(World of Valdira 01) The Way of the Clan (6 page)

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I’ll help you, good woman – I tried to show a half-bow fighting my desire to cover the bloody diaper by my hands. – What can I do for you?

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Can you see those trees? – responded the hostess immediately while pointing out at ugly withered trunks by the needle. – What a trouble with these trees! About fifteen years ago I remember planting young oaklings, they hit the stride at once and I couldn’t stop enjoying them! They both shadowed and gave acorns for my darling piggies, but then one day somebody must have put a hex on them – and my dear oaklings dried out overnight… what a pain! I’m just a weak woman, I can’t swing an axe, can I? And you’re such a nice sturdy! What broad shoulders you’ve got! Fell one tree a bit and kick it down, won’t you? I’ll chop all the boughs away myself somehow. If you help me, I’ll remember your kindness all my lifetime.

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Why not? I’ll be happy to help a good person, - I decided to live the part. – Give me an axe, auntie!

A pleased smile spread over the hostess’s face, she melted away into the house again and soon appeared carrying an axe. It was a usual axe with a rather long wooden handle. The iron gone through coarse forging was nipped by rust but the polished metal of the blade edge was shining. Stretching my hands I accepted the axe and felt its significant weight at once – you bet! Considering my boast, I mean my attribute of strength that was equal to one, it was natural.

Fighting to hold the axe in suspension I stomped towards the end left tree – I had already felled it once and, guess what, it grew up again and withered up again. On my way I shut an iridescent message that had popped up in front of my eyes:

Congratulations! You’ve got your first quest! Achievement!

You’ve got an achievement of the first rank ‘Helping Hand’!

The achievement table is available in your character’s setting.

Your award for this achievement: plus 0.1% to your chance of subject identification.

The current chance of successful identification: 0.3%

I shut the next message too:

You’ve got the quest ‘To help with work around the household’!

Help a single female to fell withered trees in her yard as best as you can.

Minimum quest requirements: to fell and kick down at least one tree.

Award: your clothes will be mended (repaired) to let you look tidier.

I nearly raised the axe over my head awkwardly and then got frozen in such a clumsy pose looking like the Tin Woodman.

Just a second…

Lowering the axe I opened the table on the character’s skills quickly and stared at the line stupidly:

Subject Identification: 0.3%

I’ve gained two tenths of the percentage point due to one point of wisdom and intelligence, one more tenth has come from my achievement. Last time nothing like that happened. Certainly I got achievements in the same way, but they never awarded me any bonuses. The only conclusion could come to my mind – the diamond account class helped again presenting me tiny but still a bonus. It’s intriguing…

I whistled with amazement and shut my dashboard, then raised the axe again and dropped its blade down on the cast-iron oak trunk. The axe just left a hardly notable incision on the darkened and humped bark and bounced back cheerfully nearly hitting my leg while the handle almost wiggled out of my hands. The fun has started…

The low fence couldn’t conceal what was happening in the yard. And since the arch of the gates through which new gamers were coming in was nearby, I wasn’t suffering from loneliness. New gamers dragging past me were gazing in some confusion at the feebling in a white diaper who was dropping an axe at the barely shaking tree again and again. The majority just passed without wishing to spend their precious time on socializing with me. But some of them stopped nearby, watched me for about a minute and gave unasked advice like:

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Swing up higher!

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You’re hitting at a wrong angle…

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Hey, you’ll never fell this tree! It’s beyond your scope.

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You’d better find a saw! Nobody will use an axe for that!

Making sure I wasn’t going to follow their unasked advice they left but I continued felling the bloody tree that actually wasn’t going to fall down. In fact it wasn’t likely to fall down – the best I had achieved for all that time was the fourth of the trunk that I managed to cut through but it was me who was ready to drop. Huffing and puffing I lowered the axe and closed my eyes waiting for recovery – since my stamina was only the figure of one, I got tired very quickly and the scale became alarming red. One more purpose-driven gamer running past me couldn’t resist stopping for a while and leaning his chest against the fence muttered in a low voice:

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Hey, bro! Stop that lollygagging! I know this quest – the only award you’ll get is carelessly mended clothes. I’ve surfed the forums recently, read… shortly speaking there is one ‘yummy’ quest in the Cradle. It consists of two parts and they charge thirty copper coins for it! That will be enough to buy new clothes in the shop nearby. Come with me!

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Thank you for advice, man – I nodded – But as I’ve started, I have to finish it.

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Whatever – the stranger shrugged his shoulders and hurried away without looking at me anymore. He must have thought I’m a devotee who doesn’t want to miss any available quest, no matter that they are almost unprofitable. I wasn’t going to explain to that do-gooder that I was locked in the Cradle for two days and that I was just killing my time there! Bloody Gosha!

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Are you tired, good joe? – inquired the hostess of the house. – Did it wear you out? Would you like to have a drink of cold water?

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I’d love to, auntie – I croaked gratefully and came unstuck from the trunk.

I really wanted it – pure water was able to accelerate strength recovery twice and could partially eliminate hunger. I hadn’t had time to get hungry yet but it was a good idea to recover my strength. Eh… it would be nice to have my favourite Crashshot’s flask at my hand filled with the peculiar potion recovering strength … But I can only dream about it now…

Having drained half of the jug with such cold water that it was even aching my teeth, I recovered enough to take the axe again and continue biting into the dry wood as solid as stone millimeter by millimeter. What strength you need to cut stone by a pickaxe! I started feeling sympathy towards poor miners.

Bang, bang, bang… Snappy hit sounds blurred into an endless monotonous caravan. At the next hit a long chip flew off and stuck into my cheek. I swore, checked my status and didn’t get surprised at all as I saw the loss of some life points. It was not significant but nevertheless it was the loss.

Life points: 67/70 Mana: 15/15
       

Great! Two more hours and I will make myself dead. Actually I had expected it – last time when I felled the tree there were only forty life points left.

The first encouraging moment happened when I managed to reach the core of the trunk of the poor tree. The tree shuddered heavily and started crackling unmistakably after a peculiar strong hit by the axe that I contributed the rest of all my strength into. A short message popped up in front of my eyes:

Your strength has increased by 1 point.

Your stamina has increased by 1 point.

Finally… last time I achieved the increase of the attributes a bit earlier. Or does it seem to me because of my fatigue?

To celebrate that event I dried up the water left in the jar, wiped my mouth off by the back of my hand and proceeded to the quest with double efforts – with double strength literally speaking as I used to have only one point of strength, then that attribute was equal to two points. The weight of attack went up too – stripped of fine words, hit points. And the increased stamina wouldn’t let me get tired so quickly. So and my life pointes raised a bit as well. Without stopping my work I spread the menu and pinched up my basic attributes on the screen:

    
Character’s Basic Attributes

Strength – 2

Intelligence – 1

Agility – 1

Stamina – 2

Wisdom – 1

Now it wasn’t so miserable – if only not to compare that mediocrity with my late Crashshot.

One more hour passed when the tree creaked, cracking wood crackled, it swayed heavily and finally collapsed on the ground followed by the crack of breaking branches. He oak was defeated. I fixed my first enemy in that game but the fighting was long and exhausting despite the fact that the oak didn’t hit back. Although… after checking my life balance I found out that the wooden stump had hit back and not half – only thirty life points were left from eighty.

The work is done. I lowered the weapon wearily and leaned against the handle while estimating the information popped up in front of my eyes:

You got a new profession – a lumberman.

The lumberman’s skills have increased up to 1. Total: 1.

Your stamina has increased by 1 point.

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There you are! Thanks a lot. You made yourself really useful! – responded the wide-awake hostess who was watching the process of mutilating her tree. – Thank you! I’ve already mended your shabby clothes, I’ve mended every holes and sewed all tears in patches. Check them!

Two years ago I did exactly what she said – took my clothes mended properly, returned her the axe and said a careless good-bye to the hostess. The quest had been completed successfully.

But I didn’t rush to take my clothes that time. Because I had loads of time.

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Just a moment, auntie – a sickly smile appeared on my face when I was making a step towards the felled trunk and picking up the axe which seemed much lighter. – There is so much work to do left.

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Oh the good heavens must have sent you to me! – the uptown lady has got the lay of the land at once. – Well, I’ll treat you a hearty lunch as a thank you for your help! Would you like to have it?

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I’d love to! Thanks a lot!

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Agreed! – nodded the lady putting my clothes folded neatly away on the bench and wandered forth the house – I’ll go to light the fire! The lunch will be splendidly delicious for sure!

My quest continued.

Looking at the bright blue sky, I wiped sweat off my face and moved on fighting with the enemy defeated but still standing to its guns. I had to chop away all boughs and branches and then cut them small. And to crown it all I had to store all that stuff somewhere in a corner.

In ninety minutes I managed to finish it but I was niddle-noddle. Rather due to the miserable eight life points – a couple of sharp chips flew off into my direction – than due to fatigue. Besides I stumbled once and instead of hitting a thick branch heavily I grazed my leg by the axe and consequently lost ten life points at once. In recognition of all those sufferings I got one more professional promotion as a lumberman that was equal to two points then.

Skills of the lumberman increased by 1. Total: 2.

‘Oh my gosh!.. I have never had a lumberman’s skills over one’ – I sneered picking the axe into the trunk.

Having dragged myself to the well I made a push to raise a bucket full of water and satisfy my thirst, thus I decreased the level of fatigue and recovered three life points. I was standing on my feet more firmly then. I’d like to drink some more water but I was full – the game’s limits.

I’ll be able to drink a little more in twenty minutes. But actually I was expecting a good substantial lunch that the hostess had promised. Food would recover my life points much faster.

Making sure that one more loose chip could lead to my premature demise I decided to kill time before lunch and construct an elementary weapon for personal needs. The hostess wasn’t going to present me the axe, besides it was very short – I never liked to fight close-in. What a difference a powerful far-ranging bow can make – one arrow shot straight and it’s done.

Having chosen a rather straight and thick branch from a pile of cut branches, I got armed with the axe again and chopped that branch from both ends by several careful hits. Thus I became the owner of a gnarly staff as high as my shoulder. I’d like to say that it was a combat staff but that miserable stick didn’t meet such a decent title. There is one simple quest that I actually have planned to do later and I’ll need my staff in it. Grasping the axe handier, I chopped off all the boughs and rinded the tough bark to expose a sallow core. Well, that’s it. I didn’t need a better result. The only thing I can do more is to ask the kind-hearted hostess for a kitchen-knife for a while and peel the remains of the bark and other blemishes.

Achievement!

You’ve got an achievement – a first-rank weapon-maker!