There wasn't much we could do with the city still mostly in recovery mode, but I was sure that tenuous peace wouldn't last long. One had to strike while the iron was hot or, in this case, severely injured and with less than all their wits about them due to a rough fight. That meant, of course, that we spent the better part of an hour just shooting the breeze and getting to know each other better. There was telling a story and then there was understanding a story. Everyone went back and forth on the various parts they found the most interesting, with the Tendrils and Joe joining in regularly. The siblings weren't really sure what their changed bodies were capable of, and the draconian had not the slightest clue what his Shard was really capable of.

The first set of questions Billy took the lead on, describing his experiences in the white-grey-black space when the Aberrant had attempted to corrupt him and the other Wild Guard Trainees. Out of everyone present, he was the one that had actually been subject to the... accelerated conversion process that the Dreg booze was causing amidst the people of Ocala. The siblings listened intently to the elf Partial, asking questions about sensations and adjustments that the youth had used to adapt to a body that wasn't what they were familiar with.

For Joe Kelly, he directed the brunt of his questions to me. Jolene was happy to provide some intermediary conversation whenever I tried to think through my responses. It was true that the more I learned about magic the more I realized I didn't know, but there were trends that access to the Implants provided insight into. Particularly, I was able to tell the young draconian that his Mana Shard's manifestation was very much different from either Fievil, the Air Totem or the Totems living in the Staff of Storm Ruling. Not just because it was called something different.

The low hanging fruit piece of information for his Arcane Engine when compared to the Arcane Sink was the movement of energy. The Entities clearly understood their effects when they assigned the things their name, since the Arcane Sink redirected mana from a source and then outward. The Arcane Engine, especially after Joe briefly demonstrated the little bit of control he had over the Shard, stole that same energy from the area around it for fuel. It raised questions of where mana fell as far as a factor in the laws of thermodynamics, but I tried to think of them as an appendix to those rather than breaking them entirely. It's not like I have the time to delve into that particular thing. Maybe Alan has touched on that?

In addition to drawing in energy from the exterior, the Shard seemed to act like a direct conduit of Joe's power rather than an external expression like Fievil. There were immediate benefits and drawbacks as far as I could tell. The draconian didn't feel like his Shard could store more mana than he could. During his escorting of the caravan, he'd tried to figure out just that and he'd started feeling mana side effects without even using his magic. That meant that the Arcane Engine couldn't act like the seemingly bottomless battery that the Sink based Items were. However, its storage was intrinsically linked to Joe's mana pool; the Shard's regeneration was Joe's and vice versa. Joe could keep going indefinitely so long as there was heat or fire to steal energy from, while the Sinks had to rely on the wielder as a source.

That revelation instantly had me itchy to find another Mana Shard in the hopes of shaping it into an Arcane Engine. If I combined an Engine and a Sink...

Instead of doing something that would possibly put me at odds with all the slime manufacturers in Ocala or powerful beastie beyond it that called a Mana Shard home... we had lunch courtesy of Daniela and Samuel. It was very much a vegetarian alternative, with beans on rice, bean pastes, bread and leafy greens in abundance. Daniela explained that until the processing chain for the city got back turning, access to meat was going to be limited to those who'd gotten it ahead of time. She had a few hunks in cold storage thanks to Jolene, but with the new residents of the Embassy she didn't want to blow through that too quickly.

Of course, the woman didn't disappoint in the slightest. It was the quietest it had been in the Embassy since I'd returned; the only sounds were chewing and a slight bubbling from where Blobby was digesting everyone's scraps and even some of the plates I'd shaped for everyone to use. As I ate, mesmerized by Blobby's digestion, a familiar fish-scaled boot floated by before disappearing back into Blobby's bulk.

"Ah!" I shouted, alarmed, pointing at Blobby. "You brought the Items I made, Blobby?"

The slime paused for a moment, forming another a pair of nubs that it moved up and down in what was clearly a shrug. I facepalmed, rubbing at my temples once more. It was actually good that the slime was carrying the Items around, because it meant we wouldn't need to go back to the Outpost to recover them, but that also meant they had likely been inside or close by the whole time Blobby had been fighting Eurus.

"Just... just pass them out, would you?"

The slime jiggled up and down energetically before rolling in the direction of Billy, pivoting at the last second to correct towards Danny before cutting around to return to the same spot the slime had started in. Neither the brunette nor the elf really had much time to process before the boots and waistguard were laid out before them. I watched as their eyes unfocused, taking in the descriptions of the Items.

"Master Terrigan," Billy mumbled, his eyes jumping from the waistguard to me as he struggled for words. "I-I can't..."

"Nope. Your rejection is denied. You've more than earned it. Plus, everyone else has a bit of gear I've made so this just brings you on par with the rest of the squad," I said, grinning at the flustered elf. "As long as you use it to keep yourself alive and rain destruction on our enemies, that's all the repayment I need."

"Then thank you. This... it means a lot."

"I know you'll do great with it. Might even give you a better time on Sarah's death leaning obstacle course next time we go to Wildwood," I said, chuckling.

Billy looked contemplative while Danny had a frown on her face. I could read the question on her face and I was ready. "Why didn't you--"

"Infuse the bear bracers?" I said, cutting the brunette off. It had been a risk to follow through on my guess, but it was well rewarded. Every time I got to see Daniela sputtering for words was a good time. "Didn't exactly have them with me. Plus, I think these will work better with your fighting style. Misdirection over taking big hits."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

While I talked to Daniela, Billy had activated his waistguard, staring intently at the magnolia seeds growing on it. Unlike Marie, he didn't drop it until I saw his arms start to shake and almost a dozen of the seedlings had sprouted along the length. The waistguard hit the stone table with a heavy thud that drew the eyes of everyone. Joe and the siblings were the most surprised out of the group.

"You turned components into equipment?" the draconian asked, jaw hanging open even more than when he'd seen me floating.

"It's like his whole thing," Devon said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'd say some of our people have gotten bet--"

Daniela elbowed the elf in the ribs, forcing him to cut off and sputter for air himself. "Pioneer. You don't compare someone that laid the groundwork to someone building upon it like that. Plus, I don't see you leveraging your crafting skills, Dev. Seems like that pendulum cannon ammo was your one hit wonder. Meanwhile..." Daniela gestured to the two Items on the table, as well as pointing an accusatory finger at the Hummingbird Charm around my neck. She didn't say anything else. My work spoke for itself.

"Actually, Billy's belt is Marie's handy work. She's a natural, and I have no shame in saying that she'll likely end up better than me before long. Her and Madeline are punching way above their weight classes," I said.

Billy had gone back to playing around with his Item, his brow pulled tight as he tried to focus on the weight differential and the strain of keeping his Djinn Legs controlled. There certainly seemed to be some synergy there, and I knew the youth would work it out. Joe was poking and prodding at the belt, asking questions while the rest of the table ooh'ed and aah'ed at Daniela's demonstration of the light bending effects of the fishscale boots. They weren't quite as pronounced as it had looked while wielding the Item, but I had a sneaking suspicion that would work even better for Daniela's purposes. A blur within a blur was the height of misdirection.

"Do you wish you had more time for this?" Jolene asked, bumping me with her shoulder to break me out of my thoughts. "You certainly smile more when people are using the things you make."

"Ah!" I said, chuckling awkwardly and rubbing the back of my head. "I don't know, actually. I think I just like magic. There's so much to learn. Not just that, so much to apply. I don't feel like I've even scratched the surface. What are Items going to look like in ten years? How can our Items incorporate the naturally formed ones in nature that the Implants identify with rarities? How do other methods affect what we already have? Can we make naturally occuring Items without making them?

"And that's just when it comes to Items! We are basically blundering our way through spell chains and Traits. Sam's discovery with his innerved vines has already given me dozens of ideas for how I could apply them myself. You throw in cross discipline applications of magic and the blending effects that come from Attunements, Refinements that overlap elements, the Shards, Gift Wrestling, THE SOUL HEMISPHERES. I can't practically count all the things left to explore about the world!"

Jolene giggled. A sound like bells tinkling drew me out of my rant, where I'd been gesturing wildly with each new thing that I listed. "I guess I don't need to worry about you losing your drive."

"What do you mean?"

"Our reality is harsh, Ron. We face threats that conspired to kill our town, poison a city, and are actively fighting to control our world. Not two hours ago you flipped Tucker and Amaya's lives on their head while simultaneously implanting hope within them. And I trust you to be able to deliver it. Whether it is your first plan, or your second, or your hundredth. Having someone with the self-generated momentum to challenge tasks is... refreshing." Jolene drew quieter, her smile turning softer as she looked down at her hands. "You guys didn't really see it, but Wildwood was a dark place. Not just because of what Kirby was doing, but because there was no tomorrow. You need the present to survive, but you need the future to live! Even with all the examples you've given me, all the consideration you've given to my feelings, I still doubt sometimes. It makes me happy how easily you shatter those."

"Uh, yeah, of course. I don't have any plans to roll over and die. I did the self-pity thing and realized that it was just that; for me. I don't want what I do to be just for me," I said, speaking without thinking. Jolene was the best at putting me on the backfoot out of anyone I'd ever met. "Not that I'm not selfish, but also I like to help people and--"

The mermaid put a soft finger on my lips, cutting off my rambling. "Like I said, you generate your own momentum."

"Sorry," I said lamely.

"Ron, the more I learn about you the better I feel about my decision to do just that. Even with how rudely you ignored me to start," Jolene said, wagging her finger in my face to make sure I knew she hadn't forgotten. "You have a foot firmly in the present, but you are already taking the next step."

"Thank--"

"Plus, I like the cut of your jib. That doesn't hurt," Jolene added, her smile brightening like a floodlight. She easily dodged the soft swat I sent for her leg, contorting like a gymnast back and onto her feet after a brief handstand. "Now I think it's probably a good idea that I finish writing up our arguments for the conference. If they are anything like what we read about, they are surprisingly rigid in structure."

"Oh that's just not fair," I grumbled, eyeing the merwoman as she sashayed away from the table with a confident smile.

When I turned to the others, I realized that everyone was engaged in one way or another. Danny had gone off with Devon to feed Anthony. The siblings were talking animatedly with Samuel once again, and Joe had engaged Billy in a discussion about his Arcane Engine and Items in general. Even Blobby, the traitor, had camouflaged itself at the foot of the door that led to my room at the Embassy and abandoned me. Probably digesting and recuperating after the fight with Eurus. The little slime has more than earned it.

Despite all of that, there was the elephant in the room left. Or more aptly, the crystal-encrusted oak in the room. Likely sensing my attention, Hec's surface of the Metier Crystal rippled like a stone-stirred pond before a hand formed on its surface. It closed, sticking a thumb out to point at the Entity before slipping back into the crystal. It was as much of an invitation to chat as any, considering the Entity likely didn't want to blow out the eardrums of everyone at the Embassy.

With much recovered steps, I placed Fievil and the Shard bracelet down on top of the table before sending Sam and Jolene a message on the comm-plant to keep an eye on them. With Fievil’s growth as a Totem I was more than sure he could handle anything long enough for me to return, but there was no sense taking the risk.

The mole and avian Totem bid me farewell, the former much more grumpily than his zippier counterpart, before I placed my hand on Hec and the world flashed white.