T knew she was smiling as she watched the three Sunnydalian arcanes practically salivate at the possibility of ess to Honored—Paragon in human terms—levels of power.
“Yes.” Lyn said simply, her own smile polite. “Due to the nature of our hold, it rues power gradually in a manner that is visible but sequestered, inessible without proper authorization. I will emphasize that it is <em>not </em>an infinite resource, but <em>is</em> abundant enough for us to trade it under the right circumstances.”
T was honestly torn. Due to the nature of Kit, no matter how long the arcanes stayed within—so long as they didn’t <em>try</em> to destroy the power—they would only ‘use up’ as much power as they could hold when they left. To her and Kit, that meant that an arcane moving in for a lifetime and never leaving would be less of a usage than one stepping in for five minutes, filling themselves to the brim and walking out.
Lyn had, of course, prepared a private, tiered list to reflect <em>some</em> of that in the pricing that she would aim to extract. The n was to sell ‘sessions’ that were cheaper per hour the longer they were, but which would end should the arcane leave Ironhold at any time and for any reason.
Beyond that, though, T hadn’t needed to inquire.
The three arcanes exchanged long looks before they turned back to Lyn with obvious eagerness. It was Liam who spoke next, “Are the facilities such that long stretches can be spent within, in rtivefort? Or are they like the chambers rented out by the Major Houses? Littlerger than a coffin for our burial.”
There was tension in the air, but something about their positioning, bodynguage, and tonality made T think that they would be excited either way. Lyn gave a soft smile, one with almost motherly understanding. “Due to methods that we will not reveal, we can allow you ess to power at this density anywhere within our hold. As I said, even if you do not wish to trade for this, you will be able to see the magic yourself throughout our home. It will simply only be essible for the times agreed to. During those times? You may go about any activity you choose—so long as it is allowed at all—without the density you are submerged in, and have ess to absorb and manipte, being affected.”
The three visibly swallowed.
T almostughed due to the synchronicity of it, but she held her features stoic.There was going to be a <em>lot</em> of negotiation.
Negotiation that T and Rane weren''t needed for.
Even so, T was not willing to leave Lyn alone, and she didn’t feel that exposing the Talons would be wise at this time. She wanted them to be a hidden card, just in case. Moreover, inviting Ron or other talons out would make their quick loss of power evident, especially over the span of a long negotiation session.
Thus, Rane and T settled in to be Lyn’s protectors for the afternoon.
<em>At least we have a pleasant scene to look down upon.</em>
* * *
T stared at the strange material before her.
She and Lyn were in her sanctum, sitting infortable chairs, regarding a funny lump of substance on the table between them.
It looked like a cloud as it rested on the ground. Or maybe it more closely resembled a bundle of wispy cotton or wool, but far, <em>far</em> lighter than either.
“This is some sort of… what is it again?”
Lyn shook her head, patient as always, though she had a knowing smile regardless. “Cloud elemental fleece.”
“And this is spun and woven into clear stone blocks.”
She gave T a look, the smile briefly fading for an incredulous expression. “Now you’re being purposely obtuse. The words are odd, but the fleece is woven into clear <em>boards</em> that can be used for transparent constructions that don’t dissipate for at least a few years if properly treated and cared for.”
T sighed. “And we got…?”
“A dozen bundles of the fleece, a treatise on the refinement techniques, and ten of the boards, treated properly tost at least a year without any maintenance.”
“<em>Why</em> did we get these?”
Lyn sighed, took a sip of her tea, and answered sinctly. “Several Constructionists indicated a desire for them, should we have the opportunity to acquire the specimens.”
“And we have the opportunity.”
“Oh, yes. Honestly, the Sunnydalians would have a truly astounding trade deficit with us if we let them. Unfortunately, there is simply nowhere that we could use that banked value to our advantage. We expect to have a simr issue with anyone we encounter who might ept such.”
“What did we give and what did we get?”
Lyn gave her a long look. “First, you were literally in the room. Second, do you actually care about all the little details?”
“...fine. Broad strokes? Your summaries are always appreciated.” T took a quick draw of coffee, giving her friend an innocent look.
Her adjunct huffed and shook her head, a smile returning to her face. “Fine, but I still don’t see why you don’t just remember what was decided.”
“It was boring to experience, Lyn. I don’t want to relive it again even in memory.”
<em>-And you want to have a bit more time with your friend before she rushes back to her own bureaucratic work.-</em>
<em>…we need to schedule some time to just catch up.</em>
<em>-I’ll get on it after this if you don’t manage to make it happen on your own.-</em>
<em>Thank you.</em>
Lyn took a long breath and let it out slowly, but she didn’t object further. She simply took another sip of tea and dove in, “Our citizens can trade with theirs. One hundred Sunnydalians will be visiting Irondale for the next week, where they will be fully subject to ourws, and will not <em>use </em>any power, simply be immersed in it. They will evenpletely empty themselves before exiting—that was less of a lift than I expected, actually. They will have to pay for their own food and housing from the citizenry while they are there. Beyond that, the officials of Sunnydale will review the application of any of our residents who wish to join theirmunity, and they will not prevent any of their citizenry from applying for residency in Ironhold.” Lyn took a breath, clearly ticking through other items in her mind before finallying to another that T would be interested in. “We will also have passage included for the time we are here, as the vige is still on the move, and we will be given one of the magical constructions that allow for ‘nearby’munication between the traveling settlements.”
“And nearby means within fifty miles, right?”
“When on its own? Yes, fifty miles is about the limit of it. Even so, it can be amplified to function for up to two-hundred miles if the other side is simrly amplified.”
“Not further?”
“It could be increased to work further, technically, but as no one else has done so, there isn’t much point. There is also an ever increasing potential for the form ofmunication to be detectable and to draw unwanted attention.”
“Right. And they don’t use the Archive?”
“Not formunication. There are apparently a lot of technical reasons that I didn’t ask about—neither did you, so don’tin. They did request that we limit our Archivemunications while here, as well. While Archive connections can’t generally be intercepted, they seemingly <em>can</em> be detected in sufficient quantities, or by the ‘right’ creatures.”
“Fair enough. Ironhold has been informed?”
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“Yes. We’ve already altered our connection to honor this request with the help of Master Simon’s group… as you well know. Did you want me to summarize my understanding of what he and his team did?”
T hesitated for a while, remembering the information herself. “No… Thank you, Lyn.”
Lyn gave a little smile, then cut to the point. “So, do you want to get dinner in a couple of days?”
T only hesitated a moment before she grinned. “I’m that transparent?”
“You have literally perfect memory, and while I know it wasn’t the most enlightening thing for you to listen to, you <em>were</em> paying attention.”
She sighed. “Fine, fine. Yes. I’d love to grab dinner.”
“Wonderful. Shall Rane join us?”
T felt torn. She loved her husband and enjoyed spending time with him, but he had been encouraging her to get some time with Lyn, too. He’d noticed that she missed her friend… “No, I think it will just be us.”
“Alright, then. I’ll arrange the exact timing with t.” A sparkle of humor entered Lyn’s eyes. “Do you need me to tell you where your husband is right now?”
T huffed augh. “No, I know he’s looking at the flight-engines with Master Simon’s team—now that they’ve made the changes to Ironhold—and the local constructionists.” She gave Lyn a t look, only ruined by the twinkle she knew was in her eyes. “Come on, Mistress Lyn. I was in the room when it was discussed, and I have a perfect memory. Why would I need you to tell me?”
Lyn took on a faux look of contrition and gave a shallow bow. “Of course, Mistress T. I apologize and abase myself before you.”
“Very well, you shall be forgiven… this time. Don’t let it happen again.”
“You are too kind.” Lyn straightened, grinning. “How is Terry doing, by the way?”
“Oh, he’s having a st. That crazy olddy creature is apparently giving him a merry chase, and he couldn’t be happier. That likely means he’s courting death, but he enjoys the hunt so…” She shrugged.
“Do we need to go after him?”
T shook her head. “He conveyed through t that he doesn’t want us to. He’ll either get her, get bored, or die. For the first two, he’lle after us himself. For thest, I’ll re-corporialize him wherever we are at the time. He’ll lose a lot of potential mass since I won’t have his current body to work with, but he enjoys eating well enough that it shouldn’t hamper him <em>too</em> much except in the very short term.”
“Very well. Do you mind willing me into my office?”
“Not at all.” With the gate to Ironhold already set up in one of the main markets of Sunnydale—where most of the traveling vige’s mini-holds were also anchored—T couldn’t open another portal for Lyn to step through herself.
As she moved Lyn—flickering her briefly back to Zeme then into Ironhold—T took a moment to examine the holds that were just outside of her own. She could see their veiled dimensionality around her and Kit. While she probably <em>could</em> most likely pierce the secrecy to look inside, doing so would likely set off rms and be an overall hostile act on her part. Thus, she contented herself with studying what she could see… for the moment.
Lyn had asked for the secret of arcane hold creation, but unfortunately, the method of creation for the little holds was <em>not</em> known by anyone here. They did convey where essentially all the moving settlements got them however. The ce where the holds were also maintained as needed.
The Mountain King’s metropolis to the south-east.
Because of that, they had considered earning enough credit of various kinds to go there and purchase the methods—or at least a couple ofrge holds—but, sadly, that was <em>not</em> in the reasonable list of destinations for this trip… even if it wouldn’t be <em>that</em> far of a detour…
<em>-I still say it would be a fun stop.-</em>
<em>If they even let use near. Those dwarves aren’t the friendliest with gated-humanity, even if they aren’t overtly hostile, and the Mountain King himself is on par with Anatalis or Vidarra… It seems an unnecessary risk to enter into his area of absolute authority, especiallying with a request that ces us firmly under its weight.</em>
<em>-Look at you, being all responsible.-</em>
<em>Yeah…</em> She still really wanted to go… She’d talk it over with Rane.
<em>-The Academy isn’t that far out of the way either.-</em>
<em>…No.</em>
<em>-Yeah, I thought not. Even if it wouldn’t be detrimental to our magics to go there, it would require crossing through some of the Great White North, which would be a bad n for us at the moment.-</em>
T turned back to regard the odd bit of cloud elemental fleece. <em>This is a strange, wonderful world, and even after all our adventures, we really have seen so little of it.</em>
<em>-I know, right? Isn’t it exciting?-</em>
T grinned to herself. <em>Just a bit, yeah.</em>N?v(el)B\\jnn
But before anything else, she had one quick stop to make.
* * *
T stood before Walden in his forest.
The great, immortal elk regarded her for a long moment before shaking his antlers. “No, I do not wish to change our agreement. I will answer questions paid for in dimensionality, regardless of who asks them.”
T rxed, grateful for his willingness.
Lyn had already included his information in the list of goods that Irondale could offer.
“How are things faring for you, here?” She didn’t often visit the elk, except to ask questions. Though, to be fair, that was because he didn’t seem to want to be disturbed.
“All is well. My forest grows, I am content.” After a moment, he added. “Congrattions on your advancement.
T felt her eyes widen. “Oh! Thank you. My advancement didn’t cause you any issues, did it?”
It really shouldn’t have. Walden couldn’t tap into the power within Kit, with rare exception, but it still <em>might</em> have been an issue.
The elk blew out a great, almost trumpeting breath. “I will confess the alteration of the underlying power within my domain was… startling, but as I cannot ess it regardless, it changes little for me.”
“Well, that’s good then…” She frowned. “You still do not have any desire to ess the power? I am sure we could find something that you could offer if you wished—”
Walden shook his head in negation, cutting her off. “No. I have no need. I get the power I desire from my forest, and the fact that it is suffused with power is enough for me.”
She frowned. She hadn’t considered that. She was already giving him power indirectly, then.
She could lower the power density of his forest, but that would require a venting of the magic within, which would be a waste to be sure. The solution she had for the Talons wouldn’t work.
Her rooms of ‘lower density’ were simply rooms in which the Talons couldn’t ess as much power. It was effectively the same thing, except she didn’t have to shed magical power into the void.
If she did ever lose power, she could reduce those in truth without any ill effect to help maintain the desired levels more broadly, but that hadn’t been required yet.
She frowned at that. Why did she even need the power? She hadn’t ever used it.
It emphasized that she was likely not living up to her destructive potential. Her artificial lung aside, she had all this magical power, but she didn’t really have anything to use it for… But she was getting off track.
<em>-So, are you alright with Walden growing in power due to our own advancement?-</em>
<em>Given it’s rtive to us, we should maintain preeminence and he shouldn’t be able to escape because of something like that.</em>
<em>-True, assuming that his power doesn’t work differently than we understand.-</em>
<em>Fair enough. Can you ask Master Grediv in a way that doesn’t reveal that we’ve already advanced?</em>
<em>-Absolutely. Leave it to me.-</em>
<em>Thank you.</em>
She shook herself and refocused on the massive elk. “I apologize, Walden, I got lost in my own thoughts. Is there anything else that I can do for you while I’m here?”
“Nothing, T. Good day to you.”
“And to you, Walden.”
Without further dy, she willed herself out of Walden’s forest. She had a few things to consider.
* * *
T made onest stop by Lupe’s park, the ss phoenixing forth in the form of a woman just after T arrived.
T quickly checked and ensured that Kit was still going to block the horrid sound of the creature’s movement and allow her true voice toe through.
As such, it was a musical lilt that greeted her, “Mistress T. It is a pleasure to have you visit. To what do I owe the honor?”
T smiled, “We are visiting the wandering wilds, and we will be having guests, both human and not. I wanted you to be aware.”
The clear face turned to regard her, and even though Kit was removing the sound, T could almost <em>feel</em> the fracturing of Lupe’s ss as the woman regarded her. “Do you wish me to stay out of sight?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. They cannot vite the strictures on you any more than you yourself can, and you are already aware that you cannot pass through the portal out, whether it is open or not. I simply did not wish you to be ignorant or rmed if you saw those who you do not know.”
Lupe bowed, her whole being cracking. “Thank you, Mistress T.”
T felt a welling of irritation, though not at Lupe. She could see Lupe, all of her. She could see the connection to the big ball of ss within her ‘hanging’ space. T could even see <em>some</em> magics around the creature, likely at least partially responsible for some of her current state.
Even so, she couldn’t actually discern anything detailed. If Lupe had stayed still, T would have been hard pressed to know exactly what she was.
<em>Our threefold sight is failing us… </em> No, that wasn’t right, but she didn’t have the headspace to put in proper context.
<em>-After we leave Sunnydale?-</em>
<em>Definitely.</em>
Lupe stood up straight after the bow. “If there is nothing else, I was meditating on the utility of surfacepression beyond the extent of the interior.”
T blinked a few times, shook her head, and gave a rueful smile. “I cannot say that I understood that, but it seems that we are both preupied in our minds at the moment. Please let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“Good day.”
“Clear thoughts be yours.” And without awaiting a reply, Lupe melded with her pane of ss once more, leaving T to her other tasks.
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