Gemwright

* Author's note: There are no intimacy scenes in this chapter. Mostly. *

As always, Sentral does an excellent job cleaning up the aftermath, but I still take a shower in Vai'yun's cart. I have some spare clothes ready on the sink that I brought over with Telekinesis.

Man, I've certainly done it now. Got a kid on the way. Probably. Well.. even if,

somehow

, she isn't pregnant after all that, I'll see to it she gets what she wants.

I sigh. It's... It's fine. Nothing's changed. I'll have plenty of help, and we'll get it raised right.

Deep breaths. It'll be alright. Maybe it'll be fun. Maybe I'll.. I don't know, be proud of who he or she becomes. Let's try to keep a positive mindset.

I finish up and step out. Vai'yun, it seems, has recovered from her.. fertilization, and gives me a quick kiss before stepping into the shower to clean up as well.

Ho boy. This should probably be a life-changing moment or something, full of deep meaning? But I only feel

immensely

satisfied. Honestly, the idea of tenderly making love to a female heavy with my child is... Well, I am looking forward to that.

In any case, nothing's actionable until she's confirmed as pregnant, or has to change her lifestyle to something easier, so I guess.. business as usual. Even though I have a baby probably on the way.

...Or rather, as many as five, depending on how many of the four women I studded for on the island are with child.

Vai'yun answers my musings as she takes my place in the cold water, ¬If any of them did not, then you are expected to lay with them again. You can refuse, but now that you've given me a child, I will not raise an objection. Say, do you want to stud for any Hardbark girls? I know a few who would say yes...¬

Hah! I respond, ¬Eventually I will give a baby to all of the islanders who want it. But for the immediate future, I wish to make love to my wife and women.¬

Vai'yun, ¬Very well. I think I will claim your love again tomorrow. For today, I am satisfied. I have done everything that should be needed.¬ She gets herself cleaned in the shower as she 'talks' to me. ¬All this seed spilling... Ah. I will not keep you. Do your work with the gems. I have a surprise for you this afternoon, and for tonight.¬

I'm clothed by this point. ¬Oh, do you? I thought this afternoon's plan had been to make a baby.¬

She sends amusement, and perhaps a little self-satisfaction along our telepathy. ¬I was not sure... But I was rather confident I would be able to seduce you. Did you notice the diffuser? That was Hanamaya's idea.¬

Hah. My women know me well. ¬I was wondering about that. Well, I'll do just that then. I love you, Vai'yun.¬

Vai'yun, ¬As I love you, O' favored.¬

I drop my connections, minus Sentral, and walk back to my cart feeling like a million dollars. Man, life is good.

What gem should I work on next... Maybe Ruby, or Nephrite. More gemstone durability will help with the satellite.. so.. Nephrite then. It's just a shame I've got so little of it.

I unlock Sentral's box and step inside. I've got a few kinds of dust from other gems, maybe one of them... Yup. The stuff - iron, I think - is also what gemsense is telling me is missing from Nephrite. Hmm.. I'll fix up Rin's ring later.

Oh, speaking of. Haji wanted to talk to me. Hana might have also, though she was probably just coming up the stairs. I push some probably-iron dust into my balled up Nephrite and head upstairs.

The common room is more populated than usual. Looking around, I find Haji talking to Rin, so I take a seat at their table.

Haji, grinning, asks, "Your bearing is more relaxed. Had a good time?"

Hah, sharp eye! "I did, yes. Vai'yun saw to that. She's wanted a kid since before I met her, and today was our first attempt."

He nods. "I'll bring some saga root next time then."

Rin supplements, "It's supposed to be good for mothers to eat it at the end of their pregnancy."

Me, "Thanks, we'd appreciate it. Haji, were you looking for me earlier?"

Haji, "Yes, but I've sorted out the matter with Ringara. She has the money I promised."

I honestly don't care about that..

Haji, "Also, I wanted to discuss encampment. What's the plan there?"

There isn't one. "I don't have a location in mind. I'll either look for a place to rent, or take the caravan outside the city like we did for Port J."

Haji looks thoughtful. Rin, for her part, looks around, then calls, "Bint!" I glance over, and yeah, there's Amina. She stands up from her table and joins ours.

Amina, who I remind myself is going by the name 'Bint' for now, sits down at our table. "What is it?"

Rin, "The city we're landing in Avatuna, the Republic's largest city and port.. traditional port, that is. Have you been there?"

Amina shakes her head, "Regrettably, I have not."

Rin lowers her voice a little. "Do you have any connections that we can draw on for a place to park our caravan?"

Amina grimaces, glances at Haji, but says, "From my understanding of the city of Avatuna, there's not really enough free space to host our eight carts. Parking outside may be wise. However..." She puts her thumb to her forehead and closes her eyes. "...I believe there's been a small fire on the north side of town. If the buildings haven't been reconstructed, parking there might be an option, and would put us closer to the action."

Rin, "Is this in the middle of a populated area?" Amina nods. "Then it would put us in the view of any onlookers curious enough to look. Your favorite scroll would be in easy view any time you use it. Are you alright with that?"

I think about it. "I can just make another cart for that. With Faid's, though, it'll bring us up to ten."

Rin nods. "Eleven, if you make the warehouse cart you sometimes mention."

Amina, "Make..."

Haji, "With that orange rock?"

Me, "Exactly. It's pretty malleable stuff." This is cutting close to revealing my power, but I'm not too concerned about it. They'll learn about it soon enough one way or the other. "Oh, right, Rin. Let me borrow the new ring for a while."

Looking curious, she slips it off and hands it to me. I motion as if I pocketed it, but keep it in my hand instead, along with some of the cleaned Nephrite. I work on extracting, purifying, and replacing the Nephrite in Rin's ring as we talk.

Haji, "It must be. The interior of the, what did you call it, bearaxe? It was rather orange, as well."

...Ah, I named it barracks in the Jensin language, didn't I? "It's barracks, that was a language misstep on my part, sorry. But yes, I've been using it to make carts ever since I acquired it. It's rather useful stuff." All of my gems are, but I leave that statement out for now. "More horse golems to pull the carts are not a problem, either."

Amina gives a weary smile. "Not a problem... How are you not wealthier than the Sultan?"

Me, "Oh, I'll get there. Speaking of. I need to talk to Wed about our new business."

Amina nods, but isn't making eye contact. She's off in her own little world.

Haji asks, "Returning to the subject of encampment. Mostly I'm curious how long I'll be needed to help set up. I've been to Friegheim once, and there's a few special someones I want to catch up with."

Hmm? Well, "Shouldn't be long. I just need to get everything circled, and Wed's Crew will handle security. I don't foresee it lasting long at-"

Amina, "It's because they aren't mindless!" I look over at the interruption. Amina quiets down, but continues. "Ringara is a shamanka, so she does something to make them receptive to telepathy, and that's how your golems work! You somehow bind spirits, probably lesser ones, to the rock animals to make them golems."

I blink. Not even close. Smiling, I reply, "Heh. No comment."

Amina looks like the weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulders. "Ahhhhh, what a relief! The world makes sense again. Had I accolades, I would award you, for succeeding where others surely must have failed."

Rin shoots me an amused look, before turning to Amina. "Your praise is sufficient, Bint. Your praise, and the mountains of wealth that our trade has brought us."

Amina's head leans forward. "Where do you store it? A bank wouldn't be useful in a new country." She pauses. "Ah, actually, forgive my blunder. I don't need to know."

I think back to the few dozen rows of gold coins stored in neat rows below the floor of my cart. Once it started getting heavy, I stored them in Hana's as well. The two carts are a believable weight thanks to that, though the rest are all suspiciously light weight. You know, if somebody were to walk up to one of them and attempt to lift it.

Amina, "Let me ask instead, what role does Hanamaya play in your business?"

Rin defers to me. I guess it's fine to say? "She's a skilled telepath. I trust you can connect the dots."

Amina smiles. "It all comes together."

Me, "And for me, earth magic is my strongest affinity.'

Amina is practically glowing. "And Vai'yun?"

Me, "She came along after, actually. Let's just say she has an entirely new skill set that I think will help us diversify our business. Of course, all of this is just their place in the business, which they volunteered for. My women are with me because I have fallen in love with them." I say something easy to misunderstand, and wait for Amina to look uncomfortable. Smiling, I reassure her, "Relax, I expect nothing like that from you. Not unless it develops naturally. But no, I have other plans for your talents. And beyond that, I hope we can all be friends."

Amina, "Most gracious of you. Friends, then."

I nod. A moment passes, so I say "I think that's all for that... Next, I need to talk to Wed about the business."

Haji, "I will find your man Wed. In fact, I see him over there." Haji stands up and walks off.

There's a knock on my brain from Rin's direction, and I accept. ¬What plans? For Amina.¬ she asks me.

Me, ¬I'm curious to see if I can make manatech out of gems by having her cast the spell, and try to replicate the flow of mana. Probably won't work, but I want to try.¬

Aloud, I say, "Should I call over Hana? Vai'yun maybe too."

Rin sighs, "Hana is.. recovering. Vai'yun doesn't quite understand the concept when I asked her about it, so don't worry about it." She turns to Amina. "Can we discuss this privately?"

Amina, "I was merely curious. I won't pry into your affairs." With a neutral face, she also stands up and leaves. Wed takes a chair soon after. Fre sits beside him.

Wed, "Grey. Lady Ringara. Shall we talk business?"

Me, "Let's."

Wed takes a breath, then begins. "Allow me to start at the beginning. I will reiterate a few points to confirm we share an understanding." The two of us nod. "We're planning to start a business. Our true goal is twofold. The first is to sell Grey's works for enormous sums of money. We will start with credible works in the short term, until you're ready to come into the open, whenever that is. The second goal is to buy enormous quantities of gemstone that Grey can use to further empower himself."

Me, "That all sounds right so far."

Wed, "The publicly-stated goals will be the sale of custom gems, high end jewelry, Tetsu wood crafts, and other such products. We will tell the public that this is supported by the use of novel, company-secret alchemical techniques. We will put an emphasis on experimental alchemy to further the credibility of our specialist works."

Fre picks up, "The company will be composed of six members of the Crew. They will stay behind and conduct official business. This will entail the purchase of two or more buildings. One to use as a true office, and another as a fake experimental alchemy bay. We will have two members assume the role of alchemists, who will visit the bay periodically to perform fake experiments. They will waste reagents to make colorful smoke and odd smells, giving the impression of authenticity to those looking from outside."

Rin and I nod.

Wed, "Somewhere in the office, we will set aside a room where we will store the gems for you to pick up. We expect you will leave a Topaz there to take in the gems at your leisure. We hope you will also leave some sort of method for the company to reach out to the Crew traveling with you."

Me, "That can be arranged." I have something like that on Topaz Island, after all; the bird perched on the shrine.

Wed, "The last major point is the profits. 50-50, as before? Half to you and yours, half to myself and the Crew." I nod. "Good. Any questions or ideas?"

Me, "If any gemstone mines come up for sale, let me know. Maybe that's a bit wild, but I think I can fairly easily harvest everything from a mine without much issue."

Fre, "Well keep feelers out for anything like that."

The next point is something Rin brought up not long ago. ¬Rin, do you want to bring up your idea of good local relations?¬

Rin, ¬Oh, you remembered!¬ She seems happy as she continues, "I think a portion of the profits would be wisely spent on encouraging friendliness with the surroundings. The common folks in the forms of charitable donations to orphanages or soup kitchens, and the powerful in the forms of governmental bribery or special business deals."

Wed almost cracks a smile... But he manages to hold on to his stoic facade. "The latter was already planned, we're no strangers to greasing the palms that need it. The former.. Yes, we can consider it a business expense."

Me, "Alright. Otherwise, business will more or less be as it is now? I fill gem orders, you sell them, and we all get rich?"

Wed, "Indeed."

I think that covers most of it. "In the future, I may shift the company to focusing on selling golems we produce, but that's likely about a year off."

Wed raises his eyebrows.

Me, "Consider it. You know I control the golems. Even if I sell them, they will work for the buyer because I tell them to, and it'll have a Topaz implanted in it.

"Say I sell a hundred farming golems to Jensin himself, make absolute bank, and the king has a hundred hyper efficient farmers. He takes people away from farms to work on other stuff. If Jensin then declares war on me, I shut down those golems remotely, and now his country is somewhat destabilized.

"Or perhaps after I make known their usefulness, I let it be known I won't sell to any country that allows slavery. This provides a strong incentive for countries to end that disgusting practice.

"Anyway, I have other reasons too, and I'm sure the details need to be refined, but I plan to sell them eventually. If possible, I want to use this new company to do it."

Wed, "The details definitely need honed, but we'll talk it over when that day draws closer. For the time being, it's just custom gems and hardbark that we will sell, right?" I nod. "Okay. We'll discuss what to make and when. Most likely we'll ask you for a lot up front and vault it, selling everything over time. Custom orders will be the usual. We plan to list you by name as a member of the company, and use you as an excuse for why we know how to make odd shapes."

Me, "Any thoughts on security? I can't imagine

nobody

will try to steal our secret production method."

Fre, "We'll handle that. We will hire a few people to patrol, and there are several magical items we've.. professionally interacted with, that we plan to use for security. Earth and darkness mana disruptors. Air stabilizers. Those are the typical methods of spying or breaking in."

Me, "Good stuff. Do all that. I was going to suggest I make a golem to patrol. Perhaps disguise it as human."

Rin, "Perhaps a door golem? It would only itself open for employees. Would that work?"

Me, "A golem in the shape of the door? Yeah, why not? Would that help?"

Wed isn't paying attention, but his eyebrows are furrowed. I can almost see the gears spinning in his head. I wonder what he's coming up with.

He doesn't keep us waiting long. "Grey, can you make bracelets who recognize their owner, with enough Sapphire to telepathically connect to.. door golems within 10 feet?"

I smile. "And said doors will only open when such a bracelet is within ten feet?"

Wed does smile this time. "

Yes

, and worn by someone it recognizes. This resolves so many security concerns. It will be almost impossible to steal from us without being noticed."

Me, "The only issue will be getting the bracelet to recognize a person. But I managed it with Sentral."

Sentral surprises me, ¬I will aid with this task.¬

Rin looks mildly surprised, but then smiles brightly. ¬He's growing!¬

Huh. This is a good thing, isn't it? ¬Thank you, Sentral. I'll rely on you when that time comes.¬ Then aloud, "Sentral volunteered to help with the bracelets. We should be set there."

Wed nods slowly, his smile gone. "That should be everything. Upon landing, we will canvas the city looking for a good headquarters. Any preference for acquiring an HQ in the Sky City itself?"

Me, "Up to you. Seems a bit too conspicuous, but I still know little of them."

Wed, "On the ground then. Buildings in the Sky City should be much more expensive."

Fre, "The last matter is a name."

Damn, I dunno. Drothur's Demand? Grandstanding Golems? Gelatinous Jewelry?

Wed, "Gemwright, was my thought."

... Huh. That's not a bad idea. "Yeah, I like that..."

Wed, "Any other name proposals?" Nobody speaks up. "We've got until we file the paperwork at whatever bureau to change it, so be sure to tell me if you change your mind."

Fre looks meaningfully at Wed. Wed looks like he's remembered something. "Grey, this can wait for a while, but we want a Topaz large enough for a human to go through. The Crew who remain with you may need to visit the company personally to take care of any issues that come up."

Me, "Well.. I certainly have enough to make one. The issue will be spinning it into a perfect sphere. I've gotten the knack for small ones, but a huge sphere like that will be difficult, potentially impossible."

Wed, "We don't need it until we leave, and if it's impossible, then we'll make do without. But it would be useful to have."

Me, "I'll see what I can do. I've been meaning to make a teleportation cart anyway, for a scroll. I can add stuff like this in there, as well. Maybe I'll add one to the satellite, or the island."

They nod, and we sit in silence for a few seconds. "I guess that's everything?"

The two Crew members share a glance, then look back at me and nod. Wed smirks and says, "To a cushy retirement."

Hah, he remembered that line, eh? "Indeed, to a cushy retirement."

The two of them excuse themselves and depart the table. Rin sends, ¬Stepping out into view of the world. I think we will be fine, but it'll be hard to hide your strength when it becomes known we're rolling in money.¬

Me, ¬You're not wrong. But once this business starts bringing in gems, we're going to have a conversation about coming out about my gem power. Once Zone has grown larger, and Sentral has enough Sapphire to surveil everything inside of it, I think we will be safe enough to be open about my economic value. However, that'll be

after

I come up with other methods of defending myself besides telekinesis alone.¬

Rin, ¬I hadn't realized you'd given it that much thought.¬

Me, ¬The first step before that anyway is to move Sentral onto Jericho. It's been getting rather large recently as I keep applying gems to it. I only really noticed it recently when I was applying the Nephrite skin. Hah, or maybe keep it down here and disguise it as a tamed monster?¬

Rin sighs. ¬I know you're joking, but that would make a lot of people uncomfortable and potentially draw the army's attention.¬

Chuckling, I say, ¬You're right, of course.¬ Might as well check. ¬Sentral, you're there, right? How much of your mana regeneration would it cost to keep the Jericho portal open all the time?¬