CH102 Adjusting to being back in town.
The conversation between two flamingos, a sleepy Nymph and a magical girl continued in Ki’s office.
“Yvne’s maids are going to be a really difficult problem to fix.” Alex crossed her arms. “Making it to the temple wasn’t terrible because I could fly. But making it back was a big pain. Traveling hundreds of miles across mountains and glaciers is no joke. Also, there is some demonic ice cultivator sect setting up shop near the temple of purity.”
“There is a big patch of glacier missing.” Fufi sounded concerned. “I didn’t get a close look though, there could be a lot of them. But if that is the only option to fix the maids…”
“Yes, though their single mindedness to serve a lady as a maid is discouraging.” Ki frowned. “I don’t think that their safety matters as much as having a mistress. It is a little disturbing.”
Alex nodded. “Disturbing is the right word. Having been forced into maid training and seeing no way out… well I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
“You really should go back to your tree though Ki.” Fumi reminded the Nymph. “This is not a good spot to spend the winter.”
“I know, I am just worried that without my cousins around this place is going to erupt into anarchy.” Ki put both of her hands on her face. “Having a bunch of different rival tribes that used to fight each other is bad enough to keep the peace. Now we have the biggest group of humans being primarily non combat classes who also tend to view the people already here as barbarians and weirdos wearing overly cute outfits.”
“The loot from the dungeon is now limited edition.” Alex chuckled a bit, having burly men with hair clips and big beards wielding weapons that looked like something from an excessively girly anime always felt fun to see. “I mean, what is the worst that could happen?”
“Likely chaos breaking out where one chief decides he is the new top dog only for the winter court to come in, see people behaving like beasts and expunging humanity from the forest.” Ki scrunched up her face and ran a hand through her leafy hair. “They might turn some people into snowmen to set an example.”
Alex sighed. “I really wish we had someone that could lead.” Alex added an addendum. “Not that you are a bad leader Ki. It is just that.”
“I know. I’m no longer human so there will always be irreconcilable differences.” Ki lamented. “It has been a new experience for me as well. This last year, getting my memories back only to realize the life of my childhood is gone forever.”
Fumi again urged Ki to leave. “You’ve said your piece to our magical girl. Are you okay to leave things to the evergreen nymphs and the winter court?”
Ki nodded and chuckled. “I really just wanted to stay awake until you got back. I can’t say it enough but thank you for taking care of that awkward invitation I got from lady Yvne.”
After a heart-felt-almost-awkward goodbye Ki and Fumi used treestride to enter a tree trunk grown into the wall and vanish.
Slightly melancholic, Alex made her way to Charlotte's weaving warehouse. It was packed with goods, yet the wooden-spider-doll-plant-creature was nowhere to be found.
Getting the attention of a passing human, Alex asked. “Where did Charlotte go?”
The human looked Alex over, recognizing her after a moment, likely more from her clothing than her appearance. “She’s resting. Most of the wood she was made out of is oak after all. When the trees started losing their leaves she did as well. She rooted by the river and is taking a break.” The woman paused. “Likely for the whole winter my guess. Did you need something sewn? There are already more bolts of cloth here than even the huge influx of people can use.”
“Thank you.” After verifying Charolette was safe, Alex found a spot to summon the carriage and get to work on some sewing projects.
Beyond routine mending, she embarked on recreating the intricate toymaking outfit. Nineteenth-century women's fashion, far from simple, made this a complex undertaking. Matching the shirtwaist's embroidery patterns proved tedious, and crafting a corset was no easy feat. The ensemble also included a slip, stockings, and a pleated ankle-length skirt. To complete the Victorian aesthetic, Alex even fashioned a charming half-sized hat.
After donning the new outfit, Alex checked her phone and beamed with pride.
[Toymaker’s outfit +3 toymaking]
Fufi looked over her shoulder, sounding impressed. “Not bad. That is much better than the one that you got from the dungeon. Your skills have increased.”
“I didn’t get a skill up by making this.” Alex chuckled. “Anyway, I need a break. Let's go check on Charlotte before working on the hero doll next. I probably should have mended that plushy back in town but put it off in favor of working on janky boat stuff.”
Fufi and her magical girl headed down to where the spider doll was rooted by the river.
“Thanks for all your hard work.”Alex patted the stationary wooden spider's legs, unable to reach the doll's head due to its height.
Charlotte didn’t move.
“You’ve made more thread and cloth in months than the whole town, myself included, could have made in a year.” Alex praised the doll.
She didn’t respond. Alex left it at that, Charlotte never could talk and if she was sleeping then waking her up would be rude. The flamingo and magical girl headed back to the warehouse and got to work on the Hero doll.
Replacing the burnt and fallen-out stuffing was simple. The flame-damaged armor, however, was unsalvageable, posing a much greater challenge.
Alex got an eerie premonition while looking into the doll’s eyes. “Don’t look at me with that judging look.”
Fufi inspected the doll. “The doll doesn’t look any different. But I think he’s more grumpy than usual.”
Alex searched the doll eyes. “It is like he’s saying ‘shame on you for forgetting something so important.’ But did I forget something? I don’t recall.”
Alex considered pulling the doll’s string to activate it but thought twice. The doll wasn’t nice and that might be pressing her luck. However, making some better armor would be a good test of her new toymaking outfit.
Fufi pointed out a bin of metal plants adjacent to another of clockwork parts. Alex made a mental note to thank Ki or whoever had the foresight to stock up parts that a budding toymaker might need for clockwork dolls. She decided to go with brass instead of wood for the armor this time. Alex read somewhere that brass and stainless steel don’t conduct heat well. However, Alex didn’t know how to make stainless steel and someone had left some brass plates in the warehouse. Alex felt a little guilty just taking it and not paying for it, but there was more of a communal economy set up. Maybe that wasn’t a good idea in the long term but for now it’d have to do. It was not like there was a coin smith or anyone minting coins. They didn’t even have a mine.
Alex heavily relied on the boosted skill to craft an elaborate set of armor for the hero plushy. A greenish patina, achieved with vinegar, adorned the helmet, chest, and shoulders. For added flair, Alex incorporated springs into the helmet's visor, making it retractable. The gauntlets featured spinning blades, only a couple of inches in radius, but capable of being set in motion by pulling a string with a tiny handle. Using a concoction of sugar, spice, and "something nice," Alex enchanted these miniature circular saws with a momentum enchantment. Heroshi could undoubtedly put them to good use in carpentry… or so Alex thought.
Alex then crafted a doll-sized repeating crossbow from metal and watch components. Despite the intricate, tiny parts, the crossbow's creation was surprisingly manageable, thanks to the enhanced skill, which made working with such minuscule items easier than expected. This project was significantly more complex than the airboat components, yet it flowed more smoothly. Alex and Fufi continued their work until nightfall, focusing on the doll's armor. The final product was an ornate repeating crossbow, capable of firing six bolts, with a detachable chamber for quick reloads of additional bolt bundles. They even fashioned a bandolier to carry three extra bundles, though its small size still made it somewhat bulky for the doll.
Alex tried it, and it worked, though she felt a bit silly playing with a toy crossbow. She had to use her fingernail to pull the trigger.
Sticking to the give and take rule, Alex made a second toy-sized crossbow and put it on the shelf with some extra bundles of bolts. A projectile weapon that was designed for someone with the hand size of a toddler wasn’t very useful for much other than a kid shooting their eye out but maybe there were some craftsmen in the town that could scale it up to be used in adult sized hands.
“Okay, let's get some rest. I think that is enough for one day.” Alex dusted off her hands and put the hero doll in his fancy new armor back into the carriage.
They took the carriage outside into the courtyard of the warehouse and cleaned up before going to bed.
Laying down on the bench seat, Alex complained. “I would like a home to go back to. The adventurer’s guild was nice when it wasn’t so busy and it was just the three of us but I miss my cabin. I miss a modern shower.”
“We’ll figure something out.” Fufi curled up for the night. “Maybe that gnome knows how to create magic to heat water.”
“It would be nice. Burning wood to heat water is a pain. I never appreciated a hot water heater as much as I do now that they are scarce.” Alex complained. “I think they grabbed the magic items from Yvne’s mansion. I didn't really keep track of what went where. Also, I never really had a magic tutor so messing with magic items doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“They have magic schools in some of the big cities. But all the human ones are likely heavily influenced by demons. Who knows if that knowledge has been lost.” Fufi frowned. “I wish we could have had better relations with Sakura. She should have been a good mentor for you.”
“I do too, maybe we’ll run across someone who is an experienced magical girl one of these days.” Alex rolled over and went to sleep shortly after.