62 Vhalar 716
Rei had been alerted through gossip at the Infirmary that a community garden had been built up in the Glass Quarter. They discussing possibly buying a little plot of land for the Infirmary to grow herbs, weighing out whether or not it was fiscally better to grow their own or just buy. She hadn’t weighed in on this matter, too distracted by her own thoughts. She had been thinking about starting her own herb garden, but it was pricey to buy a swath of land outside the city walls. She knew she would never use all the space and the time it would take… but she might could manage a box garden.When she got off work that day, she took a walk up to the Glass Quarter. The packed dirt road turned to worn cobblestone. The buildings became noticeably nicer. Rei walked off in the direction of the park, walking through and coming to the community garden on the other side. It appeared to be closed off into three sections of differently sized garden boxes. Most of them were empty, though a few of the larger ones looked to have vegetable sprouts and some of the smaller ones had just the beginning of herbs.
There was a small stone building at the front entrance, and she looked through the window and saw a man sitting at a small desk perusing through a leather-bound book that was spread open on the desk. He had a quill and ink well and was scribbling something on the parchment. Rei stepped in through the door and waved her hand in a gesture of greeting. “I’m Rei, I live down the road in the Earth Quarter. I was hoping to ask about renting a box.” She smiled down at him, noting his gray and white hair and scruffy beard. He was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat along with brown linen trousers and a tan linen tunic.
“Gregory Plains. Pleased to meet you, miss.” He extended a hand out in greeting and Rei took it. “What are you looking to plant? We have three by three meter boxes, generally just herbs and flowers for those. Six by six, herbs and smaller vegetables. Nine by nine, start having room for larger vegetables. Ten, twenty, and thirty gold nel respectively.” Rei nodded. “Mostly just looking for herbs. I think a three by three for this season. Might branch out next season.” He stroked his beard before dipping the quill and turning to a particular page in the book, scratching the details of her name, the size box she was renting, the rate, and for what season.
Rei fished into the pocket of her hide pants and drew out ten gold nel and placed it on the desk. Gregory got up from his chair and motioned for her to follow. They walked out into the gardens, and he led her to a small box with fresh, dark soil in it. The smell of earth permeated the air along with other various scents: the spicy smell of herbs, the sweet scent of fruit, the earthy smell of vegetables, and the array of floral scents from the flowers. “This one is all yours. We’ve got tools over there in the shed you can use.” He motioned to a shed off in the corner she didn’t notice earlier. “Thanks, Gregory.”
She waved at him as he walked back to his place in the small stone building. Rei went over to the shed and found a plow. She would have to go buy seeds eventually, but she knew the first thing she needed to do was to till the earth and get the soil nice and loose. Then, she could till out lines to place the seeds in. She took the plow, grunting with its weight, and plopped it in the fresh soil. Her hide shoes sunk into the soil as she stepped into the box. Thankfully, she had plaited her hair back and woven in some leather straps. A few stray hairs were clinging to her forehead that was quickly becoming damp with sweat. She pushed the plow in a line up the box, then in a line back from the box. When she had plowed all the vertical lines, she went back and plowed horizontal lines. When she was satisfied with how she had tilled the soil, she lugged the heavy plow back to the shed.
