The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 27 - Petanque Game

Ronald looked from the corner of his eye to Riattus; he was smiling after hearing so much praise. “Yeah, I guess he was indeed powerful. But this Beast is too much to escort us. Better if we keep travelling with the Rat and the Spider.”

Ini shook his head. “No, we need some more. Scary enough, but not as much as that enormous Beast. We are almost at the border with Kwoghia; it would be better if we had more Magical Beings with us. They had a recent problem with the increase in the number of Harpies, and the people in every City are very cautious about outsiders. They have too because there are always spies and criminals from Breidan infiltrating that Kingdom. More Magical Beings would protect us against the Harpies, but when approaching a City, they must disappear. We need to be as conspicuous as we can to avoid another mess like what happened in Tannery.”

Ronald thought for a moment, and then he asked the Spider: “Can you shoot a thread up to the sky and hit the ‘Fast Bird’? Try to see if you can wrap him and make him fall. But don’t kill him, okay?”

The Spider clacked her mouth pincers, and she then looked into the sky, looking for the Bird. As soon as she saw him, she threw a very sticky and fast thread straight at him. He was fast, but not fast enough to evade such a surprise attack, so he got tangled and could not fly. He immediately started to fall, hitting the ground near the Spider.

A soft pile of web waited for him, softening his fall. The Bird looked at the Spider, trying to get free, and Ronald gently spoke to him. “Calm down, boy; you can disappear for now, okay?”

The whirlpool that took him broke the sticky thread into pieces. Ronald took the Bird’s Card and placed it in his Card Box again. He then took another Card Box from a pocket on his left leg and took one Card from there and showed it to Ini. “I have these guys, smaller than her, but I think they could also take down from the sky a Harpy or two. What do you think?”

Ini looked at the Card that Ronald had in his hand, and he opened his mouth wide. “No way! You have one of those? I only saw one in my youth! One Card just like has been in my family for generations! It’s said to have been a gift to one of my ancestors from a very powerful Summoner hundreds of years ago! Those, together with the Giant Spider, will provide more than enough protection against flying threats!”

“Good, just like I thought. Let me just… Summon Cluster of Baby Spiders!”

From the whirlpool, a straight line of Spiders appeared one after the other. When they stopped appearing, the whirlpool vanished. Ronald counted twenty Spiders, all half the size of the Giant Spider.

“Hello, little ones. I need ten of you at our front, running alongside the road but a little behind the horses so that they don’t get scared. And the other ten of you, at our back. Be alert for any Monster that may appear, especially from the sky, because there are some nasty flying Harpies around here. If any of you see a Harpy, throw a thread and try to catch it. Understood?”

They all clacked their mouth pincers once. Ronald went to fetch the scale that he took from the ‘Groundshaker Beast’ and stood still for a while, just looking at it. The others couldn’t hear him, but Riattus was telling him that those types of scales could stop many kinds of Magic, spears, and swords, and something like that was priceless in that World.

Ronald then called the Giant Spider and told her to make some rings to glue to the back of the scale so that they could be used as a shield. When it was done, he gave it to Duza. “Can you grab this? Put it in front of you and hold it steady. I want to try something. Better if you stuck the tip of this into the ground so that you won’t go flying.”

Duza grabbed the drop-shaped scale turned into a long shield and stood behind it, with her body a little bent forward, and she struck hard the pointy tip into the ground. “You mean like this? What are you…”

She couldn’t finish because Ronald hit the shield with his sword as hard as he could. It just made a ‘Clonngg’ sound.

Duza looked at him from a corner of the shield, her eyes wide open. “No way! This thing is that strong?”

Ronald smiled and took a few steps back. He grabbed the sling and placed a rock on the leather. He rotated the sling above his head and threw the stone. It made a loud ‘Clonngg’ when it hit the shield. Duza took another peek. “This thing is amazing! It’s so light and so strong, but… Hey, what are you doing now? Ahhh!”

She screamed and hid behind the shield again because Ronald had a Magical Card in his hand. Suddenly, a ‘Sonic Blast’ hit the shield. Another loud ‘Clonngg’ and a surprised Duza taking another peek from one corner of the shield. “Wait, a minute… This thing can stop Magic? I want this! Give it to me, please!”

Ronald smiled and went to the Spider again. He gave her an order and returned to Duza. “This one is yours. The Spider is going to make some rings on the other scales so that every one of us can have a shield like this. I think this thing will one day save our lives.”

Ini was looking at the Spider, who was busy taking care of the scales. “Are you sure we can have them? Because you could sell them and…”

Ronald raised his hand and interrupted: “These I will never sell. And I would prefer if none of you said anything about how you got it. I may be mistaken, but I think a shield like this doesn’t exist anywhere in the World. This means these things are extremely valuable. A shield so light and so strong that it can stop swords, spears, arrows, and powerful Spells? I bet many Knights and Kings would try to kill you to get it. Maybe it would be better if, when you have time, you all put some fur or cloth over it to disguise the shield’s appearance.”

The Spider finished her work and called Ronald by clacking her pincers. Ini, Reylom, Ovaidel, and Taly went to get a shield and tried it. Ini gave one to Ronald with a huge smile. “This is yours. These things are so light, and I thought they would be heavier than a normal shield, but they aren’t! Thank you very much for this!”

Duza was looking at her shield and passing one hand over the rough exterior surface. She then realized one thing: “That ‘Groundshaker Beast’ is covered in these things, right? That means… he is unstoppable? And you sent him flying with a straight punch?”

Ronald frowned. “Hey, it wasn’t that simple! I had to remove his scales so that I could hit his neck! But you are right; if that thing is covered in these scales, he is indeed very dangerous. Imagine someone trying to fight that! I hope I never have to use him during a fight because that will mean I am facing something or someone very dangerous!”

While Duza was still looking at the shield, he went to prepare the horses. Ari helped him, taking that opportunity to talk about something she noticed: “You know, no one realized it yet because they are all fascinated with the new shields, but you just summoned a very impossible and highly Mana-dependent Magical Being, a bunch of Baby Spiders, and then a powerful Spell. You need to be more careful, or you will blow up your cover.”

“What cover? I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Sure, you know. I am talking about your ridiculous amount of Mana. My level is very high, but I could bet you are in a totally different league! A normal Farmer cannot summon a Big Rat, and you have one there, a Giant Spider, and a lot of Baby Spiders. Judging by the way you are spending your Mana so early in the morning, one could guess you have a lot more to use; that’s why you are not being careful and saving your Mana.”

Ronald winked his eye and continued taking the sticks from the ground to where the horses and mules were tied.

The others arrived to help him, and soon the horses were saddled again, and they resumed their voyage. The Baby Spiders went to their designated place while the Giant Spider was seated on top of the carriage and Woof was inside, near Ari and Taly.

Ronald was in the rider’s seat, and the Rat was at their front, next to Duza. The Fast Bird was again flying above them and looking for any danger.

…

While Duza and her group were getting a nice scare because of the ‘Groundshaker Beast’, Mira and Ma Yangfa were in the City square of Durant, together with all their Party members.

They were next to the King, side by side with the pillory, where two men were tied with their naked backs to the crowd. The same two men who were arrested on the previous day for harassing some women in the market.

Next to them, another man had his right hand tied to the top of a wooden log while seated on the floor, with his other hand tied to his legs. A big and tall Executioner was next to him, with an enormous axe in his hands and his head covered with a black hood. The Royal Guards were making a large circle around them all to keep the people who were watching away from the prisoners.

The King raised his hand to silence the scattered voices that were coming from all around.

Since the prisoners were still shouting and complaining, the Kind made a hand signal, and a Royal Guard slapped them in the head with an iron glove. When everyone was silent, the King spoke: “My people, yesterday morning, the Adventurer Ma Yangfa and his Party members arrested these three men. My Ministers and I heard these men in the afternoon, and upon our investigation, we found out that the one tied to this log is a repeat offender; he thinks he has every right to rob the money from our hard-working people. As for those two over there, they were harassing two women in the market, and one of them grabbed one woman while the other man was caressing her. The other woman tried to escape, and they made her trip, causing her to fall over one stall and destroy it. They are well known among many women in this City because of those repeated acts. They will be punished right here. The two in the pillory will receive ten whiplashes. The robber will lose his right hand. If he continues robbing people and is caught again, he will lose the other hand. Next, it will be his head, ending his life of crime. These are the first, and they will be a warning to anyone who attempts a life of crime in my Kingdom. Executioner, proceed.”

The Executioner immediately raised his axe, and while the prisoner was screaming in fear, the axe fell with a loud bang, and his hand rolled over to the floor. Blood squished out from his wrist, and a servant rushed to put on a bandage to prevent the prisoner from dying from blood loss.

Next, the Executioner went to the pillory and grabbed a long whip that a Royal Guard presented to him. He prepared the whip, and he started on one prisoner and went next to the other, alternating the punishment among the prisoners.

At each s***h, Mira trembled. And with her, everyone who was watching felt as if the slashes were hurting their very soul. Except for three or four people in the crowd. Those were smiling. Two men who were robbed by the now one-hand robber and three women who were once abused by the two that were being slashed.

When the punishment ended and the Executioner was rolling up the whip, the two who were punished were a mess of open wounds, blood, and tears.

The King addressed the crowd again: “I hope that with this, everyone understands that crime is not allowed in my Kingdom. And the nerve of these three, by committing a crime in my Capital, was what led to this public punishment! Yesterday, I also received some disturbing news about a certain Village City in a City next to the border of Kwoghia. It seems the Village Chief is using the City’s money for his own benefit. For that, I sent a group of trustworthy Royal Guardsmen to arrest him. Everyone should hear my words very carefully! It doesn’t matter to me if you are a commoner, a Guard, or a Noble. If you commit a crime, I will order your capture!”

The King turned away and went toward his carriage, with the Royal Guards and servants opening a path for him among the crowd.

Some were still in silence, while many others were clapping and praising the King for that appropriate punishment. Ma looked at Mira, and he was surprised. She was very pale and trembling. “What’s the matter? Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes… I mean… I don’t know. I just had a feeling things were about to change very quickly. I just don’t know if it is a good thing or not.”

Ma pointed towards the women in the crowd, who were shouting against the offenders tied to the pillory. “You can ask them if they feel better now that their attackers were punished. I bet they will sleep better tonight. As for those two, I hope they don’t sleep at all for the next couple of weeks.”

“Yeah, I guess you are right. They deserved what they got. Now, what do we do?”

Ma pointed his head to the crowd. “What else? We go on patrol, of course, to protect them from guys like these three.”

Mira nodded, and she followed Ma and the others on their Quest to protect the people and turn that City into an example for all of Loriath.

…

Ronald felt Sonja and Conan’s Cards and signalled Duza. She ordered the group to stop because it was almost lunchtime, and she could already see at some distance a huge, solitary mountain that marked the border with Kwoghia. Ronald drove the carriage off the road, following her into a space next to an abandoned cabin.

It used to be the house of someone, but it was abandoned and in ruins. Ronald got out of his seat and tied the Bulls to a rock on the floor. When Ari, Taly, and Woof were getting out of the carriage, Ronald was already gathering wood to make a fire. Disguisedly, he went inside the ruined cabin and retrieved his Cards, which were hidden in a corner behind a broken wood plank.

As soon as the fire was burning and Ronald had on the floor a huge cloth where he placed the pots, tableware, and smoked boar meat that he had paid for the preparation in the Guild of Tannery, he chose a space nearby and marked the limits of the area with some branches and called the others.

While the fire was slowly turning into coal to heat the meat and roast some manioc, Ronald, Duza, and Taly were playing their first game of ‘Petanque’, against Ini, Reylom, and Ovaidel.

Ari was seated on a rock, scratching Woof’s head. The Big Rat was looking at the game, very interested in those things rolling on the ground. The Spider and the babies were making a circle around the campsite, watching the sky and the surroundings. Both teams were tied, but they had to stop the game because Ari warned them that the meat and the manioc were ready.

They left the game as it was, and they ate while mocking each other for the way the game was going. Ovaidel was complaining that it wasn’t fair that they had to play against Ronald and Taly because they were both very good at that weird game. Fortunately for his team, Ini and Reylom were surprisingly good as well, while he and Duza were a disgrace.

When Ronald was cleaning everything, Ari replaced him on Duza’s team. By the time the campsite was cleaned and Ronald was putting the pots at the top of the carriage, Ari was shouting that she had won.

Ovaidel was kicking his last ball, annoyed at such a close win. “We almost won… stupid ball… Hey Ronald, this game is really fun! I bet you could sell this idea and a set of these balls to an Adventurer’s Guild in Kwoghia!”

Ronald went to gather the balls and placed them inside a wooden box the Giant Spider was making while they were all playing. “Well, if I sell these balls, I just earn money for that one-time sale. It’s easy to copy this.”

Ovaidel went near the Giant Spider with one ball in his hand. “Say, can you make a mark on this ball? Maybe carve the word ‘Petanque’ in small letters on each of the big balls?”

The Spider clacked the pincers and looked at Ronald, waiting for his order. Ronald was curious: what was Ovaidel’s idea? “And that will serve for what?”

“Easy, you can sell this game and send a message to every Guild in the World explaining how to play this game, along with a box of these balls with your mark. Then, they can make copies of it, and every time they sell one box, they send a part of the money to you.”

That confused Ronald. An Adventurer’s Guild did such a thing? “Wait… Is that even possible? What prevents anyone from making a box with these balls without buying them from a Guild?”

“Well, that can happen, of course, but if anyone is caught doing it, a Guard will arrest him or an Adventurer. Who knows, maybe if this game is a success, some Merchants will buy a few boxes and start to sell them too. With luck, your game will be known everywhere.”

Ronald frown. That could generate a lot of publicity for him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea… If I do that, everyone will know who I am, and that could attract some strange situations.”

Ovaidel shook his head. “No. That will only happen if you let it. If you tell the Guilds that you want your name to be kept secret, no one will ever know. Except for the first Guild. And by chance, I know the Guild Master in the City of Tha’alani, where we are heading, right after the border. You can trust him, and if you say to him that your name must remain secret, he will take that knowledge to his grave.”

“Cool… Okay, little Spider, engrave the word on all the balls and make another box and another complete set of new balls. If I am going to sell this, we need a new one to play, right? Ask the Baby Spiders to bring you materials for that and go to the top of the carriage.”

The Giant Spider took with her the box with the balls that Ronald gave her and climbed to the carriage. She then clacked the pincers a few times, and the Baby Spiders started to look for some wood and rocks.

While they continued their voyage, the Spider was making the new set of balls together with a brand-new box. Since that was the second one, she was faster, and they came out perfect on her first try.

Ronald was looking at one of the big balls, and he tapped the Spider’s big and scary head. “Well done, little Spider! Put them inside the new box and glue it to the carriage to prevent it from falling, okay?”

The Spider quickly made a sticky thread. When the box was secure, she returned to her guard work, looking out for danger. After some time, she clacked the pincers, and the sound of more clacking came from the Baby Spiders.

Duza made a signal for them to stop and spoke to Ronald. “We are almost at the border. It’s better if the Rat and all the Spiders disappear. Put Woof next to you so that you can hold him. There are two checkpoints near the border: one with Guards from Loriath, and a few metres ahead, another with Guards from Kwoghia. Remember, let me do all the talking and make no sudden movements. But keep your weapons nearby. We didn’t disguise the shields yet, but as long as the Guards don’t touch them, they won’t think they are weird.”