I stop at the fruit trees to restock while William and his family pile into the back of the wagon. Little Myra already seems more alert, but not enough to move around yet. Not that her doting mother would let her.

Once we're all in, Terrence takes the driver's seat and guides Stormie through the streets of the city. I removed the tarp from the back so we could see where we were going, but it was pretty much a straight shot to the Barons' manor from the gate.

"Nice place." It's a large, intricately detailed, three-story building that looks to have been made from magically molded stone.

"It's said they hired the best earth mages on the continent to build it." Amelia tries to sound cool, but I can hear the nervousness in her voice.

"Relax Amelia." Apricot squeezes her knee. "He's just another lunker, even if he does live in a fancy house."

"Hehehe." Little Willow giggles at the pixie's words.

"Willow." Sophia hushes her daughter. She didn't seem afraid though, more that she just wanted her to be respectful. I took that as a good sign that the Baron has a good character.

"Are you sure you're alright Sorrel?" Amelia worries as I bite into a peach, I've been slowly snacking on fruit for the whole ride.

"I'll be fine." I wipe up the juice from my chin. "Healing is like doing hard labor all day on an empty stomach. I just need to fuel up and then get a good night's rest."

A carriage rolls up just as we're getting out of the wagon, Roddy and a middle-aged couple climb out a moment later. "Mommy! Daddy!" Amelia runs over and gets pulled into a hug.

The woman, Kaitlyn, looks just like an older version of Amelia. Maybe a few crow’s-feet around her eyes, and laugh lines around her mouth. Her eyes are different though, a sharp hazel color compared to the brilliant blue irises that Amelia shares with her father.

The man, Turner, has a receding hairline in the same shade as his son, a cheerful face, and a slight pot-belly, but the biggest distinguishing characteristic about him is the hugely relieved look on his face at seeing his little girl safe and sound.

"Oh good, you're all here." A proud looking man speaks up from the top of the steps leading into the manor house. He looks to be a good decade older than Amelia's father, but in somewhat better shape.

"Yes, they're here." A woman who looks to be of an age with him brushes past the baron. "Now move so I can see the girl." She doesn't quite look it, but she is definitely radiating that fiery old grandma vibe.

"Baron Pepi, Healer Elise." Farmer William bows to the man and his healer. This leads to a short round of bows and curtseys from the rest of us. Though, Apricot and I shoot each other a quick glance and a minute shrug before following along.

"No need to be so formal, please..." While the baron is talking to William and his wife I'm glued to the healer as she performs a magical scan on Myra.

"Remarkable, you can't even tell that her face was burned." The healer speaks to herself. "And, Martin was sure she would lose those fingers..." She pauses for a moment before staring straight. "You, explain what you did here."

"I couldn't heal her all in one go, so I took care of the worst bits." I state, simply too tired to care about her attitude. "Including her pain." I add when she just glares at me.

"Explain, please." It sounds like that last word cost her.

"A picture is worth a thousand words." Out comes my drawing supplies, and a moment later I'm handing her a before and after picture of the girl's damaged nerve endings.

"You can target your healing that finely?" She sounds impressed.

"It takes longer, but yes. I can." I pull out an apricot to snack on, grinning at the pixie as I take the first bite. "My healing sap lets me transfer my strength to the patient. Without my guiding it, the added vitality would just spread even throughout their body."

"I would love a demonstration." The healer says eagerly.

"Tomorrow." I reply, flatly. "The girls will yell at me if I push myself anymore today."

"You're not wrong about that." Apricot's voice carries more worry than heat.

"Sweetie." I pull her closer with a vine. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but I needed to find out where that line was. So, I'll know not to cross it in the future."

"I suppose I can wait until then." The older woman nods and turns to the baron. "Erick, have them stay the night, I want to be present for the healing tomorrow." Having said her peace, she stalks back inside.

"I like her." Apricot chuckles.

"Elise has always been a bit of a spitfire." Baron Pepi smiles up at her retreating form. "Ah, Mister and Missus Rialta, lovely to see you again." Amelia's brother hangs back with a big smirk on his face as she and their parents join us.

"Sir, Ma'am." I give them a shallow bow, not bothering to take my vine from Apricot's waist. Either they're going to be okay with it, or they aren't, and it's better to find out now.

"You must be Sorrel and Apricot." Amelia's mother eyes us up and down, her eyes lingering for a moment on where I'm holding the pixie. "Thank you for bringing my baby home, but if either of you ever hurt her. I'll make your lives a living hell."

"Understood." There is something to be said about being too exhausted to care.

"Talk about spitfires." The baron laughs. "Alright, if the traditional threats are done, shall we adjourn inside? The supper won't be ready for a while yet, but I received a very interesting report via messenger bird from my youngest son. He wrote to me about a rather remarkable young man that he met on the road."

"Sergeant Simms? Mhm, I had a feeling that he was more than he seemed." I'm surprised the baron's son is only a sergeant, but it's probably some family tradition to start at the bottom or something like that.

"Aye, the stubborn boy decided that he had to work his way up on his own merit using his mother's name." His expression is a mixture of paternal pride and annoyance. "But, I must say that I'm very interested in these games he wrote about."

He's been guiding the six of us to a sitting room while we talk. Myra and her family having been taken away by a servant to their rooms for the night so they can rest up and get changed for the meal.

"May I?" I point to the stack of firewood next to an unused fireplace. "I used up what I had on me rebuilding the farmhouse."

"Let me have a servant bring in some fine woods for you to work with." He nods to one standing by the door who runs off to do just that.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Of course." I pull out some paper instead and start re-creating the book I gave to his son. "My family was really into board games, but I know a few card and dice games as well. Though, Amelia has informed that the deck I'm familiar with is somewhat different than what is used around these parts." I retrieve the deck I made for Amelia and hand it over for him to examine.

"Interesting style." He isolates the face cards and peers at them like he's trying to see if he recognizes anyone.

"Those are copies of basic, everyday cards." I explain. "There are fancier designs, but these are just what I'm used to playing with." I finish up the book just after the servant arrives with several of his compatriots carrying baskets of rough sawn timber.

"My son wrote that there were a lot, but I must admit that I wasn't expecting all this." Pepi says while thumbing through the book.

I know a few more than what's in there too, but they wouldn't properly translate thanks to cultural differences. Even something simple like LIFE would be nearly impossible to re-create without knowing more about this world. Let alone a game like trivial pursuit.

"This is a good selection of the classics, and the most popular stuff. But, games were very popular back home, and there are many more than these." As we talk, I'm doing my best to utilize the fine woods provided to create the best looking games I can.

While I'm chatting with the baron, Amelia and Roddy are getting quizzed by their parents. Apricot is, of course, chiming in with the odd 'helpful' interjection.

"Oh my." Baron Pepi looks up from the book to see a rather large selection of very intricately detailed game boards and pieces. Instead of just painting almost everything like I did for his son, I've used all the different colors of wood as my palette. "You are a rather skilled young man aren't you?"

"It's all thanks to the magic." I say, somewhat embarrassed. "I just need to visualize what I want and let the mana do the hard work."

"You should see him working with living plants." Apricot adds in. "Then it's as if nature itself desires to see his vision out."

"I don't know much about magic, but you truly have a gift." Now, I'm really embarrassed. "I'm not sure about the market for games, but you can easily make a fine living as a craftsman."

"Oh, I might do a bit of art on the side." I create a quick statue of the Baron, and 'paint' it to look as realistic as possible. "But, Amelia has told me I could make the most coin making clothing. Speaking of..." I set a dress shirt I made for myself in front of him. "I'm pretty sure I've figured out starweave, but I've never actually seen it before. Could you tell me if I got it right?"

The Baron and the Rialtas go quiet when I mention starweave, Amelia gets the smuggest smile on her face when her parents crowd close to get a better look. Apricot giggles at their antics, but Rodrick just rolls his eyes.

"This..." He fingers the fabric, and peers at it from just centimeters away. "How? This is star weave alright, and it's even finer than anything I own."

"The idea came to me when I was eating some honey cake." I pick up one of the Catan tiles and show him the back so all he can see if the hexagonal shape. "As for the quality; I've been practicing with finer and finer weaves, so I can make clothes for Apricot to wear when she's her normal pixie size."

"Rodrick!" His mother turns on the young man. "Why didn't you say anything about this when you told us your sister had found herself a man?"

"What is it that one saying that you and dad keep using?" He strokes his chin with a thoughtful look. "Oh yeah. Always treat the customer like a king, because he might just be one."

His father and the baron crack up laughing at the look that comes on her face. "Oh, he got us good, Katey-girl." Turner puts his arm around her shoulders and tows her gobsmacked self back to their chairs.

"You're not though, are you?" Kaitlyn finds her voice after he sits her down.

"Oh goodness, no." Now, it's my turn to laugh. "My mother was basically a clerk, and I'm just a scholar who's good with plants." Mom worked in an office, and even though she tried explaining her job to us, more than once. I still don't know what the hell she does, so 'clerk' is probably the best explanation I could offer.

"I'd say you're good with a bit more than just plants." The baron is still going over the shirt, seemingly wanting to examine every square centimeter. "And, I am definitely going to be one of your first customers."

"I know Amelia was going on about this stuff, but is it really such a big deal?" It took me all of an hour to figure it out, so I'm just not seeing what all the fuss is about. "I can't be the only person to have found the trick to making starweave."

"Oh, every weaver worth the name tries their hand at it at some point." The baron explains. "But, only the Yarnhams in the capital are able to produce it in any quantity."

"Yeah." Amelia adds. "There are rumors that their many-times great grandfather created an enchanted loom, but now I'm wondering if they aren't just a family of nature mages."

"Hmm?" Thinking it over, I can't even picture how a three-axis loom would even work. "They aren't going to be an issue in the future, are they?"

"Not with me as your patron they won't be." The baron states emphatically.

"Thank you." I bow in my chair to the man. I then retrieve the sheaf of designs I drew up this morning and hand them over. "These are a few examples of men's clothing from my homeland, and the surrounding countries. And, I should be able to copy any style you want, provided I get to see an example first."

"I would very much like to take a look through these." A servant just made their presence known at the door to the sitting room. "But, it looks as though the meal is ready to be served." He returns my shirt before guiding us to a richly appointed dining room.

The first thing I notice is little Myra up and about with her arm in a padded sling. She and her sister are surrounded by three women who, judging by their looks are the baron's wife and daughters. The girls' parents are standing nearby looking a bit overwhelmed.

The healer Elise is already seated at a table talking with another woman of the same age. The large, round animal ears on top of her head mark her as some form of beastkin, though I'm unsure which.

"Sorrel, let me introduce you to my other son." He tows me over to where his son is talking with a silver-haired man wearing a military uniform. "Reinholt, Hollen, I'd like you to meet Sorrel, the man who is healing little Myra. Sorrel, this is my eldest Reinholt, and Colonel Hollen Baca the head of the guard around these parts."

"An honor to meet you." I offer up a shallow bow to each in turn.

"The honor is ours." Reinholt looks to be about a decade my senior. "It's not everyday one sees a skilled mage around these parts, let alone one who can heal."

"Oh, I just wish I could do more for her." I glance over at the little girl who's smiling brightly. "My healing sap may be powerful, but it is also very limited in what it can do at one time."

"Speaking of the girl." The colonel has a deep, gravelly voice. "My men have tracked down where the slime came from. Turns out a new alchemist in town was trying to save a few coins by dumping his experiments into the sewers."

"Is that what caused the fire?" I never did learn what the cause was.

"Yes." Baca answers. "The damned thing melted its way straight through the protective grate blocking the river. And, after it ate all the livestock it tried to get into their house. Farmer William was already awake though, and swung a burning branch at it."

"Normally this would have worked fine to kill it." Reinholt takes up the story. "But, whatever alchemical concoction it ate made the slime explode. William was only peppered with burning goop, but their house went up before the water mages could even be alerted. But, I hear someone already replaced it for them." The man laughs at my embarrassed expression.

"What will happen to the alchemist."

"The magistrate will see to him tomorrow, but he'll likely be making potions -under close supervision- for the guard until he can work off his debt to society." He explains. "And, since that debt includes the services of a top-class healer. He's probably going to be at it for a while."

"Good." I nod, rather liking this system of punishment.

"Heh." The colonel snorts. "We should send him down into the sewers to clean up his mess."

"Oh, I think Brovkin is on duty tomorrow." The baron smiles a wicked smile. "He's been known to hand punishments like that. Sorrel, I saw you painting what young Myra's arm looked like for Elise. Could you draw her face as well?"

I look around to make sure the farmers aren't close enough to see before doing as he asked. "Here. And, here is one showing the damage to her hand from the inside. As you can see, the blood vessels and tendons were so damaged that she, most likely, would have lost these two fingers."

"Gods!" Reinholt turns a bit green after seeing the damage.

"I'll be sure that Brovkin sees these." The baron stores the paintings away with magic, his casting about on par with Amelia's before she started getting tutored by Apricot. "But, for now, let's sit down to eat. Before the chef decides to yell at me again."

Pepi's joke lightens the mood, but I catch his son staring at the little girl's restored face. Reinholt then sits down next to a woman and another girl who is maybe a year older than Myra.

"Let me introduce you to the rest of my family." The baron says as we all settle down at a long table. "My darling wife, Grace. Our daughters, Lori and Catrina. Reinholt’s wife, Dulcette, and my grand-daughter Rebecca. You already met my cousin Elise, this is her wife Glynda."

"Quit jawing so we can eat already." Elise speaks up. "Or, do I need to sick Granville on you again?"

Pepi laughs, but gestures for the food to be brought out before she can live up to the threat.

***