by Horatius » Thu Jun 02, 2011 7:26 pm
My story is probably not a very heartwarming one, neither is it exciting. However, it does prove that you don't run into griefers around every corner like many of the other forum threads would make you believe. Well...
On my second character (my first one is not worthy of mention as he really just lived long enough so I could get a basic grasp on the game) I set out on a journey to the edge of the world. After reading all those horrible griefer stories and only seeing crappy griefer videos on youtube I decided that it would be for the best to get away from center of the world and all its inhabitants as quickyl as possible (btw does nobody ever upload a nice H&H video on youtube apart from the tutorials?). So I basically stole an empty boat from an unclaimed anchorage place and traveled the waterways westwards until I could go no further. I sure was sorry about stealing the boat but gaining the necessary LP in a legitimate way seemed like an awfully long track at that time and I had nothing to loose anyway. That very boat changed hands later again when I logged out for 5 minutes to go to the toilet. But that happened much later really and the boat was also filled with a few goodies then.
On my travels I ran into a lot of runestones telling stories of their own. There were quite a few runestones that marked places of friendly neighbourhood trade amongst hermits and just as many that gave hints on events of revenge and griefing. Of course I mostly ran into "lol" and "fuck you" stones but I discarded those when possible.
Wherever I went, I didn't run into a single living soul (neither did I on my first character). Actually... I think there was one wearing a pumpkin head in a boat. But the wiki said bad things about people wearing pumpkin heads, so I decided that it would be for the better to quickly pass by this person while he was waiting for my reaction. Yet, while there were no signs of life at all, it was still very difficult to actually find a spot where nobody had settled and where the resources seemed somewhat good enough to stay. After a really long journey I finally found a dead river end that seemed suitable enough. There were almost no signs of other people in this area and yet... there it happened... Here I would make my first real encounters with other hearthlings.
Just one day after setting up a basic camp a strange figure in a boat showed up. I immediately thought "That's it. After looking for a nice spot for such a long time something really shitty is going to happen... Oh my luck...". I tried to hide behind my freshyl built storage house in the hope that he couldn't attack me with a bow. The suspicious person in the boat just stood there for a while, changing his equipment and watching me. He didn't say a word and neither did I. I was way too confused as how to handle this situation. If he would be friendly then everything's okay, if not... well I couldn't run from him and neither could I just hearth away. Plus, I had also invited my sister to join the place and she was also present when he showed up. So I'd have had to abandon her which wasn't an option either. In the end we had a rather dry conversation starting up:
"hello"
"hi there"
(long pause)
"where you from?"
I replied that I'm from Germany and asked whether he was from the nearby village (the only sign of life in the whole area). He slowly confirmed it and then he continued...
"wait here"
"I have something for you"
I was relieved but still on guard. Also I had mixed feelings about what happened. I didn't want any gifts at that time, I'd rather make everything on my own and I didn't know how to properly thank him. I had virtually nothing to offer him in return after all.
After a while he returned with a large chest which was filled with a lot of tools and equipment. Back then I didn't have a clue how helpful all these would be in the future (and I'm still using a lot of those things now). I hesitated for a while, then opened his chest when it seemed appropriate. Seing the contents I was quite overwhelmed. This looked like it was worth a lot and I tried to express my utmost appreciation of these gifts to him but I felt that I'd have to repay him in some form one day. We talked a bit more after all that and in the end he added me to his kinlist and told me that his name is Stephan (it was kyrillic, so I couldn't read it). Before he left he also gave me some information about the area and the next day he also delivered another boat along a few other things while I wasn't there.
Unfortunately I was killed by a bear shortly thereafter and I never heard from that guy again. But I still intend to repay him some day with some curiosities or food maybe. At least I know where he came from.
The story does not end here though. There is still more friendlyness to be heard of. I'll make it short though, seeing how long the text already is.
A few days later I went to get some clay from a nearby source in the river and there I met another hearthling who seemed to be rather poorly equipped. I stopped my boat, as he did he and greeted him. He returned the gesture and then emphasized that he is not a boat thief (oh if he knew at that time where my boat came from...). Then I made clear that I had no bad intentions and we started to talk a bit. It turned out that he was wary of griefers as was I and it really took some time to win his trust. It also became clear that he possessed a lot of things compared to me. And so it came to be that I received a lot of good will (or presents to be more precise) for the second time. This time mainly seeds and metal tools (later also tree seeds, better quality chickens and whatnot - basically everything I lacked at some point). In return I supplied him with a bit of clay each day for he was building a brickwall at his place and later also with higher quality soil and water. I think this is truly what you could call a good neighbourhood relation as far as this game goes (ah... more so from my perspective though... haha). We still exchange hints on the game, good locations and things the other needs and maybe we will build up a village together in the next world. Time will tell.
