Logging in the next morning John wandered out of the cellar to look around. The grass had mostly sprung back into place, but the ground was still wet and muddy. John gingerly stepped out onto it, immediately sinking a good inch into the sodden soil. He was pleased that his starting gear had involved solid boots, but less pleased that it had given him shorts and short sleeved tunic. His legs were certainly going to get splattered with mud, and it was probably only a matter of time before it got into his boots.

Schlepping through the mud John made his way to the edge of the property where he stepped off the mud and onto sodden grass. While each step still squelched, and the wet grass brushed against him all the way to the hip, it was still preferable to walking in the mud. Now free of the sticky menace John surveyed his property. The wall was still there, though it had sunk slightly in the wet ground, and not at all evenly. That was fine, John was going to get rid of it anyway. The cleared sections were all mud, and the grassy sections were sodden.

John shook his head. He wanted to wait for the ground to dry before he did anything else, but Ellie had said the rainy season was coming. If that storm hadn’t been the start of the rainy season John would eat his left boot. That meant he could look forward to more rain and mud. So he’d best get used to working in the mud.

However, he had finished his homework, which meant he could go see Grandma Loren and find out if she had anything new to teach him. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. Maybe by the time he got back it’d be less muddy. So, in the grand tradition of procrastination, John set out for town.

By the time he reached the village he was sopping wet to the hip, and his boots were indeed wet on the inside. However, after stepping out of the grass, he used a quick application of Control Water to remove the excess moisture, leaving his legs and boots dry. He deposited the water itself back into the tall grass and then started moving down the road.

There were precious few players in town, and even as he watched several of them logged off. Apparently they were about as pleased with the mud as he was. Still, it wasn’t going to get better, not without some serious road work. Thinking of road work, John briefly wondered if he could get paid for upgrading the road, he bet he could find some good tutorials on building stone roads online. Putting the idea away for later, John continued his trek toward the center of town.

Arriving at the Runic Rock John used a quick casting of Control Water to dry off the bench and then sat down. By this time the sun had made itself known, and the day was turning pleasantly warm, despite the dampness that had pervaded everything. Grandma Loren didn’t seem to be about, but that was okay, John was happy to wait, and if she didn’t come out at some point he could always go back to the farm and do some work.

Looking about John found that the town had survived the storm with relatively few casualties. There were some missing roof tiles, and a few missing shutters, but other than that the town seemed fine. As he looked about, he could see Frank setting up his stall, and just a few minutes later out came Ellie, and she started piecing together her own. It looked like they weren’t going to let the mud stop them. John smiled and waved, both of them waved back and then returned to their work.

A few minutes later found John getting restless, and he pulled open the web interface. For a while John lost himself in videos and tutorials on road building. It looked like he could devise something similar to a Roman Road, which were still famous for their durability. Eventually someone sat down beside him and he looked over to see Loren peering over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Learning to build roads,” John admitted.

“Changing profession already? Decided being a farmer is too hard?” she asked with a twinkle.

“Nah, just tired of mud.” John gestured to the ground around him.

“Well get used to it, we’ve got three or so months of rains coming. After that’ll be about the same for snow.”

John grimaced. “Guess I’ve only got a couple more months to make a profit then,” he muttered.

“Hm?” Loren looked away from the video he’d been watching. “Something wrong?”

John waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing, it’s just. I’ve got about five months before I have to show I’ve made a profit or quit and find something else.”

“Hmmm then why are you sitting around doing nothing,” Loren asked as she poked him in the side with a bony finger.

“Gah! Hey, stop that. I was waiting for you!”

“Hm a likely story,” she said, though it seemed she needed little convincing to believe him. “I take it you finished your homework then?

“Yep!” He held up a hand and created a small pile of dirt in it, then he gestured at the mud around their feet and pulled a small amount of water out of it. He discarded both to the side.

Loren nodded. “Very good then, show me your Mana Drawing. Just will your mana to burn brightly, so that it can be easily seen.”

John drew out two loops, one for his navel and one for his right arm. Loren looked at him and nodded. “Very good, now show me two strands of imprinted mana at once.”

John hesitated and looked at Loren. “Uh.. I can’t? I can only control one strand of mana at a time.”

“Oh bother, right, I forgot you’re only an apprentice at Mana Manipulation. Fine, I’ll take your word for Mana Imprinting. So, that’s all the easy and most useful skills out of the way, what to teach you next… Hmmm Cleanse would be a good spell for you to have, it’ll cure crops of infection. Hasten Decay is a good for creating fertilizer. Hasten Growth is good if you need something to grow fast, but can be hard on the crops. How’s your Mana Sight coming along?”

“Not… as well as it could be. I haven’t been running it all the time,” John replied reluctantly.

Loren tsked. “Then Cleanse is right out, too complicated for an Apprentice of Mana Sight. Hasten Decay and Hasten Growth are probably within your reach, barely. Hmmm.” She leaned against the rock with a thoughtful expression.

“What about other kinds of magic? Like rituals and stuff?” John asked.

“Hm? Rituals? Ah, hmm… Ritual magic relies on precise placements, timing, and reagents to release very complex patterns of mana. The big draw of a ritual is that they can achieve long lasting results and be very powerful, the detriment is that they can cost a huge amount of mana.”

“I think Frank mentioned some kind of magic singing, and he said Ellie uses fertility magics?” John pressed.

“Magic singing? I don’t think I’ve heard of that one… As for the fertility magics Ellie uses, they’re mostly rituals empowered by Ledos and Ira. She does use a few spells, Enrich Soil, Fertilize, and Pollenate, but those are complex weaves you won’t be able to replicate yet,” Loren explained.

“Who are Ledos and Ira? I don’t think I’ve met them yet.”

Loren gave a laugh. “Ha! That’ll be the day. Ledos is the God of Magic and Knowledge, and Ira is the Goddess of Civilization and Cultivation. Ellie worships both and has built shrines to them on her farm. When I say they ‘empower her rituals’ I mean that she sets up the ritual and then entreats the gods to grant power to them.”

“All it requires to get their help is a shrine?” John asked skeptically.

“Well Ellie gets by on devotion, mostly. She believes in them as her gods, so they support her. There are other ways to get their patronage though. Ledos looks fondly on all magic users, an Ira looks fondly on builders and those of an agricultural persuasion. It’s usually not hard to convince them to help their favored peoples, even if they aren’t worshipers. If you want major help from them though, like powering powerful rituals, you’ll either need to devote yourself to them, or perform tasks for them,” Loren said.

“What kind of tasks?” John wondered aloud.

“Depends on the level of help you want and the god in question. The most basic task is building a shrine or other place of worship. Sacrifices of goods and time are occasionally asked for, and of course there’s always quests.”

John ran his fingers through his beard as he considered. “Do you think I should build shrines to them? What should a shrine look like? I’m not exactly a talented artist…”

“Hm… Well, Ellie had her shrines commissioned, They’re small wooden huts with scrollwork, a small altar and a depiction of the deity inside. Very pretty, quite expensive. As to whether or not you should build them…” Loren shrugged. “That really relies on if you’re going to entreat them for aid or not. If you think you’d like some deific intervention then I’d say yes. Though remember, unless you truly venerate them, it’s going to be a business transaction. In order to get something out you’ll have to put something in.”

John nodded as he considered what she’d said. After a moment of contemplation he tabled the idea of a shrine. “Alright, I think I’d like to know Hasten Decay, Hasten Growth, and Ritual Magic, if you’re willing to teach me.”

“Very well, the first two will be easy enough, I’ll show you the weaves and you copy them. For Ritual Magic I’ll have to go get a primer. That one requires a lot more information than I can give you in a single sitting,” she admitted.

“Well, if it helps I bought the Blueprint module and could copy down the weaves, then practice them while you go get the primer,” John offered.

“Hmmm not a bad purchase I suppose, I wouldn’t rely too hard on system granted blueprints though, they tend to be the bare minimum. Well, let me show you the weaves.” She held up her hand and a spell weave took shape in it. “This is Hasten Decay.” She then held up her other hand, and a second weave appeared. “And this is Hasten Growth.”

John studied the weaves for a few moments, copying them into the Blueprint module as best he could. They were indeed more complex than any of the other spells he’d used yet, and the fuzziness of the lines made it more difficult than previous spells, but he was fairly certain he’d gotten a good representation of them. “Alright,” he said at last. “I think I have them.”

“Good, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Loren said as she stood and walked off.

John immediately called Hasten Decay up and projected the weave over his upturned hand. He then began to push his mana against it. He met the familiar resistance, and continued to push his will against the wall. Eventually it gave, though John realized he felt far more mentally taxed than usual, likely a result of trying to force a higher ranked weave.

[Spell Gained: Hasten Decay]

“That’s one,” Loren said, startling John. He hadn’t noticed her return. “Now the other, I’ll wait.”

John nodded and began working on Hasten Growth. Looking at the new weave he could see the similarities with the one he’d just finished, and oddly that actually made it harder. Even with the representation in front of him, his mind kept wandering to the previous weave. Still, after what felt like an age he managed to push through, and the weave snapped into place.

[Spell Gained: Hasten Growth]

John put a hand to his head, his brain felt sore and overtaxed.

“Don’t worry, it’ll get easier as you increase Mana Manipulation. Once you can weave individual strands of mana you can build a weave piece by piece instead of all at once,” Loren said in a conciliatory tone. “Now, this will teach you the basics of Ritual Magic,” she continued as she pulled a book out of seemingly thin air. It was a slim volume, and slightly tattered. “Though I wouldn’t be too excited, the rituals depicted are basic, and won’t do much for you I’m afraid, but you should be able to cobble something together that will get you the skill.”

John took the book and flipped it open. The interior was filled with diagrams and pictures, along with lists of possible reagents and discussions of what each ritual did. “Well, something is better than nothing. Looks like I might need some basic tools though…”

“Yes, you’ll need something to measure with at the least, the Measure skill at apprentice rank is simply too imprecise. In fact, most ritualists don’t rely on the skill until they have it at Master rank,” Loren cautioned.

“Alright, I don’t suppose anyone sells measuring sticks or something like that?” John inquired.

“Not as such, no. You could probably get Phillip to measure out some twine in different lengths for you. He’s quite good at Measuring. His is the woodworking shop over there.” Loren gestured toward the end of the street.

“I’ll do that then. I should probably see him about getting a door made for my cellar anyway.”

“Well then, your homework for this week is to, without using points, raise any skill or spell to the Journeyman rank, gain the Ritual Magic skill, and increase Hasten Decay and Hasten Growth to the Apprentice rank,” Loren informed him.

“How long does it take to increase a skill to Journeyman through use?” John wondered.

“One week of continuous use. You’re probably close in one or two abilities already,” she said.

John winced. “I’m not going to have time to grind out any skills I don’t use regularly.”

“With your time restraints? I imagine not. Though you may be able to take the winter to do some ‘grinding’ as you call it. Unless you build a greenhouse, or some other temperature-controlled environment,” Loren mused. “So, I suppose you’ll just have to do as most people do, and rank up by using skills in your normal life.”

John nodded. “Also, I don’t think I’ve said this enough, thank you, you’ve been a tremendous help.”

Loren smiled. “It’s no trouble. Now you’d best get going, you don’t have time to waste.”

John smiled back as he stood. “Bye, I’ll see you next time I’m in town.”

“Goodbye,” she said with a wave.

John left the square and headed down the street toward where he could see a shop displaying several pieces of woodworking. He paused out front to examine the sturdy tables, desks, and chairs that were on display. They seemed to be well made, but then again everything John knew about woodworking could fill maybe half a page. Giving one last glance to the display John walked into the shop, his coming heralded by the tinkling of a bell.

The interior of the shop was crammed with finished products; most of which suffered from a case of sturdy and practical. But a few pieces stood out as having intricate detailed work. All of it was finely sanded and smooth, though only a few pieces were varnished. As he looked about a small man, maybe four feet tall and balding, came out of the back room, wiping his fingers on a cloth.

“Hello hello! Oh you must be John! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” The man stuck out one rough and calloused hand and John shook it firmly.

“Hi, you must be Phillip?” John said with a friendly smile.

“Oh indeed! Welcome to my shop, please tell me you want something other than a booth?” Phillip said.

“Is making booths that bad?” John asked.

“Making booths is boring,” Phillip said. “I used to wish I had more to do out here. In a small town there’s not a lot of call for a woodworker unless something breaks. Now we have all these players and all they want are booths. Plain booths at that, too cheap to spring for some decoration. All function no form, that’s what they want.” The man paused, look abashed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to complain.”

“It’s fine, I can see how making the same thing over and over again would be less than thrilling,” John said.

“Quite! I don’t suppose you’re here for something more interesting?” Phillip looked at John hopefully.

“Probably not. I need a door,” John admitted.

“A door?” Phillip asked, looking slightly crestfallen.

“Sorry, I don’t need much woodwork right now,” John said apologetically.

“No,” Phillip replied with a sigh. “I suppose you wouldn’t. Let’s see, I’ve a couple of finished doors in the back, or I could come measure your doorway and build one specifically for it if you prefer.”

“Well, I’d love to take home a finished door today. It’s for my storm cellar,” John explained.

“Ah, as good a place to start as any, you’ll be wanting one of the heavy doors then.” Phillip started heading for the back of the shop and motioned for John to follow.

The back room was larger than the front, and packed with even more items, almost all of them entirely utilitarian. Leaning against the back wall were several doors (complete in frames), from a thin interior door, to what appeared to be a thick slab of solid wood, that John suspected would be perfect for his storm cellar. Indeed, Phillip walked over to the heavy-duty door and rapped on it.

“This is probably the one you want. It’s solid oak all the way through, it’s been varnished so it should be waterproof, and it has a heavy-duty bolt to help hold it closed,” the smaller man explained.

“It does sound good. How much does it cost?” John inquired.

“Normally the door would only cost about fifty coppers, but the varnish has to be imported, can’t make the stuff locally, not enough trees. So the final price comes out to about a silver.”

John grimaced at the price, but gave careful consideration to the door. It wasn’t elaborate, or pretty, but he could tell it was solid, and would almost certainly hold against high winds and heavy rain. After a short moment of indecision, he finally nodded his head. “I’ll take it.”

“Excellent choice!” Phillip said even as John handed him a silver. “Will you be needing help getting it installed?”

Moving forward John picked up the door awkwardly and disappeared it into his inventory. “Nah, I’ll just mold the stone around the frame to hold it in place.”

“Ah, be careful not to apply too much pressure when you do that, otherwise you could warp or break the frame,” Phillip cautioned.

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to take it as slow as possible,” John promised.

“I don’t suppose there’s anything else I can interest you in while you’re here?”

“Um… I think there was something… Oh right! Can I get you to measure some pieces of twine for me? I’m going to do some ritual work and I need precise measurements, Grandma Loren said you’d be my best bet at getting those,” John said.

“That’s no problem, I’ll even do it for free, provided you have the twine. What lengths do you need?” Phillip asked.

“Uh, let’s go with a Yard, a Foot, and an Inch,” John said as he took out a spool of twine.

Phillip took the spool and measured out a few lengths of twine, cutting them with is belt knife. He then handed the cut pieces and the spool back. “There you go, anything else?”

John paused and thought it over, then shook his head. “Sorry, not yet. I’m going to need barn doors in the future, and a gate for my farm once I put up a wall, but those are a bit off.”

“Hmmm,” Phillip hummed in disappointment. “Well, I’ll be here when you’re ready. It was nice meeting you John.”

“You as well,” John replied, and then left the store.