As the cart made its way out of the town, Jeb felt his connection to the hive diminish. With every passing minute, the bond between the bees, their home, and him seemed to fade a little more. Just as it was about to break completely, though, the bond stabilized. It was weak, but Jeb knew that it was still there.
Still, the feeling of being so far away made him understand why his Aunt Sue had been so against Binding anything. He felt disoriented and almost a little ill. Jeb hadn’t realized how much he relied on the connection to the hive to keep himself grounded, but every time he reached out now, it felt like he was pushing through a thick film.
As the day faded to evening, Jeb slowly grew used to the feeling of being separated. He knew that it would feel wrong every time that he pushed on the Binding, but he was already leaning on it less than he had been. At nightfall, the cart finally stopped, and the Censusmaster called out to him.
“Dirt Mage, come out for dinner.”
Confused, Jeb left the cart and went to where he heard the call. They were stopped in front of an inn, and the Censusmaster was holding the door open for him. Warily, Jeb walked inside.
The interior of the inn was a lot louder than Jeb had expected. Unlike when the inn in his hometown had been crowded, though, there did not seem to be any sort of cohesion to the noise. There was just a large crowd of people all sitting at their own tables and having their own conversations. The Censusmaster made eye contact with the Bartender, and he and Jeb were quickly shown to a table.
“I don’t have any money on me,” Jeb said, and the Censusmaster rolled his eyes.
“Of course you don’t,” he said. “I expect that you have never handled money in your life, especially given that no one in your town pays their taxes with coin.” Something about the Censusmaster’s tone rubbed Jeb the wrong way, for all that he was completely right. The town did operate almost exclusively on barter and mutual agreements.
“I’ll pay for your meals as we travel,” the Censusmaster continued without a delay. “Since I’m taking you to the Mage Draft, it is my responsibility.” It was clear from his tone of voice that he did not want any further questions from Jeb, so he took the hint and looked around the room.
There were clearly a number of Adventurers inside of the tavern. One in particular drew his attention, though. The man was some sort of Fighter, at least if the well worn steel armor and sword across his back were any indication. He wore a helm even while eating, which was what had initially caught Jeb’s interest. As Jeb watched, he slowly mopped up the last bits of stew with a small loaf of bread. While staring, Jeb saw a spark of Magic pop off of the Fighter’s sword.
Jeb carefully activated his Magical vision, curious if he could see what had caused the effect. The second that he started to see the Magic around him, he was blinded. It was not just the sword the Fighter carried that was Enchanted. No, every piece of armor he wore was also layered in lines of tracing Magic.
The Fighter was not unique in that regard, Jeb realized when his vision came back. It seemed like every single person in the room was absolutely covered in blazing Enchantments and Infused Magical Items. Jeb wondered why that was until the food came.
Since most of the room had been eating stew with bread, Jeb had assumed that he would have the same. Another voice in his head assured him that the Censusmaster would not be willing to spend so much, and he privately resigned himself to just a loaf of bread, if even that. When a platter of well cooked meat and vegetables came out, though, Jeb was shocked.
“What? Have you never seen food before?” the Censusmaster asked. “Please at least try to eat with a semblance of table manners. I am unsure if my stomach can handle you eating such a fine cut like a savage.”
Jeb wasn’t sure how to react. He had never heard comments about the way he ate before, so he waited to see what the Censusmaster did with his silverware. When he picked up his knife and fork and started eating the roast, Jeb felt comfortable eating the way that he normally did. Thankfully, the Censusmaster didn’t comment on any of it.
When the two had finished their meal, Jeb started to move towards the cart, expecting that they would either travel through the night, or that they would be sleeping in the cart, at the very least. As Jeb opened the door, though, the Censusmaster called out, “where are you going?”
“To the cart?” Jeb asked.
“Why? No one will take anything from the cart, and I got you a room in here.” Jeb didn’t know how to respond to that. Despite all of the terrible things that the Censusmaster had said to his grandfather, and to some extent him, it seemed as though he was treating Jeb well. Jeb followed the Censusmaster and took the key to his room.
The bed he slept in was far less comfortable than he was used to. He could hear the sound of the crowded inn from underneath him, and that only added to the discomfort. Jeb slept fitfully through the night. When dawn rose, the inn finally gew quiet. By that point, though, Jeb knew he would need to wake up.
He cleaned himself in the provided wash basin and made his way back to the common room. The Censusmaster had not come down yet, but the Innkeeper poured Jeb a mug of something warm and gave him a bowl of gruel.
“How did you sleep?” he asked Jeb.
“Um,” Jeb replied, trying to think of a polite way to respond that he was unable to sleep.
The Innkeeper chuckled. “First time away from home?” he guessed.
Jeb shrugged. “It’s certainly the furthest I’ve ever been from home,” he admitted. “Where are we?”
The Innkeeper gave him the name of some small town that Jeb vaguely remembered from his geography lessons. They were rapidly approaching the main road to the Capital, which he supposed made sense. He was more than a little surprised that the Censusmaster had not stopped at any of the other towns on the route.
Maybe we’re the last stop before he heads back to the Capital? Jeb considered. That didn’t make too much sense, but he supposed that it was possible. He was broken from his musings by the Censusmaster coughing behind him.
“If it would not be too much of an inconvenience, would you be willing to leave now?”
Jeb flushed and followed the Censusmaster to the cart. As they took off, he saw his lute case. It seemed to call to him.
Jeb considered how nice the Censusmaster had been the night before. He took his lute out to check its tuning and try to work on the Ephemeral Song. As soon as he started plucking the notes, though, the Censusmaster called back.
“Stop making such a hideous racket,” he yelled.
Jeb had just started putting Mana into the Song, but complied. On some half remembered memory, he tried to keep the Song running without playing the specific notes. The Song lasted longer than it ever had without music playing, though it was just a heartbeat longer.
As Jeb watched the morning turn to day, he realized that he didn’t have anything to occupy himself. Unlike when he was at the farm, though, he couldn’t think of any activities that he could work on. He couldn’t learn or create any new Glyphs, because his Wisdom and Magic Affinity couldn’t rise at all. He had no access to a forge, brewery, or field, so he couldn’t work on any of the Skills that he had earned over the previous year.
Looking at the lute that seemed like his only real option, Jeb remembered one of the first conversations that he had with the Bard. The Bard had told him that one skill he would have learned in the Academy, if he’d been a Bard, was how to use Songs without his instrument. It felt a little wrong to not use his Bound Lute, especially since he had Bound it for the explicit purpose of learning Songs, but Jeb didn’t want to antagonize the Censusmaster any more than he needed to.
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And so, Jeb started working on performing the Ephemeral Song without any sound. It felt like a completely intractable problem, and after a week of effort, Jeb switched to trying to play Lute Enforcement without his lute. That went far better, likely because Jeb knew the Song, at least according to the System. When he could reliably Enforce his lute, he resumed working on the Ephemeral Song.
While Jeb was initially working on the Ephemeral Song, he learned that the Censusmaster had not saved Humdrumville for last. They stopped at no fewer than a town a day after that, often reaching multiple between sleeping. Jeb was told to stay in the cart, out of sight and sound for all of the towns, and he complied. At night, the Censusmaster continued to feed and room him well, which continued to puzzle Jeb.
After what Jeb knew was at least two months, the Censusmaster breathed a sigh of relief. “Finally,” he said, “back to civilization.”
Jeb looked out the cart. It was the Capital, he knew without having to be told. There was no farm land anywhere nearby. There was a stench that Jeb knew instantly was from having so many bodies packed into such a small area.
“Well, then,” the Censusmaster said after a moment, “my obligations to you are done.” With that, he drove the cart off, leaving Jeb holding his pack, lute case, and staff.
What do I do now? Jeb asked himself.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 17 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 11023/100
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Total Statistic Load: 563 Physical Load: 218 Strength: 52 Dexterity: 53 Endurance: 54 Vitality: 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)