Ok, so sorry for disappearing so long, but the weird became normal and then became weird again. I’m still working on my place in this… ‘non-baseline’ society as a Seer.
So let’s see where I last let everyone in on the story… I had been issued my magical gun, I had left my firm and was working exclusively within the non-baseline community as a kind of consultant, oh and I figured out why the pantries in our building apparently kept disappearing.
I’ll start with that last one first.
The wizards involved in installing and maintaining those apparently didn’t like being called out, but they came all the same. It was very apparent that none of them wanted to be there. It was actually rather funny in a way.
These were not fantastical wizards. No, truthfully, if they hadn’t arrived via an apparently heavily enchanted coach (no horses though), I probably would have simply taken them to be older businesspeople. The lead could have passed for a CEO or member of a Fortune 500 board, given his very expensive suit, close-cropped hair, and very grey goatee and hair. He wore the kind of face expected of someone who has been forced into politics for years and so didn’t frown, but was clearly not enjoying being here or being party to this exercise.
“Are you the Seer?” he’d asked without ceremony.
“I am,” I smiled. I had actually been expecting them and so had met them at the front door to the building along with Lucy and the Super.
“So you believe you found an imperfection in our artifact guarding this building?” one of the others piped up, a comparatively younger man to the CEO but still decently older than myself. He was not as primly cut in his suit and looked beyond annoyed at having to be here.
“I do and I also think it’s associated with the link between this building’s garbage storage as well,” I commented.
“We shall be the judges of that, Seer,” came a third voice. This was from an older woman. She wasn’t especially beautiful nor did she appear to be particularly older or ‘hag-like’ in the accordance with fantasy fiction. She too reminded me of a politician or perhaps a chemist. Someone who is much more at home behind a desk or lab table vice being out in public. Her pant-suit was similarly well tailored as the others, but did not appear comfortable by the way she shifted in it over the course of the visit.
“This way,” indicated the Super and we all went down to the artifact room.
It took almost an hour for the wizards to get out all of their equipment from their bags and briefcases, so I had some time to talk with the CEO.
“I’m still new to all this, so I hope you’ll indulge me a bit,” I started.
“Of course. We’ve been watching you with great interest. I believe you’ve been of great assistance with some of the high magic experiments that are being conducted in this area,” he responded, not shifting his eyes away from the other wizards.
“So what’s with the coach? Wouldn’t a baseline car enchanted be less high magic?” I prompted.
“Well, yes, but when one reaches a certain standing in the community, there are certain expectations. And there’s older magic built into that coach which far exceeds what any of us here could manage, even as a group, even if we had the right spells,” he admitted, pulling what appeared to be a cup of coffee out of his jacket pocket and taking a long sip.
“That’s very impressive, on both counts,” I said, trying not to stare at the coffee.
“Oh this? A minor enchantment I cast on this suit years ago. Trick is that I often forget to reload it with more materials,” he grinned slightly, gesturing with the cup. “But as for the coach, the accumulated magic and essentia over the years make it impossible to reproduce, or nearly impossible to say the least. And it’s far better than any baseline vehicle in terms of comfort and amenities in any case.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I smiled slightly.
Lucy and the Super were watching the action from their own position and one of the wizards came up to the CEO and myself.
“We’re ready to take this one offline for scanning. The building shouldn’t be visible for more than a moment,” the woman said. She was a different one from earlier, but reminded me of my vampiric downstairs neighbor. More of a grandmother who would look entirely at home in a kitchen with the traditional apron, vice the loose silvery dress she wore now.
“Very well, proceed,” said the CEO.
The rest of the wizards appeared to activate several runes on each of the sets of equipment around the artifact before turning back to the artifact and beginning to draw a runic circle of some sort from each position. I could already see where each segment was going to match perfectly with the next one all the way around.
To say that there was a visible effect, however mostly translucent, would be an understatement. I glimpsed the garbage dust nebula at the core and then a smooth sort of ripple in the air that seemed to spill outward from the artifact. The kind of thing that puts you in mind of seeing water mirages except at close range.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
I swayed a bit at this, but mostly just to try and keep my balance with what my eyes were seeing versus what was actually being experienced. After a moment, the effects seemed to die away.
“Artifact offline. Taking measurements,” one of the wizards announced and reverently stepped forward and picked up the vase/artifact as though it hadn’t been anchored to the pedestal.
One set of wizards began to scan (using some manner of tools, I couldn’t begin to guess) the vase. The other set began to scan the pillar, using more portable versions of those same tools (or so I guessed).
It took about another fifteen minutes before one of the team scanning the pillar came over to the CEO and myself.
“We think we may have found what the Seer reported, but we’d like a confirmation,” the younger annoyed man said. He seemed less annoyed now, but still carried a certain arrogance with himself.
I stepped forward without even pausing. The wizards looked at me like I was about to endanger everyone in the building, themselves included. I didn’t give this a second thought. With my lack of essentia, by their own terms, I was a kind of void when I stepped into their spaces. Which made me perfect for going places where other non-baselines couldn’t. It also meant that, except for certain expressed types of magic (like the apartment barriers), I could walk through common essentia barriers like they didn’t exist.
I stepped up to the pedestal, being careful not to step on the runic circle and began running my fingers over the top of the pedestal. It took me a moment and I had to close my eyes, but I found it.
“There,” I indicated and drew my finger along the infinitesimal ripple or scratch.
The younger wizard looked over at the CEO, who nodded.
“That’s where we found a minor imperfection. Let us re-scan that section at higher resolution,” he said.
I stepped back from the pillar and rejoined the CEO.
“So you can do that by touch. Is that a Seer ability?” he asked.
“Nope. Just a baseline ability,” I said.
“Hmmm, interesting,” he murmured as the younger wizard came over with a tablet of sorts.
“There is a substantial mark. Almost impossible to see and very difficult to measure, but it is present. In theory, it should have not allowed the building to be protected at all,” the younger wizard said.
“It seems I will need to have a word with the group that installed it,” the CEO said, his face clearly displeased by this revelation. “Can we fix it?”
“Yes, but we will need everyone’s help and, uh, well, it may help to have the Seer help us,” the younger wizard looked embarrassed to admit it.
“Very well. Mr. Evermore, I presume you don’t object to helping us,” the CEO said, removing his jacket.
“Just a minute. What does this ‘help’ entail?” Lucy piped up. She and Warren had become quite protective of me.
The younger wizard looked between Lucy, myself, and the CEO.
“We can reset the pillar, but in order to re-pair it with the artifact at the same time, we need to fix the pillar and reactivate the pair in one go. We don’t have the necessary wizards on-site to do both separately,” he admitted.
“Not enough essentia,” chimed in the CEO. “And this assumes that there’s nothing wrong with the artifact itself.”
“Why not have the Super or me help?” Lucy drew herself up. I got the impression that she didn’t like these kinds of wizards and would gladly punch them hard.
“You two have essentia. Mr. Evermore does not. Even though you two can channel your essentia, it would likely impact the building if it wasn’t properly controlled. Mr. Evermore won’t have that problem,” the younger wizard tried explaining, the arrogance seeming to be running out of steam in the face of the Amazon who was very probably older than everyone else in the room (although whether he realized this or not, I couldn’t say).
“There’s going to be a reaction when he puts the artifact on the pedestal. It’s probably how the defect got there in the first place,” the CEO explained, calmly.
“And what will that do to me?” I asked. I appreciated having Lucy there, but in the face of my client-facing persona, I could usually ask the right questions and get true answers.
“In theory, nothing. No essentia, no reaction to you. If you were a normal non-baseline, that wouldn’t be the case,” the younger wizard admitted.
“If you’re worried that we might be about to harm your Seer, I can assure you, we have no such aspirations,” the CEO addressed Lucy.
Lucy gave the CEO a hard look for a moment before I touched her shoulder and nodded when she looked over at me.
It took almost another hour before we were ready. The artifact was perfectly in line with its creation and so was placed into my hands. The wizards gathered around the runic circle and I waited at the edge.
More runes were drawn and the wavey reality came back, making the room appear to sway as though drunk. I had to close my eyes more than once just to keep myself from feeling motion sick. Based on the shimmering colors I could see within the runic circle, I could tell that there was some serious essentia being poured in.
“Now,” came the hoarse voice of the pant suited wizard.
Without so much as a pause, I stepped forward and set the vase/artifact onto the pillar.
There was a small shimmering of sparks that I knew I could see that most people couldn’t (even probably these wizards), but I ignored it.
I immediately let go and stepped back.
“NO!” yelled one of the wizards.
I looked at him. He hadn’t been particularly noticeable until now. He looked at home on a board of directors, but didn’t seem all that special otherwise. It wasn’t until I looked for another moment that I spotted his other hand holding… something. Something the rest of them weren’t holding. I didn’t wait to find out. I ducked behind the pillar. Within the runic circle and in the presence of so much essentia, even a suicidal wizard wasn’t likely to cast something too wild in here.
It turned out I was wrong. Whatever spell he was charging got cast straight at the pillar and the essentia erupted around the artifact, making it swirl like fire and fog myself and the pillar from view.
What happened outside of my view was that apparently the Super stepped up to the offending wizard and apparently ejected him from the casting circle, the other wizards already in motion to adjust for the missing link.
There was a hiss link steam and then all of the whirling essentia that was driving the room mad around me vanished into the artifact.
I looked around and saw the other wizards looking over at the clearly unconscious wizard who had attacked me. The Super was standing over him and Lucy was eyeing the wizards, her own fingers already bleeding telltale fire.
“Well, if that’s what it’s like to be an Installation Wizard, I’ll pass next time, thanks,” I said, loud enough for the room to hear.