Jeb woke up the next morning and began carving his staff, carefully marking out the lines to be carved. He worked more slowly than he had with the practice piece. After all, this was his final project, and he didn’t have a backup if he made a mistake.
The hours passed by as he slowly etched the Glyph into his staff. Around lunch time, his aunt came in with a suggestion.
“Have you considered adding other carvings to the staff as well?”
“No, why would I?” Jeb asked.
“A few reasons. First, the Glyph isn’t particularly symmetric or detailed.” Jeb didn’t disagree. It looked like he’d carved something into the rod intentionally, sure, but it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing.
“Also, if it would be that difficult for anyone to adapt a Glyph to fit on a staff, hiding your work is important.”
Jeb took a moment to digest that advice. “I understand the first reason,” he said slowly, “but what’s the problem with someone else seeing what I did with the Glyph? If it saves them the time to discover it themselves that’s good.”
His aunt saw how confused he looked. “It hasn’t come up for you yet, Jeb, but at some point, you’ll need to be provide for yourself. If you sell a product, making it easily copied just means that you’ll be undercut in prices, either by someone with lower standards, or someone with enough money to sell at a loss until you’re too far in debt.”
“But I don’t plan to be an Inscriber,” Jeb said. “So if my work would help one, I don’t see why that’s an issue.”
His answer surprised his aunt, who took a few moments to consider what Jeb had said. “That’s a fair position for you to take right now, but do remember that a secret, once let out, can never be put back. I do still think you should add more decorations, though. If you could also make them glow, that would be ideal.”
They finished their meal and his aunt went back to her work. Jeb considered what she’d said.
A part of him recoiled at the idea of intentionally making the Glyph even more inefficient by having extraneous decorations glow as he used the staff. Then again, it wasn’t like he needed the staff to be efficient. After all, he knew the Glyph for Attune Water Mana, and it would always be more efficient for him to cast his own Spell than to cast through a medium.
Or, at least, Jeb assumed it would always be more efficient. He supposed that he’d never actually confirmed that.
Still, he couldn’t deny that the idea of a staff that glowed an ethereal and arcane blue was appealing. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that decorations were always needless and often slightly detrimental to the performance of a carved piece of wood. But, there was a value to the beauty or effect that the carvings could add.
Once Jeb had come to that conclusion, he realized he would need to find a way to make the entire staff glow as he channeled Mana into it. Thankfully, he had an already engraved rod that he could practice with.
As it turned out, it was very easy to add other lines to the Glyph to siphon off some of the Mana. Because it was fundamentally adding diversions to the Glyph and therefore making it less efficient, it meant that they all glowed. And so, once Jeb had finished carving Attune Water Mana into the staff, he got ready to add decorations. His aunt came in and the two of them discussed potential motifs and designs.
Jeb spent the next days cutting and refining the decorations on his staff. When he finished, the staff stood just taller than him, carved in what looked like mystical knotwork. His aunt walked in as he finished applying the sealing coats.
“Well, now,” she said, “you’ll look like quite the little Druid as you carry that around.”
Jeb’s eyes widened. “Wait,” he cried out, “isn’t Druid a forbidden Class? Will I be in trouble for having this staff?”
His aunt’s mirthful grin died down at that. “Sorry for teasing, Jeb,” she replied, “no. You won’t really be confused for a Druid, at least to anyone who has the power or persuasion to care about your Class.”
That was a relief.
“But enough of that! Show me what your staff does.”
Jeb had been willing to show his aunt before, but she had refused, saying that a Woodworker never shows their project before it’s finished. Why that wasn’t an issue as she was helping him design new patterns wasn’t clear to Jeb, but he decided not to ask.
He stood, gripping the staff loosely. Slowly, he began to feed Mana into the Glyph, buried beneath the intricate designs he’d carved.
The staff began to glow, and misty Mana began to fall off of the staff, dissipating well before it hit the ground. Jeb hadn’t expected that. Apparently he’d made the Glyph inefficient enough that it was more or less completely visible without his Mana vision.
Still, Jeb was curious what it would look like with the vision on. Surprisingly, some of the Mana seemed to be entering into the wood.
“Well, Aunt Sue,” he said, breaking her out of her focus on the staff, “I think I might have found a way to infuse Mana into normal wood. The extra patterns in the Glyphs seem to be channeling a small amount of the Mana I’m sending through my staff into the wood.”
There was silence for a long while. Jeb kept feeding Mana into his staff, mostly because he didn’t know what else to do. That, and it did look really striking, at least to him.
“I know that you have other uses for your Mana,” she said, nodding towards his lute case, “but I would be curious if you end up seeing similar effects in your staff as when you’ve Enforced your lute.”
“Will do!” he replied, stopping himself from rhyming.
“Have you unlocked the Skill?” she asked.
Jeb remembered what he was doing in Midville. Once again, he realized how easily distracted he was. He ended up becoming so focused on ideas to prevent getting distracted again in the future that his aunt had to remind him to check if he’d unlocked the new Skills.
Sheepishly, Jeb opened his Notifications.
Congratulations! By learning about the different varieties of wood and their uses from a master Woodcarver, you have unlocked the Identify Subskill: Wood Identification.
Congratulations! By learning to shape and carve wood under the personal direction of a master Woodcarver, you have unlocked the General Skill: Woodworking.
Jeb completed the next Identification Quest, since he was already in the menu.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Identify Third Tier “Learn a Third Identification Subskill”. Congratulations, you’ve learned another way to view the world. Rewards: 59 EXP, Intelligence +4. Unlocked Identify Fourth Tier “Learn a Fourth Identification Subskill.”
Unsurprisingly, the next Identify Quest was more or less identical to the first three he’d completed.
Identify Minor Quest Fourth Tier Learn a Fourth Identification Subskill Diversify your specialization by learning another Subskill.
Jeb’s aunt saw his face light up.
“Congratulations Jeb!” she said, “back to the farm?” she asked.
“Sounds good!” he said, “I’ve missed being able to Enforce my lute.” It was more than that, though he wouldn’t say anything to his aunt. Even at night, it never got quiet.
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When Jeb looked out the window before bed, he couldn’t see the stars. Instead, all he saw were streetlights and candles in windows. He missed his family, his bees, and his farm.
His aunt must have seen some of what was going on in his mind, because she gave him a supportive smile, “next time you come to Midville, I’ll be sure to show you the better parts of the city. We never did get the chance to see a real Bard play.”
“I’ve seen the Bard play at the inn in Humdrumville,” Jeb protested.
His aunt started to say something about how the Bard there wouldn’t be as good, then stopped. “I suppose you do have the Librarian there,” she muttered under her breath, “who knows what Tier of Bard he’d drag into town.” It was clear from her tone of voice that she didn’t want Jeb to ask about it, so he looked around the room instead.
He’d certainly left his mark. The room was filled with dust, shavings, and mediocrely worked wood. “What are you going to do with all of the projects you had me make?” Jeb asked out of idle curiosity.
“Hmm?” His aunt shook herself out of whatever she’d been thinking about, “oh, I’ll probably just burn them,” she said not unkindly. “They’re not up to the standards of my workshop, and there’s not a lot else I have use for them. Why? Did you want anything?”
“No, I was just wondering,” Jeb replied. It stung for a moment, but then he remembered the desk on the roof. His work was nothing like that.
The two continued chatting as Jeb packed the few things that he’d brought to Midville. “All set?” his aunt asked. At a nod from Jeb, they left the city. He was glad to be going home again.
On the road home, Jeb tried Enforcing his lute again. Since he’d been working with Attune Water Mana so much in the past days, Jeb decided to put Water Mana into the lute.
If it had felt easy to force the thread through the Glyph before, now it almost felt like the thread was pulling itself through the points. Jeb watched the Mana enter the lute and felt it binding closer to himself. Unlike before, though, he was a little warier about the feeling now.
His aunt’s comments about the dangers of binding an instrument had been floating around his mind during his time in her shop. He resolved to ask the Bard first thing when he got back home. As he thought about it, he realized that the Librarian might be a better person to ask.
After all, the Bard obviously thought that binding the lute was worth whatever risks came along with it, because he’d recommended that Jeb bind it. The Librarian should have more information, and he’d be an unbiased source.
Nodding to himself, Jeb looked out at the countryside as his Mana quickly drained. When the thread finished winding its way into his lute, his aunt spoke up, “do you know any music for the lute, or is it just Bard Songs?” She was grinning as she asked, which let Jeb know that she was kidding.
Jeb started playing one of the songs he’d learned from the method book, marveling at how much of a difference the Enforcing he’d done was making. It was one thing to hear the way that individual notes changed as he played through scales or plucked individual notes. It was something completely different to hear the way that the lute seemed to meld with his own voice.
He nearly missed a beat, so entranced by the sounds he was producing. Thankfully, the Skills and skill he’d developed prevented that mistake. When he finished his song, his aunt started clapping.
“Bravo,” she said, “truly a performance worthy of a Bard.” That was an exaggeration, Jeb knew. Still, his cheeks started flushing. It was a nice compliment nonetheless.
Jeb spent the rest of the drive playing songs for his aunt while his Mana refilled, then Enforcing his lute with the different Aspected Manas he could create. By the time that they got back to Humdrumville, it was nearly dark.
“Are you ok to walk the last few miles?” his aunt asked, “I’ve got to deliver the desk, and I’d rather stay on the road.”
“That’s completely fine with me!” Jeb confirmed, “I wanted to stop by the Library, so this just saves me the walk.”
The two said their goodbyes, and Jeb hopped off the cart. He waved to his aunt as she drove away, then opened the door into the Library.
The town was quieter than Jeb remembered, and a part of him felt strangely nervous about entering the Library. He ignored those thoughts and stepped inside. As soon as the door closed behind him, Jeb heard the sound of rustling pages as the world suddenly grew dark.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 4262/100
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Total Statistic Load: 282 Physical Load: 124 Strength: 28 Dexterity: 21 Endurance: 30 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 158 Intelligence: 29 Willpower: 25 Magic Affinity: 51 Mana Depth: 25 Charisma: 28
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Mana: 585
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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
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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
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)