Day 89: Sunday the 16th, Kuthona, 4707
I woke up to a notice from Veronica that we were out of raw materials for their fabrications. I groggily gained some level of sentience and pried my way out from underneath Savah's grappling limbs. I reflexively flexed one of my magical abilities and had my clothes and armor appear on me. I headed down the stairs and to the workshop. Veronica and Igor were there, waiting for me. They showed me that they were out of almost all of their raw materials. I gave them some marching orders of working on improving the workshop so that they could make things better. The twins nodded and I went to look at the delivery ledger.
Apparently they were scheduled to deliver yesterday, but never showed up. I realized I would have to check in with Sir Jasper tomorrow. I went back upstairs and started making breakfast for Savah and myself. Savah got up after a few minutes and came into the kitchen. She was still in pajamas and was a bit curious about why I was decked out in full armor already. I told her that I had been woken up by the twins telling me that they were out of raw materials, and I reflexively summoned all of my clothes and armor on. Savah tsked and said that she could check it out with Sir Jasper tomorrow. I told her that I would be okay with waiting, as I had them working on other things. Oren and Arika both came in and Savah excused herself to get dressed.
I finished up with making a larger meal, and Oren told me that he had spent a good day working on getting embankments up yesterday, and that he would continue on doing that today. Arika told me that she would be accompanying him, as she was putting pits in place to enhance the embankments. They were also a bit amused by the fact that the town now has another defensive point to keep watch on, indicating the rudimentary watch post that was created by the wall that I had ended up making. Oren asked if I had any updates about when the attack might occur. I thought about it and noted that I would check with the others to see if anyone had any signs. He thanked me and they both went out to do their day of fortification work.
Savah and I sat down and enjoyed a nice relaxed morning. She told me that she would like to have a decent dinner today, and I told her that we could go to the Rusty Dragon, if she liked. Savah said that this sounds good, so we figured on this for the evening. I told Savah that I was going to try to reach the others on the radio, and Savah asked if it would just be easier to drive out to meet them. I told her that I wouldn't mind a drive at all, but that I thought that it would be a good idea to check to see that they were actually there.
I went into the workshop and fired off a call to the others. The first call I got back was a surprisingly clear response from Dame Rebekah, saying that they were almost outside our door actually, and I went back to the shop to tell Savah, and she smiled. I went to the door, and opened it up to look outside. I didn't see them but Niddler sent me a thought that we had airborne inbound. I thought to both Niddler and War-Bringer that they were to be cautious but not fire immediately. Dame Rebekah on Bucepherous and Chelger on his steed both landed on the ground a short distance away in the clearing.
They both then dismounted and walked their steeds over to a hitching post. Savah came out as well. Dame Rebekah and Chelger looked at me a bit odd and asked if I was getting ready to head somewhere. Savah stifled a snicker and I told them that it was a semi-conscious activation of a spell this morning. Dame Rebekah nodded and said that she had done that once as well. Chelger sheepishly admitted that he had done so in the past too. The came over to a picnic table that I had made with the gloves a few days ago, and we all sat down. I used my ability to summon an invisible servant to get them to bring us some drinks and snacks.
We had some brief discussions about how things had gone for them in the past few days. Apparently their hostel had been the scene of quite the little event a few days ago, with a bard that tried to perform a story that I had brought to this world and claimed it was theirs. There was some back and forth but everything was smoothed out and the whole event turned out to be a net positive. Now, they were looking at doing somethings to help Sandpoint, as Chelger had just been granted the ability to summon a permanent wall of stone every day, he was going to start helping with the fortifications of the city. I thanked him for his and his deity's contributions and asked if they had been gifted with any visions of when the attack might occur.
Dame Rebekah shook her head, and noted that the only major events coming up in the next week was the Crystalhue ceremony. I asked if there was a way to see beyond that and Dame Rebekah shook her head, noting that the enormity of it was overshadowing anything else in the near future, but that she trusted her goddess to not be ignoring something as important as an attack by a horde of giants, in lieu of a celebration. I smiled and added that it wasn't like we would be causing anywhere near the destruction that the giants would cause with our event.
I asked Chelger where he would be starting with the walls, and he told me that he would be adding on to the areas that Oren had already started and supporting them further, along with creating an expansion over the Turandarok River, to keep the area strong. He noted that he would just have enough time to allow for a five-foot-wide path over the Turandarok. The river would be having supports put in every twenty feet, and those were being done by Oren and Arika today. He added that he would be making the battlements better after Crystalhue, but that he had only recently gotten this gift from Shelyn and wanted to share it with the town. I told him that this was a great contribution to the town, and that when it was all said and done, I would probably be looking to him for help with making the university.
Dame Rebekah and Chelger both noted that they would be having to head out and Savah wished them well, noting that they would be welcome to come back when their day was done. Dame Rebekah said that they would and they both went over to their flying steeds and took off. I looked to Savah and she asked if we should check in on Faunra and Shalelu as well. We went back inside and I called over the radio to Faunra and Shalelu. Faunra ended up responding, and told us that she was sorry that they had missed our call earlier, that they had been dealing with a fire.
Savah quickly asked if everyone was okay. Shalelu responded that they were fine, that they had put the fire out quickly and had been able to ensure that not a lot of damage done. I asked Savah if she thought that we should offer to head over to help. Savah asked the two of them if our help would be welcome. Faunra replied back that they were fine, and everything was taken care of, but that they were not in a situation for entertaining today. Savah thanked them, and noted that they could drop by the house later tonight, if they wanted to. Shalelu replied back that they might just do that.
I looked to Savah and asked if we should cancel the date night at the Rusty Dragon. Savah smiled and said that we could just get lunch, and that we should probably drop by the Dragon to talk to Ameiko anyway. I nodded and said that it was a good idea. Savah added that we should drop by and invite Jonathan and Shayliss as well. I said that this was a good idea, and that we could do that on the way to lunch. Savah smiled and went back in to get fully kitted out.
I sent thoughts to Niddler and War-bringer that they should memorize Dame Rebekah and Chelger's steeds so that they don't inadvertently fire on either of them. They both acknowledged the suggestion and said that they would do so. I went in and Savah was starting to get her gear on when I used my powers again to instantly armor her up. She smiled and asked if I had something similar to that to "un-armor" us. I told her that I would look into it. We went down to the garage, and got our bikes out.
Before we left, I sent messages to the twins that we would be going around town, and that they should keep on working on making their workspace better, and to Niddler to work with War-Bringer to keep the bloodshed to a minimum while keeping the place protected. Niddler and the twins confirmed the messages. I sent to War-Bringer that we would be out in town, and that the attack should not happen for at least a week. War-Bringer sent back that he would start looking for better sightlines. I thanked him in reply and we headed on out of the compound and over the Tanner Bridge. We saw Dame Rebekah and Chelger both melding the stone walls that Oren was making, to make sufficient posts for the bridge wall. It wasn't the fastest process in the world, but it ensured that they would be getting this done fairly well.
We moved on and made our way to the Barghest. We parked our bikes and headed inside. Jonathan was there issuing out directives to servers. It had to be the most chaotic way I have ever seen a restaurant run, but by the gods he was doing it and doing it profitably. Jonathan greeted us immediately and rushed over to talk to us. He offered us up a booth, but Savah told him that we actually had business in the south end of town, but that we were just dropping by to ask if he and Shayliss would like to drop by tonight. Jonathan said that they would love to, and that he would bring over a decent meal. I thanked him and noted that his food was always outstanding. Jonathan went back to working his restaurant.
Savah and I headed back outside and got back on our bikes. We headed down towards the Rusty Dragon and parked alongside it. Daviren was there and he greeted us like old friends. He asked us if we thought that Faunra might make a special work for him. I asked him what he might be looking to have made, and he noted that he was looking for something that could summon up the name of a creature if its blood was provided. I told him that I was not aware of the spell, but if anyone in our group was, it would be Faunra. I told him that now might not be the best time to discuss with her about it, but that she definitely did take commissions from time to time. Daviren thanked me and went on about his way.
Savah asked me if I knew what that was about, and I told her that I didn't, but that back where I was from an item like that would solve much of the time that crime investigations would take. Savah asked me if I had any of my "movies" about crime investigations. I told her that I would have to check my drive, but that I could probably find something, hopefully without too much explanation required. Well, I know what one I've got on there, but I still needed to check to make sure I didn't have something better.
We got into the Rusty Dragon and were immediately seated in our normal "secretive" booth by Bethana. Bethana gave us both a look over and went to get orders placed for us without even asking what we wanted. I was a bit confused for a second, but shook it off. After a little while, the door opened up and Ameiko had come in with our meals, including a decent drink for me and a mulled cider for Savah. She sat down with us, snacked on the cheese blossoms while we enjoyed them as well. After a minute, Ameiko asked us if we were going to give her an update.
I cleared my throat, and told Ameiko that we had went through the caverns underneath the Glassworks and confirmed that there was a decreased chance of danger. Ameiko asked what I meant by decreased, and I told her that we had seen a set of barefoot footprints in the dust, but that we, Jonathan, could not detect anyone anywhere in the facility. All of the corpses of zombies and such were gone, and we completely filled in the temple area with layers of packed earth and rocks. I added that we specifically filled up the runewell and the unholy water font from before was still destroyed. I finished that we repacked the lower area of the tunnels and ensured that it would be fairly difficult to get through easily. I hastily added that I expected it to be much safer than being above ground, but that Savah, Chelger, Shayliss, and Shalelu would be a good group of people to defend the townsfolk while they were down there.
Ameiko thought for a minute and then asked me about the Sheriff's new ride. I laughed a little and told the bard a little about it, but that any further secrets were between the Sheriff and who ends up needing to be disciplined. Ameiko seemed to enjoy that a little and I asked her if the town council would be putting the information out to the townsfolk anytime soon. She sighed and said that the older people were erring on the side of caution, with the Scarnetti's hemming up every vote with procedural processes to slow down the preparations. Ameiko then thanked me for the lending of the gloves and the entrenching tool to the town for the use in fortifications, as Titus couldn't block their usage, since they were freely lent to the town guard. I added that I was glad that Dame Rebekah and Chelger were using their divinely gifted abilities to reinforce the walls.
Ameiko asked if we had heard anything about when the possible attack might occur. Savah shook her head and told Ameiko that Dame Rebekah had just informed us that there was nothing that could be predicted before the Crystalhue ceremony, as this was the largest event that would occur in the near future. Ameiko replied that this made sense, and that this was the best information that she could get too. She finished off her reply with telling us that the town council wouldn't be able to push forward any public notices until after Crystalhue then. She got up to leave, but turned back and asked if I was going to grace the crowd with another story. I looked to Savah and she encouraged me, so I said that I would, and Ameiko left to go get everyone ready.
As we ate, Savah told me that she had to go check in with some other people around here, but would be back before too long, and that I should just tell the story about what the party did in Turtleback Ferry. I told her that I worried about the town council being pissed, and she noted that the town council never said that I couldn't tell the story up until the point where we got to the swamp. I smiled and noted that it could be a decent stopping point to keep people hungry for more. Savah smiled and we commenced with the plan. I went out to conduct my storytelling, and she went on to visit whom she had to visit.
I'll cut to the end, and note that my style of storytelling was seeming to catch on, and people were really beginning to like it. I don't think that it hurt that I was carrying the blessing of an actual Nymph. What a wannabe rock star from back in the old world wouldn't give for this kind of inspiration. About three quarters through the story, Savah arrived back, happy as can be. I finished my story and told everyone that I would try to get in here next Sunday to finish the story. Everyone was kind of upset, but apparently, it turned into a very lucrative day for Ameiko.
Savah and I headed back to the house, to get it ready for company. When we got there, Dame Rebekah, Chelger, Oren, and Arika were all outside at the picnic table, talking. They told us that they had finished off all of the work that they could really do in one day, and would pick back up tomorrow. I noted that it was good that they were doing all of this and I sent a thought to Niddler for him to take a wing around over the new construction surreptitiously once everyone was inside. We talked for a bit before everyone headed inside.
Just as soon as everyone had been settled in, I got the notice from Niddler that we had company in the form of Faunra and Shalelu. I excused myself to let them in, and when I got there Jonathan and Shayliss were outside as well. I noted to myself that the visual capabilities of the defenses could be bypassed, and so resolved to figure out a way around it in the future. Once everyone was in the building and settled in, I loaded up the one movie that I knew I had, since I didn't really have any other choice. I loaded up Dredd. Not Judge Dredd. Dredd.
I had to stop every few minutes to explain things, but the group mostly took it in stride. I would say that they didn't really catch most of the undertones, but they did begin to realize that a lot of the subjects that we used for movies and stories were really just allegories for things we either worried about or wanted to head towards. Especially those things about the future. We finished off the night with the meal that Jonathan had prepared for us, and everyone who wasn't already home ended up heading home. Vaeren had dropped by and get some food, but left us to our devices.
When it was all said and done, Savah and I got changed into our Pajamas and got the armors set back up on their stands before heading to bed, and I got a good visual view of the work that Dame Rebekah and Chelger had done with Oren and Arika. It wasn't much, just a five-foot-wide stone path about twenty feet off the ground. There were four, nine-inch diameter piers underneath the flat path, providing support for the path itself. It looked like they would be able to get it across the river in just four more days. Maybe the rest of the time will be spent on making the path actually a defensible structure and not just a flat bridge.
When we were just about to go to bed, Savah turned over to me and said just two words with a smile on her face. "I'm Late."