With that done and out of the way I go back to making and enchanting the bows. I manage to finish all of the bows as well, so I put eight more into the crates. That completes what I promised to give to Zachariah for him to sell.

Since I don't really have anything else to do right now, I start working on my core. I do have other things that I can work on, but most of them require brain power. Since I haven't really rested, meditating and working on my core is the best choice.

Core Upgrade Progress: 42%

When Lin arrives I stop working on my core and go have breakfast with her. She brought the kids with her so we all eat together and then the kids go back to the ship. They apparently promised to help give the new elves tours of the ship.

"What are your plans for today?"

Lin says "I was going to head to the library if nothing else is going on."

"How much longer do you think you will need in the library?"

Lin says "To be completely done? Probably a couple of weeks at least. Why?"

"Because I am trying to figure out when we should leave. I can't just leave the ship sitting around for too long."

Lin says "Why not?"

"Because the longer it sits there the more of a target it becomes. Those in the city might not touch it, but the empires can't ignore a warship like it."

Lin says "Why do you say that?"

"Because, if either empire were to get ahold of our ship, it would directly affect the balance of power between them. I doubt they are ready to make a move this soon, but the longer we stay here the higher the odds of one of them trying something."

Lin says "The empires should both be aware that you are capable of magic that can level a city. I don't think they would dare to offend you. Are you sure you aren't just being paranoid?"

"I don't know, maybe I am. I just have this feeling that if we stay here too long something will happen."

Lin says "Well, I will trust your instincts. I will start prioritizing the more important knowledge in the library. I will get as much as I can, but I will be ready to leave whenever you say so."

"Thank you. I hope I am just being paranoid."

Lin says "I will go get to work. What are you going to do?"

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I am going to take this staff to Almort and then check in with the ambassador to see how the gathering of elves is going. We will probably leave once they have been rescued."

Lin says "Okay."

Since we are headed to the same place, I walk with Lin to the association. Once we are inside she heads to the library while I head to find Almort. When I enter Almort's office, I find him sitting at his desk behind a stack of papers.

Almort says "Ash, did something happen?"

"Nope. I came by to hand over the staff. It can cover an entire city, but it can only be used once a day."

Almort says "That fast?! That's amazing! I thought it would take much longer."

"It wasn't that hard. I didn't have to come up with a new spell or anything."

Almort says "Still, your skill and speed at enchanting is unbelievable."

"Anyway, I have an odd request. I don't know if it is possible, but I'd like the association to try and capture a demon alive."

Almort says "What? Why?!"

"If I can study a live demon, I may be able to create an item that actively detects demons. At least, I am willing to give it a try if they manage to catch one. If not, no big deal."

Almort says "I can't say if they will attempt it or not, but I will pass your request on to the council. I am sure that they will be interested in a detector, but that's all I can say for sure."

"That's fine. It is just an idea, they can decide if it is worth attempting it."

Almort says "Alright. I will let you know what they say. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Nope, not at the moment."

Almort says "Let me know if you need anything."

I say goodbye to Almort and then head to the diplomatic area of the association building. I request to meet with the ambassador but I am told that I have to wait. Ten minutes later someone else comes out of the office and I am allowed to go in.

Ambassador says "Sorry for the delay, I wasn't expecting you."

"It's fine, I just wanted to ask about the progress of gathering the elves."

Ambassador says "We have gathered over eighty elves in the capital, but there are even more on the way. It seems that when the merchant group went through there were a number of people who didn't want to sell their slaves to them. However, we are not asking, so we have a lot more elves than we expected originally."

"That's great news!"

Ambassador says "Of course that means it will take a few more days to gather them. However, my emperor believes that this amount of elves is a little beyond a single reward."

"I guess that's fair. What does your emperor want?"

Ambassador says "He wants something to extend his life. Please, let me explain before you say anything. The emperor only has one child, a son, and he is not fit to inherit the throne. The emperor needs more time to raise his grandchildren in the hopes that one of them will be a fit heir."

"How old is the emperor? How much time does he need?"

Ambassador says "The emperor is currently seventy-five and his youngest grandchild is currently six. He needs at least another ten years. If he dies before he selects an heir, there will be civil war."

"Is the emperor healthy? Is it just age that concerns him?"

Ambassador says "Considering his age, his health is surprisingly good. His body is relatively weak, but that isn't surprising. From all these questions, does this mean you can actually do such a thing?"

"Yes, it is possible. However, there is no item that can do this. I would have to meet the emperor in person in order to do it. It would also require a sacrifice, preferably criminals or beasts. What I would do is steal the lifeforce from the sacrifices and transfer it to the emperor."

Ambassador says "That's amazing! And also terrifying at the same time! However, I am sure that the emperor will agree. He desperately wants to prevent the empire from falling apart. If there was a civil war the other empire would definitely invade. The entire region would descend into chaos."