Though you get used to altered states of consciousness you don’t get to like them.


    ?For your condition we usually recommend pharmaceutical intervention combined with therapy sessions.“ the psychiatrist states. I respond with ?As long as it helps. I don’t want to spend my days doom scrolling or – (apparently streaming services had not yet won) – watching TV.“. The doctor continued ?There may be side effects …“


    This time the extra cushion doesn’t save my head from a big impact. I am not going to write that down. I don’t want to be reminded.


    <hr>


    I am drinking warm milk. We are almost out of tea. I want to find a quicker way to make enchanted gadgets. Hence two quarrels are in front of me on table. I’ve carved runes that’ll reduce drag and decrease the the amount of drop induced by gravity a shot will undergo into the shaft of one of them. Should I test them? I decide against it. I am trying to find a better way to make enchantments, not to make better enchantments. Unless my method were specific to the enchantment, it wouldn’t actually matter if the enchantment weren’t functional. Nevertheless they have to be enchantable. So I need to do a few rounds of spellcasting for verification.


    What can I do? It occured to me that the runes are not necessary in the finished product. You use them to strengthen the spell, but in principle you do not need them. To get the same durability you may have to spend more mana, but it is possible. So I create pictures of them with perception magic. These work. They work only the first time, though. What is wrong?


    Twenty minutes, which - in hindsight - will always remain embarrassing, later I get the answer. It is purely mechanical. The next picture does not exactly match its predecessor. The spell sessions don’t synchronize.


    Can I simply leave the spell making the pictures on? That gets me through four cycles. Casting the actual payload induces a creep in the runes. I can see it with my magical sense, although to the nacked eye there’s no change. Can I keep reinforcing the projected runes and cast the payload? That is like juggling oiled up fish. If I had a year to train this, probably. Now? No way. Well, if it were easy the people of this world would likely adopted it as a standard mode even a beginner witch would know.


    <hr>


    My companions have been quite considerate and left me in peace while tinkering with magical stuff. Me getting up in frustration, however, signals to them that the kitchen is free for cooking lunch. I am happy to have people to talk to.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.?You have been trying to do something with enchanting this morning.“ Melo says. ?Yes I have. Did you ever observe Marental enchanting? I reply. ?No. Nor did he do all enchanting by himself. His sword, which you are now bearing, for example, is a custom-made dwarven weapon. Why do you ask?“. I answer ?The number of enchanted objects in this base, which is only a secondary base. If


    you count the number of enchanted objects and take the time it would take me to enchant stuff, you end up with implausible numbers.“ Melo shrugs ?This is too much mathematics for me to grasp.“


    Anjali looks unhappy. ?You are not happy with what I teach. But you are right. Atlanteans obviously know a better way. They are telling nobody, though. You will get better and faster by practice to an extent, if that helps.“ I shake my head ?No that’s not it, knowing how to enchant at all is a glorious thing. But we are living during Ragnar?k. Only a minority is going to survive, let alone prosper. That means that we don’t just have to be as good as everybody else, we have to be better. Enchanting is a key component of our abilities, because it allows all of us to use parts of everybody’s capabilities and to so easily at a distance. I wanted to enchant quarrels for crossbows.“ Zewrepa says ?That is usually limited to special ammunition, like mage killer bolts. Nobody is good enough to do this routinely, except for some standard enchantments on dwarven missiles.“


    Sure. They have weapons specialized for killing my ilk. This world has stopped surprising me in a bad way, but not for lack of trying. You just get used to it. To be fair, I would also produce such weapons if I had thought of it. ?Let me guess, of course nobody but Marental was allowed to have ammunition like that in his presence. And we will be expected to have it and if I try to make a few pieces now they would look too prmitive.“ I say. Zewrepa sounds like a happy bagpipe. I think she is making fun of me. ?Stop worrying. Maybe we used it up. Maybe we are hiding it. There are numerous reasons for us not to openly display such weapons when the traders come.“ she adds in speech after going through a bagpipe solo.


    ?Fair enough. Do you know how the dwarves make these standard weapons?“ I concede. Zewrepa answers ?It is said that they have magical tools and a sorcery that allows them to impart enchantments with them. If anybody can confirm or refute that, they are likewise staying silent.“. Anjali just shrugs as we look at her. Right, I wouldn’t let anybody I planned to sell see my arms manufacture either.


    <hr>


    Before I do anything else, I finish my reference missile and give it to Hildegard for testing. Though this shows that this is untenable. At this speed I could maybe do two quarrels a day, if I did nothing but encantment. That is not feasible, though. I need to do something better.


    I am not finished with my gadget, though I have made some progress, as Zewrepa enters the kitchen and annoinces, that the Dark Elves have answered and will be here in two days.