I spent the next four days on the farm, having no reason to go into town. The only thing that mattered right now was getting crops to sell, even if they weren’t at masterwork quality. The next morning, the biggest issue became the lack of tools, but that was simple to solve with another trip to the forest.

  I had no appetite to keep killing things on my own, and I just had to find a corpse. [Mortis Visio] helped me locate a deer that had been killed by a wolf, and the bones on it were of average quality. It was good enough to make new tools for my workers.

  My workforce of five made the entire clearing and preparation of my fields go by quickly. It was the first time since I was a babe that I had seen it just empty, not littered with rocks and weeds and branches. I smiled to myself, awaiting the seeds to be finished in the processor. When they were, I handed them off to my workers.

  While they began to plant, I pulled out a spare notebook to write down my thoughts.

  I had eighty-one tilled slots available to me, and with the soil quality at 200%, common crops were going to become Uncommon. 300% would make it Rare, but I didn’t have enough areas to blight to accomplish that. Uncommon crops took four days, Rare took five, and Masterwork would take the entire week, so at least it created a steady rhythm.

  Then came the issue of the actual amounts. At the moment, I could only convert nine crops into nine seed pouches, which translated into eighty-one crops a cycle.

  My farm had 8,712 tiles to work with. That was simple math at that point. 8,712 divided by 9 came out to be exactly 968. When I had finished writing that down in my notebook, I underlined 968 three times.

  That was a lot of seed makers, or I could see if Jasmine was capable of building Uncommon, Rare, or—hopefully—Masterwork. They didn’t make better-quality crops, but really did save up on space.

  I stared up at my farmland. The entire farm was thirty acres; I had five acres of meadow Pa never used since he didn’t like animals, and the woodlot, and my house. I had plenty of space, but something about just placing nearly one thousand seed makers in the meadows seemed silly to me.

  I glanced down at the dirt too. Thirty acres underneath to make a necropolis. I liked that word a lot—a city of the dead. I began to sketch out a simple floor plan that’d work for me.

  The Altar of Rhyvesta would need to be in the furthest back, but… realistically, I’d need a reason to have a basement. I could make all the interesting [Acolyte] things, but simple storage seemed to be beyond me.

  Again, I’d have to ask Jasmine. Well, that could be handled when I came into town to sell.

  I needed 200 gold coins—and this could be dirty money since it was for my own personal use. If a common Blood Carrot was 5 gold, I’d see if Maddy would give me 10 for Uncommon. With that, I’d need twenty, and since twenty didn’t go into nine, I’d make twenty-seven. I could use the seven for other things.

  Like, what actually happens when you put a blood crop into a seed maker. I hadn’t done it yet, since I needed the money, but I had a month till the next bill came in.

  I had a plan in motion, so all that was left was getting to work. Mirchie nuzzled onto my side, but she watched my workers closely as they planted.

  One thing I found interesting was even though I had blighted the grounds, it didn’t actually put Anima into the dirt. It made the area fertile and made it more palatable for me and my workers, but it wasn’t “bleeding” into the topsoil.

  On one hand, it meant that I had to find a source of Anima later to actually start making my crops. I had no interest in just killing rabbits to use their blood since that was vastly inefficient, and I’d need far too many for a singular tile, let alone my whole field. On the other hand, I wasn't forced to just make blood crops.

  And my blood just guaranteed a crop; it didn’t push past the 100% marker. That was another mystery I needed to solve.

  I pricked my finger and bled atop twenty-seven tiles of growing carrots. This harvest would be good.

  Four days later I had my workers harvest the crops. I separated the two sets, putting the Uncommon carrots in a basket, and then the Blood Carrots in my inventory. I had fifty-four Uncommon carrots, and twenty-seven blood carrots. I figured I’d have to make a show of coming into town with crops to sell, knowing how the gossip mill worked.

  However, when I tried placing the blood crops into the seed maker…

  Guess there was no way of getting around the blood requirement. That’d be too easy.

  I shrugged and headed off to town.

  I entered Oakheart once more, going toward the Cat’s Cradle. I hoped I’d find Jasmine on the route, but what I wasn’t expecting was Adrian.

  He looked me up and down, then at the basket I was holding. My fingers immediately tightened, and the hair on my arms began to bristle. There was nothing in the basket worth his time, but if he did a full inspection?

  Yet, when the boy saw me, he just smiled and raised his hand. I paused, waiting for something. I knew Addy well—if I just ran along, he’d think he’d done something to upset me and would definitely double down. I just had to get this over with.

  Addy didn’t approach. His eyes went toward the sky, and his lips twisted. I could see him chewing something in his mouth. It felt like it took forever, but I know it was really only a few seconds. Finally he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, no longer watching the rest of the people walk by.

  “Lord Skye,” I greeted. I thought of Mirchie and of flowers, letting that calm spread over me. I forced my lips to remain neutral and my eyes to glare.

  “...Ashy,” he began, which threw me off guard. He then hesitated, opening his mouth a few times before closing it.

  “What? Just spit it out,” I finally barked. He was stressing me out. Did he know something was off? Did he want to inspect my inventory, or just my basket?

  “...I like what you did with your hair, it’s so smooth and clean now. And, uh… I’m just happy to see that you have the old Hart Spark back.”

  That was not what I was expecting. My free hand went up toward my hair and my fingers ran through it. It was smooth for once, not tangled, and possibly, for the first time in my life, actually straight. My face felt oddly warm.

  “Aye?” I finally said, looking down at his face. “What’s in my hair that you’re takin’ a peek at, boy?”

  “...Nothin’? Yeah, nothin’,” he immediately stopped himself. He took a breath and looked away again. His teeth chewed on his cheek before he finally opened his mouth again. “I’m not sayin’ your old hair was bad, Ashy, just…”

  He then sighed.

  “What do you wan’ me to say here, Ashy? I just like what you did with it, I don’ mean nothin’ rude by it. You look… very nice.”

  My face burned as I looked at his eyes. “Why, thank ye kindly then. But, Hart Spark? What straight nonsense is that?”

  He tilted his head. “You’ve been mopin’ for the last few weeks, but looks like you sorted it out. Now you’re just rushin’ ’bout like you own the place and have a plan for your plan. I missed that look.”

  I stared him down. Finally, I broke into a smile. “Thank ya, Addy. Would ya like a carrot?”

  He finally looked at my basket and his eyes went wide. He shook his head, and gave that expression he gave when he just warned someone about stepping on cow dung, and then immediately stepped on it himself.

  I snickered, and he pouted. “Really thought I shoulda seen that, guess I was starin’ at something else,” he muttered, before looking at the basket. “You and Jazz sellin’ it at the farmers’ market, then?”

  “Jazzy told you, huh?”

  “Girl doesn't stop talkin', Ashy. Good on ya both for workin’ together. And it helps me get Jazz out of that vampire’s house.”

  I blinked at him. He just smiled. Then he leaned in.

  He had to tippy-toe to get to my ear, but it felt… oddly pleasant to have his warm face near mine. Amaril’s blessing, probably.

  I wanted to turn my face to stare at his, but I knew he needed my ear.

  “Gonna be raidin’ the joint real soon, finally got evidence.”

  “...I, what?” I softly whispered.

  “Man killed a poor working girl. We think we’ve the body. We’ve been trying to get Jazz to flip, but… for all her talkin’ she doesn’t say ill about her employers. The bones were enough for a search though.”

  “I see. Wait, why are you tellin’ me this, Addy?”

  It was his turn to look confused. “...I tell you everythin’ and you tell me everythin’. That’s how it’s always been.”

  I frowned. He… had a point. I didn’t have much else to say there, since… well, I couldn’t tell him everything. Instead, I reached into my basket and handed him a carrot.

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  “I got Uncommon carrots,” I tried to add.

  He looked down at the crop. “So you are goin’ for quality. Mighty clever there, [Farm Girl]. You close to advancin’?”

  “I reckon.”

  He nodded. “I’ll let you be—good luck with the work, Ashy.”

  He stared at my face for a moment longer. Something in my head seemed different, as my body moved before I could. My arms opened up…

  And I embraced the boy.

  “You take care too, Addy. See you aroun’?”

  His strong arms went around my back and touched against my shoulder blades. He actually had biceps! I eased myself into the sensation.

  “You smell cleaner too,” he off-handedly stated, before pushing himself back. “I mean! You smelled plenty nice before too, but I mean…”

  I rolled my eyes and rubbed his head. “See you aroun’, Addy. Don’ be a stranger now.”

  That was weird. My face still felt warm, and my heart felt a bit too fast for my liking.

  When I entered the Cat’s Cradle, I was expecting to see Madeleine there—who was, in fact, there. However, Jasmine being there was something completely unexpected.

  “Pipelette, looks like your matron is here,” Maddy commented, her head raising from the book she was reading. Jasmine, for her part, was… talking about something.

  Jasmine turned around quickly. “ASHY! DO YOU HAVE—” Madeleine waved her fingers and Jasmine’s mouth immediately shut.

  “Downstairs, pipelette,” she cooed. Jasmine’s hand reached to her throat, then up to her mouth which wouldn’t open. She looked at Maddy, who just shrugged. “Be glad I didn’t do that when you were telling me about your favourite meals.”

  Her fingers waved over Jasmine, who then took a deep breath. “Okay! Fine! Downstairs.”

  I looked between the two. “When did you become friends?”

  Madeleine looked at Jasmine and sighed. “She makes good company. Talks about other things besides work, like boys.”

  “Yeah! Madsy was telling me about the community outreach she’s doing for the kids. Freshly baked goods and apples and other snacks.”

  “I… do not care. Can we go downstairs?” I awkwardly phrased.

  Maddy snickered. “Told you, pipelette. When she’s gone, tell Maman about your beau, Nathaniel?”

  The three of us headed down to the basement, and then into the private room. Jasmine immediately turned to me.

  “ASHY! I need 100 gold worth of illegal goods!”

  “Why?”

  “I NEED TO FENCE THEM,” she said excitedly. “I’m a [Fence] now! Madsy explained that it means I can move illegal goods easier! Not that I stop traffic.”

  “And you need… 100 gold worth of illegal goods?”

  “Yeah! Stolen, illegal, or whatever,” she nodded.

  “...Okay. Doesn’t that mean you need to know what the product is, then?”

  Jasmine stared wide-eyed at me. She then turned to Maddy and pointed at her. “You didn’t tell me that part!”

  “...What did you think, pipelette? You’d just hold an unknown good before selling it to someone else? ‘Hi, Mr. Criminal, I have this illegal good. I do not know what it is, want to buy it?’”

  Jasmine pouted at that statement, but I handed her my basket.

  “Uncommon carrots,” I gently explained. “For the Hart Shop.”

  Jasmine nodded, looking over the crops. “Makes sense—going straight to Masterwork would be odder than doing the steps in between. I can get… normal price is 50 silver if you [Vendor], but since it’s open market… probably 80 per carrot. 53 times 80 is 4,240 silver. Divided by 100, and you’ve made… 42 gold and 40 silver right there, Ashy! And that’s all clean money!” Jasmine didn’t even pause to think of the calculations, whereas I’d have to do the multiplication in my notebook.

  I blinked at the number. That was actually a pretty penny. I bit my lip, which Madeleine saw. She pulled out five incredibly shiny coins.

  “That’s nothing, chérie. Platinum,” she tossed it on the table. “10 gold each.”

  Both Jasmine and I stared at the platinum piece. Then we looked at Madeleine. “...How much do you need for your hut in Darkmire, Madsy?” Jasmine finally asked.

  She bit her lip and looked to the sky. She then pulled out a small book from her inventory. “700,689 gold pieces, and a land grant that’ll be about 200,000 more.”

  Jasmine’s and my face went pale at that number. I couldn’t speak, but Jasmine made up for me. “WHY DO YOU NEED THAT MUCH?”

  “...I want to live away from town, have my own area, and set something up for my coven. Trust me, I am doing the bare minimum. I am hoping that Ashley makes it into the millions so I can get the full design.”

  I held onto the table, my fingers scratching the wood. “..Maddy, do you have a thousand gold that I can have?”

  “Oui,” she answered nonchalantly.

  “You’d just give it to me?”

  She looked at me for a moment and just bobbed her head, waving her hand in the sky. “...Oui. I think I would, if you asked. But I don’t think you want that.”

  Jasmine looked at me and put her fingers on my shoulders. “ASHY! JUST ASK HER FOR THE MONEY FOR THE SHOP.”

  “No,” I responded, before opening my inventory. “These are for you then, Jasmine.”

  I pulled out the twenty-seven blood carrots that bled onto the table. The black fluid had become second nature to me, and Maddy looked at them curiously. “Even richer now, chérie. You’re getting better at your craft.”

  “Unfortunately, I need to get a source of Anima that isn’t myself soon. I can only guarantee them, not exceed.”

  “I see. Anima—by that you mean blood or life force. I may have someone you can ask for that, if you’re okay with working with a [Witch].”

  “Don’t think I am at all, Maddy,” I deadpanned, causing her to laugh.

  “Are you both ignoring the bleeding carrots that Ashley dropped?” Jasmine said slowly, looking at the table. She lowered herself, sniffing it, and gagging. She picked one up, but Maddy slapped her hand.

  “I know you want to eat it, pipelette. And I am sure you would do it even with your brain working. Do not eat blood,” she chided.

  “That’s… blood?” she continued.

  “I do not want to get into this again. Anyways, this should be—” I began, but Jasmine’s hands pushed into my chest—my breasts—and pressed me back.

  I immediately covered my chest, but neither Jasmine nor Maddy seemed to care.

  “[Vendor] price is 2 gold, Madsy. [Black Market Ledger] says that it can be sold to your clients for 15. You take 3, I’ll take 2, and Ashley gets 10.”

  Maddy turned to me. Her lips turned into an exaggerated pout. “You’re getting a good fence to replace me, chérie? I’m offended—she even knows how to use her abilities right…”

  Madeleine opened her pouch. “12 times 27 is…”

  “324 gold pieces,” Jasmine answered immediately, looking at the coins Madeleine was dropping. “No platinum, can’t [Clean] that yet.”

  Maddy smiled, giving Jasmine the gold coins. “This is almost seeming like a real operation.”

  Jasmine then turned to me and immediately doled out 270 gold coins into my hand, and kept 54 for herself. “Do not use these for anything with the Queen’s Arm! I used [Clean] on them, so there is no trace, which is even more suspicious than if Lord Hawthorne gave it to you.”

  I blinked at her. “I wasn’t planning to, I was going to make…”

  Jasmine, however, cut me off and continued. “I’ll see if I can run them through the tills and have them properly [Launder], but for now, it’s the best I can do.”

  “...I’m making an Altar to Rhyvesta underneath my farm and I need your help.”

  Both Madeleine and Jasmine stopped talking and looked at me. “I’m sorry, what?” Jasmine broke the silence.

  “I need it to advance.”

  “...Chérie, are you sure? You are basically going against decent folks at that point, if anyone ever found it. You would be executed on the spot.”

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  Maddy looked at my eyes. She didn’t blink, but kept her gaze. “No, you do not, [Necromancer]. I am proud of you.”

  Jasmine was still in shock. “I knew you were an [Acolyte], but to the ene—”

  “I need you to build the rest of the area. I need a basement with a storage area I can keep my crops in, and a secondary room to store my seed makers in.”

  “I have those blueprints,” Jasmine said slowly. “I can’t make better seed makers since that’s a farmer thing, but… do you have the resources and workforce?”

  Madeleine looked at me again, and I returned her gaze. She finally sighed and gave me a nod to proceed.

  “...I have skeletons and zombies.”

  “....” Jasmine said nothing. “Ashley, they’re going to burn you at the stake. Not ‘they’—Addy is going to burn you at the stake.”

  “Right, Maddy.”

  “Yes, chérie?”

  “I need potions to hide the zombies’ form. Do you have anything like that?”

  “Oui, chérie, but that’d be too expensive in the long term. Have you considered the banal option?”

  “The banal option?”

  “Buy them clothing and put a hat on their head so no one can see their face? That’s how the Morrison Necropolis does it.”

  “Right, but the only tailor is Melissa.”

  “...And you’re a [Farm Girl] who’s making money. Just buy new dresses for yourself, and equip it on your workers. Clothing is unisex.”

  “Right,” I agreed.

  “SHE’S MAKING UNDEAD!”

  We both turned to Jasmine. “Get a grip, Jazzy. You knew this was illegal,” I finally told her. Maddy nodded.

  “I’m sorry, I just need a moment,” she added, collapsing to the ground. “You’re making undead… to help you farm crops?”

  “Yes, that’s about right,” I admitted. “Can you do this or not?”

  Jasmine stared at the floor, then her fingers. She immediately shot up. “I want you to promise me that you won’t turn me into a zombie or anything. Or kill me if I do anything wr—”

  I stepped up toward Jasmine and looked at her eyes. She tried to take a step back, but Madeleine appeared from behind and held her in place.

  “Jazzy. I already said you were my sister. I promised on Rhyvesta that I wouldn’t do anything to harm you. Maddy’s already rich, and Lord Hawthorne is actually a vampire—yes, I am aware—he is my biggest client, I think. The only thing we really do have is the sisterhood here.”

  Jasmine gulped. “...I don’t want to be involved in your side of the field.”

  “You won’t be. You just have to move the products and get them sold. And I guess, make me the basement?”

  She looked at me again. “Fine, Ashy. But I want you to help me make the basement, not your undead. I won’t have any part of it.”

  Madeleine snickered, but I grabbed her shoulder too then. “Great! The three of us can help me make my farm bigger.”

  Madeleine half-heartedly tried to pull away, before easing into this makeshift group hug. “Might as well ask Lady Hawthorne if she wants to come and make this a team-building exercise, chérie.”

  “...You know Ophelia, Ashy?”

  “Yep. All three of us will come to my place tomorrow night, then.”

  “I am looking forward to seeing your ascension, Ashley,” Madeleine stated. “And if you make these crops at the rate you’re going…”

  Her eyes looked at the map on the wall. “Sooner, rather than later.”