"Sorrel, there you are." Oliver calls out as we enter the large game room. "We can't seem to find the rules for this one game." They've got both the pool and billiard balls on the tables, and I don't even know what they're trying to do.

"Sorry, I left them up by the cue sticks." I hold up a hand and one flies to me, chalking itself, while the balls rack themselves up for a game of nine-ball, the extras flying to the holding trays on the sides of the table. "There's a few different games that can be played, this is called nine-ball." I break, pocketing the seven ball in the far corner.

"In this one you have to pocket the balls in order from lowest to highest. Though you can sink them out of order, but only if you hit the lowest ball first." I demonstrate by ricocheting the cue ball off the one, making it knock the five into the side pocket as the cue bounces off two rails to drop the eight in the corner. I was never this good in my last life, but stats really do make all the difference. "Care to give it a shot?" I hold out the stick.

"I thought those were some sort of ceremonial staves." Stanwood chuckles

"Nah, just pool sticks." I laugh along with him, levitating one to him along with the booklet of rules. "Here, why don't you two play while I fill out the room? I left a lot extra room for some ideas I haven't had the chance to implement yet." Right now there's only the pool table some dartboards, and a shuffleboard along one wall.

"Thank you." He nods and starts leafing through the rules.

I start by making a rectangular table that looks like a triangular prism supported by thick legs attached to the middle of its sides. Recessing the middle slightly before coating it with velvet, I then add shutters like those on a roll top desk.

Pushing a button on the side causes the table to close up and turn, revealing an air-hockey table that starts up and displays a floating 0-0 scoreboard before spitting out a puck and two paddles. I push another button and step back, watching as air hockey turns itself off and the paddles and puck return to their holding spots.

The table turns again and the new top rotates and accordions out into a full size ping pong table. A hardlight net appears next, and a tray on each side pops out revealing two paddles, a dozen balls, and a rules sheet. Using magic, I smack the balls back and forth a couple times to make sure they bounce right.

Nodding in satisfaction, I push a button under the corner of the table causing the paddles to fly back where they belong before the whole thing folds up again. The table rotates and the shutters open to reveal a game of Settlers ready to be played. I will not introduce Monopoly to this world, that game is evil and it destroys friendships.

Looking up, I see that Oliver's higher level has turned him into an instant pool shark. Shaking my head ruefully, I turn to the corner and make a dedicated chess set with clear and black glass pieces. I plan to change them to diamond once I don't have a dozen mages watching me.

The other corner gets a table that can switch between chess, backgammon, go, and a dozen other games. No Monopoly, though. Never Monopoly! Next, I toss out a foosball table and an arcade machine with all three rune games built-in.

There's two more things I want to add, a sit down arcade with Warlords. Which was going to be the next game I had planned before Apricot said she was bored with Breakout and Pong. And, a copy of the Medieval Madness pinball table, but those two projects will take me a couple hours.

"Looks good, babe." Amelia walks up beside me and hands me a glass of wine. "Are you done, it looks like you saved a few spots."

"For now, yeah." I take a sip. "There's a four player Rune game I want to build, and a mechanical pinball game too. And, I will probably add a basement level for some larger games at some point, but that's for the future. How the party going?"

"Good." She smiles. "There's one small group that's actually here for the tree, but everyone else is just having fun. Most are pigging out on your chocolate, and the other snacks you put out. Though, word of the game room has started spreading, but I also noticed a few couples sneak off to explore the garden. Between all this and the Mana Well, I don't anyone's going to want to leave." She shakes her head in amusement. "For someone who wanted giant insects to keep people out, you sure know how to make them welcome."

"Well, I'm not going to be rude." I faux scoff. "But seriously, I wasn't always so anti-social. Guess, I got used to it being just us three." I look up to see Apricot flying in.

"Hey, nice room." She shifts and gives each of us a peck on the cheek. "We're out of popcorn, can you make another bucket." It's already done by the time she finishes her sentence. "Thanks babe, you're the best." She grabs it and runs back to the movie.

"This is a nice room." A voice says from beside us.

"Florence." I smile at the Guild's librarian. "Sorry, I haven't been by, it's been a bit... busy. How have you been? I can probably stop by tomorrow to copy those books, that is if everyone has left by then." I chuckle.

"I've been good." She smiles back. "And, I wouldn't be surprised if you do have a few stragglers. No one else has a game room like this, not even the nobles, and boy are they going to be jealous. Most of them just have a few tables for cards and dice, maybe a shove board, or a favorite table game. But, this..." She gestures at the room. "All this is amazing. Where ever did you get the ideas for these games?"

I heave out a sigh, and start in on my cover story. Who better to spread it than the biggest gossip in the Capital. "Growing up, I was your average kid, but I did have access to a great wealth of knowledge." Seeing her eyes light up, I'm quick to add. "Unfortunately it was lost to me on the day I gained access to my magic. Not that I wouldn't trade all that knowledge and more for what I've gained since." I slip my arm around Amelia's waist and pull her close.

"That is a shame, and I am truly sorry for your loss." She lowers her head.

"It's in the past." I shrug. "Right now, I'm trying to recreate and spread that knowledge." I make a book titled simply "Games", and hand it to the librarian. "Here, it's all the games here, and then some. Feel free to spread it around, I've even included the designs for my Rune games." I nod to the arcade cabinet that has two young mages battling in a game of Pong.

"Thank you." She says sincerely. "Most people are not quite so free with their knowledge."

"I was given a gift, and I'm not just talking about my beautiful wives." I squeeze Amelia tighter. "And, I believe that the best gifts are ones that you can share. Speaking of." I pull a crate of phones from my inventory. "I was going to hand these out later, but most everyone is in here now, or waiting to get in." I smile and start levitating the phones out to the mages. The castle got a crate like this after we got back from Riverton, but they can't waste them on a bunch of mages.

"Sorrel, thank you." She bows to me, starting a chain reaction.

"It's nothing, really. I threw them together while making lunch." I wave the attention away. "Stanwood, could you hold the rest? Give them out to whomever I missed, like those who went to 'explore' in The Garden." A round of laughs follows that, and everyone goes back to what they were doing.

"And, Florence." I turn back to the librarian. "Could I trouble you for a list of nobles and other notables I should send these to? Probably should have thought of that sooner, but I've been a bit preoccupied recently." I shrug and lift my hands in a "Whatӣha gonna do?" gesture.

"Hah!" She laughs whole-heartedly. "I'd be happy to, I'll have it ready for you tomorrow. But, for now, how about you show me your library?"

"It's upstairs." I lead the way. "But unfortunately, aside from the copies I made, it's mostly empty. I'll have to go book shopping soon, and maybe raid another library or two." I grin.

***

"You doing alright, babe?" Amelia puts her arm around me.

"I'll be fine... If the food ever gets here, that is. Can't believe this was the least crowded restaurant." I grump.

"Didn't you already bite off more than you could chew." Apricot mocks my pain.

"Nng. When Florence offered to let me copy her personal library, I never thought it would be quite that large." The collection in question was even larger than the ones at the Palace and Guild combined. "Oh no!" I groan.

"What's wrong." Amelia looks worried.

"Some idiot knocked over a pot of oil and nearly burned down the kitchen." I sigh. "I stopped the fire before anyone got hurt, but our meal didn't make it. Fuck this shit, I'm hungry and my head hurts!" I send out my magic to cook the damned thing myself.

It comes floating out of the kitchen right behind a waitress that's headed to our table. "I'm terribly sorry sir, but your..." She stops speaking as our plates land in front of us.

"You're welcome for stopping the fire, by the way." I am in no mood to deal with this right now, so I just start eating.

"Sorry, he's not normally this grumpy." Amelia apologizes for me to the girl who's standing there gaping. She may have been the one responsible for knocking over the pot in the first place.

An older man comes running up and bows in front of the table, forcing the waitress to do so as well. "Thank you for saving my daughter, Master Mage. Don't just stand there gaping Tanny, thank the Man who just saved your life."

"T-th-th-thank y-you." She looks like she's going to faint, so I just grunt and wave it off.

"Thank you again, so much Sir. She's my only daughter." His face pales at the thought of what almost happened. "Your meal is free, all your meals here will always be free."

I stop shoveling food into my face long enough to mutter. "Just be more careful in the future, please."

They bow again and the man drags his daughter away as I go back to eating. Once they leave I start hearing whispers of "Marquis" and "Riverton" fill the restaurant, but ignore it for more important things, like food.

"You big softie." Amelia hugs me, and I take the opportunity to snatch a few bites from her plate. "Hey, I saw that." She swats me on the shoulder.

"Nng, had to." I mumble between bites. "Apricot was going to snag it herself. I had to put it in the only place it would be safe."

***

"Marquis." The magic shop owner bows as we enter his store.

"Yes, sorry it took so long to get back here. Been a busy few days." I smirk and float a pouch of Mana Stones over onto the counter.

"Thank you, Sir." He bows again before turning to his safe. "I'll have your gold in just a moment, plus fifty percent over what I paid last time. Due to the demand increasing thanks to your own insights changing Enchanting as a whole." He's a bit of a kiss ass, but gold don't grow on trees. Not yet, at least. Who knows what I'll make in the future.

"Someone would have thought of it sooner or later." I shrug.

"I hate to be so bold as to ask this, but is it possible to extend this arrangement into the future?" He pleads, handing over a hefty sack of coins.

I raise an eyebrow at Amelia, and she nods. We had planned to sell to, and through, Deluca, but that ain't gonna happen now. "We can do that. But, I don't know if or when I'll be called away again. So, regular shipments might be troublesome in the future."

"I can work with that." He nods. "And I have some contacts that are willing to provide capital should I need to buy a large volume."

"Hmm, no need for all that." I shake my head. "If I have to leave on short notice, I'll just leave you a crate of them, and you can give me my percentage when I get back." When I produce an actual crate full of Mana Stone, his eyes go so wide that they nearly fall out of their sockets. "I live on a Mana Well; made these last night while waiting for a party to wind down, and the last stragglers to leave."

"..." He just gulps.

"The only proviso being that you do not ruin the market price by selling them all at once." I put the Stones back, and replace them with a phone. "Here, call me when you need more." I place the phone and an instruction booklet on the counter and turn to leave.

"Thank you Lord Rumex, I won't disappoint you." He finally finds his voice when the door opens. I just look over my shoulder and nod, without slowing my pace.

***

"Ugh!" Apricot groans. "Who knew there'd be so many book stores in the city. Don't you have enough yet? There's no way the ones you already have will fit in the library at home."

"What are you complaining about?" Amelia huffs at the pixie on her head. "You've been sitting up there playing Blockout the whole time."

"One can never have too many books." I say sagely, getting a nod from Amelia that almost causes Apricot to tumble. "I'll just store the ones there aren't room for in the basement, once I build a basement, that is. Besides, I've had an idea for a new Rune that I've been wanting to make."

I conjure a book made from tangible light, and flip through it's pages in my hand. I still need to work on the spell, as subtle details are still a little off. But, it's pretty close to looking, feeling, sounding, and even smelling like a real book.

"You want to put all of them on one of your glass cubes?" Amelia's eye's go wide, and I swear I see a hint of drool in the corner of her mouth.

"Yep, and working on that spell made me think of another application for constructs like that." I pull out my Gameboy and conjure a hardlight joystick to control it with. "I know you liked the wheel controllers I put on the Pong machine in the game room. What if you had one device with all your games on it that could create whatever controller you needed or liked best?"

"Well, why didn't you say there was something in it for me?" The pixie jokes before flying over to give me a kiss on the nose. "So, how many more stores do we gotta hit?"

"That was the last one that had anything that wasn't already in the collection. Though, there are a few private libraries we passed by that I may 'peruse' at a future time." A sly grin spreads on my face.

"Why didn't you just do that for all the places we've been to?" Her head tilts to the side, questioningly.

"Cuz my head still hurts, so it's easier to just buy them." I shrug. "That, and there's just something about being in a bookstore."

"Exactly!" Amelia agrees with me.

"Right now, I'm hoping to swing by Smith Street, grab some more iron and see how Hayes and Hayley are doing. I feel like I owe him for the Uranium, so the least I can do is clear out his slag pile for him. Probably leave him a phone too. Then we can head home where I'll work on some new games. Can't wait to see what you think of pinball."

"See if you can find a way to make you suck at pool while you're at it." She's still grumpy that I kicked her but yesterday.

"It was fun watching him beat Oliver though." Amelia adds. "His eyes when Sorrel did those trick shots, that was the funniest thing I've seen in a while."

***