Day 136: Fireday the 1st, Calistril, 4708
I woke up to Tank telepathically telling me that Shayliss was in the shop and asking that we repair and upgrade her armor today. I sent back asking if it was on the schedule, Tank responded that it was, so I sent back that they should start, and that I'd get in there as soon as possible. I realized after a minute of laying in bed that I wasn't tired anymore. Four-hour sleep per twenty-four certainly would take some getting used to. Honestly, it was getting to the point that Jonathan's schedule was going to be more comparable to mine than my old schedule was.
I got up and got dressed, aiming to head to the workshop. Savah started stretching her arms in bed and I was there to help her out of bed and get ready. I assumed that we'd be meeting Rip's cousin from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings today, so I wanted to get as much of a head start on the crafting today as possible. Savah was planning on having to get some things straightened out in her store once shop hours started, as she was looking into getting someone else to help Erica with running the store. She said that she wanted to have a "vacation" as I called it, after everything was done.
I noted that we could go find some nice city to spend a week or so in, or even just find some tropical island to spend a week on. Between all of us, we could rig up a very nice shelter. Hell, with all of the stone walls that we can create, we could make a damn near mansion for us to chill out in, especially once one of us figures out that heat rock spell that Vaeren has. And of course the cold spell, if the island is really warm. I helped her get dressed while we were discussing it, and we made our way over to the school's dining hall. Everyone except for Dame Rebekah and Chelger were there. Oddly enough, they had duties which prevented them from getting here until after sunrise. Go figure, I mean they were always considered the early risers in my mind.
Jonathan had a heaping mound of breakfast foods, including bacon, eggs, and other foodstuffs. Shayliss asked me what raising a tool meant. I told her that the kids didn't have a way to speak with anyone but me yet, and that this was their non-verbal way of indicating assent to the request that she made. She nodded, and I pivoted to Faunra, asking if her crew would be available to make that change to the Homunculi today. Faunra said that she'd need people skilled in medicine to help with it, but that she could get two done today. Jonathan and I looked at each other and said that we guessed it would be us.
Faunra asked how the weapons manufacture was going. I told her that I had the Bolter, the LMG, a grenade launcher and a chain-sword, so that we should be good to go for me. Jonathan said that he had his four additional cesti ready. Faunra indicated that she was ready with her stuff and that Dame Rebekah had her purchased swords and equipment ready. I asked when it would be time to get this done, and she noted that we could do the rituals at either sunrise or sunset, but that it would take close to two hours each ritual.
Savah noted that this was a fairly large period of time, and I noted that it would be good to get these scheduled. Faunra noted that her ritual couldn't be done this evening, as Shalelu was still on her trip. Faunra then added that since mine were ready, we could start tonight at sunset if we were available. Savah agreed to that, and said that we would be ready, but that Starday or Sunday was going to be a day off for me. Faunra looked at me and lifted an eyebrow but then said that it would be a good idea for all of us to get a day of resting in before we head on the trip.
Jonathan noted that he'd be okay with tomorrow morning, and that he would concentrate with getting the food stuffs prepared for the trip. Shayliss said that she'd help with getting the food and drink arranged. Shayliss added that she'd curtail her nocturnal activities to be up and ready for the ritual tomorrow morning. Jonathan agreed and said that he'd do the same and be ready for the ritual tomorrow morning. Shayliss' nocturnal activities? Just as we were finishing the schedule, Virina and Fareine came in to get their breakfast. Erica and Vaeren even showed up to get some food.
Vaeren welcomed us all and told us that he was glad to be back from his trip to Galduria. Apparently he had taken a trip to the Twilight Academy to talk to some of the teachers there. I politely asked him why and he said that he was trying to ensure that knowledge of the new school would be spread. He asked me what name I should provide whenever he speaks about the school, as he was just referring to it as the Drake Technology School. I sighed and told him that I didn't think the name needed to be named after me. After a minute I decided that I couldn't resist, and said "Sandpoint Technological Forensic University".
Vaeren mouthed the words and thought about it for a minute and asked Virina and Fareine what that thought about the Sandpoint Technological Forensic University, and working for it. Fareine noted that it was a little long, and I offered up that it could always be shortened to S.T.F.U. Jonathan looked like he was about to laugh and Fareine asked why the word Forensic was in the title. I told her that the word Forensic was related to discourse and debate and so it was appropriate for the type of school that I was setting up.
Fareine nodded and said that she could live with STFU. Virina asked if she'd be eligible to still go to this school and I told her that she'd be more than welcome to go to STFU. Vaeren said that he'd be glad to sing the praises of STFU to everyone who would listen. Jonathan excused himself, saying that there was something in the kitchen that he needed to deal with. Just as soon as he left, Dame Rebekah and Chelger showed up.
Dame Rebekah said good morning to everyone and dropped the pair of rods on the table. I noted that it was good to see her, but that I needed to get to work on Shayliss' armor, to ensure that Chelger's would be done tomorrow. Dame Rebekah wished me well, and Savah came by to watch me work. While I was working, I wondered about what would need to be made for the full recharging station for the school. I figured that I would end up making exceptionally large solar panels to go along with the steam plant that I was making.
After about four hours, Shayliss' armor was done and Savah had went with Erica to go get the store set up. I had another four hours with the kids to work with, before I needed to cut away to meet with Rip's cousin, so I started setting up all of the components that I could to Chelger's upgrades. By the time that the meeting would be scheduled, we were about two thirds of the way done with the whole process. I asked the kids what they were scheduled to work on, and they noted that they would be working on getting components ready for more batteries and such. I wished them well and went to go get caught up with the Charg's.
By the time that I had walked over to the courtyard, I heard one of the bikes that I had made for the police roll up. The main reason why I noticed it was because of the excess weight was putting a little strain on the engine. When they pulled into view, I was about to laugh myself. I recognized the driver, Rip, in the front, but behind him was an absolute goliath of a man. They approached and Rip introduced his cousin, Olgar.
Olgar seemed moderately respectful and asked how he was going to learn anything from one such as me. I asked if he wanted to learn how to make the bikes on his own, and he seemed to be a bit interested with that. Rip told him that I was the one who had made him. He whispered something else to Olgar and Olgar seemed a bit odd, looking me over. He asked me if had really killed a dragon. I noted that me and my team had killed three different dragons so far, one of them by the name of Arkrhyst, or Freezemaw. Olgar shrugged and said that it was at least as good of a claim as the one that Opir made. I looked visibly confused and Rip said that he would explain later.
Olgar straightened up and said that he would be willing to work for me. I looked to Rip, who just looked back at me silently, and just decided to go with it, saying that I would need Olgar to learn first before he could work and teach. Olgar nodded and asked where he could be staying. I took the both of them to a set of lodging and showed them to the lodging that Olgar would staying in. Olgar took a bed and asked where he would be working. I noted that he would start being taught when I got back from my next quest. Olgar asked if he could go with me on this next quest.
I told him that I would set him up to go on quests after but that this one was one that needed to be dealt with, with the minimal amount of people possible, because it would be a surgical strike. Olgar and Rip looked confused, and I thought for a minute before I explained that it would be a quick attack where we needed to sneak through a town and take out an arch-mage. Olgar nodded and said "eldingska". I thought back and realized that it was close enough to Icelandic that I made out, lightning strike. I nodded and replied back that we would go and kill this man and be back within a month, in Icelandic.
Rip and Olgar looked very shocked, and asked when I had learned their tongue. I told them that I knew a similar tongue, but figured that there were other words that wouldn't be exactly right. Rip noted that it was a bit off, but the message came through correct enough. Olgar asked Rip in their tongue if he thought that I would be a good Linnorm King. I told them that I would not seek such a role, as I was not of their land and they did not deserve to have an outside dictate upon them. Rip told Olgar that this was always my answer. I told them that it wasn't right for someone to be under the rule of someone who was not native to their country.
Olgar nodded and said that he could at least respect that, but asked what I would have him do first. I told him that I'd have him work with Vaeren first to get the details down on the engine system of the bike. Olgar asked who this Vaeren was. I told him that he is a wizard who I taught the specifics. Olgar didn't seem to trust learning from a Wizard. Rip said that he'd talk to him and make sure it was done. I noted that he needed to ensure that Olgar would be set up. Rip said that he would, and then they worked to get Olgar situated.
I went to the library and started transferring books from the tablet to the sheaves of paper. I had gotten over one hundred and twenty pages in when Savah caught up with me, telling me that it was time for the ritual. I told her that I had not noticed, but that it was good of her to remember. We walked to the workshop where I had made the weapons and Faunra was already there. She indicated that I should probably get a drink or whatever before we started. I got out the special mead that I had saved for this and said a blessing over it.
Faunra seemed to be intrigued, but took her glass as well as Savah. I got all of the weapons set up that I had needed for the ritual and got into my upgraded armor. Faunra gave me a mixture of blood and diamond powder and bade me to paint sigils onto the weapons. The five weapons: LMG, Grenade Launcher, Bolter, Chain-Sword, and the Rifle were around me. When I started the ritual, I had to perform a weapon kata for each of the weapons. Good thing that I watched Equilibrium. After about ten minutes of going through the kata, the first weapon, the Bolter seemed to take on a mind of its own and lifted into the air in front of me.
I picked up the Chain-Sword and started a kata for using the heavy bladed weapon. I had sprung for Adamantine teeth for the chain, so I didn't want to worry everyone by starting it up. I focused for the ten minutes required and the Chain-Sword took up its position in front of me. I picked up the Grenade Launcher and felt a bit ridiculous going through the kata with it, but after the required ten minutes of practicing, it floated in place in front of me as well.
I picked up the LMG and went through the motions just the same. It still seemed very odd, but I followed through the motions and generated the same floating effect. The last one was the rifle that had gotten enhanced at the Runeforge. It followed through the motions and ensured that I went through the kata as best I could. It floated up in the pattern and I got my armor ready. We were fifty minutes in and it was time for twenty minutes of chanting.
Faunra started her chants up and they were some pretty archaic chants at that. It seemed that it was in a language that I was not familiar with, which seemed to be a more daunting task than anything else. Honestly, I have expected a "Cthulhu F'taghn" in there somewhere, but it never came up. After the twenty minutes, the weapons all glowed with the ephemeral energy. I grabbed each one in order and connected it up to the armor at an appropriate location.
The Grenade Launcher was placed on the left shoulder and melded almost immediately. The Light Machine Gun was next, and was placed on the right shoulder. It too, melded immediately and took its position. The Rifle was placed next on the armor and it melded into the armor on the left arm and lost most of its form. It was hidden behind the shield but still functional.
I put the Bolter in a holster that appeared in the right side of the armor, and the Chain-Sword went into a sheath that manifested in the armor on the left side. The whole process took twenty minutes. I took a good look at the equipment and ordered up the armor to power up and let me in. I looked at the visor and there was a new setup I could see several different additional views which looked to be targets for the additional weapons.
Every weapon seemed ready to go and targeting as best it could at my mental direction. I got out of the armor and ordered it powered down. Faunra noted that the ritual went well, that if it had failed, we would have known. I noted that there were some interesting interactions between the magic and the technology, in that it recreated some higher level technologies that I would never have been able to do so.
Faunra asked to see and I led her to the armor and gave it the command to open and let her in. Faunra went through the motions and started targeting everything in sequence. She asked me if what she saw was an accurate representation of each. I told her that it seemed like it was, but that it was not enough detail to see in a three-sixty radius, but that I could see well enough to target. Faunra nodded and asked if I thought that the same thing might happen for her.
I told her that her armor was not nearly as modified technologically, so it was kind of a crap-shoot for guessing. Faunra nodded and said that we would have to see, especially since she was going with different weaponry. Faunra left to go get her gear ready for the whatever rituals she had left to accomplish, and noted that she had a to reconfigure the rituals for her and the others. As she was attempting to leave she straightened up and noted that there was a free Wax-Hom if I was available to work on one of the kids.
I looked to Savah and asked if she wanted to give it a go on the weapons. She giggled a little and walked over to the armor to get in and started to try out the different functions. I cautioned her to walk down to the range if she wanted to actually check out the weapons. I stopped before walking out of the room and further cautioned her to not try the grenade launcher until she was out of the building, unless she got ahold of one of the "safer" grenades. Savah said that she wouldn't and smiled.
I walked over to where the uncanny valley version of Faunra was waiting and sent a thought to Veronica that I would be ready to work on getting her a voice. Veronica nodded an assent and signaled that she would head our way. The Wax-Hom and I walked in the direction of the workshop and three quarters of the way there, Veronica met up with us. I picked up Veronica and we walked to the infirmary that had been designated.
The "surgery" part of the enhancement was exceedingly easy. I didn't even need to focus. It was at the point that almost anyone could do the procedure, just beyond the ability of a normal person to do without specialized tools. It took two hours but when the project was done, Veronica spoke, verbally!
Her voice was a female combination of my voice and Faunra's. An odd combination of tones to say the least. The first thing that she had ever said was that thank the Wax-Hom and me. The Wax-Hom nodded and cleared up the work area. Veronica looked to me and I told her that the Wax-Hom wasn't Faunra, but a different version of her. Veronica nodded and said that she understood.
I told her that I was certain that once we were done with the other kids, we would probably start on getting Faunra's assistants done. Veronica stood up and asked how long I thought that we would be gone. I told her that I hoped that it wouldn't be too long. Veronica nodded and said that she would enjoy being able to communicate with her siblings. I asked her to be polite about it if she could. Veronica chuckled a little and said that she would.
We made our way back to the workshop that the four of them had been working on all of the various support equipment for the upcoming trek. Veronica told me that she'd tell them all what to expect of the procedure. I left them to speak while I went out and continued the reinforcement for the school walls. They were wood inside of the stone, because that was what we had available to make the school at the time, but with the ability to just create masses of stone walls out of the blue, especially with the twin rods, and make them safe against intrusion, we could easily get the wings to be multiple floors and still be safe. It would take weeks for me to do it on my own, but I could do one wing at a time and have a truly massive edifice.
I made my way back to the dining hall and everyone was demanding a movie night. Even Dame Rebekah and Chelger. Thinking to myself, I realized that I had a few options from the storage that I had, so I looked through it quick while Jonathan worked up food. All of us now had an additional four hours of the day and it was seeming that I was needing even less time asleep after one of Faunra's upgrades to my rings has started to come online. She had said that it would reduce me to needing only two hours of rest a night, and that she and Dame Rebekah were getting the same enhancements to their rings. Extra time to do what we needed.
I finally decided on Ironman 2, since we had skipped it to watch Avengers before we left last time. It was a good enough movie, and since we STILL had some time before we would end up splitting off for the night, I loaded up The Incredible Hulk after that. There was a lot of confusion about why the Hulk was different. When I explained that it was because the actor from the Incredible Hulk was insufferable and wouldn't work with the Ironman actor, Dame Rebekah of all people noted that she could understand that. She said that it really made it hard to work as a group when two people really butted heads. I think she was slyly referring to me.
With the second film done, we broke up the group for the night, with Jonathan noting that he would be ready tomorrow morning, at sunrise. Shayliss and he went off to their home above the Bolting Barghest. Dame Rebekah noting that she would be available at sunset, before leaving to get their Pseudo-Pegasi. As she was about to leave, Faunra told me about some changes to the ritual, since Jonathan would not be wearing the same armor. I took them in and I bid her good night before she teleported home. Savah and I went back to our room in the house to get an end to our day.
Before we went to sleep, Savah asked me who the most important people in my life were growing up. I told her that I had been raised by my grandparents, and that they were vital to a lot of my upbringing. She asked me to tell her about them and I did. She listened to the good stories and she praised them for those moments. She listened to the bad stories and she sat attentively and commiserated when she could. She thanked me for all of this before we said our good nights and went to bed.