Day 69

  Wednesday August 8th, 2018: 11:30 PM

  I started out the day, fresh from my apparently nightly d?????????r???????????????????e????????????a???????????????????????m???????????????? to enhance my knowledge and skill base. The ability to fold the activation of my new style into a stance will be crucial. It will mean that I can respond to things quicker. Maybe I can find a means to expedite some of the spells that I traditionally cast for the more difficult combats, or make an item that can do it. I also got a message from the Black Butterfly.

  She told me that I was coming into contact with a VERY evil force. She spoke specifically about the corruption that was infiltrating the area. I asked her what might be able to be done to deal with it permanently. She told me that it had been allowed to get into a new medium, one that is difficult to purge. It might not be able to be purged in a proper manner, and only contained.

  I took that information in, and asked her about the results of said corruption. I asked her about the results of said corruption, the firearms and such that were in the coffer that I had worked on creating. She told me that there were options, some of which were more available to me, and others less. She told me that my plan to use Holy Water was good, but that getting actual holy water would require silver in quantities that would be hard to accommodate, even with the increased resources that my new group was going to acquire. She offered up that I could learn a new ability when I increased my understanding of the world again, or, I can switch my focus after this training is done, to learn yet another feat.

  I asked her what the trade off is, and she told me that I would be permitted less enchanted equipment in exchange for this permanent knowledge. I told her that I would do that, after I learned this ability. The Black Butterfly said nothing, and I woke up immediately. I looked to my left, saw Bright-Eyes, looked to my right, saw Rex, and looked at the kitten-puddle. There was something off.

  One was missing. One of the kittens was not sleeping on the bed. I carefully extricated myself, and looked around. They were not at the litter box, nor at the food, nor anywhere in the tent. I lent my eye to the ground, and looked outside the tent. There, there was a small set of prints, heading directly down the set of stairs.

  I didn’t even stop to get the Dedicated Wrights finished up on their tasks or meditate. I followed them down all the way down seven flights of stairs, to the Dormitory level, and then straight outside the dorm where Cal had taken up. I looked at the tiny form of the kitten waiting outside the door, curled up on the granite floor. I picked it up carefully, and saw a residual magical aura over it. I quietly opened the door to Cal’s dorm, and then I slid open the door to Cal’s bedroom.

  The Kitten woke up and immediately jumped down to walk inside that room. I left to go back upstairs, thankful that Smudge had found their companion. I went back upstairs and started my predawn meditation. My mind awoke with the spells that I could bring forth. I then went to get the Mini-Avengers going on the final three phones that we could get done without extra materials.

  We were done with the last three phones that we had materials LONG before whenever our quartet of Agents would be here for the start of their day. I set the Mini-Avengers to help with the new magi-tech batteries, and collected the ones that were done, a whopping twelve of them. With the three new phones, the remaining one from yesterday, and the seven that were passed out, this would allow for maximized functionality of the original phones. That leaves one spare battery, maybe I’ll keep it for Pepper to send to Tony if he starts sniffing around too much.

  I decided to head down to the mess hall for breakfast and have a nice meal, with Rex coming down to get a hunk of salmon from the refrigerated box. Sera and Donald were already there, with both Agent Vance and Agent Peterson eating for free as well. Agent Vance smiled at me as I saw what could only be a nice meal to contrast her former MRE. As I sat down with my meal, a very tired, yet wired, Cal came in, with that same kitten perched on his shoulder. I smiled up at him, and Rex gave the kitten a knowing look.

  Cal cleared his throat and said that he thinks that he understands a bit about my link with Rex. I smiled and told him that he now had an ally through thick and thin, and that he needed to respect that ally as much as that ally respected him. Cal took the information in and asked if it was usual that the familiar could not be detected. I shrugged and said that each familiar was a reflection of the essences of both parties, and whatever needs are present when the bond is made. Cal nodded and said that they were learning the limits and capabilities of their bond.

  Cal grabbed himself some food, and sat down across from me. Sera asked Cal how the bond felt. Just then, Smudge snuck up to Rex, and swiped a piece of salmon from him. Rex, of course, having observational skills just as keenly as my own, if not enhanced by my items, saw the pilfering pussy, but didn’t make any moves to stop it. Cal spoke up and said that right now, they could just pass emotions back and forth, but he hoped that eventually, they would be able to talk.

  I spoke up and said that it might be good to figure on it not happening, depending on Smudge’s abilities. Cal spoke up, and said that he was getting a feeling of wrongness from me saying the name. I smiled, and cast Truespeech on myself. I asked the kitten quickly if they had chosen a different name than what Bright-Eyes had given them. Smudge said that the name Bright-Eyes had given them was just their kitten name.

  Smudge added that now that they are something other than a kitten, they were choosing a different name. He told me that his name is Whisper-Claw. I snickered a little and “Whisper-Claw” asked me what was so funny. I told him that it sounded very… dark. Smudge stood up as tall as he could, being still just a kitten, and said that he was a serious hunter in the dark now.

  I nodded and said that he definitely was. I looked at the others who were all in turn just looking at me with confusion, before I pronounced, with great solemnity, to everyone that he was now, Whisper Claw. Then I remembered that I had never asked Rex if his name that I had chosen was still an okay name for him. I looked at Rex, and apologized before asking him if he had a preferred name. Rex preened up and said that Rex means King in Draconic, so he is fine with it.

  I swear I saw that he had a grin on his face. I told the others that I wasn’t certain when we would have guests today, but that Natalie Rushman would be back, along with a few others. Agent Vance spoke up and said that Agent Smith had informed them that the facility would be having visitors, but that they shouldn’t be too concerned. Just then Agent Vance pulled her new phone out and started mumbling. She stopped talking, and said that Agents Smith and Cross had a large amount of items being delivered to the garage right now that would need to be relocated into the appropriate places.

  I sighed and looked over at Rex. He nodded and we both walked over to the garage. Cal got up and brought Smudge, I mean Whisper-Claw, with him. As we walked, Cal dropped the glamour on his armor, and I did the same. We arrived in full regalia, with Rex shifting and increasing up to his battle form’s size, and surprisingly, Whisper-Claw doing the same, now looking like a mountain lion sized orange tabby with a smudge on their nose. The contrast between the size and build of Whisper-Claw’s enhanced body and the fur length and pattern of their former form was amusing.

  Between Cal and I, we carefully loaded down Whisper-Claw with one hundred pounds of potatoes strapped to his back, and Rex with one hundred and fifty pounds. That still left a LOT for both Cal and I, but luckily, Cal could get one hundred pounds himself, and I put a bag into my haversack, and loaded myself up with another six for myself to carry. Before starting, I asked Agent Smith how many pounds there were, and he told me he got over two long tons. I did the math, and figured that it was going to take us almost four trips, just for the potatoes alone. Agent Cross smiled and said that there was even more after the potatoes.

  On our way up, I picked an area as close as possible to the warehouse, and cast a Stone Shape spell to create a temporary door, which I biased open. Between the four of us, we had the potatoes offloaded into the area I had earmarked for storage and disbursement of the fruits of the Chrysalis. I guess it works for both, for now at least. After we got a good cycle going back and forth, the pallets were removed and another truck dropped off a different series of boxes. These were marked with a shipping address from “Gem Center USA” and had several large boxes.

  Several hundred more pounds of rocks and stone. I asked aloud if these were all rock and stone, and Cal called back, “to the bone” for some reason that he did not expound upon when asked later. Strangely enough, Agent Cross nodded, and repeated, “To the Bone.” when he overheard it. He didn’t say anything about it either, both just had a grim sort of sadness about themselves when they were asked about it. We worked diligently to move all of this cargo into the facility as well, before Agent Cross noted that he had one more thing to dole out, but that he told me that it was likely to be the last amount of them that he could get, at least until we dealt with the network service issue.

  He handed me a bag that weighed two pounds. When I opened it up, I saw it was full of small, similarly cut, rubies. Agent Cross noted that he hoped that this would have us good for a while. I told him that this would certainly help greatly with the finishing of the school, and a lot of amenities. Agent Cross asked about equipment upgrades for Agents, and I said that we could discuss that, but it wasn’t a no.

  After all of the materials from outside were loaded inside, I used the Chisel of the Exquisite Craftsman to “reseal” the wall. I politely asked Cal if he wanted to spend the day with Whisper-Claw, getting to know each other, or if he could spend some time patrolling early on. Cal thought about it, and said that he would like to spend some time with his new companion. I acknowledged that this was a pivotal time in his career, and said that I would do a patrol first thing, after we got everything else sorted out with the visitors, if he could take the time to help me haul everything upstairs. Cal readily agreed, and all four of us started the hike, with the Agents helping by maintaining the doors open while we traveled.

  After an hour, from which Cal and Whisper-Claw were somewhat exhausted, we were finished moving everything up and the door brigade was complete. I left Cal to go spend time with Whisper-Claw, now in his smaller form, with a promise of some good food for Whisper-Claw later. I spent the next two minutes casting Animate Tools to start peeling potatoes. I used another three on the agitators for both the fractional distillation hogshead, the potato slurry vat, and the agitator for the doping mix vat. I cast an Unseen Servant to start loading the potatoes, at an even rate.

  I then started up the first Tears to Wine, to start the process of the fractional distillation process. With that started, I set up two Unseen Crafters, one for measuring the doping and one for collecting the threads at spinneret. I left the setup to start working, until I could get back to check in on the process. I received a Sending from Agent Smith, telling me that he had just been informed that the group would be getting here shortly. I sighed and headed to the Campaigner’s Tent, in the expectation that the three of them would be arriving there. As I saw the marvelous sparkling circle form, I overheard Wong tell Pepper that she just had to try the Summer Sunrise ice.

  I greeted them all, with a bow to the Sorcerer Supreme, and offered that they can all have refreshments, after I provide the tour of the facilities, and provide them with their new phones. I presented one to Wong, and one to Pepper Potts, with a second one held in reserve for Wong to provide to the master of Kamar-Taj. I gave Natasha a knowing look, and told her that I didn’t have one for her, but that we did have some new things in the tower for her to look over. Pepper spoke up, asking me what I meant about this being a tower. I smiled and told her that this would be revealed from the tour, but first, I was going to instruct Wong on how to do this, so that he could teach Pepper, while I observed, and then be free to teach others.

  Wong took the phone gingerly, and I explained everything I could about the phone, how the enchantments will work without power, but that the battery banks were replaced with a Galvanic Spark-Gelid Heart configuration that provided permanent power, and could power external devices via a USB C to USB C Cord. I added that the antenna and bluetooth capability have been removed, but if you don’t want to be seen talking to yourself, if you accidentally talk while sending messages telepathically, the Agents of S.P.E.A.R. here have realized that you can just throw a visible bluetooth in, and not even bother pairing it, or having any functional nodes in it. I added that I would be looking into enchanting said bluetooth earbuds with something special, but it will take a few days to work through my backlog of enchantments to get them to you. Wong started the short process of attuning to the cell phone, and then asked how he could test it.

  I told him to mentally command it to send a twenty-five word (or less) message to Cal Thimes, asking him to come up to the top of the tower, and to bring his companion with him. Wong’s eyes went far for a moment and then after twelve seconds, he refocused and said that Cal replied that he would be right up. I thanked him, and asked him if he could go through exactly what I went through with Pepper Potts, while I observed. Wong and Pepper did so, while Natasha came over to me and asked if the phone did just what her gear did, and I told her that it allowed one to send pictures as well. Natasha asked if I could eventually upgrade her gear to do that, and I told her that the current enchantment architecture worked on sharing pictures taken by the phone, and that I could modify it, but it would allow her to send pictures from her memories, of course, only the ones that she decides to share.

  Natasha quietly asked me if a telepathic “hacker” could just rip the pictures out of her head, and I told her that a telepathic hacker can do that anyway, and her having the ability to share it really wouldn’t change that. I added that only those of good alignment would even be able to utilize the phones, so it wouldn’t help all that much. Also, it would allow her to transfer her memories to photos on a phone, which could, with the appropriate connections, be transferred to another format, allowing her to use her memories for pictures that could never have been taken. Natasha said that she was cautious about it, but that she’d consider the upgrade, if only for the possibilities. I nodded and said that she can drop by probably next week, and I can modify her gear.

  When Wong was done with showing Pepper everything and having her activate the phone, I congratulated her on activating and attuning her first magical item. Pepper looked at me shocked, and I smiled, telling her that she can expect more from me in the future, as long as she is not against it. Pepper said that she would consider it. I nodded, and told her that this phone would allow her to contact anyone who is on this network, with any possibility of network disruption from loss of signal, anywhere on this plane of existence. I told her that there are only eleven people on this network, with her being the twelfth.

  I asked her if she could test it by telepathically Sending a picture of ANYTHING to Wong. After six seconds of concentration, She opened her eyes, and Wong’s phone alerted him that he got a message. He looked at the picture and he told her that it was an accurate depiction of the day that Dr. Strange and Wong approached them in the park. Natasha took a look and said that this was useful. Wong agreed, and I asked them all to entrust their safety to me, and to please leave any and all electric or electronic devices in this room in the Campaigner Tent, because I can’t guarantee digital security outside of this room.

  All three of them deposited their various original cell phones, tablets, devices, including Natasha’s Widow Stings, in prepared chests, and I led them out of the Campaigner’s Tent directly through the door into my “office”, which for now consists of a simple granite desk and a few cheap chairs. Pepper noted that this is new, and I added that she had not seen anything yet. I took them up the flight of stairs to the tenth floor, showing them the observatory, and explained how every wall is one foot this of solid stone, and only able to be seen through in one direction. I told her, and the rest, that this is a great place to view the night sky on quiet nights.

  Pepper nodded and asked if this spot was exclusively mine, and I told her that as long as the people are respectful about the quiet, anyone is welcome here or in the next place that I show them. I quickly did a scan around the skyline, and then showed them all back down to the floor with my office, and opened up the door to the outside balcony, and showed them how they could watch the stars to a lesser extent, from here, or even the lower balcony. I cautioned them that while this level has high walls and a (thin) ceiling, the lower balcony just has four foot high walls, and thus portions of people could be seen floating in mid air, if they are not careful. I led the three of them down to the seventh level, where we met up with Cal.

  I introduced the three of them to Cal, and then asked Cal if he wanted Whisper-Claw to show them what he can do. The kitten jumped off of Cal’s shoulder (why do familiars like sitting there?), and immediately grew into the same battle size as before. All three had a hint of surprise, with Natasha having MUCH less than the others, due to her recent exposure to Rex. Wong asked if this kitten had come over from my home world as well. I smiled and told him that no, this kitten was born to an alley cat, and had been rescued from living on the streets with the rest of their pride, and their mother.

  Wong looked a little panicked, and I told him that we can go over this later. I politely asked Cal, if he could escort Ms. Rushman, down to the Combat Simulation Room. Cal nodded and asked “Natalie” to follow him. I told the two remaining, that the following information was of use to them, and the less people who knew it, the better. I opened up the door to the Aerogel Lab, and showed them the massive amount of work going on in the currently ten foot by ten foot room.

  I told them everything I could about the Bio-Alcogel, how it is made, what it took for it, and what it does as a fabric. I showed them the potatoes that were being automatically peeled, the vats where the potato meat was being turned into slurry, the hogshead that was where the mead was fractional distilled to high percentage mead-ethanol, and paused when I noticed that the mead barrel was empty. I let more water in and cast Tears to Wine again, creating another sixty-seven gallons of fine mead for the process. I pulled some of the already fractional removed Mead-Ice out of that collection tun and asked Pepper if she’d like to try it. She looked at Wong and he nodded his head, indicating that she should.

  Pepper took a spoonful of it and tried it. Her eyes widened with an increased understanding, and before she could say anything, I realized what happened. I apologized that she had been given some of the Summer Sunrise BEFORE the enchantment wore off. Wong looked at Pepper and asked me how long this would last. I told them both that for one hour, she would have an enhancement to any intellectual or common sense based activities, that could conceivably be the equivalent of an increase of up to ten standard deviations of intellect and a similar increase in perceptive and common sense based skills and attempts.

  I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair, apologizing and telling her that this was a blessing and a curse. Wong started to ask me what I mean, and Pepper answered for me that even though this did not change one's morals, that she knew that I would not enter into any lasting contracts while she was not of her own facilities. I thanked her for stating it so precisely, and added that the good side is that she has a much higher grasp on the other things that I would show her about how this place works, and that we have almost one hour to go over it. Pepper immediately asked if this was a long term effect, or if it was just based on when the mead was transfigured. I told her that it only lasted for three hours after I cast the initial spell, and that I had cast this one roughly two hours ago. I added that she can try some of the “cured” Summer Sunrise when we get further along in the tour.

  Pepper spoke up and said that she can appreciate the uniqueness of it and noted that she can recognize that this Summer Sunrise was a byproduct of my own process, not the main product. I smiled and offered up that it was officially a waste product, along with a couple of other marketable items. I went back over the entire process from the start, and she asked very insightful questions throughout the whole process. When we got to the end, she asked me what the specifications of the final fabric was when it was tested. I told her everything that we had seen at the Fire Chief’s tests.

  When she heard everything she asked what my current market plans were. I told her that I was currently looking at marketing to the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Department first, and branch out from there, with them taking on the role of brand ambassadors to proliferate it. I told her that we were only seeking twenty-five hundred dollars for each turnout suit, and that was the price per unit, bulk, for the NF&R. Other departments would have a graduated price point, and be responsible for shipping. The difference in this price point would be split seventy-five - twenty-five with the seventy-five percent going to Approved Norfolk Charities, and twenty-five percent being funneled back into NF&R operating budgets.

  Pepper listened and asked me what I thought about the civilian sector. I asked her if she had noticed anything odd about Cal’s uniform when he walked up. When she had admitted that she had not, I told her that we utilize the dual layer process to make uniforms and gear from the Bio-Alcogel Fabric as well. Pepper asked me how many suits I got per eight hour shift. I told her that we get twenty five suits per eight hour shift, at a raw material expense of three hundred and fifty pounds, peeled, of potatoes, roughly twenty pounds (powdered) each of amber, granite, jade, obsidian, and quartz, and less powdered silver and sapphire.

  Pepper thought about that and figured that at that cost, it was roughly seventy-five dollars in raw materials, and that was before an economy of scale. I nodded and she offered up that there was technically no cost for utilities, since everything was magical. I agreed with her business acumen. She then asked me how much of each byproduct or waste product was produced with each suit, currently. I offered up that for every suit, we got roughly twenty-eight, four hundred calorie “Honey-Spud” bars, four and three quarters pounds of nutrient powder, two pounds of potato Peel based paper, almost nine and a half gallons of the Summer Sunrise Italian Ice, and one and a half gallons of medical grade ethanol.

  Pepper mentioned that I had probably already realized that it would be a madhouse to try to market all of these under one brand name. I agreed with her, and offered up that we were breaking them up thusly, all of the clothing and previous enchanted fire responder gear would be under P.B.C. Safety, whereas the Medical grade ethanol would be distributed under P.B.C Healthcare. The Honey Spuds and Nutrient Powder would be packaged in the paper, and glue derived from the remaining dehydrated potato starch water, under the P.B.C. Nutrition group, with the Summer Sunrise, Ruby Rejuvenation, and Crystal Clarity flavored ices would be under a luxury sub brand of the P.B.C. Nutrition, “Chrysalis”.

  Pepper listened to this and said that our main problem, that she could see, is that we have a logistics issue. We would be building at a rate that cannot be contained. I nodded and said that it was about an hour for Cal, Whisper-Claw, Rex, and I to haul up everything to this room. Pepper offered up that she knew that Stark Industries had acquired the warehouse at twenty-three oh one Tidewater, and that it had been intended to be for the other aspects of working together, but since I had a larger location now, it was going to be easy enough to repurpose it. I offered up that I could provide the enspelled items and even some enchantments, but that we can deal with all of that, after there are no unrequested changes to your mind.

  I offered up that we can continue to get the tour, while you are still rife with understanding, and then we can talk more afterwards, and if she wanted, I could give her another fresh batch of the enhancement, and we five can hash this out further. Wong asked just a word, five, and I told them both that we needed the local magic representative, the Stark Industries Representative, a representative of S.H.I.E.L.D., a representative of S.P.E.A.R., and myself. Likely over lunch, I added quickly. We left the room and I sealed it back up temporarily. With a brief glance from Wong, we passed the Rooting Compound room, which I described as an alchemical lab for my personal research into strengthening materials for personal usage.

  I took the two of them to the room where the Unseen Crafter was still toiling away with the Mini-Avengers. I pointed out the phone batteries that were being made, that would never deplete, never needed charging, and acted as integrated cooling for the unit. Pepper noted that these would also revolutionize the world in enough scale, and I offered up that this could be done by combining the Gelid Hearts with the Galvanic Sparks, easily accessible via the “Tony’s Cold Shoulder” and “Tony’s Shocking Retort”. Pepper spoke up and mentioned that Tony was getting kind of restless with his Cold Shoulder, and starting to research into this area again. I looked at Wong and asked him if it was time to get him “Tony’s Biting Retort”.

  Wong thought about it for a minute before saying that it would be much better for Tony if he did not look too much into this area, if only to prevent Stark Industries from getting caught in Wendell’s focus. Pepper nodded, saying that this would be an issue, and asked what it would take to fully make the facility “Magi-Tech” so that it can’t be hacked. I thought about it and said that once I got a good view of the inside of the facility, I can create a decent estimate for both time and costs. Pepper seemed to accept that, and asked if we had more rooms to look into. I told her that the next three floors were more of the same, in that they were a series of five rooms, with room for expansion, but they have not been assigned yet.

  I escorted everyone down four flights of stairs to get to the hard science classrooms and lab, and showed the two of them how this would be the Chemistry and Material Sciences, Mechanics and Ballistics, Agricultural Science and Resource Management, and my Applied Metaphysics and Magi-tech. I told them that these rooms would be dimensionally expanded soon. We walked down to the next floor, and I added that these were the first dimensionally expanded classrooms. I showed them the Physics and Engineering classroom, where text was already there, and Donald was writing up more on the smart board. I greeted Donald and introduced him to Wong and Pepper.

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  Pepper wasn’t that confused by the extra-dimensional aspect of the room, and I told her that all of the ones on this floor were stationary versions of my Campaigner’s Tent. Donald smiled and said that he really appreciated the chance to give back after his past. Pepper said that we needed the help from everyone we could, and his knowledge and skill was his best way to help. I apologized for taking up his lesson planning time, and thanked him again for his assistance this morning. Donald just shrugged and said all he did was hold doors, but appreciated the thanks before we left.

  I then took them to the future Logic and Philosophy classroom, and indicated to Wong that this is where the Masters of the Mystic Arts Exchange teacher would be teaching their class. Wong looked around and nodded. I told Pepper that I would give her a full manifest of the different classes we will be having here when we are done, just for her edification. We went down to the dorm level, and I picked an empty dorm to show the two of them, how each one was dimensionally expanded, and still there were four bedrooms per suite. I took them down to the ground floor, because Pepper’s bonus was wearing off, and quickly showed them the four auxiliary rooms and then took them both to the tavern themed mess hall.

  Wong immediately walked over to the area for the Nutritional Cube and started his order. I explained the process to Pepper, and she asked if there were any limitations to this. I told her the meals created will be nutritious, no matter what it is that you visualize, but that it will taste exactly as you remember or think it will taste like. Pepper replied that it was like the Field Provision Box from before. I told her that it was, but this cube had a few extras built in.

  First, it allowed for actual alcohol, at no more than eighteen percent by volume, which provides a smaller bonus to intellect and wisdom based tasks for only ten minutes. Second, if you request something caffeinated, it actually provides quite the kick, giving you a good offset to fatigue related issues. Thirdly, it can feed up to forty-eight hundred people a day, if they cycle through appropriately. Pepper looked at me and asked how I changed it up, and I told her that I changed the focal spells for it, but it was also mainly possible because it was anchored to the room in this building. I pointed out the three freezers full of different ice variants, one being the Summer Sunrise, one being the Ruby Restoration, and a final one being the Crystal Clarity.

  Pepper asked me the inspiration for the decor, and I told her that the two current students, Cal and Sera, Donald, and the four Agents of S.P.E.A.R. had set it up, because they wanted something inspirational. I offered up to her that this tavern would be a welcome place for all Masters of the Mystic Arts, Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, and the family and friends of those groups, as long as they are of good moral alignment. I added that while this was the mess hall for this small school that I was creating, that I wanted somewhere that those people can just come and relax, especially with the world being the way it is. Pepper asked about the fact that youth could get access to alcohol, and I said that the youngest anyone would be at this school is seventeen, and that I was considering putting an age limit on it.

  Pepper got the procedure and asked if I could top her up on another of the boosts. I asked her what she preferred, Fine Red Wine, White Wine, or Mead. She replied that she liked white wine, and I collected a gallon of water in a granite pitcher, and cast Tears to Wine, to make a gallon of enhanced white wine. Pepper took a granite chalice and took a drink. I did the same thing with another pitcher of water for mead, and a final one for red wine.

  Pepper took a drink and renewed the enhancement to her intellect. She joked that while this wasn’t a drug, it could certainly seem addicting. Wong took the pitcher of mead, and used it to sweeten the tea that he had gotten, and said that it certainly could. Agent Smith walked in with the other Agents, and I asked Pepper to Send a message via the cell phone to get Cal and Natasha. She pulled out the new S.P.E.A.R. phone and was unfocused for a minute before she refocused and said that they had been informed and would be back up to the mess hall shortly.

  Agent Smith sat down with us, took a drink of the mead, and as the boost to intellect took hold, asked Pepper what she thought about the whole process upstairs. Pepper thought about it for a minute and said that the material was revolutionary, and that this was too big for this, while she gestured around at the tower. She added, after taking another sip of her wine, that this building wasn’t designed for the kind of traffic that this stuff was going to get. Agent Smith asked her what she wasn’t saying, and Pepper smiled, saying that she wanted to keep this place as concealed as possible.

  Natasha and Cal made their way up to the mess hall then, and we paused any further conversation until after Natasha and Cal were settled, Natasha with us, and Cal with the other Agents, students, and staff. After she had sat down, I noticed that she had a slightly different look to her face, but I didn’t bring it up. While we all had our individual comfort food and were eating our meals, we all partook in the Tears to Wine pitchers. Pepper broke the silence by asking Agent Smith what he thought would be the best move forward. Agent Smith finished his bite, and said that it would be best to move everything to a larger facility. I offered up that I can expand that room to thirty feet by thirty feet, and Pepper announced that it was too large of an output even for that, especially since we were looking at multiple hundreds of gallons a day in just the dessert output.

  Pepper asked if I remembered the warehouse that Happy had been looking at when I met him to get the gift that I had sent to them. I looked admonished and said that Happy was supposed to save that mead for another six months at least for the celebration. Pepper caught the look in my eye and said that Happy was never good at leaving things hidden, and that the purpose for celebration still isn’t known to Tony yet. I caught the realization hitting Natasha almost immediately for that, but she stayed silent, with a knowing glance to Pepper. Pepper continued with saying that Stark Industries had been interested in owning a property in Norfolk, and that warehouse was the best of three worlds, firstly it fairly close but not too close, secondly it was large enough to fit some small scale factory work in it, but not automated in any way yet, and thirdly, it was already available on the market and cheap.

  Pepper proposed moving the production operations whole cloth to the warehouse, and having the shipments go there. It won’t be as unusual as getting tons of produce going in, or seeing tractor trailer loads of product going out, rather than being choked by this place. Agent Smith nodded and asked what Wong and I thought about it. Wong said that it was still in the same city, so it is mainly my domain, but if there were any people working there, they would have to be vetted extensively. I told Pepper that I would recommend against ALL digital connections to the outside, and that it would even be better if there were no computers.

  Natasha spoke up and said that we can use that fact as a bit of archaic branding. We get drivers who are paid well, and they only drive things from other warehouses to this facility and back. They get paid salary, and are tracked via Satellite, rather than by signal. They can have delivery bills that are made from the potato paper, and everything, since we are delivering it to other Stark warehouses for delivery, can just do inventory there. Blind load and drop off.

  Pepper nodded and said that since we wouldn’t be delivering the medical grade ethanol via these trucks, it wouldn’t be labelled as hazardous materials or anything else that would garner attention. Agent Smith nodded and said that this can make sense. I offered up that as long as Wong was there for final chops, I would be glad to enchant as much as is needed for the building. Wong spoke up and said that his concern would be the proliferation of knowledge about magic. Pepper asked me what would need to be learned to operate any of these items.

  I was silent for a moment before I said that the process could be done by anyone with a sufficient intellect to grasp basic concepts. The harder part was that they needed to be of good alignment, because the items would not work if they weren’t. Pepper asked me to explain what I meant, and I told her that every magic item I created or enchanted was enchanted in such a way as to prevent the ability of someone not of good alignment to use it. Pepper asked what judged someone’s alignment, and I told her that it wasn’t anything that I judged, it was more of what the universe thought of the person. Natasha spoke up and said that she had just confirmed that there is, indeed, a universal determination of good and evil.

  I offered up that we can use some simple items to determine if a person is of good alignment or not, but what we really needed were trustworthy people for the operation. Pepper did some math and said that they would need at least twenty people, and how quickly could they be trained. I had a brainstorm and spoke up and asked Cal to come over. Cal stood up from his table, and walked over. I thanked him for getting up, and asked him if he felt that he could train a group of people to use magic items. Cal smiled and said that he managed to teach four S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents how to use magic items in under a day.

  Pepper asked him how he felt about being a temporary manager for the facility that would be making more of the Bio-Alcogel and other components. Cal looked at me, and I smiled, telling him that he had learned more than enough from me to be able to teach others, and that while I would take responsibility for them in the long run, that he can teach them the initial aspects just fine. I added that we didn’t need him to teach them his techniques or anything, just how to use magical items and act as the training manager for them. Cal nodded and asked if he was being graduated out of the school or his other activities. I shook my head as I told him in no uncertain terms, that he was not being removed from the school, just helping him get a broader education, it was just that this was a crucial nexus point for saving the city and country beyond it, and that I was entrusting him to it.

  Pepper spoke up and offered up that while this wasn’t a specific job that he could point to on a resume, that she figured that he was destined for loftier things now, and that she figured that shortly, he wouldn’t even be worrying about basic necessities anymore. Pepper looked at me and asked what could be done to train up a bunch of people quicker. That was when Agent Smith spoke up and said that I had provided a list for my top three candidates for each field, and what might be the best ways to offer up to them the “deal”. I looked at Cal and told him that I thanked him for his dedication and willingness to even consider it, and that he could discuss it with the others if he felt he would like to. Cal nodded and headed back over to his table, while we looked at each prospective teacher’s dossier.

  Natasha quickly went through the files and removed more than half of them, indicating that they were listed as missing since the Snap and thus not available. I looked up when she said “Snap” and Agent Smith did as well. I noticed that Pepper and Wong were not that confused by the term. Natasha sent a mental Sending to both of us that she’d discuss with us later. Wong looked at the remaining two Kamar-Taj candidates, and told us that he would take this to both of them, right now, and find out whom among them was willing.

  I stopped him before he left, and handed him another dossier, and asked him to drop by this person too, if he could to just see what she thinks of the possibility for her possible position. Wong looked at it and nodded, taking all three pages before opening up a Sling Ring Portal right in the Mess Hall. I smiled and said that might make two of the fields done. Then a smaller Sling Ring Portal opened up near the containers of gallons of the Italian Ice, each one in turn, before closing again. Pepper laughed a little and said that she was definitely going to have to try them now. Natasha recommended trying a “Neopolitan Mocktail”, which Pepper smiled and said that she can enjoy the taste of the wine without any more actual alcohol?

  Natasha nodded, and I summoned up an Unseen Servant and ordered it to bring both Pepper and Natasha one. When it came back with one of each, I overheard Sera ask about one for her, and I ordered the Unseen Servant to go around and collect dessert orders for each, and then go fetch whatever they desired. Pepper asked how long something like that lasts, indicating the force that I had summoned, and I shrugged saying that for one casting it would last eighteen hours now. Pepper whistled and asked if it could do foot massages. I shrugged and said it can but that you probably want something actually skilled for that.

  Natasha nodded and said that we should probably continue with the task at hand. Agent Smith looked through a few of them and declared that they were former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, and that we can’t contact them anymore, but Natasha took them and said that she would get in contact with them. Pepper looked at the remainder and asked aside from these, what we needed. I shrugged and said that mainly, we needed time. I needed at least a week to finish off all of the enchantments for this place, if not more. Natasha picked one of the other dossiers up and lifted an eyebrow, before noting that she had not thought that this person would be on my radar. She was quiet for a moment before saying that the teacher could work out fine, if we can convince him to stay out of the dirt.

  I replied that as long as he is there for the classes, he can do whatever when not teaching. Pepper nodded and said that she would reach out to where he was, and see if he wanted the position. I thanked her, and told her that if she needed further incentives, just to contact me. I specified to both that I would not be teaching to anyone under the age of adulthood, in case the situation comes up. I offered up that it wasn’t because I thought them less intelligent or capable, just that I wanted to make sure that they were declared competent to make decisions by whatever governing body there was, so that they get the full credit for those decisions.

  We talked a bit more, and I asked Pepper if she had a few hours to go with Natasha and experience talking to someone from the higher planes, as I needed to prepare some items for enchanting, for this facility. I finally used the open reply from Natasha’s previous Sending, to send to her to ask the Archons to bless Pepper’s future child, if at all possible, for me. Natasha just nodded in response, and the two of them walked out of the room. I asked Agent Smith to walk with me, and we left the others in the mess hall. While we walked, I asked him about the rooms on the first floor, for which one he thought that we could do without.

  Agent Smith looked at the floor plan, and asked what we needed a library for on the first floor. I smiled and said that this was a perfect point, and posited that this room would be where we ask Wong to set up any portal destinations, and that I would enchant it with an Amicus crossing, so that anyone who wants to transit between one place and another, needs to be good aligned. Agent Smith thought about it and said that if we make this right, we could even have guest lecturers here whenever someone comes through and has time. I nodded and said that we can leave one classroom open for just that, acknowledging the good idea. I sent a mental pulse to the Mini-Avengers to bring them to me.

  It took a few minutes while we were talking and Agent Smith asked me what I thought that Natasha meant by “the Snap”. I shrugged and told him that I would be waiting until later for her to explain what she meant by it. Agent Smith nodded and said that he’s waited this long for an explanation, he can wait a little longer. I thanked him and told him that I was going to be working on the Wellness center in the basement, if he had any ideas from the rest of the team. Agent Smith nodded and turned to leave.

  I waited a little bit more before I heard the staccato tapping of eight tiny Avengers rushing towards me. I took them all down to the former combat room three which would now be the future Health and Wellness Center. When we got in, I worked with all eight of them to get the enchantments installed. With all nine of us there, it took just barely over an hour to “push the walls out” extradimensionally, and now, instead of a twenty by twenty, we have a sixty foot by sixty foot that can be rearranged as needed. It was also doubled in height, so they had more vertical room to go down eight feet for the pool, and also have the water reclamation and sanitization to minimize any health based issues.

  They all followed me up, after I left a set of two of each of the Phoenix Core, Gelid Heart, Galvanic Spark, Sonus Chord, and Blight Stones, for the team to reshape as needed to fulfill what is required. It would require a LOT of water for this, but I was certain that Agent Smith and the rest could get it done. Hell, even if they tap off of our cistern, it could be filled in under a day with just what the make up water rate is. I led the Mini-Avengers on the way up to the former “library” and met with the Agents and staff team heading down. I gave them the schematics for the room’s dimensions on the way past, and they looked a bit amazed.

  When we got to that formerly assigned library room, I got the Mini-Avengers up and going. It wouldn’t just be the space expansion, but each of the three “rooms” would be walled off with stone, and each one would have an “Amicus” wall, using a different language (with the Masters of the Mystic Arts getting the Celestial Word for Friend, The Avengers getting the Elven word for Friend, and New Asgard for the third gate room being Dwarven word for it). The Main door has the same “Amicus” command word. Important to mention, is that we don’t have actual doors, just walls that allow you to meld through them, in certain areas, and since it is technically in an extradimensional realm, even breaking through some of the walls wouldn’t help. I hope that this is enough security, but I think Wong will be the judge of that.

  It took longer to do all of this than it took to just dimensionally expand the Health and Wellness center, but it was worth it. My Mini-Avengers and I walked out of the room, and made my way back to the Mess Hall, sending the Mini-Avengers back to the battery lab, to help there while I met with the others. In the Mess Hall was a new person, tall with close cropped grey hair on both their scalp and beard. I walked up to Wong, who acknowledged my greeting, and introduced Master Grem to me, and me to Grem. Grem asked me if we could walk and talk for a bit, and I immediately agreed to do so.

  Wong said that he would check in on the Stark Industries lead and the S.H.I.E.L.D. contact in the Combat Simulation Room. Grem looked at me with a bit of interest, and asked what Wong meant. I told him that it would be best if we went to the top floor and worked our way down. Grem nodded and we walked out of the mess hall and up to the top, without much talk. When we got to the observatory, Grem asked if there were any requirements for this room, and I told him that all that was required was silence at night. Grem nodded and we continued down to the eighth level, letting him know that my bedroom and office was on the ninth floor.

  As we walked through the seventh floor, I stopped at the bio-alcogel lab, and opened the door. I showed Grem the fabric that his school uniform would be made from, and told him that I would personally enchant his robes so that they would change shape to look like whatever he wanted to look like. Grem nodded and asked if that was the only enchantment that would be added to the robes. I shrugged and said that we could work together on any further enchantments, I just didn’t want him to feel out of comfort, while we were teaching people to learn. Grem took that as his cue, and asked me what I wanted him to teach the possible students.

  I cleared my throat, and told him that I did not know how much the Sorcerer Supreme had told him about me, but I wanted the students of this tower to get a full grounding in the sciences and thoughts of this realm, before I taught them anything magical at all. Grem asked me why I wanted Logic and Reason to be taught by the Masters of the Mystic Arts. I told him that he would be the person to dictate what he teaches, not me. I just wanted him to teach everyone the best he could, and that yes, there would be a practice combat area that was free to arrange, and there were purposeful meditation rooms to allow for that as well. His room and board was covered, and he would be remunerated from the S.P.E.A.R. accounts.

  Grem was thoughtful while he was standing there, and I offered up that I would be working with the Sorcerer Supreme to get a portal opened up to either one of the Sanctums or to Kamar-Taj itself, to offer up our facilities for learning and training against ephemeral representations of the nether realms, and to have the chance to learn from those of the celestial realms. Grem asked if Wong has experienced this yet, and I told him that they could both go together. I added that I would need to talk to Wong later, but that the two others he brought might need to head back to pursue their own individual tasks outside of this place. Grem nodded as we finally made our way to his classroom. I showed him how it was bare bones, with just the desks and a smart screen, and offered that I would be glad to assist in redesigning the room to be whatever he felt would facilitate his training better.

  Grem asked me just how much time he would have to teach the classes. I told him that we would work that out when the staff was fully assembled, but that we would figure out the best schedule for them and the students. Grem nodded and asked if I would be doing any training with relics, and I smiled, telling Grem that I would likely be creating some minor relics for the students here. Grem’s eyebrows shot up and asked me to repeat myself, and I told him that I was the one who dimensionally expanded the classrooms, and had made the enchantment so that that entry to the building can only be accomplished by melding through a wall, and only then when one is of good alignment. Grem asked about Sling Ring transportation, and I sighed, saying that I had not developed the means to prevent that, yet, but that I would figure on working on it given time.

  Grem nodded and asked to be shown to his quarters. I told him that he had the back three ten foot by ten foot rooms in his classroom, and that if that is not sufficient, we can look towards other options. Grem nodded and said that having three individual ten foot by ten foot rooms is not the worst situation that can happen. I thanked him for the consideration of taking the position. Grem nodded and said that he would be bringing his things directly back to his room tonight.

  I smiled and asked him if Wong had told him about the Mess Hall. Grem told me that Wong had not, and had only insinuated that he would really appreciate it. I smiled and said that he can get comfortable and maybe spend some time in the Combat Simulation Room, after Wong gets back from dropping off the two ladies he brought with him this morning. I told him that I had something to work on, and that I would be available for dinner, almost certainly. Grem nodded and I went upstairs to meet up with my Mini-Avengers again.

  For the final project of the day, I thought about some of the common attacks that negative energy inflicts, that I can’t deal with well. I had no way to deal with damage to one’s base abilities, as not even my normal healing, or enhanced regeneration from my implanted Pearly White Spindle Ioun Stone dealt with it, and I had not learned any spells for that yet. I thought about what were the available capabilities for magical items that I could wear, and I thought of three items. One of which was a ring, and the other two were hand held items. I figured that I would make the ring today, as an exercise for the new feat that I had learned not too long ago.

  The Mini-Avengers all followed suit and I grabbed a few hunks of the base amber, jade, quartz, and some of the rubies. I used the Chisel of the Exquisite Craftsman to make the ring have a base of the jade, an inner layer of the amber, and a jacket of the quartz. On the face of the ring, I had inset a tiny rhomboid cut piece of lemurian blue granite, and had it flanked by two of the rubies, also inset. It was sized for my right hand index finger, and slipped under my gloves without protest or issue. The Mini-Avengers and I worked for two solid hours on enchanting it, and when it was done, I felt the magic start to course within me.

  I didn’t know what to call it at first, but putting it on, I felt vastly stronger, and less troubled by what might cause me to wither away. There was a peace there that wasn’t there before, a guarantee of some measure of stasis. The name came to me from the placidity that followed. Unyielding Stillness. Maybe a bit pretentious, but who cares?

  I walked back down to the mess hall where everyone had gathered. I felt a portion of the energy from the ring, but knew that the full measure of the ring would not be fully actualized for at least a week. I already felt less hungry than earlier, however. I grabbed a light meal, and sat down with Pepper and Natasha. Pepper looked at me with an odd look that I couldn’t place, and asked how I had known weeks ago. I told her that I had spent a large amount of time studying a LOT of medical texts, and I had also seen her months ago when the other Avengers went into space to deal with Thanos.

  That led to Natasha looking at Pepper, and Pepper quietly explained that Clint had brought me to help with Tony’s recovery. I nodded and said that Clint had heard what I had done for Coulson. They both looked at me with different looks. Pepper with astonishment, and Natasha with a look that I still couldn’t place. Natasha said that this was best discussed in a place where it couldn’t easily be scried upon.

  I nodded and led them down to the newest Health and Wellness center, and explained that since these were technically four different extra-dimensional areas, it made it harder to maintain Scrying when you cross the planes repeatedly. All we have to do is walk around the pool, slowly but constantly. Pepper and Natasha followed not too far away as I explained that one of the first things that had happened after I arrived here was that I was taken to the island where Phillip Coulson was dying. Pepper looked at me oddly, and Natasha told her that Phil had died from the wounds from Loki, flatlined, but was saved due to an extremely long process, and was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. until a few months before the Snap, where the process that had saved him burned out, and he was dying permanently. Natasha looked at me, and I told her that since my healing was magic, S.H.I.E.L.D. thought that I might be able to help.

  I added that I had not fully cured him, but I had added another fourteen weeks of life to him, and not too long after, he was summoned to my world, where he was successfully leading a team of adventurers to deal with some battle. Steve had seen him via my Scrying, and we can schedule a time to see him the next time we all have some free time. Pepper said that it might be nice to have everyone see him from the team. I told them that the autumnal equinox would likely be a good time to get everyone together. Pepper said that she felt like she could get everyone together for that.

  I told both that it might be good to check in on New Asgard. Natasha nodded and said that it would be good to not let Thor stay alone for too long. I nodded and said that I would be working on something special for him for that day too. Pepper gave me a lifted eyebrow, and said that she hoped it wouldn’t be anything drastic. Natasha smiled and said that if it was anywhere as good as what she got, she would know that Thor would love it. I schemed for about ten seconds before telling the both of them what I just came up with.

  I told them both that we had made the shell of this entire tower in less than a day. I would be making more of the tools to do this, and we would make the entirety of New Asgard out of gleaming granite, all in one day, with a celebration at the sunset to rival any other. Natasha spoke up, admitting that since I can make so much mead, it would definitely be a good celebration. I asked Pepper if she can set aside a portion of the Italian Ice that is made by the new factory, once it is up and going, to go for that celebration.

  Pepper asked how we would get it there, and I smiled, saying that they could leave that to me. We walked back up to the Mess Hall and Natasha explained to me about the Snap and what had done the Decimation. I was thoughtful and said that this suggested that there were seven powerful artifacts combined, to make an even more powerful result, but that I doubted that even that could kill half of everyone. Maybe displace them from time or the plane, or both, but not kill. Natasha asked what I mean, and I told her that the Astral Plane had spots where a week outside passes for a day inside, and the Deep Astral puts people even further dilated, to the extent that if you go deep enough, it might just seem to be seconds that pass, and years pass on the regular plane.

  I told them that I would think more about this, but that we should have our dinner, and end our day, so that they can get back to their lives. Pepper laughed and said that Tony might be freaking out, and I told her that if he is as invested in the Gelid Hearts as she said, he might not even notice until she gets back. The three of us went back to the mess hall, and all of us, the Agents, the two Masters of the Mystic Arts, the two students and Donald, and Natasha, Pepper, and myself all got what we desired from the Nutrient Cube, with Grem smiling at what looked to be a traditional meal. We all had light conversation as we ate and discussed the day. At the end of the meal, Grem opted to stay in his new quarters, and Wong, Natasha, Pepper, and I all went back up to my Campaigner’s Tent, where they collected their electronics, and kept their new phones.

  The three of them left via a Sling Ring Portal, with Natasha and Pepper noting that they would be getting in contact with their chosen persons, and Wong said that he would be back tomorrow when Gefjon is ready, and bring her here. I asked Wong if he could look into the process of making permanent portals so that we can link New Asgard, the Avengers Compound, and even Kamar-Taj if he thinks it smart. Wong said that he would look into it, and the three of them were gone. I finished up my day, and got myself ready for the night. I waited for my nightly contact with my beloved.

  It didn’t take too long before I got my nightly check in with Amber. She used her Sending to tell me, “I heard from the Cavalry that you are building something really impressive. I will really love to see it when I get back. Love You!”. I smiled and sent that, “I am doing everything I could to make this comfortable and safe for her return. I can’t wait to see you and love you too!” With my nightly task done, and the day being fairly quiet, I relaxed back into thinking about if I had forgotten anything. Then I remembered that I never asked Natasha if she could use her new gloves to check on who had fired the bullet. I resolved to upgrade my earcuffs tomorrow to fully unlock that feature and then I would contact her directly.

  Actually rolled zero encounters and zero downtime events. Just Story progression.

  Magic Item:

  Unyielding Stillness:

  Aura moderate conjuration CL 7th

  Slot ring; Price 27,750 gp (minor) Weight —

  Description

  Alternating diamonds and rubies stud this band of white gold. A minor ring of fortitude reduces ability damage or temporary ability penalties the wearer takes by 2 points and ability drain by 1 point. If an effect targets multiple ability scores (for example, exhaustion, fatigue, or touch of idiocy), the ring reduces the damage, drain, or penalty for all ability scores.

  Wearing a ring of inner fortitude ring does not make the wearer immune to conditions such as fatigued or exhausted even if the wearer ignores all ability damage, drain, or penalties from the condition. If the ring prevents any damage, drain, or penalty that are associated with a beneficial effect, it also negates the beneficial effect.

  This ring continually provides its wearer with life-sustaining nourishment. The ring also refreshes the body and mind; its wearer only needs to sleep 2 hours per day to gain the benefit of 8 hours of sleep. This allows a spellcaster that requires rest to prepare spells to do so after only 2 hours, but does not allow a spellcaster to prepare spells more than once per day. The ring must be worn for a full week before it begins to work. If it is removed, the owner must wear it for another week to re-attune it to himself.

  This Ring also provides a +2 bonus to Strength.

  Construction

  Requirements Forge Ring, restoration; Cost 13,875 gp