Chapter 3: The Town of Barrowdale

The monster looked like a black bear, except that it had two heads and four enormous upper limbs that each ended in a set of long steely talons.

The fight was short, brutal, and one-sided:

*Achievement: Daredevil! You have tackled a stronger foe for the first time. +10XP

*Damage report: You have lost 8 hit points (7 remain).

*Damage report: You have lost 4 hit points (3 remain).

*Damage report: You have lost 5 hit points (-2 remain).

Just as Ricky was stepping back and swinging his fist in a semblance of defense, the creature’s third blow landed on his side, and everything went black.

Shortly afterwards, he found himself opening his eyes, back in the same starter room.

Damn, he thought. That really hurt.

He could still almost feel the pounding, slashing blows of the beast’s mighty paws, but as he looked down at his body, there was no sign of any injuries.

Two notifications then appeared:

*Game mechanics alert: You have lost 50% of your accumulated XP.

*Health update: You died.

“Well, no shit," he muttered out loud, as he got back up. “Okay... damn. But at least I didn’t have much XP to lose."

He now stood looking around. Everything was exactly the same as when had first entered the game, but his body looked solid, and he was still wearing the short and pants that he had selected before.

In truth, he realized, there would be no way of knowing what had just happened if he didn't remember it.

Hey guide! Have I totally reset? Do I need to pick my stats again, and all that?

“No," replied the familiar feminine voice. "Your stats and skills remain exactly the same, Ricky, even if you are killed. You retain the same active quests, too. And your hit points have now returned to their maximum level.”

Cool. I have to admit – that was scary.

“The Dark Framework is very realistic, Ricky.”

This time rather than leaving the room straight away, Ricky took a moment to look out of the window of his starter room. He could see the whole settlement from here – and it wasn't large. No more than fifty houses in total, with a wooden wall around them and a gatehouse visible off to the left. The sun was high in the sky, and there were a few white clouds. In the distance he could see some hills, and closer, a few farms.

He leaned closer to see the street immediately below. And there it was – the beast. Like a two headed bear with extra arms, walking on all fours (or rather – sixes) as it roamed around the streets, going round and around.

No wonder the locals were giving it a wide berth. For while he could see people moving around the more distant streets, the ones close by were still empty.

He narrowed his eyes and watched the creature for another couple of minutes as it appeared, moved on, and reappeared. “It really is going round and round," he muttered. “And always in the same direction."

As he made his way back downstairs, Ricky was confident that he now knew what to do. He evaded the trap in the centre of the entrance hall this time, and paused, listening at the double door.

*Achievement: Cunning feet! You have passed a trap unharmed. +10XP

When he heard the bear-monster move off to the left, he waited for around thirty seconds. This time he moved to the left, following it in its tracks. He peered cautiously around the corner, and sure enough, he caught a glimpse of the creature as it continued to circle around. All he needed to do was follow – and then move away from its repetitive route.

As he continued onwards and then turned right, leaving the block which the beast appeared to be patrolling, Ricky saw another notification.

*Quest 001 complete: Evade the monster of Barrowdale Village. +10XP

He hurried on, now passing by a few villagers. All were dressed in medieval peasant clothing, and they appeared to be busily engaged in mercantile tasks of one kind or another, most of them hurrying around with baskets of goods or small trolleys. Ahead, he could see the gatehouse, a low square tower that punctuated the wooden wall. This was the way to go, he was sure. After all, he surely needed to get out of town – or at least, be ready to do so. There was a whole world out there.

Ricky walked down another street and then another, and soon the tower was looming up ahead. As he approached, he saw a man sweeping up broken glass in front of a building which had apparently had both of its front windows recently smashed. He stopped about ten yards away.

“What happened here?"

The man stopped sweeping and looked up. He had long straggly grey hair and was wearing rustic robes cinched at the waist with a rope for a belt. He had a wooden broom in his hand that reminded Ricky of a cartoon witch’s broom – the end was composed of neatly bound twigs of uniform length.

“What's your name, traveler?"

*Quest 002 (level 1): Name yourself.

Ricky came a little closer to the man. “You can call me Adventurer.”

“That’s vague.”

*Debuff: suspicion. The NPC with whom you are interacting now suspects you of dishonesty, and will react more negatively to you for the next hour.

Shit.

“Sorry, good man – I’ve just been travelling a long way, and there are many risks,” he hastily corrected, thinking hard about a pseudonym that would suit the feel of this world. The first things that sprang into his head was his new role in the New Baravia camp – as he had arrived, he had seen one refugee after another hacking at the stumps of trees. “My full name is Ricky Treecutter,” he finished.

The man nodded. “That's an unusual name, but it’s good to meet you, Treecutter. Would you care to help me clear up some of this mess?”

Ricky wondered if perhaps this could be part of another quest – something that would set him on the path to a key. “Sure. Do you have a spare broom?”

*Debuff removed: Suspicion.

*Quest 002 complete: Name yourself. +10XP

“What’s your name, old man?” he asked, as the stranger returned with a second broom. “And what happened here?”

The man sighed, spreading out his arms and looking around. “I’m Heck the Herbalist,” he replied. “This used to be a nice neighborhood. I raised three lovely children here, who have long since left home to move to the city. But in recent years, there have been never-ending goblin attacks upon the village of Barrowdale. They are vile creatures, and will destroy things for fun even when there is nothing left to steal. I’m just glad I don’t have small children living with me anymore. These are such hard times.”

As he swept, Ricky took a moment to consider his journey to the refugee camp. He had often observed how hard it was to look after children during harsh circumstances. Leaving the shattered remains of northern Europe had involved crossing over a thousand miles on foot. At first he has done his best to share with others – families with kids and even dogs. Many times he had gone hungry after having shared what little food he had the day or two before.

But as time had gone on, a steely resolve had built within him. The only way he was going to survive was by being hard, he had come to realize.

Perhaps it would be fair to say ‘selfish’.

Was he now making the same mistake again? It had become a habit... but the Dark Framework seemed to want him to help this villager.

He was interrupted from his reflection by a gasp followed by a yell from Heck the Herbalist.

"Get inside!” cried the man. “I thought they’d gone for the day, but they’re back already! Goblins!”

Ricky didn’t need to be told twice. Clutching the broom, he followed Heck into the hovel, placing the broom just inside the door. Inside, the place was small but surprisingly neat; broken glass from the windows had already been swept into two neat piles.

“This way,” said Heck, pointing to a stone set of stairs, and Ricky followed him at pace.

At the top, Heck began to pull a piece of wooden furniture across the opening – an empty bookcase. It occurred to Ricky that they would need a lot more than this to fend off a gang of murderous goblins. As soon as he had the thought, two more quests appeared:

*Quest 003 (level 2): Defend Heck’s home against the goblin invaders.

*Quest 004 (level 1): Gain a weapon.

As Heck proceeded to buttress the bookcase with a wooden chest, Ricky looked around the room. It was a bedroom, but also contained a small table that was used as a desk, judging by the ledger book and pile of papers upon it. There was a fireplace at one end, and a further bookcase at the other, which looked like it had once had the other beside it as a partner.

“Listen, Heck,” he said, once the bookcase had been secured across the stairs and the chest firmly wedged behind it. “Do you have any weapons, or suchlike? Something that we can defend ourselves with?”

“I sometimes use this,” said the man, stomping over to the fireplace. He crouched and picked up an iron poker, around a foot long.

“All right,” said Ricky, stroking his chin. As he did so, he noticed a small knife on the table – a letter opener, perhaps. Surely it would be too small for combat... but it would be better than nothing.

“All right if I borrow this knife?” he asked.

Heck nodded. “Sure.” The man had now moved over to hatch that was built into the roof of the building, and now lifted it up so that he could look outside from the front of the room, overlooking the street where they had first met.

Ricky picked up the knife, and the lower area of his vision was filled with more translucent writing:

***

New item

Item: Rustic knife

Class: weapon

Type: One-handed

Damage range: 1–3

Resilience: 12

Prerequisites: nimbleness 3 or higher

Description: an iron-forged utility knife of above-average quality, this blade was forged in the town of Barrowdale in the year 238. It could pass as a knife for general work in the fields, but is too blunt for butchery, and too poorly-balanced to be thrown with any accuracy.

***

*Quest 004 complete: Gain a weapon. +10XP

Most of this information seemed straightforward enough, but...

What is resilience?

Again the Guide answered inside his head:

“It is the durability of the item or weapon. If an item is damaged, this number will drop. If it reduces to zero, the item is broken and cannot be used again unless it is repaired.”

Clutching the knife, Ricky hurried over towards the hatch. “Any sign of the goblins?”

“Yes. They are trashing the building opposite right now,” Heck replied, pointing.

And sure enough, when Ricky moved closer to the hatch he could see a gang of around five humanoid creatures in the street, and sounds of destruction from within indicating that more were present. Each of them was around four feet tall, and their skin was a blotchy greenish-beige. They had long ears, wide mouths, and sharp-looking teeth.

Unable to act, the two men watched from the window as a young woman was dragged out of the building opposite. The goblins in the street were holding knives and shortswords, but rather than using them, they beat the woman across the head and shoulders with their fists, pulling her to the ground as she curled up into a ball, trying to defend herself. Soon they had tied her hands behind her back, and began to lead her off using a longer rope, with more kicks and punches along the way.

“Those vile beasts...” snarled Ricky as he looked on.

“Yes,” said Heck. “The goblins take many prisoners. They like to eat them, too, so I’ve heard. Their cruelty knows no limits. I’m sorry to say that poor Sami is done for – there is no saving her now.”

Ricky looked at the man. “Surely not – we need to intervene!”

*Quest 005 (level 4): Rescue Sami, the smiths’ daughter, from the goblin invaders.

Heck looked around at him. “Perhaps you could do so,” he replied wistfully, “but I am just an old man. It’s all I can do to keep myself safe, without running to the rescue of others.”

“I understand,” said Ricky, moving away from the hatch and pacing around the room again. “But listen – is there any information you can give me, or anything else that might help me to aid that poor young woman?”

“When the goblins have gone – which they soon will – you could speak to her parents. They are the smiths of this village, and might be able to provide certain equipment to help you in exchange for helping Sami.”

“Very well, thanks. Anything else?”

But before Heck could say more, they both heard a banging at the wooden bookcase that was blocking the stairway, as if someone was hacking at it with an axe.

“They’ve come for us!” called out Heck, a clear note of panic in his voice.

Although it was supported by a heavy chest, the bookcase was rocking as goblins in the stairway hacked at it with their weapons, trying to break a hole in its structure that would allow them to clamber through.

Ricky and Heck waited just a couple of feet away, their improvised weapons in hand. Before long, a darker-skinned and bald goblin stuck its head through, and Ricky took the moment to strike out, ramming the small knife into the creature’s neck. It screeched, and then pulled back.

*Achievement: Bravery! You have shown unexpected valor in an encounter. +10XP

*Buff: Your valor is adding to your reputation. NPCs will react more positively to you for the next 1 day.

*Combat event: You have slain a goblin. +5XP.

“Well done, Treecutter! You are brave and loyal man indeed!” called out Heck.

There was a chattering noise from the stairway as the goblins conversed in their own language, and then a much louder bang. The bookcase rocked and then tipped backwards at a slant as the end of a morning star thumped down onto the top of it.

Two more goblins were climbing in.

Accumulated XP: 55