Bogomil's visit provides me with a little more time to think on the enchantment I have planned for the shield, as I want to wash the potion bottles a little more thoroughly with soap and once more with fresh water afterwards, to make sure no residue remains. This would be so much easier with a little magic. I even consider self cleaning, enchanted potion bottles for a moment, but that would be overkill. Never mind that I don't know how exactly the bottles would react with the liquid filling them in this case.

  Thankfully no doubts like that surface regarding the shield. Nothing about the enchantment catches my attention as I go about it in my mind time and again. No problems. I should be good to get started.

  As I set the rinsed potion bottles aside to dry I check my chalk supply. I'm running a little low. Especially the reserves of my best chalks are dwindling. I shouldn't need those for this project though. A basic enchanter's chalk should do in this particular case. Overall though I'll need to make more. I certainly have enough enchanting dust stored up.

  I'm a little worried about the other ingredients though. I need more wax. Some oil too. Those I better order through Agnieszka. If I want to add essential oils from the night candle on the other hand, I'll have to produce it myself. The coloring for the chalks I can make myself too. Unless I start keeping bees I'll have to purchase the wax though. There is no way around it.

  Then, as I check on the potion bottles, my mind begins to wander a little. Should I make some soap too? We learned to do it at the academy in Barter Town. In fact it was one of the first lessons in processing and mixing ingredients. Soap and its creation are pretty convenient in that regard.

  On the other hand that might just mean that the academy has the market for soap cornered in this part of the world. I honestly have no clue what happened with all the soap we made in class, but I'm pretty sure the academy didn't just throw it out with the trash. I think back some more, trying harder to recall details. No, there were no batches produced which I would call utter failures. Even the worst would still have been good enough for laundry. In fact the academy might have used some for that very purpose. Most of the soap the students produce will get sold though in all likelihood.

  I bite my lip. If I were to scent it with some essential oils though I might still be able to make some coin with it. And people probably would appreciate it too. Everyone around here likes to visit the bathhouse after all. And soap that adds a refreshing herbal scent to the laundry might have some fans too.

  My eyes go wide as my thoughts make another jump. Even better! I could use essential oils from plants moths don't like! Soap that keeps the moths off your good clothes! Now that is worth some more thought and maybe an attempt or two!

  I make a note in my notebook before I get distracted by anything else and forget again. First I'll finish the enchantment for the shield though. I better get to it too. With Elzbieta and the little one back home I can't exactly work late for however long I want after all. I better not be a bad example for the little boy by working late nights without regard to the well being of others.

  No, as much as I lake working long nights, that isn't an option right now. Not unless little Ulryk proves to be a night owl too anyway.

  I go and get one of my remaining enchanter's chalks. It's not a whole piece thus I get a second of similar quality too, just in case. It's better to have a spare at hand after all than to fail when the enchantment is already almost done. Before I get started though I go and check on Elzbieta once more. She dozes, snoring softly, just like her little boy.

  I clean the enchanting table, making sure that neither old scrawls nor any lingering dust will influence the new enchantment. Then I draw my usual supporting lines and circles with coal. Only then do I place the small, ancient metal shield with it's new quartz adornment at the center of the table.

  My eyebrow twitches a little as I notice a little detail that is only barely not a problem this time around. The circle for the runes is only a little bigger than the actual shield. If it were any bigger I would be in trouble. I'd have to use the auxiliary enchanting place at the smithy. Well, the shield still fits, but I better keep it in mind for the future.

  Softly humming one of the tunes Elzbieta seems to like, I finally grab the larger piece of chalk. The tunes resonates well with me, as it matches my writing speed when drawing runes pretty well. The effect is most curious. Unlike before, when the world seemed to slow to a crawl around me, almost loosing all meaning, it's like everything matches the tune this time around, as I draw rune after rune. Within the confines of my own mind I decide, that I kind of like that. Especially as the tune is that of a cheerful song.

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  It makes the whole process a little more upbeat and cheerful. Maybe I should do this more often? Might it even influence the result of the enchanting process? I guess I'll find out. I haven't heard of something like this before, but I wouldn't rule it out just for that reason either. There are a great many things out there I never even heard off after all. Of that I have no doubt.

  As I place the last rune the circle gets drawn into the shield, taking hold without a single wobble and the curious effect dissipates once more, as my perception of the world around me normalizes again. My awareness doesn't return to a world of relative quiet though. Instead Elzbieta keeps the tune I have been humming going and Ulryk makes happy baby noises too.

  The baby's attention seems to be divided between his mother, me and the shield I have been working on. He seems a little disappointed about the latter though, as the glowing letters I have been drawing are now all gone.

  Well, I can do something about that. Or at least I can try. First though I should check on the results of my work. I focus my attention on the newly enchanted shield and activate my appraisal skill.

  [Ksawery's Moonlight Shield, Quality: Rare, In times long past these shields were mass produced by some long gone civilization. As they are made entirely of iron they kept surprisingly well. Keep it well oiled and it might still be serviceable in another thousand years. In more recent times it has been enchanted to provide some light, a soft moon like glow emanating from the polished quartz set in the shield's center, upon command. Just like the shield supposedly won by a certain infamous catfolk adventurer during his quest to steal the moon.]

  I blink in surprise at the information provided. Then I blink again. I just can't help it. This certainly is a surprising turn of events. My mouth might stand open, at least a little, as I look over at Elzbieta.

  “Ksawery tried to steal the moon?”

  She looks confused at first, but nods in the end.

  “Sure. It's one of his more infamous adventures. One on which he embarked together with Maryla the Magpie. Why? That's not the one retold in the song to which the melody you have been humming belongs.”

  Instead of answering I pick up the shield and activate the enchantment by speaking the command words.

  “Moonlight bright.”

  The glow of course isn't very bright ta all. That's alright though. It's rather pleasant the way it is. Most importantly though, it elicits another round of happy baby noises from Ulryk. Finally, after setting the shield, which is still emitting it's soft glowing light, back down on the table, I explain.

  “This one supposedly matches the shield Ksawery won when trying to steal the moon.”

  Elzbieta nods and moves little closer, so her baby boy can get a better look.

  “I see. Well that's a nice turn of events. Anyway, how long will the light shine?”

  I can only shrug in response, even as I reach out to grab the little hourglass from the shelf above the workbench.

  “I honestly have no clue. Let's find out.”