CH150

Oh my god, I miss the shop so much. Having all the resources I need at my fingertips is a blessing that I’m a fool for taking for granted.

<You’re exaggerating.>

Am I? I’m going to be at this for hours!

When they got back while carrying the pot for collecting tar as well as the press and the spacial bag filled with seeds, Ben quickly sent Skoe back to get the rest of the sticks he’d gathered while Fontesh went to ask her friends and neighbours if any of them wanted their enchanted items improved.

In the meantime Ben got to work to collect the tar from what he had on hand, digging a small hole for the pot it would drain into to sit in and placing the container filled with sticks on top, caking the lid with mud before lighting a fire around it.

Once that was started, all there was to do was wait until they had the finished products, the tar he was looking for and charcoal as a side product he could give to the village for use. While that was going through he set up the oil press, placing another container under it to catch any of the oil he managed to produce and filled the main chamber with some of the many seeds they’d collected.

He wasn’t sure how much it would take to get enough oil for not only treating all the houses in the village, but also their fences and anything else they’d need, but the two dryads had gone above and beyond in collecting it all. At the very least, it would be a good start.

He grabbed onto the handle and began twisting, applying force and assuming it works, breaking down the seeds and extracting the oils within. Even if his strength had cracked the top end of average and the screw-like design was to reduce the amount of effort that was needed, it was still going to take ages.

He worked at it for an hour squeezing out a trickle of oil, as well as more water than he hoped would be present, by the time Skoe was done running back and forth bringing all of the sticks he’d gathered.

“Oh thank god, take over will you?”

“What?”

“Come on, you’re a warrior, you definitely have the strength to make this easy. There’s plenty of other stuff I need to do as a craftsman to help the village. Think of this as earning your keep since you’re staying here for free.”

“I’m sleeping in a shed!”

“Yes, instead of outside. Plus you got blankets to keep you warm. If you do it for a few hours you can get back to sleep. Maybe mind the fire too so nothing goes out of control.”

The warrior backed down before Ben did, and with a sigh took over at the press, immediately having more success than Ben had as more liquid began pouring from the tool.

As Skoe got to that, Ben took the time to examine the fence and the house, figuring out just how much just how much wood it was going to take to fix both. Luckily, while the house had plenty of areas of visible rot and decay he was confident that the wood was thick enough that he could scrap it away without risking the house’s integrity and apply the sealant. It wasn’t perfect, but short of rebuilding the house it was the best he was going to do to fix the place up.

When he’d completed his little inspection he went back to the front of the house and found Fontesh had come back with four other dryads.

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Seeing he’d have some work he put on his best smile as he walked up to them. “Hello there!” He called out cheerfully. “I’m sure you’ve heard from Fontesh, but I’m the apostle of the god Myriad, since it seems like I’ll be here for a week or two I was looking to improve the enchantments of any items you have, as well as help with any maintenance around if you need it.”

Three of them were immediately nervous of him, but the fourth seemed prepared to engage. “We’ve been told. We brought our lights, but these aren’t cheap, are you prepared to compensate us if you break them?”