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III. ♔ Video
[Time for your scheduled public service announcement. At his console, Richard's arms are folded and his tone level. After talking to Sadie, he has realized that they can't continue with people being ignorant of the situation.]
For those who aren't yet aware, in Sinbrilee, there are marble arches with runes on them. The gateways with runs that seem to glow with a faint light lead to the realm of Dreaming, while the gates to Death have runes oozing a black substance.
Be careful of both. The worlds both shape themselves to the minds of those within. Dreaming can be pleasant, if you are in such a state of mind, but if you are not, it can be cruel. Death is always malicious. If you come to harm in either realm, that injury may prove to be very real. [Hidden in the folds of his sleeves, his hand tightens into a fist.] In at least one case, an injury has been. It's most likely that healing magic won't work there, nor any other abilities to protect you that require Tu Vishan's energy to function.
[Richard unfolds his arms so he can brush his bangs from his eyes.] I'd like to know if anyone has done any research on the gateways themselves or the realms beyond. Given that one seems the home territory of the being we've been brought here to handle, some understanding of how to move in and out of it could be an advantage.
For those who aren't yet aware, in Sinbrilee, there are marble arches with runes on them. The gateways with runs that seem to glow with a faint light lead to the realm of Dreaming, while the gates to Death have runes oozing a black substance.
Be careful of both. The worlds both shape themselves to the minds of those within. Dreaming can be pleasant, if you are in such a state of mind, but if you are not, it can be cruel. Death is always malicious. If you come to harm in either realm, that injury may prove to be very real. [Hidden in the folds of his sleeves, his hand tightens into a fist.] In at least one case, an injury has been. It's most likely that healing magic won't work there, nor any other abilities to protect you that require Tu Vishan's energy to function.
[Richard unfolds his arms so he can brush his bangs from his eyes.] I'd like to know if anyone has done any research on the gateways themselves or the realms beyond. Given that one seems the home territory of the being we've been brought here to handle, some understanding of how to move in and out of it could be an advantage.
video.
he laughs at that. what's a little banter between teammates, eh? ] Never fear -- I'll be taking the scenic route this time around. Whatever's needed to give the young ones some time to catch up.
video —> action? log? assumed? DINOSAUR ATTACK?
That's very kind of you, Grandpa. We youth appreciate it.
video -> action, although you make a good case for the dinosaur attack.
it's not very much later that qilby shows up at the square, a funny-looking bag slung over his good shoulder. true to his word, he's taken the "scenic route" -- it's entirely possible that grandpa's the one who's late. he shoos away a pair of ghosts trailing after him as he walks up. ]
action; I always do
It's good to see you. I hope you travelled well?
action.
[ spoken with just the right amount of irony. it's not like he didn't hold his own in the caverns at senphatos, after all!
speaking (thinking?) of which... ] Goddess, it's been weeks! How have you been, Richard?
action.
Much better, now that there's eleth in the atmosphere again. I'd almost forgotten how oppressive the absence of it is. I hope the days have treated you kindly as well.
action.
I'm glad we were able to do something about it, even if our investigation came to a bit of a dead end. That being said, I believe you're onto something with this one--
[ dropping to one knee, he slides the bag down onto the ground. tugging the drawstring open, he rummages around for something -- but something looks very not right about the way he can reach his arm in up to the shoulder far past where it should be able to go. ]
Which is why I've-- aah, there-- which is why I've brought along something I haven't shown to anyone else on the turtle.
[ trust: again, it's a wonderful thing! so, straightening, he extends his hand out to richard. resting there in his palm is a small, nondescript little cube made out of an unidentifiable metal. patterns like a nautilus's shell spiral in the center of all six of its faces. ]
action.
He observes Qilby's actions with curiosity. As he does, he wonders how it works. Qilby has control over portals, so could he just use the bag as a way to open a portal into an infinitely large realm? But that would be difficult to organize, and besides that, he wouldn't need a bag for it, presumably. So could the bag itself just defy its dimensions? But how?
He's distracted when Qilby pulls out the item. Trust is always an honour, and the sentence, like many others Qilby has casually dropped off, influences Richard's feelings in ways he doesn't even notice. He looks at the box, then back to Qilby.]
Honoured as I am and beautiful as it is, you know I have no idea what this is. [What is the thing? He wants to know of the thing.]
action.
Only my people's greatest artifact: the Eliacube. [ the sheer pride saturating his voice is kind of enough to distract one from its somewhat-unimaginative name. he always did prefer these things' actions to speak for them.]
A single Eliatrope, even one as experienced as I, is simply not capable of channeling enough wakfu to open a portal outside his plane under his own power. The Eliacube amplifies my abilities, and what's more -- it also stores wakfu, like a battery.
[ so, speaking of a dimension where everyone's cut off from their normal source of power, he hopes richard sees where he's going with this... ]
action.
[The possible applications come to mind immediately.] Then we may be in luck. Did it function when Asti lost power those months ago?
[If it did, it will help inside, though that does pose the question of why Qilby didn't use it then (Richard assumes he has good reason). If it didn't but still worked in the realms of Death and Dreaming, then they will have learned that what cuts them off from power there isn't why it was drained here. Also, he kind of wants to ask about the principles behind it and see whether or not that could be adapted for cryas crystals, perhaps to help the situation in Fendel—but that's for later.]
action.
--anyhoo, that question puts a discomfited frown on his face, and he shifts his weight uneasily. ] Truthfully? I don't know.
Even if it did work, I'd feared what might've happened had the enemy found out about it. The cube is my people's most important creation-- and I'm but one guardian. As it is, what little strength I have is only just enough to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.
[ the way he says it, it sounds like he'd hoped not to have a reason to think about the stupidly large risk he's taking with the thing right now. nevertheless, following a deep breath, he smiles at richard. ] But as I soon discovered, I was lucky enough to have found not just one, but four people I could trust with the knowledge of its existence.
action.
If this had been back home, Richard might have been wary. Some part of him even now questions such a thing, but he quiets it. He has nothing to be afraid of. He can trust Qilby. That little jolt of paranoia is just a matter of spending too long with the wrong people.]
I'm certain that none of us will betray that trust. Certainly, I will protect it as if it were Gloandi itself.
action.
[ entitled? a little, perhaps. but mostly it's that one does not spend a week with a group of people in an awful cave trying not to get eaten by a horde of horrible rat-sloths without coming away from the experience knowing what everyone's made of. if he had any doubts whatsoever about richard's character, he wouldn't be doing what he's doing now.
he clears his throat. ] Now then-- as I've already been to the destination, opening another portal there should be a rather simple task. Normally I'd have another Eliatrope or dragon act as a secondary conduit, but...
[ but that won't be important, eh? qilby's a portal-opening badass, just watch!
the cube begins to glow a bright blue. closing his eyes, he slides his hand away, but the cube doesn't follow -- it spins lazily in the air on an invisible axis, floating there under its own power inches away from his gently-cupped palm. the air feels charged like a brewing storm, but qilby seems as calm and unaffected as ever, even as the first angry sparks try to escape through his fingers. just when it feels that something's going to give-- a pinpoint of light appears between them, quickly expanding...
there's a gateway before richard now, blue like the energy still crackling in qilby's palm. there's no way to tell where it leads. ]
action.
To his credit, or entirely against it, Richard doesn't seem remotely alarmed.] I'll go first, then.
[If it ends up being dangerous, he wants to be there first to deal with trouble instead of sending Qilby in. Qilby can handle himself, but powers might cut out again. In that case, a swordsman is more useful than a mage.]
action.
only one way to find out. he shoots richard a grim look. ] Now be careful -- we can't be sure of what's on the other side. I can maintain the portal from out here, so at the first sign of danger, come right out.
action.
Then again, there was that time he had a nightmare about swimming in soup.]
action.
steamy. that's how things are going, apparently. ] Oh, hello.
[ he casts an eye over the chamber. it's rather nice as far as baths go, qilby supposes. ] Is this what you dream of?
action.
action.
[ but even so, the rest of his body follows his head through the portal as he steps through. his loose pants immediately balloon up in the water and, making a disgusted noise, he pushes the fabric under.
richard's right, sure enough. the portal closes behind him; there's no longer any need to maintain it. the frown's camped on his face now. ]
Perhaps it's interference from the archway's portal-- the energies might've... [ trailing off, he pointedly avoids the idea that he might've just plain failed. anything but that. ]
action.
I'm not familiar with the theory behind your portals, but if it couldn't open within the realms because of the cut-off of power, perhaps it ended up redirected to the nearest equivalent point.
action.
he shakes his head vehemently. ] There shouldn't be a need for a reciprocated transfer of energy on the other side-- it's not as if you need a person on the other side of a door to help you open it.
[ by normal standards, he's hardly agitated -- but it's likely the most upset richard's seen him. there's a deep furrow in his brow, one clearly acquired over several lifetimes of puzzling out the same sorts of mysteries. ]
I just don't have the power to do this, not even with the Eliacube. Not yet, at any rate. [ if possible, his frown deepens. ] Goddess! If my sister were here, this wouldn't even be an issue.
action.