Log:Mana Battery Delivery

Arbiter of Balance 2021/09/14 Radical Grimm Archmage Duran Vagabond 5

After working together to finish as many mana batteries as possible, the pair are now almost ready to return to the other dimension. Gabrielle finished as much as she could, and now Connor is left to inspect and finish the final parts of the process that only he can do. Which leaves Gabrielle rubbing her eyes sleepily after the marathon work rush. "D'ya want coffee?" she says before covering her mouth to yawn.

Radical nods. "Some coffee would be good yeah. Thank you." He starts making a few last minute adjustments to each of the new mana batteries. "Nice work, by the way."

Grimm looks surprised by the compliment and smiles with a little bit of pride. "Wow. Thanks," she says with appreciation. It's something he's probably seen several times in his career as a professor from students who needed the encouragement or are grateful for the praise. "It was kind of fun getting to work with my hands. But I'd still feel better with you double checking my work. I've never made anything like this." She turns toward the floating asteroid with the kitchen on it and teleports over in an inky swirl of darkness and the sound of foreboding whispers. Which is then followed by the light clattering sound of her gathering two mugs of coffee and a kettle. "How...do you get water here? I mean, I doubt there's any real utilities here...I haven't noticed any pipes. Is it all just..." she gestures with wiggling fingers. "Magicked up?"

Radical nods. "Oh...well, a little of one, a little of another. The water source is actually from a frozen world in another dimension. The small bit of water I use won't be missed. Waste is dealt with via magic." He keeps checking the work on the mana batteries, closing them up one at a time as he confirms that they look good and are operating normally.

Grimm chuckles and fills the kettle. "Better living through portals? I feel bad for wherever the waste ends up," she jokes and puts the kettle on the stove to start boiling.

Radical chuckles. "Again, another uninhabited area. So, no real issues there, either."

Grimm chuckles at that. "That works." She starts to prep stuff to prep the coffee, setting it up to view in a french press. Once the coffee's done, she doctors them, remember how Connor usually likes his coffee. She teleports back over after tidying up and holds out a mug to him.

Radical takes the coffee and smiles. "Thank you again." He has just finished closing up the last one, and packing them all in a backpack. "I think we're just about set."

"You're welcome," Grimm smiles as she takes a sip of her coffee, then lets out a sigh of contentment. "That's the stuff. Okay, that was the jump start I needed. Speaking of Jumpstarts, I did manage to get some advice on a way to perhaps jumpstart that world a bit more." She had a small break to run an 'errand' a few hours ago while Radical was taking care of some initial set up that only he could do.

Radical takes a seat in one of the chairs in the work area as he sips his coffee. "Oh? What do you have in mind?"

Grimm sits down in another chair, holding her mug with both hands as she relaxes and rests her weary feet. "Well. I spoke with...a bit of an expert on some matters. He suggested there might be a way to boost your healing spell to cover more ground. Enough to give a bigger start for the people of that world before we hand off the batteries to teach them the rest."

Radical nods. "How would you do that? Can you use your magic to boost mine?"

Grimm nods slowly. "I think I can amplify it to some degree. It might be very draining for me, but I could potentially empower your spell. I just can't cast it myself."

Radical nods. "Worth a try, I guess. It'll make sense to start in another bligthed area, though."

Grimm nods. "Maybe they can suggest a place? I'm sure the Archmage would have ideas of what'd be the best to reclaim. Unfortunately, I still don't really know to find the version of me that did this."

Radical nods. "Well, one thing at a time. If they can reclaim their world, it's a start."

Grimm smiles and raises her mug to his in a toast. "I guess to giving them a new start?"

Radical raises his mug in a toast, and takes another sip. "To a new start. Hopefully that evil version of you doesn't return to that world."

Grimm stares at Radical with an appalled expression. "Why would you jinx things like that?" she says, ending with a grin and finishes the rest of her coffee.

Radical waves her off. "That's not a thing. I'm pretty sure someone has done a statistical analysis to prove it, too."

"But why even put that out in the universe? You know weird stuff is out there," Gabrielle scolds him with a chuckle, really just having fun with him. "I'm sure the person who did that analysis didn't know about magic, or ghosts, or crazy space gods."

Radical shakes his head, and smiles. "It's like that bogus idea that 'deaths come in threes'. No, they don't."

"Of course that's bogus. They come in fives." Gabrielle winks. "Done with your mug? I can wash it up and we can get going."

Radical nods, "Yeah, I'm all set." He downs the rest of his coffee and hands the mug to Grimm, "Thanks again."

Grimm takes the mug and smiles. "No problem." She vanishes and reappears at the kitchen island and washes out the mugs, setting them up to dry before teleporting back. "Shall we?" she asks after sliding on her leather jacket.

Radical pulls on his mask, so he can see where they're going. "Yup. I'm all set." He stands up and grabs the bag.

Grimm places a hand on Radical's arm as he prepares to teleport them away.

While he may have his eyes on where they're meant to go, the harnesses settings may not be dialed in to the exactly right place. They end up a few dimensions 'adjacent', which is literally worlds apart as they end up in a dystopian city at night. There's litter everywhere in the alley they find themselves. Distant sirens, gunfire, spotlights, and helicopers. It's like there's some military operation or war going on.

And the...kaTHUM!! A giant metal foot steps out at the mouth of the alleyway, and large spotlight suddenly lights them up. A robot voice announces, "Magic wielders detected. Surrender or be eliminated." With the alleyway lit up, wanted posters of various people can be seen plastered on the walls. Two of the aforementioned posters list Connor Duran and Gabrielle Grimm among others, some familiar, some not.

Gabrielle winces against the light, momentarily blinded. "What the...? Where are we?"

Radical blinks. "I think I got us into the wrong dimension. I'm going to try to get us out of here. Hang on tight." He goes to activate his harness again, and hopefully get to the right place...but he tries to remember how they ended up HERE to be able to come back to it.

Grimm blinks away the spots and sees the robots, the posters. "Oh...god." She hangs on tight as the robot begins to raise a hand. An iris opens up in its palm and starts to glow an ominous orange within as it charges up.

Radical manages to get his equipment working quickly enough...taking the two of them from the area JUST in time as the robot attacks. This time, they get to the right dimension. "What was with the giant killer robot being RIGHT there when we arrived?"

Grimm pants, clutching Radical's arm tight as they arrive in the right...dystopian world. It's actually an improvement. She turns her head slowly to him and looks him dead in the eye. "You. Jinxed. It."

Radical laughs. "Maybe I did. But I'm going to head back there to check it out, eventually. We're both fugitives there."

"Wanted? For what? You sure you want to go back there?" Gabrielle finally lets go of his arm and straigthens up, taking a breath to calm herself down from the scare.

Radical takes a deep breath. "Something was very wrong there. Something that likely needs fixing. Besides...how did it detect we were using magic? Neither of us had any active, right?"

Grimm shrugs. "I...don't know, really. I've had a lot of mages sense my power even when I wasn't using it. If it's able to somehow sense magical things, maybe it sensed that. Or it had my face in the database because of those posters."

Radical chuckles, and points to his mask. "That explains you. Not me."

Radical nods. "Maybe it can just detect potential? Hard to say for sure. But it must have a means of doing so."

"Well, they didn't say us by name exactly," Gabrielle comments. "For all we know, maybe Apostate messed around with that world," she chuckles. The pair find themselves on an old dirt road leading into the village where their hosts in this world are awaiting somewhere. It looks like medieval England architecture for the homes about, with thatch roofs and a few stone buildings, one of which is a castle with a tower. The tower itself serves as home to the Archmage, his family, and other magic practitioners. While this part of the world is dark and dying, far from the area Radical healed, there are some celebrations going on at the town center near the tower. There's no feasting, since there's a famine, but there is music and hope.

Radical nods. "Well, let's go find the Archmage, and teach them how to use these." He starts walking toward the village. "It'll keep them from freaking out if we walk in, rather than teleporting.

Grimm nods and walks in with Radical. "Well, that's true for you. But for me?" A ripple of dark energy flows over Gabrielle, leaving her hair blonde and her clothes color swapped to white. "They may still be jumpy at the sight of the Dark One."

Radical nods. "That's true, they might." He does a double take. "Voluntarily making your hair blonde? Are you okay?"

"I swapped places with your Grimm in between breaks," Gabrielle tries to play it straight. Finally, she cracks a grin. "I figured I'd go for the absolute opposite of Dark One. I stopped short of a fancy dress." She holds up a finger. "Tell. No. One," she warns ominously.

Radical chuckles. "I have no idea why you're so worried about that."

"Reputation," Gabrielle states simply, but it seems like a lie. Her face sobers a bit from it's joking manner as they walk. "Actually...not reputation."

Radical nods. He has an idea that it might be a bit of self-loathing, but he doesn't comment on it. If Gabrielle wants to talk about it, she can talk about it.

Grimm seems to be wrestling with the reason herself. "It takes effort to be blonde. This is just a disguise. The few other times you saw me was just me with my natural hair color, without my power tainting me. And...I hate it. Because it was something Price said he loved about me. It's the same with the pet names. He called me Gabby a lot." Her eyes harden briefly, then ease away. "But...that was a long time ago. I...shouldn't be so anti...everything that I was then. Though now?" Gabrielle looks to Radical and smiles faintly. "I just like the black hair."

The pair draw near to the castle's walled courtyard. The gates are widen open and the portcullis is overgrown with vines and rusted in place. Within, Sir Duran the Knight and his band of fellow heroes are near the castle smithy, discussing matters. They're armed and armored, ready for a fight still.

Radical chuckles quietly, but he nods. "I understand. But...ideally, you shouldn't let Price's opinions and actions control your opinion of yourself. I know...that's harder than I'm making it sound."

Radical waves as they walk closer. "It's good to see you all again. I've come bearing some gifts for the Archmage."

There's definitely still some self-loathing as Gabrielle says, "I...know. I'm still angry at myself for being so dumb and letting myself be controlled. I'm working on it." She quiets as they approach the adventuring party.

Sir Duran looks over, relaxed and not recognizing Gabrielle as a blonde and with more subdued makeup. "You returned!" the young man says excitedly. "We weren't sure you would, but my father was certain." He nods to his compatriots and excuses himself before approaching Radical. "Come, let me take you to him," he motions to the arcane tower and begins leading the way to its entrance. It's large and towers a few stories up, and is attached to a separate building within the castle walls.

Radical nods, and follows along, looking at the architecture. He finds himself wondering how this world ended up stuck in this...fantasy or medieval state.

Everything looks like it's in disrepair. There are some holes in the roof, though there's been patchwork done. The weather is cold, and as the night goes on, it will be bitterly so. Gabrielle doesn't even notice the cold.

The knight opens the large oak doors into the tower and it creeks open, but at least within, there is a warm hearth going, and a few comfortable, well-used seating area. There's shelves with books, and strange bottled ingredients, some work tables. It's part home, part arcane lab, and there's a grand spiral staircase that leads up to the additional floors, and a door on each side leading to other living quarters. The Archmage is seated in a high-backed chair reading a book with another woman seated adjacent, their chairs aimed for the fireplace.

The Archmage looks up and smiles. "Welcome back," he says and closes his book, rising to his feet.

The woman with him looks up from her own book. "Are these the heroes you spoke of? I'll go fetch some tea, shall I?" she asks as she stands up.

Radical looks at the woman to see if he recognizes who it is, or at least similarities to anyone that he has met. "Thank you. I've come bearing some gifts, which might make things a little easier for you to deal with casting magic."

The woman has light auburn hair with strands of gray, tied back in a braid. She doesn't look like anyone familiar that Radical's met. The Archmage looks to her and smiles. "That would be lovely, my dear." She smiles and heads off to the door on the right. The Archmage walks over to Radical. Gabrielle is looking him over now that she knows who he really is, trying to see the resemblance.

"Wonderful. I'm very curious to see what you have to show and teach me. Shall we go to the sanctum? There'll be room and materials up there if any are needed," he offers.

Radical nods, "That sounds like a good idea. Thank you. You'll probably want to take some notes, too."

Archmage Duran smiles. "All my journals and note taking supplies are up there. It's where I do most of my work, after all." He looks to the Knight. "Can you go help your mother with the tea? We'll be up in the sanctum." The son dutifully nods and heads off to where his mother went. "Follow me," the Archmage smiles and starts to lead up the spiral stairs. It goes quite a ways, with several floors storing books and scrolls. There's a few acolytes organizing or studying the scrolls along the way. "So who is it you've brought with you this time?"

Radical chuckles quietly. "Context is everything. This is the same young woman you met me with last time. Gabrielle."

The Archmage halts on the steps with a hand on the wooden railing and turns to look at Gabrielle, squinting as if his eyes might be failing with him. "So it is! You've changed a great deal in such a short amount of time."

Gabrielle is caught off guard by the whole affair. "Wait. You...really don't recognize me? At all? I thought maybe like this, you...nevermind." She sounds disappointed. She sweeps her hands down her front and out, the magic being cast off. From top to bottom, she returns to looking like herself. "I didn't want to scare the townsfolk on the way here and set off alarms about the Dark One."

Radical nods. "Again...context is everything." After all, she didn't recognize the Archmage as a version of Connor.

The Archmage chuckles. "Perhaps you can illuminate me with some more context, then," he continues up the stairs. They finally reach the top floor. There's a few rugs on the stone flooring, a few massive glass windows, and even more shelving all around with books, scrolls, and components. It's a good old fashioned wizard's lab, with work tables set up for alchemy and other magical experiments. There's some magical warding around the window sills for added protection. "Hmmm...yes, over here should do nicely." He walks over to a clear worktable and pulls some blank scrolls from the shelving behind it, a quill, and a bottle of ink.

Radical chuckles quietly..and pulls his bag off his shoulder. "First things first. I'll start with the gifts. These..." He pulls out five total batteries. "...are mana batteries, using some technology from my world. They were the first tools I used when I was relearning my magic. They should be able to replace the methods you're using to gather mana, at least to a degree."

Radical also pulls off his mask, to be a bit more...friendly.

Archmage Duran looks over them with keen interest. "Remarkable. May I?" he asks to indicate if it's safe to touch and examine.

Radical nods. "Please, go ahead. These devices will pull in ambient mana from the environment over time. Once used, you just need to let it sit overnight before you can use it again."

Radical says, "I used to carry one around with me consistently for several months."

The Archmage delicately picks up up and examines it closely. "So then they're durable?" he asks, still treating it gingerly. "And it regains its powers in just a night? Incredible."

Radical nods. "They're pretty durable. Don't take an axe to them, mind you. But they'll hold up to a bit of a beating."

That makes the Archmage chuckle. "I am in no hurry to do such a thing, but I'll be sure to remind my son to keep his merry band a safe distance," he says mirthfully. "How does one draw the magic out and predict a result?"

Radical smiles. "The best part is...there really aren't any working parts. They just...absorb the mana in the air." He then nods, "They would effectively replace part of your longer ritual. From what I could tell, you have a long process by which you gather mana to then shape it to your desires. You...already know how to do that last step. The mana is just in a different form than you're used to. I suggest you try that sending spell, focusing on using the energy in the battery."

Radical grabs one of the batteries, holding it up in his palm, "I suggest holding it like this, for the time being. It will help you concentrate on using the power, and pulled it in from your hand and along your arm."

The Archmage holds it as he is instructed. "So this mana is an ambient source of magic to power spells? Our rituals and spells such as those are also very personally draining on the casters. The old teachings say it is because a mage's life force is used to power the spell. Too great a spell without a burden shared could cost a mage their life. Is there any risk of that with these?" He focuses on the belt, then raises a brow and looks to Radical. "Did the spell work?" Radical doesn't hear anything from a Sending spell.

Radical shakes his head, "Mmm...no, not that time. Using the battery should be safe, as long as you use just the energy from it."

Radical nods slowly as he thinks about it. "Follow the normal way you cast the spell. I could see that you did start to draw on it, but had trouble shaping the mana to your purposes. Whatever gestures or incantation you're used to using...you'll still need to use."

"It just feels so...intuitive to all my training. The components aren't needed, but they were, in a way, part of the gesturing. Perhaps if I visualize in my mind better. Set my intention as I do in my spells." The Archmage falls silent to focus.

Radical nods as he watches, assessing the Archmage's attempt.

It takes some time. He's trying take something that required semantic and material components with actions and distill that into pure thought. Radical can see the mana battery start to draw and take shape, then lose cohesion before a true spell can be formed.

Radical nods slowly. "You're getting it. I think we just need to practice a bit more. Maybe I can try to help you adapt it further." He thinks about it. "The materials you use...you said that you draw on your own life force for casting? That's really the only part that changes. You can eventually manage to do this without materials at all, but it will take some time to learn. Try it again, but with nearly everything that you're used to, but continue to try to draw energy from the device, rather than from yourself. I know you can do that, as I've seen the mana flow."

Grimm comments, "Life force? Sounds a bit like blood magic. Wouldn't casting that major summoning spell have been risky?" There's some concern in her voice. Especially now that she knows who the Archmage is an alter of.

The Archmage smiles faintly at Grimm's question. "If cast alone, I might have expired in the attempt and failed. With the unifying of the various mages gathered, we could share the burden," he answers as he begins to poke around shelves and draws, gathering components as before. A small box for sending, a scrap of paper for the note. He already has the pen and quill on his desk.

Radical nods, watching as the Archmage works. "Definitely don't use blood for this, though. That'll defeat the purpose."

The Archmage chuckles. "We don't use actual blood or bloodletting for our spells to work. We needn't bleed to surrender our life energy for it. There's cautionary tales of mages who push too far and die in the attempt at wielding greater magic alone." This smile fades as he sets down the small tear of paper and dips his quill in the inkpot. "A few mages attempted to stop the Dark One alone and consumed their own lives in the attempt. It wasn't until we unified that we had hope." He begins to write on the paper. He looks to the box, and instead of setting the paper in it and casting the spell as before, he folds the paper and focuses on it.

It's fainter than before, but Radical hears in his head. It's a poem with a haiku structure. << Sometimes sacrifice / simply feels like the payment / for a greater life.>>

Radical smiles. "I heard it that time. It worked. Nicely done."

The Archmage looks pleased. He crumples the paper. "I think I just needed a bridge to help translate my intentions. With practice, I shouldn't need the quill or paper. Overcome the habit. I didn't feel tired the way I normally would."

Radical smiles and nods. "Because the energy came from the battery. My hope...is that when I teach you that pattern repair spell that I used to heal your land...you can use these batteries as the means of generating the power to do so."

The Archmage looks excited. "This could mean a whole new age for magic in our world along with the restoration of our world. I think relearning to cast our traditional spells will take some time, but your spell already accounts for the use of mana from these batteries, yes?"

Radical nods. "Oh, yes, it does. But...we may have to adapt what I do to make it easier for you. Perhaps incorporate some of your tools, since that is what you're used to. Perhaps you can show me some of the tools you use to cast magic, and we can come up with some options."

The Archmage takes some time to think on options. "I think...I'd like to see your way of casting the spell from the start and resort to adapting if it's too difficult to cast." He takes a breath. "Better to learn it the right way first, if possible."

There's steps heard on the stairwell and the Archmage's wife walks up with a tray holding some clay mugs and a matching clay tea pot. There's no sugar or milk or anything else to doctor the tea. "I hope I am not interrupting."

Radical smiles. "No, I think we were just finishing up with the initial test. We'll want to head outside to show how the healing spell works."

The Archmage's wife sees Radical without the mask and gasps. She's so shocked that the tea tray loses balance.

Radical reaches out to help steady the tray, only managing to save most of the tea from spilling. "I'm sorry. I'm sure that my appearance is startling."

"I-I'm sorry. Connor warned me, but I don't think I was honestly prepared. You look so young," she chuckles. She regains control of the tray with his help. "I should clean this up," she says, but she can't help but study the similarities in Radical's face.

Radical smiles. "I...do suspect he has a few years on me."

The wife chuckles. "Yes, a few," she says nicely. "He hasn't looked like that since our second child," she muses and finally sets the tray down on an empty table, free of papers. "Though even then, he had a beard. Just much shorter and neater."

The Archmage chuckles and walks over, taking her hand tenderly. "Is that another hint that you want me to trim my beard? I should have prepared you more for this, dear."

Radical smiles and steps back to give the couple room. "I don't have any kids. That might explain it, then."

The Archmage and his wife both look surprised. "Really?" the Archmage asks.

His wife chuckles. "Maybe that's the secret to him just appearing younger?"

That makes the Archmage laugh. He takes a cloth and dabs the tray dry and hands one of the tea cups to his wife. "I can't argue that they haven't contributed to my gray hairs." He takes his own tea and sips it. "Mmmm. It's perfect, Reylia."

Radical chuckles again. His relationships, such as they are, are complicated enough. Bringing that up will just confuse matters further.

Radical smiles. "Thank you for bringing the tea."

Archmage Duran offers a cup of tea to Gabrielle. She accepts it and smiles. "Thanks." She blows on it and sips delicately.

After a few seems, Archmage Duran says, "Now that we're refreshed, perhaps we should continue with our lesson. And you can stop staring now, Reylia."

Because Reylia keeps stealing glances at Radical. "It's just uncanny. A whole other you. Are there others as well?" The multiverse is something new and strange to these people.

Radical nods. "There are. There are...in theory, an infinite number of each of us in the multiverse. Some dimensions will have a version of us, and some will not. But with infinite worlds, there are an infinite set of possibilities." He smiles nad finishes up his tea, setting the cup down on the tray.

"An infinite amount? That's almost unfathomable," Reylia says as she clutches her tea cup.

Gabrielle adds, "It also creates variants like the version of me that was a real jerk and did this to your world. If you can think of it, it probably exists in some variation somewhere out there."

Archmage Duran finishes his tea as well and sets it down. "I'll bring the tray down later to clean up, dear."

Reylia says in a knowing way, "So long as you don't forget about it again." The causes the Archmage to chuckle guiltily.

Radical smiles. "We should head someplace where the blight is active, and obvious, to practice the spell. Let's bring the batteries along as well."

The Archmage thinks on that. "Hmmmm. What do you think, dear?" he asks Reylia.

Reylia smiles. "The whole town is under the blight, but perhaps the best place would be the farmlands? Ending the famine would do so much for morale and rebuilding."

Radical nods. "That's a good place to start, then. And the results of it working should be obvious."

"It's a short journey to the north from here. I can tell my son to gather horses," Archmage Duran offers.

Radical nods. "That sounds good. Thank you. Alternatively, I'm sure either Grimm or myself could teleport us there. It might be quicker."

Grimm nods to that. "Yeah. Save your horses and stuff."

Archmage Duran thinks about that. "That's how you two traveled from your world to ours, correct?"

Radical nods slowly. "Not exactly. Crossing dimensional barriers is similar, but the mechanism is different. For teleportation, I basically fold space with the device that I'm wearing." He takes a step to the left...and teleports six feet over. "...like so. Crossing dimensions requires a different mechanism, but the concept is similar. I link two locations together as a single correspondent point, but they're in different dimensions, rather than in the same one."

Radical smiles. "No magic involved with that, by the way. It's technology that did that. Grimm's abilities are all magical."

Archmage Duran nods and wonders as he looks to Grimm. "If your powers are magic like the Dark One's, can you merely end this curse on our land of you wished it?"

Gabrielle's brow twitches faintly. Something about the question hurt her feelings, but she masks it quickly. "I can't. Even if I wished it. My powers can't heal or bring life. Radical's can, though."

Archmage Duran nods thoughtfully. He looks to Reylia and smiles. "Don't worry about supper for me. I'll be too engrossed in learning this new magic."

Reylia scolds lovingly, "Don't go too long without food. You'll leave yourself too weak. Maybe I should send Rira with you to make sure you take care of yourself." It's more of an idle threat as she begins to move toward the stairs.

Radical chuckles quietly. He thinks about it, and adds as an explanation, "My magic in this case...is restoring the true pattern of what is there. Everything...you...me...your wife...all have what can be sensed as a pattern of life. A weave or tapestry. And when that weave is altered...in this case, by blighting the land, sometimes that pattern can be repaired."

Archmage Duran nods and smiles as Reylia descends. He looks back to Radical and listens to the explanation. "Fascinating. Are you able to see the weave of this life tapestry yourself?"

Radical shakes his head, "Not...exactly. I can see, using magic, the future, by looking at the threads that entwine us. Each of our lives can be visualized by a thread, that gets tangled with others's threads over our lives. But that's different than the pattern within each living thing. In this case, I was guessing that I might be able to heal the land this way, but it was a completed guess. I try it...and if it works, then the underlying pattern is revealed. If it does not, it means that whatever I'm trying to affect now has a new pattern as its baseline." He thinks about it again, "The best example was a series of vampires I dealt with recently. If someone was newly changed, I could make them human again. But if they accepted the change, and had progressed...fed...then I would not be able to. It was too late."

This revelation of seeing the future is definitely opening new horizons for the Archmage. "So you have to determine through your own observations whether something may be altered? I see. So there was a chance you could have missed that such a spell would've helped." He goes to pick up a pack of leather that's worn and well-traveled. "What are vampires?"

Grimm looks to Radical. "Good to know something might be changed beyond repair," she says, not actually sounding comforted by that.

Radical looks surprised. "Umm...vampires are mythological creatures that feed on blood. They look like humans, hiding amongst them, and preying on human and animals alike to get blood. You may not have them on your world at all, for all I know."

"Ah hah. If legend, yes. The Calphinae, if I remember, from some of the old texts," the Archmage smiles and shoulders his pack. "I haven't heard recent stories of them that proved fact. Just imaginations gone wild. Though now, the tales people tell to scare each other involve the Dark One. So let's put that tale to rest."

Gabrielle smiles faintly and looks to Radical. "You want to take us, or should I?"

Radical smiles. "Why don't you go ahead, Gabrielle?"

Grimm nods and looks to the Archmage. "You said to the North. How far?"

About 18 furlongs."

Gabrielle stares at him. "Uhhhhh. In English?"

Radical thinks about it. "Umm...that is...2 and a quarter miles, I think?"

Grimm chuckles. "Hoooow do you even know that?" she asks Radical playfully. She casts her head in that general direction, gaze turned upward a little as her shadow sight stretches across the land to feel her way in that direction. She begins to stretch her hand out in preparation to call a portal.

Radical grins. "I'm a math teacher. It's a unit of measure."

Radical says, "The hard ones are like...measuring weight in 'stones'."

"You mean that's a real thing?" Gabrielle asks incredulously as a gate opens up. It's a pit of darkness. And when the other side resolves, it's still a pit of darkness. Just less dark. This land is still cursed. The ground is dark and cracked as before, the trees without their leaves.

The Archmage is taken aback. "You did that as if it were effortless."

Grimm replies awkwardly to the Archmage, "I don't really require a battery either." She steps through the portal and onto the ruined earth that was once fertile farmland.

Connor steps through as well and looks around at the surrounding land.

Archmage Duran also looks curious. "Mathematics? Really?" He doesn't sound too surprised. He steps through last, watching his step carefully over the lip of the portal. Gabrielle closes the gate once he's through, and the Archmage inspects it as it vanishes. Scientific or arcane curiosity. "These farmlands once supplied enough food to feed the town and provide excess enough to trade. The merchants don't come anymore, and we have nothing to send out. The ground is sour." What few plants there are look withered, twisted, or brown.

Radical nods. "I teach higher level mathematics. Calculus. Proof writing." He tests out his spell by placing his hand on the ground and using his power to see if the land can be healed here. He doesn't work long at it. It's only checking to confirm that it works, so he intends to heal only a small circle. Say...six feet across. "Let's see if it works here."

Grimm shudders at the reminder of the subjects. "So glad I'm finally done with all that."

After spending some time on the spell, the land starts to be restored to its true pattern. The soil goes from black to a richer brown. Some of the withered crops even begin to come back to life, turning green and straigthen up. By the time he's done, Radical finds himself in a small patch of potato plants.

The Archmage takes a knee with a few grunts, as age has slowed him down. Plus no real great access to meds or healthcare. He checks the leaves of the plants, then digs in with his bare hand, pulling up a potato. He smiles as he holds it up to inspect. "More hope for us."

Radical smiles. "Alright, while I could heal all of this field myself, let's see if we can get you to do so."

Archmage Duran nods. For now, he places the harvested potato in his travel pack and pulls out one of the mana batteries. "Let's hope I'm still a fast learner after all these years. The sending spell left me with some doubts, but I am nothing if not patient."

Radical nods. "So, what we're doing is stripping away the veneer, and revealing what is underneath. Picture it like...removing paint. Or removing dirt to reveal what is underneath."

Grimm remains quiet and lets Radical do his teaching. She steps back and looks around at the extend of the cursed lands. It's as far as she can visually see.

Archmage Duran nods and listens. "That's an interesting way to picture this. It makes it sound more superficial than a pattern change as you describe it." Already on his knees, the Archmage places a hand on the ground like Radical did to prepare.

Radical describes his process for casting the spell. Gathering the mana...and what he concentrates on to focus his mind on the task at hand. "We may have to substitute one of your tools at this point."

The Archmage nods after the first attempt to concentrate fails. He reaches into his pack, beginning to search for something. "Hmmm. I must think of something used for a similar spell perhaps to help..."

Radical nods. "One common tool would be drawing a symbol of power of some kind. You could do so in the dirt."

The Archmage nods and pulls out a small vial with white crushed powder and considers it before raising a brow to look toward Radical. "Hmmm. Perhaps just a rune or circle instead of a component. Maybe either variation will work." He takes a breath and begins to draw some complex symbols in a circle.

"What was that stuff in the vial?" Grimm asks curiously.

"Bat guano. A component of fertilizer," Archmage Duran explains as he works.

Gabrielle winces. "Sorry I asked..."

Radical chuckles quietly. "If you can do it without the material components that get used up...that would be ideal."

Archmage Duran nods and finishes his writings, inspecting it. "Hmm. A little messier done in dirt, but the runes are right." He places his hand below the markings and focuses again, drawing up the battery's mana instead of his own life force. He focuses on the visual. Sweeping away the curse like it was dirt. At first, nothing happens. And then Radical can see the mana begin to weave and take shape. It's not as far as the extent of Radical's spell, but the Archmage does manage to make two plants and the land they're on revive again.

Radical smiles. "Very good. Nicely done. You have at least the start of it. The rest will come with practice."

Archmage Duran smiles. "A small start. At this rate, there will be much work ahead."

Radical shakes his head, "Eventually, you'll be able to cast it like I do. Or at least at the rate I do."

The Archmage nods and places a hand down on another barren patch. Nothing forms from the mana, so he sets his jaw and draws the runes again and tries casting. Again, it takes a moment, but it happens faster than before. "With some practice, I might be able to cast this with the runes in my mind. And then just like you, with a thought and will to form the manage. It's difficult to unlearn a lifetime of knowledge, but this opens so many doors," he says with academic excitement.

Gabrielle's concealing a smirk to herself.

Radical smiles, "Excellent job. Let's try a couple more locations. On the second one, try sustaining the spell until you run out of mana in the battery, so you know what that feels like. Keep your concentration on the battery, to make sure you don't use your own life energy directly."

Archmage Duran nods and goes about with the tests. He tries again, with the runes once more, and this happens with little pause. Emboldened, he tries on a final patch. "Now for the true test," he rolls up the sleeves of his robe and places his hand down to focus, no runes. Those are in his mind's eye. It's a little slower than it was with the rune. A few more beats, and the spell starts to work. His brows knit together in focus as he keeps sustaining the spell, the mana battery automatically drawing itself out until it's emptied. Then a few beads of sweat begin to form on the Archmage's forehead as the spell begins to draw on his own life energy. He pulls his hand away from the ground and takes a deep breath, ending the spell. But the area, a decent patch of it for a beginniner, is restored to fresh ground and crops. "I think...that was the limit of the battery," he catches his breath.

Radical nods and smiles. "It was. I can return at some point to try to teach you to pull mana from the world around you, but that will be easier when the land is healed."

Archmage Duran chuckles. "That may be some time, then." He takes a breath and looks off in the distance. "With time, the town will thrive. I don't think we could restore everything beyond in my lifetime. All the more reason to learn what I can from you and pass it on."

Grimm smiles, but looks a bit sad and has to look away.

Radical nods. "Perhaps not everything beyond. But if you can carve out an area that's healed, you'll be in good shape. And the more people you teach, the easier the process will be."

"Now that, we can do." Archmage Duran begins to stand up. Gabrielle looks back and steps over to offer him a hand up. He laughs. "I'm not that old yet."

Gabrielle chuckles shyly. "Oh. Right." Maybe she has no clue. Kids!

Radical nods. "I'll heal some more of this field for you, since I'm here." He smiles. "I can stick around to try to guide you further, but I can also let you practice at your own pace, and return in a couple of weeks to check on your progress."

"Any guidance or help you can give would be appreciated when you have the time, but I'm sure you have your own family to return to," Archmage Duran smiles as he dusts off his hands.

Radical smiles. "I can stick around for a few hours at least. More practice while the batteries have a charge would be good. By the time it's second nature for you, you'll be able to teach others."

"I suppose we have a few more left to work with before they're all in need of a recharge," Archmage Duran smiles, keen to learn more. "I feel like a fledgling mage all over again."

Gabrielle looks to Radical. "Should we risk trying to amplify your magic?"

Radical takes a deep breath. "We could try it, I suppose." He looks to the Archmage, "Gabrielle had an idea to try to amplify the magic I possess."

Archmage Duran nods. "It sounds similar to the Ritual of Summoning we performed. I couldn't achieve that alone. There were risks. Is this also risky?"

Radical looks to Gabrielle. "I'm not sure. Is it?"

"Uhhhh. Well, there's often risks in magic. I think the worst is I might be really wiped out after?" Gabrielle thinks on it.

Radical nods. "Well, don't push too hard, I guess."

Grimm nods at that. She rubs her hands together to warm them up. "Alright, so all I'll be doing is trying to add my power to yours to amplify the effect of the spell. Specifically, I'm hoping maybe it can expand on how far it cleanses. Maybe it'll just end up turning me into a living mana battery for you, though," she chuckles awkwardly. She has the excitement of someone trying out something new they've hardly practiced.

Radical nods. "Well, the more energy I have to work with, the more I can heal. So, that's all good." He looks to her, "All set?" He places his hand on the ground...and starts to apply his spell to the area, restoring the pattern of the ground.

Grimm nods and places a hand on his shoulder. "Yup." Dark energy begins to flow from Gabrielle's shoulder, down her arm, and to Radical. At first it's flowing into him, and then soon it's being syphoned into him from her to power his spell. It still takes time to restore the pattern, but he can see with his magic it's not restoring it in this one patch. The spell's influence pulses and expands out around them and across the land, affecting it all at once.

Radical's spell...works at a much faster rate, and over a wider area. Previously, he had been able to maybe convert a square kilometer, but this time, it's much later. An 8 km radius, in about a quarter the time of his prior attempts. "Well, I think that felt like a success?"

Grimm lets go and steps back, a little wobbly from being drained. She plops down on what is now fertile earth. The crops have been restored, as well as green fields and beyond. The dark clouds overhead have parted to reveal blue skies and a shining sun. Even though it felt like night, it turns out it was daytime. "Yeah," she pants.

Radical smiles. "Nicely done." He looks around, "How did your counterpart's magic hit the skies too? That's kind of astounding, honestly."

Grimm pants and looks up. "I don't know. Once a Morbane kidnapped me and put me under a spell to serve her. She made me do things I'd never think to try with my powers. She used me to turn day to night before, and help transform a small town until a Demonhame before the heroes freed me." She waves at the skies tiredly, still seated on the ground. "I'm guessing my alter doesn't have concerns about going too far."

Archmage Duran admires how the land is now bright and lush. "This is an incredible start."

But then, a dark spot begins to grow five meters away from the group. It expands and swirls like roiling clouds.

Radical pulls on his mask quickly, "We might have incoming. Is that a portal?" He tries to assess what he's seeing.

It feels like...fairytale magic. And shadow magic. How odd. Lightning seems to crackle from within the clouds as the expand as the dimensional gate expands. A female voice booms, dramatic like some evil queen's. "No, this isn't right! You won't learn your lessons this way!"

Radical tries to look through the portal...to see exactly which dimension it's coming from. "A lesson has been learned, to be sure."

As he focuses, the portal resolves to a plane of dark colors, purples, some magenta hues. The landscape is rocky, desolate, and within pocket dimension. There's a large, dark mansion, not viewable from the gate, but Radical's transdimensional senses can see it. As well as the figure stalking through.

A figure in a dark tattered cloak and hood walks through, only the mouth and chin visible which reveals them to be female with pale lips formed in an annoyed scowl. There are slits along the sides of the cloak. There's a magical aura about this person that is like Gabrielle's, but there'a also magic all along her left arm, and there seems to be some magical artifacts stowed upon her person.

The gate behind her collapses and blows away in the breeze.

Grimm blinks and tries to get up, but falters and ends up on her hands and knees. "Shick...great time to be tapped..." she growls under her breath.

Radical narrows his eyes, barely visible through the lenses on his mask, "What lesson were you trying to impart, exactly?"

The figure looks around and sighs. "To unite as one people against a common threat. I'm going to have to start all over again," she states, her voice still dramatic. It even has a bit of reverb. Radical can tell magic's been used to enhance and alter her tone.

Radical tilts his head, "They seemed pretty united to me."

Archmage Duran tries to help Gabrielle up. "It's the Dark One."

"I figured," Grimm replies dryly.

"This small little village, maybe. But not the world." The figure looks around. "Oh, good. You haven't undone too much of my work."

Radical shakes his head, "You should undo the rest, actually. I suspect my efforts would pale in comparison to you undoing what you've already done."

The woman raises her right arm up through the side slit of her cloak, fingers outstretched to the sky. She pauses at Radical's suggestion. "And...-why- should I do that?"

Radical holds up a hand, counting them off. "First...you have caused suffering, for - as far as I can tell - just your ego. Second, you'll end up having more of a fight on your hands that you expect."

As he studies this cloaked figure, he can sense qliphothic energy, a magical sword, two magically infused tomes, a ring with chaos magic. The ring is amplifying her powers. A bit like how Grimm did with Radical. There seem to be a few other magical trinkets, but they're not being used. They just seem to contain small charms or enchantments that don't seem combat relevant.

Radical is partially delaying to try to give Grimm a little time to recover.

"My -ego-!? Is that what you think this is about?" Gabrielle's alter laughs. She reaches to a clasp and casts away her cloak and hood with a dramatic flourish. It floats off into the air and begins to disintegrate into magical motes, revealing the alter beneath. She looks very different from Gabrielle. Older, for one. Not too much older. Maybe early thirties? Her hair is cut to shoulder length, the top half pulled back and tied, and bangs across her forehead. She's wearing a weathered black leather trenchcoat. Beneath is weaved leather armor and black leather pants. There's shoulder holsters which have been modified to hold two tomes. The sword Radical sensed is...not anywhere he can see physically, but he can sense it close at hand. A spell away, perhaps invisible?

"I'm -preparing- them. Toughening them up for what's to come. I'm doing them a -favor-," the alter states with conviction. The evil fairytale queen overtures are gone and she sounds more like Gabrielle. But then, her tone switches ti something much more light hearted and whimsical. Which is very NOT like Grimm. At least, not like sober and in public. "But they won't learn if someone else solves the problem for them. So if we have to fight," she flicks out her right wrist. A sword suddenly flows out and her hands close around the hilt. "I think I can handle you, an old man, and...huh?" she finally notices Gabrielle.

Radical tilts his head again. "You have no idea what you've really caused, do you? There are better ways to rally people than to try to make them all hate you." He waves his arms around. "...on a world...without a planet-wide communication system. How did you expect them to all unite against you?! This is one of the dumbest plans I have ever heard!"

The whimsical Grimm points a sword to Archmage Duran. "Are your neighbors still warring with you?"

Archmage Duran has been watching with narrowed eyes. When he's questioned, there's some surprise by the question. "Not anymore. At first, they thought our mages had done this to them. When they saw our lands were cursed and plagued by famine as well, the war stopped..."

"See??" the Alter Grimm says in her defense.

Archmage Duran raises his voice with some anger and edge to it, "But it did not cease the fighting. Yes, some of us united to find a way to stop you, but in the place of armies, we have brigands raiding lands for the scraps we have left to survive!"

"Oh..." the alter Grimm responds, deflated. She taps her chin with her left hand, which is semi-opaque and made of shadow, yet connects solidly. "I hand't thought about thieves."

Radical nods. "At which point...they tried to summon you. To kill you. And got the wrong version of Gabrielle Grimm."

"Oohhh, so they DID unite!" The alter Grimm loosens her sword hand and the sword vanishes from sight, but still magically appears tethered to her. She claps her hands together, but her shadow hand makes it muffled sounding. "In that case, this was a success!"

Grimm is still being supported by the Archmage, but is gathering her strength. Radical can sense it welling up within her gradually. "How is that even a success? Did you just ignore the part about trying to kill you and attempting to kill -me- instead?" she growls.

Radical shakes his head, "No...they did not unite, as far as I can tell. Just mages from this area, I think? And I was showing them how they might be able to fix it...in time...with their own abilities. But...if you're just going to show up and re-curse everything to cause more suffering, then that's no longer a real option."

This alter's attire is a mish mash of stuff. The magical signatures of each of her items differ from each other and have no relation to her own magic. They must be collected. The magical signature of her shadow hand goes all the way up to her shoulder, which implies her whole left arm is like her hand. The holsters look police issue and are a brown leather which doesn't go with the black outfit. The trenchcoat she wears is a bit similar to Radical's, but doesn't have the red and is really weathered from long wear. On her right hip is a gun holster and single action revolver that has no magic to it whatsoever. It's like she's a scavenger, a collector, or survivor of some apocalypse.

"I'm sure you would've been fine," the alter waves dismissively at Grimm, which just seems to annoy Grimm. She says to Radical, "Good, so then you'll head back to your home dimension and stay out of it? Neither of you belong here."

Radical shakes his head, "No. You misunderstand. The peaceful solution is off the table now. Due to your actions. Now experience the results of that." And with that, he releases a singularity at the 'Dark Queen', trying to overwhelm her defenses. If anything, he knows Grimm is a bit vulnerable to attacks she's not expecting.

Radical says as an aside to the Archmage. "This...was not magic, by the way. Just to let you know."

The Vagabond Grimm is caught by surprise before she can make some pithy remark and is knocked clear off her feet as she takes the blast to the chest. She lands and tumbles several meters away, ending up on her side with her back to Radical.

The Archmage and Grimm stares in shock before Grimm finally says, "Hoooolyyyyy s***...."

Radical looks to Grimm, "Would her death remove the curse, you think? Or is it just...a change in the land which sticks and needs curing?" He walks over to the fallen opponent to check on her medical status.

The Archmage asks, "What was that, then?"

Radical nods to the Archmage, "Technology." He taps his harness, which is just visible under his jacket. "This is what allows me to cross dimensions or teleport. Or...create singularities like I just did."

Radical chuckles. "I could proably figure out a magic spell to do it, too. But...well, it's a long story."

Grimm follows after Radical. The Archmage is slower in following due to his age. Grimm thinks about it. "I don't know. I mean, some curses end with the death of the caster. I've made lasting changes that persist after I'm off in another dimension. Which seems to be the case here. So...uhhh. I don't know. Fifty-fifty?" she says in hypothetical, but then she slows her step as she suddenly realizes what he's actually asking. "Wait, are you thinking of killing her?" she asks in shock.

The Vagabond Grimm is still alive and laying on her right side. The left sleeve of her jacket now drapes hollowly behind her, her arm now missing from the shoulder. Up close, he can see some minor little scars on her face. Old healed scratches. She doesn't wear makeup or have the unconventional pierces that his Grimm has.

The Archmage is intrigued. "A mixture of technology and magic means not having to be reliant on either one too heavily. There's merit in that."

Radical checks her for any serious bodily injury. "I was considering it. But I don't think it's my decision to make, either. She wronged the people of this world. They should decide what to do with her."

Upon inspection, there's no new bodily injury. The fact that her arm is missing proves to be an old injury. There's some scarring and odd marks. Claws? Teeth? It doesn't fit a normal jaw pattern, but something took her arm violently once upon a time. The chaos-infused ring is on her right index finger.

Gabrielle frowns. "You...aren't a killer," she states solidly as a reminder as she watches over Radical inspecting her. She looks over her alter and her eyes fall on the gun. Her brow furrows. "What...what is she doing with that?" She reaches down to unholster it and takes it, looking it over. An old six shooter revolver that looks familiar to her.

The Archmage finally fully catches up.

Radical nods to Gabrielle, "I know. I'm not." He also takes the ring off the unconcious woman's finger, to take a closer look at it.

Grimm is glad to hear him say that. "Okay. Just making sure. I know I'd be tempted of something pure evil, but...weird as it sounds, she doesn't feel evil." She becomes a bit engrossed with the gun as she turns it over and inspects it. It's different from Night Marshal's. But not entirely so.

The ring and it's magic is infused with chaos magic. But the symbols along its edge, made with jagged unevenness, this looks like the description of The Ring of Everchange. It amplifies not only magic of change, but the chaotic nature of the wearer. It's the type of chaos artifact a Lord of Chaos would impart upon someone. Or an agent acting under a Lord of Chaos' command.

Radical turns the ring over in his hand. "This...was likely given to her by a Lord of Chaos. It will amplify Chaos Magic. Sadly, that's the opposite of what I was using to heal the land. I was using the magic of Order. The description seems to be 'The Ring of Everchange'. If I were to guess...it was likely given to her by Arkikar. I haven't run across that particular Chaos Lord before, but I've read enough to be able to hazard a guess."

Grimm finally looks up from the gun. She's careful with handling it, and removes the bullets from it and pockets them. "I'm not too familiar with that one, but that can't be good. Sounds a bit like when Lazare gave Rira that push to change Harrisburg. Only...way worse."

"What does that all mean?" Archmage Duran asks.

Radical nods. "So, you know about the Cartesian, right? He or she works for the Lords of Order. There is a Chaos counterpart. Beings that want to create entropy. That would match the way she dealt with your world. Causing chaos to try to reach an end: Pushing your society in a particular direction." He goes ahead and removes the books from their shoulder holsters as well. "I'm removing what magic items she has on her. I Don't think we can get rid of the sword. It's bound to her. But if she's tied up, she'll have trouble using it, I think."

"Only in stories," Archmage Duran nods. "And what little I learned from you." Archmage Duran looks to the Vagabond. "I don't know if we have magic that could bind her for long."

The books are tomes that look more like scrapbooks. There's loose pages and notes stuffed into them, the papers stick out of the pages unevenly in places. There's even some thicker cardstock within. The corner of a photograph peeks out from between the pages.

Radical flips open the book to see the photograph.

The photo is bent at the edges in some places. It's taped to a page. It's a picture of the Vagabond Gabrielle, maybe closer to Grimm's age, but still with the short hair and no punk makeup. It's a group photo with her and some friends. It looks like some campus get together with the people posing and having fun. Connor is one of the people, a bit less over the top than others. There's an older man with his arm around the Alter Gabrielle's shoulders. There might even be a Porter somewhere in the mix, but he doesn't dress like the one they're familiar with. Then there are others Radical just doesn't recognize.

The photos is admidst notes. There's collected pages all folded and inserted in the book. A collection of various spells written in different hands, plus notes added by the Vagabond. A few other photos here and there of her with friends or loved ones. She looks like she was much more colorful than Grimm once upon a time. And she had both her arms and no scars in the photos.

There's a mixture of magics within. Some to weather proof and protect the contents, and some of it is just the power of the spells and wards written within. It's a wild mix. Plus journal entries near the end.

Radical shakes his head, "What led her to this point? Maybe...maybe...if this ring is kept from her, she'll return to a normal-ish state of mind."

Grimm looks uncertain about that. "I...don't know the answer to any of that. It's risky. I kind of want to know what she did to the owner of this gun," she sounds like it's something personal. She adds while trying to make it sound like it's not -too- personal, "Kind of looks like something an associate of mine uses."

The Archmage Duran looks over Radical's shoulder as he examines the book. "What would be normal for her? Are you saying she was cursed the way she cursed our land?"

Radical nods, "It's possible. Some kind of trauma, for sure." He shows the other two the photographs.

Radical holds up the ring. "Whatever she did to get this ring..." He shakes his head, "It will have twisted her thought processes. I know, because when I was the Cartesian, the magic of Order had a very strong hold on me. It made me very...well, orderly. Rigid. This would do the opposite. It would make her more chaotic. Flighty. More likely to do things on a whim."

The Archmage raises a brow and studies it, then looks to the Vagabond. "They look like two different people." He squints and looks close at seeing Connor in the photo. "Is that...? There truly are infinite universes."

Gabrielle looks at the photo and recognizes Jack in the photo with the Vagabond version of her. "Oh..." she says quietly. She avoids looking down at the gun. She has some ideas now as to why the Vagabond has it, but she can't be certain which is the actual reason. "I guess a lot can change in a short amount of time, right?" she looks at Radical, her words heavy with meaning. A lot has changed between them in a relatively short amount of time. Almost night and day.

Radical sighs. "I guess the question is...what do we do now? We could try to convince her to undo this curse, but I don't think we'll be successful with her wearing the ring. And I suspect...she'll have some trauma to work through. A loss of several friends, probably? A Connor, it looks like, for one. Other friends." He shakes his head, "Or...we can have her be dealt with by your justice system here. But you already said you might not be able to hold her."

Radical looks to Grimm, "And we're definitely NOT taking her to our Earth."

The Archmage nods. "We might not be able to hold her. We knew such when we cast the spell to summon her originally. The plan was to put an end to her evil once and for all in the hopes that it would lift the curse. We also knew the risks of failing, and that there was a chance it wouldn't save us. But...what else could we do?"

Gabrielle takes a breath and lets it out. "More than just friends, I think. I definitely agree with you. I don't want her on our Earth. And we definitely can't take her to Equity."

Radical explains for the Archmage, "Equity is my sanctum. It's a pocket dimension...of...well, floating rocks in space."

Radical takes a deep breath, "We could take her to her own realm, since I've seen it."

The Archmage's mind is blown once again. He chuckles. "We must seem so primitive to you. That sounds like a story out of a book."

Radical chuckles. "I'll show it to you sometime, Archmage. When we're next here."

Grimm looks to Radical. "Try and bind her there? Maybe see if we can reason with her to fix this? You're probably right, we shouldn't keep the ring anywhere near her. She could be like that weird gross thing in that movie, all obsessed with it."

Radical nods. "I think that's the best option."

Radical looks to Grimm, "Where should we put the ring for the time being?"

Archmage Duran looks to Radical. "I'll look forward to the lesson," he muses with a smile. The smile fades as he looks back to the Vagabond. "I hope you succeed, or ensure she can never return, or ever do this to another world. However you need to make that happen," he say gravely.

Grimm thinks about the ring. "I think," she grins faintly, "You need to expand your safe box at Equity. It should be safe there. We wouldn't want it falling back into the possession of a Lord of Chaos to grant to some other minion."

Radical nods. "It's bigger than a safe box, Gabrielle. It's a vault."

"Well, that's a relief. I haven't seen it personally. I guess I know who to go to when I need dangerous stuff stored," Gabrielle smiles. She gets a thoughtful look and looks over to her double. "A vault, huh...?"

Radical nods to the Archmage, "I agree. I'd like to make sure we do this without further loss of life." He says to Grimm, "I'll put it there, and be right back. Keep an eye on her."

Grimm nods to Radical. "I got my strength back mostly. I think I can watch her for now."

Radical quickly transports himself to Equity...and teleports over to the vault. He makes sure to place it inside the vault at the far end from where Krul's time gem is kept.

The gem is still there, untouched. A tempting prize to some. Kept far away, there doesn't seem to be any interaction between the two.

Radical watches both for a few seconds to make sure...and then closes up the vault, and transports himself back to where everyone is waiting.

Not much time has passed, as no one seems surprised or concerned at Radical's return. This world most likely still moves at the same rate of time. It's just ahead of their home dimension.

Radical nods. "All set." He offers a hand to the Archmage, "We'll be back to let you know how this turns out, though we should get you home, too." He looks to Grimm, "Can you create a portal to get him at least closer to home?"

Grimm nods and smiles. "It's not that far. I can see it from here." She draws a circle in the air and a shadow gate billows into being, opening up into the mage's tower.

Archmage Duran smiles. "I appreciate it. I don't think I'll spread the word of the Dark One's presence just yet. I don't want to frighten the townsfolk when there's hope on the horizon." He steps on through to the other side, turning and waving to them. "I'll look forward to your return."

Radical waves, "Be well." He then looks to Grimm, "Set to head to her sanctum? I figure we should read as much as we can before we wake her up."

Grimm closes the gate after Radical says goodbye, then looks to Radical. "Yeah, I guess so. What're we reading?" she asks as she walks over to her unconscious double. "I can probably keep her unconscious for as long as we need. Though waking her up is a bit less predictable."

Radical nods. "If I heal her, she'll wake up in...let's say a minute or two, I'm guessing?"

Radical nods. "I wanted to go through her books here to see what she has written. And perhaps get more clues from pictures. Are you all set? I did get a good look at her home, and I should be able to get us there."

Grimm nods and grins at that. "Great. I knock 'em out, you resuscitate them. That's teamwork." She sprouts some tendrils, one slipping around the Vagabond and lifting her up as Grimm makes a lifting motion with her arm. "I got her. Ready when you are."

Radical places a hand on both of them...and transports them both to the alternative Grimm's home.