Daryl stood up fully adjusting the new hat that reminded him of Bronan the Caveman. Cindy was already half running along the streets her exuberant energy was nothing like what the last few weeks of her life had been and his heart ached a little at the sight of it. Carefully Daryl walked through the streets of the town being careful not to kick or step on anyone as he worked his way along.
There were dozens of shops with vendors yelling out about their goods. Men and women in outlandish armor walked between the stalls and there were glowing exchanges of light that floated between them. Daryl could tell that this world was more like virtual reality than what he was used to. His eyes were stuck on his daughter’s back as she flitted through the crowd with ease.
He was so used to looking down at his feet so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone that he was surprised when they arrived at a building just around his height in size. Daryl’s gaze drifted up and looked at the cottage. It was two stories tall with a sharp pointed roof of thatched hay. Small shuttered windows sat near the top of the peak and a door lay in the center of the first floor. The smell of fresh baked pie floated through the air.
Behind the house were rows and rows of greenery and flowers. How if all seemed to fit inside these walls was kind of disorienting. A fence about as tall as Cindy surrounded all the greenery. Small pink skinned creatures with pig snouts and curly tails poking out of pants walked around mindlessly with watering cans and tools. Whenever they stopped to do something the whole world would shift and return back to the same state it was in moments before. Something was plucked, ground was watered. Each herb replaced itself by growing in mere moments, ground soaked up water and was dry in a flash. Daryl’s head swam with the implications of this world.
An ancient withered woman sat on a rocking chair next to the door to the house. Her hands were held together at the top of a cane of gnarled wood. Her hair was thin and wispy rolling down her shoulders and falling out of a messy bun on the top of her head. The woman’s eyes were just slits and barely cracked open. Her smile was goofy and had plenty of missing teeth in that cartoonish way.
CIndy skipped up to her and came to a stop, “Grenda! I have returned with a guest. Were you able to grow some of the herbs I ordered?”
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Grenada cackled softly, “Oh to be young. Don’t skip introductions, young lady. Who did you bring with you? I don’t see anyone…” Her eyes finally landed on Daryl’s legs and then started to move slowly up his body and the chair tilted back as she gazed up. “Gods, a giant in this day and age.”
“This is Dad! He is going to be a new adventurer that will help the town. I’m sure he will want to set up a farm order, I’m teaching him how.” Cindy turned to Daryl as the old woman kept silent. “This is Grenda, she is this town’s farmer. Her and her Piglins grow all the crops that sustain this place. You can order certain things from her. I asked for healing herbs and every day you can pick up a batch from what you’ve requested. She only keeps on orders for five days and you can only request one thing at a time. Do you understand?”
“Why five days? What about all the food she is supposed to be making in the town? How can she do both? How are the plants replacing themselves as soon as they’re plucked? What is going on with this place?”
“Wow, that is a lot of questions. Ummmm, that's just how it is.” Cindy shrugged as she spoke as if the questions really didn’t matter as they were questioning this new place. “This is the new world and that's just how things work. You have to learn to accept that.”
Daryl wiped his face with both his hands and sighed into them. “Ok, what should I place an order for?”
“Grenda, will you charge him 10 tennies a day for herbs?”
The ancient woman nodded slowly before shaking her head and bringing herself back to the moment. “That is what I charge everyone. Oh and dear, for finishing another mission the guild has allowed me to open a second slot of my farm for your use. Whenever you are ready feel free to tell me what you would like to grow.”
Cindy pumped her fist a single time before smiling at her dad, “Go ahead dad. Healing herbs give 20 hit points each. You just pop them in your mouth and chew.”
Daryl knelt down to the ground. “I’ll take healing herbs for three days.”
The old woman nodded, “Deal.” The motes of light filled with images of coins floated from Daryl’s chest and into the old woman. She smiled, “Dad sure is handsome.”
“You can call me Daryl, Dad isn’t my name.”
“That's not what your status says,” Grenda cackled once more.
“Well Dad, she has a point,” Cindy covered her mouth and giggled. “Now let's go, the guild has missions and we need one. Come on!”
Cindy sprinted through the crowds suddenly. Hollering into the air with excitement. In Daryl’s ears, it sounded forced.