Chapter 14

The tea bushes required new fields.

So, the next day, they cleared ten acres in five, two-acre blocks. They then collected the tea bushes from all over the mountainside and replanted them. Since most of the bushes were still dormant, they transplanted easily.

Most were also old enough to produce when spring started in a few weeks. Jax suspected that with the magic they had used, the plants would be even hardier and produce for many decades to come.

They had even collected what seeds they could find so Eddie could plant new fields when he was ready. He said he would create a greenhouse to propagate them in. The boys also believed they could build the drying rooms and processing equipment Eddie needed when the time came.

Then, Tammy insisted on a small plot garden. So, they had prepared half an acre to be her vegetable patch. They even added a small bad weather and pest shield over it.

It would keep the few bugs they had on the island, the larger animals and unwelcome people out of her garden. They had found plenty of seeds in the pantry to plant, plus the locals had seeds she could use.

Tammy would also share her seeds with the Nix people and Traz’s people.

The job the next morning was to produce and transport furniture from the cavern to the new two-story house.

The top floor was designed to have six bedrooms. They had designed two large rooms for each couple, but none were sure they would always sleep as just couples, and both beds were big enough for four.

The other four large rooms were designed to house the kids that all four members of this new family expected to fill. Downstairs and towards the back of the house was a huge kitchen that accessed the storage and workrooms in the mountain.

The large twelve-to-twenty-seater dining table (it had extensions) was in the centre of the house and accessed from the foyer and side rooms. Everyone loved the fact that, the centre of the table had a raised section with a long skinny table and bench seats fit for the Nix to use.

Off to either side of the dining area were sitting rooms, a library and two separate playrooms. One playroom also had accommodation for the Nix kids as large, covered cubbyholes took up one wall. They looked a lot like the ones they had built for the other Nix families.

Between the two largest rooms on either side, were ablution rooms with three sizes of toilets and sinks. A 4m square, self-cleaning, spa-come-mini-pool, with waterfall, was towards the back and western side of the house. It was fully glassed to let the beauty of the garden and forest in and keep the cold out.

It was fed from a magically enhanced hot spring and also had a magical tap they could turn on should they like to make it cooler. The hot spring also fed the bathrooms on both floors (each bedroom had one) and the kitchen, so they had hot water.

Jax’s duplication spell came in handy. They didn’t wish to deplete the kitchen of utensils or the cavern of other essential items. Fortunately, they found plenty of raw materials (junk) in the storage room for Della and Jax to use, to make the new items Tammy and the boys wanted for their house.

They had Tammy, the boys and the Nix kids settled into their new home by nightfall. Jax, Blair and David retired to the cavern to replenish the magic they had used that day.

It took the boys several tries to give Jax the fix she needed, and they ended up double-teaming her to get her to flake out on them.

Blair and David happily cuddled up to her and were soon sawing logs with her.

The next morning Jax and her boys turned up for breakfast with the other half of the team in the new house.

Tammy and the boys laughed when they were handed the bags the others carried. While Eddie cooked, everyone else was soon helping fill the pantries from the bags. It turns out that Eddie loved to cook.

He was also a half-decent chief, and breakfast in the new dining room was a fun event. Jax could see why they wanted it where they did, as she had a feeling that it would become one of the most used rooms in the house.

“So, what happens now?” Tammy asked Jax, after they had devoured the feast.

“Well, I guess that we need to go find what happened to the rest of our team,” Jax replied.

“Do you think they made it here?” Ernie asked.

Jax thought about this for a moment. “Yes, I feel they are here. But I don’t think they are on these islands. It wouldn’t hurt to visit Sigma to make sure, though. I feel I have some unfinished business there.”

“Any idea what direction you should go in after you visit your family?” Tammy asked.

“Della has been able to produce a map of the continents here. I’m surprised there are so many landmasses here. This planet is not like your Earth with massive contents. The biggest ones here are no bigger than Australia.”

She pulled out the map to show the others. They all had a good look at how the visible land on this plant was set out.

“As you can see, most are more like three-quarters to half in size of Australia. I suppose you would call them islands, but we call the nine biggest landmasses continents, including the poles.”