Chapter 44: Basics, Business, and Pride

I had an idea about strengthening my [barrier] scrolls, one I stole from a TV show about bullet-proof glass. It involved linking multiple scrolls, instead of going for straight-up strength. Of course, I’d work to improve them, too, shooting for a minimum of common quality. I’m hoping I’d get at least six strikes out of one, then. But until then, I wanted to give my theory a chance.

This program on the History Channel showed examples of how bullet-proof—resistant, no such thing as proof—glass was made. What stuck in my mind was the layering technique. In essence, staked layers of glass with air gaps between, each subsequent sheet slowing down the projectile some before hitting the next one. The cumulative effect was a game-changer. Why not do this with shields?

I just needed to figure out how to link them with some air padding. Not sure if it would work, I started with two scrolls. First, I bound them together with leather lacing, then warned Tak—who was still living in the workshop attic—that I was trying something new.

“Dude,” she said, someone else who spent too much time with Tess. “ You have to do it in here?”

“Um, yes. This is the workshop, isn’t it?”

“Sure, but…” She stopped, realizing she didn’t have a leg to stand on. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing, except maybe stand back a little. And be ready to put out a fire,” I grinned at her.

“Are you serious?”

I gave her a shrug. She stepped back, eyes wide. That made me pause.

“You are an [Enchanter], right, Tak?”

“Yes. What of it?”

“What precautions do you take when testing a new [enchant]ment?”

“What do you mean? There are no new [enchant]ments, except maybe some slight variations.”

“Ah, yes. Magali told me something like that, but him not being a [mana]-user I took what he said with a grain of salt.”

“Salt? Is that part of your [scriven]ing?”

“Figure of speech, forget it. He said nobody invented any new magic, nowadays. I didn’t quite believe him, but you are saying he was right?”

“Of course.” Tak looked at me like I was the crazy one.

“What about innovation?”

“What about dying horribly, when the ‘innovation’ goes wrong?”

“So, you’ve never had thoughts of the ‘next big thing’? Leaving you mark on the world?”

“Again, of course. What’s up with you? Those are fantasies, and this is the real world.” Said the Elf to the bioengineered Human that had been abducted by Space Orcs. Go figure.

“Well, call me crazy, then. You might want to step back.”

She did, shaking her head at me. I held the two bound scrolls out in front of me, pushing [mana] and intent into the twin parchments. I imagined the [barrier]s layered on top of one another, settling over my skin and with an air gap separating them.

Fzzzzt…

The ink ignited.

Crackle…

It burned through the parchment.

Pop…

Smoke wreathed my body.

Ka-bamm!

Orange light seared my eyes, and an invisible force picked me up and slammed me back-first into the low ceiling of the attic. My breath exploded from my stunned lungs, and then I watched the wood floorboards rise up and smack my front side.

“Uhnnn…fu-u-u…dd…ge…me-e-e…”

“Book!” Tak rushed over to my prone form, roughly flipping me onto my back. “Oh, good. You are alive.”

“Damn. That hurt,” I said when I had the breath. This is starting to become a habit and not a fun one.

//What are you, a pain addict?//

‘Not like I did it on purpose.’

//Yeah, well…you need to be more careful//

‘Aw, Sia, you do care!’

//What good is it being a brain in a jar if the meat bag dies?//

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‘Bite my shiny metal ass.’

“Are you just going to lay there?” said Tak the Compassionate.

I glared up at the [Enchanter], then held a hand up for help. She gave me the one eyebrow lift, then reached down, grabbed my forearm, and heaved me back to my feet. I kept my grip on her arm, throwing out my free arm, waving it in little circles to find my balance. My ears gave a pop, the ringing fading, and the world stopped spinning.

“That sucked.”

“Ha! You’re OK.” Tak released me and gave me a slap on the shoulder. The force of it threatened to start the world spinning again.

“Yeah, I guess. Can you help me to the desk?” I asked, fully expecting her to say ‘no’.

Instead, she gently walked me over to where the high-backed stool had fallen over, picked it up, and helped me settle on to it. I sat still a moment, then pulled myself on the stool up to my battered desk with a screech of the legs over the floor.

“OK, on to version 2.0. What did I do wrong?” I was asking the room, but Tak chose to answer me.

“Why did you lace those together? Don’t you know that two effects can’t occupy the same space at the same time? That’s basic.”

I looked at her, thinking ‘You could have told me that.’ I didn’t say it, though, worried my ignorance of the ‘basics’ would out me.

“Actually, I was trying to layer them without touching. I want a tiny space between the [barrier]s to create…not a cushion, but room for the energy to slow down. Besides, you learn more from failure than success. I wasn’t expecting it to work the first time.”

“That is just dumb, Book. Not the basic idea, but planning to fail? Ridiculous.”

“I wasn’t planning…you know what, never mind. Who cares about the scientific method, anyway?” I enjoyed her puzzlement before getting back on task. “You get the idea, though?”

“Sure. We make layered cloth armor at my…the shop. Different [enchant]ments on separate materials, creating a combined effect.”

“And it doesn’t explode? Don’t answer that.”

She snorted anyway.

“You need a buffer, obviously.”

“Obviously.” I hate that word.

//Obviously//

“Are you going to tell me how, or what?” I was quickly losing patience. Full-body slams will do that to a person.

“You put a neutral layer in between, as thin as you can make it. We traditionally use silk lace.”

“Silk? Yep, it just has to be expensive. But would that work for a scroll?”

“How would I know? [Enchant]ing is a noble art, not scribbling ink on paper.”

“Oh yes, tell that to Master Alric. I dare you.” I watched her squirm.

“Not me. Why don’t you just ask him? You are his apprentice, it’s his job to teach you, not me.”

Why didn’t I ask him? Somewhere along the line, I’d gotten it into my head that I had to do this on my own. I guess I was thinking that our side business should be completely separate, following the fiction between Master and Apprentice to an ending I assumed in my head. Maybe Tak was right; am I that dumb?

‘Don’t!’

//Too easy//

“You are right,”

“Obviously.”

Grrrr! I growled in my head.

//The word? Or the sentiment?//

‘Both.’ Sigh. I had to add it, there was no choice at this point. ‘Obviously.’

“Tomorrow,” I said as I groaned and shifted in my seat. ”I think I’m going to call it for the night.”

“Good, I need my space.”

I tried to be gentle, but I had to bring it up.

“Speaking of?”

It took a moment for Tak to get my meaning.

“I don’t know, Book,” she said, more solemn than her norm. “I can’t go home. Mother’s Bark, I still need to ask my Father for his adventuring kit! How am I supposed to do that, when the reason he tossed me out was over becoming an adventurer myself?”

“I’m sorry, Tak. You just have to talk to him, explaining how you feel.”

“I tried! He wouldn’t listen.” She hadn’t seemed this glum since the night she came through the workshop door, scaring the piss out of Paytin and me.

“Does he say why? Or is it just worry?” I asked.

“He said that I wasn’t ready, that I’d just get myself killed and leave him to run the business by himself.”

She wasn’t ready, and probably would, but I couldn’t tell her that. If she was honest, then she already knew it. She was too smart not to, and I think she felt trapped in her own denial. I know how hard it is when you know you are in the wrong but have taken things too far to back down after the fact. Who hasn’t been there?

//Me//

‘Give it time.’

“Do you really think it’s about the [Enchanted] tailoring business? I noticed that your name is on the sign.”

“Possible,” she said, looking even glummer. “I had to fight him to use ‘Tak’, and not ‘Tachelinda’. He thinks shortening my name is disrespectful, too masculine.”

Gender bias? It seemed that elves were just as enlightened as humans, sadly.

//Do not judge a whole race on the actions of a few. You know better//

‘Absolutely. My bad, thanks for calling me on it, Sia.’

//My absolute pleasure, Book//

‘Equal opportunity ijits, all around.’

//Move on, the horse is already dead//

I sucked in through my teeth. “So, he gave in to the name thing. Does that make him more amenable to compromise?”

“More likely,” she said, echoing the second part of my thought, “it will make him more stubborn. After all, he gave in to make sure that I would stay a part of the shop. First I browbeat him into it, then later I tell him I don’t want to be a part of it.”

“But, is that true? You don’t want to be his partner or successor? Or do you want to be an adventurer in addition to it?”

“Both, you’re right. I’m proud of what he built, but I want more. Something that I built, you understand?”

“I do. Have you told him that?”

She paused, not wanting to answer what we both knew. “No.”

“Basically, you want the same things that he had, just in reverse order. [Enchanted] tailor and then adventurer, instead of how he did it. How could he begrudge you that?”

Tak mumbled something under her breath.

“What was that?” I had a feeling I already knew.

“Yes, but I know he will find a way. Maybe, if I could get him to just listen to me.”

“Maybe,” I started, trying to think of something to say. “What if you met him in a neutral space, like Karlinne’s? Calmly explain to him everything we just talked about, over a tall glass of sweet iced tea and a disgusting gooseberry scone.”

“You and that stupid drink, for acorn’s sake.”

Did I just hear right? My swear!

//You are way too proud of that//

“And gooseberries are awesome, you provincial lout. But your idea isn’t bad.”

“Magali and I could go with you, give you support. Silent or vocal, whichever you need.”

“You would do that? For me?”

“Yes, Tak. I would, and I am sure Magali would as well. We are your friends, for good or bad.” Was I going to have to beat the fact in her thick skull? She must have been damaged, in the past.

“Thank you.” Her words were quiet.

“Now, I’m getting out of here.”

“Sheesh, about time. Get.”

I smiled and headed for the door. Pausing and checking the time on my HUD, I turned back to her

"Dinner, at our place?"

"I'll be there."