Day 155: Wealday the 20th, Calistril, 4708
I woke up after the four hours of required rest and just stayed still in bed, just looking at the lovely lady at my side. I knew that I needed to get the project down quickly, and to do that, I would need to put in some actual hours in the shops. A LOT of work needed to be done, but with my estimation, I should be done with at least steam power generator before we have to leave for the Golemwalk Parade. I wanted to spend some time just looking at her. I spent a good half an hour before Savah asked me without opening her eyes if I was going to get going or if I'd just lay there all day with her.
I sighed and said that I wanted to just stay here all day, but that I need to get work done on the surprise. Savah smiled and opened her eyes, twirling a strand of hair around her finger and said that if I told her what the surprise was, she'd be REALLY grateful. I almost fell for it, but managed to stay strong, and let her know that I would get it done quicker for her if I started earlier. Savah sighed and relented, letting me up. I got up and got her some breakfast before sending a mental message to the Quads that we would need to start working on the generator officially today.
The Quads all replied back telepathically that they were ready to work on it. I told them that we would start right down by the river, and they said that they would all be there shortly. I went straight there, since it wasn't even dawn yet, and used my flashlight to get a verification of the grounds. Sure enough, I found the area that I was planning on using had developed some debris and needed some work. I summoned up the Unseen Crafters to prepare the grounds for work. The task wouldn't take long, so they wouldn't last long, but it was needed to be done quickly and there was no other way.
After long enough time of being out there alone with the invisible groundskeepers, the Quads all rolled up on miniature power-wheels. I lifted and eyebrow and Veronica told me that they needed something that could at least get them to the point that they could move at the same speed as everyone else. I smiled and said that I was glad that they had all used their initiative and done something cool like that. They all got off of their mechanical mounts and walked over. I told them that I would start with the shell of the building as soon as the last Unseen Crafter winked away, and that then we would need to start putting in the various pipes and pumps and whatever to allow us to have continual water supply for it.
The Quads agreed and we watched as slowly, one by one, the invisible forces moving things around stopped doing so. The Quads each asked me little questions bit by bit about the plans that Savah and I have about the future. I told them what we were thinking and that I felt that the Quads were going to figure big into it. They seemed to be happy about that. I took a second to think and resolved that I would be setting up a recreation room for the Quads a bit later, in the school.
Once the last unseen crafter dissolved into nothingness, their job finished, I set up the site for operation. A good solid foundation of stone, from the Wall of Stone spell utilizing the metamagic rod of widen and ectoplasm. For such a sturdy requirement, I went with the whole, twenty solid inches of stone, surely enough to support. I mean, if this wasn't enough to hold up our generator and tanks, I don't know what will. I put up the four two story walls, the second floor, and the pitched roof after all of that as well.
Getting into the swing of things, I focused and converted the outside to a cladding of iron, and with another action, the middle of the walls, floors, and roof, had a thin core of lead put into place as well. It wouldn't do to have rampant spying in this place. Then, we started work on installing piping, tanks, and the rigging that we would need to get the other equipment into place. With my armor and other enhancing equipment, I could hold up the beams and other equipment in place and the Quads could run on them and bolt them into place. It was the best we could do without a forklift, or Jonathan, present to do the heavy lifting.
After a full eight hours of work, we had made a LOT of progress. Fully half of the steam boiler jets were enchanted and installed, with massive turbines and the armatures created for the four generators were already fabricated and then hardened. The generator portions of them would be finished early tomorrow. I finished off with transfiguring all of the copper wiring that would be needed for the generator wiring. There was a LOT of components that were already fabricated by the Quads.
When we had done all that we could, I wished the Quads well and they went to their power-wheels, having been fully recharged by the attached solar panels, and rode back to their workshops. I went back to the house quietly walked through the doors, until I got to the shop and found Savah there with Erika and Vaeren. She was discussing some minor details of the shop upkeep and how the morning was going. It was noonish so I swept in quickly to gently grab her around the waist and lift her up. Savah reacted a bit at first but relaxed back into my grip when she realized it was me.
I asked her through the voice modulator if she required sustenance, and if so, to which location would she desire to be conveyed. Savah giggled and thought about it for a minute before saying that she was hoping that she would be having a romantic lunch with her husband at The White Deer, but he was nowhere to be seen, I would have to do. I responded in the mechanical voice that I would convey her to that location promptly. Savah giggled and told Erika and Vaeren that Erika had control of the store for the rest of the day, and that if they saw her husband, to tell him that she ran off with the big burly construct behind her. Erika giggled and wished her a good rest of her day.
I took Savah into my arms as we left the house and flew directly to the White Deer Inn. As we landed, I set down Savah and opened up my armor, closed it up and locked it with the magical alarm that Faunra had set it up with. We walked into the restaurant, and Garridan welcomed us warmly. He walked us directly to the booth that he had frequently set aside for us. Garridan asked us if we wanted the usual, and Savah whispered something in his ear. Garridan smiled and nodded went off to get whatever Savah said prepared.
After a few minutes, Garridan came out with two mugs, one for me and one for Savah. Mine smelled strongly of cinnamon and I could only guess it was the Cinnamon Whispers Cider from Two Knights. Gavin did make a fine cider, it even reminded me of the cider from Hicks Orchard back in Upstate New York. I asked Savah what she had gotten, and she told me Rose Water and Lavender. One of Garridan's daughters then brought out a small bowl of various shelled nuts and a plate of thinly sliced carrots, turnips, and radishes, with some kind of dipping sauce.
We both picked at the mixed plates, with me being pleasantly amused to find walnuts among the shelled mixed nuts, and that the dipping sauce was a melted cheese base. Savah didn't say much but seemed just happy enough to be sitting with me. I reached across the table to hold her hand and told her that I was glad to be with her right here, right now. Savah smiled for a minute before her smile disappeared and she asked me if I would still be happy a month from now. I was a bit shocked with her asking that, but I reaffirmed to her that it was my most strident goal to make things better for her and make this place a home for us and our future family.
Savah seemed to feel a bit better after that, and we continued to eat and make smaller talk about what our plans were for the future. I told her straight away that I had no real desire in and of myself to head back to my original world permanently, or even on a temporary basis, unless she herself wanted to go there. Savah said that she might want to someday, but that she definitely wanted us to be more secure and maybe for the children to be born before travelling the planes. I joked a little and noted that even on my old world, there was a recommendation that women do not fly in planes while in the later stages of pregnancy. Savah looked at me oddly and I noted that this was due to air pressure and humidity changes more than anything, something that our current plane does not do.
Savah asked if I remembered how far along it was that she should not travel by plane. I told her that if I remembered correctly, it was something like a month out from the projected delivery date. Savah nodded but seemed a bit pressed in her thinking. I told her that she shouldn't feel pressured to make any kind of decision or wanting to go to my world, that it can wait. Savah nodded and said that she thanked me for not stressing her about it. I told her that there really wasn't supposed to be any stress coming from me, as I really didn't feel the need to go back any time soon.
Savah squeezed my hand lovingly as Garridan and his wife Tannsy came out with the two most perfectly cooked pepper crusted venison steaks I've ever seen. They set Savah's in front of her and mine in front of me. I thanked them both and Savah did as well, and they went back to service their other guests. As we ate and talked, I realized that I never truly knew how worried Savah had actually been about losing me during the trials of Karzoug and the other evils that we had to deal with. Granted, I actually think that the closest I came to death was dealing with Aldern, but that is beside the point.
I confirmed to Savah that I was taking steps with the rest of the group to ensure that we would never be at risk of that again. I did note that there were some things that I had promised to help the rest of the group with, but aside from those, I didn't have any inclinations of anything aside from being with her in Sandpoint and maybe seeing our school flourish. Savah nodded and asked if there was any word about what the rest of the group might be looking to do. I offered up that I knew that Faunra was going to want help getting the temporal portal functioning again, but that was a long-term thing. I added that in the more immediate timeframe, I expected that she would like some assistance with helping Shalelu with the issue with the Drow of Crying Leaf.
Savah listened to that and asked if I thought that it would be fairly dangerous. I thought about it and offered up that I didn't expect that we would be front lining the thing, unless Shalelu really needed the assistance. I offered up that I expected that I would be infinitely more useful getting materials and tools into the hands of the elves. Savah nodded and asked if I had any further idea about when we would be leaving. I added that I figured that Faunra would let me know when she wanted to head up there and added that I would make sure that I kept Savah up to date.
Thinking on Dame Rebekah's requirements, I offered up that Dame Rebekah had indicated that she would be heading to the Worldwound and would likely want some assistance in the way of getting whatever goals she wanted done, completed. Savah nodded and asked what I thought about that. I told her that it was likely with a name like that, and with what I knew, we'd be dealing with demons, so her Runeforged sword would be especially useful. I offered up that I would try to minimize the amount of technology that any demons see, so as to not have any chance of them passing the information along to some other evil entity.
Savah asked what I planned to do for that. I told her that I'd have to seek out some alchemical method of changing the equipment that I make for others if the ownership changes. Savah asked me if I knew how to do that already. I shrugged, saying that I had an idea, and that I'd work it out with Faunra. Maybe if we add it in to the enchantment, it can be a cheap enough. Savah nodded and said that Faunra could likely set it up as long as I could get her the information. I thanked her, as there was still a lot of things that I just didn't know about this world, and Savah was still an excellent source for them.
Then Savah asked me something that I didn't even really consider. Was there any other adventure that I was personally looking to accomplish. I told her that I had not even considered that, as I was more than happy to just settle into the semi-retired life of being the principal of a new school for technology, along with being a Pathfinder, increasing the technological level of the area, and not to mention the most important, a future father. Savah smiled and held my hand tightly when I mentioned that and reminded me that there were people who had access to much higher levels of technology that I had brought forth, and that it might behoove us to find out what all they had access to, even if it was just so that I didn't try to trounce on anyone's toes or redo work that had already been done.
It was an important reminder. Maybe when we head over to the Worldwound with Dame Rebekah, we could stop off in Numeria. Probably sans ship, as while it might be seen as a magical oddity here, it would probably be identified immediately as some form of technology there, and as such, ripe for plundering. We finished off our meal with more little details about how I was getting closer to working on her surprise, now that the power generation facility for the school and the town were getting close to being finished. Savah tried to ply me for details, but I kept up with the not telling her anything more.
I'm pretty sure that I will regret this in the future, but hopefully she understands that this isn't just for her, or me, or even the group, but for everyone in this town. As part of the schooling in my facility, I'd also like to be increasing the total capability of the town. I'd put it down to offering up a fully paid six-week course for each person from the farms and the town, six people at a time, to get familiarized with what my school had to offer and what to expect from different things that they might encounter. Of course, they would be getting slightly stronger, faster, healthier, intelligent, perceptive, and emotionally balanced. Maybe there would be further capabilities that we could augment later on, but that would something for later research.
We finished off our lunch and headed back home. Garridan wouldn't dream of accepting payment from us, so I just used a little bit of legerdemain and some of my transmutation capability to convert both of Savah and I's plates to solid platinum. Just a little something to be a thank you. Savah smiled as I did it and left a few coins as well for a tip. We walked out of the restaurant, and I summoned my armor back onto me, picked Savah up gently, and flew back towards our home.
We had a few hours, so we decided that we should spend some time just relaxing and doing whatever Savah wanted. This just happened to be watching some movies in bed, so that was what we did! We watched her favorite, Princess Bride, and a couple of other movies that were on our previous roster, and she snickered a bit at some things that had obviously made their way into the designs of my equipment. In between watching movies and relaxing, we talked more about what would happen with our plans and everything. I told her how much I intended to support her in everything, and we talked about what we wanted to do with getting a place to relax in away from the town. I told her that once we pick out a place, I would get there and start building it as I could. Savah mentioned how if we were not there, it could be difficult to keep other people and things from taking it over. I told her that I'd figure it out, that I was sure that there was something that we could do.
By the end of our movie binge, it was time to put the farm and everything to bed for the day. Niddler was doing a great job being the head of the farm, but sometimes even he could use a bit of checking in. He really had taken it on as his entire reason for being for some reason. Maybe he just really liked caring for the little creatures, like it filled some void in him. Savah went back to the store to close up everything and I went over to the farm to take a look in at Niddler. He and Fareine were busy working away on Scratchpoint and they both waved before hustling the herd back into their coops and finishing their discussion.
I waved back to them and decided to check in on the Quads and the rest of the prospective students in the school. As I walked into the main hall, I could see Olandil and Andel were discussing some of the different aspects of the electrical gadgets that I had made. Andel seemed to be a bit more cautious about the things while Olandil was a bit more curious about how they functioned. I smiled as I went on, to find Virina and Olgar in the garage looking over some aspects of Olgar's bike. It was nice to see those two getting along.
I went down to the labs where I expected to see the Quads working away, but in the Chemistry Lab I found Halder and Maria, both discussing the propellent that I used for the firearms that I designed and made. I wondered a bit where the Quads were, so I kept looking. I went through the other labs and there was nothing, so I went up to the library and found an interesting sight. Gunda was there talking to a one-and-a-half-foot tall version of moth-winged elf dressed in Russian finery. Gunda saw me and smiled, beckoning me over to the both of them.
I walked over in my armor, having not bothered even taking it off. Gunda welcomed me over and introduced me to Dmitri Petrovitch and introduced me to them. Apparently, Dmitri was vastly interested in our prospective school and wanted to apply to be a professor of Philosophy, having studied widely of various branches. I gave them a look and asked them if they knew of the Socratic or Aristotelian methods. Dmitri looked at me with a smile and said that while they might ask me how much I can value Socrates, and commented that Aristotle might be a bit on the nose, considering his discourse on metaphysics. I smiled back to them and said that it had been a while since I had heard someone else mention Metaphysics, but that it was always a princely ambition of mine to listen to what others thought about it.
Dmitri smiled wider and told me that Fortuna must have smiled upon them, such that they would grace the presence of this academy. I replied back that this dialectic between us should undoubtedly continue, as even with luck being on our side for this, we should take control of our selves to prevent something else from controlling us. Dmitri smiled even more and offered up that it is uncomfortable for them to doubt about the status of their continued permission to help the students at this school. I smiled and offered up that it is even more ridiculous to assume that anything will be here tomorrow, with certainty, but that the best that I can offer up is we should continue to seek the truth and dance while we can.
Dmitri fluttered up and laughed with me, Gunda long having been lost to the specifics of our back and forth but picking up on the fact that we were trading subtext (or rather overt meanings) in our conversation on top of what we were actually saying. After we laughed a bit, I told Dmitri that they are more than welcome to discuss philosophy with any student that wishes to have discussions, but that I would not require it for the school, that it would be better that those who would know, came to the study of their own volition. Dmitri agreed and I told them that they can take up whatever accommodations that would befit them, as long as no others are indisposed.
Dmitri agreed and went back to talking with Gunda. I bid them well and went to find my errant homunculi. Eventually, I found them in the relaxation area of the academy. They were all reading different books in their little masterfully crafter easy chairs. I smiled seeing them and left them to their own devices. I left the school and went back to the house, to remove the armor (and have some unseen servants do the maintenance on it), and just spend the rest of my day with Savah. All in all, it was a really good day.