When the next day came, and Basil was making breakfast for the Bugbears, he quickly realized something he should've done a while ago. He was promptly running out of cooking and baking ingredients. Sure, he had done a lot of traveling before, allowing him to stockpile on anything and everything they came across, but now that he was sedentary; that was no longer an option. On top of that, he had the Bugbears to feed with their ravenous appetites, and even though they had cleared out several acres of the land they now occupied, they hadn't found anything edible. He had to take action, and that's what he did.
He first went into town after feeding the Bugbears and sending them off to forage, hunt, and clear more land. The walk to the town was nice as it allowed him to relax and enjoy the outdoors with the vivid scenery. Looking at the trees, sky, birds, and even the ants alongside the road. He had never gotten to be on any nature walks before this world, so now he'd soak up every moment of it.
While in his little world, Basil hadn't noticed that he made it to the town and felt disappointed that his walk ended so quickly despite the fact it had taken him nearly two hours just to walk at the pace he was going. Once inside the town, almost everyone there recognized and greeted him. Many quickly asked about his baked goods and other products, which Basil awkwardly sweat dropped at. So he had to begrudgingly tell them he was low on resources and had to restock.
So he asked where to find what he needed, and the grateful villagers took him to the required shops. He went to the farmers' stall and bought several bags of different seeds followed by herbs, flour, fresh veggies and fruit, bread crumbs, eggs, yeast, herbs and spices, milk, and dried meats. He placed everything into his Magic Pocket and felt his once full coin pouch become lighter with every purchase, but it was all worth it. Once he had everything, he said his goodbyes to the people and left.
As he made his way back, he thought about starting a small farm to access milk, eggs, and every meat he could think of in the future. As he fantasizes about this, he doesn't even notice when he arrives back at his home, er, land plot. Walking down the path to where the broken cottage once stood, he thought about how bleak and barren it would look for people to come down this road to his shop. After all, the stall was just a temporary thing.
So he thought about adding his crops along both sides of the path leading up to his eventual home and business place. Without wasting a moment, he activated his Magic Farming and manifested a hoe.
He had no idea how to till the soil properly, so he just did what seemed natural and lifted the tool above his head, after finding a good spot, and struck it down as hard as he could! To his surprise, the dirt exploded into a plot of perfectly tilled soil! The plot was four perfect squares that were four by four each. Seeing this, he decided to make his layout as the following:
Six individual sections with four plots per section. Each one would receive one or a mixture of the seeds he had on hand to minimize the amount it would take to water them. He was still small and couldn't be bothered to water such large areas. Then, a new thought crossed his mind: water. Sure, he got a bunch in his Magic Pocket from the river that one time, but that would run out eventually. So he needs a well and some protection for the crops.
The only problem was he needed to learn how to make any of these things. So he went to the one thing that could help him: his Skill Tree. Opening it up, he skimmed through it until he finally found What he was looking for--a small skill branch known as Automatic Building. According to the description, so long as he had the necessary materials and a blueprint of said object, he could create it instantly. Like the Recipe book in Magic Cooking, he could make something entirely different and unknown to him so long as he gained a blueprint from an outside source.
So he unlocked it and then unlocked the second upgrade, only to stop at the third when he saw it cost well over 5,000 skill points! Looking back, he didn't notice how the first upgrade was over 1,000 points. This shook him, but he also understood why it cost so much. If he could build a castle in the blink of an eye, that would be too overpowered! So he decided to upgrade by using the skill as much as he could, which he knew would be a long road since something that cost so much no doubt took forever to level up, and he wouldn't have to build too much all at once.
So he closed the window and activated the skill, and a podium with a book made of blue energy appeared before him. Stepping towards the book, he saw it opened by itself and right to the page he was looking for. A tab called Farming Decorations and Utilities. There was even a section for creating baking and cooking equipment. So, specific skills linked with this allow him to get the structures he needs immediately.
He looked through the farming section and saw a water well, a fence, and a gate. Everything he needs, so he clicks on all three, wondering what would happen next. Only for the podium to cast a blue energy ring around itself, like a sonar. When it hit the junk pile, several things glowed within it. In a moment, all the glowing parts rose from the junk and floated around him where his Magic Pocket opened by itself and held all the collected items. Looking back, he saw a minor side part on the page that appeared to keep track of all the collected building material. Doing some simple math, he saw that he had more than enough for a tiny water well and enough fences and gates for his six crop plots.
So he clicked the part of the book labeled "create," and all the objects were assembled before him. He smiled to himself as each one was created and promptly placed on the ground or stacked perfectly. As he looked upon his work, he heard the sound of gasps and awe! Turning around, he saw how he had attracted many Bugbears who were watching him. Not knowing what to do, he spread his arms, struck a pose, and said Ta-da, getting a round of applause from all the giant, hairy, beastly goblins present.
After the show, some began picking up the items and asking Basil where they went. Before he could answer, he saw a part of the book that said "Build," and throwing caution to the wind, he touched it, causing all the new things to float into the air in a blue light! The Bugbear watched in awe, along with Basil, who was equally confused and impressed! So he looked at the book, and it showed him an aerial view of his land! He could zoom in and out, move anywhere, and even change his perception! It was like a video game or a crane operator system…if he knew either of those things.
He saw that all his building items were in the upper-hand corner of the page and clicked on the water well. The water well came out from the pile of floating objects, and with the book, he could move it around wherever he wanted. So he decided to place the well nearest to the crop plots, and as he did that, the well sunk into the ground and instantly filled with water! Basil was shocked by this but knew magic was involved for an area that probably had no in-ground water to suddenly have it. He just hoped it wouldn't flood everything when removed. But with magic, anything is possible.
He quickly and excitedly placed all the fences and gates from here until his plots were perfectly encased. Stepping away from the book and podium, with both vanishing from sight, he admired his work! He was reminded of how his wife would tell him he had no sense of decoration. Well, who's the one with the eye for exterior decorating now!?
After internally gloating, he took out his packs of seeds and called over a few of the Bugbears to help. He showed each of them how he did it: making a small hole into the freshly tilled soil, placing a seed, and covering it up, then letting them do it while explaining which would go where. All the plots had been filled with seeds in just a half hour. One section was dedicated to wheat, rey, flax, and corn, another to squash, another to vine plants, the next was different root vegetables, the next one had medicinal plants, and the last had a mix of various herbs.
When he looked at the sight of all his hard work, he smiled. He felt a sense of fulfillment that blotted out any old negative thoughts he had before. He was sweating, hot, aching, and all his hard work at this point added up to some crop plots and a water well, but he was happier and more satisfied with this than he had ever felt about anything before. And he was grateful for it.
Looking down at his plants, he noticed something hovering just above each one. It looked like a timer, like the one he had on his upgraded Magic Cooking with the oven. Only this time, it is counting down till the plants are ready for harvest. He knew that plants could take weeks to months before full maturity. But some looked like they would be ready to harvest in hours or days! Before he could ask how this could be, he remembered magic. He sighed inwardly at forgetting something so apparent but was also relieved to know he could keep his stock of ingredients filled at all times without having to wait.
He smiled contempt at this, though, knowing he had very little to worry about until something broke that peace of mind. He had done so much in one day and didn't even feel the least tired. Sure, his stamina wouldn't drain so fast when he used a magic tool for the right job. But even then, he should be at least a bit beat, but he wasn't. So he pulled up his stat block and was surprised by what he saw!
All of his stats had doubled, if not tripled! It made sense since he doesn't look at his stat block, but wow! He really should keep a better eye on it. The only thing he could guess was that since he used so many skills all the time, not only did they upgrade, but so did he to compensate for the extra strain.
His stats are now: 25 Strength, 35 Stamina, 40 Health, 17 Charisma, 15 Fortitude, 25 Knowledge, 35 Magic, and 32 Speed!
He was pleasantly surprised by this! His stats were much higher than Burr, but knowing him, he could still lose a fight badly since he had no idea how to defend himself or use a weapon, or possessed offensive magic. But still, he was happy, blissfully happy…until that bliss was broken or more like began buzzing around and in his face, causing him to panic!
"Ah! Ah! Ah! The bees! The bees are in my face! AAAAAAAHHHH!", Basil screamed while flailing his arms around wildly.
As he was panicking, Burr and his men had just come back from hunting, only to see Basil appearing to be having a seizure! If it weren't for him screaming about the bees, Burr would've just thought he was being silly. So he rushed over on his stumpy legs and, with one swift motion of his arms, managed to grab the things buzzing around Basil's face!
"I gots em.", Burr proclaimed in relief as Basil lay on the ground in exhaustion and equal relief. Slightly opening his fingers to get a look at the bugs, Burr's face shifted in confusion mixed with shock as he stated, "Wait a tick. These aren't bees."
Upon hearing this, Basil raised his head and asked, "Then what?! Hornets, horse flies, really big mosquitoes?"
Burr shook his head and told him, "Fairies."
Raising a skeptical brow, Basil jumped to his feet and tried to look inside his hand, only for the fairies to pop out and begin swarming his face again! This time, making high-pitched noises! Trying to swat them away, Basil yelled, "Hey, stop that! Get out of my face!"
Burr growled at this, and swatting them away with his long arm, he roared, "Get lost!"
The fairies listened and did back off…for a moment before flying back into Basil's face, but not too close as Burr was standing beside him. They all continued the high-pitched chirping sounds while flying around them in a panic. Since they were a bit less in his face, Basil could finally make out what the fairies looked like.
Like the many old stories, the fairies looked very similar to tiny humans with bug wings, but that's where the similarities ended. Unlike all the artwork of fairies in little clothing, they were completely naked and seemed to be hermaphroditic and genderless at the same time. Their eyes were huge and dark, nearly taking up their heads; two horns sprouted from their heads, nearly taking up all the skull space; with no hair of any kind, they only possessed two antennae on their heads and sharp teeth in their mouths. Three fingers on each small hand, pale white skin that seemed to glitter, legs that appeared more like twigs, and iridescent wings more similar to dragonflies or bees on their backs.
"They sure are persistent. Any idea what they're saying?", Basil asked his companion.
Burr shook his head and answered, "Don't speak silly-vin."
Thinking about this with the fairies at bay, Basil pulled up his Skill Tree, hoping to find a solution. There, he found a branch labeled Linguistics. Unfortunately, he couldn't find Silly-vin like Burr told him. Then he mentally slapped himself for thinking that Burr could say any words correctly. So he looked for the closest thing to that word and discovered a language called Sylvan, the language of the Fae.
However, the language was high up the tree, so he had to sacrifice a lot, if not all, of his skill points. But seeing as the fairies weren't letting up or speaking anything he could understand, he took the plunge and unlocked as many languages as he could to get to Sylvan. With the last of his points, he finally unlocked Sylvan!
Upon unlocking the skill, the sounds began to slow, like a fast-forward recording finally being backtracked. Everything unmerged from one another, and within a few more seconds, the constant squeaks and chirps turned into an understandable tone. Once he could understand them, he noted how he still couldn't…understand them since they were talking so fast, loud, and over one another! Basil tries many times to make them slow down or stop, but eventually, he finds that impossible.
So, with an irritated expression as he stares at the fairies, he closes his eyes and, with all his might, yells, "QUITE!"
Yelling in their native tongue, the fairies went dead silent as Basil calmed himself down and, with a cough, said, "Now then. One at a time. If you'd please."
"You can speak Sylvan?", one of the fairies asked him.
"I can now. Magic stuff.", Basil answered.
"Well, why not speak Gobbledegook? Tired of speaking the commons.", Burr complained as Basil gave him a pitty-pat on the head, having to stand on his toes to reach.
"I knew he was the one! He truly has great power!", another fairy proclaimed.
Getting tired of this, Basil rolled his eyes and prompted them, "Yeah, yeah, I've got great power, yada yada yada. Now you wanna explain why you three were trying to fly up my facial orifices."
"We need your help!", said the first one.
"We're in dire straits!", exclaimed the second.
"Please help us!", begged the third.
Raising an eyebrow, Basil told them, "Help you with what? There is not much I can do. I'm a baker."
"A baker!?", all three fairies exclaimed together in shock.
"Yeah, I put all my points into maxing out my cooking skills…so to speak.", Basil lightly jokes.
"That can't be!", exclaimed the first.
"We sensed a great growing power that came from you.", said the second.
"And you're a baker?!", questions the third.
"Yes.", Basil replies honestly.
All the fairies' sweat drops at his response and looks ready to give up until the first one tries to keep their hopes up by asking, "Well…surely you can still use your great power to conjure some powerful magic."
"I would.", Basil replies, causing smiles of joy to spread across their tiny faces until he follows up by saying, "If it weren't for you three."
Their faces shift from joy to extensionalism as they all yell, "What!?"
Glaring at them, Basil tells them off, "If you three didn't try and fly into my face like that, I wouldn't have rushed to try and understand you. Now I'm all out of skill points."
The fairies looked downtrodden by the news and the slight scolding they got, only for the first one to announce, "Still, you must help us!", they practically demanded while pulling on the man's nose.
Quickly plucking the creature from his face and holding it by the wings, he asked, "Okay, two things. First off, who are you?"
Pulling itself from his fingers and flying with his friends, the first one introduced itself as, "My name is Slow.", the second one chimed in and said, "My name is Moe.", the lady one made a sound like a bell and added, "And my name is Flo."
"Good meeting you; now my second question is, why me? There is a town not too far from here. Ask someone from there. Someone a bit more capable for whatever task you have in mind.", Basil inquired while pointing his thumb toward the town.
"That's why we came to you.", said Slow.
"You're a Chosen Touched!, proclaimed Moe.
Giving them a glaring look, Basil announced, "No one has ever touched me without my permission."
"No no no. Not that kind of touch. It's more like…oh, how do humans put it? You're the chosen one!", Flo explained.
"I'm not the chosen one! I'm a baker!", Basil insisted, getting a rock-hard feeling in his stomach at the declaration.
"But you are!", the three fairies insisted.
"No, I'm not!", Basil insisted.
"Yes!", the fairies argued.
"No!", Basil argued back, causing Burr to slap the insistent fairies to the ground. Basil looked at the proud Burr and told him, "Little too much Burr."
Scooping the flattened fairies from the ground and cupping them in his hands, Basil offered, "Look, why don't you fairies just tell me what you need me for so badly? If it's something I can reasonably do, I'll help."
The fairies seemed to agree as they returned to the air, where Slow blurted out, "We need to rescue him!"
"We need to help him!", Moe adds.
"Please hurry!", Flo finished as the three of them grabbed at his sweat catcher and tried to pull him somewhere.
Swatting them away again, Basil exclaimed, "Woah woah woah! Who is him, and why is he in trouble?"
"He's been captured, and if we don't help him, this part of the world will be in trouble!", Slow told him in a hurry.
"You're still not making any sense.", Basil sighed in exasperation.
"He was taken to the swamp by…her.", Moe admitted vaguely while looking fearful.
"If we don't help, he will die!", Flo stated while waving their arms.
Shaking his head in confusion, Basil exclaimed in a half yell, "Okay okay okay, who is her? Who is this her we're now talking about?!"
"She lives in the swamp! She tricked him and took him to her hut! We can't fight her. She is too strong!", Slow tried to explain.
Raising an eyebrow, Basil comments, "Swamp? There is no swamp around here."
"There is. Just a few miles Northeast.", Moe told him.
His eyes went wide with shock, and heads snapped to the Bugbear beside him as he yelled, "We're next to a swamp!?"
Burr shrugs and casually replies, "Who would've guessed."
Slouching over while letting out a drawn-out sigh, Basil summarizes, "So let me see if I'm getting all this. Your friend was tricked and caught by a lady in a swamp, and if we don't save him, he'll die, and the countryside is doomed."
"Yes! Now come with us and help!", all three fairies tell as they try and grab any part of Basil's face to pull him away.
Suddenly, the three fairies were again taken away from Basil's face. This time, they were quickly snatched up in a sack. Looking down, Basil saw that it was Teto, who was napping under a nearby tree, until disturbed by all the commotion and snagged the pesky fairies.
"Thank you, Teto.", Basil said to the bird while taking the sack. Opening it just enough to look inside, Basil told the fairies, "Okay, look. Just cause I summarized your insane ramblings doesn't mean I understand. Tell me your friend's name, why he's important, and this swamp lady."
"His name is Gossamer, and he's a unicorn.", Slow said from within the bag.
Interest peaked, and surprise spread across his face; Basil unraveled the sack to hold the fairies in his hands while asking them in a mixture of panic, excitement, and disbelief, "Hold on. A unicorn. Like a unicorn-unicorn. Like a horse with a horn."
"They don't actually look like horses, but yeah.", Said Slow in a slightly sarcastic tone.
"Unicorns are very powerful, like dragons; every part of them has powerful magic.", Moe explained.
"Especially their horns.", Flo put forth.
Putting his chin between his finger and thumb with a thinking expression, Basil stated, "Well, that explains his importance, reason for kidnapping, and the whole "countryside will fall" bits. Now, who is this swamp woman who captured him?"
The three fairies looked at one another with fear and shaking bodies. Neither wanted to speak up, making Basil more curious and cautious. He didn't know much about mythical creatures, but he knew fairies were no pushovers, so what could be scaring them into not wanting to say it aloud?
Finally, it was the fairy Slow who begrudgingly told him, "Her name is Tanya. And she's…a Hag."
"A what?", Basil asks.
"A witch.", Slow clarified.
"If she gets her way, she'll use Gossamer's magic to take over, and no one will be able to stop her.", Flo explained in more detail, with all three of them shaking and clutching onto one another like frightened dogs.
Basil sucked air between his teeth and looked off to the side while saying under his breath, "Okay, now I understand the importance of it all."
"So will you help us?", Slow impatiently broke his train of thought.
"I…", Basil began to say before shutting down and thinking. He knew he had no way to help; his only offense was his Magic Cooking and Farming with the most dangerous tools. But even he didn't know if they could hurt other beings. Still, if he did nothing, who knows what could happen? He still has the Bugbears, so maybe he has a chance. So, with a deep sigh and a begrudging resistance to speak, he finally replied, "I'll certainly try."
So with the happy fairies, Basil and Burr collected the strongest Bugbears and Teto to follow the tiny flying creatures deep within his property. The walk took several hours to get there despite it only being a few miles away from his open landscape, then to a dense forest, followed by a swamp where they had to wade through thick, murky waters so treacherous that some of the bugbears had to hold Basil and Teto to keep them from getting stuck.
The swamp was thick, gloomy, and smelled like a mix of fresh soil and rotten eggs, with trees tall yet thin and dangling. Plants and moss grew in every part possible, water up to your ankles with roots so thick in the black water you could break your ankle with just one misstep. Despite them coming during the later afternoon, it looked like dust as a low but transparent fog hung all around with no noise but the sound of croaking frogs and buzzing insects in their ears. A true sense of foreboding danger embellished all of them.
They finally came upon the few parts of dry land in the area. Once on this dry patch, they continued to follow the fairies, where they pointed out a very out-of-place smoke stack. Upon arrival to a more open swamp area, they saw a shabby-looking house that was clearly out of place before them. It was a perfect triangle with a small porch, a door that tilted off to one side, and a light inside from the billowing smoke of the chimney. Overall…it just looked creepy and felt unsettling.
"So…that's her house? Looks seedy.", Basil states with a shiver.
"That's Hag's for ya.", Slow told him in a whisper.
"So how do we free your friend?", Basil asked the fairy.
Slow's eyes widened at the question, and it exclaimed, "I thought you would know."
Basil snapped his neck to the fairy and half shouted, "I'm a baker, not a fighter! How many times do I have to say it?", but all Slow did was cover his mouth with its tiny body. Sighing to himself and blowing the fairy off his mouth, he rubbed his temples and said, "Okay, maybe we can just send the Bugbears to knock her door down and beat her silly. That ought to work. She's just an old granny…right?"
"Hags only appear as old ladies. They're strong, really-really strong!", Slow told him.
"And possess weird magic.", added Moe.
"And she's green!", said Flo.
Looking at the fairies' seemingly prejudiced comment, Basil asked, "What's that gotta do with anything?"
"Green Hags can turn invisible.", Slow replied.
Basil sucks air between his teeth and replies, "That is a problem. Okay, let me think." he then closes his eyes and rubs his temples, this time trying to brainstorm. After a bit of waiting and all eyes on him, Basil finally clapped his hands and said, "Okay, people, I've got two plans!"
"Why two?", Moe inquired.
"In case the other one fails…which it might.", Basil admits, making everyone sweat drop. "So Teto will watch the hag and find the keys she's using to hold your unicorn friend. He'll sneak in, grab the keys, free him, and make his escape.", Basil tells them.
"But hags are very perceptive, especially in their own homes.", Flo tells him.
"That's where we come in.", Basil told them while pointing to the fairies and himself. "We distract the hag while Teto works his magic.", he explained before looking to the Bugbears and telling them, "And if all else fails, we send the Bugbears in to lynch-mob her."
Even though the plan was as bare bones as one could get, with more holes than Swiss cheese and more than enough chances for things to go utterly south, everyone shook their heads in agreement with the plan, and they set forth to see it through. They just hoped they could doop a witch.