Chapter 126 – Train the Trainer

  “That’s Kurt and his… not sure what the women are to him, but I suspect he is in a relationship with one of them. Anyway, he is friendly with John, apparently they go way back. Best to treat them well. Pretty much all the staff know so just put a note in the order using this tab and that button…” – Waiter at Johhny’s Place telling the new hire about Kurt.

  Kurt was lounging in Kristi’s game room, sitting on the couch with her. She was playing the remastered Halo CE and seemed to be having a great time. He wasn’t sure how she was so good at managing the mob tactics the flood used in the Library level but it was her favorite franchise so who was he to question. He was barely good enough to play on normal, let alone the Legendary difficulty that she was on.

  Still, it was nice to just sit in the same place. Even if they were doing separate things, there was a certain companionable silence between them. It was also a companionable ‘silence’ since he had been banned from talking about enchanting after talking nearly nonstop to the girls and mumbling to himself for several days. Apparently, they had enough with his fixation on consistency and time constraints that they had a little intervention. That morning, Val had disappeared after saying something about ‘having to fix it herself’ as she hopped in his SUV and drove off before the sun was up.

  While Kristi was gaming, Kurt was nose deep in one of the liberated texts from the enchanter’s guild. It was an interesting volume on spell automation and energy conservation with the author having put many notes in the passages.

  Seeing someone’s findings was always a good thing but Kurt was of the opinion that seeing their thought process was more enlightening. While knowing how to go from A to B was always good, sometimes it was a struggle to even find A or know what alphabet he was working with. How could you know about going to L without even knowing it existed? Why was he thinking in terms of alphabets?

  The reason Kurt was reading this book was because he was looking for a solution to a problem he had invented for himself. It was something that his mind had wandered far enough to stumble over while he had been doing some plumbing over the past week.

  The problem he had theorized was about what would happen if they lost their enchanted items? Naturally nothing would ‘happen’ to them but it would be rather inconvenient for them. Lucky for Kurt, he already had his ‘step 1’ in how he wanted to go about fixing the issue.

  “I think I am going to my shop.” Kurt said while scratching at the spot above where his implant was. “I got something I want to map out.”

  Kristi hit the pause button before looking at him. “Need help at all?”

  “Nah, just doing some drawing.” Kurt answered and placed a bookmark before leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Love you, let Val know where I went when she gets back.”

  “OK, love you too.” She smiled and watched him for a moment before returning to her game.

  Kurt wandered through the basement over to the vault door which he unlocked by pushing a little mana into the palm sized block that had replaced the combination lock and handle. There was a soft click and it swung out on perfectly balanced hinges, allowing him entry.

  He walked down the few short steps and over to his work bench where he quickly pulled out a stool and his pad of graph paper. After securing a mechanical pencil, he began to draw. Naturally, as an enchanter who worked with metals and runes, the first thing he drew was a crude depiction of a femur.

  Like almost every person, Kurt had some medical knowledge. Unlike most people, he learned a little more in his time in the Army and the trauma medicine classes they taught. Unlike even more people, he had recently been studying the specifics of what materials can safely be implanted in the body.

  Armed with this information, Kurt wanted to make an implant that wrapped around a bone and held multiple enchantments. Naturally he used the common knowledge to know that the femur was a rather large, straight and strong bone to use. He then used the uncommon knowledge to understand that he couldn’t just replace a bone without major side effects and issues down the road. His research around implants was how he was going to get around this little issue.

  There were a slew of materials that could be safely left within the body for long periods of time. Ceramics were a natural choice since they were neutral and didn’t react to anything but didn’t fit his needs. Kurt needed metals that he could use in his enchantments, and he had narrowed down a list of what he had on hand.

  In his research, Kurt found that titanium was a common metal used and often was a preferred choice based on light weight and high tensile strength. Gold was also viable since it didn’t corrode but was limited because of its delicate nature. Finally, his little wonder metal that came from the crystals he and Val had found was a perfect third that he would use in his plans.

  On his pad of paper, Kurt began to design the device born of his latest fever dream. He was going to use a titanium tube that was enchanted to not only automatically resize but also act as a bridge for the other parts of the device. Those parts were going to be a series of titanium rings that he could ‘add’ as he needed, with the help of Jay. He would be using the gold as a series of connective circuits along the tube to interface with each of the rings that would be set along its length. The mystery metal would be what he inlaid into the rune carvings and activate the enchantments along with storing and transmitting energy.

  Kurt liked the modular nature of the design and already had a list of things he wanted to put on his implant. There would easily be enough room for eight ‘slots’ and he quickly reviewed his choices. The first was naturally a storage ring, upgraded and refined with the knowledge he gained from the first versions. He figured he would be able to get another fifty percent capacity along with fixing the ‘aperture’ to remove the physical size limit in the next version.

  The second thing was an interface for that storage ring and based on his transformation. He was tired of having to store things manually when he shifted and on one occasion had ruined a rather expensive set of gear because of it. He needed to find a way that he could set a specific parameter to automatically remove and apply his gear when shifting that he would be using in several ways. He thought of a few enchantments that would serve the purpose well enough.

  The third thing he wanted was to move the buffing bracelet effects to a ring for obvious reasons. He liked the effect but was annoyed with having another bangle on his person that he had to keep track of. This also applied to the necklaces he made for him and the girls which took up the fourth slot. He might try and work in another enchantment to that ring if possible, just to save space.

  Lastly, taking up the remaining four slots would be a battery. He was going to make a long, tube-shaped battery to use in his casting. He wasn’t a free form caster like the girls so a magical focus wouldn’t do him much good. His casting was all spells he had to write out, though the nanobots helped immensely with the auto casting.

  His reason for the battery was because of what had happened in his last rift and how the one chain lightning spell had almost drained him. All of his spells that would be effective in a fight were very energy intense and took a lot of power. Unfortunately, the rate at which they used energy also meant very few could be powered by the ambient mana.

  Taking a moment, Kurt texted Jay about the possibility of doing another implant before going back to his work. He wanted to get some rough measurements and did some rather macabre Google searches to get specifics for his notes.

  Finishing his rough design, only the high-level information and drawings rather than the full enchantments traced out, Kurt stood and stretched. As he did, his awareness returned to his surroundings and his ears picked up the swish of tails and soft padding of feet that heralded Val’s approach. He turned to look her way just as she started down the stairs.

  “Hey babe, welcome back.” He said as she came over to give him a hug and kiss. “Where did you get off to?”

  “Down to a city called Rockford.” Val said with a smile as she returned the kiss.

  “Why did you go all the way down there?” He was more than a little surprised. He hadn’t known Val to go any farther than TC on her own and she had never expressed any interest in going south.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  She smiled and pulled his hand, beckoning him to follow. “Well, I got sick of your shit and decided to spring for a little present for you.” The slight quirk of her lips and the shine in her eye told him she wasn’t truly upset.

  “How…charming.” Kurt laughed. He followed her up the stairs and across the living room as she led him to the garage.

  “So did you solve your problem or whatever you were working on?” She asked while opening the door to the breezeway.

  “Yeah, I think so. You probably will like it but its gonna hurt.”

  “What do you mean?” Val stopped and looked at him as they got to the car.

  Kurt sighed. “It’s another implant. This one is just a lot bigger than the last one.”

  Val shrugged. “That’s fine, I let you shove big things in me all the time.” She laughed at the flat expression that Kurt gave her, clearly pleased with how clever she was.

  “Right. Anyway, what did you bring me out here for?”

  Clicking the key fob, Val popped the back hatch and the tailgate lifted to reveal something wrapped in a lot of plastic and resting on a pallet. There was also a lot of other, slightly smaller, plastic wrapped things set in along side the massive…something.

  “Val, what is this?” He couldn’t see anything through the black plastic and the shape wasn’t giving any hints.

  Reaching in, Val retrieved a book and handed it to him. “It’s this!”

  Kurt took the book and turned it over revealing it to be an instruction manual for a four axis CNC machine. His eyebrows rose when he saw it and he had to do a double take at the back of his car.

  “How?” Was the only thing he could say. How had she not only thought about getting him one of these machines but also sourced one from somewhere somewhat locally.

  “Well, on day three of you going on about automation, it gave me an idea.” She explained. “Then the internet gave me the means. Did you know that there is an equipment dealer that handles all this and even delivers?”

  “Well…no.”

  “Ah, right. Let’s get this in and get it set up.” She clapped her hands and pointed to the door. “Better get the dragon too.”

  “Sure, just one question.” Kurt said and pointed at the manual he was holding. “Do you have any idea how to run one of these? Cause I don’t.”

  Val smirked as she opened the passenger door and pulled out a brand-new laptop, still in the cardboard box. “I don’t know how to run a CNC but I did play with some 3D modeling and design. From what I have researched, the software will help in converting everything. All I need you to do is give me the design and I will take it from there.”

  A moment later, Kristi came out into the garage, looking around the open tailgate curiously. After Val explained what she had been up to, the dragoness was happy to get onboard. Within half an hour, they had managed to wrangle everything into the house and down the stairs to the vault.

  Kurt got to assembling the stand, which doubled as a tool cabinet, while Val loaded the software into the new laptop and began to read through the manual, laying out the parts. She had also purchased a variety of cutting tools and plenty of the lubricant to run in the machine. Thankfully it didn’t need to run on 220, saving Kurt from having to run more wiring.

  After Kristi helped lift the machine up onto the stand and it was bolted in place, Kurt inspected the selection of cutter heads. “I think I am going to enchant these. I want to make them more durable and cut better. I might even do the enclosure too so it’s quiet.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Val muttered from where she was still messing with the laptop. “Also, it sounds like a tomorrow problem. I’m hungry and you still haven’t told me what you were working on.”

  “Johhny’s? We haven’t been there in a while.” Kristi offered.

  “Sounds good. I was worki-“ Kurt was cut off by a short knock from upstairs and a familiar voice calling out.

  “Hellooo… Kurt?” Called Jay.

  They quickly made their way up the stairs to see the demon poking his head in the door. “Ah, good you are home. I got your text and wanted to know what you had in mind before I give you my answer.”

  “Can we interest you in dinner? We were just about to head out to grab a bite.” Val said.

  Jay looked them over, taking in their casual appearance and noted his own full suit that he was wearing. “To where would we go?”

  “A friends place.” Kurt answered. “Drop the tie and you’ll be fine.”

  The demon shrugged and dismissed his suit jacket to his storage ring. “Very well. lead on.” He followed them back out the door and to the car, climbing in the back behind Val while Kristi sat behind Kurt as he started it up and pulled out of the garage.

  “Why does it smell like machine oil?” Jay asked after they had gone a couple miles.

  Val turned around in her seat to talk to him. “I went and picked up a little gift for Kurt. He was talking about enchanting so I got him a small CNC machine for him to use to automate the process.”

  “Automating the enchanting process?” Jay asked, his eyes flicking to Kurts in the rear view mirror.

  “Just the engraving part. I will still have to do any inlay and activation.” He answered.

  “Ah, of course.” Jay sounded… disappointed?

  “Yup, now I just have to figure out how it works.”

  “You know, I know someone that might be able to help. Better yet, he is trusted and a member of the Order.” Jay offered. “I can give you his contact information or have him reach out to you.”

  “That would be great!” Val said. “I can do the design but the section on feed rates and tool paths was going over my head.”

  “I will pass along your email.” Jay replied and began texting someone. After he hit send and put the phone away, he looked back up. “So, what are you trying to implant now?”

  Kurt summoned his pad of graph paper he was taking notes on and passed it back over his shoulder. Jay accepted it as he explained a little about why he wanted it. Jay began to respond but it faded off as he read the notes and looked at the designs. In fact, he didn’t say another word until they had pulled into the parking lot for Johhny’s Place.

  “Kurt, my dear agent.”

  “Yes Jay?”

  “You are either a genius or completely insane. You know that, right?” Jay said while handing the note pad back.

  “Is that a good thing?” Kurt asked as they walked inside.

  “Depends on who is asking I guess. The two overlap more often than you might think.”

  Before either of them could say more, the hostess had greeted them and whisked them away to a table. She was one of the ones that Kurt had seen around before, and he was pretty sure she recognized him.

  “I still don’t know what you were working on.” Kristi said as they all opened menus.

  In way of answer, Kurt passed her the notebook as he studied the menu. After a few minutes, the waiter came and took orders before disappearing again. He was pretty sure that the bear-like owner would be descending upon them at any moment, judging by which door the waiter had vanished through.

  “This is… ambitious.” Kristi admitted after she had a few moments to study the notes. She then passed them to Val who was making grabby hands over the table.

  Just then, a familiar voice cut into the conversation. “Well, that’s our pup, always ambitious. Now, whether it’s a good thing or not is still to be decided.” John said as he brought over their drinks and delivered them.

  Kurt took a moment to introduce the mountain of a man to the only other person he didn’t know. Jay seemed to be rather polite, showing an unusual amount of respect for the human.

  “So, this is the boss man, eh? Can’t say I ever expected to be hosting you for a business dinner but here we are.” John said with a smile.

  “Not so much a business meeting as a favor. Kurt asked me for some help and I happened to stop in as they were on their way out. I figured I could consult just as easily here as anywhere.” Jay replied with a shrug.

  John smirked and nodded at the notebook Val was holding. “Consulting on one of his latest gadgets I assume? Ah, don’t answer that. The less I know about your business, the better off I will be.” He quickly backpedaled as Kurt began to explain what he was doing. “Just wanted to drop in and say hi. Don’t be a stranger now, Kurt. We don’t get to see enough of you around here and, believe it or not, we actually like having you around.”

  With those words, John stood up from the table and vanished as quickly as he appeared. His place was quickly taken by their waiter who delivered the food they had ordered before also vanishing.

  “You have some interesting ties to the community, Kurt.” Jay remarked and began to dig into his salmon.

  “Just wait till you meet the wizard.” Val said as she handed back Kurt’s notes.

  Cocking an eyebrow with his fork halfway to his mouth, Jay looked between the three of them. “Wizard? What wizard?”

  “The one that runs the local games shop and is renting an apartment to Val and Anna.” Kurt replied.

  “Ah, that one. Yeah, I looked into him. Whiley old man, that one.” Jay mused and took a bite of his food, sighing in satisfaction. “He has been on our radar for a while now, since before we found you.” He pointed to Kurt.

  “Have you run into Frank personally?”

  “Is that what he goes by now? Ah, well, in either case, no I haven’t. Although, we have been skirting around each other for a couple hundred years.”

  Kurt and the girls all shared a look. To them, Frank looked like he was in his forties, a middle aged and unassuming man that nobody would look twice at. It was once again a reminder that magic users were often more than what they seemed.

  They all chewed on that little tidbit, along with their food, for a few moments until Kurt reminded Jay about the reason he was there. “So, about my request?”

  The demon nodded and paused his eating. “Hmh, yes. I was going to teach you a spell so you can do it on your own but wanted to offer a trade for that information.”

  “What kind of trade?” Kurt was skeptical. So far he hadn’t come out on the loosing end of any deals he made with his boss but the way it was phrased made his skin crawl.

  “I want you to create a training program for my agents.” Jay said over his steepled fingers. “After the results from your work before the raid on that coven, I have gotten a lot of feedback from those teams. They expressed how they wish they had more classes like that before and how they feel they are still missing out.”

  “Jay, I really don’t want to be an instructor.” Kurt said. He didn’t mind doing it on occasion, but he was not the type to run a school or training company.

  “No, just create the program.” He clarified. “I want a pipeline for my new teams. So far, I have gotten lucky that all the hybrids I am snatching up have some ability to fight but that pool of qualified candidates is quickly drying up. I want a set course that they can go through to take them from clueless to moderately competent in a set fashion. We need a pipeline and repeatable results rather than the ad hoc mess that we use now.”

  Kurt thought about that for a moment, taking his time with a few bites of food. He also talked with the girls through the implant and got their opinions. What Jay was asking for wasn’t too much of a burden and it sounded to them like it would be a good thing for the Order.

  “Alright, I will get something worked up. But you might need to hire staff to-“

  Jay waved his hand, stopping Kurts warning in its tracks. “Already in the works. You make the program, I will handle the arrangements.” Then he smiled, a rather smug smile that made their skin crawl. “Now about that spell…”