When Jeb entered the brewery, he was unsurprised to see his aunt working inside.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was going to check on my mead?” Jeb said, confused.
His aunt looked at him for a moment. “Did your Brewing Skill tell you to come here?”
Jeb shook his head. “No, but I finished setting up the first pieces of making Fire Barley, and the next item on my to do list was checking in on the mead.”
“Fair enough,” she said, gesturing for Jeb to enter.
Jeb ran through the standard checks to make sure nothing was going wrong with his mead. As he had expected, everything was proceeding more or less how it should. The drop in density was slightly higher than he had expected, but he supposed that the warmth from the Fire Mana might be helping the yeast to work more quickly.
After confirming that the mead didn’t need any interventions, Jeb took a moment to pause and reflect. He realized that he still had some of his Firewater left. Out of curiosity, he mixed it with some water that he quickly Conjured. To his surprise, the two liquids mixed without any issue. When he looked at the liquid, it had both Manas within it, neither seeming to upset the other.
Since Jeb knew that he would need more Firewater, though, he called Attune Fire Mana to mind. He forced it into the mixture, ready to fight to overwrite the Mana signature of the Conjured water. Again, he was surprised.
The Mana was overwritten without any effort. As he watched, it seemed like the extra Fire Mana he poured in just slowly tipped the balance in the mixture. Water Mana was expelled and replaced with Fire Mana. Jeb began to wonder how little Firewater he could use to replace the Mana signature in a container.
But, he knew that he had bigger priorities. He started stretching, focusing as much on his fingers and hands as on the larger muscles in his body. Even after a single day, there was a notable difference in how much more flexible he felt.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Athletics First Tier “Stretch” You have improved your Dexterity. Rewards: 1 Dexterity, 19 EXP
Once he finished stretching, he went off for a run. As with the stretching, it was as though his body had found its equilibrium with no delay. He was pleasantly winded when he finished the run and accepted his two Quest Rewards.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Running First Tier “Run” You have outlasted your Endurance. Rewards: 1 Endurance, 19 EXP
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Athletics Second Tier “Move” You have increased your Vitality. Rewards: 2 Vitality, 39 EXP
Inside the barn, he hefted the increased weight as he considered what else he needed to do with the day.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Lifting First Tier “Lift” You have grown your Strength. Rewards: 1 Strength, 19 EXP
Without anything else in mind, he stopped by the brewery. While he was there, he picked up the barrel he had inscribe Attune Fire Mana onto and the bucket of Firewater he had made. Bucket and barrel in hand, he made his way to the Fire Barley fields.
He dumped a majority of the Firewater into the barrel, trusting that the slight Fire Attunement that it had would keep it from reacting. If he was being honest with himself, Jeb had no idea whether or not the Firewater would cause fires, but he had no desire to find out at this time. With a majority of his remaining Mana, he filled the barrel higher with Conjured water and overwrote its Mana signature with Fire.
Some bees flew over, curious about the fields he had prepared. As Jeb explained his goal, he felt the Fire Attuned Bees grow happier. The rest of the hive seemed somewhat sullen that he was working to make only Fire Barley, and not the other Mana types that he knew. Reminding them that he had also made Watergrass had mixed results.
The Water Attuned Bees settled down, but the other three Elements all seemed even angrier that they were being completely neglected. Jeb apologized to them and promised to work on making some sort of Earth, Air, and Sand plant when he had finished with the Barley.
For the rest of the day, he sat and increased the Mana levels in the large barrel of Firewater he had made. As he did, he considered the fact that ambient Mana could probably still seep through the wood. To make sure that it didn’t, Jeb carved the outside of the container.
For the rest of the spring, Jeb kept an eye on the different barley plants as they grew, kept topping off the Firewater as he needed to use it, and tried to grow his Physical Statistics to be balanced with each other. Jeb realized that he had to choose one Statistic which would be highest, unless he wanted to keep each of them at their minimum values. After finishing five more of the Exercise Quests, he made an effort to not complete any more. The same was true for Running and Lifting another ten days later. When he looked at his Dexterity, Jeb was shocked that he needed to keep doing another eight just to catch up with his Strength and Endurance. Throughout the spring, Jeb waited anxiously for Census Day.
When his Fire Mead finished brewing, his aunt helped him design a label for the bottles, which he delivered to the various people he had earmarked. At dinner that night, he brought out one of the extra bottles, curious what it would taste like but wanting to share the experience with his family. It was strange, to say the least.
Drinking the Fire Mead felt like drinking a fire, but only in the most positive ways. Like a strong spirit, it warmed Jeb up as the liquid coursed down his throat. Unlike a strong spirit, though, it did not burn. It felt like there was a flame without any of the destruction that went along with it. The subtle hints of flavors that the yeast imparted only added to the experience.
As the first sprouts of barley began to show, Jeb started getting hopeful. While none looked totally Fire Attuned to his sight, they all seemed at least somewhat. The two that were furthest along were absolutely the field that he had sprouted in Firewater and the field that he had tried to Fire Attune at the beginning. Jeb slapped his head when he realized he should have made a field that was Firewater sprouted and Fire Attuned.
“If this generation doesn’t work,” he told himself, “next generation I’ll do that.” The plants grew as his family prepared for the Census.
To Jeb’s surprise, the family seemed to grow less and less cheerful as the Census Day approached. He wasn’t sure whether he had missed the change in the atmosphere when he was younger, or if something was different this year, but no one except him seemed to be happy about it.
“Jeb, can you lend me a hand today?” his grandfather asked.
“Sure!” Jeb replied, “What do you need?”
“We need to make sure that everything is in order for when the Censusmaster arrives.”
Jeb followed his grandfather to the barn they stored all their taxed goods in. It was full of dried crops from the past year’s harvest, all in neat 50 pound bags. There were at least 100, and that was just from a quick glance around the barn. How much was their tax?
“Let’s see, we should need another fifty of those,” his grandfather said, pointing to the bags of wheat, “and ten of those,” pointing to the barley bags. “Then go ask your Aunt Esther what she and Albert will be sending.”
“Do we really owe so much for taxes?” Jeb asked, a little horrified. Still, he hurried off to get the barrels from his aunt and uncle. They sighed and each pointed to a number of barrels of their brews. Jeb took them carefully into the barn and stacked them, making sure that the labels were visible.
The next morning, Jeb woke up. It was finally Census Day. After the Censusmaster came and left, Jeb knew that he would be able to start growing his Class. Excited, he made his way down the stairs.
“Jeb, would you mind staying in today?” his grandfather asked him.
Jeb looked at him pleadingly. “But it’s Census Day!” he said. It was the one day a year when a lot of the merchants came to town.
“I know,” his grandfather said, “but I’m worried that-” he cut himself off. “I would just feel more comfortable knowing that you were here for the day.”
“Why?” Jeb asked.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” his grandfather said, and Jeb shrugged. He trusted his grandfather, and if he didn’t think it was a good idea to go to town, then Jeb would stay in.
He went over to the fields of barley he was growing and cast Fire Mana over each of the plots as he watered them. Before long, he heard the sound of horse hooves beating. Jeb made his way to the tax barn, listening to the conversation between the Censusmaster and his grandfather.
“Ah, the Humdrum Farm,” the Censusmaster said, “You can start loading the goods onto my wagon whenever you are ready.” There was something about the way the Censusmaster was looking down on his grandfather that really annoyed Jeb. He knew that the Censusmaster couldn’t be higher than Seventh Tier if he were in charge of this region, so his grandfather was at least four times his level.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I don’t believe that my duties extend to loading your cart,” his grandfather said. “What happened to your Packer?”
The Censusmaster looked at his grandfather dismissively. “I decided not to take him this year. After all, your duties do extend to any reasonable request from the President. And, since I lack anyone in my entourage capable of loading the goods, I’m afraid that I will have to impose on you.”
Jeb saw his grandfather’s grip tighten for a moment, before he forced it loose again. He slowly started moving the bags of grain into the back of the Censusmaster’s cart.
“Pick up your pace,” the Censusmaster said. “I don’t have all day.”
Even as Jeb grew angry on his grandfather’s behalf, he also became curious. His grandfather kept loading bag after bag of grain, but the cart didn’t appear to grow any fuller. Once the Censusmaster left, Jeb was going to ask why that was. When his grandfather had finished loading, the Censusmaster ticked off an item from his list.
“Now then,” he said, tone smug, “I see that you’ve withheld a Mage. That’s a capital offense, as I know that you’re well aware.”
His grandfather stood taller. Jeb hadn’t noticed how much he had been slouching in front of the Censusmaster. As he stood up, Jeb felt the anger radiating off of his grandfather. He had never seen the man so angry.
“First,” his grandfather said, tone solid as stone and cold as winter, “no Mage is required to report before they are reported in the Census. Even if that were not true, though, he is only First Tier. The Draft doesn’t apply to anyone below Fourth Tier.”
“Maybe it didn’t when you,” the Censusmaster looked his grandfather up and down with a sneer, “were of age, but this past year an edict came down saying that all Mages were to be drafted. Where are you hiding the boy?”
Jeb held his breath. Even if he knew that he was going to have to go to the Capital at some point, he had no intention of being forced to go somewhere. Why hadn’t anyone in his life said anything about a Mage Draft?
After a long pause, his grandfather finally spoke. “I’ll go get him.”
“Don’t take too long, I might be worried about sedition.”
His grandfather turned away from the Censusmaster and immediately spotted Jeb. His grandfather kept walking towards the main house, and Jeb understood the unspoken message. He made his own way back to their home.
When they were both inside, his grandfather sighed.
“I’m sorry, Jeb,” he said. “I was hoping I would have more time to explain this to you.”
“What’s the Mage Draft? Explain what?” Jeb’s questions all overlapped as he tried to understand what was happening.
“Even though I know that waste of any air he breaths is lying about the Mage Draft, refusal to comply with orders is an offense. You’ll have to go to the Capital. Make sure to pack everything you need with you, and hurry. I doubt he’ll be too patient.”
Jeb took a moment to process the words his grandfather said. When he tried to ask a question, his grandfather just gestured towards his room. He took the hint and rushed over.
Inside his room, Jeb looked around at all of the small pieces of his life he’d have to leave behind. Before he could get too drawn into it, though, he took the items he knew that he would need. He packed his lute, the Primers, Method Books, and Enchantment Schematics he owned, his leftover pieces of Waterweave and Manaweave, and the packet of White Watergrass seeds that his grandfather had given him. Looking around again, Jeb packed a few sets of clothes.
His travel sack was nearly full, but there were still so many things that he didn’t want to leave behind. There was the small carved horse that his Aunt Sue had given him when he was younger. There was the flute that the Bard had given him. When he heard a knock at the door, Jeb knew he was out of time.
He picked up his staff and walked down the stairs.
“At least you had the sense to make sure he was ready to go,” the Censusmaster said to his grandfather. “Tell the boy to wait inside the cart.” Jeb bristled at being so utterly ignored. Seeing his grandfather’s expression, though, he walked into the cart. As the Censusmaster drove out of town, Jeb realized that he hadn’t had time to say goodbye to anyone. He hoped his grandfather would for him.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 11023/100
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Total Statistic Load: 489 ->563 Physical Load: 144 ->218 Strength: 34 ->52 Dexterity: 27 ->53 Endurance: 36 ->54 Vitality: 43 ->55 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 345 Intelligence: 68 Willpower: 75 Magic Affinity: 74 Mana Depth: 64 Charisma: 64
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Mana: 1755
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Glyph Attunement: 31 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Bardic Magic Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Enchanting Glassblowing
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic Glyph Specializer
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)