Chương 82: 81: Imbolc

Chwefror 1, Imbolc (February 1) I was really excited to celebrate Imbolc on the homestead. We didn't have a priest on hand, but with twenty-eight people on the homestead who were more or less stuck, plus the Newton clan, we had plenty of people to properly celebrate a festival. We still wouldn't get the major blessing because we lacked a System recognized priest, but the minor blessing was still nice since it was only a 5% decrease in effect.

Imbolc wasn't as big as Bhealtaine or Samhain, scale-wise, as far as festivals normally went, but I was going to make sure this one would be a lot of fun. Traditionally, the festival was focused around a feast heavy on dairy dishes. The Newtons provided plenty of milk, cheese, and butter. We started the day off by letting all the fires on the homestead go out. Then we cleaned all the ovens and fireplaces, as well as the chimneys, to make sure everything was fresh and ready to go for the busy spring growing season.

We made lists of any repair work Zach hadn't had the chance to get to yet. We also cleaned out all the cabins and made sure all the outbuildings were in good shape. That damned Gerald had torn up way too many gate panels for my liking. Was I beginning to be irrationally angry at that goat all the time? Maybe, but did I think he deserved the anger? Also yes. Did Emily think my anger was irrational?

Also, yes, but she hadn't had to fix any fence panels when the goat tore them down to get to something he wanted that was out of his reach. Alright John, you're getting irrationally angry, think happy thoughts! Traditionally, there was supposed to be a nature walk to see early-season flowers. I didn't think we had any early-season flowers in our neck of the woods, but Hari and Glenn proved me wrong on that point.

We took the Newton's wagon over to the stand of trees where I'd previously stashed my tractor, and they showed me the snowdrop and winter aconite flowers that were growing under the deciduous trees in the area. I was also given a botany lesson while we were out on our excursion. I found out that snowdrops grew out of bulbs, like tulips, while winter aconites grew from tubers. Apparently every part of a winter aconite, which was a plant that grew close to the ground and had yellow flowers, was poisonous.

So were snowdrops, which had flowers that grew out of the end of the stem of the plant that looked like a drooping water droplet to me. Since they were white and grew when there was snow on the ground, I could see where the name came from. Once our nature walk was done, the kids were supposed to have some crafting time while the menfolk helped relight the fires so the women could begin cooking for the feast. While they were cooking and the kids were crafting, the menfolk were supposed to tackle the repair list.

Was it entirely fair that the Newtons were busy helping fix things on my homestead instead of their own? Not at all, but I volunteered myself and some militiamen, with Woolsy's approval of course, to go help the Newtons with some of their repair stuff later in the week. I was absolutely not allowed in the kitchen, except to help with the baked potatoes and twice-baked potatoes. After all, there would be plenty of dairy, cheese, and sour cream for them! Brendan had been experimenting with more hard cheeses.

He didn't have anything aged yet, but he had a salty cheese that could be shredded that would work to go into the twice-baked potato mixture I put together. There was cheese, butter, bacon, garlic, salt, and ground chili peppers thrown into the mashed potatoes that were put back in the potato skins and baked a second time. The sour cream wasn't added until after it had been cooked again. Ginny made cheesecakes that were topped with blackberry and raspberry preserves.

The graham cracker crust I preferred wasn't a thing in this world, but I was still looking forward to having a slice of each for dessert. Before the festival, I'd asked Emily about ice cream, which I knew existed on Earth for thousands of years, if I remembered correctly. The idea first came to me when I found out that there was a mine that produced rock salt in the territory. Here, it was only a thing for the rich. Ice Wizards made it and sold it for exorbitant prices to noble families.

It wasn't exactly illegal to make, but it wasn't something that was encouraged for the masses. Some people would make frozen milk treats in the winter, but it wasn't all that popular since people didn't really want frozen milk when it was cold outside. No one had invented the rock salt and ice method to make ice cream on Talamh. No one had until I did, anyway. It was a method I'd seen used since I was a small child, so I was intimately familiar with it.

My great-grandpa loved ice cream, and he'd made my great-grandma make it all the time. My grandma still had the old hand-crank ice cream maker on display on a shelf. She had even used it a few times while I was growing up. She'd made my brothers and me turn the handle on the bucket. These days we still made a lot of homemade ice cream, but electric versions had long since replaced hand cranks. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The ice cream maker was really simple to make.

I sent the specs to the blacksmith, and he made a really nice setup for me. It consisted of a thin metal bucket with a lid that had a gear mechanism attached to a handle that you spun to make the gear in the middle of the lid rotate. Inside the bucket was a detachable pole with two blades attached at the top and bottom of the metal pole. When you turned the hand crank, the blade would spin, scraping the ice cream that had frozen on the edges of the bucket into the middle.

That metal bucket was set inside a larger wooden bucket that Zack made for me, which was packed with alternating layers of ice and rocksalt. The mixture would cause the ice to melt and rapidly bring the temperature in the surrounding area to a freezing point. With the thin metal bucket, it would cause the cream, sugar, and berry mixture inside the inner bucket to freeze up rapidly. If you considered thirty minutes rapid, of course.

I found out the dwarves had vanilla beans, but they sold them at exorbitant prices that only the nobility could afford. No one here had ever tasted it before. That was too bad, but it was what it was. With my potatoes, I figured any dwarf I met would be more likely to stab me than make trade deals. I churned the first bucket myself, then set my Farmhands to work on another few batches. Anna and Tess made some berry pies that would pair really well with the ice cream.

Once the Newtons saw the process, Ginny immediately began plans to have more of the churns made so they could have some for themselves, and to make ice cream to sell. If they could find a way to work with one of the Wizards who could make cold enchantments, they might have a new revenue stream on their hands. I told her I'd be willing to finance things for an ownership share in any enterprise they set up. We only had four kids who took part in the crafting. Traditionally, kids used corn husks to make dolls.

They had a good time, even if there weren't a bunch of kids like usual. When the menfolk got done with our repair work well ahead of schedule, thanks to the sheer number of people, I ended up offering a gold prize for the most elaborate cornhusk doll someone could come up with in an hour. A soldier named Bertram Longhand, who I later found out had a weaving skill, won the 5 gold prize.

His intricately woven cornhusk doll was so well done, the youngest Newton daughter, whose name was Roslyn, asked him if she could keep it. When dinnertime finally rolled around, we feasted. Besides the potatoes. The women roasted a turkey. There was also a cream-based clam and lobster stew that included corn, onions, and, in our case, potato chunks. We had fresh rolls with sweet butter and plenty of pickled vegetables from the cold-storage larder. Everyone drank milk, and I busted out the blackberry cordial.

Lieutenant Woolsy brought out a small cask of whiskey that he had set aside for just this occasion, and he shared a drink of whiskey and honey with all the adults. The aforementioned desserts of ice cream, pies, cheesecake, and finally a creme brulee like dish made us all feel like gluttons by the end of the night. Emily quietly confided to me she felt guilty eating this much food when only a year ago things had been so tight for the two of them.

There were an awful lot of people throughout the empire who wouldn't be able to call tonight's meal a feast. Although anyone who was near a town would be fed and given a blessing. The final symbolic task of the day was having everyone who was comfortable doing so stand up and share their goals for the year. As the head of the homestead, I was asked to share my goals with the group first, something I was happy to do.

I told everyone that I wanted to grow the homestead into something that was a home to as many people as possible. Most people's goals were to level, or gain proficiency with a skill. No one mentioned the Order of Merlotus, even though everyone here was somehow affiliated with it. A few people mentioned defeating the goblins. Finally, right after sunset, we all got our notifications: Congratulations, you were present for the celebration of Imbolc.

Imbolc is an ancient festival brought to Talamh by Arturos and Merlotus themselves. It has been celebrated since the very first spring humans landed on the Home Isles. Merlotus presided as high priest, and Arturos' household provided the feast for the people of Londinium. You did not have a System Priest to invoke the Major System Blessing, but you have dutifully performed the major rites symbolizing the beginning of spring and the renewal of the land, so you have received a Minor System Blessing.

This Minor System Blessing will remain in effect for a month and will include the following bonuses: Increased Milk Production for all domesticated mammals: Many of your animals have recently given birth. They will now produce extra milk for their offspring. Increased garden crop hardiness: Many early-season garden vegetables are ready to be planted. A late-season blizzard is not out of the question. Your garden plants will be 20% more resistant to cold damage.

Increased fruit tree hardiness: The blooms on your fruit trees are 20% more resistant to cold damage. Easy Tillage: Your ground will take 20% less effort to break up in preparation for row crop planting. That last bonus was going to be super helpful since we were dealing with such a fuel shortage. With all of my bonuses, I could burn up to 60% less fuel than normal. That should mean I would be fine for my spring planting.

If I got more oil, and it refined alright, I would be able to keep using my tractor any time it was necessary. I did have one question I couldn't believe I'd never thought to ask before. I turned to Woolsy, who was sitting to my right, and said, "What do fishermen, or people not involved in agriculture get out of these bonuses?" He looked at me as if I were the biggest idiot in the world.

"It's a good thing I already know you're from another world. Otherwise, I would think you'd been dropped on your head as a child. Different classes receive different bonuses. Not all different classes, of course. Agricultural classes receive the same bonuses, but Fishermen or Sailors will receive bonuses that fit them."

"What about laborers?" I asked.

"What about them?" Woolsy responded.

"They get a bonus based on what they're doing. Your farmhands will receive agricultural bonuses. Ones on a ship will have nautical ones, whatever they happen to be. I receive agricultural bonuses, even though I don't do any farming." With that, he brought out his pipe and said, "I need a smoke, another piece of pie, and another whiskey."