He doesn't mind that it's tedious. If it turns out the pay is a lie he'll stop working, but as long as Kar keeps up his end of the deal this is just fine.

He's slow at it, careful not to squish any more or leave any unpicked. When he's done he takes the basket and looks for Kar to hand it over to him.

Kar is at a little workbench near a pig pen containing a bunch of pigs, doing some kind of wood carving. He investigates the berries.

"At least you're not complainin' about honest work like most city folk. Though berry-picking's light work. Let's put these inside and you keep pickin'. I'm gonna make 'em into preserves since I have the help. Might as well have a big batch."

The inside of the house is pretty crude. Three rooms, simple wooden frames, not much furniture. He has Valanda dump the berries into a large bin.

As they go outside, he asks, "Mind telling me your story? How you got here, at any rate? Would've thought I'd have noticed stowaways sooner."

"I'm not sure. I wasn't... paying close attention to things, then I got hit in the head, I think by accident, and then I was here. I didn't mean to come here."

He nods sympathetically. Hit on the head, don't know where you are?

"Well. Hopefully you'll recover. Meanwhile, there's work."

"There's work. And pay. I'm sorry I was rude to you earlier, I thought either you'd stolen me or you were going to send me back."

"And I thought you were sneaking around my island for some reason. Sorry I poked you with a stick. I'll host you 'till a ship comes and pay you a bit besides, aye."

"Thank you. I'll try to make it worth your while."

He nods. "I don't know how you could've ended up here without clear memories... But I dunno how to fix that, so... Back to berry-picking with you for now, then. I think I'll help too. Keep an eye on ya, no offense."

"Of course. I wouldn't expect any different."

They pick berries together for... A while. Kar seems perfectly happy to be amicably silent if Valanda has nothing to say.

Good. This is the best day Valanda's ever had.

Eventually Kar invites him into the little house.

"You can be done for the day if you like. We can weed and water tomorrow. But I need to preserve these smart quick or they'll rot. If you help me make preserves of all these after dinner I'll give you half a dozen jars of it, or two copper pieces. Your choice."

"I don't know how much a copper piece is worth or how to make preserves but I can try."

"Copper piece is worth a copper piece." He shrugs. "A ship'll carry you somewhere else for a few of 'em. I can tell you what to do to make it."

"I'll do my best! What's dinner?"

"Dinner will be berries, roasty onions, and a little salted pork, unless you've got some objection."

"That sounds great."

Wow this language has a lot of words for cooking food. Interesting. Maybe it's because people live by themselves and don't have death mages around to have sterilize things.

He cooks with some kind of glass contraption that burns with a clear blueish flame.

Dinner is served, hot and fresh roasted onions, salted pork, some carrots too because why not, and berries.

He sets on dinner like someone starving.

Since he is. Or was.

It's a fairly big portion. Kar made farmers' portions, and farming is hard work. "Woah, easy there, don't choke on it or burn yourself, eh? You should slow down. Have some water too."

He pauses and has some water.

He finishes a little more slowly.

"You must've been lost for a while. Now that I look at you, you're skin and bones."

"I was skin and bones before. Like I said, I didn't want to let them enjoy their property. They didn't want to let me die but it was inconvenient and expensive for them to force-feed me."

He shakes his head. "Damn onion-hearted slavers. Pig food. Villains. It's one of the worst things a man can do to another. And the ones who try to excuse it are even more scummier than the ones who admit they're cruel and greedy. Training and protection, my ass..."

He hears "villains" and his world turns upside-down. Such wonderful language magic. He would never have guessed that meaning learning this language the hard way. Never.

He wipes tears away so they don't get in what's left of his onions. "I didn't ever expect to hear anyone say that. Thank you."