Day 139: Moonday the 4th, Calistril, 4708

I got up and got ready for a day of crafting. And of rituals. And of meetings. And of preparations to leave. Why the hell did Sunday go by so damn fast? I got up and got dressed, before heading over to the school grounds to check in with everyone else. It was still before dawn, so I was surprised when Dame Rebekah and Chelger were both there. Faunra was as well, and they all smiled, indicating that they were going to be able to do the ritual as soon as Dame Rebekah and Chelger were done with their prayers. I shrugged and set about checking in on Jonathan, who was already in the kitchen.

I grabbed the pot of coffee that was there for everyone and absentmindedly made a rune of blessing over it, before bringing it back to everyone. Everyone involved in the ritual, and both Virina and Fareine both ended up drinking some as well while we waited for Dame Rebekah and Chelger's prayers to commence. Since it was Dame Rebekah who would be performing the weapon katas, we really had to wait for her.

Fareine and Virina were both pestering me with questions about a variety of topics, while I sluggishly answered to the best of my ability. I informed them both that we'd have to go to a meeting with the town council a little later, so I would be working in one of the workshops even later after that. They both accepted that and went off to ask someone else questions. Or maybe they saw that Dame Rebekah and Chelger were both heading back into the dining hall.

With all of the required participants finally available, we made our way to the best area that we could to attempt the ritual. We started off with Dame Rebekah picking up the three matching swords and her longbow. Faunra sanctified the ritual area and got Dame Rebekah doing her stances. She went through the required motions and performed admirably. Faunra had successfully set up the ritual space and called down the requisite energies, so it fell to me to beseech her ancestors to help in this endeavor.

After Dame Rebekah had finished doing the katas, spectral copies of her ancestors came into existence. Her elven grandfather took up the first sword, while her human grandmother took up the second sword. Her human grandfather was the third ghostly form generated, and it took up the third sword. The bow, her last kata, generated the form of her elven grandmother. When the last weapon was taken up, all of the ghostly representations disappeared, and the weapons floated to her command.

With all of us having this ritual conducted, it appears that we will be going in force to this final encounter. I can only hope that all of this is enough. That and the special preparations that I will be finishing up on. When the ritual was completed Dame Rebekah and Chelger both practiced with the weapons with a little bit of amusement. It was a bit like watching what Faunra and Shalelu had done, and from the outside, what Savah and I must have looked like.

Faunra came up to me and indicated that she was going to be needing to give all of my gear and equipment a once over today to make sure that all of the enchantments were the correct ones. I told her that I trusted her, and asked if she wanted me to represent the group for the Town Council meeting. Faunra nodded with a grin, and said that everyone else was SUPER busy, what with getting ready for the trip, and that the group could only spare one person for the meeting. I asked about Dame Rebekah, and Faunra said that the two of them had to help get the town's defenses bumped up. I asked about Jonathan and Faunra asked me if I really wanted Jonathan to go to the meeting for us.

I realized what kind of chaos that Jonathan would bring and came to the conclusion that the issue was settled. I told her that I got the hint, and wished her well on her day of checking all of the enchantments and such. I said liar under my breath but covered it with a cough. She giggled and went back to her "work". I went back to the house to find Savah up and about. Apparently, the enchantment to make it so we only needed four hours of sleep was in full effect now.

We talked for a bit and she told me that she would be there for me at the council meeting, but that she didn't really expect it to go nearly as badly as it had in the past. I looked at her with a look on my face that said, "really?" but didn't say anything. I trusted Savah fully after all, but other people? That was another thing all together. We got ready and made our way on my bike. We parked it in the Town Garrison's stables which had been converted into a sort of garage. I waved to Paltero, who was checking out his bike for his next trip out to the Farm Lands. He waved back, and finished going through his checklist and getting ready.

We walked over to the Town Hall together and headed to the Council chamber. Inside were the Mayor; Kendra Deverin, Father Abstalar Zantus, Ilsoari Gandethus, Kaye Tesarani, and Ameiko Kaijitsu. A five-member council meeting. They left out the Valdemar and Scarnetti representatives. Mayor Deverin asked for both of us to be seated and called the meeting to order. The starting notes for the meeting indicated that the Valdemar clan representative was currently dealing with a medical issue and would not be making it to this meeting. Also, the Scarnetti clan representative, Titus, was currently still in Magnimar, and had yet to respond to an official request for representative change for these impromptu meeting notifications.

I smiled a bit when I realized that this was almost engineered to be the best case scenario for me. I had thought that I only had to worry about Ilsoari and Kaye. Other aspects of the meeting were brought up and accomplished and finally I was asked if there was any pressing information that needed to be brought to the attention of the Town Council. Savah nudged me and I stood up to tell them about what we had discovered about Special K and what we were looking to do. I added that we would be leaving in the morning to head to this mythical place, and gods willing, be back as soon as we can.

Father Zantus asked some questions to get what specifics that he could, and I answered them as best I could. Kaye asked what was going to be done with each of our "institutions" with us gone, and Savah answered that the each of the businesses that we were creating and running would be run by the members remaining. Ilsoari asked if the school would continue to exist. I told him that the five homunculi would be tutors if I did not make it back somehow, as they had been gifted voices and there were precautions in place to stop them from causing problems if the worst happens.

Savah looked at me when I answered like that, because this last bit was news to her, but didn't say anything about it. Mayor Deverin asked if the Town Guard would continue to be provided with the ammunition and support that they might need for their new equipment, should the worst happen. Savah answered that the homunculi would still be able to complete the work that they have already been accomplishing. Ameiko was the last one who had a question. She simply asked if we were planning on having a parade after all of this was done. I was kind of dumbfounded at this, but she added that when all of this was said and done, we all deserved it.

The Mayor ended the meeting with telling us she thanked us for this update and asked Savah to keep them updated when she heard anything of import when she got any missives from us. Savah declared that she would, and the Town Council ended the meeting. When we left from the hall, Savah pulled me aside and asked what the precautions were for the Homunculi not "causing problems". I told her that there was a series of five vials that had been set aside which would remove the bindings from me. The only reason why I had not done it so far was because I had not yet asked them if they wanted it.

Savah seemed to think about it for a few minutes while we made our way back to the bikes. By the time we had gotten back to the bikes, Savah asked if there was a way for her to do the same with Bailey. I told her that she would have to ask Faunra, but I was certain that it was at least possible. Savah nodded and said that she would do so when we got back. I nodded absentmindedly until I caught that she was basically saying that there would be no need as we'd be heading back soon. I appreciated her positivity.

We made our way back to the house, and she smiled and asked me to be ready for dinner. I told her that I would and that I was heading over to the workshops. As I left the house, I conjured up the Unseen Crafters to perform a lot of routine maintenance around the property. The least I could do to ensure that everything is in good condition while I was gone. I gave the set of fifteen orders to work on improving the house in every way that I could think of that they'd have the resources for.

I walked over and looked in at Niddler's farm while I was on my way over. He was tending to his burgeoning livestock while there were Unseen Crafters setting up further fences, partitions, and raised beds for the greenhouses. I thought to him that he was doing a good job, and he sent back to me thanks. I really have to wonder how he got ahold of overalls, especially since denim wasn't a fabric here, but somehow he got it done. His tiny pitchfork and hat was a great touch too.

I went over to the school and saw that some of this first class of students were talking with each other, at points very animatedly. I nodded to them and went to check on the plane. I summoned up a group of Unseen Craftsmen to give every single aspect of the plane a once over. It would not behoove us to fall out of the sky when we get halfway from Magnimar to Kaer Maga. It certainly wouldn't create a good look. And not a single one of us was a musician or a politician anyway.

I went on to the workshop where the Unseen Crafters were assembling the batteries. There was a large amount that had been built up. A large amount that would be distributed out to the other two users of the technology that I had brought into focus, Faunra and Dame Rebekah. Maybe they'll find a way to enchant the armor so as to not even need them anymore, but that won't be until after we are likely done with all of this Special K nonsense.

I went on over to check out the last little tidbits that I could work on that might in some way help us. I spent a hell of a lot of time setting up a rune on each piece of ammunition that stored a small electrical charge that would strike on the first entity that was not me that contacted it. Not a lot of damage in any way, certainly not enough to even hurt most people, but every little bit helps, right? And if this world was going to have something like that, that can just "work", I would be stupid not to use it. Pity it can't but used for electrical power, but it's more like a capacitor than a battery.

Four hours of that in fact. This was a fairly intense bit of work. With not too much time left, I thought about what else I could do to help our chances. I figured that I'd just get everything in order and do what I could to make sure that it would be an early start of the day tomorrow. Up in the morning with the rising sun and all of that. I got the last group of Unseen Crafters online working on making as much as possible on building whatever they could for Savah's shop. A fifteen day, fifteen "person" crew that works non-stop making weapon and armor accessories.

I left the workshop and went to go get the two metamagic rods that I knew that I would be needing to use. I went out and enhanced the walls of the school as much as I could. More important than elegance or thickness, the walls needed to perform their new duty in stopping the possibility of an incorporeal incursion. By the time that I had utilized the extent of my abilities and those of the rods, there was fairly solid wall around the building that would require that the entities fly up at least twenty feet to try to penetrate. It wasn't the best defense, as it would be figured out with simple flight, but it was at least a start. I'd focus on getting the rest of the walls done up tomorrow morning before we leave.

With the last few hours of what I considered work time I decided to draw up some simple schematics and plans. Honestly, they are not so much of a set of plans, as just something to give people ideas. It is so that if anything did happen to me, someone could maybe take up the track. I've tried to give Savah enough knowledge to be able to pull out any information that she needs from the tablet, but keeping everything powered and ready will eventually fail. Even with my focus on ensuring that the items are kept secure, this is a dangerous place.

If I do make it back, I'll make sure I get all of the rest of the books pulled out from the tablet. Honestly, I don't think vehicle maintenance books will be that useful, but it will increase the size of the school's library, and our own personal one. Not a lot of light ready, but technical manuals and survival books a plenty. Maybe Chask will help me pad it out with appropriate books from this world as well. Can't hurt.

I finished up with my work day activities and gathered up all of the gear to be utilized tomorrow. We wouldn't be hiking, or riding, or even stopping to camp. We'd be, for the most part, "back on tour, city to city". So to speak anyway. Drop off an ambassador in Magnimar, then head straight to Kaer Maga with Vachedi to help his sons.

Well, finding a place to land for the plane in Kaer Maga might be fun, especially with everything going on, so the bikes might be a bit of a necessity. Maybe Dame Rebekah can set us up with some horses or some such to not stick out. I looked at my armor again. Yep, not going to stick out at all. Maybe I'll keep the bike anyway. It is not like it is going to hurt. Might even help for speedy getaways.

I got all of the gear that I was using on these "kinetic actions", including enough different "grenades" to make me feel worried, if it wasn't for the fact that they'd be stored in an extradimensional chamber that Faunra had designed. She really had taken a lot of the worry out of everything with her magic. The kind of magic that we would be facing, however, doesn't really give me the best feelings. And the insight that the runes might provide is probably best served waiting until other actions might not interfere with their predictions.

I got my gear loaded up onto the plane as best I could. I wouldn't be flying for several hours in the armor, so it was positioned in the cockpit right beside where I would be guiding the plane. Good to have close by. All of the appropriate weapons and equipment were stationed on it as best as it could be. Guns in holsters, chainsword in its sheath. All of my exploring and fast assault gear was in the bag that I had been storing in the trunk of my car when I got to this place. It had since been enchanted by Faunra to be much larger on the inside.

That was the story of a lot of things that I had started out with. Those items which seemed useful or at least as useful as one of the present representatives here, ended up enchanted. Those which were not, ended up by the wayside or replaced. There was a LOT of pruning going on as well. One didn't need a lot of purification tablets when your hydration pouch was enchanted to fill up with a total of two gallons of water a day, and so on.

A lot of the whole "prepping" thing is kind of rendered moot when a simple incantation and six seconds can generate enough water to comfortably drink, or purify any found food. Or a different one can create a stone that will provide for enough warmth to minimize the need of any but the most basic shelter. Then again, there are rings that will eliminate the need to drink or eat ever again, potions that cure you of almost any disease back on the old world, and spells that can teleport someone over vast distances in less time than it takes to really start a vehicle. All of this makes the conventional prepping from back on Terra obsolete.

I walked around the plane's cockpit in a kind of daze, not knowing if this was the last time that I would end up seeing this town. For some reason, this trip had a lot more foreboding about it than any of the others. Maybe it is that I am now reflecting on what I really have to lose, or maybe I just realize that we are dealing with someone who has the power to sequester themselves somewhere for millennia and not feel the ravages of time. Maybe it is just me being a bit paranoid. Time will tell.

I finished my triple checks and headed over to the house. Savah had a nice peaceful dinner already set up, and we ate together and talked further about everything that might come up. I gave her the exact instructions for the vials that I had had prepared for the Homunculi, and explanations of what to look for in their behavior. It seems really shitty that the first thing that will tell her that we might have failed is the fact that the entities that have been making such good things for this town might lose their tiny minds. What a way to compound bad news with worse.

We talked about other plans and what we were looking forward to, what all we would do when this was over with, and where we could go. Apparently there is no such thing as "tropical island vacations" here. That is because all of the tropical islands are either inside of a massive, permanent hurricane, infested with some snake people called the Yuan'ti, infested with cyclopes or pirates, or whole cloth owned by dragons, which may or may not be involved in eugenics programs. We resolved to either have a week-long vacation in some city in Andoran, where the Ambassador could set us up with a good location, or find some nice place in the woods where there are not any monsters for miles, and take the plane, touch down in a clearing, and build a stonework cabin.

Honestly, it should only take a few minutes anymore. About the same as putting up a tent back on Terra before. Especially if I have access to the metamagic rods that Faunra had bought for the group. I don't know about leaving structures like that up, but honestly, it might be just the thing for Desna's followers to keep track of. Little shelters in the wilderness for the wanderers to use on their walks. Maybe they can start up a kind of travel hostel map for them. Them or the Pathfinders, or maybe both.

We finished up our dinner together and sat down together to watch a movie, The Princess Bride again. Savah curled up to me and we enjoyed cuddling together and watching the movie together. A nice relaxing night together. Tomorrow starts the mission. Savah lets me know how much she will miss me, and also just what ends she will go to if I don't make it back. I took the threat seriously.