Chapter 93: Making a Commission.

I had called for a consultation at a factory, for a multitude of reasons. I needed a pricing for mass production of more doll bodies. I also needed to ask about possible weapons for the dolls and possibly armor or uniforms. Something simple, really. I had made sure to ask beforehand if they dealt in, special items, and thankfully they did… The issue was, they didn’t have any raw material. The ports were at capacity.

Luckily, the place had been recommended to me when I asked for it, mainly by Grim via text. Otherwise, just getting an interview lined up would have been impossible. As for the ongoing issues, it put a couple of my plans on hold, but its not like I have the money to pull the trigger on them. At least, not yet. Though, knowing that it was an issue now, was far better than figuring that out later, when I was ready and able.

“The shortages, what exactly do we import?” I ask after a beat.

“A wide variety of metals, electronics, and well, a lot.” Gerald replied back. It wasn’t too informative, but it wasn’t like he was the port authority.

“Do you import textiles?”

“Textiles are a bit of an exception. We receive a number of textiles, mostly cotton and wool from the Agriculture District.”

“Oh? Then, what would be the potential cost of opening a line for uniforms, or outfits?”

“Not too expensive. If they’re uniform in material, length, and shape, we can produce a batch without much issue. Of course, the costs decrease the more you order.”

“I understand that, but… what if I didn’t just want a uniform, but one that was enchanted?”

“Mm… that would be difficult.” The man says. “We have machines that can replicate enchantments sewn into clothing, but we will need an original to copy.”

“I understand. And the cost?”

“For mundane uniforms, they won’t cost much.” He gives me a, frankly, about what I expected. “As for the enchanted weave, that might require a different type of currency.”

“Coins?”

“Coins would be excellent, but we would also allow monster cores or such.”

“And the cost?” he gave a… not so great number.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind… Now, I realize that you lack raw material, but… what are your stance on guns?”

“Legally, we cannot produce them.”

“What about cold weapons, spears and swords?”

“It… that is a legal grey area, but if we had the material, we could.”

I leaned back in thought… Already, this wasn’t off to a great start. To make up for my doll soldiers lacking strength and ability, I had been planning to arm them with guns. Only, mundane guns wouldn’t work so well.

The doll soldiers would naturally strengthen whatever weapon they held, but it wouldn’t allow them to imbue ammunition with magic properties. At least, I didn’t think it would. It was better to plan on making a simple magic imbued weapon for them to use and save costs by having them use ice bullets.

“If I may.” Gerard said. “Normally I wouldn’t be one to suggest this, but well, if you need guns made you’d be better off looking in the Lower Quarter.”

“You may be right…”

He wasn’t wrong. The Wizard Gang had artillery and tons of guns. It wouldn’t be impossible for them to have a means to produce guns.

“Now… for the other reason I’m here.”

“The special commission?” he asks, his eyes glint.

“Yes, I need… A ball of crystal, like so.” I mime the size with my hands.

“Oh? Magical of course?”

“Yes, though, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“What are you using it for? Different crystals produce different results.”

“Souls.” I say calmly. The man looks at me. His face doesn’t change.

“I can work with that.” He says after a minute of silence. What follows is a brief breakdown of what I want, how big, how effective I want it. I then have to provide an image of the enchantment I wanted to put down, which I had on hand. As everything wrapped up, I felt like maybe they’d do a good enough job. Most of the commission was to be paid upfront, which I did, the rest would be settled after the fact. Even then, the price was, a bit steep.

“A pleasure doing business with you.” He says after we clasp hands, officially securing the deal, and he shows me out.

With most of my shopping done, it was now time to get the next step done…

Back at the warehouse, I looked over my supplies. I had everything placed down. A couple sets of chemistry kits, a pestle and mortar, and a few foldable tables. A plastic drum for chemicals was set aside for the final product. Along with a whole lot of distilled water…

I work on the hardest ingredient to process. Surprisingly, it goes smoothly. I get it on the first try by some miracle. I’d made sure to by multiple portions of what I needed in the case of failures, but so far, everything seemed to be going well…

Though, I quickly regretted thinking that. I started experiencing failure after failure. I managed to barely get everything processed, save for what was supposed to be the easiest ingredient to prep.

Staring at the slowly bubbling concoction, hoping that it would finally coalesce like it was supposed to. I had worked through all my portions. This was the final one…

In the end… It failed. I stared numbly at everything. I tried to parse out where it went wrong. I went through the steps in my head. Yet, somehow, I still failed what should have been the easiest ingredient to process for the liquid…

It was already late. I could feel the exhaustion in my bones. I didn’t even bother taking a shower as I dragged myself to bed and collapsed into it. Slipping right into slumber.

My phone chirped, waking me up. A message from Liche.

-Think we could meetup?

I considered, slowly working myself up. I shot a quick message back, asking if she wanted to meet at the gym. She confirmed.

Before I knew it, I was at the gym. Shortly after I arrived, Liche did as well with Joan in tow. We went into a private training area and before I knew it, we were sparring, or rather, I was trying to teach her, only…

“You really do suck at this.” Liche said, after being thrown to the ground for the umpteenth time. “Not just that, but your worse than usual boss. You doing alright?”

I considered her words. “Not really.” I stated, surprising even myself. “I’ve been busy the last few days, and frankly, I don’t think this is helping me out.”

“I thought not… You’ve been pretty out of it since the blood moon. Well, not that I’ve been any different…” She trailed off, giving me a moment to think over the past few days.

Have I been? With everything going on, I haven’t had the time to pause really. Between all the changes and new skills to learn, honestly, it felt like I had too little time. Then again, Liche had been a bit distant since too. Everything seemed normal on the surface, but there was a tension to her she usually lacked. Not that I blamed her, considering what happened last time we met.

“It’ll calm down.” I state, “Was there a reason you wanted to meet?” I finally ask. We’d moved into sparring fairly quickly with little discussion. So, we’d never actually gotten to the reason for the meet-up.

“Actually, yeah, you know the patrols, right?”

“I do. Did you want to do them with me?”

She grimaced. “I was kind of hoping to do them by myself.”

I wasn’t sure how to take that, honestly. “Are you sure? I don’t think you’d be able to handle that on your own.” She winced at my words, making me realize I’d said the wrong thing. Still, before I could correct myself, with a forced smile she answered back.

“Well, I won’t actually be alone boss. I’m planning to work with a larger group. The officer said she’d help coordinate us.”

“Is Joan going to join you?”

“She is.” She said, and the way Liche looked at me, that and Joan, almost made me feel like Liche was a teenage daughter asking permission to go to a party.

“Well… don’t let me stop you.” I say, to her surprise. “I’m not even your boss right now. I have no say in how you want to spend your time.” She frowned at me. There was something in her eyes, her mouth moved as if to say anything before she sighed.

“Right, your totally right bo- Prima.” She groaned and stood up, stretched.

“Do you want further training in the future?” I ask.

“I’ve decided to take self-defense lessons. You know there’s a whole board filled with lessons and classes you could take on the gym wall.”

“I was aware…” I sighed. “You chose well. I know that I have no talent for this and frankly, I don’t think you’ve improved much since we started.”

“That’s not totally true, we’ve gotten pretty good at taking hits at least. Right Joan?” Liche says, pulling in Joan in the process. Not that she said anything, if anything, Joan was looking a bit green, like she’d throw up at any moment.

I didn’t retort. “I wish you luck, and I’ll be seeing you at work Liche.”

“Yeah, you too Prima.” She said and left, shooting me a final glance before she left. Her jaw worked, something flickered in her eyes, in the end, she said nothing, did nothing besides leave.

And now? I was all alone. I felt stifled. Like I was suffocating. I pushed myself into exercise. Pressing myself further and further. Garnering worried glances as I went through my paces. I only stopped when I felt the ice beginning to freeze my blood.

A scalding hot shower had my body crackling. Breaking up the ice. I closed my eyes. Listening to the falling water. The dull roar. It centered me, brought me closer to where I needed to be.

Stepping out, I went back at it. I had to purchase additional supplies, but I was in no mood to keep trying. I felt out of it. The pressure slowly piled on, especially when Grim sent a message alerting me that they were about done filling out the papers for my new employee.

She’ll arrive tomorrow. Time was running out.

In the end, I did a whole lot of nothing. I settled into a chair and numbly stared into space. My mind rampaging. Running through contingencies, plans, working over everything I needed to do over the coming months.

At some point, without even realizing it, a lone cigarette had found its way into my hands. A familiar need took hold, yet… Staring at it reminded me of who I was, the promise I had made… Of the people I had hurt.

Slowly, I felt pieces fall into place, a calm took over me as I remembered one simple thing.

Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. With every breath, I felt the tension relieve itself. My scrambled thoughts slowly corrected and pulled together. The mire I found myself in, slowly pulled away. Clarity took hold. Or at least, I felt like I was once more on steady ground.

I felt more grounded. I felt ready. So, I gave it another go. With another batch of the ingredients I needed, a few more copper down the drain, putting me in financial straits, by some twist of fate, I got it done in a single go.

I didn’t stop to admire my handiwork. No, the moment I was done with that step, I prepped the next. The processed ingredients were tossed into the plastic drum I had bought, then filled with distilled water. The mixture was then stirred, but it still wasn’t enough.

The mixture was the color of rust. Speckled and frothy. It smelled of iron. Clearly, the mixture wasn’t bonding with the water as it should. Which was to be expected. With a grumble, I tossed a bronze coin into the mixture.

The very moment the coin touched the water, it hissed and spat. The magical energy inside began to proliferate into the mixture. I stirred as it began to hum and warm. The color shifted. The mixture for the first time began to bond.

Yet, it still needed more.

Another coin was fed into it. Followed by another and another, until every bronze coin I had was spent. In a way, it made me think that I was just wasting my money. Like a gambler slotting coins into a slot machine, praying for a jackpot.

The liquid bubbled. It was now bright crimson. It hissed and smelled awfully sweet, conjuring up far too many bad memories. It almost seemed to throb with the beating of my heart. The air felt hot. The walls pressing in.

I swallowed. I breathed in and out. Settling myself. Trying not to call on the ice.

After a few more minutes, I felt my breathing even. I looked back at the mixture, and I could tell, it was ready.

Amanda wasn’t wrong. This liquid was a type of body refining liquid. Though, more a corpse refining liquid. The actual grade of it was rather low, its purpose wasn’t to elevate a corpses rank or constitution. No, it served a singular, if not important purpose.

It helped retain a body’s quality when animated.

The process of reanimating the magical girl corpse would heavily dilute the quality of her magical power. It was entirely possible, that if I were to just raise her without any preparations whatsoever, that even if she retains her gold rank, it was entirely likely she wouldn’t even be able to use her uniform, let alone her signature magic. She’d be about as strong as I was during the first event.

Sure, she would eventually regain her rank, but that would take years or more until she does, she’d be useless to me. It was better to do a bit of prep work and reduce the future costs as much as possible. With this, she should retain most of her combat potential.

Grabbing her corpse out of the freezer, gave her form one last once over.

The fox, the young woman, she looked far too thin. Her ribs could be seen, her skin taut. Her clothing, a simple sack. She had been a fox, a lesser fox, but… even then, it was clear she had been maltreated. Some part of me could understand, perhaps even imagine what it was she went through.

After all, I’ve been through similar situations in my own life… And yet…

Not for the first time, I find myself questioning my goals, my path. In the end though, it wasn’t enough to stop me from doing this.

Where her heart had been torn to pieces by my bayonet, was something else now. It was, I think, probably the most expensive item of the lot I had bought from Amanda. An odd plant, a mushroom in the shape of a heart. It fed off blood and corpses, it beat and thrummed like a living, beating heart.

It was also the most vital piece of this project. In a perfect world, her body would be perfectly intact. Only, it wasn’t, substitutions had to be made. The heart mushroom would work, at least… in theory. Without it, it was unlikely I’d even be successful in making a proper revenant.

 So, with a final prayer, a final request that it all goes well, I slowly settled her body into the concoction. She was rather petite, and thus, easily fit inside. The moment her skin touched the liquid, it began to work. Hissing and eating away at the flesh, literally melting it away, only to be regrown moments later by the other ingredients in the concoction. Creating a cycle of destruction and creation, strengthening flesh and bone.

Cloaked in a plastic poncho and rubber gloves, all to prevent any possible spillage or skin contact with the liquid made for quite the macabre sight. When she was fully submerged inside the drum, I grabbed the lid and sealed it with a mallet. So that she may be refined over the coming days.

With my enhanced strength, it wasn’t hard to move the drum to an out of the way spot. And now… I just needed to wait for it to cook and simmer.

With that finally out of the way, it was time to check my other project.

At some point, the doll I had soaking up magical energy had been suffused with magic. Lucky, seeing as how I had to use up all the coins for my other project. Now, I just needed to finish the process.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I began condensing the magical energy inside, but seeing the metal literally melt away into motes of light wasn’t on my bingo card. By the time the process was done, not only was I exhausted, but the mannequin now looked completely different.

No longer was it a hollow doll. After the refinement, the metal had shrunk and worn away, until it looked almost like a thin suit of armor. It wasn’t all encompassing, the head was no more than a faceplate connected by a series of wires to the breastplate and the vambraces. It almost looked wearable. It exuded power, but also, it looked so very thin. Feeble.

Carefully I picked it up, noting that it felt far heavier than it should be. And also, on inspection, I could tell that animating this doll would be a significant affair. I would be able to do it… If I had a full tank. As it was, I was well and truly done for the day.

Checking the time, I noted that it was well past dark. My stomach grumbled demanding a meal. Reminding me that I hadn’t really eaten at all today… With a sigh, I had to settle for whatever I had stored away, which barely satiated my hunger, and after a hot shower, I was out.

With morning, I received a call. My new employee was ready. After a quick drive to the precinct, I picked her up and showed her where she would be staying for the foreseeable future.

“Wow, so this’ll be where I live from here on out…” She said, almost in awe. “It’s a lot nicer than I thought it would be.”

“Were you thinking I’d stick you in a shoebox?” I asked, thinking back to my now vacated apartment.

“I wouldn’t have been surprised if you had.”

“Well, I didn’t. And yes, you’ll be here for the foreseeable future. The upper office contains a bed, shower, fridge, stove, and a clothes washer and dryer. You shouldn’t need to leave the premises, except when you need groceries or such. So, you shouldn’t have issues, unless you need help figuring out how these machines work.”

“I’m a big girl, I can figure all that out myself.” She said, standing tall, puffing out her chest.

I nod. “Good, now for your job.” I lead her into the cold storage. “For the time being, I need you saturate and condense the magic of these mannequins. At least until they all are at least bronze ranked. Like this one here.” I point at the significantly diminished doll. “Can I rely on you for that?”

“Oh, that will be easy. We were doing things like this all the time.” She said, taking it all in stride.

“That’s good, as for other jobs, I’d like you to join me on patrols and when I enter the depths, possibly even events if necessary. Would that be in issue?” I ask.

“Not at all.” She replied, unbothered.

“Glad to hear, but I won’t just ask you to join me for free, you’ll be entitled to a share of the loot, on top of your current pay.” That did take her by surprise.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that. Honestly, just having a place this nice all to myself is plenty.”

“Nonsense. I won’t be paying you that much, since most of it will go into your rent, but I can’t have you risking your life for nothing. Plus, I hope that you use your share to strengthen yourself.” I pressed.

“Ah, well, okay then…” She says after a moment of hesitation.

“Now, any other questions?” I ask.

“Well, a few, but most of them aren’t really important…”

“Well, that’s fine. Just tell me in the car.”

“The car?” She asks as I begin walking towards the door.

“Yes, we need to get you groceries and clothes, maybe a few suits as well for official jobs.”

“Oh… well, okay.” She says, unconfidently. Or, more like she was taken aback with just how much I was doing. Which said a lot about where she had worked previously. Providing for her or at least helping her get settled in was the minimum I could do.

No, actually, the true bare minimum would have been throwing her into my old apartment, but that would have been a serious waste. With her living here, she could get work done at her pace, it would also let me save money by closing my old apartment… Not mentioning how I bought a condo unit.

Anyway, with a few more preparations, we headed back out to our next stop. The Mall.