I decided to camp for the night and make a fresh start in the morning. I wanted to examine the properties of the Silinium. I had a bare-bones idea of a plan but gaining as much information about the properties of the metal was absolute for my plan to work.
If the CERN dungeon really was a portal to Earth, and Sidhe magic worked there, which was obvious since the Knockers were able to stay hidden and infiltrate CERN, then I planned to use the unique capabilities of the Silinium to program a solution into the metal’s matrix.
The information we had unearthed needed to be processed and shared with both Duke A’Daoine and the Monarchs. There was no question that I would act. The quest from System was a foreshadow of potential developments if I didn’t. Plus, I was invested and had a history with Earth. If someone else were to attempt to alter or change the direction of Earth’s development, I feared for the outcome.
The Sidhe were too entitled and certain of their superiority to trust, they would be more inclined to make servants or serfs of the world’s population, sublimating the Olympians' plans and making them their own.
The problem with that was that a war would unfold that could lead to both planets’ destruction. Earth and its people were well versed in weaponry and had battalions of iron and steel that could offset the magics that Seelie could unleash. Sidhe arrogance and Earth iron may lead to a battle of extermination that ravaged both planets, now that it was possible for Earthlings to escape the confines of the dungeon.
The Sidhe in their zeal to protect Talahm might make sacrifices, attempt conquest that would trigger the destruction of two worlds. I’d couldn't share my System quest notifications, but I could detail what they said by writing them down.
At the end of the meeting, I told Nelson to inform his superiors. I was hoping the System quest might trump whatever politics may come into play.
Things would get bad enough, I was afraid. when the Unseelie learned of this development. I wasn’t certain what would happen when the Unseelie found out what had been transpiring here, and the actions of Seelie opportunists to control and harness the God particles would only exacerbate that problem.
It was possible that war was inevitable. That Unseelie would march on Seelie in fury once they understood the circumstance behind the System vagaries and Outer-world manipulation. The dark court was ill-suited to consider the ramifications when they felt their prerogatives had been abrogated.
And this treachery by the Sidhe would need to be addressed. My quest gave me the opportunity to save both worlds, but that didn’t mean the fallout of what we had discovered here wouldn’t have far-reaching consequences.
I would act no matter the outcome. But I was amenable to testing the intellect and wisdom of those who would rule.
It didn’t take long to confirm my belief that those in power did not always act in the best interest of those they governed. Sadly, the Powers were more interested in harnessing the God Particle then acceding to System quests.
King Lugh with Queen Mab and Prince Consort Puck's agreement chose to pilfer the research and findings that Duchess Wynne had garnered. They also wanted their own pair of Doctors to try to emulate and replicate Wi-Fi technology and the Hadron Collider and began devising plans to kidnap their own set of experts.
Greed was Universal. And these royals had not been bound by expediency or compassion in eons. There was no longer anyone that could truly deny them anything they desired. And they desired to ascend. To become Gods and re-vitalize the Sidhe pantheon.
After listening to Lord Nelson outline the plans and orders King Lugh had instructed, blatantly ignoring the dangers of a God Particle rupture and explosion that may destroy two planets, I disconnected from the conference meeting in disgust.
I didn’t have much time to act. Lord Blayney had been instructed to send a Kelpie upstream with some array Grandmasters as quickly as possible to create a temporary teleportation crystal array. Long term plans included constructing a dock for barges, a mining consortium, and researchers to be placed on site.
Whatever action I intended to take, it needed to occur before that Kelpie arrived with the Grandmaster. Motioning for Cedric to follow me, I headed back into the cave system, striding purposively towards the dungeon entrance.
"Your Highness?" Cedric said in confusion when I’d stopped at the boundary that would allow me entrance to the dungeon.
"Sometimes people can surprise you. They have the ability to rise above pettiness, profit, and greed. They occasionally act in good faith and for the betterment of society. Mostly, they act when those actions benefit themselves," I said sighing in resignation.
"Cedric," I began frustrated and disgusted, "I have a plan. But to succeed I need your help, and I need you to trust me."
"Of course, Your Highness, what do you need me to do?" He said.
"First, we need to gather Silinium seed stock. As much as we can safely harvest without disrupting or damaging the nodes.
"Once that is done, I am going to enter the Dungeon and complete this quest. I can’t be worried about who may be following me, or my actions causing a breach that destroys Talahm. Once I enter the Dungeon, I want you to activate the destruction array embedded in the area surrounding the Dungeon portal and close this opening."
"Your Highness!" Cedric cried in confusion. "If I do that you’ll be trapped. Duchess Wynne and her people will be trapped. And there is no guarantee that closing the portal will stave off the destruction System warned about. If what you have planned fails, we would have no warning."
"The Duchess, her people, and I won’t be trapped," I said emphatically. "Did you forget that one of my abilities as Prince of the Seelie and Unseelie is the ability to open a portal to the Summerlands?"
"With the Dungeon closed and egress denied to anyone from this side of the portal; I can act. Once the quest is completed, I will open a portal to the Summerlands. It is only a matter of seconds to open a second portal to Talahm once we’ve arrived there.
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"I’m not sure where we’ll arrive on Talahm since our beginning destination is Earth, but I have the spell Portal Talahm so I am confident we will arrive."
"That’s insane," Cedric declared. "You have no idea if this will work. You could be trapped in that Dungeon, and as Seelie, a long time is nothing short of forever!"
"I am doing this, Cedric. I will explain why once I’ve destroyed that machine and made sure that this experiment will not be restarted in the future. Trust in me. I will return."
"Have as much faith in my abilities as I have placed my trust in you. No matter your opinion, I need you to shut this Dungeon opening. None of this will matter if I have to worry about continuing incursions. I need that portal closed."
"I really don’t like this, Your Highness. But I am your sworn Vassal. I have taken Oaths and refuse to forswear those Oaths the first time I don’t like or agree with your decisions," Cedric said reluctantly.
"I will trigger the destruction array and close the portal once you’ve crossed over."
"Your concerns are not without merit. Let’s test my theory before embracing it wholeheartedly. Wait ten minutes after I enter before you destroy the Dungeon portal," I said.
"I will attempt to open a portal to the Summerlands as soon as I enter the Dungeon. If it cannot be done, if the dimensional pocket that has created the Dungeon interferes with my spell, I’ll exit the Dungeon and we’ll consider a different method. One that keeps the portal open until I have finished the System quest and returned with the Duchess and her people."
“I’d prefer if you allowed one of us to enter the Dungeon with you,” Uron suggested. “There may be something on the other side that keeps you from testing your Portal within the ten-minute time frame, and we would destroy the entrance, only to trap you there.
“One of us can cross-over, verify that you have actually cast the spell and that it works, then cross back and inform the rest before we collapse the Dungeon entrance.”
“Good idea, Uron. Let’s do it that way. There is nothing wrong with redundancy, not when our safety is at risk,” I said praising his addendum to my plan.
Cedric’s relief was evident when he processed my updated commands. Allowing me to test my theory before closing and stranding me in the Dungeon still was cause for concern, I would be, after all, be conducting a dungeon delve solo, but my knowledge of CERN and Earth gave me some confidence that I would be better able to traverse those dangers alone.
Still, I wasn’t so certain my plan would work without first testing it. It is entirely possible that System influence and abilities would be disrupted if the portal was closed, and even if I could open the portal to Summerlands when the two worlds were linked, there was no guarantee that I would be able to once that link was broken.
I was taking a risk. But Duke A’Daoine and King Lugh had access to teleportation technology that would allow them to arrive at the Dungeon entrance much faster than I’d been able. And they wouldn’t be stymied by traps or mazes placed to slow down or defeat the progress of those that would be assigned to exploit Dungeon resources and information.
The ties that bind run deep. And my affection for Earth and her people had not been severed during my reincarnation. I would find the process of exploiting and taming the planet painful. Earth was beyond the era of Myths and Legends. The people had diverged from the primitive, renouncing magic and Gods and embracing science and the scientific method.
There was no place for Seelie overlords in this Multi-verse shard. And I feared the ramifications if S-Prime were roused to action. I could envision an apocalyptic resolution as It merged both Universes in an attempt to conform and stabilize the Universal constants. Each battling for supremacy until either one Universe destroyed the other, or a balance was achieved upending everything that was known and how the Laws of the universe worked.
It was a matter of moments to collect Silinium. We were careful to only harvest trailing nodes. Fresh sprouts of metal that had not yet ‘germinated.’ Once collected. Plans formulated. I stepped forward.
The harvesting process itself was interesting. Although metal and ore, the Mother node sent out feelers, almost vine-like as it expanded. The vines, or rivers of metal, would pool occasionally, and these pools would form fist-size formations that could be removed.
Not all formations were seed-stock. The ones that had the ability to expand and grow to become Mother Nodes had a unique vibration, a tonal quality that could be identified by striking them.
What I found most interesting was that those Nodes with the most ability to grow emitted scaling notes. Not quite music, but still a scaling of tonal quality as notes on the musical spectrum from C to C were resounded. As each of us began tapping, and the seeds responded at different intervals, it filled the cavern. Nothing orchestral or composed. But beautiful in its simplicity.
[You are about to enter a dungeon instance.]
[Dungeon Information: CERN the site of the Hadron Collider.]
[Location Earth: Geneva Switzerland]
[Level - 0]
[Proceed Yes/No]
Selecting Yes, Uron and I continued moving forward. My body was torn apart, existing in two contiguous locations, this was not like my transition from the Summerlands. This was less refined, rawer. The Universe would not allow this phenomenon to last long. Will drove intent, and the System facilitated my movements. Breaking down my body into component parts and energy instantly, only to reconstitute the essence of what made me, me in the new location.
Glancing around, I was comforted by the sights, sounds, and smells of what I encountered. A busy road besieged with automobiles, trucks, and buses whizzed past a field that was part of the grounds for CERN.
A concentric circle of mushrooms not only delineated the portal and the passage between Talahm and Earth but acted as an illusion, hiding the passage from prying eyes. Those that would use the portal would be able to see past these illusions, but their construction helped in creating a ‘safe’ place, a place to re-group and form up after entering the dungeon.
My first observation was that this really did seem to be the Earth that I knew and came from. The technology was familiar, the pedestrians and motorists were obviously humans, and the smell of iron, pollutants, and machinery were rife and indolent.
Forcing myself to ignore my surroundings for the moment, I tested my connection to the System by opening my Status menu.
Name:
Teigh Mac De Beleros y Cyronax
Prince:
Level 3
Title:
Summerland’s Protector
Title:
Zeus’ Bane
Danu’s Kiss: You have been blessed by Wild Magic and the Goddess Danu. The wee folk, sprites, and earth elementals will obey your commands. You can call upon the Wild Magic to enhance any spell cast once every third day. Sithern’s created by you will conform and move to your will after creation.
Health Pool
3206
Magic Strength
4406
Strength
14.03
Agility
18.03
Intellect
24.03
Will Power
20.03
Affinities:
Earth Affinity
15%
Air Affinity
35%
Water Affinity
15%
Fire Affinity
100%
Nature Affinity
75%
Death Affinity
15%
Mind Affinity
60%
Ice Affinity
100%
Relieved that the System appeared to be operating correctly, I gathered my magics to test my connection to Summerlands.