The next hour or so was spent stretching what few engineering muscles I have. Fortunately, a roller mill isn't that big of a challenge. Unfortunately, turning my record player into a high-torque motor is turning out to be a bit of a headache. So, it's going to be hand-powered until I can figure it out, or set up a water wheel.

Even so, I sketch up a few idea ideas for improvements and other tools we'll need. Stuff like extruders, and steam or enchantment powered ovens.

"I'm all done with the oils." Melanie announces. "And, I think I've got a decent handle on the spell."

"That's great." I look up from my notepad with a smile. "This stuff is all good to go, I was just trying to calculate the fastest and most efficient way to cure the raw rubber." Well, I was, until I got distracted by the idea of a solar updraft tower. "I can handle it for now, but once we scale up it's going to get annoying."

"Mhm." She nods and starts looking through my notes. "Wow, you've got this all planned out."

"Not even close, but I've got a good idea of what's needed." I sigh and shake my head. "And, right now, what's needed is a long round of testing. I've only got a rough idea of what percentages are needed, so I need you to work through various combinations."

"That's fine, I'm used to working this way." That sad smile she gets when thinking of her master slips onto her face again. "I take it you want me to test this equipment too."

"If that's not too much trouble." I pause for a moment and look at her arms which lack any sort of definition. "Hold on a moment though, your arms are probably going to fall off after the first batch or two. Give me a minute and I'll hook up a pedal-powered belt drive. That way I can power it for you while I work on the blight."

It doesn't take long for me to adapt the roller mill to use a bicycle drive. But, I've got to find a better solution, including a heated roller to make the rubber easier to work. I decide to work on that one right away, since one of the first examples in the enchanting primer was a simple hand warmer.

"I thought you were going to work on the wheat." Apricot says when I pull out my enchanting gear. "Are you going to finish the music player instead?"

"Sorry, Sweetie." I send her an apologetic smile. "I promise we'll stop by Rozelle's and ask her for some help later today, but right now I'm just making a heated roller for the mixer. It needs one anyways, and it'll give me one less thing to focus on while testing the wheat."

"I wish I could split my attention like you do." Melanie sighs. "I could hardly believe it when I watched you cook, and now you're enchanting, warming the rubber, and powering the mixer all at the same time... while playing music."

"Oh, the music is pretty much second nature by now. Though, I may have to drop the translation when I focus in on the blight." After slogging through Frankenstein, translating a few songs doesn't even bother me anymore. "And, you didn't know I was translating." I heave out a sigh.

"You'll get used to him... eventually." Apricot commiserates with the poor alchemist. "I usually remind myself that all Plantkin are weird, and Sorrel just takes it in his own unique direction. But, since you're waiting, let me show you the storage spell."

"Hahahah." I can't help but laugh at that. I've always been one to multi-task, but I guess I have been taking it to the extreme lately.

...

After I got the new roller installed; I was about to test the various oils against the fungus when I realized that I have another engineering problem. I have no idea how a regular spray bottle works. But, I do know how to make a bike pump, so a pneumatic sprayer shouldn't be too hard to create.

"Now what are you making?" I think Apricot's annoyed that I haven't finished the record player yet.

"Oh, this?" A wicked grin splits my face. "You'll see." I take some of the rubber and fashion some 'o' rings and valves. Everything flows together quickly, and I've soon got a super-soa... pneumatic plant sprayer.

"I don't trust that look on your face." She backs away, but it's already too late. "Ahhhh!" She screams when I shoot a stream of water at her from across the room. "Oh, I'm going to get you for that."

"Wait, wait. Stop!" Melanie shouts. "Not in the lab! Please."

"Ah, sorry Mels." I duck my head, feeling chagrined. I know better than to screw around near a bunch of expensive and possible fragile equipment. "And, sorry Apricot, you'll have to wait to get your revenge."

"Nnh." She pouts for a second. "Make one of those for me and I'll call it even."

"I can do that." I do one better and make her a proper super-soaker. "Here, just make sure you close the lid tight after filling it, otherwise it won't work."

"Alright, now that my lab isn't about to be destroyed." Melanie huffs. "How does that work?"

"Air pressure." I draw up a diagram of how the pump works. "I needed a mister to apply the different treatments. And, Apricot, I applaud you for testing the strength of the pressure chamber, but it's going to break if you keep pumping like that."

"Mhm. It should be good enough now." She takes aim and blasts a thick stream of water right at my chest. "Yes, that'll do."

"Happy now?" I laugh and draw the moisture out of my clothes.

"Very." She nods while a smug smile plays on her lips. "Now make a few more, I want to go play with the girls next door.

"Yeah, they should love em." I set about making a couple of scaled-down models for Myra and Willow along with some full-size ones for their parents. "Would you like one too?" I ask Melanie.

"A little bit, yeah." She nods.

A handful of squirt guns later and I can finally get started on this blight. The first thing I do is grow several pots full of wheat and other grains to match what's in the fields right now. Each one gets inoculated with the blight that I grow until it also matches what's in the fields.

Setting aside one of each aside as a control, the rest get spritzed with a different horticultural oil, milk, cornbread, garlic juice, or vinegar solution before getting a week's worth of growth magic.

"Nng. I swear this is four separate strains instead of one like my magic is telling me." I grumble after seeing that the different treatments affect different areas. "I don't suppose you know somebody that can teach me light magic? I really want to get a good look at this stuff, up close and personal."

"Sorry, no." Melanie shakes her head. "But, I'm sure Elise does."

"Yeah, I was going to ask her later." I shrug and get back to work.

I take the best treatment for each part and mix them together equally in water. This mixture gets tested against a whole new batch of plants, and I make sure to give the roots a little extra since they seem to be the least affected.

"Well, that's a little better." I nod in satisfaction. "But, those damned roots are not nearly as affected as I'd like."

"Maybe those leaveners you mentioned will help." The alchemist offers, helpfully.

"Yeah, but I've also got this feeling like there's something obvious I'm missing." I raise my hand to decompose the test plants only to use it to facepalm. "I forgot compost tea. I'm an idiot, I should be fighting fire with fire, or fungus with bacteria in this case."

"If you're an idiot, I don't even want to know what the rest of us are." Melanie laughs at my self-castigation.

"Don't sell yourself short." I tell her seriously. "I've got fifteen years of schooling under my belt, along with an entire culture's worth of discoveries backing me. The only reason it seems like I can see farther is because I'm standing on the shoulders of giants."

"Fifteen years?" She's completely shocked by that. "Did you start while in diapers?"

"Public schooling starts at six and goes for twelve years." I explain. "I took a year off before joining university and was in my third out of four years there, though some go for longer."

"Sorry, that was uncalled for." She blushes in embarrassment. "You're not that much younger than I am. But, still fifteen years?"

"The first couple years are little more than daycare, but almost every child in my country is literate and able to do basic mathematics well before they turn ten. After that, they start on the sciences and mostly just load us up with facts that most kids only remember long enough to pass a test."

"And, this school is open to everyone?" Her eyes are still wide.

"Mandatory, actually." If she was shocked before, her mind must be blown now. "There are alternatives, of course. But, since it's also free, almost everyone goes."

"I think I would like to visit your homelands." She says after finally collecting herself.

"I'd love to take you, but it was pretty much a one-way trip." I give her a sad shrug. "You don't mind taking a quick break, do you? I need to go dig around in the neighbor’s trash." My decompose spell only mimics the natural process and I don't want to mess around with random bacteria hoping to find the right ones.

"Pft." She cracks up for second there. "Uh, yeah. Go ahead."

"Thanks." I nod to her and head outside.

Cutting over to William's farm, I can't help but laugh at the sight of Apricot being chased around by two little girls with water guns.

"Sorrel, help." She comes running up to me. "These two keep picking on me." She says that, but I can sense her refilling the girl's squirt guns with magic.

"Sorry, Sweetie." I laugh at the melodramatic look of betrayal she puts on. "I need to talk with William about his compost pile."

"You might as well shoot me, girls." She moans out. "I've been passed over for garbage."

"That garbage might stop the blight." I counter.

"Truly?" William says that a bit louder than I think he meant to. He and Sophia are standing by their house watching the girls play.

"Yes." His eyes light up when I say that. "I've found a good mix of oils that help slow it down, but I still need something more. I just remembered that compost tea is one of the most effective fungicides. The bacteria in the compost eat the fungus, and it might be just what we need."

"You're welcome to it." He points to a small pile near the animal pens. "But, if you need a lot, you should talk to Old Baxter just outside the south gate. He has a deal with the Baron's gardener to produce his potting soil and a lot of people buy from him."

"That might help." I thank him for the suggestion. "But, I should be able to grow what I need once I find the right strains." Once we reach the pile, I scoop a small handful from near the middle into a bucket of water.

"Is that all you need?" William seems anxious.

"Yeah, do you want to watch?" I strain out the solids and add in the oil mix before pouring it into the sprayer. "It took a bit to distill all the oils, but once we had them, it was a fairly simple matter to find out which ones worked best."