All three of them slept quite well. Kendra woke up and saw Isaa and Fluffy cuddling in the hammock. She slowly went to freshen up and planned to make a hearty breakfast. Then she remembered there was no bread. She made quick the bread dough and let it rise as she made fire. She needs to go and buy vegetables for workers.Not only that, she plans to go with them and check how far they came. She lit the fire, went out and checked the potatoes and saw that most of them sprouted. It seems they will be ready for planting soon.
She plans to plant them and then go for a few days to the island and then come back... But before that she needs to go to the Lord"s palace, to check that well. If it"s really so strong as Fluffy said, it would be quite helpful to all elementalists in this city.
While she checked the pantry and ice cellar, she saw the b.u.t.ter. She hoped it was still fine. She smelled it and was happy. She plans to bake cookies after they come back. She already has a plan:1. Go to the Lord"s palace,2. Check well,3.go to store and get fruits with seeds,4...wait sec she wanted to go to the market first. She threw away all the plans.
In last life she planned everything...this time, she will just do it as it comes. She just checked on potatoes and saw that more sprouted and got them out to be planted. The rest she got closer to the ice room. There was much colder and that meant there is less chance to sprout.
She looked at the dried vegetable and taught about buying more of vegetables, but she dropped that taught until she doesn"t come back. What if she let it dry and on end there comes rain and ruins everything.
She walked around and checked this and that. Used powers to refill the water jars. When she finished she saw that the dough was risen and baked it. Slowly the smell of freshly baked bread came out of the oven and when she was about to take it out she almost got scared.
Fluffy was standing right next to her feet and she almost stepped on him.""Fluffy, go wake up Isaa and wash up. We will eat in a bit.""she got used to saying such things.
Luckily for Fluffy, Isaa was awake and came in the kitchen while rubbing her belly.""Brother, I am hungry. And it smells good.""
""The fresh bread will be out soon. Fluffy, do you eat everything or is there something you can"t eat?"" asked Kendra unconsciously. She looked at his face and started laughing.""Fine. I will just give you everything we eat. If you don"t like something just skip it.""
Isaa laughed as well.""Brother, I want to eat whatever you make. Fluffy as well.""
Fluffy jumped as she said that and looked at Kendra with big s.h.i.+ny eyes. She found it so cute that she took him in her arms and smothered him. He tried to wiggle out, but how is that even possible.
The bread was done and Kendra just made omelets with vegetables. She made as well few sandwiches with b.u.t.ter and jam. Kendra went to get some coins for shopping. She planned to buy so many things. She sighed. The meat she can get free. She needs vegetables and flour.
While she was cooking and thinking Fluffy got again under her feet.""Fluffy, I have no idea what you are, but whatever you are, be careful. I am just little child and you might get hurt if I step on you, but if grown-ups step you might die. Do you really want to waste your chances like that?""she scolded him.
He shook little and hoped into Isaa"s hands. He turned around and looked at Kendra while growling.
She sighed. Is he a dog? It doesn"t look like. What is it? She gave up staring at him up and down and turned to make eggs. Soon the food was done. She put one flat plate with food on the floor and let Fluffy eat.
She is not that clean, but hairs all over the food. No thank you. (she has no idea...sigh -.-)
Fluffy at with relish. Kendra looked at him and saw that he almost cleaned the plate. Now he sat on the floor and huffed as he overate. They saw that and started laughing. The fresh laughter echoed in the garden. At that moment they heard slight knocking.
They were ready to go. Kendra first wanted to leave these two home but was afraid because the things that happened lately. So she chooses to take them with her.
Goluk was alone this time. ""Good morning Kendra. Shall we go? Oh Isaa, it"s nice that you are coming with us as well."" He was really glad. Isaa is a cute child. She makes everyone feel happier.
Isaa nodded.""We all go.""she said while Fluffy was in her tight hold. She was worried that he will fall off or be stepped on in the market.""Fluffy you must behave. Later there will be so many people. Please don"t run around. Got it?""
Fluffy gave something like grunt as affirmation and looked at Kendra.
""Isaa will hold you safely. Do you want us to take a basket it will be comfortable for you."" she looked how Isaa haphazardly was holding him. If she continues she might choke him to death.
He grunted again and Kendra took the smaller basket and put him in it. It was smaller so he could see everything outside as his head was outside.
""Brother let me have him. I will be careful. I promise.""Isaa begged cutely.
Kendra accepted. Fluffy was quite light so it was no problem. She left the basket in Isaa"s hands till the market and then she can wear it while they walk. Goluk got to the market and offered to help, but Kendra gave up. Usually, if you buy a larger amount of vegetables from someone, they help taking it to the appointed place.
""Stay here. I will send people with food. You watch out and help them. I know who has what so I will be fast.""She turned around helping Isaa with the basket and they went to the vegetable section to check what they had. She was fast done. On one place she bought off all the spinach and carrots the man had and sent him to the carriage. One man had leeks and eggplants. One had garlic and onions. The two women had full baskets of eggs so she bought it all off. One more place had bags with lentils, peas and brown flour. So she bought each of them.
On end, she found a crate with cuc.u.mbers and got so happy. She asked man does he has more and he had indeed planted lots of it. So she asked him to bring her home the next day as many she could. She plans to leave some for winter.
After she was done there she told Goluk to go to the inner city. They quickly got to the cooling house and she want in to buy some meat. The old lady saw her and came out to hug her.
""Kendra, Isaa, and this is?""she looked ta strange fluffy creature.
""His name is Fluffy. He is my new friend,""said Isaa.
The old lady got quirky again. With s.h.i.+ny eyes, she extended her hands at took him out the basket.""Áhhh how soft. And cuddly. I want one as well."" she squeezed him and pinched him all over the body. He started growling and when she stopped surprised for a sec he jumped out her claws and hid in Isaa"s hands.
""Sorry. We found him while ago. We don"t know are there more of them. ""Kendra looked helplessly at the old lady.""By the way. You have milk and meat here. You can"t have any animals around raw food. Is unsanitary, you know?""
The old lady looked at Fluffy one more time and gave up. ""I know I can"t have any. It"s just so cuddly.""
""I came for more meat. Is it possible? ""
""Yes of course. How much?""
""There are 50 people eating. Give me half of the calf and some meat in fat.""she saw that before at her home.
""Don"t buy that if you want to feed all those people. Better let that man come again tomorrow for daily meat consumption than buy meat and let it stand on this heat. It will turn bad.""she gave Kendra advice.
""Fine with me. Then meat for today. Can someone bring me milk and b.u.t.ter later on? I need it in the afternoon. I saw you have cheese. Give me peace of it as well. I think I"ll make something strange. I want to try many things for our future." she said while winking at the old lady.
"Let me know what you need for trying. Don"t worry about money. It"s an investment. By the way, Fintan said you will get money every ten days. Is that fine with you?" She asked her.
"No. Let"s do it differently. Whenever you gather enough for one small gold coin, bring it to me. I like gold." she said with a big smile. She just doesn"t want them to bother her so often. After all, soon she will get money from the Lord as well."Just gather slowly. I am in no hurry."
The meat was brought out and they swiftly left. The old lady shook her head. This child really likes money.
They arrived with carriage quite fast. They all had their breakfast and were ready to work. When they saw Kendra arriving with Goluk. They stopped to greet her.
Goluk already explained it to her how far they are. Isaa didn"t see this before but now seeing the totally different picture she was amazed. The house was free from all the ugly bushes and gra.s.ses. Behind the house was a huge orchard. Kendra let them transplant many trees that already had fruits on them and bushes as well.
""Some bushes died after transplanting and we got them out and put new ones inside. Children run around the whole day and bring water to water the new plants. There are over 500 trees and bushes here. If you made the orchard on that place wouldn"t it be better than here?""asked Goluk not understanding why.
""No. Here are to many stones. Didn"t you have trouble to clean this little and make holes for these plants? If we want to plow the fields we would have to clean all these stones...It makes no sense if I have good land there. I actually like it like this.""
Kendra looked at the beautiful sight. All kind of fruits and berries will be ripe in fall. Some in the latest 2-3 weeks. Some she will keep and most she will give Fintan for their new idea. They can open a bakery. But she will make it bigger and will make many of these through the cities. Like that, they can get some pieces of information as well.
With this and more she can earn money. And have some backups if they are in need. Maybe she can ... She got lost in taught and Goluk wanted to say something. But Isaa stopped him. She already knew Kendra"s expressions. This is one of those that will bring them money. She smiled at Goluk and others and with a smile put fingers in her mouth so they are quiet. They understood and went away.
Goluk saw her smile and knew that Kendra had many things on her mind. They let her think and all went to work. Few men got the food of the carriage and got stunned by the sheer amount of food. Since they started working all had tree sumptuous meals a day. They had everyday meat in their food. She even took care that they had fresh water as children run around and brought fresh water from the well.
There was even time for rest. Goluk told them they can rest from time to time and big rest is at the hottest time of day. Actually, because of these rests, they had more energy and were working faster then they taught. If they continue with this tempo, they will be done in two days.
They brought the food to the obviously overjoyed woman and went to the field to first weed out the gra.s.s as Kendra wanted. After that, they had to put manure before plowing it. When they got there they told everyone about food and everyone felt grateful. Everyone put even more effort into the work.
Kendra stood there contemplating for a while and then woke up suddenly as something hit her. Fluffy...
It seems that he was a bit worried about her standing there like a statue for a while.
""Don"t worry. I just have so many ideas. I don"t know where to start. Let"s go see the fields.""
Isaa Put Fluffy in the basket and went towards the big field. While they walked they could see how big the changes are. Because they worked so hard all the dry gra.s.s was almost gone. They had only one part of the field to finish. Around the field she let them plant the fruits trees and bushes. Actually, this field is only 1/10th of the orchard"s size. But they had more work on this.
They used hoes and dug out the gra.s.s and picked the roots as well.
""Wow. You are all amazing.""shouted Kendra when she saw how fast they did the job.""It seems in 2-3 days you will be done. Really amazing.""
""They worked hard for all this, even children,""said Goluk as he praised everyone. She saw it, the way all worked...Maybe there are more uses for them.
""Goluk. Are all these people villagers?""she asked while looking at hard working man.
""No. Most of them are from town. They live on another side of the outer city. But they are good workers. I could recommend about 10-11 of them for sure as I know them for years. "" He knew when Kendra asked she probably had a plan.
She nodded. She will need them for sure. ""You will call them after everyone is gone to stay. I will need something from them.""
Goluk nodded. If he were not this old he might have offered himself as well. But as soon fall comes, he has to go back home. The fields need every hand.
Kendra took Isaa"s hand and they walked to the meadow. Luckily they didn"t touch it. The strawberry plants are still there. Isaa looked around and found again sporadic some of them. ""Look, brother, there are still some. Eat. ""
""No Isaa. Brother wants you to eat. Give some to Fluffy. He might like it.""she saw as the whole body tried to jump out the basket when he saw the small red fruits. He really liked it.
Isaa gave him one at the time and it was funny as he tried to ask for more. Sometimes she grumbled and sometimes he just huffed. He is becoming more and more a dog. Sigh. Mythological beast...right.
On end, they choose to go back to the city as Kendra still wanted to visit the Lord"s palace. She was about to go but Goluk came.""Come I will take you with the carriage. At least to the city. Like that, you will be faster at home.""
""Oh.Thank you. I really have things to do.""said Kendra gratefully. they said goodbyes to everyone before leaving.
""Goluk. Your village, what does it produce for sale?""she had to get more information"s about villages around the city.
""We are the furthest village from here. Our village is on the border with the Big Forest of Secrets. You are little and probably no one told you. That forest is forbidden to all normal people. Only the Elementalist can enter it. It has some kind of strange air wall, or s.h.i.+eld so no normal human can go in. When those with powers feel strong enough they go to the forest and fight there. But I don"t know what they fight. We produce lots of grain as our fields are quite fertile. If it"s a bit rainier we can even produce twice a year. "" he said while remembering his own family.
""How many villages are around this town actually?""
""17 villages. May I ask why do you ask?""
""I know someone who will buy all the excess of grain that you want to sell. I know that the person will give you a fair price. Of course, if you are willing?""she asked while thinking about they granary he needs to build.
""I will go home after we are done with fields. I can ask the villagers and we can make the price that would be good for everyone,""he said happily.
""Do you know any other villages that would maybe consider selling their products?"" Kendra taught about her own ideas as well. She won"t give everything to the Lord. She plans to keep at least half of the grain for her bakery if he is done this year with the building. If not then she will buy it all of. Together with Fintan.
""I know heads of 6-7 villages. Is there something you need so I can recommend it to you.""
""Hmmm. Grain, eggs, milk and products, fruits. Fruits are important.""she said while thinking out loud.
""You are lucky. Most villages around this city have an amazing amount of fruits. We have sometimes so much that we don"t know what to do.""he sighed.
""Every year?""she turned suddenly and looked at him with s.h.i.+ny eyes.
""Yes, every year.""He suddenly felt that his luck might be the best. It seems that this child knows something.
""I need to talk to those people and see how much they can by off. We will start with your village and go with villages that had grains. Those that don"t have grains we will see what we can do for them.""
They arrived at the gate of the city and they stepped off and hurried into the city. The guards politely greeted them Kendra didn"t notice it but Golak did. It seems he needs to get closer to this child. It will be good for the village and his family.
She walked to the nearby city office and saw that she was really lucky today. Officer Luar was there.
""I am lucky as it seems,""she stated as she entered his office. He had a bunch of books he worked on and dazed looked at her. It seems he is so much into it that he forgot his name, the place and even the time.
""Oh Kendra. I need a breather anyway. ""he rubbed his tired eyes.""How can I help you?""
""I actually...""she was not sure is it too much to ask him for such thing, as she looked at his tired eyes."" I wanted to go to the palace and speak to the Lord. Can you take us there? Of course, it"s not hard for me to get there, but with Isaa"s short legs... And if I rent the carriage it can go only up to n.o.bles circle. It makes no sense again. Can you take us please?""
He sobered up. If she wants to go there he will take her immediately. ""Guards!!! Prepare the horse carriage. Fast!""
""Why carriage?""she didn"t know why but she felt something big happened.""What is really going on?""
""There are more rats in town than we taught. Some of those n.o.bles we let stay in town seems to have connections to someone from the royal family that is trying to kill the King and appoint a new one. But we still are watching. Your house is safe but the n.o.bles circle...Don"t walk alone.""
Kendra taught about the absurdity of the situation. Now n.o.bles act as lowest being and n.o.bles circle is at the moment center of evil. Let"s hope not all those n.o.bles are like that. Or it will be the first time in history that the city has n.o.bles circle but no n.o.bles living in it.
They pa.s.sed with carriage the n.o.bles circle and when they arrived at the palace Xara waited for her with a pale face.""Fast. I think you need to see something. Something that you caused as it seems.""
Kendra took Isaa by the hand and they run inside. After they entered the palace gate closed and they walked towards the corner of the palace. There seems to be something...
Dear G.o.d of Writing...what could it be :))