Day 51 - Monday

The clutter in our office is driving Greg and me crazy. My desk is completely covered with runes and crests and moonflowers and who knows what else. My chair is buried under fairy dresses and shoes.

I’ve managed to dig out my ledger books and work orders and have taken over a corner of Greg’s desk. I’ll just sit on your lap, I tell him. It’s a nice cozy arrangement but it probably won’t lead to either of us getting much work done. We’ll have to use the desk in shifts.

Now that the Yura Festival is officially over, Greg will be conducting inspections to see that nothing was damaged by our visitors and supervising the cleanup of whatever debris they may have left behind. I will be working on anything that results in resources leaving the office.

I decide that the Gildenhall will be the first building in Skycrystal Atriums to be upgraded since Raphael is not requesting any assistance other than the usual golden oak, obsidian, bolgite and bolgins. The last thing I want to do is go search for paintbushes and wind up finding a lot of other things that will have to be stored.

The building materials are what’s taking up the most room in our office. Troglid needs blueprints to start work on stairs for the Black Bull. At some point he going to need golden oak to build those stairs. I should help him get to that point as quickly as possible and give him the requested blueprints.

So I search the stock and find three sets of fairy crests that I can exchange for blueprints. As I’m leaving Town Hall, Troglid arrives. He has another project for me. He wants to open the engine room at Skyfleets Docks but he’ll need a boat to reach it and to hold his equipment. To build this boat, he’ll need golden oak, obsidian, and bolgite.

Praise be to Yura! More building resources are leaving the office. I tell Trogid I’ll meet him at his shop with the blueprints for the Black Bull’s stairs. When I get there, I hand over the blueprints and together we revise them until Troglid is satisfied that the design will work.

But we still need exact measurements. Chumblepot arrives and declares that he has just the thing: a Glassworks calculation. Okay, I was going to suggest a tape measure, but what do I know? Chumblepot gives me a list of what his Glassworks calculation will need.

Troglid has also just about completed work on the small boat, but he needs a few more things to finish it and hands me a second list. Looking at the lists, I decide I like Troglid’s better. I think I have the things he requested, whereas Chumblepot want more glass shards and I really don’t feel like spending the rest of the day at the Fairy Dragon Nest.

Checking the supplies at Town Hall, I discover that I have almost everything Troglid needs to complete the boat. I need one more paintbrush. I could buy one at the General Store, but instead Lucky and I head out to Dawnshadow Lake. Of course I return with more than the paintbrush, but the number of things that left the office still exceeds what I’ve added today.

Back to Faire of Light to give Troglid the blueprints, toolboxes, and paintbrushes he requested. He puts the finishing touches on the boat and off we sail, or should I say, row to Skyfleet Docks. The engine hatch is opened and while I’m there, and have Troglid and his boat to brings things back, I spend some time looking for the jewelry boxes Leena needs.

I return to Town Hall and start logging in the things I’ve found today. To my dismay, I’ve increased our stock. Greg is even more annoyed when he arrives and sees storybooks and traveler’s hats on his desk.

Raphael stops by to thank me for helping expand the Gildenhall. He tells me he’s interested in studying the art syles of tarot cards and wonders if I have any I could spare. We look through the supplies and when Raphael leaves, seventy-three tarot cards leave with him.

I throw Greg a triumphant glance. I knew somebody would need the stuff I’ve found. He shrugs, smiles, and suggest we go home for supper. Or something. Why not both, I ask. Ans not necessarily in that order.


 

Day 53 - Wednesday

No wonder fairy tales end with the wedding, I tell Lucky. Happily ever after can be a long, sometimes bumpy, road. And I think we’re already in a rut. Yesterday was our one week wedding anniversary, an event which passed without comment from Greg.

Once again, Greg has left early to go check on Artist Myke. Once again, we’ll meet up at the office. Today I plan to go to Coral Cove to find fairy glass for Leena and to hopefully spend some quality time with my husband. If Lucky doesn’t hurry up and choose a hat, we’ll be late. Wear the straw boater, Lucky, we’re going to be near water.

While I wait at Town Hall for Greg, I approve Leena’s request for expanding Glennwater Springs. It’s odd that Raphael and Gavin have already submitted new requests for expansion and the Mayor, Quinn, Fahleed, Triffledore, and Old Man Seth appear to be satisfied with renovations done weeks ago.

At last Greg arrives and we can go to Coral Cove. In addition to expanding Glenwater Springs, Leena had requested fifteen pieces of fairy glass. I already have nine pieces somewhere in the office and quickly find another six.

I had hoped to gather more fairy glass but Greg can’t spend the entire morning at Coral Cove as we had originally planned. I can either gather fairy glass or... The fairy glass can wait until another day. I wonder if Greg and I will ever get an entire day when we’re not at the beck and call of somebody.

Too soon it’s time to head back to Town Hall. Leena is waiting for me. She was on her way to deliver the gift to Gavin but decided to visit the forest. Instead of putting the gift back inside the house, she took it with her and dropped it somewhere. Guess who she wants to come with her to look for it?

Looks like Greg will be lunching on fish chowder by himself. Lucky and I will be eating on the run. Leena thinks she dropped the package at the Rose Garden, or the Forgotten Glen, or the Fairy Dragon Nest. Past experience tells me that we will not find it at any of those places. And we don’t.

Leena needs time to calm down and think where else she visited. She also visited Ancient Pond, she tells me. And that is where we find the present. We return to Town Hall and I give Leena the fairy glass she requested. She gives me a tile she found while we were searching. It looks like it might be one of the castle’s missing door tiles. I’ll check out the tile later. I need to hurry home.

I have been keeping track of the days since I returned to the Skyward kingdom, and according to my calculations, today is Christmas Eve. I’m not sure if Greg will be pleased at my attempt to celebrate Christmas, but yesterday I arranged for Troglid to find me a small evergreen tree. He should have delivered it to the house by now.

I also arranged for the Forester to deliver some apple cider and mulling spices so that I could attempt to make wassail. I bought some ham from the General Store for tomorrow’s dinner. Fresh vegetables from our garden will round out our holiday dinner.

Everything I ordered is waiting for me. The wassail is soon being heated in the cauldron, the ham is put on the roasting jack. Time to decorate the tree. Where did I put those artifacts I bought from Triffledore?

Soon the tree is covered with blue and green snowflakes, blue and flame colored orbs, and gold and pearl triangles. Still lacks something. A trip to the office for thread and moonflowers to make garland. And maybe I’ll temporarily borrow some amulets to hang on the tree.

All that’s left to do is wrap Greg’s present: a ring of protection. I just hope he’ll be pleased with my surprise and not be upset that I’m observing a Beechwood Cove tradition.

Day 55 - Friday

We should have spent less time nestling and more time cleaning up last night. We came downstairs to quite a mess. While I made ham and cheese omelettes for breakfast, Greg gathered up the cups and glasses and put them in a large vat of water to soak. I hope somebody here invents the dishwasher soon.

Lucky’s breakfast is the carrot Mr Vanderkins gave him. Apparently it’s not as good as the ones we’ve grown. I remind Lucky that it’s the thought that counts and tell him to eat the blasted thing because squabbits in Africa are starving. He gives me a look. Yeah, that line never made sense to me either when I was a child.

It’s unlikely that Greg and I will meet up during the day, so I set the table for lunch - heaven forbid Greg should have to find a spoon or bowl for himself - and tell him he has his choice of stew or fish chowder. The leftover ham is for dinner.

Today Lucky and I are going to Sacred Grove to check and see if the crocodile is still there blocking the way. I have the sneaking suspicion that before the day is over that I’ll be able to add crocodile to the ever growing list of animals I have had to shoo away.

The crocodile is still at Sacred Grove. When I tell Quinn, he wants to know if the crocodile tried to eat me. Charming child! According to Quinn, Mr Vanderkins knows of something that will chase away the crocodile. They’re willing to find it for me if I will look after the Squabbit Den and feed the animals.

I’m willing. It’s better than going with Quinn and Mr Vanderkins to find whatever it is they’re looking for. But first I’ll have to go to Mystic Copse and look for more pet food. Too bad I didn’t know earlier. Greg might have been able to arrange his schedule so that he could meet me there.

It takes most of the morning to get enough pet food. If we hurry back to Landsong Village, we might be in time to have lunch with Greg. I arrive home just in time to catch Greg in the act of making a ham sandwich. Stew or fish chowder, I remind him. After lunch, we put in a little more time tidying up and then go our separate ways.

Quinn and Mr Vanderkins depart and Lucky and I feed the animals, or rather I feed the animals and Lucky checks out the pet store. He thinks his straw boater would look better if paired with a red and black striped bow tie. I have to admit he has a point so I buy it for him.

Quinn and Mr Vanderkins return with a cute, smiley-faced mushroom, called a Yosbayu mushroom. According to Quinn, the very sight of this mushroom will have the crocodile running away for sure. It sounds farfetched, but stranger things have happened here.

When we get to Sacred Grove, the crocodile takes one look at the mushroom and runs away. The crocodile had been perched on a giant mushroom. Now that it has left, Lucky and I are able to search under the mushroom, but we don’t find anything useful.

When I return to Town Hall, Fahleed is waiting for me. He’d like to expand his shop so that he can stock more varieties of fabric. I agree that it’s time to upgrade. He’d also like some pink moonflowers to decorate the shop. No problem, I have some in stock. I’m pleased to see that at least one of the kingdom’s residents was inspired by my Christmas celebration.

It’s too late to start on another work order, so I spend the rest of the afternoon doing paperwork. I hope the Mayor is inspired by Fahleed’s upgrade to request that Town Hall be expanded, we really need more space.

Greg arrives just as I’m finishing up. He looks tired and worried. I tell him he can use the desk, I’m done for the day and I’m heading home to start dinner. Maybe after dinner he’ll tell me what’s bothering him.





 

Day 57 - Sunday

I’m starting to get annoyed that there have been no requests for upgrades from the inhabitants of Landsong Village or Faire of Lights. In my opinion, those places should be expanded before the buildings in Skycrystal Atriums. I’ll give it one more day an dthen I’m either going to tell somebody that their place will be upgraded, or use the bolgins to upgrade in the Atrium.

So what should I work on today? Try and find that relic in the Treasure Vault or go to Coral Cove to look for fairy glass? Just as I’m about to flip a coin, Fahleed arrives. He’s borrowed some money from a group of travelers and wants to pay them back, but he’s going to need help.

Before I can ask him how much he needs, he tells me he’s not asking for cash, he wants help in the shop. No problem, I’ll help. I’ll even bring my own thread. But every time I approach the loom, he tells me I have to help Chumblepot first. And of course I don’t have enough glass shards.

So Lucky and I go to the Fairy Dragon Nest yet again to get some. I help assemble a glasswork of King Crookshank and return to Fahleed’s. No, he still wants me to help Chumblepot. Back to the Fairy Dragon Nest, back to Chumblepot to assemble another Crookshank, back to Fahleed’s only to be sent back to Chumblepot. I’m caught in the Skyward Kingdom’s version of Who’s on First, and Chumblepot’s shop is third base.

I’ve had enough of this nonsense. I’m going to exchange a set of portraits for ten glass shards and hopefully that will be enough to finish helping Chumblepot. Finally, after assembling four King Crookshank glassworks, Fahleed allows me to use the loom and weave some cloth.

Fahleed convinces his customers that a length of cloth woven by the kingdom’s steward is worth paying extra to own and after selling three pieces of my handiwork, he has the money needed to repay the travelers. He confides in me that there’s something strange about the travelers - they seem too eager to lend out money.

There’s something strange about all the residents of the kingdom, including my own dear husband, who seems to think the only "problems" he needs to discuss with me are that he’s hungry or horny, not that he uses that word.

Figuring out what to do about Greg’s communication skills, or lack thereof, will have to wait. Quinn and Mr Vanderkins are waiting for me at Town Hall. Quinn has decided that he wants to learn how to paint and would like me to ask Raphael to give him lessons.

Raphael is wiling to give Quinn lessons. Better him than me. But before the lessons can start, Quinn will need to have the right tools and inspiration. Quinn is pleased that he will be receiving lessons and wants to go look for paintbrushes at Dawnshadow Lake now.

Lucky isn’t thrilled about spending time with Mr Vanderkins and consequently works very hard to find the paintbrushes quickly. Alas for Lucky, the paintbrushes are only the beginning. Quinn also needs to seek inspiration.

So off we go to seek inspiration. I find a lot of pet food, runes, flowers, etc. When I bring these things back to the office, Greg will probably be inspired to go ballistic about the clutter and our lack of space.

Quinn finally decides that he’s inspired and wants to start his lessons. I tell him he can see Raphael immediately after helping me bring the things I’ve found back to Town Hall.

As I expected, Greg is not pleased to see more inventory enter the office. He thinks I should just inform the Mayor that I’ve decided to upgrade the building. I’m not so sure that going over the Mayor’s head is a good idea.

Greg reminds me that I’m the steward and that means I’m in charge. I ask him how he’d feel if I bypassed him and made decisions regarding the army. He says that will never happen because he has everything under control and doesn’t procrastinate when it comes to dealing with problems.

Greg tells me that's what he intends to do. Since he’s moved out, some of the men have displayed a bad attitude and lack of discipline. He needs to spend more time there and less time here to get things back to the way they should be.

In fact, starting tonight, he will be sleeping at the barracks. I tell him he should have given me more notice so that I could have my things packed and ready to go. He tells me I don’t need to pack anything since I’ll be remaining here in Landsong Village.

Inconvenient? Just what was he planning on doing that it would be inconvenient to have his wife around? Greg tries to explain that he will look weak if he has to bring the kingdom’s steward along to enforce discipline.

He pleads with me to be reasonable. Oh, I see. Not only am I an inconvenience, I'm an unreasonable inconvenience. Greg digs a deeper hole and tells me to stop acting like a child. Right. I'm a childish, unreasonable inconvenience. Do you have any other complaints about me? He just sighs and leaves.


 

Day 59 - Tuesday

I’ve decided that I’ve waited long enough for the people in Landsong Village and Faire of Light to submit requests to upgrade their buildings. I’m spending the money on upgrading the buildings in Skycrystal Atriums. All of them. It will cost almost 53,000 bolgins but if I need more capital I can always auction some things or visit the exchange.

And it will move some golden oak, obsidian, and bolgite out of the office, not that anybody will notice. The situation is dire. I still don’t think it’s a good idea to go over the mayor’s head and upgrade the building before he makes a request. I need a different solution. I wish Greg were here so that we could brainstorm and come up with a plan.

Maybe he’s up at the Castle. I need to go there anyway. People keep giving me door tiles but I never seem to get around to bringing them to the Castle and seeing if they fit. Better bring a clipboard ans some work orders with me so it’s clear to everybody that I’m meeting him as part of my job.

According to the Goblin Grapevine, some of the soldiers feel that Greg indulges his wife too much. They don’t want their own wives getting any ideas. Since most of the women here have been brought up to blindly obey their husbands, I don’t think the soldiers have anything to worry about.

I’ve also heard some disturbing news about Creepy. Seems his family has tried to arrange for him to marry me and were quite annoyed that my father chose Greg to be my husband. Creepy has hated Greg ever since, feeling that Greg stole ‘his’ wife and became Captain of the Guard solely because he was betrothed to me.

No sign of Greg up at the Castle. But I’m pleased to see that I only need to find four more door tiles. I just hope that whatever is behind the door turns out to be worth the effort I’m making to get it opened.

I think Lucky and I will go to the Treasure Vault this morning and look for that relic. I don’t understand what Leena meant by achieving rank four, but even if I don’t find the relic, I might find some mystic gemshorns to complete some bard sets which could be exchanged for paintbrushes.

I manage to locate two gemshorns before it’s time to go back to Landsong Village. Maybe Greg will be around and we can have lunch together. No sign of Greg at Town Hall but Ria is waiting for me. She’s so excited that I rebuilt Cloudspire Meadow and she promises to take good care of it.

Lucky and I go home for lunch and that’s where I find Greg. He’s perturbed because there’s nothing simmering in the cauldrons. I point out that he never said he’d be dropping in for the occasional meal. I offer to fix him an omelette provided he sits down and talks to me about what has been going on.

I mention what I’ve heard about Creepy and the rest of the soldiers and ask if these things are what’s fueling the lack of discipline. He nods. I tell him he should have told me about all this instead of letting me hear it from others. If we had discussed it, we might have found a different way to deal with the problem rather than him moving back to the barracks.

At the very least, I wouldn’t have been so angry if we came to the decision together rather than being told "This is the plan. Deal with it." I remind him that I’m no longer four years old and he shouldn’t expect me to adoringly do whatever he says.

He mumbles something about the good old days, but I pretend not to hear. What I want to know is whether he’ll be coming home tonight. No, not tonight, tomorrow night. Good.

Now, about the office storage problem. Greg wants to know why I didn’t spend the bolgins on upgrading Town Hall instead of expanding the buildings in Skycrystal Atriums. Two reasons, I tell him. One, I didn’t want to antagonize the Mayor, and two, it wouldn’t be a permanent solution to our problem.

What we really need is a warehouse. There doesn’t seem to be any place suitable other than the Castle. There must be plenty of empty rooms up there. Maybe in the stables? Anyway, he knows the castle better than I do. Find someplace and have his men move most of the supplies out of our office. Just leave five of each item in case I want to exchange a set or sell at auction.

Just one more question before I go up to the atriums to check on how the construction is coming along. Will he be joining me for dinner tonight? Greg thinks he can find time to have dinner with me. Or something. Yes, we can do that, too.