Chương 4

Getting used to such a drastic increase in her stamina was fairly difficult. Though not in a sense that it made Sobelle stressed, instead, it was like her mind hadn't caught up with what changed and it was confused as to why her body no longer felt tired. A hazy curtain of confusion covered Sobelle's eyes, this was made worse by the headache currently eating her scalp. Sobelle's head was the only thing that hurt, which while annoying, was still manageable.

She got back home earlier than usual and asked her mother if there was anything she needed to do around the house.

"I do not have any chores for you." Creyla's eyes didn't leave the dishes she cleaned as she answered her step-daughter's question.

"If you want to do something, then go around the village and see if someone has a job for you. That or forage! I brought food back home when I was your age so follow my example! I thought you were supposed to be smart?"

"Okay, I'll go around the village to see if anyone needs my help." Sobelle really wanted to put herself to the test, that was the only way she could learn about the gift the Gods gave her.

"I'll be back with something maybe?"

"I hope so!" Creyla shouted from behind Sobelle before the door closed and muted whatever else she wanted to say. When it came to chores, the village usually only had a few things available. And for a kid like her, that number got even smaller. Sobelle was a woman as well, so the things she could do for the villagers was extremely limited, or at least this was what everyone believed. Sobelle thought otherwise, the Gods' trials were proof that she could do more than what everyone believed to be her limits.

'Not that they'd agree anyway.' Sobelle was willing to get any job that people offered, she was fine with being seen as less valuable than everyone. She didn't mind, really. It wasn't like she needed to prove her worth to people, Sobelle wasn't so egotistical as to think of herself as someone worthy of respect just because the Gods saw her worthy to have their blessing. Humans could not possibly be compared to Gods, be it in their strength or acknowledgement.

Sobelle knew that she was special and she didn't need to physically prove it to anyone. Still, she wanted to test the new blessing the Gods gave her so if it was possible, she wanted to do something that physically taxed her. Her limits had increased but she had no idea by how much, so she'd love to find out. Sobelle stopped in front of a house with walls made from stacked stones held together by dried mud. It had a thatch roof and a curtain of weaved plant fibers for a door, and hay covered the floor.

This structure was one of the newer ones within the village, it was erected a few months ago by a new couple. Sobelle heard the cries of a baby from inside. She neared the door and out came her very own sister, Efree was the second oldest daughter of their family and unlike Somie, she had yet to be wed. According to her, she wanted Thetras to marry her and not anyone else.

"Why are you here?" Efree's tone held a lot of suspicion, it was like she didn't care Sobelle was her sibling from the same mother. She crossed her arms, "if you want to watch over the baby or the house, then I'm already doing that job. Do something else."

"I will." Sobelle didn't even get to finish her response before Efree went back inside.

"... Sister." Sobelle wore a scowl as she left the house's vicinity. That stupid sister of hers really got on her nerves at times, why couldn't Efree just calmly say things to her? Was it necessary for her to be so aggressive whenever she interacted with Sobelle? It infuriated Sobelle that her own blood considered her as a rival. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. And they weren't even men! Women were supposed to support each other!

Not deny the other at every given opportunity while feeling smug about it afterwards. Sobelle forgot about the interaction as soon as 5 seconds passed and that was for the best, as it let her talk to the next person with a happy smile and a non-aggressive stance. The woman who came out of the next house she visited was plump, which meant her husband was most likely feeding her a lot. A good life, really.

"Do you need any help?" Sobelle asked with her best smile.

"I can do anything!"

"Hm... Well, I do need some help with fetching water from the springs." She pointed at the elevated part of the forest, where the mountain water ran abundant.

"I can't carry anything right now since I'm nursing my baby so I'd love your help, it's fine if you can only carry a few buckets before tiring out."

"No, I can carry a lot of them!" Sobelle argued. She didn't react when the woman's expression turned pitiful, doubt was something she was going to experience throughout her life and she'd already accepted that outcome.

"Suit yourself then, I need at least 8 buckets worth, I'll give you actual Levs if you can get me all of them." That offer sounded too good to be true didn't it?

"I'd be happy if you could give me salt?" Sobelle tried to say but the woman only laughed.

"You're getting coins, salt is far too valuable to be held by the likes of you. You'll understand once you get married one day." She handed Sobelle the bucket and moved her hand in a shooing motion.

"Now go! My son needs his milk and I do not have it all day."

'Okay, eight trips for eight buckets. Sounds simple enough, I've been through worse?' Sobelle looked at the forest and the bucket which was over half the size of her own torso and instead of dread, she felt elated. She finally got to prove that she was more than just some random girl, that her worth was beyond foraging. That she could do physical labor as well. And she didn't mean working on farms, that type of work did not suit someone who would one day join Oduct's knightly order.

She ran to her house with the biggest grin and picked up the basket by the door. She made sure to tell her step mother that she took it before she left, "I'm taking the basket to forage! I'll be back!" She got no answer but assumed that Creyla must've heard her so she left. A quest greeted Sobelle's vision when she reached the edge of the village. She didn't want to stop and stare at the air for a few seconds so she ran even faster and then urgently read the Gods' request.

'I hope they aren't mad at me for ignoring their words. Will they take away my blessing if I did that? I'm so sorry! I didn't want to look weird in front of everyone!' [Spring water, or water in general, is vital to life. It is the source of all life, and so it must be noted that unseen things lurk within its depths. What you are about to gather is safe to drink, however, doing so while foraging has a chance of contaminating the contents. And so, if you forage while gathering water, then you must wash your hands free of dirt and then hold the bucket after that.] Oh, they were telling her to be careful? Sobelle panicked for no reason then. She smiled and nodded, "okay, I'll be sure to wash my hands with the spring water before grabbing the bucket." Does this mean that she shouldn't forage while gathering water? She wanted to do two things at once but she had misjudged the situation and that led to the gods warning her of possible danger.

She was thankful for the advice and made sure to remember it for the future. Well, it was actually relevant to her recently. Which was why the gods warned her of it in the first place. Sobelle decided that she'd do her tasks one at a time and so she left the basket by the treeline, hanging it on a branch and moving with the wind. No one would steal it—and goblins weren't in the local area— so it was safe to leave the basket here.

Sobelle trudged through the path made by the villagers, which used to be a trail that cut through the forest according to her father. But those who used the path made it easier to navigate over time, they removed rocks, cut weeds, and even added dirt in areas with holes. Now it was a dirt path with a clear way forward. The edge of it had leaves and grass so Sobelle eyed them during her trek.

Although the chances are low because a lot of kids foraged around here, there might still be some leftover mushroom, fruit, roots, nuts, and berries that no one noticed. Sobelle held no expectations in the first place so she wasn't disappointed when she found nothing before she reached the spring.

'It's fine.' Sobelle thought as her legs went into the water. She walked to the deepest parts and gathered water there.

'One bucket, done!'