As we walked, I continued to practice, while interspersed with magic and Mentat lectures with Jessica, only now it included Ajay and the others. Talking, and demonstrating some of the basics for a second time helped me make it more streamlined and coherent, covering things that I hadn’t realised I skipped with Jessica. Surprisingly Adriana interacted quite a lot, asking questions and talking with the others about it.
We passed four doors before reaching “The Lake”.
It was the largest and one of the simplest vignettes I had seen. It was about three times the size of a normal door, had no post or rope around it, and was just a flat surface of water. And I had no readily visible door.
“That’s more of a pond.”-Jessica
“That's what I said!”-Lana
“But look at the reeds, and the shore. It’s more like a lake, ergo “The Lake”-Ajay
“I don’t think Ergo means what you think it does, kind of like Lake.”-Lana
“No, I think he used it properly.”-Adriana
I tuned out the chatter and kneeled down by the edge of the lake.
-I wouldn’t have even guessed this was a door, it looks more like a natural feature.
The edge of the lake had reeds, a bit of grass, and where I was standing, a small band of sand. The water's surface was almost perfectly smooth, with small undulations, and looked like it was a fuzzy reflection of the grey sky. I moved my head around, trying to see past the reflection.
-That’s odd. I move and the image changes slightly, but it seems to completely block seeing anything below the surface.
I got up and walked about a meter bobbing up and down, only seeing a changing blurred image of the grey sky.
“What are you doing?”-Adriana
Adriana stood looking at me, the others now dropping their conversation.
“I’m seeing if I can see past the reflection on the surface of the water.”-Me
Adriana looked over at the lake, then frowned. I continued moving around.
“It’s just reflecting the sky.”-Adriana
“Thats what it looks like to me as well, but it changes slightly when you move. Even then you should be able to see into the water at some angle, or at least see your own blurry shadow.”-Me
I continued to bob up and down as I walked. Adriana walked over to the edge and looked. She moved here head around then waved her arm over the water. I stopped and was about to say something when she walked out onto the water's surface.
“Your right. No reflection at all.”-Adriana
She was staring down and did not notice that Lana had tried to reach out and grab her.
“Cool you can walk on water.”-Ajay
Ajay smiled as he walked out onto the surface after her. I felt like smacking myself in the head.
-Duh! It’s solid like all the rest.
“If you wander around pay attention to the gravity pull from the door! And see if the reflection changes!”-Me
I left them to wander over the lake, sat down closed my eyes and looked inward. My Core had dragged more of the chaotic cloud in, vague bands now starting to take form in the accretion disc. It was still hazy, requiring a lot more concentration to draw any magicicles out and into a twist.
-Up till now I’ve only been dealing with the single type of “neutral” magicicles I got from the phantom forest. Now I got this mess of every type. Hopefully the core’s gravity like effect will be able to sort these out into bands.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my gold needle marbles and took a quick peek into them.
-Both show some faint etching, but the traces look like just the outer structures of my twists.
I now “remembered” that the outer structure of the twists was in effect a power bus, supplying magicicles to the inner structures. I held my head for a bit.
-I’m seriously going to have sit down and really run over everything I know, or theorize, and see what else pops out from my “memories”
I closed my eyes again holding the gold needled marbles and started sending out leaders. This time I separated and pulled Terraicles for the leader I dropped into the ground and Aeroicles for the two into the sky.
-That only takes about 10 times longer than normal. Let's see if it has any noticeable effect.
At first there didn’t seem to be much of a difference, till I switched one of the sky leaders with a ground leader. The difference in the clarity of information I got from the leaders was significant. I created a neutral magicicle leader into the ground and one into the sky and started to compare.
-I think I'm getting different information from each type. The Terracile leader is reading more about density and I think mineral composition, whereas the Aerocile is telling me more about gas composition and vibrations. The neutral is actually clearer for just “seeing”. I wonder if there is a “light/photon” aspected magicicle. Hmm. Maybe if I braided different types together.
I played around with braided variations of the different leaders for a bit, getting a feel for what kind of information I could get, control, and how far each would reach.
-Braiding doesn’t seem to obscure any information, and makes control easier, but it seems to cut down on range. No surprise to find out that each type goes further in its natural element. I'll go through the other types of magicicles whizzing around later. For now, we have a new door to investigate.
I pushed the multi type braided leaders down to the patterns, focusing on the edge of the door. There was a thick layer of twist patterns surrounding the massive rock like intrusion, humming with power. The lakes support rock was just as impenetrable as the Black Gold door, but also included striations of other types of rock, were as the Black Gold was just a single type.
-I wonder if the different rock is because of the size? I'll have to check other doors to see if they vary too.
“The gravity pull is into the lake, but the surface is solid. How are you supposed to get in?”-Adriana
“That’s maybe why there isn’t any rope around this one.”-Jessica
“Is it really a door or something else?”-Lana
“Hey there is someone walking this way! Looks like he’s carrying a pole.”-Ajay
-Oh Ork Muk!
“Thats an Ugly then. Which way Ajay?”-Me
Ajay pointed. I could just make out a figure and the thin line of its spear.
-Kids got good eyes, as if that makes any sense here.
I stood up and moved to that side of the lake and started laying out leaders.
-No time to set up a charge field like I used in the battle royale, and no ground currents to channel. Just my normal twists. Maybe a Halo? Do I have time to set it up?
“You guys should stay several meters behind me and get ready to run if this goes bad.”-Me
“Would it attack us? I thought they needed us alive, er, undead. Whatever we are!”-Lana
“Were not part of their herd right now, and there isn’t any one out here to complain if it decides to cull a few strays”-Adriana
I heard them move around behind me but spared no time to open my eyes. Two of the braided leaders were working on the ground several meters in front of me, while neutral and aerocile leaders were busy high in the sky bullying argon and nitrogen into a ring along the edge of the nothingness border.
“I can fight too.”-Ajay
I heard some shuffling from behind me.
“You stay right where you are young man.”-Adriana
“But, I...”-Ajay
“No, Ajay. Let him talk to the, thing, maybe get it to go away. You're just as likely to try hitting it than talk.”-Jessica
“The idiot magician better do something.”-Adriana
I was too busy trying keep the misty side effect from my air twist hidden to retort to Adriana. As I pulled and sorted magicicles, stabilized the argon/nitrogen ring, and pushed the ground leaders, my head was starting to hurt.
It took a while before the ugly got close enough to make out details, I could hear Lana gasp when it did.
“Who, or what are you? Where are we?”-Me
I put on a cautious look on my face, hands at my side hiding the gold spike marbles, as I talked loudly at the Ugly.
The Ugly was a little larger than the average ones I had seen before, but the spear and armor were all exactly the same as all the rest. Its face seemed to sneer at me as it kept walking.
“Stupid Cows. Shut up and go before I hit you.”-Ugly
-Way to live the stereo type
“What? Who are you? If you would explain where we are and if we...”-Me
“I said shut up. Now I get to stick you and make the rest run.”-Ugly
He smiled with glee as he moved the spear of his shoulder and pointed it towards me, his steps speeding up.
“What! No. Don’t come here. Someone help!”-Me
-Beleg cûm -o Orch Malk! It didn`t even stop to taunt us. I'm going to have to zap it.
I raised my right hand throwing a new leader out, twisting before it even landed. An arc of brilliant blue reached out and grounded where the Ugly had been. The creature had dodged several meters to the right. It looked down at the blackened ground, then back up at me. It smiled again.
“I’m lucky to find such strong cattle out here where no one else can see me harvest. You're going to taste good.”-Ugly
It started running at me, dodging the now oddly off coloured blue bolts from right, my left was now dropping white mist like a Halloween punch bowl.
-And left. One more. Right in front of him, and....
“NOW!”-Me
I linked the sky leader I had been keeping isolated to the ground leader I had placed earlier. The 4-meter-wide Halo in the sky flashed as a blindingly bright blue/white line joined the sky to the ground. I staggered as some of the light followed some of the previous lightening paths and hammered into my hand and up my arm. The ground glowed white around me from the back lash through my ground leaders, illuminating the mist that had pooled around me.
-Why does every cool thing I do hurt so @#$%ing much?
I kept my left arm up, my right useless now, and waited till the bright line burnt in my eyes slowly faded and I could see ahead of me again. The Ugly was still standing cloaked in smoke.
-You have got to be kidding me! How tough are these things?
I was twisting an air bomb when I realized that it was not moving. As the smoke cleared, I could see its face twisted in agony, part of its chest and shoulder was gone. Its whole left side looked warped, twisted, and melted like wax. And fortunately, its whole body was entirely grey.
I dropped my left arm, releasing the air bomb I had been building. I looked down at my right arm.
-Not as bad as I thought it would be.
The jacket and shirt were not much more than thread bear patches, the skin below was hanging in bits, several of the fingers completely gone. I staggered from the pain when I tried to move the arm to get a closer look.
-Who’s yelling now? Oh, that’s me. Good thing I don’t sound like a little girl.
My legs buckled with the next wave of pain.
…..
I woke up looking at Jessica’s face over mine.
-She really is very beautiful.
“I recognize that look. Good thing you’re a pretty good wizard or I’d kick you for it.”-Adriana
Jessica’s eyes met mine, her concerned face blushed then went stern.
“Faen I helvete! Why did you use that again?”-Jessica
She stood up and crossed her arms looking down at me. Before I could speak Lana and Ajay blurted out.
“That was Awesome! Like a Thor strike from space. That Ugly just disintegrated!”-Ajay
“Your fingers grew back!”-Lana
I closed my eyes and smiled. Adriana kicked me. I didn’t mind, seeing as I now knew that she was wearing thigh high stockings and garters under her dress.
-Yes, you are one lucky depraved man.
I sat up and looked around. We were still at the Lake. Adriana and Jessica were now talking to Ajay, trying to rein in his enthusiasm, though I did note that Jessica would quickly check on me from the corner of her eye. Lana was staring at my right arm, still covered in the tattered remnants of my shirt and jacket sleeve. I held it up and flexed it so she could see.
“Were not alive, just soul images now. As long as you keep your body image everything should return back to the original image.”-Me
I tried to keep my voice low and steady.
“Lana.”-Me
I waited till she looked up to my eyes.
“When something happens like this, it is very painful, but only temporary. If you remember who you are, everything will return to how you looked originally.”-Me
I started to brush my sleeve back into shape.
“Of course, I feel sorry for anyone that is not dressed as good as I am.”-Me
I turned my nose up a bit, adding a slightly exaggerated pompous noble tone as I continued to brush my sleeve into shape.
Lana looked at the sleeve being brushed back into existence, then up at my acting. Then she smiled and hit me.
“That's for making Jessica worried.”-Lana
She hit me again, harder.
“What was that for?”-Me
I looked at her in exaggerated shock.
“Because you deserve it!”-Lana
Lana smiled brightly as she stood up.
I stood up with exaggerated flair, setting my jacket and looked off into the distance.
“Really! I guess envy is to be expected when you look this good.”-Me
Lana hit me again.
