Chapter 21: Setting Off

"How do I do that?"

"With your current Book Spine, you get twelve shortcuts in total. Six for you and six for me. If you want something assigned to you, just say 'Bind Shortcut'. If it's for me, say 'Bind Navigator Shortcut'. Later on, you'll be able to upgrade your Book Spine and add more slots."

Hugh nodded and spent a moment reassigning the shortcuts. He put the wand in slot one, the sword in two, and the spear in three as backup. For Dex, he assigned the dagger from his Robes of Infamy in slot one, the crossbow in slot two, and the compound bow in slot three.

"I'll need the quivers, too," Dex said. "Save the bind slots. I'll carry those the old fashioned way."

Hugh grinned and used the shortcut to summon his wand, then used his wand to summon the quivers of arrows. Dex didn't seem impressed with Hugh's quick adaptation to the shortcuts as he tied the panel of crossbow bolts to his thigh and slung the quiver of longer arrows across his back. Both sets were covered in green camouflage meant for woodland hunters and clashed horribly with the purple robe Dex wore.

"Last thing," Dex said as he got up and started stretching out his muscles. "Say, 'Book of Life, sleep'."

"Book of Life, sleep," he repeated dutifully. The Book instantly shrank down until it was the size of a deck of playing cards. Hugh stared at it in disbelief. Nowhere in the Book had such a function been mentioned nor had he imagined it could do such a thing.

"Tell it to wake up when you need it again and it'll go back to normal," Dex said. "But pocket size is more convenient if you want both hands free for travel. Just don't forget it'll still get heavier with every item you put in it and the Levitation Tech only counters the first twenty-five kilograms. I suggest putting it in your back pocket so you'll land on your buttocks if you accidentally store something too big in your inventory and it pulls you down."

It was a good plan, except his pants didn't have pockets. He ended up having dismantle the burlap sack he'd pulled out of the well as raw material for Macro to craft him a crude belt pouch to hold his travel-sized Book.

He didn't immediately put the Book away. First he set it on the ground by his feet as he went through the few items still remaining in the bottom of the treasure chest. They were all common goods players might want or need—a pen and blank journal, a digital camera, a hairbrush and toothbrush, a small first aid kit, a magnifying glass, two metal spoons, and a tin coffee cup. Hugh glared at the cup, wishing he'd found it earlier. It'd have been nice to fill it up with water to go with their bread.

Hugh added all the items to his Inventory, then pointed his wand at the chest itself and said, "Dismantle Treasure Chest." The chest disappeared. Hugh reached down to test his Book's weight and found it stuck to the ground as thoroughly as if he'd glued it there. He could still open the front cover and flip through the pages, but the back cover wasn't budging.

Having expected it to happen, Hugh turned to Macro and said, "Can you please dig me a hole in the ground at the edge of the patio? I want to bury the gold for now, so we can come back for it later."

Without a word, the fox heaved itself to its feet, padded over to the back edge of the flagstone patio, and started digging with its cybernetic arms. Leaving him to it, Hugh stepped over to the firepit and pointed his wand at the stones inside. "Store twenty Hearthstones."

A random mix of the fire-giving pebbles disappeared, making the others clink together as they shifted to fill the voids. Hugh moved to the tent next, storing it and the bedroll inside. Finally, he went to the well and stored both the bucket and the rope from the hoist, knowing they could potentially be useful.

By the time he finished, so was the hole he'd asked Macro to dig. Hugh walked over and pointed his wand at the bottom. "Summon gold chest." Nothing happened. Hugh tried again. "Summon gold." A pile of misshapen gold lumps appeared at the bottom—the most he probably could have managed if he tried to melt the gold chest by hand. "Okay, Macro. Go ahead and bury it."

"Too tired," Macro replied, dropping to lay on her stomach next to the pit. Hugh blinked in surprise, then grimaced. He hadn't been paying attention to the Engineer's stamina level. He should have guessed there would be limitations on how much the creature could do.

"Rest as long as you need," Hugh relented. "When your stamina fully returns, fill in the hole and come find us. If you need to eat, then feel free to hunt one of those goats you mentioned. If you need to drink, then find yourself something to drink. The same goes for you, Scout. Follow Macro's lead until I say otherwise."

Both animals nodded their heads and immediately settled down for naps. Turning back to Dex, Hugh asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Don't forget your Book," he replied in amusement.