Unorthodox Farming 3: Chapter 44 (Patreon)

I was hoping to have a couple of chapters ready by today, but instead I only wrote one chapter that is twice as long as a normal chapter. Even though it's the same word count, that somehow annoys me. Anyway, I'm back to writing Farmer, so I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 44

The House That Torvac Built

Fifteen minutes isn't much time, unless you're in the middle of a magical monstrous warzone. Then it's a lifetime. Radian's elites were fighting their way towards the palace, clearing the buildings beside the main roads, and sending people fleeing toward the gates. Champion Vander was demolishing buildings along the western main road, creating rubble walls, so the army could keep the corridor open. Everyone was doing everything they could to help strangers evacuate.

Everyone except me.

I'd done my part.

I'd ensured Radian's elite could get inside. I'd ensured strangers could get out safely. And all it cost me was the squeeze of a trigger. And whatever nightmare that would come from that.

Salem and I may not have been friends, but that had everything to do with my not understanding him and the headspace I'd been in when he tried to help me. Ranic had set me straight. And I'd been hoping to see if our relationship changed when I returned to Blackwood. I hoped we could be more than two people who tolerated each other's existence.

Now I'd never know.

And I'd have to live with that.

Just like I'd have to live with the fact that I'd killed someone I respected. He'd asked me to. And the situation warranted both our actions, but that barely made it any easier.

So, I'd done my part.

I helped where I could.

Now, it was time for me to be a little selfish. To worry about those I cared about. And ignore everyone else.  

So why the hell was I still changing directions every time I heard a kid cry out?

Juvenile drakes, like the ones I'd fought beside Regent Katella, rushed after me in a densely packed mob as I raced down the back alley. Their grey reptilian skin was tougher than it appeared, and the colour downplayed exactly how terrifying these creatures were. They might have looked like a mashup of a lizard and a wolf, but any one of them could tear through a pride of lions twice their level. Together like this, they were far more dangerous than anything else I'd come across in the city, and I'd crossed paths with a lot.

The city was getting more dangerous by the minute, but I wasn't in any danger. I just couldn't risk dragging this pack back to a side street or main road. There were too many people fleeing. Too many easy targets. And these grey bastards would tear through them faster than the hobgoblins would. Which was why I was dragging them behind me as I made my way to Torvac's place.

My stride felt lazy as the world moved in slow motion around me. My adrenal system had my agility working overtime, so everything felt like it was moving too slowly. Like I wasn't doing enough. Like having two dozen drakes only three steps behind me just wasn't enough.

Up ahead, a goblin dashed out of a side alley like it was coming from the set of Baywatch, looking over its shoulder at something behind it. The scabbard on its hip lay empty, but its armour was otherwise untouched, so whatever was following was probably the sort of monster that would kill it in an instant.

Once I saw it was unarmed, my gaze instinctively moved to the information about its head.

North Wind Horde

Level: 1

Rank: Infantry

War Points: 1

The upgrade to my interface had made itself known the moment I'd gotten away from the gate and encountered a goblin. They all had the same information above them. It didn't matter whether I was looking at a goblin, hobgoblin, or one of the red blobs. It was always the same. And it didn't tell me much beyond the fact that they were a united force.

When I'd seen the information the first time, I'd hoped something else had changed. But I still didn't get any experience from killing them. I did earn war points though. So far, I'd collected eighteen. Not a lot compared to killing the demon lord, but more than I'd expected in such a short amount of time.

The goblin turned towards me to flee and froze, seeing the drakes racing after me. That turned out to be a fatal mistake, as another drake leapt out of the alleyway behind it. The drake caught the goblin's head in its jaw as it went past and snapped its neck in one clean twisting motion, before yanking it with it and colliding with the far wall. The information above the goblin vanished.

This wasn't the first goblin I'd seen a fleeing goblin killed by a monster. And it likely wouldn't be the last. It was a free-for-all out here.

The drake dropped the dead goblin and noticed me running towards it.

Where there was one, there was more. I'd learned that lesson quick. The system wasn't teleporting drakes in alone.

I didn't slow my step, but shifted directions, heading for the nearest wall. I activated double jump, leaping as high as I could. I met the wall with my foot and kicked off, throwing myself higher and towards the wall on the other side of the alleyway. Height was important, because I didn't want to worry about these bastards snapping at my ankles from below again. And they could leap higher than you would expect.

I kicked off the other wall and pushed myself even higher. If I'd had any idea of exactly how dangerous drakes were when Katella invited me to join her in the arena, I would have turned around and run away. They were apex predators. Apex predators in a world where dragons and giants existed. The ones chasing me were little more than babies, but that didn't mean much. They had no sense of fear. No sense of self-preservation. And they were hardwired to attack anything that moved which wasn't their own kind.

A roar that was just a little close shook the buildings around me, signalling that the dragon had gotten close again. It was one of six roaming the skies above the city. They were occupying the champions' attention. If the kingdom's elite didn't break through the hobgoblins' line soon and bring down the confusion field around the palace, there wasn't going to be a city for the rest of the elites to save.

I kicked off the wall, but didn't push myself higher this time, sailing over the drakes come out of the side alleyway below, and spotted a familiar figure on the roof of the building ahead.

Orlana was dressed head to toe in mithril plate, with an open-faced helmet. She carried a black cleaver the length of a longsword in either hand, which must have weighed more than I did, and dove off the roof towards the pack of drakes beneath me. She hit the ground like a comet, bisecting two drakes as she landed, before sweeping her weapons around her to slice and dice the pack that had been following me. Pieces went flying in every direction as she moved through their pack, cleaving them apart like a bladed tornado.

By the time my feet hit the cobblestone and I looked back, there wasn't anything I needed to run from. I scanned my surroundings for red blobs or other threats, waiting to see if she was just passing through.

Orlana rushed to my side, leaving a cloud of blood and entrails in her wake. She wasn't as fast as me, but she had the strength and agility to go from zero to one hundred in just three steps and slow down just as quickly. I hadn't realised how important that was until I'd been forced to run through these back alleys. Without my captain's mark, this terrain would have made my movement speed nearly useless.

Orlana looked up at me and smiled from beneath her helmet. "My husband will be happy to know you've made it through this mess. And you will be happy to know your people made it to our place safely."

When I got back to the hotel, the words 'Torvac's Family Was Here' had been carved onto the door. Inside, it was empty, without any signs of struggle or loss of life. The relief I'd felt at seeing those words and an empty hotel carried me here without panic.

I scanned the alleyway for threats as another wave of relief flooded through me. It was a habit I'd picked up working in my barns. "Radian's elites are trying to free the palace from the hobgoblins' confusion field and establish safe passage through the main roads with the army."

The city only had four main roads. Each one converged on the palace. That left large areas of the city miles from safety, but just holding those roads was still going to take everyone.

Orlana flicked the last of the blood from her cleavers. "My family is aware of what's going on. We've established a safe zone around our home with help from our neighbours. Do you need me to escort you there or can you make it on your own?"

I doubted that they were as aware of the situation as I was, but this wasn't the time or place to go over that. "I can make it on my own, but I'll be more helpful to you out here."

Orlana let go of one of her cleavers and reached up to pat my shoulder. "Attributes aren't the only thing that matters, Arnold. You might be able to survive out here, alone, but you lack the abilities and training to escort others. You also don't have a weapon. Why don't you have a weapon?"

"I threw it at a drake to draw its attention away from a family that was fleeing them, which is how I ended up with my entourage."

Orlana chuckled. "No wonder my husband considers you an ally." She patted my shoulder again. "Go find your people. Help keep the area safe."

"But I could-"

Orlana's voice tightened. "Part of being a warrior is knowing when you can save someone and when you need to hold the line. Go hold the line, Arnold."

"But-"

Orlana punched me in the ribs before I could finish. Bones snapped, sending a couple of ribs through my lung, dropping me to my knees. "Now, you're too injured to help anyone but yourself, so make your way to our home and recover."

"Why?" I wheezed, not understanding what had just happened.

Orlana picked up her cleaver. "I don't have time to babysit someone high on their own attributes and incapable of making a rational decision. There are people who need me."

With those words, Orlana turned around and ran off.

The feeling of invincibility I'd been experiencing since I killed Salem vanished under the pain, making me aware of my own mortality and the fact that I was injured and alone in an alleyway where monsters could appear at any second. This little pain trick was one of the few ways of snapping someone out of an attribute high. However, most settled for breaking someone's pinkie, not their ribs.

I picked myself up, grunting through the pain, and started running. With each step, the pain increased, and my thoughts grew clearer. Orlana was right. I couldn't help anyone out here.

Torvac was also right.

Orlana was tiny but fierce.  

***

My ribs were back in the right place by the time Oliver spotted me approaching the crowded front door of their family's sprawling mansion. As Torvac's family grew, he and Orlana had purchased the surrounding mansions to expand their home. They'd removed the gardens these places were known for and built to the edge of the footpath to optimise living space. It made their home look like an extremely large bank, but none of them seemed to mind.

Men and women with crossbows stood on every balcony, and swordsmen stood at every window. A handful of robed people stood on the roof. The streets and surrounding buildings were filled with dead and living monsters, and several of the crossbowmen fired as I ran up.

The place was as close to a fortress as you could find in the city, and for the hundredth time, I thanked my luck that Torvac was a fellow tabletop gamer. If he hadn't sat down at my table during that first cull to play Catan, and we hadn't become friends, my life would have gone differently.

I slowed to a walk and joined the back of the line to enter the building. I couldn't help but wince as another flash of pain reminded me I was running around with fractured ribs.

Oliver nodded in my direction from where he was guarding the rear. He was dressed head to toe in steel plate layered with enchantments and drenched in blood.

"You alright?" he asked, noticing the wince.

"Your mother has an interesting way of dealing with people who aren't being entirely rational."

Oliver chuckled. "Blame Dad. Usually, you break someone's pinkie if they're under the influence of an attribute high and you need them to think straight. That wouldn't work for you, on account of you being a champion, so when Jeric warned us about your condition, he told us to break your ribs if you needed a little clarity."

"Well, it worked."

Oliver continued to chuckle and followed me into the entrance, closing the door behind us.

Nita wore the same gear as her brother and guarded the entrance with her niece, Little Nita. Little Nita directed the group who had arrived toward Jeric, who was working with a man I didn't know, to guide everyone to the training hall in the basement.

Nita took one look at her brother's armour and shook her head. "You need to get cleaned up. Grab food and water while your kids wipe you down. We'll look after, Arnold, for you."

Oliver frowned. "I thought the food was for Uncle Misk?"

"It is, so find your own damn meal like everyone else."

Oliver rolled his eyes and clapped his fist to his heart before dashing off and weaving his way through the crowd, heading for the basement.

Nita turned to her niece. "Can you focus around Arnold's charisma?"

Little Nita glanced at my face, blushed, looked away, and then nodded. "I can if I don't look at him."

"There's no shame in saying you can't."

"I'm fine."

"Good. Take him to grandpa's study and get him a weapon. Then send him to Uncle Misk. He needs to know what he knows."

Little Nita clapped her fist to her heart and then took off running toward the staircase. "Keep up."

I ran after her, taking the stairs three at a time. "When did Misk get here? I thought he was down south."

"He was, but he can be fast when he wants to be. He was one of the first to teleport over and was the first to arrive at the city. He entered and came here right after you killed the demon lord and opened the city gates. He's keeping us aware of what's going on."

That explained why Orlana felt they knew what was going on.

"Why are you feeding him?"

Misk didn't eat a lot. Digestion required a lot of focus, which tired him out, so he was constantly starving. When he needed calories, he preferred ale, because it didn't require him to move his digestive system as much. Eating at a time like this was too weird to not ask.

"You'll find out shortly. Now I need to know, have you ever fought beside others in close quarters before?"

"No."

"Do you know how to use a bow?"

"Not really."

"Ever used an active enchantment on a weapon?"

"No, but I know the theory."

Little Nita reached the top floor and turned down the hallway and skidded into Torvac's study, damaging the carpet. "Can you manipulate your mana?"

I followed her in and slowed my step, so I didn't knock her off her feet. "Not very well. It's gotten easier since I increased my wisdom, but I haven't practiced."

I stopped behind Little Nita and nodded to the woman by the door, guarding the room against monsters, and the man by the window, keeping them out. I'd passed several rooms with monster corpses on my way here, so her role wasn't for show, nor was his. There had even been a dead troll in one.

Little Nita flicked her gaze over the walls, searching for the right weapon for me.

Torvac wasn't against books. He was just a bigger fan of weapons, so the walls of his study normally looked like a museum exhibit. Today, it looked like an exhibit which was mostly on loan. The walls had been stripped to their bones. All that remained was a sparse collection of truly dangerous items which most didn't have the attributes to wield.

Little Nita marched over to the crossbows. "How high is your strength?"

"Over three hundred."

Her hand moved to a crossbow. "Do you have the crossbowmen skill?"

"It's maxed."

Her hand moved away from that crossbow to a standard two-handed crossbow, which looked nice enough that Torvac had probably received an earful about wasting money when he bought it. The stock looked like it was made from carved bone, and the bow was fashioned from some sort of horn, with a string made from some sort of tendon.

Little Nita took it off the wall and handed it to me.

The weight wasn't enough for me to notice, but even if it was, I could tell it was well balanced. I checked everything the way Salem had taught me. "Any enchantments I need to be aware of?"

"It's a standard dragon crossbow, with passive enchantments, which is why you need to have maxed your crossbowman skill to use it. The string's made from dragon tendon, but it's only rated for 200 strength because grandpa brought it for grandma, so don't overdraw it too far, or you'll snap it. Other than that, it's a crossbow. Any of the merchants will be able to supply you with a quiver and bolts."

I nodded and turned to head for the roof.

"Wait."

I turned back. "What?"

Little Nita gritted her teeth, looking at the floor, like she had something weighing on her mind. "How bad is it out there? None of my aunties or uncles will tell me."

"The demon lord dropped a dungeon on the city, and the dungeon thinks we're trying to destroy it. It's worse than anything you can imagine."

Little Nita swallowed and looked me in the eye. "My friend-"

I didn't wait for her to finish. For those of us who were stronger than the norm, we were all thinking the same thing. Could we save them? "How far away?"

"Other side of the city."

That was too far, but she needed to know why. "There's a confusion field around the palace and an army of goblins and hobgoblins that are as smart, if not smarter, than we are around that. Which means the fastest way there is to go out the gate, circle the city, and enter from the other side. And this assumes your friend is exactly where you think they are. Will they be exactly where you think they are?"

Little Nita slowly shook her head. "She's better than me with a sword, but her family isn't wealthy or high level. They've likely had to flee."

"Then you have your answer. Now are you good, or do I need to worry about you running off?"

Little Nita looked down and sighed before shaking her head. "Part of being a warrior is knowing when you can save someone and when you need to hold the line. I need to hold the line, don't I?"

I nodded. "You and me both."

Little Nita looked up in surprise. "You aren't going back out there?"

I shook my head. "This isn't the sort of fight I've trained for."

"But you're a champion."

The woman and man guarding the room turned and stared at me, clearly shocked.

"That doesn't mean much if you're a farmer who never learned how to fight."

"You have no training!"

"No. And that's something I'm beginning to regret."

I really was.

***

Misk was on dragon duty. He couldn't outright kill a dragon by himself, but he could hit it hard enough to make it decide that this part of the city wasn't worth the trouble. He could also keep hobgoblins and other threats in check, which made this area the safest place to be. The only threats that got close were easily taken down with crossbow bolts or the occasional spell from one of the other wizards, so all we had to worry about was a monster being teleported into the building.

However, him being a one-man dragon repellent wasn't why I was staring at his mouth like a high school girl wondering whether the quarterback was finally going to kiss her. Misk was eating with the kind of ferocity that a thousand-pound man tackles his breakfast. He was shovelling food down his throat as fast as he could. It was both disgusting and mesmerising, like watching a hotdog eating contest where the skinny guy is winning.

For the entire time I'd known him, Misk had been sickly, too weak to move his body any faster than a shuffle, with skin so pale and unhealthy he had more in common with a corpse than a healthy man. The Misk sitting before me had a healthy glow to his skin, and his movements were free and easy, enhanced by a mountain of attributes. There wasn't an ounce of struggle as he attacked the plate of saucy meat which had just been delivered.

It was hard to believe his explanation for the transformation too.

Misk had heard about the parasites and their ability to turn people into zombies and concluded that this might have been what was making him sick. After realising this, he ran a very simple experiment. He cooked himself alive. Well, not cooked himself alive. He exposed his body to temperatures which would have cooked a normal person alive, hoping to burn away the parasite within him, while leaving himself injured but functional.

From his point of view, it had worked.

 Based on the words I was seeing above his head, it hadn't. Which was the other reason I was staring at his mouth. I didn't want to be the one to tell him.

Unknown Horde

Level: 0

Rank: Unknown

War Points: 0

The words above his head were different to the words I'd seen floating about the goblins, hobgoblins, and parasitic blobs. He wasn't a member of the North Wind Horde. He didn't have a rank. He didn't have a level. And he wasn't worth any war points. However, the layout was the same.

It meant he was still carrying around one inside him. And I didn't know how to break it to him, so I kept giving my account of everything Salem had told me before he asked me to kill him.

Misk swallowed the mouthful he was chewing as I finished. "What you've just said is identical to what I learned from Champion Farentine. Do you-" Misk turned his head to the side and shoved another handful of meat into his mouth, listening to an update from somewhere in the city.

One of Torvac's grandsons arrived with another plate and set it beside Misk. The kid picked up the empty plates, breathing heavily from running up and down five flights of stairs, and then raced off for the next round.

Orlana did a lot of the prep work for her special menu at home, so there was enough food in the kitchen to help Misk fully recover. He hadn't said anything, but he wasn't treating this like a cure, only a temporary reprieve from his condition, and he was using that reprieve to recover as much as he could.

Misk swallowed his mouthful as his eyes began to glow. "If they cannot break through the enemy's lines without the academy's assisting, I recommend using the king's hammer. It's more effective against multiple targets than one, so it might soften their lines enough to attempt a breakthrough. Saving it to distract the dragons is pointless with so many already within the city. If we don't breakthrough now, we're going to have to pull back and let the monsters do it for us. Our people are burning through their stamina and mana too quickly to keep this up."

I only caught half the conversation, but it didn't sound good.

Misk turned his attention to me as his eyes stopped glowing. "Did Alistrin say anything else to you?"

I shook my head. "That's everything."

Misk's expression softened. "I may not have liked Alistrin, but I respected him, and I saw what he asked you to do. Are you surviving?"

He was asking me if I was falling apart. If the guilt I felt from my actions was eating me alive. "It's taking all the charisma I have not to react to what he asked me to do."

Misk flicked his hand, removing the sauce with a spell, and then patted my shoulder. "I can't help with that right now. But I can offer you another punch to the ribs?"

I chuckled. "Wait until something distracts me. And hold back when it does."

Misk chuckled as he lifted his staff behind him and unleashed a bolt of lightning, dropping some sort of winged monstrosity from the sky.

I flinched, blinking away the blinding light.

Misk searched my gaze with his before sighing. "You're flinching like a man who doesn't trust me, Arnold?"

My eyes darted to the words above his head.

Unknown Horde

Level: 0

Rank: Unknown

War Points: 0

I swallowed and met his gaze. "Have you been feeling any different since you entered the city?"

Misk frowned, then shook his head and sighed. "There's one of them in me, isn't there?"

I nodded.

"It's not that you don't trust me. You just don't want to be the one to tell me that all this is only temporary."

I nodded again.

"You can stop beating yourself up. The fact that this might be temporary and the fact that I likely had a parasite in me is why I'm here and not on the front line. Everyone's aware of the risk I pose, me more than anyone else. You won't upset me by telling me the truth. More than anything else in this world, I don't want my condition to cause others harm."

There was so much sincerity in his tone that I told him the truth. "You still have a parasite in you."

"How can you tell?"

"Salem did something to me. When I killed the demon lord, I received something called war points. The war points upgraded my interface into a war interface. Now, I see information when I'm looking at them and you."

"Is my information the same as the goblins, hobgoblins, or the parasites?"

I told him everything I knew.

Misk listened, asked questions, and demanded proof. We were both surprised when I couldn't send him copies of my parasite-related logs. However, neither of us dwelt on that. Not being able to do so lent my story credibility that Salem might have done something to me.

Misk put his empty plate aside and placed a new one on his lap. "The fact that the parasites in the goblins and hobgoblins are level 1 and the one in me is level 0 is likely important. The plague was always erratic when it came to how quickly one succumbed to it, so the growth of this parasite or the leveling of them is likely the reason for the gestation difference. I know for a fact that I killed the parasite within me, because I received an experience notification when it died, so the one currently within me is likely one that has recently hatched."

"Hatched?"

"I'm using the word as a placeholder until we understand them better. It doesn't really matter. What does matter is the fact that I might have as much as three days before I once again succumb to my illness. That's enough time for me to take the field."

I frowned. "Are you sure that's safe? What if they can control you through the parasite?"

"If they could do so, they would have done so already. This should be safe. And it's worth the risk." Misk rose to his feet, levitating his meal with him. "Go downstairs and inform Nita that her father and I must take the field when he returns. They'll need to make a break for the southern gate now rather than later."

"You're not coming with us?"

Misk shook his head. "The front is crumbling. If we don't free the palace soon, we'll have to abandon the city. By the time the monsters overrun the hobgoblin, there won't be anyone left to save."

I sucked in a breath, not at the announcement, but at his willingness to leave those he cared about behind. I'd abandoned so many strangers for my friends. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Walk away from protecting those you care about to save strangers?"

Misk patted my shoulder. "You know Orlana and her children as the owners and operators of one of the most successful restaurants in the capital. I know them as the men and women I fought beside against orc hordes. I know them as the men and women I fought beside against monsters. I know them as one of the most dangerous families in all of Radian. And I know I'm not here protecting them from the monsters rampaging through this city. I'm here protecting the strangers they're trying to save. And I trust that while some of those strangers will die on their way to the gate without me, those I care about won't be among them."

"So, the moral of the story is you don't have to worry about those you care about if they're strong enough to protect themselves."

Misk nodded. "Torvac wouldn't have spent his life making sure they were strong enough to survive a day like today if that weren't the case."