We had just gotten to the gate to my property when Van, John, and Meagan Hunter emerged from the woods to my left along with the men’s familiars. Sara hadn’t even growled to alert me to their presence. Lily hadn’t alerted me either.

“Don’t feel bad. If it was anyone else, we would have let you know,” my familiar assured me. She was riding my right shoulder.

“Hi,” I said to the hunters. They returned the greeting.

“On your way into the village?” Van asked.

“Yeah. I need to buy a new paring knife,” I answered. “Oh yeah, I have four 8-ounce bottles of carob powder for sale.”

“Just four?” Meagan asked as she rubbed Sara behind the ears. I actually had five bottles since one of the bottles was a partial from what we used earlier. “These two might want all of them.”

“Just us?” Van asked his daughter.

“It’s not like a certain young woman loves chocolate either,” John added.

“Dad!” Meagan whined. “Uncle John! You two are embarrassing me.”

They laughed. Lily and I joined them.

“The carob is a little sweeter than chocolate,” I informed the trio. “So, you’ll want to use a tad less than you would when baking or making a hot drink.”

“It’s good!” Lily chimed in.

“A gallon of processed seedpods makes four cups of powder,” I said addressing Meagan’s question.

“Was it a lot of work?” John asked.

“Not as much as I thought it would have been,” I answered.

“Just seems like a lot of effort for so little, you know?” John said.

“That’s normal,” I laughed.

“How much do you want per bottle?” Van asked.

“Twenty cents!” Lily answered before I could say anything.

Van and his brother exchanged a look. Meagan just smiled and kept showering Sara with attention.

“What Lily said,” I said.

“That’s more than fair,” John said. “True chocolate goes for at least twice that if any of the traveling merchants can even get it.”

“Maybe I should charge more,” I mused. The Hunters looked alarmed at that comment. Lily slapped the back of my head gently making me look at the other humans. “Oh! I don’t mean to you three. I meant if I sell any to anyone else.”

“When will you have more?” Van asked.

“Hopefully in a few days,” I replied.

“I’m curious how you found it,” Meagan said.

“He got the pods from the getting place,” Lily answered making me laugh.

“The getting place?” Van and John asked.

“Where?” Meagan asked at the same time as her family. This made Lily laugh and me laugh harder.

“Sorry,” I said after getting myself under control. “The ‘getting place’ is something the pixies say when they don’t want to share where something came from.”

“And you’re not telling either,” Meagan said as I exchanged money and two bottles of carob powder with the other men.

“True,” I replied. “I’d rather the location of the carob…plants remain a secret because of what happened with the mutated beehive.”

“We wouldn’t dare do something like that,” John objected. “And we want all four of the bottles.”

“I believe you, but if you don’t know where the plants are, you can’t accidently tell others about them or lead others to them,” I replied. “I want to sell the other two bottles in the village.”

“That’s fair,” Van said. Meagan and John shrugged their shoulders.

“Sara wants to take Meagan and you two up the mountain to search for another young cougar,” Lily said.

“Really?” Meagan asked in excitement.

“Yep,” Lily answered. She pointed up in a tree behind the girl. “April there will go with you as a translator.”

“I will?” April asked joining us.

“Yep,” Lily replied. “Especially if you want any of the sweets Jase is planning on baking.”

April narrowed her eyes, then smiled. “Fine.”

April landed on Sara’s head and led the Hunters north. Lily and I watched them go and then started towards Stonecroft again.

*

“Hey Simon,” Lily and I chorused as we greeted the merchant. Lily fell into a giggling fit as the old man chuckled.

“What can I help you with?” Simon as after returning the greeting.

“Got a paring knife?” I asked.

“Not for sell. Dexter Smith, the blacksmith, makes and sells them though,” the merchant replied. “I can’t compete with his prices.”

“Figures,” I replied.

“Anything else you need?” Simon asked.

“No, but I have something you might want,” I said as Lily flew down to entertain Simon’s familiar.

“And what might I? Got a new alcoholic beverage?”

“No. I have a chocolate substitute though,” I replied. The merchant’s eyes widened and then narrowed.

“You don’t say?” he asked. “And where did you come across this substitute at?”

“The getting place!” Lily shouted making Simon chuckle again.

“It’s called carob and it’s something my friends showed me,” I said taking the partially filled bottle out of my satchel and placing it on his counter.

He opened the bottle and sniffed. “Smells good. You’ve already made it into a powder?”

“Yeah. The first batch only produced eight bottles, but I’m keeping four for my use and have sold two.”

“You sold two?” How much did you charge?” the merchant asked.

“To the Hunters for 20 cents each,” I answered.

“Jase, you just shot yourself in the foot!” Lily said.

“Crap,” I replied as she shook her head. I could feel her grin over the bond.

“Ha! I won’t let you charge me over 20 cents per bottle,” Simon said.

“Fine,” I agreed. So much for my negotiating skill.

“I want to try it before I’ll commit to buying,” Simon said. “There’s always a huge market for chocolate and this could fill a huge gap if it’s good.”

“Alright,” I agreed. I assisted the elderly man in making a cup of hot carob. He tentatively tried it as I returned the partial bottle to my satchel.

“That is good,” Simon said. “I’ll take all you can make.”

“I gallon of seedpods makes 4 cups of powder, so, I’ll see what I can do,” I replied placing the two full bottles on his counter

“I suppose it’ll be a few days before you have anymore for sale,” Simon said counting out 40 cents.

“At least!” Lily replied as I pocketed the coin.

“Just let me know,” Simon said.

“I will,” I promised.

“Oh yeah, Gabriela sent a bird. Said to tell you that she’ll be back in two weeks,” Simon said. “You’re not selling this carob to her, are you?”

“Hadn’t planned to,” I answered.

“Good.”

I laughed.