Jeb started working on the shovel after breakfast. He’d been diligent about taking all of his breaks the day before, so his grandfather was willing to compromise on how often he needed to take them. Instead of breaking twice an hour, Jeb would be allowed to work forty five minutes between breaks.
On an impulse, Jeb tried Attuning Fire Mana into the shovel as he heated it. He was unsurprised when the Mana just floated around the shovel head, rather than entering into it. If it was that easy to enchant an object, then they wouldn’t be so expensive. Still, watching the Fire Mana made Jeb realize that the forge was already attuning some of the Mana that was in the air. He was certain that Mana aspecting itself was something he’d need to consider, but, like so many of the observations he’d been making lately, he would think about it later.
The hours passed as Jeb worked. Right before they broke for lunch, Jeb was finished with the shovel. Sure, he could keep refining the shape more and more, but he had already passed the point of diminishing returns. It certainly wasn’t the nicest shovel ever made, but it was serviceable.
“Great job Jeb,” his grandfather said. “That is certainly a shovel head. After lunch we’ll start working on silver.”
Lunch was a quiet affair. Most of Jeb’s family was off preparing for the harvest.
Back in the workshop after lunch, Jeb’s grandfather showed him how to shape the silver from a raw shape into a long and even rod. From there, Jeb’s grandfather showed him how to shape a ring.
“Call me over once you’ve shaped one hundred rings,” his grandfather said. If Jeb had been less distracted, he might have asked why one hundred. But, despite intentionally not focusing on the many questions he was thinking about, part of his mind was still stuck on them.
Still, Jeb took to the work diligently. He measured the right length off of the rod, cut it off and then shaped it around the sizing rod. With each passing ring he became more comfortable with the technique. As he became more comfortable with the technique, his rings grew better shaped.
When he took his first afternoon break, Jeb realized that his Mana had fully refilled. He started playing his Song again, playing with the shape of the thread even more than the time before. He was even able to add loops to the thread now. As his Mana emptied, Jeb felt a pressing urge from the System to do something more with the thread, though he still wasn’t sure what.
Back inside, Jeb finished making the rings. “Grandfather, I’ve finished!” he called.
His grandfather showed him how to solder the rings together, and Jeb then forged all of the rings together. Once he had, his grandfather started him on making gold thread. It began similar to making the silver rod, though he just kept feeding the rod through thinner and thinner holes until it moved less like a bar of metal and more like an actual thread.
Once they’d made the gold thread, Jeb’s grandfather showed him how to do delicate gold work. They finished working for the day and Jeb enjoyed dinner with his family. After dinner, he Enforced his lute while his bees danced and went to bed.
The next morning, Jeb’s grandfather was waiting for him in the kitchen.
“Good morning, grandfather,” Jeb said.
“Good morning, Jeb,” his grandfather replied.
“What am I working on today?”
“You should have nearly finished unlocking the Skill,” his grandfather replied, “so for your final work, make a project using the skills you’ve learned.”
“What should I make?” Jeb asked.
“It’s your project, so everything is your choice. I’ve been told that enchantments are often made with gold thread, though, if you’re looking for some inspiration.”
Jeb considered what to make as his grandfather left. He could tell that he had nearly earned the Smithing Skill already, because a look around the room told him how to work with the different metals in it, even if he wasn’t quite sure what all of them were. After a bit of deliberation, Jeb came up with his idea.
First, though, he needed to build a few test pieces. Jeb took out a small sheet of iron and started to heat it. Once it was glowing, Jeb called Least Create Fire to mind. Mentally placing it over the iron sheet, Jeb began to draw grooves underneath the tracing of the groove.
It took a few cycles in the furnace to finish the rune, but Jeb managed to carve the channels in just before he needed to take a break.
“Time for the moment of truth,” Jeb thought. He tried feeding a small amount of Mana into the rune. To his surprise, a small flame appeared for a moment before guttering out.
When Jeb looked, he saw that the Glyph had distorted when he put Mana into it. It had heated unevenly, so one of the points had shifted. It hadn’t shifted much, but apparently it had shifted enough to make the Glyph not work. In retrospect, starting with Creating Fire might not have been his wisest choice.
When Jeb came back from his break, he fixed the Glyph and then filled the channel in with a thin strand of gold. Once more, he poured the slightest bit of Mana into the Glyph, curious what would happen this time.
A flame appeared again, this time lasting until Jeb cut off the flow of Mana. The iron had heated to nearly cherry red in that time, though, which wouldn’t work for his project idea.
Jeb tried removing the gold tracing from the iron, suddenly curious if he needed the stabilizing shape. Of course, it had welded itself to the iron when he used it to make Fire, so Jeb needed to reshape something. Working with a thin piece of gold, Jeb pulled Least Conjure Water to mind, carefully shaping the gold along the sharp lines of the Glyph.
Once it was finished, he carefully fed in the slightest bit of Mana that he could into the new Glyph. Water started beading on its surface, though as Jeb watched, it seemed to concentrate at the end of the Glyph.
Jeb was elated. His mind swimming, he took his break slightly early, already planning out what he would make for his project. Of course, he’d lost track of the time. It was dinner, which meant he was done in the shop for the night.
Jeb accepted the two Quest Notifications when he sat at the table.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Glyphmastery First Tier Scribe Chain “Scribe a First Tier Glyph”. You have engraved Least Create Fire in iron and gold. Rewards: 20 Experience, Mana +5 Unlocked Scribe Chain Second Quest: “Scribe a Second Tier Glyph”
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Glyphmastery First Tier Scribe Chain “Scribe a First Tier Glyph”. You have engraved Least Conjure Water in gold. Rewards: 20 Experience, Mana +5
The two Notifications were more or less the same, but Jeb was even more excited than he had been. Now he not only had confirmation that what he was doing counted as scribing a Glyph, but the Quest even gave him more Mana. Then again, given that it had taken him all day to make two Glyphs, it wasn’t as though he was suddenly going to be able to double his Mana the next day. That wasn’t even getting into the cost of the gold. Jeb knew that gold was costly, though he had no real sense for how much it was.
The next morning, Jeb rose and went immediately to the shop. He’d spent the time after dinner planning what he would build.
First came the iron. Jeb made another shovel head, though this one was far thinner than the first he’d made. Once it was finished, he made a second. In them both, he carefully etched the paths for Least Move Earth, making sure that they lay perfectly on top of each other once he had finished.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Satisfied, Jeb brought over the gold thread and carefully set it within the iron. After he’d successfully made the Glyph, as a quick Notification told him, Jeb carefully welded the two pieces of iron together.
Jeb felt incredibly nervous as he stepped outside. He placed the shovel head on the ground and fed a stream of Mana into it. He found himself suddenly grateful for the practice he’d had with the Song. Not being able to see the Glyph as he activated it made it far more difficult than he’d expected.
Still, as Jeb took a scoop out of the earth, a wide trough in front of him came as well. As it did, Jeb saw the notification he’d been waiting for.
Congratulations! By learning to smith under the tutelage of a Master Smith, you have unlocked the General Skill: Smithing.
Jeb called his grandfather over.
“I finished my project and unlocked Smithing!” he exclaimed as his grandfather drew near.
“Congratulations Jeb. What did you make?” he asked, looking at the seemingly plain shovel head. “I’m guessing that it wasn’t just a slightly nicer shovel head.”
“I put a Glyph between two half shovel heads,” he explained, “and it still worked after I welded them together.”
“Care to demonstrate?”
That was all the excuse Jeb needed. He sent Mana into the Glyph again, this time struggling far less. Maybe the difficulty had been a mental block rather than an actual Magical one.
Whatever the case, Jeb’s small scoop with the shovel took out a far larger chunk of the soil.
“I put Least Move Earth on it,” Jeb explained, “so that it could replicate what I did before I got my Class.”
“Does it only work for you, or can anyone use the Glyph?” his grandfather asked.
That was a good question.
“Why don’t you try?” Jeb asked. “I don’t know of any reason why I would be the only one able to use it, but I might be wrong.”
“Well then, toss it over.”. Jeb quickly tossed the shovel head over, and his grandfather gripped it gently. “What now?”
“Do you know how to move your Mana?” Jeb asked, hoping that the answer would be yes.
“I can’t say that I do,” his grandfather admitted, “I guess that it’s your turn to teach me.”
Jeb thought back to the feeling he had when he first learned Glyphs. “To start, close your eyes and imagine that there’s a pit of energy deep in your chest,” he said. His grandfather nodded, so he continued, “now push the energy into your hands,” he said, and the shovel’s enchantment lit up.
“Well that was easier than I expected,” his grandfather said. “Now what?”
“Try moving some earth I suppose,” Jeb said, barely restraining his excitement. His grandfather moved a shovelful of earth and another three or four came with it.
“Well, that certainly helps a little,” his grandfather said, “though I’m nearly out of Mana already. Still, for a first attempt, that was certainly a good job.”
Most of Jeb’s family came to see what Jeb and his grandfather were so excited about. They spent the remainder of the afternoon all taking turns with the new shovel head. At dinner, Jeb realized that he’d forgotten to test something.
“Shoot!” he exclaimed.
The rest of his family turned, confused at his sudden outburst.
“Sorry,” Jeb said, “I just realized I never tried shaping iron into a Glyph, only gold or etched iron.” His family muttered vaguely comforting comments, since none of them really knew what Jeb was annoyed at himself for. He tried to sneak back into the shop after dinner, only to be stopped by his grandfather telling him to take a break.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 4124/100
----------------------------------------
Total Statistic Load: 273 Physical Load: 124 Strength: 28 Dexterity: 21 Endurance: 30 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
----------------------------------------
Mental Load: 149 Intelligence: 25 Willpower: 25 Magic Affinity: 51 Mana Depth: 25 Charisma: 23
----------------------------------------
Mana: 585
----------------------------------------
Glyph Attunement: 22 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 Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell
----------------------------------------
Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
----------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------
Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
----------------------------------------
Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)