I knew I had to start planting as soon as I could. I was desperately trying to get the first seeds in the ground, but luck wasn't on my side today. I was barely able to till enough soil to get my first bed of vegetables going before I was almost too tired to even stand. My tools were old, the handles rough and breaking. The head of my hoe was so bad it was already getting chips in it from tiny rocks. I knew I had to fix them before I could continue, but my money was already tight. I needed weeks to harvest anything, and my survivability was looking to be something I had to focus on until that point came. Leah was incredibly petite and if she foraged for her meals like I needed to, I could tell I was going to shed a few pounds until the harvest season.
Stardust III
By: Satashi
My hoe snapped in half when I tried to remove a larger chunk of stone from my planting area. I let out a small curse and tossed it to the side in annoyance. My hands were blistered and sore, despite having brand new gloves on them. Sweat dripped down my face and I wiped it with the back of my arm, smearing dirt over my forehead.
"Wood troubles?" The voice made me look over at a smiling woman who had her arms crossed. "I can help you there. I'm Robin." She held out her hand, which I shook after taking off my gloves. "I'm the local carpenter."
"Oh thank goodness," I sighed out in appreciation. "We're going to be great friends." This made the woman laugh. She had amazing red hair, up in a short but high ponytail. Cheerful green eyes shone in the sun, contrasting against her work clothes.
Robin picked up my broken tool and inspected it. "This was very high grade hickory, not easy to come across . Good grain structure…or at least was…"
"Shed didn't hold up very well," I told her, nodding over at it. "There are some leaks, and they went right onto the tool area. That and general neglect seemed to have done them in."
The woman nodded. "I can make you some nice tools out of cherry. They are really durable but still have a good flex in them."
"Wouldn't a harder wood be better? One without flex?"
Robin laughed. It wasn't a mean laugh, but rather a kind of laugh that made me more curious than upset. "No, no, you want one that will absorb the shock of the hits. Otherwise you'll vibrate your fingers off and hurt your hands. Would you like to come to my shop and look?"
"I'd love to." I followed her to the truck parked near the entrance to my farm. "How far are you? I don't have any transportation yet."
"Just up the mountain a bit. I can take you home after, don't worry." The offer made me agree and I got in the passenger side. "My daughter Maru told me you had arrived so I thought I'd stop by. Seems like a good choice." The ride to her house was filled with questions about different types of wood and why they were or weren't good for specific jobs. The conversation continued into the house and through meeting Robin's husband Demetrius. Finally, I found myself in a lumber mill, looking at planks of wood and other cuts that I wasn't quite sure of.
"So, have you made up your mind?" My new friend put a hand on her hip and beamed at me.
"Uh, I think so… I'd like cherry."
"Good choice! I have some lumber I can use in stock out back. How many rods do you need?"
"Let's see… Hoe, scythe, shovel, an axe, maybe a pick axe for breaking down larger rocks…"
Robin nodded. "So five full sized ones and maybe some smaller ones for more precise work?"
"That sounds good. How much will it be?"
"For cherry?" Robin placed a hand on her chin and looked up while humming. "Taking into consideration the styles of the handles, and the wood… I'd say roughly a hundred each."
I felt my mouth dry up, and not just from the sawdust floating around in the mill. "I can't afford that at all…"
This made Robin hum again. "Yeah, you're really new in town and I know all about the pains of moving… And you won't have any income until you start selling… but you can't sell without tools…" Her face lit up as if an idea just occurred. "Tell you what, I have a customer who needs some things that will give me enough spare wood to make you some starting tools. They'll be made of Pine, which isn't the best for what you need, but I can spare it if you help me cut down a tree and get it into my mill.
The offer was too good to be true. "Sure!" I shook her hand again. "Thank you! This will help me out so much!"
Robin grinned. "Then let's get chopping, shall we?"
I had been tired before, but this literally made me redefine the word. My muscles ached and my back was screaming at me for what I put it through. Robin and I had not only chopped down three trees with nothing but hatchets, but also measured and sawed them into lengths of logs to have drug back to the mill by a few horses. We then debarked them, and I assisted Robin in turning them into planks. My wood was cut from the scrap and out of the three trees, Robin barely was able to get what she needed without sacrificing a whole section to them.
Needless to say, even though I worked out regularly back in the city, my body wasn't built to be a lumberjack. I was barely able to walk through town after asking Robin to drop me off at the end of the day. I knew it wasn't a smart idea, but I had to work fast, and each day counted. To my surprise there was a blacksmith here in town and I really needed one right now.
The door opened, hitting a small bell above it to signal that I had arrived. "One moment," a voice called to me. My eyes looked over at a man next to a huge press. He had a long glowing piece of metal in it and was slamming the top down onto the working material. I watched in amazement as the large man shifted the metal around, hit it more, and finally took it to what seemed to be a dunking vat filled with a liquid that caught fire when he submerged it. "There. What can I do for you?" He most certainly had the look of a blacksmith about him. Short brown hair, a thick beard, and a body that looked a little heavyset but also incredibly muscular. "Ah, let me guess. Farming tools?"
"Nailed it," I confirmed. "I don't have much money right now, so I just need my hoe blade fixed." I took the broken hoe tip from my backpack and handed it to him.
"Sorry missy, this one's too far gone. I wouldn't even melt it down to re-pour it. You'll need to start from scratch."
"I was afraid you would say that…" I sighed and my shoulders sank. "What's the damage?"
"You'd want iridium ideally, but that stuff is so rare I don't even have any to offer. Until then, probably iron would be your best bet."
"Iron is good."
"For this thing, I'll need about a day and around eighty dollars to form it around your handle. That will cover the basic shape and sharpening. If you want more elaborate detailing, it'll be extra." I really needed that money just to survive for the time being, so I was about to try and strike a deal with him when the door opened again. "Welco-" The man's voice cut off when he saw who was in the doorway."Hello Morris. I'm really busy right now, so if you're not buying, you're leaving."
I could feel the hostility in the Blacksmith's voice, and it didn't suit him at all. Despite being strong, he had a kind look about him. The person named Morris came in anyway and spoke to me instead. "Hello there, you're the new farmer, correct?"
"That's me."
"Good, good, I was hoping to get you before you purchased some outdated tools."
The blacksmith groaned and went back to check on the metal he had just quenched. "I needed a blade for my hoe so I can till my soil."
Morris was a large man, and waddled up to me with a smile that I knew all too well from my days at Joja. It was a fake smile that lured so many people into thinking they were in the wrong despite having a problem. "You, my dear, need a tractor. One that can till, mix fertilizer in with the ground, and place seeds the correct distance apart! We are branching out into different markets and you have been selected to get the first model around here."
Who was this guy to walk into someone else's store and sell their customers something? "I don't have the money for that."
"Who needs money?" Morris held out his hands. "It's free of course." I heard a loud clang of mallet on metal behind me as the smith went back to work. I could feel that he wanted to say something, but didn't for some reason. He seemed too kind for his own good.
"There's always a catch to these things," I replied instead. It wasn't what he was expecting to hear, and his face faltered for just a moment before the facade came back up.
"All we ask is your loyalty. Word of mouth between farmers is more effective than any advertisement we could dream of. If you, the new person in town, suddenly produce more with that dusty old piece of land than others who have been trying for years, our sales will more than cover this gift! What do you say?"
I wanted it. I really did. Every fiber in my being was screaming to take the deal, as it would secure my success and make sure my days weren't spent feeling like I do now. I was weak, tired, and hungry. My back was stabbing pain into my hip, my feet were sore and my hands were sensitive where my blisters have burst open and probably became infected. Despite this, I knew that smile. I knew those words. I have heard people talk over coffee. What he said was true, but I was hesitating.
My grandfather's voice came back to me, speaking words that I had long forgotten but somehow still held within. Nature didn't like machinery that damaged it. A Joja tractor more than likely falsified their emissions report, probably burned more gas than the maximal requirement. Grandpa told me taking care of nature was what allowed him to work his farm until he was too old to continue. I knew this wasn't the best choice to make, but my Grandfather's memory and confidence in me was more important. He entrusted this land to me, and I would respect that. "I'm sorry," I finally spoke. "I have already signed an exclusivity contract here. "
Morris dropped his smile and I could tell he was biting back words. Finally he smiled again and nodded at me. "Very well, we have to respect contracts, do we not? In that case, I bid you farewell." He turned on me and waddled out the door, closing it a little harder than was needed.
"That was a silly choice, farmer." He turned and looked at me. His face was all smiles and his eyes shone with confidence. "But anyone who turns down equipment for forged tools is a silly person I would like to call my friend." Standing, he took off his thick heat insulating gloves. "My name is Clint."
"Kim," I shook his hand and had to fight not to stagger when he gripped it firmly.
"A hoe blade, eh?"
"Yes, but I am really hard up for cash right now… What can we work with that will be good for now? I can pay more when my first crops come in."
"Your first crops will pay for more than this. You'll be lucky if you have anything left after you pay back your debts." Clint looked over at his large cabinet. "I have old moulds from the farmer before you, a friend of my dad's before he left for a bigger town. I assume it was your father or grandfather who ran that farm before you?"
"Grandfather."
"I've heard stories." Clint rooted around in the cabinet for a while before pulling out what seemed to be a slightly deformed hoe head. "He wanted to bring us metal himself, taken from the land by his own hands. Didn't like industrial machines. Instead he had a pickaxe and hired adventurers from the guild to protect him as he went into the mines… Tell you what, Kim." He stood to his full height and placed a work hardened hand on my shoulder. "I'm certain I have some left over bronze from those days. I'll tell you how to smelt it and pour it into a mold you create yourself with some of my sand here. We'll call it even for the metal I used of his after he passed and left it to our shop in his will."
I nodded at that. Although I didn't feel quite like working on something like that, I had already chosen my path. I was going to see it through, just as my grandpa had. "Sounds like a deal, Clint. Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet, lass!" He called out cheerfully as he went over to get some metal. "You have a long night ahead of you!"
I felt more dead than alive when I made it back to my farm. I thought I would have fainted along the way, but luckily I had powered on. I had gone from struggling on a farm this morning to working a lumber mill, to smelting a hoe head at a forgery. Adding in the few mile walk illuminated only by moonlight, and I was certain I'd be in bed most of tomorrow.
I stopped after just entering my farm and walked over to the side where I had originally planned to set up a small stand to sell my produce to random people who came by. Kneeling, I took out three pinecones and broke them apart to expose the seeds. "Three trees taken, three trees given." I said the words my grandpa used to tell me when I was younger. I buried them as best I knew how and then continued to my house.
The rats made their standard scurrying sound as I drew near. I dropped my backpack right at the entrance to the door and took out the hoe head I had made earlier so I could look at it more. It was badly forged, bent incorrectly and the blade wasn't even. I had sharpened it as best I could, but it was still chipped in some places. Although I was guaranteed it would hold up, as Clint himself made sure I did it right, it looked horrible. The cast was rough and the area that would attach to the handle was most certainly not straight. However, I was proud of it. I had made it, and it would help me produce plant life that would sustain myself here, just as my late Grandpa wanted me to. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I was proud of what I had done today. This thought carried with me to my bed, and I climbed into it after taking off my clothes. I didn't even have it in me to take a shower tonight…
When I awoke, I heard the sounds of rain bashing against my house. Thunder roared overhead and I groaned painfully when my muscles moved. It took two attempts to sit up, and my head protested harshly. The cold hardwood floor greeted my feet and I half walked, half limped, over to my bathroom. I turned on the hot water in the shower and looked down at the dirty brown liquid dripping from me. I cleaned myself twice, and washed my hair three times before I was certain I was ready to get out.
I wrapped a towel around myself when I got out and used a second to do my hair. As I went across the house, I couldn't help but stop when I saw something reflecting the light on the floor. Kneeling down, I picked it up and turned it over in my hands. The hoe head that I had crafted yesterday was… perfect. The blade was in line and almost cut my finger when I touched it. The metal was as smooth as glass, and almost reflected my image like a polished mirror. The area that came up to connect to the rod it would attach to was reinforced and, from what I could tell, would hold securely in place with no vibration.
I was beyond confused. I knew this was what I had crafted, as it still held my initials on the flat side. Clint had helped me make them, and it was most certainly what I had done.
I heard sounds near the floorboards and saw what looked like colorful creatures hiding behind things, watching me. When they came into focus, though, they seemed to fade away from my sight. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I didn't feel anything evil from them. Instead, I could almost sense a welcoming feeling… a happy feeling.
The lightning flashed again and thunder rocked my headache hard enough for me to close my eyes. When I opened them again, the little creatures were all gone. I stood up slowly, wincing at my sore body, and continued on my way, stopping only to pick up a letter that was laying in front of my door. There was no address on it, and the message inside was blissfully simple:
I can help you with your little 'rat problem'. Come visit me by the lake.
Closing the letter, I looked down at the hoe head in my hands for a few moments before going to get dressed.
