Slowly I returned to consciousness, letting the scents of the city drift into my nose. It had been roughly twenty years since I came to this world, and while it was still beautiful, there was still much to do if I wanted it to be like my old one. One day I felt I would get there, but rushing more than I was seemed both foolish and near impossible.

The long tips of my ears brushed against the makeshift bed as I looked down at the warm body beside me. She was cute, one of the better looking girls in this establishment, and known as one of those I preferred. I didn't feel particularly happy about things, but I at least admitted I had my flaws.

Even when I'd first come here, I'd retained my feelings about the female form, if not any sense of lust. The latter had grown though over the years as my body grew to match my mind. This had led me to the street of flowering trees so near my own. With both plenty of money and magic to my name finding someone wasn't difficult.

More importantly than the outlet for my current hormonal stance was the sleep though. A few months after moving here I started to have problems. For days at a time I would awake in the middle of the night, alone. After over a decade of always having someone beside me while asleep that sent a sort of residual panic through me that was hard to shake and really kept me from rest. The guilt I felt about using these services was easier to deal with than constant insomnia, after all, I'd never claimed to be some kind of perfect moral paragon.

“Leaving already?” came a cooing from beside me as I rose.

“I've got things to do today,” I answered.

“Always in a rush,” she said with a pout.

“I like to think I take my time when needed.” That got me a laugh as I began to put what passed for clothing here on.

I soon headed out into the morning sun, intent on getting home but didn't even make it to the end of the street before meeting my employee. Chien was there, leaning against a building with his fingers hooked around his belt, a shit eating grin on his face. He'd grown a bit over the past couple of years and now looked something like a pre-teen, or young teenager, though I'd never found out exactly how old he was.

“Wow, Sina again? You must really...” he began.

“Drop it kid, and give me the news,” I answered.

“Fine, fine,” he said, putting his hands up defensively. “Looks like the copper you were expecting arrived last night, bars mostly. I will say that the color doesn't exactly match the test piece you gave me though, and it looks... grainy almost? Hard to describe,” he added.

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“Probably an improper smelt, or impurity in the metal. I'll need to see it, but I should be able to separate it out regardless, so I'll still want the raw material. At least it won't be like those boorish tools someone put out a few months back.”

Someone else had started making copper tools that wasn't from Elayatol, and they had absolutely no clue what they were doing. Here and there bits from my old home found there way to my new city, but these had been pathetic. They were still metal, so people still wanted them, but thee quality was so low that I almost cringed just looking at them. One or two individuals had even brought them to me for repair, since a few people knew I worked with the material.

“I'll admit those were ugly compared to what you make boss, and didn't seem to work as well. Any ideas why?”

“Several, but unless someone actually trying to work it comes to me, I'm not teaching people. It's to important of a thing to share like that. Any word on the pipes I wanted to do?” I asked after giving my piece.

“Sorin said he was interested when I told him about it, but wants a better explanation from you. The ones you hired for the testing are willing to come back for a project as well, though they still think you're crazy,” he explained.

“What's new?”

I shrugged, most people here thought I was either crazy or brilliant, often a bit of both. This particular scheme was a hope to introduce the very basics of plumbing. I had no illusions about being able to design a full plumbing system, but at least some basics were doable. Just some pipes to bring in and out water and waste.

“Nothing I guess, but why use hollow roots for the smaller ones and those fake stones of yours for the larger?” Chien asked.

“The smaller pipes are more likely to get messed up,” I answered.

“Yeah, and...”

“So I want them to be easier to replace. Add to that that we'll need a tighter fit for them and making them out of clay would just be a pain. The bigger ones will last for longer, so stone is the way to go, at least as far as I'm concerned.”

“You really think this will catch on? I mean, I can see why, but it sounds like a lot of work doesn't it?” He sounded doubtful, which was fair, a few of my ideas had flopped. For example, a lot of people just didn't see the need for farming yet, with only the one village even bothering so far.

“It's a lot of initial work, but once it's done, it will be easy to maintain, and nobody will have to go get water from a water maker or the river,” I told him with a smile.

That was the normal way of doing things. There was a small river that came into the city, where dumping was expressly forbidden, which served as a source for the poor. Richer people might go to someone who could just make water through magic, or if they could do it, do so themselves. Regardless of the law the river was still a bit polluted.

“If it works, and if it expands,” he pointed out.

“You saw the mock-up I made did you not? Took long enough to build.”

“Aren't you the one always pointing out that just because something works on a small scale doesn't mean it will on a large one?”

“You've got me there,” I answered with a slight frown. It was true, and I did tell him that several times. “No chance unless we try though, let's go see Shorin.”

We made our way to Shorin's home, skipping mine. He'd been a good partner so far though he ignored some of my goods in favor of others. Even as we approached I could see the changes in his land. Brick walkways had been installed, and a small patio. That invention was a clear followup of pottery, using basically the same methods, and had caught on almost instantly. People in this world were used to stones, and shaped regular ones were something any fool could see the uses for. Cement would soon be on it's way, probably after this project.

One of his servants saw me coming and quickly dipped into the house. It seemed that I was becoming well known enough in this district that wanting a meeting carried some weight.

“Well, get ready,” I told Chien.

“Why? I'm staying outside.”

“Pfft, traitor.”

A barking laugh was all I got in response.