The twin suns started to creep over the top of the tree line to west and on Nosal’s left as he retraced his steps through the vegetable field. He was surprisingly getting winded just from carrying the bucket and basket with his depleted stamina.

This sacamin penalty is no joke, no wonder why father and brother rarely ever check their statuses because I’d never be able to get any work done like this, thought the young boy with labored breath as he cleared the field. I Just hope I unlock my class soon, so I can be strong like father! he thought as he daydreamed of easily carrying water barrels like his father did from the nearby river to refill the household’s supply.

When he had cleared the small gate beside the house, Nosal set down the feed bucket just beyond the threshold as he headed home with the basket in hand. He did so to deposit the eggs in the kitchen. Unbeknownst to the boy was that he had accidentally brushed a tiny creature that was minding its own business whilst he was daydreaming of his own power as he came through the gate. Whilst doing so, he somewhow enveloped the creature in a tiny green glow when he came into contact with the poor bug, before smacking it right under the feed bucket.

The bug was left disorientated after the crash, with the poor creature preoccupied with drinking some mana-infused morning dew for breakfast before this worrying change of events. But the small creature’s mind quickly cleared as it registered the bucket looming towards it as a world ending cataclysm that it was, before it quickly kicked off into a run. With a burst of speed beyond the limits of its tiny body, the creature somehow managed to evade death by the breath of its thoraxic hairs.

This tiny drama went by without any witnesses or Nosal’s knowing of how he unknowingly nearly killed the poor bug by accident. More importantly was how the boy had caused it to become the fastest bug of its kind by unlocking the Agility stat of one. Which was phenomenal considering that Dewphids as a species normally have 0.2 in the stat at best.

Inside the kitchen, Nosal had set down the basket beside a wooden crate as he carefully begun to unloaded the eggs into the hay filled box. This box was to be filled and collected at the beginning of next week on Paek by Shivalteek, the Firekin general store owner in Pancreedy. Once done with his task Nosal left the kitchen with the basket in hand. He then walked along the storage sheds and towards the back of the Ranch, where the bronze-ranked vegetable garden was.

Meanwhile the small Dewphid had collapsed into a tiny heap of legs beside the bucket, as it suffered the backlash of its breakthrough. But the tiny creature’s mind was elated at having survived the disaster from before. But this moment was short lived, for the bug’s instincts kicked in and it begun to drag it’s tired body towards a small clump of grass under the Poplar tree and out of the open.

But the bug went straight from the frying pan into the fire as its sixth sense kicked into overdrive. For the unfortunate little bug had now sensed an aerial raptor honing in on it from above, by the change in air pressure it felt on its antennae and the speck that was becoming larger in its small compound eyes. The life of the fastest Dewphid alive was now unfortunately coming to a close.

The hungry Mentorsparrow above flitted downwards for an easy meal. But before it could claim it’s prize, another larger haze in the air swooped by and intercepted the bird before plucking it out of the air to the sound of humming of large crystalline wings.

Meanwhile Nosal was lost in thought about his mysterious class, before he spotted a large Gildronfly simmer into focus as it’s stealth spell deactivated as it swooped overhead of the boy. In the large aerial predator’s clasp was some unfortunate small bird of some kind that the raptor was already greedily chewing into. But the Gildronfly was soon out of sight, with only a trail of feathers slowing floating to the ground as it flew away towards the trees beyond the orchard.

Whoa that was a big one, thought Nosal at the quickly retreating figure.

Wonder how big the nymph that fought Dittat is now? The way he described it to brother you’d think it was as big as a Dolteeth! He joked to himself with a chuckle and musk of joy as he quickly reached the vegetable garden.

From the orchard nearby, Nosal was able to hear chorus of thrumming hoots as the Owlmites let off their alarmed warning cries in the wake of the predator that had just leisurely cruised by just moments before.

They must be having a rough day… what with Dittat beating up on of their babies and now with that huge Gildronfly around, thought Nosal with pity for the poor tin-ranked beasts.

Ah fruitflys! I’m going to get pelted with Earth spits when I go collect fruits, with how skittish they are right now! And I hope I get out before the large bronze-ranked Blinkers get me with a stinging Earth spike, he realized in panic.

Nosal sighed out in defeat as he made his way to the back of the vegetable garden that was covered in a fine mesh netting. The netting was there to keep out beasts and monsters from sampling upon the family’s fruits and vegetables. Although it was slightly unnecessary considering the presence of Da’Nittan in the woods deterred most herbivores and the Owlmites preyed on any of the foolish smaller birds that came to steal the vegetables that grew beside the orchard they lived in.

Reaching a small allotment of spiky bushes, the boy bent down towards one of the greener specimens of the batch. Nosal then started digging with his hands after unhitching a small peg from the netting that covered the vegetables and lifting it off the bush. A short few moments later, he was able to unearth a clump of azure-blue turnip shaped tubers.

The boy shook off most of the loose soil from the Stopnips then brushed off a few clumps of earth, before inspecting the aesthetic quality of the vegetable. Feeling satisfied, he placed it into his egg basket he still carried with him, before repeating the process a few more times. One of the Stopnip batches was slightly off in its blue coloration with some sort of infection causing it to be closer to black. But Nosal took it anyways because the plant would still serve as an excellent addition to the fertilizer in the compost heap.

With his job half done, Nosal grabbed the basket and headed back towards the house. Rounding the front of the orchard the boy then grabbed ahold of the bad batch of Stopnips that sat on top and took aim for the pile of dead vegetative matter behind the hay barn that was the compost heap.

Here we go for the three pointer, he thought as he lobbed the tubers in an underarm parabolic arch using the momentum of swinging the tubers with its spiky leaves as a handhold. The batch landed nearly perfectly on top of the pile and left the boy feeling so happy in his small accomplishment, that he forgot the weird sporting jargon he had used. He then grabbed the basket that he placed down prior to taking his shot before continuing on his way.

In the back courtyard Nosal walked straight towards the water barrel that sat on the corner at the back of the house, before setting down his basket once more. He then pulled out a smaller bucket from another nearby rain barrel he had used to shower himself just around an hour ago. He then half filled it with water before squatting down to wash the vegetables.

Firstly he washed the tubers by dunking it straight into the bucket. But by doing so, Nosal quickly realized that he was just dirtying the water and making the job harder for the following batches.

“Fruitflys,” Nosal swore quietly to himself as he emptied the dirty water before drawing some more. This time I’ll wash them outside the bucket, thought the boy as he set about finishing the prep for the Sowigan’s food.

Meanwhile at the Chitpulka coop Kano was able to finish the mending of Chopek’s private enclosure. He picked up the wire spool, cutter and random stray bits of wire he snipped and placed them all in the front pocket of his suspenders. There was no need to leave the choking hazards for the Chitpulkas and be responsible for the death of a monster by being careless. Beasts and monster are our livelihood, so treat them with care and respect, was the motto that Lem had drilled into his two sons regularly. With his task completed, the boy brushed himself off of stray bits of hay before leaving the coop.

He made sure to scan the courtyard to be aware of Chopek’s location before leaving the coop. He also made sure to leave the coop door open so the Chitpulkas could roam about freely before his father came back to lock them up in the evening. In the presence of Lem, there would be no nonsense or tomfoolery from the small monsters due to his class passives leaving them docile and compliant.

Wondering how long it was going to be for him to reach level twenty and maybe receive a useful skill at the bronze-rank of his Monster Friend class, left Kano slightly dejected.

My leveling is tied to Ditta’s growth and he’s just a baby still, he thought sullenly with a musk of annoyance. Not like everyone’s going to have a unsung class like a certain someone, he darkly added in his mind with a hint of jealousy. But the thought was quickly quashed by the fear born from the image of his brother becoming a slave.

“I’ll never let it happen, I promise,” Kano whispered resolutely to himself as he made his way into the Sowigan building. The well-made brick and mortar construction was built adjacent to the river that made its way out of the Whisperwoods along with a Liquidstone pathway diverting a small stream underneath the building.

Inside the dark and cool ground floor of the building; was pair of pens built into the wall in one corner, a wooden cabinet and a small table with a few chairs in another corner that was adjacent to the square silhouette of the trapdoor beside it. The holding pens was built long ago to segregate any pregnant Sowigans or receptive females along with a male. There was no light or windows inside of the building. This is specifically due to the Sowigans preferring to live in the dark, being creatures born in deep caves or dungeons.

Kano quickly the shut the door before making his way to the cabinet. He felt around in the dark before finding and using a small tinderbox to light a small spare candle, that he quickly placed into a shuttered lamp.

The boy then reached down into a drawer near the bottom of the cabinet, before taking out a well-made small wooden box. The small contraption had two small jewels inset on both ends and a large circular lens on the top. It was this tiny contraption that the boy would use to magically clean the Sowigans. His father had specially ordered it from the Firefly at the cost of nearly a whole gold coin.

His father had explained to him that worked by having a small engraving of the Cleansing Light spell inside, with the magic core as a large lens and the two jewels used to charge the artifact through its magical engraving pathways and runes.

Kano sat it down carefully on the table and placed the lamp beside it before he placed his hands on either sides of the box and injected his mana into the device. It was because of this requirement of mana that left the task of using the expensive artifact to Kano and his father, with his brother previously being classless and unable to activate it.

With but a few moments and the device was fully charged along with a faint clinking noise. Now Kano would only have to flick a small switch on the side and the engraved runic pathways would become complete and cast the spell. Kano was left feeling a little drained from his mana injection but he would be fine in half an hour or so. With the box fully charged, the boy headed towards the trapdoor.

Oh wait my pockets are full, he thought as he headed back to the table to empty it of the copper wiring and the cutter from his pocket. This was to avoid scuffing the expensive artifact as he placed it inside the pocket so as to leave one of his hands free for when he had to climb down the ladder below the trapdoor. With the artifact secured and the lamp in one hand, he returned to the trapdoor and opened it to the relaxing sound of a flowing water. A rush of cool air also blew upwards as he descended down the ladder with the shuttered lantern in one hand.

The pitch black darkness of the cellar below hid the fact that it was exactly of the same size and shape as the room above, except for the Liquidstone waterway that fed into and exited the cellar via a pair of metal grates. Inside the gloom there also contained many small faint outlines of the Sowigans that edged slowly away from the descending Kano.

“I would sow the seeds when you wake my love,” Kano began to sing as he slowly approached the closest shadowy figure.

“I would care for us when Paeck shines on you,” he continued for the shy monsters as he crept closer. The faint light of his lamp revealed that the small brown shape undulating away, to be a large brown slug with pale and milky blind eyes on thin stalks. But at the sound of the lullaby, the creature stopped in its slow crawl and turned around to instead approach Kano. It was the same song that his mother used to sing for him long ago and to these monsters when she was still alive.

“And when the Rarndawn tries to steal your smile, I will die to make you smile again dove, when winter makes your heart sad and blue…Remember I’ll be back in just a while,” the boy continued with pained melancholy in his voice as he activated the cleaning artifact and bathed the small enraptured Sowigan in a faint blue light. Kano was momentarily lost in the memory of his mother as he kept on singing the song over and over in a soft voice. Slowly, the rest of the Sowigans herded around the boy and touched him with their blind eye stalks as they listen to the song of the gentle Capyban lady who used to visit them in the past.

Kano sighed with heartbreak but continued to sing the song as he cleaned another of one of his audience in the dark.

This lullaby was a trick his mother taught him to calm down timid monsters when he was younger and one he hasn’t shared with anyone since her passing. It saddened the boy every time he sang to the little slugs, for he liked to believe that they also missed his mother just like he did. Sometimes when he cleaned the Sowigans, it would be too much and break his heart and cause the young boy cry, just like the small tear and the musk of sadness that was threatening him was going to happen today.

It didn’t help how he spent the most time with them in the family due to their fondness for the song. It saddened Kano to betray their trust, for his father would then sell one or two every few years to be butchered if they were successful at rearing a batch of young Sluggies. He found kinship in the weak shy slugs that shared his appreciation for his mother’s lullaby and was quite fond of the creatures. If only we made some more money or dad would take money from Granpa, then we wouldn’t have to kill the poor beasts, he thought as he looked down at one of the pitiful creatures.

But soon enough, he was reminded that his brother was coming soon. So the boy wiped away his tears and finished cleaning the Sowigans of any molds or infections. Then he starting to clean the rest of the walls and ceiling as the Sowigans slowly crawled beside him. It took him a good while to get the whole cellar done, but the room was now spotless. He even went along the water track and cleaned the grates in the wall. Then he sat down under the trapdoor and waited for his brother. A few curious Sowigans touched him with their sticky feelers as the rest slowly slimed away into the dark corners of their prison-kingdom.

After a while he heard a the faint thumping of footsteps indicating his brother was in the building upstairs. Kano followed the sound as it traced its way across the ceiling above towards the trapdoor, and sure enough the faint knocking of his brother followed. Kano left the lamp at the bottom of the ladder as he ascended upwards. At the top he took out the artifact and knocked the underside of the trapdoor with the knuckles of the same hand that was holding the tool.

“Hey brother,” spoke a squatting Nosal from above as he opened the trapdoor. Kano then proceeded to climb upwards and swap the cleaner for the basket of vegetables.

“Hey little nose,” Kano greeted in reply at the top rung of the ladder. “You properly washed it all clean aye?” he then asked.

“Yeah its clean,” replied Nosal with a wrinkling of his nose, before gently shutting the trapdoor behind his brother who descended back down into the gloom. Brother always sounds so sad whenever he deals with the Sowigans, thought Nosal glumly with a small musk of sadness. Wish he’d just tell me why.

The boy then waited in the darkness of the room above as his brother carefully placed the vegetables around in the cellar below. A few short moments later and Kano was knocking on the trapdoor to indicate that Nosal should open it for him.

The little boy obliged before helping his brother up through the trapdoor. His brother was using one hand to hold the lamp and looping the basket by the elbow of the other and struggling up awkwardly, before shutting it behind him.

“Oh I nearly forgot to tell you I saw this HUGE Gildronfly by the orchard,” boasted Kano with a musk of joy along with some over-exaggerated gesticulations that children like to embellish their tales with.

“Oh yeah? Bigger than the one last year?” Kano asked as he blew out the candle before placing it along with the lantern back on to the cabinet.

“Bigger!..... Or maybe it was the same one, but it got bigger?” replied Nosal. I’m sure it must’ve just grown, he surmised.

“Well we now have to go water the bronze vegetables, so maybe I’ll see it ehh?” replied Kano with a musk of joy as he slid one arm around his younger brother’s shoulder with the other holding onto the now empty basket.

“Yeah! Or actually maybe not…. I saw that it caught something so maybe it’s gone to sleep?” answered his little brother as he opened the door. The morning light quickly rushed in and bathed the two brothers in it’s warm glow as they left the Sowigan cellar.

“Hahahah! That’s just YOU, who falls asleep after a snack little Nose!” teased Kano as they crossed the Chitpulka compound.

“Shut it you! I don’t anymore! I’m a man now… I’m ten ok! Soon father with take me for a drink like when he took you,” protested back Nosal in a whiny voice. But I don’t see the point with how ale tastes so bad when I sneaked a try, he added to himself, not like bud light…bud? What the Realms is bud?

“Oh aye he will soon enough,” replied a worried Kano. For he was now reminded that his father was away sending a letter regarding his little brother’s class issue. But a small smile crept onto his face as he opened the gate, wondering if Grandpa will sneak some coins inside a book along with his next visit.