Theanore stared at the letter before her. Afriga demanded that her gremlins would be given gold and jewels, but she didn’t say what they would trade for it. The nymph handed the letter to her mother and looked at her expectantly.

Esmer read the letter and sighed.

“They have nothing to trade. Collapse the tunnel.” Said Esmer with a stern voice.

“Shouldn’t we help them? Dari, they are like you. Maybe they would need a job?” Asked Theanore Darion who was looking at a map of No Man’s Land.

“They seem to be under the influence of the same giant tribe as Norgog and his tribe.” Said Darion. “And giants can extort more of small gremlins than they can of ogres. Maybe it is not that they have nothing, and it is more possible that all their resources are tied up with the giants.”

“We have to help them. The giants have to be stopped from bullying everyone. I know! I will send Marfy over and have him scare them!” Said Theanore, and Esmer got a calculating look in her eyes.

“Then the gremlins and the ogres will be under your protection, Thea.” Said Esmer, and she took a parchment and began to write new trading tariffs.

“I can have dragons posted at their tribe grounds so that the giants won’t be able to strike once Marfy comes back home.” Said Theanore, happy that her idea was not shot down.

“An excellent idea, Thea. We won’t ask anything but a better trading agreement from those under your protection, but we need to give the giants something too. Or they will start to make trouble on principle.” Said Esmer, and she tapped her parchment three times, trying to come up with something.

Darion huffed.

“If they are the giants I think they are; they only want protection money because nothing will grow on their land. There is a tradition of overpricing goods when trading with the denizens of No Man’s Land. Give them food and they won’t grumble.” Said Darion and Theanore looked at him with big eyes.

“You mean they have to go hungry? Oh, no! How horrible.” Said Theanore, and she looked at the crates with food that the Ogres have delivered today. She could share some, she was sure.

“Norgog’s tribe won’t be able to provide enough food for both us and the giants, Thea. They eat too much. But we can make a trade deal with Alerion. Grandpa Thinker has many farms.” Said Darion as he guessed Theanore’s thoughts.

“But he won’t trade with people from No Man’s Land.” Said Esmer, and she looked at Theanore with a sad expression. “You can’t help everyone, Thea.”

“I can buy more land! I can have it farmed. Or, if no one would sell, I can rent it. Dari, how much land did you buy and rent up until now?” Asked Theanore.

“I have bought 1 acre of land and rented 50. But the landowners of the rented land will want a cut of the profit when harvest comes.” Said Darion. Theanore worried her bottom lip, then an idea struck her.

“Then I will speed the harvest with mana!” She said happily. Her mother tapped her nose and spoke.

“Thea, what feeds a plant?” Asked Esmer slowly. She knew her daughter knew the answer to this.

“Well, mommy, sunlight, water, and minerals from the soil…oh. If I speed the production of plants too much, the soil will become poor in minerals, and then it will erode.” Said Theanore, and she sat down. She looked emptily at the teleport.

“Mommy, who owns all the land in No Man’s Land?” Asked Theanore quietly.

“They don’t have a unified ruler. The unclaimed land is up for grabs.” Said Esmer.

“Then, I can take as much as I want there and leave ants to work it? The Giants can be paid to protect it.” Said Theanore, and her face brightened again.

“Supreme Overlord, I don’t advise it. You are too small and peaceful to protect your new land. Your harvests will be plundered, and your efforts will be for nothing.” Said Darion, and he petted Theanore’s head. “The fate of the giants is grim, but I am sure they are good at something. Why don’t you send them a letter to ask them? With Marferik, of course.”

“I’ll do that.” Said Theanore, and she began to write.

Dear chief Giant,

I want to ask you what you have to trade. My dragons will stop you from bullying the gremlins and the ogres. I don’t want you to go hungry. Darion the gremlin told me you have trouble growing things in your land. I will do everything I can to get you food at a good price, but you will have to trade something for it.

I hope we can work together,

Theanore the nymph.

She sent the letter and sat down to think on how she could increase food production. If only she could grow vegetables in winter. Maybe if they had a nice warm house to protect them from the cold wind and snow…

Wait, she grew vegetables in the grotto just fine, with the ovens warming the air and the ground. Why couldn’t she make houses for the vegetables and fruits? She had a lot of timber, and she had workers.

“Ants, line up!” Said Theanore and an ant came to her.

“Start making wooden houses without floors by the lake. Not too close to the water, make sure there is no sand underneath the house. And have four ovens build inside. Make them, let us say, as big as Elmar’s house each.” Said Theanore and the ant went to relay the order.

But Theanore was faced with another problem. She had been overusing the grotto planting tunnels, and they must be low on minerals. She needed to feed the soil, but how?

What did earth eat? She had read that clovers were left to rot over the soil and that fed it somehow. She had plenty of clovers. It was time to harvest them.