[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: 51st day of Winter! 40 days until the Winter Festival! Looking like light snow today! Nothing that should keep you home, but the roads will be plenty slick, so stay careful!]

Jason rolled out of bed as Chance leapt eagerly upon him. He scowled lovingly at the dog. He was fairly certain that he had left Chance down in the living room next to the fireplace, and that he had locked the door to his room. How the dog always managed to get in to join him was a mystery, though he suspected that the answer would be relatively simple once he parsed it out. In any event, he had a busy day that day, and needed to get moving. He shrugged Chance to the side and gave him plenty of pets, then changed clothes and scampered downstairs.

Of course… He did have a busy day ahead of him, but he still wasn’t sure exactly what that day would entail. He had received a letter from Tess the night before, saying that his family wanted to talk about one thing or another, and thus, blocked off the whole day for the visit. He had hardly seen his family since they showed up, but when he did, it was often less than pleasant. He just couldn’t quite figure out why they were there in the first place, or why they kept hanging around if they hated it so much.

Down in the kitchen, Jason shrugged the thoughts aside and prepared some breakfast for himself and for Chance. When they both finished eating, he shrugged on his cloak and boots and crunched out into the bitter weather. The snow was coming down quickly, and wasn’t the light and fluffy stuff that he was used to seeing. Instead, it was a corse sort of snow, bordering on sleet or ice pellets, that stung his cheeks as they lashed against him. Chance whimpered and stayed on the porch while Jason went down to the stables, though loyalty eventually got the best of the dog and Chance came scampering after him.

Lady was no happier than Chance to be out in the cold, and stayed in the stable while Jason poured her some oats and brushed out her coat. When he finished, though, he was forced to climb up onto her back and give her neck a pat.

“I’m sorry, girl.” He whispered. “We’ve got to get into town. Angus will be there, though. I’ll see if you can get the stall right next to his own, how does that sound?”

Lady stamped her feet, and he coaxed her slowly out into the swirling snow. With that, he set off for Summer Shandy. Chance trotted along in his stead, and Jason smiled. The ice lashed against his face and began to build up on his cloak, but as he went along, he began to adjust to the frigid temperatures. He felt almost as if he were trailblazing through the frozen lands of the north, as if he were one of those brave explorers who first charted the monoliths and fought through those ancient dungeons.

When he came fully up to Summer Shandy, he found the place nearly deserted, though he could hardly blame people for staying inside. Thick smoke curled from every chimney, and he glanced longingly at the warm homes. Still, though, he couldn’t complain, and soon rode Lady around to the Guild stables, where a stablehand was already taking care of all the animals. The budding warrior took the reins from Jason’s hand, and he quickly walked up to Tess’s office and rapped on the door.

“Come in!” She called out cheerily, though he could sense exhaustion in her voice. He frowned, then pushed the door open and stepped inside. She looked up from her desk and grimaced, and he raised an eyebrow.

“You know, most of the time, when you see me, you say something like ‘hey, it’s nice to see you!’” Jason chuckled. “You look like the boogyman himself just stepped into your office.”

At that, Tess laughed softly, though Jason could tell that it was forced. “Sorry. I’m just a little on-edge, I suppose. Last night was long, and I haven’t woken up yet.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Nightmares?”

“Of a sort.” Tess sighed and yawned before pushing herself upright. “A bunch of newbies wanted to go on a dungeon camping trip. I agreed, established base rules, and we all went down inside. Of course, one of them decided to break the rule about staying in the safe zone and went out to do some midnight leveling, and I had to save his sorry hindquarters from a firewyrm.”

Jason grimaced. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Just part of the job, I suppose.” Tess yawned. “In any case, his warrior’s license has been temporarily suspended until he pays the fine, so it should keep him from making the same mistake again. Now, what can I do for you?”

Jason raised his eyebrow a second time. “You’re the one who called me to come in.”

Tess blinked, then groaned. “Oh, that. I’d forgotten about it with everything else going on. Yes, your mother… She’s… Oh, you’ll just have to see for yourself. She’s scheduled a meeting with Constable Hank that you’re expected to attend.”

“When?”

“Right now, I think.” Tess grimaced in sympathy, then grinned as Chance darted through the door and raced over to curl up at her feet. “You brought Chance! I didn’t think you were ready to try taking him into town yet!”

“Figured it was worth a shot.” Jason shrugged. “Plus… He didn’t want to stay home. I think he gets lonely in that big house without everyone else.”

“Well, he’s such a cutie, I can’t blame him for that!” Tess stroked him for a few moments, then flashed a grin up at Jason. “You know, I can keep him here if you’d like.”

“You’d be willing to make that sacrifice?” Jason chuckled sarcastically. He turned and walked up to the door, but as he did so, Chance bolted to his side. He sighed, then shrugged and opened the door. “I guess he’s coming with me after all.”

“Then maybe I’ll come along, too.” Tess shrugged nonchalantly. “Just… You know… For moral support.”

Jason laughed, though inwardly he was quite happy with Tess’s inclusion in the trip. He didn’t really know what the meeting would entail, but he was certain that he would want backup if things went south. Constable Hank was a lot of things, and reliable usually wasn’t one of them.

They made their way through the increasing snow and ice to Hank’s office, where Jason knocked on the door. There was a pause, and Hank cleared his voice from within.

“Come in! Come in!”

Jason pushed the door open, and he stepped inside to find Hank already sitting behind his desk. Lacy and Nathanial sat just opposite of Hank, but Killian was nowhere to be seen. Nathanial, for his part, winced in sympathy as Jason came walking up and crossed his arms.

“What’s going on?” He glanced between Hank and his mother, trying to fathom what the cause of the problem might have been. “Is there an issue?”

“There may be!” Lacy snapped. “Are you aware- AHH!”

Her cry was piercing and left Jason’s ears ringing. He rather suspected that it would have broken all the windows in Summer Shandy if it had only been a tiny bit louder or more shrill, and he winced. Uncertain of what the commotion was, he glanced back and forth frantically until he followed his mother’s horrified gaze. It was fixed cleanly on Chance, and Tess bent down and started stroking the hound’s silky ears.

“Mom?” Jason raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you were the type to… Ahh…”

“That creature should not be allowed inside.” Lacy snapped. “That’s all there is to it.”

“It’s raining ice outside.” Jason shrugged and nodded at the door. “I’m not making him stand outside in those conditions.”

“I do hate to be a downer, but as the proprietor of this office, I am the one who has say over who or what gets to be allowed in my office, not you.” Constable Hank puffed up his chest, though at a glare from Tess, he deflated once again. “And… Ahh… As proprietor, I declare that the hound may stay.”

“Little more than a giant rat.” Lacy muttered under her breath, then shrugged. “Anyway, Constable, you know the reason why we’re here. Perhaps you could explain.”

“I told you, ma’am, call me Hank.” Hank flashed a small smile, though it didn’t seem to ease Lacy’s frustration in the slightest. When she continued to stare at him, he turned to Jason and folded his hands. “Well… Jason… The reason you’re here… There’s been a discovery of sorts. A small loophole in the laws of Illumitir that we forgot to close up when you arrived.”

“What’s that?” Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Well… Do you remember back when you arrived, and I told you that my office logged all real estate transfers?”

Jason nodded his head slowly. “Yes, I do. What about it?”

“Well…” Hank scratched the back of his neck. “As it turns out, you were actually supposed to sign a whole bunch of paperwork that solidified your claim on the property.”

“Then let’s sign it right now.” Jason shrugged. After a moment, he scowled. “And that doesn’t sound like just a tiny loophole. Hank…”

He scowled at the constable, who just rubbed the back of his neck. When Tess started glaring at him, too, he rose and scampered over to a large filing cabinet, which he began to dig through just as quickly as he could. HIs fingers flew through the folders, and Jason crossed his arms. Before anyone could say anything, though, Chance walked up to Lacy and gave her hand a giant lick.

“Ahh!” Lacy screamed again, having apparently forgotten about the dog. “It licked me! I’ll probably develop rabies and die! I have to go get medicine! Quick, Nathanial, come with me! We must go to the healer at once!”

With that, she stood up and rushed out of the room, letting the door fall shut with a crash. Nathanial flashed an apologetic smile as he left, and Tess rolled her eyes.

“If I was faster, I’d run over there and tell Theresa to give her some sleeping potion or something.”

“Theresa will figure out something herself.” Jason shook his head. “I’ve heard enough of her stories of clients who were convinced that that were sick when they really weren’t. They’ll come up with something.”

“Thankfully, that gives me time to come up with something, too!” Constable Hank slammed the filing cabinet shut. “Saved by the bell! Or the dog. Do you have any treats you can give him for me?”

Jason scowled at him. “What do you mean? Do you not have the paperwork?”

“I mean, I’m sure I have it, in the strictest sense of the word.” Constable Hank rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s all in order, I can tell you that much. The clerks up in Illumitir know how to do their job. The only thing it needs is a signature from you, so as soon as it turns up, we can get it signed and all squared away before anyone can do anything about it. No worries.”

“And it doesn’t have an expiration date? It didn’t need to be signed within… Oh, I don’t know… Ninety days or something?”

Hank’s face went somewhat white, and he coughed. “Well, in any event, I haven’t been able to find anything in that cabinet for years, so the likelihood that someone else can manage it is pretty slim, you know what I mean?” He chuckled softly. “As long as no one can dredge it up, common law states that you’ve had possession of the property for long enough that I think you’ll be fine.”

Jason sighed, then started to turn away. “You’d better be right, Hank.”

“I know I’m right!” Hank chuckled softly, then waved as Jason and Tess started toward the door. “You know, my filing system is such a good hiding system, you could probably just give me all the wills that were put together, and no one would ever see them again!”

At that, the door burst open, and Lacy came stumbling back inside. The left side of her head was covered in icy snow, while the right side was far more clean, suggesting that she had only stepped outside in order to press her ear up against the door.

“Other wills?” She raised her eyebrows. “There are other wills?”

Constable Hank froze and turned rather red, then opened his eyes wide and put on the most innocent face he could manage. Given that he was well over fifty years old, the effect was far from convincing.

“Umm… No?”

Jason sighed. “Mom, we’re trying to sort all of this out, too, and-”

“You will get nothing sorted out.” Lacy snapped. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Jason, but you utterly infuriate me right now. You left us alone in Illumitir and gave us no word of our whereabouts. Now I find out that there are other wills? That tells me that the farm wasn’t intended for you, and you’re simply trying to take advantage of it!”

Jason sighed and lowered his head. “Mom, please, you have to understand-”

“I understand plenty.” She snarled. “You’re a disrespectful boy who’d rather run away from his family while you enjoy riches and wealth and we starve. Well, this family doesn’t take kindly to that!”

She spun and marched away, and Jason sighed. Nathanial stepped through the doorway and put a hand on Jason’s shoulders.

“I… Umm… I’m just gonna go.” He whispered softly. “Don’t worry, most of us don’t blame you.”

With that, he turned and marched away. Jason watched him go, then turned and glared at Hank.

“When will you learn to keep that trap of yours shut?” Jason snapped.

“If you had just destroyed the wills like I’d asked, this wouldn’t be an issue.” Hank crossed his arms.

“They’re legal documents! That’s a felony!” Jason held his hands up in the air. “You’re the one who signed them all in the first place! This does not fall on me.”

Tess stepped between the two of them, holding up her hands. “Alright, boys. We’ve…” She sighed and glanced down at Chance, who had his tongue hanging happily out of his mouth. “No one is happy right now, but we’ll make it through this alright. One way or another, it will all work out in the end. Getting frustrated will only make it worse.”

Jason inclined his head, then nodded at Hank. He held out a hand, which Hank slowly and reluctantly shook. With that, Jason turned around and walked out into the cold, icy snow with Tess. The door fell shut, and he felt his world spinning just like the whirling frost around him. Tess was right, though. Things would work out in the end… He only wished he had the barest inkling of how that would happen.