As the Hammer Falls Read online

  It was pitch black, the stars and moon mostly hidden behind thin clouds above, when I saw the stairs to the dam ahead. Without my night vision, I stumbled and scraped my knee on the stone steps of the waterfall. I cursed the second coming of Aslan. Blasphemy, I know, but sometimes you need to let it out.

  I hefted the cat higher on my back, and headed into town. I wanted to return to my shelter on the hillside, crawl inside and pass out. Instead, I stumbled to old man Quinn’s shop, found the porch lit but dark inside, and knocked on the door. I needed help, and after all, this was the man who wanted the skin I was carrying on my back.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “THE ROSE PETAL floats on water. The kingfisher flashes above the pond. Life and beauty swirl in the midst of death.”

  ~Dai Shan, True Blade of Malkier

  “Who and what all matters enough to pound on my door this late?!” Quinn grumbled as he unlatched the front door to his shop.

  I had gone from knocking to outright smashing my fist against the door when he hadn’t immediately answered.

  “I’m sorry Quinn,” I said in an exhausted voice. I just didn’t have it in me to set everything down, not if it meant picking it all up again. That was the hardest part, and I was spent like last month’s subsistence check.

  “Hana, is that you?” Even with a warning, poor Quinn jumped back in surprise. “God’s abound what have you got there?” I must have been a mess of limbs, blood and gear standing on his front porch.

  “I have a mountain cat, and need help finishing with cleaning it. I don’t want to spoil the meat or organs. It’s already been dead for several hours.”

  He ushered me in, sleep obvious on his features. Inside, only a single lamp was burning, but he rushed ahead and lit several more in the back room. Quinn’s workspace was larger and cleaner than I had imagined. Several benches along the wall stood below hung tools of every shape and size. Against the far wall was a large table, stacked with sheets of leather and hides. He ran over, and swept everything to one side quickly.

  “Listen girl, you look a mess. I suggest you wash up in my wash room over there. Then do yourself a favor, eat a bit of something and rest for a minute. Your work is far from done. I know much of hides, but we need an expert for this. I’ll be back quick as I can.”

  I set down my bow and quiver, piling my katana, bags and even cloak all in a clump. I felt like a dust mote when all the weight was off me. The room was fitted with its own lamp that was burning a low wick. A simple basin sat on a low countertop next to a tall pitcher of water that was thankfully filled. I scrubbed my face, neck and arms till I felt somewhat refreshed.

  Then, despite feeling nauseous, I forced myself to eat one more of the trout and swallowed it down with water. There were stools and chairs around the room, but instead I decided to lay down on the wooden floor. As I breathed there, my eyes drifted. I felt the vertebrae in my back and the my ribs click and shift back into place one at a time. Nothing like a hard floor for a snappy chiropractic treatment.

  Voices speaking distantly. The click of a door shutting. A throat cleared. A throat being cleared rudely. “Miss Kotoba. Are you quite ready?” Quinn said.

  I jumped up, dizzy from my sudden change in position, and thoroughly embarrassed. I had not meant to fall asleep. Next to the old man, a woman was standing with her hands on her hips. She was the tallest person in the room by far, but I could see she was not much older than me. Thankfully, the cat was her focus, not me or the patch of drool that marked the floorboards.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”

  “I can see that. How long ago did the animal die? And how did you clean its gut?” she asked me. I was relieved nobody was offended that I’d passed out on the floor, and despite how little time I’d spent there, I felt much better.

  “Shortly after midday. I’d say between 2 and 3. I was unconscious for awhile, then used the stream to cool the corpse and clean it starting around 7 pm maybe.” I told her everything I could about the process as well as my hike home. When I was done, I chewed my lip nervously. The woman walked over to the animal on the table and pulled open its ribs. I tried not to grimace when she took a deep sniff of its cavity.

  “Good work. Would have been better if you’d been faster, and you certainly made some mistakes, but a fight with a mountain cat of any size can be hard. I’m just surprised you did not die.”

  I coughed nervously and rubbed my hands together.

  The woman laughed and shook her head. “I see. Well it is fortunate you are a traveler. You just have to be reborn. Us common folk are not so lucky.” She turned to me with a serious eyebrow. “And the organs? What have you done with those?”

  I hurried to my packs on the ground and opened them. Pulling out the leaved packages one at a time, I lined them up on the counter. I explained how I’d disposed of the spleen and she nodded her approval.

  “I used a bit of salt around each in hopes it might slow the rot,” I said. “I only had a handful to begin with so each only got a little. Not enough to be safe I’m sure. What do you think?”

  She appraised the organs, and again smelled them one by one. She made a face near some, and that worried me. Then she formed a small pile, the lungs, the stomach and some of the smaller organs she pushed to the side. “These are too far gone. You’re lucky some of the most valuable bits survived. This is a fine gallblader. I’ll help you clean and prepare the rest, but I’ll be taking most of the meat for my time. Also, how would you feel about giving me the paws as well. You can have the claws, but the meat in the paw is a specialty that my father holds above nearly any other.”

  I didn’t have to think. I nodded and thanked her.

  She dropped a pack on the table and opened it. Pounds of salt! She asked Quinn to bring a few more torches over, and we began work at once.

  “Let’s save these first,” she said pointing to the good parts. I helped her take the organs that were still good, and we practically submerged them in the salt she’d brought.

  After my exhaustion, and having thrown up previously, I found myself more capable of holding in my disgust. The woman worked quickly, but I was pleased at how she explained every step. Next, we removed the feet, declawed them, and hacked off the short, thick tail. Then, with a real skinning knife, she showed me how to remove the skin from the cat. Starting the process was the hardest part, and she allowed me to do it alone. To speed things up, she skinned half the cat in a matter of a few minutes, then handed me the knife again with a grin.

  We took the hide, and she asked Quinn for something called Foreman’s oil. Then when he returned, she took a brush he’d brought and spread the oil generously on the inside of the bloody hide.

  She continued to work as she explained, “This is used in more than one industry. Miner’s use it to remove peat from coal opals. It slowly eats away at anything that used to be alive. We’ll need to dunk the whole thing in a barrel of water and vinegar to stop the process, but not for another hour.” She finished, taking great care to avoid any of the viscous substance from touching her skin or spilling to the floor.

  Next, she asked Quinn for his knives. I gave him a questioning look, and he chuckled, “I used to do a bit of hunting myself. It is more affordable if you can take your own hides now and then, and so I have any knife or tool needed to take apart an animal.” His small frame was filled with tremendous pride.

  With a knife as sharp as my katana, the woman harvested the cat’s legs, and showed me how to take the sexual organs I had been too afraid to touch earlier. “These,” she said, holding them in her palm, “are worth a great deal of money to any old man stupid and superstitious enough to buy them. We’ll salt them to dry, then I suggest you wait until the next group of caravaners comes into town and settle for nothing less than a handful of gold.”

  I was surprised. I had heard of humans hunting animals for their “potency” before, but was not sure the sentiments would be found in EO. I would be happy to wait for that day then.

  She showed me how to harvest the legs, and the meat of the shoulders, neck, back and ribs. Finally, she took a cleaver from Quinn’s hand and made clean cuts through the ribs, sectioning them off into four larger pieces. She smiled wide and said in a cocky voice, “These, if you approve, we should eat when we are finished here. They are my personal favorite.”

  “I’m okay with that. Too bad we don’t have teriyaki sauce,” I said. Her attitude was infectious. So much confidence and strength, and a quiet sense of mirth that one could miss if you didn’t look closely.

  Quinn took them away, presumably to whatever space he had for a kitchen. His weapons shop seemed small, but several tiny rooms sectioned it off. It must be much larger than it looked at a glance.

  “What sauce?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

  “Like salt and fat and honey together. A fine sauce in my world.”

  “Sounds delightful. We won’t need it though. Trust me.”

  Finally, we were left with a spine. I wasn’t surprised when we chopped the vertebrae into sections of three, salted them as well, and packed them away.

  “These will make a fine stew for the town tomorrow. They have little meat, but the marrow make a fine broth.” She stood with her bloody hands on a messy apron for a minute surveying our work, then she grinned and held out her hand. I took it and laughed when our hands squelched together. “My name is Adalee by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Pleasure is all mine Adalee. I’m Hana.” I might have blushed a bit. What was it about EO that surrounded me with gorgeous and kind Amazonians? “How did you come to know all this anyhow? How to clean an animal that is.”

  “I can’t even remember the first animal I skinned,” she said as she stared up at the ceiling. “My dad is the town’s best hunter. It is just what we do. I want to some day become a Ranger, but I mostly just help hunt and harvest what we can.”

  We cleaned the workspace with the lemon juice, washing it all with a rag and bucket of water until it gleamed. Then we dunked the hide in a barrel of vinegar water that Quinn had prepared. We took turns in the basin room, and took off the bloody aprons we’d been wearing.

  When she finished, Quinn returned with a pile of steaming cat ribs. It was amazing how hunger could overcoming the distaste of having recently cut apart a carcass. My mouth watered instantly, and we ate, sitting on tall stools in Quinn’s shop.

  “Not bad eh?” Adalee asked me.

  I answered with a mouth filled with meat, “Not bad indeed.”

  Quinn was next to chime in, “More meat between these ribs than with a boar. I cooked them with butter and powdered onions.”

  “You’re a weird little man Quinn, but a hell of a cook,” Adalee jested. They shared a look that showed how long they’d known each other. Trust and affection like that could not be made overnight.

  Quinn threw the bones out back for his dogs. They enjoyed their midnight meal as much as we did as the sounds of popping bones filled the night. Then, standing with a sigh, Adalee took the packed meat and organs and said, “I’ll take these to my father’s cellar. The salt should help them dry and cure quickly, but the cellar is cold. Tomorrow, will you come by and visit us? I’d like to introduce you to my family. You should be proud you took this cat, though I’m still not sure how. When you leave you can take your prizes with you and see how much coin this town has to offer in trade.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said. It would be fun to meet a family of these friendly giants, but I also might learn some much needed skills of the trade.

  “Can you give me your map?”

  I took out the piece of parchment and handed it to her. She unfolded it, and I delighted to see that the town and many of the buildings within it had been highlighted on the map. Even more amazing is that the map had automatically zoomed in to the town and surrounding areas.

  “I just love the magical maps you adventurers carry. They won’t work for the mortals in our world, but I can use yours.” She touched a blank space up in the hills behind the town. As she did so, the paper rippled in response. When it settled again, an image of a long building labeled Hunter’s House appeared.

  “Scorching firewalls!” I gasped, punching Adalee in the arm reflexively. “I’m pretty sure you are the magic one here.”

  “Firewalls? You’re a strange little creature aren’t you Hana? Well, I’ll take them strange over stone-hearted any day.”

  I thanked her and shook her hand again. Adalee felt nearly twice as tall as I was, but she had a heart of gold, and I felt we might become good friends. She was limber and long where Madi was thick. A willow to the warrior’s oak tree. Quinn was nice enough to let me crash on his floor. He even brought me a blanket as my cloak was not only soiled, but needed some mending. May would not be pleased.

  “Wow Quinn. You saved my flat buns. I owe you.”

  “Don’t mention it or your behind again girl. I did get that hide after all. I’d also like it if I could have some of the left over bones as well as the tail. My dogs are always hungry, and the tail will make a nice gift for a friend of mine.”

  “Deal,” I yawned out as he retreated to his room, and I unceremoniously passed out again on the floor of his workroom. The smell of lemon oil filled the air, and I felt my lids fall with a finality that could not be denied even if I had wanted to.

  Did I sleep through the night in dreamless slumber? Not a chance. Much I couldn’t remember, of course, but a clear image of a mouth filled with teeth eating my hands, the flesh of my torso being ripped like cloth. In the midst of my stifled screams, I looked up to see my father kneeling before me. His face covered in dirt so his eyes were stark white, he shook his head and said, “would you believe me if I said a mountain cat took me on my first run too?”

  I woke in a sweaty ball. I wanted to go directly back to sleep, but thought I’d do something first to clear my mind. I gave a mental command to pull up my character screen as I lay in the dark, and surveyed my stats. Much had changed as I had hoped.

  Hana Kotoba: Level 6

  Class Rank: Survivalist

  HP: 358/358

  Armor Rating 15

  Vitality 15 - (+2)

  Strength 10

  Dexterity 15 - (+3)

  Intelligence 12

  Stamina 11

  At least my hike of madness had granted me extra points in Strength and more Stamina. Apparently, I needed all I could get in Eternal.

  Amidst the blood, grease and toil, working side by side with Adalee and Quinn, the distinct sensation of a notification had rippled through me. Not wanting to zone out and ignore them for a time, I had ignored it. I pulled up the notification and had to hold back a scream.

  Class Rank Up: Survivalist!

  Survivalist: Your path in the Hunter Class tree has begun to progress. All Class Skill related tasks are produced with improved efficiency of 5%. This reduces time of completion, improves quality, or both depending on the task at hand.

  Class Skill unlocked: Choose between one of three skills.

  Quick Draw: Passive- 30% increased rate of fire (stackable with organic improvement from weapon skill level increases).

  Vital Aim: Active- Critical Hit chance increased by 75%, Critical Hit Damage increased by 50%. Charge time- 10 seconds.

  Charged Shot: Active- Damage of shot increased by 75%. Stamina cost of 2% total. Charge time- 5 seconds.

  My body was too exhausted for dancing. I made do by wiggling emphatically. The 5% bonus to “efficiency” didn’t look like much, but I imagined after all of the tasks added up, I’d be saving a ton of time. Plus, the idea of producing higher skins or meals with the Rustic Cooking skill were promising.

  But the class skill was what I was flipping out about. Eternal Online was so organic that it just felt like I was trying to do everything as if I were in real life. Having my actions enhanced by a skill would both make this very realistic video game more familiar as well as boost my game play.

  I chewed my lip for awhile. The Quick draw was tempting but I could improve my rate of fire by upping my skill with a bow. My choice was between Vital Aim and Charged Shot.

  The Stamina cost was a consideration as was the Charge Time. Both would have repercussions in a battle. What tipped the scales was the prospect of damage potential. The Charged Shot seemed like a guaranteed way of packing an extra punch, but the Vital Aim would be great as a first attack in a fight. There was a chance of the ability failing, but I felt the gamble was worthwhile.

  I selected Vital Aim and felt the ability take root in my mind. It felt like I had used the skill before, and I could almost picture it.

  Next, I needed to find out what I’d need to accomplish to become a Novice Hunter.

  Novice Hunter Class Requirements:

  Herbalism- Level 3 out of 5

  Rustic Cooking- Level 3 out of 5

  Animal Harvesting- Level 4 out of 5

  Stealth- Level 3 out of 5

  Shelter Mastery- Level 3 out of 5

  Fire Building- Level 3 out of 5

  Fishing or Trapping- Level 1 out of 3

  Skinning- Level 1 out of 3

  Ranged Weapon- Level 1 out of 5

  Bond with a Pet

  It was quite a list. I cursed under my breath as I saw that nothing mentioned bow skills. One missed shot in the woods was obviously not enough to level me up. I’d need to focus on building that up immediately.