I returned to the tip of Florida and walked up the coast. In towns I listened for rumors and looked in shops for possible things to help Avalon. I found some other fruits, nectarines, plums and peaches. The rumors of Cthulhu were spreading and the fear was real. A few merchants I had recently let go were spreading rumors of the flying demon. The Spanish crown was going to be in trouble getting people to migrate now. I reached the Spanish town I traded with years ago and who were sending trade caravans north to Avalon. I found some familiar faces and got updates on the state of the world. France had declared war on England. The French fleets were overwhelming the English and had burned six shipyards in England. France had even built a fort north of Camelot and stationed 800 men there. So the French king followed through. The Dutch had also sent 3000 men to retake New York. The Spanish were reeling. Even though they had been pillaging the Aztech and inca empires for years the recent trouble had strained the financial might of Spain. The colonies were being hit with high taxes to support a military effort to suppress the monsters in the gulf. My friend thought the rumors of monsters were faked by the Spanish king to raise taxes and conscript men. I told him, no, they were real, the Cthulhu was awakened by the greed of the Spanish and desecration of the Inca Empire. They were angry and seeking vengeance. Since I had magic he believed me and asked if the monster was defeatable. Sadly I shook my head no, I said I didn’t have the power to do so. I then moved up the coast to Camelot. The city was still growing rapidly. The Galahad was in the gulf resupplying Excalibur.
Talking to the mayor I found the lack of Avalon coins was straining the economy and there was a major call for light stones. I guess I had been negligent in keeping the economy going. The ottoman empire had sent another trade caravan and it had went to Avalon a month ago with 150 people when I wasn’t here. They were walking with carts so they must have reached Avalon two weeks ago. Damn. I had to get to Avalon. 150 people could cause trouble. I left, stored my goods in a satchel and flew to Avalon. I reached the city in just 9 hours. I was getting faster and more fit.
The city had expanded in the months I had been gone. I landed in my tower and found a servant to spread the word I had returned. I checked on the children. Many of them were talking in sentences now. Not long after Amelia and Collette had arrived. They were both calm but I knew they were strained. Amelia said the coinage problem had grown untenable. Collette was currently entertaining representatives from the Ottoman Empire, French King, English King and Danish King. The last one was a surprise. The French requested setting up an embassy in Camelot and Avalon. I told Amelia they could buy two acres to the east. The English was here requesting aide in fighting its wars. Denied, tell him we were neutral. The Danish King had requested the cures for the plague. Apparently he had connected me to curing diseased people in my travels. I well-connected and smart man. He could return with a letter saying the magic could only be cast in person. The Ottoman ambassador was here on a trading trade and wanted to exchange technology as well. Ah he wanted the secret to the metal in the blades which was just hardened stone. Ok I would have dinner with everyone, each could bring two guests. I would attend with Amelia, Collette and Carina. Carina declined so Ella filled in for her.
The dinner conversation went well. The biggest topic was the sanitation measures in Avalon. That required me to explain microbes and bacteria and how they caused disease. I would have to get with my glass works and start making lenses. Besides affirming the embassy for the French, which had the others request the same the only other topic of interest was the trade with the Ottomans. They wanted more light stones, everyone wanted light stones. The representative didn’t mention technology exchange. He laid out that he had brought 50 slaves, 120 bolts of silk and 200 lbs of spices. He wanted 350 light stones. I talked him down to 150 stones but said they would last 40 years. I just didn’t have time to make 350 stones so I let slip the extended life of the stones. All stones I created would now last 59 years but I hadn’t advertised it. I told him it would take me a week to make them but he could transfer the slaves to Amelia’s care immediately. Amelia would free them and get them situated with work. After the dinner I had to go to the clinic and cure 70 people. Seventy was a large portion of the 1300 people in the city…yes the Ottoman had brought disease with them according to the clinic workers. Ok there would probably be more breakouts. i would visit the clinic each night in the next week and I told Amelia to make sure anyone sick was to be in the clinic. Returning to the tower I purged myself of disease as well and the children and 25 workers. It was late and after a shower I went to bed. The next week I was busy with making coins and light stones. I wanted the Ottomans gone as soon as possible so they 150 light stones were done and they left. I gave him an Emerald dagger that was modeled after the Damascus dagger as a gift for the emperor.
I spent a few months, until March, building an 8’ stone wall around 4 square miles encompassing the tower and Hogwarts. Then I began working on the Hogwarts central tower. I needed more golems. I checked my magic sheet.
Magic Pool: 185, Magic Regen: 13.7 per hour
Spell Design Points: 4
* Ageless, Level 4 (Stone Magic Ability) – like all stone you are ageless, your body ages 1/13th as fast greatly increasing your life expectancy, each level increase slightly slows aging even further
* Shapeshift, Level 5 (Nature Magic Ability) – you can shape change into one beast form healing injuries, each level increase adds another beast form, forms: Black Panther, White Wolf, Bottlenose Dolphin, Eagle; Evolution: Can half or double mass
* Stalwart Immunity, Level 3 (Stone Magic Ability) – you have resistance to disease and infections, each level improves the speed at which you heal from injuries and poisons
* Magic Sense, Level 4 (Divination Magic Ability) – you can sense magic and estimate its power, each level improves the range
* Stone Golem, Level 11 (97/100) (Stone Spell – tier 9) – create a golem from 1 cubic yard of stone, each level increase adds density, strength and durability, COST: 6.1 Magic Pool, Evolutions: Reduced Golem Cost, Improved Intelligence
* Soften Stone, Level 10 (93/100) (Stone Spell – tier 3) – turns 2 cubic yard of stone to clay, each level increases affected volume by 1%, COST: .8 Magic per minute, Evolution: Purify Stone, TBD
* Strengthen Stone, Level 11 (73/100) (Stone Spell – tier 3) – improves 1 cubic yard stones resistance to damage, each level improves the volume and the stones strength, COST: 1.1 Magic, Evolution: lighten stone by 20%
* Stone Bullet, Level 8 (89/100) (Stone Spell – tier 0) – temporarily creates a small stone and fires it at a target, each level improves the density and speed of the stone, COST: 0.1 Magic, Evolutions: Control the shape of bullet
* Nature’s Growth, Level 11 (74/100) (Nature Spell – tier 5) – complete 1 year of growth on a single plant in 60 minutes, each level increases the plant’s growth, COST: 1 Magic, Evolutions: Rejuvenate the soil around the roots of the plant, infuse magic to supply the plant for 1 year adds 12 magic cast
* Plant Snare, Level 2 (86/100) (Nature Spell – tier 0) – activate a square yard of plants to entangle an animal within 50 yards, each level increases the area and range, COST: 0.3
* Thermal Stone, Level 9 (71/100) (Stone Spell – tier 3) – raises the temperature of 1 cubic yard of stone 100 degrees for 66 minutes, each level increases the temperature and volume, COST: 0.9 per 106 degrees, Evolutions: Can stack the spell to extend the time of the enchantment
* Light Stone, Level 9 (82/100) (Stone Spell – tier 2) – creates a bright light source (2000 lumens) on 8.1 ounces of stone burning the stone over time 52 years, each level increases affected mass and time, COST: 10, Evolutions: the light can be white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo or violet
* Cure Disease, Level 6 (22/100) (Healing Spell – tier 3) – cures one person of disease, each level reduces the casting time, COST: 3 Magic, Evolutions: Area of Effect 5 x 5 yards
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Thermal stone was close to leveling but more importantly I was at 185 magic and the golem spell was close to level 12. Once it hit level 12 I would reduce the cost to about 5.5. So adding 4 golems, bringing the active count to 22 would be 121 magic pool, leaving me with 64 for spells. That worked. I spent nine days making the golems, Zeus, Apollo, Hermes and Venus. I put a lot of effort into them like Athena and Artemis and they came out splendid. It was a little awkward that they were all Caucasian. My next golem would be a different ethnicity. So I had 6 golems to work on Hogwarts.
I returned to making coins and light stones at night. For the most part I was sheltered from the bureaucracy. It was June 19th, 1672. Carina and Ella were showing again. I had decided it was time to collect the sunken treasure. I would be taking all six of my golems that I nick named the Pantheon. I constructed a large winch out of stone to get the first ship. I was also smart this trip. I got 4 volunteers from the servant women on my estate to work the coin molds during the sea voyage. They were the young women who I had freed. They were not yet trained in making coins but we would have time. I travelled down the road checking out the development. Numerous farms, Pendragon had over 500 people, two other towns with over 100 people along the road, I didn’t make any repairs to the road but I added an apple, peach, pear and cherry tree every 50 miles. Camelot was finally getting organized. Cobblestone main roads, uniformed patrols, markets, businesses, and two cannon batteries completed. I dropped off 24,000 coins at the bank. It would help but the city had to start using a mix of foreign currency. The Galahad was in port and wasn’t scheduled for a trip for another month but I found the new captain and he said he needed 4 days before we could leave. I went to my warehouse apartment with my golems and four coin pressers. They practiced the next 4 days and I had 6,000 more coins and 75 light stones for the mayor before we sailed.
The four girls with me were Arisa, Cyra, Liana, and Mina. Their English was good enough to hold conversations. They volunteered because I freed them and paid them. Arisa and Cyra worked my private orchards by the tower. Liana was one of the tower cooks and Mina cleaned the tower and did laundry. I told them they could get any education and do anything they wanted. What did they want? Arisa wanted to learn magic…I explained very few people had magic and was passed on through genes. I felt bad bursting her bubble. Cyra and Liana wanted to dance, ballet. I remember telling Renee and Ella about ballet, it was going to be a few years before that school was active. Mina just wanted a family. They were all in their late teens and very pretty. The trip turned into a gossip session as we made coins. I learned so much stuff I never wanted to know. Amelia was upset with me, she had wanted me to herself. Renee was obsessed with her children and left me because she didn’t want to divide her love. Ella was a hard worker and was obsessed with me. She had given her soul and life to me and would do anything I asked. Carina was like a mother to everyone in the tower and they thought she was a great person. Riona was kind of scary. They didn’t interact with the mages she was training. My kids were mostly good and they were happy to describe their personalities.
As we approached the tip of Florida I had us anchor near the tip of Bahamas overnight so I could activate and retrieve the two Cthulhu golems. I stored them in a cabin on the stern deck. I probably wouldn’t need them but would like to have them in case. We made our way to the sunken ship site and it took me 3 days to find it. only the light from the stones at night made it possible. Using the winch and anchor we lowered the golems and retrieved the cargo. It took two days. The crew was curious about what we were bringing up. I told them they would all be given a years wages when we returned to Camelot. It was a three day trip to Spanish first Spanish port. The city was being rebuilt. We docked and I went into the city to trade and see what was going on. I learned about a third of the population had left the city. I didn’t face any hostility and no one thought the Galahad was an enemy. I had the crew and golems remain alert. We traded a few crates of fruit for local lumbar. We left and anchored a half mile down the coast near shore. I had the 8 golems walk under water and bring the treasure to the ship overnight. It took three nights to make all the trips. A few soldiers came by during the day and watched us from the beach. With the treasure secure we sailed to the second harbor where I stored the wealth. I sent the Cthulhu golems to go scare some villages inland. No killing but collect any gold they found. This time instead of docking I sent the 6 golems to move the treasure to a spot where we could load it easier. It was 2 miles down coast so it took a week to move the loot. The Cthulhu golems brought chests of gold and silver coins twice while we waited. I then sent all 8 golems to the first port city. The Cthulhu golems would cause havoc and the others would raid the treasury warehouse. They brought 6 chests of gold coins and the warehouse was full of silver and more gold. How much…15 tons maybe. Damn there were 4 warships in the harbor, a new treasure fleet? We waited a week and finally I spied from the sky and they were starting to load the ships. Ok this was good. I sent the 8 golems to recover the loot a stored inland inside the massive boulder. They took a week to bring the gold to the shore and load it onboard. We waited a week then shadowed the treasure ships as they moved out. The treasure fleet grew to 9 then 11 ships. We followed at a good distance. When they moved into shallow waters I flew over them in the night and dropped thermal stones. I was only able to sink 7 of the 11 ships. The other 4 got away. The ships were in water from 250’ to 700’ over a three mile stretch. We found a shallow spot that at low tide was a sand bar 1 mile away. We anchored there while the golems walked on the bottom and brought the loot there. It was three weeks of waiting. Seven ships sailed by us and two stopped to see if we needed help. The cargo hold was packed, 50 tons of precious metals. The Spanish would take another hit, they lost military ships and 18 months worth of plunder. We left the Carribean returning to Camelot. I had made 160,000 new Avalon coins as well on the trip. I also kinda of got close to the girls.
They all were very happy girls, always smiling and positive. Spending so much time with them I got to know them very well and they wanted to tie themselves to the most powerful man in the world. At first we all just slept together in the captain’s bed. Then after a month at sea it got more amorous. After we started the women were insatiable and I was constantly tired during the day. I was happy to be heading home and getting to a routine day.
We returned the Cthulhu golems to the sand. Then we sailed to Camelot. We displaced a ship on the pier. I paid the men their year’s wages and a two month bonus beyond from the coins we had made. All the crates were moved to the warehouse. Zeus and Apollo would remain behind to guard the warehouse as we took 4 carts of loot to Avalon. I deposited the remainder of the coins with the Camelot bank which had recently opened. Their vault had hundreds of gold and silver coins as well that had to be transported to Avalon. Well they could handle their own transport.
We travelled in a steady rain to Avalon. The golems pulling the cart made good time in under three days we reached the city. I set the golems to making round trips to Camelot moving the warehouse to my warehouse in Avalon. The first person to see me was Riona. She wanted to go over the Magic Academy design, construction and enrollment. She also didn’t want it called Hogwarts. I was sad to see the name change but it was now called the Magi Tower. Well the tower had most of one floor done. I got updates of her teaching, the spell tome was now 250 pages and she had a book that was 126 pages on learning the sense magic skill. Riona had also learned another ability, fireheart, which increased her magic fire and gave her a little immunity to fire and heat. That was good. She had her own printer and press and the magic books would be guarded.
Collette was my next visitor. She had very bad news. The Spanish were expanding and mobilizing the Inquisition and have been discussing an alliance with the English to eradicate magic in the new world according to the French. That included my cities and the Cthulhu. I had gone too far it appeared. The French estimated a war fleet of 60-70 with 7500 men would be coming in a years time. So much for introducing magic slowly with light stones and then a magic school. It was a headache I had created and could end my progress. As I was thinking two new babies were brought out and the other children came in swarming around. Carina had a boy, Erick on December 1st, 1672. Ella had a girl, Olivia, born December 3rd, 1672. I was being prolific, maybe even too much so. I was fairly certain my ship companions were also with child.