El wakes up and goes about his morning tasks on the farm. Still healing, he does his best, but it's not much. The work is slow going and some of Arkin’s business is being stolen by the rival farm.

  El crashes down in the barn, clutching his side. He grits his teeth as he breathes through the pain, but a squeaking sound catches his attention. He looks down at a rat with a white petal wrapped around his ear.

  “You’re back?” El leans down to look at the rat.

  It is carrying a root that it lifts up and offers to El. The field hand carefully takes the root and the rat quickly scurries off.

  “Hey, wait, what do I do with this?” El calls out.

  “You chew it.” Arkin’s gruff voice sounds from the door of the barn.

  El turns to see the old farm hand holding a ledger book and looking funnily in the direction the rat ran off.

  “Sorry, what did you say?” The field hand holds the root up to his face to inspect it.

  “It’s Ginger, the little fey-touched is trying to be of service to you.” The old man huffs as he walks over to El and sits down on a bale of straw.

  The farm boy pops the root into his mouth and chews it down. He ignores the strong taste to the best of his ability. Arkin flips through his ledger to the most recent entries and tries to write some calculations in the sidebar. The most recent entries in the ledger seem to be negative numbers.

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  “I hate competition.’ Arkin grumbles about the rival farm.

  “Well you know I’m doing the best I can,” El states, “but I can keep trying to do better.”

  “You’re never the problem, kid,” Arkin says. “Profits will pick up. Just came at a bad time with some of the laborers going to the mine and you getting injured.”

  “Those both sound like I am the problem.” El states.

  “Well then make me a fortune. And I won’t have to run the numbers.” Arkin smiles.

  “I need some time, but I got things coming.” El confidently replies.

  Kib is doing his best and loves the laborers keeping him company. El and Kib go out to hunt some more and end up taking on a group of goblins led by a bugbear. El dispatches the bugbear in a one-on-one fight.

  The two retire to their residences for the night after a good fight. Kib sits down to eat some stale food that the village had brought him when a voice calls out from the warren’s entrance.

  “Hey, Kib! My kids wanted to meet you!” Top comes walking down into the mess hall of the warren holding a crate of food.

  “Dragon!” Three little girls squeal and surround Kib.

  “Dragon?” Kib beams with self-importance as the three halfling children surround him. “Yes! I am a mighty beast!” He roars.

  “He’s like a big cat!” One girl yells.

  “Why is he purple?” Another girl pinches his arm to feel the scales.

  “I want a baby dwagon.” The youngest wraps her arms around Kib.

  “Baby? I am no wyrmling!” Kib starts thrashing around trying to get away from the children. “I am a dreadwyrm, a destroyer of worlds, a gatherer of hordes!”

  Top and his wife lean against each other watching the kids terrorize the kobold.

  “I can get the ingredients out and cook dinner if you set up the stove.” The female halfling suggests.

  “Thank’s love. That would be easy.” Top kisses his wife’s head before setting down the crate and digging through it.

  Over at the farm, El eats dinner, has his bandages changed, and then heads off to sleep.