Sniffling, trying not to get wrapped up in emotions, or to worry so much that I start making mistakes, I try to calculate the size of the crack in the orb, versus how long each of the encounters within it lasted. Let’s dive into the non, the absence of time, a moment between moments. While here, let’s calculate that as accurately as possible. I wish I had some tools, and didn’t just have to roughly eyeball something that could have microscopic differences. Plus, I didn’t exactly keep track of how long Prinrin, Illy, or Teuila and I were, um, fooling around, in the orb.
Ugh, alright, I’m fairly sure there’s approximately three hundred fifty to five hundred fifty hours of orb time left, if the orb lasts until it is cracked all the way through, and continues functioning at the same rate the entire time until that point. There’s about a seventy to eighty percent chance that it’s closer to the four hundred fifty hour mark, and that it will indeed continue to function that long. I don’t think anything I do within the orb has any physical consequences, which would include muscle memory or muscle atrophy though. At least not normally. That’s where the myconid form comes in.
If I can get eight volunteers to join me within the orb, well, seven other than me, there’ll be a balanced hivemind, sporebrain. If I can have one or two brains bonded that don’t join in on the orb time, they *should* pick up on the memories, and new motions gained within the orb. Then, when rejoining regular time, the distributed mind should be able to to share that growth and gain. Of the people here, I don’t really know, or trust Yisstendahl’s son, and don’t feel like empowering him by teaching him sorcerous runes, based on who his father was.
Prinrin can’t be coming into the orb with me, because we don’t know if that might accelerate the necrotic magic killing her. She can however be one of the bonded minds that remains outside of the orb. Lucky can stay out with her as well. He’s protective, smart, loving. He’ll watch over her. As far as eight brains to receive a distributed load, Yui, Yuri, Atter, and Shiz are four, while Te, me, Kagired, and Miraina are four others. The one I’m least sure that would consent to the experiment at the moment is Miraina.
The others besides Miraina are pretty easy to rely on being willing to join in. Shiz and Atter literally took knees bowing in allegiance, while Yui and Yuri basically claimed they’d let me use them in any way I see fit, after realizing that I stand for family above almost all else. Kagired almost goes without speaking, since Prinrin is his patient. Te’s resolute response does go without speaking. She’s a hero, through and through.
I release my grip on the absence of time, letting myself rejoin its normal flow, falling back into reality. When I arrive, I send telepathically to Miraina, “Pawn? I know you’re incredibly intelligent, and I need eight bright minds for what I’m going to try to do to save Prinrin, and she can’t be one of them. Lucky might or might not work, but I’d rather have him out here guarding Prinrin anyway. I need to take seven others into the orb, and I don’t really know or trust Yisstendahl’s son.”
Admonishing me in a teasing tone, Prinrin cuts in on my telepathic communication with her daughter, “Schism sweetie, I’d appreciate it if you could keep your wonderful little deviant thoughts out of reach of Pawn, my dear Miraina.”
Before I can react beyond blushing, Pawn steps in to respond telepathically to Prinrin, “Momma, I turned twenty one in June. I’d be clutching already if I weren’t a runt like you, and Schism isn’t going to perv on me anyway.”
The amount of surprise, and shock that I blink in borders on vast to say the least. I have no words. Not only is Miraina not a child, she’s an adult whose—. I really, truly hope the events in the orb were simply coincidental. I mean, Prinrin and I went in wanting to do what we did. Teuila went in jealous and wanting to have done the same. The only data point that makes me uncertain is Illy.
Prinrin and Teuila both come clean, “Orb had nothing to do with it dearie,” and “I was totally aiming for that before we went in,” respectively.
Okay, whew. Alright. At least I’m pretty certain it’s not going to devolve into some sort of escapades. Though, maybe I should have words with at least one of my paramours. That’s a topic for a different time though. Miraina isn’t going to be one of them, a paramour of mine that is. I figured that if she was a child, the orb maybe couldn’t affect her, if it had that sort of effect I’d been worried about, but it turns out she’s an adult playing up the role. Do the dragons around here just forget how much time passes, and not realize that Pawn has been a kid for twenty years? I mean, even Kinzul wanted me to take into account her youth as if she were a child.
Miraina’s response is cheeky, “Yep! Pretty much exactly that Schism! Also, awe, why won’t I be one of them? You rubbed me all day three days ago!”
My face flushes hot enough to ignite titanium. Every friggin’ woman in my life. I swear. I frown across my telepathic wavelength at Pawn. I’m a bit skeeved out at the notion of being romantically entangled with anyone who could pass for a child, especially one that intentionally passes herself off as one.
To my most recent train of thought, Miraina grumbles, “You and every other eligible mate, ugh. It’s half the reason I stay playing the kid card, so people don’t realize I’m a runt, and immediately write me off forever like they did my momma. I’m kinda hoping that I’ll hit a second p—. Never mind.”
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As a twinge of sympathy sparks for Miraina’s plight. Was she about to say a second puberty? Oof is all I can say to that. I find myself thinking back to when I’d been cherubic Reggie for most of my life. I can certainly sympathize, or empathize, with the idea that others, or even I, might think of myself, or treat me as a child, or herself in her case. Since I know she isn’t one, it’s less disconcerting.
Pawn’s driven, friendly, ambitious, and an absolutely adorable, brilliant little woman. Since she’s a Draconiac rather than a dragon, she doesn’t get their shapeshifting ability, but might get a minor breath-weapon organ. That means she doesn’t have the benefit Prinrin does of being able to subtly alter her form over the years to put obvious signs of age into the hair and smile lines and so on. Not that Miraina or any other Draconiac has hair in the usual sense that I’m aware of, some have ridges, some have fins, some have tendrils, Miraina’s scaled scalp could almost be confused for hair in the right light, with the way certain bits layer and rest, or hang.
Still, I’m starting to understand why Prinrin felt the way she did about being a runt during her life, and why she’d said some of the things she had to me. Great, am I now starting to try to convince myself to pursue Miraina? What the hell? Ugh. Rattling my skull, I try to keep myself from getting distracted further than I’d already allowed myself to get.
Pawn thankfully stops stringing me along on this extremely awkward ride, “Relax Schism. First, you and momma are a cute couple. I’m not interested in getting mixed up in that, or the rest of what you have going on. Second, any mate of mine has to have scales most of the time, minimum. Don’t go shapeshifting and showing off to prove a point that just ends up distracting yourself again though.”
That was a whole heaping helping of a slew of unnecessary awkward. Friggin’ heck. Teuila’s giggling across my mental wavelength. I’d ask her what’s funny, but she beats me to the punch, “I knew Pawn was an adult woman like a week ago.”
I facepalm as I roll my eyes. We’ve only been here about a week. Teuila agrees, insinuating that she knew from the moment she met Pawn. Pawn must have been one of the Draconiacs that threw nets over us on the day we were intercepted by Kinzul. Teuila, Pawn, and Prinrin all smirk across my mental wavelength, confirming my suspicions.
Phew, okay, fine, right, yeesh. Trying to get back on topic, thankfully Miraina returns to the matter at hand, “Yes, of course I’ll mix minds with you to save my momma. My secrets are out in the open now anyway.”
I hesitate to point out that Pawn was the one who divulged her own secrets into the open, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m grateful for her choices and actions, hell, I needed things to go this way to be able to save Prinrin. I need to plot this out, assuming I go all out, and use my thousand S P limit in say sixteen hours, then rest for eight inside the orb, that’s a day. I can get a little more than eighteen days out of the orb without utterly destroying it, if my calculations are correct, and if it doesn’t shatter early. Since I’ve got people gathered, I flip through my tomes to one of the ones with dispellation in it. Grr, I figured out the one that Yisstendahl used to grant the sleep-spell to Tairkul from. Kirosam’s Scripture, a monstrous-hide bound tome. Too bad it lost its charge by being granted to Tairkul.
Hm, come to think of it, how and who I’m granting access to the muscle memory of these runes to might matter. In case it doesn’t work out for Prinrin to be able to have the perfect muscle memory for the runes, Yui should stay out here. Her being out here is both to look after Prinrin, and because she should be able to interpret the muscle memory that Yuri picks up without issue. In that case, I still need an eighth to enter the orb.
Calling over to telepathically Vylon and Vyela, I request, “Vylon, would you be willing to meld minds with several of us in order to learn spells that will save Prinrin the Copper’s life?” I don’t request both of them, simply because I need one to remain consciously guarding the shop stall and vaults.
I’m grateful for Vylon’s snarky response, “Hmf, as if there were any doubt. Be there in a but a moment Schism.”
Vylon arrives in short order as he’d said he would. Good, good, one less thing to worry about, one more layer of security in and out of the orb. While coughing, Prinrin jokes, “All this fuss over little old me? Touched, really I am.”
Vylon makes verbal jabs at Prinny, “Come off it you old codger, no runt’s getting off that easy.”
I can sense the dirty joke Prinrin’s about to make but I flash her a bit of a glare, so she stifles it with a telepathic giggle. Rolling my eyes, I shake my head incredulously. We’re literally in life or death stakes, and those beloved to me are still acting like total horndog goofballs. Yeesh. It’s closing in on six thirty pm, and the form is almost ready to be coalesced, though I think it’ll take closer to seven thirty, or eight, so that the refractory period doesn’t end up ridiculously long. Trying to take stock of everyone and their positions, I make as many detailed mental notes as I can.
Yisstendahl’s son is over there slowly blowing a cooling breath over Prinrin, slowing her vitals more and more, even beyond the enchantments that Yui had layered up upon her. I need her conscious for a bit longer yet, until my myconid form appears, so I signal for him to slow down as Prinny looks closer and closer to unconsciousness. One arrival heralds a much higher likely degree of success that leaves me loosing an elongated sigh of relief.
Our Lady, my love, my wife-to-be, Kinzul states, “I’ve apprised Spymaster’s scout network, and rushed here after speaking with those in the infirmary. My love, I’ll Administrate whatever you need to save my dear old friend. Then perhaps we shall finally have a moment’s peace in which to join our bond and wed.”
Nodding emphatically, I struggle to right my breathing, and calm it. We can do this. My myconid form will be engaging any moment now, and hopefully it continues to physically last despite experiencing additional time in a dreamlike state in the orb realm. If it doesn’t, then I’m sure that I’ll be making progress anyway, and can rest up multiple times in the orb. If it does, then I’m leaning on the distributed multi-brain in order to pass along the muscle memory of what I learn within the orb. Quickly attaching the abjuration-centric metallic plate bookmark to a spellbook containing dispellation, and several other abjurative spells, I imbue it with enough S P to lock it into place. Its effects are immediate. I can sense that when I look at a rune for a spell within the school of abjuration magic, that there are now hints at how to more accurately, more precisely replicate that rune.