Jeb stared back at the Druid.

“Yes,” he finally answered, “I would greatly appreciate learning how to Brew as Druids who do not Bind themselves to a colony of yeast do.”

The Brewmaster’s eyes started tracing around the room, never settling on Jeb’s own.

“Other than general prejudice, is there a particular reason that you are unwilling to Bind a colony of yeast?” he asked.

“Prejudice?” Jeb returned.

The man shrugged.

“I know that many in the Enclave and the world find something atrocious in the idea of Binding themselves to something that is, technically, at least, a fungus. I can only imagine that their rationale is based on some sort of irrational prejudice. After all, I have not found that I am any less able to interact with my fellow human since Binding George.”

Jeb nodded slowly, becoming increasingly aware that he would not, in fact, be able to convince the Druid to teach him anything useful.

“Surely there are benefits to Brewing with yeast that is not Bound to you, though?” he tried.

Philip shrugged again, already preparing another batch of wort.

“I am sure that those who do not Bind to their yeast can come up with any number of reasons why it is beneficial. Having done so, however, I cannot think of any.”

Jeb let out a long breath.

“It seems as though you have nothing to teach me, then.”

Philip nodded happily.

“You can find your own way out, right? If not, just retrace the path that we took to get here.”

With that, he turned and began working with his own colony again. Jeb left George and Philip to their work and eventually found his way back to Char.

“I take it that Philip was less than helpful,” she said with a grimace as Jeb drew near.

“I am sure that he would have been incredibly helpful if I had been willing to Bind myself to a colony of Yeast,” Jeb hedged.

“But you already have a Swarm of your own,” she finished the thought for him.

“Exactly.”

The two looked at each other for a few moments, both clearly hoping that the other would make the first move.

“Given that you are clearly bound to a Swarm other than a colony of yeast, would I be correct in assuming that you also Brew without a Bound yeast?” Jeb asked, breaking first.

“You would,” Char responded.

“Would you be willing to teach me to Brew as you do, given that the Brewmaster for your Circle seems unwilling,” Jeb paused, amending himself, “or at least unable to do so?”

She visibly brightened.

“I would love to teach you how I Brew, though of course I am only one of many Druidic Brewers. As Philip said, though, I am not scheduled to Brew again for some time. I am certain that I can switch spots with someone, however, especially if you would be willing to offer some Elemental Honey in trade.”

Jeb quickly sent a thought to his Swarm, which responded positively to the suggestion.

“That would work for me!” he replied.

Just as Char started to look at the Brewers in the room, Brian came rushing in.

“Char,” he panted, “the Radius said that you are needed for an urgent meeting.”

Char grimaced before looking at Jeb.

“I am sorry. It seems as though I will not be able to help you right now. Also, the tasks the Radius assigns me are rarely short. With that in mind, I think it might be best for you to learn from another."

Seeing Brian gesturing at her to hurry up, she continued, “I would recommend going to the Circle of the Field. They’re slightly more reclusive than the rest of us, so you may not have seen them yet. However, they are also certainly among the best Brewers in the Enclave, especially among those who do not Bind to their colonies.”

With that, she turned and followed Brian out to wherever the leader of their Circle needed her.

Jeb looked around, realizing that he knew none of the Druids around him. Still, if even the Brewmaster, focused as he was on Brewing alone, knew who he was, then Jeb was certain that he would be able to get directions reasonably quickly. He debated following Brian and asking the bear for advice, but shook the idea off. Odds were good that wherever Char was going, her apprentice was going to follow.

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With no other direction, Jeb started wandering around the Circle’s main building, stopping Druids who did not seem too busy to ask them where the Circle of the Field might be. None were able to give directions more precise than “They’re beside the Fields,” so Jeb quickly gave up on that approach. Remembering that his bees had begun to expand through the Enclave, Jeb reached out to the Swarm. The Swarm, of course, was more than happy to help him find the Circle of the Fields. Jeb got the impression that at least a part of their willingness came from the memories of how much higher quality the pollen on his family’s farm was than the pollen outside the farm.

The fastest scouts in the Swarm teleported to the Hive nearest him and set out in all directions. Jeb was briefly overwhelmed with the sights they transmitted back. Hundreds of rapidly rushing landscapes were more than he could reasonably keep track of himself. Pulling back, he relied on the metaconsciousness of the Swarm to sort through the individual bees’ experiences, rather than doing so himself.

After a few hours, though, Jeb gave up on that approach. Neither he, nor the Swarm, nor any of the individual bees knew exactly what he was looking for. Any number of the scouts had managed to find fields, though none had the weight of a Field.

Jeb was startled from his thoughts when Brianna coughed near him.

“Is there some reason that you have been standing in the center of the Circle’s main courtyard for three hours staring into nothing?” she asked, tone slightly teasing.

“I was looking for the Circle of the Fields,” he replied simply.

She blinked a few times, then nodded.

“Right, the Radius did mention that you would likely be visiting other Circles. Given the way that you seem to be staring in all directions, it seems as though you’ve probably learned as much about your Swarm as we can reasonably teach you.”

She gave Jeb directions to the Circle, and he set off. After traveling for an hour, he realized that he had not taken any of his belongings from the Circle of the Swarm. Half an hour into his return trip, he realized that he did not have any belongings to leave.

As Jeb traveled, he quickly found himself leaving the forest and entering a prairie. Thankfully, others had clearly taken the same path before, and he was able to walk down a well maintained path, rather than needing to cut his own way through the thick grass. Jeb did his best to ignore the many creatures making their way through the untamed fields, just as they did for him. Slowly but surely, however, the land became more maintained.

Wild grasses slowly showed signs of intentional breeding. Heads of grain grew thicker and larger. As he kept traveling, the arrangement of the plants grew more and more intentional. Rows and grids started to emerge from the chaos of a wild prairie.

Eventually, Jeb found that he had left the prairie entirely. He was surrounded by well cultivated fields of every kind. Some grew a single cultivar of a single plant, while others grew dozens of different species in the same space. Even from a single glance, Jeb knew that many of the plants around him could not be grown in the same location. Despite that, each seemed to be thriving.

He attributed that to the Magic of the land at first, before noticing the veritable horde of Druids carefully working each field. it seemed that even with Druidic Magic, Farming was not a task for those opposed to physical labor.

As the sun slowly set, Jeb noticed a few fields begin to glow bright and cheery colors. Small glowing insects began flying around, lighting the sky in a visual symphony. More Druids emerged from somewhere to begin tending the nighttime fields. The rest, however, began to cheerily make their way in the same direction. Not knowing what else to do, Jeb followed them.

He had wanted to find a Druid that looked familiar to introduce himself to. Unfortunately, Char’s warning about the Circle’s general insularity had proven accurate. None were familiar to him, despite the time he had spent in the Druidic Enclave.

In time, however, they came to a large and warmly lit home. Jeb smelled freshly baked bread and some well spiced soup. The Druids seemed to animate at the sight and smells, joking with each other more loudly and moving faster. Just as they reached the threshold, however, they all stopped.

A woman came out. She was clearly the Radius of this Circle, though Jeb had no idea how he knew that. She looked over her congregation happily, before settling her gaze on Jeb.

Just for a moment, Jeb felt as though he was the center of some family’s reality. Generation after generation had carefully sculpted every aspect of his being, and he saw the choices laid out both forward and backward in time. The feeling faded quickly, and the Radius’s smile returned.

“It appears that we have a guest tonight!” she called out happily.

The other Druids all looked around, clearly trying to spot the odd person out. Jeb looked down, realizing that his midnight cloak had shifted colors to the loamy brown that the other Druids wore. He was unable to spend time pondering the significance of that when the first few Farmers finally noticed him.

“Welcome to the Circle of the Field!” they all said happily, beginning to file into the large home.

Each took a seat at the tables set in the opening room, and food quickly appeared in front of them. Jeb stood back, unsure whether he should take a seat. Thankfully, the Radius quickly came over to put his worries at ease.

“You are welcome at our table,” she said, gesturing for Jeb to sit down next to her. When he had, she continued, “Jeb, what can we do to help you?”

Jeb hummed as he thought of an answer. The bowl of stew that had appeared in front of him made it hard to think. It gave off an enticing steam, slightly obscuring the glossy broth and pieces within it. The bread standing next to it only added another distraction.

The Radius chuckled happily.

“We can speak after you eat. I would be a poor host indeed not to offer you a chance to refresh yourself before beginning an interrogation.”

Jeb needed no more incentive. He quickly wolfed down the stew, finding himself far hungrier than he had been in ages. His rapid pace warred with the part of him that wanted to savor the rich stew. Thankfully, the bowl was large.

By the time that he was halfway through it, his hunger had abated enough to allow him to enjoy each spoonful as it coated his tongue. The Radius, seeing that he was slowing down, set her own loaf of bread aside. Jeb took the hint.

“Char from the Circle of Swarms suggested that I could learn Druidic Brewing here,” he said simply, unable to come up with any more eloquent reasoning.

“We would be glad to,” she amiably agreed. “Is that all?”

Jeb found himself once more thinking about the ideas of Magical Farming that had once captivated his energies. Even if what the Druids did here was not exactly that, it was certainly far closer than anything else he had seen. Given the warm reception he had received so far, Jeb tested his luck.

“Would it also be possible for me to learn about how you Farm here?”