Please Note: Statements between % something in italics % are game system messages.
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Just like that, a week in real life passed. Raka spent all the time fishing and working on the house. And it was almost done. Thanks to some unexpected help. The twelve year old...
"I am thirteen!"
Right, so the thirteen year old son of Farun and Fawna, Fadan became unexpectedly interested in the construction. Maybe it was his frequent visits to their home to borrow tools or maybe it was his hard working attitude, but Fadan offered to work with Raka. As he was strongly built and willing to work for mere 5 coppers a day, Raka immediately hired him. Think it was exploitation?
Well, most of the work was still done by Raka, as he could work for a lot longer than a thirteen year old. No doubt his high stamina came into play. But the help was highly appreciated. Fadan was strong, could lift the heavy wood, hold on to beams as Raka hammered them into place and did all the stuff he couldn't have done without some help.
So it was no wonder that he regularly had lunch with Raka and his two animal companions.
"Why do you always call him monkey? Didn't you give him a name?" Fadan asked.
"Well...he has a name.." Raka replied.
"Monkey, what's your name?" Fadan asked.
"Screech...keech kich keech!" Monkey replied.
"Um..I don't understand." Fadan was confused.
"Nobby, translate" Raka said.
"His name is Screech keech kich keech!" Parrot said.
"....."
It was not surprising that monkey had started picking up Ilmentian language. It was an intelligent being. It had picked up the meanings of simple words like 'food', 'water', 'enemy', 'name', 'food', etc. Ofcourse, speaking was impossible.
Special mention must also be made of Guran. Without his accurate, practical and most importantly timely advice this house would have ended up like the difference between math and engineering.
"The foundations need to be dug the same depth. It's not ok to only make the pillars level.."
"You make the studs first. And then you join the other beams to it.."
"Consider wind. It can come from any direction.."
This was an island. A land-lubbering idiot like Raka could be pardoned for making mistakes. Not to mention it was his first time building a house of any sort. In most places, wind is not usually an issue if you are only building 1 or 2 floor houses. Islands are different though. Wind becomes a major issue. Especially, if you are likely to face sea storms and such.
That said, wooden houses cannot be expected to handle tornadoes. Even brick and cement houses don't manage to do that. Raka had made a design emphasizing strength anyway, yet he still modified it to make it even stronger. The changed design had started looking a lot like a bomb shelter, except made of wood.
He made single piece wooden windows with no glass. To open you had to manually push the window out. A hinge type mechanism installed on the top of it would hold the piece of wood as it swung upwards. Then a latch would hold the wooden piece in place. To close it, all you had to do was move the latch and it would close automatically. If the winds ever got really fierce it would move the latch and the gaps would close automatically protecting the house.
Raka made really thick doors and timber walls making sure that each piece of timber fit perfectly. And then he applied a mud paste on the inside and outside to fill in whatever tiny gaps remained. All he would have to do is apply this mud paste regularly and it should work fine. 'A plastic sheet would have been better.'
And then there were the crisscrossing beams which held the walls and roof together. Even then Raka was not satisfied. 'Should I build a safe room?' Raka considered. And then he dug a hole about 8 feet deep and 8 feet wide in the inside of the house. He built wooden support around the side and covered the whole thing with a solid wooden gate. Looking like the surrounding wooden floorboards, it could act like a secret room also.
'Hmm...seems solid.' Raka jumped on the gate. In regular use, the gate would remain closed allowing him to walk over it.
A small yard in the back automatically formed where Raka kept his sorted building materials. After having used most of materials, he made a small picket fence all around it to make it a back yard.
'Hmm...the remaining materials can be used to build exercise equipment or something.'
Raka also thought about what to put inside the house. As a player, he did not need much. Most of the cooking he had done didn't require utensils or many pots or pans. He wouldn't sleep in the game, so he didn't need a bed. Still he had made a chimney so it made sense having a small fireplace or kitchenette where he could hang a pot and make stew or something.
'Hmm...what else should I put in?' Raka kept thinking while working diligently to finish the house.
"Raka bro, a storm is coming!" Fadan shouted.
Raka turned around to look at him and found Fadan staring at the sky. Raka looked up and sure enough many coiling black clouds appeared on the horizon moving swiftly towards the island.
"You can tell its not simply rain?" Raka asked.
"Yes. My father taught me when the black clouds coil like that and approach without any thunder and lightning, it means a big storm is coming."
Soon enough, Raka heard shouting.
"Fadan come back home quickly." Fawna shouted as she came. "Raka, you should come as well. This storm is going to be very big."
"Um..Fawna, how can you tell how big the storm is going to be?" Raka was curious.
"Just look at the size of those clouds. They cover the entire horizon. And the wind had died down since a while ago. It means a big storm is coming. It looks like it will reach soon. Now hurry up and come."
"Um..I think I will stay in my own house. I just need to put in a a few planks on the roof and it will be done." Raka replied.
"Alright then, hurry up. Don't take too long or the wind would start blowing really hard. Fadan, let's go already." Fawna dragged Fadan back home.
Raka looked around and some people had started moving towards the beach. He saw Guran among them and shouted.
"Guran, why are you headed to the beach?"
"Gotta secure the boats before the storm hits," Guran shouted back.
"Should I come too?" Raka asked.
"No need. We will just hurry up there and get back soon."
Raka hurried to finish his house as well. He put the last two planks in place and started hammering them down.
'I am about to finish my house and a storm comes. Is it simply coincidence?'
A little while later, he hammered the last nail in.
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You have created a building. Your painstaking effort has been rewarded. Options added.
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Blessing effect active. Options added.
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(tabs don't work sorry)Wooden Cabin (Common)
Class: Building/Residential
Options: Increased wind resistance, Increased durability, Increased stamina recovery
Weight: 20000/Immovable
Durability: 10500/10500
Made by: Raka
A residential building made by painstaking effort using cheap materials. Due to its robust construction it has increased durability. As an added effect, it also has increased wind resistance. Resting in the building will increase stamina recovery. Exact increases vary. This building is currently owned by Raka. Ownership may be transferred or revoked.
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Raka looked at the messages in delight. It was classified as common but it was treated as a creation therefore it had a lot of options. Especially delightful was that his blessing effect had applied. Raka had found out that the blessing effect does not always apply. In fact out of all the mirrors he had made, the blessing effect had applied for only two. Raka felt that simply great efforts did not trigger it. There was also some factor of chance or something else involved.
But as he was being happy, thunderous sounds rippled across the air and wind started picking up. Raka went to the back and shouted into the woods,
"Monkey, Nobby! Come into the house!"
As soon as he finished shouting, two animals quickly scampered into the house. Raka was surprised by their speed. It is said that animals are naturally more sensitive to changes in weather. Although, for simple rain and wind they would hide under a thick tree or large leaves or underground usually. When do they start running?
'Is the storm really that bad?'
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The storm turned out to be as bad as could be imagined. Being a landlubber Raka had never seen a sea storm before, though he had heard about cyclones and tsunamis and stuff like that from the news. This time he was smack dab in the middle of it. And it was fierce.
Winds howled loudly. Thundering sounds kept rippling amidst the pattering of rain. The noise was so loud even inside the fully covered house that Raka could only imagine how worse it was outside. A couple of water leaks had sprouted up from the roof. Raka looked at the dripping water sorely. But it was still at the dripping level so he left it alone. Repairs could be done after the storm and anyways most of his construction materials were outside.
But that was just the beginning.
While the storm raged on, Raka could not go outside. There was a distinct limit of activities he could do during this time. He decided to spend his time practicing.
Perception was the key to reducing the time he needed to do magic. Raka sat down in a meditative pose and entered his colorful world trying to increase his Perception stat. He did various kinds of things, walking, running, checking and sometimes just enjoying the flow of colors. Time flew.
Raka opened his eyes and realized that a couple of hours had passed. And,
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Perception increases by 1.
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'Phew. Was it really that long?' Raka realized it was a matter of reference. In his colorful world, he just didn't have a reference of time.
See, in those old martial arts novels and books where the protagonists meditate for like months at a time, was really due to the lack of this reference of time. Our body clock adjusts itself with the time our senses experience. Blowing wind, moving sun, even looking at the clock adjusts our body clock.
An interesting experiment could be made by most people. See, most people who have sight rely on their sense of sight to adjust time. So when you close your eyes, you lose your reference of time. Most people would probably be able to estimate like 30 seconds or even a minute with their eyes closed. But as the duration becomes longer, like 5 minutes, the ability to estimate goes hay wire. This is because we rely on our sense of sight so much.
A blind man would fare better in this experiment as he relies on his sense of hearing to adjust time. When he loses his hearing, the same thing will happen. Well, this would only be temporary though as humans have this innate ability to rely on other senses when one of them is cut off. It requires a bit of training but nature is a great teacher. However, the same result can be experienced when your senses are shut off. Your body is unable to adjust to the sense of time. It could be said that without our senses, we could never be able to tell time.
Ah we could still feel hungry, horny, pain, etc which could be used as a different kind of time reference. The martial artists, saints, swamis, etc who meditate for months, atleast in the stories, usually don't feel these sensations, so for them the reference of time is extremely skewed. They would think it was just 5 minutes but 5 months may have passed.
Raka just felt this very same feeling right now in the colorful world. Ofcourse, there was still the matter of one being unreal and the other being virtual. 'Guess neither is real!'
Raka could still hear the howling and the thunder outside and there was still time before dinner so he went back to practice again. Before closing his eyes, he looked at the dim light provided by only lamp in the house. Both of the animals had curled down to sleep, occasionally twitching a feather or tail.
Who knew the storm would last so long!
Shit went down the third real day of the storm. Third day in real life meant the storm had been blowing for above a week in game already. Luckily for Raka, it was the day he logged in.
SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH! CRAAAAAAAAASH!
Loud sounds came like several trees had crashed at the same time.
"What happened?! Should I go look?" He asked to no one in particular. But it was still howling outside. Rather the howling seemed to have become louder.
As he was thinking it over, loud knocks came on his door.
Raka carefully opened the door and peeking outside, found several people huddled close together bent to resist the strong wind. The howling became loud screaming and severe winds rattled the insides of the house.
"Let us in, please!" Someone shouted and Raka quickly opened his door as much as he dared and let them in. Several completely soaked people entered. It was tough closing the door and several men had to help him before the door shut.
Only then the screaming went back to the tolerable level of howling. Thankfully, Raka did not have anything in the house or it would have been blown off and smashed to pieces already.
"Farun, Fawna, Fadan! What happened?" Raka recognized these people as the fishermen. "Where are the rest?"
"Ah Raka! Thanks for letting us in. Damn! Damn this storm! Our houses broke apart. We got holes the size of boulders on the roofs. And one house completely crashed down. We had been sheltering ourselves in the neighbors house but it's roof blew away just now. Fearing that the house would fall down all of us made to your house. Thank the Goddess you were home. If we had to make our way to Guran's it would have been scary." Farun spoke nonstop probably trying to cover his fear with incessant words. Guran's house was the first one towards the road while Raka's was the last one.
"Oh! Guran's house is still standing? What about the other houses?"
"Guran's house is new. It is stronger. All the houses in this row have already fallen. Some of the houses are swaying on that side too. Some of them might have evacuated to Guran's already. But I think some are still trying to save their houses somehow. I expect they would be sending the women and children either here or to Guran's shortly." Farun said.
"Oh! But where are my manners. You guys are shivering....Everyone! Get close to the fire. Get out of those clothes before you get sick. Give me your clothes and we can make a screen for the women." Saying which Raka made the fire a little larger. He hung a rope from the fireplace to the opposite wall where all the clothes would be put and the men and women separated to undress.
'If this was not a serious situation, it would have been too funny!' Raka thought as the only one dressed.
"You should also take your clothes off to get embarrassed like the rest of us!" Fadan said to which the women on the other side giggled.
"Ah no...I am not wet!" More giggling.
They listened to howling winds in relative embarrassing silence. Having nothing else to do Raka started practicing again. Some time later his stomach rumbled and he lost focus. By this time, some of the people had got partly dressed.
"Um...I got meat so we can make a stew if you are hungry. Ah but the problem is..." Raka started but some more giggling sounded out.
"It's ok, I am almost dressed and I am sure Farun will knock the teeth off anyone who tries to peek. So give me the meat.."Fawna said. For some reason the women giggled again and Farun 'humphed'. The men smiled. Fadan stared at the others with a blank face.
"Um...here you go. And here is the pot.." Raka gingerly handed the ingredients and the pot over the screen. 'Uh...don't look...don't you dare look.'
While the food was underway, Raka thought about this situation. If this was all related then this quest did not deserve to be an E rank quest. But maybe it was not. In any case, if his house blew over, it wouldn't really matter. 'Ah I can check!'
"Identify"
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(tabs don't work sorry)Wooden Cabin (Common)
Class: Building/Residential
Options: Increased wind resistance, Increased durability, Increased stamina recovery
Weight: 20000/Immovable
Durability: 7500/10500
Made by: Raka
A residential building made by painstaking effort using cheap materials. Due to its robust construction it has increased durability. As an added effect, it also has increased wind resistance. Resting in the building will increase stamina recovery. Exact increases vary. This building is currently owned by Raka. Ownership may be transferred or revoked.
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'3000! It lost 3000 durability!' Raka was shocked. The storm had lasted more than a week game time already and it showed no signs of passing. 'How long does a storm last in this game?'
"Farun, how long is this storm going to last?"
"I don't know. It is already stage 4. The worst of these storms could last a month." Farun replied.
"Stage 4? Storms are ranked? Could you tell me more about it?"
"Ah storms are ranked based on their intensity. Stage 1 to 3 storms only last a few days. But stage 4 to 6 could last weeks."
"So you have six stages of storms. I guess stage 6 storms would be called devil storms?" Raka asked.
"Hahahaha...no. These stages are the ones which we can survive and measure. Devil storms are something of a trip to the underworld with no chance of coming back. Anything worse than the stage 6 is already hell on earth. Very small chance of survival." Farun said. The others nodded in agreement.
"The stew is ready!"
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Swamy finished jotting down his notes as the class ended. Boys and girls filed out the classroom in search of food and forage. The new term had started the day before yesterday but some of the faces looked as bored as they were in the middle of the term. The reason was not hard to guess. The storm which was supposedly affecting Ilmentia was also affecting the weather of the other three islands. Talk about massive weather!
"Hey Swamy, you coming?" Rajan asked.
"Yeah..." Swamy stood up as well.
The mess hall was louder than usual. The sky was overcast so sitting outside was not preferred. Hence the mess hall was packed.
"No seats here. Should we take our lunch and go back to the classroom to eat?" Rajan asked.
"Yeah~" we agreed.
Well we were not the only ones to have this idea. A lot of people were in the room already.
"Let's sit down there." Sneha pointed.
"Dude...what is up with this weather!" Rajan complained. Somehow everyone looked outside to the black clouds but no one thought Rajan was complaining about the real world weather.
"It's almost a week already, that I haven't been able to log in without getting soaked to the skin. All the shops are closed and there are no people on the streets. Even the animals have gone into hiding. Sometimes, the wind is so strong, I feel it will blow me into the sea..."
"Well what do you expect in this kind of weather. I tried logging in yesterday but it was raining so heavily that I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me. I left immediately." Manish added.
"I am bored." Sneha complained. "Without the game, I have nothing to do. Rajan are there any good movies? Rather do you know when the storm will end?"
"No clue. The forums have been asking the same question. Some of them have even emailed the company to vent." Rajan said.
"Swamy, what have you been doing?" Himali asked.
"Oh ...I got a house. So I have been practicing and stuff." Swamy leisurely replied.
"House? You mean someone's giving you shelter! Lucky guy!" Rajan exclaimed.
"Ah....yeah..." Swamy left it at that.
"So does anyone have anything new?" Sneha asked in her bored voice.
"Oh...I got some information. Had been holding it till it was confirmed but I don't care anymore." Himali started. "It seems like there is going to be a mission to Khardoum. The Queen is going. And then there is a rumor that the Queen will visit the dwarvish lands afterwards."
"Really!" Sneha exclaimed.
"Hmm...wait I have heard of this...." Rajan started looking at his cellphone. "Ah...yes the Four Island Conference. "
"What's that?" Sneha asked.
"The rulers of the four human islands regularly meet to discuss things. This is called the Four Island Conference. They conduct it in each of their islands in turn. This time it is being held in Khardoum. The players in Khardoum have heard this rumor. There is nothing about the visit to dwarvish lands though." Rajan added.
"Hey, the pirates quest Raka was in had dwarves in them. It's not related to that incident, is it?" Himali quickly figured it out.
"Ah yeah I remember. Could be." Rajan added.
"Hey, is it possible that we can somehow get this quest?" Manish asked.
"I hope so. I have trying to get some more information about it but this stupid storm has come!" Himali replied.
"Hahaah..yeah! So we are back to square one. When is the storm going to end?!"
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Raka sat down in between many people as they laughed and talked while complaining about the storm. But that was only on the outside. Heaven knew that half the time they spent praying. Raka's house lacked any sort of amenities. But still, surviving the storm for 3 weeks game time, it had the dubious distinction of being a survivor. Not that it did not suffer damage.
With every blow of the wind, everything creaked and groaned. With every shower of rain, a new place would start dripping. But it had held. Unlike the other houses. The house population had increased accordingly. It was fortunate indeed, that Raka still had food enough for everyone. Without being able to go out, the people would have starved. Or worse, killed parrot and monkey for food. But the meat Raka had collected on his way to Fellon, had survived.
The bugs, Raka found out, had a larger shelf life than the animals. He had preserved the animal meat by applying salt and spices. However the bugs he had left whole. One of the villagers was a better hunter and knew dishes made with cooked bugs. The trick was to get rid of their outer skin which was tough and their poison, if they had any. And they tasted weird.
The rest of the time he practiced his Perception. He had already raised his Perception stat by 20 points. However in the same time, the durability of the house reduced by another 7000 points. With only 500 durability points remaining it wouldn't last more than 3 or 4 days, maximum.
Just as it felt like this storm will be the end of everyone, it ended. A bright sun shone down from clear skies. People moved out of their shelters and basked their tired eyes in the sunlight. And offered a prayer to the divine Goddess for allowing them to live another day.
And people also saw the carnage. Rows of trees uprooted. Houses smashed to pieces. Boats tossed like balls. Ships hammered by menacing waves.
Unlike the capital and the other villages, there was no wall surrounding Fellon village. Well, it was deemed unnecessary 'cause like it had just ten houses. Eight of those houses had fallen down. The one's that remained, Guran's and Raka's, felt like they would fall down if someone blew on them. Walking down to the beach the devastation was even worse.
The cove was a major part of protection for the fishermen boats and ships. Today, it had turned out to be the killer. The ropes had broke apart and the winds and waves smashed these ships onto the rocks. Wood vs Rock was not even a contest. The result was in smithereens. Every single boat or ship had been destroyed into pieces.
Tears flowed as eyes looked upon their misery. Fishermen were not rich. Even real world fishermen are not rich. Their livelihood depended on these ships. Without them, what would they do? Farm, cut wood, move?
Fellon's fishermen were not that bad though. They had some real skills. Metalworking, woodworking, cooking, hunting, etc. And it's not like the royal support would just disappear, right! 'They will be fine, eventually.'
Raka looked and found Guran.
"Guran" Raka greeted.
"Raka...seems like your house is still standing." He smiled.
"Yeah....well..it wouldn't have lasted another day, if the storm hadn't stopped."
"True...very true. But it survived. You built a good house. You should be proud."
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Fisherman's Legacy complete.
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"Ah I remember, I promised you that we will build your ship. But the storm arrived. I am sorry but it will have to be postponed. We have to help the others build their houses." Guran said.
"It's no big deal. I can wait. I will help as well." Raka said that but he felt a tinge of sadness also. Right when he had managed to find a way, out comes a storm.
After working hard through the day, the people all gathered in the center of the village across a huge fire. There were several animals being roasted on it, courtesy of the people who went hunting. The tragedy of the day had become a revelry by the night. The celebration of still being alive. The celebration of being with their loved ones.
When it ended, most people retired to one of the two houses still standing. And there were a few who collapsed right where they sat after getting drunk. Raka also returned to the house. But he spent the night practicing. Increasing the Perception stat was now getting difficult. Doing the same things was not helping him and he was running out of things to do.
Raka had lost sense of time and when he opened his eyes again, the sun had risen.
'Holy...I better log out!' He had managed to play all night again.
But just then, he heard clopping of hoofs. 'Horses?'
Raka stepped out and found men riding horses and many horse carts coming from the road. The movement was slow but steady and the horse carts were full and heavy. Hearing the foreign sounds, people had all awoken and come out to watch. Everyone headed towards the arriving people.
"Guran, what is going on?" Raka asked.
"I don't know but we are about to find out."
The lead horseman approached the people.
"Who among you is the leader of this village?" the horseman said.
"We have no leader. It's just ten houses in here. Er.. just two now I guess. But if you have something to say I will be willing to listen on behalf of everyone," Guran replied.
"Ah...well we will talk in a bit." And then the horseman brought a paper from his bosom.
"The Queen of Ilmentia thus decrees. All fishermen shall be compensated for their loss. Their homes will be repaired and rebuilt. Their boats will be repaired or built anew. For this purpose, the Queen sends fifty men including ten shipwrights and various materials. May the Goddess bless the benevolent Queen!"
Everyone cheered when they heard that. Even Raka cheered.
"Katrina sent us hope" Guran said.
"Oh...yeah. Um who's Katrina?" Raka asked.
"Oh she's my daughter. Didn't you tell me you met her in the palace?" Guran frowned.
"I did?! I don't remember meeting anyone named Katrina. I am sure I would have remembered."
"Oh I get it. Hahahahaha..." Guran laughed.
"Um..what?" Raka was totally confused now.
"It looks like you really came without knowing. Katrina is my daughter and also the Queen of Ilmentia" Guran smirked.
"Ah...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhh!!!"
When Raka came out of his shock, he smacked his head.
'Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Stupid Idiot! Why didn't I realize it sooner?!!'