Hey Diary,

  Luke and I made leather boots for the liondrakes, and they… don't love them, but they like them while walking. The process of attaching their harness to the wagon now also involves lacing up their boots.

  Luke has a rune that helps things not wear out as quickly as they normally would, and embossed it on all the leather squares. This made the boots magical, which made the liondrakes happy. I asked if there are any other runes that would help, but apparently there aren't.

  Red is the preferred color for boots. Zeridal and Thorny weren't sure what color combo was best, but then Sir said red boots made it look like his paws were soaked in the blood of his prey. Can't beat that. Brown is a super controversial color because dried blood is kind of brown, but normal mud is also brown. Black is boring. We do not want boring boots. All the other colors of the rainbow are ok, with some preference for royal purple and bright green.

  So now I know! When we get to the next city, I’ll get 75% red leather, and the last quarter will be purple and green.

  It looks like, with the runes, each boot will last three days. Not terrible, but if we stay on dusty roads long enough, it’s going to get expensive.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Without the runes, I think the boots would be pretty worn out by the end of a single day. Not completely, but enough that they wouldn’t want to put them on again.

  Oh, Luke said he wanted to try making some specific thing dealing with pocket dimensions, so he’s going to make a portal that will fit in my little space beneath the tarp. I said he really doesn't need to, but he said he thinks he knows how to make one that will let emotions through, so it’s not as scary to people with charm or psychic magic. Maeve said that I should let him, because eventually we’ll be traveling in winter, and if it snows I’ll need a place to get into so I don't freeze.

  Besides, it’s not like I have to use it. I can just shut the door and use it as a back wall to my comfy sleeping corner. Luke just wants to make it as proof he can or whatever.

  The liondrakes haven't been into a pocket dimension yet. I wonder how they’d like it. I suspect how much they like it will directly relate to how fancily it’s decorated.

  Anyways, we’re staying on the side of the road tonight. We passed a town like an hour before it got dark, and as soon as the moon came up, the liondrakes decided it’s the perfect night for hunting. Since they’re kinda in charge of how far we travel every day, we had to stop and set up camp here.

  They declined dinner, saying they want fresh meat tonight. I'd be worried about what they’d hunt if I couldn't sense every animal in a several-mile radius with Charm magic and know that none of them are owned by someone.

  This is why I can't sleep in a pocket. I need to be able to sense if the liondrakes I’m legally responsible for have eaten anything someone cares about.

  Yeah, that sounds like a valid reason.

  Signing off,