Chp 49: Keeping In Touch (Patreon)

42! They REALLY liked the fountain thingy!

That was the entirety of Mina’s message. I didn’t mind though, since it included nine scrolls as an attachment. I barely looked at the exchange pop up that informed me of their value before okaying the transaction. My plans took a giant leap forward, now I had actual magic resources in hand.

“This will work!” I exclaimed happily. Henry nodded, looking confused, but pleased on my behalf. Magic was not his thing even though his class utilized it to a degree. Despite still feeling like garbage, I started working immediately. Even so, I proceeded with caution. I was dealing with a hereunto rare and precious resource.

I made sure to make duplicates of the scrolls before running them through the crafting and magic interfaces. Unlike magic created through raw research, the timer on acquiring the spell structure for augmentation was only an hour per spell level. Spells had twelve possible levels and the highest level scroll I currently possessed was sixth level.

Like crafting items, I could enhance them if they had progressive versions not considered outright different spells. Unfortunately, only three of the nine scrolls I had fell into that category. Even so, I was lucky, since they were detection spells.

“D-did y-you get-get everything y-you needed?” Henry asked. I shook my head at first, distracted by my work. I realized I was getting too wrapped up though, and forced myself to stop for a moment.

“No, but enough for a major first step,” I started. Saying I had a plan would have been an overstatement. I had some ideas I hoped would lead to a plan if they worked out.

“If things go well, I’ll craft magic items to detect what kind of affliction a person has and how severe it is,” I explained. Elim had indicated the divine healers he knew didn’t have a formal process of diagnosis. They just applied what they thought was the relevant healing type and increased the potency until it worked. That or the patient ran out of money. Or died. That was also a common occurrence according to him.

The items would improve medical treatment without needing to pour in an unfathomable amount of time into research. If I could pull it off. The scrolls were for detecting poison, disease, and curses. Looking through the breakdown, I had first level versions and they could be upgraded from first to third and sixth level. They didn’t cover the full range of conditions I wanted but they would work for now and hopefully cut down on later research times.

“W-will th-that stop b-b-bloody ma-mana?” Henry asked, looking perplexed. A reasonable question, since that had been my focus.

“No. I don’t have a real solution for getting rid of it right now,” I admitted. I didn’t like to be honest about that even with myself. Henry was easy to talk to though.

“I’ve barely started experimenting with magic… I’m going to text the Bone Brigade’s mages. They might have some ideas I haven’t thought of,” I said as inspiration struck. It was such an obvious idea. Ask the mages and the clerics. Like going outside the dungeon to test the teleport pad it was something I should have thought of much sooner.

“Are y-you f-feeling a-a bit b-better?” Henry asked.

“No- actually, a little,” I said, surprised. It wasn’t a huge change, so I hadn’t noticed it until he asked.

“I-I th-thought so,” Henry said simply. Now it was my turn to be confused as I couldn’t think of what had tipped him off before me. I didn’t have time to think about it before a new message came in.

Mistress,

We’re ready to proceed with the test, as per your instructions.

Elim

I didn’t send a message back, opting to video call him instead. He picked up immediately. I was sitting up on the couch properly and belatedly realized I needed to turn on a light. The skeletons could see in darkness like I could, and the hounds gave off their own light so I’d never bothered adding any. I imagined talking to a pair of eye-like fireballs wouldn’t be entirely pleasant though and brought out a light stone. Even if it was just the addition of a silhouette, it was probably easier to look at me like that.

“Hi, leave the call open and I can see and hear what’s going on,” I explained. He nodded subtly in reply rather than answering aloud. To my surprise, he also changed the viewing angle so I could see the teleport pad and his profile rather than a head-on view of him. It made me wonder how much he’d been talking with his mother to become so adept at its use. A question which could wait.

From what I could see, they had piled a person’s worth of equipment on the teleporter pad, but nothing happened. I sighed in frustration, expanding the view panel on my end so Henry could see as well. The general description of the item was useless in this situation.

I’d already put the thing through the magic interface when I created the item but to no avail. I’d gotten its structure but didn’t know enough to glean anything useful from it. It was ranked as a level twelve spell and horrifically complex to my eyes.

“I’m not getting any prompts on my end. Looks like a person has to accompany cargo,” I said unhappily.

“Put a hold on the next step. I’m going to try and get some more information and will call you back,” I said, and he nodded. I cut the call and started composing a text to Mira and the Bone Brigade’s mages. It was a misstep on my part to have not consulted them before. One I felt had to be artificial like my continuing ache to visit my core.

That I might overlook cooperating when it came to design work was one thing. I got wrapped up in my own head when it came to that and enjoyed the process. Magic though, was outside my expertise, despite buying a basic understanding from Mira. It didn’t make sense how I’d tried to muddle my way through to such a degree. Not when I had experts on staff, so to speak.

“P-problem?” Henry asked.

“The teleport spell is complex and I don’t have much information on how it works. I’m going to ask around before we go to trials with live participants, since objects won’t work,” I explained.

“C-could one of-of us tr-try it?” Henry asked. I shook my head without needing to think about it.

“You’re all sustained by the dungeon right now. I can’t guarantee your seal wouldn’t fail or respawn would work,” I explained. There was a workaround if I had to send a skeleton outside, but it wouldn’t help with the teleport test.

Henry smiled and tipped his head so his forehead touched mine for a moment before pulling back. He looked embarrassed, like he’d slipped up somehow. A reaction I found curious since we’d essentially been cuddling for quite a while. The combination of embarrassment and fondness in his expression sent a tingle down my spine from my shoulders to the tip of my tail.

“What?” I asked, a little flustered too. Being the object of such a gaze made me want to squirm. Looking away I noticed my tail had uncurled from his lower calf at some point and was now wrapped from ankle to knee around his leg. My embarrassment grew a little at the sight. I’d been told I curled around things and knew it was true, but seeing it was another matter entirely.

“For-forgive me, b-but I-I heard wh-what y-you said to C-Chris,” Henry started. I looked back to him, surprised he’d been listening. The door hadn’t been closed though, so he hadn’t had to take any pains to overhear us.

“I-its g-good th-that you th-think of y-your family’s well-wellbeing too,” He finished. If I could have blushed I’d have turned bright green right then. Instead, I leaned against him, a mild acidic tingle spreading through me.

“Ehm,” I muttered to myself. He started to stroke my back and shoulders again. I was still in pain, so I made no effort to explain I was hiding my face because I was embarrassed.

It took two hours, but eventually I got negatives back from everyone I had texted about the teleporter. That the spell was complex would normally have meant it would take a long time for them to analyze it. Something we had a fair amount of since it wasn’t an emergency. The thing stumping them completely was the fact the spell symbols and layout method were both foreign.

I half expected it from the Bone Brigade. Like Mina and I, they weren’t all necessarily from the world we currently inhabited or the same alternative source. It would make sense for them not to recognize something. That Mira didn’t raised a different question.

Mira,

Is teleport a spell you’d heard of before? Even as a myth or something in ancient ruins?

Thankfully she responded quickly.

42,

I’ve never heard of such a thing outside of the gods. It wasn’t a spell. It was just something they could do. Moving themselves and objects as they pleased.

Mira replied and I felt like that was a solid answer. She’d been formally trained at the mage tower in spell theory. Even if it was bullshit, she’d likely have heard of ancient magics reputed to have existed. That she hadn’t fed into a suspicion of mine.

I had no way to prove it at the moment, but it seemed like some of the items I had weren’t an extension of the world's magic. They might have been a lost branch of it or from a different continent but unless there was zero contact at least stories should have survived. That made me suspect they were totally foreign imports, or they might be specific to the system rather than the world.

It would explain why I had access to them, but not local magicians and related magic associations. An interesting idea, but one I had to put away for the moment.

“Damn it,” I muttered.

“S-something wrong?” Henry asked quietly.

“No luck finding out more about the spell. That leaves live testing,” I said unhappily. Though I was reluctant now was the best time. I turned around in Henry’s grasp, but didn’t move away from him. I had work to do and needed to be facing out, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be comfortable.

“C-can it wa-wait?” Henry asked, his arms closing loosely around my waist. He didn’t seem to mind the new arrangement and I felt a little relieved. I was about to do something unpleasant and could use a bit of spoiling.

I’d explained the risks in the letter detailing how I wanted to conduct the teleport pad’s testing. Informed consent was an important concept to me. That didn’t mean I enjoyed the idea of putting lives at risk, even if they understood and chose to participate. Even though the decision about the ends justifying the means was a collective one, it wouldn’t absolve me of guilt if something went wrong.

“It can, but it won’t improve the situation. Right now, I can try and figure out how to fix it if something goes wrong. If I wait until there’s an emergency, then I won’t be able to. It will or won’t work and that’s assuming anyone would be willing to test it under those conditions,” I explained.

“I m-meant un-until you f-feel better,” Henry explained.

“There’s no way to know when something will come up… but thank you” I said sincerely. Having him care about my wellbeing was more than touching, it was a relief.

“Do you mind being seen during the call?” I asked, having forgotten he’d be visible.

“I-its f-fine,” Henry assured me, his hold becoming reassuringly snug.

Elim picked up on the first ring once again.

“Mistress,” He said with a polite bow. I assumed he was thoroughly alone based on that.

“Elim,” I replied with a smile. He wasn’t looking too worn out, but I hoped he’d be in the valley soon.

“I didn’t have any luck, so live testing is next if the Lepusan are willing,” I said with less enthusiasm. I’d written out my reasons, but he’d be the one who had to convince them if that wasn’t enough.

“I’ll let them know it's time,” He replied, his demeanor shifting to a grim calm. He kept the call open and I witnessed the brief conversation he had with the Lepusan. Since his side of the call wasn’t in share mode, they weren’t aware I was tagging along for the ride. Watching, I could see they’d already discussed the matter thoroughly beforehand.

Once he was done with the general discussion, he left the group and headed over toward a stump near the teleport pad. A brown furred Lepusan woman was sitting next to a grey one, both had meditative expressions. Stooped with drooping cheeks, the grey one was clearly an elder, rather than lightly colored.

“Madam, it's time if you’re still willing,” Elim said politely, after bowing shallowly to the pair.

“Mh,” The elder replied. She had difficulty standing thanks to a bad leg, so Elim helped her up. He surrendered to the younger woman to escort her though. Close up, I could see the elder woman’s eyes were milky. Combined with her pronounced limp, she’d have slowed the group down or been left behind in an emergency. It made her a good candidate, but it didn’t make it easier to watch her step on the teleport pad.  

I was thankful when Henry silently took my hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I’m ready when you are,” The elder woman said, after she was left to stand on the teleport pad. Nothing had happened as far as she could tell, because a prompt had appeared on my end.

Long Range Teleport Attempt, Allow?

Y/N

Cost: 50 mana

I was stunned at the cost for a moment, but quickly recovered.

“I’ve got a prompt on my end, I’m going to initiate it now,” I said to Elim. I approved the expenditure and a moment later the elder was in the valley. Standing on the matching pad I’d placed in the temple.

Where to put it had taken me days to figure out, but the temple was the best option as far as I could tell. Its presence in a place dedicated to a god would hopefully fall under the province of a ‘divine’ and not be questioned closely. 

I’d even added some dramatic elements to give a ready explanation. I’d created what would look like a sealed room that had been exposed after a wall collapsed. Inside was a pried-up section of floor where the teleport pad would have been originally. It wouldn’t take a reasonably bright person too many nudges to get the idea that one part of a pair of teleport circles had been lifted from the temple and repurposed. 

“She’s here, I’m checking her condition,” I added, as I started combing through what I could see of her data. Her health wasn’t great, but nothing looked like it was a new development. I checked my event log just in case, but it came up clean. The teleport was noted but there was no indication something had gone wrong.

“Mistress?” Elim asked quietly after a few moments.

“She’s well and I don’t see anything amiss. The cost is a problem, I will only take three more people through today,” I explained. Technically I could take five, but I didn’t want to use up that much of my mana for a non-emergency situation.

“Understood,” Elim muttered, his expression turning thoughtful.

“I don’t know if it’s a fixed cost. If you get closer, it might be cheaper. If the Lepusan are comfortable with it, then it might be good to test with an adult and a child next,” I added. It might be a straight unit cost per person, or it might be a function of weight. I made the suggestion in an even tone, but on the inside, my guts were roiling worse than they had from the pain.

It looked safe, but I wasn’t going to insist further about who went next. If they wanted to only send elders through, then I wouldn’t object. I was simply curious if children would have the same mana cost. If it was lower, then the number who could come through would be more flexible.

“I’ll see what they say and get back to you,” Elim said quietly. He ended the call a moment later and I didn’t blame him. The Bone Brigade was accustomed to dealing with the varied forms of communication the interface offered. They’d didn’t generally have to worry about someone noticing their focus being off or seeming to respond to something no one else could hear.

“Well, that test went alright,” I said, relieved as the call ended.

“I t-think the-the locals w-would c-call it a mi-miracle,” Henry replied dryly.