Fantasy World Farm, page 23
Although, I guess a lot of those wonders had already infiltrated my farm, so it wasn’t like they were missing out on everything.
I led my cow down the trail and toward town. I had my Glock on me, as per usual, and I felt pretty damn secure after what Fang and I did last night. I wasn’t expecting any surprise attacks, especially since we eliminated one of the biggest threats that we’d come across yet.
The closer we got to town, the more I could hear the sound of bustling and chatter. Not to mention the soft sound of music floating through the streets and into the valley.
Gertie’s hooves clopped against the cobblestone as we walked over the threshold of town, and she lifted her head up as she listened to the sounds that were growing louder.
The streets had been decorated with homemade bunting hanging from the old windows of the houses bordering us. Small, delicate-looking flowers had been sprinkled all along the cobbled streets like confetti, and a live band-- the one from the Frostfyre the other night-- was playing on a small bandstand in front of the townhouse.
A handmade banner with the words ‘Happy Starfall’ painted onto it in black paint was hung up from two pillars on either side of the merry band, and it was clear these guys were really making the most out of a rare event.
The market stalls had been repurposed and used as displays for the other farmers’ crops, and white paint had been splashed on them to resemble stars. It kind of made me sad to see what they had propped up in wooden crates to be judged, and I was glad I’d only brought my cow with me.
The leaves on the carrots were at least green and a little shimmery, presumably from Starfall, but the carrots themselves still looked more like gnarled fingers than a vegetable, and I definitely did not want to rub salt in the wound by bringing my near-perfect ones.
There were a lot of faces behind the stalls that I didn’t recognize. No doubt these guys lived a little ways out of town but still participated to get a bit of social interaction.
There was a frail-looking halfling who was standing on two crates so he could peek over the table. His back was hunched, and he had droopy eyes and a sharp pointed nose. His long gray hair was pulled back into a bun, and his wrinkled face was covered in dirt.
His tired eyes slowly widened as I passed with Gertie. I nodded my head at him politely and smiled as we passed, but he seemed too shell-shocked to respond.
Next to his stall was a scarily-thin human woman. Her cheeks were gaunt, and her eyes looked hollow. Her skin was so pale that she looked like a goddamn ghost, and she had pitch-black hair slicked away from her face by grease and grime. Two black eyes blankly stared at me, and I felt a shudder run down my spine as I passed her.
There were a few other farmers of different races. An orc, who was the meatiest of all of the farmers and had a wide-set face and huge tusks protruding from his bottom jaw. There was an elven woman who looked just as thin as the other female farmer, but she didn’t look as ghostly or intimidating. Then there was a dwarven man who had brown curls on his head and a thick beard that was plaited and looked longer than him.
They all stared at me like I was a god walking on earth, and I gave each of them a polite smile as I passed. I wanted to make friends, not enemies, and I knew better than anyone what jealousy could do in this field of work. It wasn’t healthy, and in a place as small as Gladewood Crossing, toxicity like that would be super concentrated.
There were townspeople spread around everywhere, either looking at the stalls or talking among themselves. I could see a small table set up outside the Frostfyre Inn, and Bathilda was standing behind it handing out bowls of soup and tankards for a handful of coins in return.
She smiled at me as I passed and sent me a wink as she looked at Gertie.
“I take it I’ll be seeing you later, Noah from The States?” she asked.
“I don’t want to jinx it,” I joked. “We’ll see.”
“Yes, I’m sure we will,” the innkeeper drawled with a playful roll of her eyes.
A few other townspeople looked at me and Gertie with wide eyes as I led the cow down the entire street toward the bandstand. I could see Frederik at one of the very last stalls, and I offered him a wave and a smile, but his eyes were fixated on Gertie. His mouth fell open at the sight of her, and his eyes darted to a pen on the right of the bandstand that held around five somewhat malnourished-looking farm animals. It seemed Starfall had slightly increased their sizes, but they still looked too skinny.
There was a goat, two cows, one pig, and one sheep. I honestly felt bad for all of them, but I knew these farmers couldn’t help the fact that they were all starving.
“Ahh, Noah!” I heard Alden call out, and my head turned away from the sad-looking pen and to the Overseer, who was standing beside one of the stalls on the opposite side of the street.
“Hey, Alden,” I said as I waited for him to walk over to me.
The big half-orc clapped me on the shoulder, and I grunted from the force behind it.
“I’m glad you decided to come down,” he said with a wide grin that showed off his tusks. “And what a beauty you chose.”
“Gertie’s my pride and joy,” I agreed and patted her head. “Are those other farmers from further out of town?”
“Yes.” Alden nodded and spun around to look at the row of stalls. “You and Frederik are the closest. And then it’s Ingrid Greenglove, then Nikolas Bryynt, Brimble Brancher, Dock Nettleby, Primrose Galiin, and Thatch Irontop. They all live on the borders of Gladewood.”
“I don’t suppose goblins are an issue for them, are they?” I asked.
“Well, yes,” Alden said with an amused chuckle. “Being on the borders, they’re most susceptible to attacks.”
“Well, they aren’t gonna be a problem for a while,” I said as I patted Gertie’s side. “A band of goblins attacked my farm last night. Fang and I dealt with them accordingly.”
“You…” Alden’s eyes widened in realization. “You killed them all?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, and a proud smile tugged at my lips. “Fang tracked down the horde, and we found their cave and finished them off.”
“Hells below,” he mumbled in shock. “Noah… do you realize what you’ve done? How much you have saved?”
I shrugged as my smile turned bashful, and I could feel heat rush to my cheeks. I knew they’d be grateful, but hearing it said so sincerely really made me feel the weight of it.
“It was two birds with one stone,” I said dismissively. “I didn’t want them getting away with ransacking my farm, and I didn’t want them doing it to anyone else.”
“I… I honestly am in disbelief,” Alden said with a sharp laugh. “Did your farm suffer much? In the past, we’ve had entire settlements set alight and turned to cinders.”
“No, the damage isn’t too bad,” I reassured him. “And there’s still enough crops to feed Gladewood three times over.”
“Good.” Alden sighed in relief and put a warm hand on my shoulder, this time without almost dislocating it. “I’m very glad you’re here, Noah. Very glad indeed.”
“Alright, I’m gonna go put Gertie with the other animals,” I said. “Unless there was anything else?”
“Right… yes, you do that,” the green-skinned orc said with a slight nod. “Happy Starfall.”
I chuckled to myself as I left Alden to just stand there, and it was clear the Overseer was still a little surprised at the fact I’d managed to take out the goblins.
I started to lead Gertie over to the pen. The other animals made noises of surprise as I opened up the makeshift gate and pulled in the big cow. I tied her up to one of the posts, and I gave her one last head scratch before I left her and started to walk over to the area in front of the bandstand.
I wondered where Ellyn was, and if she was actually planning on coming. It didn’t seem like her to miss something like this, and just as I was about to start searching down the street, I felt hands wrap around my waist.
“There you are,” her voice said from behind me as she squeezed herself against my back. “I was wondering if you were gonna come.”
“Hey,” I said as I turned and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “You’re not gonna believe the night I had last night.”
The blonde elf was wearing a white blouse, a dark brown skirt that reached past her knees, and worn brown boots that were slightly scuffed.
“What happened?” Ellyn asked with an excited gleam in her blue eyes.
“Goblins happened,” I said with a smirk. “A whole bunch of them on my farm.”
“What?” she gasped and cupped my face like she was looking for wounds. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are your animals? What about Fang--”
“El, calm down,” I chuckled and grabbed her hands from my face. “We’re all okay. Everyone is fine, especially Fang. The little guy is taking the day off after he helped me take out the entire horde.”
“You killed them all?” she whispered, and her eyes were wide with disbelief. “Noah, what?”
“Look, I have something to give to you,” I said as I carried on holding her hands and pulled them to my chest.
“It’s not a goblin head, is it?” she asked with a weary look.
“No, not a goblin head,” I said with a shake of my head. “Something much more classy than that.”
“Phew,” Ellyn sighed and pretended to wipe her brow. “I was worried there for a second.”
“Hey, come on, I’m not a heathen,” I said.
“That remains to be seen,” the elf teased. “So, when might I be finding out what you want to give me, my dearest Noah?”
“Well, my dearest Ellyn, I was thinking after I’ve had a few victory drinks at the Inn.” I smirked. “After the festival.”
“Someone seems sure he’s going to win,” Ellyn joked.
“Yeah, definitely,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “Not to toot my own horn, or anything but…”
I looked over at the pen, and Gertie stuck out like a sore thumb. The other animals were dwarfed beside her, and if you stuck all of them together, they still wouldn’t weigh the same as my cow.
“Aww, you put a bow on her!” Ellyn cooed and clasped her hands to her chest. “That’s so cute!”
“I wanted to make sure she looked extra good.” I shrugged.
“Well, it definitely worked,” the blonde said. “And there I was thinking it wasn’t possible.”
“Me, neither,” I chuckled before I looked around. “So, when does this thing get started?”
“I told Alden to wait for you,” Ellyn said. “We should be starting any minute now.”
“And what, exactly, do I do?” I asked with a nervous scratch to my neck. “Stand here and look pretty?”
“No, you lead Gertie down the street,” Ellyn explained with a giggle. “The ‘judges’ are lined up the entire way down. They’ll get a good look, and then you bring her back up here to hear the results.”
“That’s it?” I asked in surprise.
“That’s it.” the blonde elf shrugged. “We listen to the band and eat Bathilda’s stew while they decide, but that’s all there is to the festival. The fun part is usually what happens at the inn later.”
“And what about the vegetables?” I asked and pointed to the market stalls.
“They’ve already been judged,” Ellyn said. “Dock Nettleby won with his… questionable loaf of bread that he made from his own wheat.”
“Did he get a free night of drinking at the inn, too?” I asked.
“He sure did.” The farmhand nodded and folded her arms over chest. “You’re gonna have some competition over who can pass out the fastest.”
“Hey, I have no plans of drinking myself into a stupor,” I said with a wolfish grin. “But I’m gonna take advantage of the very generous prize.”
“And end up in a heap on the floor,” Ellyn added.
“Nope, no heaps on any floors,” I said and held my chin up high. “I will be a responsible adult and handle my alcohol.”
“Suuure,” the elf drawled. “You can tell me that tomorrow morning, how about that?”
“You really think I’m going to be so reckless?” I dramatically put my hand over my heart and gasped. “Ellyn, I’m hurt.”
“And I’m prophetic,” she replied feistily as she put her hands on her hips. “And you will most certainly end up like every other farmer who wins that prize every single year.”
“Ye of little faith,” I mumbled before I sighed deeply. “Alright, I guess we’ll have to see, won’t we?”
“That we will.” Ellyn nodded and smirked as a loud cowbell rang out and grabbed everyone’s attention. “It’s showtime.”
I looked around and could see the streets were a lot more full now. Groups of thin, malnourished people of all different races and sizes stood behind the market stalls and used them as a natural barrier. The main stretch of cobbled street was clear, and I guess that was our runway.
“Wish us luck,” I said with a teasing grin.
“Good luck,” Ellyn replied. “Not that you need it.”
“Is it immoral of me to go through with this?” I asked as I started to walk toward Gertie, along with the old halfling farmer, the orc, the elven woman, the scary black-haired woman, and Frederik.
Ellyn’s father sent me a sideways glance, but it was a lot less sharp than it would have been a few days ago.
In contrast, the strange human woman sent a white-hot glare in my direction as I stepped into the pen and led Gertie out by her rope, but it wasn’t difficult to understand why she had glared when she stepped into the pen and yanked out the frail-looking sheep. It bleated in protest, and I honestly thought she was gonna fling it into the air with how hard she was pulling at its lead.
The tall orc grabbed the pig that looked the best out of every animal in there, and he sent me a brief polite smile as he stood next to me. Then Frederik begrudgingly walked into the pen, grabbed the thin goat, and kept his head down as he joined the line. After that, the elven woman plastered a smile on her face and grabbed one of the cows, followed by the halfling who grabbed the other.
It wasn’t long before we were all lined up with our animals and faced the pathway that had been created for us. Gertie shifted on her hooves slightly in confusion, and I couldn’t blame her. She’d been cooped up in the farm her whole life, and now suddenly she was in a town, about to be paraded down the street.
“Alright, if I could have all of your attention!” Alden called out in a booming voice, which startled a few of the animals. “Apologies. It is now time for the best in show competition! Thanks to Starfall, they’re looking a little better than they did last year, which gives us all the more reason to celebrate!”
I could tell who hadn’t already seen Gertie on the way up from the chorus of gasps and mumbles about her as we passed. I looked at the townspeople bordering us, and I chuckled at the number of wide eyes. They really must have never seen a cow this healthy before, and it was kind of depressing when I really stopped to think about it, but it was nice that I’d given them the chance to see one now, I guess.
The crowd clapped politely but didn’t quite match Alden’s enthusiastic energy. Alden’s dark brown eyes darted across the two lines of people, and he cleared his throat loudly. In response, they clapped a little harder, and I heard a few hoots and hollers from somewhere down the line.
“That’s better,” he said with a slow nod. “Now, I know you have all heard me ramble on about this before, but I’ll do it again. This is truly a special year for our Farmers’ Festival. The gods have blessed us by giving us Starfall, and we can now reap its rewards, however small they may be.”
“Hear, hear!” some men in the crowd called out.
“We take what we can get here in Gladewood, and it warms my heart to see all of you out here today to celebrate not only Starfall, but our farmers who help keep our little town alive,” Alden said. “So, let us see what our good farmers have to offer. Farmers, one by one, lead your prized animal down the street and walk back here. We’ll go in height order, I think, so, Ingrid, lead the charge.”
The sharp-featured human remained stoic as she started to pull her little sheep down the cobbled street. It put up a fight, but she hissed something at it in a language I didn’t understand, and it eased up a little and started to walk with her.
“Frederik, you can go next,” Alden said with a wave of his hand.
The old farmer grumbled something under his breath and gave the leash a little tug before the goat started walking alongside him. Next up was Nikolas, the orc, with his pig, Chubbs. Then it was Brimble Brancher, the halfling and his cow, shortly followed by Primrose Galiin and her cow.
“Alright, Noah, you’re up,” Alden said with a warm smile. “Make sure they show her a lot of love down there.”
“You got it,” I chuckled and started to lead Gertie down the street.
As we walked, the band started to play a more upbeat and plucky tune, and the townspeople all nodded their heads in time to the music. Smiles lit up their faces as we passed, and it was clear this was something they all enjoyed.
I spotted Lucille, the child who’d approached me when I first got here and begged me for food, standing next to her mother, right at the edge of the crowd as we walked. Her face lit up as she saw me, and she waved at me with a cute little smile.
I waved back with a smile of my own, and I noticed she looked a little less gaunt than when she had when I first met her. Maybe her mom managed to buy some of my crops, or got some of the bottles of milk.
At that moment, I felt a rush of pride at what I was doing here. Sure, this festival was an excuse for me to show off my best cow, but everything else I was doing was to help the people of Gladewood have a better life. It was still early days, but if I could make Lucille smile, I knew I was doing something right.
I kept walking Gertie down the street, and the further we got, the quieter the music became. The people down here were just as excited and uplifted, though, especially when they saw me and Gert.
Ingrid did a sharp turn as we reached the end of the street, and the amount of people died down indicating that we had to turn back. She scowled at me as she passed, and I had to fight to hold down a laugh.
