(Steven Edwards)

It was a short hour walk through the countryside down a winding overgrown path that was dotted with trees before I saw a narrow animal trail split off the road. I went under in and into a tunnel of overgrown trees. I had to lean down to make it though at first and followed the path until it opened up showing tall shade trees that seemed to make the day a hair cooler. I walked without a care until it opened into a large field with a small farm house set off to one side. It was a little run down, but was still standing. In a short two gold, six silver it would be all mine. The porch creaked as I stepped on it and the door seemed to be a bit stuck as it took a bit of effort to open. It almost looked like a house would you see in a horror movie, but this was a game and Travis wouldn’t put something like this in here. Gods I hoped he hadn’t seen Evil Dead or at least wouldn’t pull that with Lu-Shi here. 

Once inside I was surprised to see that it was dust free, but the floor creaked badly with each step ensuring no one could attack us at night without making a ton of noise. I moved to the larger room and placed one bed and one in the other. It was an easy prossiss. All I had to do was open my inventory, select the bed and an outline would show me where it would be places. I could even move the outline by tugging on it. The layout of the house reminded me of a small two bedroom apartment. Only real difference was the wooden toilet, no running water and no electricity. Well you have to start somewhere I guess. I went out to the yard and saw a well with a wooden cover. On opening it, I  looked in seeing a dark reflection looking back at me. It had to be about five feet down to the water. There was a rope and bucket next to it, the rope tied to the bucket and the wooden lid. Smart no losing that to the well, I thought with a smile. Looking over the field I picked a random plot and started working. Trying the hoe first I got an error message as I swung it.

ERROR YOU MUST CUT THE GRASS BEFORE YOU CAN HOE THIS LAND

Frowning, I pulled out the sickle and started cutting it. Soon I had sixteen grass in my inventory and cleared the first space. Pulling out the hoe once more I raised it high and fell over with another error blaring in my face.

INSUFFICIENT STAMINA. REST RECOMMENDED.

Crap, really? I pulled up my stats and watched my stamina now at one slowly tick up to two after a few seconds. I wondered how much time it would take just to plow one area. Well this is a game and all games have to add crap like this. Once I had ten stamina I stood again and tried once more. Much to my joy the hoe dug in and one small plot of tilled farm land. I promptly and very manly, fell down again. So ten stamina per plot. Good to know. I may have cleared nine plots worth of grass so this was going to take a while. So cutting the grass gives me extra grass at times, good to know. I just lay there for a while with my hands behind my head watching the sky. This was what I wanted. Just watching the sky and relaxing peacefully in this new world. Let others go fight dragons, get eaten by monsters and die on epic quests. I just want to live my life and take care of Lu-Shi. I just lay there until I had the points needed and stood with a bit of a bounce to my step. I attacked the ground with an eager wack and smiled as the two plots showed up under my careful and expert watch. I had one point left. With a smile I pulled out the bag of three seeds and saw another error message.

INSUFFICIENT STAMINA. REST RECOMMENDED.

Oh come on now, again. I thought in frustration. How much does it take to plant a single seed? I waited until I had five and saw a handful of seeds slide into a single plot and fell back once more, but then something strange happened. A slight tingle ran over my body as it glowed slightly.

LEVEL UP ALL STAMINA AND HEALTH RESTORED. YOU ARE NOW A LEVEL 2 FARMER.

Woot woot. I am now level two. I quickly placed down the other two and jogged back to the well to fill my bucket with water. I whistled on my way back and sprinkled the bucket over the first plot. It took about one fourth the bucket of the water for each plot so that is how that works. This may get annoying as things go on, but that is the way life is. My work, done I looked up and saw the sun dipping low. I took one look at my plots and was a bit shocked to see a screen pop up.

WHEAT CROP. NO FERTILIZER. TIME LEFT 9 DAYS 23 HOURS, 57 MINUTES.

I needed to get Lu-Shi and figure out supper. My belly gave a notable protest at the lack of attention, but it wasn’t painful, yet. With a smile in my heart and a song on my lips I put everything away, shut the door and made my way back through the woods. If you must know, I was singing Old McDonald. It was a bit strange this time, almost too quiet. The animal sounds had slowed and grown quiet and it made everything a bit eerie and I really hoped I wasn’t about to hear a voice telling me Dead by Dawn. I started to look around wondering if something was going to jump out and attack me, but didn’t see anything. Five steps later I was nearly bulled over by the biggest reindeer I had ever seen. I mean Santa would have been delighted by this  monster of a guy. It flew out onto the path and began to paw at the ground snorting as it looked at me. It lowered its head showing me very pointy and sharp antlers. Yea I’d rather not get hit with those, but if I ran it would just run me down and use those things on me in more than likely an uncomfortable place, I’d rather not think about. No thanks. 

My only hope was to try to dodge to the side once it started its charge. It reared up and leap forward almost faster than I could react. I waited until it was almost too late and ducked to the left feeling a slight burn in my right ankle. Rolling, I tried to get to my feet, but just fell back on my butt. The roar of some huge wild cat came to us and the deer turned as a black shadow flew from the trees and landed on its back. A gleaming knife came out and stabbed at its throat again and again until the beast finally fell. All I could do was just sit in the dirt and watch. Would this beast kill me too? I wondered. My eyes went to the figure as the deer disappeared. It was Kara. I breathed a sigh of relief. She had a wild look in her eye and seemed to be looking for other things to kill. Maybe I wasn’t safe after all. After a moment she shook slightly and her hood dipped. She ran over to me and looked down.

“Hurt… not good.” She said and I followed her glance to see my ankle was bleeding freely. It still only felt like a light burn. Nice to know real pain didn’t hurt as bad.

“I would have been hurt worse if you hadn’t showed up.” I said, trying to thank her in my own way. She leaned over me and pulled out a white cloth.

“My fault…. Hunting…. Got away.” She refused to look at me as she worked.

“I’m just happy you stopped it. No need to feel bad.” I said. She nodded and pulled away. My ankle was bound and I tried to stand. The bandage held my weight and a screen popped in.

 

YOUR ANKLE IS INJURED MOVEMENT SPEED REDUCED. TIME UNTIL FULLY HEALED 2 HOURS.

“Thanks for helping me.” I said, smiling at the cat woman. She kept looking down, but her tail waved back and forth. “Care to walk back into town with me to pick up the kids? I could use the company.” She nodded, not looking up at me. She seemed to be hiding her face for some reason. As we walked I told her about my day and meeting with Herris, Tina and Heinz. She seemed a bit startled that I had met Heinz, but knew about him and how he behaved. All she said was “Heinz…. Good” She did freeze when I mentioned how strange Tina acted when I went to her shop. Kara’s tail stood up and she didn’t say anything for a while. It was a bit strange being the only one talking and her only giving single word answers, but she seemed okay with it. After a short while we walked into town. I looked down at her hooded head. “So I guess I’ll meet up with you to pick up the kids.” she just nodded and walked away, her long tail twitching slightly. Maybe I had said too much? “It was nice talking with you.” I said to her back. She turned and looked up and letting me see her large green eyes once more.

“Thank…. Nice… sorry… talk little.” She said stuntedly, as she blushed slightly.

“It’s okay. I get the feeling you don’t get the chance to talk to many people.” She just nodded and turned away once more. “I was wondering if you knew any place that would be willing to buy grass.” She looked to the left and pointed.

“Stables… pop… careful.” I turned and saw an old wooden building with large windows on one side.

“Thank you kindly. I’ll meet you at Yanor’s place.” she nodded and left. I walked up to the decaying building and knocked. A gruff voice came out.

“If you are bothering me at this hour, you had better be ready for an ass kicking.” A gruff voice came to me from inside the building as the door flew open. A short goat man came out and looked up at me with one large brown eye. What hair he had was short and white. A corncob pipe poked out from a pronounced chin and had a whiff of smoke drifting up and his forearms were unnaturally large and covered in white fur. “What the hell do you want? If you make any goat jokes, I’ll kick you so hard in the jewels that your back molars will be scratching your balls.” I took a step back, raised my hands and smiled.

“Hi, my name is Steven.” I said in my friendliest voice. He spat on the ground at my feet and growled at me.

“Like I care who the hell you are.” He said as he scowled at me. I sighed and looked him in the eye. I hoped that was the right call. Getting beat up by an old man on my first day didn’t sound like fun.

“I was told you would buy grass. I have some.” I pleaded with him. He growled up at me again before drawing on his pipe.

“You must be the piss ant that my grand baby was gushing over. Yea I buy grass. Need it for the horses. I won’t give you more than a copper for twenty and only need forty a day.” He said in a rough voice. Was he talking about Tina? She was a little young for me.

“I only have sixteen at the moment.” I said hoping it wouldn’t piss him off too much. He frowned and held out one clawed hand.

“I’ll take it as I need it.” He said as he moved closer. I hoped this wasn’t a trap.

 

POP WRATHOOF IS OFFERING TO BUY 16 GRASS FOR 1 COPPER. ACCEPT (YES) NO

I took his hand that turned out to be hard as stone and saw my grass vanish. He huffed and turned. “See you tomorrow. Do good my grand baby and this town or I’ll slap you into next week. Got me?” He said as he slammed the door. I turned away then it hit me and I started laughing. He was Pop Eyed the satyr man. Somehow I felt this was Travis. I would have to ask him one day. With a light chuckle I turned to Yanor’s home. The sun was setting and the sky was growing gray as I knocked on the door. Yanor pulled it open and frowned out at me before a slight smile replaced the look on her face.

“Mr. Steven. We should have a talk out here before you pick her up.” She said and  my heart sank, did Lu-Shi do something? She sighed and looked me in the eye holding out her hand. “I can’t take your money after what you did for the town today. You helped a few of my friends and that makes you a friend to me. One copper a week is all I charge for a friend.” I held my hands up as I smiled at her.

“Nope. We had a deal. Are you the type of woman who goes back on her word?” I asked with a smile. She frowned at me and furrowed her brows.

“No and I don’t appreciate you questioning my honor.” She said as she moved her hands to her hips and scowled at me.

“So one copper a day then.” I said as I put my hands in my pockets. Oh hey these pants have pockets. How had I missed that? She gave me an honest smile.

YOUR REPUTATION WITH YANOR EMBERWOOD HAS INCREASED TO GOOD FRIENDS. SHE IS WILLING TO TEACH TAILORING FOR ONE GOLD IF YOU CAN REACH THE TRUSTED FRIEND LEVEL.

“Okay you got me.” She said as she turned to open the door. I saw the three young girls playing with a ball. The smile on all their faces melted my heart and I turned to Yanor and said

“Coins well spent. We will be back in the morning. Is there somewhere I can take her to have supper before we go home?” I asked my new friend. Yanor shook her head and patted my arm.

“Fool man. There is an inn on the edge of the west side of town. You should be able to get stew and bread there for about three copper per person. If you need the coin I could offer you a loan.” She said with a sweet smile. It was like she was my grandmother making sure I had enough money for the fair. I wonder what happened to them after the accident. Might be something I have to ask about later.

“I have enough for tonight, but I will need to work hard to make it moving forward and sometimes that’s all we need.” I said with a smile.

“Fool man you need love and it’s clear you have that too.” She said as she patted my arm again. She smiled down at the girls as they said their goodbyes. I leaned over and picked up Lu-shi who was beaming at me and Yanor.

“Let's go get some food and you can tell me about your day on the way.' I said as' the two kittens' ears flattened. They looked up at her with sadness in their big green eyes. “Relax you two. She will be back tomorrow morning to play with you all day again.” The cute cheering nearly melted my heart and Lu-Shi hugged me tightly around the neck. I turned and walked toward the inn with the little princess in my arms as she giggled and told me all about her adventures with the twin catgirls. The outside of the inn looked like the hull of a ship that had been buried in the street. A haphazard sign with faded letters read, The Wayward Condor. I opened the door to the sound of a pleasant bell ringing as the door tapped it. A tall thin woman stood behind the bar and looked over at us.

“Hello, hello. Welcome, that is welcome if you have coin. You do have coin right?” She was almost six feet tall and had a stunningly beautiful face. I mean like something a supermodel would die for. She had a deep widow’s peak that made her dark face almost look like a heart. In place of hair, her head was covered in long white feathers that made it look like a mullet flowing to her back. She was dressed in an oversized shirt made into a dress like Lu-Shi wore. Her arms were longer than they should be and covered in long white feathers. Near the middle of her arms were hands with long fingers holding two cups. Her wings were folded to her side as she blinked at us.. Shocking brown eyes looked down at me as she willed me to tell her I had what she wanted.

“Yes I was hoping for a meal for the two of us.” She jumped in place and I saw her legs below the shirt looked like the legs of a bird and ended in long red painted Talons.

“Good, good good. Take a seat, but avoid the one in the right corner as Pop should be in soon. Best avoid him. He is a surly old goat.” She hopped over the counter and sang to herself as she walked to the back. “Coins, coins, coins. I love shiny coins, tasty coins, I need them, love them and want them all. Empty pockets make me sad and mad.” It was kinda cute, but reminded me of the duck-billed dinosaur from that old children's cartoon. We sat at a table on the other side of the room. Lu-Shi just bobbed in her chair and looked around just watching everything. The bird woman returned and set two wooden cups full of water on the table. She held her hand out and beamed at me. “Pay please. Coins please.” She said, her hand shaking with excitement.

MAGGIE THE MAGPIE IS OFFERING THE FOLLOWING

BUCK STEW 1 COPPER

BUCK STAKE 1 SILVER

SALAD OF WILD VEGETABLES 2 COPPER

BEER 3 COPPER

WHISKEY 3 COPPER A SHOT/ 2 SILVER A BOTTLE

WINE 2 COPPER A GLASS/ 1 SILVER A BOTTLE

A ROOM FOR THE NIGHT 3 SILVER PER PERSON

“I think we will both have the stew.” I said with a smile as I took her hand. She beamed and jumped up and down as she turned and skipped to the back. “Is your name really Maggie the Magpie?” I asked unable to help myself. She turned back and gave me a cute smile.

“Yep yep yep, my great great great great grandma wanted all her family to have the middle name of THE to make us sound cooler. My great great great great grandpa agreed and his last name was Magpie so we are all The Magpies. It is very cool in my mind. Yes yes. Very cool.” She was talking fast and puffing her feathers up in pride as she spoke. “My brother is Mangle The Magpie. He is a sky captain in a sky ship. I hope to go there someday.” She said almost breathlessly as she looked up at the ceiling.

YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE HIDDEN QUEST “THE FRIENDLY SKIES”

ACCEPT YES (NO)

YOU DID NOT ACCEPT THIS QUEST. THIS QUEST WILL BE AVAILABLE TO YOU IN THE FUTURE

I smiled at her. “I agree it is a cool name. Your great great grandma was a smart woman.” I said with a smile. She puffed up at me and smiled as she said very quickly,

“Great great great great grandma. She is far more great than just two.” She turned as she bounced out of the room to the back. The smell of the cooking food filled the room and made me want it more than I’d like to admit. The door opened with that pleasant chiming bell. Pop walked in with Tina talking animatedly behind him.

“He just poof, dropped a lot of money in my shop like it was nothing.” She said to his back before looking over to see me and squeaked, hiding behind him. He looked over at me, frowned as they sat at his table.

“Maggie you overgrown chicken, get out here with two salads and a cup of whiskey.” He said with a slight growl in his voice. He lifted his pipe up and lit a match on one of his horns.

“Sure sure sure. I’ll be with you in a minute and if you light that pipe in here I will kick you out on your fuzzy butt. Yep yep you know I will.” She replied. He frowned and huffed, blowing out the match with that one grumpy action. He nodded at us and looked at Tina who was hiding behind him.

“Sit down and stop hiding behind me, girl. Sit down before people think you are wrong in the head.” He growled at her. She squeaked again and hopped into a seat facing away from us. She looked over her shoulder at us and Lu-Shi waved. Maggie came out and set two bowls in front of us.

“Here you are. Here you are. Enjoy. If you want more let me know. I can always use more coin, yes yes more pretty coins.” She giggled and hopped to the back again. She returned a short while later with two plates in one hand and a cup in the other. She set them down at Pop’s table. He held his hand out and she took it, her eyes fluttering a little as she smiled. I looked down at my first meal in this new world and took a deep sniff. It smelled wonderful. Almost like the beef stew I would buy back when I was still able to get out. I took a test sip and gave a wild grin. It needed salt, but it was heaven. Lu-Shi took a sip of her own and smiled at me.

“It’s good papa.” She said as I reached over and ruffled her hair, making her giggle.

“That it is.” I said as the door chimed once more and Kara and the twins came in. She nodded at me and was pulled by the twins to our table. She sat and waved at Maggie who hopped over to us.

“Welcome welcome welcome you three. Kara that buck is from your blade to your plate. Yep. yep What do you three want to eat?” Kara just held out her hand and smiled slightly, “Three stews coming up.” Maggice said as she hopped to the back once more. The three girls sat together and started talking and playing. Kara just sat next to me and I noticed her tail was swaying back and forth as she watched the room. She sighed and smiled. Maggie returned with their food and drinks and bobbed back to the counter. The girls had a voracious appetite that all children seemed to enjoy. Pop drained two more glasses and his face had started to turn red as he actually started to smile. Maggie lit a fire in the fireplace and the mood of the room shifted upward. I ordered another bowl each for our table and Maggie lit up with delight at us. Pops looked over at me and growled

“Hey pup. How come you ain’t drinking?” He growled at me. I chuckled as I replied

“First night in a new place. Wait until I get some crops up and I’ll make sure to drink you under the table.” I called back.

YOUR REPUTATION WITH POP WRATHOOF HAS INCREASED TO FRIENDLY. HE IS WILLING TO TEACH THE RIDING SKILL FOR ONE GOLD AT THE TRUSTED FRIEND LEVEL.

He leaned back and laughed openly. “You can try, pup. You can try.” He said as he drained the glass and called for another. I just ate my stew and enjoyed the room. With a belly full the girls began to settle down and I noticed that Lu-Shi was starting to nod off.

“Kara, Meta, Leta it was an amazing day and I hope the three of you have a wonderful night. I’m going to get this one to bed. Rest well and we will see you tomorrow.” I said as I picked Lu-Shi up.

“You just leaving like this pup?” Pop asked, a slight disappointed look on his face.

“I’m not going anywhere for a good while. This is our home now and I hope to be friends with everyone here.” I said to the room. I had made friends here and liked it here.

 

YOUR REPUTATION WITH NEW WELLS HAS INCREASED TO NEW CITIZEN. TOWN FOLK WILL NOW BE MORE WILLING TO OFFER YOU HELP OR NEW QUESTS. REPUTATION IN THIS TOWN WILL NOW BE EASIER TO OBTAIN.

I picked up Lu-Shi and walked to the door. “Good night all.” I called out. The bell brought a smile to my face as it chimed once more. The sun had set but a large green moon filled the night and a smaller red one moved across its face. It was a nice and peaceful walk back to my new house and the small bundle in my arms started to snore softly. In seemingly no time at all we arrived at our new home. I put Lu-Shi in her bed and brushed her hair before pulling the blanket up to her chin. “Rest well my happy elf princess.” My own bed started calling to me and it didn’t take me long to get undressed and climb into it. I closed my eyes and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

(Dr. Travis Walker)

Travis leaned back, cracked his spine and rubbed at his neck. He looked up at the clock as a slight chime came over the speakers. Gabe Towson, a short fat man who was balding, looked at the message. “Travis day one is done.” he cheered and smiled. “I’ve asked Heather to send me a copy of the highlights she is making for the president. You want one?”

“You know it bud.” Travis replied. Gabe frowned as he looked at the logs.

“It just sucks that he went for a non-combat class. We give him this huge world and he wants to be a freaking farmer.” Gabe said in outrage. Travis knew the man had five bucks on Steven picking a warrior class. Travis just smiled and flicked a file on his screen over to Gabe.

“I think I got something you may like.” Travis said. Gabe opened the file and after reading it, he gave an evil smile.

“You bastard. He is going to hate you.” Gabe said as he held his hand up for a high five.

“Nope. He knows me and knows I won’t let his life be boring.” Travis said as he stretched again. Gabe just nodded and got back to work. It was barely noon and Travis would have to figure out lunch soon. He shook his head and smiled at the screen. “Bud, I hope you like your new life.” Travis said under his breath as he went back to working on a new bug. The bosses were getting bored, and the AI was getting a little unfriendly. He would have to do something about that.

{ZeroGiven40}

If you were turning this into a movie, who would you get to play whom? The only one I can think of is Jim Carry as Popcorn Dude. Fell free to tell me your thoughts.