As he pa.s.sed through the square, Eric could see a number of players now occupied the formerly empty square. A few windows had been opened and a number of the village's inhabitants could also be seen observing the players, some with interest, others with a look of wariness. Most of the residents appeared to be tall caucasian humans with blonde or dark brown hair, matching the norse-inspired setting of the village. However, a halfling couple working together in their garden proved that not all of the villagers were human, the four foot tall frame of the door giving away their ownership of the house.

Cheerfully, Eric waved at a cute brunette girl staring at him from a second story window. Blushing furiously, she quickly retreated deeper inside the house. Laughing at her reaction, Eric continued to meander down the path.

Taking a better look now that he'd completed his first quest, Eric could see that the village wasn't terribly large. No matter which direction he looked in, he could see the wooden walls of the palisade that surrounded the village looming only a few hundred meters from the square. Unlike the more modern countryside villages of Europe in the real world, this village was laid out rather haphazardly with dozens of paths winding between houses, only occasionally connecting to the main road. The houses themselves were mostly two stories tall, made primarily of wood with thatched straw roofs. Each house took up a generous amount of land, with large gardens enclosed by wooden fences where vegetables could be seen growing. Chickens and other small livestock could be seen roaming quietly through the gardens, occasionally pecking at the greenery before being chased out by annoyed village residents.

Locating the smithy turned out to be an easy task. Eric simply observed the trail of smoke winding lazily into the sky, a.s.suming the village wasn't on fire which seemed to be a likely conclusion given that the villagers weren't panicking, then that smoke should be the telltale sign of an active forge. Walking for a minute towards the smoke, Eric was rewarded with the sight of a small smithy where a burly man could be seen working a piece of metal while his apprentice, most likely his son, Eric mused, worked the bellows.

Approaching, Eric waited quietly as the man pounded the metal repeatedly, flattening the metal into the shape of an axehead. As he dipped the molten metal into a nearby bucket of water, an enormous hissing sound rang out, steam shooting into the sky. Leaving the axehead in the water, the blacksmith finally turned towards Eric.

"And who might you be?" He demanded, folding his enormous arms across his chest as he strode over to tower above Eric.

"Erick Kystfyr, I just spoke to Chief Ironspear who has conducted me into the militia. I was told to report to you for a new weapon." At these words the blacksmith broke out into a wide grin as he noticed Eric's militia badge, "A new militia member? Well why didn't ye just say so! I'm Tom Smith and this is my son Tarn," he said as he gestured to the boy working the bellows. Tarn gave a weak smile and waved from behind the forge which Eric returned before turning to Tom.

"The chief didn't really explain what I needed to do other than report to you for a new weapon and then report to the militia Captain."

"Aye, that'd be old Alistair you'll be needin. He lives next to the militia barracks over by the northern entrance. For yer weapon, ye got yer choice between a spear, a shortsword and shield, or a dagger and a short bow, along with a quiver of arrows of course. Larger swords you need to pay for, any other weapons would be a special order from a more reputable blacksmith. Understand?" Tom asked Eric who nodded in response.

"I suppose I'll choose the bow," Eric said after a moment. Tom smiled, "Tarn run over to Craig's house and tell him I'll need a bow and quiver of arrows fer a new militia member. Might as well ask fer several while you're there, I have a feeling we'll be getting more new recruits than jus' this un today." Hearing this, Tarn gave a quick nod and took off down the road.

"Craig's the village fletcher," Tom explained as he rummaged along a wall at the back of the smithy, where Eric could see a number of tools and weapons hanging. The majority were swords and various knives and daggers. In a barrel alongside the wall stood a few dozen spears, with shafts of various lengths and sizes all sticking out from the top of the barrel, their sharp spearheads reflecting the flickering flames of the smithy forge.

Grabbing a dagger from the wall, Tom quickly tested it's weight and balance before giving a satisfied nod.

"Since yer' the first recruit I've seen in a while I'll give ye this one. It's one of my better creations, got a good heft to it," he said as he pa.s.sed the dagger over to Eric, along with a small sheath for his belt.

Examining the dagger, Eric could see that it was made of bronze, with a hilt made of wood and wrapped in leather to avoid splinters. The workmanship was rough but the dagger itself was solid and well balanced.

[You have acquired Rough Bronze Dagger]

Thanking Tom, Eric quickly strapped the sheath to his belt and stuck the dagger inside, feeling much cooler now that he had a blade at his waist. As he made smalltalk with Tom about the village's condition, hoping that maybe Tom would offer him a quest, Tarn came pelting back along the road, lugging a handful of bows and a small barrel along as he ran. Skidding to a halt in front of the smithy, Eric saw that the barrel was full of arrows, stone tipped and fletched with what appeared to be goose feathers. Panting for breath, Tarn handed the bows and barrel over to his father who praised him for his efforts before turning to Eric.

"Alright, so as a brand new militia member ye'll only be given a single weapon, of bronze not iron. If ye want more weapons ye'll either have to raise accomplishments as a member of the militia or buy em with yer own coin." Tom explained as he tested the flexibility of the bows Tarn had pa.s.sed him. Giving the string of a bow a quick tug, he listened to the resulting tw.a.n.ging sound before handing it to Eric.

"Alright here's yer bow. It'll shoot straight but I can't guarantee much more than that. I'll also give ye a quiver with twenty stone tipped arrows. Ye can buy more arrows from Craig's shop fer a handful of copper. But if ye want bronze or even iron tipped arrows it'll be much more expensive. Anything else ye need?"

Eric shook his head, "Nope. Thanks for all of this though, you said I could find Alistair the militia captain over by the north wall?"

Tom nodded, grabbing a quiver of arrows from Tarn as he did so and handing them to Eric who quickly attached the quiver to his belt.

"Jus' follow the path straight back through the square and ye'll come across it. Big stone building, ye can't miss it," he replied.

Thanking Tom and Tarn, Eric departed towards the northern part of the village, playing with his new bow as he did so. As he walked, he saw the player who had pa.s.sed him earlier at the village chief's house emerge from the square in his direction. As he pa.s.sed, Eric saw the man's eyes widen at the brand new weapons hanging from Eric's figure, which put a smile on his face.

As he walked, Eric quickly took a look at the two new notifications flashing at the bottom of his vision.

[You have acquired Rough Short Bow!]

[You have acquired 20 Rough Goose-feathered Stone Arrows!]

'All the weapons I've acquired so far are Rough,' Eric mused. That must mean that the free militia weapons were at best simple starter weapons and better weapons should be available either for purchase or in bigger towns.

Pressing the notification, a pair of status windows suddenly popped up.

[Rough Maple Short Bow]

Requirements for proficient use: Basic Archery - Beginner 1

Attack: 1-3

Range: 20m

Description: The creation of Craig, fletcher of Tonbura village. This is a somewhat shoddy bow made of maple, made hastily to deal with the increased need for militia in the village. It is not up to the usual standards that Craig holds himself to but it will shoot straight enough.

[Rough Goose-feathered Stone Arrow]

Attack: 1-2

Description: A basic stone tipped arrow fletched with goose feathers. It will fly relatively straight. Village fletchers have taken to tipping arrows with stone due to a recent metal shortage in the kingdom.

Looking at the descriptions, Eric brought up the notification for the Rough Bronze Dagger that he'd ignored before.

[Rough Bronze Dagger]

Attack: 1-2

Description: A normal bronze dagger forged by Tom, the Tonbura village blacksmith. The workmanship is fine but the materials are slightly below average.

'Well, at least they're weapons,' Eric thought to himself wryly as he dismissed the notifications.

Nearing the northern part of the village, Eric instantly saw the building Tom had talked about. It was hard to miss, being the only building made entirely out of stone in the whole village. The walls were definitely a little weatherbeaten, but the small training yard filled with wooden dummies and the archery targets next to it gave credence to the building's role as the village's militia barracks.

Striding over to the front door, Eric gave the door three sharp knocks before standing back. A minute pa.s.sed, frowning Eric was just about to reach forward and knock again when the door was yanked open by a large man with short grey hair. His back was slightly stooped with age, but nothing had dimmed the fierce glint in those steely gray eyes that now glared up at Eric.

Putting a smile on his face Eric stretched out a hand, "h.e.l.lo, my name is Erick Kystfyr and I'm a new member of the village militia. Flen Ironspear sent me to inquire about recent monster infestations nearby."

The only response the man in the doorway gave to this was to stare slowly down at Eric's outstretched hand before returning his burning gaze to Eric's face. 'Play it cool, he's probably just testing you.' Eric told himself nervously, continuing to hold out his hand awkwardly.

At long last the man finally showed what appeared to be the shadow of a smile, grasping Eric's hand firmly and giving him a strong shake.

"About d.a.m.n time that whippersnapper gets me some new recruits!" He roared, releasing Eric's hand. "Now then! There are numerous monster infestations outside the village. Recently, several groups of monsters including at least two different goblin bands have grown more daring and taken up residence inside Stillwood Forest. As a member of the militia you are not required to help unless they attack the village. However! If you can slay marauding monsters, you will be rewarded for your efforts! I would suggest that a greenhorn like yourself avoid the goblins for now and focus on lesser threats. While you might be able take on a single goblin, a group can easily overwhelm an untrained fighter. If you see any larger monsters, especially giant-cla.s.s monsters such as ogres or ettins, do not engage them. Report back to me and I will request aid from the nearby town. Is that understood?!"

The man's speech was fired off in a rapidfire and practiced manner, he also seemed to lack the accent that Tom, Tarn, and to a lesser extent Flen had all had. Eric quickly nodded when he realized that the speech was over.

"Understood! Is there any way for me to prove that I've hunted the monsters?" He asked quickly. The greyhaired man nodded, "Simply kill them and your status stone will log the kills by absorbing the essence left when they die."

"Status stone?" Eric inquired curiously.

The old man rolled his eyes, "That black gem on your pouch. It's a status stone. Let's you know your current status, how much mana you have, and the skills you've learned, among other useful things."

Eric looked down at the inventory pouch that Calyn had given them. There was indeed a small black gemstone adorning the drawstring of the pouch that he had not noticed before.

"So I just kill a monster and this gem will absorb the essence?" He asked, pointing to the pouch.

The old man nodded, "That's the gist of it yeah. Now take this and get going. I don't have time to waste talking to a greenhorn. The monsters have begun to move." he muttered, shoving a package into Eric's chest before quickly retreating inside and closing the door.

Eric stood there stupidly for a second before coming to his senses. He'd gained quite a bit of useful information from this brief encounter. Looking back down at the status stone, he noticed that it was now shining. Curiously, he focused on it. As he did so, the quest screen suddenly emerged from the stone to fill his vision.

[Quest Log]

Hunt monsters in the vicinity of Tonbura Village.

- Reward: Increased favour with village residents. Pay based on monsters killed. Possibility to earn skills if degree of completion is high enough.

Purchase a better weapon from Tom, the village blacksmith.

- Reward: Better weapon. Increased favourability with Tom. ???

Visit the Mage Academy in Filoketh.

- Reward: Possible admission to the Mage Academy.

Investigate the recent monster resurgence.

- Reward: ???

Examining his quest log, Eric saw that he'd completed the original quest, but gained three more since arriving in Tonbura Village. The quest to investigate the recent surge of monsters intrigued him; however, looking at his quests, it was definitely best to ignore that quest and start with the monster hunting quest. If he did well enough hunting monsters he could then purchase some better weapons from Tom, two birds with one stone!

Closing his quest log with a quick swipe of his hands, Eric grinned. It was finally time to go hunt some monsters! But first he should probably check out the package he was still holding. Opening the package Eric was greeted by a nondescript wool shirt, with long sleeves and a reinforced chest. Noticing a new notification flickering at the bottom of his vision, Eric quickly opened it.

[Reinforced Wool Doublet]

Armour: 2

Description: A reinforced wool shirt. The fabric is much thicker than usual to absorb minor blows and help stop projectiles. It won't save you from much, but it's far better than nothing.

Eric grinned, so it turned out the old man did care for him after all, at least a little. Equipping the armour, Eric began to move at a quick jog, making for the nearby gateway, his quest for fame and fortune was finally underway!