Chapter 13 - A First Lesson in Farming
The extra cup of elvenstar tea did eventually put Hollie’s racing mind to rest. She slept well and awoke before the sunrise, energized and ready to get going. She had that same jittery, hundred-miles-an-hour, racing feeling that she’d had the day before. She could feel it in every nerve ending, buzzing like a million frenzied bees.
Fiona had cleaned and readied the outfit she wore when working in the garden and wished her the best of luck on her endeavor. Hollie dressed quickly, then loped down the stairs, skipping every other one, and charged into the kitchen. The Codex was resting on the table beside her Cookbook. Hollie opened it to the front page and saw that she had [200 Energy], a much higher amount than her normal [100 Energy].
Not wanting to waste any of it cooking, she had the [Cookbook] whip her up a [Simple Hearty Breakfast] and a dozen [Scones]. She’d bring these over with some jam and clotted cream as a gift to the Brambleburrs.
When she’d finished eating, she used a bit of [Magic] to clean the kitchen, then went out the back door to water her garden. The sun was still hidden from view, but the deep velvety blue of the night sky was starting to give way to the softer hues of early morning. None of her crops had sprouted yet, but according to the Codex, it would only be a couple more days before the first sprigs of green would make their appearance.
Back inside the cottage, she grabbed her backpack, making sure it contained not just the Map, compass, and spyglass, but an extra pair of thick, woolen socks and another set of boots should the ones she was wearing get too wet or caked in mud.
“And of course I can’t forget you,” she said to the Codex as she tightened the strings of her backpack.
Hollie slung the backpack over her shoulder, grabbed the picnic basket she’d filled with the [Scones] and toppings, and made her way out the door. She gave her cottage one last, loving glance before setting out on the road. The little house with its warm, glowing light shining through the latticed windows, and its honeycomb brick walls and thatched roof, never ceased to fill her with a sense of comfort and delight. Wherever she was from, and however she’d ended up here, she was blessed indeed.
“Alright,” she said to herself. “Off to Brambleburr Farm.”
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Hollie had never made the trek to Foxley Cross so early in the morning. By the time she’d left the forest behind her, the sun was just beginning to appear over the hills, casting its soft, pale light over the valley below. The sky that morning was cloudless, and hues of pastel pinks, purples, and blues stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, making it appear larger and vaster than Hollie had ever seen it.
Dew drops still blanketed the grass and hung like glistening beads from the petals of wildflowers. The air was astir with the fluttering of wings and the melodies of songbirds as they scoured the fields for their morning meals. And in the pastures across the valley came the distant bleats of sheep and lowing of cows, waking from their slumber.
If Hollie hadn’t needed to be at the Brambleburrs’ Farm to start her work, she would have taken the time to sketch the scene as best as she could. Another day, she told herself. Still, she paused to commit the scene to memory and inhaled the sweet aroma of the wild, beautiful morning before continuing on.
Invigorated by the elvenstar tea, her feet swept her down the cobblestone road to Foxley Cross faster than usual. The little town was just waking up when she passed through the northern gate, and the clock tower in the village square showed that it was only 6:53 in the morning.
Hollie glanced at Alice’s shop. The downstairs windows were dark, though a dim light shone in one of the upstairs rooms. The shopkeeper must be getting ready for the day. Or perhaps her father. Hollie still had yet to meet Alice’s father, a full-fledged ogre who apparently preferred to keep to himself.
Across the square, smoke was puffing steadily up from the great kitchen chimney in The Jolly Gnome. Hollie could imagine Gilda, tiny as a mite, busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast for any overnight guests.
Hollie pressed on, and within a few minutes she was out the gate on the south side of town. The cobblestone road continued on, though where it led she didn’t know. Just outside the gate, it branched off into a smaller dirt road that ran southwest around the outskirts of the village and toward the great river that coursed its way through the fertile valley that Foxley Cross called home. If she followed it, she would reach the brewery, and then the road that ran from the west gate into the village all the way to Willow’s Wind.
But she had no need to travel that far, for Brambleburr Farm was the first homestead she came to. She’d seen it on her map, and gotten a distant view of it when she’d climbed the hills the day before, but up close it was a far lovelier place than she’d imagined.
Hollie had expected the farmhouse to be rather small considering the halflings’ size. All the ones she met yesterday were no more than four feet tall. That was considerably taller than gnomes—discounting their pointy felt hats, Gilda and Buffin Willowroot only reached to her knees—and only slightly smaller than dwarves—if Fergus Stonehammer was a typical example of his kind. But there was no sizable difference between the Brambleburrs’ farmhouse and her cottage, though unlike her home, it appeared to be only a single story.
There was an arched wooden doorway in the middle. The door itself was painted a cheery yellow while the frame was the rich green color of the surrounding countryside. The walls of the farmhouse were made of wattle and daub, and they stretched far on either side of the door. There were a few little round windows, and these were set closer to the ground. Flower boxes hung from their frames, sporting an assortment of colorful blooms. And the roof, like Hollie’s, was made of yellow thatching that shone like gold in the early morning light.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53932207253_7ae1e5eaeb_h.jpg]
Hollie approached the door and gave it a nervous rap. She felt on edge, and she didn’t know if it was from the elvenstar tea or fear that she might have gotten herself in over her head. After all, what did she know about farming? Clearing out a garden and planting a few seeds was far different from plowing and planting a field.
The door swung open and a gleaming round face smiled up at Hollie.
“Well, good morning, dearie!” said Tansy. She had on a green checkered apron dusted with flour which had also made its way up to her rosy cheeks and tiny snub nose. “I’ve just been readying the day’s baking. You’re in for a real treat later. I’ll have some fresh sourdough when it comes time for dinner! Now, come on in, why don’t you,” Tansy ushered Hollie inside with a wave of her hand. “And watch your head. Bernard’s grandfather built this house a bit larger than a typical halfling home since Foxley Cross is a mostly human town and we have human visitors often, but there are still some low spots and wooden beams on the ceiling that wouldn’t feel too nice if you were to clunk your head on them!”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The front room was large and open, with a roaring fireplace, two plush-looking couches, and a few leather armchairs. Two long, winding hallways branched off on either side and, like Hollie’s cottage, an open doorway in the back of the room led to the kitchen.
“Bernard is out feeding the pigs, even though he really should be resting that foot of his!” Tansy let out an exasperated sigh. “But you know how men are. Stubborn as all get out. Especially farming men.”
Hollie didn’t know how men were—especially farming men—but she nodded her head in polite agreement.
“And Ash?” Hollie asked.
Tansy arched her eyebrows and gave Hollie a knowing look.
“Where do you think?”
Hollie followed Tansy into the kitchen. There, seated at a great round table, was Ash with three plates of food in front of him. One was piled high with pancakes. Another had a few eggs and sausages. And the last one was filled with hashed, seasoned potatoes. He’d just stuffed his mouth with a huge bite of the pancakes when he noticed Hollie standing there, watching him wide-eyed and speechless. He waved a hand at her.
“Hi there, Hollie!” he managed to get out a muffled greeting as he chewed.
He looked ridiculous, but somehow still…cute.
Hollie blushed and shook her head. She was the one being ridiculous, thinking ridiculous things.
“Have you eaten already, Hollie?” Tansy asked. “There’s more than enough to go around.”
Hollie smiled at the genial little halfling woman.
“I did,” she said. “But thank you for offering. Oh, and I brought some [Scones] for you, if you’d like.”
“Oh, thank you, dearie!” She held the basket to her nose and took a great sniff. “Smells delicious. I can’t wait to try them later. And Mr. Brambleburr has a soft spot for [Scones] himself.” She placed the picnic basket at the table and turned back to Hollie. “Well, this one here won’t take too long. He can scarf a breakfast like that down in just a few minutes. And when he’s finished, he can show you what work needs to be done.”
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“This here is Oats,” Ash reached his hand high to give the big, burly ox a pat on its wide snout. “And this one is Barley. They’re going to help us plow the field.”
Hollie had never seen cows up close like this. Or not that she could remember. Both of the animals were as tall as she was. And as for Ash, they could easily bowl him over and trample him beneath their hooves if they wanted.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53932296384_32c5222f9d_b.jpg]
“Don’t worry. They’re docile things really,” he reassured her. “We’ve raised them since they were born. And of course, they aren’t like bulls, if you know what I mean. They’ve been—altered.”
“Oh!” Hollie exclaimed when she realized what Ash was telling her. “I guess that makes sense.”
He laughed. “Boy, you really do have a lot to learn, don’t you?”
“Sure,” she said defensively, “But I’m here to learn. And I’m always up for a challenge. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
Ash grinned at her, his dimples showing. “Good. Because I kind of like having you around.”
Hollie blushed and quickly looked away.
“So, are you going to show me how to hook them up to that…that…thingamabob over there?” She pointed to a large wooden contraption hanging from the wall of the barn.
“The yoke?” Ash laughed. “Of course. You ready?”
“Yep. Just show me what to do!”
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“The soil here is rather light,” Ash explained to Hollie as he fastened the yoke around the necks of the oxen. She was amazed at how easily he controlled the big steers, turning their heads and fitting the equipment on them without issue. “If we had heavier soil, we’d need more than just these two fellows. Now, Oats here will be on the left, and Barley will be on the right. We always give the one on the left a single syllable name while the one on the right has two. Now, why don’t you take the ropes and lead them over to the side of the barn. I’ll just go and get the plow. I’ll be right back.”
Hollie didn’t feel too confident that the oxen would follow her lead, but she didn’t think Ash would ask her to do something if it wouldn’t work. She grabbed the rope and started to walk away, and to her surprise, the oxen followed behind without a fight. Ash reappeared from the barn with a plow that looked twice his size.
“How is it they listen so well?” Hollie asked.
“Training,” he said. “Even when they’re little calves, we teach them how to work in a team and how to follow a lead. It’s especially important when the farmers are, like me, half their size! Now,” he pointed to a barren strip of land in the distance. “We’ll be headed for that field over there. I’ll carry the plow. You grab the ropes and lead the cows.” He started toward the field, leaving Hollie to follow behind. “This year we’ll be planting peas and bush beans. We rotate the crops each year, and legumes help improve the soil for the wheat we’ll plant next go around.”
“And what are all those little rises and dips in the fields?” Hollie asked. “I’ve always seen them from the distance when I’m walking into town, but I didn’t know what they could be.”
“Ah,” Ash smiled. “Those would be ridges and furrows. A long time ago, even before my grandfather came to Foxley Cross, most villages had something called an open field system of farming. There weren’t fences or boundaries or things like that.”
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53932214938_0601761ae1_h.jpg]
“So everyone just shared everything?”
“Not exactly. The point was to make sure no one person had the best land, so all the farmland was split up into strips. There were three large fields, far bigger than any of us farmers have now, and all the farmers drew lots for the strips they would tend.”
“But what does that have to do with the ridges?”
“Well, all the farmers would go out together and plow the fields with teams of oxen. They’d keep them in as straight a line as possible. Year after year, plowing the same strips over and over caused the ridges and furrows, which in turn helped to mark off the various strips of land that were parceled out.”
“But you don’t do that any more?” Hollie asked, her voice straining.
Ash glanced back and saw her pulling the rope with all her might, trying to guide the oxen back on course. They’d gotten distracted by a rather large clump of green clover. He was about to set down the plow and help her out when she finally managed to pull them away. Now, their mouths full of clover, they followed her contentedly once more.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53932308979_f076613097_b.jpg]
Ash laughed at the sight, and Hollie did too.
“No, we don’t farm that way any more,” he continued. “At least not around here. I’ve heard there are other villages around the kingdom that still do. Anyhow, we’ve enclosed the fields now. These three that you see belong to my family. Then way over there are fields that belong to the MacBain family. They’re human farmers, not halflings. And we keep our livestock enclosed too, though at certain times of the year we all let our sheep out to graze in the hills.”
He stopped and laid the plow on the ground, then stretched his shoulders. Hollie brought the oxen to a halt behind him.
“Alright, time to hook them up,” he said. “We’ll take turns. One of us will man the plow for a bit, and the other will help guide the oxen, keeping them in as straight a line as possible.”
“Oh, well that sounds simple enough,” Hollie said, her voice oozing with bold confidence. “Not difficult at all! Are you sure you really even need me here?”
Ash was about to protest when he noticed the cheeky grin on her face, and he laughed.
“Good one!” he nodded with approval. “You almost had me there. Because there’s certainly nothing simple about it. It’s hard work, digging that plow into the dirt and keeping Oats and Barley on task. It’ll probably take us all day just to plow half this field!”
Hollie’s eyes swept across the barren land stretching out every which way before her.
“I can imagine,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll be worn out by the time we’re finished. But I could do with the [XP] and the balnochs, so it’ll be worth it. And I’ve had some elvenstar tea to give me a boost.”
“Elvenstar tea?” Ash arched an eyebrow at her. “Well, now, that’ll certainly help! Let’s get going, shall we?”