>>44284596
[1/3]

“Okay, here are the plans.” Dottie consults with you, the Mayor, the mining Foreman, and some of the Town Guard over a parchment where written is the suspected look of the new port for Ohlendorf’s Drift. “So, we are half a mile away from the sea, but, the plan is to have a central bridge locking the town to a seaport which initially will be fitted towards small fishing ships. We’re hoping as well that the bridge can be expanded to become sort of a mini-highway for the town if people come to live here too, we build new houses and storefronts along it. We already have men at work getting the bridge together.”

A guard pulls back the parchment, revealing that…

Progress has been slow.

You sigh. “So that’s the plan, right?”

The town had originally planned on starting last week, but had been stopped by a variety of factors. On the first day, there was rain. On the second day, there was a storm. On the third day, there was more rain. On the fourth, travelers actually bought up half the wood devoted to the projected for their own purposes. On the fifth and sixth, the entire town devoted themselves to cutting down nearby trees a mile away to get back the wood. And it was now the seventh. And so far, the half mile bridge was at most ten feet.

The Mayor grumbles angrily. “This wouldn’t be happening if we had the support of a noble! They could summon their army engineers to come and help us with this!”

“You say that, but I have actually summoned an engineer to come help us,” says Dottie. “She’s a prominent Siege Engineer that has worked with the best and brightest of nobles, and thus knows how to take down castles of all shapes and sizes!”

You hold up a finger. “… does that translate to building things though?”

“I hope it does,” says Dottie. “She’s soon to meet us over lunch today, we can discuss payment.”

>>44284614
[2/2]

“We better not pay her too much! We can barely afford Mister Halbschwert here!” the Mayor scolds. “And the mine still needs its daily maintenance fees as well, not to mention having to spend money on replacing the old logs keeping the town afloat!” She huffs. “Everything is money, money, money lately!” She hobbles away, off to her carriage. The others follow suit, leaving you and Dottie to look over the town.

“So, Dottie,” you ask. She looks at you, confused. You cough. Accidentally called her by given name. “Er, so… think we can finish this before the end of the month?”

“We’ll be lucky if we finish this before the year ends,” she says bluntly. “As nice as everyone volunteering is…” She sighs a little sadly. “I’m afraid we simply don’t have enough manpower to get this port built in timely fashion.”

“Which is why you hired that engineer?” you ask. She nods. “What’s her name.”

“Name of Sigrid Sedere,” she says. “Like I said, she’ll be arriving and we can discuss things over lunch. You can come, considering this was your idea, Hartmut.” You tilt your head. Ah.

> “I’d love to.”
> “No thanks. I better help what people we have building.”
> Other

>>44284633
>“I’d love to.”

Trebuchet waifu is go.

>>44284633
>> “No thanks. I better help what people we have building.

>>44284703
Oh Siege Waifu, I forgot about her.

Changing my vote from>>44284807
to
> “I’d love to.”

File: sample-72398d77689aefc47c(...).jpg (136 KB, 850x1202)

136 KB JPG

> “I’d love to.”

You nod. “Alright.” You shrug. “I mean, goodness no, I ain’t a negotiator, ma’am. But I’d love to at least meet her, see if she’s relatively on the level.”

“She should be,” you say. “She agreed to meet with us personally on the issue too since she happened to be in the area. We talk a little, schmooze with her a bit, boom, we have an engineer who…” Dottie points out the still barely started bridge. “Can save us a lot of money and time in building this port!” Dottie smiles happily. “Wouldn’t you say so?”

Muck appears. “Hiring someone who destroys things for a living to build something. You must be desperate.” Dottie shrugs, not arguing. “Fair enough.”

-

-

> Sigrid Sedere <
> Famed Therindel Engineer <

You and Dottie meet with Sigrid in one of the vacant town hall offices. Sigrid is actually a very pretty woman, but the stern expression on her face combined with the tapping of her foot as you both explain the situation to her indicates she’s not exactly impressed with the state of affairs here in town. She holds up a hand. “So let me get this straight. You want to convert your town from mining to portside affairs simply by building a port, with no guarantee of anybody actually coming to rest here, and with very little money and manpower to build a port in the first place. Am I correct?” she says.

You and Dottie glance at each other, then nod. “Yes.”

“Hm.” Miss Sedere rubs at her chin, thinking. “An interesting situation.” She stands up out of her chair, placing her hands on her hips. “But I am afraid I don’t think this is a situation I can salvage. Thank you.” She turns to the door.

[1/2]

>>44285272
[2/2]

Dottie, in the most awake and alarmed state you have ever seen her, immediately rushes the door and blocks her from leaving. “Wait! No! Stop! We-… we have gold! We can offer you any amount of money you want!”

“No amount of money can excuse shoddy builds and poor quality materials,” says Miss Sedere. “I’m sorry, I understand if this is your home and you want to save it from a very slow and painful death but… this is a very tough situation even for one as experienced as me.” She looks over at you, frowning. “Again, very sorry. I must respectfully bow out.” She tries for the door again, this time it’s you blocking her. She sighs, and sarcastically asks, “Really?”

“You have to help us,” you say. “This town needs you, Miss Sedere!”

“What this town needs is a more viable economy and something that will attract more traders,” she says. “Nothing you offer me will sway my opinion.”

By the King! You can’t let an experienced engineer get away!

> Maybe if you flirt with her, you might sway her opinion! You’ve flirted with plenty of girls before! The fact that they all rejected you has no bearing!
> Offer something, anything! Gold, houses, your family’s word!
> Let her walk. There’s no reason to keep her if she doesn’t want to try.
> Other

>>44285295
>> Maybe if you flirt with her, you might sway her opinion! You’ve flirted with plenty of girls before! The fact that they all rejected you has no bearing!
>> Offer something, anything! Gold, houses, your family’s word!

Do both

>>44285295
>Maybe if you flirt with her, you might sway her opinion! You’ve flirted with plenty of girls before! The fact that they all rejected you has no bearing!
i really want to see the Halbschwert flirting technique that has been passed down for GENERATIONS!

>>44285295
>Let her walk. There’s no reason to keep her if she doesn’t want to try.

>>44285295
>Maybe if you flirt with her, you might sway her opinion! You’ve flirted with plenty of girls before! The fact that they all rejected you has no bearing!
> Offer something, anything! Gold, houses, your family’s word!

> Maybe if you flirt with her, you might sway her opinion! You’ve flirted with plenty of girls before! The fact that they all rejected you has no bearing!

You take Miss Sedere’s hand, and she looks at you with some element of surprise and curiousity. “Uhm. Miss Sedere er... can I say that you look extraordinarily lovely today?”

…

Dottie looks at you, completely exasperated. Miss Sedere stares at you, dumbstruck. You cough, continuing. “I mean uh…” You run your fingers along her hand, idly. “Your intelligence is very keen and your eyes are very… nice. And, I love the way your uh.” Should you mention her chest? No, that’d probably be too much. “Your legs look!” Yes, that’s better.

Miss Sedere blinks, not even a hint of a blush or anything indicating interest on her face. “Are you really this desperate?”

“… maybe,” you mutter.

She sighs, pulling her hand away. She looks over at Dottie. “You’re not going to try flirting with me, are you?”

Dottie blinks. “Do you want me to?”

“No!” Miss Sedere sighs, rubbing her forehead. “Give me a minute to think this over.” You and Dottie nod, stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind you.

“What in the Elfdamned fuck was that!?” yells Dottie.

“Look, I thought I could sway her with my charisma,” you explain.

“It didn’t work the first five times,” Muck states. “I don’t see why you thought it’d work now.”

Dottie groans, knocking her head against a pillar. “I am too tired to be dealing with this!” She continues knocking her head against the wood pillar. “This is going poorly! Poorly! Poorly!” She stops, then turns around and advances on you. “Do you know how important she is to making this project go? None of us are really keen engineers, the only people who have any idea of what they’re doing are the Windsors and the only building experience they have is in boats!”

[1/3]

>>44286034
[2/3]

“Dottie, calm down,” you assure. She groans, resting her head against a wall. “Look, I know you’re passionate about this, but we’re trying our best. I’m trying my best!”

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m just…” She looks at you again, balling her hands into tight fists. “If even one thing goes wrong, no more port, no more Ohlendorf’s Drift, no more home! And then what!?” She gasps, grabbing her chest. “Me and my pet snake have to go live in the High City with my mother!” She looks at you, concerned. “She’s very nice, but that means I have to live with my mother again like a child! And then-“ She gasps, starting to hyperventilate.

Okay. You thought Dottie was more of a tired and sleepy character. Apparently not so when she’s panicking. “Look, Dottie…”

Miss Sedere opens the door, tugging on the strap to her satchel. “I want two-hundred gold pieces up front.” You both stare at her. “Can you do that?”

“Erm.” Dottie pulls you away quickly. “I think we can do that, but the Mayor may need to sacrifice the budget for the Guard next year.” Dottie nods, smiling at Miss Sedere. “We can do that, thank you. I’ll go inform the Mayor, we’ll have the contract pressed and you can sign it, uh…” Dottie motions to you. “Mister Halbschwert will show you our progress.” Dottie quickly speeds away as fast as her legs can carry her.

[2/3]

>>44286047
[3/3]

…

Miss Sedere places her hands on her hips. “So. Are you going to clumsily flirt with me some more or shall you show me to the port?” You nod, motioning her to follow you.

“What made you change your mind?” you ask.

“Eh…” Miss Sedere sighs. “I do have a soft spot for small towns like this, I guess. And maybe I do need a challenge every once in a while.” You smile at her. “It’s not because of your stunning lack of charisma though, Mister Halbschwert.” She looks down at you, quirking her brow. The two of you step onto the walkway outside of town hall. “So, before we get there, how about you describe what you want to me.”

“Well, we need a bridge and a port,” you say.

“Much more complicated than that,” she says. “How big of a bridge? How big of a port? Do you intend on expansion? What wood are you using? How many men will I have to help me build? What is my deadline? Will I be paid in food as well as gold?”

> “Erm. Yes.”
> “That’s a lot of questions, but we can answer those later.”
> “Well, um. I’m not smart.”
> Other

>>44286069
> “Can you repeat, please? One at a time..''
Then, answer her one question at a time, from what we should know.

>>44286069
>“Erm. Yes.”

>>44286069

I'm just going to assume that our intrepid adventurer has an amazing memory for verbal instructions:

Bridge size:
>a central bridge locking the town to a seaport

Uh, I dunno. Ask the Mayor for more details?

Port size:
>seaport which initially will be fitted towards small fishing ships.

Expansion Plans:
>We’re hoping as well that the bridge can be expanded to become sort of a mini-highway for the town if people come to live here too, we build new houses and storefronts along it. We already have men at work getting the bridge together.”

>>44286122
>>44286069

> Other

“Could you repeat that again? Little slower this time, please?”

She sighs, then stops up. You stop next to her. “How big of a bridge?”

“Big enough to lock the town to the seaport, maybe for ten or fifteen people across at a time?” You say, nervously.

“Port.”

“Geared for fishing ships, small ones, then we build it up a little to big ones as they come in.”

“Expansion.”

“We do intend on expanding, building houses and stores along the bridge as a sort of mini highway I guess?”

“How many people will help?”

“Windsor family, uh… maybe about ten or twenty people, and all the miners which are nearly a hundred strong on weekends.”

“Deadline?”

“… no particular deadline?”

“Food and gold?”

You nod, sighing. “We will cater you some food, ma’am.” She nods, scratching her chin as she continues walking with you. “So, you have experience with this stuff then?”

“Well, I mostly specialize in siege engines and exploiting weaknesses in things already built. But I suppose I can open my mind to the thought of civil projects such as this,” she says. “However, for a project like this on such a tight budget? I’m going to stretch what resources we have to build a good bridge, a good port, and keep things relatively light on the maintenance.” She points down to one of the supports for a house. “That house for example, you could cut out half of those supports and they’d keep up the house fine.”

You cross your arms. “Well, those are for safety, in case of flooding.”

“Well you don’t need twenty small pillars keeping a house up. Just build five big ones,” you say. “One on each corner, and one in the center to support the center, then struts so they can support each other. The way those poles are built, you knock out one and you can seriously threaten the structural integrity of that house.” She shrugs. “Just something to consider.”

“Wow.” You smile as you lead her on. “You’re pretty good at your job, huh?”

“Anyone can be good at my job,” she says. “Even you.”

[1/2]

>>44287033
[2/2]

“Oh, not me, I don’t read,” you say. She looks at you, confused. “That is to say… I can’t read. I never learned how to read.”

“Really?” She looks at you with an air of sympathy. “I’m sorry then, I misjudged you. I took you for a common idiot.” Oh. Well. “Can anyone else here read?”

“Well, I don’t specifically live here,” you say. “But, most I guess. The school got torn down due to lack of funding and no teacher so… yeah.” She rubs at her chin, now looking even a little more saddened. “Don’t let me depress you though.” You smile as you present the progress on your bridge. “Just look at our progress!”

You shouldn’t have done that. From here, it wasn’t ten feet. It was five. The Windsors and several men and girls in fisherboats try desperately to drive in stakes so they can build support pillars for the bridge. But with no greater tools or construction equipment to help them, nothing really works. “Whoa, watch out!” The Windsors are suddenly capsized as their stake falls on top of their boat, sending them into the water. “Ah, damn it! Not again!”

Wyborn pokes his head out of the water. “Pa! This is impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible!” yells Mister Windsor as he clings to one of the only complete pillars. “Just gotta-“ He slips and falls into the water. He pokes his head out, treading water as he comes to rest against another pillar. “Damn it.”

Miss Sedere places her hands on her hips. “Wow.” You bite your lip, blinking. “Okay, I guess I can work with this. Erm just uh…” She waves her hand a little, confused. “Just stand there while I figure things out.” She pulls out a notepad and starts sketching down details of what she needs to do.

> “So what are you doing, Miss Sedere?”
> Go find the Mayor and Dottie. Hopefully they’ve come to an agreement on her payment, right?
> Get the Windsors and the others out of the water and on break.
> Other

>>44287046
> “So what are you doing, Miss Sedere?”

>>44287046
>“So what are you doing, Miss Sedere?”

>>44287046
>Get the Windsors and the others out of the water and on break.

>>44287046
>> “So what are you doing, Miss Sedere?”

> “So what are you doing, Miss Sedere?”

She looks at you as you try hard to stare over her shoulder. Considering your short stature, it doesn’t really work. “Uh.”

You cough, blushing a little. “Just asking.”

“Well, if you must know, I’m sketching out a concept of what the bridge and the port will look like. Now if you want a bridge that can support ten men across going one half mile to landlock this town to a seaside port, then look here.” She shows off her partially completed sketch. “Judging by the need for expansion around the bridge, instead of using large wood logs and pillars, you need stone rocks reinforcing wood to keep the bridge sturdy in all conditions. Now, my proposal is this: what you will do is build me boxes, say two meter by two meter, and in the center of this box you will have your wood pillar preferably built out of wood that can stand water damage and weight tension, perhaps oak or ash but preferably teak as it doesn’t rot very quickly. Inside of these boxes, you will put in them stone bricks which will reinforce the pillar against water damage and erosion of the river’s drift and that will give it extensive longevity against the test of time. As for the actual bridge itself, it’s nothing really too complex. Just planks, say ten meters or fifteen meters across, and reinforced with another layer of planks. These planks don’t need to be built with anything too particularly hard, you just need softwood for the bulk of it. You will lay the foundation planks down, then the actual deck floor. As for the port, you will need pontoons, and stakes that will tie the port to the sea. It would be too logistically difficult to build you a static port with your kind of budget, but a free floating one, much like a large barge or a ship, that will be easier. The pontoons need only support a small fleet of fishing ships, but once you get more money and expand, you can eventually renovate and build yourself a much more stable and static port. Are you keen?

>>44288325
[2/2]

“Er. Uh.” You blink. “No.”

She giggles a little. “I’m sorry, I just got worked up a little, I very much enjoy my work you know. But, I’m just making sure that the bridge remains stable so I don’t have to come back and fix anything.”

“You sure you don’t want to stay?” you ask.

“I’m surprised you’re asking me that, you have the garb and mind of an adventurer.” You smile. Did she really assume you were an adventurer from the start!? Yes! Yes! “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing,” you say quickly. Muck appears on Miss Sedere’s shoulder. She looks over at him, and flinches a little in surprise. “Oh, that’s Muck, don’t pay him too much attention.”

“I help him read,” says Muck.

“I can believe that,” she says. “As much as I believe you are an adventurer, Mister Halbschwert. Are you not?” You nod. “You must specialize in swordsmanship then.” You grin, nodding even more violently.

“Oh, yes!” You rub your hands together. “Well I uh… it’s a special art that we practice, I grab the blade with my hand, and use the pommel and crossguard as sort of a bludgeon. And then I use the extra leverage I have to sort of drive in the sword like a spear and it’s uh…” She stares at you, blinking. “… you’re not understanding are you?”

“No, no, I fully understand. I’m not familiar with the concept though,” she says. She crosses her arms, smiling at you. “Perhaps you’d like to demonstrate?”

…

You grab Muck and quickly pull him away. “She wants a demonstration!” you whisper.

“How is this any different from other people?” he asks. “Even Dottie wanted a demonstration after you showed her killing that dragon.”

“Well it’s…” You look at her, then back at Muck. “Can we?”

“If you want. What kind of enemy do you want me to simulate?”

> Armored human
> Dragon
> Assorted beast
> “Surprise me”

>>44288347
>> “Surprise me”
Tentacle monster.

>>44288347
>“Surprise me”

The most important part of being an adventurer is flexibility!

>>44288347
> “Surprise me”

> “Surprise me”

Muck nods. “Okay.” You step back, and pull your sword out of your sheathe and grip it the way you’d normally grip it. Muck swirls around, then instantly transforms into a monstrous hog with massive armor plating and sharp tusks. He barks at you. A few of the townspeople drop what they’re doing, looking over at the sudden display of terror on their walkway.

“What the hell is that!?” yells Mister Windsor.

Miss Sedere looks at him, surprised. “A razorback. Encounter these often?”

“A little,” you say.

“Whenever you are ready,” says Muck. You nod. He gallops full tilt at you, scratching his tusks along the walkway. He’s preparing to ram his head at full speed at you. Not today, you step to the side and hook your crossguard on his tusk. You’re nearly buckled to the ground, but thankfully Muck flips onto his side from the sudden stop. He squeals like a real Razorback, immediately recovering and charging at you with his sharp teeth. But you shove the blade into his mouth, stopping him from biting down. You push him off and toss him down the walkway.

“Get him!” yells Wyborn.

“Yeah!” yells Dafne from her room as she watches out over you all. “Kick his ass!”

Even if they’re kids, you still feel their spirit swelling your pride. Muck again charges at you, but you bash him with the pommel, stunning him. You’ve got a shot at his back. The normal weakspot for any adventurer is the belly, but that rarely comes into play on a good day. No, the best weakspot is between the plates! You shove your sword between the plates, then jam it right through. Muck squeals, then fades into a cloud of black smoke. He then reforms as a regular spellcat on your shoulder.

“Whoooo!” Dafne jumps happily. “Nice one!”

“You showed him what fer!” yells Wyborn, pumping his fist.

[1/2]

>>44289478
[2/3]

Miss Sedere blinks, pleasantly surprised. “Ah, I see. Instead of uselessly bashing against armor that swords and inadequate strength can’t challenge, you use the sword in a much more…” She miles happily. “… innovative way. That’s very clever of you.”

“It’s an art passed on by my father and his father and his father and so on,” you say.

“I can see how they lived to have family,” she says. Dottie comes back, carrying a coinpurse. “Is that my payment?” Dottie nods frantically, smiling happily. “Thank you.” Miss Sedere holds her finger in the air, then swipes down. Out comes an inventory rift, into which she tosses the coinpurse in. “There we are, lovely.”

“Whoa!” Wyborn runs on over. Dafne jumps out of her room as well to come look. “What’s that?”

“It’s an inventory rift,” says Miss Sedere. “Have you kids never seen one?” They both shake their heads. “Ah. I see. Well, it’s hard to explain, but think of it as a personal pocket world that you can throw your stuff into. I wouldn’t advise opening it too wide though.” She buttons it back up, then smiles at them.

Dottie crosses her arms. “So, Miss Sedere. Will you…”

“I will be staying to oversee the construction,” she says. “I already have some plans, and I believe that if you give me the night, I will have something tangible to present to the Mayor in the morning. Do you happen to have some place for me to spend the night?”

“Of course!” Dottie smiles. “Well… Tavern is usually pretty loud actually. Erm.” She looks over at you, then at her. “Hartmut, Miss Sedere. You two can stay at my place for the night. Hartmut knows me very well and yet I don’t think he’s acquainted with how my pet snake and I live.”

[2/3]

>>44289495
[3/3]

“Wait.” Miss Sedere narrows her eyes. “Pet snake?”

“Yes, a River Colossus, you ever heard of the species?” asks Dottie. You both shake your head. “They’re quite exotic but don’t worry, Noodle’s very docile. He makes a great pillow actually.” Dottie smiles at you. “You’re invited as well, Hartmut. Would you like to stay the night, just so you can save some money off the tavern?”

> “I’d love to, just for tonight though.”
> “Well, if we’re talking saving money, why just the one night?”
> “I’d love to, but I shouldn’t.”
> Other

>>44289514
>“Well, if we’re talking saving money, why just the one night?”

>>44289514
> “I’d love to, just for tonight though.”

>>44289514
>> “I’d love to, just for tonight though.”

>>44289514
>Other

Might be a bit late for this, but perhaps we can acquire any exotic monster-based materials for Miss Sedere as far as the construction goes?

I mean, I doubt that we could find anyone who can shape dragon bones into struts or screws or something, but it never hurts to ask.

> “I’d love to, just for tonight though.”

-

-

“What the hell!?” Miss Sedere hides behind you as Dottie leads you into her modestly sized house in the center of town. Even surprising you was the size of Dottie’s snake. It was not the size of her arm, or her leg, or anything else. Curled up in the corner of the living room, basking in the sunlight of a skylight, was a giant snake scattered with blue and pink scales and black round eyes. It raises its head, its tongue flicking out and flittering as it acknowledges Dottie. “That’s your pet snake!?”

“Yeah, I’ve had since I was a child!” Dottie happily pets the snake’s head. “I call him Noodle.” She curls her lips, happily taking Noodle’s head in her hands. “Cuz he’s floppy like a wittle noodle, aren’t you.” Noodle gently flicks his tongue over Dottie’s cheek, that same expression not leaving his face once. “I’ll have some blankets and pillows set out for you two, get dinner started as well.” You nod.

Miss Sedere continues to hide behind you as you walk around. Simple sofa, chairs, a desk where she can work on more logistical duties, a cabinet and chest for spare items. And of course, Noodle. He looks at you with those big round black eyes, staring at you. “Nice boy, Noodle.” He flicks his tongue out, gently bringing his head inwards towards the center of his coil.

Dottie comes back, dropping a pair of blankets onto the floor next to the sofa. “Don’t worry about Noodle, he’s harmless. River Colossi only need to eat once every month or so. And even then, I just take him out into the wild to feed on a hog or a bear or something.”

“So he won’t eat us in our sleep?” asks Miss Sedere.

[1/2]

>>44290623
[2/2]

“Well, I haven’t taken him out to eat yet,” Dottie recalls. Miss Sedere slowly bows beneath you. “I’m joking. I’ll get dinner started. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.” Miss Sedere nods, slowly walking over to the desk, and dropping off her notebook and other books. She also places a candle on the desk as well, seems like she’ll be working into the night.

“Er, Mister Halbschwert.” You look at her. “Is there a blacksmith in the area? One who specializes in any exotic materials like dragon bones or scales or anything?” You shake your head. “Damn. Was hoping we could strengthen the construction of the bridge with items like that. Your skill would’ve slotted in perfect there, but I suppose we can’t have everything.”

Dottie pokes her head in from the kitchen. “If you want, you can lay down on Noodle. He doesn’t mind.”

“Ew, no thank you,” Miss Sedere says.

> Help Dottie in the kitchen.
> Lay down on Noodle.
> See if Miss Sedere needs anything else.
> Other

>>44290638
> Help Dottie in the kitchen.

>>44290638
>> See if Miss Sedere needs anything else.

>>44290638
>See if Miss Sedere needs anything else.

>>44290638
>See if Miss Sedere needs anything else.

Have Muck take notes.

> See if Miss Sedere needs anything else.

“Do you need anything else?” you ask.

“Well, you can sit down and watch me work I suppose,” she says. You nod, bringing up a chair and watching her as she starts finishing off her sketchwork. “First order of business now is to plan out the length of the bridge. Now tomorrow morning I think, I’ll actually go and get a full measurement but I think we can make certain estimates of it now, you say half a mile so…” She starts writing down what appear to be numbers on in her notebook. “And then we’ll calculate weight. Now, how much do you weight?”

“Erm.” You shrug. “I don’t know.”

You sigh. “Okay uh…” You look back at Noodle. Miss Sedere grimaces a little looking back at him. “Dottie, how much does Noodle weigh?”

“About three hundred pounds or so!” says Dottie from the kitchen.

“Okay. We’re going to calculate three hundred pounds as our example weight. Now, what I’m doing is calculating the weight of Noodle, and whether or not a plank of a particular size and material can hold his weight. Now, it’s a simple formula to…” She notices yours and Muck’s blank stares at his notepad. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

“Um. Well, no,” you say.

[1/2]

>>44292206
[2/2]

“Well, you’re honest at least.” She smiles again. “I’ll make this easier on you. I have two planks, that can support one hundred pounds each. Noodle weights three hundred pounds. Can I put Noodle on these planks?” You shake your head. Of course not, he’d be too heavy. “Precisely. Now here’s where it gets complicated. If you make the plank thicker, it can support more weight. But if the plank is the wrong kind of material, it will support less weight. Let’s say, A is material, and B is length plus width plus height which equals surface area. So A times B must equal this particular number. Now a certain material has a certain mass, let’s say teak but we’ll leave it out of the equation for now.” You nod. “So…” She starts writing up an entire mess of numbers and symbols that is making your brain hurt. “And so, we have our solution.”

You blink. “Um. I don’t get it.”

“Ah.” She frowns, a little disappointed. “Well, I’d be happy to teach you the basics. Like the scales on an instrument, you need to understand basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to understand trigonometry, geometry, calculus, algebra, the works.” You smile. Really? “Provided you’d pay me of course, I’m not a charity.” Oh. Fair enough.

“So uh… how did you get to learn all of this?” you ask.

“I just sought it out, mom and dad helped me,” she says. She frowns a little, looking at you. “Tell you what. You can shadow me as I work, and I can try to the best of my abilities to teach you how to read numbers at the very least. For free.”

> “Oh, I don’t want to bother you.”
> “That sounds great!”
> Other

>>44292223
>“That sounds great!”

Never turn down an offer of free learnin's

>>44292223
>“That sounds great!”

Our intrepid adventurer protagonist will probably be patrolling there anyway, so why not?

>>44292223
> “That sounds great!”

>>44292223
>> “That sounds great!”

>>44292223
> “That sounds great!”

> “That sounds great!”

You grin happily. “That sounds great! If it’s not a bother though, Miss Sedere, I’d hate to-”

She waves you off. “Relax. You’re not the first bright eyed boy I’ve taught. Now let’s get started real quickly.” She opens up a notebook, then turns to a blank page. “I’ll start you off small. You know how numbers work, right?” You nod. “Good, good. So you know it goes from 1 to 10, 1 to 100, 1 to 1000, etcetera.”

You blink. “What’s etcetera?”

“Nevermind,” she says. “You know addition and subtraction?” You nod. “Good. What about multiplication?” You shrug. “I’ll take that as a no.” She writes down 1X 2 = for you. “Now, one of something is doubled. What does that make it?”

“Two?” She nods happily. “Really?”

“Yes. Very simple actually. Anything multiplication problem that has a 1 by itself multiplying against another number will always be the other number unchanged. And that’s because it’s itself, you can’t multiply something if you only have one of it.” You nod.

“Dinner.” Dottie comes in with three hot plates of soup, and sets it down on the desk for the two of you. She takes up her own plate and looks curiously at the desk. “What are you two doing?”

“She’s teaching me how to do math!” you say. “Isn’t that exciting!?”

“Not really,” says Muck. You slap him upside the head. “Ow.”

Dottie giggles a little. “If you say so.” She takes a quick sip of her soup and looks at the problem. “3 X 4, that’s 7 right?”

Miss Sedere blinks, then looks at Dottie. “No. It’s… it’s 12.” Dottie looks at her, confused. “That’s addition- do you know how to multiply?” Dottie shakes her head. “… ah. Pull up a chair. Might as well.” Dottie pulls up her own chair on the other side of Dottie. “Right. Let’s try this one. 6 X 6.”

>>44293832
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K_PMVdb-c0

That's it for tonight and this weekend entirely. Hope you all enjoyed another chapter in the Magic Shop-verse. Unfortunately I will not be returning this coming weekend due to the holidays, but I will alert you when I will be returning over twitter. Watch out for that.

Follow at: https://twitter.com/GermanSchteel
Ask at: http://germanschteel.tumblr.com/

See you next time.

>>44293874
Thanks for running, boss.

>>44293874

Thanks for running, GS. See you next time!

>>44293874
Thanks for the fun, boss.

Happy holidays and all that humbug.

>>44293874
I always miss these threads. Ah well, Night GS