Free 01 - The Price of Talent by Peter Whittlesey Page A

farming.”
     
                  “Who’s Moira?” I asked.
     
                  “She’s the brown haired lady sitting over there” Ross said while gesturing at the other table. “She’s in charge of hunting and farming. I think she’s one of the few people here you haven’t met yet. She doesn’t typically go on raids, she’s too useful in procuring food for us.”
     
                  Noticing we were talking about her she replied: “And given the way you lot eat, I’m surprised we ever have enough put away for winter.”
     
                  “Saving lives is hungry work Moira.” Said Ross with a smile. “Besides, the best appreciation of your abilities is to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
     
                  “Maybe you should eat more fruits and less of the game. It’s easier to get and better for you. I spend far too much time hunting for you lot to eat it all so quickly.”
     
                  Turning back to me, Ross said: “She’s a little prickly, but we wouldn’t get by without her. Also, she could really use the help. With you helping with the farm work, it frees her up to hunt more.”
     
                  “OK” I replied. “If you think I can help, I can pitch in.”
     
                  “Thanks Tyr, the others will warm up to you if they see you pitching in,” said Ross.
     
                  And with that, he cleared off to check on the boss and I was left in peace to eat my sandwich.
     
    As I was finishing up Sapphire walked by. “You clear your own dishes kid. After that, you might want to get some sleep. You had a long night and tomorrow, when you have rested up, Moira will have a lot of work for you to do.”

Chapter 6.
     
                  Sapphire had not been kidding, Moira had a lot of things for me to do. I woke up the next day and found that everybody was already up and eating breakfast. It’s likely the clanking of dishes was what woke me in the first place.
     
                  Upon getting up and getting dressed, I headed out to the kitchen area in the longhouse and grabbed a plate of some sliced cured meat, sliced cheese, bread and fruit. I had hardly finished before Moira approached me.
     
                  “Finish up kid, there is a lot to do. The chickens need feeding, the grain needs weeding, cows and goats need milking and anything else I can think of.”
     
                  “Uh… Can’t I just risk my life robbing people with the others?” I asked with a grin.
     
                  “No kid, you’re not getting off that easy,” she replied. I wasn’t sure she realized I was joking.
     
                  The morning went much like most of my morning back at the farm with my parents. The obvious comparison left me choked up at times. Working with your hands gives you a lot of time to think about things, especially when the tasks you are doing are fairly familiar to you. And while I didn’t know where everything was, milking a cow on one farm is much like milking a cow on another.
     
                  Moira was an interesting person. She was a bit brusque in her manner, but that is not uncommon among farmers going about their tasks. The reality is that there is always something to do on a farm and the terseness of speech is less about being rude and more about not having the time for chit chat.
     
                  At lunch time, Moira approached me and said: “Thanks kid, we got most of the chores accomplished this morning. Normally that would have taken me most of the day. We’re going to stop here for lunch, then afterwards I want you weed the grain and vegetable rows. I’m going to go hunting to try and add to our cold cellar. Think you can manage on your own?”
     
                  “Yes. But do you need any help hunting? Sounds like more fun