Mewtwo's night is not as restful as he hopes. His sleep is plagued by nightmares of buildings collapsing, machines assembled only for them to vanish.
When morning rises at last, he is already awake to see it. His mouth tastes dry, his head is lightly throbbing. He concentrates for a minute, and calms his mind. The surge of serenity washes over him, and he slowly gets up. He goes through a couple stretches, both physical and mental, then exit the bedroom.
Upon the table in the cottage main room is a small pile of berries, courtesy of Astra. The android may be an airhead sometimes, but he still think of Mewtwo's well-being as often as he can. Mewtwo quickly devours the lum and chesto berries Astra prepared, then washes them with a swing of water. The berries work fast in dispelling some of the morning tiredness. After splashing a bit of water upon his face, Mewtwo exits the cottage.
The morning light blinds him momentarely, but once he regains his vision, he finds the mess of an installation they made in the front yard still present.
It actually seems to have grown even more. Astra has been hard at work during the night, and it shows.
The biggest changes concerns botania, as Astra said he would work on upgrading their production. And upgrade he has. Where there was once only two endoflames, there is now a couple dozens arranged in a squarish formation. At the center of the square, a two meter pillar rises, with a wooden finish at the top. Mewtwo quickly realizes it is a pressure plate. Above it is an open crate, with a hopper on top. Slabs of cobblestone form an angled path going from the pressure plate to the hopper, and redstone can be seen sprinkled on top of each slabs. A semi-automatic fuel dispenser, similar to one they made during the Trial of Knowledge.
The mana storage has also changed a bit. Although it seems to be used yet.
New mana pools have been added. A mana spreader sends the endoflames production directly to a mana pool stuck to it, then two more pump mana from that pool to two batches of four mana pools connected with mana splitters. The small meter high tube allow mana to be equally distributed into the four mana pool they are connected to.
The system seems ready to be used, but right now, the mana produced by the endoflames is collected into a mana pool on the side, which is then redirected to the runic altar. And observing an ongoing operation atop the altar with his arms crossed, is Astra.
Mewtwo's companion is so engrossed in his work he did not notice Mewtwo's exit.
Morning Astra. Mewtwo gently sends to his friend.
Astra perks up at the his friend arrival and greets him back. "Hey Mewtwo, slept we-uuuhh..." He trails off as he turns around.
Mewtwo gives his friend a sad smile, certain of what gave Astra pause. Do I look that bad?
"Err... yeah, you look like you could use a couple extra hours of sleep." Astra confesses.
Mewtwo sighs. He can feel his slight tiredness, even after attempting to alleviate it with berries and moves. But he also know they have little time left. Well... this night could have gone better. But I am not sleeping much more as I am right now. I feel quite rested actually. He only half-lies, he actually feels somewhat rested.
"You sure? You don't really look like it." Astra questions.
Mewtwo waves his hand at that. Do not worry, I will be fine. I will take breaks if I need to. He tries to reassure Astra.
Astra looks at him with worry, before nodding. "Call me if you need help." The android says before turning back to the altar and swearing. Lightning are erupting from the gem at its center, the runework ready to be completed.
Mewtwo smiles at his friend's worries and makes his way to a less developed corner of the cottage front yard. The Thaumcraft corner.
Right now there is little to show for it. Only two apparatuses are present, a crucible that Mewtwo starts heating with a combination of earth power and will-o-wisp as he approaches, and the arcane workbench, a square table with a green tablecloth on top. A six branch star partially encased in three concentric circles decorates the top. At the top of each star branches are bowls where Mewtwo placed vis crystals of the six basic aspects: yellow aer on top, red ignis and green terra on the left, blue aqua and white ordo on the right, and black perditio below. He has already used it to create two thaumometers, an infusedglass pane encased in a hexagonal metlalic frame the size of his palm. The arcane tool allows him to gauge the amount and concentration of aura within the atmosphere, as well as flux. As it has been some times since he did experiments, the levels of flux are almost at zero. Which is good as what he needs to do will release a bit more into the atmosphere.
Mewtwo checks the current quest and sigh. It is another list of materials to obtain, although a short one.
They are magic tallow, which is mostly used to make candles, alumentum, an longer lasting fuel, nitor, a source of light, and alchemical brass. These can only be obtained through thaumic transmutation in the crucible. And it is not just one of each, the quest requires eight of each of the materials.
Mewtwo decides to start with the easiest: the magic tallow, as it only requires a single rotten flesh to be thrown into the crucible while the crucible contains a bit of ignis aspect. the rotten flesh they have loads of, and a single coal will be enough for the eight units of magic tallow needed.
Mewtwo fills the crucible with water and then throw a piece of coal in the crucible once the water boils. Once the coal has dissolved, he telekinetically lowers a piece of rotten flesh into the bubbling water. The ignis aspect seeps into the flesh and soon Mewtwo has to adjust his psychic grip as it turns into something closer to goo than a slimy piece of flesh. He inspects the result and is satisfied, as is the system. The line with magic tallow now reads 1 out of 8.
Mewtwo repeat the process with seven more pieces of meat before moving to the next item on the list. Now this will require a few more materials. One piece of alumentum requires one piece of coal infused with ignis, potentia and perditio in respective concentrations of ten time for the first two and five for the last aspect. Mewtwo already know he can use a piece of coal to provide the required concentration of ignis and potentia, but the perditio aspect will be trickier. A cube of cobblestone gives one, but it feels a bit excessive to throw away five cubes for only one alumentum. As he reviews the materials he has available, he finds multiple options. He could use a furnace, and cut down on the coal need, but add a bunch of aspects he does not care about, or use sand. One piece of sand would supply the needed amount of perditio aspect needed to make one alumentum. After a small inner debate, he decides to go with the sand option, as he can make the required amount from eight cubes of stone, while using furnaces would have asked for more stone to be used.
It takes him some time but he soon achieves his goal. Eight pieces of alumentum ready to be used. Satisfied, he moves on to the last material he can make. Nitor sadly requires something called glowstone dust, which they have yet to find. So only alchemical brass remains. And he is only doing it to get a better feel of how the crucible works. The underground trial has gifted them enough of the material for the line to already be completed.
Still, they might run out one day. Also, each times Mewtwo made one of the required materials, he found a new page within the thaumonomicon filled. Right now, there is an entry for alchemical brass, and it seems he needs to create one for the book to acknowledge his advancement. It is more about experiencing the process than simply getting the materials.
So he start to look for what he needs to make it. The material that has to be transmuted is a manasteel ingots, and only two aspects are needed within the crucible for the operation: instrumentum and metallum. Metallum is easy: iron ingots. A single one provides enough for almost all eight ingots he would have needed. However instrumentum is trickier. It is mostly derived from tools and some machines they have yet to get. Mewtwo feels like sacrificing tools would be wasteful of materials, but it might be their best and only source right now. Until he finds another option. Arrows, each gives a singular volume of instrumentum, but after all their cave exploring, they have mountains of the stuff. The only details that has Mewtwo hesitating are the plethora of extra aspects that will be brought along the instrumentum.
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Mewtwo debates it, but in the end, decides that he might as well go with the easier option.
As he goes toward the cottage to retrieve the arrows, he tells Astra his current plan, and the androids nods in agreement. With the amount of monsters there is, five dozens arrows will easily be replaced.
Mewtwo returns to his crucible with a tightly held bunch of arrows as well as two iron ingots and eight manasteel ingot. He drops the two iron ingots into the boiling water, and then dumps the entire stack of arrows.
Immediately, the arcane cauldron begins to overflow. The water turns a deep purple and starts releasing noxious fumes. Surprised, Mewtwo takes the crucible off the fire, forgetting he could have just cut it off himself. However, as his power touches the crucible, it wavers and warps, and the crucible falls from his grip spilling his contents onto the dirt. More fumes escapes from the spilled liquid and Mewtwo begins to cough. The fit lasts for more than a minute and gets Astra's attention. When he notices what just happened, he rushes over to his friend and takes him away from the polluted area.
As he does so, he warnings pops up in his vision, warning of high concentration of flux in the surrounding area. And seconds later, the ground rumbles.
Vines erupts from the ground, shining with green and pink energy. They quickly envelop the area the crucible stood upon and start releasing a greenish and pinkish mist.
Before either machine or pokemon can make sense of what is happening, thorny vines entraps them and lifts them up. And soon, a puppet made in the image of Princess the florges emerges from the ground.
Dost thou have any clue as to what thou have just done? The imperious mental message crashes upon Astra and Mewtwo with a force they had yet to experience. For the first time since they have entered the sanctuary, Princess is actually angry. And she is making sure to let them know.
Astra and Mewtwo attempts to struggle, but the vines only grow thicker and tighter.
Of course thou dost not. Thou have yet to read the relevant passage within mine liege journal. Now explain thyselves! What has thou done to bring the Taint to Our Sanctuary?
"The taint?" Astra cough up as a vine grows tighter around his neck.
Not just a taint, The Taint! Princess stresses the capital T. A vile and ever spreading disease eating this world. Far enough from us right now, but ever growing. Explain thyselves! How did you bring it here?
It's flux! Mewtwo mentally whispers to Astra. She is saying flux is this taint.
"Wait, as in, the thing that gets released every time we dissolve something in the crucible?" Astra wheezes.
Yes. I just made the crucible overflow, and in my panic spilled everything out. All those dissolved aspects got released in the atmosphere- argh!
Thou! Shall! Speak! Princess blazing pink eyes drill into them.
Now! The real Princess declares, entering the clearing followed by her aide Ozo, as well as Ugo and the eldest gardevoir. Or they will make you. Princess threatens.
"It was an accident! We were experimenting on something and it went wrong!" Astra pleads, trying to scream but his volumes only comes out close to a whisper under Princess' hold.
An accident, thou says? How?
I was going to create some new material, but used too much ingredients at once, and caused an overflow. That is what you felt. That is the Taint you claim we have unleashed. It is called flux, and should not...
A black tendril pierces the wall of vines. ...be too dangerous. Oh...
The gardevoir rushes toward it and her eyes shine with psychic energy. She takes hold of the black glowing tendril and slowly stops its growth.
Not too dangerous? NOT TOO DANGEROUS? Thou plays with thing thou do not understand legend. That could spell the doom of our Sanctuary! Princess screams into their mind.
I have stabilized it your highness. It should close shortly. The raspy psychic message of the gardevoir reaches all within the clearing, as does the harsh glare she sends Mewtwo and Astra.
Thou have my thanks Moonshield. Princess thanks the psychic pokemon, then turns back to the duo. Now thou! Thou are forbidden to touch anything that may have such effect again. Thou will no longer do any experiments down this path should thou wish to remain within Our Sanctuary! And read mine liege seventy-twelfth life! Instruct thyselves.
She turns and go for the edge of our little clearing. She stops to give some orders to Ugo, who nods and then she is gone. The vines let Astra and Mewtwo go, and both sports marks all over their body where the vines tighened too much.
Mewtwo's thin arms and thick legs as well as his tail now have rings of bruises all bleeding where the thorns pierced the skin. Moving his appendage makes him wince with pain. Astra's own are already disappearing, but the bent out metal parts and crushed limbs speak volume of the ease at which Princess could end them, should she ever wish to.
the vines surrounding the thaumcraft corner recede, and leave behind a thick wall of pink and green smoke. Only the black tendril pokes out of it. As they are once more alone, Astra takes out his own thaumometer and observes the tendril.
Upon this closer inspection, the tendril reveals itself to be a tear in the atmosphere. A tear that seems to connect to another dimension. Unknown stars can be seen shining through. He can see the thick flux smoke through the glass getting absorbed into it. He gives the glass to Mewtwo, and the moment he observes the rift, they both hear a faint scratching sound within the colored smoke. Something new has been added to the thaumonomicon.
The smoke created by the vines starts to clear out, slowly absorbed within the rift like the flux, letting them see their little thaumcraft corner once more. It is now ringed with holes. The crucible remains on its side, with the manasteel ingots scattered all around. Although one seems to have transmuted into alchemical brass. The arcane workbench is untouched. Only the rift remains as the single new addition, pulsing slowly.
Mewtwo retrieves his discarded thaumometer along with the thaumonomicon and shares with Astra the new entries. And it is as bad as they now know. Flux buildup weakens reality, allowing for dimensional tears to form. Although those tears will suck in the excess flux, they will also cause damages and negative afflictions to all around them. Just like this one effortlessly pierced through Princess vines, they are able to destroy anything they may come across, and will grow as long as there is flux present.
Astra winces as he read it, and Mewtwo groan in frustration. The android then takes out Aster's journal and start reading the seventy-twelfth life, finding the relevant passage rather fast.
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Life 72 Day 5664
Today was weird. We have stumbled upon a strange and warped land. One we have never encountered before. We were still following the instructions from the last village, as the inhabitants claimed the abductee with a plan to cross dimensions back to his own was further west of them. This possibility might end shortly now. The land is foul, tainted. Purple veins grow along dirt, while deeper in, the very dirt is turned into something closer to purple flesh than soil. We can see noxious fumes coming from beyond the tainted hills.
Hound is anxious at the smell, Knight and Paladin both swear they can feel the aura in the air is warped and dangerous, and Princess refuses to carry on, although I am certain I can convince her.
We will attempt to explore into these strange lands tomorrow. Maybe we can find a clue about this abductee.
Life 72 Day 5675
Once more we write for our liege. Once more our liege has perished. We should never have entered these lands. Our liege tried to explore the tainted hellscape, but as after three days of exploration, we discovered our rations rotten, and our liege afflicted by a horrific disease. We tried to backtrack yet that decision came too late. Our liege slowly became consumed by the very ground he stood upon. Before we could exit, he crumbled in piles of wastes and tainted flesh. We are on our way back to his arrival point now. It will take us seven more days until we arrive, thanks to Paladin's psychic prowess. Let us never return here. Let us never attemtp to go through these tainted lands again.
IMPORTANT READ LIFE 89 Day 3554 for follow-up! Get the info to others! It is vital as many people know! Aster - life 96
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Mewtwo and Astra raise an eyebrow at the note at the end of yet another life and they go the the referenced life.
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Life 89 Day 3554
I died there once. And yet I am glad I have returned.
We have once more reached the tainted lands, however we have done so far sooner than last time. We were once more directed toward that supposed dimension hopping abductee, only to end up going the same way we had once done. However, I know for a fact we should have had to travel another week south-south-west and reached a village beyond which the tainted lands should have been.
Princess is terrified of the implications, while the rest are capital we DO NOT venture into the tainted land. As I have already died a gruesome death within once, so I can only agree with them. Tomorrow we will turn back and look for another lead to get home.
It IS growing. We found it again, closer than before. Everyone needs to know! Even the hunters! We have to warn the other abductees. If the Taint reaches the Arrival plain, it would be catastrophic!
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They read the last line, the warning, and pale at the realization. They look at the rift, distant and warped skies visible beyond, and wonder how close they were to unleash something similar upon the Sanctuary. If Princess claims that what they did felt similar enough to what she saw so far away, and with the notes within Aster's journal and the thaumonomicon entries, there is a very distinct possibility that the Taint was caused by an overzealous thaumaturge.
Yet, even as that realization strikes, they know they have to keep going. And that makes them come to a single conclusion.
Astra is the one that says it out loud. "We can't stay in Sanctuary."