Blue Core

Over the next few days, I used Shayma to teleport another two hundred or so people from Khiral Town. The crafters she’d commissioned material from weren’t part of that group of course, but a number of them did arrive, filling out some of the empty buildings. If this kept up I’d have to think about expanding the town. Or making a satellite village? I had nearly two thousand acres to work with in the living space alone, and since I was providing plumbing and running water, that was enough for an enormous number of people.

Actually, I supposed if I wanted to I could even build skyscrapers or high-rises, for all that it would clash with the look of the place. Stonesteel was stronger than concrete, and if I wanted to be idiotically wasteful I could put in teleports between floors. All interesting ideas, but I wasn’t a fan of dense cities to begin with. If I had magic available to me, I could at least try and do something different.

Some other time.

Once again I was incredibly glad organizing the intake and figuring out how to make four hundred or so people work together was not my responsibility. A few of the newcomers had fruits and vegetables to fill out the specialty ice-and-fire cropland, which from my perspective produced an odd contrast. They were just crops grown in the ordinary manner, but surrounded by the fantastical surroundings of gleaming ice or a hanging over a pit with lava at the bottom.

The number of people also highlighted that with [Genius Loci] I knew everything that happened within my bounds. Everything. All the inane conversations, useless drama, biological functions, embarrassing stumbles, and random snatches of distracted song. Weirdly, it didn’t drive me utterly bonkers. I didn’t even get an Ability for it or anything, it was just something I could shift into background noise. Like the huge amounts of empty space with nothing but air currents. Meaningless static.

As if I didn’t know before my mind wasn’t exactly standard. Anymore, at least. How could it be, with no limbs and infinite eyes and decidedly nonstandard senses? Plus this overlay thing. But it was all for the best, since I was still sane and interested and could have fun. Plus, that ability meant that I could tune out what Shayma had planned for her purchases and be surprised.

The tailor fussed over Shayma, making the very final adjustments to the outfit. It had mostly been left up to Dyen’s friend Aien, who was apparently well-known for his abilities with cloth and leather. He was a tall, finicky man with skin stretched tight over his bones and overlong fingers, and the results of his labor were impressive. At least to me. Honestly I was impressed with half the stuff I saw in Khiral, from near-full plate to classic wizard robe looking outfits.

Aien had supplied something that reminded me more of thief or ranger. “This cloth is woven from Midnight Stalkthread. It’s very tough, and has a very small shadow Affinity, which is why it looks so black. The leather reinforcements are from a Stonehide Wolf, and provide you with extra crushing protection. The boots are lined with a local specialty, a mana-infused cotton varietal with a touch of both fire and ice Affinities for keeping you comfortable in any weather. Everything has been waterproofed by yours truly, thanks to the water Source you provided.”

It was a gorgeous black suit, with padding around the joints and forearms, the matte cloth looking closer to silk than cotton. It was trimmed with blue thread, the only genuine ornamentation a faceted crystal in blue on the front of the tunic. The gloves were fingerless, and the boots were thick-soled. The straps were fastened with blued steel buckles, and the grommets for laces were the same, which was probably overkill, but then, we had paid quite a lot for it.

The cloak had something I wasn’t expecting, which was a hood with little pockets for Shayma’s ears, the end result was that it was absolutely adorable with the hood up. The little ear shapes were thin cloth over some sort of reinforcement, so they were even a little mobile, if not as expressive as her actual ears. Almost as cute, though.

I’d expected the black-and-blue to clash with her red hair and fur but it somehow worked, just making the contrast more striking. Pretty sure that was just Shayma’s natural beauty, but maybe I was biased? Regardless, this outfit looked a lot more official and definitely more expensive than the inherited Flame Knight garb, and was hopefully more comfortable too.

“Thank you, Aien, it looks fantastic.” Shayma said with a dazzling smile, which did nothing to dent the man’s perpetual frown.

“You’re welcome, Lady Shayma.” Aien inclined his head. “Will the opportunity to be transported to the Queen’s stronghold still be open in a week?”

“I’m headed to Wildwood tomorrow,” Shayma said. “I don’t know how long that will take but I’ll stop by again on my way back.”

“Very good.” He left Shayma at the mirror and returned to the counter, retrieving a wrapped bundle. “Extra socks and underclothes, also of Affinity cotton.”

“Perfect.” The bundle vanished into [Phantom Pocket], which seemed to have ranked up somewhere along the line. It was already at level three, large enough to fit weapons larger than daggers or sundries larger than a map and compass. Not that I actually knew what she had in there at this point. I’d lost track and since it was her Skill and not mine, I didn’t have any access to it directly.

Not that I felt any lack at that. I mean, it was her Skill, and I could understand not wanting to rely on me to hold onto her personal effects. She headed back out into the streets of Khiral, making her way over toward the city center where I’d left a semi-permanent structure for teleporting people. It was just stone when she wasn’t there, but it still provided a focal point and reminder for the people who wanted to go and support Iniri.

It was still wet and rainy, just that time of year, apparently, and watching Shayma put up her fox-eared hood made me all kinds of happy. Actually she wasn’t the only one with a suitably-modified hood, as I had spotted other kirin types in the town aside from Dyen, their antlers anchoring the cloth. Oddly, there didn’t seem to be any other sorts of demi-humans around.

“Hey Shayma, why aren’t there any other fox-kin around? I see the kirin-kin, but...”

“Oh, we’re not from around here,” she admitted cheerfully. “Mom’s family got here by way of guarding caravans, and dad’s family actually got rescued from the Black Pirate King by old King Irsin. Iniri’s dad.”

“Black Pirate King?” I asked, fascinated. Until now I hadn’t given much thought to not knowing any local history or legends, but I was definitely missing out.

“Oh, really just a normal pirate with some delusions of taking a chunk out of the southern coast for himself. Just had a Class with some leadership Skills and a warship he’d gotten from somewhere.”

“So where are fox-kin from normally? I guess kirin-kin are local?”

“We’re normally on other side of the continent, so far as I know. I don’t know where kirin-kin are from originally. I mean, even though the ruling family is kirin-kin, there’s still more normal humans around.”

“Maybe Iniri will know. I’ll ask her next time you’re back.”

“There are histories but...I guess they’re all in the occupied cities.”

“Ah, yes.” I fumbled for a change of topic, since I didn’t want to dwell yet again on the plight of Iniri’s kingdom. “So, the new stuff looks fantastic.”

“I admit, I’ve never owned really good clothing like this before.” She accepted the distraction and flexed her arm, feeling the soft fabric and heavy leather. “It’s all sorts of amazing. And I’ll have brand new daggers later today. Actual weapons! This is the sort of thing I could get used to.”

“I just wish I could make you stuff myself. Don’t have leather, don’t have cloth. Do have iron, but can’t really do much with it. Anyway. We’ll have to figure out how to actually run this whole ‘representative of a Power’ thing. Kind of a mouthful to introduce yourself that way.”

“I’ve never run into anyone representing a Power myself, so I’m not sure if there’s a way you’re supposed to.” Shayma nodded. “So far as making stuff yourself...you got me flowers! And Source gems! You can’t expect to be able to do everything. Anyhow, Source gems are money and you have lots of those for hiring specialists.”

“Uh, about that…”

Shayma stopped for a moment, tail swishing under the cloak. “...something happen?”

“Just hold out your hand and I can show you.”

She obeyed, and I pushed one of the Primal gems into her hand, a small red-glowing thing with swirling colors inside. Shayma’s lips parted. “That is gorgeous! And...okay, this is weird. It’s clearly magical, and I can see a little bit of Affinity, but it doesn’t quite look right? What is it?”

“It’s a Primal Fire Gem. Not exactly sure what that means but it’s an upgrade from the original Source gem. If they work, great, they’re probably more valuable! But they could be too powerful for mortal use or whatever, who knows.”

“When I get to Wildwood we can ask.” Shayma offered. “There ought to be some really high level people around, maybe even a fourth-tier Class. The gems you already gave me ought to last until then.”

“How many do you have left?”

“Six. More than enough considering this is basically as expensive as things get here.” She ran her bare fingertips over the soft fabric of her cloak. “Not to mention the rush job. Though I think Dyen helped with that.”

“Plus being Iniri’s messenger. I’m pretty sure that me being a Power comes a distant fourth in Aien’s list of concerns. It’s kinda strange to me to see how much sway her name carries. I guess because I’m kind of outside all that?”

“I’m pretty sure she would love you as a subject, but...you’re not really the subject type.”

“I am not. Also not the ruler type, so she doesn’t have to worry about me trying to take over.”

“You know I think that’s a bit of a worry for her. She hasn’t actually said anything for obvious reasons, but with what you are, you really could take her kingdom. Assuming we get it back from the mage-kings.”

“You can tell her I don't want her job. I mean, she's spending her whole day meeting with people and visiting her subjects and even doing paperwork. My job doesn't have paperwork or public relations and I want to keep it that way.”

“Aren't I your 'public relations?’” Shayma pointed out.

“And I'm happy to leave it to you!”

“Thank you for that.” She rolled her eyes. “As if you have another choice.”

“I don't need another one.”

It was always fun getting Shayma to blush from random compliments, especially since sometimes the less obvious ones got it where the more direct ones didn't. Fortunately for her the hood hid most of it, so nobody other than myself would have noticed.

Tansen was stuck by the inactive teleport cage, taking names and Classes of the people heading over. It didn’t surprise me that Dyen let his assistant do all the grunt work. I would have. Some of the people he took down in his little book were lying, but I wasn't worried. If anyone tried to make trouble I'd shut them down quick. It wasn't for Iniri's sake, I just didn't want to play host to jerks. He perked up as Shayma approached, his strange bird perched on top of one of the columns to keep an eye out for us.

Poor guy was smitten, not that I blamed him.

“We have another forty-seven ready and waiting, Miss Ell.” He said, watching her almost worshipfully. I hoped that wouldn’t become a problem. Shayma minded less than I did, simply thanking him and stepping up to one of the pillars. Once she laid her fingers on it I used [Assimilation] to take it back and then put in the teleport field. I’d taken to lighting up the base, too, resisting the urge to crib too much from certain fictions, in order to demonstrate it was working.

“Proceed!” Tansen called to the waiting crowd. “No shoving, there’s no rush. Remember there are high-level Classers on the other side, and they’ll make sure you’re settled in. Make sure you have all your supplies! Don’t leave anything behind!”

Under these exhortations people steered wagons drawn by those pangolin-oxen things and hauled carts into the stone circle, vanishing with a faint blue twinkle to appear however many hundreds of kilometers away in the as-yet-unnamed town center. At Iniri’s request I’d moved the landing away from her manor and into a huge open square, relocating the other teleport platforms as well. The traffic was getting to be a little much, what with entire carts of ingots and bales and seeds and bolts arriving.

As much as it was, though, it wouldn’t last. The metal, especially, they didn’t have any means of replenishing. Oh, I had iron and coal for days, but that was just one metal and one fuel, and frankly I didn’t feel that I should provide it for free. Unfortunately my only negotiator was nowhere near the slowly spreading town. She’d sent back a report with one of the crafters, keeping Iniri up to date on how things were going, but that wasn’t the same as a face to face chat.

As bustling as it was starting to get, it didn’t much look like an army to me. That would probably have to wait for the high-level Classers, once Shayma got to Wildwood. Once Shayma arrived, I might actually get to see the high levels in action.