Casual far Ming

by Taylor and Laura

Farmer

12. Book 12

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! It's a great day to get outside and rebuild the town, now, isn't it? The sun is bright and hot, a wonderful start to summer, and our wonderful Mage Guild helpers are busily helping to put everything right as rain! Except there's no actual rain.

Oh, and I've just been informed that the mages are mostly focused on their little academy, so we'll have to actually use our own elbow grease to rebuild things. That's alright, though. You know, I once hit five nails into a piece of wood with one swing of a hammer, so feel free to call me up!]

Jason sighed and slowly rolled out of bed. Throughout his years on the farm, there were nights of sleep that had been better than others. All things considered, though... The previous night had been one of the worst. The bed, having been torn apart by the orcs, was in quite a state. Springs poked into his back, the whole thing was quite uneven, and the blankets had only covered about half his body. He sighed and climbed to his feet, and next to him, Tess did the same.

"Daddy?" Fern poked her head in the door. "Daddy, my window is open, and there's a bird on my dresser."

"Yeah! It's a pretty bird!" Rachel stuck her head in through the door a moment later. "But then I scared it away. trying to get close."

"It wasn't pretty! It left a mess on my dresser!" Fern crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jason sighed and groaned as he felt the assortment of bruises across his body. "You're heading out to the mages' new academy this afternoon; I just thought it would be nice to spend one night as a family together in the house before we were separated again."

"We're not going to be separated again." Tess rolled out of bed as well. She was holding it together a lot better than Jason, but he could see that she was in a decent amount of pain as well. "The girls are only going to be over the hill, you know that as well as I do."

"I know, I know." Jason sighed and shook his head. "I just... I don't know. A father doesn't think he's going to be that far away from his little girls until they get married, you know?"

Down the hall, the two toddlers started to wail, and Tess smiled. "I'm going to go get the twins. Instead of complaining, why don't you take everyone downstairs, and we'll have a nice breakfast?"

"Yay!" Fern grinned. "Can we have waffles?"

"Yeah! I want a Triple Chocolate Supreme Marshmallow Strawberry Deluxe!"

Jason groaned inwardly. He'd eaten nothing but waffles for the previous year, but... If that was what his girls wanted, that was what they were going to get.

"Coming right up."

A few minutes later, the whole family was seated around the dining room table, tucking into a lovely meal. Everyone had some variety of waffles. The twins, who were only slightly over a year old, both had plain waffles. The two older girls had piled as much chocolate and sugar onto theirs as was physically possible. Tess had one covered in fruit, while Jason had made his with a helping of chicken. As they tucked in, Tess glanced over at her husband.

"What are you thinking, as far as a plan for the day goes?"

Jason could only shrug. "I mean, there's only one thing we can really do. We just have to dive in and get started on all of this. There's a lot to take care of, I imagine we'll spend most of the next year getting some of the smaller bits put together."

"Yeah." Tess sighed and glanced around. The walls of the dining room displayed long gouges and marks where the orcs had slashed into the wallpaper. Windows were broken out, the table itself was rather crooked... And the plates they were eating on were all chipped. Jason imagined that it

would be easier to just throw the entire farm away and buy a new one, if such a thing were possible. "What are you going to start on?"

"The first thing we'll have to take care of is the fence." Jason shrugged. "If the fence is down, it doesn't matter what else we do, monsters will just come back inside and wreck everything. Last night at the festival, I put in an order at Cecilia's store for enough fence to get around most of the place."

Tess winced. "And how much did that cost?"

"It used up most of our savings, but I think it'll be worth it." Jason grimaced. "As long as I can get a crop in the ground inside of a week, we should be able to have enough by the end of the summer to cover the lion's share of the repairs. We're just going to have to pick and choose what we work on."

"I'd certainly like to shore up the house." Tess glanced around. "Though I understand if we have to wait a smidge on it. It's summer, so we don't need it nearly as quickly."

"Don't worry. I'll buy new windows and some other things just as quickly as I can." Jason wiped off his mouth, then slowly stood. "I'm heading outside. Milligan ought to be down anytime now." He kissed all his kids on the top of the head, gave Tess a peck on the cheek, and smiled at them. "I'm so glad you're all home."

With that, he turned and walked back through the house. It didn't take him long to pull on his work boots, and with that, he headed out into the farmyard. To his surprise, he found Milligan already there, chatting with Master Dominic of the Mages Guild. The old mage leaned heavily upon his staff and smiled as Jason walked down to meet him.

"Ahh, good morning!" Master Dominic beamed. "I was just coming to see about my new pupils. And, of course, to take care of some other matters of business."

"The girls are inside. They'll be along just as soon as they can, I reckon." Jason smiled. He held out his hand, which Master Dominic shook. "How did your academy fare, through the invasion?"

"We survived with moderate damage." Master Dominic shrugged. "The physical structures were left more or less intact, but the orcs used an ancient and powerful magic to disrupt the spells that were laid in the foundations of the academy. It will take us some time to stabilize them. At present, most of our essential staff is occupied in this work, and we have others coming to assist with it."

Jason nodded slowly. "What happens if it isn't stabilized?"

"Oh, you know. Portals opening into interdimensional space, temporal anomalies, and other such things." Master Dominic spoke with such a casual nature about it that Jason's head spun. "In any case, I do need to be getting back, so if you could send the girls along when they're ready, I would dearly appreciate it."

"Of course." Jason nodded. Master Dominic started to turn away, then paused and turned back.

"One more thing. I spoke briefly with your uncle, Alfie, yesterday at the festival. He's supposed to be coming by sometime today, I believe."

"Yeah, that's what I understand, too." Jason confirmed. "What about it?"

"Well, we've checked out his story. As near as we can tell, it all seems to line up properly." Master Dominic answered with a shrug. "I was just hoping you could make sure to send him along when he gets here. Also..."

He paused and tapped at the ground. "I was hoping that you could send the old book along with him."

"You mean the magic one that talks to the old mage, from years and years ago?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"That'd be the one." Master Dominic looked uncomfortable. "We'd like to borrow it for an indefinite period of time."

Jason sighed. He had been afraid that something like this would happen. "You're taking over for me."

"I'm afraid so. Please believe me when I say that it wasn't my decision." Master Dominic raised his hand. "In fact, both myself and High Master Benedict fought for your inclusion, but at the end of the day, we're both far enough down the ranks that we were overruled. Given the ever-increasing orcish threat, we've been ordered to take over the investigation, and given that your uncle seems to have a great deal more information..."

"You don't have to justify yourself; I get it." Jason shrugged and looked down at the ground. "The book's up in my office. The orcs didn't touch it, I had it hidden in the secret room. I'll have someone bring it along when they head in your direction."

"Many thanks." Master Dominic bowed his head. With that, he turned and started shuffling away. As he walked off into the distance, Milligan turned and nodded to Jason.

"I sure am sorry, Boss."

"Ahh. It's life. I'm honestly surprised they let me keep doing all sorts of cool stuff with it for as long as they did." Jason squared his shoulders, then slowly turned to look around the barn. "Now, what needs to be fixed around here?"

As his eyes swept the area, he couldn't help but feel that the answer was "everything." The fruit trees, which he had planted for Fern almost a decade earlier, had been stripped down and uprooted. The fences were broken. The barn had actually been beaten up so badly that there were gaping holes in the sides. One of the doors hung askew; it was... It was bad.

"When's that order of fence coming in?" Milligan asked.

"About a week." Jason crossed his arms. He caught a glimpse of someone walking up the road from Summer Shandy, probably his uncle, but didn't move to investigate. "Come on. Let's get to work."

Milligan nodded, and they both opened up their inventories to pull out the tools they would need. For now, all they could do was repair what was already there, but that was enough for the time being. Quickly, Jason walked to the front gate, where he pulled out a hammer and began tapping the fence rails.

[Action Used: Repair Fence. Remaining Actions: 60]

[Action Failed: Fence is too badly damaged. Remaining Actions: 60] [Action Used: Repair Fence. Remaining Actions: 59]

He and Milligan slowly began to move down the fence, putting things back in order as best they could. The sections that couldn't be repaired, Jason pulled the wood down and began throwing it into a large pile. He would burn it later, maybe as part of the festival. Bonfires were cool, to be certain. As they worked their way along the front section of the farm, the figure approaching from town became clear, indeed revealing Jason's old uncle.

"Top of the morning to you!" Alfie beamed, holding out a hand. He was a large man, resembling Jason slightly, but with a much more impressive beard and a taller and darker countenance.

"Morning." Jason grunted as he hammered another plank back into place.

"I do hope that-"

A flash of annoyance ran through Jason, and he looked up at Alfie. Alfie seemed to notice it and paused. Jason opened his mouth but held back from saying many of the things he wanted to say. Finally, he let out a long sigh, and slowly nodded.

"The mages are off across the prairie. Just follow the road, and you'll go right to them."

Alfie nodded. "Do you mind if I wait and walk with the girls? I heard that they're heading out that way."

"If you don't mind, I'd rather walk with them myself."

Alfie slowly nodded his head, then turned and walked through the gate and off across the prairie. Milligan glanced over at Jason, then grimaced.

"Aren't you being a little hard on him?"

"I don't know. It just feels like maybe this is all a little bit his fault." Jason sighed and whacked another board back into place. "I'll sit down and have a proper conversation with him, but not until this farm is back in order again."

"Alright, then." Milligan gave a nod. "Let's get this done.

Between Windows

[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: 7th day of Summer! Let's see... It looks like today's going to be another hot one, folks! We do have a storm coming through in a few days, so if you haven't gotten your windows shored up yet, now's a good time to get that done!]

"Windows." Tess murmured as Jason rolled out of bed. Well, off the mats that they had put on the floor. The bed had been officially added to the burn pile, after a few more sleepless nights on the lumpy mattress. "We need to get windows put up."

"I know, I know." Jason groaned and rubbed his eyes. "The shipment of fence just got in yesterday. I'll be putting all of it up today, and—"

"Jason, we can't wait for the money from the crops to come in." Tess shook her head. "We need to get new windows today. When that storm comes, if we get water damage through half the house, it's going to be way worse than it already is."

Jason looked up at her, then slowly nodded his head. "You're right, you're right. Sorry." He groaned and climbed to his feet. "We've still got a few days. Let me get the fence repaired, and I'll head into town and buy some new windows tomorrow."

"Thank you." Tess walked up to him and put her arms around his neck. "I know how hard this is for you, and I know how hard you're working to get everything set back in order. Just know that I see it, and I love you so much."

"I love you, too." Jason turned and gave her a kiss, then sighed. "Well, I'm heading out."

"Good. Go get to it!" Tess beamed as Jason quickly changed into work clothes. "Just head on out, if you want. I'll get the twins ready."

"Will do." Jason nodded and walked out into the hall. He paused and glanced down at the empty room where the older girls should have been. Sure, he hadn't seen them for the better part of a year, but... That almost made it worse, now. They were so close, only a mile or so away, and yet, it felt like they might as well have been across the country.

Oh, well. He drew in a sharp breath, then strode down the stairs. They were keeping the girls safe, and they were helping stave off the orcish invasion. That was important, and Jason just had to keep that fact in mind.

As he walked out into the farmyard, he found that Milligan was nowhere to be seen. That was odd, Milligan was normally way ahead of Jason, but he supposed that something had come up. There were certainly enough problems to go around. Quickly, Jason glanced over the farm and took stock of things.

Over the previous week, he and Milligan had worked to clear up the debris. Rather than storing it in the farm's inventory, which was getting rather cluttered from a decade and a half of time spent living there, they had dumped all the debris into a massive pile on the eastern side of the barn. It was unseemly, but it was the largest chunk of open ground in the place, so that was what they had to do. Meanwhile, crabgrasses crawled back and forth over the ground, along with a few razorgrasses and thistles and other such monsters, as the fence still showed a great many gaps.

Well, it was time to change that, now.

The only remaining fence was the fence that had been salvaged, all the broken pieces had been added to the pile. Jason slowly walked up to the front of the farm (where they had chopped down all the dead fruit trees as well, leaving only two still standing), where he opened his inventory and began pulling out the long list of supplies that had shown up the day before. Carefully, he dumped out a handful of wooden planks, nails, hammers, and a few other tools. And, with that, he set it.

It took all his strength, but he carefully picked up one of the planks and carried it over to an open section of the fence. At least in this area, all the fence posts had survived, which at least made the work a little easier. He quickly held it in place, pushing the plank into the small notches carved into the post, and balanced it there as best he could. Then, letting go, he walked over to the closest post.

"And... Here we go." He quickly hammered a nail through the wood, sealing it in place.

[Action Used: Build Fence. Remaining Actions: 60]

A bit of strength drained from his arms, but not too much. He nodded, then walked back over to the other side and hammered it into place as well. With that, he picked up a second board and put it just above the first one. The fence in that section had two beams, one about a foot above the ground, and the other about two feet above that. It was really quite lovely and set a nice aesthetic for the property. Further back, and around the cattle pens, they used a more industrial metal fence, but up front where they weren't often attacked by hungry monsters trying to eat his profits... It was nice to be able to use a whitewashed wooden fence, to be certain.

In any case, Jason quickly had the second one hammered into place as well and moved down south to another section. He started getting it set in place, when he heard hoofbeats on the road, and looked up to see Richard, his father-in-law, slowly riding up.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Richard called down.

"How...dy!" Jason gritted his teeth as the plank slid down. He spent a few moments frantically trying to get it set back in place again.

"Here, let me help you with that." Richard hopped down from his horse and walked over. He carefully held it in place, and Jason nodded in thanks. He hammered the nails through, then straightened up.

"Many thanks!"

"I'd stay and help you get the rest of it sorted out, but I've got a meeting up in town with Obadiah." Richard apologized as he walked back to his horse.

"A meeting?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Could you possibly be a bit more cryptic?"

Richard laughed as he swung himself up. "Ahh, it's nothing too bad. Just discussing a bit of property management, so to speak."

"Ahh, I see." Jason grinned. "After the orcish attack, you're buying up cheap property, expanding your mega-ranch even further?"

Richard smiled, then slowly shook his head. "Actually, the opposite. I'm selling a bit of the Lazy-H over to the ranch just south of me, the C-Bar- Nine."

Jason's jaw dropped. "You're... You're selling part of the ranch?"

"Now there you go, making a big deal of it." Richard grinned. "That's why I said it was a meeting."

"Yeah, but you're usually chattier than that. When you don't give details, it's just because you're trying to hide something." Jason pointed out. He hefted the next plank into place, then shrugged. "Oh no! It looks like I need more help again."

Richard rolled his eyes, then slowly swung down from the horse. "You're going to give an old man a heart attack, you know that?"

"You'll be on your way a whole lot faster if you just talk to me..."

"Alright, alright." Richard shrugged and held the board in place. "Truth be told, the ranch had been less and less profitable for a few years now. Ever since Illumitir opened up the Western Plains for development, there have been a lot of mega-ranches built up a whole lot closer than they used to be. I mean, there have always been mega-ranches, I'm talking ranches larger than the entire province of Summer Shandy, but they're way out west. Now,

they're a lot closer to home, and it's driving the price of meat way down. With the damage from the orcish attack..." Richard shrugged. "I'm just not making ends meet. I can't afford to pay all my hired hands, which is decreasing my available workforce, which is decreasing the amount of cattle I can produce, which is decreasing my profit margins, which..."

"I get the idea." Jason grimaced, then reached across and patted Richard on the shoulder. "You're a good man. I'm sorry to hear that." He hammered the last nail into place, then straightened up. "If there's anything I can do, just let me know."

"Will do, Jason." Richard smiled and walked back to his horse. He put one foot in the stirrup, then paused. "Anything else you need help with? I'd rather not get back down again."

Jason laughed. "Nah, I'm good! Have fun!"

As Richard rode off, Jason felt a strange hollowness fill his heart. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to be able to bounce back from the orcish invasion. That said, he had Tess with him, and the girls weren't far away. They would make it, they just had to stay focused. In any case, as he moved down to the next section, Milligan came hurrying up.

"Sorry I'm late, boss! I still haven't managed to find Dusty, which means I'm down a horse. The mages caught me right as I was heading out the front door, and by the time I was done talking with them..."

"Don't worry about it." Jason smiled. "Let's just dive in and get this all started."

"Fine by me." Milligan grabbed a board and walked to the next open section.

"What did the mages have to say?" Jason posited, hoping that it wasn't more bad news.

"They were just asking about the olive grove, as well as the grapes. They need more of both materials and were hoping we'd be able to get a crop soon."

"I was afraid of that." Jason sighed. "What'd you tell them?"

"That we're working on it." Milligan shrugged. "I don't need to tell you, Jason, that we stand to make a much higher profit on—"

"I know, I know." Jason nodded. "As soon as I get the house shored up, we'll get the two fields back there in order."

Milligan nodded and went back to work, but Jason knew that it was more than just that. Milligan had something for the mages, something beyond just a simple curiosity. It had started to become more apparent in the previous year but seemed to be getting more and more pronounced.

Everything was changing, and Jason wasn't sure how he liked it. Well, he knew he didn't like it, that wasn't really the question. No... Everything was changing, and Jason wasn't sure if he would be able to keep his head about him through it all. It seemed that all he could do was hang on for dear life, and hope that somehow, some way, he would be able to make it through in one piece.

T hunderclap

[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: 15th day of Summer! Alright, y'all! That storm is going to hit today, and it's going to hit hard, so make sure you've battened down the hatches! And if you don't have any hatches to batten, make sure you

lock the doors, fasten the windows, plug your leaks, and all sorts of other things like that!]

Ka-BOOM!

A clap of thunder shook the house, making Jason sit bolt upright. His back ached from lying on the camping mat on the floor, but the pain in his back didn't have anything on the pain from his heart as it hammered within his chest. He slowly sat up and walked to the window, where thick black storm clouds rolled overhead. Wind howled across the prairie, making the wide sea of grasses wave back and forth like the ocean itself. Lightning flashed from within the clouds, and down the hall, the twins screamed.

"I'll get them." Tess rose and wearily gave him a kiss. "Morning, honey."

"Morning." Jason stretched and slowly made his way to the wardrobe. "Meet you downstairs."

A few minutes later, two weary parents sat at the dining room table with two cranky toddlers. Baby Tess pulled at Baby Jason's ear, while Baby Jason did his best to throw his breakfast on the floor. Jason wearily sipped from a mug of black coffee, while Tess yawned and stretched.

"You know, when we found out we were having twins, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to name them after ourselves." Tess blinked a few times as she tried to wake up. "I'm kinda over it, now."

"Well, it's too late." Jason chuckled as he took another sip of the coffee. "In any case, I don't hate it. It's a little confusing from time to time, but we make do."

"Indeed." Tess reached out and took Jason's coffee, finishing off the last of it. Jason scowled, but she only smiled. "Well, what's the plan for today?"

Jason shrugged and took a bite out of the waffle in front of him. He had intended to make the Super Cheese Delight waffle but had accidentally made the Cheese Doodle Delight, which was... Much less filling, and more of a snack food. Still, though, he wasn't going to let food go to waste. "I think I'm helping you around the house."

"Thank you." Tess's voice was soft, and she smiled at him. "I'm sorry you can't be out in the field but know that it means a lot to me."

Jason nodded and finished off his meal. "I love you a lot, Tess. I wish I could have helped out more with the house over the past few days, but..." He shrugged. "On the bright side, we finally have all the fence done."

Tess nodded and smiled. Indeed, all the fence had been repaired around the property, and Jason had planted a crop of wheat in the Homestead Eighty. The New Eighty and the Far Eighty both still needed to be replanted, but that was a much larger issue. The old grapevines and olive trees needed to be torn up, which was on Jason's agenda for the next week, but it hadn't quite gotten done yet. With the approaching storm, they had been forced to abandon the farm and put new windows in the house, which had taken up all the remaining time.

"Well, what should we start with first?" He asked after a moment. "We obviously don't have a lot to work with, but there's plenty to do."

"Actually, if you'd help me in the living room, I think that's the most important part." Tess shrugged. "We can afford to keep sleeping on the floor, but it would be nice to be able to have company over again."

Jason rubbed a bruise on his back. "Speak for yourself. I'd love nothing more than to stop sleeping on the floor, but that's just me."

Tess laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've camped out for so much of my life that I honestly find it kinda fun."

"Fair enough, fair enough." Jason slowly walked into the living room, where... Well... Things were an absolute disaster.

The orcs had broken each and every piece of furniture that they owned. They had clawed up the wallpaper, smashed the gas lights, broken the floor, and a whole lot more. While Jason had been out fixing up the farm, Tess had done the best she could to repair the inside of the house, but there had only been so much she could do. With the twins underfoot, most of her work had been upstairs, fixing up the kids' room along with the master bedroom, which gave the kids a place to play. Downstairs had mostly remained a mess, which was the issue at hand.

"Alright, let's just dive in." Jason shrugged and looked over at the furniture. "First things first, we need to decide what can be saved, and what needs to be pitched."

"I think most of it's going to need to be thrown out." Tess apologized. "You can repair the wood, at least on some of it, but I'm not a skilled enough seamstress to patch up the upholstery."

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Jason sighed, then shrugged. "Well, let's get to it!"

He quickly examined the couch, determined that it couldn't be saved, and, with Tess's help, lugged it out through the front door and into the yard. There, as the wind howled across the ground, they struggled with the couch across the ground and tossed the massive object onto the pile of debris. Jason glanced up at the clouds with worry, prayed that they wouldn't have any tornadoes spawn, and went back into the house. From there, Jason was able to move the rest of the furniture himself, giving Tess the freedom she needed to keep the twins from getting into anything.

Jason quickly hauled out several chairs, the love seat, and several other odds and ends. He frowned as he picked up an end table, then pulled out his hammer and set to work.

[Action Used: Repair. Remaining Actions: 58]

With a flicker, the table was fixed, and he carefully set it up on end. The lamp that had once been on top of it was utterly smashed, and Jason quickly grabbed a broom and got that squared away. With that, he moved on to his writing desk, which sat rather crooked by the front door. Massive orcish claws had rent it nearly in two, and he carefully pulled out his hammer.

"I'm so sorry, Jason." Tess whispered as he tapped the object.

[Action Failed: Repair. Remaining Actions: 58]

"Ahh. It's just a writing desk." Jason sighed. He quickly opened up the desk's inventory and pulled out all the paper, the old letters he had stored, vials of ink, blotting paper, paperweights, and more. "I'll get a new one."

Still, even as he said it, a great weight seemed to settle in his chest. If there was one piece of furniture in the house that he had bonded with, it had been the writing desk. Still, though... If it couldn't be repaired, it couldn't be repaired.

It almost hurt to drag it out into the yard, but he soon added it to the pile. That done, he headed back inside.

"I'm putting the twins down for their nap." Tess called out, walking back up the stairs. "After that, I'm making some lunch. What do you want?"

"Ahh... Anything works for me. I'm not super hungry." Jason knelt down on the floor, near the fireplace. He pulled out a hammer and flipped it around so the claw was pointing downward. Carefully, making sure to stay out of the way, he tapped the nails holding down a broken board.

[Action Used: Remove Nails. Remaining Actions: 57]

A rather painful noise echoed through the air as the nails were pulled out, and both twins screamed from upstairs. Jason winced, then carefully pried up the board and tossed it to the side. That done, he moved down the floor, working his way to the next broken board. Thankfully, there weren't too many, but there were certainly enough that it just had to be done. It made the floor uneven and provided more than a few opportunities for splinters in terribly unpleasant places. Not to mention, of course, the fact that the twins wouldn't be able to use the floor until it was properly fixed.

"Daddy. Our hero." Tess commented as she walked back into the room.

Jason flashed her a smile as he ripped up another board. "Just doing what has to be done. It's a commentary on our society that doing the bare minimum makes you a hero."

Tess laughed, then turned away. "You know my own history. It is, but... You are."

Jason smiled, then kept working. He had nearly gotten through the entire floor when Tess walked back into the room, holding two plates of food. A steaming piece of fried chicken sat next to a pile of mashed potatoes and some green beans, and Jason's stomach rumbled. He stood up, and the two of them ate while leaning against the walls for support.

"Do you think you'll get the floor finished today?" Tess asked.

"I reckon so." Jason nodded. "I've only got a little bit further to go before I have all the broken boards pulled up. Getting new boards back in place is going to be a bit trickier. I have boards that are the right dimensions, they're just not the right length, so I'm going to have to measure and cut and all that sort of fun stuff."

"Well, you just let me know if you need anything." Tess glanced at the walls. "I think I'm going to start working on the wallpaper. We're going to

have to fix the drywall, I think, but in order to do that we've got to get all the old paper off."

"Sounds like a plan." Jason finished off the food on his plate, gave Tess a kiss, and walked back into the kitchen. "Let's get to it!"

Outside, the thunder boomed, and the wind howled. Inside, the usually peaceful house rang with the sound of hammer blows and the swish of saw blades. Still, though, it really was a lovely time, one filled with love. Soon, they would have their house and their home back together. Sure, they had experienced a setback, but... As far as Jason was concerned, nothing was going to be able to knock them down for good, and this, more than anything else, proved that fact spectacularly.

Part of the Whole

[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: 17th day of Summer! That storm is finally over, y'all! Better make sure you get outside and get all sorts of good work done! The weather's supposed to be nice and warm, so make the best use of the time as you've got!]

Jason frowned as he rolled out of bed. Something in the message seemed... Off. Jason hadn't been outside in almost two days, ever since the storm had come rolling through. Suddenly, he realized what didn't seem right. The day after a storm was always a "pud" day, so to speak, where the ground was too wet to really do anything with. Slowly, Jason walked up to the window and poked his head out, feeling a sense of dread settle in his stomach.

Outside, the sun was just rising, casting long, golden sunbeams across the landscape. The prairie grasses waved in a soft breeze, with bits of dust kicked up here and there. Jason slowly crossed his arms, and Tess frowned as she stood up behind him.

"What is it?"

"You know something? It didn't strike me at the time, but now that I think about it, I don't think we got a drop of rain from that storm." Jason crossed his arms tightly.

Tess walked up next to him and looked out across the farmstead. "Do you think everything's going to be alright?"

"Believe me when I say that I don't have the faintest idea." Jason grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. "Remember when the Illumitir Province got hit with that really bad drought? We were alright, but a whole lot of folks up north really had a hard time of it."

"Yeah, I remember it. We got a barn out of the deal, as I recall."

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, we did. Problem is, a whole lot of other folks lost their barns at the same time. I just hope it isn't reversed." He shrugged. "Well, there's nothing to it."

He walked over to the wardrobe and quickly changed. With that, he kissed Tess, and they made their way downstairs with the twins and ate a quick

breakfast. Jason gave them both big kisses, then made his way through the (partly) refurbished living room, pulled on his work boots, and made his way out into the farmstead.

Milligan, thankfully, was already there. He swung down off his new horse, and held out his hand. Jason shook it firmly, and the two men glanced around the area.

"I don't think I've caught the name of your new ride." Jason reached out and stroked the horse's neck.

"Sandy. I thought it matched well." Milligan smiled, then sobered. "You ever find Lady?"

"Not yet, but I haven't given up hope." Jason shrugged. "Well, how are things up in your end of the world? See the girls at all?"

"I actually saw them last night. They were out in the storm, practicing shooting lightning or something." Milligan shrugged. "I dunno. They were with Master Benedict and a whole group of other children, so I didn't ask too many questions."

Jason nodded. "Well, I'm just glad they're alright." He slowly turned and walked over to the fence surrounding the Homestead Eighty. As he leaned upon the rails, Milligan joined him, and the two men regarded the wheat with distasteful glances.

All things considered, the wheat was doing less than spectacular. Without a drop of rain since they had planted it, it was less than half the height that it should have been, and it looked rather sickly. Jason sighed and kicked at the ground, and Milligan glanced over at the windmill. Or, at least, what was left of it. The whole thing had been mangled by the orcs (as with everything else), rendering it entirely unusable.

"Think we need to fire up the well?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't." Jason shrugged and shook his head. "I'd sure like to, if I'm being honest, but I don't know if that's the best idea or not. We'd have to pay an arm and a leg to fix the windmill, I'm sure, and I wouldn't be surprised if we'd have to go down and re-dig part of the well itself, since it's been so long since we've used it."

"If that's what we need to do to get a crop, it might be worth it." Milligan commented.

"I don't know. Problem is, I don't know if I have enough money to do it." Jason admitted. "We bought the supplies for the olives and the grapes, and between all the other farm expenses and the house repairs, I've got enough money for food, and that's about it."

"Well, let me know if you change your mind. I've got a small reserve I can dip into." Milligan turned and gestured across the prairie. "Are we still breaking out the fields across the way?"

"That's what we've got to do." Jason nodded. "You head that way. I'll be along in a few."

He walked up to the barn, where they had repaired the stables and a few other essential areas. He quickly saddled up Angus, then rode off across the prairie, giving his field one last, sad look as he went. Truth be told, he really didn't know what would happen if they couldn't pull a crop. There were banks in other cities nearby that would, at least in theory, give him a loan, but that was something he didn't want to have to worry about. He didn't care about the pride aspect of needing a loan, but loans brought interest rates, and that brought whole heaps of trouble when things like droughts and other such factors came into play.

In any case, he soon rode across the prairie to the Far Eighty. There, a handful of dead olive trees poked out of the ground, not far from the New Eighty, where a great many dead grapevines snarled across the baked dirt. Jason swung down from Angus and turned him loose into the corral, then slowly walked into the olive grove. Milligan followed, and Jason drew a long, iron rod out of his inventory.

Tearing out trees wasn't something he'd ever done before, though he knew the theory well enough. As they approached the first tree, Milligan walked up with a shovel and placed it near the base. He pressed it into the ground, then grunted.

"Everything okay?" Jason asked with a frown.

"Okay... Enough." Milligan raised the shovel and slammed it down, then put his foot on it. After a few moments, he was able to break through the crust, and turned a rather small bit of soil off to the side. "It's starting to turn into hardpan."

"That's not good." Jason murmured. Hardpan soil was topsoil that had become far too dry. It was a step above parched soil, and... Once it became hardpan, it was nearly impossible to break back out, not without a whole lot of rain. "Why is it coming on so fast? It's only been summer since we stopped getting rain, right?"

"I don't know, boss. We got some rain about halfway through spring, but I don't really remember anything after the midpoint." Milligan grunted and shoved the shovel down again. The soil became more moist as he dug downward, and the process seemed to ease up. "That's the thing with droughts. They sorta sneak up on you. The one in Illumitir caught people unawares, that was what made it so dangerous. By the time anyone realized that it had arrived, food was running short, and everyone had to either flee or starve."

"You're not exactly making me feel warm and fuzzy about our chances, here." Jason chuckled as he watched Milligan work. Milligan stepped back after a moment, and Jason stepped forward and poked the long rod underneath one of the roots. He started to pull and tug on it, using as much leverage as he could muster, and Milligan joined in.

"I'm sorry, boss. I don't mean anything by it." Milligan shrugged. "And do keep in mind that this could only be a bit of a dry spell. Doesn't have to mean anything more than that. Droughts are serious business, and don't come along all that often."

Jason nodded, but didn't say anything more as he heard a sharp crack echo through the air. It took them a few more moments, but then, with a resounding snap, the dead tree toppled over and landed on the ground with a crash. Thankfully, agricultural plants decomposed faster than plants out in the wild, which allowed the two men to perform such a feat. Attempting to do the same thing with a tree off in the forest would have only resulted in the two of them looking like fools and accomplishing absolutely nothing.

"That's true enough, I suppose." Jason started walking toward the next tree. "I don't know. It's got me plenty nervous, in any case."

"I know, boss. Just know that I'm here for you." Milligan glanced toward the Mage Academy. "I reckon they'd be willing to help you, too, if you asked."

Jason glanced over at the academy, and felt a flash of frustration stab through him. He didn't say anything for a long moment.

"Jason, I-"

"I'd rather not ask the mages for help right at this moment." Jason finally answered.

"Oh, come on." Milligan sighed. "You know they're good people. Master Benedict and High Master Dominic have done all kinds of good for you, and they're taking good care of your girls."

"I know that, I know that, but I still can't help but feel that as soon as I wasn't needed, I was tossed to the side." Jason scowled. "Last year, when they were always needing my help? I was involved with things, I was part of the project, and now... Now, my uncle shows up after being gone for a decade and a half, and they trust him implicitly while pulling everything back inside that academy. They took that old book, they're just pretending to be me... I mean, I'm not going to say that I fully understood what was happening, but I do know that time travel stuff is really cool, and now I don't get to be involved."

Milligan sighed. "I'm sorry, Jason, but you do have to remember that you're not a mage. This is serious business, and it's not for farmers."

Jason set his jaw. "I'll do my best to remember, but you'd best remember the same thing. You're as much an outsider as I am." Milligan didn't say a word, and Jason sighed. "Come on. Let's just get these trees out."

He knew he was just venting his frustrations from the crops failing, but he couldn't bring himself to say that he was sorry, either. He was getting more and more and more frustrated with the whole turn of events, and wasn't sure what he could do to change things.

Maybe there wasn't anything he could do. If that was the case, he would only be able to sit on his farm and watch it all play out. He only hoped that he would, indeed, be able to remain on his farm.

Defensive Homesteading

[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: 30th day of Summer! 61 more days until the Summer Festival! Howdy, folks! This is Obadiah, subbing in for Daniel. We've got a bit of a situation here, so please don't leave your house unless you absolutely have to do so. And even then, please weigh the necessity against

the need of keeping your head attached to your necks, if you get my meaning.]

"What's he talking about?" Jason groaned as he slowly sat up in bed. "That sounds like—"

Da-boom. Da-boom. Da-boom-da-boom-da-boom-da-boom-da-boom.

The slow beat of an orcish war drum echoed in the distance, and Jason jumped out of bed. His blood flowed like ice through his veins, and he ran up to the window and threw it open. Red orcish war banners streamed from flagpoles as a small army marched across the plains, just to the north of his house. It was headed for Summer Shandy and didn't seem to be taking any notice of the farm, but Jason didn't want to leave anything to chance.

"Jason?" Tess stepped up behind him. "What's going on?" Her eyes widened as she saw the orcs, and her jaw set. "I'll get my armor."

"No." Jason held up a hand as she turned toward the wardrobe. "I mean... Please. Please don't go fight them."

"Why not?" Tess demanded. "I'm a warrior! They'll need every hand they can get!"

"Obadiah didn't sound too worried in the almanac entry. They've got it covered, and I think Daniel has been making sure to keep people on hand from the Guild as a sort-of posse to call on when he needs it." Jason shrugged. "I need you here, Tess. I need you guarding us. I need you..." His voice quivered. Tess looked into his eyes, then slowly nodded.

"You need me to protect this farm."

Jason let out a long breath, then turned to look at the orcs. If they came through again, if they smashed everything up again, he didn't know if he

would be able to take it. They had spent all their finances o repairing the damage from the last one, and were still a long way from finishing.

"Yes."

"Well, I still need my armor for that." Tess shrugged. "You go get the twins. Get downstairs into the storm shelter, and I'll get out there."

"But only engage if they're actually attacking." Jason cautioned.

"Jason, I know a lot more about combat than you do." Tess raised an eyebrow. "I've got this. You go get to safety, and I'll take care of things."

Jason nodded, then quickly changed and ran down the hall. The twins were just waking up, and he quickly tucked one under each arm and jogged down the stairs.

"Ood!" Baby Tess called out.

Jason sighed as he reached the kitchen. The kids wanted food. He glanced over at the cookbook, whose magical pages had been torn by the orcs. Slowly, Jason and Tess had been picking up the recipes and getting them back into the book, but it had lost a great deal of the magic that had once made cooking so easy.

"I'll get you some food, but it'll be a moment." He quickly carried the two of them down into the basement, where he slid aside the secret wall and jumped down into the storm shelter. It wasn't entirely orc-proof, as the previous year had shown, but with a few enchantments from the mages, it was better than nothing. A small playpen had been set up, and Jason quickly put the twins inside, made sure there was plenty of light, and scrambled back out. With that, he jogged back through the basement and up into the kitchen, where he flipped open the cookbook.

"What are you doing?" Tess asked, aghast, as she came running down into the kitchen. "Where are the twins?"

"They're downstairs! I'm just fixing them some food." Jason glanced nervously through the kitchen window. He could still see the orcish banners, though it looked to him as if they'd come to a stop. "I mean, what was I supposed to do? Let them starve through the attack?"

He quickly spun to the stove, and with a flash, a hearty platter of biscuits appeared. He picked it up, and Tess sighed.

"Good. Now go!"

Jason nodded and scampered back down the stairs. As he slid into the storm shelter, he heard Tess call out something from above. It sounded like one of her war cries, and the distant thunk of feet above the tunnel echoed out. Slowly, feeling a bit disappointed, he sat down next to the playpen and started to feed them the biscuit.

It wasn't that he wanted to go out and join the fight. He was entirely ineffective in battle, and he knew it, but it made him feel inadequate, at best, that he couldn't even fight to defend his own farm.

"Oh, well." He sighed as Baby Jason gobbled down the last of a biscuit, then made a sign asking for water. Jason handed him a sippy cup, and the one-year-old quickly began sucking down as much water as he could - At least until Baby Tess grabbed the cup from him. "I'm here, and I've got just about the cutest company I could imagine! Don't I?"

The twins looked up at him, giggled, and then went back to fighting with each other. Suddenly, though, the air next to Jason rippled, and a portal opened.

He jumped with surprise, as he found himself looking through a hole in space at Master Dominic. The old mage smiled and held out a hand. "Come! Quickly!"

Jason nodded, grabbed the twins, and stepped through the portal. In the blink of an eye, he teleported across space and landed on top of the walls of the academy, looking out over his farmstead. Well, the far side of it, anyway. Milligan was nowhere to be seen, but a handful of mages rushed about on the plains, fighting in a skirmish with some orcs. There was only half a dozen or so, and Jason smiled as one of the mages threw a lightning bolt that knocked down three orcs in a single blow.

"That would be Mistress Elintra. She's one of the teachers for your daughters." Master Dominic leaned upon his staff. "Oh! Speaking of which..."

Jason turned as he heard footsteps behind him. As he did, his heart melted, and he found himself staring at Fern and Rachel. Both were clad in long, blue mage robes and carried short staffs made of white wood. He beamed and knelt down, and they both rushed forward to hug him. It was an awkward hug, given that he was still holding the twins, but it was a hug, nonetheless.

"Dad! You're here!" Fern grinned. "We're about to go fight orcs!"

Jason spun to Master Dominic in horror, but the old mage simply laughed and raised a hand.

"Safely, safely! They'll be practicing targeting moving objects. That's part of why I called you here. I assumed you would want the safety, first and foremost, but I also thought you might want to see a practical lesson that your daughters are learning."

Jason's mouth went dry, but he nodded. "Alright. I... Thank you."

"Good." Master Dominic turned to Fern. "Now, Mistress Elintra is going to line up an orc for you. I want you to target, and to use fireball."

Fern's face fell. "Fireball? Why not lightning? Lightning is way easier for long distances."

"Yes, but lightning also has a higher chance of hitting allies. Unless you've attained the rank of master, it shouldn't be used in combat if you're fighting with a group. Plus..." Master Dominic added with a smile. "It is easier, and easy won't help you learn. Do as I say."

Fern nodded, then slowly pointed her staff out across the prairie. "Alright..."

Down below, Mistress Elintra glanced up at the walls, then spun and fired a concussive blast into one of the orcs, just as it moved to attack her. It staggered, stunned, and she fired a bolt of blue energy. The energy wrapped around the orc and lifted it into the air, allowing her to throw it across the prairie into a position directly in front of the girls. As the monster climbed back to its feet, Fern closed her eyes.

"And... Fireball!"

Energy swirled around the end of her staff, which began to glow with a red light. A great stab of flame erupted down from the weapon and flashed across the prairie. It missed the orc by a few feet, causing an explosion that started a small fire, but it was a good shot. Fern grinned, and Master Dominic nodded.

"Not bad. Once more. Rachel, after that, you'll try using a Light Orb."

Rachel's face fell, but she nodded. Fern bit her lip as she aimed at the staff, and the end of it glowed once more. Jason felt his hopes rising...

Foom!

With a mighty blast, fire exploded from the end of the staff. Instead of hitting the orc, or even traveling in that direction, it backfired upon Fern. The flames died down almost instantly, and Jason gulped.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Fern smiled at him. "Don't worry about it! That happens all the time. These robes are enchanted to help prevent damage from it."

Jason frowned. "I don't like it."

"I'm sorry." Master Dominic apologized. "I know it does seem strange, but Fern is right. It's perfectly normal. Fire is terribly hard to control. Rachel? You try with Light Orb."

Down below, the orc snarled and turned toward Mistress Elintra, but the mage only twitched her staff. Spectral chains formed around the monster, holding it tight, and Rachel smiled.

Flash!

A small ball of light erupted from the weapon and flashed down across the prairie, hitting the orc dead-on. Rachel and Fern both cheered, and Master Dominic smiled.

"Very good." He turned to Jason. "Would you like to try? I assume you still have that pistol I gave you."

"I have it." Jason sighed, then shook his head. "No, I don't want to try, but thank you."

Master Dominic's face fell. "I'm terribly sorry about everything. Milligan told me some of—"

"I'm sure he did." Jason looked down at the ground, not really wanting to hash through everything in front of his two daughters. "Is there any way you can make sure that Tess is safe? Bring her here if things are getting too crazy over by the house. I shouldn't have asked her to try to guard the place."

"Of course." Master Dominic nodded. "Just say the word. I'll ensure that your homestead suffers no harm. In the meantime, why don't you have your daughters show you around the place? I'm sure they'd love the opportunity."

Jason turned to Rachel and Fern, both of whom looked up at him with wide, longing eyes. A smile came across his face, and he nodded.

"I'd love the opportunity, too.

Sheltered Life

[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: 41st day of Summer! Good morning, y'all! Ahh... Let's see here. We've got a chance of showers tonight, which is a positive, although at this point, I don't think it'll do anything more than settle the

dust a bit. Otherwise, it's going to be hot, so take care if you have to go out!]

Jason yawned and slowly rolled out of bed... Well, still off the mat. He had originally hoped to have the bed replaced by the Summer Festival, but such a feat was seeming to be more and more impossible all the time. He stretched and walked up to the window, and Tess came along after him.

"Morning, honey." She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Confused." Jason puffed out his cheeks. "Trying to decide what to do next, really." He nodded down at the crop of wheat, which had entirely wasted away. "I can go into town to try and buy the parts to repair the windmill, but that'll take up the last of our money. I mean... The last. We won't even have money to buy more food from the store if our pantry runs dry."

"I seem to recall that you lived on crabgrass meat for a while." Tess smiled. "I think we still have some of it lying around."

"For starters, that crabgrass meat has to be almost fifteen years old at this point." Jason screwed up his nose. "To continue, I ate histle meat, not crabgrass meat. I suppose we'd survive, but..." He shrugged. "You think I ought to do it?"

"I think you don't have a choice." Tess answered. "When you built that well, it was so you could flood the field to grow rice. Frankly, it was kinda stupid, and was nothing more than a fun hobby."

Jason grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "You're not wrong."

"Now, if we don't start getting some crops off this ground, we're never going to make it." Tess gestured out at the field. "The prairie grasses are

growing so slowly that the pasture won't support cattle. If we're going to make money, we have to get your fields to produce."

"Then I'll make the trip into town today." Jason stretched. "Cecilia should have all the parts, and then hopefully I'll be able to get the well working tomorrow."

"Do you think you'll be able to get a crop in the ground the day after?"

Jason could only hold up his hands. "I don't have a clue. We're going to need to tear out the old wheat, and breaking through that soil is going to be tough. I'm afraid we're going to need to water it down just to get the soil moist enough to plant into, and then get the seed in the ground."

"Well, just let me know what you need from me." Tess smiled.

"I will. For now, I could use a good breakfast for getting out onto the road." Jason walked up to the wardrobe and started to change.

"You've got it!"

Fifteen minutes later, Jason ambled down the road on Angus, idly munching on an egg burrito as he went. It wasn't the fanciest meal in the world, but it did well when he needed to be traveling. Soon enough, he came riding up into Summer Shandy, where the little town, like his farm, was still recovering.

Most of the windows had been replaced with actual glass now, which was positive. The doors had all been put back up, and all the gaps in the walls had been filled in. That said, there were still a few rooftops that had tarps stretched over the places where the orcs had broken away shingles, and in quite a few places, smaller cracks still ran through the walls from ground to roof. Dust drifted across the cobbles, making the place look like somewhere bordering the great desert, far to the south and west.

Only a few people were ambling about, and Jason rode over to Cecilia's store. He swung down and hitched Angus to the rail there, then slowly walked inside. A bell over the door jingled, and Cecilia looked up from the counter.

"Jason! How are Tess and the kids?"

"They're good." Jason smiled and tipped his hat to Cecilia. It had taken her years, but she had finally learned their names. She had been thrown into the town at a rather turbulent time and had struggled to keep up with all the small-town dynamics that marked Summer Shandy. "The two older girls are off at the academy, learning how to throw fireballs and all sorts of other things, and the two younger kids are growing like weeds."

"Wonderful to hear." Cecilia smiled. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"I need to repair my windmill." Jason opened his inventory and pulled out a small piece of paper. He passed it across the counter, and Cecilia frowned at it. "This should be what I need to fix it up. The orcs didn't tear it out completely, so I just need to patch it up, really."

"Didn't tear it up completely? I've seen the list of parts for those things, and I'm pretty sure you've got just about every single one of them on here."

"Yes, well..." Jason chuckled and shrugged. "It is still cheaper to do it this way."

"I hear you. Prices rising, everyone's worried." Cecilia fished out a catalogue and started adding things up.

"Are prices starting to rise?" Jason felt a stab of worry. "I haven't been up to town since the attack, really. I mean, here and there for the odd supplies, but—"

"Yeah, they're going up. They really started to spike about two weeks ago, and they're just rising since then." Cecilia shrugged. "Well, everything except beef. We've had beef for years, apparently, but nothing else. Ahh... So, it looks like all those parts will come up to... 1,231 Shandys."

Jason winced. He opened up his account, which had a paltry 986 Shandys. "Is there any way you could haggle it down? Sorry, I must have priced this out before everything started to go up."

Cecilia grimaced. "These prices are set by my supplier, sorry. A lot of things in the store I can haggle over, but this stuff? Anything in the catalogue? I'm under contract, there's not a lot I can do."

Jason sighed and nodded. "Well... Are there any substitute parts? Maybe a lower-grade steel or something?"

"Not if you want the windmill to last." Cecilia shook her head. "I know some other farmers who tried doing something like that. It wasn't with a windmill, it was with... I think a harvester. Anyway, you start mixing and matching in these large contraptions, and all you're doing is increasing the number of ways it can break on you. I'd highly suggest against it, though I suppose I won't stop you."

"Hmm." Jason crossed his arms and tried to think. "In that case, I may need to run over to Nightford. They've got a bank there; I can draw out a small loan and then get back to you."

Cecilia's face twitched. She looked down at the counter and drummed her fingers against the wood. "I sure hate to do that to you. Let me think for a second..." It was clear to Jason that she wasn't thinking so much as deciding. There was a thought running through her head, and it made him mighty curious. "So... There are two options I can see. The first option is to take out a line of credit here at the store. It'd be a whole lot better than a bank loan; I promise you that much."

"That'd be borrowing money from your own personal account." Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Basically, yes." Cecilia nodded. "I have a few other people who take out personal lines of credit from time to time, as the need arises."

"Ahh, I'd sure hate to do that to you." Jason countered. "We're not just talking a few potatoes, here."

"I didn't think you'd like it." Cecilia paused. "The second option, then, is..." She lowered her voice. "I'm not technically supposed to know this, but if you head west out of town, you'll come to the Fredrickson place. He's got an operation a bit smaller than yours. Anyway, he's in the process of selling out, and I know he has a windmill."

Jason blinked a few times. "Selling out?"

Cecilia nodded. "I mean... Your father-in-law is downsizing. I can think of half a dozen farms and ranches in the area that are either selling ground or selling out entirely, and half a dozen more than I've pegged as likely."

"Am I on that list?" Jason asked with a small smile.

"Believe it or not, no. You've sorta become a pillar of this community." Cecilia shook her head with a smile. "I have to imagine that the day you leave is the day that pigs fly."

"Now that, I'd like to see." Jason gave a small nod and turned to head to the door. "Thanks, Cecilia. I'll be back if nothing turns up."

As he walked out the door, a great heaviness settled upon him, and he balled his hands into fists. A few other farmers rode through town on their horses, going about their business as if nothing was wrong, but... That obviously wasn't the case. The orcish attack had been a big enough

problem, but now a drought on top of it? The two-pronged hit was enough to drive anyone out of business, that was for sure.

He only hoped that he would be able to see the storm through.

Hot & Dry

[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: 45th day of Summer! Howdy, y'all! Ahh... Not much to report, really. Still hot, still dry. No signs of orcs, though, so that's good! Boring, but good. Umm... Yeah, that's all I've got. Catch you around!]

Jason sighed as he opened his eyes. He really, really didn't want to move. Tess was snuggled up next to him, and after spending the last several days getting the windmill in place and starting to work on breaking out the field, he was quite sore.

"Morning, Jason." Tess sighed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you ought to be able to finish the field today."

"Not wrong." Jason nodded. "That's the plan."

"In that case, you'd better get up and moving." Tess smiled at him, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I don't want you having to work on it for another day."

"Fair, fair." Jason slowly climbed to his feet and stretched, then walked over to the wardrobe and changed. "I'm ready for it to be done, that's for sure, and I think Angus is, too."

"Well, head on out, get things ready, and I'll bring some breakfast along for you."

Jason nodded, then made his way down the stairs. As he walked out into the sunlight, it felt as though he were being hit by a wave of solid heat. Ripples rose up from the ground in front of him, distorting the prairie. It was so hot, it felt like a desert, and yet... Here he was.

"You know, back when the drought hit, I felt sorry for everyone fleeing their homes." Jason commented to himself as he walked up to the field and looked out across the dust and dirt. "Now, I know that I didn't feel nearly sorry enough."

There was no answer back, and he contemplated what they had already done. In place of the old, mangled windmill, a brand-new windmill rose up to take its place. It gleamed in the sun, and Jason looked up to admire it for

a few moments. They had initially tried to use the parts from the Fredrickson windmill to fix the old one, but had realized that it just made more sense to put the whole new windmill in place. Now, as the wind blew and turned the wheel at the top, water was pumped up from below and dumped into the field.

At that moment, Jason had only carved irrigation lines to half of the field that they had completed. The half furthest from the house, out across the prairie, had been broken up and planted, and was now happily drinking up the water. At least... What water was emerging. The flow was less than half of what Jason thought it ought to be, which was a problem. In any case, the closer half was still nothing but hardpan dirt, and that was the challenge for that day. Jason took stock of things, then nodded and made his way up to the barn. There, he took out Angus, and slowly led him down to the lean-to.

"Here you go." Jason backed the mighty horse up to the plow, then fed him an apple. "Let's just get this all strapped up here... That's a good horse... There we go!"

Angus snorted. Jason smiled at him, though as he noticed the streaks of grey across Angus's back, he knew that whatever they got done that day was going to have to be sufficient for a time. Angus was getting old, almost twenty according to Tess, and while he could still work better than most horses, he was slowing down. Still, though, he kept his head high as Jason took hold of the handles of the plow and set Angus off toward the field.

Jason's newer models of plow actually had someone ride along on top of the machine, like the planter or harvester, but they had quickly realized that using those plows just wasn't good enough for the parched dirt. Instead, they needed the simpler, older-model plow. Jason had been able to borrow one from Richard, and now... They were ready to work.

As they entered the field, Jason pushed the levers down, forcing the plow into the ground. For a moment, the blade scraped across the surface, fighting to punch down through, but unable to penetrate the tough dirt.

Finally, the wedge caught on a large crack and slid down inside, and the plow gave a sharp jerk.

Angus's muscles bulged, and he snorted. The dirt cracked, and, slowly, the mighty horse began to pull the plow through the ground. He was only able to travel at a slow pace, one step at a time, and behind him, Jason couldn't manage to go any faster. The plow whipped back and forth as the dirt refused to break, and he had to throw every last ounce of his strength (which wasn't much, as he only had a Strength stat of 2) into keeping the plow upright. His arms ached with the effort, and more than once, the handles were torn from his grasp and whacked against his shoulders. Still, though, he forced onward, ready to be done with the task.

"Morning, boss!" Milligan rode up in a cloud of dust, just next to the field. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Nothing to worry about." Jason shook his head, then chuckled. "You know, on an ordinary year I'm happy not to have to worry about weeds. This year I'm thinking about planting some of my own, just for the sake of having something growing in here."

Milligan laughed, then sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid we're going to have to do more than that. Up across the prairie, the other two fields aren't doing all that hot. We got new vines and olive trees planted, but they're struggling. That's why I'm late today, I was discussing options with the mages."

Jason nodded. "Probably not a bad thing, since they'll provide over half our income if we can ever get this farm up and running again. What did they have to say?"

"Nothing great." Milligan shrugged. "We either need to dig a new well, or pipe in water from the river. Bringing in water is possible, they've set up the magic for it in other areas, but it's not the easiest magic in the world, and it can be kinda finicky."

"Finicky how?" Jason asked, feeling concern well up inside of him.

"Finicky in the sense that it technically has chances of opening portals and other things like that."

Jason sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to keep talking, but Milligan beat him to it.

"There's also a slight concern over the legality of it. The province we're currently in doesn't have any restrictions on taking water for irrigation from rivers, but the Portswain Province, which is where this river ends up, does have some pretty strict regulations over how much water can be harvested. If we start sucking up water from the river, and someone downstream complains, it could launch an investigation." Milligan kicked at the dust. "I know it sounds extreme, but in my previous work with the genetics company, I've seen it happen more than once."

"Good to know." Jason nodded. "We'll have to try for a well, then. Ask the mages if they have any magic we can use in place of a windmill to get the water up out of the well, at least until I can afford to buy a second one."

"Will do." Milligan tipped his hat. "What do you need me for, as far as right now goes? I can get Sandy into the field to start plowing, if you think that would be the best use of my time."

Jason nodded and wiped his brow. "We need to get the rest of this field tilled up, for sure, but beyond that, I think we're going to need to go dig this well a little deeper. Seems to me like we're not drawing out enough."

"Then let's get this place plowed quickly enough that we can still get the well dug in decent time."

Jason nodded to his hired man, then took up the reins once more. Angus, who had been enjoying the rest, started forward with a jerk, and they moved

onward through the field. Milligan joined a few minutes later, and with a great deal of effort and sweat, they broke their way ever onward.

By the time that lunch came around, they weren't quite finished, but had reduced the area to a single acre. Jason turned Angus into the corral, and wearily leaned against the fence. Milligan did the same with Sandy, then staggered up to him.

"You know, not that I'm complaining, but my arms are burning so badly I don't know that I could hold a shovel right now if I wanted to." Milligan commented.

"You and me, both." Jason sighed and wiped his brow, then chuckled. "You know what? The last time I was in at the healing den for a checkup, I saw that Theresa had these bottles of Stamina medicine. I think she used it for older folks needing a bit of an energy boost, but I have to say, it sure sounds nice about now."

Milligan laughed, then nodded toward the north. "Up in Illumitir, there was this stuff called Five Hour Stamina. I don't think it was actually classified as a potion for legal reasons, but you get the idea. I tried it once, and I was as jittery as a cockroach for the next two days. I highly, highly don't recommend it."

Jason smiled and nodded. "So, we're just wimps."

"Old wimps." Milligan sighed.

"Speak for yourself." Jason snorted.

Across the way, Tess emerged from the house. She had a smile on her face, and a picnic basket in her hand. "If you won't say it, I will."

"Oh, really?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, for sure." Tess nodded. "You're old." "And you're not?"

"Of course not." Tess batted her eyelashes. "I'm just as young and pretty as the day you met me."

Milligan elbowed Jason in the side. "Careful what you say, here. It's a trap."

They all shared a good laugh, and Tess handed the basket across to the two men before heading back inside to the twins. They sat down in the shade of the barn and quickly helped themselves to a hearty meal of pickled eggs, ham sandwiches, beets, carrots, a bit of slaw, and some other treats. Jason sighed as they finished, and he slowly pushed himself upright once again.

"Well, there you have it. Might not be a stamina potion, but I'll take Tess's cooking for a good energy boost any day."

"You and me, both." Milligan mopped his brow. "If things do go south here, I'll miss it, for sure."

Jason glanced sharply at Milligan, and his hired hand clapped his mouth shut. Jason had been thinking similar things, frankly, but didn't dare voice it. Milligan seemed to realize that he had slipped and sighed.

"I'll go get back to work."

"Might as well head down into the well." Jason murmured. "I can handle the plowing, there's not much left, and digging out the well will be nice and cool." He forced a smile on his face. "You're a heap older than I am, you know. Might as well give you the rest you need."

Milligan snorted, then bowed his head, turned, and walked off toward the well. Jason sighed deeply as he stared after the man, then groaned and turned back toward his field.

This wasn't going to be the end. It couldn't be. They had weathered other things before; this was just going to be another notch on his pitchfork. They would make it through just fine...

They had to because... Well... Jason didn't have the faintest idea what they would do if they had to leave.

Summer's To

[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: 60th day of Summer! Well, now, we're officially two months into summer! Only one month left! Most of the time, about now, I'm getting loads of questions asking if Summer can be extended, but this year, everyone just wants the heat to go away, it seems. Well... I have good

news! ... ... ... Actually, no, I don't. It's still hot and dry, but I wish you all the best!]

Jason rolled his eyes as he slowly climbed to his feet. His back was starting to hurt from sleeping on the floor all the time, and while Tess hadn't complained and always talked about how she was used to it... It had been years since she had last been active as a warrior or explorer, and he knew that childbirth hadn't exactly refreshed her body.

"You alright?" Tess asked as she climbed to her feet. Down the hall, the twins started to wail, but she let them for a moment.

"Yeah." Jason nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "Just thinking about all the things we need to buy with the proceeds of this harvest." He slowly walked up to the window and looked out at the golden field of wheat below. "I hope it's enough."

"It'll be just fine." Tess smiled at him and gave him a hug. "Whatever we wind up making off the sale, we'll put into the most important things. You need a windmill for the far side of the farm, and then you need to make some repairs to the equipment, but that should only serve to get the money flowing again. After that, we can start patching up the house, and then we'll move on from there."

Jason nodded and tried to smile. He knew they were dealing with a lot of hypotheticals, and he had some thoughts on how to counter everything they were facing but didn't want to go into it right at that second.

"Well, I'm just glad that I have the best wife ever, right here with me." Jason smiled down at her. "I'm going to go get started if you're okay with that. It's going to get hot today; I'd like to be done as quickly as possible."

"You've got it! I'll have breakfast out to you shortly."

Jason smiled at her and gave her a kiss, then changed clothes and headed downstairs. As he strode out into the dusty farmyard, Milligan came riding up, a smile on his face.

"Morning, boss! That field doesn't look half bad, you know."

"I know." Jason crossed his arms behind his back. "I just hope the heads are filled out properly."

"Ahh, it'll be fine." Milligan rode Sandy over toward the lean-to. "Come on! Let's get these harvesters up and running."

It didn't take long to pull the harvesters out. Jason quickly locked the wheels, then lay down on his back and climbed underneath his machine, even as Milligan did the same with his. The first harvest of the season was always a rough one, and with how long it had been since the last time they harvested, Jason knew he was going to find problems.

"Let's see, here..." Jason frowned as he ran his hands across the bearings that allowed the blades to spin. "Looks like we need some more grease. And there's some rust building up there..." Jason quickly pulled out tools and set to work. It took him a few minutes to get everything cleaned up and greased, and he found a few bolts that needed tightening. When it was all said and done, he crawled out and slowly climbed back to his feet.

"You look like a mess." Tess commented as she walked up to the two men. She had a large platter filled with breakfast burritos. Jason reached out for one, but Tess slapped his hand down. "Excuse me, mister! You pick up one of those while you still have that much dirt on your hands, and you'll be puking your guts out by lunchtime. I don't have time to take care of you if you get sick, you know."

Jason rolled his eyes, but Milligan nodded. "Wise counsel. Plus, grease tastes terrible, and it doesn't taste any better when it's coming back up."

"You know that for a fact?" Jason snorted as he walked over to the pump.

"I grew up in a small town, not unlike Summer Shandy." Milligan shrugged. "Teenagers always do stupid things, and we had loads of old, broken farm equipment to play with."

"I'll take your word for it." Jason finished cleaning off his hands, then picked up one of the burritos from Tess. "Many thanks, my dearest wife."

"Just make sure you get enough money off this field to pay for a trip to the store so I can keep making those." Tess commented as she walked back up toward the house. "We need more eggs!"

Milligan glanced around the farmstead as Jason climbed up onto the harvester. "Need more eggs? I thought you had plenty of... Chickens?" He frowned as he seemed to realize that there wasn't a single bird on the farm.

"All eaten by the orcs." Jason shrugged. "Either that, or they flew the coop, but I'm not counting on many of them surviving."

"I see. Well, in any case, I do think this crop will sell well, even if the yield is slightly lower than normal." Milligan shrugged. "Let's get to it."

Jason let out a long breath as he took up the reins and started off toward the field. Though it hadn't quite hit him yet, this was his fifteenth year in Summer Shandy. For fifteen summers now, he had been driving back and forth across this same field, harvesting grain, selling it to the market. Now, though... There was something different about it. He felt a strange sense within him, a hollow sort of feeling, as he rumbled up into the field and yanked the lever to engage the blades.

With a loud whir, the blades roared to life, ripping through the stalks and sucking the grain up into the threshing mechanisms. From there, the grain was battered about, knocking all the chaff away from the grain itself, at

which point the grain was dumped straight into the farm's inventory and the chaff spat out the back. A great cloud arose behind the two harvesters as they lumbered through the field, and Jason whistled.

He kept an eye on the inventory of the farm as they went along, watching the number of seeds slowly rising. As he rumbled through the field, he could see that the wheat seemed patchier than usual. In the past, the grain had been thick enough that he was entirely unable to see the ground from his perch on the harvester. Now, he could see the ground with ease, along with the myriad of cracks that ran through the hardened dirt. Off to the side, the windmill continued to spin, churning water onto the field, but the flow was just too slow to sustain the entire thing at a level that would be considered sufficient. Still, though, they were getting a crop, and that was nothing to sniff at.

The two harvesters soon reached the far end of the field, turned around, and came back. It went quicker than usual, as the thinner wheat didn't provide nearly as much drag on the horses, which let them move along at a better clip. As a result, it was still a good thirty minutes before noon when Jason and Milligan met in the middle of the field and slowly rounded everything out.

"And there you have it." Milligan smiled as they rumbled back into the farmyard. "I'll have to run the numbers for sure, but I think we still made a fairly decent haul."

"Everything's looking good?" Tess asked, walking down from the barn. She had a hammer in her hand, and the twins toddled along behind.

"Good as we can hope for." Jason nodded, swinging down from the harvester to land on the ground. "I think we yielded about 70% of what we would ordinarily yield."

"Ahh, a good 75%." Milligan countered. "Maybe even 76%."

"Optimism isn't going to change what's in the farm's inventory." Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but it'll make us all feel a whole heap better about it." Milligan smiled. "Ahh, lighten up. We'll make it through."

"So... What's your plan for the rest of the day?" Tess asked. "I'm just trying to work on shoring up some of the animal pens in here. The orcs did quite a number on them, and while I can't get the whole thing fixed, I can at least make a dent in the damage here and there."

"You're good. Keep at it." Jason paused in thought. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to go ahead and roll into town to try and sell the wheat."

"They'll collect it tomorrow morning." Milligan frowned.

"Yeah, but that means that I'll just have to head into town tomorrow instead." Jason shrugged. "I don't have enough actions to be of any use right now. I mean, I could help Tess hammer in a board or two, but that would be it."

"Then get in here and put up your two boards, and then you can be off." Tess smiled at him. "Thanks, Milligan. You want dinner tonight?"

"Nah. The mages invited me over for a big banquet thing." Milligan shrugged. "It's a holiday on their calendar, I think. Anyway, take care!"

He turned and ambled off, and Jason slowly followed Tess up into the barn. The twins started to follow, then turned and ran off across the farmyard. Jason watched them go, and almost went after them, but knew that the area was safe enough. Finding the spot where Tess had been working, he quickly hefted a board into place and waited while Tess grabbed her hammer and nails.

"It's going to be alright; you know." She spoke softly but had a smile on her face. "We'll make it through."

"Oh, I know." Jason shrugged. "I just want to make sure we don't sink things even further, you know?"

"Yeah." Tess nodded, puffing out her cheeks. "So, what's your plan, then? When you get back?"

"Well, assuming I can sell the wheat, I ought to be able to buy the supplies for the windmill on the back half of the property." Jason shrugged. "I'll go with Milligan to start getting it set up. Assuming I can get it done in a day, I'll start working on replanting this field on the day after that. Hopefully, we can start to really turn things around by the time Fall hits."

"I know you will." Tess smiled at him.

Jason didn't say anything but smiled at his wife, then walked over to Angus. The mighty steed was exhausted from the hard day's work but didn't complain as Jason saddled him up and climbed up into the saddle. With that, they were off, galloping across the countryside. The farm faded behind them, and Jason felt a grim smile come over him.

He had often enjoyed a good challenge, and this was easily turning into the greatest challenge he'd yet faced. All he had to do was stick with it, stay the course... And then, hopefully, he'd come through it in one piece.

Dusty Hands

[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: 75th day of Summer! Alright, y'all, we're on the final stretch of summer now! None too soon, I think we'll all agree with that. Whew! You have no idea how hot this armor gets. Anyhow, stay the course, and bring lots of water with you if you go outside!]

Jason smiled as he slowly rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. It was a Sunday, which meant he wasn't going to work one bit, and that was just fine by him. He was utterly exhausted from the previous week of work, which had included building a new windmill, tilling up the Homestead Eighty again, planting a new crop, and a few other odd jobs. Thankfully, the wheat had sold well enough that he had been able to buy a new bed, along with some other things, giving him hope for the future of the farm. Beside him, Tess stirred but didn't quite wake up, and he slowly crept past her, changed, and slipped out to the Twins' Room.

It didn't take long to get them ready, and only a minute longer to make his way downstairs. There, as he approached the kitchen, he heard a few muffled voices and slowly poked his head around the doorway.

"Ahh, you're awake!" Master Dominic smiled, leaning heavily upon his staff. In front of him, Rachel and Fern both bustled about the kitchen, their long mage robes swirling in the air. "I trust we didn't disturb you?"

"Not at all." Jason shook his head. "I'm pleased you're here, actually. I was hoping I wouldn't have to wait long." He slowly crouched down, and Rachel and Fern bounded over to give him hugs. They were focused, though, and quickly went back to preparing the picnic lunch they had been planning for a month or so. "Ahh, your mother is going to be so surprised."

"I know!" Fern smiled. "I'm just glad we were able to get away for a little bit! They're working us so hard over there."

"Are they, now?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Want to come back this way? I can find plenty of jobs for you to do here on the farm."

"Nope!" Rachel shook her head. "Not that hard!"

Master Dominic laughed quietly. "If they don't feel like they're working that hard, then perhaps I need to find more work for them. In any case,

Jason, they've been looking forward to this ever since you arranged it, and they worked extra hard to make sure all their classwork was done in time."

"I'm glad to hear it." Jason ruffled Fern's hair as she ran past, levitating a cheesecake into a picnic basket. "If you don't mind my asking some more 'official' questions, how goes the whole orcish problem? I haven't seen my uncle since he arrived, and I haven't heard anything."

"Ahh. That." Master Dominic nodded and rubbed his jaw. "Well, you know the lore about the three gemstones, and how the orcs managed to acquire one of them, and that's what's giving them the power to invade."

"Yeah, yeah." Jason nodded, even though he frankly didn't understand it all that well.

"Yes. Well, in any case, we've located one of the other gemstones and have people on the way already to retrieve it. The location of the third is still somewhat shrouded in mystery, but we think we have a good lead, and have people exploring it." Master Dominic shrugged. "The book of yours has also been extremely helpful. Brendon, the mage from all that time ago, has been quite useful in deciphering some of the mysteries around it. Though I don't think he realized it, and even we didn't realize it at the start of things, the temporal distortions actually seem to have hidden some of the information from the orcs that they would have otherwise obtained quite easily. In any case, the short answer is that things are going well, and we anticipate a swift resolution to the whole predicament."

"They're also building weapons in case things go really bad." Fern called out.

"Which is a secret." Master Dominic replied gently but firmly.

"He's, my dad! I don't keep secrets from him." Fern replied just as firmly and gently. "Besides, you're the one building a giant stone golem to protect

this farm, as you'll recall."

"Fair enough." Master Dominic smiled and rolled his eyes. "Well, I do hope you all have the most wonderful time on your picnic, and I'll see you back at the academy for evening classes tonight."

With that, the mage vanished in a burst of light, leaving Jason alone with the two girls. They finished magicking the last of the food into the picnic basket, just in time for Tess to come down the stairs.

"What's this? I thought I heard voices." She yawned, then blinked sleepily a few times. "Girls?"

An hour later, their carriage rumbled up to the small stream just north of Summer Shandy. Angus snorted and tossed his mane, eager to get into the shade of a large oak tree there, and Jason sighed. Water burbled over a small waterfall, making it the picnic destination in Summer Shandy. Thankfully, there was no one else there that day, and they quickly spread out their blanket and set the basket at the center. The two girls grinned as Tess gave them big hugs, and the whole family sat down. Dried grass crunched beneath the blanket, reminding Jason of their predicament, but he refused to allow it to spoil the mood.

"Oh, this is just the best thing ever." Tess smiled brightly, looking them over. "How long have you been planning this for?"

"A long time!" Rachel held out her hands. "Like this long!" "That long? Oh, I see." Tess glanced at Jason, who shrugged.

"Something like that." Jason sighed and leaned back. "I just thought it would be nice for us to see the girls, catch back up, before the festival."

"Ooh! We're going to be doing a play for the festival!" Fern sprang to her feet. "It's called Leaves of Autumn, and it's a traditional dance in magical communities the world over! Apparently."

"Well, I can't wait to see it." Tess smiled softly. "Ahh, look at you both! How are you holding up, living away from home?"

"We love it!" Rachel bounced up and down.

"But not too much. We do miss mom and dad, remember?" Fern pointed out.

"Of course we do." Rachel scowled at Fern. "Duh."

Jason and Tess both laughed, and Tess shrugged. "Alright, then! What have you guys been learning?"

"We can fly!" Rachel closed her eyes and floated up into the air. The twins both gasped and toddled after her, trying to catch hold of her feet, and she floated back down. "Well, only for a little bit. And we can't move, just fly."

"There's a magic carpet in the gymnasium that we can fly on." Fern commented. "Oh, and we're just learning how to teleport!"

"Can I see?" Jason asked, impressed.

"No." Fern apologized. "We're not allowed to do it outside of a few training areas. Until you get a whole lot better, it's too easy to accidentally teleport into... You know. The ground. A tree. Things like that."

"And that makes a mess!" Rachel nodded her head.

"I can imagine." Tess lifted her eyebrows and smiled tiredly. "And what about history? Are you learning lots of history?"

"Loads of it!" Fern nodded. "Well, I'm learning more than her, since I'm older. We're learning all about magic and how people learned it and taught it, and how it's changed over the years."

"And about the history of combat magic!" Rachel nodded. "There're all sorts of cool stuff about how people learned to kill monsters! Like... Did you know that the first fire mage killed a tyrannosaurus rex with a sneeze?"

"I did not." Jason frowned. "For that matter, I don't even know what a tyr... Ty... What is it?"

"It's like a big lizard that eats people." Fern explained, then brightened. "Like a dragon without wings! And it can't breathe fire. And it had really small arms that it would wave about like this!" Fern tucked her arms in close to her body and clawed at Jason with her hands, making exaggerated roaring noises as she did so.

"So... It couldn't breathe fire, and it didn't have wings, and it had tiny arms?" Jason frowned. "And you're sure it was real?"

"Yes!" Both girls chorused. Fern blushed slightly red, then lowered her voice. "One of the professors is a chrono-mage. He wasn't supposed to do it, but he summoned some giant lizard, I mean it was only the size of one of a dog. It ran around the classroom and tried to eat Bobby, but then the professor sent it back."

"Right." Jason smiled and shook his head, then leaned forward. "Well, I'd love to hear lots more stories just like that, but for now, I'd just like to spend some time with you. What would you like to do?"

"We could play chase the apple!" Fern reached into the basket and pulled out an apple, which she tossed into the air. Before it hit the ground, she pointed her staff at it, and the end of the staff lit up with a brilliant glow. The apple hovered there, and she spun her staff around, making it fly off across the stream to float on the other side. "I get to be the flyer!"

"No fair!" Rachel jumped to her feet. "If I get to it first, I get to be the flyer!"

"Well, what happens if I get to it first?" Jason asked, climbing to his feet. "You won't!" Both girls chorused.

"We'll just see about that." Jason knelt down. "On your mark."

Tess stood up as well. "Get set..."

"Go!" Rachel called out, turned, and ran toward the apple. Jason laughed and ran after her, and Tess came along in the rear. It was a simple sort of thing, but it was nice to just spend some time with his girls. Even in times of uncertainty... No. Especially in times of uncertainty, making time for such things was something that just couldn't be forgotten. He had a lovely family, and he had a farm that was still running, albeit a smidge slower than he might have liked it. That was more than he ever could have hoped for, and... In that moment, it was more than enough for him.

Last Day of Summer

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

[Daniel's Almanac: 91st day of Summer! Guess what, y'all?!? Do you know what today is? Do you know? It's... The... Day of the school play produced by the Mages Academy! It's also the Summer Festival! Anyway, whether you're young or old, planning on staying in the community or

selling all your goods to move away, make sure to come out to have a grand, swinging time!]

Jason stretched as he rolled out of bed at the inn. Down at the base of the bed, Baby Tess stood up in the bassinet and grinned at him, while Baby Jason stuck his thumb in his mouth and began to suck. Loudly. Tess smiled as she rolled out of bed as well, and both of them slowly climbed to their feet.

"What do you think the play will be about?" Jason asked as they slowly started getting themselves and the twins dressed.

Tess could only shrug. "It's called the Leaves of Autumn, but I don't know anything more than that. Fern tried to explain it to me, but it just sorta went over my head." She shook her head in amazement. "I consider myself to be a mostly educated woman, but I have to admit, I don't understand a lick of what they're talking about."

"Well, compared to the average guy with a degree, I don't consider myself an educated man, and it goes about as far over my head as you can imagine," Jason shook his head. "I'm just glad that they're getting a good education and are putting things to good use." He drew himself upright. "Now, let's get out there and have some fun."

Tess smiled, and they quickly made their way out of the room and through the inn. It was a slightly more suppressed affair than usual, but that was hardly surprising. A lot of folks hadn't returned after the orcish invasion, and with the drought, there wasn't exactly a lot of incentive to come back. That said, as Jason walked out into the town square, he found it to be a bustling hive of activity and smiled warmly.

Paulina ran back and forth, hanging up streamers and other decorations, helped by Baby John (who, being the same age as Rachel, was far from a baby). Daniel, Viola, and their long train of kids (which seemed to get longer with each passing year) ran about as well. Obadiah sat at the town

well, chatting with women coming to draw water, and directing traffic. He waved as Jason emerged and beckoned him over.

"What is it?" Tess asked, frowning.

"I don't know. Hopefully not too much business." Jason smiled, then waved at her and started to walk over to Obadiah. "Why don't you get inside, out of the sun? I'll be along in a few minutes."

Tess waved back and walked off, angling for Paulina. Jason quickly reached Obadiah, who stubbed his jaw and climbed to his feet.

"Something the matter?" Jason asked, recognizing a familiar sort of look in Obadiah's eye. The constable of Summer Shandy, he was a no-nonsense guy (a far cry from his father, indeed), and wasn't the type to bring up trouble unless it was knocking pretty hard on the door.

"Depends on how you take it," Obadiah sighed. "How have you been, Jason? I've had some chats with Cecilia, and she says you're one of her only customers that seems to be making ends meet."

Jason shrugged. "I've got a good hired man and an academy of mages on my land. If I couldn't make it work, no one else would be able to."

"Fair enough," Obadiah shrugged, then glanced around. He caught Daniel's attention and waved him toward the well. Daniel nodded and smiled, scooped up two of his kids (Jane and George, if Jason was counting correctly), and marched over to the well. With that, Obadiah led Jason over to Cecilia's store, where they ducked inside, out of the heat.

"Morning!" Cecilia called from the back. "Store's closing at noon, so grab what you want before lunchtime!"

"It's just me!" Obadiah called out. "I've got Jason for you!"

Cecilia came bustling from the back, a wide smile on her face. "Ahh, Jason! Good to see you."

"Good to see you, too," Jason frowned. "What's this about? I feel like I'm being ambushed, and at a party."

"Sorry, Jason," Cecilia apologized. "I know this is sudden, but..." She glanced around, as if looking to see if anyone else was in the store. When she was satisfied that there was no one else around, she stepped up to the counter and pulled out a catalog. "Here. I had this printed up two days ago over in Nightford, I was hoping you could take a look at it."

Jason frowned and picked up the catalog. "What is this?" He started to flip through it, and his jaw slowly dropped. "These are estate sales."

"Not estate sales, exactly," Obadiah shook his head. "Estate sales only happen when people die. These are... You might call them parting sales. Drought sales."

"How many properties are in here?" Jason whistled. He flipped to the very back, where half a dozen parcels of land were listed as being for sale, along with their assorted houses and out-buildings. He glanced over the locations, then slowly turned back through the catalog again, eyeballing the farm equipment, tools, horses, carriages, and other such things listed as being for sale. "What's happening?"

"Jason, you know as well as the rest of us that times are getting harder and harder," Obadiah apologized. "A group of five farmers in the area got together and decided to have a joint sale in the hopes that they'd be able to sell more of their items. Cecilia is the curator. The sale will go public tomorrow, but we wanted you and Richard to have dibs on the sales, in case there was anything in it that would benefit you."

"How public are we talking?" Jason frowned in thought.

"It's been distributed to select areas throughout the Illumitir and Portswain provinces," Cecilia shrugged. "Based on the things I've been hearing through the Shopkeepers Guild, there are investors in some of the larger, more prosperous areas that are looking to take advantage of the drought."

"So, you're letting a bunch of foreigners come in and mess up our town?" Jason scowled and crossed his arms.

"Jason, look around you," Obadiah held up his hand. "First, I don't mean to be rude, but this town is almost entirely foreigners to begin with. You came down from Illumitir. Tess was an outsider at one point. Cecilia moved into the area to work here. Almost everyone who currently lives here has entered the community after you moved here, and I know everyone has changed jobs or positions. People have left town. That's just life."

Obadiah's voice softened. "Jason, the town will survive, and that's the second point. These farmers have lost almost everything between the orcish raids and this drought. You're doing better than most, and even you're struggling. Even if it does spell the death of the town, as we know it, we owe it to the everyone that's been here to try and them get a fresh start as best we can."

Jason sighed deeply, then nodded and flipped back through the catalog. "That makes sense. Ahh..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll be honest, I don't have much cash flow at the moment."

"We're not asking for charity," Cecilia answered. "These farmers will sell out, almost certainly. The investors will come out and clean the place up, and then let it sit until the drought breaks. What we're asking is if any of this would help you, before we do what we have to do."

"That makes sense," Jason glanced over everything, but his head was spinning too badly to make sense of it. "Can I take this with me?"

"I'm sorry, but I still need to show Richard," Cecilia apologized.

"Fair enough. Let me go talk to Tess," Jason shrugged. "There are some odd tools and things that I could use, and it looks like there are some parts and supplies we could use to repair some of the damage from the raid, but I'll have to make sure she's okay with it." Something caught his eye, and he smiled. "And look at that. There are some animals for sale. Tess might enjoy getting a few small critters to take care of. I think she's itching to get back into the game."

"Come to me anytime. Before noon is preferable, but I can make it work if it needs to be later."

Jason nodded, thanked Cecilia, and he and Obadiah turned and made their way back out into the square once more. A band was starting to play off in the corner, and a few people started to dance. Jason drew in a deep breath, then slowly walked off to find Tess.

The rest of that morning and afternoon was, in all reality, a lovely time. A lot of the farmers that Jason recognized from the catalog were there, dancing about with everyone else. If he looked at their faces just right, he could tell that they were sad, but there wasn't much that he could do about it. They weren't talking, and he wasn't going to pry. When the evening came around, Jason found himself seated between Tess and Richard at the great banquet, smiling as the lights grew dim.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Master Dominic climbed onto the small stage where the musicians usually sat. "It is my great privilege and honor to announce the class produce of the Leaves of Autumn, which we hope you enjoy."

Jason smiled as a light and airy melody began, played by the band, which had hidden itself away in another corner of the square. Slowly, a handful of students, Fern and Rachel among them, walked up onto the stage. They were dressed in brilliant green costumes and danced and twirled to the

music. Jason smiled and leaned back, watching as they seemed to dance about in a spring breeze.

The music grew more intense, the dresses magically darkened, and the "leaves" suddenly seemed blown about in a spring storm. Then, the storm went away, and the leaves went back to their dance. The music grew warmer, their dresses became an even more vibrant shade of green than at the beginning, and Jason felt his smile begin to hurt. It was fantastic to watch, it was-

And then, the music began to slow, and the dancers along with it. Jason felt his heart lurch as their dresses and robes turned from green into brilliant shades of red and yellow, and he bit his lip. He knew where things were going now, and...

The music gave one final burst of energy, and the dancers twirled rapidly before falling flat on the stage and lying still. Their dresses faded to black, and the music cut out. Jason sighed and felt himself looking down at the table.

Then, quietly, the music began to pick up once more, a breath of air, and new dancers came onto the stage. They were crystal white, like snow, and danced and blew about like the winter wind. Finally, after a short number, they blew away, and all the leaves slowly regained their color and stood up once more, to thunderous applause.

Jason felt himself clapping as his heart began to beat again. It had been a truly stunning performance, and he whistled and shouted his approval along with everyone else. He turned and looked at Tess, who smiled right back at him. Autumn was coming, it was true, and after autumn always came winter... But after that, invariably, came spring. He just had to make it through the metaphorical winter that they would soon be facing, and... Just like in the play, all would be well once again.

First Day of Fa

[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 Fall! Alright, everyone, don't fall down with excitement, but it's going to be a great day today! What? That was a good one. Fine. You just don't appreciate art. Sorry, y'all, I have a pessimist in

the recording booth with me today. Anyhow, it's a great day, so get out there and enjoy it!]

Jason yawned and slowly rose from his bed. Tess swung her legs out as well, though she didn't rise quite as quickly as he did. In any case, as he walked up to the window and looked out across the dry prairie, he bit his lip, then squared his shoulders.

"What's your plan?" Tess murmured softly. "Get things planted, right?"

"That's the hope." Jason nodded. "I think the Acre family is bringing by some of the things I bought last night, so I need to meet them, and then yeah, the hope is to get some seed in the ground."

"What are you going to plan?" Tess asked. "Anything fun?"

Jason laughed. "I'd dearly love that, but I don't think I can manage it this season." He sighed and slowly walked up to the window, where he put his hands behind his back. "Milligan was able to secure some drought-resistant sorghum from a contact of his up in Illumitir. The cost was slightly higher than ordinary sorghum, but I do think it'll be worth it in the long run."

"It'll yield better?" Tess asked with a smile.

"As long as we don't get a sudden storm that turns the field into a rice paddy again, yup." Jason confirmed. "I talked to Obadiah yesterday, and we've officially been pronounced in a drought. If you remember from last time, droughts don't just have storms pop up. They have to be broken, and that's not usually an easy thing to do."

"Hmm." Tess frowned. "And we can't go and break it manually again?"

Jason shrugged. "The last time, we used an old dungeon core to do it. I do think there's still a piece of it floating around somewhere, but no one has

seen Frances in years. It could be anywhere, and there's no way of tracking it down. Plus, even if there was a way to track it down, there's no guarantee that it would work."

"Fair enough." Tess frowned as she looked out the window. "Is that someone coming up the road?"

"Looks like." Jason turned quickly to the wardrobe. "We'd better get moving."

A few minutes later, Jason walked down out of the farmhouse just as a large wagon rumbled through the front gates. It was pulled by two solid workhorses, appaloosas, who snorted and pawed at the ground. John Acre hopped down from the wagon box, a straw hat sitting firmly on his head. He held out his hand, and Jason shook it firmly.

"I sure am happy this stuff's coming to you, and not to some big investor somewhere else." John led Jason around to the back of the wagon. "Not that I mind the big investors, of course. I'd be up a creek without them, it's just..." He shrugged. "You know."

"Yeah, I do." Jason sighed. "No, I get it, you don't need to explain it to me. I'm just sorry for you, I know this has to be hard."

"Ahh, we'll make it work." John shrugged. He reached up and pulled down a few shovels, along with some spades that Tess could use in the garden. He then took down a toolbox, filled with a handful of specialized tools for maintaining a piece of equipment called a swather. It wasn't something that Jason had ever messed with, but there was a chance he might give it a whirl, so... In the interest of helping a neighbor, he had gone ahead and bought some. There were also some specialized supplies for building animal pens, which Jason planned to surprise Tess with. "I've got some family down in Portswain, down on a big estate there. I'll be working for him, sharecropping so to speak, until the drought's lifted. I'll be saving up what I can, so I can hopefully buy some ground back."

Jason nodded. "Well, I'll keep it warm for you, alright?"

"Alright." John smiled. They both knew that it was incredibly unlikely that he would wind up in Summer Shandy again, but... It was technically possible. "I haven't ever talked to you much, but I know you're a good man, Jason. You deserve to stay here. I just hope the new residents appreciate you just as much as we do."

Jason smiled, though he didn't quite know what to say. They got to work, and quickly unloaded the rest of the equipment. As they set it down across the ground, John climbed back up into his wagon.

"If I don't see you again, have a safe drive." Jason called up.

"The same to you." John waved, then blanched. "Not that I expect you'll be driving anywhere, but... You know what I mean."

"I do." Jason waved and watched him slowly turn and rumbled out onto the road. He watched him go, then sighed deeply and walked back over to the field.

For the time being, he left the tools sitting out. There wasn't any rain expected, which meant that they weren't likely to get ruined, and he really needed to get the seed into the ground. He was just hitching Angus up to the planter when Milligan rode up on Sandy.

"Sorry I'm late, boss!"

"I'm starting to expect it." Jason smiled as Milligan stared at him in horror. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Everything alright?"

"Yeah, boss." Milligan shrugged. "Master Dominic approached me about a project the mages are working on in the woods, he wanted to know if it

would bother me. Then, we got to talking about my personal projects in the greenhouse, and that sort of thing."

"No worries." Jason shook his head as he climbed up onto the planter, then frowned. "Just what are the mages working on in the woods?"

"I didn't understand it completely." Milligan admitted. "Something to do with vortex winds. I think it's something they use in levitating things, or maybe as the basis for other spells?" Milligan shrugged. "I don't know. I started fooling around with some of their plant magic, which was a ton of fun, but now they practically consider me a master."

Jason laughed at that. "Speaking of which, how are your plants doing? I haven't heard anything about them in quite some time."

Milligan's face became a bit more drawn, and he shrugged. "Oh, those old things? I..." He sighed, then lowered his head. "I actually let them all die out."

"You what?" Jason blinked in shock. "Why?"

"Ahh. Lots of reasons. Mostly just time." Milligan shrugged. "I've been so exhausted after working on the farm that I just haven't had the energy to take on anything more once I've gotten back. You have to admit, digging wells and tilling up hardpan is a far cry from the gentle, happy-go-lucky days when I first joined."

"That's fair." Jason frowned. "I'm sure sorry about that. I know how much they meant to you."

"Ahh, it's alright." Milligan's face twitched, and Jason got the feeling that there was a much longer conversation lurking in the shadows, but he didn't say anything. "Let's get moving. This field isn't going to plant itself."

"All too true." Jason turned his attention forward. "You need any help getting hitched?"

"Nah. I'll be right along."

Jason nodded, and he took up the reins. He was into the field and slowly rumbling along before he realized that he had forgotten breakfast, but somehow, his appetite had faded.

Milligan wasn't working with his plants anymore?

The year prior, Milligan had been cooking up things that were so incredible that even the mages had been astounded. It didn't sit quite right with Jason, though he didn't know what to do about it. He was so lost in thought trying to figure things out that he wasn't watching where he was going and didn't realize that he'd reached the end of the field until Angus suddenly stopped in his tracks and refused to go any further.

"Good boy." Jason smiled and slowly turned the workhorse around. "You know what to do, even when I don't." He puffed out his cheeks as Angus slowly started back. "You've been over this field almost as many times as I have."

All around him, the noise of planting the field echoed about him. Seeds rattled through the planter and down into the ground. The disks made a soft sound through the soil, and Angus's hooves kept up a steady beat. Across the field, water from the well lapped and splashed across the soil, feeding the thirsty ground, while the gate squeaked in the wind. The prairie grass, which had maintained a green color throughout the summer even through the drought, was now a lovely brown color. Enormous seed heads stood out on some of them, while others only displayed a few small seeds growing up the side of their stems. Fall had come, and Jason sighed deeply as the wind bit through his clothes.

He wasn't going to let things get him down. Fall was here, and even if other people were being forced to sell out, they weren't dying, and it only meant that new people would be coming. New people would arrive to experience the joy of Summer Shandy, and that was hardly a bad thing. Jason kept his head high and felt a smile breaking across his face.

Yes, indeed. Autumn was a time of produce, of pumpkins and pies and warmth and fellowship. He wasn't going to let a bad attitude spoil that, not if he could help it.

No... This was Summer Shandy, and that meant something. This year, that meant that he was going to have the best autumn possible.

Cooler Weather

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

[Daniel's Almanac: 4th day of Fall! Howdy, y'all! Umm... Yeah. Not much happening. A bit of wind, but nothing extraordinary. Temperatures are cooling, but aren't bad yet, and oh! There have been no orcs sighted in the

area for over two months now, which is great news for everyone who doesn't enjoy combat.]

Jason chuckled as he slowly rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. "Does that mean that Daniel is going nuts wanting more combat?"

"Nah., I think after getting beaten to a pulp by BloodTooth last year, he's more or less ready to just settle down and give up fighting altogether," Tess commented. She lowered her voice, as if she was afraid of being overheard. "Actually, don't quote me on this, but I heard that he's actually considering leaving Summer Shandy again."

"Again?" Jason shook his head. "That guy seems like a yo-yo sometimes. Here, then gone, and then back."

"You can't really blame him," Tess shrugged. "Anyway, he apparently has a job offer down south, near Portswain. Something about guarding caravans."

"Escort quests," Jason laughed. "I've always heard those are the worst."

"Yeah, they're not fun, but it would be more of an advisory position," Tess shrugged. "He would be the one coordinating which warriors went on which routes. He knows a lot of information about monsters and warriors and would be good at knowing who would be best at fighting in which scenarios. Anyway, he doesn't know if he's going to take it, but he's considering it."

"Interesting," Jason frowned, then shrugged. "Well, to each their own. I wouldn't know how to do it in the slightest, but that's just me."

Tess only laughed and started getting dressed. Jason dressed as well, and they quickly made their way out of the house.

The wind was picking up a bit by the time they finished eating breakfast and headed out into the farmyard. Jason glanced at the horizon, hoping beyond hope that the wind would bring rain, but there didn't seem to be any such luck. It was a dry wind, and the horizon was as clear as day. For that matter, Jason didn't think he had seen a cloud at all in several weeks. He crossed his arms, thinking for a few moments, then walked up toward the barn.

"And where are you going?" Tess asked, following along behind with the twins. "I thought you were heading up to help Milligan with the grape harvest?"

"Nope. That's what you said last night, and I didn't bother to correct you," Jason chuckled as she scowled at him. "No, the grapes won't be ready for a bit longer. They're struggling with the drought just as much as everything else, probably ready for harvest in the next week or so. Milligan's going to keep me updated, but for the time being, I'm free. Which means..." He slowly looked up at the barn. "It's time to tackle this project."

"Really?" Tess beamed.

"Really. I know how much you're itching to get animals again," Jason turned to her and smiled.

"Yeah, but can we even afford that right now?" Tess asked. "Animals are a huge up-front cost. You have to buy the animal, and the feed, and-"

"Let's cross one bridge at a time. Hopefully, with the sale of this next batch of sorghum, we'll be able to invest in some," Jason nodded up to the barn. "In the meantime, this place isn't fit to hold animals right now, and even if we do get some, we wouldn't be able to keep them through the winter, which, you know, is one of the times when it works really well to have them."

"True enough." Tess stepped into the barn and slowly set the twins down. "Where do we start?"

Jason glanced around the area. The animal pens had been mostly repaired, which gave them a few places to actually put animals if they bought them. That said, the intricate series of gates that allowed them to easily move the creatures throughout the barn was still in ruins, along with the feeding system that allowed them to dump grain down from a handful of bins located high in the barn. The stairs up to the loft had seen better days, and many of the storage rooms themselves looked more like garbage rooms.

"Let's get these gates, first," Jason shrugged. He walked over to the closest one and started measuring it up. "Let's see... We're going to need to replace the top board, but the rest of them should be good."

"Mmm," Tess pointed at one of the side panels as well. "We need to replace that one, too. It doesn't look bad, but there's a hairline fracture that will burst wide open as soon as a cow puts her full weight upon it."

"Well, you're the boss," Jason shrugged. "Let's get to it."

Tess quickly dragged out a handful of sawhorses, and Jason helped her lift the gate off its hinges. They set it across the sawhorses and made sure that it was good and solid. Carefully, while Tess glanced out at the twins to make sure that they were safe (they were walking down toward the house, probably to play in the garden bed, which for some reason they seemed to greatly enjoy), Jason pulled out his hammer and began to tap the clawed end against the old nails.

With a powerful screech, the nails were ripped free, and Jason slowly worked his way down the length of the gate. It didn't take long to pull away the top board, which had largely split into two pieces, and less time to pull off the sideboard. That done, Jason opened up the farm's inventory and took out several new boards, then laid them down to start measuring.

"Howdy, boss," Milligan slowly walked up into the barn, a smile upon his face. "Ahh, there we go! Getting all this back in order again?"

"That's the plan," Tess walked past Jason and started appraising the other gates. "Let's see... Milligan, could you lend me a hand with this gate over here?"

"Sure thing," Milligan followed Tess, and they quickly lifted it off the hinges and carried it over to the sawhorses. Carefully, they set it down on the floor, and Jason nodded as he cut the first of the boards to fix the first gate. His arms burned from the sawing action, but he ignored it and slowly lifted the board into place. It was a perfect fit, and he smiled as he started to hammer things back into place. "What do you think you guys will buy first?"

"Well, I sure miss my cattle, but we'll see," Tess flashed a small smile at Milligan. "They eat a lot, and without prairie grass, I'm not sure we'll be able to feed them. I mean, they have the pasture, but they'll eat it down in the blink of an eye."

"One possibility..." Jason paused as he hammered in another nail. "One possibility might be to swath some of the prairie."

"Is that possible?" Milligan frowned. "You can only use farm equipment on land you own, and I don't really see it being cost-effective to buy up the entire prairie. Unless you're Richard, of course."

"I don't know. From what I hear, Richard's sold off almost a third of what he once owned," Jason grimaced. He paused while he worked on getting the top board measured out, then nodded back to Milligan. "Anyway, swathing the prairie is legal as long as it's public ground, and you get permission. I'd have to go file some paperwork with Obadiah, but it wouldn't take me more than twenty minutes to do it. No one else has ever asked for the privilege in years, and from what I calculate, I'd only have to harvest about fifty acres to get enough hay to help the cattle through the winter."

"You've certainly been running some calculations," Milligan commented with a grin.

"He's a very sweet husband, and just wants to make me happy," Tess smiled at Jason, then frowned. "But I keep telling him that it's way too much work just for me."

Jason shrugged. "And I keep saying that we can't even think about it until we get the barn fixed, and it needs to be fixed anyway, so let's just get things put back together and then we'll see how it turns out."

"Now that much, I can heartily agree with," Milligan clapped his hands. "Now, tell me how I can help."

"Ahh, we've got this," Jason shook his head. "You can go back out to your place, if you want. Take some time to rest. I know things have been a lot to handle, recently."

"Not another word! I never should have said anything about my plants," Milligan held up a finger. "I'm not budging from this barn until the end of the day. If it'd suit you, I'll sit in a corner all day, but I reckon you'd rather have some help getting work done."

"I'll give you a job, if he won't," Tess spoke up.

"Thank you."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright! Come on. Dive in."

Milligan smiled, and the three of them quickly set to work. Every few minutes, one of them would head out to check on the twins, but the toddlers were doing just fine, and never raised any cause for alarm. Meanwhile, they began to power through and began to get quite a bit done.

They stayed focused on the gates, at least at first. One by one, they took them down, patched them up, and then put them back on their hinges. By the time lunch came around, there was only a single gate left, but everyone was too tired to bother getting it back up just yet. They went back into the house, where Tess cooked a quick lunch of sandwiches. Then, after lunch, they put the twins down for a nap, and Jason and Milligan headed back out. It only took a few minutes longer to get the last gate fixed up, and they stood back to admire their work.

"Not too shabby, if I do say so myself," Milligan nodded. "What's next?"

"That sort of depends on whether we want to focus on making the barn functional for animal use, or convenient for human use," Jason glanced back and forth between a few different projects. "If we're going for human use, we need to replace all those stairs and should dive into cleaning up the loft. If we're going for animal use, we need to get the doors back on their rollers." He shook his head in amazement as he looked at the enormous doors. They both hung slightly askew. Ordinarily, they could slide back and forth by means of massive bearings at both the top and bottom. Now, though, they were both permanently wedged about halfway open.

"I don't think the two of us could get those doors back into place if our life depended on it," Milligan frowned in thought. "Let me send some letters. I have a few connections and can bring in a small team of men to help get those reset. In the meantime, let's take care of the stairs and the mess. Trust me, I think you'll appreciate it in the long run."

Jason could only shrug and held out his hand. Milligan walked toward the stairs, and Jason followed closely.

As much as Jason felt bad for keeping Milligan away from his plants, he was also desperately in need of the man's help, and they both knew it.

This is only temporary, he told himself. As soon as everything's rebuilt, he'll be able to get back to work, just the way he wants it.

There was no answer, either in the positive or the negative, and he sighed deeply. It was a promise, to himself if to no one else. He only hoped, desperately, that he would be able to keep it.

Prairie

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

[Daniel's Almanac: 20th day of Fall! Looks like the temperatures are getting chillier, y'all! I have to say, I was complaining about hot armor, but freezing armor is way worse. Yeah, they have insulated armor, but trust me when I say that it's not all it's cracked up to be.]

"That true?" Jason chuckled as he rolled out of bed and slowly climbed to his feet.

Tess shrugged as she sat up. "Insulated armor is kinda stiff. You have to either use an enchantment, which can be finicky, or you have to pack it full of fleece, which limits your movement."

"Ahh." Jason stretched as he walked up to the window and gazed out across the farmyard. "Well, thankfully, we don't have to worry about armor here. Just insulated overalls, and..."

His voice trailed off as he looked at the field. The drought-resistant sorghum was coming along nicely, and was just starting to shoot its brilliant, red heads. It still had a week or so to go before it was ready for the harvest, but it was progressing, and that was the important part. If they could pull out a good harvest, it would set them on a good track for recovering, at least mostly, by the time that winter hits.

"Everything okay?" Tess asked, her voice worried as she came walking up behind him. "You seem worried. Is the crop still there?"

"At least for now." Jason frowned as he slowly looked upward, where... Well... He wasn't exactly sure what was happening.

Bolts of lightning flashed back and forth, flaring this way and that, sometimes striking down at the prairie to explode with brilliant flashes of heat and smoke. Jason whistled as he looked it over, and Tess shook her head.

"It's a magical storm."

"You've seen one of these before?" Jason glanced over at her.

"Once." Tess nodded. "There were a few magic-users in a party I was guiding through one of the mega-dungeons way out east. We were trapped in a dragon's lair, no way to escape, and they started messing around with some sort of teleportation spell. It went wrong, and something like this happened. It nearly killed us all, but it did blast a hole through the cave wall into an adjacent cavern, which I suppose did allow us to escape."

"So, what are those mages up to?" Jason gritted his teeth. "Come on."

"What are you doing?" Tess asked as Jason dressed quickly and started down the stairs. "Jason?"

"I'm just heading out to see if we can get them to turn it off," Jason called back. "If that lightning hits our barn, it could knock the thing down. Or if it hits the field, it could burn the whole thing up! They might not even know it's happening."

Tess called down something as the twins started to cry. It sounded something like "be careful," but he wasn't sure. A moment later, he had strode out into the farmyard, craning his neck as he looked up at the storm.

"Boss!" Milligan came riding up on Sandy, breathless. "Master Dominic sent me here! He told me to tell you not to worry, and that they'll have this cleaned up as quickly as they can."

As if in response to his words, the lightning overhead became darker and fiercer, with streaks of red and black among the more standard white. Jason gulped, and Milligan turned pale.

"That is what he said, I promise."

"Do they know why this is happening?" Jason demanded.

Milligan winced, then shrugged. Jason frowned and pressed forward.

"I asked if they know what caused this!"

Before Milligan could answer, a brilliant flash of lightning flashed down from the sky and hit the windmill. Almost instantly, amidst the explosion of sparks and flames, a whirlwind sprang up around the thing. A loud squeak- squeak emerged as the fan began to whirl about rapidly, and, down below, the pump began to spurt up an immense amount of water.

"No." Jason gasped as water gushed into the field, flowing a dozen times faster than it had been running. "No! Milligan!"

Jason ran forward, toward the pump to disengage the fan and turn off the water. As he pushed closer, the whirlwind intensified, pushing him back. He gritted his teeth and pushed against the wind with all his might, but it did no good. He couldn't advance against it.

"I'll get the mages!" Milligan called out as he leapt onto Sandy and raced off across the prairie. "They'll fix this!"

"I'll bet," Jason gritted his teeth. Quickly, he stretched out his hand, targeting the windmill. "Recall into farm inventory!"

[Error: Windmill is being protected by a magical field and cannot be recalled.]

"What?" Jason scowled, then ran over to the fence. A small spout led from the pump to the field, resting on the lower rung of the fence. Water burst over the side as it gushed in, splashing across the ground. Quickly, Jason targeted the fence, and recalled that much, at least, to the farm's inventory. The spout clattered to the ground, though a great deal of the water was still running into the field. Jason gritted his teeth, then opened his inventory and yanked out a shovel.

"Desperate times, desperate measures." He slammed the shovel into the ground and dragged it along the hard soil, trying to gouge a trench to redirect the flow. It worked, at least slightly, but the ground outside the field was still hardpan, and resisted the effort. A bit of water flowed away, but the vast majority was being sucked up by the field.

The field that was growing grain was designed not to get a lot of water.

"Come on, come on!" Jason looked about frantically for any way to get the water to stop flowing. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him, but that was life. He desperately needed to save his crops, and he didn't see many ways to do that. He couldn't reach the windmill, he couldn't recall it, and he didn't really have anything he could put in the way to divert the water.

"Jason!" Tess came running out of the farmhouse. "The twins are in their playpen, so I have a few minutes. What can I do?"

"Can you make it to the pump?"

Tess gritted her teeth. "I can try."

She charged forward, and her fists seemed to glow. With all her might, she leapt up into the air, and while the air did stop her, she went further than Jason. As she came crashing back to the ground, she punched the dirt, and a massive shockwave rippled outward. For a brief moment, the wind broke, and Tess lurched inside, grabbed hold of the handle, and yanked downward.

The pump disengaged from the fan at the top, and the water came to a stop. With that, the wheel at the peak of the windmill began to spin faster and faster, and, with a sharp ping, broke off completely. It flew to the ground and bounced across the farmyard, spinning merrily, until it embedded itself in the side of the barn with a tremendous whack. Jason let out a sigh and sat down, and Tess did the same.

They sat there for several longer minutes before Milligan and Mistress Elintra hurried back across the prairie. The mage raised her hands and made a sharp gesture, which caused the whirlwind to die down. At that, the whole structure tilted slightly to the left, and Jason sighed.

"Are you okay?" Mistress Elintra raised her hands once more, and the lightning overhead began to die down. "Is anyone hurt?"

"We're alright," Jason groaned and flopped back onto the ground. Tess rose and walked quickly toward the house to take care of the twins, and after a moment, Jason slowly climbed back to his feet. "What happened?"

"We were attempting an experimental..." Mistress Elintra seemed to search for a word, then shrugged. "An experiment. It failed, and this was the result. We're terribly sorry. I'm only glad that no real damage was done."

"No real damage?" Jason felt anger flare within him. "You might have just killed my whole crop!"

"Jason, we don't know that" Milligan held up a hand. "For all we know, they just gave the field a much-needed watering."

Jason stared at his hired man for a moment, then sighed and slowly stepped back. "Alright, alright. We'll wait and see, I suppose."

Mistress Elintra's eyes narrowed, and she slowly nodded. "Thank you for your understanding. I do hope you know that, even in failure, the experiment has been for the better of the landscape. We're working on finding a way to expunge the orcish threat for good."

"Uh, huh," Jason could do nothing but shrug. "Go get them for me."

Mistress Elintra gave a curt nod, then turned and walked off across the prairie. Jason watched her go, and Milligan shrugged.

"You do have to give them the-"

"Right now, I don't want to hear anything more about them," Jason turned and stalked away. "We need to fix the windmill, pull the fan out of the barn's side, and hopefully, the crop isn't damaged. We should probably try to drain some of the excess water off, if that's possible."

Milligan didn't say anything, but he did nod. Jason knew he was probably being a bit unfair toward the mages, but at that moment, he didn't care. He was finally getting to the point where he wasn't scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to make ends meet, and this happened! It was infuriating.

He only hoped that, moving forward, things would go a bit smoother.

Pride

[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: 25th day of Fall! Alright, y'all, things are getting even colder! Bright side: This should be about the coldest it gets until winter. Less bright side: It's FREEZING out there, so make sure to bundle up if you go out!]

Jason read the entry as his eyes flickered open. He didn't need Daniel telling him that it was cold, since... Well... Even in the house, it felt more than a bit frigid. Tess was nowhere to be seen, and Jason slowly rolled out of bed, dressed, and walked out into the hall.

It didn't take him long to find his wife and children, down in the living room next to the fire. Tess was holding them tightly, sitting next to a warm, crackling fire. Both were asleep, and she looked up at him with a smile.

"They were cold, and wouldn't calm down, so I came down here," she whispered. "Would you mind going and getting me something to drink?"

Jason nodded and quickly walked into the kitchen. Soon enough, he had a mug of coffee in hand and brought it back to Tess. She carefully took the mug, sipped it, then sighed deeply.

"I didn't expect this cold snap to come through like this. Did you?"

Jason shrugged. "Hard to tell what I expect these days." He glanced out the front window. "I just hope we can get out into the field like we'd planned."

"Ahh, you'll do great," Tess beamed. "I'll eat when these guys wake up. Go get yourself some food, and then get out and get moving. It's not going to get any warmer today, so the quicker you get out there, the quicker you'll be able to come back in."

Jason nodded, gave Tess a kiss, and walked back into the kitchen. He soon had a platter of warm waffles and chicken, which he ate leaning against the wall next to the fireplace. Neither he nor Tess spoke, and in a lot of ways, they didn't need to. When he was done, he returned the dishes to the kitchen, pulled on his work boots, shrugged on a warm coat and gloves, and struck out into the cold.

As was becoming more and more common, Milligan was nowhere to be seen. Jason shivered a bit as he walked up to the fence and looked out across the field, which was... Well... Not faring particularly well.

The water from the windmill hadn't helped anything, to be certain, but the double-whammy of the cold weather also hadn't done it any favors. Only a week earlier, brilliant seed heads had been rising up from the stalks, ready to burst into waves of grain. Now, the stalks were all a sickly sort of color, and most of the seed heads were dropped and uneven. Jason shook his head as he looked it over, then shrugged.

"Nothing to it, I suppose." He turned and walked up to the barn, where he took Angus out slowly. The old work horse stood tall in the cold, though Jason could tell that he didn't really want to be outside. Jason smiled and fed him some sugar cubes, then slowly led him down to the lean-to. There, he hitched him up to the harvester, checked over a few things, and climbed up onto the machine.

"Let's get to it! Ya!"

Angus snorted and walked forward, clopping across the ground firmly. Soon, they entered the field, and Jason sighed and watched the harvest begin.

The blades ripped through the stalks, just like normal, but... Something was different. The sound of grain pouring through the machine was a good bit lighter than usual. It wasn't as robust, it sounded airier and sicklier. Jason didn't need to check the inventory to know that they were pulling much less than they should have been. Just like in the wheat harvest, Angus was able to move quite a bit faster than usual, and they soon reached the end of the field and turned around.

The wind began to pick up as the morning dragged on, biting at Jason's clothing and nipping at his face. He shivered as he braced himself against it, but there wasn't much that he could do. The field had to be harvested, and

that was the long and the short of it. By the time he'd made it halfway through the field, he could hardly feel his hands at all, and was shaking a bit as he climbed down from the machine.

"Alright, boy," Jason patted Angus on the neck and led him up into the barn. "You're a good boy. Get some rest, and we'll do the rest this afternoon."

Angus snorted and allowed himself to be put back into the stall, and Jason trooped up into the house. As the door shut behind him, Tess poked her head out of the kitchen.

"You look like a popsicle."

"I feel like one," Jason chuckled. He struggled to pull off his winter gear, and Tess ran up to give him a hug. "I'm a little worried about Milligan, though. He's never this late. Makes me wonder if something happened."

"It did, yes, but not with him," Tess led Jason into the kitchen, where the twins were already eating some eggs. Jason sat down, and Tess served him some egg salad with a bit of bacon on the side. "The mages sent a letter. Apparently, they had another spell go wrong, and it teleported Milligan across the continent. They're working on getting him back and anticipate that he'll be home by evening."

Jason sighed and gripped his work a little tighter. A large part of him wanted to stab the fork into the table in anger, but he knew that doing so would only make things worse. Slowly, he let out a long breath, then nodded.

"What sort of ritual were they trying to do?"

"They didn't say, only that it had something to do with the orcs," Tess shrugged.

"I was afraid of that," Jason crossed his arms and chewed for a few moments. "Just what's going on over there, anyway? Lightning storms, teleportation... I mean, this is insane. This isn't normal, this is dangerous."

"Trust me, I know, but if it gets rid of the orcs, who are we to try and challenge it?" Tess held up her hands. "When I was still an active warrior, there were times when I had to do some crazy things. Civilians looked at me like I was nuts, but it kept them safe, even if they thought I was only putting them in danger."

"Maybe so. In any event, as much as the farm side of things bothers me, it's the girls that scare me. What if something happens to them?" Jason pointed his fork at Tess.

"Don't go there," Tess's voice suddenly became colder. "Don't you think I spend enough time worrying about that?"

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds. Finally, Jason shrugged and went back to eating.

"Well, we're not going to pull as much from this crop as I would have liked, but it ought to be enough to keep us afloat. If we subtract the amount, we'll need for living expenses, we ought to have just enough to fix the windmill and still buy a few animals."

"Is that really a smart idea?" Tess asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get some more animals, but we can hardly take care of the fields right now. The barn is still in shambles, and winter is coming on fast."

"I think we can still get the barn patched up by winter," Jason answered with a shrug. "As long as the animals can wait until then, we'll be good. Besides, if something happens and we don't get the barn fixed, we'll always be able to just sell the animals at that point. You'll have a couple of months with them, and I'd sure like you to have that, if possible."

A small smile spread across Tess's face. "That's very sweet of you."

"Then it's a done deal," Jason smiled and rose. "Plus, I sent a letter to your father asking him to come over here this afternoon to discuss exactly that, so... It would be rude to refuse him."

Tess laughed, and a warm glow seemed to fill Jason's heart. He finished up his meal, had a slice of warm pie for dessert, and slowly made his way back out into the farmyard once more.

As he tugged on his gloves, and the wind blew ever stronger around him, he shivered, but slowly walked across to the barn. Thankfully, the sun was out, which made it a bit more bearable. He opened up Angus's stall, and the horse looked up to give him a small snort. Jason shrugged, and, with a small smile, led him out and into the cold weather once more.

They continued working throughout the afternoon, trudging this way and that across the field. The sickly grain continued to pour in, and Jason kept his eyes turned forward. This time, the cold seemed to soak through him even faster, and for the last half of the ride, he simply took it one moment at a time. Every second was pain, every instant he longed to stumble back into the house.

As he was finishing up the last row, Richard came riding in the gate, seated tall and strong upon his horse. Jason waved, and Richard waved back, riding up to the field just on the other side of the fence.

"Howdy, neighbor! How are things looking?" "About the same!" Jason called back. "You?"

"I wish I could say different," Richard chuckled. "If Jeremiah ever does come back to Summer Shandy, he's going to have my hide."

Jason blinked a few times. "That's right, I haven't seen him! I think I just assumed he would have come back with Paulina and the kids."

Richard shook his head. "I was up there chatting with Obadiah, and he let it slip that Jeremiah had some sort of an accident. Fell down the stairs, or whatnot, and his wife read him the riot act. They decided that he should stay up in Illumitir. They had plenty of savings, and one of his other kids lives up there to help him."

Jason shook his head. "Hard to think of Jeremiah as old, you know? He's always been so spry."

"In all due fairness, the way I hear it, he fell down the stairs because he was trying to slide down the handrail," Richard grinned. "So, I don't think he's all that old yet, just slowing down a bit. He'd have my hide if he heard me say that much, I'm sure of that."

They shared a bit of a laugh, and Jason nodded down at the barn. "Well, I'm almost done. I'll meet you there."

A few minutes later, the two men stood in the barn, shivering, as Jason put Angus back into his stall.

"So, Jason. What sort of animals are you wanting to put in this deathtrap?" Richard slowly looked around at the barn.

"Oh, it's not all that bad, and it'll be fixed by winter," Jason chuckled. "And whatever you've got that's easiest to sell. Sheep are fun, goats, maybe some cattle. Nothing much, for sure, just enough to help Tess. She's really missing all the animals."

"I sold most of my smaller animals, but I still have a few pigs I could send your way," Jeremiah commented.

Jason screwed up his nose. "I hate pigs. Tess does love them, though."

"Then I'll have some sent your way! And we can always go confirm with Tess first," Richard nodded as Jason finished putting the last of Angus's gear and straps away. "One quick question, if you don't mind. Have you heard from Johan recently?"

Jason frowned and scratched his head. "It's been a few years, come to think of it. Must have been when they built that kiddie dungeon here in Summer Shandy. Why?"

"I was just thinking that he would be a good person to contact about getting this place fixed up," Richard shrugged. "I don't know what he'd charge, but he could slap this thing back together in nothing flat."

"Not a bad idea," Jason frowned in thought. "I wouldn't even know how to get ahold of him."

"Well, something to think about, in any case!" Richard clapped Jason on the shoulder, then turned to walk toward the house. "Now, let's get out of the cold! I'd like to see my grandkids!"

Jason smiled as he followed Richard down toward the house, though his mind was far from the farm. Calling up Johan wasn't a bad idea in the slightest. The only reason he didn't want to was his pride, pure and simple. Jason rather enjoyed being the person offering help, not asking for it.

That said, desperate times called for desperate measures... And it would be wonderful to see an old friend again.

Regrets

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

[Daniel's Almanac: 30th day of Fall! Hey, y'all, I just wanted to let you know that there have been a few orcish sightings in the area overnight! We've dispatched patrols to intercept them, so I'm not anticipating any issues, but I do want to let you know!]

Jason raised his eyebrows as he slowly woke up. For a few minutes, he didn't move, if only to confirm the simple fact that the house wasn't actively being torn down by orcs. When he was satisfied, he slowly rose and walked up to the window. Off in the distance, he saw several riders making their way across the prairie, but they were quite a ways off and didn't seem to be in any rush. It was indeed little more than a routine patrol, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Daniel's getting more responsible," he commented as Tess slowly rolled out of bed and climbed to her feet. "There was a time when he wouldn't have bothered saying anything like that."

"That's my brother. Always growing and getting better," Tess chuckled, though Jason couldn't tell exactly how sarcastic she was being. "Only took him a decade or so. How'd you sleep last night?"

"Well enough," Jason stretched. "Someone kicked me in the back, right in the middle of the night."

Tess winced. "Sorry, I was hoping you wouldn't remember that. The twins started crying, and I sorta jumped, and..." She smiled. "Hope you're not bruised."

"I'll be alright," Jason changed into his work clothes, then slowly walked out into the hall. "Are they okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. I think they're both a little sick, is all. If it's alright by you, I'm going to keep them inside and try to get them feeling better," Tess apologized.

"For sure! I can take care of..." Jason's voice trailed off, and his eyes narrowed. "That means I have to take care of the pigs."

Tess flashed an apologetic smile at him. "Yes, please, my dearest husband I love so much?"

Jason stared at her, then smiled and sighed in an overelaborate fashion. "I suppose I can manage that."

About half an hour later, stomach full of breakfast, Jason slowly dumped the feed for the pigs into their trough. They ran forward and began eagerly gobbling it down, and Jason shook his head and leaned against the fence. One of the pigs seemed to notice him and jumped up at him with a snort. The rather large creature smashed into the fence hard enough to jar Jason away, and he bolted upright.

"Alright, alright! Chill out!" Jason held up his hands and backed up a few steps. "I'm not going to hurt you! That's the butcher's job, and that's still at least a month or two out."

"Howdy, boss," Milligan called down from Sandy as he rode up into the barn. "What's the butcher's job?"

"What do you think the butcher's job is?" Jason raised an eyebrow as he turned to face his hired man. "Sorry. Pigs are not my favorite animal, but Tess thinks they're cute."

Milligan laughed, then glanced around at the barn. "Have you heard from Johan?"

"Not yet," Jason shook his head. "I did some asking around, though. Daniel was pretty sure that Johan was working as a contractor out of... I want to say it was Fairharbor. Somewhere way out east. I sent a few inquiries out that way, but I haven't heard anything back yet."

"Mmm. Well, I sure hope you're able to get ahold of him. He was a real stand-up guy, from what I remember of him," Milligan looked around at the

ruined barn, then suddenly perked up. "Oh! That reminds me. There was a reason I came down here today. I mean, other than working."

"Really?" Jason crossed his arms. "What's that?"

"I talked to your uncle yesterday evening," Milligan began to explain. Jason felt a flash of annoyance, and Milligan seemed to back up. "Just for a few seconds, mind you. He came out from the academy to deliver a message to me. Anyway, it sounds like your girls were leading an exploration party through the woods, and they think they saw Dusty and Lady."

At that, Jason's heart gave several beats so loud he was sure that Milligan could hear them. "Really? They're sure?"

"Sure as they can be. Two horses, together, a little worse for wear, living out of a cave on the other side of the river," Milligan nodded. "They drew me a map, if we wanted to go look for ourselves."

"Yes, please!" Jason jogged over toward the stable. "Give me just a minute to get Angus ready, and a minute more to let Tess know, and we'll be off!"

In less than five minutes, Jason and Milligan rode off across the prairie. They stuck with the gravel road for most of the way, though they broke off as they approached the Far Eighty. From there, they swung southward, down toward the Lazy-H, until they reached a small cove of sorts in the woods. There, the two of them dismounted, and hitched their horses to a large oak tree. Jason patted down Angus's neck, and Milligan pointed to a small, barely visible trail.

"This is where they said to go. We're to follow it across the river, and then break left when we come to the fallen log."

"Then let's get to it."

Jason could hardly feel the ground beneath him as he practically ran down the path. Milligan followed at a good clip as well. Both of them, regardless of what they said about hope, had long ago given up a great deal of hope that their horses had survived the orcish attack. The slightest chance that they were alive was more than enough to fuel a search as long and as distant as was necessary.

In any case, the trail was a rough one, likely designed to test the physical endurance of the people training to be mages. It went up and down sharp ravines, over snarled tree roots, and through rather thick brush. Finally, they came to the river, where a small bridge had been built out of limestone. It seemed to Jason to be a magical construct of some sort, but he didn't give it much thought as he clambered across. Only a few feet beyond was the fallen log, and he quickly turned and darted into the brush.

"Dad?"

Jason's heart leapt again as Fern rose up from a bush. She still had her staff in her hand, and a broad smile across her face. He gave her a quick hug, and she sighed deeply.

"Now what are you doing out here?" Jason grinned.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?" Milligan asked, his face twisting into a scowl. "I'm pretty sure this is your levitation class."

How Milligan knew that, Jason didn't want to ask. Fern turned rather red, and she nodded at the trees ahead. "I knew you guys would be out here just as quickly as you could get here, and since they were both really scared, I wanted to be able to help you! I have some animal taming magic that could be good."

"We're just happy to see you." Jason smiled and kissed her on the top of the head. "Let's go."

With that, Fern led the way, creeping along through the brush. Ahead, Jason saw the ground rise slightly into a small hill. He didn't see a cave, but he believed Fern well enough. Suddenly, they came through the last bit of brush, and... There they were.

The cave was small, only a dozen feet deep, and was quite rugged. That said, it was dry enough, and seemed like a solid shelter if you weren't able to build anything better. Standing there, near the back, were, indeed, Lady and Dusty. They had a few scars across their sides and rumps, and their nostrils flared as the three humans came into view, but... They were alive.

"Shh! It's alright." Fern slowly raised her staff. The end of the weapon began to glow, and a gentle hum filled the air. "Shh! We're friends here!"

Jason watched, awestruck, as Fern began to advance. The horse stamped their feet, but indeed, did seem to grow more calm. Suddenly, though, Dusty reared up, kicking out at Fern, and she screamed and fell back.

"Whoa, boy." Milligan stepped fully into view, holding up his hand. "It's me!"

"And it's me, too." Jason stepped up next to him. The horses' eyes were wild, and they stamped their feet even more, but they didn't strike. "Fern? Can you hit us with a bit more of that magic music?"

Fern didn't say a thing, but the soft humming noise filled the air a moment later. The two horses snorted and shook their manes, and Milligan took another step forward. He was able to put his hand on Dusty's neck, then started to scratch his mane. Jason stepped forward as well, and was able to put his own hand on Lady. He reached down and scratched at her brisket, and she seemed to relax.

"And there we have it." Jason opened his inventory and pulled out an apple. Lady accepted the treat with a merry crunch, and Jason smiled. "There we

go! That's one happy horse, I'd say."

"Indeed."

The voice was firm, and Jason recognized it immediately. He turned to find Mistress Elintra standing just behind Fern. Fern hadn't looked away from the horses, but she had turned quite pale.

"You know, in most cases, students are separated from their parents by hundreds of miles when they begin training at the academy." Mistress Elintra's voice was firm. "We made an exception for you and Rachel, Fern. Don't make me regret it."

"Yes, mistress." Fern bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I just-"

"Did I ask for an explanation?" Mistress Elintra snapped. "Get back to class. Now."

Fern nodded, then turned and ran off through the trees. The professor watched her go, then slowly turned back to Milligan and Jason. Her eyes were hard, and she slowly raised her staff. There was a brilliant flash of light, and then, she was gone.

"Well, that wasn't exactly the ending I'd hoped for." Milligan's voice was quiet. "I sure didn't mean to get her in trouble."

"Nah. You didn't do anything wrong." Jason sighed deeply and gazed up through the trees at the tall spire that rose from the center of the academy. More and more, he was beginning to regret ever letting the mages onto his property. For the moment, though, it was more of a dull frustration.

He could only hope that it didn't spiral to become anything more.

Big Storm

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

[Daniel's Almanac: 41st day of Fall! Alright, y'all, we've got a bit of nasty weather coming through today! Real big storm, lots of wind, you know the drill! Stay inside unless you absolutely have to go out, for sure! And if you

weigh less than 100 pounds (looking at you, Little Farmer), just know that I'm not going to track you down if you blow away!]

The wind howled around the house as Jason slowly woke up and climbed out of bed. He stretched a few times, then walked up to the window to look out across the farmstead. The sky was dark as clouds rolled and billowed across the great blue dome, and the prairie grasses lashed around wildly. Tess walked up next to him, worry on her face.

"You think the pigs will be okay, won't they?"

"If they're not, they're just-" Jason started to joke, but the look on Tess's face told him that she was liable to smash his face through the wall if he kept it up. "Ahh... I'm sure they'll be fine, but we could always move them into the lower level of the barn, if it would make you feel better."

"It would." Tess gave a curt nod. She sighed, then smiled. "Thank you. I know you don't love them, and it means a lot to me that you're still willing to put up with them."

"Anything for my dear wife." Jason gave her a kiss, then shuddered as the wind gusted, making the whole house shudder. "Just know that I love you a lot. Like a lot a lot."

Tess laughed, and Jason quickly changed. He, Tess, and the twins had a quick breakfast, and with that, he struck out into the farmyard. The door nearly smashed him flat as the wind caught hold of it whipping around the house, and he shuddered and braced himself.

All things considered, Daniel hadn't really been joking about people flying away. The wind was among the strongest that Jason had ever felt. He wasn't exactly being lifted off the ground, but it took a great deal of his core muscles to keep from being knocked over, and by the time he reached the

barn, he felt as sore as if he'd been digging holes all afternoon. Groaning slightly, he staggered over to the pig pens, then looked down at them.

Ten sets of piggish eyes looked up at him, blinking and snuffling, as if to ask him where their food was. Thankfully, the way that the gaps in the barn walls were oriented, the pig pens themselves happened to sit in a calm zone, so even as the wind howled and raged about most of the area, the pigs could sit there as if nothing at all was the matter. Jason smiled, then slowly walked over to start scooping them some feed.

"Here, you go." Jason dumped the mixture of corn, sorghum, molasses, and other odds and ends into the pig trough. They hungrily rushed forward to gobble it down, and Jason sighed and let the bucket drop to the ground. "You know, sometimes I think it'd be nice to be an animal. So simple." The largest of the pigs lifted its head and snorted at him, and he chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to infringe on your territory. I said sometimes, and I sure wouldn't want to be a pig."

"Of course not!"

The voice was deep and shook like the thunder of a great and powerful storm, and Jason spun around as a massive figure strode into the barn. In the dim lighting, Jason could hardly make him out, but he could certainly see the great red beard, the thick hair, and the generous frame.

"Johan!" Jason beamed.

"Jason!" Johan strode forward and held out a huge hand. Jason shook it firmly, beaming from ear to ear. "It was good to hear from you, and I'm happy to come help out! I do have one question, though."

Jason frowned. "What is it?"

"Just what exactly did you do to my barn?"

Several minutes later, Jason, Johan, and Tess were all sitting down to steaming cups of tea around the fire, while the twins played on the floor. The wind continued to roar about the house, and Jason smiled.

"You know, the very first time I met you was in a drought, just not one located here."

"I know! That's why I agreed to come." Johan smiled, then corrected himself. "Well, not entirely. If you had asked, I would have showed up. There's no question there, of course, but the fact that our situations are reversed? I would have come even if the entire world stood in my way."

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

[Daniel's Almanac: 41st day of Fall! Alright, y'all, we've got a bit of nasty weather coming through today! Real big storm, lots of wind, you know the drill! Stay inside unless you absolutely have to go out, for sure! And if you weigh less than 100 pounds (looking at you, Little Farmer), just know that I'm not going to track you down if you blow away!]

Jason chuckled slightly. "Well, I'm certainly glad you're here." He frowned slightly. "Where's the rest of your family?"

"They're at the inn in Summer Shandy. The weather was bad enough that I didn't want to subject them to it, but I also didn't want to wait any longer." Johan sighed. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it took me so long to get out here. Your message wound up coming to me by the way of a friend of a friend of a friend. As it turned out, the timing was perfect. I'd just finished up a big job, and was looking to take a new one further out west. I had already been considering passing through Summer Shandy as it was, so when I heard of your plight, it was a simple decision."

"You're heading out west?" Tess asked. "Where to?"

"A place known as Dry Gulch." Johan shrugged as he took another sip of tea. "It's actually quite a fertile land there. A rancher hired me to construct a barn, in his words, 'more grand than the one in Summer Shandy.' Apparently, he's running a herd of somewhere around a million cattle."

"Don't tell that to Richard." Tess commented. "They're driving him out of business right now."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that." Johan sighed. "I'm afraid that's life the world over. One thing rises, another thing falls. If there's anything I can do to help him, I'll-"

"Ahh, he was considering retirement anyway." Tess shook her head. "This was just an excuse so it doesn't look like he's old. Anyway, Johan, we're happy you're here. How long do you have?"

"I'm scheduled to start at Dry Gulch on the first of Winter. That should give me plenty of time to slap your barn together, good as new." Johan paused in thought, and stroked his chin. "You said it was damaged in the orcish invasion?"

Jason nodded. "Yup. They just about destroyed the whole town. Summer Shandy itself has mostly recovered, but out here, things move a bit slower."

"Mmm." Johan stroked his beard for a bit longer. "Apologies, I'm simply thinking through the implications. Repair work is, often enough, a trickier thing than putting it up in the first place. The question isn't about replacing the parts that are broken. That's easy to see, and easy enough to replace. The real question is about finding the things that were stressed without fully breaking. For example, if any of the main support beams have hairline fractures running through them, leaving them alone will only mean that the whole structure might collapse within the next ten years or so. You might not even notice it happening, you'll just start to see external boards bending and popping off, due to the slight shift in the internal structure."

"You know a whole lot more about that than I do." Jason chuckled slightly. "Just tell me what you need."

"I'll need to do an in-depth evaluation." Johan nodded firmly. "I'll do that once the wind dies down. That'll take me the better part of a day, I expect, and will tell me quite a bit. After that, I'll need to put in for a work crew, but there's no use trying to call anyone down until I know exactly how many men I'm going to need."

"I'm greatly obliged to you." Jason sighed deeply. "Without your help... I don't know. I don't have a clue how I'd ever get the thing back together."

"As I said, you likely could have patched up the outside, given time, but it would only have delayed the inevitable." Johan slapped his thigh. "Now, let us discuss better matters! Where are those lovely girls of yours? Seems to me that they enjoyed playing with my own children the last time I was here, but I don't see them around."

"They're not." Jason sighed. "They're close, though." He quickly explained about the mages' academy, and their assistance in stopping the orcs. When he finished, Johan frowned in thought.

"Mages, eh? I've worked with one or two. If there are any adept in construction, that could actually make the work go a lot smoother. I don't suppose you happened to run into Master Thompson?"

"Doesn't ring a bell." Jason shook his head.

"Too bad. He was a good one." Johan sighed deeply. "Well, I'm glad your girls are getting a good education, if nothing else."

"I am, too. I just miss them." Jason crossed his arms. "The last time I saw Fern, one of her professors showed up and read her the riot act. Maybe she

deserved it, I dunno, but I was sure enjoying the chance to see her again, you know?"

"I get it, trust me." Johan nodded thoughtfully. He didn't say anything for a moment, then slowly rose. "Well, thank you much for the tea, Mrs. Hunter. I've got to be getting back to the family, and I'll be out tomorrow morning to get started on the barn."

"What will we owe you?" Jason asked as Johan moved toward the door. He knew the answer, of course, but he felt obligated to ask it anyway.

"If you value my friendship in the slightest, you won't ask me that question again." Johan held out a hand, which Jason shook once more. "I owe you more than I could possibly explain to you. You turned me from a jobless refugee into one of the most well-known architects in the known world. Pfft, I've got enough money from the last couple jobs that I could easily put up in the upper districts of Illumitir for the rest of my life. Only reason I don't is because I love the job." He turned and crossed his arms behind his back. "And no matter what the guy in Dry Gulch demands, I'll always consider this barn to be my finest work. If a bunch of orcs are going to try to smash it, they're going to have to deal with me rebuilding it!"

Jason felt his heart warm as Johan struck out into the storm, immobile among the raging winds. Tess put a hand on his shoulder, and Jason slowly pulled the door closed.

Maybe he didn't have control over everything he wanted to control, but that was life sometimes. In any case, he had good friends, and he was about to get his barn rebuilt.

For the time being, all he had to do was wait out the storm.

Foow Up

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

[Daniel's Almanac: 50th day of Fall! Hey, y'all! Today's a nice one, but don't let it fool you! We've got a huge storm coming through in the next couple days, way bigger than the last one! Fun fact, storms in droughts don't produce any rain, but they have a much higher chance of producing

high winds and other sorts of damaging things. Anyway, thought you should know!]

The sound of hammers woke up Jason, and he slowly rose and crept up to the window. Still in his nightclothes, he didn't dare get too close for fear that someone outside would look in, but... He could see enough, to be certain. Johan had spent an entire two days examining the barn.

The orcish attack had done a number on it, but subsequently letting it sit for almost two seasons had done nearly as much damage to the internal structure. As he looked out, he saw almost two dozen men rushing back and forth, carrying massive planks of wood carved from the forest across the prairie.

Some of them were almost three feet thick, and took half a dozen men apiece. Jason whistled slightly, then slowly walked over to the wardrobe and changed. Tess was nowhere to be seen, but he assumed that she was downstairs, probably fixing breakfast for the workers. As he came down the stairs, he found that he was correct in that assumption.

A steady stream of workmen came through the back door into the kitchen, where she loaded them up with all manners of food, from eggs to toast to sausage to waffles. They ate as they walked through the house and into the living room, where they placed their plates and utensils in a large bin that was being manned by Johan's wife.

With that, they went back out through the front door and into the yard again. It was a tremendously efficient circuit, and Jason chuckled as he watched it all.

"Hey, little farmer!" Daniel grinned as he walked into the kitchen. "What do you think you're doing here! You can't lift any of this!" He held out his hands as Tess served him a full dozen eggs, and Jason raised an eyebrow.

"I live here?"

"Well, yeah, but you look like you actually want to get out there and work!" Daniel laughed as he walked through the kitchen and into the living room. "That's a laugh!"

"Yeah. Really funny." Jason rolled his eyes, then turned back to Tess. She was stifling a laugh, and he held out his hands. She quickly tossed him a bit of breakfast food, and he ate while leaning against the wall of the stairwell.

"He doesn't mean any harm by it, you know." Tess commented.

"I know, I know." Jason smiled and shook his head. "Just... You know." He slowly stretched as he finished his meal. "Anyway, I'm off. Let me know if you need anything, and I'll try to be home for lunch."

"What are you up to, again?" Tess frowned. "You told me, but things are kinda crazy at the moment, and I can't remember exactly. You're heading up to town?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to get a permit to swath the prairie, so we have some hay for winter." Jason nodded. "It won't feed the pigs, but if we get some cattle, it'll serve them well enough, and will be just about the cheapest feed we can get."

"That sounds good to me." Tess winced. "I'm afraid we're hardly going to make a profit on the pigs at all. I'm really sorry."

"Ahh, don't be!" Jason smiled as he walked through the kitchen and into the living room. "I got them for you, so as long as you're liking them, I'm not complaining!"

Jason quickly passed off his plate to Johan's wife, then pulled on his work clothes and headed out into the yard. Johan waved at him from up near the

barn, and Jason waved back, but he didn't approach. Johan had made it quite clear that as they were working on shoring up the interior of the barn, the exterior would technically be a great deal less stable, so anyone who wasn't necessary to the project was to stay back.

Jason's mind burned with curiosity about what the interior looked like, but he respected the foreman's wishes, and stayed well enough away. Instead, he walked around to the south side of the house, where a temporary stable had been set up where his greenhouse had once been.

It didn't take him long to saddle up Angus (Lady was still recovering from her time in the wilderness, and wasn't quite ready to be used yet), and with that, he was off for town. The chilly air nipped at him as he rode up and away, leaving his farm behind. Soon, he came clattering up to the cobbles of the Summer Shandy square. Obadiah, as usual, sat at the town well, chatting with just about anyone who walked up. As Jason rode over to him, he waved, and slowly climbed to his feet.

A farmer just next to him glanced over at Jason, and frowned.

"Jason! Right on time, I see." Obadiah nodded, then turned to the farmer. "Jason, have you met Mr. Finnegan, yet?"

"I don't think so." Jason swung down from Angus and held out his hand. "Jason Hunter."

"Conner Finnegan." The man shook Jason's hand with a smile. He was young, maybe a couple years older than Jason had been when he first moved into town. "I'm new to the area, just bought the place east of town."

"Ahh! Yeah, I know the one." Jason flashed a small smile. "I'm the reason you're missing a windmill."

"Is that so?" Conner chuckled. "Well, I'll get one put right back up, I suppose. Anyway, it's good to meet you."

"Good to meet you, too." Jason smiled. "You have any family, or are you here by yourself?"

"I'm by myself," Conner shrugged. "And I'm actually not here yet, I suppose. I have a business up in Illumitir that I run, but when properties started going cheap down here, I decided to take a crack at my dream of being a farmer. I'll be fixing things up here and there over the next few months, maybe even over the next year, and I'll move down here for good once the drought breaks."

"Well, we're happy to have you whenever you arrive," Jason smiled.

Conner tipped his hat, and with that, turned and walked off. Obadiah nodded to Jason, and the two of them quickly made their way into the constable's office. There, Jason sat down across the desk from Obadiah, who pulled out a large folder.

"Alright, let's see here..." Obadiah frowned as he opened it up and started flipping through the pages. "I ought to have kept a file on all the unusual requests you've opened up over the years. It's been quite a few of them. My father used to joke that he always knew what you were going to be up to next, just by looking at the forms that hadn't been used in the longest amount of time."

Jason laughed at that. "And when was the last time someone applied for a swathing permit?"

"From what I can tell, it was... Almost fifty years ago," Obadiah finally found what he was looking for, and pulled out a few forms. "There were a bunch of people who did it, actually. A big plague of fungus came through the crops and raised the price of animal feed, so people turned to swathing

the prairie to support their animals. Anyway, just fill that out, and you ought to be good to go."

Jason nodded and started going through the documents. They were pretty basic, just asking what area he intended to harvest, what he was going to use the hay for, and so on. It only took him a few minutes to finish up, at which point he slid the documents back across the desk.

"Perfect. Give me just a moment here..." Obadiah slid the documents back into the folder, then pulled out a new piece of paper. He signed it, then passed it across. "And there you go! You're officially licensed to swath the section of prairie indicated, during the fall season. If you decide to extend it into winter, or if you need more area, make sure to come to me first. The penalty for doing this without a permit is steep."

"Will do," Jason smiled. "Many thanks." He started to rise, then paused. "I'm sure I'm not legally allowed to ask this, but..."

"Then you probably shouldn't," Obadiah answered with a wry grin. "What's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering about other farmers moving into the area. Are there many of them?"

Obadiah puffed out his cheeks. "That's actually a matter of public record, so you're free to ask. Ahh... There really aren't that many. All the land that's gone up for sale has indeed sold, but Conner's the only one who's actually come to look at the property yet. I think the others are mostly real estate investors from Illumitir and Portswain. They're probably buying up loads of property across the province, and will only come out to investigate once things have settled down."

"Hmm," Jason sighed and shook his head. "You know, if things went south and we had to move, I'm sure we'd make it work, but... I sure wouldn't

want my farm being sold to someone who was only intending on selling it again."

"Trust me, everyone else has been in the same boat, but when you're that desperate, there's not much you can do."

Jason nodded slowly, and with that, he rose and walked out of the office. He had a strange feeling in his chest. Things were slowly getting back on track back out at the farm, and the drought would certainly break at some point, but everything just felt... Weird.

Things were changing, and not in a good way. He didn't mind the idea of new people coming to the town, but he did mind the idea of investors using the town as a way to make quick money. He only hoped that good, honest people would wind up with the properties in the end. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no way of ensuring that such a thing would, or even could, happen.

Beyond The Limit

"I'm by myself," Conner shrugged. "And I'm actually not here yet, I suppose. I have a business up in Illumitir that I run, but when properties started going cheap down here, I decided to take a crack at my dream of being a farmer. I'll be fixing things up here and there over the next few months, maybe even over the next year, and I'll move down here for good once the drought breaks."

"Well, we're happy to have you whenever you arrive," Jason smiled.

Conner tipped his hat, and with that, turned and walked off. Obadiah nodded to Jason, and the two of them quickly made their way into the constable's office. There, Jason sat down across the desk from Obadiah, who pulled out a large folder.

"Alright, let's see here..." Obadiah frowned as he opened it up and started flipping through the pages. "I ought to have kept a file on all the unusual requests you've opened up over the years. It's been quite a few of them. My father used to joke that he always knew what you were going to be up to next, just by looking at the forms that hadn't been used in the longest amount of time."

Jason laughed at that. "And when was the last time someone applied for a swathing permit?"

"From what I can tell, it was... Almost fifty years ago," Obadiah finally found what he was looking for, and pulled out a few forms. "There were a bunch of people who did it, actually. A big plague of fungus came through the crops and raised the price of animal feed, so people turned to swathing the prairie to support their animals. Anyway, just fill that out, and you ought to be good to go."

Jason nodded and started going through the documents. They were pretty basic, just asking what area he intended to harvest, what he was going to use the hay for, and so on. It only took him a few minutes to finish up, at which point he slid the documents back across the desk.

"Perfect. Give me just a moment here..." Obadiah slid the documents back into the folder, then pulled out a new piece of paper. He signed it, then passed it across. "And there you go! You're officially licensed to swath the section of prairie indicated, during the fall season. If you decide to extend it into winter, or if you need more area, make sure to come to me first. The penalty for doing this without a permit is steep."

"Will do," Jason smiled. "Many thanks." He started to rise, then paused. "I'm sure I'm not legally allowed to ask this, but..."

"Then you probably shouldn't," Obadiah answered with a wry grin. "What's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering about other farmers moving into the area. Are there many of them?"

Obadiah puffed out his cheeks. "That's actually a matter of public record, so you're free to ask. Ahh... There really aren't that many. All the land that's gone up for sale has indeed sold, but Conner's the only one who's actually come to look at the property yet. I think the others are mostly real estate investors from Illumitir and Portswain. They're probably buying up loads of property across the province, and will only come out to investigate once things have settled down."

"Hmm," Jason sighed and shook his head. "You know, if things went south and we had to move, I'm sure we'd make it work, but... I sure wouldn't want my farm being sold to someone who was only intending on selling it again."

"Trust me, everyone else has been in the same boat, but when you're that desperate, there's not much you can do."

Jason nodded slowly, and with that, he rose and walked out of the office. He had a strange feeling in his chest. Things were slowly getting back on track back out at the farm, and the drought would certainly break at some point, but everything just felt... Weird.

Things were changing, and not in a good way. He didn't mind the idea of new people coming to the town, but he did mind the idea of investors using the town as a way to make quick money. He only hoped that good, honest people would wind up with the properties in the end. Unfortunately, he had

absolutely no way of ensuring that such a thing would, or even could, happen.

"The section of prairie that Jason had received permission to cut was just north of his farm, between the farm and Summer Shandy itself. Carefully, he drove through the small ditch and into the tall grasses, where he drew Angus to a halt.

"Alright, boy, be careful." Jason warned. "This isn't a tilled field, this is wide open ground. There could be ditches or holes or all sorts of other things. Got it?"

Angus snorted, as if in agreement, and Jason smiled. "Good. Then let's go!"

He snapped the reins, and Angus lumbered forward. With the pull of a lever, the blades whirred to life, and they cut across the prairie like a knife through a cake.

It was a strange process, far odder than harvesting. As they lumbered forward, the blades cut through the prairie grasses about six inches off the ground. It was a bit lower than when they were cutting grain, largely because the grain only needed to be cut right below the seed heads, which was (usually) at least a couple of feet off the ground. That said, they were able to go fairly quickly, since the machine didn't bother to store any of the material. Instead, it simply spat it out the back, forming a long row of cut grass on the ground.

Wham!

The blades rang out loudly as one of them struck a rock, and Jason winced as a handful of sparks exploded into the air. The farmer he was renting the swather from had told him to expect such things, and that it wasn't an issue if and when it happened, but he still felt a bit responsible for the machine and hoped that he wouldn't damage it too badly. He gritted his teeth as they

continued to move forward, doing his best to watch for more rocks before he hit them.

It never worked, but he did try.

Half a dozen rocks later, as he drove down through a rather steep ravine, a light flashed ahead of him, and a glowing wall arose to block his path. He knew it wasn't solid; he could have driven straight through it, but he also knew that he didn't really want to.

[Warning: You are about to pass beyond the limits of your permit. Turn back now.]

"I'm working on it, I'm working on it." Jason drove up as close to the edge of the wall as he could manage, then turned and started back. Now that he could see the full distance, he found that the long row of grass stretching across the prairie was actually quite lovely to look at, in a strange sense of the word. It wasn't the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, to be certain, and it was a far cry from a field of wheat or sorghum, but there was a certain sense of satisfaction that came from seeing the hay lying out, ready for the baling.

Ahh... Yes. The baling. After the hay was swathed, it had to be baled, which simply meant that it had to be rolled up into a giant ball. Well, a giant cylinder. Hay bales were kinda cool to look at, but it was an extra step that he hadn't counted on.

Jason drove slowly across the prairie for the next several hours, taking it easy. He still needed Angus for the second half of the day, once he was done swathing. Had Milligan been available, they could have done it all in one shot, but as was becoming quite normal, he was nowhere to be seen. Jason sighed in disappointment and confusion, drumming his fingers on the reins as they neared the halfway point. What was Milligan up to? Jason knew he was involved with the mages, but-

Kra-boom!!!

A brilliant flash of light streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of dark clouds in its wake. The clouds slowly began to spread outward, then dissipated as the light faded off into the distance. Suddenly, another streak of light lanced outward in a different direction, emanating from the same point.

That point, of course, was the mage's academy.

Jason gritted his teeth as he watched the lightshow. Clouds began to gather over the academy, forming around the peak of the spire and slowly growing outward in a great spiral. He didn't have a clue what it meant, but he did know that he didn't like it. His hands balled into fists, and he forced his mind back to the swathing at hand.

When he finished for the morning and drove back to the barn, the clouds had grown and showed no signs of retreat. That said, there was no lightning, and it wasn't raining acid or cats or anything, which was a positive sign. Jason sighed as he put the swather back into the lean-to, then stabled Angus and walked up into the house.

"No word from Milligan?" He asked as Tess brought out some fried chicken. Behind her, Johan's wife was working to prepare lunch for all the workers, which he was sure that Tess would be helping with as well. The twins toddled up to his legs, and he sat down in a living room chair to feed them bits of his chicken.

"Nothing." Tess shook her head. "You going to be alright out there?"

"Yeah." Jason nodded. "I wish I had the help, but it'll be alright. I just hope he's okay." Privately, though he didn't dare speak it out loud, he added, I sure hope Fern and Rachel are okay, too.

No answer was given, and he ate his lunch in relative silence. Finally, he finished and rose to head out into the field once more. Tess gave him another kiss, and he struck out to start baling the hay up. As he did, though, his mind turned ever-more toward the growing clouds above the academy.

Just what were the mages doing in there, and why was it affecting the surrounding countryside so much? How deeply was Milligan involved? Why hadn't his uncle poked his head out of the doors since he arrived?

He had far more questions than answers... And didn't have the faintest idea how he would change that fact, short of knocking on the doors of the academy and demanding an audience. That, at least for the time being, was a bit too much for him... Though, if things continued, he wasn't sure that such a thing would remain the case.

Homesick

[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: 70th day of Fall! Howdy, y'all! As I know you've all been looking for good news, I have some! It's supposed to rain today! Now, I'll admit that it's not very much, so don't get your hopes all that high, and I

suppose it's supposed to be pretty miserably cold along with it, but... Ahh, you know the drill by now!]

Jason rolled his eyes as he slowly climbed out of bed. Beside him, Tess stirred slightly but didn't wake up. A warm glow seemed to fill the air, and he sighed deeply as he walked up to the window. A light drizzle splattered against the window, but Jason could tell that it wouldn't be enough to even settle the dust, just enough to sting your skin if you happened to get any on you.

Now, on the bright side, across the farmyard, the barn was looking nice. The walls had been rebuilt, the doors had been reset, everything had been painted again, and overall, it just looked classy. Johan had dismissed almost all his men, though a small glow from inside told Jason that the handyman was still fixing up a few odds and ends that he considered a matter of professional pride. Jason chuckled slightly, then suddenly blinked.

The air was warm, unlike the weather outside.

That being true, Jason hadn't lit a fire.

He spun and ran down the stairs two at a time, hoping that he wasn't about to find the place engulfed. Instead, as he burst into the living room, he found Master Dominic sitting in one of his chairs, reclining in front of an inviting blaze. The mage blinked a few times as he looked at Jason, and he slowly leaned forward.

"Forgive me for saying so, but you hardly seem fit to be entertaining company."

"Forgive me for saying so, but I wasn't exactly expecting anyone." Jason crossed his arms.

"Well, I'm here now, so we can dispense with the formalities." Master Dominic pointed his staff at Jason, and with a flash of light, Jason's nightclothes were replaced with the tunic he often wore into town. "I came by to see if you'd like to come on a visit to the academy. There are a couple of girls who have been working overtime for a chance to see you again."

A smile spread across Jason's face, though he paused. "Is there any way they can come here?"

"I'm afraid not." Master Dominic sighed and climbed wearily to his feet. "You see, if I'm being completely honest, we do have an ulterior motive. High Master Benedict has become aware of the fact that some of our efforts have been proving disruptive for your work, and we wanted to explain things for you properly. If you're willing, of course."

Jason sighed and balled his hands into fists. "You're holding my daughters ransom against my visit. Do I have a choice?"

"I... I see." Master Dominic faltered as he seemed to realize how the situation looked. "I'll speak to High Master Benedict, and we'll-"

"We'd love to go." Tess poked her head in the door. "Sorry about my husband. He can be a little tight sometimes."

Jason spun around and scowled at her, but she scowled right back. "We'll be ready in just a few minutes."

Five minutes later, Jason gingerly stepped through a portal into the Entry Hall of the academy. It was the first time he had set foot on the property since they had been midway through construction, and despite himself, he had to admit that it was impressive.

The hallway was arched, with open glass windows peering up at the sky. Interestingly, the view displayed all the stars even in the middle of daytime

and had several annotations in an ancient language pointing out different things among the stars. Statues and living paintings lined the walls, while-

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Fern and Rachel stood near the end of the hall and ran toward their parents. Jason gratefully dropped to his knees and drew his older daughters into a hug. Fern and Rachel hugged and kissed both their parents, then the twins, and then slowly stood up.

"We've got a picnic planned for you!" Fern spoke rapidly as they started to walk through the hall. "It's located on one of the islands way out east! We'll be able to teleport there in the blink of an eye!"

"That's really exciting!" Jason tried to keep his enthusiasm high.

"Oh, and I learned a really cool trick!" Fern spun around and closed her eyes. With a pop, vines grew out her ears and fell down to her shoulders, then withered away as she opened her eyes again. "See!"

"Wow! I'll have to put you to work on the farm once you graduate from this place." Jason chuckled. "We can grow three, four crops a day with magic like that."

Fern giggled. At the end of the hall was a set of double doors, and Rachel reached out and tapped it with her staff. The handles glowed briefly, and they swung aside. Jason smiled and stepped forward... Only to draw up short.

On the other side stood his uncle, Alfie.

"I'm sorry to ambush you like this." Alfie's voice was soft. "I simply... I wanted to explain some things, and I knew this was how I could do it."

"What's going on?" Jason muttered, his hands balling into fists.

"We're going to take Mommy and the twins on a tour of the dungeon! The mages have done all sorts of cool things with it." Fern danced past Alfie and led Tess off down another hall. "It's great! There's this magic slide, and-"

Jason watched them go, then returned his gaze to Alfie. His uncle stood there for a moment, then shrugged.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Jason asked, taking a step forward. "Sorry for leaving me the farm? That was the best thing that ever happened to me. Sorry for taking it all away again?"

"I've taken nothing away." Alfie snapped.

"Oh, really?" Jason felt a great deal of anger bubbling up inside of him. "Last year, you know what I was doing? I was helping save my beloved town from an orcish attack. I had some mages who were good friends, and we helped each other out like good neighbors do. This year, I'm barely scraping by while this academy keeps blowing up my farm, or at the least, sending off enough magical energy to make me constantly looking over my shoulders, while my daughters are dangled in front of me like carrots, given to me every now and again to keep me happy and placated. You've been taking my hired man away from me, you've been-"

"Please." Master Dominic stepped forward. "There is no need to start slinging accusations. With regard to your final note, we were actually planning on asking you about Milligan. We've hardly seen him this year. I know his greenhouse has mostly gone by the wayside, and he hardly ever comes in to speak to our agricultural mages. It's been concerning. Frankly, there have been some in the academy who blame you for holding him from us."

Jason paused. "I..."

"And with regard to the other things, I am, truly, sorry." Alfie bowed his head. "I'll take responsibility for the crazy weather and some of the other things. That's why I arranged this. I wanted to show you what we've been working on, and why it's been so important."

Jason didn't say a word, and Alfie slowly turned and walked down the hall in the opposite direction as the girls. Jason followed along, and they soon wound up in the central echo chamber, which sat directly above the dungeon. There, in the center, was an odd... Thing. It had a great many gears and dials and dishes and points and had two enormous gemstones set within brass fittings.

"We just got the last one slotted in place yesterday." Alfie explained. "This machine, not to sound too melodramatic, will destroy the orcs once and for all."

"Really?" Jason snorted. "That does sound a bit melodramatic, if you don't mind my saying so."

"I don't, I don't." Alfie shrugged. "The simple fact of the matter is that it's attuned to all orcish energies across the land. When we fire this up, it will cripple or kill almost all of them. There will be a few survivors, and they'll flee back to the desert to protect the last gemstone. Which, of course, they'll be wise to do, since we'll have an army marching into their territory to claim it."

Jason let out a long breath. It sounded almost too good to be true, but... He did have to admit that losing part of a crop of sorghum was worth getting rid of the orcs across the land.

"As far as the damages to your farm goes, I've managed to obtain this in my travels." Alfie opened up his inventory and pulled out a small bag. He

tossed it to Jason, who caught it with a clink. "I know it won't replace everything, but I do hope it helps."

Jason frowned and opened up the bag. Inside was a small crest, a shield, emblazoned with the letter H.

"It's the Hunter insignia. Years ago, the Hunters were one of the greatest warrior family lines that the province of Southern Illis had ever seen." Alfie sighed. "There aren't many of those left, but you're welcome to that one. I'm sure Tess would like it, even if you don't."

Jason's hand tightened around the shield. An odd mixture of emotions ran through him, and Master Dominic placed a hand on his shoulder.

"And with regard to the girls, I'm truly sorry if we misrepresented the situation when you sent them here. It truly is unusual for children admitted to the academy to see their parents more than once or twice a year. The magic that they're learning takes extraordinary focus and control. Once they graduate, they'll have the skills they need to mingle with the world, but right now, they need absolute focus in order to master their studies. I'm afraid..." Master Dominic sighed. "I'm afraid that both girls are beginning to fall behind in their classes, despite showing great promise at the start. They're too distracted. When we go out on nature walks, they see you off across the prairie, and forget to focus upon sensing the ebb and flow of magical energy. When we hold vigil all night studying astronomy, they comment on how you'd be furious if you knew they were up so late. They have immense promise, both of them have incredible potential, but if they want to walk this path, you're going to have to let them."

Jason sighed and looked down at the ground. "Do you think they want to?"

"Rachel, yes." Master Dominic nodded. "She's truly quite inventive with magic. Being younger, she's not allowed to use the same techniques as Fern, despite the fact that they entered at the same time. Because of that, she's been forced to make up for lost time by utilizing her lower-level skills

in unusual ways. Opening up the door was one of them, actually. She shouldn't be able to do things like that until she's older than Fern. Fern, on the other hand... I think she's homesick but wants to make you proud."

Jason nodded slowly. He didn't know what to think, if he was being honest, and Master Dominic sighed.

"As I said, High Master Benedict wishes to speak with you. After that, we won't hold you back from this picnic any longer."

The thought of the picnic burned in Jason's mind, and a small smile came across his face. Slowly, he straightened up, and held out his hand. Alfie shook it, giving a knowing nod, and Jason turned his attention to the mage.

"Then by all means, lead on.

Last Day of Fa

[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: 91st day of Fall! It's the day of the Fall Festival, y'all! Get out here and enjoy yourself! Just stay warm, 'cause the missus will have my hide if someone gets frostbite because of me.]

Jason slowly stretched as his eyes flickered open. As was normal on festival days, he found himself in the inn of Summer Shandy, where they had booked a night the evening prior. Slowly, he rose out of bed, trying to let Tess sleep, and gathered up the twins. Together, the three of them made their way out into the dining area, where they helped themselves to a lovely buffet provided by Lily, the elderly owner. Tess joined them partway through, and without saying much, they finished up their meal and slowly rose.

"Well, if you're okay with it, I'm going to head over to see Paulina." Tess grimaced as they walked out into the cold air. The wind gusted up from the south, and Jason shivered. "She has some things to discuss, I'm not exactly sure what, but I think it has to do with homeschooling her kids."

"Go for it." Jason nodded. "I've got a few people I need to catch up with, too."

"Then I'll see you at lunch!" Tess gave him a kiss. "Happy festival day!"

Jason smiled and nodded, then slowly looked around. It was a chilly day, and with an overcast sky, it hardly felt like a festival. Still, though, a handful of people walked around setting up pumpkins and shocks of corn and other such decorations, and Jason could hear the town band playing inside Cecilia's store. Jason sighed deeply, then turned around as he heard the door of the inn open up.

"Morning, boss." Milligan yawned as he slowly walked out into the cold. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck, and wore a thick coat. "How goes it?"

"It goes well enough." Jason smiled as he looked at his hired man. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Well, I like to make it into these here festivals every once in awhile." Milligan shrugged.

"Milligan? You've hardly gone to a single one since you first arrived here, and that was years ago. Almost a full decade, and I'd be shocked if you've gone to ten in that time."

Milligan shrugged, and flashed a sheepish sort of a smile. "That a bad thing?"

"Not exactly, I suppose." Jason sighed. "Can you shoot straight with me for a minute?"

"If we can get inside, someplace warm."

A few minutes later, the two men had made their way into the Guild Hall, where a long table had been set up to collect food for the day. The bar was serving warm drinks, and Jason helped himself to a steaming mug of cider while Milligan took some hot chocolate. They sat down by the fire, warming themselves by the flames, and Milligan sighed.

"Truth be told, boss, I wanted to come into town..." He rubbed his jaw. "I know I could have come up to the house to tell you, but it just seemed better to tell you at a big event, you know?"

"I know you're sick." Jason sighed and slowly crossed his arms.

Milligan blinked a few times, then slowly took a sip from his mug. "What makes you say that?"

"Because the only times you ever do come up to town are to get supplies for me, and I'm pretty sure I've seen you sneaking away." Jason sighed. "You either have a girlfriend, which isn't likely if I know you at all, or you've been sneaking off to see Theresa for some sort of ailment. Add that to the

fact that both the mages and myself have been wondering where you've been... My guess is that you're coming down with something."

Milligan grimaced. "At first I thought it was just a cold, but it won't go away. I just feel... Weak." He leaned back into his chair, and he suddenly looked ten years older than he had done just a few moments before. "Theresa tells me that it's a symptom that a lot of folks in my line of business have wound up getting. There was a chemical that was produced... Probably twenty years back. I was on a design team trying to develop crops that were resistant to it, so you could spray the field and only kill the weeds. Illumitir outlawed the stuff within a year or two of it going public, but in that time, I was exposed to quite a bit of it."

"And it made you sick." Jason sighed.

"Not at the time, obviously, but that's the way I gather it." Milligan shrugged. He slowly leaned forward, and began twiddling his thumbs. "I hate to drop the news on you, but I'm afraid that I'm just not going to be able to keep working for you."

"Well, for what it's worth, I have news for you, too." Jason leaned forward. "I was able to visit with the mages the other day. Don't worry, we didn't trade blows or anything." A small smile came across Milligan's face. "Anyway, in specific, I spoke with the head Agricultural Mage that they brought out this way. He's very interested in your work, and said that if you were interested in entering the academy full-time, they'd happily take you. I told him that I was more than willing to release you from your contract, if it would help."

Tears welled up in Milligan's eyes. "You mean that? I was afraid this would be a-"

"Milligan." Jason sighed. "We've known each other for a long time, now. You're more than a hired man, you're good as family as far as I'm concerned. I want what's best for you, and if you're getting sick, then you

need to not be putting so much effort into the farm. I'll be happy to have your help if you want to come out and make my crops grow double-speed, but I'll also be happy just knowing that you're taken care of."

Milligan drew in a deep breath, then slowly nodded. "Thank you, boss."

They sat there for a moment longer, and Jason sighed. "Well, I don't mean to run off after that, but I'll be back. I need to go track someone down, if that's alright."

"Fine by me." Milligan shrugged. "I'm not moving. Hurts too much."

Jason laughed slightly at the dark humor, and he slowly rose and walked away. He soon pushed back out into the cold of the town square, where a handful of people were starting to show up. The crowd was smaller than usual, likely due in part to the decreased number of farmers in the area. Jason's eyes swept the crowd, and he smiled as he noticed a familiar wagon rumbling up the road from the south.

"Jason!" Johan beamed from the wagon box. None of his family was visible, but that was likely due to the thick tarp that was drawn over the bed of the wagon. Large hoops formed a dome, while light flickered from within. On such a cold day, shelter in such a fashion would be imperative for keeping everyone safe. "I was hoping to catch you!"

"And I, you." Jason walked up to the side of the wagon, even as Johan steered it out of the way as traffic continued to flow into town. "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay on for the festival?"

"I'm sorry, Jason, but I'm already late heading west. My client said that he understands, he's a nice guy, but I do have obligations I have to keep." Johan sighed. "Besides, my family is all tucked in and warm back there. As nice as the festival is, I need to have them to shelter by nightfall."

"I suppose I can't blame you there." Jason nodded. "Well, as always, thank you. You've been a bigger help than I can possibly express."

"Not as big a help as you were to me."

Jason rolled his eyes. "We can play that game all day long."

"Too true." Johan smiled, then frowned. "Oh, and... I almost hate to say this, but..."

Jason frowned. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know that if things do wind up going south, and you have to leave, don't feel guilty." Johan shrugged. "I know there are a lot of folks leaving town. You obviously don't want to, and I'm not saying that you will or should. I just want you to know that if you ever do leave, whether it's soon or in the distant future, I don't mind. The barn will raise the selling price of the ground, which you can still count as a gift from me."

Jason grimaced. "Well, you hated to say it, and I hated to hear it." He chuckled slightly as he shook his head and tried to make sense of it all. "I don't know. I'm going back and forth about a lot of things, actually. I don't have any plans to leave, that's for sure. Everything's just so weird."

"I hear you there." Johan smiled grimly. "Well, then, until we meet again! May that day not be so distant as the last time."

"Here, here."

With that, Johan rumbled off down the road, and Jason stared off after him. One good friend leaving town, another one off to join the mages. Jeremiah had never returned from Illumitir at all. Sure, the makeup of Summer Shandy had changed over the years, but this was something entirely

different. The drought was making things hard on everyone, and it was going to ruin a lot of people if nothing changed.

And all Jason could do was desperately hope that it would come to an end before any permanent damage was done.

First Day of Winter

[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 Winter! Alright, y'all, winter is here!!! Not that you'd know it, since there's no snow or ice or anything, but it's here! Get outside and enjoy that wintery chill! Unless, of course, you're the type of person who enjoys not being cold.]

Jason sighed as he slowly woke up. Tess was missing, but the house was warm, and he could smell bacon frying in the pan from down below. He smiled and slowly rose from the bed, dressed, and then glanced out across the landscape. The prairie was brown as far as the eye could see, the dead sort of brown that only happened during winter. A gentle breeze blew across the area, while a soft layer of grey clouds drifted past overhead. Jason stared out at it for a few moments, then slowly turned and made his way down to the kitchen. There, Tess had a large breakfast at the ready, and Jason smiled and sat down. The twins were both halfway through a pancake, and Tess quickly slid a few onto his plate.

"And what might this occasion be?" Jason asked as she took her own seat across from him.

"I don't really know. First day of winter? The season we actually get to spend together?" Tess smiled softly. "Plus, the twins were up early, so it was a good day to get things together early."

"Well, I'm certainly not complaining." Jason sighed deeply as he tucked into the food. "This is wonderful. Thank you so much, my dearest wife."

Tess smiled, then gave the twins a bit more food. "So, my dear husband, what's the plan for this winter? Any big projects?"

Jason shrugged, then shook his head. "Nope. The barn is fixed, so that's all good. I have hay for cattle, or sheep, or whatever you'd like to buy that eats hay, we just need to go get them from Richard. Otherwise, the field is good until spring. The windmills are in one piece, and..." His voice suddenly trailed off. "Windmills. Plural." He grimaced and shook his head. "It's been so long since I've had to worry about the Far Eighty and the New Eighty that I forgot there are things to maintain over there." A stray thought struck his mind. "I wonder if Milligan will be living out of his cabin, or if he'll move into the academy? We might actually get our cabin back."

"Now that would be something new. We gave it away just a year or two after it was built." Tess chuckled. She frowned and tapped the plate. "In that case, why don't you head out across the way and see what you can discern about those properties? Once we have a solid idea of how this is all going to work without a hired man, we can make a plan for the winter so that we're fully functional come spring."

"That sounds like a solid enough plan to me." Jason sighed and stood up as he finished eating. "You'll be okay around the house?"

Tess nodded and smiled. "You just go off and be the hero we all know you are."

Jason flashed an ornery smile and struck a hero pose, then laughed and walked through the living room to the front door. He pulled on work boots and a thick coat, and with that, he struck out into the cold. The wind was blowing across the prairie, not so hard that it was painful, but certainly enough to make the bite of the winter chill cut right through his coat. Jason shivered as he made his way up to the barn, where he rolled aside the massive doors and stepped inside. They had sold all the pigs right at the end of fall, which left the barn with the sweet scent of hay as they waited to buy some livestock. Angus and Lady both nickered as Jason walked up, and he fed them both a few sugar cubes.

"Alright, there." Jason took Lady out and slowly put the saddle on her. She shivered a bit under the touch of the straps, but stood still enough. "Yeah, that's it. Yeah, you're doing really well. You ready to be a good work horse again?" Slowly, he climbed up onto her back, and sighed deeply. "There we go!"

With that, he struck off across the prairie. Lady was a good horse, and was recovering from her ordeal quite well. Her steps were still a bit faltering, she was definitely struggling to get back into the swing of things, but the only way she would fully recover would be by riding her. As they rode out

across the prairie, up and down the smooth gravel road, Jason sighed, and patted her on the neck.

He soon came over the last hill to view the Far Eighty and the New Eighty. The new windmill sat between the two fields, spinning merrily in the winter wind. The well was disconnected, so there was no water flowing, which left it as quite a beautiful image. The frozen grape vines stood next to the bare olive trees, both of which were rather stunted, and had failed to produce anything. For that matter, even if they had, Jason had been so busy over the fall with the front half of the farm that he wasn't sure he would have had time to deal with it anyway.

In any case, smoke puffed merrily from Milligan's shack as he rode down to the front door, with Dusty and Sandy both poking their heads out of Milligan's stable. He soon had Lady stabled as well, and moved to knock on Milligan's door.

"Can't wait to run me out, eh, boss?" Milligan answered the door with a smile, though he had a handkerchief in one hand. As Jason stepped into the immaculate cabin, Milligan was briefly seized by a coughing fit, and had to pause for several seconds while he held the cloth to his mouth. When he pulled it away, Jason could see small flecks of red, but Milligan tucked it in his pocket before Jason could comment. "You might have a little heart, you know."

"Ahh, you know it's nothing like that." Jason grinned and held out his hand, which Milligan shook. "I just wanted to see if you needed any help, if you'd talked to the mages, all that sort of stuff."

Milligan held up a hand to his mouth and coughed once more, then nodded. "Yes, I've talked to the mages; they're ready for me to move in with them anytime. I've just been packing up my things, but frankly, I don't have much." He smiled sadly. "Most of my possessions were in the greenhouse, and since the orcish invasion..."

Jason grimaced. The greenhouse had been flattened by the orcs, and unfortunately, rebuilding it hadn't been terribly high on anyone's priority list (Milligan's included). There were too many other things that directly impacted the operations of the farm, which had to be fixed first.

"Are you sure you can handle this, boss?" Milligan asked, putting a hand on Jason's shoulder. "I know how hard you work, and that's with my help. Will you be able to run things without me?"

Jason shrugged. "I'll figure something out. If worst comes to worst, I'll just hire someone else. I can't imagine they'll be as good, but it wouldn't be the end of the world."

"I suppose." Milligan shook his head. "I just... We've been together a long time now."

"We have, and we're not going to part ways entirely. You're still just over the hill." Jason smiled, then turned his attention to matters of business. They could sling compliments and sentiments back and forth at each other for days, but they had work to do. "Now, in your opinion, what needs done back here? You see it more than I do. Are there repairs on the cabin, that sort of thing?"

Milligan shook his head. "The cabin is fine. I've been maintaining it as well as I can in my time here. A shingle there, a crack here, it hasn't been too bad at all. As far as the property goes, I imagine you know it as well as I do. The olive trees and the grapevines are struggling along. We really need a second well, one for each field, if we're really going to be able to produce the amount of water needed to support both crops, but..."

Jason nodded slowly. The but was that, legally, they could only have a certain number of wells inside of a certain physical area. He didn't really understand the logistics behind it, but that was the law, and he wasn't going to try to skirt around it.

"Well, when you get into that academy, maybe you could try and figure out how to help the plants survive." Jason smiled at him.

"Oh, believe me, that's my goal." Milligan nodded. "Plus, you know they're going to be breathing down my neck trying to get me to figure it out. I know they're getting desperate for a cheap supply of the stuff, so you can rest assured of their business if you can get it working."

"Good." Jason clapped his hands. "Well, let's get things together. I don't want to run you out, so if you need to stay here for longer, I'm more than willing; I just figured I'd offer."

"Actually, boss, I think I'm ready." Milligan slowly bent down and picked up a small suitcase. "Shall we?"

Ten minutes later, Milligan passed through the walls of the academy, and Jason sighed as the stone doors rumbled shut. He walked back to the cabin, which, as he stepped inside, suddenly seemed a lot more cold and uninviting. The oven, though it was putting out heat... It didn't do anything to make it feel like a home, and that was something that Milligan had always done. Slowly, Jason walked over and doused the flame, then turned away.

The air felt a bit colder as he made his way out into the wintery prairie once more, and he slowly climbed up onto Lady's back. Dusty and Sandy were still in the stable, though Milligan had assured him that several mages would be coming to collect the two noble steeds. Another chapter in Jason's life was closing, and he didn't really know how the next one was going to open. Heart heavy, he turned back across the prairie, where his own home waited.

It was only the first day of winter, and already, he felt like he had a long road in front of him. He gritted his teeth and urged Lady on, making her run faster and faster as he raced back toward his home.

His heart already longed for the warmth of spring. That, though, was a long way off, and until then, he would just have to endure the cold.

No Rain

[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: 10th day of Winter! You know what, y'all? Being a weather reporter is way more boring in the middle of a drought since everything's always the same. Want to guess what it's like today? Cold! Cold, and no rain, and just brown grass everywhere.]

Jason scowled as he read the message, and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. Even Daniel was sounding pessimistic, and if that was happening, it was really quite the situation. Jason shook his head and walked up to the window, though he kept a few feet back. He could feel the cold seeping through the glass (they hadn't paid for the insulated windows, on account of the price, when they were rebuilding the house), and shivered slightly. Tess came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and he sighed and leaned into her.

"It's going to be alright," she whispered in his ear. "It really is."

"I know," he smiled and turned around, giving her a kiss. "Just let me be depressed for a minute, alright?"

"Nope! Not my job," Tess smiled, then walked over to the wardrobe to change. Soon, they were downstairs, munching on some sort of sugared waffles while the twins waved their arms about and threw food on the floor. Jason smiled as he watched them, and slowly took another bite of his own food.

"Settle down, settle down," he shook his head at the two of them. They both looked over at him, and Baby Jason threw a bit of waffle at him. "Hey! None of that!" He reached over and tickled him on the side, making the toddler laugh.

"Dada tickle me!"

"He's quite the prankster, isn't he?" Tess raised an eyebrow at Jason, then sat back in her chair. "You know what, you two? You're going to have lots of fun today!"

Neither twin was paying any attention by that point, though, as they started throwing food at each other instead of at their parents. Jason rolled his eyes, and Tess just smiled.

"Well, they really are going to have fun. I have the most epic play place set up out in the barn."

"I believe it," Jason finished up his food, then slowly stood. "And what time is Richard getting here with the cattle?" A knock echoed on the front door, and Tess gestured toward it. "I suppose that answers my question."

Jason turned and trotted through the house, then swung the door open to find Richard standing there, a small smile on his face. He stepped inside and rubbed his hands together, letting in a blast of cold air as he did so. Jason pulled the door shut, and Richard shook his head.

"Mighty cold out there today! Mighty cold."

"Thankfully, that barn actually stays nice and toasty," Tess called out from the kitchen. "Once you get all the animals inside, their body heat really collects. Also, I put a few heating devices out there to help for today since we won't have the benefit of having the barn previously warmed."

"Good, good," Richard walked over to their fire and started warming himself. "The cattle will be along in just a few minutes, I just wanted to come on over ahead and make sure everything was good to go."

"I was just about to head out to start setting up gates," Jason gestured out at the barn as he started to pull on boots and his coat. "Want to come out with me?"

"No. No, I do not," Richard shivered, then turned and nodded. "Let's get to it."

The two men quickly struck out from the house. It was the coldest day of the year yet, and Jason pulled his hat down a bit tighter over his head. As they slid the door aside and slipped into the barn, Jason did find it to be quite a bit warmer. The heating devices in question were large cubes that

held an internal fire. They were magical, something that Tess had used as a warrior, and Jason had to admit that they were quite helpful when it came to making the place bearable. Over in the corner, underneath the loft, three of them had been placed close together, along with a pile of hay, some buckets of grain, and a handful of toys, all of which was behind a small barricade to keep the twins and the cattle apart.

"Alright..." Jason started swinging gates as he and Richard made their way into the barn. "We need to be able to send the cattle into the sorting pen... They'll go here, and then here..."

Richard nodded and frowned as he started to help get the gates placed in the correct configuration. "Are some of these gates new? Seems to me that I've always thought there ought to be one here, and now there is."

Jason nodded. "Johan made a few quality of life improvements as he repaired the structure of the barn. He does good work." Jason slowly looked up at the massive structure of the barn. No matter which way you looked at it, the barn was a masterpiece, and that was the simple reality.

"Indeed. Makes me wish that I had taken him in, back when everything went down," Richard chuckled softly, then frowned and nodded toward the door. "I think I hear my grandkids!"

The door slid open, and Tess walked inside with the twins. It didn't take them long to place the twins over in the play area. Jason spent a few moments playing with them, tossing hay around and making a few of the toy horses run across an imaginary field, but he didn't have long before hooves sounded in the driveway, and Tess pulled the door open.

Several of Richard's hired men led the way, bringing an assortment of cattle up and into the barn. Jason had purchased one hundred of the mighty beasts, and as they came rumbling in, he whistled softly. Cattle were huge and terrifying (at least to him), but at least in general, they were so docile. None of them tried to run, or snort, or eat him (a trait that they didn't share with

the pigs), and they soon had the cattle funneled into a handful of large sorting pens. Richard's men waved to their boss, then rode back out, and Tess slid the massive door back shut.

"Alright!" She called out, taking charge. "Let's get this done. I want ten cattle per pen along the south and west walls, and five cattle per pen elsewhere."

Jason frowned. "Why's that, exactly?"

"The wind is going to be hitting the barn from those sides. They'll be the coldest pens, which means that they'll need body heat the most," Tess answered. "Jason, while Dad and I get the cattle into their pens, can you run up and make sure that the feed troughs are all set up properly?"

"You got it," Jason turned and gazed toward the large grain bins that hung near the loft. The bins were mostly decorative, since they could pull directly from the farm's inventory and didn't actually need to store it all, but they did a good job at looking nice. Coming down from the wooden bins were a long series of tubes, which led to each of the individual pens. There were flaps that could be adjusted to control the flow through each one, all of which ran back to an elaborate series of pulleys accessible from the loft. Jason quickly climbed up the stairs and started fiddling with the ropes, pulling and tugging them into position.

From where he stood, high above, he had the perfect view of the landscape below. Tess was a master, pulling the gates back and directing the cattle exactly where they needed to go. She worked together well with Richard, who knew just how to encourage the cattle to get them to move at the right speed and direction. Tess would crack open the gate of the sorting pen, and Richard would wave his arms, sending a few of them out. She would count the correct number, then push the gate closed again, ensuring that everyone went precisely where they needed to be. High above, Jason was far less precise or elaborate with his own job, but he did soon have everything set in

place (he hoped). In any event, it didn't take long before Tess waved up at him, and he reached over and began to turn a crank.

With a loud whoosh, grain flowed down through the troughs and funnels and fell into the feeding troughs in the pens themselves. The cattle looked up in surprise at the noise, then turned to discover their new food with eager joy. Jason had to admit that it was quite satisfying, and he slowly let the crank wind down as the last of the troughs filled up.

"And that's that," Tess clapped her hands as she started walking around, inspecting each of the pens. "I think we're all good to go." She held out a hand, which Richard shook as Jason walked down from the loft. "Many thanks."

"You're more than welcome," Richard doffed his hat and wiped his brow. He seemed to have something to say, but thought better of it. "Just holler at me if you need anything, especially when it comes time to sell them. I reckon they ought to be ready by the sale on day... I think it's scheduled for Day 27, if I remember right, but don't quote me on that."

"In Summer Shandy?" Tess confirmed. Every now and again, the sales were held in other nearby towns. During the summer, it was sort of fun to run the cattle down the roads across the country, but during the winter? Jason didn't have the faintest wish to drive them any further than necessary.

"Yup. There's another one down in Darkwater on the 23rd, but I don't think the cattle will be ready by then," Richard shrugged. "Plus, that's just a long way. There might be another one out in Nightford if you miss the Summer Shandy one for any reason, but I'd have to check on it."

"I'm not planning on missing it, but I do appreciate the heads-up," Tess smiled, then turned and nodded to the house. "Want to come inside for lunch? I think I'm going to make some fried chicken. Perfect for a cold winter's day."

"I appreciate it, but I've got to get back," Richard apologized. "At this point, I'm a bit short on help, so I need to make sure my crew has me. I do appreciate it, though. Sunday?"

"Please come over, yes!"

Richard smiled, then walked over to give Baby Tess and Baby Jason a hug. When he was done, he shook Jason's hand, hugged Tess, and made his way out into the cold. As the door slid shut, Tess frowned, and Jason nodded.

"Something's up," Tess glanced over at Jason.

"Something's always up," Jason did his best to blow it off, though he had noticed the same thing. The hired men who had brought the cattle, they weren't the hired men that Jason recognized, and when did Richard ever need to get back so urgently? Something was wrong... But then again, they were in a drought, and were all just trying to scrape by as best as they could.

In any event, they had a herd of cattle again, which brought a bit of life back to their farm. Jason smiled as he looked about, and he felt a warmth grow within him as he took the twins back down to the house. Maybe it wasn't perfect, and he still didn't know how things were going to go in the long run, but it was something, and he wasn't going to let that fact go for anything.

Fair Day

[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: 20th day of Winter! Howdy, y'all! Umm... Yeah. You know the drill by now. Cold. No wind, though, which is a nice bonus!]

Jason sighed as his eyes flickered open. He could hear the twins chatting down the hall, babbling to one another in their baby language, but he didn't move yet. Tess slowly tapped him on the shoulder, and he sighed and rolled out of bed. She followed him, and Jason walked up to the window.

It was the coldest day of winter yet, he was fairly certain of it. Outside, the air was still, which was nice; otherwise, he imagined that it would have been unbearable. As it was, even going near the window actually hurt, and he winced and stepped back.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. Or, more accurately, caught his attention. The massive pile of debris that they had been building ever since the orcish attack was still sitting between the barn and the road, taking up an enormous amount of space and more or less amounting to a colossal eyesore. Jason folded his hands behind his back, then glanced over at Tess, who was just pulling on a blue, wintery dress.

"Want to have a bonfire today?"

Tess blinked a few times. "A bonfire? Are you crazy? Even with the flames, it's still going to be freezing out there! Why not just sit by the fire inside?"

"Because all I've been doing for the past twenty days of winter has been sitting inside," Jason shrugged. "Sure, the cattle have a few things that they need, but all things considered, it's not much. I'm bored, and a bonfire sounds like loads of fun." A small smile came across his face. "Come on. You know it would be."

"I do, but we have the twins to watch," Tess shrugged. "We can't take them outside in this weather, it's just too cold, which means that one of us could have all the fun, but not both."

Jason's smile faded, and he scowled down at the ground. "Fair enough." Slowly, he walked over to the wardrobe and pulled on some work clothes,

then drew himself up. "Well, then. Let's get started with the day!"

It didn't take them long to eat breakfast, which was done mostly in silence. Jason wasn't sullen about the decision, it frankly made a lot of sense, but he was a bit disappointed. After breakfast, Tess set the twins in a playpen in the living room, then went to the writing desk while Jason pulled on his winter gear.

"I'll just be a few minutes," he commented as he slipped out into the cold. "Be thinking about what you want to do when I get back!"

Tess made a non-committal murmur and didn't look up from her writing. Jason frowned in confusion, then shrugged and struck out for the barn. Thankfully, chores didn't take long that day, and as he looked all the cattle over, they appeared fine to him. Every now and then, one of them would get sick, but on that day, they certainly looked to be healthy as horses. Jason nodded in confirmation, checked them a second time, then went back to the house.

Tess was waiting for him when he got there, a smile on her face. He gave her a kiss, and they both sat down on the floor of the living room to play with the twins. Maybe it wasn't exactly what Jason had wanted to do for the day, but simply living around the hearth was hardly a bad thing, and he had to admit that it was fun. The twins were really starting to develop their personalities, which was fun to see.

Knock-knock.

Tess smiled, and Jason frowned and climbed to his feet. "Who could that be?" he muttered. "It's freezing outside! Don't they know that-" He walked over to the door and pulled it open, and he blinked in surprise as Paulina stepped inside.

"Hello, Jason! Good morning, Tess! Sorry, I walked past your husband without waiting for an invitation, but it's so cold outside."

Tess laughed and stood up. "Oh, you know you always have a standing invitation! Thank you so much for coming."

"Ahh, happy to do it! Obadiah hasn't had much daddy-kiddo time in a while, and every couple deserves to go on a date every now and then," Paulina sat down on the floor next to the twins, and they both ran to her with wide smiles. "Well? Don't wait around on me! Go have some fun!"

A smile came across Jason's face as Tess walked to the front door. "You got a babysitter?"

"I could see how much the bonfire meant to you, and we haven't had a date in a while," Tess shrugged with a smile. "Come on! Let's light this place up!"

Jason couldn't keep a grin from his face as he tugged on his winter gear. Properly outfitted, they slowly walked out into the yard and made their way over to the immense pile of debris.

At that point, the pile was at least ten feet high and was probably thirty feet or more in diameter. Jason chuckled as he looked it over, and slowly opened up his inventory.

"Alright... Let's see..." He frowned. "What's going to work best to start a fire? Matches and newspaper?"

"Nah," Tess shook her head. "I have a few items you might like, but what about that magic pistol that the mages gave you?"

"Ahh! I forgot all about that thing." Jason flipped through the tabs of his inventory to "Weapons" (it was a very empty tab) and pulled out the silver

pistol. Quickly, he popped the chamber open and checked the bullets, loading it with several fire spells. "And there we go!"

He flipped the chamber shut with a click, then spun the cylinder just for the fun of it. That done, he pointed the weapon at the pile of wood, lined up his shot, and squeezed the trigger.

Blam!

A small bolt of fire leapt from the end of his pistol and slammed into the pile, down near the base. Almost instantly, several chunks of wood caught fire and began to crackle merrily, though it wasn't much. Soon, though, the flames died out, and Jason frowned.

"It's probably too cold," Tess commented. "Flame spells burn fast. Once the effect wears off, unless you've managed to actually get the fire down into the core of what you're trying to burn, the fire will probably burn out. That's why you don't often see true flame mages running around the dungeons often."

"Hmm." Jason frowned, then pointed the pistol once more. He still had five shots in the chamber. "Then let's turn this up a notch!"

Blam-blam-blam-blam-blam!

Five shots hit the wood within inches of each other, and Jason gave the pistol a twirl. The flames crackled and raged about... Only to slowly die away once more. Jason sighed and crossed his arms.

"Oh, come on. If I had wanted that thing not to catch on fire, you know it would have gone up in a heartbeat."

"Probably," Tess agreed with a chuckle. She thought for a moment, then opened up her inventory and spent a moment scrolling. Jason glanced at

her, confused, and she pulled out a small bottle. "Here. Throw this."

"What's this?" Jason frowned as he took the bottle from her. It was filled with a golden liquid and was capped with an old, dried cork. "How long have you had it?"

"It's been in my inventory ever since I picked it up... Oh, must have been about three years before I met you," Tess shrugged. "It's called Essence of Fire Breath. I harvested it from the corpse of a dragon that Daniel and I had just killed. It's really powerful, and I've been saving it ever since then."

"And you want to use it now?" Jason glanced at her, surprised.

Tess shrugged. "You know how... If you have something, and you never use it, you might as well not have it. I've had this in my inventory for ages now. Almost twenty years. It's time I put it to good use."

"Alright, then," Jason frowned. "Should we just throw it?"

"No!" Tess laughed. She took the bottle from Jason, and her eyes suddenly looked terrified. "That would probably burn down half the countryside. It just takes a drop." Slowly, she walked up to the pile and uncorked the bottle, then tipped it over. A single drop fell down to splash on the wood, and Jason winced.

For a moment, nothing happened, and Tess stepped back, corked the bottle, and replaced it in her inventory. Suddenly, though, smoke began to rise up from the wood. A fire crackled up from the point of impact, growing in intensity with each and every second. Tess grabbed Jason's arm and pulled him back.

FOOM!!!

A great blast of fire erupted straight upward, rising up into the sky, while flames poured out from that central point. They wrapped around and crashed through the pile of debris, and Jason laughed as the main eruption died down. As the blast faded away, he found the whole pile smoldering, burning, and he laughed brilliantly.

"Now that was epic!"

"I know, right?" Tess beamed. "Ahh! Why haven't I used this earlier?"

"Because it would have burned down the whole prairie," Jason shrugged, though his mind immediately began racing to try to find more uses for the stuff. None came to mind, and he briefly wished that Jeremiah was still in town. Of course, he often wished that Jeremiah was still in town, for the simple fact of the matter that he liked Jeremiah, but in this case, he knew that the man would easily be able to find a use. In any event, he held out his hand, and Tess gripped it firmly.

They stood together, watching the fire, as the flames began to rise higher and higher. Soon, the entire pile was engulfed, and Jason sighed in contentment. His back was frozen, his front was toasty, but his heart was warm. Campfires were always fun, and bonfires were extra special. He looked over at Tess, who simply looked back at him, then laid her head down on his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered softly.

Jason sighed, then gave her hand a squeeze. It had been ages since they had been on a date, and even if it was as simple as burning their trash, he was going to enjoy it.

"I love you, too.

Mixed Reports

[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: 25th day of Winter! Alright, y'all, we've got our first storm of winter coming this way tonight! Will it snow? Will there be ice? I honestly can't say, reports of the storm so far are mixed, but it's heading our way, so make sure you're prepared!]

"I wonder what that would do." Jason frowned as he slowly rolled out of bed. "Would getting a snow help things at all?"

"Depends on whether or not it melted." Tess answered simply. "This early in winter, I feel like the snow usually just fades away. There's a technical term for it, but I don't remember exactly. Later in winter would be better, if we could choose."

"Fair enough." Jason chuckled and walked up to the window. He looked out across the farmstead, at the barren grasses, and the massive black patch that was all that remained of the debris. In some ways, having the black hole in his yard was even worse than the giant pile of junk, but... Beggars couldn't be choosers, that was for sure. "Alright, then. If we've got a storm coming through, what does that mean for our schedule?"

"Not much. You were going to head out to the back half of the farm, as I recall." Tess climbed out of bed and started to change. "I think you should go ahead and get that done. It'll only be harder if we do get a snow, you know."

"Fair enough." Jason chuckled as he started to change as well. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

Tess just smiled back at him, and they headed downstairs. Breakfast was a more simple affair than usual, and Tess packed up a picnic lunch for Jason as soon as he was done eating. He thanked her, gave everyone a kiss, and quickly struck out into the cold.

It only took a few minutes to do the chores, and with that, he struck off across the prairie. The sky was still bright blue, though he could see clouds gathering on the horizon. A bit of wind puffed across the trees, heralding the coming change. Whatever the storm did bring, Jason only hoped that it wasn't anything too extreme. He could handle a lot, but he really didn't want anything that would cause any more damage to their farm. Frankly, he just wasn't sure how much of that he could handle.

In any case, as he rode over the last hill, he found himself looking at the two frozen fields, eagerly awaiting his presence. Dusty and Sandy were no longer in their stable, as they had been moved into the private stable of the academy. High overhead, the peak of the spire felt like an eye watching him, and Jason sighed. Still, though, there was nothing he could do about it, and he knew that the mages really were doing their best.

He soon had Lady stabled, and closed the stable up as tightly as he could to keep in the heat. That done, he went into the small cabin and got a fire going in the stove, warming up the small room. Before it could fully warm up (and before he got too comfortable), he slipped back out onto the prairie, looked about, and got to work.

Milligan had sent him a short letter, a few days earlier, detailing some of the minor repair jobs that needed done around the property. Milligan had done a great deal of minor maintenance on the fields over the years, which Jason hadn't even realized.

Apparently he had enjoyed taking walks in the evenings, and would bring along a hammer and some other small tools to fix up the fence when it started to show wear, or would perform other small fixes. As he became sicker, he had lost the energy to actually do the repairs, but had kept careful track of the ones he had noticed, which he had subsequently passed on to Jason.

Now, Jason just needed to go through and take care of them all before spring came, or risk larger failure at a time when he needed to be focused on planting and harvesting.

Tools in hand, he slowly began walking around the fence of the olive grove, keeping an eye on the rails. It was a metal fence, good and durable, and had actually survived the orcish attack relatively unscathed. About halfway down the length of the south side, closest to the tree line, Jason came to the first note that Milligan had mentioned, which was a rail that had started to

wiggle out of its fitting. He frowned as he looked down at the thing, and mentally complimented Milligan on his attentiveness.

It was only about half an inch out of place, but that would cause plenty of problems as the year went on. Quickly, Jason knelt down and started to hammer it back into place.

[Action Used: Repair Fence!]

Satisfied that it had been put back in place, Jason stood up and kept walking on down the line. He was nearing the end of it when he caught a glimpse of something in the forest, and glanced over in that direction.

His jaw dropped wide open as he saw Mistress Elintra, along with another professor, leading a group of students along a frozen path. That much wasn't all that shocking, but what was surprising was the fact that they were all in their normal summer clothes. Their staves were glowing, which told Jason that they were probably practicing some sort of magic to stay warm, but it was still shocking nonetheless. Jason saw Rachel at the end of the line, and she glanced over to notice him. Her face lit up in a smile, and he waved. She waved back, but that caused her staff to flicker, and she suddenly wrapped her arms around herself as her heat magic failed. Jason instantly felt bad, and she closed her eyes to warm herself back up again. A moment later, they were gone, and Jason felt a strange pang gnawing at his heart.

Slowly, he turned back to the fence and kept working his way along. There were a few other places where things were just starting to slide out of their fittings, and he hammered them back into place as quickly as he could. The northwest corner post was starting to tilt, which was a bit of a larger fix, but he was able to shore it up enough to let it last until summer. Along the northern side, a small patch of rust had started to form on one of the rails, which Jason patched over (the rails were technically rust-resistant, but only because a coating had been applied to them. Likely, one of the orcs had scratched the coating off in that area when jumping over the fence, or

something like that, which allowed a bit of corrosion to start). Finally, he came to the windmill, which had a few loose bolts that he started to tighten down.

"Excuse me?"

The voice was sharp and pitched, and Jason slowly turned to find Mistress Elintra standing a few feet away, staff in her hand, fire in her eyes.

"What can I do for you?" Jason slowly set down his wrench and turned to face her.

"What you can do is stop distracting your daughters," Mistress Elintra snapped.

"I didn't mean to! I was just working out here," Jason scowled at her. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? Just stay at home and let my farm fall to pieces?"

"Did you have to do it now?" The professor wasn't backing down.

"I don't exactly have your class schedule to base my life around," Jason felt heat rising in his heart. "I didn't know Rachel would be out there today, I didn't know you would be out there today. All I knew was that my fence needed fixing, so I came out here to fix it."

"Are you aware that she nearly suffered frostbite from that slip?" Mistress Elintra pressed forward. "The technique we were using involved containing a bubble of air drawn from the warm academy before we left. When she lost that bubble, she was forced to make the rest of the trek, barefoot, without adequate clothing."

"That's on you, not on me," Jason scowled. "You know, one might even wonder if, perhaps, you saw me out working and decided to take the class

over in my direction just to make a mess of things."

"You accuse me of-"

"Well, you're accusing me of an awful lot!" Jason took a step toward her. "I let you mages come onto my property to save the world, and look at all the good it's done me! Now, what I know is that if my daughter could see me, I'm sure you could, too, so yes, it's at least a little bit on you. All I'm trying to do is make a living here." Jason's voice trembled, and he drew in a deep breath. "Ma'am, you have no idea how much I miss my daughters. I let them stay with you because they're smart, and because I assumed they would be safer than at my house, where they could be attacked by orcs. Now, I'm starting to wonder if that academy really is the safest place for them."

Mistress Elintra's eyes sharpened all the more. "You will regret those words, Jason Hunter."

"Yeah? So why'd you come over here?" Jason scowled. "Why'd you come to confront me? What do you want from me, exactly?"

Mistress Elintra didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, she turned and stalked away, sweeping off across the prairie with a great flourish. Jason watched her go, then shook his head in frustration.

He didn't know what her problem was, only that she didn't like him. He only hoped that her dislike of him wouldn't affect his daughters, which was a very real possibility. A wave of fear came over him, and he nearly rushed after her to grovel, if only for the sake of sparing his daughters retribution, but... Something held him back. If she sensed weakness, that would become a weapon against him, too.

Frustration filling his mind, he turned back to the windmill and got to work once more. He still had a lot of repairs to go, and he was getting colder by

the second. He cast one last look at the academy, and felt a great many of his old angers, which had indeed been placated somewhat by his last visit, beginning to surge again. He didn't know what the mages were up to, and he didn't know why Elintra was so dead set against him, but he did know that it made him worried.

He only hoped that it wouldn't wind up hurting him, or the farm, in the long run.

Poor Conditions

[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: 26th day of Winter! It's a Sunday, y'all, and there's not a better day to stay nice and hunkered down in your house! Why? Well... Just look out the window.]

Jason shivered as he slowly woke up. The howl of the wind across the chimney, along with the rattle of the window, was more than enough to convince him that he didn't need to be going outside. He slowly stood up and walked over to gaze outside, where... Well... Things were bad.

Thick black clouds rolled and churned overhead. They were so thick that they made the day almost as black as night, though... All things considered, they could barely be seen at all through the ice that was flashing down like razor blades. A thick layer of ice was slowly growing across the ground, the walls, the rooftops, everything, while the wind did its best to blow it all down.

"I vote that we stay in bed today," Jason groaned as he looked out at everything. "Your vote?"

"Yup. The twins can take care of themselves, right?"

As if in response, distant calls began to echo down the hall. "Mama! Dada!"

"Yup. Perfectly," Jason chuckled as he slowly turned to the wardrobe. "Ahh, probably for the better anyhow. We have work we need to get done, and I need you for it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tess rolled out of bed and slowly stood up. "You're going to make your wife work? In weather like this?"

They both shared a small laugh, and with that, they headed out to get ready for the day.

It didn't take them long to get everything together. Tess got the twins ready while Jason prepared breakfast. Soon, they were sitting down to a nice, warm meal of pancakes and sausage, content in their warm home while the storm howled outside. They made a bit of small talk, but neither of them

spoke much. Jason was thoughtful, his mind turned to the work that they did, indeed, have to get done that day.

Once breakfast was finished, they both moved to the living room, where Tess set up the playpen with a handful of toys, and Jason pulled a folding table out of storage. They still hadn't replaced all their furniture in the living room, which was a bit of a travesty, but the funds just weren't there yet. When he was done getting it set in place in front of the fire, he opened his inventory and pulled out several sheets of paper, which he and Tess spread out across the table. With that, they pulled up chairs, and leaned over the calculations he had been running.

"Alright, Jason, what do we have?" Tess murmured, picking up the first sheet of paper. It was a list of all the jobs that took place on the farm, alongside an estimated length of time to complete them.

"Nothing good," Jason shrugged. "Starting with the Homestead Eighty, without Milligan, you're looking at quite a bit of labor. I'll need to plow it again at the start of spring, that's a full day. Add another full day for planting, maybe a day and a half just to be safe, and then... Depending on what I plant, we'll have more or less leeway. A few extra days for random repairs... And you're looking at a total of about 30 days total time commitment for the spring for the Homestead Eighty."

Tess nodded slowly. "And there are 91 days in spring, so that leaves... 61 left?"

"Yes and no," Jason shook his head. "Subtract one for the festival, and then subtract 13 more for Sundays. That leaves 48 days. Now, your cattle, assuming we still have them in the spring, will take about 8 days total, at least of my time. 40 days remaining."

"Right," Tess murmured. "And how much will the backside of the farm take us?"

"And that's the struggle," Jason sighed. "The issue is that it's hard to calculate. If we're only talking harvests, we can harvest every two weeks, one day per field. Thirteen weeks, that's... Six harvests, so twelve days. We can fit that in, easily enough."

"So what's the issue?"

"The issue is that if we only go over there once every two weeks..." Jason shrugged. "That's not going to be feasible. I'll need to check the windmill alone at least every other day to make sure it's working properly, and grapes in particular are actually really hard to grow."

"Really?" Tess raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. This time around, we actually planted rosebushes at the end of each row," Jason shrugged. "I don't understand it perfectly, but the roses help you keep track of the grapes. If they get sick, you know the grapes are about to get sick. Anyway, the point with all of this is that they'll require attention, and that attention eats up a lot of spare time, riding back and forth across the prairie."

"So what exactly are you saying?" Tess folded her hands. "Because it sounds to me like you're wanting to go ahead and sell the property."

Jason sighed. "On paper, if we timed everything perfectly, we could probably make it all work out, but that requires everything to go perfectly, and things have been far from perfect this year. We either need a new hired man, or we're going to have to sell. I just don't see any way we can manage everything on our own."

"We lived without help for a while," Tess pointed out.

"Not with this much we were trying to juggle," Jason countered. "I've never worked all three fields by myself. I did have two of them by myself

for a while, but that was when I had grain in the Far Eighty, not olives. I know grain. I don't really know olives."

"Alright, then," Tess folded her hands. "What do you see as the ideal solution? Tell me, and then I'll tell you my thoughts, and we'll go from there."

Jason paused for a few moments, then nodded. "My thoughts are that we need to sell the ground. I think having it will be a bigger drain on our time and resources than we can handle right now. If we sell it, we get a nice chunk of cash, the mages get someone they can work with more personally, it's a win-win."

"Maybe," Tess didn't sound convinced. "I was thinking something a bit different, if you're willing to hear it."

"Shoot."

"What if we just rent it out?" Tess shrugged. "We offer it up. A cabin, two fields, and so on. We can work out the specific terms, but the renter would pay us a certain amount of money for the right to farm the land. It keeps the land in our possession and frees us up a little bit."

Jason sighed and crossed his arms. "I don't know. I see some issues with it."

"And what would those issues be?" Tess didn't sound angry; she simply sounded like she wanted to know exactly what Jason thought. "I'm really struggling to see a downside, but I'll trust you if you think there is one."

Jason shrugged. "I just... Say we're renting, and then we do decide to sell out. Suddenly, that guy who was renting is out a whole lot of... A lot."

Tess raised an eyebrow. "You really think we're going to wind up selling out?"

"Not everything, no," Jason shook his head. "It's just..." He struggled to formulate his words. "Everyone else is selling, and it makes it hard not to think that you might be next."

"I know what you mean," Tess reached across the table and took his hands. "Just trust me, please? I really think this is the right option. Go into town and talk to Obadiah; I'm sure he'll have some thoughts."

Jason nodded slowly. "Alright, I suppose." He glanced at the window and chuckled slightly. "I'm not heading there today, if that's alright."

"I wouldn't have it any other way!"

They turned their attention to some of the other papers, which calculated a handful of things, mostly dealing with finances. That document didn't look great, either, as Jason calculated potential earnings from a handful of different crops. He had planted sugar beets in spring for the last... Well, for a lot of years. That said, it was a high-water crop, which meant that he needed to find something else. The only problem was that (especially without Milligan's connections) better-suited crops for a drought were expensive up front and were likely only going to get more expensive as time dragged on.

Jason and Tess spent a great deal of time comparing their options, and, in the end, decided on absolutely nothing. Putting away the table, they turned their attention to the twins, and Jason sighed.

One of the few things he liked about intense storms was the sense of home and warmth they brought up in him. Even as the weather howled and raged outside, they were inside by the fire, keeping themselves nice and toasty,

together as a family. As he thought it, though, a pang swept through his heart.

The fact of the matter was that they weren't together as a family. Fern and Rachel were still at the academy, and for a moment, Rachel slipping and suddenly freezing herself rose in his mind. He glanced out at the window and wondered if they were running the same drill again. He wondered if Rachel would do better, or if she would falter once more.

He had no way of knowing, and suddenly, his warm seat by the fire felt a little less cozy. He trusted at least some of the mages, and if his daughters truly did want to be there, he didn't want to take them away. That said, his heart ached to be reunited as a family once more.

The only problem was... Like the farm, he didn't have a clue how he would possibly get those ends to meet together.

Chores

[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: 30th day of Winter! Well, y'all, it's still cold and wintery, but guess what? That big cattle drive that got delayed because of the storm is happening today!!! Okay, so I know most of you aren't really involved with the cattle drives at all, but trust me, they're kinda cool. I once

plowed a path for them, you know! Well, for pigs, but still! Animals. You might even call me an expert.]

"Oh, I might?" Jason laughed as he rolled out of bed. "I suppose I might call Tess mean, too, but I know better than to lie."

Tess, thankfully, was already awake. She would have laughed, he knew, but... Still, it didn't hurt for her to be off somewhere else. In any case, Jason dressed quickly, then made his way down to the kitchen. There, Tess was busily racing back and forth, tossing food to the twins even as she served Jason a platter of food as well.

"Now this looks good," Jason sniffed at the platter of biscuits and gravy. "I haven't had this in ages."

"That's because I don't like to think about the possibility of my husband having a heart attack," Tess commented. "That said, I need you in top shape for the cattle drive, so this is what you get."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. Schedule loads of these things from now on, for all I'm concerned!" Jason laughed to himself, then glanced out the window. A layer of ice lay across everything, though it wasn't quite as thick as he might have thought. "Is everything still good for the drive?"

"Yup," Tess nodded as she sat down to briefly eat her own food. "The ice is thin enough that the hooves of the cattle and horses ought to break right through it. I don't anticipate any issues, so long as we don't stampede."

"Well, that's our goal for most cattle drives, so I'll do my best," Jason smiled at her, then frowned in thought. "Is Richard coming along?"

"No, unfortunately. He wanted to, but he's short on help, so he's needed for his own drive," Tess sighed, then brightened. "That said, Paulina is coming

by to watch the twins. If you want to keep an eye on them until she gets here, I'll go start getting things ready."

"You've got it."

Jason ate slowly, helping feed the twins as well, while Tess walked to the front of the house and pulled on her winter gear. She was soon gone, and Jason moved the twins to the living room as they finished eating. They were happy enough in their playpen, and he leaned against the wall.

Knock-knock.

Jason smiled, then opened up the door as Paulina came stumbling inside. Her face was red from the cold, and she smiled warmly as the heat of the hearth struck her.

"Good morning, Jason!" She slowly began to unwind her scarf, then took off her gloves. "I ran into Tess in the yard, she told me their schedules and everything. I think we're all good to go!"

"Many thanks," Jason pulled on his boots, coat, gloves, and hat. "We'll try to be back by lunchtime, but if not—"

"Look, I've got all day, so don't worry about it. I can handle these two!" She knelt down next to the playpen, and Jason smiled.

"Well, as I said, many thanks!"

With that, Jason swept out onto the porch and strode down the steps. Almost instantly, he lost his footing and fell flat on his back, which hurt more than he would have liked to admit. As he struggled to his feet, Tess poked her head out of the barn.

"Hey! It's slick! Just so you know, our feet won't break through the ice!"

"Thanks for the warning!" Jason groaned and rubbed his back as he stumbled forward. He slipped once or twice more as he climbed the slope to the barn, but he was soon enough inside, and stepped back as Tess climbed up onto Angus.

"Alright, Jason. Open the pens, working your way clockwise around the barn. I'll take the lead, you bring up the rear?"

"Works well for me," Jason nodded. He quickly opened up the first pen, and Tess called out loudly.

"Haw!"

The cattle lowed a few times, and Tess pulled a tin bucket out of her inventory. It was filled with pellets, which the cattle loved to eat. She shook it a few times, catching their attention, and the great beasts lowed and slowly started off.

Jason waited until the first pen was empty, then opened the second. Cattle were slow beasts, but given that they were also quite huge, he supposed that such was for the best. A few of them tossed their heads and scampered along to catch up, but only for short bursts. It made them manageable as a livestock animal, otherwise... Well... The smaller ones could be manhandled in the event of a crisis. Cattle, thankfully, had very few of them.

Jason soon let the last one loose, then climbed up on Lady. He followed the last of the herd out through the farmyard, where he found Tess about a quarter mile down the road. The cattle were strung out in a long line between the two of them, but they did well in lines, so he was in no great hurry to condense them. The last cattle in line looked up toward his house, but he simply rode a bit closer.

"Haw!"

It was enough to get them moving again, and they soon lumbered out onto the road and began the trek up toward Summer Shandy. As they went along, Jason glanced over his shoulder, where he saw a number of brown dots slowly moving up the road behind him. It was the Lazy-H Herd, he was certain of it, and he saw their riders darting along, moving left and right as they kept the herd contained. He frowned slightly at the brief glance he was given, though. He wasn't sure, but the riders didn't seem to be doing their job all that well. They were moving around a lot more than usual, but it wasn't Jason's place to comment, so he turned his attention forward.

Thankfully, the ride up to Summer Shandy didn't take long. The cattle didn't once move from the path, and they soon tramped right along through the square, around the item store, and off to the large patch of prairie just behind the massive warehouse. There, a handful of temporary pens had been erected, while members of the Cattle Guild walked back and forth. One of them had opened up a gate for their cattle, and Tess hung back as Jason drove the last of them in. The final head marched through, and the man swung it shut.

"Looks good!" he called up. "I'll have your offer ready in just a moment."

Tess nodded and waved down to him, then rode over to Jason. She looked like she was freezing, but she kept herself well enough. Jason frankly just wanted to get down and head into the item store, but he knew better than to leave Tess alone. Not that she couldn't handle it, of course, but it was frightfully rude to do so.

"What do you think they'll sell for?" Jason asked quietly.

"I don't know," Tess answered back, just as quietly. "I was asking Richard the same question just yesterday. He said the markets are in a state of wild flux right now. Prices were dropping in summer because of the new ranches, right? Well, with the drought, which is apparently starting to

spread, now the prices are shooting right back up. Except, of course, for the fact that all prices are going up, so people are buying less meat, so..."

Her voice trailed off as Richard came riding into view. Jason could see that he was frustrated, as his jaw was set and his hands tight about the reins. He quickly got the first of the cattle into the pen, then hung back as the rest of the cattle started to follow. One of his hired men rode up to push the cattle in faster and got a bit too close. Several of the great beasts began to toss their heads and snort, and Richard waved his arms.

"Get back! Now!"

The hired man pulled back sharply, and the cattle looked about. For a moment, Jason was terrified that they would run... But after a moment, they calmed back down, and Richard hissed through his teeth.

"Alright, all of you. Go run into town. I'll have your wages sent to you by the end of the day."

The five men - only five - turned and rode off back into Summer Shandy. Jason flashed a small smile at Richard, who simply shook his head.

"Everything alright?"

"Depends on how you classify it, but no, everything is not alright," Richard sighed and crossed his arms as he rode over to join his daughter and son-in- law. "I don't have any of my old staff on hand anymore. I'll admit that a few of them were going to stick it out, but they all had families, and I told them to go to the people who were paying more. Now I'm down to temporary hands I keep having to train and re-train. I'll hire them for a month, and then they'll be off, and then they'll come back and want a job again, except they'll have forgotten how to do everything." He gritted his teeth. "It's making it impossible."

"Who else is hiring?" Jason asked, confused.

"Ahh, there's a big ranch that just went in about... I'd say about halfway between the Lazy-H and Darkwater," Richard shrugged. "It's called the Circle-Q. It's huge, must be running close to ten thousand head of cattle, and it's been slurping up just about every worker I've known."

"You used to run about ten thousand," Jason commented.

"Don't remind me," Richard shook his head. "I did a good job managing the ranch for a while. I don't mean that as a prideful, gloating sort of thing, it's just a fact. Jeremiah and Weatherhand showed me the ropes, and while everything was going good, I was expanding our operations and diversifying our offerings and all sorts of other things. Now, though..." He sighed. "Seems like every cut I make, trying to save what's still left, all it does is cut out something good and leave most of the bad."

"Times are hard all around," Jason sighed. "You're not the only one, you know. The only people who are doing well right now are the investors with deep enough pockets to weather the storm."

"Thing is, I probably could have weathered the storm if I hadn't been so eager to expand," Richard sighed. "Jeremiah built up a nest egg over the years. Millions of Shandys. I had it in my head that I was going to do so much better than him. I was going to make the place bigger and grander and turn it into something that I could truly be proud of. If I had saved instead of investing... I don't know."

"Ifs and buts, dad," Tess commented. "What matters is that you're here now."

"Yeah, but I don't know how much longer that'll be the case," Richard scowled, then shrugged and brightened. "Anyway, I don't need to be ruining your day. How's it going?"

At that moment, a member of the guild brought up the offers for the cattle, one for Tess and one for Richard, printed on small pieces of folded notebook paper. Jason watched closely as father and daughter both opened the slips, and suddenly seemed to have their days get far worse.

"This will barely cover the cost of feed!" Tess protested as the guild member held up his hands.

"Just last week, I know someone who sold cattle for twice this much!" Richard snapped. "Are you trying to cheat us or something?"

The guild member sighed and held up his hands. "Look, I'm sorry, I truly am, but the fact of the matter is that we now have to go and drive all these cattle off to the butcher. That's a long way, over icy terrain with very little food supply. We're estimating a 20% loss of life before we arrive. I can't risk paying any higher." He paused, then raised a finger. "For clarification, the estimation is for loss of cattle, not people."

Tess growled. "I want my cattle back."

"If that's what you'd like, we can—"

"No." Tess let out a long sigh, then nodded. "We'll take it."

"In that case, it's been a pleasure doing business with you!"

The member of the guild slowly turned and walked away, and Richard puffed out his cheeks.

"Well, how about I buy you both a drink over at the inn? I don't really have the money for it, but that's when it's the most exciting to spend money, wouldn't you say?"

Jason couldn't really disagree with the sentiment, and they all turned their horses to ride across the square. As they climbed down, Jason couldn't help but feel frustrated on behalf of Richard. No, on behalf of everyone who was suffering now, just because they were hard workers who hadn't been fortunate enough to have deep pockets.

Oh, well. Jason was a hard worker, and he wasn't about to give up. A struggle just made the eventual victory that much more rewarding... And that was something that Jason was heartily, desperately, looking forward to.

Over It

[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: 51st day of Winter! Let's see here, y'all... Cold! More cold. Cold cold cold cold cold cold. You ever notice how if you say a word enough times, it starts to sound really weird?]

"Your brother sounds so bored," Jason rolled out of bed and stretched, working the kinks out of his back.

"In due fairness, there haven't been many warriors coming through, which has made his job as a Guildmaster duller than usual," Tess commented as she stood up as well.

"Has the drought affected the dungeon?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"No, but it has decreased the number of overland monsters, which is a big factor when determining where you're going to travel," Tess shrugged. "The only people who intentionally come to Summer Shandy are completionists. Most warriors are just passing through, and if there are more exciting routes, you're probably going to take those instead."

"I suppose that makes sense," Jason frowned in thought, then slowly started to get changed. "I feel bad for him. He's an energetic guy."

"From what Paulina tells me, his kids are giving him a run for his money," Tess grinned. As they made their way out into the hall, she held up several fingers and began ticking them off. "Let's see... I need to do laundry... Clean the basement..." She turned to Jason. "You're heading out to the far fields, right?"

Jason nodded. "The ruins of the old winepress and olive press are still there, which need cleaned up if we're going to be renting it out. I also need to get the old greenhouse either patched up or torn down, I honestly can't decide which one would be better."

"Go see how damaged it is, and then go from there."

"And that's why I include you in my decision-making," Jason chuckled, then gave her a kiss. "See you downstairs!"

A few minutes later, Tess had retrieved the twins, and they all sat down to a lovely, warm breakfast. As Jason struck out into the cold afterward, he did his best to hold the memory of that breakfast in his mind, because... Well... Simple as it may have been, Daniel's evaluation of the day wasn't wrong.

The air was frigid, but, thankfully, there was no wind. Jason fed the cattle that they had purchased to replace the old ones, then mounted up and rode off across the prairie. Lady's brisk pace created a wind that was altogether less than pleasant, but there was nothing to be done about it, so he braced himself as best he could. As he came over the final hill, he slowly drew in a deep breath, cast an eye up toward the academy, and then got to work.

He kept his gaze turned toward the academy, at least in part, as he stabled Lady and started a fire in the cabin's stove. That done, he struck out and began cleaning up the winepress, which still lay scattered across the ground. The orcs had spared very little, and the small buildings had been no exception. Jason slowly picked up board after board and slotted it in his inventory, hoping all the while that he would catch another glimpse of the girls in the trees. Of course, by that same token, he was deathly afraid that he would catch the ire of Mistress Elintra again, but he was prepared to stand his ground if necessary.

Thankfully, she hadn't appeared by midday, which was rather nice. Jason finished cleaning up the winepress, all but the foundation, which had thankfully survived without any damage. If he advertised it as a potential expansion, maybe he could even get a little more rent money out of the deal? He smiled a bit at the thought, snagged a bit of wood from the olive press on his way inside, and then slipped into the cabin to enjoy a warm lunch.

The warmth stood in stark contrast to the cold outside and very nearly made it so he didn't want to return to work. He solved the problem by dousing the fire, and thus ensuring that the temperature would soon start to drop. That done (and feeling a bit angry with himself for bothering to ensure that he continued to stay productive), he headed back out once more.

The second half of the afternoon, at least at first, went faster than the first. He started in on the olive press, and within two hours, had managed to put it entirely in order. Once more, the foundation was unharmed, which left a simple concrete slab out in the middle of the prairie. It was rather humorous to see, really, and he slowly turned to walk up to the greenhouse.

And that was where he got a shock.

The greenhouse had been damaged by the orcs. He knew that much, as he had seen it many times in the seven months or so since the attack. That said, it had been quite some time since he had last visited the property, and as he walked up toward it, he began to notice something... Odd.

Something green.

Though he could have simply stepped through one of the broken panels, he went ahead and pulled the door open. As he walked inside, he found himself looking at a single vine, growing out of one of the smaller pots at the back of the building, which was now growing over just about everything there. A number of tendrils had grown out through the sides of the greenhouse and were snaking over the frozen ground, but most of the vines were enjoying growing up the skeletal frame that had once held panes of plexiglass in place. Jason whistled softly, then chuckled and shook his head.

"Milligan, you really are too good. Those mages don't know what they have with you." He thought for a moment, then slowly looked about. The building needed torn down, he was fairly confident of that, but... Someone needed to know about the vines, and for that, he was going to have to go up to the academy.

Slowly, he jammed his gloved hands into his pockets and shuffled off toward the academy. The hairs on the back of his neck seemed to prickle as he drew closer, and he knew he was being watched. The only question was: By who? He knew who he wanted to answer the door, but he knew who was the most likely to do so.

In any case, as he reached the stone door and raised his hand to knock, something echoed from within. It was a dull boom, and before he could do a thing, the doors slowly swung inward. Jason was left staring at Mistress Elintra, who stared him down with a fierce sort of glare.

"What precisely can I do for you?" Her voice was even colder than the air.

"You know what? I'm trying to help you people. The least you could do is not start swinging the moment I show up," Jason scowled.

Mistress Elintra's face didn't change, and Jason slowly turned to nod up at the greenhouse.

"There's something of Milligan's up there. A plant left over from his experiments that's managed to survive."

Mistress Elintra's eyes opened slightly, belaying her surprise. Jason didn't imagine that there was much that could shock her, which, if he was being honest, made the situation all the better.

"Oh, is there now?" She regained her composure. "I find that highly unlikely. Creating plants that can survive in winter is something that only the greatest mages can do. Most likely, it's simply—"

"Would you like to come up and check it out?" Jason turned and gestured at the greenhouse. "Look, I know this is important, so you can either come look at it yourself, or I can stand here until Master Dominic or High Master Benedict or my daughters or someone helpful comes and finds me."

Mistress Elintra snorted, but she slowly nodded. A few minutes later, Jason arrived at the greenhouse and gestured through the broken panes. Mistress Elintra couldn't keep a look of shock off her face this time, and she slowly stepped inside, looking about in awe.

"It's... I've never seen anything like it." She glanced over at Jason, and for once, her stern countenance seemed to fall. "There's a plant native to the northern reaches of the land, it's called mistletoe, which does something similar, but it doesn't actively grow during the winter. All the growth happens over the summer, it just sorta stays green in winter. Pine trees and things are the same way." She reached out and brushed the leaves. "This is thriving."

"And I hope it'll do good things for Milligan there." Jason shrugged. "Anyway, like I said, I thought it was something that you needed to—"

FOOOOOOOOM!!!

Mistress Elintra suddenly recovered herself again, and she raised her staff. Fire exploded from the crystal set in the end, racing and crackling around the whole area. The remaining plexiglass melted, the metal frame bowed downward, and the plant vanished in a writhing, crackling blast of flame. Jason's jaw dropped, and Mistress Elintra slowly turned to look at Jason.

"There's something you need to understand," she whispered softly. "The Mages Academy is an ancient institution. There is no place in it for you... Hicks. Your daughters, Milligan, they have no right to be here. The knowledge that we handle is not for the faint of heart, it is not for the public. Do you understand?"

"I wish I did." Jason felt anger beginning to flare inside him once more. Before he even knew what was happening, he opened up his inventory and drew out his blunderbuss. Mistress Elintra gazed at the weapon with a look of amusement (it wasn't loaded, of course, and there was every chance that she knew that fact, but it did look quite threatening). "Get off my property."

"As I recall, you invited me here," Mistress Elintra pointed out. "And, I should add, your intention seemed to be to give me this plant. I am allowed to do with a gift whatever I so please, regardless of whether or not it's socially acceptable."

"I didn't give you permission to destroy the frame of the greenhouse." Jason drew back the hammer with a sharp click. "Right now, you're trespassing, and that gives me the right, by Summer Shandy law, to fire. Get off my ground now."

Mistress Elintra bowed her head, then slowly turned and walked away. Jason watched her closely, and didn't put the gun away until she was gone. Then, with a sigh, he slowly put down the weapon.

That hadn't gone according to plan, and now he had even more work to do. Oh, well. That was life, sometimes.

He only wished that his life had a little less interaction with the cruel professor in it.

Stay

[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: 65th day of Winter! Good morning, y'all! Guess what? Today's going to be warmer!!! Okay, not by much, but it's something. And it's still dry. Oh, and we have a pretty big storm rolling through here in a

day or two, so buckle up for that, but overall, it's way less cold than before, so that's a plus!]

Jason laughed as he rolled out of bed. "I don't think I ever realized how much Daniel hated the cold."

"Oh, he doesn't. He's just bored, and when you're bored, you have a tendency to complain," Tess shrugged. "Let's see. What are you up to today?"

"I'm heading up into town," Jason shrugged as he started to change. "I think I finally have the properties across the prairie put together, so I'm going to go talk to Obadiah about getting them sold."

Tess sighed, then shook her head. "I still wish you didn't have to."

"I know, I know, but right now, we just can't afford another hired man," Jason shrugged. "This is how we keep farming, and that's the long and the short of it."

"Yeah," Tess murmured softly, then drew in a deep breath. "Well, you'd best get to it. I've got some housework I'd like to get your help with when you get back home."

"Sounds like a plan," Jason smiled and pulled on his town tunic. That done, he made his way out into the hall and down the stairs. Tess grabbed the twins, and they all soon sat down in the kitchen. Jason ate quickly, gave Tess and both twins a kiss, then made his way out into the hall. There, he tugged on his boots and threw on a coat, then slowly made his way out into the farmyard.

It was, indeed, a warmer day. The sun was just rising, casting warm rays across a frozen landscape. The wind was soft, blushing against Jason's face with a quiet sort of intensity. Jason breathed deeply for a few moments,

simply enjoying it. It wasn't quite as warm as he might have liked, but it was a heap warmer than he had ever seen it in the past, and that was good enough for him. Satisfied, he walked up to the barn and saddled up Angus, gave Lady some feed, and then rode off for town.

The ride was a pleasant one, as there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The ground was hard and barren, which was a bummer, but it was still a lot better than it might have been. Soon enough, he was clattering up onto the cobbles of Summer Shandy and slowly looked about the area.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Obadiah called from the town well. He lifted a bucket out of the well to hand to a woman, then slowly walked over to Jason. "What can we do for you today?"

"I've got some paperwork for you to fill out," Jason chuckled. "Sorry to make your job harder."

"Ahh, it can't be anything too bad. That's what I'm here for," Obadiah turned and waved as someone called his name from across the town square. "Give me half a second, let me run back home to give Paulina something. I'll be along in just a minute, you can head on inside."

Jason nodded, then rode up to the hitching rail outside the constable's office. He swung down, then walked inside as quickly as he could. As the door swung shut, he walked over to Obadiah's desk and sat down, only to suddenly notice a figure sitting in the chair across from him. The figure was slumped over, as if sleeping, and had a western hat drawn down over his face. Jason frowned, then leaned forward. Suddenly, the figure reached up and raised the brim of his hat...

"Jeremiah!" Jason beamed.

"Jason Hunter! Now there's a sight for sore eyes," Jeremiah reached across the desk, shaking Jason's hand firmly. "Ahh, I've missed you, more than I

could tell you."

"And I've missed you, too," Jason grinned. "Not the monster-spawning, or the constant cannons, or Gob, or—"

"Ahh, you've got no sense of fun," Jeremiah pulled his pipe out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth, leaving it unlit as usual. "Now, what can I do for you?"

The door swung open, and Obadiah stepped inside. "You can get away from that paperwork before you sell the whole province to Nightford."

Jeremiah snorted, then slowly rose and stepped back from the desk. "Ahh, you're just bitter because your polls are lower than mine were."

"First off, that's not true. Second off, even if it was, that's not my concern as a servant of the public."

Jeremiah chuckled and walked around the desk, dropping into a chair next to Jason. "Now he even sounds like one of them. You know, if you're ever up for an insurrection, I'm still up for leading a revolution against Illumitir."

Jason laughed, though he had to admit that it was at least a bit forced. Jeremiah looked like he had aged a decade in the time since Jason had seen him last. The wrinkles around his eyes had become deeper, his lips more drawn, his hair whiter.

"Ahh, don't look at me like that!" Jeremiah waved his hand at Jason. "I ain't that old. Just had a small heart attack, nothing serious."

"The doctors sent him down here for a few weeks to see if the fresh air would help him heal," Obadiah explained.

"Personally, I've been trying to move back down here for ages," Jeremiah pointed out. "I should have just had a heart attack to begin with."

"Dad! Don't say things like that," Obadiah sighed, then turned to Jason. "Apologies. Anyway, what can I help you with?"

"I'm looking to rent the back half of the farm," Jason shrugged. Jeremiah jumped a little bit, and Obadiah frowned.

"You want to rent the back half of your farm?" Obadiah raised an eyebrow. "You mean the part where Milligan lives?"

"Yeah," Jason suddenly realized that he hadn't been up to town in quite a while. "I might not have told you, actually. Milligan moved in with the mages. That cabin's empty, and I frankly just don't have the help I need to take care of the whole farm anymore."

"Hmm," Obadiah rubbed his jaw. "Why are you coming to me?"

Jason shrugged. "I dunno. You're the one who handles all the legal stuff, I just figured you'd be the person to come to."

"Honestly, you'd be better off heading over to Cecilia. Create an advertisement, she can advertise it in the area," Obadiah thought for a moment. "Once you draw up a contract with someone, it would be a good idea to have it on file here with me, but until then, there's not a lot I can do that would really help you."

"The more you know," Jason chuckled. "Well, then I'm sorry to bother you." He started to stand, but paused as Jeremiah raised a hand.

"You're really serious about this?"

Jason held up his hands. "Times are hard everywhere. Richard has been forced to sell parts of the old ranch. Mostly just the parts he'd been adding onto it, of course, but still. I'd rather not sell just yet, which is why I'm offering it to rent."

"Hmm," Jeremiah shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day. In any case, are you sure that renting is the right way to go? I doubt you're going to get many takers, not unless you lower the rates to the point that you're not really making enough to justify it."

"You think so?" Jason didn't like the idea that it wasn't going to work, but if that was the reality, that was what he needed to know.

"Yeah, I reckon so," Jeremiah nodded. "People are having to sell their ground. It's all getting bought by people who live elsewhere, and who are going to let the property sit until conditions become more favorable. No one is going to start renting a property that they can't farm."

"It's farmable," Jason pointed out. "We have a windmill, and—"

"I'm not saying that it's not. All I'm saying is that you might want to have a Plan B in place," Jeremiah doffed his hat and rubbed his forehead. "I sure am sorry, Jason. In a lot of ways, I feel like this is all my fault."

"Really?" Jason looked down at the old rancher, feeling his heart ache for the old man.

"Yeah. I mean, I left, and the whole place fell apart! It's obvious that I was the only thing holding it all together," Jeremiah slowly looked up at Jason, then started laughing. "Ahh, I'm just pulling your leg!"

Jason laughed in spite of himself, and clapped Jeremiah on the shoulder. "Will you be here for the festival?"

"They'll have to shoot me and cart me away in a wheelbarrow in order for me to miss it," Jeremiah declared.

"Don't tempt me," Obadiah muttered, though he had a smile on his face. He stood up and shook Jason's hand. "I hope everything goes well for you. If you'd like, I'll keep my ears open for anyone looking to serve as a hired hand. Obviously, you don't have a lot to pay right now, but it's always possible I'll run into some upstart warrior who would be willing to work for peanuts."

"I'd appreciate it."

Jason slowly walked out of the office, feeling a bit hollow inside. So they didn't think it would work. The logic made sense, and he sighed deeply. Indeed, times were hard everywhere.

He only hoped that he would be able to weather it all. More and more people were leaving, and... Well...

He drew in a deep breath and slowly looked around the town. He wasn't ready to leave it, not yet. He just had to hold out for a bit longer. The drought would break. It had to.

One way or another... He just had to stay.

Raling

[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: 80th day of Winter! Let's see here... So, there's a really big storm hitting today, but it should be the last storm of the season! No moisture, I'm afraid, so don't get your hopes all that high, but... Well, we're getting to the end of winter! Just hang in there, y'all!]

Jason's eyes flickered open, and he sighed deeply. The wind was already howling around the house, rattling the window. Down the hall, the twins were crying, and he noticed that Tess wasn't there next to him. Almost painfully, he rolled out of bed, and his feet hit the cold floor. It took him a moment to change, and with that, he stepped up to the window.

The sky was black, lit only by bursts of lightning that flashed through the air. Small ice crystals stung the house, but they didn't really seem to be sticking. Jason shuddered and made his way down the stairs, where he found Tess sitting in the living room, rocking the twins. They were both just settling down, and Jason smiled at her.

KA-BOOM! Another flash of lightning shook the house, and Baby Tess woke up and started wailing once more.

"Dada make storm go away!"

"I wish I could," Jason smiled and walked up to his family, rubbing Baby Tess's head. In all reality, she was nearing two years old, but the "baby" part of her name didn't really seem to be going away. "How are you?"

"I'm tired, but that's par for the course," Tess smiled wearily. She nodded toward the door. "I hate to ask it of you, but can you go out and feed my animals? It's terrible out there, and the kids aren't wanting to leave my side."

Jason chuckled, then held out his arms. "Come to daddy?"

"No." Baby Tess snuggled deeper into Tess's arms. "Want mama."

"Fair enough," Jason sighed. He put a smile on his face, then turned and slowly walked out into the farmyard.

Even through his thick clothes, the blast of wind was almost enough to knock him from his feet. Tiny ice crystals stung his face, and he braced himself against the wintery blast. Slowly, carefully, he forced his way over the frozen ground to the barn, where he eagerly pulled it open and slipped inside. A handful of cattle looked up at him, and he quickly walked over to start pouring them feed. The dim lantern he held barely lit the area, and he gritted his teeth.

"Jason?"

The voice of Master Dominic echoed through the barn, and the mage slowly walked up into the barn. Jason turned to look at the door, then smiled and waved. The mage lifted his staff and launched several balls of light through the air, which sailed about the barn to illuminate the area. Jason gratefully put down his lantern, then went back to work.

"What are you doing out and about in this cold?"

"Looking for you, actually," Master Dominic sighed and slowly walked over to Jason. "I just heard about what Mistress Elintra did. As it turned out, there was a witness to her... passion... who just came forward yesterday. I'm ashamed to say that we've given her too much of a leash for some time."

Jason chuckled. "Was the witness one of my daughters?" Master Dominic slowly bowed his head. "Yes."

"Well, that explains it," Jason murmured. "She was probably sneaking around, anyway."

"She was, and I won't say that her actions are excused by what she saw, but I'll also say that the reason she didn't come forward was because she was afraid of Mistress Elintra. I conducted some interviews, and found that a

number of the other students feel the same way. As such, Mistress Elintra has been placed on an alternative assignment for the time being, which I thought you would appreciate. For the time being, I'll be the sole conduit between you and the academy, thus freeing you from unpleasant interactions."

"I do appreciate it," Jason sighed, then turned around. "I don't mean to cause trouble, of course, I really-"

"No, you're not. Your case is understandable, and the assistance you've provided has been invaluable," Master Dominic drew himself a bit more upright. "We looked back at the interaction using the echo chamber, and you acted rightly. We could tell that you didn't want to come down to us, but you did so anyway. I only wish that Mistress Elintra hadn't destroyed the plant, given your sacrifice and the potential implications of it." The mage paused for a moment, then tapped his staff on the ground. "In any case, this isn't why I'm here. In part, yes, but in full, I have greater news."

"Is there any chance that said news would go well with tea and a bit of breakfast?"

Master Dominic beamed. "That's just what I was about to suggest, myself."

A few minutes later, Jason, Tess, the twins, and Master Dominic sat down in their living room. Tess had prepared some pastries, while Master Dominic had magicked up some tea. They all reclined in their chairs (except the twins, of course, who ran back and forth around on the floor), and Master Dominic began.

"My greater news has two parts. I'll save the best for last," Master Dominic took a sip of his tea, then set the cup aside. "It has come to our attention that you're experiencing some hardships on the farm, partly on account of Milligan leaving."

"Partly, but not entirely," Jason shook his head. "Times are hard everywhere. I could sure use another hired man, but that's not the entire problem."

"Then allow us to propose a solution," Master Dominic folded his hands. "There are a number of the students who look upon your farm with somewhat of a curiosity. While I don't generally approve of giving into vices, I see a great chance of reviving some of our old agricultural programs. If you would be willing, of course, we'd be happy to send some of our students to assist you."

Master Dominic paused. "I should also note that first and foremost on the list of willing volunteers is your uncle, Alfie. He's not technically affiliated with the academy, of course, but he's thrown in his lot with us, and for the time being, doesn't have much of a job to do."

Jason sighed, then looked down at the ground. "You should give him a chance," Tess urged. "I was once angry at my father, remember? You tracked him down and forced us together, and it was one of the best things that's ever happened to me."

Jason gritted his teeth, then nodded. "Alright. Yes, I agree." He slowly looked up and smiled at Master Dominic. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome!" Master Dominic thumped the end of his staff against the floor. "I know you've felt left out over the last year, but I do want you to know that we remember all your hard work and don't wish to leave a debt unpaid. Tell us when you want people to start coming by, and I'll have them there."

Jason thought for a moment, then let out a long breath. "First day of spring. I'll spend the meantime figuring out what we're going to do."

"Wonderful! Now, that brings me to the second point of business, which I do believe you'll appreciate a good bit more." Master Dominic slowly pointed his staff at the fireplace. The end of the weapon lit up, and energy began to swirl about.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash, and a portal opened up. With a soft flutter, Rachel stepped through, and the portal closed behind her.

"Rachel!" Jason leapt to his feet and spread his arms. Rachel threw herself into his embrace, then turned and hugged her mother as well. Jason couldn't keep a grin from his face as he sat back down, leaning back into his chair. "This is a welcome surprise! What's the occasion?"

Rachel glanced at Master Dominic, who nodded his head. "I... I'm leaving the academy."

Jason felt a flutter of very mixed emotions. On one hand, he was thrilled to get his daughter back. On the other hand...

"Why?" Tess asked. Her voice was warm and full of compassion, not betraying her thoughts on the situation. "Did something happen?"

Rachel shook her head and walked over to sit down next to Tess. She still held her white staff, her fingers playing up and down the wood. "No, nothing happened. I just miss you guys, a lot. And I'm really bad at magic," she smiled softly. "Like really bad."

Jason glanced at Master Dominic, who nodded. "Magic is something more than just book learning. Rachel is brilliant, more so than Fern. When it comes to, say, writing a research paper, she'll be among the top five in the school every time, and on tests, she rarely gets anything but the top grade. That said..." Master Dominic shrugged. "I've seen many mages that simply couldn't get magic to work. It's not a problem, just a fact of life. Essentially, as we're nearing the end of the year, Rachel was given a choice to pursue a

more scholastic path or to enter a program designed to stress the physical body to the point that control of magic becomes easier. It has the potential to allow such a mage to become a master controller of magic, though in my own experience, people who enter it only miss their calling. Given the choice, Rachel elected to pursue a different path and to leave the academy."

Jason's mind spun with questions. "Do you have to give back that fancy torch of yours?"

Rachel laughed, then shook her head. "No, I don't. I made it myself, so it's mine!"

"We are not a governmental organization, monitoring the actions of everyone who was once involved in our ranks. We seek to train, to inform, and we do it under no obligation," Master Dominic explained. "In any case, Rachel will remain as an affiliate of the academy. We may call upon her for research, and as she works on the farm, she's free to perform experiments and things, and to report the results. We may call upon her for the odd quest, but of course, she'll be free to accept or not."

Rachel turned to Tess, then Jason. "I just... I miss you guys so much. I couldn't think about anything except coming home, and when I realized that I would have to... I just had to leave and come back."

"Well..." Jason sighed and spread his arms, and Rachel jumped back into his arms. "Just know that we're more than happy to have you."

"I should also note that Fern is doing quite well," Master Dominic slowly climbed to his feet. "She hasn't yet been told of Rachel's decision, which is my task for the time being. I'll speak with her, then make a general announcement asking for volunteers to assist on your farm, and then we'll see how things move forward."

"Thank you," Jason stood up as well. "I'm sorry things have been tense between us this year."

"All things considered, I understand. I won't say that we mages have done everything perfectly, but I do hope that we can make things right moving forward," Master Dominic started to hobble toward the door. "Fare well, Hunter family. May your road always be smooth, and may your staff never splinter."

With that, he was gone, and Jason turned to Rachel, who beamed from ear to ear. "I'm so happy to be home," Rachel managed after a moment. "You haven't done anything to my room, have you?"

"Not at all," Jason held out his arms, and Rachel hugged him once more. "Let's go get you settled back in.

Last Day of Winter

[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: 91st day of Winter! It's the day of the Winter Festival, y'all!!! Come on out and get nice and toasty in the Guild Hall, rest your feet by the fire, and forget all about your woes! Entirely ignore the fact that spring is supposed to be just as dry as last summer and fall and winter, and

forget entirely the fact that all your neighbors are moving away and will never be seen again!]

"Your brother really knows how to calm people down, doesn't he?" Jason chuckled as he slowly stretched and woke up. At the end of the hotel bed, the twins were both starting to stir in their crib, while Rachel was just sitting up. She rubbed her eyes, then sat up and walked over to start dressing the twins.

"Yeah, people skills were never really his strong suit." Tess shook her head as she sat up and slowly swung out of bed. She climbed to her feet and stretched, then reached out and ruffled Rachel's hair. "Well, are you ready for the first festival day you've had in a long time?"

"Yeah!" Rachel grinned, then paused. "I mean, I was at the Spring Festival almost a year ago. Then I guess the last one before that was the Spring Festival a year before that."

"Well, you're certainly due for one." Tess patted Rachel on the arm. "Why don't you run along, and your father and I will be along in a minute?"

"Sure!" Rachel finished dressing the twins, then carried them out into the hall. Jason watched them go, and as the door swung shut, he started getting dressed. Tess did the same, and they soon wore the standard tunics that were the staple of festival days. Jason started packing up their suitcases, and soon enough, they struck out into the inn.

Rachel already had the twins sat at a table in the tavern, and Jason and Tess joined her for a lovely breakfast. As they finished up, Richard wandered into the room, waved, and wandered over to join them.

"Mind if I have a seat right next to one of my favorite granddaughters?" Richard pulled a chair over next to Rachel. "I'd like to hear all about that school you were going."

"I'd love to, grandpa, but I've got to go." Rachel stood up. "I was invited to a game of ping pong in the Guild Hall!"

She gave Richard a kiss on the forehead, then dashed off, leaving the twins behind. Jason laughed, and Richard shook his head.

"So full of energy at that age."

"Oh, I know." Jason laughed. "Makes me hurt just looking at how fast she runs."

"Oh, hush. You're not that old." Richard shook his head.

"I'm almost forty." Jason countered.

"Yeah, and I'm..." Richard's voice trailed off, and he huffed. "Well, let's not talk about that, but you've got no right to be complaining about being old."

Jason and Tess both laughed at that, and Jason slowly stood up.

"Well, I'd actually like to get moving, too."

"Business on a holiday." Richard shook his head. "I've never seen the like. Back in the dungeons, when we were celebrating, we never even thought about work."

"When you were fighting through the dungeons, you still never thought about work." Jason countered.

"Pfft. Coming from the guy who wouldn't be able to kill a slime without exerting himself." Richard shook his head.

"Hey! My stats come in handy sometimes." Jason pointed out. "Remember BloodTooth? I was the one who killed him."

"And got a full 10 XP off it!" Tess giggled. "Oh, you have no idea how much I wish I could have been there."

Jason only shook his head as Richard and Tess chortled. He was who he was, and that was the simple reality. He started to rise, then paused and sat back down.

"As a matter of business, if you don't mind me asking, just how have things been going on the ranch? I haven't heard anything in awhile, I just know things are hard." Jason held up his hands. "I don't mean to pry, so don't say anything you don't want to, I just-"

"Nah, that's alright. Actually, I meant to talk to you about it anyway." Richard licked his lips. "I'm... I'm actually going to sell the ranch."

"You what?"

Jeremiah's voice thundered through the room, and Jason looked up to see the man slowly walking down the stairs. Fire blazed in his eyes, and he marched right over to the table. Richard drew back slightly, and Jeremiah sighed. After a moment, the old man grabbed a chair and sat down, then crossed his arms.

"You're selling my ranch?"

"All I can do." Richard shook his head. "The grass isn't there. The ponds have dried up. I've got one well on the property, and it's only putting out enough water to support a hundred cattle. By the time you buy feed for that many animals, you're hardly breaking even. I can't hire enough help to make it work, I just... I don't see any way out of it."

Jason grimaced. "We're in the same boat, Jeremiah. Well, we haven't sold yet, but when it comes to animals, we're hard up. Tess bought some cattle from Jeremiah, we raised them and then sold them, and then raised and sold another batch, but by now, all the hay is gone and the prices are so low we can't afford to buy anything to feed them."

Jeremiah didn't say anything for a few long moments. When he finally spoke, his voice was dark.

"I'm real sorry to hear that. I was mostly joking when I walked over here to you. I know that has to be hard, I hope you can make it through."

"Ahh, if I don't, I'll make it work." Richard shrugged. "I have enough of a nest egg to support myself, just not enough of one to save the ranch. I've got a guy up in Illumitir who's going to buy it, then I'll use the money to start over."

"What do you think you'll do?" Jeremiah murmured, pulling out his pipe to chew on.

"Honestly, I don't know. It depends, largely, on what Jason and Tess are doing, and what they're up for." Richard turned to Jason, and Jason felt something lurch inside of him. "Jason, Tess... You two, and your kids, are the only family I have. If I need to, I'll go off and live on my own. I've done it before, and I can make it work again, but I'd sure hate to be apart from you. I'm not asking to move into your house, but I don't want to leave you."

"And we won't ask you to leave!" Tess beamed. She paused for a moment in thought, then shrugged. "At the moment, we're not planning on selling. Jason has something worked out with the mages to provide some extra help over the spring, so we're hopeful that we'll be able to make ends meet that way. On the off chance that we don't-"

"We're going to make it work." Jason snapped.

"But what if?" Tess pressed. "We need a plan. If we lose the farm, what do we do? Do we just move up into Summer Shandy itself and try to make ends meet here? Do we go up to Illumitir? Down south to Portswain? Do we try to find another farm somewhere we can buy? I don't know, and it's not something we've discussed."

"Because it's not going to happen." Jason balled his hands into a fist.

No one said anything for a few moments. Finally, Jeremiah reached up and took the pipe out of his mouth.

"Jason, I've seen that look in a lot of folks. It's understandable, but it's always right before a crash. Plow ahead defiantly, and you'll only run aground. If it looks like you're sailing toward the shore, don't assume your boat has wheels on the hull. Turn one way or the other, make sure you stay afloat."

"What do you know about boats?" Jason countered.

"More than you'd think." Jeremiah chuckled softly. "Look, if you have to leave, it's not the end of the world, but Tess is right. You ought to have a plan in place for if it happens."

Tess turned to Richard. "You're always welcome to stay at our house. In any case, I wouldn't go buy another place just yet. I'm not confident that-"

"We're going to make it." Jason slapped the table, making everyone jump. He climbed to his feet, and his jaw set. "I once made a rice paddy in the middle of the prairie. We've killed a painted dragon. We've done some crazy things over the years, and you all know it. Summer Shandy is my home, and I'm not leaving it."

"Jason..." Tess whispered. "This isn't helping anything."

"Neither is this conversation."

Jason turned and stalked away, sweeping out into the town square a moment later. His mind was white with anger, but he forced it down as best he could. He didn't understand why no one else could understand! They weren't leaving, and that was that. The only way he would go, as far as he was concerned, was if he was either in chains or a spruce box.

That was the reality of the situation... And he would fight as hard as necessary to ensure that it remained true.

First Day of Spring

[The alarm went off at 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 Spring! Alright, y'all, we've got warm weather again! Maybe we'll get some rain, too? I suppose we'll just have to see! The long-range forecast certainly has plenty of tornados predicted, so that's... Well, it's not a positive, per se, but it's something interesting!]

"Tornadoes. Just what I was looking forward to." Jason slowly rolled out of bed. He rose and walked up to the window, where he should have been able to gaze out across a field of green, the slowly rising carpet of spring. Instead, all he saw was the ground. Here and there, a few brave blades of grass tried to poke their way up from the parched soil, but they were scattered. Jason shook his head, then slapped the window frame and turned away.

Tess didn't say anything as she got up and started dressing. They hadn't spoken much since the conversation at the table. Jason walked up behind her, and she turned slightly.

"Are you ready to apologize?"

"For what?" Jason blinked in surprise. "I've been waiting for you to apologize!"

"Me?" Tess spun around, anger in her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Stabbing me in the back!" Jason snapped. "You were just sitting there, so casually chatting with everyone about leaving town!"

"Hold on." Tess raised a finger. "Do not call me a backstabber. I've seen people who actually stabbed other people in the back, and I'm not one of those."

"I-"

"And more importantly, all I'm trying to do is take care of our future," Tess snapped. "I'm trying to take care of our children. If it was just the two of us? Sure. We could go eat boiled bark and grubs and things until the drought breaks, but we have four children who need us. We don't have that luxury anymore."

"Still, I-"

"And Jason." Tess lifted a finger. "I thought the whole point of Summer Shandy was that it's the people, not the place. Mmm? I've traveled a lot in my life, and I've been through a lot of places. Frankly, most of them were 'cooler' than Summer Shandy. What does this place have that they don't? People. Keeping the people close is the important part, not the location."

"I know that, but-"

"But what?" Tess demanded. "Travel's plenty good for me, but not for you?"

"No, just-"

"Then what? You're too good to move? Too proud? Too-"

"Too desperate," Jason snapped. Tess paused, and Jason crossed his arms. "You may have traveled, but I haven't. I grew up in Illumitir, and that's not a life I want for my children. I'm not going to say it was bad, but compared to this? Compared to the wide open spaces, the animals, the grass... Sure, the people here have changed, but everyone who comes here winds up changing, winds up rising to the occasion. This is the only place I've known in my adult life, the only place where..." He sighed. "It's hard to explain."

"Look, I'm not asking you to leave," Tess put a hand on his arm. "All I'm asking is that you're willing to look at other options. I'm going to be here, by your side, fighting to stay here. That said, it might not be possible, and if that happens, I want to make sure that we're not left out in the cold."

"I know." Jason sighed and changed quickly, then walked out of the room. "I know."

He just didn't understand why Tess couldn't understand. It wasn't an option in his mind. It wasn't a question of moving, it wasn't a question of whether or not they could make it work, it was a matter of figuring out how to make it work. How, he didn't care. He only cared that they did it, somehow. Anything less than that was failure.

He stomped down the hall and into the kitchen, where Rachel was busily making waffles. The twins were already in their chairs and were happily waving their arms about as she levitated the morsels down onto their plates. Pitchers of syrup danced over the table, pouring themselves out onto the waffles, and Jason grinned.

"That's quite the show."

"I know! It's really fun," Rachel sighed and slowly lowered her staff. "Dad... Are you and mom going to get a divorce?"

"What? Where did you even hear about things like that?" Jason sat down and shook his head. "What sort of academy did we send you to, and what other garbage are they shoving in your head?"

Rachel laughed. "Dad..."

"I'm just saying," Jason took a bite of his waffle. "Marvelous! And to answer your question, no, your mother and I are not, nor will we ever, get divorced."

"You're sure?"

"Positive." Jason nodded firmly. "I'd rather move to Illumitir and work for a living in a sweatshop than be separated from your mother for an instant."

"Yet you're the one who stormed out of the bedroom," Rachel pointed out.

"You're looking at it wrong. She stayed behind." Rachel raised an eyebrow, and Jason shook his head.

"You know what? I liked it better when the only things you said were 'Dada love you.'"

"Go apologize to Mom," Rachel pointed her staff up the stairs. "Or I'll freeze your waffle. Cold waffles are gross."

"You don't get to order me around," Jason scowled. An instant later, his waffle stopped steaming, and the syrup crystallized. He sighed, then slowly stood up. "This is blackmail, I'll have you know. You're holding my breakfast hostage, and I—"

Something clattered outside, and Jason glanced through the window. Master Dominic strode out through a portal, followed by a handful of students and Alfie. Jason sighed, then picked up his waffle.

"Business calls."

"Dad," Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I've got to go. I'll talk to her after," Jason matched her gaze. "Now unfreeze this so I can go get to work."

Rachel sighed, and the waffle heated up once more. "Alright, but don't say that I didn't try."

Jason rolled his eyes, then walked into the living room as he gulped down his breakfast. He did pause at the writing desk to scribble a quick note to Tess, then pulled on boots and made his way out into the farmyard.

There, a handful of students were already milling about, looking things over. Fern wasn't among them, though that wasn't really a surprise to Jason. He waved at Master Dominic, who waved back.

"Alright, class. This is Jason Hunter, the gracious owner of this farm. You'll be doing whatever he needs." With a flash, another mage appeared next to Master Dominic. He was tall and wore brown robes that fell loosely about his body. A long beard fell almost all the way to his belly, while the top of his head was quite bald. "Jason, this is Master Fiacre. He'll be supervising the students, and training them in the magical arts as he finds it applicable. It won't get in the way of things, and should assist with the productivity of the students."

"I don't mind it in the slightest," Jason crossed his arms. "Now, first off, I just want to say that I'm very thankful for your help. I really don't need a lot of assistance, but what I do need is nigh-invaluable. Honestly, I think the place we need to start is out in the olive grove and the vineyard."

Master Dominic nodded, then raised his staff. With a flash, they were all teleported across the farm and landed next to Milligan's old cabin. Jason blinked in surprise, then shuddered.

"Apologies," Master Fiacre nodded to Jason. "We'll try to avoid doing that in the future."

"Right," Jason blinked a few times to clear his head, then turned to the fields. "Well, this is what we've got to work with. In short order, most of what I need involves general maintenance. The fences need checked to ensure that there's no damage done, and an eye needs to be kept on the fruit to ensure that it doesn't spoil. Spoiled crops are a nightmare, and I mean that literally. We also just need to check to make sure that weeds and things don't start to spring up around the trees, that sort of thing."

"Interesting," Master Fiacre frowned. "I was led to believe that your concerns were somewhat more... Urgent."

"It depends on how you look at it," Jason shrugged. "Farming is a whole lot of waiting, then scrambling as fast as you can. Harvest days will be particularly hands-on. On those days, I'll need everyone to help get things picked in time."

"Which I think we can easily do," Master Fiacre smiled. "Now, what of water? It is my estimation that the windmill isn't producing quite enough liquid."

"Your estimation is correct, unfortunately," Jason grimaced. "We can't legally drill another well, and this one just isn't producing enough."

"In that case, allow me to present one option," Master Fiacre raised his hands, then sharply closed them. With a mighty crash, a stormcloud formed over Jason. A thick rain came pouring down, and Jason yelped and jumped backward.

"Yeah, that would be great!" Jason laughed as he wiped water off his face. "You can do that?"

"Only on a very small scale," Master Fiacre nodded. "The technique takes water from the air and condenses it. We can do it only a few times per day in any given area, or we risk mass dehydration of the surrounding landscape, but... Here, I don't see that as being a grave risk."

"Too true," Jason grimaced, then smiled. "Then yes, that would be wonderful. If you could keep the plants watered and maintained, and then help on harvest days, I'd dearly love it."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Master Fiacre asked. "I don't mean to pry, but even if it's something you would ordinarily do yourself, I would love more opportunities to teach the students."

Jason shrugged. "I mean... I'd love it if you could plant a garden. I have a handful of seeds I can give you; you can either do it up by the house, or we can dredge one out here. Now, when it comes to animals, we just can't afford to maintain them right now. Too dry." He smiled. "You have to produce plants to feed animals, so if you're struggling to produce plants..."

Master Fiacre smiled. "Yes, indeed! I see the issue. Let me do some thinking, and please do get us those seeds. I think you will find our efforts to be rewarding."

"I'm sure grateful," Jason opened up the farm's inventory and spent a moment scrolling, then pulled out the seeds and passed them across. Master Fiacre thanked him, and with that, he turned and began to speak to the class. Jason watched for a moment, then turned to walk back across the prairie. Having the class helping him would, indeed, be helpful, and might even be the thing he needed to keep ahead in the crazy game of survival that he was fighting.

Now, though, per his promise to Rachel, he had to go talk to Tess... And that, he was afraid, was going to be far more difficult than simply trying to keep the farm afloat.

Flower

[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 Spring! Hey, y'all! I just wanted to let you know that there's a very good chance of tornados later today. Not a high chance, but it's technically possible, so... Just be careful!]

Jason slowly rolled out of bed, then leaned over and gave Tess a kiss. She stirred slightly in her sleep, and Jason quietly walked up to the window. Outside, everything looked largely the same, though he could see some clouds brewing on the horizon. Quickly, he walked over to his wardrobe and changed, then slipped down the stairs. Rachel, as seemed usual, had food on the table, though the twins were also still sleeping.

"You're up early," Jason commented.

Rachel shrugged as she handed Jason a plate of biscuits and gravy. "The mages have you wake up at 4:00 every morning. I feel like I'm sleeping in just waiting all the way until 5:00."

"I'll take your word for it. Me, I feel like I'm early getting up at 6." Jason started in on the meal, which was simply wonderful. "Mmm! Delicious."

"Good," Rachel nodded. "Now, are you and mom good?"

Jason laughed slightly, then nodded. "Yeah, we're good."

After getting back from talking to Master Fiacre, Jason and Tess had engaged in a very long discussion. In the end, not a lot had been solved, but Jason had agreed to look into other options, while Tess had confirmed that she was willing to fight for the farm. Since then, neither of them had brought it up, and Jason imagined that it would stay that way for quite some time.

"So, what are you up to today?" Rachel asked. "Planting, right?" "That's the plan," Jason nodded. "I just need to-"

Flash!

Master Fiacre suddenly appeared in the room, worry on his face. Jason grimaced as his ears popped, and the mage bowed.

"I apologize if I startled you, Jason."

"Ahh, people are always popping in and out of this house. It's kinda our thing at this point," Jason sighed, then shrugged. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering... These tornados," Master Fiacre folded his hands. "I've heard a great deal about them, but I've never seen one. How worried do we need to be?"

"That depends entirely on how many warriors Daniel has working for him up at the Guild Hall," Jason shrugged. "Tornados are giant elemental wind monsters that spawn in certain types of storm clouds. They drop down, forming this giant funnel cloud, and just rampage about destroying things. They have an infinite health bar, so they can't be killed, but they do have a limited duration. The warriors of each town mostly just deflect the things, bouncing them off across the open countryside, until warriors from the next town bounce it back."

"Ahh," Master Fiacre began to twiddle his thumbs. "How... Terrifying. Should we order everyone back into the academy and raise the shields?"

"Only if it gets close and no one shows up to save you. The big thing is not to throw any projectiles at it, because it'll just throw them right back," Jason paused for a moment. "You know what? Why don't you come and help me plant the field? I've got a load of sugar beets I need to get planted, and your help will ensure that I get it done before the tornados get here."

Jason could tell that the mage was terrified, but the man held himself together with a nod.

"I'll... I'll do that! Yes. I've been interested to see how your mass production works. This will be fun!"

"I'm glad you think so!" Jason smiled. "Then head out and meet me by the lean-to. We'll get things rolling just as quickly as we can."

Jason turned his attention back to breakfast, and Master Fiacre teleported away. He and Rachel chatted for a few minutes until Jason reluctantly stood up and walked out into the farmyard. There, he found Master Fiacre gazing up at the sky with worry.

"Ahh, don't worry," Jason shook his head. "If they say there aren't going to be tornados until later, it really won't be an issue. Here, why don't you run up and grab the horses out of the barn, and I'll start servicing the equipment."

"Servicing... Yes, of course," Master Fiacre hurried off, and Jason knelt down to inspect the two planters. He was still checking them over when Master Fiacre came back, curiosity written across his face. "Just what are you doing?"

"Basically, I'm just making sure that everything is in place," Jason shrugged. "There are bolts that can come loose, gears that can get at an angle, bearings that need greased, that sort of thing."

"And you check over all of it every time?" Master Fiacre sounded amazed.

"Nah. Yesterday I went over this thing with a fine-tooth comb," Jason murmured. "And at the beginning of summer, I usually do a more in-depth scan of the things, but right now, I just want to check to make sure everything looks good. And... Near as I can tell, it does, so we're good to go!"

He climbed back to his feet, and Master Fiacre helped him back up his horses to the machines. They soon had them hitched up, and Master Fiacre carefully climbed up onto one of the planters.

"Alright," Jason walked up next to him. "This lever here drops the planter down into the ground, so it starts planting. Push it forward to raise the machine again. Start on the south side, just go back and forth, working your way inward. It ought to be pretty self-explanatory once you get going."

Master Fiacre nodded, and he slowly took up the reins. He lumbered off with a snort, eyes wide. Jason laughed, then climbed up onto his own planter. Soon, he was off as well, and lowered the planter as they entered the field.

His job back on the first day of Spring had been to till up the field. Thankfully, it wasn't hardpan, which had made things a whole lot easier. As he rumbled through the field, though, he felt the effects of the drought upon the machine.

The whole thing rattled back and forth as the blades and wheels struck hardened chunks of soil that hadn't been broken up perfectly by the plow, and more than once, it lurched to such a great degree that he was nearly thrown off. Still, though, he managed to keep it moving forward. The seed rattled down through the tubes and into the ground, and nothing broke, which was always a positive.

When he reached the end of the first row, he glanced over to see Master Fiacre struggling along, about three-quarters of the way along. The master looked entirely unfamiliar with the machine, though he kept his head high (if only to gaze in fear at the sky). Jason waved, then turned around and headed back, angling for the barn once more. He kept an eye behind him until he confirmed that Master Fiacre had made the corner, and with that, he headed onward.

Down he went, down and back, until he had been rattled about so much that he felt as though his teeth were going to fall out. Normally, planting was among the best jobs on the farm, but on that day, he simply couldn't wait for it to be done. It was a smidge past noon when he and Master Fiacre both made it to the center, and the weary-looking master waved at him. They rumbled down and out of the field, and spent a few moments putting everything away.

"Wow!" Master Fiacre shook his head. "I have to say, in all my life, I've never dealt with plants in such a manner. I've always planted them one at a time, whispering words of magic to help them grow faster and stronger. I've never... I've never done anything like it. For what it's worth," he added, glancing over at Jason, "I did try to make sure to add some magic to help it grow better, though it was so dispersed that I can't say if it worked or not."

"I suppose we'll find out." Jason answered with a small smile. "Shall we make a wager on whose side grows best?"

"Pfft. That's not a bet I want to make." Master Fiacre glanced up at the sky once more. By now, the clouds were just starting to roll across the sun, and he frowned. "It's so odd. I've lived my entire life in a city, in greenhouses, and I never once pictured myself coming out here where I would be surrounded by the life that I was trying to cultivate. It's as if you can feel the earth itself moving around you. The ground, the sky, the water, the drought, it's all so... So wild. The greenhouses I worked in were so controlled, nothing like this."

"It's an experience." Jason shook his head. His heart gave a pang, and he sighed. "And... If you listen to Tess, or Richard, or anyone else, it might all be coming to an end."

Master Fiacre didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, he straightened up a bit.

"Did you know Milligan talks about you?"

Jason chuckled. "Don't believe any of it."

"I find it hard to believe a word." Master Fiacre shook his head with a smile. "After all, how could anyone be quite as special as he makes you out to be? If you listen to him, you're practically a god among men."

Jason snorted and shook his head, but Master Fiacre continued.

"The reason I point this out is because he's worried for you, too. He's heard the rumors, he feels like he left you in a bind, and he knows how many people are being forced to bail." Master Fiacre paused for a moment. "He's been through a lot in his life. No family, no home, and you took him in. Leaving you behind was the hardest thing he ever did, and the only reason he did it was because he was so sick. Frankly, Jason, he's in quite a bind. He's brilliant, but he can hardly walk anymore."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Jason murmured. "I miss him, too, and not just for the work."

"I know." Master Fiacre smiled. "My point is that it wasn't the cabin that made his time here in Summer Shandy."

"I know, I know. It was the people." Jason scowled. "Well, if I have to move away, I'm going to be moving away from Milligan, away from Jeremiah and Obadiah and Daniel and everyone else except for my individual family."

Suddenly, across the prairie, the clouds began to swirl. With a mighty voom, a funnel cloud shot down from the sky and slammed into the prairie. It was a couple of miles off, but the howl of the wind was audible even from where they stood. Master Fiacre's jaw dropped in shock, and Jason nodded.

"It's something else, isn't it?"

"Simply incredible." Master Fiacre shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it in the city."

"No. No, there are a lot of things that the city doesn't have." Jason crossed his arms. "There are a lot of things you can't do there. There are-"

"Jason." Master Fiacre put a hand on his arm. "My point was that Milligan misses you, but he's still joyful. He's in a tough spot. He can barely walk. He misses your family dearly. I will say that he and Fern spend quite a bit of time together, but that's the only real consolation he has. That said..." Master Fiacre opened up his inventory and pulled out a small flower pot, which he handed to Jason. "He wanted you to have this."

Jason gazed down at the pot, where a single leaf was just poking up through the soil.

"What is it?"

"A unique type of flower that he created just for you. It ought to bloom on the day of the Spring Festival." Master Fiacre smiled. "Don't miss it."

With that, Master Fiacre turned and began to stride across the prairie, watching the tornado closely as he did so. It was truly incredible, to be certain, and Jason leaned against the fence, watching it as well. Slowly, his gaze turned down to the pot in his hands, and he sighed.

So, he just needed to be happy? To choose it? It was so much easier said than done... But if the flower could be a reminder to him, direct from a good friend, then maybe... Maybe he could figure out how to do it, too.

Dare To Hope

[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: 15th day of Spring! Alright, y'all, I just want to let you know that there's a chance of rain in the next week! Like... Actual rain! This could break the drought! It also might not come, I frankly don't know, but I do want to tell you and let you all know!!!]

"Dare we hope?" Jason slowly rolled out of bed.

"Nope." Tess sighed and shook her head. "I mean, I'd love to, but at this point?"

Jason nodded slowly. He knew she was probably right, but... Droughts didn't just break casually. They broke all at once, with a deluge of liquid that formally put an end to all woes and worries. Unless that happened, it wasn't going to help, at least not much.

"Mom! Dad!" Rachel poked her head in the door. "There's a guy on the front porch! Says it's harvest day?"

"Mmm!" Jason sat bolt upright. "Yes!"

"Huh?" Tess murmured and swung out of bed. "What's happening?"

"Sorry, I meant to tell you," Jason apologized. "Master Fiacre came to me last night and told me that the students would be ready to harvest the grapes and olives over on the Far Eighty today. I totally meant to say something when I came inside for dinner, but utterly spaced it."

"I see," Tess rubbed her eyes, then shrugged. "Well, I guess that's the plan, then. Rachel, go tell them that we'll be along presently."

"We'll?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

Tess shrugged. "Well, there are lots of students there. Seems like a family sort of affair."

"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have you!" Jason grinned. "Let's get going!"

About fifteen minutes later, Jason sat on the bench of their carriage as Angus hauled them out and across the prairie. Tess sat next to him, holding the twins on her lap, while Rachel perched on the back of the vehicle. They slowly rumbled up across the ridges and down through the ravines, and soon came out to the Far Eighty, where a handful of students had already gathered with Master Fiacre.

"Good morning!" Jason called out.

"Good morning!" Master Fiacre called back, then turned to the class. "Attention!"

All the mages in training straightened up, and Jason pulled the carriage to a halt. Rachel jumped down, and Jason and Tess slowly climbed down as well. Master Fiacre motioned for Jason to step up, and Jason opened up his inventory. He scrolled for a few moments, then pulled out several baskets.

"Thank you, again, for your help," Jason smiled to the class. "Now, what we'll be doing is fairly simple. We'll start with the olives, then, unless we really get them done fast, we'll break for lunch, and then move onto the grapes."

"Perfect," Master Fiacre nodded. "How, exactly, do we harvest olives?"

"It's really quite simple," Jason explained. "You start by placing blankets beneath the trees, and then shaking them. The ripe olives fall, the non-ripe olives stay. Once they've all fallen down, you use the blankets to gather them up, put them in the baskets, and then at the end we'll see how much we have."

"Perfect!" Master Fiacre beamed. "That's easy enough! How exactly do you shake the trees? Is there a technique?"

Jason shrugged. "Last year, Master Dominic used the Earthquake spell to do it. I don't know how many of you have that spell, but—"

"He what?" Master Fiacre turned slightly white, and the students laughed. Master Fiacre glanced around, then quickly waved Jason off to the side. Jason followed him, and the master spoke quickly.

"That spell is one of the most powerful spells that the mages possess! It's not only ill-advised, it's actually one of the very few spells that Illumitir has made illegal. If anyone outside of this university finds out that he used it, we could face a great many punishments, up to and including expulsion from this province."

"Then I suppose it would be a bad thing to mention that he let me use his staff to give it a try myself?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

Master Fiacre's face became a mask of horror, but he didn't say anything. Finally, he let out a long breath and slowly nodded.

"Precisely. It would be a very, very bad thing indeed."

"Then I won't mention it! I'm sure you could just run up and shake the trees," Jason answered. "It won't be quite as fun, but it ought to work."

"Good. Then... Let's get to it."

Jason stepped back as Master Fiacre stepped forward and issued new orders. The students seemed a bit bummed that they weren't allowed to actually use the Earthquake spell, but they got over it quickly enough. Jason opened the farm's inventory and pulled out several blankets, and with that, the student body rushed into the olive grove.

As Jason surveyed the grove, he had to admit he was impressed. The small spout emerging from the water pump emptied into a small trench, carved

out to run through the entire area. It meandered from tree to tree, carefully giving each tree the exact same amount of water. Jason could tell magic had been used in the construction, but it was, of course, impossible to tell exactly what sort. In any case, the olive trees looked better than ever, even with parched ground all around them. Thick, juicy olives hung from each branch, and the students quickly laid out their blankets around the base of the trees.

Jason joined in and helped, soon setting up three blankets in a tight triangle around the base of one trunk. He grabbed the trunk and began to shake, but, unsurprisingly, nothing happened. Jason scowled as he let go and staggered back, and Tess stepped forward.

"Why don't we let someone with actual muscles do this?" Tess teased.

Jason tried to protest, but they both knew it was true enough. Baby Jason and Baby Tess toddled underneath the tree, and Tess began to shake it.

She didn't seem to shake it hard, but the tiny vibrations rolled out through the tree as if it was shivering. Almost instantly, the largest of the olives began to fall, plunking around the twins like hail. Baby Jason laughed and pointed up at the tree, but Baby Tess shrieked and ran to Rachel. At that exact moment, a particularly large olive fell and bonked Baby Jason on the forehead, making him scream and run to Rachel. The older sister gathered her siblings in her arms, and they all watched as Tess finished the job and stepped back.

Jason smiled as the students rushed forward and began to gather the olives. It took them only a few seconds to get them dumped into the baskets, at which point, Tess moved on to the next tree. There, she began to do the same thing, while the first group of students rushed to put out blankets for another tree. All told, the students seemed to have formed three groups, which began to rotate through the trees.

Jason found himself doing very little as everyone worked their way along. Tess made it about halfway through the grove before she got too tired and had to step back, at which point Master Fiacre stepped forward. He had about as much arm strength as Jason but used his staff to form a whirlwind that stripped the olives from the branches and made them tumble to the ground. This way, they were able to move through the entire grove over the course of about two hours, leaving them a bit before lunchtime.

"Not too bad," Jason glanced up at the sun. "We're making good time, for sure."

"Too fast?" Master Fiacre smiled. "It's amazing how much having a few extra hands can speed things up."

"Too true," Jason shrugged. "Well, if anyone wants to get started on the grapes, they're quite welcome. All they have to do is touch the vine, and they'll have an option to harvest."

Master Fiacre nodded, then turned to his students. "Extra credit for everyone, if we can get the grapes done by lunchtime, too!"

The students cheered and rushed off, and Jason smiled. Tess moved to help them, with the twins and Rachel coming along quickly. Jason moved to follow, then paused as he saw two figures emerging from the academy.

It was Master Benedict, leaning heavily on his staff, while he helped Milligan along. Milligan had to use a cane and seemed, like Jeremiah, to have aged an inordinate amount since Jason had last seen him. Jason waved and walked over to them, and the three of them met under the warm, spring sun.

"Ahh, Jason," Milligan sighed deeply. "This is... Simply wonderful. You're getting along well without me."

"Not as well as I'd be getting along with you," Jason smiled, then nodded at Master Benedict. "They taking care of you?"

"As well as can be," Milligan nodded. He frowned in thought, then sighed. "There aren't many medications for what I have. The mages are treating the symptoms, but that's all they can really do."

"I'm so sorry. Hopefully-"

"Boss? I didn't come out here for a pity party," Milligan smiled wryly. "I just came out to say hello, and to let you know that I'm not dead yet, so don't go acting like it!" He started to cough, and sighed. "And that might be just about all the oomph I have in me."

"I'll help you back inside," Master Fiacre walked over and took Milligan's arm. "I told you not to try to come out today!"

The two of them began to talk as they walked away, and Jason turned to Master Dominic. The old mage shrugged as he leaned on his staff.

"He's getting worse every day, I'm afraid. And... That's actually why I'm here. Well, that, and to pay you for the crops."

Jason nodded, though he hardly noticed as he collected the money. "What's going on?"

"Simply put..." Master Dominic frowned in thought. "Do you remember, back when we first set up something to help you out, that we mentioned Alfie coming out to help you?"

"Yes," Jason nodded. "I've been wondering why he hasn't shown up. I've been a bit relieved, don't get me wrong, but-"

"We discovered something," Master Dominic raised a hand, indicating it was no time for banter. "An ancient plant, one that lives down south by the desert."

"Okay?" Jason frowned. "What's the issue?"

"The issue is that it's an orcish plant," Master Dominic's voice was grave. "Just a few days ago, we finished our orc-killer. The last piece was put into place, and all our small-scale tests indicate it'll go well. That said, if we fire it up, it'll kill the plant, all of them, and end any chance of healing Milligan."

"But if you don't fire it up, the orcs might come back," Jason murmured.

"Will come back," Master Dominic corrected. "There's already an army marching upon Summer Shandy. Not a raiding party. An army. The army of Illumitir is evacuating everyone in their path, and the orcs aren't moving fast, but they're coming. They know what we have, though, admittedly, they don't quite understand how powerful it is. We have to be able to get that plant and create a cure for Milligan prior to their arrival, or we'll be forced to activate it anyway."

Jason gritted his teeth, and a strange sense of determination filled his veins. "Just tell me what I have to do.

Approaching

[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: 20th day of Spring! Okay, so let's be real, y'all. Remember that rain I mentioned? It didn't come. Sorry 'bout that. Anyhow, join me as we continue to look forward to better, wetter, days to come!]

Jason rolled his eyes as he climbed out of bed. He didn't really have anything sarcastic to say about it; it was just... Daniel. He heard Tess laughing slightly and slowly walked up to the window. Down below, the sugar beets were coming along. They were far from well, to be certain, but they were growing, and that was the important part. Jason sighed deeply as several students walked through the area, and he walked back over to the wardrobe to change.

Neither he nor Tess said much as they made their way downstairs. By the time they arrived, the twins were already playing in the living room, while Rachel sat at the table, writing something in a pink notebook. She shut it quickly as her parents walked into the room, and Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Keeping secrets now, are we?"

"No, Dad." Rachel rolled her eyes. "It's just my diary. Full of girl stuff you wouldn't like to know."

"Oh, really?" Jason chuckled as he walked over to the cookbook and started whipping up some biscuits and gravy. As he did so, he lifted a mug of coffee to his lips. "Try me."

"How about the guy I have a crush on?"

Jason nearly spat the coffee across the counter, and Tess laughed.

"Told you."

"No, that's actually information I'd rather like to know." Jason sat down as his biscuits appeared with a flash. "Tess? Where's my blunderbuss?"

Rachel laughed, picked up the diary, and very carefully put it into her inventory. "And that's right where it'll stay."

Jason rolled his eyes and slowly went to eating his food. Tess sat down across from him, and Rachel frowned.

"And why are you guys so down today?"

"Today's the day I'm getting the seeds for that orcish plant that might help Milligan," Jason answered. "They're bringing them up from the desert directly. I've got about a month to try and grow them before the orcs arrive."

"Right." Rachel frowned. "And why isn't Milligan doing it? He's really good with those sorts of plants. Not that you aren't, of course, but you're better with fields, and he's better with pots."

"I know." Jason grimaced. "The simple answer is that if he knew the only reason they weren't firing up the orc-killer was because they were trying to save him, he'd go nuts. He'd probably go pull the trigger himself. He doesn't want them expending any resources on him until after the orcs are dealt with..."

"But if they wait until then, it'll be too late." Tess finished. "It's a bit of a bind, but one we're trying to circumvent by having Jason be the one to grow it."

"Right." Rachel nodded. "Can you do it?"

"I suppose we'll find out." A sharp knock came at the door, and Jason gulped down the last of his food. "And there they are now. Excuse me."

He stood up, then walked to the front door. There, as he opened it up, he found Master Fiacre and Master Dominic. They both stepped back, and he emerged onto the front porch.

"Thank you for being willing to do this." Master Fiacre smiled softly. "It's a strange enough plant that I don't think my own magic would work on it, and if-"

"Milligan can't know. Trust me, I've got that much worked out myself." Jason thought for a moment, then crossed his arms in thought. "Do you have the plant with you?"

"Yes." Master Fiacre opened up his inventory and pulled out two items. One was a small bag, filled with seeds that looked to be covered with spikes. The other was a pot, which held a small, wilting plant. Jason's eyes opened slightly as he set eyes upon it, and he gulped.

"That's a Monstertrap."

"No, it's an Orcish Monstertrap." Master Fiacre held up a finger. "There's a slight difference. You're familiar with them? I didn't think they were native to this area."

"The regular Monstertraps aren't, but Jeremiah... Ah, you don't know him, but he used to live right up the road from me," Jason explained. "Anyway, Jeremiah bought several for monster control. He gave me a few, and they just spread like wildfire. I wound up having to kill half the prairie just to wipe them off the map, and every now and then, I'll still see one or two running around. Terribly nasty things."

"On that, I can heartily agree." Master Fiacre nodded. "Well, then, here you go. We need a tea brewed from the flowers, so that's the stage you have to reach."

"Just keep in mind, Jason, that you have exactly one month," Master Dominic cautioned. "If you haven't achieved success in that time, we're going to go ahead and fire things up. There's too much riding on this to risk the orcish army overrunning our academy."

"Got it."

Jason let out a long breath as the mages passed the seeds across to him. The pot seemed to tremble in his grasp, and the leaves twitched upward.

"Did I hear you right?" Tess poked her head out through the door. "You're raising a monstertrap? Again?"

"Because the last two times have gone so well. Yeah." Jason sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, then nodded firmly. "Alright. I can do this."

"Really?" Tess raised an eyebrow. "How? They absorb genetic material, remember? The moment a housefly lands on it, and it grows wings and flies away, you're going to be regretting things."

"No, I'm going to be happy that it's doing well, so I can help Milligan." Jason thought for a moment. "Alright, then. We're just going to have to beef things up a little bit."

"What do you need from me?"

"Concrete," Jason answered. "We still have some left over from when I built the foundations of Milligan's experiments. I need it all."

"I'll have it right out."

Jason quickly walked out into the farmyard, mind whirring. He opened up the farm's inventory and drew out a handful of tools, then set to work. Walking over to his windmill, he quickly used the hoe to mark out a small garden patch, then bent down and very carefully planted the orcish seeds.

The pointed seed heads trembled with joy as they were placed down in the soil, and Jason let out a long breath. Then, taking the pot, he scooped the

wilted monstertrap out into his palm.

It was unsettling, to say the least, as the roots began to writhe about in his hand, scratching at his skin and wrapping around his fingers. The leaves seemed to perk up, and Jason hastily shoved it down into the ground. That done, he grabbed a ladle out of his inventory and scooped some water from the spout of the well, dumping it across the seeds. The parched soil drank it in, along with the seeds themselves. Things were started, now. He was committed, one way or another.

"Here you go!" Tess walked out with the concrete. There were two bags of the stuff, and she dropped them onto the ground. "What now?"

"You just go take care of the twins," Jason answered, after a moment of thought. "I've got it from here."

"You sure?"

"Yup." Jason wiped his brow. "Time to get to work."

With that, he opened his inventory and began drawing out a great deal of wood, letting it scatter across the area. He then grabbed a saw and tucked in, sawing large sheets of plywood into sections the same length as the garden bed, and about three feet tall.

When he had eight such pieces, he began to connect them together using beams of wood, and in such a way, formed a hollow wall that wrapped around the entire garden. There was a space of about six inches in the gap, and that was what he intended to fill with concrete.

That part, thankfully, was easy. He drew a wheelbarrow down out of the barn and poured the dry concrete inside, then mixed it with some water. At that point, it became easy enough to pour into the mold that he had created.

As soon as it hardened, he would have a concrete wall around the whole of the garden. That said, he still wasn't done.

No, he wasn't going to take any chances.

As soon as that was done, he opened his inventory once more and pulled out some old sheets of chicken wire. He had used the stuff once, eons ago, to build a small chicken coop. Now, he stretched the wire over the top of the garden, sealing it off entirely from the world above.

He made extra sure to dunk the edges of the chicken wire into the concrete, so that when it set in place, it would be impossible to peel up. That done, he opened up his inventory once more, took out a sheet of mosquito netting, and stretched that over the whole thing. Light was still coming through to the plants below, at least enough to be considered partial shade, and Jason nodded.

"Have you done enough yet?" Tess laughed, walking up to him with the twins toddling along behind.

"Not as much as I'd like, no," Jason murmured. "Frankly, I'd like to set up several cannons pointed at the thing, rigged to tripwires that would go off the moment anything inside the garden moved, but that might be a little extreme."

Tess laughed, but Jason didn't. The monstertraps were nothing to mess around with. Once, they had nearly ruined his farm. Another time, some had escaped and had turned into trees, which had wreaked havoc across the countryside. They were extremely dangerous... But if that was the price of saving his friend, he wasn't going to hesitate to pay it.

He only hoped that, in the end, it would be worth it.

Need Of A Break

[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: 30th day of Spring! Howdy, y'all! Y'all. Y'all. Y'all. Another funny word, when you really think about it. Anyhow, it's going to be warm today. Not as warm as summer, but a heap drier than spring ought to be. Hope you all have a great day!]

Jason slowly rolled out of bed, then rose and walked up to the window. As he looked out across the landscape, his eyes fell upon the monster trap garden, where he was just starting to see hints of green through the mesh. His hands tightened into fists, and Tess walked up behind him.

"Wishing you had your gun with you?"

"More so, wishing that I had slapped a piece of plexiglass over the top of it," Jason shrugged. "Maybe I'll do that today."

"Plants do need fresh air to grow," Tess pointed out.

"Oh, and which of us is the farmer now?" Jason snorted, though he laughed as he did so. Tess simply shrugged, and Jason slowly let his gaze wander up from the monster traps to the field.

The sugar beets were doing well and were finally ready for picking. They were a bit more wilted than he might have liked, and he didn't imagine that they were going to yield all that well, but he was hopeful he'd be able to turn a profit. Quickly, he dressed for the day, then made his way downstairs.

Rachel already had breakfast on the table, and she smiled as Jason and Tess sat down.

"You're going to spoil me," Jason chuckled as she placed a platter of pancakes in front of him. "It's like having a servant around the house. They must have trained you well at that mages' school."

"Well, they did, but also I learned a lot up in Illumitir," Rachel shrugged. "Being that far away from everyone, there's not much to do other than take care of the house."

"Dungeon-delving," Tess pointed out.

"Mom, I tried to do that, and you said I was too young," Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Fair, fair," Tess chuckled and held up her hands defensively. "I'm just saying, it wasn't that bad."

Rachel nodded, then glanced over at Jason. "Dad, can I come work with you today?"

Jason paused in thought. Rachel was... Nine years old, if he was counting correctly. Maybe ten. It was a little difficult to keep track of, if he was being honest. "Can you run the digger? That's a big machine for you to tackle."

"Yeah! I've ridden along with you other times, and I'm bored," Rachel shrugged. "Not that I don't like helping mom around the house, but I'd like to go give it a try."

"Well, I don't see why not," Jason shrugged and finished up his pancakes. "Do you mind me asking why you haven't asked before?"

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know. It just always seemed like Fern's thing. She was the one who was out there helping, but I was always too little, even when I was the same age as Fern when she started helping."

"I'm sorry," Jason sighed and climbed to his feet, then held out his hands. Rachel gave him a hug, and he sighed. "Please don't believe that I've ever loved her more than you for even a single moment."

"Except for the moments when I wasn't around yet," Rachel commented. She had a smile on her face, and she gave him another hug. "I know, I know. You don't have to prove it to me, I just never wanted to step on her toes, and she loved it so much. Now, she's not here, and... I don't know. I'd like to give it a try."

"Then come on down, and let's get started!"

Tess waved them off, and Jason and his daughter walked out into the farmyard. Jason went up to the barn and brought down Lady and Angus, and quickly hitched them up to his two diggers. Rachel was busily looking them over, marveling at the controls, and Jason climbed up onto one of them.

"Alright, come on up." Rachel jumped up, and Jason nodded at the controls. "How much do you already know?"

"I think I know most of it," Rachel frowned. "This one starts it digging... And this is the emergency stop?"

"Yes," Jason nodded. "Never pull it unless you have to, since it can jar the horses, but there are times when it's necessary. Otherwise, it's pretty simple. This little gauge over here tells you if things are overheating, and this one here can tell you if rocks are getting dumped into the farm's inventory along with the beets."

"Got it," Rachel nodded. "I'll send up a flare if I run into trouble!"

"Hopefully that's not necessary!" Jason laughed as he climbed down, then hopped up onto his own machine. "Let's get going!"

Jason slowly rolled out of bed, then rose and walked up to the window. As he looked out across the landscape, his eyes fell upon the monstertrap garden, where he was just starting to see hints of green through the mesh. His hands tightened into fists, and Tess walked up behind him.

"Wishing you had your gun with you?"

"More so, wishing that I had slapped a piece of plexiglass over the top of it," Jason shrugged. "Maybe I'll do that today."

"Plants do need fresh air to grow," Tess pointed out.

"Oh, and which of us is the farmer now?" Jason snorted, though he laughed as he did so. Tess simply shrugged, and Jason slowly let his gaze wander up from the monstertraps to the field.

The sugar beets were doing well, and were finally ready for picking. They were a bit more wilted than he might have liked, and he didn't imagine that they were going to yield all that well, but he was hopeful he'd be able to turn a profit. Quickly, he dressed for the day, then made his way downstairs.

Rachel already had breakfast on the table, and she smiled as Jason and Tess sat down.

"You're going to spoil me," Jason chuckled as she placed a platter of pancakes in front of him. "It's like having a servant around the house. They must have trained you well at that mages school."

"Well, they did, but also I learned a lot up in Illumitir," Rachel shrugged. "Being that far away from everyone, there's not much to do other than take care of the house."

"Dungeon-delving," Tess pointed out.

"Mom, I tried to do that, and you said I was too young," Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Fair, fair," Tess chuckled and held up her hands defensively. "I'm just saying, it wasn't that bad."

Rachel nodded, then glanced over at Jason. "Dad, can I come work with you today?"

Jason paused in thought. Rachel was... Nine years old, if he was counting correctly. Maybe ten. It was a little difficult to keep track of, if he was being honest. "Can you run the digger? That's a big machine for you to tackle."

"Yeah! I've ridden along with you other times, and I'm bored," Rachel shrugged. "Not that I don't like helping mom around the house, but I'd like to go give it a try."

"Well, I don't see why not," Jason shrugged and finished up his pancakes. "Do you mind me asking why you haven't asked before?"

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know. It just always seemed like Fern's thing. She was the one who was out there helping, but I was always too little, even when I was the same age as Fern when she started helping."

"I'm sorry," Jason sighed and climbed to his feet, then held out his hands. Rachel gave him a hug, and he sighed. "Please don't believe that I've ever loved her more than you for even a single moment."

"Except for the moments when I wasn't around yet," Rachel commented. She had a smile on her face, and she gave him another hug. "I know, I know. You don't have to prove it to me, I just never wanted to step on her toes, and she loved it so much. Now, she's not here, and... I don't know. I'd like to give it a try."

"Then come on down, and let's get started!"

Tess waved them off, and Jason and his daughter walked out into the farmyard. Jason went up to the barn and brought down Lady and Angus, and quickly hitched them up to his two diggers. Rachel was busily looking them over, marveling at the controls, and Jason climbed up onto one of them.

"Alright, come on up." Rachel jumped up, and Jason nodded at the controls. "How much do you already know?"

"I think I know most of it," Rachel frowned. "This one starts it digging... And this is the emergency stop?"

"Yes," Jason nodded. "Never pull it unless you have to, since it can jar the horses, but there are times when it's necessary. Otherwise, it's pretty simple. This little gauge over here tells you if things are overheating, and this one here can tell you if rocks are getting dumped into the farm's inventory along with the beets."

"Got it," Rachel nodded. "I'll send up a flare if I run into trouble!"

"Hopefully that's not necessary!" Jason laughed as he climbed down, then hopped up onto his own machine. "Let's get off!"

With that, he snapped the reins and led the way over to the field. Rachel followed along behind, nervousness written upon her face. She winced every time the digger hit a bump, but kept her head about her.

Soon, they reached the gate, and Jason paused to climb down. Rachel, though, simply pointed her staff, and the gates swung right open.

"Thanks!" Jason called back as he lumbered into the field. Quickly, he yanked the lever, and the machine dropped down into the dirt.

Diggers were among the stranger things that he used on the farm. Whirring scoops actually dug down into the ground, tore the beets from the dirt, and tossed them up into a complicated system that knocked the rocks and dirt from the vegetables. Once they'd been cleaned, they were dumped into the farm's inventory.

Jason kept his eyes on the field as they rumbled down the length of the Homestead Eighty. The machine rattled back and forth, bucking here and there with the movement of the soil. Angus's muscles strained as he pulled the machine through the dry dirt, but the horse was a strong one, and kept moving along well.

Jason glanced over at Rachel and confirmed that Lady was holding up well.

Rachel seemed to have done a good job watching and kept the horse moving at a good clip, though not too fast to wear her out. Soon, they both reached the end of the field and turned around to come back.

The sun moved through the sky a bit faster than usual, and by the time that lunch came around, the two of them had only harvested about three-quarters of the field. Tess walked out with a large picnic basket, and Rachel pointed her staff at Jason. They were still separated by a good hundred feet, but her voice rang out in his ears clear as a bell.

"Should we keep going? We can have this done in another hour, maybe an hour and a half. I'm not that hungry, we can break afterward!"

"That might be true, but the horses need a break," Jason answered back. "Let's go ahead and let them loose, and we'll take our lunch."

Rachel nodded, and they both broke away from the field. A few minutes later, the whole family was relaxing on a picnic blanket in the warm sun of spring. The twins ran in circles around them, and Jason sighed in contentment.

"Now this is the life," He flopped onto his back. "Who needs hired people when you have kids?"

Rachel beamed. "I'm doing that good of a job?"

"Makes me wish I had started having kids several years earlier," Jason commented.

"If you'll remember right, I tried to get married to you like... As soon as we met," Tess commented. "Not my fault that you turned me down."

"Fair," Jason chuckled. "Fair."

"So how did you guys meet?" Rachel leaned forward eagerly. "I've heard some of the story, but I don't know that I've ever heard it start to finish."

"Oh, that's a long story," Jason chuckled.

"We met when he barged into my Guild Hall uninvited," Tess commented.

"I was invited. Hank told me it was alright," Jason pointed out. "How was I to know that Hank had about as much authority as a jackrabbit?"

"You're giving him too much credit," Tess commented wryly.

"Hey! I like Hank!" Rachel commented.

"You never knew him as Constable. He was terrible," Tess shook her head, then sighed. "But yeah, your father barged in on me, began demanding unreasonable assistance from the guild, started dating everyone in town, turned me down when I offered him a shot, and then almost got killed by my ex-boyfriend."

"Now that sounds like a good story!" Rachel beamed.

"And it only got better as time went on," Jason smiled, then sat back up. "I'll admit, the stakes got somewhat lower, but I wouldn't trade this life for anything."

"Speaking of that, how are the beets doing?" Tess asked.

"They seem to be yielding well enough. At least at a glance, they're at about 60% of what they ought to be," Jason opened up his inventory and scrolled down to the slot that held 10,625 sugar beets. "About the same number grew as usual, but they're sold by weight, not by number, which makes things interesting. Shall we take a look at one?"

"Do it!" Rachel grinned.

Jason smiled and tapped the inventory slot. With a brilliant flash, one of the beets fell out into his hand... And Jason's jaw dropped.

It was a bit smaller than he remembered. That, though, wasn't the issue. No, the issue was the fact that it was black instead of purple, and seemed to be rather shriveled. Jason frowned, then pulled a knife out of his inventory and carefully cut off a thin strip.

It felt like leather in his hands, or maybe like jerky, and he lifted it to his mouth and popped it in. To its credit, it did have a bit of a sweet flavor, but it was less of a lush, sugary flavor and more of a dank, molasses flavor. Jason grimaced and slowly spat out the strip and shook his head.

"You'd think we'd planted brown sugar beets instead of normal sugar beets," He shook his head. "The fact that I know they're not, means that they're..."

"Bad?" Tess winced. "Will we be able to sell them at all?"

Jason sighed and turned back to the field. Overhead, the windmill squeaked as the wind blew it slowly, and he sighed.

"I wish I could give you a good answer," He shook his head, then slowly stood up. He had known they would be small, but he had assumed that they

would still be edible. All the wind had gone out of his sails, and he sighed deeply. "I truly wish I could.

Habits

[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: 50th day of Spring! More dry weather! More more more. On the bright side, we've got a huge wind storm coming through today! On the less bright side, it'll probably cause a ton of damage, but it will be something interesting!]

"Your brother has a strange sense of the word 'interesting,'" Jason rolled out of bed. His feet hit the floor, and he slowly climbed to his feet.

"You say that all the time," Tess shook her head as she stood up as well. "He does the best he can."

Jason chuckled and slowly walked up to the window. A few students from the academy wandered about, but his eyes came to rest upon Master Fiacre, who strode with purpose across the area, angling toward Jason's front door.

"Now what's he want?" Jason murmured. "Somehow, I don't think that's a good thing."

"Hmm?" Tess frowned and started getting dressed. "Do you think something's wrong?"

"Maybe," Jason turned around and walked over to the wardrobe. He hadn't finished getting dressed before a distant knock echoed on the door below, and he trotted out into the hall. "Coming! Coming!"

He jogged down the stairs as quickly as he could and soon stumbled up to the front door. There, as he pulled the door open, he found the aged master leaning upon his staff, a grave look upon his face.

"Something the matter?" Jason asked.

"That depends on exactly how you consider it," Master Fiacre sighed. "The orcish army just turned from their direct course and sacked a small community. Several people were killed."

Jason sighed. "And it's my fault for trying to save-"

"No. The fault can be placed on many people," Master Fiacre put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "The simple fact is that the community was deemed safe, due to the projected travel of the orcs. We're still not exactly sure why they changed direction, but I've been told that the mages are assembling, and will be powering up the device within the next hour. If we want to save Milligan, we need to work now."

"Alright," Jason puffed out his cheeks, then nodded. "Let's get to it."

He quickly pulled on his boots and jogged out the door and across the lawn. As he came up to the reinforced monstertrap cage, a loud hiss echoed from within, and several of the plants began to thrash about in an attempt to escape. Jason winced as one of them began to beat against the mesh with its leaves, and Master Fiacre grimaced.

"I had heard that these plants were vile. I hadn't quite realized the full extent."

"Yeah, they're nasty," Jason scowled down at the things. "And these are worse than ordinary ones. They're all covered in spines and..." He shrugged. "Anyway, there's one flower I've seen on them. It's over in this corner, it just appeared yesterday."

Jason walked to the corner and looked down. One of the largest monstertraps crouched there, snarling softly, guarding a small flower blooming near its stem.

"How do we get it?" Master Fiacre mused.

"You're the mage. I was sorta hoping you might have a good idea there," Jason chuckled. He crossed his arms in thought, then shrugged. "Is there anything you can do to put these things to sleep?"

"I can likely do that," Master Fiacre nodded slowly. He raised his staff and began to wave it slowly over the garden plot. A warm, reddish light blazed down, and slowly, the monstertraps began to slow down. A few of them flopped over onto their sides, while the others simply seemed to wilt.

"And there we go," Master Fiacre nodded. "I don't think it'll last long."

"Then let's get them," Jason moved forward, then realized there was no real good way to get inside. "Any chance you could cut this top open?"

A few moments later, Master Fiacre had managed to cut through the chicken wire, and Jason reached through to pluck the flower. He pricked his finger on one of the spines, which hurt, but he retrieved it well enough. Slowly, carefully, he lifted it out, and Master Fiacre healed the chicken wire over with a single glance.

"Alright. Let's get this inside and brew some tea."

Jason turned and scampered up to the house, where he quickly slipped into the kitchen. Master Fiacre followed, and Jason put a pot of water on the stove.

"Do you think that'll be enough?" Tess asked, walking into the room.

"There's only one way to find out," Jason murmured.

"I'm afraid it won't be, but it might at least ease some of the symptoms," Master Fiacre leaned upon his staff. "The problem is that we're out of time."

"Master?" Rachel walked into the room. "We could try making it more potent."

"And how, pray tell, would we do that?" Master Fiacre smiled down at his former student.

"If we use an enlarging spell combined with an infusing spell, it might just work."

Master Fiacre shrugged. "It just might. It's worth a try, in any case." He slowly raised his staff. "Which would you like to do?"

"I'll do the enlarging one!"

The two of them closed their eyes, and the ends of their staves lit up. A warm glow fell across the flower in Jason's hand, and he tossed it into the boiling pot. Several flashes of magic echoed within the teapot, and the two mages lowered their staves once more. They looked down at the pot, gazing with uncertainty into its depths. It had turned rather black and smelled a bit like licorice. Jason grimaced as a bit of it wafted into his nose, and he grimaced.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing more to do except to take it back," Master Fiacre gingerly picked up the teapot and placed it in his inventory. "I'll let you know as soon as we have results. If I'm being honest, even if this does work, I don't have the faintest idea how long it'll take to activate."

"Just take care of him," Jason nodded. "He's as good as family."

"That much, I'm certain of," Master Fiacre nodded, and they all slowly walked out onto the porch. "Well, I'll be off. I want to move quickly before-"

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

A loud buzzing noise echoed through the air, and Jason spun to face the Mage's Academy. A bolt of lightning shot up into the sky, becoming more

and more brilliant by the second. The branches of lightning spread out as it reached a peak near the wispy clouds, fanning out to cover an immense portion of the sky. No small amount of lightning flashed back and forth over Jason's farm, and he began to consider running for cover.

"And that's the machine," Master Fiacre nodded. "Though you can't see it, the entire continent is being blasted with anti-orc radiation. Not a single orcish creature will be able to resist it."

"How does it work?" Tess asked as Jason walked toward the garden bed.

"It's rather complicated. You see, orcs have a special protein in their bodies; it's the same one that makes their skin the classic greenish-grey color," Master Fiacre began to explain, but Jason paid it little attention. He arrived at the garden an instant later, happy to see the monstertraps die.

Except... They didn't.

At that exact moment, they were in the process of waking up from Master Fiacre's calming spell. Their leaves began to twitch, their seed pods quivered, and they drew themselves up just as if nothing had happened. As they registered Jason's presence, they began to snap at him angrily, and several beat against their enclosure. None of them died, and none of them even began to look all that sick.

Overhead, the lightning flickered and died away, and Master Fiacre sighed in contentment.

"And there you have it! The death of an entire race."

"Isn't that a bit... cruel?" Rachel asked.

"Of course not! They were born from pure evil, designed to do nothing but be evil. Besides, they are spawned, not born, which classifies them as

creatures, not people," Master Fiacre shook his head. "In any case, what's done is done. Lives have been saved, and that's the important part. I shall take this back to Milligan, and, hopefully, will find that even more lives have been mercifully delivered."

"Master Fiacre?" Jason slowly turned around. "Shouldn't these have suffered, too?"

Master Fiacre frowned, then slowly walked over to Jason. He gazed down at the plants for a long moment, then let out a long sigh.

"Yes. Yes, indeed, they should have."

"What does that mean, then, that they haven't been touched?" Tess could only whisper.

"I don't know. I could see a handful of options. Perhaps these plants aren't actually orcish monstertraps. Perhaps... I do not know," Master Fiacre shrugged. "Let me head back to the academy, and I'll see what we can determine. This... This is concerning, in any case."

A few moments later, Master Fiacre was hurrying across the prairie, and Jason looked after him with no little concern.

"Are we going to be okay?" Tess whispered softly.

"Yes. Yes, we certainly are," Jason nodded, then slowly folded his arms. "Let me think, here."

"There are orcs coming," Tess murmured. "There are orcs coming, and we suddenly don't have a weapon against them."

"I thought I was usually the one concerned about things like that," Jason commented with a wry smile.

"Jason, we have three children at home, and the other one living at the institution that the orcs are planning on leveling to the ground," Tess hissed. "This isn't good."

"No, it's not," Jason was ready to say something else, but before he could, Master Fiacre came hurrying back.

"I just received a message from across the prairie. High Master Benedict contacted me," Master Fiacre was out of breath. "It looks like it was sabotage. Mistress Elintra stole a gemstone when she was kicked out."

"Do you know where she went?" Jason asked.

"No," Master Fiacre shook his head. "But... We can find out."

Jason drew in a deep breath, and he slowly looked around at the farm. Things were bad and getting worse, and in so many ways, he wanted to leave the mages to their business. That said, if there were orcs coming, it was up to him to make sure that they were driven back. It meant that he had another visit he needed to make, and it was likely to be just as unpleasant as the first.

"Once you know where she is..." Jason drew up his shoulders. "You let me be the first to know.

Torches

[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: 70th day of Spring! Alright, y'all, I have a new update for you! That's right! I'm not just going to tell you that the weather is dry! I mean, it is, so don't get your hopes up, but there are also reports of orcs in the area. From what I've been told, they're probably advance scouts for a

massive orcish army on its way here, so... Make sure you're buckled up and ready for that!]

Jason didn't say anything as he rolled out of bed and slowly walked up to the window. As he gazed out across the prairie, at the rippling brown grasses and his slowly-turning windmill, he felt a pang of sorrow.

"What are you thinking about?" Tess asked quietly, walking up behind him.

"Ahh, a lot of things," Jason turned away, not wanting to mention his thoughts. The Farmstead Eighty, which they had planted with Spring Wheat, looked almost dead. The well was producing less and less water as the drought continued to worsen, which left the field in a sorry state. He should have planted a drought-resistant variety, but after the previous debacle, had shied away from it at the last moment. In any case, it was dry, and nothing was growing.

"Jason, we'll-"

Flash!

Down below, Master Fiacre appeared with a blur, striding across the ground with purpose. Jason frowned, then backed away from the window and walked over to the wardrobe.

"Hold that thought," Jason muttered. "He looks like business."

Once more, the knocking began on the door long before Jason could get there. Rachel, who was in the living room with the twins, answered it as Jason stepped down into the kitchen.

"Master Fiacre! What a pleasant surprise."

"I'm afraid you won't think it's pleasant once you hear my news," Master Fiacre looked grim. "Jason, is your wife here?"

Jason shrugged. "Upstairs. Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure that she wasn't afield. We sent out scouts yesterday and have confirmed that the main body of the orcish army is only a day's travel from us. They've stopped for the time being, but they're massing their forces, preparing for an attack."

Jason frowned. "What are they waiting for?"

"For starters, they don't know the capabilities of our academy," Master Fiacre flashed a grim smile. "We're working on getting more battle mages from Illumitir and Portswain to come to our aid, but the response has been sluggish. I'm afraid that they would likely be successful if they came straightaway, though I'm thankful that they've decided to wait. High Master Benedict has been firing bolts of energy at them from the Spire to give an illusion of more power than we possess, but I don't know how long he'll have the strength to do it."

"Then what do we do?" Jason asked. "You still haven't found Mistress Elintra or the gemstones."

"And that's where you're wrong, and our second stroke of luck appears," Master Fiacre smiled. "She was just detected. She was apparently cloaking herself, hiding in a cave down south of here. When she detected the army was close, she emerged. We were able to place a binding spell upon her from a distance, which should have hindered her movements slightly. In any case, we know she's still there, though we don't know the precise nature of her existence."

"What do you need from me?" Jason asked quickly.

"An army," Master Fiacre answered. "I've heard that Summer Shandy can get rather aggressive when they need. If the orcish shamans sense mages leaving the academy, it'll be a war, one that we're not ready to fight. If, on the other hand..."

A small smile crept across Jason's face. "I know some people I can contact."

"It would be dearly helpful, and we would be forever in your debt," Master Fiacre started to turn away, then paused. "By the way, I assume you know, but the tea didn't work. It started to, but then faded. Too diluted."

"I haven't seen any more flowers on the plants," Jason sighed. "I'll keep an eye out, though."

"You'd better pray that they show up soon. We have days, maybe, before we fire that thing up again," Master Fiacre nodded. "Alright. Posse. Meet in one hour, here?"

"Might need to be two," Jason turned back into the house. "But... Yes. We'll be here soon."

Master Fiacre hurried off, and true to his word, came back an hour later. By the time he arrived, Jason had assembled a small force, all of them armed to the teeth. Daniel and Obadiah sat tall on their horses, weapons at the ready. Richard was there as well, clad in his old armor. They were truly quite the sight, though Jason did wish that Hank or Jeremiah could have been there.

"Looking good," Master Fiacre nodded. "I hope it's enough to catch her. I'm afraid it won't be, but there's only one way to find out."

Jason smiled and turned to Tess, who was just walking out of the house. "With my wife, you'll be sure to..." He frowned as he noticed that Tess wasn't in her armor. "Tess?"

Tess drew in a deep breath, then slowly shook her head. "I'm not going."

"You're not?" Jason blinked in surprise. "Why? One of us ought to go, and I'm no good in a fight." He laughed as he remembered the last time he had been in a fight with an orc. "I once fired a blunderbuss right into the face of an elderly orc, and it didn't do anything but clean his pores out."

Tess flashed a small smile, and Rachel stepped up next to her. Slowly, Rachel extended her staff, and the end of it began to glow.

[Added Class: Warrior] Stats:

Strength: 5 (3) Dexterity: 22 (2) Charisma: 36 (-) Magic: 1 (1)

Skills:

Ranged Weapons: 5

Explosive Weapons: 5

"I don't... I don't understand," Jason frowned.

Tess shrugged. "I know how frustrated you've been with the farm, and Rachel told me that with her magic, she has the ability to add classes. We

thought it might be a good way for you to blow off some steam. For what it's worth, it'll make your blunderbuss, and your pistol, a lot more powerful."

Jason let out a whistle and slowly drew his pistol out of his inventory.

"Don't spend too much time admiring it!" Richard called down. "Come on! We've got a mage to catch!"

Daniel whooped and tore off down the road, and Master Fiacre tapped his staff against the dirt. A horse appeared with a flash, and Jason turned to Angus, who had been brought out for Tess. A smile came across his face, and slowly, he climbed up into the saddle. The moment he was in place, they shot off down the road, racing onward toward their destiny.

Toward their battle.

Master Fiacre took the lead, and they flashed down past the Lazy-H, down into the trees, and up across the rocky prairie beyond. Suddenly, Master Fiacre veered off to the east, angling toward a small pile of stones that rose up from the swirling prairie grasses. Jason kept his hand on his pistol and watched closely as they came charging up to a small cave that could barely be seen. It was tucked into the base of the stones and was little more than a gap between the largest of them.

And, at that moment, it was filled with spectral chains.

Mistress Elintra stood at the middle of a great web of chains, a fierce anger upon her face. She spat at them, and Jason chuckled.

"You weren't kidding when you said that you hit her with a binding spell."

"Crossing the mages guild, even in small matters, is usually an ill-advised activity," Master Fiacre swung down from his horse, even as fire began to

crackle around Mistress Elintra's head. "Professor Elintra, you are hereby-"

"Rrrrrrrrargh!"

Two mighty orcs emerged over the top of the stones, brandishing massive clubs and thumping their chests. Small health bars appeared over their heads, and Jason whistled.

"It's weird the first time you see it, isn't it?" Daniel called out. "Give it a whirl!"

Jason pointed the pistol at the orc on his left and squeezed the trigger. Blam!

The shot rang out, pure and clear, and hit the orc squarely in the head. The monster staggered and fell backward, and Daniel cheered.

"There you go, little warrior!"

"Somehow, I feel like you're patronizing me," Jason scowled.

"No, that was really good!" Daniel bent down and picked a piece of gravel out of his boots, then threw it at the second orc. A loud crack echoed through the air, and it fell dead, too. "You're going to learn a lot!"

"Hey, guys?" Master Fiacre slowly turned. "I think I sense some real orcs coming, now."

Jason scowled at the unintended insult, then spun around as more orcs came charging across the prairie. Jason quickly tucked his pistol away and drew his blunderbuss, which he fired right into their midst. The bullet hit one of them in the leg, and it fell, but the rest kept coming.

And, with a mighty yell, Richard, Daniel, and Obadiah threw themselves into battle.

Swords flashed brilliantly, and the mighty roar of combat echoed across the prairie. Meanwhile, Master Fiacre approached Mistress Elintra. Jason glanced back and forth, then swung down and approached the professor as well. He kept a tight hand on his blunderbuss and pointed it squarely at her.

"You're in a world of trouble," Master Fiacre hissed quietly. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that the mages have gone soft," Mistress Elintra snarled back. "You're more interested in sitting around and meditating than you are in actual combat. You're more interested in family and good feelings than you are in making us as powerful as we can possibly become. You're making us weak; you're going to lead to our destruction."

"And you're sounding extreme," Master Fiacre twitched his staff, and the chains tightened. "What would stealing the gemstone do?"

"I was going to kill all these orcs as they came to get it," Mistress Elintra snapped. "I was going to show you what a real mage can do."

"Is that so?" Master Fiacre sighed. "Well, that changes everything."

"It does?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. It changes her from simply being angry to being insane," Master Fiacre raised his staff, and a portal opened underneath the professor. She screamed, and the chains relaxed, dropping her inside. A moment later, the portal closed, and Master Fiacre sighed.

"Well, I know you didn't do much, but thank you, Jason."

"You're more than welcome," Jason muttered as he turned back around. Orcish bodies lay scattered across the prairie, while Daniel, Richard, and Obadiah cleaned up the last of the monsters. "Well, that's done."

"Indeed," Master Fiacre smiled. "The mages will extract the gemstone from Mistress Elintra, and we'll get this business taken care of."

Off in the distance, an orcish horn sounded, and the steady beat of drums began to echo. Jason felt his blood run cold, and Master Fiacre corrected himself.

"At least... I hope so.

These Fields

[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: 75th day of Spring! Okay, y'all, I know you just want to know what's happening with the orcs, so I'll tell you! I don't know. They're still down to the south-west, and they're not moving, so... Your guess is as

good as mine! Well, maybe slightly less good than mine. I dunno. I'm going to be out there, fighting for your right to keep breathing, so there's that!]

Jason rolled his eyes as he slowly climbed out of bed. As he walked up to the window and looked out, he could see riders darting back and forth across the prairie. Daniel had asked for reinforcements to come, and his call was being answered. For starters, he had made quite a few friends over the years he had been a warrior, and beyond that, a lot of warriors had been eager to go toe-to-toe with the orcs for some time now. Since this was rapidly shaping up into the battle against the orcish army, a whole lot of people were jumping to get in on the score.

"On the bright side, the flowers from the Monstertraps, from what I've heard, have been helping Milligan," Jason commented as he slowly started to get dressed. "On a second bright side, the house might actually survive this one. I can't speak for the Far Eighty, but the house itself should be out of the line of fire."

"And if the mages could ever get their orc-killer online, it would help, too," Tess muttered. Jason, frankly, couldn't disagree with that. Ever since they had captured Mistress Elintra and retrieved the gemstone, there had been difficulties, apparently, with making the thing work. Jason didn't really understand it, but he knew that he didn't need to. His job was to farm, and he was going to do that to the best of his abilities.

He only hoped that the mages would be able to do their job. In the meantime, he needed to harvest the spring wheat, sorry as it was, before it spoiled.

As he marched down the stairs, he heard something rattle on the front porch.

"Someone there?" he called out. He glanced out into the living room, half- expecting to see Rachel, but she wasn't there. As the threat had grown, Tess had sent Rachel, along with the twins, to live in the academy. It was well-

fortified, and even if they couldn't get the orc-killer online, it was unlikely to be breached.

In answer to his call, a sharp knock rang out. Jason frowned, then slowly walked up and opened it. Alfie stood on the other side, looking down at the ground, and sighed.

"The mages... Ah... Wanted me to let you know that the orcs are marching on the academy now. They think they'll be here inside of two hours."

Jason frowned. "Why are you telling this to me? And why are you here? Why not the other mages?"

"I could spin something about the other mages being busy," Alfie sighed. "I could also spin something about telling you some secret, but... The simple fact of the matter is that I wanted to come out here."

"Really," Jason crossed his arms. "You were going to come out, and then you didn't, and then Master Fiacre tried to make it sound like there was something going on with that orcish monstertrap that was keeping you busy, but..." He sighed. "Look, I'm confused, and I'd love it if you could sort some things out for me."

"I know," Alfie looked down at the ground, then back up at Jason. "I was afraid. I've been coming up with excuses ever since I got here. I gave you the Hunter Family insignia as a way to delay things. I told Master Fiacre to come up with an excuse for why I had bailed, and he did a very poor job. I..." Alfie sighed deeply.

"What are you so afraid of?" Jason held up his hands. "I'm just confused. I really am."

"It's hard to explain," Alfie bit his lip. "I just... I know how much pain I've caused you over the years, and I've never even met you before this year.

I've been embarrassed, and I've been reluctant to approach you, and I've hardly even dared watch you from afar. The simple fact of the matter is that you have a lovely family, you've put together a marvelous farm out of the scraps I left for you, and I want you to know that."

"Right," Jason frowned. "And you're telling me this now, because..."

"Because I think we're going to die, and I just wanted to get it all off my chest."

"At least you're blunt," Jason shook his head. "Why do you think we're going to die?"

"Simple," Alfie gestured vaguely at the sky. "We can't get the skybeam to work. If we can't get the skybeam online, then we're not going to be able to drive off the orcs, and they're going to throw themselves at this academy with relentless force until they manage to smash through the walls and steal everything. And then, they'll kill us all."

"Hmm," Jason frowned. "It still won't work?"

"Nope," Alfie shook his head. "They've tried everything. They have a team working frantically around the clock, but the simple fact is that they don't know what's wrong. It should be working."

Jason rolled his eyes as he slowly climbed out of bed. As he walked up to the window and looked out, he could see riders darting back and forth across the prairie. Daniel had asked for reinforcements to come, and his call was being answered.

For starters, he had made quite a few friends over the years he had been a warrior, and beyond that, a lot of warriors had been eager to go toe-to-toe with the orcs for some time now. Since this was rapidly shaping up into the

battle against the orcish army, a whole lot of people were jumping to get in on the score.

"On the bright side, the flowers from the Monstertraps, from what I've heard, have been helping Milligan," Jason commented as he slowly started to get dressed. "On a second bright side, the house might actually survive this one. I can't speak for the Far Eighty, but the house itself should be out of the line of fire."

"And if the mages could ever get their orc-killer online, it would help, too," Tess muttered. Jason, frankly, couldn't disagree with that. Ever since they had captured Mistress Elintra and retrieved the gemstone, there had been difficulties, apparently, with making the thing work. Jason didn't really understand it, but he knew that he didn't need to. His job was to farm, and he was going to do that to the best of his abilities.

He only hoped that the mages would be able to do their job. In the meantime, he needed to harvest the spring wheat, sorry as it was, before it spoiled.

As he marched down the stairs, he heard something rattle on the front porch.

"Someone there?" He called out. He glanced out into the living room, half- expecting to see Rachel, but she wasn't there. As the threat had grown, Tess had sent Rachel, along with the twins, to live in the academy. It was well- fortified, and even if they couldn't get the orc-killer online, it was unlikely to be breached.

In answer to his call, a sharp knock rang out. Jason frowned, then slowly walked up and opened it. Alfie stood on the other side, looking down at the ground, and sighed.

"The mages... Ahh... Wanted me to let you know that the orcs are marching on the academy now. They think they'll be here inside of two hours."

Jason frowned. "Why are you telling this to me? And why are you here? Why not the other mages?"

"I could spin something about the other mages being busy," Alfie sighed. "I could also spin something about telling you some secret, but... The simple fact of the matter is that I wanted to come out here."

"Really." Jason crossed his arms. "You were going to come out, and then you didn't, and then Master Fiacre tried to make it sound like there was something going on with that orcish monstertrap that was keeping you busy, but..." He sighed. "Look, I'm confused, and I'd love it if you could sort some things out for me."

"I know," Alfie looked down at the ground, then back up at Jason. "I was afraid. I've been coming up with excuses ever since I got here. I gave you the Hunter Family insignia as a way to delay things. I told Master Fiacre to come up with an excuse for why I had bailed, and he did a very poor job. I..." Alfie sighed deeply.

"What are you so afraid of?" Jason held up his hands. "I'm just confused. I really am."

"It's hard to explain," Alfie bit his lip. "I just... I know how much pain I've caused you over the years, and I've never even met you before this year. I've been embarrassed, and I've been reluctant to approach you, and I've hardly even dared watch you from afar. The simple fact of the matter is that you have a lovely family, you've put together a marvelous farm out of the scraps I left for you, and I want you to know that."

"Right," Jason frowned. "And you're telling me this now, because..."

"Because I think we're going to die, and I just wanted to get it all off my chest."

"At least you're blunt," Jason shook his head. "Why do you think we're going to die?"

"Simple," Alfie gestured vaguely at the sky. "We can't get the skybeam to work. If we can't get the skybeam online, then we're not going to be able to drive off the orcs, and they're going to throw themselves at this academy with relentless force until they manage to smash through the walls and steal everything. And then, they'll kill us all."

"Hmm," Jason frowned. "It still won't work?"

"Nope," Alfie shook his head. "They've tried everything. They have a team working frantically around the clock, but the simple fact is that they don't know what's wrong. It should be working."

"Hmm." Jason slowly turned to glance at Tess. "And you were sent here to bring us back?"

"That about sums it up," Alfie nodded. "The mages want you behind their walls just as quickly as possible."

"Hmm." Jason thought for a moment. He opened up his inventory, spent a moment scrolling, and pulled out a toolbox.

"What are you doing?" Alfie frowned.

"I'm going to see if I can't make a contribution to the war effort."

Thirty minutes later, the three of them raced over the final hill, angling down toward the academy. Fires blazed deep within the long strip of trees,

and thunderous bolts flashed down from the spire, blasting large columns of smoke and ash up into the air. Jason grimaced, then urged Lady on faster. They raced down to the doors of the academy, and with a flicker, a magical force field sprang into place around them.

The doors sprang open as Jason swung down, and Master Dominic hobbled out. "Jason, Tess, Alfredus. It's good to see you all."

"Are things any better?" Alfie asked quickly.

"No, but we're hopeful," Master Dominic smiled. "We're working on a failsafe. If for some reason the orcs breach the facility, we'll teleport the device and the gemstones to Illumitir. That will give us a few months more to get it fixed up."

"Well..." Alfie glanced at Jason. "This farmer thinks he might just have an idea."

"An... Idea?" Master Dominic frowned. "Jason, you do understand what you're talking about, right?"

"Enough." Jason drew in a deep breath. "Come on. Why don't you lead the way?"

Master Dominic, seemingly quite desperate, turned and led the procession through the academy to the Echo Chamber. As they walked inside, Jason whistled.

The orc killer, such as it was, was a conglomeration of concentric rings, centered around a globe about the size of Jason's fist. A handful of mages stood around it, staves glowing, while they chanted in an ancient language. They paused as Master Dominic shuffled forward, and gestured at the device.

"Please, have a look. I don't know what you'll see that we don't, but feel free."

Jason frowned as he began to look the object over. "Can you fire it up real fast?"

Master Dominic shrugged, and gestured at the mages around him. One of them nodded and stepped forward, touching the globe with his staff. It began to glow with a warm light, and the rings around it began to spin rapidly. After a few moments, lightning pulsed from the globe to the closest ring, then out to the next ring, then out to the next. Finally, it reached the outermost ring, where it formed a sphere of whirling, crackling electricity. With that, the energy exploded upward, phasing through the ceiling as if it was nothing. Jason frowned as the blast died down after a few seconds.

"And what's the issue? The energy isn't the right type?"

"No, the effect technically works, but it isn't being projected beyond this very chamber," Master Dominic frowned. "For some reason, the rings seem to be moving slower than they should. We've been enchanting them with [Speed] magic, but it doesn't seem to be working out all that well."

"Good," Jason nodded. Master Dominic raised an eyebrow, and Jason walked up to the artifact. "Well, I know you guys work with old stuff. Now, if the problem was magical, it stands to reason that the most brilliant minds in the land, coupled with thousands of years of research, ought to be able to figure it out by now. On the other hand, if the problem was physical, but you thought it was magical, well... That's a whole different ballgame."

"Jason..." Master Dominic shambled up to him and lowered his voice. "This is an ancient device, pulled from the ruins of a castle that once oversaw an empire mightier than—"

"Look, if I break it, it's not like it's any less broken," Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Lay a finger upon it, and we could technically have you arrested on over a dozen charges," Master Dominic whispered. "I won't stop you, but—"

"If I succeed, no one will complain. If I break it, I'll be an easy target to vent frustrations upon?"

Master Dominic slowly inclined his head. "That about sums it up."

Jason let out a long breath, then turned to face the old device. "Then I suppose I'd better not fail.

The Good Fight

[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: 76th day of Spring! Okay, y'all! Umm... If I were you, I'd probably get out of town. Lotsa orcs. That about sums things up. On the bright side, we might see rain by the end of the day! On the less bright side, it's the red rain of blood that falls upon the battlefield when... What?

You're saying that's not appropriate? That's totally appropriate! Give me that! I-]orking."

Jason dismissed the prompt, then took another sip of coffee as he bent down over the base of the old artifact. His fingers hurt; he had been at the job for countless hours, but already he could hear the beat of drums through the walls of the academy.

The mages around the sides of the chamber watched him nervously, and Master Dominic slowly shuffled forward. Behind him, Tess wore her full armor, while Rachel stood just beside her, staff at the ready. Fern stood on the other side of the room, alongside the other students, staring at her father with equal parts fear and admiration.

"What's the status update?" Master Dominic croaked. His voice was hoarse. None of them had slept the previous night, and Jason sighed.

"Well, as you know, I found this access panel yesterday," Jason nodded down to the base of the device, where a large chunk of the object had been peeled away. Inside were a great many gears, rods, and other such items. "It looks to me like these things really control the speed of the wheels. They're all sorts of clogged up; I'm just cleaning them as best I can."

"No repairs that need to be done?" Master Dominic pressed.

"Ahh... There's a gear over here that's missing a few cogs. Oh, and this rod right here is cracked," Jason pointed to a few different places. "I'll fix those in just a minute."

"Better hurry," Master Dominic muttered. "The orcs are about to attack." BOOM!!!

The ground shuddered, and Master Dominic sighed.

"The orcs have just attacked."

"Yeah, I got that," Jason sighed, then reached inside. "Let me get this closed back up."

In the distance, shouts began to echo through the halls. "The orcs have breached! The orcs have breached!" "How'd they get past the warriors?"

"They're here! Ahhhh!"

"They're everywhere!"

Master Dominic rose and raised his staff. The doors to the Echo Chamber slammed shut, and he glanced down at Jason.

"You have five minutes."

Jason nodded and began to work as fast as his hands could go. He had taken a handful of gears out to get to the ones in the back and frantically slotted them back into place.

Tiny screws slipped through his fingers as he tried to wind things back together, and he carefully strung small springs back into their places. All around, the shouts grew louder, and everyone stood impossibly still.

"Almost..." Jason whispered. "This isn't going to be as good as I'd like, but I think it'll be enough."

"For all our sakes, I dearly hope so!" Master Dominic suddenly spun. One of the doors cracked as a mighty thing crashed into it from the far side. He pointed his staff, and light flared across it as he reinforced the wood.

Wham!

Another hit splintered the door, only for Master Dominic's magic to heal it back together. Two more hits in rapid succession cracked it inward, and with a cry of fury, Master Dominic healed the door one last time. For a brief moment, silence reigned. Heavy breathing was all that echoed through the chamber, and Jason carefully stuck one last gear into place.

BLAM!

The orc burst through in a flurry of splinters and blood. He roared loudly, standing a good eight feet tall, and drew a large sword. Master Dominic raised his staff, and the end glowed red. A loud crack echoed through the air, and the orc's head was spun clean around. It fell, but more orcs came right after.

The head mage spun his staff around, throwing a fireball through the chest of the next orc, but they came too fast, and quickly charged through the room.

In that moment, utter chaos broke out. Tess leapt into battle, swinging her sword like the warrior-maiden she was. Rachel came right alongside, her own staff flashing with brilliant lights.

Jason blinked in surprise as she hurled balls of radiance into the faces of the orcs, blinding them, which allowed Tess to cut them down. It was another brilliant display of tactics, and Jason whistled.

"On your left!" Fern rushed by, fire trailing from her staff. She threw a fire bolt through the heart of a charging orc, and then created a force field that

knocked it to the side as it died. The whole thing landed with a loud whump, and Jason shuddered. "Dad! Get that thing fixed!"

Jason blinked, then nodded and fitted a few more things back into place. Another orc, this one long and lean, bounded into the room on all fours. It jumped overhead, whacking Fern on the shoulder and sending her flying into the nearby wall. Jason gulped, but Master Dominic spun and fired a pulverizing blast that crushed the monster like a bug.

Of course, that left Master Dominic open, and he was taken down by another orc that used the opportunity to punch him in the gut.

"Work, Jason, work!" Jason frantically snapped the panel back shut. A smaller orc saw him and charged, and he grabbed his pistol from the ground next to him and shot it in the face. It fell to the ground and slid, then groaned and started trying to rise.

Jason gritted his teeth, wishing that he had a pistol that could fire more than one shot, and snatched up a large wrench. He whacked the orc over the head, and the monster fell cold.

"Alright!" He called out. "I think I've got it!"

That got the attention of every orc in the room, and they all turned to face him with hungry eyes. Several sprang down toward him, only for a blast of kinetic energy to fling them all back. Master Dominic, shaking badly, slowly rose up, leaning upon his staff for support.

He slowly stepped forward, raised his staff once more as the orcs started to rise, and brought it crashing down. Another blast of kinetic energy flattened them a second time, and he stretched out his staff for the globe. Before he could reach it, though, an arrow flashed out of the darkness of the hallway and hit him in the back. He stumbled and fell, and Jason screamed.

"No!" Fern shrieked. She suddenly bounded into view, fire in her eyes. An orcish archer stepped up but was hit in the face with one of Rachel's light orbs. It let off an arrow anyway, but it went wide, and Fern threw a fire bolt through its gut. It groaned and fell to the side, and she spun to face the ancient object.

"Can you do that?" Jason asked.

"I don't have a choice," Fern gritted her teeth. "Look around."

Jason did so and realized that all the other mages were, indeed, either dead or unconscious. More shadows moved in the hall, and Jason nodded.

"Do it."

Fern reached forward and tapped the globe with her staff. Almost instantly, it whirred to life, and she was flung back as bolts of lightning exploded from the object. Jason was knocked down as well, and, with that, it began to spin.

Now cleaned up from a thousand years of grime, the artifact was free to spin, and with the [Speed] enchantments... It really picked up. Within seconds, the thing spun into a deadly blur, pulsing with a greater intensity of lightning than Jason could ever have imagined. The orcs in the hall screamed and ran forward, only to be struck down by brilliant bolts of electricity. Jason sighed in relief, and with that, a skybeam opened up.

It was brilliant, and it was like nothing he had ever seen before. This time, it didn't phase through the roof but simply punched through with a resounding boom that shook the room and vaporized any and all debris. The energy streaked up into the sky and crackled all about, and Jason heard orcish screams coming from all sides.

"And there you have it," Jason smiled as he slowly started to stand up. "That's what a—"

The wind began to pick up around the room as the orb spun faster and faster. Jason suddenly realized that it was creating a vortex, and he gulped.

"Everyone out!" He screamed, waving at Tess and Rachel.

"I can't leave Master Benedict!" Fern shouted at him as he moved to run. "I'll be right along!"

"Fern!" Jason spun around. "You need to come with me right now!"

Fern planted her feet and stared down her father. "Dad! You've always taught me to stand up for what's right! Not necessarily for myself, but for the good! For others." She glanced down at the bleeding Master Dominic. "I can stop this. You have to let me."

The wind began to pick up even more, tugging at Jason. He knew that if he stumbled, it would suck him down into the spinning orb, and that wasn't going to be good. Quickly, he nodded, and with that, he turned to run.

Foom!

Fern fired a blast of fire into the heart of the machine as Jason scrambled into the hall. Tess held onto him, and Rachel raised her staff to create a force field over the doorway. The noise became more muffled, but Jason could see it well enough.

Foom! FOOM!

The final blast of fire was more intense than the others, and the artifact became white-hot. With that, it exploded, and Jason's vision went white.

The resounding shock wave hit him an instant later, and he was lifted off his feet and thrown down the long hallway like a toy, battered about left and right.

KA-BOOM!!!

The noise seemed to hit him a moment later, and he came to his senses as stone cracked and came tumbling down all around him. Tess raced past him, holding Rachel, eyes wide, and Jason jumped to his feet. The hallway was gone, along with a great many of the classrooms on either side, and he charged back toward the Echo Chamber. At least, he ran as fast as he could.

He stumbled, and his balance was off... But he made it well enough. As he staggered back through the broken archway that had once been a door, he found himself looking at a blackened floor... Along with Fern, Master Dominic, and several other mages lying scattered. Quickly, Jason ran to Fern's side and dropped down, feeling for her pulse.

There are few words that could describe Jason's joy as he found a steady beat, and he slowly relaxed and let himself fall backward upon the cobbles.

The academy had been destroyed, it seemed like, or at least had a good chunk blown up. That said, Fern was still alive, Master Dominic was still alive (he thought), and the orcs weren't.

That was reason enough to celebrate... Assuming that he could find the strength to stand up once more.

The End of Spring

[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: 91st day of Spring! It's the day of the Spring Festival!!! I know, I know, you're all excited, so come out and enjoy yourself! It's going to be great! Also, I have news on the drought, so make sure you come out to hear that, too!]

Jason sighed as he slowly woke up. It was the day of the Spring Festival. It was finally the end of spring. He rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet, shaking a little as pain from his burns flared up. He gritted his teeth, got control of himself, then slowly walked forward, making his way to the window.

Looking out across the prairie, he sighed deeply. It was still dry, and they were about to enter the hottest season of the year. His field had been harvested. Thankfully, the orcs hadn't torn the farm down again, which was nice. The barn still stood, bright and red as always, while the dead grass rustled in the soft wind. Jason spent a few long moments looking out at it, then slowly turned away.

"You alright?" Tess murmured as he walked over to the wardrobe and started dressing.

"Yeah," Jason answered back. He winced as he drew his tunic over himself. His right arm had been injured rather badly by the blast, and now, even being touched by light fabric was enough to make it flare up. "Just... Just thinking."

"About the drought news?"

"Yeah," Jason's voice was quiet. "It just makes me nervous."

Tess nodded, and Jason walked out into the hall. It was quiet, and with a pained feeling in his heart, he slowly made his way down the stairs and into the living room. That, too, was quiet, and he sat down in his chair. The girls had asked him if they could stay the night in Summer Shandy. Something about a sleepover with the other magic students, and Jason and Tess had agreed.

Paulina, meanwhile, had offered to take the twins, which had been an offer that the two parents simply couldn't refuse. Jason had subsequently spent a

celebratory night with Tess, toasting their defeat of the orcs (which they hadn't really had a chance to celebrate since the explosion). Now, though, it suddenly felt odd.

Knock-knock.

"Hey, little farmer, can I come in?"

"Yeah, Daniel. Door's open," Jason called out. A moment later, the door swung inward, and Daniel slowly walked inside. He was careful not to break anything, which Jason thought was rather considerate, and slowly put his hands behind his back.

"Something the matter?" Jason asked with a frown. "You're making me nervous! First the almanac entry about the news, and now you're here, and..." Daniel's mouth twitched, and Jason frowned. "What?"

"That's actually why I'm coming. Why I've come," Daniel stumbled. He looked around, as if trying to find Tess, and smiled as she walked down the stairs. "Hey, sis."

"Hey, bro. What's going on?" Tess slowly walked toward him. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Daniel sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look... Back in the old days, you know how hard it was when you had to tell the family of a warrior that the warrior had died?"

"Daniel, please don't tell me that something happened to dad," Tess froze.

"No. No! Sorry, bad example," Daniel rubbed his jaw. "I just... I..." He slowly opened up his inventory and pulled out a small piece of paper, which he passed over to Jason. "I thought you might want to see this before it goes public."

Jason frowned, then slowly unfolded the paper. The letterhead came from the Warriors Guild Headquarters in Illumitir, and looked quite grim.

"Dear Guildmasters, it is our unfortunate duty to report to you that the Drought currently affecting the southern portion of the Illumitir Province will be upgraded on the first day of Summer. At present, it is a Level 3 drought and will increase to a Level 4. Unless the source of the drought is found, it will continue to increase up to a maximum of Level 9, at a rate of one level per season. We appreciate your cooperation in tracking down the source of this plague. Thank you."

"What does that mean?" Jason could hardly breathe.

"With each progressive level, the ambient air saturation drops, the level of groundwater drops, rivers dry..." Daniel sighed. "I've been looking through the records as best I can. That's not great, since I can't read well, but that's what I can see. Level 10 is a certified desert, which means..."

"Which means we'll be a step below that," Jason murmured.

"Technically, Level 9 is considered Badlands," Daniel offered. "If we do hit that point... Let's just say that it becomes rather difficult to break the drought at that point, even if the source is located."

"Great," Jason rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think through the options. "Do you have any lead on the source?"

"No," Daniel shook his head. "Almost a year ago, all the Guildmasters in the affected areas, and some outside of it, were called upon to start looking for answers. So far, we've found nothing. We don't know if it's being caused by magic, by a creature, both, something else, we're absolutely flummoxed." He sighed. "I just thought you should know. I'd wager a bet that most people who haven't already left will do so once they get the news."

"I sure appreciate it," Jason sighed. "Thanks."

Daniel nodded, then turned and walked out of the house. Suddenly, all the joy seemed to have left, and Jason slumped back in his chair. Tess walked over and put her hand on his arm, and he sighed.

"I don't want to hear you say that you told me so." "I'm not going to say it," Tess shook her head. "But you're thinking it," Jason raised an eyebrow.

"No," Tess slowly knelt down and took his hand. "I'm not. If you decide that you want to stay, and you want to fight this through, I have every amount of confidence that we'll make it work."

"If we stay," Jason held up a finger. "So you think we ought to leave."

Tess didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, she spoke.

"If we do stay, and we see this through, I have little doubt that the Hunter stubbornness will see us along. We'll dig the well deeper and deeper. We'll find plants that can survive in worse and worse environments. We'll start... I don't even know," Tess chuckled, then sighed. "What I do know is that Summer Shandy isn't the place, it's the people, and when news of this breaks, the town is going to dry up. Maybe the rain starts falling again in a season. Maybe not. That's impossible to know." Tess bit her lip. "Jason, I love you, and I will stand by your side. The kids will stand by your side. If we're going to become Wasteland Farmers, then so be it. Just know that I love you, and I'm here for you."

Jason let out a long breath and slowly nodded.

"I see." He tapped the arms of his chair and stood up. "Let's eat some breakfast, and get on the road. I have a lot to think about, and..." He paused. "I don't think we're going to find the answers standing here."

Two hours later, Jason and Tess rumbled up to Summer Shandy in their wagon. A warm breeze blew across the land, biting at their skin. It was painfully dry, and Jason looked up at the merciless sun. A page boy came out to take the carriage around to the stable, and he and Tess climbed down.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Rachel came running out of the inn, with Fern along behind her. "Thanks for letting us stay the night! It was so much fun! We played staff-light tag in the dark, and we had challenges to see who could levitate a plate for the longest amount of time, and..." Rachel frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"That depends on your definition of the word." Jason turned to look at Fern, and at the burn mark that now covered the left half of her face. Fern smiled, then winced at the pain from the action. "I love you both, so much."

"Yeah, something's wrong," Fern elbowed Rachel. "He's talking about love."

"I tell you girls all the time that I love you!" Jason protested, then paused. "At least I would, if—"

"Dad, before you continue..." Fern stepped forward. "If it helps with anything, I just want to let you know that I'm leaving the academy."

Jason paused, then crossed his arms. "You are?"

"Yeah," Fern nodded and shrugged. "They're... With the explosion, they're moving the academy away from here. It served its purpose, but it's gone now, and that's the end of it. Master Dominic, who's actually quite well- recovered, asked me to come along."

"Where to?" Jason hardly dared to ask.

"The Eastern Isles. I'd probably never see you again," Fern shrugged. "I just... Two years ago, we had to part because of the orcs. Now, for the last year, I've been off at the academy. When Rachel left, I was so mad at her, but this last semester, I've been so jealous of her. I just want to be with you guys."

"Mama!"

"Dada!"

Jason looked to the side as Baby Tess and Baby Jason ran across the cobbles, followed closely by Paulina. Jason bent down and scooped the twins up, and Paulina smiled and waved. She looked like she was about to approach, then turned and walked away, leaving the family to themselves.

For that matter... They really were to themselves.

There were no decorations being set up for the festival. There was no music. Jason could hear something clattering from within the Guild Hall, but it was quieter than usual, and he slowly looked around at the town. Over half of the windows were shuttered, and wagons packed with items sat in front of half of the other buildings. The town was drying up, and that was the simple reality.

"Well..." Jason's voice shook. "I've missed you guys more than I could possibly tell you. For the last two years, it seems like we've just been in survival mode."

"And we have survived," Tess put a hand on his arm. "The town around us might have fallen apart, but we're here."

Jason nodded slowly, and a thin smile came to his face. "Like a suit of armor."

"Exactly," Tess smiled. "It took the blunt of the attack. The town took the dings, the scrapes, and the dents, and we're still here." Her own voice trembled, and she sighed deeply. "We're together again." She kissed both of her older daughters on the head. "You didn't hear it from me, but I'm so glad you're back, too. I'll give you away on the day of your wedding, and not a moment sooner, you understand?"

Both girls laughed, though for Fern, the action seemed painful. Jason slowly looked about the area, pain settling in his own heart, and he drew himself up.

"Well, then." His voice choked. "It would seem that my mind has been made up."

"Made up?" Fern frowned at him. "How so?"

"We're going to be leaving Summer Shandy."

The girls stared at him as if he'd just grown a second head. Jason quickly explained what Daniel had told him about the drought, and Rachel stamped her foot.

"That's not fair."

"If we stay, you won't have any friends, and we'll be scratching a living from the dust," Jason sighed and rubbed her head. "Don't worry. We'll make it alright."

"Leaving Summer Shandy," Fern murmured. "I feel like I just got back."

"Yeah, but this time, you're getting me along with you," Jason reached out and pulled her in for a hug. "This time, I'm going to be there, and we're all going to be together."

As he stepped back from her hug, a great weight seemed to lift from his heart, even as the inevitable truth, the one he had been dodging for the better part of a year, slowly settled in place.

"Summer Shandy isn't a place. It's a people. We won't be able to take everyone along with us, but that's life," Jason smiled as a tear rolled down his face. "People have been coming to Summer Shandy and leaving again, flowing in and out like the ocean tide, ever since I arrived. I've always thought that when they left, they must have taken a bit of it with them, spreading it across the land. Now, it's our turn to leave, and our turn to carry it with us." He looked down upon his family, then at his beloved town. "We'll never forget the times we've had here. We'll never let those cherished memories fall away. We'll keep pushing for more, and we'll keep fighting, and one way or another, we'll carve out a new Summer Shandy again, somewhere else."

Tess nodded and gave his hand a squeeze. "And that, I think, is the greatest story of them all."