Day 86: Oathday the 13th, Kuthona, 4707
I woke up to Savah hanging all over me today and I didn't want to disturb her up, but Bailey 2.0 woke me up by jabbing its metal snout into my ribs, like Bailey used to when they needed to go outside. I slowly got out from underneath Savah, doing my best to not wake her up, and got dressed to take Bailey 2.0 out. I slowly realized that we had both left the doors shut last night, how did Bailey 2.0 get in to nudge me in the ribs?
We went downstairs and Niddler flew over to land on my shoulder when we hit the floor level. Niddler purred when I scratched his chin absentmindedly. We all walked out to the garage, and I opened up the door. Both Bailey 2.0 and Niddler rushed out, to take a run/fly around the property. I glanced around quickly and went back inside, noting that Oren and Arika's bikes were both missing. Probably already off to work.
Veronica and Igor sent me a message that they were starting on today's continued work for Sheriff Hemlock, and were looking to incorporate them into the bike itself. I gave them the go ahead and the last one of the crew sent a flat report in that nothing had happened from their vantage point last night. I thanked War-Bringer mentally and headed upstairs. When I got to the kitchen to make breakfast, Savah was already there, with a smile on her face and not much else. I immediately walked over and we hugged for a long time.
I asked her if she was feeling okay, and she told me that this is the best she had been feeling for a few weeks. I smiled and noted that I was glad to be with her even in the bad times. We made breakfast, sat down, and had a decent meal together. We both got up and went to get fully dressed. Savah certainly seemed fairly chipper today. She made her way down to her shop to start the day. Vaeren was there and helping out, he seemed to be an almost permanent fixture anymore.
I went in and the twins surprised me with having one of Sheriff Hemlock's two new items mostly done. It was a personalized stun baton, that had a recharge slot in the bike. I figured that whenever he rode around in the bike, if nothing else was charging, his baton would charge. I had designed some safeties to prevent overcharge, but I would still caution him about it. His other effects were going to be hammered out tomorrow and the next day, but one thing should be done fairly quickly. He's getting a radio charger set up as well. Veronica also surprised me with something I had thought to give to the good Sheriff, but didn't.
It was a cross between a shotgun and a revolver, effectively a Taurus Judge. A staple of law enforcement back in Florida Land. A good choice, I thought, and one that split the difference. I took stock of this and asked Veronica if her and Igor were working on some Ammo for it. Veronica sent that they had made a selection of cartridge, salt, and shot rounds for it last night. I thanked them for their foresight and noted that this was an excellent start. Anything more than this could be acquired later. I almost wanted to get the Sheriff a different hat for him to wear, but I thought that it would be going too far.
I started work again on my generator, getting rather in depth with it. It would end up taking a fair amount of time, and honestly, the only reason why I even felt the need to make it was so that I could power up the various peripherals that I had been accustomed to my whole like, but it would also help for the purposes of having a long term stable power supply for the crafting that needed to be done to fulfill all of the tasks that I had ahead of me for the near future. I was assembling various things together and realized that I was going to need a LOT more resources to pull off the generator build. Even with the assistance of Igor and Veronica, it was still going to be a much larger undertaking than I had expected.
It was just when I had come to this conclusion when Savah came into the workshop, smiling. She asked me if I felt like a break, and I told her that I would love one right now. She said that she felt like getting lunch, and I agreed, asking her what she felt like. Savah told me that she thought that the Crab and Clam Chowder from the Hagfish sounded good. I agreed, and said that we could head out immediately. Savah said that she would leave the shop with Vaeren and went to go tell him that we were heading out. I sent a message to both Niddler and War-Bringer that we would be heading out, and that they were on light guard duty together.
War-Bringer asked what that meant, and I told him that it meant that him and Niddler would work together to spot out dangers, and then Niddler would send me an image of what the danger was. Then I would approve termination of the threat if needed. War-Bringer said that they understood, but that he didn't like it too much. I sent to him that we were in a non-hostile rich environment, and that we would need to be discriminate in who we targeted to minimize the blowback from the local populace. War-Bringer was silent for a minute and then sent back that he could understand that. Niddler agreed and sent that he would take up station next to War-Bringer.
I made my way to the garage, and Savah was already there. Smiling and waiting on the back of my bike. I got on put my helmet on, and we headed out from the garage, heading over the Tanner Bridge until we made our way down to the Hagfish. We zipped around a lot of the people in town, and most knew what to do when we were making our way down Festival Street until we needed to turn right onto Water Street. No one had really stopped us or gotten in our way, so we made remarkably good time.
Jargie was glad to see us and welcomed us before leading us to a booth. He asked Savah if she wanted her regular, and she said that she did. I told him that I wouldn't mind the Crab and Clam Chowder, and especially the new rolls. Jargie asked me what they were called again. I told him that I didn't know if the company wouldn't send lawyers even here to pursue copyright infringement, so I told him that they should just be called Cheese Harbor Biscuits. He said that he liked that name, and that he would use that.
He went back to get our meals, and turned around, asking if Savah and I would like a shot of rum. I was about to tell him yes, when Savah said that she would not, but would love a Flaggin Dragon. I told him that I would take the same. After he left, I asked Savah if something had happened in Magnimar that had given her pause to drink, noting that she had stayed away from it even last night. Savah told me that nothing had happened in Magnimar, but that she was thinking that she should cut back on the alcohol for a while. I told her that it made sense to cut back every once and a while, but that she didn't have to keep it from me. Savah smiled a slightly wicked smiled and said that she would keep that in mind.
Our biscuits came out and we both started snacking on them. Savah asked me how my work on the Sheriff's bike was going, and I told her about all of the modifications that were being made from the normal bike, including making a different light setup, and having an auto charge function for his other gear that I was setting up. When I went over all of the changes, Savah seemed impressed. Savah noted that I was starting to make the firearms in earnest, that it might behoove us to include them in the shop.
I thought about it for a minute, and told her that I would start out with some of the more primitive ones, just so that the idea and concept wouldn't be too far from what people might be used to, and work up slowly to what I used. Savah told me that she could understand that, as she thought that it would be a good thing to keep an advantage while we could. I smiled and noted that if I figured out a good portable power supply, I could go up to the next level from what I have, and that this would mean that my firearms are obsolete. Savah asked if I would upgrade her rifle, and I told her that of course I would.
Shortly after that, our chowders came out, along with our drinks. Jargie sat down and asked us if there was any more information about the Ceremony. I blanked for a minute and Savah did too, before she remembered Crystalhue. I shook my head to clear out the cobwebs, and told Jargie all of the updates that he was eligible to learn, that there were again at least seven couples participating, and that there were a few more guests from Magnimar who had said that they would show up. Jargie asked who they were, and I started listing off the different people.
After I did, he kind of blanched. He told us that he was in no way ready for that type of attendees. I told him that we had the full faith in him, and that we would talk to the rest of the group to see if we could get more deposit for him to make sure that he didn't run low on anything. Jargie said that this would help, but that he might need someone to actually go get a large enough fish for his meal. I asked him who he was talking about, and he told us the story of Old MurderMaw. Jargie finished off with asking if we could catch Old MurderMaw, and saying that if we could catch something like a thirty-foot gar, that this should be no problem. I guess my testimony for the council has leaked and spread this far. I told him that the group had plans this night, but that we would look into the possibility of getting Old MurderMaw as soon as we could.
Savah and I finished our meals and Jargie came out and asked us how everything was. Savah told him that she enjoyed everything and thanked him for the great service. I agreed and he told us that we were always welcome here, from one person who rankles the Scarnettis to another. I thanked Jargie for the well wishes and the camaraderie, and told him that we would definitely keep that in mind. Jargie had to get to other tables, so we tallied up what would be owed and left him a good tip. We rode back home and I noted that I was going to have to end up getting more parts before the generator could be fully finished.
Savah said that she could understand that, and that it might give me a better frame of mind if I was to take a break from it and work on the grounds some, to you know, prepare it for the campus and the house for Oren and Arika. I agreed and sent a message to the twins noting that the generator was on hold for the moment, that I would be working on setting up defense. I sent to Niddler and War-Bringer that we were coming home and that the time for vigilance was now relaxed a bit. War-Bringer responded back that we were observed and that he would stand down. Niddler flew off and did a loop in the air.
We went into the garage and Savah started to head off to the shop. She turned around and looked at me for a second before telling me that we should probably look into interviewing some people to run the work shop while I was dealing with everything that was coming up. I asked her if she really thought that there were people who were willing to learn these crafts, and she told me that she was certain that we could find a few people, if not here, then at least in Magnimar. I agreed with her and said that we can definitely do that after we got everything settled with Crystalhue, the upcoming attacks, and saving the world and whatnot. Savah smiled and continued on her way to her shop. I could swear that there was a skip in her step.
Meanwhile, I decided that I would put up the defensive wall that I had been planning on doing for the longest time. It would only be about nine feet tall when it was all said and done, but it was a bermed section, then a packed earth section, and topped with a section of loose stone walls, each in increments of three feet. At the edge of the berm, I took the time to dig down a five-foot-deep and ten-foot-wide section just outside of the wall, that would give us fifteen feet of effective wall from the outside, while I put a five-foot-high section on the inside, to give a good walkway on the defending side.
A good start to a decent defensive system, especially since we live outside of the town walls. Now if we could only get the town walls expanded, but that will come later, when more people need to live in the town. And it's not like we can't just knock it down just as easily as I put it up. It took up a good three hours of using an E-tool to dig a pit, then dig another pit, then pointing my fingers at the sections that I wanted to put a wall. When it was all done, I went back to the house and went in to Savah's shop.
She was finishing up a deal with a customer, Turch Sterglus, from the Fish Market. He was looking into a set of armor. He had apparently asked about the armor that I had been making, but was balking at the cost. When I came in, he asked me directly why it cost so much. I told him that I just managed the fabrication of it, that Savah was the one who handled the financials of it, and that she was the expert on that. Turch didn't exactly like that answer, but eventually got a simple set of leather armor. I left Savah and him to the details while I went in to the workshop to check on the twins.
When I got in to the shop, Veronica sent me a welcome and said that they had finished the Sheriff's modifications to the bike, and that it would need to get its power plant set up. That would be tomorrow. I told them both that I was glad that they were putting in a lot of dedication and detail into this project. They told me that they were at the end of what they could do today, but that they would be starting up again tomorrow morning. I sent to them both asking what they would be working on tonight. Veronica and Igor both noted separately that would be working on some ammo for War-Bringer and me. I thanked them and they went back to work.
Just as I was finished wordlessly checking up on the schedule, Savah came in behind me. She asked me what time the group was getting together to check out the tunnels. I told her that I would head over to the Barghest to catch up with them and try to get back soon. Savah smiled and said that she had some things to talk to Chelger, Shayliss, and Shalelu about anyway, and that they were going to catch up together here shortly anyway. I wished her luck and started getting equipped for any kinds of danger. I invoked my new ability to summon my armor onto myself from the stand. I got everything else that I COULD need, and noted that I really needed to spend some time reevaluating my situation here.
Before I left, I asked Savah if she knew what all someone might to have on their person if they wanted to be prepared for just about anything. Savah appeared to thing for a minute before telling me that she specifically didn't really focus on that, but that if I felt like it was a good idea, she did have a contact back at the guild in Magnimar who might know someone. I thanked her, and told her that I really just liked to make sure that I would be ready for any circumstance that might come up if needed, since my old gear definitely didn't cover the kinds of situations that I was regularly in now. Savah said that she would reach out the next time that she headed to Magnimar. I thanked her again and we said our goodbyes before I left out the garage door.
Shayliss, Shalelu, and Chelger were all standing outside the door, sheepishly about to knock when the garage door came open. I told them that I hoped that they all had a good time while we checked out the tunnels, and Shayliss told me that Jonathan and everyone were already at the Barghest. I thanked them and rode out on my bike. I could swear that I heard some snickering, but ignored it so that I could focus on the drive. I sent a quick thought to War-Bringer and Niddler that I would be heading out, and that they should be wary but receive confirmation before attacking anyone. War-Bringer thanked me for taking defense seriously by building the walls, and asked if I would continue. I thought back that I might, but for now it would have to do. Niddler just sent a confirmation of the order and yawned.
I rode on to the Barghest, and everyone was there. Jonathan left some instructions for the on duty bard, and we all headed out. It seemed like everyone's gear had been updated by Faunra, so we were all in top shape. The last time I was in these tunnels, I was almost infected with a disease that would have killed me and turned me into an abomination. Or was it an evil outsider? I never was quite sure. We got to the glassworks and it was in operation, so it took a minute for Mr. Patchen to open up for us. I thought it was only fair for us to inform him what the situation was, as we were asking a bit from him, especially since we had brought him in to this community in the first place.
James pulled us into his shop and told us that Ameiko had already informed him that there was an unknown attack that would take place in the future. He added that she had told him that we would probably be coming by to check out the tunnels. I looked to the others, and they all shrugged. I told him that this was indeed true, and thanked him for opening up his basement for us to head down into the tunnels. James told us that he wanted to make sure that the basement was still safe. We all agreed that it was for the best.
We headed down to the basement. The wall was still there. Jonathan took a few seconds to focus his will and gather the aether around him. I watched him pick up a brick and pulverize the wall with it. A four-inch-thick wall reduced to rubble with one mighty hit. Something to keep in mind later, I guess. We made our way into the tunnels and headed down. As we got to the catacombs, Dame Rebekah discovered some tracks in the dust, and determined that something had been through this area, and that it was human sized and barefoot.
I told everyone that we should be more on our guard, as we didn't know what it was, and everyone seemed to take that to heart. No one took any specific actions, but they did seem to be more in the game so to speak. We walked through the catacombs, and noted that there wasn't anyone or anything in there. If anyone would have seen it, it would have been Jonathan. We made our way to the area where the staircase goes up and was blocked. By our increased experience in the town, we realized that this went up somewhere between Junker's Way and Tower Street. We talked a little about having a separate entrance for the tunnels for the civilians, but decided that it would mean that there would be an additional entrance that would need to be defended.
We went back through the catacombs and went to the staircase that headed down, to find that the concrete that had been poured had developed some cracks. It wasn't in a form, and this wasn't exactly Rosemount, so I wouldn't have expected it to last forever, but this really was a short period of time for it to actually develop cracks. I noted to Jonathan that the concrete should have lasted longer, and he noted that he thought that he had heard some kinds of voices coming up from down there, before but that he didn't think that now was the time to check them out, as we had dropped several tons of sand, rocks, and concrete down there, it should be fine for now. I cautiously agreed, and we went back to check out the runewell.
The Runewell was still empty when we got there, and filled with the concrete that we had filled it with. I spontaneously decided to fill up this room, as much as possible, with hard packed earth walls, from back to front. When it was done, I put walls up in front of the doors as well, just to make sure that none of the townsfolk got a surprise from that thing, as Faunra told us that it could possibly reactivate with a fell rite or something else happening. We filled in all of the pit traps and other hazards, but noticed that all of the dead zombies and such were gone when we were going through the facility. This didn't bode too well to me, so I suggested that we head back down to the cave entrance to see if there was anything changed with that.
We followed the tunnel the rest of the way to the cave and saw that the wall was still there, but that there were further tunnels that had looked to have been blocked up that were now open. I took some time and put some walls up, and everyone seemed think that this was a good idea. We headed back with not much having been encountered, but the tunnels and the complex being made a lot safer in my opinion. We went back up to the basement, and we put a thin wall up so that it would be a blockade, but one that would easily be removed should the need arise. We went back up to talk to James, to let him know everything that we found.
James seemed pretty blasé about everything, when it was all said and done. We showed him how to get the barricade open, and told him that we would make everything stronger when we were certain that the danger from the horde of giants was over. James thanked us for that, and thanked us again for getting him back here, as it was turning into a really lucrative deal for everyone involved. He noted that he was even considering saving up to outright offer to purchase the glassworks if everything continued on this trek. We all wished him well and headed back to the Barghest.
As we got there, we all kind of felt bummed out about not being able to see any action, when I remembered what Jargie had said. I told everyone Jargie's request, and they all immediately said that we should be able to do that no problem. Dame Rebekah noted that it was only four miles to the edge of Brinestump Marsh. I did the math and noted that we could be there and back in less than an hour, if our luck holds out. Jonathan got on the back of Faunra's bike, Dame Rebekah got in Bucepherous' saddle, and I sent a message to Niddler, War-Bringer, and the twins, that I would be heading out of town for about two hours, and that they were to maintain their current activities. I received back thoughts to the affirmative.
We all took off and headed out of town like a Meatloaf album. I let Faunra and Dame Rebekah take the lead, and I followed up behind them. We were making excellent time, and got to the edge of Sog Bay in just under twenty minutes. We parked the bikes and the steed, and Jonathan found a rickety old rowboat that looked like it was about five minutes from disintegrating. He lifted it up and we all piled in. We floated out and I asked everyone what they thought that we should use for bait. Jonathan had just the thing, he said, and asked for a little light. Faunra started up a light cantrip on the piece of meat that Jonathan had produced, and he dropped the line into the water.
After his first few attempts, Dame Rebekah took over and managed to get a reaction within just a minute of her casting the line in. It was a massively strong fish, stronger even than Dame Rebekah. It took of us helping Dame Rebekah just to keep her from losing the line. Then the line went slack and we almost fell out of the rowboat. Before we could do anything we felt a massive thump and the rowboat shattered. We were all rudely deposited in the water. It looked like a recreation of Jaws. Faunra and I looked ready, but the others looked a bit less prepared, even with Dame Rebekah being the strongest swimmer. I saw Faunra stab out at something with her green glowing gladius, and I stabbed at the same thing with my bloody machete. Then Old MurderMaw came for one of us.
Unfortunately for it, MurderMaw came for the wrong one of us. Any one of the rest of us could have been in worse shape had they been swallowed whole, but not Jonathan. The huge fish did end up swallowing Jonathan, but it wasn't seconds before I heard the roar of the aether that I was used to, and Jonathan floated out of the mouth of the now still fish, gore awash on him. He lifted up the fish, and we all piled on. Jonathan lifted us to shore, and said that he would take this prize to Jargie Quinn himself. Faunra, Dame Rebekah, and I all got back on our various mounts and rode back to Sandpoint, while Jonathan flew there with his prize. Jonathan was back in almost half the amount of time that we were. We all got to the Barghest at about the same time, since he had spent some time talking with Jargie.
Jonathan noted that we at least had a little fun. I jokingly noted that we could go around solving all of the nearby monster problems in a season if we did something like this every few days. Dame Rebekah noted with a bit of seriousness that more monsters will just move in. I apologized and she said that she was just annoyed that she didn't get to do anything. I told her that she might get lucky and have an encounter on the way home. She shook her head, and said that her and Chelger would be heading back most of the way with Faunra and Shalelu, so they likely wouldn't encounter anything too dangerous. I suggested that she might want to take the time to become more attuned to the flow of combat, or just get paranoid like me. She laughed at that, and said that with as many times as I had been dropped in combat, I needed to jump to attack first or I would do nothing. I smiled and just said, "I know, right?"
We left Jonathan at the Barghest and headed back to my house. Dame Rebekah and Faunra both noted the defensive walls that had been put up on the forest side, and congratulated me on usage of the gloves and the e-tool. As we made our way down the road, Niddler and War-Bringer both sent welcome messages to me. When we got to the garage, everyone was coming out, smiling and laughing, noting that they would have to do this again some time. Chelger got his steed and caught up with Dame Rebekah, Shalelu got on her bike and headed off with Faunra. Shayliss noted that she would be fine and started walking back to the Barghest. I got my bike inside and started cleaning myself off.
Savah asked me how it went and I relayed to her everything that had happened. She noted that the four of them had been discussing the possibility and that they all wanted to help. I told her that we were going to recommend to the town council that we have all non-essential personnel take shelter in the tunnels, and that we would need defenders in the tunnels that could actually protect the people. Savah asked if I was just getting her out of the way, and I told her about the bare footprints and the lingering smell of death, and how I expected that it was a ghoul down there. I told her that I was certain that the rest of the town couldn't deal with something like that, but that her and the other three could definitely deal with it. Savah accepted that.
I got up to the bedroom and changed out into my pajamas, and we both relaxed in for a nice movie, "How to Train Your Dragon". About halfway through it, Savah looked to me and said that she was starting to understand a lot more about me, and that she was glad to have met me. I told her that she was the best thing that happened to me. We finished off the movie and made our way into bed.