My Own Money

"Good morning, Anna. Are we ready to begin?", Sam asked me in the morning. "You are quite eager to start so early in the morning. Yes, I have the plan ready. We will do it in sections, so that there are no misunderstandings or mistakes. We'll start from the very beginning of the course. The stairs, slides and the obstacles will be constructed first, then we can focus on wind Formations. Shouldn't be too difficult, since we already know how to properly do the pottery treatment", I announced.

"Alright, do we all work together, or do you want to separate us into groups?", Jerim asked. "That's right, we'll work in two groups. Me, Sam, Felix and Liby will work together on the stairs and the slide. While Hilan, Ilina and Jerim will take care of the wall obstacle. If you need to see the plans, I will leave them here. Now that we know the tasks and groups, is everyone ready?", I replied. "Yes!", the group exclaimed and our work officially began.

The first half of the day was more of a test for us, including the pottery treatment. We managed to make the stairs, a tall obstacle wall and a slide. The treatment worked really well. There were no cracks or any areas to worry about.

"We actually finished sooner than I expected. Good job guys, everything looks solid. This is only the first part of section number one, and we still need to place Formations before its completed. Let's focus on that, shall we?", I said. The group agreed, awaiting further instructions. "The slide needs small wind Formations, which will push the people down the slope. We have to use a few of them, since one push wouldn't be enough. Think of it as a sort of air cushion for the slide. Place them every so often, so that we can adjust their strength later", I explained.

"Once they gain enough speed, the slide will fling them into the air. Of course, we need to catch them with another Formation, and they should land somewhere around... here. A Formation creating a constant stream of wind will catch them, then fling them towards another stream… positioned on the obstacle wall itself. That second stream of wind will then fling them even higher, and into the third stream. The last stream will be used to send the person over the obstacle wall, then into the second part of this section", I added.

"Hmmm… We'll need something above the slide, otherwise placing a Formation in thin air will be impossible", Liby said. "That is correct. The plan doesn't have that, but we can make some alterations. There has to be another wall, but supported in air. Now, we can add supports at the bottom, making sure they don't obstruct the slide in any way. The problem is access. We can't simply fly over there, and place a Formation… Maybe we should change the plan a bit?", I replied.

"That isn't the problem at all. We can ask master Ama for some ladders and whatnot, but I think we should change the design a bit. That wall in the air will contain a Formation. Supporting it on two pillars isn't ideal in my opinion. The Formation itself will be pushing back on that wall, hence it can crumble. Instead, we should connect the slide and the walls to provide maximum support from the bottom and behind… Let me show you what I mean", Hilan proposed before sketching his idea for us.

He drew the slide, the stairs and the wall we had to place above the slide. He then drew lines from that wall to the slide. "Of course these are pillars made from earth, not ropes or anything. That way, we can support the wall from the bottom and behind. With thick enough pillars, we can prevent the wall from breaking or falling", he explained. "That's a good idea… You guys agree?", I asked others. They seemed alright with it, therefore I continued. "Since Hilan came up with this idea, he will take charge of making that happen. Tell us how many people you need, so that we can get into groups".

"If you don't mind, I'd like you, Liby and Felix to help me. With the four of us, we can probably even finish that today. Others can take care of the slopes for our wind stream Formations. We need them to align and be at a certain angle. As for the Formations, we should wait with that until everything is in place. We can then align our Formations more properly", he said.

"By the way, we need to send someone to master Ama for those ladders. We will need them", Felix added. "Sounds like a plan. Sam, can you go tell Ama about the ladders?", I asked. "Of course, I will go right away", he replied then left to get the necessary aid. "Everyone else knows what to do, right? Then let's get to work", I said.

The pillars rose from the ground one after the other. Sam was able to get the necessary equipment, allowing us to use the pottery treatment. Hilan's idea turned out to be great, and even Ama was impressed when she visited us. "Though this wasn't in the original design, we had to add something to make it more thrilling. With this, the people will be blasted from one side to the other, and then over this obstacle wall. We should be able to set up all the Formations required in about three, maybe four days", I told her.

"You are doing a great job, guys. The pillars are very sturdy. I'm surprised myself, you know?", Ama praised us. "Master Ama is too kind. Anna directs us very well, and listens to our suggestions. We like working together, so the progress isn't bad", Jerim said. "Great to hear. Alright guys, I'll leave you to it. Don't overwork yourself, the day is about to end soon", Ama bid us farewell.

"She's right guys. Let's just finish for today, we worked hard enough. Make sure nothing crumbled or cracks before we leave. We have to extinguish the campfires too", I said but then noticed Tara approaching. "Hey, you seem busy. I heard from master Ama that the project just got a lot bigger. Anyway, how have you been?", she asked. "I'm fine, though busy. Anyway, wait here for a minute. I'll help them check everything and introduce you", I replied.

We wrapped up everything, then I gathered my new friends to introduce them. "This is Tara, and these are my new friends. We have Felix, Hilan, Sam, Liby, Jerim and Ilina". "Nice to meet you guys. Take good care of our little princess, she c… Anyway, how long will this take you?", Tara asked.

"Until it's finished?", an obvious statement, but then I continued, "Don't make that stupid face, I know what you meant. Over a month for sure, therefore you have to return without me. We can't let you slack off too much, right?". "Haha, very funny. I'll be staying over for another day or two, so we can meet up after your work. Anyway, since you are done here, let's go", Tara said.

"Before that… hey guys, join us for dinner. I promised you, right?", I proposed. "There's no nee…", before Ilina could finish, I told them to stuff it and come. "Heeeh... You never invited me for some food", Tara said teasingly. "Oh, you are going as well. After all, you are my money bag, right?", I teased back. "...You are a mean person. Since you invited, you pay from your part of the profits". "You are a cheapskate, but fine. You can deduce whatever the amount from my profits. After all, I'm the one inviting", I agreed.

Tara chose a place to eat, and was rather considerate about it. The place wasn't cheap, but it wasn't expensive either. Moreover, it was rather quiet. "So, you guys are trying to reach mastery in Formations?", Tara asked the group. "Yes, that's what all Formation students strive for. We work here in Sedon to earn some money, but also learn new skills. This project is actually very good for us. We can learn so much here, and later use that experience for other projects", Liby replied.

"Have you known each other for years? You seem rather close", Felix asked. "I'd say about seven years. We met during the endurance contest at the Arena. Dawn was there too, but she's busy with her work right now. How about you guys? You seem awfully familiar with each other too", I replied.

"Yea, we knew each other since we were little kids. Though Sam joined our little group a bit later. We treat him like our little brother though", Ilina said while looking at Sam. 'they can tease as well. I guess all good friends tease each other', I thought. "We always try to get jobs as a group, but also work individually when there is no other choice. Master Ama was really kind to choose us, since there was another more experienced group available", Jerim added.

"Perhaps the reason is a bit different. She's quite cheap, so probably you got the job because you were cheaper than the other group. No offence of course", Tara laughed. "None taken. There's no doubt we were, but that doesn't mean we don't value this opportunity. Working with Anna is a pleasure, she treats us really well. You have no idea how people can be annoying sometimes", Jerim replied. "Heh tell me about it", I said while looking at Tara stuffing herself with food. "Go away, I'm hungry", she replied.

We shared some of our stories, and got to know each other a bit more. They were jealous that Alicia was my aunt. She was named the best Formation master out there, at least except the Hatmandor. Though they also admired my willingness to learn Formations, a subject of study by no means considered easy. 'They might think that a princess will have everything she wants… They couldn't be further from the truth. Perhaps those in the books could, or maybe Endrosian Empire's princesses would. I was dirt poor and worked hard for my achievements… I hate to admit it, but mother's rules and ways taught me something after all', I thought.

"Thank you for the meal, Anna. It's time for us to go now. We will see each other tomorrow, good night", Hilan and others bid us farewell. "Sure, take care guys… So, how much did we make?", I asked Tara. "Hoh? Straight to business, eh? Well, everything was sold. There's the 30 Red Hals for Dawn. You know the skin, bones and whatnot. Our profit on the other hand, was 7 Black and 41 Red Hals. That is after deducting all expenses. Not bad, eh?", she replied.

"7 Black Hals? That's quite a lot. We made over 3 Black Hals each", I said, surprised by the amount. "Your share is 3 Black and 68 Red Hals. My share came out to be 3 Black and 70 Red Hals, since you paid for the dinner", Tara calculated. "No wonder we made so much… I mean that crowd wasn't small after all", I said while taking my share. "Wait a minute! You saw me sell those things?… Ahh! What a wasted opportunity. With you around, we would make even more money", she lamented.

'Now I'm actually glad she didn't see me… I can imagine her abuse already', I thought. "Anyway, here, this is another 50 Red Hals for Dawn. Since I'll be leaving soon, you'll have to hand in her share. By the way, this was counted as expenses. Dawn helped us create the hype a little, hence the crowd. I hope you don't mind rewarding her", Tara added. "I was actually planning to give her some from my share. I'm happy you took her under consideration. Maybe you are not such a cheapskate after all", I replied.

"Get off my case. Anyway, do you still plan on continuing this?", she asked. "Of course. I mean, this project is just one time thing. I have to earn money somehow, why stop when we are building a reputation? Now that you mentioned it, here. I'm giving you 2 Black Hals, buy something valuable with this. I'm sure you'd get a better idea than me, but make sure it's not too small. I still have to place Formations on it", I replied.

"Heh, not bad at all. Sure, I'll find something and get as many items as I can", she said. "That's settled then. I'm a bit tired, but we can see each other tomorrow. Visit the course in the afternoon, we can hang out after", I proposed. "Sure, I'll see you tomorrow. Take care then", she bid me farewell and left. On my way back, I couldn't help but skip a little. 'I made some real money today! I have my own money, hehe. That feels so great'.