Chapter: 301 - How to Host (Patreon)

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Tala spent the next four days back in her old pattern, greatly looking forward to the upcoming visit from Master Simon, Mistress Petra, and their children. I’ll finally get some help in here!

As much as she liked eating out, she was getting a bit tired of ‘restaurant’ food. Additionally, Mistress Holly had reached out to say that she could start adding some of the magical foods grown in her sanctum to her diet.

At the moment, that meant a couple endingberries with every meal or snack. She even ate the seeds, flipping their natural magics to properly meld with her own.

She still didn’t use her iron to amplify her inscriptions, not yet, but that would be possible soon.

She desperately needed someone to come and cook for her. Or I’ll have to learn how to cook myself…

She wasn’t bad, all things considered, but she really didn’t want to add one more thing to her plate at the moment.

All this came together to make her incredibly excited to finalize things with the family of Mage cooks.

When the day arrived, however, Tala had a dawning realization.

She had absolutely no idea how to host people for dinner.

“Lyn!” Tala came out of her sanctum in the early morning, but not so early that Lyn or Kannis should be asleep.

Lyn’s voice came back from the living room and kitchen area, still slightly groggy. “What? Tala, are you alright? What’s wrong?”

Tala strode out into the living room, orienting on her friend. “I have people coming to my sanctum for dinner, tonight.”

Lyn frowned. “Master Simon, right? And his family?”

“That’s right.”

“So… what’s the issue?”

Tala gave an exasperated sigh. “How do I have people over for dinner?”

Lyn was obviously still not awake. “I mean… you open the door and let them in? Or do you mean scheduling? That can’t be the issue, they’re already coming…”

“No, Lyn. How am I going to provide food? I don’t have a table big enough for seven people. What do I do?”

“Oh.” She blinked at Tala a few times. “I mean, you either do it yourself or hire someone?”

Tala grimaced, giving Lyn a baleful glare. “The point of this dinner is to hire someone…”

Kannis huffed a laugh, joining in the conversation. “Mistress Tala, it isn’t that hard: Make or purchase a spread of good food; yes, from a restaurant is perfectly acceptable in these circumstances. At least three dishes, one or two vegetables, a protein—usually meat, and if you want to have a grain like rice or pasta. Ensure you have enough, so maybe half again as much as you want to eat? If your aim is to do it ‘right,’ you should have a dessert as well.”

Tala grunted, turning towards the mageling who was obviously more coherent this morning than her master.

“Then, you have it either on the table in the center to be passed around family style, or on a nearby table or counter so that each person can get up and serve themselves like a buffet.”

Tala obviously knew how dinner with a lot of people worked, but Kannis was saying some useful things, so she chose to ignore the obvious oversimplifications, “So… meat, veggie, grain, dishes?”

“…yes, you will need dishes and utensils sufficient for everyone who will be present. With children, it is reasonable for you to have a few extra utensils, just in case one is dropped, or something like that happens.”

Tala was familiar with the eating habits of children. “I understand that… Gah…” She rubbed her face in frustration. “Why are these things so complicated?”

“This is literally as simple as can be, Mistress Tala. You do this all the time, just with people that you know, or in a restaurant. Are you really this out of sorts?”

She grimaced again. “It needs to go well… Oh… I don’t have a table that’s big enough.”

Kannis gave her an odd look. “Wait… how do you not have these things? Wasn’t your sanctum outfitted for you to be some high-level important figure? Why wouldn’t you be able to host?”

Tala glanced at the mageling. “It was a sanctum, not a celebratory venue. I was a local figure, not a traveling leader. If I needed to host, I could do it in the main hold, or just have servants bring over what I needed for the short time that I needed it.”

“Oh… Yeah, I can actually see that. Huh.” Kannis nodded her head in thought. “Well, then, it sounds like you need a table and chairs?” She was starting to sound uncertain. She’d seemingly picked up on Tala’s nervousness and was struggling to figure out if there was something else going on.

Tala hesitated. “I don’t want to buy that stuff, then have them want something different when they start working.”

“That makes sense.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh… that’s genius. It doesn’t help right now, but it’s worth asking.”

-Tala… I’m not sure having Kit eat their house is a good idea.-

Why not? If they own it, what’s the issue? They get to keep what they’re comfortable with, and then they can sell off a prime city lot, already cleared and ready for new construction.

-…It doesn’t hurt to ask… can Kit even do that? That seems way too big to eat all at once.-

Might have to knock it down and have Kit eat the pieces?

Alat groaned, having no further comments regarding this latest madness.

Tala shook her head, refocusing. “But I guess that’s not important now.”

Lyn had narrowed her eyes. “What insanity did you just come up with?”

Tala shrugged. “Not important right now.”

Lyn set down her spoon and turned fully towards Tala. “Tala.”

Tala shrugged. “It’s really not important. I won’t do it any time soon, regardless.”

The Fused grunted. “Fine. I won’t press… for now.”

Tala rolled her eyes, before her gaze fell on Lyn’s table. “Can I borrow that? It’s only really for four people, but I can put it beside the small one I already have?”

“Fine, but please don’t take it until after we leave for work?”

“I can do that.”

With at least a plan in place—

-That’s not a plan, that’s a list of obvious things that are needed to eat food. You even had to add ‘food’ to the list.-

Hush. I’m on track now.

With at least a plan in place, Tala was able to actually focus on what was going on.

The two other women were eating what looked something like oatmeal but smoother.

“What’s that?”

Kannis gestured towards the pot in the kitchen. “Cream of grains with heavy cream and bourbon-barrel maple syrup.”

“Cream added into cream of grains?” Tala frowned.

“’Cream of’ usually just means a milk base and thicker texture.”

Tala frowned. “Is that… true?”

Kannis shrugged. “Sounds about right, but what do I know? I’m no professional.”

“Fair enough.”

There was a long, building silence as Lyn and Kannis ate. They were obviously hiding smiles as Tala looked back and forth between them and the pot.

Finally, Tala sighed. “Can I have some?”

Lyn glanced her way. “Of course. Thank you for asking.”

Tala huffed a laugh and helped herself, joining her housemates for breakfast.

After the two others left, Tala took a moment to dip the dishes into Kit for an easy cleaning before she returned the cookware and sundry to their places in the kitchen.

That accomplished, she decided to prepare for the dinner.

I can’t just buy any old food, now can I?

-…Tala, you eat mountains of food every day. You don’t need an excuse to go taste testing.-

You’re right. Off we go!

The day passed with little incident, and she had everything ready to the best of her ability when dinner rolled around.

*  *  *

Tala melded Kit with Lyn’s front door, so that when the family knocked, she was able to let them directly into her sanctum, thereby not disturbing Lyn and Kannis, who were eating their dinners in the reading chairs.

She had put a lot of thought into the choice of where she should let them into her sanctum, and in the end, she settled on the dining room itself.

A tour could take place after food, and the dining room was one of the far more ‘normal’ spaces she had available. That should help to remove some of the mystery and mystique of her sanctum.

While Master Simon, Mistress Petra and their family arrived after the sun had set from over Bandfast, it was still a bit before the end of daylight within Kit.

Thus, the first thing the kids did when they arrived was run to the massive windows and stare out, exclaiming loudly at the view.

Their parents exchanged looks before joining their children to see what they could see.

“This view is lovely, Mistress Tala.”

“Thank you, Master Simon.”

“Is it an illusion?”

“Mostly no. The land was arranged so that the topography allowed for a natural, untainted view. Those hills at the edge of what you can see mark the border, however. And the sky is an illusion, as you might imagine.” She smiled.

“That’s… You are powering it yourself?” He looked at her with incredulity.

“Yes, though indirectly.”

“The requirements…” He shook his head. “This is more than I imagined. Though, it’s exactly in line with what you described; I have to admit.”

Tala smiled in return. “I had hoped to convey it properly.”

Mistress Petra interjected. “It is stunning.”

“Thank you.” Tala gestured to the two tables pressed together, and to the food laid out atop it. “Shall we?”

They all sat around the table and served the food family style, passing the serving dishes around so that everyone could grab what they wanted.

Segis and Karsa helped the youngest, Metti, so that she didn’t slow down the process.

Once everyone was served and the initial round of pleasantries had settled down, Tala cleared her throat.

“I do apologize for the cobbled together table and cutlery.” She’d pulled from Lyn’s kitchen for plates and utensils, along with the table and chairs.

Mistress Petra waved her off. “It is more than fine. I imagine you don’t often have this much company.”

Tala smiled at that. “No, never.”

“Well, then this is above and beyond, thank you.”

After that, the meal passed with relative ease.

The topics were light and the food tasty.

Soon enough, everyone had eaten their fill.

Tala glanced around at the family. “Is everyone finished?”

A round of smiling nods greeted her.

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

That caused them to pause, and the children each grabbed another quick bite or two before confirming once again.

“Alright. This is the first demonstration. Lean back.”

Everyone leaned back in their chairs.

Tala could have just thought the command to Kit, but she wanted to make it clear what was happening. “Kit, can you eat the remnants?”

There was a bending of reality, which manifested almost like a heat-haze over every spec of food not near a person.

An instant later, the distortions vanished, leaving utterly clean plates, utensils, and serving dishes in their wake. Even the tables were clean of drippings and crumbs.

Wide eyes greeted her as Tala looked around at her guests once more.

“Kit will happily eat anything allowed.”

Master Simon’s eyes were gleaming, but it wasn’t for the reason that Tala initially assumed.

She would have thought that such a demonstration would stoke the fires of his desire to explore the sanctum, but instead, his words showed her that she still had a lot to learn about him.

“We can cook, bake, and experiment… and there won’t ever be dishes to do? We won’t have to clean up the results before we can do it all again?”

Tala tilted her head to the side, then shrugged. I suppose that is pretty nice. “Yeah. Kit eats the remnants, not even leaving bits stuck or baked on.”

His eyes were positively glowing with barely restrained glee as he and Mistress Petra asked a few more follow-up questions.

The sun had mostly set when they stepped out of the dining and kitchen area into the central circle of her sanctum.

What followed was a tour very reminiscent of the one she’d given to the Archons right when she got home.

There were, of course, exceptions.

Firstly, she didn’t take them underground. Honestly, she didn’t think she’d be allowing them underground at all, at least not in the near term.

Second, the children showed the expected level of exuberance for everything.

Finally, the group looked in on the other rooms of the sanctum.

To Tala’s surprise, while there were a few, they were all decked out for visiting Eskau. Thus, the furnishings were simple, elegant, and obviously expensive.

I never had use for these.

-It was about the potential more than anything.-

That’s true enough. She felt an odd weight. I’d have used them eventually, in the coming years, if I’d stayed.

-Blessedly, that never came to pass.-

Yeah.

One room had clearly been Thron’s. Even though he’d kept it free of any personal effects, the smaller bed and the less embellished décor made it obviously his.

All in all, the rooms would not be a good fit for a family, and even if it had been a reasonable fit for them, Tala was a bit loath to fill up her guest rooms, just in case.

-Yes, it would be a travesty for all the guests you have over to be without a place to sleep.-

Hush you. Things change, and I am trying to be more sociable.

-You just want to have Kit eat a house.-

I am curious if it would work… but it would also be nice to have some more consistency with my relationships, even while traveling.

-If only we could fix the issue of gates degrading dimensional spaces.-

Oh, I’m sure there are solutions, they are likely just expensive.

-Master Simon would likely know.-

That’s fair, but it’s hardly time for that topic.

As they realized that the rooms she had wouldn’t work, long term, Tala decided to simply ask, “Do you all own your home, here in Bandfast?”

The two adults looked at each other, seemingly confused why she’d asked. After a moment of seemingly silent communication, they nodded. “We do.”

“What about putting it in here?” She pointed to the eastern side of the central circle. At the moment, the ground dropped off to give a view in that direction to watch the sun rise. “It wouldn’t be difficult to place it there.”

“Move our house… in here?”

Tala shrugged. “Give me the plans, and throw everything into Kit, and it will be there by the time we walk inside.”

Master Simon stood with mouth agape for a long moment before he asked a seemingly unrelated question. “Can that work with anything?”

“What do you mean?” She frowned.

“I mean, can we toss a log in here, and it becomes a statue? Or a bunch of boards and come in to find a wagon?”

“Oh! No. Generally not. Kit can move things around, so putting your house back together would just be like a puzzle in that sense. No manipulation of the materials, themselves. The only real exceptions seem to lie around the removal of impurities or grime from objects, but even that isn’t really a manipulation of the object.”

“Oh… I see. But we could drop a bunch of parts in, for a complex machine, and they would be able to be assembled?”

“I mean… in theory? I’ve never really tested it.”

“Fascinating. If it worked for a house, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for something smaller.”

Mistress Petra was giving her husband an incredulous look. “You’re considering it?”

He shrugged. “We could sell the empty lot. I’m not agreeing, but it’s an interesting idea.”

“Exactly!” Tala grinned and pointed at him triumphantly. “I figured that might actually be better than us trying to build something new in here, and you having to sell your house out there.”

Mistress Petra turned to Tala and gave a slight bow. “Honestly, Mistress Tala, we weren’t planning on selling the house at all. Additionally, moving the structure in here seems… rather permanent.”

“Oh…” Tala felt herself deflate.

“It’s not that we aren’t interested in the positions.” Mistress Petra quickly added. “It’s just that doing this would effectively trap us in your employ for the foreseeable future. That would be problematic if it didn’t work out on our end, or if you decided we weren’t a good fit from your perspective.”

“Ahh… I hadn’t thought of it that way, actually.”

Master Simon nodded. “But before we get too lost in the weeds of housing. We need to discuss security. My understanding is that you want to be out, away from the cities much of the time. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“What would Archive access be like while we are out and about?”

Tala opened her mouth and closed it. Well… rust. I didn’t think about that.

-Yeah, Archive tablets without Archive access are rather… oh!-

Yeah, that might work. “There exist Archive tablets with the ability to create datasets that are local to the slate, is that correct?”

“There are, yes.”

“We could have those be what is provided. It isn’t the same as constant Archive connectivity, but it would allow much of the same functionality.”

He frowned. “Pardon if I overstep, but what about pairing it with your own Archive access? Certainly you have greater than average range?”

“I… do, yes. Can that be done?”

“Absolutely. The power would come from you, yourself, just like everything in here runs on your magic, and it would be a lower throughput when outside of standard range, but it is a relatively common feature commissioned for private caravans.”

“That is an interesting idea, yes. We can look into it.” The Constructionists do owe me quite a bit more, and that could be useful… well forever.

-So long as you travel with others, you mean?-

Like I said, forever. Tala’s response was firm and full of conviction.

Master Simon simply nodded, moving to the next topic. “The wilds are more dangerous than ever. More caravans than usual are going missing, and I think you know that Alefast Waning is accumulating magic far more rapidly than it should be. There is trouble brewing in the wilds.”

“I’ve heard some rumors, but nothing concrete.”

“How stable is this sanctum? What happens if you die on the outside, while we’re in here?”

“Well,”—she frowned, choosing her words carefully—"if I were to die, the sanctum would slowly lose power. You could exit through the bunker I indicated, but that would just let you come out where I… died.”

“I see. That’s good to know. Aside from that worst case scenario, would the door out always work?”

Tala shook her head. “Yes and no. If I am nearby and Kit isn’t in the form of a door, I will effectively have the ability to stop Kit from opening. If there is already a door? Yes, you can leave easily. If I’m not nearby, or if I don’t stop it, a door will form and you will be able to leave.”

“Could we get back in?”

“The door should remain until I cause a change in form.”

“That’s good.” He glanced to his wife before turning back. “How is the progress on the teleportation inscriptions?”

Tala scrunched up her face. “Progressing, but not complete.”

“I see.”

She swallowed and straightened up just a bit. “That said, Kit should be unbreachable. If I were to die, you would know immediately. Under those circumstances, with the token I can provide, you should be able to look outside and determine the best time to make your escape.”

He nodded. “There are a few features that I would like to discuss with you, which would make us more comfortable with you going into danger with us in tow.”

“Oh?” Tala tilted her head slightly in interest. “I’d love to hear what you have in mind.”

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