"Kyle." I greet our administrator when he enters the kitchen as we're sitting down to breakfast. "How goes it?"

"Fairly good, Boss." A wry smile flashes across his face every time he uses the only title I'll willingly answer to. "A few requests for luncheons and dinners."

"Anyone important?" I ask hoping that we can just blow them off. "Because I'll be busy working on a big project for the Crown for the foreseeable future, and we'll be heading out to Riverton soon."

"No one that won't take that as an excuse." He says after a moment of thought. "Are things going well on that front?"

"Cendassa hasn't backed down yet, so we've got to build up our forces. I'm doing what I can on the logistics front." I answer after taking a bite of bacon. "I'll also be building up Arcadia soon, offering villages with communal appliances in exchange for service of one type or another. Hopefully as healers if I can sort out the runes I'll need to make that dream happen."

"Oh, and speaking of appliances." I add while he's gathering his thoughts. "How would you and your family like to test run some Runes for me?" I gesture around to the prototypes I added to the kitchen last night.

"If they're anything like that quick cooker, I think Grandma Jessa will throttle him if he says no." Bartlett says with a smirk while walking up from behind his grandfather. "Morning Boss." He nods to me before filling a plate. "Mmm, wish all jobs had perks like this."

Food's never a problem around here, so I let them have free range of the kitchen. Kyle says he prefers his wife's cooking, but I secretly think she doesn't give him the option. Bartlett, on the other hand is more than happy to take advantage of our generosity.

"It's settled then." I smile at the administrator. "We'll head over later and get your home set up with one of everything I was able to make last night."

*Ding**Ding**Ding*

"Hello Oliver." I answer the phone.

"Sorrel, we just sent some mages over with the iron. They should be there soon."

"Okay, it shouldn't take long to make the prototypes. Are they going to take the vehicles back with, or do you want me to deliver them somewhere?"

"If you could just show them how they work, that should be fine. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do." I disconnect and return to my breakfast. "Kyle, if there's nothing else pressing, we can head over to your place after I take care of this."

"Of course... Boss." He paused, and I just know that he was going to call me lord or sir.

I finish eating and head over to the parking area to get a head start on the vehicles. I'm just finishing up on the Humvee, and about to start on the big truck when three mages from the palace show up in a carriage driven by a soldier.

"Marquis Rumex." Tomas, the Air Mage that greets me is the same one that was on duty when we were first called in to meet Vivian. "Where would you like us to unload everything?"

"The bottom floor of the parking area should do." I answer, and he and the other two, an Earth Mage named Greg and a Water Mage called Curran, head on down.

"Sir?" The soldier speaks up just as I'm about to get back to work. "May I ask what those are?" He points to a couple mountain bikes I threw in so they could practice for the motorcycles.

"Bicycles." I send one over to him. "There's no engine on these, but I thought that transport that didn't need Mana might be useful. They take a bit to get used, but can match or even beat out a horse over long distance... Well, depending on terrain and how fit the rider is."

"Could, I try riding it?" He asks nervously while examining the bike.

"Sure, just keep yourself balanced and the bar straight while pushing the pedals." I show him a quick movie of how to ride, including how to use the brakes to stop.

"Thank you Sir." He tries mounting it by using the pedal like a stirrup on a horse, but the pedal wasn't all the way down and the bike moving forward caused him to fall. Or, he would have if I hadn't caught him. "Uh, thanks again Sir."

"No problem." I nod at him and go back to building the big truck. The Mages come back out from the parking area just as I'm testing the engine. They can't help but smile at the burly guard that's wobbling back and forth trying to keep himself upright.

"Uh... We weren't informed about that one." The Earth Mage says.

"It's mainly so people can practice before trying the motorcycles, but the bicycle is a decent vehicle all on its own... Once you get use to riding one that is." I shake my head at the soldier's antics.

"Ah, I've seen Mage Long on his Iron Horse, but didn't even think about that." The last Awakened says.

"With the lower center of gravity, it's actually easier to ride the motorcycle." I explain. "But, it's also easier to hurt yourself by losing control after going too fast. You three can practice while I finish this off, should only take a couple more minutes." I quickly build two more mountain bikes before working on the drive train for the truck.

They have a couple false starts, but they're all high enough level that their stats make it trivial to master. This seems to light a fire under the soldier and he quickly firms up his riding.

Meanwhile, I finish off the truck body. I'm using the hardened wood for all of them, but the Humvee got a top layer of the same steel I made for the scalemaille armor. And I'm making the tarp for the truck from the same fabric as I designed for the gambesons.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Okay, who's ready for their first driving lesson?..." We walk over to the jeep and I show all four of them the ropes. "...See, that wasn't so bad." It really was. "Now that you've got the basics down you should get the hang of the bigger vehicles."

"Speaking of heavier vehicles." Tomas opens. "I was told that you had an idea for something even bigger."

"I do, it's basically a larger version of that little train ride around the garden I had at the party." The Mages nod. "The problem is one of scale, though. My reinforced wood worked fine as tracks and wheels for a night, but it's still wood. We need a good durable steel for the tracks, and even using all the iron you three brought today probably wouldn't be enough."

"But-but there's over half a million kilograms of iron down there, that's most of the Capital's reserve." Greg seems flabbergasted.

"Yes, and it's over a million meters from here to Riverton." I materialize a cube of steel in my palm. "This is one kilogram of steel. It's what, five centimeters on a side? Even if I stretch it out to just a millimeter thin, and strap that to the reinforced wood. Then we would only get just over half way to Riverton, since we need two rails after all." I take the two and a half meter railway track I just made and snap it in half.

"Ah..." He clams up.

"Yeah." I take a deep breath. "There may be better options, but I haven't found any. Not unless you think you can reinforce stone rails as thousands of kilograms travel over them at more than a hundred kilometers an hour?"

"If only we had Cendassa's mines." He mutters, while his buddies smirk at him for not doing the math.

"Now, there's an option." I get my own smirk. "I'll be heading up to Riverton soon to lay out the Mana conduit for the vehicles. I might just sneak over the border and help myself to an inventory full of iron."

"Well, damn." He curses. "Now, I wish I could go with. If you do try for it, then remember to bring Packston, Dieter, and Liza along." He names the three Earth Mages that stayed at Riverton. "Every time I talk to them, all they do is complain about how boring it is now that they've got the extra fortifications built."

"I'll be sure to do that, may even give them some games to help pass the time. They did miss the big party, after all."

"Oh, they all were so jealous when we told them about that." The Water Mage grins. "Do you think you could take them some chocolate too?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem. And, I'd be happy to deliver some care packages if you want to arrange something with their other friends and families." I offer.

"Alright." Tomas speaks up. "We can do that, but right now we need to practice so we don't crash on the way back."

After they leave I check the list of what the Crown wants. There's enough iron for thousands of vehicles, or tens of thousands of suits of armor. But, the list only asks for a thousand each of plain chainmaille hauberks, coifs, and mantles, another thousand of the scalemaille, and plate armors, and three-thousand sets of cloth armor.

I call Oliver back. "They've delivered the iron, and are on their way back now. And, I wasn't expecting quite that much, even all added together that list only accounts for a tenth of what was delivered."

"I know." He sighs. "But, we've been at peace for longer than I've been alive, so Larendath doesn't exactly have a lot of armor to go around. And, we will likely need ten times as much in the coming months. This first batch is just so Patrick can outfit the troops we already have."

"Understood." I let out my own sigh. "I should be able to get this order done over the next few days while making enough Mana conduit to reach Riverton. It's time consuming to make, but not all that taxing."

"We'll have another meeting in a few days then. That should give Patrick time to get a feel for the vehicles."

"That's fine, and please let him know that I'm happy to take suggestions for design changes. These are just what I was able to come up with on the fly. Oh, and when I was speaking with Greg he mentioned Cendassa's mines. I thought I might pay them a visit while I'm up that way."

"Hah!" Be barks out a laugh. "I'll be sure to get you some maps. Alright, I'll talk to you later. Good luck, and thank you, again."

I reply with a "No problem." but he's already disconnected.

***

"Jessa." Kyle greets his wife who's waiting at the door to their home. He called ahead to warn her that we were coming.

"Hello husband." Her smile makes me think that she's more amused than annoyed at this intrusion. "Hello Sorrel." At least someone understands that I hate titles.

"Hi Jessa." I wave. "Sorry for barging in like this, but I hope that some of these new Runes will make up for it."

"I must admit that I wouldn't mind one of those quick cookers."

"Hah." Bartlett laughs at his grandfather. "I told you she'd want one."

"Well, I do have several devices for the kitchen." I say. "Including the quick cooker, and toaster. As Kyle told you on the phone, we'll be selling these in the future and need to know how people might receive them."

"If you want feedback on your Runes, then I can tell you right now that there's a big problem with your phones." A shit-eating grin sneaks onto her face. "Not enough people have them."

"Hahaha. I know." I nod and smile at her little joke. "Turner's been focusing on the chocolate, but we'll be selling the phones soon. They're going to be pricy though. Since there are no other Magnet mages they all have to have built-in recharging enchantments. Hmm?" I pause as an Idea hits me. "Actually, I may have a way around that, but I'll need to talk to some people first."

"Even if they're more expensive than a top class Rune people will still buy them." She answers. "But, if you can make a more affordable version, that would be good."

"Alright, Kyle could you call Stanwood's secretary and set up a meeting for later?" I ask my administrator. "I Should probably handle this talk in person. Now, let's get you guys all set up. You have a lovely home, by the way."

"Why, thank you." She beams with pride and guides me down the hallway.

"That's an impressive sewing room. Do you make all your own clothing?"

"Oh, I used to, but Bartlett's mother Pauline has taken over most of that for me." She massages her left hand near the knuckles. "These old hands aren't what they used to be."

"And, you didn't think to ask your husband's boss, a known healer to take a look at them?" I chuckle at the look on her face and hold out a conjured glass of healing sap. "Here, drink this; I've got a call of my own to make."

She takes the glass and looks at Kyle. He just smiles and nods while I call up Amelia.

"Hey, babe." She answers with a laugh. "Did you miss me already?"

"Every time we're apart." I really gotta work on video calls, I just want to see her smile now. "Not why I called though. I was wondering how much you think the Yarnhams might be willing to pay for a Rune powered sewing machine." She starts cackling as soon as I finish speaking. "I guess that means a lot." I let slip a few laughs of my own.

"I love you, you clever man you. We're going to end up making as much profit from their business as they do. Hahaha."

"I love you too, and speaking of business, I had an idea for automatic phone charging stations. That way we can sell cheaper phones without built-in recharging."

"How would it work?"

"It'd be a simple machine, you drop some coins in and it fill up the phone for you. The same idea could work for other Runes too, so I had Kyle set up a meeting with Stanwood. I figure the mages will like it because they can still get paid for recharging stuff, but won't have to sit around all day. They can just fill up Mana Stones for the machine in their spare time."

"That is a good idea, most of them both love and hate Rune charging. It's easy coin, but boring as all get out. When's the meeting? I want to come along."

"The Guild Leader's secretary said that he's free all morning, and more than happy to see you." Kyle speaks up.

"Good, we can go after you're done over there. I'll see you when you get back." She hangs up.

I finished installing the appliances after that. Jessa giving me her profuse thanks the whole time, especially when I promised to give her one of the first sewing machines.

***