They were draped across the seats in the living room, enjoying the glow of the fire and the feeling of (over)full bellies. Tyni had cooked up a storm in the kitchen, making excellent use of the newly stocked pantry and Briar's garden. Amelia didn't know what any of it was, but it was delicious.
"You've outdone yourself, lad! Never thought I'd get tired of bacon and ale, but that filled a hole I didn't know I had!" Tuuka rumbled, still picking bits from his beard.
Tyni just reclined in the armchair, a blissful smile on his face. Amelia had given him the place of honor for all his hard work and was sprawled on the love seat with Briar, both feeling quite stuffed and drowsy.
Lark had been with Alder all day, the two discussing what had happened and what to do about the seed. When she finally made an appearance while they had been eating, she looked exhausted and declined to join them. She had come by just to tell them that Alder had finally been convinced that the seed was no longer safe where it was. They had argued for hours, but the final, convincing argument was that even if he could contain it himself, he wasn't getting any younger, and it was just a matter of time before it became a problem again.
The group discussed the matter of the excavation, then Lark had left. She had duties for the wood she had neglected over the last few days, and couldn't stay.
It was perhaps the news that tomorrow would be a day of hard work that caused them all to dig in with such gusto. Putting away energy for another day, as Tyni had put it. Of course, the tasty food could also have been the cause. Tyni was a fine chef and seemed to truly enjoy seeing others fed and happy.
"Wuf!" grunted Tuuka as he levered himself off the sofa eventually. "I need to go check the mash I started earlier. Brother Tyni isn't the only cook around here! And after that, I think I'm for bed. I've been looking forward to that bed since I saw it!"
There were general sounds of agreement as the rest of them dragged themselves to their feet to finish any last-minute chores before bedtime.
Amelia briefly considered sleeping in the living room on the armchair, as she had been doing. It was really comfortable. But the cottage had gone to all the trouble of building her a whole tower with a gigantic bedroom, it seemed ungrateful not to take advantage of it.
"'night everybody! 'night Whisper! 'night Fern!" she called, poking her head into the kitchen. The two candy-holics were curled up together on top of the stove. They didn't answer, already passed out and dreaming.
Briar headed out to sleep in her own bed, which was only across the yard. She waved and said her good nights, heading out into the cool night air.
The night seemed to pass in a flash, everyone having slept immensely well. Their journey had been relatively short the day before, but it was the first time in a real bed for all except Briar in a considerable time, and the cottage beds were uncommonly comfortable. Each had a selection of pillows, from soft as a cloud to firm as a brick, silky smooth duvets and comforters. The rooms were dark and quiet, and muffled the sounds of other sleepers' snores to perfection.
Amelia only woke up when she did because she hadn't drawn blinds on the slit windows in the room, and a beam of light managed to angle just right to shine on her face.
"Hmrpmp! Harrrrrf!" she mumbled and yawned, waking up. She felt relaxed and refreshed, the aches and pains of the road gone. Her bed was particularly soft, and it took a little effort to pull herself out of the form-fitting divot she'd sunk into overnight.
She was happy to see the usual ewer of steaming water, basin, and thick fluffy towels waiting for her on the armoire. She'd worried she would have to share the one that always appeared for her in the living room, but the cottage had obviously foreseen that issue.
Laundry was going to be an issue eventually, though. Amelia had been handwashing her clothes periodically in the basin, but if there were going to be more people about, they'd need to sort that out soon.
As she thought that, she wondered just how long the miners would stay. They had been hired to do a job, and it seemed likely they would finish that today. Amelia was happy to have them around, but couldn't pay them other than with room and board. They were going to have to stretch to find enough tradable things to pay them as is. But that was a problem for later. She was sure Alder or Lark would have some ideas about that.
Or maybe Gran? It suddenly occurred to her that they should let her know what had been going on. If Amelia had thought of it, she could have posted a letter when she and Picker walked into town. Oh, well, it was a short walk.
After washing up, she headed up the staircase to the library above. There was a large desk in the center of the room, and she found everything she needed to write a letter there. It took longer than she thought it would to compose the letter, considering all that had happened and all she had met since coming to the cottage. It ended up being several pages long when she wrapped it up, her hand cramping and arm sore.
"Whew! If only Gran did telephones, this would be so much easier!" she muttered to herself as she found an envelope and addressed it.
The smell of something cooking wafted up the stairs, and she tidied up the desk before heading down the stairs with the letter in hand.
"Morning missy! How did you sleep?" asked Tuuka, already puttering about the brewery. It smelled of wort, almost drowning out the bacon smell from the kitchen.
"Wonderful! You?"
"Like a baby! Sleeping in that bed did wonders for my back! I'm like a new dwarf! See?" he said, proudly doing toe touches and back arches. "No pain! Huzzah!"
They followed the smell of cooking wafting from the kitchen. Tyni was stirring batter in a bowl, and Picker had been drafted to tend the bacon and sausages, which were sizzling in a truly enormous cast iron skillet Tyni had found in one of the cupboards.
"Food'll be ready soon! Pancakes, sausage, and bacon. Milk, berry juice, and ale to drink. Hope you guys woke up hungry!"
"Bacon! Bacon!" chirped Fern, swooping above the pan and dodging the grease spatter nimbly.
Despite the huge meal Amelia had eaten the evening before, her tummy rumbled loudly enough that Tyni grinned at her.
"That's my girl! Need a heap of food to dig, so make sure to eat up!"
----------------------------------------
The miners had their own picks, shovels, and hard hats. They borrowed a wheelbarrow from Briar, and piled their equipment in it for the walk to the glade. Amelia loaded in her own shovel and a bucket. She had discovered a heavy canvas boiler suit in the armoire, along with leather work gloves. The heavy steel-toed work boots (just her size!) she found in the shed while she was getting the tools. She felt quite properly equipped for excavating.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Tyni had also packed them all lunches and snacks, everything wrapped up in waxed paper and string. They had brought along a couple of the stoneware jugs (one full of milk, one full of ale) which they would keep cold in the creek while they worked.
Despite the heavily laden barrow, they made it to the glade easily. Amelia had worked quite hard over the past few weeks clearing and leveling the paths through the wood, and her efforts paid off.
It seemed a bit strange to see the clearing bathed in sunlight, Alder stretching up to warm his limbs. It had been so stressful having the whole area wrapped in writhing dark shadows that Amelia felt the image was burned into her mind.
But the glade was free. All the grass and bushes had been shriveled to dust, however, except for Alder. Even that stately old oak had suffered, but he seemed to be largely okay.
"Haroom! Good morning, Caretaker! Good morning new friends! A fine day, a fine day!" said the oak, his deep voice rumbling in their chests. "I'm sorry for my caution delaying your work, but Lark has convinced me that this must be done. I have to admit, being free of the duty is intriguing! I believe I'll take a vacation, maybe travel a bit with my new free time." he said, a humorous glint in his eye.
"Any time, big guy! We'll save your spot for you!" laughed Amelia, running up to wrap her arms around the tree.
"Oomph! Well, can't get hugs like that if I go, so perhaps I'll stay for a little longer. Besides, I've put down roots here, don't you know. Hah!" chortled the guardian. Amelia could tell he was struggling to maintain good spirits. His bark was peeling in places, and several of his limbs were shriveled. She didn't know if he was in pain, but he couldn't be feeling his best, regardless.
"So where do we dig for this thing?" she asked him. Better to get on with it and let him rest when they were done.
"Humph. I don't actually know. Until Lark explained the situation, I had no idea anything was hidden in this clearing. But it seems to me that the place to start is a couple of Amelia-sized paces from the pine tree over there to the north. The center of the clearing would have been about there before my kin slowly passed. As they went, one by one, the forest reclaimed the clearing and started filling it in. It used to be almost twice as large as it is now, years and years ago."
Picker walked over towards the spot Alder described and was guided a bit by the oak until he stood in the correct place.
"Humph! Right there, friend goblin. Close enough. You'll probably have to dig a big hole, both wide and deep. But that should start you in the best spot."
The goblin stuck a stake marked with an orange flag down at the spot, then used string and some more flagged stakes to mark out a large circular area.
"We'll start in the center, and make a bowl shape, going out as we go down. That way the sides won't collapse on us, and it will be easier to get in and out. And haul the spoil out, of course." Tyni said, all business now that they were ready to start digging.
Everybody snugged down their helmets, pulled on their gloves, and got to work. They took turns with one of the trio of miners standing off to the side resting, but also calling out directions for the ones digging so they kept an even excavation. They also alternated using a pick to loosen the soil, the shovel to load it into the barrow, or to haul off the dirt to the spoil heap.
Amelia was glad of her weeks of maintenance work that had toughened up her muscles for this kind of thing. But the two dwarves and goblin were far fitter and more experienced and worked much faster. Still, she was able to help out, although the goblin-sized barrow was awkward for her to maneuver, being so low to the ground. It wasn't long before her back ached from pushing it, so she opted to spend more time using the shovel she had brought.
Their work soon attracted an audience. Amelia wasn't sure if Lark had told the inhabitants of the wood, or else if the noise drew them, but soon the trees surrounding the clearing were packed with birds. Blue and Beige were bolder and flew right into the hole being dug to snap up some of the writhing earthworms that were exposed.
"Hi, Beige! Hi, Blue! Good to see you guys! Miss me?" she waved to them, taking a brief break to lean on her shovel. It was a cool day, but she had already stripped off her hoodie, and her t-shirt was already soaked in sweat.
Beige lifted her beak up in the air as she slurped down a juicy wriggler, then bobbed her head at Amelia. Blue waved with one wing, before continuing the hunt. A few other birds flew down and joined in the feast, but they tended to stay as far from the diggers as possible, choosing to scratch through the spoil heap. Beige and Blue got the best of the worms, though, nimbly dodging between the feet of the diggers and nabbing them fresh off the shovel.
They dug until the sun was high overhead, then broke for lunch and some shade. Picker retrieved the ice-cold jugs from the stream, and they picnicked underneath Alder's branches.
They had made a good start, but it was hard going. There was a network of old roots that enmeshed the dirt, and they had to use a mattock Amelia hastily fetched from the shed to cut through them. They had worried about doing harm to the oak, but he was fairly far from the digging and assured them he would be fine. It did slow them down considerably, though. The pile of dirt had grown taller than the dwarves heads and sprawled far in all directions. But the hole was only a few feet deep at the center and stretched about 20 feet across.
"This is gonna take forever" sighed Amelia.
"Digging's slow work, missy. Builds character, though! And muscle!" answered Tyni.
She rubbed her aching shoulders and back. "I hope we find it soon. I don't need much more character!"
Tyni guffawed.
They got back to work after letting their lunch settle. The digging got slightly easier as they got past the roots, but then they encountered the buried rocks. They varied in size from tiny to huge, and Amelia grew to dread the sound the picks and shovels made when they struck one.
They labored for several more hours until the sun dropped below the edge of the trees and the shadows started to grow.
"Enough for today, at least. Good work everybody!" announced Tuuka as he stretched and rubbed his arms. The hole had grown another foot or so deeper, and quite a bit wider, but they had yet to find any sign of anything buried. "With any luck, we can find it tomorrow, or maybe the day after. Unless it is really deep. Let's hope not."
They loaded up their tools, washed off much of their accumulated grime in the creek. Then they bade Alder a good evening and retired back to the cottage. They were all pleasantly surprised to find not pitchers of warm water, but half-tun tubs filled with steaming water instead. They all thanked the cottage as they soaked in their respective rooms and let their muscles loosen and relax.
Amelia was toweling her hair dry as she made her way into the living room. She hadn't had a bath in ages. She'd waded and sat in the creek a few times, but it just wasn't the same as a big tub of hot water. She felt amazing, despite having done hard labor all day.
Tyni had thoughtfully nipped out and put together a stew to simmer when they found the baths waiting for them, so by the time everybody emerged it was ready to eat. There was some crusty bread that was starting to go stale, so that got toasted up and went very well with the stew.
"Phew! A few more days of this and I'll be truly spoiled!" said Tuuka from his sprawl on the sofa. "It's gonna be tough going back on the road from this, no word of a lie!"
"Fat! Fat!" agreed Fern, stretched out on the arm of the sofa, rubbing her bloated belly.
Picker grunted in agreement from where he was curled up on the other end of the couch, already nearly asleep.
Amelia hesitated only for a minute. "You guys are welcome to stay around here for a while. I'm sure there are some projects that could use your know-how and muscle. I can ask Alder about it tomorrow, maybe he can think of some things."
Picker sat up at that and looked meaningfully at Tuuka. Amelia took that as a good hint to let the two talk.
"I'm gonna go bake some bread for tomorrow. You guys think about it. And even if you don't want to stay for a long time, we'd love to have you as guests between jobs, if you needed a place to stay for a bit."
"Missy, that is a fine offer. I don't know about those two, but I'm sorely tempted!" said Tyni, who was puttering about in the kitchen. "But I have a wee one at home and a missus, and the rest of my family. I need to earn money for them, and the same is true for the other guys. We don't have to rush off, though, mind. Maybe fatten ourselves up a bit for the road, while you'll have us."
"Sure thing! It's nice to have company for a change! Well, company that doesn't eat all my candy when I'm not looking, that is." she said with a faux glare at Whisper, warming herself in her usual spot.
"Were you there all day? I didn't see you when we left, or the whole time we were working. Afraid we'd make you help?" she teased. The wisp rolled over and reflattend itself, ignoring her needling.
"You should join us tomorrow if you want any of that pie Tyni is putting together. That's for workers only." she poked the wisp gently with her finger.