The next morning, Jeb woke up with the feeling that he should check on the hive. He knew it was a silly impulse, since the bees had winterized their own hive during the harvest. Still, he was learning to trust the gut feelings that he had, so Jeb quietly snuck down the stairs. He switched his name tag to the away position and walked out to the bee hive.
The predawn light made each flake of snow on the ground shimmer in its own way. Jeb nearly stopped to appreciate the sight. A cold wind blew by and encouraged him to keep moving. At the hive, he saw that the bees were all safely inside.
“Is everything ok?” he asked, not really sure if he would be able to hear a reply. The feeling he got back from the hive was that everything was going well, they were just curious how his experience with the harvest went. He felt another undertone of concern about how cold he must be without a hive to keep him warm, but he ignored that.
“Oh!” Jeb exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t even thought about the fact that you would still be active in the winter time.” Jeb had never seen a bee in the winter, so he had never considered what they did during the snow covered months.
After recounting his experience in the harvest, he felt the connection between himself and the bees close again. It was the first time that he had felt it close so suddenly. Probing it gently, Jeb was certain that he could open the connection again if he needed to . Seeing that the hive was doing well, though, Jeb shrugged and walked back inside.
He made it in the door just as his mother started stoking the kitchen’s fire for the morning.
“Good morning,” she called to him. “Where were you wandering so early?”
“I just wanted to check in on the bees,” Jeb replied. His mother smiled warmly.
“That makes sense.” Jeb noticed that his mother used the birthday present he had gotten her to start the fire, which brightened his day even further. “So,” she continued when the fire had stabilized, “what are you planning to do with your day today?”
“I was thinking about seeing whether the Glyphs that I’ve Modified would count towards the Quest I have to share my new Glyphs.”
“Is that at the Library?” Seeing Jeb’s nod, his mother handed him a jar. “If you would be willing to take that to the Librarian, I would appreciate it.”
“What’s inside?” Jeb asked.
“Some berry preserves,” his mother replied.
Shrugging, Jeb went upstairs to put the jar in his carrying sack. While there, he took the pile of Manaweave his grandfather had given him and considered his options. If the Quest would work on all of his Modified Glyphs, it would make the most sense to just inscribe every one of them onto a piece of Manaweave. Or, at least, all of the non-Water Glyphs.
If it didn’t, though, Jeb didn’t want to waste the Manaweave, especially since he knew there was no way for him to get any more before the winter ended. After deliberating for a moment, Jeb realized an easy solution. Starting at the top of his Spell List, he pushed Least Shape Earth (Modified) onto the first piece of Manaweave in the pile.
He put that sheet and the rest of the pile in his sack and started walking to the Library. The wind encouraged him to move quickly, and he made it to the Library just as the sun broke the horizon. Jeb saw the Librarian standing outside of the Library watching the sun rise with a smile.
“Good morning, Jeb,” the Librarian called without turning around.
“How did you know it was me?” Jeb asked.
“Lucky guess,” the Librarian replied. “What can I help you with today?”
“Two things,” Jeb said, rummaging through his bag. “First, my mother wanted me to give you this.” He handed the jar of preserves to the Librarian, who accepted them.
“Tell your mother thank you,” he said. “What else did you need?”
“I was wondering whether the Modifications I made to the Glyphs I know was worth completing a Quest.” Jeb pulled out the sheet of Manaweave he had engraved and checked his Notifications.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Grok Glyphs Second Tier “Share Your Work” Using what you have learned from the Mana Mastery and Spell Glyphing Quests, you have shared one of your Modified or Original Glyph with another. Rewards: 39 Experience, 1 Intelligence, 1 Willpower, 10 Mana
He had another Quest Notification, which confused him for a second. When Jeb accepted it, though, it made sense.
Congratulations! You have completed the Minor Quest Glyphmastery First Tier Scribe Chain “Scribe a First Tier Glyph”. You have engraved Least Shape Earth (Modified) onto a piece of Manaweave. Rewards: 19 Experience, Mana +5
“It looks like it will,” Jeb said.
The Librarian nodded. “I can see the Modification you made. What does it do?”
“Normally Glyphs have a limiter on them that lets you affect how much Mana you feed into the Glyph at once. With the Modification I made, that disappears. Casting the Glyph takes your entire Mana pool.”
The Librarian quirked an eyebrow. “And what is the use for that?”
Jeb thought back to when he had modified all of his Glyphs. “It takes slightly less Mana to make the same amount of water without the limiter. Since I was emptying my Mana to Conjure Water, it made sense to do whatever I could to make that as efficient as possible.”
The Librarian nodded and pages started flashing through his eyes. “This is not a novel Modification,” he said after a moment, “though that specific use case is not the standard one.”
“Oh?” Jeb replied, leaning in.
The Librarian shook his head. “If you have not figured out what the standard use for your Modification is, I do not believe that it would be helpful for your development for me to tell you.” Seeing that Jeb was about to object, the Librarian held up a finger, “if you truly believe it would be in your best interest to know what the Modification is typically used for, I will tell you.”
That made Jeb pause. “If you really think it’s in my best interest, I trust you,” he said after a minute considering. “But I do still have more Glyphs to share with you.”
“I would expect nothing else,” the Librarian replied. “Also, instead of ruining your entire stock of Manaweave,” he said, running a finger down the sheet that held Least Shape Earth (Modified), “you can just reuse this one.”
Jeb gaped.
“How did you do that?” he asked, desire plain in his voice.
The Librarian chuckled. “That began as a parlor trick I learned to impress a friend as a young man,” he said. “When I received my next Class, I was shocked to find that it had become a Class Skill. It has more practical uses now, though I suppose that erasing a First Tier Glyph is practical for our uses right now, is it not?”
Jeb had questions, but the Librarian’s tone implied that he wouldn’t take any more questions about what had happened. Accepting that he would have to wait for answers, he started to go through the Glyphs. Jeb planned to stop when his Intelligence was high enough to match his Willpower.
After five Glyphs, Jeb saw his problem. Each Glyph he shared increased his Intelligence, it was true. But, they also increased his Willpower. Doing some quick math, Jeb realized that he wouldn’t be able to match his Willpower with his Intelligence even if he shared all of the Glyphs with the Librarian.
“Jeb, what happened?” the Librarian asked, seeing the sudden change in Jeb’s demeanor. “Are you getting Statistic Fatigue?”
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Seeing his confusion, the Librarian explained, “when your Statistics increase too quickly, it can cause a variety of ailments in people. The technical term for the overall set of symptoms is Statistic Fatigue.”
“Oh,” Jeb replied. He felt his soul and mind. They were a little tired, but it wasn’t anything that would force him to recover. “Not particularly,” he said, “but I realized that even if I share all of my Glyphs, my Intelligence won’t be high enough.”
Jeb thought about how their two positions had just flipped. Now the Librarian seemed confused, and Jeb needed to explain what was happening. He quickly summarized the situation, starting with his grandfather’s advice on keeping his Statistics balanced.
The Librarian nodded as Jeb talked, though Jeb noticed that there were pages constantly flashing through his vision as he listened. When Jeb had finished, pages kept flashing.
As the silence grew almost too heavy, the Librarian finally spoke. “I see your conundrum. Most Least Mud Mages would not have the issue, since they would be seeking a very specific Second Tier Class.” The Librarian’s voice grew quieter for a moment, as though he were talking to himself, “and there’s simply less time to have Statistics diverge so wildly if you progress at the standard pace.”
“What did you say?” Jeb asked.
“Nothing relevant,” the Librarian replied. “I think I have a solution for you, though. The Bard should be able to extend your Musician Class to give you a Quest in your Musician Skill to compose new songs. That will give you a point each in Charisma and Intelligence.”
“That’s perfect!” Jeb exclaimed. “I still need to figure out another way to raise my Magic Depth, but that’s a different problem, I suppose.”
“Jeb, do you mind if I look at your Status?” the Librarian asked.
“No?” Jeb replied, confusion returning. “Why are you asking this time, though?”
“I am asking because this will be a much deeper scan than I have done in the past. It will likely be somewhat uncomfortable. It will also take slightly longer.”
“What are you looking for this time?” Jeb asked.
“I will go through your entire Status, Quest Log, and Skills. Once I have all of that information, I should be able to help you balance your Statistics.”
“Thank you!” Jeb said.
The Librarian grimaced. “It might help you to sit down,” he said.
Jeb sat and felt the Librarian start to read his Status. The only way he could describe the feeling was as though his soul had been torn open and stitched into a book that was being roughly paged through. Jeb remembered thinking I hope that passing out won’t affect the process. That was the last thing he remembered.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 8443/100
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Total Statistic Load: 402 ->412 Physical Load: 139 Strength: 33 Dexterity: 26 Endurance: 35 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 263 ->273 Intelligence: 47 ->52 Willpower: 62 ->67 Magic Affinity: 59 Mana Depth: 47 Charisma: 48
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Mana: 1630 ->1705
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Glyph Attunement: 30 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 Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 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 Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient 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
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)