6 A Farmers Toils II (2/2)
”How long?”
The knight shifted uncomfortably. ”Perhaps two weeks, maybe more. But fear not, we, the knights of Lys, are renowned for our bladework. You shall walk this road untouched very soon.”
Old Thane shook his head and came back to Li. ”This is awful.”
”Why?” said Li. ”Can't we come back in a week or whenever they're done?”
”Our food, Li. It's been a month since I made this trip last, when I met you. We're running out. We'll have to trade at Riviera, but my berries will fetch so little coin that even two days' worth of bread will be hard to come by.”
Li understood. He hadn't cared that the food was running out because he didn't need it to survive. Old Thane probably thought Li was just being polite. Li felt a twinge of guilt for not considering that Old Thane was only human.
”Two weeks, maybe more – with two of us eating, we'll have nothing,” worried Old Thane. ”I may have to sell the field, barren as it may be.”
That settled it. For almost thirty years, he had dreamed of being a farmer, and now he was living his dream. The farm was his passion. His golden treasure. His art.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, would stand between Li and the farm. Not lords, not kings, not demons, not gods, least of all bandits.
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Li reached out and squeezed Old Thane's shoulder. ”Don't worry, old man, you won't have to sacrifice anything. Stay the night at this camp where you'll be safe.”
Old Thane grabbed Li's arm with trembling hands. ”Don't do anything stupid, lad.”
”Don't you worry.” Li smiled as he pried Old Thane's hands away. He patted the old man's back and cast [Deathbloom Triggerseed], placing a nondescript, tiny little black seed on his shirt. If the old man was attacked, then the seed would sprout, protecting him in an enclosure of defensive vines.
”I make this promise to you,” said Li as he started walking away, down the road and into the dark. ”You wanted your farm to live beyond you, right? To pass it down to me and see your life's work continue. Well, I swear to you that your farm will never fall.”
Something came over Li. His words felt strange, almost disembodied, as if someone else was speaking for him, but he knew that they were the words he wanted to speak.
”Your work will triumph over the tests of time. It will bloom when kingdoms wither. It will stand when gods fall. When the Cycle waxes and life flowers, your work will bear fruits than to awe man and beast alike. When the Cycle wanes and life withers, your work will still remain fresh and green, reigning supreme over death itself. This, I promise and more.”
Whatever came over him left almost as soon as it arose, and Li left Old Thane in an understandably confused state. Li understood that he would have to explain what he did and what he said later, but over a month of living with Old Thane, he trusted the kindly old man to keep his lips sealed.
For now, Li had some pest control to do.