Day 16: It could be so nice Oathday the 4th Lamashan, 4707 ON the road to Magnimar

I woke up to Savah cuddled so hard against me that I didn't think I would be able to get free if I needed to. I remember the dream I had, it was really more of a nightmare. This monster that was in Thistletop had followed me back to my home-world and was a terror. It wasn't long before a large body count had been developed by it. I worked with a few people to develop a modification to camera phone apps that would allow people to see it, but it really killed battery life. I remembered the modification to the app even as I woke up.

I really didn't want to get up. Then I noticed that again her clothes were drifting round the room. I cursed to myself as I hoped I had not done anything in my sleep that I'd regret. She must have noticed my discomfort, as she snuggled closer to me. I realized that I was not going to be leaving the bed any time soon, so I got my tablet from beside the bed and started writing this. I started writing out the changes that would be needed to modify the Kirlian photography camera app that I had downloaded years ago. Who knew that it could possibly be that useful.

The modifications that were made were really minor, and they were accessible in the main app itself. It's almost like the people who made the app knew what it could be used for and just tweaked the settings so that it wouldn't normally see it. I'd have to thank whoever it was that had created it if I ever get back. They'll definitely get five stars from me on Google Play at the very least.

If was a few minutes of writing that out and updating this that I felt Savah stir. I looked over to her and noticed that she was at least wearing some kind of covering over her top half, because the sheets had slid down. She noticed that I was looking and she smiled. She told me that she can take it off if I wanted. I told her that she was perfectly fine wearing what she was, that I didn't need her to undress further. She giggled and said that something else was saying something very different.

I was vexed by her and I know she could sense it. She had pushed my tablet to the side and rolled over onto me to started kissing me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop myself if she wanted to push going further if I didn't stop her quickly. If I let this go any further than kissing this morning, I knew that I would regret it. She actually stopped herself and laid down beside me. She told me that she hated to stop, but that she had to go, if she was going to get her shop stuff dealt with before heading to Magnimar for a long weekend.

I rolled over to be hovering over her and told her that I'd hate for her to go, with a smirk. She reached up behind my neck and pulled herself up to me, while wrapping her legs around my back, saying that she could just leave the store locked up. She smirked back at me. I broke first and told her that my group had to get things done too. She smiled and slowly let go, lowering herself back to the bed with a sigh. I rolled back over and slid my way out of the bed.

She giggled as she gathered her night clothes. She leaned back to have her head next to mine and told me that she knew she was wearing me down. I smiled and told her that it should be pretty obvious. She spared a glance down at my pajama bottoms with a coy glance and said it definitely was. She went back to getting dressed and I worked to clear my head. We were both ready to face the day at about the same time. I resolved to find a better way to keep my urges under wraps.

We headed first to the break room and saw everyone else was already up and getting their breakfast for the day. Jonathan had opted for a simple meal of chopped fruits, some mixed nuts, and some sliced cheese. We excused ourselves and quickly got dressed in the new ESR. Someone had gone out and gotten manikins set up with shelves next to them. I told myself that I would work to find out whomever it was and find a way to thank their thoughtfulness. Savah again wasn't shy about changing or watching me change.

She came up to me when she was half dressed and kissed me on the cheek. I asked her why, and she said that last night was almost perfect, with a wink. I shook my head with a smile. I told her that I thought that our meal was perfect, and that I'd have to figure out why it wasn't, and winked at her. We were doing well, and finished getting dressed. We made our way to the break room and snacked on the food set out for us.

Jonathan thanked me for the inspiration last night and reiterated that he would want this for the wedding. I told him that I had given that recipe to Garridan Viskalai, and that it might be best to contract him to make enough for the reception. I added that Jonathan didn't need the added stress. Shayliss, who had dropped by for breakfast and was cuddled up to Jonathan, said that she didn't know what we were talking about, so Jonathan brought out the last remains of what we had brought home. Shayliss had a taste and her eyes about exploded out of her head. Suffice to say that she agreed with Jonathan's assessment.

Jonathan accepted my suggestion for now and asked what all we had to do today. I directed the question to Savah, and she said that she had to get the shop set up to be closed for the weekend. She said that she would be ready to head out when the feast was done. I looked to Dame Rebekah who had Chelger similarly close to her. Dame Rebekah told us that she had some last minute plans to work out with Father Zantus about the requirements for the Thistletop guard. I added that I hoped that they did something about the Lamashtu chapel there. She smiled as a non-verbal way of saying that yes, yes they would be doing something with that.

Shalelu said that she had to investigate the area around town before she could head to Magnimar for a weekend, that she had been spending too much time in town over the past week rather than investigate for dangers. I looked questioningly at Faunra, who chose not to pick up on it. Faunra, for her part, said that she had to look over Lyrie's spellbook and see if there was anything that would work for her. She also noted that we, her and I, had to do an investigation of my new powers and what I might be able to do. Savah looked at me questioningly, and I muttered something about we can talk about it later.

Jonathan came to my rescue by noting that Shayliss had some things to get together before the trip, as Ven had authorized her to come with us. A little bit of restocking for her father's store, and making sure that everything that was needed for the wedding had been acquired. Jonathan noted that he had some business to conduct with Ameiko and that he's be busy for most of the day up until the feast. Shayliss looked a little miffed but he whispered something to her and she looked substantially less upset. Jonathan then looked at me, silently asking what my plans were.

I blanked for a second, and then remembered what I was going to do. I told them that I had some things to pick up that I had dropped off the night before, and I had to talk to the Mayor about something. I had not told them yet, but that I was going to pay for a monument to those lost in the Swallowtail Festival Raid. I wouldn't make any inputs, only to say that it should focus on the bravery of those who are natives to the town and those who were lost, rather than me and the other heroes. I snapped back from my reverie to add that I needed to work out when Faunra and I were going to work on what she had talked about. I added that I would be also be doing some last minute power swaps so that we could try to make sure that everyone had power.

I didn't add this but I was also going to loan one of the radios to Sheriff Hemlock for the troops going to Thistletop, so that they could call for back up or to give warning if needed. I would also advise that they could even set up a rotation where they would call in every few hours for confirmation checks. They could turn off the radios between calls to preserve battery life. If they did a call in every three hours, and only had the radios on for however long it took to make the call and the confirmation, no more than a half hour, they could probably space the radio life out to over a week between two batteries. We definitely should not be gone that long.

I first headed to the locksmith. He was opening up shop as soon as I got there. Volioker Briskalberd wasn't a man to be trifled with, his flamboyant nature was partially overruled by how early in the morning it was. He grabbed the keys for me and I thanked him for his quick work. I also told him that if he was available, there would be feast in the market today at noon. He thanked me for the offer and that he'd consider it. I told him that the Mayor would probably be there, if that would matter. He noted that he'd still consider it.

I left to go talk to the Mayor, as this was my next stop. I had to wait for a little while, as the Mayor had other commitments before me. I remembered after a minute and realized that I had not done much with the recycling bit that I had promised that I would work on. I mean it's recycling; it shouldn't be that hard. I drew out the plans for a few gimmicky things, with a campaign to go along with it. Hopefully it would work.

When I was called into Mayor Deverin's office, there was another person in there already. A large, burly man who seemed to have an unhealthy pallor to his skin and pair of pronounced tusks. I realized instantly meant that he wasn't fully human. The Mayor introduced me to Gorvi, the man who is paid to take care of the trash. I strait forward went to shake his hand. He was a bit confused by this and took a second to respond. I thanked him for the job that he did and told him that I knew it was a thankless one. I asked the Mayor if I could make my proposal directly to him, since he would be the one mostly involved in it.

The Mayor, somewhat used to my unconventional ways, acceded this and I made half of my pitch directly to Gorvi. I asked him if he wanted to make even more money by basically doing what he was already doing. This caught his attention, so he continued listening. I told him that at the end of this, I might be able to find a way for him to make even more money with what he did, and possibly gain a measure of respect from the rest of the town. I think he seemed to like that.

I pulled out a dogslicer that I had brought along and asked him if he knew what this was. He told me that it was a goblin weapon. I answered that he was absolutely correct, but that it was also something more. I asked him to take a closer look at it. He picked it up and gave it a look. I asked if he recognized anything about it. He claimed to not do so. I told him that it would be understandable with how much him and his crew deal with on a daily basis. I asked for the dogslicer back and broke it apart. I showed him how it was composed of trash that had been thrown out from town the weeks prior.

Before he could start to think that I was implicating him, I told him that I don't think that anyone ever gave any thought to what they threw away, that it might be used against them later. I pointed out that even where I was from, people mostly just threw things out. But, there was a different option. He stopped me and said that I was talking just like those Gozrehites. I told him that I would show him how he could make money by doing what I suggested if he listened to the end. He stopped but I could tell he was less interested.

I clarified my position by telling him that I was NOT saying that he should not stop dumping the waste at Junker's edge, at least not until I set him up with something better. I asked him why he should throw out metal that might be resold back to metal workers to be melted and made into new items. I asked him if he knew what the price of iron was per pound. He told me one silver. I tossed the dogslicer on the table, and asked, so this is one silver that had been tossed over Junker's edge, right? He acknowledged that, and I asked him would he rather have that silver or a goblin have the steel? He said he would much rather have that silver.

I pulled out a goblin arrow that had used broken glass as an arrowhead. I asked him if he knew what the price of glass was per pound? He told me that he thought it was a gold. I asked him if he wanted to collect that gold, instead of a goblin getting another arrowhead? He knew where I was heading with all of this. He was catching on quite quickly. I told him that where I was from, some people had made fortunes collecting things like this that other people throw out and reselling it. I asked him if there was anything that he thought that he couldn't find a use for. He thought for a minute and said what I expected him to say, dung.

I asked him why wouldn't farmers pay for it for fertilizer? I added that it was the same with other vegetable material. I told him that there was little that couldn't be reused in some way, especially to make him money. He smiled at that. I also added that I was sure that an announcement like there, where he was making the decision would come across much better to the people who were haranguing him about the policies. The fact that he could decrease that amount that got tipped over the side of Junker's Edge would bring about less people looking into his affairs.

Gorvi said that he'd think about it, but I pushed him a bit. I told him that there was a feast today at noon in the Market. I mentioned that he was invited of course, and that if he wanted, the Mayor and I can highlight how you came up with the idea and came to talk to us about it. Gorvi, being fairly smart, asked why I wasn't going to be taking the credit. I told him there were a few reasons. Firstly, I wouldn't be in charge of it or working with it on a daily basis, he would. Second, he was the one having the people give him stress about the current situation. Third, it wouldn't really do to have all of the solutions seem to come from me, an outsider. Fourthly, I had already made some enemies among the town council who made it no secret that they disliked me. I added that he could have been said to have figured out how the goblins were getting their metal when the raid happened after he cleaned up the area. I added that he could be said to have wanted to make sure that Sandpoint was not delivering weapons into the hands of those who would use it against them.

Gorvi then did the thing that I expected him to do at the end. He asked what was in it for me. I told him honestly that I was trying to make the town a better place because if I was going to end up living here in the long run, I would like to make sure that this is a town that I could live in. I also added that I hoped that if he wanted to mechanize some parts of his operation in the future, that he might look towards me for help in that. I think that he realized that I was playing the long game. That I could give him the resources to hire me later, to make his job even easier. He said that he'd do it as long as there were not any extra costs to him.

The Mayor told him that the only thing he would be responsible for would be the hiring of any additional persons he felt were needed. I said that he could probably hire an unskilled laborer for the pound of glass that he might get out of the trash every day. Gorvi smiled when he told me that he could get five for that amount and still have extra. I told him that this should be a fairly high profit margin for him then. He smiled more. He said that he'd do it. He left the room to me and the Mayor, and she asked me what my game was.

I told her that I knew that I couldn't get things done by myself with half of the town council against me, no matter that the Mayor and a few others were with me. If I could get the people of the town to do things on their own when they realized the benefit to themselves, then the town council could only write edicts to prevent the townsfolk from doing what they wanted, and that required more cooperation between the council than I currently thought was possible. She asked where I could have come up with such a thing. I told her that I had read about it in a book that was on my tablet. If I could ever copy them out of it, I'd make sure to get her a copy. She thanked me for that, and asked if there was anything else.

I thanked her for reminding me and told her that I was dropping off a pair of batteries sets for the radio. I asked her to please consider having Belor have the radio while we were gone, so that he could communicate with the group that were being sent out to Thistletop to watch over it. She said that she'd have no problem doing that. I thanked her again, and asked if she knew where Sheriff Hemlock was, that I wanted to discuss some things with him. She handed me her radio and said that he should be at the Garrison. Before I took my leave, I asked her if there was any business that she needed to have done in Magnimar while we were there. She said that she didn't know of any but that she would give it a thought when she had the time.

From the Town Hall, I went next door to the Garrison. I was guessing that it had been about an hour since I had left the Glassworks by this point. Sheriff was in his office, looking over some reports that had been written down for him. Good to know that paperwork is a universal issue. He looked up and asked me to come in and to shut the door behind me. I did so and he motioned me to sit down. I did and he asked what I was here for. I told him that I had something that I wanted to ask of him for the group that was heading out to Thistletop to keep watch. He told me to go on. I pulled out both of the radios and spare batteries. I asked him if he was aware of these items.

He told me that he had seen the Mayor use it at one point but that he had never touched it. I told him that it was a non-magical way to communicate over a distance. I told him that if he had a person manning the radio here and one at Thistletop, the could communicate back to tell if there was an emergency. Sheriff Hemlock's eyes lit up when he quickly realized that that would give the town at least an hour's notice, maybe longer, of anything coming to get them from the Thassilonian prison. I told him that normally the batteries would only last for a little over a day, but that if they practiced a schedule where the set times to transmit, they could have the radios last for much longer before they ran out of juice.

He quickly worked out his own schedule of times when they would call and wait for responses from both sides. He even thought up thinking about putting the town on alert if they didn't get the proper call sign back when they heard the call. I was fairly glad that he had thought up all he did in as quick as he did. He took right to the radios and asked if there was a way to get these for all of his watchmen. I told him that it would take a fairly long time for me to make them here without higher level magic, but that I would see what I could do. I told him that it would be much easier to put emergency call boxes at street intersections, but that he'd need to have a person manning the switch box at all times then.

He listened as I gave him a brief breakdown of a rudimentary telephone system that I was sure that I could reproduce much easier. I told him that I would think of what all would be needed and try to figure out how much it might cost and get back to him. He thanked me and said that the watch would keep an eye over the Glassworks while we were gone, since that was an area where an attack could come from as well. He winked after saying it and I realized that he was just trying to help us make sure that people didn't break in while we were gone. I wished him a good day, and reminded him that he should make it to the feast, as someone might have something interesting to say, someone that wasn't me. He said that he'd try to make it.

I tried to think about anything else that I had left hanging, but couldn't remember anything at first, then I remembered that I was going to pay for a monument to be made for the town. I went back to the Town Hall, and asked if the Mayor had another five minutes. She looked up and closed the ledger that she was working on and asked what more I could need. I dropped the bag that had a little over three hundred and fifty gold on her desk and I asked her if she could get a monument made for those who were lost in the Sandpoint raid. I asked her to make sure to emphasize their losses and the actions of the town guard while minimizing the group. She asked why I wanted the group kept off of it, and I told her that I felt that the town didn't need to look to those outside of it to look for heroes, that those who were the real heroes were the townsfolk who stood up. She said that she would look into it and let me know when I got back. I thanked her and headed back out.

I gave it another thought tried to go over anything that I might have forgotten. I decided that I had wrapped up everything that I could remember, and so went back to the Glassworks. When I got back, I tried all of the keys. They all worked. I decided that I would get myself caught up on my journal before Faunra came back. I finished writing this and she still hasn't gotten back yet, so I think I'll set this aside to charge up before I do anything else.

Faunra showed up just as I was getting a mug of cider and chilling it. She asked me if I had used my abilities any more than that today. I told her that I didn't think so. She nodded and said that if it followed under the prestidigitation spell, that I could make any minor magical effects happen that I wanted for about an hour. She ran me through some tests, asking me to visualize certain tasks being performed by the magic, and I got all of them done until she asked me to launch a ray of ice from my hand. I managed to make the area around my hand really cold, but I couldn't make the ray of ice launch out. She told me that she was testing me to see if I could perform any cantrips or just Prestidigitation. She went through a repertoire of cantrips after that to see what I could do. I showed capability towards Mending and Prestidigitation, and we were figuring that this might be it. Then she looked through one of her books to check for any others that she might have missed. I told her that I wished I had a copy of that book so that I could reference it myself without bothering her.

I got an irresistible urge and asked her for a sheet of paper. She handed me one and the paper slowly started filling up with words from Faunra's book. I broke myself out of concentrating after a minute or so. It seemed that I could reproduce texts, but texts only, by little more than concentration. I wondered if it would carry itself over the same way from digital to paper or vice versa. I ran to the charging room and grabbed my tablet. I opened up the study about Boron Carbide and asked Faunra for some more paper. She gave me a blank book and I started concentrating. I had to flip the pages myself, and I had to concentrate, but the words started showing up on the page, a lot faster than I could copy myself by hand. As I finished page by page, Faunra was starting at me. I gave her the book to read and she started seeing everything I was saying about the Boron Carbide process. She was understanding much more about what was going on now.

She asked if I thought it was worth it to be able to do this. I told her that I had promised that I would make books for the kids to learn from at the Turandarok Academy. I could fulfill this promise and that would help me mentally. She nodded solemnly. By the end of our experimentation we had determined that these abilities were indeed something magical in nature, that they were something known of as Spell Like Abilities, that I was limited to three cantrips; being Mending, Prestidigitation, and one called Scrivener's Chant, and that they copied Arcane Cantrips. She could not determine what the source of them was directly. But could only tell that they were not directly linked to anything else.

I asked if she could tell if they were coming from an evil source. She said that she couldn't but that demons or devils usually required something from the person for a bargain, at the very least they needed to have the person know the source of their powers normally. She said that a cleric of Nethys might be able to tell me more. I nodded and thanked her. I got myself together and used my Prestidigitation powers to clean myself up, brush my teeth, press my clothes, and style my hair. I swear that I'll only take showers if I need too from now on. I need to work on a hot tub now. I am certain that it would be a well-loved thing.

I'll have to look into the mechanics of it. Now that Jonathan can easily move up to two tons of water at once, we can easily set up a water distillery and get pure fresh water for whatever we need. The average person only needs 5 gallons a day. We can have two hundred effective days of water, or a couple of uses of a hot tub with it. I need to figure out a way to keep the water heated. I think I'll give that a pass and try to find a magic way to do it. It would be vastly easier. If they can make a light source permanent, they should be able to do the same with heat. I mean it's just a different type of radiation. I'll talk with Faunra to see if she might know anything about it later.

I finished abruptly because I got a call over the radio from Jonathan, asking for my help with something. I raced out the door just in time to see Dame Rebekah arriving back. She told me she heard the call and could help out if needed. I handed her one of the spare keys and told her thanks, but if she can just make sure that we are in a good condition to head out after the feast, I'd be glad. She nodded and I asked her if she knew how many were coming with us. She told me that it looked like just the eight of us. I said eight, and she just smiled. I ran off to go talk to Jonathan to find out what he needed.

Jonathan apparently want me to go over the contract that he was signing with Ameiko at The Rusty Dragon. He was purchasing a property that Ameiko's family held, for three thousand gold piece. It was a place that could be retrofitted to be a tavern fairly easily. The contract even offered for her to have the site brought up to sufficient quality for operating while we were out at Magnimar. Jonathan asked me what I thought of the contract. I skimmed it over as best I could, but I couldn't find anything major that would screw him over. I didn't think that Ameiko was one to screw us over, and I noted that to Jonathan, much to Ameiko's amusement. I asked him just once if this was what he wanted. He said that it was, so I told him that I didn't think that there was anything wrong with the contract. I asked Ameiko if it was okay to make copies of this? She said that it might take a day or so, and that it might get discovered by the Scarnettis who might work to squash it if we waited, but that she was more than willing to have a copy made.

I told her that I had it under control, and grabbed a sheet of parchment that I had brought with me from the Glassworks. I focused and made a fairly passable copy of the sheet for them both to sign. Ameiko seemed a bit impressed. I told her that I had developed a few… odd… abilities since we had gone into the Catacombs. She noted that it might not be the best thing for me to sleep in that room. I told her that Father Zantus was of the opinion that it was more likely to be divinely sourced, but that I would keep her advice in mind.

I asked Jonathan if he needed anything else. He told me that he had wanted me to sign as a witness, that they had both agreed to it. Ameiko smiled and nodded. He signed one copy while she signed the other. They swapped. I took out my own pen and signed both. They both were intrigued by my pen's design, and I told them that I would add it to my list of things that I need to recreate in this world. They asked what I was currently working on. I looked around and dragged them both into a private booth. I told them about the emergency call boxes that the Sheriff wanted, the recycling program that I was getting Gorki to institute, the monument that I was asking the Mayor to green light, and the hot tub that I was thinking about installing for Savah. Ameiko told me that she wouldn't demand that I make her one first, but she heavily implied that she would really want one. I told her that I would probably be looking at setting up a sewer system for the town and indoor plumbing if I stayed here for too long.

She laughed, thinking I was joking. I told her that almost every house in my country had indoor plumbing and either a septic system or were connected to a sewer system. She told me that she had only heard of such things in far off Absalom. I told her that I might have to check it out, see if they knew anything that I could use to make something hot permanently. Ameiko told me that there should be a spellcaster in Magnimar with a spell to do that. I looked shocked, and thanked her for the information. I asked Jonathan if he needed me for anything else, and he said that he could use my help in getting word out to everyone. I told them that I'd talk to Jaspar. He thanked me as he was being given the key to the building. I thought that I recognized a ring that the key was tied to but didn't have time to talk.

Jaspar was at the Merchantile, as per usual. He was obviously fretting over something. I asked him what the issue was. He told me that he wasn't certain that it was good idea to get married just now. I asked him if it was because he didn't want to marry Jaspar. He told that it wasn't anything like that, but that he knew that the Scarnettis and others might make trouble for him. I asked him if he had any family in town. He told me that Hayliss, next door, was his sister. I ran over and asked her if she had a minute. She looked like she didn't want to bother with whatever a madman like me wanted, but didn't have any other customers so she agreed. I thanked her, grabbed her arm, and dragged her over to her brother's shop.

She was about ready to yank free and hit me with something when she saw where we were heading. She asked me what was wrong. I told her that her brother was about to make a stupid mistake and that I feared that only she could save him. She started going faster than I was, and I started to struggle to keep up with her! She got to the store, looked at her brother, and then looked back at me. She asked me what was he about to do. I told her that he was considering giving up his chance for happiness because of what the Scarnettis thought. He looked to have actually shrunk a few inches with that. She thanked me for getting her attention and asked Jaspar what it was all about. He wasn't very forthcoming so I volunteered to give her the whole story. She accepted so I did.

I took responsibility for noting Cyrdak and Jaspar's secret relationship, and on comedy night, I paid for the ushers to spread word that Cyrdak and Jaspar were engaged to be married. Cyrdak proposed on the spot. Now Jaspar is thinking about backing out because of what the Scarnettis of all people think. She said that she understood where things were and looked to Jaspar. She asked him if he really didn't want to marry Cyrdak or if it was just that he was worried about what other people would think? He said that he didn't want to upset the faithful in town. I blurted in with telling him that he is a paladin to his god. If there was any basis in his faith not being valid, then wouldn't his god strike him down for it?

Jaspar looked at me like I had two heads, I guess because he had never thought of it like that. I told him to man up and marry his man. Promote whatever it is that you are a Paladin for, and stuff whatever other people say. Oh yeah, and we needed to hire another bunch of messengers to spread the word that there was going to be a clam, venison, and something or other feast for noon. They booth looked at me like I was purple. I told them that I was asked to get the message out. Until I developed a town Public Announcement system, this was the best that I could do. I asked how much he needed. He told me that since we were holding a public feast for the town, it'd be a public service to spread the word. I told him that he didn't need to have the messengers say anything about it, but that the Mayor might have some things to say, possibly some other people too. I left to head back to The Rusty Dragon.

I stopped for a minute and wondered how I had known everything that I had known. I figured that I should ask Chask, since he seemed pretty knowledgeable. Also, I could pick up some blank books from him so that I could work on copying the books from my tablet to an analog version. I was glad I had a fairly WIDE assortment of books on my devices. I got to his store and he was just getting ready to close shop for the feast. I didn't realize it was that late. I didn't have my stuff packed! I asked Chask if he could help me with something, and sell me some blank books. He asked me how many, and I told him, with a smile, I'd start with ten. He asked me with a smile, if I had found a way to transfer the books from my tablet to paper. I just smiled back to him. He got the books and asked what I needed help with. I asked him if he knew of anything that could cause me to know a lot more about a lot of things.

He asked for an example, and I rattled off a few things that I was sure I had never heard before. He told me it just sounded like I was getting access to all of the information that I had learned since getting here and before. He told me that if I was more musically inclined, he would have expected me to be a bard, but as it is he thought that I was following a different path. I thanked him and told him that I'd probably need to get more books within a few days. I told him that I had a commitment to the Academy first, and a few different people that I was looking to get, but that I'd be looking to get more books transferred off as soon as I had time available. I could tell that Chask appreciated that.

I ran to drop the books off and saw Savah just arriving at the Glassworks. She looked at me and said that it wouldn't do for her to arrive at the feast without me. I ran inside and saw that someone had went ahead and gotten everything that we should need already packed in saddlebags. I dropped the books by mine and we headed back out. I locked the door behind us and remembered who one of the keys were for, and gave one of the keys that I had made to Savah. She looked at it and smiled a great big smile. She asked if I was serious. I told her that I didn't own the Glassworks, but that she spent almost as much time as I did there, so there was no reason for her to have to wait until someone let her in.

She hugged me and held my arm tight as we walked to the feast. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that she was wearing the jewelry that I had gotten her the night before. I'm glad that she likes them. I was hoping that I had made a good choice. I knew enough to not make the jewelry a ring. That would have made things move a hell of a lot quicker than I think even Savah was thinking about doing. I certainly would not have been able to tell that we were not a couple, especially with the way she would look up at me. I just realized that the only time that I ever saw her without the armor that I made her on was when she was dressed up last night or heading to bed. I think it meant a lot to her. I certainly meant a lot to her to make it.

We must have looked quite the pair, dressed in full armor, walking side by side, with weapons on us. Her with silver and sapphire jewelry, me with my hammer prominently displayed. I asked her if she wanted her hair styled before we arrived. She looked up at me with confusion, and I focused on braiding her hair in a stylized fashion. She asked to see what it looked like, and I conjured an obviously magical mirror that she looked into. She smiled and hugged me. We continued walking with her on my arm. I was glad to have her next to me too.

We got there and we had a bench table for all of the group and our friends. Shayliss was seated next to Jonathan, Dame Rebekah was seated next to Chelger, and Faunra was seated between Shalelu and Hannah. Ameiko had even sat at our table. There were two seats available for us and we sat down with the group. The food was outstanding. A crab and potato chowder, venison strips with fried onions. There were greens and root vegetables, and even more. With the amount of time that we gave for the feast, things were a bit more organized. Even the farmers who had brought goods to the market sold their wares and got to eat.

We all got a good meal in before the Mayor announced that there were some people who would like to speak. Gorvi stood up and had a paper in front of him. He said that he had recently reflected back on how Gozreh's worshipers had entreated him to do something, anything about dumping the trash off of Junker's Edge. He said that he had not thought of anything until after the results of the Swallowtail Festival. The vile viciousness of the goblins was beyond anything he had seen before. He explained that it was when he was picking up some of the goblin weapons to dispose of them that he noticed with horror that the weapons were composed of things that the town had thrown out and he had dumped over Junker's Edge.

He announced that he was going to start doing things better. It didn't mean that the townsfolk have to do anything else with their trash. Everything was going to be handled by him. He was taking it on himself to prevent any more goblins from using the things the town threw out against us anymore. He would be looking into what to do with the things that he felt could be used against us, and possibly getting advice from some of the worshipers of Gozreh. He did promise that he would be greatly decreasing the amount of things that were dumped off Junker's Edge and those things that were dumped should be much safer to dump for both the town and the environment. Several people, including Hannah applauded his decision. Hannah whispered to us during the applause that she didn't know how we did it, but she was thankful that we did all the same.

Gorvi sat back down, his head a full two sizes bigger than before. The Mayor rose again and told everyone about a mysterious benefactor, Ameiko kicked me under the table, had donated a fair sum to the town for the building of a monument memorializing those who were lost in the raid, and the noble actions of the townsfolk who fought valiantly to save others, and that this monument would be placed at the center of the Market, and would be a shining beacon for the town in its darkest hours. The townsfolk all clapped to that. Ameiko stuck her tongue out at me a little and Savah snuggled up to me closer.

Sheriff Belor Hemlock rose next and made his announcement. He told the crowd that Thistletop has been eradicated of goblins. He noted that the goblin crown has been taken and all the goblins within were slain. He added that he will be sending a detachment to Thistletop to keep it goblin free until we can ensure that it is clear of all other dangers. At that point we will be looking at moving the prison to there and be having a permanent detachment of guards there. The town would also be purging the area of Lamashtu influence. The town applauded to that and Ameiko looked at us as if to say, how did you managed that.

There seemed to be a bit of mischievousness in the air as Savah and Ameiko stood up. Ameiko noted that there has been a great tragedy in this town with the events of the Swallowtail Festival raid. A side effect of the raids is that there is no one who is skilled enough to take over the glassworkers roles. Because of this, Ameiko noted that they were going to be rechristening the Glassworks to The Armory. Savah is moving her store to be there, and a new store is opening in her previous building. The Armory would be working to ensure that the town was safe and secure from future threats. There was some clapping, and Ameiko noted that the people of the town would be welcome to get their initial armor at cost. There was clapping from a lot of people then. I clapped as well. Savah sat down and impishly whispered that I might just end up working under her after all.

Cyrdak and Jaspar both stood after that and formally announced that they would be getting married on Crystalhue, and that any who were betrothed could join them and Shayliss and Jonathan's weddings. I noted that several people were not clapping. I betted that they were allies of Scarnetti or more prudish members of Jaspar's faith. I stood and applauded them, Savah joined me, as did the rest of the table. We clapped to drown out those who were not clapping. Jaspar looked like he appreciated it. The Mayor then stood and said that if there were no further announcements, the feast could continue as people desired.

We finished the feast and went back to The Armory. Daviren came quickly with our horses and a carriage that we apparently rented. We were all packed up and ready to go quickly. We locked up and stopped by The Rusty Dragon on our way out of town. I asked Ameiko if there was any business that she needed done in Magnimar. She noted that if we could find a glassworker or two it would be a good thing. We could minimize the amount of work produced to be just what the town needs, and they could have a good life here. I told her that I would scout out for one and if I found one I'd make the pitch. I also told her that I'd have to discuss some things with her when I got back. She just smiled. I finished up my notes quickly before we left and turned off my tablet, since I would be on a horse, rather than in the wagon.

We left the town without much fanfare. I realized that I had never gotten back in touch with the tanner as we crossed the gates. I figured that it would take several weeks for the skins to dry out anyway. I'll have to do that when I get back. We've got eight people on this trip with Shalelu, Savah, Shayliss, and Jonathan inside the cab of the carriage that we rented? Bought? Traded? All I know that we have everything that we can carry and have that Helmet mounted to the roof of the Carriage. Chelger was up on the front of the carriage with Dame Rebekah, controlling the wagon train. Normally there's only be two horses hitched to the front of the carriage, we have a total of six to spread out the load, I guess.

Faunra and myself are both mounted on the two leftover horses, with myself being on the one that we found on Thistletop and Faunra on Dame Rebekah's horse. While we were riding, Faunra had me test my powers so she could observe everything. Anything that required concentration was a bit more difficult for me, but we went through and tried all of the things that people could do with Prestidigitation. I do all the standard actions including heat things up, cool things down, color things, clean things, soil things, minor changes to things, dampen things, dry things, flavor things, gather things, polish, stitch, tie, braid, or sketch things. Any changes beyond drying, cleaning, soiling, tying, or stitching (if a thread was used). I added a separate journal entry listing all of the things that I am now apparently able to do, to allow me to keep up and note whatever else I can do, it's linked here. I'm glad that I'm using a tablet that I can do this kind of thing with.

We are now in a roadside inn called the Boll and Branch. I'm thinking we made it a whole twenty-four miles. I really miss my car. I'm going to have to figure out how to go places faster if I want to wrap this issue up any quicker than two years. I'm in one of the four rooms that we rented out. I was asked to give a performance for the folk in the tavern, and it was a rousing success. I basically told them the story of Romeo and Juliet. The crowd loved it. Apparently a lot of people had heard of my storytelling in Sandpoint and the previous towns that I gave performances in. The Innkeeper room was apparently a fan of the more tragic stuff. He ended up making a LOT of money off of townsfolk who came to watch the storytelling, now enhanced with special effects from my Prestidigitation powers.

We ended up getting our rooms comped, our stabling covered, and dinner for free. We enjoyed a simple hearty meal of beef stew, and I felt a little bit of home. The Inn had ale for the drinking options, so I passed for that. I asked the Innkeeper if he had a good vintage of wine available for sale, and he showed me a Corentyn Wine that I paid for right away. I cracked it open for the group and everyone had a glass. I'm glad that I can at least contribute to making sure that we stay economically viable on the road, and still be able to splurge on some things. After our meal and I asked Savah to let me have our room for a few minutes to make sure everything was safe. She accepted my eccentricities and stayed to talk to Shalelu and Shayliss. I got to the room and unleashed my full prestidigitation might on the room, cleaning, polishing, gathering (bedbugs and other insects), drying, lighting candles and everything else. My last bits were to set the room to smell of lavender.

I came back down and thanked Savah for the opportunity to make sure that the room was safe and secure. She giggled and told me no problem. I thanked everyone for coming with us on this trip, and told them that I was going to rest for the night. Savah excused herself as well, saying that getting the shop stuff done was a bit more taxing than she expected, with a wink. We both went upstairs and she saw everything that I had done to make the room better. I asked if she'd be okay with me updating my journal, and she was more than happy. Savah rested her head on my lap, face up with her eyes closed. Occasionally I brushed a hand through her hair while I was writing and Savah would smile at me.

As I wrote that last bit, Savah looked up to me and asked if we could go to sleep soon. I told her that I'd save what I have and we could get changed. She smiled.