Day 52: Fireday the 9th, Neth, 4707
My alarm clock went off and I answered her call by telling her to work on the bikes until I know more. She responded to the affirmative and noted that we have two done and asked how many more we would be looking at making. I told her that we needed to make at least four. Veronica responded back to me to the affirmative. I got up and got dressed. I made myself a nice breakfast and made one for Savah as well. I brought Savah her coffee and meal, and woke her up gently. We hugged and got together all of our paperwork.
I did a quick read through of the blue books that I had gotten about both Magnimar and Sandpoint and got an idea of an alternate possible attack that could be tried against us. I quickly took a side trip to Madame Mvashti's house and knocked on her door. She answered almost immediately with a tea kettle in her hand and asked what I could possibly need. I told her that we were being held up on developing the land that she had advised us on picking, and I was wondering if I could have a sworn statement regarding her assessment of the land. Madame Mvashti told me that she would of course, and invited me in.
As I walked in, Hannah Velerin was there, taking tea with her friend. I apologized greatly for the incursion and said that I could come back later. Hannah shook her head and said that it was fine. They both insisted that I take morning tea with them, and I of course would not reject their hospitality. Madame Mvashti asked if I could explain the circumstances why I needed a statement about the land that the building would be on. Hannah's elvish eyebrow rose as I spoke.
I told Madame Mvashti that an inspector from the town hall had come by yesterday and said that the proper paperwork had not been filled out for the usage of that land, but would not specify what the paperwork was. I told them both that I had went to discuss it with Chask at the Curious Goblin, and he had told me that he had a copy of the paperwork that he had needed from when he needed to get his business permitted, and that he would be glad to help me out with that. I told them that I was certain that his paperwork would be sufficient for any building that I was making inside the town limits, but the building that I am making is just outside of town limits, and this might cause the inspector to try to bring up something else.
Madame Mvashti asked how she could help. I told her that since she used Druidic magic to adjust the land after verify the proper place for the house and school, that I could get something worded by her that would state that the ecological impact of the area had been weighed and that the concerns had been taken into consideration. Hannah started to smile at that. Madame Mvashti asked where I would have learned to talk like that, and I told her that where I was from, we took that into consideration, and that I hoped that she had as well, considering her Druidic nature.
Hannah finally talked, and said that she realized why Madame Mvashti had insisted that she drop by for tea today before heading out on her daily trip into the forest. Hannah asked me if what she had heard was true, if I had actually convinced Gorski to change how he dumped waste off the side of the cliff. I told her that it was indeed true, but that I was hoping to keep it a secret so that relations between Gorski and the Gozreh faithful would be in better conditions. Hannah nodded to that and said that she would vouch sign for a statement similar to what I had said, because she had visited the site during the night and had seen that it was in a good place for the development that I was looking to do.
Madame Mvashti slowly wrote out what I had said to the letter, and signed the paper. Hannah signed it as well. I thanked them both, for their support and for the tea. Hannah and Madame Mvashti both noted to me that not everyone in this town appreciates Titus Scarnetti, or his ancestors. I thanked them again and rushed out to my bike. I took off from Madame Mvashti's house and made it to the Curious Goblin. I parked my bike in the alleyway beside the shop and knocked on Chask's door.
Chask opened the door, looked both ways, and pulled me inside. He noted that he was basically going against the will of the council in doing this. I told him that it was only really two of the town council that were actually against it, and that was Scarnetti and Valdemar. Chask asked me about Ameiko, and I told him that I was certain that an adventurer like her wouldn't be against the spreading of knowledge, and that she would at the very least tolerate it. Chask asked me if I thought that she had placed the vote against me because it was politically convenient to do so. I told him that if ever there was a time to oppose me, yet not have anything come of it, it would have been her vote then. Chask told me that this was good strategy. I told him that everyone in this town that supported me was free to vote against me anytime their morals told them that they should, or whenever it could give them a political out and not cause me strife, and that I would never hold it against them.
Chask nodded and said that we should get down to business. He noted that since these orders were on vellum that was specially etched, they could not be magically reproduced, since we didn't have the vellum handy to do it anyway. I told Chask that I would work to get another set anyway. He nodded and we started. I started to fill out all of the architectural and engineering based information that the forms needed, including the ability to expand on the current building when funding for the school becomes more available. Chask was rather impressed and asked if I had studied the Varisian laws before. I told him that I had skimmed through a couple of books, but that I was no litigator.
After an hour, Chask said that I was ready. He gave me a figure for the assistance and the forms, and I didn't even think before handing him the coinage, in platinum and gold. It worked out to be a pound of gold. Over twenty thousand dollars to push through a document. I can't say that I've heard of many similar situations that were resolved for much less back in my old world. I rushed to the Town Hall and got directions to the inspector's office.
I stopped by the Mayor's office quick to see if she could verify the authenticity of the two signatures on my environmental impact statement. The mayor told me that this was the first that she had heard about someone holding up the progress on my building and that she would sort it out. I told her that I thought that I had this under control, but that this might come up again when I looked to expand into the rest of the school, so if she could swing getting me a copy of the forms, I would be very much appreciative. The Mayor said that she would, and I asked her one more thing before leaving, if there was any fee for paperwork processing for something like this. The mayor noted that it would not be more than twenty-five gold due to it being outside of the town walls. I thanked her graciously and then left to head to the inspector's office. Before I did go in, I set my phone to record video and slipped it into the pocket that I had designed for that express purpose.
The inspector had a very tight smile on their lips when I came in, almost like they knew that they were going to enjoy how this was expected to turn out. I don't know if they would still have that smile in another hour. I tried to play myself off as a befuddled foreigner who just so happened to have everything that they were looking for accidentally. We started out with them asking why I started building a property in Sandpoint anyway, to which I told them that I had been ordered to by the Lord-Mayor of Magnimar. The inspector demanded to see the patent order, and I presented the order from the Lord-Mayor.
The inspector looked it over and sneered, noticing that it obviously was not faked, because they had another version of the Lord-Mayor's signature and seal already available on the desk. They tossed it back to me and harrumphed. The inspector asked if I had the forms filled out for the building. I presented what Chask and I had worked on this morning. I could tell that the inspector was getting irate when they read through the document for the third time trying to pick it apart. The inspector tossed the paperwork back to me and said that this was all well and good, but there was an environmental concern that needed to be researched. I pulled out the form that had been signed by both Hannah and Madame Mvashti, and verified signed by Mayor Deverin.
The inspector was livid. The looked like they were about to tear up the statement after they read it, but composed themselves. It was obvious to them that the Mayor knew about this since she had signed off on the document. The inspector tried for one final thing, and tried to say that I had not paid the paperwork fee for processing. I smacked my forehead and asked them how much it would be. The inspector said that the fee for doing building work in town was two hundred gold. I balked and mentioned that I must have been quoted a false number of twenty-five gold because it was outside the town walls, and that I would have to get the remainder immediately. The Inspector was furious and said that it was not outside the town walls because there was no wall on the side of the Turandarok river. I noted that there was indeed a wall, a stout timber wall that had been put up in the week I had been in Magnimar.
The inspector was furious and attempted to kick me out without serving me the final authority. I asked if the inspector was refusing my petition and that I needed to express my issues with another member of the town hall. The inspector yelled at me to get out and that I would not be able to build my house or anything else here in Sandpoint. It was just then that the Mayor was walking by and asked what was going on. The inspector tried to flub and make up something to say that I didn't have all of the correct documents. The Mayor looked everything over and said that it looked right to her, but that she would take these to another set of eyes.
The Mayor asked if I had paid the fee, and the inspector yelled that I had refused to. The Mayor looked at me and I told the Mayor that I had told the inspector that I was confused, because the fee for outside the walls was only twenty-five gold, while the inspector was correcting me that the fee should be two hundred gold because we do not have a wall on the side of the Turandarok. The Mayor noted that if what was erected along the Turandarok did not count as a wall then the Scarnettis were going to owe the town the return of the funds that had been paid to them, and we might need to look into the permits for their construction. The Inspector shoved an approval form at me and told me to get out. I asked about the twenty-five gold and they just shoved me out the door fully. I looked to the Mayor and asked if I could give her the twenty-five gold to make this all well and above the board. The Mayor graciously accepted, and signed off on the approval.
I took my approval and took pictures of everything. I immediately rushed to Chask's to buy some waterproof paper and some covers. I used my copying powers to make direct copies of each of the documents onto this waterproof material and then sealed it in. I made sure to write facsimile on the bottom of each and "For original, see S. Bevaniky." Chask thought that this was a nice touch, and I rushed back to the jobsite. Aesrick was there, and I brought him his pay for the day as well as the documents. He asked if he should keep these on the jobsite, and I told him that this was why I had gotten them reproduced on waterproof paper.
Aesrick announced to his men that they would be continuing to work this job next week until it was done. The men all cheered in acknowledgment, hopefully happy because they were being paid well. Beyond that, Aesrick noted that the lower lever Lavatories were finished, and that the Garage, the Storefront, and the lower level Storage and Sitting rooms would be finished by the end of the work day today. I took a tour of those rooms and noted how they were set up. I asked Aesrick how the Lavatory was plumbed, and he showed me how the piping had all ran down and out the side of the building, and went a good twenty feet away before ending. I told him that I would be working on something for that but that it definitely sufficed for now. The first floor was fully framed in and just a few rooms remained for finishing, and the roof of the floor was done so rooms on the second floor could be started as well. Aesrick noted that his guys would be still be putting the tent up to protect against water and rain, but that someone might want to keep an eye on it over the weekend, as it would be a perfect time for an accident to happen.
I thanked Aesrick for his concern, and noted that once the workshop was complete, I would be moving a full time watchman here, that it would be kind of inefficient of Titus to have the house burned down now, as I just got the approvals today, and that would make it extremely suspicious. Aesrick agreed with me but cautioned me all the same. Aesrick told me that I had a name about town, but I had no influence, and that I should do something to rectify that. I said that I guessed that I could try for some performances about town. Aesrick just kind of shrugged and said that it might work.
I thanked him and took some pictures of the site to keep for my records before heading out. Aesrick went back to directing his men, and I got on my bike and rode off. I was going to need to design a septic system for this place, and I don't know that I have sufficient resources to make a septic tank. I would definitely work on that next week, at least before the house becomes livable. I really should have thought of that before the house was started being built.
I rode by the Bolting Barghest and picked up some lunch for Savah and myself. Jonathan asked how things were going, and I noted that they seemed to be eerily calm, knowing the person that I had pissed off. Jonathan thought for a second, and noted that we did have a reputation around town as being the ones who had killed a lamia matriarch, several ghasts, a murder cult, a goblin horde, and a Barghest, among other assorted nasties. We were also known for taking revenge on those who wronged us, and it might have been let slip that I was someone who could literally get away with murder in Magnimar and the Lord-Mayor would thank me for it. I looked at him for a second, and he told me that no names were given.
I shrugged, because it was honestly all true. I thanked him again and noted that he should drop by the place sometime and see had it was going. I also noted that I was going to need some more assistance with heady labor in the near future because I intended on putting in something known as a septic system and that would require the removal of a lot of dirt. Jonathan nodded and said that he would be glad to help. It takes a lot of mental strength to resist the urge to fling the food trays at some of the people. I commiserated and told him that I would try to make sure that there would be an "Archery" range in the school when I was finished.
Dame Rebekah and Chelger rode up and asked me how the day was going. I told them that it seemed like everything was turning out much better than I really could have expected. Dame Rebekah noted that she hoped that she would have a similar day, but nothing truly bad has happened since the carpenter's misfortune that one day, and the refurbishment of the manor is moving along, slowly, but surely. I told her that I was certain that she would be able to get everything done, what with her cleansing the house of evil. She smiled and said that she would be redoing a lot of the rooms to be more lodging style rooms, but that she could then get a group of crusaders and such to keep the place clear of evil and act as a way station for good.
We finished up our conversation and Dame Rebekah and Chelger went inside to get their meals. I told Jonathan that I had to get back, and he smiled and wished me well on my way. Just before I was about to leave, I saw the inspector that I had been dealing with earlier walking up. They saw me and were even more pissed than they were before. The went straight up to Jonathan and declared that there was a tax on this property and that he needed to pay it or he would be shut down by order of Town Hall.
I asked the inspector how much the tax was before Jonathan could get angrier, and the tax collector said ten gold pieces. I laughed and pulled out a platinum piece and asked for a receipt. The inspector scribbled something out on a sheet of paper and thrust it at me. I handed the receipt over to Jonathan without taking my eyes off of the inspector and they ran off. Jonathan asked me what I had done to the inspector, and I told Jonathan that I had out-bureacrated the inspector until the point that they had tried to kick me out of their office. Just at that point, the Mayor was there and pulled rank. I added that it was glorious.
Jonathan asked why I had covered his taxes, and I told him that I did it for two reasons, one because I was somewhat certain that the Inspector would be going after my allies in whatever way they could after the episode we had experienced earlier. I continued with telling Jonathan that it was also because I wanted that inspector to know that when they went after my allies I would be there to back them up, bureaucratically anyway, and that I would ensure that everything was followed to the letter. I nodded to him and set off to head back to the Armory. I locked up my bike in the garage and took a tour through the workshop to see the progress that Veronica was making. I think that I will need to talk to Faunra about getting a second one made, maybe one for Savah. I will have to ask her about that.
Veronica was steadily working on the guardsman bike. It looked like she was really getting into the swing of things, and would easily be done within four hours. She had arranged the shop as she needed to make everything easy to access and right where she needed it. Vaeren was watching her work from a distance and was taking notes. He came over and asked me if I could introduce him to the person who had made Veronica for me. I told him that I would ask the person and find out if they were willing to take a commission. Vaeren nodded and continued taking notes.
I continued in to the Store where Savah was making a sale, and sat down behind a counter, with the canvas sack of burgers. I knew that I would have to end up inventing canning or bottling in order to include drinks like that with a meal like this, but for now it was sufficient. I watched Savah at work as she went back and forth, but finally secured the sale. It was a lot of fun to watch her work. The customer left satisfied with their purchase, apparently Cold Iron Cestus were becoming all the rage for people to purchase as back up weapons. Who would have thought? Maybe they noticed Jonathan's?
Savah came over and asked how the meeting went. I relayed it over to her in entirety, making sure to not leave anything out. She laughed quite a bit when the Mayor just happened to drop by. I told her that we were at the very least confirmed for the rest of our current construction, but that we will probably have to go through this again when we are going to get the school portion done. Savah nodded, but added that we would at the very least not be in as much of a rush as we are now.
After a minute, I told Savah that I was going to have to start working on the copy of that book for Fumi, but that I didn't know how long it would take, since I was fairly certain that my technological devices will have an issue translating the Draconic font into something that it can reproduce. Savah said that I should probably start on it fresh Moonday morning, and give myself the weekend off. I agreed and said that I should probably go back to my roots and perform to get my head cleared too. Savah said that we could make plans for going out tomorrow night and Sunday and that she can watch me perform my reenactments. I told her that it was a date, and that we could do the Rusty Dragon one night, and the White Stag the next.
Savah smiled and said that she could definitely agree to that. We finished our meal and went back to work. I couldn't get my head back in the mood of making things, so I piddled around with getting my notes together for some good stories the following days. I also helped Veronica to make up the bikes, mainly with the brute labor. I wonder if I could get Faunra to make them larger or smaller. We could simulate the capabilities of micro-construction if we got them small enough. Maybe even small enough to make a copy of my cell phone! There is a LOT to work out to figure out how to do that, and magic is probably going to be able to do it a LOT easier. That seems to be the way, I can get a lot of moderate gains with my technological knowledge, but the advanced stuff requires
I figure that getting a few hours to update this journal and make corrections can't hurt either. Not that I am going to change things, but making sure that my grammar makes sense won't hurt. It will also help me make sure that I am ready for the storytelling tomorrow and Sunday. After a few hours of this, Savah came and got me for getting dinner. She said that she wanted something quiet and simple, so we went to Risa's Place, of course with her on the back of my bike.
Risa's Place was a good, simple meal, where we enjoyed ourselves and ate in relative peace. Sometimes it is good to just have a day to relax, with just each other to talk to. No explanations, no long winded discussions about what we are planning for the future, and how that will affect the entirety of Varisia, no plans for how my super influential rival in town is going to screw me over and I need to think thirty steps ahead of someone who has lived someplace their whole life and their family literally built the place. Just Savah and myself, eating a nice quiet meal, and enjoying spending some time together.
After finishing our meal, and leaving a decent tip, Savah and I got back on the bike and we travelled out to the new homestead. We pulled up into the Garage, and parked the bike. It looked completely suitable for our needs, and even had parking spaces already done up. We looked into the first Lavatory and it was a good compromise between what I would have been used to and what we had here in Sandpoint. I noted to Savah that all of these would be connected via piping to a septic line that would take the refuse out. Savah nodded and we went out the other door and saw a set of stairs to our left.
We chose to continue our inspection through the lower level before continuing with the upper level. We checked out the lower level storage, and Savah noted that it would be a good place to store all of the excess gear than wandering adventurers drop off at her store, with a smile. We walked on into the Sitting Room, and I showed her how we could have the people waiting here while we either prepare the items or get them out of storage. Savah nodded and said that we should probably spruce up the place. I noted that we could always do that after we moved everything in. Savah could barely wait to see her new storefront.
It was a little smaller than either her current or original storefront, but now she could see that she could just deal with the quick sales here and the sitting room would be better for her higher priced sales. Savah told me that we would need to work on it a little, but that she could see that this place had some promise. I thanked her and told her that we could modify this place anyway she wanted after we got out of the Glassworks. Savah asked where we would sleep, and I led her back to the hallway and up the stairs. I showed her how they had only just started on the second floor, but that the place above the garage would be our bedroom. I also showed her how we would have our own Lavatory, attached to the bedroom. Savah was a bit confused with that. Then I showed her that we would have our own entrance to the Jacuzzi room that we would be installing. Savah was exceptionally happy with that.
We wandered a bit around the upper level, to see where all the rooms were marked off. Savah asked why We had a direct connection to the Library, and I told her that I wanted us to be able to access the Sitting Room from our Bedroom, and that the Library would be a good way to do that. Savah smiled and said that it couldn't just be that I liked to be near my books. I told her that she was right about that too. She stood in our future bedroom and looked around, seeing one of the tools that I had made just sitting there. The circular saw. As a lark, I used my repairing and cleaning powers to get it to full capability. They would not be coming back to work today, so I made sure to gather all of the tools up and give them the same treatment.
Savah and I left our rapidly being constructed home and got back on my bike. While we were riding away, I wondered what my next challenge in building this house would be. I knew that once we got a few of the bedrooms together, we would need to move everything over from the Glassworks to the new house, and maybe Jonathan would be willing to help with that. Especially the bed and the hot tub. I'll have to make a room specifically for creating the B4C fabric and that will take a fair amount of time. I can reintegrate the Argon tank as both the fire proofing agent and as the fire removal agent. Moving that should be a lot of fun too.
When we got back, Oren and Arika were there. Savah told them that the new house was almost ready, and that they had maybe a week and a half before we would have to move everything over. Oren thanked us for allowing him to stay with us for this long, and Savah stopped him. She told him that we had designed the house with three bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, and that he would have his own room until he was fully on his own. He thanked the both of us and really seemed to be grateful about it. Savah and I went to bed and got ready to get a decent night's sleep.