Anika was pleased to be given another quest, so she accepted it immediately. The only other alternative, which some players had tried in the past, was to venture out and kill all the critters and beasts they could find until they had reached a high enough level to exit their starting area. She had full confidence that completing the quests as they were given would be the quickest way of levelling up.

"You've already proven your skill with that bow, so I'm not concerned if you should cross another predator. However, defending yourself against wildlife is not the only key to survival. There will be times when you get injured, either from battle or from a careless tumble on the ground. Most cuts and bruises will heal over time as long as you bandage them and give yourself some rest. Your first task is to get yourself some cloth, then I'll teach you the art of first aid."

"Okay. And where do you recommend I go to find cloth?" As she finished the sentence, she remembered that quest objectives would be shown on her map, so she didn't even wait for him to explain before she was studying it and figuring out the best route to take."

"The best place I can think of would be down by the Gnome Hills. It shouldn't take you long to get there, I would spare you a horse for the task, but I don't think you have learnt to ride one yet. Best for you to go on foot." He put his arm over her shoulder and walked her down towards the brook.

"Just follow this brook until you get to the edge of the forest, then head due north until you see the little hills in the distance. Now, a quick word about them gnomes. Keep your wits about you, they are not fond of strangers, and they hate humans like us more than anything else."

Anika took a deep breath and sighed. "Gnomes. Like, real gnomes? The little things, made of clay? Things that sit in the garden to look pretty?" She was trying not to sound sarcastic, it would be lost on him anyway.

Ralph looked at her, puzzled. "They are little things. Similar to dwarves. They are short and they have beards but that is as far as the comparison goes. Never mind how they look, they are vicious little creatures. What you are after is their hats. Best source of quality cloth for miles around. The males wear red hats and the females wear green hats, not that there is any difference, they are all made of the finest quality. They love their little hats, so don't expect to get your hands on any without taking care of them first, if you know what I mean?"

"Okay. I think I know where this is going. How much cloth should I bring back?" Once again she had asked the man a question without checking that she had the answer available. Surely enough, when she checked the quest objective it showed 0/20 cloth, so she had her answer.

"Just bring back 20 pieces, that should be enough for a couple of different bandages and a few to keep for your onward journey."

...

They had reached the brook by now, but before they said goodbye, he gave her a handful of apples and told her to save them for when she was injured. She inspected the items in her inventory and found that these apples were good for more than just snacking on.

Apple - Consumable

A shiny red apple with a random chance of a worm inside, depending on the season

Generates 50 health over 30 seconds

As Anika was making her way out of the forest towards her destination, she was paying attention to how moving over small obstacles and jumping over shrubs and branches felt. She was lighter on her feet and always landed with a good sense of balance after taking a long stride. She had a feeling that this wasn't due to wearing a new set of boots, it was due to the increased agility points she received from her new trousers. It was incredible how this small increase in stats had such a noticeable feeling as she moved through the virtual world.

When the hills were in sight, she slowed her pace and tried to think back on what Ralph had told her about the gnomes she was about to face. If they were fierce little creatures, she wondered what her best plan of action should be. Her height could be an advantage. Being small targets, they might be hard to hit with her arrows. If they were anything like the garden gnome statues back in London, couldn't she just kick them until they died? That might be too optimistic, but time would tell.

She had arrived over grassy fields, but could see that up ahead the fields had now turned into large square patches of tilled earth. Many of the patches looked to be well tended and most had vegetables of different kinds growing in them. She headed for a group of fruit trees to her right to stay concealed. From there she moved close enough to a couple of the gnomes to inspect them. The ones she could see all ranged from level one to three.

She could also tell from their health bars they had between 100 and 140 health points each. Perhaps there was a way of calculating how many shots it would take her to kill each one? She knew the damage from her bow was 42, so with no additional bonuses to damage, most of them would go down after three arrows. One or two of the tougher ones might take four. Her main concern was that they would call out to the others and that she would be overwhelmed. Ideally, she could dig a ditch big enough for several of them and play the same trick she had done with the grizzly bears in the forest. That would take time, she still didn't have a shovel or anything to dig with.

It was fortunate that the little gnomes were walking around with the tool she needed to complete her plan. She picked her target, a small bearded gnome working with a shovel, digging at the ground beneath him, blissfully unaware of her presence. After pulling out her bow and knocking an arrow, she felt confident in taking down this little man with a few steady shots.

He didn't die straight away, but with a shaft straight through the back and a few confused steps he keeled over. Anika thought to herself that there must be some serious damage bonuses applied to her shot. The base damage of 42 would not have been enough by itself, but her first shot was enough to reduce the gnome's health by at least 95%. The remaining 5% was probably drawn from loss of blood in the last few seconds of his life.

She was lucky that he hadn't screamed or been able to call out for help, then she would have been in trouble. The next step was for her to collect her first red hat and she if she could get hold of his shovel. She would have to make her way over the open vegetable patch, so she got down on all fours and crawled to loot her kill.

You receive item: Gnome Hat

You receive item Gnome Shovel

You receive item: Five Copper

After looting the corpse she inspected the shovel.

Gnome Shovel - Weapon

A sturdy shovel used by gnomes to dig the earth. Also used as a tooth pick by Orcs.

Damage: 15

She returned to take cover in the fruit trees. Then she pulled out the shovel and was disappointed to see that the head of it was not much bigger than her hand. Deciding that it was much better than using her fingers, she got to work and started digging. Her plan was to make a ditch that would be large enough for five of the little creatures, but she stopped by the time it was half as big as she originally intended. It was just taking too long. If she had all the time in the world, she would have made it bigger. She would also have prepared some sharp sticks so that anybody falling through would at least get injured, but she didn't feel she had the time. Taking down that first gnome had given her confidence that using the bow and arrows would be sufficient for her to complete the quest and get back to Ralph before the end of the day. After covering up the ditch with branches from the trees, she went ahead in search of her next target.