Gemwright

[Day 12 | Day 4 at Karmm]

The next morning, I wake up, and find Rosa is already gone. I do a quick check, and nothing was stolen, not that I thought she would. Instead I find a short letter, written on some of my spare paper. "Any time you're in town, ask for me, and I'll warm your bed again. It is my destiny as a female. -R" The single letter of her signature is heavily stylized. I sigh, fold up the paper, and put it away.

Wed hadn't shown up with today's stuff, so I set to work implementing Rosa's suggestions for the food cart. The freezer was a bit colder than I felt it should be, so I slightly reduced the power of the crystals. Hopefully this is good. With the functionality completed, I start swapping out gems for other colors. Hana seems to like green, so I go heavier on that than other colors, about 20-25% of it ends up being Emerald.

While swapping out colors, I'm thinking about Hanamaya. I know we're in love. But she asked me to bang Rosa. Maybe my common sense is just not meshing with this world. I was prepared for her to be my one and only, but of course, most every man wants to fuck unlimited women.

I guess my primary goal should be to confirm that she's really okay with it, and not just saying she's okay with it. I really don't want her to encourage this because she thinks it's the only way she can stay with me.

I don't have much time to consider my strategy, so I resolve to start the day by showing her the food truck. She sticks her head out of her cart and shouts at me. "Hey Grey! My water isn't working!" ...Huh? Oh, shoot, I never put the water stone back.

Me, "Sorry! I'll put the water back in." I connect with Sentral and manually telekinesis the water crystals back to her cart. I leave mine on the front door for now, I'll deal with it later.

She eventually leaves her cart. I wave her over, "Hana! Food cart's got some improvements courtesy of Rosa. Want to see?" She does. "It's just small stuff, I added a box over there for spices and tea, and moved some shelving around. I figure she knows her business, so I implemented her suggestions." She connects with me on the way over. Her emotions are serene, as though I hadn't just fucked some woman other than her.

She smiles and hugs me. "The food truck is really nice! Thanks for changing the colors too, it's so pretty." She goes to the back to look at the rooms there, though I'm sure it's just a formality. "No, I haven't seen it yet! I don't read

everything

in your mind, no matter what you think!" She giggles. "Men are such simple creatures." I smile back.

She comes back and I sit down at the foldout bar. Hana, as always, sits on my lap, this time with her legs across my lap, arm over my shoulder, her head facing me.

Me, "You'll call me a fool, but I still feel like I should apologize for what's happened."

Hana gives me a nonplussed look, and speaks in monotone, "How could you cheat on me like that. You are a bad boyfriend." She sticks her tongue out at me a little bit. "How's that? Do you feel better?"

I smile. "Maybe a little."

She leans in a little, looking excited. "How was she? Were her boobs as big as they looked? How was it inside her?"

I push through the discomfort. "Hmm. Her chest had amazing heft. Holding them in my hands was a real treat. I wish I'd gotten the opportunity to suck those big nipples too, they were so pretty."

I pause. She is feeling.. exactly as cheerful as she looks. No anger, no resentment, no jealousy. Let it go, myself. You're the only one with the hangup here. She smiles, sends me positive feelings, and gives me a peck on the lips.

Full speed ahead, then. I grin, reliving the memory with her. "Her love juices had a funky taste, I don't think I liked it, but it turned me on. And her clit, so womanly and proud, and I was proud to pleasure it.

Damn

, I enjoyed her face crumbling when she orgasmed.

"And fucking her pussy, it's honestly hard to say which I prefer. Hers was looser, which I thought would be strictly worse, but the texture made the experience different. I'm gonna go with 'variety is the spice of life' and say I enjoy both the same, just for different reasons."

Hana rests her head against my shoulder. "I'm glad. I know it's hard for you to understand, but I'm happy you enjoyed yourself with Rosa. I've got my eyes on another girl for you. Depending on how you like her, and how she feels, I may ask that we take her along with us. This is a big decision so I want to talk it over with you first."

This

is

a big decision. "At first blush... it wouldn't be a huge problem. I can make an extra cart, we can buy more food. Protected Person list should mean that she's unable to harm us if she's a bad actor. If she runs away, I'll let her flee. If she's unhappy here, or we dislike her, we'll drop her off at the next town with a few silvers to start her on her new life, or to travel back to her hometown." I start to ask her if she's okay with it, then shut it down. She's literally the one asking for it.

I try to think of anything else I'm missing... Then, "Yes, I'm okay with this. I will let you play matchmaker for me."

Hana, "I'm glad to hear that. There are two things, neither of which I believe you will care about. One. Wed's organization helped me out with this, on the condition you would craft another sigil dagger on top of today's cart. If you say no, you don't have to make the dagger, just the cart." I nod, and mentally agree to it. "Two. I need you to give me thirty gold. And it would make me happy if you gave me one thousand instead. I'll give you back whatever I don't use."

Hmm. I don't give a damn about the gold, so that's not an issue, but... ¬nothing bad right£ I trust you with the gold# but the timing of this request# I can only think of negative reasons)¬

Hana, "Please trust that I will not do anything to disappoint you. You won't be 100% happy with what's taking place, but I'm confident you will feel that nobody was cheated, or harmed. And, I'm reasonably sure that everyone involved will be happier. Even in the worst case, all that we lose is some money."

Do I trust her word? Absolutely. 1000 gold, coming up.

It actually takes a while to count all of it. I set up a makeshift table because I've been missing one for days. It's a mishmash of Mohs 9.5+ gems, wide, and on a whim, octagonal. I've got my gold out and we're counting out 1000g when Wed crosses Zone range, two henchmen in two hauling two heaping piles of what appears to be gem raws! Ah, a good amount of that is going to today's cart, isn't it? Hmm, I'll also need to make a fifth horse golem for the new girl's cart, won't I? Hrmm, we'll see how much extra time I have.

While I have my head in the clouds, Wed actually arrives at the encampment.

Hana, "Hey Wed! He said yes! It's a surprise though, so don't tell him what it is!"

Wed, "A surprise? You're making this a sur-" he schools his expression, then laughs ruefully. "I shouldn't be shocked by anything you two do, should I? Very well... But that looks like a lot of money. What in the world are you planning to buy with that? A mountain of twas, perhaps?"

Hana, "Yeah! So, I need you to push around some of your employees to help me out. Some of it will be heavy! Bring strong employees, okay?"

Wed, "Esteemed Lady Hanamaya, it will be as you say."

Hana, "That's right! See Grey, I'm still an esteemed Lady! You should treat me better!" I can feel her amusement radiating off of her.

I also stand up, and take a deep butler-style bow. "My lady. Please excuse my rudeness. I will treat her esteemed Ladyship better." Hana giggles.

I stand up, flashing her a smile, then turn to Wed. "What's on the docket today? Cart and a dagger?"

Wed nods. "Just so. And more, if you're interested. We have two crates of gem rough for you, almost entirely of the types you mentioned you can use, with a few others. We have primarily Sapphire for the cart's interior. The clients we have discretely questioned have mostly come back saying, while this would be an incredible luxury, they would prefer the exterior not be pure black

unless it is required

. To be blunt, they'll pay us more if you can make the outside more colorful. "

Me, "Two things. One, I want to confirm they understand that this cart will be horse drawn, I will not be making a horse golem for them." I gesture at one such, and command it to rear up like a horse would. It briefly stands on two legs, and then falls over. Whoops. I laugh despite myself.

Hana looks up from counting gold. "Don't bully Applesauce! He's trying his best. And he's cute."

Me, "He certainly is. Sorry, Applesauce!" I turn back to Wed. "The second is, I can vastly reduce the amount of Jet used on the exterior, and even keep it entirely on the roof where it will be less visible. However, It is a requirement to keep some amount of Jet on the roof."

Wed, "We thought you would say that. Can we integrate the Jet into a sigil, or does it need to be rectangular, or circular, as you traditionally have done?" Fuck, this guy is hard analyzing everything i show him. Well, it's fine?

Me, "A sigil is fine. The minimum amount of Jet for a cart this size would be about..." We discuss particulars.

Me, "By the way, you said you wanted something else?"

Wed, "Right, yes. This would be a different sigil from the two you've seen so far, again on a Diamond dagger. The payment for the first one is our aid in the matter of your surprise. The payment for the cart is bringing the teleport scrolls today, and the leftover gems from the first two projects. We trust that you won't skimp on material use to increase how much you keep personally.

"The payment for the second dagger will be a third crate of gems like these two. This represents every gem rough we could swiftly collect from the entire city, but I assure you we were thorough."

Well, shit, that sounds good to me. "I accept, and I will make your second dagger. Do you still have that replica from yesterday?"

He pulls out the dagger and hands it to me. I grab it- my hand is pushed away, and Sentral connects to me. ¬a protected person is under attack)¬

I sigh, and pick the dagger up more carefully. I'm irritated by my putting off the damn definition rework, but I'm

busy

damnit. So, to feel better, I mess with Wed a little more. "NO, Sentral, I'm NOT under attack, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN.... YES, I'M SURE, SHUT IT!" I turn back to Wed. "We're good, that was my bad. So! Cart or daggers first? Let's do daggers so you bring over those extra gems, I love extra gems, hey how much of it is Jet? I really want more Jet."

Wed gives me a complicated expression, but quickly clears it up. "Most of it is Diamond and Sapphire. And yes, please begin with the daggers. This will give me some time to send for an escort to help your little Lady. It sounds like she's going to do a lot of shopping today. This is also because I have been requested to hover over your shoulder while you crafting the living space cart, to ensure that it meets the specifications laid out by the client."

I agree, and Wed walks somewhere, leaving the gems to me. I start working on the daggers. I'm familiar with the general gist, so I knock them out pretty quickly. As before, the sigils (this time in Peridot or Amethyst) take the longest, but I get it done. The lion's head design is quite simple, and the other one is a strange looking sword. I'm affixing them when Wed returns with someone I don't recognize. What the...? Was I working that long? It felt like only 10 minutes, not enough time to get to and from town.

Wed gestures to the man beside him. "Grey, this is my subordinate, Fre. He will be responsible for the safety of the Little Lady while she is in our care. He is blessed with a Wind aspect, or by Henharlen depending on your religion."

I don't really care, since it will really be Sentral that is responsible for her safety and I'd never entrust her to what I'm positive is a criminal syndicate. I give him a once-over anyway. Sharply dressed, overly serious. He'll do. I give him a big grin and pat his shoulder. "Treat her well, alright?"

He makes some sort of gesture, a local salute perhaps?, and says "Yes! Count on it!"

Aw, it's no fun when they don't flinch. "Good man." I call for something from Sentral...

Me, "Hana, I have a present for you before you go."

Hana, "A present! What is it?"

Me, "Your present is! A bag. Congratulations."

I hand it to her and she gives me a look. I smile, then command the present to wiggle around. She looks at it and opens the bag and reaches in. The monkey executes its behavior and climbs up her shirt and sits on her shoulder. I reconnect with Hana and send her an image of my view of her and the golem.

Hana makes a noise. "What! Is! That! It's so cute!"

Me, "It's a small golem I made that will play around. He will try to climb up on people. I gave it a few other behaviors as well. If he becomes a handful, put him in the bag and he'll go back to sleep." ¬additionally he will keep you a little bit safer if it is nearby)¬

Hana, "Thank you... I'll treasure him. What's his name?"

Me, "Its name is, uh," I grab the first name that comes to mind, "is Agent Honeydew. Have fun!"

Hana runs up and hugs me. "Thank you, I love it!" She squeezes for all she's worth, then breaks off. She runs towards Wed, turns, and waves excitedly at me, "But! Now the evil crime gang is taking me away, but I'll see you this afternoon okay!"

Me, "If I never see you again, it was fun! I'll think about you once or twice a year!" She turns and walks off with ...Freed? And I turn to Wed. "I hope she doesn't give Freed too much of a hard time. To work, then?"

- - -

The cart goes more or less the same as the other ones did. He changed his mind about the location of the giant sigil, and is a bit cagey when I ask him about it. Whatever, he's a member of organized crime, I get that they have secrets to keep. Doesn't matter to me where it goes. I do insist that there had to be X amount of Jet on the roof. I can use Jet for the sigil but it won't amount to much since it's on the side.

Because there was so little Jet on the outside, it ended up being translucent. Wed says that it would be fine, the client would take over all furnishings and deal with the issue of privacy. He did provide some crystals and test the workings of the toilet and shower. I apologize that I still haven't had time to figure out how to make the shower output hot water, but he waves it off. "The shower water being hot was not in the agreement, so don't worry about it." Well, okay then.

I am a bit surprised when he gets out a ruler for some of the drawers. He asks for some adjustments, and I go with it. I wonder if the client has specific items they plan to travel around with that are x inches tall? It's a little annoying but I resize what is asked of me.

At some point we're done. Wed gives a double check to everything, "Once it's out of here you'll never see it again, and you're the only one who can modify it, so it has to be perfect." I don't particularly mind. I start putting together the pile of gems for the second cart I need to make today. I've never gemcrafted so much so consistently before. It's a bit mentally exhausting. Eventually he signs off on the first cart. "Good work. I have a horseman stationed a while down the road. Would you like him to come pick it up, or would you prefer to roll it to him somehow?"

Me, "He can come pick it up. I've still got another cart to make. Shoot, it'll need a mattress too."

Wed turns down to the path out, puts a hand to his mouth, and produces a loud whistle. Zone picks up a horseman, which I ignore. "I won't say too much, but it seems like Hanamaya has the situation in hand, including the mattress, so I think you won't need to worry about it." He looks directly at me. "You should know. We've received word that the private army I mentioned should be arriving within four days on the outside, likely sooner. It seems that someone has leaked intelligence, and the nobility are starting to realize that this city is the true source of your absurd creations. It was bound to come out eventually, but we'd hoped to continue the partnership. In the worst case, my organization will be jumping ship to a new town when that happens. However. We'd like to know where you plan to travel, to see if we can work alongside you. Your novelty will eventually wear off, but before that happens we will be tremendously rich. You, additionally, will be tremendously rich, and we'll seize any gemstone we can find to increase your strength."

Me, "Whew. This is moving faster than I thought. This morning I thought I was getting one new travel-mate. Now I might be getting one plus some sort of syndicate."

Wed hesitates, then nods, "Allow me to speak frankly. We are an organization that operates outside the bounds of the law. However, these last few days have seen an almost complete cessation of such activities. This is more profitable. YOU, are more profitable. Every hand is on deck, scrambling for raws, for sales agreements, because the return on investment is projected to be 10 times in the worst case, and five thousand times in the best. There's simply no need to resort to any sort of criminal activity whatsoever, with the exception of smuggling. Should you agree to work with us after this city, I can promise there will be zero violence, extortion, blackmail, or anything of that nature."

Me, "This.. this sounds nice. I want to say yes. I'll seriously consider it. I need to talk to Hana."

Wed, "Certainly, talk to her if you must. I've already mentioned this to her myself, and she said 'If he wants to do it, then I want him to do it. Otherwise, no.'"

Haha, there's that phrase again. Yeah she agreed, didn't she? Me, "I probably won't make carts for everyone. Or, if I do, it'll take me a while to get there. There's a lot of important projects I'm putting off."

Wed, "With the amount of money we're bringing in, we can simply buy carts and horses for everybody. You will not be obligated to help us."

Me, "I think I will be traveling to Al Ruheibi before the year is out. I eventually plan to hit every country. This will eventually include, hmm... Jianhoku, Kengen, any Sky Cities I can, and the Demon continent. I am not at all sure on a timeframe. Perhaps months, perhaps years, perhaps I'll bite off more than I can chew and die early. But I'll try to keep you in the loop. Consider this an 'I am very interested' while I convince myself to commit to this.

Wed, "Glad to hear it. Just to set expectations, I'm unsure how long any members will stay on. A year is probably a reasonable expectation, and some will depart should we enter Kengen early for any reason." I nod, completely reasonable. "Now, I need to head off and get some logistics under way. We'll get the scrolls to you by afternoon. You should deploy one of them 10 miles or so from here as an escape route. Have one of your golems guard it, perhaps. I'm not too sure of your capabilities. Have another scroll ready to unfurl so you can escape at a moment's notice. The army's arrival will likely be swift and unexpected."

Me, "Heard and understood. Thanks for looking out for me."

He nods, and departs.

Shit. I need to make birds, and I need them now.. well, I need them in two days or less. I can't maintain a 10 mile telepathic connection. I'll need about 10 birds, if not more. Well, no time like the present. I call over the bird I have as a reference, then roll over a bunch of the gems I just got from the syndicate... What's their name? Hmm, I'll ask Hana when she gets back, I'm sure she already knows. I will focus on bird creation for now.

...I only get two done before Sentral alerts me to Hana trying to connect with me via her bracelets.