Amelia felt mostly recovered after only a few hours of resting. She was in the kitchen putting together a lunch to take to the crew in the glade. Lark had arrived as she was working, and they took some time to catch up.

"I am curious where that hag you released went to. We do not need any trouble, and I am not sure whether she would be a quiet neighbor." stated the bird.

"Yeah, I wonder about that too. Should I warn Sandy and the others in town?"

"No, they will be fine. Few from elsewhere may pass freely into the mortal realm. Those who are able often have difficulty interacting with mortals. It is unlikely the hag could trouble anyone."

"Huh! Sandy kept ignoring Picker when we went in for supplies. I thought maybe she just didn't like short people or something."

"She would have a hard time remembering that he was present if she even noticed him at all. It is an odd thing, but perhaps for the best. Fret not for the townsfolk."

"Thanks, Lark! I really was worried. But I couldn't think of what to tell them. Watch out for the boogeywoman? Keep an eye on the toffees?" replied Amelia.

"Best not to mention it, regardless."

Amelia nodded, tying up the waxed-paper-wrapped parcels with twine.

"The rest of the hollow doing ok? I haven't done rounds in a few days. Any downed branches or blocked creeks?"

"No, Caretaker, all is well. It is usually after storms that such work is needed. Assuming no future trouble from the hag, then all should be quiet. We have some friction between a few of the inhabitants, but nothing I cannot manage." stated Lark.

Amelia grabbed her rucksack from the back of the front door and started loading packages and bottles into it.

"So the thing I'm worried about now is how we pay the boys. They've done a great job, both digging that hole and filling it in. And they deserve a bonus, going into that place with me. Danger pay! I hope they like berries and jam, though, since that is all we have." She said, then thought for a moment. "I guess they could help themselves from the larder and cellar, but that still doesn't seem like fair trade. They did save my life, after all!"

"I think they would consider themselves well paid if you made that offer. They could carry a considerable amount of meat and alcohol. Room and board plus whatever provisions they can shift would be a fair trade."

"But Tyni did all the cooking, Picker kept bringing in fish to eat, and Tuuka got the brewery up and running! Still seems like we got the better end of the deal. I just wish we had some money to give them, is all." she said, thinking of the times she'd worked for her own keep. Food and a place to sleep were always nice, but you couldn't exactly save them for a rainy day.

"Is that all? My apologies, Caretaker, but that is not an issue. The former Singer for the Wood taught me a spell to conjure as much gold as we could ever need."

"What? Then why did we take trade goods to the Night Market? They were heavy!" protested Amelia.

"I believe you will find that gold is not exactly light. But as to why, one of the peculiarities of the Night Market is that money is rarely accepted there. Instead, trade or service in-kind is the accepted medium of exchange."

"Oh. Huh!" answered the girl, stumped. "Faerie land is weird!"

"You will not get a rise out of me this time, Caretaker. You should know that the realm of the Night Market is named 'Whimsy', not 'Faerie'. I clearly have neglected your education, which we will resume immediately!"

Amelia's whistling muscles ached at the very mention of more 'education'. The bird was a hard task mistress and demanded exemplary work. Which was hard when you weren't born to twitter like a bird.

"Yeah, the whistling has been useful. I sound like a toddler when I use it, but it works. I just gotta learn how to address which core I'm speaking to. Right now they both answer, and that gets confusing."

"Indeed. I did not know a response was possible, but then I am not the Caretaker. I simply make requests, and they happen, or do not."

"I wanna see you whistle up some gold! That sounds cool!"

Lark cocked her head at her pupil, settled her wings, which looked for all the world like a shrug.

"Very well. It is for a good cause, and a chance to educate. So listen closely." she said. The bird then took her singing stance, tensing her muscles and breathing deeply, before bursting into a short burst of song, trilling and chirping liquidly.

Amelia gaped as she realized she could understand it--at least, she recognized words and numbers, but the arrangement and odd grammar made no sense. She was even more surprised when a neat heap of gold coins appeared on the table, just a foot or so from Lark.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, snatching up one of the coins. It had a profile of a lady's head on one side, and a lyre on the other. And as her teacher had said, it was strangely heavy.

"So shiny! Wow! Wow wow wow!"

"I am glad you are pleased, Caretaker. It is a simple incantation, but great care must be taken. You must know the exact name of the thing you wish to create, and there are a great many, more than could be learned in a lifetime. As well, you must specify where to place the created object, and not intersect something or someone that already occupies that space." The bird said, wheezing a bit, winded from the summoning.

"I trust you will not be careless in using this knowledge."

"Umm, what would happen if I got it wrong?" Amelia asked.

"If you misname or ask for an invalid object, nothing. The greatest risk is summoning an object in the same location as oneself, or something nearby. That can be fatal. And messy. It also takes a good deal of energy, which should not be underestimated." stated the bird. She gave the girl a very stern look. "You are not to use that until you have a chance to practice under my close supervision, understood, Caretaker?"

Amelia agreed, suitably dissuaded.

The coins were scooped into a cloth bag and added to the backpack. After Amelia tried to stand up with the pack on, the decision was made to leave the bag of coins on the table to be given to the miners later. She was certain they'd rather have the bottles of ale now, anyways, and the combination was more than she could lug, even the short distance to the glade.

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The miners were making very swift work of refilling the hole they had dug. The mound of loose earth to the side of the glade was greatly diminished when Lark and Amelia arrived to deliver lunch.

"Great work, guys! I thought it'd take a lot longer!" Amelia declared as they looked at what was left to do.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Nah, filling in is the easy part, missy, like I said before. No chopping through roots or digging around rocks to worry about. We'll be done before dark, or I'm no dwarf!" boasted Tuuka. Tyni and Picker, resting on their shovels, nodded in agreement.

The boiler suits they all wore were completely covered in dirt. The two dwarves had doffed their tops, rolling them up and tying the arms like belts. Their vests, once white, were muddy and sweat-stained. Dressed like that, it was obvious both were extremely muscular. Picker, self-conscious of his own svelte physique, had just unzipped his suit a little ways. The goblin had a large cloth wrapped around his head to keep the sun off and filter out the dust.

Amelia spread a blanket out on the ground, and the group settled down to consume the sandwiches and drinks she'd brought.

"Bacon, bacon, and tomato sandwich! Brilliant, missy! Just the thing!" praised Tyni as he bit into the two-inch thick concoction.

"The tomatoes are fresh from the garden. Briar thought you'd like them!"

"They're great! They do take up precious bacon space, but I suppose it still works." Tyni said with a grin. Tuuka and Picker smiled with their mouths full, chins dripping with grease.

"Glad you like 'em! Also, before I forget, we have money for you guys when you get back to the cottage tonight. I hope a hundred gold coins is enough?"

Luckily, Tyni wasn't chewing when Amelia asked that, so he was free to smack Picker on the back when the goblin choked at the words. Tuuka looked like he was going to spit out the swig of ale he had taken, but managed to swallow it with a cough and splutter.

"Excuse me, missy? Excuse me? Did you say one hundred coins? One hundred gold coins? One hundred gold coins?" sputtered Tuuka, gobsmacked.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Is that too little? How much should it be? I don't want to insult you guys! We're friends!" she wailed.

Tuuka and Tyni exchanged glances. "Well, you see, missy, we were happy with the food and beds you gave us. We haven't lived like that in, well, ever!" said Tuuka.

"You let me use the kitchen and cook whatever I wanted!" added Tyni.

"The brewery as well." continued Tuuka.

"Fishing!" gasped the goblin huskily, still clearing his throat.

"Besides, where would you dig up that kind of money anyways, missy? I bet old Reginald hisself hasn't seen that many coins all at once, much less gold!"

"Um, Lark, uh, found them," answered Amelia, after seeing the look Lark was giving her.

"Indeed. The hollow has many treasures. You have done us a great service, and we are happy to pay what we owe." intoned the bird.

"Right, right. But the going rate for this kind of work, three workers, plus expenses, minus room and board, own tools provided, wear and tear, uh ..." Tuuka calculated rapidly under his breath, his black beard wobbling as his lips worked silently. "Say about six silver commons. That would be fair. Taking more than that would feel like we were robbing you, after all your kindnesses."

It pained the dwarf to state such a low figure, but both Tyni and Picker agreed. Greed was good, but honesty with friends (who fed you bacon! and beer!) was best.

"Oh. All we have is gold coins, though. But if you don't want them ..." Amelia trailed off. She had no real use for them here, and she was sure the trio could use the money.

"Well, if you put it like that ... Maybe we could take a few gold, and invest the rest ... For our families ..." Tuuka trailed off, looking to the others for approval.

"We could ask Reginald. That old pig would know what to do with that kind of money." ventured Tyni.

The three drew together and started discussing ideas, so Amelia wandered over to Alder on the far side of the glade, so they would have a little privacy.

"Hoom hoom hoom! Greetings, Caretaker! Just resting my eyes. The sun just feels so good after those shadows." boomed the ancient oak tree.

Amelia wrapped her arms as far around his trunk as they would go and hugged him tightly. She had taken to doing that frequently, reminded how lonely he must feel once she learned he used to have a large family circle, literally. He was the last of the guardian oaks, though, and she tried to visit and hug him as often as she could to keep him company.

"Ahoom! Thank you, young one! Something trees can't do, don't you know! I wish I could hug you back, ahoom!"

Amelia sniffled a bit, pressing her cheek against his rough bark.

"Hum! Why so sad, young one? What bothers you?" he rumbled.

"I'm sorry, Alder! I always feel sad when I see you alone here," she responded.

"Alone? Ahoom! My kin are gone, true, but I am never alone in the hollow. The birds, fish, and creatures of the wood all come to keep me company. Ahoom hoom! But thank you for the kind thoughts!"

Amelia released her hug and stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm also a little sad because my friends will be leaving soon." She glanced over to where the goblin and two dwarves were still whispering in conference.

"Ah, yes, the diggers. They have done fine work, and are cleaning up after themselves as well. It will be sad to see them go. Ahoom! This clearing hasn't seen such activity in ages!" he said. "But why must they go? Hoom hoom! There is plenty of room here in the hollow. Hum!"

"I already asked. They said they have families to return to, so they can't stay."

"Hoom, families, yes, ahoom hoom. Couldn't they come here? We could use some fresh blood in this wood! Shake things up, hum hoom, like you have! New ideas and points of view! Ahoom!"

"Bring their families? I hadn't thought of that. I don't know if the cottage could even make that much room, though."

"Hum hum! Well now, don't goblins and dwarves prefer to live underground?"

Amelia followed his gaze to the still-exposed stone slab that marked the entrance to the vault.

"Alder, that's brilliant! There's plenty of room in there! What a great idea!" She gave the tree another hug, then dashed over to the bickering trio.

"Live here! With your families! Bring them!" she gasped, butting in.

The three looked even more shocked than they had at the amount of money they were offered.

"Large family." croaked the goblin, throat still sore from earlier.

"Hmmm. Neither Tyni's nor mine are that numerous, but the point stands. That would be too much of an imposition, even with that marvelous house of yours." stated Tuuka.

Amelia turned and pointed at the entrance to the vault. "How about there, then? The hag is gone, and you know how to get past the first room. The only obstacle left is clearing out those mushrooms and the creepy zombie things. I'll bet Briar could help with that! She could probably whip up a shroomacide that would do the trick!"

Picker's eyes gleamed at the thought. It had been a gigantic cavern, although he wasn't wild about dealing with the spores again. Tyni and Tuuka both remembered the traces of ore they'd spotted. Rich veins, easily accessed.

"And you could use the brewery! And Tyni could keep using the kitchen, and Picker can fish all he wants!" continued Amelia.

The three shared meaningful looks, nodding in agreement.

"I can't make any promises, but that is a mighty convincing argument, missy!"

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Later, after baths and dinner, they discussed the details long into the night. The sack of gold coins had been emptied onto the center of the table to make a shimmering centerpiece. The miners preferred to have it out where they could see it. They would each occasionally reach out and finger the coins periodically to assure themselves it was still real.

True to their estimate, the work in the glade had been completed. They had even replaced the turves carefully cut and set aside at the outset. One could hardly tell anything had happened in the clearing. Except for the stone lid that was left unburied, of course.

It was late when they retired to their respective bedrooms, but all found it hard to sleep, excited as they were at the plan Amelia had laid out. It had taken less effort than she had thought to convince them it would work. Most of the conversation was ironing out specifics, then planning the trip home to gather their belongings and families. In the end, it was decided that the trio would head out early the next morning, and return in a few weeks. It would take time to make the journey home, convince their loved ones of the opportunity, pack, and return.

Amelia herself tossed and turned for several hours, also too excited to sleep.

Alder and Lark had even been happy with the plan. The idea of new inhabitants excited them both. The hollow wasn't exactly deserted, but most who lived there kept to themselves, and it could be a very lonely place. The thought of a swarm of noisy, active dwarves and goblins appealed to them. If their kin was anything like Picker, Tuuka, and Tyni, they would all become fast friends. And the wood would ring with voices and laughter, which would be a very good thing!

She hugged a pillow to herself and squealed with glee. She had come here afraid she'd be lonely, now she had so many friends! And more to come! It was almost too much to bear!

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Dearest Amelia!

It gladdens my heart that you have found your place and settled in. I knew that you were the right one for caretaker! I absolutely adore the idea of making the Hollow a home for your new friends and their families. You have my blessing and encouragement. I am dearly looking forwards to visiting as soon as I am able, to see for myself the work you have done.

With love and kisses,

Your Favorite Gran, XOXOXOXO

P.S. Good work dealing with the shadow situation. Will discuss in person, soon! XOXOXO

P.P.S. The Cottage's name is Beorhtmund. That's a mouthful, so he also answers to Bert for short. OXOXOXOX

P.P.P.S. Bert understands English if you ask him to. XXXXOOOO

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[Language preference now set to English.]

"Bert? Status?"

[Status: active]

"Whew! That is so much easier!"