Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Building.

It was the one thing that kept this ever-changing world growing more and more every day. The Power of Creation lingered within the hearts and souls of every living thing on Earth and inspired them to want to better their creations. From schools to churches, hotels to mansions; the Power of Creation was truly a most wondrous thing indeed.

Men, women, and children all rose early in the morning and rushed around the town of Cantlin as the sound of hammers hitting stone resonated throughout the town, and the familiar thud of blocks being stacked sent smiles to the faces of all who heard it. It was a beautiful day in Cantlin as usual, and one certain apprentice builder was marveling at all its glory.

Stigmata was but an apprentice builder, her name (which was very usual, everyone had to admit) did the girl no justice in displaying her actual personality. She always held a bright and dopey smile on her face, her two long pigtails were a vibrant violet and would bounce merrily with every step she took, her eyes were a deep and calming grey like a storm cloud before the rain had fallen, and her skin was an enriching mocha color like the finest of chocolate. However, the thing that stood out most about this apprentice builder was the large thick book she carried around on her back; no one knew what it was and she refused to talk about it to anyone, so it remained a mystery.

Despite these physical attributes of Stigmata being so alluring, she did not have many friends. 

“Good morning Mrs. Plum!”

“Oh, good morning Stigmata dear” The elderly Mrs. Plum called out to the apprentice builder that skipped past her home.

“Good morning Mr. Valencia!”

“Good morning Stigmata,” Mr. Valencia said, watching the apprentice builder skip past his house then shaking his head in fond remembrance of his teen years.

“Oh look there she is,” another apprentice builder said with a flick of her hair “it’s Stigmata again…”

Her friend giggled and Stigmata, noticing the two girls, bounced over to them happily and said her usual greetings.

“Good morning Nadia, good morning Jenny! A beautiful day isn’t it?!”

Stigmata glanced up at the sky and marveled at the scenery before her as Nadia subtly rolled her eyes before plastering a forced smile onto her lips. It was no secret that Stigmata was but the ditsy apprentice builder of Cantlin; she bounced around every day without a care in the world and had aspirations that were too far-fetched for someone of her level.

“You know,” Nadia began slowly “you’re a long way away from being a good builder like the rest of us…”

Jenny stifled a giggle as Nadia continued; “don’t you think you should take up some other profession? Like, oh I don’t know...farming? It would better suit you.”

Stigmata tilted her head to the side in confusion then continued to show that same dopey smile to both of the cold-hearted girls. Usual snarky comments and insults seemingly flew right over the apprentice builder’s head. 

“I love building!” Stigmata confessed “why would I give that up to...farm? I mean farming can be fun,  don’t get me wrong, and all the farmers here work really hard on the crops we have but-it doesn’t speak to me the way building does!”

“You know only the best builders are allowed to leave the city and travel, right?” Jenny asked, looking the apprentice builder up and down.

“Of course I know that! I plan to be the very best builder there ever was, even better than Angel herself!” Stigmata declared, her chest puffed out slightly in happiness.

Nadia and Jenny both exchanged glances then burst into loud laughter as Stigmata watched in confusion then laughed quietly, not sure at all what was so funny.

“You?! Better than the Legendary Builder, Angel?!” Nadia exclaimed, “I always knew you were stupid but I didn’t think you were insane too!!”

The apprentice builder felt a painful tugging sensation in her chest from Nadia’s words before she shook it off. That wasn’t a kind thing at all for her to say, and it confused Stigmata tremendously why she would think to say such a thing; nonetheless, she continued the conversation.

“What’s so funny about that?”

“What’s funny is that you actually think you have a chance of being better than the Legendary Builder!” Jenny retorted, poking Stigmata hard on the chest “the day you become anything more than a stupid apprentice Builder is the day the world ends!” She issued another hard poke to Stigmata’s chest, causing the girl to step back slightly “so if you think for a second that you will EVER be above us...you are gravely mistaken!”

Jenny pushed the girl hard and Stigmata grunted slightly before falling onto the grass. She remained silent for a long time and listened to Nadia and Jenny’s loud laughter before getting up and running off quickly, unshed tears lingering in her light grey eyes. 

She would become a better builder. It had been her dream for she can’t even remember how long, she wasn’t one to give up easily on her dreams and aspirations; she was also only sixteen years old, it didn’t matter if it took her days, weeks, months, years, or decades. She would become a builder worthy of praise someday. It didn’t have to be the whole world, it didn’t have to be the town of Cantlin, it didn’t even have to be her parents. If she just had one person who believed in her building skills…

Just one person.

Then maybe…

Maybe…

“Wake up my child…”

What is that voice?

“Wake up my child, it’s your time”

Could that be the Goddess speaking to her, the glorious Rubiss whom everyone in Cantlin praises?

So that encounter was simply a memory them, a deep memory within her mind she hoped to forget. So if that was merely a memory...then where is she?

The apprentice builder’s eyes slowly fluttered open and her vision was filled with that of a straw mattress before her gaze diverted upwards and stared at the skeleton that loomed over her resting figure.

“Keh heh heh!” The skeleton cackled, swinging his sword dangerously close to her “I got ya good, didn’t I? Almost scared ya half to death with my appearance alone!”

Stigmata stood up from the straw bed and examined the skeleton man curiously, her eyes gazing over the blue and gold armor he had on as well as the rather sharp stone sword he wielded. The ground beneath her seemed to be swaying gently even though she was standing still and she strained her ears slightly and wasn’t surprised to hear the crashing of waves. They were on a boat, that much she knew, but how had she gotten here? How long had she been asleep? Was she kidnapped? What became of her parents?

“Oi!” The skeleton man swung his sword again, almost removing one of her violet ponytails “pay attention will ya?! Say…you’re a builder ain’t ya?”

Stigmata snapped out of her confused state and grinned, her dopey smile returning and the gleam in her eyes as bright as ever; “I sure am!”

“Keh heh heh! An honest one! Keep up talk like that and ya won’t live to see the next day!” The skeleton replied “still...ya ain’t the master builder, just an apprentice so that’ll do just fine. Once ya’ve wiped the sleep from them sockets come to the deck! I’ll make some use of ya yet!”

The skeleton left the girl’s cell quickly and headed up a flight of stairs as she watched him curiously.

She definitely wasn’t in Cantlin, that’s for sure. She was on some sort of monster ship probably thousands of miles away from homes, she couldn't remember at all how she ended up in this situation or even how long she’d been asleep for. Maybe she was the only human on this ship, maybe she wasn’t...but one thing was for sure.

Stigmata grabbed the ribbons keeping her ponytails up and tightened them both in determination as a confident gleam appeared in her eyes. Her hand naturally made its way to her back and she gave a satisfied pat to the book that was still there.

This was a new opportunity for her to show off her skills as an apprentice builder. This was a chance for her to try and change the world for someone, even just a little bit.

“I don’t need the whole world to believe me” She muttered reassuringly to herself  “just one person.” 

Chapter Text

As soon as Stigmata left her cell, her eager excitement to see what awaited her on deck was halted as the mean spirit that stood guard by her cell called her over.

“Builder! BUILDER!!”

Stigmata looked in surprise then turned towards the mean spirit with her dopey smile still stretched across her face.

“Before yooooou head upstairs, can yooooou tell the girl in the cell ooooover to pipe dooooown!!” The mean spirit complained in anguish “I can’t hear my ooooown thoooooughts!!”

“Will do!” Stigmata said cheerfully.

She skipped over to the cell next to hers and looked inside to see a small gangle of people: there was a man shaking heavily and cowering to himself, a boy who was either sleeping or passed out on a straw mattress, a girl with pink hair pulled into a side ponytail and brown eyes; that was screaming at the top of her lungs and yanking on the bars of the cell, then there was also-

“Nadia?!” Stigmata exclaimed in surprise as the said girl looked over at her “you got captured too?!”

“What does it look like you idiot! Of course, I did!” Nadia snapped before quickly composing herself “but that’s beside the point, you’re free and we’re not. I heard that freak skeleton man talking to you earlier so it’s gonna be up to YOU to try and find us a way out of here, understand?”

“Yeah that’s great and all but...could you please stop screaming?” Stigmata began before halting her sentence to direct her second statement to the pink-haired girl. 

The girl stopped screaming and looked over at Stigmata in surprise before sniffling and looking the apprentice builder up and down for a moment.

“Who are you…?” She questioned before shaking her head “whatever it doesn’t matter, I couldn’t help but notice you just having a lovely chat with that dreadful skeleton earlier! I was going to ask you to come up with a plan to try and get us out of here but it looks like you’re too much of a rank amateur to come up with anything good!”

The pink-haired girl turned away, crossing her arms, and Stigmata had to forcefully stop herself from frowning. It wasn’t like she was a stranger to people ridiculing her building skills and shooting down any chance to prove herself, but she had just met this person and already they didn’t think she would be good enough to pull off something worth value. Stigmata quickly shook her head and composed herself, letting all those gloomy thoughts escape her mind; she just had to prove her worth that was all! Maybe if she could start by freeing these people from the cell they were in then they would start to take her seriously and value her worth as a Builder.

“I should have never become a Builder,” the cowering man said as Stigmata diverted her attention to him “I should have just been a miner...or a farmer…”

The apprentice builder took a step back and examined the cell they were stuck in before nodding firmly to herself. She didn’t have the necessary tools to break the thick lock on the door, but she was positive if she did whatever jobs the skeleton man had for her, she could convince him to release these other people.

“Don’t worry Nadia! Don’t worry screaming girl! I will save you both!!” And with that, the violet haired girl bounded up the stairs to the deck.

“My name is Lu--oh forget it...she’s already gone…”

“Keh heh heh!!” The Captain cackled, seeing her bounding up the stairwell “I see stairs are no match against you, ain’t they?”

“That’s right! I’m ready to work Captain!!”

“Good!” He encouraged digging from his pocket “but before ya run yourself ragged take this. It’s from the Captain’s table-where I sit by the way-and it should keep ya from passing out on me.”

The apprentice builder looked at what the Captain handed her and grimaced slightly to see soggy and foul-smelling kelp in her hands. It looked like it had been picked from the very depths of the ocean floor then dragged across an oil field, but despite its ghastly appearance, the apprentice groaned slightly in discomfort when she felt her stomach grumble. She didn’t know when the last time she had food was and she certainly wouldn’t be able to give it her all if pangs of hunger overtook her.

‘Do it for screaming girl and Nadia’

Fighting back a gag, Stigmata plopped the kelp in her mouth and began chewing very quickly so she wouldn’t have to taste it too much; before swallowing the piece of kelp and shivering heavily.

“Down in one bite!” The Captain exclaimed with a cackle “you should be grateful you even got a bite to eat because that’ll be the last meal you ever have! Keh heh heh!!’

“I’d rather not my last meal be kelp…” Stigmata confessed, her stomach-churning.

“SHUT YOUR TRAP! We won’t kill ya just yet, not until you’ve done some hard gruff around this place!”

At the mention of work, the apprentice builder suddenly perked up and looked at the captain with a bright smile. The Captain watched her happy expression in slight disbelief then scoffed and swung his sword in agitation, just barely missing her ponytail again.

“Well anyways!” The Captain continued “you’ll be following my orders to the letter ya hear?!”

“To the letter!” Stigmata exclaimed gleefully “aye, aye Captain! You can call me Stigmata by the way!! That’s my name Stigmata! Stiiiiiiiigmata~! S to the T to the I to the G to the--!”

“Alright I get ya, I get ya!!” The Captain said, swinging his sword again “I’m Captain WhiteBones but you’ll only refer to me as Captain ya hear?! And what kind of scurvy dog named ya Stigmata...horrible name choice…”

“What are all of these monsters doing on this boat anyways Captain? And what are you doing with all us builders?” She questioned curiously, ignoring the Captain’s remark.

“Curious one ain’t ya…?” Captain Whitebones noted “very well! If ya must know, then go and have a chat with that lot of there” he motioned to a group of monsters standing underneath a sinister-looking banner “and report back to me once you’ve learned! That’ll be your first mission!”

“Consider it done!”

Stigmata skipped over to the group of monsters cheerfully, and they all turned and stared at the builder curiously when she paused in front of them.

“Hello everyone!!” She introduced excitedly “my name is Stigmata! The captain ordered me to come over here to learn more about you all and why you have so many builders on this ship!”

“The Captain did huh?” A small slime said, hopping over to stand in front of Stigmata “well, we’re some of the last known survivors of the gooreat Children of Hargoon!”

“Hargoon…?” Stigmata questioned curiously.

“It’s Hargon!” A flying creature snapped at her angrily, it had pink skin with blue horns and its tongue was hanging out of its mouth lazily “he’s the High Prieth that the Children of Hargon look up to! If you builderth think you can ever thop uth you would be foolith to try!”

“That’s right!” The Slime interjected “no gooman would stand a chance against the mighty Hargoon! You would just be wasting your slime!”

“I see…” Stigmata said slowly, taking all of this new information in “he sounds like a guy I shouldn’t run into anytime soon.”

“And you would be wise to do as such” A Whackolyte said, capturing her attention once more “even the Scions of Edrick had trouble trying to overcome Hargon’s reign but he has risen stronger and will only get stronger still. The Power of Creation has no place in this world and it never has; all of you builders are merely delusional fools to think that you could change the laws of this world with your creations.”

“That’s where I have to disagree with you…”

The monsters all looked at Stigmata in surprise and watched as her dopey smile widened and another look of determination gleamed in her light grey eyes.

“The Power of Creation is what keeps this world turning on its wheels!” Stigmata preached “this boat we’re standing on right now had to be created by someone, the clothes you and I are wearing had to be created by someone, even the weapons you have had to be created by someone! We can’t get anywhere in life without some sort of creation, and the Power of Creation that I have--!” She pressed a hand gently to her chest “is burning hot with every second of every day! We’ve all heard of the Legendary Builder of Old, Angel, the one who fueled the flames of builders for eons to come. Well, I am one of the builders she has influenced and one day!! I’m going to be even better than her and fill this world with the Power of Creation again!!”

The monsters around them all exclaimed in shock and began speaking all at once as the Whackolyte glared at Stigmata in anger then raised his weapons; “Spoken like a fool!”

He slammed the weapons hard on the ground; the surprising impact lifted Stigmata from the ground as she yelped in shock before flying back and landing on the ground right in front of the captain.

“Resting on the job already?!” The Captain exclaimed as Stigmata winced in pain from the harsh landing and slowly stood up “up and at em builder! I still have more jobs for your lazybones to do!!”

Stigmata shook off the pain from landing on the hard deck then looked at the Captain excitedly, ready for her next task.

“See all this driftwood lying about?”  He questioned pointing to driftwood strewn around the deck “a particularly nasty storm hit us whilst you were sleeping and did some damage to my ship. Make those bony arms of yours useful and collect all the driftwood then turn it into blocks and fix up the holes you see on the ship. And since I have you building--wipe that smile off your face!!”

Stigmata quickly stopped smiling, though the smile returned instantly once she had heard him say the word building. The Captain handed the apprentice some orange goo and she took it gently.

“While I have ya repairing the ground go ahead and whip up some torches too and place them around to brighten the place up a bit, there should be a little bench over there for ya to do that on” the Captain finished.

Stigmata nodded obediently then go to work on the task she had been set. She went around the entirety of the deck and collected all the pieces of driftwood she could find before taking them to the old workbench the Captain had pointed out. She put the fresh planks down onto the holes that littered the ship then got to work on the torches and placed them around the ship neatly to lighten it up. When she finished with that, she noticed a Shaman waving her offer so she went to him and was beaming with excitement when she realized he needed help. He gave her a pair of orange gloves (which he was kind enough to let her keep) and was instructed to grab all the barrels lying around the deck then return them to where they belonged.

Stigmata had to admit that she was having more fun then she cared to admit and all the monsters on the ship could see that clearly. Once done with the barrel situation, Stigmata reported her progress to Captain Whitebones who simply gave a snarky response then informed her that one of his mates at the upper deck wanted to see her right away for another task. Stigmata cheerfully bounded up the stairs and approached the skeleton that awaited her there.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Ah, there you are Builder!” The skeleton said “about time you showed your skull up here. I was bored out of my sockets and need some entertainment to keep me occupied.”

“Entertainment?” Stigmata tilted her head curiously.

“That’s right, keh heh heh! You know I’ve always wondered if builders could fight but look at you, you’re nothing but skin and bones! I suppose you’ll have to do though!”

Stigmata heard a familiar clattering sound behind her some ways away and she knew there was another skeleton there.

“What do you want me to fight with?”  Stigmata questioned.

“Your hands!”

Stigmata’s eyes widened and she whirled around before quickly rolling to the side as the other skeleton swung his sword at her, narrowly missing her neck by mere inches. The apprentice builder exhaled deeply in nervousness before quickly getting up and facing the skeleton; the whole concept of fighting had never been her thing but if it came to defending herself at all cost then she was fully willing to put up a fight.

The skeleton approached her and Stigmata ducked as he swung his sword at her again before raising her fist and landing a firm punch to his face. The skeleton stumbled slightly then began swinging his sword wildly as Stigmata struggled to dodge them and earned a small cut on her cheek as a result. She bit her lip hard then stopped and found an opening before grabbing the hilt of the skeleton’s sword and shoving all of her body weight into him so he fell and released the sword.

“I did it!” She exclaimed proudly, looking back at the first skeleton who had talked to her “I won!”

“Yeah, you may have won…” he reluctantly agreed as Stigmata dropped the sword and went back over to him “but in a real fight ya would have been mincemeat, kid!”

“I would have done better if I had a stick” Stigmata confessed.

“A stick?!”

A slight smirk found it’s way onto Stigmata’s face and she pulled out her book from her backpack before opening it up and flipping to a certain page. She grabbed a quill and scribbled something in it then let out a small giggle of satisfaction before putting the book away as the skeleton watched her in utter confusion.

“A cypress stick!”

“A what?!?”

“I could win the fight if I had a Cypress Stick! I just invented it right now” Stigmata beamed “if I had that it would change the whole outcome of this fight, guaranteed!”

“You came up with something out of the blue like that?! Fine then, go make this...stick and let me see if you can put your money where your mouth is!”

Stigmata raced back to the old workbench and used the last few pieces of driftwood she had to make the Cypress Stick before racing back upstairs and presenting it to the skeleton proudly.

“So that’s a Cypress Stick huh?” He said, examining the object curiously “fine then, get on with it!”

Stigmata nodded and turned back towards the other skeleton before charging towards him. Having been taken by surprise, he swung his sword randomly in hopes to hit her as Stigmata dodged effortlessly then gave a hard whack to his ribs with the Cypress Stick. The skeleton recoiled slightly then swung his sword more towards the girl as she backed away quickly then found another opening and whacked him hard again. After doing this multiple times, Stigmata finally gave one hard slam to his head with her weapon and watched in shock as he crumpled to the ground, breaking apart into different pieces.

“I KILLED HIM!!!” She screeched in horror.

“He’s already dead lass!”

“Oh…”

“But ya did put on a proper show for me there” the first skeleton cackled “keh heh heh!! And here I thought you were all skin and bones, turns out you’re tougher then ya look! Head on back to the captain now, I’ve had my fun with ya for today!”

“Will he be alright though…?” She questioned pointing at the one she defeated.

“What are ya doing worrying about him for? He’ll be fine lass, get on with it!”

Stigmata nodded and put her Cypress Stick away then skipped down the stairs and over to Captain Whitebones before reporting all of her progress so far to him.

“All done with your jobs are ya?” He said slowly “it’s refreshing to see a human like yourself working her fingers to the bone for us monsters and without a word of complaint. You like doing this stuff for us?”

“You bet I do!” Stigmata said, “it’s fun doing all of this stuff and getting to know you all better in the process!!”

“Your a proper weirdo ain’t ya,” the Captain said ignoring her pouting “tell me something, do you really love building?”

Stigmata’s eyes softened and she stared at him firmly; “more than anything in the world.”

“That’s what I was afraid of” he confessed raising his sword “you’ve probably got what it takes to be a master builder and that’s what I can’t have. You’ve served us well builder, but I’m afraid your time is up. You’re too dangerous to risk letting escape somewhere, so I’ll have to take care of ya myself.”

Stigmata’s eyes widened and she watched as Captain Whitebones kept his sword raised then cackled in defeat and lowered it, causing the apprentice builder to breathe a sigh of relief. 

“I’m just playing with ya bones lass! Keh heh heh! In all actuality, since you like building for us monsters and all, I reckon you’d make a fair little cabin girl, what do ya say?!”

The initial shock that overtook the girl disappeared in an instant and she hopped up and down in glee as her signature dopey smile spread across her face.

“You mean it, Captain?! I would love to do that!” She accepted eagerly “count me in!!”

“I knew ya wouldn’t refuse,” the Captain said with slight joy “well then welcome to the crew! And while I’ve still got your attention I’ve been meaning to ask you, what’s that big book you lug around on your back?”

Stigmata blinked in surprise then remained silent. She was spared the trouble of answering when heavy rain suddenly started to pour from the sky and Captain Whitebones looked up in shock. Almost as if it were second nature, the other monsters on the ship began running around and fixing the sails and one of the flying monsters flew over and took the wheel of the ship.

Ah, an apprentice builder…

You will do nicely…

This is your world to create…

And yours to destroy…

Now come to me...my child...

“Ah! You’ll have to tell me another time lass!” Captain Whitebones said “get those bones of yours below deck and back in your cell for now! A storm like this ain’t made for humans to be sticking around too long!”

Stigmata nodded then quickly raced down the stairs and went over to her cell. She had to admit the sudden rain did startle her quite a bit, it almost seemed too sudden for the rain to come out of the blue like that; she could have sworn when she looked up the sky was cloudless. Before she could enter her cell, the ship suddenly jerked heavily as it got hit with a huge wave and Stigmata lost her balance and fell hard to the ground, her vision blurring and her head pounding in agony.

“Oh no! Oh no!” A Slime said as he hopped past Stigmata and went to the backroom “we’re really in the hole this slime!”

Stigmata slowly got up from the ground and looked to see Captain Whitebones run past her before stopping and looking at her; “Builder! Get over here quick, I’m gonna need your help!”

She nodded and followed him into the backroom and was shocked to see multiple holes littered within the ship as water flooded in.

“Oh, not good!” Captain Whitebones exclaimed “Builder! Use those gloves of yours and try to stop the leaks with those crates!!”

She nodded and immediately got to work, lifting the crates effortlessly due to the magic power of the gloves then fitting them into the slots where the leaks were. She finished the first round of leaks then as soon as she was done another wave hit the ship and more leaks sprung from the ship so she used more crates and got to work on that too. Once those were done, more leaks sprung up for the third time so without hesitation, she plugged them up with the crates then waited; seeing no more leaks spring forth. 

“Well ain’t that something! I think ya did it, lass! Ya stopped all the lea-”

Before the Captain could finish his praise, a strong and powerful wave struck the ship and a large gaping hole appeared in front of them all that was much too large to fill with crates. Water rushed in at rapid speeds and before she could find anything to hang onto, it swept Stigmata off of her feet and started dragging her off.

“Builder!!”

Captain Whitebones reached for the girl but fell short as she screamed then quickly grabbed onto the edge of the ship so she wouldn’t be completely thrown out to see. She could hear the water rushing at high speeds behind her and concluded that there must be a whirlpool somewhere nearby, she knew if it got her...she would be a goner.

“I think this is it, Stigmata!” Captain proclaimed as more water filled the room and Stigmata quickly had to hold her breathe “it was nice knowing ya, lass!! And don’t forget about me!!”

Another harsh wave crashed into the ship and dragged Stigmata completely out as Captain Whitebones was slammed elsewhere. Stigmata, her eyes wide in fear, tried to swim upwards to the surface but the whirlpool only pulled her farther down as she mistakenly screamed. Water began filling her lungs and before she knew it...she blacked out.

******

She felt...wet.

Was Heaven suppose to be wet? 

Was she even in Heaven right now?

Stigmata felt something pinching her leg and despite the intense pain she was in, she opened her eyes slowly and saw a crab pinching her leg curiously; probably trying to see if the apprentice builder was dead. Stigmata gasped then kicked the crab away before sitting up and beginning to cough raspily, trying to get all the water out of her lungs. Once she was sure she could breathe properly, she glanced around at her surroundings. She wasn’t dead, that much was for sure, but it didn’t help that she didn’t know where she was either.

She was lying on pieces of the broken ship and there was sand everywhere, it was an island of some sort but she couldn’t begin to fathom where on Earth it could be located. The apprentice builder forced herself to stand up, pain shooting through her entire body and a hiss escaping her throat. There was sand all over her damp clothes; her head, she felt, was bleeding slightly so she took care of it the best she could.

“Stay calm Stigmata...stay calm…”

Panicking wouldn’t help one bit.

Ignoring the intense pain she felt, the apprentice builder grabbed some kelp she found in the water and scarfed it down hungrily, not caring about the horrible odor anymore. She washed her face off slightly in the water then checked her reflection and fixed her ponytails so they were still bouncy and neat. She then quickly checked to see if her book was still there and let out a sigh of relief when she realized it was.

She didn’t have to panic, this was just the second step in her new adventure, right?

Stigmata stood up and smiled in determination before taking out her Cypress Stick; if push came to shove she knew she was more then capable of building the necessary items she needed to survive on this island.

“Alright then” she muttered to herself, the gleam returning in her eyes “bring it on!”

Chapter Text

After getting rid of her initial shock of being stuck on a strange island, Stigmata began looking for some way to access more of the island.

She found a path in the mountain that had sunlight streaming through some sand so she raised her Cypress Stick and dug out the sand blocking the small path through the mountain. The hot sun beamed down on her mercilessly as she continuously used her weapon to dig out the sand from the path; once she found some way to return home, she wouldn’t be going near sand for a long time, that much she was sure of.

An hour later, she had cleared all the sand from the path and squeezed through the opening of the mountain to see more of the shipwreck up ahead, only this time...someone was there.

Stigmata blinked in surprise and looked at the person who was standing on top of the small pile of wreckage, staring at the sky with a thoughtful look on their face. It was a boy with sleek black hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail that seemed to flare out wildly. He had strange pointy ears that Stigmata had never seen the likes of before and narrow dark red eyes. He had on a purple jacket that stopped just above his midriff and was open to reveal his chest along with a pair of orange pants that were baggy at the bottom. To finish off his look he had red gloves and boots with a necklace that looked like a simple thread with three claws on it. If anything, he looked very…

“Cool…” Stigmata whispered in awe.

The mysterious boy continued to stare at the sky and to the builder’s surprise he started to talk, though he wasn’t addressing her; “the sky is so strange...have I died and gone to Heaven? Or, Hell most likely…”

Stigmata took a small step forward, causing the shallow water at her feet to ripple loudly as the mysterious boy snapped his attention towards her instantly; going into a sort of defensive mode.

“What was that?!” He peered slightly through the blinding sunlight then noticed the apprentice builder “hey you! A live one!!”

The boy ran towards Stigmata and she smiled excitedly as he stopped in front of her then examined her in curiosity and slight distrust. She knew she still had to be cautious of who she ran into, but she was just so relieved to see that she wasn’t alone in this God-forsaken island that even the presence of this boy set her mind at ease.

“So what’s your story?” The boy demanded, circling the girl like a lion does a gazelle “how’d we end up on this island? Do you know what’s going on?”

“I don’t know how you got here but I was in a shipwreck” Stigmata answered, watching the boy happily.

“You were on that shipwreck?!” He pointed to the small wreckage that he had been previously standing on, his eyes narrowed again in disbelief and he stopped directly in front of the violet haired girl, peering deep into her eyes “so how come you didn’t kick the bucket too?”

“I was doing jobs for the crew on the ship!” Stigmata clarified “and in exchange they let me live and were gonna make me cabin girl. But…”

Stigmata trailed off sadly, already thinking of Captain Whitebones and all the other people on the ship who she couldn’t safe. She had thought for sure she was starting the beginning of some grand new adventure but it turns out it was just more false hope; the storm completely wiped out the whole crew and everyone down in that cell she had vowed to free.

‘Maybe I really am just a failure’ Stigmata thought to herself.

The apprentice builder shook her head rapidly then plastered that dopey grin across her face before grabbing the boy’s hands in her own as he blinked in surprise; “My name is Stigmata! I’m an apprentice builder and I’m going to prove one day that my skills can change the world!!”

“Apprentice...builder,” The boy said tilting his head curiously “don’t know what that is but...congratulations I guess? My name is Malroth!”

Malroth smiled and clasped the girl’s hand in his as her smile widened and she felt her stomach churn for a split second before stopping; she must still be hungry.

“Hey, want to see something gruesome?!”

Before Stigmata could reply, Malroth had already let go of her hand and started to run off, the apprentice builder hesitated, not sure if she was particularly keen to see something “gruesome” before her curiosity gave in and she ran after Malroth. The duo ran for quite a while before they reached a larger clearing of the island where Stigmata saw an old run-down hut on the shore.

“See look!” Malroth exclaimed in joy, pointing at something in the water “now that’s what I call ‘dead in the water’!”

Stigmata looked and her eyes widened at the sight before her. Lying in the water were all the prisoners in the cell that had been next to hers and some of the monsters she recalled seeing on the ship. Stigmata quickly ran over to the bodies and shook the man first before checking his pulse.

Nothing.

The water gently came up and swept the man’s body further out to see as Stigmata’s eyes watered slightly then she quickly went to the boy that had been sleeping and checked his pulse as well, hoping to find some sign that he was still alive, hoping that he was in fact just sleeping like he was on the ship.

Nothing.

The water came up and swept his body away as well as Stigmata checked all of the monster’s pulses next only to be disappointed when she got nothing in return. The apprentice builder, feeling heartbroken and sorrowful, slowly went over to the last two bodies that were left.

Screaming girl and Nadia.

It was true that Stigmata and Nadia both didn’t have a good history with each other, but that was no reason for Stigmata to want her dead. She wouldn’t even wish death upon her worst enemy no matter the horrible things they did; everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves.

“Hey what are you doing?” Malroth asked in slight annoyance “touching all on the bodies and stuff, you aren’t feeling sorry for them are you?”

“I have to save them…” the apprentice builder replied “even if just one person...I have to.”

She quickly checked Nadia’s pulse and concentrated as much as possible for some sign of life, even if it was a faint flutter of her eyelids or the quiet exhale through her nostrils it would be enough to let the violet haired know that she was alive.

“Come on Nadia…” she whispered soothingly “stay with me…”

Time seemed to start to move agonizingly slow as the apprentice builder awaited any sign of the girl before her to be alive. Malroth watched her with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face, not at all sure why this strange new girl was so determined to get this person to move. Even if she did wake up, he figured she’d just be a nuisance to deal with; one girl he could handle, two was too much, three and he would jump into the ocean.

Finally, as if by some stroke of luck, Nadia started to breathe quietly as a cry of relief escaped the builder’s lips. 

“She’s alive!” Stigmata exclaimed, tears welling to her eyes before she blinked them away and turned towards the male that stood and watched “Malroth? Can you grab her and take her to that hut back there, it’ll be a while before she wakes up, but she’ll make it!”

“Why she’s just gonna get in the way isn’t she?” Malroth questioned.

Stigmata stared at him silently, her light grey eyes holding a slight gleam of hidden anger in them as Malroth sighed quietly in defeat then lifted Nadia and took her to the abandoned hut. The apprentice builder stood up again and started to follow him when a sudden cough sounded and she whipped her head in that direction quickly to see the screaming girl squirming slightly.

She shamefully admitted that she had completely forgotten about her after seeing that Nadia was ok, but as soon as the pink-haired girl started to move, Stigmata’s eyes shined in glee and she quickly went over then knelt beside her.

“I’m Stigmata!” She introduced softly once the girl finally looked up “are you ok?”

“I’m…”

The girl’s sentence quickly cut itself off as she saw Malroth emerge from the hut then run over to them, causing her eyes to widen.

“Pirates!!!”

The pink-haired girl pushed herself up and dragged herself as far away from Stigmata as possible as the violet haired builder watched her in absolute confusion.

“Your name is...pirates” she questioned, “not the name I would have chosen, but regardless, I think it’s very nice!!”

“Y-Y-You’re both pirates!!” The girl accused again, pointing a shaking finger at Malroth then Stigmata “filthy, opportunity-seeking rats come to take me captive then demand a ransom for my safe return!!”

The girl broke into a series of dry, sickly coughs as Stigmata frowned worriedly and Malroth growled angrily, cracking his knuckles.

“Stigmata,” he said as the apprentice builder looked at him “this girl looks like more trouble than she’s worth. I could silence her for you...permanently.”

“It’s ok Malroth! She’s just scared!” 

Stigmata stood up and this small action caused the pink-haired girl to scream in horror before running away, pushing past Malroth unnecessarily hard, then taking refuge in the abandoned hut. She must have mistaken Nadia’s unconscious body for a deceased corpse because moments after she ran into the hut another loud scream occurred and Malroth growled again in anger, covering his pointy ears.

“That girl has some SERIOUS issues!!” He snarled before turning his attention towards the builder “let me get rid of her!”

“Only if you say please~”

“Please?!”

“Nope!” She teased “killing isn’t nice!”

The violet haired girl skipped cheerfully towards the hut as Malroth watched her retreating back in anger then smirked slightly and quickly followed her. The two entered the hut and looked to see the screaming girl huddled in the corner, cowering heavily in fear and sniffling hard whilst trying to hold back her tears. Malroth seemed to be showing great delight at seeing the girl’s fear but it practically tore Stigmata’s heart in two to see her look so scared and defenseless like that.

“Hey…” she cooed gently, going closer to the girl and blocking her view of Malroth so she wouldn’t feel intimidated “it’s ok, we’re not going to hurt you, and I won’t let him try anything. Trust me.”

To her luck, the girl slowly stopped cowering and looked up at Stigmata pitifully, a small sniff escaping her nose.

“You must have got washed up here from that shipwreck you and Stigmata were on” Malroth noted, crossing his arms.

“Shipwreck…?”

The pink-haired girl stared at Stigmata for a long time then stopped cowering completely and gasped in shock, something registering in her mind.

“You!” She exclaimed “it’s you! The one who came by my cell, I remember you now, you were talking to that girl named Nadia!! Those horrid monsters were just barking orders at you and you followed them without a care in the world! You’re in cahoots with them, aren’t you?! This is all your fault!!”

The girl jabbed an accusing finger at Stigmata’s chest as Malroth growled and grabbed her wrist tightly, causing her to scream again and go back to cowering. The apprentice builder gently grabbed Malroth’s hand so he let go of the screaming girl’s wrist then stood between them both to stop a fight from breaking out; her dopey grin wider than ever.

“I’m not sure why the ship sunk” Stigmata admitted “I’m not sure if we’re the only survivors or if there are more of us somewhere. All I know is that the four of us are stuck here together and that’s ok because I’ll make everything we need to survive until help gets here!!”

Malroth and the girl both blinked in surprise then spoke in unison; “HUH?!”

“Wait, wait, wait!!” The girl exclaimed, suddenly coming out of the corner “you’ll make everything we need?! Food, shelter, everything?!”

“Everything!”

This offer must have piqued the pink-haired girl’s interest because she suddenly perked up then smiled confidently before holding out her hand to the apprentice builder who, of course, shook it without hesitation.

“Well I suppose that’ll work then” she declared “my name is Lulu!”

“Hi, Lulu! I’m--”

“First off we’ll need to renovate this place!” Lulu noted, walking around the abandoned hut “we can’t exactly call it a proper room if there are holes in the walls! So you need to patch that up, THEN we’ll need beds; my beauty sleep is extremely important and I refuse to sleep on the cold floor! Lastly--!”

“Hold up!” Malroth interrupted, cutting off Lulu’s demands and snapping the apprentice builder out of her dazed building state “who put you in charge, huh?! And why does Stigmata have to do all this crap, what are you gonna do?!”

“She volunteered” Lulu pointed out “besides, you can’t expect a lady like myself to do hard and grueling work like that?!”

Before Malroth could say anything more, Stigmata tightened the two ribbons that held her bouncy pigtails up then gave Lulu a determined smile, the confident gleam in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Lady Lulu” she said confidently “if I could just ask you to keep a close eye on Nadia while I work, then I’ll have all these tasks done in no time”

“Are you kidding me…?” Malroth muttered with a roll of his eyes as Lulu flipped her hair victoriously “I wouldn’t call her a Lady.”

“I suppose I could do that” Lulu sighed slightly as Malroth growled again “now run along, this must be done before nightfall!”

Stigmata raced from the cabin then went over to the shipwreck Malroth had been standing on earlier, barely being able to contain her excitement; she finally would get the chance to build more, to build a bit more freely then she was allowed on the ship anyways. She used her Cypress Stick to break off as much of the wood from the ship as she possibly could then carefully made it into a workbench, it would be much easier for her to work with one of these instead of having to freehand each object with nothing to set her tools on.

After she finished making the workbench (which was shabby but it didn’t have to be perfect) she set it beside the abandoned hut then used more pieces of wood she had to make planks and blocks that would fit into the holes of the wall. Malroth walked back and forth some distance away, watching the builder with a slightly confused look on his face. She seemed to be putting things together so effortlessly and making strange plank objects which she then securely would put in the holes of the hut. Maybe that was what she meant when she said she was an apprentice builder; regardless, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the joy and bright smile on her face while she was building. It was...strange.

“There!” Stigmata beamed, staring at the fully repaired hut “that’ll do it!”

“It’s a start” Lulu nodded “but we still need beds! Oh and some food, there should be scallywinkles you can find for us to eat! Round up about 5 then slap them on the bonfire.”

Stigmata pondered for a moment then pulled out her book from its backpack, along with the quill, as she scribbled something down quickly then let out a satisfied giggle before putting it away.

“Beds! Got it!”

The builder raced out of the hut again and looked around curiously before her eyes landed on what she had been hoping to find.

Dry grass.

She went over and, using her Cypress Stick to dig it up, collected as much dry grass as possible before rushing back over to the workbench and quickly braiding them together to make four comfy beds for them all. She hoped in Nadia’s unconscious state that this would be enough to keep her cozy; she didn’t have any cotton to make a proper bed so it would have to do for now. As the apprentice builder was working on the second bed, she continuously eyed the extra pile of wood she still had sitting on the workbench.

She already set aside the pile of wood she would be using to make a bonfire for the scallywinkles, but she was unaware of what to do with this small extra pile, it pained her not to make the most of all of her materials. Stigmata glanced in Malroth’s direction and noticed him just casually walking back and forth some distance away, glancing at her every now and then like he was waiting on something to attack her so he could leap into battle. Her eyes trailed downwards to his gloves and she noticed that despite the vibrant red color they were the knuckle part was faded slightly like he used his fist a lot.

“Hey Stigmata,” the male said, snapping her out of her thoughts as he approached her “mind if I give that building thing a try…?”

“Of course you can try!” She exclaimed as she moved away quickly to give him space.

Malroth smirked and grabbed at the bedding she was working on before trying to braid it as he had seen her doing earlier, needless to say, it was...not going well. She watched as his smirk dropped to a frown and his frown to a glare. The bedding started to come out lopsided and turn ugly as he growled in frustration then threw it back on the table.

“Guess that building shit ain’t for me” he confessed as Stigmata’s eyes widened at the curse word before returning to normal “I’ll have to leave that to you!”

With that, the destructive male ran off and Stigmata smiled before taking out her book again and jotting something down, grabbing the extra pile of wood and shifting her body so the male wouldn’t see what she was making. 

She finished off the second bed that he had messed up then started on Malroth’s surprise as her dopey smile seemed to glean more and more in satisfaction. After she finished, the apprentice builder hid the present behind her back then skipped over to Malroth as he blinked in surprise and watched her curiously, wondering what the ditzy builder was up to this time.

“Hey, Mal~!” She exclaimed happily “guess what?!”

“Mal…” He quickly shook off the sudden nickname the girl had given him then looked at her, “what is it? Did something happen?!”

“No silly” she giggled “close your eyes!”

“Why?”

“Just do it~!”

“But-”

“Mal~!!!!”

Malroth groaned in annoyance and closed his eyes as the apprentice builder smiled more than took his hands in hers before setting the Oaken Club in them. Malroth, eyes still closed, raised an eyebrow and touched the object in his hands, trying to figure out what it was.

“Ok,” Stigmata said, “open your eyes!”

Malroth opened his eyes and stared at the club in his hands, confusion swirling around him before holding it properly and swinging it slowly, trying to make some sense of the foreign object.

“What is it?” He asked.

“A club!” The apprentice builder explained “you can use it to fight so you don’t have to use your fist so much and ruin your cool gloves! Besides, you seem more like a fighter than anything Mal, so I don’t want you to go around hurting yourself!”

Malroth smirked happily and swung the club around more, a small laugh escaping his throat as he hit it hard against the sand then swung it hard into the air, causing a loud whooshing sound to pass between the two of them.

“This thing is great Stigmata” he looked into the apprentice builder’s eyes and for what felt like the first time since she met him, a smile graced his face, causing her insides to churn slightly again “I like this thing...no...I love this thing!!”

“I’m glad you--!”

Before she could finish her statement Malroth held his hand up suddenly to silence the girl as his eyes narrowed.

“Wait…” he turned and looked further down the beach “do you feel that Stigmata…?”

The violet haired girl looked in the direction he was facing and tilted her head curiously.

“Feel...what?”

“I don’t know but it feels evil.” Without another word, Malroth took off sprinting in that direction with his club at the ready as Stigmata’s eyes widened and she had no choice but to follow. 

As soon as they entered the small cave they encountered a small gang of giant rats that were almost as big as Stigmata herself. Malroth smirked in satisfaction and ran towards them then began attacking them all with onslaughts of swings from his Oaken Club. Stigmata quickly took out her Cypress Stick again and ran towards Malroth to help as he kicked a rat in her direction and she slammed her Cypress Stick hard to its skull, making it fall to the ground unmoving. The two continued to hammer away at the gangle of rats until one was left standing; however before Stigmata could even make a move to kill it, Malroth raced forward and sent one swift, heavy crack to its head, killing it instantly.

Stigmata sighed in relief then returned her weapon to its rightful place before raising her hand happily for a high five; “Nice one Malroth!!”

Malroth looked over at the apprentice builder then, without thinking, ran over and slapped his hand against hers. A feeling of satisfaction settling through both of them as a smile graced their faces before Malroth’s pleased face turned into one of pure confusion.

“What was that…?”

“It’s called a high five!” Stigmata said, throwing up a peace sign “it’s something people do to like...celebrate I guess! If you want, every time we take care of the bad guys or I finish something cool we can high five the success!”

Malroth mulled this offer over in his head then smirked happily and nodded; “alright! Sounds good to me!”

The duo left the small cave together and Stigmata started to make her way over to the workbench again to finish her bedding when she suddenly stopped and turned towards Malroth, a question mulling on her mind.

“Don’t you think we’d make a good team?” She pondered aloud.

Malroth considered her question for a moment then shrugged before nodding; “we did fight well together...and I like those high five things. Besides, since I can’t build worth shit the least I can do is go around bashing the baddies right?”

“That’s what I was thinking too!” Stigmata agreed “we’d be the perfect team! You fight off the bad guys, and I do the building!”

Malroth smirked again and turned towards the apprentice builder as she stopped walking and faced him with a dopey grin.

“So…” he said slowly “partners?”

Stigmata took his hands in her own and leaned closer to him, not being able to contain her excitement any longer and completely oblivious to the tiny hint of pink on her friend’s cheeks.

“Partners!!”

Chapter Text

Stigmata was in a rather chipper mood for the short remainder of the day. She finished the rest of the beds and placed them within the hut much to Lulu’s pleasure; then gently lifted Nadia’s unconscious body and set her on one of them. The only task she had left now was securing some food for them to eat that would last them through the night; Lulu had mentioned scallywinkles and, while they weren’t a fan favorite in Cantlin, Stigmata figured they would suffice here.

So the apprentice builder went along the shallow waters of the beach: her shoes and socks disregarded as she picked up a few scallywinkles for them to eat. Malroth was still pacing back and forth nearby to keep a close eye on the builder, swinging his Oaken Club more and smirking in happiness every now and then from this generous gift.

“Hey Mal, you think only five will be enough?” Stigmata asked curiously.

“Maybe you should round up five more,” the destructive boy said, running over to her “knowing fatty in there she’ll probably eat those five by herself!”

He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the hut as Stigmata giggled then handed the five she already had to Malroth, causing a displeased look to arise on his face from the slimy texture of them.

“Don’t make fun of Lulu” she said, “besides there are only four of us and Nadia is still unconscious so I think that'll be enough to hold us out for tonight.”

“Whatever you say...but I think I’ll pass tonight on this slimy shit.”

Stigmata swopped up the extra wood for the bonfires that she had on the workbench then entered the hut before setting the wood in the corner, she figured even after she was done cooking the scallywinkles on the fire, having the bonfire inside the hut would prove to serve as some warmth throughout the night. The apprentice builder reached into her backpack and pulled out the spare goo Captain Whitebones had given her then spread it across the wood and used two rocks to light the bonfire. 

“So now you’ve got that” Malroth pointed out, setting the scallywinkles down and sitting next to the apprentice builder “so how is that gonna help?”

“Like this!”

Stigmata grabbed the nearest scallywinkle she could reach then cracked it open with a rock before setting the shell on top of the logs carefully so the meat inside could cook. Malroth’s eyes widened and he looked at the smiling girl like she had grown a second head.

“You’re gonna destroy it?!” He exclaimed.

“No silly!” She giggled “I’m cooking it! You shouldn’t eat anything like that while it’s raw, you’ll give yourself quite the tummy ache let me tell you!”

Malroth hummed slightly in understanding then crossed his arms and stared at the scallywinkle on the fire, he was learning so many new things about building and the things Stigmata did as an “apprentice builder.” He still didn’t know anything about the term at all and to see her running around throwing materials together so gleefully really took his mind for a spin; he figured now would be the best time to try and inquire more about it.

“Hey” he began slowly as Stigmata turned her head in his direction “so what does it mean to like...build? What’s the difference between an apprentice builder, and a regular builder or whatever…?”

“Oh…”

Stigmata hesitated slightly on an answer then shook her head and smiled again.

“Being a builder is...it’s a great honor” she explained softly “anyone can be a builder, of course, I’m just an apprentice so that means I’m not as good as everyone else is but despite that I love doing it! Being able to put materials together and create something new or something you can utilize in everyday life always makes me happy, and it makes life better! You can only become an official builder by passing a series of tests at school.”

“That seems dumb” Malroth scoffed, leaning against the apprentice builder as her face felt warm “you don’t seem like an apprentice builder to me, you’re the real deal to me Stigmata!”

Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked at Malroth to see him still staring deep into the flames of the bonfire, the orange glow of it reflecting almost perfectly in his red eyes.

“If you’re just an apprentice builder…” he continued, his tone slowly going quieter “then when you become a full-fledged builder, you’ll be the best this world has ever seen.”

If her face hadn't felt warm already she was almost positive it did now, not even the heat of the bonfire could account for the heat that seemed to radiate from the apprentice builder’s face. Her heart was beating at an abnormally fast rate and it took her what felt like years to truly let the destructive boy’s words register in her mind. Did he really think she was that great of a builder? All she did was fix up some old hut and throw a couple of beds together, was that such a great accomplishment to him?

“Malroth-”

“Is that what I think it is?!”

Lulu ran over excitedly, cutting off whatever the apprentice builder was going to say, as she gazed into the bonfire with a hungry look in her eyes. Stigmata put on the magic glove she received from the Shaman on the ship and used it to grab the scallywinkle from the fire before placing it on a small sheet of dry grass and handing it to the anxiously waiting Lulu.

“The smell of the seaside” Lulu practically drooled as she pulled the shell open more and ate the meat inside “the gravelly crunch of sand! No doubt about it!! That’s a bonafide cooked scallywinkle made from perfection!”

Malroth’s eye twitched in disgust and Stigmata giggled before cracking open two more scallywinkles and placing them on the bonfire. 

“Are you sure you don’t want any Mal?”

“After seeing that,” Malroth said with a gag “I’ll pass!”

The destructive boy hopped into one of the beds as Lulu bounced up and down on the heel of her feet, waiting for another one to be done. She was still a bit taken aback by Malroth’s words of praise, she wasn’t all too sure if she should take them seriously or not but it certainly made her feel some type of way.

Suppressing a smile, the builder continued to cook the rest of the scallywags then went to sleep, dreaming of what her life would hold from here on out.

...

When morning rolled around, Lulu was the first one up. She stretched and dusted off her blue dress with a quiet huff, sleeping on some dry grass beds located on the floor wasn’t the best option in the world but it was better than nothing. She glanced over at Nadia, who was still unconscious, then turned and looked at Malroth and Stigmata. The destructive boy had rolled off of his bed completely and was lying on the floor next to the apprentice builder though he didn’t seem to mind the hardness of the ground judging by the intensity of his snores. Stigmata was still lying on her bed, curled up and sleeping peacefully; oblivious to the fact that Malroth was so close to her, not touching...just close.

Lulu smiled knowingly and reached into her dress pocket to pull out the extra scallywinkle Stigmata had made for her, only to stop short when she felt nothing there. She gasped in shock and quickly reached into her other pocket only to feel nothing but air. 

“You!!” Lulu shouted, storming over to Malroth’s sleeping body and kicking it, her eyes wide in rage “you did this!!”

The destructive boy jerked away and sat up quickly, pulling out his oaken club and placing a hand over Stigmata’s sleeping body as a way to protect her.

“Oh...it’s just you,” he said blankly, putting the weapon away as Stigmata slowly opened her eyes from the amount of noise the two were making “wait...why the hell did you kick me?!”

“Because YOU ate my scallywinkle!!!” Lulu accused “the one I had in my pockets! I was saving it for this morning and YOU stole it!!”

“What’s happening…?” Stigmata asked groggily as she stood up and stretched.

“Your brute of a partner took my scallywinkle!”

“Listen here, you-!”

Malroth stopped abruptly like he had the last time when he sensed the rats, then suddenly grabbed Stigmata’s hand and ran outside, issuing a yelp from the apprentice builder. Lulu huffed angrily and followed them out the hut as the three stopped suddenly then looked to see what appeared to be the spirit of a Hammerhood carrying a wooden hammer that Stigmata couldn’t help but stare at in awe. 

“Ho, ho, ho! Do my eyes deceive me or is that an apprentice build-build-builder!” the Hammerhood exclaimed, bouncing from side to side slightly in the air.

“Can it!!” Lulu yelled, pointing at the Hammerhood angrily, “You took my food, didn’t you?! Cough it up-up-up right now!”

Malroth laughed at Lulu’s mockery of the Hammerhood as Stigmata held back a giggle then remained silent to see what it was the creature wanted.

“How rude!! Fine then, if you want it back then follow me-me-me!”

The Hammerhood disappeared suddenly and the ground underneath their feet rumbled for a moment as the mountain behind them suddenly exploded, sending rubble flying everywhere, to reveal a pathway of stone for them to climb up to in order to get on top of the mountain. Lulu’s eyes narrowed in anger and without hesitation, she ran up the stone path leading up the mountain.

“Lulu!” Stigmata called “it could be dangerous!”

“I’M GETTING MY DAMN SCALLYWINKLE BACK!!”

So much for that…

“Hey, this is good!” Malroth smirked, “now it’ll just be us and unconscious girl!”

Stigmata rolled her eyes and followed Lulu up the mountain as Malroth growled in annoyance then reluctantly followed. The trio took every twist and turn on the mountain, following the braziers that seemed to light up before them. Lulu was on a determined mission to get her breakfast back from the clutches of the Hammerhood, Stigmata was determined to get some answers from the Hammerhood and learn more about the island, and Malroth was just trying to keep the two girls from falling off the mountain.

After what seemed like a full hour of running around the twist and turns, the trio stopped in front of a stone staircase that led to the top of the mountain. Lulu panted heavily in exhaustion and anger then grabbed Malroth by his jacket before pushing the male towards the staircase.

“A-Attack!!” She panted out breathlessly.

“What am I?!? A dog!!!”

Stigmata ignored the two’s argument and excitedly walked up the stone staircase, wondering what she would find at the top. Malroth scoffed and turned away from the pink-haired girl as Lulu huffed and reluctantly went up the stairs after the apprentice builder. Malroth looked, noticing his partner already halfway up the staircase so he took out his Oaken Club and followed her. When they got to the top of the mountain, they looked to see what appeared to be the symbol of a hammer engraved into the ground and two destroyed parts of the temple on both sides of them. In front of them were two red and gold treasure chests and a platform where the Hammerhood ghost stood and waited.

“You made-made-made it!” It said, bouncing side to side again “I’ve been waiting a long-long-long time for a builder to make the climb up to this temple!”

Lulu shoved Malroth towards the Hammerhood again then took an angry step forward, not caring what the creature even had to say.

“Shut up you horrible hairy hermit!!” She snapped “stealing is a crime punishable by death, and I want my breakfast back!! We didn’t make the trek up this mountain just to hear you flap your jaw!! Malroth, attack!”

“What do you mean by that?” Stigmata questioned, gently making Malroth lower his Oaken Club “you’ve been waiting for a builder to come up this mountain? What for?”

“My temple has seen bet-bet-better days!” The hairy hermit explained, “if you really are the builder you claim to be, then fix-fix-fixing it up should be an easy task for you!”

The two chests beside the monster began glowing a soft white color before stopping.

“I’ll have a nice little gift-gift-gift for you when you get done!”

With that, the hairy hermit did a twirl and disappeared as Lulu yelled angrily into the air and Malroth scoffed, putting his weapon away in annoyance; “if that hairy freak thinks he can just lure us up some mountain then expect us to fix his house then he has another thing coming! Right Stigmata?”

However, his question fell on deaf ears as he noticed the apprentice builder had her book out and was scribbling something in it, her eyebrows furrowed. Malroth and Lulu exchanged glances then shrugged and went over to Stigmata, both of them peering into the book to see what had her concentration so taken up. Before they could even see what it was, Stigmata slammed the book closed and smiled brightly as the ground around them began glowing a soft golden color and a blueprint materialized in front of them.

“You’re actually going to build this thing for him?!” Lulu exclaimed.

Her question was soon answered as she watched the apprentice builder open up the two chests and grab the materials inside. She ran back and forth around the temple excitedly, slamming blocks into place and breaking pieces of rubble that were beyond repair with her Cypress Stick. Lulu sighed deeply and shook her head as she watched the apprentice builder fix the temple exactly as the blueprint was. Malroth couldn’t help but smile as he watched Stigmata; her two violet pigtails bouncing around wildly as she slammed blocks down, her dopey smile plastered on her face.

“She really is a great builder…” He muttered to himself in slight admiration. 

“And...done!”

The apprentice builder slammed the last block down in place and watched as the ground glowed gold again then the blueprint disappeared.

“I can’t believe you were able to just look at this old temple and fix it up like that” Lulu said, going over to Stigmata “perhaps I underestimated you!”

“Are all of your building tricks located in this book of yours…?” Malroth asked curiously, poking the book on the girl’s back which caused her to quickly move away “you gotta let me borrow it some time then Stigmata! If anything can teach me how to build, it’ll be that book you always lug around with you!”

“What’s wrong Stigmata?” Lulu questioned, noticing the builder was looking rather shy all of a sudden “don’t tell me you’ve got some mucky magazines sandwiched between those pages~I didn’t think you were that type of girl~!”

“Muckiness doesn’t bother me any!” Malroth reassured with a smirk “come on Stigmata, let me get a peek in that book of yours!”

“Uh...well...I…”

Before Stigmata could come up with a valid excuse, the hairy hermit appeared before them once again; “crack-crack-cracking job repairing this old temple of mine! In exchange for doing this task for me, I’ll lend you this!”

He held his wooden hammer out to the apprentice builder as her eyes gleamed in joy and she held her hands out; as soon as she grabbed it, the hammer turned solid, unlike the spirit like appearance it had while in the hairy hermit’s hands. Stigmata turned towards Malroth and Lulu in happiness as they stared at the new hammer in her hands then smiled.

“You can do some serious clobbering with that thing!” Malroth noted.

“Or some serious building!” Lulu remarked.

“If that amazes you, then my next-next-next gift will too!” The hairy hermit exclaimed as he took Stigmata’s hand and led her over to the edge of the mountain; Malroth and Lulu following closely behind them “this whole island is yours too! Every nook-nook-nook and cranny!”

“What?!” Lulu exclaimed, leaning against the destructive boy for support “this whole island?! Just for fixing up some crumbly old temple?!?”

“This world was once home to the legendary build-build-builder, Angel” the hairy hermit explained, overlooking the island “she built this temple and many other great-great-great monuments that are still standing to this day! Now that she’s gone, all that’s left behind is her beliefs for building! So an apprentice builder like you-you-you is exactly what this island needs!”

“What is she even supposed to build?” Malroth questioned while crossing his arms.

“Well...whatever she wants!!”

Stigmata overlooked the island and couldn’t help but to feel her eyes water slightly. She wasn’t sure if it was from shock, fear, or happiness at this point; all she knew was that she had a whole island to herself, and she could do whatever she wanted with it. She didn’t have to consult anyone with what to build, she didn't have to follow any guidelines, she had no restrictions whatsoever. Whatever she wanted to build, she could have it.

“My own island…” Stigmata said quietly to herself.

“Oi! Look over there!” Malroth pointed out near the shore “there’s a ship over there! That wasn’t here earlier!”

Lulu and Stigmata both looked towards where he was pointing and sure enough, saw the brown ship down by the water that had not been there yesterday.

“That’s perfect,” Lulu said “you can take it and use it to find better materials for Lulutopia! This place has nothing but sand and rocks, not the perfect getup for what I have envisioned!!”

“Hold on!” Malroth snapped as the pink-haired girl turned towards him “ Lulutopia ?! What the hell is that? If you think that’s what Stigmata is turning this place into then you have another thing coming stupid!! This is gonna be my Empire of Evisceration!”    

“Empire of what?!” Lulu exclaimed “oh yeah, a name like that will just scare everyone off!! It’s bad enough Stigmata’s name is the way it is, now you want to call my island, that?! I don’t think so!!”

“What’s so bad about Stigmata’s name?!” Malroth growled, moving closer to Lulu in a threatening manner “she’s done a lot more shit around this island then you ever have! If anything calling this place Lulutopia will be an insult to all her hard work!”

“Are you kidding?! Then again, I forgot you’re a total idiot! Her name means a mark of disgrace!” Lulu explained “not only is it a weird name for a person but it sounds like exactly the kind of name that someone should have with an Empire of Evisceration . If anything you’re the one trying to insult all her hard work!!”

The two continued to bicker back and forth as Stigmata stared at the boat down by the water and smiled in determination. Lulu was right, her name was odd...to say the least, and she knew it wasn’t the best name in the world but she was coming to terms with that. Right now the only thing she could focus on was what she planned to do with this island. Whether she named it Lulutopia or the Empire of Evisceration; she was going to make sure this was a place she could be proud of. It was going to be a place that puts even the Legendary Builder to shame.

“Hey, you guys!” She said, turning towards the two just in time to see Lulu stop pulling Malroth’s jacket as he stopped pulling her side ponytail “I’m going to build this island up to its glory for us! For Nadia, I’m going to prove that I can be even better than the Legendary Builder, Angel was! For you Lulu, I’m going to build a big grand castle surrounded by flowers and trees that's fit for a Princess! For you Malroth, I’ll build you an Empire of Evisceration that stands tall and proud reaching way above the clouds even!! And for myself…”

The apprentice builder slowly turned away and tightened her ponytails again.

“I’m gonna build whatever I want!!”

With that, she jumped down the side of the mountain and started sliding down as Lulu and Malroth both exclaimed loudly in shock then ran back down the way they came, shoutings words of concern and scolding the builder for acting so recklessly. She landed safely in the water down below then ran over to the ship as the man standing near it looked at her in surprise.

“Well ahoy there!” He said quickly, noticing Stigmata panting from excitement “names Brownbeard, fancy seeing another human on this here island! I thought for sure it was deserted! I was just avoiding a ship from them there Children ‘o Hargon and washed up here, and me here map ain’t the slightest bit ‘o help!”

Stigmata watched Brownbeard stare at his map in confusion then she grabbed it and flipped it upside down as a look of realization spread across his face. The sound of water splashing wildly sounded from behind them and seconds later, Malroth and Lulu both stood beside the apprentice builder.

“Who is this guy?” Malroth asked, one hand already inching towards his Oaken Club.

“His name is Brownbeard” Stigmata explained, grabbing Malroth’s hand so he couldn’t reach his weapon “and I was just going to ask him if we can use his ship to take us to different islands to find more materials!”

“Tell ya what” Brownbeard proposed “this island looks like a good enough place to collect me thoughts! So if ya let me crash here now and again, I’ll take ya three wherever ya need to go! The only kicker is, me old ship here ain’t meant for heavy loads, so ya can’t take many items with ya!”

“This boat looks like a deathtrap...but it’s the best we have in the way of transportation” Malroth pointed out “what do you think Stigmata?”

“I think we have a deal!”

The hairy hermit suddenly appeared beside Lulu and bounced from side to side in happiness; “looks like every-every-everything is falling into place!”

“There’s an island nearby called Furrowfield that’s supposed to be notorious for their gardens and greenery,” Lulu said, “if we hope to add a bit of color to Lulutopia, then I suggest you start there.”

“Furrowfield it is!” Malroth declared running onto the ship and jumping onto the bow before making himself comfortable there “come on Brown-nose! To Furrowfield!”

“It’s Brownbeard!”

Brownbeard climbed onto the ship and went to the back where the wheel was as Stigmata climbed on after him then held out her hand to Lulu. Lulu hesitated and took a step back as Stigmata stared at her in confusion then smiled suddenly and nodded in understanding.

“Thank you,” she said softly, knowing she didn’t have to explain her fears to Stigmata “I just can’t...not yet.”

“Look after Nadia for me, Lulu.”

“I will.”

“Stay safe-safe-safe!” The hairy hermit said with a wave as the ship took off.

Lulu waved as well and Stigmata stretched her hand as far as it would go before waving back until, after a while, the island disappeared from few and was replaced with crystal clear blue water. To say she was nervous was an understatement, Stigmata’s stomach was churning in both nervousness and excitement of what was to come. To think she had gone from being an apprentice builder in Cantlin, then to a cabin girl on Captain Whitebones ship, then finally to having her very own island to build on. It had certainly been a wild experience from beginning to end but she knew that her adventure was far from over. This was only just the beginning.

“Hey, Stigmata…?”

She turned and looked to see Malroth still sitting on the bow of the ship, staring out at the crystal blue water, before turning to face the violet-haired girl.

“I don’t think your name is weird.”

Stigmata blinked in surprise then smiled softly; she wasn’t all too certain what she had expected Malroth to say but it wasn’t that. Maybe his conversation with Lulu was still racking at his brain.

“Thank you Malroth,” she said softly, moving closer to him then relaxing, leaning her body against the ship so she’d stop swaying “I’ve heard people make fun of my name all the time so...it means a lot to hear you say that.”

“Lulu is just dumb” he hissed through gritted teeth “judging someone based off their name! All the cool things you’ve done for us there on that island and she-!”

Malroth shook his head silenced himself, probably to prevent himself from saying something he might regret. Stigmata slowly reached forward and grabbed the destructive boy’s hand as he looked at her then instantly regretted it. He felt his cheeks start to turn red from the soft and happy look in her eyes and he couldn't find it in himself to look away, no matter how hard he tried.

“You’re the best partner a girl could ask for, you know that Mal?”

“Yeah well...I’m just telling you the truth.”

“The fact that you believe in me so much is…” Stigmata trailed off slightly, feeling her heart pound in her chest, it was such an unknown feeling to her that it evoked a bit of fear into her.

But nonetheless…

“It’s refreshing” she finished, her dopey grin returning to her face “just continue being by my side as you are now Mal, and I’ll be happy.” 

Malroth smiled, his face now a full red, as he nodded in response to the girl’s request.

“Whatever you say, Stig.”

Chapter Text

“So that’s Furrowfield!” Stigmata exclaimed in glee as she stared at the upcoming island in the distance.

“Seems like it,” Malroth said snatching a pair of binoculars from around Brownbeard’s neck then peering into them “I expected it to be greener...it’s a lot greener than the Empire of Evisceration is though!”

Stigmata bounced up and down on the heels of her feet as Malroth threw the binoculars back to Brownbeard who stumbled and flailed around to catch them. Stigmata had faintly learned about Furrowfield once from the books in Cantlin and it sounded like a magnificent place indeed; filled with juicy fruits and gleaming vegetables. If they did hope to add more greenery and beauty to their island then Furrowfield was the place to do it.

Brownbeard steered the ship and stopped it by a small dock as the duo leaped off then stretched their tired limbs. It had been a long voyage if Stigmata had to estimate how long it took them to arrive at Furrowfield she figured about a good two to three hours at max.

“Well, here we are!” Brownbeard said, not stepping off the boat “I’ll be sailing around nearby if either of ya needs me! After getting the runabout with me here map, I need to get the lay ‘o of the land down properly!”

“What so you’re just dumping us here?!” Malroth questioned.

“Exactly!”

With that, Brownbeard went back to the wheel of his ship and grabbed it before waving the duo a small farewell and sailing off. Stigmata waved back happily as Malroth scoffed in disbelief then crossed his arms. The apprentice builder figured that they might have to stay here at Furrowfield for a while anyway to get used to the area and the inhabitants here; it would be rude to just come and take what they needed then leave. Giving a content pat to the book on her back, Stigmata tightened her ponytails then skipped forward as her faithful partner followed, glancing around for something to clobber with his Oaken Club. As they were venturing further into the island, Stigmata couldn’t help but notice that she was having difficulty walking around; the ground beneath her feet seemed muddier than it should be, and the air had a sort of rotten smell to it like the entire island was spoiled. 

“Hey look over there!” Malroth exclaimed with a point of his finger.

The apprentice builder looked and saw a flash of cyan-colored hair as a loud ear-splitting scream suddenly surrounded the area. The cyan blur ran to the top of a hill and the duo watched in confusion as two ape-like creatures followed after her; yelping madly and pounding their chest with their fists. The cyan blur tripped over a tree branch and fell to the ground as the ape-like creatures surrounded the individual then readied themselves to attack. From the looks of it, Stigmata concluded that the creatures must be badboons, she’d read about them before in a book.

“Well...sucks for them!” Malroth smirked.

However, as per usual, the apprentice builder wasn’t going to let this go without a fight. Picking up a decent-sized rock from the ground; Stigmata drew her arm back as far as it would go then flung it as hard as possible; the rock sailed through the air then made a direct hit into one of the badboon’s eyes. Stigmata took out her Cypress Stick and raced towards the monsters as they turned their attention away from the person on the ground and charged at the violet haired builder instead, fully enraged and gearing for destruction.

Malroth, weapon already ready, leaped over the builder’s head and landed hard on the back of the closest badboon as a satisfying crack emitted from it’s back before he smirked and slammed his Oaken Club into its skull, sending the creature crashing to the ground instantly. The second baboon lunged at Stigmata and she slid under it before spinning around and slapping her Cypress Stick into its backside, causing the creature to yelp in pain then round towards the apprentice builder who held a playful smile on her face. Malroth ran over and stood in front of Stigmata protectively, a sly smirk on his face.

“Were you just playing with the damn thing?” He questioned curiously as the badboon charged at them again.

“Bad people and monsters deserve spankings when they act like that!”

Stigmata twirled to the right as Malroth slid to the left, allowing the charging badboon to pass between them both harmlessly as Malroth grabbed the creature by its fur then hopped on its back, riding it like a horse. Stigmata raised her Cypress Stick like a baseball bat and smiled as Malroth pulled the badboon’s ears so it turned and charged in her direction instead.

“Home...RUN~!”

Malroth leaped off of the creature just as Stigmata slammed her Cypress Stick as hard as possible into the creature’s face, causing it to crash to the ground just as the other one had done. The duo put their weapons away and Stigmata raised her hand then waited as Malroth didn’t hesitate to run over and slap his hand against hers; the sound of the high five bringing a satisfied smile to both of their faces.

“Should we check that out now?” Malroth asked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of where the cyan blur had fallen.

Stigmata nodded and the two ran over quickly to see that, as expected, the cyan blur was a person. A girl in fact with cyan-colored hair long hair and dark brown eyes hidden behind a pair of black spectacle glasses. She was wearing some sort of green farming outfit with thick black boots and she was shaking heavily as she lay on the ground.

“P-Please stop!!” She pleaded desperately “I didn’t mean to come into the badboon territory!! I just n-needed some acorns and-!”

The cyan-haired girl must have noticed that the yelps and footsteps of the badboons had ceased because she looked around slightly then smiled in relief, not yet even noticing the duo who were watching her silently. 

“Must have realized who they were dealing with!” The girl huffed proudly, standing up “if they would have come any closer then I would have-!”

The girl turned and bumped straight into Malroth as the firmness of his chest made the breath leave the girl’s lungs and cause her to fall back onto the ground. Her eyes widened in surprise and she let out another scream before shuffling backward as quickly as possible while Malroth winced and covered his ears tightly.

“Please don’t scream,” Stigmata said softly, holding up an arm to keep the destructive boy from punching the girl “his ears are sensitive!”

She gestured to Malroth’s pointed ears and the girl nodded, almost in a daze, as Stigmata went over to her then held out her hand. After a moment’s hesitation, the girl accepted and the apprentice builder helped pull her to her feet as another dopey smiled wormed its way onto her face and she prepared her introduction.

“My name is Stigmata, I’m an apprentice builder!” She bounded over to Malroth and looped her arm around his as he rolled his eyes but made no move to push the girl off  “and this is Malroth, my frien-!”

Stigmata paused and stared at Malroth who stared back in confusion. The cyan-haired girl tilted her head to the side in confusion and waited for Stigmata to finish but the apprentice builder was at a loss for words. Malroth had agreed to be her partner, that much she knew, but did that automatically make him her friend? What if he got offended if she said that? Would this be her first friend? She never used the term before with anyone else so he would be if she did say it. 

“I’m Malroth,” he said confidently, snapping the violet haired girl from her internal conflict “I’m her partner and best friend!” 

Stigmata’s eyes widened in surprise then softened as Malroth gave her a toothy grin then affectionately dug his knuckles into her head, giving her a noogie. Best friend wasn’t what she was expecting to hear, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t like the way it sounded. 

“I’m Rosie,” the cyan-haired girl introduced nervously “but that’s a dangerous thing you’re going around doing...telling folks you’re an apprentice builder and all. Don’t you know what Hargon’s cronies would do to you if he heard such talk?!”

“Hargon and his little pets can try whatever the hell they want but Stig here is strong” Malroth smirked confidently “and besides if they want to get to her, they’d have to go through me!”

“Besides” Stigmata continued “we won’t be staying long unless we absolutely need to, we only came to Furrowfield in hopes to find some useful materials to bring back to our island. After that, you won’t have to worry about us bothering you or your friends!”  

“You came here looking for materials huh…” Rosie said more to herself, raising her black glasses up more so they sat comfortably on the bridge of her nose “well if you really are an apprentice builder, then maybe I can help you...and you can help me.”

Rosie smiled brightly and gently punched her fist into her other open palm; “alright then my mind is made up! I’m sure what the Children of Hargon don’t know can’t hurt them! As the finest farmer in Furrowfield, I feel like it’s my civic duty to give you a tour of the finest garden here!!”

Without another word, Rosie ran off, beckoning the duo to follow her as Malroth uncrossed his arms and looked at Stigmata for confirmation. Stigmata smiled gleefully and followed the excited farmer as Malroth sighed and did the same.

To say it was the finest garden was...a stretch.

The area itself was nothing interesting to look at, the buildings were full of holes and had spiderwebs everywhere, the ground was muddy everywhere and full of dead fruits and vegetables which made the apprentice builder had to hold back a gag of disgust. The only “garden” that was around was a small plot of mud with four healthy dirt blocks in it that held pathetic sheaves of wheat on them.

“Welcome, to Furrowfield farm!!”

Rosie turned towards the duo, waiting to see their reactions and was surprised to see two totally different expressions. Malroth’s eye was twitching in disbelief and he held a disgusted sneer on his face as he gazed around the area, whereas Stigmata’s eyes were completely blank and her dopey smile was still spread across her face.

“Ok” Rosie sighed in defeat “I know it’s not the best, but-”

“Not the best ?!” Malroth exclaimed, kicking at a pile of mud “if this island was running for a competition, it wouldn’t even get the participation award! We came here for fruits, vegetables, and grass; all you have on this island is mud, badboons, and some funky ass wheat! I wouldn’t call this place a garden at all!”

Rosie flinched at each insult Malroth threw at her then lowered her head in shame as a yelp suddenly exclaimed from where the wheat was and the three of them looked in surprise. Some strange pink creature had appeared right next to what little wheat they had and seconds later it exploded, sending two men Stigmata had not noticed earlier flying back, as what little wheat they had seemed to be destroyed in the explosion.

“Bonanzo! Perry!”

The three ran over to the two that had been flung back and saw both a man and a boy, the man looked to be in his early thirties at least and had dark brown hair and eyes along with a dark brown shaggy beard, the boy, however, looked to be about a bit older than Stigmata, perhaps seventeen or eighteen , and he had short orange hair with dark blue eyes that were narrowed slightly in sadness.

“Are you ok?” Rosie said, helping the older man up “Bonanzo, what happened?!”

“Another one of them damn spoilspores came and got the jump on us” Bonanzo exhaled in disappointment “Perry and I are fine, but as you can see the rest of our wheat ain’t...that was the last of it too.”

Bonanzo looked up and raised an eyebrow at the two newcomers who stood beside Rosie, Perry too raised an eyebrow and stood up straight, surveying the duo before him.

“W’o the blimming ‘eck are these two?” Perry questioned.

“This is Stigmata!” Rosie said, hoping to lighten the air as she pointed to the violet haired girl “and her partner Malroth, Stigmata’s an apprentice builder and I was hoping she could-!”

“A builder?!” Perry yelped, cutting Rosie off “w’at is your problem, Rosie?! W’at nutter goes ‘round telling folks t’at? Must be not sane in the ‘ead if you ask me!”

“Now listen here!” Bonanzo said sternly, pointing at Stigmata and Rosie “they'll be none of this building shit around here you understand that?! We don’t need the Children of Hargon raining down on our necks because of some child that wants to be a builder! You need to leave, now!”

Bonanzo made to step closer to Stigmata but Malroth’s Oaken Club was already in his hand and he stepped in front of the apprentice builder quietly, his dark red eyes narrowed in anger. Bonanzo scoffed slightly but decided against using force and backed away from him before turning towards Rosie once more.

“Face it Rosie” he explained “Furrowfield farm is done for, the crops are wasted and we have nothing but mud and spoilspores to work with. It’s time to give the dream up…”

Bonanzo threw his farm weapon to the ground and walked off to one of the destroyed buildings as Perry sent Rosie a sympathetic look then slowly followed. Malroth watched Bonanzo’s every move in anger, practically glaring daggers into the back of the man’s head and daring him to try anything to harm his builder.

“Who does that prick think he is?” Malroth growled as Rosie turned towards him slowly “threatening Stigmata just because he doesn’t know how to farm some wheat...what an idiot! But I guess the old fart has a point Stig, this place is nothing but mud now. We’re not gonna find anything here, let’s get Brownbeard and go.”

“No!”

Rosie grabbed Stigmata’s hand and pulled the apprentice builder towards her in determination as Malroth glared and pulled out his Oaken Club again, his alert high once again. 

“I-I don’t mean any harm…” Rosie said weakly, letting go of the builder when she noticed the dangerous look in Malroth’s eyes “I just don’t agree with that! Furrowfield...Furrowfield is my home...I just can’t give up on it that easily.”

Stigmata stared at Rosie and saw the girl was struggling to hold back the tears that were clearly in her eyes, she knew farming meant a lot to Rosie just by the way she refused to give up on it like that. It reminded Stigmata painfully of herself when it came to her love of building; she wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world so it pained her to see everyone here giving up on Rosie’s dream so easily and leaving her alone to deal with it.

“I’m the greatest farmer Furrowfield has to offer!” Rosie pleaded “and Stigmata’s a builder, so I figured with the two of us, we could restore this place to its former glory...I know we could.”

Rosie turned towards Stigmata, her lip quivering slightly and her tears still refusing to spill from her eyes.

“Please, Stigmata...please don’t let my dream die…”

The apprentice builder slowly turned away from Rosie and surveyed the entire area carefully. Numerous spots held potential for fields of different types of fruits and vegetables, and if she managed the space around those crops properly then she could build other buildings as well as rooms for the others to sleep in and maybe even a barn for them to keep their supplies in. Stigmata muttered quietly to herself and took out her book before writing into it as her eyes continuously flicked from the area around her then back down to the pages of her book. Malroth smiled and crossed his arms as he watched the builder work, whilst Rosie watched in pure confusion; not sure what was going on at all. After a while, the apprentice builder slammed her book closed and turned so she was facing the two again.

“Well,” Stigmata said confidently, speaking for the first time since she saw the area “it looks like I have some serious building to do around here, and I’ll need your help!”

Malroth sighed deeply and rolled his eyes as Rosie’s eyes lit up in glee and she jumped up and down in the air, cheering loudly. She went closer to Stigmata and grasped her hands, a bright smile spreading across her face.

“Let’s do this!!”

………….

As soon as the apprentice builder had agreed to help Rosie revive Furrowfield back to its former glory, the two set off to work. Stigmata was scribbling fervently into her book and gazing around the area as Rosie scouted out any areas they had left that might contain pure soil. Malroth couldn’t help but stare in awe as the builder zipped around the town collecting grass fibers, then scribbling in her book before going over to the hidden workbench Rosie had shown her. She had given Malroth the task of collecting wood (which he was thankful for, he felt useless just standing around) then left the area and destroyed as many rotten trees as he could find. Once he had returned, the apprentice builder took the wood from him eagerly; the destructive boy and cyan-haired farmer both watched curiously as Stigmata threw those materials together gleefully then held up some sort of strange grass dude on a stick.

“A scarecrow!” Rosie exclaimed, clapping happily “that’s genius!”

“A...what?”

“A scarecrow, Mal” Stigmata explained as she stuck the object in the ground where Rosie had pointed out the fresh soil “that way it’ll be easier to keep track of where the fresh crops are and they won’t have to pick through all this mud to find it!”

“And luckily we have these!” Rosie said pulling out five seeds from her pockets “cabbage seeds, it’ll be a start but we’ll only continue growing from there! Stigmata, plant these for me, will you? That way you can get the hang of farming!”

The apprentice builder took the seeds from Rosie gently and went over to the fresh soil as Rosie grabbed a bucket from the workbench then climbed up a small rocky incline to reach the water that was at the top, scooping some up in her bucket. As Stigmata planted the seeds in the soil, Malroth watched Rosie and couldn’t help but notice as she slipped a bit on her way down before composing herself and running over with the bucket of water.

Malroth pulled the apprentice builder to the side after she finished planting the seeds and crossed his arms; “do you think you could whip up something to help Rosie reach that water easier?”

Stigmata looked in the direction he was gesturing to then hummed and tapped a finger to her lips before pulling out her book and scribbling something in it. Malroth smirked mischievously and tried to sneak a peek into the apprentice builder’s secret book but before he could register what he was looking at she snapped it closed and gave a satisfied giggle as the ground around the rocky incline started glowing gold and another blueprint showed up.

“When I give you a thumbs up I need you to break that piece of dirt at the top that’s holding the water in place, alright Mal?!”

“Whatever you say Stig.”

Stigmata rounded up some mud then placed it into a large barricade around the rocky incline, it wouldn’t be the prettiest thing in the world but it would be solid enough to keep the water from running rampant everywhere and it would allow the other farmers to be able to reach the water easier and avoid any serious injuries from occurring along the way. By the time the apprentice builder was finished with the barricade, she had mud all on her clothes, hands, and even in her hair, strangely enough, though she didn’t seem to mind. She stood up in satisfaction and gave Malroth a thumbs up as he smirked then raised his Oaken Club and smashed the spoiled soil that was keeping the water in place; instantly the water came rushing down and much to the duo’s glee it sloshed down into the barricade Stigmata had made and stayed there.

“We did it Mal~!” She cheered as her partner slid down the rocky incline then sprinted forward and gave her a high five.

“Oh, what’s this?” Rosie exclaimed.

She ran over quickly and stared at the barricade Stigmata had made before gasping in shock and smiling brightly.

“A watering hole! That’ll make watering these crops ten times easier than before!” She cheered, jumping up and down in the air once more “you are the best apprentice builder I’ve ever met Stigmata! Furrowfield will be back to its former glory in no time at all!”

As Rosie was celebrating the newfound watering hole, she began glowing a soft green color and seconds later a small ball of light in the shape of a heart sprung off of her body before floating directly in front of Stigmata’s face, causing the apprentice builder to back away in shock only for the small glowing heart to follow her.

“Oi!” Malroth said, swatting at the glowing heart with his Oaken Club but to no avail “what the hell is that?!”

Stigmata furrowed her eyebrows in confusion then snapped her fingers and pulled out her book again before flipping through it again, looking for a certain page in particular.

“Ah!” She beamed, pointing at the page “here it is! I learned about this in school, they’re called Gratitude Energy! They were first discovered by the Legendary Builder when she would go around and help build things for other people. According to my book here, they’re used to help better enhance a builder’s abilities in building and inspire others to obtain the Power of Creation as well! They come in three different levels of Gratitude: the green ones are small and reward happiness gratitude , the orange ones are average-sized and reward thankfulness gratitude , and the red ones are large and reward love gratitude .”

“So these little glowing things must be for you then!” Malroth smirked happily as Stigmata put her book away “go on, take it!”

She nodded and slowly reached forward then grabbed the glowing heart as it slowly disappeared and her body glowed the same soft green before stopping. She felt strange yet warm as an unknown sensation flowed through her body; Stigmata turned towards Malroth and gave her usual dopey smile as Rosie stared at the two in confusion.

“Did I drop something…?” She asked in embarrassment “what are you two talking about?”

“Nothing too important Rosie!” Stigmata replied, “just keep on doing what you’re doing now and Furrowfield will be back on its feet in no time!”

Deciding not to pry into their discussion, Rosie cheered in glee then ran over to continue tending to the cabbages while Stigmata returned to her workbench to fix up the huts in the area.

………….

The night rolled around sooner than expected as the gentle snores of Furrowfield’s residents intertwined with the gentle hooting of owls.

Stigmata had fixed up two huts side by side (one for boys and one for girls) by using the wood Malroth had gathered to create softwood, it was both convenient and sturdy enough to stop cold air and unwanted creatures from entering while they slumbered, but also resistant enough to withstand turning rotten like everything else here on Furrowfield island. Stigmata tossed and turned on her bedding and glanced at Rosie who was already lost in the world of dreams. The apprentice builder wasn’t sure why she couldn’t fall asleep; maybe because she was so excited to be building so much...or maybe the fact that she didn’t know what she was doing.

She had gone from: being a regular apprentice builder in the town of Cantlin, then to being a cabin girl on a monster ship, then to owning her own island, then finally, to helping out the residents of Furrowfield all in less than a week. It seemed all too surreal. Was this even happening? Was any of this real? Did she die from that shipwreck? Is this Heaven?

If the apprentice builder hadn’t been hesitant before there was no denying that she surely was now. The harsh words Jenny and Nadia had said to her before in Cantlin seemed to rush to her brain and caused her to frown deeply in both fear and anxiety. It was true that she was nothing more than an apprentice builder, she hadn’t passed her official test yet and despite that, she so willingly agreed to help Rosie rebuild Furrowfield. A whole TOWN ! How was she supposed to accomplish such a task like that?! What was going through her head when she agreed to do such a thing; she’s not a master builder and she certainly wasn’t the Legendary Builder. The one the mighty Rubiss had chosen herself. Stigmata exhaled shakily and got out of bed as quietly as possible before leaving the small hut, shivering as soon as the cold night air attacked her skin.

She glanced around the small town and blinked in surprise to see her destructive partner sitting in front of the field of cabbages as though expecting them to grow right in front of his eyes. She hesitantly made her way over to him and upon hearing her footsteps he drew his Oaken Club then stopped and put it away when he noticed who it was. Stigmata sat down beside Malroth and leaned her head on his shoulder as the two just sat in silence, watching the cabbage field.

“You and Rosie are working hard to build this…” he said quietly after a while “just want to make sure that...you know…”

He fell silent again and the apprentice builder couldn’t help the soft smile that spread across her face. Malroth had been nothing but supportive towards her since they first met back on the island, she wasn’t entirely sure why but she felt more safe with this destructive boy then she did with anyone else. Malroth, Lulu, and Rosie were all depending on her to build amazing things and they all seemed to have so much faith in her even if the apprentice builder didn’t have any faith in herself; it warmed her heart tremendously to know that she was making an impact in someone's life.

Stigmata closed her eyes and relaxed more against the destructive boy as he remained perfectly still to not disturb his builder in any way. If being an apprentice builder meant that she could stay surrounded by friends like this for the rest of her life, then…

“Maybe it’s not so bad” Stigmata muttered quietly, before slipping into a deep slumber.

(AN: Hey everyone! So I thought I should clarify some ages in this book for everyone so you’re not confused by how old everyone is. Keep in mind: I DO NOT OWN THE DRAGON QUEST OR DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS SERIES!!! I don’t know how old the characters actually are but for the sake of my story, I changed them! So here we go!!

Malroth, Lulu, Nadia, and Stigmata are 16 !

By the time the book ends they will all be 19 , and by the time they’re in Skelkatraz, they’ll be 17 and a half so you can see the whole story takes place through years and not months.

Rosie and Perry are 17!

By the time the book is over, they’ll be 20!

Bonanzo is 32!

By the time the book is over, he’ll be 35!

Babs will be 19!

By the time the book is over, she’ll be 22!

Anessa and Warick will be 16!

Anessa will age as Stigmata does so by the end of the book she’ll be 19 as well.

I’m not going to name all of the character’s ages, only the ones who I feel are most important right now but they will be hinted at along the way so you can probably figure it out! This’ll probably be the last Author’s note for a while so I hope that cleared up any confusion! Like I said before, please feel free to leave reviews on how I’m doing or thoughts on Stigmata, and don’t be afraid to PM me if you have any questions! Thanks~!)

Chapter Text

Ah…

So the Master of Destruction has befriended the apprentice builder…

Destiny moves in mysterious ways. Neither man nor monsters can escape its influence…

But now is the time of creation…

Build to your heart’s content, young builder, while we await the Day of Awakening…

For there is only one who can save this world from oblivion…

The Lord and Master of Destruction…

Malroth.

The next few days seemed to pass by quite soothingly. Bonanzo and Perry still refused to help by any means necessary and the older man would send the apprentice builder dirty looks every now and then but she paid no mind to them whatsoever; Rosie continued to tend to the cabbages and water them, a bright smile gleaming on her face each time she did so. Malroth would patrol the perimeter to ensure that the two hard-working girls could continue what they loved without any baddies trying to get the jump on them (though Stigmata did have to convince her destructive partner to help the other two men when she noticed him laughing while a monster chased Perry.)

Rosie continued to unknowingly drop small gratitude energy everywhere and Stigmata made sure to round them all up, she wasn’t exactly sure when she would make use of the peculiar little things but for the time being she figured just having them at hand would make doing things easier, and it did inspire her to build more.

“Stigmata!!!” Rosie yelled suddenly “the cabbages!!!”

Stigmata looked over worriedly and glanced at Malroth as they both nodded then raced over to the cyan-haired farmer. However, their worries were soon forgotten when they saw five large, succulent, cabbages protruding from the ground; Rosie jumped up and down in glee as Stigmata’s eyes shined in wonder.

“Wow~!” The apprentice builder exclaimed as Malroth poked at the lush vegetable “they look delicious Rosie!! You really outdid yourself with them!”

“So these things are cabbages, huh?” Malroth questioned before smirking happily and crossing his arms “compared to everything else here, they look good!”

The three all continued to celebrate the growth of their cabbages as Stigmata heard footsteps then looked to see Perry run over, his eyes wide in disbelief as he stared at the precious vegetable before them. Malroth’s eyes narrowed and he slowly inched his hand towards his Oaken Club but stopped short when he saw the apprentice builder go closer to Perry.

“These cabbages’re gurt lush!” He admitted in astonishment “Did you and Rosie grow ‘em all by yourselves? Maybe you are a builder after all…and a rather cute one at that…”

Stigmata blinked in surprise and smiled shyly as Perry rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Malroth scoffed in annoyance and crossed his arms as he watched the two interact, he wasn’t sure what the heck they were talking about but he didn’t like it. When they first got her, Perry had refused to help them at all with the growth of these cabbages and now that they’re actually here, he wants to try and add his opinion.

‘And he’s making Stigmata act all weird and shy!’ He thought.

Before Malroth could go over and shoo the boy away, Bonanzo came and grabbed Perry’s shoulder, snapping the boy out of his flirtatious state; “All the more reason why we should shun her accursed presence! Come along now Perry--we’re leaving!”

Bonanzo stormed off, practically dragging the poor boy with him as Perry sent them both an apologetic look before following Bonanzo back to one of the huts the apprentice builder had fixed. Malroth growled again and went over to Stigmata as Rosie pushed her glasses up and went over as well.

“That guy REALLY rubs me the wrong one!” Malroth said angrily “why’s the old fart got a grudge against builders anyways? If anything’s accursed around here, it’s that dead dog on his chin he calls a beard!!”

“I wouldn’t say it was a grudge” Rosie explained as Stigmata elbowed Malroth hard in the ribs “he’s just being cautious. After all, everyone knows that builders spread desolation and despair wherever they go…”

Malroth’s  eyes widened in surprise then narrowed in anger; “who the hell said th-?!”

“Doesn’t matter who said it” Stigmata smiled, cutting him off  “if people think I spread despair and desolation then let them think that, but I’ll continue helping everyone out no matter what. So don’t you worry Rosie, I’m not leaving until Furrowfield is back to its former glory!”

Rosie’s eyes softened in gratitude and another ball of light sprung off of her as Stigmata grabbed it quickly. The cyan-haired builder adjusted her glasses again and stared at something behind Stigmata before smiling brightly and pointing.

“See that there?’

The apprentice builder looked and noticed the bell that was standing over by the edge of town. The gold around the bell was rusted slightly, diminishing the usual gleam of it, and Stigmata could see spiderwebs and old barrels stacked around it like the thing hadn’t been used in years.

“What is that thing?” Malroth asked curiously as the three went over to it.

“Well,” Rosie began “there’s an old story about it actually! Once upon a time, a builder came to Furrowfield--the Legendary Builder in fact--she showed the people the wonders of building to earn their awe and appreciation, then she whacked that bell with all her might! When the inhabitants heard it ring out, long and clear, something awoke within them. They were filled with the Power of Creation, and Furrowfield farm flourished!”

Stigmata stared at the rusty golden bell in deep thought as Malroth kicked at all the barrels surrounding it so they would be able to reach it easier. She knew the Legendary Builder had traveled so widely around the world, but to think she would ever see something that Angel herself had used so many generations ago was astounding. Even more so, since the old bell was still standing tall and proud.

“Don’t you see Stigmata?!” Rosie said eagerly as the apprentice builder turned towards her “Those funny little things you’ve been picking up must be our appreciation! This means if you hit that bell, something might happen!”

“Me?!” The violet haired builder exclaimed “Rosie I--! I couldn’t make that bell ring...only the Legendary Builder--”

“Oh screw her!” Malroth said as he nudged Stigmata towards the bell “she ain’t here now, is she? You’re here!”

Stigmata gulped nervously and nodded slowly as Malroth and Rosie both inched closer, their eyes full of anticipation and excitement. Stigmata slowly pulled out her hammer and the closer she moved to the bell, the heavier it seemed to get like it was being filled with something; she glanced down at her hammer and was surprised to see it glowing a soft golden color as the bell in front of her did the same. She glanced back at the two who were still anxiously watching.

“Seriously guys” she hesitated “what if--!”

“Hit it!” Rosie urged.

“Ok” Stigmata replied slowly “but what happens if--!”

“Hit it!!” Malroth snapped.

“Ok...but what if--!”

“HIT IT!!”

Stigmata squealed as they both yelled at her then quickly raised the hammer as the golden glow increased before hitting it hard against the bell. Instantly, the rust and cobwebs surrounding the bell seemed to vanish and a loud yet soothing ringing emitted throughout the entire area. A pink and green mist emerged and settled around the entirety of the garden before disappearing. Stigmata’s hammer stopped glowing gold and she noticed; Rosie, Perry, and Bonanzo all started glowing gold before ceasing as a strange look appeared in their eyes then they smiled.

“I don’t know what you just did,” Malroth said as Perry and Bonanzo ran over “but it was pretty spectacular! It’s like the whole place has been filled with some sort of strange power!”

“Me ‘ole body’s bin filled with a yearin’ to create!” Perry exclaimed, “I’ve got this uncontrollable urge to go an’ till a field!”

“I don’t know what you’ve done builder!” Bonanzo added, “but I’ve got this strange energy running through me as well!”

Stigmata made to reply but a sudden thought struck her head so unexpectedly she was taken aback, not wasting another second, the apprentice builder pulled out her book and began scribbling in it furiously. Everyone watched in excitement as the violet haired builder continued to furiously write in her book, jotting down every recipe that sprang into her mind. Finally, with a satisfied smile, she held the book up for everyone to see as they peered into it then cheered once more.

“New furniture!” Bonanzo clapped “we could use some of that around here!”

“That’ll liven things around Furrowfield!” Rosie added.

“Alright Stig, we’re all very impressed but you can stop posing now” Malroth teased.

Stigmata quickly stopped, realizing she was, in fact, posing, as Rosie ran up to her happily and swooped the girl into a sweet hug. The apprentice builder smiled and didn’t hesitate to return the hug.

“I knew this would happen!” She cried “you truly are amazing Stigmata!”

Bonanzo and Perry snatched up the nearest farming supplies they could and went over to tend to their cabbages as Malroth approached the two hugging girls.

“Now we just have to try and find a variety of crops” Rosie noted once she let go “our next priority should be wheat, but it might be tricky to find. With you on our side though, I know anything is possible! We’ll have an assortment of fruits and vegetables on this island soon enough; just you wait!”

“Before we talk about anymore farming, I want to get to the root of all this” Malroth butt in “why does everyone have such a grudge against builders?”

Rosie’s eyes lit up at Malroth’s words and she poked his chest happily as the destructive boy raised a curious eyebrow. She ran over to one of the huts and looked around for something as the duo waited in confusion, wondering what the cyan-haired farmer was doing. A few moments later she emerged from the hut carrying some sort of strange large, blue bulb.

“What is that?” Stigmata asked.

“I don’t know!” Rosie beamed as the duo sighed “but I figured since you’re a builder maybe you can figure out what to do with it!”

She handed the blue bulb to the violet haired builder and as soon as Stigmata’s hand touched it, the soil in the middle of the farm shot out a bright blue beam causing them to all jump in surprise. The bulb in Stigmata’s hand started to vibrate slightly and the two girls exchanged glances before nodding as the apprentice builder went over to the blue beam. She pushed the mud away and looked to see fresh soil strangely underneath it, without hesitation, she buried the bulb into the soil as Rosie filled a bucket with water and gently sloshed it onto the bulb. The ground started to shake and Malroth quickly ran over then stood in front of the two girls protectively as Bonanzo and Perry raced over.

“W’at on Earth is going on?!” Perry exclaimed.

His question was soon answered as a tree trunk sprung from the ground where they had planted the bulb, there were no leaves on the tree at all but a warm, gentle blue and green mist was swirling around the tree trunk. Rosie squealed and quickly took a step back before cowering in fear suddenly.

“Oh fiddlesticks!” She exclaimed “We’ve really gone and done it this time! The Master of Destruction is sure to strike us down!”

“Who the hell is that?!” Malroth demanded, “hey Rosie, stop shaking and cough up some answers!”

“Everyone in Furrowfield follows the teachings of the High Priest, Hargon!” She explained while cowering closer to the tree trunk “he’s the one who banned the use of creation in all forms! The one who teaches us that builders are no good!!”

“Wait…” Stigmata said slowly “so what does this tree--?”

“Oi, you lot!” Perry interrupted as his face paled “we’re in an ‘ole ‘eap of trouble! The pastor’s on ‘is way over! ‘E must’ve seen the light from the tree!!”

“Oh no!!” Rosie squeaked as her eyes watered “P-P-Pastor Al?! He’s here?!?”

“Pastor WHO?!”

Malroth’s question was soon answered as a Shaman ran over to them, his anger clear despite the mask he was wearing. His fingers were gripping his staff so tightly, Stigmata thought it might snap, and he was staring at the glowing tree trunk that stood before him.

“What in the name of Hargon is happening here?!” He demanded, rounding towards the five “who planted this tree? Answer me, faithless wretches!”

Stigmata looked around at everyone and saw they were all deadly silent; Rosie was still cowering closely to the tree trunk as though she were trying to protect it with her body, Perry’s face was very pale and he was wringing his hands together in nervousness, and Bonanzo was staring at the angry Shaman with a frightened look in his eyes. Despite their fears, though, none of them pointed at or made any attempt to mention Stigmata’s name even though she was the one who planted the tree. The apprentice builder looked over at Rosie and watched the cyan-haired farmer whimper quietly in fear then gently hug the tree trunk, still attempting to protect it.

Her eyes softened and she exhaled deeply before tightening her two pigtails and stepping forward. Instantly, the Shaman’s attention turned towards her and the three farmers watched worriedly.

“I planted that tree!” She admitted with a dopey smile “my name is Stigmata, I’m an apprentice builder from Cantlin, and I’m building a farm here on Furrowfield!”

“Stigmata…” Rosie whispered in fear.

“What…?” The Shaman said in rage “what…?! WHAT?!? Building a farm, you say?!”

“That’s right!” She clarified “I built huts for everyone to sleep in and I rang the Builder’s Bell to inspire them too! I’m going to be the best builder this world has ever seen, one that tops even the Legendary Builder!”

His staff began glowing a bright, ominous red and orange as the other’s backed away quickly and Malroth’s eyes narrowed. Stigmata stood her ground and continued smiling as a deadly aura emitted from the Shaman.

“Heresy!” He exclaimed, “How dare you sully my island with the sinful stain of creation! You will pay dearly for this!!”

As soon as those words left the Shaman’s mouth, Malroth pulled out his Oaken Club and stood beside the apprentice builder. Pastor Al might be a devout follower of the Children of Hargon, but he was no fool, and he could sense that picking a fight with that boy would be a grave mistake indeed. The destructive boy’s red eyes narrowed as he glared at the Pastor in resentment, silently daring him to try and harm the violet haired girl beside him.

“No matter!” The Pastor declared as he slowly lowered his staff “I haven’t the time to waste on this witless-looking whelp anyway!”  

Malroth wrapped an arm around Stigmata’s shoulders and pulled the girl into his side protectively as she blinked in surprise then smiled and patted his arm gently to get his attention; “I’m fine, Mal! You don’t have to do that!”

Despite her reassurances though, Malroth continued to hold the apprentice builder closely as she slowly shrugged then leaned more into him, enjoying the warmth he provided. It was strange how warm Malroth was, the air around Furrowfield was always rather cold, yet being snuggled up next to Malroth was like snuggling up next to a toasty furnace.

‘Maybe I should put his bed with mine…’ She thought.

“Is this…?” 

Stigmata turned her attention back to the Shaman and noticed he was looking at the tree trunk that Rosie was still hugging protectively.

“Is it what?!” Malroth demanded, “cough up what you know!”

“If I am not mistaken…” Pastor Al explained, “this is a young Deitree--the sacred sentinel of the Furrowfield forest, beneath whose blessed boughs this isle once flourished.”

Pastor Al pondered something for a moment then turned towards the five of them; “Hear me, my wayward vassals! I have had a change of heart, I have seen the fruits of your labors, and I have decided to forgive you of your sins! My superiors need not know of your...arboreal indiscretion, I will keep your secret, so long as you keep growing this tree--but should it dwindle and die, then so shall you!”

They all blinked in astonishment and Rosie let go of the young Deitree before standing up straight and facing Pastor Al; “wait...so you’re just letting us go? You’re not gonna kill us?!”

“No need to sound disappointed” Bonanzo muttered.

“I su’pose Pastor is just all talk t’en” Perry said with a shrug.

“SILENCE!!”

The Pastor gave another threatening wave of his staff as Percy and Bonanzo both cowered in fear whereas Rosie cheered happily then turned towards the apprentice builder, who was still being held by Malroth.

“Did you hear that, Stigmata?!” She said happily “we can grow the Deitree, that’ll help out Furrowfield in no time!”

“I heard it loud and clear” Stigmata beamed, gently squirming from Malroth’s grip “but the only problem is...we don’t exactly know HOW to grow the Deitree, would just normal water work on a magic tree?”

“You need not worry on that account, my child,” Pastor Al intervened, “Furrowfield’s most ancient legends tell of exactly what one must do to see a Deitree grow tall and strong.”

The five gathered around and listened as Pastor Al told them exactly what must be done to get the Deitree to grow more; from what he was describing it already seemed like quite a hefty task. They had to harvest fifteen cabbages, fifty sheaves of wheat, and till fifty blocks of dirt. Stigmata was confident they would complete these tasks but finding these materials was where the real challenge sprung from. So far, they only had five cabbage seeds and twenty blocks of clean soil tilled, the rest of the soil was muddy and impossible to work with. Also, they had no wheat whatsoever so providing fifty sheaves of it would have to wait for quite a while. 

“Hold on!” Malroth said, snapping Stigmata from her thought process “a creepy monster turns up out of the blue, and suddenly you’re all going along with everything he says? What makes you think he can be trusted? Why do you all believe this ‘Children of Hargon’ shit when your so-called pastor is dressed up like someone’s grandma?!?”

“Care to repeat that?!” Pastor Al snapped as he raised his staff once more.

Malroth smirked and started walking towards him as Stigmata grabbed his hand suddenly and pulled him back towards her gently. He growled and continued trying to make his way towards the Pastor as Rosie went over to Stigmata, thinking deeply about something.

“Well,” Rosie said “as far as wheat goes, we don’t have any of that just lying around, but there used to be a little mill town to the east of here! It’s been abandoned now but maybe there could still be some wheat seeds there?”

“It’s worth a shot” Malroth shrugged before smirking happily “come on Stigmata, let’s go check it out!”

“Wait!” Perry exclaimed “you lot are ‘eading out now?! The sun is about to set!”

“So?”

“SO! T’e mean spirits will get you!” Perry explained.

“Don’t worry Perry” Stigmata reassured with a bright smile, “I’m not scared of a couple of spirits! Besides, I’ve got Mal to protect me so I’ll be fine and dandy!!”

With that, the apprentice builder ran off east before the orange-haired farmer could say anything, her destructive partner following right at her heels.

…

“Oi Stig! Get a load of that massive building! Reckon there are still seeds in there?”

Stigmata looked at the tall old mill and saw that it had holes in it everywhere and looked like it might collapse at any minute. Vines and moss were growing all around the building as well as giant cobwebs that looked to have been there for quite a long time.

“Only one way to find out” she replied happily “and Perry was right about it getting dark fast, we might have to spend the night in there so we can avoid running into too many of those mean spirits on our way back.”

“Whatever you say” Malroth replied, rolling his eyes “I could easily handle a couple of scythe-wielding baddies though…”

Stigmata giggled and the duo entered the abandoned mill before taking the stairs that led up to the very top. Malroth cleared away the cobwebs that were in their way (noticing the apprentice builder looked hesitant to touch them) and they got to the top floor in no time as Stigmata grabbed all the barrels lying around and blocked the staircase with them; this way nothing could creep up on them while they slept.

“Uh...Stig?”

Stigmata looked and was surprised to see there was a girl, with some sort of blue knights armor on sitting on the balcony sadly as Malroth watched her cautiously. She seemed oblivious to the duo that was staring at her, and her head was hung low as she talked to herself.

“First I get attacked by monsters, then my weapon breaks clean in half!” The girl whined to herself “I can’t even right now! There’s like...totally an anvil over there but I can’t build to save my life, man!!”

Malroth gave the apprentice builder a look and she smiled before breaking one of the barrels so she had some wood then going over to the anvil the sad girl had mentioned. A few seconds later, Stigmata held another Cypress Stick similar to her own and she skipped over to the girl on the balcony before holding it out to her, finally gaining her attention.

“Who are you?” She questioned curiously before looking at the Cypress Stick and gasping happily “Oh! Em! Gee!! Is that what I think it is?!”

The girl sprang up and grabbed the Cypress Stick before swinging it around happily, a bright and gleeful smile spreading across her face. Stigmata couldn’t help but smile as she watched the girl use the Cypress Stick, it reminded her of how happy Malroth had gotten when she gave him his Oaken Club.

“This Cypress Stick is the G.O.A.T!” The girl exclaimed “my name is Britney by the way!! Thanks for this man, you literally saved my life! All I had were some stupid seeds, I can’t fight with these!!”

Britney took out a small sack from her bag and held it out for Stigmata to take as the apprentice builder grabbed it then looked inside. To her delight, she saw a few seeds in the bag that could be wheat seeds but she would have to confirm it with Rosie tomorrow in the morning. Running into Britney had turned out to be more beneficial then Stigmata had originally thought.

“Nice to meet you, Britney,” she introduced “my name is Stigmata, I’m an apprentice builder, and this is my...best friend Malroth! We’re helping rebuild Furrowfield farm so these seeds you gave me will be a really big help!”

“Yeah,” Malroth added, “and if you’ve got a problem with that then that’s too damn bad!”

“You’re an apprentice builder” Britney gasped before smiling again “oh you are BOLD ! I like you already, mind if I come back with you to this Furrowfield place? Seems like it could be a pretty lit experience.”

“Of course you can come! But for tonight we’re going to sleep here so we don’t have to deal with the mean spirits outside.”

Britney nodded and Stigmata searched the top floor of the mill, looking for whatever she could find that could be used for them to sleep on for the night; the floor would work just fine but if she could make the ground even a little bit more comfortable for Britney and Malroth, then she would do her best. The apprentice builder stacked some dusty flour sacks she had found in the corner the best she could then pounded them with her fist so the flour inside would unstiffen and allow for a comfier sleeping experience.

“There,” she said after a while “it’s not much, but it’ll do for the night!”

“Bet!” 

Britney charged at one of the makeshift flour beds and flopped on it before sighing in satisfaction as Stigmata giggled and Malroth rolled his eyes with a small chuckle.

“Now I’m going to suddenly fall asleep so the author can do a cute moment between you guys,” Britany said with a wink before turning over in her bed “goodnight!”

“Wait,” Malroth said in confusion “the auth--?”

Britney’s loud snores cut right through his question and he rolled his eyes again as Stigmata kicked off her shoes then sat upon her makeshift flour bed. Britney was definitely an odd one, that was for sure, but the apprentice builder couldn’t deny that she was a joy to be around. Stigmata laid down and exhaled deeply as a cold breeze suddenly came through the holes in the wall and attacked her skin, causing her to shiver. Malroth noticed the apprentice builder shivering so he went over quickly and stared down at her as she looked up at him curiously.

“What’s wrong Mal?”

He didn’t answer.

Stigmata continued staring up at her destructive partner, feeling her face heat up from the unbreaking gaze he seemed to have. Another cold breeze whipped through the building again and she shivered, causing Malroth to move closer to her again then slowly try to lay on the makeshift flour bed with her. 

“Hey!” She pouted, “You have your own bed!”

Malroth ignored her whines and wrapped his arms around the apprentice builder, pulling her close into his chest before closing his eyes. The apprentice builder shifted over and poked his chest repeatedly to try and make him get off but he didn’t budge. Stigmata sighed deeply and gave up then stared at Malroth, feeling her entire face burning with heat as his warmth surrounded her again as it had done earlier. She understood why he did it, he must have noticed how she snuggled into him earlier so he was utilizing his warmth again to stop her from shivering. Still, despite that, Stigmata couldn’t help but feel nervous for some reason.

Maybe it was because she had never shared a bed with a boy before.

Granted, this was just a pitiful little excuse of a bed made out of nothing but flour sacks. Also, she had slept in the same hut as him back on the island with Lulu, but to her...this was entirely different. She wondered what her parents would say if they saw her like this: cuddled up with some boy she hardly knew in an abandoned flour mill, collecting wheat seeds to help some farmers she barely knew.

‘I’m glad they aren’t here’ She thought in realization ‘I would definitely be grounded right now.’

Stigmata slowly looked at Malroth and saw his eyes were still closed, whether he was awake or asleep, she didn’t know but she thought it best to not disturb him. It was already very dark out and she was positive they would have their work cut out for them come tomorrow. 

The apprentice builder closed her eyes and snuggled as much into Malroth as possible without touching his abs (which she felt like were exceptionally good for that of a sixteen-year-old) then fell into another peaceful sleep, completely engulfed in the warmth that he provided.

Chapter Text

Morning rolled around sooner than the trio would have pleased and they stretched their aching limbs before getting ready to head back to Furrowfield farm. Stigmata had to admit, while it seemed like a good idea at the time, she would not be sleeping on any flour sacks ever again.

“My back is like...totally wrecked!” Britney whined, stretching her limbs as well while Stigmata removed the barrels from in front of the stairwell “I hope you guys have comfier beds then this back at the farm!!”

“We do,” Stigmata reassured “now let’s get going! We still have to introduce you to everyone and get these wheat seeds planted!”

“About time!” Malroth said, pulling out his Oaken Club “let’s get this show on the road!!”

Malroth started down the stairs but as soon as his foot hit the first step, the wood underneath him gave way, causing the destructive boy to yelp loudly and tumble down the wooden staircase. Britney and Stigmata watched as Malroth fell, flinching when he hit every step on the way down before he finally came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs where he crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“You alright, Malroth?!”

“Just...peachy…”

“Hold up…” Britney said suddenly, turning away from Stigmata and looking around curiously “I’m getting some, like, seriously sketchy vibes all of a sudden.”

She ran to the balcony and Stigmata followed as the two looked down below at the entrance to see a multitude of blue iron ants milling around, as though they were waiting on the trio to leave the abandoned flour mill.

“Oh no! Not more of them!” She whined “this place is, like, right on top of an ants’ nest!! I clobbered so many of them on the way here that my sword literally broke! Like...literally!!”

“Well, it doesn’t look like they’re leaving anytime soon” Stigmata noted.

The apprentice builder bounded down the stairs, careful not to fall as Malroth had done, then went over to the destructive boy and helped him up as he huffed angrily and dusted himself off.

“Ready to beat some more baddies, Mal?!” She asked in glee, taking out her Cypress Stick.

Malroth smirked happily in response and raced outside without a moment’s hesitation as Britney and Stigmata followed shortly after. The iron ants turned in their direction when they left the abandoned flour mill and charged at the trio; before they could attack, Malroth slammed his Oaken Club into the ones that were dangerously close as Stigmata used her Cypress Stick to swat away the ones that tried to leap towards them. Britney quickly dodged an iron ants’ pincers and rolled to the side before slamming it hard in the head with her Cypress Stick then kicking away another one that tried to sneak up on her from behind. 

One of the ants latched its pincers on Stigmata’s dress and pulled on it roughly as the fabric began to tear and the force of it pulled the apprentice builder to the ground; one of the iron ants lunged towards Stigmata and tried to bite her with its pincers while she was on the ground but she quickly jabbed her Cypress Stick into the creature’s mouth causing it to let out a loud sound of pain then quickly move away. Malroth raced over and kicked away the ant that was clinging onto Stigmata’s dress before hoisting the builder to her feet.

“Thanks, Mal!” She smiled brightly, running over and snatching her weapon from the dead creature that had choked on it.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! If I didn’t know any better I’d say you get off on me saving your ass!”

Stigmata pouted and continued fending off the numerous ants. After what seemed like a full hour, the iron ants laid on the ground, all slain, as Britney and Stigmata panted heavily in exhaustion; Malroth, however, didn’t seem to be affected at all and still looked raring to go for another fight.

“That was a piece of cake!” He exclaimed in glee, raising his hand as Stigmata quickly went over and gave him a high five “send me a hundred more of them!!”

“Maybe not the best idea right now…” Stigmata giggled, still feeling a bit tired from the fight.

“That was so lit!” Britney said “We totally crushed those ants like...like ants!! But on another note, you said you were a builder, right? Then you mentioned something about rebuilding Furrowfield farm too...you’re totally going to get some, like, divine retribution for all this! The Master of Destruction will seriously smite you! Still...you deffo seem to have a knack for this whole building deal, this Cypress Stick you made me is legit! Maybe building isn’t that bad after all!!”

“It’s not” Malroth interjected “don’t let the rest of those weirdos back at the farm try to convince you otherwise either! Stig and I, we’re gonna give this ‘Master of Destruction’ guy a good wallop to the head and show him what building’s all about!”

Stigmata giggled slightly and put her Cypress Stick away; “well come on you two, we need to head back to the farm now, we can't afford to waste the day standing around chatting.”

They both nodded in agreement and jogged back to Furrowfield farm, encountering a few Maulusc on the way which Malroth easily took care of with a few swings of his Oaken Club.

…

The trio made it back to town in no time at all and everyone gathered around happily, waiting to see who the new arrival was. 

Britney went to the center of town and stood in front of the young Deitree gleefully as everyone watched happily. Stigmata and Malroth went and stood beside her to get started on introductions as Rosie ran over as well, her cyan-colored hair bouncing merrily behind her.

“Woah!!” Britney exclaimed, looking around in awe, “this place is LIT! Is that the Deitree?! And get a load of that sweet farming set-up you’ve got going on! Alright listen, so I’m a soldier, right? But I’m more of a breaker then a builder so I figured if you let me stick around I can guard this place while you go around doing all the building!!”

“Why of course!” Rosie added before Stigmata could even open her mouth “Malroth always runs off with Stigmata anyways so we desperately need someone to stick around and defend the farm when they go on adventures!”

“Oi…” Malroth began.

“Oh man! I am SO looking forward to this!” Britney interjected “It’s gonna be so much fun telling those weirdos in their stuffy robes where they can stick their stupid rules! Screw the Children of Hargon, from here on out we’ll be called the Children of Stigmata!”

Pastor Al’s staff began glowing a bright red and orange as Perry and Bonanzo cowered in fear. Stigmata sighed deeply and shook her head with a small giggle, watching Britney stare at the Shaman in utter confusion and shock at not knowing he was there.

“Bold words, indeed” Pastor Al hissed “will you still be so brave when the Master of Destruction shatters your arms and armor into a thousand pieces?!”

“Who the hell invited this dude?!”

“That’s just Pastor Al” Stigmata reassured, “he’s harmless!”

“Harmless you say?!?”

“Oh, can it grandma!!” Malroth snapped.

Malroth and Pastor Al began arguing back and forth with one another as Britney carefully snuck off so as not to get caught up in the crossfire. Rosie, seeing that Malroth was going to be preoccupied for a while, gently grabbed Stigmata’s arm and pulled her aside. Stigmata looked at Rosie and tilted her head curiously as she watched the cyan-haired farmer pull out some strange small bag and hold it out to her happily.

“Ta-da~!”

“Oh! A...bag…” Stigmata said, taking it from Rosie “thank you it’s lovely!! Um...what is it for?”

“It’s not just any old random bag” Rosie explained “it has magic properties in it like those gloves you have! Pastor Al helped me to make it! I figured, as much as you and Malroth go out on adventures you probably have a lot of stuff you need to carry with you or want to bring back, so that’s what this bag is for! It can carry a crazy amount of stuff and when you stick your hand in it, you just think about what you have in there that you want to come out and it’ll appear in your hand!”

Stigmata’s eyes shined brightly in amazement and she took the bag carefully before looping it into the belt around her waist so it stayed securely into place.

“This will help me out a bunch Rosie!!” She said pulling the girl into a warm hug “thank you!!”

Rosie blushed happily and hugged the apprentice builder back as Britney ran over to the two, a sudden thought striking in her head.

“Hey you two” she beamed “sorry to interrupt your girly moment, but the author just reminded me of my lines!”

“The author?” Rosie questioned, tilting her head to the side.

“Anyways” Britney continued, completely ignoring Rosie’s question “I was having a quick peek around the place and noticing all the gnarly stuff you have built so far, but I noticed you guys totally don’t have much in the way of crops. You like, can’t call this place a farm if you don’t even have crops!”

“Yeah you’re right, but it’s been difficult to find any” Stigmata said “all we have so far are a few cabbage seeds and now these five wheat seeds you’ve given me. It’s a start but it's nowhere near enough to call this place the best farm in the world.”

“And another problem is, of course, finding any fresh soil to plant the seeds in” Rosie added, “I may be the finest farmer on Furrowfield, but I can’t conjure clean soil out of thin air…”

The three girls sulked slightly and got lost in thought at a way to solve their two biggest problems at hand: clean soil and seeds. Stigmata doubted anyone here would be able to convert this gunk they had into fresh clean soil, she was sure not even the Pastor had some sort of spell that could do that. Then even if by some stroke of luck, they DID manage to get clean soil, they would still need to find a lot more seeds to make a large enough field of crops, and finding a broader variety of crops would be most beneficial to them as well. Britney snapped her fingers and smiled brightly in realization as Stigmata and Rosie both looked at her curiously.

“I have heard this hot guss about a wiggly who lives somewhere near here,” she said “he’s part of this, like, tribe that can clean up spoiled soil. The Children of Hargon were like ‘I don’t think so mate’, so he’s laying low in the burrow.”

“You’re saying there’s a giant worm out there who can solve our soil problem!” Rosie exclaimed “That sounds almost too good to be true! We should bring him here right now!” She turned towards Stigmata who gave her a dopey smile in return “what do you say Stigmata?! You up for one more trip today before it gets too dark?!”

“I’m ALWAYS up for an adventure Rosie!” Stigmata clarified “Mal and I will head out right now!”

The cyan-haired farmer clapped happily and began cheering as Stigmata went over to Malroth who was still (to no one’s surprise) arguing with Pastor Al. The apprentice builder stopped some distance away and listened to the two’s conversation and saw the Pastor’s staff was still glowing bright orange and red, and Malroth had his Oaken Club out and ready to swing.

“You’ve got some nerve thinking you can boss us around!” Malroth growled, “you know by helping us revive the Deitree YOU’RE betraying the Children of Hargon too, right?!”

“Blasphemy!” Pastor Al exclaimed, flourishing his staff “you humans have certainly gotten bolder nowadays!! I believe this might be your doing, is it not?! I knew I should have finished you off the moment I laid my eyes upon you!”

“I’m surprised you can see me at all with that dumb mask you’ve got on, grandma!!”

Stigmata rolled her eyes and held back a giggle as she went over to the two men then grabbed Malroth’s arm to make him lower his Oaken Club. Malroth huffed angrily and lowered his weapon as Stigmata gently poked Pastor Al’s staff, causing the Shaman to glare at her before slowly lowering the weapon as well.

“Sorry to interrupt your little conversation,” the apprentice builder said with a roll of her eyes “but Britney just told me about a way we can solve our soil problem so we have to go check it out.”

“Ah,” Pastor Al said in sudden thought “she must be referring to the wiggly clan. If there are any of them left they would be in hiding, their burrows used to be to the southeast so that would be as good a place to start as any.”

“Alright!” 

Stigmata made sure she had her Cypress Stick and the bag Rosie had given her, then turned towards Malroth to see his cheeks were light pink.

“Um...Stig” he said slowly “when we fought those ants earlier...they kinda...ripped your dress a bit.”

She blinked in surprise and looked around her dress to see what Malroth was talking about. She soon found it, and her face warmed greatly when she saw the dress was ripped in the back and exposing her back and a bit of her behind (luckily she had shorts on underneath so her undergarments were not exposed). The violet-haired builder quickly ran into one of the huts as Rosie and Britney giggled, whereas Malroth took a deep breath and shook his head to get that image out of his mind.

After a while, Stigmata emerged from the hut with her dress completely fixed and a blank expression on her face, before running off in the direction Pastor Al had mentioned earlier. Malroth chuckled and followed her as the inhabitants of Furrowfield farm bid them farewell and safe travels on their journey.

“You know,” Malroth said once he easily caught up to the apprentice builder “I’m surprised you didn’t feel that your dress was ripped in the back. Wasn’t it a little breezy?”

“I didn’t notice!” Stigmata snapped “and if I had, then I would have fixed it long before you pointed it out! Ugh...I bet you Britney saw it and just didn’t say anything…”

“She probably did” Malroth agreed “she’s more mischievous then I am and that’s saying something.”

Stigmata huffed and pouted angrily as Malroth laughed and poked the apprentice builder’s cheeks teasingly. If Malroth had seen her dress ripped like that, then she was sure the others did too. Perry, Bonanzo, Britney, Rosie, and probably Pastor Al as well; yet none of them told her! The thought made Stigmata pout even more which Malroth took as an invitation to squeeze her cheeks.

“Squeak! A new bunch of faces around here? Well, it’s always nice to see some humans!!”

Malroth and Stigmata both stopped in their tracks at the unknown voice then slowly turned to see two fat blue rats standing by some strange glass orb. Stigmata gave Malroth a look and he simply shrugged his shoulders in response; the apprentice builder went over to the fat rat and knelt so she could talk to it easier.

“Hello little fat rat,” she said happily, “would you happen to know where the wiggly around here is?”

“Squeak! A wiggly?!” The rat exclaimed “I ain’t see one of them in a lick of Sundays but if there are any left they’d be over there” the rat pointed in a direction towards the forest as Stigmata nodded in understanding “but before you head off, be sure to talk to my friend over there by the orb! Squeak! He’ll have some information that can help you out!”

“Ok!” The apprentice builder said, rubbing the rat’s head affectionately “thank you little rat~!”

The duo went over to the other rat, leaving the other one behind to remain flustered from Stigmata’s head pat. Malroth leaned down in front of the fat rat and pulled out his Oaken Club before poking it in its chest repeatedly, causing it to squeak in fear and shock.

“Alright!” Malroth demanded, poking it harder “your friend over there said you had some information so cough it up or else!!”

“Malroth!” Stigmata exclaimed before sighing deeply and kneeling as well, she gently swatted the Oaken Club away from the terrified rat then smiled softly “sorry about him. My name is Stigmata, I’m an apprentice builder from Cantlin, and this is my best friend Malroth. Your friend told us you had some information that might be helpful to us.”

“Squeak! I do!” The rat reassured, moving away from Malroth and closer to the violet-haired builder “we fat rats do our utmost best to help out any humans that come by! Though, it has been a long while since I’ve spoken to a builder, let alone one that openly expresses it!! You’re not afraid of the Children of Hargon?!”

“Ah screw them,” Malroth said “the Children of Hargon sound like nothing but a bunch of sissies anyways!! If they try to come anywhere near Stig and I, I’ll show them AND their Master of Destruction whose boss!!”

Stigmata smiled softly and nodded in agreement. Malroth sure was an amazing friend to have, even though so many people believed builders were a bad omen, he never once doubted her skills and even stood up for her when people tried to degrade her. She scooted closer to Malroth and relaxed more as the fat rat looked between the two then squeaked repeatedly like he was laughing.

“Well then builder, squeak! That’s some great friend you’ve got!!”

The duo exchanged a look and smiled brightly before looking back at the rat.

“Now! Squeak!” The rat began, having gone off-topic “this orb behind me just ain’t some regular orb you know! It’s a Naviglobe, they’re scattered all across this island and other parts of the world too! They were plopped down a long time ago by the Legendary Builder!”

“A Naviglobe…” Stigmata said, staring at the shimmering orb “and the Legendary Builder put them down? What do they do little rat~?”

“Squeak! You got a map on you, builder?”

Stigmata nodded and reached into the bag Rosie had given her before picturing in her mind the map Brownbeard had lent her when they got off the ship. She felt something fly into her hand and looked to see the map so she opened it up and spread it on the ground in front of them all.

“Perfect!” The rat said “now see what this Naviglobe does is allow you to warp from place to place and save you a long walk. It’s convenient for when you travel long distances and need to warp back home or when you have to get somewhere far before nightfall!”

“That does sound useful” Malroth added, “walking around this whole island just sounds like a pain in the ass.”

“Squeak! Just remember that the Naviglobe only works if you activate them” The rat clarified “to activate it, just go on over and touch it then that Naviglobe will appear on your map. To warp to that Naviglobe just touch the Naviglobe location on your map, hold onto each other tight, and ta-da!! You’ve successfully warped!!”

“That’s all there is to it?” Stigmata questioned, “well that sounds painless enough!”

The apprentice builder stood up and went over to the Naviglobe before placing her hand on it. As soon as she did, she felt a small surge of power surround her and Malroth, as the Naviglobe began glowing a bright blue. Stigmata’s map also began glowing blue for a second and Malroth watched it to see a glowing gold X pop on the location they were standing at with the words “Fat Rat Rise” underneath it in tiny print.

“Hey, Stig!” The destructive boy said, staring at the map in glee “it worked! Can I touch it…?”

“Squeak!! Don’t touch--!!”

However, the fat rat’s words fell on deaf ears as Malroth touched the glowing golden X on the map. As soon as he did, the apprentice builder and the destructive boy were both lifted forcibly into the air by some unknown force as they tousled around in the air, unable to grab onto anything to keep their balance. They heard a loud crashing sound like that of thunder and an intense wave of pain flooded both of their heads as their vision blurred then they were dropped suddenly, landing directly in front of the fat rat again.

Stigmata groaned heavily in pain and clutched her side as the wave of pain that had gone through her head vanished as quickly as it had come. She felt like she had just been thrown into a washing machine and did the spin cycle before being thrown into the dryer afterward; her sides and legs ached painfully and her stomach felt queasy like she had to throw up. Malroth groaned loudly then threw up in the nearest bush he could find as the fat rat sighed deeply and shook its head.

“Squeak! Next time listen to me, you idiot!!” The rat yelled, whipping Malroth with its tail “only the Builder is supposed to navigate the Naviglobes!! And you have to prepare yourself before each warp so you won’t get hurt like that!!”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THAT BEFORE I TOUCHED IT, DUMBASS RAT?!?”

“SQUEAK! I TRIED TO, SQUEAK!! YOU DIDN’T LISTEN, SQUEAK!!”

Stigmata slowly stood up, ignoring the yelling and squeaking that was going on behind her, before quickly swooping up her map and shoving it back in her bag. They had already wasted enough time getting sidetracked by the rats then to make matters worse she felt like crap so if they ran into any monsters she wouldn’t be able to perform her best.

“Mal…”

“UGLY FAT RAT!! NEXT TIME TELL US IMPORTANT STUFF FIRST!!”

“SQUEAK!! SQUEAK!! SQUEAK!!!”

“Mal…?” Stigmata called again.

“SPEAK ENGLISH YOU IDIOT!!”

“SQUEAK! I’M TRYING TO BUT YOU MADE ME SO ANGRY!! SQUEAK!! WHAT IS A BUILDER DOING TRAVELLING WITH A HOTHEAD LIKE YOU?! SQUEAK!!”

“Malroth…”

“DON’T QUESTION STIG AND I!! WE’RE BEST FRIENDS YOU STUPID RAT!!!”

“MALROTH!!!!”

Malroth and the fat rat both flinched at hearing the apprentice builder yell and slowly turned their heads to see her glaring at both of them, her arms crossed over her chest in annoyance. Malroth quickly got up and dusted off his pants before going towards the apprentice builder with an apologetic smile on his face, only earning him another glare from Stigmata.

“Thank you, little rat” she hissed through gritted teeth “but we have somewhere to be now…”

With that, Stigmata walked off in the direction of where the wiggly burrows were, not even bothering to wait on Malroth who sighed deeply and followed after the pissed off girl. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Stigmata pissed off before so he wasn’t sure how to handle the situation; not even back on the island when Lulu was barking all those orders did Stigmata seem the least bit upset.

“Hey Stig, you mad at me?” He asked slowly.

The apprentice builder shot him another glare but the glare vanished as soon as it had come when she saw the puppy eyes he was giving her. Stigmata giggled, causing Malroth’s eyes to light up in glee, as the two entered a forest.

“No, I’m not mad Mal” she reassured, “I just wish you would listen to me more.”

“I do listen to you!” He protested before pulling out his Oaken Club with a huff “that stupid rat just really rubbed me the wrong way...like that Boney guy!!”

“Bonanzo.”

“Same thing” Malroth clarified “why, if he was here right now I’d give him a good smack just like this!!”

Malroth swung his Oaken Club hard and it connected with a Dracky that had unknowingly been flying close to Stigmata’s head, sending the poor thing flying off and slamming hard into a tree, obviously dead. Stigmata and Malroth both exchanged a look as a multitude of Dracky’s came out from the tree and headed towards the duo, ready to avenge their fallen comrade.

“I can’t catch a break with you, Mal,” The apprentice builder said with a smile, pulling out her Cypress Stick as Malroth smirked in glee and raced towards the Dracky.

Chapter Text

Malroth swung his Oaken Club and sent the last Dracky tumbling to the ground as Stigmata watched him silently, an idea already forming in her mind.

The apprentice builder took out her book from her backpack and began writing in it happily as Malroth turned and looked at her curiously. He ran over and watched as the violet haired builder continued to write in her book before putting it away with a satisfied giggle, her dopey smile as prominent as ever.

“Hey Stig, did you just invent something right now?” He questioned.

“I sure did, Mal!” She said happily “I was watching the way you handled those Dracky, and I got a new idea for a weapon!! A stone sword, it’ll be a lot more helpful than this Cypress Stick and I could fight ten times better!!”

“Ha! That’s great!” Malroth agreed, placing his hands on his hips “I better keep fighting then--I can’t wait to see what kind of wild weapon you’ll dream up next! If you do come up with any new recipes for arms and armor, you might be better off using one of those anvil things to make it, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re right, Mal” she agreed “now let’s keep moving! I feel like we’re getting closer to the burrow now!”

Malroth nodded and the duo continued moving through the forest; Malroth used his Oaken Club to take down any Dracky that got close to the apprentice builder, as Stigmata collected sticks and stones before tossing them in the bag Rosie had given her. After what seemed like another half hour, the two finally arrived at the Burrows and peeked inside to see it was pitch dark inside and the passage to get inside was rather steep.

“Reckon we can climb down that…?” Malroth said with a tilt of his head.

Stigmata hummed in response and carefully stepped inside the steep entrance of the burrow. Her weight held there and she smiled at the destructive boy.

“Looks safe to m--”

Before she could finish her sentence, the ground underneath her started sliding and she yelped before falling on her butt and sliding into the burrow. Malroth’s eyes widened and he jumped into the burrow after the apprentice builder before grabbing her by the waist then quickly grabbing onto a vine that was growing on the side of the burrow. Stigmata grunted in pain at the force of the sudden stop and exhaled shakily as she stared down into the burrow; despite it being somewhat underground, it was bright in the underground burrow, enough so for Stigmata to see a gangle of monsters at the bottom of the burrow surrounding a giant worm.

“You need to be more careful!!” Malroth hissed, setting the girl down carefully as he let go of the vine and stood beside her, “you could have--!”

“Malroth!” She whispered, “look…”

The destructive boy halted his rant and looked to see the gangle of monsters surrounding the giant worm as well. The duo gave one another a look then nodded and crouched down to hide slightly, listening in on the conversation that was taking place. One of the skeletons stepped forward and brandished his sword threateningly as the wiggly reared back slightly in obvious fear.

“Keh, heh, heh!” The skeleton cackled “we’ve finally found you, spineless worm! We heard you’ve been making clean earth...and you know what the penalty for making things is around here!”

“I an’t done nothing wrong!” The wiggly exclaimed, “It an’t my fault the soil comes out cleaner than it goes in, is it?!”

“If you truly believed in our cause, you’d immediately destroy anything you made!” The skeleton remarked, “but you didn’t-and now you must be punished!!”

The skeleton raised his sword high in the air ready to strike the poor wiggly down, as Stigmata quickly came out of hiding and waved her hand in the air; as though she was saying hello to the monsters. A Gremlin turned towards the violet haired builder and let out a sound of surprise as the other monsters stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Malroth rolled his eyes and stood beside the apprentice builder, one hand already on his Oaken Club in case a fight broke out.

“What do you think you’re looking at, humanth?” The Gremlin asked in surprise, “Can’t you thee we’re hard at work purging dthidenth here?”

“The fuck is a... dthidenth ?” Malroth mocked.

Stigmata nudged Malroth hard as the Gremlin spoke again; “Well don’t just thtand there! Help uth! Unleth you oppothe the Children of Hargon, in which cathe...we’d be more than happy to purge you too!!”

“Oh, criminy!” The wiggly exclaimed “You ‘ave to ‘elp me, ‘umans! Please!!”

Malroth and Stigmata exchanged a look with one another then shrugged as the monsters all sweatdropped at their actions. They already knew they would have to help the wiggly out of this situation if they wanted that clean soil for Furrowfield farm, but there was no doubt that fighting all these Children of Hargon supporters would be difficult for Stigmata since all she had was a silly old stick (which was on the verge of breaking she feared).

“Looks like we’ve got to pick a side, Stigmata,” Malroth said taking out his club “what do you think? Should we side with the monsters or the...monster?”

All the monsters, excluding the wiggly, exclaimed in shock and anger as the skeleton pointed his sword at Malroth.

“The fact that you even have to think about it is proof enough that you haven’t a faithful bone in your body! The Children of Hargon do not tolerate such fair-weather followers!!”

The monsters charged at the duo and Malroth smirked happily before racing forward and attacking the first monster he made contact with. Stigmata shook her head and followed shortly after as she swatted the Gremlin hard with her Cypress, sending the creature flying into one of the badboons that stood nearby. Malroth made short work of the skeleton that had previously been threatening the wiggly before turning his attention to the badboons. The closest one charged at Malroth and the destructive boy merely responded by slamming his Oaken Club into the monster’s face then jumping on its back and beating it repeatedly until the thing fell to the ground.

The other badboon, enraged by Malroth’s actions, decided to take its anger out on the apprentice builder and slammed its weight into her completely. Stigmata groaned loudly in pain and was flung back before slamming into the wall of the underground burrow and slumping to the floor in pain; she certainly had underestimated just how strong these badboons could be. When she had fought off the badboons with Malroth before, it seemed like a piece of cake; now actually getting slammed by one hurt like hell.

“Stigmata!!” Malroth yelled in concern.

The remaining monsters laughed at Malroth’s yells as the destructive boy turned towards them all with a deadly glare.

“You’ll pay for that…”

Malroth continued to attack the last of the Children of Hargon supporters, while the violet haired builder remained on the ground. She was sure nothing was broken and she could move all of her limbs freely, but it hurt immensely to do so, so she remained on the ground and let Malroth handle the fighting for now. It didn’t take long at all, the destructive boy finished off the last enemy with a well-placed slam of his Oaken Club then within seconds he was kneeling on the ground beside the apprentice builder, a worried and anger look flaring in his dark red eyes.

“Stigmata, are you ok?!” 

He tried to pull the violet haired builder to her feet but she yelped loudly in pain from the sudden movement so he slowly released her back to the ground.

“That badboon really knew how to put up a fight” Stigmata giggled, not noticing the anger that increased more and more in her partner’s eyes “I didn’t think that he would--”

“I told you to leave all the fighting to me!!!”

Stigmata stopped what she was going to say and stared at Malroth to see that he was glaring at her , and not the ground this time. She blinked slowly and watched as Malroth scoffed angrily and put his club away quickly before he did something with it he might regret. It irritated him how she was taking this so casually; nothing was broken (thank the Goddess) but his dear friend had gotten hurt and he was helpless to keep it from happening. Then for her to brush it off so casually as nothing…

“I told you when we became partners, didn’t I?!” He snapped, “I said, leave all the fighting to me and YOU do the building!”

“You don’t seriously think I’d let you fight alone…” Stigmata questioned.

“Of course I do!!” He retaliated “I--!”

Stigmata grabbed Malroth by his jacket and pulled the destructive boy closer before hugging him gently, shutting him up instantly. Malroth’s eyes went wide in confusion before returning to their normal size, not at all sure what the apprentice builder was doing to him; it was warm though. It felt...nice, having her wrap her arms around him like this. The destructive boy slowly wrapped his arms around her as well and was even more content when he realized the warmness increased. This was even better than a high five, he had to admit.

“We’re partners, Malroth,” the apprentice builder said softly, pulling out of the hug much to the boy’s disappointment “there’s no way I’d ever let you fight alone. We’re in this together, through and through. Ok?”

She held up her hand, a soft smile gracing her face, as the destructive boy sighed in defeat than slapped his hand against hers. He had to admit his earlier anger had disappeared already once the apprentice builder started talking, it was very difficult to stay mad at her for too long. Stigmata slowly forced herself to stand and leaned against Malroth for support as he helped her walk over to the wiggly who watched the duo happily.

“Geddon!!” The monster exclaimed once they were close enough “‘Ee certainly made short work of them ‘orrid beasts what was ‘arassin’ me! Thankee kindly!!” 

“Don’t mention it!” Stigmata beamed as Malroth tried to make sense of what the beast just said.

“But ‘oo are ‘ee anyway?” The wiggly questioned “and what’re ‘ee doin’ all the way out ‘ere?”

“My name is Stigmata!” She introduced “and this is my best friend, Malroth! I’m an apprentice builder from Cantlin and I’m here on Furrowfield to help out all the farmers and restore this place to its former glory!”

“A builder, ‘ee say?” The wiggly remarked, “and you’re rebuilding the old farm--Deitree and all? And you’re looking for someone w’o can conjure up earth out of nothing?! I sensed that big old tree was back, so I did! I bin wrigglin’ all over the place lookin’ for it, only to ‘ave me life saved by the very maid as planted it?! Must be fate…”

“You’re the one who can clean up our soil?” Stigmata asked hopefully.

“T’at is right!” the wiggly exclaimed, “we’re an ancient tribe with the power to purify earth...or at least we were, I’m the only one left now.”

“This gross, slimy thing is going to clean up our soil?!” Malroth laughed “I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when we get back with a giant worm in tow!”

“He is bigger than I expected,” Stigmata said, looking the wiggly up and down “but nonetheless! He’ll be a big help to our soil problem!! What’s your name, wiggly?”

“Name’s Wrigley,” the giant worm said, “if we could get back to your farm before any more of them Children of ‘Argon turn up, that’d be luvverly.”

Stigmata nodded then turned towards Malroth; “I still feel a bit banged up from that tackle so I hope you don’t mind if I depend on you more than usual for our trip back!”

“What kind of question is that?!” Malroth said, rolling his eyes and taking out his Club “I said I would protect you, Stig. Now let’s get going!”

Stigmata nodded happily and the duo left the burrow with Wrigley following them from underground.

…

“Blimmin’ ‘eck!! It’s a monster!!”

The people of Furrowfield all screamed in terror and quickly ducked for cover when they saw Wrigley appear in the center of the town beside the Deitree. Stigmata sweatdropped and watched as Malroth laughed at Perry and tried to further frighten the boy by threateningly to let Wrigley eat him.

“Dribbling drackles-you’re right!” Bonanzo exclaimed as if he just now noticed the giant worm “We are under attack from a vicious wiggly! Well, don’t just stand there, Malroth--beat it to within an inch of its life!!”

“Huh? Why me, do it yourself old man!!”

“That will not be necessary,” Pastor Al said, stepping forward to stop all the commotion “Unless I am mistaken, this wiggly is a descendant of the tribe that kept the soil of Furrowfield clean and healthy for generations. Hear me, wiggly! From this day forth, you are to aid us in building new fields! Fail to do so, and we will have no further need to keep you alive…”

“You don’t have to threaten him, Pastor” Stigmata giggled “he already promised to help us out, right Wrigley?”

“Right…” Wrigley said cautiously, slowly inching away from Pastor Al.

“This is a dream come true!!” Rosie exclaimed in glee, practically jumping for joy “we’ll have loads more clean soil to work with now! Thanks so much for telling us about the wiggly, Britney!!”

“Nah” Britney scoffed “I was just passing on some rumor I heard, it was Stigmata who did all the legwork, you know?”

Stigmata’s face warmed in happiness and her usual dopey smile stretched widely across her face as Malroth crossed his arms and huffed. The apprentice builder seemed so happy with any compliment she received from the people here on Furrowfield but Malroth couldn’t help but feel like they didn’t extend enough credit towards her. After everything she had done here, they still seemed ungrateful and it ticked him off. Rosie showed Wrigley over to where the fields were and Stigmata followed excitedly, wanting to see how he would convert the spoiled soil.

In a matter of seconds, Wrigley easily went underground and began eating all of the spoiled soil around the crops before carefully throwing it back up (which was rather disgusting to watch) but as soon as he did the soil that came out was fresh and clean.

“I-I can’t believe it!” Rosie said, nearly tripped backward on her own feet out of shock “Look at all this healthy earth!!”

Tears clouded the cyan-haired farmer’s eyes and she began crying as Perry, Bonanzo, and Malroth ran over to see what all the fuss was about. 

“Thank you, Wrigley! I’m so SO happy!! I’ve never seen so much lovely, soft soil in my life!” Rosie choked out between sobs.

“Ever since the spoilspores appeared, I thought our island was doomed…” Bonanzo confessed, tears streaming from his eyes “Even when we DID find clean soil, anything we planted in it just withered and died!”

Perry began sobbing just as hard as Rosie was and managed to croak out a sentence of his own; “We’ve spent so long scrapin’ together a few small patches of arable earth, and now we’ve got more than we know what to do with! I’m as ‘appy right now as I’ve ever bin!!”

“What the hell is wrong with you guys…?” Malroth asked in slight disgust, looking around at all the crying farmers “you’re crying over dirt...literal fucking dirt.”

“Don’t be mean, Mal!” The apprentice builder scolded, gently hitting her friend’s shoulder “they’re just happy! They love farming after all so to see this much fresh soil is like a dream come true to them!”

“I still don’t get how you cry over dirt though…”

Stigmata rolled her eyes then walked off to survey the farm the rest of the farmland they had. Now that Wrigley was on board, all of this spoiled soil could be converted into fresh dirt which was perfect for the numerous crops they were sure to find. The apprentice builder just had to figure out some way to manage the space between the crops and the buildings so things didn’t get too crowded around here.

The sound of the freshly produced dirt being tilled snapped Stigmata from her senses and she smiles brightly before going over to the anvil and pulling out her notebook. She carefully set the book on the anvil and flipped to the page where she had scribbled down the blueprint for the stone sword. Once she found it, the apprentice builder pulled some stone from her bag and set it on the anvil before taking out her hammer and starting to beat it into shape according to the blueprint; watching Malroth fight had inspired her more than she thought it would when it came to building things, weapons mostly. Maybe it was the way he fought or maybe it was the way he swung his weapon, she wasn’t all too sure what the reason was but she hoped one day she could let Malroth know that she was glad to be his partner.

“Hey Stigmata,” Britney said, strutting over curiously “what are you making? It looks totally rad!”

Stigmata held up the finished stone sword proudly before giving it to Britney; “stone swords! I figured you and I would fight loads better if we had swords instead of these silly old Cypress Sticks, besides, mine is on its last legs anyway…”

Britney’s eyes began shining in joy and she gave the sword a few practice swings before squealing in glee and admiring the weapon more.

“Hehe~! Thanks, Stigmata!” She exclaimed, “this sword is sick!”

“It’s sick…?” the apprentice builder questioned worriedly “I didn’t know swords could get sick, I’ll make you another one!”

“No” Britney sweatdropped “this one is fine. Any time you invent a new weapon you should totally whack some up and give them to anyone who can swing them! Back in the day, I would have been hyped for all the things I could smash with this sword, but I don’t really believe in the Children and their ‘Master of Destruction’ anymore!” 

“The Master of Destruction?” Malroth questioned, going over to the two girls “Whos that supposed to be? Does he have a name?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a guy like that before” Stigmata added “Hargon I’ve heard of, obviously, but none of you mentioned this Master of Destruction. What’s his name?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Britney replied “High-key, I bet the only person who knows his name is almighty Hargon himself! Pfft...listen to me ‘Almighty Hargon’ I’m so done with him! Let’s start the Children of Stigmata instead-- a brilliant band of building buds!!”

Stigmata’s face warmed from the praise and she hummed softly before rubbing at her cheeks as Britney and Malroth both laughed at the apprentice builder’s embarrassment. The two raised their fist in the air and began chanting her name eagerly to further enhance the girl’s embarrassment and she had to admit...it was working. Thankfully, Rosie came over, saving Stigmata from her embarrassment, as a wide smile graced her face.

“Now we can make as many fields as we want, Stigmata!” She began cheerfully “but I’ve been thinking and that won’t help us if we don’t have the seeds to plant in them. You can’t call this place a farm without crops!”

“I agree with you on that, Rosie” Stigmata said “we have wheat and cabbages so far but we’re gonna need a lot more types of crops too if we want to restore Furrowfield to its former glory. Where should we start?”

“Well,” Rosie said, “Britney told me about the ruins of an old farm somewhere to the north-west, on the other side of the mountains. Sounds like just the place to find more seeds, right? I’ll mark it on your map for you and you can head there and see what you find!”

“Ok! Malroth and I will head there right n--!”

“Tomorrow.”

The two girls looked and watched as Malroth went over to them, a disapproving frown on his face and his red eyes narrowed in slight annoyance.

“We’re going tomorrow.” He repeated, “you can leave now, Rosie.”

The cyan-haired farmer nodded, sensing Malroth’s sudden irritation, and quickly walked off before she could get caught up in the middle of some sort of argument. The apprentice builder turned towards her partner in disbelief and placed her hands on her hips; it was still rather bright outside so if they made haste she was sure they’d have plenty of time to examine these farm ruins. If there was one thing she hated it was wasting precious time.

“What gives, Mal?” She pouted “we have plenty of time to go check out those ruins, why would we wait until tomorrow?”

“Because YOU seem to have forgotten but earlier you got tackled hard by one of those badboons!” Malroth explained “you don’t need to be doing any more exploring until you rest up a bit. You can try and fool everyone else and say you’re fine but I know better! We leave tomorrow.”

With that, the destructive boy walked off and went into one of the huts as Stigmata watched him. She had to admit, even though he was rather violent and rash with most of the decisions he made…

She was glad to have a friend like him.

Chapter Text

The next day rolled around sooner than expected and much to Malroth’s annoyance, the apprentice builder pulled him from his slumber and headed off in the direction of the abandoned farm Rosie had mentioned. They went through multiple twists and turns of the mountain before finally coming to find the farm mentioned, and upon arrival, Stigmata saw a familiar boy with purple hair violently hacking at a wooden fence with his hoe.

“What is this fiendish farmyard still doing here?!” The boy huffed in agitation “don’t worry!! I’ll have the whole blasted thing torn apart in no time!!”

“Clayton…?” The apprentice builder said slowly, a bright smile etching across her face.

Clayton turned around and looked at Stigmata then smiled in shock and happiness. The two ran towards one another and embraced in a warm heartfelt hug as Malroth watched in confusion, one hand already inching towards his Oaken Club.

“You know this guy, Stigmata?!” He questioned.

The apprentice builder released Clayton slowly then looked at Malroth before nodding happily; “yeah! This is my cousin, Clayton!! He and his family moved to Furrowfield when I was about six so it’s been years since I last saw him!!”

“And good to see you it is, dear cousin!!” Clayton added before motioning to the field behind him “I was just making short work of this field, and now I have someone to help me!!”

“Yeah…” Stigmata began slowly with a shy grin “about that...you see I heard there was an old farm around here and I was hoping I could find some seeds to take back!”

Clayton’s face blanked suddenly and he looked the apprentice builder up and down, a frown appearing on his face. Just from the look alone, Stigmata knew she wasn’t going to get any help out of him in the way of seeds. The Children of Hargon have done a number on all of the people here in Furrowfield, they seem terrified or reluctant to oppose them in any way. Clayton grabbed his hoe once again and pointed it as Stigmata accusingly.

“Well, I expect this is the farm you’re looking for!” He said hysterically “Don’t worry!! I’ll have it completely obliterated soon, as for the seeds, I have some...but I won’t give them to you!!”

“What?!” Malroth growled, advancing towards the violet-haired farmer only for Stigmata to hold him back “she’s your damn cousin!! You’re not even going to help her out?!?” 

Clayton cowered slightly from Malroth’s harsh tone then gulped nervously and said “T-There’s no nobler goal in life than wrecking ruin, you know?! To defy the Children of Hargon is certain death and if my dear cousin had any sense in that brain of hers she would stop this pointless search for seeds!! It will only end in failure!”

“Have the Children of Hargon really scared you this much, Clayton?” Stigmata asked sadly.

“Scared me?!” He exclaimed “Heavens no!! They have inspired me for the better! It is a good thing this place doesn’t have one of those accursed scarecrows in it!! Those infernal poppets have some sort of power over me--just once glance and I can’t resist tilling the soil around it!! Confound my farmer’s blood!!!”

Malroth and Stigmata exchanged a look with one another then nodded in agreement, the same idea formulating in their heads. While the last thing she wanted to do was scare her dear cousin, she also needed those seeds more than anything. If he wasn’t going to give them up willingly, then she had to be the one to give him a little push. The apprentice builder reached her hand into the bag Rosie gave her and pulled out a spare scarecrow as Clayton looked her up and down cautiously, his eyes narrowing.

“Dear cousin…” he began, watching her go to the middle of the field “what’s that…?”

“Oh, I think you know what it is, Clayton!” She snapped, puffing out her chest in an attempt to act tough “I need those seeds...one way or another!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Clayton yelled in fear, starting to shake.

“Hand over the seeds!!”

“I won’t!”

Stigmata raised an eyebrow then planted the scarecrow down firmly in the middle of the field. Clayton’s eyes widened in disbelief and he slowly picked up his hoe once more, as if he was no longer in control of his actions.

“WHA--?! WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME?!”

In a flash, Malroth and Stigmata watched as Clayton zipped around the field, tilling every piece of clean soil he could find with such efficiency and speed it was astonishing. Malroth laughed loudly in amusement and clutched his aching sides, pointing at Clayton and making fun of the farmer as Stigmata simply watched in awe. She was proud of the speediness in which her cousin could till a field. He would be a wonderful addition to Furrowfield farm no doubt.

After a few minutes, the violet-haired farmer puffed and panted in exhaustion before going back over to the duo and dropping his hoe.

“It’s just as I feared…” he panted out “one glance at a scarecrow...and I can’t stop myself...from tilling the earth around it…!”

“Will you give up the seeds now?!” Stigmata smiled brightly, crossing her arms happily to try and seem tough once more.

“I would listen to her if I were you” Malroth laughed “that smile of hers is deadly~”

“So deadly~!”

Clayton’s eyes widened and he quickly looked away before clasping his hands together tightly and beginning to pray; “O Master of Destruction, hear my prayer! I have sullied my hands with the stain of creation, and my dear cousin has been tainted with false hope!! I beg your forgiveness!! It is only by your destructive grace that the field was not enclosed with wooden fencing as well!”

Malroth and Stigmata exchanged another glance and the apprentice builder slipped on her gloves before going over to a spare encasing of wooden fencing and picking it up. Clayton halted his prayer and watched in fear as she began to repair the wooden fencing around the field.

“STIGMATA!!” He screamed, “STOP THIS HERESY!!”

“GIVE ME THE SEEDS!!”

“NO!! STOP THIS!!”

She repaired the wooden fencing completely and Clayton let out another scream of despair before running to and fro in the field again, tilling away at the fresh soil. At this point, Malroth had completely fallen to the ground from his excessive laughter and he found it hard to catch a breath in between laughs as he choked for air, causing the violet-haired builder to quickly rush to his aid.

After a few moments of helping Malroth remember how to breathe and trying to calm Clayton’s hysterical screaming, the three of them laid on the muddy ground together, staring up at the sky silently. Stigmata wedged her notebook out from its holder and jotted down the recipe for wooden fencing and a wooden gate before carefully putting the book away, a dopey smile gracing her face.

“Here…” Clayton said weakly, throwing a pouch of seeds onto the apprentice builder’s chest “take them, you devil…”

“Thank you, dear cousin, ~”

“This guy’s hilarious!” Malroth chuckled, his fangs showing slightly “let’s take him back to the farm and turn him into a builder!”

“A builder?!” Clayton exclaimed, “only a fool would do that!!”

Malroth took out his Oaken Club and set it on his lap, causing Clayton to glance at it cautiously.

“Look,” the destructive boy threatened “we can do this the easy way, or the fun way. You’re going to help Stigmata out whether you like it or not!”

“D-Dear cousin,” Clayton said, inching away from Malroth “where on Earth did you find this guy?!”

“Malroth?” Stigmata asked, a soft smile appearing on her face “oh we met on an island, isn’t he the best?!”

Clayton watched a small Dracky fly over and try to attack the trio, only for Malroth to grab the thing by its tail and stand up before swatting it like a baseball, watching it sail over the mountain and out of sight.

“Yes...the best…”

…

“Unbelievable!” Clayton exclaimed, looking around Furrowfield farm in awe “Look at this farm--these buildings, those fields...this tree!! Surely such sinners are beyond redemption!”

Pastor Al came over to see what all the fuss was about and Clayton nearly cried for joy upon seeing the Shaman.

“R-Reverend! This woman is a builder, my dear cousin!! Redeem her of her sins and do away with this accursed farm at once!” Clayton demanded.

“He ain’t doing away with shit” Malroth muttered only to receive a hard nudge from the apprentice builder.

“Clayton,” Pastor Al said calmly “you could not have arrived at a better time, my disciple. You must work the fields here and till the soil as well as water the crops with neither rest nor respite.”

Clayton’s eyes widened in shock and he sulked sadly beside the Deitree as everyone came over to greet the violet-haired farmer, eager to meet one of Stigmata’s family members. Rosie went over to the apprentice builder and smiled brightly before pulling the girl into a warm hug, her usual greeting when she returned from a mission.

“Good job finding those seeds, Stigmata!” Rosie praised “and you found Clayton too, it’s no surprise he’s your cousin! You’re amazing at building things and he’s amazing at farming; your whole family is amazing, isn’t it?! Besides that, I’ve been thinking while you were gone and we’ve been doing exactly as the pastor says. We’ve got nice, big fields and the Deitree’s bigger but...I can’t help but feel like there’s more to it, you know?”

“I know what you mean, Rosie” Stigmata agreed “the Deitree may be growing but there’s still a lot we need to do before we can consider Furrowfield to be back to its former glory. But don’t you worry! I promised to help you every step of the way and that’s exactly what I’m going to do!”

“As determined as always, my girl!!” Bonanzo said haughtily, going over to the two girls with a smile “I see improvements in my village are proceeding apace, and your skills as a builder are improving likewise!! Wonderful work!”

“ Your village…?” Rosie muttered.

“Thank you, Bonanzo” Stigmata blushed happily, glad her skills were beginning to get more appreciated by everyone.

Malroth, however, crossed his arms and looked at the older man up and down in annoyance. He could tell just from the way he bounded up to the apprentice builder that he needed a favor, and it irked him to the core. Stigmata was always happy to provide everyone with what they needed, but he wished she would take some time for herself sometimes instead of him having to remind her constantly to take a break.

“Well onto my point,” Bonanzo said sheepishly, confirming Malroth’s suspicions “as builder-in-chief, it falls to you, young lady, to inspire us by ringing that bell once more!”

“Ring the bell again?” Stigmata hummed “I can do that! I’ll need to pick up some more gratitude energy from everyone first, but I’ll make sure it gets done!!”

Bonanzo thanked the violet-haired builder once more and as soon as he walked off, Clayton took his place, whining loudly in anguish and practically sobbing in front of her. Rosie sweatdropped and watched the pitiful display as Malroth rolled his eyes.

“You drag me here against my will, force me to toil the fields, and then build things of such sin?!” He exclaimed, “can’t you see this is living hell for me, dear cousin?!”

“I guess I can see that…” Stigmata answered with a giggle “but to me, it looked like you were having fun tilling the fields with Perry!”

“I was watching that too!” Rosie stated “you’re amazing at that, Clayton! I’d better go and pitch in my part too!”

Clayton watched in horror as Rosie picked up a hoe from the ground then ran over to the fields with Perry, helping him tend to the cabbages and wheat as happiness and thankfulness gratitude popped off of them left and right. The violet-haired farmer quickly turned his attention back to his cousin and crossed his arms.

“What do you mean I looked like I was having fun?!” He snapped “Speak for yourself you...you sinful builder!! AS A MATTER OF FACT! Since you just LOVE building so much, why don’t you go ahead and build us a barn?! You say this is a farm, yet you don’t even have a barn to keep supplies in?! Shame, dear cousin, shame!!”

Stigmata gasped in shock and nodded furiously; “you’re right, Clayton! I’ll work on that right now!!”

Malroth sweatdropped and watched as Clayton began telling the apprentice builder what to put into the barn and the size he wanted it. For someone that was a supposed devout follower of the Children of Hargon, he sure did ask for a lot. Clayton stormed off after barking his orders and before Stigmata could even take a step, Perry and Wrigley went over as well.

“Stigmata!” Perry smiled “can I borrow ya, for a minute ‘ere?”

“Of course!”

“I need your ‘elp ov’r ‘ere too!!” Wrigley exclaimed happily.

“I’ll be there in a jiffy!”

Malroth watched silently as Stigmata listened to both Wrigley and Perry’s request before getting to work on all the tasks she had been set. She first made Clayton’s barn and he watched her plop down block after block of softwood before sprinting to the crafting table and making a door. She placed the door firmly in place then went to the crafting table once more and began making numerous items: a chest, some farming tools, a haystack, torches, etc.

One she was done, she set all of the items inside the barn neatly and the base of it began glowing a soft green, signifying the barn was completed. The apprentice builder then went over to the cabbage field and began harvesting as many as possible before placing them inside the chest she had stowed in the barn. As she did that, everyone on the farm began dropping gratitude points so she swooped them up quickly then took out two strange green balls that smelt of mildew and wheat.

“What the hell is that?” Malroth questioned.

“Worm food!” Stigmata replied excitedly “Wrigley gave them to me, he said with these I just set them down wherever I want and he’ll pop up there and replace the surrounding area with green grass! Isn’t that cool?!”

“I guess” the destructive boy shrugged “but where are you going to put it? You still need to leave room for any other things you want to build, you don’t want to build on top of the pretty grass.”

She hummed in deep thought and looked around the farm slowly, debating on where to put the worm food at. After some thought, she decided to place the worm food in front of the huts where they all slept as Wrigley got to work converting it to fresh greenery, causing everyone to run over, dropping thankfulness and happiness gratitude which the apprentice builder quickly swooped up.

“Not bad, Wrigley!” Malroth said with a happy smirk “we came here to work out how to make the Isle of Awakening a little greener, and it looks like we’ve found our answer!!”

“Isle of Awakening…” Stigmata questioned, giving her partner a confused look.

Malroth’s ears turned a light pink in embarrassment and he scoffed before rubbing his neck slightly.

“Well I was tired of just calling it the island...you know?” He replied quietly “The Isle of Awakening sounded cool because...well...it’s the place where we fucking woke up, isn’t it?!”

Stigmata hummed softly then nodded in agreement. The Isle of Awakening was a far better name then the Empire of Evisceration or Lulutopia, but the apprentice builder didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings so she let them call it whatever they wanted. The violet-haired builder’s hammer began glowing a soft golden color again and she smiled before pulling it out and marching over to the Builder’s Bell, the residents of Furrowfield hot on her heels.

“Yes!!” Rosie cheered “ring the bell and inspire us, Stigmata!!”

“Give it a good ol’ wallop!” Perry agreed.

“Will do~!”

Taking a small step back to prepare herself, the builder raised her hammer as high as it would go then slammed it hard against the bell. Just as it had done last time, a pink and green glow spread throughout the town of Furrowfield and everyone cheered loudly in delight as Stigmata hastily scribbled down the new recipes that came to mind. To make the matter better, the ringing of the bell brought in older resident farmers of Furrowfield who agreed to stay and help with the crops, allowing them to till and plant seeds even faster than before.

“You know…” Malroth said slowly as he approached the apprentice builder “you inspire everyone you come across, Stig.”

Stigmata smiled softly; “that’s what a good builder should do, Mal! Being able to inspire everyone and help out the residents of Furrowfield is like a dream come true! I may not be the Legendary Builder...but at the rate I’m going now, it’s only a matter of time before I better myself!”

Malroth stared at the violet-haired builder before him and felt an inexplicable warm feeling within his chest, for her to say such things about her dreams always interest him for some reason. Just seeing that dopey grin that etched across her face and watching her two pigtails swing around as she built, it made him...happy. A sudden flash of red appeared in front of the duo and Stigmata looked in surprise to see a ball of love gratitude spring from Malroth and land on the ground in front of her.

“What the hell?!” He exclaimed, taking out his Oaken Club “What is that thing?!”

The apprentice builder knelt down and picked up the glowing red heart and held it in her hands gently, feeling the hum of energy it emitted and enjoying the warm sensation it gave her. Unlike everyone else’s energy, when she held Malroth’s, his didn’t absorb into her body. Instead, it stayed in her hands like a true physical object, so she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it.

“You dropped gratitude, Mal” she explained softly, looking up at the male before her “love gratitude…”

“Well,” he replied, his cheeks flushing a very faint pink “it looks useless! Just toss it or something if you can’t absorb it!”

With that, the destructive boy stormed off and started killing slimes that milled around to get his mind off of what just happened. Stigmata stared at the love gratitude in her hands for a long time then gently placed it in her bag. While it did seem useless for the time being, she couldn’t bring herself to throw out something Malroth had dropped; so she’d find some purpose for it back at the Isle of Awakening.

‘Did he drop that because of me…?’

The thought alone caused a stirring sensation in her stomach and her face felt warm. It wasn’t the first time he had dropped gratitude. Just like the others, Malroth would only rarely drop happiness gratitude and she would pick it up and absorb it just as she did with the others; however this time around she couldn’t absorb this one, and this WAS the first time he has dropped love gratitude.

“Hey, Stigmata!! Can you come help me with this?!”

The apprentice builder snapped out of her thoughts and yelled a quick response before running over to see who needed help. She could worry about this later, this farm isn’t going to build itself!

Chapter Text

“So you mean to tell me!” Malroth grunted, killing another Mollusk “that he’s your cousin! But you can’t remember a single memory with the guy?!”

“Well, yeah” Stigmata replied, dodging the monster’s tongue attack and using her stone sword to quickly stab it “as I said, it’s been years since I last saw him. But I’m sure we’re cousins because we look so much alike!!”

Malroth went over to Stigmata after they had defeated the monsters and placed a hand on his hip, giving the apprentice builder a confused and slightly agitated look. She was almost positive Clayton was her cousin, earlier, Rosie had asked the two to tell her some fond memories they had together, and surprisingly neither Stigmata nor Clayton could think of anything that tied the two together. However the apprentice builder just had a feeling in the back of her mind that he was her cousin, so she went with it and he seemed to agree. If they thought they were cousins, then that surely had to mean they were; that thought couldn’t have just sprung up out of anywhere.

“I just think something’s fishy about it” Malroth sighed “sure, you two look alike, and you claim you’re cousins. But neither of you have any memories of each other and you didn’t even know Furrowfield existed until recently! Lulu is the one who mentioned it to us!”

“You have a point Mal, but why would I lie about Clayton being my cousin?!” Stigmata retaliated “it doesn’t make sense! It’s like my brain is all funny…”

The duo thought this over for a while and Malroth shook his head violently before dismissing the thought completely.

“Well!” He exclaimed “after defeating all those monsters, I feel even stronger than before! You don’t seem quite so pumped though, Stig...I’m starting to get a bit worried about you. That settles it, I’ll just have to think of a trick a weakling like you can use!”

“Hey!” The apprentice builder pouted “I’m not weak! I can hold my own in a fight just as well as you can, if not better!”

“Yeah right!” Malroth exclaimed, going over to her and standing behind her “let’s try this! Start by charging up your power into your sword arm!”

Malroth grabbed Stigmata’s arm that was holding the sword and helped the girl get into position, correcting her foot stance all the while. She listened closely and drew her sword back as instructed, putting one foot in front of the other in the stance in which he showed her.

“Yeah that’s it,” Malroth said once her stance was perfect “now let it all out in one giant swing! Really go for it!!”

Stigmata nodded in understanding then swung around as hard as possible, swinging her sword with her as it sliced through the air in one quick and easy motion.

“Yeah, you did it! Not bad Stig, not bad at all!” He praised as the apprentice builder smiled brightly “remember to always get into the proper stance to build-up power, then once it’s all charged up let it go and unleash hell on whoever tries to stop you!”

A loud scream suddenly pierced the air and the duo exchanged a glance with one another before nodding and running back to the farm to see what the problem was. Upon arrival, Stigmata saw everyone crowded around the Deitree and Rosie was cheering in delight; the Deitree, Stigmata noticed, had grown a lot taller and had even more leaves than before on it as the same green and blue glow circled it, letting off a strong feeling of magic throughout the entire farm.

“Hey!” Malroth yelled, snapping everyone’s attention towards him “who the hell screamed?!”

“Rosie did, fam!” Britney said happily, “but we’re not in danger, chill out! She just got excited because of the Deitree, it’s like totally lit!!”

Malroth growled quietly and put his Oaken Club away as Rosie ran over to the apprentice builder and grabbed her hands firmly in her own; a bright smile gracing her face.

“The Deitree is looking stronger than ever Stigmata!!” She exclaimed, “and not only that, but we’ve completed all of the Pastor's task! So that means we’re on the next step to saving Furrowfield already!!”

“You have rebuilt Furrowfield’s fields and produced a bountiful harvest.” Pastor Al confirmed, going over to the two girls “The earth itself has been imbued with the power of growth. It is this that has given strength to the Deitree. In turn, the great tree will extend Her blessings to your farm, protecting the fruits of your labor with Her holy power.”

“So the tree powers Furrowfield as we power the tree!” Rosie beamed “that’s amazing!”

Everyone cheered and began celebrating as Pastor Al scoffed and raised his staff, the end of it glowing a deadly red.

“But you have outlived your usefulness as of now!!”

Everyone gasped.

“I jest…”

Stigmata sweatdropped and Malroth reluctantly put his Oaken Club away once more as Pastor Al spoke; “Our work is not done yet. After all, there is still more we must do to see the Deitree attain Her true form. For now, let us allow a day for rest and relaxation, the next plans will be for tomorrow’s worries.”

Everyone nodded and walked off to go relax as Stigmata stared up at the Deitree in deep thought. She still found it hard to believe that she went from a measly apprentice builder in Cantlin, to a sign of hope here in Furrowfield; not to mention she has already made many amazing friends along the way. The apprentice builder reached into her bag and pulled out some wood and stone before running over to the anvil, a recipe from earlier forming in her mind. The recipe had originally come to mind when Malroth was showing her that fighting technique earlier, so she figured he would appreciate this gift. Within a few moments of hammering and crafting, the weapon was complete and she looked around for the destructive boy eagerly before presenting the stone ax to him.

“Here you go, Mal~!”

Malroth looked over at Stigmata and raised an eyebrow before grabbing the ax from her and twirling it in his hands, getting a feel for the new weapon. He seemed to like it because his face broke into a wide smirk and he looked up at the apprentice builder happily.

“You made this just for me, Stig?!” He asked, patting her head “thank you, dork! I’ll still hold onto the one you first gave me though, it has sentimental value to it!! But you’re supposed to be relaxing, you know? Pastor Al said so himself.”

“I know~! But I just really thought you might want a new weapon so you can fight even better, and it’s my little special way of saying thank you for continuing to stick by my side until now!”

Malroth’s eyes widened slightly in surprise then he smirked happily as he gazed at the apprentice builder; “Stig--”

The ground trembled heavily and the inhabitants of Furrowfield all yelped and looked around in shock as Malroth quickly took out his ax and sniffed the air.

“What’s going on?!” Stigmata asked, going over to the Deitree quickly as everyone else followed “is it an attack?!”

“I can smell when a fight’s brewing” Malroth responded, “and this place reeks of it!!”

“The Children of Hargon must feel the energy from the Deitree growing!” Rosie yelped as she cowered beside the tree “you have to stop them Stigmata, don’t let all of our hard work go to waste! Please!!”

“I’m, like, so ready to fight dude!” Britney chimed in “let’s wreck some Children of Hargon baddies together, Stigmata!”

“I-I’ll fight too!!” Clayton yelled, shaking heavily “I couldn’t let my dear cousin go out and fight a-alone!”

“She won’t be alone” Malroth smirked happily “she has me, you know?”

“And don’t you worry about the town getting damaged” Bonanzo added as he stepped forward “we can always repair the damage afterward. Just concentrate on teaching those rotters a lesson!!”

The clattering of bones and roaring of badboons filled the area and all those who were able to fight took out their weapons quickly.

“Alright!” Stigmata said, smiling brightly “let’s do this!!”

…

“Ah~that feels amazing , Mal…”

“Yeah, yeah! Why do you have to make weird noises with it though?!”

Stigmata giggled happily and kept her eyes closed as Malroth continued to massage her shoulders, his ears a light pink from the strange noises she was making. After the fight yesterday, everyone was pretty banged up so Malroth offered to give the apprentice builder a massage first thing in the morning tomorrow, however, he wasn’t prepared for the strange noises she was making. And he had to shamefully admit, it made him feel a hundred times more embarrassed then he usually gets around the apprentice builder.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a massage!” The apprentice builder shamefully admitted as she took out her book and began to sketch the Deitree in it “I’m not much of a fighter you know! So all this fighting has got my body feeling sore!”

“That’s why I tell you to leave the fighting to me” the destructive boy reminded whilst glancing up at the Deitree “that said, this thing has come a long way already. It was nothing more than a weedy sapling; just goes to show how powerful your building skills are.”

“You’ve always believed in my building skills, Mal. Why is that?”

Malroth mulled this question over in his head for a while as he continued massaging the apprentice builder’s shoulders; “Don’t know...maybe there’s just something about you that I like, Stig. You’re a cool person, and you still have lots of room to grow.”

“That’s true” she replied “I’m only sixteen , and I still have a lot to learn before I can call myself a true builder. I’m still an apprentice after all…”

“You say that, but you’re a better builder than anyone else here,” he said “what gets me most worked up is everyone saying builders bring destruction and despair. Who made up that shit, huh?!”

“Everyone!” Pastor Al announced, making Malroth’s question fall on deaf ears “gather ‘round!”

The inhabitants of Furrowfield all gathered around and listened to Pastor Al as he explained the next steps in reviving the Deitree. They would have to grow and harvest five different types of plants for the Deitree to continue growing more; so far, the only crops they had here on the farm were wheat and cabbage so Stigmata knew she would have to venture out to find more. As the pastor was explaining to her that there was sugar cane nearby, the sky began to darken quite drastically and a pink hue overtook the usual welcoming blue.

“The sky!!” Rosie exclaimed, “look!”

Everyone looked up at the sky and mutters of fear and shock filled Furrowfield as the smell of rotten eggs flooded the apprentice builder’s senses. On top of that, to accompany the ominous pink sky and rotten smell, the wind began picking up more and more to the point where it felt so icy that everyone’s lungs had trouble taking in air.

“What is this?” Stigmata asked curiously, reaching out slightly and gripping Malroth’s vest to ensure the boy was still beside her.

“This is the dreaded III Wind” Pastor Al explained, covering himself from the harsh wind with his cloak “it has been some time since it last cursed these lands! This accursed storm is the source of those blasted spoilspores. It was by this wind that so much of the soil on the island was ruined!”

“Now just ‘ang on a minute!” Perry said hysterically “you mean to say this stupid storm’s going to muck up all our ‘ard work?!”

“B-But everything was going so well…” Rosie whimpered “we can’t give up...not now…”

Stigmata looked around the farm silently and noticed spoilspores beginning to pop up in various places around the farm. If they exploded, there was no doubt it would ruin all of the hard work that everyone had put into the farm thus far would be ruined by these horrible plants, she couldn’t allow that, not even for a second.

“Then we won’t!!”

Everyone looked in surprise as the apprentice builder slipped her gloves on then scooped up as much spoiled spoil as her arms could carry, her usual dopey and determined grin etched across her face. Malroth smirked happily and watched Stigmata run towards one of the spoilspores as Rosie yelped in fear and took a step forward, her eyes wide in shock.

“What are you doing, Stigmata?!”

“We’ve worked!” Stigmata grunted, plugging up the holes on the spoilspore with the soil “Too hard to let these nasty things ruin it!! You all have been going day in and day out to make sure Furrowfield becomes the best farm ever, and I’ll be darned if I let these spoilspores ruin that!!”

With a small huff, the violet-haired builder plugged the last hole on the spoilspore then watched anxiously. The vile plant began to swell drastically in size and writhe, trying to find some source of air, before imploding completely without damaging a single one of the crops it had appeared on top of. 

“N-No way…” Perry said, his jaw-dropping “she did it...she’s downright amazing…”

“I see!” Pastor Al exclaimed suddenly “the III Wind is what helps them! By plugging their holes, she’s stopping them from exploding and ruining their only means of appearance! Builder?! Keep at this, quickly before they explode!!”

“I got ya, Stig!” Malroth spoke up, scooping up spoiled soil in his arms.

Stigmata smiled brightly then turned away and scooped up more spoil before running to the next spoilspore. The duo began plugging up the deadly pink bulbs with such efficiency and speed that the inhabitants of Furrowfield had a hard time keeping up with their movements. Despite only knowing each other for a short while, they seemed to read each other’s minds and managed to evade and dodge one another easily despite how quickly they zipped across the farm. For the next half hour, the violet haired builder and the destructive boy destroyed every spoilspore that popped up on the farm with ease, not stopping to take a break or breaking a sweat in the process. 

“Look!” Rosie chimed out suddenly, pointing at the sky “the III Wind!”

Stigmata stopped running abruptly, tripping and falling on her butt in the process, and looked up to see the pink hue to the sky was disappearing and the beautiful clear blue returned; the smell of rotten eggs slowly drifted from her senses and the icy wind that was attacking her skin seemingly vanished in the blink of an eye.

“Mal?!?”

The destructive boy stopped abruptly as well, falling on his butt, and took out his ax upon hearing the girl’s scream; “What?!”

“We did it~!”

“Tch...why’d you have to yell it like that, dumbass?!”

“Grumbling Gremlins!” Bonanzo beamed happily, running over to Stigmata as everyone followed suit “you did it, my girl!! And not a single square of our precious soil was spoiled!!”

“You are amazing, Stigmata!” Perry said with a bright smile, helping the builder up and pulling her into a soft hug.

Stigmata returned the hug with a soft smile as Malroth slowly got up on his own and watched the two hug, a strange uncomfortable feeling stirring in the pit of his stomach. It was just a stupid hug after all, right?

“Very good job indeed, Stigmata” Pastor Al praised once the two stopped hugging “your skills as a builder are remarkable.”

Stigmata stared at Pastor Al and noticed he looked a bit upset; despite the mask he had on there was no denying from the tone of his voice that something was bothering the Shaman.

“Are you alright, Pastor? You can tell us when you’re upset you know, we’re all in this together!” She reassured.

Pastor Al hesitated for a moment then gave in with a heavy sigh; “we-the Children of Hargon-brought ruin to Furrowfield. We destroyed the Deitree, that life might never flourish here again. We forbade humans from building and commanded them to join us in reducing those buildings that were still standing to rubble…”

“Sounds like you guys are a bunch of jerks to me” Malroth commented, standing beside the apprentice builder “if that’s the case, then what makes you so eager to help us?!”

“Mal…” Stigmata began.

“No” Pastor Al reassured “he has all the right to be suspicious. The truth of the matter is when I saw that fragile sapling-the Deitree, reborn-and the force of life within it, I had a change of heart. I was forced to reconsider if the course of Destruction is truly the right one, and after much thought, I have finally decided!!”

Pastor Al bowed his head and lowered his staff as everyone exclaimed in shock whilst the apprentice builder watched in confusion. 

“Allow me to join and aid you on this journey to restore Furrowfield, Builder!”

Stigmata smiled softly and gently pat Pastor Al’s staff as he looked up into her light grey eyes which were full of happiness and gratitude.

“I appreciate you saying that Pastor Al” Stigmata said “but the way I see it, you’re already one of us! And we’re going to need all the help we can get so I’ll gladly accept anyone willing to pitch in their weight! Ain’t that right, Clayton?!”

“Why must you use me as an example…?”

Everyone laughed and Pastor Al’s mask lifted faintly like he was smiling before it quickly went away.

“Alright, everyone!” Bonanzo exclaimed, raising a ho “back to work!”

The residents of Furrowfield all grabbed their farming tools and went back to work as Malroth and Rosie both went closer to Stigmata, smiles gracing both of their faces.

“Can you believe it?” Malroth said with a chuckle, “you’re so cool, you’ve even got a devout Pastor of the Children of Hargon helping you out, Stig. You just keep getting better and better!”

Stigmata’s smile widened and she rubbed her aching cheeks as her cheeks felt hot again like they usually do when Malroth compliments her; “yeah well, I’m not as cool as you are, Mal! You can fight SUPER well! I think you’re the amazing one here!”

“Ah,” Malroth chuckled “I can fight but I can’t build for shit...if anything though, with me by your side we make one hell of a team, don’t you think?!”

Bark!

“Hmm, I was expecting a different response but I guess that works.”

“That wasn’t me” Stigmata responded, raising an eyebrow “was that you?”

Bark!!

“There it is again!” Malroth growled, taking out his ax “Stig you fucking with me?!”

“What?! No!!”

“I’ll punch you!!”

Bark!!!

Malroth raised his fist and the violet haired builder squealed then quickly crouched to the ground only to come face to face with a small puppy. The puppy barked again, happy it was finally noticed, then jumped into the builder’s lap and began attacking her face with licks and small nibbles. Stigmata giggled happily and stood back up, holding the puppy gently, as Malroth looked at the creature curiously and tilted his head.

“Is that what was barking?” He asked, “what the hell is it...a monster?!”

“No” she replied hastily, noticing he had raised his ax “it’s a puppy, Malroth! They’re harmless, it’s a pet, like a personal little thing you keep with you!”

Malroth mulled these words over in his mind then his eyes narrowed and he leaned closer to Stigmata, ignoring the dog licking his chin; “am I a pet?”

“What the--no!!”

“You said a pet is a personal thing you keep with you!” Malroth repeated, “so that makes me a pet!”

“Malroth...no.”

“Hey!” Rosie said suddenly, causing the duo and the puppy to jump “that’s a Furrowfield retriever!”

“A Furrowfield...what now?!” Malroth asked, tilting his head to the side.

“A Furrowfield retriever” Rosie explained, “they have the best sense of smell around, with that you’ll be able to find more new seeds in a jiffy, Stigmata!”

The dog barked happily as if to confirm Rosie’s explanation then leapt out of Stigmata’s arms and ran off some distance away before turning around to see if the apprentice builder was following.

“I think it wants us to follow,” Malroth said before smirking happily “what do you say, Stigmata, ready to head out on another trip?!”

“Born ready!”

Stigmata and Malroth followed the retriever as Rosie waved them off happily. The puppy lead them through a few twists and turns of the forest before finally coming to the side of the mountain and going through a giant passage that seemed to lead right through the mountain. Malroth and Stigmata exchanged a glance with one another then nodded firmly before continuing to follow the puppy. She certainly hadn’t known this passage was here all along, but perhaps that was a good thing, she was positive they would find seeds in this new setting.

“This place is completely different to the rest of the island” Malroth noted, poking at some spiky green plants as Stigmata activated a nearby Naviglobe  “it’s some kind of marsh.”

“It’s kind of cool though” Stigmata beamed “and we’re sure to find all kinds of new see-”

Before she could finish her sentence, the apprentice builder lost her footing and screamed before falling into a small hole as two girls blinked in surprise and looked at her in confusion. The puppy barked happily and jumped in the hole after Stigmata as Malroth quickly did the same and helped her up. 

“W-Who are you?!” One of the girls exclaimed, quivering in the corner.

Stigmata dusted herself off and looked to see the two girls were wearing red dresses with white undershirts. Both of them had light brown hair and black eyes and the one who had spoken was clearly older and shaking heavily as she stared at Stigmata, whereas the younger one had her hands on her hips and was watching her sister in disapproval.

“Well, this is great! We trudged all the way out here and we don’t even find any seeds!” Malroth complained “just a couple of scruffy-looking girls!”

“I beg your pardon!” The smaller girl exclaimed in anger “I think you’ll find we’re ladies, not girls !! And a rather lovely lady at that!! Then to top it off you’ve got a purple-haired beauty trotting around with you and you don’t even have a shred of respect for women!!”

Malroth rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as the older girl gulped nervously and slowly looked at Stigmata; “t-the Children of Hargon threw us in here and told us to reflect on our sins! I-I was just so hungry...I...I…!”

“Oh suck it up, Saffron!” The little girl said again before looking at the duo “who are you two anyway?”

“I’m Stigmata!” She introduced happily “I’m an apprentice builder from Cantlin! And this is my best friend, Malroth, we’re helping rebuild Furrowfield farm! We were actually looking for seeds right now but we ran into you two!”

“A builder?!” Saffron exclaimed before cowering again “oh no, no, no! The Children of Hargon won’t accept this!! Such heresy! Leave at once!!”

“Nonsense! That sounds like great fun!!” The little girl said, her eyes shining “my name is Lillian, and this is my older sister, Saffron! We’ll gladly come back with you to this farm, Stigmata! So long as you keep your disrespectful friend away from a lady like myself that is!”

Malroth scoffed and glared at Lillian as Saffron wailed in anguish and moved as far away from Stigmata as possible.

“No!” Saffron yelled “you can’t make me go to this farm!! I won’t be a builder, not now, not ever!!”

Stigmata giggled and pulled out her map before locating Furrowfield Farm and watching the glowing X appear.

“You can’t make me move!!”

“Oh~I think I can!”

And with that, the apprentice builder pressed the glowing X as they were all warped back to Furrowfield Farm.

Chapter Text

Ever since Lillian and Saffron became new additions to Furrowfield farm only three weeks prior, Stigmata had her work cut out for her left and right. From finding more food for them to eat to building a restroom after Clayton’s ceaseless complaining to then venturing out to find tomato seeds and getting chased down by Mollusk and Muddy Hands that Malroth had to kill; the apprentice builder was definitely in quite a tiring state so it was a bit of a stab in the heart to her when Rosie approached her about the talk of finding pumpkin seeds.

“We have already done so much!” The cyan-haired farmer exclaimed, pushing her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose “we have wheat, cabbage, sugar cane, AND tomatoes now! All we need is to find those Pumpkin seeds and we’ll be set for the full revival of the Deitree!”

“I get where you’re coming from, Rosie,” she said tiredly, brushing out her violet hair before hastily putting it up into her usual pigtails “but couldn’t you have waited until I left my bedroom first?”

Rosie blinked in surprise and looked around the room to notice that the apprentice builder was still lying in bed with her pajamas on and a tired look on her face. She flushed red in embarrassment and gave Stigmata a hasty apology before excusing herself and zooming out of the room as quickly as possible. While Stigmata was always eager to help out when necessary, she would like to brush her teeth and eat before she started accepting requests from people.

The apprentice builder got out of bed and stretched, waiting until her back let out a satisfying crack, before grabbing her dress and slipping it on then going over to the small waterfall she had made. While the dirty water from the bottomless pot was the last thing she wanted in her mouth, it was better than nothing, and her makeshift toothbrush made from wood and leaves would have to suffice. She brushed her teeth tiredly, giving a small wave to Clayton who was tilling the wheat fields, then went over to the bonfires and threw some crab meat on one before throwing wheat on the other. Once the meat and bread were done, she sliced the bread in half using her sword and stuffed the crab meat inside before sitting down to devour her makeshift sandwich, a hum of delight escaping her lips.

“Hey...Stigmata?”

‘I want to finish my sandwich first…’ the apprentice builder thought, internally crying.

“Yes?” She chirped happily, looking up to see who the voice belonged to.

She wasn’t all too surprised to see both Saffron and Lillian standing there; the older girl wringing her hands together nervously whilst the younger one had her arms crossed in obvious annoyance. 

“Well, you see…” Saffron began, beads of sweat accumulating on her forehead “I was wondering...if you wouldn’t mind...I merely...well…”

“Oh for Goddess sake!!” Lillian barked, causing her older sister to yelp and flinch in fear “just come out with it, Saffron!! Can’t you see you’re wasting Stigmata’s time?!”

“Oh no, no, no!” Stigmata replied hastily “she’s not wasting my time! I was just--”

“Nonsense!” Lillian interrupted “I’ll have none of this stuttering mess! Stigmata is trying to enjoy her meal in peace Saffron and since you’ve gone and disturbed her you better just come right out with what you want!!”

Saffron cowered more and began shaking heavily as she lowered her head to the ground; “oh she’s right!! See Stigmata, the truth is...I love to cook!! It’s a passion of mine and I just can’t deny it!! I was wondering if you could build me a place here to cook on the farm?! I won’t ask for much!! Maybe just some bags of wheat...three bonfires...a chest and some firewood? That is all I will need! I promise!!” 

“...that’s it?”

“WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SOUND SO DISAPPOINTED?!” Saffron exclaimed in anguish, pointing an accusing finger at the apprentice builder’s annoyed face “YES THAT’S IT!!”

Stigmata giggled and finished off the last of her sandwich before standing up happily, grabbing her hammer and notebook excitedly.

“Leave it to me!” She replied, “I’ll have it done by tonight!!”

Saffron sighed deeply in relief and opened her mouth to reply but before she could Lillian was already pushing her hard, trying to get her away from the apprentice builder.

“There!” The smaller girl snapped “you’ve done it now leave Stigmata alone at once!!”

Lillian pushed her older sister away in agitation and annoyance, causing her to whine and make sounds of protest all the while, as Britney came over and took their place.

“Yo...Stigmata!” She said slowly, gagging in between each word and panting slightly “what’s up…?!”

“Hi Britney” Stigmata responded slowly “um...are you ok? You look like you’re having trouble breathing.”

“Well…” she panted out again “I’m like...totally stoked that...the farm’s coming along...so well...these fields and...crops...and stuff are...seriously lit!! But...But it stinks like hell!! Like a badboon with...serious BO!! Do you think you can help...me out fam?! Like a... bath or something?!”

Stigmata giggled as Britney’s face suddenly turned green and she ran off; the apprentice builder pulled out the thick notebook from her backpack and flipped it open to her page of blueprints before hurriedly scribbling in it, mulling over Britney’s request all the while.

“Bathhouse Blueprint…” she muttered, finishing up the last of the sketch “yeah, this will work!”

“They got you working already, huh?”

Stigmata turned towards the voice curiously and smiled brightly when she saw Malroth approaching her, his stone ax slung comfortably over his shoulder as he munched on a piece of bread.

“I don’t mind it!” Stigmata confessed honestly, placing down the blueprint for the bathhouse “we did come here to help the people out after all so anything I can do to assist is alright with me!”

“We ACTUALLY came here to bring things back to the Isle of Awakening” Malroth corrected “I’m sure Lulu is probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”

Stigmata giggled slightly and began sketching a design for Saffron’s kitchen in her notebook as Malroth leaned over to try and peek into the thick notebook only to scoff in annoyance when she suddenly slammed it shut and placed it back into her backpack.

“A bathhouse and a kitchen?” Malroth asked, watching her begin placing down the neccessary blocks for the bathhouse “I thought we were going out today?”

“We still are! But I should do these two buildings first so that I won’t have much else to do when I come back! It’s not wise to let work pile up, Mal.”

Malroth hummed and reluctantly put his ax away, realizing he wouldn’t be clobbering anything for a while now...not until Stigmata finished with her buildings that is. Even if a monster was bold enough to try and enter their base, it wouldn’t get far at all with the way the apprentice builder had the farm set up. Flagstone at the base of the entire perimeter of the farm then on top of that fencing that stretched about twelve feet tall. Then on the outside of the camp, there were those spiky green vines everywhere except for the entrance, he had wondered why the apprentice builder had decided to collect so much of it and he saw why now if anything entered this camp it would be through that one entrance where everyone would see and Britney would get right to work disposing of it. 

It’s not like he was upset the base wasn’t getting attacked. He just wished...he could be of more help to her...somehow…

“And...done!”

Malroth snapped out of his negative thoughts and looked up just in time to see the golden glow under the finished bathhouse disappear as Britney ran over excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

“Is this is?!” She exclaimed, already removing her knight’s tunic “the bathhouse?!”

“It is!” Stigmata began “and there’s--”

Whatever the violet-haired builder was going to say fell on deaf ears as Britney yelled a hasty thanks then ran inside the bathhouse, only for Bonanzo to soon take her place not even seconds later, letting out a hearty laugh.

“Ah Stigmata, my dear!” He exclaimed joyfully, curling the ends of his beard gleefully as the apprentice builder worked up every ounce of willpower she had not to laugh at Malroth’s disgusted face “our farm grows more splendid by the day. I know that, as time has run its course, I’ve become something of a father figure to you! And, I’m proud to have you as a surrogate daughter!”

“Oh!” Stigmata said in surprise “well thank you Bonanzo! That makes me so happy to hear!”

Malroth pretended to gag in disgust as Stimgata let a giggle escape her lips before quickly composing herself.

“However!” The older man continued “there is something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you…”

“What it is?”

“While Furrowfield farm does grow by the day, things will start to get out of hand if these people do not have proper guidance!” Bonanzo explained “you have already rung the Builder’s Bell twice now, was it? More and more people have shown up and without a proper system in place, this place will fall to ruin again! What my-er-our village needs, my dear, is a mayor!”

Malroth crossed his arms and hummed quietly, already not liking where this conversation was headed if Bonanzo was the one who brought it up. While the idea of a mayor wasn’t the WORST in the world, this place would fall to ruin quicker than it needed to if some idiot was put in charge of it. Malroth may not know much about building or diplomacy, but he knew a bad idea when he saw one. 

“A mayor…” Stigmata hummed softly, mulling it over in her head “I guess that could be a good idea, but--”

“Ah!” Bonanzo said, cutting her off quickly “I knew you would agree, my dear! And who better suited to fit such a role than yours truly? Now, now, now, you needn’t say a word! That smile on your face speaks for itself. So it’s settled: I hereby award myself the official title of Mayor of Furrow--!”

“FUCK NO!”

The apprentice builder and old man both turned towards Malroth in shock as he went over to them fully and glared at Bonanzo angrily, slinging his ax over his shoulder once more. He had been so silent during the entire conversation, Bonanzo hadn’t even been aware the destructive boy was there until this sudden outburst.

“I-I beg your pardon?!” Bonanzo exclaimed.

“I said f--”

“Freak!” Stigmata censored quickly.

‘--no!” Malroth continued “no way! I’m not having it!! The only thing you’re fit to lead us in is who’s got the most feral facial hair!! Besides, what kind of leader picks themselves?! Where are your fanatical followers?! Where are the zealots clamoring to give up their lives in your name?! Give it up, beardy, you ain’t leading us no damn where.”

With that, the destructive boy ran off suddenly as Bonanzo gaped in disbelief and Stigmata cleared her throat shakily to keep from bursting into laughter,

“He-but-agh!” Bonanzo said in agitation “this conversation is not over yet, my dear! Just you wait I will be a fine leader indeed soon enough!”

Bonanzo too stomped off in agitation and Stigmata allowed a small giggle to escape her throat before walking off to get started on Saffron’s kitchen area.

                                                                                                       *****

“You know!” Malroth huffed, finishing off another Bodkin archer with his ax “I’d rather not eat pumpkins from seeds we find in a graveyard, isn’t this like...grave robbing or something?”

“No, not necessarily!” The apprentice builder replied “besides, we’re not going to defile anyone’s grave, we’re going to dig in other places around the graveyard. Rosie said someone buried pumpkin seeds deep in the rainforest to hide them from the Children of Hargon but all we’ve found so far are acorns and badboons. The graveyard is the last place we can look, Mal.”

Angel, the Furrowfield retriever Stigmata had named (she refused to name her Bloodhound as Malroth suggested), barked loudly and ran towards a worn and crumbly stone bridge as the duo looked to see the graveyard up ahead. An eerie gloom seemed to emit from it as a Bodkin archer stood by the bridge entrance and looked at the apprentice builder and destructive boy in surprise. 

“Hrrrm!” It said slowly as Stigmata made Malroth lower his ax “human approaches! Such strangely colored skin you have...not the healthy green of us bodkin archers, no...but also not the sickly purple as well!”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with Stig’s skin!” Malroth growled, “green ain’t normal anyway!!”

“It is normal for us bodkin archers, hrrm!! Not normal you two are!”

“I said green ain’t normal!”

“It is, hrrrm!!”

“It ain’t, hrrrm !!:

“Look” Stigmata interjected quickly, noticing the offended look on the Bodkin’s face “Mal and I have been looking all over for pumpkin seeds in this rainforest but we haven’t even found one, we were hoping the graveyard might have a few.”

The bodkin stared at the duo for a moment then slowly spoke; “Beyond this bridge, the graveyard has fallen to ruin along with the church it once held. Long, long ago...a strange human quite like yourself lived there, a collector of seeds they say he was. Very strange indeed, hrrrm! If you are to find any pumpkin seeds, the graveyard is your best bet!”

The violet-haired girl smiled brightly and thanked the bodkin archer before carefully crossing the bridge towards the graveyard as Malroth gave the archer a quick glare then quickly followed. Angel barked happily again and began sniffing the air before running off suddenly as the duo followed, eager to see what the small pup smelled this time around; if they were lucky, it would be the pumpkin seeds and they could leave this eerie place as soon as possible. While they did have a task at hand, they didn’t want to stay here any longer than they had to. 

“What do you smell, Angel?” Stigmata asked softly as the pup stopped to dig at a soft patch of soiled soil with her paw “is it a pumpkin seed?”

Angel barked once more and motioned to the area with her paw as the apprentice builder slipped on her gloves then began digging away at the soil there. Soon enough, she felt something in her hand and quickly pulled it out to see a small green seed as Angel barked once again then did a sort of happy wiggle to signify that was in fact what she was smelling.

“This must be one of those pumpkin seeds Rosie was talking about,” Malroth said, taking the seed from Stigmata’s hand to examine it “...but what was it doing there all by its lonesome? Maybe someone dropped it...and maybe they’re still somewhere nearby.”

“This is a graveyard though” Stigmata reminded as she took the seed back and placed it in her pouch “who could have possibly been dropping seeds around here?”

A sly smirk spread across Malroth’s face and he took a small step towards the apprentice builder as she watched him curiously.

“You heard what that bodkin said, Stig~a man was collecting seeds here a while ago...but who’s to say he ever left, hm~?”

A shiver went up the violet-haired girl’s spine and she forced a small smile, gulping nervously at the thought. Malroth, noticing this, stepped even closer then circled the girl teasingly as she watched him fearfully.

“If you’re not careful” he whispered “we could run into a ghost~”

“A g-ghost?”

“Yeah~” Malroth continued “and if he sees you taking his pumpkin seeds...he’ll come up behind you reaaaaaaaaal quiet-like” Malroth stood directly behind the girl “get real close to your ear” he leaned closer to her ear “and...BOO!!”

Stigmata screamed and quickly whipped around to face the destructive boy, losing her footing in the process as she slipped and fell to the muddy ground with a pained and surprised yelp. Malroth snickered then burst into deep laughter as he clutched at his sides at the state the apprentice builder was currently in; he didn’t peg her for one to get scared by a ghost or scary stories so easily, but now that he knew she did, he would be using it to his advantage. Stigmata huffed angrily and quickly stood up as she wiped at her muddy clothes to get off as much as possible. Angel growled loudly and started nipping at Malroth’s ankles as the destructive boy yelped in surprise and backed away, brandishing his fist at the small creature.

“Let’s go…”

The apprentice builder walked off quickly and Malroth followed, still laughing a bit as Angel continued to try and nip at his ankles while sniffing for more pumpkin seeds.

“Are you mad at me, Stig?!”

“...”

“Oh come ON! It was a joke~!”

“......”

“Don’t be like that Stig!” He said pleadingly, grabbing her wrist gently to make her face him “come on...look...I’m sorry…”

Stigmata huffed quietly then looked up at the destructive boy to see him staring at her with pleading red eyes.

“...you mean it?” She asked softly.

“With all my heart” Malroth replied honestly “which isn’t very much cause it’s so small but, you get the point.”

“Well I’m sorry too” Stigmata giggled as she slowly reached into her pouch.

“For what?”

“For...THIS!!”

Stigmata quickly pulled out a handful of the spoiled soil and smashed it into Malroth’s face as he exclaimed in disgust and quickly let go of the builder. Stigmata burst into a fit of giggles and watched her partner wipe the disgusting gunk from his face as Angel let out a series of small and joyful barks as though she was laughing as well. Malroth glared up at the apprentice builder playfully and smirked evilly as her eyes widened a bit.

“You have one second to run.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the violet-haired girl scooped the Furrowfield retriever into her arms and started running frantically through the graveyard, taking care not to bump into any tombstones, as Malroth quickly chased after her. Stigmata hastily passed by a Naviglobe and activated it, dodging Malroth’s sudden lunge, before laughing and continuing to run through the graveyard to avoid whatever wrath he may inflict upon her.

“YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER!” Malroth called after her, getting closer and closer by the second. 

Stigmata merely stuck her tongue out at the destructive boy then halted abruptly when she realized she had run to the end of the graveyard where a lone tombstone stood tall and proud; she was trapped now. Whirling around quickly, the violet-haired girl suddenly came face to face with her partner and smiled nervously at the devilish smile that adorned his face.

The only thing left to do was talk her way out of this particular situation…

“I must warn you!” She began hastily as he grabbed at her waist “I am not ticklish! It won’t work!!”

Malroth raised a questioning eyebrow then started softly clawing at the apprentice builder’s waist and neck as she squirmed violently and burst into laughter, making her previous argument a lie. Malroth laughed and continued to tickle Stigmata without mercy as she desperately tried to squirm free from his grip and began crying from laughing so hard.

“Ah...young loooOOOooove!”

Malroth instantly let go of the apprentice builder, allowing her to fall onto the muddy ground hard for the second time today, as he pulled out his ax and looked around cautiously for where the voice may have come from. Stigmata groaned softly and slowly got up as she wiped the mud from her clothing once more than looked around curiously. Soon enough, a strange figure suddenly started to appear in front of the tombstone and the duo watched as a small yellow ghost with a bright purple hat appeared before them.

“I must admit!” The ghost exclaimed cheerfully “I am surprised toooOOOooo see humans in this graveyard, and such strange ones at that! Just whoooOOOooo are yoooOOOooo?!”

“My name is Stigmata!” She introduced happily “I’m an apprentice builder from Cantlin and I’m looking for pumpkin seeds to help the people of Furrowfield farm revive the Deitree! And might I add… ghosts are scary but you seem very kind!”

“And I’m Malroth,” he said plainly “I kill anything and everything that tries to stop Stig from building.”

“A builder yoooOOOooo say…” the ghost said slowly, mulling something over in its mind “when I was still alive, I use to groooOOOooow pumpkins. I would hide the seeds to keep them from the Children of Hargon! Not oooOOOooonly were they a bunch of noooOOOooo good thieves, but they also turned my church into an unhoooOOOoooly shrine of destruction!”

Malroth and Stigmata both glanced over the ruined church and saw that it was in fact very beat up from the outside. Sickly purple and black vines surrounded it like a thick steel cage and there were holes and crumbled pieces of stone everywhere as if the entire building were ready to collapse at any given minute. To top it off, the entire building seemed to be the cause of the eerie vibe that surrounded the entire graveyard, like something sinister lurked within it.

Stigmata frowned deeply and thought for a moment before smiling and tightening the ribbons on her pigtails firmly; Malroth glanced over at the apprentice builder and couldn’t help but to smile faintly, wondering what amazingly strange idea she could have possibly thought up this time.

“As a builder” she stated as the ghost looked over at her “I could easily fix up whatever it is you need me to do to the church! I’d be more than willing to help out however I can!”

“Seriously?!” The ghost exclaimed gleefully “if yoooOOOooo did that, I could give you some seeds in return! Oh happy day, my church will be pure oooOOOooonce more! Meet me in the church...both of you...I will explain what yoooOOOooo must doooOOOooo!!”

With that, the ghost did a small twirl and disappeared in midair as the duo turned towards one another, Angel looking up at them both curiously.

“You’re not seriously going to fix up that entire church are you?” Malroth questioned in disbelief “that place is on its last legs, no amount of building could save that thing.”

“Quite untrue!” The apprentice builder disagreed “building can fix any and every problem there is! And besides, that friendly ghost didn’t exactly say I have to rebuild the whole church, we won’t know what we need to do unless we go and find out, right~?”

Malroth sighed deeply then grinned slightly at the dopey and excited smile that was on Stimgata’s face; giving her a small and encouraging nudge, he motioned his ax in the direction of the ruined church. Stigmata giggled gleefully and grabbed Malroth’s hand before practically sprinting towards the church as Angel barked happily and followed close by their heels.

Chapter Text

“This statue is pretty wicked” Malroth noted as he reluctantly set the statue of Hargon in the back while the apprentice builder grabbed the statue of Rubiss instead “I don’t know what that ghost is complaining about. Those creepy blue flames, the ragged purple tablecloth, this creepy statue! It all looks cool to me!”

“Well that’s because you like creepy and weird stuff like that, Mal,” the apprentice builder said, gently setting the Goddess’ statue down in its rightful place “but you have to remember that other people don’t. Everyone is scared of Hargon and hates his Children even more so, you can’t expect them to like these things as well when they cause such horrible things to happen.”

Malroth hummed slightly and watched the violet-haired girl take down the eerie blue flames and replace them with shiny chandeliers that emitted a soft red and orange glow, while nice to look at with the Goddess statue in the back, there was still something about the Children of Hargon setup that spoke so profoundly to him...for whatever strange reason it may be.

Stigmata placed down a red and golden tablecloth in place of the tattered purple and gold then placed the two candles and book upon it once more. The floor underneath the alter began glowing a soft gold then disappeared as Stigmata cheered happily then held her hand up for a high five which Malroth eagerly returned.

“WoohoooOOOooo!!” The ghost exclaimed, appearing once more with a small twirl “my alter is as good as neeeEEEeeew!! Thank yoooOOOooo, builder!!”

“No problem!” She said happily “I’m glad I was able to restore the alter for you, Mr. Ghost!”

“Quite soooOOOooo! It is just as it was before I passed! BeauuuUUUuuutiful indeed! This church we stand in, it was constructed, long, long ago by a builder who came to Furrowfield, you knoooOOOooow…”

“Really?” Malroth asked curiously, stepping forward a bit to join the conversation “was it this Legendary Builder everyone keeps talking about? Angel?”

The small Furrowfield retriever barked curiously and looked at Malroth as Stigmata giggled and pet it gently.

“Not you~”

“Quite soooOOOooo” the ghost said, replying to Malroth “in fact, she made almost everything around here. She turned the whole island from a barren wasteland into a beautiful uuuUUUuuutopia!”

“See, that’s what I don’t get,” Malroth said, crossing his arms “if a builder did all that, then why do people around here believe builders bring nothing but destruction and despair when those Children of Hargon pricks are the ones doing that? Is everyone that dumb?”

“That is a loooOOOooong story, you see--”

“Hold that thought.”

Malroth pulled out his ax suddenly and stood in front of the apprentice builder protectively as loud footsteps were heard quickly approaching. Stigmata’s eyes narrowed a bit and she pulled out her stone sword, wondering what trouble they would be facing this time around. The ghost let out a small whimper of fear and soon a giant Deadnaut appeared in their line of sight, staring at the alter Stigmata had just fixed in utter disbelief.

“What is the meaning of this?!” He exclaimed angrily, pointing his sword at the alter “you dare defy the might Hargon’s alter in place of this trash, human?! You have some backbone on you! Even worst, you built that didn’t you?!”

“Sure did, bonehead!” Stigmata defended “and I won’t take it down!!”

“BONEHEAD?! Oh, that’s IT!”

“Looks like we have to fight our way out!” Malroth said as the Deadnaut charged towards them and two prestidigitators appeared “you ready, Stig?”

“You betcha!!”

Malroth smirked happily and raced towards the Deadnaut as Stigmata ran over to the two prestidigitators who had started throwing fireballs towards the duo. One of the prestidigitators turned towards the apprentice builder and threw a fireball towards her but she quickly took out her bottomless pot and splashed dirty water in the air as it distinguished the fire instantly, causing a cloud of thick smoke to fly between them both. Using the smoke to her advantage, Stigmata ran through it as silently as possible then emerged quickly and stabbed the prestidigitator as hard as possible as it let out a loud groan of pain and collapsed to the ground.

“One down~!”

“You’re doing great over there, Stig!” Malroth praised as he dodged the Deadnaut’s attack then began furiously cutting at him with his ax.

Stigmata’s face warmed significantly from the praise then she quickly came to her senses when she narrowly dodged a fireball from the second prestidigitator, the heat of it singing the ends of her pigtails ever so slightly. It cackled victoriously then continued to send fireball after fireball towards the apprentice builder as she dodged each one as best as she could. She couldn’t find an opening to try and approach it with the number of fireballs being sent her way, she had to think of another plan. 

The prestidigitator sent a fireball close to the violet-haired girl’s head and she quickly craned her head back to dodge it as she got a look at the ceiling above the monster which was quite crumbly compared to the rest of it, one direct hit at that particular part and it would smush whatever was underneath it.

‘Perfect’ she thought to herself.

Stigmata quickly put her sword away and grabbed her hammer instead, dodging yet another attack, before aiming back as far as her arms would allow. Malroth’s previous advice from a while back was ringing in her ears and she hoped it would also apply in a situation like this.

‘Start by charging your power up into your sword arm. Now let it all out in one giant swing! Really go for it!!’

“Here goes nothing!!”

Feeling fully charged up, the apprentice builder threw her hammer as hard as possible towards the cracked ceiling and watched as it hit the crumbly center dead center...only...it caused more destruction than she had truly anticipated. The crumbly part she had been betting on fell directly on top of the prestidigitator, crushing it completely as it groaned loudly in pain before going still, but then more cracks began to spread along the ceiling as a giant chunk of it suddenly came down right where the Deadnaut and Malroth were still engaged in a heated battle.

“MAL, WATCH OUT!!”

Malroth looked up quickly then narrowly dodged the falling chunk of ceiling as it clunked the Deadnaut hard in the head, causing it to stagger a bit and look around in confusion; Malroth used its confusion to his advantage and quickly disarmed the monster before jumping up and slamming his ax as hard as possible into its skull, causing it to crack open as it let out a fatal groan then fell apart into a giant pile of bones. The destructive boy landed on the ground safely and let out satisfied ‘hmm!’ before putting his ax away and looking at his building companion.

“That was great thinking there, Stig!” He exclaimed, raising his hand “up top!”

Stigmata exhaled shakily in relief, glad he was unhurt, then ran over and gave Malroth a firm high five as the sound resonated loudly throughout the abandoned church.

“Amazing!!”

They both turned and looked to see the friendly ghost appear once more with a happy twirl as Angel slowly came out from behind the crate she was hiding and barked happily, running over to the apprentice builder.

“Thank you for fighting off those goooOOOooons, builder!” The ghost said, before turning towards Malroth “and thanks to you toooOOOooo! Your ears may be strange and pointy, and you may have those spoooOOOoooky scary red eyes, but you sure doooOOOooo know a thing or two about fighting!”

“Thanks...I think?”

“Just whoooOOOooo are you anyways?” The ghost asked suddenly, curiosity and wariness laced in his voice “or rather... what are you? There’s such a powerful aura of destruction about yoooOOOooo…and no human I have ever met has had such strange ears or eyes…”

Malroth remained silent and stared at the ghost with his jaw clenched and his hands tightly wound into a fist. Stigmata looked between the two worriedly and opened her mouth to say something before slowly closing it, not sure what she should say, While rather rude, the ghost did have some truth to his words. Never in her life had Stigmata ever seen or read about a human quite like Malroth, humans didn’t have pointy ears or red eyes no matter how special they were. Those were only traits seen on…

Monsters…

“Malroth is--!”

“I’m just me.” Malroth said suddenly before Stigmata could attempt to defend him “I don’t know what you’re getting at but...this is how I was born. This is just how I am and Stigmata accepts me for as I am so I don’t give a damn about how anyone else sees me.”

The apprentice builder felt her face warm once more and she smiled softly as the ghost hummed a bit then shrugged, seeming satisfied with Malroth’s answer for the time being. 

“Nonetheless!” He exclaimed “you’ve been a huuuUUUuuuge help to me! And I want yoooOOOooo to have these!”

The ghost conjured up something, seemingly from midair, and handed it to the apprentice builder as she looked to see ten small green pumpkin seeds. Her eyes lit up in joy and she showed her destructive partner who gave a happy nod of approval before she carefully slipped them into her seed pouch where they joined the one lone pumpkin seed Angel had found in the soil earlier.

“There’s more where that came from!” The ghost offered “they’re hidden down in the catacoooOOOooombs! You can tear up the floooOOOooor behind me to get to them but they are all yours! Just promise you’ll plant them in fresh soil and water them daaaAAAaaaily!”

“I promise, Mr. Ghost!” Stigmata exclaimed happily “I’ll grow the freshest most delicious pumpkins you have ever seen in your life...both living and non-living life that is!”

“I surely hope soooOOOooo! If only you could grow a Deitree and hold a harvest festival like old times...I would loooOOOooove to attend one again…”

Malroth smirked a bit and turned towards the ghost; “well lucky for you, Stig is doing just that.”

“Wh-WH-WHAT?!”

“That’s right!” The apprentice builder confirmed “pumpkins are the last crop we need to have a proper harvest festival and restore the Deitree to its full glory! We’re so close to restoring Furrowfield to the green and lush island it once was and it’s thanks to you and so many others who helped me that Rosie’s dream will be possible Mr. Ghost! I would absolutely love it if you attended the festival with us all!”

“Oh man, oh man!” The ghost said excitedly, swaying back and forth in the air “I’m soooOOOooo happy I could--wait...this isn’t a trick to get me to vanish foreeeEEEeeever is it?! Because it’s working!”

Before the apprentice builder could reply, the ghost suddenly disappeared in a poof of smoke as the duo both gasped in shock and Angel started barking worriedly. However, their worries were soon relieved when they heard his voice promising to attend the harvest festival and telling them not to forget about the seeds in the catacombs.

Stigmata smiled deeply and felt herself relax more, a burden slowly starting to lift from her shoulders the moment she agreed to help Rosie.

It’s not that she regretted helping the inhabitants of Furrowfield farm, it was merely the fact that she didn’t believe it possible that she could have accomplished so much. Though they had been here roughly two months now, she didn’t regret deciding to help Rosie not once; the farm had gone from a barren muddy dump with only three farmers to a bustling, green utopia packed with farmers and as many vegetables as they could get their hands on. Not a day went by when someone was left to the bitter cold air at night from the holes in the walls or had to skip a meal due to there being not enough crops. Those days were long over...and to think...Stigmata was the main cause of it all.

The apprentice builder turned and looked at Malroth suddenly and watched as he knelt down and slowly began scratching Angel behind the ears as the small pup let out a soft bark and inched closer to him, enjoying the sudden affection.

No…

It wasn’t just her, it was Malroth too, even though he couldn’t build anything as she could, he was still there for her every step of the way. He was the first person to believe that she could achieve anything and even still believes in her no matter what others may say.

“Hey, Mal…”

The destructive boy looked up at her suddenly, his red eyes full of curiosity and happiness...red eyes that no human has ever had before. But on Malroth, they were the best eyes of all, she couldn’t imagine them any other color, nor did she want to.

“Let’s get the seeds and head back,” Stigmata said, smiling softly.

Malroth smirked happily and picked Angel up gently before plopping her on his head as the puppy relaxed, glad it didn’t have to run around anymore.

“Wherever you go, I go Stig. Come on!”

                                                                                                           *****

“BWAAAH HAH HAH HAAAH!! Perhaps we can restore life and light to the island after all! We shall drive the III Wind from these fair shores once and for all!”

Malroth growled and covered his ears slightly at all Bonanzo’s yelling and Stigmata quickly grabbed his hand to keep the destructive boy from pulling out his spiked club, a tool the apprentice builder had created a while ago when planting the pumpkin seeds, inspiration always struck her in the silliest of places.

“The Deitree’s growth is proving to reach soaring heights” Pastor Al noted, “with time, it will reach its full size and strength, no doubt.”

Pastor Al muttered something else faintly under his breath and Malroth heard the words “consult” and “brainy badboon”, however before he could question what he could be talking about, Perry began to speak.

“Today’s t’e day Furrowfield is finally back on its feet!” He exclaimed, “and if that en’t enough to warrant, we got t’e ‘arvest festival too!”

“Very true,” Pastor Al said, “listen, humans, we still have much to prepare to make this festival a roaring success, gather around with haste!”

Everyone went over to Pastor Al excitedly to get started on preparations for the harvest festival as Rosie went over to the duo who had lingered back to stare at the Deitree together, marveling in its beauty.

“Stigmata!” The cyan-haired farmer exclaimed gleefully, grabbing the apprentice builder’s hands in her own “you did it! You truly did it, you completed all of Pastor Al’s tasks and the Deitree is as healthy and strong as ever! We can hold a harvest festival again!”

“It wasn’t just me though Rosie” Stigmata giggled “you, Mal, Perry, Bonanzo, and everyone else helped so much as well! We all did this together!”

Rosie blushed happily in delight and let out a soft chuckle before pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and twiddling with her fingers, Stigmata hugged the cyan-haired farmer happily and squealed in delight as Malroth watched the two in utter confusion, wondering if this was a girl thing.

Perhaps it was...he didn’t understand girls…

He had entered the bathhouse at the same time as Stigmata once and the violet-haired girl had practically tried to kill him with the number of things she threw (her hammer included and he wasn’t sure why she brought that in the bathhouse with her). He figured it would be smarter if two people used the bathhouse at once so they wouldn’t have those annoyingly long lines outside, but apparently, Stigmata didn’t feel the same.

Girls were weird…

“Well!” Rosie said suddenly as the two broke apart from their hug “we can’t start the celebrations just yet I’m afraid, some of the inhabitants have a few tasks for you to help make the festival the best it can be! As our resident builder, it’s up to you to turn their dreams into a reality Stigmata! Once you’re finished, come talk to me and we can get this party started!”

“You can count on me, Rosie! I’ll see to it that everyone gets their task done!”

Rosie smiled brightly and squeezed Stigmata’s hands gently before bounding off as the duo watched Pastor Al motion towards Stigmata then say something. Almost instantly, the group that had once been surrounding the Pastor was now grouped around the apprentice builder and before she had time to realize the trap she had fallen into, they were shooting their request at her one by one.

Bonanzo wanted the Builder’s Bell to be rung once more.

Saffron wanted some decorative bunting put up around the town.

Perry wanted some Jack-o-lanterns placed around the town.

Lillian wanted to be more independent and requested a room of her own with a nameplate in it.

Stigmata felt her head spinning for a second, trying to process everyone’s request but her face soon broke into her usual dopey grin and she grabbed at her hammer as everyone cheered and thanked her before running off to do their respective jobs. She had quite the workload today but she was a builder, all this training was sure to pay off handsomely when she returned to Cantlin!

“Mal!” She said happily “want to help me put the bunting up when I make it? You’re taller than me so you can get the high places.”

“Sure! Just holler for me!”

The apprentice builder smiled brightly then nodded before racing to the crafting table to get started on all her task for today.

                                                                                                     *****

It was raining…

Stigmata stared at the rain silently and sighed glumly a bit, hoping it would clear up sometime soon. She had completed all of the tasks that had been set out for her (though it took the majority of the day) and she decided to get a good night’s rest so that she may talk to Rosie about starting the festival first thing in the morning. However, when the inhabitants of Furrowfield woke up, they were greeted with a steady downpour of rain so the majority of them stayed inside their rooms or went into the barn to lay on the warm haystacks. The apprentice builder had no desire to be cooped up all day so she went to the bottom level of the rooms where, under the staircase, she had set four tables together with candles on top of them and two stools.

Not only would she be shielded from the rain because of the stairs, but she could also stay warm from the heat of the candle’s flames.

You see, the way Stigmata had constructed the living quarters made it easy for everyone to transition to and from their rooms and not crowd up the farm with multiple bedrooms being everywhere. She had built a ‘hotel’ of sorts that stretched high and high above the farm, and the only way to reach your room on the upper floors was by the staircase. Everyone seemed to love it and it helped the apprentice builder keep the farm neat and orderly; anytime new faces showed up to the farm she would merely add another level to the ‘hotel’ and viola! Problem solved!

She wished she so easily could build something to combat this rain, but alas, she didn’t think such a thing possible.

Stigmata groaned softly and leaned her head against the table as she watched the steady downpour continue to patter ever so gently against their crops and the buildings, while relaxing to sit and listen to, she would much rather be partying right now...not to mention cleanup of this afterward would be a pain in the butt.

“Rain god please go away~!”

“Rain god?” A familiar voice chuckled “didn’t realize we had one of those…”

The violet-haired girl looked and smiled when she saw her destructive companion standing there before he slowly went over to her, wringing the rain from his hair and exhaling deeply in what appeared to be exhaustion. He plopped himself on the stool on the other side of the table and Stigmata couldn’t help but examine him silently for a moment.

His red gloves which she liked so much weren’t as faded as they used to be seeing as he didn’t use his fist to fight as much anymore, he was drenched from head to toe in water and she wondered if he had been out doing something; her question was soon answered, however, when she saw his spiked club had blood smeared across the spikes and lower part.

“You were fighting something…?”

Malroth raised an eyebrow and she motioned to the club as he laughed a bit and made an ‘oh’ sound.

“Yeah I was earlier” he explained, taking off his soaking wet vest as the builder quickly looked away “I hate sitting around doing nothing and everyone is doing that today so, I had to kill something. I’m surprised you’re not building nothing, you’re usually always tinkering with the workbench even if you don’t have nothing to make.”

“Ah well...it’s hard to build in the rain sometimes. I’m afraid it wouldn’t come out quite right. Also, next time you go out please tell me.”

“I can handle myself in a fight, you know?”

“That’s beside the point” she reminded “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Mal, I get worried.”

The destructive boy hummed slightly in response and slowly relaxed as they both listened to the ever-steady pattering of the rain. It was..relaxing, though it was currently hindering their planes, they couldn’t remember the last time they had truly sat down and relaxed. Lately, they had been running around building this or destroying that, that they haven’t taken time for themselves. It was a mostly eat, work, sleep, repeat cycle; ever since their arrival here did they do something quite like this, especially lately with all that needed to be done. There was simply no time to sit around.

“We should do this more often, Mal” Stigmata said softly “just me and you, you know?”

“Yeah...when will we have time though?”

“...I don’t know. As soon as we get back to the Isle of Awakening we’ll have our work cut out for us, there’s a lot that needs to be done there.”

Malroth hummed in agreement then looked at the apprentice builder suddenly; “you think that Natalia chick woke up yet?”

“You mean Nadia?”

“Yeah, same thing.”

Stigmata giggled a bit then pondered this question for a second; “I hope so, I want to talk to her and make sure she’s ok. And I hope if she is awake that Lulu isn’t giving her a hard time building this and that.”

“You know she is,” Malroth said with a smirk “ my Lulutopia has to be perfect! Build me a throne! Rub my feet! Bring me this, bring me that!! ”

Stigmata burst into a fit of giggles and clutched at her sides as Malroth laughed and relaxed completely at hearing the violet-haired girl’s laughter. 

“Lulu does NOT sound like that!!” She choked out between giggles.

“I don’t know, Stig, she does--”

“Mal!!”

“Ok, ok!” The destructive boy said when the apprentice builder kicked him under the table “she doesn’t sound... exactly ...like that!”

The duo continued to laugh quietly then slowly calmed down as the gentle rain put them in a sense of ease with one another once more. Again, now that she had time to truly collect her thoughts, Stigmata had to marvel at how far she’d truly come in such a short time. From an apprentice builder in Cantlin to the owner of her own island, to a source of hope and inspiration to the people of Furrowfield...it was like her biggest dreams were finally coming true, and through it all, she has made such loyal and amazing friends she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

A sudden thought striking her, Stigmata reached into her pouch and gently pulled out the love gratitude Malroth had dropped so long ago, it was still shining as brightly as ever and hummed gently in her hands. She still hadn’t been able to absorb it as she did with everyone else’s but, she couldn’t bring herself to trash it as he had told her to. Malroth glanced up at her and noticed the love gratitude in her hands as he blinked in surprise.

“You kept that thing?”

“Of course I did,” she said defensively “I didn’t want to throw away something that you made! I’ll find a purpose for it no matter what! I swear I will!”

Malroth’s ears flushed a faint pink and he looked away from her for a moment before clearing his throat.

“Weirdo…” he said slowly “fine then, keep it when you say it like that it makes me a bit happy. Knowing I finally created something for once.”

“I don’t know why it’s so difficult for you to build things, Malroth,” she said, putting the love gratitude away gently “but I swear I’ll keep helping you until you can! I know one day you’ll build something and it will come in great handy too!”

“I doubt that…” he confessed slowly “the first time I successfully build something it won’t be that important.”

“You never know!”

Malroth opened his mouth to say something then stopped suddenly when he realized the rain was slowly beginning to let up and the familiar pattering sound soon ceased into a silent calmness. The inhabitants of Furrowfield slowly began to slink out from their hiding places and enjoy the warm sun as the duo watched Rosie cheer happily that the rain had stopped then go to check on the crops.

“Guess break time is over…”

“Seems that way” Stigmata agreed, “but it was nice spending time with you Malroth, minus the searching for stuff and fighting monsters that is.”

Malroth chuckled softly and stared at the apprentice builder affectionately, “yeah...no problem Stigmata.”

Stigmata felt a strange stirring sensation arise in her chest and she exhaled shakily then looked over to notice Rosie had finished checking the crops and was running over to them, smiling brightly. No doubt it was to talk about the festival; so, clearing all other thoughts from her mind, the apprentice builder and cyan-haired farmer talked merrily about getting the festival started as the destructive boy listened to the two girls silently, a faint smile gracing his face.

Chapter Text

“Mal! I can’t get it off if you don’t hold still!!”

The destructive boy growled in frustration and swatted at the violet-haired girl’s hands to get her to stop pulling at the pumpkin mask on his head.

The Harvest Festival had gotten started quite wonderfully indeed and the inhabitants of Furrowfield were all enjoying themselves and dancing around the Deitree with their hoes in their hands. Perry had taken it upon himself to carve masks for everyone with the pumpkins that had sprouted and Stigmata found it a bit difficult to tell who was who unless she stared very carefully at their clothes. 

Now, she was attempting to help her destructive partner remove the pumpkin mask Perry had somehow managed to force on his head but each time she pulled at it, he would swat her away. She was beginning to wonder if he actually liked the mask and was just complaining for no reason…

“When I find that orange-haired bastard, I’ll kill him!” Malroth growled “this stupid thing is making me move about-I can’t stop dancing Stig! You gotta help!!”

“There’s nothing wrong with dancing, Mal! Here, dance with me!!”

Before he could protest, the apprentice builder grabbed Malroth’s hands in hers and began swaying back and forth goofily as he rolled his eyes and went along with her childish antics. Swaying back and forth in tune to whatever strange melody she had in her head; Stigmata giggled joyfully then lead him over to Britney before passing his hands into hers as the two blushed awkwardly then started dancing with one another to not upset the builder. They were rather grateful the pumpkin mask was covering their blushes.

“I didn’t take you for a dancer, Malroth” Britney teased, ignoring the glare he threw at her “then again you’re not, the author totally just put this in for kicks, didn’t they?”

“Author…?”

“Welp!” Britney exclaimed suddenly, dancing faster with the boy “no point throwing a mega tantrum! Time to get lit!!”

Britney dragged Malroth off to engage in more frantic dancing as someone approached Stimgata and she peered very carefully at their clothes to figure out who it might be.

“‘S me, Stigmata!”

“Oh! Hi Perry!” The apprentice builder said cheerfully.

“I ‘ope all Malroth’s moanin’ and ‘ollering ain’t bother you none,” he said “there en’t nothin’ wrong wi’ that mask! Matter of fact, I reckon ‘e likes it a lot more than ‘e’s letting on!”

“I think so too, but you know how very stubborn Mal can be!”

“Trust me, I kn’w Malroth’s a force to be reckoned wi’ for sure!”

Perry fell silent for a moment and began to fidget nervously as Stigmata watched him in confusion, wondering if something was the matter. Finally, Perry took a deep breath to calm his nerves then slapped at his mask firmly before looking up at the violet-haired builder once more.

“Was won’ring actually…” he began slowly “since ‘t’s a ‘arvest festival and all...would you like to… ‘arvest with me? You know...the crops?”

Stigmata blinked in surprise then smiled brightly; “of course Perry! Besides harvesting with a friend is a lot more fun and faster than doing it alone!”

Perry sweatdropped and opened his mouth to say something then decided against it and kept his mouth shut. He supposed there was no point in trying to explain his true motives to the apprentice builder, she was a bit dense but then again being able to harvest with her at all was a blessing so he would take what he could get. 

However, the orange-haired farmer’s hopes were soon brutally crushed when a yellow ghost suddenly appeared right in front of him and made a spooky screeching noise, causing the farmer to yelp loudly in fear then run off towards where Malroth and Britney were, yelling about ghost and an attack. Stigmata giggled slightly and stared at the ghost before her who adjusted his hat with smug satisfaction.

“That wasn’t nice, Mr. Ghost…”

“SoooOOOooory…” he said with a shrug “there are times when the villagers can’t see me, but I came toooOOOooo ask if I could join your farm, Stigmata! I’ll loooOOOoook out for everyone and scare off other monsters the best I can! This festival...it’s soooOOOooo beautiful! Just like how I remembered it years and years agoooOOOooo! You truly are an amazing builder!”

Stigmata’s smile widened even more if it was possible and she thanked the ghost before walking around once more to see who else was enjoying the festivities. It wasn’t long, however, before she was stopped once more by Pastor Al.

“Stigmata” he called suddenly, causing the apprentice builder to stop in her tracks and go over to him “enjoying the festival, I hope?”

“Most definitely!” She replied happily “this Harvest Festival is a huge success and everyone is having a blast!! I’m a bit bummed we couldn’t get you a pumpkin mask though Pastor...I wanted you to fit in with the rest of us!”

Pastor Al chuckled faintly; “I too would have enjoyed partaking in the wearing of pumpkin mask but it would have been quite difficult to find one my size, besides that, you’ve been working hard enough as it is Stigmata. You deserve a break from all the usual hustle and bustle you’ve been sent out to do. The Deitree is thriving, and we have more crops than we know what to do with.”

Stigmata smiled and looked around at everyone dancing and having the time of their lives until Rosie came over a few moments later with her hoe raised, causing the others to grab theirs and start harvesting at the fresh vegetables all around the farm. Malroth, she noticed, was harvesting tomatoes and putting them in a basket as Angel slowly crept over and yanked one out before running off, causing the destructive boy to yelp in shock then chase the poor hungry pup around the farm.

“Yeah” Stigmata agreed with a giggle before turning back towards the Pastor “I think this festival is good for everyone, we all needed a break. You included Pastor!”

The ends of Pastor Al’s mask lifted slightly as though he was smiling before it stopped; “well, enjoy the festival Stigmata! Off you run now!”

With a firm poke with his staff, the violet-haired builder quickly ran off to help the Furrowfield retriever that was still getting chased by Malroth.

The remainder of the festival felt like one peaceful, happy blur…

Bonanzo sung a silly little song that Malroth didn’t seem too keen to hear seeing as he threw tomatoes at the elder man, Britney and Stigmata had a fun little sparring session, Rosie gave an inspiring speech about what to expect in the future, and the inhabitants of Furrowfield ended the festival feasting on some delicious pumpkin pies baked by Saffron and Lillian themselves.

At this moment in time, surrounded by friends and her partner most of all, the apprentice builder felt like nothing could possibly go wrong.

Nothing.

Then…

...tragedy struck.

                                                                                                   *****

“PASTOR ALAKAZAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!”

Stigmata jerked awake violently, panting heavily in confusion and fear at the loud voice that had boomed through the air. 

The smell of sulfur and spoiled soil flooded her senses and she knew the III Wind had sprung up once again, but that didn’t explain the sudden voice she had heard rip through the air so loudly. Not wasting a second, the apprentice builder leaped out of bed and grabbed her clothes before hastily putting them on, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process; she then grabbed her sword and hammer and left the comfort of her small bedroom to see the rest of the inhabitants of Furrowfield already lined up by the entrance, Malroth at the front with his spiked club ready, as they watched something in the distance.

“Mal!” She yelled, running over “what’s going o-!”

Malroth put up his hand quickly to stop Stimgata in her tracks and with a singular motion of his spiked club, he motioned to the scene before them. 

There was, probably, the largest badboon Stigmata had ever seen in her entire life. Unlike the ones they usually fought, this particular badboon had bright pink fur with a purple helmet on that proudly displayed the Children of Hargon’s symbol. In front of the badboon stood Pastor Al, talking to it desperately in an attempt to have it see reason.

“We have to help!” Stigmata said desperately, a sinking feeling suddenly arising in her stomach.

“No way man…” Britney whispered “that overgrown ape totally brought some skeleton friends with him, we just have to, like, trust in Pastor Al. Feel me?”

“M-My lord! Please allow me to explain!” Pastor AL began slowly “you see--!”

“GWAAAH!!” The badboon roared “I THINK NOT!! Tell me Alakazam?! What do-o-oo the Children of Hargon value-oo-oo above all else?!”

Pastor Al remained silent for a moment then sighed in defeat before reciting; “Destruction, my lord. Destruction alone can save us. All things must be...destroyed…”

“Pastor Al…” Rosie whispered sadly.

Stigmata frowned deeply and clutched her sword tighter, wondering if there was anything she could do to help. She hadn’t the faintest clue how they’d go about fighting something so massive, nor did she think anyone was fully prepared to do such a thing; however, she couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach that seemed to increase more and more by the second.

Her attention was soon ripped back to the scene before her when she saw the badboon motion in the direction of the farm behind them.

“Destroy this farm Alakazam!” It roared with a laugh “and crush these pathetic human’s spirits for goo-oo-ood!”

Pastor Al slowly turned back towards the farm with a dejected sigh and raised his staff as it began glowing a dark and ominous red. The inhabitants of Furrowfield farm all began muttering worriedly and taking small steps back as Malroth’s eyes narrowed and he pulled out his spiked club before standing in front of the apprentice builder protectively. Stigmata felt as if she was watching some horrid nightmare unfold, to think that only hours prior everyone had been singing, dancing, and harvesting to their heart’s content...and now they were waiting in horror to see if a trusted ally would truly destroy all of their hard work.

It seemed almost too surreal…

However, her fears were soon relieved when she saw Pastor Al lower his staff in defeat and turn back towards the massive badboon, his shoulders slumped and a small quiver evident in his voice.

“I...I can not do it, my lord” he admitted slowly “I can not, no, I WILL not destroy this farm!”

Silence settled upon the area, for a longer time than Stigmata would have cared for before the badboon spoke once more.

“If yo-oo-oou will not fulfill your duty! THEN BEGONE!!”

With one fatal swipe of his claws, the badboon suddenly attacked Pastor Al, ripping through his robes easily and leaving a massive gash in his chest that spewed a terrifying amount of blood that could be seen even from where they were standing. Pastor Al groaned loudly in pain and fell to the ground, unnaturally still, as a cry emitted from Rosie.

“P-PASTOR AL!!!”

Before anyone could stop her, the cyan-haired farmer raced from the shelter of the farm and over to the wounded Pastor as the others followed suit, not knowing what else to do. Stigmata remained rooted in the same spot, however, staring in disbelief at the scene before her.

Pastor Al…

That badboon...did he...kill Pastor Al?

No…

No that couldn’t be possible, she wanted to believe that it couldn’t be yet, there was no denying the puddle of blood that was now surrounding the Pastor, and the tears that were cascading down Rosie’s face. How could the Pastor have been laughing and smiling with them only hours ago to now...being laid out on the cold, wet mud and bleeding profusely?

Not wasting another second, the apprentice builder snapped out of her initial shock and raced from the safety of the farm to join the others by Pastor Al’s side just as the badboon began to laugh heartily, the monsters at its side following suit.

“It seems if you want something done, you must do-o-oo it yourself!” The badboon scoffed “now for the final order of business!!”

The badboon plunged his hands into the ground suddenly and began forming a large ball of what seemed both rock and mud before lifting it high into the air and throwing it hard with all of his might.

After that...things seemed to move in slow motion for the builder.

She watched helplessly as the ball smashed hard into the Deitree, ripping it from the ground with one swift movement as the previous green and blue mist that once swirled around it so peacefully vanished. She watched the tree slam hard into the ground and begin withering almost instantly as though its decaying process had been somehow miraculously sped up. Bonanzo’s shouts of despair and Rosie’s wailing cries mixed with the sound of the badboon who had begun to talk once more but she didn’t hear a word he was saying...it all flowed in one ear and out the other.

The next thing she knew, she felt someone grabbing her wrist and running back towards the farm as the other inhabitants followed suit. The badboon slowly began slinking off and she saw more monsters slowly take their place, approaching from the mountains and brandishing their weapons dangerously; there had to be at least 100 or so of them.

How could this have happened…?

How did the situation escalate that quickly…?

Is Pastor Al...is he…?

What is she suppose to do…?

‘How am I suppose to fix this?’ She thought fearfully.

How…?

How?!

Ho-?!?

“Stigmata.”

The apprentice builder snapped out of it suddenly and looked around to notice everyone was standing in the center of town where the Deitree once stood, grouped around her with their weapons drawn and saddened yet determined looks upon their faces. In front of her stood Malroth, those dark red eyes of his staring directly into hers as though trying to figure out what was going on in that mind of hers; though, she had a feeling he already knew.

“Focus.” He said slowly “I’m talking to you.”

“I...I’m sorry Malroth…” Stigmata said slowly, exhaling shakily “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry Stigmata, not now. You did nothing wrong, we’re going to fix this ok?”

“No” she replied shakily, feeling her eyes slowly start to water “no I can’t…! I can’t fix this Malroth..I...I--!”

“We’ll fix it!” Rosie interjected suddenly as Stigmata slowly glanced up at her, she noticed that the cyan-haired farmer was shaking heavily, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying but she was still staring at the apprentice builder with such determination it astonished her “we’ll f..fix this Stigmata! D...Do...Don’t give up on us!! Please!!”

“Y...Yeah!” Perry agreed.

“Let’s show those j...jerks who the heck we are!!” Britney added.

The others nodded firmly and began shouting words of encouragement as Malroth slowly stepped forward and grabbed one of Stigmata’s hands, causing her to turn her attention back towards him.

“No matter what happens...we will fix this.” He reassured softly, his voice so quiet she was sure she was the only person who could hear him “Stigmata I…”

Malroth exhaled shakily and slowly squeezed the violet-haired builder’s hand as she waited patiently for him to continue talking.

“I..” he began slowly “I’ve never felt this feeling before...what they did to Pastor Al and the Deitree...what that stupid ape said about builders...I can’t allow it. I won’t allow it. We CAN’T let them get away with this!! I need your help...please Stigmata…”

Stigmata exhaled deeply and slowly gave Malroth’s hand a gentle squeeze back before letting go and pulling out her stone sword. Malroth smiled slightly and grabbed at his spiked club as the two turned towards the approaching monsters. The other inhabitants of Furrowfield who were willing to fight grabbed their weapons quickly and readied themselves.

“Alright Mal,” she said firmly “let’s do this.”

“Right behind ya, Stig.”

                                                                                                       *****

The fighting seemed to last for hours.

Wave after wave of skeletons, Deadnauts, gremlins, prestidigitators, and maulusc seemed to attack us. Each one was eventually cut down with a few swings of the weapons the apprentice builder had provided everyone, not to mention Malroth alone was a majority of their brute force. 

Eventually, the fighting came to a slow but abrupt end, and the inhabitants of Furrowfield farm who had participated were all panting in exhaustion and practically fell upon the ground in an attempt to regain their bearings. Stigmata let out a series of uneven and fast pants before kneeling on the ground slowly, not minding the mud staining at her clothes; mud was certainly the least of her worries right now...not after what happened to the Deitree…

And Pastor Al.

Hot tears welled up in Stigmata’s eyes and she hung her head quickly to avoid anyone seeing her in such a pitiful state.

It still felt so utterly surreal how so much had happened in such a short amount of time. Just last night everyone was smiling and having the time of their lives during the Harvest Festival, laughing and eating to their heart’s content, and now, that lively and happy atmosphere was dead. Their smiles were replaced with frowns and glares, their smoothed and clean clothes now covered in mud and blood, instead of hoes they now held swords and clubs...the entire demeanor of the farm had changed for the worst, and she was powerless to prevent it.

How was she expected to become a full-fledged builder if she couldn’t even protect anyone…?

Sudden footsteps ripped the apprentice builder from her somber state and she lifted her head to see none other than Malroth standing there, staring down at her silently. Unlike the others, Malroth wasn’t panting and didn’t even look exhausted in the slightest, and though he was coated heavily in blood, she knew none of it was his. The only noticeable difference she could see from his usual fights was the look upon his face; unlike the mischievous smile or satisfied smirk he usually had after a battle...his mouth was set into a thin straight line, without a hint of a smile or a frown, and his eyes were narrowed and, though it may have been a trick of the light, Stigmata could have sworn they were glowing a dark red.

Before she could think about it any further, the destructive boy held out his hand to her.

“Mal--”

“Come on,” he insisted, stretching his hand out further “we have to check the damage.”

Swallowing back her fear, Stigmata slowly took his hand and allowed him to hoist her up as they joined the others over by Pastor Al’s side.

The first thing she heard upon getting closer was Rosie’s hysterical sobbing that seemed to cut through the air loud and clear amidst the heavy silence. The others were whimpering and crying as quietly as they could amongst themselves but it was still loud enough for the apprentice builder to hear it.

A shaky cough suddenly penetrated the silence and they all looked quickly to see Pastor Al let out a breathy wheeze before coughing again, as though trying to get some air back into his lungs...but it certainly wouldn’t be enough.

“Pa...Pastor Al…?!?” Rosie choked out between her consisted sobbing.

“Hm...hm….hm….this is...it for me...I...I am afraid…” Pastor Al slowly began, coughing after each word and shuddering heavily.

“‘Ang in t’ere Pastor!!” Perry pleaded, sniffling hard.

“Yeah! You...You totally can’t give up!” Britney exclaimed “we have like, medicine or something!! Stigmata, don’t we?!”

They all turned towards the apprentice builder hopefully and she felt her heart sink into her stomach.

Medicine…?

It had been hard enough to find fresh soil and seeds on this island, it would be a miracle from Rubiss herself to find anything to make an adequate medicine, especially with the severity of Pastor Al’s wounds. On top of that, monsters were different from humans in terms of the type of food they ate to the type of medicine they needed; even if she did manage to find something to suffice as medicine, it wouldn’t work on Pastor Al.

“I...I…”

“Well come on my girl!” Bonanazo snapped, causing the apprentice builder to flinch “you must have something!”

“Yeah! Saffron added, “don’t you have like a--?!”

“No.”

Everyone looked at Malroth suddenly who crossed his arms and stood in front of Stigmata slightly; “she doesn’t have medicine. Use your damn heads for a second where the hell would she get medicine from. Pastor Al only has a matter of time.”

They all flinched at the harshness of his words but slowly turned away, knowing it was true. Pastor Al only had a matter of time before he was gone forever, these were just his last words.

“Worry not...everyone…” Pastor Al continued, diverting the attention back to him “this was...only a matter of time...M...Malroth…?”

Malroth raised his head a bit and stepped closer.

“You once...asked me where the Deitree originally...came from...if it merely sprouted from the ground...or by some other means...the truth is...the first Deitree was built, by...the Legendary Builder...who came here so...so long ago…”

A small gasp of surprise left everyone and they exchanged confused glances with one another as Malroth’s eyes narrowed again and he mulled this new information over in his head.

“The first Deitree was built” Malroth muttered to himself in deep thought “that means…”

His sentence trailed off and he instead turned his gaze to Stigmata as she stared back at him in silence, already aware of the idea formulating in his mind.

“Stigmata...my child…” Pastor Al continued, slowly removing the clasp of his cloak as Rosie helped him remove it “take...take this…”

The cyan-haired farmer handed the cloak to Stigmata and she turned it over in her hands gently, noticing the rather intricate pattern on it that she hadn’t ever paid attention to before and how the wind seemed to collect in it like a kite of some sort despite being folded up in her arms. 

“My cloak...also serves as a Windbraker, you will...need it if you plan to rebuild the Deitree...from the ground up…” He groaned loudly and coughed up a bit of blood before turning his attention to Rosie instead, “Rosie...my dear apprentice...I have taught you all...all I know...now it falls to...you...to help aid Stigmata...I know you can do this...do not give up your dreams...only seek a way...forward…”

Rosie let out a pained whimper and nodded slowly as Pastor Al started to glow slightly, signifying he was going to disappear quite soon as all monsters do before their untimely death. At this point, the cries and whimpers of the inhabitants increased tenfold, and Stigmata felt tears stream down her cheeks nonstop as Malroth turned away silently and walked off.

“Though it was only...for one night...I am glad to have...become a builder….”

Then with that, Pastor Al disappeared into bright blinding light as his dearest friends were left with nothing more than to mourn the space he previously occupied.

Chapter Text

The next day was a somber one.

The usual rowdy chattering of conversation Stigmata was so used to hearing was silenced entirely; the bright smiles adorning everyone’s face had turned into deep frowns or a blank stare. Everyone seemed to move around like zombies, just getting their task done like it was all they had to do. Malroth, who usually made it a goal to try and fight Perry or Clayton once a day, was hanging out by the watering hole instead with his eyes closed. Stigmata couldn’t even begin to think about what was going on in his mind. The thought of doing so slightly frightened her.

The violet-haired builder glanced over at the lonely spot that once held the Deitree and felt a pang of sadness and guilt strike her once more. The gentle cooling breeze surrounding Furrowfield farm was no more, and the horrid smell of rotten eggs began to resurface after its destruction. The usual glimmering blue and green mist that had previously surrounded the tree was also nowhere to be seen. She wondered if she would ever see something like it again.

She very much doubted it.

Footsteps broke the apprentice builder from her depressing thoughts, and she looked to see Malroth standing beside her now, his arms crossed as he stared at the builder’s bell where Rosie sat alone, her eyes closed as if she was in deep thought.

“Mal-”

“I hate seeing you give up, Stigmata.” He confessed after a moment’s silence, turning his gaze to her, “it’s not a good look on you.”

Stigmata let a humorless laugh escape her throat before she fell silent again, unsure how to respond to Malroth’s sudden comment. True, she was feeling less than hopeful after what happened to Pastor Al and the Deitree, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with a concrete enough idea to help restore everyone’s hopes.

“Maybe you could try ringing the bell,” he offered “it might help inspire you or something, right?”

“It doesn’t work like that, Mal,” she sighed. “I can only ring the bell to inspire the people of Furrowfield if they dropped enough gratitude, and after what happened, they’ve hardly been dropping any! Ringing the bell now would do nothing….”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know….”

“No.” He challenged, “you don’t Stig because you’re not even trying. I thought you never gave up! When I first met you, you never gave up no matter what challenges people threw at you! You kept pushing forward no matter what happened!!”

“That was different!” She exclaimed, “Pastor Al is dead because of what I tried to do, Mal! The Deitree is gone!! How am I supposed to possibly fix this?!”

Malroth gritted his teeth angrily and stared at the violet-haired builder in silence. He didn’t want to argue with her; that was the last thing he wanted to do, but seeing her so sad and unmotivated like this was weird. It didn’t suit her at all, and he confessed he missed seeing her goofy smile and watching her pigtails fly around as she ran back and forth around the farm.

“There’s always a way to fix it….”

“How?!?”

Without another word, Malroth suddenly grabbed the wooden hammer from Stigmata’s back and marched over to the builder’s bell, ignoring the protesting voice of the girl behind him. Rosie, who still had her eyes closed, opened them upon hearing the commotion and squeaked in fear before quickly moving out of the way as she saw Malroth approaching with the hammer tightly in his hands. She wasn’t sure what his motives were, but she surely wasn’t going to stick around to find out why Malroth had a hammer in his hands.

The destructive boy effortlessly bounded up the stairs leading to the bell, and before Stigmata could stop him, he raised the hammer and slammed it hard against the bell.

Groans of pain emitted like a chorus from the farm and everyone quickly covered their ears at the shrill noise as Malroth dropped the hammer and covered his pointed ears, not realizing how heavily he had hit the bell. Stigmata quickly swooped up her hammer and returned it to its rightful place before going over to the bell and grabbing it to stop the shrill ringing from hurting their ears. However, the damage was already done, and the inhabitants of Furrowfield gathered around the bell and stared at the apprentice builder curiously.

“Mal…!” She hissed under her breath.

Malroth slowly removed his hands from his ears and smirked playfully, causing a blush of anger to work its way across her face.

“Well...what’s all this then?” Clayton spoke up, motioning to Stigmata, Malroth, and Rosie, who happened to be the three closest to the builder’s bell, “trying to rupture our eardrums so early in the morning?!”

“I’ll rupture your face if you don’t shut the hell up,” Malroth growled, reaching for his spiked club as the apprentice builder quickly stopped him.

“No, no!” Stigmata said hastily, forcing a smile on her face, “I’m sorry, everyone, that was an accident!”

“You rung t’e bell by accident…?” Perry said slowly.

Disappointment started to show on the faces of everyone on the farm, and Stigmata wished she had kept her mouth shut. Usually, whenever she rang the bell, she always had some grand idea or invention to share. Everyone would be filled with joy; now, she realized they were probably hoping for a strange invention from the violet-haired builder to lift their spirits.

“I…” she began weakly, “well I….”

“We should build the Deitree from scratch!”

Everyone snapped their gaze in Rosie’s direction at her sudden outburst, and from the looks she was receiving, you think she’d have sprouted a second head; despite the odd looks, however, the cyan-haired builder held her head up high and continued.

“Think about it!” She began, “before Pastor Al…before he died, he mentioned the first Deitree wasn’t planted; it was built from scratch by the Legendary Builder! Who’s to say we can’t do the same? That brainy badboon might have destroyed the one we had, but we can build another!”

“T’at seems like a good idea,” Perry agreed slowly before shaking his head, “but w’ere on ‘arth are we gonna find t’e materials?!”

“He has a point, my dear Rosie!” Bonanza agreed, “build the Deitree as we might; I am certain it will take far more than regular materials to construct something so extraordinary!”

Rosie smiled brightly; “Pastor Al explained that to me as well! He mentioned that the old Deitree wasn’t destroyed! It may have withered and died, but its remains are still around here somewhere.”

“Wait a minute!” Malroth interjected as the violet-haired builder silently thanked him for speaking up since she couldn’t from her surprise at the whole ordeal “so you mean to tell me the old Deitree is still around here?! So if we find something off of it and put it on the one, we plan to build, then-”

“Then we can have the perfect Deitree!” Rosie stated firmly.

Murmurs of agreement and hope began to circulate throughout the inhabitants of Furrowfield farm at the proposal as Stigmata continued wracking her brain for an answer.

Rebuild the Deitree…?

That was certainly easier said than done. The number of materials needed would be astronomical, not to mention finding out what exactly they’d need from the Old Deitree to make theirs get rid of the III Wind. Despise her growing concerns; however, the apprentice builder couldn’t help but feel…excited. Building something the legendary builder once made and being able to say she created it proudly, the thought sent her blood rushing, and a slow grin crept onto her face.

“Let’s do it!” She exclaimed happily, “we’ll rebuild the Deitree!”

Everyone cheered loudly as Malroth allowed a faint smile to appear on his face, glad his friend was getting back into her usual groove. Though he was still angered by the tree's destruction and Pastor Al’s death, he couldn’t let himself dwell on it forever; Furrowfield still needed their help.

“Oi Stigmata!” Wrigley exclaimed, going closer to the apprentice builder “if you’m lookin’ for the Old Deitree, I’ve got an idea where ‘ee should start your search! Runnin’ from the Children of ‘Argon took me from one end of this island to the other! I think I caught a glimpse of that old tree on my travels!”

“Well, cough up the information then, wormy!” Malroth said, pulling out his spiked club, “tell us what you know!”

“The nerve!”

Stigmata made Malroth lower the club and apologized on behalf of her friend before Wrigley continued.

Wrigley explained to the duo how the Deitree’s remains were on a smaller island off the coast of Furrowfield and how he figured it would be a tad bit too far to try and swim there. That was when Rosie suggested that Stigmata give the windbreaker Pastor Al gifted her a try, and without further ado, the apprentice builder and her destructive partner set off.

*****

It hadn’t occurred to the apprentice builder that she would have to jump off a cliff to reach the other island…until she was standing on the cliff's edge.

Malroth seemed absolutely thrilled about jumping off a cliff, and he examined the distance from this island to the next in the most grotesque way possible.

“If you miss the jump, we’re going to plummet into that water, Stig!” He noted, unaware of the apprentice builder’s look of fear, “but even if we do make the jump, there’s also the possibility the wind will snatch us up and impale us on some sharp rocks! Then also–!”

“I get it, Mal!” She interjected, “we could die a very horrible death! Thanks for reminding me!”

“Wait…don’t tell me…”

Malroth moved closer to the apprentice builder and smirked happily as she watched him curiously, already dreading what absurd accusation would come out of his mouth now.

“Are you afraid of heights, Stig?!”

“What?!” She exclaimed in disbelief, “of course not! You saw me jump off that mountain at the Isle of Awakening, and that was a pretty big drop, you know?!”

“Yeah, yeah,” the destructive boy said with a wave of dismissal, “that was different though; that mountain was easy to slide down the side of, and besides, it wasn’t that big of a drop, Stig. This though-”

He motioned to the other island in the distance.

“-that’s miles away with nothing but sharp rocks and ocean to break our fall, and need I remind you of the monster that lives in the ocean?”

Stigmata shivered slightly at the thought of the slimy ocean creature that dwelled below and took a deep breath to try and steel her nerves. True, the idea of plummeting into the ocean wasn’t favorable; neither was being blown into sharp rocks by the wind, but she couldn’t stand by this cliffside forever! The people of Furrowfield needed their help to rebuild the Deitree from the ground up!

“You’re right, Mal!” She said firmly, “come on, let’s go!!”

“Now you’re talking!”

The apprentice builder took another deep breath and exhaled slowly as Malroth prepared himself to jump after her so he could grab hold of her ankles. Since Pastor Al had initially owned the Windbreaker, weight wasn’t an issue with the two of them, but since Maltorh didn’t have enough room to hang onto, he opted to just hang on by the builder’s ankles which she had no complaints about.

“Ready…set…GO!!”

Stigmata sprinted towards the edge as Malroth followed closely in her footsteps before leaping off the cliff. Almost instantly, Malroth grabbed onto the apprentice builder’s ankles, so she deployed the Windbreaker before the sudden weight could break their monument, and with a loud, almost frightening WHOOSH, they were off! After getting over her initial fear of falling to her death, the apprentice builder had to admit the view was stunning.

The sunlight reflected off the water’s surface as it sparkled like a giant sapphire, and the wind whipping through her hair and filling her lungs was so refreshing that she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to get enough of it. Malroth laughed loudly in joy, and he said something, but whatever it was, was practically impossible to hear with the rushing wind filling her ears.

Upon approaching the other island, the apprentice builder and her destructive partner saw a badboon accompanied by two skeletons, two prestidigitators, and two gremlins. They surrounded the remains of what she assumed was the old Deitree, and she knew they had to be up to no good.

“Malroth, get ready to drop!!”

“Get ready to wh-AHH!!”

The apprentice builder closed the Windbreaker and let them fall onto the ground as Malroth hit the ground hard and tumbled a bit. Stigmata managed to land on her feet, but she swayed a bit and yelped in surprise before getting her bearings back as the sudden noise attracted the attention of the monsters lurking by the Deitree.

“What…the…fuck?!?” Malroth snarled as he stood up angrily, dusting the dirt and mud from his clothing and taking out his club in a flash “a warning would have been nice!”

“I did warn you!!” She defended, “I told you to get ready to drop!!”

“You think I could hear you over all that damn wind?!?”

“Oh…”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘oh…’ YOU LITTLE-!!”

“HUMANS!!” The badboon yelled suddenly, cutting off whatever Malroth was going to say.

The destructive boy’s eyes narrowed, and he stood protectively in front of the apprentice builder as she pulled out her stone sword and faced the monsters cautiously.

“What in the name of Hargon are filthy humans doing here?!” One of the prestidigitators spat harshly.

“For the Deitree, no doubt!” The badboon said, “but you’re too late!!”

“What do you mean we’re too late?” Stigmata asked.

“The Brainy Badboon destroyed this wretched tree himself!” The badboon sneered, “and that’s not all, the Primate turned your silly symbol of hope into the source of your great suffering!! Keehee!! Haven’t you ever wondered where the spoilspores come from?!?”

“You’re full of shit!” Malroth challenged, “we know the spoilspores come from the Ill Wind!”

One of the skeletons let out an evil cackle; “deny it all you want, human scum! But the truth is obvious, but now that you know our secret…WE CAN’T ALLOW YOU TO LIVE!!”

Instantly, the prestidigitators sent a blast of fireballs at the duo as Malroth leaped to the right and Stigmata quickly rolled to the left, allowing the fiery blast to pass them by.

“Let’s take these guys out, Mal!”

“Right behind ya, Stig!”

The apprentice builder smiled and raced toward one of the gremlins before stabbing it through the chest with her sword before twirling around and slamming the hilt of her sword into a skeleton approaching her from behind, causing it to exclaim loudly in pain. Malroth came up quickly and slammed his club into the skeleton’s head, breaking it apart into pieces before hastily dodging another fireball from the prestidigitator. Stigmata flicked the dead gremlin from her blade and ducked down as the badboon made a grab for her head and stabbed her sword into one of its legs as it howled in pain.

“Come here you!” The remaining gremlin growled as it latched onto Malroth’s head, causing him to punch at the thing wildly, unable to see.

“GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU UGLY THING!!”

“Mal!”

A sudden burst of warmth jolted the apprentice builder back to her senses, and she dodged just in time as another firebolt whizzed past her before lighting the badboon’s fur on fire as it howled in shock and began jumping around wildly, accidentally smashing its skeleton mate into nothing but fine powder. All that was left now was the two prestidigitators, the gremlin and the badboon itself.

Using the badboon’s rampage as a distraction, Stigmata raced over to Malroth and planted her feet firmly into the mud before rearing her fist back and slamming it hard into the gremlin’s back. The winged creature yelled loudly in pain and released its tight grip from Malroth as the destructive boy wasted no time slamming his spiked club into its side, causing it to fly off and slam hard into the destroyed Deitree as blood splattered everywhere.

“Gros…” Stigmata muttered quietly as Malroth smirked in delight.

“YOU!!”

The duo turned quickly to see the flames were now extinguished from the badboon’s fur, and it was facing the pair, one prestidigitator on either side of it.

“You take the one on the left….” Malroth whispered.

“...and you take the one on the right,” Stigmata agreed, “then we fight the badboon together!”

“Stig, I swear you’re my soulmate.”

Stifling a giggle, Stigmata ran to the left as Malroth took the right, dodging the heavy swipe from the badboon. The apprentice builder waited until the prestidigitator fired off another fiery bolt before stabbing her sword through its cloth as it wailed in pain. She pulled the blade out and plunged it in once more as the prestidigitator disappeared in a poof of smoke, and she rounded on the badboon as it lunged at her in anger.

“YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT!!”

Before the badboon could land a hit, Malroth slammed his spiked club into its backside as it hit the ground with a heavy thud, howling loudly in pain and resentment. Stigmata jerked her sword upwards and stabbed her stone sword through the monster’s chin and into its head as it let out a sickly, wet gargle before disappearing in a puff of smoke as all vanquished monsters do.

Malroth let out a huff of agitation and flicked the blood from his club before returning it to its rightful place as Stigmata smiled in glee and held up her hand.

“Bring it in, Mal!!”

He smiled, and the two shared a satisfying high five as Stigmata returned her sword to its sheath before turning towards the destroyed Deitree as Malroth stood by her side. To see such a beautiful creation made by the Legendary Builder in such a state, it was heartbreaking, no doubt about it. She had always longed to gaze upon such a beautiful object, and to see it like this was an insult to builders all around. Weeks, months, or even years of hard work must have been put into this creation, and the Children of Hargon just destroyed it within seconds.

“Hey,” Malroth said softly, placing a hand on Stigmata’s shoulder as though he could hear her thoughts, “we’ll make a better one. The best damn Deitree in the world, let’s see if there’s anything salvageable from what’s left of it.”

‘Young builder…come to me….’

“Wait…did you hear that?!” Stigmata asked, looking around slowly.

“Hear what…?” Malroth said curiously.

A bright pink glow started to emit from the center of the Deitree, and without a moment’s hesitation, Stigmata ran towards it as her destructive partner followed. The two stood before the strange pink glow as Malroth eyed it suspiciously; however, Stigmata couldn’t help but feel a sense of…familiarity almost at the sight of the pink glow. Like she had seen it somewhere before; besides that, the feeling it was giving off was one of warmth and comfort, and also of sorrow and sickness, like its time was limited.

‘Young builder…so thou are the one they call…Stigmata…’

“Is that tree talking?!”

“You’ve heard of me?” Stigmata questioned, ignoring the disbelief on her partner's face.

‘Yes…long have I awaited someone like thee…but…shouldst thou truly wish to rebuild the Deitree…thou hast no choice but to destroy me….’

“No…” Stigmata frowned, instantly feeling tears spring to her eyes “we can try to save you! The Legendary Builder put you here to protect Furrowfield!”

“Yeah!” Malroth agreed, “whatever those Children of Hargon freaks did to you, Stigmata can fix it for sure! She’s a damn good builder, you know?!”

‘Noble of heart…are thou; however, I am well beyond the realms of repair…the duty bestowed upon me…by the Builder…will be granted to another…stronger…more capable. I have not the strength left…to protect Furrowfeild…as I once did…young builder…take the five pieces of Heartwood…that reside within my roots…with those…thou shall rebuild the Deitree….’

The duo exchanged a glance with one another, then nodded slowly as they left the underside of the tree to scout out the five pieces of Heartwood. Admiss the blackened and decaying wood, they weren’t at all hard to find. They seemed like solid gold pieces of wood that hummed with gentle energy and glowed so brightly it was almost blinding to stare at for too long. Once they finished rounding up all five pieces, Stigmata carefully placed them within her bag as they both returned to the underside of the tree where, thankfully, the pink glow was still waiting.

‘Good…good…within the holy heartwood thou hast gathered burneth what little remaineth of my life force...only now may I finally die…the ill wind that flowed from my corrupted form hath spread far and wide…I fear that my destruction alone…cannot bring an end…to the evils that plague this land…but through my strength and through the power that still dwelleth within my heartwood…a new Deitree may be born…creation is born of destruction…but mourn not for nothing can be built from nothing…thou hast my deepest thanks…for destroying me…now with this knowledge I bestow upon thou…go forth…and return life to this fair isle….’

With that, the pink glow slowly began to swirl and flowed gently through Stigmata’s chest as her eyes widened, and she gasped.

The view before her was…entirely different now!

The decaying wood of the Deitree was gone, as was her partner Malroth; what stood before her vision now was the Deitree as it was many years ago, fully bloomed and bursting with life as rabbits, dear, sparrows, and all sorts of peaceful wildlife milled around it. The warmth and fresh air that entered Stigmata’s lungs were unlike any she’d ever felt before, and her eyes watered at the freshness of it all. As she marveled at the sight before her, a blueprint slowly worked its way into her mind. The levels of the Deitree, how many materials would be needed, and where the Heartwood would be placed. Without wasting another moment, Stigmata practically yanked her large book from its backpack and began sketching the blueprint of the Deitree as she wrote its materials off to the side, making note of every little thing possible if a single thing were left out the Deitree wouldn’t be able to function as it originally had before.

By the time the apprentice builder was finished writing, her hand was cramping considerably, and she was panting heavily like she had run a marathon; the vision of the once thriving Deitree slowly began to fade from her mind, and she looked to see Malroth staring at her worriedly before a look of relief flashed in his crimson red eyes, and a smile adorned his face.

“You’ve done it, haven’t you?!” He asked happily “judging by the way you were scribbling so fast in that book of yours, I’d say you got a blueprint for the Deitree?”

“You bet I have!” Stigmata exclaimed, practically bouncing on her heels from excitement “the whole blueprint and all the materials we’ll need are right here! We can really build it!! We can, Mal, it’ll be so easy; we just have to go place the blueprint down in the center of Furrowfield!”

“Well, what are we waiting for then?! Use your map and warp us there!”

Stigmata looped one of her arms happily through Malroth’s and opened up her map as the glowing X appeared above Furrowfield, and without a moment’s hesitation, she pressed down on it as they were warped back to the farm to deliver the good news.

Chapter Text

“That…that’s a huge blueprint, Stigmata!!”

“You said it, Rosie!” Britney agreed, staring at the blueprint the apprentice builder had placed on the ground. “Just looking at this thing is totally giving me a headache!”

“‘Ow on Eart’ we gonna make a t’ing like t’at?!” Perry exclaimed, shaking his head in evident agitation.

Stigmata placed her book back in its rightful place, narrowly avoiding the sneaky grab Malroth had tried to make towards it and turned towards the inhabitants of Furrowfield, a cheery and bright smile adorning her face as usual.

“You guys!” She said, “Don’t get your hopes down already! I know this looks like a lot, but if we want to revive Furrowfield back to its natural glory and get rid of the Ill Wind once and for all, then this is what we have to do! Just think, before long, there’ll be lush green grass everywhere, and we’ll have so many crops we won’t know what to do with them all! Don’t you all want that?!”

Murmurs of agreement and happiness began to issue from Furrowfield’s inhabitants, and Rosie was among the first to speak up.

“You’re right, Stigmata!” Rosie said, “the Deitree is exactly what we need to help Furrowfield become the great farmland it once was…but…the only problem is we’re not sure what to do. We’ve never actually built anything before, not properly anyways….”

“Are you serious?!”

“She has a point, Stig,” Malroth chuckled upon seeing the look on the violet-haired builder’s face. “You’re the one who does all the building around here, remember? They do the farming, and I do the destroying.”

Now that she was thinking about it, Stigmata realized Malroth’s words held nothing but truth. While the inhabitants of Furrowfield all plowed away at the fields, she was running around building whatever they desired: houses, barns, tools, a bathhouse! Whatever it was they needed, she never had them make it themselves. The sudden realization almost caused the apprentice builder to give herself a firm facepalm, but she refrained from doing it in front of everyone.

“You make a good point, Rosie….” Stigmata confessed with a sigh, “I have to teach you all how to build first.”

Noticing the apprentice builder’s gloominess, Perry bit his lip briefly before stepping forward boldly, trying to ignore the slight glare Malroth was giving him {which was easier said than done}.

“Don’t you worry bout a t’ing, Stigmata!” He said, “We’ll need a ‘ole lot of blocks to build this ‘ere tree! So, w’ile you’re teachin’ t’ese two ‘ow to build, we’ll go and collect all the materials we need!!”

“H-He’s right!!” Saffron wailed as she too, stepped forward. “The thought of going out there with those evil Children of Hargon running around is awful, but I want to see this Deitree built to fruition! I’ll go with Perry to help gather materials!!”

“So will I!” Clayton quickly added, standing beside Perry and Saffron.

“ You’re going?!” Malroth snorted. “You’re the scariest one here!”

“I’ll have you know that I wish to support my dear cousin's endeavors, Malroth!” Clayton snapped, “I might be a bit scary, but I still have to pull my weight around here, you know?! I must, for the sake of Furrowfield!”

“Oh…” Stigmata said softly as she placed a hand to her heart, “you guys….”

The apprentice builder felt her eyes start to water heavily, and Malroth gasped quietly before pulling out his spiked club as Perry and Clayton instantly took a step back.

“Alright, you jerks!!” The destructive boy growled, “I’ll show you what happens to people who make Stig cry!!”

“No! Mal, it’s ok!!” She said hastily, halting her partner from unleashing his wrath upon the two innocent farm dwellers, “These are happy tears! I’m happy!!”

“Happy tears…?” Malroth said in confusion before slowly putting his club away. “Stig, you’re so weird, but if you say so, then I guess it’s alright.”

“Right then…” Saffron said warily as she tugged at Clayton and Perry’s arms, “I think that’s our cue to go! Don’t worry, Stigmata; we’ll gather as many materials for the Deitree as possible! You can count on us!”

With that, the three set off quickly. From there, the other inhabitants of Furrowfield began to assign themselves to necessary tasks. Lillian said she would be in the kitchen making meals and snacks for everyone so they wouldn't grow hungry while working; Britney said she’d resume her guarding duties around Furrowfield so the monsters wouldn’t get the jump on them. The other residents of Furrowfield all began to continue the upkeep and plowing of the crops so they wouldn’t be neglected. The Furrowfiels retriever Stigmata had found, Angel, was also helping Britney guard by barking and growling at any shadow she deemed suspicious.

“So that just leaves us then!” Rosie beamed, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose. “You just go ahead and start building Stigmata! Bonanzo and I will observe you so we can get the hang of it, then when the others come back, we can teach them for you, so you don’t have your hands full trying to do all that!”

“Right then, my girl!!” Bonanzo said with a hearty laugh, “let your building expertise run wild, and we shall observe your every move!”

Stigmata smiled and began pulling bark out from within her bag as Malroth watched from a distance, his arms crossed. For some reason, he couldn’t help but feel a bit…useless. Stigmata knew he couldn’t build, so she wouldn’t ask him to do that; a hunting party for materials had already been sent out. He certainly wasn’t the best farmer, and Britney was already in charge of guard duty…so what was he to do? Stand here and hope something arises so he’d have a chance to look like he was helping out.

He wasn’t sure what he could do to help, but he felt stupid just standing here doing nothing while the others were working so hard.

“Hey…St–”

“Bwaaah!!” Bonanzo exclaimed after Stigmata had finished placing down her final piece of bark, “watching you place those pieces of bark in the perfect position was an educational experience indeed!! Why, it was positively epiphanic!!”

“Epi…what?”

Bonanzo was saved the trouble of explaining when Clayton and the others suddenly returned, panting heavily and out of breath.

“Are you all alright?!” Rosie asked worriedly. “You did that awfully fast!”

“F-Fast?!” Perry exclaimed through his heavy panting, “we were gone…for…an ‘our! We put our…blood…sweat…and tears into this stuff…Stigmata!!”

“H-He’s right!” Saffron panted, “and I…I tried my hand at building…and made some wooden stairs…! I got inspired by…you, Stigmata! All because…of you!!”

“I-I collected so much…bark and leaves…we should have enough…to make TWO Deitrees!” Clayton exhaled.

“Oh my goodness!!” Stigmata said in awe as she watched the three unload the abundance of supplies they acquired into a three chest “You guys did amazing!! Thank you!”

However, the apprentice builder’s words fell on deaf ears because as soon as the materials were safely deposited into the chests, the three collapsed, fast asleep.

“Falling asleep at a time like this?! Bah, they’ve worked hard, so I suppose I can let this impudent behavior slide!” Bonanzo said as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. 

Using Bonanzo’s slight distraction to her advantage, Rosie walked closer to Stigmata and gently tapped the apprentice builder’s shoulder to gain her attention.

“Stigmata,” she began, “I remember Pastor Al mentioned that when the ancient builder first built the Deitree, it was decorated with beautiful flowers in three different colors! If we want the blueprint to be as accurate as possible, we’ll also need those flowers.”

“Ay, the Chromatic Cays!” Wrigley exclaimed, suddenly popping up beside the two girls “is what they used to call ‘em! One of the islands is just to the east of my old burrow, where ‘ee first met me! ‘Ee should be able to fly over from the cliff overlookin’ the sea there! You’ll probably want to warp to Fat Rat Rise first, it might even be worth your while askin’ some of the fat rats there for ‘elp!”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Stigmata said with a bright smile, “come on, Mal, let’s go!”

“Yeah…”

The apprentice builder waited until her destructive partner stood by her side, then used the map to warp to Fat Rat Rise as Wrigley instructed before setting off in the direction Wrigley had mentioned. For some reason, Stigmata couldn’t help but notice that Malroth was being much more silent than normal, like he had something on his mind, but usually, whenever he was troubled, he’d let the violet-haired builder know what it was right away.

“Mal…?”

“Hm?”

“Is something the matter?” She asked curiously.

“What makes you say that, Stig?” He said with a slight grin, “if something were wrong, you know I’d always tell you.”

“I know…” she confessed softly, “but ever since we got back to Furrowfield, you’ve been really quiet. I know you can’t help me build, but you don’t feel like I neglect you…right?”

“Neglect me?! Stigmata, of course, I don’t feel that way!” Malroth exclaimed, letting out a deep sigh “I just wish I could help you more, that’s all. I can’t build for shit, and you already know that; watching you teach Rosie and Bonanzo how to build, I won’t lie, I was jealous as hell. That, and I feel like I can’t help contribute to all the hard work you’re putting in. It’s just a bit frustrating….”

Stigmata slowly stopped walking and turned to face Malroth as he quickly looked away, focusing his attention instead on a rock on the ground that he suddenly found quite interesting.

“Malroth…”

The destructive boy kept his gaze firmly on the small rock on the ground as Stigmata frowned slightly before moving closer to him.

“Mal” she repeated softly again, “will you look at me please?”

The destructive boy grimaced a bit, dreading whatever look might be on the apprentice builder’s face, and slowly looked up at her to see her usual happy-go-lucky smile was replaced with a softer and gentler one.

“What are we, Mal?”

“Huh?”

“Answer the question,” she said simply “What are we?”

“...friends?” The destructive boy answered uncertainly, before noticing the slightly offended look on the apprentice builder’s face, “best friends.”

“Annnnnd~?” She said slowly, her smile widening even more “Before we became best friends, what were we?” 

“Partners!” Malroth exclaimed in slight agitation, “That’s obvious, Stig, why are you-!”

“Exactly, Mal.” Stigmata stepped even closer to Malroth and grasped his hand within her own, causing a weird warmth to spread in his hands as his cheeks dusted a light pink from the sudden touch of affection, “we’re partners, you and me. Not me and Rosie, not me and Perry, or me and Clayton; me and you! That means wherever I go, you go and vice versa, we have to stick together no matter what! So what if you can’t build?! You can do so many other amazing things and inspire people around you with your funny personality and protectiveness! If it weren’t for you, I would have gotten captured or beaten up something nasty by the Children of Hargon but each time you’ve been there to protect me. I can’t do this alone Malroth, so don’t ever say you don’t contribute to all the hard work because you do each and every day.”

If the destructive boy wasn’t already a flustered mess, he most certainly was now. The light pink that had just barely dusted his cheeks was now a dark scarlet and the warmth that used to only just be in his hand was now spreading throughout his entire body, making him feel both giddy and nervous for whatever strange reason. 

‘What the hell is wrong with me?’ He thought curiously, ‘is it because I’m happy with what she said?!’

“Yeah…well…” He began slowly, moving away from the apprentice builder as he reluctantly released her hand “that’s the corniest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Stigmata giggled and fluffed her pigtails happily; “I can get cornier~”

“Please don’t-!”

“You’re the one and only man for me, Malroth! The best! The strongest and the fastest~!” She teased.

Growling, Malroth quickly walked ahead of the builder and sped towards the destination Wrigley had mentioned, praying she didn’t notice the redness of his face. The apprentice builder giggled once more and followed after her partner happily, glad he seemed out of his sunken mood, as they traveled onwards to whatever challenges and excitement awaited them at the first Chromatic Cay.

                                                                          *

“You mean to tell me the elder of the fat rats was watching over them the whole time?” Rosie curiously questioned as she carefully turned the milkblossom seeds over in her hands carefully, inspecting them, “If that’s the case, then the flowers really must be the secret to filling the Deitree with Power!”

“You trust a bunch of fat ass rats to help restore the tree back to glory?” Malroth questioned in disbelief “I’ll never understand you Furrowfield people…”

Stigmata nudged her partner in the side gently as Rosie continued staring at the newly acquired flower seeds, oblivious to the snide remark the destructive boy had just made; “all this covenant talk comes as a bit of a shock though; I never imagined humans, fat rats, and bodkin archers would come together like that but it’s certainly a good thing they did! Now, we can build the Deitree bigger and stronger than ever!

“We sure can, Rosie!” Stigmata agreed cheerfully, “I can’t wait to see how the milkblossom flowers look in full bloom; I bet they’re so pretty!!”

“Well, lucky for you, the first part of your blueprint is already completed!” Rosie said, adjusting her glasses. “While you and Malroth were away, we all worked tirelessly to make sure the blueprint was completed to perfection, so all you have to do is plant the heartwood and the seeds!”

“Aye,” Wrigley added, popping out of the ground suddenly as Malroth’s hand flew to his axe before he quickly relaxed, “plant t’em ‘here flowers and give t’is place some lovin, would ya?!”

“Can do, Wrigley~!”

Stigmata wasted no time in bounding up the steps to the top of the unfinished Deitree with Malroth not far behind her, at the top of the finished blueprint portion of the Deitree, there sat four dirt blocks with a few small tufts of grass upon them, and Stigmata could think of no better place for the flowers to grow so she planted one seed in each of the four spaces. Once that was done, she set a singular block of the Heartwood in the middle of the four flowers, and instantly the blossoms took full bloom as pristine and sparkly white flowers sprouted.

“Look at how fast they grew!” Malthro exclaimed in disbelief, “That Deitree power is sort of creepy…are flowers supposed to grow that fast?”

“Not that I know of! But it’s rather cool to me, Mal!” 

Rapid footsteps were soon heard, and to neither of the duo’s surprise, Rosie appeared, a bright smile adorning her face.

“The–The flowers!!” She gasped in awe, tears brimming her eyes, “they bloomed! I can practically feel the Deitree’s power flowing throughout the farm! Stigmata, this is amazing!!”

“Are you really crying over a couple of poxy flowers…? There must be something seriously wrong with you.” Malroth commented, looking away awkwardly as Rosie began to cry tears of joy.

Stigmata elbowed her partner harshly in the ribs, then smiled as she rubbed Rosie’s back reassuringly; “this is good news! The faster the Power of the Deitree works, the faster we can finish the blueprint and restore Furrowfield to its former glory. There are just two more flowers to find! Let’s start on the second part of the blueprint before you head out to find the rest!”

Without waiting for confirmation, Rosie grabbed the apprentice builder’s hand and rushed down the Deitree's steps as Malroth followed behind the two. Upon reaching the base, Stigmata grabbed her journal from its backpack and began writing in it, already absorbed deep into the next part of the blueprint, as Rosie and Malroth both exchanged a sly glance with one another and then attempted to peek within the violet-haired builder’s massive journal.

 However, before they could even make sense of what they were seeing, she snapped the thick leather-bound book closed as another golden border surrounded the base of the Deitree, and the second piece of the blueprint appeared, causing the other inhabitants of the farm to run over and take a look.

“Goodness gracious!” Lillian exclaimed with a small smile, “This is an even better blueprint than the first, Stigmata! You really went all out!”

“Went all out with no regard for the rest of us!! We’ll run ourselves ragged again, completing this monstrosity of a blueprint!” Clayton complained with a scoff, causing the destructive boy to cast him a slight glare.

“Now, now, don’t be so fussy my boy!” Bonanzo beamed, “After all the wondrous and useful things Stigmata has built for us this past month, building one little tree shouldn’t be too much of a hassle!”

“LITTLE?!”

“You can leave the building work in our capable hands, Stigmata!” Lillian reassured, ignoring Clayton’s outburst, “I’m sure you’ve got enough on your plate as it is! If there are other things you need to take care of, go and get it done! We’ve got everything we need here to start the second half of your blueprint!”

“If it’s another Chromatic Cay you’m after, I can tell ‘ee where to find it!” Wrigley added as the others set off to begin on the blueprint.

“I’ll take any and all help I can get!” Stigmata said happily, “Tell me the location; Mal and I will set off there now before it gets dark.”

Wrigley explained that the location of the next Chromatic Cay was near the tomato farm where the helpful orc lives; the two would have to head east from there, and they’d see a small piece of an island off that way that could be accessed with the WindBreaker. Thanking Wrigley, the duo used the map to warp to the Naviglobe closest to the tomato farm, then headed east as instructed, making sure to take care of any monsters that tried to stop them and taking small pit stops here and there so the violet-haired builder could pick up some materials she found interesting or valuable (though Malroth was positive she had most of this shit already).

It didn’t take them long to see the island in the distance, as mentioned, and after a quick pep talk from Malroth, the two used the WindBreaker to glide over to the next Chromatic Cay.

“I think I’m getting used to this!!” Stigmata shouted over the rushing wind so her partner could hear her.

“I think you are too, Stig!! Let’s just hope we don’t get shot at or something!!”

“Why would you say th–?!”

Before she could finish, a sudden whistling sound flew past Stig’s ears, and she looked to see a group of bodkin bowyers shooting at the duo with a volley of arrows as she yelped and steered the WindBreaker around the best she could to avoid them.

“You jinxed it!”

“Whoops…” Malroth said with a slight smile, “My bad! Don’t worry, I’ll handle it!!”

“Don’t–!”

Stigmata was tired of getting cut off mid-sentence. 

Malroth released his hold on the apprentice builder’s ankles and let himself fall into the murky brown water before quickly leaping out with his spiked club and cutting through the bodkin bowyers. Stigmata looked around hastily for a safe place to land and glided toward a more concealed area full of spiky green vines before ducking down and grabbing her stone sword. Malroth was already going to town at any bodkin he could reach within an arms radius so while he had most of their attention, Stigmata leaped from her concealed hiding area and slashed her sword across the chest of the bodkin’s nearest to her, catching them by surprise and killing them quickly in one fatal slash. After that, it didn’t take long for the two to make short work of the remaining bodkins, save for one green-skinned bodkin in the middle of the swampy area quivering in fear, and Stigmata figured he might be friendly.

“Nice work, Mal! Give me a fair bit of warning before you jump off like that next time, though…” She smiled.

Malroth chuckled and cleaned the blood from his club in the murky water before stowing it on his back once more; “you got it, Stig. Now let’s see what that one over there has to say.”

Stigmata nodded in agreement, then two approached the still quivering bodkin as it gazed around the area in confusion for a moment, then perked up happily, seeming to realize its aggressive kin were no more; “Thank you, humans! Defeated the bodkin bowyers, you did! Save me, you did! Their pallid, purple faces, did you see?! Sick!! Wholly enraptured by the Children of Hargon! Try to steal the seeds of the Covenant, they did! Lucky you arrived in time, it was!”

“Yeah, real lucky…now hand over the seeds, you do!” Malroth mocked, earning him a much-expected jab in the ribs from his counterpart builder.

“I’m glad we were here to help before they could hurt you!” Stigmata said softly, gently patting the little bodkin on its head, “I’m an apprentice builder, you see, and I know you’ve probably been keeping those seeds safe for a long time, but do you think I could have them? We’re trying to rebuild the Deitree, and they would be a big help in finishing the blueprint for the second half.”

“A builder, you say? Building a new Deitree…! Then take the daffodaisy seeds in this chest, you must! Seeds of the covenant, they are!”

Stigmata smiled brightly and went over to the chest behind the bodkin archer before opening it up to see a small brown sack. She lifted it out and opened it up to see a decent handful of small yellow seeds similar in size to the milkblossom seeds she had found earlier; these were, no doubt, the daffodaisy seeds and another vital piece to completing the second half of the blueprint. She could already picture the ecstatic look on Rosie’s face when she returned with these.

“Right, we got the seeds; let’s head back and get them planted now so we can see what else we need to finish up the Deitree,” Malroth said.

“Ok! Thank you again, little bodkin archer, for all your help!”

“Go forth, you must! Rebuild the Deitree and restore this land to its former glory, you will!”

                                                                            *

“Flowers are kind of…weak.”

Stigmata stopped admiring the now fully bloomed daffodaisies and turned towards her partner with a look of confusion on her face.

“...what?”

“I just mean that…” Malroth began with a sigh, “They look pretty and all, but flowers seem so delicate and fragile! Like if I step on it, it’ll just rot away. Or what happens if I spit on it, do you think it’ll start to wither?

“Why the heck would you spit on it, Mal?!”

“It’s just a rhetorical question!!”

“Don’t spit on the flowers!!”

“I’m not going to, Stig! Damn!!” Malroth scoffed and looked away, almost embarrassed to be having the conversation now, “I’m just saying they look fragile! I see why the Children of Hargon or whatever got a kick out of destroying them!”

Stigmata sighed deeply and stared at Malroth silently, a slight frown on her face. She knew better than anyone that Malroth had a tendency and fascination for destruction, and she saw nothing wrong with that, but that sudden thought left a somewhat bitter taste in her mouth. The thought of the Deitree being destroyed again after what the Brainy Badboon had done was an absolutely nightmarish thought. Stigmata swore to herself and the inhabitants of Furrowfield that no matter what happened, if the Brainy Badboon decided to show up again, he wouldn’t do any harm to the beautiful Deitree they worked so hard to build.

Malroth seemed to notice the unsettling silence that lingered in between them now, and he frowned a bit before stepping forward, causing Stigmata to meet his gaze again.

“You don’t think I’d do anything to the Deitree, do you…?” He asked, hurt in his voice.

“Of course not, Mal–”

“I know I say stupid stuff all the time, Stigmata, but believe me when I say I would never, ever do anything to harm something you’ve worked so hard to build!” He defended quickly, “I wouldn’t do that to you! I know how much you care about this…I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing for me to say…I just–”

The apprentice builder wrapped the destructive boy into a tight hug and he stiffened for a moment, unsure what to do. It had already taken him some getting used to high fives, now apparently hugs were becoming a thing with them too. This was the second time the violet-haired girl had hugged him, once before in that cave where they found Wriggly and now again, and they were a lot closer than usual, not that he cared at all. Malroth always had a tendency to want to be closer to Stigmata, he needed to be close to her; they were partners, after all. When she was building, he would be far enough to give her space but close enough so that if anyone approached without warning, he could deal with them. When they slept together in that abandoned flour mill, he kept her close to him because he knew she got cold easily, and he wanted to make sure he could give her as much body heat as possible so she wasn’t sick the next day. Being beside Stigmata wasn’t an issue for him, but this? This was very different.

“This is that…hug thing, right?” He questioned slowly, still unsure what to do with himself.

“Yes, Malroth, it's that hug thing,” she giggled, snuggling into him more as his cheeks ignited into a bright pink, “you’re supposed to put your arms around me and hug back, like a gentle squeeze!”

Deciding to take her advice, Malroth wrapped his arms around Stigmata’s waist but didn’t dare squeeze. He just allowed them to rest there a bit stiffly; if he hurt her in any way…he would never forgive himself. She seemed satisfied with this though, because she relaxed even more into the hug, and the two stayed like that for a short while, no words exchanged, just breathing softly and enjoying each other’s warmth. Malroth had to admit…

He really liked hugs…Stigmata’s hugs anyways.

“Hey, Stigmata–Oh!” Rosie gaped as she approached, causing the two to instantly spring away from each other as though they had been burned, “am I, interrupting anything?”

“No!!” Stigmata confessed, quicker than she would have liked before clearing her throat awkwardly, “No, not at all! Um…what is it, Rosie?!”

Rosie hummed knowingly and smiled before adjusting her glasses; “well, since you completed the second piece of the blueprint by placing down the Heartwood and the daffodaises, all that's left is the third and final piece of the blueprint, and the Deitree will be complete!”

“Right! Let me get started then!”

Pushing past her initial embarrassment, Stigmata grabbed her journal and began to sketch the third and final portion of the blueprint for the Deitree; according to Wrigley there was only one more type of flower to be found so that wouldn’t be a problem for this next portion of the tree, however, there was still one vital piece besides the Heartwood that Stigmata would have to add before the Deitree blueprint could be considered finished. With a few more strokes of her pencil, Stigmata finished off the blueprint and laid it down once more as the familiar golden glow surrounded the Deitree and everyone gathered around to examine the new changes.

“Bwaaah hah haaah! This looks absolutely amazing, my girl! And not a difficult task at all compared to what we originally had to do!” Bonanzo boasted, curling his beard happily.

“We’ll have this blueprint done in no time!” Saffron smiled as Lillian giggled happily and ran towards one of the chests, already eager to start building. 

“Looks like they’ll have no trouble finishing up this blueprint without us again, Stig…” Malroth added, his mind still lingering on their interactions moments prior, “But I’m sure we’ve still got our work cut out for us, ain’t that right, Rosie?”

“Unfortunately so,” Rosie agreed, “do you remember what I said a while  back about needing to imbue the Deitree with purified power of everything that blooms and bears fruit? Well, that must mean the five crops we’ve grown on the farm so far. Luckily, I’ve been keeping track of all the ingredients I believe will go into it, it’ll just be up to you to actually build it Stigmata!”

“Sounds easy enough, just list the ingredients and I’ll whip something up” Stigmata reassured, readying her notebook once more. 

Rosie began to list off the ingredients to build the Water of Life, and whilst most of it was stuff they could get within a few seconds on the farm, the one thing that had the apprentice builder stumped was the Leaf of Life. It sounded like an extremely rare and valuable item, no doubt, but she wasn’t sure where she would obtain it from or even where she should begin looking to find something like that, so it was back to square one in terms of completing the blueprint; the Deitree couldn’t exactly be finished without it.

“How the hell do you expect us to find something you're not even sure exists?!” Malroth said as Stigmata put her journal away.

“It has to exist,” Rosie defended, “if the Legendary Builder used it to build the very first Deitree then surely we can find it too! Yes, I don’t know where exactly it is, but it can’t be hard to find! Stigmata managed to find the Heartwood and both of the flower seeds from the Chromatic Cays, the Leaf shouldn’t be any different!”

“Don’t fret Rosie, wherever this Leaf of Life is I’m sure I’ll find it eventually” Stigmata stated, tightening her pigtails, “before that though, I have to find the last of the flowers and fill in the gaps I left with fresh spring water, that murky stuff won’t cut it if we’re going to have a healthy Deitree.”

“You’re right about that…but it’s already getting dark. Maybe that’s a task you should save for tomorrow?”

Stigmata glanced up at the sky and was pleasantly surprised to see that Rosie was right and the sun was already beginning to set as the moon slowly rose up into the sky, stars accompanying it almost instantly. If the other inhabitants of Furrowfield seemed to notice that the sun was setting, they didn’t care at all seeing as they continued to build without a care in the world.

“Finally!’ Malroth smiled “Nap time!”

“I guess a good night’s sleep for everyone is in order, we’ve been working pretty hard these past few days…” Stigmata agreed.

“Oh no, no no!” Rosie smiled, grabbing up the small wooden mallet she had “You and Malroth get some sleep, the rest of us are staying up to finish this! If you can stay up to build through the night, so can we!”

Before she could protest, Rosie had already run off and joined the others in the construction of the Deitree as Malroth laughed at her enthusiasm. While Stigmata felt bad about letting the others build through the night while she slept, she had to admit her drowsiness was indeed getting the better of her. With a small farewell to her destructive partner, the apprentice builder entered her room and practically crashed onto her unnaturally comfortable straw bed before drifting off to sleep; dreams of dancing flowers and bodkins with strange accents filling her mind. 

Chapter Text

The Coralily seeds didn’t take the duo long to find, nor did the freshwater spring; once both items had been retrieved, Stigmata wasted no time in planting the seeds down into their spaces and filling the gaps she left with the clear water she acquired in her bottomless pot. Once that was finished, she placed another piece of Heartwood down in the center, and the usual warm and comforting glow filled the area of Furrowfield…but something still felt off. Of course, Stigmata knew precisely what it was. The Water of Life still hadn’t been made to finish the Deitree to completion, but she still had yet to learn of the whereabouts of the Leaf, so unfortunately, the building process was forced to come to a halt.

As Rosie approached her slowly, Stigmata sighed softly and leaned against the barn, trying to rack her brain for any clues or hints she missed about the Leaf’s whereabouts.

“Still thinking, huh?” Rosie asked curiously, leaning against the building with the violet-haired girl.

“Yeah…” Stigmata answered absentmindedly, closing her eyes, “I keep trying to think of where that Leaf could be, but nothing comes to mind. I even asked the friendlier monsters on the island, and they have no clue either; it’s like it doesn’t even exist!”

“It exists.”

“I know that Rosie. But the way it's looking, I’m beginning to think it’s not exactly in a location; maybe someone has it, and we need to get it back.” Stigmata concluded.

Rosie considered the apprentice builder’s words for a moment; “you know, Stigmata…most of my life, I’ve been made to believe that builders bring desolation and despair no matter where they go, but after all the time I’ve spent with you, and all the things you’ve done for us and Furrowfield I realize now that was just a sick lie cooked up by the Children of Hargon. If anyone brings despair, it’s them; I’ve just been so consumed by fear that I believed whatever they said mindlessly…I was foolish.”

“It’s not foolish to listen to them when you feared for your life, Rosie,” Stigmata reassured, smiling softly. “If anything, I’m just curious why everyone was so eager to believe that so easily, especially after all the amazing things the Legendary Builder did for them here.”

“It’s because of the Legendary Builder that people believed the lies,” Rosie said. “The people of Furrowfield lived humble, peaceful lives with no luxuries until the Legendary Builder came and constructed the Deitree and all these other amazing things. After that, everybody started fighting about who got to use the best farmland and what should grow where; amid all the chaos, the Children of Hargon destroyed the Deitree and issued their proclamation that the builder who built the Deitree was an evil being who brought desolation and despair to the island.”

The apprentice builder frowned profoundly and remained silent momentarily to process Rosie’s words. It seems like relying on the chaos of others was how the Children of Hargon became as powerful as they did in Furrowfield, but it still confused her how that even came to be in the first place. If the Legendary Builder was genuinely involved in Furrowfield, why didn’t they prevent the spread of the Children’s influence before things got as bad as they did? The whole time Stigmata’s been here, she’s been working endlessly to both build and prevent the Children from influencing the others, and so far, she has been drastically successful in both regards; not only was the farm thriving with crops and sturdy structures, but the inhabitants themselves are so inspired by her efforts that they have begun to shun Hargon’s children and build by themselves.

“Well, that’s a pretty stupid way to look at it.”

The two girls looked up in surprise as Malroth approached. His stone axe was slung over his shoulder as he gazed at Rosie.

“Malroth…” Stigmata said quietly.

“When the Deitree died, nobody forced them to lose hope,” Malroth explained. “It was their choice to give up. You, Perry, and the bearded idiot all picked yourselves up when things got bad! You even learned to love building; bad things will happen, and you just have to overcome them. It’s how you react to those things that matters…right, Stig?”

The apprentice builder smiled and nodded; “right!”

Rosie looked between the two in slight disbelief, then sighed and smiled, feeling determination coursing through her just by watching them. It seemed practically impossible to be in bad spirits whenever she was around the duo, and she feared being in a bad mood around Malroth would earn her a swift swipe from his axe, which she was certainly keen to avoid.

Stigmata looked away from the two and glanced as Bonanzo sauntered over, stroking his beard with a hearty laugh; “Stigmata, my dear, the Deitree is flourishing as ever! I’m practically brought to tears every time I witness it!”

“It’s thanks to you and everyone else on Furrowfield working so hard to build it, Bonanza,” she said happily. “But I’m afraid it’s not quite complete until I add the Water of Life, and for that, we need to find the Leaf.”

“Mmm, quite right. The pesky thing is proving quite an adversary to find, right?” The older man agreed. “but! That’s not why I approached you; I had a question…or rather…a request.”

“Request?”

“Once our work on Furrowfield is done, you and Malroth will return to this…Isle of Awakening, correct?” Bonanza said, “Well! I shall accompany you both!”

“Oh, that’s–!”

“BWHAAA!! Do not hesitate to say ‘yes,’ my girl! You’d be lost without your faithful mayor and friend, good old Bonanzo!”

“Well–!”

“It is settled then! Let us finish this Deitree and set off to your island!” With a satisfied clap of his hands, Bonanza walked off happily, leaving the apprentice builder at a slight loss for words.

Stigmata slowly turned her attention back towards Malroth, and the violent boy instantly turned his gaze in her direction before stepping slightly closer so they were mere inches apart. He studied his partner’s facial expressions for a moment, looking up and noticing Bonanzo before a chortle of laughter escaped his throat, and he looked into her eyes.

“Is that old coot bothering you again, Stig?” He asked playfully.

Stigmata snapped herself from her confused stupor and looked into her partner's red eyes before giggling softly as he took another tiny step forward; “you know how Bonanzo is, Mal! He’s…passionate about things and said he wants to return to the Isle of Awakening with us.”

“Gah, why?” Malroth groaned with a sassy roll of his eyes. It’s crowded enough with Pinky and Natalia.”

“Nadia…”

“That’s what I said, Nancy.”

It was Stigmata’s turn to roll her eyes as the ground next to the duo opened up, and Wrigley sprung out, causing the two to step away from one another.

“‘Ello, you two! Don’t mean to bot’er, but I was ‘aving a t’oug’t!”

“Worms have thoughts…?” Malroth crooked an eyebrow, “do you even have a brain?”

Stigmata elbowed him in the side as Wrigley scoffed and decided to ignore the boy’s rude words. One thing Stigmata had come to learn in the time she’s been with Malroth is that the boy certainly doesn’t sugarcoat or mince his words; she’s yet to decide if it was a good or bad thing. He doesn’t say such harsh things about her, so for someone who always speaks his mind, that must mean he has no harsh things to say!

“As I was sayin’!” Wrigley continued, “If the old builder ‘ere used that lead to power up the old Deitree, w’en the Badboon smas’ed it up, wouldn’t the bugger still ‘ave it?”

Malroth and Stigmata’s eyes both widened at this revelation, and they exchanged a knowing glance with another, coming to the same conclusion:

The Brainy Badboon has the Leaf of Life.

As if discovering their knowledge of the truth, the ground began to shake heavily as everyone in Furrowfield exclaimed in shock and fear and clung onto each other or buildings for some sort of solid purchase. Stigmata stumbled heavily and nearly fell before Malroth reached an arm out and grabbed her quickly to steady her as the shakiness intensified.

After what felt like an eternity, the shaking slowly subsided, and Rosie was the first to approach the duo, panting and frantically adjusting her glasses: “Stigmata! Britney says she saw them coming, hordes of Hargon’s children!! They’re going to attack the farm!”

“The Brainy Badboon’s on his way,” Malroth hummed, releasing Stigmata once he was sure she could stand firmly. “what an idiot. We were going to kick his ass anyways; now we don’t have to search far, we just have to cut down his minions first.”

Stigmata nodded firmly and tightened her ponytails before pulling out her stone sword. Everyone in Furrowfield had worked tirelessly for months to build and nurture this farm and the Deitree; she’d be damned if she let some giant ugly Badboon ruin everyone’s hard work and destroy their hope again.

“Wrigley!” She exclaimed as the worm perked up, “Round up anyone and everyone willing to fight and tell them to meet by the entrance! Rosie, ensure everyone has fully functioning weapons, no chipped swords or tattered armor; there’s plenty of spares!”

The two nodded firmly and ran off to their respective tasks as the apprentice builder and her destructive builder left the safety of the farm and went out to meet the Badboon’s forces head-on.

“Don’t rush into a battle you can’t finish,” Malroth reminded as a horde of Hargon’s children appeared from over the hills, and he brought out his club, “and remember, Stigmata, I’ve got your back. No matter what.”

Stigmata smiled and looked down at her stone sword to notice it was wavering slightly…she was shaking. She hadn’t realized with how loudly her heart was pounding in her chest, but now that she realized it, that was all she could focus on. Her heart was resonating so loudly she feared it might pound right against her ribcage and crack it with the intensity, and her adrenaline was through the roof. It occurred to Stigmata quite horribly for the first time in her foolish life…she wasn’t a fighter. She was a builder.

Perhaps it was the horde of skeletons, prestidigitators, and deadnauts that loomed over the hill and got ever closer that brought about the revelation, but if she died here…that would be the end. There was no mighty Rubiss who overlooked her every move and shielded her from death as she did the Legendary builder; she was merely an apprentice who hadn’t even finished her training at the academy. She was a child…not even old enough to drink yet.

Yet here she was…

About to face off against one of Hargon’s worthiest subordinates because…why…?

Because just behind her was a farm full of people who depended on her?

Because she could build a few houses and barns, which made her a threat?

Her?!

A child a threat to a millennia-old lord of Darkness and chaos?!

The thought was so absurd that Stigmata couldn’t help but let out a shaky, breathless laugh as she clenched her stone sword tighter.

If she died here–

A sudden hand around her wrist ripped the builder from such thoughts, and she gasped fearfully before whipping her head towards the assailant. Then, she saw Malroth, his eyes piercing almost accusingly into hers.

“You won’t die here, not like this Stigmata.”

“How did you–?!”

“Do you think I would let these bastards take you away from me?!” He yelled, gripping her wrist so tightly it stung, yet she didn’t pull away. “I told you, didn’t I? I have your back! We will win this. We have to; we’ve come way too far to be defeated like this! If you don’t believe in yourself…believe in me. Believe me when I say I will protect you.”

Stigmata remained silent for a long time, staring into Malroth’s sharp red eyes. Slowly, the hammering of her chest began to subside, and the hand that held her sword slowed its shaking as she let out a quiet and slow exhale.

He was right, but then again, it was rare when Malroth wasn’t right these days. Everyone may have depended on her, but they also stood with her. They loved Furrowfield with all their hearts. This was their home, and they’d do all they could to defend it. As for Stigmata, she had Malroth. Even if she felt this place behind after helping defeat the Badboon and never returned, he’d still be beside her.

He’d always be with her.

“I’m okay now,” she reassured with a smile as he released her wrist. “Thank you, Malroth. We can do this!”

The destructive boy stared at his partner silently for a moment before smirking happily, his fangs sharp and gleaming in the sunlight; “damn right we can.”

The other inhabitants of Furrowfield who were willing to fight all rushed out quickly, stone swords at the ready, as the horde of Hargon’s goons finally reached the farm, and the assault began.

Instantly, Stigmata sprung into battle; she dodged a swipe of a skeleton’s sword and stabbed her blade in the area right where its spine and head met before jerking up violently as she separated its skull from the rest of its body and, in one swift motion Malroth crushed it with his club; killing the thing. A blast of heat surged in the violet-haired girl’s direction, and she rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a fireball cast from a nearby prestidigitator. Before she could decide how best to engage, Britany snuck up on the cloaked beast and stabbed her sword through its chest as it let out a horrid screeching sound, and blood sprayed across the mud and grass.

“Fuck yeah! This is for Furrowfield, ya uglies!” She whooped, kicking the now-dead thing off her blade before moving on to the next.

Stigmata quickly focused again and noticed Wrigley shoot out of the ground and use his body to trip a Deadnaut as it slammed hard to the ground, breaking apart. Clayton used this as an advantage to rush over and hit his sword repeatedly into the thing's skull before it could recollect itself. It seemed everyone was holding their own in the battle, and the horde’s army was dwindling slowly but surely; they wanted to defend their home by any means necessary. The scene almost brought Stigmata to tears with how inspiring it was; when she first arrived at Furrowfield, everyone was terrified at the thought of ever defying Hargon, let alone his subordinates. Yet here they are now, stone swords and hos in tow and killing any monster that dares to harm the place they’ve all come to love so dearly.

She smiled and quickly focused on the battlefield again before running over and helping Malroth with a group of prestidigitators surrounding him. One of the cloaked assailants cast a fireball at the boy, but he used another prestidigitator as cover as it screeched and attempted to beat the flames from its cloak, but not before receiving an axe to its face that sunk in with a sickening squelch. The second beast grunted in agitation and started to cast another spell; Stigmata intercepted by slicing its hand off as blood sprayed onto her face, blocking her vision as screams of pain from the monster flooded her ears. She wiped the blood from her face hastily and covered the distance between her and the prestidigitator before sinking her sword deep into its chest and twisting it hard as it lay unmoving on the ground.

Malroth watched the scene with slight fascination in his eyes and wrenched his spiked club free from the other monster’s face as Stigmata pulled her sword free from its chest; “Nice one, Stig!”

“I only learned from the best~!”

The two high-fived one another, then split off to finish the last few remaining monsters that the others hadn’t already killed.

Half an hour passed in what felt like an instant, and the battlefield was silent, save for the sound of heavy panting from the inhabitants of Furrowfield. Skeletal bones and disheveled cloaks littered the ground from the slain monsters, and everyone was covered head to toe in blood. Thankfully, no one had sustained any significant injuries, save from a few sprained ankles and bruises from blunt force or nasty falls. It was nothing a few pots of healing cream couldn’t heal.

Stigmata panted heavily and rested her hands on her knees to try and get her bearings back as Malroth approached her silently, his eyes still sweeping over the battlefield. She wasn’t all that surprised to see that, unlike everyone else, he wasn’t panting heavily and seemed still raring to go.

“That should be all his underlings dealt with,” he observed, stepping closer so the apprentice builder could lean on him. “The big boss will show himself soon, and once we defeat him, the Leaf of Life will be ours.”

Stigmata nodded in agreement and leaned against him, glad for the warmth he admitted despite having worked up a sweat defeating monsters; the warmth strangely reassured her; “the sooner, the better. I’m just worried about how much damage he’ll do to Furrowfield and the Deitree. Rebuilding could take me ages…”

“Us.”

The duo turned towards the voice and saw a smiling Rosie, Perry, and Bonanzo trailing behind her.

“You forgot we can build now, too, Stigmata!” Rosie reminded, adjusting her glasses, which instantly slipped back down from her sweat. “If the Badboon wrecks the farm, so what?! With all of us working together, we’ll have it back to how you built it instantly!”

“She’s right, of course!” Bonanza exclaimed, gently caressing his beard, which was stained red with blood. “We must focus our energies on laying that pestilent primate low!”

“That’s right!” Clayton huffed, raising his sword, “Kill all those Hargon cronies that dare mess with Stigmata’s hard work!!”

Rosie and Bonanzo raised their swords and exclaimed in agreement as Stigmata giggled and Malroth crossed his arms, looking the violet-haired boy up and down in clear annoyance. Before he could say a witty remark, however, the ground began shaking heavily once more, and everyone stumbled and exclaimed in surprise before retreating into the farm, Malroth and Stigmata trailing behind to ensure no one was left behind. The sky turned a darker and more ominous shade of pinks and purples as the Ill wind intensified, and what sounded like the barks and yelps of a Badboon surrounded the entire area, making Stigmata’s ears ring painfully.

“BUIIIIIIILDERRRRRR!!!”

Everyone looked towards the mountain in the distance and saw a most terrifying and revolting sight.

It was a badboon, but certainly nothing like the ones they had encountered and defeated before. This Badboon towered over menacingly, as tall as the Deitree and just as wide. Its fur was the same sickening pink shade as the sky when the Ill wind took over, and it wore a purple spiked helmet with Hargon’s symbol engraved proudly on the front. Its teeth alone were possibly the size of Stigmata herself and were all sharpened down to a needle point; one bite and she was a goner. The last time she had seen this terrifying creature was when it had killed Pastor Al in cold blood, a tragedy she would make sure it paid for dearly.

The violet-haired girl puffed her chest out firmly and stood her ground, staring straight at the Brainy Badboon as Malroth stood by her side fearlessly. This display of courage seemed to anger the Badboon, who let out another series of barks and hoots, banging its meaty fists against its chest in a fit of anger.

“I thought I roo-oo-ooted out that filthy weed!” It snarled, “Now I find you-oo–oo’ve rebuilt it larger and more loathsome than before!”

“Today is the day you die, monster!” Rosie shouted angrily, brandishing her sword, “For Pastor Al!”

“HA!! For the foo-oo–ool?!” The Badboon scoffed, “he was a traitor, as are yo-oo-oo all! I shall make you taste such delicious despair as I plummet that wretched tree for a second time!! And yo-oo-oo builder! I shall kill you last so may watch as I slaughter yo–oo-oour wretched friends!”

Without warning, the Brainy Badboon dug its hands into the muddied ground and picked up a giant ball of rock and mud before hurling it at the farm. It slammed hard into the Deitree, breaking it heavily as wood splintered and leaves fell to the ground.

“The tree–!” Stigmata gasped, starting to rush forward.

She couldn’t get far before Perry, Saffron, and Lillian stepped in her path and instantly sprung to action. They all grabbed extra resources from the chest and moved so efficiently and quickly that Stigmata couldn’t keep up. The splintered wood was swiftly replaced, and the leaves that fell to the ground were rounded up and reformed before being replaced on the branches until the Deitree was back to its original state in seconds.

“Don’t you worry none ‘bout t’e farm or tree, Stigmata!” Perry smirked. “w’at ‘e damages, we’ll fix it faster!”

“T-That’s right!” Saffron agreed. She was shaking heavily, but she had a confident smile. “This is our home! We can fix it as long as you get rid of that nasty thing!”

“Go on with Malroth and flay that stupid primate within an inch of its life!!” Lillian cheered.

Stigmata’s eyes softened for a moment and she nodded happily before turning away and rushing away from the farm as Malroth and the others followed, ready to take the Brainy Badboon down once and for all. The primate sneered and began glowing purple before starting to roll rapidly in place, like it was getting ready to lash out like a bowling ball; noticing this, Stigmata yelled for those still near the tree to seek shelter as the Brainy Badboon shot forward and used its body to crash into the Deitree, splintering wood and damaging it once more before returning to its spot on the mountain.

“Not good…” Malroth remarked, watching Perry and the others start hastily rebuilding again. “If he keeps slamming into the tree like that, the whole damn thing will be destroyed! We need to think of a way to stop him quickly!”

Stigmata chewed on her bottom lip anxiously and watched as the Brainy Badboon laughed and began munching on some overly large bananas before summoning some of its subordinates to try and overwhelm them. The odds weren’t looking good at the moment. Rebuilding wasn’t an issue, but if they ran out of supplies while the primate was damaging the Deitree, they’d be in trouble, not to mention they had to deal with smaller badboons.

Deciding to try and think of a plan as she goes, Stigmata ran over and began to fight the smaller ones as the Brainy Badboons threw banana peels onto the battlefield, not caring if they landed on the inhabitants or their subordinates.

“Ugh, it’s bad enough this guy is so ugly!” Malroth growled, killing another badboon before turning towards the apprentice builder. “But now he’s leaving his damn peels all over the place!”

Stigmata looked at the large banana peels all over the ground, and a sudden thought popped into her head. She gasped softly, then quickly sheathed her sword to hastily put on the magic gloves. Malroth tilted his head slightly in confusion, then watched as the Brainy Badboon geared itself up for another roll attack just as the violet-haired girl picked up one of the banana peels.

A hearty laugh escaped from his throat, and he smirked happily; “That might just be crazy enough to work, Stig!”

The others, hearing Malroth, turned and noticed the builder lining herself up in the Badboon’s path, and they all quickly moved to not get in her way, swords at the ready. Stigmata quickly placed down a peel in the direction line of attack of the primate, then promptly ran out of the way just as it rolled forward to try and deal another devastating attack to the Deitree. However, just as she had hoped, the primate slipped on the peel and let out a screech of shock before falling hard on its back, causing the earth to shake heavily as everyone stumbled before quickly regaining their footing; they couldn’t let this opportunity pass. Now was the time to strike!

“ATTACK!!”

At the sound of Stigmata’s command, everyone rushed forward with yells of anger and determination. Immediately, the Brainy Badboon was being slashed, cut, and lacerated with swords and clubs, as blood and fur flew everywhere. The horrid pink creature writhed heavily and howled in a mix of anger and pain, but everyone persisted in their attacks, not even letting up for a moment until the primate regained its bearings.

“Y-Y-oo-oou insolent g-girl!” The Brain Badboon stammered in pain, retreating to the mountain. “KILL HER!! KILL THE BUILDER!!”

More smaller badboons emerged from behind the primate and charged out to defend their leader as the inhabitants of Furrowfield charged to meet them head-on, not afraid anymore of their tricks and ploys. Their initial attack on the pink creature solidified a fact no one thought possible;

‘He can be killed.’

And that was reason enough to fight on.

The fight persisted for an hour, then two, then three, then three and a half. At the half-hour mark, the Brainy Badboon was staggering and slurring its words heavily from being attacked with an onslaught of attacks for the tenth time. Stigmata glanced at her friends and saw Rosie was so soaked in blood and sweat she would have been unrecognizable had it not been for her glasses; she was panting heavily, but her sword didn’t waver for a second, and she stared the badboon down with hatred evident in her eyes. She looked so frightening the sight almost shocked Stigmata, seeing how Rosie was always so sweet to her; seeing her with a clear intent of murder now was quite unlike her.

“It ends here, you overgrown ape!” Malroth spat arrogantly, a happy smirk and dangerous gleam in his eyes.

“F-oo-ools!” The primate shouted, “I will not be defeated!! Not like this!”

Attempting one final roll attack, the Brainy Badboon shot itself forward, aiming for Stigmata this time and completely ignoring the Deitree, but she was ready for him. She threw her sword to the side, not having time to sheathe it, and grabbed a banana peel beside her before hurling it as far as she could in front of her; as it slipped the primate and crashed him to the ground, further opening the wounds already upon its matted fur. Without a moment’s breath in between, the inhabitants of Furrowfield were upon the Badboon again and put their all into stabbing and ripping at the primate's flesh as it howled and pleaded for assistance from its subordinates…but no such help came. He had exhausted all of his available soldiers.

Stigmata panted heavily, and she felt black dots swarm in her vision, but she ignored it and snatched her sword up from the ground before running over to the Brainy Baboon as Malroth turned towards her and offered his hand. The apprentice builder took her friend’s hand, and he slung her into the air; she twisted her body then landed on the badboon’s head before raising her sword in front of its eye as it stared at her in horror. Before she plunged her blade down, she had a split-second moment of epiphany and clarity, a ‘what if’ that wretched her mind.

Had the Brainy Badboon been good once?

Was he not a monster that terrorized the good people of Furrowfield and instead looked over them? Was he perhaps a slumbering forest god of sorts that was kind and mysterious?

Stigmata gazed into the primate’s eyes, and the thoughts ultimately left her mind.

No…

He was a monster.

Monsters don't change.

Stigmata plunged her blade deep into the Brainy Badboon’s eye as fluid and blood sprayed all over her, and the monster let out one final rattling and piercing howl of pain and despair as she twisted the blade as deeply as it would possibly go. Her arms began to tremble heavily from the strain, and her vision blacked in and out, but still, she plunged the blade deeper and deeper, feeling nauseous as the eye fluid went into her mouth, hair, nose, and clothes until…finally…the badboon went unmoving.

She gagged and let go of her sword quickly, not even bothering to try and pull it out as the others all let out breathy sighs and exhales before slowly backing away, wondering if the deed was indeed done. Stigmata turned away from the gruesome sight she had left behind and noticed a dangling chain around the Baboon’s neck with a tiny little cage attached to it, and something green was shining delicately within. Fearing she might pass out, the apprentice builder stumbled towards the cage and opened it to see a pristine, bright green leaf, healthier than any leaf she had ever seen since coming to Furrowfield.

There it was…the Leaf of Life…

Tears welled in her already blackened vision, and with a sob, she gently clutched the leaf in her hands as her legs gave away, and she fell from atop the Badboon. Shouts of concern, and her name came from someone, but she could hardly hear it.

The last thing she remembered before the world of sleep overtook her was the feeling of the leaf still clutched in her hands…and Malroth holding her in his arms protectively, a proud grin on his face.

Chapter Text

The scenery around the apprentice builder was muddled as if someone had pulled a thin, luminescent silk sheet over everything—just enough to distort the images before her but not quite enough to block them out entirely.

From the haziness, she could very faintly make out a figure in the distance, large and abnormally shaped with a sickening bluish-grey hue of skin with a finned helmet that resembled bat wings adorning a circular red gem at the top of it. Even from this distance, a shudder of fear and disgust racked through Stigmata’s body and into her soul as she watched the strange individual talk to another voice for which she could see no owner. It didn’t take a genius to know whoever that was; it was someone she had no chance of winning against; besides, she was wholly uncertain whether this was a nightmare of sorts or if she spoke, would her voice even be heard?

The violet-haired girl willed herself to edge a bit closer to the voices and finally made out bits and pieces of what they spoke about.

“...coming into place at last,” the blue-skinned man cackled, the sound sending another disgusted shiver through her body. “Soon you will rise again, O’ Mighty Master of Destruction.”

Stigmata felt her heart plummet into her chest, and she had to bite her bottom lip hard to keep from exclaiming in shock and fear.

Master of Destruction…?!

Only one person on this Earth could be attempting the resurrection of such a deadly and fabled threat of the Old Ages. She had only heard and studied about a name such as this in her textbooks back at Cantlin before coming to these strange lands…a name that now haunted her and everyone else as they lay into their beds at night, fearing for the worst to come, all done in his name.

Hargon.

Stigmata stood frozen to the spot and started shaking faintly as she heard another voice, this one void of a physical body, begin to speak. Right from the moment the unidentified voice spoke, she noted the hissing sound that seemed to echo from the back of their throat with every word spoken and its huskiness. Deep and threatening, with malice and contempt dripping from each word like pure venom. However, it had no physical body for her to ascertain if it was them; Stigmata was almost certain this second voice now was none other than the Master of Destruction itself…

“Good.” It snarled happily, the hissing intensifying by the second “Before you know it, we sssssshall rid this putrid land of the human filth that corruptssss it!”

“Why, but of course, My Lord,” Hargon smirked. “But first, you must allow the vessel to grow stronger…the both of them. The more building and hope they falsely acquire, the sweeter the growth of our power shall be.”

A sharp pounding suddenly sprung up in the apprentice builder’s head, and she groaned in pain as Hargon turned his gaze in her direction as though he could see her, causing her fear to spike rapidly.

“An intruder…? No…you…” a dark chuckle escaped the monster’s throat, and Stigmata’s vision began to blacken as the pounding in her mind only intensified; “you have work to do, my little builder. The Master of Destruction is waiting for you~.”

Stigmata awoke with a jolt and sat upright as pain shot throughout her entire body, and she screamed in pain. She whimpered softly and slowly forced herself to lay back down as the door flew open. She watched Malroth stride in before kneeling beside her, his red eyes raking over her entire body worriedly as if checking to ensure nothing was broken.

“Stig..” he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I-I’m fine,” she reassured, gritting her teeth. “I…I just sat up too fast, Mal, that’s all.”

Malroth hummed quietly in response and placed his hand on the apprentice builder’s back before slowly forcing her to sit up once more; her muscles ached and screamed in protest, but she knew lying down all day wouldn’t help matters much either. The more she stretched her muscles out, the faster she could recover. So, ignoring the pain, she used Malroth as an anchor to lean against as she begrudgingly sat up and exhaled shakily in pain.

“Is everyone okay?” She hissed softly, trying to strike up a conversation to ignore the intense pain. “The Deitree…Rosie…Bonanzo?! Are they all–?”

“They’re fine.” Malroth reassured, “don’t focus on them right now.”

She nodded reluctantly and was finally able to stand up with Malroth’s assistance as an exhale of relief escaped her. Now that she was standing on her own two feet, Stigmata allowed herself a moment to think about everything that had happened since passing out; she remembered the Brainy Badboon was defeated, and she finally acquired the Leaf of Life to make the Water of Life, the final piece to complete the Deitree. She was also still trying to decipher that strange dream (or nightmare) she had about Hargon and the Master of Destruction.

They had been talking about her, hadn't they?

They mentioned something about a vessel and trying to fuel it with more power, but what did any of that even mean? Wasn’t the Master of Destruction a vessel that needed to be powered? And if Hargon indeed did have another weapon at his disposal, where could it possibly be hiding?

“You’ve been asleep for three days.”

Stigmata snapped out of her trance and looked at her partner in disbelief. He stared at her momentarily and then nodded slowly, confirming what she had just heard.

“Three days?!” She exclaimed, “And no one bothered to wake me?!”

“You were hurt!” Malroth defended. “You needed the time to rest, and no way was I going to let anyone wake you up until you were ready. Besides, your body is still pretty banged up from that fight.”

“But the farm–!”

“Bushy beard and the others had it handled.” Malroth cut her off, “Stigmata, you need the rest. I wasn’t going to let anyone wake you up.”

The apprentice builder took note of the firm and somewhat stern look her partner was giving her and sighed softly in defeat before nodding slowly. She still felt rather hurt, as he had stated, and now, to find out she’d been asleep for three days and was still feeling the effects of the Brainy Badboon’s attacks, she knew now more than ever that she had to train her body vigorously. She couldn’t allow herself to fall unconscious like this again and leave everyone else to do the hard work, not if she could help it.

As she was deep in thought, Stigmata suddenly felt her feet leave the ground. She gasped, believing Malroth had let her fall to the ground, only to discover it was quite the opposite. Now, she was being held bridal-style in the destructive boy’s arms.

“I’ll take you outside,” he said, not seeming to realize the flustered state he’d left the builder in, “everyone is worried sick about you. It’s about time you showed your face just a little.”

Malroth walked out of the hut, and the first thing Stigmata noted was that the sky was still a sickening and sickly pink. However, the entirety of the farm was surrounded by the nearly constructed Deitree’s gentle breeze and glow, which let off a sweet and earthy scent and a warming light. The second thing she noted was that everyone seemed to be working as though they hadn’t fought a small war days prior; the farm was in pristine condition, and she could see Clayton and Perry harvesting tomatoes and putting them into baskets as Lillian grabbed them happily and brought it to the kitchens to Saffron who awaited eagerly.

Everyone was…happy and safe.

A soft smile spread across Stigmata’s face, and she rested her head on Malroth’s shoulder as a breath of relief escaped her. The destructive boy turned his gaze down to the girl in his arms and grinned faintly, noticing how relaxed she’d become upon seeing everyone was ok; seeing a smile on her face was the best look on her…she always looked pretty when she smiled.

“Stigmata! You’re awake!!”

The duo looked and saw familiar cyan-colored hair flying in their direction before Rosie stopped in front of them both, a wide grin on her face. “We did it! We actually did it!! That stupid Badboon is gone, and the Deitree is safe~!”

Stigmata tapped Malroth’s arms, and the boy reluctantly set her down as the two girls hugged each other happily, giggling.

“I told you we could, Rosie!” Stigmata reassured them as they released one another. “Rebuilding Furrowfield Farm was your dream; I wasn’t going to give up on you or that dream so easily.”

Rosie smiled, then seemed to have a sudden thought and pulled out a familiar glowing green leaf from the pouch on her waist; “When you passed out, I took the Leaf to try and figure out how to help you craft the Water of Life. After reviewing everything Pastor Al taught me, I finally figured it out! To craft the water, you need the essence of the five crops we’ve grown on the farm and purified water! We have everything we need now; crafting it just falls to you.”

The cyan-haired farmer handed the Leaf of Life to the apprentice builder; she took it gently and nodded in determination.

This was it. After she crafted the Water of Life, the Deitree should be fully completed.

Without wasting another moment, Stigmata went to the crop fields and grabbed three of each crop before heading to the workbench and setting everything down. As soon as the produce was on the table with the Leaf, it all began glowing a soft creme color, and as if she had done this before in a past life, Stigmata knew what she needed to do to craft the Water. Working in a sort of trance, she added a drop of purified water to the Leaf as it made a perfect sphere, and the light emitting from the produce slowly drifted into the water droplet, causing it to start floating and have the same green and blue hue as the Deitree. 

Stigmata took the completed Water of Life and climbed the steps of the Deitree as Malroth and Rosie followed closely behind her, making sure the apprentice builder didn’t go tumbling down the stairs as she limped slightly.

“So that drop of water contains all the energies of Furrowfields’ five crops?” Malroth asked, nodding towards the Water of Life in her hands.

“Yep!” Stigmata smiled. “The final piece…”

The trio made it to the top of the Deitree and Rosie held her breath, clasping her hands together tightly in silent prayer, as the apprentice builder carefully let the water droplet roll off the leaf and onto the soft soil. Instantly, the tree shook slightly, and Malroth quickly grabbed the two girls' arms as they gasped, and a blindingly bright white light shot up from the roots of the Deitree and pierced the sky like an arrow, cutting through the sickly-looking Ill Wind.

The inhabitants of Furrowfield exclaimed in shock and watched as the sky turned serene and crystal blue. The spoiled soil they were so accustomed to seeing began to purify itself and revert back to the healthy brown earth, fresh verdant grass appearing on top of it. Stigmata felt her feet leave the ground yet again, and she yelped as an invisible force seemed to grab her and gently pull her from the Deitree.

“Oh!” Rosie gasped worriedly as Malroth raced down the stairs, club in hand. “Stigmata?!”

The force set the apprentice builder down slowly at the base of the tree, and her destructive partner stood in front of her protectively as a familiar voice echoed in her mind.

Brave young builder…

By thy hand, have I been born anew to watch over Furrowfield once more.

The blessed breeze that flows from my branches shall drive away the Ill Wind, and spread light and life throughout the land.

Thou hast my thanks, Stigmata, for all thou hast done.

Goodbye…

Stigmata smiled and laid a reassuring hand on Malroth’s arm as he lowered his club slowly, eyebrows raised in confusion.

“The Deitree said thanks~!”

*

“Ahhh…fuck…” Malroth groaned quietly, grasping at his head. “My head is pounding.”

Stigmata moaned quietly in agreement and held her journal over her face to block out the harsh sunlight; they had partied entirely too hard last night. She can’t even recall half the things she did; she remembers having a tomato fight with Clayton, throwing rotten ones at one another from afar, and having a water fight with Saffron and Perry that turned into practically trying to drown one another. She also remembers Bonanzo had pulled her and Malroth aside and showed them some strange thing he was doing to a bit of wheat he’d set to the side.

The duo tasted it, not expecting whatever strange liquid made from wheat to taste good. After having a whole glass, Stigmata felt dizzy, and her vision blurred…but everything seemed ten times more fun after that!

“Well, well…! Look at you two!” Rosie giggled as she bounded over, seeming full of energy. “You must be tired from all that partying you did last night~!”

Malroth growled at her quietly, then quickly stopped as the pounding in his head increased: “Not even! We took that stupid wheat drink from dog beard, and everything started spinning!”

Rosie seemed surprised by these words, and her eyes widened as she glared at Bonanzo, who deliberately avoided her gaze. The cyan-haired farmer knelt and placed a cool hand against Stigmata’s forehead as the apprentice builder sighed quietly in slight relief.

“How old are you again, Stigmata…?”

“Sixteen…” she grumbled. “Seventeen in a month…”

“And Bonanzo gave you a beer.”

“...what’s beer?” Malroth grumbled.

Rosie was spared the trouble of answering as Clayton ran over and pulled his cousin up from the ground, causing her to yelp loudly as the world began spinning again.

“Honestly, cousin, is this really the time to be napping?! " he scolded, smiling happily. “It’s a good thing you made your rounds last night because a fellow at the docks with a turban says he’s here to pick you and the crew up!”

At those words, Malroth shot up from his position on the ground, his hangover seemingly gone. “Brown Nose is back?!”

“Brownbeard,” Stigmata corrected.

“Oh, just in time!” Rosie cheered as the others who agreed to come back to the Isle of Awakening gathered around excitedly, “This is it, everyone! It’s time to leave Furrowfield and head to Stigmata’s island to become true builders~!”

A chorus of cheers rang through the farms and the newly added inhabitants of the Isle of Awakening raced from the farm as Malroth grabbed the dizzy apprentice builder in his arms and followed them. The eight of them, Wrigley included, reached the docks in record time as Brownbeard looked up from his map and reared back in shock.

“A-Ahoy Stigmata! Ahoy Malroth!!” He greeted, rolling the map back up. “I was just about to head over to collect ya, but I see it ain’t necessary! You’ve gathered a whole motley crew for the Isle! Lulu’ll be sure to kick up a gale if we don’t get back soon. Been a long four months!”

“Has it really been four months…” Stigmata asked in disbelief, already imagining the scolding she’d get from Lulu when they returned.

“Well, let's not waste any more time, then!” Rosie beamed, hopping onto the boat first. “Set a course for this island, please, Mr. Brownbeard!”

The pirate cackled in joy, and the others clamored onto the boat as Malroth took up his usual spot on the bow, still holding the apprentice builder in his arms. Stigmata glanced up at her destructive partner and noticed he seemed to be contemplating standing or letting go of her to sit in his spot; his eyes were narrowed, and Stigmata had to hold back a giggle from how conflicted he looked.

“Mal…” she began slowly, “You can put me dow–”

Without warning, Malroth suddenly sat cross-legged on the ship's bow and set the violet-haired girl in his lap before smirking smugly as though content that he had thought up the comfortable arrangement himself. Stigmata felt her face warm considerably, and she lowered her head to hide how flustered she was, her hands gently gripping his purple coat.

“WAIT!! HOLD ON!!”

Everyone turned towards the voice and looked to see Saffron, Clayton, and the little Furrowfield retriever, Angel, come sprinting from over the hill.

“Saffron!” Lillian exclaimed, “What happened?!”

“Oh, nothing!” The elder girl reassured, “It’s just…oh, I’ll miss you, Lillian! Be good and make sure you write me! I’ll write you too!”

“Same goes for you, cousin!” Clayton cried, “Stay safe on your island, and write me every day! Don’t miss a single day, or I’ll be cross with you! Watch out for spoilspores if you may have them and…and…and why are you in that guy’s lap?! What in the great Rubiss’ name did I miss?!”

Everyone laughed as Stigmata hid her face in Malroth’s chest, and the destructive boy growled angrily, “Mind your damn business!”

Clayton scoffed in disbelief and crossed his arms as Brownbeard let everyone bid their final farewells and sailed back towards the Isle of Awakening. The apprentice builder sighed quietly and slowly raised her head once they were far enough from the shore before peeking up at Malroth, only to see he was already staring at her.

“...w-what?” She questioned quietly.

“I was just thinking.” Malroth said, looking away to stare at the blue waters, “You saved Furrowfield–”

“We.”

Malroth rolled his eyes but smiled softly: " We…saved Furrowfield. Rosie said it was her dream to save that place, but then, after we finally fixed it up like she asked, she decided to leave it to come help on the island.”

“Yeah,” Stigmata nodded, “did that confuse you?”

“At first, it did. But after thinking some more, I think I get it; Rosie accomplished her dream of bringing Furrowfield back to its former glory…now she’s helping you with your dream of being a great builder. So having a dream is…motivation to strive for better, right?” Malroth looked back down at her.

Stigmata smiled and snuggled against Malroth comfortably as he wrapped his arms around the girl, spreading his warmth over her like a blanket.

“Do you have any dreams, Mal?”

Silence settled between them for a moment, and the apprentice builder remained quiet, thinking perhaps her partner may have fallen asleep or simply didn’t hear the question.

“If your dream is to be a great builder…Mine is to be there by your side when you do it. That’s all I want, Stig.”

*

“Stigmata~! You’re back!!”

Stigmata walked off the boat and looked up happily as Lulu ran over and pushed Malroth away before practically tackling the violet-haired girl into a hug as she grunted then laughed happily. Malroth scoffed and glared at the pinkette while the new inhabitants of the Isle slowly got off the boat and looked around in awe and excitement, wondering what part of the island they’d be staying on.

“I’m sorry we were gone so long, Lulu!” Stigmata apologized as she was released from the hug, “but the situation in Furrowfield was b–!”

The builder froze mid-sentence, and her eyes widened as a blonde-haired girl slowly approached. She stood beside Lulu and gazed at the violet-haired girl silently. Lulu smiled and stood to the side a bit so the two could talk to one another. Malroth glanced at Stigmata silently and worriedly, wondering why she had stopped talking.

“...hello, Stigmata.” Nadia sighed quietly, deciding to be the first to break the awkward silence, “Lulu told me you saved my life, so…thanks for that…”

Stigmata snapped out of the daze and forced a small smile onto her face before nodding slowly, not wanting the others to start questioning her strange reaction to seeing Nadia. Due to everything that had happened from the moment she fought the Brainy Badboon until now, Stigmata had nearly forgotten all about Nadia’s presence on the island, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised to see her now when her emotions were already spiraling all over the place. However, she didn’t have to suffer the awkwardness much longer as Rosie stepped forward suddenly and grasped Lulu’s hand.

“Hello! You must be Lulu. My name is Rosie! Malroth said so much about you on the boat ride here from Furrowfield. I’m so excited to get to work!” The cyan-haired farmed cheered.

“Malroth talked about me, did he?” Lulu scoffed, glaring at the destructive boy, who glared back with a smirk.

“You bet I did.” Malroth boasted, “I told them all about our plans to build my Empire of Eversiraction here!”

“Wrong!! This is going to be Lulutopia!” She snarled, “Or did all the dirt at Furrowfield clog up that meaty brain of yours?!”

“Now, now, now!” Bonanzo interjected, striding forward confidently, “There’s no need for argument! Bonanzoland will be done post haste with a master builder such as myself on board!”

Stigmata glanced at the older man sideways and smiled a bit as Nadia made a face of confusion. However, this was nothing compared to the looks he simultaneously received from both Lulu and Malroth: one of utter rage and annoyance and one of disgust.

“If we left this island up to your decision-making, we’d be more fucked than what we originally began with!” Malroth spat.

“Maybe you should comb out that beard first.” Lulu scoffed, not allowing the man to recover from the first insult, “You look like a bush that’s been dragged through another bush backwards. You’re not leading anything, or anyone fitted up like a clown.”

The Hairy Hermit suddenly appeared beside Stigmata and hummed happily at seeing all the new faces gathered around; “Ho, ho, ho! You’re back, Stigmata–and you brought some new friends with you! That’s crack-crack-cracking!”

“What’s up, hermit?!” Malroth smirked happily, “Hope you weren’t giving Lulu too much trouble while we were away!”

“Are you kidding?” Lulu smiled, “We got along like a house on fire! They showed Nadia and I around the island more and helped us out with food and everything! It was pretty smooth sailing while you two were away, and Nadia is something of a good builder herself!”

“Anot’er builder?!” Perry exclaimed “t’at’s great t’at is! T’e more ‘elp, is better to get everyt’ing ‘round ‘ere done!”

“You said it, Perry!” Lillian agreed, “But personally, after seeing what Stigmata did in Furrowfield, it’ll take a long time to impress me! Tee hee~!”

“If that’s the case, you’d best get to work-work-working on houses for your new residents!” The Hairy Hermit said.

“Nah, man!” Britney huffed, “I came here to, like, build stuff! Not get stuff built for me! That like, defeats the whole purpose of us coming!”

“Wait…” Nadia said, “You’re all builders?!”