"So, I know you told Young Andre you'd work at anything, but is there something in particular that appeals to you more than the rest?" Amos asked once we left his home.

I hummed and gave the hamlet a thoughtful glance as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder.

Without having to worry about whether or not I was going to be able to stay, and after a night of relative rest with more time to let the fact settle in my head, I could take a moment to consider it without the small amount of panic from before and come to the conclusion that there were things I didn't feel like doing.

"While I know I wouldn't mind working with the land," I replied with a gesture to the small farms scattered around the clearing, "after the years of helping out in the underground farms I'd like to try something different."

"How about hunting?" Amos pointed off to the woods in the distance. "Or maybe fishing in the brook?

At that I grimaced a bit.

"While I think I could do that if necessary, I'd really rather not." I said honestly.

Knowing for certain that I couldn't get sustenance from them, just considering hunting animals of any kind only to receive monetary compensation made me feel bad.

That it was a waste and wrong.

Sure, if I had absolutely no other choice, I was going to do it. Probably.

Amos nodded. "Well, other than those, the other major source of work is the forest itself."

"The logging?" I asked curiously. "Speaking of which, how do they cut down trees as big as these?"

"With many hands and a lot of grit." He replied with a smile and I narrowed my eyes. " Fine. Fine. Don't make that face. Gosh. Come on, I'll show you." And he set off with me at his side.

As we went along, Amos greeted the people we bumped into while introducing them to me along with brief comments here and there.

"Young Karmil has a fine voice, you have to go and listen to him when he sings after a few drinks..."

"Mrs. Lindholm makes excellent cakes! Of course, not as good as Ria's..."

"If you ever need it, Young Ann is the best seamstress you'll find..."

And many more.

For their part, those who stopped to exchange words with us seemed friendly enough. Offering their own advice and assistance should I need it after learning that I was going to be their new 'neighbour'.

It was pleasant. Certainly, an improvement from what my stay in Arbordale was like and more akin to how things were back home.

Despite the nostalgia I felt in my chest, a smile crept and stayed on my face throughout our journey until we entered a section of the forest.

"This way leads to the logging camp." Amos indicated without pausing.

For my part, I glanced around and quickly noticed something that caught my eye. "Uh, I don't see any signs or markers. Did I miss them?"

Amos shook his head. "No, there aren't any."

I gave him an incredulous look. "Huh? Why’s that? Wouldn't it be better to have them?"

"Normally, yes. In our case? The Trickster may decide to shuffle them around. In that case it's better to just memorise the way." Amos explained and my ears perked up.

"The Trickster?" I asked curiously, though I thought I had a feeling I'd already run into the aforementioned.

Amos hummed in assent. "We think it's some sort of forest-dwelling spirit that likes to amuse itself by playing pranks on others. So far, no one has seen it beyond hearing a giggle in the wind and, though no one has been hurt yet, its tricks are not what you might call entirely benign." He gave me a very serious look that made me focus my attention on him. "Ria already told you, but you should be careful if you go into the forest alone."

I nodded and the intensity on his face eased slightly. "Good. The best thing you can do is try to remember your steps or, like you said before, find some landmark and get back if you ever hear it."

"Alright, but what about the camp then?" One of my ears swivelled to the front as I caught the sound of wood being struck while the other kept pointing at Amos. "Is it safe with the spirit lurking nearby?" I asked worriedly. My head suddenly conjured up the image of this morning's barrage, but instead of pinecones they were being replaced by axes or saws as I was taunted by a haunting giggle.

A shiver ran down my spine.

"Don't worry. From what we've gathered, the spirit doesn't like groups to the point where it avoids them altogether, so the camp is safe." Amos replied in a confident tone and I nodded in relief.

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We walked on in silence for a few more moments until we came upon the lumber camp.

Although, to call it a camp was a misnomer in my opinion. Apart from a simple tent consisting only of a canvas roof and poles, there was no other structure.

What there was was a series of wagons, logs piled around and people working.

My ears twitched as I heard voices a little further away from the camp and... Up?

Looking up, my eyes widened as I saw people high up in one of the huge pine trees.

"W-what are they doing up there?" I asked incredulously to which Amos let out a chuckle.

"What else? Harvesting the tree." He said with a smile.

Squinting my eyes to try to focus better, I realised he was right. I could barely make them out through the foliage, but the people above seemed to be waving their arms near the base of the branches.

"Timber!" My ears caught the shout of one of them along with the creaking of one of the branches, bending until it snapped under its own weight and fell to the ground.

My ears fell to my sides, pressing against my skull, and I braced myself for the clatter as the wood hit the ground, producing a loud thud that made me cringe and my sensitive ears groan, but didn't end up being as thunderous as I had anticipated.

Lifting my ears carefully I stared at the 'branch', which now that it was on the ground I realised should be about fifteen metres long at least, in disbelief.

"Uh, that was less noisy than I expected." I commented as I rubbed my ear a little.

"Elderpine is a rather special wood. Quite a bit tougher and able to absorb blows like it's an ooze that owes you money." Said a voice and turning around I saw a stocky looking human woman with short brown hair and hazel eyes approaching us.

"Ooze?" I asked, curious to know if she was talking about the creatures that usually appear in fantasy games— It would make sense considering the world I'm in.

"Monsters that look like they're made of jelly. The bastards devour whatever they find and woe betide you if you try to hit them." The woman shook her head. " Really, quite a pain in the arse." Her eyes moved to Amos and she bowed her head. "Amos, it's been a while."

"Since I was last home. What, you missed me already?" he asked with a smug grin to which the woman let out an unladylike snort.

"More like I missed beating you at the game of the week. My pockets could do with a little extra silver." She rebutted as she folded her arms with a smirk of her own to which Amos grumbled about ungrateful people and bad fortune, after which she turned her gaze to me. "Is this the new resident I've heard about?"

Amos snorted good-naturedly, gesturing towards her while affecting an exaggerated tone. "Noah Howlite, let me introduce you to Brianna Mornshine. A woman of dazzling character. You're not going to find someone more stubborn than her in the entire Glade, possibly the whole of the Basin."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." She said in a deadpan tone. "The only thing you're going to accomplish with that is losing more money."

Amos huffed. "As if! I'll have you know I've been upping my game since last time!"

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that." She said in a tone laced with clear scepticism. "What brings you here, squirt? I doubt the geezer here brought you just to admire the scenery."

I let out an amused snort as Amos spluttered in indignation.

"Well, I happen to be short of work and this is one of the options that came up." I said, gesturing around.

"And you came to see how we were doing things." Brianna commented with a nod before giving me a critical look that made me stand up straight. A shiver suddenly ran down my spine and I had to make an effort not to fidget uneasily in my spot as she slowly circled around me until she was in front of me again, after which the feeling faded.

What was that?! It felt like I had been stalked by some sort of dangerous animal!

I shot a nervous glance at the woman before shooting one at Amos, but he didn't seem to notice anything unusual. Was it just me?

I heard humming and turned my attention back to Brianna, who was looking at me with a thoughtful expression.

"Yes... I think I can find a use for you." She commented as she rubbed her chin.

"Uh, that's good...?" I said a little doubtfully, but still smiled as best I could despite her ominous words.

A sidelong glance at Amos who gave me an encouraging look helped calm my worries.

"Come with me, let's get you to work." Brianna said before turning and walking away.

"Oh! Uh!" Came out of my mouth, thrown off balance by the sudden command and I turned towards the half-elf as I took a few steps to follow her.

Amos let out a small laugh. "You'd better hurry up. Brianna doesn't like to be kept waiting." He motioned for me to leave and turned to head back. "See you later! Have fun!"

"Yeah! Um, and thanks, Amos!" I said as I waved before hurrying my pace to get next to Brianna, who had stopped at the tent; where, now that I was close, I noticed there were crates with various tools in them.

"Put your stuff over there" She motioned to a corner. "Do you know how to use one of these?" She asked unceremoniously as she raised an axe from one of the crates.

I gave the tool a good look as I slid my bag off my shoulder and shook my head slowly.

"I've seen others use them a time or two, but I've never used one myself." I replied.

Brianna just nodded as if she had already expected that answer. "Come." She motioned and I followed her back, out of the tent and to the Elderpine branch I had seen fall, which had been dragged away from the base of the tree.

"Watch carefully." Brianna instructed, giving me a look that made me nod and open my eyes wide. She turned to the tree, raised the axe horizontally and in one fluid motion cut into one of the offshoots— which were like limbs on a normal trunk in comparison, plunging the axe head to the middle of the wood and then pulling it out and repeating it, this time cutting the rest all the way through.

"Now you." She stepped aside and held out the axe towards me.

I took a few steps forward and took the axe. With the difference in size, in my hands it gave me the impression that it was some kind of battle axe rather than a felling axe. I barely held back the urge to try to do a few spins with the tool.

Taking a breath I stood in front of the trunk— "Turn your body a little more." I heard behind me and nodded, following the instruction and raising the axe horizontally.

"Keep a firm, but not tense grip." One of my hands was steady near the base of the handle while the other below the axe head.

I took a second breath, half-forgotten memories of nights watching shorts on the internet along with the recent display guided my movements.

With eyes fixed on the point where the limb sprouted from the trunk, I swung the axe trying to maintain more precision than strength. My hand under the axe head slid down the handle until it rested on top of the one holding the base an instant before the axe head found its target, and sank inches above the point I was aiming for.

I frowned in mild annoyance, both at having missed and at the fact that the tip of the axe hadn't sunk that far.

"Hmm. Acceptable." Brianna said next to me, giving a critical glance at the spot where I'd hit and nodding. "You did well to focus on where you wanted to hit. Keep it up. For now, your job is going to be to limb the logs we cut. Remember to always cut in the direction of the top." And with that last nugget of wisdom, she turned around and left me.

Not alone, for no sooner had she walked away than a group of people approached with axes in hand to join in the work. At the same time, my ears twitched and I cringed as I caught the sound of another branch hitting the ground.

"Hey, you all right, mate?" I heard in front of me and looking over the log I saw a young human male with brown hair, a stubble on his face and blue eyes looking at me with slight concern.

I nodded and smiled slightly. "Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine. It's just that my ears are a bit sensitive to sudden noises."

"Ah! I understand. Bea had a similar problem when we started here." Commented the man.

"I what?" asked the female voice of a seemingly young half-elven woman with black hair and striking brown eyes. "I heard my name. You're not badmouthing me with the new one, are you, Falkin?" She said in an overly sweet tone.

"Nah." He replied nonchalantly, failing to notice the silent threat or simply not caring. "I was just telling him that you'd been through the same thing. You know, with the ears and stuff." He said pointing to his ear.

Her eyebrows raised and she shot me a look that I could see zeroed in on my ears and understanding dawned in her eyes. "Oh yes, that makes sense." Her face turned sympathetic. "It's going to suck for a while, but eventually you get used to it."

"How long is a while?" I asked uneasily as I caught the sound of wood cracking and, still braced, cringed as it hit the ground. Worse, with my focus on her I could see that she wasn't unphased based on the slight twitch she had, however minor it was.

"A while." Was her simple reply accompanied with a shrug of her shoulders.

After that little chat we each focused on our work and, securing the axe in my hands again, I went back to swinging it.

Although, I had the feeling I had forgotten something.