right on that, my lady,” Arthur said with a mock bow. “I do hope to see you around town later.”

  “I’ll consider it.” She replied with a smile.

  Arthur turned and walked out the door. Right before he closed the door, he blew her a kiss with a wink, and she gave an exasperated sigh. He walked out into the morning sunlight. It was already mid-morning with their late-night fun, sleeping in, and then another round of morning action.

  Arthur decided to head back to the inn and check in with Daniel. He would know if anything was going on around town. A few minutes later, Arthur was walking back into the rather empty inn. Seeing Daniel in his usual spot over by the bar, he waved at him in greeting and sat down at the bar in front of him.

  “Have yourself a good evening, Arthur?” Daniel said with a grin on his face.

  “You could say that you could also say it was a good morning as well.” He said with a chuckle.

  “I was able to get those potatoes cut up and have them drying in pieces for seed stock. The carrot tops have also been put in water to start their process of growing the greens. Have any plans for today?” Daniel asked.

  “I know the basics of what needs to be done, and just so you are aware, I have recruited Dalia into our mission. She now has her patents of nobility and is going to work on getting the paperwork filed, and her position approved over the town. That should help give us as a bit of a buffer against Golgara’s men and may be able to delay them next time they show up demanding to rob the place.” Arthur told him.

  “Well, that is a good start, but she alone won’t be able to do anything about it. If there were enough people here that could stand with her and bully them away with a show of force, it might work, but no one here has any type of weapons to begin to make themselves threatening. Most of them have no skills that would go with it either.” He said.

  “I noticed from my conversation with Dalia. There are some things that we can do to help this, but it is something that is going to take more than just myself. Unfortunately, it will also require going into the forest for some of it as well, and no one seems willing to do that.”

  “I might know someone who can help, but what exactly do you envision here? As you know, our most pressing issue is food. Weapons are useless if we don’t have it. No one would be able to fight while starving.” He retorted.

  “I am aware of this. By using the forest, we should be able to gather other plants and hunt some meat to supplement supplies. It also gives us the chance to harvest different types of wood that will come in handy, making bows and arrows. If we can equip more people with those, it will give us a fighting chance against the bandits and also provide us with some more people I can teach to hunt and help the food stores even more. There are many benefits to living next to the forest if you can just get the people here to brave going in and survive it. I think if I can take someone with me, we can start working toward this goal. I also know of some techniques to help the blacksmith, although I am told he is short on supplies. I will need to stop and talk to him, as well.” Arthur said thoughtfully.

  “Well, lucky for you, Rowan is just who I was going to send you to. He was who I had in mind that might be willing to help, and he also happens to be the village blacksmith. There is one other who may be able to help, but I will have to talk to her. She has been the one assisting in keeping us afloat and somewhat fed, but she has been struggling with it lately.” Daniel said, jovially.

  “I guess there is no point sitting around then. Which way to his house?” Arthur asked.

  “Take the road that branches off to the North that is part of the intersection outside the inn. His is the last building on the left on that road.” Daniel informed Arthur.

  “That sounds great, I’ll come back by later for dinner. Too busy, so I will probably skip lunch.” Arthur said.

  He walked up the stairs and gathered his arrows to put back in his bag. He also grabbed his bow before he left the room. He went back down the stairs and proceeded out of the door with a wave to Daniel.

  Arthur proceeded down the road toward Dalia’s and took a left to head north as he was told. He got to the end and saw another little rundown house that appeared to be on the verge of falling, only this one had a small and sturdy looking shop built next to it. Luckily enough, the bottom part of it appeared to be made of earth and stone, so it didn’t weather quite as bad. The roof wasn’t in the best of shape, but nothing in this town was.

  Arthur walked into the building and saw a man sitting in the corner, looking downcast and a little lost.
Arthur had seen that look in people before. It usually signaled someone on the verge of just giving up. The man had a barrel-chested build and probably topped out a little over six feet, although that was a bit hard to determine with him sitting down. He had a rather square and chiseled jaw and features that some might describe as handsome. His face still had a bit of a boyish cast to it, and his bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair were a stark contrast to the rest of him. He looked a little gaunt, but that was common in this village. Arthur walked toward the man and waved.

  “Hello, my name is Arthur, would you happen to be Rowan?” Arthur asked.

  The man looked up quickly, obviously surprised to see someone in the building other than him.

  “I am Rowan. Is there something I can do for you, stranger?” Rowan asked.

  “I am here at the behest of Daniel over at the inn. I am new to town, but we have decided to undertake a little mission of our own to get this town back on its feet. I am only telling you this because he referred me to you, and I don’t believe he would have if you were not trustworthy.” Arthur said coolly.

  Rowan perked up a bit at that, and fire sparked alive in his eyes.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me that the rascal is up to something. I don’t know you, but if you truly wish to help, I would love to help. Things have been dire here for a while, and it is almost to the breaking point for many people. Honestly, I have been thinking long and hard lately about just packing up and moving on to somewhere else. The only thing holding me back is I know we are pretty much trapped in Golgara’s land and can’t get out. Anywhere in this land is bound to be a nightmare.” He replied.

  “Well, I have some ideas on how to change that. I see you have a decent building here, so I can assume you know your business. Looking around, I see your tools are in serviceable shape, and it is apparent you run a well-maintained shop. Daniel, Dalia, and I have come together for this undertaking and each plan to contribute to the effort. The problem is that most of what is necessary to get this place moving again has to be found in the forest, and it seems anyone from here that have tried usually doesn’t make it back. I need someone with me, though, to help gather some of the stuff we may need.” Arthur said.

  Rowan gave him an odd look and then glanced around his shop. He took a slow look around the area and then settled back onto Arthur.

  “I will help you. Without help, this place will drive itself into ruin in no time. I had considered offering to help Vana on her efforts to supply the city, but she hasn’t had much luck herself lately. If we can turn the city around, that will help, but what is to prevent Golgara’s men from coming back through like the plague they are?” he asked.

  “Well, that is also on the agenda. Tell me a bit about your skills. For instance, are you familiar with the process of making charcoal or coke?” Arthur asked him.

  “I am familiar with making charcoal and do on occasion. I am not sure what you are referring to with coke, though? In the forge, I typically use coal or charcoal. I keep a large amount of it in the storage shed out back, and since I rarely have any metals I can use, I don’t use it often.” He told Arthur.

  “Well, that is good news. I have some ideas for what we can do, but we need to get to the forest for the supplies we need. Do you have any experience with a bow?”

  “Not really. Being a smith, I am more familiar with handheld weapons. I keep a large hatchet here in the shop for protection and of course, have my hammers, but they are for forging and not a battle.” He replied.

  “That will work out, alright. I can try and teach you a bit of archery because we are going to need to scour the forest looking for food and hunting for meat. I also want us to start gathering what we will need to produce bows for the villagers to help train a small army of hunters that can double as village protection against Golgara’s thugs. We may also get lucky and find some sources of metal out there that we can take advantage of for your work.” Arthur informed him.

  “That sounds like you have the beginning of a plan. What is coke that you mentioned, though?” he asked.

  “Oh, it is a refined version of coal. It is made in a very similar way to making charcoal from wood you just do almost the same process to coal. It produces chunks of coke that burn hotter and cleaner than coal and help you achieve melting temperatures with iron to help filter impurities and raise the carbon content of the metal.” Arthur said offhandedly.

  “I understood most of that but not sure what you mean by carbon. Either way, it sounds like something I will have to work on. It could come in handy in the endeavor. Anything specific I need to bring with me?” he asked.

  “We will need your hatchet and something to help carry things with. I have my bag, but I sincerely hope we can find much more. Even finding one decent size deer would help greatly and would be difficult for us to cart back. I don’t want to waste anything on any animal we kill.” Arthur told him.

  “I think I have just what we need. It is a small hand cart that is lightweight but is strong and can support heavy loads. Let me grab it.” Rowan said.

  He walked around the side of the building and wheeled around a cart that looked similar to a wheelbarrow. It had a flat and sturdy wooden frame that was vaguely shaped like a triangle. At the wide end, it sported to long poles that stretched back to hold on to, and on the point was mounted a wheel to help push it along. That small cart would work for what they needed. With the two short legs on the wide end of it, then it also worked practically identical to wheelbarrows he had seen before.

  “That will work perfectly,” Arthur told him.

  Rowan smiled and dropped it down where he was standing. He jogged back to the forge and returned with his hatchet attached to his belt. He ran back to the cart and picked it up.

  “Ready to go?” he said. Arthur could see the excitement in his eyes. Giving the man a purpose had brought life back into him, which Arthur was grateful to see.

  “Off we go,” replied Arthur.

  They took off back down the road toward the center of town and then veered in a southeastern direction toward the forest line. Arthur had come from the southwestern side and had been to the south when he investigated the manor. He could see one of the mountainous cliffs to the southeast that Daniel had mentioned walled them in a ways past the border of the forest and wanted to investigate in that direction.

  They reached the border to the forest, and he looked to Rowan.

  “You ready for this adventure?” Arthur asked with a smile.

  Rowan had a nervous look to him, but then his face hardened with determination, and he looked at Arthur.

  “Let’s go.” He replied.

  They both squared off and started their way into the forest.

  Chapter 11

  Forest Excursion

  Arthur entered the forest with Rowan close behind him, pushing the cart. They kept a wary eye on their surroundings as they walked. Arthur had his bow in hand with an arrow ready but not pulled back. His Beastslaying sword was buckled to his waist. They slowly crept through the forest, trying to be quiet to avoid spooking anything.

  They kept an eye out for other things as well. Arthur was interested in finding any trails for animals they may come across, but he also needed to find some good wood for bows and arrows. They also had to keep an eye out for useful plants as they went. Being able to find more plants would be very helpful in the long run. They continued past the mile mark into the forest, and it seemed to come alive as it did every other time he entered. Something seemed to press into the edge of the woods that stopped everything from entering.

  They searched as they went, and Arthur was happy to stumble upon a small cluster of plants he recognized. They were thick, green stems that came out of the ground and had thin leaves out in opposite directions that looked like giant blades of grass. This was another of those items he had to dig for but knew it would be worth it. After a few minutes of digging, he looked at his prize.

  Item:

  Head of Garlic
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  Durability: 20/20

  Rarity: Common

  Weight: 0.1 kg

  Traits: This head of garlic contains multiple cloves. It would make a good component for seasoning dishes.

  Arthur heard the chime and let the notification wash over him and absorbed the information.

  You have gained 1000 experience in Herbalism for identifying a Garlic Plant (x10).

  Congratulations, you have reached level 4 in Herbalism. You now have 9% more chance to successfully identify an herb.

  Arthur was happy to find something but wished it was directly edible. Wouldn’t do much good to harvest spices if you had nothing to use them on. He didn’t dwell on it and instead gathered all he found. Luckily these could be split and replanted with ease if needed. Once he picked them all, he let the notifications add up for himself.

  You have gained 500 experience in Farming for successfully harvesting Head of Garlic (x10).

  After they pulled up the garlic and got it into Arthur’s bag, they headed out again. Arthur was excited when they ran across a pine tree that had been damaged. He walked over to it and took a careful look at the damaged area. It had released some of its sap to try and repair the damaged area, and it had hardened. He pulled out his dagger and set to work. He needed to harvest as much of this as was possible for a plan he had. When he got the first piece off, he looked at it.