[The alarm went off, it was 6 AM. Jason was ready to get to work around the farm. He had 39 starting actions]

[Tess’s Almanac: 37th day of Fall! 54 days until the Fall Festival. It’s another chilly one, folks! I think we’re looking at a record-breaker, to be honest. Make sure to bundle up if you go outside!]

As Jason’s eyes blinked open, he shivered violently for several long seconds. Indeed, the inside of the house was frigid, almost unbearably so. He rose from his bed and struggled to the window, which had a layer of frost grown across it. Still, he managed to wipe enough of it away to gaze out over the farmstead, and his heart gave a small leap.

The field of sorghum was ready to be harvested, that much was a certainty. The heads of grain were red and full to bursting… At least, as full as they could be. The eternal torches had largely stopped smoking overnight, as they were wont to do, which left the field largely exposed to the attacks of the Juun bugs. A few of them flitted across the field even as Jason watched, impervious (apparently) to the cold. Jason shivered again, then quickly walked over to his wardrobe and changed into thick, woolen clothes that would still hold up to the harsh conditions.

When he came downstairs, he ordered a plate of pancakes, which the cookbook reluctantly made for him. He scarfed it down quickly, then scampered out onto the porch. The low buzz of Juun bugs was already filling the air, and he sighed. He had a few options, neither of which were pleasant. He could either go refill the torches, and then try to harvest the crop in the midst of the terrible smoke, or he could leave them be and just try to get things harvested as quickly as possible.

The little bit of smoke still drifting through the air stung his eyes, and he made up his mind. He took Lady out of her stable and hitched her up, then went and started getting the harvester ready. The moment that Lady had eaten, he hitched her up to the harvester and set off. Blades whirred to life, and with that, he tore into the field.

Where wheat harvest was uncomfortable, sorghum harvest was downright nigh-unbearable. A thick red dust filled the air like a fog, clogging his lungs nearly as badly as the smoke itself. Not only that, when it came to rest on his skin, it itched fiercely, and despite his thick clothing he wore to protect against the cold, the dust seemed to somehow find its way into and under the wool. His arms burned, and he wanted nothing more than to let go of the harvester and scratch painfully at basically his whole body, but he forced himself to keep pressing forward. He had a job to do, and it wouldn’t do for him to be pitched into the blades of the harvester.

On and on they went, rumbling over the field, back and forth. As he went along, the Juun bugs swarmed in thicker and thicker. Those that landed and found a bountiful crop quickly called others to their position, and soon enough, bugs swarmed thickly across the ground. He imagined that he could hear the sound of their pincers ripping and crunching over even the sound of the machine, though he wasn’t sure if that was real or just his imagination. In any event, a simple glance at the remainder of the field revealed that the heads of grain were so covered in Juun bugs that they appeared black instead of red.

When lunchtime came, he ruefully allowed Lady to take a rest, and staggered up to the house for lunch. He didn’t want to stop harvesting, as every second he delayed meant less grain for him to actually harvest, but he didn’t see what he could do. Suddenly, though, hoofbeats echoed in the driveway, and he looked up to see Daniel riding up on his blood-red stallion.

“Jason!” Daniel boomed and swung down off his horse. “Be a good farmer and get him some hay, would you?” After a moment, he looked Jason up and down. “Pardon me for saying so, but you look like you just came through a battle with a Blood Spider.”

“Thanks.” Jason muttered and took the reins of the stallion. He led the beast over to the hitching post and poured him some oats, then walked back over to Daniel. “What can I do for you?”

“I just came to talk to you without Tess here. You know how womenfolk are, especially sisters.” Daniel shrugged. “There are some things you just can’t talk about around them, and I’d like to get to know you a bit better.”

Jason sighed. “I’d like that, too, but for the moment, I’ve got to get this field harvested.” He gestured at the blackened heads. “If I don’t get this crop out soon, there won’t be anything left of it.”

Daniel stroked his chin. “You mind if I help?”

“Go for it.” Jason nodded. “Assign yourself as my companion, and you’ll get some farming actions. Ten, I think.”

Daniel closed his eyes.

[Companion: Your new companion has been given 10 bonus actions for the day, and you have been granted 5. Remaining actions for the day: 19]

“Got it!” Daniel grinned. He strode up to the field and took out an enormous sickle, which he raised high over his head. It looked to be made of obsidian, and the staff had to be at least ten feet long. Jason whistled at the oversized, ridiculous-looking weapon. “Let’s see what I can do! Activating all my extra skills that might help here.”

Jason shook his head. “You’ll probably need to use the harvester. I’ve used a sickle before on the farm, and it can only do so-”

Before he could finish the sentence, Daniel swung the sickle with all his might. At least, Jason hoped that it was with all his might. If the warrior was only using part of his strength, Jason didn’t want to see what a full-strength blow might look like.

In any event, the sickle carved through the air, creating a momentary shimmer as it passed. There was a moment of hesitation, and the shimmer blasted out across the field like a shockwave, cutting down almost a full acre of sorghum in a single blow. With a flicker, all the heads were absorbed into Daniel’s inventory, and he grinned.

“Hey! That was fun! Let me try that again!”

Before Daniel could respond, Daniel raced forward, up to where the sorghum was still standing. He swung his sickle a second time. As it turned out, the first swing had not been with all his might. This time, two full acres of sorghum were taken down, and Daniel whooped with joy.

All told, he was able to use up the full 10 actions in the span of as many minutes, and when he came walking up, the tiniest bit of sweat could be seen on his brow.

“Thanks! Ahh, gotta love a mild workout from time to time! You know what? I think I see why you like this life, now. It’s just so peaceful.”

As if in response, a razorgrass scuttled up and began whacking at Daniel’s leg. He turned and stomped on the monster, crushing it in a single blow, and turned back to Daniel. “Well, I hope that was enough of a break for you. I’ll let you get back to it, and then we can talk when you’re done. Oh, and I’ll get all that grain transferred to you.”

[Personal Transfer Request -> 500,000,000 sorghum seeds]

Jason nodded and accepted the transfer, though he sighed as he did so. It was almost a quarter of what the yield should have been, given how much land Daniel had harvested. Still, there was nothing to be done about it. He soon had Lady hitched back up, and they got back to work.

Another hour passed as he rumbled back and forth with the harvester, until he finally finished. Covered in sorghum dust and utterly exhausted from all the rattling around (not to mention how itchy he was), he had absolutely no desire to talk to Daniel. That said, he knew he had a duty to the man, and after he had put everything away, he walked up onto the front porch and sat down on one of his chairs. Daniel sat down very carefully on another one, and the two of them relaxed as the sun began to crawl downward through the sky.

“So, Jason.” Daniel began. “Tell me what you see in my sister. Why do you want to marry her?”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t know how much Tess has told you about our relationship, but… I don’t know. She just cares about things, so deeply. She goes above and beyond every single call of duty that’s ever placed before her, and it’s just wonderful to see. I’ve only been with her a short time, but… I just can’t imagine a better mother for my children.”

Daniel nodded slowly. “I’ve heard some of the stories of how the two of you met. It sounds to me like you care an awful lot about this town, too.”

Jason sighed, then nodded in agreement. “I do.”

They sat there in silence for a few moments. Finally, Daniel spoke up again.

“Jason, I want to like you. I really do. I’m just a little concerned.”

“What about?” Jason glanced at him.

“All you want to do is settle down.” Daniel shrugged. “Stay here in Summer Shandy, raise a family, so on and so forth. If that’s really what Tess wants, then by all means, I want her to have it. She’s my little sister, you know, I just want her to be happy. I’m just afraid that she’s gotten all tied up in this small-town life, and that when she actually gets tethered in place, she’s not going to be able to handle it, you know?”

“You think I wouldn’t be good enough for her?”

“Oh, it’s not that at all.” Daniel shook his head. “You seem like a good, hardworking fellow, if maybe you’re a little small. And weak. And you smell bad. My fear is that… Tess never liked staying in one place, even as a kid. When we stopped moving around and settled down, Tess would go to the Guild Hall and beg the warriors to take her into the dungeon, or on trips to see the next town, or whatever. If she starts to get antsy with you or anything, she’s going to find herself in quite a conundrum, and I don’t see it working out well for anyone.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Jason shrugged. “She seems happy enough getting out of business as a Guildmaster.”

“That’s true, at least for now, but she’s never been away from the dungeons for that long in her life.”

Jason stroked his chin, then shrugged. “How about this? I love farming. I love it more than any other job I’ve ever worked, but I love Tess more. Let’s say we settle down, and after a few years, she’s starting to get uncomfortable. She wants to get back into Guildmastering, or wants to go do some dungeons. I’ll… I’ll support her in that.” Jason crossed his arms. “I won’t let such a little thing come between us, especially if we have a family. Besides, there’s no harm in her using a weekend here and there to go dive into a dungeon just for fun. I have family up in Illumitir, I’m sure there are dungeons there we can visit, and vacations are always fun from time to time.”

With that, a smile came across Daniel’s face, and he slowly rose.

“I was hoping you’d say something like that.” He held out his hand, and Jason took hold of it. As such, he was utterly unprepared when Daniel hauled him to his feet like a rag doll. “Well, you seem solid enough to me. For what it’s worth, I asked Tess pretty much the same questions, and she answered the exact same thing. Says that she loves you more than the gnarliest dungeon she ever entered, and that if marrying you means that she never enters a dungeon ever again, she’s willing to make that sacrifice.”

A warm glow spread across Daniel’s body, and he smiled.

“Now, I’ve got to be getting back to town.” Daniel walked down the steps of the porch, cracking two of them as he did so. “I’m heading into the dungeon tonight to try a new challenge. The backward, blindfold challenge! You walk through the dungeon backwards and with a blindfold on! I made it up myself, of course. I already went through the dungeon backwards once, and blindfolded once, but never at the same time. Wish me luck! You know, you should try out the Summer Shandy dungeon sometime. I bet even you could do it. Maybe you could get together a posse of your farmer friends, just in case.”

Daniel soon rode off, leaving Jason standing there, shaking his head. He sighed and turned back into his house, ready to take a shower and relax for the evening. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about Daniel, but he was convinced that Tess’s older brother only had her best interests in mind. In the end, he supposed, that was really all that mattered.