Zectas Volume V: The Sequestered Seminary of Sawtorn (14 page)

Smoke only paid half of his attention to the window, as he was astonished at the sight of cultivated lands in the settlement. Using the spring at the center of the forest patch, they had built a crude irrigation system to water their crops.
Suddenly, he was pulled away by Blaise. "Hey, what exactly are you doing here? And where's that dirus wolf we gave you?"
"Freifahrt's with a friend," said Smoke. "I needed to improve on my Earth Manipulation ability for the Magi Gagnant Tournament, and I thought that I could help some OrkElves while I'm at it."
Blaise studied Smoke's body language. "Really? You're really that kind of guy, huh? Well, I guess you are. After you helped out those people in Souer, what else could you be?"
Smoke shrugged and resumed walking after Paysan.
"Hey, Faux, did you know that Diebe Den was attacked by Orks?" asked Blaise, catching up with Smoke and Paysan's stride.
"When did that happen?" asked Smoke.
"About the same time when you, Cynar, and I went after Wertlosvati," said Blaise.
"How's everyone in the den? I hope no one got hurt," said Smoke.
"Yeah, it was really weird," said Blaise. "Only Cynar's gathered loot and the aristocrats were taken by Orks, but they left all of the OrkElves alone. Of course, the ones who were there said the Orks used a cloud of smoke to initiate their attack."
Blaise paused and stared at Smoke.
"None of them even had a chance to fight the Orks," said Blaise.
"Listen, Blaise, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you," said Smoke.
However, the OrkElf Flame Knight did not give him the chance to speak up.
"Yeah, I really hate those nobles!" exclaimed Blaise. "I even had a fight with Cynar about how well he's been treating that kid... what was his name again?"
"Jack?" asked Smoke.
"Yeah, that one," said Blaise. "It's like Cynar's gone soft on him. I guess it was good of the Orks to take those wretched aristocrats with them, but if I ever catch the one who did this—"
Blaise suddenly unsheathed his enchanted flaming sword, and sliced it menacingly through the air.
"Hey, what's going on back there?" Paysan asked them both.
"Nothing. Faux was just looking for something," said Blaise. He then picked up a random rock from the ground. "Oh, here it is," he said, handing it over to Smoke.
Paysan shrugged and continued to lead the way to their homes.
"Blaise, I'm really sorry to hear about losing your loot and the captured aristocrats," said Smoke. "But at least none of the OrkElves were injured."
Blaise scrutinized Smoke once more.
"Say, Faux, you're not here to recruit these OrkElves, are you?" asked Blaise. "You're not trying to build your own private army?"
Smoke strongly shook his head. "Of course not. If you've been to Souer then you should know that I genuinely just want to help them."
Desperate to change the subject, Smoke called out Paysan. "Say, what kind of crops do you have here?"
"Well, we have carrots, potatoes, radish, and bread root planted in our fields," said Paysan.
After hearing this, Smoke briskly searched inside his backpack and found that he still had a few sweet potatoes in there.
"What about, sweet potatoes?" he asked Paysan, breaking the root crop in two, for the OrkElf Farmer to see. "Do you have any of this here?"
"No," Paysan eagerly shook his head. "Why is it purple on the outside and orange in the inside? Does it really taste sweet?"
"Absolutely! Even if it's just poached it still tastes great," said Smoke.
"Why don't you cook some for us then?" asked Paysan.
"Certainly," said Smoke, and immediately went to work. He was led to a pot filled with water.
Blaise then knelt down next to Smoke. "Same as before? Cooking without fire," said the silver Flame Knight and chuckled. He drew out his Salamander Tongue, and slashed it across the firewood, setting it ablaze.
"Thanks," said Smoke. He washed the sweet potatoes, and then dumped all of them straight into the pot. He also added in some medicinal wheat grass, in order to enhance the effects of the sweet potatoes.
While waiting for his dish to finish, Smoke observed that the OrkElves in this settlement had already formed family units. They didn't look like refugees forced to be together.
Two children walked over to Paysan, as the middle aged OrkElf was cutting open a pomegranate. He then submerged it in a large clay bowl filled with spring water.
As Smoke had never seen this, he decided to watch what Paysan was doing.
"Oh, that caught your attention, huh?" Blaise asked Smoke. "Look closer, Faux, you may want to add this in your cooking repertoire."
"Hurry up, Pap, I'm thirsty!" said the little OrkElf girl, tugging on Paysan's sleeve.
"Pap, you said I get to drink first," said the older looking OrkElf boy, tugging on the other side of their father.
"Now, you two, you better behave. If you want to drink the pompom," Paysan said to the children. "Also, if you're good, I'll even let you taste what that nice DarkElf is cooking," he said pointing to Smoke.
A smile came across Smoke's face, but his mask prevented anyone from seeing this.
Next, the bowl were Paysan had placed the sliced pomegranates, were now filled with floating yellowish white membranes of the fruit. The OrkElf scooped these out, and placed them in a different container. He then began crushing the seeds which had sunk down to the bottom of the bowl. The spring water inside quickly turned a tarty purple texture. Paysan added more water to it and resumed mixing the seeds with the water. After two minutes, he served it to the children.
"Mm, that was yummy, Pap," said the boy.
"Pap, can I finish this bowl?" asked the girl.
"Hm. I was planning on giving it to Faux," said Paysan. "He's been staring at us for quite some time now."
"Oh, alright," said the little girl. She carefully brought the clay bowl over to Smoke and handed it to him.
"Here you go," said the girl. "Pap's pompom is the best in all of Zectas."
"Thanks," said Smoke, he raised the bowl to Paysan and drank all of it. He found it syrupy with a hint of piney taste, but strangely satisfying.
Then, a notification window popped up.
 

'No way! Concentrated pomegranates restore mana!' surmised Smoke.
After he finished his share, Smoke handed the clay bowl to Blaise. In one gulp, the OrkElf in silver armor drank all of what was left.
"That was tasty," Smoke said to Paysan, "and I think Blaise likes it too."
"Yeah, pompoms are great alright," said the OrkElf Farmer.
Paysan's kids then ran off to play with other OrkElf children.
"You know, we learned how to farm for them," suddenly said Paysan.
"We made all of this for them," said Paysan, pointing to everything around.
"Many of us of here, started most of the OrkElf settlements," said Paysan. "When we were younger, we wandered through the cities until we were driven out by their prejudice and maltreatment."
Paysan pointed around the pomegranate trees. "It was here that we found peace, and it was here that we found hope. As we paired up, it was also here that we found love."
"However, we were well aware of our situation," said Paysan. "We knew that if we had children then, they would only come to hate the life they're living, and would only know suffering. The same way as we did."
"None of us wanted our next generation to experience the travesties of life we've experienced," explained Paysan. "Wanting a brighter future for them, all of us submitted ourselves to be Farmers in various cities," he said, and paused for a moment. "We envisioned our families and their descendants to have simple lives, but free from discrimination, suffering, and war."
"Yet, despite our best efforts, Blaise here arrived," said Paysan. "He told us that Sawtorn wasn't getting any better, but if we were to join their cause, then maybe the life that we envisioned for our small settlement could be experienced by all of the OrkElves."
Paysan smiled. "I would love to see that. A world where all OrkElves are free to live wherever they want," he said turning to Blaise.
'Looks like this settlement is joining in with Blaise too,' surmised Smoke.
"But I'm afraid I must decline," said Paysan. "We have worked so hard to get to where we are."
Paysan kept smiling at Blaise. "And we did all of that without using violence. If we were to use our strength, and force all of Sawtorn to recognize us, do you really think that will help their image of us?"
Blaise smiled back, and nodded at Paysan. "Thank you for your honesty, and I respect your decision. But I also believe that what Cynar and I are doing is the right way. I'm not saying yours is wrong, but I just feel that mine is better."
Blaise stood up and offered his hand to Paysan.
"Now, why don't you try these sweet potatoes," said Smoke, thinking on his feet to lighten up the mood.
Smoke used his Earth Manipulation, and created a modified strainer. He fished them out from the boiling water and ran them through the cold spring.
"Here, try some," said Smoke, handing them to Paysan and another to Blaise as well
"Mm. They are sweet!" said Paysan. "Do you have some more that we could plant?"
"Yeah, I have some," said Smoke. "I'll give them to you, if you'll allow me to do what I came here for."
"I can't agree until you tell me what it is exactly," said Paysan.
"I want to improve your settlement," said Smoke. "I don't want anything in return. I just want to contribute to your vision. As it has already become a reality today, I just want to help preserve it for your future generation."

* * * * * * 

The next day, the orange rays of the breaking dawn glistened over the pomegranate leaves in Lagraine Settlement. It was a day like any other, but not for the OrkElves here.
"It was good seeing you, Faux," Blaise said to Smoke. "I'll tell Cynar of what you're doing."
"No, you don't need to tell him that I'm helping out OrkElves," said Smoke.
"Of course not. I was going to tell him that you're the reason my recruitment isn't up to schedule," said Blaise. "But I'm sure Cynar won't mind. You take care of yourself."
Blaise mounted his dirus wolf and exited the forest patch.
"Now, where to start?" said Smoke out loud.
He thought about improving their walls, but decided not to. It served its purpose of defending them against the sand cheetahs. He also felt that it could just trigger the curiosity of the Orks if they saw their improved walls.
Due to this, he concentrated on improving their homes instead. Realizing that there were several families here, Smoke thought that it would be better to make all of them individual houses. Unlike what he did for the OrkElves in Souer Settlement.
He counted a total of thirty families, and immediately started working on all of their homes. He made medium-sized clay houses, two stories high. Each house had four rooms with a large living room.
It took him almost twelve hours to finish. As the Zectas sun was about to set, Smoke made his main attraction for the children. He created a large spiral slide for the bigger kids, and a short straight slide for the toddlers.
As soon as he finished, he received what he was hoping, for a notification window.
 

'Finally, I did it,' thought Smoke.
Then, an unexpected window popped up.

Paysan then led the OrkElves towards Smoke.
"Thank you so much, Faux," said Paysan. "I've heard of the home you built for Esper and Colere, but this is so much better than what I imagined."
"Mister Faux, can we play in that thing, now?" asked Paysan's daughter, pointing to his special creation specifically for them.
"Sure, and it's called a slide," said Smoke, gently patting her tiny head.
"That slide thing of yours is really great," said Paysan. "Seeing the children smiling, really makes me proud of all the hard work I've put into this place."
"That you did," said Smoke to Paysan. "Anyway, I have to go."
"Wait, why don't you stay for one more night?" asked Paysan. "We'll cook you some of our best dishes."
"That sounds really tempting, but I'll have to pass," said Smoke. "Maybe, next time? I'll be sure to come by here again."
With that, Smoke ran towards the outskirts of the pomegranate forest. There, he used his Cunning of the Dire Fox to check if there was anyone near him. Sensing no one, Smoke leapt to the sky and glided to Souer Settlement.
"I need to tell Colere and Esper what to do with all their pomegranates, and I now have a plan on what to make for my video," Smoke said to Igniz, who was still hiding inside his orb compartment.