Jasmine hummed as we walked to my farm, carefree and enjoying her time. I was fuming, my arms crossed and fingers squeezing my thin muscles. I kept wanting to say something – anything – to her, to broach the topic on my mind. The words felt like a tangled root though, and I kept trying to separate what I was feeling from what I wanted to say.

  “Can’t believe you shut that door hard. There goes all the juicy gossip of the [Cryotheurge] and [Paladin], but I bet Missy is going to be relieved! She might even stay here!” Jasmine broke the silence, skipping to catch up beside me. “How are you feeling, Ashy?”

  I grumbled, trying to figure it out. “It… feels like I closed a door that I thought was always gonna be open, y’know? But, like… if I didn’t, would he come to the farm? Would he start investigating idly? You saw him bein’ stubborn as a tree stump about a topic I was rightfully avoidin’ right?”

  “Yep! I was already trying to figure out how I was goin’ to manage that, but I am SO glad that you did it.”

  I stopped walking. Jasmine skipped a few steps ahead, but then around. “Somethin’ wrong, Ashy?”

  “...Yeah. I kind of want him to visit me? But at the same time it’s goin’ to get in the way of my work. You know?”

  “Yeah. I was thinkin’ Nathaniel was gonna be supportin’ my ma and I with his blacksmith salary, but so far? Even with my ‘paltry’ wages of 2 Gold a day, I’m makin’ quite a bit for not as much work. Sure, he gets more business, but I’m expectin’ by the time we get big, my cut is gonna be a lot bigger.”

  I nodded. “Which is why I need you back at the farm. Mirchie knows how to make them farm and plant, and Ophelia is helpin’ us with it, but I need to get big–”

  “Nope, I don’t want to be involved in that side, Ashy.” Jasmine began, and then hesitated. “I… also wanted to ask. You said if Addy died, you’d bring him back. Swear to Amaril, the Enemy, your Ma or anyone, you foolin’ or serious?”

  I stared at the dirt and blushed. My foot idly kicked a rock as I tried to think. “I… know like five people I actually like. Ophelia is already a vampire and I can maybe bring her back if she dies? Maddy is a [Witch], so I’m sure she has a plan. Noel reincarnates… I think? Addy I have to plan for. And I have to plan for you.”

  Jasmine watched my eyes for a moment, and then stepped up. She was half a foot shorter than I was, but her staring at me like that made me feel tiny.

  “Ashley, if I die, I don’t wanna be brought back. Unless you can bring me back like Ophelia is - you know, walking around, being a person - OR you can bring me back properly. If you can’t, and I know you know what I mean, please just let me stay dead.”

  I looked at her face, and raised my hands. My hand shook but I placed it on Jasmine’s shoulder. “Jasmine, I’m not gonna let anyone kill ya. In fact, all I wanted to do right now was let you and Ophelia know what plants I wanted grown while I was gone. I was going to tell Ophelia to watch over you.”

  “She isn’t going with you to Flowers-By-The-River?”

  I began to walk again to the farm, releasing Jasmine who followed beside me. “Nah. I need her here to rebuild Hawthorne Manor. It’s nice and all were makin’ normal carrots and crops, but the real money is in Underworld Goods. I gotta get the Hart Stop runnin’ properly with large scale production when I get back.”

  “You could also just switch to medicinal herbs, but you’d need to process it more. Like, why not make soap for The Cockatrice over the next few days as an opening gift before you leave? Opium Poppies take 30 days to grow, but you can grow them over the spring and summer…”

  “I was thinkin’ about makin’ medicine, actually, I did unlock [Venefician], but…”

  “Heart’s set on makin’ crops?”

  “Yeah. If I did make medicine, I’d just make it fre–”

  “Don’. People expect prices that match, and while you can give a deep discount since its local, if you start sellin’ things under vendor price, people will just assume its bunk. If you really wanna, you can make Masterwork Medicine and sell it at cost,” Jasmine raised her hand to count her fingers. “Besides, you’ve to diversify your incomes so your money could have come from any of your operations. You’re using illegal tender mostly that has to be reminted… which is acceptable like, if someone paid the 5 copper entry fee into The Cock-It-Thrice with an entire silver and got free snacks for it.”

  “You’re really thinkin’ ahead about the money part, huh?” I admired. We both entered the property line of the Hart Farm, and I inhaled the farm air.

  “Of course! I was thinkin’ that I might be able to become a [Black Market Vendor] like Maddy is… it should pay well. I’m doin’ pretty well as a [Fence], thanks to you.”

  “Why don’ you cross the barrier then and…”

  “Um… they say there’s a Death Cult comin’ around, and something happened near Flowers-By-The-River. Lord Skye tol’ the town to be careful, and there was only one thought runnin’ through my head.”

  “...” I sucked in a breath and kept it there.

  “I was glad I was safe at home, with a [Paladin] on one side, and a [Necromancer] on the other. Way I’m seein’ it is that I have a good quality of life, no chance of dyin’, and I’ll be set financially.”

  “But everyone’s gonna see you as… unimportant, I guess?”

  “My husband wont! You wont! Or are you gonna forget about Jazzy too?” she elbowed my side, and I immediately shook my head.

  “I might be lookin’ like I want the whole world to notice me, but really, I just wanna have a good time an’ live a comfortable life. I got that, and I am pretty happy that if I were to get sick or die, I have a friend who can fix that. I just gotta do the work too.”

  I exhaled, and pulled Jasmine in for a hug. She was slowly becoming one of the three people I had no issues with actually touching first. Jasmine returned the embrace, and we turned towards the farm.

  “So, what are we doing here?” Jasmine asked, looking at the fields.

  “You… offered to help me build my home and train [Craftswoman]? I think I’d like to stop sleepin’ in a hovel and have a mattress that doesn’t break my back?”

  “That was your biggest run away from the [Inquisitor]? Ah well, I don’ mind helping ya out. Gonna make this a good Bachelorette Pad then!”

  “And I’m gonna discuss crops with you and Ophelia, when we find her.” I continued, but I didn’t see her, Laertes, or even Wizex about. “Or, I guess, just you. All I need you to do is buy the seeds and give them to Mirchie.”

  Jasmine nodded, and moved towards my resource point. The fields were watered, and I spotted Mirchie lying atop the dirt. I moved towards the rabbit and rubbed her head. “I need you to take the crew out and collect rocks and wood for me. We’re gonna upgrade the house.”

  Mirchie squeaked!

  “Yes, I should have done it earlier…” I agreed.

  Her nose twitched.

  “You were never banned from being inside, I just thought you liked the house Ophelia made for you more.”

  Her black eyes stared at me.

  “What do you mean you actually have a good bed in there? And there’s proper insulation?” I fumed, but then pushed her head. She squeaked annoyedly, but called the crew to follow her as she jumped to the woodlot.

  Jasmine glanced at me. “Gonna be a [Craftswoman] then?”

  I nodded, and swapped into [Craftswoman]. Jasmine did the same.

  “Huh… guess I’m gonna be a [Builder]. I completely forgot my quest involved making a house…” Jasmine mused.

  “Knowing my luck, if I ever get [Builder], it’s going to be made into something creepy like… I dunno, [Bone Architect],” I joked, and looked at my own quest.

  I opened up the building panel to see all the tables needed were 4 wood! A chair needed 2! I had 8 wood in my resource pile, as I went over and picked it up.

  I brought it to a small clearing, and then immediately realized I had no [Craftswoman] tools. I whistled for Mirchie, who hopped back. “Bring me a dead body too,” I instructed, and the rabbit nodded.

  “A dead body?” Jasmine asked.

  “I don’t have tools…” I answered.

  “And a body helps with that because…?”

  “Did… you not see the scalpel I used with your mom? It’s made of bone..?”

  Jasmine froze. “You… make tools out of bone? No, no. My husband is a blacksmith, just take mine! I’ll get a new set.”

  She handed me iron tools, but at the moment, I could work with steel. I mulled it over in my head, and then looked at her. “I can make better tools with bo–”

  “I don’t care! It’s not about the tool quality, it's what people see you use. If you give me a list, I’ll ask Nathaniel to make you steel tools for your clinic so you don’t show people that.”

  “Whose gonna notice?!” I shot back.

  “In the clinic? Literally everybody. With this? Okay, Genius, what are your nails gonna be?”

  “...Bone?”

  “Yeah, shut up and use my tools.” Jasmine chided, handing me iron nails too. I grumbled and got to work.

  Jasmine stood beside me and said nothing, but I placed the four wood into the centre. I picked up Jasmine’s hammer and the nails, and slowly got to work.

  Crafting was always weird, and while I could see the outline of where everything was supposed to be in Astral Blue, I never really enjoyed it. It wasn't like farming where I had to remember everything and just plant seeds.

  It was far, far more stressful.

  The legs had to be cut in half from the wood, and one wood became two. I took a saw from Jasmine and cut the wood in half, creating two uneven ‘legs’. I placed them where the outline wanted them to be.

  I did the same for the other two legs.

  The two remaining pieces of wood were split evenly and turned into planks, which I then placed atop. With the blue outline fixed in, all that was required was nailing everything in place. I got to work, connecting the legs to the table top, and banging away with the hammer.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The legs were uneven, and the entire thing wobbled. The tabletop was not smooth, and still had remnants of bark. Jasmine peered over it, and ran her fingers against it. She immediately stopped, pulling up her hand to show a finger with a splinter sticking out. I reached forward and plucked it out rather easily.

  “Ashley,” Jasmine began. Her tone was slow and deep, and her face was solemn.

  “Yeah, Jazzy?”

  “How are you so bad at making things when your hands don’t even shake?”

  “What?”

  “Your hands don’t shake at all, I thought that was what was happen’, but I realized I saw you do surgery and cuts before. You’re not wobblin’ or anything. Like, why is this leg taller than the other three? What are you even doin’?”

  “Trying to make a table?”

  “For Minadin’s Sake, Ashley. You’re lucky none of the Crafter’s Guild is here to see this abomination. Mindain would smite this table, and you, for daring to produce it with such good hands.”

  “...Thank you?”

  “No!” Jasmine pushed on my table with her palm. The legs began to wobble, and the nails began to pop.

  CRACK!

  The table collapsed onto the floor. At least that could be scraped for wood again, but the nails were basically gone.

  “I don’ get ya. You panic and obsess over Farmin’, you're a natural at magic, but… you’re havin’ trouble measuring wood to be cut in half properly? And the nail work! Your stitching of a body is superb! I saw the wound cleaning you did on Ma and Mrs. Bellamine. But this is sloppy! What on Minadin are you doing?!”

  Jasmine seemed legitimately mad, and I groaned.

  I took the wood and tried again. Rather than cutting it randomly and looking at the outline, I brought the wood to me. I cut one of it in half, and took the shorter leg of the two. I placed the shorter leg atop of the larger one, and then cut the excess off so they were the same height.

  I proceeded to take one of the proper legs against the next piece of wood. That was cut to make the height, and then once more to have four legs of equal size.

  “You gotta sand it down so it’s smooth. And begin processing the planks.”

  I took the sanding paper and scraped it down. The legs were becoming less barky and more like a polished cylinder. The tabletop lost its bark quality, and became planks.

  15 minutes later, and I had a pretty good looking table! Smaller than the one indoors, but for my first project? Very, very neat!

  I began to work on the chairs as Jasmine supervised. The process was much simpler, and I was only really capable of making stools.

  I made two of them!

  The next thing I had to make was a storage box. After that, a wardrobe. At level four, I had to make an entire bedroom.

  And at five, I had to make a house. Same as Jasmine.

  Jasmine looked over the stuff I made and shook her head. “This is all common stuff. I’m proud of ya for makin’ it, Ashy, but I’m gonna scrap them all and when we finish your house, I’m going to make you my stuff. I can at least do [Rare], which ain’t bad for an [NPC] ain’t it?”

  “...How?”

  “Because I spent months learning how to do it? Just because you can instantly build these things through the crafting interface don’t mean it’s good. Adrian’s probably as good as Nathaniel on all he knows about blacksmithin’, but since Adrian doesn’t practise it, he doesn’ know the things that make something go from [Uncommon] to [Rare] ya know? It ain’t all about just materials!”

  I shook my head. “Yeah, I know that. I spend a lot of time farmin’ too. I gotta make a scarecrow if I plan to make the fields bigger soon…”

  “Eh… Farmin’ and huntin’ and the like ain’ really about your own skills. I mean, it is! But… a [Hunter] and a [Farmer] are limited by the quality of the land an’ animal, right? But I can take any kind of wood and make something of high quality! I mean, I rather not work with scrap wood if I can help it…”

  “...But I wouldn’t be able to make [Masterwork] crops with just my fields. The old ones, anyway,” I admitted.

  “Exactly! So, now that we’re buildin’ your house, I’m taking front. You’ll help, but eh… Ashy…”

  I looked at the stuff I made. While they were nice, they were clearly not in any comparison to what Jasmine normally made. I raised my hands in defeat. “You’re the boss, Jazzy.”

  “Swell!” She cheered, and turned to the house itself. “Anything you looking for specifically?”

  I looked at my hovel. It was very small, and having more than one room would be great! I already had the basement, but I’d love for the basement to actually be part of the house so I could manage who went in and out since of the… other part that was down there.

  Oh. And I’d love a dining room! Sure, I couldn’t pay Addy back his part of the debt back right away, but I did promise him 3 dinners. And him and Melissa 1 dinner… and Noel and Aywin. And I should make something for Jasmine and Ophelia too….

  Which meant I needed an actual kitchen! Also maybe a guest bedroom? Wait, that was getting pretty big. I just needed a room for myself. A kitchen. A living room. And a storage area that was locked so I could go into the basement and it wasn’t outside.

  I turned to Jasmine, who waited for me eagerly. “I want to make a proper bedroom and a bed. I’d love to have a mirror and wardrobe for my clothes.”

  “Easy, though, we’ll need some feathers - preferably from a goose - for the mattress and pillows and quilt. We still have some money, so we can run to Laura’s for that.”

  I nodded, and continued. “I want a proper kitchen and not just a fireplace with a cauldron. Likewise, a living room so I can have people over for dinner.”

  Jasmine looked at me. “Is this part of your dumb plan to pay Adrian back? Or are you actually inviting normal people? Since, you just did a great job on shutting the door - you don’t want to reopen it, Ashy.”

  “I… have to pay it back, Jasmine. I don’t want to keep it hanging over my head.”

  Jasmine closed her eyes and her hand rubbed her nose. “Good Elora, you bloody nutter. At least if you invite him over – wait, your basement. He definitely can’t be here.”

  “Right, I want to encompass the basement into a proper storage area and keep a locked door so it’s not just outside.”

  “Okay, that’s smart. All of this is pretty easy to do. And if I am making you a proper living room, you're inviting Nathaniel and I over for dinner.”

  “I’d also like to make a laboratory in the basement,” I continued, remembering that too.

  “I… uh… can’t help you there. I don’ got any [Alchemy] classes, but if you do, you could. I mean, I can help, but I can’t make anything Class-Specific like that.”

  I nodded. I did recall Advanced Seedmakers were Farmers only. Wait, I could make one now! But I’d also have to make a laboratory, and since Jasmine couldn’t do the majority of the work, it’d be something I had to make to my own specifications.

  With what we could do, Jasmine got to work. The way she used the crafting outline was far different than I did.

  The hovel was completely unusable outside of being scrapped, which she quickly performed. Everything inside was also destroyed, except for my workbench.

  We restarted placing the foundations made of wood, and then made a proper second story. My study was moved up there, alongside my bedroom. The living room had a central dining table with 8 chairs, and the kitchen had a proper raised hearth, a bread oven, and even an island for the actual cooking!

  The place, at least foundationally, looked a lot like a proper home fit for cityfolk, and not a country gal like myself.

  Jasmine even included proper piping and aqueducting! The washroom was moved inside, with a drawpoint to pump in water. I’d have to heat it myself.

  But it was the basement that made the most sense. We restricted the home so that a locked door separated the basement, the pantry, and where I could store my food from the actual place. If anyone stepped inside, they’d just see stable goods, and smell wine and cheese coming from the cellar. I could lock it from the outside.

  Jasmine hummed, and then turned to me. “I’m going to buy special materials like feathers, more nails, and all of that. I’ll be back shortly. But we need over 1000 wood and 800 stones. So uh, think you can manage that without making it look bad?”

  I nodded, and we split. Mirchie was already getting the wood and stone for me, and I had no interest in cutting trees down myself. This entire process would be easier if I had more undead, but the body shortage was getting to me.

  A few hours later, Jasmine returned. The undead crew I had easily surpassed the 1000 wood and 800 stones requirement; who would have guessed having six people mining rocks and felling trees made work go by fast.

  “Alright, Ashy. You just prepare most of the Raw Goods and I’ll finish them.” Jasmine separated the labour of work, and the two of us began.

  Planing out lumber into planks was at least fun, and Jasmine and I just talked about… well, anything. She was a surprisingly good conversationalist, and her just talking about future plans was cute.

  It took us a few hours to prepare everything though, but the planks made the foundations, towards the shell, then the internal logistics. Frames were made into insulated walls, and the hovel was upgraded to a proper two storyhouse. My bedroom was first, and Jasmine even made me a fancier wardrobe!

  However, it was the study that mattered more to me. I finally had what I wanted: Inlaid bookshelves. I didn’t have many books yet, but I now could. A solid oak table with many drawers - and Jasmine showed me a specific one. Underneath the bottom right there was a false bottom so I could hide my two Grimoires, and other important things.

  The living room was simple with a second hearth for warmth, a table and chairs, and nothing else yet. The kitchen was well stocked, and the pantry leading to the basement was made.

  We both sat down, sweating and panting when everything was done.

  Jasmine blinked as she slowly read. “Yesss! Finally a [Builder]! Though, I might not have time to work on that too much… but at least I can renovate The Cockatrice myself.” She smiled warmly. “I am so glad I can just do what I want to do. Better than being a maid.”

  I let out a deep breath. “I’m going to miss ya when I leave. I’ll get the medicine and soap made for The Cockatrice. Can you grab Annabelle and get it ready? Functioning bathing places and all!”

  Jasmine waved me off and got up. “See you soon, Ashy!”

  Mirchie jumped on my lap as we both stared at the new house. I couldn’t wait to fall asleep for tomorrow.