Farming For Gold 15 Chapter 14

Winston walked towards the orc camp with a giant grey bird following him. The week had gone by quickly as Winston attended school and watched over his crops in game. He'd spent most of his in-game week watering his vegetables in an attempt to improve their quality. He'd managed two more harvests and had managed to grow enough of everything to fulfill the orcs quest, if only barely.

His skill level for farming still hadn't gone up but he should be getting close. Level seven should be coming up soon as well and he was excited for the new stats. Now that he was free of school for the week he should be able to get something done.

The two reached the orc village without many problems. Although Bogdonna wouldn't fight 'for' him she'd still defend herself so she chased off the lower level beats they'd run into. Bog was an interesting pet companion. She seemed content to just sit in the stables and be fed with the crops he grew. He'd had to bribe her with extra feed just to get her to come with him on this trip.

The orcs guarding the village didn't bother to stop him this time. It was his third time in the village and he'd earned enough fame with them not to be manhandled. Winston noticed something different about the village as soon as he saw it but It wasn't until a group of young orc-lings ran by laughing and play-fighting that he figured it out. The village seemed happy..

Orcs moved through the street with purpose and there were even a couple of hawkers selling animal pelts or interesting trinkets. The entire village seemed to have transformed in the seven days he'd been gone. It was like the place had changed from a desolate ghost-town to a bustling small village. Every time he'd seen it before it had been full of grim-faced orcs going from place to place with their shoulders hunched and gripping their weapons tightly.

Winston walked into Ol'gar's hut with some spring in his step.. The old she orc seemed to be paining something this time. She was was using a wide animal-hair brush as she swirled paint into tribal symbols onto a deer-hide in black, white, and red. As Winston looked at the marks his vision went hazy. Sounds of battle and blood seemed to pour into his mind from every direction.

He was reaching into his pack to draw his scythe when the old She-orc finally noticed him and covered the painting. Winston blinked a few times and looked confusedly down at his weapon.

"Planning on gutting me with that?"

Winston snorted. "Yeah right… You could tear me apart with your bare hands, not to mention whatever magical powers you have. What's up with that painting anyway?"

"It's not a painting, only elves have time for such useless pursuits. As if a landscape of a waterfall or a vase of flowers magically contains the wisdom of ages just because one of the made a picture of it.. This is an orcish warbanner. A thing of our people. Your food has helped stabilize the village we've begun preparing for war." Ol'gar explained.

"Isn't that a bit too soon? You guys just recovered. Shouldn't you build up a bit more first?" Winston asked. He didn't know how he felt about the orcs going to war. It was what orcs did but he felt responsible for them somehow.

"We'll that's why you're here isn't it. A horde marches on its stomach. What did you bring us this time?" She asked.

"I'm going to have to make two tips. Six bushel of vegetables is too much for my small pack." Winston said.

"That's fine." The she-orc waved him off as she stood and they headed towards the warehouse. The warehouse was once again empty but Winston poured out half the vegetables he owed filling the warehouse with Potatoes and Cabbages. They weren't really up to quality standards but they should be decent enough for orcs. Winston just didn't have enough time to really care for them. Vegetables seemed more picky than grains and he didn't have the hours to baby them they needed. If he wanted to higher quality he'd need to water them every few hours, as well as trim and weed them.

Ol'gar would just have to deal with low-quality crops. It was just too dry here. He hoped this stupid quest took that into account when it started handing out rewards.

"Well, not up to last weeks standards but they'll give the orclings some variety at least. That's the most important. Now hurry back with the other-half." She said, waving the mole-man off. Winston Grumbled but glumly headed back to camp. It was nearly two in the afternoon when he finally dumped off the second sack of vegetables.

[Quest Completed!]

[Food For The Village II]

[You Have Received:

3000 xp

1 Divinite Stone

100 fame with the Fire-tooth Orcs]

Ol'gar was waiting for him with a small white stone once he dumped his second sack of vegetables onto the warehouse floor.. Winston looked at the small oddly shaped object. It looked like a uncut gem but was various shades of off-white.

[Divinite]

[Reagent]

[Rare, Standard quality]

[A chunk of crystallized faith.]

"What's is it?" Winston asked. The game told him what it was but it didn't really explain anything.

"Divinite. It's not good for much usually but to you it should be quite valuable. When someone prays to a G.o.d or makes devotions at a shrine they empower the G.o.d, more faith, bigger G.o.d. However, during large gatherings it's possible to siphon off a bit of that faith, especially from people who aren't very faithful." Ol'gar explained.

Winston just looked confused.

"A faithful person gets a direct line to their G.o.d. A two way link from the moral to the divine. People who believe in something but don't really know what they believe? Well, their faith just floats around. Since there's no clear direction for that faith to go someone who knows what they are doing can direct it. Usually a priest or shaman will just send it to whatever G.o.d they feel should have it but they can also store it. Get enough of it together and you end up with a stone like that." She said, pointing to the small rock.

"To a mortal it's practically useless. However, it's food for the G.o.ds. That there is only a few hundred people worth of prayers. To a normal G.o.d it wouldn't even make a snack but to say… A G.o.ddess who only has a single follower it should make her rather happy with you." The she-orc said with a wry smile."

"Thank you." Winston said honestly. It wasn't exactly what he'd been hoping for but it would at least be useful.

"No, thank you. My people have enough food again. Which brings me to this weeks order. We need more grain, what you have us is almost gone but this time we need even more."

[You Have Received A Quest]

[Food For the Village III]

[You are to deliver 10 bushels of Corn, Wheat, or Rice to the orcs at Fire-Tooth village by this time next week.]

[Time Remaining: 168:00]

[Recommended Level: N/A]

[Difficulty: Normal]

[Rewards: ??]

[WARNING: Orcs are considered a monster race by many civilized peoples. Trading with them will likely lower your reputation with other NPC's if they find out.]

Winston blinked at her. 10 bushel, that was a lot. That was a hundred dollars even more at actual market prices. "That's… a lot." Winston said slowly. Yes Divinite was a good quest reward and would likely help him out quite a bit. Logically the next quest would offer even better rewards but… 100 dollars worth of rewards? He could buy a decent used graphics card for that. The problem was that once he started a quest chain it was hard to just walk away. The last quest always had a much larger reward and Winston was already getting rare items. What would the final quest reward be like?

"I'll bring it but it'll be hard. My pack can only carry three bushel. Could you send some of your people closer to the keep to help carry?" Winston asked. The old orc looked at him and smiled.

"We could do that but less work for you also means less pay for you." She said smiling.

Winston scowled as he looked up at the orc. That was fair he supposed, he didn't have to like it but fairness was like that. If n.o.body was happy with the arrangement than the deal was probably a good one. Winston's scowl turned to a smile and he nodded in acknowledgement.

[Quest Accepted!]

Winston walked out of the storehouse and into the orc village followed by Bog. The bird crunched happily on a raw potato as the two moved. She liked potatoes. She couldn't really chew them and she didn't eat them. She just seemed to like chomping them with her beak before spitting them out on the ground. It was weird but then Bog was a weird bird.

His loyalty stat wasn't going up very fast but it was going up. Just feeding the overgrown pidgen seemed to be enough. His taming skill hadn't leveled at all but he likely needed to actually try to train the beast as opposed to just feeding it and letting it follow him around.

He walked down the street of the orc town and stopped at a market stall. The orc selling was old trinkets and various junk. Winston paused as he started to move past him. He turned back to the orc and examined the objects on the table. People were always finding treasures in old beggars merchants stalls right?

Winston picked through the pile, finding it to be mostly crafting reagents and none were above uncommon rank.. He had hopes for a silver knife until he found out it was a tool for witchcraft and ritual casting. The only thing he found of interest was a chunk of raw ore with the rare rank but his mining skill wasn't high enough to tell what it was or any of its properties. Even if he bought it what would he do with it?

No ancient magical seeds or powerful weapons for him, apparently. Winston grunted and turned away from the stall before he stopped once more and turned back. Now that his fame had risen he wondered if he could pick up some cheap quests.

"You need anything? I've been bringing in food for the tribe but if there's something else I might be able to get a hold of in the human cities let me know." Winston offered the wizened old orc. His tusks were broken off and his face was so wrinkled it was hard to even see his eyes.

A wizened green hand came up to rub at the orc's bony chin. "Yessss…. And I'm sure you'll charge us all ten times it worth. I've seen your type before mole. Just because the humans don't kill you on site makes you think you can come and rip off the tribes." The old orc said with a scowl.

Winston scowled back. "I take a loss on the grain I bring here old man. I got furs from you guys. I could have bought two nice horses in the city with that grain but I brought it out here."

The old man could have just said no. The last thing Winston was doing all this for was money. He could make that by just staying in the keep and ma.s.s farming wheat. Winston didn't say anything else and just turned and started back towards the keep. He'd already wasted most of the day hauling his crops. He still had work to do.

Bog ran off as soon as the two made it back to the keep. Walking must have worn her out and she'd run off to fatten herself up again. Winston laughed to himself as he climbed up over the wall. When he landed he saw Rimmi standing over a large wooden vat while stirring it with a long spoon.

To the side was a roughly shaped stone tub. The gnome was sweating but he looked rather pleased.

"How's the sugar coming?" Winston asked.

"Could use some more beets actually. I've already gained two levels in alchemy. That'll be a big help since my mana flowers should finally be done by Monday or Tuesday next week. Then I can try my hands at making real potions.: Rimmi said. "It's just nice to be able to stop farming for a while."

"I know the feeling. I actually like the farming but even so it's nice to grab a break now and then. Even if you enjoy a job, at the end of the day it's still a job." Winston said sagely as he headed towards the shrine in the middle of the courtyard.

The brazier on top was still burning with red fire even though no-one had ever replaced the coals. Winston reached into his pack and pulled out the chunk of divinite. Was he just supposed to toss it into the fire? He thought about it and shrugged. Ceremony always seemed appropriate at times like this. He cleared his throat and prepared another of his pompous speeches.

"Runa, Lady of the walls and fields, Accept this offering of your humble servant. May your power grow greater and your flame grow brighter. My your name resound once more in this land." Winston called out as he tossed the stone into the fire.

The ground started to rumble as the stone melted in the flames. Then the ground jerked sharply as the shrine started to grow. It didn't grow far, only about six inches but it had more of a presence now. The red flames had started to show hints of silver and the shine radiated a low-level holy aura.

[Shrine level increased]

[Shrine aura increased to 550 ft radius]

[Crop maturation time improved to 12% decrease]

[Wall Hp increase improved to 12%]

[You Have received A Divine Mandate!]

[A Farmer's Quest]

[The G.o.ddess Runa has regained a small bit of her divine power and wishes to reclaim one of her lost artifacts. The first is in possession of the Shattered-Stump Ogre Tribe. Eliminate the Tribe and regain the Trowel of Tarvinth]

[Time Remaining: 30 days]

[Recommended Level: 15]

[Difficulty: Lair]

[Rewards: 6000 XP, Runa Skill XP, A Divine Ability]

Winston gaped at the information. He had to kill a tribe of Ogre's? How in the h.e.l.l was he supposed to do that? Winston had been disappointed with the effect of the divinite but now he had yet another quest and this one he was supposed to fight in. He couldn't even imagine how that was supposed to happen. He only had a single skill that was even a moderate use in a fight. He's just have to figure something out. He'd ask Ruger, Brad, and Trish to help him out if everything else failed. He just had to convince them to cross half the world for a level 15 quest.

He shook off his thoughts and strolled around the courtyard checking on his crops. This was his favorite part of farming. He didn't really mind the other work but he liked to walk the fields and see his crops growing. It gave him a sense of peace he didn't often get at home or at school. He wished he could bring Trish out here to walk with him. He blushed at the thought, then laughed. Love really did make men into idiots.

He'd switched his main field back to wheat while leaving his second smaller field as corn. The two seemed to be growing well. His skill levels in grains were propping the crops up even with the lack of water and proper fertilization. His vegetables were doing worse. He didn't have the skill ranks in vegetables that he did in grains and it was showing.

Most of them were slightly wilted so he poured his megar mana into producing water for them. It wouldn't fix the issue but every little bit would help. Then he came to cabbage patch and winced. They were the worst off. Cabbage seemed to need more water than the beans and he had no real way of helping them.

He checked his cloudberries next. They had finally grown into a decent sized bush and small buds had started to appear on the stems. In another few days they finally start to fruit. He could see his apple tree from here as well. It was growing rapidly and would be ready to start producing apples in another week or so. Everything on the farm was coming together but that left Winston in an awkward place. Without a significant upgrade to his skill he had no real way to move forward from here. He was already managing as large of a farm as it was currently possible for him. He just didn't have enough time to expand more since all the planting and harvesting had to be done by hand.

He needed a farm hand, or he needed some magical farming based skill to help him harvest and plant faster. There had to be farming based active skills that would help him. At higher levels he should be managing huge fields by himself but to do that the game was going to have to throw him a bone.

That left him with only one path. If he was unable to increase the quant.i.ty of his farming he had to improve the quality and yield of what he did have.

He had a vague plan so he started by digging three large pits near the North wall of the keep. The west wall had his apple tree and the east was where his berries were so he chose the North wall for his latest project. He made the pits large, nearly ten feet across and nearly five foot deep. The ground was hard and rocky and digging it up with his claws took hours.

Winston logged and went to bed before coming back Sunday to keep digging. It was nearly mid-morning when he finally finished. The early morning sun was shining down on his sweat soaked head as he looked down at the three pits he'd dug.

(Blip)

[You Have Unlocked A New Skill]

[Mining]

[Current Rank: Novice I]

"So what's your master plan for these? Rimmi asked. As he looked down into the pits. His mood had improved once he'd started to actually do alchemy which seemed to be his real goal for his character. He still complained about farming and it was obvious that farming was just a sideshow for him.

"Fill them with p.o.o.p, and rotting bodies." Winston replied. Rimmi turned his head away from the pits very slowly as he turned to look at the mole-man next to him with an incredulous expression. Winston continued to explain himself. "See there's no real way for me to continue to keep advancing my farming ranks right now. I've already exhausted most of the basic ideas I could think of. It'll take weeks or months to reach the apprentice ranks at this rate. So, I've deciding to start working with fertilizers. Organic fertilizers are easy to make, you just let stuff rot. However, after some online research I realized that the chemical composition of Organic fertilizers won't necessarily be what a specific plant will need. Hence the three pits."

Winston waved grandly at the large holes in the ground. "This gives me three separate fertilizers to test. The first will be mostly manure, with straw and corn stalks. The Second will be less manure but all the leaves and plants from my vegetable gardens. The third will be the least amount of manure, bones from animals crushed into bone-meal, along with their blood and some regular dirt. That will give me three different fertilizers to test out on my various crops."

Winston was excited about his new tests. More excited about them than anything else he'd done in game so far. Farming was mainly just labor but this. This was science, experimentation. He could see himself in the future standing over a hundred such holes, making small adjustments to each one, adding magical plants and animal bones to each one to bring out the perfect soil to nurture plants worth thousands of gold. He let out a laugh worthy of any mad scientist.

Then realized he'd be spending the next few hours carrying p.o.o.p. He sighed, slapped Rimmi on the back with a dirty paw then got back to work.

The hours ran by as Winston carried bucket after bucket from the stables to the pits he'd dug.

By the time he was finished he'd cleaned out all the dung in the stables and the bottoms of the three pits were now filled. The first pit had the most and the third the least. He went to the first pit and made three more trips to the storage shed dumping in two harvests worth of straw and one of corn stalks. He dumped the beet leaves, wilted cabbages, as well as gra.s.s and leaves from the courtyard into the second pit. He tossed the sc.r.a.ps of fur and meat from the rabbit into the third pit then dumped some of the loose dirt on top of it. He needed to get more bones and blood to make blood meal for the third but he'd have to hunt for that.

He watched as everything in the pits started to decay at a rate visible to the naked eye. Winston grabbed a withered stick from the side of the court-yard and used it to start stirring the nasty-smelling slurry.

[Blip]

[Farming has Ranked Up!]

[Current Rank: Beginner Rank II]

[Bonus Crop Yield: 16%]

[Bonus Crop Quality: 27.7%]

Winston smiled apparently making fertilizer was counted as farming although he hadn't gotten a sub-skill for it. The beginner ranks of farming also seemed to be boosting his farming abilities by more than they did as a novice. His farming combined with his grain yield boost was getting near 40% even without his blessing. He was going to need it. With thirty-five bushels in quest requirements this week he would need all of those bonuses and more.

He turned to the rather empty third pit and scratched at his whiskers. It was time to go a hunting.