“Traveling long distances in the early period of NEMO was an exercise in futility. You could move faster if you raised your running skill, but it was exhausting. Mounts weren’t available until level 20 and it took months to reach that high. New players needed an easy alternative for travel that didn’t involve a high likelihood of dying.”

  From “Feet, Mounts, Wagons and Ships : A Guide to Travel”

  Year 1, Month 2, Day 5, 09:00

  Baron Abernathy beckoned the three adventurers to stand over the table and view the terrain of the surrounding zones. “Each starter town is connected to an outpost in the Broken Hills. There are now roads between the outposts and soon I hope, stone roads between the starting towns.”

  He looked up to gauge the interest in the eyes of his audience before continuing, “You can teleport between a starter town and its outpost, but you cannot bring large items with you. The fortresses we must build along the roadways to the capital will require blocks of stone and sections of wood that must be transported overland. Wall expansion in starter towns will also require such materials.”

  “A player may transport one block or section on their back. They are incredibly heavy and you can only move at walking speed and you’re unable to fight effectively. This situation creates a stumbling block for the expansion of our area. Tourists flock to the area every day and it’s straining our infrastructure.”

  Torgon eyed the noble, “I assume you have the solution to this problem, and you need our help to implement it?”

  Baron Abernathy’s eyes sparkled with delight and mischief at Torgon’s query. He continued, “Indeed we do. The King has authorized us to issue blueprints to any guild we deem worthy for the construction of automated carriages that can transport goods and cargo.”

  Hyperia glanced warily at the baron and knights before asking a question of her own. “It seems straightforward enough, perhaps too straightforward. Is there a catch or some sort of sting in the tail?”

  The baron nodded in approval. “Yes, there is. Each package of blueprints granted requires the guild to produce 5 carriages. A time limit exists and there is an increasing penalty for delivering the carriages late. Furthermore, the first set of blueprints must be learned entirely by the guild master to ensure that the guild can eventually deliver all carriages required.”

  “Congratulations! You have completed the Rare Guild Quest: The Engines of Commerce 1. Every guild member will receive 100 Free Experience Points.”

  “You have received a Quest! Rare Guild Quest: The Engines of Commerce 2. Requirements: Construct 5 Basic Magical Carriages per set of blueprints received, maximum 10 sets. This quest must be completed in 30 days. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 1000 free experience points for every 5 carriages constructed. The guild will receive 50 gold and 100 reputation in the Kingdom of Thorn for each set of 5 carriages constructed. The next quest in the chain will become available. Penalty for Failure: The rewards are forfeited and a penalty of 10 gold coins per Sixday must be paid for each set of 5 carriages promised until such time as they are completed.”

  Torgon asked, “How many blueprints are in each set? How long does the typical construction take?”

  Sir Kelvin stepped forward, “Each set includes a blueprint for the carriage itself. The typical construction time for the carriage frame is 2 days. There is one blueprint for a carriage driver automaton and one blueprint for a carriage defender automaton. The carriage requires one driver and three defenders. Each automaton has a standard build time of 8 hours. Finally, the carriage requires a mana engine which takes 2 days to construct. Each component is rated as basic and level 10, so there is a starting success rate of 30%. It is difficult, but not impossible for larger orders, but impossible if you only attempted to build 5.”

  Torgon rubbed his chin, “Does it require any exotic materials?”

  Sir Malik grinned, “It takes basic and common materials. They do require large quantities. Each carriage should take about 2,000 basic and 200 common materials for the parts. The engines themselves run on mana shards which the kingdom will provide.”

  The baron broke in, “Once the obligation to the kingdom is completed, any additional carriages you construct may be used by your guild or sold to the kingdom. The artisans of the kingdom spend their time on projects for nobles that pay well. The king believes that newly arrived residents and tourists can fill the needed production shortfalls.”

  Torgon proffered his hand to the baron, “We’ll take on the full 10 sets and produce 50 carriages. Risk of Injury is uniquely qualified for this project.”

  The baron shook Torgon’s hand with a broad smile on his face. “I knew you would be up for the challenge. As a reward for being the first guild to accept the production of the full complement, I am granting you 10 copies of the carriage construction skill, 10 copies of the construct automaton skill and 10 copies of the construct mana engine skill. While the first two skills are basic in nature, the mana engine skill is advanced and unavailable to you at this stage. Use them wisely.”

  Torgon and the others bowed deeply. “Thank you, Milord. We will do our best to ensure the prosperity of Miller’s Crossing.” They departed the mayor’s office and returned to the guild base. The team summoned crafters across the guild to participate in the project.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Torgon learned his set of blueprints and reserved the skill for when he had the space to use them. He gave automaton blueprints to the team responsible for crafting automatons and eventually golems for the guild. There were enough for each person to get one of the blueprints and that part would be finished in short order. Another set of people received the carriage blueprints, and finally a team of children and adults interested in magical engineering received the mana engine blueprints and the skills to construct them.

  Gathering teams for Risk of Injury worked overtime to replenish the depleted stocks of materials. The teams immediately started construction of components when they had the chance. The individual buffs from the Faerie Guardian Hearth Tree could be used to speed production if the timetables were tight but given the state of the guild’s crafters and crafting boosts it should be no problem.

  Torgon looked at the specifications for the carriage. It resembled an oversized version of the stagecoaches of the old west, except there were no horses pulling it. The interior could hold twenty people, and the cargo area would hold 40 pieces of bulk materials. The driver automaton was up front on the left and the first defender automaton rode shotgun, or in this case, crossbow, up front. The remaining two defenders watched the rear of the carriage.

  The carriage had a top speed of 40 miles per hour on a stone road. It would go cross country at about half that speed. High-level individuals could outpace the carriage, but for the starting zones it would be a godsend. It could cut travel time between the towns to close to half an hour.

  Torgon examined the mana engine blueprint. The base construction time was 2,880 minutes or two full days. Each level of skill in the blueprint or a related crafting skill shaved 20 minutes off the construction time. Torgon invested free experience into his double-cast skill to bring it to level 10 and free up a slot to learn the construct mana engine skill.

  Sitting in the crafting hall, Torgon could see that his personal construction time for a mana engine was 1,100 minutes or just under eighteen and a half hours. His chance of succeeding would be a full 65%. The other crafters in the guild would take twice as long and have success rates near to 50% for their first attempts. It would rise quickly after each success, however. A successful craft would earn the player 5,760 experience, enough to push the blueprint to level 12 and the skill to level 3.

  The all or nothing nature of the experience for crafting such a lengthy project bothered him. “System, is there any sort of protection mechanic for earning experience on a complicated crafting project that takes a large time investment?”

  To his delight, the system replied, “On any craft with a base time of 8 hours or more, a failure will result in the player receiving experience equal to the amount of a successful craft multiplied by his percentage chance of success.”

  Torgon sighed deeply in relief. Even the failures would push the skills higher leading to rapid improvement and successful crafts. He pulled out the materials needed for the mana engine, stacking ingots of metal high in his workspace. He opened all his chat channels and pushed them to the side to monitor events and he began his long craft.

  He followed the reports from the scout teams searching for the second dungeon in the Broken Hills. Dusty had about 50 players performing a grid search over an area of about eight square miles. They marked down anything of interest to follow up on and kept combing the terrain for the dungeon.

  Ovarrix ran teams of players through mass combat with the undead between the central ruins and the Tomb of the Wight Lord. Groups of players rotated back to the outpost to turn in the repeatable kill quests. The fighting sharpened the coordination and skills of everyone involved. Scouts from other guilds watched and took notes of their own with most coming to the conclusion that it was not worth antagonizing Risk of Injury.

  Allestor ran teams of players through the zone clearing bandits and the belligerents of the Red Hate Raiders and One Percenters. Those guilds appeared less and less in the broken hills. They consolidated their efforts in the starting zone the farthest from Miller’s Crossing, openly fighting with any guild in the area.

  Dirk managed the encampment at the dungeon. Teams of adventurers from dozens of guilds entered and ran through the dungeon. Lively trade occurred outside the exit, and an increasing number of Risk of Injury players made it through the 20-man hard mode to get the first part of the attunement for the raid. The guild continued to grow in power and best of all, it grew faster than the other guilds in the area.

  Torgon used his mana to shape the metal into place for the engine. His gauntlets of creation guided his hands, allowing him to craft with speed and confidence. He carved small runes to channel the flow of magic when the engine was active. He made spaces for the engine to attach to the axles of the carriage to provide the motive power.

  Crafting 50 carriages was an enormous investment in time and resources. The experience boosted the entire guild and in Torgon’s opinion made the entire endeavor worth it. The gold they would earn plus the experience in creating vehicles increased the value of the quest. He knew that having more people able to craft automatons would serve as a force multiplier whenever they needed to defend a location without players available.

  Torgon also considered the usefulness of rapidly moving people and goods across the starting zones. If Risk of Injury could build carriages for their own use, it would give them another advantage over the guilds in this section of the Kingdom of Thorn. He suspected that the guild would be able to create their own fortresses using difficult to transport materials. The carriages would let Risk of Injury move farther, faster and with more capacity than any of their competitors.

  The hours passed by quietly. Players came and went in the crafting hall and the gatherers kept increasing the stockpiles of materials. The atmosphere in the guild carried a relaxed and confident air. Torgon grinned to himself, almost an entire day crafting a new and complicated project.

  Torgon put his tools down and looked at the mana engine. All he had left was to push his mana into it and see if it would be a success or failure. He held as breath as he extended his senses to feel the connection with the device. It began to drink deeply of his mana pool and whirred to life. It was a success!

  One down, 49 to go. Torgon looked at the numbers again. It would only take him 980 minutes to craft another engine with a success chance of 88%. One or two more successes and he would have the possibility of crafting common ranked mana engines without a lucky result from his gauntlet.

  The other crafters in the project were still working on their assigned tasks. Several automatons had been completed and the first round of attempts on the engines and carriages were well underway. Torgon crept quietly out of the crafting hall, using his stealth ability to make it to the hot springs undetected.

  Torgon desperately needed a long soak in the warm water to prepare for the new day. The next round of auctions at Deep Harbor were starting soon and he wanted to at least visit the city and take the pulse of the other guilds. He settled into the water, letting the heat wash over his body. A short message from Dusty popped up.

  “We Found It!”