Take It If You Dare

Callum straightened up and wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked over the result of his work. Rows of neatly tilled soil greeted his gaze as he slowly tried stretching out the kinks in his muscles.

"Damn, I need to level up some more. This work is killing me!" A deep baritone voice broke the silence. His mule idly flicked an ear back before promptly ignoring him again.

He glanced at his level to see how much experience he had gained for his work today. A resigned expression flitted across his face as he saw his pitiful XP gains after his work. As much as he loved the farmer's life, he wouldn't mind some extra constitution or strength to help him out with his daily chores.

As a farmer he was well aware of how much time it would take for his work to payoff. This was true whether it was his produce or his level gain.

Thinking of help, he glanced over to the field his brother was supposed to be working. A grimace marred his weathered face as he didn't see Alister anywhere in sight. Instead what greeted him was a slapdash mixture of straight and crooked lines.

It seemed like most rows weren't the same length. Even worse, many of the rows weren't parallel and squeezed out some rows will leaving other areas with too much distance.

His brother still should have been working his section of the field. Given he was the older brother, Callum was also the higher leveled farmer. Instead of moving over to help his younger brother finish his section, Callum was confronted by an empty field a level 1 farmer would be ashamed of taking credit for.

Either his brother had leveled up his sneak skill again, or Callum needed to pay more attention to his surroundings. Lately, he did tend to let his mind wander while he worked. Searching for ways to avoid the farm's impending doom. So perhaps it wasn't surprising his brother was able to sneak off early.

Callum Murray | Lvl 19 Human Farmer (XP: 66%)

HP:(600/600) Stamina:(282/480) Mana:(100/100)

ST:60 | Con:60 | Dex:20 | Int:10 | Will:10 | Cha:12 | Luck:16

Blue grey eyes clinically examined Alister's section before accepting that he'd have to start from scratch as nothing in that field was worth saving. He collected his waterskin before leading Old Ellie back to her pasture.

He'd need some more water and Old Ellie's stamina was too low for the extra work required. But hopefully Earl had had enough time to regain his stamina. Because as was common lately, there was more work to be done.

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Late that night a tall shadow crossed through a moonlight yard before stopping at the door of a solid farmhouse. A deep voice quietly floated into the night's air, quickly lost in the wind.

"<Clean>."

A small flash of light and a tiny swish of mana enough to free Callum's boots of accumulated mud. Assured that he wasn't going to track mud all over, he stepped into the house.

Familiarity and his <Night Sight> cantrip allowed him to easily traverse furniture and random knickknacks as he made his way into the kitchen. A loud sigh echoed in the silent house as Callum saw the mess awaiting him.

Dirty dishes, a burnt stew in the fireplace, and mud told the story of his brother's laziness. He opened the cold box, idly noting that its enchantment needed recharging soon as he scrounged for something edible.

The cold box was just another thing to add to the ever growing list of things that needed doing. He had hoped to get more done today. No, he needed to have gotten more done today. But his younger brother had slacked off.

Again. It was becoming more and more common lately. And he was at a loss of how to deal with him. It had only been six months since their parents passed away. So he was trying to be the mature and understanding older brother as Alister dealt with his grief.

"<Light>."

A flare of magic lit the lantern by the sink. He quickly got to work on cleaning the mess in the kitchen. He cleaned as he considered how to rearrange his schedule to deal with the stuff that didn't get done today.

He couldn't get everything done by himself and he certainly couldn't count on his flaky brother either. A plan slowly firmed up in his brain as he considered his list. Maybe he should invest in some intelligence on his next levelup if he could be expected to face these mental gymnastics on a regular basis.

____________________

The morning sun was slowly rising, its rays chasing off the early morning mist. Even so, Callum was already well on completing his regular morning chores. The pigs had been fed a mixture of grains, leftovers, and spoiled food; including last night's burnt stew.

The cows had been milked and let out to pasture. He was in the process of gathering the chicken eggs while the mules ate their morning serving of grains. Eggs and milk in tow, he approached the house.

As he neared, he could hear quiet giggling and a soft murmur of voices. Bracing himself for what he expected to happen, he opened the door and plastered his old jovial smile on his face.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught his reflection in the window next to the door. A sharp jaw, suntanned skin, and long dark hair was the last thing he saw before he entered the kitchen.

His younger brother was sitting at the kitchen table eating Callum's breakfast. On his lap was one of the town girls. Bethany or maybe Rachel? He gave up trying to keep track of his brother's recent conquests a couple of months ago.

In either case her giggling quickly stopped as soon as she saw him. He tried not to wince as she visibly recoiled from him. Ignoring her as best as possible, Callum greeted his brother with a smile.

"Good morning brother! I'll be headed into town today to get some stuff done. Should be back by noon if not earlier. Could you work on shoring up the south pasture's fencing? It's getting a little rundown."

A sullen looking Alister looked at his older brother. Gone was the happy relaxed atmosphere prior to his arrival. And it was normal if that had affected Callum's own mood. Who could blame him if he had injected a little false cheer in his voice after the glacier atmosphere that greeted his arrival.

"Are you sure you want to go into town Callum? You know your reputation will affect the prices of everything. Maybe I should go?"

"No, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. I need you on that south pasture fence."

A grunt was Callum's only response. He knew he was intruding on them and he quickly gathered the eggs, milk, and what dairy products their farm had produced over the past week. He hated that he felt like an intruder in his own home.

He hated what the relationship he had with Alister had become. He missed the old camaraderie and brotherhood that was glaringly missing between them now. He worked to gather the perishable produce to sell at the town market as quickly as he could.

The silence was deafening. A stark contrast to the giggling and jovial conversation that existed even minutes before. Before he had intruded on their shared happiness. He noted how Brittney or Rebecca seemed to cringe and tense as his work took him nearer to her.

He tried not to take it personal. He knew it was just the instinctual result of his negative local reputation. A quick flick of his reputation score showed it was even lower than last he checked. Any lower and lynching mobs might form.

Callum Murray | Lvl 19 Human Farmer (XP: 56%)

Local Reputation: Hated (-1963)

All sentients in the Hillshire town area have a deep abiding hatred for you. They will go out of their way to make their displeasure known.

Effects: (-25% price when selling) (+25% price when buying) (-75% positive relationship gain)(+50% negative relationship growth) (Chance to cause <Fear> status on those lower level than Callum) (more) . . .

He couldn't blame people too much. After all, everyone 'knew' he had killed his parents.