The Butcher of Gadobhra

Despite having the Courier Class, Ben had yet to deliver a long-distance message. Billy used him to run messages out to the farms or the quarry, but when not doing that, he was given a shovel to dig irrigation ditches for the farms. After two days of digging ditches, he'd badgered Billy a bit about what a courier actually did. Sadly, it turned out that Couriers working for ACME mostly dug ditches. No official messages to run meant he was going to be on the end of a shovel for a long time. Normal ACME memos would simply be done out of the game. Billy's little village was at the ass end of nowhere and far from the size where he would have to report to Baron PinchPenny in Northguard or Duke Carl in Wolfsburg. The only other work would be taking part in quests that involved players. Most of those involved a brave Courier trying to get a message somewhere as assassins or thieves tried to stop him.

Ben didn't object to the work, only the surroundings. He’d worked hard and remembered happily digging ditches and lining them with stakes during the 'Siege of Orleans,' and the time he had spent tunneling into the Scarlet Bastille to rescue Cardinal D'arctangeant was a fond memory. But digging irrigation ditches to carry water to fields was a bit on the boring side. He spent a lot of those two days thinking up ways to get out of it. Sedge beast hides turned out to be the solution.

A side effect of Ozzy killing hundreds of sedge beasts for meat was a growing pile of hides. The army would buy them, but only after they were tanned. Starting up a tannery had been going slow. It needed more than just assigning two people the tanner skill. ACME hadn't spent a lot of time asking questions about what skills their workers already had. Despite having the specialty that allowed them to tan hides and do light leatherworking, neither person had much of a clue as to how to go about it beyond the basic recipes. Ben knew more about traditional tanning and leather working than the two people assigned to the task and suggested to Billy that he could help out Althea and Clyde, the two tanners. Ben knew the setup for bark tanning and had done extensive leatherworking in EQO3. That knowledge, plus showing Billy that he also had some specialty leather working skills from the Courier class, eventually got him assigned to tanning and off of shovel duty.

It took some coordination to get things going. Althea and Clyde had recipes and directions from the game but didn't know how to lay out the needed vats to process the number of hides Ozzy was piling up each day. They knew they needed a pit with lime to loosen the hair on the hides. Once they told Ben the recipes, he knew how to proceed. Step one was getting Billy to loan him two lumberjacks and a stone mason.

The first step would be pits filled with water and dissolved lime to loosen the hair. That took ground limestone. Halfway through the first day, Ben got a delivery of limestone blocks. He directed his crew to make large bonfires to heat the limestone blocks and turn them into quick lime. Later, when the quick lime blocks were thrown into the pits, they dissolved into the water.

With six people, the work went quickly. Seven pits were dug, twenty feet square and four feet deep. The lumberjacks felled some of the larger oak trees with thick bark. Wood was cut, and the pits were lined with split logs, bark facing out. More bark was stripped from trees. They took the bark to the grist mill, where it was ground down bark dust. Half the pits were for loosening the hair with lime and half for tanning with bark. The final pit was left empty for now. It would be filled with water later to store finished hides waiting to be pressed and dried.

The first batch of hides went into the limewater for a day soaking. That was enough to loosen the fur so the hides could be stretched on racks and then scraped clean. The cleaned hides went in the tanning vats and then into the clean water in the last pit. There would be a constant cycle of leather produced once the entire leather-works was set up.

The large piles of hair were saved. It could be used to make traditional daubing for houses. Ben was NOT going to get involved with that. That recipe also called for goat shit and clay, and the mess of stuff was thrown or smeared onto a lattice framework made of willow. Ben had done it once to build a replica of Shakespeare's' first stage. That was enough goat dung for a lifetime.

When they had put the cleaned hides into one of the three pits with bark tannin, Ben had suggested they experiment at first. This was a fantasy world and might work by different rules. They varied the mixture a bit. The first used oak bark, the second Hollywood bark, and the third a mixture of everything available. The recipe in the game just said 'bark dust.' But for smoking the sedge beast meat, it very specifically needed holly wood. They might as well see if there was a difference.

It turned out that a mix of holly wood and oak bark worked best. The sedge beast hides seemed to resist the entire process without the holly wood bark dust mixed in. Once that was figured out, things moved along faster. Once the hides spent two days in the tanning solution they were cleaned and scraped again and then put into the water pit. It was important the leather stay wet until pressed. One by one, the hides would be taken out and put on a flat table. A heavy wooden roller made from a section of a large pine tree would be moved back and forth to even out the leather and remove much of the water. Then, a light coating of oil was applied, and the hides went to hang in the smokehouse to dry. After that, the Legions got the leather, and ACME got some gold coins.

Billy was happy when the tanning operation was up and running. Both smoked meat, and now leather was accumulating, and as soon as the Legion took its first loads, his operation would have a positive revenue stream. The good news encouraged Billy to finish his weekly report and have Ben deliver it to the local Legion Outpost ten miles up the road. Billy was a long way from the point where he would have to pay the empire any taxes, but imperial accountants still demanded some paperwork from the corporations.

"Ben, good job getting the tannery set up. I'm sure that you know what the reward is for a job well done." Ben knew exactly what his reward was. "Let me guess - another job." Billy just smiled and nodded while handing Ben a satchel of letters and pointing him over to the Courier's Office.

The Courier's office sat next to the livery stable. One dusty window adjacent to a wooden door gave a poor view of the room. Ben opened the door and wandered in, looking around. He'd tried the door before and peered in the window, wondering what it might have to do with his class specialty, but no one had ever seemed to be inside. The small room had a desk with minimal paperwork on it. Several maps were nailed to the walls; they were done on buckskin with a hot needle - a technique that took some time but made for a durable map. They showed a good level of detail. A leather drape over a door leading to another room was moved aside, and an older man thumped into the room. 'Thumped' because his left leg was missing from the knee down, replaced with a wooden peg.

"Another new one. I figured they'd quit sending me people to train when no one showed up for a couple of years. Come on in, and we'll go over the basics. Just grab a seat by the stove while I get my spectacles. Name's Mattias, by the way."

"I go by Benedict, Ben for short. Thank you for having me in. I have a lot of questions about what I'm doing."

This room was considerably nicer. The wooden paneling on the walls was old and dark. Three comfortable-looking, leather-covered chairs were arranged in front of a small hearth, with an iron stove sharing the same chimney. One wall had several shelves full of books. A sword, bow, and heavy jacket hung from pegs by the door. More maps were on the walls. A small kitchen at the far end of the room was below a loft area reached by a slanted ladder. Ben assumed sleeping quarters would be up there. A wooden door was on one wall, and its placement might lead into the livery stables.

Mattias grabbed two mugs from the kitchen and put a spoonful of honey in each and a measure of tea, the smell already making its way over to Ben. He wondered how he had been able to operate these last mornings without tea. This man was a little point of civilization among the barbarians, it seemed. After pouring hot water from the kettle and handing over one mug, he had a seat and looked Ben over.

He saw an athletic man in his late 20s. A handsome face with bright brown eyes, curly brown hair, a mustache, and a goatee. He was of average height and lean for his frame. His words and carriage seemed to indicate he hadn't always been a common worker.

Ben looked Mattias over at the same time. The man was in his 70s with greying hair and a trimmed beard, but his blue eyes seemed alert, and his movements had no hint of awkwardness, even with the missing foot.

"Yep, the new ones always have a lot of questions. Mr. Billy told me you were assigned to him, and he was paying your wages so his outfit would have access to a courier. It's a bit odd, but these are odd times, what with all the new folk arriving. Did they give you any training?"

"No, sir. None. But I have some knowledge of horses and riding and am used to fending for myself."

Mattias nodded at the answer. "But did they let you keep that knowledge? The powers that be seem a bit fickle about what a newcomer can do, and I haven't been impressed by what I've seen so far of you 'Contract Workers.' Seem to be good at just a few things and like babes in the woods at everything else.

Ben ran a hand through his hair and exhaled. "Well, that is probably a very true statement, sir. I believe I have some skills that apply to being a Courier, but I'm a bit confused about them. There is mention of manuals?"

Mattias retrieved a leather-bound volume off the bookshelf and handed it to Ben. "You can read? Good, good. Why don't you start working your way through that first volume? There are others, but you won't be able to read them until later. Just part of the rules that we are bound by. Later, you can help me with the animals, and I'll introduce you to Beatrice, a fine animal you'll be spending some time with. She's helped train many new couriers. Mudhead is too much horse for you, at the moment. No telling where you'd end up once he took charge and ran off."

Ben relaxed with his book and tea. The Courier class was already paying off with some nice benefits. Nothing like digging ditches, sleeping on the ground, and eating groat muffins to make you appreciate a nice chair and a cup of tea.

The book gave an overview of the history of the Couriers. They were similar to the old Pony Express from the American Wild West cross with the Musketeers. The local rulers sponsored all the various Courier posts, but Couriers were free to move about the provinces and baronies while on official business. They took mail and messages all over the Empire, often running into trouble and then mostly running away from it. He'd come back to the history later; for now, he really needed to know about these abilities he had on his character sheet. The short descriptions were confusing.

Perk: Courier Manuals: These magical books are used to train new couriers in their special skills or to upgrade them when they achieve a higher tier. There exist manuals corresponding to the normal skill tiers: Apprentice, Journeyman, Veteran, Master, Celebrated, and Legendary. A courier only has access to the manuals for his tier and lower. Ben would be restricted to this first manual until he somehow advanced past level 5 Courier and then was judged competent to move into journeyman at level 6.

Perk: The Courier Rings:

Each Courier is given a special ring crafted by the skilled crafters at the Mage’s Guild. These unique rings are bonded to each Courier. They are a badge of office, a pass to enter other kingdoms, and a sigil used to identify each individual Courier. They cannot be removed without taking off the finger they are attached to, and even then, the ring will disappear immediately, alerting the Couriers Guild that a member is in trouble. At each stop, your ring will be used to put your Couriers mark in the log book to track your movements. If you are asked to witness the signing of a document, your Courier's mark is an official stamp that signifies a neutral witness has verified the signing.

The rings also have a magical function: the storage of important documents. If a physical object conveys information, it can be stored in the ring. This included books, papers, strips of leather with coded numbers, clay tablets with tally marks, love letters made of flower petals, and any type of scroll. The inside is like a small library, and items are organized and easy to move in and out as long as they carry information. Up to five pounds per level of such items can be stored. While in the ring, messages are secure. The Courier can willingly remove the objects, but it can’t be forced.

Warning: Objects that the ring isn't designed to carry are another matter. This overstrains the magic, and the difference will come out of the courier himself. A Courier might get away with a coin or spare pair of socks and only take a little damage each hour. Carrying a few extra pounds would kill even a veteran courier in a small amount of time.

Ben calculated that a large bag of coins would kill him in less than a minute. First, his mana would be drained, then his stamina, and finally, the cost of storage would take his health. It was the first thing he’d seen so far that came close to the inventory abilities from other games. But this was severely limited.

Perk: Courier’s Equipment. With this Jack-of-all-trades crafting skill, a Courier can make and maintain his tack and saddles, fix wagon wheels, stitch sailcloth, and polish the scales on a dragon. Whatever form of travel you are skilled in, you are also given the crafting skills to maintain that form of travel.

The last ability was odd...

Perk: Quest Mob: Couriers play a part in many stories. From the brave messenger taking battle plans to a general to the errand boy taking secret love letters across town. Because of this, it is not uncommon for them to be the objects of quests. An enemy spy might need to switch the battle plans, an assassin could be tasked with making sure a plea for help never arrived, and bandits might want to acquire the leather bag full of taxes being sent to a counting house. Because of the danger and complexity this adds to a Courier's job you gained two benefits: increased Experience and decreased penalties for death.

When you die during a quest associated with your duties as an Imperial Courier, you suffer no resurrection penalties, and you and your mount may immediately choose to reappear at your bind point.

Ben saw these Perks were now listed on his own sheet when he brought it up, along with his meager skills.

Skill: Travel (AGI): Couriers are known to be excellent horsemen, and many can sail boats, drive carriages, and navigate tunnels with trained moles. The Travel skill enhanced these abilities, increasing your speed and ability to navigate obstacles, enhancing whatever type of movement is being used. Speed increases by 5% +1% per rank.

Skill: Drive Cart (DEX): You have the skill to harness a mule, horse, or donkey to a cart and drive it on passable roads.

Skill: Carry Tidings (CHA): Couriers are required to carry news of events from town to town, informing the populace and the authorities. Your memory increases with each rank in this skill, letting you easily memorize both written and oral news. When speaking to the public, your voice carries further and can be clearly heard as your voice rings out with the authority of the Emperor.

He wasn’t happy that his only choice at this point was 'Drive Cart.' He should be racing across open fields on a powerful horse, a cape streaming behind him and a stylish hat on his head.

Benedict set the book down and tried to figure out if this was an awesome job full of adventure, adversaries, secret missions, and daring escapes - or total bullshit. He hoped that at higher levels, he would gain some of the traditional elements of traditional classes like Spy, Bard, or Secret Agent. But so far, the only guarantee was that he was going to get murdered half a dozen times a month by bandits and assassins.

Then he remembered who he was carrying messages for, primarily. Crap. If corporate espionage were a thing, it would be a dozen times a month. Some of the other corporations had assassins as department heads. Hell, some of them were all assassins. You didn't really have to ask what Murder Inc. had for a main product.

But the clothes! The back of the book had diagrams and recipes for donkey harnesses and wooden wheels - and everything else he might need to make for his first few levels. Including some stylish full-length leather riding jackets, tri-corn hats, and knee-high riding boots. It would be so good to ditch this embarrassing sack-cloth outfit and get something stylish. As he looked at them, he even had ideas of how to make them. Eventually - he needed some money and time. Certainly not happening today. He wondered, though, if Billy would begrudge him some sedge beast leather.

Matthias set a plate in front of him with a ham sandwich on it. "Eat, then I introduce you to Beatrice and we get you on your way. It's a quick run, just up to Rowan Keep and back. Something simple for your first time out. Let you and your mighty steed get acquainted."

Entering through the door to the livery, Ben was stunned by the sight of a beautiful roan gelding contentedly munching hay. He'd been groomed until his coat shined. Those long legs were made for speed, and he....he...."Why did you name a gelding Beatrice?"

"Didn't. The roan is named Mudhead. Has a tendency to like to go swimming or roll in muddy parts of the pasture. A pain to keep clean. Not like Beatrice, now she's a lady and a pleasure to work with." So saying, he opened the second stall and an aging grey donkey walked out and looked Ben over, sniffing him once. She rolled her eyes and looked sideways at Matthias.

"I know, girl, he ain't much now, but give him a chance. You get him trained up, and I'm sure he'll work out."

Not knowing how to reply to this turn of events, Ben mostly stayed silent and listened as Matthias hitched Beatrice to a small wooden cart and showed him how to hook up the harness.

"Like I said, a milk run. Here's the ACME package. Toss that in your ring. This other pouch has a bit of correspondence and orders from the townsfolk. Granya needs some things from the merchants at the Keep. Make sure to fill out her order. Try not to stop. But if you have to, like there’s someone in your way, don't start a fight. Most of the time, you can talk your way past by showing your ring. In an emergency, just let Beatrice handle things. And you may have some rather odd requests from the populace. I'll let you figure that part out."

And with that, Ben climbed on the small seat of the cart, flicked the reins, and he and Beatrice started down the road at a fast walk.

It was about 10 miles to Rowan keep along the winding dirt road. Donkeys moved about as fast as a human when walking, and Ben was expecting about a 3-hour trip, but as soon as they cleared the town, Beatrice brayed once and then picked up the pace quite a bit and moved into a gaited walk that was closer to a trot in speed. That would cut the trip down to about two hours if she could keep it up. Ben wondered if Beatrice had some Courier level herself and the Travel skill was responsible.

After traveling about six miles, they came around a corner to the sight of several small green humanoids blocking their way. They were armed with shields and spears but didn't seem very hostile at first. They quickly surrounded the cart, but since Beatrice didn't seem too worried, Ben didn't try anything, remembering what Mattias had said. The goblins jabbered and pointed to the right, and Ben saw a wide path between the trees. Steering the cart that way while surrounded by a lot of spears should have been frightening, but he got a distinct feeling that the donkey knew the path. They climbed around a hill and, after a half-mile, came into a large camp of goblins. Several teepees surrounded a large fire.

A huge goblin nearly six feet tall stood by the fire in front of a throne. Beatrice stopped, and a goblin child ran forward and gave her an apple. The chief scratched her between the ears. "You return, Grey-death-four-hoof, it is good. I have need of your services. He handed Ben a small pouch of copper. "We are out of Booze. Bring us 12 bottles of Red Fire. Oh, and take back these empties". A sack of empty bottles labeled 'Red Wizard Whiskey' was placed in the cart. The label showed a long-bearded wizard tossing a fireball. The chief went back to his throne, and Ben took that to mean he was free to go.

Beatrice started to turn around, and the goblins escorted them back to the road, waving to them as they left. Ben was glad for the instructions: "Don't start a fight." That encounter could have gone badly. They made it to the Keep without further problems. A decurion at the gate showed him where to put outgoing correspondence and pick up things going back to Sedgewick. He was handed a sealed packet bearing the ACME logo. Ben brought the ACME documents out of his ring and replaced them with the new package. There was only one other thing going to Sedgewick, and that was a pamphlet, 'The Perils of Pauline chapter 173.' There was a tag on it listing Granya as the recipient. Ben put it in his pouch and went looking for a whiskey merchant.

The merchants were by the back gate. The little area was mostly deserted, with Ben being the only person shopping. He assumed that when players started entering the game, it would be a thriving marketplace, but not today. Ben found the one selling alcohol and, in an easy transaction, secured a case of the red-colored whiskey and returned the empties. The merchant was a large bearded man named Oakley. "Ok, let's see if the Chief counted right this time. Good customer, but goblins don't have much sense of coinage." Indeed, it turned out the Chief had overpaid a bit, sending along an odd assortment of coins. "Ok, I think this comes to about 143 copper pieces. His whiskey is a silver bottle, and that leaves 23 left over. We'll split what's left three ways. Seven for me, seven to you, Mr. Ben, seven for Miss Beatrice, and I'll toss the odd two to Decurion Givers. Good for all of us to keep him happy. Does that all work for you? Beatrice and Ben both nodded. Oakley passed Ben his copper and placed Beatrice's in a small pouch that was tied to her harness. With nothing left to accomplish, they turned to head home.

Keeping an eye out for the turn-off to the goblin camp, they came up behind a group of four people walking along. They wore a mishmash of different armor types, mostly leather and chain, all of it carefully rusted over. They also didn’t like bathing, a fact Ben picked up on as the wind shifted.

They noticed him but didn't move to get out of his way. In fact, they stopped walking and half surrounded the cart. Ben held up his ring.

"Hi, fellows. Official Courier, mind moving out of the way? Thanks." No one moved.

"Well, I’m not sure what a Curry-ar is, but I don't like anything official. What about you boys?"

"Nope, I'm with you, Blackleg, 'Official' just sounds like rules to me, and I hate rules. Thank the gods that rules are optional for bandits. Makes it all so much easier."

The one called Blackleg took a look at the cart's cargo. "So, here's what I think happens. Mr. Official Currycomb here is going to give us his whiskey, his pouch, and his old donkey, and then he can strip naked and run for the fort back there. Then if you..."

That was enough for Ben; he flipped the reins, yelled as loud as he could, and hoped Beatrice could follow his lead. She did and more than followed. One bandit in front got a hoof to his shin, which dropped him bellowing. Blackleg lost a chunk out of his arm from her teeth. She surged forward in a fast gallop that had Ben holding on tightly lest he be knocked off. The cart went bouncing down the road with the bandits running behind in their heavy armor and swearing at him.

It wasn't far to the turn-off, and Beatrice had a head of steam up. Ben had lost his fight to hold on and fell back into the cart. Beatrice didn't need him on the reins. She took the turn and started up the hill to the camp, slowing as she hit the grade. Ben went out the back and helped push the cart into the camp. Yelling loudly as they entered, he pointed back down the road. "Whiskey thieves trying to steal from the Chief!!" His voice was amplified by his perk: carry tidings; every goblin in earshot realized someone was trying to raid their supply of alcohol.

This had an immediate effect on the camp as the goblins went from laughing at their galloping entrance to furiously grabbing weapons. When the four bandits came running into the camp, it was to find two dozen armed goblins and a very upset goblin Chief. "No mercy for whiskey thieves!!"

The fight was brutal, but the goblins had the numbers, and the Chief was a monster that plowed into them at a charge, knocking them off their feet. A few goblins were injured, but the humans were quickly defeated, beaten up, stripped, and hog-tied. Within a minute, they were relieved of a rusty chainmail shirt, several poor-looking short swords, and a pouch on the ground. The goblins who had fought quickly gathered it all up.

It took Ben until almost nightfall to get back to Sedgewick. The Chief had insisted on him sharing in the first two rounds of drinks. The Chief tossed Ben the pouch from the bandits and had the armor and sword put in the cart, along with a bag of apples for Beatrice. Ben and Beatrice were both four copper richer.

The goblins were having fun taunting the bandits. The Chief had declared that for their great transgression, they would repay the tribe by cleaning out the cesspits at the back of the camp. Clapping Ben on the back, he escorted him down to the road himself. "Smart move. Saved my whiskey and brought us some pre-drinking fun. You come back anytime. Bring more 'friends' if you can." Ben could hear the Chief laughing as he went back up the hill.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. After stabling and feeding Beatrice, he rubbed her down well, made sure she had fresh oats and hay and fed her a couple of apples. "Thanks, girl, learned a lot today."

Tired and walking back to his hut after grabbing two cold muffins from the kitchen, he checked his notices to find he’d been judged a success.

[Congratulations on your first successful Courier run. You accomplished the following:

-Delivered official correspondence to Rowan Keep and Back.

-You completed the side mission "Whiskey Delivery".

-You earned bonus experience for foiling a hijacking and aiding in the capture of four whiskey thieves.

-Each of your skills has gained +350 experience and advanced to Rank 3.

-CHA and DEX have advanced to Rank 3

-You have increased your Class: Contract Worker (Courier) to Level 1.

Treasure this experience. They won't all be this easy.]

Name: Ben

Height: 6’0”

Weight 180 lbs.

Heritage: Human 96% (+1DEX, +2AGI, +1CHR)

Creature Type: Contract Worker

Class: Contract Worker: Courier Level 1

You have a role to play in the village of Sedgewick. Quests will be generated as needed.

Health: 400

Stamina: 1200

Mana: 260

STR: 0 (+20 Stamina, +10 Health, per point.)

CON: 0 (+10 Stamina, +20 Health, per point.)

DEX: 4 (Increased chance to hit in combat.)

AGI: 5 (Increased avoidance in combat.)

WIS: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)

INT: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)

CHA: 4 (+15 Mana per point.)

PER: 0 (Decreased chance of ambush.)