Enchantress

10

^^ Johnathon in a Tailcoat and Suit ^^

— Gina —

"So, to be clear, the entire interior of the tower is finished, as is the Casino beneath us, and the highway tunnel to and from the Garage is also finished, plus the Fences have been upgraded to Zawahili's Recommendations?"

The person seated in front of me, a scruffy young man who would've looked more like he belonged in an episode of Scooby Doo than in a highly respected, -and highly paid, I'd learned,- architectural job, nodded casually at my question. "Yeah, it's all done, 'cept for the fishes and the water, but that's your business. I'll stick around a few days to make sure everything works proper, but it shouldn't have any problems, far as I can tell. There's a hidden Room underneath this one, and that's where I put all the Security Equipment, as well as the Generators for if the Power goes out. The generator you've got in there isn't enough to power the whole complex, obviously, but it'll keep the Fence and the lights on until you fix the problem or replace it with a better Generator. As for accessing it, there's a book called 'Taw Law for Dummies' on the shelf to your left, and there's a fingerprint scanner inside the back cover, which'll open the bookcase for you into a little staircase; your Head of Security is already aware of this, but now you know as well. Anything else?"

"No, I think that's plenty, thank you, sir!" I shook his hand firmly, sending the stocky fellow off with a smile before sitting down and addressing the blinking light on my tablet. "Yes, Vera?"

"Oh thank god you answered, Lady Chamberlain!!! Lady Erica is here to inspect the Building and the Staff!!!"

"Alright, and why are you panicking? We're not even technically open yet, and the Grand Opening Ceremony is in a week! Calm down, Miss Vera."

"No, I know that, Lady Chamberlain; you've kept her waiting for over twenty minutes!!!"

"Yes, well, she visited without calling ahead or making an appointment and I'm a busy woman, what do you expect? Send her in before you have a coronary, please?" I sighed at her conditional excitability, only seen when Erica was in the picture, and looked up as Erica entered the room with a wide smile. "Ah, hello, Erica, how are you today?"

"I'm doing well, actually, and despite Vera complaining about me waiting, it's been a busy few weeks, so I'm more interested in what you've been up to!"

I nodded at Greyheart, standing in the shadows by the door, and then turned all the glass making up the room opaque with a button on my desk, darkening the room almost completely once he shut the door behind her. "Come take a seat, and I'll show you some of what I've managed." The top of my desk lit up as I moved my paperwork off of it, and a series of pictures were displayed over the the touchscreen, showing the current contents of the Vault.

She sat down in front of me, reading the long list and raising an eyebrow at the numbers of each item available. "That is... significantly more than I'd expected? You said you could only make two a day, right?"

"Up until a week or so ago, that was true; I've found a way to turn the Monsters in the Dungeon into Mana, which I can use to Enchant things beyond my own capabilities. This one, in particular, you might find interesting." The screen zoomed in at my command, centering on a single item, an elegant athamé with an elk-antler hilt covered in 'Bind-Enslave' and 'Bleed' Runes, all tuned towards Mana specifically. "That is an Arcane Focus, one that will steal just a bit of the Soul of your enemy every time it strikes, as well as making them bleed out very quickly. For a Mage, this will mean every slain enemy will return to you a small amount of your spell-casting capabilities. For anyone else, it means another use of your Abilities. I had Zawahili test it out, and she was able to keep herself at Max Speed for almost four hours straight before the diminishing returns meant she ran out of Mana."