-Callen-

  The week passed by without any major incidents. Mayor Hew seemed to have resolved the report situation without me, which I was thankful for. I think a side effect of my Greater Mana Affinity gave Callia access to my void space because not long after we got back, she started bragging about her new affinity. We only figured out it was now a shared space when she complained about how her space was filled with random junk, like the giant water middle finger I left for my unwanted guest.

  Speaking of that, I finally felt I needed to share my knowledge regarding the eye. I didn’t describe it or say what it was. My gut felt that details were best left obscured, but I did describe the dangerous entity that occasionally returned. I also demonstrated how to banish it like I banished our household trash. Cast out into the void beyond all perception.

  For some reason Callia decided it was time to renovate the space instead of leaving a dumping ground for random crap to float aimlessly. She subsequently dragged me into a week of furniture making. Weapon/tool racks, big crates, boxes, and barrels, everything was sorted and stored except for the giant middle finger. It was only right that we left a token of appreciation for the eye. By the end of the week the formerly empty space that would be filled with randomly floating debris from all my deposits was structured into a massive warehouse without any walls or roof. We also added more stats and checked our capacity.

  Callen stats :

  Callia stats :

  Then a quick check with Nightshade's enchantment to see how much our capacity had grown.

  I can’t help but wonder what happened to Lexia. At this point my best guess is she accidentally provoked some big monster, but with how agile she was, it’s hard to imagine what managed to catch her. While I wasn’t conscious during Grandpa’s deal with her, one of Grandpa’s friends let me know how the whole encounter was resolved.

  I walked through the town, seeing several new faces among the crowd. Most of the invading soldiers had scattered, but a good number had surrendered. The soldiers who surrendered initially or showed up later were sentenced to a year of labor. The heavy punishments were reserved for the leaders who knew better than to stay. Most of the camp followers who had been mistreated by the baron had actually chosen to stay and integrate into our town. Overall it was a big boom for our population, and while quite a few of the newcomers would cause trouble, Reesia and the guard were out in full force while the newcomers adjusted to life in Port Town.

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  The reason for my walk through town was an unusual request from the mayor. He wanted me to go around the town to observe and record any issues or ideas I had to improve the town. He claimed this was something he would normally do, but he was still busy with the aftermath of the battle. It seemed reasonable enough, so I didn’t refuse. While in my thoughts, a cheerful voice caught my attention.

  “Callen!” Crescent was out dressed in a floral-pattern dress with a bag in hand. She eagerly waved to me as she jogged over. I felt a bit of heat in my cheeks as a faint blush built up. The dress suited her nicely compared to the emergency response gear she typically wore for her work.

  “What are you doing out here? Don’t you usually spend your free time tinkering in your workshop?” I feel a bit embarrassed. With my tendency to lock myself away making things, maybe the mayor asked me out here to have me spend some time among people.

  “The mayor asked me to walk around town making observations for him.” I showed my notepad that already held details for a windmill. Grain was easy enough to process by hand, and with skills it was quite quick, but our former specialist had passed away, and his apprentice struggled to keep up.

  “How about you? I thought you spent most of your time working with the EMS?” Crescent looked a bit exasperated but showed her bag and a note.

  “Grandpa wanted me to restock the house. He gave me a list, but it’s sending me all across town! I had to call in for a day off so I would have time.” I look briefly at the list and find myself agreeing with Crescent’s complaint. She would be going to the craftsmen to order a new set of cutlery, then the earthkin tunnels to browse for ‘anything interesting,’ and then she would have to travel most of the market for fresh produce. Though I do notice conveniently that most of the locations are at or near locations the mayor wanted me to survey.

  “It seems we are both heading the same way. How about we go together? I would appreciate your company.” She smiles blindingly at my offer, and together we set off. Together we browsed through the craftsmen's quarters, examining various tools and appreciating the workmanship. The craftsmen themselves were eager to show off their best pieces to us. Being locally famous had its benefits. One apprentice was so eager to show off his ‘invention’ that he tripped over a broom and crushed his extended-reach duster. I encouraged his idea, but as soon as we left, Crescent broke into giggles, and I couldn't help but join.

  Then we moved on to the earthkin tunnels. I always loved visiting down here because they had really done a beautiful job with the place. The entry led to a large elevator that could move multiple carts down into the clan territory. They had carved a wide-open space with numerous runic lights hanging from above like countless stars. The work wasn’t done yet, but the neatly hewn stone showed a level of grandeur that earned respect. Every community had their mana battery (a beautiful blue crystal-like construct) presented naturally in the community. The only issue was I was too popular. Just like Master Yoren, a lot of earthkin heard I was a master runemaker and wanted to be my apprentice.

  We eventually resorted to extreme measures to escape the crowd and found ourselves hiding on a rooftop below the ceiling. While taking a break after being chased by eager craftsmen, we tried to make shapes out of the lights above, like spotting constellations. Our hands entwined so naturally we didn’t even notice. In the end we decided that the earthkin community was plenty energetic to solve their own issues and browsing products could wait for another day.

  We left the earthkin tunnels as quietly as we could, but a crowd of earthkin was waiting for us by the exit to get a last word before we could escape. Earthkin are such strange people. My best comparison to their response to my presence was like a crowd of rabid fans trying to get an autograph. Actually, thinking back, I could’ve sworn I heard one ask me to sign his beard plaque (beard jewelry but with a space that could be signed).

  Hand in hand we ran free of the crowd as soon as the elevator let us go. The earthkin at least seemed to accept that the visit had ended and let us go without any more pestering. On our way to the market, I stopped by Miss Nunnally’s bakery for lunch. Her husband had been the man pressured into joining the festival with the team of strong men from outside town, but that incident had led to her being out of the town center when the worms went rampant. I had briefly helped at her bakery when we were reconstructing the town. Normally she was more of a gossipy type, but for some reason she seemed both excited and unusually reserved. Still, the lunch with Crescent was great, and I made sure to thank Miss Nunnally before we went to the market.

  Lexia’s delay

  Lexia traced the scent all the way back to the edge of the woods the man had originally escaped her from. On the way a pair of messengers passed her, but it didn’t matter to her. The bandit must’ve mixed his scent among the civilians heading to Port Town. It was clever, very clever. Her mind raced with various conspiracies on how the man had evaded her. Still, there was no way the town would accept someone who became a bandit, and the bandit would know that. His survival instincts were clearly far sharper than she had anticipated.

  Still, from the rodent he had killed, it was apparent he couldn’t hide from monsters, which meant if he wanted to escape her, he needed to use the road. She went back towards Port Town but stopped at the crossroad splitting off towards Woodside. The scent of the messengers now acted as cover. If she chose to search Port Town and the bandit had used his keen instinct to cross over to Woodside while she was backtracking, then he would be home free. The same worked in reverse.

  This whole hunt had been a fun game to pass time until the twins were ready to fight, but now it was getting personal. The man had seemingly no skills and a mediocre level. He was clearly a coward, but he was quickly becoming the most difficult hunt she had ever started. If the man had any redeeming qualities, Lexia would’ve chalked it up to a worthy foe. However, now it was personal. The man could spot her, but she was certain she would spot him first. Therefore, all she needed to do was outlast him. She settled in at the crossroad and began her stakeout. The day he acted to slip past her was the day she would rip off his limbs and laugh at him while he bled out.

  Meanwhile.

  At the gate of Port Town, Bob showed up from his early morning escape. He was panting and sweaty but didn’t resist or lie at all as he confessed his mistakes to the gate guard. He was held at the gate since he had news of the civilians being escorted back. They would hold off his sentencing until statements of his treatment of the captives were verified.

  Several hours later a crowd of civilians escorted by a team of old men arrived at the gate. Some were excited when they saw him. Apparently after he left, someone had gone through and wiped out all the bandits. He felt a shiver, but the captives whom he had secretly helped all eagerly vouched for his character. It was a bit embarrassing, but at the same time it made him feel warm that so many people were happy he was ok.

  His story, now verified by the guards, was passed up to the captain, who gave him a reduced sentence. While he still made mistakes following his companions into banditry, his actions despite that were good in nature. The other captured soldiers were sentenced to a year of hard labor, but he was given a month, and at the end the guards would accept him if he couldn’t find other work. Bob was almost crying with how generous they were. He decided he would give his all during his punishment!