The same day that your blue is one-fifth full, you walk out to the location of the original Thopter, and use a small amount of Black mana to make another 'Thopter. With a bit more of the black, you make another two Memnites, which don't seem to actually eat anything that you can tell.
Am I ruthless enough to sacrifice these two? I mean, new ones don't have much of a personality. They aren't really fully sentient, right? Just expert systems, at least for now? No, I should be precise. Simple Golems.
"Alright, I want you to put that machine through it's paces. You are both the ground crew and pilot and copilot. Inspect it, test the functionality and the controls, alert me if there is anything I need to know about, and take it for a small test flight, and then land safely, to the best of your ability, and report back to me. Take no undue risks in carrying out this task."
You watch as they start to check over the airplane, you find Pyotr has wandered over to visit you. He's quiet for a time, then speaks up.
"You don't want them to die, like the kobolds did."
You stay silent, but your face apparently betrays your emotions. He speaks up.
"We are in an unknown land, with unknown enemies. But we are making a civilization, ya? I had friends, in the Saloon. They saw war. They saw command. They saw their men die, and had to live with themselves. They thought their orders led to their men dying."
He looks somber. "I fled war, and was lucky to get to the United States. I was closer to war than most. Maybe that is why they could talk to me more than some of the others. Mostly, I just listened. I was there for them, so they could open up at their own pace. You've made a hard decision, and you will no doubt make more. If you ever want to talk about that, to ground yourself, I'm here for you."
You allow yourself the smallest amount of a grin, as the Memnarchs start to go into the Ornithopter and test the various actuators and the flapping of the wings and the tail. Eventually, the flaps increase, and it takes off from the water. It does not gain much altitude, and is moving quite slowly, as they start to test it's ability to turn side to side in a gentle bank. Frowning, you watch it dip closer and closer to the water, and a wingtip dips into the water. You stand up as the thopter crashes into the water, as if in slow motion. As it starts to sink, so does your heart. Pyotr holds his hand on your shoulder as you watch.
Slowly, there's a disturbance in the water, and the two Memnarchs start to walk out of the saltwater beach toward you, having walked on the sea floor. One of them deposits a broken wooden lever, part of the control fixtures of the ornithopter in front of you. They seem a little banged up, but not too much worse for the wear.
It's you that breaks the silence, "Well, that answers that question."
The next day, when blue is 2/5ths full, you start to learn Enlightened Tutor, the hard way. Before you start learning, you make certain to check to see if Goblin Electromancer is available, and spend some time focusing on it for a little bit, making sure to get it as firmly in mind as much as possible. Luckily, it is present.
Well that means that the dual mana options are available at least. Or at least some of them. Good to know. Should I look for something in particular?
You don't cast any more spells the next three days, spending some time cataloguing the available books in the meantime, and inspecting the farms. Pyotr has to cure you of some sort of case of the sniffles, but the days are otherwise uneventful.
Finally, I have a Blue mana, and a choice to make. Now, do I cast Clairvoyance again, to try for Goblin Electromancer? Or cast Personal Tutor, and try to get some other question answered? There's still about two days, ish, left to learn Enlightened Tutor. But what do I ask the Tutor?
However, the lure of CMC 2 spells is too great, and you decide to try and cast Clairvoyance while focusing on Goblin Electromancer. Rather than an image of a distant place, a spell forms in your mind, almost complete. It is... Shimmering Wings?
More randomness, maybe? I've been thinking of this spell, though? But that's one I've thought of and inspected... somewhat recently? Does that matter? Or is it just one of the spells I could learn?
Still, it's another two days to finish learning Enlightened Tutor, the slow way, and one more day to learn Shimmering Wings. You could cast Enlightened Tutor now, and in two days, cast another Blue spell of some sort -- maybe Clairvoyance? Or Enlightened Tutor?
But what things should I ask the sages, now that I have access to two of them?
Actually, my plot wouldn't work with any other character in M:tG.
