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[FallacyofUrist]

A, seriously, we'd be much better off getting an apprentice we know actually has potential, not some random farmer we'd be lucky to be able to teach a few basic cantrips. By Armok, we're still an apprentice for all intents and purposes, let's save finding an apprentice for when we're powerful enough to destroy a small city and have a few hundred serfs paying us taxes. This farmer will completely remove our need to waste time obtaining food, giving us more time to research and become more powerful, getting us to the point we can get a capable apprentice faster.

+1.

[Elephant Parade]

You tell the farmer that you'll cast the spell in exchange for food. He nods.

"We'll start the deliveries as soon as you cast the spell, then. Now, if there's nothing more to be said, I'll be going." He bows. "Thank you, Wizard of Weather." He turns to the door.

"Wait!" you call; he turns around at once. "I must go with you—I do not know the location of your farm; furthermore, the area you wish me to cover is small enough that I'd want to cast the spell from there even if I did. Please give me a few minutes to collect my things, and then we shall leave." He nods, and you head back upstairs.

After collecting the notes and implements you know you'll need, you head back downstairs. "I have collected my things," you say, satchel at your side. "Let us be off."

He nods wordlessly and heads for the door; you follow.


After a few dull, conversation-less hours of walking, you arrive at the man's land—or what you assume to be it, at least; might as well confirm that. "Is this your farm?"

"It is," he responds. "Do you need anything more, Wizard of Weather?"

You wave him off and get to work.

6 ((not an overshoot — this game doesn't have those))

The spell you weave is perhaps one of the finest you've cast in recent memory. For as long as it remains—and you expect it to remain for the rest of spring, if not most of summer—it will ensure that the man's farm will receive rain every other day, without fail; dark clouds are already gathering above you.

Which is why it's rather a disappointment when those clouds immediately shoot off across the heavens, your spell fleeing with them. You stare at the sky, puzzled. A few minutes later, the farmer emerges from his house, his face pale. "What has gone wrong, wizard? Is our land cursed?"

You have no idea. Something is weird; you're pretty sure it's not you, but that still leaves any number of possible causes. Worse, you're out of mana; even if you figure out what's gone wrong and fix it, it'll be weeks before you can cast the spell a second time, unless you abandon your research to sit out in the rain all day.

A - Investigate: "I do not know. If you allow me to search your property, I may be able to determine what has gone wrong; however, I will not have the energy I need to cast the spell for several weeks."
B - Leave: "I do not know. Even if I did, I lack the energy needed to cast the spell again. I apologize, but I must take my leave."
C - Be a Huge Jerk: "I do not know, and it does not matter. I cast your spell; it did not work, but I must still ask for payment."

[Arcvasti]

A

Something is afoot. Maybe its the farmer's son manifesting latent magicl powers? Try to remember how OUR magical powers first manifested themselves.

[crazyabe]

A.

[Felissan]

A
Because you don't get interesting stuff if you don't look for it in the first place.

[crazyabe]

A.

[somemildmanneredidiot]

A

Darn it crit fail from earlier.

[Tomasque]

 A

[Elephant Parade]

You tell the farmer that you'll investigate, but you might not be able to fix—or possibly even find—whatever's causing the problem—and that, even if you do, you won't have the energy to repeat the spell for several weeks.

His face falls. "Will you cast the spell again as soon as you're ready, at least?"

You give a noncommittal shrug. "I'll be wandering off, now; I'll tell you if I find anything." As promised, you leave to stumble around in the fields.


A half-hour later, you're pretty sure that nothing in his fields is causing the problem, which leaves only his humble—that he hasn't expanded it yet shows that he's pretty poor, since he has more than enough land to spare—abode. You walk up to it and knock; you use your staff, rather than your fist, because that's just what wizards do. You feel oddly anxious; maybe you're worried that the effect could spread?

Mere seconds later, the farmer pulls open the door. "Well? Did you figure out what's doing it?"

You don't answer. A mysterious force has begun to push against you, attempting to drive you away from the house; though you manage to stand your ground, your mana—what dregs of it exist—isn't so lucky; you can feel it leaving your body, dissolving into the air. As the amount of magical energy inside you dwindles to nil, the force weakens; when it becomes no more than a gentle tide, you answer. "I didn't find anything, but some kind of force is coming from inside your house. Could I take a look?"

He nods, stepping out of the doorway; you enter. The force grows stronger at once. As you pace around in the house, you find that it isn't trying to push you out—rather, it seems to be trying to push you away from a specific point. Once you figure that out, you're able to find its origin with ease.

It's his son. For whatever reason, his son expels a force that drives away magic—and, even more shockingly, the magical. (You don't think you want to know what would've happened if you'd tried to enter the house with a full reserve.) As long as the kid's here, no spell will stick; that, you're entirely sure of.

Noticing your stare, the farmer's wife speaks up, laying a hand on her son's shoulder. "What's going on? Is something wrong with my son? Is he what prevented you from completing your spell?"

You resist the urge to correct the misunderstanding, instead saying something more constructive. "Yes. As long as he remains, my magic will not work."

She frowns. "Well, we can't exactly just get rid of him, can we? I guess we could apprentice him to someone—someone in the city, I mean; he can't become a wizard, obviously—but it's a bit early for that, and he wouldn't be able to visit us without ruining your spell..." She shakes her head. "We're going to figure out what to do. It should only take a few minutes, so please wait here." The whole family walks outside.


When they come back in, they seem pretty downcast. The husband speaks up. "Sorry, but it looks like we're not gonna be able to send him somewhere else." He sighs. "And, as much as I hate to say it, we're not going to be able to give you the agreed-upon payment—with our farm as it is, we're barely staying alive. We'll try to get you what food we can spare, but..." He shrugs.

A: Accept his apology.
B: Demand payment in full.
C: Threaten to curse their land if you don't receive the full payment.

[crazyabe]

A.

[Tomasque]

 What if we COULD get him as an apprentice? We could visit the farm every once in a while (when we had no mana to lose) and we'd try to teach him to control his power.

 But for now, A.

[Elephant Parade]

You tell the farmer that you accept his apology.

"Glad to hear it, Wizard of Weather. Thanks for trying, and sorry that we can't really pay you back."

You leave.

When you get back, you realize that you have a bit of a problem: Magical research doesn't use up nearly as much mana as actual spells, but you still need some—for experiments, and the like. You currently have none. You could meditate until you have enough, but meditation gets more efficient the longer you go without being interrupted, so it might not be worth it.

A - Research: Continue your research, despite not having enough mana to do much.
B - Meditate: Spend the rest of the season meditating.
C - Meditate -> Research: Meditate until you've built up enough mana to last you the rest of the season. Spring's half-over, so you'd probably get in a few weeks of research, at best.

[Felissan]

C

[NRDL]

B

[somemildmanneredidiot]

B

Might as well set up for larger projects.