48 AL: ALEX

Alex pulled himself up onto the platform. Like Grandmother before him, he laughed out loud. He looked at the water coating his hands. “Shake your hands to dismiss the spell,” Grandmother said. She was still sitting on the edge of the platform, sticking and unsticking her hands to the surface.

“Why haven’t you dismissed it?” Alex asked.

“I can’t help myself,” Grandmother replied. “It is just so fascinating. This is one where structure technology exceeds our own. I have been sitting here thinking about Companion’s slow fall, and I think that one too breaks our science,” Grandmother said ‘Companion’ with the three note intonation she taught them.

“Did you see a place to secure the rope?” Alex said, pulling the bolt out from where it was tucked into his belt.

“There is a handle inset into the center of the platform,” Grandmother said with a gesture behind her. Alex inspected the surface and found it. It looked identical to the handle on the pipe cover. It took Alex a minute to free the rope from the bolt, Ellen really knew her knots. He tied the rope to the handle. He didn’t think he did nearly as good of a job. Perhaps in the future he should let Ellen ascend first.

Alex went over to the side to check that the rope was clear. He found Companion instructing everyone on the climbing technique. Seeing that everyone was occupied, he settled down on the edge of the platform with Grandmother.

“Companion’s language is a lot more tonal than any human language ever was,” Grandmother commented. “I’m too tone deaf to learn it very well, but as a musician you should be able to excel at it.”

“I will work with them to learn it,” Alex replied, accepting the task to learn the player’s language.

“There is a lot less water on my hand now,” Grandmother observed. “I think when it all dries the spell will run out. It is fascinating how it uses water. When we get back to the Speedwell I will have to review all the spell inscriptions we never figured out. Perhaps we are missing the need for a catalyst.”

Alex mumbled something positive. Spell theory and development was more Sarah’s thing. His interest lay more in integrating spellwork with physical fighting. He was already wondering if the climbing spell would increase the power of his grip in any situation, or if it only worked against gravity. The way Grandmother’s hands stuck together indicated the power grip option might be correct.

“The porcupines must have an ability similar to this climbing spell,” Alex commented.

“I don’t usually think of animals having magic, but you're right,” Grandmother replied. “I wonder if they were a warning from Control. We might start seeing more magic from our opponents.”

That was a scary thought. They always went light on the magic when sparring against each other. Maybe they should stop doing that. If they were going to face magic wielding opponents, they needed to learn how to deal with them under controlled conditions. Alex would pass that on to Todd. Organizing their training and getting everyone to work together as a group was Todd’s specialty.

Ellen climbed up onto the platform. The first thing she did was check Alex’s knot. Alex was rather proud of himself when she deemed it acceptable. Grandmother shook the water from her hands and they started hauling the gear up.

TODD AND SARAH

Todd refused to be separated from his spear. Instead he secured it over his shoulder the same way he did in the tunnels. Companion allowed both his weapons to be hauled up. It was only when Sarah started climbing up that they realized there was a problem.

Companion dithered. They paced back and forth, giving brief glances up. Todd heard a soft clicking sound and realized it was a softer version of the echolocation Companion emitted when they were terrified of Grandmother.

“Grandmother,” Todd called up. “I think Companion is afraid of heights.” Sarah stopped her own ascent and looked back at the player. Grandmother looked down over the edge. Grandmother studied Companion’s action.

“I think you’re right,” Grandmother replied. “Can you help him wet his hands so he can cast the climbing spell on himself? Maybe it is hard for him to handle the water and the cast.”

Todd approached the player and took the water flask from him. He offered to pour the water on their hands. Companion seemed to understand the offer, but he tucked his flippers into his silks and gave hesitant glances at the platform above.

“He is still afraid,” Todd called up. Todd could understand their fear. He possessed a deep seated fear of open spaces himself. When he first left the structure he lived in a state of constant terror until he finally confessed his problem to Grandmother. Grandmother took his weakness as normal. She told him a lot of the flight and landing crew on the colony ship suffered from it. Raised in the close confines of a ship between stars, the open spaces of a planet's surface terrified them. Todd felt better knowing he wasn’t alone. With treatment most of the landing crew got past it. Some of the flight crew that were quite elderly by the time of the landing never did. They were assigned jobs that kept them inside.

Following the treatments the medical suite on the Speedwell prescribed got him mostly past his phobia. Occasionally he still felt its brush. Knowing that it didn’t matter to Grandmother and that she still valued him allowed him to push it aside.

“Sarah,” Grandmother called. “Do you have your spell diary on you?” Sarah climbed back down. She shook the water from her hands, breaking the spell. She found the book tucked into a pocket.

“Yes,” she called up to Grandmother.

“Get Companion to cast that slow fall spell on themselves. I don’t know how long it will last, so tie the rope around them in a harness,” Grandmother directed. “I know it isn’t the kindest method but if we have to we can haul them up. Before we resort to that, try climbing up with them side by side. We will keep tension on the line from up here. Hopefully that will give them a feeling of support.”

Todd started looping the end of the rope around the player. He wasn’t certain how a harness should be constructed on Companion’s anatomy. He followed the design of the breastplate straps that Companion still wore. He ran the rope inside and outside of the plate, incorporating it into the harness.

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Sarah found the page with the slow fall spell ribbon. She pointed at the ribbon and then at Companion. Companion was distracted by Todd and didn’t pay attention to her. Sarah realized she didn’t actually speak. She felt weird talking to them when she knew they didn’t understand her. She thought back to Alex’s successful communications with the player. Alex said everything out loud. Perhaps the act of speaking would help her organize her thoughts so she could convey what she wanted better.

“Companion,” Sarah said, trying hard to put the right music into the word. “I need you to cast this spell on yourself,” she said. She elaborated her gestures. She held Companion’s attention this time. She pointed at the written spell, “This spell,” she explained. She used the book to tap their armor, “on you,” she said. “Cast it on Companion,” she tried again to get the tune of their name. She wished she could hum the notes of the spell, but she couldn’t remember how they mapped the numbers to notes. They gave up trying to cast with music years ago.

Companion gruffed. They put one flipper-hand on the center of their chest and sang a tune. Sarah was starting to recognize the sound of magic. The tune started with a descending set of notes. That was the sound equivalent of the starting symbol. Companion was indicating which set of notes he was going to use to cast with. They did the same thing in their own experiments.

“Good,” Sarah said, nodding in approval. She put the spell diary back into her pocket. Todd was finished with the rope and was standing by with the water flask. Sarah held out her hands and Todd poured water on them. She turned to face Companion.

Companion sang another song. The water slicked out onto Sarah’s hands almost forming a glove over her fingers. She went to stand by the wall. Todd put one hand on Companion's back and gently urged the player closer to the wall. When they were very close Todd pantomimed pouring the water on Companion’s hands.

Companion surprised both Todd and Sarah by sitting down. They shifted around until their flipper-feet emerged from below the hem of their wizard silks. They held their feet up cupped to hold water. Todd wetted both Companion’s flipper-feet and his flipper-hands. Companion let most of the water drip free from one hand as they turned it to touch their chest before they sang the song again.

The sound ending the song was not a single sound, but a chord. It held both high and low tones in it. This chord must be the audio equivalent of the finish move of a casting. Hearing it Sarah knew that the wrong finish sound was why their attempts at sound casting failed.

The water slicked out on Companion’s flippers. The one flipper was noticeably less wet. Todd wondered if this problem with self casting was what was behind Companion’s distress. Companion set his hand-flippers on the wall.

“We are ready to go,” Todd called as he stepped back out of the way. “Pull up the slack.” The rope pulled taunt. Companion looked up at the wall above them. They said something, at a lower volume than usual. Todd thought it was a self oriented pep talk. He gave himself plenty of those. Companion picked one flipper foot off the ground and set it on the wall.

“There you go,” Sarah said from beside the player. “I knew you could do it.” She pulled herself up one arm's length, and rested her feet against the wall. Her feet didn’t stick like Companion’s did. It didn’t bother her since she was familiar with wall walking with the use of a rope.

The climb was much slower for Companion than it was for the others. They moved steadily forward. Sarah kept pace with them all the way up.

When Companion reached the platform, they crawled on all four flippers to the center of the space and collapsed. They kept all their flippers firmly attached and their eyes firmly closed.

“You’re safe now,” Sarah said to the player. She patted his back in an attempt to reassure him. She started working on untying the rope. When she tugged with the section trapped under their body, Companion shifted their weight so she could pull it free. Sarah knew then that they would be alright.

Sarah tossed the rope down to Todd. Todd caught the rope and used it to walk up the wall. Alex helped him onto the platform.

“Who’s flask is this?” Todd asked, pulling the flask he got from Companion off his belt.

“Oh, that’s mine,” Grandmother said. She took the flask from him and secured it to her belt. She looked down at Companion. “Let’s see about getting this door open.” The group arranged itself for entry. The doors opened inward. There was nothing but push plates on this side, making it hard to get a firm grip on them to pull them shut again. Of course doors could lock again behind you. With Companion still frozen on the platform Grandmother instructed Sarah to wedge the door open behind them.

When everyone was in place, Grandmother cast conceal only on Companion. The player disappeared from their senses. Only Grandmother could tell where they were. Since she cast the spell a marker with his position appeared in her vision. The spell started draining her immediately since it was working on hiding the player from the five of them.

Alex peeked through the door. After a moment of study he calmly pushed the door open and stepped through. Beyond was a hallway. It was familiar to them from the office and residential sections around their home square. Doors were evenly spaced along the walls, they were all closed. Alex stepped forward into the hall. Sarah darted forward to push the door wedges into place. There were no bears in sight.

They scouted up to the first intersection. Both directions of the cross corridor were also empty. They returned to fetch Companion. Grandmother dismissed the conceal spell off the player as they approached. Companion recovered somewhat in their absence. They were sitting up looking into the hallway. The water gloves were missing from their flipper-hands. Either the spell ran out or Companion dismissed it. Todd and Sarah coaxed the player to their feet and into the hallway. Grandmother picked up their weapons and carried them over. Sarah pulled the door wedges and allowed the doors to swing shut.

Companion held his ax for a moment, drawing strength from it. Todd helped him put it back in its carrying loops. Companion picked up the hammer and indicated he was ready to travel.

“The good news,” Grandmother announced, “is that our destination is very near.”

“The bad news?” Sarah responded.

“It is one of these rooms, and I have no idea which one,” Grandmother explained. Todd groaned.

“Start on the left?” Alex asked.

“On the left,” Grandmother agreed. They started clearing rooms. There were animals in almost every room. They cleared the left room, right room then proceeded down the hall. They took the left branch at every intersection. If they reached a dead end they back tracked to the last intersection and took the left again. Grandmother kept track of where they were on her map. She would turn them back if they wandered too far afield. That didn’t happen. The area was surrounded by dead ends. It appeared that the platform was the only way in.

There were rats, badgers, spiders and porcupines. The hardest for them to deal with were the porcupines. They only discovered the animals yesterday. That meant they weren’t familiar with their tricks. Everyone rotated through the entry position, including Companion. The only one who didn’t was Grandmother. After the room was cleared and the prizes claimed, they searched each one. Companion picked up the majority of the scrap. Sarah and Ellen would pick up some that seemed unique, but mostly they ignored it.

Grandmother could not resist picking up the small crafting tools; pins, shears, hammers, punches, styluses and paper. The area was rich in them. She was forced to leave behind some of the larger items, but all of them recognized that she really wanted them. They saw a hand loom, anvil, hide stretcher and even a portable stove. What they didn’t find was a single prize altar. Which meant they couldn’t move any of those items into inventory. Her fascination with the items was funny, because she didn’t do any integrated crafting herself.

There was a long tradition of the mad queen’s youngest daughter Irene getting tricked into bad trades that ended up helping young crafters get started. Grandmother never admitted to anyone that she was Irene, but her fascination with the starting crafting tools added to the evidence that she was.

Finally they turned left and found themselves at the door to a secure gallery.