//------------------------------// // Episode 7 - Goblin Diplomacy // Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace // by Mindrop //------------------------------// Episode 7 - Goblin Diplomacy Eighth day in the Month of Cypress (November 8) in the Year of the Hawk Floor 1 - Medai - 12 p.m. Medai was a larger village than Horunka. It was predominantly farms, but they had an inn and a general store. Natora had been here only once in the beta, and only for a short time, so she knew virtually nothing. They divided up the immediate tasks: Bladescape and Thunderborne went to the inn and got two rooms, Knightstar and Natora went to the general store for supplies, Diemond and Doombunny went to look for quests, Malus had to look out for Konpeito and ensure she didn't run off, while also getting lunch. She had mentioned a lasso and Bladescape was afraid that they would find Konpeito tied up when they all got back together.    The inn rooms were not hard to get. They rented them for three days, since Medai was in the center of the Floor. There was more around it and that probably meant they would spend some more time here. It wasn’t a village most players would consider “next” on the list to get to and many would slow down at Horunka, trying to get an anneal blade. The girls would not have to jockey for XP with other players, at least not yet.  Bladescape spotted Doombunny first. She was leaning up against a fence by a farmhouse. Bladescape tapped Thunderborne to get her to follow and went over to Doombunny.  "What did you find?" Bladescape asked.  "Just sheep," Doombunny softly replied, before sighing. "Cute sheep. Virtual or not, they are cute." "And in desperate need of a haircut," the farmer stated. "But I don't have time with the list of chores I have to do, like fixing the wagon and the roof needs repairs." Bladescape perked up. It sounded like a quest. "We could help. If you would like us to help." "I'm not sure how much I could pay yah," the farmer said.  "We can settle that after we get what we can done," Bladescape said. "You said shearing the sheep, fixing the cart, fixing the roof, anything else you need help with?" "Plenty, but nothing major like those,” he said. “I could use a real farmhand for the others, but adventurers like yourselves, you wouldn't want to live here, doing boring stuff like that. Just see what you can do about those three tasks, and I will see what I can come up with for payment." "Deal!" Bladescape said. She elbowed Thunderborne.  "Oh, yeah, deal! I'll help too." "I'm Farmer Brown by the way." "I'm Bladescape, and this is my friends Thunderborne and Doombunny. Nice to meet you, Farmer Brown." "It is a pleasure to meet you as well," he replied. The quest was started for each of them. They each got a notification for it and the rest of their party would have as well. It didn't take them long for them to make it over to them. They were only missing Diemond, but no one knew where she was. Malus distributed the fresh bread she had bought at the bakery and they ate a bland, but satisfying, lunch.  Once they were done, Doombunny, Thunderborne, and Knightstar hopped the fence and began to shear the sheep. Thunderborne used her speed to catch one. Doombunny kept it calm and still while Knightstar did the shearing.  Malus and Bladescape took a look at the wagon, leaving Natora in charge of Konpeito and the roof. Konpeito, distracted on a roof, was not a good mix, but all of the tasks had their level of risk when it came to her “helping.” "The axle is cracked," Malus stated. "I can see that," Bladescape sarcastically said. "Anything useful?" "Well, we would need to get a new one and then put the wheels on,” Malus explained. “They are a simple design. Just a pin through the hole to keep the wheel in place. The question is where to get the axle." "Let's try the general store," Bladescape said. They went to the store and Bladescape did the talking. "We are helping Farmer Brown and looking to get his wagon repaired. We need a new axle. Do you know where we can get one?" "You will need to talk with Jack, the logger, and Casper, the carpenter,” the NPC shop owner said. “Jack can cut a tree and Casper can shape it." They got direction to both and headed first to Jack. "I've got a few logs that should work," Jack said. "Already cut too. For a sack of Farm Brown's potatoes, I will gladly give you one." They agreed and went to Casper.  "I'll need to see the original axle," Casper stated. "So I can match it. I don't mind helping Farmer Brown, but I could use a sack of cabbages that he grows. A man has to eat to live." They agreed and went back to the Farmhouse. On the way, Bladescape got a notification that the quest "Goblin Diplomacy" had been started. That had to be what Diemond was up to. At the farmhouse, Farmer Brown was happy to make that exchange, but they had to pick the crops themselves. Both sacks could only hold ten of each vegetable. Malus took the potatoes so she could dig in the virtual dirt. Bladescape took a sack and began to harvest the cabbages. The potatoes turned out to be simple, just pulling the stalk and they came out. Not having dirt under her fingernails to clean was driving Malus crazy. The cabbages were likewise easy to “pick.” They unhooked the axel and went to Jack. They traded him the potatoes for the log and Malus easily carried it and the axel over one shoulder to Casper. Casper accepted the cabbages and then the log and axle. It would take him some time to make the axle.  In the meantime, Bladescape and Malus headed back to the farm. The sheep were almost sheared. Natora and Konpeito were leaning against the fence of the sheep pen. Natora nodded to Bladescape. "Waiting for stuff to be made by NPCs?"  "Yep," Bladescape nodded. "You?" "Same," Natora nodded.  Diemond finally joined them. "Sorry, girls, that took longer than planned." "What is the quest?" Bladescape asked. "I'm afraid it is an ugly one," Diemond said. "We have been asked to eliminate the Goblin camp to the north of the village. They are harassing the villagers and threatening to pillage their homes, so we need to stop that. It does come with a handsome col reward." "Doom, Thunder, and I will stay to shear the sheep," Natora said. "Malus can join your party. It should be pretty easy to eliminate them." "You can go too," Doombunny said. "We are almost done. I need Thunder to catch the sheep, but I can shear them. You should have a full party, to be safe." Natora nodded and disbanded her party. She joined Bladescape’s and so did Malus. They headed north, out of the town. They quickly cut down any goblins in their way. It was a longer walk than expected, but they easily found the camp.  The path at the camp was very open, providing no cover or ability to hide their approach. A big goblin, identified as General Wartface, aggressively approached them. "What brings you here?" He asked as the goblins gathered around him. They were outnumbered four to one, at least.  "We come to end your assault on Medai," Bladescape declared, as strongly as she could.  "Is that so?" General Wartface replied, challenging them.  "Yes," Bladescape nodded.  "I guess we could be persuaded to end the attacks, if you help us,” He said. That was not what any of them were expecting. The others left the talking up to Bladescape since she had started. "Help in what way?"  "General Bentnose thinks we need to redo our armor’s color, to differentiate us Forest Goblins from the Mountain Goblins, but I don't agree with him. Help us come up with a solution and we will not attack the town." "I think I can help you," Diemond said, stepping forward.  A goblin as big as Wartface joined General Wartface. He was obviously General Bentnose with how crooked his nose was. There was a smaller goblin with him. "Tell us which one looks better," General Bentnose gruffly ordered. "Grubfoot will wear the choices." "I have a knack for these things," Diemond said. "Show me what you have in mind." "Goblin mail with blue," General Bentnose said. "Blue is my favorite color and I want our armor to be blue." Grubfoot showed them the blue trimmed armor. There was only a little colored trim added to the bronze mail.  "Honestly, it doesn't go with your complexion," Diemond stated. "Next!" "I think orange armor," General Wartface said. Grubfoot came out in Orange trimmed armor. "Better, but not you," Diemond said. "What else?" "Ugh," General Bentnose droned, thinking. "Brown." Grubfoot came back out wearing the same armor that all of the goblins were wearing.  "Now that is a powerful look which also goes well with your complexion," Diemond said, intentionally playing it up. "He looks good in that. Like a warrior, strong and proud. It fits with who you are." "Brown always has been good," General Wartface said. "I agree with that statement," General Bentnose added. "Brown it is then," General Wartface stated. "A deal is a deal. We will not attack the village. But the mountain goblins have kicked us out, so we have nowhere else to go. We won't go south to the village though, as promised." "Fine," Bladescape nodded. “I am glad we could stop that from happening and I am sorry to hear you lost your homes.” “Civility from a human is different,” General Bentnose stated. “I think I like it.” They turned and walked away. Bladescape stole a glance back at the two goblin generals who were arguing about something else.  "Did that seem too easy to y'all?" Malus asked.  "Anticlimactic, but not easy," Diemond said. "After all, we had to walk all the way out here and do some fighting. Besides, without me, you would not have come to such a decision." "I would have said orange," Malus admitted. "Same," Natora said. "Orange for tigers, although I thought the blue looked better. Not necessarily on them, but in general. The orange was more of a burnt orange and didn't pop like the blue did. It doesn't matter though. The quest log is updated. We have to report back to the mayor. The town won't be attacked by goblins. Or well, those goblins." "That's good," Bladescape said. "But did you catch the end of their conversation?" "What do you mean?" Natora asked. "A hundred col says that we will end up back here on a quest,” Bladescape said. “Either helping the mountain goblins or the forest goblins." "Deal," Natora said. They shook on it as they walked all the way back to the village. A few goblins appeared, which they easily dispatched. There hadn't been time for most of them to respawn.  They reported in with the mayor. He was happy to hear that they would not be attacked, albeit disappointed the goblins were not slaughtered. They received their col and XP. It moved the six of them to Level 5.  Malus and Natora exited the party. Natora and Konpeito headed to get their materials, while Bladescape and Malus went to get theirs. Diemond and Knightstar headed back to the farm.  The axle was ready for them. They took it back to the farm and easily installed the new axle onto the cart. Farmer Brown was elated to have it fixed.  Doombunny and Thunderborne had sheared the last of the sheep and Farmer Brown was happy to have that chore done. Natora and Konpeito had the roof fixed in no time.  "I can give you this," Farmer Brown said. "This knife has been in my family for generations, but I think it will serve you better. And this is the col I can spare." They accepted it and all of them received a good boost in XP. Doombunny and Thunderborne reached level 5. Doombunny was given the Shepherd’s Seax to use. It was significantly better than her starter dagger. "Let's go hunt more goblins," Natora suggested. "They had decent XP. I bet by the end of the day, we can all be at level six." They all agreed and headed out. It didn't take long for them to reach level six. They headed back to town to celebrate and plan. Around the table in the tavern, they made their plans. For skills, they had to be smart if they were to survive. Early on, collective strength mattered most, but they also had to look ahead, so that they stayed a diverse but balanced group.  Bladescape chose Weapon Defense which gave her counter attacks and specific blocks to use since she didn't have a shield. Knightstar chose Light Metal Armor, giving herself a solid base to build from at the later higher levels. Diemond was convinced to choose Sewing, rather than an armor skill. They thought Konpeito had chosen Acrobatics as her second skill, but she had chosen Cooking, so she picked Weapon Defense to be her third. Malus chose Light Metal Armor for the time being. She needed to raise her strength parameters and train the skill before she could unlock Heavy Metal Armor. Doombunny chose Fighting Spirit, which appeared to be a combat booster, except no one else had it on their list of available skills. Natora selected Sales Negotiation in order to help with selling their loot. It was a big risk for her, having only one combat skill. She would have no choice but to set her fourth skill as a combat one. Natora was confident in their group and their ability to keep her safe while she took the extra risk. Thunderborne picked Acrobatics as her third skill to complement her speed. She was relying on speed and agility to offset not having a shield, weapon defense, or armor skill. Once she had a rapier in her hands, those three skills would be a deadly combination. "That keeps us well balanced on multiple fronts," Natora said.  "Diemond, do you think you can make those bed rolls?” Bladescape asked.  "I can certainly try,” Diemond said. “If I had wool, that would make a great padding layer." Natora took all of their drops from the goblins and sold them. She bought a large spool of thread from the shopkeeper, as well as a needle. Before Natora could redistribute the col from the sales, they told her to give it to Diemond, to help cover the costs of the materials since the bedrolls were for the group collectively. Diemond settled on half of the col, and the rest was split evenly.   Diemond went to Farmer Brown and he agreed to sell her four bags of wool. Diemond took the thread and needle and quickly had a sleeping bag sewn together. The bottom layer was boar hide, then the wool was laid out and a wolf pelt was sewn to the boar hide, with the fur on the outside. Another wolf pelt was sewn on top, with the fur facing inward. It was easy for her to make and duplicating it would also be easy. She got a good skill XP boost from making the four sleeping bags. Diemond bought six more bags of wool, the most Farmer Brown could sell her, and made four more sleeping bags and eight pillows. Those took up the last of the hides and furs they had from their pre-tutorial hunting. "Now we have some spare bedrolls," Diemond declared. “We could give some away or sell them cheap.” "Not really," Bladescape said. "Sure, we double up on the beds, but if we get stuck in the field, we each should have one and set a watch. We might even be in parties of four, separated from each other, and then we will definitely need each of us to have a bag." "Fine," Diemond huffed. "Great job though," Bladescape said, encouraging her friend. "That is exactly what we needed and I like your forward thinking about others. Your generosity never ceases to amaze me." They went to bed early with the intent of getting an early start to a full day of goblin slaying. Bladescape was given the bed, alone, so that she could finally get some rest. With the sleeping bags, it made the floor more comfortable and Bladescape was too tired to argue. For the first time in three days, she fell asleep. BLADESCAPE: Level 6 — One-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense NATORA: Level 6 —  One-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiations  KNIGHTSTAR: Level 6 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor MALUS: Level 6 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor  THUNDERBORNE: Level 6 — One-Handed Sword — Sprint — Acrobatics  KONPEITO: Level 6 — One-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense   DIEMOND: Level 6 — Mace — Shield — Sewing  DOOMBUNNY: Level 6 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit