We make preparations for returning to Helene, so that the Mage can build our Pantopes without interfering with himself on his own timeline when Cantrel points out that there are other alternatives for the location that satisfy not only isolation from Hreme but also isolation from outside observers and potentially our enemies. Not an unreasonable idea, we note, so we end up traveling to several worlds to find an ideal place for the Mage to work.

Nereus. This was Cantrel's first suggestion. The headquarters being built here is progressing but the human and robot workers have had trouble adapting to high-gravity construction techniques. There is a reasonable settlement here, but it can't really be considered our headquarters and is somewhat vulnerable. When we arrived, the Mage discovered that the gravity was uncomfortable and the magic was too different for him to work here.
Helene/CoDominion. This was our first suggestion. The Mage finds that the gravity is better here but senses that the magical environment is "too crowded". We engage in a long discussion about "open psi" and "closed psi" areas and explain why we would have to set up dampers and shields to operate here. (Gravity conditioners may also be necessary.) The Mage doesn't seem to be too happy with this alternative.
The Jack. The Mage's first impression of the Jack is good. While he gets the feel for the Jack, Cantrel looks up Jock, an old friend, and ask about renting a large space for a few years. Jock is pleased to see us and begins to babble about free-market capitalism and real estate scams (apparently Jock has changed a bit) while finding us a suitable warehouse. We hop into a ship and travel "through a sea of stars" to the warehouse. The Mage likes the warehouse and the area. He notes that it's magically quiet, less "grave" (gravity), but it does seem somewhat artificial. ("It's totally artificial!" --Jake) He says that he would have to make significant preparations to work on an artificial world but he could work here.
New Hierow. Cantrel argued against going here: "We just saved the Hierowesch from extinction on their original world. Returning to their new home to finish the job of extinction doesn't seem like such a good thing." However, we agreed not to be paralyzed by paranoia and jump here anyway. The Mage is very pleased with New Hierow: the gravity is nice, and the magical environment is not crowded at all. There are still large uninhabited areas on this planet as well.
The "Mock" Turtle World. The Mage contemplates this world for a while: "This is a very unusual place. It feels familiar. Have you brought something from here to me before?" We explain how we built this world ("out of nothing!") and to the Mage, this also seems to be too artificial. The Mage concludes that this isn't as good as some of the earlier options.
The Original Turtle World. The Mage curls up his nose when he looks at this world: "No, I don't like this at all." He suggests that our proposals are going downhill since we left New Hierow.

On that note, we return to the Mage's self-containment and discuss our options, deciding that despite the risk that New Hierow could be discovered, it seems to be the ideal place for the Mage to work. We then turn to the amount and type of raw materials we will need. We also spend a few hours planning mundane supplies, such as shelter--simple geodesics from the Jack will do--and provisions for about two years.

The Mage suggests that the raw materials should be obtained from as many different worlds as possible, to lend that symbolism to the magic. We make arrangements for the more unusual items.

Fine silver (.999), for the mirrors, we decide to obtain from a high- technology world--taking advantage of the high-technology--specifically, Helene/CoDominion. This is easily arranged through our contacts there.
Fine sand, hand-gathered, we plan to obtain on Nereus.
Ash and zebrawood trees are obtained from the Victorian era on the Literary timeline without two much trouble.

[We drop in a few months after the group last left. Ashleigh takes the opportunity to look in on his friend Sherrinford Holmes and find out that he's all put disappeared! We talk to his housekeeper--who was told that he'd moved upcountry--the Doctor--upset that he wasn't taken along and only has a quick note: "BACK SOON"--and to his brother Mycroft--who suspects that he's away for a while since he's closed his accounts there. Slipping forward a few objective months, Ashleigh finds out that he's still missing. This bears investigation, so we note the coordinates for a future trip.]
Materials for writing inks and pens we decide to obtain from the finest source we know of: Eastmarch.

[Unfortunately, we only have one set of coordinates--Elias' window. Instead of tripping alarms, we decide to pay a visit to Elias only (objective) moments after we last left Eastmarch. It has been (subjective) years since we were last there. It's been five minutes for poor Elias.]

The visit goes smoothly and we inform Elias that "the game is over" and relay how the Diadem saga completed. He tells us that he's still packing, that if the worldbenders don't know that the game is over, then it's not over. We tell him that it's been years for us, and that sure, they may not know, but it's been okay so far. He mutters a little, but then, his adrenaline is still pumping.

Then he asks us, "Where did you get the equipment from?"

"Equipment?" asks Chris, looking puzzled.

"Yes, equipment. I can tell the signatures of their omniports."

"Oh! That." He hands Elias the omniport. "It was a gift from a friend, maybe Daewen."

Elias looks it over, and the rolls his eyes skyward, and hands the omniport back to Chris. "No, not Daewen. It figures. You'd probably get along just fine with him. If you don't know, then I'd best not tell you, because it's not time yet -- gad, if the two of you got together who only knows what sort of mess we'd all be in." He continues to mutter for a few more sentence fragments.

"Well," says Chris, we'd best not keep you. "We need to get to Eastmarch, and this was the only way we knew."

Elias sighs. "The doors still open." He pauses and then adds, "And probably will be for another half-hour." He sighs loudly. "Plenty of time for you to bother me again."

"Thank you," says Chris. "We'll see you later."

Elias sighs again loudly as we leave quickly.

We then pass through his place and head to the magic supply house of Canterbury & Kent. We see an old friend, Boomer, who is happy to see us and the proud owner of a new cold-box for his tavern.

[We get what we need at the supply house, and even pick up a dozen power- spheres at the urging of the proprietor. Ashleigh's second sight reports that these spheres appear to be simply raw magical energy. Fairly simple power sources or boosters. We return from Eastmarch without incident. An interesting question remains. Who did the omniport come from? We now know that it was not Daewen, and that it is a "he," and Elias thinks he is our sort of person.]

All of us then make the jump to an uninhabited area of New Hierow and stow our supplies. We show the Mage the powerspheres (he is pleased) and engage in a brief discussion on the merits of mass-produced magics and how power- spheres could be used during his work.

In the meantime, the rest of us are preparing our equipment for a jump to the Mock Turtle World to grow the silverwood trees. (The Mage comes along to watch the process.) We plant the zebrawood trees in a circle about a large pond. Then, Ashleigh casts several spells and the silver zebrawood trees grow before our very eyes. The Mage is impressed and then explains how he wants to create the mirrors.

He recalls the various "seas of stars" on the Jack and suggests a powerful and appropriate ceremony: infusing the fine silver into the water of one of those seas (small ponds with diasolid ports looking outside the Jack). We all agree that this is a good idea and hop back to the Jack. After a day or so exploring and playing tourist, we find an appropriate pond and cast the necessary spells, resulting in a fine mirror and the last of our required special materials! We return to New Hierow ready to build.

(Those individuals who won't be directly involved in the construction discussed their personal training and improvement plans for the next year or so. Ashleigh and Alag in particular will be working with the Mage for part or all of the construction time.)

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