"Garlic, for one," the courier agreed, with the rare enthusiasm he saved for Alys, the Peregrine, and Mort. "An' carrots. An' spinach an' kale!" Just listing the tasty winter greens - and oranges - made the work go a little easier as he hacked away at the cold soil, chopping it up and then lifting it to turn it over. He dug down a full foot as he broke the earth into more manageable chunks for Alys to handle, lean muscles flexing with the repetitive motion until a thin sheen of sweat covered his brow. "I think folks'll appreciate it. An' at least there aren't any grass fires right now." He paused to shrug with a faint grimace, remembering the summer fire that had nearly burned Thorn and Zavien while they'd been building the trade road from the Boondocks.
He cleared half of the marked area before he paused for a break and a drink of water, shaking the sweat from his hair as he looked back to Alys with solicitous concern. "What d'you think? Should we break all th'ground first, or give ourselves a bit of a break an' do some plantin' afore diggin' out th'rest?"
He cleared half of the marked area before he paused for a break and a drink of water, shaking the sweat from his hair as he looked back to Alys with solicitous concern. "What d'you think? Should we break all th'ground first, or give ourselves a bit of a break an' do some plantin' afore diggin' out th'rest?"
