Day 26: Sunday the 14th Lamashan, 4707
We woke up in our now usual condition of being wrapped in the sheets. Savah looked as beautiful as the first day that I had met her. We both decided to stay in bed and enjoy some quality time together. There wouldn't be too much business today, as most people chose to spend the day with their families. The only thing that I knew that I had to do tonight was a dramatic reading of the Iliad at The Rusty Dragon. Savah told me that she wouldn't miss it for anything.
After had our little morning tussle, we both got up and Savah asked if I could do my cleaning tricks for the both of us. I didn't have a problem, so I gave her a good once over from with my prestidigitation powers. She smiled as I spent a fair amount of time appreciating her beauty while I used my cleaning powers. I did the same with her clothes, which I had gathered before she could, warmed them slightly, and scented them of amber, and then pressing and folding them. I handed them all back to Savah and watched her get dressed.
I used the same powers to clean myself up, and give my clothes a once over. I noticed that some of my normal clothes were starting to get a little threadbare, so I got dressed in my spare set of clothes. I noted to Savah that I would probably be spending some of my time today to do repairs if she had any need of me repairing anything. Savah smiled and said that she would keep it in mind. We went out to the break room and Oren was there already. He had made himself some coffee and was eating a loaf of bread.
Before we could say anything, Oren said that he had something to say to us. Savah and I both shut our mouths and sat down at the table. Oren told us that he was grateful for everything that we were doing for him but that he didn't want to accept our charity. Savah patted my leg and gave me a look that told me that she had this. Savah told him that we did appreciate him being here and that if he felt that he needed to show some kind of contribution to the household that we had some things that he could help with. Savah looked at me and I was a bit lost for a second. She nodded her head towards the workshop, and I asked if she was sure.
Savah told me that she was, and we told Oren to follow us. He told us to give him a minute when Arika came out of the washroom. I told Arika good morning, and she sheepishly said the same. I looked to Savah and she nodded to me that I should head to the workshop. So, I headed to get the ovens started up. I didn't have Jonathan's ability to life prodigious amounts of material, so I used a wheelbarrow to get the coal to the ovens and started them up.
I was starting to coat the cotton in the boron solution when Savah and Oren came into the workshop. Savah asked me to go over the process with Oren, so that we could get him in on this. I showed Oren how to coat the fabric with the mixture, and explained that it needed to be a good solid coating of the material. Oren seemed to pick it up well enough. He wasn't brilliant, but he could understand the concept of doing a job and dedication to it as well. I answered the questions that he asked and told him that I would show him what the result is after we get everything set up.
We got everything set up for both of the tanks and I showed Oren the tank of Argon and cautioned him not to breathe it in. He asked why and I told him that he would asphyxiate, and then told him that it was a type of poison that would make it that he couldn't breathe if he did ingest it. I showed him how to hook up the tank's hose to each tank, and how to use a candle to test for the air's replacement. I told him that the gas that was in the tank, in addition to being toxic for breathing, it prevented fires from burning. He watched as the fire went out. He helped me put the tanks into the ovens and asked wat the next step was. I told him that we need to watch to make sure that the temperature gets hot enough, but not too hot. Oren nodded and asked how we do that.
I told him that we had three methods for that. I told him that the first thing was the color of the fire. I showed him how the fire changes color based on the temperature. I told him that the next thing was the color of the tank. I showed him how the metal changes color as it heats up. I then pointed out the pieces of copper on the top of the tank and just inside the glass of the tank. I showed him that when they melted, the tank was fully up to temperature. He asked what we had to do then. I told him that we make sure it stays at least that hot, but not much hotter, because then the glass would melt.
Oren nodded and asked how long it would we needed to keep the temperature at this level. I told him that we would need to keep the temperature up that high for four hours. He balked at that and I told him that I would be working on a way to keep the temperature constant in a more consistent and self-regulating method of controlling the temperature, but until then, we had to keep an eye on the ovens. I told him that it wasn't that bad, that as long as we look at the ovens from time to time, it isn't a major difficulty of just looking up from time to time. As long as the metal stays the right color, everything should be fine.
Oren asked what I would usually do during this period of time. I told him that I would copy books or read, or work on setting up the next set of materials. Oren nodded, and once the temperature was ready and fairly consistent I took Oren over to the roll of B4C cloth to show him the finished product. He looked at the cloth and asked me what it was. I told him to try to cut it with anything he felt was up to the task. He pulled out his issued longsword and tried to slice a section of it. Naturally, it didn't cut. Oren told me that he was impressed and asked if this was what our armor was made of. I told him the under layer was.
I told Oren that the hard layer was a further secret that Savah and Ameiko were privy to, but that I had the procedure for. I told him that it would be difficult to arrange the creation of the hard parts without an actual buyer already in place. I added that the fitting process is so precise that we tailor it to fit the person, and without that person we can't set the molds up. Oren told me that he understood. Savah and Sheriff Hemlock came in as I was showing Oren the fabric. Savah cleared her throat and the both of us turned around.
The Sheriff had his sword drawn and was watching us carefully. He looked to be weighing the situation. I asked him what the issue was. The Sheriff continued to watch for a second and then relaxed. He had apparently noticed the sword in Oren's hand and was worried. I told him that Oren was being trained in making the material and that he had asked to see the finished product. I asked him to try to cut it, which was why he had the longsword out. Sheriff Hemlock looked to both of us, and Oren sheathed his sword. I asked the Sheriff what the issue was. He said that he would like Oren to take gate guard duty at the Northern Lost Coast Road Gate today.
Oren snapped to a bit of attention and made a bit of a salute. I thanked Oren for his assistance and he said that he would be glad to learn more, if only to be able to help out around the place. The Sheriff bid him well, and said that he would check in on him later to make sure that they were not harassing him too much. Oren thanked him for that and left. The Sheriff and Savah came over to the ovens where I had moved to and the Sheriff asked if I could give him a brief explanation of how this all works. I looked to Savah and she nodded her head.
I told him that there were these things called elements, and that was what the entire world was made up of. Everything can be broken down to its's elemental structure, and this can be witnessed if you have a powerful enough magnifying lens (they did actually have these in this time period). I asked Savah to get the book that I had made. She asked which one, and I told her the child's book. She left and I told him that the book that she was getting was something from my old-world that explained how matter and materials worked on a very simple level. I wasn't having her bring it for him because I thought him stupid, but because we had learned on my old-world that knowledge is best understood when it builds on other knowledge.
Sheriff Hemlock said that he can understand that. I added that there are some things that will have to be taken on faith, because I do not have the resources to show them properly. He told me that he can accept that as well. I added that this was good, I would work to get this town advanced at least into the Renaissance level of technology before the next year was over. Savah had come back and handed him the book. He asked if he could borrow it for reading and I told him of course.
I also pulled up a page on my tablet that showed the technological progression path of my home world. I showed it to him and magnified it when he needed me to. He asked how common these items were on my home-world. I told him that on my old-world that more than half of the people in my country had at least this level of technology, and a lot had much more sophisticated items that could do much more. I added that I focused on toughness and rugged items over massive functionality, so my stuff was more of an ability to withstand the environment than do flashy things.
The Sheriff took all this in as I began to go through the procedure for the B4C cloth. I asked him if he had ever seen powder left over after seawater evaporated. He acknowledged that he did know that this was a possible thing. I told him that this process basically does the same thing, except it binds a very hard material to the flexible material of the cotton, allowing the very hard material to move and bend. In its normal form, the hard material is extremely difficult to bend and when you can put enough pressure to bend it, it breaks. I told him that it was developed to prevent bullets from hurting people.
He asked me why it was that people all over didn't have this material, since I didn't have it when I showed up. I told him that I knew of the material because I had studied this kind of thing for a different project a long time ago. I didn't tell him then, but it was for the RLSH community, just in case someone else ever reads this. I never had had the chance to actually perform the procedure and see how effective it was. The Sheriff asked if that was why I didn't immediately try to sell it to the town or some noble. I told him that I like to be certain that something can be used for good before I put it out into the world.
He nodded to that, and asked how soon we could have a set of armor made now. I told him that with all of the material made, we could have four sets made from the roll we have, and probably another four sets by the end of the day. Maybe more if we were just looking at making the flexible under-layer instead of the rigid over layer. He nodded, and said that he was going to propose to Mayor Deverin that we make a set of the under-layer for each of the guards and if it functions as well as the armor they are wearing now, they would wipe clean the debt that Oren has.
I asked the Sheriff how many guard there were, and he told me sixteen including himself, seventeen including the Jailer. I looked to Savah and she was nodding. I did some quick napkin math and came up with needing five days to have enough to material to make the suits, and that I could possibly do up to four of the guard at a time. I added that it would really help to have Rynshinn do the cutting and tailoring, because she was much better at it than I. Also, we were going to absolutely need something of adamantine to cut the material.
I noted that if he got the guards to all head to Rynshinn's for getting tailored Jerkins, we could undo the seams, treat them, and reassemble them very quickly. He asked how quickly. I did some more SWAG math and figured that if she didn't actually sew the material together, and we made a couple of spools of B4C thread, I could speed it up to at least six a day. Maybe more if he was willing to risk quality. Sheriff Hemlock told me that he would get back to me by Moonday with the answer from Mayor Deverin.
I thanked him for his promptness, and asked him if he had an answer for my other question. He looked like he blanked for a second, but then Savah told him that it wasn't exactly a well-kept secret. He said that he had not yet talked to her about it yet. I told him that if he didn't by Oathday, that it might come out under the touch of truthtelling spell that I would be subjected to. He growled a little and said that he didn't like people forcing his hand. I whispered that I wondered if I asked his beloved if she would say the same. He just looked at me and I knew that was a bit much. I apologized and said that if he really didn't want to, I would push the issue no further. It was just that when an elf tells you that life is too short; it really puts matters into perspective.
Sheriff Hemlock stood there and Savah whispered something to him. He told her that he knew my intentions were good, but that upsetting the power structure in this town wouldn't be good in the long run. I said that I could accept that, but that self-sacrifice when the people don't acknowledge that sacrifice is extremely wasteful. I told him that if he had time, I could tell him about one of the wars from my old-world and how the people who didn't acknowledge the sacrifice of those who fought in it treated those who had sacrificed. He said that he'd think about it. And told me that he'd talk to her later and see what comes from it.
The Sheriff left and Savah walked him out. She came back and asked what I might be working on aside from the material. I told her that I had a few things that I would need to do, but that I was willing to just sit with her if she liked. She said that she'd like to learn how to use my tablet if I was willing to teach her. I told her that I would be more than willing. When the ovens were set up sufficiently, I got my tablet out and Savah sat near me. I started out from the tablet being fully locked and showed her how to unlock it. After that, the first thing I showed her was where the battery indicator was. I cautioned her that we needed to make sure that the tablet didn't go dead for too long because it might end up difficult to recharge.
Savah listened carefully to everything I told her, and asked questions where appropriate. I showed her how it responded to touch, and how she could load up music or books, or even movies. I showed her how to take pictures, and showed her how to take videos. She asked if people took a lot of "pictures" and "videos" where I was from. I told her that the best way to visualize it would be like if there were thousands of books that were connected by a strand to a gigantic spider-web. If you wanted, you could allow anyone to see what you put in that book that was connected to that web. Many people would take pictures and share them with other people, to get their approval.
She asked how many people in my home country had a thing like this, pointing to my tablet. I told her that if you include my phone in that, it would be close more than fifty million people would be attached to that web of information. I added that just like a spider-web, a lot of people would get stuck looking at everything they could find and forget to do other things away from that web. She asked why anyone would do that and I told her that a lot of people didn't feel like they got support and affection from the people around them. I added that others might get addicted like it was a drug.
She almost dropped my tablet, but I caught it. I should have been able to survive the drop, but I didn't want to risk it. I told her that it wasn't touching the device that caused people to get addicted, but the over interaction with that web. She asked if I was capable of accessing the web here. I told her that there was no web here that I could connect with, but that I could make it so that my two devices could talk to each other. She asked to see that, and I turned the Bluetooth on for both of them, connected them, loaded up Berkanan, and had her stand on the other side of the workshop.
I sent a message through the app to the tablet that she was holding. It vibrated and she looked down. The message popped up and she seemed to read it. She smiled and came rushing back over. I showed her how my phone had sent the message to the tablet. I told her that I could do certain tricks with the radios that I had where I could link the tablet and the phone to two different radios, and we could use the radios to send messages from a longer distance. She asked me what use that might be, and I said that I could send a text or a picture or something, and she could see it, and no other channel would be able to pick it up. I added that when the phones are connected to the radios, they can be used to track each other to get estimates of distances.
Savah noted that it would mean that we can find each other if she had the tablet and I have the phone. I confirmed with her that this was correct. She smiled and said that she might like to get a phone eventually. I told her that getting her one as soon as I could find a way to create one was a high priority for me. I didn't tell her that I had a burner phone in my go bag. It was dead and I didn't know if it would even work after all this time. Maybe I should get it out and try it. It might be able to use non-network things if I can get it working sufficiently. I bet that would make her ecstatic. If not, I can use it to figure out how to make a new phone while I am here.
We kept the fires going and got the first two sets out. I thought about it and noted that it really wouldn't have been that much of a benefit to get a second set of tanks. It might only shave off an hour or so of the day, as we could have the other set ready to go in while we dealt with the set coming out. I'll look into it later. It shouldn't be terrible to make a second set. We got everything ready for the second batch and set the tanks in to heat back up. Savah noted that if we do pay off Oren's debt, he could start making money on his own. I agreed but added that he was going to have to learn all the ins and outs of being a town guard to make the most of it. I told her that Nisk might have something that could help.
Savah asked if I actually trusted Nisk, and I told him that it was because of him that I could speak Elvish and Faunra could speak English. Savah asked what English meant, and I said that it was the language that we were speaking now. She told me that this language was known as the Taldane here, and that it was the trade tongue that everyone learned. I nodded and thanked her for this bit of information. I thought for a moment and asked Savah if she had a native tongue. She told me that she learned both Varisian and Shoanti, and that these were the tongues she knew growing up. I told her that this was my native tongue, but that I knew a couple of others from back on my old world. I asked if Savah would be willing to teach me either of those two languages. She thought for a minute and agreed to do so if and when we had time.
We smiled together and she helped me keep the temperatures warm in the workshop and helped keep the ovens warm too. I really did enjoy my time with her. I ended up making copies of the First Aid book to give to Ilsoari and even had time to make two philosophy books, one for Chask and one for Mayor Deverin. Of course the first book I got out of the tablet in that field was The Prince. Why wouldn't I? I added The Art of War, then the Book of Five Rings, and still had enough room for the Tao Te Ching. I figured that this was a good all-around primer on philosophy from my old world.
I made two copies and resolved to make a third copy for our personal library, which was going to be fairly deep when I got done. Maybe I would even work to start up a public library for any number of fields of study. Once I calmed down the ignorant nobles. Maybe I could try to ensure that their chosen faith books were well represented. I doubted that this would be a strong enough action to placate them.
Savah asked if she could read the books, and I told her that I would love it if she did. She smiled, and said that she'd read it tonight after the performance. Crap! I had not spent any time studying it, so I guess I would need to do a dramatic reading that a memorized performance. I asked her if she could help me go through the play, and she said that she would be glad too. We spent the last hour studying the play, Savah seemed to enjoy helping me study.
We got the second set done and recollected the Argon. I told her about the properties of Argon, and how it was normally in the air. I told her that there was a philosophy back where I came from that said that anything is poisonous in large enough quantities. She asked if there was any way to protect against it. I told her that due to it being a part of the air, the only save was to have a separate source of air to breathe. She said that she was a bit concerned about it. I told her that it was slightly heavier than air, so as long as we don't lay on the floor, we were fine. She was still concerned and I told her that I would look into moving the tank outside the building, and pipe it in. Savah kind of accepted that and we got the building locked up.
We made our way to The Rusty Dragon, and the place was all set up. There was a pair of white screens set up next to a nicely cushioned stool. There was a small table with an already filled mug of cider waiting for me. I think that Ameiko is going all out for this. I looked to Savah and she smiled at me, I think that she was silently encouraging me to get this started.
I got to the stool and activated my prestidigitation ability. I changed the color of the screens from white to silver. I turned around and sat down on the stool. The inn was packed with people. I asked the crowd if they were waiting for me to start the epic of the Iliad. Some of the people in the crowd were familiar with my kind of antics, and they all yelled yes, much to the consternation of the rest of the crowd.
I started out using my prestidigitation powers to sketch a simple coastline map of the area that we were talking about on one of the screens. This would be very useful, I thought to myself. I told everyone that I needed to explain somethings and would do so as we started. I pointed out where Mycenae and Troy were on the map. I sketched out the pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, and wrote them up on the other screen and what they were the gods of. I brought up the muses and what they were with regards to the story. Finally, I brought up the people, and included a portrait of Helen of Troy. I might have just made it a portrait of Savah, touched up only a little. She smiled at me and I think she caught it.
I told them how the story started, how it was it was the result of a Goddess of Discord and Chaos, Eris, who had caused a problem between Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. I explained how Zeus had sent them to a mortal, Paris, to decide. I told them how Paris had chosen Aphrodite, and because of this, she made King Menelaus' wife Helen fall in love with Paris. I continued with how Paris and Helen stole away from Mycenae to Troy and how Menelaus gathered a vast army to head to war with the Trojans, to get back his wife. I told them the names of all of the famous people in the Mycenaean army, and used the actors from the movie Troy as a reference for the portraits.
Another two screens were set up by a very helpful Victor, as I continued my rendition of the Iliad. I spoke of the travail of the journey, and how it was difficult to get some of the soldiers to go along with the trip, until I got to the shores of Troy. I told the people that I could use a minute break to update everything, and that they should all get drinks and do whatever business they needed. I changed the map to show the shoreline and the walls of Troy. I refreshed the portraits of some of the people, including changing the position of Helen to match Savah's position in the chair that she was in. She blushed a little about basically being called the most beautiful woman in the world. Everyone was given the warning that we were starting up again, and I took a swig of the cider.
I started the second portion of the story, with the descriptions of some of the battles of the war, making special effort to show the raid on the temple of Apollo by the Mycenaean forces. I provided images that I remembered from the movie whenever I thought that it would be helpful. I imagined that I it was being helpful; it might have been a bit distracting. By the time I was done with this night's performance, I was fielding more questions from the crowd than continuing the story. I finished off with saying that I would finish the story tomorrow night. The townsfolk seemed to appreciate it, but not as much as one of the previous stories that I would give that only took one night.
Ameiko split the take with me, which only amounted to six gold. She noted that this was an amount that most bards could normally receive from a performance, and that I must have been performing for really good crowds if I was consistently getting more. I thanked her and said that I really needed to get a handle on how the economics of this world worked. Savah said that she would help with that, and she dragged me back home to the Armory. When we got back, Oren was already there with Sheriff Hemlock. I apologized for making them wait.
Sheriff Hemlock told me that they knew that I would be doing the story tonight, and the following three nights, and didn't want to interrupt unless it was vital. We all headed inside and Oren headed to the restroom to relieve himself and the Sheriff sat down in the breakroom to talk to us before he came back. I could tell that he was a bit uncomfortable with what he had to say. I told him that if he didn't feel comfortable with any part of the scheme that we had proposed on the behalf of Oren, then we could scrap the whole thing. Sheriff Hemlock told us that it wasn't that he was uncomfortable with that. It was that he needed to know how best to get a ring surreptitiously for Kaye without alerting everyone in town.
I asked him for a second confirmation that this was, indeed, what he wanted to do. He said that it was, and Savah proposed that we just pick him something up the next time we were in Magnimar. He said that Kaye had told him that she would like to pick it out. I said that if she had a reason to accompany us, we could all just go to Magnimar and pick it up and let him know how much it was. He was perplexed and asked if we'd really do that. Savah told him that it wasn't an issue at all. I added that sometime between now and then, we needed to get all of the gents together and all of the ladies together to have their separate parties celebrating their new futures.
The Sheriff was a little bit perplexed by that, so I told him that I would explain it a bit more later. I told him that the main problems would come with Faunra/Shalelu and Cyrdak/Jaspar. Normally the groups are split up along gender lines, but we needed to figure out which one would go with which group. I said that the lot of us could all go to Magnimar, and he could be escorting something from the town back to Magnimar when the party was planned. Oren stepped out of the bathroom and the Sheriff shifted at the table to give him some room. The Sheriff explained that the Mayor had come up with an alternative idea, that she wanted to propose to us all.
I smiled as I hoped that she would come up with something better that what Savah and I had. Not that I would ever disparage Savah's bargaining skills, but she didn't have the background knowledge of what rest of the council would be willing to accept. Apparently the Mayor had made a significant deduction from the debt, due to a statue that was placed to commemorate the victims of the town in his name. Oren looked confused at that and I just sighed. The Sheriff continued that there was an anonymous donation of an item that covered the remainder of the balance for his fine. Both of those had the stipulation that he had to finish the other stipulation of helping to ensure that the town was better defended.
The Sheriff continued on that after that, he would be free to leave. He would also be paid for his works from when he started to the day he finished, as a regular guardsman. He would also be welcome to stay on in the town guard if he desired. Oren said that he would think about it, but that he felt that he would be stupid to give an opportunity like this. We thanked the Sheriff and asked if there was anything from the Mayor about the other thing. The Sheriff noted that he had talked to the Mayor, and she was willing to offer something in trade. The Sheriff whispered something to her, and she looked back at me and nodded back to him and said the phrase under the same stipulations as before. The Sheriff said that the Mayor would accept that and thanked us for our time.
Oren asked what that was about, and I stopped him, telling him that women needed their mysteries, and also, it was her business that I technically worked at. I added that if she felt I needed to know, that she would tell me. I told him that she almost never had anything in store for me that was dangerous, and nothing that I didn't want myself, so I trusted her judgement. She smiled at me and thanked me for my trust. Oren said that it was really an issue for the two of us, and that he really didn't matter.
That was where Savah corrected him. She told him that he was the closest thing that I had to a family I had here, even if it was artificial. We were going to treat him like he was family, even if he didn't think of us as related. She added that his opinion mattered to us, and that we wanted to know what he thought. I don't know what Oren had thought about all of that prior to this. He asked me the same thing.
I told him that there were a lot of aspects of us that were similar, and that I had the privilege of joining a military unit that took me far away from a home town that would have made me take some dark paths, mostly out of boredom. He had to leave a town because of one of the dark paths that I might have went down if I had been offered it. I told him that if he did want to leave, we would work with him to get him up and on his feet. If he wanted to stay, we would welcome him staying with us as well.
Oren told us that he wanted to think on this for the night. We told him to take all of the time he needs to think about it. He nodded and went into his room. Savah looked at me a little disheartened, but I told her that this is what it would ultimately go to anyway, even if it was just further off down the road. I told her that I would be glad to set her up with some dinner, if she wanted. She looked at me in that way and said that I was all she wanted.
Before heading to bed completely, I managed to get a chance to type my notes in. I hope that we can get everything set up the way that we need to. I feel much better that Oren will be gainfully employed for the near future. I had hoped that Arika and the other things that might bind him to this place take hold as deeply as Savah and the others have had for me. I left Savah and my room to hit the restroom and saw Oren there in the dining room. He was drinking from a mug and I asked if we had disturbed him. I didn't know how loud we were being so I worried about it.
Oren told me that we had not and asked me to sit with him. I sat down and asked him what the issue was. He told me that he was considering leaving after his job was up. I told him that I had to admit that being a bodyguard sounded like it was a much more lucrative position than a town guard. He nodded. I asked him if he would consider being an adventurer based out of this town instead. He asked what I meant. I told him what I had been told about adventurers. I told him that he could do worse than to team up with Shalelu and maybe some others and go Goblin hunting in the surrounding areas. I told him that it would offer excitement and adventure, with the possibility of having a town that would welcome him.
Oren grunted and I asked him what it was that he was missing from Riddleport. He told me that the city just felt right. I nodded and said that I could understand that. Oren asked me if I felt that him needing to go back was a betrayal. I told him that it was my recommendation that he not go back. Failing that, it was my recommendation that if he does go back, that he be incognito, as he does have a bounty on his head from a known crime-lord. I added that I didn't know what might be so powerful to bring him back to a town that was almost certainly lethal to him, but I couldn't judge him for it. I added that even I had needed to head back home once to realize that the town and I had both changed.
Oren told me that I had not answered the question he had posed. I told him that he was right. I continued that I might feel off put by him leaving, that we had put a lot of effort into helping him turn his life around and to help him get started heading in a direction in which he might be able to succeed. I added that anyone putting in effort like that might feel betrayed, but ultimately, I know that it is his life. I hold no greater right to demand anything from him than anyone else might. But that ultimately, I might feel a bit upset with him for tossing out what everyone is trying to do for him, especially me.
I added that last bit because he seemed to be waiting to hear something like that. I hope that it didn't make things worse. I left him to think and excused myself to the restroom. When I came back, Oren wasn't in the break room. I shrugged and grabbed a pair of ciders for Savah and myself, cooled them off, and headed back to our bedroom.