The Garge homestead had been called such for about five centuries, ever since the lord of the land called for settlers to develop the Lowpool. The arable land around the lake was carved into homesteads that over the centuries fractured and fragmented into smaller properties.
The old properties still called 'homesteads' were the sites of the original stone and wood houses. Even if three hecte of land was less than a tenth the size of the original homestead, it still had the old house and, more importantly at the time of creation, direct access to the river.
The floor of Defi's new single-storey cottage was in fact the original stone, polished to a gently smooth finish by centuries of wear.
Defi lay spread across that smooth stone like a starfish, completely relaxed. Thoughts of noble poise and dignity discarded, he was enjoying the coolness of the stone after a morning spent clearing out the unused warehouse which had also been used as a storage space for tools and broken furniture.
He recognized parts of an old watermill in the stored items, though the building was long gone.
Apart from the house, the only buildings on the property were the warehouse, the outhouse, and the well-house that also held tanks and barrels of water as well as washing tubs and soap.
He was somewhat disappointed.
Sarel's homestead had no washhouse, but there were several calm pools that the river regularly flowed through. A bather could float in one of the pools and enjoy the scenery for some time. It was not so different from the bathing pools of Ontrea.
After inspecting the property, the things needed to be done were listed mentally, though not in any particular order:
*
1. Buy more land.
He had dropped a chest in the storeroom and discovered small bags of seeds labelled 'Naranj herb, #23f', 'Liongrass, #2e', and 'Shyleaf, #56m' as well as several handwritten planting journals. He wanted to know if imbuing the land with the Current would have any effect on Kern's hybrid plants.
His slimes needed mystic ingredients in order to create splittings. A vitality-rich herb was something that would greatly benefit them, and him.
But he needed new land to plant them on.
Healing the vitality-depleted land with the Current would take too long. He wanted to concentrate his energy into reviving what he was assured were fruit trees. The sansu planted on the property covered about half a hecte, twenty-six half-withered trees.
Zaziphos and suirberry had worked to his favor; he wanted to know what a slime could produce with sansu.
By his calculations, healing the land the sansu trees were planted on would take two months. The Current was infinite, but his body was fallible and needed rest. He could only use the Current in such demanding circumstances for two or three hours, twice a day.
He breathed in, breathed out.
The thought of buying land for himself did not now send him into hysterics; he was relieved at the development. There had been a single painful talk with Sarel after that afternoon, that helped him put some of his ghosts to rest.
The act of healing the land also helped. Bit by bit, it felt like the land was truly becoming his. It was an affirming feeling.
2. Build a bathing pool.
The floor of the well-house was paved in stone and there was a drain channel for wastewater that devolved into a sand pit on the shore of the river.
But as a bathing house, it was greatly lacking.
A pool by the side of the warehouse would not be a difficult task, surely? If it could be elevated and a place for burning wood built underneath, he would even have a heated pool.
It would be the perfect thing to chase away the mountain chill. And he knew heated massages helped take away exhaustion. There were no masseurs that he knew in the Lowpool but now that the idea had sparked in his mind, a hot soak was something he started to crave.
Oh wait, instead of using wood, there was likely an emblem that could heat water. That would make things easier, wouldn't it?
3. Raise more slimes.
It had taken a month for one slime to fill two quartels with slime extract. And Sarel had called that only a sample. He needed to produce more than that if he were to sign a contract with a merchant company.
It would be difficult to recreate exactly the same circumstances where his current slimes split, but he could generally see the paths:
a. Turq had created Jar after eating a few dozen baskets of suirberry, some zaziphos, and parts of the mystic sable crab including its powerful roe. Jar now produced a top quality flavorful vinegar.
b. Jar had created Mal after eating baskets of suirberry, more baskets of zaziphos, a seakrait, and half a basket of hybrid mystic herbs. Mal now produced a good quality light vinegar.
c. Turq had created Lar after eating baskets of zaziphos, four seakraits, and half a basket of hybrid mystic herbs. Lar now produced a viscous fluid that could be used as skin lotion.
He could not make any of the four split more without spending a heap of silver on mystic ingredients. But he still had a summon-tablet that was rated for multiple slimes. Turq had been the first to be summoned. He would not be the last.
He made a face at the thought of feeding a battalion of Turq's relatives.
Unfortunately, for slime food, Defi currently only had zaziphos. The sansu would not bear fruit for months yet. And he would not have suirberries until the frost harvest.
That was the reason for the next item on the list.
4. Find alternative sources of slime food.
He needed cheap, plentiful, resources that were easy to acquire the whole year round. He didn't know what kind of extract would be resulting from different foods, but he was interested in finding out.
Who knew what combinations of different food would produce? He couldn't wait to start!
The immediate plan, of course, was to increase the production of at least the vinegar. Finding seakraits to make more lotion-producing slimes seemed too much trouble.
5. Build individual slime kennels in the warehouse.
Tuq, Jar, Mal, and Lar had been fine inside the cottage or Sarel's zaziphos orchard. They were easy to keep track of. But if he added more slimes and needed to track the food of each single beast, keeping them separate would make raising them easier.
He could build it in the style of stables, but account for the slime's ability to climb walls. Slime habitats were wetlands, so the warehouse being built close to the river was an advantage.
He could build each stable similarly to Ontrean garden pools, likely. They were everywhere in Rimet. It was simply a series of stone basins arranged in a pleasing manner, sometimes half-buried, sometimes elevated on pedestals or hanging, with waterplants growing in and around them; an attractive addition to the gardens of the wealthy.
The concept would do well as a slime habitat.
Though, wouldn't they eat the decorative plants? He had to make sure they didn't eat anything other than the food he gave them.
*
Defi got up from the surprisingly comfortable floor.
There were several designs he needed to put on paper. The warehouse habitats must be the first to be dealt with, before all the others. They would take some time to build.
He paused.
That meant the slimes were getting bathing pools before him, didn't it.
He revised the designs immediately.
If the builders were making small pools anyway, a larger one nearby wouldn't be out of place, hah.
He tapped the pen on the table, frowning.
The reward money wasn't enough to renovate a whole warehouse. The building was not small. It showed that the homestead had been greatly productive in the past.
He still had his personal cache of six gold fingers and twenty silver fingers. The gold alone could be converted to thirty Ascharon solstices. But that was dependent on the moneychanger, and how much he had to pay to keep their lips sealed. Who would believe him if he said he found the coins?
He trusted Sarel above all others in the Lowpool. But did he trust her this much?
There was no way around it.
He needed to increase production of slime extract, his only resource at this point. To do so, he needed builders and glyphmakers to renovate the warehouse. He needed land. He needed time. To acquire all that, he needed more coin.
He sighed.
He was fine with subterfuge; he would be dead if he didn't learn it. It was falsehood that he had trouble with. What kind of born noble was he, Defi thought self-mockingly, to abhor lying this much?
*
*
The dinghy skipped across the lake waters, only slightly assisted by the single sail.
Most vessels on the lake depended greatly on emblems to propel them through the water. But the masts and sails of the vessels were a precaution as well as an aid. Were the emblems to be damaged, the boats could still move by sail.
"Isn't this too far for a farm?" Defi contentedly patted Turq, who for once was on his lap. He didn't want to chance the strong wind blowing the slime away from its usual perch.
They had been two hours on the water already, and the dinghy was nearly as fast as the ferryboat.
"The idiot likes his privacy." There was an exasperation to Sarel's answer. "His livelihood does not depend much on the Lowpool."
Somewhat similar to Sarel's situation, then?
He'd told the woman he needed someone to change foreign currency and not ask questions. Sarel had huffed and mentioned it was about time she checked in on an idiot anyway.
A few days after that, Defi and Turq were on a hired dinghy and jetting across the lake.
Defi's brows slanted in distress. Wasn't he depending too much on Sarel? It was difficult to bear, when he had done nothing to repay her yet. Even helping with her fruit orchard was more a benefit to him.
He breathed to clear his head. It couldn't be helped at the moment, bitterly weak as he was. He just needed to become more reliable in the future.
They came up on a small jetty at a wooded shore. The close-growing trees of the wood obscured any hint of habitation. Only the wood and stone jetty jutting out into the water gave evidence that there were people there.
Defi tied off the dinghy. Sarel took up her bag and jumped onto the jetty easily. Turq tucked into one arm, Defi followed.
They walked the path winding through trees. It was a peaceful and refreshing walk, sunbeams shining through the tree trunks and the fragrance of flowers rising with the morning heat. Defi felt a little partial to the owner.
He heard bleating in the distance. Did Sarel's friend keep goats or sheep?
The house showed through the trees after a short stroll. It was large, three storeys of wood and stone with several other buildings scattered nearby. There were flowers in nearby gardens and beyond the house was an expanse of neatly delineated fields.
It wasn't so large a farm, the land constrained by the cliffs only about ten hecte or so. But it looked like something out of a painting, the charming country house.
A heavy sound of beating wings made Defi look up.
His eyes widened.
He had not thought to see a winged goat again. The last time he saw one was months ago in Stahlchausses, and back then he had wished to ride one of the flying animals of Ascharon. The desire had not abated. Unfortunately, while there were summon-beasts in the town, none of them had wings.
It was an excellent treat to see another winged goat after all this time.
He was smiling as Sarel knocked on the door. A girl opened it, beamed. "Sarel!"
"Is your uncle here?"
The girl, maybe four or five years younger than Defi, looked at the bag by Sarel's feet. "Did you come to make food?"
"For you, of course."
The girl brightened, opened the door wide. "I'll call him!"
She rushed away, door still open.
Sarel looked at Defi, then sighed. "You'll like him, I think."
Defi, from the pleasant walk and the winged animals, was already predisposed toward whoever Sarel's friend was. But it was too soon to say 'like'...and why did she say it like it was a trouble to her?
A tall figure filled the doorway, laughing. "Sarel! I have been missing you!"
Defi could only stare at the man, dressed in colorfully eccentric clothing. The edges of his lips lifted in irony, a reluctant amusement slowly bubbling up within him.
"And who is—"
Defi saw the moment the man recognized him.
"Marmon Chacort," Defi greeted, with a light laugh. "I am happy to see that you are well."