“Ash!” Hestia cried warmly, hurrying over when she spotted the three of them “I was meaning to speak to you! Come come, I need to show you something!”
“Oh, sure!” Ash replied, smiling at the woman’s evident excitement “Can Scholar and Spear come?”
Ash was saddened to see a little of Hestia’s joy fade, but she was still smiling when she replied, just a bit more tersely. “Yes, that’s fine. After what Stavos said… Well, they’d have to see eventually.”
The three finished up their meal and followed after the herbalist, curious as to what had gotten her so riled up. Hestia guided them through the village, past several new foundations of houses that had been laid out, the craftsmen clearly working on building up the village in earnest. Then, around the next corner, she saw it. Right next to the herb garden, where before there had only been a crude demarcation in the dirt, there stood a fully formed building.
“Here! Isn’t it wonderful!” Hestia exclaimed, arms spread wide towards the new construction. “Finally, my brand-new herbalist’s hut has been built!”
The building itself stood two stories tall, made mostly of wood aside from the roof made from woven foliage, looking similar to a thatched roof. The was a tall chimney on one side and large windows. Thie windows didn’t contain glass but instead had wooden shutters on the outside that could be pulled across to block out the light or weather. The roof arched pleasingly with a flared gable, giving the building just a little extra flair. There was tilled earth for more growing patches on each side of the entryway. And the door had a neatly carved crest of a caldron with several herbs poking from the top.
“It’s wonderful Hestia!” Ash said enthusiastically. “I love it! It’s really cute.”
“I know right!” The woman replied, beaming “It’ll look even better when I plant some flower bushes next to the entryway here. Oh, and of course it gives some wonderful bonuses to the productivity of the garden and any alchemy that uses the ingredients grown there. My little sprouts will be flourishing in no time!”
“Amazing! Can you show us around inside then?” Ash asked
“Of course!” Hestia laughed, “That’s why I brought you over after all, come on let’s go inside. Though I do have to warn you, it’s mostly just the building as we haven’t had time for the woodworkers to make anything like furniture right now!”
Hestia joyfully swung open the door and lead the trio inside, revealing a large open plan room with a row of cupboards to one side, standing beneath a steep staircase. A large fireplace took up the opposite wall, leading into the chimney that Ash had noticed earlier. At the back wall there stood a row of worksurfaces beneath a pair of windows that looked out onto the burgeoning plants in the garden beyond. A few empty racks were positioned between the windows, and some empty shelves stood around the fireplace. Though, aside from the elements that were directly connected to the walls, just as Hestia had indicated, the building was completely empty,
“So, I was thinking about placing a table here,” She gestured to the side near the cupboards “with chairs of course so that we can prep and maybe eat here too. And maybe a cute rocking chair here so I or Ama could sit next to the fire and tend a brew while still keeping an eye on the garden” Hestia continued enthusiastically, gesturing to each cupboard rack and shelf, outlining just which herb or piece of equipment would fit perfectly into each.
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Ash couldn’t help but be swept up in the woman’s enthusiasm, happily peering into each cupboard an imagining how the array of herbs that Hestia described would fit inside.
“This is… Very nice.” Scholar hissed out in his rough common. “So… this is a tier 1 building? But the…” He pointed upstairs.
“Ah, yes. That’s right. It is a tier one herbalist’s hut.” Hestia respond with muted enthusiasm, though it steadily returned as she spoke more about her new hut. “But one of the builders that arrived with Ama and Lance had a skill that allows them to add a living quarters atop any crafting building. Making this not just a place I can work, but lovely a home too! Come, let me show you upstairs.”
The three of them walked up, clustering in the tiny landing as Hestia opened the first of three doors.
“Here is the first bedroom. Ama and lance said they were happy to move in here, especially as this hut is almost as much for Ama’s alchemy as it is for me.”
The room itself was small, the angle of the roof making one side slope lower than the other, a few low cupboards stood against the edge just before the roof it the floor. Ash felt it was nice that the couple would finally get some space to themselves, but with Hestia and them moving in here, she did start to feel a little said about sleeping in the main hall without her friend’s company. Knowing Stavos, she would be the last person to be assigned a room to herself. Perhaps making the ruin into a proper home for myself would be my best option. She thought in exasperation.
Hestia then led them to the third door “This one is the guest bedroom. And, well this is why I said it would be fine for you two to come along. Stavos suggested that it would be better to not have our honoured guests sleeping in the main hall, so he said I should let you have this place to rest.”
The room looked like a reflection of the previous one, positioned on the other side of the hut. Once again it was bare aside form a few cupboards along the floor.
“I’m afraid we don’t have proper beds yet,” Hestia continued "so we’ll just have to be using the bedrolls on the floor for now, but hopefully it will be more comfortable and private than the main hall for you two. So, what do you think?” Hestia finished, turning to the pair of lizard-men inquisitively. Ash wondered if she was secretly hoping they would turn the offer down.
“This is… For us?”
“Yes, while you’re staying in the village.” Hestia replied “That is, if you want it?”
“Oh. Oh yes, this will be...” He turned to Spear and hissed something to her in Saurian that Ash didn’t quite catch. She seemed to brighten up instantly, suddenly taking much more of an interest in the little room, stepping inside and examining the cupboards and window at the back. Finally, Scholar turned back to Hestia. “Thank you. We very much… happy for you… having us in your new home.”
“Oh. That’s okay.” Hestia replied, shifting a little awkwardly. “I’m glad you’re happy with it.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, let’s see the last room of the house.”
Hestia turned to the middle door, smiling once again as she opened it proudly. “And, finally, here is my room!”
The room itself was just a touch larger, with a higher ceiling being in the centre of the house. The cupboards and a wide shelf were arrayed above, with a small ladder positioned to reach them. Hestia had already laid out her bedroll and a sack on one side of the room. The small number of belongings finally making this room seem just a little more like a home than an empty building. Hestia grinned, pointing at the storage and gesturing at the view from the window. Ash couldn’t help but feel happy for her and pushed her earlier sadness to the side, letting the woman sweep her up in her excitement once more.
“It seems lovely Hestia, I’m happy for you! And Ama and everyone too. This seems like a great place to live.”
“Isn’t it just!” Hestia smiled back at her “Though, I was thinking, I don’t really need all this space and now you’re too big to fit into that little ruin of yours…” Ash froze, the words almost washing over her as she struggled to take them in. “Well, I thought that maybe you’d want to share this room with me Ash? It would be no bother! But, only if you want to, of course!” Hestia finished, a slight flush touching her cheeks.
Ash tried to speak, but could only stare at the woman blankly.
“Ah, if you don’t want to, I’d understand-”
“O-of course!” Ash finally forced out, smiling back at her friend with tears brimming in her eyes. “I’d love to. It would be wonderful to stay here!”
