It took some work but Annabelle came through her treatment all right. Pitt stayed as a warning to the clerics and support for their magic. When things were done, he sat down and told Annabelle what was going on with her parents and what they had done to her. Mogen Farn wanted her to stay at the temple with her dog. The clerics wouldn't gainsay their boss about something like that.

She asked him to take her in.

He explained that he wasn't home all the time. There would be times when she would be alone with the farm animals and her dog. She said that was fine, as long as she didn't have to go home. He shrugged and agreed to it.

He informed the clerics of the girl's decision. They explained that they would have to visit her to make sure the healing worked like it should.

Pitt didn't have a problem with that. He knew minimal first aid for wounds, and such, but actual healing was beyond him. He had gained the promise of growing strength and things that went with that. The minimal magic and clerical granting he knew had come from years of killing monsters.

He walked Annabelle and Spot to his farm. He pointed out his neighbors and a rough fence line his animals were supposed to obey. He informed them that he was gone so much that his animals had turned half-feral, and she should be careful working with them.

Annabelle assured him that she knew something about animals, and Spot would keep an eye on things for her.

“Hoy, Pitt!,” called a man in rumpled overalls, and thick boots. He had a crumpled hat on his head. “Got a minute?”

“Rain,” said Pitt. “This is my new workers, Annabelle and Spot. They are going to be watching the place whenever I get called away. Annabelle, this is Nigel Raynard. Everybody calls him Rain. His place is against the back of mine on the other side of the mountain.”

“I need some help,” said Raynard. “The apples are ripe for the picking, but my laborers aren't here yet. I stand to lose half my crop. Can you help me?”

“What's the pay?,” asked Pitt.

“I'll give you a barrel if you can get the job done in a week,” said Raynard. “After that, the crop will be rotten, or my regular laborers will be here and I won't need you.”

“Let me talk to my crew,” said Pitt. He gestured for Annabelle and Spot to step back with him to the side of the road to avoid Raynard listening to their decision making process.

“Do we want to do this?,” he asked them. “A barrel of apples is worthless to me.”

“I think we can turn some of it into pies and such, and we can use some to feed the animals on the farm,” said Annabelle. “I don't know how long a barrel will last without rotting.”

“You think we should try?,” asked Pitt.

“We should see how big the job is, and if we can handle it,” said Annabelle.

“All right,” said Pitt. “Ordinarily, I would just pass this up, but maybe getting some supplies that we can smoke for later, or figure out how to freeze until we need it would be good.”

“I think that would be good,” said Annabelle. Spot agreed with her with a bark and tail wag.

“Let's see this orchard of yours, Rain,” said Pitt. “The girl wants to know what kind of work this will be for us.”

“All right,” said Raynard. “But then I am going to need an answer one way or the other. If you can't do it, I will have to see about hiring some townies to do the work.”

“Don't worry,” said Pitt. “If we can't do it, I will be the first to say we can't.”

Raynard turned and led them down the road. They passed the front of Pitt's place. The traveler pointed out his house and where he could build a smaller out building for her and her dog. They kept on down the road until they reached a gate in the wooden fence.

They crossed the property until they stood at the edge of rows of apple trees. They looked like they stretched to Pitt's pasture at that end of his property.

“What do you think?,” asked Raynard.

“You should hire a crew if you need all these apples picked in a week,” said Pitt. “I could maybe pick a few rows by myself, but I couldn't promise to get through them all before they started falling.”

“How many do you think you can grab?,” asked Raynard.

“About a quarter if you can provide the barrels,” said Pitt. “Go ahead and get those. I'll see what I can do.”

“All right,” said Raynard. “It'll take me a bit. They're heavy.”

“Don't worry about that,” said Pitt. “Just bring them out when you have the time. I'll work on the apples themselves.”

“All right,” said the farmer. He turned to walk to his barn on the other side of his orchard.

“All right,” said Pitt. “Let's see how ripe these apples are.”

He jogged from tree to tree. He slapped each trunk with a light motion of his arm. Apples dropped to the ground. He reached the end as Raynard brought out the first barrel.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Raynard froze at all the apples on the ground. He turned his head to take in all of his crop waiting for him to be loaded up to be used.

“How did you do this?,” he asked. His hands motioned to take in all the apples on the ground.

“They were riper than what you thought,” said Pitt. “Go over and get the rest of the barrels. We'll start loading the apples into this one.”

“You're right,” said Raynard. “Let me start bringing the barrels so the apples can be packed.”

He jogged off to start bringing the empty barrels to the orchard.

“Let's start filling this one up,” said Pitt. He waved Annabelle to get started.

“How did you do that?,” she asked as she scrambled to pick the apples off the grass. She placed an armful of the fruit in the barrel.

“They're riper than Rain thought,” said Pitt. He smiled at the disbelief in her face.

“I think you are fibbing,” said Annabelle.

“I have a secret,” said Pitt. “If I told you, you would have to keep it to yourself.”

“I can keep a secret,” said Annabelle.

“I am really strong,” said Pitt. “And the impact on the trunks was enough to make the apples fall.”

“That seems ridiculous,” said Annabelle.

“Trust me,” said Pitt. “No one is supposed to know. That's why I don't tell everybody I can throw part of the mountain at somebody.”

“Is that how you climbed out of the well so fast?,” asked Annabelle.

“Yes,” said Pitt. “Here comes Rain. Remember he doesn't know, and I don't want him to.”

“I can keep a secret,” said Annabelle. “Spot won't say anything either.”

“Good,” said Pitt. “I don't want everybody trying to take advantage and wanting me to use extraordinary strength to take care of their mundane problems.”

“How long have you been extraordinarily strong?,” asked Annabelle.

“Ever since I signed my life away,” said Pitt. “Here's Rain.”

“I'll help you fill these barrels before I go and get some more,” said Raynard. “You two might have put me ahead of schedule this year.”

“What will your regular crew say about that?,” asked Pitt.

“What can they say?,” said Raynard. “They are late this year. I needed them to be here while you were gone, not now that you are back.”

“Don't tell them I helped you,” said Pitt. “Annabelle will be living on my property and I don't want any trouble.”

“Do you mind if I ask what is going on?,” said Raynard. He fell into helping them fill up the barrels.

“The clerics are holding her parents until a knight comes through from the Circle,” said Pitt. “I told them that I would keep the girl safe until she decides what she wants to do.”

“I've already told Mister Pitt that Spot and I would manage his farm if he is called away so it would be here when he gets back,” said Annabelle.

“You do vanish for long stretches sometimes,” said Raynard.

“I know,” said Pitt. “And when the job is over, it's hard for me to get back. Someone watching the farm for me is pretty good in my opinion. If something were to happen to Annabelle, I would be obliged to track down whomever was responsible and rip their heads off. I already talked to the clerics about that.”

“Were those the exact words used?,” asked Raynard.

“Pretty much,” said Pitt.

“I'll keep an eye out when I can,” said Raynard.

“The clerics will be checking in from time to time,” said Pitt. “I think Moesin said he was coming by for dinner in a couple of days. We'll have to get things ship shape before that happens.”

Spot barked and gave him a grin.

“Yes, you're going to need a bath,” said Pitt.

The dog shook his head at that.

“Those clerics won't like a dirty hound,” said Raynard. He smiled at the dog. “They'll want your coat shining.”

“We'll have to look at his herding potential,” said Pitt. “Apparently he was up on the farm defending the animals from the local wolves. That makes him a good watch dog and sentry in my opinion.”

“Spot is very smart,” said Annabelle. “I taught him some things. I'm glad he protected the farm while he was trying to get help for me.”

“I'll have to cover that well too,” said Pitt. “I'll worry about that tomorrow after we assess our food situation.”

“I'll give you some supplies other than these apples, Will,” said Raynard.

“Thanks, Rain,” said Pitt. He finished filling his barrel. “Go ahead and get the rest that you need. We'll finish filling these up while you're doing that.”

Raynard nodded as he walked away to get the rest of his yearly storage containers.

“All right,” said Pitt. “Stand back and let me fill up the rest of these while he's gone. I don't want to be out here all day.”

He waited for Annabelle and Spot to move away from the barrels. He rushed around the orchard and filled the empties up before stacking them beside each other at the edge of the work area. That was enough to clear most of the right side of the orchard. They just had the other side to do before the animals arrived to do what they did with apples on the ground.

Raynard returned with four more barrels on a trolley. He paused at the filled barrels waiting for him.

“Take these, and we will fill the rest up,” said Pitt. “Then we have to look at the homestead and get things settled for the girl and her dog.”

“This is much faster than I expected, Will,” said Raynard. “Don't go anywhere before I come back with the supplies I promised.”

“Go ahead,” said Pitt. “We'll have everything done by the time you come back.”

“I never thought you were a magician,” said Raynard.

“I'm not,” said Pitt. “I'm just fast. I once outran a hunting cat by jumping off the side of a cliff and running all the way down.”

“Sure you did,” said Raynard. “Can you help me with the full barrels?”

Pitt hoisted the full barrels on the trolley and helped roll them to a storage barn away from the orchard. He put them on the ground in the indicated spot.

“Let's see how many Annabelle picked up while we were doing this,” said Pitt. He smiled at his neighbor.

“Are you really keeping her on?,” asked Raynard. He checked the lids on the barrels. Now that he had them in place, he didn't want small animals breaking in and taking whatever they thought they could get their paws on.

“Her parents were doing things they should have known better to be doing,” said Pitt. “The clerics got the word from Mogen Farn, and they gave me the responsibility. So I can refuse and let someone else keep her until the law executes the warrants and stuff, or she can stay at the temple with the clerics. She didn't want to stay with the clerics.”

“And work might make things better for her until things straighten out,” said Raynard.

“I am hoping it will be a while before I have to leave again,” said Pitt. “I'll show her how to hold her own, and we'll see how well Spot can herd the animals. It's the best I can do.”

“Thanks for the help, Will,” said Raynard. “If we do notice you missing, I will send the wife up to check on her.”

“Thanks, Rain,” said Pitt. He turned to finish the job and gather up his foundling before the sun went down.