Both Marinus and Cassius had been happy when they found out that Theanore had given her card to Esmer. They had gone ahead and given theirs to Theanore and had gotten a hug each for their cards.

Billy day ended with laughter and much teasing among the older children. When Theanore got into her new bed, for her, the old one was too small for Mary and Archibald to come to with her, she wrapped an arm around both of them and sighed.

Archibald had given her his card too, while Mary had given hers to Marinus. That had made the merman so happy, he had scooped up the girl and twirled her around.

Theanore kissed both Mary and Archibald’s heads, and they scooted closer to her. Then she yawned. She had missed her lunchtime bedtime, although they have not. They already had their bedtime story, courtesy of Esmer.

Theanore closed her eyes and dreamed of a nice fluffy and lush green field with all the children of the grotto talking and being happy. In her sleep, she smiled. One day, they would have a picknick in the meadows in the forest. One day.

The next morning it was not a holiday and so everyone went back to their routines. Some children went to their lessons. Others prepared for the entrance exam for the Mage’s guild. There were many taking swordplay lessons from Esmer too, and everyone was busy.

Theanore more than most. The tunnels were finally good enough to be traveled, and she sent builder ants down them with a letter for whoever was at the other side.

Darion had told her that, should the people on the other side end up being hostile, he would collapse and seal the tunnels. But Theanore wanted to give these beings a chance. She believed everyone could be good. Grandpa Thinker had changed, why couldn’t Giants and Ogres?

She sat and looked into the dark tunnels. Out of them came a builder ant with a basket tied to its back and a letter on top. In the basket there were different plants that Theanore had never seen before. She opened the letter and read.

Dear nymph,

We, the Ogre tribe of the Eagle’s cliffs, are willing to trade food in exchange for enchanted items and silk. We have put one of each of the available fruits and vegetables that we grow, as well as some herbs. If you do not find it intruding, we would like to set up a teleport between our tribe grounds and your grotto, so we can move easier between the two.

We may be on the very edge of No Man’s Land, but your tunnel must still be very long to reach us. And we can’t fit in it, besides. We only want to trade with you, you have nothing to fear from us.

Chief of the Eagle’s cliff tribe,

Norgog the Ogre.

Theanore passed the letter to Darion, who had been waiting with her with an eager smile. But Darion’s face darkened.

“A teleporter is just begging for an invasion. I bet this is how the former core was broken.” Said Darion, ready to throw the letter into the small campfire that was next to their feet. Theanore snatched the letter from his hands and tucked it inside her pocket.

“The barriers won’t let them attack. I trust that these Ogres just want to see the grotto.” Said Theanore. Already, she was thinking of what she and Marinus would enchant for the first delivery. They were running dangerously low on food, and the road was not even one fourth of the way done.

“Are this even edible?” Asked Darion as he poked a large purple vegetable. Or, at least, he thought it was a vegetable. “I have never seen anything like it. They could have sent us poison. Ogres are tricky.”

Theanore grabbed a nice red fruit and a bit down and began eating it. It was sweet, but a little sour too. She smiled as the juice of the fruit began to pool in her mouth.

“It is good, Dari. Try something too.” Said Theanore as she took another bite of the fruit. Darion took a berry sized lemon like thing, and he ate it. It was like a lemon that had sugar on it. Not unpleasant at all.

“Ok, maybe they have sent us genuine food.” Said Darion as he rummaged in the basket for something else to eat. He pulled out a black carrot and took a bite. It didn’t taste like a normal carrot, wasn’t sweet at all. It was more like a radish.

“We should consider buying some surrounding fields. They are rocky, but the worker ants can clear them.” Said Darion as he continued to eat his black carrot.

“Do you think that the people in the village will sell? What will they eat?” Asked Theanore. She was all for having farms outside the grotto. The extra food was going to come a long way. But she didn’t want others to starve because of her.

“Maybe not sell, no. But they will agree to rent us the land. Maybe even agree to work for us in exchange for a fair wage.” Said Darion. Then they wouldn’t need to open themselves up to Ogres.

“First, we need to make a deal with the Ogres. Something in which we sell more silk than enchanted items. We do have three warehouses full of the stuff, and most of our enchanted items are already promised to the forest of fireflies guardians.” Said Theanore as she took a fruit that looked like a giant red orange. She began peeling the skin off, only to see more, white skin inside. She bit into it and made a face. It was sour.

“So, the first delivery could be silk alone and the next silk plus one enchanted item.” Said Darion. He, too, didn’t want to trade enchanted items with the Ogres. What if they ended up littering the world with Ogre run dungeons?

“That sounds good, Dari.” Said Theanore. She carefully peeled off the inside white skin and a bit down again. This was tons better, but she still liked oranges more.