I could only access [General Information] and [Player Population] at the moment, so I clicked the first one like a giddy schoolboy expecting some ice-cream. [General Information] opened up and showed some very basic numbers, it was kind of a letdown really.
It showed the number of buildings, which was currently one, the amount of territory that I had claimed and controlled, which was roughly one-mile due to my reputation, and some other inconsequential things.
[Player Population] had categories to separate players by highest class proficiency or level or whatever you wanted, but currently it was nice and simple, population of one, highest class proficiency was Archer, highest profession Lumberjack. It wasn't of any use to me now, but someday it would come in handy.
This got me thinking though; I had only planned on starting up a small village that I could use as a home-base of sorts, but no one had any real idea on how to recruit or grow villages.
The assumption was that if you built buildings then NPCs would come, they would migrate or spawn or something. We figured it was like a field of dreams. There was some limited information put out that you could purchase the services of NPCs and recruit them, but it was all speculation up until now. And now that I had a better idea of the system, I decided to make a change of plans.
When it came to answering or thinking about any question, I always took my time to think it through. But when it came time to make a decision, I was incredibly quick.
Yeah, it was time I started working towards that.
I only had eleven real-world days before the "Event" and I would need at least seven of those days to climb, but I could at least start working to expand my new territory.
The first thing I wanted to do was get a large stockpile of wood going, a really large stockpile. After I finished the current 900 square-feet cabin that's half underground, I found it was only large enough for a few people to live comfortably when you factored in furniture and storage.
If I wanted to get some NPCs from that NPC-Recruiter thing, I would need somewhere for them to live, I would need buildings for them to work, and I would need storage buildings for goods.
From what was loosely explained on the Dragon's Wrath Game Info page online, trees grew back within a week in-game if the land was left undisturbed and grew at a rate of one-foot per game-week after... it was time I capitalized on that.
The next four days of my life were spent cutting down, stripping, and piling roughly five-hundred logs. I basically spent the better part of thirty-two hours in those four days working like a man possessed.
I wouldn't be able to use them for a while, but they were at least available. I would need at least three-hundred logs to complete the lodge I had designed roughly in my head.
I ended up going with a plan for a 60'x60' two-story lodge that would be primarily underground, while the basement level would be 12-feet below the surface, interlocking four times at the 30'x30' dimensions with the center left open for a large dining area.
The ground level would be 4-feet underground much like my cabin, with roughly 4-feet visible on the surface with a low-hanging roofline. The ground level would only lap the edges, sort of like a terrace, leaving open floor in the center for the stairs.
The excess wood would go into the NPC buildings, but that can all come later though, for it was now to time climb to the peak of the mountain.
Chapter 11: Scaling the Mountain
(Tuesday, February 9th Game Day / Thursday, January 14th Real Day)
As the sun woke from its slumber and decided to grace me with its presence I had found myself nearly five-hundred feet up from the base of the mountain, with nearly two-thousand and eight-hundred feet left to go.
Though that sounded great, in reality I had just finished the only easy part of the climb. I was scaling the southwesterly-aspect of the mountain and had now reached the end of the gradual incline.
In front of me was the start of the vertical climb that would continue until I reached the top.
This side of the slope was actually the easier face, with the next two-thousand feet averaging between 70-degrees to 80-degrees above horizontal. The northwesterly and northerly slopes were much harsher at 75-90 degree inclines. The easterly aspect was the easiest at only 40-70 degrees but would take far too long to go around… so in the end, I was stuck with the vertical climb in front of me.
Carrying a small bag packed with enough rabbit jerky to last me a few weeks, two spare ropes, a rope with an attached hook, two small ice axes, and the clothes on my back I was ready to climb.
I began the vertical ascent with a free climb as there was currently no need for my gear and there was certainly nowhere to attach any of it anyhow. There were no carabineers, rings, ice screws, or bolts here. No one had scaled this mountain in the game yet, and even after I scale it I doubt anyone else would anytime soon.
It simply wasn't a very friendly mountain.
As I continued the climb I eventually found myself at one of the vertical points where my life was in serious jeopardy. I stopped to rest my forearms by leaning tightly against the rock wall while standing on the small crag that allowed me a short rest.
I was only six-hundred feet up give or take but it was still taxing on the body. Gathering my strength, I tied my bag to one end of the rope and the other around my waist. I wouldn’t be able to climb the over 80-degree rock face with it hanging off my back.
I had no interest in falling backwards to my death.
The first edge was only three feet higher than the ledge I was currently on and served as my first foothold, but then the second edge was nearly three feet up as well as being two feet over to the left.
Splitting my legs in order to brace my weight I did what I could to balance myself while hugging the cold gray rock wall. If I fell now, I would most likely die.
Looking down, the six-hundred feet seemed like it was a mile and all of the jagged tips of the rocks below did not look very forgiving, or welcoming for that matter. Exhaling while trying to calm my nerves, I was constantly reminded of the saying, "Don't look down."
It was a bit late for that though.
Turning back to look for my next edge or crack I was able to spot a nice little overhang that would provide for an excellent grip… only it was almost five feet away from my second foothold and nearly eight feet straight up from my first.
I fully extended my right arm, barely able to hook my fingers over the small ledge while now stretched in three different directions and in no position to fully utilize my strength or leverage. At least I had longer than normal arms or I would have been at an impasse already.
Taking a moment to make sure I was confident in my grip, I then looked for the next edge that was another two feet up and a good one and a-half feet to the left.
I hesitated for a second; looking back down at the small edge I had placed my left foot on, I wondered if I could fit both feet. No matter how long I stared at the edge though, it wasn't getting any bigger and there was definitely no way I could get both of my feet to rest on it.
A little dejected, I tried lifting my right leg while locking out my left leg as much as I could; hoping with the slight elevation of my body I could reach the next edge.
After a few seconds of struggling to reach, I lowered myself back into the awkward position I had been in moments before …only now my right forearm was starting to fatigue from being outstretched and holding the majority of my weight.
My footholds simply weren't good enough to support my bodyweight and the longer I stayed in the same position the more dangerous it became. Taking a deep breathe, I tried to release a little of the tension that had been building.
I could barely see that there was a ledge about six feet above me and knew if I could get there I would be able to rest temporarily. It became a moment of do or don't. I knew I could reach the edge to my left if I could manage to pull myself up with my right arm, but it was akin to a one-armed pull-up and muscle-up without an easy to grip bar.