"I just know you're tryin' to trick me." Hickory said at his book, "Trying to tempt me so I lose it all, so I can't keep it up!"

It was a hard thing to do, not spending those points, having to think about what he spent them on...

There were so many good things to pick. Weston had been right, after all, that people were unlocking all sorts of neat things, that his book was no longer just a simple story book, that there was chapters to it!

A whole bunch on things he could build like roads and bridges, sewer pipes and canals, street signs and the like, and sure it would be nice to have those things but were they really needed?

Even if such simple things only added just a one to upkeep cost, and Hickory wasn't stingy like Hunter, he didn't mind every single marble, he wasn't like that, not when people already gave him more then what he really needed just as a thank you for him doing such a damn good job.

If anything, building them things would be stingy, not when people were happy building the roads with just regular ole' rock, wouldn't it be mean to do that? Take away all them good peoples jobs, Hickory wasn't the type of man to do that, to go stealing happiness from folk.

Hickory was far too good for such things, so there was a great many he flat out ignored, even things like the Throne...his Chapel wanted him to have a Throne, he knew that, which is why he skipped that chapter.

And it was so cheap, only 300 points to build?

No, Hickory didn't put in a Throne, didn't waste them points, a church was no place for a Throne even if Preacher said it was fine, maybe good -

Now the Palace?

And wasn't Weston jealous, wasn't he mad at his family for upgrading their own church with all those silly things when they could have a Palace? They were gonna have to build it all over again, wasn't that smart of dumb ole' Hick to wait when everyone was saying he was crazy? Having Hunter build a nice new place for Ma right on the river, as nice as he could and as good as he could, no expense spared cause Ma deserved the best...

"Miss Janice with a housewarming present."

"Ma!" Hickory shouted -

"This is practice, Hickory." Weston hissed.

"I'm cooking, baby, what is it?"

"Oh, it ain't that important!" Hickory shouted back, turning to Miss Janice, a nice lady by the looks of it, "Pardon Miss Janice but Ma is cooking right now, but would you like some Melon Tea?"

Hickory ignored Weston, he was still salty over the Palace, that if anything he should be pleased as pie that Hickory had agreed to have such a weekly meeting when there was just so many better things he could be doing.

"I...oh, of course, thank you."

"The help will do it."

"I'm closer, they just got the door, they cain't stand there looking all proper and pour tea." Hickory said running to the kitchen for a cup of the sweet melon tea, and of course he got himself one as well and it was tasty, that he felt like he was rolling everywhere he went ever since he had that first bite of ripe melon and couldn't stop eating it.

"Here ya go." Hickory said passing her the cup, "Is that the present for Ma?"

He heard Weston sigh, Hunter laugh, and didn't Janice have a nice smile? And a wedding band, and with a smile like that it just made sense.

"Oh, these are candles?" Hickory said opening the box.

"They each have a different effect." Janice said, "They're labeled, on the sides."

"It smells like a river, and I like the smell of the river, Oh, Ma is gonna love this one, though I don't think I've ever smelled a diamond before."

Hickory lifted the candle to his nose but it just smelled like wax.

"It's, well these are new, I've still been working on them, but if I could show you?"

Hickory nodded.

"Please allow me, Ma'am." Gage said walking forward, and that he was acting as proper as the people paid to help? He'd tell him he needed to get that stick out of his ass, but it was none of his business.

Hickory watched as Gage took the candle outside and lit it, coming back in Hickory realized it didn't smell like a diamond at all.

"Why that's a treat is what it is, it makes little diamonds, Ma is gonna love 'em." Hickory said admiring the little diamonds that appeared like snowflakes all around the room not burning nothing. It reminded him of the Fisherman's Moon.

"Janice, I'm Hunter, and what a lovely gift, would you have time to meet with me this afternoon, and..."

Hickory took the candle from Gage and went in the kitchen to show Ma - "Look, Ma, it's just like the tv programs except it's much better and these really are a gift, it ain't just them sayin it to get you to buy something else."

Ma was busy cooking him lunch, and it smelled so good, and all the diamonds sparkling in the air like those neat fireflies, he left it in there for her, what would the river one be like?

"Now I don't suppose to give these away, that Weston says they're too special but I can't help it, not after seeing them candles I can't just give you a plain ole boring thank you."

"Are you kidding me-"

"Now they're fine with just the eggshells and leavins but they'll love you if you give em a melon, that this is what I catch them special fish on." Hickory said passing Janice the ugly glass container that Weston said was the proper gift as he walked her out.

"Alright, hold the visitors. Hickory, we need to talk this out."

Hickory sat back down in his couch and took a sip of the melon tea, and wasn't Weston's face just puckered?

"Now, Weston, I thought it went well." Hickory said.

"It did, it's far better than Covanger Fields and I'm not trying to get you to be more like my family."

Hickory nodded.

"But it was also a test and you failed, we all did, send Janice back in."

Hickory looked up in surprise, and -

Janice walked back in, gave another nice wave and Hickory waved back, but why...

"Janice, please show Hickory the hazards he came in contact with."

And Hickory felt his jaw drop as Janice no longer smiled in such an honest way -

"Hickory's drink has a small gem at the bottom, dropped there when he brought me a tea, additionally my ring from where I removed it -"

Janice held her hand open, palm up and there was a sharp needle poking out of it.

"You said we were practicing being mannerly!"

"And we were, but there's a reason why manners exist, that you have to know there's a difference now between people you've known your whole life in a small town and strangers when you are in a position of power."

"Now they may try to get a wedding ring on me, but nobody gonna try to poke me with one, and my shield would work if they did."

"How about dynamite? You're not the only person here, Hickory." Weston said and of course Hickory was already running to grab the candle, bringing it back and it wasn't even the smallest bit funny -

Sure shit that the wax had melted off, showing a stick of red beneath, fake, but...he'd pretend killed his own Ma with a pretend candle?

Hickory didn't know what to say and he was hurt and of course angry!

"Now I don't think you deserve that present after all." Hickory said, and it was a lady so he didn't rip it from her hands but he took the gift back to put under his couch where he'd hid the special presents so Weston wouldn't bitch.

"Fuck me." Gage said, shaking his head and that made it worse seeing even him with a face not grinning one bit.

"I haven't heard of these candles." Hunter said, "You're a what? A security consultant, a spy?"

"Just a few acting classes in college." Janice said, turning to Hickory. "There was a contract and...I'm so sorry, I meant no harm at all, and I'm so appreciative of everything you've done."

Hickory wasn't sure what to say, she just seemed so nice and sweet! And of course this was Weston's fault, trying to teach him to not trust people and he had a point, but Hickory didn't want to live that way, to think that way!

"Oh, it's not your fault, it's my fault." Hickory said, "I'm just too trustin' and Westons done warned me time and again and I just didn't want to make people sign no contracts to come visit."

"Can you forgive me?" Janice asked.

Hickory had to look deep inside himself, that he really didn't want to right yet, but he knew it wasn't proper to hold onto the bad like that -

"Yes, ma'am." Hickory nodded and was pleased to see how relieved she looked and she really was a nice person, he could just tell she meant no real harm.

"I was so worried." Janice said, "Weston told me you were such a kind young man, and I just couldn't believe you were so wonderful, but meeting you?"

She held her arms out just a bit, and of course Hickory was smiling, having such lovely compliments and of course he gave Janice a hug and truly forgave her knowing it would help him feel better, putting the whole matter behind him and then felt the two sharp spikes that left red marks on his shirt from where it shouldn't be sharp but soft and -

"I am truly sorry, but I'm paid by the successfully simulated attempt." Janice explained quickly, "I just moved here and if it wasn't for the advance -"

"Janice, lets...thank you, let's speak later." Weston said, leading her out quickly.

"That was cold, Weston." Chase said and Hickory could only nod, that if you couldn't trust a ladies hug? "What a bitch."

And of course he still felt better about that than the candle, that it had in a way been dynamite and it had blown a hole right through him. They all sat there, quiet, and Hickory could just tell that Weston felt guilty, that it was just pouring off him -

"We'll do the contracts." Hickory nodded, "And anything else you can think of for Ma to be safe, I should have listened."

"So you know, I had to interview over twenty people before somebody even agreed to do it, the people really do care about you."

Hickory nodded, getting up and stepping to the window, it had no glass so he could feel the fresh air while looking down at the river right there and it should be perfect, if not for that part of life that had been so simple, that felt just cut away, floating down stream and sure he knew it wasn't the end of anything, that it hadn't really changed anything just like Jared dying hadn't really changed anything...

Just how he thought about matters and those were just thoughts, but Hickory had remembered a time when no thinking was needed at all, and it was simpler that way. Had Da trusted someone? Was that how he'd been blown up, had he let somebody too close to the truck, getting him and all his buddies dead?

Could it have been a nice looking lady and of course Da wouldn't do nothin but smile at her, that he'd not shoot a lady just for coming up to say hi even if she sounded like she was choking on a frog like them folk always did -

Weston was making sure that didn't happen, and that was something, and if Da had a buddy like him much would be different. That maybe Hickory shouldn't feel a bit empty cause he was also grateful that Weston had the sense -

"Well I reckon it's not the best timing, but I know she can't wait another minute to see you and I thought she'd just be cheering you up from Weston hollerin' over them damn worms again."

Hickory at first thought maybe Gage meant May - but he heard the amused snort and was it really?

"Tackle?" Hickory whispered turning around and of course there was a love at first sight, that he could have been blind but so happy he wasn't -

She was just the perfect red, like the early sun of summer morning blushin' on them Red Hills and lightin' the river, that she had the loveliest dark spots across her neck and back? Her mane was woven with the softest of green ribbons that were nearly white and Gage wasn't even grinning, he was smilin proud as could be!

Hickory watched as Gage sat her down, she wasn't shy and just pretendin' to be bashful, he hadn't the words to say what he was feeling just then so he dropped right down on his ass and watched that prettiest of ladies trot over to him.

She was so small, just a baby horse, and even a bit knobby being new, but Hickory only saw how graceful she moved, how she took a couple little clops closer and turned her head, took a few more and turned it back -

She was certain of herself, and that she didn't wait to nuzzle his hand or nothing, that she came right over and gave him a wet kiss on the cheek, blowing a puff of air past his ear and he gave her a hug she leaned right into and gave right back.

"Tackle, I've been waitin' for you and I'm so glad you're here." Hickory said as he felt the world make sense again. He introduced her to everyone. Gage gave him a bottle of milk and helped him settle her on the couch.

Hickory tried to say thank you, and he couldn't do it with just noise that meant hardly nothing and he'd been thinking in his mind before now that Tackle would be special, that he'd been excited but he hadn't realized how she'd feel laying on his lap, that her bright eyes would look up at his with all the trust and love you could ever imagine in the whole world right there.

A good world.

"A messenger from the Covanger Family with an invitation." The helper said once they were ready again, and Hickory felt Tackle's ear flicker against his chest, and the messenger came forward dressed in dark blue.

Hickory looked for a present because the Covanger Family did give nice presents, a silver tea set and of course it was too fancy to use, that Ma had stored it away for a special occasion but this one only brought paper.

"The Covanger Family invites the Honorable Hickory and guests to attend the Melon Ball, to celebrate the first harvest and expanding trade relations on this ripening of the Juneth Moon, a singular and social affair at..."

Hickory was listening to all the things that were being celebrated and even though they had him at melon ball, that in fact he almost told them to stop, to not spoil all the surprises -

"Why that sure sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it Tackle?" Hickory said, nodding as the man dressed in a fancy blue outfit left, "I wonder if they're going to ask May to play the piano, but of course they will, if it's going to be such a nice and fun party as all that if only it didn't take so long to move the Loom we'd just cart it over for her."

"It's...probably not going to be how you imagine it, Hickory." Weston said, "But I would appreciate you going, all of us."

Hickory nodded - of course he would go, it was a party. Maybe even Ma would go now that she was starting to feel right as rain. Hickory was planning his own party for her, though, as soon as the palace was built entire.

Hunter was so smart, building it the way he did, that it was like a big ole ring connected by hallways around the outside that could be a place where Ma could walk around and look and see the river, that there were parts where Hickory could fish off it if he wanted to though why not just take the stairs down and go through the iron gate?

That they were gonna plant roses all the way around it so it wasn't just that stone and even if the stone was nice looking? Well not much could look as nice as a whole building covered in them roses being mixed together with the ivy plants so they just ran wild.

Ma was gonna love it, he knew she was, that they were going to stay in one of the small connecting rooms for right now that made up the ring that would be like tiny little guest houses in the future, almost like a hotel, when the big actual palace was made up in the center.

This way everything would just keep getting nicer and nicer, that Ma was safe as could be with all that sturdy rock and they could just build it taller and taller so no matter how far out they built the town she could see it.

"The Dungeonist Clan Representatives."

Hickory groaned and Tackle snorted with him, but they were Chase's buddies even if they were about as boring as watching paint dry -

"Your Highness." They bowed to Hickory, who was trying not to laugh at the dresses they were wearing, even the guys! They had a symbol on their backs on a little cape that looked like a railroad tunnel - "We're proud to announce three additions to the College Library, Properties of Documented Flora and Fauna, Meditations on Metamagic, and Building Basics. The revelation that fully constructing a home with a Hearth from Post-Breaking material has opened an entirely new venue of research..."

Now of course Hickory had figured out a few more secrets of the Book, like why it was invisible, so people didn't know when he was ignoring them and reading. Cause if keeping folk happy was how he was getting the most points? That was his secret, wasn't it, that was his new way of doing things.

Because when the moon had filled on out, when the cycle had ended, Hickory had been smiling big, cause that Upkeep number didn't really matter, did it?

Hickory should have known the bigger number would matter the most and of course in his book the biggest number was Font. That number was right below five thousand, when his upkeep number was only 1800.

That meant Hickory had gotten 3200 free points without having to do anything at all!

That it meant that Hickory had over five thousand points because he'd had 2000 points saved for Upkeepin -

And sure he could have spent all them extra points making that Chapel just as nice as could be for Ma, certainly he could do that, but Ma loved going to church, and could Hickory do that to her? Take away that joy where she got to go to church cause you can't go nowhere when you're already there...

And then of course they talked about moving the whole town as well and it did make sense to do, but Hickory could tell it was making Weston sad even if he said it was a right thing to do -

No, Hickory knew the right thing, that if he got five thousand points by doing a darn good job, didn't it make the most sense to do a darn good job again? That's what his plan was, to build a whole new town...

Why move a town when you can just build another? That made the most sense, and why the other guys didn't see it that way, well - it was like the time that Gage pissed in the scrap yard, Hickory was so happy, he was tired of running down to the river bushes to relieve himself in the middle of his market trips - that his buddies had figured that out, weren't they clever.

And yet a week later Hickory was still running down to them bushes and he had to ask Hunter why he hadn't built one of his outhouses he was so happy about on the scrap yard.

Hickory had unlocked the public bathroom after that and of course there was no reason to build it because by that point he had one!

Just like the Shelter 50/5, the Small House 100/10, the Medium House 200/20, the Large House 500/50, the Town House 150/15, and the Complex 500/50.

Those had all come after the Town Hall upgrades Weston told him to get, and sure it could have made things easier, but only the Complex fit as many people as upkeep points it cost, and Hickory wouldn't put his chickens in such a building all tight and cramped, who would want to live like that?

"Solid." Chase said, "You guys are really nailing it."

"Truly." Weston nodded, "None of the contacted settlements are even close to this level of examination and research, and to use education as a way to grow and catalogue the research, we couldn't be more pleased."

Hickory pulled his attention back, "Yeah, ya'll are...very smart." He said managing not to yawn, carefully scooted out from under Tackle and she was sleeping, Hickory moved to the box of presents, the boring presents -

"It was the Pr-Coach Chase that put us on this path, not that we've stopped fishing for secrets." One of the Dungeonists said with a snorting laugh, he made the motion of casting a fishing pole out into the water - "Plop."

Hickory looked at the nerd, then rolled his eyes as he passed the empty, ugly glass dish over to them -

"Well it's a great catch." Weston nodded, "I know I couldn't do it."

"Oh, it's not hard, once you know what bait to use." The nerd said, opening the dish - "The glassworks certainly has improved, hasn't it-"

"Bait?" Hickory asked.

"Hmm, oh yes, it's a secret recipe that Mage makes, of course if she told us what it was, it wouldn't work, but we know there's bigger secrets to catch in there, I think the book worms are going to be the -"

And that was how Hickory unlocked the first Formal Order of the Fontiff -

"Ya'll are doing a good job. A darn good job!" Hickory said, "Chase why didn't you bring your cool friends by sooner! You never even said they liked to fish!"

They had been making a fish book, that the secret fish - and who knew how many Hickory had already caught without even realizing it? Of course he'd probably caught more than all the rest of them combined, that wasn't important right now. That a fish would have a hidden story when you scraped the scales off! A secret fish!

"That your buddies need a proper place for all that important work they do and them having to go to school all day, no wonder they don't have time for getting that hatchery upgraded when they don't have any time to fish!"

Of course it made sense that the secret to level up the hatchery would be on a secret fish!

"Ya'll, Weston just acted like you were a bunch of nerds -"

"I did not -"

"Well, -"

"But it's as clear as day to me you're heroes and that Weston's got you out on a goose chase when you'd rather be fishing, that it's a callin to you to catch them secret fish, and if you'll just promise that you'll share them secrets with me and do your honest best at it then I'll make sure you have everything you need to do it with."

They discussed it in a brief huddle, but of course Hickory was already getting them a proper present, sending helpers to place orders for poles and everything needed...

"..alright."

Hickory knew it would be there, in his Book, that after a while you got a feeling for such things, it was like a hunch, a bit of potential - like when Smith melted down the first marbles with the mined iron - it didn't matter that he'd tried already with the other stuff. That he'd tried melting and hammering and crushing them and it didn't work.

That it made such a neat looking metal almost like solid water, not ice, just clear water not moving, now would Hickory have his own Ma not have the fanciest metal for her Palace?

And of course that was how they'd understood the Hearth, that with a nice metal insert, that a house built right and of such quality was a house that could maybe be upgraded, it could Level Up!

Without paying for no upkeep costs, either! It just took the marbles, that the hearth had its very own book just like the market. Just like the Town Hall - and that ever since Ma had drank from the Font she'd been feeling much better, moving around even going outside -

Wasn't it better? Wasn't it better that Hickory wasn't gonna have to run around upgrading folks stuff? For them to have plain ole boring Complexes like the Covanger's had built for all them workers? When instead they could build exactly what they wanted? That they could upgrade it with the luxuries they wanted?

"Just pick out a spot ya'll want your Hall on some land and we'll get it taken care of." Hickory said -

"A guild hall?" Now they were as excited as Weston was sour -

"You can call it anything you want, it's yours just as long as you catch them secrets and keep bringing them to me." Hickory said, "Now I don't want to keep ya'll from fishing so if there ain't anything..."

"Well, there's the bugs, the flies..."

Hickory nodded and -

"We understand there's debate on destroying the Insecterrariam structure due to their rapid breeding, but we think that is an inverted solution, we believe the bugs are actually solving problems."

They were getting smart again, Hickory could tell because one of them pulled out a notebook, pushed his glasses higher on his nose -

"We've monitored the structure and it produces only 100 insects a day, but what's strange is they have expedited, sometimes even aesexual reproduction methods dependent on their species and particular niche resource availability."

"If there's plenty of food they fuck more." Chase explained.

Hickory nodded, and of course he was the same way, now, not if he ate too much, but -

"We verified the theory by monitoring the population explosion in an enclosed space and as long as there was food the scavenger population doubled every two days, experienced a die off after a week once famine occurred, then maintained a manageable population - but the pertinent thing was that they underwent a temperament variation after resource -"

Hickory wasn't even listening, what he was doing was watching Chase cause Chase never really looked worried, Hickory had seen Chase angry, that of course nobody had an unpleasant thing to say about those sisters, not even a thought...

"People are shitting at the river and not burying it and we're about to all be attacked by biting horse flies."

"Are you kiddin me?" Hickory asked, "What in the hell!"

It was a strange thing, having them pull out burnt sticks and start writing numbers on the wall, calculating the weight of how much a person shit, the weight of a fly, that it was nearly a pound of shit that came out of a ass in a day and it could make a hundred flies in a week!

Of course Hunter was already sketching as fast as he could, sending out people, but if somebody was dumb enough to think Hunter was doing anything helpful - no, his sketches were of fly swatters and fly screens to put over outhouses so they didn't get in there and fly up and bite your ass when you were handling business -

"It's technically a benefit." Chase said, "The river could become contaminated if it wasn't for the flies, but..." He looked back at the board and - sure there was a lot of numbers up there but -

It wasn't like the numbers were that big, that Hickory couldn't tell why Hunter was looking so happy, that he didn't take a bid for 11 marbles -

"No, it's 5 to the power of 11, it means we're gonna end up with a week of at least 48,828,125 flies."

And it certainly sounded like a lot, but -

"It's enough flies to turn the town black."

That was a lot.

"Well, it ain't like we can do much but go down there and tell people to stop shitting in my river." Hickory said, "I can't believe I'm gonna have to do that, I've got a mind to put a new law up."

"It'd just turn them red." Weston said, "And then you won't be able to tell if somebody murdered somebody or just had an emergency. When is this going to happen."

"We're looking at two weeks for the equalization event, and then -"

"Fuck." Weston said, "Right in time for the Juneth Moon, they're going to be furious, do they migrate - of course - never mind. You're saying destroying the structure won't eliminate it?"

"Not until an extinction event, likely a seasonal shift like a freeze, but that's the other factor is that it's not just the flies, we only used them because their lifestyle is studied so heavily. They all have beneficial effects which is partly why the first harvest of the seeds occurred so rapidly and the evolut -"

"Everything matters." Weston said, shaking his head.

"Everything matters."

Hickory let them go back to handling it, and he flipped through the pictures of the secret fish. It was such a trick, that of course it was, that the secret fish just looked like regular ole fish.

That didn't it make fishing even better knowing that each fish could have an extra secret on it? That in the worse case scenario you caught just a regular fish and before all this that was the best case scenario!

"Tackle, this ones a small mouth bass and I catch 'em sometime with a spinner bait down over by the bridge..."

Hickory stood up and went to the window pointing out the spots that would be good for fishing and for what types from the secret book because of course Tackle could keep a secret, she couldn't talk -

"Now when the water starts getting lower like this you can see the good spots and you have to remember 'em for when it's high again and you can't tell."

By the time they were done working it out Chase was gonna work on a bug spray and they were gonna ask somebody to work on a fly trap in the flower place, and that Hunter was about to make a whole pile more marbles -

It was time for lunch, and for the moment Hickory just enjoyed his food. That even if he had worried he wouldn't have realized he was already under attack.