They didn't land hungry. They will sit and wait, occasionally exchanging murmured remarks of concern. Cassiel makes and passes around almond brittle.

The kid munches on bread and cheese and peers curiously at the almond brittle.

"Do you want some?" Cassiel asks.

"What is it?"

"It's candy. Almonds and sugar."

"...sure," the kid decides, not without some hesitation.

She hands him a piece.

They have to juggle their bread and cheese a bit in order to receive candy, but as soon as the candy is in their hand it is eagerly snarfed.

"Wow!!! That's really good! I'm telling everybody!"

And they're off at top speed toward some more distant part of the village.

...Cassiel will make a big pile of almond brittle to hand out in anticipation of more people.

More people do in fact show up, in a hesitant trickle of ones and twos with minutes in between.

One in particular, a scarred man wearing an apron, tastes the candy thoughtfully and asks, "How is this made?"

"I made it with magic - I can make other things too, if you want more variety -" She pulls a handful of cloudfluff off the bench and grows it back to replace what she took and turns the handful into an apple. "But it can be cooked, too, though I don't have a recipe."

"Oh!" he exclaims, surprised. "Now there's a trick. Can you tell me the ingredients, at least?"

"Sugar and almonds!"

"Hmm!"

He nods thoughtfully and wanders off still nibbling his almond brittle.

"The Hero returns!" calls a familiar voice, laden with cheerful irony. Even the sound of her voice seems to brighten the place up a little. She strolls into view around the corner of the hut where she got the wood earlier, and leans in to toss a handful of pebbles into a bucket on her way past it.

"What are the pebbles for?" asks Nelen.

She shrugs. "I picked them up on my walk. I always bring back whatever I pick up; it's the only way to get more stuff. I assume there'll be a use for everything eventually."

"Is there anything to - walk on, out there?" wonders Natsuko.

"There is for me. Anybody else tries to step off the dirt and they just disappear. When I head out, though, there's a path." She kicks the dry grey ground. "A little like this, but more faded."

"And... pebbles. Is there anything else?"

"Mhm. How's my mana, though?"

Natsuko gets up and goes over to her to check.

She's full up.

"- yes, it's back. I'm still not a research wizard but I guess neither was Boots way back when, so I can try stuff, and can use the spells I already have. Can I try to make a house for us?"

"Hmm... so, yes, but when somebody's new here we usually want them to sit by the fire for at least their first day or so, and," she gestures around at the huts, "there's not much room for another house here. I can go make some room at the edge but then your house will be at the edge, which isn't exactly comfortable or safe. I guess I could go make a lot of room at the edge, maybe put something else up just to shield you from it..."