Chapter 298

His final task, the last thing keeping him from the comforts of home, was admittedly small, the sort of thing he probably could have gotten away with ignoring, but if he didn’t do it now he had no clue how far in the future it would be before he could make the time to see the results in person.Taking their cart through the elven gate, Thera and Ben drove out to the farm Ben had purchased just before the crafting contest had started, to be used as a way to gain faith for his god. Even though that was the main purpose though, he did genuinely want to see the results, to know if trying to give the obbles religion would actually do anything to improve the quality of wool or eggs they produced. Admittedly, he didn’t have the most hope for the prospect, but the odds weren’t zero and given what the world was on the edge of, any way to improve food production could be valuable for the years to come.

He hadn’t been able to announce their visit ahead of time given everything that was going on, but as he knocked on the door of the main house where the elf he technically employed stayed he was greeted with cheer and enthusiasm.

“Well isn’t this a pleasure mister Ben, I was actually just working on the report you’d asked me to make but if I’d known you were stopping by I would have tried to have some hospitality ready for you.”

“Ha, well I appreciate the thought and I’m sorry to show up unannounced like this. My last couple months ended up rather hectic so I wasn’t able to let you know I’d be coming, but with everything going on in the world right now if I didn’t show up today I don’t know when I’d have gotten the chance in the future.”

“It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. Come on to the fields with me, I’ll talk about what I’ve seen since then while I have you around.”

He led them around back where the fluffy little ovals were grazing and even if he wasn’t sure what it was, he immediately saw some sort of change when he looked at them.

“Are their coats glossier?” Thera asked as she eyed the closest one, thinking of how soft it looked.

“Good eye miss, they are indeed. Their coats are looking a bit nicer overall and they’re growing back a little faster too. On top of that, it looks like egg production increased by around five percent. You aren’t exactly raking in the sort of profit that could make up for how much you invested buying this place, but in general I’d say we’re seeing some reasonable improvement considering it's only been a couple months.”

“Interesting,” Ben muttered as he stared at them. “It’s early enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some more improvement for a bit, though it will stop after a while eventually. Still, five percent is actually quite a large amount all things considered, especially with a large enough herd. Let’s say in theory if it gets up to a seven percent increase before leveling off, if we were getting a thousand eggs a week beforehand then we’d be ending with an extra seventy, with things only getting better for even bigger groups. Of course, different animals would have different improvements but this could actually be pretty big.”

Myriad spoke up in his head in response to his thoughts.

He walked around the fields, looking them over and not seeing anything significant. He did get the impression they were somewhere between happy and content which meant that the necklaces were doing their jobs, but given the simplicity of the creatures lifestyles that could have played a part as well.

It was as he finished his little inspection that he found Thera leaning against one of them, a dark resistance amulet he kept in his bag around the creature's neck while she pet it.

“Looks like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Something about these things is just so charming,” She admitted. “Think we could bring one back with us?”

“Ha, I don’t think we’d be able to take care of one at Sonya’s. I didn’t think you liked animals so much.”

“I mean, usually I’m pretty neutral, but look at it Ben, it’s adorable. Besides, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a pet. With my charm what it is, the ethics of it was always a little murky.”

“Well, a farm animal isn’t exactly doable, but if Sanya’s cool with it you could always get something and I could just make an amulet for its collar.”

“Mmh, maybe one day,” She told him as she thought about it. “I guess this wouldn’t exactly be the best time to get one though, would it?”

“Well, if the world doesn’t end we can worry about it then,” He said as he sat down next to her and began petting the creature too. He had to admit it was extraordinarily soft, he could see the appeal as he decided to do one last thing to check up on the state of the creatures, he connected with it.

It was funny to think just how few times he actually connected with an animal. When he looked back on it it came down to using it as a bug killer, as well as the one time he had to scare away an alseer to keep him and Thera alive. Otherwise, his experience with connect was limited to people, plants, and enchantments. He originally left animals alone for concern that they might get hurt or scared by the act, but by now he had mastered the skill, he just hid all of his extra minds away as he directed his positive and friendly emotions to it, feeling it respond in kind.

As he gently probed and watched its thoughts, he felt more than happy with how the necklace did its job. If he directed a thought to it about Myriad he felt the creature's mind explode with warmth and joy, and he wasn’t getting any stress from it, even as one thing scratched at his mind, an absence that was blatantly apparent when compared against any person he’d connect to.

One of the greatest benefits Ben received upon reaching the ninth level of enchanting was that he was able to see both the skills and levels of people he connected to now, giving him a far easier time when he grabbed them to put on rings. That fact that nothing was showing up was confusing, and even when he tried to feel them like he used to it seemed vague and undefined in a way he hadn’t dealt with prior; something was there, but not in the way he was used to. Luckily for his curiosity though, Myriad had an answer.

His god explained to him.

He thought, though something about that still felt wrong, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Still, he let his spare minds probe at the idea in the back of his head as he and Thera finished up, giving their goodbyes and getting on the cart, finally on their way back to Stonewall.

They spoke to pass the time, about what they’d need to do when they got back, about how good it would feel to get home after so long, how nice it would be to see Falk and Sonya and just how they were going to break the news that they were now romantically involved in a far realer way than an engagement that was forced on them, but as they reached the elven gate, Ben felt his thoughts snap into place as just what had bothered him about Myriad’s explanation come to the front of his thoughts.