Chapter 51: Victory for the Vale
The procession moves like a parade of misfits through the forest. Birds chirp, goblins squabble, and half the party spends the time whispering conspiratorially about Pip’s "sacred hardware." Even Veena, who’d taken up the rear, can’t stop shaking her head with a smirk.
Penelo bounces along the front with Vuvi, her ears twitching with every breeze. "I never thought I’d help liberate a village, save a forest, and become friends with goblins. Honestly, I thought my life would end in a fruit cart."
"Same," Vuvi says dryly. "Except I thought mine would end under a desk in a very cluttered lab."
Suddenly, they crest a hill and saw the village below.
"Wait," Veena says, squinting, "is it just me... or does it look... greener?"
Before they could respond, an old woman comes hobbling toward them at an alarming speed.
"You!" she cries, pointing at Vuvi, then Pip, then everyone. "Are you the ones responsible?!"
"Responsible for what?" Veena asks cautiously.
The old woman turns, waving her hands. "That!"
The entire Green Vale looks like it had been painted by a divine brush. Where yesterday there were dry, struggling rows of crops, now the farmlands burst with color. Vegetables bulge on vines. Wheat sways in glimmering waves. Even the scarecrows look perkier.
The old woman turns back, eyes misty.