As Far as the Eye Can See

It's a brand new day, and the sun is high. The birds are singing because Dossy has given them tiny gems to distract them while he works. And work he is doing.

Specifically, the Hypervisor, Boriwyk 'DosBox' Rockborer has set up a table and two chairs near the middle of town. There is a sign on the table that says, 'Free Vision Checking' on it. There doesn't seem to be any takers yet, but that doesn't seem to discourage him any. He is probably used to sitting on one location for days on end.

    As a very interested party in Borywick's efforts, Wake has been keeping an eye on things. It's understandable that Landers are a bitt hesitant to give it a try. After all, Adventurers do many different things! Plus Dosbox is relatively new to the area, so they have yet to get a measure of the gnome.

    To help break the ice, Wake decides to directly get involved. As everyone knows, she works with orphanages throughout Yamato. A very small one is in Eas, which has only a handful of orphans and serves mostly as a school for children. That is why she is here, heading towards Dosbox's table, hand-in-hand with a lander girl. She is perhaps ten years old and is doing her best to put on a brave and hopeful face.

    "Hello, Borywick!" calls out Wake. "How is your day going thus far?"

Dosbox is sitting in his chair, kicking his feet as they don't touch the ground. His hands are resting on a finely crafted iron box which has an insignia resembling a cat with gem eyes on it. "Oh. Hello, good Baroness Wake. It's a pleasure to see you here, my good lady." He tips the brim of his hat in a very polite fashion as he talks in his best intimidation of a nobleish tone. "I am doing quite splendidly, madam! How finds you this beautiful afternoon, madam wazzle?" He isn't good at french, and does not know how to properly pronounce mademoiselle. Or spell it for that matter.

    Wake just laughs gently through it all. She likes the easier pace and low formality of these conversations with Borywick. She lets the child's hand go and instead rests her hand on the Lander's back.

    "Ari is having some trouble in school and I am hoping you might help us. She is struggling to read notes from the chalkboard. Can you please check her eyes?"

    The Lander looks nervous. She has one simple fear, though. "It won't hurt, right?" She has had limited experience with doctors. It hasn't always been fun!

Dosbox nods before addressing the little girl, "No, no, this is a REALLY simple eye exam." He takes out from the box what looks like a pair of half glasses with no lenses. They have little notches on them all around the frame where the lenses would usually connect, similar to a round ruler.

Dossy then removes what looks like a tiny magnifying glass: a lens with a handle that slides up into the frame an seamlessly connects while also having the ability to rotate. "It will be just like wearing glasses that you see alot the rich nobles wear, only I am going to be changing these lenses out a whole bunch, and you will tell me which one makes your eyesight the clearest.

    Wake smiles at the girl and nods approvingly. "So you can just sit down and Borywick can help you! I think this will be a great way to help you in school. And if my guess turns out to be right, you're going to see the world a whole new way."

    The child does as instructed, taking a seat. "So.. I am ready." She is less nervous. Legend power from Wake tends to put any Lander at ease. Especially in this case.

Dosbox nods and claps his hands together as two very feminine-looking, Amethyst Gem Hands appear taking up the measuring frame and delicately setting the the frames on the girl's face. The gem hands are cool and smooth, as if polished perfectly.

Then DosBox takes out a rather small sign with letters of varying sizes in a pyramid shape. He asks, "What is the smallest row of letters that you can read clearly?"

The Sign: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/654326946636759071/1101605486366838865/612uWqSLjyL._AC_SL1500_.jpg?width=233&height=492

    The young woman nods thoughtfully. She squints at the sign, clearly trying her best to read it. "I can read L P.. I think it's a Z and a D. I know the line above it is T O Z." She looks from Borywick to Wake and back. "Was that good?" she asks hopefully.

    Wake laughs softly, moving a bit closer to the child and setting a hand on her shoulder.

    "This isn't a test where it is good or bad. Just tell Master Borywick what you see and you will be doing well. He's going to help you."

Dosbox nods slowly with a very Freudian, "I seeeeeee.... I cannot comment positive or negative on this test, as that may affect the outcome..." before another hand appears, taking a pen and pad of paper out of the box. On the pad, he fills in the Distance: measurement as 20/50 -1. He puts the sign back as yet ANOTHER hand grabs out a different sign: this one is small and handheld, with numbers on it. The hand holds the sign up to the little girl about where one would hold a book they were reading. "What is the smallest row of numbers you can read?"

The other sign: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/654326946636759071/1101609020512534580/44015.jpg?width=492&height=492

    On this one, Ari does so much better. She is able to read the smallest row. It seems when it comes to close reading distances, she has very good eyes. The Lander is obviously pleased with herself. She whispers to Wake, "I can read them all!"

    Wake, not being the eye doctor, does give feedback. "That's wonderful, dear! See, it doesn't hurt at all, now does it?"

    The child nods, but not too quickly. The frames might fall off. "You are right. It doesn't hurt at all. It's kind of easy, really."

Dosbox nods slowly, and in the same voice as before, "I Seeeeeeee....." The Near card goes back into the box as Dossy starts pointing at different lenses. He then takes the Distance sign back out, commenting "I didn't really need to put it away, did I? Noted..." As six gem hands appear and remove one lens each from the case. Gently, the gem hand inserts a lens, one in each side, into the frame on the girl's face. "We will start by testing both of your eyes together, then each eye individually, because most times, your eyes see good at different distances. Just look at the top letter here for me. Now. Is this easier to see, or, " And rapidly, but still gently, the lenses are swapped with another set, "Is this easier to see?" The gems do the swap several times, and DosBox waits for the input from the miniature human.

    Ari is miniature, but she's pretty sharp. From the very first, she's excited. "Ohhhhh wow. Everything is so sharp." The Lander is distracted for a moment, until she is gently called back to the task.

    "We need to get the right choices now, Ari. Please work with Master Borywick," Wake urges gently.

    "Oh, Sorry, Master Borywick! Umm, okay. The right is better, the right is better, the left is better. Right. Left. Left. Left again..."

    And on and on it goes, in the way of any standard eye exam. But Ari seems very patient with it. Even if she's struggling with focus. Everything looks so different!

Dosbox indeed proceeds with the exam, repeating the last test but with a small paddle covering the girl's left eye, then the right. Then, with each eye covered, he does the test again with the final set of measurements, but the lenses this time each say 'CYL' on the handle, whatever that means. You would probably have to take Dossy's Training Course to know that! ;D

And in a flash, all the equipment is retrieved by amethyst hands and put back into the case. The hand offers Wake the piece of paper (because she is the adult in charge of the minor), "You can take this prescription to any licensed Eye Glasses provider... Which is... Uh... Me. For now. We are in Beta testing right now... Heh."

    Wake laughs at Borywick's ending spiel. "Well, fortunately Eas is home to the only license glass provider in Yamato, then. How long will it take to ready her glasses, Borywick? You can put it on my account. I will work corrective glasses into The Links budget for next year. For now, I'll just cover them all."

    The young girl, returning to her usual, poor vision, sighs softly. She was obviously enjoying it very much, being able to see the world as it is, crisp, clear, vibrant. "Will they take long to make?" she asks tremulously.

Dosbox shakes his head, "Not long. I will get to making the lenses now, and I can have them ready in about 2 hours, give or take. Ah." Another Gem Hand appears and gingerly takes the Rx Paper back from Wake. "Sorry, I actually need that."

He clears his throat, "I am thinking we'll have to get a wood worker. Metal will be way too heavy for a child's head. It would eventually warp her ears... Ah, do you know of a woodworker that has a bit of free time? I mean, it's the first beta test pair. I had been so focused on the lenses that I forgot about the frames entirely..."

    "I'm sure that one of our Landers will be able to help with a basic shape. Or you can make it with a lighter metal of some kind? I'm not very familiar with these things. But I bet our blacksmith will have some suggestions. Maybe they've made glasses before? If you need to measure her for that work, let me know."

    She turns down to smile at Ari. "I think it's time for you to get back to school, now, dear. I'll be along a little while later. Don't tarry on the way! They will be expecting you." And she sends a chim to make sure of that.

    Ari pauses and bows to Dosbox. "Thank you, Master Borywick! I am so excited to be getting glasses!"

Dosbox waves to the little girl with a warm smile. Look at that rock gnome getting touched by a little girl's thanks! "I'll get them to you as soon as I can. I hope everyone who needs glasses will get them..." Sniff. Daw. Is he trying not to tear up?

    "I will continue to support this work, Borywick. And thank you. She is going to be so happy to see the world clearly. I have a feeling I will send a lot of business your way. Hm. And maybe some of it I won't even be paying for myself!"

    She looks around slowly and then focuses her attention on Borywick again. "So, what else is new and exciting in your world? And what are you working on next?"

    This is Olympus, after all. There is 'what you are working on' and 'what you are working on next'. These questions are what Wake will always be asking from now on.

Dosbox makes a face, "Well, I just realized that, uh, WOOD is our best glasses material, and that just WILL NOT DO. I am a DWARF ROCK GNOME. Trees? IN MY CRAFT?! NO WAY. So that means... Alloys. We have to get something more than just iron. Do we even have steel yet? I really want aluminium or titanium. that would be most desirable...

    "Well, you know what to do then, Master Borywick. Get to it! And let me know what you need. My resources are at your disposal in all things that will benefit my people. I'm sure Olympus will be all over this, as well. We need stronger metals to support the taller buildings in Dragon's Eye. You will need things like stainless steel, as well."

    She sighs softly. So much to do! It never ends.

    "In any case, I should probably let you get to work. And get back to work of my own. Thank you, Borywick. Truly. Seeing her face light up when she saw clearly for the first time... that was worth so much to me."