Once he was done eating, Jacob looked up from his plate to see his friends and family all done with their own meal and watching him with a mix of confusion and amusement.
"What," he said to his onlookers, "y'all've never seen a hungry man eat his fill?"
This comment elicited laughter from around the table and set a good mood going into the serious conversation he knew they were about to have. It helped drive away some of the anticipation a few at the table were feeling towards his story about the summer, but also theirs.
Caleb was the first to ask questions after shifting his chair, which caused the wooden legs to scrape against the hardwood floor as he leaned his elbows on the table while he stared at his younger brother.
"Well, then. What is it they were feeding you at that camp if not food? Your appearance wouldn't change like that from eating lentils."
His comment caused Jacob to grin, and he figured it was a good time to tell his story. The weight of the past four months seemed to increase the tension in the air, as if it contributed to the internal air pressure of the room.
All eyes were on Jacob as the entire table waited for him in renewed anticipation.
So, Jacob first grabbed his wooden cup and took a swig of the apple cider May had set out for him. Over the rim, he glanced at his father, who was also looking at him, and Jacob noticed a nearly imperceptible nod from his dad.
He knew this was a slight reminder to soften the events for his six-year-old sister.
"The training was basically what you would expect from a boot camp," Jacob began, "there were formation drills and obstacle courses. They made us run long distances, and we also had to lift heavy rocks over our heads."
He looked around the table and noticed some narrowed eyes as family and friends tried to envision what the training looked like, while his little sister just gave him a big smile as if she was already enjoying the story.
"They wanted our muscles to get as sore as possible, because of the sun-fruit. It is this type of fruit that grows in the grove where they had us sleeping, and we could eat as much as we wanted. It was actually hard to eat too much because it was so filling. The fruits had a slight glow to them, so we called them sun-fruits even though there were all sorts of different types from the different plants growing them."
After taking another sip of his cider, Jacob continued his story.
"When I first took a bite of these fruits, they tasted like sunlight, and I understood why they were called sun-fruits. At first, it kind of hurt when the fruit was absorbed by my body. It was a very weird feeling, but then I was filled with a short burst of energy and all of my muscles felt like they were ready for another round of training."
At that point, Lila couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted Jacob. "Did the sun-fruits make you glow in the dark?"
This curious comment caused the table to break out into laughter, and even Lila started laughing due to the humor in the air.
After calming down and wiping a tear from his eye, Jacob addressed his little sister directly.
"As far as I can tell, the sun-fruits didn't make anyone glow in the dark. But that is a good question from your end."
Looking at the rest of the table, he continued his story until he made it to the events near the end of the training session.
"Once we had already been there for over three months, the grove was assaulted by the Zinthar. Even though the place is heavily guarded, the elves were actually able to get through the grove's defenses and directly assault the training grounds."
May gasped audibly as her hand rushed to her mouth. Even Arthur was caught off guard, going rigid in his chair. Oren took on a more serious look, watching Jacob intently.
"I'm fine, Mom, seriously. We all worked as a group to repel the invaders, and the guild fighters took care of the rest. Also, I had a watcher sent by the guildmaster, and I am sure that she handled anything truly threatening."
The room was left stunned, and Oren didn't look convinced, but Jacob watched him glance over at Lila, and clarity helped clear the confusion in his eyes.
"After that," Jacob spoke up once more to ease the tension from the sudden silence, "training progressed as usual for the last couple of weeks, and I managed to stabilize my core and am officially a Tier 1 mage."
"Congratulations on reaching Tier 1 as a mage, son." Arthur was the first to congratulate him, and the others soon followed, leaving behind the uncomfortable silence caused by the revelation of the attack.
"That weird feeling you give off actually makes sense now," Oren commented, "I felt it as soon as you stepped through the door, but I couldn't exactly place the feeling. But, now that you mention it, I do remember some of the adventurers I have met giving off a similar feeling."
Jacob nodded his head at Oren, "I would expect some of the mages to give off a similar feeling. But, that was how training went," he was now addressing the entire table, "how did it go on the farm during the summer?"
It was a reasonable follow-up question, but it similarly elicited silence from the table, with Arthur even briefly looking at his empty plate for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.
May got up from her spot at the table and started gathering dishes, with Lila and Sera following her lead. She leaned over and kissed her son on the top of his head as she grabbed his plate, and the girls started their trips back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen as Arthur began the summer story of the farm.
Oren and Mira remained at the table. Oren already knew the sequence of events that unfolded at the farm as a direct observer, and Mira seemed interested in hearing more about it as she was in and out, leaving her without a clear picture.
"The farm did much better than expected," Arthur began, then he chuckled a little, "it actually did a little too well. We used the stakes you left, and it increased the production of the farm, and I also collected the seeds of the crops that did the best and let the girls cultivate them in the greenhouse as you suggested."
Jacob nodded. He was glad to hear that his ideas worked.
"The results were astounding," Arthur continued, "the strongest crops became even stronger, and the stakes allowed us to harvest and rotate double and even triple the normal frequency. We typically get two to three harvests from late spring to late fall."
This was enlightening to Jacob, as he had not asked before and had always been taking care of the chickens. He knew the general harvest times since the coop was near one of the fields, but as a kid, he never really paid that much attention to it.
"But," Arthur continued, "the frequent harvests are where our troubles began. Although I suppose they may have started with our land acquisition, and the fact that we never applied for that seed subsidy."
Jacob narrowed his eyes, "Baron Talbot, I assume?"
Arthur and Caleb both nodded their heads. Caleb seemed just as happy about the efficiency of the farm and just as frustrated about the results.
"It started with another rider looking at our fields from the road," Arthur began to explain, "I walked over to him at the fenceline, and he told me that our sales were not adding up to the records of listed farm plots."
He sighed and shook his head slightly before taking a sip of the cider and continuing.
"Normally, they wouldn't have noticed anything weird until tax time, and since we handle taxes correctly, they likely would have just been happy with the increased taxes they would be getting from the farm. But, we had excess that I was unable to sell in Thornhold and even Spring City."
That caused Jacob some surprise, but also a bit of confusion. Arthur was able to see that confusion on his face, so he explained.
"Something that many don't know is that the kingdom always needs extra food, so the surplus is always readily purchased by the kingdom at a fixed price. They use it for the frontlines or for export. The problem is that this purchase is handled by the local baron or count, depending on the location and size of the farm."
Jacob was immediately enlightened, and Arthur continued his explanation.
"Our farm has always been a large producer for Ruvka, but we have never had surplus for the kingdom. So, this raised some questions. And, after I sent the rider away without an explanation, a couple of the Baron's militiamen came by. They tried to inspect the property without a proper writ from the baron, but they were also quite large, and I was almost forced to let them onto the property. But, Oren here had my back."
Arthur gestured to the young swordsman, who was quite large for his age. At 16 years old, he already towered over most adults, and his constant training with a heavy sword and shield has no doubt contributed to his broad frame.
Oren looked at Jacob and shrugged. "I happened to be nearby, and I could hear those guys shouting at your dad, so I just walked over to see what was going on. The guys were all bulk and no brains. As soon as they realized they couldn't force their way onto the farm to do as they pleased, your father gave them quite the lashing with his surprising knowledge of the kingdom's laws."
Arthur nodded in agreement with Oren's assessment. "Precisely, without an official writ from a proper official, no one can just invade the land of a citizen of the kingdom. Reminding those guys of this fact solved a short-term problem, but the Baron did send the official letter of intent to inspect the fields just a few days ago."
Jacob stood up straight, hearing that. "What will come of this? And what will they hope to gain by inspecting the fields?"
"Well," Arthur began his reply, "Mira did tell us that she had seen them snooping around the woods around the farm, apparently looking for something."
This comment elicited a slight nod from Mira, who had been listening in silence this entire time.
"So, I think they are looking for hidden fields that we might be using to produce tax-free crops. The letter they sent also seems to indicate as much. The problem with the wording they used is that I think they might use the presence of the greenhouse as a means to serve us with tax penalties and possibly even unjust indentureship due to the presence of an unlicensed magical artifact."
That confused Jacob. "You need a license for a magical artifact?"
Arthur had to think about the question before he replied, "Not if you create it yourself, but you do need one if you purchased it.
That caused Jacobs' eyes to light up as he cut off Arthur and exclaimed, "Then the Baron could use the presence of the greenhouse as a means for sanctions, even with my presence, since he could just say that it's reasonable to assume that an uneducated mage would be incapable of creating such a thing!"
"Exactly," Arthur replied with a smile.
This caused Jacob to knit his brows. "But," he began in reply, "I could just demonstrate my ability, and remove all doubt."
Caleb and Oren were nodding their heads, as if that were the logical answer, but Arthur shook his head and corrected the boys as May and the rest of the girls sat down.
"That would require them to actually witness you using your power, but they can just claim they did not directly see you use your magic in such a way and follow through with their own agenda."
"Then," Jacob replied, "what can we do?"
This caused Arthur to grin as he said, "We don't need to do anything. I already did what needs to be done. While it is uncomfortable to request the presence of the kingdom during an inspection, as they will get to conduct their own inspection and come to their own conclusions, the kingdom is more interested in finding the truth of the matter and has little interest in minor trinkets a peasant farmer might own thanks to his magically talented son."
Then, Arthur declared to the whole table, "I am filing for a royal injunction."
May seemed to be the only one who understood the weight of that decision, but she also seemed to have expected it as she gave her husband a solemn and subtle nod.
"It requires me to go over Baron Talbot's head to our count," Arthur explained, 'It leaves us protected but also alienates us from the Baron. Simple matters could become more complex in the future, but I think it's worth it."
"And I support your decision," May said with a resolute tone.
Jacob looked at her and could see the fight in her crimson eyes. He had always known his mother to be quite energetic, but only now was he realizing that she was also just as ready to fight for her family as anyone else in the house.
Caleb ran his hand through his hair, clearly anxious about the declaration. But Jacob could see a bit of humor behind his older brother's eyes. The young man had a mischievous side to him, and Jacob was curious to see how he handled things.
Arthur also looked at Caleb, and a twinkle formed in his eye before addressing the table, "Now, who wants to come out to the barn and see how Caleb and I have progressed our ability to enchant this summer?"