I feel kind of bad that I don't have any special energy to feed him, all I can do is spend some time with him. Lin doesn't wake up, even when I have to roll her over to get the food pouch. I drop shapeshift and lay in the nest with Albion as we eat dinner together.
After we are done eating, I open a soulscape, and invite the usual crowd. Lin and Brightfire do not respond to the invitation, so it is just Myria and the kids. We still have lots of fun playing for a couple of hours before I end the soulscape.
When I open my eyes I see that Albion has fallen asleep, so I shapeshift into human form with restricted stats. Then I go over, climb into bed, take Lin into my arms, and go to sleep. In the morning, I get woken up by Lin who is worried about Mulan and Mushu.
Lin says "It is time for breakfast, but the babies won't wake up!"
"It's alright. Last night I fed them energy from the god gem. They are probably still absorbing it. I will check on them."
Lin says "Oh, alright. By the way, Brightfire is already here."
"Of course she is. How are you feeling?"
Lin says "Still a little tired, but I will be fine."
"Okay."
I get up and head out into the room, I wave at Brightfire, and then scan the babies. They are fine physically, they are just in a deep sleep while they absorb the energy. Nala on the other hand is already awake and she looks good, the reds in her fur have gotten brighter.
It looks like the energy was beneficial for Nala, I will have to give her more later. That will have to wait until after we get back from exploring the jungle. For now, Lin is taking out dishes and everyone digs in, except the babies who are still asleep.
"Silverstream and Silverleaf?"
Brightfire says "They will be by later, they will take turns staying here with Mulan and Mushu."
Lin says "Should I leave the food pouch here for them or are we taking it with us?"
"We will take it with us. There is still food and supplies in the box for Mulan and Mushu. We can't guarantee that we will be able to find food in the jungle."
Brightfire says "How are we going to get there?"
"I will fly over and then open a gate for you. I want to check on the core after I finish eating. Then I will leave. It should only take me an hour or so to fly over."
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Lin says "Alright, we will be ready."
After that, I finish eating my breakfast and then make my way up to the bridge. I nod at Stillwater and then place my hand on the core, a warm energy welcomes me. In response, I send a little bit of my pure mana into the core, which it absorbs.
Then I send my will into the core to scan the enchantments looking for any problems. Both the core and the enchantments are all working properly and I find no problems at all. The formations are also working properly and feeding a steady flow of mana to the growing spirit.
Everything is working as planned, if not better, which makes me somewhat nervous. I have gotten used to things going wrong somehow and have come to expect it. Now, when nothing goes wrong, it makes me worried that something major is going to happen.
However, I can't just sit around waiting for something to go wrong, so I have to ignore my nerves. Besides, Stillwater has a communication amulet, so if something does happen he can call me. I can gate back to the ship pretty quick as long as the situation in the jungle doesn't prevent me.
After I take my hand off the core, I spend a few minutes talking to Stillwater. We go through the charts we have and discuss the route that the ship should take. There is only one port city before we enter the area that the pirates control.
At the ship's new speed it will take about a week to reach the area around the city. That is our time limit for exploring the jungle, but I think it will be enough. As I am looking at all the different charts I have an idea about the map I bought.
I take the map out and take a look at the enchantments that are on it currently. There is nothing like what I am thinking and the map cannot hold any more enchantments. At least, not as it currently is, but if I were to merge the map into the table I could add more.
In fact, if the map becomes part of the table, which is part of the ship, I can do tons of things. The first step, merging the map with the table, turns out to be really simple. Next, I start working out an enchantment that will allow the map to be updated.
Allowing it to be updated by hand is easy, but I want it to be able to absorb charts and other maps. As I am working on it I also have another idea to add senses to the ship. I want the ship to not only be able to sense the surroundings, but update the map with them.
After all, the maps and charts are made by humans, they can miss things and get things wrong. Not to mention that things can change, especially in a world with magic. If I do it right, the ship's spirit should be able to warn us of beast attacks as well.
Trying to think of the best way to do it, I ask a sailor to go have Lin come up to the bridge. Once she arrives I pick her brain for spells similar to what I am trying to accomplish. As usual, she provides me with a lot of valuable information and ideas.
With Lin's help I am able to figure out the enchantments I need and it doesn't take too long. I still have to experiment a little bit, but far less than I would have had to without her help. It is also useful since the same kind of enchantment should work on the food pouch.
Once the enchantments are in place I put one of the charts on the map to test it. The chart is absorbed by the map and the information from the chart appears on the map. Now that I know it works, the only thing left to do is to add senses to the ship.
However, that will take a while so I decide to do it when I get back from the jungle. It won't make much difference until the spirit is fully grown, so waiting won't hurt anything. I am sure that Brightfire is already impatient and will come looking for me if I delay anymore.
So, I say goodbye to Stillwater, leave the bridge, take off, and fly back towards the island. It takes me less than an hour to reach the island, then a few minutes to spot the jungle. Then, I land outside the jungle and open a gate for the others to come through.