HC:Pacifist | Ch. 42 - Dashing New Look

Roth left Oscar's house near midnight. Capturing Oli would take planning and patience. The latter was something he had very little of right now. Not until he got the rewards for his hard labor. It was time to turn in all his quests and see what rewards he would receive.

First, he ran toward the old oak tree in badger territory. He had made a mental note to come back here and try to gain more intelligence from hearing the badgers recite poetry, but he had been so caught up in boar territory that he'd never come back.

Zigzagging around trees, over roots, and under branches, he made it to the oak tree. This time, it wasn't necessary to give the password; he could already see that the tree was hollow and several badgers were in attendance.

Roth entered the tree and greeted all the badgers. "Bark, purr." They answered similarly. Roth sat, anxiously moving around in his seat, like a small child waiting for a promised wrapped gift. He couldn't wait to see what the rewards were.

As other badgers arrived, the clock struck midnight, and the council began again.

"I declare this council meeting open." Tonight the one hosting the meeting was Brawny, the field boss. It seemed as if they took turns every day. Was it weird that badgers seemed to be organized like a condominium meeting?

"First order of business," Roth started to get up with a smile from ear to ear. This was his moment of glory, "We had quite a huge discussion about that verse last night, didn't we?" Roth sank back down. He'd forgotten about how obsessed these guys were with poetry. 

"Let's take a vote about how the verse should be, from now on, 'Smelly human whose feet stink' or 'stinky feet of the smelly human?' raise your paws if you're in favor of the first one. Badgrette, please take a headcount. OK! From now on, the verse will be 'Smelly human whose feet stink.' Thank you all."

Roth moved uncomfortably in his seat, resisting the urge to see if his feet were smelling. They couldn't have written a derogatory poem about him, could they?

"Tonight, we are graced with the presence of our dear friend, Pax. How did your trip to the city go, friend?"

"It was a huge success. The claws all sold out very quickly."

24.56 gold has been removed from your inventory.

Had he just been pickpocketed?

Quest Completed

Completion Rate: A

Rewards: 10.000(+1000)XP; 10.000(+1000) Broker XP; [Badger Trade Agreement]

Bonus Rewards: 8.000(+800)XP; 8.000(+800) XP Profession XP; 1x[Badger Great Claw]; +50 reputation with all badgers

[Broker Ledger] updated.

[Broker Profession Level up!]

[Broker Profession Level up!]

[Broker Profession Level up!]

[Broker Profession Level up!]

[Broker Profession Level up!]

[Broker Profession Level up!]

You unlocked a new profession-related skill [Porter]

[Broker Ledger] updated.

Congratulations on completing a trade between [Council of Badgers] and [Greensburg]

+Broker 1300XP; 1% of the profit. (4 silver, 56 copper), +34 reputation with all badgers.

"Well done, Martyr! This is good profit. We trust that you will keep representing us well. Now, today we have an interesting challenge. We can only recite poems that speak of mushrooms. Who would like to start? Badgerette? Please, go for it."

As Badgerette recited a surprisingly beautiful poem about mushrooms, Roth searched the notifications again. The experience was great. He hadn't leveled up in ages. The [Overachiever] title and the 10% increase in the rewards he gained were proving its worth! It all added up. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or mad about the rest of the rewards.

As a broker, his cut seemed to be 1% of the profit, not the gross sale. This made a massive difference in how much he made with each transaction. Since the system had estimated the market price of the claws to be one gold, and he had sold each for a few silver more, he got 1% of the 4.56 gold profit he generated. That was 4 silver and 56 copper.

Although this was no small sum for a beginner, Roth was slightly disappointed. They had just taken 24 gold out of his inventory and given him only silver in return. Oh well... perhaps, as his profession leveled up, he would gain a more significant cut of each transaction.

He looked in his inventory for the Badger Trade Agreement and found nothing. Where was it? Was it not an item? After rereading the notifications, he checked his [Broker Ledger]. Sure enough, the trade agreement was there. As he opened the book, he saw that the 'transactions' section now recorded his first completed trade run for the badgers.

20x[Badger Great Claw] for 24.56 gold.

Profit Generated: 4.56 gold

Commission: 1%. 4, 56 silver

The skills section was also updated:

Porter [Common]

Skill description: After completing long travels, you have discovered running techniques that allow you to carry more weight and run faster.

Skill effects: Passive; +10 Kg carrying capacity; +10% traveling speed when outside combat for over one hour.

With the extra 10% running speed, Roth now had the same running speed as when traveling on the road to Greensburg. Nothing was worse than feeling that you were running at a snail's pace after gaining a taste for faster traveling. With the 10 Kg carrying bonus added to the [Gallop] bonus, he could now carry 30% more weight. That, coupled with his strength, now allowed him to carry over 60 kg.

What Roth wanted to know, though, was what this trade agreement meant. He continued reviewing the book and found a new section entitled 'Trade Agreements.'

Badger Trade Agreement {Exclusive}

You have earned the right to represent the Council of Badgers as their broker.

Specialty products:

[Acorn] - 10 per day

[Elder Berries] - 10 per day

[Badger Claw] - 2 per day

[Badger Great Claw] - 1 per day

Procured goods:

[Empty]

Rate:

You keep 1% of all profits generated

You need to perform one sale every week, or you will lose broking exclusivity

Finally, Roth had a good grasp of how the broker profession worked. He had to befriend races and find out what products they had for sale and what they needed. Then, one had to have a trade route that had to be completed within a specific deadline; otherwise, the trade route could then be disputed by someone else, reducing his profits. At the same time, if one had an optimal route, this was a fantastic way of gaining a steady source of income.

They also gave him a [Great Badger Claw] as a reward. He wondered if his charisma stat or his [Overachiever] title had anything to do with him getting the item. This claw was worth one gold. That was no small amount. He smiled. The quest had been worth it. This would be better used as a guild item, but Roth had no plan to start a guild now. Just thinking about it gave him butterflies in his stomach. Memories of what happened with IronIre were just too painful. He didn't want to set himself up to fail anyone again.

He would hold on to it for now unless he desperately needed cash. He still had more quests to turn in, which should fatten his wallet.

Roth stood up to leave, warranting a collective glare of all badgers. Brawny seemed slightly annoyed as he asked Roth, "Martyr, you're not going to leave a Council in the middle of it, will you?"

Roth froze in his tracks... It seemed that leaving a council mid-session would greatly offend the badgers. On the one hand, he wanted to claim his other rewards, but on the other, he didn't want to lose any of his hard-earned reputation points.

"Of course not. I was going to move seats and go even closer to the center to appreciate the poetry even more."

The badgers relaxed, and one even patted him on his back. Roth resignedly marched toward the front row and tried not to get annoyed. He would try to make the best of it. Their poetry was beautiful, after all. He brought the attention back to the poem that Badgerette was reciting.

... Mushroom is the Elf of Plants -

At Evening, it is not

At Morning, in a Truffled Hut

It stop opon a Spot

As if it tarried always

And yet it’s whole Career

Is shorter than a Snake’s Delay -

And fleeter than a Tare -

’Tis Vegetation’s Juggler -

The Germ of Alibi -

Doth like a Bubble antedate

And like a Bubble, hie -

I feel as if the Grass was pleased

To have it intermit -

This surreptitious Scion

Of Summer’s circumspect.

Had Nature any supple Face

Or could she one contemn -

Had Nature an Apostate -

That Mushroom - it is Him!"

Roth clapped. That was a beautiful one. Roth didn't take long to get into the mood and sit back and enjoy himself. As the evening went on, Roth was happy to gain one intelligence off appreciating the badger's poetry. He should come here regularly to try to keep gaining more stats. It was also strangely relaxing.

As the dawn broke, all badgers started leaving the tree's hollow. Roth pulled up his map to check distances and decide his next stop. He zoomed in on his area and noticed something unusual. It showed where he could harvest mushrooms. They were all clearly marked on the map! But how? He didn't have the herbalist profession and had never harvested mushrooms.

Could it be because of the Council of Badgers? How could he have been so stupid? It wasn't an accessible location to find. It had to offer benefits other than just gaining a few stats. Within the poetry, there was valuable information. Hadn't it been here where he had heard 'The Burglar' poem from Brawny? What else could one learn here? Roth set an alarm daily at 10 pm to remind him to come to the [Council of Badgers] every night. Who knew? There might be some clues here to other hidden quests.

With his faith in his excellent luck renewed, Roth lollygagged toward the next nearest faction ruler, Count Crow. He entered the dungeon, quickly found the hidden office, and this time took care to let his eyes get used to the ridiculous brightness of the space before he went in. Like usual, the Count stood still, waiting for Roth to be the first one to speak.

"Greetings, count. I bring you good news. The trade was successful, and your bijou was a major hit in the city."

"That's good news, Martyr. Uuuh. Look at all this shiny gold! We did well to procure your assistance. Thank you."

30.34 gold has been removed from your inventory.

He was starting to hate this part...

Quest Completed

Completion Rate: A-

Rewards: 15.000(+1500)XP; 15.000(+1500) Broker XP; [Corvid Trade Agreement]

Bonus Rewards: 9000(+900)XP; 9000(+900) Broker XP; 1x[Crow Feather Tiara]; 2[Crow Feather Earring]; 1x[Crow Feather Necklace]; +50 reputation with all ravens.

[Broker Ledger] updated.

[Broker Profession Level up!]

[Level up!]

Congratulations on completing a trade between [Count Crow] and [Greensburg]

+Broker 1500XP; 1% of the profit. (2 silver, 84 copper), +29 reputation with all Corvids.

This time, the results were more disappointing. After all, even though he had created a buzz around the auction house in Greensburg, thus increasing sales and purchases for the day, it had only slightly inflated the prices of the raven bijou. It wasn't a problem, though. He still closed the deal and had turned a profit, albeit a smaller one.

What had Roth the most excited was all the sweet gear he had just been given. It had been killing him to have so many accessories in his inventory and be unable to put them on. He equipped it all at once. He felt dashing and heroic. He resembled a mix of a Mayan priest conducting a funeral and a hobo child playing superhero. He giddily inspected his stats.

Ch. 41 - Back Scratching

INDEX

Ch. 43 - One Glowshroom