The farm was as picturesque as you could get. It almost looked a little too much like a landscape painting. It didn't have that vibe of lived in and alive that some houses do, but you could see the smoke from the chimney in the middle of the house that told a different story. The yard, fields, barn, and supplies were all very neatly arranged. Someone was working in the field, but Ed was unable to distinguish any features at this distance. He was an apprentice smith and handyman and used to being in shaded places and the sun seemed brighter here. Probably perfect for a little vegetable farm.
When they got close enough to the house Ed could start making out details like the fact that the house was in fact a sort of pale mustard yellow. But the trim was all the subdued red of beet juice. Homemade paints, Ed guessed. The front yard had neat and tidy piles of supplies and equipment. The house was neat and tidy also. The windows were open, and drapes made from the patterned sides of the vegetable sacks were blowing in a soft breeze.
"MOM! I'm home!" Priya yelled and startled Ed out of his thoughts.
A head appeared from a window in the house like a turtle's head and peered up the hill. "Priya! You've brought.... a guest!" the voice said with surprise shortly before the front door flung open and her mother stepped out. She was short and built like a life of farming can only build you. She straightened her apron; it was checked blue and white and lay across a plain but well-made dress. Her hair was tied up in the back with another stretch of the patterned cloth, the same pattern as the windows, and formed a bow that hung across her hair.
She walked towards Ed and fiercely stuck her hand out. She plunged towards Ed in a way that made him jump. This woman was in charge and she knew it. "Welcome to my home. What brings you here?"
ED stood there with his mouth open like an idiot. His mind had been assaulted by the sudden and firmly authoritative way this woman did everything and it took a minute before his brain kicked back in. "Oh uh, yes! My name is Erust, and I am a traveler. I am stuck in town for a few days and your daughter said you may need some smithing work done." He gave his most earnest smile and hoped for the best. He did his best, but he sounded like the village idiot had wandered away.
"Why can't I sound more convincing?" In his head, Ed had this new chance to be awesome but he sounded lame.
"Oh, that's good news! My husband is great with fields but horrible at repairs. We have all kinds of things that need a bit of work here and there. I will pay you the best I can and offer you the warmest home cooking there is this side of town." Her mother beamed and patted Ed on the shoulder who breathed a sigh of relief. The bluff had worked, or she took pity on Ed.
As her mother walked away towards the house Priya got behind Ed and pushed him towards the house. Ed stumbled at first and slowly started walking on his own. She laughed a little and had fun pushing when Ed slowed down. He looked back at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. It was adorable, if Ed wasn't here to possibly destroy them with miracles his heart would have melted.
When Ed was ushered into the house, he was offered a seat in the front area. The house was two levels and the downstairs was mostly kitchen and table with a two-person bench at one end. A large kitchen and pantry were at the other end and a door that went to a basement below for root vegetables and canned goods.
The stairs up to the top were in the middle of the house and very steep. Priya pushed Ed down onto a chair at the kitchen table. "I will go get Poppa!" she said and ran out the door. A little boy and girl were sitting at the table working on shale tablets practicing numbers and math.
"Here is some tea." Priya's mom said. "My name is Juniper, like the tree."
Ed smiled. "Are your crops growing wild too this far from town?"
"No that's just those people south of town. We missed whatever bucket of luck fell from the church and hit them. I think the priest threw the holy water into the creek and that's what happened." She said in such a matter of fact way you could tell that was what she KNEW happened.
The two young children looked up and nodded. "The goddess Linist will help us out when its our turn!" they exclaimed and then looked back down.
Juniper smiled and nodded. "My husband is peculiar about the order. 100 crops to a field. Each field has to be 10 feet wide by 10 feet long. Everything must be tidy. He is amazing with the organization but has no creativity and that's what you can help out with."
She brought over a skillet that was cracking in the middle. "See, it needs mending. We have a forge nearby in the stables, across the tree line, but he just pounds it flat and thinks that is fixed!" she said laying it on the table hard enough that Ed jumped.
"Well if I can get a fire going, I can start whenever you make a list," Ed said smiling sitting bolt upright with his hands in his lap. The drink was untouched and it smelled sweetened like tea. Good tea leaves weren't cheap so Ed imagined this was the third or fourth time they had been used and the fruit smell was a juice to help with the flavor.
Ed sat and watched as Juniper moved around the room and the kids talked to each about math. Each thinking up a formula and the other solving it.
"Two divided by six!"
"1/3rd!" "Eight Divided by 100"
"Eight Hundredths! God that's lame do better!"
Juniper threw the towel at her children. "Don't take our goddess name in vain!"
And Ed noticed now how many talismans they had for the gods. Well at least if he blasted them with a ton of Miracles, they could say it was for being devout. Ed knew one more person was upstairs because he could hear them moving around. He sat and sipped his drink and knew he was right. Mostly juice with a hint of tea, but it was refreshing. The taste of sour fruit like Lemons and Oranges made the tea tarter and reminded him of summer. "I hope I am not ruining these poor people's lives." Ed thought while he waited.
A short, portly man covered in dirt walked in the front door. Priya followed him. She was almost a foot taller than him. Juniper was about a foot taller than him also. He was almost what you would expect a dwarf to look like. And that might make some sense as to his peculiarities about numbers. But the human races all lived in the normal hemisphere. The southern lands were home to tribes of roaming Demi-humans and a few lost humans. They didn't mingle except at the border which was almost a thousand miles away from this tiny hamlet.
"Ah, you must be Erust!" He stuck his hand out so fast Ed barely saw it move. This whole family was very into firm forceful handshakes and it showed. Ed shook his hand and the man crushed it without even thinking about it. His hands felt like rocks, hard from years of working the farm but he smiled like he was your best friend.
He nodded in approval at Ed's handshake, using it to sort out what kind of man I was. "Welcome! I hear you fix metal things. I have tons of broken metal things that my wife says I never fix. My name is Jorgen." His face was round, his nose was too. His eyes were bright, and his teeth were large and white. He looked like he was definitely part dwarf but Ed wasn't prepared to ask.
He motioned to sit back down and began listing out the myriad of things that were broken and how he had tried to repair them. He assured me he had the supplies and enough broken things to meltdown and repair the ones that could be. He described all the things he needed and asked when Ed could complete them. He told him that the list he had given was not a problem if he could have the items brought to his forge and get the kids to fire it up so he wouldn't have to hunt them down.
He nodded and motioned to the two young kids who were politely listening but acting like they weren't. They immediately got up and started collecting items. Ed watched them and noticed all the religious portraits on the walls. Pictures of the Gods and Miracles were on the wall. Talismans and reproduction relics, you get from those disreputable con-men at church events sat on shelves and tables between other family keepsakes. If they do get miracles at least they won't be surprised. Maybe they will be happy with it.
Jorgen slapped his hands on his knees and looked around. He had noticed me looking. "Amazing isn't it. Linist keeps my family fed. Golliad sends people to buy my fruit. Ysennia sent my beautiful wife! And the spirits of the land keep my grounds fertile. I am blessed..." He beamed looking at my face.
"Oh, gods. Blessed or Cursed, Jorgen. It's going to be one or the other when this is all said and done, I'm sure," Thought Ed.
Ed smiled back, "The gods work in mysterious ways. Just when I think I understand them they throw me a curveball!"
Juniper piped up from across the room. "Oh, but think of that boy a few days ago who was spirited away from under a cart full of orphans! Miracles happen every day."
Ed choked on his drink. That was two, maybe 3 days ago and miles away. How on earth did that make it here already? Now Ed knew he had to be careful and not slip with his name. "OH?" Ed choked out trying to keep his cool. He was turning purple trying not to hyperventilate.
"Amazing I know!" Jorgen said and stood up. "Miracles my boy. They change the world every day. I mean look at us. Who thought you'd be here two days ago!"
If Rennish was here, he would be howling with laughter at this. Thank god Ed let him catch up with a familiar spirit. If that spirit knew anything maybe they could tell us something about what was going on. At least Ed didn't have to worry about Rennish forgetting to be invisible and them seeing him.
"Well take me to the forge. I am losing daylight and I am sure I can get some work done today before the cold of night sets in." Ed stood up and walked to the kitchen. He put the empty glass next to the bin of dishes to be washed and tilted his head in thanks to Juniper.
She smiled and took the cup, nodding back in the normal thank you gesture of the church.
Ed followed Jorgen out of the house and round the edge. They walked past the immaculate lines of machinery and supplies behind what must have been the most geometrically perfect line of trees. They were all the exact same height stood next to the squarest barn ever built. The sides, doors, and roofline were all exactly square. Water must pool horribly Ed thought but he suspected at least one corner sloped somewhere. Or a miracle kept everything dry. Ed was being sarcastic to himself, never a good sign.
Window's had been opened on either edge opposite the main door. A small forge and anvil had been set back in one corner. The other two corners had what looked like servants' quarters and then rooms for the horses. Ed hadn't noticed servants so maybe they were for seasonal help.
The children had already loaded the fire pit with dried oak and charcoal. They had lit a small fire in the tinder box and laid the bellows were out. A roaring fire was loaded in and crackling away. Ed just needed to wait for it to get to the right glow to start heating metal. A table had been dragged out into the area just away from the forge and a bucket of oil had been placed for cooling and quenching. Ed was fully kitted to forge and temper. He was slightly impressed. Even a beginner should have had some luck with a setup like this. The thorough setup here only reinforced that Jorgen must be part dwarf. They lived for metals and forging. Too bad he lacked the talent for it.
Jorgen excused himself and the children left and promised to return in an hour with more items. Ed nodded and stripped off his shirt. The leather apron for the forge hung on a door to an empty stable. Ed found a burlap shirt next to it. They would protect him from slag or debris coming off and Ed didn't want to burn holes in the ONLY shirt he owned currently. As Ed was putting them on Priya walked out of one room and immediately covered her eyes.
"I'm so sorry!" she screamed and Ed laughed. Well, that was his miracle. A woman seemed embarrassed to see him shirtless. Normally they giggled and commented on his flat hairless chest. Never once had one had a blush until now.
Ed waved it off. "Don't worry. It's not like you saw anything you haven't seen on your brother. Are you done in there? I plan to get working and it's about to get hot and noisy in here."
"Yes, yes I am. Totally done, completely totally done. Yeah going to leave now and I will see you later!" She fumbled through the things she had in her hand and stared at Ed as she walked out. He checked to make sure he hadn't taken off his pants too or something. Nope, nothing that embarrassing.
Ed shrugged in dismissal and began working. In the span of several hours, while he had good light, he repaired all manner of house parts. Ed reforged several spoons, a tea kettle, the frying pan that Juniper had mentioned, and several hinges and locks. He then laid them on another piece of burlap. They were warm still but not dangerous and needed to cool slowly after the tempering process to let the internal temperature come back down and keep the metal from becoming fragile.
Ed could smell dinner. He covered the coals in ash to bank the fire for later. The forge would need to completely cool if I didn't keep it somewhat hot and banking the fire meant it would start back up again easier. These brick fire pits would crack if heated and cooled too quickly also. It was best to keep the forge hot.
Ed took off his apron and shirt and grabbed his from the door where he had hung it. He could smell the fresh air, but the smell of hot iron hung around and it reminded him of home and his Lily. She would hang out in the shop and tell him jokes. She brought lunch and patched him up when he got cut or burnt. But all his scars were gone with this new body. Ed looked like too good of a smith or a complete fraud.
Behind the barn was a small creek feeding too or from the same water that he saw that creature in before. Ed walked towards it intent on getting the dirt dust and slag off his shirtless body. When he got to it Ed saw Priya and her two younger siblings washing their hands, feet, and faces in the water.
They smiled and the two younger children came and grabbed his hand, pulling towards the water out back. "Erust! You smell! You need to wash!" they both chimed in. It was getting dark, so Ed was looking at his feet, but the twins knew exactly where they were and pulled him a little too fast.
Ed tripped nearly to the edge of the water and fell face-first into Priya who went flailing into the water. The two little ones started laughing and chanting, "Sissy! quit playing in the water if we can't!"
Priya was soaked from head to toe. She was still in her work clothes from earlier and now everything she had on was wet. She scowled and threw mud up at all three of us.
"You all are awful! Throwing him into me!" She kicked water up on the shore to make the kids jump back. Ed laughed at the sight. He had never had a real family. His mother and father were travelers and Ed spent a lot of time alone at home by himself, for days on end before the church took him in. Ed had always imagined what life would have been like if he had this.
Ed extended his hand out to Priya and pulled her up on shore. She smiled and tried to pull him in with her. Ed pulled harder and she came off her feet and fell in again. Ed laughed and sat down to pull off my boots and wade in after her.
She scowled not in anger but what might have been frustration. She rinsed off her pants and walked up the side of the bank scowling and throwing handfuls of mud at Ed. Something was different. She was more energetic now than before but that may have just been her getting comfortable. No something was off. Her aura was still the same pretty earthy green color.
"Hey Priya, can I look at your hair for a second?" Ed asked.
"Oh no you don't!" she said and pulled back. She nearly fell back off the edge of the bank again screaming "You're not putting bugs and mud in my hair!"
"No, not that! Come here, there is something at the bottom of your hair..." Ed said and pointed. She reached over her shoulder and pulled it around. It was kept only shoulder length to keep from catching in farm equipment and just barely came over her shoulder. And there at the ends was Ed's proof. It was him. Her hair was turning golden blond.