School of the Sphere of Spirit
The building that houses the School of the Sphere of Spirit is tall, fashioned of some milky white stone that somewhat suggests ivory in its luster. The architectural motif is "tall, thin and Gothic", for the most part. Peaked arches run along every corridor, and at regular intervals, unnaturally long statues of important figures or creatures of myth stand in alcoves. Although it might suggest a cathedral in some respects, there are no stained glass windows – Certainly such a display of color would contrast sharply with the whiteness of everything here. There are in fact many windows – circular, and placed high on the walls – which let in plenty of light to see by, at least at intervals. Despite this, many of the alcoves and byways still remain in deep shadow. At first glance, the building might have a heavenly, and certainly spiritual aspect to it – as surely designed - but upon prolonged examination, one tends to notice little details.
After asking a few of the Novices in the building, Spring Meadow brings Tasha and the other Lapis to one of the underground laboratories. Inside is Mage Faust, former Dean of Spirit. He's a large white Korv with pink eyes, and is instructing a pair of Rath'ani students. A glowing ritual circle is permanently engraved into the stone floor, and the shelves and tables of the room are filled with odd looking books and various mortal remains preserved in jars. Some sort of stuffed, six-legged reptile hangs from the ceiling, and the room is lit with dribbly candles.
"And that is why you must never let the subject bleed on your runes," the Korv concludes whatever lecture he was giving the two terrified looking youths. He then cocks his head and notices the newcomers in the doorway. "Yes? Oh… Lapis," he squawks. "So, which one of you is possessed or has found some dangerous artifact this time? And you had better not be an Exile!" At this last utterance, he points a wing-claw directly at Tasha.
"We may all be possessed, Tasha is carrying the artifact, and none of us are exiles," Layth says quite simply as he approaches the Korv, completely unafraid. "If you are interested in seeing what we found … you will have to promise complete secrecy."
"You're in luck, I'm no', pinky-beak," Tasha answers, smiling with all her many teeth. She then gestures at the Lapi with her, and says, "Wha' Layth says is true, far as we know. An' you can promise all you like, bu' will you do it, I wun'er?"
"Yes, yes… " the Korv mutters, and then shoos the Novices away with his wings. "Go on, back to your studies – stop staring like that, Gnuttly! I'm sure you've seen females before." The two young raccoons stumble over themselves trying to get out while still smiling to the girls and trying to look dashing.
"I know you," Faust says, pointing out Spring Meadow, who squeaks in response. "You're friends with Lightfoot, Snowshoe and Envoy! I've got my eye on you, Spring Meadow." Turning more cordial, he asks both Tasha and Layth, "Now then, in your own words, please describe the event that brings you all here for testing."
Tasha watches the youths flee, laughing and shaking her head. "Get a few years on you," she tells one who passes by and looks a little too long. Once they're gone, she steps further into the room and looks around as she swings idly with an arm. "I 'ope you know more abou' Sifran artifacts than other ancient birds I've spoken with lately."
"What makes you think I know about Sifran artifacts?" Faust squawks, and gives Spring Meadow a pink stare of suspicion. "Little bunny told you something, eh?"
Layth watches the raccoons dash of, brow raised slightly. When spoken to, he turns his attention back to the Korv. "Sifran artifacts from off world, brought during the time of the Expedition," the buck clarifies. "As for Spring Meadow, she said you were an expert on possession and after the demon came from one of the crystals felt we should be examined."
"Well, we 'ave this 'ere artifact – wha's inside, no' the fancy case – an' it is o' some concern of ours tha' we make sure it's stable enough for long-range transport. Stable o' the sort o' not stealin' our spirits, killin' us, animatin' ancient machines or possessin' us. It's partial to suckin' the light out o' a room, makin' the world thick, an jabberin' in no tongue any o' us ever 'eard. Oh, an' it's gastly." She jangles the box at the Korv, temptingly. "In'erested?"
"A demon!?" the Korv squawks, his feathers puffing out to make him look like some deranged snow-cone. "Blasted alarms must be on the fritz again," he then mutters, smoothing down his feathers. "Never heard of a spirit coming from a crystal," he admits, sounding interested. "We use them to block or dispel spirits in our… experiments. First things first though: if you think you've been exposed to some sort of spirit, you'll need to be tested. Luckily have the ritual charged up still after showing it to the students. Who wants to go first?"
"I'll go first of everyone would prefer to see what happens before they agree," Layth offers.
The two does behind Layth both nod in agreement to that proposal. Spring Meadow just looks embarrassed.
"Layth likes gettin' 'urt for us, 'e's a manly sort," Tasha informs the Korv. She waves Layth forward, not stopping him. "Me, I think 'e's been suspiciously possessed o' a sense o' humor an' impatience – an' I though' the las' one was my demon."
"Well, he's… certainly big," Faust notes, and shows Layth where to stand in the center of the circle, then begins chanting without waiting for the buck to do so.
"It is highly unlikely that this Korv can hurt me," Layth comments with an amused smile as he steps in the circle and goes to the noted spot. "Nature gifted me with durability."
Leaning towards Calli, Tasha asks, "Ever see a Korv before? I always wun'ered wha' they 'ave un'er all them feathers, bu' I never did find out. All my beak kissin' was done with Vartans, an' it never did work quite righ'." She watches Layth's spell with interest, one ear forward and one swiveled towards Calligenia.
Calligenia raises her ears at the whisper, and replies, "So the bird-man is not a ghost, but a flesh and blood person?"
Faust chants for a bit longer, resetting the ritual. A hazy halo of glowing mist rises up from the circle and contracts until it's just wider than Layth's head. It then begins to descend, expanding as necessary to clear the Lapi's body. It takes a few minutes to reach the ground, and then it starts rising up again.
"Pretty sure 'e's a flesh an' blood – we can check later. I always liked goosin' them Korvs, they puff out an' squawk in a way tha'll make you laugh," the Vartan answers.
"The last time I saw something like this, it was after sharing a rather strongly spiked hookah," Layth comments to no one in particular. He smiles and waves slightly to the does. "No pain," he tells them.
"Oi, Layth's on the junk. I knew there was some secret to tha' calm," Tasha remarks, head tilting to the side.
Once the halo returns to hovering over Layth's head, Faust calls out, "Clean! Next please!"
Layth steps out of the circle. As he passes Spring Meadow, he gives her backside a firm (but light) swat. "You're next, you were close as I was," he says.
"I'll go, 'old this Calli," Tasha tells the doe beside her, then hands her the case. Stepping forward, Tasha extends her hands and her wings as she passes into the circle. "Me mum always tol' me to fear magic. Don' make 'er righ', or I'll never 'ear the end o' it."
The chocolate doe holds the case warily, and looks like she wants to pass it off to Layth as soon as possible.
Layth offers his hand to Calligenia. "Do you wish me to hold that?" he asks.
Springer is spared, as Tasha takes up the circle. Faust chants some more, and the whole halo-dropping business starts over. Due to her wings and other curves, the halo changes shape more often, but otherwise doesn't change color or explode, scream, etc.
Calli gratefully turns over the alien case.
"Hmmm, no spirit traces or links on you either," Faust reports. "Step up Meadow – if anyone is harboring a spirit, it's probably going to be you."
Tasha watches the halo pass, ears swiveling in a manner that resembles more doe than canine. "'Ey Layth," Tasha inquires as she steps out of the circle, "'ow would I know if the magic sucked me soul out? Mum's always sayin' magic sucks out souls."
"I won't let him hurt you," Layth promises Spring Meadow and pats her again. To Tasha, he says, "You would feel the sucking, I imagine. Or, perhaps you never had a soul… ?"
The halo has to make four passes before Faust declares Meadow clean of spirit influences, although he does give her a suspicious glare nonetheless. "Alright then, one of other does now. Hmmm, I should probably get your names at some point too," he adds, absentmindedly.
"I feel love, an' tha's enough for me to know I 'ave a soul," the Vartan insists, smiling. She steps beside Layth and holds a hand out for the case. "Think Calli's possessed? She's a bit fiendish, sometimes." She smiles all the more.
Layth nudges Calligenia. "Go ahead, it's safe," he whispers. He hands the case back to Tasha next.
After accepting the case, Tasha lifts it to eye level and scans the seals briefly.
The chocolate doe steps into the circle a bit hesitantly. Perhaps because she was forced to leave any weapons back at the townhouse. "There's nothing to worry about," Faust promises, and starts the scan. Nothing happens on the downward sweep, but the halo flashes a few times on the upward one. "No possession," Faust declares. "A few traces, but they are old."
"A few traces? Clarify," Layth notes as he takes a couple steps toward Calligenia.
The case is as firmly shut as it has ever been, as far as the naked eye is concerned. Calli pauses in exiting the circle as Layth approaches.
"Mus' be the bit o' 'er mother in there," Tasha considers aloud. "She always did seem a bi' fiendish too, come to think o' it." She rubs her muzzle in an exaggerated look of deep thought.
"Hmm? Oh, just old hints of ritual magic," Faust says, and asks the doe, "Where are you from, girl?"
"Dianus," Calligenia answers.
"Ah… been blessed, consecrated, or so on to some god or goddess then?" the Korv asks, to which Calli nods. "Thought so. Nothing to be concerned about. That sort of ritual magic can be a bit… unrefined. It leaves traces behind, is all."
"Who were you blessed by?" Layth asks Calligenia as he now escorts her from the circle.
"Pro'ly by 'er 'ouse priestesses, Layth," Tasha suggests.
"Ashtoreth, it'd be," the Vartan adds.
"My sister blessed me, of course," Calli notes, and nods to Tasha.
Tasha nods back to Calligenia. "Me family usually jus' curses me," she remarks with a bit of a laugh.
"I have never been blessed by anyone or anything," Layth comments idly as he heads back to his spot to stand. Now it's his turn to nudge Aisha. "You're next."
"Oi, you're blessed to be with me, Layth," insists the red woman to the buck, then leans over to pinch his arm and grin.
The golden doe takes Calli's place, her own ears held up proudly. At least until Faust asks her to remove the jewelry from them.
"For varying levels of blessing, suspiciously in the territory of cursed," Layth counters and pokes Tasha's side.
The clips come off and are handed to Spring Meadow to hold, and the spirit-scan commences. Aisha is also declared uncontaminated. "Now then, what's the story behind this 'off world' crystal of yours," Faust asks. He keeps the ritual active, despite there not being anyone left to scan. "Tell me again what it did?"
The Vartan laughs and side-steps away after being poked. "Abaddon's blessin's are always of the challengin' sort. Bein' with me 'as 'elped you build character an' expand your knowledge. 'In conflict do we find our true metal,' it is," the woman insists.
"When the crystal was poked, all light in the room was sucked away. The remaining darkness could be felt, like being under water. Then an odd blob appeared in the air over the crystal and started chanting," Layth explains, "We could open the crystal again and see if it reoccurs."
"Hmmm," Faust mutters, rubbing his beak in thought. "I'm going to set up a containment ward first, then we can try that," the Mage says, and immediately begins chanting again without telling them how long it might take.
"Chantin' or talkin', we're no' sure, an' weren' abou' to start it up again in a place tha' wasn' safe – or safer, in any case," adds Tasha. She holds up the case where the Korv can see it. "Like Layth says, it's an Expedition-era Sifran artifact. It might 'ave some influence on machines, or at leas' Silen' Ones machines."
"Is he mildly insane?" Layth asks Spring meadow.
"He used to be a Dean," Meadow notes. "So… maybe a little… "
"Korv's always a bit odd, Layth. Think it comes from 'avin' so much feather an' so much beak," the Vartan whispers to Layth. "An' e's odder than mos' o' them."
"The Korvs in Abu Dhabi are more polite," Aisha notes.
"Faust isn't so bad, as ex-Deans go," Springer whispers. "I mean, he's not nearly as creepy as a Mind Mage."
"Everyone in Abu Dhabi is more polite," Layth points out. "The downside is, if we were there I would have to marry all the does to protect them."
Tasha watches the Korv chant, and chant … and chant. She leans iver to Spring Meadow and asks, "'Ow long is this goin' to take, anyway? Maybe we ought an' get comfortable, I don' think anythin' short of pullin' 'is tailfeathers'll stir 'im now."
"He's usually very fast, I think," Meadow notes. "I hear he's one of the few combat-rated Spirit Mages left after the last war." Calligenia is already 'getting comfortable' by poking at interesting organic blobs in jars.
The chanting stops abruptly, and Faust demands, "What are you whispering about over there? Anyway, put the item in the center of the circle and open it up."
"Doing that may get you possessed," Layth informs Calligenia, "And then we would have to put you in a jar and leave you here… "
"I'm no' sure wha' tha' means, so I'll jus' tahe a look at some books 'e- Oh, 'e's done." Tasha shrugs a little, then steps forward with the case. "I 'ave it 'ere," she informs the man, waving the case a bit as she walks by. "I'm goin' to remove it, an' let it res' on its case, so we can seal it back up again quick if need be. Also, it seems to need it some light to work, so we may need more candles or sunlight." She kneels in the center, then begins unfastening the seals, before removing the artifact.
"More light?" Faust asks. Since the laboratory is underground, it seems unlikely that sunlight will be available. So Faust just increases the power flow in the ward, causing it to glow like a shimmering veil around the central circle. "This will have to do. Please activate it."
"If you would rather not touch it, I will activate it for you," Layth offers Tasha.
After eying the artifact, which looks like a starfish made of luminescent melting crystal, Tasha shrugs. "No, Layth. I'm no' goin' to foist all danger on to you. This 'ere artifact's my burden, too." She takes a deep breath, then leans over and pokes it with a finger. "Get ready," she warns.
"There should be a long pole around her somewhere," Faust mutters, looking around. "Unless the Chaos students have nicked it for their bloody billiards table… "
"Too late, an' I think touchin' it's importan' anyway," the Vartan informs the ex-Dean as she steps away from the crystal.
The darkness builds slower this time around, and seems restricted to the boundaries of the ward itself – although the glow from the magical barrier dims until it's transparent once more. When the circular column is dark enough, the chanting blob appears again.
"See? Demon," Layth tells Faust. "What is it saying?"
Grimacing, Tasha shakes her head at the blob. "Oi, there it is again." She perks her ears forward to listen to it intently as she tries to figure out what in the world – or worlds – it's saying. "Should we be concerned it's dimmed your magic circle a bi'?"
"It's saying 'blah blah grunt grunt' nonsense," Faust notes, and looks at various runs in the ritual circle every so often. "Hmmm, it is draining things a bit, but nothing to worry about yet."
Glancing at the elder mage, Tasha raises a brow. "Is tha' wha' it's actually sayin', or do you jus' no' know? I find it 'ard to believe they'd make this thing jus' to jabber."
The longer the display goes on, the more defined the blob becomes. It begins sprouting appendages, eye-stalks and other bizarre features. Faust tries waving at it to see if it responds at all.
"Can you not translate it? What is it?" Layth asks Faust. "Meadow said you were an expert with such things."
"It's gettin' uglier, too. Like it eats ligh' to make ugly," the Vartan remarks. She, too, tries waving at it to see if it responds.
"Hmmph," Faust says, giving the Earth Mage another reproachful glare. "Expert in something nobody understands isn't what you think, lad." The blobby demon is now changing colors, as if a rainbow were chasing across its skin. Some of the colors seem unnatural though.
"It looks like some of the people that frequented the night clubs of Abu Dhabi," Layth comments. "Only they were more active. Maybe we should throw something at it."
"I can tell you that it isn't a spirit though," Faust notes, gesturing to various glowing and blinking runes in the floor. "If it reacts to something you throw at it, that might tell us something more."
"It'd be entertainin' if I didn' suspect it o' bein' an' evil, murderin' artifact," says Tasha. She tilts her head, then leans closer to peer at it. "It's like some 'orrible shiny nightmare."
"Don' throw anythin' we can' pay for," adds the red woman as she eyes the artifact. "Or anythin' it could use as a weapon."
Layth picks up a waxy skull from a nearby table. He tests the weight by bouncing it a few times in his hand … then tosses it towards the tentacle blob. "Perhaps this will help us get a head," he deadpans.
As the skull passes through the field of darkness, the blob actually extends some claw-tipped tentacles and tries to catch it – but misses.
"Hah!" Faust squawks. "Try to hit its body!"
"Ah, so it sees things that enter the circle. I wonder what would happen if one of us entered," Layth muses. He picks up a dribbly candle next and checks the weight. Toss!
"Oi, it did somethin'! It's actually tried to grab i'," an amazed Tasha exclaims. "I wasn' even sure it'd be solid, jus' some image all in our 'ead. Bu', there it is, it is." She takes a step to the side, then begins slowly circling the blob to get a better look.
The candle passes through the blob's body, causing it twist and contort. The limbs begin to flail about angrily and lash against the edges of the ward, leaving glowing trails. Even if it's not a spirit, it still seems to be penned in.
"Can you make it stop… making noise?" Aisha asks, having pulled her ears down.
"Should one of us go in with it?" Layth asks. "It does seem a bit violent. But then I would be too if people were throwing things at me."
Tasha pauses when the blob reacts angrily, ears flattening. "Well, we know it doesn' like 'avin' things thrown at it. Maybe if we 'anded it somethin'? An inked quill, an' some parchment?"
"A good suggestion," Layth agrees and looks for exactly that.
There are plenty of writing supplies spread out on the tables and desks, conveniently.
Layth picks up a quill and makes sure it's properly inked. Next he picks up some parchment. Carrying each in a hand, he walks towards the ward. Once beside it, he sticks both hands through, offering the items to the creature. "Go on, take them," he says.
Tiny pincers grab onto the paper, and a tentacle wraps around the quill. More pseudopods start reaching for Layth's hands as well.
Layth doesn't pull his hands away quite yet. He's curious what it feels like. Though, he does lean slightly back, anchoring his legs firmly in case it decides to pull.
The touch of the creature is cold: very cold, as if it's trying to suck the heat out Layth's flesh.
"Odd," Layth informs the others, "Its touch is very cold." He actually smiles to the creature, tells it, "An honor to meet you," and even shakes those tentacles … and then he tries to withdraw his hands.
The tentacles lose their grip on Layth's hands as soon as they touch the barrier. "It's drawing in energy," Faust says. "Must have been trying to get it from you as well. It's confined to the darkness, it seems, and the darkness – being magical – is confined by the ward. Fascinating."
"It is hideous and noisy," Calligenia complains. "Can we kill it?"
Layth wiggles his fingers, making sure they are okay. "So, it is not safe to enter," the buck comments as if this is the most ordinary thing in the world.
"So it's a bein' tha' feeds on ligh' an' other 'energies,' to make a dark area it can live in?" Seeing Layth is intact, Tasha steps forward for a closer look. "An' tha' chantin' 'as to mean somethin'."
A pause, and Tasha adds, "Are you sayin' it's some sort o' mage, then? It's usin' magic, bu' isn't magic itself?"
"I can't tell if it repeats or not," Faust notes. Inside the darkness the creature flaps the parchment and quill around, and from the way the limbs appear to be straining may be trying to tear the paper. It gives up on this, and tries folding it instead.
"It is possibly a construct that is not spirit-based," Faust suggests. "A projection of some sort, that requires this 'heavy dark' medium to operate in."
"Perhaps the babbling is what drove your machine-mind insane," Aisha suggests to Tasha.
"Perhaps it is the God of Hangovers," Layth suggests, "They feel heavy and hate light too."
The blob seems to consume the parchment, or at least hide it within its body. Eventually something drops out to the bottom of the cylinder of darkness: the parchment has been folded into a little boat.
"An' Sifran t'boot. I'd like to say it served them some purpose, bu' we know next to nothin' abou' Sifras. It coul' be for anythin'." Shaking her head, Tasha steps forward and pokes her finger just far enough past the shield to make physical contact. To Aisha, she replies, "Might be, but I'm no' so sure. The machine-mind wan'ed to keep these things. I even saw some o' this darkness in its machine-lights. If only we 'ad a Silen' Ones machine to try."
"Do you want me to contain it?" Layth asks and goes to Tasha to retrieve the lid for the case. He pauses and looks back to the paper. "It made something. Meadow, give it more paper… "
"Contain it in wha'? I'm no' lettin' anyone go in there – Mage Faust can contain it when we wan' it gone." She wiggles her finger, seeing if it'll try and touch her. "Maybe it's another machine? A thinkin' machine made o' darkness an' shapes. An', wai' … Look! It made a … A boat?" The Vartan's ears go askew, and she stares at the boat with a bemused expression.
The Earth Mage feeds another sheet to the monstrosity, which 'gobbles it up' and spits out… something that might be a bird. It has wings and a neck and a pointy face, at least.
A tentacle reaches out for Tasha's finger, and starts sucking out the heat from it.
"Maybe it communicates through shapes," Layth muses. He goes and gets a stack of paper, then feeds another sheet into the cylinder.
"A bird-thing, an' a boat? Is there some sort o' connection 'ere? I wasn' expectin' it to make something so familiar, bu' maybe it learned from all its time with the Expediti- … Brr!" Pulling back her finger, Tasha reflexively sticks it in her mouth and sucks on it. "Cold's righ'," she murmurs around the digit.
"Aha! I see a use for this!" Faust says, and hops up onto one of the tables that are covered with glass beakers. "Here," he says, holding up a beaker of some sort of amber liquid which smells horrible. "Give it this."
"Aisha, bring that beaker here," Layth tells the golden doe.
"It hurts my nose," Aisha complains, but brings over the beaker as requested.
"Would you like to give the beaker to it?" Layth asks the doe. "If not," he continues, then holds out his hand to her.
The doe puts the beaker into Layth's hands and then shakes her own, fingers spread, in case any of the liquid got onto them.
Tasha continues to suck on her finger, though she looks more contemplative than concerned over her frosty finger. The way her eyes narrow and ears flick, she must be pondering the thing. "Shapes, colors, noises, flesh, wha' could it all mean … ," she murmurs.
Layth sticks his hand back into the cylinder and offers the beaker to it. "I could give you another complete bath later, if you like," he whispers to Aisha.
The next piece of parchment looks like a sailor's cap when it drops out. "Maybe it's just… well, no that wouldn't make sense… " Meadow mutters, selecting a fresh sheet of paper.
Thick tentacles reach into the beaker, and the fluid level drops as the amber liquid is pumped through them into the creature's body.
"These are all things tha' 'ave to do with the sea," Tasha considers aloud. "A boat, a bird, an' a sailor's 'at. Maybe it wan's some water? Sea water?"
Layth continues to hold the beaker while the strange creature drinks whatever it is. "What was the liquid?" the buck inquires.
"Well, it can't be alive like we are," Faust claims. "That specimen preservation liquid is poisonous."
"Poison is often species specific, though," Layth points out.
"I'm curious wha', if anythin', it'll make out o' tha' stuff," Tasha remarks.
The blob also sucks up the next piece of paper that Meadow feeds it. Eventually it produces… a snow-cone. The ice is amber-colored, and the parchment has been rolled into a cone to hold it. It's quickly melting and ruining the paper though.
"If only we had some cream," Faust mutters. "If not for the gibbering, it could be used to keep an icebox cold… "
Tasha's ears flatten all over again. "I wun'er wha' the Silen' Ones machine saw in this? Maybe it's full o' patterns an' things, somethin' only tha' machine could un'erstan'. Try handin' it tha' skull, Layth?"
Layth withdraws his hand and the beaker and returns it to a counter. So … now he goes and gets the skull he threw earlier and sticks that inside the darkness. "I can't help but imagine us as a bunch of children poking the 'weird kid'," he has to point out.
"I'm beginnin' to think 'alf o' bein' a scholar is pokin' the weird thing until you figure it out," says the Vartan. "I wun'er if the Expedition did the same thing?"
The skull proves difficult for the thing to handle. While the mass of the blob never moves from the center of the dark space, the tentacles and grippers have trouble holding the weight of the skull. It's slow going to haul it up into the blobby body.
"They probably never got this far, if they were able to activate the monster at all," Meadow points out. Faust is already carrying over another beaker of what is probably just water now.
Layth actually tries to help it lift the skull up to its body.
"Maybe so. Makes me wun'er where they came form originally, an' 'ow they got there. If they only worked 'ere, why were they somewhere else? An' 'ow'd they get there? The Expedition crew tol' me tha' Sinai's the only worl' tha' 'as magic," Tasha says. She eyes Layth 'helping' the creature, frowning a little. "I guess we know 'ow strong it is now, at leas'."
That speeds things up a bit, although the chill is a bit annoying. As soon as the skull is engulfed, it's spat back out – although now shiny and cleaned of all the waxy buildup. Tubular tentacles drain the beaker that Faust holds out at the same time.
Layth withdraws his hands and rubs them together. "It doesn't actually seem dangerous," he notes. "Just … cold."
"Maybe it's some sort of… party game?" Meadow suggests, feeding it another sheet of paper. Once that's gone, the blob seems to take its time before producing something. Then all at once it spits out a paper-mach'e version of the skull and and ice-sculpture version.
"Well it's stuck in there. We don' know 'ow far it'd grow, or 'ow much it'd 'eat' up. Fswaor all we know, it migh' jus' keep grownin' an' feedin' until it eats the world and spits out a boat," the red woman offers.
"It's a machine of some sort," Faust squawks. "Garbage in, Garbage out! It can probably produce many things, depending on what you feed it."
"Well, you did want a ship," Layth tells Tasha, then grins. "Hm, wait … I see a pattern. It takes a solid object, then crafts liquids or malleable ones into copies. Find something else hard, and lets see if it copies it."
A bit tentatively, Aisha offers up one of her complex, chain-and-clip metal earrings. "What about this?" she asks.
Tasha nods to Faust's words, then 'hmmms.' "So far, it's jus' made simple things. Wha' 'appens if we give it somethin' complicated, like a book? Will it make a book out o' wax, or ice? If it can copy very complex things, then we may be able to use it," she says.
Layth takes the earring. "Let's try it," he tells the doe. Back into the darkness his hand goes, offering the earring to it.
"What sort of raw materials does it need though?" Meadow asks. "We've only got wax and paper and water. You can't get very complex with those."
The earring is sucked up and spat back out like the skull. But this time Layth is able to catch it before it falls into the growing mess at the bottom of the cylinder.
"Wha' abou' blood," the Vartan offers. "Didn' you say somethin' abou' blood when we came in, Mage Faust?"
"You're an Earth Mage, you must have some amber on you," Faust notes to Springer. "And… blood is just a liquid, in this case. It made poison into a dessert treat. It may not actually be able to tell what it is being fed."
Spring Meadow's ears go down, and she does produce a little bag from inside her robe. She pours out a few dirty chunks of amber from it and offers them up to the monster.
Edging closer to Layth, Tasha whispers to him, "One 'o them produces power, one 'o them makes shapes, an' one o' them seems to resonate. Alone, they seem interestin', bu' no' so useful. Together, seems like they'd combine to extend their reach and fuel themselves, don' you think?"
It takes longer than usual, but the monster eventually drops an amber replica of Aisha's earring, complete with chain links and all but the finest of the filigree details. The clip springs do not function though.
Layth starts to offer offers the earring back to Aisha, then stops. He gives the doe a grin, then clips the earring to his ear. Tilting his head a bit to Tasha, he hmms, "A copying machine, a power source, and an odd resonating machine. I'm not certain one can necessarily fuel the other."
"It has eyes," Faust notes. "I think they're eyes, anyway. So perhaps it can reproduce images as well. We'd need paints to test that." He then glances at the runes of the circle to check on the condition of the ward.
"Together they may produce enough sensations to confuse something into thinking there is meaning," Aisha notes. "When you listen at night to the desert insects, sometimes you think they are some sort of orchestra."
"Why no' jus' draw somethin' on some parchment, 'old it up where it can see, then 'and it a bottle of ink an' some parchment?" Tasha glances at Layth, then explains, "It's takin' energy from everythin' aroun' it, bu' imagine if it didn' need to? I'm no' so sure abou' the resonatin' thing, except maybe it could feel out the worl' better. I'm no' sure. This is out o' me league by a sea or two."
"It's still holding the quill pen," Calligenia notes.
"Food," Faust mutters. "If we feed it raw ingredients, would it produce something that the Sifras actually ate?"
"Who here can draw?" Layth inquires, then looks at Aisha. "I imagine you were taught art in Abu Dhabi… "
"Oi, it is! It says somethin' tha' it 'asn't done anythin' to the quill pen. Maybe it recognizes it for wha' it is," Tasha remarks, sounding fascinated.
"Yes," Aisha notes, and picks up one of the other quills in the room. She quickly sketches out a profile of Layth, albeit done in an artful, abstract manner.
"I didn't know I looked like that," Layth has to admit at the sight of the picture. "Offer the picture to it?"
"How do you tell it to look and not grab?" Meadow asks.
"An's some ink to draw with, an' some parchmen'. Jus' show it the picture, 'old it jus' out o' reach and try and get an eye's attention," suggests Tasha.
"Hold it just out of reach?" Layth suggests.
"Pull it back if it tries to grab," Calli adds. "It probably cannot see beyond its environment."
Layth gently takes the parchment from Aisha and walks towards the barrier. "Don't take this," he tells the creature inside, then sicks the picture just in the barrier, unrolled and image facing it.
"It's a shame we can' get it to jabber somethin' with a better tune," Tasha remarks.
As the tentacles reach for it, Meadow says, "Wait!" and offers Layth a blank sheet of parchment. "Give it both at once!" she suggests.
"Maybe if the singing crystal was placed next to it?" Calli suggests.
"You have more crystals that do things?" Faust asks in surprise.
Layth pulls his hands back out and takes the blank sheet. He takes a breath, then inserts both at one. The one with the image is unfurled and facing it. The other is still rolled up so it can be easily taken.
Tasha seems to consider that, then shakes her head, giving Calligenia a look. "No, bes' to keep them apart. I remember wha' 'appened the las' time they were all together," she tells the doe.
"We have a crystal that made Aisha taste her feet," Layth explains to Faust.
The blob grabs both sheets of paper. This time, the quill gets inserted into the mass as well, and the ink visibly drains from it. Once empty, the pen is dropped, and two sheets of parchment with the identical image of Layth on each are produced.
Layth compares the two pictures. The original he gives back to Aisha. The copy he hands to Spring Meadow.
"So, at the very leas' we know it can copy things," Tasha remarks, considering. "Tha' may not be the whole o' it, bu' it's somethin' Gabriel an' the doctors will be in'erested in hearin' abou' this."
"Kinesthesis inducer?" Faust asks, rubbing his beak again. "An entertainment device perhaps, or… meditative aid. Perhaps the Sifras gain pleasure from such."
"Could have been a lamp," Calligenia offers.
Layth considers something. He then reaches up and pulls out several strands of his own hair. He offers those to the blob, just to see what it would do with such.
The flickering of the runes in the magic circle increases in pitch, and suddenly begin to fade. "Ack!" Faust squawks. "Whenever it does something, it uses up power." Meanwhile, the blob takes the hairs, and then spits them back out again.
Tasha's ears suddenly shoot up, and she gestures at Aisha suddenly. "Oi, Aisha! Can you write all this down, in Standard? Wha' it's been doin' so far, wha' we gave it, and wha' came o' it? We ought an' record this."
"And, I think it is probably time to close it up again," Layth says, "Hand me the lid, Tasha. And oh, some of your hair."
"Oh… yes," Aisha notes, setting aside the drawing and starting to write notes now.
"I 'ope it doesn't now know us, an' start makin' copies o' us later." Tasha gestures at the lid on the floor inside the field. "It set it atop the case, so just reach in there with a pole or somethin' and tip the lid over on it."
The ward collapses, and the darkness begins to contract around the blob now that its power source is exhausted. The blob itself starts to shrink as well.
"Or … it's going to turn itself off," Layth comments. He reaches into what remains of the darkness and feels for the lid to close it.
"Oi, bye little weird thinger. I 'ope it wasn' you tha' tried to kill us all," Tasha bids the shrinking blob.
"Be careful," Faust warns. "That liquid is dangerous." By then, the blob and darkness have contracted enough to leave the starfish-crystal and various items clear. The liquid preservative has formed a puddle and gotten on the crystal and it's case as well.
"Try tapping it with your claw again," Meadow suggests.
Layth tries tap the crystal with his fingertips to see if it goes off.
"An' wipe tha' goo off the case, we don't need it eatin' the container up – we don' 'ave spares af'er all," Tasha insists. She begins looking around for a rag, to do just that.
At the tap, the blob and darkness dissolve away, leaving the foul smelling mass of wet paper and melting ice behind.
"So … who gets to clean up?" Layth asks.
"I'll get it," Tasha calls back, still rumaging around for a towel. "Jus' make sure it's not eatn' up the case."
Layth squats down and peers at the case. "I think it's okay," he says. "It is not consuming the metal like a djinn devouring a town on a fiery desert day."
"Tha's good. The case is somethin' special, too, even if it's a bit eclipsed by the artifacts." Returning with a towel, Tasha carefully begins dabbing away the fluid. "We'll 'and this report to the Expedition when we meet them, they should be in'erested in wha' we learned 'ere."
"You are taking this to New Zion then?" Faust asks. "On Abaddon?"
Tasha pauses, then nods. "Aye, you could say we're connected to the Expedition, to which these artifacts belong," Tasha answers. "Do you know anythin' abou' the Expedition or New Zion?"
"Only a few Earth Mages have dealt with them, back when the displaced terrain of Elamoore still held some magic," Faust says. "And… well, I don't think Envoy soured our relations in any way. It is said to be more advanced than Chronotopia, but perhaps not on a par with the Temple."
"You do not seem to have a high opinion of this person called 'Envoy'," Layth comments as he stands and steps back to give Tasha room.
"Odd 'ow tha' is, when they pro'ly 'ave the same beginnin's," Tasha remarks. She continues to soak the up the fluid with the tower, then begins to rub out the last traces with circular motions using an undampened end. "I 'ope to learn abou' technology there. Me boyfriend is also, well, a Expedition member."
"Exiles… you can't predict what they'll do," Faust complains, throwing up his wings. "During the whole debacle with that Babelite Dream Ritual, she was confounding! First she points us towards a potentially dangerous possessed girl here on Rephidim, and then at the last minute tells us to let her go – through the girl's own mouth, from having tea with the goddess of Death or something! I'm not at all surprised she's been evicted from the Guild."
"She's not that bad," Spring Meadow mutters, and helps Tasha clean up the mess left by the blob.
Just about done, tasha leans back. "Some day, I'm goin' to know 'ow theri machines work. An' some day, I'll 'ave a ship," Tasha tells Spring Meadow as they work.
Layth finally unclips Aisha's ear-chain from his ear and offers it back to the doe. "It is unharmed," he informs her.
"What's even worse, is that the last rumor I heard had the Exile controlling Sifran technology… or at least being able to activate it. Hmph!" Faust notes, crossing his wings against his chest. "If they ever recover her body, I hope they let me have a peek at her brain."
Aisha reattaches it, and tells Layth, "If you would like one of your own, I know that Aaron has a set he does not wear."
"Would it look attractive on me?" Layth inquires, though one ear is still tilted towards Faust.
"It should," Aisha notes. "It may even complement your tattoo. Plus, it is wasted on Aaron. His left ear cannot support it, and men only wear clips on their left ears."
"Why only the left ear?" Layth asks curiously. Glancing back to Faust, he asks, "You will not tell anyone of what happened here today, yes?"
Standing again, Tasha picks up the case, and then looks skyward. "Gabriel an' the others should be out soon we'd bes' be goin' now. Or, I can 'ead ou' an' you all can talk with Mage Faust. Either way, I 'ave to put the artifact back an' make a sandwich."
Faust gives Layth a calculating look. "Will I have a chance to examine the other artifacts before you leave?" he asks.
"How will it affect your decision?" Layth asks.
"It will drive me mad having missed out, that's how," the Korv notes. "Sifran crystal artifacts that actually do something are incredibly rare, if not completely unheard of. And I doubt you'll be bringing them back after taking them to Abaddon."
"If you can provide a copy o' your notes on the artifacts, and agree not to reveal them, we will allow you to see 'em," Tasha says, speaking up. "We may also offer you more to look at later, if the Expedition 'as more interes' in 'avin' a mage look at them. For the res', tha' depend son them, an' on keepin' these safe."