Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 8:30 PM Norfolk

Well, today started out with my normal routine of waking up at sunrise, letting Rex go to soar among the clouds and feast on all of the fishes he can safely eat, and then start my meditation. Once I was ready, and ALL of my items and equipment were packed up in this new, “hefty haversack” - thank whomsoever invented it for making something that can carry up to one hundred and twenty pounds of equipment and still just weigh only five pounds. Probably someone by the name of Heward or something like that. With all of my worldly belongings, except for the bike, in my bag, I took the bike with me and made my way down to the Black Tuna, where they were serving the continental breakfast thing again.

This is something that I can definitely get used to, so much so that if I have to, I will FIND a way to enchant equipment to do this stuff for me on a daily or at least weekly basis. My “friend” from yesterday wasn’t there today, so I pretty much just ate in peace and then started on my day, trying to get accommodations done for what I needed. Getting to the post office, I found one that was fairly easy to get, and it was just a little bit under two hundred dollars, which I immediately got for a year in advance. I would have done more, but they would not all it, saying that the rates go up every year, and that they don’t know what next year’s rates would be. It seemed like a fairly rehearsed answer, but I let it slide, getting the smallest option that they had instead. I paid via cash, and then thanked them for the key and a card with the number and full address, both of which I promptly tossed in my haversack, with the knowledge that if I ever needed either, they would be on the top.

Then, I quickly found the first storage unit I could access that was in reasonable proximity to both the Gun Shop and the Post Office. They wanted less than ninety dollars a month, but they would in fact take longer durations of prepayment. I decided to stick to twelve months, because if the situation had not changed in that time period, I could go for a longer one, and if it had, I could just let it lapse. I also purchased a lock from them, figuring that I would get another one later on that I would enchant. Again, into my backpack the key goes, where I knew that I would be able to recall it whenever I needed.

I think, I will include a bit about only those of my class being able to access into the extradimensional space of my front pouch, to minimize the issues with a more difficult enchantment on the front section. Then it won’t matter if someone can detect it as magical, it will only be able to be “used” by me. Just another layer of operational security, so to speak, that came to me when I was pondering how to restrict the magical capabilities of those belts while making them easier to make. Speaking of which, I planned on making a similar belt for Bob today, if he would be so kind as to permit me to handle one of his belts, just as a way of saying thank you. That was before I had made my way to work early and seen what I was fated to see this day.

As I was getting there, I saw a couple of louts that had similar clothes and gang markers to the “Painkillers” gang that I had been dealing with off and on. I guessed that with the arrival of the Warlocks, the Painkillers were moving into newer territory. They caught on that someone had seen them, and they quickly exited the area before trying anything stupid. I kept riding around the general area, before stopping a little early to do a quick tour around the building. Just as I suspected, they were trying to wedge open a window just enough to ensure that they could get back in quickly some later time after hours.

This would not do, so I took a picture with my phone, and then got ready to head in to work. When I got to the door, Doug was standing there, looking at me with interest. I told him what I had seen earlier in the day and showed him the picture. Doug took me straight to Bob, who I repeated the story again for, with the same details. Bob was a bit disturbed and looked over at Doug and then back to me, asking if either of us had any ideas to prevent this from happening.

I shrugged and waited for Doug to offer up anything, where all Doug could say is that we can be a bit more focused on the security when we leave for the day, and maybe go pick up a guard dog or something. I offered up that a lot of dogs are skittish around the sounds of explosives and that we might just for now, block down the windows and everything from the inside, so that no matter what they wedge, they can’t find a way to get in. Doug thought about it a bit more, and offered up that we could get some motion sensitive flood lights for the areas that the cameras don’t cover, at least until we can get more cameras. Bob pounced on Doug’s idea and offered Doug the day to go pick that up, using Bob’s credit card to pick up the items, fill up his personal vehicle, and get himself lunch.

Doug looked at me for a minute, before remembering that I was currently rocking a bicycle for my main mode of personal transportation. When Doug headed off, Bob rubbed his hand over his head and asked if there was anything I personally could do about it. I offered up that I could look back into various magical items that could add security, but it might take a fair amount of time to figure anything out, let alone make anything, and any research would cut into my rifle work, as the spell essence takes away from the transformation capability, but that I would keep my ears out for anything in the gangs, and that I would do tours around the building when I was off work hours. Bob again rubbed his head in frustration, before saying that it was most important to get those rifles done, as if they get stolen then the military will be on his ass, but if they can’t be completed in the week, he won’t get the chance again.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

I nodded, sympathizing with his predicament, and noted that I can work on the rifles quickly this morning, and maybe it would be best if we get the finished rifles into someplace that is even more secure. Bob agreed with that, and I went into my new workshop and carefully brought out all four of the rifles that I had finished yesterday. Bob took custody of them and then locked them away in his greater secured safe. I thanked him and then I went back into the workshop, to continue to work on the projects. I started to get the room ready for the today’s work.

Quickly getting to work, I banged out four rifles, right in a row, with barely any stopping. There wasn’t a lot of time for me to do much else, if I wanted to get a good solid four hours on the next phase of the plan. I had to plan for at least seven SOLID days of crafting, but since that wasn’t going to be an actual availability, I was looking more at thirteen half days, which I might be able to reduce by a full day on Friday and maybe Saturday and Sunday if Bob allows. I’ll offer up that I will act as security for those two days, unpaid, if it will help. Being ready to work on the next project, I went to Bob to let him know that I would need to go pick up some things I would need for other tasks, but that I would be back as quickly as possible.

Bob wished me well, and said that I should get whatever I needed, and I added that I would have four more rifles from today’s work at the end of the shift. I got on my bike and rode immediately to a store called “Harbor Freight”, who seemed to have exactly what I needed. It was a what looked like a hodge podge of different tools, but the least of which were the canvas tarps that I would need for the tent I was making. Four nine feet by twelve feet canvas “Drop Cloths” from which the sides would be cut to be eight foot tall by ten feet long, and then a twelve by fifteen feet drop cloth for the roof. It wouldn’t provide much of a pitch, but then again, it wasn’t needed to do so.

I also found that they had an already existing canopy that I could just replace the already existing cheap canopy with what I was going to use, along with this great rope called “paracord” that was going to be useful as well. It was about three hundred dollars with everything that I got before I was on my way back. With everything that I needed acquired, I zipped back to work and snagged some quick food on the way back to work. I got everything back into the workshop and started getting as many of the assistants from animating the tools and working myself on getting the everything ready. At the end of the workday, I had a good structure that I could work to enchant tomorrow.

Before leaving work, I decided to activate my “ears of the city” spell to try to get more information about the Painkillers. It turned up that it pretty much was exactly what I had told Bob, that the Painkillers were pushed off their turf, and that they were just in a scouting mode right now. There were no rumors or hints that there was going to be any movement in the near future. When I brought this back to Bob, I asked him if he would want some additional security for the weekend. Bob said that he will keep me posted and that he figured that I might volunteer.

I thanked him for considering me and said that I would be glad to help with it, especially since I figured that I might also be looking at making an item for either him, the work, or both. Bob said that it wasn’t all that necessary, but I shushed him, saying that it would come from my own stores of materials, and that I would be glad to help him in whatever ways I could. Bob was very grateful, and I told him that it was nothing, considering that he was helping me so much. With my day done, I loaded everything that I needed to work on at night, back into the haversack, and then handed the four rifles that were finished to Bob. Bob thanked me and jokingly asked if I could set him up with an extradimensional pack. I shrugged and told him that it wouldn’t be an issue at all, but that he should consider if he wants something that is mobile or something that it more defendable.

Bob thought about it, and by the time I was gone, I told him to think more on it, and that I could start on this side project for him likely next week. I got ready and headed out, heading directly back to the hotel, figuring that I’d need to push tomorrow for getting more of the clothing that I would need going forward. I went to put my bicycle back in the hotel room, and then headed back down to the restaurant. I sat down at the bar, and the bartender, a woman who said that she was named Amber, got my food and drink orders before heading over to deal with other people. She seemed nice enough and wasn’t exceptionally pushy.

I got my meal and drink, and left a decent tip for Amber, all billed to the room. I thanked her when I was finished with my meal, left, and headed back up to my room. Once back up in my room, I cast some more arcane effects for getting any information about the Painkillers and the Warlocks. There wasn’t all that much, except that there was a single rumor about a guy being a bit stronger than expected among the Warlocks crew, but that he didn’t seem to be the normal motorcyclist type. I resolved to check into it further when I had the time tomorrow.