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HC: Handyman | Ch. 67 - Performance
🕑 Added 2024-07-18 09:46:16 +0000 UTCJack stood in the line before the gate. He looked at the many different food stalls and wondered whether Marlene would be selling her own food the next time he went on an expedition.
“You! In gray!”
Jack rechecked his inventory. He had one spray gun and a dung bomb for an emergency. He also had tinderboxes, lumber, and cloths for bandages. There was a brand new bamboo tent frame with the accompanying cloth, two cooking pots, and a few basic condiments. He had bought everything he needed to get to Amari’s coordinates, capture the bee queen, and return in one piece.
Just as he was about to message Amari, telling him he was about to leave the city, a heavy hand covered by thick leather and chainmail landed on Jack’s shoulder. “You! I’m talking to you?”
Jack whirled toward a guard. He hadn’t been called out since his first expedition with Amari. What was he supposed to do again? His mind raced as the guard scanned him up from top to bottom. The soldier’s eyes landed on the ocarina hanging from his belt and stayed there momentarily. “What brings you to my gate, lad?”
“Hello, good sir. I’m on a quest on behalf of the Entomology Department of the city’s zoo,” Jack heard himself say.
“Uuf. Outside? That’s too dangerous, young man, for you and the city. If I let you out, I have to let you in, and if you do come back, you might bring monsters in your wake.”
“I beg you, sir. All I want is the best for the city.” He wasn’t sure if it mattered, but Jack tried to imitate Amari’s respectful tone.
Pointing at Jack’s ocarina, the guard smiled. “Tell you what, I can see you are a musician. Why don’t you play us a song?”
Jack gulped, looking left and right. Only bees had listened to him play the ocarina. Other players wanting to become beekeepers had only listened to him playing scales and arpeggios but not playing a melody.
Furthermore, he knew the one song and had only practiced it a couple of times. How was he supposed to perform it in front of this crowd? Remembering that if he failed to pay the toll, the payment was one gold coin, Jack cleared his throat, whetted his lips, and reached for his ocarina.
Jack closed his eyes, zoning out his surroundings, and focused on the melody. He played the opening riff and got one note wrong but kept going, calm and collected. Even famous artists made mistakes when playing live. The secret was owning those mistakes and pretending it was part of the plan. Besides, every note in the ocarina was part of the C major scale, so even off notes didn’t sound too bad.
As Jack focused on playing, in the back of his mind, he considered the song's name, the Sitting Wind. The succession of slow, upward intervals evoked the memory of a breeze or wind. That was only accented by the fact that this was a wind instrument. However, he didn’t get the part that the wind was sitting. How can wind sit?
The basic melody wasn’t long and partly repeated itself. Jack felt more confident in the second bar and quickly finished. He heard applause. Two new guards had approached the original gatekeeper, and the three were clapping enthusiastically, accompanied by a few other players. One of the guards was wiping snot from his nose and had a tear in his eye.
The guards shared their thoughts on the song. “What a classic.”
“The Sitting Wind. My mamma used to love that song. She hummed it to me and my brothers,” the crying guard said between hiccups.
“That was beautiful. How long has it been since I heard such a mellow flute? You can pass, my lad. Just make sure you return to play us another song when you return.”
“S-sure,” Jack said, with eyes widened.
“Here. This is a gift from the guards. Come play for us when you can.”
You’ve played [Sitting Wind].
Success rate: B.
+100 bard XP.
Audience bonus:
+600 bard XP.
+3 silver.
Jack accepted the coins from the guards and passed through the door.
“Mister! Wait up!”
“Wait! You, with the flute,” he heard.
Jack glanced over his shoulder and found some players pointing at him and trying to get past the gatekeepers. They were looking at Jack as if he were a legendary item.
The guards stood their ground, though. “Where are you going in such a hurry? Hold on right there. I’ve just listened to a very emotional melody and need a laugh. Do you know how to pantomime?”
Jack raced before bard wannabes could storm him. Outside the gate, no one paid Jack any heed. A hunting party dragging a sleeping biped dinosaur was the center of everyone’s attention. Jack sprinted toward the treeline. He spotted a few curious onlookers from the shadows who had just left the gate looking for him.
Satisfied with how clueless they looked, Jack disappeared into the jungle. It wasn’t that he was scared of those players. He was sure no one would hit him just because he had a rare profession. However, he had an appointment to get to. Besides, it would be awkward to answer questions about how to become a bard. What was he supposed to say? Should he tell them to knock at Master Kevin’s house and wait for him to play a tune for the pigs? Even if someone believed him, he doubted Master Kevin would let them in.
Jack braved through the thick bush and the screens of ivies, thinking what had just happened. This incident had taught him a couple of things. Firstly, playing a melody successfully was worth more than playing scales. He hadn't done the math yet, but even if he played scales as fast as he could, he would only have gained half as much XP in the time it took him to play Sitting Wind. Moreover, playing a melody was much more enjoyable than always playing mind-numbing scales.
More importantly, the incident at the gate taught him that bards could busk! There was an audience bonus for playing songs. Moreover, the guards had paid him! This raised so many questions. He was only a level 4 bard. What would happen once he progressed to level 10? Would the amount of money he got from busking increase? What about busking on the street? Could he play on the street for NPCs passing by? What about concerts? Could he rent a venue and sell tickets?
Excited by the possibilities, Jack navigated through the jungle, heading in the general direction of Amari’s coordinates. It wasn’t long before he heard skirmishes. Small groups of players hunted their first small dinosaurs. The secret to traveling safely this close to the gate was to stay at the proper distance from these parties. They acted as lightning rods, drawing the aggro from creatures in the area.
If he ran into a porky, and there was such a party nearby, the porky would ignore Jack and run straight toward these players. As long as he stayed away from everyone's ways and didn't get into any altercations with players, he had a safe route for at least a mile.
Jack wasn’t in a hurry to leave this part of the jungle, though. He was looking for a specific location. After a few minutes, he found a place that suited his needs. It was a meadow with a large, old oak covered in moss at the edge. The meadow was filled with tall grass, and four players battled two dinosaurs on the opposite side. There was plenty of moss, grass fibers, and decoys to buy him time to start a fire. This was a good spot.
Jack walked through the tall grass, yanking it to dry and revealing fallen sticks to use as fuel. After collecting enough, he grabbed a tinderbox and hit the firesteel against the flint. Before the nearby battle finished, he already had a fire going.
With a safe back, he took out his bush knife and scraped moss off the tree's trunk. He also picked up the dried tall grass. Satisfied with the abundance of raw materials, Jack checked the recipes to remind himself how much of each he needed.
Moss Cape
Ingredients: 10x[Moss], 10x[Cords].
Recipe: Wrap moss together into the shape of a blanket. Wear it over your shoulders as a cape if you want.
Requirements: [Bushcraft], lvl. 9.
Moss Suit
Ingredients: 50x[Moss], 30x[Cords].
Recipe: Bundle moss together and tie it with cords to create long strips, long enough to cover your body. Then, tie the strips together to form an overall garment.
Requirements: [Bushcraft], lvl. 10.
“60 moss and 40 cords. Yikes. So many cords.” Jack got on with braiding the grass fibers immediately. After becoming a handyman, Jack was forced to unequip all his equipment. Awkward as it was to appear covered in moss, it would be even more uncomfortable to appear in grey, noobish drapes. Amari and the others were veterans. Jack couldn't afford to look too much like a noob.
Jack had another reason for crafting these. The one time he ventured into the wild without Amari's assistance, he was caught and eaten by an allosaurus. Amari said that these moss clothes would help Jack pass unnoticed by creatures. This was a great way to increase his survivability.
After twenty minutes, Jack had 60 pieces of moss and 40 cords in front of him. Even though the original hunting party had moved on, a new one had arrived, keeping the local fauna entertained. He was good to go.
Jack spread out ten pieces of moss in the overall shape of a blanket, a rectangle that would cover his back. He pressed the fluffy moss together, tying it with the cords and knots to ensure the whole thing wouldn’t tear apart. The moss was a little unruly, but the more knots he tied, the easier it was to add more cords and bring the whole cape together. He left an opening at the top, where he could put his head, and he was done after a couple of minutes.
You’ve crafted [Moss Cape].
+500 bushcraft XP.
Moss Cape (Common)
Crafting grade: C
Description: A cape made of natural materials. It’s sturdier than it looks, but it won’t take much abuse.
Durability: 10
Defense: 2
Stealth: 5
“Not bad for a first try!” Jack said, wiping sweat off his brow. Jack could see why Amari hadn’t been enthusiastic about the stats this piece of equipment offered. However, it did add a new stat, which Jack had never seen before: stealth. It didn’t know how it worked, but if it was something that would keep dinosaurs away, he was glad to have it.
Satisfied with the moss cape, Jack focused on the more complex project: the moss suit. Jack made five long strips of moss and then tied them together. He used the cords to tie the moss at the joints and edges, creating a snug fit around his body. There had to be a better way of making the garment and giving it a better shape; however, his crafting attempt still counted as valid, and after a few more moments, he finished making the suit.
You’ve crafted [Moss Suit].
+500 bushcraft XP.
Moss Suit (Common)
Crafting grade: C-
Description: A suit made of natural materials. It’s sturdier than it looks, but it won’t take much abuse. This piece of equipment occupies both the top and bottom slots.
Durability: 12
Defense: 4
Stealth: 10
Jack put on the suit and the cape. The clothes made him look like a walking bush. They covered him from head to toe, leaving only his head exposed. The suit was lightweight and breathable, though it smelled strongly of earth and vegetation. Jack admired his handiwork. The moss cape and moss suit were not glamorous equipment but significantly enhanced his stealth. Fifteen of an attribute was no joke.
Despite the bonuses to stealth, the suit did little else. If an allosaurus decided to bite him, the moss and cords would serve as a salad side dish, making him even tastier. Now equipped, Jack could start heading toward the rendezvous point.
Comments
Ender419
Great chapter! Love the confidence boost Jack is getting for play his ocarina!!
Harley Dalton Jr.
Thanks for the chapter.
