Breakfast and Work Plans

“A movie night does sound like it’d be a wonderful way to wind down from the craziness of the last few days,” Brenda said once they told her, Kiera and Anita about their idea after the cooking trio had returned. They brought with them plates of pancakes, waffles and sausages, two bottles of syrup, a whole pound of butter and stacks of toast. And of course, sliced apples.

“A movie?” Anita asked between bites of her apple slice topped waffle that was drowned in syrup. “What’s a movie?”

“A story recorded so it can be enjoyed over and over,” Senka explained. “Sometimes with live people, other times animated. They’re a good thing to watch with company.”

“Sounds fun!” the gnoshroom said through a full mouth.

“We should at least try to set up a meeting with the dwarves before anything else,” Vivian interjected as she cut her pancake and speared the piece with her fork. “And contact the Order about our plans with the mine. I doubt they’ll like being surprised about it once we start moving ore and gems out.”

“Getting them involved at the start is likely the best move,” John remarked, poking his meal in thought. “But I think we need to frame it as us being gracious as opposed to looking subservient. Like we’re equal partners.”

“Using firm language like, ‘We’re calling to inform you, blah, blah, blah,’ is probably the best way to do it,” Vivian mused. “Putting up a strong front should at least make the Order take us seriously, at least in some regards.”

“And if we can keep them from steamrolling us until we’re strong enough to stand on our own, then we win, basically,” Senka added.

“Just be careful to not overdo it,” Brenda warned, waving her fork for emphasis. “Trying too hard could drive up friction too quickly and make them crack down.”

“It is a delicate tightrope to walk,” Vivian muttered, “but I think the Order would prefer to keep us as an ally over being a vassal. My impression is that while they have good **** projection, they aren’t the undisputed power in the area. Developing us into an allied **** capable of fighting alongside them works more in their benefit than keeping us under their boot as support and unable to operate at their level.”

“You’ve got an optimistic view of them,” Aeolia remarked.

“It’s simple cost benefit analysis,” the redhead proclaimed. “Keeping us from our full potential hurts them in the long run, as long as we stay more or less in line with their morality. Given the alternative is chaotic and murderous, I don’t see us straying too far from their ideals.”

“I certainly hope you wouldn’t,” Brenda said in the warning tone only a mother could employ.

“I’ve got no plans to go evil,” John said. “I’d be pretty bad at it anyway, with how often I’ve jumped in to help people.”

“Because I raised you right,” Brenda proudly remarked before blushing. “Well, mostly right. Not sure us sleeping together would get many approving nods.”

“I think we can indulge a bit,” John said with a rakish grin.

Brenda’s cheeks turned a bit redder and she waved her fork at John in faux admonishment.

The meal continued with more small talk for some time and John found the simple chatting about whatever a nice change of pace. There were still things they needed to get done, but those could wait for a bit longer.

“Man, that hit the spot,” Beth said as she pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair.

“Yes, it certainly was a pleasant meal,” Verida added before she inclined her head to Brenda, Kiera and Anita. “My compliments to the cooks.”

Kiera blushed brightly while Anita happily said, “It was no problem! Cooking is sooo fun. I can help with dinner, right, Brenda?”

“I wouldn’t dream of saying no, dear,” Brenda answered. “Kitchen’s open for anyone who does want to pitch in.”

“If Lynn’s ever around, don’t make that offer to her,” Beth flatly said.

John flinched in memory of Lynn’s idea of a meal. “Better or worse than her liquid mac and cheese?”

“Lynn’s alchemy is better than her cooking,” Beth remarked, her face growing a touch green.

“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that right after eating,” Aeolia said. “I think ‘liquid mac and cheese’ is going to make me sick if I have to hear about it.”

“Yeah, we’ve got more pressing things to deal with and being queasy probably won’t make them easier to do,” Vivian added. “Firstly, we need to figure out who to ring first, the dwarves or the Order.”

“Actually, speaking of rings, there is one thing I got from an achievement that everyone gets, besides the full body boost,” John said as he summoned the pile of rings to the table. Each was a simple unadorned band, but the material was anything but mundane. They were made from some kind of chromatic metal that rippled with colors that shifted depending on how one looked at them, running through all the colors of elemental mana as John knew them. And there was one of everyone.

Providence Ring
Rare
This ring is one of a set of eleven, linked to the magic generated by the consummation of your relationship with Verida. The power of those moments has been made into metal, preserved to grant further boons.

Attributes: Woven Mana, +15% Mana Regeneration, +15% Health Regeneration, Imprinted

Woven Mana: This item is made of mana given a physical, metallic state. It preserves the effects of the moment it was made, as well as empowering similar effects by 15%.

Imprinted: This item will bond to its intended owner, perfectly fitting their finger as well as any unique properties they may possess. Others cannot benefit from the effects of this item.

Estelle let out a gasp and quickly picked up one of the rings. The moment her fingers touched it, it sparked with multicolored lights for a moment, but she seemed more interested in the material itself.

“I’m going to guess there’s more to these things than what John read out,” Vivian said.

“This, this could be the key!” Estelle proclaimed, her attention locking onto Brenda. “Your ring will be linked to you. We can use that as part of the spirit anchor. The enchantments boosting magical regeneration should be a good foundation for the bonding, and once you get mana, it’ll help keep you changed up! This is perfect!”

“A-aren’t we still in the idea phase of that?” Kiera asked nervously. “Is changing things up a good idea? W-we still don’t know if the thing from the other day would work.”

Estelle blinked owlishly before her face bloomed red. “R-right. Sorry. I just, with what John read, my brain started spinning through all the possibilities.”

“Hey,” John said softly. “You were thinking about helping Brenda get magic. No harm in that. But, before we go off on new ideas, we test the original one, see if we’re on the right track.”

“I would be open to trying again later,” Brenda added, smiling kindly at the witch. “That first test did something along the lines of what we were aiming for.”

“We can continue whenever you want,” Estelle said, her mood growing more chipper.

“Honestly, today isn’t a bad time to give it a second go-round,” Vivian surprisingly said. “I doubt we’ll be ready to go to the dwarves right away and there’s the Order to consider. I say we could head to the mines to collect some rocks and record some proof, but that won’t take too much time.”

“Pop on over there, then over to the lab for round two, then send out the calls?” John sounded out the possible itinerary. “That feel like a good order?”

“I think we should probably do the calls after the mine but before trying the ritual again,” Vivian muttered thoughtfully. “That way if they want to meet today, we can make arrangements.”

“I’m okay with putting off trying for a bit,” Brenda said. “I’m likely to not become some magical savant right from the get go, so it’s no big loss to delay getting back to that. There are bigger things to take care of.”

There was a general murmur of agreement. Even if the desire to elevate Brenda to their level was the more personal goal, it was far less important in the grand scheme of things. With no further discussions to be had, everyone took a ring for themselves and helped clean up.

It was time to get to work.

---

With no pressure from golem or crystal enemies, gathering footage and examples of the bounty of the earth was a rather boring affair, especially with so many people looking. Only Estelle, Brenda and Verida were absent; the witch and his mother were back at the lab to prepare the experiment and the goddess remained at the world tree to meditate and better understand her increase in power.

‘At least it’s calm,’ John had to admit to himself. There was something about just looking for anything that stood out from the dirt and dark rocks that tickled some part of his brain. It was nice to do something monotonous and safe after the craziness of the last two weeks. And it let him refocus his mind on the upcoming trials ahead of them.

‘We have no idea just what the dwarves are looking for,’ he thought. ‘Gems and metal should be enough, along with the video Vivian’s taking of the preestablished entrance. But is that going to be enough? Or will they want a free shot to determine the worth of this place before signing on?’

“How long are we going to be kicking over rocks?” Beth complained from above John. He glanced up and saw her standing on the ceiling, one hand around a stalactite. “Cus I ain’t found shit.”

“I would imagine a hypothetical builder of a place like this would scour the ceiling for anything valuable before building up the infrastructure on the ground,” Vivian shouted up at Beth as she panned her phone around the area. “So, maybe looking up there isn’t a good idea.”

“I do think that being throughout is a good thing though,” Senka chimed in. “Never know if there’s anything around the corner if you don’t look.”

“Sucks our little misadventure wasn’t recorded,” Aeolia remarked as she examined a small bit of crystal. “Would have given this place a lot more grandeur if they could see how big it already is.”

“We’ll have to hope they’ll believe us when we tell them about it,” John said.

“Stranger things have happened,” Vivian remarked. “It’s not like unexplained things aren’t uncommon in the Abyss. If we want to keep our hand in Pruzonia’s genesis on the down low for now. Just say we found a passage here by accident.”

“Let’s hope they don’t take our discretion as being dishonest,” Senka said.

“We’ll leave things vague if it comes to it,” Vivian explained. “Since it seems the dwarves are used to business dealings, they must be aware that not every employer is able to reveal everything, especially at the start of a contract.”

“Well, we won’t know until we try,” John sighed. “Which I suppose will be soon. Don’t think we’re going to find anything more useful for the pitch. Holding off just means we’re burning time for no reason.”

“Going to call from just outside?” Beth asked as she slid down the nearest wall.

“No point in putting it off until we go back through the gate,” John answered. “We’ve got signal here so we might as well use it.”

After gathering all they found, which wasn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things, just a few gems and chunks of rock with glittering pieces of metal embedded across their surface, they exited the mine. The sun was now high in the sky, bathing the clearing between the mine and the gate with warm and bright light and everyone shaded their eyes as they emerged from the dark.

“It’s about ten, so they should be up and about,” John said as he pulled out his phone. “At least if they follow the usual schedule.”

“Let’s hope they don’t have some odd cultural thing where the mornings aren’t for business,” Aeolia remarked before quickly adding, “not that something like that is a problem.”

“I doubt they have overly odd hours,” Vivian said. “I imagine they would have said something if they kept irregular hours.”

“Or beamed it right into my head,” John added as he began to input the number he was given into his phone. “Here we go.”

John placed his phone to his ear as it rang. After the fourth repeated chime, a young, feminine voice came through the speaker.

“Hello! You’ve reached the offices of Clan Baz, the finest source for your metalworking needs,” the chipper woman said. “This is Lara Zan Baz, how may we be of service today?”

“Yes, um, this is John Newman of Renoux Solutions. I’m calling in relation to a business proposition,” John said, a little taken aback by how normal, for lack of a better term, this all was. It didn’t feel like he was trying to get a troop of dwarves to mine up possible magical metals and gemstones in his dragon goddess protected Kingdom. It felt more like he was calling Brenda’s office if he couldn’t reach her by her cell phone. “I was told to ask for Vel Foh Baz. Spoke to him a few days ago.”

“A few days ago. Newman, Renoux…” Lara’s voice trailed off as if she was trying to recall if she had heard about him. “Ah, yes. From the mall. Give me one minute to get him. He wished to take your call personally.”

The line went quiet, with only vague background noises letting John know the line was still active.

“I’ve been put on hold,” he reported.

The words had scarcely left his lips when a familiar gruff voice came over the speaker, “Well, I didn’t expect a call from you so soon. I’m going to assume you have something more concrete than your word about possible work, eh?”

“We’ve got some samples of what we hope are minerals and gems in abundance, along with some footage of where we collected them from,” John said.

“That would be more concrete,” Vel remarked with a mirthful chuckle. “I suppose scheduling a meeting would be the next step. Unfortunately, can’t pencil you in for one until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow works for us,” John quickly told the dwarf.

“Wonderful. Now, I’m going to assume you’ve got someone higher up the totem pole, given the name of your business, so I would like to talk with them,” Vel said. “Nothing against you, just would prefer to cut the bull and talk with the big boss.”

John cast a glance at Vivian, who had Senka relaying what Vel had said. She met his eyes and nodded.

‘Try to say yes in a professional way,’ Senka thought to him.

‘I think I’ve got this,’ John replied before saying to Vel, “Ms Renoux would be delighted to discuss this opportunity with you.”

“Wonderful,” Vel said. “Now, there is the matter of numbers. I think if we keep things to just a few representatives for each of us for this first round of discussion. No need for a full board versus board right from the get go.”

John watched as Senka and Vivian held a quick conversation, their voices low. A second later, the number three filled John’s mind.

“I think that’s an appropriate condition,” John remarked. “How does three people sound?”

Vel was silent for a second before he answered. “I think three a piece is a good number for the first talk. Should probably tell you where you can meet us. Got a pen and paper handy?”

“Yeah,” John answered, seeing Vivian produce such items from her personal pocket space. Vel gave him the address and time for the meeting and Senka relayed it to Vivian.

“Well, I’m looking forward to what you have to show us tomorrow,” Vel said once everything was set.

“I hope we don’t disappoint,” John remarked.

“Certainly would be a waste of our time if you did.” Vel chuckled. “Until tomorrow then.”

Vel hung up the phone and John locked his before putting it away.

“Well, guess we’ve got time today to redo the bonding experiment,” John said.

“I’ll call Estelle and give her the good news.” Vivian smiled at John as she sauntered up to him. “You did good with that call.”

Before John could say anything, the redhead pulled him into a hot kiss. When she pulled back, all John could do was grin.

“If that’s the incentive for doing a good job, I think I want to handle the next call.” Senka lightly laughed.

“I can help too!” Anita chimed in excitedly.

“We can discuss perks later,” Vivian put her foot down as she withdrew her phone. “Let’s tell Estelle and Brenda we can do the experiment, get that sorted, then we can plan for how we’re going to tackle tomorrow.”