Avoiding the Cast Tax

    Outside the cabin, the wind howled through the trees, while inside, the old woman's fire was nearly out.  Looks like it'll be another trying night she thought. Out here in the badlands it was tough environment.     Wood was hard enough to come by, and keeping your shelter draft-free was nearly impossible. If you could gather enough wood to build a fire, and keep it going through the night, and on top of that protect it from the wind, well that was about the best thing you could ask for.
    "Why do you stay out there?" all the townies would ask, but they would never understand. The freedom of living on your own. Eating, drinking, living, and conjuring as you please. That was worth not having the amenities of the town.
    Unfortunately, fire magic was just as hard to come by as wood, and so that left survival up to traditional methods. Still, to conjure Astral Entities without being subject to the Cast Tax was a price worth willing to pay.