Natalie watches as Molly walks to the door, she opens it wide,looks out then walks back to her counter and goes behind it. Standing directly in front of the open door so everyone can see her.Molly the beckons Natalie over to her.

"Now we will do business, which I'm assuming that's why you came into the Village in the first place for," Molly said.

"Yes, I have a load of herbs and berries that I harvested." Natalie said nervously, while glancing out the door at the crowd. "I was hoping some of it will be useful to you."

"Well let's see what you have then Child," Molly said.

Natalie pulled the neatly bundled herbs out of her inventory first. Then Molly produces some woven grass baskets to put all the berries in, Natalie happily fills them up thinking she needs to learn how to make those they looked handy.

"A good selection here Crystal," said Molly as she started to sort the bundles. "Very good quality, your harvest skills are becoming quite useful."

" Yes I get fewer failures with the Sundaisys now," replied Natalie with a smile. " but I still have trouble with Blueguards, Healberries and Yellowdells."

She could hear a few of the braver people outside approaching up the stairs to the entrance of the shop. When three of them actually enter Molly looks up at them then nods to Natalie.

Molly walks back around the counter past the now startled group, shuts and locks the door, then goes back to the counter and proceeds to continue her inspection of the herbs.

"What's going on?" Asks a human woman." Why did she lock the door?"

"It's ok" Natalie said. "Molly locked it so I can talk to a few of you without having all of you gang up on me."

"Now wait a minute," growled another dogkin by his colouring she thought maybe a wolf kin would be more likely. "No one was ganging up on you,"

"Really?" Scoffs Natalie in total disbelief. "So all of you surrounding me, yelling and moving in until I had no where to go was not ganging up on me?"

"I'm sorry," muttered the third one, she was an elf. "I shouldn't have joined the crowd and yes you are right it was ganging up on you, I can only say frustration drove me to it and I know that's a poor excuse."

Hearing this the others looked a little ashamed of themselves as well and mumbled an apology to her.

"Now you have a start," Natalie told them. " the reasons for the people of this Village not speaking to you is because none of you have actually tryed to talk to them."

"We have tryed." Growled the wolfkin. " I have tryed over and over and just get ignored."

Naralie sighed, ok she was going to have to be a bit more direct.

"How many if you have actually ASKED any of these good people to help you?" She demanded pointedly. "All I have observed, is everyone demanding or being condescending, much like I'm being now, how's it feel? Do you feel like talking to me right now?"

The wolfkin opened his mouth then closed it and looked at the floor, the other two looked even more ashamed of themselves. The three of them thought about their behaviour since they started the game, they also recalled the information given about NPC's in the game.

Natalie could see the lights going on in their heads.

"Maybe you should spread the word to the rest of them out there," she told them. "I'm still not going to tell you how to do things, you will have to learn it by yourselves. Just like I did."

"Now unless you want to buy something," Molly said. "Get out of my shop."

The three went to the door turned the key left in it and left closing the door quietly behind them. Natalie and Molly could her loud voices out side for a while then everything went quiet again. When Natalie went to the window she could see everyone was leaving.

"Now Crystal, I have finished inspecting your herbs and I am will to give you 5 gold for the herbs and since the berries are much harder to grow and there is quite a good lot of them,"She said. " I'll give you 6 gold 50 silvers for them, total being 11 gold 50 silvers, what say you ?"

"I say that sounds great thank you Molly," smiled Natalie.

"Good and please feel free to bring anything else you harvest to me," Molly said. "I will always give you a fair price for them."

"I will and I should have another crop in a couple of days time, though Master Brethan already has taken two bundles of Blueguards," Natalie said. "He traded a bacis foundry to me for four bundles of them."

"Well done Child, getting a foundry off that old skinflint is an achievement of epic proportions," Molly laughed. "Truly I am amazed by this, perhaps he is getting soft in his old age!"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Natalie smiled, but didn't say anything, she did not know the Smith at all so putting in a comment would be foolish. She picked up her gold coins and placed them into her inventory and while in there she remembered the sole berry left over from the testing that morning, now would be a good time to see if Molly would tell her anything about it.

"Molly," she began while placing the berry on the counter. "What sort of berry is this do you know it's name? I have already tested it and found it's good for mana potions and healing potions but I couldn't find it in the little book you sold me."

Molly was staring at the little berry, her eyes were large.

"Where did you find this?" She asked sounding a little breathless.

"In the big field across the road, just out side of the village," replied Natalie. "Not far from where I have placed my Sanctuary."

"Did you harvest the berries or just pick them," Molly asked urgently. "Try to remember Crystal this is important."

"I just picked them." Replied Natalie starting to feel a little unsure again.

" Your positive, you just picked them?" Molly asked intensely again.

"Yes." Natalie was getting scared now wondering if these belonged to someone and that maybe she should have left them alone. However Molly after staring at her for a couple of minutes, seem to shake herself out of it.

"They are called Chance Berries," she finally said. " if someone was to be so silly as to pick and eat them straight away from a wild field, they would get a 50% chance of being poisoned. No cure just dead, if by some chance you had harvested them you would have a 60% chance of a fatal accident sometime in three days after the harvest. However if you chance to pick them, and check to see if they are poisonous, as you have said you did, then they become a once in a lifetime dream plant for a farmer."

"Oh ," was all Natalie could say to that, she was shivering at how close a call that had been!

"You are a very lucky little dogkin," Molly said quietly. " these berries will make you very rich, only you can grow them now and only you can harvest them, that single berry sitting there is worth a gold coin on its own. Also that single berry is potent enough to make a full beaker of high grade healing potions or mana potions."

Natalie just stared at the berry, then looked at Molly, then back at the unassuming little berry sitting on Molly's counter. Molly reached over to the box where she kept her coins and pulled out a single gold coin and put it on the counter.

Natalie shook her head.

"No Molly you can have the berry." She said. "I have seven bushes of these growing right now."

It was Molly's turn to stare, she could hardly believe her ears. Did this child just voluntarily give her one of the rarest berries known?

"Are you sure Crystal?" She asked again. " I have to tell you one more piece of lore about this berry, before you say anything else, once and only once and not by plan can you give a berry free to another's hand. They in turn can grow and own the chance berries bountiful harvest."

Smiling Natalie nodded and pushed the little berry towards Molly.

"Yes I still want to give you that berry." She told her. " even though you told me the lore about it, will you still be able to grow it? Like I can or is it now classed as planed?"

"Yes it will work for me because your initial intent was already made," Molly said. " I just had to give you a moment to take it back if you changed your mind after hearing the rest of it."

"No I stand by my offer Molly you have helped me out a great deal, one day I will move on from here," she told her. "It's nice to know I left you something to remember me by."

They turn their attention back to the berry and could see it had turned into two seeds now. Which Molly picked up and very carefully placed into a little bag and tucked them into her money box. She then came around the counter and hugged Natalie.

"Thank you Crystal," she said. " and as a return gift I'll give you some information, and some seeds."

Molly handed her a little bag of wheat seeds.

"Plant these before you go to the barn, make sure they are almost ready for harvest, then see Vincent in the barn he will give you a quest that is designed to fail the first time due to an impossible time limit on it." Molly said. "The reward for completing it the first time is a very good First Tier Sanctuary, which for you will be an extension, but that extension will automatically bump your whole sanctuary to tier one for free."

"Oh wow." Natalie gasped. " but should you be telling me this? Isn't it cheating?"

"It sort of is but Vincent is well overdue for some humbling, what he is doing with that quest isn't right but he won't listen to anyone about it," Molly said. "All of us were going to make sure that at least one person gets his first prize, I'm just making sure it's going to be you."

"Thank you Molly." Natalie said. "once I get that one I will have Alchemy, Farming, Herbalist, Blacksmith and animal husbandry."

"Yes that just leaves tailoring,mining,fletcher, woodworking and leatherworker." Molly told her. There are others but that's all you can get in this village, nearly all will just sell the scrolls to you, the soul exception being Vincent."

"I should get back, the plants need tending and it's time to water them" Natalie said. "I will come see you again in a couple of days Molly."

"Be safe Crystal," Molly said.

Natalie closed her eyes and willed herself back to the Sanctuary. When she got there she went straight to the Chance berry bushes, they were only about 3 inches out of the ground but the seeds from them were suddenly very important.

Natalie used her hoe and weeded her plots, watered them again until it became to dark to see. Then she returned to the little hut to sleep.

"Sam, how much time before breakfast do I have," she asked.

"About an hour Natalie," replied Sam. " I can slip you into real sleep for that hour if you like then log you out so that you wake in the pod at the alarm."

"Yes please Sam I have to be up before my parents to do the chores," Natalie said. "I'm going to make sure I'm not a burden on them as much as I can."

"I don't believe you are Natalie,"Sam said. "But being helpful around your home will be a good idea."

Natalie looked out at the stars shining in the night sky of the game world, they looked so real and she couldn't see any that belonged to earths sky's. She feel asleep while star gazing.

When the alarm woke her she felt refreshed, she stretched, then got out of the pod. Moving quietly she went downstairs, she didn't waste time, just got right to doing the chores. Both the house and the garden didn't take that long to do for a healthy energetic 14 year old. So it wasn't long before she was showering.

As she came out of the shower her parents were heading towards the stairs to start their morning, both looked sleepy still. Natalie smile fondly at them both.

"Good morning Mum, Dad," she said while giving them both a hug. " breakfast is in the food keeper on the table and chores are done."

Still smiling she almost skipped back to her room and closed the door. Her mother and father stared at her door for few minutes then both turned back to their room, and practically fell back into bed, they could get used to this, oh yeah very use to it, with a sigh from one and a soft moan from the other they fell back to sleep.