glowfic | Comes with a free prize

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Comes with a free prize

Usually when Temperance calls a animal to sacrifice it doesn't come with a free prize, but here comes a hamster with a couple of rings tied to it by a red ribbon.

The thing likely belongs to someone, and Temperance catches him to see if she can return to it's owner...

...and now she is in a forest, that is unusual. There are trees as far as she can see and the landscape is doted with wide pools of water, in fact Temperance is standing on one of such pools, near the edge.

The tiny hamster jumps from her hand landing on a nearby log, it scurries off while the witch is distracted.

Temperance is very confused, but she still has her supplies and cloudpine with her, all she needs is to perform a quick spell to figure out where she is and then get home.

The spell works but answers only gibberish. She tries another and the result is equally confusing. A spell to point the north doesn't work at all.

She tries a spell to find the hamster and that works, she grabs the creature to see if she returns home, she touches the two rings, neither has any effect.

Temperance is very confused.

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"Much faster than walking," Temperance confirms "It is better if... Your daemon needs a name and for her to sit away from me to avoid accidental contact."

"I don't want to have to think of a name. Call me Nina, it's a female form of Nicholas." She clings to Nick's back, arms around his neck, legs around his torso. "Is this far enough from accidentally touching you?"

And if so, Nick climbs aboard the... Branch... Where she indicates he should sit.

Edited 2015-09-08 00:21 (UTC)

"That will do," Temperance confirms to Nina "I understand that the situation must be confusing and maybe traumatic but not wanting a name sounds too extreme. You deserve the respect that a person gets."

Nick will find that the Branch has plenty room to transport two people and a daemon, you even get the impression that witches pick branches big enough to do just that. The group will take flight and should reach the ship soon enough that small talking won't be necessary.

Nina replies, "Sure I consider myself a person, we just don't feel like agonizing over what to name me."

Nick's spaceship is easily as large as a smallish house, made entirely of metal, with two very obvious engines sticking out the sides. It looks worn but well-maintained, as if it is both quite old and well taken care of. There are no spots of rust, but all exposed metal parts have an accumulated dullness that speaks to age. The big door at the front opens in response to their approach.

"There she is. The biggest ship that I can conceivably run by myself. I'm a trader, so let me know if you see any tech you might want to trade for. I have communicators, tools, scanners, and I like to tinker if something isn't quite what you're looking for."

When they land in his cargo bay, he gives her a little tour. This big room is a cargo bay (currently full of lots of crates labeled as various kinds of food), up a corridor is his workshop, here's a kitchen, that's an engine room, that room contains the dimensional drive, here's a bedroom, and here's the control room where he actually pilots the thing. Then back to the workshop to retrieve scanning gear.

Edited 2015-09-08 00:40 (UTC)

"Ah, okay that is much better than I was imagining," Temperance says with a shrug

Temperance is extremely fascinated with the spaceship.

"I don't have much less use for technology," Temperance says "but humans back home will certainly pay a fortune. I might have some use for some of your plants and maybe animals, some of my spells require specific ones and it is possible that I can get completely new effects from using elements from other worlds."

"Biodiversity sells once again. That's why I keep a library of samples. Have you ever heard of limegrass? Kingswort? Creeping sage?"

He gathers all the gear he can carry. One huge, heavy backpack (full) and an unidentifiable metal thing as long as a Cloudpine balanced in the crook of one elbow. "Unf. I can make another trip if this isn't enough to figure out a path to your dimension. Let's go outside before going back to the portalwoods, I don't want to appear above ground level if I ever return here after moving my ship."

"They are all so unfamiliar that they sound made up," Temperance says "what they do?"

Temperance helps him carry the load. When they are outside.

"Let me test something real quick?"

She takes flight getting higher than the ship and then touches the yellow ring, she reappears second later.

"I showed up with my feet touching the water."

"Limegrass is a hardy food source in some climates. Kingswort is repellent to insects. Creeping sage is a mild painkiller."

He finds a configuration that lets him hold all his gear relatively comfortably, then disappears into the woods. When Temperance follows, she'll find him taking measurements with some of the gear.

"My scanners seem to think that this place is not a place. Or maybe that it's every place. Either way, I'm not learning anything useful." So it's time to walk back to Temperance's portal.

Edited 2015-09-08 01:05 (UTC)

"Considering how biodiverse the multiverse must be," Temperance says "analyzing the potential for just the things you have will take so long that I might request help from my clan queen, do you mind to be introduced to her at some point?"

Temperance takes out the pool's water and touches the water and the rings at same time. No effect.

"Well it was worth the shot."

"It seems like the magic is about the pools, not the water. I don't mind being introduced, but I want to say in advance that don't feel particularly obligated to your clan. I'll trade with you, but I don't think I already owe you favors. Are you going to finish that big herbs circle you started before we go back?"

"Okay... consider it being introduced to a potential business partner," Temperance says "and I either cast that spell or recollect the herbs. That spell takes some time to analyze things so you might want to go scan my dimension while I am at it."

"Sounds like a plan."

And they get to the right pool, and Nick goes through and scans things and waits for Temperance to follow.

Temperance proceeds casting her spell, this one allows her to analyze things as long she keeps a minimum of mental focus. She staaaares at the rings, at the pool, at the surrounding forest, even at the hamster, Temperance even manages to back and forth between dimensions without breaking the spell. The experiencing is very interesting. She reacquires all her belongings and re-dresses herself.

"I don't expect you to understand," Temperance says grinning "but I am experiencing something similar to a writer discovering that the alphabet has three times more letters and a thousand times more words."

"Oh, I have some idea. It must be at least a little like the first time I warped into a dimension with physics other than the ones I grew up with, or the first time I found one with magic. I think I can jump my ship to this dimension."

"Is this forest owned by anyone? I want to set up the ansible beacon here if you don't think anyone will mind. Then I need a place to land my ship once I warp here. You might as well introduce me to your clan-queen now, if she's nearby, and I can ask about a landing spot large enough to put a house-sized ship down."

"I am almost certain that we are inside the borders of my clan's lands," Temperance says "I remember some recent adjustments over a highway or something. The clan-queen should be nearby, but we can find someone with the right authority to give the permission. Be warned about naked witches. You can set up the ansible... that way and it should be safe in the clan's lands."

Edited 2015-09-08 14:41 (UTC)

He hauls the huge backpack full of gear where indicated. After planting the long pole in the ground, he says, "Nina's strong enough and dextrous enough to set the rest of it up herself. Let's go meet your clan-queen?"

"Having a dexterous daemon is rather lucky," Temperance comments absently, to Nina she says "if anyone asks about the device tell them that it is the queen's jurisdiction and that I am informing her. Avoid mentioning other dimensions to humans... maybe even to witches. If Faramund shows up tell him everything, he is a swan daemon."

Temperance waves invitingly at the available space in her cloudpine instead of answering to Nick. They will need to make a quick stop and ask a heavy-set witch breastfeeding a baby to ask where Queen Hemera is, but soon they find the Queen reading by a small pond.

Nick is completely silent until the queen is pointed out to him. He attracts odd looks from some of the witches, since his bulky, armored, tool-laden outfit is rather unusual even by mortal standards.

When they reach the queen, Nick bows silently and politely waits to be introduced.

Edited 2015-09-08 19:51 (UTC)

Even the witches familiar with the concept of cosplay are extremely confused, but they don't seen inclined to approach since Temperance is already handling things.

Queen Hemera notices the pair and is momentarily speechless until Temperance bows speaks.

"Queen Hemera," Temperance says "This is Nick, I met him after accidentally traveling to another world."

Queen Hemera drops her book and looks at them both in disbelief.

"Are you joking?" Queen Hemera asks.

"I am not," Temperance says and she turns to Nick "Do you want to tell her the story and make your request?"

"I found a small rodent-like creature in a forest on another world, with two rings tied to it. I was curious, so I caught the thing and removed the rings. Touching one of the rings transported me to a world that was neither mine nor yours. Temperance was there as well, presumably from the same cause. For some reason we could both understand each other in that middle-world, despite the fact that I did not know English at the time. The reason I know it now is because I have access to highly advanced technology, including translation computers."

"Temperance prepared a divination to analyze the rings, but as soon as she touched one we both appeared back here. I acquired a daemon, which I am rather upset about. Temperance summarized the traits of daemons, but I want to spend some time visiting this world to learn more. My ship can travel between dimensions with or without these mysterious rings. No other world I have ever visited has daemons, and I've seen hundreds."

"A little experimentation sufficed to determine how to trigger the rings, though I have no idea how they might actually work. I returned to my ship to retrieve some analysis equipment in hopes of understanding. And now I want to bring my ship to this world and spend some time here. I want permission to visit your lands and a clear spot to place my ship. My daemon is in your forest now, setting up some equipment I needed to bring here if I want my ship to follow."

"I have various technological devices that you might find useful, though I understand that witches are generally not as interested in technology as this world's humans. I am also interested in the possibly of trade with your clan - I have thousands of samples of plants and animals you have likely never heard of, and Temperance claims these can be probably be used for magical purposes."

Queen Hemera listens to Nick, glancing at Temperance occasionally and receiving small nods of affirmation.

"I also ended up doing the divination," Temperance says "and got amazing results just by looking at the rings and the place between worlds, more magical principles than I have seen before in my entire life."

The Queen thinks for a few moments.

"I am tempted to offer our clan hospitality to you," Queen Hemera says "but I need to know more about your plans towards the mortals of this world. We won't stop you from trading with them, but you are likely to draw unwanted attention to us, tentatively... I would offer you to stay with us for a week, you and your ship hidden, while we analyze your many samples proprieties without using or damaging them. You would have our full hospitality until you decided to leave or the week is over and we would part you in good terms, ideally without disclosing your association with us to mortals and mortal governments. If you broke.. if you harmed us our hospitality would end."

She speaks with the tones of someone that doesn't enjoy making implied threats but is quite certain of following them through.

Edited 2015-09-08 20:57 (UTC)

"I try not to interfere with the planets I visit besides acting as a tourist or trading with them. I don't overthrow governments, support rebels, make political speeches, steal things and kidnap people. None of that. In fact, I don't even trade the most dangerous pieces of technology to planets not yet advanced enough to build them on their own."

"Part of the reason for that is that they can be very dangerous. My ship's engines, for example, could be re-purposed into a nuclear weapon with enough effort. Some of the things I hope to gain in trade if you find that my samples could be useful are samples of plants and animals found here that I do not yet have, as much protection and preservation magic as you can give me, and precious metals."

Edited 2015-09-08 21:05 (UTC)

"All very reasonable. I don't want to see nuclear weapons being used again," The very young-looking Queen Hemera says "much less being partially responsible," She turns to Temperance "I am trusting you, our wards and the weirdness of the situation to believe it for myself, but before making a announcement to the clan I will need to see this place between worlds with my own eyes."

Temperance offers her the rings (inside a small pouch) explaining the exact mechanics. The queen tries them on, disappearing for a second and reappearing a inch to the left, she does that again and when she returns she says "I will make the announcement and get enough witches to cast a hiding ward. I would like starting sorting trade values fast. How big is your ship?"

"It would fit in this garden. Barely. But it's a bad idea to try to land in such a narrow area where people might be around - I'll need an open field somewhere. It will take an unpredictable amount of time to get it here. Not less than four hours, not more than two days."

"The unpredictability is a problem... but I suppose it can't be helped. There is a field that should be about six times bigger that is suitable." Queen Hemera says, she turns to the other witch while returning the rings "Temperance Lytess, I am officially entrusting you with the task of escorting our guest around and guiding him in our lands and world."

Temperance responds to that with a small respectful bow. The Queen will wait to see if Nick needs to wait anything before she departing.

Edited 2015-09-08 22:23 (UTC)

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