Xander and the Black Dagger 6 Author: Tohonomike Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners...it will start off with the Joss/ME characters but also the Lawrence Watt-Evans characters from his Ethshar books aren't mine either and any real-life folks are clearly not mine. NO money is involved. None are mine.

The arrival of Jenny Calendar, or Jana of the Kalderash as she decided in introducing herself to Xander's family, had led to a few embarrassing stories of Xander's pre-Ethshar years coming out…the Hyena and the mummy fascinated the mages, and the bug lady and mummy gal caused a few chuckles, though tinged with sympathy.

Jana began to relax a little, though she was still worried about those in Sunnydale having to deal with Angelus; she only hoped that the computer diskette to which she'd saved the spell was undamaged and soon found. She knew she'd miss Rupert, but Xander had told her he was only now beginning to start a tapestry with a Sunnydale scene in it; it required memory spells, and might take a while to make. He was glad she was here, not only because she could provide a newer frame of reference for the tapestry, but because being back where it all began for him in this world brought back a feeling of homesickness—not so much for the place he'd come from, but the Scoobies were family. And being able to go buy a lifetime's supply of toilet paper would make his life a lot better. There were spells that took care of certain things, but it seemed wrong if he could find a normal alternative.

Jenny had come up with an interesting possibility for the tapestry, the perspective of the other tapestry with just enough wall color around the edges so that stepping through would still leave four feet before making contact. And they could always just keep something in the attic room to ensure they wouldn't accidentally cycle back to Ethshar.

Tabaea and the others were determined to begin at once, but Xander pointed out they'd need to concentrate on it for the next several weeks, especially since he needed to go and memorize the locations for the Ethshar of the Rocks guildhouse and overlord tapestries linking them to Ethshar of the Sands and Ethshar of the Spices equivalents. Each would bring them 10,000 rounds of gold, and 1,000 rounds of silver per year retainer to periodically check on each piece and ensure the magic remained strong.

Alexander of Terra, Captain Tikri, Jana of the Kalderash and their belongings for the trip all were placed carefully on the flying carpet, and they rose gently into the air and were soon on their way. The policeman, named Apprentice Minister of Investigation, did not take well to flying but luckily wasn't prone to a weak stomach. On the other hand, Jana of the Kalderash was exuberant and began an hours-long discussion on magic and its uses. They arrived over the Overlord's Fortress about mid-afternoon, and circled a few times to let the occupants see them and hopefully not interfere with the landing itself.

Debarking, they waited to be approached by the liveried Guard, then Xander announced themselves.

"I am Alexander of Terra, here to see the Overlord; he invited me here."

"Your title and business, Sir?"

"I am Archmage Alexander of Terra, and the Overlord invited me here on his business."

"Oh, sorry Archmagus, I'll let the Captain of the Guard know right away." The guard scurried away, complaining to himself about who but a Wizard flew on a carpet?

"The Overlord will see you now, Archmagus" the Captain leading an escort addressed him, "If you and your companions would allow me to guide you to him?"

The meeting had gone well, but as Xander expressed to the Overlord, a couch seemed to have the aura of a living thing. 'These people must just be a little weird, or have weird punishments for convicts,' the young mage considered. As they flew out of the palace, a room of the palace magically sealed and then set to pictograph for use in a tapestry, they headed to the see about lodging in a nice enough inn somewhere between the mage area and the commercial area. They'd received a few suggestions from their contacts back home in Ethshar of the Sands, including a couple that might be purchased due to the advancing age of owners—one with only a blacksmith grandson and four teenaged daughters seeking apprenticeships rather than keeping the place.

Captain Tikri volunteered to move their baggage inside if the two magic types wanted to size up the neighborhood.

"Well Jana?"

"I still can't believe we're in a different world, but sure. Let's see what's here."

"Thanks Tikri, and here's a few rounds of gold and silver to set us up a tab, here." Jana smiled as the mage offered his arm and they headed down the street. Twice they saw a girl wrestle with some animated furniture that reminded him of the couch up in the palace, but she'd gotten away before they could catch up with her and ask questions.

"That's still strange, Alexander," Jana smiled with a nod to the girl slamming a door at the end of the lane. "After you buy me something to eat, why don't we poke our noses into their business and ask if this furniture thing is a new fad?"

"You just want to learn the higher-level spells…"

"That too, but not if I have to chase my possessions all over town," she laughed, "I think I'll just settle for ageless beauty."

"Okay, we'll see about that once you're ready."

"There IS such a spell?" she asked as they entered an herbalist's shop, a male witch coming forward to greet them."

"Of course, but there are some…lifestyle choices that have to be made," he told her seriously, such as it being extremely difficult to produce children after most such spells. He turned to the herbalist, "I noted a few types of tea listed in your window I hadn't recalled from Ethshar of the Spices or Sands; might we be able to purchase a sample of them and get directions to a bakery or food vendor this late in the afternoon?"

"Well, if you like preserves, breads and jellies, I actually have a fair selection here, and that table in the corner would give you a nice view of the street as well as my shop."

Jana looked around with a smile and nodded, "That would be very nice. Alexander?"

"Sounds good to me," he agreed, and smiled to the proprietor, "We'll have a sampling of different ones if possible, or what you have open and fresh if not convenient."

The light meal was quite nice, and they'd seen a few people head over to the place with the crazy furniture, including someone looking like a guardsman or such. As they finished, they stepped out, and looked up. High in the air was that young woman standing in place and looking for something. They waited until she came down and the crowd dispersed somewhat before approaching.

"That was impressive," Xander complimented, "When I tried that out a couple years back I didn't go quite that high…did you find what you looked for?"

"No," the girl sighed, then noted the mixture of robes over regular clothes Xander and Jana favored, "You wouldn't happen to have seen a couch moving about, would you, Sir and Lady?" She described it, causing Xander and Jana to shake their heads in amusement.

"Oh," the girl sighed, "Sorry I bothered you…"

"Oh. We weren't shaking our heads about that; it's just that when we visited with the Overlord earlier he was reclining on what probably was it. It had a life aura about it. We thought it was just a weird Ethshar of the Rocks fad…"

"So you saw it! Well that makes it easier, I suppose."

"Um, you look tired; maybe you should rest first, then deal with your strange furniture."

"Thank you! I will, but not for long, I have to get my master back," the girl emphasized as she entered her home and they shook their heads and headed back to the inn.

The next couple of days had seen the addition of the inn, but with the current owners staying on as managers—that way they could have money set aside and not have many expenses. The couple, Iosep and Anarise, were only into their forties, but with mainly girls, had been finding themselves hard-pressed to settle their children's futures. Xander had noted that the thirteen-year-old seemed to have a fair amount of witch style magic, but also hints of other kinds, though not strong. He'd made the offer to take her on as an apprentice in magic and business; as she was pushing the age for finding a trade, all in the family had been happy—and to find a mage that was of high rank in his own city and would now be their own benefactor spoke well, especially when it was revealed that Jana at her age was re-apprenticing in the new form.

The girl, Thedra, reminded Xander of a tomboy version of Willow, and she'd after a short time of talking to Jana opened up and showed a personality that was serious in what was important, but light in what was not. She'd be a good fit with his family back in Ethshar of the Sands.

They stayed for two more days in the city, and this gave the girl time to pack and say some good-byes. While Xander planned to expand into the city, chances would be few for his new apprentice to see her family for any length of time before the tapestries finished early next year. And he promised her that instead of just grudge work like other apprentices, and there wasn't any getting out of it, she'd be worked so that she'd physically, magically and mentally be prepared for possible inclusion of the business in the future. No need to venture out on her own unless it was her choice. She voiced that it sounded a lot like the deal he'd set up with her folks, to which he'd nodded.

Life was looking up for a few folks in Ethshar of the Rocks.