Trog and Bowen didn't have to wait long after finishing their meals for Morgan to arrive with two other dwarves. After exchanging introductions, Morgan and her husband Luke asked to see the furs to examine them. Both were pleased with the quality and had no trouble handing over the gold. When Morgan asked if they could get more fur of this quality, she thought she noticed the halfling start to nod his head before Trog, the goblin, told her that if they could, it wouldn't be anytime soon. Morgan felt that was understandable and said to them that if he ever ran across more furs, she would love the chance to purchase them from him. Luke and Lore packed the furs into their bags, and the three dwarves left the tavern. Bowen gave his friend an odd look.
"Why did you tell them it wouldn't be anytime soon?"
Trog leaned in close to speak softly so nobody could hear. "Because I only have one fur left over that we know is of the quality they want. We lucked out that we got such high-quality fur to start with. What if the next ones we get are only common? Better to not have them expect this kind of thing every time."
"That's is a good point." Bowen acknowledged
"Plus, I want to work on other things once we get higher-tier soil."
They toasted each other, finished the last of the ale, and then left the tavern. Trog thanked the dwarves for the fine meal and ale and promised to return the next time he was in the city.
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The city was bustling, and Trog and Bowen had to carefully weave through the crowd, mostly made up of humans and elves. The humans were apologetic when they realized they had almost knocked the small halfling over; however, Trog received looks of disdain and sometimes a few choice curses to get out of the way. The elves gave no reaction and kept walking as if they owned the place. As Trog and Bowen approached the stable area, they passed by the garrison, where a soldier shouted out news from the war.
"Reinforcements have arrived at the front lines, and a new push into Dragonkin territory is already underway. These young men and women seem anxious to prove themselves in battle after their years of training. We should remember to give special thanks to our veterans who held the line for so long to allow the training to occur. Many of those veterans continue to fight and are now leading these young troops into battle. By order of the council, all soldiers with permanent injuries have been discharged from service. We are all thankful they were able to return to their families."
Trog didn't stop as the man kept talking. It pained him to know he wouldn't be one of those veterans leading a unit into battle. Trog shook the thought out of his head. He had a plan to lead. Focusing on earning coins to sponsor a team of adventures wouldn't be the same, but it would give him more control. He would be able to choose who he recruited and how they trained. After more training with Bowen, he would leave and continue to the orc cities, where his War Titles would open doors for him. For now, he just wanted to get a few more things done. Get his wagon, a mule, and then a sapling from the peach farmer.
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A few hours later, Trog was all smiles as he sat tall in the wagon. The mule moved at a steady pace that would get them back to the Thornside home just after dark. Bowen was laid out in the wagon, using their packs as pillows and snoring slightly. It didn't take long before they passed the peach orchard. Trog turned off the road and headed towards the house. As he approached, he woke Bowen when he called out to anyone in the house.
"Hello, is anyone home? I wish to ask about purchasing a sapling if possible?"
Trog noticed the door open slightly but couldn't see who was looking out. The door slammed shut before a high-pitched voice called out from behind it.
"Go away! They are my baby trees. You can't have any!" a child's voice said, and it wasn't long before another muffled voice could be heard before the child yelled again.
"I don't want gold. I want my baby trees!"
The door opened, and a man walked out with a young girl struggling to pull him back inside by the back of his shirt.
"I am Moe, and I would be willing to sell you a few cuttings if you want. The little one here will not part with the saplings we have."
The little girl stopped pulling on the man's shirt. "I get to keep my baby trees?" She turned and ran back inside. "Mama! I get to keep all my baby trees!"
The man smiled and approached the wagon. "I will give you five cuttings for one gold. I can't promise any of them will root for you, but with five of them, you have a good chance if you get them in good soil soon."
Trog smiled and pulled a gold coin out of his pouch. After buying the wagon and mule, he still had over fifty gold coins left.
"My name is Trog, and that sounds like a very reasonable deal to me." He handed Moe the coin and waited as the man walked to a few trees, using a knife to cut five branches off. Trog expected Moe to walk back over and hand him the branches, but instead, Moe walked to a small shed and came back out with a small sack. Moe then filled the sack with soil, drove the branches into the soil, and tied it closed around the branches. Then he dunked the sack into a pale of water. Only then did Moe hand the sack to Trog.
"This should help you get started. You can leave all of them in the sack and plant them to see if one takes root, or you can put them all in separate sacks when you get home."
"Thank you, Moe. I wish you a good harvest." Trog said, handing the cuttings to Bowen so he could place them in the back of the wagon.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Trog couldn't believe his luck. He managed to get five possible peach trees. The mule couldn't get them back to Sunhallow fast enough.
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Once they were back at the Thornside home, Trog and Bowen removed the cuttings from the single sack and used some small clay planters that Bowen's grandparents had in the shed. Once each cutting was planted firmly in the dirt, Trog placed his hand on one and used plant identification.
Skill Plant Identification
Name: Peach Tree cutting
Requires: any soil and mana or any soil, water, and sunlight
Needs: Mana or water and sunlight
Growth: 32 days or 100% mana til rooted
Trog wasn't expecting to use his mana to root the cutting, but he couldn't argue with his skill. He had to make a choice. Slowly root the cuttings all simultaneously, or speed one along now and finish rooting it tomorrow. His excitement for growing one of the beautiful trees he had seen won out, and he pushed 99% of his mana into the cutting he was touching. Trog watched as the branch seemed to glow with mana for a moment before returning to its normal color.
Ten days later, a pile of tier 2 soil was in the corner of the yard, and Trog had five saplings ready to be planted. Trog asked Bowen's grandparents if he could plant one in their backyard, and they were happy to let him. It took another two days to grow the tree from sapling to mature tree and then two days to make it ready to harvest. Now Trog sat looking at the fully grown tree with branches full of peaches. The smell was amazing. Bowen and Trog were shocked once they finished picking all the peaches when the tree didn't turn to dust, unlike items Trog had grown with his mana. It turned out that growing a plant with his mana didn't destroy the plant, and as long as the Thornsides kept watering the tree, it would continue to grow. This would make Trog's plan much more manageable once he got his land. He could see an orchard of peach trees and make it seem like they grew normally once they matured. It would be an excellent cover for him while he used his skill to grow items for his adventure team.
While Trog was imagining his future, Bowen was busy counting the number of peaches they had collected, and when he finished, he couldn't believe it.
"Trog, there are over 500 peaches here. You could sell these in the market and earn two gold easily."
Trog looked at his friend in shock before a sly grin crossed his face. "I have an idea that might be better than taking them to market."
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After putting the peaches into barrels, Trog and Bowen loaded them into the wagon, and Trog headed to the garrison. Captain Holt was happy to trade four steel ingots for the wagon full of peaches. When Trog returned with the ingots, Bowen was unsure why this was better until he realized that if Trog used the tier 2 soil, one ingot would turn into ten in two days, worth five gold. The next few weeks seemed to fly by as Trog and Bowen worked to prepare for Trog's long journey. They focused on using Trog's skill to get the herbs Bowen had been trying to cultivate in the garden to grow. They also sold a few ingots to the blacksmith and purchased large sacks. The day had finally come for Trog to leave, and his wagon was full of large sacks with tier 2 soil, each with either a vine or a plant sprouted from the top. It looked like Trog was traveling with potato plants growing in the back of his wagon, but inside each sack was a single steel ingot only 1% away from being ready to harvest. Once Bowen found out Trog could choose from vine or tuber when planting in the better soil, he explained why it would be better to grow both.
"This way, when you are getting close to a town or city, you can have the vines produce a few ingots without digging them out of the bags as you do with the tubers."
It made perfect sense to Trog. Digging through the soil was painful on his hands, but snapping the vine would instantly harvest the ingots without pain. So, unless he were ready to make a big sale, he would only harvest small amounts of steel.
Trog was sad to leave his new friends but knew they would be fine without him. The herbs were growing well, and Bowen had enough notes to keep their garden well-maintained for years. It was time to leave Sunhallow and begin his journey south.
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The week of travel was incredibly dull. Trog had gotten used to Bowen and his constant chatting. Now, it was only him and his mule. Trog did make sure to do as Bowen recommended and made sure to use his magic every chance he got. Every night before Trog would go to sleep, he would plant one of his peaches in the ground and put 99% of his mana into it. It allowed him to eat peaches every morning for breakfast. The sweet taste boosted his energy, and he was always ready to hop back on the wagon and start the day. He had passed a few small villages but didn't stop to trade due to the looks he received as he entered. Humans primarily populated the towns, and they didn't want him there, so he pushed on. It took him a second week to finally find a main crossroad. To his delight, a traveling merchant had set up a tent to take advantage of the location.
"Hello traveler, I am Zoni. Please feel free to browse my wares. I have plenty of tools, potions, and enchanted items."
The merchant was a young wolfkin. Trog had fought alongside many wolfkins, and he respected their ferocious nature. Zoni didn't carry himself like the wolfkin Trog had served with. His body was hunched over to hide his true height, and he kept his claws tucked in the sleeves of his large robe. The wolfkin Trog had fought beside would never conceal their natural weapons or true height. It must be a part of their warrior nature, and this man, being a merchant, must not share the same views. Pulling his eyes from Zoni, Trog glanced over some of his wares. One item in particular caught his eye.
"What is that small stone there, the one in a small puddle of water?"
Zoni's expression changed slightly, and he growled low as he spoke, "Nino, I told you to keep this thing off my table."
A small wolfkin girl poked her head out from around some barrels. "But if it isn't on the table, people can't buy it." Her voice was soft, and she kept her gaze toward the ground.
"I told you that nobody will want to buy a stone that slowly drips water on their table." Zoni turned to Trog. "Sorry, that is just a rock my daughter keeps trying to sell. It is an enchanted rock one of her friends made that, for some reason, she thinks will sell. The boy is young and in training, so his enchantments are not worth much. He has been enchanting random items to improve his skill, but nothing he has made is worth selling."
Trog looked at the stone and had an idea. "I will trade you two steel ingots for the stone."
Both Zoni and Nino turned to look at him. Nino had a look of glee on her face, her sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight, and Zoni just looked stunned.
"You want to trade that much for it?" Zoni asked
"I am a farmer, and I could use that stone to water a plant or tree that requires moist soil. It is too bad you don't have more of them."
Zoni looked as though he was in shock. "I hadn't even thought of that."
Trog pulled two ingots from behind his seat on the wagon. "Is it a deal?" he said as he handed the ingots to Zino.
"Yes, it is a deal."
Trog waved to Nino as he started to drive away. He heard her father asking if her friend had more water-dripping stones. The girl waved back as she nodded to her father, who immediately started to pack up his tent. Trog had a feeling that whoever this young enchanter in training was would soon see an increase in funds now that the merchant had found a possible market for the stones. As Torg drove away, he pushed his mana into the stone and placed it into one of the sacks of soil. A smile spread across Trog's face as a new vine began to grow.