Chapter 12 - The Brambleburrs and Other Fine Folk
Nothing about Mr. Brambleburr stood out to Hollie. He was a simple looking halfling. His face was broad and plain and rather unassuming. He certainly hadn’t dressed up at all for the Cottagers’ Guild meeting, even though he was the main speaker. The clothes he wore were more suited for laboring outdoors, and in fact, Hollie was sure a bit of mud was caked on the bottom of his pants. And the way he spoke and carried himself was rustic and quite unrefined. Going by looks alone, he was the living embodiment of a country bumpkin.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53917063786_b8e9adfe64_h.jpg]
But when he began his talk, Hollie realized just how much she had misjudged him. He may not have had the intellectual—though admittedly quirky—demeanor of her friend, Mr. Grimsworth, but it was clear enough that Mr. Brambleburr had within him a fountain of knowledge about farming so deep and so wide that he was practically a walking encyclopedia. It was no wonder [Cottagers] from so far afield had traveled to hear him speak.
Though much of what he said went over her head, she tried her best to follow along, taking a few mental notes here and there.
“Water your plants once a week with water that’s been graced with the petals of gleamroot daisies.”
“Early morning watering will give the plants a chance to dry in the sun and keep the roots from sitting in damp soil overnight, helping to prevent rot and the growth of fungi.”
“Planting mirthful morning glories throughout your garden will cheer up your plants, encouraging them to grow larger and bear more fruit.”
His talk lasted nearly an hour as he rambled off on tangents, answered questions from the audience, and told the occasional joke that seemed to entertain himself more so than anyone else—though, Hollie noticed approvingly, everyone there was good-natured enough to humor him with polite smiles and soft chuckles.
When he’d finished his talk, he clapped his hands together loudly and ended with a brusque, “And that is that!”
Everyone around Hollie began to applaud, so she joined in too. And then, out of nowhere and in front of the entire audience, came that bright flash of light, the trumpeting sound, and the dazzling words hovering in the air.
[Cottager XP Gained: 5,
Points Needed for Next Level: 95]
The room went silent and everyone turned towards Hollie. Her face went warm and red, and she wanted nothing more than sink into her chair and disappear from their gaze. Did everyone else get these—what were they? Notifications? Or was it only her?
“Well, look at that!” Mr. Brambleburr’s booming voice echoed through the village hall. “We must have ourselves quite a new [Cottager] if one of my rambling talks can earn her some [XP]. What’s your name, lass?”
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53916067907_d4f23630e4_z.jpg]
Hollie didn’t budge.
“Oh, come on now. Don’t be shy. Nothing to be embarrassed about,” he encouraged.
“Ummm…well, my name is Hollie,” the words stumbled from her mouth slowly and uncertainly. “Hollie Townes. And, I’m…I’m new here?” She shrugged her shoulders as she said the last bit, unsure if she should say anything more—or mention that she wasn’t even from this world.
Mr. Brambleburr’s broad, friendly face was set in a wide smile.
“Hollie Townes,” he said. “Why does that name sound so familiar? Oh, you’re the one who accepted Ash’s job from the Quest Board, aren’t you?”
Hollie nodded her head, still uncomfortably aware of everyone’s gazes.
“Well, how’s about we get everyone off to our lunch now, eh? Gilda’s provided the meal and Elara’s brought along some wonderful baked goods. And Hollie, how’s about you join me and me son, Ash, and me wife, Tansy, at our table for lunch?”
The crowd was already dispersing, making their way to the tables in the back of the room that had been set with dishes and food while the talk was underway.
“Sure. Thank you,” Hollie answered with a nervous smile.
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“Gilda, you’ve really outdone yourself this time,” Tansy said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. The plate in front of her had only minutes before held what Gilda called a [Balnochy Pie]. Now only a few crumbs remained. The little halfling woman, with her rosy cheeks, brown curls, and twinkling eyes, was the perfect picture of pure satisfaction.
“You’re too kind,” Gilda said, the wrinkles on her face lifting upwards as she smiled. “It’s nothing more than I cook up every day at the inn. What do you think, Hollie?”
Hollie did her best to swallow her bite quickly and answer.
“I’ve never had anything this delicious,” she said. “Maybe your [Willowroot Lamb Stew], but this is really something else.”
It was a small, savory pie, round with a deep outer crust and filled on the inside with mutton seasoned with mace and nutmeg, a bit of salt and pepper, and a few other herbs.
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image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53916174082_ee56b4fb3e_c.jpg]
“I’ll give you the recipe if you’d like, dear, though it might require you to be at a higher level of [Cottager] before you can test it out.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Hollie had been nervous about eating lunch with the Brambleburrs. As friendly as Mr. Brambleburr had been, she was still rather shy around people she hadn’t yet met. But Alice, sensing her trepidation, joined her, as did Gilda and Buffin.
Tansy was a pretty halfling woman, and though she seemed to be around the same age as her husband, there wasn’t a wisp of gray in her hair. And whereas her husband had a voice that could have belonged to a giant, hers was light and airy.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53916067912_84fdf8f277_b.jpg]
“Where’s Ash?” Alice asked. “It’s not like him to be late for lunch.”
Mr. Brambleburr chuckled. “No, it’s certainly not.”
“I’m here. I’m here. You don’t have to worry your pretty little ogre head off any more, Alice.”
A small young man poked his head mischievously over the shop keeper’s shoulder, but she grabbed him quickly and ran her knuckles through his hair.
“That’s half-ogre, you little beardless dwarf!”
“Ahhh! Alright, Alice, you got me there. Ahhh! Enough!”
He pried himself free and they both burst out laughing.
“You really need to trim the nails you’ve got on those great big green hands of yours. I can barely tell the difference between them and your bird’s talons!”
“Oh, go stuff your face with a pie already!” Alice said with a grin. She glanced at Hollie, who looked as if she didn’t know what exactly to make of the exchange. “Oh, Hollie, this is Ash. We’ve been friends since we were wee ones. He’s like a brother to me.”
“A big brother,” Ash said.
“You may be older by a month,” Alice countered, “But I’m twice your size. And that makes you the little brother.”
“Whatever you say, Alice,” Ash conceded, winking at Hollie with a mischievous grin as he took the seat beside her. He rubbed his hands together eagerly as Tansy slid a plate across the table towards him. “Ah, Gilda’s good old [Balnochy Pie]! Time to dig in!”
“Hold your horses, young man,” his father bellowed. “Your belly is getting in the way of your manners. This here is Hollie, and she’s accepted the job to help us finish plowing the field.”
“What? Her?” Ash laughed as he looked Hollie over.
Hollie’s cheeks reddened, at first embarrassed by his reaction. But then something inside of her snapped, and she decided she wasn’t going to put up with anyone laughing at her expense.
“And what exactly do you find so hard to believe about that?” she retorted.
Everyone at the table was glaring at Ash, even his parents.
“Look, nothing against you,” he said defensively. “I’ve just never seen you before, and while I’m sure you’re a great [Merchant] or [Crafter] or, whatever you are, you just look a bit too—”
“Incapable?” she snapped. “Inexperienced?”
“Pretty,” he sighed, and quickly added. “You know, delicate like. I don’t mean pretty, like attractive or beautiful… Not that I’m saying you’re not pretty, or anything. It’s just—”
Ash went silent, as did everyone else at the table. They were all staring at him with wide eyes and gaping mouths. It was his turn to blush now. His head hung in embarrassed defeat, he sighed, picked up his fork and knife, and set about digging into his [Balnochy Pie].
“Anyhow, I’m sorry,” he said sheepishly to Hollie, then ended the conversation by taking a bite.
Hollie didn’t know what to say. She’d only just met the Brambleburrs, and even though she felt relatively comfortable around Alice and the Willowroots, she still didn’t know all the social norms of her new home. What was the proper response to a scene like that?
Alice, astute as always, brought things back to normal.
“Hollie is new to Foxley Cross, but she’s been hard at work learning our ways and learning what it means to be a [Cottager]. In fact, she just reached level 2 yesterday!” she boasted proudly, nudging her friend’s shoulder. “Hollie, you should tell them all about your experience helping Mr. Grimsworth with the Spotted Redcaps. She came face to face with a thunderwolf!”
Everyone at the table gasped in unison.
“A thunderwolf!” Buffin exclaimed.
“That must have been frightful!” Gilda added.
“Well go ahead,” Mr. Brambleburr urged, an excited glint in his eyes. “Tell us everything!”
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All in all, the Cottager’s Guild meeting had gone rather well. Hollie had met quite a few new faces. Apart from the Brambleburrs, she’d been introduced to the other halfling farmers in the village: Wilbur and Rosie Goodbarrel, who both sported a bushy crop of fiery red curls, Simon and Marigold Thistletop, who were new parents to a set of triplets who’d been left home in their grandmother’s care, and Hobby and Saffron Greenbottle, an older couple who were both rather tall and thin for halflings. Their four children had left them several years ago and now had farms of their own in more distant parts of the realm.
She’d also been introduced to Fergus Stonehammer, the dwarven blacksmith of Foxley Cross. Despite his tough and grizzled appearance, he gave off a grandfatherly air.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53916174087_05f2f6d4be_b.jpg]
And then there was Elara Copperleaf, the village baker. She was the first elf Hollie had ever met, and apparently the only one living anywhere near Foxley Cross. Elves, it turned out, kept mostly to themselves in small settlements hidden away in the wild places of the world. It wasn’t uncommon to see a few in a large city like Derby, but for one to make their home in a village like Foxley Cross was almost unheard of.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53846654239_8172a404ff_z.jpg]
Althea Thistledown was there as well, selling herbs and teas and other healing potions. She was happy to see that the elvenstar tea had set Hollie to rights again. At the table beside Althea’s was Seraphina Glimmertwine, another halfling, quite young and with a bubbly, radiant countenance. She was the village seamstress and ran a shop called Twinkle and Tassel Tailoring. And then there was Finian Dunforth who ran the lumber mill, Oakley Timberbeard—another dwarf—who was the village carpenter, Theodore Tynfell, the potter, and so many other [Merchants] and [Crafters] and [Cottagers] that Hollie couldn’t keep the names and faces straight in her head.
But everyone had been nice and welcoming. Even Ash Brambleburr—after he’d finished making a fool of himself, that is. He turned out to be rather pleasant company, funny and quick-witted, a good storyteller and an even better listener, and he had this slightly mischievous glint in his green eyes and a friendly, lopsided grin that made Hollie smile.
Now, back home in her cottage and lying in bed, the day’s events and all the new faces swirling about in her mind, it was Ash’s that she came back to over and over again. The shaggy brown hair that framed his face perfectly. The dimples in his cheeks when his smile was wide. The happy tone of his laugh after he told a joke. And that last friendly wink he’d shot her across the room as she left the village hall.
image [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53917206713_4c4e3b11d6_z.jpg]
She let out a startled gasp.
What am I doing?
What am I even thinking about?
I can’t possibly have feelings for Ash, can I?
She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of such thoughts, but they wouldn’t budge. The day had been full of so many unexpected things—Fiona the talking wardrobe, that beautiful but strange golden bird, all the new people she had met, and now this.
This!
“Ugh. It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?” she sighed as she flung the covers off her bed. “I guess I’ll just brew myself one more cup of elvenstar tea.”