Chapter 3

He paused, having planted what he’d been told was basil seed next to a patch of already well-established plants. Apparently one could plant some basil later to have tender leaves still, once the first planting had gone to seed. He pinched a tiny leaf off of one of the mature stems and crushed it between his fingers, inhaling the rich scent of the herb. He’d eaten basil often. He’d never grown his own. There was something rewarding about knowing that the seeds he’d just sown would become plants like this, and would then be eaten. Defeating the dark mage had been rewarding too, but this…It was much more profound. And much less dangerous too, he thought with a smile, then bent back to his work.

With both of them working they got the entire garden done just before noon.

Fionn stood and stretched after he reached the end of his last row. “I’m going to be stiff in the morning,” he said. “And I’m starving again. Is there lunch?”