When Hollie woke the next morning, her muscles were stiff and sore, and getting out of bed proved to be a challenge.

She had spent several hours working the the garden after she'd returned from the village. She'd put on her gloves and set about to hoeing the first garden plot, digging in the dirt to pull out all the weeds and dead plants. By the end, it was mostly clear, apart from a few stray sprouts of grass. All she needed to do now was add a layer of new soil and fertilizer, mix it all together, and start planting seeds. When she checked the Codex, her energy level had dwindled to a measly [15 Energy].

But it had all been worth it. She'd made a lot of progress and gained a new skill and more experience.

[New Skill: Gardening

Level: 1

Perk: Energy expended in basic gardening tasks decreased by 10%]

[Cottager XP Gained: 10,

Points Needed for Next Level: 80]

Too tired to try experimenting with any new recipes, she had the kitchen whip up the same [Simple Hearty Breakfast] she'd had that morning. It had done the trick, filling her up and giving her back another [15 Energy], which made her feel surprisingly refreshed.

After she'd drawn a bath and washed all the dirt and grime from the day's labor away, she spent the rest of the evening in the study, sketching. When she could stay awake no longer, she trudged up the stairs and crawled into bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

Now, once Hollie had finally managed to roll out of bed and put her daytime clothes on, she was ready to get started with her day. Her first goal was to get the potatoes and onions planted. That wouldn't take too long and shouldn't cost too much [Energy]. But what really excited her was the prospect of exploring the woods around the cottage on her quest to find the Spotted Redcaps. She'd always loved trees—been completely mesmerized by them—or so she thought. She couldn't exactly remember, but she could feel the truth of it deep down.

There was something almost otherworldly about them. Any time she found herself gazing at a tree, particularly the old, large ones in the forest nearby, she felt as though they were gazing back at her, aware of the all the goings on in the wide world and overflowing with the wisdom of ages long past. It was a comforting thought, that such wise, ancient lifeforms stood sentinel around her little cottage while she worked away inside safe and sound.

A grumbling stomach pulled Hollie from her thoughts.

Right. Breakfast.

She made her way to the kitchen, determined to learn another recipe and perhaps gain some more experience. She looked through her inventory and settled on trying her hand at an [Omelette].

"Let's see. Three eggs, a bit of cheese, and maybe some bacon," she said as she gathered the items from the pantry. "I think that should do."

Having grated the cheese and cooked the bacon and broken it into pieces, she cracked the eggs and whisked them in a pan until they'd blended evenly together. Then she tossed the grated cheese and bits of bacon, let it cook for a minute, then folded the eggs on top of itself, letting it cook a while longer. Soon she had herself an [Omelette], and the Cookbook opened up and a new entry appeared.

Recipe: Omelette

Ingredients: 3 Eggs, 1 serving of Cheese (grated), 1 serving of Bacon

Health Restored: 10

Energy Restored: 10

And then there was a new notice.

[Cottager XP Gained: 5,

Points Needed for Next Level: 75]

"Fantastic!" Hollie exclaimed. If she kept going at this rate, she'd likely reach [Cottager Level 2] before the week was over. And then...who knew?

Planting went along more quickly than Hollie had thought it would. When she finished, she stood by the outbuilding, leaning against the hoe in her left hand, and smiled. The first garden plot had been completely transformed. And all it had taken was a little bit of grit and determination. She'd used [15 Energy], and she'd gained a new skill and some more experience.

[New Skill: Gardening - Specialty: Vegetables and Fruits

Level: 1

Perk: Tilling soil uses 10% less energy]

[Cottager XP Gained: 10,

Points Needed for Next Level: 65]

All of that finished, she returned everything to its proper place in the outbuilding and headed inside to pack herself a lunch and ready her backpack. She grabbed a bit of cheese, an apple, a slice of sourdough bread, and half a summer sausage, wrapped them all up in a flour sack cloth, then filled her water flask.

As she was about to leave the cottage, she remembered her journal and pencil roll. Sure, her main task was to collect mushrooms, but she might as well bring it along and sketch a few things while she was out. Perhaps she'd even start a nature journal. It could come in handy, documenting all the flowers and animals and birds she came across. After all, there was no telling what sort of wonderful, enchanted creatures and plants a world such as this, unexplored and bursting with magic, might contain!

When she finally left the cottage behind, it was still morning, though nearer to noon than dawn. She was dressed in what the Codex informed her were traveling clothes: tall leather boots with high laces, comfortable brown pants, a mossy tunic tied with a belt, and a long, hooded cloak the color of rich, dark soil. Secured in a small scabbard in her belt was a knife. Nothing of the sort that could deal any sort of significant damage, but sharp and sturdy enough to cut through the stems of mushrooms and any thorny brambles that might catch on her clothes.

Hollie didn't know where she was going exactly, but she had her map, and when she took out her compass to give it a closer look, she found that it worked in two modes. In the first, it pointed toward North, just as one might expect. But there was a little switch on the bottom that when pressed oriented the compass to the cottage. Just how it worked Hollie didn't understand, but she chalked it up to one more wonderful display of magic that she might one day comprehend.

As she walked, the Map filled itself out, drawing the shapes of trees and water and worn paths. Wondering if she might be able to somehow command the Map in the same way she did the Codex or the Cookbook, she spoke to it as she held it up before her.

"Map, can you show me where to find Spotted Redcaps in these woods?"

She waited, but nothing happened.

The map was largely blank, and she remembered that it had been completely cleared. It likely didn't hold any sort of knowledge that it might have previously. But in the areas she'd explored... She decided to try something different.

"Map, could you show me in more detail the area around Spritespring Hollow that we've explored?"

The Map seemed to bend its top corners a bit, as if it were giving her a nod. The ink faded then reappeared in a magnified perspective. The trees were no longer tiny hatch marks with a few puffs. The stream was no longer a singular line. And the cottage was not just an icon with a name beneath. Everything had been redrawn in much greater detail. Now Hollie could see the leaves and branches, the little eddies and whirls and ripples of the stream, and the cottage... The cottage looked just like the real thing, with even the garden in the back and the flowering bushes along the front!

"Holy moly!" Hollie gasped. "You're quite an incredible Map!"

The Map lowered one top corner in a sort of bow, and Hollie laughed.

"Ok, so, Spotted Redcaps. Shouldn't be too hard to find," she said. "Just red mushrooms with spots, I'm assuming?"

There was no one to hear her, but talking aloud always made Hollie feel less alone. And maybe, if the Codex and the Map were alive after all—and Hollie thought it ever more likely that this was indeed the case—someone talking to them might make them feel a little less lonely too. Hollie considered for a moment what a strange existence it must be, being stowed away in the darkness of a backpack until someone came along to pull you out and ask you a question.

She had been walking for half an hour through the woods when she spotted her first Spotted Redcap—or rather, what she believed was a Spotted Redcap. She'd find out if she was right when she delivered them to Mr. Grimsworth in a few days.

She stooped to the ground which, this deep into the forest, was covered in an assortment of twigs and chunks of moss, dead brown leaves and fallen pine needles. Drawing her knife from its sheath, she went to grab the mushroom and cut the stem, only to jump back in shock as the mushroom shrieked, popped out of the ground, and began to run away on two tiny feet. When it had reached the safety of a nearby tree root, it stopped, turned, and poked its head up at Hollie, revealing a face that almost looked human, with big, frightened eyes.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she called out to it as she sheathed her knife and put her hands up in mock surrender. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't know you were...alive?"

Hollie gave the little creature a sheepish smile, trying her best not to look threatening, but it fled further into the woods. She dropped her shoulders and sighed. She hadn't meant to frighten it away. Though, Hollie thought, I'd run away too if some giant came trampling at me with a knife!

"So, Spotted Redcaps aren't mushrooms." She let out an exasperated sigh and pulled the Codex from her backpack. "I should have thought to ask you first before I attempted this. Codex, what can you tell me about Spotted Redcaps?"

Spotted Redcaps are a small, sentient, bipedal creature that can be found in temperate forests throughout the Kingdom of Balnochy. It is believe they are related to fairies, having branched off from a common ancestor several thousand years ago. They are herbivores, living off of nuts and berries. They are shy, quiet creatures, preferring to live in isolation rather than in communities. They are active at night, when they do most of their foraging, and spend the days sleeping near the roots of trees. Their spotted caps are similar in color and pattern to the poisonous Flairwit's Mushroom, which helps to deter any forest creatures who may be interested in pursuing them for a meal. They have an average lifespan of five years.

"Huh. So, what use might someone have for them?"

Hollie could understand someone asking for mushrooms. She had figured that Mr. Albus Grimsworth, whoever he was, would have put them to use in some recipe, or perhaps have used them for some medicinal purpose. But now she worried what exactly he would do with the creatures if she were to catch them and bring them to him.

The Codex answered.

I am not sure what use someone might have for a dozen Spotted Redcaps.

"Thanks, Codex," she said, then she seated herself on the forest floor and leaned her back against the trunk of the sprawling oak where she had first seen the Redcap. She took a deep, heavy breath, then let it out in one strong sigh.

What was she to do? She'd taken the job. What would happen if she didn't fulfill it? She needed the money. And she didn't know what other repercussions there might be if she didn't hold up her end of the bargain. Would she be banned from taking any more jobs? Would the people of Foxley Cross think ill of her for it?

But she didn't think she could deliver three of the little creatures to Mr. Grimsworth to be used for...well, whatever purpose he had in store for them. She shuddered to think of what horrific fate might befall them. Then again, what did she know? Mr. Grimsworth could have a perfectly benign reason for wanting the Redcaps. The Codex had only said that it didn't know what use he might have for them, not that it was necessarily bad.

Hollie needed to think. And while she was thinking, she might as well eat her lunch. She'd used [10 Energy] so far. Not too much, but she could do with the boost that her lunch would bring.

Mulling the problem over for a while, she took out the Codex again. Of course—if she could only bring herself to remember—it would have all the answers.

"Codex," she said, smiling at having realized the solution to her problem. "I know you don't know what use someone might have for Spotted Redcaps, but maybe you could help me figure it out."

I'll try to be of use, Hollie, but I do have limitations.

"I somehow doubt that. You know everything there is to know about everything!"

Not quite.

"Oh, don't be shy. You know it's true. Anyhow, you mentioned that they were somehow related to fairies. Well, what can you tell me about fairies?"

Hollie stared expectantly at the Codex, but the pages remained blank.

"Codex, you didn't answer. What do you know about fairies?"

The only thing I know about fairies is that they and Spotted Redcaps are believed to have branched off of common ancestor several thousand years ago.

"And that's it? That's really all you know?"

That is all I know.

Hollie's jaw dropped.

"What? How can that be? You knew all about Spotted Redcaps! And you mentioned fairies earlier. Surely you must know more!"

The ink took a minute to appear on the page, as if the Codex were struggling to come up with the proper words.

I do know. At least, I used to know...I think. I believe it might be an effect of the missing enchanted tomes from the Library. I only know about the Spotted Redcaps because you found one. When you said their name, it was as if something long lost within me had been dug up and brought back to the surface. Rediscovered you might say.

The ink cleared from the page, then a few last, lingering words appeared.

I don't like the feeling of not knowing. It makes me...afraid.

And that was all the Codex had to say. Hollie couldn't coax anything further from its pages.

"I understand," she said sadly. "I do. But we've got each other now, and I promise I'll do everything I can to makes things right in this world again."

She returned the book gently to her backpack and wondered if the Map felt similarly.

Hollie returned to the cottage later that afternoon empty handed. She couldn't bring herself to capture any of the Redcaps—and she had stumbled across three more, nestled against the roots of trees, peacefully asleep and unaware of her presence. Whatever the repercussions would be of not fulfilling the job, she'd just have to deal with it.

After a hot bath and a dinner of [Willowroot Lamb Stew], which had brought her [5 Experience] closer to her first objective and given the Cookbook another successful recipe to use, she settled down with a cup of tea at her desk in the study to start on the first entry of her nature journal.

First she sketched a picture of a Spotted Redcap asleep in the woods. Then she drew the little creature, as best as she could recall it, with its face peeking over a tree root. The drawing wasn't perfect. She certainly had plenty of room to improve, but when she'd finished coloring it in and jotting down a few notes, she was happy with what she saw.

[New Skill: Naturalist - Specialty: Zoology

Level: 1

Perk: Can recognize animal tracks with 25% accuracy]

[Cottager XP Gained: 10,

Ranger XP Gained: 10,

Points Needed for Next Cottager Level: 50,

Points Needed for Next Ranger Level: 90]

With a contented smile, Hollie closed the journal and carefully placed it inside the desk drawer. Then she pulled the Map from her backpack, which had been sitting at her feet, and unrolled it. She'd made a lot of progress today. More of the woods around Spritespring Hollow had been filled out. She'd walked about 7 miles through the forest, which had taken most of her [Energy], and now there were more streams and glades and even what looked like little spotted mushrooms.

[New Skill: Scouting - Specialty: Hiking

Level: 1

Perk: Maximum distance per day increased to 10 miles]

[Ranger XP Gained: 10,

Points Needed for Next Ranger Level: 80]

"So, even though I'm a [Cottager], I can still learn some [Ranger] skills?" She grinned as she rolled up the map. "Well, that'll certainly make things a bit easier later on."

And with that, Hollie blew out the candles in the study and headed upstairs to bed. It had been a strange and interesting day.