One Step Forward
#6 of Aspire
Calder woke up from his bed, remembering just how nice it was to pass through a boring night quickly. He stretched to the ceiling and looked out from his window to see... quite a bit. From what he could tell, Elizabeth obtained enough money to buy the entire other half of the land in addition to development fees, "Damn."
On the left side, opposite of his windmill, two cheap caves with openings extending towards the other plots existed. General mines weren't consistent in output, but did provide almost all materials. The four blocks in a cube next to them were farms, each with four crops each. Then a large Crafting Hall which touched the road and extended back into the trees. The final blocks were houses, and we set up like little neighborhoods. Four houses from the road to the trees, a road, then four houses facing them. This pattern was repeated twice for a total of two neighborhoods and sixteen houses. They were cheap, almost like clip art on a computer program, but they were still houses.
Calder grabbed a loaf of bread and left his house where he found Elizabeth about to knock, "Oh! Hello Calder! Can you believe it?!" Out of the corner of his eye he recognized the child from the Weaver's Guild harvesting cotton, "I know I can't!"
"Just curious... how did you get all that money?'
Elizabeth smiled, "Well, as I was walking back to the city a man in really cool armor approached me. His sword was as long as his body, and half as thick! Anyway, I thought I was going to die, but he said, "Why do you wander alone?" I told him what I was doing, and he just said, "If you can get enough people, I will personally fund your plans and expect nothing in return."
"Just like that?"
"Yesh! It was awesome and he was so nice. The funny thing was that I couldn't tell what guild he belonged to. The little sideways carrots were there, but nothing in between."
Calder's mind moved fast. The only other person he met like that was the man in the white mask, and he was not trustworthy. This man with the giant sword was somehow different, but Calder wasn't going to let his guard down any time soon, "Well that's good. So are you all producing?"
"Yesh again! My level went up a bunch and I can cook fancy stuff! Here, try some!" She extended her arm and a message popped up in Calder's vision, "Pizza! It's awesome! You eat free anytime!"
"Elizabeth... if that man comes around either come find me or tell him where I am. I'd like to talk to him." He examined the main road entrances, and while the windmill side was empty, a red speck was growing on the far end, "Also tell the smiths and miners to get in touch with my guild, I'm sure they could trade and get some materials faster that way." He patted her on the shoulder and slowly walked to the speck, which was now visible as a person. In shape at least, the distance rendering was glitchy.
Just to be safe, he opened his inventory and selected his armor, but didn't equip, "H-hello..." A beautiful woman with a rather large bust was approaching. That wasn't saying too much, nobody in this world was really ugly. Her red robes nearly covered every piece of fur and her large crimson pointed hat was partially hiding her face, "Are you friendly?"
"Friendly as they come. I'm Calder. What's your name?" She stopped about ten yards from him.
"The Windmill... so I've finally arrived..." She collapsed to her knees and sobbed, "I'm safe..."
Calder wasn't entirely sure how he should react, he didn't know anything about this woman, "Um... yes?"
She wiped her tears, "I'm sorry... it's... my name is Arnya. I've come a long way by myself because of a rumor. He told me to look for the windmill..."
"Arnya... you need to tell me what's wrong. Actually, come into town, I don't want any ambushes out here." She stumbled to her feet and followed Calder back to his house before sitting on his lawn, "Alright. Now what's the matter?"
Arnya's teary eyes looked at Calder, "I didn't choose... to be a Blood Witch... but..." Calder was aware that some of the towns still held prejudices, and what they believed in life translates to the game. Many mages got killed because of this, and using blood for magic was certainly perceived as evil, "I'd change classes if I could!"
Calder sat on the edge of his well, "Classes mean nothing. Some people just have a lot of hate and nothing will change that. We were all alive at one point, being here means nothing to opinions." He took a deep breath, "Evil is evil, no matter what label it takes. I mean, you haven't done anything to hurt people have you?" She shook her head. Calder wasn't surprised, the look in her eyes was more than enough to convince him that she was harmless, "See? Nothing to worry about."
Elizabeth ran over, "Hey again! I have more food and stuff to thank you- oh! Who's your friend?"
"This is Arnya, she recently escaped from an unpleasant place."
"Welcome! I wish we had a spare house, but you can stay with me if you want! Here, try some pasta! It's wonderful!"
"Why... are you so nice to me... don't you know what I am?"
Elizabeth cocked her head, "Yesh? A magic user with big boobies and a cool hat."
Calder wasn't going to say anything, he had been around enough of the petty nonsense when he lived in the guild barracks, "Arnya, as long as I breathe you will be welcome in this town. I don't like killing, but if anyone here is threatened, then I won't have a choice."
"Right... what are you? I mean, your class."
"Heavy Dragoon. An unofficial member of The Watchers nowadays."
"He took down a ton of the giant monsters in the world by himself! He's a hero!"
Calder blushed and looked down, "I'm not a hero, just a dead guy with the power to help out. If I have this gift, why waste it?"
Arnya was in awe, "You're... you're THAT man?! No wonder he told me to find the windmill. If you're here, they can't hurt me."
"Hey, I'm not a superhero or anything. If they find this place, we'll deal with it. For now, settle in with Elizabeth maybe, harvest a bit if they let you. It'll be like therapy if you get into it."
Arnya bowed her head, "Do you mind... if I meditate here? I gain experience without fighting..."
"Sure... I guess. Although I am planning on selling my farm, maybe putting in a training building, what do you think?"
"That sounds awesome! We'll handle the food, you make us stronger!" Elizabeth skipped off while humming.
Calder opened a few menus and scanned for his property. He sold the farm and made enough for the Training Hall, a one-block wooden structure with dummies and a sparring area. It was up in a second, "Always weird to see that happen. So Arnya, want any company or does it have to be in silence?"
"Company... I've never had company before. Not even when I was alive. I would like you to stay around."
"Saw that white mask guy around. He just kinda looked like he was searching, then walked away."
Mary's message wasn't too alarming, "Make sure nobody attacks and that everyone puts on their ring. Never trust him."
"From what I hear, another guy from his guild is roaming about, being a generally good guy. Maybe their looking for each other."
If that was true, Calder reasoned, then the man with the massive sword may be trying to counteract what the man in the white mask had been doing. Conflicting gods of a game world, "If they meet, tell everyone to leave the area immediately." He took a breath, "Sorry, important business. I've noticed that you're wearing quite a bit. It's a bit refreshing from the usual mage which is only wearing a single robe and a hat."
"I'm used to it. I was a burn victim, so covering up is natural to me. This is more comfortable than bandages though. What does your armor look like if I may ask?" Calder equipped his armor, weapon, and shield, "Amazing..."
"It does the job. I'm more of an up-close-and-personal class, so light armor would not suit me well." He unequipped, "What can a Blood Witch do exactly? I mean, with me I stab and block, but you're a bit of a mystery."
Arnya closed her eyes, "I can damage enemies, summon a weapon, and inflict statuses. Unfortunately... to cast spells causes me damage and I have no strength so weapons are useless."
"Low health too?" She nodded, "That's peculiar. Almost like..." The man in the white mask's work perhaps? Calder couldn't say, "Well, there is probably a way to boost your health. If I can learn a skill like that then you can too." Hey eyes opened quickly, "Something I said?"
"Are you aware, of a skills exchange? Friends can teach each other a single skill, I heard many craftspeople trade their endurance abilities for combat skills. Perhaps we can trade? Oh! But we have to be friends... if that's okay..." A message popped up and Calder accepted, "Okay, let me open the menu..." She stood up and scanned the air with her finger before another screen popped up.
"Okay, so I add... this health skill. That should help you out some."
She smiled a nervous smile, "I don't have a lot, but you can use this I think." She accepted the trade and Calder learned how to summon a blood weapon, "It's for emergencies. The spell chooses the weapon you are best with. I'm a bit... woozy..."
"Well yeah, you just about doubled your health. Just relax, it'll pass." Calder was growing quite bored. Risking his life for loot was fun for a time, but it just wasn't worth it anymore. Now he had to find some way to keep his mind from cracking.
"Calder. I need to discuss important matters with you." Arnya and Calder looked to the road, "Now."
The man with the massive sword walked into Calder's house without permission, "Arnya, go to Elizabeth and hide with her." He equipped his gear and followed the man, "Who are you?"
"You know damn well who I am and I'm almost certain you know why I've been interfering."
"The man in the white mask."
He nodded, "Yes. Judging from your actions, you never put your full faith into him, and as soon as you could you abandoned his gifts and ordered your former guild to craft rings that nullify outside enchantment. This was a wise move, though not enough."
Calder didn't relax his stance, "I can't kill him you know, but you probably could. So why bother me?"
"You were the first to understand his motivations, even though you lacked the details. He wants chaos and death as a way to live out his fantasy of reality. For the record, he is not immortal. His attacks use outside enchantment, but his clothing protects him from all damage. Unless... you can pierce and withstand the remainder."
Calder shook his head, "So you mean I need a high level enchantment on a weapon that would cost millions in coin, an enchantment level that no player has reached, and a bunch of rare crystals? Easy..."
The man sighed, "Not easy, but not impossible. I will not ask you to beg or to manipulate, only that when the time comes, you will do what is right. I fear you are the only one that can do so." Calder's eyes burned when he found himself outside in the sunlight. Arnya was crouched with a broomstick in hand and a worried look on her face. Several other craftspeople were there with tools instead of traditional weapons, "You can relax, I was never here to threaten or harm."
Calder watched the man vanish, "Why does everything have to revolve around killing?!" The outburst wasn't directed at anyone, and in truth Calder thought it would stay in his head. For a world in which talking things out tended to lead to better things, violence made it all go 'round. Is that the chaos the man in the white mask wanted? Calder had no answers, "I... have to think..."