Chapter 22: CH22 Farmstead

 In the aspen grove, Fufi was keeping the first watch.  Alex and Merumeru were sleeping in a tent made by tying blankets to the cart.  The coal in the brazier gave off a dull light.  After completing her watch, Fufi woke up Alex and they traded places in the blanket tent.  The pair were careful not to wake up the sleeping slime girl.  Fufi found a good spot inside the tent and stood on one foot to get comfortable for sleep.

Alex blinked a few times as he looked around.  He was still sleepy and this was the first time trying out this watch thing.  To make things worse remnants of a dream still lingered in his mind.  In his dream there was what he might describe as a dryad.  She looked like a girl with green skin and aspen leaves for hair.  She wore a green dress that looked like plants and flowers woven into a living garment.  The dryad kept beckoning him with her hand.

Shortly into his watch Alex noticed some movement in the brush. He drew his feather duster and waited until he saw a shadowy figure step into the light. "Um, Hello?" Alex greeted the person, his voice cracking a bit.

The girl in the shadows stepped forward and into the light. She was wearing a summer dress that was a mix of yellow, white and red. Her face was beautiful with hair the color of grass. She offered her hand out to Alex and said "Hello, I am Kaede. I was sent to find you."

"Oh, um. . ." Alex stammered and looked around.  He considered waking everyone up. Fufi just went to sleep so he'd feel guilty waking her up so soon.  Strange women visiting him in the middle of the night was a first for him so he wasn't sure what the proper response to this would be.

Kaede laughed and said "My mistress would like to meet you.  Won't you come with me?  Sakura is a lovely lady and caretaker of the grove."

Alex felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.  "One moment." He said as he pulled out the phone and looked at what it said.

[Charm Resisted]

Apparently even in another world bedtime mode still worked on his phone.

Looking up at the strange woman Alex rudely asked her to leave, "Kaede was it?  The last time I got involved with a chance encounter in the woods I got more than I expected.  Besides, it would be rude to skip out on my turn to do watch.  Care to come back after Fufi and Merumeru are awake?"

The girl tsked and said under her breath, "That would complicate things.."

Kaede spoke up, "Can't I persuade you?  I heard a rumor that you like cake.  A cake can be prepared in your honor."  The strange girl offered her hand again for Alex to take.

Alex raised an eyebrow, "Send our regards to Sakura, now off you go." Alex waved her away gesturing with his feather duster.

Kaede withdrew her offered hand, bowed her head slightly, turned and walked off into the forest. Alex watched her go then put his feather duster away. Alex wondered what in the world that was about.

He went over to the fire and stirred the coals. Alex added a couple of sticks of wood to the fire. Alex sat down and thought about what to do next. He was pretty tired from walking all day.  Tending to the fire was a good way to keep from falling asleep.

Eventually, a light appeared on the horizon. It was a faint light at first but it grew brighter and bigger. Soon it was a bright light shining through the trees. It was the sunrise and it was getting close to breakfast time.

"Fufi! Merumeru!" Alex called out to the slime girls.

"Huh? What's up?" Fufi asked sleepily.

"It's morning and we should eat something.  Though the only thing on the menu is stuff we foraged on our way through the forest." Alex said.

"Meruuuu." Merumeru said in a drowsy tone.

"Let's see what we have." Fufi said and rummaged through a box on the cart with her beak.

The two of them pulled out something and Alex prepared a modest meal of berries, mushrooms and some nuts.

"Oh Fufi, I wanted to ask you, did you see anything strange on your watch?" Alex questioned.

"I didn't really notice anything. I mean there was the odd animal or bird that came by. Nothing too unusual." Fufi replied.

"Well, I had a strange dream and when I woke up it was like it bled over into reality.  Someone named Kaede wanted to take my hand and lead me away.  What should I make of that?" Alex scratched his head.

"I've never seen anyone like that before. I wonder if she was a succubus or a spirit?  Did she have wings and a tale?" Fufi pondered.

"I didn't really get a good look at her.  Coal doesn't give off a lot of light.  I don't think she had wings and a tail though.  It is hard to remember though.  I guess it could have been part of a dream." Alex said.

"We'll just have to wait and see.  There are some creatures that can enter dreams.  A succubus is one of them but they like to stick around civilization so it would be really odd to find one in the middle of the forest." Fufi said.

"Yeah, I guess." Alex said and finished up eating.

After breakfast the group packed up their camp and set off in the direction away from the barbarian encounter. Around midday the group came across a babbling brook winding its way through the hills. The water was clear and refreshing. Alex thought this might be a good chance to bring out Rose so she could show off a bit.  He took the top off one of the water barrels and started to do the little doll dance he had learned.  The clockwork doll's gears started to move and she put the pump of her water gun into the stream. Alex continued to dance for a few more minutes as Fufi and Merumeru cheered him on.  He smiled and finished. He climbed the cart to see how much water was collected.

"Hmm, not a whole lot of water.  Perhaps a half of a liter.  Maybe we can make her a bigger water gun some time."

"Ruuu Me Me." Merumeru commented.

"Rose's still a work in progress.  Actually everyone is a work in progress.  We all have to keep improving. Even a little slime can do great things." Alex said and gave the slime girl a pat.

The group followed the brook upstream.  The main goal was to put more distance between the men they encountered the other day and the brook likely flowed down into the river.  So heading upstream should head away from where they were.  Eventually the area became steeper and the brook's sides steep.  Alex turned the cart back into card form when it became too uneven to move it normally.  When the sun was at its zenith the gorge opened up into a valley. The grassy area held a simple ranch house and a barn at the base of a steep rocky incline.

Alex stopped and took the cart out. He didn't want to surprise the owners of this farmstead by making a cart appear out of thin air.  The fields were planted and several animals looked at him from a fenced in area. "Hmm, how should we go about this?" Alex said to himself.

He decided to walk up to the front door. He knocked on the door and waited. After a few moments a woman answered the door. She was an older-looking woman with dark brown hair tied in a ponytail. Her skin was a light tan color and her eyes a light blue. She was wearing an apron with her sleeves rolled up.

"Hello, my name is Alex. I'm sorry to bother you. Me and my friends got attacked by barbarians and fled into the forest. It is um...nice to meet you?  Alex said trying to sound confident but his voice cracked a few times.

The woman looked them up and down. "Name's Martha, it has been years since we last got visitors.  Are you some kind of a monster tamer?"

She pointed at the pink bird and slime girl standing beside him.

Alex shook his head. "No, these are my companions. Martha, meet Fufi and Merumeru.  "

Martha eyed the trio suspiciously. "What are those? They're not monsters you say."

Alex smiles as best he could. "They aren't monsters. Fufi is my familiar and Merumeru I met on an adventure."

Martha looked at him skeptically. "You must be joking. You expect me to believe that? I know what monsters look like."

Alex was starting to get annoyed. He was not used to being treated like an idiot. He was going to try to be patient and explain everything to her but the old lady was giving him the creeps. He was about to change tactics when Fufi spoke up.

"He's telling the truth.  People can be friends with slime girls and birds without a tamer class."

Martha looked at the slime girl.

Merumeru cheerfully stated, "Merumeru!"

Martha's eyes went wide. "Slime girl? Birds? What the heck is going on here?"  She turned her head and shouted, "Bob!  Get over here there is a pink-robed boy, a bird, and a slime at the door."

"Huh?" A man came to the doorway. His hair was salt and pepper and his eyes were gray. He stood beside Martha and glanced at the cart behind them,"M'name's Bob.  Are you all some kind of traveling merchants?  Can't say I recall the last time I saw one.  The aspens claimed the trail that led here years ago, not that it ever got much use."

"No, I am no merchant. I guess I could be a traveling tailor. I'm not bad with making cute clothes.  I haven't tried making a living doing it though. "

"You sure you ain't some kinda con artist?" Bob asked guardedly.

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"No, I really don't have any skills like that.  I was just hoping to run across another human who wasn't hostile for once."

"I reckon we can feed you and let you rest. We don't get any travelers through here. I'll tell ya what. You say you are a tailor? I got some wool that needs to be carded and spun into thread.  If you three can spend the rest of the day doing that there will be food and a pile of hay in the barn you can spend the night in."

"That sounds good to us. I've never been allergic to hard work." Alex said, rolling up his sleeves.

"Alright then. Let's go." Bob said and led them to the run down barn.  The barn was dirty.  Alex gripped his feather duster and cringed. Bob looked at him and asked, "Something wrong boy?"

"No. I was just thinking that I need to clean up a bit before I start working. Is that okay?" Alex replied.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just be careful. That floor is pretty rough. I wouldn't want to break a leg on it.  This place was built by my grandpa back when people still had a town a couple days away."

"I understand. I won't slip or anything. I promise." Alex said.

"Alright, come on in and get settled. There's a bucket and rags in the corner. Get yourself cleaned up and get to spinning. You can draw water from the well to wash yourself off." Bob stated blandly.

"Hey you hear that Merumeru.  Bob and Martha have a well.  You should go take a look.  Wells are what people used before they had plumbing.  People would dig a hole deep enough and get water out with a bucket tied to a rope." Alex gave the slime girl a quick explanation.  "Is it okay for her to go out and play?  She really likes plumbing for some reason." Alex added while turning his attention back to Bob.

"Sure thing kid. Go ahead."

Merumeru happily ran off towards the well.

"I'll be right outside if you need me." Bob said as he left.

Alex pulled out his feather duster and cleaned himself and the area up. He then started to card the wool.  It was a pure white after he dusted it off with his magical item.

"I wonder how long it takes to spin the wool into yarn. I guess I could make a ball and see how fast I could turn it. I might even be able to see how many yards of cloth I could make in a day. It might be a fun experiment to try." Alex said while he made a nice pile of wool.  He then grabbed a couple carders.  Alex hadn't ever used a spinning wheel or prepared wool before but his skill seemed to guide him so he just followed the feel of what he should be doing.  Ater a while he had a nice batt of wool.  Next, he went to the spinning wheel and spun the big wheel with his hand.  The wood was not in great shape so he dusted it off and the spinning wheel looked as good as new.  Hummying a cherry tune, Alex spun the batt by slowly feeding in a thin line of wool into it.  He stood up and moved the great wheel around slowly.  The whole thing became a slow and deliberate dance.  Take a step back to move the great wheel and move his arm at the same time to adjust the twist of the fiber.  He moved his arm up and turned the wheel the opposite direction at times.  The whole thing seemed like steps to a dance he'd never danced before yet was somehow familiar.  Skills were weird.  By the end of the day Alex had a nice spool of wool thread.  He held it up proudly and walked towards the exit looking to show it to Martha and Bob.

His phone rang out.

[Tailoring skill has reached level 2]

Alex smiled. "I did it. I can't believe I am actually good at this."

"You didn't think you could spin? I thought you had experience being a seamstress." Martha said surprised. She and Bob let them into the house.  Alex could smell the mean that was cooking.  Merumeru and Fufi were already inside helping set the table.

"I didn't know I could do this. I was just following my instincts." Alex said.

"I'm glad you can. I was worried you were going to be a burden. Now, I'm going to finish getting dinner ready. You all can sit and talk."  Martha headed back into their well-used kitchen.

Merumeru and Fufi sat down while Martha brought out wooden serving plates filled with stew.

"So, you are friends? Why are you traveling together?" Martha asked.

"I met Fufi on a road near my cabin far away and she is my familiar." Alex said.

Martha nodded. "Familiar huh? Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want. You seem to be decent kids."

"Meruuu."Merumeru chimed in.

"How about you?  How long have you and Bob been living here?" Fufi asked the couple.

"Oh, we've lived here for generations. We're too old to travel anymore." Bob stated.

"I'm sorry I didn't know. I guess I was assuming everyone was like me. I was just trying to find a way to get to the place.  Were you around before the demon queen's army destroyed this area?" Alex apologized.

Bob laughed, "I'm not that old.  That happened back in my grandpa's time. He is buried back in the family plot up the mountain."

"I'm sorry. I know it was a long time ago.  I just didn't know how long" Alex bowed his head.

Martha shook her head, "Don't worry. I'm not mad at you for asking. I can tell you are not from around here just because of that. We haven't seen any other humans for a long time. We mostly keep to ourselves.  Even more so after Kyle went missing."

"Kyle?" Alex questioned.

"Our son. He disappeared two years ago. He went to collect lumber from the aspen grove and didn't come back.  Bob and some of the dogs left trying to find him but the trail just vanished deep in the woods." Martha explained.

"I am very sorry to hear that. I hope your son comes home soon. How long has he been missing?" Alex wondered.

"Two years now. I don't expect him to return anytime soon. The forest is dangerous. It's best to just leave it alone." Bob said.

"I wish I had known. I am sorry." Alex apologizes again.

"It's alright. I just don't want to bring up bad memories. We are going to be the last generation at the farmstead.  Martha and I accept this." Bob said in a solemn tone.

"I understand."

"So, why are you traveling? Where are you from? I can tell you are no ordinary traveler." Martha asked.

"I'm from another land far away.  I guess you could say I got here by magic. Fufi and I accepted a quest to defeat the demon queen but we haven't made much progress." Alex explained with a heavy heart.

"We heard rumors of the Demon Queen. You are lucky to be alive. If you hadn't been sent here then you would be dead by now.  This area has mostly just been abandoned by her army." Martha said.

"I see. So, you have never seen her?" Alex inquired.

"No, never. I've only ever heard stories. Grandpa said that sometimes imps used to fly around scouting for something. I don't know what they were looking out for though." Bob said. Fufi gulped at this, looking uncomfortable.

"I see. That makes sense." Alex said.

"You must have a lot of questions. I guess it's late to be asking them. We should get to bed." Martha said.

"I suppose. Thank you for letting me stay." Alex said.

"It's nothing. You all can sleep in the barn." Bob said.

"Thanks Bob. I'll go get my stuff and we'll go there" Alex said.

"Good night Alex, Fufi and Merumeru." Bob said and waved.

The trio set up some of their blankets on the hay loft and went to bed shortly after.