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Mission Log: Day 0024

Addendum 04

Packard and his 'scouts' made their way back up to the foyer, and gave their verbal report to Lord Zee and the rest of the crowd. Reviewing the security footage let me know that the 'nobles' and their personal servants had been jockeying for positions, each one trying to claim their own 'scandalously common' picnic tables of the four, while Lord Zee had been 'inspecting' the lavatories'. Fortunately, with one lady seemingly fast asleep at one table and the other, alone among the lot in her willingness to share, simply claimed the opposite side of the same table. That left the 'boys' bickering more about which of the three remaining tables held the more 'prestigious' or 'auspicious' position; I honestly wasn't all that certain how the screaming-match would have progressed if there hadn't been enough tables to go around. The overall enthusiasm for the arguments died down as soon as Lord Zee exited the lavatories and proclaimed them 'less than perfectly dignified for those of the nobility, but safe enough' that his family could avail themselves of the two rooms. Nehdud, with Stakkeg in his wake, made a pretty obvious dash for the door Lord Zee had just passed back through. Haruinn, weighed down with all his cutlery, had no chance of beating his relative... cousin? Brother? Nephew?... to the 'room of comfort', but followed as quickly as he could. Midmolk, bless the man, lugged that tower-shield along and even into the lavatory.

It would take a few clock-cycles to collate the data made available from what the Lignignories left in the lavatories. However, I had no doubts that as soon as I had the medical-bay finished, there would be a lot of recommendations for each one of them just in terms of diet. And the collection of infections, bacterial and viral and possibly parasitical, among the lot would likely be lengthy...

Ah, well. “Disaster recovery” covered quite a wide array of needs, did it not?

My inventory-monitor let me know that at least one of the men had indulged in their curiosity about the mysterious 'extra boxes' on the walls of the lavatory-stalls. Nothing terribly impressive there, considering that the Fuin-Braetehl boys had done the same and promptly used the resulting pads as insoles for their boots. However, the 'culprit' turned out to be Kregorim. I had half-expected Lord Zee to play around with the dispensers, or even his servant, but I suppose that one doesn't become a magician without having considerable curiosity about any strange new phenomenon.

Kregorim came out of the room behind Lord Zee and the other man, carrying a small bag of faded blue cloth in his left hand and loitering around beside the other door while Lord Zee made his announcement. He also pretended to be fascinated by the water-dispenser while the two boys and their servants made a stiff-kneed, mad dash for the lavatory Lord Zee had just exited; regardless of the layout inside, the fact that Lord Zee had entered that one made it “Gentlemen's territory” by fiat.

Ah, well. If I really needed to, my nanites could move the 'feminine necessities' into the other room.

Kregorim waited until Adallinda and her personal attendant Pippa had exited... which took almost 30.57 minutes after Lord Zee and the others had completed their own 'business'... and begged a momentary indulgence from them while he entered. And it really did take only 1.503 minutes for him to come back out again.

Adallinda delivered some choice words on the subjects of the stalls themselves as well as the magician's 'audacity' of entering the Ladies' room of comfort to the slowly-growing audience of Lignignories, attendants, and other ragged-looking folk. Though directed primarily to her father, of course. While she delivered her monologue to Lord Zee, Kregorim showed the six samples of 'feminine hygiene products' he had received from the dispensers in the other room to Pippa. Her look of mild confusion switched to wide-eyed blushes as he murmured an explanation to her behind his upraised hand, but at least she wound up smiling and nodding when he straightened up. Pippa proceeded to discreetly signal to Totra and Yera, her working counterpart-servants to the other Lignignory ladies. Kregorim gave a shallow bow in their direction, letting the servants exchange the necessary information in their own way.

While the whisper-line spread the word among the ladies, Lord Zee conferred with Packard about next steps. Well, 'conferred' might be the wrong word; Lord Zee demanded to know which of the available units were best suited to his lordly self, and that he and his servants get escorted there immediately. Packard had Tianna and himself lead the way, winding up with Lord Zee, his flock of attendants, and Kregorim trailing behind.

The magician kept up with the group, running his hands along the railings and staring at the odd 'not-moss' on the stairs undersides. He also got a very good and close look at the biometric scanner, as Tianna demonstrated that the flat panel of the door would only open after someone's hand pressed on the black not-glass.

“Hmph!” Lord Zee snorted. “So any random brigand could just press their hand to the door and gain access to my noble self? Packard, we'll be discussing guard-rotations as soon as our luggage is in place!”

Tianna and Packard led the way inside, Lord Zee following and the rest of the 'servants' behind him. The tension around Lord Zee's eyes relaxed just a little as he noted the space just within. The layout amounted to adding a second bedroom and bathroom on the end of the 'main suite', extending the 'utility room' so that all the fabricators stood in a line along one wall, and expanding the kitchen for more counter-space and cabinets on the opposite side of that wall. Back home, an apartment unit like this would've been suitable for a young couple climbing their way out of the less-reputable neighborhoods and willing to have a child or two in the process, or off-campus housing for a few college students.

For Lord Zee, though...

“Hmph! Space enough for myself, I suppose, and to quarter my servants to act as guards until we get some proper deterrents installed... And not so much as a trace of a decent carpet or rug, just more of that strange... stuff... for flooring?”

“Correct, sir,” Packard answered, before gesturing at the fabricator-banks. “However, these 'magic trunks' over here will help with at least some of that...”

It felt a little bit like listening to one pre-Information Age grandfatherly-type trying to explain a modern desktop computer to another. Admittedly, Packard and Tianna did do a decent job of walking Lord Zee... and his now-named chief personal servant, Delweard... through the process of fabricating dishware, bedding, and various other basics. Lord Zee nodded in the right places, even mastered his own obvious nervousness about touching the 'mirror' on the 'magic trunk' well enough to design and trigger the 'build' for a simple chair.

“These markings...” Kregorim said, examining the screens on the 'laundry' machine. “They seem similar to the written form of Trade Tongue, but with traits more commonly used by those further north...”

“Well and good,” Lord Zee answered. “Clearly a sign from the Master Navigator that we of House Lignignory are meant to return there and rebuild our power. We shall use this... outpost... as a staging area for our journey to Baerston Stronghold...”

I tuned out yet another extended monologue on the subject, focusing more on Packard, Tianna and Kregorim as they gathered around another fabricator out of Lord Zee's direct line of sight; Delweard motioned for the rest of the ragged-looking servants to take their places as an almost-literal captive audience to hold Lord Zee's attention while the other three talked.

“Why five magic trunks...?” Kregorim asked, half to himself and half to the others.

Packard turned his head in Tianna's direction, and nodded.

Tianna frowned, holding a stance that left the magician facing her left shoulder while she kept her right hand close to the hilt of her knife. “Stockley and I didn't feel comfortable examining them too closely when we first searched the quarters, magician,” she explained. “Nothing sprang to mind except that, perhaps, whatever power built this place intended it for use by a family, perhaps to allow the Mam, the Da, and the young ones of age to use them properly to do so all at once?” Then she nodded in the direction of the hip-high surfaces on the walls at the side and rear of the room. “No sink, no lines, no washtub, but something about those tables made both of us think of laundry-rooms for some reason.”

Kregorim glanced over his shoulder, his hands drifting through movements much like folding clothes, and he nodded. “A reasonable assumption, Miss,” he answered, his tone distant. Then he turned back to the pair. “I take it that you've already determined who is to be quartered where?” he asked, tilting his head in Lord Zee's direction. “For the safety of House Lignignory, of course.”

One of Packard's eyebrows rose a millimeter, returned to place. He gestured to the side, then curved the hand downward. “Beside us is another set of chambers like this, but mirrored,” he explained. “And directly below us, duplicates of both. Further dawnward are four smaller such, two above and two below. I and mine haven't as much need for space as the Lignignories, and at least two of us'll be on patrol at any given hour, so we'll take two of them for guard-quarters and rotate in and out as needed. Figure that the clients will want us close to hand, so we've left you the one on the end, down on ground level.”

Kregorim nodded. “Fair enough,” he answered. “Need either of you be present to grant me entrance, or may I make my way there alone, now?”

At their headshakes, he stepped over to Lord Zee's side and waited for the man to take a breath. “With your permission, your lordship, I shall go inspect my own quarters before deciding where to set my luggage,” he said.

Lord Zee turned in place, flustered at the interruption. “What, what, what?” he stammered, before recovering himself a bit. “You dared to claim a space before I, your Lord, had chosen one for you?”

Packard stepped up, one hand up with palm out. “It was a security decision, your lordship,” he said, his tone even. “The two units at the end of this line are closest to what seems to be a trail leading to the opposite cliffside. Between my people and the magician's arts, we should be able to form a suitable defense against any intruders approaching from that direction.”

Mollified, Lord Zee nodded. “Very well, you may proceed then, magician.” His 'chair' build completed, he opened the build-chamber hatch and glared at the contents. “Packard, what manner of japery is this?” he demanded, and Tianna took over explaining that the 'blocks' inside constituted the compact, even portable, form of the chair he had requested. She handed the pieces, one at a time, to Delweard and the other servants, who were able to get them all snapped and twisted together into a solid-looking straight-backed chair.

Lord Zee gestured for them to move the thing into the center of the main room and settled into it, wriggling in place before returning his attention to more important matters. “Delweard, where do you suppose we should quarter the stock for the night?” the balding 'noble' asked.

Kregorim took his leave, walking back to the lobby-area and taking those stairs down to the ground floor, then proceeding past the other doors... and to my considerable surprise, ignoring the maintenance staircase... to the last panel, next to the final door.

He pressed his hand to it. I took a clock-cycle to include notes in my own files to warn Thakhibi, Sudryal, and the others that I had needed to let someone else use 'their' quarters until I could finish getting another floor's worth of accommodations finished, then granted him access. The magician nodded as the door opened, and he stepped inside.

He glanced around, noting the presence of the fabrication units in the utility room. Then his eyes roved across the walls...

“I take it that you were waiting until I was somewhat separated from the others, and in suitable privacy,” he said, addressing the air and taking a balanced stance in the center of the main room. “I do hope that you've decided to introduce yourself. I am called Krunorim Kregorim, magician, oathbound servant to Lord Zortemos Egenor Lignignory the Fourth, and I would very much like to speak with the one whose mind I touched not to long ago..."

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