"That"s insane," Cedric declared. "You have no idea if this will work. You could be trapped in that Dungeon, and as Seelie, a long time is nothing short of forever!""I am doing this, Cedric. I will explain why once I"ve destroyed that machine and made sure that this experiment will not be restarted in the future. Trust in me. I will return."
"Have as much faith in my abilities as I have placed my trust in you. No matter your opinion, I need you to shut this Dungeon opening. None of this will matter if I have to worry about continuing incursions. I need that portal closed."
"I really don"t like this, Your Highness. But I am your sworn Va.s.sal. I have taken Oaths and refuse to forswear those Oaths the first time I don"t like or agree with your decisions," Cedric said reluctantly.
"I will trigger the destruction array and close the portal once you"ve crossed over."
"Your concerns are not without merit. Let"s test my theory before embracing it wholeheartedly. Wait ten minutes after I enter before you destroy the Dungeon portal," I said.
"I will attempt to open a portal to the Summerlands as soon as I enter the Dungeon. If it cannot be done, if the dimensional pocket that has created the Dungeon interferes with my spell, I"ll exit the Dungeon and we"ll consider a different method. One that keeps the portal open until I have finished the System quest and returned with the d.u.c.h.ess and her people."
"I"d prefer if you allowed one of us to enter the Dungeon with you," Uron suggested. "There may be something on the other side that keeps you from testing your Portal within the ten-minute time frame, and we would destroy the entrance, only to trap you there.
"One of us can crossover, verify that you have actually cast the spell and that it works, then cross back and inform the rest before we collapse the Dungeon entrance."
"Good idea, Uron. Let"s do it that way. There is nothing wrong with redundancy, not when our safety is at risk," I said praising his addendum to my plan.
Cedric"s relief was evident when he processed my updated commands. Allowing me to test my theory before closing and stranding me in the Dungeon still was cause for concern, I would be, after all, be conducting a dungeon delve solo, but my knowledge of CERN and Earth gave me some confidence that I would be better able to traverse those dangers alone.
Still, I wasn"t so certain my plan would work without first testing it. It is entirely possible that System influence and abilities would be disrupted if the portal was closed, and even if I could open the portal to Summerlands when the two worlds were linked, there was no guarantee that I would be able to once that link was broken.
I was taking a risk. But Duke A"Daoine and King Lugh had access to teleportation technology that would allow them to arrive at the Dungeon entrance much faster than I"d been able. And they wouldn"t be stymied by traps or mazes placed to slow down or defeat the progress of those that would be a.s.signed to exploit Dungeon resources and information.
The ties that bind run deep. And my affection for Earth and her people had not been severed during my reincarnation. I would find the process of exploiting and taming the planet painful. Earth was beyond the era of Myths and Legends. The people had diverged from the primitive, renouncing magic and G.o.ds and embracing science and the scientific method.
There was no place for Seelie overlords in this Multi-verse shard. And I feared the ramifications if S-Prime were roused to action. I could envision an apocalyptic resolution as It merged both Universes in an attempt to conform and stabilize the Universal constants. Each battling for supremacy until either one Universe destroyed the other, or a balance was achieved upending everything that was known and how the Laws of the universe worked.
It was a matter of moments to collect Silinium. We were careful to only harvest trailing nodes. Fresh sprouts of metal that had not yet "germinated." Once collected. Plans formulated. I stepped forward.
The harvesting process itself was interesting. Although metal and ore, the Mother node sent out feelers, almost vine-like as it expanded. The vines, or rivers of metal, would pool occasionally, and these pools would form fist-size formations that could be removed.
Not all formations were seed-stock. The ones that had the ability to expand and grow to become Mother Nodes had a unique vibration, a tonal quality that could be identified by striking them.
What I found most interesting was that those Nodes with the most ability to grow, emitted scaling notes. Not quite music, but still a scaling of tonal quality as notes on the musical spectrum from C to C were resounded. As each of us began tapping, and the seeds responded at different intervals, it filled the cavern. Nothing orchestral or composed. But beautiful in its simplicity.
[You are about to enter a dungeon instance.]
[Dungeon Information: CERN the site of the Hadron Collider.]
[Location Earth: Geneva Switzerland]
[Level - 0]
[Proceed Yes/No]
Selecting Yes, Uron and I continued moving forward. My body was torn apart, existing in two contiguous locations, this was not like my transition from the Summerlands. This was less refined, rawer. The Universe would not allow this phenomenon to last long. Will drove intent, and the System facilitated my movements. Breaking down my body into component parts and energy instantly, only to reconst.i.tute the essence of what made me, me in the new location.
Glancing around, I was comforted by the sights, sounds, and smells of what I encountered. A busy road besieged with automobiles, trucks, and buses whizzed past a field that was part of the grounds for CERN.
A concentric circle of mushrooms not only delineated the portal and the pa.s.sage between Talahm and Earth, but acted as an illusion, hiding the pa.s.sage from prying eyes. Those that would use the portal would be able to see past these illusions, but their construction helped in creating a "safe" place, a place to re-group and form up after entering the dungeon.
My first observation was that this really did seem to be the Earth that I knew and came from. The technology was familiar, the pedestrians and motorists were obviously humans, and the smell of iron, pollutants, and machinery were rife and indolent.
Forcing myself to ignore my surroundings for the moment, I tested my connection to the System by opening my Status menu.
Name: Teigh Mac De Beleros y Cyronax Prince: Level 3
t.i.tle: Summerland"s Protector t.i.tle: Zeus" Bane
Danu"s Kiss: You have been blessed by Wild Magic and the G.o.ddess Danu. The wee folk, sprites, and earth elementals will obey your commands. You can call upon the Wild Magic to enhance any spell cast once every third day. Sithern"s created by you will conform and move to your will after creation.
Health Pool 3206 Magic Strength 4406
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Strength 14.03 Agility 18.03
Intellect 24.03 Will Power 20.03
Affinities:
Earth Affinity 15% Air Affinity 35%
Water Affinity 15% Fire Affinity 100%
Nature Affinity 75% Death Affinity 15%
Mind Affinity 60% Ice Affinity 100%
Relieved that the System appeared to be operating correctly, I gathered my magics to test my connection to Summerlands.