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We're off to see the Wizard...Week 7, Collecting the Ingredients | |
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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.
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.
[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.) Created: 24-May-98 Copyright © 1998, Jim Burrows. All Rights Reserved. |