Other than parts in the middle of the forest, the only area Felix hasn’t explored is the northwest corner, where Baba Yaga is rumoured to live (and the area you’ve been warned to avoid for now).
Felix heads back to town, and looks for a place to buy two hunks of meat that a starving bear would like to eat that Felix is not using to move his own body around.
Then he'll start up a conversation with Heinrich and Hilde about Heinrich's Sylvan magic to see if he can glean any way to make Wolfgang's idea of the giants creating their own Erana's Peace a reality. As an afterthought, he mentions the otherworldly woman in flowing white clothes that he dreamt about, but might also be real?
Buying meat at Kaspar’s is easy.
Heinrich beckons Felix to follow as he heads towards the market place. ”Making a new Erana’s Peace for the giants? That would require Erana, and nobody has seen her in many, many years. But it isn’t really an Erana’s Peace that they need, is it? I take it you’ve been to the Erana’s Peace here? Is it true that there is a magical fruit tree that gives no seed? It must be or you wouldn’t be asking. My Sylvan magic cannot create a magical meadow, but it can allow me to make a quick-growing cutting of such a magical tree. If you can escort me to the meadow, I could make the cutting for you. I could make several and use the magic of the others to do something about the blighted farm land around here.”
"Heinrich, you could do that! That would be amazing!
"Yes, I can escort you there. When would you like to go?"
”First thing tomorrow morning. Meet me at my farm along the road past the baron’s castle.”
"Fantastic! Yes, absolutely! I'll see you then!"
Not wanting to risk overextending himself and missing his meet with Heinrich (or being too tired to effectively defend him), Felix hangs around town the rest of the day.
As soon as the gates open the next morning, Felix heads up the road to Heinrich's farm.
Hanging around town that day, Felix sees the suspicious man from the tavern his first night in town, lounging against the marketplace well. He seems to be reading a note. Once finished, he crumples it up and tosses it over his shoulder into the well…or at least, that was clearly his intention, but unbeknownst to him, a stray gust of breeze blew it off course, and the note bounced off the edge of the well and out of sight into some weeds.
The man notices you watching him, and straightens up. He reaches for a hidden weapon, but then the calming magic of the town takes over, and he relaxes, then frowns angrily at his own relaxation.
Felix hangs around the area, also, trying his best not to show much reaction to the suspicious man's aggression towards him. When he gets a chance to pick up the crumpled note without the man or one of his cohorts seeing him, he does so. He goes somewhere to read it without being seen.
Eventually, the suspicious man leaves and Felix is able to retrieve the note.
B. - New busybody in the valley. Nibs is worried. Watch yourself. - B
Felix helpfully crumples the note and puts it in the proper waste receptacle. He finds ways to idly pass the time until the next morning, when he leaves to meet Heinrich at his farm.
Bright an early the next morning, Felix meets with Heinrich at his farm. The desolation of the other farms is saddening, though the centaur's fields show the early green of freshly sprouted crops and a few of his apple trees have begun to sprout blossoms. Heinrich nods approvingly at his arrival.
"You are prompt. Very good."
Heinrich shoulders a large pack on his back, holds a long, heavy spear, and they set off, following the road until its end and then into the forest. Heinrich is a polite, though quiet travelling companion, and when they stop for lunch, quite freely shares his bounty.
While eating, he opens up a little more, asking Felix, "So, what prompted you to choose this life?"
Felix thank Heinrich for his generosity when offered.
While eating, he opens up a little more, asking Felix, "So, what prompted you to choose this life?"
"Well, you know the superstition that the seventh son born to a father who was also a seventh son is extremely lucky? Well, I am the eighth son of a seventh son." Felix takes a bite of his meal to let that sink in before continuing.
"So, who thinks number 8 is going to amount to much, right? Maybe they're even unlucky, so what's the point in investing in their future?" Felix takes another bite and then motions to signify that what he's just described is his reality.
"I wasn't going to be able to do much in my father's business, what with there being seven other brothers (and four sisters) who aren't marked with being unlucky. So, I started looking for something that would let me travel. To get away from where everyone thought I was unlucky.
"I don't want to get scurvy, so being a sailor or a pirate was out. I looked into being a caravan guard, but caravans are owned by too many people who know my father. Become a squire? Knights are part of feudalism, and feudalism is problematic. And so it went on like that for a while.
"Finally, I settled on being a courier. Not very glamorous, but it let me see more of the world, and it's biggest drawback is that it's boring. One night on the road, as I was settled in next to my campfire, I was reading through the mail that I was delivering (which is completely legal to do so long as it's not sealed, by the way), and I came across an introductory letter from the Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School!
"Now there was a profession! A lifestyle! It didn't take me long after being introduced to the idea to save up enough money to make the career transition. I went from being averagle all around to being slightly above average all around! I just completed the course and received my certificate last month! Spielburg Valley is my first adventure!
"How about you? What made you decide to become a farmer?"
No problem. I’ll put it back to inactive.