Home Sweet Tahvinstead

The moment we ordered the driver forward, the carriage picked up to a remarkable speed that even I hadn't anticipated. No longer hindered by the ruts and uneven terrain of the dirt roads between Goodshore and Tahvinstead, the moose pulling the vehicle accelerated to speeds faster than the triop of girls had ever experienced. 

"Ahhh!" Rionriv screamed, holding onto the cushions for her life. "What's going on?!"

"This is amazing!" Aesandoral, giddy at the velocity they travelled, giggled as she lowered the window. "It's so fast!"

Sticking her head out of the carriage, she hollered with joy as the wind whipped against her. In an instant, Sharzin shifted into responsible-adult mode, hugging the elf at the waist to prevent her from falling from the moving vehicle.

"No-no-no!" Sharzin protested as she wrestled with the girl, attempting to pull her back into the carriage. "Dumb idea. Back inside. Iz, help me!"

"Eh," I responded, waving her off. "Let her have fun. We're not going so fast that a healing potion can't fix whatever could happen."

"Why are you not bothered by this?!" Rionriv cut in. "Her, I understand, but you?!"

"Oh, but you and her riding atop a carriage shooting giants is okay? That's less dangerous? Pft!  Where I come from, this is still slow. Ehh—average, I guess. How fast do you think we're going, anyway?"

"Seventy-five miles per hour," Sharzin answered in a snap response as she continued to wrestle with Aesandoral. "Roughly."

"Did you just...instantly calculate that?"

"Well, those braziers are roughly three hundred feet apart and since we're passing them at a rate of—"

"So yes. You can just say yes, Sharzin."

"Yes."

"Amazing. You little genius."

Looking to praise her in much the same way I had done for Aesandoral, I reached over to playfully tickle her side. What I hadn't expected was how she would immediately flail at my touch, nearly pushing the elf through the window as she escaped my fingers. The moment the groundling dropped to the floor of the carriage, she turned her face my way, revealing an adorable pout that sent my heart racing. Her porcelain cheeks had grown red as an unusually longing look met my stare. It was then that I noticed the racing hearts against mine. And while it was hard to tell which was joy and fear, I could easily pick up on the one aching with arousal.

For a brief moment, Sharzin and I locked our stares, and I could feel something drawing us closer. An intriguing feeling that came over me, telling me to reach out to her. To tickle her until she melted in my embrace. Until her warm breath came out as raspy cries for more and she could no longer hide from me. From herself.

A gild dropped between us, cutting the tension with a clang.

"How are you turned on right now?!" Rionriv screamed. "We're going to die!"

"We're not going to die!" I bellowed in response, breaking my stare with Sharzin as I adjusted my shorts. "Gods! How did you manage to fly the Esserian Condor to Fearnemyst?"

"Poorly!" She yelled back.

Within minutes of beginning the race towards our manor, we had already begun to decelerate once more. As we did, Aesandoral pulled her head back into the carriage, revealing a face splattered with bugs and short brown hair comedically blown back by the wind. Giggling madly as she wiped at her cheeks, she told us about the thrill of travelling so fast and watching the world pass by in such a blur. And, by the time she was done cleaning the bugs from her brow, the carriage was pulling around the drop-off loop before our homestead.

As the vehicle came to a stop and we exited, it became clear that the Village of Tahvinstead had done everything they could to make the manor perfect. Before us stood a portrait of folky Victorian aesthetics, standing two stories tall with a steeply pitched roof and a towering hexagonal turret placed at the back of the manor. It was unlike any other building crafted in this world, a unique design that combined my recommendations with the know-how of Tahvinstead’s architectural geniuses Grydor and Venali.

As I listened to the awestruck gasps of my companions behind me, I ascended the processed stone steps to a veranda that wrapped around the asymmetrical building. There, I admired the beautifully laid brickwork, finely hewn lumber, and artfully crafted bargeboards. Allowing the trio their time to gawk before stepping through the eight-foot-tall double doors, I instead peeked past the large bay windows that revealed the polished wooden floor and contemporary Victorian aesthetic within.

“Oy, yer’ finally ‘ere!” Grydor greeted us as he approached from around the house, wiping an oily substance down the sides of his pants before clearing some sweat from his forehead. “Was jus' finishin' the las' bih' of polish in the laboratory.”

“Grydor, this looks amazing!” I exclaimed, “It’s everything we talked about and more!”

“Thank ye’ lad.” He replied, pointing towards the entrance. “Care for'uh tour?”

“Yes!” We all yelled out at once.

Eagerly following the man into the foyer, we were led on a tour through our new home by the architect himself. As I had requested, the Victorian aesthetic of the outside was only the beginning. The interior itself matched everything I had ever dreamt those old manors of World Eighty-Two to look like. The first floor was comprised of our hosting spaces. Here, there was a comfortable parlour where we could meet with our guests, a washroom for them to clean up, a sizable kitchen and a large dining room. But that wasn't all. Other features on this floor included the library, entrance to the tower laboratory and plenty of storage and pantries for everything necessary.

Upstairs, we started on the east side of the house, where my bedroom and washroom were located, near a separate, private parlour intended just for us and our closest friends. This had been added at Grydor's discretion, who gave me a wink as he showed off the intimate space. From there, he moved on to the west end, where three additional bedrooms and a large washroom were situated for the rest of the party.

From Aesandoral’s room, we could peek out the sash windows to see one of the two outdoor buildings that were included in our manor's design. A sizable stable meant for our beasts was ready for use, though it would need to wait a while longer before all of our creatures were present. But already, we could see the moose that pulled our carriage being marched into their stalls and tended to by a few Tahvinstead locals.

With our curiosity piqued, we followed our Dwarven companion outside to another sizable building made of stone and wood. This was to be my training hall, a space that I hoped we would one day use to continue our goal of self-improvement. Finally, following the post-top lantern-lit path close to the edge of the lake, we were shown a grand garden that had been built and currently grew crops capable of surviving the forest's mild winter temperatures.

Stopping there, we turned back to the manor and admired the glittering light in the windows, which revealed it was inhabited. Revealed it to be our home. And as I stared, I couldn't help but think that it was perfect.

—ooo—

After finishing the tour of our property, our group returned to Tahvinstead for a meal with Grydor, Venali, and Alcalde. There, we spent the better part of the evening catching up on recent events in the forest and other local developments.

“Wild animals?” Alcalde asked, pondering this for a moment.

The Burgermeister was looking much better than when we left him over the summer. The signs of malnourishment had all but vanished, and the grime that once coated his clothing had been washed away. More than that, at a glance the same could be said for any of the original Tahvinstead residents. It seemed that the improved living conditions were helping everyone recover from years of destitution. 

Who knew that all it would take was a little bit of tender loving care to turn even the dingiest hamlet into a prospering village. I thought as Alcalde concentrated on my question. Oh, right, I guess everyone except the oligarchs and their braindead supporters.

“Can’t say we’ve seen many aggressive wild animals around here.” The man finally continued, pulling me from my thoughts. “We did have a pack of dire wolves pop by a few weeks back, but we were able to fend them off. Having a wall to defend ourselves in those situations really helps. Thanks again for that.”

“No problem.” Grydor and I spoke simultaneously.

With this, the two of us looked each other over before giving the other a pleased nod. With smiles, we tapped our steins together and enjoyed a drink.

“And how has mine and lumber production been?” Rionriv now cut in with a question. "Still keeping up with the local development?"

“We’ve been keeping up, yeah,” Venali responded from across the table, putting down his lamb shank. “The extra hands have been real nice.”

“Extra hands?” Rionriv continued with a cock of her head. “And what do you mean, keeping up? Aren’t you done?”

With this, Venali laughed and shook his head. He muttered a quick incantation under his breath before finishing it off with a snap of his fingers. A quick flash of light later, and a tome thudded onto the table between us. Reaching for the worn, leather-bound book, he opened it and thumbed through the pages before finding the one he searched for.

“Yes,” The elf finally spoke. “We did complete all recommended projects, but due to our rapid expansion and need for a reliable workforce, many under our employ are now permanent residents. As such—”

“I saw that,” I cut in with a gasp, having just finished my minor drinking contest with Grydor. “It looks like this village has close to two hundred people now. That’s awesome.”

“Oh, no-no-no,” Venali replied with a chuckle as he looked to Alcalde. “That’s just within the walls of Tahvinstead East. On the other side of Lake Tahvin, near the mine entrance, Tahvinstead West has some three hundred more residents for all our mining and processing work. Then Tahvinstead North, at the edge of the boundary road, another almost five hundred have gathered as loggers, millwrights, and other woodworkers.”

"What?!" The four of us responded in unison.

"That's—" I continued, looking between the three men who had been overseeing the expansion. "That's remarkable!"

Needless to say, this statement caught me by surprise. The fact that in a few short months the hamlet hadn’t expanded tenfold but instead nearly a hundred times its original population was a remarkable shift. And as I processed this information, Venali went on to explain how the current excess lumber and stone were being put toward housing the growing number of required residences. At this point, Grydor also informed me that the mine had been finding various pockets of iron amongst the Celestinium, which they had been using to craft weapons and armour for the city guard.

"You guys, this is amazing!" I exclaimed, looking between them and my companions. "You've gone above and beyond what we asked for!"

"We only did what we had the money for and, well," Alcalde answered. "We still have some left over."

A construction project, done within budget?! This is a fantasy world!

"That's remarkable. Well, is there anything else that's been going on that we should be aware of? Or that we need to decide on?

“Well, there is one thing,” Alcalde responded, looking between the other two figures before meeting my gaze. “What’s next?"

It was a question I had been anticipating. The next stage in Tahvinstead's development and something I had been working alongside Phyllis these last few months to hammer out.  Looking towards my party with a smile, I locked eyes with Sharzin for a moment. She stared back at mine, growing increasingly confused before eventually cocking her head to the side.

“What?” The rogue asked. "Why are you looking at me?"

“I have two buildings I’d like to first add to the walled portion of Tahvinstead,” I finally replied as I turned back to our architects. “They don’t need to be any larger than a carriage, but they need to be close enough to the main road to be easily seen and accessed.”

“Okay?” Venali replied curiously as he flipped to a blank page in his tome and prepared to write down what I said next. “Go on, what are these small buildings?”

“We are starting a fast food and motel franchise!”

"A what?" The men asked with confused looks.

"Yay!" My companions cheered.

Taking up the rest of the evening, I explained my idea to everyone. A major infrastructure project with an ultimate goal of paving the roads to every major city, town, and village to allow quicker, nonmagical travel between locations. And while I kept it from the three project managers, I knew this undertaking would also help in other ways, like with the transporting of troops to the future frontlines. But that information was a bit more of a need-to-know. 

Once the roads began to spread outwards from Tahvinstead, the plan was to then create rest stops for weary travellers at regular intervals of a half-day's journey by foot. Each of these locations would have its own pair of buildings designed to provide comfort that even an impoverished mundane could afford. 

The first would be a “Dick’s Hitch-n-Holler”. The exterior of this small building would resemble a nineteen-fifties American-style diner, while the inside would be closer in design to a nineties-era MacRonald's. Each restaurant would be its own Exoplane, providing enough room for up to three hundred people to eat at a time. And with a menu changing every day to a different fast food option, there would always be a reason to come back for more.

Across the road from the diner, there would always be a “Hillside Garden Inn.” Modelled off a particular homestead found in the fantasy realm of Central-earth and filmed in New Zealand, this building would be mostly covered in soil, grass and local flora. Pushing their way through the large circular door, travellers would enter another Exoplane. The inside, resembling a rustic Motel Seven, would be a place for weary adventurers to enjoy a comfortable night's stay for affordable rates. And with enough room for at least three hundred to stay, everyone would be welcome.

While explaining all of this to the men, I couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the blank stares they cast my way. This, of course, led to numerous questions about the size of the buildings and how I planned on fitting so many people into a structure the size of a carriage. It was then that I relied on Rionriv and Sharzin to explain the basic magical fundamentals of Phyllis Brand Exoplanar Technology. How each location would become its own exoplane, running off a magic-infused crystal. Without being prompted, the two went into detail on how each location would automatically adjust its size and output depending on need to reduce its magical cost. 

Right, I guess it's time, huh? I thought as I reached my hand into the bottomless bag and gently touched the crystal that would connect me with Basil Seed. Time to call in that favour for some shimmer crystals.