• Closed • [Saoire's Dream] Thanks for saving the world, have cake

[Winston]

101st of Vhalar, 722

Thanks for saving the world and things

Saoire's Dream was becoming a familiar place for him now, visiting several times a season was suiting him. Having received Faith's letter, he had set out to arrive to visit on the 101st, eager to give her plenty of time to get settled in on her arrival on the 100th.

He trotted, or more accurately Chest trotted and Winston rode, down the hallway towards the office wearing his best siute. As he approached the door, he dropped down to the floor and turned to address Chest. "Please cun yuh wait 'ere far me Chest?" He asked, patting it affectionately. Chest lined itself up against the wall outside the door and set down. "Tanks Chest."

He turned and knocked on the door and waited until a voice from within

granted him to enter

. He pushed the door open and walked timidly into the room.

"'ello, Dr Augustin?" He said, as he saw the woman inside. "'Et's Mr Milla. Winstaan Milla. Me 'ave come to say 'ello, thanks far, well, bein' you and to make gud an de affa of .... OH! De Cake!" Even if Faith attempted to interject at this point, the little ferret had lost his composure, what little composure he'd managed to muster in order to meet someone with 'Dr' at the beginning of her name and whom apparently saves the world and fights injustice before breakfast each day.

"Oh, one second ... Chest ..." Chest, sensing the need had already stood up and started bumbling into the room behind him, Cake outstretched on its tongue. Winston's words came out rushed and in ineffectively hushed tones. "Nuh. Chest, Don't come in ..." He pressed himself up against the chest, grunting with the effort, as it ambled forward. "'... Chest noh, just de cake mun. Me just need de cake." The Chest stopped, sagged and plopped the cacke on the floor at Winston's feet. It started to reverse out of the room, dragging its feet slightly as it went.

Winston turned to Faith and smiled apologetically with a little nervous laugh, before turning back to Chest. "Com now Chest, don't be like dat. I explained dis. Dis es like official right now."

The chest continued to sulk its way back to the hallway as Winston turned and smiled. "'Me sarry. But da cake is me new an' improved honey cake. Millicent added some notmeg. She's such a talented cook." He offered hopefully. "'Me gat some notmeg brownies to, far wid de icecream, but dat es still en de oven ..." Chest produced some nearly cooked brownies. "'Chest, mun. Now yuh put dem right back in da oven dis instant ar dere's no night-cap far yuh dis evenin'." Chest had obviously crossed a line now, messing with the ferret's bake, as his tone was no longer hushed and the baking tray was quickly taken back to whence it came.

The honeycake was intended to be cut and was way to large as a result for Winston to pick up easily. He stood beside it, holding out both hands towards it in something resembling a 'ta-da' esk posture.

[Faith Augustin]

Teaching - and learning!

Of all the places she had lived, Faith felt most at home here.

Here, of course, being Scalvoris. Saoire's school was a relatively new thing and she had been delighted at the warm reception she'd received. She was teaching - as she had agreed with Saoire some time ago. They had prepared her an office and Faith had spent the trial yesterday just settling in ~ that had been built in to her timetable.

Faith was sitting, cross-legged, on the floor when there was a tap at the door and she called out "Come in!" As Winston entered he saw her sitting on the ground, sewing. She looked at him with a smile on her face, albeit a rather quizzical one. "Winston, hello!" she said, and she couldn't help but smile in some delight as the short cadouri spoke, and continued speaking and then turned and spoke to a .... chest?!

It was rare that things surprised Faith, these trials, but this was a first for her. "Please, Chest, you are more than welcome in here, too. Please, both of you, come on in," she said, standing up. Faith was short for a human, but that was still significantly taller than Winston, of course. She had an unusual appearance, in many ways. Her hair, which was jet black, looked like it had ice in it, and her eyes were ice-blue, too. At her neck and her wrists were what seemed to be tattoos of chains and her nails were black. She was wearing a red skirt with a white blouse, so her other marks did not show up.

Shaking her head as the Chest seemed to be genuinely morose, Faith was quick to interject. "Please, Mr Miller, you and your friend are both most welcome here. I've never quite managed official, I'm afraid." She looked at the honey cake and Faith positively beamed. "That looks wonderful! Why don't you both come on in and we'll have some cake? I have brought some ice cream, as promised" She'd brought it with her yesterday and had stored it in a drawer in her desk. "Mr Chest, would you like some too?"

Faith was quite happy to pick up the honey cake, take it over to her desk and cut three slices (or two if Winston or the Chest suggested no to cake for the Chest). She then opened a drawer and pulled out some bowls (which she'd brought with the ice cream) and put the cake in them. "Now then, would you like ice cream with this?"

Once everyone was in and comfortable and settled (her office had a large central space which had a comfy rug on it), Faith asked. "It's so kind of you to visit me," she said. "Tell me all about yourselves." She suspected that might lead to quite the story, but that was just fine with her. Faith liked meeting people and this small chap was very much the sort of people ~ so far ~ she liked to meet.

[Winston]

A sing and a song...

Chest was vindicated and trotted into the room when invited by Faith. If you had ever seen a horse delicately bob about at a showground, preening and full of pride, the manor in which Chest found a spot to sit in was much the same.

Winston rolled his eyes, not obviously, but not secretly either. "Tank yuh very much. Chest likes tuh be involved, an' et's 'ard tuh explain sometimes dat 'e can nat go everywhere me goes." The last few words might seem to have been delivered for the benefit of Chest rather than Faith, but Chest simply gave off a low grinding sound, that might seem a bit like someone blowing a raspberry ... because it was. Winston smiled.

He took in some of the unexpected and unique oddities of Faith's appearance, his head tilting to one side slightly ...

The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: Are you gonna look all weird one day?
Winston: Wat?
Curiosity: I mean, everyone we meet in Idalos either has glowy bits, strange tattoos or makes your hair stand on end. None of them just have a normal glossy coat or a good main... Except Darius-Chin-Main.
Winston: Well, me already spend a lat af me time as a Fairy. Dat's nat normal.
Curiosity: Why is her hair full of ice?
Winston: Seriously, when duh peopal 'ave dragons and glowing red eyes. Me tink 'air accessories is the least weird ting me 'ave seen so far.
Curiosity: But ...
Winston: Nope. Dere really es noting to explore 'ere.
Curiosity: Herumpf ...

When Faith admitted to not managing 'official', there was noticeable relief in the little ferret's demeanour. "Oh, dat's a relief. Me es very bad at official." He smiled. "Yuh have lovely hair." He offered, as it caught his attention.

As they were both invited for cake, Winston beamed and Chest perked up. It opened and closed its lid a couple of times and its enormous tongue ran across its teeth. If it had lips, it almost certainly would have been licking them. "Dat wud be a yes." Winston said with a little chuckle, just in case there was any doubt remaining.

Winson found somewhere to sit, which usually involved scampering up onto a chair far too large for him. But on this occasion, he decided that Faith had already been sitting on the floor, so just made himself comfortable there as well. "OOooohhhh ... Magic Icecream?" ... Yes! The answer is YES! ... He failed to hide his excitement at the prospect. "Me wud so very much LOVE tuh try some af yuh ice cream, but perhaps just a tiny bit? De brownies will be ready shortly, un I'm quite carnfident dat noting goes betta wid hot brownies den cold ice cream." He looked over at Chest for a moment. "Me will need to go check on dem inna bit actually." He said conversationally. The smell of the freshly baked brownies was still lingering from their brief visit a moment ago.

"About us?" He asked, a little surprised. "

Oh, well, like most, me only been here since Saoire opened the ways

, but since den me 'ave met so many lovely people. The Blacks invited me to dere weddin'. Me es going to visit Elizabith while I'm in Faldrass." He began to gesticulate as he vomited his experiences to date, gesticulating more and more as the stories went on, eventually standing and painting an excitable, if a little clumsy picture with his body. "... Me cud feel Saiore un dat 'ole place turned to glass ... me gat lost en de Saiore's Dream, me believe yuh are nat lost until yuh want to know where yuh are, but me do 'ave a 'abbit arf ending up larst ... Millicent es SUCH a gud cook en Horatio, 'e's Saiore's second in command, introduced me to Chest! ... An' me met Cage, 'im a fairy, when pickin' da Blackberry ... DEAF by chocolate! ... ALL dees fairy fuds, but dem only magic en Sweetwine, you HAVE to cum an' try some ... Mr Woe Sir, Egg af Egalos, 'im asked me tuh build a fence an' we agreed dat et was a gud jarb dat Egalos wus nat called Nobolas ... an' me gat tuh plant some af de fairy berry seeds ... MMMmmmm. NOM-NOM-NOM. 'ow yuh make dis? Dis ice cream es AMAZIN' ... Vega invited me tuh live en Sweetsang ... OH!" He jumped up. "Me will be right back!"

He scampered over to Chest and jumped up onto its brim. The lid had opened, but this time there were no teeth or tongue. Without hesitation, Winston disappeared into the chest.

From within, as if coming from a much larger and echoey space, the smell of hot, freshly baked brownies flooded out of the chest. "Oh! Dem es done! Wud you like some?! Please come en if yuh want, but me es just letting et cool. Yuh really must tell me about yuhself! Yuh es building an 'ospital?" He was obviously shouting from quite a distance away.

If Faith didn't enter, the ferret would appear a few moments later, followed by some brownies, plated and cooling.

[Faith Augustin]

Faith looked at Chest, and then at Winston and then, once more, back to Chest. She spoke to them both in a soft voice which was

"A long time ago, it seems, I was a slave," Faith said. "I came to the University where I lived then, in Rynmere, and I was told that slaves could not study there, we were not allowed. My owner's cousin was a professor there, and he took me to see a lecture," she said, quietly. "And they fined him for bringing a slave. If there is somewhere you can not go because of who and what you are, then the fault lies with the place and the people running it, not with you." It was a basic, absolute truth to her."If you can not go there because you can't physically get there, it is the responsibility of the people there to make it accessible to you." She had spent a large portion of her life, and all of her life since she had been free, trying to ensure that freedom was what everyone had.

She smiled at Winston when he said that she had lovely hair. "Thank you," she replied, lifting a hand to touch it. "I met Frosvinndur, a dragon behind the barriers at the edge of the world, and he gave me his Effigy - sort of like an Immortal mark, I suppose. It did this to my hair," she gave a wry grin.

Winston spoke of the brownies and there was most certainly a wonderful smell of baking cakes in the room. It seemed to be, in fact coming from Chest himself. She would have asked further but Winston launched into a response to her question; when Faith asked him to tell her about himself, he really did. As he told her the stories of the adventures he had gotten into, Faith listened to him. It would have been easy to stop paying attention, but she did the exact opposite of that - she paid close attention to his stories. They were him, his life and what he had done and they were, therefore, important.

Since they were just that, Faith didn't rush him or anything, she listened to what he said and did her best to piece together the sometimes random (or so it seemed to her) segues into other things. It turned out, though, that it did all make sense and interconnect, she just had to wait for the end for it to do so. With a smile, she watched him as he jumped up and then entered the Chest. There was a delicious smell and then, of all things, Winston invited her in.

Faith had an overwhelming sense of curiosity and now was no different. "On my way!" she called and she did what Winston had done, she stepped into Chest with a "Thank you, Chest", Faith said as she did and she looked around with wide eyes. "I must admit," she said sincerely, "I did not expect to be here to-trial. This is amazing!" She made her way to where Winston was and she gave a smile of pleasure. "This is amazing. And those smell absolutely lovely, too."

He had asked about the hospital and Faith had brought the ice cream, so when the brownies were cool enough, they could enjoy them here, or back in her office. Either way, as he was working on them, she answered him. "Yes. I'm overseeing the building of a hospital," she somewhat understated. "Well, four of them really. A very large hospital which caters for children, for terminally ill, and for patients with obscure diseases and illnesses. The place for people to come when local resources can't help them." That in itself was a lot, of course, but then she added the bit that really made a difference. "I've arranged with Saoire for there to be portals to this hospital all over Idalos, it will be for anyone and everyone who needs it." She smiled slightly "Everyone being able to access things is important to me. It will be outside Rharne, on the shores of Lake Lovalus and will belong to the Order of the Adunih and Isonomia - not to any city, but a place dedicated to equality of treatment for everyone." Faith was aware of her tendency to go on a bit, so she stopped there and smiled. "Any help you can give will be very gratefully received, I assure you."

[Winston]

Slavery/bad, cake/good

Winston listened intently as Faith shared a little of her story. She was a well-renowned individual and many of the simple facts of her life were common knowledge. It occurred to Winston that this might be an unpleasant way to live ones life and he fully embraced the opportunity to learn something about this woman from her own words. "Me cud nat agree mar. Me love learnin' an' everyone shud 'ave de chance tuh learn... Or do anytin' dem want really... Bot et most be 'ard tuh 'ave so much af yuh life on display all de time? Me 'ave found et very satisfying tuh do good farm de shadows." He said with a dramatic waggle of his fingers and a shrug of his shoulders on the word 'shadows'. It was not a commentary on the way Faith did or did not choose to do anything, it was more a sharing of philosophy, which he actually suspected Faith might share.

When she dropped that she had also met a dragon, Winston quickly came to the conclusion that dragons were perhaps a lot more social than he first thought. "Wow! Well yuh wear 'dragon Effigy' very well.' He said playfully, though truthfully. "Mun, cun yuh fly? Ar turn intuh a dragon? Ar, oh, do yuh HAVE a dragon as a friend, tuh ride an?" His questions were delivered with curiosity and delight, as yet another fantastic hero of Idalos revealed that they too had had dealings with the great and powerful creatures.

He still always delighted in the joy and amazement Chest caused in people. It felt like a little prayer of thanks to Saiore every time it happened.

As they chatted, Winston went about playing host, very happily, as he served up the food, accepting and adding the ice cream to the servings and marvelling at how it just sat there. At some point during their conversation he would become totally distracted by it, to the point of putting off eating his as if to test the ice cream's fortitude. He poked it and giggled when it felt cold to the touch, but had not melted at all. "Dat trully es sometin' af a marvel. 'ow does et work?" Winston was aware of the existence of 'trade secrets' as a concept, however he didn't really like it as a concept.

He finally took a scoop of the brownie, with a generous sample of ice cream to go with it and let out a gentle sign of delight.

As they discussed the hospital, Winston listened and engaged with excitement. "Wow! FOUR. Dat must be a big challenge?" He got distracted momentarily by the thought of the hospital and its purpose.

As she spoke of Saiore, he adopted a playful air of benevolence and chuckled. "Shhhh... Don't tell de oddas, but Saiore es me favourite." He said with a grin. "Me 'ave a grate respect far everyone, af cars... Bot she es da best." He proclaimed with much pride.

If Faith was 'going on' it would not be something reflected in Winston's expression as he anticipated every word until it was spoken.

He pulled a thoughtful face as she described that any assistance would be welcome. "Me es only really a smith et de moment, bot me want tuh learn Alchemy an' Encacelling an' Jewelry Cratin' an'... well, lats af tings." His eyes gleamed for a moment as inspiration began to take him. "Me 'ave heard af a Well dat cun create floating pic'chas af a persan. Dem float right dere in de air!" He was gesturing with his arms at the empty air beside them. "Cun yuh imagine a device dat can show wat was INSIDE a person, in de air? Yuh cud see al de broken bones an' damaged wibbly bits... Me wonda ef et wud be gud far yuh tuh 'ave? Dat any medic cud use?" Whatever the reply, Winston would add a further thought on the subject. "Dat wud be a fantastic ting tuh make... per'aps dat cun be me 'idea' for fundin'?" If Faith was able to discern it, there was no attempt to contrive an idea for the sake of getting nel. His only desire was to be helpful and the idea that something this interesting to make might be of use to so many people, was a delight to the little Cadouri inventor.

[Faith Augustin]

Faith didn't hide the slight look of surprise on her face when Winston commented on how hard it was to be on display. "I truly dislike it," she said, honestly. "I am naturally a very private person and I feel that my story should be mine to share, no one else's. As I believe is true for everyone." But as for doing good from the shadows, Faith lifted her hand and wobbled it, suggesting she wasn't entirely sure one way or another. "People know who I am, and that gives me ... clout, I suppose." She shrugged slightly. "I don't have to work as hard as I used to, in order to get people to step up." And that was the thing, of course, if she could do it all herself, she'd be very happy for no one to know who she was. But she couldn't.

"Yes, I have a dragonling companion," Faith said with a smile. "And I've met... well, three dragons now. But one of them was sleeping, and long may that continue. Not a very pleasant fellow, all told." It was a long story, that one and, whilst she was sure Winston would listen intently, she had to admit that her own curiosity was niggling at her. So, she went into Chest and she was utterly delighted. Faith explored and examined the room they were in and then she glanced as Winston spoke, nodding and chatting as he fussed around and played host. She finally sat and began to eat and grinned at Winston's delight. "My husband made it, it's an alchemical process. Hold on," She pulled some parchment out of her domain bag and wrote down the recipe. Once it was written, she slid it over to Winston. "It's that. You add that to the ice cream mix, and you're good to go."

And then, Winston came up with an idea so intriguing that Faith simply stared at him in amazement. "Winston that ..... " she shook her head, trying to find the right word. "That would be incredible. What sort of a well is this? I may have one, I have many." Faith shrugged slightly and explained. "During what people insist on calling the War of Death and Souls, I was Famula's General. I had an army of ghosts and mortals. The first thing I did was get people to gather what they were skilled at gathering. For some that was information, but for others, it was resources. This means I have a lot of wells." Faith gave a shrug. "If you ever want any, let me know. I don't have a use for them, but am cautious of giving them away, in case they fall into the wrong hands. " Besides, one never knew when they might come in handy. One of them had resurrected Treid, after all. But, again, quite a long story.

She nodded, though. "That is an excellent idea, and I would certainly fund it. You're welcome to look through my well collection, and Isonomia could fund your education in well craft, if you wish it?" Thinking about it, she worked it through in her mind. "I assume you have a lab, but we could set one up in the hospital, too, and of course any collaborator or lab assistants? Maybe you could research where this well might be found, if I don't have one already, and we could certainly fund an expedition."

Faith was nothing if not decisive and this sounded too good an opportunity to miss. So, she acted.

[Winston]

Well, well, well...

He smiled. "Well, yuh stary es safe wid me."

When she spoke of the advantages of having 'a name' he nodded thoughtfully. "Me cun see dat. Early days far dis ferret. Me jost prefar tuh let oddas accept de gratitude, so me cun bake." He giggled.

"THREE?! Wow, mun. Me tell meself an a regular basis dat meeting a dragon might be the last ting me do beffar et has dinna." He chuckled. "But me STILL want tuh meet one some day. Et's hard to imagine 'ow big dem are."

The little chap's eyes bulged and both he feet left the ground for a moment as he squeaked with joy. "Oh my Immartal Soul! Yuh really..." He gave the recipe a quick scan. It was true... "OH an' me cun read et too! An' et makes SENSE! Oh dis es de best ting eva!" He did a little 'where, what, oh bother do it later' fidget as he realised his had nothing of even remotely equal value to reciprocate with and so decided to simply reimburse her with everlasting gratitudinal gifts. "Hehe. Sarry, me don't know ef yuh 'ave eva read a fairy recipe, wow-wee, bot dis es so generous. Tank yuh." If she expressed an interest, he'd grab one from his recipie shelf for her to view.

He giggled again as he tucked it away somewhere safe, taking just the quickest of glances at its secrets again as he did. "Hehe, of cars, of-caaars..."

Winston had made a visit to the library earlier to look up some Alchemy and on his journey been side-tracked by Encocelling and magic in general along the way. "Me tink et's called a Miragestone..." He turned to a scruffy pad of papers on which he has scribbled some notes. "Kisaik has said dat 'e knows someone dat cun teach me, bot me wud need some wells first. Bot ef yuh 'ave some af dees, dat wud be amazin'."

He nodded at her wise display of caution. He didn't know what 'a lot' meant, and truly if he found out, it might blow the ferret's tiny little mind. "Oh yus, et wud nat be gud far dem tuh get intuh de 'ands af de wreckless are miss-intenshanned." He agreed. "Ef yuh were tuh 'ave any, me would take dem and give each an every one back as it was received ar in de farm af sometin' far yuh tuh use." There was no attempt to mislead in him, despite himself and the excitement he had over getting his grubby little hands on something to explore and play with, his intentions were genuine.

He was about to take her up on her offer to investigate what she had when she continued. He looked thoughtful for a moment when she asked about a lab... "A lab? Wid assistants? Dat wud be... Well... Me nat really worked wid a team beffa... Uhhhhh... Me don't know actually ef me 'ave a lad yet eidda. Ummm... 'ang an." He wondered over to the hallway and poked his head out. "Hmmmm.... Nat 'ere." He said, as he wandered back across the kitchen to the store room and the circular stairwell beyond. Though one might mistake him for acting out a mockery of the question, the ferret seemed to genuinely be checking. "Nope. Does nat look like..." There was the sound of a door slamming somewhere off in the short distance. "Oh! Cars. Dis way maybe." He encouraged Faith to follow him as he went out, through the hallway and into the forge. It was warm in here, as always, and there were many in-progress projects lying around as Winston opened a door on the far side of the room... "Oh yus, mun, perfect, reet next tuh de starage room and where me cun get to me tools an' de farge. Perfect Chest."

If Faith followed him, she'd find a very simple, rectangular room. It had no small equipment items, like beakers, etc., but there was a sink, several workbenches and chairs and some storage cupboards. It was, a most rudimentary, but serviceable lab-space. Winston smiled, quite pleased but very obviously not aware that this space may have existed before now. "Chest es always so 'elpful." He said, patting a wall with genuine affection. "Yuh cun put de well 'ere ef yuh 'ave one?"

Assuming she let him know what she had, either by showing him or offering a list, he'd ghasp in amazement.

The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: HOT DAMN! Take them all!
Winston: No, mun, me cun only take wat us need.
Curiosity: Yeah, that's what I said. I NEED to take them all! Think of the things we could make!
Winston: No, dat would be exploitin' 'er gud favour an' we don't do such tings widdout gud reasan.
Curiosity: I think making lots of things is a pretty good reason.
Winston: We will take wat we need far de scanna... Maby a couple oddas dat might 'elp...
Curiosity: OH! OH! That one says it's purple, take one of THEM!
Winston: Why?
Curiosity: Helloooo, PURPLE? Purple is cool.
Winston: Shush, naw.

Winston didn't know what to say. This was a LOT of wells. Even if Faith didn't disclose just how many hundreds she had, the selection alone was mind boggling. He could not hide the inner daemon shouting to take the lot, but he just about managed to avoid actually verbalising this impulse. "Oh et would be so very exciting tuh 'ave one af each." He giggled as this honest remark escaped his lips. "Bot me almost certainly wud blow meself up wid dat." He concluded with a wink. "Ef yuh cud spare a few af de unrefined Miragestone and maybe one af de refined ones, dis would give me wat me need tuh get started an'..." He continued with a friendly smile. "...Ef me need maw, me will let yuh know."

[Faith Augustin]

"A fairy recipe?" Faith asked with obvious interest. That sounded fascinating to her, though she had to admit to finding the chaotic and rather whimsical nature of fairies a little difficult to deal with. But their food? "What is fairy food like?"

Their talk turned to wells then, and Faith had to admit to being amazed and delighted at Winston's ideas. They set off exploring to find a lab and Faith had to admit to being entirely turned around and lost. But then, in fairness, she got lost in her home, sometimes, and she certainly had no discernible sense of direction. So, she followed Winston and briefly wondered if her portal boots would work from inside Chest or, if she got lost alone whether she'd be doomed to wander these corridors for all eternity. Rather than find out, she stayed close to Winston.

They finally arrived in a small laboratory space. It had no small equipment but the basics of the larger equipment were here. Faith glanced around and nodded. "Chest is a very good friend indeed," she said. Then, she sat at the table with him and showed him the list she had. Winston's eyes nearly popped out of his head, but he resisted the urge to ask for more than he needed; this was a very good thing as far as Faith was concerned. It showed a level of discipline and awareness which gave her some hope.

"I think I'd like for you to have a lab space in the hospital," Faith said quietly. "This is an excellent space, of course, but one of the things which I believe most strongly is that there is a lot to be gained from collaboration. So, being near to other innovators, people whose minds think along the same lines as yours. That sort of thing." Nodding her head, decisively, she considered that a closed deal. "There is no onus on you to use that space, but there will be a space for you. How many assistants would you like?" Then, there was the topic of his education. "And where would you like to undertake study, if you do? Rharne, Viden or Scalvoris, I can arrange easily for you. Anywhere further afield I'm sure is do-able, but may take some time."

The bottom line here was that this was something which she wanted to succeed. "Yes, that's fine," she said of his request for Mirage stones. "We'll start there. I know a little of Alchemy, although I'm nowhere near my husband's level of skill," Faith said. "Perhaps we can work together?" Judging herself against her husband meant that Faith didn't really understand how good she was, but she was happy to share her knowledge.

She would, quite happily, hand over the Miragestones he requested. "I wonder if we could use alchemy to strengthen and sharpen the image we see, also? What do you think? First prototype first, of course, but always keep in mind that innovating and improving is something we'd like." She was aware that this would be a step-by-step process, but the ability to diagnose in this way would really help medics and Faith's mind was moving to the application of this in the field.

"So," she said with a smile. "How would you like to start?" Gesturing around, she added. "Of course, we'll fund your equipment for this. So, please, feel free to make a list or I can give you the money and you can make the purchases you need."

[Winston]

Prototyping typical prototypical prototypes

Winston looked delighted at the question and rummaged around for a moment before producing a raft of papers bound with a clip. He offered it to Faith with a smile. "Me 'ave odda capies ef yuh want some. Dees are some af de recipes me 'ave been workin' an translatin'.

Et cun be tricky tuh handle

, like de time af trial an odda ad tin's cun be very impartant." He chuckled. "Et took a while to work out dat 'when a pimplin' cat swallows the sun' meant 'at dawn'..." He let that one sit for a while to see if she worked it out. If not, he'd prompt... "Cus cat's are nacternal, so wake up an yawn at dawn as the sun vanishes, see?" If Faith didn't like their silliness, then working with Fairy food might not be fer her, but Winston was clearly tickled by the process. "As far wat et's like? It tastes like narmal fud, far de most part, but turns yuh funny colours and into strange ting's. OH! Me know one persan dat pointed out dat the Deaf by Chacalate, dis makes yuh deaf far a bit, might be able to treat sleep lass caused by Tinnitus." He concluded with a smile, in the hope that this relevance to medicine might be of added interest to her.

He nodded in complete and unreserved agreement as she spoke of Chest's friendship.

He nodded as she spoke of a lab space in the hospital and of working with a team of assistants, clearly looking a little overwhelmed by the prospect. This was manifest in awe rather than worry at the moment, but the idea that HE would manage other people... It was a new prospect for him.

"Ummm... Me would LOVE dat. Me cun get tuh de 'aspital trough yuh partals, np an' me es very 'appy tuh work wid oddas, but me most be clear dat me neva run a lab beffa an' so per'aps yuh cun include someone dat cun do dis in de team?" He pursed his lips as he considered the question of assistants. "Es tree a gud numba? Et SEEMS like a gud numba. Me 'ave an apprentice, 'is name es Cho, but me never 'ad assistants dat will know more den I do about de ting. Dem might as well be tellin' ME wat tuh do." He offered with a cheeky smile.

"Wat cun me use de lab far? Me mean, me will develop de... Scanna? Yah, 'Scanna', bot me 'ave been developing Alchemical fud an' want tuh create some farm af potion-balls... Like potion trapped in a ball af gellotean. Den we cun 'shoot' peepal wid tings like 'ealin' poshans dat are per'aps encapacitated..." He was clearly traveling down a bit of a rabbit hole as he mind wondered. "Den de only challenge wud be tuh allow de poshuns affects tranfer to the target by way af touch. Like a poison dat affects yuh on skin cantact... We could take that praparty using Alchemy if we could find sometin', den yuh cud use a 'ealin' poshan an a wounded persan's injuries directly, without the need far dem tuh be awake tuh drink..." He smiled... "Sarry... Gat a lat af ting's in me 'ead."

When asked where he would like to study he beamed. "Oh, ef me cud study at Seiore's Dream, dat would be grand! Wud dat be OK? Me wud like tuh suppart dis place wid me attendance." The idea of studying anything bookish anywhere BUT at Dream was something of an oddity to him.

At the suggestion that they might work together, now, caused the ferret to yelp in excitement. "OH-yuh, mun! Dat wud be great. Hehe." He giggled as he seemed to admit something that his demeanour suggested he considered a bit of a guilty pleasure. "Dat means me don't 'ave tuh wait to get me 'ands dirty."

He looked around himself suddenly, as if looking for something in an unfamiliar place... which it was. "Ah!" He opened a draw and pulled out some paper and something to write with. "So, yuh see, wat dis will do..." He began, starting from the beginning, as if there were no preconceptions. "Dis 'ere Well will project a persan's image ef yuh 'old et..." He demonstrated by taking the Well and holding it. It would be clear he was assuming Faith already knew this and was only confirming they were 'on the same page'. It produced a holographic image of himself, which waved... first at the corner of the room and then again as he adjusted his arm so that the hologram, if not he, waved at Faith.

"Soh. De tin' we need es a way to feed sometin' ELSE intuh de Well far et tuh project instead..." He began drawing as he spoke. The images were, quite frankly, bad, but he used them more to illustrate what he was talking about by pointing at each bit as he went.

"Yuh place dis end an de body den, turn dat bit to change 'ow deep et es lookin'... Now, far de lookin', me 'ave been doin' some readin' an' dere es sometin' called 'Hone Magic'. Dis magic cun be put an a Well... So me 'ave been told. An' et 'as ways tuh enhance vision an' me wonda ef dis cun be use to allow de well tuh 'see' wat we fucus the Hone-enfused Well-lense an?" He pointed at the crudely drawn bone in his diagram. "Me es still new tuh most af dis an know notin' about Hone, really, bot ef we cun per'aps use de Peginat's affinity for Magic tuh allow de Hone lens tuh 'connect' tuh de Miragestone de way et narmally connects tuh 'us', den me see noh reasan et wud nat work?"

He sucked air in through his teeth thoughtfully as he considered her suggestion about using alchemy to enhance the image. "Me nat built anytin' like dis befar, bot we cud use different lenses tuh look far different tings and ef dere wus a creatcha dat cun see through tings ar had enhanced vision, den dis wud benefit de glass lenses an' might mean dat de Hone magic wud nat be needed?"

Having presented his entire idea in detail now, he waited for feedback.

When she asked about what he needed in his lab, he smiled again, rather sheepishly. "Dat es a very gud question. Hehe. Me know me will need some beekas and stuff, but actually, me don't really know wat me will need at de moment. I'm making me own Encorcelling tools at de moment, me using some Alchemy to attune dem tuh Emea to 'elp make dem mar affective... bot beyand dat, me wud seem tuh need beekas and regents... or do yuh call dees 'chemicals'? Ef yuh 'ave any reccomendashun, me wud be very 'appy tuh follow yuh lead."

He gestured back at the forge as he concluded. "Ef et's tools yuh want far now dough, me gat plenty af dem an' af cars, me alchemical farge."

[Faith Augustin]

Faith could not hide the smile on her face as Winston spoke. His enthusiasm and passion for what he was doing was both rare and contagious. She wanted to bottle it, frankly. "Use it for what you see fit," she said, "but keep records and send me reports. The only stipulation I'd put on it is that it needs to be research that will have a positive impact." Considering it, she added a mental note to herself and spoke it to him. "I think we'll also need an administrator, someone to do things like compile the reports, keep stock levels, work on correspondence, things like that. Someone to be organised and to organise you." She would admit, without hesitation, "If I didn't have Alex, my administrative assistant, I wouldn't know where I was half the time."

He told her what he was thinking and he drew what he was visualising."It looks wonderful. I have a connection in Egilrun who made the lenses for the first magnifierFaith and Pad invented the microscope - that's what they call it and who I've used for lenses since" He wasn't sure exactly what equipment he might need so she nodded, "I'll get you a fully equipped lab and we'll go from there. Anything extra you need can always be bought then."

As they chatted, she put together some notes. When Winston walked into his lab on the 1st Ymiden 723, he would find a selection of resources

Class 1 Wells: All Raw
10 Glowstone (Lumite)
10 Firestone (Imedyte)
10 Froststone (Glacite)
20 Miragestone (Ezymite)
10 Mountainstone (Territe)
20 Darkgem (Midnyte)
10 Saltenrock (Tritonyte)
10 Etherstone (Purite)
Class 2 Wells: All Raw
10 Beast Eye (Lycanyte)
10 Teslyte
10 Eddilyte
10 Chii (Unityte)
20 Windstar (Aeronyte)
5 Ruby of Love (Harthyte)
5 Sapstone (Umbyte)
10 Strengthstone (Lucyte)
10 Toxic Star (Intoxyte)
Class 3 wells
5 Ruby of Revenge (Dark Harthyte) Refined
5 Splinterstone (Splinterthyte) All Raw
5 Skeever Stone (Morlakyte) All Raw
5 Nightmare Stone (Umberdyte) All Raw
5 Class 3 Glowstones (Lumite) Refined
20 Class 3 Firestones (Imedyte) Refined
10 Class 3 Froststones (Glacite) Refined
20 Class 3 Miragestones (Ezymite) Refined
10 Class 3 Mountainstones (Territe) Refined
20 Class 3 Darkgems (Midnyte)Refined
10 Class 3 Saltenrocks (Tritonyte)Refined
5 Class 3 Etherstones (Purite) Refined
Class 4 Wells
5 Moonglass (Selenenyte)
5 Class 4 Beast Eye (Lycanyte) [10%] Refined
5 Class 4 Teslyte [10%] Refined
10 Class 4 Eddilyte [15%] Refined
10 Class 4 Chii (Unityte) [10%] Refined
20 Class 4 Windstar (Aeronyte) [25%] Refined
5 Class 4 Ruby of Love (Harthyte) [5%] Refined
5 Class 4 Sapstone (Umbyte) [5%] Refined
5 Class 4 Strengthstone (Lucyte) [10%] Refined
Class 0 Wells:
1 Prayer stones, Raw, not imbued with an Immortal ability (that requires actual action and threading) All Raw

Also a selection of metals that she has:
All mundane / non-rare metals in good amounts.
Grave Gold, Faldrinium, Tienite and Ghost Metal from the War of Death & Souls - small amounts of each as she has very limited amounts, but some.

Also, a selection of chemicals and so on. Basically - she'll equip it as well as she can.

There is also a welcome "basket" with snacks and unusual ingredients (things like this ) and two books of carefully copied recipes of hers.
The basket also contains a lab coat with Winston's name sewn on it - and a hat that says "Don't mess with the boss" . There's a hand-written note in there saying "To Winston, I'll catch up with you at some point today but I just wanted to say that I'm sure you'll do great! Enjoy the moment - I can't wait to see the wonders you will create. Faith."

Wells approved here Granted: here waiting for him. In this moment, though, she gave him five miragestonesclass 3 and the same number of ChiiClass 4.

That trial, after he'd gone, Faith wrote to Saoire's Dream and arranged for him to study. She paid for him to have free study up to and including Licentiate, should he wish it Covered by Wealth Tier . There would be no time frame on that, it was up to him. Also, she asked Allex, her assistant, to arrange for three assistants and an admin support person for Winston and she made sure to identify his lab space. He was in the central, research building of course - what would become known as the Kura building. His lab would be prepared and would be sure - as all labs and everywhere in Willow Tree did - to be accessible for small people like Cadouri. And, come to that, large ones.

It was, of course, Faith's intention to be there to greet Winston on the 1st Ymiden but she was aware that the hospital opening was likely to be a day when she was busy. So, she made sure in advance that everything was ready for him. Wells, metals, food and clothing as well as the lab being fully equipped.