"'Twill just be a waste of time, sir," says Aldric. Cough, cough. "But if it'll make you happy..."

In short order, two groups of peasants are gathered together. The first is those that could actually do with 'doctoring', according to Aldric. According to Dr. Vanderbilt, they are either easily dealt with, or hypochondriacs who really just need a soothing word, and maybe a bit of coloured and flavoured water that they're told is medicine. Either way, this group is swiftly dealt with.

The second group, the ones apparently unable to be cured by local healers, is a bit more of a challenge. There are five of them...

Dr. Vanderbilt: Medicine: +3 Roll: +0 Total: +3
Felix: Science: +3 Roll: +0 Total: +3
Nathan: Survival: +4 Roll: +1 Total: +5

...by the end of the day, Dr. Vanderbilt is confident that, with the help of Felix and especially Nathan (who has a truly incredible instinct for medical work), all five of them are well on the road to recovery (though Aldric will need to take his medicine for a couple of weeks before he stops coughing, and his lungs will always be weak).

"Alright, how is everyone feeling?" Felix asks, looking over the patients to see if everything is satisfactory.

The general consensus of the crowd, most aggravatingly, seems to be that they will decide how they are feeling once they have had a chance to see how well this Terran doctoring works. Dr. Vanderbilt, for her part, is confident that they are all well on the way to recovery.

The doctoring done, Nathan walks about the village and sees what kind of plants they grow, both as crops, and in personal gardens, so he'll know what to look for in the wild for personal use, and for bringing back samples for study.

Nobody in the village has a personal garden, but everyone in the village has a field. Or, to put it another way, everybody has a personal garden, and it is the size of a field.. There are a number of fruit and vegetable crops - some of which look very familiar (that wheat over there, for example, would not look out of place on Earth); some are only a little odd (the local carrot-equivalents, for example, appear to be black for some reason); and some are truly unknown (some sort of purplish nut which, when a farmer offers Nathan a taste, turns out to taste more or less like sweetcorn).

As thanks for their medical help, the local farmers are happy to let the Terrans take away a fair amount of food (so Nathan gets a lot of samples) - though the ones who got the medicine and the ones offering the food were often not the same people.

The farmers also warn the group to be careful in the forest, as there have been sightings of goblins recently, and there have been bandits hiding in there for years - though the farmers do admit that the bandit attacks have been a lot less frequent lately.

While Nate is asking about the food, Felix will ask about crop pests. What local vermin try to get into the crops to eat them, the insects and molds and anything else that the villagers might know of. He also asks about the planting seasons, how much longer the current season is supposed to last, and so on.

There are crop pests that, from a brief description, sound like mice; others sound like locusts, Several kinds of mold and blight are known to the locals...

Felix: Science: +3 Roll: +0 Total: +3

...including one that sounds suspiciously like penicillin, though Felix can't be certain.

They appear to have landed in the local equivalent of late Spring/early Summer, and the seasons are not too far off from their Earthly equivalents (though the farmers are maddeningly vague about when exactly the seasons change).

Felix goes to the cart and pulls out a miniature lab kit for sample collection.

"Would you mind if I had a look around the fields to see if I can spot any instances of these molds? I'd like to collect samples of each, if possible, so my people can examine them and get a better understanding of the threats our own crops might face once our farms are up and running. I'll help destroy what I find, as well, so if something is located it won't have a chance to spread."

Aldrin stares at the little rack of corked but empty test tubes. "Is that glass?" he asks, incredulous.

Felix blinks, looking down at the test tube, then back up.

"Yeah, it is," Felix replies. "Why?"

"I had no idea you was gentry, m'lord," says Aldrin, deferentially. He coughs, again. "Of course you c'n look at our fields, if'n you really want to... I'll be happy to guide you through them m'self. M'lord."

Nate wanders up, Piper in tow, with the intention of helping Felix, and almost manages not to laugh when Aldrin calls Felix "M'lord".

"Felix is as much a lord as I am. We work for a living."

Aldrin looks a little surprised for a moment, thinks things over, and reaches a decision. "If M'lord and... M'lord... would like to inspect the fields, they are -" cough - "just this way..."

Piper puts her hand over her mouth, trying (with some success) to suppress her giggles.

"Uh..." Felix stammers, feeling like the situation is sweeping itself somewhat out of control. He mentally kicks himself, as well. Should have asked about local production techniques and the value of various goods before whipping certain things out without thought. "Hold on now. I'm a great many things. Architect, scholar, craftsman and even a doctor and soldier when the times call for it, but I'm not a noble. My family was upper class, certainly, but I left all that behind when we boarded the ship and set sail for parts unknown."

Felix holds up the glass and lets Aldrin see it.

"This is a test tube. It's necessary for important research, and is not an item of luxury, but of practicality. A tool, like the plow that was sold to you to help feed my people. This glass object belongs to my tribe, and it was loaned to me for the purposes of sample collection, that we may learn more about this new land we have found ourselves in. Once I'm done using it I'll have to clean it and return it to the storage where I requisitioned it. I am not a noble, so please do not treat me any differently. I don't want that."

"Uhhhh..." Aldric looks thoroughly confused at Felix' speech. He sticks to what he's sure of. "The... fields are this way, M'lord."