Casual far Ming

by Taylor and Laura

Farmer

11. Book 11

Chapter One: First Day of Summer

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 61 starting actions.]

[Daniel's Almanac: 1st day of Summer! Howdy y'all, folks! It's a great day to get out of bed and punch some cows, sew some seed, fight some monsters, and do all sorts of other agricultural things that I frankly still struggle to understand. Anyhow, I hope y'all enjoyed the party last night, it sure was a great one, and here's to a great summer!]

[Daniel's Almanac: Update: Oh, yeah, and I have a really terrible announcement that all the menfolk in town need to get out here to listen to. Womenfolk are more than welcome, too. Or any other sort of folk, though I would suggest leaving small children at home so they don't get scared.]

Jason yawned and stretched, slowly sitting up in bed. Beside him, Tess stirred and looked over at him, a smile breaking across her face.

"Whaaaaaaaaa!"

Tess's smile didn't go away, though it did sag a moment, and the bags under her eyes became a bit more pronounced. Slowly, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, gave him a kiss, and walked over to the two bassinets that sat against the wall of their bedroom. Lying inside were two precious bundles, their twins, born just a few months earlier.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Fern, now nine years old, burst through the door of the bedroom. "I heard them crying!"

"Yup, and I've got them." Tess quickly scooped up Baby Jason, then baby Tess, cradling both of them with an expert ease that made it seem as though she had been handling twins her entire life. "Would you be able to run downstairs and start on some breakfast? I know it's a lot to ask, but you've been such a great helper recently."

"Of course, mom! Good morning, dad!" Fern waved, then raced back out of the room. A moment later, Rachel, now seven, ran past as well to help out her older sister. Jason chuckled slightly, then walked over to the wardrobe and started to change into his work clothes as Tess started to nurse the twins.

"Strange to think that it's been fourteen years now since I moved in here." Jason shook his head in amazement. "Feels like the last... Oh... I'd say almost three years have just shot by like a bullet from a gun."

"It does feel like it." Tess smiled, then yawned. "I wonder what Daniel has to say?"

"Do you think I ought to go in for it?" Jason snapped the suspenders of his overalls into place. "I was sorta hoping to get the Far Eighty planted to summer sorghum today. If I can get it in right off the bat, I'll be able to get six harvests in before the end of the season."

"Yeah, but that sounds urgent. Daniel isn't the type of person to get worked up about urgent messages." Tess answered. "Look, if it's nothing, you can turn around and head right back out here and get to work. You might have to go a bit late into the evening, but we can make that work."

"If you're sure, then." Jason shrugged. "I'll be off, then. Wouldn't want to miss it!"

He smiled at Tess, still unconvinced that the message would be anything altogether too interesting. With that, he strode out of the room and down the stairs, where Fern and Rachel were hard at work in the kitchen making up a batch of pancakes. Fern quickly flipped several of them onto a plate (and several more onto the floor), then passed the food to him.

"Thanks, girls!" Jason ruffled their hair, then bent down and gave them both a big kiss on the cheeks. "I'm off to town today, I'll be back by lunchtime. I hope." He grimaced slightly. "Are you going to be good for Mommy?"

"We always are!" Fern grinned.

"Except for that time you spilled paint all over the porch." Rachel held up a finger.

"And what about the time that you used Mommy's makeup on the pigs?"

Rachel screwed up her nose. "And the time you took all Daddy's tools and buried them like a pirate?"

"That was being bad for Daddy, not Mommy."

"Girls!" Jason laughed. "Just be good, alright? Have lots of fun, and I'll see you after awhile."

He ate the pancakes as he quickly made his way out of the house, pulling on his boots as he went. Chance came along with him, barking and yapping at his heels. The old hound was showing a good bit of white, and

was slowing down, but wasn't down for the count quite yet. Jason scratched him behind the ears as he made his way out to the barn, where Milligan was, as usual, already taking care of things.

"Howdy, boss!" Milligan led Lady out of the stable, already saddled up. "I figured you'd want to get a quick start. Daniel sure sounded eager to get everyone out there."

"You coming?" Jason swung up into the saddle and took hold of the reigns.

"Nah." Milligan waved his hand. "I'll get all the information from you, and there's work to be done here. You get off to it, and I'll be right here when you get back!"

"Alright, then." Jason waved as his girls came out onto the front porch. They both smiled and waved, and he spurred Lady out the front gate. With that, he was off toward town, thundering down the long, dirt road.

As he came riding up into Summer Shandy, he found the place in quite a bit of disarray. People rushed back and forth, chattering and talking about what the issue might be, while Constable Obadiah stood up on the edge of the town well, trying to maintain order. Daniel stood near the entrance to the Guild Hall, arms crossed, staring down anyone who came near. He did smile and wave at Jason, but it was sorta forced. Something was up, and Jason didn't know what it was. In any case, most of the farmers from the surrounding area remained on their horses instead of dismounting, so Jason did the same. Richard, his father in law, rode up next to him, and Jason gave a small nod.

"Any idea what this is about?"

"I've got an idea, yeah, but I don't want to say nothing." The former warrior looked grim. "One of my old pals from my time on the dungeon circuit came riding through last night. He only said a few words to me, but... It's got my hackles up, that's for sure."

Jason's mind spun with the possibilities. What could be happening? Unfortunately, he had to wait a bit longer before he got answers. Finally, though, Obadiah drew his pistol and fired it up into the air, drawing silence from everyone around. Slowly, Daniel approached the town well and crossed his arms. He was so tall that he didn't need to climb up, and everyone looked at him in anticipation.

"Last night, a rider came through, right at the end of the festival." Daniel spoke softly, but forcefully. "We've since verified his story with the

Warriors' Guild Headquarters as well as the Constables' Guild Headquarters. In short, three days ago, the village of South Tree was destroyed by a band of orcs."

There was a stunned silence that fell over the crowd. Slowly, someone raised a hand.

"Orcs? You mean those mythical things, elves and dwarves and whatnot?"

"They're not mythical." Daniel shook his head. "I've fought more than a few of them in the dungeons, but I've never heard of them outside the dungeons, at least until now."

"As we all know here in Summer Shandy, monsters emerging from the dungeons can be quite the problem." Obadiah folded his hands behind his back. "I've reached out to the Dungeon Guild for comment, but thus far have received nothing. In any case, what little we do know, I'll relay now. South Tree is located to the southwest of Summer Shandy, about a week's travel no matter which way you cut it, down by the edge of the Southern Desert. The best report we have right now is that the orcs came from across the desert. One eyewitness said he saw legions of them out on the sands, and that only a small band of them attacked South Tree. Another eyewitness said that he saw them riding on dragons. Yet another one said that there was only a single orc, it was nothing to worry about, and that we're getting worried over nothing."

"And what do you think?" Jason called out.

"My opinion on the matter is that we need to be prepared." Daniel nodded to Jason. "The Southern Desert has long been a sort of forbidden zone, even for experienced warriors. There are ancient and powerful dungeons there, full of monsters that are hard to fathom by modern standards. If there was a dungeon break, or if there's just a nation of orcs living out in that direction, it's a problem that we need to be aware of.

"And what exactly are we going to do to prepare?" Richard asked.

"That's where things get tricky." Obadiah rubbed his jaw and glanced off to the side. There, Jason saw Paulina give him a small nod, and he drew in a deep breath. "Until such time as we can evaluate the threat more, I'm suggesting that all women and children leave town for the safety of Illumitir."

Jason's world spun at the news, and he had to grip the saddle horn. "Send off my wife?"

"And my children?"

"You're crazy!"

"The warriors will take care of it all!"

"I'm going to stand and fight for my land!"

"Everyone!" Obadiah shouted. He fired his second pistol up into the

air, drawing silence again, and drew in a deep breath. "Please. Everyone is free to do as they wish, obviously, but right now, we are facing something entirely unprecedented. I don't wish to overstate the issue, but if the more extreme reports are true, and there is an army of orcs out there, we're in extraordinary danger. The provinces of this land haven't staffed a standing army in centuries, because there hasn't been a need. Warriors are used to dungeon fighting, not taking on entire armies out in the field. If these are what we're facing, I honestly don't know how we're going to repel it. An army could easily hide in the wilderness of this land, if they split into units, and that sort of warfare can cause a lot of damage very quickly."

"I agree." Daniel nodded. "Viola and my own children will be making the trip tomorrow morning, at least until we know more. I highly suggest that others do the same."

With that, the audience was over. Jason slowly turned away, gave a single nod to Richard, and then rode back down toward his farm.

Send his family away? Was that something he could do? He didn't know... But he knew he would have to make the decision quickly.

Chapter Two: Hard Goodbyes

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 3rd day of Summer! Alright, folks, I know this is a hard day, so I won't cheese it up too much. The caravan will leave from Summer Shandy at noon today, so if you want to be in it, make sure you're there.]

As Jason's eyes flickered open, he found Tess already up and moving. They had spent the previous day packing, getting everything ready, and now... Now, it was time to leave.

"Ahh. You're awake." Tess swept back into the room, a small smile on her face. "The girls are already up. They... They want to see you."

Jason nodded and slowly stood up, stomach churning as he did so. Slowly, he walked over to the wardrobe and changed into a simple tunic, then sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

"It's going to be okay." Tess clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "It's just for a few weeks."

"Probably." Jason murmured. He bit his lip, then nodded. "Alright. I need to be strong for them."

Tess smiled, and with that, Jason slowly walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. There, in the living room, Fern and Rachel were already dressed, standing next to a pile of luggage. Baby Tess and Baby Jason were wrapped up in their swaddles, oblivious to the danger around them. Jason knelt down and held out his arms, and Fern and Rachel ran forward to wrap their arms around him in an enormous bear hug.

"Oh, I'm going to miss this." Jason sighed deeply.

"We're going to miss you, too." Fern sniffled softly.

"And you don't have to say goodbye until we get into town." Tess

pointed out. "We've still got the drive in. You'll have plenty of time to spend around each other, at least for a bit."

Jason nodded, then slowly rose, gave his kids another quick hug, and started hefting bags outside. Milligan already had their carriage pulled

up to the front steps, and they began loading things into the luggage compartment. When they were finished, Tess came out with a handful of egg burritos, and passed them out to everyone. Milligan took one, then sighed and knelt down.

"Now, are you two girls going to be great big helpers up there in Illumitir?"

"You bet!" Fern grinned from ear to ear.

"We're going to do everything! We'll do all the gardening, and the fort-building, and the monster fighting!" Rachel mimed fighting a monster with an imaginary sword.

"They don't know anything about city life, do they?" Milligan grimaced and stood back up.

"Not a bit." Jason reached down and ruffled their hair. "It'll be a struggle, but we'll all get through it. Another story to give to the grandkids, you know?"

"I suppose." Milligan doffed his hat. "Well, off with you! I wouldn't want you to be late."

Rachel and Fern quickly scrambled up into the luggage compartment, where they quite happily perched themselves on several suitcases. Tess climbed up into the driver's seat, and Jason passed the twins up to her before climbing up as well. With that, he took the reins, and they were off.

None of them said much as they rumbled down that road. Jason could see other clouds of dust in the distance, but none of them were close. The sun shone hot upon the rippling prairie grasses, but somehow, the warmth failed to penetrate his heart. He sighed deeply, then leaned into Tess. She leaned back upon him, and down the road they went.

As they arrived at the Town Square, the place was an even bigger hubbub of activity than before. The road stretching north out of town, around the dungeon, was filled with wagons all lining up to make the trip together. Families hustled about, loading people into the vehicles one at a time. Jason wiped a tear from his eye as he pulled up to the rear of the caravan, then turned to look at Tess.

"Don't worry, Jason." Tess reached out and took his hand. "The kids will be alright. You know the plan."

"Knowing the plan and liking it are two different things." Jason shook his head. "I'm going to miss you all something fierce."

"I'll be back." Tess smiled softly. "Your cousin is a wet nurse, she'll be able to take care of the twins, and your brother will be watching the older two. I'll get them squared away, make sure that they're all taken care of, and then come back here within a month. After that, if things still look bad at the end of the season, we'll all go up to Illumitir so we can be together."

Jason groaned and nodded. "I know, I know. Look, I get homesick for you guys when I come into town to buy seed for the farm. I'm just not looking forward to this."

"Well, I need you to be strong through it." Tess reached out and took his hand. "For me. For the kids. I have..." She shuddered. "I have memories of my parents leaving me. When I was pregnant with Fern, I vowed to myself that I would never do the same thing to our kids. I know it's not the same, but I can't help feeling that I'm failing somehow by needing to do this. I need you to be strong for me. I need you to hold us together, to make sure that we come back together at the end of all of this."

Jason squared his jaw, then nodded. "I'll do it." He forced a smile to his face. "You're going to do great, and so are they. We'll get this all sorted out, and within a couple months, we'll all be back on the farm. This will just be a funny story to tell around the fire come the winter."

"I suppose so." Tess gave another smile and a nod. "Now, let's make sure we get everyone properly hugged and squeezed, shall we?"

With the wagon in place, Jason hopped down from the driver's seat and helped Tess down as well. He then got the two older girls down to join them, and the group slowly began walking about the area.

"Jason!"

Jason spun around as Jeremiah walked past, holding his two grandkids, John and Michael, in his arms. They were almost as big as Fern and Rachel, and they wiggled down and hugged the two girls. Fern and Rachel both giggled and blushed, and Jason scowled and made a show of shooing the two of them away.

"Oh, come on. It's nothing like that!" Jeremiah snickered.

"Easy for you to say." Jason snorted and shook his head, then held out his hand. Jeremiah shook it firmly, and the two of them sighed. "Helping get them all loaded up?"

"Ahh, I'm heading out with them." Jeremiah hooked his fingers in the straps of his suspenders. "I'm too old to be out shooting guns and firing

cannons."

"You were too old when Jason first showed up almost fifteen years

ago." Jeremiah's wife, came bustling past. "You're just about as old as the rocks in the road here."

"A compliment I will gladly accept." Jeremiah grinned and started to walk away, then paused and glanced back at Jason. "You're staying?"

"At least for the time being." Jason nodded. "At least until we know more."

"Well, then if this is the last time I ever see you, know that I've considered you a good friend for as long as we've known each other."

"If this is the-" Jason's jaw dropped as Jeremiah started to amble away, snickering up his sleeve. "Jeremiah!"

"Little Farmer!"

Jason paused as Daniel and Viola walked past as well, with their children following behind. Jason had to admit that he could get a bit envious of the family that Daniel possessed, but also... By that time, after about nine years of marriage, they had given birth to Charlotte, Joseph, Fisher, Anastasia, Wince, Stephen, Paul, Jane, and George, in that order. The long train of stair-stepped kids followed along behind, all smiling and waving at Jason's much smaller family.

"How goes it?" Jason held out his hand, which Daniel shook. No sooner had he let go, then Daniel embraced Tess, thumping her powerfully on the back. She responded in kind, making him gasp for air. There were few people who could mirror Daniel in brute strength, but Tess was very much one of them.

"Ahh, you know how it is! Just saying goodbye to all the little ones." Daniel sighed. "That, and handling more reports from the outer wilderness areas."

"Anything bad?" Jason was afraid to ask.

"Depends on your definition of the word, but it sure isn't anything good." Viola answered for her husband. "We've been getting a lot of reports over the last couple days. I've been sorta acting as a secretary for him, and..." She glanced over at Daniel, who gave a nod. "It's not sounding good. There are a lot of eyewitnesses reporting in, and while a lot of them contradict each other, it's pretty clear that there are a lot of orcs coming over the southern border."

"On the bright side, Illumitir is massing an army of warriors to go face them." Daniel crossed his arms. "That ought to help. I'm pretty sure that Portswain is doing the same thing."

"Mmm." Jason nodded. "Portswain is even bigger than Illumitir. Are they worried about invasion?"

"Not at the moment. The southern desert is actually a bit north of them, and a lot further to the west." Daniel shook his head. "The way the land naturally leads, the orcs would have to be pretty intentional about turning to go that way. Right now, all indications are that the monsters are heading out into this province."

"Then should we be heading south?" Tess asked, concerned.

"It looks like orcish raiding parties have already almost reached the roads that you would need to take to get down to Portswain." Daniel shook his head. "Go that way, and you'll only run into orcish raiding parties and Portswain blockades. Better to go north."

"We'll take your word for it." Jason flashed a smile at his friend. "Now, if you'll excuse us–"

"Right! Right! Take your time to say goodbye!"

Daniel and his family walked off once more, and Jason turned to Tess and his kids. Emotions swirled around within him, and he slowly nodded at the item shop.

"Anyone care for a treat?"

The rest of that morning was a lovely sort of one, filled with as many good times as Jason could pack in. They all went in and bought some candy at the item shop, then went out around to the hills overlooking the dungeon and played among the flowers and grass while they ate their treats. When noon came, Lily, the owner of the town inn, brought out a wide array of sandwiches. There were none too few, that was for sure, though Jason hardly even noticed it all. Finally, as the hubbub of lunch died away, Obadiah climbed up onto the town well and began issuing instructions to the caravan. Jason, though, mostly ignored it, and huddled with his family around the wagon.

"This is it." His voice was soft. "Are you guys... going to be..." He drew in a sharp breath. "Are you going to be okay?"

"We'll be good, dad." Fern nodded. "It won't be long, and then we'll be back home." She gave him a hug, and whispered in his ear. "After all, I'm your big helper. You won't be able to run the farm without me."

Jason laughed and pulled her close, then sighed and slowly turned to Rachel. She hugged him as well, and gave him several kisses on the cheeks.

"Don't feed Lady too many oats." She told him. "And make sure to get the harvest in before the end of the season. You don't want another crop spoiling."

"That was Milligan's idea." Jason pointed out. "I had nothing to do with it."

"Just be careful." Rachel admonished him. "If we have to be good, you do, too."

Jason laughed, then slowly stood up. He embraced Tess, then gave both of the twins a soft kiss on the forehead. With that, he helped them all up in the wagon.

"Don't worry, Jason." Tess smiled at him. "We'll be okay. This won't be long, I promise, and we'll all be home again."

Jason could only nod. All around him, horses began to trot forward. Wagons rumbled along the road. Richard walked up and took Jason's arm, waved at his daughter, and led him back away from the path. With that, the caravan was off, and Jason was left alone.

He stood there a long while, watching until the very last wagon rumbled over the hills. As they vanished, a great weight settled on his shoulders, and he turned around.

Down below, miles away, was his farm. Now, he had to work it himself. Now, he was back to square one.

He only hoped that the orcish threat would end soon.

Chapter Three: Would If I Could

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 4th day of Summer! Howdy, everyone! I know I'm only speaking to about half the people I used to talk to, so... ahh... Well, get out there and get stuff done! Anyone who's here in town, we'll be hosting a board game night in the Guild Hall for anyone who wants to join in the community!]

"I would if I could." Jason groaned as he slowly swung his legs off the edge of the bed. For the first time in years, the house was still and quiet. Tess wasn't there to greet him. The kids didn't come running in to wake him up. The twins weren't there, crying and demanding food. It was still, with only the sound of the wind against the house.

His bones seemed to groan as he forced himself upward. When he had arrived in Summer Shandy, he had been twenty-four. Now, he was thirty-eight, and was starting to feel the strain that a farmer's life could put on a person. Sure, he was a long way from being beat-down and old, but without anyone to take his mind off things, it was suddenly a lot harder. Slowly, he dressed, then made his way downstairs. As he walked into the kitchen, Milligan walked through the back door.

"Howdy, boss." Milligan nodded at the table. "Mind if I join you?"

"Only if you don't try to cheer me up." Jason walked over to the cookbook, which flapped its pages in a friendly sort of wave. "Let's see... What's your preference for breakfast?"

"What do you have?" Milligan sat down at the table. "I'm feeling partial to sausage and eggs. Or biscuits and sausage gravy."

"I'll see what I can find." Jason frowned as he flipped through the breakfast section of the cookbook. "The two girls bought a waffle recipe pack from the store last winter. I can make almost seventy different types of waffles, but I can't find anything else!" He paused, then nodded as he came to the comparably small sausage section. "And here we go!"

With a flash, the food appeared on the table, and he sat down. The two men slowly tucked in, and Milligan gave him a nod.

"Well, what's the word? The last few days I've spent working all the odd jobs on the farm I could find. Patching up fence from that herd of Spring Chickens that came through the week before the festival, and then I had to till up a bit of the Far Eighty that got packed down last winter."

"Much appreciated, Milligan. I don't know what I'd do without you." Jason stretched as he finished. "I think we stick with the original plan for the season. Summer Sorghum. From the tests you showed me in the greenhouse, it shows a lot a promise, and it'd sure make a pretty penny to send to the kids up in Illumitir."

"Then that's just what we'll do." Milligan slapped his thigh. "I'll go get everything set up."

"Ahh, let me do it." Jason rose from his chair. "I could use the exercise."

"Go for it!"

Jason nodded, then walked to the front door, pulled on his boots, and made his way out into the barnyard. A few chickens clucked and scampered back and forth, while Chance bounded along at Jason's heels. He quickly made his way up into the barn, took out Angus, and brought him around to the lean-to where the farming equipment was stored.

It didn't take him long to hitch up Angus to one of the planters, which gleamed in the light as he pulled it out. The moment he had it ready, he took Milligan's horse, Dusty, and did the same thing with the second planter. Once they were all set up, Jason took up the reins, and they set off for the Far Eighty.

Jason had three fields on his property. The Homestead field was right next to his house, and consisted of eighty acres that he had been farming since he moved in. Then, across the prairie, he had the Far Eighty and the New Eighty. Connecting the two was a wide cow pasture, alongside which a gravel road led the way across the prairie. The two planters rumbled up and over the hills, making their way steadily onward toward the distant fields.

As they went along, Jason did find his mind turning to the farming. Sorghum ordinarily only grew in the fall. Planting it in the summer would only result in bare ground, but Milligan, a crop scientist at heart, had somehow managed to work his magic to make it grow in all sorts of

different seasons. He had even produced a winter variety, though a single experiment planting winter wheat several years earlier had been enough to convince Jason that such an idea was a bad one. In any case, if they truly could grow sorghum in summer, they stood to get a good jump on the markets, which Jason was excited to see.

As they reached the Far Eighty, they passed by the small cabin where Milligan made his home. It was a nice little place, and one that both of them treasured. Jason smiled as he swept into the field and pulled the lever to lower the planter down into the ground. The steady whoosh of seed began to rattle through the tubes of the planter down into the soil, and Jason sighed in contentment.

There was nothing quite like planting. It was a time full of potential. There were a thousand things that could happen to the crop to destroy it, but in that moment, there was nothing to stop the crop from exploding up from the ground and becoming the greatest crop ever grown. Plagues, droughts, insects, monsters, all of it meant nothing at that wonderful moment.

In a lot of ways, Jason thought that it was an appropriate image of what was happening with his family. They had been sent off to Illumitir, and he didn't know what would happen, but there was certainly a world of possibility. There was all the reason to believe that everything would turn out wonderfully, without any issues whatsoever. It brought a smile to his face, and he urged Angus onward a bit faster as they rumbled along through the field.

Jason knew every curve of that land, and he smiled lovingly as the planter rumbled up and over the hills and down through the gullies. Down to the south, the immense forest surrounding the river, as well as his own private dungeon, grew tall. As he went along, he could practically see himself skipping under those branches, setting up picnics, swinging from the branches. Oh, how many memories he had of that—

That place.

He froze as he rumbled along through the field, and his eyes narrowed. For the briefest moment, a shaft of light seemed to lance upward from the middle of the forest, up into the sky, like a beacon. It looked rather like a beam of sunlight, cast down between the wooden slats in a barn roof, made visible by the swirls of dust dancing through the air. What was it? It vanished after a mere instant, and he blinked a few times as if to clear his vision.

"You see that?" Milligan called from the other side of the field.

"I was honestly hoping that I hadn't!" Jason called back, though he didn't take his eyes away from the trees. "You have any idea what it was?"

"Not a clue." Milligan returned. "Never seen anything like it in all my—Oh!"

Jason's jaw dropped as another beam shot up into the air. It flickered a handful of different colors, cycling from red to blue to green and back again, then vanished. This time, it didn't reappear, no matter how long Jason stood there, staring at it.

Almost five minutes passed before Jason managed to shake himself out of his stupor and snap the reins, making Angus lumber onward once again. Was his dungeon doing something odd again? There had certainly been plenty of odd things happen with it, everything from unleashing a Painted Dragon to spawning a horde of goblins. The dungeon core itself had come into play for a time as well, which had helped end a drought, and...

Well, if the dungeon really was acting up, it could mean all sorts of trouble, that was for sure. The only question was what it meant. He desperately hoped that it somehow meant an end to the trouble... Even though he was terribly afraid that it meant that his troubles were only just beginning.

Chapter Four: Man's Best Friend

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 20th day of Summer! Hey, folks! Just wanted to let everyone know that the table tennis championship last night was a resounding success, and will become a weekly event as long as things hold out! On that note, while I won't be posting updates on the orcish situation here in the almanac, I will be posting regular updates in the Guild Hall for anyone who wants them.]

Jason sighed as he slowly rolled out of bed. His feet hit the cold ground, and he pulled himself upright and popped his wardrobe open. It took him a moment to get dressed, and he drew in a deep breath.

"Woof!"

Chance came bounding into the room and jumped up onto him, licking at his face. Jason laughed and pushed him back down, then slipped past him into the empty hall and down the stairs. "You still have every ounce of energy that you did as a pup, don't you?"

Chance only barked, and Jason rubbed his stubbly jaw. He hadn't shaved in several days, and had a solid bit of growth across his lower chin, but was having a hard time motivating himself to shave it off when there was no one around to see it, anyhow. As he reached the kitchen, he started to walk over to the cookbook, only for the mailbox to ding rather loudly.

"Ahh! I wonder if that's a letter from Tess?" Jason smiled and turned, walking over to the front door. There, a handful of letters had been deposited by the system, and he pulled them out and started flipping through. "Let's see... Tax bill from Obadiah... Utility bill from Cecilia..." He frowned as he flipped to the last envelope. It was from Daniel, and he quickly slit it open and pulled out the small page. Daniel's handwriting was notoriously terrible, but this time, it was so bad that Jason had to pause for several long moments as he tried to decipher it.

"Tess taken. Come here immediately. Daniel. PS DON'T PANIC!!!!!"

Jason whistled as he slowly set the note down. All thoughts of breakfast were forgotten, and he quickly pulled on his boots and jogged out into the farmyard. There, Milligan was just riding up on Dusty, and swung down as Jason ran up toward the barn.

"What's the matter?" He was all business, sensing that something was wrong.

"Don't know. Daniel needs me right now."

"Then take Dusty." Milligan offered. "He's not the fastest horse on the block, but he'll be faster than if you take the time to saddle Angus properly."

"Thanks." Jason ran over and clambered up. "Help yourself to any breakfast you like in the house. I'll be back, I hope."

With that, he raced out of the drive as fast as he could. As he thundered along, he noticed another cloud of dust coming up from behind. He was only halfway to town when Richard pulled up abreast of him, concern on his face as well. He gave Jason a single nod, then pushed his own horse onward even faster.

By the time Jason came racing up into town, his heart was hammering in his chest. He didn't have the faintest idea what was happening, save that Tess had been taken. Taken by who? Richard's horse was hitched to a rail just outside the Guild Hall, and Jason quickly rode up and dismounted, wrapping the reins a couple times around the rail before running inside.

Daniel, Obadiah, and Richard were already standing there, looking worried. Daniel nodded to his office the moment that Jason walked inside, and the small group quickly piled into the small room. As they closed the door, Jason just about burst with impatience.

"What's going on?" He asked. "You said that Tess has been taken?" "Yes." Daniel sighed, then glanced over at Obadiah. "It's... Well..." "Just spit it out." Jason balled his hands into fists. "Talk to me!" "Simmer down." Richard put a hand on his shoulder. "Getting upset

will only—"

"I don't even know what's happening here!" Jason almost exploded.

"Will someone please just talk to me!"

There was a long pause, and Daniel slowly folded his hands behind

his back.

"Two days ago, Tess wrote to me to let me know that she was heading back down to Summer Shandy with a small caravan."

"She didn't tell me that." Jason protested. "I thought she wasn't leaving for another week."

"She wanted to surprise you. She knows how hard this has been on you, and since the kids were all settled, she wanted to... I don't know. Let you know that things aren't as bad as they seem." Daniel slowly turned to a map of the Illumitir province. "And then she was captured by orcs."

"Captured by orcs?" Jason leaned forward to stare at the map. There were a handful of red tokens off to the southwest of the province, indicating villages that had been attacked as well as confirmed sightings, but they were a long way off. "How did that happen?"

"We're still not sure exactly." Obadiah stepped in and pointed at the map. "The town of Winter Stone is located a day's travel due south of the Illumitir gates. The party checked in as scheduled, and departed the next morning for the town of Brookside. That evening, a single squire from the party arrived in Brookside and told... Well, I might as well just read it to you."

Obadiah held out his hand, and Daniel grabbed a small piece of paper off the clutter desk and handed it to him. With that, Obadiah began to read.

"At noon, we were just setting out lunch when we heard what sounded like war cries on the horizon. The sentries gave the call that orcs were coming. The wagons were circled, and warriors took their positions defending the caravan. A few civilians, two men and one woman, offered themselves up as former warriors to assist as well. The battle was fierce, and several warriors fell. Report: Orcs are using powerful, magic weapons. I was stripped of all but a loincloth and sent to spread word of the terror."

Obadiah finished the note, and Jason crossed his arms.

"What happened to the others?" Richard finally asked.

"The messenger said at first that he didn't know." Daniel answered.

"When he was pressed, he said that he saw the orcs leading them off to the west, but that was all he knew. Upon examining the map, we believe that they may have headed for the Howling Caves, located right here." He pointed to a small, blue marker. "It's an old dungeon, formally closed by the Dungeon Guild almost a century ago. It's a maze down inside, they could easily keep the prisoners there for a decade and no one would ever know."

"How many people are going after them?" Jason demanded.

"Unfortunately, none." Obadiah answered. "This attack wasn't the only one of its kind. Yesterday must have been some sort of a chosen date for the orcs. There were attacks on caravans all across the province. As of last report, there were almost two dozen total, with more rolling in today. There just isn't anyone available."

"Then we have to go after her ourselves." Jason nodded firmly.

"And that's why I've called you here." Daniel crossed his arms. "She's my sister as well as your wife. We'll get her out. The only question is how and when."

"Does Tess even need rescuing?" Richard asked. "Don't get me wrong, I think we need to send someone, but she's a plucky warrior. What if I ride out alone? I can handle myself, and that way, if she's already escaped, or just plumb managed to evade capture, we won't risk missing her altogether. That's a good five days' travel from here, not something we can just take an overnight trip to clear up."

"And we've considered that, too, but there's a problem." Daniel shrugged. "What happens if we get there and she needs more than one person? You're good, Richard, but a whole horde of orcs is a bit much even for you."

"So you go." Richard snorted. "I've seen a dragon chew on you without waking you from a light nap."

Daniel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Inasmuch as I would love to do that, fatherhood has taught me that I need to be a bit more responsible. The orcs are using magic, and that throws all rules out the window. We need to take this slowly and carefully." He slowly drew himself upright. "If Tess did escape, she'll head for the nearest town and alert us. She'll probably decide to play the hero and head right back, but she'll let us know, first. We're going to wait three days. In that time, if she contacts us, we'll assume that she's alright, and can evaluate plans at that point. If she doesn't contact us, in three days, we'll ride for the Howling Caves."

"Won't that leave the town undefended?" Richard asked. "If we all go, that takes out three of the strongest warriors Summer Shandy has."

"True." Daniel closed his eyes. "Look, thinking is what my wife does. I just punch things, usually a good bit harder than I need to. We'll work out the details. Three days, though, that's final. Jason will be going,

that's for sure, so..." He turned to Jason. "Go make your plans with Milligan. We'll get Tess back."

"I'm sure she survived the initial attack." Richard answered his unspoken concern. "Tess is strong, but she's also smart. I've seen her one- shot dragons because she took the time to watch them before just charging headlong into battle."

"Thanks." Jason bit his lip, and shuddered. "I just... This is all so strange. I never thought..." He nodded. "Three days. If you haven't figured anything else by that time, I'll go after her myself."

"We'll make sure we have a plan."

With that, Jason slowly turned and walked out of the Guild Hall. Richard came along with him, and Jason slowly climbed up into the saddle of the old horse.

"You going to be okay?" Richard asked. "This is a lot to process, for anyone. I know how much it hurt when my wife would wind up in a tight pinch, and we were all used to it."

Jason closed his eyes, then nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He forced a smile. "Just a lot to take in, you know?"

With that, he rode off for the farmstead, trotting slowly down the road. He didn't feel like racing, even as urgency mounted within his chest. Frankly, he didn't feel like much of anything. He felt numb. His children were off in a distant city, his wife was captured by orcs, it was too much for him to process.

As he rode back through the front gates, he found Milligan using Angus to pull the harvesters out into the yard, where he was servicing them to be ready for the sorghum harvest. He looked up and waved, then slowly put down his tools and walked over.

"Everything okay?" He took Dusty's reins as Jason swung down from the saddle.

"Not exactly." Jason opened up his farm's inventory, which he could do now that he was back on the property. "Milligan, how many explosives do we have on hand?"

"None that I know of!" Milligan laughed. "I'm sorry, but I just threw away the last stick of dynamite." His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Why do you ask?"

Jason found what he was looking for, and drew out his old Blunderbuss with a great flourish. It was an ancient and powerful weapon,

one that was more like a portable cannon than a handheld firearm.

"Off the record, do you know how to make a bomb out of fertilizer?" He glanced over at his hired man. "I've always heard that it can

be done."

Milligan shrugged. "Yeah, I know the process. I've done it with a

handful of small projects. You know, for celebrating holidays, and things. Why?"

"Because I need a bomb. Preferably a few of them." Jason lifted the blunderbuss and sighted down the barrel. "I need enough shot for this thing to equip an army, and I need it all within three days."

A small, determined smile came across Milligan's face. "I'll make sure it's done.

Chapter Five: Raiding Party

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 23rd day of Summer! Howdy, everyone! Ahh... So a quick update on the state of things: It looks like there's a small orcish raiding party just north of town. I'm asking everyone to please stay inside and lock your doors, while Obadiah and I go chase it away. Otherwise, it's a beautiful day, and I hope you all can get outside and enjoy it! Just without actually going outside, since that could be dangerous. Anyhow...]

Jason practically leapt out of bed the moment he awoke. He ran to the wardrobe and dressed, then spun and pounded down the stairs. Three days had passed, three of the most agonizing days of his life. He hadn't heard a thing from Daniel or Obadiah, which only meant one thing: Tess really had been captured, and it was up to him to get her free.

As he tore down through the kitchen and into the living room, he drew up short. Milligan was already there, along with a large assortment of weapons pulled from the farm's inventory. That said, it was the letter in his hand that concerned Jason the most, along with the grim look on Milligan's face.

"This just came in, boss, not more than a minute before you woke up."

Jason felt his stomach twisting into knots, and he held out his hand. Milligan passed the letter to him, and he quickly read down from the top.

"Hey, Jason. Obadiah here. I know how eager you are to rescue Tess, but we've got to get these orcs cleared away from town before we can leave. Otherwise, we'll just be sitting ducks when we take off. Don't worry, though, we'll get on our way tomorrow."

Jason felt a flash of anger overtake him, and he crumpled the note up into a ball.

"Jason, it's—"

"I don't want to hear it." Jason threw the wad of paper at the writing desk sitting before the front window. It bounced off and landed on the

ground, and he sighed. "What work needs to be done today?"

Milligan shrugged. "The sorghum is ready for harvest, if you're—" "Good. Let's do that."

"The almanac warned people to stay inside." Milligan didn't budge.

"If we go out there, and the orcs come—"

"The orcs are north of town. We're south." Jason answered, and his

hands balled into fists. "And... I don't know. I'm going to go crazy if I don't have something to do."

Milligan sighed, then nodded. "Fair enough." He gestured at the kitchen. "I made up some fried chicken waffles for you. Eat your fill, and we'll get going."

Jason nodded, then walked into the kitchen and helped himself to the meal. As he finished, he straightened up, and he and Milligan made their way out into the farmyard. A light breeze blew across the prairie that day, rusting the grass and causing great, broad waves to roll over the landscape like the waves on the sea. It was calming, and Jason let out a long, pained breath.

It was going to be okay. Tess could take care of herself, and there was nothing to indicate that she was in any danger. She was just stuck, that was all. Besides, what was Jason really going to do in the fight anyway? He was just a farmer, and his blunderbuss, while powerful, wasn't going to do a whole lot against the might of an orcish warrior.

That said, it was going to make him feel a lot better.

In any case, he soon brought Angus down out of the barn, and hitched him up to the harvester. Milligan did the same with Dusty, attaching himself to the second machine. Slowly, Jason climbed up, then gazed out across the homestead field, which was bursting with brilliant, red grain.

Sorghum was an interesting crop, producing a great head of brilliant red kernels that looked almost like a broom. In the fall, the wonderful red color was offset against the browns of the prairie grasses around, which fit quite well, in Jason's estimation. Here, though, the red was set against a brilliant green background, a background of pliable, waving grasses instead of the brittle prairie grasses of the fall. It was an odd view, that was for sure, but it was one that Jason treasured.

They had managed to do something that no one thought they could do, and now it was time to reap the benefits.

Angus lumbered forward, and Jason reached up and took hold of the lever that would engage the blades. Milligan went ahead and opened up the gates, and Jason pulled back on the lever. There was a brief catch where the gears locked together and began to spin, and with that, they swept into the field.

The rapidly whirling blades tore into the stalks, and the whole machine gave a rather wonderful swoosh as it sucked the grain up into the cleaning mechanisms. Jason opened up his farm's inventory as the grain was dumped straight into the designated inventory slot, and he felt a smile growing across his face.

Now this was something he could enjoy. The fulfillment of his work, the culmination of the process that began when he planted the grain. He stood up a bit straighter, keeping an eye on the field as he rumbled forward. Behind him was nothing but stalks, ahead of him was a sea of red.

As he rumbled along the northern side of the field, Tess's cattle strode up, tossing their heads and lowing gently at him. He waved at them, then pulled a few sugar cubes out of his inventory and tossed them to the mighty beasts. The cattle stopped to hunt around for the morsels, and he sighed deeply.

If only Tess had been there to see it. As he reached the end of the field and gazed out across the pasture, he pictured Tess riding high over the waves of grass, looking across her herd with loving care. She knew animals well, and loved every last one of them. Then, with that, he turned back around, and rumbled across the field once more.

His mind, thankfully, soon turned from Tess. The further he got from the edge of the field, the more he was forced to keep an eye on the steady mechanisms of the machine, and the more he found himself simply falling into the rhythm of the harvest. There were holes to watch out for, ravines to navigate carefully through, and a host of other things to keep his attention. On the other side of the field, Milligan was making good time, sending up a plume of red dust into the sky.

Clunk!

Angus gave a sharp lurch as the harvester jolted and came to a stop. For a moment, the immense war horse strained to keep pulling the machine forward, but Jason tugged back on the reins to make him halt. With that, Jason hopped down, pulled a few levers to raise the machine up from the ground, and slowly began looking things over.

"Everything okay?" Milligan called, driving his own harvester over to Jason's position.

"Doesn't sound like it, but I don't see any specific issue." Jason frowned. "It just froze, all of a sudden."

"Have you tried disengaging the blades?" Milligan asked. "The blades are hooked up to the wheels. If you unlock the two of them, and it still won't move forward, you'll know the issue is in the wheels. If it does, you'll know the issue is in the blades."

"Fair enough." Jason nodded and started to rise, then paused as something caught his eye.

There, in the gears connected to the axle, something had been caught tightly.

"Well, there's the issue." Jason tried to reach for it, but found that his arm wasn't quite long enough. After a moment, he lay down on the ground and slid himself carefully underneath the immense machine. It was flat and shiny, and he slowly reached up and took hold of the thing.

"It's stuck." He gritted his teeth. "Milligan, can you see if you can walk Angus backward slightly?"

"I'll see what I can do." Milligan confirmed. "Here, boy! Come on."

Angus snorted, then took the smallest step backward. The gears shifted slightly, and Jason was able to yank the offending object out. He slid back out from underneath the harvester, then slowly climbed back to his feet.

"What's that?" Milligan asked. "Some other piece of the harvester?"

"I don't know." Jason answered and held up the bit of metal. It wasn't large, only four inches long and two wide, and was bent rather badly. "It almost looks like..." His eyes narrowed, and he turned it over in his hands a few times. "Milligan? What's that look like to you?"

Milligan frowned, then reached out and took the item. As he turned it over in his own hands, he gave a small nod.

"That looks like part of a dagger. Not a big one, but if you snapped off part of the blade, that's sure what this looks like."

"I agree." Jason took the little sliver of metal back. He turned it over a few more times, then turned and walked around behind the machine. It only took a few moments to confirm that there was nothing else in the area. "The only question is what it was doing out here."

"You think it just got sucked up into the harvester?" Milligan asked.

"That makes sense to me." Jason shrugged. "Those spinning blades generate a lot of suction, that's how it gets the cut grain up into the body of the machine. Tess and I don't use daggers, though."

"Might just be something from before you owned the place." Milligan answered. "From what I've heard, your uncle was a bit of an eccentric type. Plus, old weapons can wind up getting buried for hundreds of years, only to turn up just like that."

"True enough." Jason gave a nod. Still, though, something about the incident just didn't sit quite right with him. He added the mangled dagger to his inventory, then climbed back up onto the harvester. Strange or not, he had a harvest to get done.

And then, just as soon as possible... He had his wife to save.

Chapter Six: While I'm Gone

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 25th day of Summer! It's looking like a bit of a nasty one today, folks, so make sure you stay inside unless you absolutely have to go out! There's a storm coming up from the southern plains, and it's going to be right powerful, so you just keep yourself safe!]

Jason was already awake when the message came through, and he snapped his overalls tight as he dismissed the prompt. With that, he straightened up and tromped out into the hallway, jogging down the stairs just as fast as he could manage. The pile of weapons was still there from the day before, though, now, Richard and Milligan were both there.

"Morning, Jason." Richard gave a tip of his hat. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Jason stooped and transferred the weapons into a small suitcase, which he subsequently stored in his inventory. "Milligan, you're sure you've got the farm while I'm gone?"

"I'll have it so spick and span when you return that you'll never want to stay around here again." Milligan gave a bow. "You'll become an absentee landlord who can comfortably live in town while resting sure that his lands are being taken care of."

"I don't need quite that much, but I'm thankful for it." Jason gave a small nod, then held out his hand. Milligan shook it firmly, and he turned toward the door. "I'll be back soon."

"See that you are."

With that, Jason stepped up to the door, pulled on his boots, and slowly reached out and grabbed a cowboy hat from a set of hooks. He didn't often wear the hats, largely because it was more of a rancher thing than a farmer thing, but they could be useful now and again. At that moment, as he set it firmly upon his head, a steely determination came over him.

He was going to ride out, and he was going to bring Tess back, or he wasn't going to return at all.

Jason and Richard quickly exited the house and mounted up on their horses. Jason had chosen Angus. He was built for war, and for combat, and while Jason didn't expect that he would be able to utilize that fact, he imagined that Tess would be quite good at it. With that, they rode out, racing ahead of the storm toward Summer Shandy.

Behind them, rolling up across the plains, came a great swirl of storm clouds. It was thick and powerful, almost looking like an immense plume of smoke. Lightning flashed, and while it was still sunny ahead of the front, that wasn't going to last for long. The wind hit just as they reached Summer Shandy, blasting across the prairie like a cold wind.

"Jason!" Daniel and Obadiah met Jason and Richard at the town well. "You made it!"

"I've been trying to make it for the last two days." Jason groused slightly.

"Fair enough." Obadiah gave a small nod, then turned and held out his hand. Several warriors came walking over, big, burly men that Jason didn't recognize. "These are some friends of Daniel's from his time on the dungeon circuit. They'll be watching the town while you're gone."

"Are you staying here?" Jason nodded to Obadiah.

"That's the plan. Daniel will go with you, and these guys will be my muscle for the duration."

Jason turned to the newcomers. "I sure appreciate the help."

"Anything for Daniel." One of the men, a swordsman who wore light armor and half a dozen swords, gave a small bow. "He saved my life more than a few times. If I can help save his sister, I owe it to him and to the world to do my best."

Jason gave them a small smile, then slowly turned to face the long road stretching off into the distance. "Shall we get going?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Daniel whistled sharply, and a brilliant, white horse that was even larger than Angus came galloping around from the stable. Daniel mounted up, bareback, and gave a shout. "The moment of victory is near! Behold, orcs, and fear!"

"You might want to save your battle taunts for when we actually get to the orcs." Richard raised an eyebrow.

"I've been on the straight and narrow for a good decade now." Daniel flashed an ornery sort of smile at Richard. "I've been storing it up. Ya!"

With that, Daniel shot out of town. The road curved around the Guild Hall and the dungeon, then straightened out and simply raced north. Jason followed, with Angus easily keeping pace with the much larger horse. Richard followed along behind, his own steed a former warhorse as well.

Together, the trio swept to the north, making far better time than Jason himself had ever done on the same journey. Frankly, he had only ever traveled that way a few times. There had been the odd date here and there, and then a vacation that the whole family had taken... Oh, it must have been a year or two prior. That said, it wasn't a road he was terribly familiar with, and he kept his eyes peeled as they shot across the prairie.

For the first several miles, they simply traveled over gently-rolling hills, which were covered in prairie grass and dotted with farms and ranches. Down in the gullies, trees grew here and there around a small brook that made its way across the land, but it was nothing immense. And then, they came to the cliff.

About an hour's ride north of Summer Shandy (which, this time, the mighty horses accomplished in a solid twenty minutes) there was an immense cliff that looked out across the land to the north. They came to the top of it and paused, gazing upon the sea of rippling grass, marred here and there by square fields. Of course, the pause lasted only an instant, and they quickly began making their way down the steep, winding road that led down the side of the cliff face. It was so steep that wagons couldn't ordinarily make the trip, they had to go around by way of a small side road, but the sure-footed steeds were hardly bothered by it at all. They soon reached the bottom and were off again, launched ever-onward into the north.

Mile after mile they went, until coming to the edge of an immense forest that Jason knew marked the edge of a patch of Wilderness (which functioned more or less like an open-air dungeon). There was a town, a safe zone, at the exact center, which Jason imagined would be their goal. He had initially expected that they would pause just outside the Wilderness to discuss strategy, but no such luck. Instead, Daniel simply headed straight inside, drawing a massive sword as he did so. Behind him, Richard did the same, and Jason felt his stomach twist about more than a little. That said, there was nothing he could do except to hold on tight, so that was what he did.

It was at that time that the clouds reached them, and the first drops began to fall. The rain splattered down with great, cold drops, battering his body and running off the brim of his hat rather like a small waterfall. Darkness began to settle upon them, and Daniel called something back. It was lost in the wind, though, and Jason gripped the reins a bit tighter.

And then, suddenly, something rose up before them.

It was huge and dark, humanoid but misshapen. At a glance, Jason recognized the thing as a forest troll, freed to walk in daytime hours as the sun was covered up. It let out a mighty roar and brandished a massive log like a club.

Daniel, though, didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest. Instead, he simply sheathed his sword, pulled a small stone out of his inventory, and flicked his wrist.

Bam!

The stone flew so fast that it sounded rather like a gunshot, hitting the troll square in the middle of its forehead. There was a small blast of red spray, visible in a flash of lightning, and the troll slowly fell backward, hitting the ground hard enough to shake the landscape around. Daniel drew up to a stop, and Jason paused next to him.

"Sorry if I scared you." Daniel apologized. "I shouted a warning at you, but that was just because I thought it was something big."

"That's not big?" Jason gaped at the troll, which had to have been a good thirty feet tall.

"Ahh, that's just a cute little feller!" Daniel grinned. "I'd have just left him be, if we weren't in such a hurry. Anyhow, just wanted to say sorry for making you scared. If you were scared, of course. Anyway, we're wasting time! I'd like to get to the roasted hog in time for lunch."

With that, he was off again, thundering away into the distance. Jason shrugged and rode onward, letting Angus guide the way. The storm was getting worse and worse, with the rain coming down so hard that he could barely see fifty feet through the precipitation. He could see the trees, thick and waving, on either side, and thought he saw dark forms moving among them. Here and there, he heard Daniel give a shout, and heard what sounded like explosions, but he wasn't really able to discern what was happening. In any case, it felt like an eternity before he came riding into the small town of Hearthfire, which was protected by massive log walls and lit by warm, glowing lanterns.

It took them only a few minutes to stable their horses, and the trio walked up and into the Roasted Hog, a warm tavern at the exact center of town. Steam seemed to rise up from Jason's clothes as they stepped into the glow of a raging fire, and the bartender looked up and waved.

"Daniel! Richard! It's been too long!"

"Indeed, my friend!" Daniel strode forward. "We'll need your finest roast! Half a dozen eggs... No, make it a dozen! One of your best pies for desert, three flagons of ale, and whatever else you'd like to throw in!"

Jason laughed and shook his head. "Sounds like quite a feast."

"Indeed!" Daniel sighed and clapped his hands on his belly, then nodded to Jason and Richard. "Well, you two can order whatever you want for yourselves. I'll pay."

Jason laughed and slowly walked up to the bar, where the man handed him a small menu. "So, are we here for the night? What's the plan?" Richard shook his head. "We're just here for a quick meal. Eat fast,

make sure it doesn't go to your feet, and we'll be back on the road just as soon as we're done. I'd like to clear the edge of the wilderness by the time the sun sets. Our horses can make it, provided we take the return trip a bit slower."

"If you're gonna try that, you'll want to take the side road." The bartender commented. "We just got reports of a dragon on the main road. Big one, too. Level 80, I think is what I heard."

"Piece of cake." Richard murmured. "Send a messenger with us, and I'll send some dragon scales back with him."

Jason laughed, then realized that Richard was serious, about all of it. He drew in a deep breath, and did his best to steel himself. This was a whole new level of warfare that he was entering into, but... Well, he frankly didn't care.

He was going to get to Tess if he had to carve his way through a thousand dragons, and that was the simple fact of the matter.

Chapter Seven: Better Off Slack

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 27th day of Summer! Ahh... If I'm being completely honest, I don't really understand any of these reports I'm looking at, so... Let's just say that the weather is going to do something or another, and there are no orcs in the area, so that all together sounds like a good day to me!]

"I should have trained them better." Daniel grunted as Jason rose up from beside the ashes of the fire. "I showed them exactly where to find the weather reports."

"When you first got to Summer Shandy, you didn't know which end of a quill pen you were supposed to use to write with." Richard commented from on the other side of the clearing. "Give them a little bit of slack."

Jason groaned and shook his head. He hadn't slept well the night before, but that was hardly unexpected. He was worried about Tess, and didn't like sleeping on the ground. That said, he was more than ready to get to work, and slowly dusted off his hands as he climbed to his feet.

"What's the situation?" He asked as Richard passed him a bit of hard tack for breakfast.

"Half a mile north." Daniel nodded off into the trees. "The Howling Caves are closer than I thought. The orcs are definitely inside."

"Then let's get going!" Jason stood up. "There's not a second to lose!"

"Patience." Richard waved him back down. "Orcs are nocturnal. They'll come out in the day when they have to, but they don't like it. Let the sun come up, and we'll be at more of an advantage."

Jason scowled and sat back down, forcing himself to chew through the impossibly hard cracker.

Waiting was far from easy, but he had little choice. Slowly, the sun rose into the sky, and when the two warriors judged that it was time, the trio

rose. Jason pulled out his blunderbuss, checked to see that it was loaded, and then made sure that he was wearing both of his pistols.

"Don't shoot until we give the okay." Richard murmured as they stole off through the woods. "If you give us away, it could cost the success of the mission."

Jason nodded to confirm that he understood, though he said nothing. The ground was rocky, with thick trees growing up from the hard, stony ground. Suddenly, as they topped a small rise, they came into sight of a larger, rocky hill, the base of which opened into a large cave. Spikes had been driven into the ground, upon which were mounted a handful of heads. Jason took a moment to confirm that none of the heads belonged to Tess, though he felt a bit guilty at doing so. If Tess wasn't dead, someone else was.

"Alright." Daniel murmured. "There are no sentries, so they must all be inside. Richard, you go up to the entrance and draw them out, then I'll come in hard and punch down the middle. Jason, you'll be our sentry. Keep an eye out, and—"

"It's about time you guys got here."

Tess's voice rang out like a bell, and Jason spun around as she came slipping up to the group. She still wore her civilian clothes, which had been draped over her skintight armor that she wore as an ordinary matter of habit. A small, slender sword rested at her side, and Jason felt a great warmth come up inside of him.

"You're alive!" He beamed.

"Yeah, but I don't know about the people still inside." Tess murmured, nodding down at the cave. "I managed to evade capture, but they got quite a few of the passengers of that caravan. I've gotten a few of them out, but there are a lot more who still need rescuing. One of them..." She paused and shook her head. "We just need to get them out, and that's the long and the short of it."

"How many orcs are inside?" Daniel asked.

"What attacks do they use?" Richard added his voice.

Jason suddenly felt quite sidelined in the conversation, but at the

end of the day, he didn't care. Tess was alive, and that was the important part. He did his best to focus on what they were talking about, but most of it was warrior stuff that just went over his head.

"...attacks are too powerful for my armor, which is why I've been waiting."

"...fire resistance..."

"...blast weakness..."

"...need a diversion..."

"A diversion?" Jason suddenly realized that he could be useful. "I

have some bombs with me."

It took only a few minutes to prepare the battle zone. Tess crept out

and planted a handful of the bombs, which were essentially glass bottles packed full of fertilizer, in front of the cave entrance. Once that was done, Jason lit the fuse of his last bomb and lobbed it deep into the dark of the cave.

BLAM!

Smoke billowed forth, and the blast hit him in the chest, making his body shake under the impact. It brought a smile to his face, and he drew his pistol and aimed it as half a dozen of the orcs came charging out, snarling and brandishing their weapons.

For a brief moment, he was so thunderstruck that he almost forgot to fire. They were tall, almost as big as Daniel, and rippled with muscle. What's more, they had dozens of magical emblems and totems and such things that all seemed to glow with an infernal light. Jason shuddered at the sight of it... But, just as the first one reached the glass bombs, he remembered himself, and squeezed the trigger.

The resulting explosion was fantastically powerful, and knocked him flat on his back. As he struggled back to his feet, the dust and smoke cleared away to reveal that three of the orcs had been killed in the explosion, while the others had been seriously injured. A smile came across his face, and with that, the battle began.

Daniel let out a powerful yell and charged forward, sword in hand. The orcs rallied and moved to meet him, fire blazing in their fists. It didn't do them a lot of good, and he leapt into the air and lashed outward, causing a sharpened blast of force to ripple outward. They were all chopped in half in that single blow, and Jason scowled.

"Ahh, don't worry about it." Richard patted him on the arm. "Your bombs were still impressive, and a lot more exciting."

He grinned, then rose and charged in as well, drawing his own sword. Tess followed behind, hanging back slightly, and a great torrent of

noise and chaos erupted from the mouth of the cave.

Jason rose as well, holding tightly to his blunderbuss. It was

impossible to know what was happening down inside, and all warriors involved had been very clear that he was to stay out of the way. He stared down into the depths, longing to get involved... And then, with a cough, a figure emerged.

It was a good bit shorter, and wore leather rags that hung down around its body almost like a dress. No, more like a robe. It leaned upon a staff, which itself was hung with a great many dark-looking totems and such things. The orc was ancient, with wrinkled leathery skin and dark eyes that had sunk deep into its head. As it gazed out at Jason, it let out and snarl, and slowly raised its staff.

"Don't move!" Jason pointed the blunderbuss at the monster. "Don't move or I'll shoot!"

The orc simply began to chant in some sort of archaic language, and fire exploded from the staff and rose up into the sky, where it began to swirl about to form a great and terrible cloud. Lightning flashed down, hitting several trees nearby, and Jason gulped.

"I'm going to take that as a declaration of hostility." Jason drew in a deep breath, then squeezed the trigger.

BLAM!

Smoke billowed from the end of the weapon, obscuring his vision, and flame stabbed forward. When it cleared away, he found the orcish shaman still standing there, unaffected. It slowly reached up and picked the bullet out of its forehead, which meant that Jason's aim was good, at the least. With a snicker, it flicked the bullet away, then raised the staff high.

"Little farmer!"

Daniel came running out of the cave, though he seemed to have a large, orcish bat wrapped around his face. His arms were extended as he tried to feel his way along. The shaman turned around just as Daniel ran smack into the monster, knocking it backward. To Jason's great annoyance (and relief, if he would have dared admit it), the shaman collapsed on the ground, dead from the simple impact with the far more powerful warrior. As Daniel ripped the bat off his face, he looked down and found the orc lying dead at his feet, then looked up and grinned.

"Hey! You didn't need me after all! You're really learning to hold your own, aren't you?"

Jason sighed and shrugged. "Sure looks like it, doesn't it."

"Yup! Well, I'll just head back inside, then! Next time I hear a gunshot, I won't come so quick!"

"Ahh..." Jason held up a hand. "Since I'm getting so good, you mind if I come along?"

A few moments later, he and Daniel descended down into the cave. Dead orcs were strewn every which way, carved up into a large variety of shapes and forms. Blood was splattered across just about every stone and doorway he could see, which turned his stomach. Soon, they came to a smaller room, which had a gate made out of bones wedged across the entrance. Tess was just unlocking it as he approached, and she threw it open to let a wide stream of prisoners loose.

"Stick close together!" Richard called out. "We'll escort you back to Riverside!"

"Brookside!" Tess called out.

"Same thing!" Richard began leading the prisoners up the tunnel. "And just so you know, I do not chase down travelers who leave the escort."

Tess laughed, though Jason didn't exactly understand the joke. As the last of the prisoners filed out, though, Tess motioned for him to come over, even as she made the same motion at an elderly man wearing long, flowing, blue robes. The robes had become quite tattered, and he looked quite worse for wear, but he was alive.

"Jason, this is Master Paul Dominic. I met him on the trip back down."

"Good to meet you." Jason held out his hand, which the man gingerly shook. "What can I do for you?"

The man smiled warmly, as if the torments of his captivity hadn't touched his soul in the least. "You're Tess's husband? She spoke very highly of you. To cut to the chase, I'm afraid that she mentioned that you just might have an old dungeon on your property?"

Jason gave a small nod. "That's right. What of it?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at it." Master Dominic folded his hands in front of him. "Though I can't prove it, of course, I think it just might hold the key to this whole problem that our land now faces.

Chapter Eight: Nothing Hasty

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 32nd day of Summer! I'm back in town, folks! We successfully rescued my sister, and did a whole lot of other really epic stuff that you can find detailed in the Guild Hall! Otherwise, it's going to be a lovely day, maybe a bit of wind, with a low chance of orcish invasion and slaughter.]

Jason smiled and stretched, as he awoke. Next to him, Tess rolled over and gave him a small kiss, and he returned the gesture. With that, the two of them slowly rolled out of bed and climbed to their feet.

"I've missed you, Jason." Tess sighed deeply. "I know it hasn't been altogether that long, but I've missed you so much."

"Me, too." Jason held out his arms, and they embraced. "I've been able to handle the farm with Milligan's help, but it hasn't been nearly as exciting."

"I can only imagine." Tess batted her eyes. "It's the first time you've ever had to just focus on the farm, without worrying about courting a lovely maiden or managing a marriage or handling a child."

"When you put it that way..." Jason smiled. He walked over to the wardrobe and dressed quickly, even as Tess did the same. "I'm just glad you're back."

"Me, too." Tess confirmed. After a moment, though, she sighed. "That said, as reports keep coming in, I'm afraid neither of us will be here for long. I honestly thought we'd be sending word to bring the kids back down here by now."

"Let's not make any hasty decisions." Jason held up a hand, then paused. "That said, I think I'd rather lose an arm than leave you guys for any longer. One of us will need to be with the kids if this drags out any longer, and I don't want you to go without me."

"Ditto that." Tess smiled, then nodded at the door. "Now, should we go entertain our guest?"

They headed downstairs, where they found Master Dominic in the kitchen, already awake. He stood in the middle of the room, even as pots and plates and ingredients floated through the air around. He had turned out to be a mage, and one who had certainly earned the title of "Master."

"Good morning." He greeted them merrily. "Please, have a seat! I took the liberty of making you a dish native to my home. It's a bit spicy, but I do think you'll like it."

Jason sat down as a plate of eggs and sausage landed in front of him. It was seasoned with a number of spices that he didn't recognize, though it certainly smelled incredible.

"Wonderful!" Tess took a bite of the food. "This is amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it." Master Dominic sat down as well, and a small dish of sauce drifted over and sat itself down in the middle of the table, along with a few bread rolls. "If anything gets too spicy, just take a dip of that. It'll smooth your palate."

Jason nodded. His mouth was already starting to burn, and he quickly helped himself. As they all ate, Tess turned to the mage.

"Master Dominic, you said you had things to talk to us about, but you didn't want to say anything while we were on the road. Would you mind talking to us now?"

"Not at all." Master Dominic gave a small nod. "In short, I was sent as a representative of the Mages Guild."

"I don't think I've ever heard of them." Jason mused.

"Few people have. The class of Mage is an ancient one, but one that has been long neglected in our modern world." Master Dominic answered. "It's one of the few classes that can have applications in almost every aspect of life. You can be a warrior, or a librarian, or a shopkeeper, or a farmer, or really anything else. That said, it takes an immense amount of focus and dedication, and since you can do any of those things without being a mage, few people put in the work, and the class has fallen by the wayside." Master Dominic seemed to finish his rant, then continued. "In any case, one of the things we focus ourselves upon is history. These orcs, as you've certainly heard, seem to come from the past. Orcs once roamed the land freely, but ages ago, were driven away and confined to the dungeons."

"But now they're back, and you'd like to know why." Jason nodded.

"Precisely. We have a continent of people heading down to the desert, but they're all younger folks." Master Dominic smiled. "In the

meantime, I was sent down into this area. It's a land that doesn't change much, we were hoping we could find some sort of connection to the past that might give us a clue, or a key, or even just a hint in some direction."

Jason took another dip of the sauce, then wiped his mouth on a napkin. "That describes this area to a T." He paused. "Actually, we've had our fair share of old-world monsters."

"Please, tell me about it."

Jason shrugged. "Well, as you've heard, there's an old dungeon out on the property that was never closed down properly. The second year I was here, it spawned a micro-dungeon that flooded the area with these nasty little bugs. We shut that down, and then wound up spawning a painted dragon inside the thing."

"On accident?" Master Dominic's jaw dropped.

Jason wagged his hand back and forth. "Ahh... How about we move on?" Everyone laughed softly, and he continued. "After that, a whole bunch of goblins emerged from the depths of the thing... And then we found the dungeon core only to break it trying to end a drought... And then a whole bunch of old monsters spawned in... And then..." He shrugged. "That might actually be the end of it."

"The old fungus." Tess pointed out. "Remember?"

"Right." Jason nodded. "There was this fungus that hit livestock across the land. You might have heard of it, it was pretty big news... Must have been three years ago, I'd say."

Master Dominic confirmed. "Yes, three years. I remember it well."

"Well..." Jason paused. "Hank Ironwood, the old constable here, he actually found the laboratory where it was created. Believe it or not, it was actually my uncle, who we thought was dead, who was the one who created the fungus in the first place. Well, created or brought back from the distant past."

"And let me guess. You inherited the farm from him?" Master Dominic asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes. We found an old tunnel that we think he was using to try to dig into the dungeon, though he hadn't managed to access it yet, as far as we can tell."

"Hmm." Master Dominic folded his hands. "I have many thoughts, none of them conclusive. It's all too much to determine anything, but it's also too many coincidences to ignore."

"Oh, and the dungeon was shooting a bunch of rainbow lights up into the air." Jason commented. "That was just a short time ago, I sorta forgot to mention it."

"Fascinating." Master Dominic nodded. "Could you take me there? As soon as possible?"

"We can go right now."

A few minutes later, Tess, Jason, and Master Dominic made their way out into the farmyard. Milligan was already there, planting the Homestead Eighty back to the summer sorghum. He waved at the trio, but didn't stop his work. Jason made a mental note to pay the hired man amply for his work. He had been true to his word, even managed to get a few odd cleaning jobs done that Jason had never imagined he would have the time for.

In any case, Jason soon hitched Lady up to a small wagon they used for hauling items around the farm, and they set off across the prairie.

"I apologize for the rough transport." Jason apologized. "Our carriage is up in Illumitir with our kids."

"Not to worry! You know, when I was younger, I once rode in a three-wheeled wagon down the northern slope of the Rugged Mountains." Master Dominic grinned. "To help you better understand, the wagon was supposed to have four wheels. It was also supposed to have a horse pulling it!"

Jason laughed. Soon, rough or not, they had rumbled over the prairie and come up to the edge of the forest. There, they disembarked, and, slowly, made their way through the forest to the edge of the great pit that marked the dungeon. The old goblin construction was caving in, and Jason crossed his arms.

"You know, I always intended on reinforcing the stuff the goblins built, and turning the thing into a clubhouse, but I never did get it done."

"Ahh, not to worry." Master Dominic folded his hands in front of him. "Give me just a few moments."

Jason and Tess stepped backward. Suddenly, a beam of light shot up from the dungeon once more. This close, it was fantastically bright, and Tess and Jason both shielded their eyes. It pulsed for a long time, the better part of two minutes, before slowly dying down. When it faded away, Master Dominic turned around, a smile upon his face.

"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"

"What is it?" Jason asked. "What's going on with it?"

"The simple answer, as you already know, is that this dungeon wasn't closed properly when the landscape was updated." Master Dominic began to walk away from the pit. "You subsequently cleared it out, but that's different from closing it, strictly speaking. As such, it remains what we call a 'hot point,' a location that we can use to tap into the ancient magic that still runs beneath the surface of our reality."

"Really?" Jason marveled. "That's..."

"I know it seems that I made a long journey out here for very little payoff, but I have learned a great deal." Master Dominic spoke quickly. "I must speak to my guild, and I must return to Illumitir as soon as I can. Can you help me facilitate both of those things?"

"I'll see what I can do." Jason nodded at Tess, frowning. "I assume this is all good?"

"Very good, yes!" Master Dominic beamed from ear to ear. "Jason, Tess... I don't want to say too much, because many things can happen in war, but..." He paused. "I do believe that this very dungeon might just be the salvation of our entire land.

Chapter Nine: From The Girls

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 55th day of Summer! Today's going to be a lovely one, folks, so get out there and get lots of things done! Oh yeah, and if you happen to hear any war cries, make sure to get back inside just as quick as you can. If you feel any arrows hit you, definitely get back inside as quick as you can!]

Jason smiled and stretched as he rolled out of bed. He glanced over next to him, and found that Tess was missing. That was unusual. He frowned and stood up, then quickly dressed and made his way downstairs. There, he found Tess sitting at the writing desk, chatting with Richard. Both looked up as he walked in, and Jason smiled.

"Seems like I'm up late today. What's the word?"

Tess smiled sadly, then took a letter down from the top of the desk and passed it to him.

"It's from the girls."

Jason smiled and took the letter. He unfolded it and began to read, a lump rising up in his throat as he did so.

"Hi mom! Hi dad! Can't wait to see you again! Can you please come as soon as the festival is over? Don't want you to miss it, but we miss you! Love, Fern and Rachel and baby Jason and baby Tess."

Jason sighed as he folded the letter back up. "They're sweet."

"They really are." Tess held up a second letter. "There's an accompanying letter from your mom. Sounds like they're all getting along okay. The two older ones started school there in Illumitir. They're both way ahead of their classes, so they each got bumped up a grade. The twins are growing like weeds. Ahh... Yeah. Nothing too much else."

"I just wish I knew how things were going on the orcish front." Jason sat down on the couch and put his hands behind his head. "We haven't seen any attacks recently. Maybe they'd be okay here."

"That's actually why I came by." Richard interjected. "I just got back from Redwater Banks last night. A handful of raiding parties just came through not more than a day or so ago. Carried off a bunch of cattle, even a few people. We're forming a posse to go get them back, right now. I was just going to see if either of you wanted to join."

"I'll pass." Jason shook his head. "Not that I don't want to help, but I'm no use against them."

"I'll come." Tess straightened up. "Where are they being held?" "Northwest of Summer Shandy, about half a day's ride."

"I'll be up in town in half an hour."

Richard nodded to confirm, then turned and strode out through the

door. Jason watched him go, then sighed and stood.

"That beats everything, you know? I'd sure like to get them back

here."

"I would, too." Tess nodded. "On the bright side, at least from what

I've heard, there hasn't been a full orcish army that's attacked anywhere. Just a whole swarm of raiding parties running everywhere."

"Yeah." Jason agreed. "Still, though, that means that we can't just go out and kill them all. They're just swarming everywhere." He drew himself upright. "I just miss the kids so much."

"I do, too." Tess flashed a small smile at him. "We'll head their way as soon as the season is over. We've got enough of a nest egg stored up that we'll be able to handle the finances, and then we can all be together again."

"Deal." Jason nodded. "Well, in that case, you head out and go rescue some captured civilians, and I'm going to go get to work in the fields to serve as a perfect target for any orcs that happen to come by our way."

"Don't say things like that!" Tess chided him, though she had a smile on her face. "See you for dinner tonight."

With that, they both headed out into the farmyard. Tess was soon mounted on Angus and riding off for town, while Jason joined Milligan at the barn, looking out over the farmyard.

"What do you reckon we should do today?" Milligan asked as Jason walked down to the fence that surrounded the Homestead Eighty. Jason leaned against the rails, looking down at the green stalks slowly shooting higher and higher. The plants hadn't yet produced any heads, which meant there was still a week until the harvest. "Near as I can tell, we're caught up on pert near all the projects around the area."

"I know." Jason let out a long breath and slowly straightened up. "That said, when I was out walking around the Far Eighty a few days ago, I thought I saw some insect damage."

"Mmm, yeah." Milligan nodded. "It wasn't much, was it?"

"Nah, hardly anything." Jason shook his head. "But it was enough that I'd sure like to get a jump on it before it gets too bad. You want to grab some pesticides from the barn, and we'll head out? If a batch of insects gets going, it won't take much for it to explode out of control. Maybe this crop squeaks past, but the next one..."

"Right you are, boss." Milligan flashed him a thumbs-up. "What should I get?"

"Oh, just get the general dust stuff. It's not too strong, and ought to cover anything we find out there."

While Milligan walked up to the barn, Jason climbed up onto Lady and rode off for the field. As he rode up and over the rolling prairie hills, looking out across the landscape, he felt a sadness swell up within him. Excepting the odd vacation, he hadn't left Summer Shandy in fourteen years. Fourteen years. He missed the kids more than he was going to miss the land, but it was going to be hard to leave everything behind, especially because he was, likely as not, going to return to find it entirely overrun.

When he came up to the Far Eighty, he slipped around the side of the field, angling toward the south-western corner. It was the corner closest to the trees, and, consequently, was the corner of the field that typically produced the worst portion of the crop to begin with. The trees sucked up some of the moisture from the ground, and a whole lot of insects lived in the forest and came out to snack on his crops. Monsters were easy to keep out with fences and things, but insects rarely respected such boundaries.

When he got to the corner, he set his eyes upon the insect damage. Just like it had been a few days ago, there was a good bit of scarring upon the leaves of the plants. The stalks had distinct holes here and there, making them slump over in a rather sickly sort of heap. They were still growing, and would likely still produce at least a bit of a head, but it wasn't going to be as much as Jason might have liked.

He quickly dismounted, then climbed up and over the fence. He came down with a thunk on the ground, and started walking through the plants, looking for the culprits. If he could identify just what sort of insect was causing the problem, he would be able to respond with far greater

force. Suddenly, a small bug came flickering over, and landed on his arm. He gazed down at it with little more than idle interest... Only to let out a scream and jump several feet in the air.

"Now, I haven't seen you that excited since Tess's bull got out and chased you halfway across the county." Milligan commented as he rode up. "What's the matter?"

"That bug." Jason scowled as it flapped its blue-green wings and flashed away across the field. "I've seen it before."

"Don't keep me in suspense!"

"It was a Juun Bug." Jason crossed his arms, scowling. He bent down and started looking the crop over. Sure enough, it was the same damage that he had seen all those years ago. "Have I told you about those?"

"You and Tess both! And Jeremiah. And half the farmers in the province, seems like." Milligan chuckled. "Sounds like they're sorta nasty little critters."

"That's not the half of it." Jason grumbled. "They ate me out of house and home. I was engaged to Tess at the time, and I was so downright miserable I wasn't able to enjoy a bit of it." He groaned and ran his hands through his hair, then nodded slowly. "Oh, well. We have ways of fighting back, this time."

"Just say the word!"

"Go put that insect dust back in the barn. Won't do a lick of good against the things." Jason ordered. "After that, go harvest some of the peach-colored roses that are growing next to the house. They're called Lonesome Roses, you can't miss 'em. The blossoms need to be boiled into a tea. It sounds weird, but it makes a nice spray you can use to keep the little buggers away."

"I'll get on it." Milligan turned Dusty around as Jason walked back through the field and climbed over the fence. "What are you up to?"

"I need to make a run into town." Jason mounted up on Lady once more. "It's been ages since I've had to use the chemical sprayer. I checked it a year or so ago, and it was so clogged with dust and dirt and stuff that there's not a chance in the world it's still functional. I need to go buy another one."

"You do you." Milligan gave him a wave. "Catch you around!"

With that, Jason and Milligan both rode off across the prairie, back toward town. Sure, Jason was going to be leaving the farm behind soon

enough, but that didn't mean that he was just going to let the place fall apart before that time. He had a farm to take care of, and that was just what he was going to do.

Besides... If he only had until the end of the season to keep farming, at least for awhile, he was going to enjoy every second if it that he could.

Chapter Ten: Summer Festival

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 91st day of Summer! It's the day of the Summer Festival, y'all!!! Ahh... Yeah, that's most of the news. Come on out and enjoy yourself, it's going to be a grand old time! I mean, we're missing half the town, and all the cute kids are up in Illumitir... And I'm pretty sure most of our band members went off to live with relatives in the mountains... But we're still going to have a great time!]

Jason dismissed the prompt as he hurried down out of the house. He and Tess had both woken up early to get things ready. Their bags had been packed and stuffed into the wagon the night before, and now, all they had to do was take care of the chores and head out. As soon as the festival was over, they'd head north to Illumitir, to be with their kids once more.

"Morning, boss!" Milligan ambled over as Jason scattered some feed to the chickens. "You ready to head out?"

"More than ready." Jason gave a nod to his friend. "And please, Milligan, know that you don't have to do this. You can leave, too, if you want to."

"Ahh, I wouldn't know what to do with myself up in Illumitir." Milligan waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not really a people person, and I like it right here. If any orcs come knocking, I'll just skedaddle down into the hidden tunnel, or I'll make my stand in the woods, or I'll make it up to town and Daniel can handle them. I'm not too worried."

"As long as you're sure." Jason held up a hand.

"Look, if it gets to be too much for me, I'll take off, and you can come back home to an absolute disaster just like you're dreaming about right now." Milligan raised an eyebrow. "I know you're longing for the challenge of rebuilding everything again, but I don't aim to let it happen. You get along up to your kids, and come along back whenever things have calmed down."

"Alright." Jason held out a hand, which Milligan shook. "You're a good man."

"Right back atcha."

Tess strode through the barn and waved at them, then changed direction and walked over.

"The cattle are all fed and ready. I think we're ready to leave."

"Then you two get on your way." Milligan took a step back. "I'll be right here when you return!"

Jason waved back, and, within a few moments, they were rumbling on up toward Summer Shandy. The wagon didn't pull quite as well as the carriage, but Angus was strong and determined. As they rode up and away from the farmstead, Jason leaned against Tess, not daring to look back. The whole orcish invasion was rapidly just becoming too much for him, that was for sure. Still, though, he would rather leave his farm than his kids, so... What else was there to do?

When they reached the town, the sun was still climbing through the sky, and the place was... well... Rather muted. A few people ambled back and forth, like you'd normally see on a festival day, but not nearly as many as before. A man stepped out of his house holding a platter with a burnt roast, grimacing at the smell.

"Now that looks good to me!" Daniel walked over to meet the man. "Just go put it in the Guild Hall with the rest!"

"Good?" The man snorted. "I did my best, but my wife is up in Illumitir, and—"

"Just wait until you see what everyone else brought in." Daniel patted him on the back, which nearly flattened the man. "Cherry-o!"

Jason shook his head as he climbed down from the wagon. Daniel caught sight of them and walked over, helping them both down. A page boy ran up to drive the wagon around to the stables, and Daniel sighed.

"I sure hope you brought something edible to eat. Not that I'm picky, mind you, but pert near everything that's been brought in smells like charcoal."

"I'm sorry, Daniel, we were so busy packing that—"

"Ahh, don't worry about it." Daniel straightened up, then nodded at the wagon. "You're heading north?"

"That's the idea." Jason confirmed.

Daniel didn't say anything for a long moment, then gave a small sniffle. "Give my love to Viola and the kids if you see them, will you?"

"Will do." Jason smiled and nodded. "How are you—"

"Oh!" Daniel suddenly animated. "There's someone here to see the two of you! He's in the inn!"

Jason glanced at Tess, confused. Who would be there to see them? They followed Daniel as he walked toward the building, even as he snickered about someone being "in the inn."

Soon, they walked through the front door and into the tavern, where a handful of guests sat around at tables munching on breakfast. A man in the corner of the room, over by the crackling fire, rose and waved a hand.

"Thank you, Daniel! Jason! Tess!"

Jason found himself looking at Master Dominic, of the Mages Guild. He blinked in surprise, then thanked Daniel and walked over to meet the man. Tess followed, and they both took their seats across a small booth from him as he snacked on some sausage and pastry.

"Good morning, both of you! How might you be doing on this lovely day?"

Jason and Tess glanced at each over. "Actually, we're a bit—"

"You're leaving Summer Shandy?" Master Dominic's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He straightened up, then folded his hands and leaned forward. "You can't do that."

"I don't really understand why not." Jason crossed his own arms, though in his mind, the much bigger question in the room was how Master Dominic had been able to read their minds. He supposed it could just be a mage thing, though.

"The answer is simple! We need your dungeon."

Jason glanced at Tess once more, who just shrugged. Master Dominic picked up a napkin and wiped off his mouth, then lifted a hand.

"Over here!" He turned his attention back to Jason and Tess. "High Master Benedict."

Jason straightened as a truly ancient man shambled over. He was dressed all in grey robes, with a pointed grey hat and a knobby staff. A long, white beard hung almost all the way to the floor, though his eyes were sharp and keen as diamonds. He took a seat next to Master Dominic, and nodded to the two farmers.

"Jason, Tess. Master Dominic has told me all about you. It's good to finally meet you!"

"Likewise." Jason held out a hand, which the ancient mage gingerly shook. "What can we do for you?"

"Sell us your dungeon."

The answer was simple and frank, and Jason frowned.

"Why, exactly?"

"The full answer is long and complicated, with enough factors to

bore even the most dedicated of scribes." High Master Benedict shrugged. "The more simple answer is that we believe the dungeon would be useful in our studies, perhaps even in turning back the orcs that have as of late invaded our land."

"How would our dungeon turn them back?" Jason asked. "Don't we just need an army with lots of swords?"

"While that might be effective in the short term, I'm afraid that we're looking at something a bit more complicated." High Master Benedict answered. "The orcs have been attempting to find and take over old dungeons. The Howling Caves, for example. We believe that they're attempting to establish spawn points, integrating themselves permanently into the provinces of this land. We at the Mages Guild would like to prevent that from happening."

"Fair enough." Jason glanced at Tess, who gave a nod. "Then it's yours! We can go over to the Constable's office and sign the paperwork, it'll take five minutes."

High Master Benedict glanced over at Master Dominic, who gave a small shake of his head. A great deal more information seemed to pass between them as their gazes met, and the high master turned back to Jason a moment later.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. While we would certainly like to purchase the land so that we can build upon the old dungeon, we could really use your presence as well. I understand that you want to return to Illumitir to see your children, but stopping the orcs may be more beneficial in the long run, and may allow you to reunite with your family on your property much faster than otherwise."

"What could I possibly help you with?" Jason leaned forward. "What could I possibly do that you mages can't do?"

"Farm." Master Dominic answered. "It's really as simple as that. The mages that will be coming to work here aren't the agricultural type. With the Mages Guild being so small, we have precious few of us working in agriculture, which means that we'll need someone to provide us with supplies. Grain and vegetables and meat for our own consumption, of course, but also herbs and such things that we can use in our magic."

"Can't you just buy it like everyone else?" Jason was starting to get annoyed.

"Yes, certainly, but..." Master Dominic floundered, and High Master Benedict picked it back up.

"We'll be buying it from you. If we attempted to pay retail price, it would cost tens of thousands of... I believe that Shandy Scrit is the currency you use in these parts. It would bankrupt the guild." The mage leaned forward. "We can pay you well for your time, probably higher than the wholesale prices you can ordinarily sell your crops for, just cheaper than retail. We also may have need of your expertise in other areas, as you know this dungeon and the area well."

Jason sighed and closed his eyes. "You're asking me to leave my family, again."

"In war, we must all make sacrifices." High Master Benedict reached out and placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "However, if I can ease your pain, allow me to state that, once we get up walls, our compound will be far more fortified than Illumitir itself. Help us build our facility, and your family can safely return. We might even be able to teach your children. I believe they're both quite advanced in school. They would do well in our classes."

"Ooh, Jason, can you imagine?" Tess glanced over at Jason. "That would be good."

"I know, I know." Jason groaned and let his head fall into his hands. "How long will construction take?"

"Impossible to determine. We must first survey the dungeon, and then we'll need to place foundation spells. Building a mage installation is far more complex than just building a fortress." Master Dominic smiled. "That said, it is worth the investment."

Jason ground his teeth together so hard that he was certain that everyone in the town could hear it. After a moment, though, he drew himself upright and gave a nod.

"Alright, then. If that's the way it has to be, that's the way is has to be." He glanced over at Tess. "Tell the kids hi for me, and that I love them, and I'll give them the biggest hugs ever once I see them again."

"You want me to go without you?" Tess reeled in surprise.

"I love my kids, and they need a parent with them." Jason smiled at Tess. "We both know they'll all do better with their mother. Go up to Illumitir, take good care of them, and bring them back home just as soon as you can."

High Master Benedict gave them both a smile. "Your sacrifice will not go unnoticed. Jason, I'll have—"

"I'm sorry." Jason slid out of the booth, and was followed by Tess. "I don't mean to cut you off, and I really am thankful for all that you're doing, but I only have a few more hours before I have to say goodbye to my wife once more." He drew in a deep breath, and forced a smile to his face. "I'm going to go enjoy it. We'll sign the paperwork this afternoon, and can talk business tomorrow."

With that, he and Tess turned away and strode off. Toned-down or not, it was a festival day, and he was determined to enjoy it. After that, well... He would deal with that when the time came.

Chapter Eleven: First Day of Fall

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 1st day of Fall! I hope y'all had a grand old time at the festival yesterday! My personal favorite part of the evening was the Burnt Food Contest, which our very own Obadiah won when he scarfed down three helpings of charred turkey! I'm told he'll be able to leave the hospital in three days. Anyhow, get out there and enjoy the nice fall weather! Oh yeah, and buckle down, because we've got a huge storm coming through in just a few days!]

Jason woke up slowly, and for a moment, just lay in bed. The air was cooler now, though not so cold that he needed to break out the fireplace, which lent itself to remaining under the covers for as long as possible. After a few moments, though, he groaned and rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with a thunk. Slowly, he stood up, got dressed for the day, and made his way down the stairs.

It took him only a few minutes to eat breakfast, and a few minutes longer to pull on his boots and check the mail. With that, he made his way out into the farmyard, where Milligan was busily pulling the planters out of the lean-to. He looked up and waved at Jason, who waved back.

"I thought I saw you slip in last night, but I wasn't quite sure." Milligan crossed his arms. "Now what exactly are you still doing here? Where's Tess?"

"Tess is heading back to Illumitir. It's a bit of a long story." Jason glanced at the road. "Has anyone come by yet this morning?"

"Nah. Quiet as anything." Milligan didn't bat an eye. "And one more thing. Last night, when I finished my work, I went down into the forest. I sorta like wandering around in there, and you know what happened? I got a message that I was trespassing. Now why exactly would that be? There's something funny going on, and I don't know that I like it."

Jason chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm afraid you've got me pinned down. Ahh... It's sorta hard to explain, but—"

A horse nickered at the gate, and Jason turned to find Master Dominic and High Master Benedict riding up to the property. Both of them looked rather awkward on horseback, as if they were more used to libraries than the outdoors, but they were managing well enough. Milligan ran over and swung the gate open, and the two mages quickly came trotting in.

"Good morning, Jason! And you must be Milligan." Master Dominic smiled down at the two of them. "Have you briefed your hired man on the proceedings?"

"I imagine that he was just about to." Milligan shot Jason a look, and Jason winced. "What's happening around here? Seems like everything's changing, and doing it mighty fast."

"That's about the sum of it." Jason nodded out across the farm. "Mount up on Dusty, and let's get moving."

It didn't take them long before all four of them were heading off across the prairie, angling toward the old dungeon. They brought Milligan up to speed, which thankfully didn't take long, at which point, the two mages began explaining the next steps of the process.

"The first thing we'll have to do is to conduct an in-depth investigation of the dungeon itself, to ensure that there are no hidden traps or magical interferences still lurking around." Master Dominic spoke up. "Once that's done, we'll begin the preparatory work for construction, and then we'll start hauling in stones."

"If you're interested, there's a good rock quarry down by Darkwater." Milligan offered. "The guy who runs it is a real solid guy. The limestone there is some of the best you'll ever find."

"I appreciate the advice, but I'm afraid that we'll have to haul in our own stone." High Master Benedict sighed. "There are a few varieties of magical rock that exist throughout the land. One of them, which goes by the very creative name of Magical Granite, is used in the construction of all Mage Guild buildings."

"Why does it have to be magical granite?" Jason asked.

"The properties of the stone resist a great many magical effects." Master Dominic explained. "Most regular stone, if exposed to enough latent spells, can undergo a great many changes. It might start levitating, or explode, or transform into wood, or start talking, or—"

"I see." Jason interrupted, not really wanting a long list of all the things that could go horribly wrong with magic use. "Well, if I can help at

all, just let me know."

"Of course. I don't believe we'll need it, but we'll keep you

informed." Master Dominic smiled as they crested the last hill. "And here we are, High Master!"

It didn't take them long to get down to the dungeon, though both of the mages did have a bit of trouble getting through the thick growth of the woods. As they arrived at the edge of the great chasm and looked down into its depths, High Master Benedict nodded.

"Very good, very good. It's just as you said, Master Dominic." He folded his hands and thought for a moment, then turned to Jason. "As we indicated earlier, we are willing to pay for what we do need. I've compiled a list of all the ingredients we'll need to place the foundation spells, which, based off what I can feel from this dungeon, will take place in just about a week's time. Can you have this ready in that time?" He pulled a list out of his inventory and handed it across to Jason. "We'll pay 130% market value, whatever that happens to be."

Jason glanced down through the list, then stepped next to Milligan so that he could see it, too.

"Carrots, turnips, cabbage, corn, rabbit..." Jason whistled as he read through the rather long list. "This is quite a bit."

"I do apologize. Laying the foundation is quite complicated, but after that, it'll become much less intensive." Master Dominic apologized.

"I reckon we can do most of this." Milligan shrugged. "I can run up to the store today. A week will be pushing it for some of this, but I think we can make it work."

"Is there anything that will be a problem?" Master Dominic asked. "You said most, which implies that there's something harder to get."

"Well..." Milligan scratched his head, then looked over at Jason. Jason knew exactly what he was thinking, and pointed to an entry lower on the list.

"You need olives and grapes?"

"We do." Master Dominic nodded. "The olives are pressed for oil, which has a great many uses, while the grapes are turned into wine. Not for drunkenness, you understand, but wine has a great many uses in the magical arts."

Jason frowned. "I can get some from the store, I suppose. I won't upcharge you at all, don't worry."

"I apologize." Master Dominic bowed his head. "But... I'm afraid that those two ingredients form the basis for a great many of our recipes. We'll not only need them now, but... Well, while everything else will change, we'll continue to need olives and grapes for the duration of our time here, whether that's a week or a decade."

"Great. I know nothing about olives or grapes." Jason crossed his arms in thought.

"You didn't know anything about farming at all when you first got here." Milligan pointed out. "And three years ago, you managed to grow rice, of all things, here in the middle of the plains. That took some dedication. If you could make that work, you can make this work."

"I suppose that's fair." Jason shook his head. "Alright, then. I suppose we're going into the olive and grape business. Can you even buy those seeds at the store in Summer Shandy?"

"I can order some seeds through my old connections with the genetics company." Milligan offered.

"If it helps, I can offer you a book." Master Dominic opened up his inventory and spent a moment scrolling. "Sorry, give me a second... I picked it up several years ago with the intention of returning it to the guild library, and I think about it every month or so, but always when I'm not in the library. Ahh, here it is!"

With a flash, a large tome appeared in his hands, which he passed over to Jason.

"A practical guide to growing and caring for plants commonly used in magical arts." Jason read the title. "That's a mouthful."

"We mages like to make our titles descriptive. Makes it easier when you're browsing the spines of the books in the library." High Master Dominic smiled thinly. "Look through it, see what you can find. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know."

With that, the two mages began to shuffle around the dungeon entrance, muttering to each other in low voices. Jason watched them for a moment, then shrugged and turned away. He passed the book to Milligan, who flipped it open and started to look through the thing even as they walked back toward their horses.

"You stay and read this. I'll make the run into town."

"Are you sure?" Milligan looked up in surprise. "I can do it."

"I know you can, but you're the one who actually studies plants. I'm just the guy who puts them in the ground." Jason grinned. "Take that book back to your greenhouse and see what you can learn about olives and grapes and that sort of thing. You might also ask the mages, if you see them again, what sorts of things they'll be needing over the winter. We'll have to use your greenhouse for that, which could get tight if they really need a lot."

"I'll see what I can do." Milligan flashed a sloppy salute. "Catch you around boss! This'll be interesting."

"Don't remind me." Jason sighed as he walked back out and climbed up onto his horse. The prospect of planting olives and grapes was a fun one, but he had to admit that he didn't quite know where it would lead. He just hoped that the mages would be fast so that his family could come back home.

Chapter Twelve: Alfalfa Dreams

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 4th day of Fall! Alright, y'all, it looks like a beautiful day again! Hope the rain over the last couple days didn't affect anyone's plans, but now that it's over and gone, I think everything's good for a wonderful, warm stretch of weather! Though it does look like it's going to get cold, and I'm talking really cold, by the end of next week.]

Jason rose from bed the moment that he was woken up by the alarm. As he rose from bed, he risked a quick glance out the window. Milligan was just riding up, but hadn't started working on anything. Quickly, he changed into a set of overalls that he pulled up over a flannel shirt, then made his way out into the farmyard.

He was still munching on a burrito when he caught up to Milligan, who was getting some alfalfa for Tess's cattle. He turned and waved, then scowled down at the breakfast.

"I keep telling you and telling you that you can take the time you need." He turned back to his chore. "If I'm out here earlier than you, it's because I chose to do it, not because I expect you out here as well."

Jason shrugged. "It's not like I have much better to do. Is the ground ready for planting?"

"Near as I can tell, yeah." Milligan nodded. "I went out into the New Eighty and stomped around a bit. It's still a little soft from all the rain, but not so bad I think we'll be floundering through it. What's the plan? Are we planting the corn first, or the olives?"

"I think we've got to plant the olives and grapes." Jason answered. "You've got the book on them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you plant them in the fall, they need to have at least two full months of growth before the freeze in order to survive until spring."

"That's about the rub of it." Milligan nodded and scratched the back of his neck. "We're going to be pushing it as-is, but I reckon we can get a

good harvest by the middle of spring. 'Till then, we'll have to make do buying supplies from the store."

"Then let's get to work." Jason shrugged. "You know how to plant the things? I assume we don't need a planter or anything."

"Nah. We're going to be going at it old-fashioned." Milligan flashed an ornery sort of grin at Jason. "Grab yourself a shovel."

The two men spent the next fifteen minutes getting things ready, tossing all sorts of supplies into their inventory, and with that, they were off. As they loped along over the hills, letting their horses move up to a slow canter, Jason glanced over at Milligan.

"How are the two mages holding up?"

"They seem to be doing alright. They've got a couple of tents that they're using as a headquarters when they're outside the dungeon, but I think they've been living inside the thing." Milligan shrugged. "I've been mostly keeping out of their hair, but you can see things here and there through the trees."

"Yeah." Jason shook his head. "It's just so weird. I bought that dungeon for Tess as a wedding present."

"And I reckon you might have done a whole lot more with it if you hadn't had kids." Milligan answered. "Not that that's a bad thing, mind you, but I imagine that's where your time went."

"Yeah, I know. Still think it's weird." Jason shrugged as they came over the last hill and into view of the two plots of land. The mages were nowhere to be seen, but that hardly surprised him. "Now, how do we do this?"

"Well, from what I'm reading, I think we're going to need pert near all of these fields to do it." Milligan answered. "I think we plant the Far Eighty to olives, and the New Eighty to grapes."

"Works for me."

"I also think we ought to start with the grapes. They're going to be a heap more difficult than the olives to plant."

"Just point me in the right direction." Jason nodded.

The two men quickly rode over to the New Eighty, which still sported Milligan's greenhouse. Jason could see a handful of plants inside through the glazed exterior, but he couldn't rightly tell what they were. In any case, as they dismounted and hitched up their horses, Milligan opened

up his inventory and pulled out a large number of stakes. They were big ones, six feet long and made of metal, and he pointed at the field.

"I'll start on this side, and you start on that side. We need to make rows of these stakes."

"Rows?" Jason asked, already confused.

"Yeah." Milligan stroked his chin, and he looked upward as he tried to remember. "Let's see... Each row needs to be about twenty feet apart... And then each stake in the row needs to be about fifty feet apart."

"I'll see what I can do." Jason started walking toward the corner of the field. "Is this one of things that needs to be super precise, or is it a close- enough sort of deal?"

"Strictly speaking, I think the poles can be a bit imprecise, but..." Milligan shrugged. "I know you. If you make the rows crooked, you'll hate it every time you look at it for the next decade. This is the chance to make it look pretty, I'd suggest you put in the effort."

"Fair enough." Jason reached the corner of the field and took out one of the poles. He was fairly easily able to push the end of it a few inches into the dirt, at which point he glanced over at Milligan to confirm that he was in the same position. Milligan shifted his own pole a few inches to get lined up, and with that, Jason pulled out a large hammer. It only took him a few moments to whack the pole down into the ground, using up two actions as he did so, and with that, he moved on.

"Let's see... Fifty feet..." Jason pulled a tape measure out of his inventory, attached one end of it to the pole, and started walking backward. It whirred along softly as he tugged against the tension, and soon, he had reached the location of the next one. Once more, he glanced over at Milligan to confirm that they were in the same place, and he hammered that one in as well.

Slowly, carefully, the two men worked their way down the field. It was slow going, and Jason had to admit that he really didn't understand what they were up to. He knew a little about grapes, of course, but mostly just the facts that they could be turned into juice and wine.

When they reached the end of the field, they turned around and started back on the second row, then on the third. Jason's arms ached by the time they finished with the third one, and he and Milligan met in the middle to look over their work.

"Not too shabby, I'd say." Milligan nodded in approval. "What time do you reckon it is?"

Jason glanced up at the sky, shielding his eyes. "Just about lunchtime."

"I was thinking the same thing." Milligan crossed his arms in thought. "I almost wonder if it wouldn't be better to go ahead and string up the wire. I don't think we'll be able to get the whole field done today anyhow, and if we can get up the wire, we can at least feel like we accomplished something today."

Jason could only shrug. "You're the expert."

Milligan chuckled, though he didn't deny it. Jason had a feeling that Milligan was greatly enjoying the book that the mages had given him. Quickly, he opened up his inventory and pulled out several spools of a thin wire, which he handed to Jason.

"This part, I think we're going to have to do together. Come on!"

Milligan led the way to the first row that Jason had put into the ground. There, he quickly attached one end of the wire to the very top of the pole. With that, Jason started walking down the line of pole, keeping the wire stretched taunt, letting it unroll as necessary. Milligan followed along, tying the wire tightly to the poles every time they passed one. As they reached the end, Milligan pulled out a pair of pliers and cut the wire. He then tied the end of Jason's spool back to the same post, though down a bit lower. With that, they started walking back down the line of posts once more, adding a second wire.

By the time lunch came around, they had managed to string wire onto all three of the rows that Jason had hammered in, though Milligan's side was still bare. They climbed over the fence and sat down next to the horses, and Milligan pulled out a picnic basket.

"It won't be as fancy as what Tess makes, but it'll keep us alive."

"Much appreciated." Jason nodded as he accepted a peanut butter sandwich. "Whew! You weren't kidding when you said this would be labor- intensive."

"And we're only at the start." Milligan murmured. "Once you get the wires strung up, you can go ahead and plant the grapes. They won't need the wires until they get bigger, but the seeds can't be planted until the wires are in place."

"Interesting." Jason mumbled around a mouthful of bread. "It's going to take a week just to get this field planted! I mean, we could just only plant part of it, but—"

"Nah. I reckon we ought to really make use of it." Milligan shrugged. "I'm not saying that we need to build a full winery or anything, but grapes are valuable."

At that, gears began whirring in Jason's head. "Now that could be fun. Have a full-on winery here?" He held up his hands. "Hunter Wines. The wines you hunt for."

"Terrible slogan." Milligan shrugged.

"Alright, then. You come up with one."

"No." Milligan shrugged once more. "Because I'm not going to let

you start up a winery. Plus, as soon as you do that, you're going to want to start up an oil press for the olives, and then we're going to be going into business doing... Oh, I don't know. Making pasta or something. You'll find something else big to do."

Jason only laughed as he finished up his sandwich. With that, he stood up and turned to face the fields.

It was odd, seeing it planted to something other than a traditional crop, but that was just life, he supposed. As strange as it was, he was oddly looking forward to it.

He only hoped that they would be able to actually pull a crop from their new, strange, endeavors.

Chapter Thirteen: OrC Bands

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 20th day of Fall! Ahh... Let's see. Today's going to be rainy and gross, so make sure you stay inside and stay warm, y'all! Chances of ice... Possibility of an autumn tornado... Oh yes, and there have been several orc bands sighted in the area, so that's also a good reason to stay inside. Okay, bye!]

Jason blinked as he sat up and read the message. That didn't sound good, not in the slightest, and he rubbed his eyes to read it a second time. Orc bands sighted in the area? Quickly, he jumped to his feet and ran to the window, where he looked down across the landscape. All he could see was the farm, and Milligan out working on getting some hay and feed pellets to the cattle. He breathed a sigh of relief... And then caught a glimpse of something red flickering across the hills in the distance.

He didn't need a pair of binoculars or a telescope to tell him what he was looking at. Quickly, he spun to the door and bolted, not even bothering to change. As he raced down through the kitchen and out onto the front porch, he fancied that he could hear their war drums off in the distance, though he couldn't rightly tell for sure. Milligan walked down out of the barn just as Jason appeared on the porch, and he waved... Only to frown as Jason started waving frantically.

Thankfully, he got the idea, dropped the feed bucket, and ran toward the house. Jason bolted inside as well, and quickly ran back up to his bedroom, where he could look out a little better. There, the little patch of red appeared once more, a bit closer, racing up over the top of a hill only to dodge back into the gully between.

"What's the matter?" Milligan asked as he came running into the bedroom. "Everything alright?"

"Not particularly." Jason murmured. "There's an orc coming, and fast. I can't tell if it's more than one or not. Whatever's on its way has a little red banner it keeps waving about."

"Interesting." Milligan murmured. "Where's your blunderbuss?"

"In my inventory, where it should probably stay." Jason muttered. "All it'll do is make noise."

"Yeah, noise that might just alert someone else to our plight."

Jason had no chance to respond as the orc came riding into view. Jason felt terrified at the simple glance of the creature, and he went weak in the knees.

It was huge and brutish, and rode on the back of a warg that itself must have been taller than Jason. As it reached the edge of the farmyard, the man swung down and walked to the fence, then casually reached down, grabbed the rails, and ripped a rather large chunk of it out of the ground.

"Hey! That costs me almost five hundred shandys per section!" Jason hissed.

"Quiet." Milligan murmured. "We should get down into the tunnel, pronto."

Jason couldn't disagree with that, and the two men quickly turned and ran back through the house, moving as quietly as they could. Jason didn't know how well orcs could hear, but he imagined that it was a good bit better than a person could. They quickly ran down into the basement, and Jason pushed aside the section of wall that led into the secret tunnel. Both jumped through into the dark, and Jason swung the door back shut.

Even though they both knew that the orc couldn't see them, they kept the lights off. They hardly even dared breathe, for fear that the orc might sense them. Suddenly, Jason became aware that he could hear a soft thump-thump as the orc and his steed walked across the farmyard, shaking the ground with each footfall. A little bit of dirt trickled down from above.

And then, it was right above them.

A single thump echoed softly, raining a bit more dirt down onto the duo. Jason held his breath... And a mighty roar split their air. It was so loud that even down below, it sounded as if the beast was in the tunnel with them. A mad scratching and clawing noise rumbled through the ground, and on cue, both men ran for the door.

Milligan made it. Jason was just clambering through when the orc tore through the top of the tunnel and reached down inside. The mighty beast caught hold of Jason's leg and yanked him back up. A great many things popped in Jason's body under the strain, and he was flung out of the tunnel and onto the ground, where he bounced and rolled several times

before coming to a stop. It took him a moment to blink the light from his eyes, and he gaped as the orc turned around, growling down at him.

Where the orcish shaman had appeared weak and frail, this one appeared to be strong enough to rip the entire world in two, if it so desired. It flexed its mighty hands and began walking toward him, snarling as drool dripped down from its slobbery tusks.

"I promise, I taste like oil and grease." Jason scrambled backward, though his legs didn't seem to be working quite right. He didn't know if that was because the orc had broken something, or if he was just too scared. "You don't want to eat me."

"Then I'll just kill you." The orc shrugged. "Easy enough."

Jason knew it wouldn't work, but he drew his pistol and fired anyway. The bullet bounced off the orc's forehead like a fly bumping into a pane of glass, and the orc snarled and lunged forward.

Ka-zap!

A blast of lightning shot over Jason's head and hit the orc in the chest, knocking him backward. For the briefest of a moment, the orc seemed to flicker, and Jason saw its skeleton quite clearly through its thick skin. As the blast fade away, though, the orc returned to normal, and it looked up, losing interest in Jason altogether.

"Attention, foul creature." Master Dominic's voice sounded like the peal of a bell. "I hereby alert you to the fact that you are trespassing, and—" "Don't care!" The orc snarled and ran past Jason. He moved so fast that Jason hardly saw him, the whole monster just transformed into a blur. Bits of gravel stung Jason's cheeks, and he spun as the thing launched itself

at Master Dominic.

The elderly mage simply stood there, peacefully holding onto his

staff. As the orc leapt up into the air and formed a powerful fist, the mage seemed to flicker, and teleported about a foot to the right. The orc stumbled through the space where Master Dominic had just been, and uttered a long string of curses (at least Jason assumed they were curses—he didn't speak orcish, but some things just sounded the same in every language). With that, the monster snarled and spun toward the mage once more, lashing out with all the claws on one hand.

Once again, Master Dominic simply teleported away, this time about six inches backward. The orc stumbled as he hit nothing but air, then launched into a flurry of rapid attacks. The master evaded every single time,

slowly teleporting backward across the farmyard toward the barn. Suddenly, Master Dominic teleported a good ten feet back, raised his staff, and then slammed it down into the ground.

"Earth, take back this foul creature!"

The ground broke open underneath the orc, and the smell of rotten eggs came pouring up. Jason gagged, and the orc howled and tried to jump away. The ground simply crumbled beneath him, though, and he was sucked down into the depths of the abyss. A moment later, the earth rumbled shut once more, leaving no indication that there had been a hell portal in Jason's farmyard only a moment before.

"Are you alright?" Master Dominic hobbled toward Jason, appearing suddenly exhausted from the fight.

"I'm fine, yes." Jason groaned and climbed back to his feet. His whole body ached from the impact, and he was reminded of the fact that he wasn't nearly as young as he had once been. "Whew! Not every day you wake up to something like that."

"No, indeed." Master Dominic frowned and lifted his staff slightly, and the end emitted a burst of light. "You and your hired man should come with me. We can hide you in our tents. There are more orcs in the area, I can sense half a dozen within ten minutes' travel." He started to turn away, then paused. "If you don't mind my saying so, that orc seemed rather focused on you."

Jason shrugged. "I was the closest human."

"Yes, except for the fact that he seemed to ignore Milligan." The end of Master Dominic's staff flared for a brief instant. "I can sense something in your inventory. It's a piece of a weapon, I believe."

Something clicked in the back of Jason's mind, and he opened his inventory and scrolled for a moment before finding the broken piece of the old dagger that he had pulled from the gears of his harvester. He quickly handed it over, and Master Dominic lifted it up to the light.

"Curious. Very curious."

"What is it?" Jason asked. His mind was burning with questions, most of which involved how long he was likely to live.

"This. It's ancient, over a thousand years, and is of orcish design."

"How did it wind up in my field?" Jason scowled and crossed his arms. "It just about broke my harvester! And why would it turn up right now? Why not two years ago, or fifteen, or something?"

"Excellent questions, for which I do not have the answers." Master Dominic turned the blade fragment over in his hands a few times. "Perhaps High Master Benedict will have more of an idea. He's far wiser than myself, and is more studied when it comes to the history of this land. Do you mind if I hold onto this for the time being?"

"If it's attracting orcs, you can keep it for as long as you want!" Jason laughed. "For that matter, maybe even longer than you might want! I've no desire to hang onto something like that."

"Fair enough!" Master Dominic waved at the house, drawing Milligan out. "Well, why don't the two of you come with me? As I said, we can hide you quite easily in our facilities, and though I think the orcs will ignore you since I took possession of this dagger blade, I'd rather play it safe."

Jason couldn't argue with that logic, and he and Milligan were soon heading off over the prairie, off toward the old dungeon. As they went along, though, he couldn't help but wonder what it all meant. There were too many variables for him to properly understand it all, which just left him confused. His only hope was that, whatever the truth did happen to be, they would be able to uncover it in time to prevent whatever calamity the orcs desired to bring upon the world.

Chapter Fourteen: Downright Awful

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 35th day of Fall! Today's a stormy one, y'all, so make sure you stay inside if at all possible! We all know how miserable fall storms can be, and I don't really expect this one to be any different!]

As Jason rose from his bed, the steady beat of rain pattered against the window. He could hear the howl of wind across the top of the chimney, and something rattled against the side of the house down by the garden. He slipped up next to the window and gazed out, where rain lashed across the farmstead. Milligan was nowhere to be seen, which was odd, but hardly something that was a problem. It would be downright awful to try and come down from the Far Eighty in weather like this. Jason nodded after a few moments, then walked out of the bedroom and down into the kitchen.

It didn't take him long to find food and get himself ready for the day. As he was walking up to the front door, bracing himself against the weather, something rattled in the mailbox. Worried, he reached inside and pulled out a thick envelope, only to smile warmly as he found it marked from Tess and the kids.

"Daddy! We miss you!" He read as he tore open the envelope and sat down at his writing desk. "We've been having a lot of fun, but not as much fun as on the farm. And we keep getting in trouble. Yesterday, Rachel build a fort on the roof of the house and we got told that that was dangerous. The only reason she did it was because last week I built a fort in the vacant lot, and was told that that was dangerous. Apparently people just think forts are dangerous. I don't know. I miss the farm. Oh! Also, Rachel and I managed to tame several of the rats from the storm sewer. We built some pens and are raising them like Mommy's cattle! Don't worry, we haven't told anyone about those, and—"

Footsteps sounded on the porch, interrupting Jason in the middle of the letter, and he reluctantly set it aside as Milligan burst through the front door. He was soaked to the skin, and water ran down off the brim of his hat.

"Boss! Sorry I'm late getting to the barn, I—"

"Ahh, don't worry about it." Jason shrugged. "I was just heading out there to take care of it. What's up, anyhow?"

Milligan blinked a few times, then shook his head as he brought himself back to reality.

"My plants escaped!"

"Your plants?" Jason groaned. "Milligan, you haven't been experimenting with Monstertraps again, have you?"

"What? No!" Milligan shook his head. "All I did was experiment a little bit with some of the recipes in that mage book thing."

Jason frowned, then groaned even louder. "Milligan..."

"Hey! It's better than monstertraps."

"You could have spawned another painted dragon and it would have

been better than the monstertraps." Jason sighed and slowly climbed to his feet. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"They're beet monsters." Milligan explained. "I crossed a mandrake with a red beet, essentially. That was all fine and dandy, but then of course they escaped, and now they're off running around the countryside."

"And we can't just leave them there?" Jason asked, even as he stood up and started pulling on his boots and a raincoat.

"I don't reckon they'll live very long in all this weather, especially with winter coming on, but..." Milligan shrugged. "I just don't want to upset the mages. I wasn't exactly given permission to work on the things, so... I'd sure appreciate it, boss."

"Well, you've done enough for me, I won't leave you hanging in your hour of need." Jason nodded as he pulled on a hat. "Where are we heading?"

Milligan quickly led the way out into the farmyard. As the rain poured down around them, he pointed off to the north.

"They went that way, up toward Summer Shandy. I already wrote a note to Daniel and Obadiah, to let 'em know they were coming without telling them to worry. I already rode the distance once, and I can't find them."

"Well, let's get to it. I'll be along in just a second."

Milligan tipped his hat, and quickly walked over to Dusty. A moment later, he was riding off across the prairie. Jason quickly strode up

and into the barn, where he mounted up on Lady. Within a moment, he was riding off as well, sweeping up onto the prairie to the north of the farm.

Summer Shandy wasn't altogether that far away from the farmstead, but even a mile or two left a lot of open ground, particularly on the open prairie. Milligan was ahead of him, riding up and down over the hills, shooting this way and that way through the gullies. Jason followed along behind, taking a slightly different route to cover a bit more ground. About halfway between the farmstead and the town, he rode up on top of a ridge and paused, slowly looking across the wide, open area. Thunder cracked above him, lightning flashed through the sky, rain ran off the brim of his hat.

"Alright, Jason. If you were a mandrake/beet hybrid, where would you go?" Jason slowly crossed his arms. "Ordinarily, I'd say I'd go down somewhere, to make sure I got plenty of water. Right now, I'd say I might try to get up high somewhere to get out of the running water. I'd for sure stay out of the pasture so I didn't get eaten. Where does that..."

Something buzzed past him, flickering through the rain. He recognized it for a brief instant as another Juun bug, and scowled at the thing. Thankfully, they hadn't had any real issued with the critters since they showed up this time around. Treating the crop with the Lonesome Rose chemical had done more than enough, though he still saw a few of them out and about. Suddenly, though, he had an idea. Spinning his horse to follow the thing, he began to canter off across the prairie in the direction of the little bug. It vanished into the fog and mist within only a few moments, but he knew the way it had been going, which was enough at least for the time being.

They went to the west, perpendicular to the ridge lines. He splashed through small streams of water flowing through the basins, and up across the rocky heights. A few more of the Juun bugs flashed past him, confirming that he was heading in the right direction. And then... he saw it.

As he topped a larger rise, he found a rocky hillside ahead of him, with a small cave about two feet across nestled among the limestone boulders. Inside, he could see leaves waving about, while a handful of bugs buzzed around the entrance. A smile came across his face, and he drew his pistol and pointed it up into the cloudy sky.

Crack!

The shot echoed across the prairie, sounding almost, but not quite, like a peal of thunder. He dismounted and walked up to the cave, kneeling down in the mud. Inside, a handful of creatures hopped about, waving their stubby, vegetable arms and legs as they tried to beat the Juun bugs away from their leaves. They looked rather like humans, humans that were only a foot or two tall. Jason felt a smile grow across his face, and he opened up his inventory and drew out a sprayer filled with some of the Lonesome Rose chemical. Carefully, he pumped up the pressure, then sprayed it inside.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzm!

The Juun bugs swarmed away frantically as they tried to escape. Several of them splattered against Jason's face as they flew out of the entrance, and the manbeets all turned toward Jason, eyeing him warily. Jason wasn't sure how much intelligence they did or didn't possess, and knew enough about animals to know that even thankful ones could be dangerous in the right circumstances.

"You found them?" Milligan called out as he came riding up.

"I did, yes." Jason held out his hand, but the manbeets didn't do a thing. As Milligan dropped down to the mud next to Jason, though, they seemed to light up, and quickly scampered out into the rain. He held out a dirt-stained burlap sack, and they all began to climb inside just as quickly as they could.

"I sprayed it with a bit of fertilizer. They can't resist the smell." Milligan gave him a nod. As the last one climbed inside, he tipped his hat. "Well, I'm mighty thankful, as I'm sure you know. Fancy a trip back to my place for a bit of refreshment? You've earned it."

Jason shrugged and stood up. "I sure wouldn't turn it down."

It didn't take the two men long to arrive back at Milligan's home. There, Milligan took him to the greenhouse, where he popped the door open and stepped inside. As he did so, he froze, and Jason heard a cough from inside.

"You certainly seem to be enjoying the book we loaned you."

It was Master Dominic's voice, and Milligan rubbed the back of his neck. He stepped aside and allowed Jason to step inside as well. The interior of the greenhouse was steamy and warm, a far cry from the bitter rain outside. As usual, it was teeming with life. Vines covered in flowers snaked out of their planters and across the floor. A large mushroom walked

on crab-like legs beneath a table, catching drops of water that fell from the planters above. Something spherical and green floated gently through the air, allowing long tendrils to dangle down like tentacles. Master Dominic stood in the middle of it all, looking about himself with an odd frown.

Milligan sighed and set down the sack, allowing the manbeets to jump free and scamper back to their planter, where they all began working to bury themselves once again. "I've... It's been a fun sort of study."

"I can see that." Master Dominic nodded down at the mandrake beets. "You know, in our mage program, we have a similar process that we make our students go through. In it, mages in the crop program are required to make an onion capable of transplanting itself from one pot to another."

"A fine study." Milligan's eyes glimmered. "I'd enjoy doing something like that."

"It's the final test that we give our agricultural mages before they graduate to the rank of Novice." Master Dominic leaned upon his staff. "Only about one tenth of them can pass it on the first try. Less than half ever manage to succeed, and the rest usually transition into the scholarly or combat side of the mage school. What you're doing here is more impressive than anything I've seen outside the office of Master Fiacre. If I didn't know that you had no magical training whatsoever, I would be convinced that this greenhouse belonged to a reclusive and powerful mage."

"You do me kindly." Milligan doffed his hat. "That book you loaned me has been extremely helpful. I've been struggling to figure out exactly how to manage to get that little puffer up there to fly, but there was an excellent lesson on floating things in the back of the book that helped me out."

"It was a lesson on water." Master Dominic blinked in surprise. "Lilly pads and things like that."

Milligan just shrugged. "Water and air aren't all that different, when you think about it."

Jason held up a hand. "Does this mean that my farm is about to start growing... Oh, I don't know, dragon-plants or something?"

Master Dominic merely laughed, though his eyes did have an odd sort of sparkle to them that Jason didn't really like. After a moment, Jason shrugged.

"Well, I'll let you two folks at it. I've got work to do."

With that, he turned around and walked out into the rain once more, chuckling as he did so. He didn't have any particular desire to indulge himself in the magical arts, he just liked growing his crops, but it was interesting to see what Milligan was doing. Maybe the mages could give Milligan a bit of direction with his work, which was something he badly needed.

In any case, the rain was still raining, and he had chores to get done. With that, he struck off back across the prairie, back toward his farm, back toward the letter that was still waiting for him on his desk.

Chapter Fifteen: Better Late

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 43rd day of Fall! Let's see here... It's looking like a good day, y'all! Everything's finally dried down from that storm, which I consider to be a good thing (though I suppose everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the subject). The weather will be turning mighty cold soon enough, though, so make sure you've got plenty of firewood!]

Jason stretched and rolled out of bed, rising up to walk up to the window. Down below, he saw a small handful of people walking about in his farmyard, including Richard. He blinked in confusion, then suddenly remember what day it was. He bolted to the wardrobe, changed just as quickly as he could, and dashed down the stairs three at a time. As he exploded out into the farmyard, Richard turned and grinned at him.

"Forget to set your alarm early today?"

"Something like that." Jason shook his head and sighed. "Sorry to keep everyone waiting. How are things looking?"

"Well, we're at your disposal, just like we discussed." Richard shrugged. "We got all our own cattle to market yesterday, so you tell us where you want us, and we'll be there."

Jason nodded and scratched the back of his neck. "You know cattle better than I do. Tess has always been in charge of the drives, so..."

"Got it. Men! Get to work!"

The hired men all turned toward the barn and ran up to start setting up gates, and Jason ran to start getting Lady ready. He had missed more than a few sales in Summer Shandy, simply due to the fact that he had been more focused on his crops than the cattle. There was a cattle sale down in Darkwater happening that day, and when Richard had agreed to come and help, he had jumped on the opportunity. Without Tess, he just wasn't in a good position to take care of the cattle, which meant he needed to downsize.

By the time he had put the saddle on Lady's back and had everything strapped down, Richard's hired men had brought the cattle in

from the pasture and had them all ready to go. Richard nodded to Jason, and Jason waved his hand.

"Open the gates!"

As the first of the cattle lumbered out, Jason rode along one side, while Richard took the other. Cattle were pretty easy to herd, so long as you got them moving in the right direction. It didn't take long to get them through the farmyard and onto the road, at which point, Jason settled in and sat back in the saddle as they made their way south.

The road down to Darkwater was a pleasant one. It was more or less straight, with a few twists and turns to avoid particularly large hills. They went down past the Lazy-H Ranch, where several more of Richard's hired men waved at them from the porch and the pastures. South of that, the forest (which ran in a diagonal strip across the land) met the road, and they plunged into a narrow path that seemed to become a tunnel of sorts as the branches of the trees met overhead.

Now that part was truly beautiful. The leaves were brilliant shades of yellow and orange and red, sparkling in the light of the sun. As the cattle plodded beneath that lovely canopy, Jason sighed in contentment. There were few places he would rather be, that was for certain. When they reached the bridge that crossed the road, the steady clomp-clomp of massive hooves was a resounding crescendo that perfectly accompanied the scenery.

After the river, they passed through the far side of the forest, and out onto a rocky plain. Here, massive limestone boulders protruded up from the grasses, until they finally came to the last bit of the road before Darkwater. At that point, the ground fell away suddenly in a series of stunning limestone cliffs and pillars, looking more like something to be found in the mountains than on the open plains.

Down below those cliffs was another stretch of open prairie, upon which was nestled the little town of Darkwater. The buildings were mostly made of mud, dredged up from the black lake that gave the town its name. A number of large, temporary cattle pens had been set up on the southern side of town, while Cattle Guild members stood around the streets of the community to usher the cattle through the settlement and onto their final destination. Jason gave a nod to the men as the cattle were all taken in, and he swung down next to Richard as guild members began to walk around the pens, making notes on their little notebooks.

"Much obliged." Jason shook Richard's hand. "What do you reckon is fair payment? Ten percent of the final sale price?"

"Ten percent?" Richard turned and raised an eyebrow. "I brought twenty of my men on this ride! The way I figure it, that means that out of twenty-two riders, you only get a single share! That comes up to..." At Jason's horrified look, he laughed and clapped his son-in-law on the shoulder. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

Jason felt a wave of relief, and shook his head. "You had me going there for a second."

"Oh, you turned as white as a sheet!" Richard laughed.

"And you're taking too many lessons from Jeremiah." Jason scowled.

"Well, now that he's gone, someone has to." Richard sighed in contentment, then shook his head. "Nah. Ten percent's too high. I'll take five, that much seems reasonable for hiring a crew, but I don't need a full ten."

"Done." Jason shook his hand firmly. "You can either wait around for the pay, or head back."

"I'll dismiss my men, but I'd like to stick around. The tavern in town is one of my favorites." He patted Jason on the shoulder. "I'll treat you, if you want to come."

Jason nodded. "I'd appreciate it, thanks."

Richard's men were soon riding back north toward Summer Shandy, and Jason crossed his arms to wait for the Cattle Guild workers. They soon came back with an offer that amounted to about 10,000 shandys per head of cattle.

"10,000?" Jason frowned. "It was almost twice that, a year ago."

The man giving the offer simply shrugged. "With the threat of the orcs, I can't guarantee that all these cattle are going to make it up to Illumitir."

"Yeah, but the ones that are making it will sell for a small fortune!" Jason countered. "Anything you can sell up in Illumitir is going to be in high demand, what with the decreased herd size reaching the city."

"You'd sure think so." The man shrugged once more. "Problem is —"

"Problem is that no one is haggling with you." Jason crossed his arms tightly. "Seventeen per head."

The man paused and glanced over at the pens. "Twelve."

"Sixteen."

"Thirteen."

"Fifteen, and that's final." Jason stared the man down, doing his best

Jeremiah impression.

The man sighed and scratched his head. "Fair enough, I suppose.

Fifteen it is."

Fifteen minutes later, Jason sat down at a table in the town tavern

just across from Richard. There was already a plate waiting on him, filled with fried potatoes and green beans and a hamburger dripping with grease and cheese and mushrooms.

"You know me well." Jason smiled and tucked in.

"A man ought to know a good deal about his son-in-law." Richard's eyes twinkled. "Especially a man who only has one."

Jason chuckled at that, and he started into his food. As he did so, he pushed a check across the table. It was for six percent of the final sale, though he didn't mention that fact to Richard. Richard took it and slid it into his inventory without giving it another look, and Jason rather wondered if it would ever get cashed out.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Jason leaned back in his chair. "Do you ever miss the dungeon circuit? I know you and Daniel used to have quite a thing going."

"First off, I never really had that much of a thing with Daniel. I knew who he was, and we met up from time to time, but I didn't really spend all that much time with him." Richard shook his head. "As far as missing it, every now and then I'll get a hankering to head back into the dungeons, but it's never a strong enough urge to get me to leave the ranch. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know." Jason sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "It's just..." He searched for the words for a few moments. "I don't mean to bring up bad memories, but you left Tess behind when she was only a child, and you did it because you loved the dungeons."

"And not a day goes by that I don't both regret that fact." Richard grimaced. "Why?"

"I don't know. It just feels like I'm leaving my own family behind for farming." Jason shrugged. "It's hard not to wonder if I'm doing the same thing. Now I'm selling Tess's cattle, and..."

Richard reached out and put a hand on Jason's arm. "You're nothing like me. When I was your age... Let's just suppose that our positions were reversed. In your shoes, I would have cared for nothing except buying more land. I would have cared for nothing about getting every single achievement possible, about growing the largest fruits and vegetables and becoming known as the single greatest farmer that Illumitir had ever known. I would have utterly ignored my family. I certainly wouldn't have taken them out on the farm equipment with me, I certainly wouldn't have thought twice about sending them away. You're different." Richard sighed, then reached over and clapped Jason on the shoulder. "I can honestly say that I can't imagine Tess with anyone better, and if I have to kill every single orc in the entire land so that you can be reunited, I'll do it."

A small smile crossed Jason's face, and he took another bite of his food. It was good to know that he had such a good father-in-law, and that he had the support behind him if ever a time came that he needed it.

Until then... well... He certainly wasn't going to complain if Richard actually did kill every single orc in the land.

Chapter Sixteen: Cold Day

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 60th day of Fall! It's a cold one today, y'all, and I do mean COLD! Frankly, I wouldn't ordinarily expect to see a temperature this low outside of winter itself unless I was up in one of the northern realms. Anyway, stay warm if you dare venture outside, for sure!]

Jason groaned as he slowly rolled out of bed. He could see his breath in the air as he stood up, and he shivered more than a little as he dressed. He hadn't bothered putting on any firewood since it was still the middle of fall, but... he supposed that things happened like that, sometimes. The moment he was dressed, he stomped downstairs, where he entered the kitchen to whip up something warm and filling.

"Morning, boss!" Milligan walked in the back door. "How goes it today?"

"Cold! Get that door shut." Jason held his hands over the stove as he whipped up a batch of fried-chicken waffles. "What about you?"

"Oh, I reckon about the same." Milligan walked up to the counter, and after a moment flipping through the dozens upon dozens of waffle recipes available, selected a chocolate raspberry cinnamon waffle. Jason had tried it before, and didn't really like it, but Milligan was quite fond of them. "I spent until midnight last night winterizing the grapes."

"What exactly does that entail?" Jason snorted.

"Ordinarily, it involves a whole lot of menial labor." Milligan shrugged. "In this case, though, I went over to the mages, and they whipped up some sort of magic potion stuff that I poured on each of the vines. Stopped them from freezing, better than anything else I've ever seen."

"And what's the kicker?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Your tone of voice tells me that something else is amiss."

"You might say that." A small smile came across Milligan's face. "You won't believe it."

"With these mages, that's hardly going to be something new."

"The grapes are ready for harvest."

Jason choked on a bite of chicken. "What? I thought we wouldn't get anything off of them until next spring!"

"So did I! But this morning, there they were! Bundle upon bundle of grapes. They're full and ripe and ready for picking."

Jason whistled. "That's something for you. Well... I guess we're harvesting grapes today."

"I'm glad you agree! I'll meet you out there." Milligan ate the last of his waffle, then stood up and slipped outside. Jason sighed, ate the last of his own waffle, and then rose as well.

It didn't take him long to get himself outside, and less time to mount up on Lady and start off across the prairie. As he came over the last hill to look out across the twin fields, he whistled softly. On one, long rows of brilliant, full vines of grapes stretched out along the thin wires that had been strung all over the fields. On the other, small olive trees were loaded with enormous bunches of olives, so much that they seemed to be weighing down the trees. Jason blinked a few times at those, too. The last he had seen, the olive trees had been a foot shorter and didn't have a single bud on them, let alone any fruit.

He didn't have time to ponder it, though, and rode up to the entrance of the New Eighty, where the grapevines were located. Milligan was already there, holding two bushel baskets in his hands. Jason took one up, then groaned.

"We have to do this all by hand, don't we?"

"We do, indeed." Milligan nodded. "Your harvester will only rip the vines from the ground, and... They do have harvesters designed for grapes, but they're expensive beasts, and you don't have one."

"If this proves profitable, I'll look into getting one next spring." Jason murmured. "Alright, then. Let's get to it."

He took one of the baskets from Milligan and walked up to the closest vine. Slowly, he reached out and touched it.

[Harvest Grapes? Ripeness: 99%]

"Yes." Jason nodded.

With a flash, a long row of the grapes vanished, probably fifty feet in all. The basket immediately gained what felt like a hundred pounds, and

Jason stumbled under it. He dumped the basket into his inventory, then groaned and started on down the row.

It was slow work, but he went along as well as he could. Harvesting by walking on his own feet wasn't something he had done since his very first year in Summer Shandy. Thankfully, he was in good shape, and learned to set the basket on the ground before he harvested the clusters, thus preserving his back.

Slowly, carefully, the two men worked down the length of the vines, then started back. As they made their return trip, Jason noticed the vines that they had already harvested slowly starting to wither. Leaves dried up and dropped off, and the branches became cold and brown.

"Apparently that's all they'll do for the season!" Milligan called out. "I'll have to do some checking as to exactly why, but I imagine it's—"

"I'll take your word for it!" Jason called back. "I can see it myself, so I know that's what's happening. I don't need you to make me feel like an idiot for not knowing how my own plants work."

Milligan only laughed at that, and Jason plugged on as best he could. As they finished up the second row and started back, he caught sight of the two mages, wrapped tightly in thick robes, making their way over to the field. Without a word, as they arrived, they both took up baskets of their own (which, of course, levitated alongside themselves) and started down the rows.

The four of them worked until lunch. By that point, they had harvested perhaps a third of the field. Jason's hands stung with the cold, and as they came together, Milligan nodded wordlessly down at his shack. A few minutes later, they all sat around a table as a roaring fire warmed their bodies, and Jason sighed.

"Your formula seems to have done excellent work." Jason commented as the two masters began to eat some dinner rolls that Milligan passed out.

"Indeed." Master Dominic glanced over at High Master Benedict, a twinkle in his eye. "One might wonder if a bit of experimentation wasn't performed on the potion after we gave it to Milligan."

"You gave me a book on potions." Milligan shrugged. "I can hardly be blamed for making use of it. I would have made the winterizing potion myself, but fire salamanders aren't exactly native to this area."

Jason just chuckled and shook his head, then nodded to the two mages. "Before you guys get all smart on me again, I just have to ask if this is enough for the time being?"

"Indeed. More than enough." Master Dominic nodded. "We'll buy 50 bushels, I think, which will get us through until next spring, when you can produce more."

Jason checked his inventory. They had already harvested almost two hundred bushels. "Sounds like a plan to me." He paused. "How's... how's everything going?"

"Going splendidly." High Master Benedict gave a nod. "We've put in an order for the magical granite to be shipped here. At the moment, we're just cataloguing a handful of odd artifacts we've found around the dungeon, and doing a few bits of what you might call housework. Wiping out latent spells that are still hanging around the dungeon, that sort of thing."

"Anything interesting?" Jason asked hopefully.

"For a mage? Yes. For a farmer, I doubt it." Master Dominic smiled. "Unless you'd like a lecture on the different types of goblin teeth that have been recorded over the centuries. I found one just yesterday that has a shape only seen in goblins native to the southern mangrove swamps. It's a peculiar—" He smiled as Jason's eyes started to glaze over. "So, in short, no. We haven't found anything interesting. That said, we're eager to begin construction. As soon as we can build the focusing room, we'll be able to tap into the old magic made possible by this dungeon, which, as I've indicated, just might lead us to the truth about these orcs."

"I'm looking forward to hearing more about it." Jason nodded as Milligan passed out steaming plates of meat.

"And we're looking forward to giving you answers." Master Dominic smiled warmly. "Until then, I suppose, let us feast!"

With that, the group tucked into the meal. It was simple, but sumptuous. The conversation certainly wasn't unpleasant in the slightest, though they talked about very little of substance. When they finished, the group all meandered back out into the fields, wrapping themselves tightly against the cold.

Jason gritted his teeth as the wind blew across the prairie, freezing and piercing. As they struggled up the hill, Milligan suddenly gave a shout and rushed forward. Jason couldn't see the issue, but ran along as well, afraid of what he might find at the end.

As they reached the field, his jaw dropped, and he looked across the remaining leaves. Everything that hadn't been harvested before lunch seemed to have frozen solid. Leaves had layers of ice grown up across them, while clusters of grapes hung like assortments of little frozen bullets.

"I..." Milligan scratched his head. "Huh."

"When you altered the potion, you likely accidentally reduced the effective duration." Master Dominic commented. "An easy mistake to make, one that I did a dozen times over in my own classes."

"I sure am sorry." Milligan turned away from the field. His face was red, and not just from the cold.

"Ahh. Stuff happens." Jason shrugged and leaned against the fence rails. "Will the plants survive the winter?"

"They ought to."

"Then we'll deal with the grapes again in the spring." Jason answered. He glanced over at the olive trees. "In the meantime, you might go ahead and do something with those trees so they don't suffer the same fate."

"I'll get right on it."

"And we'll get back to our studies." The mages both bowed their heads, turned around, and strode off toward the forest once more. Jason stood there a moment longer as Milligan ran up toward the greenhouse, and with that, he started back toward home.

Accidents happened, and he wasn't too worried about something so trivial as that. What did worry him, at least slightly, was Milligan playing around with powers that he didn't know rightly how to control.

He could only hope that it wouldn't wind up exploding in their faces.

Chapter Seventeen: Last of Warmth

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 70th day of Fall! Alright, y'all, I'd say that this is the last little bit of warmth you'll get before winter! Make sure to get outside and enjoy it! Or just do all the work you need to get done. Or... I dunno. Do whatever ya want!]

[Daniel's Almanac: Sidenote: I suppose I should let you know that we've been told that there's an orc in the area. Some people might think that that sort of thing is enough to stay inside, but I'll leave the decision up to you!]

Jason frowned as he rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. An orc seen in the area? That didn't sound good. What part of the area, though?

"Daniel, learn to give more details." He muttered. Slowly, he walked up to the window, half-expecting to see the green-skinned beast standing in his farmyard. There was nothing, though. Only a handful of unconcerned chickens, with Milligan wandering about here and there, doing some odd jobs. Jason scratched his head, then shrugged and turned back to his wardrobe. He was soon dressed, and made his way down and out into the farmyard.

"Morning, boss!" Milligan called out as Jason tromped down from the porch. "How goes it?"

"Well enough, I suppose." Jason stretched his arms. It truly was a beautiful day, of that there couldn't really be any argument. "What about on your end of the world?"

"I certainly can't complain." Milligan smiled. "I haven't seen that orc, if that's what you're asking. For what it's worth, I asked Master Dominic to use his magic to scan for it. He said that he could detect it north of town, but that Daniel was already en route toward it, so not to worry."

"Well, that's good to know at least." Jason glanced to the north, expecting to see something appear, but nothing came over the horizon.

"Probably why Daniel didn't want to say anything. He figured he'd just kill the thing, but Obadiah talked him into alerting the public just in case."

"That sure sounds about right to me." Milligan shrugged. "Well, boss, what do you want to do today?"

"How are the olives looking?" Jason asked.

"They're right as rain. I reckon we'll be ready to harvest them in a few days' time, but they're not quite ready yet." Milligan answered. "When I altered the winterize formula, it set them back a good bit."

"They're still a couple seasons ahead of schedule, so I'm not going to complain too much." Jason chuckled. He glanced over at the Homestead Eighty, which had been quietly planted to sorghum in the midst of all the other chaos. "Let's see here. That field looks good to me. No bugs or anything, so we're just waiting for it to mature... Same with the olives... And the cattle are gone..."

"We're going to be right bored, what with you staying on top of everything." Milligan grinned at him.

"Oh, we'll find something to do." Jason laughed. "There are some shingles on the barn roof that could stand to be patched up, and a few lengths of fence that need to be repaired."

"Oh, boss, don't make me go up onto the..." Milligan's voice suddenly trailed off, then returned much quieter. "Actually, the barn roof doesn't sound like an awful place to be."

Jason raised an eyebrow. Milligan hated the barn roof. He turned to his hired man, only to see Milligan staring in horror at the gates of the property. Jason turned that way as well, and his own blood turned to ice.

Standing there was a warg.

It was enormous, four or five feet tall at the shoulder, and covered in grey-brown hair that looked as prickly as a porcupine. Long teeth glistened in its open mouth, and it let out a low snarl.

"The mages could have mentioned the fact that there was a warg in the area." Milligan hissed. "Who cares that I didn't ask them about it?"

"Walk slowly toward the barn." Jason ordered. "Don't look it in the eye. Do that, and you'll be stuck in a staring contest with the thing, and I doubt that either of us will have the fortitude to dominate it."

"Boss, that's what we've got to do." Milligan took a deep breath. "You run, and I'll stare it down."

"Milligan, I—"

"I'm doing it! Go!"

Jason glanced back at Milligan, who was staring at the warg with a deep intensity. The warg snarled, but locked gazes instinctively. It began to snarl and paw at the ground, and Jason took that as his cue to bolt.

The ground flew under his feet as he ran into the barn. The warg let out a sharp bark, and Milligan suddenly raced past him, flying much faster on his longer legs.

"You were right! Bad idea! Bad idea!"

The two men ran up into the barn. Jason spun and grabbed hold of the massive barn door just as the warg smashed through the gate and bounded upward toward the building. Milligan helped, and they slammed it shut just as the creature hit it. Wood cracked under the impact, and the whole barn seemed to shudder, but it held. The warg snarled and scratched at the wood for a moment, then withdrew.

"Quick!"

Jason ran across the barn, and he and Milligan slammed the other door shut as well. Suddenly, from below them, they heard a soft growling, and Jason turned white.

There were two doors that led into the lower parts of the barn, doors that Jason usually kept open for the sake of ventilation. Both he and Milligan had the same idea, and bolted for the stairs that led up to the loft.

With a mighty crash, the warg broke through the floor of the barn, snarling as it bit through thick beams and clawed its way upward. The two men reached the loft of the barn, and at Jason's urging, quickly began to climb up the long ladder that led to the ceiling. Jason followed, moving a bit slower than Milligan was able to go, just as the warg sprang up to meet them.

Crash!

The warg slammed into the wall just beneath Jason's feet, smashing the ladder to splinters. He slipped and nearly fell, but caught himself at the last moment. Quickly, he and Milligan scrambled up until they reached a particularly large cross-beam, where they gratefully sat down and gazed at the warg below.

The beast snarled and paced back and forth, staring up at them. It didn't look like it was in any hurry to leave, and Jason gulped.

"Do you happen to have your cannon in your inventory?" Milligan whispered.

"I wish." Jason muttered. "I've got my blunderbuss, but that wasn't able to kill an elderly orcish shaman. No way it's able to hurt this thing." He sighed. "I've been missing Tess a lot, but I have to say that right now, I'm missing her more than ever."

He paused for a few moments, then chuckled and shook his head. The warg jumped up and snapped its jaws together, but fell short of the beam. "You know what? Most of the time, I don't really mind being nothing more than a farmer, but every now and again, it'd be nice to be able to whip out a war hammer and perform an epic overhand smash that sends out a shockwave felt for a hundred miles around."

Milligan just smiled and shook his head. "Well, all I can say is that right now, we're in your barn. If ever there was a time for you to figure out how to do something epic, now would be the time."

"If we were being attacked by a giant plant, maybe I'd be able to do something." Jason shook his head. "All I can do with animals is feed them, and..." His voice trailed off, and a smile came across his face. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Milligan frowned.

"Here. Hold this." Jason opened up his inventory and scrolled down to the food section. He had a bit of monster meat left, crabgrass and razorgrass and that sort of thing. After yanking out a bucket, he filled it full of as much meat as he could fit.

"Are you going to try and tame the thing?" Milligan asked with a smile.

"Nope. That was my uncle's thing." Jason scrolled a bit further through his inventory, then found what he was looking for: A large bottle of antifreeze that he had bought in order to prevent his carriage wheels from freezing up during the winter. He had meant to send the bottle along with Tess, but supposed that now, he was glad that he hadn't. It only took a moment to pour it all across the meat, and a sickly-sweet smell filled the air. "Now let's just hope that that's enough. Drop it!"

Milligan dropped the bucket, which clattered down to the floor below. The warg sniffed it for a moment, then eagerly gobbled up all the contents.

"And that's how you do it." Jason crossed his arms.

"What exactly did you mean? Your uncle was a monster tamer?" Milligan asked. "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."

"Mmm! That might have been from before your time." Jason thought back over the years. "You know about the secret office we found in the house, right? Well, there was a lot of stuff in there about a defunct monster-tamer class of warrior. I don't know if he somehow managed to obtain it, or if he was just looking into it, but I do know he was trying to tame monsters, mostly the crabgrasses and that sort of thing."

"Interesting." Milligan murmured. "Whatever did happen with him? You discovered evidence he was still alive, right?"

"Yup. I had Hank looking into it for awhile, but then he got called away on other sorts of detective work." Jason nodded. "I haven't heard an update on that front in... Pfft. It's been years."

Down below, the warg groaned, then toppled over with a mighty thud. Jason nodded, then stood up.

"Let's give him a few moments to make sure he's good and dead, then head down."

"Jason?" Milligan pointed to the wall where the ladder had been. "We don't have a way down."

Jason frowned, and slowly crossed his arms. "How about that?" Milligan sighed, then slowly lay back upon the wide beam. "And this is why I hate heights.

Chapter Eighteen: Storm Coming

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 76th day of Fall! Hey, y'all! It's a chilly one today, but it's going to be even colder tomorrow! We've got a really nasty storm coming through here tonight, and let me just make it clear that this is bound to be one of the worst storms that we've ever seen! Ever!]

Jason rolled his eyes as he climbed out of bed. The air was cool, but not terribly so, and he soon dressed and made his way downstairs. In the kitchen, he paused for a Chocolate Supreme waffle, then made his way out and into the barnyard. Milligan waved at him from up by the barn, then came ambling down.

"How's it going?" Jason asked.

"I've almost got the ladder repaired." Milligan answered. "I'm just glad that Richard happened along when he did."

"No kidding." Jason murmured. Richard had been heading up to see if Daniel needed help with the orc, and had seen the warg claw marks on the barn door. Jason sighed as he glanced at the enormous scratches in the wood. He hadn't yet had a chance to fix the door, and he was afraid that it wouldn't be until winter that he would be able to get it done. "How are the olives holding up?"

"They're ready to go." Milligan confirmed. "I talked to the mages, and they have some fancy way of harvesting the things, if you'd rather not do it manually. I mean, it's still at least somewhat manual, but not quite as bad as it might be."

"They're the ones buying the olives, so I'm okay with it if they are." Jason shrugged. "As long as it doesn't curse the landscape or anything, I don't mind altogether that much."

"Good! Then let's roll out!"

Milligan walked back into the barn to put away some of his tools, and Jason soon had Lady all saddled up and ready. With that, they struck out across the prairie, toward the small grove of trees. They were the only

trees with a hint of green still left on them, and Jason imagined that they would likely wither as soon as they were harvested, much like the grapes. In a way, it was fun to watch, and he was sorta looking forward to seeing the trees rapidly age.

As they came riding up, the two mages, wrapped in thick shawls, came ambling out to meet them. Jason dismounted and shook their hands, and Master Dominic bowed his head.

"As always, Jason, I must give you my sincere thanks for being so willing to help us in this manner."

"Oh, it's my pleasure." Jason grimaced and gave a small nod. "I just hope this all works. I'll be happy to get my family back."

"I assure you, it will." High Master Benedict confirmed. "We just finished the last of the preparatory enchantments, with the first of the stone blocks set to arrive within the next few days. That's something you'll want to see, actually, if you're able to make out."

"Wouldn't miss it." Jason flashed a smile at them. "Now, it's cold out here, and I'd like to get to work. What exactly is this new-fangled way of harvesting olives?"

"It's not altogether that new, though it is fun." Master Dominic slowly ambled into the field, leaning heavily upon his staff. "Do you have any blankets?"

"Ahh..." Jason frowned and opened up his inventory. He spent a moment scrolling through the long list of items, then paused as he reached the small section of such materials. "Yeah, I've got a few." He turned a bit red. "Now that I think about it, Tess handed them to me to pack in the carriage, back when she and the kids first left for Illumitir."

Milligan laughed, and Jason pulled three of them out. The mages smiled at the stitched patterns of unicorns and rainbows and such things, then pointed at the closest tree.

"Spread out the blankets beneath the tree, if you would."

Jason and Milligan nodded, then picked up the pile and quickly spread them out beneath the branches. It wasn't hard, since the tree was still fairly small, though its branches were laden with black and green fruit. As soon as they had it ready, Master Dominic lifted his staff and pointed it at the trunk.

"You may want to stand back for this."

The end of his staff began to glow with a bluish color, and Jason took half a dozen steps backward. With a brilliant flash, a blast of magic erupted from the staff and hit the trunk, then faded away. For a long moment, nothing happened, and Jason almost wondered if the blast had been a dud. Then, slowly, the branches of the tree began to shake.

It wasn't much at first, little more than a tremble that might come from a soft wind, but soon, they began to shake more and more. After only a few seconds, olives came tumbling down, landing on the blankets like a strange sort of rain. Jason laughed at the spectacle, and Milligan clapped his hands.

"Well, I've never seen something quite like that!" Milligan laughed and shook his head. "Every time you think you've seen it all."

The tree continued to shake until it had exhausted every last olive, at which point it grew still. The leaves changed from green to yellow, and then to brown, and Milligan and Jason rushed forward to pull the blankets out of the way. The moment they had done so, every last leaf fell, showering across the ground like a yellow sort of snow. Jason grinned, then picked up the blankets and transferred the olives into his inventory.

"Done and done!"

"Wonderful!" High Master Benedict shifted slightly. "Master Dominic, since everything seems to be well in hand, would you mind terribly if I go ahead and return to the dungeon? I'm afraid that I'm finding myself somewhat exhausted."

"Go! I'll take care of this." Master Dominic waved off his master, then started ambling to the next tree. Jason and Milligan quickly set up the blankets, and Master Dominic targeted the tree with another blast of his staff. As olives began to fall, the aged mage leaned upon his staff, and Jason glanced over at him.

"Is High Master Benedict okay?"

"Of course, of course." Master Dominic gave a small, if somewhat tired, nod. "As you get older, you become more vulnerable to the cold, as I'm sure you know. We both have to use enchantments to keep ourselves warm in this weather, though I'm afraid that he must work a good bit harder than I do. Since we don't need both of us here, it makes sense for him to conserve his strength."

"I see." Jason nodded, crossing his arms in thought. The olive tree finished dropping its olives, and he and Milligan quickly gathered up the

results, and with that, they moved on.

As they passed through the field, Jason had to admit that it was the

easiest harvest that he had ever gone through. There was little work to do except for moving the blankets, which... well... It was almost sorta boring. As they neared the halfway point through the field, Jason glanced over at Milligan.

"Do they make machines for harvesting olive, too?"

"Oh, yeah." Milligan nodded, then grinned. "Actually, it's pretty similar to what we're already doing. It has this big arm that grabs the base of the tree, and then your horse turns a shaft that makes the whole thing vibrate. It's sorta fun, but not as fun as this."

"I'd just like to keep something in mind in case the mages ever aren't available for a harvest." Jason explained at Master Dominic's sharp glance. It wasn't an untrue statement at all—though it wasn't the full truth, either.

"Don't try to hide things from a mage!" Master Dominic mock- scowled at him. "We can read minds, you know." Jason felt a flash of fear, and Master Dominic laughed. "Plus, we're old, and have seen a lot. This is your farm, and I'm doing all the work for you! That would make anyone go half-mad, I expect. Ahh..." The olive tree ahead of them finished shaking, and Jason and Milligan gathered up the crop. "Here! Hold this."

Master Dominic passed the staff to Jason, who blinked in surprise as he took hold of the weapon. It seemed to tremble with magical energy under his touch, and he slowly looked up at the end of the weapon, which was glowing softly.

"Alright..." Master Dominic walked forward and took one of the blankets from Milligan. The two of them spread out the next set of blankets, and the mage nodded to Jason. "Now, point it at the trunk of the tree. You feel that little knot in the wood? Right under your thumb? Press it gently."

Jason frowned, but did so. A small tingle shot through his hand.

[Welcome, guest! Please choose a spell to cast] [Fireball]

[Lightning Storm]

[Frost]

[Earthquake] [Minor Levitation]

[...]

"You're looking for the Earthquake spell." Master Dominic called out.

"Ahh... Okay." Jason blinked in surprise. He scrolled down to the option, then slowly selected it. "There we go."

[Earthquake has been loaded into active spell slot. Fire when ready.]

"Good! Now, you should see a little hazy dot in the middle of your vision. That's your targeting assist. Just point it at the tree and let it fly!" Master Dominic smiled.

Jason puffed out his cheeks, looking around for the dot. After a moment, he found it on the ground just behind the tree. Carefully, he turned the staff slightly, until he had lined up the weapon with the tree. The little dot bounced about, and Jason licked his lips as he let his thumb rest on the knot. Then, with a nod, he pressed it.

Flash!

A blast of light leapt from the end of the staff, flashed past the tree, and hit the fence. A resounding bong-rattle echoed through the air as the whole fence began to vibrate, and a flock of birds exploded upward from the forest not far away.

"Sorry about that." Jason grimaced.

"Don't be sorry! That's your fence you hit, not mine." Master Dominic shrugged. "Try it again, and this time, try not to twitch when you launch the spell!"

It took Jason three more shots before he hit the tree. Those three spells subsequently hit the fence again, the greenhouse, and the ground itself. When he did finally hit the tree, of course, he found that he had accidentally loaded [Frost] into the staff by mistake, and was forced to watch as all the olives slowly grew as cold as ice. The leaves withered and fell from the tree alongside the olives, and Jason sighed.

"Don't worry! We'll pay for it." Master Dominic didn't seem concerned. "Would you like to try again?"

"Nah. I appreciate it, but I'd rather not destroy my whole farm." Jason chuckled and passed the staff back over. "I do appreciate it, though!"

A smile came to his face. "Jason, the mage. Imagine that." He shook his head. "It's a mighty fine thing, though."

"Many thanks. It took me years to craft." Master Dominic looked down at the weapon, then sighed and leaned upon it once more. "If you ever do want lessons, you know you're always welcome to them. You've done plenty for us."

"Thanks, but I'll pass." Jason shook his head. "I'm not a mage, I'm just a farmer, and this is a bit beyond my pay grade."

"You wouldn't like to be able to defend yourself a bit better against orcs, or wargs?" Master Dominic pressed. Jason hesitated, and the master smiled. "Think on it, at least."

"I will." Jason promised. "In the meantime..." He drew himself up, and put on a smile. "Let's get back to work! Why are we all just standing around? The crop won't harvest itself!"

Milligan and Master Dominic both smiled, and they moved on to the next tree. No, he wasn't a mage, but he could pick up olives, at the very least.

Anything more than that, well... He would just have to leave that to the professionals.

Chapter Nineteen: Shaking House

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 77th day of Fall! So... As it turns out, my information regarding the storm last night was slightly faulty. I may have read the intensity scale backward. Instead of being SUPER powerful, it was actually super minor. Anyway, apologies for the mistake, and I hope y'all have a good last little bit of fall!]

Jason laughed as he read the note. He had forgotten about the fact that Daniel had been predicting a major storm, but now that it had been brought up once more, he knew that he'd never be able to forget it again. He rose and walked to the wardrobe, where he dressed himself and began to get ready for the day.

Rumble.

The whole house shook slightly, as if something really big had just brushed up against it. Jason froze, then slowly jogged down the stairs and stepped out onto the front porch.

A long train of wagons was coming along the road, so many of them that the hooves of the oxen were making the ground shake. Each of the wagons was piled high with grey stone, and Jason whistled. There had to have been a hundred wagons in all, and if this was just the first little bit of what the mages were going to need... Well, it certainly spoke to the magnitude of the institution that they were intending to build. The first several were rumbling through the open gate as Milligan waved them along. A handful of mages riding along with the drivers waved at Jason, and he waved back. The drivers, though, seemed to want nothing more than to get to the end of the drive. As the wagons began to rumble across the prairie and up toward the trees, Milligan trotted over to the porch.

"Well, what do you think of it?"

"It's marvelous." Jason shook his head in amazement. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

"I've seen construction projects this large, but you usually just snag a single wagon and transfer everything to an inventory. Don't get me wrong, I understand why it can't be done, what with the stone being magic and all, I just think it's incredible." Milligan whistled. "Well, boss, you want to go ride over the hill and see what they're up to?"

"I'd love to." Jason nodded, then glanced over at the field of sorghum, which was bursting with red heads. "Unfortunately, we have work to get done."

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Milligan crossed his arms. "Do you reckon they'll still be coming in by the time we're done?"

"Milligan? They'll still be coming in by the time we go to bed tonight." Jason looked up and squinted. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the line stretches all the way to Summer Shandy."

"Something like that, yup." Milligan rubbed his hands together. "Alright, boss, let's get to it! I don't really want to miss this!"

Jason smiled, and he made his way down to the barn. It took them a few minutes to get there, as they had to dodge between the constantly- moving wagons, but they made it soon enough. Milligan worked at record speed as he hitched up the horses to the harvesters, and didn't bother to wait for Jason as he struck off into the field. Jason could only shake his head as he started into the field as well, letting his blades whir to life as he tore into the crop.

Milligan was really getting to know the mages well, which was partly due to how close they lived. On top of that, from what Jason could pick up, Milligan had rarely ever met other people who shared his interests and knowledge. Jason could marvel at the odd sorts of plants that Milligan cooked up, but he couldn't have an intellectual conversation about it. Somehow, he just knew that Milligan would be joining the school as soon as he could, and Jason didn't begrudge him that fact one bit.

He did, though, wonder where he would ever find a hired man who was half as good.

Lady pulled at the machine firmly, and Jason kept an eye on the yield as they finished the first pass. It was acceptable, and he nodded in satisfaction. He had netted better yields, of course, but circumstances hadn't exactly allowed him to focus on the crop quite as well as he might have liked. Oh, well! That was life, and such things couldn't be helped from time to time.

In any case, the harvest went well, and by mid-morning, the two men had worked their way through the field and were nearing the center pass, where they traditionally met up to finish the field up. As they got closer, though, Jason caught sight of a younger mage leaning on the fence rails, watching them, even as more and more stone blocks continued to rumble up inside the farm. The mage waved at Jason, and, concerned, Jason drove over to park next to the man.

"You're Jason?" The mage asked, straightening his robes. They were a light green color, and already showed a number of dirt stains. He couldn't have been older than Jason had been when he first started farming.

"That's me." Jason gave a nod. "What's up?"

"Master Dominic and High Master Benedict thought that you and your hired man should be present for the laying of the first brick. They can't wait much longer, but they asked me to check and see if you could make it out."

"Can they give us half an hour more?" Jason asked. "I don't want to run from the ceremony, but I've got to get this field harvested today, or the crop will spoil."

"Half an hour? I think that'll be just fine." The mage waved and stepped back. "I'll let him know you're on your way!"

Jason waved back, then turned Lady toward the field once more. Milligan seemed to have sensed the gist of the conversation, and practically flew through the last little bit of the harvest. Doing so almost certainly lowered the yield slightly, as a smaller percentage of the seeds were gathered at high speeds, but Jason could forgive his hired man for his enthusiasm. The moment that they were done, Milligan drove back to the shed and started unhitching the harvesters.

"You mind if I get these locked away properly later this evening?" Milligan asked.

"Not at all." Jason laughed as he started undoing straps and latches as well. "I'm right behind you, get going!"

Milligan and Dusty soon raced off across the prairie, with Jason in hot pursuit as soon as he finished detaching the harvester. When they both arrived, they found Master Dominic waiting for them, a smile on his face.

"Ahh! You came! Forgive us, we didn't mean to rush you through your harvest."

"No, forgive us! We didn't mean to make you wait." Jason smiled. "We're eager to see it, though."

"Well, come on down! You've got front-row seats."

Master Dominic quickly led the two of them down past the assortment of wagons that was now spread across the prairie. A small path had been carved into the edge of the forest, which they entered quietly. As they passed deeper into the woods, Jason noticed that the two mages really had been doing a lot of work. A great many paths had been cleared out, wandering here and there across the area, with even a few new clearings hollowed out amongst the trees. It looked to him like they were mapping out the boundaries of the compound, drawing up walls and corridors and such, and if that was the case, the project really was going to be enormous. A wide path had been cut to allow the wagons to pass all the way down to the dungeon entrance. As Jason arrived there, he had to whistle slightly.

A massive clearing had been hollowed out at that location, while the dungeon stone (which was probably fifty feet tall, and had fallen over in the Painted Dragon incident) had been placed back upright. A wide body of mages stood around the clearing, while High Master Benedict stood just next to the dungeon pit. A single wagon had been pulled down next to him, and he waved Jason and Milligan to come stand just beside it.

"Men and women who have gathered here today!" High Master Benedict began speaking as soon as Jason and Milligan were in place. "You all know why we're here, so I'll not waste my limited breath explaining it all once again. What many of you do not know are these two men, Jason and Milligan. Both of them have been instrumental in making this happen. Jason, in particular, allowed his family to travel to safety without him, braving the dangers of the orcs by himself, in order to give us a chance. If you see him in passing, he is to be commended."

Jason felt heat rising to his cheeks as the mages all began to applaud. He didn't really like to be the center of attention. Thankfully, the master seemed to notice this, and changed the subject.

"We will now ceremonially lay the first stone of our new academy. Will silence please prevail?"

The entire crowd fell dead silent, and High Master Benedict slowly raised his staff. The end of the staff began to glow, and slowly, the large block of granite in the wagon rose up into the air. It rotated as it floated along, orienting itself with the ground and the dungeon. Then, slowly, it

began to drop down. High Master Benedict muttered a few words, and it came to rest on the ground just next to the dungeon's entrance.

The moment it touched down, a great flash of light exploded through the clearing, and the mages all cheered. As it died away, Jason found the stone covered in glowing veins of light, holding it firmly in place. A smile came to his own face, and he crossed his arms.

"There." High Master Benedict turned away as more wagons began to rumble down to the clearing while the mages all rushed to look into the old dungeon. "The cornerstone has been laid. Now, all that is left is to build the rest."

"Well, as always, just let me know what you need." Jason shrugged. "I'm here for you."

"I know you are." High Master Benedict smiled warmly. "And may a thousand blessing come upon you for that very support."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Jason to stand there, contemplating the stone. It was so strange, the way that things were happening, but... It wasn't bad, he supposed. Now that the foundation was down, construction could begin in earnest over the winter.

He only hoped that it would be enough to bring clarity by the next spring.

Chapter Twenty: Last Day of Fall

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 91st day of Fall! It's the day of the Fall Festival!!!!! Come out and enjoy your time here, and that's an order! No need to worry, there's absolutely no chance of an orcish attack. At all. Whatsoever.]

Jason slowly rolled out of bed. He had the oddest feeling that the message actually meant that there was a very high chance of an orcish attack, but he wasn't going to call out Daniel directly. Hopefully, it was something as simple as a few orcs being seen in the area, and Daniel intended to clear them out before the festivities began. If that wasn't the case, he supposed that they would find out just how well-equipped Summer Shandy was to repel an orcish attack.

He got dressed quickly and made his way downstairs, where he had a Blueberry Cream Cheese waffle before heading out into the farmyard. The air was frigid, almost as cold as it would be when winter came, and he shuddered. Milligan was scattering feed for the chickens, and he waved at his hired man.

"You coming up for the festival?" Jason asked as he headed up for the barn. "I know it's not exactly your cup of tea, but—"

"Yeah, I actually will." Milligan nodded. "The mages didn't really get to see the party last time, and they were hoping that they could go up and really experience a bit of Summer Shandy hospitality."

"Well, you won't find a better time or place to do it." Jason nodded with a smile. "Bring them on up as soon as you're ready."

"Will do, boss!" Milligan saluted, then paused. "Oh, and by the way, they wanted me to let you know that shipments of stone should be arriving every Monday throughout the whole of winter. They hope to have the dormitories built by the third week or so, at which point a handful of other mages will be moving out here to help with the process."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Jason smiled as he began saddling up Lady. "At this point, I'm not asking all that many questions. They can do what they want to do, I'll just grow the crops."

Milligan laughed and waved, and with that, Jason rode out for Summer Shandy.

As he loped up across the prairie, he sighed in contentment. It was the perfect final day of fall, to be certain. Cold and crisp, with the brown grass surrounding him like a sea. Everything was ready for the long slog of winter, everything was ready for the onslaught that would soon come upon it. He sighed in contentment as he contemplated the mystery, then rode a bit faster up into town.

As he clattered into the town square, he found the place abuzz with excitement. The smell of food from the Guild Hall was a bit less burnt than at the previous festival, while the decorations were a bit less lopsided. Daniel and Obadiah stood at the town well directing traffic, and both of them waved as Jason came riding up.

"Not too shabby." Jason nodded approvingly at their surroundings.

"We'll get it figured out!" Obadiah nodded firmly. "By the time the womenfolk come back, we'll be able to get along just fine without them."

"Yeah, I'm still ready for them to get here." Jason chuckled and shook his head. "When are the orcs coming, Daniel?"

"I reckon they'll be here about mid-day." Daniel answered, then froze. "Ahh... What orcs? There are no orcs coming. Of course not."

"Daniel." Jason crossed his arms. "Are we in danger?"

"Technically we're always in danger of something happening." Daniel answered, holding up his hands. "An asteroid could fall out of the sky, or a venomous snake could come out of the grass and bite you, or—"

"Daniel!"

Daniel sighed and nodded. "There was a small band of orcs sighted in the area, headed for Summer Shandy, but I'll drive them off. Nothing to worry about. Like I said, they won't be here until mid-day, so-"

Thwick!

An arrow flashed past Jason's shoulder and hit Daniel in the face. The arrowhead stuck in his nose, making the warrior sneeze rather powerfully. He frowned, then bent down and picked up the snot-covered arrow, making Jason and Obadiah both flinch backward slightly.

"Hmm..." Daniel lifted the arrow and squinted down at the head. "It's crude in design... Maybe goblin-made?"

All around, people began to scream. Jason wheeled around as orcs began to come up from all sides, blocking the roads leading out of town. They were all armed with clubs and battle axes, and had fierce glares upon their piggish faces.

"No... Maybe they're troll-made? Hard to tell. These little lines..." "Daniel?" Obadiah called out. "Just get up and fight the orcs." Daniel sighed and slowly climbed to his feet. "Alright, alright,

enough with the nagging." He twirled the arrow around his fingers a few times, then threw it like a dart at the closest orc. The weapon slammed into the thing's chest, and with a groan, the monster groaned and fell to the side.

"Hey!" Daniel grinned. "I just got a new achievement! [Snot Bad]! It's awarded when you kill something using—"

"Daniel!" Jason barked. "Fight!"

With that, chaos exploded all around them. Civilians rushed to the cover of homes and stores while a handful of warriors came charging out of the Guild Hall, weapons gleaming in the air. Jason stayed right where he was, knowing that he would be helpless pretty much anywhere. Here, at least, all the warriors could see him.

"You'd best get going, though." He climbed down and whacked Lady on the rump. She scampered off, rushing between the orcish lines, and Jason crouched down next to the well.

Arrows flashed down from the sky as distant orcish archers fired willy-nilly over the rooftops. The great orcish warriors tore into the town, ripping up gates and fences, smashing in doors, and more. Daniel led the charge against them, hewing their heads from their necks with every swing of his sword. Warriors rallied behind him, and for a moment, the battle seemed more or less deadlocked.

"You alright?" Obadiah dropped back from the front lines and crouched next to Daniel. He pulled out a silver rifle, which he raised and pointed up over the roof of the Guild Hall. An orcish archer had just climbed up into view, and with that, he fired. A blast of magic erupted from the barrel and hit the monster in the chest, making it turn to stone as it aimed. It looked rather impressive, really, almost as if it had been planned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jason nodded, drawing out his pistol. It wouldn't do anything, sure, but it made him feel better. "How much danger are we in,

do you think?"

"Hard to say." Obadiah murmured. "Daniel will be able to drive

them all off, I'm certain of that, but he can't be everywhere at once, so the question is how many people will die before he can—"

Thump!

With a loud clatter, Daniel came crashing down in the square just in front of the well. He groaned and sat back up, and Jason blinked in surprise.

Daniel was sporting a black eye.

Obadiah's jaw dropped, and all around them, the scene froze. Slowly, an orc walked up into the town. He was an enormous beast, well over seven feet tall, and rippled with muscle from head to foot. Long claws extended from each finger and toe, while his tusks must have been a good six inches long. Spittle and drool oozed down from his mouth, and he snarled softly.

"Residents of Summer Shandy, you are hereby informed that this land now falls under the jurisdiction of Clan Skullcrusher."

"Ahh, no. No, we don't." Daniel slowly climbed back to his feet. "We belong to the Illumitir province, and swear allegiance to it and only to it. There are issues with the governances of Illumitir, don't get me wrong, and Jeremiah would have happily led a rebellion against them, but—"

"Silence, fool." The orc snarled. "All across your precious province, on this day, the last day of fall, orcs are rising up. Villages are falling. Orcish clans will control the entire landscape by the time that winter comes. You are not alone, you are one of many. If you do resist us, you will only be crushed in due turn, and will not be shown the mercy you are being given now. Surrender, and submit."

"Not going to happen!" Daniel snarled and rushed forward, preparing his enormous sword. The orc didn't move, and Daniel sprang up into the air, performing an attack that Jason was certain would ordinarily be powerful enough to level mountains.

Unfortunately, all it did was snap the sword in two as it hit the orc's neck.

Slivers of metal exploded across the town square like bullets. Two orcs collapsed as they were struck through the heart by the shrapnel, and Daniel fell to his knees. The leader orc snarled, reached out, and grabbed Daniel around the neck.

"You are nothing." He snarled softly. "Humanity will yield to the might of the orcs. Now yield, or perish."

With that, he spun and flung Daniel down onto the cobbles next to the town well. Jason gulped slightly, and the orc drew himself upward. The warriors were all trembling in their boots, and looked ready to flee.

"Orcs! Prepare to destroy this village." The leader snarled. "On my mark. One. Two."

Daniel glanced behind the orc, where he could see several horses galloping like mad up the road. It looked to him like one of them was Dusty, which likely meant that the mages were on their way, too. He had to stall the army, if only for long enough for the mages to arrive.

"Hold up!" Jason stood up and pointed his pistol at the orc's head. "You're forgetting something."

"Oh, I am?" The orc paused, seemingly ready to humor the pathetic little bug in front of him. "And what am I forgetting?"

"A vote!" Jason shrugged. "This province is set as a democracy. It has been ever since the days of Southern Illis. If you want to destroy the village and set it up as Clan Skullbreaker, then—"

"Skullcrusher."

"Well, that will need to be voted on as well." Jason shrugged. "Now, all in favor of electing... What's your name?"

"BloodTooth." The orc growled.

"Perfect. All in favor of electing BloodTooth as the constable of Summer Shandy?" Jason looked around. A few of the orcs raised their hands, but none of the humans did. "And there you have it! That's far from a majority, so I'm afraid you'll just have to leave."

BloodTooth snarled and slowly began walking forward. "Just what are you trying to do?"

Jason shrugged as Daniel climbed to his feet just next to him. "Stall."

Magic exploded around BloodTooth, and the mighty orcish leader was sucked away an instant later. With that, Daniel let out a war cry, and the battle commenced once more.

Bolts of fire and lightning and frost erupted through the air as the mages arrived and joined the fight, and the warriors rose up as one. Jason stood there in the midst, watching as the battle for Summer Shandy raged on. It was a wonderful thing to see, but... well... It only solidified the

feeling in his gut that the war against the orcs was far from over. All he wanted to do was see his family again. All he wanted to do was kick out the orcs for good.

And he was rapidly becoming willing to do anything necessary to accomplish that goal.

Chapter Twenty-One: First Day of Winter

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 1st day of Winter! It's a cold one today, folks, but I reckon you already know that fact! Let's see... No snow expected for a week or more at least, so until that time, just settle in and enjoy the freezing temperatures, the barren prairie, and the general lack of community that comes from running from building to building just as fast as you can get there!]

Jason stretched as he rolled out of bed. His body ached, but he knew he needed to get up and about. He would sleep that night. Hopefully. Slowly, he walked over to his wardrobe and dressed, then wearily made his way down the stairs.

"Morning, boss." Milligan yawned and stretched, nodding to a plate of waffles sitting on the table. They were peanut butter waffles, which weren't Jason's favorite, but he didn't complain as he sat down and tucked in. "When did you get to bed last night?"

"They sent me back home... I don't even know for sure. I know it had changed from fall to winter, but that's all I know." He shrugged. "Lots of damage from that raid, for sure."

"What's your plan for today?" Milligan asked.

"Meh. It's winter, so I'll mostly just be doing repair work around the farm anyway." Jason answered. "I sorta figured I'd go back into town and see if I could help rebuild things."

"I'll go with you, if you don't mind."

Fifteen minutes later, dressed in thick overcoats, gloves, winter boots, and more, the two men rode off for Summer Shandy. Neither spoke as they made their way up toward the town, but then... Neither of them needed to.

The battle for Summer Shandy had raged for several hours, all told. BloodTooth hadn't returned, which was fortunate, but several other larger orcish generals had come out of the woodworks, which had taken Daniel

quite a bit of time to knock down. The buildings had taken rather hefty damage during the battle, which left the town in quite a sorry shape, to be certain.

As Jason and Milligan rode into town, they found the place a hive of activity as everyone tried to work on patching it all back up. Men carried boards and tools and all sorts of other things back and forth, hammering patches across broken windows and setting doors back in place. A few masons cemented bricks back into chimneys, while another group worked on resetting cobblestones that had come loose. Obadiah leaned against the town well, looking more than a little exhausted, and rubbed his eyes.

"Have you slept since the last time I saw you?" Jason rode up to him and dismounted.

"Not exactly." Obadiah shook his head wearily.

"Then go get some rest." Jason ordered.

"You're not my wife or my dad, and your stats are about as high as

an F-ranked slime." Obadiah drew himself a bit more upright. "You have no authority to tell me anything." After a moment, he grimaced and lowered his voice. "Truth be told, we're in a world of hurt around here. Daniel took a lot more of a beating than he let on during the battle. He passed out as soon as the fight was over, Theresa has been treating him ever since. Sounds like it's a pretty touch-and-go sort of operation."

Jason whistled softly, and Obadiah nodded.

"I figure that if the townsfolk can see me out here, they might not notice that he's missing."

"Makes sense." Jason murmured. "Alright, then. Tell me where I'm needed, and I'll be there."

"If you could help patch up the item shop, I'd sure appreciate it."

Jason nodded, then walked over to the item store. There, a handful of boards had been piled against the wall next to several large cracks, but no work had actually been done yet. Jason frowned as he looked it over, then started in. Milligan joined him a moment later.

They started by pulling away all the damaged wood, opening up a larger hole into the interior of the building. Thankfully, no one was inside to complain about the sudden cold. Once that was done, the two men began sawing boards into the proper length, and put them back up to cover the gap.

It was a simple task, but took far more time than Jason might have thought. Several hours into things, as they worked their way toward the end, Obadiah came over to them and lifted a new board into place. Milligan started hammering, and Jason lowered his voice.

"So, Obadiah, how exactly was that orc able to whip Daniel so badly? I thought Daniel was as strong as you could get."

"A lot of people think the same thing." Obadiah murmured. "The fact of the matter is that it's not quite true. When it comes to warriors, you have ranks 1 through 100. Simple. When you level all the way up to 100, you have the option of resetting your level to 1, but gaining the rank of S. If you work it all the way up to 100 again, you can reset it once more to gain SS status, and so on. Daniel is a Level 80 SSS warrior, which puts him in the top 0.001% of warriors ever. That said, it is technically possible to raise your level higher."

"How many S's can you add?" Jason asked.

"Three. After that, you go to S, then S, then SS, then SS, then SSS, up to SSS. I don't believe that anyone has ever gotten that high in known history ever, but it is possible." Obadiah glanced at Jason, then continued. "Anyway, what the mages were telling me is that the orc, BloodTooth, had a skill that made him exactly one rank higher than whoever he was facing. Since Daniel is SSS, that bumped him up to S, which is fantastically powerful."

"I see." Jason's head whirled.

"Look, we'll worry about how to kill him when he returns." Obadiah answered. "You worry about your crops, we'll worry about the war effort."

Milligan hammered in another nail. "Speaking of that, how is the war? That orc was talking like the entire province was going to fall."

"I wish we knew. I've been sending out letters, but nothing has come back. That, of course, could be good, or it could be tremendously bad." Obadiah shrugged. "I'll let everyone know as soon as I know something, I promise you that, but until I know more, I just don't want to speak on it."

"Fair enough." Jason nodded with a smile. "We won't bug you, then."

Obadiah held up another board for them, which finished off the patch that they had been installing. When that was done, Obadiah directed

them to head over to the stables, where the orcs had torn off a number of the doors in order to kill and eat the horses. A few of the doors had already been reset, but the majority of them were still either hanging crooked or had been smashed to splinters. Jason and Milligan set to work as quickly as they could, installing new hinges on the doors that could be hung, and making a list of supplies that would be needed to rebuild the doors that had been broken too badly.

"Alright..." Jason frowned as he tossed the remains of yet another broken door out onto a growing pile. "That one is going to take ten two-by- fours and five two-by-eights."

"How many nails?"

"Oh... Let's say forty, and then if we have too many, we'll be better off than if we estimate low."

Milligan nodded and started writing on a small notebook, and Jason turned to gaze at the broken buildings.

And in that moment, he saw something.

It was small, but it glittered inside one of the stables. He paused, then slowly walked forward and bent down. A bit of straw had fallen across it, which he brushed away.

Sitting there on the ground was an orcish totem. It was made of wood, and was carved into the likeness of a distorted sort of face. Jason could feel the powerful dark energies radiating off the thing, and he shuddered and backed up slightly.

"Everything alright, Jason?" Milligan walked over.

"Maybe." Jason slowly reached out and picked it up. His arm grew cold at the touch of it, even through his thick gloves. "Come on. Where's Obadiah?"

It didn't take them long to find the exhausted constable, who was leaning up against the wall of his office, eyes partly closed. They snapped wide open when Jason held out the totem, though, and he whistled softly.

"Now that's a find." He took it from Jason's hand and winced slightly. "Has a bite to it, too."

"I thought you should see it. I also think we should destroy it." Jason frowned in thought at the thing.

"Not a bad idea, but I'd rather like to know what we're doing before I just start in and blow up the village by accident." Obadiah murmured.

"Can you let your mage friends know what we found? I imagine that they'll know more about it than I will."

"For sure." Jason nodded. "I don't know when they'll have time to come out here, but I'll ask."

"Much obliged, Jason." Obadiah turned to walk back into his office. "For now, I'll get it into my safe. It's magically shielded, so the orcs shouldn't be able to detect it even if they do come back."

Jason gave a wave, then turned back to the town. There were dozens of other projects that still needed done, and he squared his shoulders.

"Well, Milligan, should we head over to the item shop and see about rebuilding those doors?"

"Lead the way."

As they walked off, Jason sighed deeply. The town would bounce back, it always did, but he did hate seeing it torn apart. Oh, well. Adversity always made a person stronger, at least that's what he had always been told. If Summer Shandy managed to come through this trial, well... They were bound to be just about as strong as you could possibly imagine.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Snow Fall

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 6th day of Winter! We've got loads and loads of snow today, y'all! Yeah, that's really about it. Snow, snow, more snow... Yeah! No orcs, though, which is good. Honestly, I doubt we'll see many orcs this winter. All they wear are those puny loincloths, so like... With all that exposed skin, they have to be cold, right?]

Jason chuckled as he rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. The air was warm and merry, and as he walked up to the windows, he looked out across a wonderful white landscape. The snow had started falling the night before, and had been coming down hard and fast ever since then. It had to be almost three feet deep in some places now. Of course, that made things all the more difficult for the drivers of the granite wagons, but they were making do. Since it was a Monday, a shipment was on its way to the dungeon. Mages stood on the front of each wagon, using their staffs to launch fireballs to burn away the snow. A few of them actually seemed to be making flurries around their wagons to blow the snow away. It was kinda cool to watch, and Jason sat there for what felt like an hour or two just staring out the window.

"Jason!"

Milligan's voice echoed up the stairs, and Jason turned and made his way down to the kitchen. His hired man was stamping snow off his boots, and swung a small satchel off his shoulder.

"What's this?" Jason asked as he took the packet from Milligan.

"Letters from Illumitir." Milligan smiled at him. "As you know, letters are transferred instantly between destinations located within the same township, but they have to be manually sent from the constable's office to constable's office. I went into town early for a few supplies, and Obadiah caught me and asked for help sorting the mail. I figured I'd bring yours to you personally."

"Many thanks." Jason opened up the satchel and dumped out a handful of letters from Tess and the kids. A warm glow filled his heart, and he started to walk into the living room, all thoughts of breakfast forgotten. "Speaking of things being transferred, how are things going on the whole orcish-war front?"

"Near as I can tell, it's a whole lot of mixed-up stuff." Milligan grimaced. "Obadiah doesn't want to talk about it too much, but it sounds like the orcs managed to secure a few victories across the land. Around us, Darkwater fell to the NightClaw clan. Nightford managed to successfully repel their attack, Hearthfire wasn't attacked at all, Sweet Springs fell to the Dead Prey clan, Redwater Banks managed to come through alright, and so on. Obadiah and Daniel have been managing some efforts to free the towns that got taken over." He shrugged. "I dunno. He didn't seem too interested in talking to a non-combatant, though he was mighty eager to see if he could entice the mages to help out."

"Wild." Jason sat down on his couch and held the letters in his hands. For a long moment, he didn't open them. Milligan smiled and doffed his hat.

"I'll be running along, then. Enjoy the letters."

He vanished a moment later, and Jason leaned back on the couch and slit open the first letter. It was from Tess, and a warm smile came over his face.

"Hi Jason! I love you so much, and I miss you more than I can possibly tell you. I don't have room on the page to fill it full of sap, though, so here's the news. The girls are doing really well in school. Both of them have top marks from their teachers, though they're apparently a bit 'disruptive' in class. I get the feeling that they'd probably be kicked out, except for the fact that their grades are so high, and they're a year ahead of where they're supposed to be. They're so bored, that's for sure, but they're doing their level best to hold it all together. We had a miniature fall festival here with your family, which I think the girls enjoyed. Your family didn't quite understand why we were bothering to do it, but they thought it was fun enough.

"Between the money that you're sending me and some help that your dad has been giving me, I've been able to stay home with the twins, which has been nice. A few people keep trying to convince me to get a job, especially with the older girls out of the house going to school, but I just

don't know what I'd do. There aren't any guildmaster positions open, and I don't want to go back into dungeon-delving with all the kids depending on me. I'm happy enough just keeping your mom's house clean, and she seems to appreciate it, too. Might take up weaving. I dunno. I wish I was out on the farm again, but more than that, I just wish you were here.

Oh! I suppose I should probably tell you all about the twins. They're growing like weeds, no doubt about it. They've both started eating solid foods, and can sorta say 'ma-ma.' You won't recognize them by the time you see them again. I know that'll just make you sad, so I'm sorry about that, but I do want you to know they're growing well!

"Update: I was just getting ready to send this out, first day of winter, and we got word of all the orcish attacks. I'm worried sick about you, Jason. Sounds like a few little communities just got plastered by the orcs. There haven't been any attacks against Illumitir, but there have been a lot of reports of orcish scouts seen in the surrounding hills. It sounds to me like they're scoping the place out, looking for an opening. I just hope they don't find one. I guess we'll see. Hope this letter gets to you alright. Let me know as soon as you get this! Love, Tess."

Jason sighed as he finished the letter, then set it to the side. He desperately wanted to jump up and write a letter that very instant, but with how busy Obadiah was going to be, it wouldn't make any difference if he sent it right at that moment, or later that evening. He wanted to read all the letters first, and then he would write a single response. Carefully, he opened up the next letter and smiled as he found Fern's handwriting.

"Daddy! Miss you so much! Rachel and I have been very good. School is very boring, and we only learn about stupid things. Mommy says I shouldn't call things stupid, but I don't understand why we need to know why rain falls. The water cycle works the same way whether or not I know about it. I'd rather learn about how to grow plants or fight orcs or something useful.

"Outside of school has been really boring, too, but we're finding ways of getting by. Rachel and I managed to build a fort down in one of the sewers, where we've built a handful of cages and have started taming and training the rats. This time we're being more careful not to let anyone else find out. Well, mommy knows, but she's agreed to help protect us and keep it safe. We're training the rats to attack orcs, anyway, so it's useful, not just for fun.

"Umm... Let's see. The fall festival was last night. That was lots of fun, though not quite as good as back home. We played lots of games. I beat Grandma at chess and checkers and ping-pong, but she beat me at cribbage. I helped grandma make some food, too! Side note: Most people don't make their own food here!!! They just buy it pre-made from the store. Some of it is good, but mostly it's just gross. Okay, that's all I can think of. Bye, daddy! Hope to see you soon!!!"

Jason sighed in contentment, then slowly lowered the letter and opened up the third envelope. This one was from Rachel, and was far simpler.

"Hi Daddy! I love you so much. Please come back soon!"

Jason smiled, then put that letter aside as well and sighed in contentment. After a moment, he rose and walked over to the writing desk, where he slowly sat down.

"Tess, it was great to hear from you. I really can't tell you how lovely it was to read all of these.

"First off, let me assure you that I'm alive and well. There was an attack against Summer Shandy, and a bad one, but the mages helped drive it away. Daniel took a beating, which ought to tell you everything you need to know, but he survived and is mostly back to normal. His confidence was shaken a bit, but I think he'll recover it in time. Since then we've just been rebuilding. A whole bunch of buildings got brand-new holes knocked in them, and it's been cold, so getting them put back together has been a top priority. As far as news goes, the mages are hard at work on building their little fortress. They're hoping to have it mostly operational by spring, and at least partly operational here within just a month or so. They're good men, Tess, and they're confident that they can get everything sorted out, just as soon as they can figure out what's going on."

Jason paused, then launched into a long description of everything happening on the farm. It took him almost four sheets of paper before he came to an end, where he licked the tip of the pen as he paused and tried to come up with the right words to say.

"I know you know this, but it's really hard being out here all by myself. I can't wait until you get back home, all of you. I'm hopeful that the mages can help bring that dream to reality, and sooner rather than later. I'll send word as soon as I have any updates on that front, you can trust me on that."

As he finished up the letter, he folded it tightly, licked the envelope, and sealed it shut. Slowly, he looked up at the drifting snow and the brief flashes of light as the mages fought their way through.

"We're working on getting you guys back here, Tess." He whispered to the air. "I promise we are.

Chapter Twenty-Three: White Blanket

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 13th day of Winter! Lots of snow, snow, and more snow, y'all! Expect another storm later this week, probably day 15 or 16, but it's hard to gauge this far out. Otherwise, just enjoy the time! Oh, and if anyone wants to have a snowman contest in the town square, you're more than welcome to do so!]

Jason slowly rolled out of bed and rose, stretching and yawning. As he walked up to the window, he found the farmyard under a blanket of white, with a few more flakes drifting down, though not a lot. It was Monday again, so more granite wagons were appearing down the road, slowly rumbling across the farm. His window faced north, so he couldn't actually see the structure, but he knew that it was now visible from the farmyard. It was really turning into something, that was for sure.

He stayed there in the window for a moment longer, then walked to his wardrobe, dressed, and made his way downstairs. Milligan stepped inside through the back door just as Jason sat down at the table, ready to enjoy a Rainbow Dazzle Waffle. He frankly didn't know much about the dish, save that he had been nervous to try it for some time, but finally worked up the courage to give it a whirl.

"Morning, boss." Milligan closed the door with a flurry of snow. "What's the word today?"

"Today, we're going to take a crack at that barn door." Jason crossed his arms. "I've been putting it off for too long, and all my other projects are done, which doesn't leave me with much of an excuse."

Milligan chuckled a bit at that. "It's going to be a beast of a project."

"Johan used something like fifty men to get that door set in place, and we're going to have to do it with two of us." Jason shook his head. "But enough putting it off. You ready?"

"Let me snag some food, and I'll be right there."

Jason and Milligan both finished up their waffles (Jason found his choice to actually be quite good. The rainbow was made with seven different types of fruit, all of which blended together rather excellently), then headed outside into the cold. It was one of the coldest days of winter yet, but somehow, with the snow falling all around, it didn't feel terrible. As the two men approached the barn, Jason tilted back his head and looked up at the enormous edifice, then scratched the back of his neck.

There wasn't really a question to be answered about whether or not the door needed to be replaced. The scratch marks from the warg had damaged several of the inner support beams, which over the ensuing weeks had become so warped that the door couldn't even close all the way. The whole thing hung at an angle, and Jason sighed.

"Alright, Milligan. I think I'll go up the inside and pull the pins, and we'll let it fall. After that, we'll start trying to figure out what can be saved and what needs to be replaced."

"You're the boss."

Jason gave his hired man a nod, then strode into the barn. There, he walked to the edge of the doorframe and began to climb up the side of the wall. He could use the broad cross-planks as a sort of ladder, and while it wasn't as good as the actual ladders that Johan had installed here and there, it worked well enough. Soon, he arrived at the top of the doorframe, where he could just see the rail that the door's wheels were set upon. The rail was technically on the outside of the barn, of course, but Johan had built several windows through which he could access the structure if necessary. Carefully, he reached through and began to undo the screws on the wheels, wincing as each one came out.

When he undid the last one, there was a soft thump as the door shifted, and he called out to Milligan. "Timber!"

The door creaked, then began to fall outward. There was a mighty whoosh, followed by a resounding thud. The barn shuddered, and Jason climbed down just as quickly as he could.

The impact of the barn door, which was a good thirty feet tall and just as wide, had blasted a great deal of snow across the yard and up against the house. One of the granite wagons had been covered in the snow, where a stunned mage was burning away the snow slowly and purposefully. Jason gave the man a wave, then turned to the door.

"Alright." Milligan was already walking up and down the length of the enormous door. "This is going to be quite a job."

"What are we looking at?" Jason walked alongside Milligan, crossing his arms as he looked down at the thing. Now that it was a bit less vertical, he could get a better feel for what was there, and he had to admit that he didn't rightly know how they were going to be able to get the thing done. "I know what I'm seeing, but I'd like your opinion, too."

"Well..." Milligan gestured at the door. "First things first, we'll have to take out that whole support beam, I think this one, too. The diagonal one is still intact but it's bending, I think we'll have to do that one, too. After that, we'll need to replace all the vertical planks from... here to here." Milligan pointed at them. "That's five vertical planks, two supports, one diagonal."

"That's half the door." Jason whistled as he crouched down next to the door. "What dimension do you reckon these planks are, anyhow? They're sure not 2x4's."

Milligan frowned as he knelt next to the wood as well, measuring with his fingers. "I'd say they're at least twelve inches wide by four deep."

"12x4. That's not a size I would imagine that they carry up in Summer Shandy." Jason crossed his arms and tried to think. "They'll have to order it, I just bet. Johan cut all these things custom from the wood of that forest out there, which means the replacements will need to be custom as well."

Milligan grimaced, then stood back up. "Then here's what I propose. One of us takes the measurements and heads into town to get supplies ordered. The other one starts ripping this thing apart, which I imagine will not be easy."

"I think I'd rather just get attacked by another warg." Jason muttered. "You take the measurements and head in. You have connections that can get us the wood faster, I'm sure. I'll start pulling this all apart. On the bright side, having to wait for supplies means that we don't have to do this all in one day."

"Yeah!" Milligan brightened. "Future-Milligan and Future-Jason can deal with the problem instead."

"They'll hate us, for sure, but there's not all that much we can do about it anyway." Jason shrugged. "Well, hop to it. Try not to spend too

much on it, but we also need this barn door, so don't skimp if it's necessary."

Milligan gave another nod, then pulled a tape measure out of his inventory and started taking measurements of the door. When he finished, he mounted up on Dusty and rode off toward town, galloping up through the snow against the flow of the wagons coming down from the settlement.

Jason watched him go, then pulled out a claw hammer and set to work. He started by detaching the vertical planks, since they were the most critical, and the easiest place to get going. As he touched the claw to the first nail, there was a flash of light. The nail landed in the snow, and his arm exploded with exhaustion.

"Whew! Now that's a nail." He whistled. "I usually don't feel this bad until I've gotten through a dozen or two."

Still, there was nothing to be done about it, and he began working his way down the row, pulling out all the nails that he possibly could. Thankfully, the action was so simple that it didn't use up any of his Available Actions, leaving him more free later to work on other projects. Less thankfully, every single nail that he yanked out was excruciating, and he was soon gasping in pain as his muscles rebelled. Nails used for barn doors were brutes, that was for sure, each one clocking in at a good eight inches long and covered in barb-like structures that held the nail in place once it was hammered in. They were not designed to come apart, that was for sure.

"Jason! You look like you're about to collapse." Master Dominic came shuffling up, leaning upon his staff in the midst of the snow. Interestingly, he stood in a small pocket of bare ground, with the thick layer of snow parting ahead of him and closing behind him as he moved. "Anything I can help with?"

"I feel like I'm about to collapse." Jason whistled as he yanked out the last nail, and the first of the broken boards fell to the ground. "See me from the top of your tower over there?"

He turned and nodded to the forest, where a cylindrical tower was slowly rising up above the trees, climbing toward the sky slowly and carefully. As he watched, a stone block floated up into the air and settled down on top of the thing, though it was so distant that it looked like little more than a grain of sand.

"No, no! Though I can certainly understand why you might think that." Master Dominic smiled and shook his head. "Truth be told, one of my drivers told me about the incident with the door, so I thought I would come see if I could be of assistance. Milligan is fascinated by our way of doing things, but I, in turn, find myself quite fascinated with the way that you, Jason, do things."

"I don't know why." Jason snorted. "All I do is use my muscles and get told I need to use my head more." Feeling a bit more rested, he bent down and yanked out another nail. "Whew! This is going to be the end of me."

Master Dominic frowned, then reached out with his staff and tapped the door. A small status window appeared in the air in front of his face, though it was inverted from where Jason was standing, so he couldn't tell exactly what it said. After a moment, though, Master Dominic nodded.

"I see the issue. You've got quite the project ahead of you."

"You can say that again." Jason muttered.

"That said, I might have something that can help." Master Dominic

opened up his inventory and fished around for a moment, then pulled out a small pistol. "We were going to give this to you for Christmas, but seeing as how you seem in need of it, I think we could go ahead and let you have it now."

"What is it?" Jason took the weapon. It was a revolver with a long barrel, a sleek object that glimmered in the light. It was heavy in his hand, and seemed to tremble with some sort of magic.

"It's... You might call it a staff modified for your own use." Master Dominic winked at him. "Here are some bullets for it."

He passed a small satchel over to Jason, who opened it up. Inside were a wide variety of bullets, all with different colors of lead. There were reds and blues and greens and pinks and all sorts of others.

"For this particular case, I'd advise using the light blue one."

Jason shrugged, then popped one of the light blue bullets into the chamber and pulled back the hammer. A bit uncertain, he pointed it at the wood and squeezed the trigger.

Bam!

The shot echoed through the farmstead, and the whole door began to glow with a light blue aura.

[Repair Mode activated. Please specify what you'd like to fix.]

Jason blinked. "Ahh... The door?"

[This spell only contains 5 mana. Full repair would take 100 mana. Please specify one portion.]

"Hmm. This piece right here?"

It took a little bit of guesswork before Jason managed to figure out how to make the spell work, but once he did, a chunk of the damage was repaired without any further issues, and he whistled softly.

"Now that's quite a tool."

"I think you'll find it useful. If there's ever a spell you think you'd like to try out, or if you run out of the ones you have, please do let us know." Master Dominic turned around. "You've been more than helpful, and we want to repay you however we can."

With that, the old mage wandered down and away from the barn, and Jason felt a smile come to his face. He still didn't want to be a mage, didn't want to be anything but a farmer... But that certainly didn't mean he couldn't use magic every now and again. Especially if it was magic that he could shoot out of a gun.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Bag of Letters

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 30th day of Winter! Alright, y'all, we're one month into things! Well, into winter. I know some of you don't like winter, don't like all the cold and the frost and the ice and the snow and the bitter chill, but I just have to say that... Well, I don't like it either, but I'm trying to stay positive!]

Jason stretched and slowly rolled out of bed. The air was warm, and held a certain life to it. He smiled as he walked up to the window, looking out across the farmyard. Everything was covered in a thick layer of frost and ice, giving him more than enough reason to stay inside for the day. The previous evening, he had received another bag of letters from Tess and the kids, which meant that he could easily sit around all day writing a return letter.

He quickly dressed for the day and started down the stairs, only to hear something rattle in the mailbox as soon as he reached the kitchen. A smile came across his face, and he quickly walked over to the front door. Another letter from Tess, perhaps?

"Obadiah." Jason murmured as he pulled the envelope out of the box and read the sender's name. "What's he want?" Quickly, he ripped the letter open and unfolded the small paper. "Jason, please come up to the constable's office today. Things to discuss. Many thanks."

Jason sighed, but nodded and put the letter away. An hour later, after procrastinating in the warm home for as long as he could, he slipped out into the farmyard, mounted up on Lady, and rode off for town. The air nipped at his face and fingertips, even through his gloves, but he did his best to ignore it. Finally, he came riding up into town, where a handful of people walked about, doing this or that odd job. A page came out and took Lady's reigns to lead her off to the stable, and with that, Jason swung down and walked into the constable's office.

"Jason! You're here." Obadiah looked up from his desk as Jason walked inside. "Glad you could make it."

"You didn't make it sound like I had a whole lot of choice." Jason flashed a smile as he took a seat just across from Obadiah. "Something the matter?"

"That depends on your exact definition of the word, but no, not particularly." Obadiah folded his hands and pushed some paperwork to the side. With that, he leaned forward onto the desk. "Do you remember that little totem you found, back when you were helping clean up from the orcish raid?"

Jason nodded. "Hard to forget about it. Why?"

"I finally got around to asking Master Dominic to take a look at the thing just yesterday." Obadiah shrugged. "He took one look at it and just about fainted away."

Jason snorted. "Master Dominic? In my experience with him, he hasn't really ever seemed like the type to get all that excited about things."

"I know, that's why I'm concerned." Obadiah grimaced. "I wanted your opinion because of that very fact. You've spent a lot more time with them than I have, I just wanted to get your idea of his demeanor, and what you might think about something that concerned him."

There was a long pause while Jason thought about the subject. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and thoughtful.

"I don't know the mages all that well, and I do want to make that clear, but I've never seen them act scared." Jason finally answered. "Master Dominic in particular seems to be just about the most laid-back person I've ever met. He actually let me use his magic staff when we were harvesting olives. I've met farmers who wouldn't let other farmers use their pitchforks, let alone a magic staff that can shoot fire and cause earthquakes and all sorts of other things. When during the battle for Summer Shandy, the mages showed up, but they weren't really all that wild. They just walked through the town shooting magic and killing orcs, you know?"

"That's what I was afraid of." Obadiah drummed his fingers on the desk for a few long moments, then sighed and pushed himself a bit more upright. "Well, then, I suppose I should tell you precisely what Master Dominic told me. After looking at the totem and turning as white as the frost outside, he calmed down and identified the thing as being an idol."

"An idol?"

"Yes." Obadiah murmured. "It's the depiction of a warrior god, considered to be one of the most powerful patrons of barbarians in recorded history. Apparently, in years past, just about every hostile sentient race that you would come across would have them. Dark elves, goblins, trolls, and so on. Since it's an idol, people who carry them will usually offer sacrifices to them before and after battle, usually with the bodies and blood of those who they've slain."

"Disgusting." Jason muttered.

"Indeed." Obadiah agreed. "The effects given by devotees of the idol are quite powerful. Likely, that's where BloodTooth earned the power that allowed him to defeat Daniel."

"Interesting." Jason crossed his arms in thought. "Well, if Master Dominic was willing to tell you all of that, I'm sure that there were darker and more horrible things that he kept secret. The question then becomes: What do we do with it now?"

"And that's another place where I'd like your opinion." Obadiah nodded. "Master Dominic was quite adamant that I destroy it. He offered to give me a book on how to properly destroy idols, but I don't really want any magical tomes running around this office. I have a father who could blow up the moon if he wanted to, I can figure out how to destroy an idol. I simply wonder if that's what we actually want to do."

"I think the first question we need to answer is whether or not all the orcs carry them, or whether it was just a shaman or something." Jason murmured in thought. "If it was just one, there's a good chance that they'll want it back, which potentially gives us the opportunity to spring a trap."

"Exactly." Obadiah confirmed. "Well, Jason? I've asked Daniel and I have his opinion, and I've written letters to Paulina and my father to get theirs. I can't get ahold of Hank, or I'd ask for his mind as well. Without telling you what they said, what are you thinking?"

"I know exactly what they said." Jason crossed his arms. "Paulina told you to destroy it. She's your wife, wives care about their husbands, and won't want you messing around with an idol. Jeremiah told you to destroy it because he thinks that blowing up an idol would be fun, and he'd hate to miss out on the spectacle of springing a trap on an orc."

Obadiah didn't say anything, but his face did twitch a bit.

"My vote on the subject is that we try to set a trap." Jason finally answered, after a bit more thought. "If we can actually capture one of these

orcs alive, we'll have a better chance of actually digging to the bottom of this whole mess."

"And how exactly would you set a trap?" Obadiah asked. "I doubt the mages will be willing to help, and those things are strong. There's not much that we have that would be able to hold them."

"What about the Summer Shandy dungeon?" Jason asked. "There are some boss chambers that I've heard are pretty gnarly. Surely one of those would be enough to hold an orc."

At that, Obadiah's face became thoughtful. "I hadn't considered that. What would you suggest?"

"I don't know, I've never been inside the dungeon." Jason shrugged. "I've heard a few stories from Daniel and Tess, but that's really it."

"Hmm." Obadiah crossed his arms tightly, and didn't say anything for a good, long moment. Finally, he gave a nod.

"Give me a few days to think and prepare. Once I have a good idea in my head, I'll give you access to the dungeon, and you'll start helping me prepare the trap."

"Me?" Jason blinked in surprise.

"The fewer people who know about it, the better." Obadiah confirmed. "You'll do a good job, and that way, no one else in Summer Shandy could get captured and spill the beans."

"Fair enough, I suppose." Jason murmured. After a moment, he nodded and stood. "Well, then, I look forward to your letter letting me know that things are ready."

"I'll let you know."

A few moments later, Jason was riding back down toward his farm once more, the cold air tugging at him in a desperate bid to pull him from his horse. He ignored it, though, turning his mind to all the possibilities ahead.

It was a risky plan, to try to and capture an orc using a magical idol as bait. That said, if they could pull it off... Well... They just might be able to make a proper stand against the monsters after all.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Winter Challenge

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 39th day of Winter! It's a cold one today, y'all! I'd sure suggest not going outside unless you absolutely have to do so. High winds, heavy snowfall mixed with sleet and all sorts of other nasty things, so on and so forth. Now, if anyone was up for a winter challenge, just head on into town and we'll set up an obstacle course or something!]

"Not at all what I'd like to do today." Jason groaned as he rolled out of bed and slowly climbed to his feet. The room was cold, though he could detect hints of warm rolling up from below. The windows rattled as wind beat against the house, and somewhere, the wind whistled through a hole. He made a mental note to find it as soon as he could, to make sure that no moisture or anything managed to get through.

He dressed slowly, then made his way down to the kitchen. There, he made up a platter of waffles and walked to the writing desk, where he gazed out across the landscape. He could just make out the road and the prairie beyond through the white sheet of snow that was whirling across the landscape, but he certainly couldn't see very much at all. He ate the waffle slowly, wishing that he would get a letter from Tess or the kids.

Ding!

Something rattled in the mail slot, and he smiled and rose. What luck! Quickly, he walked over and drew out the envelope, though his heart fell as he looked at the sender.

"Milligan. I wonder what he wants today?" Jason frowned and tore the envelope open. Inside were only a few lines, which he read quickly.

"Hey, Jason! Not terribly important, but could you swing over to the greenhouse at some point? I'd like to discuss the plan for next spring. Don't come out today, it's way too cold, but if you could stick it on your radar, I'd sure appreciate it!"

Jason nodded and put the letter away, then shrugged. Sure, it was cold and miserable, but what was he going to do around the house, anyway?

He had already cleaned it from top to bottom, read through his entire TBR pile, and had started writing his memoirs. He was bored out of his skull, a little trip across the prairie didn't sound so bad.

He finished up his breakfast, then rose, pulled on his winter clothing, and struck out into the barnyard. His ears stung, and he pulled down his hat a bit tighter over his head as he forged his way to the barn. As soon as he was inside, he fed Lady a few apples, then saddled her up and struck off across the prairie.

It was a miserable trip, of that there could be no doubt. He rode straight into the wind, exposing himself to the full force of its fury. Snow and ice lashed against his face, the wind cut straight through his coat and down to the bone. It was miserable, but he bore it out. Lady in particular didn't complain for a moment, but simply lowered her head and pressed onward through the weather.

When he came up to Milligan's house, he found the door of the stable open a crack, like he'd been expecting Jason to come anyway. Inside, Jason found a small note, and a smile came across his face.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away. I'm up in the greenhouse, come over whenever you're ready."

Jason quickly got Lady settled, then slipped out into the snow and made his way on foot up to the greenhouse, walking past the long rows of barren grapevines and cold olive trees. When he reached the small, plexiglass building, he found lights blazing inside, and quickly knocked and entered.

"Jason! Come in, come in!"

Jason smiled as he stepped into the far warmer building. His skin tingled as it adjusted, and he pulled off his hat and coat. Milligan stood near the door, tending to a seedbed that held a small group of softly-glowing sprouts. It was impossible to tell what they came from, and Jason whistled.

"What's up?" He glanced around the greenhouse, which was filled with even more wonders than before. A small plant that had roots resembling the legs of a spider slowly climbed up one wall of the greenhouse, while several mushrooms bobbed through the air, chasing after flies. A small cedar tree flickered with lightning, while a dandelion that was almost five feet tall and as thick as Jason's wrist seemed to puff itself up, preparing to explode and send its seeds everywhere. "This is really turning into quite the assortment."

"I know!" Milligan grinned. "Come here, check this out!" He led the way to the rear of the greenhouse, where a particularly large, tulip-like flower was standing at the ready. The flower was purple, while the stem had several large, reddish bubbles forming from the stalk.

"What is it?" Jason frowned at the plant.

"It's a fermentation flower. Name pending." Milligan pointed at the massive bloom. "You pour grape juice, or really any other sort of juice you'd like, right into the flower itself. The flower eats it, and stores it in these bubbles. At that point, it ferments it right on the stalk, and then viola! You've got wine."

"Incredible." Jason whispered, then shook his head. "Am I about to lose you to the mage's academy when it opens?"

Milligan just laughed, though he didn't deny the claim. After a moment, he rubbed his jaw and turned to several seed beds nearby. "Anyway, the reason I called you here was to discuss what we're planting for next spring. I wanted to get your input, that sort of thing."

"Yeah, that's what you mentioned." Jason nodded. "Is there a problem?"

"No, no, we've just been so busy that it hasn't crossed our radar the way that it usually does." Milligan answered. "We're down to only one field. The grapes and the olives shouldn't take up too much of our time now that we've got them established, unless you really want to go crazy about processing them yourself, which should leave us with enough time to do just about whatever we want with the Homestead Eighty. I know you're fond of sugar beets, but..."

"You wanted to see if I might like to produce some sort of magical sugar beet variety that flies or shoots fire or something?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

Milligan winced. "Well... The thought did cross my mind, but..."

It was Jason's turn to laugh. After a moment, he shook his head. "No, no. We've tried that before, and it's never gone well. You're more than welcome to run your experiments out here, and I'll happily plant the more traditional stuff you put together, but I don't want to do anything large-scale magical. Let's just do normal sugar beets, nothing more crazy than that."

"Fair enough." Milligan gave a nod. "In that case, my next question is whether or not you'd like to try any refining of the grapes or the olives.

We'll be selling a fraction of our crop to the mages, which will leave us with plenty to either sell or use ourselves."

"Our plan was just to sell them." Jason answered, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but..." Milligan shrugged. "I don't know. I figured that maybe we could try a small batch."

"So what you're really asking is if you can have permission to use your fermentation plants on a large scale." Jason grinned.

"No, no!" Milligan shook his head. "I'd actually like to build something a bit more traditional. I've been doing some research, and..." He quickly walked over to a small workbench that actually didn't have any plants on it. There were a handful of blueprints drawn up, and he pointed at them. "This is the winery, and this one is for oil. Both are designed for small-scale operations, actually for a good bit smaller than what we have."

"You're really doing your research." Jason paused, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Milligan, but this is getting a bit beyond what I'm comfortable with. I don't have the time to manage any of this, but..." A thought struck his mind. "Would you like to do it yourself?"

"Me?" Milligan glanced over at Jason in surprise.

"If you'd like, we can arrange for the purchase of enough property just next to these fields to build these structures. At that point, you can buy the grapes and olives from me, process it, and then sell it on your own terms." Jason answered. "We'll have to work out the exact terms, of course."

"I..." Milligan stammered for a moment. "That would be great, actually! I've run the calculations, and I have more than enough time to do both of these in the background, it won't affect my work on the farm at all."

"Ahh, I'm not worried about that." Jason dismissed the concern. "Besides, as soon as all this stuff with the orcs is taken care of, the girls are both getting old enough that they'll be able to help me on the farm within a year or so. It's a good time to run some tests to see if we can expand."

"I greatly appreciate it, boss." Milligan grinned. "I'll draw up a proposal for exactly how much it will cost. I can cover the cost of the buildings, but I don't think I can afford the ground."

"We'll work it out. I'll make sure that by the first harvest of spring, you're more than capable of doing exactly what you're wanting." Jason smiled and started to turn away, then paused. "You know, as long as I'm out

here, why don't you show me exactly what projects you've been working on? I'm sure you've got some doozies you're just dying to show off."

Milligan's face twitched, and he smiled. "Actually, I do. Come here!" He walked toward the middle of the greenhouse. "Okay, so you know how moss always grows on the north side of trees? Well, I'd always heard that it was because of natural causes. There was less sunlight, more moisture, so that was just where it naturally grew. Well, come to find out from the mages, moss can actually sense directions! I've been using the principle to build a living compass, which is just really cool."

Jason laughed as Milligan led him past row after row of brightly- colored plants and sprouts, mushrooms and crops. Milligan really was a wonderful farm hand, but... More and more, Jason was getting the sense that their arrangement, which had lasted for so many wonderful years, was coming to an end. He didn't begrudge Milligan for that fact at all, in fact, he was excited to see what new directions Milligan's life would take.

Somehow, though... He was more than slightly convinced that the direction would be right down to the forest, where the mages were still steadily building their academy higher... and higher... and higher.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Distant Family

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 48th day of Winter! Today's going to be a nicer one, y'all! We just passed the middle of the season, so it should be more or less a steady rise in temperature from here on out, though don't expect it to get too warm until spring fully arrives. Anyway, the snow is great for packing today, so... Snowball contest, anyone?]

As Jason rose, he stretched, then walked up to the window. It was another Monday, which meant that long trains of granite-filled wagons were slowly rumbling across his property toward the distant academy. This day, their biggest issue was the mud. With the fresh layer of snow from several days earlier, their wheels were rapidly churning the whole place into one giant, slick, sticky mess. The mages riding along were using flame spells to bake the ground in front of them, which worked to a degree, except for the fact that it also melted the snow around the hardened areas, which simply caused the water to run down and make it muddy all over again. Jason felt a flash of pity for the mages, though he knew that he wouldn't be able to do much to help them.

Suddenly, one of the wagons in line pulled off to the side, and came rumbling up to his door. It passed out of sight of the window, and he frowned. A few moments later, he heard a distant knock, and quickly ran to the wardrobe, dressed, and scampered down the stairs. There, as he pulled open the front door, he found a shivering young mage leaning up a staff that was emitting a small flame.

"Mr. Hunter? The High Master requests your presence at the dungeon, if you're available. He doesn't want to impose, but thinks that you'll find it interesting."

Jason frowned, then nodded. "I'll be happy to come. Tell him I'll be along in just a moment."

"I can just take you on my wagon." The mage offered. "I have some food with me, if it's breakfast you're wanting."

Jason shrugged. "Alright, then. Let's go."

He grabbed his boots and pulled on his coat, then struck out into the cold. Soon, he was seated next to the mage as they rumbled back out across the prairie. The man produced a bit of bread from his cloak and handed it to Jason. It didn't look like much, but when he tasted it, he found that it had the flavor of honey, and filled him up after only a few bites. Refreshed, he sighed and sat back to wait.

It had been several weeks since he had actually gone to visit the construction, and as they topped the last hill, his jaw dropped. The central tower now rose to a height of what had to be close to a hundred feet, well over the height of his barn, and had been crowned with a peaked rooftop of gold. At the base of the tower was a large dome, which Jason suspected covered the entrance of the dungeon itself. The dome was a good forty or fifty feet high, arcing well above the tops of the trees. Meanwhile, a vast section of the forest had been cleared away, where halls and corridors radiated out from that central point like the spokes of a wheel. Only a single one of these spokes had anything connected to it, a small building that he thought must be the dormitory.

Master Dominic stood out at the edge of the forest, along with a team of other mages that levitated the granite blocks off the wagons and down onto the forest floor. He waved at Jason as he approached, and Jason hopped down as his wagon rumbled to a halt. He waited while Master Dominic lifted that particular stone block away, and with that, the master turned to him.

"Just head to the central chamber. High Master Benedict will be conducting a test today, and he thought you'd be interested in seeing how it goes. Milligan will be coming too, I think."

"Many thanks!" Jason started to walk down toward the chamber, then paused. "I'll be safe, won't I?"

"Almost certainly!"

The words didn't exactly fill Jason with confidence, but he trusted the mages enough. Another mage walked up and directed him down to one of the hallways under construction, where he was taken to a door that led into that central chamber. Jason felt a strange sense of awe pass over him as he stepped inside, a sense that only grew as he slowly looked around.

A flat surface had been built over the entrance of the dungeon, though a small hole off to one side seemed to be a stairway under

construction, which would lead down inside. A small pedestal had been constructed at the exact center of the room, while gemstones and embossed metal had been placed all over the underside of the dome. It painted a marvelous view of the night sky, which Jason noticed was slowly moving as they stood there. Even though it was daytime, it was showing the stars that would be there if they could see them. Fascinating!

"Welcome, Jason." High Master Benedict slowly walked over to him, leaning heavily upon his staff. "It's good to have you here today, for this initial test of our echo chamber."

"Forgive me, but I'm afraid I don't know exactly what that is." Jason flashed an apologetic smile.

"It's really quite simple." High Master Benedict shrugged. "When you walk around, when you do anything, you leave an impression on the environment. Footprints are an obvious example. You break twigs when you walk through a forest, you make air move when you breathe. Well, you also leave magical traces, which can be picked up if you know what to look for."

Jason's eyes opened slightly. "You're going to be looking into the past?"

"Precisely." High Master Benedict gave a nod. "It won't give us all that much information that we can use in the case of the orcs, but it will let us calibrate the magic that we'll use as we begin that process. This chamber can be used for far more powerful things than simply peering into the distant past, but... Well, you wouldn't plant your field unless you had plowed it first, now would you?"

"I suppose not." Jason smiled. "Well, just tell me where I should stand."

"Over there by that door will be sufficient. None of the magic we're using today is fatal in the event of a misfire, but it could turn your hair blue. Or make it fall out, I suppose." High Master Benedict walked to the center of the chamber. "We'll begin in just a few moments."

Jason wasn't exactly sure how he felt about all of that, but he didn't exactly have much of a choice (and his curiosity was getting the better of him). He backed up against the wall, and sat back to wait. Milligan entered a few minutes later, and after him came a few more mages to assist with the process. Finally, all that said and done, High Master Benedict and two other mages walked to the middle of the chamber.

"Here we go." Milligan murmured. "This ought to be good."

"It will be." A middle-aged mage, with a receding hairline and a round face, walked over. "Name's Francis. I've been assigned to talk you through what's happening. And... Oh! Here they go!"

High Master Benedict's staff began to pulse with light. Streams of energy shot out, connecting his staff to that of the other two mages, forming a triangle of light. When that was established, softer strands of energy shot up to the ceiling, dancing about, flickering here and there. At the same moment, ghostly figures began to appear on the floor, moving about. Jason caught a glimpse of himself and Tess for a brief moment, walking arm-in- arm. There was a brief flash of a dragon rising up from the ground, and then the images cycled through a wide variety of animals darting in and out of ghostly trees. Here and there a person appeared, but only for short moments.

"Right now, he's just turning it backward in time." Francis whispered. "It'll be a moment... He's going faster now."

The images became a rapid blur... And then suddenly came to a stop. The ghostly trees were gone, and in their place was a ghostly plain of grass. A small group of warriors stood there, dressed in ancient-looking armor. One of them was a mage, dressed in robes of grey and wearing a tall, pointy hat. The others were an assortment of swordsmen and tanks.

"Alright." The leader, a man who wore five swords on his belt, stepped forward. "This is the Winter Shandy dungeon, which is ranked as the hardest dungeon in the province of Southern Illis. It has twelve floors, which are estimated to take three days to clear out. Does everyone have all their healing items?"

The company gave a nod.

"Good. We've drilled this enough, so make sure you follow the plan. This is the score that will allow almost all of us to retire. I don't want any slips."

With that, the leader turned and walked off, leading the fellowship. The mage, who was near the rear, started to follow... Then paused.

Slowly, he turned about, then walked off to his left. That took him up to Jason and Milligan and Francis, where he came to a sudden stop. He was old, very old, and as he leaned upon his staff, he smiled.

"So this is it." He sighed. "The final time I'll speak to you."

Jason turned around, looking for whoever the mage was talking to, but they must have been just outside the range that the echo chamber could

pick up.

"Know that your quest will not be in vain. You'll get your family

back, and you'll restore order. Probably." The mage shrugged. "Admittedly, I've never actually met you, so..."

Jason turned back toward the image. Francis's eyes began to grow wide, and Jason felt a chill. Carefully, he stepped to the side, and the ghostly image of the mage turned to follow him. Jason glanced up at High Master Benedict, who was staring at the interaction with rapt fascination.

"Ahh... Are you talking to me?" Jason asked.

"Yes." The mage nodded. "I know it doesn't make sense, but you'll understand in time. For now, all you need to know is that you must contact me again. A younger version of myself, I'm afraid, almost forty years to the junior. You'll be able to get ahold of me at the Mage's College, located in the city of Illis. As I recall, it was a full moon at the beginning of the summer, about the second hour of the night. I was in my room, and—Oh, you'll be able to figure it out from there." He slowly turned away. "Farewell, Jason, as well as all your friends. I hope we can speak in person, in the days when the world is renewed."

With that, the mage walked away, leaving everyone standing there, dumbfounded. Jason slowly crossed his arms, and High Master Benedict let the magic die away.

"I... I need to examine what just happened." The mage muttered. "If you'll excuse me, Jason, I... I'll send for you. Or I'll come out to your house myself. This is..."

He walked away, muttering up his sleeve the whole time, and Jason winced and rubbed the back of his head. He glanced over at Francis, who simply shrugged. He didn't understand a lick of what had just happened... And he could only hope that the mages would be able to sort it out.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Quick Breakfast

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 56th day of Winter! Once more, y'all, the temperatures are on the rise! Get outside and enjoy it while you can, because we've got a huge storm coming through here before too much longer that's going to make life plenty miserable!]

Jason yawned and stretched, though as he opened his eyes and climbed out of bed, he had a momentary flash of panic. Where was he? He wasn't in his room at home, he was on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar—

He began to calm down after a moment, though. Now that his brain wasn't fogged from first waking up, he remembered that he had come into town the night before, so that he could help Obadiah set up the dungeon as a trap for the orcs. There had been some reports of orcish activity in the area, so Obadiah had given him an escort. Once in town, he had done a bit of business to throw off the scent of any orcs that might have been watching. He had bought a bit of ground to build Milligan's new buildings, and other such things like that. Now, though, he was ready...

Ready to begin striking back against the orcs.

He got dressed and made his way down to the tavern, where a small buffet had been arrayed for those guests who wished to partake. He gave Lily, the innkeeper, a few Shandys, then made his way over to the food and helped himself. Once he was done eating, he made his way out of the inn and over to the Constable's Office, where Obadiah was already waiting for him.

"Morning, Jason." Obadiah was just pulling on his gun belt and shining up his badge. "Sorta weird to see you in town this early. You usually don't make it until late morning."

"I've also never gone down into the dungeon." Jason answered, with a small smile. "Tess is going to kill me. She's been trying to get me to go down into the dungeon for years."

"Yeah, but she wanted to actually do the dungeon together. I went in there earlier today with Daniel to clear the place out." Obadiah flashed a smile. "It's all good to go. It'll take another two hours before anything respawns, at which point we'll be inside the boss chamber that we'll be using as a trap."

"Lead the way." Jason simply shrugged with a smile.

The two men quickly headed out to the dungeon, where Obadiah passed Jason an access card. The dungeon would prevent anyone unauthorized from entering, in order to prevent civilian deaths. The moment he was inside, a strange, forbidden sort of feeling passed over Jason, and he smiled in excitement as they made their way down a long flight of stairs.

The dungeon was fairly simple, a far cry from the far more expansive dungeon that had once marked the territory. The first flight of stairs led into a small chamber, where the bodies of several wyrms lay strewn about. A handful of doorways presented themselves, but Obadiah ignored the others and simply walked through the one on the far right. That led them through a narrow passage (filled with the bodies of several formerly-animated skeletons) to another stairwell, which they took down to the second level.

Down they went, all the way to the lowest level of the dungeon. That particular level resembled a natural cave, and was lit by magical crystals while the bodies of wyrms and dragonlings bled out across the rocky floor. Obadiah motioned to a wall off to his left, which was covered in an assortment of red crystals.

"When this opens up, I'll have to fight the boss." Obadiah apologized. "Once the door closes after the boss has been defeated, it can't be opened again, so..."

"Got it." Jason nodded. "Fight away."

Obadiah reached out and pressed one of the crystals, causing a portion of the wall to rumble inward, revealing a larger cavern. A loud hiss echoed from inside, and a massive spider dropped down from the ceiling. Jason shuddered and drew back, and Obadiah charged inside with gusto.

A great many clangs and booms echoed loudly. Only twenty seconds after the fight began, the door swung back open, and Obadiah gestured for Jason to step inside.

"That was quick." Jason murmured as he entered the cavern.

"In all due fairness, once you've fought a monster a thousand or more times, you learn its attack patterns and weaknesses like the back of your hand." Obadiah shrugged. "Now, let's get too it. What do you think, Jason?"

Jason nodded as he looked about the chamber. It was a rough dome, about thirty feet in any given dimension. The body of the spider lay off to one side, and already stank as it began to decompose. There were a few glowing crystals, but nothing much else.

"Let's see." Jason crossed his arms. "Will that spider re-spawn in here?"

"No." Obadiah shook his head. "Not if we don't want it to. All I have to do is leave a bit of my gear inside, and it'll register as though there's still an active party, and will keep it nice and clear."

"Good." Jason crossed his arms. "Now, you said that once the door shuts, it can't be opened?"

"From the outside, yes. It's a safety feature to prevent you from farming the spawnpoint." Obadiah confirmed. "That said, it can be opened from the inside, Daniel and I have done tests. Because of that feature, there actually have been some warriors who have found hacks to abuse it, but if we don't allow the room to be opened from the inside..."

"You risk someone getting trapped." Jason nodded slowly. "The problem is that we want someone to get trapped. Is there any way we could reverse that rule? Make it so that it can't be opened from the inside, but can from the outside?"

"I thought about it, but the Dungeon Guild gets an update every week of changes I make on the dungeon." Obadiah shook his head. "A month ago, I got in trouble because I moved a wyrm spawn point two feet to the left. They watch it really closely, if they saw me do something like that...

"Gotcha." Jason nodded. "Then we'll just have to get more creative."

"Do you have any ideas?"

A smile came across Jason's face. "I do."

The first thing that the two of them did was to set up the trigger

itself. Obadiah had purchased a stone pedestal from an art museum in Illumitir, which they placed at the exact middle of the room. It contained a pressure trigger, which ordinarily alerted the guards to anyone stealing

whatever work of art had been placed upon it. For the time being, they used a small rock that Obadiah had carved to the exact weight of the totem. When they had it locked in place, Jason turned his attention to the trigger.

A small, invisible wire could be strung out the back of the pedestal, which could subsequently be connected to whatever mechanism the owner of the pedestal wanted. For that, Jason opened up his inventory and produced a large section of chain that he had purchased from the item store. It came crashing down to the ground with a resounding clang, and Obadiah whistled.

"Just what exactly is that? It looks like it's meant to hold trolls or something."

Jason bent down and picked up the chain, or at least a few links of it. It was a brilliant steel color, and was fantastically heavy. His back ached as he lifted it up into the air, and he let it fall after a moment.

"It's designed for buffalo ranching." He answered after a moment. "It's made out of Titanium, I think. It can withstand the force of an elephant, at least in theory."

"An elephant, eh?" Obadiah bent down and picked up a few links of it himself. He seemed to struggle to lift it as well, and he whistled. "Just what exactly would you use it for, if you did decide to run a buffalo ranch?"

"I dunno, but Richard was talking to me about some chains that he bought for running a particularly aggressive breed of cattle he's trying to work with, and I thought about our little project." Jason shrugged. "I'm not saying it'll hold an orc forever, but it ought to be able to contain him for at least a little bit."

Obadiah whistled, then nodded. "We can work with that. Come on, help me lift this thing."

The next several hours were spent carefully hanging the chain across the entirety of the ceiling. It was a difficult process, both because of the necessity of making tripwires easy to trigger and because of the extraordinary weight of the chain. Finally, though, they had it all strung up, and Jason stepped back and crossed his arms.

"Now... We just need to test it." Obadiah frowned. "Jason? You want to just... ahh... Walk up and give that thing a yank?"

"Not a chance." Jason snorted. "Those chains would crush me like a bug."

"They wouldn't exactly do great things for my complexion, either." Obadiah muttered. Suddenly, an idea came to both of their minds, and Obadiah nodded at Jason. "You just wait right here."

Jason kept his foot in the door while Obadiah ran back up to Summer Shandy to fetch Daniel. It was dull, but none of the monsters respawned in that time, which left Jason to think things over. He desperately hoped that the trap worked, for so many reasons. Finally, Obadiah returned with Daniel, who thumped into the room with a smile on his face.

"What's this here trap you want me to spring?"

Obadiah nodded wordlessly at the pedestal. "Go give it a whirl." "Will do!" Daniel stomped over to the thing and picked up the

totem. With that, he spun around and started marching back. "You know, I once—"

Wham!

Chains came crashing down all around the cave, nearly hitting both Jason and Obadiah in the process. In fact, about the only person they didn't hit was Daniel, who strode right on through them without even pausing. When he reached the door, he frowned and turned around.

"Huh! That would have been really impressive if it got me!" He patted Obadiah on the shoulder and handed the totem back to him. "Keep up the good work! Call me when it's ready again!"

Jason sighed as Daniel strode up and out of the room. Slowly, he crossed his arms, and Obadiah shrugged.

"Well, you have any plans for the next several hours?"

"Not a one!" Jason laughed and slowly bent down to lift the heavy chain... Again. "Not a one.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Duldrums

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 70th day of Winter! Alright, y'all, it's a chilly one again today! If you do have to go out and about, make sure you stay warm! Also, watch out for frost spiders. Looks like we've got a bit of an infestation of them that the guildmaster from Darkwater was nice enough to send our way. Not that I'm bitter or anything.]

Jason slowly rolled out of bed. There were only three weeks left in winter, but it felt as though it was an eternity to wait. Of course, he felt the same thing just about every single winter that came around, but without Tess and the kids around, it felt somehow more pronounced. That said, for that day at least, he had something to take his mind off the boredom. Moving relatively quickly, he made his way downstairs, ate a quick breakfast, and struck out.

His own farmyard felt somehow neglected over the course of that winter, but... Well, there just wasn't that much to upkeep at his own farm, and there were loads of things elsewhere. On that particular day, he rode across the prairie toward Milligan's patch of the prairie, where they would be putting together the small winery that Milligan was so looking forward to taking on.

Jason did have to admit that the weather that day was bitter. A thick layer of clouds hung over the prairie, and a cold wind gusted across the grasses, though no precipitation fell. It was simply a cold and miserable sort of day, and that was the long and the short of it. The air was damp, too, which only made the cold sink down into his bones.

In any case, he soon came riding up to Milligan's cabin, where he found his hired man staking out the small section of ground that Jason had purchased from Obadiah. It was close to the cabin, out of the way of the mages and their still-constant transports, on top of a small rise amidst the broad, waving grasses.

"Morning, boss!" Milligan called out. "Thanks again for being willing to help with all of this."

"Ahh, it's no trouble at all." Jason shrugged as he swung down from Lady and walked over to the plot of ground. The two buildings were each about thirty feet square, and sat next to each other with a small gap between to allow for repairs and such things. Milligan had driven stakes into the ground to mark out the dimensions, and Jason rubbed his hands together. "Did you get that contract I sent over to you?"

Milligan nodded. "I did. You own the land, I own the buildings. For the first crop, you'll loan me the grapes and olives, and then I'll pay you back twenty percent of the profits of all sales until that initial loan is repaid. After that, I pay you two percent of each sale as a rent for using the land."

"That about sums it up." Jason nodded. There were a few smaller points of the contract as well, but he didn't care about them. Frankly, he didn't even care about Milligan paying him back for the loan or for using his land, he would have happily given his hired man both things absolutely free, but Milligan felt that he was already indebted to Jason for the log cabin and the greenhouse and all sorts of other things. He had insisted on something, so Jason had reluctantly drawn up an actual contract.

"I still say it's low." Milligan started to say, but Jason held up a hand.

"And I say that if you try to negotiate higher rates, I'll ban you from the project altogether." Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Fair enough." Milligan nodded. "Well, how do you reckon we ought to go about this? I can't say as I've ever built something like this before."

"I built a stable for Lady the first year I was here." Jason murmured. "Was it good?"

"No! I'm pretty sure it blew down the first time a wind sprang up."

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, let's get to it. The first thing we need to do is lay the foundation."

Previously, when Jason had tried to build things by himself, he had attempted to freebuild it. This time, Milligan had purchased kits, which Jason thought was good. First, they took out long boards that they laid out along the stakes, forming two boxes on the ground. With that, they both pulled out hammers and nails and set to work connecting the boards together. That, thankfully, only took a few moments. When that was done,

Jason opened the farm's inventory and pulled out several bags of concrete, as well as a large tub.

"You want to pour or stir?"

Milligan chose stirring, and quickly grabbed several buckets to pour in some water, which he drew from his pump. Jason, meanwhile, opened up the bags of concrete and poured the dry, dusty powder into the tub. Milligan added the water, then took a large rod and began to stir it up. He was gasping with exertion after only a few moments, and Jason took over.

Stirring the concrete was impossibly difficult. He had done some difficult jobs on the farm, before, but that one certainly took the cake. With the water, the concrete became thick and goopy, almost like mud. When they finally got it mixed up, Jason poured it out into the first foundation, where... It covered a small area about three feet in both directions.

"This is going to take a lot more concrete." Milligan frowned. "Yup." Jason wiped his brow. "Let's get too it!"

Milligan began to dump more bags of the concrete into the tub to

mix up, while Jason took out a flat paddle that he began to use to smooth out the surface of the poured concrete. It was slow work, and tremendously difficult to boot. He had just gotten the stuff more or less level when Milligan poured in the next load, and he started over again from scratch.

They worked through the morning, switching jobs every half hour or so. Milligan looked plumb exhausted when he moved to start leveling the concrete instead of mixing it, and Jason quickly began to wish for his old job. By the time they switched back, his arms were burning, and he struggled to hold the paddle steady enough to actually get the concrete smooth.

In any event, by the time that lunch came around, they had just finished pouring the last of the concrete for the first building. Exhausted and starving, the two men stumbled into Milligan's house, where Milligan fired up the stove and began preparing a simple meal.

"Whew! I'd be fine never doing that again." Jason wiped the sweat off his brow. Somehow, even with the freezing weather, he felt hot from all the effort. "One more foundation to go."

"I sure wish we could wait on that second foundation." Milligan commented. "Don't get me wrong, I know the concrete will take a day or two to dry, so it makes sense to just do it all today, but I feel like I can hardly hold the stirring rod. I'd much rather get some walls up on the first

building, and then go back to the concrete for the second one on another day."

Jason nodded in thought, then frowned. "Maybe we can. Wait here just a second."

Milligan gave a nod. He looked confused, but didn't say anything as Jason stepped back out into the cold. There, Jason opened up his inventory and drew out his silver pistol, then grabbed the bag of bullets that Master Dominic had given him.

"Let's see..." He murmured. "Concrete sets faster in the heat... So..."

He pulled out several fire bullets, then loaded them into the revolver. Carefully, he pointed the weapon at the foundation, lined up the shot, and squeezed the trigger.

A great gout of flame exploded across the foundation, rolling and twisting about like a living thing. Jason yelped and jumped backward, and Milligan ran out of the house, concern on his face. As soon as he saw Jason slapping flames off his pants and coat, he laughed.

"Don't tell me you just..."

Jason bent down and felt the surface of the concrete. It was hard as a rock, and he nodded.

"Yup! We're good to go!"

That was one of the happiest lunchtimes of Jason's career. When they finished, the two men, satisfied that they wouldn't have a repeat of the morning, set to work on the far more exciting part of the build.

Quickly, Jason opened up the farm's inventory and pulled out a great many boards and studs. They started by taking the studs and fastening them to the concrete at the corners and at intervals between. When they were done, they took up smaller, but still quite thick, boards that they nailed up across the studs to form a frame. By the time they had that part done, it was starting to look more like an actual structure, and Milligan whistled.

"You know, boss, this doesn't look half bad."

"Nope." Jason shook his head and glanced up at the sky. It was hard to tell exactly what time it was, given that the sun was hidden, but he estimated that building that portion of the frame had taken them about two hours. "Now for the boring parts again. I think we ought to have the frames for the door and windows put in place by the time we call it quits for dinner tonight."

Milligan shrugged. "That sounds easy enough to me."

Jason was less certain, and sure enough, that part turned out to be a good bit harder. They had to pull out the farm's sawhorses, then measure and cut down the wood to exactly the lengths that they needed. Milligan only wanted a single door for each building, but regulations called for at least five windows. The kit had included the wood, of course, but it had cost almost double to have the wood pre-cut, which Milligan hadn't really wanted to pay for.

The rest of that afternoon was spent sawing and hacking and sawing a bit more. When they finally nailed up the last window frame, the sun was (presumably) starting to set as a thick darkness fell across the land, and Jason gave a nod.

Out of the cattle business, into the wine and oil business. Once more, things were changing on the farm. It was going to be interesting to see how it all played out, that was for sure, but he was ready for the ride. After all, after fourteen years on the farm, it wasn't the size of the farm that he treasured, it was the memories of what he had done there.

He only hoped that this new endeavor would prove to be a positive experience instead of a detrimental one.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Little Startle

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 75th day of Winter! Let's see... cold... dreary... Yeah, I think that about checks all the boxes, y'all! Wish I had more to tell you. Anyhow, have a great day!]

As Jason's eyes slowly flickered open, he frowned. Something was... Off. He couldn't tell quite what it was at first, but he could tell instinctively that something wasn't quite right. He quietly opened his inventory and drew out his pistol, then rose and crept out of his room and down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he let out a started gasp, then a sigh of relief. Master Dominic was seated at his kitchen table, casually eating a stack of waffles and staring off into the middle distance.

"Sorry to startle you, Jason." Master Dominic raised a finger, and the barrel of the pistol slowly pointed up into the air, away from either of them. "I have news that I thought you'd want to hear, and I thought that instead of making you come to us, I'd come to you for a change."

"I see." Jason frowned. "Well... Thanks. I guess. Umm... Wait right there."

He quickly went back upstairs and got changed, then made his way back down. By the time he arrived, Master Dominic had prepared a plate of food for him as well, banana supreme waffles, and Jason sat down quietly and carefully. Master Dominic didn't say anything for awhile, then slowly produced the piece of the dagger that Jason had given to the mages... Well, it frankly felt like a lifetime ago.

"Do you remember this?" Master Dominic asked. "We suspected that the orcs may have been after it."

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I remember it well enough. What's it doing here?"

Master Dominic frowned and folded his hands, then sighed. "When you came to the echo chamber, do you remember what we found?"

"It's hard not to. That old wizard is still stuck in my mind." Jason shuddered. "Why? What about him? Did you learn more about who he was?"

"We believe so, yes." Master Dominic confirmed. He opened his inventory, then slowly pulled out a skull. "We found this down in the dungeon, and ran some scans to confirm that it wasn't simply a spawned-in ambience piece. I mean, we did the same thing for hundreds of artifacts pulled from the dungeon. After we witnessed that conversation, we went back to the human remains and began studying them, where we discovered that this skull belonged to a magic-user. We've spent time since then confirming everything, but we're confident that this skull belongs to the man who spoke to you."

"He died in the dungeon." Jason whispered.

"They all did." Master Dominic grimaced. "It appears that the dungeon was closed while they were inside. They were trapped on Level 7, and while they made a good reckoning of themselves, and it seems like they survived for between several weeks to a month, they were unable to break out, and eventually perished."

"Interesting." Jason murmured. He stared at the skull, and felt as though the mage was staring right back at him. "Do you know who he is?"

"We were able to retrieve some old records we were able to pull from the mage academy in Illis." Master Dominic nodded. "Being mages, we kept all of them just in case they were ever needed, and based on our research, we believe that he was named Brendon. He rose to the rank of Master of the Arts, before suddenly leaving his post and joining a band of adventurers. They traveled all over Southern and Northern Illis before going missing. It's been a mystery until this day." Master Dominic paused. "Admittedly, it's not a mystery that they ever poured much energy into solving, but... still."

"Hmm." Jason shook his head in confusion. "That doesn't answer much. In fact, it leaves a lot more questions."

"I agree." Master Dominic confirmed. "In any case, on top of all of that, we've identified the approximate location where the initial meeting he mentioned might take place. The dormitory for the early students, west wing, likely in Summer prior to Day 20, 168 years ago. There are a lot of calculations that went into that number, which I won't enumerate here, but trust me, that's almost certainly the place."

"I'll trust you, no need to worry on that account." Jason crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, all thoughts of breakfast forgotten. "Now, how do we go about contacting him? Is time travel actually possible?"

"We don't know." Master Dominic shrugged. "There have always been mages who have believed it to be a possibility, and there have always been mages who have believed it to be utter bunk and a waste of time. That said, Master Brendon himself seems to have authored a few books on the subject, one of which we were able to locate. It's going to take us some time to retrieve it, it's extremely valuable and it currently is in the custody of a museum in Illumitir, but we believe that it may hold the key." He paused. "The important thing to remember is that in the echo chamber, he wasn't actually seeing you. He likely had a transcript of the conversation that he memorized, telling him where to stand and what to say, so that it looked like a conversation."

"But in order for that to happen, we do somehow manage to contact him through time." Jason held up a finger.

"Ahh... Yes, it does seem that way." Master Dominic nodded. "I don't have the faintest idea how that might work, but as I said, we've located the book. It's just a matter now of getting our hands on it."

Jason nodded and started to turn away, then paused. "You mentioned the dagger, then didn't get back to it."

"Ahh! Yes." Master Dominic produced the dagger as well, holding it up to the light. "I only started to take a second look at this dagger when I noticed that it had a familiar magical trace upon it, the same magical trace I found on the skull of Master Brendon. If you'll look very carefully, there are some runes scratched into the blade right there. See them?"

Jason squinted down at the metal, then nodded. "What do they mean?"

"They're part of a message, which we believe Master Brendon was trying to send while they were trapped in the dungeon. He likely teleported the blade out of the dungeon in the hopes that someone would find it, only for his call to go unanswered." Master Dominic tapped the runes. "We can't translate them, so our best guess at the moment is that it was some sort of commonly-known symbol at the time, something that indicated their position or their plight."

"Interesting." Jason frowned. "Does that play into the mystery at all?"

"I don't believe so, but we do want to keep all our options on the table." Master Dominic shrugged. "In any case, I just thought you should know all of this."

"I appreciate it." Jason sighed and leaned back in his chair as Master Dominic rose. "If he's to be believed, then getting in contact with him might just be what solves the problem."

"I know." Master Dominic confirmed, though he paused. "That said, Jason, I don't want to get your hopes up. In a magic land, there are many strange things that happen that may seem one way, but are actually something entirely different. It's entirely possible that some fluke of magic caused what you saw, and not something that will actually help us at all."

"Well, until it doesn't help us, I'm going to choose to believe that it will." Jason nodded firmly. He started to stand up to show Master Dominic out of the house, then paused. "You mentioned that you're trying to get the book from the museum?"

"Yes, indeed." Master Dominic confirmed. "The problem is that the Mages Guild doesn't hold nearly the sway that it once did. We can get the book, the curator of the museum has confirmed as much, but it's going to take a lot of paperwork."

"I might know someone who can help." Jason answered. "He used to be a constable in Summer Shandy, goes by Hank Ironwood. He's well- respected in a number of circles, there's a chance that he would be able to secure us the book before we might be able to do so otherwise."

"I'd sure appreciate it, and it'll get you peace of mind." Master Dominic leaned upon his staff. "Send him a message, and tell him to contact Master Fiacre at the Mages Guild in Illumitir. He's been briefed on everything, and I'll send him a message to let him know that Hank might be paying him a visit."

"Many thanks!"

Master Dominic was soon on his way, leaving Jason alone in the house. He walked up to the front door and watched the mage slowly shambling on his way, and shook his head. It was all so strange, that was for sure, and he didn't rightly know what to think of it. That said... well... If there was even the remotest chance that it could bring Tess and the kids back home, he wouldn't hesitate to take it.

Chapter Thirty: Last Day of Winter

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 91st day of Winter! It's the day of the Winter Festival, y'all! Admittedly, there's not that many people here, and there are orcs in the area so I don't know that I would really recommend coming en masse to the town, but if you want to show up, we'll have food and games and lots of fun!]

"More orcs?" Jason groaned as he rolled out of bed. "I know orcs are stupid, but maybe being this predictable is hurting us." He quickly got dressed and started making his way down the stairs. "Maybe we should have held the festival yesterday instead of today, just to make sure."

No one answered him, and he chuckled a bit at his own dry joke. He wasn't upset. The last time that someone had proposed changing the day of the seasonal festivals, it had not gone over well. People liked their routine, and that was that. If a few orcs happened to show up, it was just part of the fun. Idly, Jason wondered if an attack might actually help them. Anticipating the possible trouble, Obadiah had placed the real idol in the dungeon only a few days earlier. Now, all they had to do was wait... Wait and see if the orcs really did come back for their lost treasure.

Jason ate breakfast slowly, then took his time getting ready. There was no hurry, and with a diminished population, no one was going to be showing up to the festival very quickly. Plus, if he took his time and the orcs did attack, there was a chance that he would see them in the distance, and stay well enough away without worrying about getting caught or injured or anything like that.

When he was done eating, he checked the mailbox for any letters from Tess and the kids. There were none, so he sat down and wrote them a quick letter just for the sake of it. He then sent it on his way, pulled on his boots and coat, and struck out into the cold.

Most of the time, the day of the winter festival was so warm that it nearly felt like spring. Today, that was not the case, not by a long stretch.

Clouds covered the sky, a bit of snow drifted down amidst a stiff wind, it was tremendously unpleasant in a great many ways. Jason shuddered, but lowered his head and rode onward, keeping an eye out for orcs as he went along. Thankfully, nothing appeared to attack him, and he soon rode up into town.

"Jason!" Obadiah called from the town well as Jason clopped up into the town square. "How goes it?"

"Well enough, I suppose." Jason called back. He rode over to Obadiah, who fed Lady a few sugar cubes from his inventory. "Are we ready in case the orcs do attack?"

"The mages from your property are stationed around town, hiding and ready to strike in case anything does show up." Obadiah answered. "Daniel is prepped and ready, also staying back just in case BloodTooth appears again. That way, he can hopefully get off a few attacks while the orc is still leveled against lower-ranked warriors. And... Let's see. I have a handful of my father's cannons set up just for kicks. I doubt we'll really get much use out of them, but if we do get to let off a few shots, it'll be great amounts of fun."

"Here, here." Jason chuckled. "Just let me know when and where to fire! It'll be more effective than my little pistol."

Obadiah laughed and shook his head. "Honestly, I don't think it'll come to that, but I'll sure let you know. For the time being, why don't you head on into the Guild Hall, and we'll get things started?"

Jason smiled and tipped his hat, then rode around to the stable. There were no pages left in town, so he was forced to stable his own horse (the travesty of it all!) before heading into the Guild Hall. There, Daniel had his feet kicked up in an easy chair next to the fire. The hearth was full and crackling with a roaring flame, a long table was set up with roasted hams and turkeys, potatoes and pies and corn and wheels of cheese and goblets of wine.

And, of course, there were only a small handful of people there to enjoy it all.

A few men whacked a ping-pong ball back and forth across the table tennis court, while a few others sat close to Daniel and listened as he told tale after tale of his adventures in the dungeons.

"And then I took the dragon by the horn, and I broke the horn off and stabbed it through the eye, and it died!" Daniel grinned, crossing his

arms as Jason sat down.

"That's... fascinating." An older man that Jason recognized from the

town, but had never spoken to, yawned. "At least the dungeon was clear after that."

"No, it wasn't! That was just the mini-boss." Daniel shook his head. "After killing, the dragon, I headed out for the..."

He kept talking, and everyone else (sans Jason) rolled their eyes. Jason frankly found Daniel's stories to be entertaining. He knew that he would never be a grand warrior on an epic quest through massive dungeons a thousand miles long, which made it fun to hear stories time and again from people who had done such things. The only story he could really tell was how to grow a potato, which... Admittedly, everyone else in the small group would probably find that to be interesting, but it would almost certainly put Daniel to sleep.

The small group sat there in peace for the better part of three hours, trading stories. Every now and again, one of them would get up and help themselves to a bit of food, but it was a rather casual affair. As the afternoon began, and Jason finished up a leg of turkey, he felt himself nodding off, and slowly relaxed into his chair.

"Orcs!" A voice cried out. "Orcs are coming!"

With that, Jason sat bolt upright, all thoughts of slumber gone. Daniel turned white as a sheet, but still stood up and balled his hands into fists.

"Report!" He called out.

"They're coming across the plains from the west! Looks like a dozen or more of them!" A man stood in the entrance of the Guild Hall, fear on his face. "They're armed to the teeth! Ahh!"

An arrow suddenly hit him in the leg, and he stumbled and fell into the hall. The door snapped shut just as several other arrows slammed into the wood, and Jason drew his magical revolver and checked to make sure that it was loaded with bullets. Satisfied, he rose and ran toward the door.

"Jason! Get back." Obadiah flashed past him, drawing a sword off his belt. Constable or not, Obadiah was far better with a sword than the fancy pistol hanging on his belt. "That's an order. We've got this."

Jason sighed and slowed, and Obadiah and a handful of warriors ran out into the cold. Sounds of battle echoed loudly. A bit annoyed that he couldn't fight, Jason ran to the man that had been shot by the arrow. He

wrapped his arms under the man's shoulders and helped him up, then assisted him in hobbling over to the armchairs by the fire. The man let out a sigh as he was lowered onto the plush cushions, and Jason set to tending to the wound.

In the meantime, Daniel paced about, gripping the hilt of his sword with an angry sort of look on his face. Suddenly, the door exploded into splinters as Obadiah was thrown clean through it. He came crashing down on the table, sending a bowl of fig pudding crashing to the floor, then groaned as he pushed himself up.

"Daniel, you're... good. No BloodTooth."

Daniel let out an excited yelp, then charged forward. A massive orc stepped into the doorway, following Obadiah, only to be bowled over by Daniel's enormous bulk. Daniel grabbed the wrist of the monster before it could fall all the way to the ground, then spun and threw it as hard as he could. There was a sharp roar as the orc sailed off over the prairie, and Daniel raced off into the distance.

"Well, back to the fight." Obadiah pushed himself upright and charged out the door again. "Take care, everyone!"

Jason glanced around. The only people in the room were himself and the injured rancher. A cold draft came in through the door, and he shuddered. Oh, well. At least they were close to the fire.

Wham!

The second door burst open, and another orc came stomping into the room. He was taller than the first one, and had a wooden dagger in either hand. Spittle dripped down from his tusks, and he gazed upon the two men hungrily. Jason drew his revolver and pointed it at the orc, drawing back the hammer.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot!"

"We both know that that little thing won't hurt me." The orc rumbled as it slowly stomped toward him. "You're going to have to try better than that."

Jason squeezed the trigger anyway. A blast of fire exploded from the barrel of the pistol and hit the orc in the face, making it reel backward. It didn't kill it, but it did stun the thing for a moment. As the flames cleared away, the orc snarled at him, then started walking forward faster.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Jason emptied the revolver into the orc. By the time he was done, the monster's face was a bit charred, but it was still a great deal more alive than Jason would have preferred. Jason groaned, and the orc laughed.

"That's a neat little toy you have, but it's nothing compared to the might of the or—"

Snick!

An arrow flashed through the open door of the Guild Hall and hit the orc in the neck. It coughed, then slowly fell forward upon the table, smashing it into splinters and sending bowls of gravy high into the air to splatter across the ground. Jason grimaced, then sighed and rose.

"Wait right here."

As the battle raged outside, Jason ran over to the second door and pulled it shut, then went over to the first door, which had been smashed. There was nothing left to pull closed, so he ran to the Guildmaster's office to see if there was anything that might work. He knew the office well, from his time dating Tess, and quickly found a stash of emergency thermal blankets designed to help warriors and travelers who got caught by blizzards or frost spiders and such things. He quickly ran to drape it across the doorway, and hopefully help slightly, when he saw something.

A small bell on the wall of the office was jingling madly. Above the bell was a single note: Orc Trap. A smile came across Jason's face, and he ran back out into the Guild Hall. Past the injured rancher and to the door, where he poked his head out into the freezing cold. He was forced to dodge as an orc's severed head bounced around the ground and fell down a rabbit hole and he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Obadiah!"

There was a long pause. Suddenly, Obadiah ran into view, dueling two orcs as he went along. Jaw set, he spun and hacked down the first orc, then stabbed the second in the thigh. The monster fell to one knee, the perfect height for Obadiah to behead the creature. With that, he ran over to Jason, concern showing in his eyes.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine." Jason nodded. "I just thought you'd want to know that the orc trap has been sprung."

With that, a light came into Obadiah's eyes. "It has?" Jason smiled and gave a nod.

"Good. In that case..." Obadiah was forced to pause as another orc came running into view. It snarled and leapt, only for Daniel to throw a flowerpot at its head from a hundred or so feet down the street. The pot exploded into shards, the orc fell, and Obadiah scowled. "Show-off."

"The orc?" Jason pressed.

"Yes." Obadiah nodded and drew himself a bit more upright. "We'll get it just as quickly as we can. For the moment, I have to take care of this little insurrection. I'll let you know as soon as we're able."

With that, Jason ducked back inside, nailed the blanket across the door, and returned to the side of the injured rancher. Even in the midst of an attack, they had managed to score a victory. One thing after another continued to work out, which meant... well... Maybe it would just be possible to get his family back home by the Spring Festival after all.

Chapter Thirty-One: First Day of Spring

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 1st day of Spring! It's a lovely day out here, y'all! The spring flowers are blooming right alongside the orc heads that we mounted on wooden stakes (thanks to Jason for the generous donation), the spring air is blowing across the prairie, we're really looking at a good thing here!]

Jason felt a smile come across his face as he slowly sat up. The house was warm, on account of the fact that the fire had still been burning when he went to bed the night before. He rose and walked to the window, which he pulled open with a grand flourish.

Ahh!

A warm, spring air blew in through the open window, swishing around the room with a wondrous flair. It was lovely, it was wonderful, it was everything good with the world. It smelled of flowers and honey, it smelled of fresh earth and felt like the touch of angels upon his skin. He inhaled deeply, then slowly turned away and walked down the stairs.

On most days, the first day of spring was the biggest work day of them all. After being confined to the house for the entirety of winter, it was a day to get out into the field and get back to work. Today, though, was different. After helping himself to an Omelet Waffle Deluxe, he swept out into the farmyard, waved to Milligan, mounted up on Lady, and rode off for town just as fast as he could manage. Within twenty minutes, he was clattering up onto the cobblestones, and an exhausted Lady came to a stop while Jason hopped down.

"Jason! You're here." Francis, the mage from the echo chamber, nodded at him. "They're down in the dungeon, they told me to send you along just as soon as you showed up."

"Many thanks." Jason tipped his hat and started to lead Lady around to the stable, but stopped as Francis shook his head and took the reins from him.

"Best that you get down there about as quickly as you can."

Jason couldn't disagree with that, so he quickly ran down to the dungeon entrance, showed his card, and slipped into the darkened halls just as fast as he could. As he descended into the depths of the ground, he was struck by the fact that, below the surface, it felt almost exactly the same as it had in the middle of winter. It was cold and clammy, with the scent and sense of death upon everything. He ignored it as best he could, though, and simply scampered down floor after floor until he came to the hidden boss chamber that they had rigged as a trap.

"Morning, Jason." Obadiah murmured as Jason slipped inside. "Take a look."

Jason slowly looked up at the orc, and a sense of awe came over him. The beast was enormous, a good eight feet tall if he was an inch, and covered with more muscle than Jason thought was possible to exist on a single person. He made BloodTooth look small, that was for sure. Slowly, he lifted his head and stared at Jason with unbridled fury, and Jason gulped.

Their trap had worked perfectly. At that moment, the orc was suspended off the ground, held in place by the thick buffalo chains that had been so carefully placed. Each limb had been cuffed tightly, and was stretched out to its full extent, making the creature look rather like the letter X. The totem was nowhere to be seen, which Jason assumed was because Obadiah had taken it back. Daniel stood in front of him, staring up at the monster, while Master Dominic leaned upon his staff only a few feet away.

"He's a feisty one." Daniel commented as Jason walked up. "He's been trying to escape all night."

"And I will continue to try." The orc snarled. "Failing that, I will die. It is shameful for an orc to be kept prisoner."

"He's refused all food and water." Master Dominic commented. "We believe that with his fat reserves, he'll be able to survive for somewhere around a week without any nutrition, but it won't be long."

"Then we need to get as much information out of him as we can while we still have him." Jason stared up at the orc. It stared back, unblinking, white with rage.

"You will not get me to say a thing." The orc snarled. "You are nothing. You are but insects that will be crushed beneath the wheel of the orcs."

"You know, I've never met a grasshopper capable of tying up a person." Jason raised an eyebrow.

"That's true, but I've met a few spiders that could do it." Daniel commented.

"Spiders are arachnids, not insects." Jason pointed out.

Daniel didn't say anything for a long moment, then shrugged. "Anyhow, we've been trying to interrogate him, but it isn't yielding much. Jason, you want to take a crack at him? You're as much a part of this as the rest of us."

Jason stared up at the orc. For a moment, he didn't address the creature. "What do we need to know from him?"

"Knowing their precise goal would be handy." Master Dominic answered. "Understanding the precise reason for their return would also be useful. Any particular weaknesses would only be a bonus."

Jason nodded, then turned back to the orc. "Well, then. You heard him. What precisely is the goal of all you orcs?"

"Destroy all humans!" The orc snarled. "Create an orcish state that stretches across the entire land!"

"Gotcha." Jason nodded. "And why did you attack now?"

"We have lived beyond the desert from the beginning of time! As our numbers grow, it was determined that it was time to make our mark!"

Jason slowly crossed his arms. "And your weaknesses?"

"We have none!"

Jason bowed his head, then turned and walked away. Obadiah

frowned and walked up to him, and Jason frowned in thought.

"So we can be certain that their goal isn't the eradication of all humans, that they haven't lived beyond the desert since the beginning of time, and so on." Jason glanced over at Master Dominic, who hobbled over to join them as well. "Master Dominic, have you done any scans of the orc

to determine its age, origin, that sort of thing?"

"As much as I can." Master Dominic confirmed. "I was able to

confirm that the orc is about thirty years old, and that he did come from beyond the southern desert. More than that, I couldn't tell."

"Is it possible to tell if he was born or if he was spawned in?" Jason asked. "That would tell us a lot."

"He was spawned." Master Dominic nodded. "Sorry, forgot to mention that. He was spawned awhile ago, don't get me wrong, but he was

spawned."

"I'm sorry, Jason, you're sorta coming in at the end of a long night."

Obadiah rubbed his forehead. "We've known for awhile that their goal isn't simply to wipe out the humans. The attack at the fall festival made a lot of people believe that they were trying to take over the country, institute orcish rule, but then they were driven back from each and every town that they took over and haven't tried to re-take it. They've just stayed in the wilderness, striking here and there, making a few piecemeal attacks when they most feel like it. We've pestered the orc with every question that we can think of, but he won't tell the truth. He just dances around a whole bunch of lies we already know to disprove."

"Interesting." Jason sighed. Suddenly, a thought struck his mind, something that the orc had said. Slowly, he turned to the creature and walked forward. The monster lifted its head once more, staring at him with beady and livid eyes.

"I want you to tell me something." Jason stared up at the beast, refusing to turn his gaze away. "I want you to tell me what it was like across the desert."

The orc opened its mouth, but Jason cut it off.

"No. I want you to tell me what it was like a long, long time ago." Jason corrected himself. "You said that the orcs have been around forever. What was it like at the beginning of time?"

At that, the orc suddenly seemed to soften, and it let out a long sigh. It didn't answer for a long moment, and then... finally...

"It was a glorious time." The orc whispered. "In the days of the elders, in the days before the desert, there was no civilization. There was no one but the orcs. We roamed wild and free. We hunted game without hindrance. We fought each other only in sporting events. We were a proud people, an ancient people. And then..." His eyes hardened. "And then your people came. The humans arrived, coming down from the north, from the cold where we never dared venture. They attacked with ferocity. They drove us from our lands, they used their magic to create the vast desert just to keep us contained." His face became a mask of anger. "And that's where we've lived ever since. Cast out upon the burning sands, surviving at the small pockets of barren wilderness that can flourish on the edge of that wasteland. Fighting each other for what meager resources as can be gleaned."

He suddenly paused, as if he'd said too much, and Jason gave a bow. The orc let out a mighty howl, which echoed through the caves like a trumpet blast, and Jason turned back to his friends once more.

"And there, I think we got some truth." Master Dominic nodded in deference to Jason as he stepped away from the orc. "Or, at the very least, whatever the orc perceives to be the truth."

"You think it might not be accurate?" Jason asked.

"I find it hard to believe that the orcs could have ever been a peaceful people, though the rest of his story does ring a bell, distantly, somewhere in my memory." Master Dominic frowned and leaned upon his staff. "I'll need to request some resources from the Guild back in Illumitir, but this might just have been the lead that we were looking for."

Jason gave a nod, then slowly turned to look back at the orc. Now, he hung limp in the chains, defeated. He was still alive in body, but he seemed defeated in spirit. Jason felt a flash of pity for him, though not a whole lot. After a moment, he turned away to walk back out of the chamber. He was certain that they would be interrogating quite a lot over the next week or two (presuming that they could keep it alive that long). Until the mages uncovered a bit more, or until Obadiah called on him once again, all he could do was return to the farm and keep working.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Scattered Seed

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 2nd day of Spring! Alright, y'all, we've got a really nasty storm coming through in just a day or two, so make sure you're getting anything done outside that you need to get done! Spring storms are always the worst of all the seasons, so... Yeah, just be careful!]

Jason rolled out of his bed and sprang to his feet. As he walked up to the window, he found Milligan down in the yard below, scattering seed for the chickens. He smiled, then changed into work clothes and made his way down into the farmyard. He was just finishing up his barbecue waffle (which wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded) as Milligan started harnessing Lady up to the planter.

"Morning!" Jason called out.

"Good morning, boss." Milligan glanced over his shoulder. "What are you thinking for today?"

"You're already doing it." Jason chuckled. "Sorry we couldn't get to it yesterday."

"Ahh, you were off having fun with your captive orc, and I was putting the finishing touches on the winepress." Milligan shrugged. "We were both busy, and now we're both ready for the season."

"Speaking of that, how are the grapes and olives looking?" Jason asked, slightly nervous to hear the answer. "Did they survive the winter?"

"Well enough, near as I can tell." Milligan nodded. "They're shooting green leaves everywhere, and they should start to put on flowers here in... Oh, I reckon it'll be just a few days. Two weeks, maybe three, and we'll be ready to harvest."

"Just tell me when. I'm looking forward to a less chilly harvest." Jason smiled as he helped finish up Lady's harnesses. When that was done, he helped Milligan get Dusty hooked up to the second planter. "And we've got plenty of seed for today?"

Milligan gave another nod. "We wouldn't be able to plant all three fields with what we've got, but it'll get us through this field, no worries."

"Then let's get to it."

Jason climbed up onto the planter and took up the reins, and Milligan did the same on his planter. With that, they rumbled off, angling through the farmyard toward the eighty acres that were ready and waiting for fresh seed. As they entered the field, Jason yanked the lever and dropped the planter down into the ground, and with that, they were off.

The seed rattled wonderfully through the machine as they swept along, sucked through the tubes of the planter and down into the ground. Behind him, they left long, straight lines across the field that stood out well in the fresh, springtime dirt. After resting all winter, the springtime ground was always somehow just a bit more lovely than at other times of the year. It was refreshed, it was ready for whatever was placed in it.

A bit of dust rose in the air behind the two planters as they slowly made their way down through the field. As he rumbled along the old pasture, Jason glanced over, and had to wince just a bit. Without the cattle there, the pasture was already becoming more than a bit overgrown. Grasses and shrubs popped up and twisted about wildly, without anything there to keep them grazed down. Sure, it was only the second day of spring, so it wasn't bad yet, but that only meant that things were really going to get messy by the end of the season. Wildflowers shot up here and there, but they were snuffed out by the thicker plants. Meanwhile, the prairie grasses beyond were green and full, and waved in the gentle wind as a soft breeze gusted across the wide-open landscape.

An ache rose in his heart as he looked upon it all, and he sighed. In only a few months, it would be a full year since the kids had been shipped off to Illumitir. Spring was their favorite time of the year, bar none, and it almost crushed him that they weren't here to see it.

"If only these orcs hadn't come." His hands tightened around the reins. Those stupid orcs! What were they doing here, anyway? As of the night before, they hadn't been able to get a proper answer out of the captive orc, but Jason was fairly certain that he knew the answer. The wondrous longing with which the orc had talked about the times of the past... That was their goal.

They wanted to return everything to that natural, pristine state. The only question was why they hadn't initiated an all-out slaughter of the

humans, since that seemed to Jason to be a pretty good way of achieving that goal, but he was sure that they had their reasons. The fact of the matter was that they had attacked, and because of that attack, Jason wasn't able to see his children.

He became so lost in thought that he didn't see the end of the field coming up, and only realized it when Lady slowed to a stop just in front of the fence. On the other side, a few crabgrasses scampered back and forth, and he sighed before turning the planter around to rumble down once more. Milligan, on the other side of the field, shot him an odd sort of a look, but didn't move to intervene. Jason shook his head, then closed his eyes and tried to focus.

He had a job to do, and he wouldn't be able to see his family again if he didn't get it done.

The two machines rumbled slowly through the field, back and forth, until they met in the middle. Well... Until they met, anyway. Jason realized at that moment that he had been working a bit slower than usual, as the two planters came together several passes inward on Jason's side of the field. He mopped his brow, then nodded to Milligan.

"Good work." He lifted the planter out of the ground and rumbled around his hired man, trotting toward the gate. "Let's get it all put away."

Now, Milligan really did seem to be looking at Jason oddly. He followed Jason, though neither of them said anything until the planters had been put away. As Jason put Lady back into her stall, Milligan put a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Jason drew himself up, giving him a sharp nod. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Milligan rubbed his jaw, then nodded up toward the north. "Why don't you go take a vacation? Head up to Illumitir for a few weeks, maybe even a month, then come back."

"And what kind of a responsible father would that make me?" Jason snorted. "There are orcs about. If one of them decided to attack me on the road, I'd be dead and my children would be fatherless."

"Same thing if one of them attacks you here." Milligan commented.

"Yeah, but around here, I have people to help me." Jason shrugged. "I can't take anyone away from their posts, that would be rude. I just..." He paused and tried to pull himself together. "I just need to keep my head

down. I need to focus. If I can do that, I can help the mages and everyone else defeat the orcs, and..." He paused, then spat onto the ground. "What am I even saying?"

"What do you mean, boss?" Milligan scratched his head.

"I don't know. We just keep saying things like 'Until the orcs are gone,' or 'Until we figure out how to deal with them.' Where's the army that's marching out after these things? Where are the warriors that are supposed to be fighting them? Why aren't we making a more concerted effort to take them down?"

Milligan didn't answer for a long moment. "There was a big push at the beginning of things."

"Yeah, but nothing now. They're just treated like ordinary monsters that stomp around and wreck things. Warriors fight them if they're in the area, but not any other time." Jason sighed and closed his eyes. "I know I'm complaining, and I shouldn't be, I'm just frustrated."

"The orcs know what they're doing, that's for sure." Milligan nodded. "If they had just attacked full steam ahead, they would have been met with every ounce of force that we could throw at them. As it is, they've almost just become a background part of life."

"I don't want them to just be a background part of life." Jason snapped. "I want them gone." He drew his pistol and aimed it across the prairie, though he didn't draw back the hammer. "I just want to line them all up and..." He mimed firing a shot, and Milligan nodded.

"Trust me, I know how you feel." Milligan flashed a thin smile. "If you do want to head up that way, know that you can trust me. I'll take care of everything for you."

"No, no. My place is here. The place of my family is here. I just need to figure out how to get them back, not how to get myself up there." Jason shrugged. He slowly walked down toward the overgrown pasture, then glanced back at Milligan. "What's an animal that I could turn loose on this pasture that would keep it beaten down a little bit?"

Milligan frowned, but rolled with the sudden change of conversation. "Cattle are the best for grazing large areas. Sheep are relatively easy, but you have to keep them sheared."

"Yeah, Tess did that for awhile. Not my cup of tea." Jason frowned. "What about goats? You think we could run some goats on this piece?"

"Probably." Milligan nodded. "The fence might need fixed up a bit, but I reckon we could make it work."

"Then I'm going to go get to work on the fence." Jason opened up the farm's inventory and pulled out a toolbox. "It probably needs a good bit of repair anyhow. Thanks for helping me get the field planted!"

"Aren't you going to eat lunch?" Milligan called after him.

Jason paused, but he didn't feel hungry. "There are some berry bushes out along the edge of the fence line. I'll eat some of those."

With that, he struck off. The wind whistled around him as he slipped down into the pasture, and he sighed. It was truly a wonderful day, and it brought back so many happy memories.

He simply couldn't wait until those happy memories could once more be a present reality again.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Wagon Loads

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 13th day of Spring! Alright, y'all, we're looking at quite the squall today, so bunker down unless you have to be out and about, alright! Ahh... Yeah, that's pert near all I have today. No orcs, lots of rain, and so on!]

Jason listened to the rain battering against the house as he slowly rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. It was a light rain, really, nothing compared to the thunderous storms that could sometimes come through. He walked up to the window and looked out across the farmyard, finding it wreathed in precipitation. Rivers of water ran down off the barn and flowed across the hardened path, where wagons for the Mage's academy slowly rumbled through the growing and swelling liquid. Jason watched them for a moment, then turned away and made his way down the stairs. He didn't have much to do that day, with the rain it was going to be nigh-impossible to accomplish anything, which meant that he would have the day free for letter writing or anything else that he wanted to tackle.

Knock-knock-knock!

The noise echoed through the house the moment he sat down at the table to enjoy a hazelnut waffle. He frowned, then rose and slowly walked through the house. What was going on now? Were the mages going to fire up the echo chamber again, or...

As he swung the door open, he found a familiar, if somewhat waterlogged, figure standing on the porch. A long, curled mustache hung from the upper lip of a man whose weathered eyes sat just below a ten- gallon white hat. A shiny badge rested upon his western-styled leather vest, while black boots set with golden spurs gleamed on the wood.

"Hank!" Jason beamed, holding out his hand. Hank shook the hand firmly, grinning from ear to ear.

"Mind if I come in for a spell?"

"Not at all, not at all!" Jason stepped back, allowing Hank to slip inside, where he wiped his feet on the mat before walking into the living room. "What brings you here?"

"You do! I thought you surely could have figured that out." Hank opened up his inventory and spent a moment scrolling, then pulled out an ancient leather book. The pages were yellow, almost brown, and the whole thing looked so fragile that it would explode into dust if someone so much as breathed upon it. "Here! Your precious magic book thing. Took me almost three hours of constant pestering before they gave in and allowed me to take it."

Jason slowly took the book from Hank's hands. He looked down at the cover, where the etched letters had been set with a brilliant golden trim.

"The personal memoirs of Brendon the Mage." He slowly looked back up at Hank. "So you did it?"

"It wasn't easy, but you demanded, and I'm always one to look out for my friends." Hank answered. "Now, soon as I walked out the door, some of the folks there started giving me the eyeball, so I hightailed it down here just as quick as I could go. Didn't even waste time going to the mages first, I figured it was just too important! Had to fight my way through three orcish patrols, two roadblocks, six trolls, nine giant spiders, and a tornado, but I got it here unharmed."

"Uh, huh." Jason slowly set the book down on his writing desk. Quickly, he scratched out a note asking Master Dominic and High Master Benedict to come to the house immediately. "And what about dragons?"

"Three of 'em! Bigger than houses, I ought to tell..." He trailed off as he heard Jason snickering, and he snorted. "Well, anyhow, I wouldn't do too much with that book if I were you, leastways until the mages have a chance to look it over. The historians at that there museum said something about magical booby traps, and I'd sure hate to see you turned into a frog."

"Then we'll just have to wait." Jason sighed, and sat down in his chair.

It took about half an hour for the two masters to arrive, though when they did, it was with a great deal of excitement. Master Dominic flew through the front door with such a flourish that he nearly fell, and High Master Benedict had an eager look that a child might have had upon seeing a jar of their favorite candy. Both of them stared in anticipation at the book, which Jason pointed to.

"It's all yours. I mean, I'd like to know what's happening too, but..."

Master Dominic slowly walked forward and stretched out a hand, as if he were afraid to touch it. His fingers brushed the spine, and he pulled back.

"I'm sorry, High Master. This should be your honor."

High Master Benedict shook his head. "The honor is yours. I am a student of science, weather, and such things. You are the one who has taken classes in the study of ancient books. You are far more qualified than myself."

Master Dominic nodded, then slowly placed his right hand on the cover, while holding his staff firmly in his left. "Let's see... There's a warning spell engraved on the cover..." The end of his staff lit up with a bluish glow. "I can disarm it... Let's see here..."

The book sprang open after a few moments, and Master Dominic leapt backward. The pages flipped rapidly back and forth, tending toward the rear of the volume. Jason watched in rapt fascination as he saw hundreds of drawings, diagrams, and page upon page of notes flash past.

"Are you doing this?" Jason whispered.

"No." Master Dominic shook his head. "No, I accidentally triggered the spell. This is... This is going all by itself."

High Master Benedict shifted slightly, and tapped the floor with the end of his staff. Suddenly, the book slammed open, revealing a blank page. Jason crept forward, staring down at it. What was this? What was...

"Ahh!" Hank let out a scream. "Words! Words are appearing!"

Jason squinted, and gasped as, indeed, a thin line flickered to life on the thin page. It began to run forward, looping about in an elegant form of writing that Jason had never learned. That said, he could read it well enough, and a moment later found himself staring down at a single line.

"Is anyone there?"

Jason licked his lips, then slowly looked up at Master Dominic. The master seemed stunned. "Ahh... Yes. Yes, we're here."

There was no response. Jason coughed, but otherwise, the room was dead silent. Suddenly, High Master Benedict spoke up.

"Forgive me, but it would seem that it likely can't hear anything. Since it asked the question in writing, perhaps it should be answered in writing."

"Are we really doing this?" Master Dominic stepped toward the book. "This could be a test, or—"

"I sense many strange energies flickering about this book right now." High Master Benedict answered. "Energies that are not familiar to me. We will do nothing, but Jason, I think, should answer."

Jason gulped. As he stepped forward, another line appeared. "Please, if you can read this, answer me."

Jason slowly sat down at the writing desk, then took out his quill

pen. He dipped it in the ink well, drew a deep breath... Then reached out and started writing just below the words.

"I'm here."

"Who are you?" The words demanded almost instantly. "I need to know if this is working or not."

"My name is Jason Hunter." Jason wrote slowly and carefully. The pages crinkled under his touch, but they didn't break or fracture. "You would be Brendon?"

"That's me!" The words came back almost immediately. "But... How do you know my name? Is this a trick? Maybe the spell isn't working right, and this book is just reading my own mind. Or maybe there's a ghost or something playing tricks on me."

Jason smiled. "Ghosts aren't real." Both Masters winced and shook their heads, which made Jason even more uncomfortable than before, but he pressed onward. "But no, my name is Jason Hunter. I saw you in an echo chamber just a short time ago. You said something to me, and since that time, I've been trying to find a way to contact you. Frankly, finding your book made it easier. This is... This is something else."

There was a long pause before anything else came through the book. Jason was starting to wonder if he was being tricked when words started to appear once more.

"You saw me in an echo chamber? That means... Maybe this actually does work! I'll need the transcript of what I said, and when to say it, and all that, of course. Sorry, just... Wow! I've been trying to get this concept to work for ages now, and it finally works!!! Is there any chance that my plans for immortality wind up working out?"

Jason bit his lip, then shrugged. "If they do, you're not the one who takes advantage of them."

"Great. Well, it was worth a shot." Brendon didn't sound too disappointed that he wasn't destined to live forever. "And hey, if I can benefit someone else, it'll be worth it to keep working on the project! Thank you, Jason! I have a lot more to ask you, and to ask of you, but I'm going to gather my thoughts for the time being. I'll contact you again as soon as I can. Now that you've opened the book, our timelines are linked, so the time between writing messages in my timeline will be the same as in your timeline. Hope that makes sense. That said, the book should let you know when I've sent something new, which will help you not miss anything. Same on my end!"

"I'll wait for your message." Jason wrote, then suddenly remembered their problem. "Wait!"

"Yes?" Brendon wrote back.

"There was a reason why we were looking in the echo chamber in the first place. We're dealing with a problem that we think you might be able to help with."

There was a pause. "And what exactly would that be?"

"Orcs." Jason sighed, then quickly explained the situation as best he could. When he finished, he'd used up most of that page, and it was several long minutes before Brendon replied.

"Wow. Hmm. Lots of thoughts, but I only put a limited amount of paper in this book. Lemme think, and I'll get back to you."

With that, the book slammed itself shut, and Jason whistled. The mages both made some noises that Jason hoped meant that they were thinking, and Hank slapped his thigh.

"Now, if that don't beat everything. Every time I start to think that I understand the world, something like this comes along and proves that I don't know diddly-squat." He sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "I'll be running along, Jason. Many thanks for letting me see what that was all about. I'll be up in town visiting some old friends before I head back for Illumitir."

With that, he strode out into the rain. The mages didn't move for a moment longer, and Master Dominic gestured at the book.

"Should we take that back with us to the dungeon?"

"No." High Master Benedict answered almost instantly. "Whatever's happening here, we need it to keep happening. Jason needs access to the book. That said, I agree that it should be more secure. Jason,

with your permission, may we place the book in your basement, with some protective spells around it?"

"I can do you one better." Jason offered. "My uncle built a secret office into this place. You'll never find it if you don't know where to look."

"Lovely!"

Jason rose to lead the mages to the hiding place, even as his head spun with the news. It was crazy to think about the fact that he had just talked with someone living almost a hundred years in the past. What would come next? It was impossible to know... And there was only one way to find out.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Blank Pages

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 20th day of Spring! Today's a nice one, y'all! Plenty of nice weather, though it'll be getting a bit cloudy by the afternoon. Ahh... Yeah, that's about it. Sorry, busy, busy! Not with orcs, though. Like... Actually not with orcs, not in a misdirection sort of sense. Look, I accidentally knocked down part of the item store, so I have to help rebuild it, alright?]

Jason chuckled as he rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. He stretched, then quickly walked over to the wardrobe and dressed. The moment he was ready, he ran to his office to check on the book, which had remained closed and silent ever since the initial contact. He had resisted writing anything else in the volume, simply due to the fact that there weren't many blank pages allotted for communication, but he was sure getting a hankering to do so. What if the mage in the past wasn't able to find anything? Or, even worse, what if a professor at the old university had discovered the experiment and stuffed the book in a closet or something? Sure, it would eventually get out, but that could take years, and with a linked timeline... Jason just wasn't willing to wait that long to find a solution to the problem.

He ran through his office and pulled open the secret door to the hidden office, where he found the book still lying still. Just to check, he flipped it open to the requisite page, where everything was just as before. With a sigh, he turned away, then slowly made his way out and down into the kitchen. There, he helped himself to a three-peach waffle before making his way out into the farmyard.

The sugar beets were full of life and growing rapidly, though it was still going to be another week or two before they were ready. They yielded well, but they were among the slower crops that he could grow. He walked over and leaned against the fence, then looked up as Milligan came riding up.

"Morning, boss!" He beamed down. "You still good for today?"

"That's the plan. Just getting out there slowly." Jason pushed himself away from the fence and nodded toward the barn. "Give me half a minute and I'll be along."

"See you there!"

Milligan wheeled around and rode back out toward the Far Eighty, and Jason chuckled. He quickly mounted up on Lady and took off as well, and soon came riding up to the edge of Milligan's property. There, the two new buildings, which they had managed to finish up over the winter, stood proud and ready for use. The door to the winery was open, which indicated to Jason that Milligan was more than ready for the harvest of that day.

"Alright, boss." Milligan came striding down out of the winery. "I think I've got this all figured out."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't." Jason smiled. "I'm surprised you were able to sleep last night at all."

"Didn't catch a wink, but it'll be worth it, I reckon." Milligan answered with a wry sort of grin. "Now, if you'll look out in the field, I've set up baskets throughout."

Jason turned and squinted at the vineyard. Sure enough, baskets had been set up along the long wires, it seemed to be about a dozen in all.

"You just walk along, pick up the basket, harvest the grapes, and then set it down again. You won't risk hurting your back, and we'll be able to go a whole heap faster. When you get to the end of the row, I'll have already emptied the baskets out and moved them onto the next row. I estimate it'll save us a whole heap of time."

"You really did do a whole lot of planning." Jason shook his head in amazement, then shrugged. "Well... lead on."

He wasn't sure about the whole thing, but he trusted Milligan. Jason started at the beginning, where he picked up a basket and tapped the long row. His arms burned as dozens of clusters were transferred into the basket, and with that, he set it down and strode down the row. Milligan came along behind, doing just as he said. As they moved along, Jason found himself amazed. Even with only one of them picking at any time, it really did go a lot faster, and was far less stressful on his back. After only two hours, they had made it through fully half the field, where they switched jobs. For the next two hours, Jason emptied baskets while Milligan picked. Jason had to admit at that point that the second job was a great deal harder than picking,

but he gritted his teeth and pushed on through, and by the time lunch came around, they had made it through the entire expanse.

Exhausted and hungry, the two men sat down just outside the fence, where they gratefully leaned against the structure and ate several sandwiches that Milligan had prepared. While they ate, Jason scrolled through his inventory. They had harvested about two thousand clusters of grapes, which would sell for about a hundred shandys apiece. Not too shabby, if he did say so himself. "Let's see... How many clusters do the mages need?"

"They're looking to get about five hundred." Milligan answered. "Paying one-fifty for each one."

"Got it." Jason transferred the clusters into a separate inventory slot. "And how many do you need?"

"I'd like to start with about 100. It won't make a huge batch, but it'll be worth a first attempt."

"You've got it." Jason smiled, and transferred them directly to Milligan. "Are you going to go do it now?"

Milligan blinked a bit in surprise. "You'd like to see?"

"If you'll let me!" Jason grinned, ate the last of his sandwich, and stood up. "I'm always up for seeing new things like that, and it certainly sounds interesting enough."

"Then step right this way." Milligan finished up his own lunch and waved him toward the winery. "It's not the most sophisticated setup in the world, but it'll do well enough."

Jason followed Milligan as they walked into the small building. There, Milligan had prepared a large, central vat. A number of channels ran out the bottom, which all led to a large barrel set up nearby. Meanwhile, a wooden circular plate that fit perfectly over the top of the vat was connected to a screw that could be turned to press the grapes.

"Here we go." Milligan tapped the vat, and with a flash, all the grapes were transferred inside. "Just stand back... Right there, that's it... And..." He smiled, and set the lid in place. It took a moment to connect the screw in place, which ran down through the vat of grapes to the bottom. A large handle on top could then be turned, pushing the plate downward and steadily increasing the pressure on the grapes. "A larger setup would be a lot more involved. You'd have something like this for an initial press, and then a handful of secondary presses designed to get every last drop of juice

out of the grapes possible. With a batch this small, the secondary ones would only be able to extract an extra half-cup or so, which just isn't worth it."

"You're the expert." Jason gestured at it. "Let's see!"

Milligan began twisting the handle on top of the plate, slowly forcing it down. For a moment, there wasn't really anything that happened. Then, from inside the vat, Jason began to hear a steady pop-pop-pop of grape skins splitting open. It was a few moments longer before a trickling noise echoed through the air, and a purplish grape juice ran out through the channels beneath the vat and down into the barrel.

Milligan grinned and turned it a bit faster, and the juice flowed all the more. Within a few moments, it was flowing so quickly that it almost overflowed the channel, and Milligan was forced to slow down. After a bit, though, the flow slowed, and Milligan began to grunt more with exertion. Finally, he stepped back and wiped his brow, and Jason stepped forward to take over. The handle was tight, such that turning it was almost as difficult as mixing the concrete. That said, Jason gritted his teeth and pushed through, and forced it down several more inches, extruding a great deal more juice. Finally, Milligan took over again, and pressed it down just as far as it could go.

With that, they stepped back, admiring their work. The barrel wasn't large, ten gallons or so, and had just been filled to the brim.

"Is that it?" Jason asked.

"Almost." Milligan nodded. "Next, we just need to add a little bit of starter..." He pulled a small bag out of his inventory, which he dumped out into the barrel. It contained a brown, powdery substance, and Jason frowned. "It's the same stuff you use to raise bread dough, actually. Yeast. Now, I just add a bit of sugar..." He poured in a couple scoops of sugar, which he also pulled out his inventory, and gave a nod. "And that's that! Now, just to wait."

He slapped the lid of the barrel down, then picked it up and carried it over to a small set of shelves.

"How long do you have to wait?" Jason asked as they walked back out into the sun.

"It needs to sit for at least two months, preferably longer." Milligan answered. "After it hits the two-month mark, it just sorta continues to age indefinitely, and the longer you let it wait, the more valuable it becomes. In

theory, these barrels could sit around for a thousand years and still be perfectly drinkable at the end of it."

"Fascinating." Jason shook his head, then grinned. "Are you satisfied with it?"

Milligan paused in thought, then gave a nod. "I am, yes. Thank you, Jason. However this turns out, thank you so much. It really has been a pleasure to get this built." He smiled. "Tell you what? The moment that it's ready, I'll break it open and share a glass with you?"

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Jason nodded with a smile. "Though you do need to sell it to turn a profit."

"Yeah, but how can I sell it if I don't even know how good it is?"

"Fair point." Jason laughed. He sighed, then slowly turned back toward home. "A fair point, indeed.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Wardrobe

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 32nd day of Spring! Alright, folks, if you've got things to do, make sure you get them done in the morning! There's a pretty nasty storm coming through in the evening, and it's going to be a big one, I can assure you of that!]

Jason rolled out of bed and practically ran to the window. Word that storms were on their way always made him nervous. It could come on time, or it could come early, and when the storms showed up quicker than expected, it had a tendency to cause problems. Overhead, clouds rolled slowly across the sky, and he winced. Yup, there was no way the storm was going to wait until the afternoon. He quickly turned and ran to the wardrobe, dressed, and scampered down the stairs just as fast as he could.

Milligan was just riding up into the yard as Jason jogged out toward the barn. He, too, wore a worried look on his face, and scratched the top of his head.

"You reckon we'll be able to get the sugar beets harvested today?"

"Not a clue." Jason grimaced. "What I do know is that if we don't get them, it'll be a week until the ground dries up enough to get it done, and by that time, the crop will have spoiled. We've got to get this, and we've got to get it done now."

"I'll get Dusty hitched up."

"Get in the field as soon as you do!" Jason called out. "I'll be right behind you!"

Milligan rode over to the lean-to and hopped down, while Jason jogged up into the barn. He soon had Lady pulled out of the stable, and started hitching her up to the second digger. Sugar beets could be harvested with a normal harvester, but they did a heap better with a digger, so that was going to be the plan. Plus, the diggers sorta tilled the field up while you went along, which helped the next crop grow even better.

In any case, Milligan roared into the field just a few minutes ahead of Jason himself. By now, the two workers had well established the pattern that they were to follow, and Jason quickly pulled the lever to lower the digger into the ground. Lady paused as the whirling scoops bit into the soil, and she grunted.

Suddenly, Jason realized that Lady had never actually pulled the digger before. He had switched over to using Angus for most of his farm needs once he married Tess, due largely to just how much bigger and stronger Angus was. For a moment, Lady strained against the straps, struggling to pull the massive machine along. Then... slowly... she took a step forward.

"There you go!" Jason called out as Lady took another step along, then another. "You've got it! Go!"

Lady seemed to perk up under the encouragement, and slowly rumbled along. A great cloud of dust puffed up behind him, and Jason took the reins and set his sights on the far end.

Next to the field, the pasture was becoming more and more overgrown, and he tried not to look at it. He had decided not to buy goats after all, despite the fact that they might have made it look a bit better. He knew that Tess would likely give him an earful for letting it get so wild, but he would deal with that when the time came. At least he would be hearing her give him the lecture, instead of just imagining it.

In any case, Lady did a good job, and slowly pulled the digger down to the far end of the field. There, as they paused, Lady took a few moments to rest and Jason cast a glance at the sky. Thick black clouds now covered about half the sky, and were steadily racing onward to cover up the rest. A blast of cold air hit him as the front came over the prairie, and he shivered.

From that point onward, it was a race against time. Lady's muscles rippled as she pulled the digger back toward the other end. She couldn't go nearly as fast as Angus or Dusty, but she did a solid enough job, and they were soon making good progress. The wind blew faster and faster, coming out of the west. When they were driving west, that fact was actually rather nice, as it just carried the dust along to the east. When they were heading back east, though, every last bit of dust was picked up and lashed past them, stinging at his neck and making him cough. He turned up the collar of his shirt, which helped somewhat, though not nearly as much as he might have liked.

They had completed about three-quarters of the field when the first raindrop hit Jason in the back. It was a big, fat drop, the kind that only falls from the storms of spring. A second drop hit the digger itself, making a resounding bong. A moment later, a steady splatter of drops came roaring down, and while it wasn't quite a downpour, it was certainly a great deal of liquid tumbling down out of the sky. Jason gritted his teeth in frustration, then slowly turned Lady back toward the gate. He pulled up and out of the field just as the ground began to grow sticky, and Milligan followed a few moments later with Dusty. They didn't speak while they detached the diggers and put them back in the lean-to, then put the horses up in the barn. With that, they leaned on the doorposts, just out of the increasing splatter of rain. Lightning flashed overhead, followed a moment later by a resounding peal of thunder.

"What do you reckon we ought to do now?" Milligan asked. "There's no way we're getting those beets out of the field now."

"Not with the harvesters, no." Jason muttered, rubbing his jaw. "Angus might have been able to pull the harvester along, but he's up in Illumitir with Tess."

"What about Daniel?" Milligan asked. "He's pulled your harvesters before."

"More than once, actually." Jason agreed. "But he's busy right now, what with all the orcs. I'd hate to drag him down here just for a menial chore like this."

"Yeah, but he'd agree to it."

"I'm sure he would." Jason groaned and tapped his chin, then shrugged. "There's just one option I see. Grab a shovel."

"You're not serious." Milligan blinked in surprise.

"The way I see it, we've got... I'd reckon about ten acres or so of beets left in the field." Jason eyeballed the beets. "You can harvest them with a shovel well enough, it just takes a smidge longer. How many actions do you have left?"

"Forty." Milligan shrugged.

"I've got fifty-three. Between the two of us, we ought to be able to get about half of that field harvested today." Jason shrugged. "We'll finish on Monday, one way or another."

"If you say so." Milligan sighed. "You are the boss."

"You're right, I am." Jason grinned at him, then opened up his inventory and pulled out a long shovel. Milligan did the same, and the two men quickly marched down and out into the field.

Rain splattered down across them, running like rivers off their hats and back. Jason's feet sank several inches into the mud the moment he stepped into the field, and they only sank deeper the further into the field he went. As he reached the edge of the beets, he carefully tapped the ground with the spade.

[Action Used: Harvest Sugar Beets. Remaining Actions: 52]

With a flash of light, a large section of ground, about twenty feet on every side, was cleared of vegetation. Jason whistled as he realized just how much of a task it was truly going to be, and he nodded to Milligan.

"Let's get to it."

Without any further hesitation, they waded out into the field, thick mud clinging to their boots with every step. Jason was soaked to the bone within only a few minutes. Mud slopped over the edges of his boots, his pants felt like they were going to fall off, they became so waterlogged That said, all he could do was push onward, so on he went.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Again and again he used the shovel, clearing away a larger and larger section of the field. His stomach began to rumble, but he ignored it. If he gave in and went inside to eat lunch, he knew that he would never get himself to come back out in the rain to finish up the work.

Finally, at what he estimated was somewhere around 3:00 in the afternoon, he wearily slogged to the next section of ground and tapped his shovel against the ground.

[You are out of actions.]

"Whew!" Jason gasped in relief and leaned against the shovel. They had, indeed, cleared away about half of what was left, and he slowly turned around to find Milligan standing there with a knowing smile, rain still thundering down all around him.

"Well, boss, shall we pack it in?"

Jason gave a single nod. "Let's get out of this mess."

Jason knew from a single look at his field that they were going to have to plow it up before they had a chance of getting anything else planted. The two of them, slogging through the mud, had certainly churned up the soil texture far too badly. That said, they had done what was necessary to get done, and that was the important part. As they walked back up onto solid ground, they began to scrape the mud off their boots and pants, then slowly marched up toward the farmhouse.

It took them both another half hour to get sat down at the table. Their boots had to be cleaned before the leather absorbed the mud, and they had to change clothes. Milligan had to use a remote-access feature to pull a new outfit from his own wardrobe back in his cabin. That said, when they finally did get settled down, the food tasted better than just about any other meal that Jason had ever experienced.

As they sat there, rain thundering down around the farmhouse, Jason sighed. Another hard day of work done, another one on the horizon, staring them down. That said, hard work was good work (generally speaking), and he was pleased with the way things had gone.

He could only hope that things in other parts of his life went just a smidge easier than that day's harvest.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Full Bloom

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 35th day of Spring! It's another lovely day out there, y'all! The flowers are in full bloom, though the wind will be a bit stiff today. Expect rain within the week, though I'm not yet sure exactly what day it's going to hit.]

Jason stretched as he slowly rolled out of bed. Every part of him hurt, and he groaned as he slowly climbed to his feet. The 32nd day of summer had been the day that the rain hit. The 33rd had been a Sunday, which had been a nice rest. The 34th, Jason and Milligan had subsequently gone out into the field to dig up the last of the beets, which had gone well enough, but had been exhausting. Now, Jason was ready for another day of rest, though he knew that he probably needed to go see if the field could be plowed up once again.

Ding!

A loud ringing noise echoed through the house, and Jason frowned. What made a noise like that? He shrugged and turned to his wardrobe, then froze as it went off again.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Excitement filled him, and, still in his nightclothes, he ran from his room and burst through the door of his office. There, he quickly pulled on the secret lever to open the door to the secret office, where he found the magic book sitting upon his uncle's old desk. The book was open once more, showing the first blank page. Words were rapidly appearing on the paper, while a stack of leather-bound books sat just next to the original book. Jason dashed over and sat down, hardly able to believe his eyes.

"Sorry it's taken me so long! I think High Master Isidore sensed what I was doing, so I had to hide the book for a few weeks. If anyone else found out about this, I'd be... Well, I'd be famous, and I'd like to continue my work in private, if possible. Anyway, I've been doing research on orcs for you! I found these books in the library which I think might be of some

help to you. I've sent them forward in time for you. If you can possibly send them back to me when you're done, I'd sure appreciate it. Let me know if this is helpful!"

Jason's heart filled with joy, and he quickly scratched out a return note.

"I'll look these over, and will respond later and more fully. Many thanks!"

Brendon didn't respond, likely to conserve paper, and Jason flew downstairs to his writing desk. He scratched out a quick note to the mages and to Obadiah, then raced back upstairs to look the volumes over. There were three of them, and looked... Actually, they didn't look ancient at all, but that was likely because they had just been made.

"A treatise on the pre-history of Illis."

"Orcs - Friend or Foe?"

"The memoirs of an orcish captive, and the history of the Southern

Desert."

Jason started flipping through the pages, but found the language to

be just archaic enough that he struggled to understand the full meaning of the text. He was still sitting there, mulling it over, when Master Dominic clattered up the stairs and ran into the room, his beard all aflutter and ragged.

"You sent a message?" His eyes immediately settled upon the books. "Are those... Real?"

Jason nodded. "Near as I can tell." He picked them up and passed them over to Master Dominic. "See what you can do with them."

Master Dominic carefully took the volumes and looked at the titles, then stepped back out of the secret office and into the more well-lit main office. He set the books on the desk, then shook his head in amazement.

"The researcher that I sent into the old archives listed these very three titles as being the most likely to be of some use, but said that while they were on the manifest, they weren't anywhere to be found. A note in the margin suggested theft."

"In a way, I suppose..." Jason shrugged. "What's in them?"

"I can use my speed-read skill to get a general feel for the contents." Master Dominic closed his eyes and raised his staff. The books flew open, and pages began to flutter. "Give me one moment."

There was a long moment where the books were quickly flipped form one end to the other. All three of the back covers slammed shut within a few moments of each other, and Master Dominic gave a sharp nod.

"I have a good understanding of things, now." He let out a breath and shook his head. "Interesting, indeed."

"Do I get to know?" Jason asked, a bit annoyed.

Suddenly, more footsteps echoed on the stairs, and Obadiah burst into the room. He looked breathless, though a smile grew across his face as he saw the books.

"He came through?"

"And then some." Master Dominic turned and smiled at him. "I do believe that these may provide a great many answers that we've been searching for. I don't know that they'll solve all of our problems immediately, but this would be akin to suddenly finding about half of the pieces in a puzzle. It will certainly help matters."

"I'm glad." Obadiah sat down in one of Jason's chairs. "I could sure use the leverage. That orc in the dungeon hasn't said a word since the first day of spring."

"He's still alive?" Jason gaped. "I thought for sure that he would have died."

"We thought the same thing, but he's holding in there well enough." Obadiah answered. "He doesn't need much nutrition at all, he can make a few calories go a long way, and..." A smile came across his face. "Actually, Richard has been helping us keep him kicking."

"Richard?" Jason frowned. "How has Richard been helping?"

"He has these nutrition shots that he can give to cattle when they're sick and refusing to eat." Obadiah answered. "It shoots the nutrients and things right into their bloodstream, so it doesn't matter if they don't take a bite of food for months, even, he can just keep them alive. They'll not fare all that well, don't get me wrong, but they'll stay alive. We used similar shots back on the ranch I worked on up near Illumitir, back before I came down here."

"Fascinating!" Master Dominic shook his head. "I can only assume that the orc hasn't been terribly agreeable?"

"No!" Obadiah laughed. "That thing is madder than a hornet that just had its nest kicked, but there's not much he can do except yell at us and

try to escape. Anyway, he's not giving us any more information, not even lies."

"Well, I think we might have just found a way to bypass him, at least slightly." Master Dominic mused, leaning heavily upon his staff. "These three books, among other things, contain a bit of the history of the province, and of the battles that ensued there."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense." Jason crossed his arms.

Master Dominic closed his eyes. "Give me one moment. After speed-reading, it takes a few minutes to sort out all the information. It's terribly useful, but also rather disorienting. Ahh, here we go." He puffed out his cheeks and continued. "Let's see... We know that the main body of humans came from the Old Continent, across the seas."

"Right." Jason nodded. "Everyone who's gone through even a bit of school knows that much."

"Yes, yes." Master Dominic frowned. "When they arrived, they found small colonies of humans scattered here and there, with rumors of other races and things that had once lived there prior. Well, according to these books, many years earlier, there had indeed been orcs living across most of the land. A small group of humans came across from the Old Continent, traveling over the northern ice, which had crept further south than ordinary due to an event known as the Great Cooling. At that time, they waged a war against the orcs, which resulted in the orcs being pushed back across the southern desert."

"Which sounds more or less like the history we already knew." Jason frowned.

"Yes, except for one key detail." Master Dominic tapped the end of his staff on the ground. "This account says that when the first humans came across the ice flow, they found the orcs already hostile. The initial encounter resulted in ninety percent of their party being wiped out, either killed, eaten, or sacrificed."

"Is there any way to verify that fact?" Obadiah asked. "We're operating on third and fourth-hand accounts. Is this book true, or are the orcish tales true?"

"I'm certainly more inclined to believe the account of the mages, but I'll admit that I'm somewhat biased." Master Dominic thought for a moment. "The book mentioned some specific incidents, and mentioned locations. I believe I recognize a few of them. Old archeological dig sites

uncovered by the mages in the modern era. I could easily request that a few of my partners from Illumitir go check them out to see if they can verify the data located here."

"I'd sure appreciate it." Obadiah nodded.

"Excuse me." Jason held up a hand. "I don't mean to interrupt, but does it matter what happened in the past? We're dealing with an orcish invasion now. Brendon said that there was something in the books that would help us with our problem."

"And I do believe I know what he's talking about." Master Dominic shifted uncomfortably. "Though I'll need to go back and read it in more detail, I do believe that the book mentioned something about an idol that all the orcs worshipped, something that their very essences are connected to."

"That sounds useful." Obadiah's voice suddenly sounded a great deal more interested.

"Indeed. From what I can... tell..." Master Dominic closed his eyes as he tried to sift through all the details. "The human mages of that time... They stormed the idol... And they attempted to use it as a control panel of sorts. It was an attempt to make the orcs become docile instead of angry."

"Did it work?" Jason asked.

"They were all killed before they reached it. Following that, I believe that the book mentioned that the idol was used in the process of creating the desert and sealing the orcs away." Master Dominic frowned and crossed his arms. He seemed deep in thought, and Jason felt his hope rising. "It's possible that the idol is still responsible for spawning in new orcs. If we could find it... In any case, this is an invaluable treasure. Thank you, Jason, and tell Brendon that we're in his debt."

"I'll let him know." Jason confirmed. He started to turn around, then paused. "One quick thing. If this history is this important and critical, why was it only preserved in three little books?"

Master Dominic picked up the three volumes and turned toward the door. "The simple answer is that it happened long before true civilization came to this land. Those initial settlers recorded what they could, but most of them were so scattered by the time that more colonizers arrived that little attention was paid to the events that had come earlier, at least for a very long time."

"Interesting." Jason thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with any more questions. "Thank you, Master Dominic. I hope this gives

you the answers you need." "As do I."

With that, Master Dominic and Obadiah both filed out of the room, and Jason walked back to the desk and picked up his pen.

"Just had one of our mages look this over. He's thrilled beyond belief. This may just help us win the war."

He smiled, and leaned back. There was a pause of a few minutes, and a new message appeared.

"You just said that you had 'one of your mages' look it over. Are you not a mage yourself?"

Jason laughed, and he slowly picked up the pen once again. Slowly, he wrote out the next line, hoping that he wouldn't crush Brendon's spirits too much.

"Nope." He wrote. "I'm just a farmer.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Extra Time

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 50th day of Spring! I know it doesn't feel like it, y'all, but Spring is really going along quite quickly! It'll be Summer before you know it, so make sure you're getting everything done that you need to get done! Once the heat comes, it won't go away until the winter's freeze, so just... Yeah, get your springtime stuff done now!]

Jason smiled as he rolled out of bed. From stories told by both Obadiah and Tess, just about every season, someone would come to the Guildmaster and demand that extra days be added in the season. That was impossible to do, of course, which only caused more muss and fuss.

As Jason dressed and slowly made his way down the stairs, he heard the rumble of wagon wheels outside the house. It wasn't a Monday, but as the mages neared the completion of their project, wagons were coming every few days instead of once a week. He hadn't been down to look at the structure in a few weeks now, but imagined that it had to be nearly done.

He walked into the kitchen and ordered up a Banana Whipped Cream waffle, then sat down to eat it. Milligan poked his head in the back door just as he was finishing up, and Jason flashed a smile at him.

"You're later than normal."

Milligan could only shrug. "The mages held me up. They're working on the outer wall now, and they were showing me some of the protective spells that they were putting in place."

"Outer wall, eh?" Jason laughed. "You're really keeping tabs on it, then."

"It's hard not to keep an eye on the thing when I live right next to it." Milligan shrugged, then nodded. "But yeah, I'll admit that it interests me. If it's alright with you, when everyone moves in at the start of Summer, I'm probably going to take a lesson or two."

"While helping me on the farm, while also managing a winery and an oil press?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"I think I've got it all worked out." Milligan answered with a smile. "Admittedly, it'd be nice to have something that would... I don't know. Maybe just add a few hours onto the end of each day. I could finish up the work day, then zap myself back in time about two hours to take a class."

"Yeah, that's not a thing, and it would probably only kill you instead of helping." Jason commented with a laugh. "Well, we're harvesting olives today, right?"

"That's the plan, if you're still up for it." Milligan nodded.

"I've got to be. They won't harvest themselves." Jason sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "Help yourself to a waffle if you want it."

Milligan quickly made up a Carmel Delight waffle, and ate it while Jason walked to the front door, read a couple letters from Tess, and then pulled on his boots. With that, both men struck out into the farmyard. They had to pause as a long row of wagons rumbled through, but managed to slip through a gap and made it up to the barn after a few moments. Quickly, Jason saddled up Lady, and the two men rode out for the distant Far Eighty.

As Jason came over the last hill and into view of the academy, his jaw dropped in amazement. The central tower had been joined by four more towers, each about half the height of the first one, that rose up in the four cardinal directions. The spokes of the wheel that radiated out from the Echo Chamber now stretched hundreds of feet in every direction, and connected what looked to be dozens of different buildings. The entire forest seemed to have been cut away from the edge of the prairie all the way to the riverbank. More buildings even seemed to rise up on the other side of the river, where the ruins of Winter Shandy lay. It was incredible, of that, there could be no doubt. The entire structure was circled by a small, two-foot- high wall that was being added to at that very moment. Jason whistled.

"Their plan is to have the wall done by the time of the Spring Festival." Milligan nodded with a smile.

Jason frowned and crossed his arms. "Do you reckon..." A thought had just come into his mind, one that could change a great many things for the upcoming year. "Those are some nice walls."

"Indeed." Milligan chuckled. "I reckon once they're done, the entire orcish army could lay siege to the place and they wouldn't be able to get in."

"That's about what I reckon, too." Jason nodded. After a moment, though, he shrugged. "Well, we've got work to get done. Let's get to it."

He and Milligan quickly rode down to Milligan's stable, where they turned their horses loose in the corral. With that, they slipped into the olive grove, which was really turning into something extraordinary.

The trees had grown a great deal larger and more full than the year before, and their branches were loaded with thick olives. Jason frankly liked eating black olives best, whereas these olives were the green type, but as he wasn't the one eating them, he couldn't rightly complain. Without any further deliberation, he walked up to the first tree and spread out several blankets beneath. Milligan got down on his knees and climbed underneath the lowest branches, but Jason shook his head and motioned him out of the way.

"Step back, I've got this." He drew out his magic pistol and quickly flipped the chamber open. He loaded it with six [Earthquake] spells, and pointed it at the trunk of the tree. Milligan scampered back, and he pulled the trigger.

Blam!

The tree began to shake around, twitching its branches this way and that. Olives came pouring down, hundreds upon hundreds of them. It was the second harvest of the spring, and looked to Jason to be producing about twice as much as the first time they had harvested anything. As the tree stopped twitching, the blankets were covered in a good foot-thick layer of the olives. He knelt down and picked up a corner of the blanket, where he found that it took himself and Milligan every last ounce of their effort to dump the contents into the farm's inventory.

"How many bushels do you reckon we'll get out of this harvest?" Milligan asked.

Jason shrugged. "I don't know. That must have been ten or fifteen, and we've got a hundred trees." He whistled. "We're going to be pushing it to get these harvested today."

"Should I try to buy one of those harvesters?" Milligan asked.

Jason thought for a moment, then nodded. "Let's get through today's harvest, but I sure think so. These things are proving to be fairly profitable, and I'd like to be able to do the harvest in a single day."

Milligan picked up the blanket and moved on to the next tree, and Jason followed. They had soon harvested that one as well, and moved on steadily through the grove. As they were tackling their tenth tree, about an

hour into the process, Master Dominic walked up to the fence and leaned against the top railing.

"The harvest looks bountiful today."

"And then some." Jason wiped his brow as he and Milligan bent down to lift one of the blankets up into the air. He flicked his inventory open with his pinky finger, and the two of them carefully tilted it. Pixels exploded up into the air as the contents of the blankets poured down into the inventory, and he let out a gasp of relief. "How much do you think you'll need?"

"Actually, that's why I came over." Master Dominic smiled. "We'll take the whole crop, if you'll allow it."

"The whole crop?" Jason gasped as he and Milligan picked up the next blanket. "It's all yours, don't get me wrong, but what use could you possibly have for a thousand gallons of oil?"

"I'm actually hoping that it will make closer to two thousand." Master Dominic tapped the top rail of the fence with his finger. "In short, though, we need it to formally consecrate the academy. Construction has been proceeding much faster than we intended, and there are many spells that cannot be performed until we have properly hallowed the ground and institution."

"You're welcome to all of it that we can produce." Jason nodded, then glanced at Milligan. "Well, I have a contract with Milligan for two bushel baskets, if that's okay."

"More than okay! More than okay." Master Dominic waved and turned away. "Thank you, Jason, for all your work. We're more indebted to you than you could possibly know."

Jason's heart fluttered, and he held up a hand, nearly dropping the last blanket. Master Dominic slowed, and Jason groaned as he and Milligan dumped in the last of the olives. With that, he ran over to the edge of the fence and lowered his voice.

"This is going to sound bad right off the bat, but... how indebted to me do you really think you are?"

Master Dominic's eyes twinkled. "And just what favor do you have to ask?"

"In short, I'd wager a bet that those walls are going to be a heap more difficult for the orcs to breach than even the walls of Illumitir." Jason spoke slowly.

"Oh, by far." Master Dominic agreed. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I have a family that I haven't seen in a year now." Jason answered. "Two of them are school-age, and are drinking in every last drop of knowledge that they can get their hands on, at least as far as Tess's letters are concerned. If you'd be willing to put them up, or at least open up your academy as a safe haven in the event of an attack, I'd appreciate it more than you could possibly know."

Master Dominic's face became thoughtful. "You have four children? Two infants, two older girls?"

Jason nodded. "That's right."

"The older two, from the stories you've told me, are just the right age to enter. The curriculum would be more intense than they're used to handling, and I'm afraid that they would have to live at the academy, but if I speak to the right people, we could ensure that there are qualified teachers for that sort of thing."

A smile spread across Jason's face. "That would be lovely."

"The younger two would have to remain at home. The academy isn't a nursery, you know, but..." Master Dominic tapped his staff on the ground. "I can't imagine that we would close our gates to you in your hour of need."

"I'd be indebted to you, for sure." Jason held up his hands.

"As I said, I can promise nothing, but I can assure you that both myself and High Master Benedict will put in a good word for you." Master Dominic slowly turned away. "Thank you, Jason! I'll let you know."

Jason watched the old mage leaving, and a feeling of hope, fresh like the warm colors of a spring rainbow, filled his soul.

"I can't wait to hear the answer.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Nearby Enemies

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 80th day of Spring! Alright, y'all, I've got to be honest with you, there are some orcs in the area today! Shouldn't be too many of them, and Obi and I are riding out to slay them before they can slay you, so there's no need to worry! I just thought you ought to know. Weather should be just fine. A great day for someone else to die!]

[Daniel's Almanac: Update: The "someone else" in the previous statement is meant to refer to the orcs, not to the illustrious citizens of this town.]

Jason laughed as he rolled out of bed and slowly climbed to his feet. He quickly walked up to the window and pulled it open, glancing out as he looked for any sign of the orcs. Nothing immediately showed itself, and he drew in a deep breath of wonderful spring air.

"No, it's not a lovely day for someone else to die." He shook his head. "It's a wonderful day to live, orc or not." Slowly, he pulled his head back inside and walked down the stairs, where he settled into a chair. The cookbook flapped its pages in a friendly salutation, and he made himself up a chocolate marshmallow waffle. As he finished it up, he sighed in contentment, then leaned back and closed his eyes.

There were few things that he felt could interrupt his joy. The wall around the mage academy was growing higher every day, and High Master Benedict himself had signed the papers allowing Fern and Rachel to begin school there at the start of summer. Tess had begun making the arrangements for their return, which meant that in only a few short weeks, he would see his family once more! On top of that, the farm was doing better than ever. The olive trees needed harvested every two weeks, and were producing a simply extraordinary volume (which was quite profitable), the grapes needed harvested every week and a half, Milligan had several vats of oil and barrels of wine that he was working on, and the

next batch of sugar beets was growing well and was nearly ready for the harvest.

Knock-knock.

A noise echoed on the back door, and Jason stretched. "Come on in, Milligan!" He didn't open his eyes as he heard the door squeak open. "I'm thinking that we need to run down to Richard's place and get some cattle. That way, when Tess gets back here, we'll—"

He let his voice trail off as a heavy breathing noise interrupted him. Slowly, he opened up his eyes, and found himself staring up at an orc that just barely fit into his kitchen. Jason blinked a few times, and the orc snarled.

"I warn you, leave now, and you won't get hurt." Jason's voice was firm. He had been attacked once in this very room, and had gotten away. "Cookbook? I need as much sausage as you can cook. I—"

Wham!

A skillet appeared on the stove, but before it could fill up with a nice, explosive sausage, the orc spun, snatched it by the handle, and whacked Jason across the head. He fell face-first onto the dirty plate, and felt the world grow dark around him.

When Jason woke back up, he found himself tied quite tightly, bound with lengths of rope that he thought he recognized as his own. He was in the back of a pig wagon, sitting up against the railing. Also in the wagon were Milligan, Richard, and a handful of Richard's hired men. All of them were out cold, and besides, they had gags in their mouths anyway. Jason inhaled sharply, then looked around as best he could.

The wagon was rumbling up toward Summer Shandy, with a large orc sitting on the bench, driving. They were just leaving his farm, which seemed to be the target of an orcish raid. A chair came crashing through one of his windows as he watched, while another orc tore down one of Fern's apple trees with his bare hands. Meanwhile, the cart was being pulled by a single warg, which snarled and snapped as the driver lashed it with a long whip. Jason shuddered, then closed his eyes and tried to slump as the driver glanced back.

"I know yer awake. Won't do you any good to hide."

Jason sighed and straightened up. He wanted to talk, but the gag prevented him from saying a word. The driver snorted, then turned back to his task.

"The battle ought to be about done by the time we get up here. Pathetic little humans. Hardly even worth squashing, you know?"

"What are you going to do with us?" Richard asked. Jason glanced over at him, surprised. The orc jumped a bit, too. Then again, it made sense that Richard actually would be able to fake being unconscious. It also wasn't that much of a surprise that he had managed to work his gag out.

"Yer all to be sacrificed for the greater glory of orcish kind." The driver chuckled. "Ahh, best take a look now! It'll be about the last look that you ever take."

Jason, white with fear, straightened up and gazed forward as best he could. In the middle of the town square, just next to the town well, several orcs were working to stand a massive idol upright. It looked like a fifteen- foot-tall version of the little one they had used to trap the orc in the dungeon. Townsfolk were being led about in chains, shuffled into an assortment of buildings where they were locked up tightly. As the wagon came rumbling to a stop, orcs rushed up to the vehicle and pulled the doors open. Jason was yanked roughly from his position, and found himself carried right along.

"Hold it."

The voice was familiar, and Jason felt himself grow even more terrified. The orc carrying him spun around, and Jason found himself looking into the face of the monster that they had imprisoned in the dungeon for so long. It was covered in deep scars across its wrists and ankles, but there it was, free. A fresh set of claw marks raked across its chest, likely a punishment for being caught, and...

With a mighty thump, BloodTooth stepped up next to their former captive. The leader snarled down at Jason.

"Was this one of the ones who did it?"

"Yes, indeed." The captive snarled softly. "Are we going to make him pay?"

"Indeed we are." BloodTooth placed a hand on the second orc's shoulder. "I would rather that we had caught all of the perpetrators, but one will suffice. The others will be caught in due time."

A flash of hope came over Jason. That meant that Daniel and Obadiah were safe! He imagined that the mages were safe as well, but their academy was also probably under attack, given that Milligan had been taken along with himself. He tried to look out across the plains, but aside

from the upper part of the tower sticking up above the prairie, he could see nothing.

"Stare deep into his eyes." BloodTooth ordered. Jason winced as he looked up at the orc. "Look into the face of the insect that caught you."

The orc snarled at Jason, and saliva dripped from his jaw.

"Look into the face of the one who made you look like a fool." Jason had a flash of realization a moment before the captive orc.

The monster didn't have a chance to move before BloodTooth slammed a dagger deep into his chest. The creature groaned, then slowly collapsed.

"Witness what I will do to my own men." BloodTooth bent down, staring at Jason. "It was a painless death. More than he deserved. Know that I will not hesitate to rip you limb from limb if I so much as suspect that you're plotting to escape, or trying to help others escape, or plotting to do any harm to any of my people. Do I make myself clear?"

Jason gave a single nod.

"Good. Then throw him in the dungeon with the others."

Jason was lifted into the air once more and borne along through the

town. A moment later, he had been thrown roughly into the Guild Hall (not the dungeon), where he rolled across the floor for a few moments. As he came to a stop, the orc slammed the door shut behind him, and he groaned in pain.

What now? What was there to do?

He didn't have the faintest idea... Nor did he have any idea how he would be able to get out alive.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Cold Floor

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 85th day of Spring! Still reporting from hiding, but it doesn't look like old bloodfangs has started any sacrifices, so that's good. If you're still in Summer Shandy, know that help is on the way! We'll get you free, no matter what the cost!]

"Yeah, if that's true, then why don't you actually get in here and help us?" Someone muttered from across the room. As Jason sat up from the cold, hard floor, he did have to agree at least in part with the assessment. It had been five full days since the orcs had attacked and captured most of the town, and in that time, there hadn't even been an attempted rescue. Now, at least part of that stemmed from the fact that BloodTooth was there, and if Daniel showed up, the massive orc would simply become unstoppable once more. On the flip side, though, Jason was at least relatively certain that the reason that the orcs weren't doing anything was out of fear of Daniel. The moment that they sacrificed someone to their idol, Daniel would abandon all restraint and attack in full force, which didn't bode well for their longevity. It was a tough situation, made tougher by the fact that they didn't know how the mages were doing, or anything else.

Jason stretched as he climbed to his feet. About twenty people, including Milligan, had been thrown into the Guild Hall. Once there, they had all been able to get their bonds off, but the orcs didn't seem to care as long as they didn't try to escape. One man had attempted it and had been killed, which was enough to keep the others contained.

At least... In theory.

"Morning, everyone!" Jason tried to keep himself chipper and cheery as he walked around the room, shaking the few people awake who were slower to get up. "Come on, we've got another big work day today."

"I'm afraid he's right." Milligan added from the hearth. They had burned most of the furniture to have fire for cooking, and while there wasn't

much left, it was still going. "We're close, I know it, but we've got to keep pushing."

The men groaned, but a few of them nodded and climbed to their feet. Jason walked over to Milligan and helped himself to a few strips of cooked meat that Milligan had prepared, then turned and made his way to the far end of the hall.

What the orcs hadn't realized (or hadn't cared about) when they threw everyone into the hall was that there were actually a number of rooms underneath the hall. They were used by the warriors as dormitories when they were passing through. As Jason climbed down, he did find a few warriors snoozing on their bunks, staying out of sight in case the orcs decided to poke their head in the door, and he shook them awake as well. With that, he ran down to the end of the dormitory, where they had pulled aside several stones to begin digging a tunnel.

Digging tunnels was hard on the best of days, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and before anyone else could even get down into the dormitory, Jason pulled out his shovel, climbed into the small tunnel, and crawled to the end. If he was right, and he was fairly certain that he was, they were nearing the stable.

The stable, of course, was where Obadiah had been keeping the cannons.

He jabbed his shovel into the dirt at the end, and with a flash, another eight or so cubic feet were transferred into his inventory. It wasn't much, and it made his arms ache, but he shuffled down a bit further and kept digging. He was soon able to clear about ten more feet of tunnel, using five actions to do it, and then paused for a rest.

"Alright." He murmured. "This ought to be about right. Right?"

He desperately hoped that they had tunneled far enough. If they missed the stable and popped up outside the building, the orcs would see them, and their escape attempt would be up. Slowly, carefully, he began to dig upward. They had estimated that they were about ten feet under the ground, which left him with about five actions to clear the surface.

"How's it going?" Milligan asked as Jason used his third upward action. There was enough space now for him to sit up, though it was tremendously dark.

"Going enough." Jason muttered. He shoved the shovel upward, and with a flash, another section was cleared. His arms hurt so badly now that

he was forced to lean against the wall for a moment to rest. "I'm almost through. Get everyone ready. This is going to have to work perfectly if we're going to pull it off."

"I'll let them all know."

Jason nodded, even though Milligan couldn't see it, and thrust upward with the shovel again. There was another momentary flash of light... Followed by a bit of light that didn't go away. Jason could barely breath as he found himself looking at a narrow crack, with daylight beyond. He was looking at a chip in a cobblestone, he was certain of it.

The only question was... Where was that cobblestone located?

There was only one way to find out. He carefully braced himself against the walls of the tunnel and pushed himself up, then pushed the cobble aside. It broke away with ease, and he slowly poked his head out into the open. No orcs bent down to grab him, which he deemed to be a positive sign, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

They were, indeed, just inside the stable. He smiled, then slowly pulled himself up into one of the empty stalls. There were no horses left, and the doors were all barred tightly. An assortment of weapons had been tossed into the building, making Jason suspect that the orcs were more or less using it as a storage shed. He stood up and started looking around, and soon, more people began to arrive.

Most of the captives in the Guild Hall had been farmers, though of course, there were the three warriors who had been in the dorm by happenstance when the orcs attacked. As the last of the group climbed through, Jason held up a hand. None of them dared to talk over him, for fear of the orcs.

"Alright." He whispered. "There are three cannons here. I need them loaded and primed just as quickly as possible. Once that's done, we all know the plan. Myself and the warriors will lead the attack, and will cause as much chaos as possible. The rest of you, head north, past the dungeon, and down to the stream. From there, get out into the wilderness just as quickly as you can. Hopefully you'll be able to find Daniel and Obadiah and get to safety."

Everyone nodded their heads, and Jason let out a long breath. He gave a nod to everyone, and the men rushed to get the cannons loaded. Somehow, he had become the de facto leader of the group, though he didn't

really know why. He wasn't going to complain, and he wasn't going to shirk his duty, but he also hadn't really planned for such a thing to happen.

In any case, the moment the cannons were ready, he gave a nod. The warriors, who armed themselves with some of the weapons that had been tossed into the building, took over manning the cannons. Several of the men stepped up to the doors, and, with a flourish, threw them open.

Jason led the charge as the warriors rolled the cannons out into the street. They rolled them quickly into formation... Only to pause. There were no orcs right there to shoot at. Jason frowned, then turned and waved at the people who were planning on just escaping. They shrugged and charged off to the north, not waiting to find out if there really were any orcs in the area. Jason frowned, then slowly drew his pistol (which he himself had picked out of the pile of weapons) and started forward.

Suddenly, an orc walked around the corner of the building. He looked like he was on a routine patrol, and took several steps before his brain registered the fact that there was a prison break in progress. Suddenly, his face hardened, and he drew a dagger.

"You're going to regret this! Everyone! Prisoners are—"

Jason fired his pistol, hitting the orc in the face. The bullet bounced off, which was what he expected, but it made the creature stagger. With that, half a dozen orcs ran around the corner, and Jason nodded.

"Fire!"

The cannons boomed powerfully, sending brilliant spears of flame and smoke rolling across the street. The cloud covered the retreating civilians, and, as it cleared away, revealed that they had killed two of the orcs while injuring four more. The remaining orcs paused, as if checking to see if the cannons could fire a second time. The warriors, thankfully, gave them no chance to find out for sure, and charged forward with great war shouts.

Swords clanged against swords, and orc heads fell like rain as the warriors threw themselves into the combat. Meanwhile, Jason ran back to the cannons, grabbed a cannonball, and shoved it down the barrel of the closest cannon. They knew the warriors couldn't hope to hold off the entire town, but they needed to give the escapees enough of a head start as possible. Quickly, he rammed the ball down, then opened up the cannon's interface and added a good bit of black powder. He was just adding a fuse when BloodTooth strolled around the corner, spittle flying from his tusks.

"How dare you challenge me?" He roared. He drew a massive sword, one that Jason was pretty sure belonged to Daniel, and slashed outward. One of the warriors fell screaming, and the mighty orc stomped on the man's head, killing him instantly. The other two warriors turned and ran, though only one of them escaped. The second was shot by an orcish arrow through a chink in his armor, and collapsed in a heap without even a yelp. With that, Jason was left alone, frantically getting the cannon set up. He added a fuse, then struck a match as the orcs advanced upon him.

His plan was simple. One last shot, to cover his retreat, and then he would run back and jump down into the tunnel. He'd still be stuck, but the orcs likely wouldn't think to look for him there, and he would be safe until the town could be liberated. As he held up the flame to the fuse, BloodTooth lunged forward, grabbed him around the neck, and hoisted him up into the air.

"You're trying to be a hero, eh?" BloodTooth snarled. "I thought we discussed that."

"We did." Jason answered, at least as well as he could. "I just... you know... Disagreed with the assessment."

"You're a fool, and you will die." BloodTooth began to smile. "In fact, I think you ought to be the very first person to die as a sacrifice in this town. Shall we get that started?"

Jason stared down at BloodTooth. "Do your worst."

"I plan to."

BloodTooth turned around, still holding Jason high into the air.

Suddenly, though, he let out a cry of pain, and let Jason come tumbling to the ground. Jason landed with a thump, and BloodTooth looked down at his arm. The other orcs looked at him in confusion, and BloodTooth blinked in surprise.

"What... What level are you?"

"Warrior level?" Jason shrugged. "I dunno. Not high."

"All my stats have been reduced to Level F!" BloodTooth reached

out and grabbed Jason by the neck once more, but was unable to lift him off the ground. "This... this is..."

"Pathetic?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Only because you are!"

Jason shrugged, then pulled backward. He couldn't break free of the

orc, but he could make the monster stumble a bit. "As I tell everyone, I'm a

farmer. Not a warrior." "A farmer?"

"Yes. Someone who grows plants, lives in harmony with nature, all that stuff that you orcs claim to be all about." Jason shrugged. "Do you know what a big portion of my job used to be?"

"What?" BloodTooth snarled.

"Getting rid of all the weeds."

With that, Jason opened his inventory and yanked out a hoe. It was a

rusty old tool, but he swung it with all his might at the orc. It was, of course, not a great deal of might, but he succeeded in whacking the orc in the side of the head. Blood gushed down to the ground, and the orc let go and staggered backward. A moment later, he tripped on the warrior who had been shot with the arrow, fell, and cracked his head on the cobblestones.

[You have just killed BloodTooth the Orc!]

[Exp Gained: 10 (Decreased from 10,000,000,000,000 due to Level alteration)]

The orcs around regarded Jason curiously, as if they weren't sure whether to kill him or to elect him as their new leader. Thankfully, Jason was saved from any further choices as a trumpet blew loudly, and Daniel, Obadiah, and several other warriors came charging up into town.

The calvary had arrived... And, hopefully, that meant that he could go right back to farming, where he belonged.

Chapter Forty: Last Day of Spring

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason is ready to get to work around the farm. He still has 61 starting actions]

[Daniel's Almanac: 91st day of Spring! It's the day of the Spring Festival, y'all!!! I really don't feel like I should have to say more than that, given the year that we've had. Come on out and enjoy yourselves!!!]

Jason felt a great flash of excitement as he rolled out of bed. He'd hardly been able to sleep at all the night before, though he had finally dozed off well toward midnight. He ran to his wardrobe and dressed, then flew down the stairs three at a time. He passed clean through the kitchen without stopping to eat (the orc had trashed it anyway, so there wasn't really any way to cook food), pulled on his boots, checked the mail, and ran out onto the porch.

As he did so, he was forced to slow to a stop for a moment as he looked around his homestead. The orcs had... well... Not been terribly kind to the old place. Almost every fence on the property had been knocked down. The barn doors had been torn off, and the interior of the barn had been wrecked beyond belief. Jason had managed to clean up most of the debris over the course of the previous several days, but it was bad. His fine line of equipment had been dragged out of the lean-to (which had been torn down) and was now dented and rusting. The Farmstead Eighty had been torn apart as well, and more or less resembled the surrounding prairie as crabgrasses and thistles and other such creatures swarmed happily over the ground that they had been so long denied. It was an absolute and utter wreck, and across the prairie, Milligan's part of the farm hadn't fared any better. The grapevines had been ripped up, the olives had been uprooted, the greenhouse had been smashed, both the winery and the olive press were ruined... Not a single part of the farm had survived intact.

Hooves clopped on the ground as Milligan rode up, a weary look on his face.

"Well, on the bright side, you're not going to be bored this summer."

"Not a bit." Jason shook his head, then nodded at Milligan's new horse. "He's named Sandy, right?"

"Yeah." Milligan patted the neck of the roan. "Can't find Dusty anywhere, and I don't want to think about what the orcs might have done with him, so I'm just going to pretend that he got clean away, and hope that it's true."

"Same with Lady." Jason sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "You heading up to the festival?"

"That's the plan." Milligan shifted forward. "You want a ride?" "Nah." Jason shook his head. "The walk will do me good."

Milligan tipped his hat, then rode off. Jason cast one last look at the

old farmstead, then sighed and struck off down the road.

The trip up to Summer Shandy felt like it took an eternity, and

through it all, Jason's mind whirled with possibilities. He knew he would get everything built back again, that wasn't really a concern. He only hoped that bringing his family back had been the right idea. He didn't want to expose them to any danger, and he—

"Daddy!"

Jason suddenly realized that he had walked up into town, and he blinked in joy and delight as Fern and Rachel both ran across the cobblestones, arms open wide. Jason beamed and dropped to his knees, holding his arms open wide, as they threw themselves into his embrace. He hugged them tightly, smiling uncontrollably as they held him back. They gave him a kiss, one on each side of the face, and he let them go as they stepped back. With that, he stood up as Tess walked up. They embraced, and he sighed.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"Glad to be of some assistance." Tess whacked him lightly upside the head, then took a step back and glanced around. "Look, girls, what happens when Mommy isn't around to supervise. The whole town has gone and fallen apart!"

Jason couldn't really disagree with that assessment. Summer Shandy hadn't fared quite as badly as his farm, but it was bad. There were a lot of doorways that had curtains instead of doors, a lot of windows that had been hastily covered over with boards, and more than a few missing cobblestones. "Just wait until you see the farmstead."

Tess winced. "Did they get the house? Please tell me that they didn't shred the drapes."

"Let's just say that you're going to have loads of fun redecorating." Jason shrugged with a small smile, then glanced around. "Now where are the twins? I don't see them anywhere!"

"Dada!"

Jason spun as Baby Tess and Jason (who were now more like Toddler Tess and Jason) came waddling up to him. He bent down, and they both stared at him a bit curiously. He flashed a sad sort of smile at them.

"You don't really know who I am, do you?"

They took a step back, and Baby Tess fell on her rear. Tess bent down and picked them both up.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that they'll learn to love you just like the rest of us."

"And it'll be a fine thing that they do." A new voice cut into the conversation, and Master Dominic hobbled up. Fern and Rachel both drew back slightly, and he smiled and bent down. "Would you two be our new pupils?"

Fern nodded shyly. Rachel, though, stepped forward without hesitation.

"Are we going to learn to shoot fire and things from our hands?"

"No, no!" Master Dominic laughed. The faces of the girls fell, and he pointed to his staff. "You'll learn to use staves. They're much more effective when it comes to focusing magic, I assure you."

"And I'm sure you'll start with safer spells." Tess spoke up. "Won't you?"

Master Dominic shrugged. "Actually, we really let the students guide-—" Tess fired a look at him that Jason had seen many times, and the master seemed to choke. "I mean... Yes. Yes, of course. We'll start with levitating objects and turning one thing into another and all sorts of other such things."

Both girls started jumping up and down in excitement, and Master Dominic straightened up. "On a housekeeping note, we have their dormitories ready, and will expect them to be moved in over the course of the next couple days. Most of our professors are already here, though as you might expect, there were a few delays from the orcish raid. We also have a

number of similarly-aged students coming down from Illumitir, up from Portswain, and a few other places."

Tess nodded. "We'll make sure that everything is ready."

"I should warn you that this isn't going to be easy for them." Master Dominic's voice grew grave. "I understand that they're ahead of their studies, and that's one of the only reason that we're allowing this. Most of the students we accept are in similar situations. If they're used to being ahead of their class, I'm afraid that unless they're truly at the level of genius that comes around every few generations, they're likely going to be in the middle of their class. They'll need to be okay with that."

"I'll make sure to read them the riot act before they head your way." Tess promised.

"Much appreciated." Master Dominic smiled. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get back down to the academy. As much as I'd like to stay and enjoy the festival, I do have some things that I need to attend to, in preparation for the next season's school."

"I understand." Jason nodded. As Master Dominic turned away, he raised a hand. "Oh! One other thing. Did you have a chance to check over any of that information from the books? Were you able to confirm if any of it was correct?"

"Ahh. Yes." Master Dominic sighed and rubbed his head. "As near as we can tell, yes, all of it is true. They listed several specific events at specific locations, and everything that we were able to check out was accurate."

"Where does that leave us, then?" Jason asked. "Is there anything that's helpful?"

"Possibly." Master Dominic sighed. He glanced around the courtyard, then lowered his voice. "That original idol that the mages used to create the desert. As near as I can tell, that likely is what's spawning in the orcs right now, what's driving them. Now, importantly, the book speaks of three gemstones that were fitted into the idol that gave it power. The stones were removed by the original mages and hidden around the world."

"So the orcs are looking for the stones now?" Tess frowned in thought.

"Yes."

The voice was a new one, and Jason turned as a man in rather shabby rags came walking up. Tess frowned, and the man straightened a bit.

He was a wild man type, with a long, grey beard that was all sorts of tangled and knotted. His white-grey hair was in a similar condition, and his eyes appeared crazed. No... Not crazed. Intense.

"Who's this?" Master Dominic frowned.

"I was about to ask you the same question." Jason murmured.

"He was on the caravan with us, but he kept to himself." Tess

shrugged, gesturing to him. "I'm afraid I didn't get your name, sir. Do you know something about this?"

"Indeed I do." The man suddenly straightened up and threw off his rags. Beneath them was a far more impressive suit of clothing, and his eyes became softer. His hair didn't change, of course, but it was suddenly obvious that they had been looking at a disguise. "My name is Alfradus. Alfradus Hunter."

Jason's mouth went dry. "My uncle."

"Don't worry, I'm not here to take back the farm. I might even help you rebuild it." Alfradus smiled warmly. "I know you have many questions, and I'll do my best to answer them. For now, all you need to know is that yes, the idol had three gemstones. The orcs, about fifteen years ago now, found one of them. Since then, they've been preparing. Building their strength. I left to see what I could learn of them. They don't yet have the other two, but they're close, and that's been their primary objective of this whole invasion."

Jason felt himself suddenly become even more terrified. "I suddenly feel like I would have been fine not knowing that fact."

"Hence why I kept to myself, and went missing instead of revealing to the world what my studies were about." Alfradus smiled wryly. "I do believe that we can stop the beasts, but I've come to the realization that I can't do it myself, and with the mages here, I believe that we truly do have an opportunity to do some good."

Master Dominic didn't say anything for a long moment. The end of his staff lit up, and he sighed. "We'll have to confirm your story, of course."

"Of course." Alfradus smiled.

"And you're going to need a new name." Tess commented. "How about Alfie?"

"If that makes it easier on everyone, then I'll gladly accept it." Alfie nodded. He sighed and glanced around at the growing festival. "Well, shall we go have some fun? I never participated in one of these in the past."

"Honestly, they've been pretty lame since all the women left." Jason shrugged. He bit his lip, then nodded down at the farmstead. "I'm really sorry, but can you come by tomorrow? I haven't seen my family in ages, and..."

"Of course." Alfie apologized. "Go have fun, and I'll be along first thing in the morning."

"It can be second thing, if you're so inclined." Jason held up a hand "Just... Ahh... Yeah. Thank you."

Alfie gave a bow. He didn't seem concerned, which was good. Slowly, Jason turned to Tess, and took her hand. Together, the family started the long walk back down toward the farmstead.

In so many ways, he had been knocked all the way back to square one. The farmstead was an absolute wreck, and it was likely going to take him years to fully rebuild. That said, in so many other ways, he couldn't have felt better about where they now stood. His family had returned. There was a mage academy located just over the prairie from them.

Sure, there were orcs on the horizon that were threatening to attack and destroy everything that he knew and held dear, but... Well, he had survived so far.

And nothing, not orcs or idols or uncles or anything else, was going to beat him.

Not if he could help it.