Day 85: Wealday the 12th, Kuthona, 4707
I woke up to Bailey 2.0 pushing its steel muzzle into my side. I know that they don't have to eat, or shit anymore, but Bailey seems to want to keep to habits, and maybe that is what will keep me in mine. I got up and Bailey 2.0 followed me into the kitchen. I started making a big pile of food for breakfast, and Oren came in. He looked at me like he was confused, and asked how I had kept from being exiled yesterday. I told him that even two dedicated members of the town council are not sufficient for the rest of them to forgo the benefits of me being here. I added that I also made good arguments for me being one of the foremost defenders of the town, and that we are in the midst of a crisis at the moment.
Oren nodded and replied that there were a few guard who Sheriff Hemlock thought would be good with the grenades but most were kind of iffy. I asked him if they went through all of the paint grenades that I had made. He told me that everyone had gotten four grenades to practice with. I noted that there were probably a few more that the Sheriff was holding on to for some other tests. Oren told me that a lot of the people were a bit more curious when they found out that the items that they were preparing to use had done the damage that had been done to Junker's Edge. I told him that the damage was done by only a single grenade, and the goblin that was unlucky enough to be in the area was absolutely disintegrated.
Oren was amazed by the level of carnage. He told me that he would pass this along among the rest of the guard, to let them know just how dangerous they were. I thanked him and noted that I would probably be working on other things to try to help out the town as soon as I figure out where I am with everything that needs to be done currently. Oren nodded and said that he would pass this along to Sheriff Hemlock. I thanked him, and asked him to get with me if he had any other questions. I went downstairs and let Bailey 2.0 out. They ran to their doghouse and laid down. I shrugged and headed back upstairs to get to the food that I had started.
Oren and Arika were both there digging in, and Arika asked if I was worried about Titus. I told them that I was certain that he had tried to have me killed twice, and tried to have Savah killed once while I was out of town. I told them very flatly that I wouldn't place big bets on him surviving if this happens again. Oren was a bit shocked at my bluntness and asked why I thought it wouldn't matter if I killed him. I told Oren that I wouldn't be trying to kill him, but if he was to go against me, I would end the possibility of his assaults.
We all finished our meals and the two of them went to go to work with Sheriff Hemlock. I gave some thoughts about how I could get the town better defended and noted that this town needs better walls and other fortification based defenses. Also, we need to look into making shelters to help people find safety. I definitely wasn't going to have the time to build a fire hydrant system like I had wanted, but maybe we can set up a giant water tank at the Old Light and make it so Jonathan could launch out water at great distance to try to put out any fires. Maybe we could set up water towers spread out around the town to allow for better service.
I went down to the workshop, and noticed that the twins were working on a bike. I wondered who they were working on it for, and noticed that the list said that it was for Sheriff Hemlock. I guess he was on the list for a bike after all. I decided that I needed to start work on something for the shop, the generator. I started up working through the designs we had made and came up with a decent set of prints. It was going to take a couple of days to make, especially if I was having the twins work on other things, but I think that we are at the end of what we need to make for the shock batons for the Lord-Mayor. I'll have to check with Dame Rebekah to find out how many more paladins of Iomedae are expected to join the ghoul patrols, and how many of the clergy of Abadar are set to be here in case of the raid occurring. Ah well, such is life.
I started working through the superstructure of the since the generator itself had already been made by Veronica long ago. It would be nice to just send off a purchase order to Grainger or McMaster-Carr and get this thing built in a day. I just don't think they deliver here, not that I don't think that they would accept the value in Gold. It would probably be pretty easy to pay that way. No, it is all on me and an eccentric list of material to whip up whatever mechanical marvel I want to make next, or brute force it.
It was around noon before I heard the door to the shop open. It was Savah! We embraced for a little while and she told me that she had quite the adventure with Shalelu, and that this was why she was a little late coming back. I noted that I was going to have to eventually build repeater stations so that we could communicate directly while we were in Magnimar. Savah smiled and said that it was good to keep in contact, that she never knew when she might have some message to get to me. I agreed and said that I would definitely work on it after I got the power situation figured out. Savah said that Shalelu and Faunra were waiting for us out in the discussion room. I left what I was working on and followed her.
When we got there, there was a large array of my items on the table, including my watch, my hammer, my new gun, my helmet, and other things. I flicked on my ability to detect magic to look them over reflexively. It was a cornucopia of colors. Colors I had learned to associate with conjuration, transmutation, abjuration, and the Madsen radiated evocation. Then my dress shirt started twitching and moving. I looked to everyone, but they all looked like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I got a new voice in my head all of a sudden. It wasn't that bright, but it told me that it was really happy to meet me, and that it was going to have great fun going to look at all of the places that I had asked it to go. The thing that came out from under the dress shirt that was on the table looked like a small emperor tamarin with black feathered wings. It flew up and flew around the room a few times before landing on my shoulder. I then remembered that I had seen this thing before. In my dream of a great assault on the town. I started to panic.
I was about to tell everyone of this when I saw the Madsen get up on and move around on its own. It was standing what looked like a set of legs composed of the harness that I had made for it. It swiveled around a few times before I heard a very stoic and robotic voice start up in my head, saying that it detected no enemies, but that it would fire wherever I desired. I froze for a minute before I thought to it to stand down, that there was no current danger, just a possible danger in the future. The telepathic voice asked if I needed it in sentry mode. I told it that I did not need this right now, but that I would tell it when I did. The voice acknowledged this and lowered itself back to the table.
I noticed that everyone was a bit concerned at this point, and I relayed to them my memory of the dream of Sandpoint being attacked by an army of giants, ghouls, and dragons, and how the first construct reminded me of that. I told them that it was a bit different than in the dream, because I could see out of the construct's eyes. Faunra cleared her throat and told me to put on my helmet. I put it on, and I could change up the display over one eye to see from the constructs. I told everyone that this wasn't good, and that this was a presage for what was coming. Shalelu told me flatly that the fight was coming if we were well equipped or not.
I was speechless for a minute and that admitted that she was absolutely correct. Savah asked what the gun on the table did, and Faunra told her that it wasn't something that should be done in a confined space. That was when we heard the tiniest knock on the door. Savah went to it and opened it up. It was Veronica and Igor, and they were carrying something. I was a suppressor that was sized for the Madsen somehow. They walked over to Madsen and started to install it. I got a message from Veronica asking me what the name was of their new siblings. I looked to the winged tamarin on my shoulder and got a bit of vertigo from looking into the eye that I was looking out of, before turning off the lens on my helmet. I asked the new winged friend if it liked the name Niddler, and it said that it seemed well enough. I turned to face the Madsen and thought to it to ask if it had a name in mind. It said that it felt it deserved something suitable, but that it wouldn't know until I gave it. I suggested a few before I came up with one it liked. War-Bringer.
I passed all of the names along and to everyone else. Faunra seemed a bit impressed with the name War-Bringer, but didn't say anything. I started to check out everything else with the drama out of the way. It seemed that my shirt's ability to save me from harm had been bolstered to include some minor healing of wounds when commanded. That would definitely be useful. My watch had been enchanted to provide additional focus when working on rote items, and my hammer had been enchanted to toughen my skin against attacks, like the Jade Amulet that Dame Rebekah wore.
My gloves now looked like they were stained with dirt and I asked Faunra what they did. She smiled and said that this was Savah's idea, and that they allowed me to raise a low wall that was ten-foot-long, three-foot-high, and three-foot-wide wherever I pointed within thirty feet. Faunra noted that they paired well with the enhancements to my e-tool, which was now enchanted to removed earth, dust, and sand in a five-foot cube whenever it dug in. I noted that this would be exceptionally useful for battlements and the like. Last but not least, there was a pale green stone, that Faunra told me to throw in the air around my head.
I did and it started rotating around it. She told me that it would help me with my accuracy. I thanked everyone and said that this was a great haul of things that would help in the upcoming battle. They all agreed and said that they would be helping the rest of the group get kitted out as well as I was. Shalelu and Faunra said that they would be going to Jonathan's to upgrade his items next. I asked if we all wanted to head over to eat lunch. Everyone was good to go, so I ensured that all of the constructs were gainfully utilized, with the twins continuing to work on the bike, War-Bringer on the roof in sentry mode (with confirmation before kill) and Nidler was on my left shoulder.
I got on my bike, and everyone else got on theirs, and we rode over the Tanner Bridge to the Bolting Barghest. Jonathan had, by now, set aside parking for all of us in the back. We walked in, and Jonathan welcomed us in heartily. He sat us all down at a table in the back, and noted that the spinning jewel was a nice touch. I told him that Faunra, Shalelu, and Savah had really outdone themselves in Magnimar on the shopping trip and had something for everyone. Shalelu nodded and said that his turn was next. Faunra asked for a batch of items to further enhance and Jonathan told her that he would get them to her before we all left.
We all had a decent meal of burgers and fries, and everyone tried a different flavor drink. Just before we were about to leave, Jonathan came over and sat down. He told us that he had apparently started growing quite the staff while he had been out, with them all taking orders from Shayliss. I asked him if he thought that this was a real issue. He looked at me and laughed, saying hell no, it was just interesting. He got serious again when asked me how much longer I was going to give the town council for them to make their announcement about the upcoming attack. Savah was the one who actually stepped up to reason with him.
Savah asked him if he would like the people of Sandpoint to flee for absolutely no reason when it turns out that we found a way to stop them or they never ended up showing up after the group moshed them at Hook Mountain. Before he could answer, she upped the ante. She asked him what if the town evacuated like tomorrow, and then two, three weeks go by where people are out of work not going about their lives. Then two days later the attack happens. Not only are people not ready, but they literally ate away any supplies that they might have stocked up. Jonathan grumbled about it making sense but that he still didn't like it.
Faunra had a brainstorm, I could actually see it in her eyes before she spoke. She asked about the tunnels and structure underneath the glassworks and the rest of the town. We could go back down there and ensure that everything is safe and then propose this to the Town Council as a safer place for the town to be than in their homes. I told her that this was a brilliant idea, and that we should look into this tomorrow. Jonathan said that he could be free, and that this would go a long way towards him feeling better about what his staff would do during the raid. Savah noted that She, Shalelu, Shayliss, and Chelger could all work to defend the people in the caves, and we agreed that this would be a good idea.
I told everyone that I would be spending some time increasing the defenses around the workshop, but that I didn't know if it would prove to be a tempting place for the giants to try to assault. Jonathan got a gleam in his eye and noted that even if it wasn't it would be a good place for us to station ourselves for maximum accessibility on the land side of Sandpoint. Faunra agreed and noted that we should probably try to figure out when this event will happen and all team up to be at the Workshop when it goes down so we can respond quickly to wherever we need to go.
I agreed and asked if they knew any good ways to divine the future. Faunra said that she would talk to Dame Rebekah, as apparently divining the future was more of a divine thing. Go figure. Jonathan said that he hoped to catch up with us all tomorrow after work. Faunra said that she should have all his gear ready by then. We all walked out of the Barghest and the Sheriff was there and wanted to talk to me a little about his bike. I noted that we would be heading right back to the shop. Faunra cleared her throat and noted that Shalelu and her would be heading back to their tower.
I looked to Savah and she smiled and waited a minute before telling me that yes, she would be going back home with me. I looked to the Sheriff and told him that we would be heading right back to the workshop, if he wanted to catch up with us there, unless he wanted to ride on the back of one of the bikes. He took us up on the offer and got onto the back of my bike. We rode back to the house and Bailey 2.0 came up and greeted the Sheriff very politely. The Sheriff seemed a bit skittish, but Savah told him that it was fine to just pat Bailey on the head. The Sheriff did so and Bailey ran off to wander the yard.
It dawned on me that the place was becoming more and more filled by automatons, and then I realized that it was becoming even more like a factory. I sent Niddler off to scout the area and tell me if there was anything that I needed to see through his eyes. He responded that he would do so and flew off. I sent a thought to War-Bringer that we were okay, and that Sheriff was a guest. War-Bringer said that he would stand down. As we got inside, Veronica and Igor were working away on the bike, assembling the engine. It was one of my original models, one that could do a whopping fourteen miles an hour, but still better than most horses.
Savah excused herself to go back to her shop to open it up for afternoon sales, and the Sheriff and I talked for a little while to hash out what all he needed. He had wanted the bike to have some ability to differentiate it from other bikes, to show that this was the Sheriff's bike. I asked him if he wanted a blue and red light on it. The Sheriff really seemed to like the idea, and I told him that I could make the set up, but that he would need to get the spells cast for continual flame, as I could not cast them. He added that he wanted to get the bike set up to have a sheath for his longsword and wondered if there would be a good place for his bow. I told him that firing a bow from a motorcycle would be a tricky endeavor, but that I might be able to get him an alternative.
Immediately Igor broke off from working on the bike and started to work on the two barrels that would be needed. One slightly bigger than the other. I told him that everything would be done in four days, and that he should come back on the evening of the fifteenth for a progress report and fitting. The Sheriff asked how much it would cost, and I told him that Savah would get back to him on the details, but that we needed the Sheriff to be at least as well equipped as we were in this town.
The Sheriff went to talk to Savah and I got to work on everything that needed to be done. It seemed like everything was just clicking into the proper places almost immediately for the Sheriff's projects. Veronica and Igor had seemingly spent their spare time making various parts of just about everything, so that I had a large amount of spare parts for just about anything I needed to make. Pity I can't focus more on the generator today, but this takes priority. I can't disappoint one of the few people in the town who pretty much supported me until the end.
After about four hours of working on various aspects of the project, Savah came in and stopped my fevered assembly and told me that we should do something for dinner. I set down the project for the Sheriff that was already taking shape and asked her what she felt like having. Savah told me that she felt like having something at the White Deer. I asked her if we should have the tiramisu again. She nodded eagerly. I got dressed in my finest gear while she did the same. She was wearing her silk gown with the fur stole that I had gotten her, along with the silver and garnet ring that I had given her when I asked her the most important question. I asked Savah if she wanted to ride the bikes, and she told me that we could just take mine.
I got on my bike and she got on behind me. Niddler flew down from the roof and landed on Bailey 2.0's dog house, sending me a message that he would watch for any danger, and alert me if anything happened. I thanked him and we rode off to the White Deer. Savah got off the bike and I parked it before disabling it. No sense in leaving it easy to maneuver before we headed inside.
As soon as we walked in, Garridan greeted us and ushered us to his best table. He asked if there was anything special that we would like, or if he should just get us what we got last time. I looked to Savah and she just smiled. She noted that the food would be fine, but that instead of the mead, she wanted the Cinnamon Whisper cider. I agreed with her that it sounded good, and got the same thing. Garridan nodded and went off to tell his staff the order. Savah sat there, smiling, and I smiled back at her.
After a minute, I asked her how her little adventure had gone, and she told me that she basically had a run in with some thugs in Magnimar, and had to take them out and get them to the Hellknights for their sentencing. I told her that I was glad that she didn't get hurt and she told me that with the armor that I had made, she felt very safe in a town like Sandpoint. We had some more small talk, which mainly consisted of us talking about the plans for the future, and what we were going to end up making out of the university. She asked if I really wanted the University to be right next to our house.
I thought about it for a minute, and told her that if she wanted it elsewhere, we could make it relocate where we would have it made, it was just that it was a convenient place where it was already given the go ahead by Madame Mvashti. I added that we could always build another, better house. She piped up that it could be one with more bedrooms. I agreed and noted that we could always just give the old house to Oren and Arika when we made the University and the New house. Savah said that she might like getting a new house, but that she definitely didn't want to live up on the ridge with the nobles or closer to the mill pond. I told her that we could scout for a better place in town.
Our food came and Savah seemed famished. I know that she had eaten at lunch, so maybe she didn't have any breakfast? She ate her meal almost as fast as I would, so I knew it had to be something, but I didn't bring anything up because it didn't warrant it. We got our dessert, and Savah was quick to enjoy it as well. We enjoyed some of the ambience and Savah asked if I wanted to go to Cracktooth's to have some fun for a little while. I told her that wherever I was with her would be fun. Savah smiled and said that we could just head home if that was the case. We did and Garridan asked us to drop by again some time. Savah told him that we would definitely, and we headed back to the house.
Niddler informed me by thought that nothing untoward had happened, but that he would keep a watch out for anything else. We went into the garage, and Oren and Arika's bikes were already there. Bailey 2.0 and Niddler both came into the house and went to different areas. As we headed upstairs, Oren and Arika were in the common room, enjoying a snack. Savah asked if I could set up a movie, and that she would get something small together for us. I set up the modified projector and noted that with magic, I shouldn't be too difficult to make an actual projector, and stereo system.
I asked everyone what kind of movie that they wanted to see, and it was pretty much a surprise them kind of answer. So I dug into my directory of movies and loaded up Ella Enchanted. It was a fairly audience friendly fantasy rom-com. Savah ended up focusing her mind to make her dress more appropriate to the "event", which pretty much changed it into a set of silk pajamas. I did the same and we all sat back to enjoy the show. By the end, everyone was a bit confused. Not because of the subject matter, but how so much of what I had in the way of movies was fantastical and close to what they knew about as magic.
I explained it as where a lot of what this all came from was old legends where the worlds were probably a lot closer together. Savah told me that she wanted to retire, so I bid Oren and Arika good night and we headed to the bedroom. While Savah watched me I finished up my notes for the day. She certainly didn't want me to dally though.