Mathew and Felicia spent the afternoon checking out the farm. The first place Mathew took Felicia was the herb processing room in the back of the barn. The barn itself was built right up next to the low cliff face. In front of a small natural cave. A heavy door separated the cold, dry cave from the spacious barn. The door design was strange when Felicia saw it; it was held closed with two 'Tee' handle screws. Mathew turned the screws and pulled the thick door open. The small cave was bright and sunny from what appeared to be a natural hole in the ceiling that was glassed over with thick clear glass chunks. On one side, several shelves held bottles of different sizes and colors filled with various liquids and powders. Once Felicia was inside Mathew pulled the door close. Felicia looked at Mathew. "It keeps the moisture out of the cave," he explained.
Felicia nodded. The opposite side of the cave from the table and shelfs, long, thick cotton strings, which ran across a grotto type of opening in the cave's wall. There were hundreds of bone white, root-like structures hanging from each string. Felicia walked over staring at them. Each root like structure was fragile looking, one touch, and it would crumble to dust.
"What are they?
"It is Dragon Claw root. My family has harvested this root for over four generations. It is a major component in the heal potions trade. Very rare and hard to grow. My Great Grandfather discovered this plateau, behind the house. With the help of my Great Grandmother, they learned how to farm this rare weed. It takes a competent mage and a skilled botanist, to grow and maintain a field of this parasitic plant."
Felicia was going to reach out and touch one.
"No love, don't touch that!"
Felicia quickly pulled her hand back. Mathew pulled her down the line to the back of the cave. Here, some of the root-like structures were slightly yellowish. "When they are white, the roots are still very toxic to touch. Only when it turns slightly brown can we crush the roots and package them for the potion making business. The easiest way to know when they are ready, is to come here on a moonless night. The white one's glow at night with the residue magic inside while there is no moonlight." Pointing to the rock window, "hence the reason for the moon roof."
"Magic?"
"Yes, Magic. The reason this root is so rare, it only grows where people didn't live, like in areas where Dragons live. And the top portion has little prickles that are sickle-shaped, looking like dragon claws. Thus its name Dragon claw. We harvest just a small part of the roots every late winter and end of the summer. We ship spring and fall."
"But where do you harvest it?"
Mathew took Felicia's hand, after securing the Herb room door again. He walked her up to the little path to the Oak Forest on the western plateau above their house. Felicia got her first look at the forbidden Oak Forest. Each family who moved to the Valley took a vow to stay out of the old Oak Forrest above the Lindrose house. Everyone knew they grew magical herbs for the potion trade, and the plateau was toxic to most people. In truth, it wasn't toxic. It was so sensitive to intrusions that just walking near the Dragon Claw vines could kill them. Felicia looked upon the forbidden forest for the first time. The ancient Oak Forest was a tightly packed forest with each tree growing into its neighbor. Each tree was overgrown in light green vines.
At the head of each row was a tiny rock cairn. However, in truth, these old trees grew straight along the magical ley lines that crossed the plateau. Mathew's family had discovered this plateau and learned to nurture and harvest the rare vines. Mathew dug into his pocket and pulled out a finely cut dark purple Sapphire on a silver chain.
"This was my great grandmothers, I want you to have it."
"Oh, Mathew it is beautiful!"
Mathew placed it in her hand, "But it comes with a price and reason.
Felicia smiled thinking she knew the price, but the reason? Felicia turned, looking into Mathew's eyes, with her come-hither smile, "Name your price, and then tell me the reason."
Mathew laughed, "Well the price is a few weeks of lessons, and I am sorry to say they won't be fun because you're going to need to learn to control it. The reason is this, the forest, and what we do here. You are going to have to learn to cast a minor spell every time we come to the Oak Forest.
Felicia frowned looking at it. Mathew pulled the second one out. It was smaller, and the stone was completely round. Slipping his over his head, he then he picked up Felicia's stone and cupped it in his hands. He chanted a small spell over it. Then touched his saying the same minor spell. He placed the necklace over her head. The Purple Sapphire hug perfectly between her breasts. "The stones have a small spell in them. They let us cross the ley lines and not disturb its faint magical flow. In essence, these stones hide us from the magic of the forest."
Taking her hand, he led Felicia onto the plateau. He led her down the line of trees, stopping at each cairn to touch it. They passed a small lean-to shed. A new looking two-wheel cart sat under the low roof. The big difference was the silver wheel hoops instead of iron. They walked for over a half a candle when Mathew touched the next cairn.
"The hobgoblins came down this row of trees."
Felicia looked at Mathew.
"Come here, touch this, feel the flow?"
Mathew canted a tactile spell. "Yes I feel something.... It feels fuzzy, or rough?" "Yes, something affected the ley lines flow."
He canted a minor spell trying to calm the magic flow. He shook his head, "There is something more that disturbed the flow. We need to find out what."
It took them almost an hour to find a tree where some hobgoblins hacked at an overhanging tree limb. Mathew looked at the deep cuts. "There was no reason for them to do this." Looking at the ground, he started looking for the missing chunks. After finding one, Felicia started looking as well. It took them nearly half a candle to find all twenty missing pieces. Mathew carefully started matching the missing pieces to each cut. When he found a match, he fitted the missing piece and chanted a botany healing spell. As he healed the last piece, he put his other hand on the branch. "I don't know, my old friend, we might have to lose this arm."
Felicia looked at him?
"Some of those cuts were deep, and a couple of the chipped pieces were in the sun. They might be too dry for this old dame to heal."
"Is there anything else we can do?
Mathew shook his head no. "I have done all I could for the day; only time will tell. We will come back in a couple of days once we get home from Kingsholm. If we get our cart horse, we can bring saws and wood for supports, or if the wounds don't heal if we have to take the branch."
It took them another two hours to walk the line of trees until they came to a fast-flowing stream that came off the Central Mounts. The stream marked the north side of the farm. As on the southern side, this side also had little stone Cairns at each line of trees. They walked along the stream side to where the Plateau fell off into a low set of rolling hills that ran down to the western plains. The hike back took just as long. They made the house just about midafternoon. Mathew got to work on the switching the bedrooms.
Felicia went into the kitchen to see what was in the Pantry. With limited supplies, she got a thick barley and bean soup going for dinner but put together some bread and cheese slices as a snack for both. After their impromptu meal, she cleaned up the kitchen. It was nice having a well-pump right inside the kitchen. After she had finished cleaning the kitchen, she went up front only to see Mathew struggling to get his smaller bed into to the larger bedroom. "Can I help love?"
Mathew looked up from the bedroom; his face was red from the effort. Felicia unhooked a leg from the door post and pushed it into the room for him. Smiling at him, she noticed her brothers coming up the road with a small cart full of her personal stuff.
"My stuff! When you get done playing, could you come out and give me a hand?
Mathew looked over his shoulder as he wrestled the bed into the corner. Felicia was smiling as she walked out to greet her brothers.
"Mathew will come out here and help my Brothers? They can't fit through the door.
Mathew walked out, still red-faced and a little sweaty. Two large steamer trunks, and enough food to supply the main house for a six-month protracted siege. A freestanding stall and several rush mats. Mathew carried the last gain storage jar into the Pantry struggling as to where to put it. Tarn easily lifted the heavy stall wall section and set it by the door, but it took both, Felicia and him to carry them in section by section. Mathew saw Rullis try to fit himself through his doorway with no luck.
"Sorry Felicia, Mathew, I am just too tall to fit through your door."
Both Felicia and he had to duck to get through the door as it was. "I guess we are going to have to plan on a few days to modify this old house, so we can invite your family over for dinner," Mathew said grinning watching Rullis trying to extract himself from the doorway.
Rullis had gotten his massive shoulders through the door but his lower horse half wouldn't fit, so as he tried to back out he had to contort his human upper half around some and still pull his lower half out. As soon as his head cleared the door he stood up straight, forgetting the doors rain ease hitting his head on it.
