Casual far Ming

by Taylor and Laura

Farmer

4. Book 4

WOLFE & CALIBAN

Sowing Season

4.

Casual Farming Slow Living LitRPG

Casual Farming 4 Slow Living LitRPG

Wolfe Locke Mike

Chapter One – Obadiah's Almanac

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 39 starting actions.]

[Spouse - Gain 1 action per day due to your marriage. Starting actions: 40.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 1st day of Summer! 90 days until the Summer Festival! So... I didn't realize when I took this job that I also needed to be a weatherman. Seriously, why does the head of the Warriors Guild have to be the one to give updates on the weather? If anyone could help me out on this, I'd greatly appreciate it. Oh yeah, and... The weather appears to be good. The sun is rising, and I don't see storm clouds, so you're probably good if you want to come outside.]

Jason sighed and opened his eyes. With a loud smack, Tess's arm whacked across his face, and he groaned. She had some muscles, that was for sure. He smiled, though, and rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. Behind him, she sat up slowly, smiling softly up at him.

"Well, how's it feel to wake up as a farmer instead of a warrior?" Jason beamed down at her.

"Not as good as it felt to wake up next to you." Tess swung her legs out of bed and slowly rose. They embraced, and their lips met as they stood there. Their first morning as a married couple! Jason sighed deeply, then stepped back as he looked down into the eyes of his new wife.

After a few long moments, a scratching noise echoed from the door, and Jason laughed and turned to the entrance of the bedroom. He unlocked the door and let it swing open, and Chance came running inside, tongue flapping from his mouth. He leapt up on Tess and started to lick her face, and she giggled loudly. Jason laughed as well and gave his pet hound several pets before striding up to the window and gazing out across the landscape. Tess joined him, putting her arm around his shoulders.

The sun was just cresting the horizon, casting its long rays across the softly-waving grasses. Lady stuck her head out of the stable and whinnied, followed a moment later by Angus.

"Well, why don't you run out and get the animals taken care of, and I'll get some breakfast on the table?" Tess patted him on the shoulder. "Once that's done, we'll get started on our first day of farming."

"I couldn't have asked for a better suggestion." Jason gave his wife another kiss, then strode over to the wardrobe and changed into overalls. Tess donned her standard working armor, and together, they made their way down the stairs.

"Remind me to buy some better working clothes, the next time I'm in town." Tess nodded at Jason. "Paulina should have plenty of clothes in my size. Didn't even cross my mind before the wedding."

"Will you be okay in that?" Jason asked. The armor looked more than a little hot, and he could only imagine how badly it would chafe if any dirt got inside.

"Oh, I'll be fine." Tess snorted. "Jason, I once soloed the Dungeon of the Living Flame. Took me three days, and throughout the whole thing, I was exposed to constantly-falling ash. I could hardly move by the time I got out, and it took a week before the rash went away."

At that, Jason laughed. "Well, then, I'll take your word for it."

They reached the main floor of the house, where Jason poured some food into Chance's bowl and then made his way out onto the farm. The two horses began to nicker and stamp at the ground, and he took their reins and soon led them out to the hitching post. He made a mental note to put in a second hitching post, as well as to expand the stable. For that matter... Well... There were a good many things that were going to have to change over the course of the season, but he would face those issues as they came. He had more actions available to use than ever before, and now that Tess had farming actions as well, he could only imagine the amount of work they would be able to accomplish. He felt content as he poured some oats for the animals, then glanced back at the house. A small plume of smoke came out of the kitchen chimney, and he jogged back into the house.

There, as he came into the kitchen, he found that Tess had prepared a proper feast for the morning. There were scrambled eggs with sausage links, a small stack of pancakes, an assortment of sautéed onions and peppers and mushrooms, and some toast with small jars of jam and butter. Jason helped himself to nearly all of it, with Tess doing much of the same.

"Just so you know, we are going to have to start eating healthy sooner or later, but..." She shrugged. "Since it's a bit of a celebration..."

Jason flashed a smile at that. "I'm certainly not complaining! We can hold off on the 'healthy' bit for as long as you want. As far as I'm concerned, this celebration can last for a while."

At that, Tess laughed, though Jason still suspected that it wasn't going to be long before he was forced to eat the rather green foods that she was quite fond of. When they finished eating, he sighed and stared into the eyes of his lovely new wife, and she looked lovingly back at him.

It was just so strange to think that he was married, and that she wasn't going to be going anywhere. She was here to stay. They were... They were together! He couldn't imagine a lovelier wife, that was for certain. He certainly didn't regret getting married at all. It was just... It was weird. It felt as though he had just plunged off a cliff, and he didn't have the slightest clue how to navigate the path down. He wasn't scared, per se, it was just... It was thrilling, and it was exciting, and he felt as though his stomach would rise straight into his throat, and... He was married!

They both gazed at each other lovingly, and Jason rose.

"Well, I'd best go get ready for planting. We've got quite a bit of work today if we're going to get the crop in the ground. I lost a lot of soil, and a lot of progress, last season, so we need to plow out the majority of the field again, and then plant everything."

Tess nodded. "I've helped you from time to time, but... How would you like to do this? What do you need my help with the most? How are we going to... Divide all this up?"

At that, Jason shrugged and laughed. "Oh, I don't have the faintest idea! After we get everything set up, we really only need one person..." Even as he said it, his voice trailed off. "We have to plow and plant, and now we have two horses and two people."

"Then I think I'm detecting a plan." Tess clapped her hands and rose. "I'll get breakfast cleaned up, then meet you outside."

Jason flashed her a crooked smile, and strode out into the farmyard. There, Lady and Angus had finished their meals, and looked at him expectantly. He gave a wave to them, then strode over to the lean-to where he kept his planter and plow. The plow, as he looked it over, was quite rusty, and he grabbed a rag and oil can to begin scrubbing away some of the damage. As he did so, his ring caught on the corner of one of the blades, and he let out a sharp yelp of pain.

"Howdy, neighbor!" a welcoming voice called out from the yard. "Anything I can help with?"

Jason smiled and looked over his shoulder, where Jeremiah had just rode up on his horse. He soon continued speaking.

"Any disputes I need to mediate, any issues I can help resolve? Words of wisdom I could dispense?"

At that, Jason chuckled. "Give me all the words of wisdom you want, and I'll put them in a box marked 'advice to ignore.'"

Jeremiah chortled, and a moment later, the front door of the house opened as Tess came walking out.

"Howdy, Jeremiah!" she called out.

"Howdy, Tess!" Jeremiah grinned. "Well, you're both still here, so I suppose there have been no major fights?"

"Keep asking questions like that, and I'm liable to exercise my right to expel trespassers from my land by force." Tess snorted, but she had a smile on her face as she said it.

"Oh, come on!" Jeremiah waved his hand dismissively. "Well, I'm glad to see you both are doing well. I'm happy for you, I really am, and if there's ever anything the missus and I can do for you, you know where to find us."

Jason flashed a smile. "We'll do that." He wiped off another blade, and once again, he caught his wedding ring on an outcropping of rust. He yelped in pain a second time, and Jeremiah nodded.

"I know it's unasked for, but if you want my advice, take off the wedding rings when you're working on the farm. Especially you, Tess, with all the pretty rocks." Jeremiah's face grew somewhat more serious. "I've seen good men lose fingers when they got their bands caught on things. Plus, if you ever drop it out in the middle of a field, good luck finding it again!"

Jason grimaced, but a moment later, his ring caught against the rusty plow once again. Rather reluctantly, he slipped his wedding band into his pocket, then went back to work. Tess did the same, and Jeremiah flashed a crooked smile.

"Well, best of luck to you two! Congrats on getting hitched! May your marriage be as long and as blessed as... Well, something that's very long and blessed. Ah, you know what I'm trying to say!" He chuckled and

turned his horse away to start trotting back down the road toward the Lazy- H Ranch.

Jason watched him go, then flashed a smile at Tess. She returned the gaze, then strode over and started cleaning up the planter. A few minutes later, they were done, and Jason loaded the planter with seed.

"You know what we should do this year?" Tess asked as they hitched the plow to Lady, and the planter to Angus. "We should try out some new crops. This is the start of your fourth year here. Surely you're ready to try something other than wheat."

Jason blinked, then considered his wife's suggestion. "Works for me! I'll ask Paulina about it the next time I'm in town. Or you can, either way."

The list of things they needed from town was growing longer, but Jason didn't really want to actually head that way for a few days longer, until they were a bit more certain. He took Lady's reins and sent the plow rumbling over toward the gates of the field. Crabgrasses and other weed monsters scrambled out of the way, and a moment later, he had passed into the field itself. The great expanse of barren land spread out before him, and for just a moment, he grieved. The voracious, invasive Juun Bugs had done a number on his operation. But now, it was a lovely feeling to get back to just... Farming. He pulled the lever to drop the blades into the soil, and with a rumble, they took off across the field.

As he watched the field speed by beneath the plow, he realized that he had lost even more soil, and even more progress, than he had realized. Only a small portion had remained tilled; the rest had all reverted back to a hardpan sort of state. The plow rumbled and jerked back and forth, nearly pitching him off with every single rock and terrace. He clung to the plow with all his might, especially when the wheels dropped into a gopher hole. When that happened, he was nearly thrown from the plow altogether, an experience that he didn't particularly want to undergo. Tess came along behind, with Angus's mighty muscles dragging the planter along much more smoothly. Strictly speaking, Tess would probably have been a better choice to put on the plow, since she was objectively a good deal stronger than he was, but also... Well... He was a guy, and as the husband, it was just his job to do the hard work!

They continued all the way until lunchtime, at which point, they had processed about a third of the field. Exhausted, both of them stumbled

inside and ate a quick meal. They didn't speak much during it, and afterward, they strode out onto the porch and sat down to watch the day go by. Wind whistled through the grasses, and they shared a moment of deep contentment.

"Tomorrow, I think I'm going to plant the Lonesome Roses along the front porch." Tess pointed to the small (and largely empty) flower beds that ran along the front of the house. "We'll be the only house in... Anywhere... That will have them."

Jason chuckled softly. He had received the Lonesome Rose seeds after closing a mini-dungeon just a month or so prior, and he had to admit that he was bursting with curiosity about what they would look like.

"That sounds like a plan to me." He stretched. "I think I'm going to start working on some upgrades around here, while we wait for the crops to ripen." He started gesturing across the area, pointing at the different places where he intended to add this or that. Tess chuckled as he listed it all off, then slowly rose.

"That'll all depend on how sore you are, you know." She stretched her arms. "Now, our horses are starting to look restless again, so we should probably get back to work."

"Right behind you."

The rest of the afternoon was spent finishing up the field. When they came plodding back, all eighty acres had been plowed and planted. They each had just one or two actions left, and were utterly exhausted. Together, they put the horses away, then stumbled up and into the house.

"Do you care what we have for dinner?" Tess asked as they sighed wearily.

"Not particularly." Jason flashed her a smile. "Go upstairs, get a shower, and I'll have dinner ready for you when you get back."

Tess's face softened. "You mean it?"

"Yeah! I've cooked for myself for three years now. With the cookbooks, it's not like it's terribly difficult, you know."

Tess nodded and strode upstairs, and the water soon began to run. Jason washed off his hands, then set the table. His magical cookbook flapped its pages in excitement, and he took a deep breath.

"Make up some pizza. That sounds nice, at the end of a long day."

The cookbook clapped its pages shut in understanding, and a lovely pizza appeared with a flash on the table. Jason sat down to wait for Tess,

and took a moment to truly count his blessings.

He was in love. He was in love with his new life, in love with his

farm, and most of all, in love with Tess. He loved Summer Shandy, he loved his neighbors, he loved his life.

And he simply couldn't wait to see how it all played out.

Chapter Two – State of the Weather

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 7th day of Summer! 84 days until the Summer Festival! All right, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this! Sorry for all the mistakes the last few days. If you're wondering, the reason why I'm in charge of the weather is because the state of the weather affects what monsters do! Thus, to keep civilians safe, the Warriors' Guild Headquarters in Illumitir sends out updates every day! Who knew? Also, Paulina has been an immense help in figuring all this out, and if you're in town, you should totally go visit her store. It's epic.]

Jason blinked and laughed slightly as he read the message, then yelped, startled, as Chance leapt up onto him and started licking his face.

[Obadiah's Almanac: Right! I forgot to actually tell you what the weather is. Ahh... It's looking like a warm day today, but there's a storm on the horizon; it'll probably hit tomorrow. It swept across the Westlands yesterday, and from the reports I'm getting, there were at least a few tornados that spawned in, so be careful! Not today, of course. Tomorrow. I mean, be careful today, too, Just... Oh, you know what I mean!]

Jason laughed again as he shoved Chance off the bed and sat up. "You know, you probably should have given Obadiah a bit more of a crash course on running the Warriors' Guild before we got married."

"You say that. You weren't the one making all the wedding plans." Tess chucked as Chance started licking her face. She pet him back, and then sat up and stood up next to Jason.

"I would have been happy to make them, but I still say that those two blues were the same color."

"One was eggshell, one was morningsky."

"I know those were the names, but I still say it's a scam by the paint companies to make more money." Jason chuckled, then walked up to the window. Gazing out across the landscape, the field of wheat waved in a soft wind like a small ocean. The heads were full to bursting, and he felt happy about it. "You ready for your first harvest as a married couple?"

Tess chuckled and walked up next to him. "With only one harvester, I'm honestly not sure how it's going to be any different from when we were dating or engaged, but if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

Jason puffed out his cheeks as he thought. "Well, for now, we need to take care of the animals and get ourselves ready."

"I've got breakfast if you've got the animals."

Jason nodded and walked over to his wardrobe, where he quickly changed into overalls. Meanwhile, Tess donned a dress that she had purchased from Paulina, and Jason let out a whistle as she gave a twirl and let the fabric billow outward.

He had only ever seen her in anything but armor on a handful of occasions, and even then, she usually just wore armor shaped like a dress. Now, though, she was wearing an actual, fabric dress (though he was fairly certain that the torso, at least, had been reinforced with light chain mail on the inside). It was a light blue color (which shade of blue, he couldn't say), and fell all the way to the floor. White lace formed the hems of both the skirt and the sleeves, and an assortment of patterns covered the bulk of the article. Jason smiled broadly at the attire, and Tess curtsied before heading downstairs. Jason followed and was soon out in the yard. Over the previous several days, just as planned, he had installed a second hitching post, and the two horses happily cantered over to it. At some point, he intended to build a full corral for them, but such was still an unknown length of time away. While hardly out of money, they needed to start to rake in a few more harvests before he could really start any larger building projects.

After he had poured oats for the horses, he turned and made his way back into the house, where Tess had fixed up... Well, he was fairly certain that it was an omelet, but there was so much spinach that it was hard to tell for sure. Tess seemed to like it, though, so he gritted his teeth together and bore the... Actually, after a few bites, it turned out to not be too terrible, though he still made sure to make a bit of a face. After all, if Tess got it in her head that he enjoyed one or two of her greener dishes, there was no telling where it might go!

Breakfast done, the two of them wandered out into the yard once more. Tess's dress swirled in the soft wind, which Jason found rather entrancing. He started to walk toward the lean-to to start servicing his harvester, then heard Tess squeal.

"Oh, Jason, look!"

He spun, and found her pointing to the front of the house. There, the Lonesome Roses, even as he watched, began to break into bloom. At that moment, each bush stood about three feet tall, and he quickly joined her as the buds cracked open and began to shimmer in the light. Chance began to bound back and forth in front of them, uncertain of what was making his masters so happy, then ran off to chase some crabgrasses.

"They're beautiful." Jason whispered. "It makes you wonder how such a thing could ever have become extinct in the first place."

Tess only nodded in wonder. The roses were a lovely cream color, though they were speckled with splashes of pink. They were, in a word, the most stunning flowers that Jason had ever seen. Perfectly symmetrical, the petals spiraled out in bursts that he could hardly draw his eyes away from.

"Keep an eye out for any extinct monsters that might pop up to try and eat them," he warned Tess as he started back toward the lean-to. "I doubt we'll see any more Juun Bugs, but it's impossible to know for sure what that old dungeon might have unleashed!"

"Trust me, I'm not worried!" Tess returned. After a moment, she called after him. "I'm going to start a garden along the side of the house in this old bed! Is that okay?"

"Go for it!" Jason called back to her. "I used to have one there, but then..."

He shuddered. The first year he had lived in Summer Shandy, he had curated a small garden. The second year, he had been overrun by Monstertraps, a type of invasive weed that couldn't be controlled using ordinary means. When he had finally managed to beat them back, the third year, he had been overrun by Juun Bugs. In the chaos of it all, his personal garden had fallen into disrepair.

"Well, now that you've got me, I'll change that!" she called. "I've got a green thumb! I hope!"

"Only because you stuck it through the eye of a monster with green blood!" He reached the lean-to and walked inside, where he spent a few moments wiping off the residual rust and such that had built up over and across it. When he finished, he walked back to the hitching posts and took Lady's reins. Soon, they were off into the field, and he hung on for dear life.

The harvester was a simple machine, all things considered. The back wheels were connected by a large axel, which in turn had a large gear that

connected to the blades of the machine. The faster that Lady pulled the machine, the faster the blades whirled. The largest issue with the machine, all things considered, was that Jason had to perch himself directly above the blades in order to hold Lady's reins, which meant that with every bump, every rut, every rock, Jason risked being thrown into the spinning blades. It was the fourth year he had been on the farm, and hadn't had an accident with it yet, but he knew not to count himself safe.

He and Lady swept through the field quickly, and had almost half of it done by the time that noon came around. Tired and hungry, and covered with more dust than he might have imagined could come from the field, he put Lady back at the hitching post and staggered into the home. There, Tess already had a cold lunch on the table, and he nodded gratefully as he sat down.

"Thanks." He flashed a smile, looking down at a number of ham sandwiches. "If I can keep going at this rate, I ought to be done around five o'clock."

"Take Angus when you go back out." Tess advised. "You'll be able to go a lot faster."

"Are you sure?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "He's not really a pack animal."

"He's strong enough." Tess countered. "You've seen him do it before."

"I know, I know," Jason agreed. "I just know he's a lot more used to riding. Once or twice is one thing, but I don't want to hurt him or anything." "Oh, you won't hurt him." Tess chuckled. "He can take a lot more

abuse than that!"

Jason acquiesced, "If you say so." He finished up the meal,

gratefully. A glance at Tess's clothes revealed dirt stains, and she blushed slightly. "How's the garden going?"

"Just wonderfully, actually," Tess gushed. "It's weird... I've known I was going to be a farmer's wife for a while now, but I don't think it actually clicked that I would be growing things instead of killing things, you know? It's... It's different."

"It's kinda peaceful, just being out here." Jason nodded in agreement. "You just work with the soil, and things come up from it. Most of the time, anyway. Sometimes nasty monsters just pop up and eat the

things that you're trying to grow for yourself, at which point it's just infuriating, but..."

"I'll just have to see it all for myself." She nodded and stood. "Now, go run along! Those crops aren't going to cut themselves."

Jason flashed her a sloppy salute, then rose and strode out the front door. A few minutes later, he had hitched Angus to the harvester, and once more went out into the field.

Several hours later, the blades whirred to a halt as the field was finished, and Jason nodded in approval. Angus was just as strong as Tess, that was for sure. As the enormous horse clopped back to the lean-to, the blades whirred through dozens of crabgrasses, razorgrasses, and even a few histles. The air filled with the body parts of the plant-based monsters, and Chance yelped in excitement as he chased the monsters fleeing the wrath of the harvester. Not much later, Jason had the harvester back in the lean-to, and walked up onto the porch.

To his surprise, Tess had pushed two chairs out onto the porch, and had set up a small table between the two of them. There, she had set up a small dinner: Piping-hot meatloaf, along with a side of grilled asparagus. Jason's mouth watered, and she came out a moment later with plates. Neither of them spoke as they sat down and began to eat, at least not until after they had finished the main course.

"That was incredible." Jason leaned back in his chair and winked at Tess. "Still celebrating, I see?"

"Something like that." Tess giggled. "Though, if you like it, it really wasn't much work to bring out here."

"I did like it. Do like it." Jason took a deep breath of the nighttime air as the sun began to set behind the house. The front porch faced east, allowing them to see the prairie turning a bright red color, as though it were on fire. The shadow of the house began to stretch across the blazing orange, and soon enough, even the entire prairie began to darken. Still, though, it was early enough that the mosquitos weren't out, and Jason had no particular intention of moving as the distant cicadas and crickets began to play their nighttime songs.

"You don't regret marrying me, do you?" Tess glanced at Jason suddenly. "I know it's only been a week, but..."

"Not at all." Jason assured her. "Why would you ask that?"

Tess shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that you've been out here on your own for so long, I can imagine that it would be a struggle to adjust to an actual person living in your house."

As she spoke, Chance ran up onto the porch and settled down at Jason's feet, and he chuckled softly.

"I'm not going to lie, it's different than what I'm used to, but it's a good different." He inhaled deeply, and the scent of the Lonesome Roses drifted up to fill his lungs. "Smells a lot better, I can tell you that much!"

Tess laughed at that, then shook her head. "Yeah, but... You like me, don't you?"

Jason turned to her and blinked, then flashed a crooked smile. "You don't have to keep proving your worth. I know... I mean, I really don't know what it was like down there in the dungeons, but I know you were always having to fight. Having to prove yourself. Here... Here, you don't have to do that. There's the occasional fight after a weed, and you have to stay active to maintain things, but it's not a battle. I love you, Tess, and that's not going to change because we're married."

Tess let out a long sigh, then smiled. "Thanks, Jason. I appreciate that."

Jason's eyes narrowed slightly. "You don't regret getting married, do you?"

"Not at all." Tess shook her head. "It's an adjustment, that's for sure. I'm certainly not used to working a job that doesn't require me to always be fighting giant monsters, but... That's a good thing." She turned slightly and looked into his eyes. "I can't promise that I'm not going to chafe under something after a while, but I can promise that I'll get through it. I love you, Jason, and I love this life." She turned and gestured out at the prairie. "I always thought that dungeon-delving was the way to go, but... Just listen to this. Down in the dungeons, you hear bubbling lava and hissing spiders and all sorts of other things that want to kill you. Here, all you hear is life." Her smile seemed to light up the growing night. "And a life is exactly what I want to build with you.

Chapter Three – Family Matters

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 10th day of Summer! 81 days until the Summer Festival! In case anyone wants to know, giant wyrm bites hurt. Oh, and they get infected if you don't treat them. Like... Really badly infected. That said, I'm on the mend, so if you see me limping around, please stop giving me all your homespun cures. It's not that I don't appreciate them, but I really am getting better! Oh, and after that storm last night, I think we're in the clear for a while. Nothing reported across any of the provinces nearby, so we should be good.]

Jason smiled as he read the message, only to jump in surprise as a clap of thunder shook the house. At the foot of their bed, Chance whimpered and looked at Jason for permission to come closer, and he reluctantly nodded his head. In the blink of an eye, Chance whipped up next to Tess and cuddled in, and Jason scowled.

"That was my spot."

Tess laughed and began to pet the dog. "Just wait until we have kids."

At that, a smile flickered across Jason's face. "Kids. Plural. You still want a large family?"

"You know I do," Tess affirmed as she sat up, then grinned brilliantly. "I so hope I get pregnant soon."

"Just let me know."

"Trust me, you'll be the first." Tess smiled and sat up, and together, they walked to the window. The farmstead was a muddy mess, as it had been raining since the day after the harvest. "You know, I really ought to remind Obadiah that you can't just rely on reports from the surrounding provinces. Sometimes, storms really do just spring up right overhead."

Jason laughed, then turned to the wardrobe. "Well, you can tell him today!"

"That's right!" Tess grinned. "We're heading into town! Where are we meeting your family?"

"Viola's inn." Jason answered. "And it's just my parents, I got a letter in the mail yesterday. Apparently, my brothers had to get back to Illumitir for business, but my parents wanted to see us off properly. I also think your brother is going to join us, but I'm a little fuzzy on that."

"Then I'll go start getting things ready." Tess walked over to the wardrobe and changed into a flower-pattern dress, then strode down the stairs to the kitchen. Jason, meanwhile, laid out a green tunic, but before he put it on, he pulled on his overalls. He went downstairs and forged his way out into the storm.

Chance stayed inside as thunder boomed and rain continued to fall. Lady and Angus had both withdrawn into their stables, and Jason quickly poured out their food into the small troughs inside the small building. When he finished, he slogged back across the waterlogged yard, kicking aside several crabgrasses that slipped and slid as their legs tried to gain a purchase in the mud, and he came up into the house with a loud splurch. Mud and water dripped off his clothes onto the entry area, and he took a moment to reflect.

A year earlier... For that matter, just a month earlier, he would have just tracked mud through the house and then cleaned it whenever the chance presented itself. Now, he very carefully took off his boots and socks, scraped off as much mud as he could off his legs, and very carefully made his way up to the bedroom. Finally, clad in his green town tunic, he joined Tess in the kitchen for a fairly simple breakfast of oatmeal. When they finished, Tess rose and bustled about the house getting more things ready, while Jason walked up to his office. There, he sat down at his desk and started making a small list of things that he needed to buy from Paulina's store. He and Tess finished about the same time, and they soon made their way out onto the porch.

"Ooh." Tess shivered as she looked out at the pouring rain. "That looks... Cold."

"And where's the warrior-maiden I once knew?" Jason teased as he strode out into the rain. Soon enough, he had hitched Lady to his carriage, raised the top, and brought it around for Tess. She gratefully rushed over and climbed in, hardly getting more than a few drops on her dress. As the rain thundered down around them, Jason snapped his reins, and off they set.

"In answer," Tess teased as she took out a hat as they made their way up toward Summer Shandy. It was a wide-brimmed sort of hat, and had

a peach-cream band that matched her dress. "The warrior maiden is currently wearing a dress instead of armor. If you're wearing armor, even dress armor, you can take it straight through the mud, through the rain, whatever, and still just wipe it down with a cloth once you're done. A dress, especially with this type of fabric, is not easy to clean."

"I will take your word for it." Jason flinched slightly, but smiled. "You know, this is kinda nice."

Rain dripped off the canopy in front of them like a watery curtain, making it nearly impossible to see out. The scent of rain filled the air, and the distant booms of thunder made for a wonderful backdrop.

"It... It kinda is." Tess snuggled up next to him. She sighed and took hold of his arm, and he felt as though he were driving across the clouds.

When they arrived in Summer Shandy, he felt himself puff up a bit. The town was the same as always. The town square, with a well at its exact midpoint, was the center and the focal point of the town. No one was in sight, though that was likely due to the rain. Jason brought Lady under a small awning built near the inn, then gave a nod to Tess.

"Go ahead and head on in. I'll run over to the general store, then meet you."

Tess nodded and slid out into the rain. She scampered down the sidewalk and into the inn, and Jason dismounted and slogged across the town square toward Paulina's Store. The door jingled as he pushed his way inside, and Paulina looked up and waved at him.

"Jason! Long time no see!"

Jason laughed slightly at that. "I've been busy on the farm, and... Ahh... Have far fewer reasons to come into town all the time."

"Can't fault you for that." Obadiah came striding out of one of the aisles. Jason jumped slightly, and Obadiah winced. "Sorry! Didn't mean to... Did I startle you?"

Jason glanced at the boy. He was a couple years older than Jason, and was the son of Jeremiah. Having just taken over the Warriors' Guild from Tess, he looked... Well, he looked like he was desperately trying to fit the part. He wore a suit of stock armor that looked remarkably like Tess's ordinary suit, though the left leg was missing. In its place, he wore a brown pair of pants, though the cloth just below the kneecap was stained an odd sort of greenish color. Obadiah caught him looking, and he winced slightly.

"It hurts less than it looks."

"That's probably good, because if it hurt as much as it looked, I don't imagine you'd be walking." Jason chuckled as he walked up to the counter and took out his list. "Do you mind filling this list, and then sending the supplies on to my farm? No rush, since I think it'll be more than a few days before I can be out in the field again."

Paulina glanced over the list. Her face lit up, and she looked at Jason in excitement.

"You're going to be planting sunflowers?"

"Tess thought it sounded like fun to give it a try, so... That's what we're gonna do." Jason shrugged. "Wheat wasn't nearly exciting enough for her."

"You should try growing Mars Monstertraps sometime, if you're looking for a challenge." Obadiah spoke up. "We had some of them pop up at the ranch, and they were impossible to manage."

At that, Jason laughed. "Been there, done that! Ask your dad for details, if you really want them."

"Enough said." Obadiah laughed, though the effort seemed to make him wince. "See you around, Jason! Don't meet the summon conditions for anything that'll need me to come out for a few days, though!"

"I'll certainly try!" Jason laughed, then strode back out into the rain. He slogged across the courtyard, then came up to the door of the inn. After a moment's hesitation, he squared his shoulders and pushed his way inside.

Viola's Inn was a cozy sort of a place, with a roaring hearth and a lovely kitchen that put out food more scrumptious than anything else in town. Without a proper tavern or eatery, it was the place to go if you needed to sit down for a meal, though her paid guests did get precedence. Tess, of course, was already inside, sitting at a table near the corner. Jason's mother and father were there as well, with his father sitting in a small wheelchair. All three of them waved as Jason walked up to join them, and he happily slid into a chair between his mother and Tess.

"Oh, Jason, it's good to see you." His mother gave him a hug while several waitresses brought out a steaming plate of roast beef, onions, carrots, and other sorts of food. "I'm sorry we haven't been able to meet up more since the wedding."

His father coughed. "If you recall, Lacy, we were intentionally giving him space. To be with his new wife, and all that?"

His mother waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, please. They started farming the day after their wedding, not even a honeymoon to speak of. They're obviously not that bothered, and it would have been fine if we had come over for supper sometime."

"Well, we're eating together now, so let's focus on that." His father flashed a smile at Jason. "I really do understand why you decided to stay down here, Jason. Our time here has been lovely, more than I could tell you. The people here are wonderful, the environment... I wish I could put it into words. You've really found a jewel."

"You got lucky." His mother raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but if that Constable of yours had selected anyone else from that list..."

Jason laughed slightly. "The farm would have been sold, and none of us would have ever even remembered the name of Summer Shandy."

"Indeed. And that's why we're all thankful that everything happened the way it did." His father began chewing on the meat. "Honestly, I'd love to stay here even longer-"

"As would I." His mother cut in.

"-but the company is calling me back, and since I basically run half the operation now, I have to answer." His father chuckled. "I don't know how all that's going to shake out, but if you want to say goodbye to your childhood home, now's your chance. We're going to be moving out as soon as my new salary starts to flow in. I'm not going to buy anything tremendously ritzy, don't get me wrong, but I do want to get out of the slum we were in."

"Excuse me?" His mother yelped. "That house was built by my great-grandfather! I'll show you a slum, mister fancy-pants executive."

His father only laughed, and Jason leaned back in his chair and smiled. Several long minutes passed while his mother and father bickered about one thing or another, but the conversation finally did turn back to the matter at hand.

"We're happy for you, Jason." His father clapped him on the shoulder. "Our coach leaves this evening, we'll be back in Illumitir in three days. This time, make sure to write us."

"And I have your actual address, so I know you'll be getting my letters." His mother smiled, then gave him a hug. "Is there anything we can do for you before we leave?"

"I can't think of anything, honestly." Jason shook his head. "Thanks for coming down for the wedding. It really did mean a lot."

His mother looked at him for a long time, then burst out sobbing. "My boy. My dear, tender boy!"

She hugged him, and his father rolled his eyes.

"Just make sure you give us grandchildren before I'm too old to come see them."

Jason felt himself turn a bit red, and his mother whacked his father upside the head. That, of course, just made his father laugh a bit louder. The rest of the meal passed simply and easily. Afterward, they rose, and Jason hugged his parents tightly.

"Would you like me to see you off?" Jason asked softly.

"Oh, no." His father waved his hand dismissively. "We'll have to be packing and getting ready to go for the rest of the afternoon, and then we leave after dark. No reason for you to stay up, not with such a storm going on. It's been lovely seeing you, but we both have to get moving." His father turned to Tess and held out his hand. She shook it firmly, and he requested, "Take good care of my son."

"I don't think he needs much taking care of, but I'll do my best." Tess chuckled.

His father returned the chuckle, and his mother took hold of the wheels. A moment later, they had gone up the hall, and Jason glanced at Tess.

"What now?"

"As long as we're in town, I'd like to head over to the Warriors' Guild. I don't know how much longer my brother will be in town, but I imagine that he's itching to get back to the southern lands." Tess shrugged. "If you're okay with that?"

"Of course I am." Jason nodded. "Lead the way."

They strode out again into the rain, and Jason grimaced as he felt the door slam shut behind him. Over the previous year, his relationship with his parents had been tenuous, indeed, and now... Now, it was good, and in a way, seeing them off just felt as if he had taken another step on his new journey. He strode across the town square with Tess, content that things would continue to progress. They were on their own, and they were figuring out how to work their new lives together.

Another wonderful day down, with countless more on the way. He just couldn't wait to take each and every one of them as best he could.

Chapter Four - Uptick

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 13th day of Summer! 78 days until the Summer Festival! Let me see... Everything looks dry outside, and all reports are clear around us, so I think I'm safe in saying that we have clear weather! Also, just so everyone knows, clear weather means an uptick in the spawn rate of the Southern Painted Dragon. Not an enormous uptick, of course, and... Oh, who am I kidding? We haven't had a Southern Painted Dragon in these parts for fifty years. It ain't happening now. That said, if you're a farmer, you are likely to see more crabgrasses than usual! Huh? Yes, I know they probably already know that, but I still thought it would be- This thing is still on? It doesn't just know what I intend to put into the report? It's broadcasting live? What kind of-]

[Obadiah's Almanac: Update: The weather's clear, you should be able to get back into the fields if you want to!]

Jason's eyes flickered open, and he sat up just in time to be flattened by an eager Chance. The hound licked his face eagerly, and Jason shoved him to the side. An instant later, Tess shoved him back onto Jason, and he laughed and returned the favor. Chance, for his part, loved the attention, and wagged his tail eagerly. He soon began to help, and leapt back and forth from person to person.

"We need to trim your claws." Jason gasped as Chance happened to land on his bare arm. He yelped and stood upright, then glanced down at the small scuff. It was nothing terrible, and he soon changed into overalls and walked up to the window. Tess joined him in a light green dress a moment later, and they looked out across the farmyard.

The soil was rich and dark, watered by the recent rains and more than ready to be planted.

"Ready to try sunflowers?" Jason glanced at his wife.

"You better believe I am!" Tess ginned. "I'll race you down the stairs!"

"That seems like a good way to end up with a broken arm." Jason called out as Tess raced through the bedroom door and leapt down the stairs.

"I'll be fine!" Tess called back.

"In fairness, I was a lot more worried about me," Jason admitted as he came down the stairs after her. At the bottom, he found Tess busy in the kitchen, and quickly made his way outside. Chance joined him and began chasing after the abundance of crabgrasses. Jason soon had the horses hitched up and fed, and he went back inside as Tess was just finishing setting the table. They ate quickly, a meal of hash browns and eggs, then strode outside and began to get ready.

Jason took Angus to the lean-to and hitched him up to the planter, then pulled it out into the middle of the drive. Tess, meanwhile, went to the side garden and began harvesting the crops there. Jason glanced over at her, watching the abundance of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and other such items that she pulled out of the garden.

"You really do have a green thumb!" he called out as she worked. Without waiting for an answer, he waved his hand over the top of the planter. "Remove all seed currently inside the machine."

[All wheat seed has been transferred to farm inventory.]

"Good." He nodded. "Now... Fill the seed box with sunflower seeds."

[Error: Planter has not been configured for sunflower seeds.]

At that, Jason blinked. "What needs to be configured?"

[Disk spacing should be 0.3 inches, boxes should be opened to

30%.]

"What are they at now?"

[0.1 inches, 20%.]

"Right." Jason sighed, then walked over to the storage shed and grabbed his tools. Tess looked up at him in surprise, then came walking over to join him at the planter.

"Problems?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing too bad," he muttered. "Depending on how many actions this takes to get sorted, I might have to ask you to finish up the field, but we'll see."

"I'll make sure to save a few." She nodded, then returned to the garden. "In the meantime, I'm going to start expanding this garden bed!"

"Go for it!" he called out loudly. "Just remember not to get too ambitious! Remember what happens when crops rot!"

She flashed a thumbs-up, and Jason slid underneath the planter and began working on the different adjustments. He held a wrench up to a bolt that he thought was the right one, and gave it a twist.

[Action Used: Adjust disk spacing. New spacing: 0.05 inches. Remaining Actions: 39.]

"Oh..." Jason scowled, then twisted the other direction.

[Action Used: Adjust disk spacing. New spacing: 0.2 inches. Remaining Actions: 38.]

All told, it took him four actions before he hit the desired spacing. The other disks proved much easier as he got the hang of it, but it was still frustrating. After that, adjusting the box opening was much easier, as there was a simple dial that controlled a small plate that slid across the tube down into the disks. When he finished, he had 19 actions remaining, and he slowly climbed back up onto the platform where he could stand.

"All right, now can I transfer sunflower seeds into the planter box?" [Yes.]

"Then do it."

There was a rattle, and the planter shook as it filled with seed. Once

it was done, Jason took the reins and gave Angus a light tap, and the great beast lumbered forward into the field. The moment he was inside, Jason pulled the lever to lower the disks into the ground, and off they went.

All told, it was one of the smoothest experiences he had ever had while sewing seed. The ground was soft and loose from all the rain, meaning there was almost no resistance as the machine sliced through the ground. Relieved, Jason began to relax, simply enjoying the ride as he zoomed down to the far end, spun around, and came back. Angus was able to pull the planter quickly, far faster than Lady, and they made good time as they drove back and forth across the field.

Moving so quickly, Jason had covered slightly over half of the field by the time noon came around. Angus was panting heavily, and Jason raised the planter and allowed Angus to return to his stall. He disconnected the planter, then glanced inside the box. To his surprise, the planter was almost three-quarters of the way empty, and he blinked.

"How much sunflower seed do we have left?" [102,298 seeds]

"Will that be enough to finish the field? Without a point of reference, that number doesn't mean much." Jason scowled.

There was a pause.

[Yes]

Jason nodded in relief, then slowly walked back up and into the

house. Tess had prepared a salad with bits of chicken and cheese sprinkled across the top, and the two of them tucked in.

"I got a pretty decent portion of the garden put together." Tess reported as they ate. "I really think I'm going to be able to turn it into something."

"What are you thinking about growing?" Jason asked.

Tess shrugged. "I've been trying to think through the things that Paulina doesn't really have at her store. Have you ever heard of red beets?"

Jason shook his head, and Tess continued.

"We used to have them when I was growing up. They're fairly sweet, I think they're native to the southern lands. I'd like to get some of those, and then maybe some hotter peppers. All Paulina has are bell peppers and a few jalapeños. There's this pepper I was reading about though, called the... Oh, what was it? Scythe? I can't remember for sure, but something really hot."

"And you like hot foods?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "You ought to try the peppers that Jeremiah puts into his bug spray. That stuff could peel paint off a house."

"I smelled it last year. Admittedly, it was boiled together with loads of other random stuff, so I'm sure it wasn't quite as bad as it seemed, but..." Tess smirked. "The one I'm looking at is loads hotter. And yeah, I love hot food! We used to eat it all the time at the guild hall." She chuckled softly. "There was a particular type of undead monster, back in the old dungeon, that would sometimes drop peppers. It was a pretty rare drop, one in ten thousand or something. The lore was that they were intended as good luck for the departed, and then, over time, they got hotter and hotter due to the dark magic used to keep the draugr alive."

"That absolutely sounds like something I'd never eat." Jason grimaced and shook his head.

"I mean, that's not what they actually were." Tess scowled at him, then softened. "Anytime someone got one, about once a month, we'd throw it into a pot of stew, and everyone would have to eat a spoonful at the same

time. The person who could wait the longest without getting a drink was the winner!" She laughed at the memory.

"Did you ever win?" Jason chuckled in response to her laughter.

"Once!" Tess snickered. "Most of the time, no. Some of the warriors got really creative with foods in the wild, they could stomach just about anything. The only time I won, the guy I finally beat wound up passing out after he held his breath for too long. He didn't even realize he was doing it!" At Jason's rather horrified look, she held up a hand. "He was fine in the end. A bit embarrassed, but fine."

Jason chuckled. "Well, I will most certainly not be trying to beat you in that sort of a contest."

"That's fair." Tess chuckled, then rose as she finished her salad. "Well, time's wasting! Let's get back to it!"

Jason grinned and rose. A few moments later, he was out into the yard again. He filled the seed box of the planter again, then hitched up Lady, giving Angus a rest. They started off into the field, slicing again quite easily over the land, though it was becoming more and more difficult as the topsoil dried throughout the day.

When he finished, it was nearing five o'clock, and his arms and legs were sore. He came rumbling back into the yard and found Tess standing near the garden, talking with a couple of warriors. Jason waved at them, then drove Lady up to the lean-to. It didn't take him long to put the machine away, then he patted down and cleaned both Lady and Angus. When he finished, he closed up the stable, kicked a few crabgrasses up into the air for Chance to snap at, then walked over and joined Tess and the newcomers. To his... Well, it was really neither delight nor annoyance, but he found Daniel, Tess's brother, standing with Obadiah. Both of them dwarfed Jason and Tess alike, though Daniel in particular was simply enormous.

"Jason! The little farmer!" Daniel beamed and patted Jason on the head, nearly knocking him down. "I saw you out there in the field! Looked like fun! Can I have a turn sometime?"

Jason chuckled and shrugged. "Sure, if you're around in a few weeks when we plant again, I'm sure I can let you drive."

"Drive? I wanted to pull the planter!" Daniel crowed. "I once harvested all eighty of your acres in a single swing of a scythe, remember? I'm not going to plant that same field by letting a horse do all the work!"

Jason, Tess, and Obadiah all stared at him for a few long moments, and then Obadiah turned to Tess.

"So anyway, the reason I came out here was to ask you some questions about the guild. I think I'm getting my feet under me, and Paulina has been helping me a lot, but I really could use your advice on some things."

I'd be glad to help." Tess flashed a smile at him. "Now, why don't the three of you head inside, and I'll get some dinner fixed up?"

"Tess the housewife!" Daniel boomed as the group of them started toward the front of the house. "Who'd have thought that my little sis would give up the life of an adventurer to cook and clean? You don't even have any animals here!" He paused, then grinned. "You should get some pigs! I bet I could slaughter one in a single blow if I had the right skills activated! Maybe a sword combo, or-"

They all stepped inside the house, and Jason quit listening to Daniel's boasts. Tess hurried off to the kitchen, Obadiah turned to talk to Jason, and Daniel went thumping into the living room. A moment later, there was a loud crash, and Jason winced.

"Jason, I broke your chair!"

"Turn off your inertia generator!" Jason called back.

"Oh! I forgot about that. Done!" There was a short pause, followed

by another crash. "Jason, I broke a vase! It looks like an antique. Did you have this the last time I was here?"

Jason put his head in his hands, and Obadiah put a hand on his shoulder.

"If it's any consolation, he's just as bad at the warriors' hall. On the bright side, he's also quite destructive in the dungeon, though he does tend to overshadow some of the other warriors."

Jason just shook his head and chuckled. "The fact that you experience pain in no way, shape, or form negates my own."

"Never has a truer word been said," Obadiah acknowledged, then blinked. "Oh! I almost forgot. My father asked me to buy this for you, as a late wedding present."

"Because the cannon he bought me wasn't enough?" Jason chuckled.

"Oh, you know my dad. He just loves giving presents, and he said... How did he put it? Since large monster attacks don't happen often for small

farms, he wanted to give you something more practical." Obadiah passed him a small package. "Just keep in mind who he is."

Jason chuckled, then peeled back the paper to find a small pipe. It was an elegant sort of device, carved from wood that looked to be mahogany, and looked as though it belonged in the hand of someone rich and famous.

"He knows I don't smoke." Jason raised an eyebrow.

"He thinks that'll change, now that you're hitched!" Obadiah snorted. "Anyway, it's easier to just go along with him rather than to fight it."

"That's fair enough." Jason chuckled and tucked the pipe away in his inventory. "He does try to be helpful. In all honesty, I never would have succeeded in getting this place up and running without him."

"I'm starting to realize that such things are part and parcel of this place." Obadiah scratched his head. "Don't get me wrong, I grew up here, but I've been away for long enough that I'd plumb forgot. The hustle and bustle of Illumitir, even the agricultural side of things... There's just no comparison."

There was a crash from the other room.

"Jason, I broke your fireplace!"

Obadiah just laughed. "I'll let my father know that what you really

need is warrior-proof furniture."

At that, Jason laughed. He leaned against the wall and watched as

Tess brought out some food, and the group settled down. Tess began to relay to Obadiah everything she could remember about running the Guild, while Daniel sat on the floor and provided commentary that was, largely, unhelpful. Jason watched for as long as he could, but as he sat down in an easy chair and leaned back, he felt his eyelids becoming a good bit heavier. A bit later, he was asleep, content in the simplicity of Summer Shandy.

Chapter Five – Pack A Picnic

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 30th day of Summer! 61 days until the Summer Festival! Let's see... The reports all say that the weather is clear, though there's a pretty big windstorm working its way up along the eastern shoreline. The hand-out-the-window test says that it's bright and sunny (or will be, once the sun comes up), and the wind is light, and there's no rain! Nothing in the forecast for the next couple weeks, looks like!]

[Obadiah's Almanac: Update: That may indicate a minor drought setting in, which I've been informed is actually a bad thing.]

Jason sighed deeply as he awoke. Tess's arm lay across his throat, which, while quite lovely in one sense of the word, was also quite unpleasant in several other senses. He carefully slid himself out from underneath her still-sleeping form, only for Chance to come bounding up to the bed with a loud bark. The mutt leapt straight past Jason and landed squarely on Tess, where he began to yap and lick her face. She laughed and rolled away, then sat up.

"No sleeping in for me this morning." She chuckled softly.

"On the farm, you never really get to sleep in." Jason put his hands behind his back and walked up to the window. The freshly-rising sun cast its long rays across the landscape, which seemed to rise up underneath the light. The sunflowers all began to swivel toward the sun's rays, and soon, all were turned toward the road. They would be ready for harvest in just a day or two, and Jason had to admit that he was going to be sad to see them go. Sure, he could always plant more, but they were a slow-growing crop, and it would mean that he would have to wait almost two weeks before they really began to bloom. Tess joined him and looked out at the field, then sighed deeply.

"Are you glad you let me talk us into getting these?" She glanced at him with a smile.

"I am." He nodded. "They're different, but it's a good different. I like it."

She put her arm around him and hugged him tight, and he returned the gesture. In so many ways, he felt like the sunflowers down below. He and Tess were both still turned toward the sunshine, the honeymoon of their marriage. Even as that thought danced through his head, an idea sprang to life, and he perked up just a bit. Tess glanced at him, and he turned to look down into her eyes.

"Wanna go on a date today?"

Tess's eyes sparkled. "Can we do that?"

"I used to take days off from the farm all the time, and we're

objectively getting way more done than I ever did by myself," Jason commended. "The sunflowers won't be ready for another day or so, but we haven't been starting any larger projects because we didn't know the exact day they would be finished. Thus, we've got the time, and we haven't really gone on a honeymoon, you know?"

At that, Tess lit up. "Ooh, then that sounds wonderful! Where are we going?"

"I've got an idea, but you have to trust me. Pack a picnic!"

Tess nodded. She walked to the wardrobe and changed into a bright yellow sundress, then made her way downstairs. Jason watched her go, then walked to the wardrobe as well and changed into a green tunic. Then, as quietly as he could, he pulled the doors open and lifted out her armor. It clinked softly, but he thought it would be quiet enough that she wouldn't have heard it. He then tucked the armor away into his inventory and ran down the stairs as fast as he could go.

Tess was in the kitchen as he passed, and he paused only long enough to scoop some food into Chance's bowl before he ran out to take care of the horses. They were both happy to be led out to their hitching posts, though they did look longingly at the half-finished corral that Jason and Tess had started building about a week earlier. He poured them some oats, then made his way back up to the house. There, Tess had steaming bowls of oatmeal ready, and they soon tucked into the meal.

Neither of them really spoke much over the course of the breakfast, Tess because she was excited, and Jason because he didn't want to give anything away. Of course, the moment they started out, she would know exactly what they were doing, but... Some things couldn't be helped. When they finished, they rose and went out into the yard, where Jason grabbed the saddles for the two horses out of the lean-to.

"We're going riding?" Tess beamed as he began to saddle up Lady and Angus. "Where are we headed?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Jason cinched the saddles down, then climbed up onto Lady. Tess mounted Angus, and Jason took the lead. He rode past the eighty-acre field, gazing in wonder at the expanse of sunflowers, and then swept off across the prairie, following a little-known trail that he had begun to forge over the year before. A glance at Tess revealed a broad smile across her face, though she didn't really say anything.

They meandered quickly across the waving grasses. The landscape was soft, but uneven, as small hills were separated by ravines, through which water ran freely after rains. Most of the time, the bottom of the ravines was simply covered in grass, but every once in a while, particularly in the larger ravines, faster-running water had cut sharp channels through the ground. The tall grasses of the prairie often leaned over these stark drop-offs, making them nearly impossible to see until you were on top of them. Thankfully, their horses were solid, and neither stumbled.

Soon, they came over the last rise, and into the full view of the second half of Jason's farm. It was a second eighty-acre field that he had purchased some time earlier, for purposes that were now moot. To the north of the long field were immense, rolling hills dotted by small outcroppings of limestone. To the south, though, an immense forest rose up and nearly touched the small property. The field itself was covered in small sprigs of grass bravely forging their way upward, and Jason grinned.

"Looks like that chemical I used is finally wearing off! Another year and we'll be able to start planting this, too!"

"That'll be cool!" Tess declared as they rode up to the edge of the trees and dismounted. "Two fields, a acres and acres! We'll be the land barons of Summer Shandy!"

Jason laughed and dismounted from Lady. He started hitching her up to one of the enormous oak trees of the forest and glanced back at Tess. "I think we're still something like ten thousand acres behind Jeremiah, but we're getting there."

Tess flashed a small smile. "We'll catch him!"

Jason laughed, then reached into his inventory and pulled out Tess's armor. Her face lit up, and he tossed the package to her. "Here, before we head in, you should probably change."

A few minutes later, they strode into the forest. The year before, while idly exploring the landscape, Jason had stumbled across an ancient dungeon. It was old, likely having been closed somewhere around a hundred and fifty years earlier, and sat just outside the ruins of an old town he had found in the forest as well. That day, they were heading straight for the dungeon. It didn't take them long to arrive, and they soon made their way down into the cave beneath an old oak tree where the entrance was hidden. Tess went first, as always, and triggered the hidden trap that caused the ceiling of one of the tunnels to give in. They slid down the small landslide into the dungeon, and Jason took a deep breath.

The tunnels were long, narrow, and blocky, marked only by small alcoves that held ancient, brownish candles. Tess took out a lantern as they stood there, her armor clinking softly in the darkness. With the lantern, the whole thing seemed much less dismal, and Tess glanced at him.

"Where are we going? Are we staying on the top floor, or are we exploring?"

"I think we're exploring." Jason flashed a gingerly sort of smile at her. "Last time we made it down to the fourth floor, right? Let's see if we can find a way down to floor five!"

Tess agreed, and they quickly set off through the old dungeon. Even though it was technically sealed and abandoned, Jason still found himself flinching at some of the shadows. When his footsteps echoed and it felt as though they were being followed, very little rational reasoning could convince him that they were not, indeed, being followed.

"You don't think there could be any actual monsters living in here, do you?" Jason asked quietly as they slid through the hole between the third and fourth floors.

"Oh, certainly not." Tess shook her head. "The first thing they do when a dungeon is closed is to turn off all the spawn rates. Nothing could spawn in here if the Dungeon Guild itself wanted to re-activate the thing. They'd have to build a new one entirely from scratch."

"Good to know." Jason rubbed the back of his head as they made their way along the dark corridors. "I just... I mean, the Juun Bugs last year came from this dungeon, you know? Makes you wonder what else might be lying within the depths of this place."

"The Juun Bugs came from a mini-dungeon connected to this dungeon." Tess shrugged. "That would be easy enough to accidentally

overlook."

"That's fair, I guess." Jason sighed. "Still makes me nervous."

His nervousness faded as they started hunting around on the fourth

floor for any way to get down to a lower level. They returned to the hole that should have led to the fifth floor, but it only led to a slab of bedrock that was utterly impenetrable. In other places on the fourth floor, mostly on the southern side, the hallways had caved in and prevented further exploration. Finally, as they swept across the northern half, they came to a small room that Tess explained had once been a hidden boss chamber. There were pillars around the outside wall, and what looked like an ornate marble bath, now empty, at the exact center. A small dragon's skeleton lay curled around the bath, and Jason clapped his hands.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm just about ready for some food."

"I'm good with that." Tess began to walk around the outside of the room, lighting candles that sat in numerous small alcoves there. The room was soon dappled with light, and they sat down next to the bath and brought out their picnic. There were sandwiches and pickles (all homemade), and red beets, and some fresh-baked bread with a jar of jam, and a host of other things that made Jason's mouth water. They both eagerly tucked into the meal, and Tess asked, "What are we going to do with this place?"

Jason contemplated, as he bit into a ham sandwich. "Well, given that we don't own it, I'm not sure we can really do much of anything with it."

"I'm sure we can file a land claim and get ahold of it somehow," Tess suggested. "Remember what you talked to Hank about last year? It isn't claimed by any of the surrounding towns, which means we can just file a claim directly with Illumitir and gain control of it."

"I have to admit, I like that idea," Jason chuckled softly, then pondered, "Well, supposing that we do get ownership of the place, I think-"

"I think we should turn it into a clubhouse." Tess grinned. "For our kids."

"A whole dungeon as a clubhouse?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "How about we give them a room or two? Maybe even a whole floor?"

"And you have things you'd like to do with it?"

Jason tried to visualize their options. "It sure seems like it would make a good storeroom. We could also turn some of the rooms into storm shelters, to have a place to hide away during storms."

Tess paused, then nodded slowly. "That's actually not a bad idea." A smile flickered across her face, though, and she leaned closer. "I do want to turn it into a clubhouse, though. Mommy-kid playtime would be so much fun, as I teach them how to fight, and how to survive in a dungeon, and..." Her voice trailed off, and a soft sort of smile came across her face.

"Is this code for the fact that you're pregnant?" Jason asked softly, hardly daring to get his hopes up.

At that, Tess's face fell slightly, and she slowly put down the sandwich she had been eating.

"No." She said softly after a few minutes. "I'm not pregnant yet, but it's also only been a month since we got married. Let's give it time."

"Then time, we shall give it." Jason nodded, flashing a smile at her. "I love you, I hope you know that."

"I do, and I love you, too." Tess sighed deeply. She picked up the sandwich and began to eat again. Suddenly, though, she blinked in surprise. "I just felt a gust of wind!"

"Does that mean that I need to worry about being eaten by a giant monster?" Jason glanced back and forth in alarm.

"No!" Tess sprang to her feet and started looking around, then leapt down into the pool. She started running her hands along the bottom, then grinned. "Come here!"

Jason leapt down into the pool as well, and Tess pointed at a spot near the exact center. He reached down and ran his fingers along the location, where he felt a small crack, almost imperceptible except for the fact that a cool breeze was blowing through it.

"That's how we get down to the next level." Tess beamed. "We'll need to get the tools, of course, and..."

She shrugged, and Jason laughed.

"Never did I imagine that my life, farming, would include something like this." He chuckled as he climbed up and out of the old bath.

"No, indeed." Tess sighed and flopped onto the ground, where she began to eat her sandwich once again. "No... But I hope you know, I wouldn't have this life any other way.

Chapter Six – What About Dragons

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 39th day of Summer! 52 days until the Summer Festival! Let me see... Everything's still dry, so that's not great. It looks like there was a small rainstorm that flared up over the mountains in the west, but it died away before it got very far out onto the plains. Don't know when it's expected to break, but hopefully soon! For what it's worth, the spawn rate of the Southern Painted Dragon goes up by a full percentage point every day without rain. Oh, and just wait until you hear the spawn conditions for the Ridgeback Porcupine Dragon!]

Jason sighed as he opened his eyes, and immediately began to fend off Chance's eager licks. He laughed and fell backward, and Tess grabbed the hound to start petting, allowing Jason to escape. He rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet, then glanced at his wife.

"What are the spawn conditions for those dragons?"

Tess laughed and shrugged. "I don't even know. They're so terribly specific that you basically have to be trying to summon them in. One of them I think you have to fire a cannon at a butterfly or something."

"We do have a cannon."

"And you'd better not go trying to summon a dragon," Tess chided him as she swung her way out of bed. "Now, let's..."

Her voice trailed off as she walked up to the window. Jason, who hadn't made it that far quite yet, looked up in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"That." Tess lifted her finger and pointed out the window. "Do you have any idea what those are?"

Jason pulled on some overalls, then strode over to the window to stand next to Tess. Down below, the field of sunflowers was just breaking into bloom. It was their second crop, and he was more than ready to see the field in its full display. At that exact moment, though, the view was obscured by a cloud of large, flying insects that zoomed back and forth above the buds. Jason's blood ran cold, and he ground his teeth together.

"I will not let those nasty Juun Bugs get at things again this year!" He spun and bolted for the stairs. "I'll be back inside!"

Tess called after him, but he ignored it. With Chance hot on his heels, he burst through the front door and raced across the yard toward the field of sunflowers. That, though, was when he noticed something.

Unlike the Juun Bugs of the year earlier, these insects weren't swarming across the ground, eating everything that was green. Instead, they were simply flying over the sunflowers, darting from flower to flower with a simple grace. Each one was between three and four inches long, and had wide, glossy wings that shimmered in the sunlight. They looked rather like dragonflies, but as they landed upon the blooms, they opened their mouths wide and vomited a golden-yellow substance across the fresh flowers. A smell not unlike fresh popcorn began to fill the air, and Jason's eyes opened wide.

"Butter Flies!" He felt a grin growing across his face. "Jeremiah told me about these things!"

The Butter Flies ignored his outburst, and they continued to coat the entire field in a fresh layer of butter. They were planning on eating the field down to the ground, of course, so it wasn't anything that he could allow to go unpunished, but... It was far from the near-apocalyptic encounter that he had been afraid of. He turned the horses out into their corral and poured them some oats, then turned and walked back into the house. There, he found Tess preparing a hasty breakfast of salad greens with egg bits sprinkled in.

"Don't rush yourself!" Jason laughed and sat down at the table. "We've got time."

Tess looked at him, confused, and Jason shrugged.

"You ever hear of Butter Flies? They come flying up in the morning and butter up everything they plan to eat, then leave and let it cook in the sun for a few hours, then show back up about noontime to finish the job. Terribly polite insects."

Tess burst out laughing. "You're serious?"

"When we head outside, get some barrels ready. We're going to want a place to store all the butter." Jason chuckled.

"We're saving the butter that's being made by bugs?" Tess's nose screwed up as she sat down and started eating.

"I mean... Honey is literally bee vomit." Jason shrugged. "From what Jeremiah told me, Butter Flies come from down south, where they visit milkweeds and drain them dry, then go sun themselves and turn the milk into butter. It's basically the same process."

Tess's nose remained twisted. "I'll take your word for it."

"Some of them even go out to the ocean and take sips of the water there to make the butter salted," Jason explained. "I've heard that some other varieties will visit beehives to make honey butter. They're an interesting species, to be sure."

Tess didn't look convinced, but she shrugged and finished eating. Together, they rose and made their way outside, where the Butter Flies had all vanished. The field sparkled under a fresh layer of butter, and the smell made Jason's mouth water fiercely. He went to the tool shed and started getting supplies ready, and as he did so, hoofbeats echoed in the driveway.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Jeremiah called out as he rode up. "I can smell your farm all the way from the Lazy-H, and given how sick my bull has been recently, that's quite an accomplishment!"

Jason laughed and turned around, waving at the man. He swung down out of the saddle, and Tess took the reins of the horse and led it over to the corral.

"So you decided to come along and see what kind of food you could sample?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" Jeremiah shrugged, then took a large net out of his inventory. "Here! I brought along a handful of them, figured we might need them. I tried sunflowers myself, back when I was still doing crops before I figured out how to ranch properly."

He tossed a net to Tess as well, and the three of them walked over to the field.

"How much of the field do you think we'll be able to save?" Jason asked quietly.

"Oh, just about all of it." Jeremiah chuckled. He took out a large cowbell and set it on a fence post. "You have any barrels?"

"Working on it." Tess went to the storage shed and started digging around. While she was working, Jason walked over to the stable and started working on building the extension. They had started building an extra stall about a week earlier, but it was proving slow going. Jeremiah walked over and pitched in as well, and they soon had the back wall covered over. By

that time, though, a low buzz was beginning to echo through the air. Chance ran back and forth in excitement, and Jeremiah grabbed one of the nets.

"All right, you two! Here they come!"

Jason grabbed a net and stood next to Jeremiah, with Tess standing on the other side. Out of the north, a dark cloud began to rise from the prairie, and Jason glanced at the sun. It was dead overhead, and the smell of the butter reached a fever pitch.

"Here, Butter Flies!" Jeremiah took up the cowbell with one hand and began to ring it loudly. "Dinner!"

The Butter Flies, drawn by the clanging dinner bell, spun through the air and flew straight toward the trio. Jason's jaw dropped as each and every one of the bugs came roaring toward them, and the trio all raised their nets. He swung the net as hard as he could, and found it full of the flies in the first swing. With a deft twist, he dumped the insects into the nearby barrel, then swung again.

They fought the Butter Flies for the better part of an hour. The swarm would flash by and settle upon the field, and Jeremiah would simply ring the bell again to bring them back. In the end, almost every single Butter Fly had been captured and dumped into the barrel, where they teemed about and fought to escape. Tess had clamped lids on each of the five barrels as they filled, and as they finished, all five of them buzzed and roared as the insects fought to escape. Jeremiah rubbed his hands together, then grinned.

"And now for the fun part! Jason, knock them all over onto the ground!"

Jason frowned, but tipped them over onto their sides. Jeremiah then proceeded to jump up on top of one of them and began to roll it back and forth across the farmstead, hooting in delight as he did so. Tess followed suit, though her billowing dress seemed to hinder her movements more than she might have liked. Jason was content to do the same thing from the ground. When Jeremiah judged that they had done it well enough, they tipped the barrels back upright and pulled the lids off. The angry insects all went roaring out, formed up in the cloud above, and then went streaking back toward the south. Jeremiah watched them go, then flashed a salute.

Jason, meanwhile, glanced in the barrels, which were now about half-full of butter. He glanced at Jeremiah in confusion, who shrugged.

"You spin them around enough, and it makes them expel all the butter they've made up inside of them. Then, when you let them out, they're so empty and hungry that they go flying back south to drink up more milk!"

Jason just shook his head and laughed. "That's..."

"A little wild?" Jeremiah's eyes twinkled. "That's a tall tale for you... Oh, I was just a boy; couldn't have been more than five or six years old. I had a pet jackalope for a while out of the deal, but then it turned out that their antlers were poisonous or something, so Illumitir made it illegal to keep them as pets, and it just about crushed my little hopes and dreams."

"That turned dark awful quickly." Tess scowled, then shrugged as she glanced down at the butter. "Is this stuff safe to eat?"

"Oh, plenty so." Jeremiah nodded. "I mean, it wouldn't pass a modern-day health inspection, but if you ask my opinion, half the stuff that these modern 'scientists' cook up is nothing but nonsense anyway. I survived childhood just fine, and so did untold generations of people before me."

"Right." Jason chuckled, then nodded at the barrels. "You want a few of these? Tess and I won't be able to eat this anytime soon."

"I thought you'd never ask! How many do you want to keep?"

Jason glanced at Tess, who shrugged. "I don't use a lot of butter. I'll keep two, and you can have the other three?"

"I owe you a second cannon." Jeremiah grinned. "Just set them out by the road, under your apple trees. I'll have Weatherhand swing up here later today with a wagon and pick them up."

With that, he grabbed one of the barrels and carted it over to the road himself, ignoring Jason's offer for him and Tess to perform the task. Jason was right behind him, of course, and soon enough, Jeremiah was well on his way. Jason watched the man go, chuckling softly as he vanished up the road.

"He's quite a character." Jason commented. "Still, though, I couldn't imagine a better neighbor."

"Neither could I," Tess agreed. They cast another look at the field, and Jason grabbed one of the barrels of butter to haul into the house.

"Do you miss living in town?" Jason asked as he hauled the barrel up onto the porch. Tess opened the front door for him, and he started lugging it toward the cellar, where it would stay cool and dry.

"Every now and then," Tess admitted. "I mean, it's only been a month, so I haven't had that long to think about it, but I do have to admit that it's been a change not having Hank always out at the town well... Nor Paulina and Theresa to entertain."

She sighed deeply, then shrugged. "But I hope you know I wouldn't change a thing. I'd much rather be out here snagging butter flies with a net and then..." She started chuckling. "Throwing them in a barrel and rolling them around to get all the butter out of them! I cannot believe that sentence just emerged from my lips."

"I imagine that you'll soon have a few more just like it." Jason chuckled. He reached the top of the stairs to the basement and lugged the first barrel down, then took a moment to rest before heading back for the next one. As he did so, he cast a long look around the basement, which was still filled with his uncle's old boxes. He made a mental note to go through the boxes that winter, then followed Tess back out into the sunshine.

They soon had the second barrel of butter stored, then both went back to working on the stable. Yes, life was coming along nicely, and he simply couldn't imagine having a better neighbor. He only wondered where his strange and wonderful life might lead him next.

Chapter Seven – Home Memories

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 50th day of Summer! 41 days until the Summer Festival! Hey, it looks like the drought is likely to break tonight! Big storm expected, possible tornadoes! You know, I've never actually seen a tornado. They tended to avoid Illumitir, and when I was growing up at the Lazy-H, mom would always hide me in the cellar so I wouldn't see them and be scared. If anyone happens to have some tips on fighting them, I'd be greatly appreciative!]

Jason chuckled as he nimbly opened his eyes and rolled out of bed. Chance sprang into the spot where he had been lying, and he rose and shrugged the sleep out of his body. Tess rose and began petting the dog, which he seemed to enjoy, licking her face readily.

"You know, it really wouldn't hurt if you took the morning to write Obadiah a letter and tell him about fighting tornadoes." Jason walked up to the window and looked out across the farm. They had just harvested the sunflowers the day before, but with a big storm rolling in, Jason was too nervous to put out any seed.

"What about planting the field again?" Tess asked as she walked over to join him. Chance raced around his feet, and Jason chuckled softly.

"If we put in seed, and a tornado comes through and damages anything..." He shrugged. "Taking down a fence with that much available crop will summon in more monsters than you could dream of, and if some of the field gets damaged and other parts of the field survive, we'll just have a patchwork crop to deal with, which we can then either plant over and turn into a huge mess, or we can just let grow, at which point it looks even worse." He shrugged. "There are a few other implications, but if we wait a few days, it isn't going to impoverish us. As long as we can get seed in the ground within the next three days, we should still be able to get two more crops out before the end of summer."

"Then I'll go ahead and write." Tess nodded. "You'll go work on the stable?"

Jason nodded. "I should be able to finish it this morning, which the horses will be pleased with."

Tess nodded, then went and changed into her blue dress. Jason changed into overalls, and he quickly made his way outside and turned the horses loose in their corral. Chance began to chase crabgrasses, and didn't seem interested in coming back inside, so Jason set his bowl on the porch and joined Tess in the kitchen while she made a small breakfast.

"You know, it's been almost two months since we got married." Jason grinned up at her. "Only about another week or so, I think."

Tess beamed back at him. "It has been!" She sighed. "It's hard to believe it's been two months, actually. In some ways, it feels like it's been an eternity. In other ways, I feel like I just married you yesterday."

"Yeah." Jason started to eat the breakfast salad. "I feel you there. It's weird how natural it feels." A flutter rose up in his heart, and he glanced at Tess. "And maybe we'll have a baby to add to the mix sometime soon!"

Tess smiled at him sadly, and his heart fell.

"Not this month, at least." She sighed after a moment, but shrugged and forced herself upright. "But that's okay. It'll happen. We only just got married, after all."

"Indeed." Jason raised his glass and took a drink, then finished up the last of the meal. "Now, I'll get headed out and get to work, and you can-"

A rattle echoed from the doorway.

[You have mail from Jeremiah.]

"Ooh!" Jason flashed a grin as he walked over to the mail slot. "I

wonder what it is?"

Tess walked to their writing desk, which sat in the living room near

the window. As she sat down, Jason pulled a small envelope from the mail slot and slit it open.

"Hey, Jason! This is Jeremiah. Obadiah mentioned to me that he wanted to pick Tess's brain about warrior stuff, so I'm inviting everyone over to my house today for lunch. If you have work you were planning on getting done, I'll send over some of my hired men, but with the storm on the way, I imagine that you're not planning on doing a lot. Thanks! Jeremiah. P.S., Delilah is whipping up a proper feast, so you'd better be here to eat it."

"Tess." Jason glanced at his wife. "Problem solved!"

He handed her the letter, and she nodded in approval. "Then that's what we'll do!"

They soon made their way out into the farmyard, where they spent several minutes trying to figure out what to do for the morning. In the end, they settled for putting the last few boards on the roof of the stable, which went by remarkably quickly with the two of them working together. When they finished, it was getting close to noon, and hoofbeats echoed in the drive.

"Howdy... Well, you're not really my neighbor in the strictest sense of the word, but that's what everyone says around here." Obadiah grinned as he rode up into the yard. He was wearing dragon-scale armor that gleamed in the light, and Tess looked up and laughed at him.

"What?" He demanded after a moment.

"Ditch that armor." She finished laughing after a moment.

"Why?" He scowled. "I worked hard for this! Do you have any idea

how many times I had to kill that wyrm to get it?"

"One hundred times." Tess answered without hesitation. "You go

around wearing that, and it'll only tell your warriors that you're trying to look cool, but lack the experience to have anything really epic. Stick with your basic suit, the one I had ordered for you."

"Yeah, but everyone says it makes me look like a noob." Obadiah raised an eyebrow.

"They're just trying to get under your skin," Tess answered. "If you go for collectable armor, there will always be someone with a suit that's even more exclusive and harder to obtain. Wear a plain suit, and it says that you're confident in your abilities. If you want anything fancier, order a custom suit from Illumitir that has your name, or a family crest, or something. Make it truly unique."

"Plain, or something that truly no one else will have." Obadiah nodded. "Got it. And if you've got anything more, I'm happy for it!"

"We'll be there in a minute!"

Obadiah nodded and rode back out of the driveway, making his way along toward the Lazy-H. Jason nodded to Tess, then took out Lady and led her around to the back of the house, where the carriage was kept. A moment later, he had her hitched up, and came back around to pick up Tess. She beamed as she climbed in, and with that, they were off.

It didn't take long before they came up into the driveway of the Lazy-H. As usual, one of Jeremiah's hired hands came out to take the carriage into the barn, while Jason and Tess dismounted and walked up to the house. Jeremiah met them at the door, and grinned broadly as he ushered them inside.

"Come in, come in! Lunch is ready, Delilah's been waiting on you." "I hope not for too long." Tess looked worried.

"Oh, not at all." Jeremiah shook his head. "Now come along! The

potatoes are getting cold!"

Jason and Tess quickly followed Jeremiah into the dining room,

where, as usual, Delilah had set up a larger meal than a small army could have eaten. It was a full potato bar, with a giant heap of potatoes at one end, and an assortment of toppings stretching out along the length. There was chili, sour cream, half a dozen different types of cheeses, peppers, onions, other vegetables, great pats of Butter Fly butter, honey, and a great deal more. Jason's mouth watered, and Delilah waved at them eagerly.

"Don't just stand there! Tuck in!"

Obadiah needed no encouragement. Still wearing his dragon-scale armor, he took up several potatoes and started along the line. Jason and Tess came next, with Jeremiah and Delilah rounding out the end. They all sat down at a much smaller table nearby, and Jeremiah grinned broadly as they started eating.

"Thanks for coming out on such short notice! I just figured that old Oby here could use a real conversation with you."

"I have gone over to their house to do this." Obadiah scowled at his father. "And my name isn't Oby."

"Posh," Jeremiah snorted. "And in any case, you have gone over to their house, but you've been mighty scarce around here."

"It is a full-time job. More than a full-time job, really." Obadiah chuckled after a moment. "Tess, I don't know how you found time to date Jason while trying to run that place. It's like trying to supervise a bunch of cats, except that the cats are all armed with deadly weapons and magic spells and want to attack each other over the slightest thing."

Tess laughed. "I've never heard a more accurate description in all my life!"

Obadiah nodded, then scowled, stabbing his fork into a potato with a vengeance. "You know what happened yesterday? Two fire mages got into

an argument about who could create a more deadly fireball. They decided to have a contest, which I decided to approve, and then they both started casting fireballs inside the hall! I'd thought it was obvious that I had only meant that I was okay with them fighting outside, but apparently not!"

Tess snorted loudly. "Oh, that's nothing! Once, I had a group of five warriors, best friends for the last decade or something, get into a big fight over who got to claim a rare drop from a beast they had killed in the wilderness. It was a one-time use item or something, I don't exactly remember, and... Whew! Let me tell you, I had to replace some of the supports after they got through fighting. On the bright side, I got them to pay for the repairs, so it wasn't the end of the world."

"You got them to pay?"

Tess nodded. "There's a form you can fill out and submit to the Guild Headquarters that will blacklist them, at least in theory, from any and all dungeons associated with a guild. The forms are in the red file in Cabinet Three."

"I've got to spend more time looking through papers." Obadiah scowled, but nodded in thankfulness. "Much appreciated. Now, the real reason for today. Tornadoes. What do you know about them?"

While Tess began to give her answer, Jeremiah leaned over and whispered into Jason's ear.

"I don't understand over half of what they're talking about, but I do have to admit that it's right entertaining to listen to."

Jason laughed. "I'll agree with you there. She starts talking 'attack patterns' and 'dp's, and... I dunno. Tell me about insects and weather patterns, and there you've got me!"

"Indeed!" Jeremiah chuckled, then lowered his voice again. "Speaking of farmer things, have you had a chance to fire off that cannon yet?"

Jason shook his head. "Not yet. Why do you ask?"

Jeremiah glanced at Delilah, who was fixated upon Tess's descriptions of all the attacks that a tornado could perform. Her eyes were wide, and Jason had the odd feeling that Jeremiah wasn't going to be allowed to leave the storm cellar until after the storm had passed.

"Well, I was in town, and Obadiah let me look through his book of wilderness monster spawns... I suppose I shouldn't say let, but he did leave the book open, and he didn't tell me not to look in it..."

A twinkle came to his eye, and Jason felt a scheme brewing. "Yeah?"

"Anyway, you know that Painted Dragon thing he keeps going on about? It has a... What was it? 0.00007% chance of spawning in naturally, or something like that, at any given moment. It'll only appear once in a million years, unless you meet certain spawn conditions, at which point, it just pops in! No muss, no fuss. Just a giant, fire-breathing dragon that looks like it flew through a rainbow."

"And what are the spawn conditions?"

"It varies depending on the season, but you have to take a cannon..." Jeremiah's voice trailed off as Delilah glanced sharply at him, though she turned back to the tornado conversation quickly enough. "You have to take a cannon and fire it at any insect with less than three health. If you hit it and at least three wildflowers in the same shot, and don't hit an animal with more than ten health in the same blast, the chance of a random spawn jumps up to fifty percent. I think that's just to help prevent accidental spawns. At that point, if you then spill a can of paint, the monster will appear. Just like that!"

"And what exactly would we do with a dragon, if we were to go try to spawn one in?" Jason asked softly.

"Ahh... Kill it?" Jeremiah looked at him incredulously. "We line up all my cannons to take it down, and then we have a dead dragon on our hands! It drops loads of dragon scales, which Delilah would love to use in crafts, and the dragon teeth have loads of uses, and dragons always drop loads of gold objects because of their hordes, but... Most importantly, if you can get to it before it de-spawns, you can cut off the head and have it taxidermied. Can you imagine how epic it would be to have a dragon head in your house?"

"Tess would probably help me. She'd love it." Jason snickered. "And if we spawn in a second one-"

"Oh, I am not touching that." Jeremiah shook his head. "Delilah would kill me if I tried to hang the head of anything larger than a deer in my trophy room, but I'd be more than willing to help a friend for... Posterity's sake."

Jason chuckled, then glanced at Tess. She was still discussing the different methods for fighting a tornado, and he nodded.

"Let's do it!"

"Two weeks from today?"

"Works for me." Jason nodded.

"I'll suggest to Delilah that she go visit her cousin in Deepwater,

down south."

"And I'll suggest that Tess go spend a day in the dungeon. She'd

love that sort of thing."

"Then we have a deal." Jeremiah held out his hand, and Jason shook

it. At that exact moment, the other three heads at the table all turned to face them, and Tess's eyes narrowed.

"I wasn't paying attention, but I'm fairly certain that I heard the word cannon."

"Ahh..." Jeremiah coughed, then lit up. "Have you ever fired a cannon at a tornado? Terrible business."

"I remember when you tried it." Obadiah crossed his arms. "I was the one who had to fix all the fence it tore out when the thing just threw the cannonball right back at us!"

"Yeah, but if you remember right, it plowed a proper furrow that I was able to use to plant... Oh, I can't remember what I planted there, but it grew wonderfully!" Jeremiah grinned.

"Yeah, and if I remember right, that caused a lot of problems, since that furrow went right through my garden and tore up my eggplants!" Delilah turned to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah coughed. "Ahh... To be honest, it wasn't the tornado that tore up those eggplants."

Delilah grabbed her napkin and whacked her husband, and Jason just laughed. He glanced at Tess, who smiled as well. In such a crazy world... It was nice to be friends with a couple whose marriage had remained so strong for so many years. They knew how to navigate stress with ease, how to get through all the bumps and bruises of life. Jason knew he could stand to learn a lot from them... And he planned to start by bringing Tess a proper dragon's head.

Chapter Eight – Loyal Friend

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 55th day of Summer! 36 days until the Summer Festival! Let's see... We're in the final countdown toward the end of summer! If you're working on any projects that have to get finished by fall, you'd best start getting that wrapped up now! The weather appears to be mostly clear, with maybe a few scattered showers between now and then.]

Jason nodded in approval as Chance leapt up and began licking his face. "That's actually a fairly ordinary report."

"He's getting the hang of it." Tess nodded as she sat up. Chance continued to lick Jason, and she scowled. "Traitor."

He laughed and pushed Chance off to the side, then rose and walked up to the window. The sunflowers down below were pushing upward toward their full height, but it would still be several days before they were ready to bloom. He saw one or two Butter Flies zipping about the area, but as the flowers weren't out yet, they soon buzzed away. Tess joined him, and he felt content.

"What's the plan for today?" Tess asked. Both horses stuck their noses out through the stable doors, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm thinking about heading into town," Jason replied. "I'm running out of oil for the equipment, the horses could use some new food, we need some more wood for assorted projects..." He coughed. "And I'd like to buy some paint for painting the fence."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a lie. He did have every intention of using it to paint the fence, though he also wanted an extra can for Jeremiah's scheme.

"Ooh! What color?"

"Anything should be fine." He shrugged, and she looked up at him sharply. "What color would you prefer?"

Tess thought about it for a moment. "White. Seems ordinary, and I like the idea of white-rail fences."

"I do, too." They stood there for a moment longer, and Jason turned to their wardrobe. He changed quickly and made his way downstairs, with Tess following a moment behind. She had put on another flower-pattern dress, though this one was red and covered in roses.

"I'll make a list once breakfast is over," Tess called out as Jason walked out the front door. "Once you get everything ready, we'll make a day of it!"

Jason smiled back at her, and soon walked out into the farmyard. There, he took the two horses and led them out to the corral while Chance raced back and forth chasing monsters. Jason laughed at the effort, then poured his dog and the horses some food and made his way back up into the house. By that time, Tess already had the table set with a fresh, steaming plate of greenish pancakes, and was frantically scribbling a list on a piece of paper on the counter.

"What exactly are... these?" Jason picked up a fork and prodded the pancakes suspiciously.

"They're pancakes!" Tess said cheerily as she sat down across from him. He raised an eyebrow, and she flinched. "With spinach powder."

"Spinach powder. In pancakes."

"Just try them! You won't even taste it."

Jason bit into one of them, and decided that he could, indeed, taste

the spinach. It was not a flavor that went well with butter and syrup, but he decided not to say anything given that... well... he rather loved Tess. They both tucked into the meal, and soon finished. When they were done, they rose and walked out into the yard, and soon were on the road. Instead of taking the carriage, each of them rode their own horse. Tess rode tall, her red dress billowing in the wind. She had a hat that went with the dress, but didn't put it on until they arrived in town and dismounted.

"Now that isn't something you see every day!" Constable Hank called out from the town well, where he sat with Obadiah. "I never thought I'd see Tess without armor!"

Tess just flashed him a smile. "And I know I'll never see you enforcing the law around here."

"Ahh, I've got my eye on him," Obadiah chuckled. He was wearing standard plate armor, just like Tess had advised. "I'll whip him into shape!"

"You're a farmer," Constable Hank snorted. "You're no warrior, you couldn't-"

Obadiah winked at Tess and Jason, then grabbed hold of Hank and hefted him up above his head.

"I'm a farmer who was used to wrestling two-ton bulls before I came out here," Obadiah chuckled as he set the hapless constable back down on the ground. "Behave, Hank."

"Ahh..." Hank sputtered and staggered away, and Obadiah laughed.

"You can use the Guild stables if you want, you guys! I can call over the stablehand."

"That's generous, but I'm no longer associated with the Guild, and I'd hate for you to get in trouble," Tess explained. "Thanks, though!"

She and Jason soon had their horses hitched up to the rail in front of Paulina's store and made their way inside. The bell jingled, and Paulina waved grandly.

"Jason! Tess! My favorite married couple!"

Tess curtsied, and Paulina gasped.

"And wearing a dress! I mean, I sold you that dress, but wow! I

never thought I'd see you with anything that wasn't rated against at least a rampaging rhino."

"You still haven't." Tess chuckled, then came walking up to the counter. "Jason has a whole bunch of things he needs, and I'm going to go browse for a bit."

"Just come let me know when you're ready to check out!" Paulina called out. Tess nodded and strode off into the kitchen aisle muttering something about steaming vegetables, and Jason walked up to the counter and handed his list to Paulina. She started scanning over the items, nodding slowly.

"More seed... Inoculant... Oil... Gunpowder..." Her voice trailed off. "Paint?"

"For painting our new corral," Jason nodded, trying to keep his face straight.

"Uh-huh." Paulina raised an eyebrow. "And how many feet of fence do you have?"

"Ah..." Jason started to answer, but Tess called out from off in the distance.

"Two hundred feet, two rails, and a fence post every ten feet!"

"Then you'll need exactly... Five cans of paint." Paulina ran a few numbers on a sheet of notebook paper.

"Maybe we'll buy six," Jason put forth, trying to sound casual. "Why do we need six?" Tess poked her head out the end of an aisle. "In case one spills, obviously." Paulina snorted, fixing Jason with a

sharp gaze. He flinched backward, and Tess vanished into the aisle once again. She lowered her voice and hissed at Jason. "I know I can't stop the two of you, but you and Jeremiah had better not wreck my store when you spawn in that dragon."

"And Jeremiah needs to keep his trap shut." Jason crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Oh, Jeremiah didn't say a word," Paulina revealed. "Delilah started talking about some sort of foolish plan that he had been cooking up, and the way he turned beet-red, I knew he was still planning on it. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what the two of you are up to."

Jason winced, and Paulina wrote a number on the paper. "Six cans."

She straightened up, but altogether didn't really seem that angry or frustrated. Jason turned and followed Tess through the store for a short time, watching as she started shopping through the fabric section, but she eventually shooed him away, and he walked back out into the town square. It was turning into quite a hot day, and most people were heading inside for lunch, leaving only Obadiah at the town well. A few moments later, though, the door of the Guild Hall came crashing open, and Daniel came striding out into view.

"Hey! It's the little farmer!" Daniel beamed down at Jason. "How's it going?"

"It's... going." Jason rubbed his head as Daniel came thumping up to the side of Paulina's store and leaned against the wall. There was a crash from the other side, and Daniel stuck his head through the door.

"Sorry, Paulina! I think I broke something!"

"You did! Don't come inside!"

Daniel chuckled and pulled his head back out, letting the door fall

shut again, and Jason rolled his eyes.

"People are going to start selling insurance to protect people against

you, you do know that, right?"

"That's a good thing, right?" Daniel glanced down at Jason, who

just rolled his eyes.

"So what's new with you?" Jason asked after a moment. "I honestly kinda figured you'd be well on your way by now. You weren't exactly enjoying hanging around Summer Shandy back before the wedding. What's keeping you here?"

"My little sis isn't enough to keep me here?" Daniel looked down at Jason in a manner that made him strongly suspect that he was playing innocent.

"It wasn't enough to draw you here for the previous... Seven years of your life, if I understand the timeline right?"

Daniel turned a bit red.

"Plus, it's not like you come out and visit us that often."

"That's true." Daniel frowned, then brightened. "The dungeon is lots

of fun!"

"From what Tess has told me, you quite literally beat the dungeon

blindfolded, without a single weapon, while you were walking backwards." Daniel shook his head. "Try again."

"Ahh... There's a cute girl that I met?"

"Now that, I believe." Jason chuckled. "Which one?"

"I don't want to say. You'll make fun of me." Daniel turned quite

red.

"Do you have any idea how much I was made fun of when I started

dating Tess?" Jason raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you saying that you're less willing to stand up to criticism than a poor little farmer like me?"

At that, Daniel's eyes flickered open, and he chuckled. "Well... Since you put it that way..." He folded his hands and lowered his head. "Have you met Theresa?"

A sharp laugh escaped Jason's throat. It was utterly unplanned, and Daniel jerked upright and turned beet-red. He started to walk away, and Jason waved him back.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Jason called after him, and Daniel soon walked back over to stand next to him. "I just... You like Theresa?"

"I dunno." Daniel shrugged. "She just seems nice. She's always fixing things, and I'm always breaking them, and that just seems kinda wonderful to me." He paused, then looked at Jason. "Plus... I dunno. I've never really cared about getting in a relationship, but seeing you and Tess together is just... I'm so happy for you, and I want that same thing."

A tear dripped down his face. "I want to marry someone from a pathetic little town, so I can give up adventuring and settle down just like her."

"A bit of advice? Quit insulting our town if you want that to happen." Jason patted Daniel on the shoulder.

"Tess's dad told me the same thing," Daniel acknowledged. "Just be yourself, but make sure not to-"

"You've talked to Tess's father?" Jason hissed.

Daniel froze, and his face took on a sheepish sort of a grin. "I... I didn't talk to him, per se, but I may have written him a letter, given that he was expecting me to come back down to the volcanic lands right after the wedding."

"Why would you do that?" Jason snapped.

"I dunno. I mean, after my own parents were killed, Tess and I were adopted by our mother, but I never really had a father, so when he sorta started talking to me, I sorta started... I mean... He's not my dad, but he seems nice, and he acts kinda fatherly from time to time, and-"

"Not that!" Jason briefly considered punching Daniel in the gut, but knew that he would only hurt his hands on the man's armor. "That's Tess's father! Do you have any idea how much she wants a parent? Her real parents? I told you, before the wedding, to talk to Tess about the fact that her father was still alive, and you told me that you would do it."

"And I told you that I would do it in my own time!" Daniel's face began to darken. "I ask, with every letter that I send him, with every conversation that I have with him, if he would be willing to come back to Tess. To speak to her, to tell her that he still loves her. To tell her that he's sorry, to tell her anything. He always refuses. For some reason, he'll talk to me, and I don't know why, but..."

"Please," Jason begged, then looked up at him. "Let's flip this around. Someone had information that your parents were still alive. Somehow, they survived the accident, and have been living in seclusion ever since then. This individual knew that, but chose not to tell you because they thought that you would be hurt even more by that information."

"Why, I'd rip them from-" Daniel's voice trailed off, and he relented. "I think I get the point."

"Good," Jason felt relieved.

Tess came walking out the front door. "I think I got everything." She beamed as she started showing him a handful of bolts of cloth she'd purchased. "Well, Jason, do you want to spend some time looking around the town? Maybe go on a picnic up by the waterfall?"

Jason glanced at Daniel, who simply turned red and hurried away. Jason watched him go, then exhaled and nodded.

"Yeah. That sounds amazing!"

Tess frowned, as if she could detect that something was wrong, but she said nothing. They transferred all their purchases into their inventories, they mounted up and started riding out north of town. As they did, Jason caught sight of Daniel ducking inside the Guild Hall, and he took a deep breath.

Sure, it wasn't an ideal situation, but Tess needed to know about her father. Still, though, Jason knew that he wasn't the person to be the one to break the news. Somehow, he had to convince Daniel to buck up and be a man... If he didn't, Jason could only imagine what the consequences would be.

Chapter Nine - Summoning

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 64th day of Summer! 27 days until the Summer Festival! It's looking like a cloudy day today, maybe a few light showers! Nothing too bad, though, it shouldn't keep you out of the fields unless you're looking for an excuse to stay out of the fields. In that case, feel free to use this as an opportunity to come into town! Oh, and as an aside, spawn rates in groundhogs go up by almost thirty percent during scattered showers!]

Jason chuckled and opened his eyes as Chance sprang upon him. The dog was getting quicker, there was no doubt about it. Before Daniel could properly sit up, Chance sprang to the left and jumped onto Tess, then jumped back onto Jason. His tail wagged furiously, and Jason scowled good-naturedly at him.

"You know, when I first got you, I'm pretty sure I said that you weren't allowed to sleep on the bed."

"Oh, but he's such a cutie!" Tess rubbed the mutt's head, then swung her legs out of bed and stood up. She stretched, and Jason joined her. Together, they walked up to the window, which looked out over a rather dark and dreary landscape.

There was no rain, at least not yet, but the sky was certainly cloudy. The clouds rolled along quickly, twisting and turning in the winds that roared high above the landscape, and Jason shivered slightly. It was still certain to be quite warm outside, but it looked as though it should have been cold.

"Well, mister farmer, what's the plan for today?" Tess asked softly. "Any big projects, or are we going to take it easy?"

Jason puffed out his cheeks. If he wasn't mistaken, it was the day that he and Jeremiah had agreed to try to summon the Painted Dragon, which meant... well... He still had no clue how Tess would feel about it, and that meant that it would be a good deal safer for him if she was out of the house.

"Why don't you go take the day off?" Jason suggested after a moment. "You've been talking about going up to the dungeon for a day, anyway. It just looks dreary out there, and none of my projects are really going to work if it starts to rain, you know?" He glanced out across the field, where the sunflowers were in full bloom. "We'll need to harvest... Tomorrow, I think? Maybe the day after? I dunno, seems like as good of a day as any if you wanted to use it."

At that, Tess's face broke into a wide grin. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, of course!" Jason nodded. "Go have some fun. Spend all day there if you want."

"You're sure you'll be okay out here? All by yourself?"

"I did it for three years," Jason gently reminded his new bride. "I've been thinking about inviting Jeremiah over here, anyway. He'll probably be taking a lighter day of things, too, so..."

At that, Tess's eyes narrowed. "Jeremiah has always been a good friend of mine, and I know the two of you have been close since the first day you got here, but you two have gotten awfully close since we got married."

Jason shrugged. "I think he's just happy to have another married guy to hang out with."

"More like a willing co-conspirator," Tess muttered, with a sideways glance. "Just don't go blowing up anything, and I suppose I don't really care much what you two are up to. The house will still be here when I get back, right?"

An image of the Painted Dragon attacking the house and burning it to the ground briefly flickered through Jason's mind.

"Yup. It'll still be here!" Under his breath, he added. "At least that's the plan."

Tess rolled her eyes, likely thinking him to mostly be joking, and she made her way over to the wardrobe. A moment later, she was dressed in full battle armor. It was a suit that Jason hadn't seen before, made of red dragon scales.

"Now that's a suit of armor." Jason whistled. "I thought you told Obadiah not to wear that sort of thing."

"As a guildmaster? Yes." Tess snickered. "I'm a private citizen now. I can do whatever I want!"

She ran down the stairs, and Jason quickly changed into overalls. When he came down, she was in the kitchen, and he made way outside and took care of the horses just as quickly as he could. When he came back inside, Tess had put steaming bowls of a reddish oatmeal on the table, and Jason's nose wrinkled slightly as he sat down across from her.

"Ahh... Do I want to ask why this is red?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably not, but it'll be healthy," Tess winked. He started eating, and she grinned. "Good, isn't it?"

Jason did his best to swallow several of the bites. A familiar, rather tangy sort of taste swam amidst the otherwise lovely oatmeal, and he grimaced.

"You added cabbage, didn't you?"

"And it's healthy, like I said."

"Well, it's also painful." Jason muttered, though he said it with a

smile.

"So is exercise," Tess countered. "And both are good for you." They

finished the meal largely in silence, and Tess rose. "Well, thank you for trying it, at least."

Jason took a deep breath, then nodded. "I love you, so... Come at me with whatever you want. I'll be here for it."

"Just remember that you said that!" Tess grinned and started walking toward the front door. "Have fun with whatever you're going to do today!"

"I will!" Jason called back, then held up a hand. "Oh! Wait just a second!" Tess stopped, and Jason held out his hands. "Recall Winter Shandy Sword from inventory."

With a flicker, a gleaming blade appeared in his hands. It was a long and thin blade, more like a rapier than an ordinary sword. The hilt was made of firm leather, and the blade was etched with a snowflake pattern. He passed the weapon to Tess, and she whistled.

"The stats on this thing are incredible! This is the sword you got from the mini-dungeon?"

Jason nodded. "I keep meaning to give it to you, but I keep forgetting about it."

Tess gave it a few practice swings, leaving a faint, snowflake-pattern shimmer in the air. She whistled again, then unequipped her primary sword

and sheathed the Winter Shandy blade.

"I'll be off! See you this evening!"

With that, she strode out the front door, and Jason walked out onto

the porch. He sat down in one of the chairs there, and watched as Tess mounted Angus and rode off down the road. She soon vanished over the hills, and he rose and walked over to the lean-to.

"All right, now. Time to dust off this thing."

Sitting next to his planter, harvester, and plow was the gleaming, polished cannon that Jeremiah had given him as a wedding present. He took out a rag and wiped off the dust that had accumulated over the summer, then took out one of his paint cans. A few moments later, hoofbeats echoed in the drive, and he turned as Jeremiah came riding up.

"You ready?" Jeremiah beamed down at him.

"Indeed!" Jason grinned. He walked over to the corral and took Lady's reins, and within a moment, he had her hitched up to the cannon. "Where are we doing this?"

"I've got my outer pasture set up." Jeremiah gestured vaguely off toward the west. "I've got thirty of my best cannons ready to shoot it down the moment it appears. We're gonna be the talk of the town!"

"Yeah, you don't really strike me as the type of person who cares a great deal about being the talk of the town," Jason remarked as they set off down the road.

"Maybe not, but if we can summon this thing in, we will be!" Jeremiah exulted. "Our wives will be so proud that their husbands defeated a dragon!"

Jason laughed softly. They rode down the road a bit further, then turned off to the west. There, a narrow trail led off into the prairie, which they followed as quickly as they could. Soon enough, they topped a narrow rise, and came into view of much of Jeremiah's pastureland. All told, the Lazy-H covered tens of thousands of acres that had been segmented into dozens of pastures. At that point, Jason could see three of them. Cattle were grazing in the pasture closest to the road, but the other two looked to be empty, save for some of Jeremiah's hired men that were setting up the cannons.

Jeremiah led the way to a small gate in the pasture fence. He hopped off and opened it for Jason, and Jason quickly rumbled inside. Once the gate was closed up, Jason continued to follow the trail up to a small hill that

stood just above a levy. The levy created an artificial pond for the cattle to drink from, at least when they were in that part of the ranch. On the hilltop, Jeremiah had set up a table, upon which sat a small butterfly house filled with grasshoppers and flies and other small insects. Just behind the butterfly house was a vase filled with wildflowers. Jason quickly set up his cannon about thirty feet away and began aiming the thing, then set the can of paint on the ground just next to it. Jeremiah hopped down and used a knife to pry the lid of the paint can off, and Jason began to load the cannon.

"Let me know when you're ready." Jeremiah called out as Jason rammed the cannonball down the barrel.

"Almost there." Jason took a deep breath, then walked around behind the cannon to check the aim. Cannons were terrible for any sort of precision, and he suddenly realized just how difficult the shot was going to be. Even if he did somehow hit both the bug house and the flowers, there was no guarantee that he would actually strike all the requisite objects. "All right! I think I'm ready."

"Wonderful!" Jeremiah pulled a white handkerchief out of his pocket and waved it through the air. His hired men, which were all standing well over a hundred feet away, waved the same color back. "Looks like everyone is good to go."

"Great." Jason took out a box of matches and struck one. "In that case... Here we go!"

He lit the fuse, then stepped back. It burned down to the metal, there was a soft puff of smoke... And then, with an enormous roar, the gun exploded. Smoke and fire erupted from the end of the barrel, and the bug house and vase of flowers were shattered into a thousand pieces. The shot resounded across the surrounding hills, and Jason winced. Unless Tess was already in the dungeon, she was sure to have heard the blast.

[You have killed 5 grasshoppers!]

"I think we did it." Jason let out a long breath. "How long do we have to knock over the can of paint? Do we have to wait, or do we have to do it really quickly, or..."

Jeremiah shrugged. "Beats me. Do it now."

Jason nodded and kicked the can. White paint splattered across the ground, and he held his breath, waiting for the telltale roar that would let him know that a dragon was coming. Jeremiah's hired men all looked to the sky, glancing back and forth, and Jason began to feel his hopes sinking.

A full minute went by before Jeremiah took his hat off his head and threw it onto the dust. He still had a smile on his face, though, and he chuckled softly as he picked the hat back up and dusted it off.

"Well, like I always say, playing with cannons is fun even when you don't achieve your goal. I have to admit, I was itching to see the thing appear, but such is life."

"You're still disappointed that the arch-Juun Bug was just a ten- health bug you could have killed with a flyswatter." Jason remarked.

"Of course I am! I went out to that dungeon with the intention of killing a proper mini-boss."

"It was a mini-boss."

"It was a micro-boss. Maybe even a nano-boss." Jeremiah grumbled, then shrugged. "Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose, and no one got eaten, so we'd best just count our blessings."

More than a little disappointed, Jason hitched Lady back up to the cannon, waved goodbye to Jeremiah, and departed. True to form, he heard cannons booming in the distance as Jeremiah unloaded all the weapons (after all, it's terribly dangerous to haul around a loaded cannon), and he chuckled.

When he got home, he put Lady back into the corral, cleaned the cannon, and then made his way inside. It was a dismal sort of day, and he soon settled into a chair next to the window and picked up a good book to read through. He soon found himself engrossed in the plot, and the rest of the day passed quickly.

The sun was falling when Tess and Angus came riding back into the farm. She burst through the door and threw her arms around Jason, and he hugged her tightly.

"How was your day?" She asked as they pulled apart.

"Relaxing." Jason nodded after a moment of thought.

"What did you do with Jeremiah?"

He thought for a moment. "Nothing that worked out."

Tess laughed. "That does seem to be par for the course with him!" "And how was your day?" Jason asked softly as they made their

way to the kitchen. Her armor showed an immense number of dents and scratches that it hadn't shown that morning, and Tess grinned broadly.

"It was amazing!" She sighed as she dropped into a chair. "Obadiah, because he's not used to dungeons, accidentally found a hidden boss

chamber last week when he tried to grab a crystal that the rest of us would have thought was just used for decoration. He's been taking people inside who he knows are good fighters, and wow, I haven't seen many more powerful bosses outside of some of the really big, famous ones!" She sighed. "It was... Oh, it was wonderful. I'd already forgotten how much I enjoy dungeon-delving."

She didn't intend for her words to hurt; of that much Jason was certain. Still, though, the words did cut at him. Was she already growing bored with her life on the farm? Sure, he had been the one to suggest the trip, but...

He stifled his thoughts, put a smile on his face, and sat down with his beloved to eat. The meal passed quickly, and they soon started making their way up to bed. In many ways, it had been a wonderful, relaxing sort of day, and yet, it left him with an odd sort of taste in his mouth. For the first time since the wedding, he began to wonder... But no. He put those thoughts out of his mind. He and Tess were married, and things were wonderful. That was the beginning of the story, and that would be the end.

Anything other than that, he simply would not abide.

Chapter Ten – Summer Festival

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 91st day of Summer! It's the day of the Summer Festival! So... I'm gonna be honest, we didn't have these festivals when I was growing up here, and the only one I've been to so far was a wedding, so I really can't tell you what exactly is supposed to be happening today. Someone more experienced than me is gonna have to take charge. On the bright side, it's going to be bright and sunny today, which means that monster spawn rates are low! Oh, and it means you can have lots of fun running around and playing outside. Socializing outside, I suppose would be a more proper term, given we're all adults. At least most of us are adults, but there are quite a few kids in town, too. Umm... Look, come out and have fun, you all know the drill!]

Jason's eyes blinked open, and he braced himself for impact. Nothing came, and he frowned in confusion as he slowly sat up. Chance continued not to jump on him, and he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. A glance revealed that Tess was missing, too, and he frowned. Curious and concerned, he rose and walked up to the window. As he got there, though, a smile came across his face, and he sighed in contentment.

Tess had already taken the horses out, and was pouring their grain even as he watched. She was wearing her elegant flower-pattern dress, which billowed in the early-morning breeze. She turned and waved up at him, and he waved back. With that, he turned around and walked over to the wardrobe, where he changed quickly and made his way downstairs. Tess came walking back inside as he entered the kitchen, and his eyes opened wide in surprise. Tess had prepared a proper feast, something worthy of Delilah's table. There was a batch of danish eggs sprinkled with powdered sugar, pancakes, several types of pastries, a bottle of maple syrup, a bowl of brown sugar to crumble over the meal, and a plate of sausage links.

"Now this is a royal feast of a breakfast." Jason's mouth watered. "What's the occasion?"

Tess glowed as she sat down across from him. "I mean... The summer festival? Our first season as a married couple?" She beamed. "We've been married for three months now, Jason! Three months! That's incredible, isn't it?"

"More than you know," Jason exuded as he started into the meal. "When I came here... I don't know. I always imagined that I would get married, but I can honestly say this has been better than my wildest dreams."

"Me, too," Tess agreed, then glanced down. "I just can't wait until we have kids to share it with."

Jason nodded and flashed a grin. "You're telling me! Little ones, helping me out on the farm, working in the garden with you, pattering up and down the stairs..." His voice trailed off, and he flinched. "You're not pregnant yet, are you?"

Tess gave a brief shake of her head. "For a third month, nope." She closed her eyes and looked bashful. "I know it's still early, but... I just have to wonder if it's my fault."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked, leaning forward.

"I've been a warrior my whole life, Jason," Tess emphasized. "I've never intentionally done anything to hurt my body, but I've been beaten around more than most people. The number of times I've been blasted into a wall or tossed into an acid pit or accidentally breathed toxic fumes... What if I can't have kids?"

"You'll get pregnant." Jason reached out and put a hand on her arm. "It'll be okay, just... Be patient."

"I'm not exactly a patient sort of a person." Tess stabbed a fork into a pancake, then focused. "I understand, though. I'm not going to get too nervous. Not yet, at least." She took a deep breath, then forced a smile to her face. "Now, let's get moving. We have a festival to prepare for!"

Jason nodded, and they soon rose and made their way out into the farmyard. Tess took Angus and hitched him to the carriage, and they were soon off toward town. The miles flew by under the turning wheels, and Jason felt elated. His first festival as a married man! How exciting was that?!

When they came rolling into Summer Shandy, they found it abuzz with excitement, indeed. Men and women rushed back and forth carrying enormous amounts of food, while tables were carried out and set with long

tablecloths. A stage was set up, over by Paulina's store, where a band was just beginning to rehearse. Tess leapt from the carriage and ran over to Paulina and Theresa, who were both chatting nearby, and they all began to talk rapidly about who-knew-what. Jason laughed softly, then drove the carriage over to a designated spot for them. A stablehand unhitched Angus and led him to a makeshift stable that had been set up for the influx of travelers. Jeremiah came rolling in a few minutes later, and while Delilah went to chat with the other wives just like Tess, Jeremiah and Jason joined forces to help set up for the festival.

Setup was largely a blur. A light meal was brought out at noon, and then everyone went right back to getting ready. Finally, as the sun started to sink through the sky, the band began to play a bit louder and more forcefully, and Obadiah climbed up onto the town well. Hank stood just next to him, a lopsided sort of grin on his face. Jeremiah, for his part, cupped his hands around his mouth and called out loudly.

"That's my boy! Protector of the city!"

Obadiah turned rather red, and Jason laughed. Still, though, he kept his composure, which was a great deal more than Jason likely would have been able to do under the same circumstances.

"Well, today's the day of the Summer Festival, and I've been told that it's my job to make a speech." Obadiah took a long breath, then scowled down at Hank. "If you ask me, I have a whole lot of duties that really should be picked up by the town constable, but someone went easy on him and let a whole lot of business slide by."

Tess cupped her hands around her mouth and called out as well. "Trust me, you'll get tired of trying to get him to do anything after awhile, too! It's way easier to just do it yourself!"

"Anyway, as I said, I have to make a speech, so here goes." Obadiah clapped his hands. "Since returning here to Summer Shandy, I've had a warm welcome from everyone here. You all have just accepted me as one of your own, and the words of encouragement that have been sent my way have been invaluable. I particularly have to thank Paulina for helping me sort through the more mundane aspects of my job, those that involve dealing with the town directly. I certainly couldn't have done it without her, and if any of you need anything, you should absolutely buy it from her."

"There's no one else to buy from, anyway!" Jason chimed in, and a burst of laughter spread through the crowd. At that, Obadiah's cheeks began

to rather resemble tomatoes, and he coughed.

"Well, this town is wonderful, and you deserve your party tonight!

Have fun!"

He leapt down, and Hank climbed up onto the well. He raised a

pistol into the air and fired it up toward the sky, making almost everyone jump.

"Let the party begin!"

Instantly, the food was swept out of homes and the guild hall and set out along the tables, and the great feast began. Tess chose to sit with her friends from in town, Paulina and Theresa and Viola, and Jason sat down next to her. Somehow, he was unsurprised to see Obadiah taking a seat next to Paulina. That said, he was somewhat surprised to see Daniel sitting down next to Obadiah, though the puppy-dog eyes that he cast at Theresa told Jason everything he needed to know.

"How's it going on the farm, Jason?" Obadiah asked as the girls chatted about all sorts of happenings in town.

"Going well!" Jason grinned. "We got our last harvest of sunflowers out yesterday. Tomorrow we're going to try corn. There's a zillion different varieties, but I think we're going to start with one or two. Maybe experiment throughout the year, but we'll see."

"Great, good." Obadiah nodded, though his eyes turned toward Paulina as she mentioned something offhandedly about the Guild Hall.

"And what about the dungeon business?" Jason queried.

"Oh, it's wonderful." Obadiah turned his attention back to Jason. "There's a town out east... Oh, what's it called? Windgust, or something, I can't remember exactly what, but they just opened up a new dungeon, so a lot of people are coming down from Illumitir to try it out. Believe it or not, Summer Shandy sits at a crossroads of sorts, so while some people are taking other paths, quite a few people are coming through Summer Shandy on their way out to Windgust. What's even better is the fact that our dungeon is brand-new as well, which means that a lot of people are popping in to be able to compare it to the new Windgust dungeon." He launched into a long explanation of different trends in dungeon construction, and how that related to some new mega-dungeons that were being built along the coasts, and Jason just chuckled. When Obadiah realized that he was rambling, he clamped his mouth shut, and Jason laughed.

"Feel free to continue!"

"Nah. I mean, you're married to Tess, so you probably understand a lot more than I did coming in, but it's not your business." He sighed and drummed his fingers against the table.

Jason nodded, then glanced at Daniel. "And how are you doing?"

"Oh, same old." Daniel shrugged. "Just doing the dungeon every now and then to stay in shape. There's a wilderness area up to the north that I go to every now and then to fight some harder monsters, but something just keeps drawing me back."

"Someone?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Shh!" Daniel hissed, and Jason and Obadiah both laughed. Daniel straightened up a bit and nodded. "In any event, you might be pleased to know that I'm trying out a new challenge in the dungeon! The sleepwalking challenge!"

Jason glanced at Obadiah, who just put his head in his hands.

"I keep telling you, Daniel, you have to actually be prone to sleepwalking in order for something like that to work. Just walking into the dungeon and taking a nap only means that people are going to trip over you."

Daniel shrugged. "Maybe I just need more training! Or better yet, a good injury!"

Obadiah rolled his eyes, then lowered his voice and leaned closer to Daniel. "He keeps trying to injure himself in the dungeon so he has an excuse to go visit you-know-who, but his stats are high that he can't get injured seriously by anything that we have here."

"I got a good scratch across my face!" Daniel leaned forward and pointed to a faint scratch across one of his cheeks.

"Yeah, you got that after the boss of the dungeon, the wyrm, gnawed on your snoring head for fifteen minutes." Obadiah muttered. "The same one that bit straight through my armor and gave me that nasty, oozing limp."

Jason laughed, but both Obadiah and Daniel seemed more than a little annoyed by the fact.

"In any case, getting injured is a terrible way to get someone to notice you." Jason laughed after a few moments.

"It's a perfect way!" Daniel declared defensively. "Tess's dad even told me so!"

At that exact moment, conversation at the table died. Jason wondered why for a brief moment, then turned to see Tess staring at her adopted brother with something hovering between horror, anger, and hope. Daniel was looking down at his plate and didn't notice for a few long moments. When he looked up and met her eyes, though, he flinched backward.

"Tess's dad did what?" Tess's voice was deathly quiet.

"Ahh..." Daniel started to fidget. "I... Umm..."

"Daniel?" Tess started to rise out of her seat. "If you know

something about my father, and don't tell me about it right this instant, I will skewer you with your own armor and roast you over the hearth in the Guild Hall."

Daniel coughed and stood up. His enormous frame caught on the edge of the table, and the whole thing was flipped on its side. Turkey and corn and mashed potatoes came crashing down around Jason's head, and Obadiah landed on the ground just next to him. Paulina and Theresa were thrown as well, though Tess managed to help Viola get out of the way in time.

"Sorry." Daniel gasped. "I didn't mean to- I mean- I-"

"Daniel!" Tess barked. "What do you know of my father? My mother? Speak to me, this instant." Her hands balled into fists, and even though she was wearing a wonderful, flowery dress, she suddenly looked every inch the warrior that Jason knew her to be.

Daniel didn't answer for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was a mere whisper.

"Your mother is dead. Dungeon accident, from what I heard. Your dad is... Alive." Daniel shuddered. "I talk to him from time to time."

"And he's giving you advice on dating women?"

Daniel didn't look up, and Tess laughed. It wasn't a particularly funny sort of laugh.

"First off, what person would be stupid enough to take dating advice from a guy who abandoned his daughter the moment that she started to become a burden?" Tess's voice was laced with venom. "Secondly, why didn't you tell me the moment you found out where he was?" Her voice shook, and she screamed at him. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I was trying to protect you!" he roared back at her.

"Yeah. Because that obviously worked out so well." Tess snapped and turned to Jason. Her mask of anger flickered for a moment, and her eyes narrowed.

"You didn't know about this, did you?"

Jason bit his lip, and her face turned white. Without another word, she swept past the tables of gawking townsfolk and onto the road, down toward the farm. Jason felt stunned, and he turned to glare at Daniel as well.

"I told you to tell her," he hissed, then stalked away. The darkness enveloped him, and he felt profoundly worried. It was the first time that Tess had ever been angry with him, at least since they had been married. How would he be able to sort it out? Would he be able to sort it out? What would happen?

He didn't have the faintest idea... He only hoped that time would be able to heal the wound.

Chapter Eleven – First Day of Fall

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 1st day of Fall! 90 days until the Fall Festival! It's a chilly one today, that's for sure! Just a few ticks above freezing, it's likely to stay like this pretty much all day! That said... Just checking my charts here. Probably should have done this before I started recording. Here we go! It looks like the first frost of the year isn't expected until near the end of the season, so go get your crops out!]

Jason's eyes flickered, open, and he sighed. He lay on the couch down in the living room, a far cry from his lush bedroom above. When he had gotten home the night before, he had been able to hear Tess in the bedroom, crying and screaming and threatening a great deal of things that he rather wished he hadn't heard. The one time he had started to creep up the stairs, she had screamed even louder, and he had quickly made his retreat.

He didn't know when she would be down that morning, and he quickly slipped into the kitchen and began to prepare a proper breakfast. The cookbook flapped its pages eagerly, and he chuckled.

"It's been awhile since I've been the one to talk to you, isn't it?" The cookbook slammed itself shut, then opened itself up once again. "Do you know what breakfast food happens to be Tess's favorite?" A single page on either side of the open book lifted slightly in a

shrug.

"All right, then." Jason sighed. "Try making some of that red

oatmeal. I know she likes that well enough."

There was a flash, and the bowls appeared on the table. Jason

grabbed some spoons out of a drawer and sat down, then leaned back in his chair. A few moments later, he heard creaking on the stairs, and Tess's head soon appeared in the doorway. She had deep bags beneath her red-rimmed eyes, and he felt compassion for her.

"Hi." She whispered softly.

"Hi." Jason nodded at the oatmeal. "I made you breakfast."

At that, Tess flashed a sad sort of smile and sat down. She picked up her spoon and began to eat. Jason did the same, and a moment later, she looked down at the bowl.

"You made my own oatmeal," she whispered softly. "You hate this stuff."

"Yeah, but..." Jason shrugged. "I figured you needed it."

"Thanks." Tess drew in a deep breath. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They sat there for a long moment. Finally, Tess shook her head and

leaned back.

"I... I'm sorry for exploding at you last night."

"It's okay," Jason comforted her with a small smile. "I imagine I

would have been angry too, in the reverse situation."

"I was just... I was so utterly taken off-guard," Tess shuddered.

"When you said that you knew, I didn't even stop to think. I don't know if I really could have thought anything through. Since then... Well, I know my brother."

Jason nodded wearily. "He told me by accident, too. I've been trying to convince him to say something to you ever since then, but he just kept blowing it off, and he begged me to let him be the one to say something, so..." Jason confessed. "In fairness, if he had actually done it, the news would have come a lot better coming from him than me."

"Yeah." Tess nodded, then flashed a small smile. "If you had just told me out here on the farm, I'd likely just have gone and killed him. Whooped him solid, that's for sure. This was worse, I get that, but... If he had come and sat me down and told me... I don't know. What I do know is that the way it all happened... I'm so furious, and I'm hurt, and..."

She looked down at her bowl again, and Jason reached out and put a hand on her arm.

"I really am sorry. I never intended to hurt you. Maybe I should have pressed him more, but-"

"You did everything you could. My brother is the one at fault, not you," Tess reassured him, then pulled herself upright. "Now, what's the plan for today? If I sit around and mope, then my brother gets to win this round, and I really don't want that to happen."

At that, Jason chuckled softly. "Well, I figured we'd get started planting corn. I have all the seed from Paulina's, so we just have to put it

into the ground."

Tess nodded. "And that's pretty much just a one-person job." "Unless you want to go clean up the machine beforehand." Jason

chuckled, then shook his head. "I'm kidding. No, take it easy today. If you're looking for something to do, the side garden will need to be planted with fall crops. All the summer stuff will have died at midnight, so it'll need to be hoed up, replanted, watered, all that sort of fun stuff."

"I'll get on it." Tess nodded wearily and rose. "Then, if I have the energy, I might go start working on cleaning up some of this house. As it gets colder, I'd like to start working on getting the dining room cleaned out, maybe some of the old guest rooms upstairs that we don't use, and so on and so forth."

"The basement could sure use a deep-clean," Jason offered. "I haven't even looked in the attic more than once since I got here, so I'm sure it's a disaster."

"Then we have a plan for the day." Tess nodded and stood up. "For the season, really. I'll meet you outside."

She turned and stumbled up the stairs, and Jason followed. Both were still wearing the same clothes as the night before, and they quickly changed into more appropriate work clothing. Tess hopped in the shower while Jason headed downstairs, and a moment later, he was out in the crisp fall weather.

It was indeed much cooler, as a frosty wind blew across the prairie and rustled the grass wildly. Lady and Angus stuck their heads out of the stable, and Jason quickly led them over to the corral. Chance yipped and raced around his feet, and he soon had all the animals fed. Jason took a deep breath, then grimaced as Chance caught sight of a smut sneaking around the corner of the field.

Smuts were, quite easily, the worst monster that the fall had to offer. They only appeared for a single season out of the year, but they were absolutely disgusting. Giant, oozing fungi that crept across the ground like slimes, they ignored fences, were impervious to all forms of blades or bludgeons, and were afraid only of fire. Of course, fire would cause them to explode into a fountain of black goo, goo that was impossible to wash out of clothing and would stain anything it came in contact with. Chance, who had only joined Jason the year before, knew none of this, and threw himself headlong at the closest smut blob.

"No!" Jason called out.

Chance looked in his direction and barked, only to be swallowed up by the four-foot long blob an instant later. Jason grimaced and rushed forward. He grabbed a torch off the fence and thrust it at the monster, and the smut scampered backward, spitting out Chance as it did so. The dog, for his part, seemed utterly unaffected, and resumed barking at the monster the moment he regained his footing. Jason simply rolled his eyes and stuck the torch back into its holder on the fence, then strode over to the planter.

"Give me the planter specifications for corn," he ordered as he dropped onto the ground and slid underneath the machine.

[0.4 inches, 25%]

Jason nodded and spent the next twenty minutes moving from disk to disk, making the necessary adjustments. When he finished, he rose and headed over to the corral. He took Lady's reins and led her over to the planter, and soon had her hitched up and ready to go.

"Let's get to it, Lady." He snapped the reins, and she lumbered forward toward the field. Soon enough, he was inside the field, and he pulled the lever to drop the disks into the ground. The machine slid smoothly into the dirt, and Chance ran past and around him, barking at monsters that piled up just outside the fence. Jason laughed at the effort, and though he kept a close eye on Chance to make sure the dog never got in the way of Lady's hooves or the planter's disks, Chance knew enough to stay well enough away.

While he made his way back and forth across the field, Jason also kept a close eye on his house. Tess didn't emerge for a long while, until it was almost lunchtime. She wore a simple, gray dress. Its dullness indicated that she was having a rough time of things, he was sure of it. When he made it halfway across the field, the sun was sitting right about in the noon position, and he unhitched the planter in the gate and took Lady back to the corral. Tess was kneeling right next to the garden, staring down at the old weeds, not really moving.

"Come on." Jason put a hand on her shoulder. "We should eat something."

Tess nodded wearily and allowed herself to be led inside, where they soon sat down at the kitchen table. Jason fixed up a fairly simple meal of ham sandwiches, and took his seat as Tess leaned against the table.

"What's going on?" Jason asked, even though he was fairly certain he knew the answer.

"I don't know," Tess expressed, after waiting almost a full minute. "I just... I don't know." She turned and looked Jason in the eye. "Last year, when your mother was so angry at you, how did it feel?"

"Awful." Jason shuddered. "Nothing I ever want to go through again."

"Exactly." Tess nodded. She hugged herself, then looked up at him again. "Now... I don't know. I don't have to tell you what to imagine, since you know the situation." Her eyes began filling with tears. "He left me, Jason! He left me in the care of a woman he barely knew, just so he could continue to have fun diving through dungeons and fighting monsters. Don't get me wrong, I like fighting monsters, but I was willing to give that up to come marry you, because I love you, and I want to be there for our kids." A tear trickled down her face, and she balled up her fists. "And now I don't even know if I can have kids, so what do you know? My whole family is just cursed, and now you have to suffer for it, too."

Jason reached out and took her hand, and he smiled. "Shh. It's okay, Tess." She looked up and met his eyes, and he took a deep breath. "First off, we don't know that you can't have kids. It's only been three months. People who are perfectly healthy sometimes have to keep trying for longer than that, so don't beat yourself up over it."

"You're saying I'm not perfectly healthy?"

"No!" Jason exclaimed. "That's not what I meant at all. I'm just saying that it's way too early to start to panic about that sort of thing."

Tess sighed deeply and drummed her fingers against the table. "I know, I know, I just... I mean, that's my father, Jason! I don't know who he is anymore, but I know he's my father. Ever since I can remember, I've just wanted to meet him. To have him step through the door of whatever home I happened to be living in, to spread out his arms and give me a hug, to say that he's sorry. To say that he wished he could make it up to me, and then to actually do something concrete to try and make it up." By now, tears were pattering down onto the tablecloth. "Jason, you have no idea what that kind of hurt feels like. I'm not trying to say that you should, or that... I just... And now he's talking with my brother, who's not even his -- but not me!"

Her tears began to vanish, and her hands curled around her knife and fork in a way that made Jason distinctly uncomfortable.

"He won't talk to me, but he'll talk to my adoptive brother, and give him relationship advice! What kind of sick, twisted..." She shuddered violently and stabbed the fork into one of the sandwiches, realized what she'd done, and proceeded to just cut it up instead of eating it normally. "I don't know. I don't know what to think, and that's the worst part of all of this. I don't know how I should be feeling. I don't know what's right, and what's wrong, and I just want to punch things, but I also know that that's probably not the right attitude."

Jason flashed a small smile at her. "Don't worry. We'll make it through this. Just tell me what you need, and if it's at all in my power, I'll get it for you."

"I don't even know what I need." Tess sniffed, then lifted her head and looked at him. "Sorry. I know I'm not usually like this. You probably weren't prepared for this when you said you wanted to marry me."

Jason just flashed a small smile. "Dating someone, being engaged to someone, it's a lot different than actually being married to them. You've always been an intense person. We've laughed together, we've fought together. I've seen you angry, I've seen you... Well, I've seen you in a lot of places. But I hadn't really ever seen you sad. I guess now I have, and I imagine that I will quite a lot more as the years go by."

Tess sniffed, then nodded at the door. "You should probably go get back to work. I don't know how much more I'm going to get done today, but I'll certainly try to accomplish something."

"Don't stress yourself." Jason rose from the table and flashed a small smile at her. "I love you."

He turned and walked back out of the house, worrying as he did so. He didn't have the faintest idea how to help Tess, that was for sure. Did he need to write to her father himself, and beg him to come? Did he need to talk to Daniel and have him come out and talk to Tess about everything? Was there a third option that he wasn't thinking about? He had no way of knowing... All he did know in that moment, really, was that he would be willing to do just about anything to help his lovely wife feel better.

Chapter Twelve – At Bay

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 10th day of Fall! 81 days until the Fall Festival! It looks to me like the recent cold snap is breaking! Now, instead of being really cold, it'll just be kinda cold, up until the end of the season, when it'll get really, really cold again. Oh, and by the way, pumpkin spice monsters have a very high chance of spawning in all gardens growing both pumpkins and any sort of fall seasoning, like nutmeg, so if you have kids out there, be careful!]

Jason chuckled as he opened his eyes and chance leapt up on him. He tossed the dog aside after petting him vigorously, then slowly rose to his feet. The air, far from being the much warmer weather that Obadiah promised, was still quite chilly. He shivered and started walking up to the window, where he could look out across the farm. The corn stood tall and was nearly ripe, with ears full to bursting. Smuts swarmed around the edge of the fence, but were kept at bay by the eternal torches that had now been going for the better part of four years.

"We're going to have to start wearing warmer pajamas pretty soon." Jason remarked as Tess came walking up to him. His loose nightgown fluttered in the wind of Chance's passing, and he shuddered. "It's getting chillier and chillier."

"I am not wearing anything warmer, not for a long time yet." Tess shook her head. "You produce way too much body heat for that."

"I have to!" Jason turned and protested. "You keep stealing all my body heat! Do you have any idea how cold your feet are? Especially when you steal all the blankets."

"I don't steal the blankets!"

"Well, someone kept stealing the blankets from me last night." Jason huffed. From down below, Chance barked, and Jason glanced down to find the dog sitting on a large pile of blankets at the foot of the bed. Both he and Tess laughed, and Jason turned toward his wardrobe.

"Well, that mystery is solved! We might have to start locking him out of the room at night."

"Lock out this little cutie?" Tess oozed as she started petting him. "But he might get cold!"

"So, when I'm cold, I just have to deal. When he gets cold, we sacrifice our own comfort?"

"Exactly." Tess nodded, chuckling. She changed into her eggshell blue dress, then glanced at Jason as he changed into overalls and a long, flannel shirt. "What's your plan for today?"

"I haven't decided yet, not all the way at least." Jason puffed out his cheeks and shrugged. "We'll harvest the corn in the next few days. I need to check with Paulina's catalog to figure out exactly what the maturation time on corn is, I kinda forgot to write it down when I bought all the seed. Until then, I was thinking about building a passage between the stable and the corral."

"Ooh, that'll be nice!" Tess beamed. "Especially once winter sets in, we can just flip a door open instead of having to lead them all the way through the snow."

"Exactly." Jason nodded. "I have enough wood, I just need to start running measurements."

"Go for it." Tess nodded. "If it's okay with you, I'm going to keep working on cleaning the place up. That dining room is awful. I knew it was bad, having glanced into it once or twice, but I had no idea it was so terrible."

Jason grimaced as he thought of the small room. It was located just off the kitchen, on the opposite side of the fireplace from the living room. Long and narrow, it held a fancy table with loads of rather well-made chairs, a china cabinet, and other amenities often used for fancier eating. Up until that moment, Jason had used it exactly one time, and that had been while sorting through all the mail that his mother, Lacy, had sent him. They both had plans of turning it into a proper dining area, but four years (at least) of dust accumulation, rodent occupation, and general disregard was nothing to sniff at.

They made their way downstairs, and Jason shouldered his way out into the colder weather while Tess got breakfast on the table. The horses were glad to see him, and nickered happily as he led them over to the corral. He turned them both loose, then left Chance outside to chase assorted

monsters while he went back in. Chance's fur was still stained quite black from his encounter with the smut, but that hadn't really seemed to make him all that much more cautious of the monsters. He avoided getting eaten by them, certainly, but he made no great effort to stay far enough away that they couldn't lunge at him.

Jason laughed as Chance leapt and snapped at one of the smuts, then made his way inside. Tess had a lovely breakfast of steamed vegetables sprinkled with eggs waiting for him, and he sat down and tried to keep his nose from wrinkling. They ate largely in silence, though Tess did talk a little about what she expected to find in the room by the time she got done with it. Jason did his best to pay attention, but found his mind wandering. When they finished eating, Jason rose and went outside to start working, while Tess prepared to get down to business in the house.

Jason wasn't sure exactly what had triggered his wandering mind, but a nagging feeling continued to haunt him as he made his way over to the corral and started running measurements. There was just something in the air that seemed to nag at him, something that wasn't quite right. It didn't hit him for several long minutes, though... When a small rock actually did hit him right on the shoulder. He winced in momentary pain, then spun around to find a mountain of a warrior standing right behind him.

"Hey, little farmer," Daniel called. Jason, for his part, had screamed and jumped up into the air as though he'd been shocked. When Jason came down and got his breath, Daniel took a step back. "Sorry about that. I forgot to turn off my stealth mode."

"Why do you have stealth mode active?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know. I'm sad, and everyone got tired of seeing me moping around, so I activated stealth mode so I could just fade into oblivion." Daniel shrugged and stood stick-still. "See? I'm invisible now. And no one even knew I was gone."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "You don't look particularly invisible. I'll grant that you're a good bit harder to look at. If you were standing in shadow, I'd probably just look right over you. You're kinda... Fuzzy around the edges, I'd say. Invisible, though? No."

"Huh. So everyone just pretended I was invisible. That's even worse." Daniel seemed to slump where he stood. "That's the life of a failure, though."

"If you're looking for sympathy, you're not getting it here." Jason turned back to his measurements. "I told you, more than once, that you needed to go talk to Tess. The fact you ignored me is on you, not me, and I accept none of the responsibility."

"You could have threatened me."

"Really? I threaten you?" Jason turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Me, threaten the guy whose face got chewed on by a wyrm and walked away with a mild scratch?"

"You... You could have lied. I might have believed you!"

Jason sighed and shook his head. "Daniel, you messed up. Now face reality, walk up to that door, go inside, and tell your sister that you're sorry. That's the only thing that will get you out of this mess. Talking to me isn't going to do a thing. Trying to justify yourself isn't going to do a thing. Face Tess, fall to your knees and beg her forgiveness, and maybe you'll be able to get out of this without getting your head chopped off."

"Head chopped off?" Daniel chuckled, forgetting about his remorse. "Oh, Tess wouldn't do that. Besides, even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to touch me."

"You wanna wager on that?"

The voice came from behind, and Daniel whirled as Tess came marching down from the porch. She was still clad in her eggshell dress, but she had the Winter Shandy sword in one hand and a shield bearing the Warriors Guild crest in the other. Daniel took a step back, nearly stomping on Jason, and he scrambled out of the way.

"Tess... I..."

"You had better start explaining yourself," Tess snarled. "You knew, you've known ever since we were kids, how much my parents meant to me. How could you possibly know something like that and still keep it a secret from me?"

Daniel didn't answer for a long moment, and Tess seemed to explode.

"Tell me!"

"I was just trying to protect you!" Daniel finally thundered. "I've been trying to get him to come up here and meet you, but he's scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Of you!" Daniel shrugged. "You're known as being one of the greatest guildmasters in the province of Illumitir! You're known for your

skill with a sword, and he's more than a little terrified that you'll just cut him down and be done with it!"

"So he's afraid of taking responsibility, just like always!" Tess snapped. "Tell him to grow a backbone! If he's afraid of his daughter, he's no man!"

Daniel's jaw worked back and forth. "And maybe if his daughter is so terrifying that she scares him, maybe she's no proper woman."

Tess's face darkened. "Say that again."

"You heard me! All the women we've known who have been warriors have died in the dungeon. Maybe that's because your place is in the home."

"I'm a housewife now, aren't I?" Tess took her stance. "Maybe, just maybe, if you all had wanted me to turn out differently, he should have stuck around and been a father to me!"

"You can't blame others for your own faults."

"Then I suppose you can't blame anyone else for making me this angry!" Tess roared in fury and rushed forward. Jason backpedaled just as fast as he could. Daniel drew a sword and took his stance, and Tess lashed out. Just like before, the sword left long trails of snowflakes through the air, and as it crashed into Daniel's sword, a blast of snow and ice froze his blade and forearms solid. He blinked in surprise, and Tess lashed out with her opposite arm, flashing past his defense and shield-bashing him in the chest. There was a concussive boom, and Daniel was blasted backward several feet, where he came down hard on the ground. As he struggled back up, Tess ran forward, bringing up the sword over her head.

Jason winced, fully expecting to have to file a coroner's report with Constable Hank later that day. To his surprise, Daniel simply reached up and caught the sword in one of his gauntlets. Once again, there was a blast of snow and ice, but it simply froze his hand around the blade. Tess was unable to move it, and he rose back to his feet as she tried in vain to yank it away.

"Do you think this has been easy for me?" Daniel thundered, his own face becoming a mask of anger. "At least your father is alive! Mine are both dead."

"My father doesn't want me." Tess thrashed as she tried to pull the sword from his grip. "I wish he were dead!"

At that, Daniel lashed out with his free hand, striking her in the chest. She was torn away from the sword and tossed across the ground, where she came down with a resounding thud about halfway across the farmyard. Her dress was torn, revealing her mesh armor underneath, and she slowly staggered back to her feet. Daniel looked down at the ice-crusted gauntlet, and with a snarl, broke his hand straight out of it and cast the sword aside. Unarmed, both siblings started stalking back across the ground toward one another.

"Why do you think I tracked your father down?" Daniel swung a ham-sized fist at Tess, which she easily ducked underneath. She leapt up and slammed her hands into his back, and succeeded in knocking him forward, but did little damage otherwise. "I have no chance of ever seeing my parents again. Our adoptive mother is dead. I went and hunted down your father so that you could have a chance that's forever been lost to me!"

He spun around as Tess charged at him from the rear. She jumped up to meet him, equipping a pitchfork as she did so. Daniel spun out of the way, caught the weapon, and twisted it deftly out of her grasp. That, though, allowed her to drop down to the ground, where she equipped a hoe. Off- balance, she swept his legs and knocked him clean to the ground, then leapt up to stand on his chest.

Both were breathing heavily, and Tess snarled down at him. "That may have been your reasoning, but you still kept it from me when you learned the truth."

"Because I wanted to come to you once I had convinced him to come see you!" Daniel tossed Tess off his chest and climbed to his feet, though he made no further move to attack. "I didn't want to tell you while there was still no chance of him appearing. I wanted to tell you once I had talked him into coming up here, falling at your feet, and apologizing."

Tess took a deep breath. "You promise that? You're telling the truth?"

"I've never been more honest about something in all my life." Daniel held out his hands. "Please, Tess, you're my sister, and I love you. I've watched over you my whole life, I just don't always know how to do things properly."

Tess nodded slowly, then cast the hoe to the side. "Fine. I... I believe you."

"Good." Daniel nodded. "I... I can give you his address, if you want, so you can either write to him or go down there or something. I don't think it's a good idea, mind you, but... You're welcome to do it."

Tess nodded wearily. "I'd like that." She looked down at her clothes, which were now torn and muddy. "And you owe me a new dress."

"Deal." Daniel took a deep breath, then glanced at Jason, who was still cowering. "Thanks for the advice! It worked out real well. You want some help? I could try harvesting that field, or maybe I could put in that fence for you in record time?"

Jason just shook his head. "Go spend some time with your sister. I have a feeling that you could use it just as much as her."

Daniel nodded, and he walked up to the house with Tess. The door slammed shut, and a moment later, a loud crash echoed through the air.

"Jason, I broke your-"

Daniel's voice trailed off, and Jason chuckled and went back to work. The situation seemed to be resolving itself well enough... Jason only hoped that it would continue to do so as time wore on.

Chapter Thirteen – Changing Things

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 17th day of Fall! 74 days until the Fall Festival! Let's see... It feels like today's going to be a windy one, though I'm admittedly picking that up from the fact that the tree outside my window is waving back and forth in the wind rather than from any of the reports, which have all indicated that it should be calm. Of course, it's possible that a wild whirlwind monster spawned in, though that would be a bit outlandish, I think!]

Jason slowly opened his eyes as Chance leapt upon him and began to lick his face furiously. He laughed and pushed the dog aside, and Chance immediately leapt back upon him. Jason frowned at that, and shoved him away again. Once more, Chance leapt back on top of Jason, driving him into the bed. Jason finally simply groaned and rolled out of the way, then rose to his feet and glanced at the bed.

Tess was nowhere to be seen. It explained why Chance hadn't been eager to jump on her, but it did bode the question of... Why? He frowned, then slowly walked up to the window and looked out across the farm. Lady and Angus were both still in their stalls, which meant that she hadn't left the farm altogether. He stroked his chin for a moment, then turned and walked to the wardrobe. All her armor was still there as well, and, growing confused and concerned, he changed into overalls and started downstairs.

When he reached the living room, Tess looked up from the writing desk. Her eyes were red, but she was alive and still in one piece, and he let out a sigh of relief. She had pushed the writing desk up close to the fire and lit a small flame, which crackled and snapped rather peacefully. She was still clad in her bedclothes, which explained why everything was still in the wardrobe upstairs, and she flashed him a small smile as he walked over to join her.

"Sorry about that," she whispered softly. "I had planned to slip back in bed by the time the sun rose. Totally didn't mean to startle you. You look like you've seen a ghost."

Jason chuckled and sat down on one of the easy chairs nearby. "Sorry about that. I was just... a bit taken off-guard." He nodded at the desk, where several sheets of paper had been laid out. They all had a few lines of writing scribbled across them, but no more, and it looked to him like she had been comparing the different notes. Several more sheets of paper lay crumpled up on the floor, and a few more lay scattered near the fireplace where she had apparently missed when she tried to throw them in. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Tess lamented, nodding at the papers. "Maybe Daniel was right, not telling me about my father. It's been eating me up ever since I found out. I've been waiting to start actually writing to him because I wanted to find the right words. Last night, I was laying in bed awake, and I thought I started to find them, and they still feel like they're in my head, but every time I sit down to actually start to write them they just get stuck between my brain and the paper." She sighed and let her head fall. "I really was a lot happier before I knew."

Jason rose and walked up to her. He lay his hands on her shoulders and began to rub her skin through the nightgown. As she began to relax, he leaned down and kissed her.

"I'm really sorry you're going through this," the dutiful husband whispered. "Take as much time as you need today. Go back upstairs and get more sleep, or sit here and try to figure this out, or... whatever you want."

Tess leaned back into his grip. After a few moments, she responded.

"I don't think I can sleep, but I also don't think I'll be able to write anything coherent for the moment. Let's get some breakfast, and maybe we'll get started on the day or something, and I'll see what comes to me."

"Just tell me what you need," Jason agreed. He turned and walked toward the kitchen, but Tess waved him away.

"I've got breakfast. It'll give me something to do, at least. Go do your chores, take care of the animals, and I'll have something ready by the time you get back."

Jason inclined his head, then went to the front door. Chance followed eagerly, and quickly raced past him as soon as the door opened. He began to bark loudly at the smuts as soon as they started to emerge from the prairie grass, and Jason smiled. He spent the next several minutes getting the horses to the corral and dumping feed into their troughs, trying

to take his time so Tess wouldn't feel rushed. When he finished, he went back into the house, leaving Chance to his own devices.

Inside, the moment he stepped in the door, he was struck by the lovely smell of a fresh, country breakfast. Tess was in the kitchen, clad in her green working dress, and stood at the stove ordering the cookbook around. With a flash, the last of the plates and silverware appeared on the table, and she turned around and smiled at him. Her eyes were still quite tired-looking, but the rest of her was actually remarkably well done-up. Jason tried to look at her in a comforting manner, then sat down at his usual place.

The table was set with a large bowl of biscuits, still freshly steaming from the oven. Next to the biscuits was a large pat of butter, and next to the butter was an assortment of toppings. There was a jar of honey, several different jars of jam and peanut butter, and a bowl of a greenish goop that, unless Tess ordered him to try, Jason had every intention of avoiding. At his look, Tess laughed softly.

"Don't worry! That's kale jelly. You're not bound to try it, unless you want to."

"No, thanks." Jason shook his head as he helped himself to a number of the biscuits. He broke them open, then added a fresh layer of honey to about half of them and a good dollop of jelly to the others (after, of course, he had smeared them all with the butter). With that, he tucked in. Tess sighed in contentment as she watched him, then carefully smeared a bit of the kale jelly across one of her biscuits. Jason was somewhat delighted, in a strange sort of way, when she very casually set the biscuit to the side after a single bite, and helped herself to some of the honey instead.

When they finished eating, Jason rose and nodded out the door.

"All right. I'm heading out to get some work done. Feel free to... Yeah. Whatever you need."

"Thanks." Tess sighed. "Honestly, at this point, I... I don't know, but I'll let you know as soon as I do."

Jason nodded, then strode out into the farmyard. There, Chance was still barking at the smuts, and Jason laughed again and chased several of them away with the torches. He then walked over to the corral, where he had still been unable to finish the alleyway between the corral and the stables. He had marked out the distance and planted two of the poles, but assorted things kept getting in the way of finishing. That day, he took an

implement and began digging the holes for the next several posts, which was fairly grueling work in and of itself. It used actions, to be sure, but still required him to actually jab the shovel down into the hard-packed ground. Untold years of being walked upon without ever being worked had made the soil tough, and an abundance of rocks complicated matters even further. Still, though, he forged on, and by the time lunch came around, he had managed to pound out six more holes.

"There we go!" He leaned against the shovel as the sun rose to its full height. The wind whipped around him, fresh and cool as an autumn wind could be, and yet sweat soaked through his clothing. "How many actions do I have left?"

[Remaining Actions: 10]

"Well, that ought to be enough to do something," he muttered, then turned back toward the house and slowly started walking back. Tess hadn't come out all morning, and while he didn't mind that fact in the slightest, it did make him more than a bit worried for her.

When he came back inside, he found that she was still sitting at the writing desk, though her head lay in her hands and she was fast asleep. He smiled down at her, then walked upstairs, took down one of the blankets, and draped it over her shoulders as she lay there. She stirred a bit in her sleep, but didn't wake up, and he quietly slipped into the kitchen. Not wanting to wake her, he ate a cold meal of sandwiches and a few other odds and ends that were already prepared, then slipped back outside. He took a short break on the porch, looking out across the softly waving grasses, then went back to work.

Within another hour, he had used up his remaining actions. He had nailed up several boards, but still had a long way to go before it would be functional enough to actually use for the horses. He was still there, admiring his work, when he heard the soft scuff of feet on the ground behind him. He turned to find Tess standing there, an odd smile on her face. They both just looked at one another for a few long seconds, and then they embraced without a single word. On some unspoken cue, they both turned and walked back up into the house, and soon sat in the living room next to the softly-crackling flame.

"I'm sorry about that." Tess whispered softly. "I totally meant to get back to work cleaning the house, and then... An idea popped into my head, and I had to get it written, so I sat down at the desk to write it out, and..."

Jason placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"No need to apologize." He nodded at the writing desk. "Did you get it done?"

Tess shuddered softly, then nodded. "I... I think so. I think it's ready to be mailed." She paused for a moment. "Do... Do you want to read it?"

"If you want me to." Jason nodded. "Only if you want me to. I'm not going to go poking my nose where it doesn't belong."

"We're married now, Jason. My business is your business, and vice- versa." Tess snuggled her head into his shoulder as they sat on the couch, then pulled away. "Well? don't just sit there. Go tell me if it's good enough to send out to my long-lost father."

Jason smiled, then rose and walked over to the desk. As he sat down, the chair squeaked beneath him, and he soon leaned over the pages of paper that lay scattered across the wooden surface. Some of them were splattered with tear markings; others had more than their share of ink drippings. Still, though, one lay across the top, easily distinguishable as the final product. He began to read, slowly and carefully.

"Father, it's me. Tess. Your daughter. I've spent a long time working up what to say, and honestly, I think I've ruined most of my paper and spent a good chunk of my inkwell, so I hope I actually have it down now. Anyway, I just wanted to say that... I love you. No, I don't mean that I love the idea of you, I actually love you. You brought me into this world, and even though you weren't there to see me through most of it, I wouldn't have had some of the most amazing experiences imaginable if you hadn't done that. So... Thank you, for that much. I'm not going to lie, Dad, I really want to meet you. There was a time when I was angry with you, when I would have stabbed you the moment you set foot in the same room with me, but... Not now. I'm married now, I think Daniel might have told you, and... Oh, I don't know. I want you to meet my husband. I want you to be able to come and meet your grandchildren, and have them growing up never imagining that you weren't around. Please, Father, come and visit me. I'm in Summer Shandy, same place I've been for the last few years, on the first farm on the road south out of town. If you won't come visit, please at least write to me. I forgive you for everything, and I just want to move forward from here. Your daughter, Tess."

Jason looked up as he finished reading the letter. Tess's face trembled as he lay his eyes upon her, and he slowly nodded.

"It's perfect."

He slowly pulled open the envelope drawer. "I don't know how he'll respond, obviously, but If he has any sort of a heart left within him, he'll-"

"Jason, don't make promises for him." Tess shuddered a bit more, but she had a smile upon her face. "Thank you, Jason, for letting me do this today."

"Of course." Jason rose and smiled down at his lovely wife. "I hope this works, and I get to meet him."

"I hope so, too." Tess puffed out her cheeks. "I hope so, dearly.

Chapter Fourteen – Acres of Corn

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 30th day of Fall! 61 days until the Fall Festival! It's looking like there's a storm on the horizon, folks! I was told to use the word, "folks," more in these messages, so I'll do my best! I'm not really sure why. Tess doesn't use the word, "folks," in casual conversation, and neither do I, so I don't really know why it has to be in these reports, but for the sake of stemming the tide of complaints that I've been receiving... Here it is. Oh yeah! The storm. Umm... It's not going to be too bad, but it'll be hitting by early to mid-afternoon, so if you have work in the fields to get done, you'd best get out and get it done now!]

Jason's eyes blinked open. Chance leapt upon him, but he rolled out of the way and scampered up to the window. Looking out, he could, indeed, see the clouds darkening on the horizon. He felt his blood chilling, and he glanced back at Tess, who was just rising from the bed.

"What's the matter?" she asked softly, noticing his startled gaze.

"Trouble," he cautioned. "We have eighty acres of corn to get harvested today, and there's a storm brewing."

"Do you think we can get it all in?"

"That depends on just when in the afternoon the storm happens to hit." Jason took a deep, centering breath. "That said, I think we need to get moving just about as fast as we can this morning."

"All right, then. No waking up slowly for me!" Tess leapt out of bed, to the great annoyance of Chance. "You head out and get the horses ready. I'll have something quick on the table by the time you get in. Let me know if there's any way I can help."

Jason thought for a moment, then nodded as he ran to the wardrobe and started changing. "I may have to beg a favor from Jeremiah. I know he used to run crops like we do. Once I get going in the field, take Angus down to the Lazy-H and see if he still has his old harvester sitting around somewhere. If he does, ask if we can borrow it for the day. Just hitch up Angus to it, then bring it back here."

Tess grimaced. "That'll be so old and rusty it'll take a week to clean up. If we don't clean it properly-"

"The yield won't be as good, but if we let the corn in the field, it'll rot, and you remember what happens with rotten crops." Jason shuddered in repulsion, thinking of the revolting onions from a prior year. "I think it's our best option."

"Fair enough."

Jason finished dressing, then bolted down the stairs. As he came out into the farmyard, a cool wind was beginning to blow across the prairie. He could feel the moisture in the wind, and he shivered. It wasn't just going to be a minor storm, that much he was certain of. The horses nickered and stamped in their stalls, and he quickly led them out and took them to the corral. There, he poured them their feed, then jogged back into the house just as quickly as he could. Tess had prepared two bowls of oatmeal, which they gobbled down. That done, Jason ran back outside and raced over to the lean-to, where he proceeded to do a very quick service of the harvester. He had been keeping up on the maintenance pretty closely, so he was fairly certain that one rushed inspection wouldn't hurt anything. That done, he grabbed Lady, hitched her up, and was off into the field. The whirling blades scattered monsters as he rumbled forward, and before he was even in the field, Tess was already riding down the road toward Jeremiah's house.

Harvest was always an interesting business, being perched above the whirling blades while the harvester sliced through the field. Fall harvests, though, were always the worst. Up until that year, he had grown only sorghum in fall, a reddish plant that seemed to explode into a fierce, red dust that hurt to breathe and just itched something fierce. Corn wasn't quite as bad, at least on the itching front... But the sheer volume of dust it kicked up certainly put sorghum to shame.

As he went crashing into the field, a plume of dust that seemed to come from a volcano erupted straight up from the blades. It stung his lungs to breathe in, and he coughed mightily as they tore forward. The actual grains of corn were whisked away by the magic of the machine, but everything else-- stalks, tassels, husks, and chopped-up corn cobs -- all came blasting out the back. More than a few of the corn cobs whacked Jason in the face as they were propelled forward, and he groaned in pain every time it happened.

What made corn harvest even worse, though, was the fact that the corn was just so tall. He couldn't see a thing as Lady lumbered onward, and could only keep his bearing by keeping a single open side of the field visible at all times. On the first pass down the length of the field, he simply made sure to stay next to the fence. On the second pass back, he just stayed along the same line, so the fence was still visible, but on the opposite side. On the few occasions where he lost focus and allowed Lady to drift off- track, he suddenly found himself surrounded by corn on all sides, without a single indication of where he was, nor in which direction he was supposed to be going. Thankfully, he was able to get back on track with each of these accidents, but it still didn't make the process any less terrifying in the moment.

He had made five passes down and back when Tess came back up the driveway. Angus had his head held high and proud, and behind him came along an ancient, rusty sort of machine that looked like it belonged in a museum. Tess sat atop it on an old seat, which Jason had to admit looked a great deal safer than his own precarious perch. Tess waved at him, then drove straight into the corn and started working on the opposite side. Jason heard the distant machine's blades crashing through the dried crop, and gave a small sigh of relief. It was good to know that, at the very least, the whole crop wouldn't be spoiled.

On and on he went, as the skies slowly continued to darken. The wind whipped across the prairie with more and more force, and the temperature dropped sharply. He kept a close eye on the sky, watching as the clouds began to roll across the sun. They were a dark sort of cloud, filled with moisture, but they weren't quite yet ready to rain. Jason was thankful for that much, at least. Around noon, he and Tess pulled to a stop near the gate, and allowed the horses to take a well-earned break.

"How much more do we have left?" Tess called out to him.

Jason looked up at her, wincing a bit at the sight of her. She was covered in dust, so much so that her dress looked gray instead of blue, but he decided not to point out that fact. Instead, he turned and glanced back across the field, then up at the sky.

"I'd say we have about another hour left, if we can both keep going at this rate. We're making good time! Hard to tell exactly what the weather's going to do, though. One second, I think the clouds are going to

burst open any moment, and the next second, I think we're not going to see rain for the rest of the day."

"I'll have to take your word for it. You've been out here on the farm a lot longer than I have. How's Lady doing?"

Jason frowned, then climbed off the harvester and walked up next to his horse. She was panting hard, and he realized that he'd likely been unconsciously pushing her a bit harder than he ordinarily would have been. He stroked her velvety muzzle, then looked up at Tess.

"Not good. I don't think she can take much more of this."

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Tess nodded down at Angus. "He seems to be doing well, at least. I can't really say the same for this harvester, though. The thing sounds like it's just going to explode underneath me!"

"Do you have any idea what percentage of the crop we're getting?" Tess shook her head. "I haven't been checking the yield, no." "Great." Jason sighed, then shrugged. "In that case, let's switch

things up. Lady can go back and rest, and we'll put Angus on my harvester. I'll get back to work in the field, and you can polish up any dents in that thing so we can get it back to Jeremiah."

"He said that if we never brought it back, he'd consider whatever we wanted to do with it as payment for getting rid of it for him." Tess shook her head.

"Does sending it back to him count as anything I want to do with it?" Jason asked, laughing to himself. "All right, then. Just put it out behind the house, I guess." He chuckled and shook his head, then turned back to the field. "All right! Let's get to this!"

They soon switched the horses, and Lady gratefully staggered back to the corral. She looked even more weary than he had originally realized, and he winced a bit. He desperately hoped that he hadn't injured her, as that hadn't even remotely been his intent. He watched Tess lead her away, then climbed back up onto the harvester and took Angus's reins.

With that, they were off again, tearing through the corn with a vengeance. Angus was a strong horse, built for war and battle, and also quite handy with farm equipment. He lumbered forward far faster than Lady, even without a rest, and the dust soon flew ever-thicker around Jason. He made a mental note to buy some sort of a face mask the next time he was in town, though as it was a mental note that he made every harvest, he

suspected that he would simply forget the next time he arrived in Paulina's store.

In any event, the sky continued to darken, and the wind became so moist that he thought he could have wrung out his clothing and filled a bowl. Angus's ears twitched back and forth, and Jason glanced nervously at the horizon. Suddenly, as they reached the far end of the field, his eyes caught something. A faint band of deep blue, just beneath the clouds, that was growing steadily larger as it swept across the prairie.

"And there it is!" he called out, though he was far enough away that no one heard him, and he received only a mouthful of dust for his trouble. Swinging Angus around, he snapped the reins and headed the horse back for home, cutting a swath through the corn as he did so. "Let's get out of here!"

He continued glancing over his shoulder as the harvester whirled closer and closer to the gate. About halfway across, the first few drops began to fall around them. One of the enormous droplets struck him on the shoulder, and he gasped. They were large raindrops, large and cold, unlike the soft, warm rains of summer. All around him, a steady patter-patter began to drum over even the sound of the harvester... And with that, the skies cut loose.

It was like standing under a bucket of ice-water. Instantly, rain poured down around him, and he was drenched to the skin in a matter of moments. Angus snorted and stamped his feet, but continued to pull forward without hesitation... At least until he began to slow. Jason twisted his head back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on. Water ran freely across the ground, running between the rows of corn stalks like tiny rivers, but Angus simply plodded straight through it. Still, though, he was slowing down.

When it struck Jason, he felt like an idiot. Looking behind him, his eyes fell squarely on a long row of ruts, made by the wheels of the harvester, that got deeper and deeper as they went along. He quickly pulled up on Angus's reins and hopped off to take a good look at the harvester, and he groaned in despair. The wheels had sunken almost halfway into the mud, and as he stood there, they seemed to sink even deeper. This made the machine tilt slightly, and Angus snorted and pawed at the earth as the tilt put strain on his harness. Jason gasped and ran forward, knowing exactly what needed to be done.

Within seconds, he had unhitched Angus from the harvester, and allowed the machine to fall into the mud with a loud splat. With that, he took Angus and started leading him back toward the distant stable, where Lady no doubt already waited for him. It was far from the harvest that he would have liked... But, at the end of the day, it was far from the worst thing that had ever happened to him. They would just have to wait for the ground to dry to pull out the harvester, and in the meantime, could use sickles to cut down the remaining corn stalks to prevent anything from rotting. Inconvenient, perhaps, but nothing he couldn't handle.

By the time he got Angus put away and came clambering up the steps of the home, he was soaked to the bone and was shivering quite badly. Still, though, as Tess, who had showered and cleaned all the corn dust off her body, held the door open and helped him inside, he sighed contentedly. There was a warm fire crackling in the hearth, and Tess had already set out several blankets so they could get warm once he, too, was clean.

It was far from a bad deal, being out there on the farm. Simply a bit unpredictable, from time to time, and there was nothing wrong, as far as he was concerned, with that.

Chapter Fifteen – After Disaster

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 32nd day of Fall! 59 days until the Fall Festival! The weather's going to be clear and cold today, folks! Still no wind, though, and with the chilly air, the mud isn't going to be drying up anytime soon from that storm! If you're counting on the earth to turn back into a crust again, you're going to have to keep waiting!]

Jason sighed as he read the message. It was nothing he didn't already suspect, but it was a bit disheartening to see it. He half-heartedly pushed Chance aside as the dog leapt up for his morning kisses, then strode up to the window to look out across the farm. Sure enough, all the bare dirt was still a dark shade of brown, and the harvester was still sitting out in the middle of the field. Thankfully, the two of them had been able to slog out manually the day before to harvest and reseed the last couple passes through the corn field, but it was annoying to have the machine just sitting out there.

"You okay?" Tess walked up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

Jason shrugged and sighed. "Oh, I don't know. That thing is going to be so rusty when we get it back to the lean-to that it'll take a week to scrub all the damage off."

"We'll have a week. Corn grows slowly, remember?"

"Oh, I know that." Jason sighed. "I just like taking care of things, you know? I mean, if worse comes to worst, we can just go buy a new one, but I'd really like to avoid that if at all possible."

"That's true. There is something... There's something to making sure that things are taken care of." Tess sighed, then shrugged. "What do you want to do, then?"

Jason thought about it for a moment. There were a handful of projects he could take care of around the farm, but everything -- from painting the fence rails to putting up new fencing, to all manners of other

things -- was going to be complicated by the sloppy nature of the ground. After a few moments, he shrugged.

"Let's go out to the old dungeon and see if we can smash through the floor into the fifth level."

He wasn't sure quite what prompted him to suggest such a thing, and he regretted it the moment that it came out of his mouth. He liked the old dungeon well enough, sure, but the idea of breaking into a new level that hadn't been seen by humans in hundreds of years... It gave him more than a few creeps. Tess, though, lit up like a lightbulb.

"That would be amazing!" She beamed and threw her arms around Jason, squeezing him tightly. "You're the best!"

"Just... Thought it would be fun," he murmured as he tried to catch a breath. Tess rushed to the wardrobe and changed into her old suit of armor, then bolted down the stairs at top speed. Jason chuckled, then changed into a tunic and made his way downstairs as well.

Tess was a flurry of energy in the kitchen, and she quickly dashed back and forth through the living room and down into the basement as well. Jason watched her for a moment, then laughed softly and made his way out into the farmyard. Chance followed him, and he soon had all the animals fed and content. With that, he made his way back inside, where Tess had prepared a salad sprinkled with bits of egg and a few measly little scraps of sausage that were so tiny he wasn't sure how he was going to properly enjoy them.

"I'm taking you on a date and don't even get a fancy breakfast?" he teased her as he started to munch through the salad.

"You need your strength, if we're going to do this justice!" Tess beamed. "Breaking through dungeon stone is no small task!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "What did I get myself into?"

Tess merely smiled. A few minutes later, they walked out of the house, saddled up their horses, and rode off toward the distant dungeon. Chance followed along, yapping and barking and chasing all sorts of different monsters through the grasses. When he was quick enough to actually catch some of them, he proudly brought them back to the two farmers, where he dropped the usually still-squirming creatures next to the horses as they passed. He was never too disappointed when the monsters ran off and his owners kept moving, for it simply gave him the opportunity to do it yet again.

It didn't take long for them to come over the final rise and hitch their horses to the old oak tree that had become their usual stopping point. As they walked into the forest, though, Jason sighed and nodded back at the eighty-acre patch.

"You know what my next big project is going to be? Building some sort of an outpost out here." He stroked his chin in thought. "Maybe a stable, and a corral for the horses... Oh! I know! We could put in a log cabin, so we could go camping and such out here. Something rustic, it'll really make us feel like we're living back in the olden days!"

"That sounds lovely!" Tess beamed at him, and he suddenly realized that he was going to have to actually follow through on the promise. Still, it sounded like a good enough idea, and by the time they arrived at the dungeon, he was already thinking through floor plans and calculating a cost.

The trip down into and through the dungeon was fairly monotonous, which, given that it was a dungeon, was just fine in Jason's mind. Chance followed them, his first trip into the dungeon, and proceeded to bark and growl at every single shadow that dared to show its face. Jason laughed at the actions at first, though he had to admit that it did grow rather loud, especially in boss chambers where the noise could really echo. Tess, though, absolutely loved it, and started talking about training him as a dungeon companion.

"No." Jason shook his head. "You want a dungeon companion for the weekends, you can go buy a griffin or something. I am not having my good farm dog risk himself getting eaten by a wyrm or falling into a vat of lava or something. I'm not saying I've heard a lot of stories, but I've certainly heard more than a few about beloved, trained pets getting lost in the dungeons."

Tess sighed. "That's fair. Still... The Summer Shandy dungeon is so mild..."

"Mild? You saw Obadiah's leg, right?"

Tess laughed at that, though Jason still wasn't convinced that Tess wasn't going to try and train Chance a bit, at least for her own amusement. In any event, by the fourth floor, Chance had calmed down a bit, and they soon enough came to the hidden chamber with the old, sunken bath.

"Here we go." Tess hopped down inside, where she ran her fingers along the floor. "It's still here! I still feel a gust of air coming through, so that's promising."

"How could it be getting air all the way down here?" Jason frowned as he sat down next to the bath.

"It's called breathing." Tess shrugged. "All caves and dungeons do it, at least to some extent. The air pressure above-ground is always changing, but the air pressure underground is always pretty much the same. As the outside air pressure fluctuates, air will flow in and out of the dungeon to compensate. You can actually determine how large a dungeon is simply by watching the air flowing in and out of it, believe it or not!"

"I did not know that," Jason marveled. "Any idea how large of a space we're looking at under there?"

"Without being able to do the calculations..." Tess bit her lip for a moment. "There's a lot of air coming out, so I'd wager a guess that we're looking at a decent space. How big did the papers say that this dungeon was? Twelve levels, I think? It's very possible that all eight lower levels are intact and connected, and it's only these top four that have really been peeled off."

"Only one way to find out, I suppose." Jason puffed out his cheeks. "How do you want to do this?"

Tess quickly started taking out an assortment of tools. She handed Jason a sledgehammer, then started placing a handful of chisels in the cracks. When she'd finished, she nodded to him, and he stepped down inside and raised the hammer over his head. With that, he brought it crashing down, and with a resounding clang that left his ears ringing and Chance barking... well... Not a whole lot happened.

The chisel had been driven a fraction of a centimeter further into the rock, but that was it. Jason scowled, then lifted the hammer and brought it crashing down once again. Once more, there was almost no effect, and he felt an odd sort of annoyance building within him. Mustering all his strength, he lifted the hammer and brought it crashing down several more times, all with a similar effect. With that, he set the hammer down and stepped back, gasping softly.

"Maybe... Maybe we should have brought Daniel along." He took a deep breath. "He could have smashed through this floor even without a chisel."

Tess laughed, but shook her head. "I am not letting Daniel in our dungeon. He'd never leave again! We'd have to build him a little house or

something in one of these rooms, and I am not giving one of our kids' playrooms to my brother!"

She jumped down into the pit as Jason scrambled back out, then took up the hammer herself. With that, she whirled the weapon over her head and slammed it into the pegs, and a resounding boom shook the ground.

Jason had long since known that Tess was a good deal stronger than him. She didn't look it, but she had once explained that she had taken a perk that disguised her full strength. It made her look more feminine. Otherwise, she would have been almost as bulky as Daniel. Her full strength certainly showed itself in that moment, as her blows that she dealt to the chisels had more than enough force to cause the crack to split all along the bottom of the bath. She took a deep breath after five or six swings, then turned and looked at Daniel.

"You want another go?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Not in the slightest!" A thought struck him, and he bit his lip. "You might, though, want to not be standing on the floor you're about to break. If it crumbles underneath you..."

She nodded. "I already thought about that. This will take a few more hits before it's ready to cave, though, so I think I'm good." She waited a few more minutes before regaining her strength, then took hold of the hammer again. "Here goes nothing!"

Jason plugged his ears as she dealt out three more blows in rapid succession. The entire base of the bath was now splintered, and she slowly climbed back up out and onto the surrounding ledge. There, she hefted the hammer above her head and threw it downward with what Jason could only assume was all her might.

CRACK-OOM!!!

There was a mighty blast of dust, and the floor crumbled away into an immense pit. Jason held out his lantern and peered into the depths, and whistled softly at what he saw. Just below them was an enormous boss chamber, with the skeleton of a full dragon sprawled across a wide-open, colosseum-esque structure. There were even seats around the edge, though, admittedly, not nearly as many as some of the larger amphitheaters he'd seen in pictures, or even in person in Illumitir.

"Wow," Jason whispered. "That's got to be a forty-foot drop. I thought..." He looked up at the ceiling above him, which was a mere eight

feet or so tall. Throughout the entire dungeon, the ceiling had remained at the exact same level, which, according to Tess, was a fairly common archaic design.

"That's a level five boss room," Tess explained. "Usually every five floors or so, and then of course on the final floor, you'll actually have somewhat larger boss rooms to showcase the really nasty monsters." She whistled softly. "That's really something, though. I bet there's loads of loot hidden around that chamber somewhere. Even after dungeons close, the boss rooms are apt to still hold a few hidden treasures."

Jason just shook his head in amazement. "I wish we had brought some rope."

"You and me, both." Tess sighed, then shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to come back later."

"That sounds wonderful to me." Jason beamed. They stared down into the depths for a bit longer, and then Tess turned to start walking away with Chance. Jason, though, who was more than a little curious about the nature of the dungeon, found himself drawn to the sight of the room for just a bit longer.

As he stood there, though, his eyes caught sight of something. The dragon skeleton that lay there... It wasn't the only enormous skeleton present. Lying just beneath it was a second skeleton, that one seemingly of some sort of an enormous bat, though it was hard to tell exactly. In any event, it certainly looked like the dead dragon had died on top of the bat... But why? Were there two bosses in that room? He took a second look at the dragon skeleton, and couldn't help but notice the long claw marks that stood out upon the stone... Bright, shiny marks, which looked as though they were a good deal less ancient than the surrounding, aged bedrock.

He shuddered at all the assorted (and not terribly pleasant) implications, then turned and followed Tess. She was trying to teach Chance how to dodge, and Jason soon found himself laughing as he followed close behind. Whatever had happened, it was a mystery that had played out hundreds of years earlier. Maybe he would solve it someday, when they remembered to bring a rope. Maybe he wouldn't. In any case... Well... It didn't really matter, did

Chapter Sixteen – Spawn Rate

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 34th day of Fall! 57 days until the Fall Festival! It's still chilly, folks, but we've got a nice wind coming up out of the south that ought to dry things out! For that matter, it's probably been drying all night, since that's when the wind started up. Fun fact, there are actually these little monsters called windriders that spawn into almost every single wind! They're only about a millimeter long, and they don't really do anything except get blown around on the wind like seeds, so most people don't know they exist!]

"Huh." Jason murmured as he sat up in bed and did his best to pet Chance before the dog could leap up and start licking his face. "I did not know that."

"Yep. One of the cool, random facts you learn as a guildmaster." Tess chuckled as she sat up as well. "They serve as food for an assortment of flying monsters, but that's about all they do. Strictly speaking, the number of them in an area can affect the spawn rates of other monsters, but since it's impossible to tell how many of them are in any given area without loads of special skills, it's not a super important statistic to know."

Jason laughed softly. "Don't tell that to Obadiah! He'll include it in the update anyway!"

[Obadiah's Almanac: Update: The number of windriders in the area actually makes the spawn rates for other types of monsters drop!]

"And there we have it." Jason laughed softly and shook his head, then rose from the bed and walked up to the window. Gazing out across the farm, his eyes settled squarely on the unfinished field, and the harvester that was still stuck out in the middle of it. "Well, are you ready for today's load?"

"That depends on what you're going to have me do," Tess muttered, though she had a smile on her face.

"We are getting that harvester unstuck." Jason crossed his arms. "One way or another, I want that thing back in my lean-to by the end of the

day!"

"Then we'd better start eating breakfast." Tess nodded. "Standard

morning chores!"

She rushed to the wardrobe, changed into her green working dress,

and scampered downstairs as quickly as she could. Jason followed a moment later in his overalls, and was soon outside feeding the animals. When he finished, he cast a glance up at the house, then strode out into the field to take a look at the situation. At last, he and Tess could think about what to do while they were eating breakfast. The wind gusted around him as he stomped out to where the harvester lay, and as he reached it, he sighed deeply.

The rain had continued to fall for the better part of two days, and had caused the ruts to silt in almost completely. Thus, the harvester was, at that moment, buried almost all the way up to the axel in hard-dried field dirt. The wind gave a mighty gust across the field and nearly blew Jason over, and he sighed. For several days prior, they had been unable to move the thing because the ground had been so slick that the horses wouldn't have been able to get any traction. Now, it was stuck in so tightly he didn't know how it would be possible to move!

At any rate, it sat at such an odd angle that he knew there would be no chance of actually hitching a horse to it, that was for sure.

After looking at the thing for a good, long time, he made his way back into the house, where Tess had prepared bowls of oatmeal. He sat down and ate the meal in silence, then leaned back and explained the situation to Tess. When he finished, she stroked her chin for a moment in thought, then shrugged.

"Well, it seems to me that the first thing we need to do is just tie the horses up to it and see if they can pull it free. We should have enough rope for it, I think."

Jason nodded, but grimaced even as he thought about it. "I'm nervous that it won't be enough, but I suppose it won't hurt to try!"

A few minutes later, they had both made their way outside. Tess wrapped a shawl around her shoulders, and went to fetch a rope while Jason took the two horses and led them out to the middle of the field. Lady stamped her feet and kept looking over her shoulder, seemingly confused about being inside the field without having a piece of equipment hitched on

behind her. Jason chuckled a bit, but soon had them in position. They stood still, well-trained, and Tess soon came over with the rope.

It didn't take long to tie the ropes to their harnesses and from there to the harvester. When he finished, Jason walked in front of them, and whistled softly. Both of them strode forward as one, and the ropes quickly stretched taunt. He waited for a moment while they got their footing, and then nodded.

"All right, Lady! Angus! Pull!"

The horses both began to strain against the rope. At first, they were hesitant, as they were used to things moving when they tugged on them. When it became clear that they were doing exactly what Jason wanted them to do, though, they began to pull with more vigor. The ropes strained as the horses pulled with all their might, but the harvester stayed put. Jason didn't tax them for long, and soon waved his hands to tell them to stand down.

"No use straining them for nothing." He sighed as the horses relaxed, and he walked back over to the harvester. "You think we can dig out the wheels with a shovel?"

"Maybe, but that'll take awhile." Tess pointed underneath the harvester. "Look there. See the blades?"

Jason frowned and knelt down. His eyes opened in surprise, and more than a bit of annoyance. Sure enough, the blades were buried as well, though he hadn't initially realized that such had been the case. If they were going to dig out part of the machine, they were going to have to dig out almost all of the machine.

"Well now, that changes things a bit." He whistled softly. "I'm not going to say that we can't get it out that way, but I'd sure like to avoid that if at all we could."

"What do we do, then?" Tess glanced up at him. "Don't get me wrong, I think the same thing, but I don't really see any other option that's half as good."

Jason stroked his chin for a moment. A brief idea flickered to life in the back of his mind.

"No." Tess shook her head.

"What do you mean, no?" Jason scowled at her.

"You were grinning, and that probably means that you're

considering using the cannon to blast it out. I'm saying no."

Jason laughed, then shook his head. "Not at all!" He quickly explained himself. When he finished, Tess grinned as well.

"I'll be right back."

She unhitched Angus from the ropes, led him back to the stable, and soon had mounted up and rode off toward town. Jason watched her go, then turned back to the sunken harvester. After a moment or two of thought, he took Lady back to the stable and allowed her to rest, then grabbed a shovel and made his way out to the harvester once more. While he waited on Tess, he did his best to start chipping away at the dirt. He found it an almost impossible task, as it had dried into a hardened pan, but he did his best anyway. Chipping away a little bit at a time, he had dug out a shallow gap in front of both wheels by the time that Tess appeared in the yard once again.

Trailing along behind her, riding high on his own horse, was Daniel. The warrior had a grin that stretched from ear to ear, and he quickly rode out and hopped down next to the sunken harvester and Jason.

"Hey there, little farmer! My sister said you were in trouble?"

"Indeed." Jason nodded, and gestured at the machine. "Two of our horses, working together, couldn't pull this thing free. Think you'd like to give it a whirl?"

"Would I ever!" Daniel exclaimed. He walked over and grabbed hold of the tongue of the harvester, took a deep breath, and pulled with all his might. To Jason's great frustration (and, if he was being honest, a bit of surprise), the harvester didn't move. Daniel staggered back after a few moments, rubbing his head in confusion.

"You know... That... That doesn't normally happen." He crossed his arms, then puffed out his chest. "All right, let's try this again!"

He bent down and grabbed hold a second time, but once again, the harvester refused to budge. He seemed to be getting more and more annoyed, and scowled fiercely at the machine.

"All right now! I once harvested this entire field with a single swing of my blade! Can you say that? I don't think so! You will yield to me!"

He kicked the harvester, but only succeeded in denting one of the metal support bars. Growing even more annoyed, he took a deep breath and spun to face Jason.

"Do you have any ropes?"

Jason and Tess soon had Daniel hitched up to the harvester, in almost exactly the same manner they had used to hitch up the horses. Daniel took a deep breath, braced his feet, and began to pull. Several seconds later, Jason and Tess had lost a perfectly good rope, and the harvester stayed just as stuck as always.

"What about chains?" Daniel glanced at the two farmers. "Do you have any chains?"

Having never had any need for them in the past, Jason was fairly certain that he did not, but he looked through his farm's inventory just to check. When it became clear that they didn't, Tess once again rode off for town, returning an hour later with a long chain. In that time, Jason and Daniel had managed to dig out a good bit more of the harvester, and they soon had Daniel hooked up to the stuck piece of equipment with a solid chain made from pure Illumitir steel.

"You might want to remember to turn on your inertia." Jason suggested as Daniel braced himself and prepared to pull once more.

"Mmm! Good idea." Daniel spent a few moments with his eyes half-closed, then nodded. "Got it! Let's go!"

He lunged forward, pulling against the chains with a mighty crash. The chains snapped taunt, drawing Daniel short. He snarled and tugged again, and anger began to grow across his face.

"I will not be defeated by you!" He shouted loudly. "I will not be stumped by this stupid... Machine... Arg!"

He took a deep breath, stepped back to the very edge of the harvester, and then raced forward, throwing himself fully into the thrust. With a mighty crash, the harvester lurched in the ground, though it didn't quite pop all the way out. Daniel grinned and did the same thing once again, and it lurched a bit further. Emboldened, he stepped backward and made one final leap forward.

This time, with a resounding rumble, the harvester was torn clean out of the ground. Daniel continued to pull it forward even after it had been freed, causing the whirling blades to shed a good amount of the dirt and mud that had been caked on them. Jason laughed as dirt clods rained down around them, and Daniel let out a crow of victory.

"I remain undefeated! I..." He puffed out his cheeks and turned around. "You know what? That makes two records I've been able to break!

Harvesting a field in a single blow, and now proving that I'm stronger than two horses!"

"I don't know that-"

"If that won't impress Theresa, I don't know what will!"

Jason rolled his eyes, but Daniel was too deep into his victory

celebration to be bothered. He glanced at Tess, who simply shrugged, laughed, and went along with it. Jason did the same after a moment, chuckling to himself as he did so. Summer Shandy was a unique place, that was for certain. Sometimes, everything went as planned... And sometimes, you just had to hire a warrior to come pull a harvester out of the mud.

Chapter Seventeen – Carry A Sword

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 41st day of Fall! 50 days until the Fall Festival! It's looking like a chilly one today, folks! Almost wintry weather, and don't be surprised if you see a layer of frost. Now, the frost should fade away by mid-morning, so it's nothing to get worked up about, but... Well... You might want to dress up warmly. Oh, and carry a sword with you! I'm seeing that there's an 8% chance that frost spiders can spawn in conditions like these!]

Jason shivered as he woke up, and a blast of foggy breath emerged from his lips. Something that felt like ice lay along his back, and he yelped and pulled away as quickly as he could. Behind him, Tess sighed and re- adjusted her feet, and he slowly slid out from underneath the covers. Chance looked up at him from the small pile of blankets that lay at the foot of the bed, and Jason smiled and gave him a few pets before walking up to the window. He had to wipe away a good bit of condensation in order to look out across the landscape, and he shivered.

Sure enough, a layer of frost lay thick across the ground, though it seemed to lessen even as the sun began to fall across the farm yard. His corn glistened as the rays of sun struck it, and he felt a smile creeping across his face. It was still bright green, but would be starting to turn brown within a few days, which likely meant that it wouldn't be injured by the sudden snap of cold weather. That said, if frosts were going to start becoming more common, it would probably be a wise idea to invest in something a bit more cold-hardy.

Tess came up behind him after a moment, and wrapped her arms around him. Her ice-cold hands pressed against his belly, and he yelped again and pulled away.

"Hey! Those things are deadly!" he squawked, and she mock-glared at him.

"We're married! You're supposed to share everything with me." She stuck out a lip. "That includes your body heat."

He snorted and shook his head, but soon broke down into a fit of laughter. She did the same, as they looked out across the landscape.

"What's the plan for today?" Tess asked after a moment.

"I'm thinking we'll head into town," Jason suggested. "There are a handful of things I need to get taken care of, and there's not a lot we can really do today." After a moment, he chuckled. "I'm just glad we got that harvester drug out of the field!"

"You and me both." Tess rolled her eyes. "I saw Daniel the other day when you were down at Jeremiah's place. He's still bragging about pulling out the harvester when even the horses couldn't do it."

Jason just snorted and chuckled. "He's going to give up adventuring for farm life if this keeps up much longer!"

"Honestly, it wouldn't be the worst thing for him." Tess shook her head in amazement. "Sometimes he gets a little too caught up in the dungeon culture. I've been there before, and it can kinda be a dark place."

They stood there for a minute longer, and then Jason enthused, "Well, if we're going to head on in, let's get ready!"

Tess nodded, then walked over to the wardrobe and changed into town clothes. Her flower-pattern dress swirled as she did a small twirl, and then she made her way down the stairs. Jason watched her go, then changed into a tunic, and went out to start taking care of the animals. The horses, seeming to sense that they were getting away from the farm for the day, happily trotted down the new pathway to the corral, where they started frisking about. Jason poured some feed for them, gave Chance a bit of food in his bowl as well, then walked back up into the house and muscled his way through red oatmeal with Tess. When they finished, they walked back out into the farmyard and began saddling up the horses. Tess was finished in no time, but Jason frowned as he struggled to get the straps around Lady's stomach. He didn't ordinarily have problems, but that day, he just couldn't seem to get the straps pulled as tight as he normally did. At the end, though, the saddle didn't seem to be moving, so he mounted up, and off they went for town.

The road stretched out over the softly-rolling hills. Neither he nor Tess said anything much, and soon, they came over the last rise and rode up into the town square. Obadiah, Daniel, and Hank all sat at the town well, chatting with the women who were coming up to draw water. Daniel, in particular, was demonstrating how he could lift a washbasin full of water

instead of just an ordinary bucket, which was receiving a generous number of eye-rolls from the populace. Jason laughed at that, then led Lady over to the hitching post by Paulina's store. Tess dismounted as well.

"Well, Jason, if you're okay with it, I'm going to go talk to Paulina. I'd love to get caught up on her life, and anyone else's who happens to come into the store."

"Go for it." Jason flashed a smile at her. "I'll be along to the store in a bit, and then we can do the rest of our shopping."

Tess nodded and vanished into the store, and Jason turned and walked back to the town well. Obadiah waved lazily at him, and Daniel grinned broadly.

"Jason! Check this out!" He dropped the washbasin into the well, letting the long rope he had tied to it run through his hands. There was a splash from below, and he braced himself. "Watch!"

He took a deep breath and heaved upward with all his might. The washbasin, filled with water, came sailing up from the well, crested high in the air, and then came crashing down in the middle of the square. Water exploded across the cobblestones, soaking a woman and her two children. She scowled at him, even as the two boys laughed and ran up to the warrior.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" she snorted at Daniel, who didn't seem ashamed of himself in the least.

"Well, that's my cue to leave." Obadiah climbed to his feet. "I have to guide a dungeon tour here in just a few minutes anyway. Sorry I couldn't stay and talk, Jason."

Jason waved to him as he walked away, then glanced at Hank. The constable looked back up at him, and a flash of nervousness came across his face.

"I didn't do something wrong, did I?"

Jason laughed. "Not at all! I just need to talk to you, in your office if you're available."

"I'm terribly busy at the moment, actually." Hank shrugged, then glanced at the woman, who was glaring at Daniel with a growing frustration. He seemed to realize that there was a good chance that she would ask him to arrest Daniel (or at least make him move along), and he rose quickly.

"On the other hand, I find that my schedule may have opened up. Come along."

Moving quickly, he made his way into the office, which was sandwiched between Viola's Inn and the Guild Hall. Jason followed him, and they were soon inside the small building. It was remarkably cleaner than usual, the result of Hank having hired someone from the village to help him organize all his files. He sat down behind the desk, and Jason sat across from him.

"What can I do for you, Jason?" Hank folded his hands. "Nothing too terrible, I hope? You're not looking to move, are you?" His eyes narrowed. "Are things still good between you and Tess?"

"Yes, and don't you ever imply something like that again!" Jason scowled down his nose at the constable. He softened his gaze as Hank flinched back, and sighed. "You remember that old dungeon I found out in the woods?"

"Yeah... It was right near a town, if I recall correctly." Hank nodded. "Wasn't owned by any of the nearby townships. Just kind of its own thing."

Jason nodded. "I'd like to claim it, if possible. Tess and I have been exploring the thing, and it's just incredible. If it was my own property, I'd sure appreciate it."

Hank stroked his chin. "That's not... Well... That's probably not impossible, but it's going to take a little bit of digging. Where did I put that book?"

He rose and walked to a nearby cabinet, where he started digging through a large pile of books and pamphlets. After a moment, he took out a large tome and came back over to the desk. The volume came down with a thunk, and he blew a bit of dust off the cover.

"A guide to land rights, laws, and ordinances in the provinces surrounding Illumitir." Hank ran his hand across the volume. He flipped over the cover and started running his finger along a very long index. "Let's see here... A list of towns and provinces... Buying land from a province... Annual taxes... Outdated laws that are no longer required... Ah..."

His voice trailed off as his finger continued to snake down the page, and Jason whistled.

"I had no idea there were that many laws."

Hank shrugged. "Illumitir took over this area a long time ago. I can't tell you anything about the history, but I do know that over time, laws just kind of accumulate like snow. Everyone wants an exception for their very

specific situation, and as long as no one cares, the courts usually let it happen, and just put a new law on the books to cover the scenario. It's easier than mediating a whole bunch of different cases, and deciding one way in one case, and another... Ah-ha!"

He tapped the page. "Concerning lands that fall outside the realm of townships." His fingers flew through the book as he turned to the requisite section. It was a shorter section, thankfully, and he quickly began to read. "The provinces under the command of Illumitir may occasionally come across territory that has not been assigned to any existing township. In most cases, this is due to a historic site that, at the time of the borders being drawn, was deemed of a high-enough importance to merit federal protection. These include, but are not limited to: Historic trails, inns, caves known to be refuges for past warriors, graves and crypts that do not function as dungeons, ghost towns, and decrepit dungeons."

Jason nodded slowly. "That sounds about right."

Hank lifted his eyes for a moment, then started to read again. "As of the date of this printing... which seems to have been about five years ago... there were one thousand, five hundred and twenty-seven sites on record as being of such historic importance. When determining whether anything can be done with this land, it must first be determined whether the land continues to have any historic importance. This will require an investigation of the Historians Guild, which will determine, among other things, if the site has been a location of historic veneration (either locally or on a broader scale), how much of the original structure remains intact, and accessibility with regard to current roads and other forms of travel. If it is determined that such a site continues to meet historical standards, then the land will remain unclassified, and will retain its current status. If, however, it is determined that no or minimal historical value remains, the land may be opened for acquisition."

"From what I hear there, this site would most likely be opened." Jason stroked his chin.

"That would be my read, too." Hank nodded in thought, then scanned a bit further down the page. "There's a section here for land that wasn't deemed historic but was still left unclassified, as well as options that can be taken if the land retains its protected status. And... Here we go. Acquiring the land. If it can be determined that the land may be opened, a public decree must be sent to each of the townships that border the land.

Townships will then be allowed to stake a claim on the land or reject the claim. If only one township makes the claim, it immediately inherits the land, and may sell it as it deems fit. If two or more townships make claim, an auction will be held in Illumitir, with the profits from the sale going straight to the Illumitir Treasury Guild, and classified under land tax. Individuals may not make claims, only townships."

Jason puffed out his cheeks. "That doesn't sound like the worst process in the world."

"Not the worst, but it would certainly be lengthy." Hank nodded slowly. "I can't imagine that either of the other two townships bordering Winter Shandy would care, and if I were to send them letters explaining the situation, most likely, they would just sign over the rights straightaway. I have a pretty good working relationship with them."

"I'd immensely appreciate it." Jason nodded. "Unless you think there's another option?"

"You could always try to form your own township, but that would involve even more paperwork." Hank chuckled softly. "Besides, even if one of the other townships does snap it up, you can always just go buy it from them, instead. If you'd like, I can start filling out the paperwork." After a moment, he frowned. "Well, I can put in a request for the paperwork. I don't think I have that specific document on file, it looks like a pretty obscure one." He looked up at Jason, who nodded.

"I'd be grateful."

"Then consider it done!" Hank grinned. "Now, off with you! I've got... Paperwork to get done."

He scowled at his filing cabinet, but it was a good-natured sort of a scowl. Jason laughed and rose, and was soon out in the town square again. He strode across the cobblestones to Paulina's store, where he stepped inside to find a proper hustle and bustle of commerce. It seemed that nearly all the farmers in the area had taken the opportunity to come in, and were happily rummaging around the store picking out gear to get them through the last little bit of fall. Tess stood at the counter, chatting with Paulina, and waved at Jason as he entered. He waved back, and made his way over to the farming section of the store.

There, amidst the shoulders of the farmers, he found a variety of corn known as Frostwalker, which he quickly selected. That done, he bought some frost-resistant oil for his machines, some warmer gloves, and

an assortment of other items. Tess left the counter and joined up with him, pulling him over to the winter clothing aisle. There, he helped her decide among a handful of winter dresses and coats. By the end of it, his arms were laden, and he staggered up to the counter just as quickly as he could.

The line had thinned by that point, and he dropped the items on the counter. Paulina began ringing them up, and whistled softly. "You really don't want to come to my store again before the winter festival, do you?"

Jason laughed slightly at that. "It's not that I don't want to see you, but... It's getting mighty cold to be out riding on the road!"

"I feel you there." Paulina sighed. "I was out riding just yesterday, and didn't bring nearly a long-enough cloak."

Tess let out a soft squeal behind him, and he glanced back to see her stifling a grin. He raised an eyebrow, then turned back to the counter. "Where'd you go riding?"

Paulina shrugged. "Up along the northern ridge. There's a lovely view there, especially as the sun is setting."

"There's your problem." Jason shrugged. "Get up there, and the winds will just..." Tess stifled another giggle, and he spun to look at her. "All right, I'm missing something here. Are you two going to tell me, or am I going to keep hearing you giggle like a schoolgirl until you get tired of dancing around my ignorance?"

Tess laughed at that. A moment later, though, the door burst open, and Obadiah came walking inside. He strode up to the counter and gave Paulina a hug, and Jason's eyebrows raised.

"You two are together now? That makes sense!"

"Yes, they are!" Tess squealed. "I'm not the only one in a relationship anymore!"

Jason laughed, then held out his hand, which Obadiah shook. "Congratulations!"

"We're just dating." Obadiah turned rather red, as did Paulina.

"Yeah, but keep in mind that Paulina turned me down flat," Jason teased. "You're succeeding where I failed!"

"Paulina isn't a task at which to succeed or fail," Obadiah scowled down at Jason. "She's a woman, to be honored and respected."

Tess and Paulina alike both snickered at that, and Obadiah turned a bit more red, if that were possible. Jason just smiled and shook his head.

"Well, good luck! I wish you both the best. If you're looking for relationship advice, I strongly suggest not asking me, because I fell on my face more often than not." He paused. "Also, don't ask your dad. Or do, and just do the exact opposite of what he says. Same with Hank."

"I'll figure it out myself." Obadiah crossed his armored arms.

"Suit yourself." Jason shrugged and turned away. "Thanks, Paulina!"

"You'll have the seed delivered to you tomorrow!" Paulina called out as he and Tess walked toward the door. "Your business is appreciated!"

A moment later, Jason and Tess were out on the cobbles once more, and began the ride back toward their home. Jason sighed deeply as he went along, and glanced warmly at Tess. It had been a good trip into town, that was for sure. He didn't know how things would pan out with the dungeon, but he hoped for a positive result. If it fell through, they were no worse off than before. If it succeeded, though... There was no end to the possibilities of what he could do with his farm.

Chapter Eighteen – Always A Need For Help

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 61st day of Fall! 30 days until the Fall Festival! Looks like we have a break in the recent bout of freezing weather! Today, it's going to get up to almost sixty degrees! Get out there, have fun, and let your kids play in the leaf piles! Just... Whatever you do, do not rake your leaves with a rake made from the bones of a dragon. Don't ask me why, just don't.]

"Who would have a rake made from the bones of a dragon?" Jason raised an eyebrow as Chance began to lick his face. He was hot, uncomfortably so, as he had rather underestimated how warm it was going to be that morning. He slid out from underneath the multiple layers of blankets and stood up, stretching as he walked up to the window. Down below, the frosty-white corn rose high, shimmering in the morning light. It was only a day or two more until harvest, and Jason couldn't wait to see how it went.

"You'd be surprised what you find in some people's attics." Tess shrugged. "Now, in fairness, I think a lot of people build seemingly random things like that after they manage to get ahold of guildmaster books, or when they hear guildmasters saying stupid things like that. I really need to tell him to stop telling people what the monster spawn rates are, because I know he just wants to protect people, but someone is going to try to summon in one of the monsters. I just know it."

Jason blinked and thought back to the attempt that he and Jeremiah had made to summon in the painted dragon. "Yeah, that seems likely."

"If I ever find out that you tried something like that, I'll... Well, you can imagine what I might be able to do to you." Tess muttered as she climbed out of bed and stretched. She joined Jason at the window, and they sighed down at the landscape. The grasses, which were growing more and

more ragged as fall crept on, blew in a gentle breeze. "Well, what's the plan for today?"

Jason thought for a moment. "Believe it or not, I don't actually know. With you around, we're actually managing to get ahead on some of the projects I've been wanting to complete. The stable has been expanded, we have a corral, we have an alley, we have a garden, everything has been painted, the house is looking better and better..." He stroked his chin. "I've been kicking around the idea of starting to work with the Far Eighty, that's what I'm calling the land out over by the dungeon, but I haven't decided if I actually want to start anything before spring."

"Why not?"

"If I start it now, I don't see how I'm going to finish anything before winter, and I don't want to leave it sitting all winter while I'm unable to work on it, you know? On the other hand, I really don't want to sit around bored all fall while I wait for spring."

"You could always help me work on the house," Tess suggested. "I know you were wanting to get that done over the winter."

"Yeah, but then I'll be bored all winter."

Tess paused for a moment. "So... What I'm hearing is that you want me to suggest something for you to do on the Far Eighty that you can get done by the time that winter comes around?"

"Yes!" Jason snapped his fingers. "Exactly that."

Tess thought for a moment. "What about a log cabin? Or just a cabin of some sort? Surely you can get that done in a month, especially if I help out here and there."

Jason nodded thoughtfully. "I can at least get enough of it done that it'll survive winter without consistent maintenance. I... Hmm. I'll need to make up a list."

"Duh," Tess snorted. "Make a list, make a plan. You need blueprints, you can't just go out and start building without any idea of what you're going to be doing out there."

"You underestimate my abilities as a man," Jason joked as he turned and walked to the wardrobe, where he started to dress for the day. "We don't need things like instructions."

"No, I fully estimate them." Tess raised an eyebrow. "You'll head out there and dive into the work, and for a while it will go perfectly, and then you'll get about three-quarters of the way done and something won't

match up, which will then leave you with the option of tearing it all down and starting over or just coming up with a half-baked patch job. Being a man, you'll do the half-baked patch job, which you'll then point out and laugh at every time you see it, which will make it seem somewhat intentional or at least halfway ingenious or resourceful, when in reality, you just have a somewhat less functional final product than you might have had if you'd just listened to your wife in the first place." Tess took a long breath. "Now, of those options, which one do you want to do?"

Jason pretended to think for a moment. "Half-baked patch job."

Tess whacked him upside the head (which, given her strength, sent him stumbling across the floor), and he laughed. They were soon dressed and heading downstairs, and Jason went outside and fed the animals while Tess got to work making breakfast. When he'd finished and come back inside, they sat down to eat, while his mind spun with the possibilities. The moment they were done eating, he leapt up and ran to the writing desk, where he took out a sheet of paper and began to make sketches of what was inside his head.

"Make sure you use a ruler, and scale things out properly!" Tess called from the kitchen.

"And what experience do you have with construction?" Jason called back.

"First off, I watched the new dungeon in Summer Shandy get built, and had full access to the blueprints while it was happening!" Tess called back. "I also helped build the Guild Hall when I first moved into Summer Shandy. The old one was crumbling where it stood, and was only used by a handful of warriors who thought it would trigger some sort of secret quest if they stayed inside long enough."

Jason laughed at that, but took out a ruler and tried to follow his wife's advice. Suddenly, the mailbox rattled, and he started to rise.

"I'll get it!" Tess called out. She flashed him a loving (and somewhat patronizing) smile as she passed. "You just stay focused on your construction project. Build me a palace!"

"I'm trying!" Jason grinned and went back to work. He drew out the floor and started working on the walls and windows, when he suddenly realized that Tess had become mysteriously silent. He glanced at the doorway, and found her standing just before the mail slot, staring down at

something in her hand without moving. A frown flickered across his face, and he rose and walked over to stand next to her.

The letter in her hand was simple, though it seemed to smell of ash. A postmark in the upper right-hand corner had a series of unintelligible runes, along with a crude sketch of a volcano. It was addressed to Tess Hunter, and was marked as being from a "Richard Wolfheart."

"Is that one of your old warrior buddies?" Jason teased, "Old boyfriend who just found out you were married?"

"Wolfheart was my last name, before I was adopted by the woman I now call my mother." Tess breathed softly. "This is from my father."

Jason felt his world spin, and suddenly understood why Tess had frozen. He took her arm and led her over to the couch, where she slowly sat down. Carefully, he took the letter from her fingers and slit it open, and she shook her head.

"You should let me read it first."

"We'll read it together." Jason shook his head. "If it's good, I want to be there in your joy. If it's not, I want you to know that I'm here."

Tess took a deep, shuddering breath. Jason finished opening the letter, and slowly pulled out several sheets of paper.

"Tess, this is your father. I've spent..." There was a large smudge, where something had been blotted out. "I'm sorry for how long it took me to respond. I wasn't expecting to ever hear from you again, though with Daniel knowing my location, I shouldn't be surprised. That boy has a bigger mouth than a Glacier Serpent. I'm sure you want to know everything about my life, about why I did what I did. I wish I could tell you, Tess, I really do, but... That sort of thing can't be done by a letter."

Tess's face began to tremble, and Jason slowly began to read onward.

"That sort of thing can't be done by a letter, and I don't think I can bear to meet you face to face. I wish I could, Tess, I truly do, but... When I used to look at you, I saw only your mother. She was a strong woman, Tess, and the world lost a valiant warrior when she died. The very last time I laid eyes upon you... I can still remember it. I saw your mother, as a young girl. I saw nothing but her, and I know I still would, today. Since she died, I've been haunted in my dreams by her every night, and I simply can't bear to have that dream become a reality. I can't bear to relive that nightmare, I can't... I can't look upon her again, and that means I can't look upon you

again. I know that doesn't make sense, Tess, and even as I write this I know I'm forgetting things, and I'm not saying half of what I mean, and... Oh, Tess. My heart is torn. I long to see you again, and yet, I..."

The words continued onward for some time, with Richard alternately saying how much he longed to see Tess, and how he simply couldn't. Finally, the handwriting changed slightly, and Jason picked up one more.

"I'm sorry. I lost myself there for a bit, but... I've written and rewritten that part of the letter a hundred times over, and I'm down to my last ream of paper, so it's just going to have to do. Since... Well... Here's what I've been up to over the last several years. I'd be most honored if you'd be willing to do the same for me. After the last time I saw you, your mother and I continued onward to the Dungeons of Darkness, which was our destination when you tracked us down, and-"

Jason's voice trailed off, and he scanned through the rest of the document. It went into a great deal of detail, describing the various escapades and close encounters that he experienced over the previous fifteen years since the last time he had seen Tess. Some of them were quite exciting, really, but Tess tore the page from Jason's hand before he could read a fraction of them.

"He's not coming, and he's not coming because I look like my mother." Tess's voice trembled. "That's it?! That's the only reason he gives?! At least try to be creative and come up with some sort of a good excuse! Say that you've been bitten by a lavawyrm and can't move for the next decade or you'll drop dead! Say that you looked at a larvaflower and got infected with parasites! Say that you just plain don't want to see me! Just don't do... this!" Tess screamed and wadded up the paper, then threw it across the room as hard as she could. That turned out to be a considerable amount of force, and the paper slammed into the wall with enough force to shake the house. Not a lot, of course, but it was enough to make Jason wince considerably.

"I'm so sorry." Jason finally whispered after a few long moments.

"Don't be," Tess spat. "You're going to be a better father than he ever was, and by that, you can guarantee that you'll never need to be sorry again."

Jason nodded slowly, then reached out and put a hand on his wife's arm. "What do you need right now?"

"I need you to leave me alone for a bit. I just... I need to think." Tess shuddered, then nodded at the writing desk with a sort-of laugh. "I also need you to take that thing far away from me. If you don't, I'm not sure what I'll write back."

Jason nodded and rose, then, as the writing desk itself was quite large, he removed all the paper and the quills, then strode out of the room. Behind him, he could hear Tess sobbing, and he sighed deeply. He desperately wished that he could comfort her. Unfortunately, unless he could somehow convince her father to come personally... he didn't have the faintest idea how he could accomplish such a thing.

Chapter Nineteen – Cold Wind

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 76th day of Fall! 15 days until the Fall Festival! From here on out, it's only going to get colder and colder until winter arrives. You'll want to make sure you're bundled up if you go outside at all, that's for sure! Oh, and I've been told that a full ban on dragon bone products is now in force, until the winter season. Please, if I warn you about something, you are not to take the warning as a challenge!]

Jason chuckled as he read the message, then rolled out of bed. Tess was right behind him, and they shivered as a cold wind blew against the house. Chance huddled in his blankets at the foot of their bed, and while they weren't exactly sending out fog with their breath, it was far from a pleasant experience.

"I might have to go put on some firewood." Tess shivered.

Jason puffed out his cheeks and rubbed his hands together. "I typically avoided doing that until winter, just out of stubbornness."

Tess laughed. "That doesn't surprise me in the slightest." She turned to the wardrobe. "What's the plan, then?"

While Tess changed, Jason walked up to the window and looked out across the farm. He had just harvested the last of the Frostwalker Corn two days earlier, which left the field rather empty and barren.

"Well, we technically have enough time that we could get in a crop of sorghum before the close of the season, but we'd have to run into town to buy the seed." Jason shrugged after a few moments. "I just can't decide. What do you think?"

"Focus on building your house." Tess shrugged. "You have the foundation laid, right? We're doing well on money, we don't need another crop, and you don't have much longer to get it put together."

"I'll get to it, then." Jason nodded, then changed into thick winter overalls with a flannel shirt on top. After spending a few days finalizing the blueprints (it was really quite a simple house), he had purchased the wood from Paulina, and had begun putting it together shortly thereafter. It was

more than a little fun, that was for sure, and he was making quick progress. He quickly strode out into the blustery weather to feed the animals, then came back inside and sat down with Tess to eat a quick breakfast.

"I packed you a lunch, so you don't have to make the trek back here when it's time." Tess nodded at a small basket nearby. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to head into town for the day. Sounds like Paulina and Obadiah are having some trouble, and she'd like a friend for a bit."

"Bad trouble?" Jason asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Tess shrugged. "Hard to tell for sure. When you're in a relationship, all trouble seems bad."

"I can't argue with that." Jason chuckled. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I can think of a few fights we had where I thought the world was ending. Now, in retrospect, they really weren't that bad, but when the prospect of losing you was on the line..."

He shrugged, and Tess nodded. "That was my thought, exactly. Plus, this afternoon, Daniel was wanting to take me down into the dungeon for something. I guess he found something that he wants me to take a look at. I don't have the faintest idea what it is, of course, but..." She shrugged and chuckled.

"It's Daniel. It might just be a shiny stone."

Tess leaned out to smack him upside the head, then shrugged. "You're not wrong, it really could be. That boy..." She chuckled. "Sometimes, I think he got hit on the head a few too many times when he snuck into the dungeons as a lad."

Jason didn't really have a comment for that, and they soon rose and began preparing for the day. Together, they walked out into the yard, where Jason helped Tess get Angus saddled up. The moment the saddle was on, Tess gave him a kiss, then climbed up onto her horse and rode off. As she vanished up the road, Jason began saddling Lady, which, just like it had done the previous several weeks, seemed to become a harder and harder task.

"You're enjoying having Angus around, aren't you?" Jason ran his hand along her side as he cinched the saddle down. "Packing on the pounds. You know, you don't have to eat as much as he does."

Lady nickered softly, and Jason soon swung up into the saddle. With that, he rode off toward the Far Eighty, and was soon loping across the hills and fens. When the distant field came into view, he sighed contentedly.

There it stood, fresh and ready for development. The house, which was about thirty feet long and twenty wide, was already looking good. Made of solid oak logs, the foundation sat firmly on a flat stretch of land in the south-eastern corner, right next to the spot where they ordinarily hitched their horses. He had already built a small hitching rail, and had soon tied Lady up and hopped down to walk onto the foundation.

Smiling with enjoyment, he stomped on the wood several times, sending a ringing thunk out across the forest. When he had finished goofing off, he got to work. One at a time, he recalled the enormous logs from his farm's inventory, and very carefully rolled them into position. As soon as they snapped into place, he took out mortar and began to seal them down. He had been longing to start getting the walls up, and was overjoyed to begin. One wall he left open, as it would take a bit more work to build the door upon, but the others, he just heaved upward as best he could. It was slow going, but it was rewarding work, that was for sure.

It was nearing lunchtime when the distant thunder of hooves began to echo through the chilly air. He stood and looked out toward his house, expecting to see Tess appear over the horizon. A moment later, though, the ridge was crested by a dozen horsemen, with Jeremiah at the lead. They were all pulling cannons, and Jason rolled his eyes. A few moments later, the posse had come up to the house, and Jason raised an eyebrow. Not only was Jeremiah leading the charge, but Obadiah sat on a horse just next to him!

"Ahh... This is a bit unusual." Jason dusted off his hands and crossed his arms. "Is there a monster loose in the wilderness that I don't know about?"

"Nope, but there will be soon!" Jeremiah laughed. Obadiah spun and looked at him sharply, and Jeremiah quieted down, though only for a moment. "Go start getting things set up, boys!"

His hired men began riding up the slope onto the hill that overlooked the Far Eighty, and Obadiah went with them. Jeremiah watched them go, then swung off the horse and came striding up to Jason.

"You heard about the big fight they had?"

Jason shrugged. "I heard they had a fight, I don't know what it was about." Jeremiah opened his mouth, and Jason held up a finger. "And I don't need to know unless it pertains to Tess or myself."

Jeremiah's jaw worked for a few moments, and he shrugged. "Suit yourself, then. Obadiah's not bothered by it getting out, if that's your worry. Anyway, they had a big fight, and I convinced him to come with me to blow off some steam."

"Because Paulina is going to forgive him and fall madly back in love with him because he, the protector of the city, summoned in a painted dragon?" Jason snorted. "Jeremiah, most of the time I'll reluctantly go along with your schemes, but this one is a step too far."

"Nonsense! You just haven't been married as long as I have!" Jeremiah chuckled and turned away. "Now are you going to help me, or not?"

"Not." Jason shook his head. "Tess will be furious at me, Delilah will be furious at you, and Paulina will be furious with him."

"Not if we don't tell anyone that we spawned it in." Jeremiah grinned broadly. "For all they'll know, we just came across it out here in the wild!"

"Literally everyone will know that we spawned it in." Jason snapped. "For that matter, if you do it over here, everyone is going to think I helped with it, even if I stay away from it all!"

"Then you might as well come join us!" Jeremiah turned and started walking up the slope, leading his horse. "Come on! Do you really think that Tess is going to leave you over a little thing like this?"

"No, but I'm not really concerned about that." Jason muttered and turned back to his work. "I'm sure she'd forgive me if I got mad and threw a plate of food at her, too, as long as it was only once, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it."

Jeremiah was already gone, and Jason spawned in another log. This one was just a smidge too long, and he took out his saw and began to cut away at the wood. Up above, he could hear Jeremiah calling out orders and shouting instructions, and he felt more than a small pull to head up and join them. After all... Shooting off cannons was fun... And Tess was going to go down into a dungeon that afternoon anyway! If she could fight monsters, why couldn't he?

"Because Tess is fighting them down in a dungeon, and I would be fighting them up here, where they could hurt someone," Jason muttered under his breath. "That's the long and the short of it. Plus, it's a dragon. A dragon! That's not a little Juun Bug. That's a giant, fire-breathing..."

His voice trailed off, and he cast another look up at the assembled cannons. It was... well... They had so much firepower... So what if they summoned in a dragon? They could kill it easily enough, and Obadiah was there to supervise! It wasn't even just two random farmers doing it at that point. It could even be that Obadiah wanted to test out the spawn conditions to help prevent a peasant from accidentally spawning one in, or maybe he was just training himself to be able to fight monsters a bit better! There was nothing really wrong with it at that point. A bit irresponsible, perhaps, but nothing more sinister than that!

After a moment, he dropped his tools and went walking up the hill to stand next to Jeremiah. Just like before, the table had been set up, and a starter cannon was positioned just next to it. The other cannons stood at at a distance, with a long cord running from the main cannons to the trigger cannon. Jeremiah's hired men all stood at the ready, and Obadiah had drawn his sword. Jeremiah had a rifle on his shoulder, and nodded to Jason.

"You'll want your own weapon, just in case."

Jason nodded, then took out his pistol. It was a weapon that Jeremiah had given him a few years earlier, and it gleamed in the light of that day.

"Have you figured out what went wrong last time?" Jason asked as Jeremiah lit the long cord. The flame began to streak across the distance, but it still had a long way to go before it reached the cannon.

"Yeah! I talked to Obadiah about it. He reckons that the thing did spawn in somewhere, just not where we expected." Jeremiah grinned. "Dragons, for some reason, are often drawn to specific spawn points. They don't just appear anywhere in the wild, like some of the others can. It should have appeared within a mile of our location, in any case, but if there was a really old spawn point underground, or something, that it got stuck inside, it would have died without us ever even knowing that it appeared. That's why we're over here now. Hopefully, we're out of range of wherever it got stuck last time."

Even as Jeremiah said it, a sickening feeling began to dawn in Jason's stomach.

"I know where it spawned in last time." He turned to Jeremiah. "Stop the cannon!"

The cannon exploded a moment later, shattering the bug box and the vase of wildflowers instantly. Jeremiah saw the horror on Jason's face, and

cupped his hands around his mouth. "No one spill any paint!"

His voice rang out across the landscape... But the cannon was a good bit louder. All but a few of his hired men spilled paint across the ground, and a moment later, a dull roar shook the prairie.

"Hmm." Jeremiah frowned. "Now that sounded like it came from underground."

"Turn your cannons around!" Jason called out. "Now!"

The cannons, which had all been facing north, were quickly wheeled around to face the opposite direction. The ground rumbled, and a great hissing noise seemed to emerge from the forest. Trees shook, birds erupted from the nearly-bare branches, and Jason winced. An instant later, with a mighty crack, the dragon came bursting up from the middle of the woods.

It was just like he had imagined. Long and lithe, it rose up into the air on wings that were all the colors of the rainbow. It snarled and unleashed a blast of rainbow-colored flame that scorched the forest, then lowered its wings and flashed through the air at the small group of farmers. All told, the beast was probably between seventy and a hundred feet in length, and every inch of it looked to be covered in thick, steel-like scales.

"Fire!" Jeremiah cried out. "Fire, now!"

Twelve cannons boomed at the same time, and long plumes of smoke erupted from the hilltop. Blazing projectiles streaked through the air, slamming into the dragon at almost exactly the same moment. With a piercing roar, the dragon fell from the sky... And landed smack on Jason's half-finished foundation.

The dragon looked down at the foundation, which had been crushed underneath its paw, then snarled and burned it to a crisp in the span of the blink of an eye. Jason cried out in despair, but did feel a sigh of relief as Lady broke free of the hitching post and ran off over the hills.

"You took out about ninety percent of its health." Obadiah squinted down at the dragon, which was starting to rise. "How long will it take you to reload those cannons?"

Down the line, Jeremiah's hired men were all frantically ramming balls back down the barrels, but the dragon was already crouching and preparing to spring. Obadiah sighed, then raced forward, holding his sword over his head.

"All right, dragon! You want to eat a human? Come eat me!"

He threw himself forward, pulling the sword back over his head. The dragon snarled and sprang to meet him, and the two of them came crashing together.

Jason would long remember that battle, though in the future, he found it hard to put into words. Obadiah took the brunt of a blast of flame, then somehow slipped onto the back of the dragon's head. It began bucking and twisting through the air, and at one point had Obadiah in its claws, at least until Obadiah cut himself free. Finally, though, Obadiah managed to land a cut clean across its neck, and the great beast came tumbling back down to the ground. The head landed with a thump just in front of Jason, and acidic blood began to pour down across the grass, turning the prairie into ash. Obadiah landed with a heroic pose, the men cheered... and Jason stared in horror at the landscape.

Many of the trees of the forest had been burned away, revealing the entrance to the dungeon. Or, rather, the new entrance to the dungeon. The dragon, upon making it through the thick layer of stone that formed above the fifth layer (which Jason and Tess had so helpfully opened for him) had seemingly just smashed his way through the lesser-reinforced upper layers. Chunks of black stone lay scattered across the desolated forest, ruining any chance of Jason and Tess doing anything with the dungeon ever again. The field was scarred and burnt, and, of course, he had lost weeks of work on the foundation of the home.

"I... I'm sorry." Jeremiah walked up and put a hand on Jason's shoulder, even as the hired men cheered. "I know how much that dungeon meant to you."

Jason let out a long breath, then tugged his hand away. "I told you it was a bad idea. And you owe me a new log cabin. Part of a log cabin. I don't know."

With that, he strode down the hill, off toward where Lady had run off toward. He didn't even give the dragon head a second look. He felt awful... And he didn't have the faintest idea how he would explain any of it to Tess.

Chapter Twenty – Last Day of Fall

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 91st day of Fall! It's the day of the Fall Festival, folks! Get out and enjoy the wintery weather, and have a great time!]

Jason sighed as he slowly opened his eyes. He lay just next to Tess, but he didn't even remotely feel as though he were truly next to her. Chance leapt up onto the bed and began to lick her face, and she rose and began to pet him eagerly. Jason swung himself out of bed and shook his head, then rose and sighed deeply. After a moment, Tess got out of bed as well, and walked straight to the wardrobe to begin to change clothes. Or, rather, she grabbed her clothes, and then walked into the bathroom to change. He sighed, then sat down on the bed. After a few moments, she emerged, cast a single look at him, and made her way down the stairs.

He looked after her for a long while, then rose, changed into a warm tunic, and strode down the stairs after her. He found her in the kitchen, where she had already made up a single bowl of oatmeal for herself. She had nearly finished by the time he walked in, and as he sat down, she stood back up and moved away. Jason looked down at the table, then stood back up and followed.

"Tess?" He asked softly as he stepped into the living room. "Tess, can we please... Can we talk about this? It's been two weeks, and I really am..."

"I know you're sorry, Jason." Tess sighed. "I know you didn't mean any harm, but... How many times did I tell you not to try to summon in that dragon? How many times did we talk about it? I wasn't just dropping those hints idly. I talk to Paulina, and Paulina talks to Jeremiah. She told me the moment that you two dreamed up that hairbrained scheme, I was just hoping that you would respect me enough to not go through with it!"

Jason puffed out his cheeks and sighed. "I... I know."

Tess shook her head and spun around to face him. "Do you have any idea what the repercussions have been around town? Word travels fast in a

small town. There's not a large movement, but a small and very vocal minority is pushing for Obadiah to be expelled as the guildmaster, and I can't say that I necessarily disagree with them. That was dangerous behavior, and I get that Jeremiah was the one who instigated it, but if he can be persuaded to do something like that so easily, then maybe he shouldn't be guildmaster in the same town as his father."

Jason only nodded and let his head drop, and Tess continued.

"On top of that, our dungeon was destroyed. Our dungeon. Jason, do you understand what that meant?" Tess's voice became strained. "When I left to come live on the farm, I gave up my old life. I don't hold that against you at all, and I immensely enjoy this life, but... Imagine that you had come to live in Summer Shandy, and we had started growing a garden together to remind you of the farm. Then, imagine that I was sparring with someone and squished it. That would hurt, a lot. We were going to build a family in that dungeon, we were going to turn it into a playhouse and a warehouse, and who knows what else? That's the beauty of having a blank slate like that! We would have explored it for endless years before we reached the bottom, and we would have..."

She clamped her mouth shut, and Jason held up his hands. "On the bright side, we learned about the spawn point now. Can you imagine what would have happened if our kids had been inside, and then-"

"No, I can't imagine that!" Tess shrieked at him. He drew back, and she shuddered and looked down at the ground. "Besides, I don't even know if I can give you children. We've been married six months today, and I'm still not pregnant."

"You'll get there."

"I don't even know if I want to be pregnant!" Tess snarled, snapping back around at him. "My own father won't even come and visit me! What kind of a mother would I be? I don't exactly have the best examples to follow. Would my kids end up like me? Probably."

"I think you're plenty nice." Jason offered weakly.

"Of course you do. You're a farmboy who got rejected by everyone else." Tess snapped. "You know me! I tried to date guys before you, and they all turned me down, all of them who weren't desperate for a girlfriend. I'm obviously not really worth anything to anyone."

She turned and stormed out of the house, and Jason sighed. His stomach rumbled, but he knew enough not to answer that particular call.

Instead, he rose again and walked out into the yard, where Tess was saddling Angus. She snorted at him as he started putting a saddle on Lady, and smirked as he struggled with the straps.

"Still having trouble with that?"

He shrugged. "Just seems like she's getting bigger every day, and I can't figure it out. I don't think she's eating that much. No more than usual, anyway."

Tess laughed, a pained yelp that stabbed Jason to the core. "So even she's pregnant. Tess, you've got less going for you than a horse."

With that, she spurred Angus on, and erupted from the gate at lightning speed. Jason watched her go, then glanced at Lady with a look of amazement.

"So you're pregnant!" He grinned broadly, then frowned. "Huh. That means I need to be more careful about what I do with you. That... That actually makes a whole lot of sense, all things considered." He stroked his chin, then shrugged. "The things that make you say hmm. Well, I guess I'm walking today!"

In all reality, he likely could have ridden her into town for the festival, but he was feeling like a walk, and he didn't want to stress Lady any more than he already had. He quickly led her over to the stable and put her away, gave her a bit extra food, and then set off for town. Chance came along with him for a time, then turned back to the house and scampered up to the porch. Jason sighed, then pressed on along.

People began to stream past him as they made their way into town for the festival. When Jason arrived, he found that Tess was nowhere in sight, though he did glimpse movement through the upstairs windows of Paulina's store. He cast a single glance upward, then went about his business, helping set up tables and other sorts of things. Obadiah was nowhere to be seen either, though Daniel had taken his place at the well with Hank. He waved at Jason, but Jason sighed and simply nodded back.

"Howdy, neighbor." Jeremiah sighed deeply as he came walking into town as well, dismounting from the carriage with Delilah. His wife kissed him on the cheek and walked away, and Jason scowled at him. "I've been hearing about everything that went down."

"Yeah, and it all turned out alright for you," Jason scoffed at him. "Your wife still loves you."

"Tess still loves you, too." Jeremiah shook his head. "She'll come around, don't you worry about that."

"I don't want her to come around. I want her to forgive me, and I never want to do anything like that ever again," Jason snapped.

Jeremiah sighed again and put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "I know I made a mess of things. I've already ordered the wood, and I'll be building you a cabin on that land for you." At Jason's look, he held up a hand in defense. "I know that doesn't even begin to make up for everything, but I do hope it'll be a start. I didn't mean to cause you any harm." He kicked at the cobblestones. "I guess... I know I sometimes get a bit carried away. I was so excited to have another married man around that I forgot to keep the important things in mind."

Jason sighed, then nodded. "I'll forgive you, at the least. I don't know if Tess will, mind you, but..."

"You leave that up to me." Jeremiah puffed out his cheeks. "Now, come on, and help me get this place set up."

Jason inclined his head, and they strode off to keep helping prepare for the festival. Unlike the spring and summer festivals, which both took place during warmer months, the fall festival was always a bit more reserved. There was no band this time, as it was simply too cold that day, though a dance through the fallen leaves (barrels and barrels of which had been collected for the occasion) was still planned. A bonfire was built up on one edge of the square, near the Guild Hall, which Obadiah finally came out to oversee. He said a few muttered words to Jason, but largely seemed to want to keep out of everyone's business, especially as different townsfolk began pointing at him here and there. Jason rather pitied the man, that was for sure. If Jeremiah had come forward with the painted dragon scheme during any number of conflicts with Tess at an earlier time in his life, he would have jumped on board without hesitation.

As the sun began to set, the feast finally began. Leaves were dumped out across the courtyard, and couples began to dance merrily through the debris to their own beats. Tess, Paulina, and Delilah appeared at the entrance of the general store, and Jason felt his heart skip a beat. Though he hadn't really appreciated it before, Tess was clad in a lovely autumn dress, patterned with reds and oranges and blacks that nearly looked like a crackling fire. She wore a gray cloak over it, and had her hair drawn back over her shoulders like a queen. Paulina was dressed in similar attire,

so much so that Jason could only assume that it had been planned. Tess slipped across the area to Jason, and slowly reached out and took his hand.

"I... I forgive you, Jason," she whispered softly. "Delilah came and talked to me, and... Oh, I don't know. Guys are going to be guys. Sometimes it hurts, and if we had done the same thing, it would have meant a rebellion on an entirely different level, but... You got roped into Jeremiah's scheme on the spot. You were just having fun, and briefly forgot to consider the consequences." After a moment, she continued. "And, realistically, Jeremiah would have done it even if you hadn't been involved, and I've seen the destruction. You would have been crushed, burned, or eaten, and quite frankly, I'd rather have you in one piece."

Jason inclined his head. As the festival whirled around him, he felt a small smile creeping across his face. "Thanks."

"Please don't misunderstand me, Jason." A tear came to Tess's eye. "That hurt, and it hurt me a lot. With everything that's happening right now, I don't feel okay, and I really just want to run back to the guild and punch monsters to escape it all, but I also know that that isn't the right response." She drew herself upright and took a shuddering breath. "I'm choosing to forgive you, but please, Jason, don't ever do anything like that again."

"You have my word." Jason took her hand in his own, and she gave it a squeeze. With that, he slowly turned to face the festival, which was rapidly spinning into a wonderful sort of party. Near the town well, Paulina held Obadiah's hands, and even as tears streamed down their faces, they embraced. Then, on the urging of a number of people in the town (who, in turn, were being goaded by Delilah and Jeremiah), Obadiah climbed up onto the stage usually used for the band, and Paulina sold fruit to throw at him. It was an odd sort of an evening, but it seemed to be turning out alright in the end.

Toward the end of the night, to the surprise of everyone in the town, Daniel swept Theresa out onto the dance floor, performed a quite passable waltz, and then fell on his knees before her.

"Fairest maiden, healer of all wounds, will you cure the wound of love that I suffered? For I have been smitten with an arrow, the kind that only your fair embrace may heal."

To the surprise of no one in the town, Theresa turned as red as her dress, shook her head, and made her escape. Daniel put his head in his hands, turned to Jeremiah and asked what part of the speech he had done

wrong, and then allowed himself to be led away by a tomato-covered Obadiah. Jason laughed a bit at the spectacle, but stopped when he saw Tess's glare.

"That's my brother," she chided him. "Whatever else he is, he's family."

Jason couldn't argue with that, and he and Tess swirled out onto the dance floor for the rest of the evening. They were still dancing when a loud bell rang across the landscape, the leaves all vanished, and a soft snow began to float down out of the sky.

Winter had come to Summer Shandy. With it came the beauty of the snow, and a whole host of new adventures... Jason only hoped that he would be able to navigate them with somewhat more grace than the autumn.

Chapter Twenty-One – A Warm Place

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 1st day of Winter! 90 days until the Winter Festival! Wow, it's cold out there! And I mean cold! I don't know if we're actually breaking any records, but it's certainly going to break the bank as people try to stay warm! And speaking of which... well... bleh. I can't tell you how to avoid summoning in monsters, but if anyone sees the ashes in your fireplace starting to swirl, and there's not a breeze coming down the chimney, come and get me as quickly as you can!]

Jason chuckled as his eyes flickered open. The air was chilly, but not cold, as he and Tess had finally kindled their fireplace as soon as they got home from the Fall Festival the night before. He slowly swung his feet out of bed and glanced at Chance, who was huddled up and not moving, save to blink his eyes up at his master.

"I'll go toss another few logs on the fire." Jason nodded at Tess, who was remaining under the blanket.

"Thanks!" she mumbled from below half a dozen thick blankets. "I have to say, I'm not a fan of the cold."

Jason chuckled, and, still in his nightclothes, trotted down the stairs and threw a handful of logs onto the glowing embers. There was a flicker as they started to warm up, and he climbed the stairs again as Tess was slowly rising from the bed.

"I didn't realize you were the type to be particularly concerned about cold weather." Jason chuckled as he changed into a warm tunic. Once he was dressed, he walked up to the window and wiped away the condensation to look out across the farm. A fresh layer of snow blanketed everything, and he sighed peacefully as more snow continued to drift down.

"When I was still guildmaster, I didn't let it bother me." Tess answered as she changed into one of her winter dresses. "Now that I'm a civilian again, I hate the cold. There are no monsters for me to fight, so... I'm going to stay comfortable."

"Well, then, if you'll get a nice, warm breakfast on the table, I'll go get the horses taken care of." Jason flashed a small smile and strode down the stairs. A few moments later, he was out in the frigid weather, and he shivered violently as he made his way over to the stable.

Obadiah hadn't been kidding. It was cold outside, and though he couldn't know for sure, it certainly felt like one of the coldest days since he had arrived in Summer Shandy. Lady and Angus were both pleased as he opened up the door to the stable, though they didn't show any great desire to go outside. Jason could hardly blame them for that, and he quickly fed them, cleaned out their stalls, and then added some fresh hay. That done, he made his way back into the house.

His cheeks stung from the cold by the time he staggered up and into the home. The blast of heat almost hurt even worse, in a strange way, though he was still plenty happy to have the warmth. Tess had steaming bowls of oatmeal on the table, and he staggered into the kitchen and wrapped his frozen hands around the warm bowl.

"Wow!" Tess blinked in surprise. "You look..."

"Yeah." Jason shook his head. "It's dangerously cold out there today. If you were going to head into town, you'd have to put hot bricks in your clothes or something. Otherwise, I'm not sure it would be safe."

"Then we'll just stay right here." Tess flashed a small grin at him. "How'd you like to help me with the cleaning? You've been so busy with other things that you haven't really seen everything that I've managed to get done."

"I'd love that!" Jason grinned. He finished his bowl of oatmeal, then rose. "Let's get this started!"

His enthusiasm, such as it was, was short-lived. Though it really shouldn't have surprised him, Tess was a strict housekeeper. She led him into the dining room, which had been her primary focus over the previous several weeks. To Jason's surprise, it was almost completely transformed. The linen tablecloth had been cleaned, and now looked white as snow. The chairs had been dusted off, the windows gleamed, the china cabinets had all been dusted and polished, and the china itself practically shone. Even the light fixtures, with their flickering gas flames, had been polished up. Jason whistled softly, and Tess grinned.

"It's something else, isn't it? You'd hardly even know it was so decrepit once."

Jason nodded in wonder. "I love what you've done with it! We can invite people over and not eat our meals in the living room! And we can use fancy plates, and fancy silverware, and..." His voice trailed off, and he sighed. "Thanks."

"It's our home now. You're welcome, but it's not like I'm just doing it for you." Tess chuckled, then walked to a door at the far end of the room. "Now... This room is going to take some work."

Jason blinked in surprise as he approached the door. "I'm not even sure if I knew this room was here, to be honest."

"The china cabinet had slid partway across the entrance, so I'm not really surprised by that fact." Tess chuckled and pulled the door open. "It's really just a closet. It looks to me that when the house was built, there was a little bit of extra room between the living room and the stairs and the fireplace, so they just kinda turned it into a storage room, and..."

She pulled the door open with a sharp twist of her hand, revealing an enormous pile of boxes that tilted and nearly came crashing out across the polished wood floors. Jason whistled, and Change growled as a particularly large direwolf spider snarled and skittered back under cover.

"Wow." Jason crossed his arms. "This looks almost as bad as the basement."

"My thoughts exactly, which is why I've been saving it for winter!" Tess chuckled softly. "No offense, but your uncle's old stuff is kinda creepy, and that's coming from someone who's spent her life crawling through dungeons."

Jason laughed at that, though Tess looked rather serious. Without any other real options, he strode forward and grabbed hold of the nearest box, then pulled it out. There was a clatter as other things, deeper within the closet, collapsed as the support was pulled away, and Jason chuckled softly. He went to set the box on the table, but stopped at Tess's glare.

"I had to scrub that tablecloth for three days before I got all the dust out of it!"

Jason nodded, then carried the box into the living room. It would be easier to go through it all by the warm fire, anyway. Tess soon joined him with a second box, and they pulled the lids open.

Inside Jason's box was a great deal of dust, along with an assortment of trinkets. He reached inside and pulled out an odd knife that, instead of a hilt, had a number of rings that you could slide your fingers through. He

tried out the weapon, and for a moment, it looked as though he had grown a knife from the back of his hand. It was more than a little fun to wave around, and Tess chuckled.

"I haven't seen one of those in years!"

"You know what it is?" Jason passed the odd weapon over to her. "Yes," she nodded. "It's been awhile, but a few of the older warriors

would have them every now and then. They were a common hand-to-hand weapon around... oh, a few generations earlier than us. Illumitir banned them, since they were being used by street gangs to kill people more than monsters, but they allowed a clause where you could register them if you were a warrior who had built your fighting style around their use. Like I said, I've only seen a few of them, but the warriors who could wield them were deadly."

Jason shook his head, then set the weapon aside and reached in once more. This time, he took out a small iron ball covered in tiny pinholes. As soon as Tess laid eyes on the small object, she froze.

"Jason, be very careful with that. Set it down on the ground."

Jason nodded, then slowly sat it on the floor just in front of him. He then rose and stepped back, and Tess stood up and kicked it across the room. It flew a few feet and bumped into a couch, and with a pop, needles erupted from the pinholes and stuck straight through the floor and couch fabric. A moment later, there was a click from inside the ball, and the needles slowly retracted.

"What was that?" Jason whispered softly.

"I don't remember exactly what they're called. I had one on display in the Guild Hall," Tess explained. "Another old weapon that was banned by Illumitir, this one without any recourse to keep using it. It was a reusable, grenade-type weapon designed to send monsters into a rage. You'd throw it at them, and the needles would prick and injure them, causing them immense pain. On a practical level, enraged monsters attack in a far more predictable pattern than monsters simply trying to defend themselves or hunt prey, but the weapons also had a tendency to go off early. There are a lot of warriors who fought in that particular era who have injured hands as a result."

"Interesting." Jason knelt down next to the box once again, then drew out a small dagger. It had a button on the handle, and he showed it to Tess.

"Ahh! That one's actually a lot of fun. Push the button."

He nodded and did so, and a sheath of lightning flickered up the length of the blade. It flickered and crackled for a few long seconds, then died away, and Tess chuckled.

"There's a lightning stone hidden in the hilt. When you push the button, a small hammer strikes it and causes the blade to become energized. It was also banned by Illumitir, but most of us suspect that doing so was more of a political move than anything else."

"Political move?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

Tess explained, "Lightning stones can only be mined on a small strip of islands out in the eastern ocean. The people who live there have historically had more than a few issues with Illumitir, so by cutting off one of the main uses for lightning stones, the government hoped to cripple trade going to and from the island, and force them into negotiations or something."

"Did it work?"

Tess laughed. "I have absolutely no idea! I only looked at politics when they happened to involve the well-being of my warriors."

Jason laughed, then put the dagger into his inventory. After a few seconds, he sighed and sat down.

"So... Why did my uncle have all this old, illegal weaponry? I haven't heard that he was a warrior, and even if he had aspirations to it, at least as far as I can tell, all of this would have been banned long before he would have been trying to rise up to the challenge."

Tess nodded in thought. "That would be my analysis, too. To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. I knew who he was, everyone knew that he lived in the gross, old farm that everyone had to drive past if they were coming into town, but I only talked to him a handful of times. He would come and try to hire warriors every now and again for tasks on his farm, but he always wanted them to catch monsters and bring them to him to raise, and doing so is even more illegal than holding these weapons, so they would always refuse and come back to me, and then I'd have to go tell Hank so he could write up a report, and then Hank would forget to do it, and I'd have to go over his head, and by then the incident would be months past and Illumitir wouldn't care, and..." She sighed and shook her head. "To be honest, I never imagined that I would be inside this house for anything other than burning it down."

At that, Jason burst out laughing. He went back to digging through the box, and only found an assortment of other weapons and items that had all been banned by Illumitir in years past. It looked as if his uncle had been doing his best to collect anything and everything dungeon-related that was no longer allowed to be used. A black market dealer would have loved the score, that was for sure, but it simply left Jason shaking his head. Tess's box wasn't much better. It contained mostly books, all of which involved meeting spawn conditions for an assortment of different monsters.

"What do we do with all of this?" Jason finally glanced up at Tess.

"The only thing we can do." Tess shrugged. "We have to take it all up to Hank. Legal procedure states that this sort of old material has to be turned over to Illumitir, where certain guilds can decide whether to place the score in a museum or just destroy it all."

"Why don't we just go and bury it all?" Jason asked.

Tess sighed. "Strictly speaking, that would probably be the best thing to make sure it stays out of the hands of people who would abuse it, but the law says that the authorities have to keep track of it. If we say we destroy it, they don't know if we actually did, or if we sold it into the black market, or..."

She shrugged, and Jason scoffed. "Even though, right now, they don't have the faintest idea that this stuff exists?"

Tess nodded. "That's the law, and I've been involved at least tangentially in law enforcement for long enough that I'd rather just go along with it."

Jason looked down at the cache, then shrugged and nodded. "All right, then."

He slid the two boxes to the front door, then went back to the closet for another load. Working together, he and Tess were able to go through about half of the material in the closet by the end of the day, discovering all manners of old dungeon stuff. When they finished, Jason's lungs burned from all the dust, and his eyes stung more than a little bit, but he supposed that there was nothing to be done about it.

As he went to close the door, though, he frowned as a low skittering echoed through the air. He opened the door a bit wider, letting the fading light shine through into the interior of the closet, but saw nothing. The scratching came again, and he sighed. It was just a rat, or a giant spider, or something hiding within the walls.

The house certainly held just as many mysteries as his uncle himself seemed to have held. Jason was in no particular hurry to unpack them all, but he did have to admit that it was a tantalizing prospect. What more would the house reveal? Would it hold any secrets that would shatter his concept of reality? Or, more likely... Would he simply wind up running into some sort of giant monster that his uncle had somehow managed to spawn in without anyone else knowing about it? He didn't know... But, as the whole of the winter stretched out before him, he was more than ready to find out.

Chapter Twenty-Two – Cleaning Days

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 10th day of Winter! 81 days until the Winter Festival! It's looking like a warmer one today, folks! And by warmer, I mean not as miserably cold as it's been for the last few weeks. We might even see some good packing snow today, especially with that big storm last night! And, while I'm sticking to my resolution not to tell you how to spawn in monsters, I can say, with certainty, that building monsters out of snow is a sure and safe way to accomplish it... If you dare!]

Jason chuckled as his eyes flickered open. He sat up, and Chance bounded up to lick his face. Tess, beside him, glared at the dog until Chance ran over to lick her face.

"Obadiah is getting more comfortable with the town, it sounds like." Jason rolled out of bed and strode up to the window and wiped away the condensation. Outside, a fresh layer of snow had been added over the previous layer, which only displayed a handful of tracks from nighttime animals. A small fox skittered past, hunting for mice that had built their dens beneath the snow.

"I think Paulina's stunt really loosened things up," Tess giggled as she climbed out of bed as well. "There's something about throwing fruit at a person that just sorta loosens things up. Obadiah was more than willing to bear it, and his girlfriend was the one selling the fruit, so the townsfolk were able to vent their frustrations in a manner that didn't actually hurt anyone. Everyone wound up in better spirits, and, as near as I can tell, all has been forgiven."

"That's good." Jason took a deep breath and shivered. "Well, I'll go down and get things ready. What's your plan for the day?"

"What's your plan for the day?" Tess countered. "It's warmer today. Are you going to get out and try to accomplish anything, or stay warm and cozy inside?"

"Warm and cozy." Jason nodded firmly. "I got ahead of my work in the fall, minus getting my log cabin blown up, so I'm not planning on doing

anything more than general maintenance until spring. I'm staying in the house, which is squarely your domain, so you tell me the plan."

"Then you can help me clean out the basement," Tess grinned. "Now that we finally have that closet done, I'd like to get started on all the boxes and things down there. I really think we can turn the basement into something cool, but we just have to get all that junk out of there first."

"Then I'll see you when I get back inside from getting the horses ready." Jason flashed a smile, then turned and made his way down the stairs. A few moments later, he was out in the yard. Chance joined him this time, and began leaping through the piles and drifts of snow with vigor. Snow exploded upward as he landed and pawed about, and all the foxes skittered away in a rush. Jason laughed, then took Lady and Angus out to the corral. Lady was larger than ever now; he didn't imagine that he would possibly be able to ride her again until she gave birth. He poured out their feed, then shivered as a colder gust of wind blew across the plains. Still, though, the rising sun was casting far warmer rays over the landscape, and Jason imagined that it would actually be quite pleasant by the end of the day.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Jeremiah's voice rang above the snow, and Jason spun to see Jeremiah, along with a number of his hired men, rumbling along up the road. A large wagon filled with planks of wood was pulled by a team of six horses, and they soon rumbled up and into the drive. Jeremiah came to a stop as his hired men continued onward, and he tipped a hat down at Jason.

"And what are you guys up to?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"I told you I was going to build you a replacement cabin, and that's exactly what I aim to do." Jeremiah crossed his arms. "I broke it, and I'll fix it. I'd expect nothing less in the reverse situation, so here I am."

"It's the middle of winter." Jason protested. "Jeremiah, you really can-"

"Jason, I'm not taking no for an answer. You can flap your jaws all you want, but if worse comes to worst, I'll just pull out my cannons and lock you in your house until I finish." Jeremiah crossed his arms.

Jason shook his head in mild disbelief and looked down at the ground, then chuckled and lifted his eyes back up to Jeremiah. "In that case, thank you."

"You're more than welcome!" Jeremiah grinned. He started to follow his hired men, then paused and turned to look back at Lady. "I don't mean to pry, but are you expecting a little one here soon?"

"It sure looks that way." Jason nodded. "I kinda forgot to ask Tess if Angus had been gilded, and... Well, you can see the results! Not that I particularly mind, of course, but..."

Jeremiah winced for a moment. "Have you had a veterinarian look at her?"

Jason shook his head. "Do I need to? She seems healthy enough. She's been eating, and she isn't showing signs of being sick."

"Yeah." Jeremiah crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "I don't mean to speak down to you, so if I am, please forgive me. I know you're not terribly familiar with animals. Breed a small stallion to a big mare, and you don't really have any issues. The baby will be small, a nice and easy birth, and life goes along with ease. Breed a large stallion to a small mare, and there's a good chance that the birth is going to be a difficult one."

"How difficult are we talking?" Jason asked softly, his heart filling with dread.

Jeremiah shrugged again. "I don't mean to worry you, but I've seen mares die when they wound up breeding with too large of a sire. There are things you can do to mitigate that, but you'll want to get her checked out just to make sure."

Jason nodded slowly and stroked his chin. "Do you happen to know of a good vet? The only medical anyone I know of is Theresa, and I don't know if she really works with animals."

"I once had her look at a cow, but that was only because my regular vet was out of town and it was an emergency." Jeremiah chuckled. "There aren't many veterinarians in the area, that's for sure. The one I use is a man named Donald Dawson. He lives over in Darkwater, about a day's ride. He likes to come out for batches of things, and I'm starting to get a list put together, so I'll try to get him to come over within the next few weeks."

"You think it can wait that long?" Jason glanced at Lady with concern.

"Oh, for sure." Jeremiah nodded and grinned. "Lady's coming along well, you're just going to want to make sure that the birth can go smoothly. At a glance, I'd say she'll be due somewhere near the end of winter."

Jason felt a grin growing across his face. "Well, I can't wait to see your vet!"

Jeremiah tipped his hat, then rode off across the prairie after his hired men. He soon vanished off into the distance, and Jason chuckled and walked back up into the house.

Tess was waiting for him as soon as he got back inside, and she raised an eyebrow as he walked up to the table.

"Do I want to ask what Jeremiah's going to do out there today? Surely he's not trying to summon in anything new!"

"Nothing except a new cabin," Jason chuckled, then explained the situation as they ate a meal of spinach pancakes. When he finished, Tess shook her head and chuckled.

"That Jeremiah. He's something else, that's for sure."

"Indeed." Jason sighed. "He was the first friend I ever made in Summer Shandy. Might drive me a bit nuts every now and again, but he's a good guy to have on your side."

Tess nodded. "I just hope he doesn't go too overboard. All I want is a simple, one-room cabin that we can use to-" Her voice trailed off, and she sighed. "Though, now that the dungeon is gone, I don't know that it's really worth anything."

She took a shuddering breath, and Jason reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. We'll make it work, I'm sure it's not a complete loss." He smiled. "Remember, the last time, at least as near as we could tell, the Painted Dragon spawned in on floor five. There are still seven floors below the spawn point that are likely untouched, at least by the painted dragon. There will still be plenty for us to explore!"

Tess chuckled and flashed a small smile. "Have you been out there since then?"

"No." Jason sighed. "I haven't been able to bring myself to look at it."

"Neither have I." Tess puffed out her cheeks, then shrugged. "We'll just have to make a special trip out there, one of these days, and we'll see if your hypothesis is right."

"I know it's right." Jason nodded. "We've still got plenty of old dungeon to go through!"

"Well, for the moment, we have a basement to crawl through. In a lot of ways, that's more terrifying than any old dungeon I've ever been in." Tess chuckled and rose from the table. "Come on, my husband and explorer! We shall go forth, and we shall conquer! If there are any secrets left in this house for us to find, we'll pry them from its cold

Chapter Twenty-Three – Endless Horizon

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 15th day of Winter! 76 days until the Winter Festival! The weather has swung back on the colder side again, folks, and I mean cold. On top of that, we've got a horrid winter storm rolling through from the south, and from the reports I'm getting, it's supposed to be a bad one. No tornados, thankfully, but I'm getting reports of hail, high winds, sleet, ice buildup, and more. If you have animals, get them inside and get them plenty of food and water just in case you can't get to them for a while. If you have children, make sure to get plenty of board games ready, for their sanity and for yours!]

Jason shuddered as he rolled out of bed and read the report. He dashed to the window, but as the room faced north toward Summer Shandy, he couldn't see a whole lot. He glanced at Tess, who was just sitting up, and she nodded.

"Go. I'll have food ready when you get back."

Jason dressed in the warmest clothes he had, then dashed out onto the front porch. Curiosity overtook him, and he turned to the south and looked across at the landscape. The prairie stretched out endlessly until the horizon... Which looked as black as coal. Rippling clouds swirled and stretched north, and even as he stood there, a fierce wind began to whip up around his feet. He shivered, then stomped through the packed snow toward the stable. Chance whimpered at the door, but didn't come outside.

Jason burst through the door of the stable and began pouring feed for Lady and Angus. They nickered happily to see him, and began pawing at the doors of their stalls to get out to the corral, but he simply shook his head and poured some water for them as well.

"Stay in here, and stay safe." He spoke to them, even knowing that they couldn't understand a word that he said. "I'll try to be back for you soon!"

He poured some water for them as well, hopefully enough to keep them for a day, then jogged back out into the yard. He latched the door of the stable tightly, and raced for the porch. As he did, black clouds stretched across the sky and began to block out the sun, and the first hailstones started to fall. A low whack-whack-whack echoed across the farmstead, and a hailstone the size of his thumb smacked him on the forehead. A moment later, he was up and onto the porch, and raced back inside as the wind really began to whip and tear across the prairie.

Inside, the house shuddered softly, though the ancient and quite solid frame mitigated the majority of the noise. The windows rattled here and there, and the chimney made an odd moan that reminded Jason of a number of ghost stories he had heard over the years, but otherwise, they seemed to be safe. Tess had prepared a meal of egg salads, and as a surprise, had added a number of sausage links as well. Jason grinned and tucked in (mostly focusing on the sausage), and Tess glanced in worry at him.

"Do you think we'll be okay?" A particularly loud wail echoed down the chimney. "We're not going to get blown away, are we?"

Jason shook his head. "I will say that this storm reminds me somewhat of the storm that hit me the very first year I was farming here. It was a really nasty one, blew out a bunch of my windows and damaged the side of the house. That said, I came through it all right, and I reckon we will, too." Another gust of wind came up, and he glanced at the door to the basement. "That said, it might not hurt to go ahead and get started working on the cleaning. It'll be safer down there anyway, if something does wind up appearing."

Tess nodded, and they ate their meal quickly. When they finished, both of them scampered down into the basement as quickly as they could go. Down below ground, the noises of the storm were almost utterly inaudible, and both of them began to breathe a bit easier.

"It's almost peaceful, in a strange sort of way." Tess turned on the gas lights. The bulbs were ancient and hadn't been cleaned for an untold number of years, causing the light cast by them to be rather brownish- yellow in color. Rows and rows of boxes were revealed, an untold number of artifacts, tomes, and other random things that Jason's uncle had seen fit to collect. There were no windows to speak of, which, strictly speaking, was probably a safety issue, but in that moment, Jason rather appreciated it.

They began walking among the rows of boxes, and Jason took a deep breath.

The basement was laid out in a simple fashion. The majority of the space fell into a single room that covered most of the floor plan of the house. Stone pillars held the house aloft, while the ceiling was marked by gas tubes and other such utilities. Toward the front of the house, two storage rooms had been built as well, but these were simply filled with boxes as well. There was no telling what the original intent for the basement's plan had been, nor whether his uncle had used it for anything other than dumping his contraband into.

"This is an odd question, but do you know anything about the origin of this house?" Jason glanced at Tess. "Did my uncle build it, or did he buy it from someone else?"

"That would be a question for Hank, not for me." Tess shook her head. "I know it's been here since before I arrived, and so was he, but that's all I know. I'm not familiar enough with architecture to be able to tell you, just by looking at the structure, when or why it was built. Personally, it looks to me to be older than other homes in the area, such as Jeremiah's house, or most of the shops in Summer Shandy, but that's complete and utter speculation on my part."

Jason nodded in thought, then shrugged. "Well, we might as well get to work. This is going to take the rest of the winter to get through, and that's if we really get moving."

Tess chuckled, and they walked over to the closest set of boxes. Jason tugged down the top box and pulled it open, and by the faint light of the lamps, began to pull out items.

"While you're looking at that, I'm actually going to go grab a cloth and clean that bulb." Tess muttered as she walked up the stairs. "Holler if you need me!"

Jason nodded, not really listening. Inside the box was a partial suit of armor, which he slowly lifted out into the light. It was ancient and rusty, consisting of a breastplate, helmet, gauntlets, and boots. He set them out, and was still staring at them when Tess came down. She whistled in surprise at the suit, then reached up and unscrewed the bulb. Instantly, without the dim glass inhibiting the light, the whole room lit up quite a lot more.

"What's that?" Tess asked as Jason began picking up the armor. "Something important?"

"That depends on your definition of the word." Jason ran his fingers along the suit. The metal plates had leather straps that were cracked and withered. He scraped off a bit of rust, revealing a bit more of a pattern etched across the breastplate. "The sigil on here is an interesting one, that's for sure."

"Is it one you actually recognize?" Tess asked, a bit of amazement in her voice.

"You could say that." Jason nodded. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the same sigil that appears on the Winter Shandy sword."

Tess nearly dropped the bulb. She finished polishing it a moment later and screwed it back in, then dropped down next to Jason. Sure enough, as they scraped off a bit more of the rust, a snowflake appeared gleaming on the surface of the metal. Tess frowned, then held up her hands.

"Identify item."

[Item: Breastplate. Category: Armor. Variant: Winter Shandy. Classification: Archaic]

Jason just shook his head. "How did my uncle come to have Winter Shandy armor in his collection? We found the old dungeon, but it didn't have anything inside of it."

"It's possible that your uncle had already gone inside and cleared everything out." Tess frowned and stroked her chin. "It's also possible that he managed to find and clear one or two mini-dungeons as well. After all, you received a Winter Shandy breastplate for clearing the mini-dungeon, remember?"

"That's true." Jason stroked his chin. "Still, though, it's odd."

"I'm not denying that in the slightest!" Tess laughed. She took the cardboard box, folded it up and tossed it into a throw-away pile, and then picked up the armor. "If you don't mind, I'm going to put this up in our bedroom. If we can find a complete set, it would be a fun display piece."

"Put it in my office. It'll be safer from Chance, there." Jason nodded.

Tess vanished, returning within just a few minutes. By that time, Jason had grabbed the box right next to it, and had pulled the flaps open as well. It too had a number of pieces of armor. Arm and leg pieces, along with another helmet. He and Tess looked them over with interest, and Tess started to take them upstairs, when Jason held up a hand.

"Wait a minute." He took back the helmet. The shape was almost identical to the Winter Shandy helmet, but was ever so slightly different. It was a bit more angular, longer from front to back than would have seemed normal. It too had a decent amount of rust, but Jason was able to flake it away with ease. As he did so, a leaf pattern began to appear, and he frowned.

"Tess, can you identify this?"

Tess nodded, set down the other pieces of armor, and raised her hands.

[Item: Helmet. Category: Armor. Variant: Autumn Shandy. Classification: Ancient]

"Autumn Shandy?" Jason blinked in surprise. "Have you ever heard of that before?"

Tess could do nothing but shake her head. She began to examine the other bits and pieces of armor, and their curiosity began to spike. They tore into the other nearby boxes with vigor, and found three more that were all filled with an assortment of swords, shields, and suits of armor. All of these were hauled up to Jason's office, where they soon laid out exactly three complete sets. There was a Winter Shandy set classified as Archaic, an Autumn Shandy set classified as Ancient, and a Spring Shandy set classified as Outdated. Jason stroked his chin as he looked at it all, and Tess whistled.

"What do you make of it all?" Jason picked up the old, rusty Winter Shandy sword. When he swung it through the air, it left the same snowflake pattern that his more shiny sword did, though it was perhaps a bit more faint.

"I don't have a clue." Tess picked up the Autumn Shandy sword and gave it a practice whirl as well. Flames trailed from that blade, and she put it down quickly to avoid catching the house on fire. The Spring Shandy sword didn't seem to have any practical effects, though it did leave a rather sweet, flowery scent in the air. "I'd never even heard of Winter Shandy before you managed to find that old town out in the woods."

"Well, now that we have these, does Summer Shandy have its own set of armor?" Jason glanced at Tess.

"Not that I'm aware of, though it's possible that one was commissioned when the town first opened." Tess shrugged. "I can always

have a custom suit designed that would match this set aesthetically, but it definitely wouldn't be quite the same."

"Agreed." Jason shook his head in amazement. "Well, let's get back downstairs. We can polish this stuff up over the rest of the winter, and I'm sure Paulina will have some armor displays we can buy. First, though, I'd like to see what else we can find!"

What else he could find, quite unfortunately, turned out to not be a great deal, at least for a time. As he and Tess dove into neighboring boxes with vigor, they revealed only a handful of clothing boxes that were filled with moth-eaten and mouse-chewed fabric. In some cases, it was impossible to tell what the clothes had even been. In those cases, Jason simply took the boxes upstairs and set them by the front door. He would burn them later, once the storm had stopped.

Lunchtime eventually came around, and they took a break to eat some sandwiches. The house howled even louder than before as the storm continued to rage, and Chance whimpered and stayed close to the fireplace. After they finished eating, Jason walked to the front of the house and tried to peek outside, only to discover that the freezing rain had blown up underneath the porch and frozen the door shut. He was fairly confident that he could have gotten out if he had wanted to, but he didn't see any reason to try and force the issue when there was no reason to actually set foot outside. Instead, he contented himself with looking out the windows (through which nothing could really be seen, as a thick layer of ice had built up across them), and he and Tess returned to the basement.

"On the bright side, there's getting to be such a layer of ice around the house that I don't think we'll really have to worry about any damage," Jason offered as they started breaking open boxes yet again. His eyes caught a flash of metal, and his heart leaped with joy... At least until he discovered some rusty, old cookware. There wasn't a chance in the world that he would have actually made anything with the items, and he hauled the box upstairs to be disposed of as well. When he returned, he found Tess puzzling over some old papers that she had pulled from yet another box.

"What's that?" he asked as he, rather on a whim, started walking deeper into the basement, threading his way between the rows of boxes.

"It looks like some old maps." Tess shrugged as she carefully lifted the box from the floor. "They're pretty well mouse-chewed, but I think I

might be able to reconstruct at least a few details from them. I'm going to move this box up to your office, then go back through it later."

"Go for it." Jason frowned as he neared the backside of the basement. He was more or less underneath the closet in the dining room, at least as near as he could tell. There, to his immense surprise, he discovered a large space, about ten feet on each side, that was free of boxes. There was no immediate reason why that would be the case, and he started looking back and forth. Tess vanished back upstairs, and he followed the sound of her feet as she clumped across the floor.

"Tess!" Jason shouted. "Can you hear me?"

There was a very distant reply. "Yes!"

"Walk into the dining room real fast!"

It was several moments before the footsteps grew louder again.

They clomped over his head, stopping a bit off to his right. "I'm here!"

"Walk into the closet and stomp your foot really hard!"

He could hear the creak of the closet door, and then Tess's foot began to bang loudly on the hardwood floor. To his surprise, it was still off to his right, between himself and the stairs leading up to the kitchen. He tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, then reached up and unscrewed the nearest of the bulbs.

Instantly, gaslight flooded the room, and he blinked spots out of his eyes. When he could see again, he found himself looking at two very small, but very real, handles on the ceiling. Quite suddenly, he realized that a wooden stool was sitting on top of some of the nearby boxes, and he quickly pulled it down and placed it just beneath the handles. He climbed up and took hold of them, then pulled.

Nothing happened, and he frowned. After a moment, though, he twisted instead of pulling, and he found both of the handles turning quite easily across the ceiling. Gears clicked softly from within the ceiling, and something gave a soft creak. Suddenly, a trapdoor opened just overhead, and a ladder came crashing down. He only narrowly dove out of the way, and suddenly found himself looking up at a shaft that seemed to rise straight up through the house. Tess appeared at the entrance of the basement a moment later, and her eyes opened wide.

"A secret passageway!"

"Something like that," Jason marveled, then started to climb up the ladder. "If I scream, I tripped a booby trap!"

Tess didn't laugh, and came running over to the base of the ladder. Jason quickly found himself in a narrow passage, a shaft with a ladder up one side, that simply... rose. There was nothing inside the shaft as near as he could tell, no rhyme or reason why it should have been there. A moment later, he reached the top, where yet another trapdoor blocked his path. He felt around for a moment and found a matching set of handles, and a moment later popped out into the attic.

The attic was nothing to shake a stick at, and in many ways was simply a room filled with boxes. The only real difference was the fact that the walls were slanted, and Jason shook his head in amazement. After a moment, he climbed back down, and nodded to Tess.

"Nothing too interesting." He shrugged, though a smile flickered across his face. "At least, as near as I can tell. Still, a secret passage is nothing to sniff at!"

Tess rolled her eyes. "Have you always wanted to live in a house with a secret passage?"

"Yes!" He beamed and jumped up and down in excitement. "So what if it serves no practical purpose? I have a secret passage in my house!" Tess nodded, though her smile seemed distinctly less joyous. "I'm glad you're excited." She sighed deeply. "I just hope that there wasn't some sort of secret purpose that we're missing. I'm growing more and more convinced that your uncle was hiding something... I just hope we can figure

out what it truly happens to be.

Chapter Twenty-Four – Carriage Hitches

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 20th day of Winter! 71 days until the Winter Festival! Looks like that storm has finally cleared away, folks! That was a nasty one, but I suppose you already know that. Thankfully, I'm happy to announce that due to an overwhelming show of generosity by nearly all members of our community, we've come through unscathed. No deaths, no injuries, no one missing, and we even have a few new travelers this morning! All things considered, I'd say that we did mighty fine!]

Jason smiled as he rolled out of bed. Chance shivered at the foot and looked up at him longingly, and he tossed a small blanket over the dog. As Tess began to rise, he walked downstairs and threw a few more logs on the fire, then came back up and changed into a warm tunic.

"How was your first storm out here in the country?" Jason asked as Tess began to dress in one of her warm, winter dresses.

"Strictly speaking, it's not my first storm." Tess shrugged. "And... It was fun. We got a lot of work done, that's for sure."

Jason nodded in agreement. They had thrown themselves headlong into the basement, and while they hadn't wound up finding anything else nearly as exciting as the three suits of old Shandy armor, they had cleaned out the lion's share of the boxes and clutter. Of course, all of those boxes were now sitting by the front door waiting to either be burned, buried, or hauled to Hank's office, but the basement itself was looking a lot better! Jason chuckled as he walked up to the window and tried to look out through the ice.

"Well, I'll head out and take care of the horses, and you'll get some breakfast on the table?" Jason glanced at Tess.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to go take care of the horses." Tess shrugged. "I'm getting a little stir-crazy stuck in here, and... I don't know. I'd kinda like to step outside for a bit."

Jason apologized, "Go for it! Sorry I didn't realize."

Tess nodded and said nothing else. A moment later, she was down the stairs. Jason followed, and walked into the kitchen. The cookbook flapped its pages at him as Tess smashed her way through the ice and out onto the porch.

"I know, I know, it's been awhile." Jason rubbed his hands together. "Let's see... Let's make some waffles and pancakes."

The cookbook folded one of its pages over, seeming to cross its arms in disappointment. Jason chuckled.

"Right. Tess... Hmm. Add some green food coloring? Just as a joke!"

The cookbook seemed to think about this for a moment. It let its pages fall flat, causing a bit of wind to ripple outward in a sort-of sigh, and with a flash, a large pile of greenish waffles and pancakes appeared. Jason smiled and sat down to wait, and within a few minutes, Tess came stomping back inside.

"Wow, there's a lot of ice out there!" She gasped as she began to dust snow off her arms. "Three or four inches in some places! Beats me how you've been able to take care of the horses the last few days."

Jason explained. After it became clear that the storm wasn't going to let up, he'd been forced to make his way out into the freezing blast of weather. He had soon realized, though, that the visibility was so bad that he couldn't see the stable, and so, in an attempt to avoid wandering off and getting lost in the deadly weather, he had tied one end of a rope to the porch, held onto the other end, and struck off to find the stable. It had proven to be such a disorienting task that he had needed to return to the house to get his bearings more than once, and once he had actually gotten there, chiseling away enough ice to get the door open had been no easy task, but he had managed.

Tess sighed and sat down. "Well, I'm just happy that they're doing well. Let's get started eat-" Her voice trailed off sharply as she regarded the meal. "You just dyed the batter, didn't you?"

The cookbook clapped its cover a few times, and Tess mock- scowled at him, then laughed. They tucked into the food, which Jason quite enjoyed. Suddenly, though, a sharp knock came at the door. Jason and Tess glanced at each other, and Jason slowly rose and walked over to pull the door open.

Standing there on the porch was a man who could have only been described as a professor. He wore a tweed suit that looked entirely too thin for the frigid weather, complete with patches on the elbows. Enormous glasses sat squarely upon his face, and a stocking cap hung from his head.

"Good morning! Might you be Jason Hunter?"

"That depends on who's asking." Jason chuckled. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"None at all!" The man smiled, though he shivered. "Might I come in? It's terribly cold outside, and I assure you that I'm not here to steal, or indict you for anything, or..."

Jason nodded and stepped back inside. "Come in, of course."

"Thank you." The man stepped inside and pulled the door shut, then shakily pulled a pipe from his pocket and placed it in his mouth. He didn't light it (and indeed, there didn't even seem to be anything in the bowl anyway), but it did accentuate the professorish look. "My name is Hubert Norigan, from the Historians Guild. I received some paperwork from Constable Hank, stating that you had an interest in a small patch of unclassified land not far from here?"

Jason nodded. "That's right. It's an old town and dungeon complex called Winter Shandy, it seems to have been utterly abandoned for quite a long while."

"Jason?" Tess beamed as she walked into the room. "You didn't tell me you were going to try and acquire the place!"

Jason blushed slightly. "In fairness, I was intending to present you with the deed as a one-year anniversary present. That is, of course, if it passes inspection."

"Actually, you want it to fail the inspection, strictly speaking." Hubert chuckled. "I did some preliminary research on Winter Shandy, as well as the property involved. As near as I can tell, it's a strong candidate to be reverted to the townships, though I can't know for sure without a proper inspection. If you'd be ready to depart, I'd love to get this over with. It's extremely cold, and with the storm, I'm already overdue to return to Illumitir."

Jason nodded. "We'll head out immediately." He glanced at Tess. "Would you like to get Angus hitched up to the carriage?"

"Carriage?" Tess blinked, then nodded. "Right, you can't ride Lady right now. Yeah, I'll get it done!"

She turned and vanished through the back door of the house, and Jason and Hubert walked out onto the porch. Hubert's own horse, a red stallion, was hitched up to a rail of the corral. Hubert shivered, and Jason winced.

"Would you like a cloak?"

"I would, indeed!" Hubert beamed.

Within a few minutes, the trio was setting off across the prairie.

Angus's muscles bulged as he hauled the carriage across the thick layer of ice, while Hubert's stallion seemed to handle the terrain with ease. As they walked along, Jason glanced at Hubert with some curiosity.

"How much do you know of the history of this area?"

"Some." Hubert shrugged. "My specialty lies in old towns, but I can hardly claim to be an expert on any single town. I'd heard of Winter Shandy before, but hadn't done a deep-dive before now."

"What do you know of it?" Jason asked. "We don't know much of anything."

Hubert simply shrugged again. "There's not much to tell, really. A dungeon was discovered, likely the same one that you found, and a town quickly sprang up around it. At some point, I believe it was somewhere around a decade after the town had been settled, a mage with winter powers retired there and became the mayor. The name of Shandy had long been attached to this small province, so the name Winter Shandy was an obvious choice. It was nothing official, as near as I can tell, but just developed naturally."

"What about Autumn Shandy?" Tess asked. "Or Spring Shandy? Do either of those ring a bell?"

"I'm afraid not." Hubert shook his head, then paused. "I suppose that's not completely true. I've heard of Spring Shandy, in relation to the Shandy province, but only in passing. I can't even tell you when I heard it, I just know that the name sounds familiar. As far as Autumn Shandy goes, it doesn't sound familiar at all. Can you tell me why?"

Jason quickly explained about the suits of armor. When he finished, Hubert seemed to light up. He once again took out his pipe, though, once again, he didn't do anything more with it than to place it in his mouth.

"Interesting. To my knowledge, this is the only unclassified land in the area, though of course that doesn't mean a great deal. If you'd like, I can do some research once I get back to Illumitir. It would only be in my free

time, and I can't guarantee that I would find anything useful at all; but if I do, I could absolutely send it back your way."

"We'd appreciate that." Jason inclined his head.

A moment later, they rumbled up and over the final rise. Hubert gasped, and Jason sighed in disappointment.

The cabin that Jeremiah had built stood upon the plain, stunning in its craftsmanship. It was exactly what he and Tess had wanted, and seemed to have survived the storm without issue. The forest, though, was a mess. The snow and ice lay across the vast expanse of torn and scarred trees, and Hubert yelped with fear and confusion.

"What happened here?" He glanced at the two of them. "This wasn't mentioned in the report!"

"This is a somewhat newer development." Jason sighed. "A Painted Dragon spawned into the old dungeon and tore it apart from the inside. It seems that there was an old spawnpoint or something."

"Most likely, one of the old boss rooms was converted to a large- monster spawnpoint when the dungeon was decommissioned." Hubert chewed on the bit of the pipe, making an odd clicking noise. "I've seen similar things happen in other areas. It's never intentional, usually just negligence on the part of lazy clerks, but it's not uncommon. It may actually help your cause, though it could just as easily hurt it."

They soon rode up to the cabin, where they dismounted and started off through the frozen forest. The layer of ice, combined with the fallen trees and gouges caused by the dragon's claws, made for slow going. Finally, though, they came up to the old dungeon. Jason stepped as close to the lip of it as he could, gazing down into the depths.

The enormous monolith, which had been his first indication that anything had been present there, had been toppled over. The pit itself was about fifty feet across and plunged straight through the earth. The sides were lined with alternate layers of black stone and dark openings where the tunnels and passages of the dungeon had been exposed. At the bottom, all the debris funneled down into the old boss chamber that Jason had once seen through the floor of the old bath. It was impossible to tell if any exits still existed to the room, as it lay almost fifty feet beneath their feet.

"Well, this looks like a mess." Hubert frowned as he looked down into the pit. "Like I said, nothing that I haven't seen before, though." He

looked around the area, then stroked his chin. "No roads or anything coming to the area. It hasn't been a site of historic interest, you're sure?"

Jason shook his head. "I asked about it in town, and no one else even knew it existed. Maybe someone knew about it when it had first been placed as declassified land, but that time has long since passed."

"Well, thankfully for you, it's in a horribly inconvenient location, and would take an extraordinary amount of resources to restore." Hubert nodded. "Is the actual town itself still visible?"

Jason nodded, and led the way through the forest and across the frozen stream to the old ruins of Winter Shandy. There, Hubert spent a bit of time poking around the town well and the old houses, and scratching at the few old cobblestones that could be seen poking up through the snow and ice. He spent the better part of an hour there, before finally nodding.

"I'll have to go back to Summer Shandy to write out my report in the constable's office, at which point I'll have to deliver it back to the clerks in Illumitir." He nodded and chewed a bit more on the stem of his pipe. "Officially, I can't give any response now. The clerks will look over my information and make their decision, which will range from turning the place into a proper historic site to simply giving it to you. That said, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that they aren't going to want anything to do with this. No one knows about Winter Shandy anymore, this place would be almost impossible to renovate, so on and so forth. You might have a few inspectors coming out to write up books about it so the memory of the place isn't lost, but I'd wager this is likely yours to keep."

With that, he started striding back toward his horse, and Tess gave Jason a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. "That really means a lot, especially knowing that you started working on it before everything blew up. Best of all, the damage really doesn't look that bad! We should be able to keep exploring, just like you said."

"I'm glad you're happy." Jason sighed in contentment, then nodded back across the frosty ground. "Now, if you're up for it, let's go explore the new cabin we have, then head back home."

"Deal."

They set off across the landscape after the inspector, and Jason sighed in contentment. Once again, it felt as if everything was right in

Summer Shandy. Mysteries were swirling, but everything was on track to come together.

What more could he

Chapter Twenty-Five – Easy Blessings

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 25th day of Winter! 66 days until the Winter Festival! The weather should be clear for a few weeks now, folks! There's another storm creeping up in the Western Wilderness, but it'll be a few days before it gets close enough to really tell how damaging it will or won't be.]

Jason shivered as he woke up. The house was cold, and he briefly remembered that he had forgotten to add more logs to the fire the night before. Tess was huddled up against him, and he briefly clasped her hand before slipping out of bed, dashing down the stairs, kindling a new fire (even the embers had gone cold overnight), and then scampering back upstairs to get changed.

"I have an odd question." Jason glanced at Tess as he walked up to the wardrobe and began putting on thick layers of cloth. "Where did the word folks come from? You always used it in your messages, but it's not like you really use it a lot when you're just talking."

At that, Tess laughed. "Honestly, the same reason that Obadiah uses it! When I came into town and took over as guildmaster, I was told that the previous guildmaster had always done it, and so I'd better do it, too. Some things, people just don't like to change."

"Interesting." Jason chuckled and shook his head. Tess soon changed into a warm, winter dress and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders, and the two of them went downstairs. "Do you want to take care of the horses, or should I?"

"I'll do it." Tess nodded. She flashed him a smile as she walked past him to the front door. "Thanks."

She said the word with a soft sort of a smile, which Jason didn't really understand. A moment later, she was out the door, and Jason sighed deeply. He then went to the kitchen and whipped up some oatmeal, though he only put the healthy additives in Tess's food, not his own.

She was gone for a long while, so much so that the oatmeal started to cool and the air of the house started to warm. Finally, she came back

inside and sat down, and flashed another small smile at him.

"Apologies." She sighed. "I was just watching them play around.

It's... I don't know. It's kinda fun to watch them every now and again." Jason nodded. He certainly couldn't disagree with that, but there

seemed to be something more to Tess's tone. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded, then shivered. "Just cold. During winters in Summer Shandy, I was either in the Guild Hall, where the hearth was always roaring so fiercely that no cold weather could ever get inside, or I was in the dungeon, which has loads of rivers of lava and stuff. I thought I was used to the cold, since I could withstand it pretty well when I went outside, but I'm starting to realize that I really wasn't around it all that much." She sighed deeply. "I also... If I'm being honest, I'm really not used to being inside this much. Don't get me wrong, it's freezing outside, but... Once again, during winters in Summer Shandy, I'd be at the Guild Hall with loads of warriors who were always doing something, or I'd be fighting in the dungeon. There was always something to do, something to...

I don't know." She chuckled. "I feel like all I've done this winter is clean." "The house looks impeccable, though." Jason pointed out. "You've

really done quite a wonderful job with it."

"Thanks." Tess flashed a small smile at him, then shrugged. "I'm

sorry. I don't mean to complain, and I really don't dislike anything here."

"I get it." Jason shrugged. "Everything's new, and you're still

adjusting to it."

"Yeah." Tess nodded, then froze. "I hope you don't think I don't like

it here?"

"Not at all." Jason flashed a smile and shook his head. A thought

sprang into his mind, and he nodded toward Summer Shandy. "How'd you like to go into town for the day? There are a few supplies we could probably use, and it would get you out of the house. I'm sure Paulina would love to spend the day with you, as long as she's not already spending it with Obadiah."

Tess nodded thoughtfully, and a smile crept across her face. "You're sure you've got things locked down around here?"

"Of course!" Jason nodded. "We've still got a lot of winter left to go, so I can't have my wife going stir-crazy on me! Just make sure to buy some wire brushes, something to cut the rust off of things, maybe some new

rags... Things to get those suits of armor cleaned up. We also need the armor display cases."

"I'll make sure to get them." Tess flashed a sloppy salute, then gulped down the last of her breakfast. She rose and made her way through the house, and was soon out the front door. Jason walked out to the porch and watched her riding away to Summer Shandy, and sighed deeply.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Almost as soon as Tess vanished, another set of horses appeared. Coming up from the Lazy-H was Jeremiah, along with a second individual on a piebald horse laden with heavy-looking sacks. Jason shivered, briefly wished that he had put on somewhat warmer clothes, and waved at Jeremiah.

"Howdy!" Jason called back. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, it's what I can do for you!" Jeremiah beamed. "This here is Donald Dawson, that veterinarian I was telling you about! I had him come out to check over some of my cattle, and figured I'd send him up here while I was at it. And then I came along, too." He chuckled softly.

Jason laughed, then nodded at the pen. "Lady's right over there! If you'll pardon me for a moment, I wasn't planning on staying outside when I stepped out!"

He walked back inside, threw on a few extra layers of clothing and a pair of gloves, slid on his winter boots, and came striding out into the yard. The air was crisp, but all the snow was gone, save for a few trace piles here and there in the shadows of some of the buildings. Donald and Jeremiah were already at the corral, watching Lady slowly walk around in circles. Jason came walking up next to them, and Donald stroked his chin.

"She looks plenty healthy, just looking at her. I think Jeremiah's right, her due date is probably near the end of winter. Not a bad thing by any stretch, but you'll want to watch to make sure that she gives birth inside the stable, out of the wind. I can give you a pamphlet on it, Jeremiah said you were a bit foreign to animals."

Jason laughed at that. "I certainly know crops a good deal better, I'll say that much."

"And there, I wouldn't be able to tell a beanstalk from a shock of wheat." Donald reached up and wiped his face. To Jason's surprise, the man actually seemed to be overheating. He looked in surprise at the individual, taking him over in a glance.

Donald had a ruddy sort of look, with round cheeks that nearly glowed bright-red in the cold winter air. A small pair of spectacles sat on his nose, half-moon shaped, through which he squinted quite often. He was nearly bald, but wore no hat, and was dressed in a long trench coat that didn't seem to be nearly warm enough for the weather. His horse stood faithfully nearby, loaded down with everything it seemed that Donald could possibly need for his work.

"Now, let's look at her a bit more closely." Donald rubbed his hands together. "Can you get her into the stable?"

Jason nodded and climbed into the corral. Within a few moments, he had led her into her stall, where she lay down and allowed Donald to look her over more properly. The veterinarian poked and prodded her, pulled out a stethoscope to listen to her, and performed a number of other examinations that Jason would never even have thought of doing. When he finished, he rose and draped the stethoscope around his neck.

"Now, the way I understand it, there's some concern about her being bred by an animal substantially larger than herself, is that correct?"

Jason nodded. "Like Jeremiah said, I'm not an animal person. It never even crossed my mind when my wife and I got married."

"I've seen that same thing happen in other cases. Thankfully, there's usually not too much harm done, though it can sometimes cause some stress." Donald stroked his chin in thought. "I wish I could see the sire, but you said that she's gone into town?"

Jason nodded. "You just missed her."

"Do you happen to know his height?"

"I'd say 17 hands, easy." Jeremiah answered. "Maybe even 18. He's

a beast."

"Interesting." Donald thought for a moment, felt Lady's belly again,

and then shrugged. "Well, at least as near as I can tell, the pregnancy is coming along fine. I checked for some of the issues that we usually see with that sort of larger pregnancy, but she doesn't seem to be showing any of those early signs that would ordinarily cause me to be nervous. I'm not saying that there won't be problems, and the foal certainly does seem to be quite large, but at present, I honestly wouldn't really be terribly concerned. If you hadn't said anything, I would walk away from here and give her a clean bill of health."

Jason let out a sigh of relief, then paused. "Does that mean that you're not going to walk away and give her a clean bill of health?"

At that, Donald laughed. "It doesn't really matter what I give her. She's not a person, which means that you're free to do with her as you please. As I said, when it comes time for her to give birth, I highly recommend making sure that she's inside. You should likely have some warm towels on hand, and if you can heat the stable at all, it would be a good time to do so. That said, animals have given birth in winter since the dawn of time, so I hardly think that there's any real concern there. If she begins to show an unusual amount of pain as the time for birth nears, call Jeremiah and have him come up here. He should be able to show you some tips to help ensure a healthy birth. At present, though, I don't foresee any horrific complications that you would need my help to troubleshoot. The baby is oriented correctly, developing well... Yes, dear Jason, I think you'll soon have a healthy foal on your hands."

He paused for a moment, then added. "That said, especially if there do wind up being complications, I would certainly recommend that you ensure that one or the other of your two horses has the ability to reproduce removed. Once again, you're welcome to choose as you will, but I would recommend gelding the stallion. If he's as large as you both say he is, there will be an inherent risk posed to any female horse you ever wind up with in the future. On the other hand, I could see Lady being a quite wonderful breeding horse as time goes along. She's served you well as a draft horse for some time, and I could see her stock being quite a fine line. Time will tell, of course."

With that, Donald left the stable and began to pack up his things. Jeremiah waved at him as he started to mount up.

"Farewell, Jeremiah!" Donald called. "Just send me a letter when you need me to come out again! I don't plan on being out this way naturally again for some time, though of course that could change. I have a series of hog farms down south that have been clamoring for my attention for a few weeks now, and which will take me the better part of a month to get through."

"Take your time." Jeremiah waved his hand. "There's always a proper meal for you when you come!"

Donald smiled, then rode off up toward Summer Shandy. Jason and Jeremiah watched him go, and Jeremiah turned and smiled at him.

"Well, when she comes due, please feel free to come get me. I always love seeing brand-new animals be born, and I really could help troubleshoot any number of minor issues that could crop up."

"I'll do that." Jason nodded, then chuckled. "If Tess has anything to say about it, I imagine that a large number of the girls from town will be along to help out, too. They all just about swooned when I got Chance, you know."

Jeremiah laughed. "I'd forgotten about that! Well, it's good to see you, neighbor! Safe travels!"

With that, Jeremiah mounted up and rode off, vanishing down the road toward the Lazy-H once again. Jason sighed, then leaned against the rails of the corral and watched as Lady cantered in a circle. She was showing an enormous amount, now, and he sighed.

How he wished that Tess could be pregnant, too. How he longed to be looking forward to the birth of his own child, not simply that of his horse.

Hopefully... someday... he would be.

Chapter Twenty-Six – The Good Life

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 36th day of Winter! 55 days until the Winter Festival! It's looking like another nasty one today, folks! Not quite as bad as last time, mind you, but still quite a gale nonetheless! Expect freezing rain followed by a good dose of snow to start around lunchtime. If you have anything important to get done, you'd better do it fast!]

Jason sighed as his eyes flickered open. The house was already quite warm, and a moment later, he was flattened by a rather excited Chance. The dog began eagerly licking his face, and he laughed and pushed the beast to the side.

"I'm up, I'm up!" He swung his legs out of bed and shook his head. "Now where'd you get that energy? I haven't seen you jump on me since the start of winter."

Chance simply panted, then bolted to the door and scampered down the stairs. It was at that moment that Jason realized that Tess wasn't in the bed. He frowned, then strode up to the window and looked out across the landscape. The vast swaths of dead grass stared back at him, and he shivered at the dreary sludge of winter. Tess was down below, sweeping back and forth as she poured feed for the horses and took them out for a brief run before the storm. Jason shivered, then went over to the wardrobe and changed quickly into a warm tunic. He then went downstairs and prepared a rather simple breakfast.

Tess remained outside for the next fifteen minutes or so, and when she came back in, she found him sitting by the fire in the living room. She flashed a smile at him, though he could tell that her eyes were puffy, and not from the cold. He frowned and rose, and she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jason. I didn't mean to leave you hanging. Totally meant to be back inside by the time you woke up, but I lost track of time."

"Don't worry about it." Jason waved his hand dismissively. He strode over and took her hands, which were icy cold, and helped her out of her snow boots. They made their way into the kitchen, where they sat down

and began to eat. Tess was quiet, and Jason couldn't really tell if she was wanting him to prod, or not. Finally, he went ahead and nodded softly at her.

"Do... Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Yes. I don't know." She sighed deeply, then looked up at him with an apologetic sort of expression. "There's... There's something I didn't tell you."

"Okay?" Jason raised a questioning eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Do you remember, last week, when I went into town? The day that the vet came by?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

Tess sighed again, then shrugged. "Well... I hung out in Paulina's store quite a bit, and I visited the Guild Hall and Constable Hank and everything else I've already told you about, but... I also went and visited Theresa."

Jason nodded slowly. "What'd you guys do? Don't tell me that you summoned in a monster too, and now you feel guilty about it?"

He chuckled even as he said it, but Tess didn't laugh. Tears filled her eyes, and her hands balled into fists.

"Jason... Theresa doesn't know if I'll ever be able to get pregnant."

Jason froze, then forced himself to keep eating. "Why is this just coming up now?"

"I don't know." Tess sighed. "I didn't want to say anything because she doesn't know for sure, of course, but then... I don't know. I woke up in the middle of the night, and I went out to see Lady, and she's just so pregnant, and I'm just not, and..."

Jason shrugged. "You could be pregnant and just not know it yet."

"Trust me, Jason. I'm not pregnant right now." Tess shuddered as she looked down at her plate. "I just want to be pregnant so badly, and..."

Her voice trailed off, and Jason reached out and put a hand on her arm.

"Can you tell me about it?" He asked softly. "What did she have to say?"

"Nothing definitive, of course." Tess shrugged. "She took some measurements, and mixed some things together, and I don't really know what all it was. At the end of it, I took a beating in those dungeons. I never really thought I was going to get married, and even when I did think about

it, it never crossed my mind what I was doing to my body. I've been slammed into walls so hard my bones broke, on so many occasions. She told me that the results don't look good, that she would tell most women with those kinds of readings that they're likely to struggle quite a bit."

Tess began to shudder, and Jason rose and put his arms around her. She leaned into him and shuddered even more, and he did his best to soothe her.

"It'll be okay." He ran his hand down her back. "It'll be okay. Even if we never have children, we'll still be able to grow old together."

"But I want children!" Tess snapped. "I want a family, and not just a small family, but like... A big one. We both do."

"I know, I know." Jason winced. He sat back down, and Tess sniffed as a few tears trickled down her face. "I just... I mean, if worse comes to worst, we can always adopt. The orphanages are jam-packed up in Illumitir; they're always looking for good couples to take on some of their kids."

"That might be something to look into." Tess sighed again, then looked up at him. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to break down like this."

"It's okay. I'm here for you, and you're here for me," Jason reassured her. "Now, what would you like to do today? What would make you happy?"

"I don't even know." Tess shrugged, then stood up. "Getting more of this house cleaned up. Even if we did have a child right now, with how messy things are, it just wouldn't be safe for a kid if they got into the wrong place. Until we get all your uncle's old stuff hauled away or searched through... I don't want my toddler to find a bomb when they slip down into the basement, you know?"

Jason laughed slightly at that. "Then that's what we'll do!"

He did his best to be cheery and upbeat for her, though he wasn't sure if it was helping or hurting. In any case, they soon trooped down to the basement, where the pile of boxes was growing steadily smaller. They hadn't found anything else tremendously dangerous, and certainly nothing as interesting as the suits of armor, but there was still a lot to go through. They also hadn't been able to touch the attic, which was another matter altogether.

"Let's see, here." Jason took down a box and flipped the lid open. Inside, he found an assortment of clothes, all of which were in a horrid state

of decay. He grimaced as more than a few mice looked up at him. "Nope. This one is not a keeper."

He hauled it up the stairs, and came back down to find Tess looking through a box that appeared to contain old bones and teeth and things. They were all from monsters, that much was obvious at a glance, and Tess shook her head in amazement.

"Look at this." She took out a thigh bone that displayed a number of rather sharp-looking, thorn-like protrusions. "This is from a rosebeast."

"Should that mean anything to me?" Jason held up his hands in confusion.

Tess thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "Probably not. They've been extinct for decades. I've heard warriors talking about them. They all died out within relatively recent memory, but they're extinct nonetheless."

"What was he doing with one of its bones, then?" Jason asked softly. A thought struck him, and he winced. "Is that illegal, too?"

Tess laughed. "No, it's not illegal to have one. We can put this on display, too." She started sorting through the box. "Actually, most of these bones, at least the ones I recognize, are from extinct monsters. We can probably put pretty much all of them on display."

"I'll take it upstairs." Jason took the box and quickly tramped up to his office, where the suits of armor were still laid out. He had been able to polish them all up a little, but not nearly as much as he had hoped. Getting the basement clean was still their top priority, and ate up their time when they dedicated it to such things.

As he turned toward the stairs, though, he paused. Rather on a whim, instead of going back down, he went up, instead. Grabbing hold of the small tassel dangling from the ceiling, he pulled down the stairs that led up to the attic. He scrambled up as quickly as he could, then threaded his way among the boxes until he reached the trapdoor that led to the secret ladder. As he pulled it up and stared down into the depths, he whistled softly, then slowly started to descend.

When he came out the bottom, Tess regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" He shrugged. "I thought it would be fun."

"Uh, huh." She snorted.

"I did!" He protested, then paused. "And... I don't know."

"What?" Tess rose and walked over to him. Her face shone with interest. "You have a hunch?"

"I have something." He stroked his chin and looked up the ladder. "My uncle was nuts, but everything he did had a theme. Old monsters, old armor, that sort of thing. This ladder that just runs from the basement up to the attic... What's the purpose of that?"

Tess shrugged. "Just to be weird? If it was here when he bought the house..."

Jason pointed up at the ceiling. "Look. The wood of the trapdoor doesn't match the wood surrounding it. This was put in later, I'm sure of it." Tess nodded thoughtfully. "Then... You think there's something else

to it?"

"There has to be." Jason shrugged. "And I'm not going to stop until

I figure out what it is!"

Tess chuckled as he started back up the ladder. As he went along, he

felt along the sides of the shaft, looking for any sort of blemish that might have indicated something was amiss. It was slow going, especially as it was so dark inside the shaft. Here and there he caught flickers of light from between small cracks in the wooden walls, but he was rarely ever able to identify which rooms he was actually looking into. Higher and higher he rose, until, finally, he came to a small hole that was bored just a bit too perfectly to just be a knot in the wood.

"Hey, Tess!" He called down. "I found something!"

The hole was on the opposite side of the shaft from the ladder. Carefully, as Tess came up to the foot of the ladder, Jason poked his right index finger into the hole and felt around. He was unsurprised to find a small latch, which he carefully flipped. With a thud, another small trapdoor fell open in the side of the shaft, just behind him. He glanced inside, but could see nothing.

"I found a secret... something! Can't really tell how big it is!" He called down again. He slowly stuck his arm inside, but struck nothing. After a moment, he started waving his arm back and forth, slowly of course, and still hit nothing. "It's pretty big. Has to be a room of some sort."

"Be careful, Jason!"

"I will be!" Jason took a deep breath and climbed up a bit higher. Carefully, he stuck a leg inside, then a second. Perching himself on the edge

of the trapdoor, he could just feel a floor beneath the soles of his feet. Carefully, he slid inside, and was soon entirely inside the small room.

He kept one hand on the wall, then stretched out with the other one. He continued to not be able to feel anything, at least until his palm came down on a chair. He felt it out and made sure he knew exactly where and what it was, then began stretching out a bit more. A moment later, he found a desk just in front of the chair. He could feel a handful of books across it, but couldn't tell what they were. Knowing his uncle's propensity for leaving knives and other odd sorts of weapons lying about, he ceased that kind of searching, and instead stretched upright. Almost instantly, he found the low ceiling, along with a glass bulb. Unlike in the other rooms, where the gas pipes were hidden inside the walls, this bulb had a metal tube running out from it. He traced the pipe across the ceiling and down one wall, until he came to a small dial. Carefully, he turned up the gas until he could hear the faintest hiss, then pulled a few matches out of his inventory. With a strike, he was able to get the light going, and stared in amazement at the small room.

It was a hidden office, that much was obvious. Other than the desk and the chair, it contained a number of bookshelves covered in all sorts of ominous-looking volumes. There were, indeed, a handful of weapons scattered across the top of the bookshelf, but mostly there were just more books. An ancient-looking cloak hung from a hook on the wall, and Jason shook his head in amazement.

"Come on up!" he beckoned Tess. "You're going to want to see this!"

A few moments later, Tess had joined him in the small room. She walked over and started flipping through one of the volumes, and shook her head.

"It's all about summoning and taking care of monsters." She whistled. "It's just the same thing, over and over and over again."

"Check this out." Jason gasped as he looked across the bookshelf. He pulled an ancient, tattered book from the shelf and looked down at the leather-bound cover. The words were seared onto the leather instead of simply written, and the pages were made of a thick material; he couldn't tell if it came from an animal or a plant. The title, though, caught his interest: Autumn Shandy.

Tess carefully opened the cover while he held the book, then sighed in disappointment. The inside of the book was written in a language that Jason certainly didn't understand, though he thought it was possible that Tess knew what it was. A look at her face revealed that she didn't, and he carefully set the book down. They continued to look around for a few minutes longer, and Tess began to run the fabric of the cloak through her fingers. Suddenly, she lit up, and turned to Jason.

"Wait a minute." Her jaw dropped as something dawned on her, and she turned to the old books at the desk. She began to sort through them rapidly, her eyes flickering from page to page.

"What is it?" Jason asked, confused.

"That cloak. I recognize it." Tess spoke quickly. "I've only seen one like it a few times, all on older warriors who were bitter that it was now outdated content. It was the standard garb for a particular type of warrior, one that was banned by Illumitir for being too dangerous."

"Don't you typically want warriors to be dangerous?" Jason chuckled softly.

"Dangerous to other people." Tess shook her head. "It was... What was it?... Here!" She found a book near the bottom of the pile, and turned the cover toward Jason. He read the title slowly.

"A Complete Guide to the Animal Trainer Class."

"Exactly!" Tess grinned. "It was a class that allowed you to tame animals and monsters to fight for you! Some of them, who classed into different mage classes, would create pocket dimensions where the animals could be stored until they were ready to be released. It was an interesting concept, but more often than not, the animals would simply attack fellow warriors. After all, animals are hardly rational creatures, and in the heat of a dungeon battle, it's easy to mistake friend and foe."

"Interesting." Jason puffed out his cheeks. "So... Somehow, my uncle became enamored with the Animal Trainer class of warriors, and... Decided to try and become one?"

"Until we learn something else, I'd say that that's the best answer yet." Tess nodded.

Jason flashed a small smile at her. "Now, all we have to figure out is how he discovered the class, why he wanted to join it, and what he was intending to do with it."

"Indeed!" Tess chuckled. She sighed and put her arm around him, pulling him close. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Jason sighed, then nodded down at the desk. "And I promise you, I will not rest until this mystery is

Chapter Twenty-Seven – Cold & Frosty

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 48th day of Winter! 43 days until the Winter Festival! We're over halfway there, folks! Still, though, it's cold. Just cold. No snow, no storms, just freezing air and a whole lot of cold weather.]

Jason woke, his eyes slowly flickering open as he braced himself for the cold. To his surprise, he found that the air was quite warm, and he slowly sat up. After a moment, though, he decided that it really shouldn't have been that surprising. Tess was getting into quite the habit of waking up early and getting things ready without him. He didn't really mind, all things considered, but it was starting to worry him. He rose, dressed, and made his way down the stairs. When he got to the living room, he found Chance curled up on a rug right next to the fireplace, enjoying the flickering heat. Outside, he could catch glimpses of Tess and she walked back and forth, making her way through the blistering cold.

He sat down next to the fire, and Chance curled up at his feet as he sat to wait for Tess to come back inside. Rather out of curiosity more than anything else, he took out Jeremiah's pipe and placed the bit in his mouth, then leaned back in his chair. A moment later, Tess came walking inside, and raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"Do I look more distinguished?" Jason did his best to strike a noble pose, or what he imagined one might look like.

"No." Tess shook her head and snorted. "You look like someone who has absolutely no idea what they're doing."

"In fairness, that's not the most inaccurate assessment of me." Jason laughed and put away the pipe, then rose and helped Tess out of her winter boots and cloak. They then walked into the kitchen, where they sat down and Jason made up some bowls of oatmeal. As they started to eat, Jason nodded at Tess. "You okay? You've been getting up early a lot recently."

Tess just shrugged. "I dunno. Nothing I haven't already talked to you about before."

She sighed deeply, and Jason nodded. He crossed his arms and thought for a moment, then slowly glanced up at her.

"How'd you like to go into town for the day?"

Tess just shrugged. "I hate to do that to you. I don't like the way we're just trying to find ways for me to 'cope' with this. We're cleaning things so I don't think about it. We're sending me off into town to spend time with friends, or we're... I don't know." She sighed, opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, then shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Jason. I don't mean to be a mess like this."

"Change is hard for everyone." Jason soothed her. "I don't blame you. You've been this epic warrior woman, and now you're a farm wife. That would be hard for anyone."

"I suppose." Tess sighed. "I just don't know how I'm going to wait for spring to come. Being cooped up in here is driving me nuts, but also, it is awful outside. I stayed out as long as I could, but my arms and hands and toes and face just hurt from how cold it is."

"So what do you want to do? Ideally?" Jason asked softly. "Picture your perfect day, and tell it to me!"

"I'd like to go through the dungeon." Tess blurted, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Then do it." Jason shrugged.

"No!" Tess practically screamed at him. "If I'm already struggling to get pregnant, going and beating up my body even more is not going to help anything."

"So go through it with Daniel." Jason suggested. "He'll be able to keep everything off of you, so you'll be safe. You'll get to see your old haunts, maybe even swing a sword here and there, without risk of getting hurt."

Tess paused for a moment, and a flicker of indecision came across her face.

"Look, we're not doing this just to help you cope." Jason pointed out. "We're getting you through the winter until spring. Over the next year, we'll build a greenhouse or something that will keep you busy through the winter months. We just didn't plan well for that, this year."

A light came back into Tess's eyes, and she nodded. "If you put it that way, then let's do it!"

Jason flashed a smile at her. "And, even better, I have some business to take care of in town. I can go with you, then get some work done while you're having fun."

A few minutes later, Tess had hitched Angus up to the carriage, and they were spinning off down the road. Tess wore her standard armor, though she had wrapped a thick blanket around herself. Jason made do with just a warm tunic, though he was already regretting having not dressed warmer. The sun was hiding behind a bank of gray-slate clouds, and a cold wind whipped across the ground. The carriage shuddered as gust after gust struck it, but Angus plodded on without a care. Soon enough, they came up into Summer Shandy, and Tess took the reins.

"Since I'll be in the dungeon today, I'll be allowed to use the guild stables. Better to put Angus in there than to leave him out here."

Jason nodded and hopped down, and Tess quickly took the carriage off around the side of the Guild Hall. He watched her go, then sighed and turned toward Hank's office. The courtyard was abandoned, and when Jason came walking inside, he found Obadiah sitting on the corner of Hank's desk as the constable filled out some paperwork.

"Howdy, neighbor." Obadiah waved half-heartedly to Jason. "Howdy?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay?"

"Not terrible." Obadiah sighed deeply. "Not great, either, though.

Did Tess tell you about that hidden boss chamber I found... Oh, it's been a few months back?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, she said it was one of the best fights that she's ever had."

Obadiah nodded. "Well, I had a group of novice adventurers I was guiding through the dungeon just yesterday, and one of them stumbled across another hidden boss chamber. This one was really nasty, way more so than the last boss. We barely made it out alive, I'll tell you that much. I got a few nasty scratches that are going to leave some epic scars, but the novices got mauled up pretty badly. They're all with Theresa now. She actually had to send for help, the injuries were so bad."

Jason winced, then frowned. "Why did another hidden boss chamber pop up? I would have thought that Tess would have scouted all those when the dungeon was first built. She watched the construction of the thing like a hawk."

"I know, and that's what has me worried." Obadiah nodded. "Thankfully, both of the new rooms opened in about the same area, on the very bottom floor of the dungeon. I've restricted everyone underneath a certain level to the higher floors, and I have Daniel combing the dungeon for anything else we don't know about." After a moment, he chuckled. "And when I say combing, I do mean combing. I used the word offhandedly once, then went and talked to Paulina and found that he bought an iron comb to take down inside. He thought the metal teeth of the comb would be less likely to break than the plastic one he uses for his hair."

He chuckled softly even as he said it, and Hank spoke up.

"Now, we're sending off a request to the Dungeon Guild in Illumitir. You know as well as anyone that we haven't always gotten along terribly well with them, so I could see this being some sort of attack now that we have a new guildmaster."

"Always something with them, it seems like." Jason snorted and shook his head.

"If it even is them." Obadiah held up a hand. "I don't want to go throwing around accusations before anything is proven. That's why we're simply sending a report, and requesting more information. Until we know more, I'm not going to go making a fuss about anything. That's a recipe for disaster."

"I'd have just ridden up to Illumitir with a posse and given them what-for." Hank muttered.

"You're just bitter because you were left out when Jeremiah formed a posse and attacked the town." Obadiah retorted.

"Of course I am!" Hank scowled. "You guys go and do all the fun stuff without me. I sit here and keep you safe all day long, filing this piece of paperwork and that piece of legislation, and while I'm chained to this desk, y'all go out and blow things up."

"The next time we go and do something crazy, you'll be the first to know." Jason chuckled softly, then sighed and crossed his arms. "Anyway, the reason I came in, Hank, was to see if you'd gotten anything back from the historians in Illumitir."

"Yes, I have." Hank signed his name on one of the documents he was filling out for Obadiah, then reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a large manilla envelope. "It just came yesterday, I was going to send

for you, but I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to look it over myself."

Jason nodded and slit the envelope open, then opened it and looked inside. There was an enormous cluster of papers all held together with a metal clip, then a few other papers that were simply tossed loosely into the folder. Jason took out the large cluster first and glanced at it, but found it to be little more than an in-depth legal description of the property. It described, in painstaking detail, the reports of the last three surveys, and contained descriptions such as: NW 3 feet, then right 36 degrees, onward 2 feet 3 inches, left two degrees.

Jason whistled as he looked it over, then set the thing down on a corner of the desk that was free of paperwork. He then pulled out the other sheets, of which there were three. The first one had a bold letterhead declaring that it came from the Historians Guild, and read simply.

"This is to declare that the patch of ground, the legal description of which is enclosed, commonly known as Winter Shandy and Accompanying Dungeon, is to be returned to common use after an in-depth investigation. It was found that all historical value has been lost or forgotten, and development into a proper historical monument would be both economically and logistically unfeasible. The patch of unclassified ground is bordered by: Summer Shandy, Nightford, and Darkwater, and matching copies of this letter have been sent to each. If these towns would like to make a claim, please return the enclosed voucher within 90 days of receiving this letter. Inquiries may be addressed to the Historians Guild, c/o Hubert Norigan."

Jason let out a cry of excitement, making Hank jump and leave a long blot of ink across the page. He apologized, then put the letter down and glanced at the other papers. One of them was the mentioned voucher, while the third was a personal letter from Hubert. He began to read it with interest, eyebrows rising.

"Jason, this is Hubert! As mentioned at our meeting, I've been doing some research on the Shandy township, and it's proving to be an interesting one, indeed! It appears that prior to the Winter Shandy dungeon being founded, in the very earliest days of this continent, there was a village known as Autumn Shandy. Almost no documentation about it exists, outside of a few manuscripts that mention that it was a stopping point on a route between two enormous dungeons, one in the north, and one in the

south. It was so named because of a group of maple trees that were known for being particularly beautiful in autumn, but nothing else is really mentioned, including the location. Winter Shandy we've already discussed. As an addition, it seems that the dungeon in Winter Shandy may have been built because of the previous settlement of Autumn Shandy, but that's mostly speculation on the part of an older historian, who references several documents that we no longer seem to have in the archives. Following that, the Winter Shandy dungeon (and, by extension, the town) was closed when Illumitir replaced Southern Illis as the predominant province of the territory. Some old-timers who remembered Winter Shandy built up Spring Shandy in memory of the place, but it seems that this settlement was quite short- lived. It was intended to be a stopping point between dungeons, similar to Autumn Shandy, but as it was still early in Illumitir's reign, they chose a road that soon proved to not be as heavily-trafficked as they had anticipated. It fell into ruin, and a petition was launched to have a dungeon built to support the residents. It was constructed in the place where the modern Summer Shandy dungeon now exists, and the town that we currently know today sprang up. I can tell you loads of other tangential details, but I suspect that this letter isn't the place. I shall try to send up a more in-depth report at some time, but I'm afraid that I must get these results sent off first. Your acquaintance, Hubert Norigan."

Jason read the letter with some interest, read it a second time, and then folded it into his inventory. Somehow, he had the odd sort of feeling that the missing documents that Hubert had referenced were sitting in his uncle's old office, but he didn't know that for sure.

"Everything looks good!" He grinned down at Hank. "I'll leave you to it. If you could get that voucher sent off, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"On it." Hank waved his hand dismissively. He was pouring over a section of the paperwork with Obadiah, and Jason got the feeling that he wasn't really wanted. He strode out and into the courtyard once again, bracing himself against the cold. To his immense surprise, he found Tess just walking out of the Guild Hall, a disappointed look on her face.

"What is it?" Jason asked, concerned.

"Daniel was in the dungeon doing something for Obadiah, I didn't really understand what it was." Tess sighed. "Even if he hadn't been, though, I just... I don't know. I can't go in there again. I can't risk doing

anything else to my body. I can't. I can't!" She shuddered, and Jason wrapped his arms around her.

"I know you have some more stuff to do around town." Tess whispered. "Get it done, and let's head home."

Jason nodded, and walked quickly toward Paulina's store. Tess turned and went back to the Guild Stables, and he sighed. He wished that he could do something to alleviate his wife's suffering. He couldn't think of anything, though... All he could do was be there for her.

Chapter Twenty-Eight – Colder Cold

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 50th day of Winter! 41 days until the Winter Festival! Another bitter cold day today, folks! And I do mean bitter. This absolutely sets a record for this particular day of the year, and it's awfully close to setting a record for the entire season. Stay inside if at all you can. If you have animals, keep them warm! Whatever you do, do not go outside unless you have to!]

Jason's eyes slowly flickered open. As he rose, he found himself looking into someone's eyes... And for once, it wasn't Chance. He blinked in surprise as Tess looked at him urgently, and he swung his legs out of bed, instantly on alert.

"What's going on?" He asked, glancing back and forth. "Is everything okay?"

"That report isn't wrong, it is awful out there." Tess shivered. "Most urgently, though, I think Lady is about to give birth!"

"On today, of all days?" Jason groaned and walked up to the window. It was covered in frost, and as he wiped the condensation away, his hand ached simply from touching the frozen glass.

"I've been heating up bricks and hauling them out to the stable, but it's not doing a whole lot." Tess shrugged. "The straw in her stall is probably a bit warmer now than the surrounding air, but that's not saying a whole lot."

"I'll send for Jeremiah." Jason nodded and raced to the wardrobe, where he changed into a thick tunic. The moment that he was dressed, he bolted down the stairs and to his writing desk, where he quickly scratched out a short message to Jeremiah. The moment he had it done, he tossed it into the mailbox, then turned and went to the fireplace. A number of bricks had been placed in the flames by Tess, and, using tongs, he quickly scooped them out onto a shovel that she had been using. As Tess prepared a short breakfast, he carried them out into the cold and to Lady's stable, where she was standing and prancing among the straw.

She seemed uneasy, and glanced at him with wide eyes. Jason sighed and put his hand on her neck, giving it a few pats. She eased up a bit, and he quickly put the bricks under her straw. It didn't take long to find several other bricks that had since grown cold, and he quickly scooped them into the shovel and carried them back into the house, where he returned them to the fireplace.

Tess had a small breakfast ready at that point, and they ate quickly. Tess then put on some water to boil, and Jason strode out into the cold with a number of blankets. In the stable, he placed the blankets over the horse, which she seemed to appreciate, and then began wracking his brains for other ways to warm the blistering stable. It was so cold, even inside the structure, that his face soon began to sting, and he soon began to shiver.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Jeremiah grinned as he swept into the room. "You called?"

"Yeah." Jason's teeth chattered, though the older farmer didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the chill. "Tess thinks Lady's ready to go into labor."

Jeremiah walked up and regarded the horse for a moment, then nodded. "I reckon she's right. Women know women, that's for sure." He crossed his arms. "You're in luck, actually. Donald Dawson is in Summer Shandy on a visit, and happened to stop by my place last night. I wrote to him asking him to come on out, so you're sure to be covered."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Jason rubbed his hands together. "What should we be doing?"

"Mostly, nothing!" Jeremiah chuckled. "Human births, you want to watch really closely. We're pretty frail, you know. Animals? Unless they get stuck, you pretty much just sit back and wait. The bigger issues arise once they're born, but even then, the mothers usually just take care of everything."

Jason nodded slowly. "And... What happens if the foal gets stuck?"

"Then you break out the chains and get ready to pull!" Jeremiah chuckled. "Why, I remember one time we had to pull a calf, and it was just about this cold, except that there had been an ice storm, so we were slipping over everything! Couldn't get our footing, and we were trying to-"

Jason quit listening as Jeremiah regaled him with the tale. He was still talking when Donald came bustling through the door, a smile on his face.

"Jason!" He held out his hand, which Jason shook gratefully. "I've been hoping that I'd be able to see the birth of this one, and it seems that fate has conspired to allow it. How have you been doing?"

"I've been fine." Jason shrugged. "Thanks for coming."

"I was in the area, so it was no trouble at all." Donald beamed from beneath his rosy-red cheeks. They looked rather like apples in the frigid air, all things considered. "Have you met Theresa, the town healer, by any chance?"

"She's stitched me up a few times!" Jason chuckled. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no real reason." Donald shrugged. "The other day, though, I received a request for some assistance. There were some novice warriors who had gotten beaten up in the dungeons pretty badly. All the human doctors in the area were out of town, and she needed another helping hand, so I was called up to assist. We patched them all up quick-as-you-please, and I must say, I simply found her to be a remarkable woman."

"Take a guess why he was back in town." Jeremiah chuckled and elbowed Jason.

Dawson's cheeks turned even more red. "I simply said that she was remarkable! I came into town simply to ask her opinion on a particularly interesting case that I found down by my own practice. There have been some farm animals mauled, and since she works with dungeon injuries, I was checking to see if she could identify which monster was doing the attacking!"

"Sure." Jeremiah winked at him, then turned to the door as Tess came bustling inside with a bucket of steaming water. "Tess! You're just in time."

Tess set the bucket of water down and nodded at the assortment of men standing there. "Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it. What can we do to help?"

Donald shrugged. "At the moment, not much. You've done a good job trying to warm up her stall. I've certainly seen animals give birth in such frigid weather before, but usually not without some minor complications. If there was any way we could get the air even warmer, it would be well worth it, but I'm not sure if we can. I don't see a good place to build a fire, which, of course, is hardly unusual. I've not met many farmers who do such a thing, and-"

"The eternal torches!" Jason snapped his fingers after a moment. "There are no monsters to worry about this time of year, and they don't emit any smoke unless you dump something into them."

Donald nodded, and Jason quickly ran out of the stable. In no time at all, he had gathered up six of the torches, and soon brought them back into the stable. There, they were arrayed around the walls, which both gave more light and began, slowly, to heat the room. It was still nothing balmy, but it was a good deal better than the outside wind.

"Wonderful, wonderful." Donald beamed. "At this point, I'd say we should probably just wait. Allow me to perform a small examination, and then we'll see what happens."

Donald strove forward and began to poke and prod Lady a bit more, though he did so in such a kind and gentle manner that she almost seemed to enjoy it. When he stepped back away from the horse, he nodded.

"She's right on track, everything is going well. I'd say that you'll have a new foal here within the next hour!"

Jason glanced at Tess, who beamed. Jeremiah took out a pipe and stuck it in his mouth, and they settled back to simply relax and chat about... life. It was amazing to Jason just how many conversations they came up with, and as the cold wind howled about the stable, Jason actually felt quite warm. An hour passed, then a second one, but neither Jeremiah nor Donald seemed terribly concerned. Tess brought out some coffee and donuts around nine o'clock, which were heartily enjoyed by everyone involved. Finally, around ten o'clock, things finally began to change.

"What was the worst vet call you ever had to attend?" Jason asked Donald as they relaxed on the floor.

"Worst one? Oh, that would turn your stomach." Donald shook his head. "There are loads of things that can kill or maim livestock, and you'd not like to hear half of it." He thought for a moment. "Now, one of the oddest calls I've ever had involved getting a bull off the roof of a hog shed."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "How exactly did that happen?"

"Oh, you wouldn't even begin to guess it." Donald laughed. "There was a big tornado that had come through town, so I was expecting some calls. No, it didn't happen the way you'd think! There was a wagon that got tossed across the country, and it landed on a haystack, and-" He suddenly leapt to his feet. "Everyone! Come!"

They all rushed to Lady's side as the horse began to give birth. A few minutes later, a tiny foal stood beside her, shakily taking its first few steps in the new, cold world. Lady turned and began to lick the soaking-wet foal, and Tess began to coo over the new arrival.

"She... He... Which is it?"

Donald performed a quick examination. "It's a stallion!"

Jason sighed in delight. The foal was a perfect blend between the

two horses. Angus was black as coal, while Lady was a rather lovely chestnut-brown color. The new baby stallion had black haunches, though as you moved forward, a strip of brown came down from the back and eventually took over the front legs. The neck and head were covered with brown and black splotches, with a solid black mane. The tiny foal sneezed and blew snot and mucus across from Jason, and he laughed.

"What should we name him?" Jason glanced at Tess.

"It should be something bold!" Jeremiah declared. "Let's see... Angus... Lady... What about Draco? Like dragon, since... You know... There was a dragon on your property."

"No thanks to you." Tess scowled at him for a moment, then turned back to the foal. "We should name him... Alfred."

"Alfred it is!" Jason smiled, then paused. "Why, exactly?"

Tess shrugged. "Your uncle was named Alfredus. In a strange way, he was the one who brought us together, and I think that should be honored." After a moment, she shrugged. "That said, he was also crazy, so I don't want to honor him that much, so I don't want to just use his name straight-out."

"That's fair." Jeremiah nodded, then reached over and stroked the foal's nose. "Little Alfred, welcome to the world! You're going to grow up to be a lovely draft horse just like your mama, I can see it."

"He does look the part." Donald nodded, then pushed his half-moon glasses back up his face. "Well, all certainly seems to be well! There are quite literally hundreds of random things that can go wrong during and immediately after birth, and I don't see any of those things coming to fruition, so I'm going to take my leave."

"And head back up to Summer Shandy?" Jeremiah winked at him.

"As a matter of fact, yes, but only because I left some tools there." Donald sniffed. Jeremiah laughed and walked out of the stable, and Donald glanced at Jason and lowered his voice. "Intentionally."

Jason laughed, Tess smiled, and Donald quickly strode out into the blistering weather. As they all walked out into the cold air, Jason suddenly realized just how warm the stable had truly gotten. He shivered, wrapped a cloak around Tess, and led her up to the house as Jeremiah and Donald rode off toward their respective destinations. As they entered the house, he sighed deeply and walked to sit down before the fire. Tess snuggled up next to him, and she sighed deeply.

"I love you." She whispered softly. "Do you think... Do you think it will be my turn, soon?"

"I do." Jason nodded. "Somehow, yes, I do."

Tess snuggled up next to him, and he sighed deeply. Seeing Lady give birth, seeing young Alfred struggling to stand on his own legs... It had awoken something within him. He had long since wanted a child, sure, but now he felt as if he understood Tess's desire a bit more. It was truly a wonderful thing, and he truly couldn't wait until he could hold his very own child.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Winter Storm

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 80th day of Winter! 11 days until the Winter Festival! We're on the home stretch, folks! Yes, it's still cold! Yes, there's a storm coming through tonight! Yes, it's expected to send out an enormous amount of ice and freeze everything solid up until spring comes, but don't think about that! Imagine the flowers, imagine fresh baby sheep springing across the prairie! We're almost there! Just keep pushing through!]

Jason smiled as he opened his eyes to find Chance happily licking his face. He reached up and happily began to pet the dog vigorously, then frowned.

"Now why aren't you licking Tess?" Jason sat up and glanced at the empty spot where Tess usually lay down. "And why aren't you out with her if she just got up early?"

Chance gave no answer, but simply began to lick his face with more vigor. Jason laughed and petted him a bit more, then rose and changed into a warm tunic and walked up to the window. He couldn't see Tess anywhere outside, but that didn't really mean a lot, all things considered. It was frigid once again, with a layer of ice covering pretty much everything. The sky was already dark as more clouds began to roll through, and he shivered. With that, he turned and went downstairs, expecting to find Tess somewhere in the house.

It didn't take long to realize that she wasn't in the kitchen or the living room, though a fire crackled merrily in the hearth. He glanced down in the basement, and was unsurprised to find that she wasn't there, either. A look in his office ruled that out as well, and he really began to wonder.

With that, he pulled on his boots, wrapped a shawl around him, and strove out into the cold weather. He knew that Tess had been struggling with the winter, and as time went on, she only seemed to be struggling more and more and more. It was a rare sight indeed when he woke up and found her still sleeping, and even then, it was usually only after she had been

restless for several nights in a row until she finally grew so tired that she just passed out.

When he reached the stable, he pulled open the door and stepped inside, a broad smile on his face that he hoped would help reassure her. To his surprise, he found little more than his three horses looking back at him. They were eating happily, and little Alfred nickered to see him. He walked up and stroked the young foal's long, silky mane, then patted the necks of his parents.

"Well, Tess has obviously been through here." He spoke softly to the horses. "Did she give you lots of love? Lots of sugar cubes?" He took out a few, just in case, and fed them to each of the great beasts. "There you go! Have a great day. Stay warm."

The eternal torches crackled on the walls, keeping the stable marginally above freezing. Jason shivered again, then strove once more out into the cold. Soon, he came back into the house, where he became just as puzzled as ever.

"Now, where did she go?" He looked down at Chance, who simply gazed up at him. "Do you know where Tess is?"

Chance just began scratching at his ear, and Jason sighed. After a moment, he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Tess!" He called out at the top of his lungs. "Tess, where are you?"

There was a muffled thump from somewhere within the house, and he sighed. A thought popped into his head, and he slowly walked down into the basement just in time to see Tess coming down out of the hidden passageway. She had a somewhat sheepish look on her face, and he quickly walked over to her.

"Tess! I was worried about you. Didn't have a clue where you'd gotten off to!"

"I can take care of myself, Jason." Tess chided him, though her voice was soft, and she smiled as she said it.

"I know! That's part of what worries me." Jason sighed and gave his wife a soft hug. Her face was troubled, though he couldn't quite tell what was the matter. Carefully, he led her back upstairs and sat her down at the breakfast table, but she only sighed.

"I'm not hungry. Sorry, I ate when I first woke up."

"And when was that?" Jason asked as he turned to the eagerly- waiting cookbook.

Tess yawned. "I dunno. We don't have a clock in here, but it's been a few hours."

"Then you need to eat something."

"I'll eat when I get hungry." Tess shook her head. "Come on, Jason, I'm not a baby."

"In that case, I get to eat whatever I want." Jason flipped through the cookbook until he came to a certain recipe, and tapped it with his finger. There was a flash, and a large pile of pancakes, smothered with syrup and topped with a mountain of whipped cream and a cherry, appeared on the table. Tess drew back in revulsion, and Jason sat down before it. "And you can't stop me."

"I don't plan to." Tess sighed as she leaned back in her chair. She had deep bags beneath her eyes, which seemed to be closing of their own accord as she sat there, swooning.

"So what were you doing in the old office?" Jason asked as he ate.

"Nothing much. Just looking through your uncle's old books and trying to make sense of what he was trying to accomplish." Tess shrugged. "It's a mystery, and those are always kinda fun to try and untangle."

"Having any luck?"

"Maybe." Tess shrugged. "At least as near as I can tell, he did know about the dungeon. I found a notepad where he kept track of his research and things. It's a giant mess, just like the rest of the house, but it looks to me like he pulled the Winter Shandy armor out of the dungeon and a handful of micro-dungeons in the area that he opened and then subsequently shut. I can't tell where he got the other armor for sure, though it looks like he had to buy it from Illumitir."

"Interesting." Jason mumbled around a mouthful of pancake. "Why?"

"That much, I can't yet figure out." Tess shrugged. "He made a note about reopening the old dungeon, but that was it. No rhyme or reason, nor really even an explanation of how he was going to do it."

"What if that was why he was so interested in monsters?" Jason chuckled. "Maybe, since the old thing couldn't just be recommissioned, maybe he was trying to catch loads of monsters and populate it himself."

"It's possible, but the note seemed to indicate that he wanted to fight in the dungeon, not just open it." Tess sighed. "I don't know at this point.

Your uncle was a mess." She tapped at the table, then frowned and looked up at him. "Do you know when he filed the wills with Hank?"

Jason shook his head. "Not a clue. Why?"

"Just a thought I had." Tess shrugged. "I don't know either, but... I don't remember there being a funeral for him. One day, Alfredus was there. Then, we didn't see him for a few weeks, and then I was told that someone new would be moving in. Next thing I know, you're here. None of us really made a habit of checking in on him, and I know that Jeremiah wasn't nearly as friendly with him as he is with you."

"What are you saying?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "You think he's alive?"

"I don't know what I'm saying. Just that it doesn't make a lot of sense." Tess shrugged. "If he is still alive, I don't understand why he would have faked his death. If he isn't still alive, which seems more probable, I don't have the faintest idea how his death was discovered. No one in the town would ever have gone to check on him. He was prone to slipping out of town on strange vacations anyway, so... I don't know. It's just weird, and the fact that we found a hidden room in the house has me kinda creeped out. What if there's another hidden room somewhere, and he's watching us?"

Jason chuckled. "Oh, I doubt that."

Tess's wide eyes told him that such an answer wasn't good enough. When breakfast was over, they proceeded to walk back and forth across the house, measuring the different lengths of the assorted rooms. Marking it out in such a way, they were easily able to identify the location of the small shaft just behind the dining room and its closet, which was otherwise built in such a way as to utterly trick the eye. Climbing the stairs and doing the same thing, they soon discovered the hidden office, which seemed to be tucked behind Jason's office, and was the reason that the small room didn't have any windows. Once more, because of the location and shapes of the surrounding bedrooms, it wasn't immediately obvious that anything was there. They continued to pace it out, and, to Jason's surprise, did indeed discover another anomaly, located in one of the guest bedrooms. Hidden in one of the closets, they soon discovered a trapdoor hidden behind a fold of wallpaper, which led to a tiny storage room that held a handful of small, round objects that Tess identified as monster eggs. There were around a dozen in total, all of which were about the size of a baseball, and had an assortment of colors ranging from bright red to obsidian black.

Jason whistled as they slowly took out the eggs. Tess held one of them, a green egg, in her hand, and simply gazed down at it.

"What is it?" Jason asked softly. "Is it dangerous?"

"All of these are dangerous," Tess whispered softly. "My item identification scans place all of these as being ordinarily extinct monsters. Dragons that were too deadly, giant insects that were prone to escaping dungeons and eating all the crops in the area..."

She whistled softly, and Jason bit his lip.

"Are they likely to hatch anytime soon?"

Tess shrugged. "All it would take is an activation command, and any

one of them could erupt at a moment's notice."

"So, what do we do with them?"

"I don't know, Jason!" Tess snapped and turned to face him. "I don't

know, okay! You know how much I'm struggling with everything! You know how much... Oh, I don't know! These have to be destroyed, and the safest way to do so would be just to activate them and fight them myself, but I don't want to do that because I don't want to ruin any chances I may have left for having children. The proper way to do it would be to alert the Dungeon Guild so they could come and dispose of them, but we all know how much I trust the Dungeon Guild, and..." She shook her head. Jason sighed and took the egg from her hand, placing it into a box with the others. He rose and started down the stairs, flashing a smile at her.

"On the bright side, we know that my uncle isn't hiding in the house, now."

"Because that's such a great comfort." Tess snapped at him. "I shouldn't even have to wonder if that could be a possibility!"

"Okay, well..." Jason shrugged as he reached the halfway point down the stairs. "I'm sorry, okay? It's not like I chose my uncle, or chose to inherit the farm or anything. I'm not responsible for any of his craziness."

"Oh, really? Coming from the person who summoned in a dragon that destroyed our very own dungeon?" Tess snorted. "Maybe the two of you are a lot more alike than I thought."

In the depths of Jason's mind, he knew that Tess was simply under a lot of pressure. She was in a new environment, she was struggling with thoughts of her father, and a desire for pregnancy, and the fact that she was cooped up and couldn't go fight in the dungeons, and likely a whole lot of other things that she hadn't been able to express to him. That said... That

realization and understanding was quite deep in his mind, and above it burbled an immense tide of frustration that came roaring to the forefront.

"I am nothing like my uncle," Jason snapped, spinning to look back up at Tess. "I'm doing everything I can to take care of this farm, not leave it in a state of ruin like he did. As near as I can tell, you're the one who's acting more like your relative. The relationship was fun at first, farming was kinda fun, but now that it's winter and you're cooped up inside, you don't want to keep cleaning the house, you mope around all day and long for spring, you make me feel bad for wanting to keep living out here, you just want to go back to your old dungeon, and you're upset that wanting to get pregnant is keeping you out of the dungeon."

Even as the words left his mouth, he knew that they had been a bad thing to say. A moment later, Tess appeared at the top of the stairs, fire in her eyes. If, perhaps, he had fallen to his knees and apologized, there could have been hope.

He did not.

"How dare you say something like that?!" Tess came stalking down the stairs, venom in her voice. "How dare you compare me to my parents?!"

"And how dare you compare me to my uncle?" Jason snapped. "I have given everything for you! I'm no warrior, but I've done my part to keep the town safe over and over again!"

"And the moment that there's no monsters to fight, you and Jeremiah just went and made your own!"

"I wasn't involved with that!"

In a flurry, both of them launched into a tirade against one another. Tess stormed past him and burst out into the freezing cold air, her dress whipping around in the wind. Jason followed, still holding the box of monster eggs. As she staggered toward the stable, Jason exploded.

"So you're just going to run away? Yeah, that's a fine way to not emulate your father!"

Tess's fists clenched, and she spun and leapt at him. He dodged as she threw a punch at him that certainly would have flattened him to the frozen ground. As such, the box of monster eggs came directly into the line of her fists, and was blasted from his hands and down onto the frozen ground.

The eggs exploded from the box and skittered across the ground, bounding and skittering. Jason and Tess both froze... And a moment later, cracks began to appear across the surface of each and every one. Smoke erupted from some, light from others, and Jason scampered backward.

"And now look what you've done!" Tess screamed as she pulled out her sword. "Get back, let the professional work!"

A dragon with blue-green scales erupted upward just a few feet from her, and she chopped off its head in a single blow. No sooner had it hit the ground, than a seven-foot-tall stone giant stood up just a few feet further away. Tess snarled and thrust out her hand, throwing a small, red ball at it. The weapon stuck to the giant's chest like a blob of slime, and exploded a moment later. Stone shrapnel showered down around the area, and the monster collapsed. By then, though, a large, tentacle-covered thing grew up from the farmyard. Eyestalks peered out above the tentacles, and Jason pulled out his pistol and fired into the thing. Several tentacles and one eye were cut down by the blast, and Tess soon swung her sword through the rest of it.

"Get inside!" Tess roared. "This is no place for a civilian!"

Jason needed no encouragement, and quickly ran back into the house. Later, he remembered his cannon, but in that moment, he simply wanted to get away. Great, spine-covered beasts rose up, only for Tess to cut them all down. He shivered as he watched his wife unload her anger upon the monsters, and he slowly walked back to sit next to the fire while she took care of the infestation. As he did so, he sighed deeply.

He knew that he had spoken rashly, but he also knew that she had been outside her bounds, too. He would apologize, that much he was certain of... Right after she did exactly the same thing. Until then, he was going to stick to his guns. If she truly wasn't like her father, she would change.

And that was just the way that it was going to be.

Chapter Thirty - 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 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 91st day of Winter! It's the day of the Winter Festival! The weather today is going to be just a few ticks above freezing, and it's going to be snowing all day! Perfect packing snow, which, in my opinion, is just the best weather possible for the festival! Get out here and enjoy it!]

[Obadiah's Almanac: Update: The Ridgeback Jackalope Dragon was last seen flying south, down toward the volcanic territories. I've alerted the Warriors' Guilds down there, so hopefully we'll soon see an end to this strange saga!]

Jason sighed as he opened his eyes and looked around. He lay on the couch, where he had been sleeping ever since the fight that he had Tess had gone through. A fire crackled in the hearth, indicating that, as usual, she had been up and about for a substantial length of time. A clatter of dishes came from the kitchen, and he slowly rose and walked into the room to find her sitting down to a small breakfast of lettuce and eggs.

"Is there... Anything for me?" he asked softly.

"If you make it yourself." Tess's voice was curt.

Jason sighed, then turned to the cookbook. It flapped its pages, and

he nodded. With a flash, the meal appeared on the table, and he sat down as Tess began to eat rapidly.

"Tess, I..."

"I don't want to hear it, Jason, unless it's an apology," Tess snapped. "We've been over this again and again the last two weeks, and I'm not going back on it."

Anger momentarily flared within Jason. "You refuse to apologize to me."

"That's because I didn't mean it in the same way that you did." Tess jabbed a fork at him. "I was just stressed, and finding monster eggs in my house isn't exactly what a prospective mother wants to find!"

Jason perked up. "You're pregnant?"

"No!" Tess practically shouted at him. "Stop asking stupid questions!"

Jason shrank back into his chair, and Tess sighed and poked at the last of her meal.

"You meant it." Tess's voice shook. "That's what hurt. I didn't actually mean it. I mean, maybe a little bit, but like... Alfredus was a little creepy, but he was hardly a bad guy. He never hurt your family, he never hurt anyone here in town, he was just a little odd. You have to admit that when you and Jeremiah put your heads together, it can be a very similar situation. You, though... You know how I feel about my father. He's a coward, and he cut me more deeply than any monster or warrior or blade could ever manage. The fact that he still won't come and talk to me... Ahh!" Tess stabbed her fork into the wood of the table. The prongs stuck there, and she sighed and leaned back in her chair. "If you truly believe that I'm like my father, then I should just leave, because he's not getting any better, and that means that I won't get any better, either."

"No." Jason held up a hand. Thoughts whirled through his head, and he sighed. Since the fight, they had hardly spoken. For that matter, right there at the breakfast table, was the longest they had talked in any one chunk. "I... I want this to work out. You're just... You're very intense, and... I don't know." He puffed out his cheeks. "The way that you've been struggling this winter... I know it's because you miss your old job, but it feels like you're struggling because you'd rather not be here with me."

"You know that's not true," Tess snorted.

"I'm just saying how it's-"

"I don't care how it felt, Jason," Tess snapped. "What matters is

what I've said and done. What I have said is that it's an entirely new situation, and I've struggled. What I've done is given up time in the dungeon because I value this life more. What I've done is stayed here. After that fight, do you have any idea how much I wanted to run up to Paulina's store, or the Guild Hall, or something, and just live there until you came crawling back to me? I didn't do it. I didn't even ask you to sleep on the couch, you did that yourself. I have stuck by you. I have been loyal. Angry, but loyal. Can you say the same thing?"

Jason let out a long breath and looked down at his plate. After a moment, he sighed and murmured. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Tess sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry, too."

They sat there for a bit long, and Jason slowly raised his eyes. "Does... that mean we're good?"

"I don't know, Jason," Tess confessed. "I really don't." Anger flared up inside of Jason, and Tess held up a finger. "See? You're already getting angry, too. Don't pretend that this is only a problem that I'm facing. You were hurt, just like I was, and that takes time to heal."

Jason let out a long breath, and nodded slowly. He certainly couldn't argue with that logic. He continued to sit there for a bit longer, trying to wrack his brains. They both knew that he needed to be the one to make the next move, but he didn't have the faintest idea what he could do. He would have to show her that he was sorry... But before that, he needed to actually figure out a way to be sorry. In so many ways, Tess still hadn't apologized for the things that she had said, she had simply explained them away. Would he be able to do that? Not a chance.

As he sat there, Tess could obviously see the indecision flickering across his face, and she shook her head and rose. "I'm sorry, Jason, it seems that you need some more time. I'll go get Angus ready. We'll head out as soon as you're outside."

With that, she swept past him and was soon out in the farmyard. Jason watched her go, then finished his meal in silence. When he was done, he stood up and walked out as well, finding the carriage already waiting for him. Chance stayed inside, and pressed his nose to the window as they rode out into the gathering snow.

Thick, white flakes continued to float down as they rode into town. Angus's enormous muscles flexed as he pulled them along, and Jason sighed and leaned back in his seat. Onward they rumbled, and soon came to the town square. There, Tess nodded for Jason to get out, then drove the carriage over to the designated parking spot. Angus was taken away to the Guild Stables, and Jason watched as Tess strode over to Paulina's store and vanished inside.

"You ought to get her a bouquet of flowers." Daniel came walking up next to him, his footsteps shaking the ground.

"Turn off your inertia," Jason mumbled as Daniel came to a stop. He looked up to find that Daniel already had a bundle of flowers in his hand, and realized that he really hadn't seen the warrior since the Fall Festival,

when Theresa had turned him down flat. The flowers were a crystal-white, and seemed to be made of the very snow that was falling down around them. "What are you doing with those? Did Theresa give you a second chance?"

"Oh, no!" Daniel shook his head. "Theresa's dating that weakling vet. These are for Viola!"

Jason blinked. "Is... Is Viola interested in you at all?"

"Who wouldn't be?" Daniel flexed his muscles, though under the thick suit of armor, it was impossible to actually see his muscles.

"Theresa, Paulina, your sister..."

"Tess doesn't count. We're related."

"You just ask who wouldn't be interested, you didn't specify

conditions." Jason sighed, then nodded at the flowers. "Where did you get those?"

Daniel blushed slightly. "They're from the wilderness area north of here. They grow on the backs of frostwalker turtles, but you have to be really careful when you pick them, since they just kinda explode if the turtle either dies or realizes that you were there. Took me a few hundred tries, but Viola mentioned a few weeks ago that she wanted some, and..." He shrugged, then leaned down. "Tess really likes the green ones that grow down in the dungeons. They kinda glow, a lot of dungeon designers use them for lighting so they don't have to put torches everywhere."

"They glow?" Jason chuckled. "How do they manage that?"

"I dunno. Some scientist explained it to me, once." Daniel shrugged. "Something about crossing a firefly with a lily, and then adding... What was it? Your-anium? Something like that, I can't remember exactly, but Tess loves them, and she'd certainly calm down a bit if you brought her some."

Jason sighed. "How do you even know about the fight?"

"The town was attacked by a giant turtle that could breathe green fire. Everyone knows." Daniel shrugged. "Now, do you want those flowers, or do you want to just keep moping around?"

Jason sighed. "I can't enter dungeons, even if I wanted to get them." "I have a skill that would let you do it." Daniel offered.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "You have a skill that lets you bring

civilians into dungeons?"

"Yeah! Well... It's technically for bringing pets into dungeons, but it works on anything below a certain level, and since I'm so powerful, the skill should just classify you as a monkey or something," Daniel beamed.

"How lovely," Jason muttered.

"Yep! Now let me go give these to Viola, and we'll be off!"

Daniel marched over to Viola's inn, and vanished inside a moment

later. There was a loud crash, a muffled apology, a scream of delight from Viola, and after a few seconds, Daniel came walking back outside with the largest grin Jason thought he had ever seen. The warrior turned and waved back at Viola, who was wrapped in a white shawl and peered out through the entrance of her inn.

"I'll be back! I have to take the little farmer into the dungeon, and then we'll be off to the festival!"

Viola blushed and stepped back inside, and Daniel motioned for Jason to follow him. Moving quickly through the gathering snow, they soon strode down the slope of the dungeon basin to the entrance of the crypt, and Daniel flashed a grin at him.

"All right! I'm going to call this the Fishing Challenge! Let's see if I can do it!"

Jason blinked. "Why is it called that?"

"Because you're going to look just like a piece of fleshy bait, and I'm going to be tasked with keeping all the monsters off of you!"

At that moment, Jason decided that he would rather just live with an angry Tess instead of being digested in the belly of a monster. Daniel, after trying to encourage him for a few moments, entered the dungeon anyway, and came out a few minutes later with a large bouquet of greenish, glowing flowers. He handed them to Jason, then winked at him.

"That'll do the trick, sure thing. Good luck, little farmer!"

"I do have a name," Jason muttered as he stalked back up into the town. Nevertheless, he was thankful for the assistance, and within a few minutes, had arrived back at the town square. It was only noon, but already things were kicking into gear, as children ran through the streets throwing snowballs at one another, and adults began to help the children build snow forts and snow people and all sorts of other things. Daniel went back into Viola's inn, and they soon emerged together. Daniel instigated a snowball fight, built a snow fort to hide Viola, and quickly began to dominate the area. Viola's laughter rang out above the area, making the warrior beam like

the sun. Theresa and Donald soon emerged from the healing den to observe everything as well, though they both hung back and simply observed, only rushing in from time to time to help when a small child was struck by one of Daniel's snowballs and suffered a bloody nose. Obadiah and Paulina, too, soon emerged from the general store and pitched into the fight, with the two women squaring up against one another while the menfolk battled it out amongst themselves.

Jason sighed as he watched the proceedings, then cast a long look at Paulina's door. It opened after a few moments, and Tess emerged to lean against the wall. Her eyes were red, but she put a smile on her face as she watched the battle. Jason slipped around the side of the town square and joined her, and she sighed and looked over at him.

"Are those..." Her eyes opened wide as she took in the flowers. "You didn't..."

"No!" Jason laughed. "I mean, yes, they are, but I decided not to accept your brother's offer of protection."

Tess let out a sigh of relief. "That's... That's good."

They stood next to each other for a long while, watching the fight. Jason rather awkwardly passed the flowers to Tess, and she sighed deeply.

"Are we... good?" Jason asked softly.

Tess was candid. "I'm trying to let us be good. I'm not going to lie, what you said really hurt me; and unlike the dungeon, this one is going to take a bit to get over. You've barely apologized, and I know my brother told you to give me these."

Jason sighed and kicked at the ground. He opened his mouth and nearly fired something back, but saw Tess stiffen. Forcing his mouth back closed, he sighed and nodded.

"I... I'm sorry. I know these flowers don't make up for everything, but I'm sorry I hurt you, and I want us to be good again."

Tess nodded and took in a pained breath, then nodded again.

"I forgive you. And... I'm sorry, too."

They stood there for a few long moments, and Jason glanced at Tess. "So, you wanna go join the fight?"

"You know I do." Tess laughed softly. "After you!"

Jason nodded, then bolted into the fray. He initially charged at

Obadiah and Daniel, but quickly found himself driven back, and satisfied himself with throwing snowballs at Viola and Paulina. Tess scooped up an

armload of snow and unleashed a flurry of strikes against both of the other warriors, driving them back, and they all laughed. Jason waved at the watching townsfolk, and a moment later, a settlement-wide snowball fight was underway. Jason smiled through all of it, though he had to admit that he still felt more than a little off.

Spring was nearly here, and in many ways, things still felt strained between himself and Tess. All he could hope was that, as time went on, the wounds would gradually start to heal, and they would be able to move forward once again.

Chapter Thirty-One – Rainy Spring

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 1st day of Spring! 90 days until the Spring Festival! It looks like the snow from yesterday has turned into rain today, so if you were planning on getting out into the fields, you're just going to have to wait! That said, it's still a lovely, warm day, so get out and enjoy it!]

As Jason's eyes flickered open, he became aware of several things at once. First, Chance was sitting on his chest, licking him as fast as his doggy tongue could manage. Second, he was sweating all over, and he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to take the logs off the fire when they had gotten home from the Winter Festival. Third, Tess was actually lying in bed next to him, and he sighed delightedly and put his arm around her as best he could.

"Morning." He flashed a smile at her as she turned to look at him. "It's spring!"

"It is," she agreed and sat up, and Chance leapt over to start licking her. "Wow, it's hot."

"I'll go get it!" Jason chuckled and stood up. Rain pattered against the windows, and with the heat of the house combined with the moisture in the air, the windows were fogging quickly. He wiped away the frost, and looked with joy out upon a farmstead that seemed alive and vibrant. The prairie was green and new, with fresh shoots of grass bursting up out of the ground. Crabgrasses, histles, and other monsters swarmed about in thick clumps through the puddles and muck. Chance looked out the window and began to bark down at them, and Jason laughed.

"Don't worry, buddy, there will be plenty for you!" He walked over to his wardrobe and changed quickly into a light spring tunic, then strode downstairs as quickly as he could. In the living room, the flames had died down, but were still emitting quite a powerful blast of heat. He grabbed a bucket from the kitchen and tossed some water on the flames (after all, he didn't plan on using the hearth again for quite some time), and then walked out onto the porch.

Rain thundered down all around, falling far thicker and faster than the snow had been falling the day before. Bracing himself against the water, Jason strode down toward the stable. After such a long and such a cold winter, the rain almost felt scalding against his skin. He laughed, then burst into the stable to find the horses sweating as well.

Eyes wide, he took down the eternal torches and brought them out into the yard, then let the horses into the corral. They didn't seem to love the idea of the rain, though they certainly did frolic in it a bit before coming back inside. Alfred in particular flopped down and rolled through the mud more than a few times before Lady urged him back inside, and Jason chuckled. He poured some feed for all of them, then strode back through the mud to the house.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Jeremiah called out as he came riding past.

"Howdy!" Jason called out. "What brings you out this way this morning?"

"Nothing much! Forgot to buy some supplies while I was in town yesterday, and now I've got a proper flood on my hands!" Jeremiah laughed. "It's a giant mess!"

"I'll take your word for it!" Jason waved. "Take care!"

Jeremiah gave one final wave and vanished off down the road, and Jason chuckled. He came stomping back up inside, and sniffed the air. Tess had seemingly prepared some sort of breakfast, though by the smell, he couldn't tell quite what it was. He took off his soaking clothes and went into the kitchen, where a proper omelet had been put together. Tess nodded down at the conglomeration of eggs, sausage, peppers, onions, and more, and Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Call it my way of saying I'm sorry. My version of flowers." Tess shrugged. "Turns out that Daniel has advice for men and women."

Jason chuckled softly, then nodded in thanks. "Well... I forgive you."

They smiled at each other, then slowly tucked into the breakfast. When they finished, Tess sighed and kicked at the floor.

"So... Now that we're finally in spring, we're still stuck inside the house."

"We don't have to be!" Jason flashed a small smile at her. "Come on!"

A few minutes later, they had pulled out their porch chairs, and sat just outside the front door. Rain pattered down all around them, and Jason sighed deeply. It was a peaceful sort of thing, that was for sure. For a long while, they simply sat there without really doing much of anything. Finally, Tess glanced over at him.

"All right, mister farmer. What's the plan for this season?" She folded her arms. "What crops are we tackling, what building projects are we going to take on, what... What are we planning on doing?"

Jason chuckled softly. "Oh, I don't know." He sighed and shrugged. "To be honest, with everything, I haven't really thought that far. The cabin on the Far Eighty is built, so we don't have to worry about that. We can do some exploring in the old dungeon, that might be a lot of fun. Umm... Other than that, I don't know."

"We ought to try some new crops," Tess declared. "I know you have some leftover spring wheat, but I kinda enjoyed doing things differently last summer and fall."

"I did, too." Jason mused. "I can't remember what all that Paulina had for sale, but I know she has a pretty large catalog."

"Flax." Tess spoke up. "We should plant flax."

Jason chuckled. "And what's flax?"

"I have absolutely no idea, but it has a really cool name." Tess

laughed at herself. "I saw it at Paulina's store yesterday. She had just put out her spring display so the farmers in town could go ahead and prepare, and it sounded like a funny sort of crop. Flax. I dunno."

Jason chuckled. "Did you see what it looked like?"

"Yeah! The seeds looked kinda like wheat seeds, but they were really tiny."

"Huh." Jason thought for a moment. "Sure, why not? What's the worst that could happen?"

"We accidentally trigger some sort of spawn condition for an ancient celestial being, and our farm becomes the epicenter of an apocalyptic event that consumes the entire world." Tess spoke as if she were discussing the weather of the day. "Of course, I would fight and kill the being, so all would be well. No need to really worry, but it wouldn't be pleasant, I'm sure."

Jason just laughed and shook his head. "You and your imagination, sometimes."

"I know." Tess flashed a smile at him, then sighed and leaned back in her chair. "And we need to get a greenhouse built by the time winter comes around again."

"Yes." Jason nodded. "Frankly, it could be useful during the summer as well. I'll ask Paulina about buying the materials when I go into town to buy flax."

"Do you want to go now?"

Jason thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah. It'll be days before we can get any equipment into the field again, so we're in no rush. I'd kinda just like to enjoy the day without having to worry about... Anything."

He sighed and leaned back in the chair again, and Tess sighed deeply.

"Not that it's important, but I talked to Obadiah, and he thinks the dragon that escaped is about to be caught. They were closing in on it late yesterday."

"That's good." Jason flashed a small smile, then shook his head. "I still can't believe that there were monster eggs in the walls of our house."

"You're telling me." Tess shuddered. "I mean... Can you imagine what would have happened if one of our kids found that place, and..." She flinched, then sighed. "Maybe that's why I can't seem to get pregnant. Maybe we're being protected, you know?"

"Maybe." Jason mused. "I certainly couldn't even begin to tell you what else this house holds. By now, I'm fairly certain that there are no more hidden rooms, but you could easily hide things under floorboards, behind picture frames... The list is pretty much endless."

"I know." Tess turned and looked at him. "Do you think we'll ever really know for sure why your uncle did what he did?"

"Oh, I imagine we will. I imagine it won't be information that comes easily, and I don't think we'll learn it anytime soon, but I reckon we'll learn it sometime." Jason sighed. "Four towns, and he was interested in all of them except for the one that was still standing."

"Some people are like that." Tess shuddered, then glanced at Jason. "And... I might just be one of them."

Jason turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Tess shrugged. "Some people focus on the past, and can't see what they have right in front of them. I've been so fixated on the past; on mine,

on yours, on what hasn't happened yet in our marriage, that I haven't really been able to just look forward to what may be coming. Do I wish that my father had been better? Yes, but at the end of the day, I don't need him in order to be a good parent myself. Do you have your faults? Yes, but so do I, and we can't focus on those if we're going to make this work."

"And it will work." Jason held out his hand, which Tess took firmly. "I love you, Tess, and I sincerely apologize for whatever I've said, or whatever I will eventually say, that hurts you or makes you question the decisions you've made."

"And I do the same." Tess shuddered, then met his eyes. "To the future, and to a long, boring life out here on the farm, where everything is peaceful and nothing tries to kill or eat you."

Jason chuckled softly and shook his head. "Come on, Tess. You should know by now that whatever else this life is, boring certainly doesn't begin to sum it

Chapter Thirty-Two – Torando Touchdown

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 7th day of Spring! 84 days until the Winter Festival! The rain is finally gone, and the ground appears to be drying up! If you're the type of person to get out into the fields, now's your chance! On the even brighter side, there are no signs of any sort of terrible weather until... Oh. That's not that far away. Three days from now, there's a storm coming up from the south that just might send us some tornadoes; but hopefully, we'll get through it all right!]

"Tornadoes." Jason sighed as he rose up from the bed. Chance drove him back to the mattress again, and he groaned. "Lovely things. That would be the first one since we've been married, I think."

"I think you'd be right." Tess sighed and scowled. "How would that be? To put all this work into cleaning up the house over the winter, and then to have it smashed to bits by an angry cloud monster?"

"You've fought tornadoes before, right?" Jason shrugged as he stood up and walked up to the window. "You could steer it away from the house. I mean, the first year I was here, I found your footprints keeping one away from my farm."

Tess laughed softly. "I did do that, didn't I? Oh, I'd forgotten about that. In answer, yes, I've fought them, and I could probably do it again, but I'd rather avoid it if possible. They throw you around something fierce. I'd happily dive into the largest dungeon in the Illumitir province without a scrap of armor rather than face a tornado."

"Really?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize they were that bad."

"They have an infinite healthbar, which means you can't kill them without very specific skills. I've never been granted such skills, which means that all I can do is drive them away. Scare them, so to speak, and since the thing is just enormous, it's not exactly the easiest thing to scare.

Not impossible, as you've seen, but it's not easy, either. It's basically just a slugging match. Now, if you get a handful of warriors together, it's actually pretty easy to drive them away, but you really have to get a proper posse together."

"You could always team up with Obadiah and Daniel," Jason suggested.

"Obadiah, maybe. Daniel, no." Tess laughed as she joined him by the window. "Now, shall we stop talking and get to work?"

Jason chuckled softly, and looked down across the farm. The small weed-monsters skittered this way and that, raring to go following the extended length of rain and subsequent time to dry back out.

"Let's do it!" Jason grinned. "Flax? It's time to get planted!"

He dressed in overalls, then made his way downstairs and out into the yard. Chance began to bark fiercely and chased the monsters back and forth, here and there, acting as if he'd never seen a proper weed monster before. He caught more than a few of them, too, and had a lovely time shaking them about and throwing them up into the air. Jason just watched him and laughed, then walked into the stable and let the horses out into the corral. He poured them some feed, watched for a moment to make sure that they were safe, and then went back inside. Tess was just pouring out some coffee to go with the salads, and they ate quickly while Chance gobbled up his dog food on the floor.

When they finished, the two of them made their way out into the yard, and Jason grabbed an oil can and started servicing the planter. It had, as usual, rather badly rusted over the winter, and he set to work wiping away all the buildup. As he worked, Tess came over and leaned against the door of the lean-to.

"Everything looking good?" she asked as he worked on a particularly stubborn patch of the red crust.

"Yeah," he muttered as he pulled away his hand, revealing the shimmery steel beneath. "I'm afraid we're going to have to replace this thing within the next few years, though. It's... four years old now? No! This fall will be the fifth year I've been using this piece of equipment. I don't know for sure how long it was meant to last, but I am quite sure that it's starting to get worn out."

"Is that a problem?" Tess asked, concerned.

"Not really, just something to keep an eye on. I'd rather replace it earlier, as opposed to waiting until it falls apart," Jason clarified. "On that same note, when we replace it, I'd also love to get a better model. One with a seat you can actually ride on, rather than just a platform where you have to balance yourself."

"Ooh! That would be lovely," Tess agreed. "How many more models do they have? I think I just assumed that this was it. This was a planter, and that was that."

Jason shook his head. "I mean, there aren't a lot of varieties, but there are a handful of companies up in Illumitir that work on putting out new and better machines. The most expensive one is designed to be pulled by a team of ten horses, but could do eighty acres in a single hour."

Tess whistled. "What's the benefit of that, anyway?"

"I've heard that some places out west have fields that are thousands of acres in size, and even with something that large, it can take days to get over them all." Jason shrugged, then chuckled. "I don't imagine that we'll ever get that large, but it is kinda fun to think about."

"Indeed!" Tess chuckled, then turned away. "Well, let me know if you need anything!"

Jason watched her walk over to the horses, then went back to work. All told, it took him the better part of half an hour before he had all the rust scrubbed off, which seemed to him to be somewhat of a record. He then stood up and nodded at the machine.

"All right. What are the specifications for flax?"

[Disk spacing should be 0.1 inches, boxes should be opened to 5%.] "Wow, that's small." Jason whistled. He knelt down next to the box

and started fiddling with the bolts and slides, and after almost another hour of work, he had everything set. When he finished, he walked over to the corral, where Tess was still playing with the horses. She looked up as he approached, then looked in confusion at the sky.

"That took you quite a while."

Jason chuckled. "For what it's worth, this flax better come through. It is not easy to get the planter set up for it, I'll tell you that much. I only have..." He paused for a moment. "Twenty actions left."

Tess winced at that. "How far will that go?"

"I think it'll get slightly over half of the field done, but we'll just have to see!" Jason shrugged, then walked into the corral and took Lady's

reins.

"Oh, take Angus." Tess shook her head. "Lady is still spending time

with Alfred. No use separating them just yet."

Jason shrugged, then nodded and took Angus instead. A few

minutes later, he had hitched Angus to the front of the planter, and the mighty horse lumbered forward to the gates of the pasture. His hooves stomped more than a few monsters into dust, and Jason soon guided him inside. With a flourish, Jason pulled the lever that dropped the disks into the ground, and off they went!

Jason had worked with Angus before, but he was consistently amazed with just how strong the horse truly was. He simply tore forward, covering ground far faster than Lady had ever been able to do. Dust erupted from behind the machine, and the seed began to flow into the ground. Jason sighed deeply... At least until he noticed that there seemed to be seed visible on the ground just behind the planter. He pulled back on the reins and slowed the mighty horse, then hopped off to take a look.

Sure enough, there were dozens of the tiny flax seeds scattered here and there across the soil. He frowned, then walked up to the planter and began to inspect the thing. It took him more than a few minutes before he found a small bolt loose. It held the planting box to the main frame of the planter, which was allowing the seed to flow out. He tightened it down (using another action in the process), and then set out once again.

This time, he made it down and back before he noticed more seed flaking out across the ground. Growing more annoyed, he pulled back on Angus's reins, then hopped down to look over the ground once again. Just like before, there were seeds everywhere, and no particular indication of where they had come from. Jason set to work looking for the culprit, and this time found a tiny rust hole where the seeds were leaking out. He patched it up with a bit of duct tape, then set off once again.

By the time that lunch came around, he had only finished a third of the field, had tightened down three bolts, had replaced the duct tape twice, and was entirely out of actions. He brought Angus into the yard and unhitched the horse for a break, then came striding over to Tess. She had already prepared a picnic lunch and laid it out by the horses, and he sat down with a sigh just next to her.

"You look beat." Tess raised an eyebrow as he slumped against the rails of the corral.

"I feel beat," he muttered. "I have zero actions left; I used the very last one on that final pass."

"Really?" Tess raised an eyebrow. "Is the flax seed really that hard to work with?"

"I don't know if the flax is just that hard to work with, if it's the thing causing all the problems, if it's just revealing problems that are already there..." Jason shrugged. "Anyway, if we want this done, you'll have to be the one to take over."

Tess nodded and bit into a ham sandwich. "In that case, I'll do my best, and I'll get it taken care of!"

Jason nodded and relaxed a bit more upon the rails of the fence. Tess soon finished eating, then rose and got Angus hitched back up to the planter. The moment he was ready, she guided the horse back into the field, and off they went. Jason walked up and leaned against the fence surrounding the field, watching and waiting for something to go wrong. He hoped that nothing would happen, but there was no way of knowing for sure.

Tess made it down and back twice before she drew to a halt and climbed down. Jason hopped the fence and walked over to join her, and she scowled down at the ground.

"It's just spilling everywhere!"

Jason nodded and knelt down beneath the machine. One of the strips of duct tape had come loose, and he quickly peeled it off and slapped a new one over the tiny hole. At least, he tried to. Tess was the one who actually had to perform the action, since he was out of things he was allowed to do. She got back going once more, and he returned to his post to watch her.

Dinnertime had long passed by the time that he and Tess actually managed to get all the seed in the ground. Tess sighed deeply as they put the planter back away, and she looked at Jason with an odd sort of gaze.

"I vote that we don't plant flax again."

"I second that motion." He chuckled as they walked up toward the house. "That was... Not fun, in any sense of the word."

"Would a newer planter help?" Tess asked as they made their way inside. "I don't know about that sort of thing."

"I don't, either, but I can ask Paulina the next time I'm in town," Jason offered. "At least for the moment, though, I don't think it's worth it."

"Agreed!" Tess took a deep breath. "Still, though, it does feel good to succeed."

"Indeed." Jason flashed a smile, then made his way into the kitchen. "It does feel good to succeed. Now, let's succeed at eating a proper meal!"

Tess laughed, and he slumped gratefully into his kitchen chair. It had been an exhausting day, but it had been a good one. He and Tess seemed to be doing better, and that, more than anything, made him optimistic about the future.

He only hoped that they could make it through until summer without any further issues.

Chapter Thirty-Three – Across The Prairie

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 14th day of Spring! 77 days until the Spring Festival! It's a windy one, folks! That's... Yeah, that's about all I've got. Loads of wind. No wind monsters, though, so that's good! Not that I imagine that any wind monsters will appear. They could, but the odds of anyone accidentally... No. No wind monsters today, and that's that.]

Jason shook his head as he rose from the bed and glanced around the room. Tess was gone, but that was, just like winter, becoming less and less of an unusual thing. He rose and walked up to the window, where the wind indeed blew in great gusts across the prairie. The green grasses rippled like an enormous, green ocean, surrounding his farm on all sides. Lady and Alfred were out in their corral, but Angus was nowhere to be seen. Jason could only imagine that Tess was out riding with him somewhere, but it was impossible to know where she might have gone. He dressed into overalls, then made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. A plate of pancakes already sat on the table, waiting for him, and the cookbook flapped its pages in greeting.

"Hey." Jason sat down and ate the pancakes, though he hardly noticed the flavor or the texture. "Did Tess pass through here?"

The cookbook gave a few flaps, though Jason wasn't really sure what they meant.

"Do you know where she went?"

The cookbook slammed itself shut.

"Great." Jason sighed, then shrugged. "Did she look angry or

upset?"

There was a pause, and then the cookbook slammed itself shut twice

more. Jason hoped that it meant no, and slowly rose as he finished his meal. Chance was gone, too, which meant that Tess really wasn't planning on

coming back for any length of time. He walked out onto the porch, then sat down on a chair and looked out across the prairie.

She showed no indication of appearing anytime soon, and he soon began to fidget. After debating for a few moments, an idea sprang into his mind, and he slowly turned and walked back into the house. He sat down at the writing desk and composed a short message, then dropped it into the mail slot. It vanished with a soft rattle, and he walked back out onto the porch to wait. This proved too boring for him, as he was itching to get something done that day, and he soon rose and walked down to the corral where Lady and Alfred were waiting. They came up and nuzzled his hands, and he stroked them for a long while.

When he got done petting them, he strode over to the field and looked out across it for some time. The flax waved gently in the wind, seeming somehow unaffected by the blustery breeze that swept across the rest of the prairie. Jason reached out and ran his hands across the heads of grain, and was surprised, as always, just how slippery the plant seemed to be. The seeds had slipped right out of the planter, the heads were slick, and he could only imagine that the resistance to being blown around in the wind was because the wind just slipped right over the top. He chuckled a bit at that last thought, then turned around as he heard hoofbeats in the driveway.

"Howdy, little farmer!" Daniel called down as his horse came screeching to a halt. "That's how I say it, right?"

"It's howdy, neighbor, but I suppose that's progress." Jason shook his head in amazement as Daniel hopped down from the beast. His feet thudded against the ground, and Jason held up a hand. "Inertia, please."

Daniel closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. "Done! Turned off. Now, what can I help you with?"

"I'll explain inside. You can put your horse out with..." He paused. Daniel's stallion was a blood-red color, and was even larger than Angus. "Has your horse been gelded?"

Daniel laughed. "I don't even know what that means!"

"I was afraid of that. Let's put him in the stable."

Soon, Jason had put the horse in the safety of the stall and led

Daniel up into the house. The enormous warrior came stomping into the living room, shaking the whole house as his feet came thudding down on the floor. A vase fell off an end table, but Jason managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"I'm not even trying! I'm just that heavy!" Daniel chuckled as he started to sit down on the couch.

"Wait!" Jason held up his hands, then pointed to a concrete chair that looked rather like a throne. He had built it over the winter, but hadn't had a chance to test it. "Why don't you try sitting there?"

"Lovely!" Daniel walked over and sat down with a loud thunk. Nothing broke, and Jason let out a sigh of relief. "What am I here for?"

"I need some help." Jason sighed. "I have an idea, and... I don't know. I'm going to need you to lend me a hand."

"I've got loads of those." Daniel reached into his inventory and pulled out a mummified claw. "This one came from a giant hawk. You can tie a rope to it and use it like a grapple, or you can-"

"Not that kind of hand." Jason shook his head.

"Well, I don't have any human hands. I'm not that much of a monster," Daniel scowled at him."

"I need some help." Jason practically shouted at Daniel.

Daniel blinked for a moment, then nodded in comprehension. "Ahh! Gotcha. What with? You need my mighty muscles to tear down an oak tree?"

"No. I need-"

"You need me to kill some monsters for you?"

"No. Tess could do that! I need-"

"Oh! I know! You need-"

Jason gripped the arms of his chair tightly as Daniel continued to

ramble on and on and on. "I need you to help me write a letter to Tess's father!"

Daniel froze. He looked over slowly at Jason, then let out a long breath. "Why, exactly?"

Jason sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm watching Tess every day, and she's hurting more than you or I know. Not that you're out here to know, of course, but you get what I mean."

Daniel nodded slowly, though his eyes indicated that he did not, in fact, have a clue what Jason was talking about.

"Tess is really struggling with a lot of different things, and a great deal of it stems from the way that her father has treated her," Jason explained. "I don't know if she told you, but she actually did write him a letter, begging him to come up here. He turned her down flat, and just gave

her a long letter talking about everything that he's done since he left her. It was incredibly rude, and has done nothing to help her."

"Yeah, that sounds like something he would do." Daniel sighed deeply.

"Right. That's why I need you to help me write something that will convince him to come up here and actually look his daughter in the eye." Jason leaned forward. "Please, Daniel, you know him better than anyone."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure his closest friend is the bartender. The one time I met him in person, I-"

"Daniel? Focus. Around here, you know him better than anyone, and that means that I need you."

Daniel sighed and leaned back in his chair. He drummed his fingers on the armrests for a few moments, then looked down at his lap.

"I really don't want to do this, you know?" Daniel finally managed. "I know you're going to convince me, but I don't think it's a good idea."

"You?" Jason snorted. "The person who went to sleep in the dungeon and let a wyrm chew on his face, the person who thinks that classifying a civilian as a monkey and taking them into a dungeon as part of a 'fishing challenge' is a good idea, you think this is a bad idea?"

"Just look at Tess." Daniel gestured to the window. Jason glanced that way out of habit, though he saw only the dirt road that wound through the prairie. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you actually look. I haven't seen her, of course, but if what you say is true..." He bit his lip. "If I had never slipped up, if Tess had never learned about her father, she would have been happy. Don't get me wrong, she would have thought about him from time to time and been sad, but she wouldn't have been reminded about it. She'd had years to forget, and now that wound has been reopened. Do you really want to keep poking at it?"

"Tess never needs to know about it if he says no."

"Oh? And what happens if the letter comes through while you're out working?" Daniel crossed his arms. "What then? You think that Tess will be happy that you went behind her back just to remind her that her father wants nothing to do with her?"

Jason sighed, then shrugged. "But what if I can convince him to come?"

Daniel looked down at his lap once more, then looked up at Jason.

"I'll help, but on a few conditions. First off, if things go bad, Tess never finds out that I was the one who helped you."

Jason nodded. "Deal."

"Second, you have to let me take it back to Summer Shandy and send it from the inn. That way, if he returns it, it'll come to me instead of the farm." Daniel sighed. "I can deliver it to you privately, and Tess never needs to get hurt again."

Jason flashed a small smile. "You really do love her, don't you?"

Daniel nodded slowly, then sank back in his chair. "She was adopted by our mother before I was. When I was adopted as well, I just... I don't know. I was the newcomer to the family, but Tess was longing for her parents, for some sort of normal structure. I couldn't be a father to her, obviously, but since I was effectively her big brother, she latched onto me. I spent the next... I don't even know how many years of my life... Just trying to keep her safe." Daniel sighed. "I'm not going to lie, it's been hard. She needed me to be someone I couldn't be, and I needed to be strong even through that. She was just so weak, so broken, and to know that you can't be the one to actually put the pieces back together, but you still have to keep them from being smashed up more..."

Daniel hung his head, and Jason nodded in sympathy.

"I'll agree to those terms," he affirmed after a few moments. "Now, tell me what I need to know."

"All right." Daniel clapped his hands, which caused a rather powerful thunderclap that shook the living room. "Sorry about that. I really need to get the skill that causes my combat skills to deactivate once I leave the dungeon. Always seemed like a waste, but now-"

"Daniel. Focus."

"Right." Daniel stroked his chin. "Well... Hmm."

He thought for a few long moments, and Jason sighed.

"What do you think would reach him? How am I going to be able to

convince him to come up here?"

"I don't know!" Daniel held up his hands. "I've been trying to get

him to come up here for years now!" He thought for a moment longer. "He really likes Western Reach Ale, if that helps. There's a valley that lies between two lone peaks, about a hundred miles east of the mountain range that separates the plains from the Western Wilderness. It produces some of the best ale, and it's crazy hard to get a hold of if you're not over there.

Granted, they have some pretty sweet dungeons, so a lot of warriors will wander that way at one point or another..."

Jason quit listening as Daniel began to ramble. He talked about all the different dungeons that the Twin Peaks held, as well as some of the wilderness bosses and other such things. Meanwhile, Jason turned to his writing desk and took out a sheet of paper.

"Richard, this is Jason." He took a deep breath. Behind him, Daniel was starting to talk about the flammability of the ale, and the different weapons that it could be used in. "I know Tess wrote you a letter earlier this year, and... Well, I read it, and I saw her pitch it into the fire, so that may be why you didn't get a response."

He licked his lips, then wadded up the sheet of paper and tried again.

"Richard, this is Jason, Tess's husband. I just wanted to say that she was really hurt by your last letter. If you care about her at all, you need to come up here to Summer Shandy and face her like a man."

He struck the final period with an extra-hard stroke of his pen, then leaned back, nodded... And crumpled it up and threw it away. Behind him, Daniel was still rambling about this and that.

"...the ale can be fed to animals, too! I actually used it to water my horse once, when I was crossing over the lava flats with Tess's father. He told me off for using such a valuable resource to give to a horse, but I said that the beast was nearly dead and I needed her to live, and he said that he wished it had saved his wife, and then we went on, and what do you know? That ale gave my horse enough life that she ran over the rest of those lava flats all the way to Vent City, and-"

"Wait." Jason held up a hand. "Go back a few steps."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Jason, I'm pretty sure that Tess won't actually want you making molotov cocktails around here. Seems dangerous, I'm sorry I mentioned the recipe, but-"

"No!" Jason growled and spun around. "Tess's father! You said something about watering your horse with the ale, and he-"

"Oh yeah! It was the weirdest thing." Daniel shrugged. "He said that he wished it had saved his wife."

"Why would he say that?" Jason mused. "Do you know how she died?"

"It was a dungeon accident." Daniel began to think. His voice became suddenly interested, as he seemed to seize upon the same detail. "I don't know much about what happened, he doesn't like to talk about it, but I think a dragon was involved. I wonder..." He tapped his chin. "I wonder. I know he usually carried the stuff... Wait!"

Daniel snapped his fingers, which caused several shockwaves to reverberate throughout the house. He paused while he turned off that skill, then turned back to Jason.

"One of the few things I know about her death is that she died up in the northern mountains. Well, up there is a dragon known as the Desiccator. It's... Imagine a giant, dried-up sponge in the shape of a dragon. Its breath causes you to lose water. It basically dehydrates you to death, if that makes sense."

"No, but go on." Jason stroked his chin.

"Well... If Tess's mother had been killed by the Desiccator, it's possible that, as she was dying, her father tried to rehydrate her with the ale." Daniel shrugged. "Ale has a terrible hydration value, but if that's all you have on you... I don't know. It's certainly possible. Also explains why he never actually buys the stuff. He just gets a glass and then stares at it all night while he drinks other things."

"That would have been something to mention beforehand," Jason said with a sigh.

"Okay, well... My brain doesn't work like your brain, little farmer." Daniel scowled. "These pieces that you're pulling together don't just click."

Jason sighed, then turned back to the paper. This time, he had an idea forming in his head, and quickly set to work.

"Richard, this is Jason. I've thought long and hard about how to begin this letter, about how to approach you. To be honest, I still don't know if this is the right way of going about things, but I'm desperate." Jason paused for a moment, then continued. "I know how much you've lost. You lost Tess, and then you lost her mother. I can only imagine how much all that eats at you, knowing that you gave up someone, only to lose the person that you chose to follow. The good news is that you still have a chance. You can still come back, you can still rekindle that old bond. Tess is longing for you, she desperately wants to have a relationship with you. She will forgive you. She wants to forgive you, but you have to ask her to, in person."

He showed the letter to Daniel, who read it over softly.

"It's good, but I guarantee that it won't be enough to convince him to come down."

"Not yet, anyway." Jason licked his lips, then continued. "I know you miss your wife, Tess's mother. I know that anytime you stare into a pint of..."

He glanced at Daniel, who answered. "Western Reach Ale."

"I know anytime you stare into a pint of Western Reach Ale, you're reminded of your wife. You remember how you couldn't save her, and you think back on all the times that you had with her. Now... Consider the fact that every time Tess sees me, she has the exact same reaction. Every time she sees me, she sees you. Every time she looks at me, she remembers the fact that she couldn't convince you to stay. She feels as though if she had just been a little better, a little stronger, a little faster, she might have been able to convince you to keep her around." Daniel began to nod, and Jason finished up. "Nothing can bring back your wife now, and I'm dearly sorry for that, but... Just imagine that someone could. Imagine that there was a way to have your wife again, but that the path was being blocked by someone. Now realize that you're that someone. You can give Tess her father again. You can give her what you can never have again. If you have any love left for Tess, I beg of you, don't let her experience the same pain that you, yourself, must undergo."

He finished with a flourish and showed it to Daniel. Daniel stroked his chin for a few moments, then shrugged. "It's better than anything I ever wrote. I can't promise how he'll react, but it's worth a try."

Jason folded up the letter and slipped it into an envelope. "Just promise me that you'll mail it immediately."

"Of course." Daniel took the letter and slipped it into his inventory. He climbed to his feet, then flashed a smile down at him. "For the sake of Tess, I desperately hope this works."

As Daniel left and rode off toward Summer Shandy, Jason stood on the porch and watched him, and he sighed deeply.

"I desperately hope so, too.

Chapter Thirty-Four – Deep Thoughts

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 21st day of Spring! 70 days until the Spring Festival! It's looking like a bright and brilliant day today, folks! Not a storm cloud in sight, though there are a few scattered clouds that will be rolling across the sky today. The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, and the tiny pollen dragons aren't spawning! What could be better than that?]

"What, indeed?" Jason sighed as he rolled out of bed and climbed to his feet. Tess lay in bed, with Chance flopped across her. She was still asleep, and he sighed deeply and ran a hand through her hair. She hadn't gone to bed with him the night before, though she had assured him that she would be along soon. The fact that she was still asleep told him that she hadn't actually been along terribly soon, or else his and Tess's definitions of the words were significantly different.

He dressed quickly, trying not to wake her or the dog, and then walked up to the window. The flax was a golden color, and rippled in the soft breeze that drifted across the prairie. Clouds that closely resembled cotton balls drifted lazily across the great blue expanse, and Jason sighed. It was time for the harvest!

He quickly made his way downstairs, avoiding the steps that he knew squeaked. As he got to the kitchen, the cookbook flapped its pages in confusion, and Jason shrugged.

"Oh, you know how Tess is. I don't suppose you know what time she went to bed last night?"

The cookbook raised a handful of its pages on either side in a shrug, and Jason sat down in his usual seat. He sighed and tapped the table, then glanced up at the cookbook.

"Make me something that Tess would think gives me lots of energy."

There was a flash of light, and a bowl of steaming red oatmeal appeared on the table. He wrinkled his nose slightly. "Make me a few sausage links as well."

With a flicker, a small plate appeared next to the oatmeal, set with three long, golden sausages. He ate them quickly, took a few bites of the oatmeal, and then slowly rose and tiptoed out of the house. He made it all the way out into the yard without waking Tess up (he hoped), and he cast a look up at his bedroom window as he walked over to the stable. It was still dark, and nothing seemed to be stirring inside, which was positive.

With that, he strode over and set to work. Lady, Angus, and Alfred were eager to get out into the corral, and he let them out just as quickly as he could. He poured them some feed, then went over to the harvester and set to work cleaning it up. As this would be the first harvest after the winter, the harvester had grown quite a coat of rust again, and he sighed as he scrubbed it all away.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Jeremiah's voice echoed across the farmyard as he rode over into the driveway. "How are things?"

"Howdy!" Jason called back, then sighed. "They're going. Getting ready to try harvesting this flax. Wasn't a fan of planting it, so we'll see how harvesting it goes."

Jeremiah laughed. "You're a braver man than I am. I almost tried flax when I was still growing crops, but the store clerk at the time talked me out of it. Glad she did, too, from some of the horror stories I heard later about the stuff."

"Yeah, I'm not planting it again." Jason muttered as he scraped off a bit more rust.

There was a pause, and Jeremiah chuckled. "That thing's starting to get old, isn't it?"

"Sure seems that way." Jason shrugged. "I'll probably replace it this summer, is what I'm thinking."

"When you're ready to, let me know. I have a friend up in Illumitir who works for one of the companies, Johan Elk. He can get you a good deal on a solid piece of equipment."

"Thanks for the offer." Jason chuckled as he moved to the last blade. "I'd hate to bypass Paulina, though."

"I can route it through her store, if you want. She'll get a kickback from the company, and you'll still get a better deal."

Jason laughed. "If you insist, I guess I can't refuse."

"You're right, you can't!" Jeremiah laughed. After a moment, he glanced around the farmyard. "Where's Tess?"

"Still asleep." Jason sighed. "She's struggling, with... everything."

"That doesn't surprise me," Jeremiah confessed. "Honestly, I'm surprised you're holding up as well as you are. Getting married is something that most people really struggle with. It's not easy, no matter what the romances say."

"You can say that again." Jason chuckled softly. "We haven't had that many fights, but when they come..."

He shook his head, and Jeremiah flashed a smile down at him.

"Well, I know my advice ain't usually worth more than a cow patty, but I think you're both doing just fine. You're sticking with it, and you aren't giving up. You seem to be supporting Tess just fine, and as the man of the house, that's your duty. Just stick with it, and you'll make it through all right."

"At least I'm trying to support her," Jason snorted. A flash of annoyance came over him, and he glanced up at his friend. "She's staying up until all hours of the night anymore, relying on everything but me. When I try to help, she acts like I'm just getting in the way; but when I don't help, I'm just leaving her alone."

Jeremiah sighed, then shrugged. "There, I don't really have much good advice. Delilah and I had some arguments, and some really big fights here and there, but neither of us really struggled the same way that Tess seems to be struggling. 'Course, we also had less of a change than she's gone through. Stick with the course, make sure that you're there when she does want you, and I reckon that she'll eventually come all the way over to you."

Jason just chuckled and shook his head. "That's what I'm already trying to do."

"Then maybe I did manage to give some good advice for once!" Jeremiah chuckled and started to wheel the horse around. "Well, have fun harvesting your flax! If you get angry at it, don't burn the prairie down!"

Jason chuckled, but then realized that Jeremiah didn't really sound like he was kidding. After a few moments, he was out the yard and on the road once again, and Jason turned back to the task at hand.

It wasn't long before he had the harvester ready, and he soon hitched up Lady to the machine. He allowed Alfred to run out of the corral, and was pleased to see him simply running laps around Lady as she lumbered toward the field. As Jason wandered into the waves of flax, Alfred came

running up behind, staying in the portion of the field that had been cut. And, with that, he was off.

As he set into the field, and the whirling blades tore into the flax, a proper inferno of dust exploded upward. He had experienced some dusty crops before, but the flax certainly took the cake (or at least in the moment, it certainly seemed to do so). The seeds themselves blasted up among the dust, scratching his skin and raining down around him. He coughed and spat them even out of his mouth. They got under his clothing, scratching at his skin, and he soon itched as though he were on fire.

"How much of this stuff am I actually harvesting?" he asked as he reached the end of the first row.

[Current Yield: 70%]

"That's... Ahh, it's good enough." Jason sighed and started on the way back. The flax seed continued to explode up at him, but he had the distinct feeling that, even if he stopped and tried to get the machine calibrated exactly the way that it needed to be set, it still wouldn't be enough, and he would simply spend the entire day fiddling with the machine until all his actions were used up.

On and on he went, experiencing the full brunt of the whirling blades and the onslaught of the flax seed. Even the dust was slippery, just like the plants and the seed, and he found himself struggling more and more to stay atop the machine as it lumbered and tossed through the field. Finally, mercifully, he came to lunchtime, having gotten right about half the field done. Lady panted as they strode back into the farmyard, and he sighed in pity.

He had soon unhitched her from the harvester and led her (and Alfred) back to the corral, where he took out a brush and began to get some of the dust and chaff out of her hair. It wasn't easy, but it did seem to make her feel better as he went along. Finally, he got to the end, and he mercifully let her rest as he walked back up to the old farmhouse.

He slipped inside and found Chance waiting eagerly by the door. He smiled and gave the dog a few pets, then walked into the kitchen and poured him some food. The cookbook flapped its pages, and he gave it a nod as he sat down.

"Make me some ham sandwiches," he spoke quietly, hoping not to disturb Tess. A moment later, though, the stairs creaked, and she walked

into the kitchen as the food appeared on the table in front of him. "Morning!"

"Morning." She sighed and sat down across from him. Without needing to say a word, the cookbook whipped up a bowl of red oatmeal for her, and she began to eat silently. Jason tucked into his lunch, and when they finished, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Jason."

"It's okay." He put on a brave face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I was just... I was in the living room last night, and I was just thinking about things, and..." Tess shrugged. "I know it sounds stupid to keep harping on all this, but I was just thinking about us, and about our family, and about how I'm still not pregnant, and about my father, and about Daniel, and about... I don't know. A lot of things."

She looked down at the bowl and shrugged. "And part of me thinks that I should just go back into town and take out all my aggression in the dungeon, because hey, if I'm still not getting pregnant, what more harm could it cause? But then I just think about all the potential consequences, and I just..."

She didn't say anything again for a long while.

"And now I've slept in and made you harvest everything by yourself. What a great wife I am."

"You're just struggling." Jason smiled encouragingly. "I used Lady, so that Angus would still be good and strong for you if you happened to wake up. You can go out riding, or whatever you'd prefer to do. Just get the rest you need."

Tess nodded, then frowned and shook her head. "No. I have to help you. That's my job."

She scowled and rose, then turned and strode upstairs without another word. Jason shrugged, finished up his meal, and then rose and made his way outside. Chance began to bark and race about the yard, snapping at the crabgrasses, and Jason leaned against the side of the house and waited. A few minutes later, Tess came out, dressed in her green farm dress. She sighed at him, then nodded at the field.

"Let me take a turn on the harvester."

"Trust me, you do not-"

"Yes, I do." Tess's face was firm. "I want to help you."

Jason looked into her eyes, then smiled and nodded. A few minutes

later, they had Angus hitched up to the harvester, and off they went. Jason

watched from the fence, and grimaced as the plume of dust exploded up into Tess's face. On she went, on and on and on. After three passes, she came to a halt just next to him, and Jason flashed a small smile.

"You okay?"

"I can honestly say that very few dungeons I've fought through have been less pleasant than this." Tess scowled. Her face was coated in the dust, and her hair was plastered to her back. Jason briefly realized that he likely looked quite similar, and wondered what Tess must have thought when she came down. "I've got this, though. You just stay there."

Jason inclined his head, and Tess went off once more. Down and back, down and back, until the field was finished. Her head was held high in a posture of defiance, like a statue in an ancient ruin. Jason sighed as he watched her. She was trying so hard... He only hoped that she was able to stay strong, and wouldn't shatter like so many of those statues she seemed to be emulating.

When the field was finally completed, Tess took the harvester back into the lean-to, and Jason took out a rag and began to wipe it down. He could only imagine what the flax dust might do to the machine, and he was in no hurry to find out if his suspicions were correct. Angus was covered in dust, so much that his black coat looked gray, and Tess could have been a monster from the pits of one of her dungeons. She staggered off the harvester, but took a deep breath.

"There. I did it."

"You did." Jason reached out and took her hand, flashing a small smile as he did so. "Now, why don't you head inside and take a shower? I'll get the horses cleaned up and put away, and then I'll come and join you inside for dinner."

Tess thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay out here and get all that done. You go get yourself cleaned up. Just make sure to make something good for dinner."

Jason flashed her a small smile. Just like the winter, she was falling into the habit of needing to do something... But maybe that wasn't entirely a bad thing. He nodded and turned around, striding up toward the house.

They were nearing a year of marriage together, and Jason was growing concerned. Tess was struggling more than ever, as if she were being torn between two worlds. He didn't have the faintest idea how he could help her, but he desperately hoped that the letter to her father would

pan out. If it didn't, or if it somehow made Tess even worse... well... He didn't even want to think about that possibility.

Chapter Thirty-Five – Old Books

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 41st day of Spring! 50 days until the Spring Festival! We're nearing the halfway point through the season, folks! Nothing terribly important happening today, thankfully. High winds expected tomorrow, but today looks like a great day to get outside and enjoy the weather!]

Jason's eyes flickered open, and he slowly rose. A glance beside him revealed that Tess was missing... again. He sighed and rolled out of bed, noticing that Chance was gone, too. That made him hopeful that she had just woken up early, as opposed to staying up late. As he walked up to the window, though, he looked out to see that the horses were clearly still in the stable. Wherever Tess was, she hadn't gotten the horses ready, which didn't bode well.

He quickly changed into overalls, then made his way downstairs. Chance met him at the bottom, his tongue hanging eagerly out of his mouth. Jason poured him some food, then walked into the living room, where Tess lay sprawled across the couch. She had a book in her hands, one of Alfredus's old books about monster-summoning in the old province of Southern Illis, and Jason carefully took it from her grasp and set it on the table. She had started a small fire in the hearth, likely to read by, and it had burned down low overnight. Jason tossed a bit of water on the coals, eliciting a soft hiss, then walked into the kitchen and prepared himself a breakfast of pancakes.

He had been eating by himself more and more, and that worried him more than a little bit. Back when winter had been in full swing, there had been hope that spring would bring relief. Now that spring was here, Tess seemed to have fallen into full depression, and it was leaving him more than a little hopeless. Still, though, he squared his shoulders and drew himself up as he walked toward the front of the house.

"Today is a new day," he whispered softly as he pulled the door open. Chance bolted outside to start chasing monsters, and he forced a

smile onto his face. "I've got to-"

Something rattled in the mail slot, and he frowned. Reaching inside,

he found a small envelope from Hank. A flash of hope flickered across his face, and he tore it open.

"Hey, Jason! This is Hank. Just wanted to let you know that the other townships relinquished their claim on Winter Shandy, so it's all yours! You can come in anytime you want to sign the paperwork, but the sooner the better, probably. Strictly speaking, if anyone else came in and wanted to buy it, I couldn't really do a lot to stop them. Hope to see you soon!"

Jason felt a grin flickering across his face, and he strode out into the yard. It didn't take long for him to take the horses out to the corral and pour them some feed, all the while Chance raced back and forth. The moment that they were done eating, Jason saddled up Angus, mounted up, and rode off toward town.

As always, he found himself utterly amazed at just how powerful Angus truly was. His enormous legs ate up the distance, and in what felt like little more than the blink of an eye, he was carried up and into the town square. Angus snorted as he drew up to a halt, and was obviously brimming with the energy needed to run another fifty miles.

"Hey, Jason!" Obadiah called out from the town well. "Hank told me that you'd probably be along today. How goes it!"

"It goes!" Jason smiled as he swung down from Angus and started leading him to the hitching rail in front of Hank's office.

"Here, let me take him." Obadiah hopped up and walked over to Jason's side. "I know Tess is always worried about it since she's not technically with the guild anymore, but Angus and Lady will always have a place in our stable. Yes, you will, Angus," he cooed to the enormous horse as he led away the great beast, and Jason chuckled and walked up to the door of Hank's building. He knocked sharply on the door, and there was a long pause.

"Come in!" Hank called out. "Unless you're from the Dungeon Guild, and then be warned that I have a license to shoot trespassers!"

Jason chuckled and stepped inside. Hank sat behind his desk, and was, indeed, polishing the barrel of his pistol. He put it away as Jason walked inside, and Jason raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Trouble?"

"Nothing we haven't gone through before." Hank shrugged. "I don't understand it all, but you remember all those secret rooms that keep getting found down in the dungeon?"

Jason nodded. "What about them?"

"Another one just appeared or something, this time on the second floor. Daniel's positive that it wasn't there a week ago, which means that they're getting added in secret-like. It's got Obadiah tied into a proper knot, though it's actually bringing a slew of warriors into town that probably wouldn't have come otherwise." Hank shrugged. "None of that's important for you, though, since you're not really involved with any of that anymore. Now, let's get this done before someone else swoops in and snatches up this patch of real estate!"

Jason chuckled and shook his head. "Hank, I don't think this is really on the radar of many people."

"You'd think that, but I have it on good authority that at least a few other people have gone to look at the property. If that dragon hadn't smashed the things to bit, I think you'd be facing some pretty stiff competition." Hank shrugged and laid out a handful of papers. "Now, here you go. Just sign on all these lines here, and then we'll get the premium paid, and you'll be good to go!"

Jason smiled as he started signing.

"You should recognize pretty much all of it." Hank continued. "It's virtually the same thing you had to sign when you bought the Far Eighty. The only real difference is the inclusion of a historical clause, which just says that you won't utterly destroy the old dungeon."

"I can build over it though, right?" Jason had a momentary flash of fear.

"Oh, yeah! And in practice they aren't really going to check up on you at all, they just want to make sure that you don't reduce the thing to rubble and prevent future archeologists from finding things." Hank shrugged. "The clause also says that you have to allow historians to come out and look at the place if they want to. I didn't figure you'd care that much."

Jason chuckled and shook his head. "Honestly, I'd prefer that they came. I've got a lot of questions about the place, which they could probably answer."

"I figured as much." Hank took back the pages as Jason signed them. "And... There we go! Done and done. Let me just file these away..." He dropped the last of the papers into a large, manilla envelope. "Perfect. The premium will be... Let's see... One million shandys, rounded down."

Jason blinked in surprise. "One million?"

"You're buying close to two hundred acres," Hank emphasized. "That's a lot of ground, and it has a historical site on it. You're honestly lucky I can get it down that low! The initial bid from Illumitir suggested selling it at five million!"

Jason whistled, though not at the price. "There are two hundred acres? I thought it was closer to twenty or thirty!"

"There's a plat map here that should outline it all." Hank pulled a piece of paper back out of the folder, which he slid across the desk. "Here you go. I can section it up if you want, but that'll take time, which leaves the thing open for purchase."

Jason shook his head as he looked at the map. It showed an enormous chunk of the land, connecting to his Far Eighty and running out into the woods far past the location of the town ruins. He traced his finger across the landscape, then looked back up at Hank.

"All of this will be mine?"

"Yup. Makes you wonder what all else might be hidden there." Hank chuckled. "Ought to provide you with years of exploration!"

"Indeed." Jason whispered softly, then nodded. "I've got the money. Let's do it."

The premium was quickly transferred, and Jason sighed in delight.

"There you have it! You now own the entire town of Winter Shandy, the accompanying dungeon, and whatever else happens to lie on that land that no one else knows about." Hank chuckled. "Have fun!"

"I will." Jason turned to leave, then paused. "Thanks, Hank, Your assistance here has meant the world to me."

"Don't mention it. After what you and Tess have done for the town, it's the least I can do. Plus, my township just gained two hundred acres, which officially makes it the thirty-ninth largest township in the province of Illumitir! Take that, Deerstone Abby! Now you know what it's like to be ranked in the forties!"

Jason just laughed. "And when are we forming the pose to attack Darkwater?"

"If Jeremiah has his way, next Tuesday." Hank chuckled.

Jason laughed loudly at that, then turned and walked out into the town square. He started walking over toward Paulina's store, but drew up short as he caught sight of Daniel coming hard around the corner of the Guild Hall.

"Little farmer!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Giant warrior! What's up?"

Daniel didn't answer, but scooped up Jason and tossed him roughly

over his shoulder, then turned and jogged back toward the Guild Hall. Jason could do little more but come along for the ride, and a moment later, he had been carried inside the enormous building.

Inside, warriors turned to look at him as if he had sprouted two extra heads. Daniel set him down, then grinned and waved.

"Sorry, everyone! Nothing to see here!"

The warriors all raised their eyebrows, then turned back to their conversations. Jason regarded the interior of the building, and realized, in that moment, that he hadn't actually seen the inside since Obadiah had taken over.

When Tess had been the guildmaster, the place had been a bit of a mess. Couches had been spread here and there, more or less arrayed around the hearth and other focal points. There hadn't been a table in the room, unless you counted the bar where Tess had also served as the bartender. Now, though, a long table stretched from the far end of the room until about three-quarters of the way to the hearth. The remaining distance had been filled with large, padded chairs that seemed to have been reinforced against the ultra-heavy warriors that sometimes came through. Small tables sat between each of these chairs, where the warriors stored their drinks, extra weapons, and trophies. It looked far classier, though Jason knew that he should never breathe a word of that opinion to Tess.

"All right, what's this about?" Jason finally turned to Daniel, as the far larger warrior led him to a corner of the building, where small booths had been set up, presumably for more clandestine meetings and dealings. He could only imagine that Jeremiah had begged Obadiah to put the fixtures in. Daniel didn't speak until they were seated in the booth, away from prying eyes.

"Sorry." Daniel muttered as he got comfortable. "I didn't want Tess seeing me snag you. Now, if she does happen to come inside, she won't see

us immediately."

Jason blinked. "Daniel, Tess is still back on the farm."

Daniel coughed. "Ahh! Well... I did not know that."

"Daniel..."

"It's here." Daniel reached into his inventory and took out a brown

envelope. "Here. Open it! I've been dying of curiosity ever since it came, but I told myself no, that I needed to wait."

Jason's heart nearly stopped as he looked at the envelope. The return address was listed as Richard Wolfheart, in the Volcanic Province. He breathed softly, then slowly slit the envelope open and pulled out a large piece of paper.

"Jason," Jason began to read softly, and Daniel leaned closer. "Your letter was a good one. I hadn't thought about things in such a way, though how in Illumitir you managed to learn about Western Reach Ale, I don't know. I'll come talk to you. You, not Tess. Not yet. I'll be in Summer Shandy in one month, and will send a message to Daniel to show you where I am. Now I'm going to send this before I change my mind. Richard Wolfheart."

Jason's jaw slowly dropped as he read the letter. He read it a second time, and then a third. When he finally looked up and met Daniel's face, he found the warrior with tears brimming in his eyes.

"Oh, Jason!" He gasped. "Tess is going to get to meet her father!"

"Maybe." Jason held up a finger. "Maybe she's going to meet her father." Still, though, he felt tears rising up in his own eyes. He took a deep breath, then nodded at Daniel. "Thank you. I never could have done it without you."

He looked down at the paper, and suddenly noticed that there were small blotches all over it. They had dried, but... Richard had been crying when he wrote the reply. That, if nothing else, meant that he really had been touched.

"I'll let you know in a month when he gets here." Daniel spoke softly. "And I won't tell Tess! I promise."

"Good." Jason took a deep breath, and felt a proper smile breaking across his face. "We're going to get this sorted out, yet.

Chapter Thirty-Six – Field Work

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 50th day of Spring! 41 days until the Spring Festival! All right, folks, we're on the home stretch! Not that we really care as much about getting to the end of spring as we did to the end of winter, but... Well... You know what I'm trying to say! If you have stuff to get done in the Spring, now's the time! Don't get to the last few days, and then realize that you're going to have to wait another nine months for things to come around!]

Jason heard Tess stifle a cry just next to him, and he rose and put his arm around her. She looked up at him, bleary-eyed, and he sighed.

"How long have you been awake?"

She shrugged, then slowly rose and stepped up to the window. Jason joined her, and they looked out across the landscape below. A field of rye, brown and robust, was growing up, though a smattering of flax was scattered throughout the whole thing. As it turned out, not harvesting the entire crop meant that whatever wasn't harvested just fell back to the ground. Jason wasn't particularly worried, but it did make the place look quite a bit more run-down.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I don't know." Tess sighed and shrugged noncommittally. "Honestly, at this point, I really don't have a clue. I just know that everything hurts. It doesn't physically hurt, it just... Getting out of bed, moving around, it all feels like there are ropes tied to my limbs, and the ropes are all tied to rocks, and the rocks are all just mountains, and-"

She shrugged and slumped, and Jason put a hand on her arm.

"You could go out for a ride, if that would help."

"I've been out for rides. Loads of them."

"Then..." Jason shrugged. "We could harvest a day or two early.

Rye is pretty robust, we could handle that, and it would give you something to do."

Tess shook her head. "That sounds like way too much work."

"Okay..." Jason held up his hands. "We could go out to the old dungeon, which, you'll recall, I now own. We now own,." he corrected himself.

"You might as well be the owner," Tess lamented. "I'm not going to be able to do anything with it, anyway."

Jason sighed and looked down at the ground. Tess's struggles were rapidly turning into full-blown depression. Theresa had offered to prescribe her some herbs that could help, but Tess had turned her away. Jason was thankful enough for that, though he feared what might have to be done if her depression couldn't be turned around. She changed into her blue dress and started down the stairs, and he looked after her sadly. She couldn't do dungeons out of fear of injuring her body, but her body also didn't seem capable of pregnancy anyway. Combine that with her father, and it left her in a state that Jason deeply pitied. He would have given anything to see his wife feeling better, but he was growing more and more clueless about how to get it done.

He walked down the stairs, and found her sitting at the table, not really moving. He quickly fixed up some breakfast for them, but she only took a few bites out of the pancakes before she just shrugged and slumped back in the chair. He bit his lip, then shrugged.

"Do you... want to help me..."

"You go do what you need to do." Tess flashed a smile at him. She rose and cleared away the dishes, then walked into the living room. "I'll be in here. I don't want to ruin your day, or anything."

A hot remark rose to Jason's mouth, something about how she could help his day by snapping out of it, but he swallowed the response before it could emerge. Instead, he rose and flashed a comforting smile at her, then walked out into the yard with Chance hot on his heels. The dog began yapping and chasing the monsters, and Jason slowly walked over to let out the horses. He poured their feed, then leaned against the fence rails and tried to figure out what he would do for the day.

He was still standing there when the ground began to rumble. He turned and looked out at the road, and smiled broadly as a load of cattle began to come tromping on past. Jeremiah's hired men rode at the front of the herd, driving them on, as hundreds upon thousands of the beasts came on past, up toward Summer Shandy where they would be sold. Jeremiah

came by a moment later, seated high upon his horse, and pulled off to the side as Jason watched the procession.

"Howdy, neighbor!" Jeremiah grinned.

"Howdy!" Jason waved back. "You look busy today!" After a moment, he frowned. "Seems like it's been a hot minute since the last time I saw you bring a herd through here."

Jeremiah chuckled. "Well, you remember all those issues I was having with the Illumitir authorities over the treatment for wyrms?"

Jason nodded. "As I recall, your cattle were getting eaten by monsters, so you were using some sort of medicine to keep the monsters away, but they were upset because it wasn't safe for humans."

"Allegedly." Jeremiah held up a finger. "Let's be clear about it. I've been eating meat from treated cattle all my life! Well... part of my life. I suppose they only came out with the medicine about a decade back, and... Anyway, it was frustrating," Jeremiah explained. "I had to start running my cattle over to Darkwater instead of Summer Shandy. They have a buyer there that ships internationally, so you can get around some of those laws. Not get around, I suppose, but they have less harsh regulations on that sort of thing in other places."

"And that changed?" Jason chuckled. "What'd you do, attack Illumitir when I wasn't looking?"

"I wish!" Jeremiah shook his head. "Delilah wouldn't let me. Nah, I contacted the company, and they were able to synthesize a variety that conforms to Illumitir 'standards' while also remaining somewhat effective." After a moment, he snorted. "You know where those standards come from, right? Someone's pocketbook. There was probably someone from a rival medicine company that wanted a share, so they went to the residents of Illumitir and made up a big scare campaign, and everyone bit onto it, hook, line, and sinker, and then bam! Little farmers like me are the ones who get hurt."

"Jeremiah, I know how much those cattle sell for. You're no little farmer." Jason laughed.

"Touché, my friend! You wound me!" Jeremiah laughed and started back toward the road. "Well, at least for now, I can sell in Summer Shandy again! If I'm right, though, it'll only be a few weeks before they manage to ban this too! Mark my words, this will reveal their true colors!"

He rode off, still complaining about different politics and things, and Jason shook his head and laughed silently. He continued to watch until the cattle had all gone by, then turned to see Tess walking out onto the grass. She joined him, and climbed up on the rails to watch the cattle vanishing off into the distance.

"Sometimes, I wish we had cattle. More livestock, at least." She sighed.

"I tried cattle once. Woke up in Theresa's healing den, so I'd rather avoid that if at all possible." Jason chuckled, then glanced at the field. He was still debating about harvesting it, but in all reality, that was simply out of boredom. The yield would be far better if he waited, so he forced himself to stay still. "Now, we could try chickens if you wanted. I've heard from Paulina and Jeremiah that they're fairly low-maintenance. They're a good starter animal, for learning how to do things."

Tess thought for a moment, then flashed a smile. "Let's do it." She paused. "How do we start?"

"Are you sure you want to try and tackle chickens?" Jason asked. "With... you know..."

"I know I haven't exactly been the most help recently," Tess acknowledged, "but... without being pregnant and all... Having a bunch of chickens and chicks around the farmyard sounds like a lot of fun!"

"Then that's what we'll do," Jason affirmed. "We have to start by building a chicken coop. I still have plenty of wood on hand, so unless you'd like to go up and buy a set of blueprints from Paulina, we can start at least that much today."

"Let's do it." Tess nodded. "Surely it can't be that hard, right? You just put up a little house, and then have a bunch of boxes for the chickens to nest in?"

Jason shrugged. "I dunno. Let's give it a whirl!"

He walked over next to the stable, and while Chance chased crabgrasses and other monsters around the area, they took out some wood and set to work. First, they dug some holes and sank in posts for the four corners, then spread out some gravel to help serve as a foundation. Tess put up boards along the side of the gravel, connecting the four posts, to help hold the foundation together, and then Jason began to settle boards down across the top of the gravel. By the time that lunch came around, they had built the floor of the structure. It wasn't a large building, ten feet by twenty,

but it was a good start. Jason's back ached as he and Tess walked up into the house, but he said nothing as they sat down and ate a quick lunch.

When they finished eating, they rose and went back outside, where they found an assortment of monsters already snapping at the foundation. Jason drew his sword and chased away several crabgrasses and histles, then got into a duel with a razorgrass. When he finally dispatched the creature, he joined Tess, and they began building the structure once again.

With the floor built, the rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Walls rose up from the ground, and they made it about three feet high before they both ran out of actions. Wiping off their brows, they stepped back to admire the work, and Jason flashed a small smile.

"What do you think of that?" He grinned at Tess. "Not a bad day's work, eh?"

"No, indeed." Tess sighed, breathing heavily. She and Jason walked back up onto the porch of the home, where they sat down and leaned back in their chairs. It was still an hour or more until sundown, and Jason sighed deeply as the evening began to set on. "Jason?"

"Hmm?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. "I know I'm kind of a mess at the moment. Honestly, I don't even know how I'm really doing right now, just that... I don't know." She flashed a crooked smile. "I feel like most guys wouldn't put up with half of what I'm putting you through, and you're just sticking with me."

Jason shrugged. "I'm here for you, and that's all that you need to know."

Tess smiled at him, then leaned back again. Jason closed his eyes, and began to think back. It was strange... In some ways, it felt as though Tess hadn't put him through anything. In other ways, he felt utterly beaten. After a few minutes, he decided that Tess really wasn't putting anything on him, per se, but just seeing her in such a state was enough to make his own heart ache. How desperately he wanted to be what she needed! How desperately he wanted her to be able to rely fully on him.

"Today was good," Tess finally whispered. "We got out, and we did things. In a day or two, we'll harvest. It's... It's good."

"It is," Jason whispered back. "It really is."

His thoughts were broken by the patter of hooves on the ground, and Jeremiah's voice split the air.

"You two look like you just spent the day breaking your back, but it's only the middle of the afternoon!" Jeremiah called out. "Just going to laze the day away, huh?"

Jason snorted. "I used up all my actions building a henhouse! I'd still be out there if I wasn't limited on what I could do! What did you do all day? Sat on a horse and got paid loads of money!"

Jeremiah laughed, then rode on with his farm hands. Jason glanced over at Tess, but found that her face was already turning downward.

"Wait." He held up a hand as she stood up and started into the house. "What is it?"

"I don't want to be lazy," she muttered. "I'll be... I'll be in the house. Maybe I can clean something. Be a useful housewife."

"You're plenty useful!" Jason called after her, but she didn't answer. A moment later, she was gone, and Jason glared after the receding back of Jeremiah. He didn't mean the old man any harm, Jeremiah hadn't meant anything by the comment, but it had hurt Tess nonetheless. He sighed and rose to his feet, moving to follow her. He didn't want her to accidentally hurt herself, or do anything rash, just because she was hurting. In the back of his mind, the future meeting with her father rose ever-larger in his mind. More and more, he was convinced that it was the only thing that was going to help her... He could only hope, desperately, that it would actually manage to do just that.

Chapter Thirty-Seven – Meeting Place

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 71st day of Spring! 40 days until the Spring Festival! Let's see what we've got here... Light rains throughout the day, probably dissipating into scattered showers tonight! Nothing terribly interesting at all, though you're bound to get a mite damp if you go outside at all!]

Jason's eyes snapped open the moment the messages came through. It was the day that had been agreed-upon as the date where he would meet Tess's father. A week earlier, Daniel had delivered a message stating that the meeting was still on, and that her father wanted to meet out at the old dungeon, of all places. Jason couldn't understand why, but he didn't ask any questions. Daniel hadn't said anything more, except for the statement that he wouldn't be coming in the ordinary route, but that they would head cross-country from Summer Shandy.

Jason rose and ran to the window, where he looked out across the farm. A fresh crop of rye was sprouting up in the field, though it was still almost two weeks away from being ready to harvest. Tess was nowhere to be seen, which, for once, Jason actually appreciated. He changed quickly into overalls, then scampered down the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could.

It didn't take long to locate Tess. She was sprawled across the couch, fast asleep. This time, the book in her hands was about fighting older types of dragons, when and if they happened to spawn into modern lands. Jason briefly considered trying to take the volume out of her hands, then decided against it. He didn't want to accidentally disrupt her sleep. Carefully, he crept into the kitchen and fed Chance, then ate a quick and quiet meal. His stomach was doing so many tosses and turns that he could only eat a small amount, which, of course, he knew would come back to haunt him. That done, he slipped to the front door and started to put on his boots.

His fingers fumbled across the laces, and he forced himself to breathe slower and to actually lace up the boots properly. When he finally finished, he opened the door to let Chance out, and the dog happily bounded off into the farmyard. He barked loudly at something, probably a razorgrass, and Jason winced as Tess turned over in her sleep. She sighed without waking up... And the book slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor.

Thump!

The noise echoed through the house, and Jason winced again as she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Jason? Is it morning?"

"Yeah, but you can go back to sleep." Jason soothed her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay." Tess sighed and stood up. "I'm going to beat this. I... I'm going to come with you today. I just need a minute to wake up. What's the plan?"

Jason's mind flooded white with fear. The one day that Tess was actually feeling up to doing something was the day that he really, really needed her to just stay home.

"I... I'm going out." He stammered. "I won't be long. Maybe."

Tess's eyes narrowed. "You're acting really strange, Jason. What's going on?"

"Going on? Nothing's going on."

Tess swung her legs off the couch and slowly climbed to her feet. Her face became awash with worry, and she ran up to him.

"Jason, I... You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Leaving! No!" Jason snapped. "I'm not leaving you, I'd never leave you!"

"Not leaving leaving, but you're going off on your own for a while." Tess sighed. "I've driven you to the point of needing to get away from me."

"No!" Jason held up his hands. "It's not that!"

"Then what is it?" Tess asked. "Please, I'm your wife! You have to tell me."

"I wish I could." Jason sighed. "I... Please, you have to trust me."

Tess sighed deeply. "What's going on, Jason? You have me worried."

"Maybe I'm sneaking off to town to buy something for you from Paulina." Jason suggested. "Maybe I'm setting up something to hopefully

help you feel better."

"The fact that you even suggested those two things means that it

isn't actually what you're doing." Tess turned and started walking toward the kitchen.

"I'm not..." Jason grabbed for anything he could think of. Nothing came to mind, and he sighed deeply. "I'm not trying to hurt you, Tess, and I'm not trying to pull away. I'm trying to help you, and that much I can promise!"

"Then you're doing something that I'll like? That I'll approve of?" Tess turned around. "You're not going out with Jeremiah, are you?"

"Not Jeremiah, no."

"So you're going out with someone." Tess demanded. Jason faltered, and she snapped her fingers. "You are!"

"Tess, I really do have to get going." Jason started to back up. "I wish I could promise you that what I'm doing will turn out well, but I'm afraid that I can't. What I can tell you is that I love you, and I'm doing this for you. Okay, bye!"

He turned and rushed out the door. Unfortunately, he agreed wholeheartedly with Daniel on at least a few points. If Tess found out that her father was so close, and still refused to see her... well... It wasn't going to go well, that was for sure.

Jason fed the horses quickly, then saddled up Angus. He caught glimpses of Tess watching him through the window, but tried not to think about it too much. When he finished saddling Angus, he climbed up, then rode off down the road toward Summer Shandy.

He waited until he had gone out of view of the house before he turned and cut across the prairie. From there, the landscape necessitated that he rise up within sight of the farm on several occasions, and here he hurried across the open space as quickly as he could. Finally, he dropped down and away from the farm, moving permanently out of sight of the distant house. Ahead, the Far Eighty drew closer, until finally he came over the last rise and rode down toward the small cabin.

Smoke already curled from the chimney, and two horses were hitched up outside. One was Daniel's enormous red stallion. The other was a much smaller, chestnut mare that looked a great deal like Lady, in many respects. She was more solid, a proper horse for war, but the similarities were impossible to miss. Jason soon rode Angus down to the hitching rail,

tied up Angus, and slowly dismounted. Feeling as though he were walking through molasses, he came up to the front door, then slowly grabbed hold of the doorknob and walked inside.

"Hey, there, little farmer!" Daniel exclaimed from the stove, where he was cooking up some steaks. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

"It is my cabin." Jason muttered in reply, then slowly turned to face the far end of the cabin. Standing there, fidgeting nervously, was a man who could have been the spitting image of a male version of Tess.

His hair hung around his ears, was quite shaggy, and was the same dirty-brown color that Tess sported. His eyes were blue, and his face was almost exactly the same shape. He was a bit taller, perhaps four or five inches, but nothing extraordinary. His armor was simple, almost identical to Tess's standard uniform armor, and was emblazoned with a lion sigil. He looked old, as his face was covered with worry lines and scars and burns. He coughed and leaned against the wall, striking almost the exact same pose that Tess would have done in the same situation.

"Richard?" Jason ventured after a moment.

"That's me." Richard coughed. "In the flesh, or what's left of me." "He's almost as small as you, little farmer!" Daniel chuckled as he

flipped the steaks over with a hiss. "Maybe I should call him-"

"Call me anything but Richard, and I'll show you how experienced of a warrior I am." Richard snapped at Daniel, then sighed and forced

himself to relax. "Sorry, I'm a little tense."

"I can understand." Jason flashed a small smile. "Thank you for

coming. I... I really appreciate it."

"It's not for you that I'm coming." Richard tapped his gauntlet-

covered fingers against the wall. "I came because of Tess. If what you say is true... If she sees me every time she looks at you... I've lived that life, and I don't want it for my little girl."

"Then you're ready to see her?" Jason ventured.

At that, Richard shrank back, and he sighed. "No. Not yet. I... I just wanted to talk to you, first. I'm easing my way into this, you know."

Jason felt a flash of anger, and he took a step toward his father-in- law. "The way Tess describes you, you were the greatest warrior that Illumitir ever saw. Where's that courage? Right now, I wouldn't trust you to clear a slime dungeon."

Daniel put his hand over his mouth. "Burn!"

Richard flinched, but sighed and nodded. "You're right. I'm nothing but a coward. I've been a coward for years now, and I'm man enough to admit it."

"Well, why don't you man up a bit more, sit right down, and tell me exactly what happened?" Jason nodded at a nearby chair.

"I think I'll-"

A flash of anger surged through Jason, and he drew his pistol and pointed it at Richard's chest. The man's eyes went wide, and he sat down. Jason held the weapon on him for a moment, then slowly replaced it.

"I see why Tess chose you." Richard stammered. "I have to admit, I was surprised that she chose to marry a farmer, but-"

"Talk."

"Right." Richard fumbled. "Where to begin? I... Ah..."

"Try starting with Tess's birth."

Richard nodded. "That would make sense. I... You see... I met my

wife in the dungeons. You already know that, I'm sure. It was the Sparkler Dungeon, about fifty miles west of Illumitir. It's a wonderfully romantic place. There are these living crystals that explode when you attack them, just like fireworks, and-" He caught sight of Jason's stern face, and continued. "Anyway, you won't care about that. There was this lovely girl there, and we fell in love. Her name was Falina. A lovely name, from overseas somewhere. We hit it off, and one thing led to another. We got married, and Tess was born."

He sat and fidgeted for a long moment.

"When Tess was born, you have to understand, I was overjoyed. I'd always wanted children, and to have her there, my very own daughter, in my arms, it was more than I could have ever dreamed of having. I was in love. She was my whole world. She was my everything, and I would have done anything for her." He sighed deeply. "I did do everything for her."

"What do you mean?" Jason snapped. "I've heard the stories. You kept dungeon-delving, and when she became a burden, you left her."

"That's... Yes. I understand why Tess thinks that." Richard folded his arms. "Tess's mother was... I have no wish to calumniate the dead, so I'll keep my descriptions brief, but you do have to understand a few things. She was impulsive. Erratic. I fell in love with her personality there in the dungeon. She was fun, she was always worth a smile, she was... She was

wonderful, in so many ways, but... Because of that impulsive personality, she couldn't sit still to take care of a child."

Tess's father sighed deeply and shuddered. "When Tess was first born, I tried to do what so many other warrior parents did. Falina stayed at home, while I went into the dungeons to fight. It worked for a short time, I was certainly pulling in enough money to support us, but I soon began to notice issues. I would come home and find Tess in her bassinet, but Falina would be gone. I would discover that she had... say... put Tess down for a nap, then had looked out the window and had seen a friend, and had utterly forgotten about her child. More than once, I would get home and find Falina sitting in her chair, but find Tess missing. On those occasions, as often as not, Falina might have gone to the store, set Tess down to weigh something, or maybe asked someone else to hold her for a few minutes, and had then become distracted and had come home without our daughter."

He sighed deeply, and Jason felt his heart beginning to swell for the old man.

"When Tess started being able to crawl, to walk, it became worse. I started coming back home from the dungeons to find Falina and Tess missing. There were days when I even found out that Falina had gone into the dungeons, and just left Tess wandering around the town. As time went on, all our neighbors started to take notice, and they kept an eye on things when I was gone, but it was a dangerous situation that was rapidly becoming worse." Richard shook his head slowly. "I think the final straw, the thing that really sealed the deal in the long run, was when Falina started becoming dangerous to herself. The doctors all had a different name for it, but the consensus was that she was going mad. She would draw her sword and attack shadows, she slaughtered more than a few livestock, and when she went into the dungeons, she would attack allies as much as foes. One time, she turned her back on a frost dragon because she thought it was something she had summoned in. I tried to get help for her, but she refused to take any medicine for it, and locking her up in a home for the insane proved to be impossible simply due to her extraordinary physical strength."

Jason nodded slowly. "What... what happened then?"

Richard could only shrug. "I did what I had to do. I just... I had to stick with Falina at any and all times. The authorities were starting to take notice, and... She was going to be taken out of the picture for public safety. I can't say that I blame them for that decision, but I knew that it was my

duty to keep her safe. To keep Tess safe. I could no longer leave her alone with Tess. I could no longer let Falina into the dungeons by herself. For a time, I tried to keep Falina out of the dungeons altogether, but when that happened, she started attacking civilians. I had to take her into the dungeons so she could vent her aggression, but that left an increasingly aware Tess alone on the surface. I had to ask for babysitters every few days, and it was always with the knowledge that Falina was getting more and more unstable, and that one or both of us might not come out of the dungeon. Still, though, I was determined to make it work."

There was a long pause. Daniel had ceased his own work, and was now staring at Richard with an open mouth. When Richard finally spoke again, it was with a mere whisper.

"The breaking point came when she attacked Tess. I don't remember what had happened, but Tess was still a child and was screaming about something, and Falina decided that Tess was a mimic that had crept out of the dungeon. I had to fight her off, and realized in that moment that Tess was no longer safe. I was then faced with a decision. Send my wife away, knowing that she would likely just kill someone else until she, too, was killed, or send my daughter away with someone who could take care of her. At the time, it seemed like the best option that would be able to keep everyone safe. I found the woman who wound up raising Tess, and... that was that."

He was silent for a long moment, and Jason shook his head.

"I had no idea."

Richard shrugged. "I'm sure Tess blocked all the horrid bits out of

her memory. That's how kids are, especially toward their mothers. And, all things considered, that's how I want it. I know she hates me now for it, and..."

Jason nodded slowly. "Then why not come back? When Falina finally died, why not come back to Tess?"

"What would I say?" Richard shrugged. "Hey, guess what? Your crazy mother is dead now, so we can finally have a relationship? When she hasn't seen me in so long?" He sighed. "I just... I don't know. I don't want her to hate her mother for things that Falina couldn't control. I know she hates Falina for leaving, and so be it, but... I don't know. Since I'm the one alive, I'd rather take all of that."

Jason flashed a small, pained smile at him. "You really are still protecting her, even beyond the grave."

"That's what you do as a husband." Richard sighed, then slowly stood up. "And that's what you're doing, too, which is why you managed to haul me out here."

"Then you'll see her?"

"Yes, I'll see her." Richard sighed. "I'm going to regret it, I know, but... You're right, Jason. I can set things right. Maybe the time to protect Falina is gone."

"No." Jason shook his head. "That was the job that you took on when you married her. You just... You also need to figure out how to protect Tess as a father, at least in some small fashion."

"Maybe so." Richard sighed. "Well, I need a few weeks to figure out what to say. The Spring Festival seems appropriate, I think."

"It's better than nothing." Jason nodded, then flashed a small smile. "Thanks." He rose and started for the door, then paused. "You can stay here as long as you need, though I would probably try to find better lodging if possible. Tess sometimes rides out this way, so it's possible that she'll come, and I don't think you want her finding you before you have the meeting planned."

"That I'll do, Jason." Richard rose, then held out his hand. Jason shook it, and Richard smiled. "Thank you. I do hope this works. I want Tess to accept me as a father again, and... Well... If that happens, I'd be honored to call you my son.

Chapter Thirty-Eight – Take It Easy

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 80th day of Spring! 11 days until the Spring Festival! It's almost here, folks! The Spring Festival is less than two weeks away! Oh, and the giant storm is only about a day away, so if you've got crops you need to get out of the ground, get it done soon! It's going to be a mess, that's for sure!]

"Eleven days." Jason whispered as he rolled out of bed. Chance leapt up at him, and he nimbly avoided the strike. Instead, Chance fell onto the bed, where he eagerly began licking Tess's face. "Almost there!"

"Why are you so fixated on the festival?" Tess asked as she sat up. "You haven't been able to stop talking about it ever since that day where you went off by yourself."

Jason froze. "I... I'm not!" Strictly speaking, it was true. He didn't really care about the festival... Just the things that were going to happen at the festival.

"Yes, you are." Tess scowled at him as she rose. "You're hiding something from me!"

"Will it help if I say that you're really going to like it?" Jason held up his hands as he walked up to the window. Looking out across the farm, he sighed deeply. There were dark clouds on the horizon, but his field of rye rippled in the soft winds. It was ready to be harvested, and he couldn't wait to get it done. "Are you helping today, or are you wanting to take it easy?"

"I want you to tell me what's going on!" Tess demanded. "Where did you go the other day?"

"What does it matter to you?" Jason snapped. "Don't you trust me?" "Of course I do!"

"Then why are you getting on me like this?"

"I don't know!" Tess practically screamed. She shook her head and

walked over to the wardrobe. She had soon changed into a work dress and went stomping downstairs. Jason puffed out his cheeks, then came down after her. She had fixed up a breakfast for him, but it was a simple salad,

without even eggs to supplement the greens. She fixed him with a glare as he started to eat, and he forced himself to relax.

Ever since that day, Tess had been far more energetic, that was for sure. As near as Jason could tell, she was funneling her depression into anger at him, which... He certainly didn't like it, but he also knew that she would forgive him for it, once everything was revealed.

"Please." He spoke softly as she glared at him. "I'm not doing you any harm, and... I mean, our anniversary is coming up. What's to say that I'm not just getting a really cool present ready for you?"

"The fact that you suggested it means that you're not."

Jason scowled down at his plate. "In a way, I sorta am," he mumbled.

"Jason, you know what I'm going through right now," Tess snapped. "Please, if you have anything that might brighten my life, you have to tell me."

Jason bit his lip.

"Jason, right now, everything in my life feels like it's dark and turned upside-down," Tess pleaded. "I can't get pregnant, I can't meet my own father, I can't get the energy to do anything around the farm, I've fallen behind on housecleaning, I... Please, if you know something that will brighten my day, you have to tell me."

"I can't," Jason whispered.

"Why?" Tess demanded.

"Because! I just can't," Jason sighed. "It involves someone else.

You'll find out, I promise."

Tess scowled and stuffed another bite of the lettuce into her mouth,

then gagged. Quickly, she spun and rushed up to the sink, where she vomited a great deal of soggy lettuce into the basin. She gasped with the pain, then sighed and slunk back to her chair.

"Sorry," she whispered. "And now I have myself so worked up that I just threw up everywhere. I'm the worst."

She rose from her chair a moment later and staggered into the living room, where she collapsed on the couch. Jason grimaced and rose, cleaned off his plate, cleaned up the sink, and then quietly made himself a small plate of sausage to supplement the somewhat lacking breakfast. As he finished them, he walked out into the living room, where he forced a smile to his face and draped a blanket over his wife.

"Take it easy for the day," he whispered. "I'm going to go get the harvest done. If you could have some lunch ready when I get inside, I'd appreciate it, but I can get it myself if you need the time off."

Tess started to sob as he walked away. "I'm not sure I can, Jason."

Jason bit his lip, but nodded. A few minutes later, he was out in the farmyard, and strode over to the stable. There, he let out the horses and started getting the harvester ready. When he was done, he soon had Angus hitched up to the machine, and set off rumbling toward the field.

The rye was a lovely, dark-brown color, and a smile split across his face as he tore into the grain. Where flax had been an absolute nightmare, rye had proven to be the exact opposite. It was hard to explain, but the blades made the loveliest crinkle-snap noise as they tore through the stalks, and the dust actually had a rather wonderful, breadish sort of smell. On top of that, the dust wasn't bad at all. It was a crop that Jason had every intention of returning to when the next season came around.

Down and back he went, down and back. In what felt like no time at all, he had completed nearly half the field. The sun shone down from the noon position, even as clouds darkened on the horizon and threatened to push closer. It looked like a nasty one, to be sure, and Jason shuddered at the thought of what that might look like. Tess really didn't need the farm getting torn up on top of everything else she was facing.

He pulled the machine to a stop as he went to his lunch break. Angus snorted, and he led the enormous horse back to the corral before walking back up and into the house. Tess was still lying on the couch in the exact same position where he had left her, and a flash of annoyance came over him. He swallowed it down just as quickly as he could, then sighed and walked up to her.

"Are you hungry for anything?"

"No," Tess whispered, "I'm not."

Jason inclined his head, then walked into the kitchen and made

himself a few sandwiches. He sat down and ate, then sighed, rose, and walked back out and sat down on the floor next to the couch. Tess peeked out from under the blanket as he munched on the food, and she gave a small sniff.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly.

"I'm sitting here with you," Jason explained. "I love my wife, and I'm going to stick with her even if she's struggling. Especially if she's

struggling."

"You say that now." Tess puffed out her cheeks. "Imagine if I'm still

like this in ten years. You'll just ignore me. I'll be a lump on the couch. You'll invite people over, and they won't even notice me. I'll just be a misshapen blob that lives here in your house."

"You won't be like that." Jason flashed a small smile. "I've seen you before. You're the epic warrior woman, Tess. Tess the great, Tess the protector! You'll be that way again sometime, mark my words."

"What if I never am?"

"You used to have a town to protect," Jason reminded her. "Right now, you don't have anything holding your attention the same way. You'll get better."

"And what if I don't?" Tess demanded. "What if we have children, and I can't do anything but lay here on the couch. They would be taking care of me."

A brief image came to Jason's mind, of himself being placed in the same position as Richard. He shook it out of his head, then forced a small smile.

"You won't be like that. Like I said, when you have responsibilities that you have to face, you'll be able to take care of them."

"Maybe."

Another flash of annoyance came over Jason. "I'm trying to help you, Tess. Don't give into despair. This will pass."

"If you truly were trying to help me, you'd be honest with me about what you were doing," Tess snapped.

"Don't put that on me!" Jason snapped back. "Just trust me!"

Tess rolled her eyes and turned away. "Okay. I'll trust you."

Her tone made it quite clear that she did not, in fact, trust him, and

he sighed deeply. He drummed his fingers on the floor, then shrugged and rose.

"Well, I'm heading back out to work. You can either come with me, or you can stay here and mope."

Tess didn't move, and he briefly wondered if the words had been too harsh. He nearly went back to apologize, but decided that doing so would only result in even harsher words, so he slowly walked back out onto the front porch.

From there, he soon had Angus hitched back up, and they re-entered the field with a vengeance. Angus seemed to sense Jason's frustration, and plodded along even faster than usual. The blades whirred, the grain was cut down, and Jason did his best to focus on the task at hand.

It wasn't easy to focus, as he found his mind drifting back to Tess more often than not. His thoughts alternated between those of frustration and those of pity. On one hand, he had every bit of sympathy for what she was going through. She had been placed in a situation utterly foreign to anything she had ever known, and she felt as though she was failing miserably at it. On the other hand... If she would just get off the couch and do something, she wouldn't feel as though she were failing! Jason's jaw clenched at that last thought, and he forced himself again to relax. She had pushed through the winter as best she could, and when things hadn't seemed to improve in the spring, it had just been a crushing blow that she hadn't been able to avoid.

"Richard, you had better come through," Jason whispered as the harvester rumbled on. "You had-"

Suddenly, the harvester struck a rock, and Jason was tossed roughly to one side. With his mind distracted, he lost his balance, and fell flailing toward the whirling blades. Thankfully, he passed mostly to one side... But his left arm, whacking on a support bar, grazed along the path of the harvester's deadly scythe.

"Ahh!" Jason screamed as he fell to the ground. Angus, less trained in farming than Lady, lumbered onward as Jason lay on the ground. Blood splattered across the ground, and Jason grimaced and forced himself upright. It wasn't a lot of blood; he certainly expected that he wouldn't bleed out then and there-- but he did need to get medical help soon. He forced himself upright and staggered toward the house, watching as Angus grew more and more distant.

"Help!" he called out loudly, his voice echoing across the empty farmstead. Somewhere in the house, Tess was lying on the couch, utterly unable to hear him. "Help!" His foot caught on a stone, and he fell headlong across the harvested field. He slowly pulled himself to his feet again, but swayed even as he did so.

He needed to get inside, and he needed to do so quickly. If not... well... He didn't want to think about those consequences.

Chapter Thirty-Nine – Storm & Safety

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 81st day of Spring! 10 days until the Spring Festival! You remember me mentioning that giant storm? Well, it's here, folks! I have reports of tornadoes and all sorts of other nasty things across the board, so make sure you're staying safe!]

Jason sighed as his eyes blinked open. He tried to roll out of bed, but his bandaged left arm was held tightly in a sling, and he only succeeded in falling flat on his face. He groaned in pain, from both the arm and from whacking his nose on the floor, and he struggled to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Tess asked, worried.

"Yeah." Jason grimaced. "Just flattened my face a bit, nothing too bad."

Tess sighed. "I'm sorry. Sorry I wasn't there to help yesterday. See? I'm just the worst."

"You are not 'the worst'." Jason staggered over to the window and looked across the darkened landscape. Thick, black clouds now covered the entire sky, and a fierce wind whipped across the prairie. The field, at least, was bare, largely thanks to Jeremiah and Daniel, who had come out and finished up the job while Theresa had bandaged Jason's arm. "You're just sick and struggling, and no one can blame you for that."

"You wouldn't have gotten injured if I was doing better, and you can't deny that."

Jason sighed and shook his head. He didn't want to start an argument with Tess, not so early in the morning. She walked up to him and looked out across the landscape, and he shivered.

"I love you," he whispered softly. "You know I'd do anything for you, right?"

"Yeah, and that'll probably get you hurt, too," Tess snapped and turned away, walking back over to the wardrobe.

"Don't beat yourself up," Jason tried to encourage her.

"I'll beat myself up if I want to," Tess snarled at him, turning to face him. "You're injured, and a lot of that is my fault. If I was doing better, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. You can't deny that!"

"Maybe not, but-"

"Ah-ha!" Tess grinned. "And there it is! You admit it!"

"I'm trying to say that-"

"Jason, give it up. I'm a mess, and that's that." Tess changed into

her green dress, then stalked down the stairs. "I'm sorry you got stuck with me."

Jason looked after her, then sighed deeply. He didn't regret marrying her, not for a moment, but it was strange. In so many ways, the powerful, warrior woman he had known was just... Gone. In other ways, he could still see her, brilliant and shining, right beneath the surface. She was cloaked, sure, but she was there.

He came walking down the stairs once he had rather awkwardly changed himself into a tunic. As he came down into the kitchen, he found her sitting at the table and staring blankly at an empty plate. With a flourish of his free right hand, he conjured an egg salad for her, and then a plate of waffles for himself. He smiled broadly at the meal, then sat down as Tess started to poke at hers.

"Come on," he encouraged. "Try it."

"Maybe some other time," Tess demurred, shaking her head. "I'm not hungry right now."

Jason thought for a moment. "Well... I love you. What do you want to do today?"

"Nothing."

"Should we clean?"

"Jason, I'm sick of cleaning," Tess snapped. "Yes, I realize I haven't

done any of it since winter, but looking through your uncle's old junk and finding live monster eggs isn't what I want to do today."

"All right..." Jason conceded. "Do you want to just sit outside and watch the storm? That could be fun."

Tess shrugged. "It's no more dangerous than staying inside."

"And you're a warrior!" Jason grinned. "Maybe if you see a tornado, it'll reawaken that old fighting spirit inside of you!"

Tess just shrugged. Jason sighed, then rose as he finished eating. He walked out onto the front porch after a few minutes (leaving Chance

inside), and set up the two chairs. He and Tess then sat down and looked out across the darkening prairie as the storm began to set upon them.

The wind began to pick up speed, running up out of the south. Jason looked in that direction, where the clouds were even blacker than anywhere else. He could see dark funnels descending from the clouds, tearing into the prairie with a vengeance, and he shuddered. There were three of them that he could count, and they soon began twisting and whirling back and forth, bouncing here and in seemingly random patterns.

"You think those are going to get close to us?" Jason felt fear growing in his heart as the great twisters began to whirl closer and closer.

Tess shrugged. "Probably. It would certainly fit with how terribly things have been going."

Jason held his breath. "Do... Do you need to go get your armor?"

One of the tornadoes charged north, and went careening along across their view, maybe a mile east of them. Jason winced, knowing that it had likely gone straight through Jeremiah's fences.

"No." Tess shook her head. "What's my armor going to do? I've been out of the fight for so long that I know I'd never be able to stop anything."

Jason ground his teeth together. One of the other tornadoes charged north as well, this one passing to the west of the house. Jason ran to the edge of the porch and leaned out to watch it go by. He couldn't tell for sure, but it looked to pass between the farm and the Far Eighty, where it ran up north toward Summer Shandy.

Slowly, fearfully, Jason turned and looked down toward the south once more. There was the final twister, and if he wasn't mistaken, it was flying straight at them. He had never seen one of them up close, and as it came down upon the farm, he became quite glad of that fact.

It was a classic funnel, set with two glowing eyes that remained set even amidst the whirling winds. The thing had no mouth... Or perhaps it was all mouth. The eyes were cold, and scowled as they tore down upon the small farm.

"Tess!" Jason leapt to his feet. "Do something!"

"I can't, Jason," Tess protested. "My arms and legs feel like they have weights tied to them."

"Then cut the weights off!"

"If I could have done that, don't you think I would have by now?" Tess practically screamed at him. "Is that why you brought me out here? Trying to scare me back into action?"

"It was worth a try!" Jason shuddered. "Come on! We have to get back inside!"

"Better to leave me out here." Tess remained seated. The air began to shake, and the tornado let out a roar. It was less than a mile away, and coming fast. They had mere seconds before it hit. "I'm no good to you."

"I am not leaving you to die!" Jason grabbed Tess's hands and yanked her up out of his chair. The roar of the tornado rose to a piercing growl, the entire landscape shook, and Jason looked up to see the great beast reaching the edge of his farm.

They were out of time.

"You will not harm my daughter, you windbag!"

The voice rang out above the commotion, and a silver blur erupted

across the farm. It was too fast to identify, but Jason knew the voice from his meeting in the cabin. A grin spread across his face as a warrior drew a shimmering blade and shield, braced himself, and met the force of the whirlwind. There was a mighty crash as the two creatures came together, and with a resounding screech, Richard Wolfheart was driven back across the yard under the force of the tornado.

"Wait... What's going on?" Tess blinked in surprise. "Is that..."

She leapt to her feet, even as Richard's feet dug into the yard. The tornado roared with fury as it was forced to a stop, and for a moment, wind raged against flesh.

"You will not hurt my family!" Richard bit out through clenched teeth. He slowly pushed the shield out in front of him, then drew his sword back over his shoulder. "Activate... Skill... Clement!"

With a flash, the sword was sheathed in lightning, and Richard stabbed it deep into the tornado. The beast shrieked and drew back, and Richard pressed the attack. His blade flashed like the sun, and the tornado suffered a dozen slashes up and down the length of its funnel. Finally, Richard just threw the sword into the depth of the tornado, and with a flicker and a hollow boom, the whole thing exploded into a rain of sparks. The sword fell to the ground with a clatter, and Richard slowly turned around to face his daughter.

Tess stood on the porch, her jaw hanging slack. He slowly raised a hand, and gave a small wave.

"Hi, Tess. It's... Ahh..."

"You!" Tess screamed and leapt off the porch. The Winter Shandy sword appeared in her hand, and her father brought the shield up just in time to catch a powerful blow. He was driven backward several steps, and she snarled and lunged once more. Moving faster than Jason could follow, he sidestepped her strike, caught hold of her wrist, and deftly twisted the blade out of her grip. She snarled and lashed out, catching him in the chest. He was thrown backward onto the porch, where he landed with a dull groan. An instant later, Tess had straddled him, pinning him to the ground.

"Ahh..." Richard blinked, then glanced at Jason. "You told me that she would forgive me."

Tess snapped around. "You knew about this?"

Jason blinked. "Well... You remember that thing that I wasn't telling you about, but I did tell you that you would like?"

Tess snarled. "Does it look like I enjoy this?"

"Tess!" Richard snapped. "Don't be angry at him. I'm the one who insisted that he keep it a secret. I was going to come to you at the festival, but... well... the storm, and all that..." He stammered for a few moments, then sighed deeply as Tess turned her fury back on him. "Look, Tess, I... I've been thinking -- for years, now --what to say in this moment. In the last few weeks, I've poured even more of my thoughts and my time into this, and... I'll admit, this isn't how I planned it to go, but-"

Tess's face began to turn red, and he sighed.

"Tess, I'm sorry."

At that, Tess softened slightly.

"I'm sorry for everything." Richard began to sit up as Tess slowly

climbed back off of him. "I have no excuse, and that's the beginning and the end of the story. I should have done so, so many things differently."

"You're a coward," Tess spat.

"Believe me, your husband has made that fact abundantly clear, and I have no wish to dispute it." Richard took a deep breath. "What I do wish to do is to apologize, and to make it up to you if at all I can. I know I wasn't there for you, Tess. I wasn't there for your childhood, and I wasn't there for your adulthood up until now, I wasn't there for your wedding, but..." He sighed and glanced down at the ground. "I'm here now. I'm here, and I

don't want to leave your side -- ever again. Or at least your immediate vicinity. I doubt you want your father living with you, and all that." He chuckled nervously.

"What makes you think I even want you in the vicinity?" Tess spat. "You were gone. You were gone for all the important parts of my life, even when you were begged to return! Why in Illumitir, why in all the darkest pits of the Earth that you've crawled through, would you think that I would want you around?"

"Because you're angry," Richard spoke softly. He rose slowly, and flashed a smile. "If you simply didn't want me around, then you simply wouldn't care one way or another about me and my presence. You're afraid of being hurt again. You're afraid that if you let down your guard, I'll only injure you like I did in the past. And... I can't blame you."

Richard took a step toward Tess, and slowly reached out and ran a finger through her hair. He smiled softly, and Tess flinched away.

"If I'm being honest, I'm scared, too. I see so much of your mother in you. Tess... When I lost your mother, it tore me apart. I'm not the man I used to be. I'm not the warrior I used to be. I'm a sniveling wreck that most people think was just a wannabe, a moping sop who wasted his life and is now looking back on a life of should-have-beens."

"They're right," Tess snapped.

"Tess... When I lost you, the last time..." Richard took a deep breath. "It tore me apart a hundred times worse than when I lost your mother. I felt as though a dragon had inserted its claws into my chest and ripped me apart. I still feel that wound, whether you believe me or not. Standing here, right now... I can still see you on that day, begging me not to go. I can remember the pain as I turned away, believing that I never would see you again. Still, though, there was hope, hope that by some miracle something would change, and I could be with you again. Standing here, right now, I feel the claws in that wound once again. This time, I know that if you send me away, there really will be no hope. I've... That fear, the fear of losing you a second time... I know it doesn't make sense, but I've always just... I've had that hope -- that we could reconnect, somehow, somewhere, someday -- and it's been all that's kept me going."

"So you stayed away from me, because you feared losing me?" Tess snorted.

Richard stared at Tess sadly. "I'm sorry, Tess. I can say nothing more, and I mean nothing less." He glanced at Jason. "Thank you, Jason, for bringing me here. You're a wonderful husband, and... Keep protecting my daughter."

With that, he turned and walked away, down the steps, and off down the road. Tess stared after him, and Jason spun to her.

"What are you doing?" Jason hissed. "You're letting him go?"

"He's just-"

"Tess, that man has been in agony," Jason snapped. "You've been

longing for your father to appear. Guess what? He's here. If you turn him away, you will never get this chance again. This isn't something like when we were dating. This isn't something that you will ever have the opportunity to do again."

"Jason..." Tess shook her head. "I..."

"Please." Jason fell to his knees. "Tess, I don't know how our lives will work out. I don't know if we'll ever have children, or what the farm will do, or where we'll be in twenty years, but I do know this: If you call him back, maybe you will get hurt again. Maybe this will end in a big fight in a month, or a year, or five years, or even just a few days. But if you let him go, you will spend the rest of your life wishing that you could have changed things. Don't miss out on this. Don't make the same mistake that he did. Don't let him leave you again." Tess wavered, and Jason pressed forward. "This time, the choice is yours. Make the right call."

Tess's face trembled, and she burst off the steps.

"Dad!" Her voice echoed above the storm. "Dad, come back!"

Jason experienced tremendous relief as he climbed back to his feet

and watched her streaking off across the prairie. In the distance, he saw Richard turn back, and the two of them came together in an embrace. He felt he could finally relax. Then turned and walked back into the house, to afford them the privacy they deserved.

Whatever came of that conversation, it was nothing that he needed to be privy to. If it went at all well, Tess would soon have her father back... And in the end, that was all that he cared about.

Chapter Forty – Last Day of Spring

[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason and Tess were ready to get to work around the farm. They had 40 starting actions.]

[Obadiah's Almanac: 91st day of Spring! It's the day of the Spring Festival! The weather is bright and clear, there shouldn't be a cloud in the sky! Everyone, come on out for the big event! Lots of reasons to celebrate, that's for sure!]

"What does he mean by that?" Jason asked as he rolled out of bed. This time, Chance came up to start licking his face from below, performing an expert sneak-attack that left him with a face full of slobber. He gasped and stood up quickly, and Chance bounded into the bed to start licking Tess.

"Beats me." Tess sighed as she sat up. She began to pet Chance, and Jason smiled as he walked up to the window. Looking out across the farm, it was, indeed, a lovely day. The prairie grasses rippled in the soft wind, while his field sat primed and ready for summer planting the very next day. Tess joined him a moment later, and he frowned as he noticed two extra horses in the corral. Daniel's red stallion, along with Richard's chestnut mare both mingled with Angus, Lady, and Alfred.

"Are we expecting company?" Jason raised an eyebrow at Tess.

Tess just shrugged. "Beats me. I wasn't planning on anyone coming over, but you know how my family can be."

"No, I know how Daniel can be." Jason countered. "Richard is an entirely different matter, and I really don't know if I want Daniel to be the one having an influence on your father."

Tess just laughed at that, and they quickly changed clothes. Tess put on her flower-pattern dress, while Jason changed into a proper town tunic. With that, they strode down the stairs, where the smell of a rather wonderful breakfast began to float upward.

"Hey, little farmer and little sis!" Daniel called out as he thumped out of the dining room. "It's about time you woke up! How late do you sleep in on the farm?"

"Apparently later than you do, fighting in the dungeons," Jason muttered. "Haven't you people heard of privacy? For that matter, didn't I

lock the door last night?"

"Your door had a durability of 10," Daniel acted innocent. "If you

want to keep people out, replace it with something better."

"In fairness, he didn't mean to break in." Richard appeared in the

doorway of the dining room as well. "He just sorta knocked, and the whole thing shattered, b-b-but I replaced it with a repair skill, and I'm really sorry. He said it was okay to come in, but I see now that it was him, and-"

"It's okay." Tess put hand on her father's arm. "It's nothing I didn't do to Jason a dozen times over."

"More than that," Jason muttered.

"Anyway, I'm just glad we're all here." Richard flashed a small smile. "I took the liberty of bringing down some food from the Guild Hall, and... This is my first festival, so I hope I'm doing it right."

Jason shrugged and walked past his father-in-law into the dining room. Set across the table was a feast that would have made a king jealous. There was a turkey, a full ham, a few cuts of meat that looked to be from some monster or another, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and a great deal of other courses that, without fail, didn't really seem to be good breakfast foods. Nevertheless, they were soon all seated, and tucked into the feast.

The previous week and a half had been more than a bit of a blur. Tess had spent much of the time with her father, catching up and getting to know one another again. To Jason's knowledge, Richard hadn't again repeated the information about Tess's mother, but had instead taken on the blame himself. It hadn't been an easy meeting, by any stretch. They had gotten into fights more than once, and Tess had come home crying on one occasion, but there had also been a fair share of good times, too. Jason had viewed the majority of it from a distance, but it seemed as though the family was starting to come back together. Daniel, for his part, seemed to be loving the community, and spent every waking minute with Tess and Richard (when the two of them would allow it).

They chatted about all sorts of things over the course of that breakfast, though Jason felt oddly distant from it all. When they were finished, he walked out onto the porch and sat down, and was still sitting there when Jeremiah and Delilah came riding by. They waved at each other, and suddenly, behind him, the door opened up, and Tess came out.

"You ready to go?"

"I think so." He nodded as he rose. "I'll go get the carriage hooked up."

"Let my dad do it. He wants to be helpful, I think." Tess rolled her eyes as Richard and Daniel came walking out through the front door. They waved and headed off toward the corral. "Besides, I... I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" Jason glanced at her. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, yes! Everything's fine," Tess reassured her anxious spouse. "I just... I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being there for me, and thank you for getting my father to come. It means more to me than you could possibly know. I know it wasn't easy, and I know I fought it, but... Thank you."

Jason flashed a small smile at her. "You're more than welcome. I love you."

"I love you, too." Tess sighed and put her arms around him, then flashed a small smile up at him. "I also... I haven't really gotten much of a chance to talk to you, the last week and a half."

"Nope." Jason chuckled. "Not really, but that's okay."

"Well, I promise that that's going to change." Tess shrugged. "I also have... I have..."

She gagged for a moment, and Jason was briefly reminded of the salad. A moment later, she rushed over to the side of the porch and vomited across the flowerbed, though, thankfully, nothing hit any of the Lonesome Roses or other flowers. She straightened up after a moment. "Bleh. Sorry about that."

Jason frowned. "Everything okay? Something in the breakfast not sit with you?"

"I don't think much of anything is going to be sitting well with me for a while." Tess shrugged, though she had a bit of a smile on her face.

Jason turned to look at her, then blinked in surprise. "You... You mean..."

A smile split Tess's face, and she nodded slowly. "That's right."

Jason leapt up into the air and let out a whoop that echoed across the prairie. Daniel and Richard both glanced at him, and he clamped his mouth shut.

"When are we telling everyone?"

Tess shrugged. "Typically, it's after the first trimester."

"Right, but when are we going to break and tell everyone?"

At that, Tess laughed. "Oh, I don't know. Not yet, but..." She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Get ready, because the next chapter of your life is just about to begin."

Jason let out another whoop, then calmed down again as Richard brought the carriage over. He hopped out of the seat, and Jason and Tess soon climbed up onto the main bench. With that, the four of them set off for the festival, rumbling down the road toward the town.

The atmosphere was lively as they reached the town square, though the Spring Festival always seemed to have just a bit more joy than the others. The previous festival had been after a long winter, but now, people had been given the entire springtime to get ready. Women bustled about in dresses that they had been sewing, while enormous cuts of meat were carried back and forth. Tables were brought out, and after the horses had all been put away, Richard shook his head in amazement.

"I've never seen anything like it, and I'll be honest about that."

"Nor have I," Jason agreed. "These are some of the best things about Summer Shandy, really." After a moment, though, he corrected himself. "No. The best thing about Summer Shandy is the people. The great thing about the festivals is the fact that you get to see everyone coming together."

Richard nodded, then strode forward and began to help with the general setup. The band began to rehearse as the sun rose toward noon, and, as usual, a light lunch was brought out to nourish the people who were helping get everything ready. The rest of the afternoon was spent with less intense preparation, and instead was simply a time to walk around the town and chat. Jason spent his time with Jeremiah, Richard, Obadiah, and Daniel, while Tess formed a group with Paulina, Viola, and Theresa. The two groups mingled every now and again, but they largely stayed separate. Finally, though, the time for the festival came, and Tess found Jason once again.

"People of Summer Shandy!" Obadiah climbed up onto the town well. "As always, I've come to address you tonight. I still don't know why it's my duty, but as it seems to be a confirmed law of nature, I've decided to accept it!" He paused for a moment, then stroked his chin. "Since coming to Summer Shandy, I've had my entire lookout on life changed. I'll admit that I expected to have a pretty easy job here. Guide people through the

dungeons, fight off any monsters that came near town, so on and so forth. What I've found, though... It defies all my expectations. Everyone here is so rich, so vibrant, and so caring. When I made mistakes, you were quick to let me know, but when I got my act in line, you were quick to forgive. We've had some scrapes, and I still don't know what's going on with the dungeon, but... It's been a good year, and I'm looking forward to many, many more." Obadiah paused for a moment, then turned to Paulina, who stood just next to him. "Through it all, I've found no one who's helped me more than this incredible woman. I'm sure y'all are sick of us being gooey and dating, so... I'd like to change that." Tess gave an excited squeal, and Obadiah leapt off the town well and vanished into the crowd, where, presumably, he was kneeling. "Paulina, dearest love, will you marry me?"

There was a gasp from the crowd. A moment later, Paulina's voice came back.

"You know, this would have been a bit more surprising if you hadn't ordered the ring through my store, but..."

"Obadiah, you cheapskate!" Jeremiah called out. "I didn't raise you to-"

"I was trying to be nice! I don't want to give my money to anyone else!"

"YES!" Paulina bellowed. "Jeremiah, do not take my moment away from me!"

The crowd exploded, and Jason felt a smile growing across his face. The band struck up a tune, and with a flourish, everyone began to sit down at their tables. Jason squeezed Tess's hand and started looking for a seat, then glanced at her family. To his surprise, he found Daniel standing nearby. Viola's hand was clasped in his own, and both were grinning from ear to ear. Jason had the sudden feeling that something was about to happen, and he crossed his arms and elbowed Tess. They both turned as Daniel dropped to one knee in front of Viola.

"Viola, my love, I know this is sudden, and I know we haven't been dating long, and I know I don't have a ring, but-"

Viola laughed, though it wasn't a sinister or merciless one. She reached out and put a finger on his lips, and he turned beat red.

"No, but... Only for right now." A smile played across her lips. "Get me an actual ring, and get a stable job that isn't dungeon-delving, and we'll talk."

Daniel leapt back to his feet. "I'll do that! What sort of a job should I get? There's store-clerking, and innkeeping, and guildmastering, and farming..."

His voice trailed off, and Jason's previous enjoyment of the situation began to spiral.

"Farming! I'm good at that! Why, I harvested eighty acres in a single swing of my scythe!" He spun to Jason. "Can I come live with you?"

"No!" Jason and Tess both bellowed at the same time.

Daniel blinked, then grinned again. "That's okay! I can just go buy some land! The ground right next to you is for sale, I'm sure, and I have loads of money in savings! We'll be next-door neighbors! You can be the little farmer, and I'll be the big farmer. Hank! Little constable, where are you?"

Jason glanced at Tess, who had turned rather white.

"You find a seat, I'll find Hank and convince him not to sell Daniel a plot of ground within a mile of our place."

"That means he'll be buying down by my neck of the woods!" Jeremiah, who had wandered into the conversation, turned rather white as well. "Hank? Hank, we need you!"

Fifteen minutes later, it was all over. Jeremiah, grinning from ear to ear, sat down at the table, content in the knowledge that his ranch was still safe. Jason, meanwhile, sat down with the odd feeling that a large number of his items were going to wind up getting broken over the course of the next year.

"We're going to be neighbors." Daniel couldn't stop grinning. "How about that? How about that."

"Indeed." Jason sighed as he tucked into his meal. "How, indeed."

Richard sighed and looked around the table, then shrugged. "You know, Daniel... Starting up a new farm is going to be a lot of work. If all parties involved are okay with it, I'd... I'd like to stay here. I'm out of the dungeon business, and I have a feeling that I'm not going to want to miss the next nine months." Tess turned rather red, and he leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I have a Detect Life skill. Your secret's safe with me. She's going to be a beautiful baby."

"She?" Tess exclaimed, then quieted. "She? Jason! We're going to have a girl!"

Jason's grin stretched from ear to ear as they sat there, surrounded by the joy that always came with the festival. He sighed deeply, hugged Tess, and tucked into the food. Afterward, he couldn't remember a thing that was said or discussed, but he certainly remembered the atmosphere. He remembered the laughter, the smiles, the wondrous sense of belonging that permeated the entire area.

They stayed late into the evening, then slowly mounted their carriage and headed back home. It seemed that the town had grown by an extraordinary amount in a single day, as if the town had turned some sort of critical juncture. He didn't have a clue what that meant, or what the future would look like, but... With Tess's pregnancy, with the return of her father, with Daniel and everything that he encompassed... well... Somehow, he knew that Summer Shandy would never look quite the same again. Still, though, no matter how many people passed through, no matter how many people were born or passed away, it never quite managed to change. It was an odd sort of paradox that he knew he would never be able to unravel, even if he spent the rest of his life trying to figure it out.

And if he was being honest with himself... That was just the way he wanted it.