HC: Pacifist | Ch. 193 - Getting In

Roth was used to Drake taking his calls within seconds, but this time, it took Drake almost half a minute to pick up.  “Hey, Roth.”

“Hi, Drake.

Behind Drake was a big crowd of players cheering as the Crafting Battle between Godsfried and Nakia reached its climax. Roth deduced that Drake had taken this long to pick up because he had to worm his way out of the crowd before he could take his call.

“Things are getting heated up here. Your accessories are almost finished,” he said, half-screaming.

“Really? What are they like?”

“I’m not going to ruin the surprise. But this is proving to be quite a show. Sarg already won a profession level just from watching them.”

Roth’s appetite for his new accessories only grew stronger. “I’ll head over there soon. I checked the addendum, by the way.”

“I know. I was discussing your idea for a monthly competition with the sergeant. It’s brilliant,” complimented Drake.

Roth blushed. He hadn’t expected Drake’s commendation to mean so much to him. He shook it off, however, and got back on topic, “Anyway, Drake, how are things with your mafia family?”

“The Raviolis? I’ve been steadily progressing in it. When they found out I was a cyborg, they gave me control over a maintenance crew that does different work around the city. Whenever one of our customers refuses to pay protection, their machines just break,” he explained matter-of-factly. Roth gulped. He never imagined that people could hold machines as hostages.

“Have you been keeping tabs on the Gazpachos?” tried Roth.

“Ever since you got several of their members arrested, they have been laying low. I don’t know what they’re up to.”

“Well, I might have a clue,” declared Roth cheekily.

“Really? What’s that?” asked Drake.

“Have you heard of the renovation the city’s planning?”

“Are you kidding? The Raviolis talk about little else.” A round of cheers in the back made Drake stop for a moment, “The city is going to invest hundreds of thousands of gold in the project. The Raviolis would like nothing better than getting a piece of it, but the city hasn’t hired anyone yet.”

Roth frowned. “I just don’t understand why the mafia gets excited about construction projects.”

“Are you kidding me? It’s one of the best money-making opportunities for crime families.”

“How come?”

“Well, if you have some sway over who gets public contracts, you can sell rights to participate in a project to businesses. You can also accept to do the work with quality materials but use cheap ones instead and skim some money. Another scheme is using deadlines against the contractors. They often have to pay heavy fines if they don’t finish the work in time, so unless they pay you for protection, you sabotage their work and make them miss the deadlines.”

Roth stared wide-eyed for a few seconds. Drake had spat out three different money-making schemes just like that. His friend’s dark past shouldn’t be underestimated. It looked like Toxy really had stumbled on some good information. “I’ve heard that the Gazpachos are planning something big regarding the renovation project.”

Drake was silent for a few moments, “This is big news. The Gazpachos mostly ran racketeering and protection schemes targeting merchants. How are they going to get their paws on public money?”

“Beats me. But that isn’t all. I’ve discovered where their management meets. It’s a place called ‘The Workshop’. It’s somewhere in the crafting district.”

“Thank you for telling me this, Roth. I’ll look into it. Maybe there’s an opportunity for us here.” There was another round of cheers on Drake's side. “Well, you might want to get over here and check the stuff they made because it looks awesome.”

“I will. On my way.”

*

Trampler unloaded all the grain he had managed to stuff into his inventory at the door of the colony.

The treeants appreciate your work for the city.

+10,000 XP;

+1 reputation with the treeants.

The XP awarded wasn’t terrible, but in the time it took him to work for the colony, he could have already hunted several mobs and made much more XP. This was his second trip, and he only had 10 minutes left on the clock before the [Miniaturize] buff ended. The most frustrating thing was that had he been at his normal size, he could have crossed the distance between the pile of cereal outside the shield and the entrance to the city in a few steps. But due to his tiny-tiny legs, a hundredth of his normal size, he took 10 minutes each way.

He considered whether they should cancel the buff and bring the grain to their normal size,  but what if the treeants considered it cheating? What if they required them to be at this minuscule size so they could gain access to the city?

As he finished unloading the 50th stack of grain, the turtle ants finally gave way, signaling he could go in.

At once, he sent a message to his teammates, “Everyone. They let you in at the 50th stack.”

“Oof, finally, some light at the end of the tunnel. I’m on my way to unlock my second batch of leaves,” answered Ray. “But I will have to go back up for the third.”

“Same.”

“Same.”

His colleagues had discovered work different fromthan his. Ray was helping the red ants to go up the tree, cut pieces of leaves, and bring them down to the colony’s entrance. Since he had the herbalist profession, it was a task that suited him well. Kevin and Laura were foraging with the ants in the nearby grass, bringing seeds and fruit that fell off the tree above to bring back to the colony.

Trampler was level 52, the highest in the group, and had a pure strength build. He could carry, by far, the most weight in the group and, therefore, had been the first one to win the necessary reputation to enter the city. He considered whether to wait, but every minute wasted on this buff was precious. “I'm going in, guys. Keep working so that the ants let you in.”

Trampler sent a message update to BlueFire as he walked down the tunnels of Antioch, who responded approving of his decisions so far and stressed the importance of locating the [Miniaturizing Honeydew].

Although called a city, Antioch was more of an underground tunnel complex. Everywhere he looked, there were skittering ants; the only thing that really changed was the cargo they carried.

He didn't miss the group of about twenty ants that followed after him wherever he went. They were bigger than the workers, wore armor, and had blades on their mandibles. As he inspected them, he bit his lips until they turned white. Trying to fight their way into the city really was suicide. There were millions of ants living here, all of them powerful level 45 and above creatures. There were several elites, and he suspected he had barely scratched the surface.

Trampler was looking for whatever store sold the [Miniaturizing Honeydew]. But how in the world should he know where that was? The guide didn't come with a map! It just gave a few pointers and spoke of some items that could be bought. He sent a message issuing the complaints to BlueFire. Whoever had written this guide had done a terrible job at it.

Trampler took a torch from his inventory and looked for anything that might look like a shop. He wrestled with asking one of the ants for directions, but that was stupid. There was no way they could understand him. Even so, against his better judgment, he gave it a go.

“Excuse me, where can I find this, " he said, pulling out one of the shiny blobs of honeydew he had left.

The ants just ignored him and kept walking. “Good job, stupid. Talk to the ant,” he berated himself. Looking at the clock, he frowned. He had to hurry and find whatever store sold these.

*

As Roth entered the Crafting Hem, the little bell rang, letting Juliette know he had arrived. Today, she wore a different dress from the last time he’d seen her. Instead of the one-piece wool dress with long sleeves, she wore a fashionable, sleek, dark purple suit today. The change in attire made such a difference to her demeanor that Roth was confused about whether this was the same Juliette he knew or her older sister.

“Nature’s weaver! It’s good to see you again.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Roth relaxed. “Hi, Juliette.”

“Uuh… nice outfit!” she said as she walked a full circle around him, feeling the wool with her hands and admiring the craftsmanship. “Elemental needles? That’s not something that you see every day. The garments suit you.”

“Thanks!” Roth answered humbly. “I’m sure that if you were the one making something like this, it would be even better.”

Juliette didn’t confirm nor deny Roth’s flattery. “Let me see your hands,” she commanded.

Roth stretched them out, and she nodded approvingly. “Good. Some calluses. They are a tailor’s badge of honor. I can tell you’ve applied yourself and have reached the novice grade. Congratulations are in order, Nature’s Weaver.”

“Thanks.” Boy, the day was going well for him today. He got compliments left and right. “Now that I’ve advanced in my profession, I was wondering what else you can teach me.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Look at you. Eager to learn. Wanting to get one more stitch in. Very well, my friend. What do you want to learn next?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. I just know the basic knitting techniques you taught me last time.”

“Well, now that you have some experience, I can teach you another knitting technique. I can also teach you how to use a loom or work with linen. You let me know what you want.”

“Can I learn all three?”

“Of course. But I recommend you choose only one for the moment. It’s better not to focus on too many things at once. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

Roth looked at the clock, and seeing how much time he had left and guessing how long it would take to learn each technique, he decided. “Why don’t you teach me that new knitting technique?”

The reason for Roth’s choice was simple: based on his previous gaming experience, being stuck in places for long periods while Loki was out to get him was to be expected. By learning one more knitting technique, he could keep building on top of what he had already learned without carrying a big loom or another heavy load of material around. It also sounded like the quickest one to learn.

“A fine choice!” she said as she pulled two stools from behind the counter for them to sit on. “Last time, I taught you the plain stitch, also called the knit stitch. Now, it’s time to learn its little brother, the purl stitch. It's a wonderful counterpart to the plain stitch, adding texture and versatility to your fabric. Let's start by understanding the key difference between the two."

Juliette’s hands disappeared into a blur as she knitted two pieces of cloth. It took her ten seconds to do each, leaving Roth stupefied. Was it even possible to knit this fast?

“Here. Look at the two pieces of cloth. Can you tell the difference?”

Roth studied the two pieces. The pattern in them looked different. One had columns of little Vs, whereas the other had rows of little bumps. “The stitches look different,” answered Roth.

“Good. The one with the V’s is the knit stitch I taught you before. I made the one with the little bumps using the purl stitch. Now, turn them over.”

Roth did and frowned. The back of the cloth with V’s was made of little bump stitches, and the back of the one with the wavy bumps had V’s. “They’re mirrors.”

“That’s right. Every plain stitch has a purl stitch on the other side. Same the other way around. A purl stitch is what’s on the other side of the knit stitch.”

“Then, what’s the point in learning to do purl stitches?” asked Roth befuddled. If a purl stitch was what was on the other side of a knit stitch, then all he had to do was to turn the cloth over and do a knit stitch on the other side.

“Because you can create beautiful knitting patterns by alternating between the two. Look.” Her hands blurred again, and a new cloth appeared in her hands. The field of the cloth was made of little bumps, but over them, there were thick rows of wool shaped in V’s, making a beautiful barred pattern.

“Can you see how I made those bars using knit stitches?”

“Yeah. Cool.”

“That’s not all. There’s also a practical reason for it. When you knit using both stitches, you can stuff more wool in one cloth, making it more elastic, durable, etc.… These two stitches are the bread and butter of knitters, forming the basis for all more advanced techniques. Master these two, and the world of knitting will be at your feet.”

Roth nodded appreciatively. It had an elegant simplicity, like zeros and ones in binary code. Combining knit and purl stitches, he could create several patterns with the thread alone. This was even before he dyed the wool. He spared a glance at his [Forest Lambswool] set and could now identify how Rhapsody had used purls and knit stitches to make his beautiful clothes.

“Ready to learn this new stitch?” asked Juliette with a smile.

Ch. 192 - Spy Report

INDEX

Ch. 194 - Purl Stitch