*

Tobias felt the sweat drip from his brow as he continued to uproot the dozens of prickly shrubs on the old farm field. He had been working since dawn at the fields with Kima and her family. At one point he stood up and looked at the sun, it was past midday. He wiped the sweat off his face with his shirt. As he looked across the field he saw Trista, Lora, and Puck headed his way. Tobias hadn't talked to Lora since their walk after visiting Tunis. He had a feeling she had told him all she could and that the matter was finished. He just hoped somehow she would let go of it all.

Lora was half listening to Trista and Puck's bantering about monsters and fighting techniques. She was still trying to figure out what to do with Tobias. Their last conversation had ended up very awkwardly. Lora could feel the boundary of friendship being pushed to its limits and she wasn't sure what to do.

Kima came running to the group, "This place already looks better don't you think?"

Trista smiled and looked around, "It does! We came to help speed things up."

Kima was beaming, she was so excited to have a home again and friends to help, "Alright well Trista if you and Puck could help with the fencing and Lora you can help Tobias. He's been at it all morning."

Lora glared at Kima and Trista who gave her two very smug smiles. Maybe it was a bad idea to let these two join the caravan after all. Without a word Lora did as she was told and joined Tobias, "So what are we doing today?"

Tobias looked up surprised to see Lora, "Removing shrubs, weeds, and that." Tobias pointed to a giant foreboding stump. "It won't even budge."

Lora walked over to the stump and squatted in front of it, "Hmmm." She turned back to Tobias, "Have you thought of digging it out?"

"Yes, but I need more people to pull it out or else it will just sink back in."

Lora looked over the stump again and then stood up and went to the worn down shed nearby. Tobias turned towards the shed when he heard a shout of pain and a cloud of dust explode from the entrance. A few seconds later a dusty Lora appeared with shovels and rope, "Well, let's get started."

Tobias smirked at Lora as he took a shovel from her.

Lora put her hands on her hips, "What's with that look!?"

Tobias just shook his head, "I'm not even going to say anything."

Lora waited for Tobias's remark but it never came which was odd for him. So she joined Tobias and began to dig around the stump. After a couple hours the heat seemed to make everything worse. Lora and Tobias were both digging under the stump, "How deep is this thing!?" Lora exclaimed.

Tobias chuckled and rubbed his forehead adding more dirt to his face, "Maybe we'll dig to the other end of the world."

Lora smiled, "Good. It will be a nice vacation spot."

The two continued to dig until Lora grabbed an odd shaped root and began pulling it.

"Ow! Lora!"

Lora continued to pull on the root, "One minute Tobias, there is a tricky root."

"That's my hand!"

Lora immediately let go and laughed, "Sorry!"

Tobias pulled his arm out of the hole and shook it to gain circulation. "Hurry up and get the others and the rope before it sinks."

Lora was up in a flash to grab the rope and yell for the others to come. Lora and Tobias quickly tied the rope around the stump and the remaining part was given to Puck, Trista, Kima, and Jasper to pull. Tobias and Lora began to push the stump forward and out of the hole. Everyone began to use all of their strength. The stump slipped a few times but was eventually pulled out. Everyone cheered, but as Puck leaned against the stump to rest it came crashing back down. Tobias grabbed Lora and rolled out of the hole seconds before the stump was back in its proper place. Everyone groaned at the sight of the stump and went back looking defeated to what they were previously working on. Tobias and Lora were still lying on the ground breathing heavy from all of their hard work and near death experience. Lora turned towards Tobias, "Thanks for saving me again."

Tobias smiled, "I think it's become a hobby of mine." Lora laughed at his reply, now that was more like Tobias.

Tobias moved closer to Lora, "I want to talk to you about yesterday."

Lora began to blush and stood up, "Don't worry about it Tobias."

"But-" Tobias tried to say but was interrupted by loud clanging.

Lora stopped immediately in her tracks, "That's the bells! Quick we must get to the crystal!"

Lora began to run immediately towards town. As Tobias stood up, he noticed all the others had headed in the same direction. He decided to follow, not knowing what was going on.

Soon Tobias and the others reached the town square and in front of the crystal stood Tunis Po and his wife. Tunis cleared his throat, "I have summoned you all here today with our ceremonial bells for important news. First, the threat of monsters has become more dangerous than ever. From here on out we will have patrols outside our village. They will be led by Jasper Ruse and the Li family. Everyone will be asked to participate. This is for the safety of everyone. Second, I have news from Alfitaria and the coalition of all villages and cities. The collection of myrrh has been determined for this coming year. Each village will now be assigned myrrh trees based on need and location. This is for the safety of all caravans."

A strong uproar of disapproval could be heard throughout the crowd. Lora was happy patrols were accepted, but she did not like this idea of rationing myrrh trees. Tunis silenced the crowd and continued with his announcement, "And finally, we will be having a celebration in one week to welcome the Ruse family and for the departure of our caravan!"

The crowd cheered, but Lora felt ice run through her veins. Something was very wrong. She looked at the others and they all shared her look of concern. They wouldn't be ready in a week.

Lora pushed through the crowd and ran after the elder as he departed the village center, "Elder Tunis, you can't mean for us to be ready within the week!"

Tunis turned around solemnly, "Meet me tomorrow at my house. We will discuss this then."

Trista caught up to Lora and grabbed her harm, "What did he say!?"

Lora sighed, "I'm going to talk to him tomorrow."

Trista frowned, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"As do I."

Tobias was kicking pebbles along the road towards the Li house. He was frustrated. The world was in turmoil, the caravan wasn't ready, and every time he tried to talk to Lora it was interrupted.