Frenzy

Well, what I originally thought was a gate isn't quite so. It's more of a half-moon barricade that's connected to some raised dirt with stakes for a wall. Not sure what exactly it's keeping out to be honest but if it makes people feel safer to have around their town who am I to point it out. As I approach the "Gate" I can make out the sound of two people having a nice little debate from the sounds of it.

"I heard he told 'em to open wide cause he had a load the size of Texas to give"

"How in the bloody hell did you hear that? We have literally been together all morning, the same person who gave me the news is the same damn person who gave you the 'exact' same news. And that's not even close to what he said!"

"I heard what I heard Earl"

"You're a moron Thomas, quit embellishing the story. The newbie told him to kneel down so he could skull fuck him"

Well, news sure travels fast it seems and the story is changing even faster. I feel like this one is most definitely going to come back and bite me in the ass, whatever. Some slight scuffling can be heard as I walk around the barricade and look down to my left to see two men wrestling around. One in a headlock and the other squirming and punching his headlocker in the gut.

Once I come into view the one not with his head in a vice gives me a slight look of confusion before the spark of recognition hits his eyes and he immediately releases his companion. I'm pretty sure the guy had a few choice words after being released and didn't seem quite ready to quit but a slap on the shoulder and him pointing at me gave him a slight pause. I greeted them with a small, lazy two-fingered wave.

"Workin hard men?" I cheekily asked

"Aye, of course we be! Just showing Thomas here what to do if one of the Frogmen get you in a headlock. Names Earl and you must be our newest resident?" a light chuckle escapes my lips as that was the biggest load of shit but the fact that he had the answer so quick is amusing.

They were dressed in the same leather attire as Hershel just a bit less fancy, which I'm assuming is the uniform for the guards. The cheeky grin on my face must have been contagious because they were sporting one as well. Both looked quite young and like they should have still been in school. Which made for an awkward scene considering they are the guards of the town.

"Not sure about newest but I did just arrive not too long ago. Picked up a few quests from the board at Hershel's suggestion and was just about to head out to do a bit of exploring"

"Well ain't you a go-getter, where you headed off to?" asked Earl with some interest

"I've got a quest to kill some Jackalopes in the southern fields and one to deliver some supplies to an Outpost even further south"

"Not bad for starter quests, got pretty lucky to snag them. Both are some of the recurring ones that appear now and then. If you just follow the road you'll come upon the fields right as the road veers off to the southeast. Old man Thompson owns all that land, be sure to check in with him before you go gallivanting through his fields though. Just a friendly word of advice"

"Much appreciated, what about this Outpost it just says south of the fields. How far out are we talking?"

"Not that far, few miles at best. Just keep following the road and it'll take you east along the fields. You'll come to a four-way we call Harris Crossing. Head south and it'll take you to the Haven River, just cross the bridge and the Outpost is on the other side. Takes about an hour or two one way"

I nod my head as he finishes explaining, guess I was right about it not needing any extra food for the day. Not like it would have mattered anyways, I don't have any currency to buy anything as it is.

"Wish I had a map to get a layout of the land, would make things so much easier" I grumbled out as I looked at the south trying to gauge distance.

"Well, I don't think there are any which you'll find for sale but you can always pick up the Cartography Skill. All the guards are required to learn it" said Thomas with a bit of pride there at the end.

"Yeah? That some kind of reward? I ain't exactly rolling in the money right now"

"Hmm, not really a reward per say but when you do things repeatedly there is a chance that System will offer it to be learned as a Skill. Not all Skills can be obtained this way, some have to be taught or learned via Skill Books. But if you're interested just grab one of those sticks on the ground and start drawing a map of something familiar to you in the ground, make it as detailed as possible"

The Cartography Skill would not only be beneficial but this whole being offered Skills as you do things has me intrigued. I grab a small, thick stick off the ground and squat down as I begin my little map. It takes about 10 minutes and my map to be about ¾ of the way done before I get the notification.

*~~*

[Skill: "Cartography" Obtained!]

*~~*

[Learn] [Dismiss]

*~~*

I click on learn and a small ding sound goes off followed by the notification going away. I bring up my skills page and sure enough there is [Cartography] listed with the others. Thomas must have seen me waving my hands around because he chimes in with a bit more help.

"Looks like you got it eh? If you just think about what you want the map should appear in a screen. But you'll only be able to properly see areas you have explored. The exception is Towns and Cities. They appear drawn out when you find them but you'll have to make your own landmarks such as shops and what not"

A quick thought about a map of the surrounding area pulls up a screen that shows the town surrounded by black. Reminds me of those old games that had the "Fog of War" that wouldn't show up on your map until you walked through it. While not exactly what I was looking for this could potentially be much greater than having to buy tons of maps.

*~~*

[Thomas has offered to share his map with you]

*~~*

[Accept] [Decline]

*~~*

That one surprised me, wasn't expecting people to be able to share maps. After accepting and glancing back to my map almost the entire surrounding area was revealed with little landmarks drawn in. I was able to see exactly where the farm and Outpost were now.

"This is awesome, I don't know how to thank you"

"Tell you what, you bring me a few pieces of Jackalope meat and we'll call it even" replied Thomas as he rubbed in hands together with a look of anticipation.

"You got it"

*~~*

[Side Quest Accepted: Meat for Thomas]

*You made an agreement with Thomas to bring him a few pieces of Jackalope meat for sharing his map with you.

*~~*

Reward - +5 Reputation with Thomas

Failure - Results in -10 Reputation with Thomas

*~~*

Interesting, didn't know quests could be accepted from other people too. That now makes four that I have though, I should get started on these. I wave away all my screens and once again thank the duo for their help before taking off down the southern road. I'm a bit caught off guard by the beauty of this region. It reminds me of the forests in the Pacific Northwest just more vibrant and alive.

It doesn't take too long before the fields begin getting closer and closer. Just like it was mentioned before the road starts to head southeast right at the tip of a wheat field. A smaller path heads east into them and I follow it towards a barn I can see in the distance. As I come around the side of the barn there is a decent sized cottage with a young man sitting in a chair, whittling away at a piece of wood.

"How's it going? I'm Regi, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find a Mr. Thompson do you?" I ask with my signature wave as a greetings

"You're looking at him"

That made me pause for a second, I thought they said Old man Thompson? This guy looks younger than them though. They must of have been fucking with me.

"Let me guess, someone told you my name was Old man Thompson eh?"

"Yeah, few of the guards. I apologize I was expecting someone much older"

"Well, I am 85 son. Still considered a child in Elf years though, but to the others I'm still an old man or elf in this case"

I didn't even consider what is different between the races other than things such as the stats and my lack of height. It's going to take some time knowing that I'm not really apart of mankind anymore. Now that I take a closer look at him I can see the stereotypical slightly pointed ears and other prominent features.

"The whole race thing hasn't really hit me yet"

"Aye it takes some getting use to, but I know you didn't come all the way out here to chat. What can I do for you?"

"I took a Quest off the board in Haven Oaks to take care of some Jackalopes and thought I'd come by before wandering all through your fields"

Bit of a small white lie but saying I had the forethought to ask before doing makes me look a bit better.

"Least you got manners unlike some of the others. Haven't seen the little suckers this time around but they normally spawn east of here near the pond. Watch them horns"

"Will do, thanks Mr. Thompson"

A slight nod of his head was all I got in return as he went right back to whittling that piece of wood. I keep heading east along the outskirts of the field and soon I reach the end of it too. No sight of any Jackalopes though, the pond is right over there so this should be the area. I kneel down and take a look at the ground, looking for any tracks or telltale signs of rabbit traffic. Eventually, I see a patch of dirt that is much softer than the rest with several rabbit tracks running through it, leaving an imprint.

*~~*

[Skill: "Tracking" Obtained!]

*~~*

[Learn] [Dismiss]

*~~*

Another Skill I could use if I plan on exploring the world, I'll gladly learn that one. Once I do the tracks I was just looking at seem to give off a slight glow. I wade my way through the field, following the light glow until I end up in a large area that is completely void of any wheat. There are a few of these Jackalopes scattered throughout this barren piece of land. Before doing anything I sat back and examined.

They were a bit bigger than your traditional wild hare and if it wasn't for the two sharp protruding horns coming out of their head you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. A bit more aggressive as well, some seemed to be butting each other like goats and rams do.

It was all very amusing to watch until one of them got speared and that's when shit took an ugly turn. Something about the blood had to of set them off because the next thing that happened was the sound of chittering. Almost like when you're freezing and your teeth start smacking together to make that grating noise.

What followed next was a lunge, bite and then about four others joining in to tear this wounded Jackalope to shreds. Now I've hunted for years, used wounded animal calls to reel in predators and killed my fair share. The sounds they make before death while it can be a bit unsettling doesn't quite bother me much.

But this was by far the most blood-curdling cry I had ever heard. The cries didn't last long and the meat on the corpse wasn't around much longer. They had nearly picked the thing clean in under a minute.

What in the fuck god?

Did he seriously create the Jackalope, the funny mythological rabbit creature that has antelope horns and then give it piranha instincts? I'm suddenly a lot less confident in this quest, I can easily kill a rabbit or two. Hell, give me a whole farm of them and I'll eat rabbit stew for the next year. Even if they have horns a few aren't a problem. But should a whole group of them come at me with the desire for my flesh?

*~~*

[Skill: "Observe" Obtained!]

*~~*

[Learn] [Dismiss]

*~~*

I'm guessing this is due to me taking the time to examine their physical appearance and behavior. Not exactly sure what it does but I can take an educated shot in the dark and say this has to be some kind of information ability. Information is always good, I was just thinking of keeping a journal to write this kind of stuff in. Hopefully, there is some kind of recording feature like the Quest Journal.

Accepting this skill it too gets added to my list and I immediately try to examine one of the Jackalopes again. This time a small screen appears.

*~~*

[Jackalope]

Level: 2

HP:34

*Jackalopes are a magician's experiment gone wrong. They come with the body of a hare and the horns of an antelope. These omnivores are quite tame and will build their burrows around sources of food. But should blood be spilled they will instinctively turn highly aggressive and in a pack formation attempt to devour the source in a frenzy.

*~~*

Great, just great.

Before I really had time to piss and moan about it some more I felt a sharp pain in my shin. Looking down my eyes were staring at a worst-case scenario. One of those little fucks just headbutted me in the shin.

That is now bleeding.

And there's the chittering.

Aww fuck me.

*~~*

Name: Reginald

Race: Wyldling

Level: 1

Class: Adventurer

Title: The First

Wealth: 0

Health: 75

Stamina: 50

Mana: N/A

Exp TNL: 500

Points Available: 0

Strength: 26

Dexterity: 41

Constitution: 26

Magic: N/A

Wisdom: 36

Fame: 375

Traits:

[Perception]

[Pinpoint]

[Ecologist]

[Racial: Mask of the Wyld]

[Empty]

[Empty]

*~~*

Main Skills:

[Cartography] Novice 1/10

[Dodge] Novice 1/10

[Knives] Novice 1/10

[Light Armor] Novice 1/10

[Lockpicking] Novice 1/10

[Observe] Novice 1/10

[Sneak/Hide] Novice 1/10

[Tracking] Novice 1/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

*~~*

Crafting Skills:

[Alchemy] Novice 1/10

[Cooking] Novice 1/10

[Herbalism] Novice 1/10

[Hunting] Novice 1/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

*~~*