If nothing else, the calligraphy in the tome Fey had given me was beautiful, the thickness of the lines variable in a way that made me think it was written by hand, using a feather, or maybe a nice calligraphy-pen. It was an almost dead art and looking at the letters, I was somewhat sad to know that.

But while the letters were beautiful, just the first few lines of the text promised a headache, as I could easily understand the individual words but once they teamed up to form a sentence, I wondered if the language it was written in was one I could understand. Even the individual concepts, describing how different people got different results when using the same methods in the same circumstances with attempts to link the difference in performance to various outside-factors, ranging from the position of the moon and planets, to some esoteric idea regarding the geographic position and even something that sounded like it was blatantly copied out of a feng-shui manual, made me wonder just how sane Fey was. And maybe how sane I was, as I seriously considered her words, trying, and failing, to comprehend them on an intellectual level.

“It is a beautiful tome, thank you very much.” I seriously thanked her, my mind focusing on the book as a piece of art, not a source of information to make sure none of my frustrations crept into my voice.

“You’re welcome.” the shadows under her hood that had been hiding her face the whole time faded away, as she smiled at me, “Now, you said my foci are being worked on, do you have an idea how long things will take? The last time when I had Foci made, the machine-shop took three weeks to complete them, while billing me for priority manufacturing.”

“Their equipment was most likely unable to consistently produce the required tolerances, so they had to make multiple attempts, until they finally produced one that was within your requirements. My manufacturing uses an entirely different process, allowing me to achieve the tolerances consistently, though only at a relatively low working-speed, when compared to a normal mill.” I explained and could see Fey’s eyes glaze over, just as I was about to explain the problems with regular milling, especially when it came to isolating the equipment and dampening vibrations.

“Anyway, if you like, I can provide you with a nice cup of coffee and by the time we have drunk one, the Foci will be done.” I stopped myself from going into technical details, instead I suggested something everyone should appreciate.

In fact, the Foci were done even before Fey had finished her cup, allowing me to leave her behind in one of Technica’s reception-rooms, while I went into the rooms I was using for my projects. After another quick check, I could load the newly finished Foci into a small box, wincing a little at the weight. Solid silver-rods, covered in weird, arcane symbols, some of them resembling letters, others merely geometric forms, were simply heavy, especially when they were numerous. Regardless of my misgivings regarding magic, I made sure to keep a copy of the blue-prints and detailed imaging of the finished product. The information might come in handy at some point.

Leaving the heavy tome I had received in one of my workshops, I returned to Fey, carrying the heavy, shock-insulated box, carefully placing it on a table between us.

“There you go. Silver-Foci, manufactured to specs and with minimal deviation.” I opened the box, revealing the upper layer of Foci, cushioned on black foam, to make sure nothing was damaged in transport.

She gave me a nod, taking out one of the Foci and for a second, I could see a rainbow of non-light running over it, before she gave me a smile and a nod.

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“Wonderful, they are just like Mordred described them.” she stood, offering me a hand-shake, “Say, would you mind if I message you with the specs for a different project of mine? Your methods are clearly superior to the methods used by my previous supplier, especially if you can work in exotic materials.” she asked, making me wonder just what she had in mind. Exotic materials could mean everything from the ivory of endangered animals to toxic and radioactive materials that I would not want to handle without extensive precautions.

“That depends on your definition of exotic and we obviously would have to agree on a suitable remuneration.” I replied, her smile only widening.

“Excellent. I will be in touch.” she replaced the silver rod, closed the box and, harshly violating the laws of physics in the process, stuffed the box, which was quite a bit larger than her stupid purse, into said purse. The purse did not even have the decency to stretch, simply remaining in the same shape, refusing to acknowledge the reality I tried to hold onto. Maybe I would retreat into one of the sound-proof rooms later, just to scream at reality to do its job.

Shaking my head, I bid Fey farewell, leaving her and her physics-violating purse behind in the reception-room to pick up Nisha. A quick glance on the cameras I had set to watch Nisha showed that she had laid down on the couch and gone to sleep almost immediately. A part of me wanted to simply let her sleep but while the couch was comfortable, her bed was even more so, which is where she should be resting.

Gently shaking Nisha’s shoulder caused her to blink her dark eyes, looking around confused for a moment, her mind apparently trying to figure out where she was and what was going on.

She mumbled something incomprehensive, while nuzzling the hand that had shook her awake a little, as if seeking to be petted like a cat. It took a few moments of nuzzling, before her mind booted up completely and her eyes followed the hand she had nuzzled against, up my arm until she reached my face, freezing for a moment, turning from a spoiled cat into a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

“Diana?” she asked, the rest of her body still frozen.

“Indeed. You received the charm from Fey and fell asleep in my office.” I reminded her, causing her to finally start moving again, flinching away from my hand a little and moving into a sitting position.

“Yeah. Thanks for that.” she said, before yawning, a hand daintily covering her mouth.

“Let us leave here, so you can actually test the charm and sleep on an actual bed.” I suggested, stepping back so she could stand. She only mumbled in response, making it obvious that she was still very much sleepy but stood up, swaying only a little.

Again, I led her back through the maze-like tunnels of Technica’s lair, up another set of stairs ending up in a different building of the administrative complex, just a little amused at her completely lost state.

“It’s silent. Even up here, everything is silent.” she muttered, as we stepped past an occupied office, hearing the sound of voices from within.

“So the charm works, great. Want to test the touch-aspect?” I asked, offering my artificial hand, curious what would happen.

“Nothing?” she frowned when she took it, before realisation dawned on her. “Very, very funny.” she grumbled, slapping my shoulder.

“Nothing through cloth?” I asked, when her hand lingered on my other shoulder, though on top of my blouse.

“No.” she shook her hand and took my hand, her eyes widening the moment our skin made contact.

“Yeah, the charm works.” she nodded, letting go of my hand as if scorched. A part of me was curious what she had felt, as I was not experiencing any strong emotions she might have picked up on. Sadly, she was not inclined to share and in silence, we continued out of the building, taking yet another train back to our residential area.

“Diana, really, thank you.” she softly said, as we stood in the train, my body shielding hers to make sure she did not touch anyone by mistake.

“You might be the first one to give me such a great gift, without wanting anything in return.” she added, getting a nod of acceptance in return. There was simply nothing more to say, I did not need anything from her and I finally had friends I could help.

That alone was reward enough for me.