Twisted Wonderland 2

A Treasure Trove

You and the boys continue walking through the town square and enjoy the sights. You have to hold Grim in your arms in fear of the cat snagging an unsuspecting vendor's wares.

"I wanna get some more apple pie!"

"You only get one free slice from the big pie, but there are other regular ones for sale." Epel offers, gesturing to the smaller pies on display.

Jade folds his arms in front of him. "Yes, I notice a number of different pie vendors."

Epel nods with a laugh. "It's so hard to choose between 'em! Each vendor has their own style. Like what dough they use, what apples they use, how they bake the pies..."

Sebek hums as he glances at the stalls. "So it's not the same pie at every stall."

"That's right." Epel waves a hand to the different vendors. "Everyone's got their own special way of making apple pie. It can differ between families too. Some like to dice their apples and put 'em all in the pie, while others top theirs with apple halves. There are folks who use fresh, crisp apples, while others do slow cooked ones with a more caramelized texture."

Grim licks his lips eagerly. "Oh man, all of those sound phenomenal!"

"There are other kinds of fruit pies as well, but the apple ones are always special." Epel informs. "Legend has it that the Fairest Queen loved them, and all the townsfolk do too. The nearest city to here has a bunch of stores that sell pies made with Harveston apples. They're so good, I've heard critics say they're the kind of pie that'd make anyone drool. Some folks even say the best way to ask someone for a favor is to bring 'em a Harveston apple pie. 'Cause they'll be so entranced by the flavor, they'll say yes to anything."

Jade chuckles. "After tasting that pie, I'd believe it."

Sebek grins. "I can tell you're very proud. Indeed, all the townspeople here appear confident in their apple products."

Epel smiles proudly. "Yup, we have such good apples that we've made a whole brand out of 'em.

I'd love it if we made even more stuff, since people like 'em so much. But people in town are getting on in years, and farm work's not easy on old folks. The only young people are me and a handful of babies, like my cousin, who were born pretty recently. I personally think if we're that shorthanded, we could make our jobs easier with chemical fertilizers and other kinds of biotechnology. But a lot of the old folks don't look kindly on that sort of thing. They think it's dangerous. Even though we could really improve our quality and productivity if we used it properly..."

"I imagine it'd be difficult for the elderly to adapt to new technology." Jade says.

Epel nods. "That's fair. But I want to make Harveston a nicer place for everyone to live in. I'm hoping I can do more chemistry studies at Night Raven College and then help the town. I'd like to find ways to make the farmwork easier so people can relax more."

Jade tilts his head. "I see you've already put a lot of thought into what you want to do in the future."

"Hey! What about the present?" Grim complains. "My tummy's still growlin'!"

Sebek points to a stall. "They're selling cherries and all kinds of berries over there."

Epel glances over. "Yeah, they sell 'em by volume. Wanna go check it out?"

You and the boys walk over to the stall to find a bunch of different fresh fruits, vegetables, and even flowers.

"Colorful berries, ripe vegetables and wild greens, fresh mushrooms." Epe lists. "Lots of stuff from the mountain for sale. They also make fresh squeezed juice."