Amazon Apocalypse 6: Chapter 4

I stayed up late with Bridget, reading and speaking quietly by the fire. I felt my hand resting upon her belly absentmindedly the whole night long, though there was no bump to show for the pregnancy.

We talked about what had happened, and both of us had regrets to share. Me for running off on her earlier, and her for making this move without me. She tried to explain herself, but I hushed her. Going forward, the new life growing inside her would be more important than anything that was already behind us.

We went through her book together. After pouring through names, we settled on one Bridget had circled and highlighted close to the top of the list. Bridget had spent so long on the first page that those were what she had marked the most.

"How about Arthur? That's a knightly name," I suggested.

"It still doesn't feel quite right. Adrian, maybe?" Bridget replied.

And so it was settled. The boy would be Adrian.

Bridget told me she had already seen Doctor Roswell, and that he told her she had a boy. I was unsatisfied with the doctor’s word alone, so I reached through time and space and examined the developing fetus myself. Being able to peer through dimensional barriers was better than any medical equipment.

Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was looking at and had to break out a few medical textbooks first. It took several hours, but in the end, I agreed with Doctor Roswell’s assessment that we had a healthy baby boy baking in the oven.

“He seems a little big, based on the chart...” I said. At fourteen weeks, I was pretty sure he should have been a lot smaller.

“Doctor Roswell says higher-leveled people will produce exceptional children, though he’s never seen a couple at our level before, so we’re breaking new ground as far as his clinic is concerned,” Bridget explained.

I made a mental note to look into that more the next time I was off-world. Medical texts elsewhere probably had good reference material. It might be wise to take Bridget to other doctors too. Not that I didn’t trust Doctor Roswell, but he seemed to specialize in grafting zombie limbs on people. Not prenatle care.

After carrying Bridget to bed and tucking her in, the real work began. This house was entirely unsuitable for a newborn.

I had power tools lying around in the shed and half-finished projects lying everywhere. The family armory was unprotected, and anyone could just walk in and grab a magical sword or set of power armor suitable for killing B-Grade monsters. Myrina’s room had so many weapons piled on the floor it would be dangerous for me to walk through, let alone an infant.

My wiring system was a mess, too. This castle wasn’t exactly built to code. I needed handrails, stair guards, wall panels, and a thousand other things. Most of all, I needed to build that nursery Bridget and I had been reading about.

And so the baby-proofing began. I started with a trip to Governess. She was handling most of the construction around the area, and I’d let her do the exterior renovations. But anything the baby was going to interact with, I would take care of myself.

So I climbed her tower, walked through the door, and greeted the AI computer system I’d built from my old gaming computer and one of my favorite kingdom-building games. From here, she controlled an army of construction equipment and humanoid mannequins that managed all the renovations, new construction, and repairs needed throughout Crownhill and my family compound.

“Welcome, milord. Your assigned tasks are in progress. The taverns and inns you requested are now operational,” Governess said.

“I’ve got a new priority task for you, Governess. I need a nursery built onto the castle. After, start building a wall around the valley. I want something sturdy enough no monster can get through and leave room for me to enchant it. If you finish both of those, I wouldn’t say no to some playground equipment.”

“Consider it done, milord. And congratulations on expanding your noble bloodline.” Governess flashed a notification across the screen from the game she was based on. It’d been a long time since I’d seen something like that.

I felt a smile on my face, and I realized that this was the first time someone had mentioned my pending fatherhood. It was a good feeling. Scary, but good. I’d probably keep it quiet for now. Bridget might want to do a big reveal, so I’d leave that part of things up to her.

With Governess working on the large-scale stuff, I put my nose to the grindstone, ironing out the details. I rummaged through the ancient and exotic materials I had in my many bags of holding. There were a few fragments of ancient wood. One piece in particular seemed exceptionally lively, despite being long dead.

I flipped through my raw materials, analyzing them one by one until I’d picked out a few that seemed suitable for the project.

Elven Sacred Maple (A-Grade)

This supreme wood is one of the most powerful focusing aids for healers and divine spellcasters. Wizards from all over the Arcadia Multiverse seek Elven Sacred Maple, but the elven nations who grow these plants guard them jealously. Each takes thousands of years to grow, and they are considered a holy tree for how they bless the land they grow upon, and their nectar can function as a health potion. Cutting one down is considered a grave sin.

God-Swaddling Silk (A-Grade)

Silk crafted from A-Grade god worms. It is said that newborns wrapped in this divine fabric will receive fate’s protection.

Heaven-Piercing Feathers (A-Grade)

These powerful feathers are immensely useful to cultivators seeking to gain enlightenment into the true nature of flight. These feathers are from a collection of powerful A-Grade birds across many worlds.

Fairyblessed Iron (A-Grade)

This iron, normally poisonous to the fae, has been blessed by them in a ritual of extreme magic. This magic alters the very fabric of reality in their presence. If properly coaxed into a shape it accepts, this metal will never fail the one it is crafted for. This metal is extremely sought after for crafting powerful weapons and armor.

I cut the sacred maple into dowels and planks, and I sewed the god-swaddling silk into sheets. I bundled the heaven-piercing feathers into cushions and coaxed the fairyblessed iron into nails. In just a few hours, the rough shape was done, which was when I started on the real work and began layering enchantments upon it.

The use of such powerful materials was probably overkill for a task like this. Most people in the Arcadia Multiverse would probably consider this wasteful extravagance. They could shove it. These were my raw materials, fairly plundered from ancient ruins and cultivator-flying pagodas. And it was my skill that would carve runes along their length and my magic that would power them.

My last major project before the golems on Prince Herius’ world was the construction of the magical walls around Mundwise. Those had contained a powerful defensive shield enchanted to protect all those within the city. The enchantment I laid down now was perhaps four or five times as powerful and layered around a shape the size of my desk. I wouldn’t want to test these shields, but I imagined this cradle would survive an atomic bomb just fine.

I debated adding missiles and explosives to the cradle as well, but didn’t dare risk a misfire. The only reason I used such powerful shields was because I knew the design was a reliable one. Besides, arming an infant with missiles and explosives sounded like an increasingly bad idea the more I thought about it.

I kept things strictly defensive, but they would be impressive, even by my standards. The cradle was warded against fate, time, scrying, and anything that might want to reach across dimensions and do who knew what. There was a way past it all in case I needed access to the cradle, but only another Kindling Architect like me would have the skills to pick the lock I’d made.

***

By the time I was done, the sun was close to rising, so I left the cradle on my workbench to dry while I took a trip to Crownhill. I wanted to check out Governess’ taverns and figured I should pick up breakfast while I was there. Bridget had cooked a lot the night prior, so I wanted something for her when she woke up.

Kyle was standing by the gates, leaning on his spear. The young man nodded to me as I flew down, calming several new recruits who hadn’t seen me fly before.

“Anything happen while I was away?” I asked Kyle.

“Nothing to report, sir!” Kyle saluted, and the others followed clumsily. Kyle had come a long way from when I’d first met him. Marcus as well, who was no doubt somewhere around here. The two had barely been adults when the integration arrived and changed everything.

I made my way through town, which took me longer than planned. The broken pavement destroyed during the integration had been replaced with fresh cobblestone, giving the whole area an ancient and regal feel. Banners hung from shop windows, and several mannequins working storefronts waved to me.

In a lot of ways, this district was more reminiscent of Glacia than old Earth. The purpose behind this part of the city was to interface with the true beating heart of the city behind me and the rest of the Arcadia Multiverse on our doorstep. We had plenty of factories and vending machines, but most people and cultures would stare at such machines in confusion, so, for them, these quaint storefronts suited their needs.

But to my surprise, this district and its quaint shops were surprisingly popular with Earth natives, too. There was something nice about browsing shelves for goods or haggling with a shopkeeper over healing potions. On otherworlds, entrepreneurial locals would open their own shops, but here these retail establishments were handled by Governess’ remote-controlled mannequins while our people focused on unique crafts, adventuring, or specialty shops deeper in the city. There was no reason for them to handle routine, low wage, medieval peasant work such as this.

I found what looked like a donut shop that had been dressed up for a renaissance fair and walked through the doors. A half dozen Omykir knights were sitting by one table with their helmets by their side as they drank coffee and spoke quietly. A few recognized me and stood to bow but I waved them back down.

Across from them was a human man. He was D-Grade, but I didn’t recognize him. That wasn’t a surprise though, since more survivors were making their way to Crownhill every day. He was staring at me, but didn’t look like he wanted to bow. I nodded to him, but he didn’t return the gesture.

I might have said something, but In the other corner, Frank waved to me. I waved back at him before sitting down to join him for breakfast and a quick chat.

He was an old friend of mine from before the System. Once, he’d been a tired-eyed programmer who lived off coffee and little else. Now, he seemed healthier, stronger, and happier than I ever remembered as he led his own adventuring guild to complete quests and wipe out monsters throughout the area.

“Carter! The breakfast rolls here are great. Try ‘em.”

Frank tossed me a roll, which I ate, then promptly ordered a dozen more, along with a coffee. We got to talking, first about what I’d been up to, then about what he’d been up to.

We shared a few jokes and laughs, then scheduled a council meeting later. At that point, we finally got down to business.

“So, how’s the city feeling about those military guys? And have your scouts found any of the other factions?” I asked.

“There’s been some grumbling, but nothing noteworthy. Most people wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if they weren’t upset about something. As for the other factions?” Frank shrugged. “Hard to tell. We’ve met some odd folks here and there, but none of them strike me as a force peer to us. We think most of them are from tribes or factions that were defeated early on but never wiped out.”

“That would make things more difficult. But it is good to know nothing urgent is coming for us. I think it’s time I reorganized our military into something more formal. Right now, besides the city guard most people are either part timers or militia levies. I don’t think Sir Sandon’s knights even know where they fit in the chain of command.” I nodded back in the direction of the knights in plate armor behind us.

“Finally taking an interest in being emperor?” Frank chuckled.

I laughed as well. “Some things have happened, and I think we could benefit from a bit more stability. That’s all. You know that whole emperor thing is just the System’s doing.”

Frank raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know. You already have the whole imperial harem thing going on. Seems to me like you’re emperor material.”

I chuckled. “If that was all there was to it, I’d be a lot more interested in the title, trust me.”

After that, I said goodbye to Frank and left. I wanted to bring the coffee and rolls back home before Bridget and Sakura woke up. But on the way out, I bumped into that same man who’d been staring at me earlier.

“Sorry, excuse me,” I said, moving to twist around the man blocking my path. He stepped back in my way.

“So you’re the guy everyone’s calling emperor around here?” the man asked, with arms crossed and an unimpressed tilt to his brows.

I stopped walking, sighed, and began putting the food I was carrying into the bag at my waist. This might be about to turn into a whole thing.

“That’s me. I take it you have a complaint to lodge?” I asked. Mentally, I scanned the man up and down. He had brown hair, wore a long coat, and was otherwise unremarkable besides being a D-Grade. I made a mental note to point him out to Mimiko if he gave me any trouble. She was far better at dealing with this sort of thing than I was.

“Just a warning. I’m not sure where you’re from, but I know me, and folk like me will never stand for a tyrant. You can call yourself whatever you want, but don’t you dare take away our freedoms.” The man pointed a finger at my chest.

I raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Sure. I mean, I wasn’t planning on doing that anyway, so it’s an easy promise to make.”

There was a brief moment of slience.

“Good. Keep it that way.” The coat-wearing strange whirled, turned, and left. Perhaps that hadn't been the response he was expecting, so he'd left in embarrassment.

I shook my head at the odd encounter. That guy had a flair for melodrama, of that, I was sure. He was worried about nothing though. Few people in this city were bigger supporters of civil liberties than I was. I’d taken the role of Shardking mostly because I didn’t trust anybody else with the job.

The encounter ended as swiftly as it began, and soon, I was flying home. I must have spent a bit too long catching up with Frank, because Sakura and Bridget were already awake when I returned. Bridget was cooking some scrambled eggs, which left the breakfast rolls useless, though the coffee was appreciated.

When we were finished eating, I took the ladies to my workshop to show off the cradle I’d made the night prior. Bridget loved it, and Sakura seemed suitably impressed.

“I love it, Carter! And I’m sure the baby will, too.” Bridget wrapped an arm around my waist, and I returned the gesture by holding her tight.

“Huh,” Sakura said eyed us arm-in-arm.

Then, we walked around the house to find Governess had already started renovations for the nursery. I’d collected supplies and building materials for the interior when we got to that point, and Bridget and I continued our planning session for the previous night on how the whole thing would go together.

“We’ll want a baby camera over the crib. Up there would be a good spot.” I pointed to a corner that wasn’t built yet but would be soon. Mannequins were laying bricks by the moment.

“Can we put windows up high? I want our baby to have a nice view of the outside world. He should be able to see the sky. But not too much, otherwise the sun will shine in his eyes,” Bridget tried to frame the view from the nursery between her fingers.

“I think we can work something out.” I ran my fingers along my chin as I did a few quick calculations. Maybe I could add a second-story balcony that would let natural light in.

“Huh...” Sakura said again, repeating her earlier comment while Bridget and I chatted about baby things.

“There’s one thing I’m worried about, though. Diapers. They don’t exactly sell those anymore, and I’m not sure how to make them.”

Bridget clasped her hands together, suddenly remembering something. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I issued a quest to find them, and Frank’s guild located an old department store filled with them. We should be able to pick up a year or two’s worth if we go.”

“Fantastic. It’s a date then,” I said, linking arms with Bridget.

I shot a glance at Sakura, who had a very thoughtful look on her face as she made the same comment as before.

“Huh.” Sakura shook her head, eyes still locked on the nursery and where our kid would one day sleep. We met gazes for a moment, and she looked deep in thought. Then she was racing to catch up with Bridget and me.

<Note>

I've gone back and forth on the baby's name a few times. Not 100% settled on this one, but it should work. I might change it later though.