Morning found them sloshing through the bog in search of sugarcane. They also needed to collect a pot from Pastor Al's house. So far Sugar hadn't picked up any scents, but Caroline was happy to fill her bag brambles and plant fibers, singing happily, until she did. Malroth couldn't help but smile at her, slogging through the muck would feel like a chore without her, but she made it a fun adventure.
"Hey, look at that." Malroth called pointing at a group over rats hopping up and down excitedly. "You reckon those guys know anything about this swamp?"
"We could ask." She replied. As they drew close she could hear their conversation a rather uninspired conversation about things that were green. "Excuse me. We're building a farm, do you happen to know where we can find some seeds?"
"Building a farm are you? Looking for seeds? You're a weird one, even for a human!"
"Okay you ratty rotters, time to spill the beans, you're going to tell us everything you know about this bog."
"Oh we are, are we? Seems like we need to teach these humans a lesson. Let's get them boys!" The rats jumped on Malroth but before Caroline even had a chance to pull her sword Malroth had taken his club against all three's heads knocking them unconscious.
"I wish we hadn't had to beat them up. We really need some info."
"Why wouldn't we resort to violence? That's the best bit! Don't worry, I went easy on them, they'll come to in a minute... probably."
A moment later the rats groaned and sat up. One told them about which area of the bog smelled seedy. Another told them about a cottage up on a cliff, which must be Pastor Al's house. The third told them about a bodkin who seemed in need of help,
"So what's the first move?" Malroth asked Caroline.
"It didn't sound like the bodkin is too far away, let's see what he needs. Maybe he can give us some info while we're at it."
"Sounds good to me."
Along they way they came across some huge, disembodied hands that creeped across the mud of their own free will. The hands attacked. They were easy enough to kill and dropped some green seeds as they died.
"What kind of seeds are these? Do you suppose these are one of the crops we need?" Malroth asked as they gathered them up.
"No idea. We'll ask the bodkin when we find him. They're plant experts, right?"
Suddenly Sugar barked excitedly and dashed off the path. She turned and looked at them barking happily. "Huh? What's the matter Sugar?" Malroth asked the dog. "Yeah, sorry but I don't speak dog. Hey Caroline, do you think she might have smelled something? Rosie seems to think these dogs are expert seed sniffers."
They both followed after the dog and soon she stood barking at a shallow puddle and pawing at the surface of the water. Malroth pulled the dog a couple of feet back while Caroline dug into the slimy swamp mud. She quickly found what they were seeking and triumphantly pulled a sugar can seedling out of the water, accidently slinging mud that hit both her and Malroth in the face.
"Hey, you actually found one? Good work Caroline! You too, Sugar. Good girl!" He rewarded the dog by cupping her little face and scratching behind both ears. She Continued to alert until Caroline had dug up 6 seedlings then relaxed and jumped up to lick Malroth's face. Taken by surprise he was knocked back on his butt and laughed as he playfully wrestled the dog. Caroline beamed at him as he played with Sugar then he met her eyes and his smile somehow got bigger. Giving the dog a final scratch, he climbed to his feet. "Those are some sugar can seedlings like the ones Lillian gave you, right? Funny that we should find them here though, under mud and water."
"Some plants grow in water. I guess sugarcane is one of them." Caroline speculated as she stowed the seedlings safely away in a pocket of her magic bag.
Continuing on they soon came to a slightly raised, dry area where an unhappy bodkin stood in the distance contemplating the spoiled mud. Sugar alerted as they passed the abandoned ruins of a building, and they grabbed some seeds from a chest before approaching the bodkin. Hearing them approach he looked up "Hhrm, a human! But too smart, this one looks. Too smart by far for the Children of Hargon. Who are you, girl?"
"My name is Caroline, this is Malroth and Sugar. I am a builder and we are building a farm and growing a deitree. We're looking for some sugar cane seedlings.
"Nothing of sugar cane, I know. But aid from a builder, I require. Hear my plea, you must!"
"Sure, what's up?"
"A bodkin am I. Love green we do. To change this spoiled soil into green grass day and night I toil. But the grass seeds I need- stolen by the muddy hands they were! Monstrous agents of the Children of Hargon! Please builder- In desperate need of aid am I. Fight muddy hands you must. recover 5 grass seeds you must. To green grass turn this spoiled soil!"
"Oh, is that what these are? We've already killed lots of muddy hands and they dropped these." The Bodkin nodded and indicated where he wanted the seeds sown. Caroline did as the Bodkin instructed and grass immediately began to grow and soon was a thick, soft lawn.
"Nice work Caroline, those grass seeds are pretty fast acting. I imagine that little green guy will be over the moon. you should let him know the good news, maybe there will be something in it for you." Malroth stated while Sugar rolled in the green grass.
The bodkin's face shone with joy as he examined the grass "Replace rotten mud with turf you have? Yes, yes! Very good this is! When you plant grass seeds fresh grass will spring forth and to healthy earth spoiled soil will be turned!
Long, long ago, many wigglies roamed this land. Clean they kept the soil; lush the grass grew. With these grass seed worm food you could make. Make Wiggly turn all the earth around it to turf it does." he went on for some time talking about an alliance between Humans and various other creatures, and the builder of legend. Finally he asked her to give his fondest greetings to any wigglies they should meet and voiced his hope that they would populate the island once more.
"Actually, a wiggly lives on the farm. We saved him from the Children of Hargon. I am sure he will appreciate some fresh worm food."
"He?" The bodkin asked in confusion. "Male or female, wigglies are not. Contain parts of both, they do."
"Ok. But he mentioned a mom and dad. In human society those terms are applied to men and women."
The bodkin shrugged, "Understand wiggly family structure, I do not."
They returned to the seedy smelling area of the bog to search for more Sugar cane. "So do we stiil call Wrigly 'him'? Malroth wondered.
"Well it doesnt seem to bother him, but we can ask when we get back. Oh did you find more sugar, Sugar?" She jogged over to where the dog was alerting and dug in the mud to uncover several seedlings. She stood back up and stretched her back then saw something in the distance, "Hey, what's that?"
"Looks like a cave, let's check it out."
The moment they stepped in the cave they were confronted by a swarm of iron ants. They quickly wiped them out and managed to salvage a few wheat seeds before walking deeper. In the very back Caroline found a red statue in the shape of a drakolyte. Stowing it in her bag Caroline glanced toward the mouth of the cave, "How late is it? It looks like it's getting dark out there."
"Should we head back to the farm?"
"Nah. I packed some food and beds, we can camp here." She informed him pulling out a bonfire. She then placed one bed and pulled out another. She hesitated, should she put them together? There was plenty of room in the cave. She decided on a few inches' separation for tonight. Malroth was a little disappointed to see so much space between the beds but said nothing. The reason he held her was to keep her warm, between the natural insulation of the earth and the brightly glowing bonfire it was plenty warm in the cave. He would miss holding her for the night though.
She then pulled out a loaf of bread that she tore into three pieces and some crab claws. While Caroline tended to the claws Malroth tore one of the pieces of bread into little bites for the dog Caroline then tore one of the claws into pieces to and the three had a lovely dinner.
After dinner the pup curled up between the two beds to sleep and Caroline prepared to comb her hair before bed as she always did. She set the comb to the side and released one pigtail but when she reached for the other she hissed in pain and stuck her finger in her mouth. Malroth caught the faintest hint of blood when she did so.
"There's a bramble in my hair."
He grinned and stood. "Damn, can't even comb your hair without getting hurt? You're such a fucking klutz!"
He sat back down behind her taunting that he had to protect her from her own hair, and she froze when she felt his hands in her hair. She never imagined he could be so gentle as he was while he untangled the offending thorns and threw them in the fire. He ran his hands through her hair to make sure he got them all then grabbed up her comb and set to work straightening it out, damn her hair was soft! And despite the stinking mud and sweat he could smell her sweet smell. He wanted to bury his face in it but had a feeling that would be weird. Her heart was already racing like she was frightened but he couldn't imagine why.
Caroline sat still as stone as Malroth worked through her hair. He was so gentle, and it felt so nice she wanted to melt, but she couldn't. Her heart was pounding as she sat there, acutely aware of the handsome man's every move. He finished with her hair and leaned forward, his chest against her back She could feel his warm breath on her neck and ear when he asked "Hey, are you okay?"
"What?" She asked, turning to look at him. That was a mistake, their faces were an inch apart now. She glanced down at his mouth and licked her suddenly dry lips then looked back into those red eyes.
"Your heart speeds up sometimes, it's doing it now. I can hear it. Are you alright?"
How could he hear it? "I'm fine."
"The why is your heart speeding up?"
'Because I'm falling in love, you idiot!' She thought. Her heart felt like someone was squeezing it as that realization hit her. She really was falling in love. She remained silent as she stared into those intense red eyes.
The man hadn't known what sex was, he hadn't known what marriage was, he certainly didn't know what love was. Was it even okay to date someone so naive, so innocent, or would it be taking advantage? Add to that the fact she was fairly certain he was not human, at least not entirely. But then again, it wasn't like they'd have to have sex if they dated, at least not for a long while. Not unless they wanted both to. Of course, that was assuming he even wanted to date her,
"I... I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"I'll explain when you're older." she teased, trying to lighten the tension.
He frowned, why wouldn't she just tell him what was wrong? She seemed almost afraid, but why? A wicked grin spread across his face, "You'll tell me now!" He declared and he tackled her to the ground and tickled her mercilessly.
Taken by surprise she could not get the upper hand and he tickled her until she begged for mercy. When he stopped he didn't get up but continued to lay on top of her supporting his weight on his elbows while they caught their breath. She tried not to think about what they could easily be doing if they were naked.
He gazed down at her below him, breathing heavily with disheveled hair and felt sexual desire stir in his lower regions. He noticed that as his arousal grew his pulse sped up. Was this what was happening to Caroline? Was she experiencing feelings of desire? He sat up and got off her, sitting cross legged in an attempt to conceal his boner, though he was sure she'd already felt it growing between them.
"Malroth, can you remember ever having something going on that you had to work out in your own mind before you could talk about it?"
He shrugged and shook his head. "No, not really."
"Look, I'll tell you someday. I'm just not ready to yet, okay?" Without another word she laid down on her straw bed, facing away from him.
He grabbed his weapon and walked out of the cave under the pretense of patrolling. In reality he just found a nice quite area to take care of his erection. He tried not to think about her as he beat his meat, but it was impossible, she just kept popping into his mind. Those violet eyes, her long silky hair, the curves of her body beneath that dress, her chest rising and falling against his as she panted beneath him...
Caroline listened to Malroth leave with the excuse of checking for monsters. She suspected that was not his true intention at all. She really wished she knew how long he'd be gone. It was hard to fall asleep with her hormones raging like they were but there was nothing she could do about that when Malroth could return at any moment.
The next morning the trio quickly found the sugar cane they needed and then some. Malroth, seeing his builder smile, knew they'd reached their goal and suggested returning to the farm but Caroline reminded him they still needed Pastor Al's pot. The walk took them from the swampy low lands and up a rocky mountainside.
Bored, Sugar dashed off and returned with a bone. A second later a skeleton hopped into view screeching at the thieving cur to return his leg! He was such a comical sight they both doubled over laughing, holding onto each other for support. Malroth pulled himself together enough to deal with the skeleton then after a brief explanation of the game fetch he and Caroline took turns wrestling the bone away from the dog and throwing it for her to chase.
At the top of the mountain a gate come into view beyond that patches of neglected field still bore cabbages and there were remains of a dry irrigation system.
"Think that's Al's place?" Maroth asked, pointing a house guarded by a cloaked figure who was flanked by two fat rats.
"If it is Al used to be a farmer. Actually, that makes sense."
"Greetings wayward child, I hope this day finds you full of destructive energy." the cloaked legerdeman greeted as they approached.
"Hi, I'm Caroline and this is Malroth. Pastor Al sent us to get a pot from his house, is this the place?"
"This is Pastor Al's cottage, I am minding it while he is away. First let me have a sniff of you. There is no fooling my sensitive nose, answer truthfully now, you've been building, haven't you?"
"If you can smell that I have been building why bother asking?" Caroline asked, she could feel Malroth standing close behind her, her ever watchful bodyguard.
The cloaked figure glared at her for a moment, then gave a slightly nervous glance at Malroth before speaking. "It matters not, all your crops are to be surrendered to the children of Hargon. If you were to donate a portion to me personally, I could make if worth your while, I did spot a dusty pot in the back of the cottage."
"Heh, since you're all so fond of destruction maybe I can break your-"
Caroline grabbed his upper arm and pulled him away before he could finish his threat. "Let's not murder Al's buddies if we can avoid it. Pastor Al told me he might expect a bribe but let's go around the back and see if we can find away in to get it ourselves."
They walked away like they were heading for the naviglobe then circled around behind the house and in through the back door. "Hey, Look at that Caroline. Why would there be cabbages growing inside the house?"
She grinned as she eyed the stone planter. "So no one will see that a pastor of the children of Hargon is farming. Let's find that pot." They searched for an hour before concluding the pot was not in the house.
"He must have it on him. We're going to have to just pay the bribe."
"He probably slipped in and grabbed it while we were doubling back in case we did this."
"Your probably right." they slipped out the back and returned to the front of the house where they gave the cloaked figure his bribe and traded veggies for sugarcane seedlings with the rats. Caroline then offered to fill the cistern with muddy bog water with her new pot and they returned to the farm.