By the time Leo and Maya had made it back to the house mother was already walking out the door and moving towards the field.
"There you two are, I was starting to worry you wouldn't come back from the forest." mother said.
"We saw Foxy!" Maya cheered, "She gave us berries and was so fluffy."
Leo did not want to speak about finding Foxy but there was no stopping Maya when she got excited, so he just went along with it.
"She sat on my lap and played with us for a while. It was really fun."
Mother shook her head and smiled back at them, "Glad you two made a new friend, just be careful when dealing with wild animals."
The two of them nodded their heads in response.
"Foxy's a great friend," Maya said before turning to Leo, "We have to go look for her again."
Leo smiled, "Sure that sounds fun, hopefully, she doesn't scare us next time."
The group walked toward the farm and started setting up the plow for the day. There was still plenty of work to do before the initial step was finished. Not to mention the constant maintenance of the farm after the seeds were all planted. Weed removal and making sure the seeds were not eaten by birds among other things.
Once they started moving Leo started thinking again, it was more or less his time to dwell on what else he could do, or how he could go about it. His work on the farm was not hard or strenuous, mother just wanted them to understand what to do when they got older so they could help out more.
The seeds he put down were all in a row but still varied heavily in their placement. Planting each seed individually and measuring the distance between would take too much time. He just needed to have a constant stream of seeds dropped into the furrows. While it would take more seeds, it would give the ones that remained a higher chance to grow.
Making a machine for placing seeds would be exceptionally helpful, especially if they could fill multiple furrows at once. Say, six rows of seeds all dropping at once would allow him or Maya to do something else entirely. Instead of having to constantly worry about running out of seeds and walking back. They could just have the seeds stored in one massive basin and the machine would distribute them itself.
Now the main problem with the machine. He had no metal to work with.
No iron, no steel, and no access to a blacksmith. He was completely alone on this endeavor unless he could both find and convince the local blacksmith to help him.
Precision would be necessary for the closing mechanism and the lever, but that would only spike up the cost even more. He still did not know much about blacksmithing specifically but there was one thing he was sure of, the longer a project took, the harder a project was, the more it would cost.
Leo just had to do as many steps himself as he could. He could try and make a mold for the basin but as of right now, he had no means of measuring anything precisely so that the seeds would be distributed properly. Not to mention it would help with all of his future projects. Sticks could work, however, he would need them to be exactly the same length and he doubted that mother would let him use a saw.
Hell, he would be lucky if he could use a saw himself considering how weak he was at the moment. If he was able to make the measuring sticks then making the basin mold even should be possible.
Now, what would he even make the mold out of? Clay was the first thing that came to mind. The problem would be finding clay to work with. He knew that rivers could have clay nearby so that would be the first place to look, however, he had no idea where nearby rivers were.
Leo could only assume that there was one nearby considering the mere presence of Happiness Village. Civilization grew around fresh water, and rivers were an excellent source of said fresh water. Not to mention that some streams traveled from mountains to the ocean or other rivers. The mountains could also be a place to look provided mother would allow him to travel that far, unfortunately, he was doubtful that she would.
So he had the basis of an idea and frankly, that's what he needed. He needed a stage to jump off from because starting was always the hardest part. Makeshift rulers, a design in his head, and somewhere to find clay to get the process all started. It made sense to him, now he just had to try and pull it off.
The day on the farm finished exactly like the past few days had, the sun falling in the sky but not yet down. The three of them ate something for dinner, more often than not it was a form of stew and some bread. It was simple and cheap for how much it fed you. Not like there was much else to eat, meat and livestock were not common around here.
Leo decided instead of listening to mother tell them a story and going right to bed, he would explore for a little. That was his excuse at least.
"Mom I'm going to go run around the forest for a bit, I want to see Foxy again. Maybe she's around." Leo said as he walked towards the door.
"Foxy!" Maya perked up at the mention of her favorite animal. "Come on let's go."
"Just remember you don't know what's around," mother spoke, "and be back before it gets dark outside. What do you do if you see something in the sky?"
"Run and hide," the twins echoed.
Mother smiled, "Now go have fun, hopefully, I'll be able to meet Foxy soon."
The two of them ran out of the house aiming towards the forest edge by their house. They were not that far from the entrance so if Foxy was around she would certainly find them. However, that was not his concern, but it was definitely Maya's concern.
Leo kept looking at the branches that had fallen from the trees. The villagers did their best to clear out the low-lying branches for easy firewood so finding some sticks might not be easy. But, not easy was certainly better than impossible.
"Foxy!" Maya called out the second she entered the forest.
His sister was so single-minded, she'd find one thing that excited her and just do that one thing and nothing but it. Before it was snow, then it was seeds, now it's Foxy. Though he could not blame her when it came to Foxy, she was adorable.
Leo kept looking around before eventually coming across some low-lying tree branches that were stuck on top of tree limbs. If only he could break some of them off but trees were nothing to scoff at, they were tough.
"Hey Maya," He called, "can you help me pull this down?"
"Mhm?" She looked over, "Okay."
Leo jumped up to reach the branch only to be left hanging. The branch refused to move more than a few centimeters.
Then Maya jumped up and grabbed onto the branch, only for it to start slowly releasing itself from the tree that it was lodged on. A few quick shifts to the left from Leo and the branch began to fall and with the branch came the twins.
Leo heard a short 'ah!' from Maya when the branch came down before he landed on top of her.
He quickly got off of his twin and brushed his dress. She followed suit and stood up looking at the branch they had just taken down.
Leo picked up the branch, it was at least one meter long and around three centimeters thick. It had a few curves but was overall fairly straight. Not something he expected.
Before Maya could say anything he tried to swing it at the tree it had fallen from.
Only to be launched back when the branch refused to break, it vibrating from the force of the impact.
"Leo, what are you doing?" Maya asked, confusion clear in her voice.
"I was trying to break it in half, it's too long for me to carry around at once so I thought I could make two equal sticks and carry them both."
Only half the reason but he doubted Maya would understand what a 'ruler' or 'measuring stick' was. He would give her answers if she asked but until then he would just work on making it break as even as he could. They were far enough away from people that the noise should not be a problem.
Leo stood up and picked up the stick again, it was heavy, especially for a kid his size. He moved it slowly further away from the tree, his arms dangling by his sides as he struggled to hold it. Momentum seemed like it was the only way for the branch to move fast and he exploited that as best he could.
The branch was fully pulled back and he swung again, it slammed into the tree making a crashing noise and causing the leaves to rustle violently above him.
Yet it threw him back once again, and Leo was on the ground looking up towards the canopy.
"Let's try it together, it looks heavy." His sister said.
Leo pushed against the ground and picked himself up, "Alright, let's try it again."
The two of them reeled the branch back and slammed it into the tree. Just like what had happened before the two were thrown off balance and fell to the ground, the branch still clearly vibrating when it left their hands.
Maya started laughing, "Again, let's do it again Leo!"
Her laughter was contagious and he followed suit, "Alright, again."
The two picked it up as they had previously and hit it against the tree, Leo making sure to have it hit the center as best he could.
Before Leo could say anything he and Maya were back on the ground laughing.
It got to the point where Leo's hands were starting to hurt from the bark on the branch. Nothing too bad just minor pain from the friction and thankfully no splinters.
Maya was already standing up attempting to pick up the branch, struggling in the process. "Come on let's try again."
Leo chuckled, still on the ground. "Let me try something real quick Maya, I'll make marks where we want it to break."
Making marks, digging into the wood making it less sturdy where he wanted the break to happen. So, Leo looked around on the ground for some rocks and found a few, nothing very large or sharp, but a decent-sized one where he could attempt to chip away at the center.
He found the center best he could and started hitting the rock against the branch, missing every now and then smashing the tops of his knuckles on the branch. He was making small dents but at this rate, it would take a while.
Maya eventually started wandering around slightly deeper into the forest.
"Foxy!" Maya's muffled cheers called out
Leo immediately sprung to his feet and ran toward her voice. He stumbled in his first few steps before he could gain his footing.
He found a minor clearing where Maya was and saw her on the ground playing with Foxy. The Fox's tail wagged back and forth while she made a few barking-like noises. His sister kept running around and diving trying to grab Foxy but the fox in question kept jumping to the side at the last second. Giving the illusion that Maya had her.
Once he broke into the clearing Foxy quickly bolted over to Leo and sat down looking right at him.
"Leooo~" Maya whined, "Why does she go straight to you, I wanna play with Foxy too."
He chuckled as he bent down to pet Foxy, her ears folded back each time his hands ran over her head.
"Well, I can definitely say, it looked like she was having more fun than you." He replied.
Foxy yipped again in agreement, which only Maya to start pouting. This fox was certainly more intelligent than he would have expected, maybe it was a normal thing with the wildlife around.
"Well, I heard you yelling and ran over to find you, I'm going back to the branch so you can have fun with Foxy. I might be a while." Leo said.
"Okay," Maya replied before crouching down motioning for Foxy to come to her, "Come on Foxy!"
Leo started to walk away only to notice Foxy walking at his side, he looked back to Maya.
"Well, looks like Foxy's coming with me, come with and she'll probably play with you for a bit."
Maya ran to catch up to Leo muttering under her breath about 'unfair' and 'she likes him more than me.'
Leo sat down in front of his branch again, found the rock he was using, and started hitting away. Chip after chip, not much progress was made, but even a couple of dents could help in breaking it.
Foxy sat in front of him, watching him work. Her eyes followed his hand with the rock each time it hit. While Maya sat right next to Foxy petting her back, taking the time she could before the fox was all over Leo again.
After a few minutes, Leo took a bit of rest to massage his hand, holding the rock tightly was not painful but it felt awkward. Rocks were not meant to be held the way he was holding them, and most people had axes for chopping wood. But Leo just made do with what he had and what he could get away with.
During this break, Foxy walked closer to the branch and held her paw over it. One of her claws quickly extended and she started moving it over the spot he had just been hitting. Almost like she was trying to cut it for him.
Leo watched in amazement, Foxy just picked up where he left off, sawing away at the indent he had made with her claws. Without him asking or indicating that he needed help. It was honestly starting to worry him with how much she could pick up.
He just let Foxy work for a little bit until she backed away from the branch, a clear cut had been made. She managed to move the dent he had been making all the way down to the hardwood. It was almost like watching a saw cut through a log.
"Thank you Foxy, I appreciate the help," He said before reaching out to ruffle the soft fur on her head.
Leo started picking up the branch and Maya followed, getting to her previous spot when they tried to break it earlier.
"Alright let's try this again. You ready Maya?"
The twin in question nodded her head and the two pulled the branch back, before forcing it into the tree.
Instead of being knocked backward, Leo and Maya were knocked forward when the branch snapped against the tree they had hit.
It was not a clean snap but it was a snap nonetheless. One half of the branch extended into a flat point while the other had a crack that would allow the two to fit seamlessly together.
Maya stood up first laughing, "That was fun!"
Leo chuckled while he picked himself up off the ground and went to look at the break, "Fun and useful."
The two sticks were around the same length minus the protrusion on one of them. He picked one up and guessed that it was shy of half a meter but could still be used to measure and gauge distance. It was a step in the right direction, now he could at least be consistent when trying to make something.
He looked up towards the canopy and saw that the sky was becoming redder and redder, the sun was setting and they needed to get home before mother went out looking for them. If she had to look for them then there was no shot she would ever let them go without her again.
"We should start heading back Maya, don't want to worry mom." He turned his head to Foxy and waved, "Bye Foxy we'll see you again soon."
Maya walked past Foxy, offering the same wave Leo did, "Bye Foxy!"
He made sure to pick up the pair of sticks before heading back to the house. Hiding these would be tricky, but if he just left them in the forest then someone else would definitely pick them up for use as firewood.
By the time they made it back to the house mother was already waiting outside watching the two of them walk the remaining distance. So she walked out to meet them.
"Did you find Foxy out there?" mother asked.
"We found her," Leo replied, "But Maya saw her first."
"We played tag but she's really really fast and it was hard to catch her," Maya said.
"Oh that's good, glad you two were able to find her." She motioned towards the sticks that Leo was dragging behind, "What are those for Leo?"
He knew this was coming, the second he saw mother waiting outside the house he knew there would be questions. But he was not sure if there would be a better time to get the sticks and he knew he could not have left them out in the forest. Leo had to think of something or his worst-case scenario could come to fruition.
"Umm," He replied sheepishly, "When you talked about your adventures… I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight bad guys."
Leo knew that his mother had never shown him what a sword was, and he knew that she also knew that. The only weapon that he has seen is the bow she used to kill the harpies a few days ago.
Yet here he was with what could be interpreted as a makeshift sword, it was a gamble but even if she agreed the training would still be useful to him. Learning how to fight would have to happen sooner or later, especially if there are more monsters than the harpies.
Mother's smile disappeared and was replaced with a solemn look, "You're not old enough for that yet, maybe when you're older." She looked toward the sticks again, "But we can use them for firewood, here, I'll take them while you go inside and get ready for bed."
Leo stood his ground, trying to find the words to keep his soon-to-be measuring sticks, "I-I can take them… I know where the firewood is."
His mother's look did not change, maybe she noticed his nervousness. Leo was unsure, "Okay, I'll wait here. Be quick now the sun is setting."
Leo nodded his head and walked towards the other side of the house where they kept the firewood. He would have to hide it somewhere but could not think of where. With mother waiting for him if he was not quick then she would almost certainly catch on that he was planning something if she has not caught on already.
While he looked at the pile of firewood before him he saw various lengths and widths of burnable wood. All dry thanks to the large overhang above him. What he also saw, was a divot at the foundation of the house.
Leo quickly moved his sticks to have them fit into the divot. They sat fairly well in the hole while only a little bit of the wood was sticking out. Content with this, Leo walked back to the door and greeted mother.
"Alright, come on in," She ruffled his hair with a smile, "Let's get ready for bed, and I'll tell you both a story."
Over the next few days, Leo continued the routine of finding Foxy in the forest with Maya and helping out on the farm. There was never an opportunity to actually work on the measuring stick because each time they returned from the forest mother was watching and waiting.
He let time pass and determined if mother would eventually stop waiting for them or would be out in the farm earlier some days compared to others. He tried staying in the forest for longer and shorter periods of time. But each time they returned mother was there waiting.
Leo had to accept the reality that this was mother's routine now and there was not going to be a way to break it.
He came to the conclusion that if he wanted to work on the measuring stick he would have to sneak out at night, alone. This was all provided that mother was not going to be reading in the kitchen and that Maya would not wake up and follow him.
It all felt surreal, the lengths that he had to go to for a simple ruler. Something that would allow him to start working on projects and ideas. Yet he knew the extra caution would play into his favor. Not having to go through scandals about demonic knowledge, bringing in the inquisition, or dealing with the crazy people of Happiness Village would make it all worth it.
So he tried chipping rocks in the forest to make something sharp to quietly cut through the wood. It failed… the rocks broke and he ended up cutting his hands.
He tried stealing knives from the kitchen, the ones that mother used to cook with. She would not miss one missing right? So Leo tried to take one of the knives and hide it away with the measuring sticks, only to find out that the knives were clearly out of reach. He would have to get a ladder to get to them, not even the chairs would not take him high enough.
Not to mention that there were only four knives in total so mother would certainly notice one missing.
His only other option at the moment would be to bring the stick out to Foxy and have her cut it, but that goes back to the initial problem of someone else picking up the sticks for firewood. So until he could find a way to quickly, quietly, and accurately cut the stick he was at a loss for what to do.
Maya and Leo came back from the forest and once again and mother was out there waiting for the twins.
"You two ready to go to the tailor's today? It's about time we got our clothes fixed." Mother said.
She had a point, we have had the same clothes for around a year and they were starting to get holes in them. Much more than what mother could patch up with a simple sewing needle. Tears on the bottom edges, holes in the back and on the sleeves. It was a lot of work to be done and with the repairs that she had already done, the fabric was on its last legs.
Not to mention that this would be another opportunity to explore, listen, and learn. The more information he had, the better off he was.
"I'm ready," responded Leo.
"Tailor!" cheered Maya.
The trio set off toward the more developed village center. There were a few people who tried to sell goods near the center of the village but they rarely had luck with customers from what Leo could understand. Most people had to fend for themselves by farming or working in professions that others would not be able to, such as tailoring or blacksmithing.
That's what made them so valuable in a village like Happiness Village. The severe lack of skilled labor made getting anything done, that was not farming, almost impossible. Which explained why their clothes were so run down. Nobody had the money to put into expensive creations or experiments.
The closer they got to the store, the more Leo realized how much he overestimated the number of people in the Village. It felt barren, compared to the massive crowd the day after Markus' kidnapping, there was nobody in the village center.
He truly was isolated from the rest of the village and there was nothing he could do about it. On the farm, there was no one in sight except for the few other kids on the other edge of the farm. Nobody except for mother and Maya would notice if he started acting weird.
However, in the village center, despite the lack of people in the streets, it still felt like they were being watched. Two-story buildings with windows kept his attention, someone could easily look out the window and watch him, not to mention they could eavesdrop on any conversation nearby.
He could not mess up now, any indication of anything more than a four-year-old child and he was done for, dead on the spot. Especially considering that he was traveling with mother, who was clearly hated by most of the village. He had a suspicion that they would not hesitate to kill a child.
The tailor shop looked like any other home in the village, the only difference was a sign. A sign that he could not read, he assumed it was the tailor shop considering that they were walking into it. But it brought up another problem. He. Could. Not. Read.
That thought, however, would have to be pushed aside as he stared at the bountiful clothes that lined the walls, along with fabrics that appeared expensive. However there was one problem with the store, and that was the lady behind the register with a smug grin on her face.
"Good to see you are doing well Marie," Mother called out to the woman behind the counter.
"Well well well, look who finally showed face in town again." Marie called out, with her chest held high, "Looking for clothes nonetheless, guess the harpies finally did a number on you."
Leo and Maya tensed up, moving closer to their mother. Yet mother kept a smile on her face, "It's just normal wear and tear, you know the harpies wouldn't get close to me without taking a beating themselves."
"Wow…There really is nothing that you can't handle," Marie said with a clear distaste him her tone. "Bravo, bravo."
"Well, I still need your help, getting new clothes for Leo, Maya, and myself."
Marie sighed and motioned with her hand, "Follow me to the back, I'll get the sheet out."
The three of them followed Marie to the back of the store and found a mountain of fabrics, all stacked up and arranged by their colors. Red, yellow, orange, brown, and some greens, but no purples or blues. There was a table in the center of the room with a massive white sheet laid across it.
Leo was not surprised by the lack of purple and blue fabrics considering that it was a massive rarity and a luxury in medieval times It was also not surprising that artificial dyes were not present, even for a woman like Marie.
"Get one of your kids to stand next to the table," Marie said.
Leo simply walked over, listening to the tailor.
"Good, at least he listens to his betters," Marie snickered, "Now to just cut the fabric at the right length."
Leo was pissed, this woman. She just believes she's better because she has more money and can do what she wants. She probably survives by just buying food from people rather than growing it herself.
Marie cut the fabric behind him from his neck to the edge of his dress, making sure to cut down his arm. It was a general outline of his body, something that the tailor could use to actually make the dress.
"Alright, next one." Marie droned.
When Leo walked away Maya walked forwards and put her back almost against the fabric. Marie cut the same around Maya, from her neck down to the edge of her dress, making a detour the length of her arm.
The same process was repeated for mother and when all was done there were three partial outlines, two small and one large. It did not look like much but Leo assumed that it would be enough for Marie to get her work done.
If he had a small ruler to use or even measuring tape. They would not have had to waste all that fabric making the outlines. Instead, she could have just measured them and gone to work. However, that was not the case and because of it, they would likely have to pay more for wasted material.
"Alright Maire, how much is it? We're not dying anything today." Mother said.
She looked at the fabric used up and the outlines. She picked up one of the kid outlines and moved it around, inspecting it. "I'll take… 500 gold for the kids, each… and 850 gold for yours."
Leo blinked a few times, he had no idea how much that was worth. 1850 sounded like a lot of gold and Mother was not carrying that much on her. Hell, if she was carrying 1850 gold coins on her then she would have been crushed under its weight, gold was heavy.
Mother sighed and reached for the pouch on her back pocket, "1000," she put a large coin with four holes on the side in her hand. "200," two coins with three holes in it, "400, 600, 800." She then placed five coins with two holes in them in her hand, "10, 20, 30, 40, 50."
She moved the pile of coins over to Marie and dropped them in her waiting hand. The woman in question looked over the coins, counting them to herself. Before looking up to her customers.
"It seems like we have a deal," Marie's ever present grin returned, "Thank you for doing business with me. I'll have them ready in three weeks."
"Three weeks? Okay, have it your way. We'll see you in three weeks." Mother replied.
With that done, the three of them walked out the door and headed back to their house. Despite the harsh interaction with Marie, nobody got hurt, except for maybe mother's wallet. Leo still had no idea how much money that was. 1850 gold sounded like a lot considering its gold, the most valuable metal he could think of. But it all depended on how much food was worth because these clothes could range from bankrupting to essentially worth nothing.
On the walk back Leo spotted something that he was looking for, the blacksmith. He was sitting under a roof with the forge. Leo could clearly see a bellows and the burning hot coals from where he was standing across the street. It was not small by any means.
The main shop was right next to the forge, giving enough space to not accidentally burn the building down. Yet allowing it to be clearly a part of the same area and not separate property. It was a one-story building in contrast to several of the other houses in the village center, which made it stand out a bit more than the rest.
Leo knew what he had to do, there was not going to be another chance to check out the blacksmith for a good while. So he tugged on his mother dress, getting her attention.
"Mom, can we go in there?" Leo said while pointing toward the blacksmith, "I want to see what he's doing."
Mother looked over to the blacksmith in question and paused, "Sure, but we can't stay long. We still need to work on the farm today."
"Thank you, mom!" Leo said enthusiastically. This was an opportunity he can not pass up. Leo had to find out what the blacksmith was like.
He ran over to the man in question, making sure to get close and see the forge for himself. Maya followed soon after Leo, catching up to him. While mother walked in the direction of the smith.
The blacksmith quickly noticed Leo and raised his arms out in front of him with palms facing outward, "Woh, slow down there bud." Leo complied but kept walking forward, "What can I do for ya?"
"What are you working on?" Leo asked, making sure to point at the forge.
He chuckled and turned toward the fire, "Theodore ordered some new scythe blades and I'm workin on 'em here." He pointed to the forge where a large crucible could be found, "That's all the metal for the blade, just waitin for it to heat up now."
Leo noted that he seemed like a friendly man, maybe there were some people in the village who did not hate his family.
"Sorry to bother you Simon, Leo was curious about what you were doing." Mother called out, taking the smith's attention away from Leo and the forge and toward her.
His reaction to mother's voice immediately changed his demeanor. The once friendly man grew a scowl, "So it's your kid, huh, guess that makes sense. Fighting never leaves your family, does it Anna?"
Leo flinched at his change of tone and looked around trying to take in as much of the blacksmith's area as he could. He could place bellows, tongs, anvils, piles of metal ingots to his right, and a few sharp objects to his left.
Mother sighed and smiled at her kids, "Come on Leo, Maya. We're leaving, we have work to do back home."
Leo backed away from the man who was now looking at him with his gaze sharpened. Leo made sure to move to his left so that he could fall on the blades, if he could not get a friendly relationship with Simon, then he was going to at least take something that he needed.
He was far enough back and moved his foot behind the other. Tripping himself and falling to the ground. His mother immediately rushed forward.
"Leo ar-", only to be stopped in her tracks.
"Get out of here!" Simon yelled, "Don't come back unless ya have business!"
Taking the hint, Leo slowly stood up, making sure to grab one of the blades with his hand and roll it into his dress. Once he felt it was sufficiently hidden he pulled up his dress with his other hand and bolted towards his mother.
"Alright, you two, let's get home now, no more detours." Mother said, she tried to be friendly with her tone but it came out more serious.
The twins nodded their heads and walked alongside their mother.
Leo was less than happy with the interaction, getting that basin would be much harder than he originally thought. Especially considering that the blacksmith appeared to be worse than Marie. Yet, he could not be completely disappointed with the interaction.
After all, he had his knife now. It was time to get back to work.