Olivia Grace Albright moved with the rest of her family over to where Mom was sitting next to Luc and Toraline The Sword-Fairy on a log. She was trying very very very hard not to just vibrate out of her skin with all the pent up energy she had inside, and instead was presenting a cool, calm demeanor, like when she'd just helped Dad figure stuff out about his powers.

And… She had to admit, the possibility of her getting a fireball staff was probably not all that high. Much as she wanted one, she knew, in her deep secret heart where she kept all her pragmatism locked up, that the family had greater needs.

Didn't mean she still didn't want one though.

"Alright," Mom said, clapping her hands together and drawing the attention of everyone there. "Come gather 'round and bring out your boon scrolls, mijas. Toraline has been going over the ones open to us, and it seems there may be different options available to each of us, along with some ones that are open to all of us."

Well that made sense. Kinda. Different folks would need different things. You wouldn't give a three hundred pound body builder a set of stabby daggers, for instance. You'd give him a big ol' heck-off axe, right?

"Hoolio," she said to the little owl who had returned to his usual perch on her shoulder, holding out her hand. "Scroll me."

"Hoo," Hoolio hooted and drew a scroll out from the Somewhere and slapped it into her palm. The little guy was really good at that, and Olivia was really starting to think that he was way more intelligent than an average owl, or even than the other critters that were on this island. She wondered idly, as she unrolled the boon scroll, if that was a result of her choosing him as her animal companion type thing, or if there was another reason.

"I know there's a lot of stuff we need," Dinah said from where she'd come to stand next to Olivia, her friend's shoulder leaning into Olivia's. "But can we please get some of our clothing back too?"

Olivia glanced down at her friends' legs, where a pair of jeans that had belonged to Mom were rolled up almost to her knees, then down at her own legs that were covered by shorts that had belonged to Dad. She was already taller than any of her other siblings, and Dad's stuff had been the only clothing that had come close to fitting her, save for the one set of clothing that she'd appeared on the beach wearing.

"I second the idea," she said, lifting her leg and waggling her toes. "I love you Dad but your hand-me-downs aren't exactly high fashion."

"That is one thing we're looking at," Mom said, holding up and flapping the scroll she and Luc had been looking at. "But these boons present us with powerful options, and we have to select carefully. Much as I sympathize, we may have to sacrifice some comfort in order to get what we need to survive and thrive here."

Yeah, that was fair. Olivia huffed a sigh and flopped down onto the log next to Dinah, who also looked resigned to the fate of ill-fitting clothing. After a second, her friend reached out and brought out her own boon scroll and started to unroll it. Olivia watched her out the corner of her eye. Her friend had… Not changed, not really, but it felt like something had shifted a bit. She wasn't sure what it was, but Dinah looked more… confident. More loose, more comfortable. Like all the time Olivia had known her she'd been wearing sandpaper next to her skin, and had finally decided to take it off, and now her movements were more sure and her head was held a little higher and her smile was just a little wider.

Whatever it was, it felt good to see it.

"I will assist with the translation of the various elements of the boon lists," said Toraline the sword-fairy-thing, who still felt like she was way too calm about the fact that she was a tutorial fairy now trapped in a sword for whatever reason. Olivia would be going stark raving nutters if that had happened to her. "It would help if you gave me your top priorities for items you might be looking for"

"Clothing," said Dinah, Bel, and Olivia all at once. Luc rolled his eyes and snorted. The little twerp didn't even seem to care he was wearing some of mom's wardrobe.

"Noted," the sword said dryly. "What else?"

Olivia almost said 'fireball staff', but managed to hold her tongue. And a second later Dad spoke up instead.

"Tools," he said. "A full set of tools for construction and the like. I can do alright with the hand tools I have in my toolbag from the Dilligaf, but the batteries are going to fail at some point, and if I'm going to actually put together real buildings, I'm going to need planers, sanders, nails and screws, the full shebang."

"Agreed," said Mom, nodding thoughtfully. "Tools would also give us the ability to make weapons. Bows for when our ammunition runs out, spears, things of that nature."

"Oh!" Bel raised a hand. "Okay, if we can't get clothing, then how about something that lets us make clothing? I mean, come on, it's a magic island right? There's got to be like a magic loom or something where we can put like animal skins or plant fibers or something in one end and get, y'know, pants out the other?"

"That… Is actually not a bad idea," Olivia said, frowning. "If we had something like that, we could probably use it to make like armour too. I dunno about you guys, but I wouldn't mind having more than cotton between me and the next giant crab that tries to make kebabs out of my face."

"How 'bout like a reloadin' bench or somethin'?" said Dinah, looking up from where she'd been deep in thought. "Somethin' we can use to keep our guns runnin' smooth?"

Olivia gave her friend a raised eyebrow. She was talking different. It wasn't just her imagination. For a second she wondered why that might be, but then she shrugged it off with a shake of her head. Not important right now. What was important was the boons, and figuring out what they could use.

"Most of the boons available are designed for individual use only," Toraline said in a thoughtful tone as Mom put Lucas's boon scroll down in front of her. "The System did not often bring in large groups of Sojourners, so the boons over time settled into a pattern. Let me see here…"

Olivia let her thoughts drift over other useful possibilities as the sword started mumbling to herself. Maybe an enchanter's table? Something they could use to impart more abilities to existing items, weapons, armour, that kind of thing? She looked around the little sheltered clearing within the center of Billy's multiple trunks and frowned. Beyond the trunks was a much larger clearing in which had once stood a bustling and thriving town–to hear Billy and Toraline tell it, anyway–maybe something they could use to bring that village back to life? Right now it was nothing but rubble and overgrown ruins.

"Oh hey, how about this!" Lucas sang out, jabbing a finger at something on his scroll. "It says something about 'making'. Well, it also says something about peanut butter and buttocks, but those are the weird untranslated words.

"Let me see… Ah!" Toraline made a pleased sound. "Well spotted young one. This is not precisely what you are looking for, but it is similar in enough aspects. It is… One moment, let me recall the exact description…

"'Sojourner's Crafting Table: A fully equipped workstation for the sojourner who wishes to take a gentler role in the world.' The full description is florid and not overly helpful, but the gist of it is that this comes with a full suite of hand tools and can be used to work many different kinds of raw materials into useable parts and pieces, and then join them together into useable items. You could, for instance, use it to create items of furniture, finished lumber, even rudimentary stone shaping. It cannot be used to create magical items, but the tools themselves are powered by the system and will allow you to create all manner of mundane items expediently and with relative ease."

"Okay now that sounds like a winner," Dad said, pointing at the sword. "What kind of tools does it come with?"

"I believe 'all of them', Consul," said the sword with just a hint of dry humor. "The crafting table will summon any type of hand tool you require. Hand tools only, mind. Do not expect to summon forth a donkey-driven drop-hammer, or an anvil upon which to perform blacksmithing operations. But the hammer and tongs for such should be within the table's purview."

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"I think that's got to be one of our choices then," Dad said, looking around the clearing at everyone else. "Thoughts?"

"Does it do needle and thread too?" Bel asked, raising a hand. "Or like, a hand-loom?"

"I… Hm. Yes, it should. Needle, anyway," Toraline said after some thought. "The hand loom may be too complex. But needles should be available. This all, of course, presumes a connected power source. The Motes, in this case. You will have to invest a small amount each day in order to activate and continue to power the crafting table."

"Oh man, they're all gonna be like that, aren't they?" Olivia said in sudden realization. "Anything we choose, anything that has magic qualities… We're gonna have to use our coins to power it, won't we?"

"It is likely, yes. I would also suggest investing a small amount of power even when making the choice," Toraline said after a moment's consideration. "Consul Matthew has told me what happened with the cuffs, and with the return of your ship. In order to prevent such things from happening, it would be best if the System had the ability to draw upon existing power structures rather than whatever dregs of power still remain to it."

Olivia felt her hand drift to the cuff still clasped around her wrist. All the kids still had them, despite the… Accident. They were a gift from Dad, his promise to them given real form. "Wait, so you're saying we can power items as well? So these things could work like they're supposed to if we feed them coins?"

"It is only a hypothesis, it would need testing, but yes, I believe it to be correct."

A grin started to form on Olivia's face. So her dad's gift wasn't just a death trap and a shiny bauble. It might actually work as intended! She would… have to remember that.

"Then we're agreed?" Dad looked around at the group. "First boon, crafting table?"

There was a round of affirmatives, and Dad broke out into a grin of his own.

"Sounds good to me. Who wants the honors?"

"I'll do it!" Luc said from atop Harry. "I've still got lots of coins! Hey Tori, how many should I pull out to use?"

"I believe a single mote will be sufficient to summon the boon."

"Cool! Here goes!" Luc grabbed a coin from Somewhere and slapped it into Somewhere Else. Then, following Toraline's prompts, he selected the Crafting Table. There was a flash of light, and just like that a large workbench popped into existence a little off to the side from the central campfire. It was made of heavy wood and had dozens and dozens of drawers ranging in size from just a few inches to a couple at the bottom that looked like Dad could lay down in them and not touch the sides.

"Awesome," Luc said with a grin as Dad went over and pulled open a drawer, reached in, and brought up an old-style one-handed sledgehammer.

"Now this is going to be useful," he said with his own grin.

Three boons left, and two of them fell quickly as Toraline scanned through the boon list. Dinah's went to an Alchemy table that, according to Toraline, would allow them to craft all manner of potions and poultices, infused with the power of the coins to do various different things like enhance strength or ward off cold or heal injuries. Or, as the table ranked up with use, more powerful things like invisibility or fireproofing stuff. It was a good choice, and would go a long way to helping them all survive.

Bel's boon went to a Smithing station, a natural companion to the crafting table that would let anyone working it create metal implements, armours, and weapons. Bel was grinning at the idea of replacing her nose-swords with real metal ones, and when Dinah found out that the smithing station could also be used to craft makeshift reloading tools for their guns, she was all-in.

Which left Olivia's boon.

She tried to give a smile as she looked down the boon list, because she knew what she wanted to get. But she also knew what she was going to get. And they were not the same thing.

"So," she said, and was proud of how her voice was strong and didn't betray a thing, "we've got most of the crafting stuff covered except for, like, clothing and non-metal armour and stuff, right? So I guess that should be my choice, something that'll make it easy for us to get that kinda stuff. We'll need blankets, clothing…" she couldn't hold back a sigh and a slump of her shoulders. Still, at least it would be good to get a pair of pants that didn't belong to, y'know, a boy. "Tori, what kind of craft station do you have for… Uh, I guess 'textiles' is the word? I can go ahead and–"

"Liv," Mom's voice was soft and kind and cut her words off like water from a spigot.

"Uh. Yeah?" Olivia blinked at the look on Mom's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Si, mija," Mom said, smiling that strange smile. "Just one little thing. We don't want you to choose clothing."

"Oh? Oh! Oh right, of course," Olivia swallowed and looked back at the list. "Sure, right, we're gonna need something bigger and better, right? Something for defense maybe, or something to augment Billy? Ooh, no, I know, Toraline, what's on here that we could use to keep us safe when we're not near Billy? Maybe a mobile fortress, or some kind of enchanted armour, or–"

"Liv," this time it was Dad, and he had that same weird tone. Her eyes came up off the list and stared first at one parent, then the next. "Take your foot off the gas, Shortstop. You're not choosing that, either."

Olivia blinked several times in a row. "Uhm. Okay," she said uncertainly, looking back and forth between those weird smiles. "So uh… Weapons? Food prep stuff? What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

Bel started grinning now too. And Dinah. And friggin' Lucas. What was going on here?

Her parents came forward and they both put hands on her shoulders.

"Liv," Dad said gently. "The last few days have been rough for you, haven't they."

"Uh, duh?" Olivia gave Dad a look. "Did you miss the part where we're shipwrecked on a super-hostile island?"

"No mija," Mom said with a laugh, "But that is not what we're talking about."

"We saw how excited you were," Dad continued, and his big hand squeezed her shoulder. "You knew what was going on before any of us. And you wanted it to be like the books. And it kept disappointing you, time and again. With the system, with the Hall of Doors, with the way powers work. Everything you've looked and hoped for pretty much hasn't worked out like you wanted. You even chose your class based on what the family needed, not what you wanted."

Olivia's breath caught in her throat as a wall of emotions roared through her, set loose by Dad's words.

"It's been rough, hasn't it?" Dad asked again.

"Y-yeah," Olivia said, and was proud in that moment that her voice didn't squeak.

"So tu papa y yo talked last night," Mom said. "We've come to a decision now, I think." She glanced up at Dad, who gave her a nod.

"We do have our crafting needs covered now," Mom continued. "And what is not covered we can probably make for ourselves. Tu abuela used to make our clothing on an old hand-loom that her abuela gave her, and she taught me some of how to use it too. With his skills and my memory for guidance, tu papa should be able to create one for me. We can make what we need from the resources nearby that Toraline has told us about, and that Dinah can seek with her Consul abilities. And in the meantime we can use the tools from the workbench to modify our existing wardrobes as needed."

"But we noticed, the one thing we don't have is a way for you to protect yourself if you get separated from the group," Dad continued, and his smile got just a little bigger.

Olivia's eyes widened.

"Toraline?" Dad said over his shoulder. "Would you please read the description we talked about?"

"Of course, Consul.

"Staff Of The Archmagi: A powerful artifact that–"

"You mean I can have my fireball staff???" Olivia yelped.

"You may," Dad said, and the simple words seemed to stick in Olivia's chest and pump her full of jet fuel, setting her heart racing and her eyes bugging open wide.

"You need some offensive capability other than your shotgun," continued Mom. "And this one Toraline says will augment your existing abilities as well as add the ability to better protect yourself."

"And you've earned it," Dad added with a grin. "You've been awesome, Shortstop. Brave and strong and sacrificial. And it's time you got something for yourself."

Olivia started to grin. She had to force herself to listen to her parents, to not make her choice before they finished talking. With trembling fingers she reached out and grabbed a coin, then slowly, almost fearfully, she spent the coin on her Choice.

There was a flash of light, and then it was in her hand. The staff was a little taller than she was, made of knobby dark wood covered in runes, with a crystal set in the top and a crosspiece immediately under it that Hoolio immediately hopped onto like he was born to be there. She felt the power of the staff humming in her hand, and from the underbrush came a trio of flying snakes carrying a scroll.

Hoolio gave an angry hoot and launched from the staff, winging over to snatch the scroll from the snakes and then cuff each one upside the head with his wing. Olivia had to laugh as the little owl flew back and settled on her shoulder with a very audible grumbling noise.

"Thanks Hoolio," she said, reaching up to take the scroll and unrolling it one-handed, her other hand clenched around her new staff like she was afraid it would disappear if she let go.

She started reading the list of abilities, and her eyes started to tear up.

"Thank you guys so much," she managed to choke up as she read about one ability that let her launch a lightning bolt out of her staff at any enemy within a hundred feet of her.

"This is so awesome."

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