Enzo was sore and tired. Being bodily tossed from an enchanted garden had done nothing to improve his disposition. As a handful of villagers walked past and glanced in his direction, he stood and brushed the dust off his shirt. Bit of an overreaction, I didn’t mean to forget about the zucchini. Now I have to find some way to make up with her.

He stretched his arms above his head as he considered what to do next. It was still fairly early in the day and he’d already been allowed to take the day off to recover.

Tobias won’t be happy if I come straight back over and tell him what happened. He’ll probably put me to work for being an idiot. I need to solve this myself.

Without much of a plan, he aimlessly wandered into Olena’s inn. The warmth of the fire in her hearth immediately cocooned him the moment he stepped into the main room of the inn. Most of the room was empty, tables and chairs neatly arranged in their designated spots while the countertop shone in the firelight. Manuel sat at the end of the bar and idly chatted with Olena. The pair glanced in his direction and smiled as Enzo entered the room.

“Nice to see you’re still alive!” Manuel called out as he beckoned Enzo to join them. “Last time I saw you, Tobias and Gunnar were dividing you up like the choice cuts of a fresh boar.”

“Yeah, they’ve really enjoyed grinding me into the dirt with work,” Enzo replied as he took a seat at the bar next to Manuel. “It’s not all bad though, I feel like I’m making progress. Getting stronger, and I’m learning a lot about smithing.”

“They can’t be working you too hard, though. I saw you arm-in-arm with Rena the other day,” Olena teased. “She’s such a sweet girl, I’m glad you found each other.”

“Oh yeah! I heard you’re taking her to the Winter Festival!” Manuel chimed in, as he clapped Enzo on the back. “Really moving quick, I had no idea you were such a ladies’ man.”

Enzo just shook his head in embarrassment. “I didn’t do anything at all,” he tried to explain. “She just showed up at the training yard the other day and decided we were going together. I had no choice in the matter.”

“Aww, did a big strong guard like you get over powered by tiny little Rena?” cooed Olena. “Here, let me get you a drink and you can tell me all about it. I’m sure spending the day with her was just terrible.”

Enzo rolled his eyes as Manuel burst out laughing. Olena grinned at Enzo as she passed him a mug of warm tea.

“She’s not even the biggest issue right now,” complained Enzo as he blew on his tea. “Tobias wants me to ask Cornelia to help us with something, but I pissed her off and now she won’t let me back into the garden.”

“Oh, that was you?” asked Manuel. “I saw the flailing branches on my way over here, but I had no idea it was you that had snuck into her garden.”

“You must have made her quite mad, she doesn’t normally hurl people back over the hedges. What did you do?” asked Olena.

“I was over there the other day, and kind of off-handedly asked for some zucchini,” Enzo explained. “I didn’t think she’d really grow it, but she did and told me to come back in a couple days to pick it up. Well, the day Rena kidnapped me was the day I was supposed to go see Cornelia, and now she’s mad that I forgot about her and had the audacity to come by and ask another favor.”

“Rough one buddy,” Manuel said cheekily. “Two bosses negotiating for your time, and now a girlfriend and an angry wood elf added to the mix. You really need to set some boundaries.”

“If only I could,” Enzo sighed. He took a long, sorrowful sip from his tea. “Tobias will work me to death if I come back and tell him what happened, but I don’t know what to do to get back on Cornelia’s good side.”

Olena smiled at Enzo empathetically. “I have just the thing.” She disappeared back into the kitchen and rummaged around for a bit before returning with a small vial of brown liquid.

“Here, give her this. She’ll know it’s from me, but she’ll appreciate that you wanted to try to make amends,” Olena said as she placed the vial on the counter.

“What is it?” Manuel asked.

“It’s an extract from a rare flower,” Olena explained. “It adds a soft, sweet flavor to whatever you use it in. We rarely see any here, I happened to ask a trader for some last year and he returned a few months ago with this vial. She loves the flavor, and the flower is one of the only things Cornelia struggles to grow here.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Olena. I owe you one,” Enzo said gratefully.

“Anything to help out a friend,” she replied.

“Man, you are really good at indebting yourself to everyone you know,” Manuel interjected. “Need any leather? I’m sure I have some lying around and wouldn’t mind sharing for a favor in the future.”

Enzo rolled his eyes at Manuel. “I’m good, but I’ll keep that in mind,” he shot back. “One of these days I’m going to start paying back favors rather than owing them. So, should I just drop this outside her garden? I doubt she’ll let me in again.”

“Just set it inside the garden wall, I’m sure she’ll find it,” Olena replied. “Be quick about it though, I wouldn’t test her patience again today.”

Enzo finished his tea and stood from the bar. “Thanks again Olena, and good seeing you Manuel,” he said as he turned to go. “Wish me luck!”

He left the warmth of the inn and breathed deeply. Nothing to it but to do it. I’ll just run in really quickly, drop it off and escape before the vines can entangle me again.

With as much stealth as he could manage, Enzo crept around the wall of hedges. As he approached the gap in the bushes, the leaves of the branches beyond began to tremble. She knows I’m here already!

He quickly dashed into the first tree he could find and set the vial down among its roots, then bolted back the way he came. Vines spread along the path he ran, and threatened to trip him. The tree branches began to enclose the space above the path, blocking out the light. He dove as he neared the gap and was just able to pass the edge of the hedges before the vines could close the narrow path and capture him again.

I really hope this works.