After a short stop at the mansion to deliver our items to our bedroom and lock the door, we
found ourselves back at the guild, enjoying lunch. Well, most of us were. Velariah only had a small meal before she stared at the board which was getting increasingly packed with requests. Of course, many of them were in the lower rank columns, but even the gold and silver quests had started piling up.
"I suppose none of you are interested in physical labor, are you?" The elf called. I wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question, but it became apparent as she simply continued looking. "Hmmm."
That didn't bode well. It seemed there was nothing much of interest to us.
"Well, there's the usual," She said. "This one, though…" She removed the piece of paper from the wall. "This one, I'd like more info on."
Now that had piqued my interest. Unfortunately, I still had too much food on my plate to skitter over to overhear her and the Lore Keeper's conversation, but when she was finished, she walked toward us with a big smile on her face.
"What is it?" Seralyn asked nonchalantly, a glass of orange juice at her lips.
"Something that I thought Elania would find interesting."
"Hmmm?" I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.
"We're asked to find a solution for a certain… problem. I was thinking this would be an excellent quest for someone with your knowledge. You seem to be good with these kinds of things."
"Could be," I said with a shrug. "What needs to be done?"
She smiled at me with her eyes closed, making me roll my own.
"Not this shit again."
"Teasing keeps you sharp," She joked.
"Where is the location of this quest?" Draco asked.
"A tiny town to the west. Nothing noteworthy as it's just inhabited by farmers… which is where our help is needed. That's all I'll say."
"So, something about farmers. Color me intrigued. How far is it?" I asked.
"About a six hour walk, maybe. Much faster if we take a cart and have you go at your speed."
"I suppose that's okay. Want to go now?"
"If that's okay with all of you, we can go whenever."
"Sounds good," The lizardman said with a nod.
Seralyn and Nira nodded in agreement as well and Velariah smirked as she took the paper to the Lore Keeper.
"We'll take it," She said loudly as she approached the counter. "Kantasia, could you contact the giver of this quest, and is it possible to borrow a cart so we can go there today?"
She looked at the paper that the knight just slapped onto her desk, looked confused for a second, and then nodded. The rest of the conversation that followed wasn't loud enough for me to understand.
"Well, it seems we're heading out again," I said softly as I finished my grand meal. "Not that I mind. Do you?"
"Not at all, Miss Elania," Draco replied politely. "It's nice that we have something to do. I'm actually quite curious about what Miss Velariah has chosen."
"Finding a solution for a problem. It doesn't tell us much, but I'm sure we can find whatever it is that's needed."
"Agreed," The lizardman said with a smile, finishing his coffee just as Velariah returned.
"Well, let's gather our supplies again. I guess. We're using the same cart as that's the only one currently available. Supplies are not provided this time, so I just paid to get some prepared before we head out."
And so there it was that we found ourselves gathering a few necessities from home. We said our goodbyes to Minia, Elly, and Gray before we were back in the guild's warehouse, loading and fastening the cart to my back, ready to head to a destination yet unknown to me.
The bit of exploration would be lovely as well. I already knew what was in the immediate east, south, and north of Dawnleaf, but the west was unknown territory still. All I could tell was that there was grassland as far as the eye could see with a simple road crossing it.
After gathering what we needed, we headed out into the world once more, fully geared up… and apparently with paper and pencil. Velariah had said we may need it, and it had me wondering if it had anything to do with this 'issue'.
It probably did, but I had no idea how.
A crate of goods with our belongings was added to another crate we received from the guild containing foodstuffs, and the cart was fastened to my rear once more before we made our way out of the warehouse, and then the village.
"Is there anything I can get you to tell me about this problem?" I asked once we had left the farmland behind and waded through the sea of green. "Just a little bit?"
"It has to do with water. Is that enough to sate your curiosity?"
"As a matter of fact, no, now I'm even more curious."
So far I had got to know there was water and farms involved. The one thing I could think of would be some kind of irrigation issue, but I didn't see how I could be of use there. Canals and the like were common knowledge and every farm I'd seen so far used them.
No, something like that would be out of the question.
Another interesting aspect of it all was that Velariah seemed to try to hide who posted this quest. She hadn't mentioned a name and her body language when she mentioned the person to the Lore Keeper told me something was off.
Suspicious, but nothing more than that.
The sight was amazing, though. After the initial ocean of grass, there were fields filled with flowers. Dandelions were abundant for a while, but eventually, there were numerous sunflowers. So many in fact that I started to doubt whether it was coincidence or whether they were actually farmed.
The answer became clear within minutes as instead of haphazard, high numbers of them, there were fields filled with them, neatly growing in rows.
"Sunflower oil?" I commented, loud enough for the others to hear it.
"Yep," Velariah answered. "There are several farms around here that cultivate all kinds of crops. Most of them are brought to Dawnleaf from where they are sold to other towns. The sunflowers are processed here before being shipped away in bottles."
"Very interesting. What else is grown here?"
"Just the usual. Vegetables, wheat, corn. We'll see some of those fields before we reach our destination."
She was right. It didn't take long before different fields came into view, all filled with growing crops. The scenery then changed back to green pastures with a river coming into view at the side.
I saw it coming closer as we went on, but we first ran into a tiny village of no more than twenty houses.
We had walked for about an hour and there was no doubt in my mind that the people here had been made aware of my presence. I had been around for a couple of weeks already, after all.
Actually, it was more like a few months now, wasn't it? I'd completely lost track of time, but I also wasn't, in any way, forced to keep track of it. We were doing and planning things on a day-to-day basis, and I had to admit, it was quite relaxing.
"This isn't our destination yet, is it?" I asked.
"Nope. The next hamlet is, and it's even smaller than this."
"Places this small are so strange to me…"
There wasn't even a center in this tiny town. It was just a couple of buildings that sat on either side of the road of varying sizes and materials. I was no expert on building, but even I could make out that some of these were much older than others. There were no people about which made this place have an eerie feel about it, but I could only assume that was normal as Velariah didn't seem concerned in the slightest.
Nevertheless, I was happy to leave it behind and continue on through the unspoiled nature before us.
Immediately, my attention was back on the river. It hadn't seemed so big at first, but this was one hell of a body of water. It easily spanned a few hundred meters in width, and it flowed towards the center of the horizon.
Wait a second…
Water… river….
"I'm starting to get an idea of what this quest is all about."
"You do?" Velariah replied with a sly smile. "I'm impressed."
"If it's about bridge-building, don't expect me to be of much help. I'm not a builder in any sense."
"Nope," She said, still with that smile. "But you're getting closer."
"I'll just wait until I see it for myself."
"Smart."
Then, after another hour of walking, there was an abrupt end to the peaceful fields. In the distance, the road led to a few mills and large buildings that I identified as barns, complete with red paint and all.
Stereotypical. It made me wonder why they were so often colored in that color.
The only strange thing about this part was that where I would expect farmland, there was nothing but water.
Most of the land north of the road was completely submerged, and the only reason the buildings on that side were not was because of a low dike that surrounded them which continued along the road. Whether that was built before or after the fields became inundated was still unclear.
Thanks to that same wall, the fields on the south side of the road were all planted with corn and thriving from the looks of it.
"Well," I said as I halted for a few seconds to take in the sight. "I'm starting to think that I know what the issue is."
"What gave it away?" Velariah asked with a smirk. "All the water that's not supposed to be here?"
"What happened?"
"Major flooding. The river's water level has been higher than usual in the last couple of years, and on several occasions it's exceeded its banks."
"And the exact text of the quest is to find a solution? Seems quite the project to leave to dungeon explorers."
"Usually, yes.But you have to remember that those who explore dungeons usually have decent problem-solving skills which deviate a lot from common conceptions. Still, you're right. I suppose things do make more sense if you know the name of the person that posted it."
Now things started making sense. The way she said it, the way she formulated it, it could only mean one thing.
"Valtheril… right?"
"Yep."
"But why?"
"The lands here are incredibly fertile. If possible, we'd like it back to how it was before. We just haven't gotten to it because of reasons. However, as you may know, things have changed as of late."
"Just how many things does your father take on his plate at once?"
"Hah! Why don't you ask him yourself? He should be around here."
"No way!" Seralyn exclaimed. "You had him sent here for this?"
"Well, Kantasia did, but yes. I'm confident that we would have a solution if we got to see it for ourselves. My dad's been getting a bunch of ideas already, but none seemed interesting so far."
"Okay…" I let out slowly. "Well, I guess we'll hear from him then. Where is he?"
"Should be around somewhere. I'm not quite sure."
I chuckled and shook my head as I started moving again, thinking about what was presented here. Reclaiming farmland was quite the task, but on the other hand, taking down these buildings and rebuilding them elsewhere would be a similarly taxing task.
Besides, if the water level continued to rise, it wouldn't take long for the other fields to flood as well. I reckoned part of this quest would be to find a long-term solution.
"Good to see you, Elania."
I jumped at the sudden words and was shocked to see the general standing mere yards from me, in the middle of the road. I'd not seen him before and my attention had been elsewhere to even notice him move. Velariah and Seralyn both grinned at my mishap, or perhaps it was my reaction of surprise that had them snickering.
"I'm sorry. I was, uh, thinking," I said as I raised my head.
"I can see that. I'm glad to see you take on this challenge, and if I were completely honest, I'd more or less expected you to show up eventually."
"Yeah, Velariah just explained a couple of things. My first question would be, and I mentioned this to the others before, why ask adventurers to come up with ideas?"
"Because they are the ones with the most practical experience. My experience with builders is that they need to be given a blueprint and there is no such thing in this instance. No, adventurers are the ones that can sniff out solutions in the most extreme of circumstances."
Ah, his obvious hate for bureaucracy. To be fair, I couldn't blame him.
"What ideas were suggested if I may ask?"
"Build a dike around the river. Sure, we can do that, and we probably will, but that doesn't resolve the water issue. This place has turned into a lake by now and I'd like to see it relieved of its contents. Would it surprise you to say that someone suggested using buckets?"
"No," I said, shaking my head. "No, it does not. Still, it's quite the project, and I don't know what water does to the soil. Would it even be worth it to drain?"
"In the past, when flooding was rare, the farmers here said that the water did wonders to their soil. Yes, they'd lose time growing crops, but the next harvest would be especially bountiful. If there'd be some way to temporarily flood and then drain the area on command, that would be excellent."
"Oof," I let out, knowing what he was asking. "I can see why nobody has come up with a solution yet. That is some advanced stuff right there."
"Do you know of something that can help?"
Magical water, how interesting.
I looked around the area and had my eyes rest on the mills, used to grind corn into flour obviously, but one could do other things with them too.
"Well, I do. Then again, it is quite the task, still, but allows you to do exactly what you want."
"You do? How hard is it?"
"Quite some work, in terms of quantity, but I don't think it would be too difficult."
"I wish I could look into your mind," Velariah commented. "I'd love to see what is going on inside there right now."
"Heh," I chuckled. "A lot. At the moment I'm trying to figure out how to put all of it to use."
"A lot of work, you say?"
"Yeah, you'll need a lot of manpower. Let's just say it won't be cheap. On the other hand, if this water is so good for crops, it could be an idea to expand the farming area to recover the costs over time."
"Don't worry about all that," Valtheril said sternly but friendly. "I'll worry about all that later, and manpower and resources are not an issue. What's the idea?"
"Are you familiar with screws?"
"What are those?"
Damnit. Why was this world so strange in that certain common and rare things were abundant and named practically the same, and that other obvious things were never heard of?
"Vel, I'm going to need your help." I pointed to my abdomen and she jumped out of the cart, knowing what I was getting at.
Shortly after, she handed me a long, thick thread of steel silk.
The curiosity got to my party members and they all gathered to observe.
I planted my pole in the dirt and started wrapping the thread around it so that it resembled the object I'd just talked about.
"A screw," I started. "Is like a nail in that you can use it like one, but unlike a nail, it's sunk into the wood by rotating it. Like this."
I sought some soft dirt and twisted the butt end of my weapon while pressing it down, screwing it into the soil slightly.
"Now, when applied on a larger scale, and surrounded by a tube, a screw can be used to lift water from one place to a higher place, and even diagonally, at almost any angle. Like this."
I held my weapon at a different angle and started twisting it again, allowing tiny amounts of loose sand to be elevated along the thread.
"You can rotate the screw by using a windmill to automate the process, and you can then use it to drain a basin of water."
I looked at a bunch of confused and bewildered faces, and then Valtheril who smiled widely.
"It's pretty simple, as you can see."
"I see," The general replied. "This sounds, and looks easy enough. And to flood the land, you'd simply use a gate of sorts? I mean, if you can drain it whenever you want."
"That's right. Sure, there are probably more advanced ways, but this is the thing I think fits, and the best I can come up with."
"Well, I'd love to see your ideas materialized on paper, for my eyes only, of course. What do you say we discuss it over a cup of tea?"
"Sure, sounds good."