Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Previously:

Harvest Dawn
Harvest Trial

Vhalar 55, Arc 722

The 55th of Vhalar was the trial of the last harvest of the arc on Scalvoris, at least symbolically. In Devin’s opinion, that constituted an excellent opportunity to harvest the remaining grapes in Smooglenuff Manor’s small vineyard, which was why he had decided to go there, a few helpers and Mrs. Adams, the head cook, who was not a gardener, but most interested in watching, in tow in order to do just that. Of course, he had decided to harvest the grapes in style, and dressed after the newest fashion. This time, he was wearing a dark yellow knit sweater, black leather pants and black leather boots with yellow polka dots on them. The boots were a little chunky and had a flat sole which made them perfect for working outside.

Devin normally loved wearing shoes with a bit of a heel on them, but he wasn’t one of those idiots that wore heels when they worked outside!

“Do you think we can already start making the wine this evening, after the ceremony?” he asked Mrs. Adams a vivacious red-haired woman in her early forties, secretly wondering if something had happened between Jessil Del Gentil, the master duelist and her – his rival had flirted rather obviously with her when he had visited, in spite of the large age gap. A moment later, he decided that her love life was unfortunately none of his business and just smiled radiantly and expectantly at her, hoping for a positive answer.

“I think so, yes”, Ada replied and returned the smile. She liked Devin even though or maybe because he was rather eccentric, and she had begun to almost see him as her second son. “Provided that the trainees will be there. They are supposed to learn how to make wine, right? I’d like them to be there right from the start. I’m afraid that my qualities as a teacher are lacking, but …” she continued and shrugged her shoulders.

“But I can teach!” Devin quickly told her and grinned because he didn’t want Ada to feel down. He liked her. “You can take over the brewing part, and I can take over the teaching part”, he suggested. He didn’t know if it really worked that way – if he could take over the teaching part when he knew next to nothing about brewing – but he wasn’t too worried. He’d done the impossible before. Besides, learning through observation was a thing as well, so, in the worst case, that would be his teaching method of choice.

“They should arrive this afternoon”, he told Ada. “We’ll have to start the harvest without them, but they should be there for the most important part. What will we serve them for dinner, by the way?” he asked. Cally’s had only sent five trainees, but that still meant five more mouths to fill. Besides, he wanted to make sure that his guests were treated well and that they had nice rooms to sleep in and decent food to eat.

“I’ve thought about a spicy stew with tomatoes, eggplants, garlic and minced meat, and bread. After the journey from Scalvoris Town they will likely be hungry”, she replied.

“Perfect!” Devin replied and clapped his hands before he turned to his helpers. “Everybody, grab a pair of shears, and let’s start working. This is the last harvest! We can do that!” he told them in order to motivate them while Mrs. Adams sat down on a nearby bench and leaned back. She didn’t have any work to do in the kitchen at the moment, so, she’d decided to spend some time outside, in the fresh air and relax.

Most of the grapes had already been harvested earlier that season, but a few hadn’t been ripe yet back then. When Devin checked the grapevine in front of him, a pair of sheers in his perfectly manicured hands, he came to the conclusion that they looked fine now. They had a nice consistent color, and they were plump, and when he plucked a grape and put it into his mouth, it tasted sweet. So, without further ado, he cut the first bunch of grapes off and carefully put it into the basket that stood on the ground next to him. He didn’t drop it into the basket because that might cause the grapes to get damaged and subsequently become unusable!

All around him, people were doing the same. Some were working a little faster and some were working a little more slowly, but they were all harvesting grapes. Since some of them had little experience, Devin checked on them every once in a while. He checked if the grapes they had harvested looked good and gently pointed out what they had done wrong – if they had done something wrong – and then, he walked right over to Mrs. Adams and presented a handful of delicious Fire Grapes to her. She was a part of this, even if she was just watching, and he didn’t want her to feel left out. Besides, she was a skilled brewer, and he was very interested in hearing what she thought about the Barony’s first grape harvest!

Fortunately, she gave him a thumbs up. Devin smiled radiantly at her and bowed very deeply before he returned to his work. There had been a time when he had disliked working because working was for peasants and more or less just sucked, but he had come to realize that everybody l admired a hard-working Baron. He loved being admired, and besides, he wanted Saoire to be happy with him. She had made him a Baron, and she was his second favourite Immortal in all of Idalos!

Once they had finished their work, Devin dashed into the house and returned with a couple of bottles of grape juice in his arms. The grape juice hadn’t been made with Smooglenuff grapes, but it was delicious nevertheless, and his helpers deserved a little reward.

And a reward that was kind of related to what they were being rewarded for was perfect in his opinion!

Seeing what Devin planned to do, Mrs. Adams quickly procured a couple of glasses, and soon, they were all drinking and laughing and congratulating each other on a job well done.

After a few moments, the cook set down her glass again though and pointed in the direction of the gate. “Your Grace, I think we have visitors”, she told him, and Devin quickly drank the rest of his juice and turned around. When he saw just who was visiting them, his eyes lit up, and he smiled all over his face began to wave enthusiastically so that they would come over to them. The trainees from Cally’s had arrived.

Soon, the ceremony would begin!

“Welcome back!” Devin greeted the five trainees, his arms spread wide and a radiant smile on his face. He was pleased to note that the pretty green-eyed man and the woman with the hazel eyes that had already attracted his attention during the trainees’ previous visits were there again. Of course, looks were not the most important thing in this case, but they certainly helped. He preferred to spend the trial looking at beautiful people!

“We just finished harvesting the rest of the grapes and will start making the wine soon. There’ll also be a small Harvest Dusk ceremony that you are free to participate in. Why don’t you freshen up a bit first though? The guest rooms have already been prepared for you. Afterwards, you could join us and share a bit of grape juice with us”, he offered and added, casting a glance at the cook who was standing next to him now, “Oh, and Mrs. Adams and her staff will make a stew for dinner. “

“I’d better get started”, Mrs. Adams said and smiled at the trainees. “I’m sure you are hungry. If you can’t wait until this evening, there’s still some roast chicken left over from lunch”, she continued – while she had had most of the trial off, the rest of the kitchen staff had been busy and prepared a simple, but tasty meal for the people of Smooglenuff Manor.

The trainees followed her while Devin led his helpers into the cellar. They would store the grapes there until they were ready to be used. Devin even carried a big basket full of grapes himself because he wanted to be seen as a good Baron and set a good example; and besides, he needed a little workout every once in a while. He wanted to stay in shape!

The sun was just setting when they all gathered in front of the entrance to Smooglenuff Manor. As it slowly disappeared behind the horizon, it painted the sky in different shades of pink, yellow, orange and near-purple and covered the world with a warm and almost-magical light. For a few precious moments, everything seemed to be more, bigger, brighter, better. Devin who had changed into slightly more formal clothes for the ceremony raised his head and smiled softly and happily. There was something about that particular time of the trial that made it impossible for him to be anything but hopeful.

But then again, he had never been particularly good at being pessimistic anyway!

Servants had set up two big wooden tables and covered them with a pure white tablecloth. Devin greeted everyone enthusiastically before he positioned himself at the head of the table and proclaimed, “We are not a village, and we don’t really have a farm at Smooglenuff Manor, but we have a vineyard and a garden, and I took a little liberty and had someone buy fruit and vegetables at a market in Scalvoris Town so that you can be see that there’ll be enough food for all of you this fall and winter.”

“Nobody in the Barony will ever be hungry, and if there ever is a food shortage on our beloved island, I’ll personally import food from abroad, and I’ll spend my own money!” he continued, his voice increasing in volume. Money wasn’t worth anything if you didn’t spend it, and all your people starved. And besides, he wanted everybody to be happy and healthy. There would be no wars, no famine and no suffering here!

“Let’s go!” he told two of the trainees in a cheerful tone of voice and gestured for them to follow him into the cellar and retrieve the baskets with the grapes. As he did so, it occurred to him that he could just have left them upstairs, but then again, it was dark and dry in the cellar, so they were safer there. With that thought in mind, he placed his basket on the table, and the trainees followed suit. Devin thanked them before he had two servants bring the fruit and the vegetables. The table still looked a little empty though.

Fortunately, he had just had a most excellent idea.

While the others looked on, Devin quickly walked over to a crate that was filled with a couple of gardening supplies that hadn’t been put away yet. He grabbed a pair of scissors, put on a pair of sturdy gardening gloves because he was rather protective of his nice and smooth skin and walked over to the rose bushes he had planted earlier that arc. He clipped off a bunch of rosehips, trimmed off the stems, dumped the rosehips into a container and placed said container on the table where an empty spot had previously been.

“Rosehips are edible, so they count as part of the harvest in my opinion”, he told the people of Smooglenuff Manor some of whom had grown a little impatient. He talked to them in a charming voice and with a bright smile on his face so that they wouldn’t mind the unexpected delay as much. “You can make jam out of them, for example which is what I’ll do once we’ve started making our own wine that the wonderful trainees from Cally’s will help us with”, he continued and looked at the trainees for a moment so that they would know just how much he appreciated them and liked them.

“Some people on Scalvoris believe that an awful calamity will occur the following Vhalar if the harvest was bad. As you can see, the harvest was quite decent this time, so let’s thank the Immortals”, he asked them, wisely keeping the fact that the harvest hadn’t been good in every aspect – carrots had been scarce – a secret. It probably didn’t matter if a single vegetable was in short supply, but it was better not to mention it regardless.

With that thought in mind, he bowed his head for a moment and said a prayer – he was a priest after all. His prayer was dedicated to all the Immortals so that nobody would feel left out, of course, but three Immortals in particular were at the forefront of his mind: Delroth, his future father-in-law and patron, Saoire who had made the Barony possible and Vhalar because this was … well … Vhalar. Vhalar should be honored as well.

Once he was done, he clapped his hands and told the people around him some of whom had prayed as well, “Now let’s put these fruit and vegetables and such back where they belong and go inside and have dinner together before Mrs. Adams, the trainees and I will start to make some wine!” he suggested which was met with smiles and approval. People were hungry, especially those that had been working in the vineyard!



The story continues here.