As I am thinking about things, I finish crafting all of the weapons and armor, enough to equip fifty guards. However, I don’t do any of the enchantments, I want to do those in the capital so I can try my idea. Before I do that, I head upstairs to get some food, but I find Lin and Bella eating a meal.

  “Oh, hello. What are you doing here?”

  Lin says “I just sent a group of the summoned back to their worlds. Those that have all of the new tattoos.”

  Bella says “We only finished the tattoos on about half of those that want to go back. The rest will leave once they have their tattoos.”

  “I actually had an idea about that. Lin, could you mix a scrying spell with the summoning spell so you can take a look at the worlds they are from before sending them?”

  Lin says “That’s an interesting idea. Yes, I think I could make it work.”

  Bella says “It would certainly help people decide if they want to go back or not. It could also help them prepare if they know what is going on first.”

  “That was the idea. Well, that and that I want to see my world and see if it is overrun with zombies.”

  Lin says “If it is, are you going to want to go home?”

  “No way! At most, I will grab some popcorn and watch for a while! Don’t worry, there isn’t anything that could make me want to leave you and the kids.”

  Lin says “You mean other than responsibility, right?”

  “I might avoid my responsibilities when I can, but that doesn’t count as leaving you or the kids.”

  Lin says “I know that, I was just teasing you. What have you been up to?”

  “I’ve finished updating the enchantments on the capital and the palace. Next is setting up the formation in the mountain. I took a bit of a break to craft some equipment for the palace guard.”

  Bella says “There is a palace guard? I never saw them when I was in the city.”

  “There wasn’t before, but we are setting one up. Brightfire is going to be the leader of it.”

  Lin says “I bet that she was really excited, wasn’t she?”

  “Yeah. She was basically vibrating in place when I mentioned it.”

  Bella says “She will be a good fit for the job and she really needed something to do. She was slowly going crazy just sitting around in the capital.”

  “She sure will. Would you be willing to give the new tattoos to the guards once they are chosen? Maybe a special tattoo just for them?”

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  Bella says “Of course! It will just have to wait until I am done tattooing the summoned.”

  “No worries, it will take a while for Brightfire to select her guards.”

  Lin says “Do you already have an idea in mind for this special tattoo?”

  “Yeah, I do. Well, I will if this new enchantment works.”

  Lin says “What new enchantment? What have you come up with now?”

  “Well, I am making gear for the guards and came up with the idea of tying it into the enchantments of the city. Basically, when they are in the city the enchantment will draw strength from the city to make the gear stronger. I have a rough idea of how the enchantment will work, but I haven’t tested it yet. I was planning on heading to the capital after eating to test it out.”

  Lin says “Well write it out now and let me take a look. If we can finalize it and it works, I can start working on the tattoo design. I assume you want something that will stand out and represent how elite the palace guard is, right?”

  “Yes, I would. There is no rush though. The scrying spell should be a higher priority.”

  Lin says “I know, I won’t work on the tattoo until the scrying spell is done.”

  “Alright, let me write it out real quick.”

  I write out the enchantment I have planned with one hand while cramming food into my mouth with the other. As I am writing out the enchantment I come up with a few small improvements and catch a major error. I make the changes and quickly rewrite the enchantment before handing it to Lin.

  Lin says “This is pretty good! I can work with this. You have gotten better at coming up with spells.”

  “No, not really. It is only that good because it is an enchantment. I may have gotten better at enchantments, but my spells are still pretty rough.”

  Lin says “Still, I am impressed, I can’t find any problems or improvements. I do have a question though, won’t this work beyond the city?”

  “It might. I don’t really know. Even if it does work, I am not sure how far the range will be. It might only work inside cities with a lot of enchantments.”

  Lin says “But it will connect to the system you are creating, right?”

  “That’s the plan. It will depend on how well it works.”

  Lin says “Well, once you know let me know, I am really curious now.”

  “Sure thing. I am too, so it will be the next thing I do.”

  Bella says “You mean as long as nothing else peaks your interest, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess. Has Lin been telling stories about me again?”

  Bella says “Of course she has! Despite all of the magic and everything, you are the most interesting thing in this world! At least according to Lin you are.”

  Lin blushes and says “I did not say that!”

  “So, you weren’t telling her stories about me?”

  Lin says “No, I was, but I did not say you are the most interesting thing in the world. I was just trying to let her know what kind of man you are.”

  “Does this have something to do with what you asked me to do the other night?”

  This time Lin blushes even harder and refuses to say anything in answer to my question. Bella looks curious and stares at Lin’s reaction, but she doesn’t say anything. I am betting that she will be asking Lin about it just as soon as I am not around.

  That is fine by me, as Lin’s lover she has a right to know, but I am glad I won’t be around. Hearing that kind of conversation would be really embarrassing for me. I quickly finish eating, say goodbye, and then gate to the elven capital to escape.

  I can hear both girls laughing as I step through the gate, but I don’t let it stop me from leaving. Turning back would only make it worse, there is no way I can win that battle. Besides, I really am curious to see if this new enchantment is going to work on not.

  If it does, it will be a huge advantage for the palace guard any time they are fighting near a city. If it works really well, they will get a boost any time they are within the area covered by the system. If it works out that way, I can also add the enchantment to the troops’ armor.