Vignette - Mentalist

“What path have you imagined, Candidate?”

“I helped the sick in the old world. Not those sick of body, but rather sick in the mind. In my experience the mind is much more fragile than the body. I will apply this lesson to magic. I will control the heart and mind, with them in my corner the bodies will soon follow.”

Chapter 19

The funeral was a quick affair. No great pronouncements nor speeches. No empty grave. Simply a large stone obelisk close to the drawbridge. There was no music and no food. Simply a name carved onto a stone face, stealing the words from a bygone era to simply say “Lest We Forget.”

A name with a great deal of empty space below it.

Then everyone filed away, back to the omni-present work and drizzling rain. Work they were suddenly grateful for. Norms picked up essence bricks and stacked them with a will that had been absent the day before. Dirt molds were dug and formed much more quickly. There was a constant need to be busy. To be busy and not have time to think about how one poor little boy's name on the monument could have been their little boy or girl. To finish the fortress that much faster and prevent a recurrence.

Life had to go on. But it didn’t do so unaffected. Every parent watched their children like a hawk. Small rebellions that had passed unmentioned in previous years were now stomped out with ruthless vigor and rawhide belts.

Fear.

The danger was real, but living in constant fear wasn’t really living. The only way to fight the fear was to have the means to defend yourself. The power to defend yourself. Could you really always trust in other people? In walls that snakes could climb and raptors could jump? No, he saw it in many eyes, a desire to be more than a mouthful hiding in a warren.

He approved of that desire, but they would have to find their own way. He only hoped to provide enough defenses that they would have time to do so.

They needed more warning. A way to see what was out there without tripping over it and he had just the thing. It was actually completed during the tutorial, but he didn’t have time to recreate it yet. The far sight enchantment he called it, oftentimes simplified to scrying. It only took two runes to make, but it was very complex and benefited from some external paraphernalia.

Like a ten foot diameter pool of water that formed the screen for the scryed images to appear in. Sure he could make it smaller, but there was no reason to go small. Inscribed on the bottom center of the pool was the all seeing eye. A simple triangle with an eye inside of it, rays of light traveled from the eye to the edges of the pool. Indicating the space the eye could project to.

The ‘all-seeing-eye’ rune included the concept of sight. Normal sights would be visible, but so would magic. Night would not hinder the view either. It condensed the many forms of sight with those of true perception. The ability to notice what you were seeing.

The eye and the pool was time consuming to carve because of its size. But it wasn't terribly difficult. The framework to hold the distance rune was. He had to create a gyroscope effect. An outer hollow ring that rotated in a horizontal track. Notched inside with another inset hollow ring at a right angle to the outer ring. Then a disk was inset at a right angle to that. The direction rune itself was carved into the disk with a smaller disk dial that rotated to set the distance.

A two rune chain. But all the special shaping of the materials made it fairly tedious, even if the rune itself wasn’t very difficult. Each ring needed to be truly circular and smooth. They had to spin within each other without catching and the dial had to turn easily when touched but stay still when the disk spun. It took most of a day.

Thankfully the reason he didn’t need to worry about space was that he now had a workshop. A three story tower to the east end of the fortress. Sure the bottom level was a bunker that circumvented the entire island but the two floors above it were his.

It was good to be the Wizard!

He carefully laid out the scrying room on the third floor. Leaving the second for sleeping and any odds and ends he might need.

For now it was just a round room with a half foot deep pool of water in the middle. No windows, but lots of small holes drilled through the thick structural walls to provide airflow. In time he would add comforts and lots of maps. That would have to wait though. He needed to make sure everything was working first. Or he would as soon as the runes charged.

In the tutorial the eye had used very little magic. But that had been in a 2 ft pool and it could only look at the edges of the little world. Distance increased cost. He would have to wait and see.

Timothy piddled around for a half hour, carrying in the parts for a table and a few chairs. Climbing up the ladder with a full table was not going to happen. But a rope and dolly approach worked out for pieces then a bit of joining and he was home free. Sally had already set up a furniture shop so the pieces he received wre decorative as well as usable. They even had a few vine cushions from the cloth joinery to add a little luxury!

“You know why you have an entire tower to yourself, don’t you Timothy?” Jason asked, kicking back on one of his new floor cushions and chugging down his pitcher of water. Timothy could not begrudge him either benefit, the sweat beading both of their brows was come by honestly. That damn table top had been heavy as hell. Still help or no, he was not going to take too much guff.

“I assure you I earned every square foot of it welp.”

“Sure, sure, but that's not why they put this tower as far away from the living areas as possible. A mad scientist is not a safe neighbor to have after all.” He said it with a grin, but it was a shit eating grin.

“Hmph, please, if you are going to malign me with such a label at least use the correct one. Mad wizards perhaps. Unless you are implying that my magic is sufficiently advanced to appear as science?” The thought tickled Timothy’s sense of the absurd. What a world they lived in.

“Trust you to take this as a compliment. You worry me sometimes Timothy. One of these days you're going to blow yourself up. And however far you are away from the living area’s won't save you! I don’t have so many brothers that I am willing to lose one.”

“Now, now, let's not get all over maudlin. Trust me, I am far more likely to die from a beast then from my own magic going awry.”

“Small comfort, ass.” Jason interrupted sotto voice.

Timothy ignored him and continued in a much more serious tone of voice, “It is a real risk for all of us pathfinders Jason. A risk we chose to take. I can hardly sit back and pretend otherwise at this point. The golems were quite clear on this matter. A good portion of us will end up killing ourselves through miss steps while advancing our paths. It’s a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. But if I let that fear handcuff me then the beasts will take care of the problem long before that sword can fall.”

They both sat in silence for a while. What was there to say? Life was a bitch and then you married one. Or was it and then you died? Timothy always ended up mixing the two up.

Jason finished the pitcher and climbed to his feet with a sigh. “Take it easy Timothy, yes? As much as you can at least.”

“Will do, you as well Jason.” he replied to his brother's back. Watching as he climbed down the ladder and out of sight.”

With a sigh he also put aside an empty pitcher and wandered back over to the pool. Enough time had passed to at least check his work. Even if it might not run for very long.

Sitting on a pillow placed beside the control gimbal he spun the ‘direction’ rune to point towards the forest and the distance to read 2500ft. He gave the second ring the slightest of tilts to elevate the viewing location.

Then, breath held, he activated it.

Ink poured up from the bottom of the pool and spread, staining the view with colors as flowers bloomed and trees grew. The jungle opened up before him in all it’s vibrant glory. Glory that was just leaves, vines and flowers from the current point of view. He had misjudged the height over that distance. The upper canopies were beautiful but did not offer long sight lines. He rotated it down just slightly. The barest touch jolted the image in increments of a dozen feet. Each shift a nauseating jerk. He would have to work on that but eventually his complaining stomach took a back seat to his hungry eyes.

The view dropped down below the canopy into the verdant twilight depths below. Brightly colored songbirds plied their deadly business next to slinking predators of many shapes and sizes. Vines ripe with exuberant flowers wared with mushrooms the size of cars. Throughout it all, everywhere he looked, there were incredible colors. Shockingly vivid in all the shades of the rainbow and more. It was visually intoxicating.

With the lightest touch he could manage he moved the view through a secret world so much more vigorous than the few tutorial trips could have possibly prepared him for. A life less world of ever present mists that deaden the colors vs this. It was insulting to even compare the two. Life exploded everywhere he looked. Beasts in all shapes and sizes competed with flowers that provided their own light. He stared, entranced for what felt like hours. For all its brutal dangers a jungle was not a jungle without its inhabitants. So much more so now when magical plant foods could support so much more raw life!

At last his trance was broken as the charge died. The jungle dissolved back into clear water and his world was poorer for the change.

He collapsed backwards onto the floor spread eagled. “Wow.” Forget nature shows, he felt like he had been walking through the thick loam and seen in person the ever present struggle for life.

He had to laugh at himself. He may feel like a poet staring at the bouquets before his eyes, but he remained simply Timothy John Mason. Let Gareth write the poems and songs.

He struggled to his feet with another joyful chuckle “♪You can’t take the sky from me.♪” He didn’t need songs or poems when he could see scenes like this whenever he wanted. Glancing down at the dead pool he had to amend that. Almost whenever he wanted.

It would take a while to recharge. How long, he was ashamed to think, he wasn’t sure. A trance was hardly compatible with taking accurate time. He had no idea how long the session had lasted. Still, eventually it would be up and ready again.

And when it was he would have to share the wealth.

Walking over to the ladder he started making plans. He needed to drum up the usual suspects. His family would of course get priority setting. What was power if he couldn’t enjoy a bit of nepotism. Then there were the VIP’s. Now that he thought about it that was just Gareth. The rest of them were already included with his family. A somewhat more sobering thought hit him as he reached the bottom of the ladder.

It was not just a nature show he had created. It was supposed to be an early warning tool. Something they could use to study the opposition before ignorance could get somebody killed.

He needed practical eyes as well. It was a good thing he made the pool bigger than a big screen then! There were going to be quite a few viewers.

He gave a nod and a quick greeting to the men on duty. Spaced every 20 feet even here where the vast bulk of the river offered protection they still kept watch. He felt ashamed for not knowing any of their names, but the shame fled quickly. He really had not had time. It seemed like every waking minute had been building, studying or sleeping since they descended. He would have to try to meet more people. But he had no idea when or how!

Dragging his mind back on track as he exited the bunker and walked down a long ramp to the garden level. The large interior space, even after the bunkers took up a great deal of the available room, was around 100 yards across and those yards were already beginning to burst out in greenery. Knee high rounded square flower pots made from essence dirt were scattered around in irregularly sized sets that created long meandering paths. Set such that any given planter was accessible from at least one pathway. It was a feast for the eyes. Enjoyable but inefficient. He let that thought go quickly. This was Jenney’s domain and she had thoughts on regimented vs organic sprawl. His early suggestions about clear rows and easy access had nearly gotten his head bitten off.

“Life is more than efficient rows and columns, Timothy. You may be used to it but I won’t live in a cubicle farm, even one made of plants!” The memory of her voice made him chuckle. As long as he didn’t have to weed the garden then he wouldn’t get involved in how it was laid out.

Even if it did make finding his sister a pain in the ass. After wasting a good 5 minutes hunting and pecking through the shrubbery he finally gave it up.

“JENNEY!” He carefully did not yell it in a Silvester Stallone accent. No matter how much he wanted to. He had beaten that joke to death long since.

“I was wondering when you would give up and ask.” Her voice floated to him from somewhere across the shrubberies to his left. Only magic could turn a week and a half of growth into bushes dense enough to block both sight and access. Even if they had transplanted some of the plants half grown it was still ridiculous.

“..You knew I was here this whole time didn’t you?”

“Of course, this is my garden and my plants. I know everything that goes on within.” The wise women words were somewhat soiled by the evident self satisfaction in her tone.

“So you left me to wander around uselessly why?”

“Because it’s not useless. You need to get out more. Enjoy the sun and growing life around you. Stuck in a dingy stone room all day, every day is going to turn you into a mushroom.”

“Are we really going to keep yelling at each other across the hedges sister?”

“Only you are yelling, and you don’t need to. My voice will carry to where I want it to without anything so crass. Didn’t I tell you I know what happens in my own garden? Even if you whisper I will still hear it.”

Frustrated, like he almost always was when dealing with this sister, he decided to bring out the big guns. “Fine, you want to play it that way, we can. I came to invite you to look deep into the jungle, where the life and greenery puts this little garden to shame. Do you want to come or do you want to keep playing games?”

“Both of course!” Jenney stepped into view from what Timothy could swear was a solid wall of pots and plants. At 6’2 and muscled like a bodybuilder there was no way she should have been able to slip through the greenery without noise giving notice. Yet here she was, her peasant blouse and loose pants were lightly spotted with dirt but unstained by the greenery she just brushed through.

“Do you have new wonder toys to show off? Of course I’ll come.”

“Good! Then all I have to do is find Ma, Da, Regi, Jason, Merr- actually I should probably leave her alone. She gets cranky when I try to drag her away from her child.” The last bit devolved to an almost mumble as Timothy worked the list out aloud.

“Her child?” Jenney’s voice became sharp enough to cut. “You aren't even going to dignify your nephew with his name?”

“Ah leave me be Jenney, I didn't mean anything by it. Little William is not going to be offended that I called him my sister's son.”

“Hmph, like I believe that. You probably forgot and needed the time to dredge up his name.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She was right of course, but no need to tell her that. “Anyway I have rounds to make and people to find, so would you kindly point me the way out of this maze of yours?”

He didn’t make it out of there quite as quickly as he had hoped but eventually he was again progressing on his self appointed task. The door he chose next was a massive affair, condensed wood in an inset stone door frame a good four feet thick. If they had any metal then it likely would have strapped in that as well. Considering it was one of four entrances to the underground living quarters no one involved was willing to take any chances.

Stepping into the open and empty room behind the door, Timothy turned right and nodded to the guards standing on the other side of a row of essence stone bars. At least he had a name this time, “Hello Tony, mind letting me in?”

“Sure thing Timothy, just takes a minute. You know the rules.”

Timothy nodded, he did indeed know the rules. He pushed the outer door closed as Tony pushed a ten feet long locking bar into place. Then opened the inner door for Timothy to descend.

Timothy quickly thanked him and trotted down into what one joker had dubbed the undercity. Behind him Tony closed and secured the inner door before unbarring and opening the outer door. Like an air lock, at no time was the way down fully open. With invisible cats and sneaky snakes the critical defenses had to be independent of sight.

As he descended into the depths Timothy had to take a few looks around in satisfaction. It was coming together extremely well! The ramp was 15 feet wide with a full arched roof and was not merely a flat walled shape descending into the depths. The walls and floor were lined with designs marked out in charcoal. A portion of the floor designs had already been carved into the stone to provide traction but none of the wall frescos had yet.

This was going to be their home and no one wanted to live in a sterile stone box. They had not had time to finish more than a token amount yet, but this place would be beautiful, not merely functional. All it would take is time.

Reaching the bottom of the ramp he had to wait for another security door to be opened in a wall of condensed stone bars. It made him happy all over again that they had competent people to organize and schedule all these guards and defenses. Hell it was nice that Timothy had not had to directly make any of these tunnels. He made the shovels, joiners and condensers or various shapes and sizes, then turned them loose to the designated building crew.

Still that thought gave him an idea. “Do you know where I can find Arthur?” He inquired of the guard, another one whose name escaped him.

“Yes, actually we are all required to know where he is. Can’t very well send an emergency message if we don’t know where he is. Gotta know these sorts of things to get assigned to a door. It's a very prestigious position you know. Why I tell you-”

Timothy’s eyes began to twitch while the well meaning norm just continued to talk, and talk, and talk. Interrupting someone was the height of rudeness and he had been brought up to be polite… but enough was enough! “Excuse me, where is he please?”

“Ah? Down this hall a good ways on the right. You’ll have to skip a couple doorways but you should see the temporary guard room if you keep your eyes open. They say it won’t be there very long as the guards should be closer to the surface but for now I think it's a great place f-”

“Right thank you my man! Have a good day.” Timothy made his escape with as much speed as he could manage without breaking into an outright run.

The guards voice followed him down the tunnel, “It’s Marvin, in case you want to find me for a chat later! Or I guess I could find you-”

Timothy turned the corner before the rest of that dreaded line could fall. He was definitely going to have to put a trapdoor on his tower. And latch it with a joiner.

The wide pillared corridor around him carried on the patterns of charcoal drawn shapes but threw in the novelty of large potted plants every 10 feet along each side. They housed large ferns that purified the air. One of Jenney’s more useful contributions. Timothy still wasn’t sure if the original fern did the trick or if she modified it somehow.

These thoughts lasted him till he found the temporary guard room. Glance inside revealed that he had hit the jackpot. Arthur, Regi and Da were all gathered around a table arguing.

“-primary gathering area. The side passages for homes still need a lot of work.“ Da said as Timothy waked over to take a look. There was a map carved out of a wooden plaque sitting on the table in front of them. Timothy recognized it at a glance as the plans for this level of the fortress. Wide hallways from four equidistant ramps fed towards the center where a very large open area was marked out. These areas were stained with blueberry juice to indicate completion. Only partially completed were a number of snaking side passages that radiated out from that center meeting area. Each passage was lined with individual homes.

There was a lot left to do, but it was coming along quite nicely.

“Hello Timothy, what brings you down to mole land?” Regi joked.

“Just dropping off an invitation. I finally got something working that you are going to want to see. Both because it's freaking awesome and because it's useful.”

“And it is?” Da inquired?

“I'll show you when you get there. Easier that way instead of repeating myself a bunch of times. Arthur I think you are going to want to come as well, say in 45 minutes? If you could let Ma and Jason know as well I would appreciate it. But that's all I had, don’t let me interrupt your meeting.”

He waited for a round of assent before dodging out of the room with a wave and headed deeper into the underground rather than back the way he came. No way was he going back through that chatterbox. It would be nice to get a look at the new construction.

He walked on until the central communal spaces came into view. It was a large high ceilinged area that tried to pretend it was an atrium. The ceiling was held up by numerous skinny yet lofty columns. Between any four columns there were elegant arches both at right angles and across the diagonals, the style was apparently called a ribbed vault and it reminded Timothy of some old world Italian churches.

Elegant as it was, it was still a bit repetitive. They would fix that in time with carvings and decorations. The ubiquitous ferns were already contributing to that goal along with the start of a few climbing plants. They would need to be watered by hand but the comfortably dim lighting from strategically placed leaking light storage cards was more than enough light. They were found in the deep jungle where very little sunlight managed to filter through anyway.

Towards the center of the space there was a larger open area surrounded by significantly larger columns and correspondingly longer arches. The center of this area had an unfinished fountain given pride of place. Both for beauty and to provide a source of safe water. In time they might get more elaborate, but communal water and latrines would have to hold them over till then.

Timothy took a moment to activate one of the removed material enchantments above the half filled basin. The distance setting aimed the removal out into the river outside to create a no pipe plumbing. Unfortunately with the distance the enchantment was acting over it was a real magic hog. He quickly exhausted the stored magic in the available tools to fill the pond back to three quarters before continuing on to one of the exit corridors.

Yes, things were coming along quite nicely. Now he just had to track down Gareth.

He sat back with a smile, enjoying the slack jawed looks of amazement that covered the faces of his friends and family. Well almost all of them. Arthur's face might as well have been carved from stone.

The charge on the pool had been fully expended but no one was speaking yet. Perhaps they were trying to hold on to the sense of beauty and serenity the show had evoked. Timothy felt but could not explain it. Besides he had a little bet with himself on the first thing they would say. He was not going to ruin it by speaking first.

Finally Regi caved, “Huh.”

Dammit!

Fortunately for his internal scoreboard Regi was quickly followed by a much more profound Gareth.

“Wow.”

There we go! I am going to call that half a win.

“Thank you son,” Ma Patty chimed in, “I needed that. We all needed that. A reminder that despite the death and danger, there is still beauty out there waiting for us to find.” It was an important thing to remember. Even iron faced Arthur condescended to give a nod that was almost enthusiastic. Almost.

Regi nodded as well but added a few words in response, “Be useful for more than entertainment too. Scouting for threats and observing predators in the wild. This device will be a real asset, a godsend.” He looked over at Timothy with approval for a moment before continuing. “You picked an odd place for it though. Anytime someone wants to use it they will have to climb right through your workshop.”

The thought had occurred to Timothy, “It’s deliberate. I have been worrying about letting too much magic outside my control. Yes, yes,” He waved down the immediate protests “A certain amount is required for survival. But sooner or later someone is going to commit a murder with one of my tools. Probably with a shovel and claim it was an accident. I can’t think of any way to avoid it for shovels and the rest of the construction equipment. Needs outway my paranoia. For the pool though that does not apply. It has lots of room for abuse and no real incentive for me to spread it out.“

Jenney, looking bothered, broke in “Our people are pretty depressed right now. Just like ma said, a bit of beauty could give them some hope. Hope that the life ahead of them will be more than just hiding inside a stone fortress.”

Regi responded after giving it a few moments of thought, “I see your point Jenney, but I see how as well. We don’t have many luxuries to pass around right now, but as soon as we finish the homes we can provide some privacy. Just looking at that gizmo” Regi pointed to the control gimbal, “I bet I could move the view into any one of the rooms down below.”

Jenney, Timothy reflected, had been a rabid advocate for transparency most of her life. Regi’s arguments for privacy were unlikely to make much ground with her.

Seeing the mulish cast to her face as she opened her mouth he prepared for a shit show.

Preparations that were thankfully wasted as Papa Joe held up both hands imperatively between Regi and Jenney. He knew his daughter quite well and had no interest in hearing an old argument get rehashed. He waited a few moments to be sure both of them were listening before he spoke, “You two will never agree on privacy so lets avoid a messy sibling brawl hmm? You might want to think of this in a different way. For instance, Timothy made it, so he gets to decide what to do with it. That has to come first. Otherwise, sooner or later people will start taking him for granted.”

Timothy’s lips curled up in a smile at that. Nice of his Da to be so considerate. The smile froze along with his gratitude as his Da continued speaking.

“You know how stubborn your brother is. If people abuse his possessions he is liable to take his toys and go home.” A dry chuckle swept the room, even Arthur had gotten to know them all enough to join in.

Patty took a turn, “Still, Jenney is not wrong either. People need some entertainment and, even more, some hope. So Timothy, let's treat this like a trade. What do you want in exchange for providing some entertainment? You could still keep control of the pool while doing it. Maybe you could show the pool images on the outside wall of your tower. You would choose when to do a show.”

That got general, if grudging in a few cases, agreement. It was a reasonable request that accounted for Timothy’s objections. He had no grounds to refuse, but he could still finagle a few things out of it.

He began with a deeper question “Ok, Ma. This trade idea opens up another can of worms that we need to consider. I snagged a table and some chairs from Sally.” He looked over his shoulder at the elegant piece of furniture. Nicely curved legs with simple elegant lines and a matching set of chairs that harmoniously blended together, elevating the mood of the room. “Jenney feeds us and keeps us healthy, Regi and Arthur are risking their lives, and the lives of their men, traveling outside to gather supplies. Gareth’s nightly concerts have been a godsend for morale, I really enjoyed the last one by the way.”

“Thank you, I aim to please.”

Timothy nodded and continued, “Da you have been working yourself to the bone keeping us all organized. Everyone here is doing something to be helpful. We need to have a way of rewarding such good behavior. Both to encourage ourselves and to encourage our people. We really need to have some sort of currency.”

Arthur and Regi exchanged a glance, sharing some sort of silent communication before Regi nodded to cede the floor, “We have been discussing it. There aren’t a lot of luxuries available at the moment. If we make some money but people have nothing to spend it on it will only make them unhappy.”

“That said, we need to establish something. Already we have some of our residents just sitting around all day. Depression and hopelessness more than laziness. They don’t have any goals. There is nothing they can do to make their own lives better. We need to fix that. Small luxuries like furniture, clothing and better tasting food are a start. Gareth's music and your nature show won’t really add to that. We are giving them both out to the public for free at this point. But you both should be paid for your time.“

Jenney raised a hand, “I have figured out a few plant dyes, brightly colored clothing could help. I also have some potential cosmetics. Both would be very desirable luxuries. But what could most of our inhabitants do to earn money? We could pay them a small amount for weeding and gardening, but that is hardly a dent in our populace.”

Regi hesitated, sharing another quick glance with Arthur and Da this time, Timothy was starting to feel left out of what looked to be some fairly deep discussions. Then again when would he have had the time to listen?

Regi was the chosen one to speak this time, “I need porters on my resource runs. Guards with their arms full of wood or food are hardly effective as guards. We don’t need magic for the job, just a strong back and a stronger stomach. It’s a dangerous job so it should pay pretty well.”

That brought a moment of silence. They would be effectively helpless, having to depend on the skills of the guardians to keep them safe, but at least they could get out of the fortress and experience the world a bit. They might get some volunteers from the stir crazy just from that. It was also a pretty great feeling to be able to contribute.

Papa Joe waited a bit in case of objections, then stepped in “Fishing from the tops of the bunkers would be a start, or maybe starting a farm off the island. Just because magic can grow food faster doesn’t mean that a larger plot of non magicked land wouldn't help. We have plenty of vegetables but a lack of grains. You said they would take considerably more space right Jenney?”

She nodded in confirmation, not looking too happy about it though.

He nodded in return and gestured at Mama, Arthur and Regi before continuing, “We have talked about this subject for a bit. Even have some estimates for a pay scale. At least a starting one, after a bit the money will find its own balance. Still this is getting a bit far afield and it will take a lot more thought then we have put into it yet. Instead of that let me ask. What do you want for sharing your scrying images Timothy?”

He shrugged, “I am pretty damn busy, but if you can get the base piece made for me I will fit it in. I need a water source to show the images in, but no reason it has to be horizontal. If you form a big block of glass and cut the middle out to fill with water it should work. Make it big enough to see from a decent distance and we should be in business. If Jenney doesn't mind visitors I'll put it right on the wall of this tower and let them watch it from the garden.“

“I have no objections, it will be good for people to get outside for a bit, and in my garden I can hide them from any flyers.” She responded.

That surprised Timothy a bit. Apparently she had been thinking of survival as well. Even if it was a non violent method for it. He thought a bit better about her for it.

Figuring the topic was closed Timothy stood up from his cushion beside the pool and moseyed over to the table for writing supplies. All the enchanting practice had really improved his sketching skills, it took very little time to carve a suggested currency into the wooden plaque. “In the meantime how about this for money. A simple circular coin, make it out of essence dirt or some condensed rare wood, whatever you want, a detailed, really fine drawing of the planned fortress on one side, the obelisk on the other. I will make the cuts finer than any ‘pen’ I’ve handed out. Simple and easy protection from counterfeits. Make it from a couple different materials for denominations.” He handed the simple sketch over to Gareth as the closest person.

The empty obelisk had the legend of ‘Lest we Forget’ but no individual names. The fortress had a blank line in the middle. Gareth picked up on it at a glance “Huh, what are we going to call this place? Home is a bit generic, ‘the fortress’ is not any better.” He passed the plaque on as he asked.

Arthur shrugged and suggested “Safe something or other.”

Regi shook his head “It's been done to death. A bit of originality would be nice, how about….” he paused, clearly scrambling for something “Bunker 1?” he at last mumbled with a sheepish expression.

Jenney was more than happy to pile on as the room dissolved into laughter. With a wicked smile and a golf clap she cheered “Original! You tell him about originality, brother dear.” After a few more chuckles at his expense she threw her own suggestion into the pot “It’s not original but we could go with something that describes the place and call it a hold, or keep.”

Ma Patty gave Regi a sympathetic smile “Jungle Hold? River Hold? Both are kinda generic…”

Arthur shrugged ceeding the conversation. Gareth smiled “Runehold, Timothy made the coin so he gets stuck with the name.”

Timothy shrugged “I don’t mind. Toes by any other name still smell as feet.”

Ma Patty turned and gave him the stink eye “A rose by any other name, don’t butcher the Bard.”