Lin says "Why did you enchant it that way to begin with?"

"To stop fish and other things from swimming through it. I didn't want to gate in and be surrounded by dead and rotting fish."

Lin says "Oh, that makes sense. So, how do we fix it?"

"That's easy. The platform is already coded so only you and I can use it, I will just link the bubble to that."

Lin says "That works for us, but what about when we have the kids with us?"

"Both of us are strong enough to carry someone through with us and since the platform is tied to us, one of us will always be present."

Lin says "You don't want to let the other mages who work for you use the gates?"

"When I left the peninsula there weren't any mages who could gate that I knew. Now things may be different, but I can always add more people to the platform later if need be."

Lin says "Okay. Am I going to be training these mages?"

"Not all of them, no. At most I will ask you to train one at a time and then they can train others. I don't want you spending all your time training others. Also, you will only be training them in normal magic, pure mana is not for everyone."

Lin says "Then why did you train me in it?"

"Because you are truly exceptional and because I was curious if a human could even learn it. Other than you, I don't plan to teach it to anyone else, at least not right now."

Lin says "I'm flattered, and I am glad you were curious. Leaving with you has turned out to be the best decision I have ever made."

"Ahem, I am glad too. Anyway, how did it feel when you gated back?"

Lin laughs and says "It was good. Locking on to the platform was easy and I only used about a quarter of the mana I would normally use."

"That's great, especially since the platform hasn't had time to store up any mana. That will definitely extend our range and it should be enough for us to reach the continent. I would say that our experiment was a success."

Lin says "I agree. Despite having tested it, I still can't think of any way to improve it more. So, what next?"

"Well, I need to put this one in the lake and make two more. One for the castle and one for the ship."

Lin says "Sounds like a plan. Enjoy your swim and on your way back can you get me some more wood?"

"Sure. No problem."

I give Lin a kiss, put the platform into my ring, drop shapeshift, and head outside. The cold when I jump into the lake is shocking, but it is also refreshing at the same time. As I swim around looking for a good spot for the platform I come across some ruins.

It looks like it was a village, maybe one that was built too close to the lake. Either that, or something happened to cause it to sink, maybe an earthquake or something. Whatever happened, it happened a long time ago from the looks of the ruins.

The ruins look undisturbed so I decide that this is probably a safe place for the platform. It is deep enough that no one is going to find it casually, but not too deep. I use my mana to scan the ground and find a nice stable spot where the platform is not likely to shift.

Once the platform is in place I swim back to shore, climb out of the water, and shake dry. Then I gather some more wood for Lin before returning to the castle. Lin takes the wood from me and starts copying more books while I make two more platforms.

One goes into my ring for the ship, the other I attach to the stone of the courtyard. I make sure it is properly tied into the castle's enchantments so that it will shrink with it. Then I go back inside and feed the kids a light lunch since they had a late breakfast.

Lin is still happily copying books so after lunch I shrink down and play with the kids. I play with them until it is time for dinner and then I drag Lin away from copying to eat with us. After eating, the kids go back to playing and Lin and I conduct our other experiments.

We are not looking for anything specific this time, just improving our knowledge. I like the idea of adding the bubble to the ship, but I will add it during phase two. For now, I just enjoy spending time with Lin and playing around with magic.

Once the kids are ready for bed, I open the soulscape and invite everyone. Myria shows up this time, but she stays with the kids and tries to avoid me. Lin gives me a look to remind me, and as promised I create a small house for her.

Inside are examples of all the various outfits that the two of us discussed last night. Brightfire follows Lin into the house, but she comes back out after only a few minutes. Her face is bright red and she refuses to look at me as she goes to join Myria.

I hope Lin at least explained the outfits, otherwise Brightfire is going to think I am a weirdo. Then again, now that she is not trying to become one of my women it doesn't matter as much. On the other hand, Lin probably did explain, otherwise Brightfire wouldn't know to be embarrassed.

After seeing Brightfire's face, Myria heads over to the house and goes inside. Unlike Brightfire, Myria does not rush back out, she stays inside with Lin. I don't mind since Myria is going to become one of my women as soon as I see her again.

However, I don't want to think about that yet, I will let Lin figure out the arrangements. Things are going to be chaotic enough when we get back, there is a ton I need to do. I am not looking forward to having to deal with everything, to the point that I want to delay returning.

Then again, the longer it is before I get back, the more things are going to pile up. As much as I want to avoid the work, doing so will only make things worse. Not to mention, if I delay returning, Myria is going to think I am avoiding her and she will get pissed.

That is the last thing I need considering everything else that is going to need doing when I get back. I will need Myria's help since she has been handling things while I have been gone. If she is mad at me, it will make everything that I need to deal with harder.

Besides, she has been with me the longest and has been more patient with me than I deserve. I owe it to her not to avoid things anymore and to treat her better than I have in the past. It is all due to my own issues and I owe her an apology at the very least.