Theanore watched as the ants piled up the harvested clover over the tunnels. Now, she needed to wait for it to rot and then bury it in the soil. But there was one more thing she could do.

She had read in a gardening manual that ashes were a great fertilizer. She couldn’t make the ants spread them, as they were going to get covered in the stuff. The little ashes that the stoves had made today were in metal buckets waiting to be spread.

Even though the manual had told her that the ashes had to be spread in the autumn, she was going to spread them now. Furthermore, she was going to let the tunnels rest until next spring.

She couldn’t do anything about nettle and mushrooms growing in their tunnels. They had spread on their own. But the deep wheat tunnel at least can rest. Her outdoor garden had also gotten a clover carpet, although most of the clovers had gone towards the tunnels.

When the ants exited the tunnels for the last time, Theanore reached out a glove clad hand inside of one of the buckets and got a handful of ash. Then she went in the nearest tunnel, the mushroom one, and she sprinkled it inside.

Once she covered the tunnels in ash, a small layer and one she would need to work on, Theanore went to her chickens. They were snacking on mushrooms and nettle, harvested just this morning by the ants.

“Hi, chickens.” Said Theanore, and she waved at the chickens. They paid her no mind.

“Some of you stopped laying eggs. Mommy said that if those individuals don’t lay an egg soon, I will stuff them with rice.” The chickens continued to eat undisturbed.

“Well, now that you are warned, go and lay eggs. And remember, each one of you lays a differently colored egg. I can tell which ones of you haven’t laid eggs.” Said Theanore, and she went back to the main grotto cavern.

There was her sapling. It had a whole of four leaves on it. Theanore checked to see if the light from the hole in the ceiling of the cavern was reaching it, and she petted the ghost aura of the fairy Bellchime.

Subsequently, she went outside and went to Mary’s peach sapling. It seemed to be doing better outside than her own apple sapling. It had a full crown of leaves and even flowers growing at its base.

Theanore smiled happily at that. She took out a water skin and poured some in the base of the sapling, for both the tree and the flowers. Then she went a little to the side and bend down to begin picking flowers for a flower crown.

She busied herself with the crown for Mary, and she weaved white and red flowers together. In the end, the crown looked very nice, and she brought it to her nose and smelled one of the flowers.

Then she was off to find Mary. She found her daughter with Archibald by the lake, throwing stones inside and giggling. Theanore placed the crown on Mary’s head and righted it.

Mary beamed at Theanore and handed her a stone. Theanore took it and threw it. Similar to how Marinus had taught her. It skipped a total of five times before sinking.

“Wow, mommy. That was spectacular.” Said Mary as she tried to imitate the stone skipping movements, her stone still sank after the first skip.

“Your father taught me.” Said Theanore, smiling brightly. “Your grandpa wrote and said he had landed a deal with some Leprechauns.”

Mary giggled.

“Grandpa Crassus can land a deal with anything.” Said Mary, and she looked out into the lake. “Mommy, when is grandpa coming home?”

“When he reaches the sacred springs of mount Licht and swims through them. The evil witch Clotilde has to be defeated.” Said Theanore, and she sat down with her daughter and her adoptive brother.

“Big sis, when can I go to shopping trips?” Asked Archibald. He had wanted to go on a shopping trip for one of the ogres for a while, but no one would let him.

“Archie, count to ten.” Said Theanore.

“One, nine, six…” Said Archibald uncertainly.

“That is wrong, Archie. You need many more lessons to be able to go shopping. How will you haggle with the merchants if you can’t count?” Asked Theanore, and she placed a hand on Archibald’s shoulder. “You will grow up and learn many things. Don’t rush it.”

“I am already a big boy.” Said Archibald, and he held his hand over his head. “So tall.”

Mary giggled and hugged Archibald, who hugged her back.

“Uncle Archie is big, but not so big as to go on a shopping trip. Mommy doesn’t let me go, either.” Said Mary, trying to reason with Archibald.

They heard someone running towards them and saw Marinus with a basket covered with a cloth. He stopped to catch his breath, and then he showed the contents of the basket to the three.

“Marferik returned, and he brought a sample of what the giants can trade with us. They have silver mines, Thea.” Said Marinus.

Inside the basket were various silver trinkets, expertly crafted and shining in the sunlight.

“They have pixies making them.” Continued Marinus as Mary took out a brooch and pinned it to her dress. It was of a little silver rose.

“Are the pixies forced to work for them?” Asked Theanore. If they were, she needed to liberate them too.

“No, they live with the giants. The giants mine the silver and the pixies shape it. They seem to be happy with that arrangement.” Said Marinus. He sighed as Mary took out a diadem with silver daisies and placed it in her hair.

“Young lady, we have to give these back or pay for them.” Said Marinus as Mary reached into the basket again.

“But, daddy. I like them very much. Can’t we pay for the basket?” Asked Mary and she pouted. A necklace with silver snowflakes soon found itself in her grip.

“Come on, Mari. We can definitely pay for a basket of silver jewelry. How much do they want for it?” Asked Theanore, and she took out a silver puppy brooch and placed it in her dress.

“For the basket, they want one ton of food. They mean to overprice us now that they can’t bully the ogres and the gremlins.” Said Marinus with a sigh. He could get his Thea and his daughter cheaper golden trinkets.

But Theanore was already taking out a set of earrings and trying to place them on Mary’s ears. Even though the red-haired nymph had no holes in her ears.