Later that evening, we had dinner at Katie and Al's house. Dinner was delicious, and everyone loved the mini cheesecakes! They were an instant hit! I couldn't wait to see how the townspeople liked them.
"Oh my, these remind me of home! I couldn't remember the ingredients, and I didn't know they had this kind of cheese. I'm so glad that you helped Sia to recreate them!" Katie was thrilled to have cheesecakes again. It had been almost six years since she was on Earth.
Al and Blaise liked that the desserts were not too sweet. Al had more of a sweet tooth thanks to Katie, but Blaise preferred savory foods over sweet. He would probably like the mayo on tomorrow's sandwiches. I could talk to Sia and add different varieties, like herb mayo or spicy mayo. I didn't know if they had mustard seeds here, but there were other options to make the food less bland.
The kids both loved the cheesecake! Aza ate a few bites of the plain cheesecake and smacked her lips for more. Katie was worried about upsetting her stomach with a new food, so she only had a few bites.
Adam ate the chocolate cheesecake and loved it! He had inherited his mother's love for chocolate. Luckily, Katie had established a trade agreement with Rowenhilde so they could continue to get fresh chocolate.
After the kids were bathed and went to bed, we stayed up discussing the progress of the steam-powered water heater. "I hope they can figure it out before it gets too cold to go outside!" Katie hoped dreamily.
"Me too!" Abby and I agreed at the same time and laughed. "Jinx, you owe me a Coke!" We chorused at the same time and laughed even harder.
Blaise looked confused, but Al figured it was something from our homeworld. Kattie chimed, "Ah, that brings back memories!"
We all reminisced about how things were different here compared to our homeworld. I could tell that it was cathartic for Katie and Abby to have someone else who understood things from Earth. Al and Blaise seemed interested in our stories and wanted to learn more about their wives' pasts.
It was a fun night as we played board games and told stories about our past. I helped Katie and Abby remember a few other things from Earth that we could recreate here, like puzzles and journals.
Blaise mentioned Zed was staying in the training camp for the week, but asked, "Would you like to visit him tomorrow to take him lunch? He was asking about you."
I looked towards Al to see what he thought, "That would be fine, I can show you the way to the training grounds tomorrow if you like. I need to head over there anyway."
Honestly, I wasn't too worried about Zed. He was a warrior from Shibatsu and knew some of the other warriors here. I agreed just to explore the area and check in with my friend. "Sure, sounds fun."
Katie and Al shared a knowing look, but Al knew that I was interested in Kirin from our interactions today. I was not as excited to see Zed, but it would be good to check up on him.
"Then, we can stop by the blacksmith shop after lunch to see their progress." He smiled, knowingly.
I didn't want to embarrass myself, so I just nodded and tried to hide my blush. Abby and Katie noticed my reaction and looked at each other with that raised eyebrow and secret telepathy that sisters share.
Blaise was the only one who didn't look like he would play matchmaker. I tried to change the subject. "How far away are the barroks from here?"
As the captain, Blaise knew the most about their military, so he answered, "About twenty minutes away towards the center of Ilmir and Raisha. We may need to build another one if Vanagar continues to grow."
"That reminds me, have you seen my hot air balloon? The one that we flew here in." I asked Blaise.
He nodded, "I helped Zed and Kel move it closer to the town. Zed showed us how it worked. It is quite impressive!" He didn't show too much emotion on his stoic face, but I could tell that he liked the hot air balloon.
"What would you think about creating an aerial army? I was thinking of showing the blacksmiths the blueprints of the flying machine that my father was working on before he died. It is supposed to be an upgrade from my hot air balloon. It will be faster and only require one person to fly it." I asked Blaise.
He thought about it for a minute and replied, "It would give us an advantage over all of the kingdoms on this continent. The Kanta mountains are already protected by the harsh winters, but if we have flying machines, we will be more advanced than the other nations."
Katie added thoughtfully, "An aerial army combined with explosives would make us untouchable to the other kingdoms if they ever decided to overtake our nation again. I'm not too worried about Annalaias, but we can never be too sure about Rowenhilde and Idaris. It's better to be prepared and not need it than need it and not be prepared."
Al agreed with Katie, "Yes, we can have the blacksmiths work on these blueprints over the winter. It will give them something to work on after the water heater. We should get the indoor heater first."
We all agreed! The frigid winter made it the worst time for any army to attack. Their army would most likely freeze to death, while our people would be warm in their homes. We would be safe until spring. Then, we could test out the new flying inventions and explosives.
One of the mines they found had saltpeter. Combined with charcoal, it could cause an explosion. It could be deadly, so they had to take extra precautions not to mix them unless they were about to use them. One of the gadgets Alisa had brought with her was perfect for keeping the ingredients separated until a pin was pulled, then they would mix and ignite, causing an explosion.
The new weapons and technology would make sure that the Kanta region would never be attacked again. Any army that dared to attack them would be at a disadvantage and instantly regret their actions. Alisa would help protect her new home!