7. Dive Deep
Wistways
You friendly neighborhood artist
- Location
- Australia
Thankyou everyone for chiming in. I really appricate the generous responses to my mistake. People have said they are happy to continue with the Magic Mirror Plan. Here is the rest of the update.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Mahogany said before then intoning slowly, "Mirror Mirror on the wall," as she finished this she felt a prickling run up her throat as more words were pulled from her. "Grant me the vision, the sight to see all." As she spoke the rest of the phrase the mirror started to smile wide, distorting her features. The distortion spread over everything becoming sharp and feral until a face completely unknown to her stared back. It had pale blue skin with ash-colored hair that flowed over its stretched, androgynous, naked body. The eyes of the creature were reflective, sclera and pupil both a seamless mirror reflection.
"Finally!" The creature said with hands pressing up against the surface of the mirror. "Now smash it!" And it stepped back swinging its arms as if it was holding a pipe. "Smash it! Smash it!" It shrieked, voice high and joyful.
"W..Wait just a second! Mirror being I'm not going to smash this artifact." Mahogany said voice cutting into its increasingly frantic cries. "Mirror Mirror... I demand you tell me your function." The creature halted, mid-swing, and snapped back to paying her attention.
It looked up at her coquettishly through its curtain of hair, twirling a long strand around its finger as if in idle thought. "Oh Demand do you?" it purred, sidling closer to the mirror surface, the background behind them becoming black instead of reflecting the bedroom. "Demand is a very strong word for a little magus who can't cast magic." It looked down at its long white nails, inspecting them as if for flaws, and "I don't think you even know the first word of the spells and commands that move me." It stood there waiting, a smug grin on its face.
Mahogany stood in front of the mirror creature and quickly thought about what to do. It was right that she didn't understand what this ... thing... was. It didn't behave like an artifact back at the Crystal Towers, nor did she get the feeling that this was a part of the Betwixt and Between itself. It was something else. It was sentient of a kind, it had desires and thoughts. It also seemed like it knew more than just what was in the room. It knew she was a magus and couldn't cast magic.
Mahogany gripped her braid and unconsciously ran her fingers through it, as she always did when she was anxious or contemplating a problem. A change of tactics maybe? Negotiation rather than command.
"Mirror being." She said, aiming to make her voice both clear and calm, "We are both trapped here in this place. I don't know how to run the Betwixt and Between and you are in the mirror. It is possible that we can help each other if we can come to an understanding." The being looked at her, saying nothing.
"If you could answer me some questions mirror being, I could maybe help you."
"The only help I wish from you human is freedom from this boredom!" It shook its head, hair cascading everywhere. "You know how long I have been here showing true seeing to each and every owner that comes through. And that Bloyse only ever wanted to use me to see the back of his outfits." It spat in clear distaste and transformed into the image of a taller man. The man the mirror looked like was older than Mahogany but she wasn't sure by how much, he had that ageless look that Master Magus gets. He was wearing one of the elaborate outfits she had found, blue and silver with a scalloped sleeve and a great froth of white linen in the collar and front. He had darker skin like coffee with cream and his shoulder-length hair and neatly trimmed beard had silver streaks in the light brown.
"Turn to the left." The mirror being said re-enacting out a scene from the past, "Now to the right." He did this with a scowl on the face of the man, "Bloyse" Mahogany assumed. The mirror being did a twirl and returned to its own shape, "He didn't trust me at all. Preferred his own method of seeing." And it gestured to the bed covered in those hanging ornaments.
"Can you take the image of anything you have seen?" Mahogany asked. The mirror being slumped down, sadness or dissatisfaction in its every action. "Only those who have stood before me." It replied.
Mahogany pondered. "Mirror Being you have mentioned several times a true seeing. Can you tell me what that is?" She asked.
"I could. If I chose to." The mirror being once again had that sly look on its face. "But you don't have the words to command me. Nor the magic." It looked Mahogany up and down contemptuously. "You did however release me from my last command so now I get to speak and mock you until you smash the mirror and free me." Its eyes became large and pleading, hands held up in supplication. "Oh please Mistress Magus free me from this terrible prison, I've been so alone and so unhappy." Its voice was trembling as if it was on the verge of crying. "I will do whatever you ask Mistress. I'm a genie I can grant wishes."
Mahogany turned away from the mirror and started to leave the room. Hearing it calling to her as she left. "No, wait! I'm a leprechaun don't you want gold and luck? No! Wait I'm an Asterium, clear skies and good fortune. Come back here and smash the mirror!"
Mahogany stomped down the stairs, hurt clear in her stiff posture. It had only been two days since she was in the Crystal Towers, but having the fact that she couldn't cast magic thrown into her face sent her right back into that place. Of never being called on, of never being good enough. "You should be used to it Mahogany." She said to herself. "It shouldn't hurt so much by now."
She glanced out the window on the staircase on the way down, seeing the cool grey fog outside, and took a deep breath. "No, it's fine. You have worked hard and studied. You will find the spell that controls the Mirror and then we will see who will be mocking who."
She restarted her walk downstairs, reaching the end she saw the warded door that she had found yesterday. "Hello, Betwixt and Between?" She called out to the building. "Now that I am your new owner can you open the door?"
There felt like a flex in the air and the door rattled slightly in its frame, but the ward on the doorknob glowed slightly and the door went still. "I guess that's a no then." She got down on her knees to investigate the ward closely.
[ ] Investigate the Warded Door - AD 6
Skill: Hidden Knowledge (+1)
Difficulty: RISKY
There is a door here that is locked, nothing more sharpens the curiosity.
FINAL TOTAL (Action Dice 6 + Skill (Hidden Knowledge +1 ) = 7
Probability: 100% Great Success
GREAT SUCCESS
"This symbol looks like it would be a cascade marker, and its proximity to the mannaz is indicative of... " She trailed off pen tapping on her teeth as she compared her notes and the markings in front of her. She was fairly sure she knew what this is. "It's an essence lock," she concluded. Essence locks were interesting bits of magic, keyed to a particular person. They were generally unbeatable with illusion or glamor. Mahogany smiled as she rummaged around in her bag as she started speaking to the air. "Magus always forgets that not every problem needs to be solved with magic. Essence locks usually require the touch of the person to whom the lock is keyed. But that is not essential. It is looking for a particularly strong trace of the mage and its magic. Aha!" She pulled out from her bag a pair of men's gloves she had taken from the bedroom. She began to turn the gloves inside out and place them on her hands, they were too big for her but hopefully, this was enough to fool the ward.
She reached out a gloved hand and placed it on the doorknob, she braced herself for a shock, but none came. Mahogany smiled and turned the knob, ward disengaging with a spark and door opening. The room beyond was revealed to be a library. Tall shelves filled with books and scrolls, there was a ladder that slid along railings for the attendant to reach the highest volumes and small research tables, and a sturdy empty book wheel in the back. There was a skylight in this room, impossible architecture aside and a clear light filled the space. In the center of the room was a large device. Filed in the concentric circle were hundreds of silvery cards. "Check out cards?" Mahogany thought stepping closer to them. As she laid a hand on the device a great rushing movement of energy went through her. Draining her slightly but restoring something else.
Mahogany knew then that this was the record of every Wonderitem that the Betwixt and Between had made and sold, and the books on the walls were records of the destiny they had. With a touch, the inventory began to spin, a shuffle as the cards moved on their own and flicked through as if by an invisible hand. Three of these cards ejected themselves from the system and started floating in the air. Mahogany plucked them out of the air and started to read.
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The Raven Feathered Band - Created by Shopkeeper Bloyse
Current Status: Lost
Current Location: The Borderlands
This band allows the wearer to turn into a black raven at will. The user will remember they were a human.
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Needle of Capture - Created by Shopkeeper Bloyse
Current Status: Stolen
Current Location: The Borderlands
This needle can sew anything. Whatever it has sewn is bound forever until the needle is broken.
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Lyre of the Maiden - Created by Adremia the Grey Walker
Current Status: Stolen
Current Location: The Borderlands
Strung with the hair of a long dead maiden, it sings in her voice. The song will be the sweetest and saddest the listener has ever heard and will send the listener into despair.
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Self-Updating Inventory found and Active
+2 Condition Restored
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[ ] A Keen Mind and a Clear Spirit. ( Unlocked by the Crystal Towers Origin)
Completion Counter: 0/10
Failure Counter: 0/10
Skill: Any Magic Skill
Difficulty: Dangerous
You were never able to actually do magic before. But maybe now you are here in a new place it can be different!
FINAL TOTAL (Action Dice 6 + Skill (No Magic 0) = 6
Probability: 100% Great Success
Mahogany sat in the library looking at the cards in front of her. They were so lacking in detail! She wanted to know what markings and materials were used to create these effects. Where did Bloyse make them? She hadn't yet found a workshop. She touched the card again. She could find them she thought. She knew a script of divination. Or if she had magic she could force the mirror to show her 'true seeing.
She clenched her fist, nails digging into the palm. It always seemed to come back to that. Her inability. It was so incredibly unfair! She wiped at her face sighing. Maybe she could try again with her meditation exercise. She knows that the book told her it could restore that part of herself if she in turn restored the Betwixt and Between. But surely that wasn't the only way. She could feel herself changing, new knowledge and new sense building each day she was here. Surely it was that she isn't trying hard enough.
Mahogany took a deep breath in and sank into the cool pool which was her magic. She felt like she hovered there above her core, watching the ripples as they flowed in her. Before she had tried to pull the magic out, maybe this time she could seek to go further in.
Without a second thought of manaburn, she pulled in the edges of her thoughts and dived in. It felt like the wind was knocked out of her the cold was all-consuming. In the physical world frost began to form under her fingertips and her breath was a cold cloud. She kicked and dived and scraped as she fell and tumbled through. She realized at some point what was down was now up and she was pushing towards a surface, the ripples showing she was underwater, and with panicked strokes, she swam chest burning from the cold and the lack of air.
She breached the surface with a gasp, reaching out for something, anything! And grabbed onto what felt like a wooden bucket. Desperately using it for buoyancy she choked and spluttered. Where in the hell was she?
She thought about what this place could be, she could feel herself there in the real world, but also she was here wet and cold. "A manascape? This is what the landscape of my magic looks like." Mahogany was not impressed when she heard of manascapes before they were of impossible mazes full of lights. Island of thought floating above endless starlit skies. Her's from the look of it was a very dark and cold well.
Her teeth chattered and she pulled on the rope the bucket was attached to, at this tug, there was a clank of something mechanical and she could feel the slack on the rope subside as something activated to pull up the bucket. Awkwardly sitting upon it Mahogany has pulled up also, noting as she rose that the water in the well seemed to flow out of the bucket. When she reached the top and clambered awkwardly over the stone lip of the well there seemed to only be a very small amount inside. Less than a cupful.
Mahogany stood up, shivering, she was in a dark cave with soft bioluminescence of moss on the walls providing the only light. It smelled like earth and cold water and was freezing, freezing cold. She saw there were several alcoves around this central point. Like spokes on a wheel, they each were equidistant from the well. She clutched herself in a hug to try to prevent the shivering and walked over to the closest one.
This one had a small statue in the alcove above a large basin, both were dirty and chipped as if they had long been neglected. The statue was in the image of a paintbrush and a hammer poised as if to strike above an anvil. She reached a hand out to it and had a flash of her memories of Artificing class.
She drew her hand back. These were the aspects of magic she was capable of. She walked to the next alcove, with a book and a knife. The following, are a candle and a script pen, two mirrors reflecting each other, and an elemental orb.
Craft, Words, Intent, Illusion, and Elements.
All empty except for her knowledge. She looked back to the well, the broken bucket. She could see clearly what she could do. She could spend time here pulling her magic from the well, cupful by the cupful, and then pour it into the altar of her choosing. It would take days, but again Mahogany had never been afraid of hard work.
Which magic are you going to put your efforts into?
[ ] Magic of Words
Deals and contracts, true naming.
[ ] Magic of Intent
Sympathetic magic, Scrying, Ritual
[ ] Magic of Illusion
Glamor, Emotion, and Mind
[ ] Magic of Craft
Runecraft, Wonderitem maker, realm walker
[ ] Magic of Elements
Wind and fire, earth and water
Choose which aspect of magic you want to do carefully. The aspect you put your efforts in now will be the same the book will restore should you complete it's quest.
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