TravelingDreamer

  When we arrived in Albuquerque, we wo days to recover and catch up on sleep after the intense days on the road. Once we all felt human again, I opehe puter and checked an alternative route to ada without the detours to Abama and Chicago. We had to retrace our steps, as the best route was through Vegas, but I didn’t want to go there again. The robbery still worried me, and I feared any potential sequences or retaliation.

  We still had to pass through major cities along the way. Al wanted more drugs, Mahya wanted more alcohol, I needed more coffee, aill hadn’t finished our entire shopping list. After sidering all these factors, our route looked like this:

  USA

  Albuquerque, NMSanta Fe, NMTrinidad, COPueblo, COColorads, ver, COFort Collins, COCheyenne, er, WYBillings, MTGreat Falls, MTada

  Lethbridge, ABCalgary, ABThe step was shopping. We hit twelve liquor stores, buying all their stock, including the warehouse iory, with -day delivery to our Airbal. After the st stop, Mahya finally said, “I think we’ve bought enough alcohol,” and Al and I sighed in relief.

  I searched online and visited Red Rock Roasters and Farmer Brothers to buy coffee. At first, Farmer Brave me problems because they don’t sell to private individuals, only to restaurants, hotels, etc. However, with a bit of persuasion from a slight nudge of Spellbinding, subtle enough that it didn’t make me feel sleazy, and a promise to pay a small pertage above the standard price, I could buy one more ton of coffee. I still haven’t reached Mahya’s point; I didn’t feel I had purchased enough coffee.

  Mahya wao buy a lot of semi-precious stones and gems, so I went online again—Google for the win. We visited Liberty Gems and Minerals, Skyriders Gems and Minerals, and KI Beads. At KI Beads, I bought a lot of beads because they seemed like something people in Fantasy Land would love. Mahya bought gems and semi-precious stones.

  Wheuro our rented house, curiosity got the best of me. I turo her and asked, “Why did you buy all this?”

  She handed me a stone and said, “Analyze it.”

  I used Identify:

  CitrineVery informative - NOT!

  I tried Appraisal:

  Citrio 40 per carat

  I told Mahya, “Identify gives me the name of the stone, and Appraisal gives me the price. I have no idea what you wao see.”

  She sighed and replied, “Right, you’re not a crafter; you don’t have Analyze.”

  She popped out a s that showed:

  CitrineEnhahe power of magical wands, boosting their effectiveness

  “I also know all kinds of uses for these stones for ons and amulets from my parents,” Mahya said.

  By then, I was already w on a way to warh. What we saw on the road to Albuquerque was burned into my mind, leaving a scar. I wash’s savior, but I couldn’t just ighe danger heading their way. Giving them a heads-up seemed like the least I could do—mostly to ease my own sce. I wasn’t itted enough to stay ahem through those tough years, but I still wao eople and maybe get a few to prepare.

  “ you give me a list of what the stones you bought do?” I asked.

  We went through the gems one by one, cataloging their magical properties. Halfway through, my brai as dense as the rocks we were s. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires—eae had its purpose, from sharpening ons to boosting spells. lenty to work with, though I’d be lucky if I remembered even ten pert of it.

  SpoilerDiamond

  ons:Enhahe sharpness and durability of bdes.Grants ons the power to cut through magical barriers.Adds the ability to deal light-based damage.Amulets:Increases the wearer’s resilieo physical and magical attacks.Enhances crity of thought and deaking.Provides a shield against ive energies.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of light-based spells.Enhahe durability of magical staves.Increases the impact of entments pced on wooden artifacts.Ruby

  ons:Infuses ons with fire elemental damage.Increases the ferocity and passion of the wielder in bat.Enhahe on’s ability to cause bleeding wounds.Amulets:Boosts physical strength and vitality.Protects against fire a-based attacks.Enhahe wearer’s charisma and leadership qualities.Wood Creations:Increases the effectiveness of fire spells.Adds a fiery aura to magical wands and staves.Enhahe power of offensive entments.Sapphire

  ons:Adds water or ice elemental damage to bdes.Enhahe on’s precision and accuracy.Provides a calming effect, redug rage and increasing focus.Amulets:Protects against water and ice-based attacks.Enhances mental crity and intuition.Provides a calming and bang effect.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of water and ice spells.Enhahe calming and healing properties of magical staves.Increases the range and effectiveness of divination spells.Emerald

  ons:Infuses ons with nature-based elemental damage.Increases the on’s ability to heal the wielder.Enhahe on’s stealth and cealment properties.Amulets:Promotes physical aional healing.Protects against poison and toxins.Enhahe wearer’s e to nature.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of nature-based spells.Enhahe healing properties of magical wands.Increases the effectiveness of entments reted to growth and regeion.Topaz

  ons:Adds lightning elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s speed and agility.Increases the on’s ability to paralyze or stun enemies.Amulets:Protects against lightning arical attacks.Enhahe wearer’s energy and motivation.Boosts fidend personal power.Wood Creations:Increases the effectiveness of lightning spells.Enhahe speed of spellcasting in wands.Adds an energizing aura to magical staves.Opal

  ons:Infuses ons with a bination of elemental damages (fire, water, earth, air).Enhahe on’s ability to adapt to different bat situations.Adds a reflective property, defleg attacks.Amulets:Provides multi-elemental prote.Enhahe wearer’s adaptability and flexibility.Boosts creativity and imagination.Wood Creations:Increases the versatility of magical wands and staves.Enhances multi-elemental spells.Adds a reflective and adaptive property to ented items.Gar

  ons:Adds earth elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s strength and durability.Increases the on’s ability to cause fear in enemies.Amulets:Protects agaih and physical attacks.Boosts the wearer’s endurand stamina.Enhahe wearer’s e to the earth.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of earth-based spells.Enhahe strength of magical artifacts.Increases the effectiveness of defensive entments.Amethyst

  ons:Adds psychic elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s ability to disrupt enemy spells.Provides a calming effect, redug the enemy’s will to fight.Amulets:Protects against psychic attacks.Enhahe wearer’s intuition and psychic abilities.Provides a calming and bang effect.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of psychic spells.Enhahe calming and protective properties of magical staves.Increases the effectiveness of mind-affeg entments.Peridot

  ons:Adds wind elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s speed and agility.Increases the on’s ability to create gusts of wind.Amulets:Protects against wind and air-based attacks.Enhahe wearer’s agility and flexibility.Boosts the wearer’s recovery and regeion abilities.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of wind-based spells.Enhahe speed of spellcasting in wands.Adds a light and agile aura to magical staves.Aquamarine

  ons:Infuses ons with water elemental damage.Enhahe on’s fluidity and adaptability.Increases the on’s ability to trol water.Amulets:Protects against water-based attacks.Enhahe wearer’s unication skills.Provides a calming and soothing effect.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of water spells.Enhahe fluidity and adaptability of magical wands.Adds a soothing and calming aura to staves.Turquoise

  ons:Adds air elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s precision and accuracy.Provides prote against airborhreats.Amulets:Protects against poison and toxins.Enhahe wearer’s physical resilience.Boosts unication and self-expression.Wood Creations:Increases the effectiveness of air-based spells.Enhahe prote offered by magical staves.Adds a clear and unicative aura to ented items.Citrine

  ons:Infuses ons with sor elemental damage.Enhahe on’s energy and radiancreases the on’s ability to blind enemies.Amulets:Attracts prosperity and success.Protects against energy drain and fatigue.Boosts the wearer’s fidend personal power.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of light-based spells.Enhahe power of magical wands, boosting their effectiveness.Adds a sor aura to staves, increasing their brightness.Onyx

  ons:Adds dark elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s ability to absorb life forcreases the on’s stealth and cealment properties.Amulets:Protects against dark aive energies.Enhahe wearer’s resilieo fear.Boosts the wearer’s stealth abilities.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of dark magic spells.Enhahe cealment properties of magical staves.Adds a protective and abs aura to ented items.Moonstone

  ons:Infuses ons with lunar elemental damage.Enhahe on’s ability to cause sleep or disorientation.Increases the on’s effectiveness at night.Amulets:Protects against night-based attacks.Enhahe wearer’s intuition and fht.Provides a calming and bang effect.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of lunar spells.Enhahe effectiveness of night-reted entments.Adds a calming and intuitive aura to magical staves.Lapis Lazuli

  ons:Adds celestial elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s ability to disrupt enemy spells.Increases the on’s power uhe night sky.Amulets:Protects against mental and psychic attacks.Enhahe wearer’s wisdom and strategic thinking.Boosts the wearer’s e to the celestial realms.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of celestial spells.Enhahe wisdom and crity provided by magical staves.Adds a celestial and protective aura to ented items.Zir

  ons:Adds light elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s ability to refled refract light.Increases the on’s ability to blind enemies.Amulets:Protects against light-based attacks.Enhahe wearer’s crity and vision.Boosts the wearer’s reflective and refractive abilities.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of light-based spells.Enhahe crity and vision provided by magical staves.Adds a reflective and refractive aura to ented items.Tourmaline

  ons:Adds multi-elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s adaptability to different bat situations.Provides a shielding effect, redug damage taken.Amulets:Protects against multiple types of elemental attacks.Enhahe wearer’s band overall energy.Boosts the wearer’s adaptability and flexibility.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of multi-elemental spells.Enhahe versatility of magical wands and staves.Adds a multi-elemental aura to ented items.Kyanite

  ons:Adds psychic elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s ability to align and banergy.Increases the on’s sharpness and preulets:Protects against psychid mental attacks.Enhahe wearer’s energy alig and bance.Boosts the wearer’s crity and focus.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of alig spells.Enhahe band crity provided by magical staves.Adds an aligning and bang aura to ented items.Rhodonite

  ons:Adds emotional elemental damage to ons.Enhahe on’s ability to cause fusion aional turmoil.Increases the on’s effectiveness in psychological warfare.Amulets:Protects agaiional and psychological attacks.Enhahe wearer’s emotional resiliend bance.Boosts the wearer’s passion and uanding.Wood Creations:Boosts the power of emotional healing spells.Enhahe emotional bance provided by magical staves.Adds a passionate and uanding aura to ented items.Quartz

  ons: Enhahe sharpness and durability of swords.Amulets: Amplifies the wearer’s magical abilities, making spells more powerful.Wood Creations: Increases the effectiveness of magical staves, boosting spell impact.Rose Quartz

  ons: Used in daggers to inflict emotional damage to foes, causiation.Amulets: Promotes healing and recovery, redug dowween battles.Wood Creations: Adds a calming aura to magical staves, enhang healing spells.Smoky Quartz

  ons: Incorporated into armor to absorb aralize enemy spells.Amulets: Grants the wearer stealth abilities, making them harder to detect.Wood Creations: Used in defeaffs to create protective barriers.Aventurine

  ons: Enhahe resilience of ons, preventing them from breaking.Amulets: Increases the wearer’s lu finding resources and allies.Wood Creations: Infused in tools to enhance craftsmanship and success.Fluorite

  ons: Used in staves to stabilize and focus magical energies, increasing spell preulets: Protects against mental attacks and fusion spells.Wood Creations: Enhahe crity and effectiveness of magical carvings.Selenite

  ons: Coated oo purify and banish dark entities upon tact.Amulets: ses the wearer’s aura, preventing curses and hexes from taking hold.Wood Creations: Used in sacred wands to enhance spiritual e.Labradorite

  ons: Used in ented bows to increase the speed of arrows.Amulets: Enhahe wearer’s reflexes, allowing for quicker reas in bat.Wood Creations: Boosts the magic of spellcasting staves, increasing their range.Celestite

  ons: Embedded in magical staves to amplify spell power and reduce mana usage.Amulets: Grants prote from aerial attacks and boosts flight capabilities.Wood Creations: Infused in musical instruments to enhance harmony and peace.Obsidian

  ons: Infused in swords to shatter enemy defenses and armor.Amulets: Provides a powerful shield against dark magid ive energies.Wood Creations: Used in protective totems to ward off evil spirits.Tiger’s Eye

  ons: Inid io increase the user’s strength and ferocity.Amulets: Enhahe wearer’s bravery aao fear.Wood Creations: Used in shields to provide prote and ce.Jade

  ons: Used in spears to attrad harness natural energies, boosting attack power.Amulets: Ehe wearer’s safety by repelling harm and attrag beneficial outes.Wood Creations: Infused in talismans to attract prosperity and harmony.Pyrite

  ons: Coated on maces to deliver devastating blows and break enemy morale.Amulets: Attracts wealth and resources, ensuring the wearer’s prosperity and strength.Wood Creations: Used in decorative carvings to enhance prosperity and prote.Hematite

  ons: Infused in shields to absorb and refleemy attacks.Amulets: Grounds the wearer, providing stability and prote against physical harm.Wood Creations: Used in grounding totems to provide stability and bance.Machite

  ons: Used in crossbows to enhahe accurad lethality of bolts.Amulets: Absorbs ive energies, proteg the wearer from curses and hexes.Wood Creations: Enhahe healing properties of wooden wands.Azurite

  ons: Embedded iers to amplify the impact of elemental spells.Amulets: Enhahe wearer’s psychic abilities and fht.Wood Creations: Used in magical symbols to boost psychic palena

  ons: Used in war hammers to increase the ford impact of strikes.Amulets: Provides grounding and stability, preventing disorientation in battle.Wood Creations: Enhahe strength and durability of wooden structs.Calcite

  ons: Used in maces to enhance impact ford break enemy defenses.Amulets: Boosts the wearer’s healing abilities and overall health.Wood Creations: Enhahe potenagical inscriptions on wooden items.Beryl

  ons: Used in spears to increase the speed and accuracy of thrusts.Amulets: Provides prote against magical attacks and enhances ce.Wood Creations: Enhahe potency of protective wooden artifacts.[colpse]That was one hell of a list, and it took us the better part of a day to get through it. Even with the gem iory finally plete, it felt like we’d barely made a dent ihing we needed. Mahya was set, but there was for the wicked—or, in our case, for shoppers with endless errands.

  We visited DIY, hardware, building supplies, and home improvement stores, more or less emptying their iory, including from the warehouses. We went separately so no one would realize the same group was buying all this. I purchased another fifty trampolines of different sizes, a gas supply for cooking, and the balloon, which would st us for years. Although Mahya said we could find gas in other worlds, I didn’t want to take any ces. After some research, I visited Hit or Miss Archery, Archery Warehouse, and Sportsman’s Warehouse, emptying their iory. I found some antique shops, bought seventeen meical cameras from different eras, and ordered stands to sell from.

  By verting two more ability points to stats, I increased my intelligence by ten points. I didn’t feel any wiser, but thought I might discover the effect ter. After raising my intelligence, I increased my ste twice more. Now, I had 216,000 cubic meters, and looking into my ste was scary.

  To put that into perspective, 216,000 cubic meters is roughly the volume of eighty Olympic-sized swimming pools, or about the same as thirty-five Boeing 747 aircraft. The sheer scale of it left me speechless, and a little terrified. Having a pocket-dimension ste of that magnitude felt surreal, like carrying a vast, hollow mountain inside me. Every time I accessed it, a shiver of both excitement and apprehension ran through me.

  On the way back from one of our shopping trips, we saw an army surplus store and checked out what they offered. They had a lot of great items, and we ended up pretty much emptying that store. Realizing the value of these stores, we added them to our list and visited five more such stores in Albuquerque.

  We bought huge stocks of various items, including camoufge uniforms, boots, jackets, pants, hats, and gloves. We also picked up backpacks, duffel bags, rucksacks, and camping gear like tents, sleeping bags, teens, and mess kits. For survival equipment, we gathered first aid kits, passes, and emergenkets. Our tool colle expanded with multi-tools and knives, and we secured ste tainers like ammo boxes and roof cases.

  Additionally, we acquired gas masks and protective gear, paracord and rope, bat boots and tactical footwear, tactical vests and load-bearing equipment, surplus optics like binocurs or spotting scopes, and cold weather gear such as thermal underwear and heavy-duty coats.

  After searg for portable fes, we bought a Hell’s Fe Portable Propane Fe and a Whitlox Homestead Coal Fe, and to be safe, we bought ten units of each. Where we purchased the Whitlox Homestead Coal Fe, I also saw models of smokers in different sizes, so I bought ten. I immediately pced one smoker on the baly of my house and stored the rest for future use. After purchasing the propane fe, I bought a vast propane supply wherever I could find it.

  We bought workstations and workbenches aied a few home goods and bed and bath stores. Basically, We raided enough stores to make a doomsday prepper blush.

  Before we left Albuquerque, Al wao do a drug run. With a deep sigh, I went to get ready. My attempt to cast gmor on our Jeep didn’t work.

  I looked at the sky and said, “The ‘One of The Crowd’ ability says that it’s all a traveler o travel successfully. I o gmor this Jeep. Why ’t I? I’m also sure other travelers have had to hide vehicles before. I definitely should be able to gmor the Jeep to travel better.”

  I felt amusement directed at me, a faint hum of smugness creeping into my thoughts.

  Frowning, I muttered, “I’m not kidding. This is no joke. I o gmor the Jeep. You o add that to the ability.”

  This time, I got no response. I let out a frustrated sigh—zy system.

  Al approached me, his footsteps light as he crossed the gravel, and asked, “Who are you talking to?”

  “The Guidance,” I replied, folding my arms.

  “Why?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice, as if he expected my ao be just as ridiculous as my st request.

  “Because I o gmor the Jeep,” I said, gesturing toward the vehicle.

  He ughed, shaking his head, and patted me on the back.

  Why did everyohink I was joking? I was pletely serious; I wao gmor the Jeep. Of all the things I’d learo do—store mountains of supplies, manipute luck, heal wounds—I still couldn’t gmour a Jeep. I mean, what kind of magical traveler ’t make his car look inspicuous? It was being a personal affront at this point.

  After cheg the vanity ptes we got from Vegas, I smirked to myself and ged the Jeep ptes to “PAWSOME.” Then, I jured up new identification for the Jeep with the new vanity ptes. I activated my Luck, and we went looking for some drug dealers.

  On the way, I told Al, gng at him from the er of my eye, “I’ll get you there and point out the location, but I’m not going in. You’ll have to find the drugs yourself.”

  “This does not pose an issue,” he replied, his voice steady and fident. “My css will assist me in log them.”

  “Okay,” I said, nodding as I kept my eyes on the road.

  Our first target was iernational District, aeeming with a mix of old motels, run-doartment plexes, and colorful murals that attempted to mask the underlying decay. The streets were dimly lit, with flickering neon signs advertising cheap rooms and dubious services. I parked the Jeep two blocks away, ah turned invisible before making our way to the target location.

  I poihe dipidated building to Al, an old graffiti-covered structure that seemed to lean to one side. He tapped me on the bad disappeared inside. I waited with bated breath, worried about Al, but I heard nothing from inside. So far, so good. Finally, Al came out, auro the Jeep.

  We drove in sileo the locatioral Avehe historic Route 66 was a mix of neon lights, motels, and diners, but parts had a more sinister uoer dark. I parked near a shabby motel, its once-bright sign now missiers. The air smelled of grease and desperation. Agaiurned invisible and made our way to the location. This time, I could hear muffled voices and the distant sound of sirens. Al slipped inside, and I waited under a scraggly tree. After what felt like ay, Al finally reappeared, auro the Jeep.

  Our st stop was the Bares neighborhood, a historic area just south of downtown. Old adobe houses and -link fences lihe narrow streets. The night was eerily quiet here; the usual buzz of the city muffled, as if we had entered another world. I parked in a secluded spot, and we repeated our routine, being invisible and approag the target. This time, it was an old house with boarded-up windows and a sagging porch.

  The street y quiet, each step we took swallowed by the thick, suffog air. Even the distant hum of the city seemed to retreat, leaving only the ey breath as pany, broken only by the occasional bark of a distant dog. The weight of the neighborhood’s history seemed to press down on me, as if the ghosts of its past were whispering warnings in the air.

  When Al finally reappeared, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The drive back was a blur of dimly lit streets and uneasy gnces in the rearview mirror. I knew no one was following us, but that didn’t stop the lingering unease.

  After we returo the hotel, Al threw the loot on the floor in the living room. I didn’t know how many drugs he “liberated” from the dealers. He didn’t specify this detail. But he alsht a lot of ons and money. He added over half a million dolrs teneral fund. It was turning into a ridiculous edy. No matter how much money we spent, and we spent a lot of money, our capital grew instead of shrinking. We were determio finish all the money from Earth and vert it into goods and useful things for the future, but this task began to seem impossible.

  When I said that to the other two, they looked at me like I was crazy, and Mahya ented, “You ever have too much money.”

  I stared at the half-million dolrs spread across the bed, trying to my head around how the st leg of our journey kept making us richer. At this rate, we’d need a whole e dimension just for the cash. I could see why Lis didn’t care about money anymore—after a certain point, it’s just numbers.