I led them back to the cottage, and the satyr was right. There were two carts: one filled with at least ten pots ready for planting, and one with a few bags of soil. It was a little entertaining that they brought their own soil, but it was probably better than even the Four Season's natural soil. Whoever this Wyatt was who had dropped the dirt off had already disappeared.
As the children clamored around to start their project, I took out my pad. In the area designated for keeping track of people, I recorded all the children's names and species along with Jude's, and how they were associated with the orphanage. I even put Wyatt's in, only putting that he might have some tie to the orphanage. I could have asked for more information, but they looked happy, and I didn't want to disturb them.
Yeah, that was my excuse.
I leaned against a tree once done. For a moment, I thought about cutting it down while the children worked on their projects, but that was an even stupider idea than showing them my sharp-edged, rusted tools. Plus, I felt a little lightheaded. I still hadn't eaten enough lately. A few mud berries two days ago didn't really count as proper nutrition, not even when substituting them with clear water and unfiltered sunlight.
Still, it wasn't like food or the money for food was going to appear in front of me, so I shuffled over to where the sun was shining, away from the children and Lily, but close enough that I could keep an eye on them. Maybe it was paranoia after living in the city, or just my own anxiety, but I didn't dare let them leave my sight while they were on my land.
I wondered if being in rehab had made me afraid of people, but honestly, I'd never been good with others. I think it was why that ended up being so easy for my parents to cut me out of their lives. They had hoped for the best, but I'd failed every test put in front of me. I'd hardly pass as a possible nymph.
On hands and knees, I closed my eyes and dug my hands into the soil.
Soil by itself was on the list of things that I wouldn't get paid for if I put it in the box, but if I found clay or some sort of special mineral-infused soil, then I could get a few golds for my trouble. Also, while there were no insects or other animals in the space, somehow, things just grew better here. And while I couldn't go bug hunting, there were other ways the holy space enriched the land that I could find and sell for profit or use to help grow my own garden.
I closed my eyes and followed the roots of the plants around me with my magic. I found a rock that had been broken in an interesting way. I took my trowel. It was deep enough that an actual shovel would have been better, but as I didn't actually have one, the trowel would have to do. With a little prodding, I was able to use my magic to convince the roots to pull enough of the soil away that I only had to dig a little to get to the rock to the surface.
Once I had the rock in hand, I went to the well and pulled up a bucket of water. First, I had a quick drink of water, my own thirst dry cracking against my throat and tongue, plus I needed to keep my strength up through sunlight and water as long as possible. Then I pulled up another pail of water and got to cleaning off the rock.
Checking the glittering thing against the light of the sun, I couldn't help but reflect on how surprised I was to actually find it. For some reason, especially in spaces like Four Seasons, I would have thought precious stones and such would only have been found in the mines. Of course, most of those places were also breeding grounds of chaos, and while intelligent chaos creatures had been accepted for the most part in certain parts of the society. Still, that didn't change the fact that at its most basic, chaos magic was dangerous.
I'd heard that most miners were also adventurers and protectors who kept chaos at bay while also gathering the gems so they could get some actual material they could trade with.
There was a space like that here. Still, I'd been assured that while there were protectors placed next to the ruins. The mines were mostly dormant of chaos creatures. Whatever magic lived there stayed beneath the surface, and any creatures stayed beneath the crust and appeared unable to break out into the sun.
"Wow, shiny," said a voice, and then the rock was ripped from my hands and trotted over to Mica, whose already big elf eyes looked like they were going to fall out of their face. They looked at me, squeaked, and hid behind Lily.
Lucy growled like I had threatened Mica. Of course, my first instinct was to ask for my find back. But then again, while Lily had imposed these children on me, she'd still done much more to actually help me. So, I forced a smile. I knew I'd lose some good money, but maybe I'd get lucky and find something even better after they left. I'd try to stay to collecting seeds and grass while they were still here.
"No, keep it. I insist," I said, wincing when even I heard the shakiness in my voice.
"Why don't we show Ni his surprise?" asked Lily. Suddenly, all the kids looked a little surprised and happy in their own way, even the baby, though she also appeared to be asleep. Which, from my experience, meant she'd probably just farted or done something equally as gross.
"Tada," said Ria, lifting something that she almost tripped on, and that Lucy and Mica were trying to hold with her.
"Thank you," I stuttered, taking it from her. I let it fall open, revealing a quilted blanket made with various squares, some made with obvious careful thought, and others slapdash. It appeared that they had made it with five uneven sides, so even Isla had contributed, though they probably hadn't known what they were doing.
But it was a blanket, and they had probably made it because Lily noticed I didn't have one myself. That meant that I owed Lily more than I could ever repay.
"No!" cried Ria. "You can't cry yet. We haven't shown you your second gift!"
"Second gift?" I asked, embarrassed when I actually sniffed and ran the back of my hand across my snotty nose. I wiped hurriedly at my eyes, cursing myself and trying to be careful not to lift my sunglasses.
"This way," said the orc, taking my free hand and leading me back to the front of my cottage, where six pots sat on my porch. "You get our extra."
"Extra?" I asked shakily.
"Yeah, we all made two. We only need one for our classes, so you get the extra one from each of us," said Ria, happily jumping. "So, you'll join us for lunch, as a thank you, right?"
"Lunch?" I repeated. I couldn't help but squeak a little as I said it. Did they think that I had made something for them? I didn't have enough money to buy my own food, let alone enough for this small army of children.
"If you want, of course," said Lily, that sound in her voice that caretakers used when prompting the children in their care. "We have enough food back at the orphanage, and you're invited to join us before you get back to your work."
"Uh, well…" I stuttered, honestly trying to very quickly come up with some excuse not to go without hurting their feelings.
"Come, or you'll make Mica sad," said Lucy, pointing at Mica. The elf looked back at me with their wide scared eyes, not making any sound that they agreed or disagreed.
"Alright," my treacherous mouth ended up saying, and Ria immediately took my hand and started dragging me out of my land and into the village. I kept my head down, very aware of how much of a mess I looked. Not just that I was in my rehab clothes, but that they were also stained and dirty. Add to that my wilting and sickly nymph frame and well... I couldn't help but touch my hair self-consciously, and then glance at my greyish and gross skin.
It was a relief when we finally got to the orphanage. The building itself was set up for more than just two children and two students. It was also rather boringly designed. Very square and unfriendly, though Lily and the children had covered the walls and even the ceiling in pictures.
The children continued to chatter and ordered me around to help set up the table.
Thankfully, they didn't seem to actually expect me to talk to them during the meal. They didn't exclude me. They still asked me questions, but if I took too long to answer or just gave a one- or two-word answer, they didn't push and moved on with their conversations. Still, the anxiety made it hard to really enjoy the food, but I felt fuller than I had for a long time and knew that whatever Lily wanted in the future from me was hers. I thanked them for the meal and left, saying that I wanted to check with the blacksmith about making an appointment to have my tools checked.
Unfortunately, Jude let me know that the blacksmith took the day to himself to work on his projects and that Wyatt had his day off to go fishing. But any other day, he should be available unless it was a holiday.
I thanked him, a little disappointed.
"But the library is open today if you want to introduce yourself and get a card. You might even be able to pick up some books. Melissa's great at finding anything you need," he said. I wondered if that was a hint, but I was itching to go, so I said my thanks and left.
The library was actually on the way back to my cabin, and I was lucky enough to even find some kind of root vegetable. I had no idea what it was, but being a creature of Earth made it possible to know what was edible or not. I ended up holding it awkwardly since I didn't actually have my pack with me. I should probably bring it around with me from now on no matter what, but it wasn't like it was something that normal people would drag around. It might not be a big bag, but it was obviously one for traveling. Another thing I'd have to replace once I had enough extra gold.