The barn settles into a soft hush as the last copied page slides into the stack. Hay dust floats in the warm light, and the paper makes a neat, satisfying tap when Joy squares the edges.
Hunter gathers the loose sheets, checking the pile by habit while Elias straightens the copied pages beside him. Mrs. Gable wipes her hands on her skirt and watches the finished stack with a tired, relieved smile.
Hunter McCready
The copies are all here.
Joy
I made them all match this time.
Mrs. Gable
You did, sweetheart. Neater than mine, too.
Elias
That is the calmest meeting prep I have ever seen.
Joy beams at that, then hugs the spare sheets to her chest like they are precious cargo. Elias gives Hunter a small nod, the kind that says the worst is done for now.
Mrs. Gable
Once these are delivered, I think I need tea and a chair. Maybe in that order.
The group pauses together in the quiet, the barn holding their work like proof of what they have built. For a moment, nobody rushes to move first.
✓ Quest Accepted
Distribute the vendor communication plan
✓ Quest Accepted
Reassure the vendor group before the plan goes out
“I ask Elias and Mrs Gable if they can taje care of everything at the market because i have lots of chires to do at home today”
SUCCESS (Great Socially Awkward, rolled -1)
Hunter McCready
Can you two handle the market distribution of the plan? I have a lot of chores at home today.
Elias
Yeah. We can take it from here.
Mrs. Gable
Of course. We will get them out.
Hunter sets the tidy stack down and slides it toward Elias, and the movement leaves a dark smudge from his ink-stained cuff on the top page.
Joy
I can help carry some, if you want.
Elias
You already helped plenty, kid.
Mrs. Gable gathers the bundles into her arms, then pauses at the doorway with a wary look toward the road, as if measuring who might be watching the market office next.
Mrs. Gable
We will be careful. If anyone starts dividing things again, we will not let it stick.
Quest Complete
Reassure the vendor group before the plan goes out