As Brownbeard had thought they spotted Furrowfield around dusk the next day. With the light quickly fading they could see no details, only the silhouette of a large land mass on the horizen.
"At last! I can't wait to get off this damn boat!" Malroth exclaimed leaning against the railing. The builder was at his side resting her hands lightly on the rail next to him.
"Well you're going to have to. I am not exploring a strange island in the dark. Besides, the trip hasn't been that bad."
Malroth frowned in disagreement but wouldn't leave the ship without her, if she'd feel better waiting until morning they'd wait until morning. He caught a scent on the breeze from shore, "Ugh, what's that smell? It's coming from the island, it's a rotting smell, like someone left a bag of apples in the sun for a month!"
"Well, it is a farming island, maybe someone has a compost heap near the beach. But how would you smell that from this distance?"
"I have a very sensitive nose."
"No kidding."
They fell into a comfortable silence as the boat gently rocked back and forth. A rogue wave caused the boat to tip a bit further than before and Caroline lost her footing, stumbling into Malroth who put an arm around her waist. They stared at each other for a long minute before Caroline spoke "Uh, thanks Malroth, you can let go now."
"There might be more waves to come. I'll hold onto you just in case. We don't want you falling overboard or something." He stated matter of factly looking back over the water.
"Oh. Uh, Okay." The boat did seem to be swaying a bit more, but the captain wasn't worried so neither were they. The captain called them for supper, soup and hard tack again, has it had been for breakfast and lunch. Malroth just had soup and watched Caroline as she used hers to soften the hard tack, humming happily with the dopiest smile on her face.
"You actually like that stuff?"
"Yarr, it keeps well at sea." Brownbeard told him. "A man can't live for months at sea on naught but fish stew and seaweed."
Caroline smiled at him as she dunked another biscuit. "My uncle used to bring me some every time he came home. We ate it with warm sweetened milk or coffee. Gran didn't let me drink coffee so it was our little secret."
"You sound like you miss your family. I wish I could get you back to Cantlin." Malroth stated.
Caroline looked down sadly and shook her head. "My uncle was lost at sea and my Gran and Gramps... I still have an aunt, but she doesn't like me."
"Why doesn't she like you? You're amazing?"
"You know, I think I'll turn in now." Caroline stated finishing her soup and washing her bowl before leaving the galley. Malroth resumed his post on the prow listening for any noise that might tell him what to expect on the island. For a long time all he heard were insects, waves, and the occasional call of night birds. he was about to turn in when he heard the low moan of a ghost.
What Brownbeard had called a bed was nothing but a woven straw mat that provided no more cushioning than the floor and had one end curled into a headrest. The builder was already asleep with her long, purple hair was loose and pooled around her like water. She had spent part of the day carving pieces of driftwood into combs, which he appreciated. As much as he liked causing mayhem he also wanted to be well groomed between blood baths. Brownbeard was asleep in the corner, his head pillowed on a half sack of flour. Malroth laid on the floor beside Caroline and fell asleep watching a loose strand flutter back and forth in front of her nose while she drooled peacefully.
In the morning the stink of decaying plant life grew stronger as they neared the island though they could not tell where it came from. "I sure hope this is the place." Caroline said, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "It's green, but there is something off about the shade of green."
"Here we are at last!" Malroth declared jumping from the ship to the pier. "That hermit's got a nerve sending us here on a ship like that! The way it was listing side to side it's a wonder we made it here at all!"
"Well list or no list you're safe and sound on dry land now, yarr." Brownbeard retorted sounding offended "Welcome to Furrowfield. At least I assume it's furrowfield. Ain't never heard of the place meself but it don't look like Behan or Zahan, I can tell ye that much. Well I'm off to learn the lay of the sea, but don't worry- I won't sail off into the sunrise. I'll be back in time to take ye home." Brownbeard told them and just like that he was gone.
"Damn it. I think that guy drank too much sea water, how is he going to know when we're ready to go home?" Malroth wondered.
"Maybe he plans to check back with us periodically." Caroline offered with a shrug.
"Well anyway let's get going. I can't wait to see what this island has instore for us.
As they stepped off of the pier the ground below them squelched sickeningly and Caroline realized why the color was off, it wasn't grass covering the island, it was a thin layer of sickly moss covering dark fetid slime.
"Wow this place is weird the trees are withered, and the ground is all slimy, and I don't think that smell is a compost heap after all. Do you really think we'll find the greenery we need here? Wait, what the hell is that" Malroth pointed to a pink blob in the distance. He ran over to get a closer look.
"Malroth don't get so close, it looks unstable." Caroline called to her friend keeping her distance.
"It's some kind of pink, pulsating... thing! But what IS it? I think it's some kind of fruit. I wonder what it tastes like?"
"Malroth please tell me you're not dumb enough to eat something you don't know what it is!" Caroline groaned face palming.
"Do you think the whole things edible or.." He didn't get to finish that thought as noxious gas began to pour out of pores on the sides and the damn thing exploded.
He stepped back coughing a spluttering and wiped its remnants from his face with his hands. "Damn, stupid thing just blew up in my face and what a stink! It's turned the ground all gross and slimy too! I've heard of fruit going off but this is ridiculous!"
They returned to the beach and Malroth washed away the pink thing goop in the ocean the resumed exploration. They hadn't gone far when something caught Malroth's attention and he grabbed Caroline's elbow to stop her. "I smell a fight brewing, Caroline, over there."
Straining her ears Caroline though she heard a terrified plea for help. Malroth laughed and said, "Sounds like fun, let see what all the screaming is about."
As they drew near they spotted a blue haired girl who had climbed a rock outcropping to escape two badboons who circled like ravenous sharks.
"So this is how it ends?" the girl whimpered, "Dinner for a couple of smelly apes? I hope I give them terrible indigestion!"
Without a word Malroth drew his club and smashed one of them in the head drawing the attention of both. Caroline made use of the second badboons distraction to land a couple of solid blows with her cedar stick, jumping back as he turned and swatted at her. She jumped forward and whacked him hard in the face and jumped back again to dodge another swipe as Malroth landed another blow to his buddy's head.
A third blow to the head resulted in the first badboon's grey matter being splattered over a sizable area and Malroth turned to see the other catch Caroline in the ribs and send her flying into the rock. He darted forward and two furious swings left the second's face looking like ground beef.
Malroth hurried to Caroline and leaned over her as she opened her eyes. She carefully got up, testing her feet before she put her full weight on them. Nothing seemed broken but her ribs were on fire.
"It doesn't smell like you're bleeding." Malroth informed her then grabbed them hem of her dress and began to lift it up.
"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled smacking his hands away and yanking her hem back down.
"Checking your injuries, what do you think I'm doing?"
"I'm fine, Malroth! You can't just go around pulling ladies' dresses up!"
"I was trying to help."
"Well thank you, but you can't just pull my dress up." He looked a little miffed, so Caroline took a deep, calming breath and continued, "Malroth, I mean it, thank you. You just saved my life, but I'm fine now. I probably have a wicked bruise but that will heal. If I need help tending a wound I will ask you, but don't pull up my dress again."
Malroth nodded. "Ok. Let's go get some information out of Sally Screamsalot."
At the top they found the girl was unaware of her rescue. Malroth started to say something but Caroline caught his eye, shook her head, and put a finger to her lips. Eventually the girl became aware that she no longer heard the badboons howling for her blood. She chanced a glance down, the area Malroth had decorated with brains was obscured by the rocks "T They're gone? Haha, those Fraidy cats must have run off when the realized who they were dealing with!" she then turned and gave a satisfying yelp of surprise when she saw her saviors behind her.
"How long have you two been standing there?" She asked with some embarrassment.
"Since Malroth splattered monkey brains all over the rock over there." Caroline grinned
The girl looked at the ground where Caroline had indicated and saw the carnage "I see. Thank you for your help. My name's Rosie, who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I am Caroline the apprentice builder and my buddy is Malroth the amnesiac. We're hoping to learn how to grow some veggies and other greenery on our island so we don't have to choke down anymore kelp."
"You know going around telling everyone you're a builder is risky business, there's no telling how people will react. You're lucky you met me." She became thoughtful and continued "And I might be lucky I met you. Right then, you can't make an omelet without breaking some rules. As the finest farmer on Furrowfield it is my pleasure and duty to give you a tour of furrowfield farm. This way." she climbed down from the rock and led them to what resembled ruins more than a farm.
looking around skeptically Malroth said "Not to burst your bubble but it's not that great. It's not very green, it's not even a garden."
"Oh I know, that's because we haven't built it yet!" Rosie exclaimed happily. She proceeded to explain that where they were standing used to be the biggest, greenest farm in Furrowfield until the spoilspores showed up and ruined the soil, but if they all worked together, she was sure they could rebuild it.
Malroth pointed up the hill "Are those guys mixed up in this too?" Up the hill two men stood staring at a small patch of wheat infected with a pulsating spoilspore. One was a middle aged mad with a bushy beard, the other was a young man in his late teens with copper hair.
"Come, Perry-there must be something we can do. This is the last of our wheat, to say nothing of the soil... we've scant enough arable earth as it is." the older man was saying standing over the spoilspore in question.
"I wun't stand so close if I were you, Mister Bonanzo, sir. This 'ere spoilspore looks like it could go off any minute!" No sooner had Perry uttered the warning than the spoil spore did just that, spewing noxious fumes and sullying the soil as it did.
Rosie called over to ask if they were ok while Malroth began to laugh. "That thing went off right in there faces, come one let's check out the aftermath."
The three made their way up the hill so that Rosie could check on her friends, they were though the wheat was not, then Bonanzo spotted Caroline and Malroth. "And who, pray tell, are you two? I haven't seen your faces around here before and I rather think I liked it that way."
Malroth stepped closer to Bonanzo scowling and cracking his knuckles but Caroline held up a hand to stop him. "Don't bother Malroth, I would have to give a fuck about his opinion for his words to offend me."
Rosie made the introductions, learning Caroline was a builder did not improve his mood. He glared at her and proceeded to give Rosie a piece of his mind, declaring that she must abandon her dream of resurrecting the farm and that the builder should be shunned before storming off, demanding young Perry to accompany him. Parry was reluctant to leave but obeyed the older man.
Rosie and Caroline got to work right away. Caroline scribbled in her book then built Rosie a scarecrow and placed it in an area with a few patches of good earth. Rosie carefully plowed the earth, being carful not to mix it with the spoiled soil. Then she asked Caroline to make her an irrigation station. The builder scribbled on her book again then drew up a blueprint on the ground mapping out where the blocks would go. Once that was finished she made some beds and salvaged some wood blocks to build up the ruins of a room that had once stood behind a red door.
Exhausted and having all their tasks finished for the day Rosie and Caroline turned in as soon as it was properly dark. Bonanzo hesitated but seeing as the builder had been kind enough to make five beds he decided to stay in the room shortly after. Perry stayed up a bit later, watching Malroth make a last patrol around the area, curious but much too timid to strike up a conversation.
Finally seeing Malroth walk towards the room Perry decided to turn in as well and was just getting comfortable when he was picked up by the back of his shirt. He barely had time to let out a surprised yelp when he was dropped on the bed between Bonanzo and Rosie. "Wat the blimmin 'eck?"
Bonanzo, who had not been asleep yet witnessed the whole thing. "Honestly Perry you're lucky he did not react with violence. Be more aware of your surroundings and never bed down next to another man's girlfriend."
"Oh, I din't realize they was datin'"
"If they aren't then you nearly committed a far greater offence." Bonanzo looked over at Malroth "But the two of you do seem quite young to be traveling together without a chaperone, is the builder your girlfriend or your wife?"
Malroth ignored him as he settled in next to the builder. She had stirred when Perry yelped, and her eyes had fluttered, but she had not woken up. He had overheard Lulu call him Caroline's boyfriend and the builder had denied it, now these two were calling her his girlfriend. She was a girl and she was his friend but the way they were talking it didn't seem like that was what they meant. He wasn't quite sure what wife meant either. Still Bonanzo had been less than welcoming, and Perry was his faithful little lackey. If believing she was his girlfriend kept them at a distance, particularly at night when she was most vulnerable, he wasn't going to correct them.
He awoke several hour later to find the room quite chilly. The room being small and crowded with bodies retained some heat, but it hadn't been safe to build a fire in the crowded wooden room and the temperature outside was quite cold. the cold didn't bother him, so he wasn't sure why he'd awoken at first. The farmers were all crowded together to share body heat. Caroline, on his other side, was curled in a tight little ball and shivering in her sleep. He was quite certain she hadn't had time or materials to make a blanket, so he didn't bother to look for one.
After thinking it over few a minute he shrugged off his jacket and laid it over her then moved closer so that she could benifit from his body heat. He wrapped a strong arm around her and pulled her small warm body close. Between his jacket and his body heat she soon stopped shivering. He smiled, happy to be able to do something to help her as he fell back to sleep.