"They like soil, right, but they need the sun, still. You know, like, without two inches of dirt 'shade'." drawled Briar.
"Oh! Oops! Got distracted!" said Amelia, eyeing the mess she had made. She had drastically overfilled the pot, the excess soil mounding around the outside. The poor sprout inside had been covered past the tallest leaves.
Amelia hurriedly cleared up the extra dirt, brushing off the plant carefully. Briar had resumed her gardening and herbology lessons, and they were working together at the workbench in the garden.
Which meant if she raised her head, she could look right over the garden fence and see the cottage. It was very distracting.
Amelia and Bert had spent several hours the day before rearranging the house layout to, as Bert put it, "align with reality". While they were at it, of course, Amelia had taken the liberty to make it a bit more homely. There was a porch that covered the full front of the building, with several comfy wooden rocking chairs. And a bench swing! Along with a few small tables, it was the perfect place for a casual tea break or snooze. It looked out across the yard, so had a perfect view of the garden and the path to the front gate.
Once you entered via the front door, you were in a boot room. It had rows of pegs above sets of shelves and bins. The perfect place for her rucksack, cloak, and work boots. A door to the left entered the shed, which had been moved to the front of the house and expanded. A door directly opposite the entry led into the living room.
The living room was even larger than it had been but seemed smaller due to all the furniture. The fireplace was still against the right-hand wall, but much larger and deeper. There was even a little nook just perfectly sized for keeping wisps and sprites toasty warm, in case they could be pried away from the similar spot on the oven.
The sofa, loveseat, and armchair had been joined by several wing chairs, each in different patterns to mismatch like the rest of the furniture. There were mounds of fluffy pillows scattered across every sitting surface. The seats were arranged in roughly a 'U' shape facing the fireplace, with a large coffee table in the center, ready for beverages, meals, and snacks. Along the walls were a sideboard, bookshelf, and several side tables. All covered with white lace doilies. There were lanterns on the walls, so it could be much better lit than before. Or left to just the comforting glow from the dancing fire sprites in the fireplace. A thick rag rug in reds and greys covered most of the floor and was very soft on weary feet.
A small alcove was set into the front wall, just large enough for the hassock to sit below the bay window looking out into the yard. A great spot to curl up and watch the rain on a dreary day. In the corner of the front wall and the wall with the fireplace was a spiral staircase that went to the upper floors. Between it and the fireplace was the door to the tower. They'd had to move some trees to get the tower to "fit in reality", but Amelia had insisted. The tower was cool!
The kitchen was reached by a door on the left wall of the living room, right next to another door that led to a WC. The kitchen was much the same as before, just a little larger, so there was room for more people to cook or socialize at the same time. The pantry was now in the back corner of the building, reached via a door in the kitchen, which was much more sensible.
The second story housed the guest bedrooms and a large sauna and bathing room, along with another WC. There was an attic above that, but it was just a big empty space right now. She'd had some ideas for it, but Bert said it would take more energy than they'd had available.
Speaking of that, Bert had explained that it cost a little bit of energy each time a room was created or modified. There was only an upkeep cost if the room defied the laws of physics, or had some special ability. Like the pantry being self-refilling, or the fireplace constantly staying lit without fuel. But those were minor costs compared to a whole tower existing in another dimension. So the special abilities stayed, and the tower got moved.
Bert had explained that there were many ways that he could gain energy, but the most effective was from emotional energy. He preferred positive emotions in particular. It was a bit complex and took lots of explaining, but as Amelia understood it, the more people were happy and cozy in the hollow, the better fed Bert was. And the better fed Bert was, the more cool things he could do!
Which led directly to the tower. Amelia had decided she didn't really need a library or guardhouse. Those weren't really her style. Getting rid of them gave Bert back some energy, so it was worth it to let them go. So now the tower was composed of the cellar, brewery & potions workshop, her bedroom (with en suite!), and an aviary/viewing room/ workshop, bottom to top. All the rooms were round and took up an entire floor of the tower, with a spiral staircase leading between floors. Her room and the top floor had several large windows that looked out over the forest. Underneath the very peak of the roof, all around the tower, were small holes that led to the aviary.
Well, aviary wasn't quite the right word. There were many small cubicles and nesting perches, but no doors or cages. The birds of the hollow were free to stay or go as they pleased.
She was tickled when both Blue and Beige and their entourage of friends, all immediately picked out nests. Lark, however, graciously declined, stating that she would stay in her own place. It was in the top of a tall tree deep in the wood, and had been in her family for generations. It was also more convenient for her duties. Amelia was pretty sure Lark wasn't ready to be as sociable as the rest of the birds and wanted solitude, but that was okay. She liked some alone time herself, on occasion.
The reorganization had completely changed the look of the cottage from outside and while it had the same character, it was much larger. The stone tower didn't quite match, but the ivy and moss growing on it and the house proper sort of blended everything together.
Amelia was looking forwards to having visitors again and showing off the new space. With the porch and living room, there was a lot of space to entertain comfortably. Although as soon as Bert had the energy, she wanted to do some remodeling outside. Like adding a gazebo, and some fountains, and things. She gazed around the yard, thinking about how to fit everything, and how to do the least disruption to the trees that surrounded the yard. She also tried to envision how to add more decorations. The house was furnished, if sparsely, but it needed some art to liven it up. Some paintings for the walls, some statuettes and other tchotchkes for the shelves and tables.
"Ahem!"
"Wahhh ... Sorry Briar! I did it again! So many plans! My brain just keeps spinning, so it's hard to focus."
The gardener just shook her head, sweeping the spilled soil off the workbench and back into the bag.
"Why don't you run along and leave this to me? Come back when you can focus on plants, not planning."
"Sorry! Okay, thanks!" Amelia said as she dashed out the garden gate, not waiting for Briar to change her mind. "We can try again tomorrow!"
"Humans!" grumped the goblin, then resumed her work.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
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"Ahoom! Greetings, caretaker! How are you today, humm?" boomed the old oak tree.
"Great! I finally got Bert to talk to me in a way I could understand, and we reorganized the whole cottage! It's awesome! You should see it!" said Amelia, from her position hugging the tree.
"Hum hoom! I'll have to take your word for it -- us trees don't flit about like you animals!"
"Uh, oops, yeah, I guess so. It is pretty neat, though."
The guardian rumbled for a moment or so, then said, "What of the, ahoom, seed, hum? What have you done, hoom hom, with the foul thing?"
Amelia let go of her embrace and took a couple steps back from the tree, so she could see his face. She winced and scowled.
"It went somewhere else after I picked it up. Bert says it's 'not aligned with reality', which he thinks is an explanation, but doesn't help me any. I can still talk to him, though. He doesn't seem so bad."
"Talk to 'him', hoom? The seed? It is male, hum hom?"
"He says its name is Donald or something like that. It has a weird accent. I think he's a guy. Kinda demanding. And grumpy. Doesn't like the hollow, and whines about the kind of energy available. He keeps bugging me to 'place it' and 'unleash thingy-tion', stuff like that. I've been ignoring him."
"Ahoom! Don't, hom, listen to it, if you take my meaning. Hum hum. But we mustn't forget to deal with it, either."
"Yeah, I gotta do something with it. Just not sure what, yet. Obviously, burying it again is right out."
Amelia looked around the clearing. Grass was starting to sprout where they had dug down to the vault, and the clearing would soon look much as it did before. Except for the white stone of the vault entrance, several feet below the level of the rest of the clearing. They had shored up the dirt around it so it wouldn't cave in. There was also a low wooden railing around the hole, for safety.
"Everything okay with you, big guy? Need anything? Anything you need me to do?"
"Hoom hom! Thank you for asking, Caretaker, but all is well. Ahoom. I thank you for the visits, however."
"Okay then! I'm gonna head home and do some baking. I'm making berry bread! Thanks for the chat, Alder! See you later!" she said, waving to the oak as she left the clearing. She made it a habit to visit often, and enjoyed the tree's company. It seemed to be in much better spirits these days, and the removal of the seed appeared to have lifted a weight from his metaphorical shoulders.
[Placement mode available. Select a location and establish your domain. Unleash Domination.]
"Hi, Donald! Not today. Maybe Tuesday. Tuesdays are better domination days. Or maybe a late Sunday, say if it's raining and pudding wasn't that tasty. But not today. I need to bake snacks!"
[Warning! Core restricted in mobile mode. Energy intake low.]
"You're probably just hangry, then. Want some chips? I can fry some up while I bake. Maybe some hot chocolate?"
The seed didn't respond. It didn't react to her teasing and needling, which was probably a good thing. With Bert's help, she had gotten it to communicate in 'simple, nontechnical English', which she thought might be vaguely insulting to her. But it worked. Donald just didn't have much of interest to say, in her opinion.
At least it wasn't destroying her friends with shadowy tentacles, so that was an improvement. One of these days, though, she'd have to figure out what to do with the thing.
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"OUT! Both of you monsters! Go somewhere else before I bake you into a pie!" yelled Amelia, pointing her wooden spoon at the miscreants.
"Flee! Flee!" screamed the sprite as she and Whisper zipped out of the kitchen, leaving a trail of sugar and flour behind them.
Amelia had left the canisters out as she ducked into the pantry for eggs. When she returned moments later, the scamps had knocked over both of them, spilling the contents all over the counter and floor. Both were thoroughly coated in a mixture of the powders.
"Fern! There are footprints on the ceiling!!!"
It took quite some time to clean up the mess. She knew she could ask Bert to do it, but that always felt rude for some reason. So she swept, mopped, and scrubbed until the room was spotless again. There were no qualms about getting the canisters refilled automatically, though. It was nice having staples readily available all the time.
The drawback of not needing to buy supplies was less reason to go into town and visit Sandy. But the pantry didn't stock the snacks that the market had, so frequent trips for crisps, chocolate, and other sweets were called for.
On her last trip, she'd even borrowed one of the shopkeep's cookbooks, which was now propped open on the counter.
"Flour, sugar, eggs, milk ..." Amelia read down the list, checking she had everything. The hollow had numerous sources of berries and nuts, so she was making a berry-nut bread. She'd already made some fruit cakes and was letting them age. Frequently doused with some of the high-test brandy Tuuka had brewed.
She was pretty sure that distilling and brewing should take a long time, but somehow the dwarf had left behind several casks and jugs filled with booze. He'd only been able to take what he could carry on his trip home, so Amelia had quite the stock of alcohol. Since she didn't drink much, she used it in her cooking. Beer batter fried everything was her current specialty.
"Lick? Lick?"
"No! You little troublemaker! You may not lick the bowl! Shoo! Go bother Briar!" she waved off the sprite who hovered in the kitchen doorway. A clatter behind her caused her to whip around.
"Whisper! Out of the bowl! Honestly, you two! No bread for you! OUT! Fern! I'm warning you!"
The glow ball and the sprite fled the kitchen again, both having managed to swipe some of the dough residue from the bottom of the mixing bowl. Amelia closed the door to the kitchen and cleaned up. Again. It wasn't like she begrudged sharing the tasty stuff, but those two managed to smear significant amounts of it all over the kitchen somehow, and that was annoying.
Once the loaf pans were in the oven, she propped a broom handle against the oven door so it wouldn't be easy to open. It probably wouldn't stop the scoundrels, but she'd hear the noise, so maybe they'd be deterred.
"Donald, could you alert me in about twenty minutes?"
[Alarm condition created. Placement mode available. Select a location and establish your domain. Unleash Subjugation.]
"Thanks, mate! Gonna try unleashing yummy baked goods instead. Maybe we'll try your way next time."
It felt a little weird to use a realm core as a timer, but it worked. She suspected both he and Bert got lonely without much to do, so she tried to include them in little tasks on occasion. As long as it wasn't something she could easily do herself, that is. It seemed the friendly thing to do.
She wandered into the living room and plopped down on the hassock. It made a decent seat in the bay window, and keeping it there gave a little bit more room for the other chairs. She still used it and the armchair for naps, on occasion, despite having the grand master bedroom in the tower. It was nice to curl up and watch the flickering flames in the fireplace.
Whisper and Fern weren't in their nook in the fireplace, so they must have fled to safer hiding spots. They were usually great company but could be real pests when sweets were involved. Kind of like how she had been as a younger girl, thinking back on it.
She watched Briar working in the garden for a few minutes, then laid back on the stool, feet and head hanging off opposite sides. Her eyelids drooped as she relaxed, and quickly fell asleep.
[Alert! Alert conditioned triggered. Placement mode available. Select a location and establish your domain. Unleash Destruction.]
"Umprph. I'm up, I'm up!" she flailed wildly, rolling off onto the floor, eyes blinking blearily.
It took her a moment to focus. She had been having a terrible dream. Most of it fled the moment she woke, but what little she remembered was awful. Violence, ruination, and bloodshed. Voices calling to her. The brief image of a horde of terrifying creatures kneeling before her, ready for orders.
She shook her head to clear it. "Brrrph! No time for that. Time to unleash the bread! Possibly destroying some later, for tea, though. Good idea!"
The aroma of the loaves wafted out of the oven, still held secure with the broom handle.
"Success!" Amelia exclaimed when the bread was revealed. Lightly browned, steam rising gently.
She used a tea towel to pull out the pans, then put them in the breadbox in the pantry. A very heavy rock went on top of the lid after that. Like the broom, it wouldn't stop Fern and Whisper, but it might slow them down a bit.
The smell of the sweet treat helped drive the vestiges of the bad dream out of her head. Pastries weren't the solution to all the world's problems, but they certainly were a good start around here.
Bread secure, she moistened the fruit cakes again with a hefty dollop of brandy, then replaced them in the drawer. Still a few weeks until done, but they would be glorious! The potent alcohol caused her eyes to water a bit, even after jamming in the stopper firmly and securing the drawer. Probably best not to have any candles on these cakes.
A knock echoed into the pantry from the front door. Who could that possibly be? Briar would just come in, and Bert hadn't warned her of any new visitors. That left someone who was already in the hollow.
She wiped her hands on the towel and tossed it over her shoulder to go see. Lark and Briar had both said there were other inhabitants of the hollow, so maybe it was finally time to meet one!