Chapter A.2: Alric's Downtime

Previously: Chapter A.1: Hope's Downtime
The Dawngeon Master - 2023/10/27 21:07:01

Alric, what are you up to in the days following the weird hunt?

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/10/28 10:36:33

It's the very next morning, somewhere between 6 and 7 am. Alric stands in front of Sawyer's book store.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

About three seconds pass. Nothing happens.

Knock knock knock

Another six or seven seconds pass. The only sounds present are birds chirping in the trees, and a few leaves rustling in the wind.

Alric raises his fist once more.

knock knock knock knock KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK -

Excentral Casting - 2023/10/29 01:49:40

It's a few minutes before the door swings open and Sawyer's peering out at Alric. The befuddled look on his face resolves into recognition, and he holds the door open wider, stifling a yawn. "... you're lucky that my staff likes to come in early, you could have been stuck out here for at least another..."

He checks the time. "...hour or so? Oof. Did you sleep at all last night? You're back here even faster than I thought you might be."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/10/29 14:22:55

"Ah yes sleep very important topic wewilltalkaboutthatlaterlet'sgetstarted"

Alric breezes through the door and chucks his backpack into a corner, then turns to Sawyer.

"Alright, what's the plan, what's the fastest way for us to confirm that you can actually teach me magic without me spending weeks on practicing gang signs just for me to find out that it was wasted effort and also the sooner we have results the sooner I'll be incentivized to get more shoggoths and also are you a fae I should have asked that yesterday and what's up with the randian tradition and what do magicians have to do with mages they're like completely different things I still don't get that part"

Excentral Casting - 2023/10/30 11:52:32

"One, don't ask people if they're faeries, that's an excellent way to speedrun making enemies... or at least getting someone to play a nasty trick or two on you for being rude," Sawyer shrugs, then chuckles. "... you know you can ask Saije about the Randian tradition, right? I don't know if I want to steal her thunder... and not explaining it right now isn't actually going to slow you down."

He leans against the counter, gesturing as he talks. "Why do you think that Mages and Magicians are completely different? Because someone else said so? You could use either to describe me, and neither would be strictly wrong. Different traditions and people have different preferences and perspectives - the label they choose can be a signifier of the perspective they're approaching from, but it doesn't guarantee a fundamental incompatibility."

He makes a motion with his hands, like looking through a camera lens. "It's not going to be anywhere near that time consuming. Getting somewhere appropriate for the first test is honestly the thing that's usually going to take the most time, then probably the rest of the day or afternoon to get a good idea of what kind of approach would come to you more naturally. More importantly: have you tried to use any of the magic you've seen in books or elsewhere before, and, if so, what happened? What are your experiences so far? What kind of environment enables you to feel awe, like being one with the world - or the divine - if applicable?"

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/01 07:09:59

Let's call it 25/75/0 on a fae confirming versus avoiding versus denying. Maybe 10/2/rest for non-fae. 37/1 update?

What even are my priors on this? One to 10000? Gotta research that.

"I haven't actually tried most of the magic in the books yet. Most of the stuff I've read is about history and cultures and traditions and also Weirds but there's very little practical things to just try out. I tried some of the stuff in the foundations book you gave me during the drive home but the only thing I summoned was more condescending remarks from Vesper Inara oh and yesterday I've also copied her gang signs but that knocked me out and I haven't had the time yet to retry."

Awe? Being one with the world? Does he talk about flow states?

Alric plops down to the floor and sits legs crossed, with his back against the wall.

I was pretty in the zone yesterday. Chaos, that generally works for me. Or building stuff? That one time when I spent two days building a rail gun out of a microwave. But it was less the building and more the figuring out?

"I'm a pretty big fan of making complex systems do things they weren't intended to." Okay yeah that was spot on. Wait. I should say that out loud. "Yeah that's pretty spot on. Bonus points if there's some stakes to it."

"That's not an environment though. Home? It's effectively a workshop with a bed in it. That's where I make magic happen, metaphorically speaking. The only thing more awe inspiring would be Tony Stark's workshop or someth-" Wait. WAIT. I CAN BUILD AN IRON MAN SUIT THAT'S IN THE REALM OF POSSIBILITIES NOW HOW HARD CAN IT BE WHEN THAT GIRL CAN THROW FIREBALLS AND THIS GUY CAN TELEPORT I JUST NEED TO MAGIC IN A SUFFICIENT POWER SOURCE AND ALL THIS IS ALREADY BREAKING THE LAWS OF

Why is he looking at me right I was talking about something a whole lot

"Yes, that's my answer. Everything I just said."

IRON MAN SUIT

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/01 13:42:35

"....alright, that's pointing towards what I'm already expecting for our basic result, here," especially if all he got from mimicking was getting knocked out, that sounds like a good sign- "-but we'll still need to run the first test just in case."

Sawyer winces, running a hand through his hair. "Alright.... workshops and labs are a lot more... touchy to try and work with. Definitely Probably not a good idea to do the first test at your house, because that would light it up like a metaphysical hotspot and we're trying to avoid anything noticing you and deciding you look like a literal snack at this stage. That doesn't mean you won't be able to work on things at home later - it means what we're doing could... change the lay of the land a bit, and you don't want something moving in under your bed that you haven't invited in."

He can probably flood one of the workspaces upstairs enough to work, but... that's definitely a level of output that's going to be hard to clear out, even ignoring the cost of pulling that much in...

"...the best spots like that with a naturally high baseline that are in close range are going to be in Arkham, but going outside in Arkham is... not something I can do right now." ...and I'm not planning on introducing Alric to my daughter right now.

"Anyway. Natural formations or landscapes or places where magic gathers is part of the criteria that we're aiming for - places like graveyards or monuments to major events or places that seem otherworldly tend to be on that list. I may have a friend who would let us drop by her workspace and who should have sufficient protections in place. It's just one of those places with more travel time involved."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/02 11:06:07

Alric gets back up again and grabs his backpack. "Alright, let's get going. What travel time are we talking? If it's more than an hour total I'd like to buy a book or two of yours for the road because I only brought the one you gave me yesterday."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/02 11:23:52

"... depends on the location. If my friend's workspace is available and she's willing to let us use it, then it's a few hours drive to Boston - usually I'd use a faster path, but the first test is going to take a lot of magical output on my end," he shrugs. "If you think graveyards are sufficiently awe-inspiring, on the other hand, there's one a few blocks away that would work. Most other locations that I'd suggest as possibilities would fall between those two."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/02 12:02:01

"A faster path, like the road I took here? Boston's not that far off..." Alric looks confused, because he is. Yes, magic is a thing, shut up brain. Something's off here and it's not "magic made roads take longer one way than the other", we drove that route yesterday.

"Graveyards have little meaning to me. But I do happen to know of a vacant lab close to us with some math and magic in it. It's no workshop, and it has no secret doors, but maybe that works?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/02 13:06:28

"I'd teleport," he says, smiling, one brow quirked.

He glances at the door, then to Alric. "A vacant lab... oh. You mean in Arkham? Did you miss when I said that I shouldn't go out into Arkham? There are plenty of suitable places in the area, but .... even if I wasn't the one running the test, I'd recommend against Arkham as your location of choice. Arkham's been the center of some major magical phenomena multiple times in the last few centuries, and with their track record they're due for another dustup soon, and I am not going to be the last domino in that chain if I can avoid it."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/02 13:14:20

"I'm thoroughly confused. You want to avoid the town we're in to the point you'd prefer teleporting out of it over doing a short drive through? Do you not leave this shop, like, at all?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/02 13:26:59

"Oh, I leave. Come on, if we're having this talk, we can at least grab breakfast. Did you eat this morning?" Sawyer asks, gesturing for Alric to follow him and pulling his sunglasses on as he strides out the front door and onto the sidewalk in Yonkers, New York City, New York.

There's an antique shop on one side and a coffee shop on the other. "Bagel shop's this way." He gestures. "Graveyard I mentioned is over there, a ways past the Synagogue."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/02 13:42:08

Following Sawyer out the door, the confusion first mounts, then dissipates.

"Oh. Portals. Obviously."

Alric takes a look around and then checks Google Maps. New York. Alright. Alright alright alright.

"Haven't eaten yet. Say, how does the door work? How hard is it to make one?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/02 14:15:52

"Not quite, but close enough. The building in Arkham is real, but the inside of the building is every Bright Books. New York's home, but the inside is... more complicated. You can enjoy a sunny day in one room and see fog rolling in the next room over," He shrugs, hands in his pockets. "Keeping the layout contiguous without being too obviously off is... a thing.."

"Making a doorway like this one is... difficult. Between the precision of the workings and making sure you've picked a location that's going to behave well, it can be a beast, especially if you're making a single front door leading to multiple exits or interiors. Part of that is making sure that the superposition of things won't break if two people try to come in at the same time. The Arkham storefront was the first connection, way before I was born, and our Rabbi helped with some of the stabilization. This one's old enough and stabilized enough that the upkeep maintenance isn't too bad, but a new door requires a lot more maintenance and care to make sure nothing breaks."

He holds the door to the bagel shop open for Alric.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/02 14:27:50

Alric enters the bagel shop.

"Say, have you ever heard of a mage making a door sized box, putting a portal into it, and then levitating and teleporting it around to travel that way? A blue box, mayhaps?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/02 14:37:57

"I wouldn't put it past someone to try," Sawyer laughs quietly. "But no, I haven't. There's definitely some Doctor Who staff members who are Aware, though."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/02 14:47:13

Alright, let's add that to my todo list.

"So, regarding graveyards. Again, they don't really do anything for me, but you're the expert. Though on a scale of graveyard to workshop, libraries and book stores are solid eights. We could try it at your store and cut out the travel time completely, or go to a library. I would guess there's one around somewhere close. What do you think?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/02 22:03:04

Sawyer winces. "....my friend's workshop has protections against the kind of chaos this test could produce. A public library won't have the base magic accumulation and will be very hazardous even if nothing goes wrong, and... if something goes wrong with this at my place, the cleanup could be... very, very bad. My workshops are heavy duty, but the test we'll be running is for something that's ... not in my wheelhouse."

He gestures. "In an open area I can pull the emergency tab and minimize damage, but inside a building, someone who works in that field and who has a setup tailored to dispersing anything that could wreak havoc is going to be essential to a successful experiment."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/03 03:45:09

"Your friend's place it is then."

Alric pays for his bagel and coffee, waits for Sawyer to get his order, and then starts making his way back out of the shop.

With a mouth full of bagel, he asks: "So, next steps? I go from Arkham to Boston and we meet there?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/03 09:53:42

"Next step for me is that I confirm with my friend that the space is available," he quirks a brow, hefting a bag of bagels as they head for the shop. "Technically the next step is payment, but if you came to Arkham solo? That can wait."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/03 09:57:57

"Oh, I thought we were still on the shoggoth deal. So what we plan to do next is outside of that? What exactly are we even planning to do that it needs that many preparations? Wouldn't we just start with something like me levitating a paper clip just to see if that works? And how much cash are we talking?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/03 10:14:05

"We are on the shoggoth deal, but there's more shoggoths needed for the full payment," he says with a quiet laugh. "If I wanted money I could just bill your boss and call it employee training costs. But what we're doing will probably get you some benefit you could use to succeed, so I can wait."

He opens the door to the bookshop, heading for the counter to grab the phone. "That's basically what we're doing. I'll explain the specifics of why the parameters are required after the test, but there's a very good reason this test comes first."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/03 10:21:32

I'm pretty sure the first shoggoth was supposed to cover getting started, and this is literally the very first morning. If this isn't included, I don't know what is.

Eh, still a good deal. 1 to 25 on the whole fae thing?

Alric waits for Sawyer to make his call.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/03 10:46:52

Sawyer calls his friend!

"Hey, Shannon. Sorry for the sudden call, I hope your work's going well! Would you be willing to help me with something? I need to run an aptitude test and I've got someone with a mind that's way more 'labs and libraries are the source of awe' than the usual. Would you be willing to let me run a test in your workshop?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/03 10:47:13

Alric can just barely hear a woman's voice over the phone. "Hi Sawyer. 'Labs and libraries' for aptitude huh? Sounds like someone I might want to poach, depending. Sure. Need me to confirm my address?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/03 10:50:58

"Of course. If he's keyed to your aptitude field instead of mine, I'd suggest pushing him your way myself," he grins. "Yes, please. Is later today alright? Also... if you'd be able and willing to set up a circle beforehand so it can catch some ambience, I can flood it enough for the test to kick off later."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/03 11:00:44

"I already have one set up. Well, a square... cube really. I can work on making it not quite so attuned to me, but it is basically good to go. No need to scrawl your math all over it." Any time today works for her. Her 'Ignis Makerspace' workshop is on the edge of a gentrified warehouse district in Boston. Other pleasantries are exchanged, most of them cryptic without the context of their lives, and then Shannon bids goodbye.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/03 11:20:12

Sawyer writes the address down for Alric, then pauses. Thinks. Shakes his head. "Here. I'll meet you when you get there, if Shannon's setting up I can just step over as soon as I've finished up with a few things here. I could jump both of us over, but... let's give Shannon at least a bit of lead time."

He gestures to the door. "The door should take you to Arkham, but if you think about Arkham - and where you left your car - you'll head out the right exit."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/03 11:24:30

"That's fine. I need to take the car with me back to Boston anyways, it's company property."

Alric takes the address, takes a look, then puts the paper in his pocket.

"Anything I should bring or fetch from home, or can I just go there directly?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/03 11:29:01

"Only if there's something you'd like to have. Otherwise you can head right there. I've got supplies covered."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/03 11:44:10

Ignis Makerspace occupies a refurbished brown brick warehouse. Its windows had been bricked up at some point in the past and the recent revitalization hadn't decided to revert the decision. It sits right at the edge of gentrification; its well-maintained front clean and open on the end of a greenway trail, while not too far behind it the neighborhood rapidly deteriorates in socioeconomic bracket.

The building is lightly occupied and --despite its lack of windows --well lit. Mirrors hang in the upper edges of the walls, further spreading light and giving a view of all workstations from anywhere on the main floor.

Walking among the workstations, checking in and offering help, is a pale freckled woman in a polished silver lab coat. She grins when she sees Alric walk in. "Hi! Welcome to Ignis Makerspace. How can I help you?"

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/03 14:45:23

"Hi! I'm looking for Shannon. Sawyer sent me to have some kind of test run?" Alric looks around and soaks in the atmosphere. Even this early, around 8am, people are buzzing about, typing and writing and drawing and planning and discussing their work.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/03 19:07:52

She offers her hand. "That's me! Shannon Bayes." Her smile is absolutely impish. Her bright green eyes flash faintly.

"I have a room upstairs prepped." She nods toward a metal staircase.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/04 03:09:41

Alric shakes her hand. "I'm Alric. Shannon what-was-it-again? I didn't quite catch that."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/04 12:08:16

"Bayes." She confirms. "Come on, Sawyer is waiting upstairs."

She leads the way through a door secured with a keypad to a short hallway of doors and opens one. Inside is a ten foot square room with walls, ceiling, and floor covered with level, perfect mirrors, lit in the corners by bars of LEDs. There's a square table in the center, glass with a mirror top. The infinite series of reflections are broken by a canvas painting depicting a beautiful spiraling fractal Celtic knot, many sheets of printed paper taped so that the text faces the mirror surface, and marker scrawls of various diagrams, formulas, and maps, written backwards, in different corners of the glass. And Sawyer is here.

This is absolutely a magic workshop. An actual place where work gets done, and not just a set decorated to fit a trope. All of the details point to there being a real story behind why they are present, and not just there to be a cinematic sci-fi magic lab.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/04 12:34:22

Sawyer, for his part, has a well-worn leather duffelbag on the floor next to him and an oversized paper pad with a half-completed arcane circle drawn on it. What he's currently working on is an answer to one of the problems written on the glass, his excess outer layers piled next to his bag and shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal more of his tattoos, intricate blackwork overlaid with arcane symbols and geometric patterns that are somehow legible despite being black ink on black space.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 02:54:52

Alric blinks a few times, staring off into the distance.

Bullshit.

He shakes his head, then follows Shannon upstairs.

Making eye contact with Sawyer, he nods, then chucks his backpack into a corner. "So, how does this work?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 10:51:09

"Sawyer." Shannon waits a beat to see if Sawyer will pull his head out of her math problem. Well, she was going to have to solve it eventually, she doesn't mind the other mathematician taking a stab at solving it first.

She shakes her head, then turns to address Alric, standing with the glass table between them. "Alright. You're here for an aptitude test. This room," She pats the glass table, "has so much magic fit in it. It is, to make a thermodynamics analogy, just shy of its critical point, as close as can be reasonably safe. So things are a little looser here." Her reflection in the 'room' to the right, the one Sawyer is scribbling next to, desyncs from the real Shannon and raps on the glass next to Sawyer. The reflection signs, Are you good? Your attention please to Sawyer, and points back to the real Shannon.

Real Shannon continues, "The goal of this test is to see if you can do free-form magic in optimal conditions." Her desynced reflection grabs the image of a candle from Sawyer's supplies and sets it on her table. In a blink, all iterations of the room have the candle on the table, including the real room. "The traditional test is to light a candle." Shannon picks up the unlit candle and holds it in line with a particularly intense reflection of an LED light. After a second, she moves it out of the glare and it is lit. She blows it out and sets it in the middle of the table.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 12:19:54

Alric takes in the scene, situation, setup. All of this is obviously incredibly weird. But. Is there anything weird here in a way that is off? Is he, perhaps, actively being deceived? He looks for signs, for anything that doesn't quite feel right, both in his environment and own mental state.

Fate - 2023/11/05 12:23:28

Is anything off?: [10 💥 6 = 16, 4] Result: Success with 3 raises! 🎯🎯🎯🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 12:43:49

Things are so off! Or perhaps they are on?!

Things don't feel normal, at any rate. There's a sureality to the whole thing, a sort of dream-like haze that was present as soon as Alric walked in to the strange room and only increased as 'Shannon Bayes' apparently did magic.

It's like that direction, the one Inara approached from when she did the wizard magic test, is closer. Or maybe more brought in line with the projection of the normal 3 dimensions? Directionality isn't a sufficient metaphor. Alric needs a better model to interact with this. A better metaphor that can extend and guide the noise into harmony, turn the bombarding photons into an image, provide a scaffold for gears to affix to.

Alric, what metaphor do you use for your model?

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/05 13:03:06

Sawyer glances at the desynced reflection, studying it for a moment before finishing his calculations and turning towards Shannon and Alric, hooking his thumbs in his jean pockets as he heads over to join the two.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 13:30:21

Metaphor: vector space

Oh. What is happening is a transformation of the vectors. What she's doing is somehow manipulating the projections of images onto a new basis. What she did, with the candle, was line it up with "light" and then -- somehow, it doesn't make sense how, it is unclear how she actually did it, but the theory is -- project the state of "lit" onto the basis of the candle. "Fire" wasn't involved at any point. "Flame" is just isomorphic with how a candle expresses "lit."

It's not like there is a "mana" substance that is higher density here, it's more like that this place is an origin and the units are scaled sensibly here, and so it is easer to do transformations.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 13:58:46

"Okay."

"So I give it a try now? Anything in specific I'm supposed to do, or do I just, like, try it?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 14:04:20

"The only specifics are that it should be on fire, and not by way of purely mundane physics. Are you able to not think of pink elephants?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/05 14:18:01

"Just try it," Sawyer grins. "Take as much time as you need."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 14:24:02

"This is the first time not thinking of pink elephants is actually important, and that doesn't make it easier."

Alric steps into the room, picks up the unlit candle and, from his point of view, aligns it with the bright light. It certainly looks lit.

He focuses on his sense in the fourth direction, willing it to nudge the candle's "lit" state forward along the axis of perception towards meaning.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 14:27:10

"Well, it's more that my advice would be in the form of what to avoid thinking about. Pink elephants are a completely innocuous example in this case." Shannon says.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 14:28:21

"Yeah no, I get that."

He continues focusing. Very hard.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 14:46:36

Alric sees the state of the candle, and as he focuses, can see more and more about what the candle is. Details come to focus. The wax solidifying as the heat from the previous lighting disperses into the environment. The slight off-white color. The shallow angle of the taper, slightly irregular in spots where it was presumably packed next to others of its kin. The bees wax it was made from. The idea of candles, millennia old. Candles have a long history of being lit. They were made specifically for the purpose to be lit. A lit candle is very very close to the core of what a "candle" is. This one was just lit; it belonged to that class of candles mere seconds ago. The distance between this candle being lit and unlit is minuscule! Alric can see how small a distance that is. It should be a trivial glide transformation.

Minutes pass.

But... Alric just can't make that nudge.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 14:51:24

It doesn't work. But she just did it. Why doesn't it work?

Pink elephants.

Focusing hard is the wrong approach. He needs to do the opposite. Alric takes a deep breath, then relaxes the sense, and just accepts the candle as being lit. It is lit. It definitely is. As it was before, and as he can see right here, and as it will always be. It's a candle and it is lit.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 14:56:27

Shannon nods slightly with a small smile.

Another minute passes.

The candle defies expectations and remains unlit.

"I think that's conclusive." Shannon says. She glances at Sawyer for confirmation. "Congratulations, Alric. You are not a dream mage."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 14:59:32

"How many flavors of mages are there? If we're going through the list, shouldn't we start with the ones most likely? Dream magic does not sound like me at all, to be honest."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 15:14:40

“Two main flavors of mages, three main ways magic gets done.” Shannon says. “But from there, there’s a lot of ways to implement on the patterns. I do mirror magic which operates via dream magic.”

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/05 15:15:06

Sawyer adjusts his sunglasses, smiling. "Sorry, Shannon, no new student for you today. Maybe tomorrow."

He grins wider at Alric. "No, it doesn't. I wasn't actually expecting a positive result, here, but it's necessary to make sure - if I started walking you through the steps of ritual work and you were actually a dream mage, you'd risk blowing a hole into concept space."

He shrugs one shoulder. "To make myself super clear, here: most of the rituals you'll find in books are dangerous as hell to try if you're a dream mage, because dream mages operate with a different ruleset than practitioners like your wizard friend."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 15:25:50

"Mhm."

He puts the candle down, grabs his backpack and swings it over his shoulder.

"So, the thing is, I already tried the magic Vesper Inara does, and it knocked me out. So besides mirrors and gang signs, what's the third way to make magic happen?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/05 15:32:46

"Just because you tried to mimic a wizard doesn't mean that no ritual magic will work for you," Sawyer says dryly. "I'm going to have you try and follow along with some of my specialties first. The third type is Name Magic."

"It's innate to some types of beings, but not to humans. For humans to use Name Magic, it's a process of summoning other things and using their Names to get leverage on the foundation of the world. I suggest avoiding it unless you know what you're calling and have more experience not doing things that are liable to make them angry - like asking people if they're faeries to their face. It can be incredibly dangerous."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 15:38:23

Shannon blanches. “Yeah, that’s a great way to get them to stop acting human.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/05 15:47:38

Alric looks from Sawyer to Shannon back to Sawyer.

"Alright, I'll keep that warning in mind. I'm not entirely sure about why people would take offense to it, but then again, I'm not sure about a whole lot of things."

...

"I have to ask though. None of you seem malicious, and yet I feel like I'm being massively fucked with."

"Shannon Bayes. Bayes. Shannon. Bayes."

Alric smacks his lips.

"Bayes."

"Between all the weird and frankly completely impossible things I've experienced over the past few months, coming across someone called Shannon Bayes feels... massively out of place? It doesn't flow right. It is not impossible, but wrong, somehow, if you catch my drift. Can you help me out here?"

He looks at her, waiting.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/05 16:08:06

She laughs a low, rolling chuckle. Emerald eyes definitely glowing. “What are your priors for any given magic user to have a pseudonym?” Her smile is white, the flesh of her mouth is much darker than one would expect given her ginger complexion.

In the transparency of this place, it is clear that she is savoring this line of discussion.

“And what is your estimate that given a rationalist with a need for a pseudonym and an interest in finding other rationalists in a secretive community where names are known to have power, would select something with a strong in-group signal?”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/06 02:37:16

"Oh, sure. Sure. Let's talk probabilities."

Alric keeps talking while working on retrieving his camera from his backpack.

"If I'm being very generous, there's maybe half a million rationalists, or at least people self-identifying as such, on this planet. Assume that half of those are in the states. That makes it less than one in a thousand people. Let's further assume that rationalists are equally likely to actually stumble into magic, and that's a generous assumption. Sawyer, help me out here, what do you estimate the ratio to be between people in the magical community and those outside of it?"

With his camera finally retrieved, he snaps a photo of both "Shannon" and the mirror setup around her.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/06 07:27:23

The Polaroid shows her and her mirrors nearly identically to how they look in reality. The colors are a little off, but that’s normal for Polaroids.

“I’d be surprised if it was over 1 in one thousand.” Shannon says. “The magical community isn’t all aware of each other, but I still think the ceiling is in the low millions globally. I will say that I was pushed into magic rather than stumbling over it, but my route isn’t statistically significant, and you could probably safely round away the filter that I fell into and say that the probabilities are independent.” She tilts her head. “Actually, wait. That’s not the right reference class. If you’re using proportion of rationalists in the population, we should then only use the proportion of the supernatural community that is drawn from the wider population. There is, I think, a negative correlation between starting out supernatural and becoming a rationalist. So the relevant proportion of supernaturals who have the opportunity to be rationalists is probably no more than a quarter and might be as low as ten percent, so shave an order of magnitude off my original supernatural population estimate, so hundreds of thousands globally. Probably not more than 1 in 10,000. That ratio probably holds for the US. Rationalists: you estimated half-million, half of that in the states, 250 thousand into 300 million — it’s been a bit since I checked the US population — is pretty close to 1 in 1,000. Multiply it out: 1 in 10 million. With a global population of 8 billion, there’s an estimated 800 of us.”

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/06 07:49:28

"That probability is definitely going to vary by region and community. My synagogue has a... much higher percentage," Sawyer adds after a moment. "Rounding error probably isn't that far off, if you average it out, even if it feels low to me because I run in high-awareness circles."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/07 09:48:28

"So, 1 in 10,000 of magically aware people are rationalists, give or take. I've met maybe 50 aware people so far. 50. And I've already stumbled into you. Just to give you some contrast, with the 1 in 1,000 rationalists in the unaware population, I've never just stumbled into one just by chance."

"And yet here you are, Shannon Bayes."

He stores the camera and photo in his backpack.

In his head, Alric runs through everything that happened so far today - it was an exciting morning - backwards from the current point to when he left the HQ. No jump cuts, no skips. Not a dream, then. It may just be a coincidence. But then again, everything in this universe is meaningful, or so I'm told.

None of my hypotheses imply urgency though.

"Let's continue for the time being, I'll figure this out later. The next thing would be trying rituals, did I get that right, Sawyer?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/07 11:10:06

"It's almost as though I introduced you because I thought her lab would mesh well with your needs and because I thought she'd be someone who you'd be able to work with if you turned out to be a dream mage, despite my expectations," Sawyer says dryly.

"Correct, rituals are next. We're not going to start from the wizard angle. We're going to approach it in a way that I think is going to be a much better match for you," he says, turning to grab his abandoned pad of paper. "Esoteric Mathematics and Sacred Geometries. They're not all actually sacred geometries, but the texts with that as a keyword are going to be easier to find."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/07 11:45:09

Shannon gives Alric a flat look. “And I have, actually. Run into another rationalist in the unaware population. I think you are really overlooking network effects. And the fact that I am broadcasting that aspect with my pseudonym. Your Constant Vigilance may serve you well, but only as long as you can maintain lightness between your theories and not burn optionality prematurely because of the possibility of bad faith.”

She shakes her head. “Fine, yes. Moving on.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/07 12:02:14

"Oh, no, that's not what I'm thinking."

Alric's posture drops a bit, and he lowers his gaze.

"I'm sorry. Both of you mean well, and I appreciate the help. I don't think either of you conspired to put that specific name in front of me. What a weird scheme that would be. And I'd certainly not stick around if I expected you guys to mess with me. My issue is that my priors on finding anyone rational in this community at all, let alone with a name like yours, are a flat 'No'. You might be right on me underestimating how likely that is, I didn't run any numbers upfront, and I probably got caught off-guard. I'll run the numbers later."

"I didn't mean to accuse either of you of anything." Man, I really fucked this up.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/07 14:09:58

"Pseudonyms are common enough, Names have power, and an alias can be a useful way to broadcast interests," Sawyer says, shrugging. "One of mine is Sage Tripp - I mostly use it as my instagram handle, these days."

"Not everything is going to come down to numbers, there are absolutely some factors out there that will start leaning their weight on the scales of probability, and it's damn hard to spot things like that. Without a good idea of the demographics you're calculating for, your numbers are going to have their own accuracy issues. Arkham, for example? Comparatively high ratio of Aware individuals, they've got a department of Esoteric Mathmatics. Communities tend to pop up and interweave when they're a smaller subset of the population - a lot of the Wizards in the states, specifically like your friend, for example, are going to be connected within a handful of degrees of separation. Networking does a lot of heavy lifting, and places like my store are made to form a hub around which more connections can form."

He pauses. "...and no offense taken, Alric."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/07 14:38:59

‘Shannon’ nods. “Apology accepted. I have only been Aware for about five years, and most of that time I spent putting my own mask on first. There’s still plenty of low-hanging fruit to rationalize.” She smiles at her abuse of metaphors and language. “Sorry I haven’t visibly revolutionized anything in this world yet.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/07 15:04:26

"Visibly, eh?" There's curiosity in his voice. "I'd love to hear more about that once I have more than zero understanding of magic."

With more energy now, he turns to Sawyer. "Alright, math does sound like my thing. How do we test that? Do I draw geometries?" He pulls out his notebook and non-glittery pen.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/07 15:19:05

"You've got more than zero understanding," Sawyer looks like he's probably rolling his eyes? Hard to tell, with them as they are.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/07 15:30:50

"Ergo, he would love to hear about it." 'Shannon' says. "I'll let you guys into the next room over. This one isn't suited for rotes."

The next room over has a partially-disassembled mechanical loom covering much of the table space. Shannon removes it, pages of notes, and the various mirrors propped up around it to a corner to make space. This room is decorated like a normal work room and lacks the otherworldly vibe the mirror work room had.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/08 02:35:01

Alric follows.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/09 18:37:49

"Thank you, Shannon, much appreciated."

"So, Alric. Let's start with this question: what effects do you want to try and learn first? I'm going to limit the list right now to things that won't cause property damage, because this is not my house. So. Would you like to try learning something to protect you by making yourself tougher or harder to hit, or to dull sound in an area? You could learn to detect nearby magic, make simple illusions, protect yourself from dangerous environmental factors, or even try healing?"

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/10 01:15:45

"So no coin levitation, just right into it, eh? Alright. For starters, I'd like to never get tired. Or in absence of that, have the option to reset myself to awake and refreshed on demand."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/10 12:35:57

"Yes, right into it - there's less chance that you could punch a hole in reality now," Sawyer says, voice just on the edge of teasing, but his smile is wide and enthusiastic as he gestures, before reaching into one of his pockets to extract a piece of chalk attached to an extending rod, tucking his pad of paper under his arm as he does. "Shannon, is this floor alright to chalk up? I can keep any working diagrams to the sketchpad if you don't want working rituals on the floor, but demonstrating some of partial execution on a larger scale is usually helpful."

He looks to Alric again. "Sacred Geometry is fundamental to the rotes and rituals of a large variety of spellwork, including when mortals attempt to call powerful entities with Name magic - there is power in symbols, and in using symbols that have a lot of conceptual weight, we can use that existing weight as a lever. To clarify: they aren't actually using Sacred Geometries as it's own system, but there are certain aspects that are... sufficiently stable to provide a basis for a wide range of magical understanding even without understanding why and how geometry and mathematics are as important as they are. A circle, for example, is a protective symbol you'll see again and again and again - a fundamental cornerstone of ritual circles, it forms a barrier, a containment for the working and a boundary between what is being worked and what is not. But if you've got a background in math, you also know that you can define the perimeter of a circle by using C=2πr without drawing it out. So. I could make a ritual circle in the literal way... or I could create it with Math."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/10 12:36:14

. He presses his fingers to one of his tattoos, lighting up string of letters and numbers with a violet glow, then flicks outwards, creating an illusion of a circular ritual space bounded in that same purple glow, hovering a few feet off the floor with Sawyer as the centerpoint. "You also have to define more variables to anchor it in a specific place, like around a person, if it should be when you make contact with someone, or travel ten feet away at a thirty degrees angle from a specific starting point. Does that make sense?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/10 12:39:44

“It’s alright as long as you don’t leave any palimpsest echoes. Don’t knock yourself out.” Shannon grins. “Can I watch, or will I cause too much interference?”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/10 12:56:54

"Okay, so, circles are boundaries, defining an inside and outside. Do squares work as well? Do squiggly circles? Ovals? Hexagons? How perfect does the circle have to be, or is it good enough for me to feel like 'yep, that's a boundary'. Speaking of which, who exactly is the meaning relative to? Would 2πr work for someone who does not know π or math?"

He starts taking notes.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/10 14:46:31

"Feel free," Sawyer offers a thumbs up, then twists his hand, gesturing so that the glowing circle settles on the floor before extending his chalk-loaded pointer and tracing the circle onto the floor in chalk. "I recommend using specific tools until you've got the hang of the process - you don't learn calculus before algebra and trigonometry. Precision and leaning on the symbolic beliefs that have come before are key to the use of Geometry - I've used triangles as a major boundary for a protective working, because they're a shape with significant structural stability. Different shapes and symbols can be useful for different workings, because of the weight they hold conceptually. but variants and sloppy work are going to be something you want to avoid, because a lack of precision can lead to failure. The wobblier or more haphazard your work, the steeper the loss of symbolic meaning - and the less meaning you've got in your symbols, the more likely you're going to fail or create an unintended effect."

He spins his staff, drawing a triangle within the circle. "Different paths or methods can be more haphazard, but if you're looking for a path that will let you really get your fingers deep into the way magic works, math is very, very effective. The trade off is that, yes, if you don't understand what π is or at least have an idea of what it's meant to represent, using math to make magic won't work. You have to understand at least the outer shape of the meaning of the work to make it work. Most people stick with Sacred Geometry rather than getting into advanced esoteric mathematics, because you don't have to understand the all of the underlying mathematical principles of each shape of symbol to draw them."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/10 14:46:48

He draws several triangles in a line outside the circle, tapping each. "For instance, we have symbols for fire," a triangle pointing up. "Air," a triangle pointing up with a horizontal line through it. "Water," a triangle pointing downwards. "...and earth," a triangle pointing downwards with a horizintal line though it.

"You can combine them into... this..." a triangle, pointing down, covering all but the tips of a second triangle with the point up. "...and you've got a symbol that can be used to signify the concept of balance or unity. Defining air using math? Not as easy. Geometry makes for a faster way to get your shorthand."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/11 09:45:07

"Okay, okay. I'm following." As long as a lot of people associate one thing with another, that's meaning. Symbols anchor to meaning, and thus can be used to project meaning onto reality. Probably.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/12 15:23:04

"So. In order to create a spell that will affect your need for rest, we need to define our variables. Can you tell me which variables you think are required?"

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/12 15:29:02

"Mhm. Spell target, effect, strength come to mind first. Duration, maybe, if applicable?.. So, a single person as the target, something that symbolizes refreshment? Or something like that. Strength, enough. Duration, not really, I think."

"How close am I?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/12 16:02:17

"Let's go with the simplest to the most complex answer. The target of the spell is, for this instance, you - your self, your mind, and your body. You could alter it to impact others, but... one increment at a time."

He taps his temple. "The strength is one you want to keep low for mind effecting changes - you can set a duration that will accumulate small changes over an extended time period, but that kind of spell should be one you can safely interrupt. I build a lot of safe exit points into my larger workings, because you really don't want to pass out in the middle of intense spellwork. The effect is - at least in this instance - a collection of multiple variables that need to be defined. If you create your working without properly defining your desired state you could get the mental effect without the physical and work yourself into the ground, or be fine in body but leave your mind struggling to keep up with the change in state."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/13 10:17:42

"Dumb question, but can't I just project the 'refreshed' property onto myself, the same way the 'lit' property was projected onto the candle? What you're describing almost sounds like programming."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/13 10:57:32

"Different styles of execution have different requirements in order to work and different levels of simplicity - Dream Magic, unlike Ritual Magic, is... kind of overpowered, honestly. If you're associated with something with an appropriate Name, you might be able to use a similar shortcut - healing with Ritual Magic is, quite frankly, a major pain in the ass compared to doing it with Name magic pulled from a powerful source."

He runs a hand through his hair. "If you can understand and use Esoteric Mathematics and Sacred Geometry, you can apply some of that to see if there are other ritual practices that you can work with, but if nothing wants to take - or you want to get your fingers deep into the way the world works, which you've said you're interested in - this is going to give you the best foundation for that."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/13 11:00:17

"Alright, the hard way it is then. So, how do I define all those things using geometry?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/13 12:58:16

“There’s a reason Dream Magic is also called raw magic. Its overpowerdness often stack-overflows into not actually being useful.” Shannon chimes in.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/13 13:04:12

Sawyer nods to Shannon, then gestures at the circle he's standing in. "Scale can impact the requirements of your definition - if you're using a circle like the one I'm standing in, the circle is a default parameter - it forms an area that can be impacted. So. If I'm the only mind in a circle, I'm the only mind being impacted, I can skip a few steps. Otherwise it's a case where we define or symbolize a centerpoint-"

He picks up his notepad, turning to a clean page, and draws a circle with a compass that he pulls from his pocket. "You can design your own symbol to represent yourself, or use one that is more common, but if you're using a symbol with a meaning, you may need to lever a bit harder. I often use a Merkaba for my personal representational shorthand, because it's significant to my personal workings and beliefs. For you, you could start with a symbol made from your initials - a symbol you create, which represents you, a stand-in for your Name."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/13 14:05:08

Alric aswell turns to a blank page and draws an X in the middle of it, then a circle around it, and adds a line representing a radius, with 0.5 written next to it.

He turns the page to Sawyer.

"Something like this to represent an area and the center point of the ritual? And are we talking about my name, Alric, or my name? I still don't know how to find that one. Or can the symbol just be anything instead of be based on my name?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/13 14:34:58

"A symbol you find personally significant or that's formed from your initials would be my recommendation for a starting symbol. Something simple and easy to repeat with precision is ideal, so long as it's something you have a strong personal link to. The goal is to choose something you identify with as strongly as your spoken name, but which is easier to render as part of your spellwork," Sawyer says, pausing to gesture at Alric's drawing. "You'll want to include units of measure if you plan to use numbers that represent literal, physical spaces or measurements."

"Your name, Alric, is one part of the Name that represents you. Two people can have the same name, but they'll never have the same Name. Your Name is .... like your address in concept space. Your Name is the point at which the concepts that form your being intersect, from your experiences to your abilities to your physical characteristics, down to your current physical location in space. Your Name is not completely static, but there were two of you, and one Alric was in Boston and the other Alric was in Arkham, the differences between your Names would be minute."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/13 14:40:08

Alric adds an 'm' to the radius.

"Got that. Could you give me an example of a name?" Alric can't pronounce it with as much weight as Sawyer can. "Is it a spoken word? A combination of letters? Like, would 'Bob' potentially be a valid name, as in, pointing to someone in concept space?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/13 14:43:10

"Sawyer Morgan."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/13 14:43:12

Alric, roll Notice

Fate - 2023/11/13 14:44:37

Does Alric notice anything?: [9, 3] Result: Success with 1 raise! 🎯🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/13 15:07:51

Alric notices that when Sawyer says his own name, there is More being communicated. The audible component is a mere intersection of the **Name **with the physical world. Echoes and resonances spinning off in myriad dimensions, their angles and timbre may hold clues to their meaning for one attuned to hear, but all Alric can discern are the most overt angles of Space, Knowledge, and Eternity. The **Name **is very very specifically the determined Occultist sitting in front of him, the one who has rekindled anew after nearly burning to extinction.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/13 15:26:02

"Ah, okay, mhm, jep, got that. Definitely got that."

There's a lot of significance to what he just felt, but he can't translate it into anything his brain can work with. He'll figure it out later.

"So... what's the next step? How do I encode an effect into this drawing?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/13 15:44:08

'Shannon' scents the Name and tilts her head quizzically. A conversation perhaps should be had later.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/13 15:46:41

"First time's free," Sawyer chuckles, tilting his head. "Symbolism, shaped by geometry, visual symmetry helps focus the working. But we want to represent the effect. So. I'd be inclined to visualize it with this combination of symbols-" he adds to the circle he has drawn on the paper, explaining why each part combines to symbolize recovery of mind and body from fatigue.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/13 15:53:32
This rote is the ritual diagram necessary to preform the Relief spell.
Rank: Novice
Power points: 1
Range: Within ritual circle
Duration: Instant
Trappings: This diagram + ritual Intent
Relief removes one Fatigue level, or two with a raise. It can also remove a character's Shaken status, and removes Stunned status with a raise.```
Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/13 15:55:46

Alric copies over the symbols into his own drawing. "Let's use that. But to make sure, as this is all about meaning, it'd also work if I used symbols that ring true to just me, right? And how do I go from a paper drawing to magic? How do I make the drawing do its thing?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/13 16:22:13

"...I wish, it would make the weirder workings much easier to put together. You need to use things that have conceptual, symbolic weight to them. The more something has been used to represent what you're trying to get done, the more effective it will be. If your symbol has conceptual associations with what you're trying to do, sure. If you're trying to use a symbol for fire to make a working to represent peaceful dreams? If you're lucky, it just won't work."

He hands Alric his sheet of paper. "Alright. Here's the hard part. Focus on the circle, on the purpose, on what you want it to do and why, expect it to happen, then make it happen. I'll try to give you the momentum you need to get it to trigger, but you should be able to do it on your own next time. First time's the hardest."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/14 06:39:09

Putting away his own notepad, Alric takes Sawyer's sheet and focuses. More than a feeling than a conscious thought, he slightly pulls on the symbol in the direction. To barely bend the meaning associated with the symbol. To change its projection on reality from drawing to its meaning.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/14 06:44:36

Roll Spellcasting (unskilled). Shorting rules don’t apply: Sawyer is lending the power point.

Fate - 2023/11/14 06:45:25

Can Alric cast Relief?: [4 💥 2 = 6, 3]-2 Result: Success! 🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/14 07:14:06

Alric tries to pull the symbol in the direction, what seems to him to be the direction of magic, but is stymied by the lack of leverage with which to pull.

It takes a few minutes and a variety of mental postures to try to find the right angle, but eventually Alric tries a framing that works: pushing intent. An attitude of “Make it so,” and the knowledge that reality actually is compatible with this working.

Watching the direction of magic, Alric can see that that framing worked enough to cause the vectors to shift. And with that insight he is able to double down and push more intent, cycling the evidence that he can in some sense see it working into the knowledge that reality really will let it work.

The vectors in the spell shift and twist like a mapping of a complex electric field full of whorls of sources and sinks and fractal geometries. The impression is like looking at the innards of industrial machinery through a keyhole: a lot of complex, interconnected motion, but many pivots and purposes are still out of sight.

Once the spell starts, it is quick to unfold. Stress and fatigue evaporate from Alric. A similar feeling to caffeine hitting his system but… cleaner, somehow.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/14 12:11:48

"Okay okay I did the thing did you see I did the thing" - Alric gestures wildly while looking back and forth between Shannon and Sawyer - "IconcentratedandpushedandthenmagichappenedandIdidthething. I did the thing. I did make magic"

He's obviously very proud of himself.

"Let me try again I want to see if I can do it without help. Okay. Okayokayokay."

A deep breath, and once again Alric focuses on the paper, trying to repeat what had just worked.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/14 12:24:05

Roll Spellcasting (unskilled) with -1 shorting penalty.

Fate - 2023/11/14 12:29:40

Can Alric do it on his own?: [1, 3]-3 Result: Failure ❌

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/14 13:12:18

"Good work," Sawyer grins slowly, continuing to talk before Alric makes his solo attempt. "It takes a bit to get the hang of it without a boost. It took me a while to get it figured out on my own. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work the first time you try it solo."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/14 15:42:37

Shannon applauds. "I could tell! Congrats!" She revels in his delicious enthusiasm, eyes twinkling.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/14 21:46:55

And then Alric tries again.

At first, he is too jazzed to get back into the focused, deliberate mindset he used to cast the first time. But, determined, he pushes onward.

Again, he's able to set the vectors in motion, though immediately he can tell they start to twist outside their bounds.

Energy floods into Alric! Sharp and live as a wire loosed in a power plant. Stimulation floods all his senses as he becomes more awake than awake. His mind is scoured and set to high alert. Every nerve alights with full charge. Crystal light sears his eyes, bringing with it the image of Shannon leaping forward to grab his arm. Her eyes blaze like green suns. Her smell is of antifreeze and antiseptic. Her grip is like ice; pulling electrified sensation off of him like a grounding wire. A dampening wave of numb void ripples from her hand, swallowing the inferno Alric set onto his nervous system.

"He's overflowing!" She roars at Sawyer. "I don't think he is still bleeding; I think it was a burst." As she speaks, the screaming volume Alric hears normalizes and numbs back into the regular decibel range for speech as whatever she is doing turns the gain on his senses back down.

Seconds later, when Alric is back down into extremely-wired-but-not-overloaded range, she removes her hand and with it the soothing frozen vacuum. "Sorry. I should have disclosed what I was doing first. I siphoned off about a day's worth of your vitality because it looked like you were about to cook yourself from the brain out."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/14 22:14:48

"Oh, shit, shit, shit, okay, that shouldn't have happened, the variables shouldn't have been able to go out of range that much-" Sawyer's hands are fluttering, worriedly checking for blood before he realizes it's an overflow of vitality.

"There's got to be some extra vector that I'm not noticing here, that we didn't calibrate for, that's definitely something outside the bounds - maybe the effect of trying to bring yourself past optimum status, that might have been it? It... shouldn't have done that. We can adjust the spellwork to add upper limits to the effect that will take your current health into account to try and make sure this doesn't happen again. Breathe. Take your time. Get back to stable. When you're feeling ready, I need you to tell me exactly what you felt or saw happening, okay?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/14 22:27:48

“That wasn’t a dreamer botch-up. He shouldn’t have been able to do it right the first time if it was.” The dream mage says. “That was more like… mmrph. You’re not contracted to a nascent demigod, are you?” She asks Alric. “That was like punching above your user level.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/15 09:30:48

On one level, he can hear them almost too well. On another, he doesn't hear them at all. He's busy staring at his hands and arms, which he's sure were charged with pure energy just a few seconds ago, like the rest of his body.

"What just happened?"

He's inspecting and opening and closing his hands as if seeing them for the first time.

"I was burning but I was alive? So alive."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/15 09:48:39

"He didn't use my Name, I'd have noticed," Sawyer gives Shannon a wary look for a moment, then turns his eyes back to Alric.

"So. Good news and bad news: Good news - you did it! Bad news - you did it so well you nearly killed yourself by supercharging your own vitality," Sawyer's smile is pained but genuine, the purple-hued stars in his eyes burning bright. "Congratulations! This is why I recommend working with someone as a spotter as you're working the kinks out, preferably someone with more experience, instead of trying to figure things out alone. There's a much better chance of recovery when things go wrong.

"So. Next step: we need to figure out what went wrong. You felt super alive, is there anything else you can tell us? Anything you saw or felt that stuck out? Pain, ecstacy, your mind unfolding past the limits you thought possible to encompass a vast knowing of the universe that you couldn't hope to fit back inside your mind?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/15 09:53:33

“I have a hypothesis, but unconfounded data first please.” Shannon answers Alric.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/15 10:15:00

By now, Alric has mostly returned to himself and is convinced that these are indeed his hands and arms as they should be.

"The spell started to unravel in a wrong way, for a lack of better words. I wouldn't call it pain, but my whole body was charged, and I experienced everything a thousand times more strongly. I don't know how antifreeze smells like, but you smelled like it." He's looking at Shannon. "Then you touched me and everything turned numb and back to normal."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/15 13:59:47

“Ah… yeah… the antifreeze and the numbing are because I’m a vampire and I syphoned off your excess vitality. It was only about a day’s worth, but it was all at once. Your natural lifespan might be a day shorter now, but I’m not sure that that framing is entirely sensical. You shouldn’t have that many side effects but avoid donating blood for the next couple of months.” Her ears and cheeks bruise with a black-blood blush.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/15 14:02:13

Alric squints at her.

Fate - 2023/11/15 14:14:07

Is she messing with him?: [3, 3] Result: Failure ❌

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/15 14:19:39

Well, she’s definitely keeping secrets. But she’s been honest that she’s keeping secrets. Her story hasn’t seemed to contradict itself yet, but it does keep getting more complicated.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/15 14:25:15

She seems pretty normal. Not feral at all. Probably fine. Probably.

"Say, what's the deal with garlic?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/15 14:49:11

“Alliums are toxic to a lot of non-human animals, are insect-repellent and are slightly antimicrobial. Also, garlic and onions exacerbate symptoms of porphyria, a blood disorder that can resemble stereotypical vampirism. So garlic has picked up a little bit of weight as a vampire ward. But it’s pretty weak, and some bloodlines aren’t bothered by it at all.”

She shrugs. “I could probably eat garlic without too much problem other than I wouldn’t be able to taste it.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/15 14:54:25

"Huh. I recently had the idea of building a garlic based shotgun, you know, just in case, no offense, but that idea's out the window now."

He points to the Relief sacred geometry.

"So, what went wrong with my spell?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/15 15:14:52

“A holy water super soaker is going to be much more effective, provided you source genuine holy water and keep it holy.” She plucks at her necklace. “I use sunlight.”

“But yes! Your spell” She refocuses on the more important issue. “You also got a burst of vitality the first time you executed the spell, so I think the spell functionally surged your vitality as the mechanism to wake you up, and then you surged it again after you were already wired and set to full.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/15 15:19:24

Sunlight, for what?

"Mhm. So, should I give coin levitation a few attempts instead? That feels less likely to make me burn."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/15 22:35:46

"...Possibly." She looks to Sawyer as a better advisor on how to keep safe while doing this kind of magic.

"Ah, just a sec." Shannon mutters as she pulls out her phone and starts to type.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/15 22:45:39

Sawyer nods to Shannon, looking uncomfortable as he runs a hand through his hair. "Likely, but... it's weird. Even without a hard upper limit already worked into the spellwork, I wouldn't necessarily expect it to have such an extreme effect. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at making sure my basic spellwork isn't going to risk someone frying themselves."

"There are a few ways to figure it out, but," Sawyer tilts his head. "....in-depth tests take time and could hurt you. After that near blow-out you should take a break from any further attempts until we're sure you're stable. So. I'm going to take a shortcut."

Fate - 2023/11/15 22:56:07

Sawyer Morgan Uses Magic: [2, 6 💥 3 = 9] Result: Success with 1 raise! 🎯🎯

Fate - 2023/11/15 22:56:30

Vigor Roll: [3, 4] Result: Success! 🎯

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/15 22:56:58

Sawyer Morgan didn't take damage!

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/17 22:30:25

Invoking his aspect of Knowledge, Sawyer can see that Alric can obtain knowledge in a similar way to Susan. A knack that has been developed from his dedication to see the world as it truly is.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/17 22:43:21

As Sawyer peers at Alric and around Shannon's workshop, Alric can see his magic flaring around his head like a vivid purple halo, the stars and galaxies in his eyes lighting up in the same vivid shades of purple and violet that seem to be part and parcel of his magical signature.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/18 01:37:14

Another connection made, another coincidence, another inkling of doubt.

"Hold on, I gotta try something."

Alric draws a circle onto a blank page of his notepad, and tries to cast it.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/18 19:53:52

Roll spellcraft. Unskilled, -1 shorting.

Fate - 2023/11/19 00:11:15

Can he cast a circle?: [3, 3]-3 Result: Failure ❌

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/19 15:04:01

The two other mages in the room frown, but don't immediately interrupt. It's a bad idea to stop someone half way through casting. Surely, surely it would be worse to interrupt than to let him continue. Right?

Alric is still brimming from a little more Life than is natural to have at once. Is just a little more manic than is strictly healthy to be.

The intent. The intent. The intent of a circle. Magic has got to have an intent. That's what makes magic magic. Otherwise magic would just be like electricity. Or! Maybe, magic already is just like electricity. Charges flowing. Variables. It's a computer. The intent of a circle is itself. Not pointless -- it's full of infinite points. Circles are infinite. Mean infinite. Loop back on themselves. Self referential. Itself. The self. Cir-self. Spinning, flywheel. The basis of all. Transform to polar to glide through the imaginary it's not just a phase, Mom! Trivially non-Euclidian, great circles are the lines of spheres. Curving round to end up where they started spinning wheels. 🎵 A circle is round, it has no end, that's how long I want to be your friend! 🎵 We are all one! One circle, enclosed. Boundary. Magic circle. The basis of all meaning. The point: expanded. Spinning. The Gyre. The Gyre. The Gyre. It all loops through the G̸̾̌y̸̔͛r̷͂̿é̶̍. Node without edges. Flywheel. Come back and do it again. Do it again. Do it again.

Do it again.

Do it again

ᴰᵒ ᶦᵗ ᵃᵍᵃᶦⁿ

ᴬᵍᵃᶦⁿ


When the casting completes, the excess vitality Alric had is gone. It is within the circle now, setting it spinning. He can see it, projected Circle-wards from himself.

Take the skill "Circle" (unskilled). When you want to cast magic, first roll "Circle." On a success, you make a circle rather than casting your magic. If you choose to cast the circle, you may increase the die size of "Circle."
The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/19 15:19:50

To those who can see it, the Circles in Alric faintly glow with the energy of his Circle. This is most noticeable in his eyes.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/19 15:22:39

Sawyer's watching from outside the circle, head cocked, eyes lambent as he stares at the glowing circles in Alric's eyes. "....so. What did you learn?"

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 03:02:13

No overflowing this time. What a coincidence then that the spell you, the expert, gave to the beginner happened to overflow their vitality. Conveniently with a vampire nearby that could fix the problem by having a nice meal.

Let's add that to the list of coincidences.

"Nothing specific, just another datapoint. It'll come in handy. I really look forward though to seeing the face of Ms. Your-cup-will-never-be-filled when I can show her that I learned some magic."

He takes out his camera out of his backpack, and takes a selfie with him having the circle around him.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 07:40:14

"...would this datapoint happen to involve the consequences of trying to cast something that's a fundamental component of a larger schema of magic but not an actual spell after nearly melting your brain?" Sawyer asks, expression suddenly tired. "You need to take a break from trying to use spells for at least a few hours. Magic isn't going anywhere, you don't need to keep going at the kind of breakneck pace that will risk breaking your neck, Alric."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 07:43:52

"Alright. Mhm. I'll give it a break."

Mhm.

"As a test, can you cast the relief spell on yourself? You do seem tired, and I'd like to figure out if it's an issue with the spell itself, or with me as a caster."

He hands him the paper with the spell geometry back.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 07:49:21

"....yeah, alright," Sawyer arches a brow, but takes the paper and casts.

Fate - 2023/11/20 07:54:42

Sawyer casts Relief: [6, 3] Result: Success! 🎯

Fate - 2023/11/20 07:54:53

Vigor Check!: [3, 5] Result: Success! 🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 07:55:16

Successful cast. No bleeding this time.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 08:05:41

"Okay, so, it works when you cast it, when you help me with it, but not when I cast it. So it's probably a skill issue on my part. I'd suggest me just trying it again, but something tells me you guys will object."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 08:26:57

"Correlation doesn't always equal causation," Sawyer says dryly. "You activated the spell, I just gave you enough of a boost to get you over the first hurdle. You're casting fine, it's... right now you're doing the mental and magical equivalent of building muscle."

He squints at the spellwork, then starts drawing a modified version for Alric, one that has more limit placements to prevent overflow or overcharge, then hands both ritual drawings to Alric. "If you're going to keep going and ignore my advice, fine, I can't stop you - I mean, okay, I probably could, but I won't, you've got personal agency - but I'd appreciate it if you kept me in the loop so I can check in on you and make sure you're still breathing."

"I'm not joking about the consequences, I've literally watched people die, and there has been nothing I could do to stop it. I want you to become a great practitioner, but that's going to take time, and it's probably going to feel like pulling teeth, but the goal is to get to that point with minimum harm to your mind and body."

He tilts his head. "You said you weren't willing to die for this. You nearly died less than ten minutes ago."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 09:44:08

And finally, Alric realizes that this whole situation was indeed far more serious than he thought.

I nearly died.

..

I nearly died.

His voice has almost, but not quite, a bite to it. "I'm a beginner. No magical skills whatsoever. And I suggested we start with something basic like coin levitation. But you insisted on jumping into casting actual spells right from the beginning. I thought this was safe to do around two experts. I thought you guys know your shit-".

||Realization hits once more. I thought they know their shit. I made that assumption. Stupid me. Stupid stupid stupid. A teleporting guy with tattoos, galaxy eyes and a magical bookshop, obviously I just pattern match that onto 'magic expert'. Never reconsidering. I didn't even want to consider that magic yes expert no. I just wanted to get my hands on magic. FUCK.||

He presses his palms onto his eyes.

||Okay, lesson learned. There are no experts in this world. Adjust your expectations down and everything is fine. Nothing bad happened to me. I'm fine. Just don't repeat this mistake.||

"Sorry, that was unfair. It was entirely my fault. I fucked up, and I'll be more careful next time."

Alric relaxes somewhat, his posture more open again. "Okay, what next steps do you suggest?" He's looking at Sawyer.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 10:25:54

"Levitating an object and casting a spell to relieve fatigue aren't on different levels, Alric. Right now, they're equivalent, and party tricks aren't going to help you when you're working for the Dawn Commission." He folds his arms. "Magic isn't safe, no matter how many precautions we put in place, there's always going to be a risk of something going wrong. I'm very, very, very good at what I do, and I'm one of the foremost experts on magical theory in the world, full stop, but I spent way more of my late teens than I'd really like to admit to passed out and bleeding because I pushed past my limits, and thanks to that I just start spontaneously bleeding sometimes."

"Teleporting to another state? Absolutely above your level right now. Relieving your own fatigue? No. Casting it a second time shouldn't have done that, but it's probably my fault for not building more protections in the first time, not yours. You want to learn, repeating the spell makes sense, and I should have better accounted for that. I'm used to adjusting for a floor, not a ceiling, and I'm sorry for not seeing that potential for error."

He gestures at the second drawing of the Relief spell in Alric's hand. "...these adjustments should provide a safe upper limit."

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 10:26:03

He runs his hand through his hair. "...I didn't get a better read on what specifically went wrong, but I did learn something that you can use to further your understanding, even without casting a spell yourself, similar to one of my oldest friends. You have a way of looking at the world that extends into the magical sphere, Alric. You're probably seeing and picking up on things that you don't realize everyone else isn't percieving. Forgive the fantasy terminology, but it's hard to avoid it in this line of business: you're a Seer. Future sight? Not so much, but you may be able to develop a knack for liklihoods and probabilities if you try. Seeing and percieving how the magic around you moves and works, the mechanics at work? That should be in your scope right now, and that is something we can work on without you getting hurt." He grins lopsidedly. "...just with a risk of me getting blood on the floor if you need a lot of demonstrations. No big deal. Otherwise..."

He glances at Shannon, then back to Alric. "....we can talk more about math and physics and how they interplay with magic, and why a ton of mathematicians went around the bend in the 1800's and how that's related to the study of Esoteric Mathematics - and how Arkham's Esoteric Math department did major damage by stripping away a lot of the magical history and tradition by looking at just how many department heads they went through before they reoriented."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 10:42:52

'You may be able to develop a knack for likelihoods and probabilities if you try.'

Alric throws a look at Shannon, then blinks a few times. Then turns his gaze back to Sawyer.

"Probabilities sound good."

He thinks for a second.

"Does the testing for finding out whether I'm a Seer involve anything that has made people's brains boil some time in the past?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 10:50:44

"Technically yes," he taps the side of his head. ".. but I paid that cost upfront a long time ago. I don't try to Know things often, it's got side effects and doesn't always tell me what I'm trying to know. But. This isn't a question of if you are a Seer, you already are one. Just don't try to understand and see how a shoggoth or something works, that could be really bad for your mind."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 11:21:01

Shannon can smell his increasing paranoia and self-dependence? Self-centeredness? Dismissal of others. Not a good sign for someone's first explorations in magic. She hadn't been that much better her first year Aware, but she had also been a fledgling and had been locked away for her own safety and others'.

She folds her arms. "I've had all the standard arguments about what probabilities mean with Sawyer already." She says in response to his glance. "It's not quite as broken as you might think it is."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 11:27:50

Alric raises his eyebrows.

"Mmm-hm. Alright. I'll take your word for it. So, what would be the next steps for me to actually get into this?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 11:47:44

"Tell me what you see when you see someone use magic, any example. Shannon and I could demonstrate other spells and you can tell us what you see," Sawyer says. "If we point out what you see and what we don't see, you'll have more clarity into the information you're getting, and you can work on extrapolating that into further understanding."

"...I can ask Susan to discuss her experiences with you later, but she definitely won't be up for it today."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 12:07:15

"It's less like seeing... You know how you hear things and just know where they are in space? It's kind of the same thing but instead I just have a sense for how the fields move? Like magnetic fields but not quite? If vectors were overlaid over reality, that would be it. When you've just cast the relief spell, it was like your body moved on an axis from tiredness to awake, but it wasn't your body that's moving but rather the space around it. That field around you was moving from tired to awake. Except magnetic field doesn't quite hit it. My best guess would be that it's somehow interlocked vectors, or more likely just higher dimensions than three, so causality isn't obvious to me."

"Stuff's moving and it feels like vectors."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 12:36:16

Shannon leans forward. "Has your usual spatial and proprioception senses been replaced with that? Or is that an entirely new sense?"

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 13:38:31

"No, it's a new sense. I can still see and hear and stuff. Is losing that a thing I have to be concerned about?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 13:49:20

"Lucky. I've had my entire senses of smell and taste remapped. I think you are good if you haven't lost an old sense already. But going forward, remember that all kinds of magic can really mess with any kind of perception. Mental side effects are way more common than physical side effects." Shannon says.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 13:50:55

"It can be," Sawyer says. "But in your case, being a Seer can actually provide you a.. perception fallback. If something happens to your eyes."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 13:53:27

Alric thinks for a moment. "I'm getting the sense there's little to actively study about this, isn't there? Just a matter of getting used to it?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 14:13:48

"Most likely. This sort of thing isn't standardized enough to have a good curriculum to study. To be clear: I do not get a sense of vector fields. I do have some magic sense of angles and reflections and flows of energies and miasmas that behave like strange fluids. Learning more about optics and fluid dynamics has helped me some, but it is not always applicable. Like how learning about airflow and chemistry can help you know how to smell more effectively. Practicing focusing on the felt senses has been more helpful than trying to learn from books."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/20 14:23:22

"Okay, I think I got it. Just practice."

..

"So, as a Seer I'm obviously an expert at magic now. You mentioned you haven't visibly revolutionized anything. Anything cool you want to show me?"

He's looking at Shannon, expectantly.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 15:09:22

"Ha! You're funny." She cackles. "But sure, sure. I believe I said that I haven't visibly revolutionized anything in this world yet." She pulls out one of the larger mirrors from the pile with the loom in the corner.

"Anything that I may or may not have revolutionized invisibly in this world would have reasons for remaining invisible. But I do have something really cool to show!"

She touches the surface of the mirror. Those with eyes to see might see that she is doing something but it is a complicated tangle crossing v a s t distances to see exactly what. She performs no other somatic component in the course of her magic other than blinking nictitating membranes.

When she steps away from the mirror, a fantastic city scape is shown. The view looks out from a stone tower's balcony onto a dock works at a cliffside below. Only, there's no ocean: the cliff opens to deep empty sky. In port and in the distance, there are great sailing ships slowly traversing the open air. But in the docks, a different style of ship is being made: sleek, like a rocket ship or airplane with only vestigial wings. Even from this distance, it is clear that many of the workers don't look human; some have vibrant skin and bejeweled ears and horns, others have hair and beards that shine like metal in the sunlight, still others have buzzing wings and exaggeratedly pointed ears. One of the sleek sailless ships breaks from a loading pier and darts into the distance, traveling much faster than the older sailed ships.

"This is a view from Ignis Industries looking out onto the docks of Port Monteau, the most advanced city in the world of Amarath. This is more glamorous than the view of the city's new sewer and sanitation plant. And it would be hard to capture a view of the impact the improved hospitals have had."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 15:12:44

Psst! Vreen! Someone is sharing a rare secret!

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 15:28:32

A small woman with faerie wings, lightning bolt horns, and opalescent hair appears on the stone balcony in a burst of glitter and lightning. She investigates the scene, long ears swiveling, and large blue and purple eyes darting here and there, not yet alighting on the mirror.

Fate - 2023/11/20 15:28:52

Perception: [7, 5] Result: Success! 🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 15:33:10

Oh! It's ||Not-Exactly-Veiltouched-Mirror-Gwen|| and friends!

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 15:36:59

She spins in place, inhumanly large eyes going even wider before she beams from pointed ear to pointed ear and darts towards the mirror, mouth moving in an excited and inaudible greeting and ears tilted up in a way that seems to only add to the impression of effusive good cheer!

She writes on the mirror.

||GWEN!!!! :)|| ||You have friends!!! You're telling them secrets? :D||

The script isn't exactly English, but the meaning somehow comes through, despite being written backwards.

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/20 15:39:59

Sawyer stares at the mirror for a long moment, blinking rapidly, then says a very quiet. "Dream Mages."

Okay, this may be a different explanation for why the equation he was working on earlier was written on the other side of the mirror than he'd expected.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/20 15:58:12

'Shannon', (really Gwen), sighs and waves back. "Hello Vreen." She signs as she speaks. The name sign for Vreen is a modification of the sign for 'secret.' "Yes. This is Sawyer and Alric. Not too many secrets: Alric is like Ivan. He asked to see if I revolutionized anything yet." She looks back at the two men. "Sawyer and Alric, this is Vreen, Amarathi demigod of spilling secrets and forbidden knowledge."

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 03:10:52

Alric does a slight bow.

"Do I have to be scared? 'Demigod' sounds scary. 'Spilling secrets and forbidden knowledge' sounds likeable. Also, is this a dream world, or a different plane or something? Can we go there?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 07:41:48

She translates Alric’s questions to ASL for Vreen’s benefit, then answers. “Vreen is scary; don’t get on her bad side. But you don’t need to worry. Amarath is a world more dreamy than this one. It’s a snow globe rather than a planet in outer space. Theoretically it’s possible to go there, but I don’t know how to do that.”

She grins. “If you’re really jonesing to leave the planet, you should know that my mirror room where we did your dream mage test is its own world, in a way. So mission already accomplished.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 07:42:28

"Wait, what?"

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 07:43:18

Alric thinks for a second. And another. "It's portals again, isn't it?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 07:48:03

“Not exactly… more like an elevator. It was when I closed the door that the space inside really became its own world. And it was more like a tiny soap bubble attached to a big soap bubble rather than its own world floating free”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 07:55:18

"So, I assume you haven't gone there. Did you bring the knowledge of sewers and hospitals in there? Did you make contact and then help them figure those things out?" There's interest and fascination in his voice.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 08:42:35

“Hold on, I’m going to close the window.” She waves goodby to Vreen and the mirror returns to being a mirror.

“I can… kind of go there when I dream, really it’s only my mind. But yeah, basically I’m a consultant for good ideas from Earth and it is people in that world who implement the things. The goal currently is to cultivate a scientific mindset and not just hand out tech like candy, especially because it needs a whole lot of cultural adaptation.” She picks up steam, enjoying telling her story. “Like, germs exist there, but one of the most disfiguring diseases was actually caused by basically fragments of ghosts haunting the body, so no amount of handwashing or antibiotics would help. It was a ‘curse’ that had unusual transmission characteristics, so it was a lot of genuine novel science before we figured out it was ghost fragments and recruited a friendly necromancer to exorcise the ghost fragments and only the ghost fragments. Meanwhile, sterilization is super effective when paired with Zaddari healing magic, because the healing magic is actually supercharging growth, and will supercharge an infection too if the wound is contaminated. Thankfully there wasn’t much cultural pushback to removing a sacred tribulation of their god, but there was a group of Zaddari who immediately started trying to make biological weapons after learning about germ theory. And that was an important lesson about thinking through the implications before blithely spreading knowledge.”

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/21 10:24:39

Vreen writes something on the mirror as the connection closes, before waving enthusiastically, winking, and vanishing in a puff of glitter.

||Iron is anti magic because it is the final matter||

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 10:30:01

Alric makes sure to note that down. This is the demigod of spilling secrets and forbidden knowledge, after all.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 10:33:25
Translators note: All of Vreen’s writing is in a language other than English and has the same sort of qualia as delving into an ancient lost library and deciphering the hieroglyphics that were unseen by human eyes since time immemorial.

The best way to translate that is the use of spoiler tags.
The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 10:44:31

||Gwen|| Shannon can continue telling stories of Amarath for as long as an audience is willing to listen. But, ultimately, the gossip and news is too removed from this world to be of any practical use. The traditions of magic are too different to use, the deities too distant to successfully respond to calls. A dream mage may perhaps be able to learn from what she has done here, but for everyone else, all she has are stories.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 10:56:42
</scene>

Alric, where do we next find you?
Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 11:13:54

Alric beelines home. There's research to be done. A lot of it.

So, casting doesn't really work for him, for now. And if Sawyer's beginners guide to magic involves life threatening tests, and then that same guy tells you not do so something, you really don't do it. Casting spells is out of the question.

He starts by checking in with Sawyer whether he's fine casting the circle again. The circle isn't a full spell, it's just a component. But that component could be enough to implement more complex spells without ever really casting them. A computer is made out of bits, after all, and this can't be harder.

Is Sawyer fine with the circle casting?

Excentral Casting - 2023/11/21 11:36:26

Sawyer's not sure if it could have negative side effects in the long run, and urges caution. He doesn't think it will cause Alric harm, but that doesn't mean it won't introduce complications.

He'll send a list of things he'd suggest looking into with his Sight, whether Alric casts Circle or not, though, saying he asked Susan for her advice and that the factors listed are more likely to be helpful to his understanding in general and starring the ones that should help guide Alric towards better understanding the full scope what the spell's doing.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 11:45:43

Alric will start digging into Susan's suggestions, but prioritize anything that goes in the direction of basic components of sacred geometries. He'll use the books at hand and online sources given by Saije, and if insufficient (probably), he'll hit up Martha's library and Dawn HQ's 'library'. What exactly makes a spell tick?

Fate - 2023/11/21 11:46:23

What does Alric find out about sacred geometry components?: [2, 3]+4 Result: Success! 🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 13:53:54

When Alric goes to the Boston supposed-to-be-public library, he’s barred from the restricted section by a very unamused Martha.

She purses her lips and looks him over. “You should stop. You are going to lose yourself at this rate.” After further cajoling she says, “Fine. You may not enter the archives, but you may fill out this form to request a title from the stacks to be brought to you to read in a secured reading room.” She passes over a packet of papers. “If you need additional forms, photocopiers are available in the B1 basement.”

From the other sources available, Alric is able to find a basic description of what makes a a spell tick: magic happens when a conscious life follows a rote with intent, where a rote is pre-made pattern with symbolism pertinent to the intent.

A more rigorous answer would be a good subject for a magical PhD dissertation. The Miskatonic Archives may have records of such dissertations.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 14:03:44

Let's leave the dissertations for now. He'll dig more into circles, copying the form and requesting potentially related books as needed. What can he find about circles in relation to sacred geometries? Breadth first search is the plan here.

Fate - 2023/11/21 14:04:29

What does he find exploring the general topic of circles in relation to sacred geometries?: [2, 6 💥 5 = 11]+4 Result: Success with 2 raises! 🎯🎯🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 14:35:27

Martha seems displeased that Alric actually has enough bibliography information to correctly request a couple books. The library doesn’t have all the books requested, and anything vaguer than exact title, author, and edition is summarily rejected.

(The form also included a release of liability, something like a medical warning watchlist, no expectation of privacy notice, and a possibly magically-binding contract, and other such things. Paperwork that thankfully only needs to be completed once.)

Circles are overloaded with meaning. They can symbolize oneness, the self, the universe, unity, infinity, boundary, wholeness, movement, and protection. ~~They are friend-shaped.~~ Context and intent differentiate the circle’s meaning.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 14:37:23

Interesting. What about materials? Do different materials have different meanings? Iron supposedly is anti magic, what else is there about materials?

Fate - 2023/11/21 14:37:44

What about materials related to meaning and magic?: [1, 1]+4 Result: Critical Failure! 💀

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 14:56:51

The first book Alric can get in his bibliography crawl that is related to materials magic has a bookmark in it.

The bookmark is made of a strange gossamer material, and when Alric touches it to move it out of the way, he finds that it clings to his hand. Nothing he does seems to remove it. This is something weird, and he is contractually obligated to notify a librarian because something weird happened.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 14:58:07

He cannot risk Martha's wrath. He sighs, then gets up to find a librarian to notify.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 15:20:05

Martha inspects the spiderweb-like bandage-like patch of material now adhered to Alric’s skin.

She can’t remove it either.

“It’s a conceptual residue of some sort. I believe a previous patron is responsible. I will be tracking them down to extract the fine and their help in the clean up. It may take a few days, but I’ll notify you when I have them. Exercise caution as this can have unexpected effects on your rotework.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/21 15:26:52

"Alright, I'll leave my number." He does so.

God fucking damnit. I'm done with today. I'm getting a crowbar.

He packs up any left checked-out books, which requires a bit more effort with only one hand, and makes his way outside. It's late afternoon by now, and he hasn't eaten anything in a while. His plan is:

  • Get to a local hardware shop
  • Buy an iron crowbar and potentially some iron powder or something easily turned into it.
  • Go home.
  • Hammer the bookmark with the crowbar.
  • Eat something.
  • If bookmark still present, go to the Dawn HQ to see if a healer is around.
The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 16:04:23

Alric now has a bruise and a rash in addition to a gossamer bandage-like patch on his hand.

Alric arrives at the DC HQ just about the time that Saije and ‘Inara’ return from lunch.

BROKEN LINK

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/21 16:04:51
</scene>
Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/28 09:05:27
Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/28 09:05:53

Alric is looking for Phoenix. She's probably still around. Does he find her?

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/28 09:58:17

She is in her office, door open, doing paperwork.

Her office is sized to fit a couple of couches in a sitting area on one side and a desk and bank of filing cabinets on the other. The curtains are drawn, but there is plenty of light from the lamps, many of which have potted plants cozied up to them. If Alric has an eye for interior design, he’d recognize that it is well put together in a classic, though somewhat outdated design.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/28 10:28:48

He pops his head in and knocks.

"Hi! Do you have a few minutes? I need your input on magic related stuff, if you have the time."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/28 10:38:10

“Yes, one moment. Please have a seat.” She gestures to the couches.

She finishes her page and tucks away the file in her desk drawer. Then sits on the couch opposite. “How can I help you?”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/28 10:46:13

He sits down.

"Cool. Great. So, I had a little bit of a wild week, and I'm better now, but I want to tie up a few loose threads before jumping into new things, because yeah, it's rough."

He digs through his backpack and pulls out the three spell diagrams. Handing them over, he explains. "So, I managed to cast my first spell off of these, which was great, but I want to get a second opinion on them. Can you tell me whether anything put into these geometries would cause them to behave differently for different casters? Maybe depending on age, skill level, color of hair?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/28 11:19:12

She takes the diagrams and looks them over. “These are… esoteric mathematics diagrams. I’m not familiar with these particular spells, but I recognize the general shape. I don’t think esoteric mathematics usually specifies absolute caster constraints. Usually, if there is a degree of freedom, a specific aspect would have to be supplied as a sample, and usually the spell’s description would tell you what and where to place the sample. I recommend you always keep at least the name of the spell with the diagram when you copy spells.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/28 12:45:44

"Ah, that's good news then. Thanks!" He takes back the papers, and marks the two identical ones as 'Relief #1' and the third one as 'Relief #2'. "Alright, good, I'm just going to continue through my checklist, in order of importance."

He thinks for a second. "Is fate a thing?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/28 13:40:12

She bursts into laughter, then covers her mouth with her hand and gets her giggles under control. “Mmm, that is an interesting question. There are certainly people who think so, and many allow their faith in fate to shape their lives. I suppose it depends on what you mean by ‘fate.’ There are always consequences. And consequences may affect you even if you are not aware of the source. But that is hardly all people mean when the speak of ‘fate.’”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/28 14:14:56

He can't stop himself from chuckling, her laughter is contagious. "Wha- Okay, so, between magic and gods and werewolfs and vampires, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some magical force that works the way fate does, as in, I don't know, makes it so that specific things happen. Nudging the odds a little, perhaps." He throws up his hands. "I don't know, I figured that could be a thing as well?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/28 15:21:46

“Making specific things happen that wouldn’t otherwise if left to their natural course is magic. There is no single ultimate source that dictates the future other than the present. But there are ways to arrange the present such that future possibilities are cut off. And certainly there are ways to hide machinations within the spiritual and conceptual realm such that the physical is subtly altered into an apparent unlikely shape.”

She grows serious. “There are also forces and individuals who will extend their influence to shape the world to align to their conceptions. Labeling things as ‘against the natural order’ and then taking the task on themselves to enforce order. Where uncontested, they dictate fate. There is also an inertia to the way things are that makes creating the novel seem nearly futile at times. That inertia is the truest aspect of Fate that I’ve seen.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 00:40:43

"The last one definitely rings true to me. Mhm."

What next?

"So... Speaking of creating the novel, I cannot shake the impression that Martha has an issue with me. It was a massive pain to get hands on any books in the library. There were forms I had to fill out that got rejected for miniscule issues, and there's a general sense of her dragging her feet whenever I talk to her. Could you put in a good word for me? Could even be a medium word, just enough so I can actually do some research in the library. I spent like two days there so far and got absolutely nowhere."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/29 05:14:44

Phoenix tilts her head, pondering how best to articulate her concern. “Mr. Jorgensen, I’ve known Martha Thutmose for many years, and have never known her to form an ill opinion without merit, nor alter her opinion on the basis of what others say. She, like you, is headstrong and intelligent. Though she values formal politeness much more, and is duty-bound to the obligations of her position. I could facilitate a remediation between you, but I cannot convince her to unimpede you without work on your part.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 05:35:01

Mr. Jorgensen now, eh?

"Message received, I'll figure it out."

Shoggoths? Crowbar? Man, I'm asking for a lot here. He's lost in thought for a moment.

"Oh, right!" There's excitement in his voice. "I haven't even mentioned that yet. So, you're aware of Sawyer, the guy running the bookshop, Bright Books or something, right? I got some safety training from him regarding magic and stuff, and then we did some experiments, and while casting is kinda hard and I still have to figure out how to go about it, it turns out I'm a Seer! Cool, right? I already paid him a shoggoth, you remember them having been a thing during the Weird situation, and I wanted to get a few more, aaaaand I did some thinking and as I have to hunt a few of those anyways I figured we could make that a commission mission and just clean out the lot. Commission resources would make my part easier here, and well, I'm pretty sure that lot is almost free real estate right now considering the presence of cosmic horrors, and if you buy it now for the commission, and we clear it out, then you can flip it for a profit and make the city more safe in one fell swoop whatdoyouthink?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/29 09:26:04

“Congratulations on finding your affinity!” She beams at him. “Inara has already expressed her intentions to fight the shoggoths, and I have offered my help. You should work with her to organize a plan. I’ll have to look in to it more, but I do think buying the lot could be a good investment.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 09:30:41

"Great! Great." Really looking forward to talking to her. That's going to be fun. "What would the budget be for the whole thing? I have a few ideas, some of which are more expensive than others."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/29 10:17:04

“Well, normally we wouldn’t be able to include purchasing real estate in downtown Arkham, but we may be able to swing it if it is cheap. Even with a low chance of success, I can justify spending a few grand on this project. Much more than that and we would have to be pretty confident of our success.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 10:48:50

"Okay, I think with enough firepower around we can keep the costs low. I'll let you know once I have more of a plan hashed out."

He claps his hands. "So, final thing, then I'm out of your way. How do I learn to eat magic?"

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/29 11:00:42

She gives him an apologetic smile. “It’s not a skill that can be taught. Or rather, the prerequisites are not something you have and not something that I would recommend you get.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 11:23:19

"Bummer."

Alric gets up, and puts on his backpack. "Anything you need help with while I'm around? Otherwise I'll probably head out soon."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/29 11:27:23

“Astraeus was looking for you the other day to see if you were interested in learning how to use a firearm.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 11:40:40

"I don't think-" He hesitates. Guns are anti shoggoth and anti mage and maybe anti demon? Reconsider. "I'll talk to him. Thank you for your help." He nods to her, then leaves the office, closing the door behind him.

He looks for Astraeus. Is he around?

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/29 13:55:28

Astraeus is at his standing desk, typing away. He has headphones on, but notices Alric’s approach instantly anyway.

He uncovers one ear and his typing merely slows. “Alric! I was looking for you the other day. Would you care to join Lucian and I for firearms training?”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 14:15:13

Anything to postpone that phone call.

"Phoenix mentioned that. I'm interested. Can we get to it right now? I mean, if you have time and it doesn't take too long."

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/11/29 14:21:33

Astraeus levels a flat look at Alric. “Properly learning a new skill takes time. I’ll send you a calendar invite for next week.”

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/29 14:33:29

~~You point the gun at things and pull the trigger how hard can it be mate~~

"M-hm. Calendar invite sounds good. Looking forward to it." He nods in his direction, and leaves.

--

On his way home, while walking, he calls Lucian and explains what he knows about Vesper / Inara. It turns out: No, Inara is not a demon. Yes, he's sure. Really.

Okay, that's good news. A demon would've been worse. Right? Right.

He arrives at home and stores the spell diagrams, his notes and photos. Then he picks up his phone, and calls Inara.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/11/30 02:35:57
Excentral Casting - 2023/12/01 12:05:21

Chapter A.4: Vesper and Inara's Downtime

Sawyer's response is swift

I have a lot on Shoggoths. I'll have a copy of one of the more useful beastiary entries on teacups translated by morning. At least two copies, but if you know you're bringing anyone else I can make another one and flag specifics that might be useful for them if you tell me their specialties. I'm adding a few annotations and cautionary tips from Susan to the copy I'm making for you, because there can be serious side effects to Seeing creatures like Shoggoths. Comprehension of their shapes can change the way you look at things, and it's not always obvious from inside your head, and even outside it may not be obvious for a long time. That's why I told Tsem's friends to keep an eye on them, just in case. Inara said she would come pick the files up, but you probably should get your copy yourself, just in case she decides to withold it because you don't have a 'classical education' 😒

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/02 04:40:31

Alric stops the recording, and responds.

Awesome, you're the best. I'll come around tomorrow to pick up my copy, I don't know who else to include yet so don't worry about speciality flags. And yeah, she can be difficult. Are all mages like that?

With that done, he starts walking in the direction of his home.

Alright, priorities.

The dead man's switch will hold at least for a while under almost all scenarios. The best play here for now is probably getting to cast the coffee spell as soon as possible, reliably preferably, and then setup more switches. And then I can think about solving the Inara problem for good.

Mhm.. I could just cast the spell directly. Sawyer claimed that it's safe now. But his idea of safe is significantly different from mine. ... Something tells me that if I cast the spell again without help, it might kill me. What was different between casting it with help, and without, and him himself casting it? It could be a bug in the spell diagram, as he claimed, something about upper limits missing. But it wasn't that the spell worked correctly, and the effect was badly defined. No, it was me losing control of the spell. I felt it, I felt the spell going wild. It's not a bug in the spell and it's definitely not fixed with him putting limits in without even testing the spell afterwards.

There should be a way of making magic happen without me actually doing the casting.

...

He stops in his tracks.

There is a way of making magic happen without me actually doing the casting. I saw it. The disk of weird banishment, what did the leaflet say? It was something about spinning it with the intention of activating it or something, and then it did its thing. And whatever 'its thing' is, it's working on the meaning level, not just reality. There's something in there that triggers magic, probably even a sacred geometry, and whatever that is, I need to replicate it.

He pulls out his phone and calls Hope again. "Sorry, no, I'm fine. I need to ask you something. Where's the disk of weird banishment right now?"

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/02 12:35:38

Sawyer's responds to Alric after a hot minute.

Mages, no. Wizards, as in the tradition she's part of and who share her method of practice? Usually Condescending assholes who think they're a superior species, yeah. I've met some who aren't, but it's few and far between. Also. If she tells you intention doesn't matter? DO NOT LISTEN TO HER!!!!!!!!!!!! It may not matter for Wizard methodology, but it matters a whole helluva lot elsewhere, and that advice could actively harm some practitioners whose abilities and methods are shaped by their outlook on the world!!! They've got deep grooves worked into their spells from generation after generation using the same rotes, they've got all that intention built into their existing practice and education.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/02 13:29:07

Alric is informed by Hope that Inara has the disk. Great.

Let's call it for the day. Just some research, and then call it. It's too much already.

He reads Sawyer's message. Nurture, perhaps, then? This may take some effort.

He answers.

I see. How long are you still open today? I haven't actually gotten around to shopping at your place yet.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/02 14:22:17

Bookshop usually closes around eight. If someone's in a Workspace or studying something in the Grimoires in the backroom at that point, we usually let them stay as long as we've still got someone that's part of the staff or household around who's willing to spot them & let them out when they're done.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/02 14:35:38

Finally, some good news.

He answers.

I'm on my way.

He walks back to the HQ and, after explaining to Phoenix where he's going, collects the keys to the car. He'll keep it over night, as he'll need it to collect info on the shoggoths the next day. An hour later, he's at Bright Books.

For starters, Alric is looking for general info on anything that would allow someone to make magic happen not by casting a spell, but by activating a device. He himself has encountered a Disk of Weird banishment that worked by spinning it with intention of activation. Anything that would give Alric info on how that device works?

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/02 15:18:31

Sawyer will ask for more details on the disk - where they found it, any information about who may have made it, that kind of thing - and say that the disk itself it sounds like an arcane device, a tool crafted through Artificing to hold a specific spell or effect.

If the fact that it's related to someone from the department of Esoteric Mathematics comes up, Sawyer will be able to tell Alric a lot more about how the mechanics of the spell might work and how they may have been constructed as they hunt for relevant books- Esoteric Mathematics are a personal specialty of his, after all. He'd need to see the disk or the research notes used to make it to confirm specifics on how the spell in question was actually constructed.

Sawyer might also ~~gossip about~~ elaborate on some of the history of Arkham's Esoteric Mathematics department.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/02 15:29:34

Alric makes the suggestion that Sawyer might want to ask people about their jobs and hobbies first. Alric is a mechanical engineer and Artificing as a potential avenue of magic might've been easy to infer and worth a shot.

He will explain the history of the disk and give as much detail as he can recall about the leaflet.

He will, in between the more important stuff, also ask follow up questions about the history of the department.

Other stuff on his list, in order of importance:

  • Stuff on sacred geometry components, particularly circles. If asked, he'll explain his circle soul thing as much as he's aware of it.
  • Stuff on summoned creatures besides Weirds. What else can be summoned, what is known about all that? (Formulated broadly enough to not arouse suspicion, he's definitely looking for all that, but demons and their magic in particular are of interest)
  • Some more info on different schools of magic and what they're up to. (Broadly again, but particularly interested in Hogwarts)
  • Magical animals and monsters
  • Otherwise standard book store exploration of the shelves. Anything that looks interesting, fun, niche, orthogonal to all the other stuff
Excentral Casting - 2023/12/03 00:19:28

Sawyer admits he has a point, but elaborates that Artificing isn't a tradition or practice that stands alone, it's a permutation of how someone can approach using magic - you have to understand how the spell would work enough to be able to cast the spell before you can make an Artifact with it. Different traditions will have different kinds of artifacts that they produce - from items like the disc to alchemical concoctions.

Sawyer laughs at the mention of Hogwarts, rolling his eyes - then apologizing as he realizes it comes off as dismissive. It isn't like Alric would know what is and isn't accurate, after all. He'll explain that, while there are some traditions that have some structured education - the Wizards being one of the ones that are numerous and frequently interconnected enough to make that kind of thing happen - that schools dedicated to magic practice are rare. There can be departments at universities or colleges - like Miskatonic's Esoteric Mathematics department. Mostly it's mentorship or finding what you need through books and a healthy dose of trial and error.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/03 00:19:43

When it comes to the gossip... Sawyer's quick to elaborate that, when the Esoteric Mathematics department was founded, Arkham had already proven that it had a tendency to attract more trouble than most towns of a similar size - that the rate of supernatural disturbances in the area was, frankly, way too high for a town of its' size. The department was founded in the 1800's, during a revolution in mathematical understanding brought on by Godel's Incompleteness Theorem - he cites this as a major triggering point for the field of Esoteric Mathematics as more and more mathematicans broke through the barrier and cracked into the field of math as magic.

It was great for the progress of knowledge, but it wasn't so great for a lot of the previously Unaware mathematicians who were now wielding magic they could map but usually hadn't believed in before. Madness and erratic behavior can be one of the worst side effects of magic, and a lot of mathematicians lost their minds or their lives.

Miskatonic's Esoteric Mathematics lab has undergone very frequent changes of department head over the decades. Recently, that rate has improved, because they've finally stopped trying to make the math work without an understanding of the... conceptual meaning.

They were so determined to charge into the future unhindered by superstition that they cut off their own roots. They're still suffering for it, even as they try to regrow with their hard-earned lessons and those they'd cut themselves off from.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/03 00:41:46

The circle is one of the foundations upon which Sacred Geometry is built. It's used in endless permutations and spells, as a symbol of protection, of harmony, of boundaries... but the circle is more than that.

The circle is the simplest form of eternity.

It has no start and no end, it continues, on and on and on. Seasons change into Seasons change into Seasons, the moon travels and changes, the planets circle the solar system, an unending wheel, motion, eternal and unceasing.

The Circle can be found everywhere, if you know how to look, and circles are also part of how we see. They're in your eyes. They're in your very structure.

The Circle Soul thing worries him, a bit, but he'll just tell Alric to be careful - it may be benign, but it may a hidden hazard. Sometimes it's difficult to be sure until the other shoe drops.

He'll go into discussion of some of the other common elements in Sacred Geometry, including spirals, a tangent into the golden mean and fibonacci sequence, discussion of how Triangles are structurally strong which is why he likes to use them in protective works, and more. He generally steers towards more agnostic explanations.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/03 00:42:08

There's a lot known about summoned creatures, though Sawyer is wary to go into too much of the methodology. Summoning rituals are easier than you'd think, but they're risky - aside from possibly leaving a door open with a metaphorical welcome mat down, a lot of the things that can be summoned are entities that have their own motives, so being able to negotiate with those or make the summoning terms clear enough to hold is essential... but some things that can be summoned are also the kinds of things that hold grudges. There's a broad scope of things that can be summoned, and he calls back to their earlier discussion, the first day Alric and the team came to Bright Books.

Chapter 1.9: Return to the Overworld

If Alric really wants to test out summoning, Sawyer's heard that there's at least one entity that's on good terms with the Dawn Commission, so he may be able to ask his employer for more specifics. He personally doesn't like Weirds, since their embodiment of a concept can go badly, as Alric has already seen. Demons and Faeries are common entities that people call on. Sawyer mentions, offhandedly, that the Teacup Shoggoth may have reached their world by being summoned from another world entirely.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/03 00:45:45

Magical Animals and Monsters are... complicated. How do you define a monster, Alric? Is a bear a monster or an animal? Would a magic bear be defined the same? There are magic animals, there are things that we'd call monsters, and our assumptions don't always hold true - dragons, for example, aren't always magical beasts, because a lot of them are entities, people.

He'll mention a few things he's heard of, but say he doesn't have a lot of personal experience with magical beasts outside of summoning. He's pretty sure the family cat has something up with it, but he's not sure if it's a magical creature from here or if it's a mostly normal cat that just followed behind his boyfriend on a trip to the bookstore and just refused to leave.

He's heard there's crossover with cryptids, though, and folklore has a lot in it that rings true. Also, stay away from weird deer.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/03 07:11:12

Alric watches Sawyer running around the store, looking for any books that both fit Alric's requests and don't put him into too much danger. He's pulling them off the shelves, paging through them, and then putting them back or placing them on a pile on the counter. At some point Alric started taking notes - Sawyer is sharing some of what he knows in between requests.

In particular, in his note he marks the fact that Arkham has an above average rate of weird things happening even before the maths department. Teacup shoggoths having been summoned get a mark as well. Perhaps the disk of weird banishment works on them, if they're close enough.

He offers to take a look at the cat, maybe he can see some magic about it.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/04 08:13:00

Sawyer chuckles and waves off the offer to check his cat, saying Alric if welcome to try it if he sees her, but that Sawyer's not really concerned - Susan's said everything is kosher.

He'll find some books on artificing in the front room - grabbing ones with some history on the practice and close-enough-to-accurate information on some historical examples of artifacts in use - then will have Alric and his stack of books follow to the backroom. It will take a few moments before he pulls out one text, checking it over before looking pleased with himself. The one in his hand isn't for sale, but this is one of the texts that's been digitized for ease of redistribution. There are a few diagrams they have to re-draw into the re-printed text because of the materials necessary - the ink used isn't standard, it's infused with a magical effect to allow the diagrams to lift off the page for a three-dimensional view, one that will take practice to activate reliably - but even if they didn't have a finished copy already on hand of one of their pre-digitized copies they're usually able to get a personal copy - with a binding that will let it lay flat - finished up in a day or two. This one should be ready in an hour or two, so Alric can take it home by morning to go alongside the teacup shoggoth information.

He digs through the employees-only section attached to the room and emerges with a few copies - Alric can pick which of the covers he likes, then Sawyer will do a last quality control check over to make sure the printed diagrams came out without any errors and add/ink on the overlay for the ones that they can't just print.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/04 08:13:03

He'll pause, at that point, and clarify that this transcription is usually about 5k or so, due to the materials required for the ink and the experience needed to make sure the diagrams are cleanly, clearly, and effectively transcribed.

So let your boss know that the more teacup shoggoths you and your buddies can bring in - or other ingredients for things like rare inks they can provide - the more store credit Alric and the Dawn Commission can get for future research efforts.

The tome has information on various methods used to construct artifacts - it isn't a spellbook so much as a crafting manual to help guide a practitioner to the methods and materials that will suit them, their practice, and their spells best.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/04 10:08:51

Alric will take the tome, if it's not too much trouble. He'll do his best to deliver the shoggoths next week - he prefers researching them and preparing for a day or two, this time.

Excentral Casting - 2023/12/04 10:49:05

Sawyer's pretty sure adding the necessary pieces to the book won't take too much time, he should be able to get it and the teacup shoggoth transcriptions done by morning.

He's fine with waiting to get the teacup shoggoths - taking time to prepare makes it far more likely that Alric and his team will come back safely.

Alric can probably find the little black cat slinking around if he explores. It might take a Notice roll.

Fate - 2023/12/04 12:20:30

Can he spot the cat?: [8, 4] Result: Success with 1 raise! 🎯🎯

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/12/04 12:40:40

He sees two! Maybe.

A small short-haired black cat in a purple collar sprints out of the room at one point when the door opens.

Some minutes later, Alric notices an identical short-haired black cat with a purple collar asleep on top of a bookshelf.

Other than possibly scoffing at object permanence, the cat seems completely ordinary. The simplest explanation is that she just found another way back into the room. Cats are sneaky critters, and this one is especially small and quiet.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/04 12:51:21

With the cat in petting range, he walks over, and pets it.

Alric Jorgensen - 2023/12/04 13:16:17

With the cat petted and his mood brightened, he carries his stack of normal books to the counter and pays, then leaves. He'll return in the morning to collect the tome and shoggoth information.

He'll spend the evening digging into the artificing related books he has at hand, then goes to bed.

The Dawngeon Master - 2023/12/05 19:18:06

Continued in BROKEN LINK

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