"The stronger I am, the more of my people I can keep alive. If possible, I would fight the war all by myself."

Lin says "If you even think about doing that I will bite you!"

"That's not how I meant it. I just want to keep my people as safe as I can."

Lin says "You know that isn't possible. Even if it was, you would stunt your people's growth."

"Logically, I know that. It doesn't stop me from wanting to protect them."

Lin says "Aren't they fighting right now?"

"Yes. I didn't say my feelings had to make sense."

Lin says "Yet you still plan to push yourself to become stronger? That really doesn't make much sense."

"What else can I do?"

Lin says "It would make more sense to think of ways to make your people stronger instead."

"I've already done that. All that is left to do is to get the rest of the tribes to join us. Which will be easier if I am stronger. There isn't anything I can do for them until I return to the peninsula."

Lin says "Well, I guess that's true. Just don't push yourself too hard."

"Honestly, I am not pushing myself at all. Working on my core isn't hard, it is just time consuming. That is one of the main reasons I am taking a break from finding adventures. Well, that and you."

Lin says "While that's sweet, don't use me as an excuse. If you find an adventure I am totally going with you."

"I know. Don't worry, I won't try to leave you behind. Although, maybe I should work on making us more comfortable on our next adventure."

Lin says "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of something like an enchanted tent, or a collapsible cabin. Portable but comfortable."

Lin says "I totally support that idea. Maybe something with room for the kids and privacy for us?"

"That's what I was thinking. That is probably too big for a tent, so a cabin is the better plan."

Lin says "Not necessarily, the kids can shrink so we don't need that much room. For that matter, we can shrink too. If we add anyone to our group later you can just make them a collar."

"That's true. Then you think I should make a tent?"

Lin says "Yeah. It is easier to make a tent portable. You don't even need to make a big tent. You could make multiple tents instead."

"That makes sense. Then how about three tents? One for us, one for the kids, and one for anyone who tags along."

Lin says "I wouldn't do that. While I understand your desire for privacy, you should also think about defense. These are for adventuring, we may be camping in dangerous locations."

"In that case why don't I just create a collapsible castle?"

Lin says "Wait, can you do that?"

"Sure. After everything I have learned from working on the ship it would be fairly easy. You like that idea, huh?"

Lin says "Well, yeah. A castle would provide both protection and privacy. Just, is it really practical to make it portable?"

"Normally it wouldn't be, but the pouch makes it easier. It just has to shrink down small enough to fit into the pouch and weight no longer matters. All it really requires is a larger amount of mana to fuel the enchantments. I can handle that by adding some silver to the stone to increase the mana pool."

Lin says "Since it sounds like you have made up your mind, how can I help?"

"For starters, if you know a shrink spell that is better than mine that would be a big help. You can also teach me the enchantments the mages use to make their homes comfortable and luxurious."

Lin says "Sure, I can do that. What stone do you plan to use though?"

"I hadn't thought about it yet. I will need to find a decent stone to use. Care to go for a flight?"

Lin says "Sure. Are we off on an adventure?"

"No, just a simple trip to the coast to find some stone to use. It should be fairly straightforward."

Lin says "Alright, let's go. I will teach you the enchantments I know as we look for some stone."

Before we leave we tell Albion and Nala to take care of the babies and that we will be back by dinner. I take off from the balcony with Lin on my back and fly towards the coast. Lin hugs my neck and starts telling me about the enchantments for homes that she knows.

There are a lot, which isn't surprising, mages care a lot about their comfort and image. Some mages probably even compete with each other over who has the best home. Most of them aren't going to be useful, but a few are extremely fitting for the castle.

On the other hand, she actually knows two shrinking spells, but they are not as effective as mine. That is why she never bothered to mention them to me before now. However, they work differently from mine and while I can't use them directly, I can use them.

By taking the best parts of the three spells, with a little work I can make a better version. It doesn't really matter for small things like the collars, but for a castle it makes a huge difference. With the new spell I could even shrink the ship down to pocket size if I wanted to.

After thinking it through a few times, I discuss the new spell with Lin to get her opinion. With her advanced magical knowledge she is able to make several suggestions. By the time we reach the coast the spell is close to perfect and way better than before.

This means I can male a bigger building if I want to and still be able to shrink it enough to fit into the pouch. Now all that's left is to find a decent stone to work with, which shouldn't be hard. The coast here is lined with tall cliffs, so I land at the top of one of them.

Then I send a pulse of mana into the ground to examine the stone in the area. Unfortunately, the cliffs are made of limestone, which is too soft and not what I am looking for. Ideally, I want to find granite or something of equivalent strength for the castle.

Not finding anything good in the area, I take off and fly farther inland looking for mountains. Logically, mountains should contain stronger stone, at least from what I can remember. Basically, mountains are what's left after softer materials have eroded away.

Of course, I am not a geologist and am going based off of vague memories from science class. After flying for about an hour I spot some mountains and turn to head towards them. As soon as I reach them I land and again send a pulse of mana into the ground.