Engineered Magic

Grandmother

She stepped out of the arrival door and into the transportation room. A quick scan showed that the room was empty. She pulled a door wedge out of her pocket and jammed it under the door, holding it closed. She peered out through the door and saw no movement in the hallway beyond. A symbol on the opposite wall of the corridor caught her eye. She realized it was the transportation tree. The symbol wasn’t on the wall, it was on the door to another transportation room. They’d arrived in a different room.

Grandmother’s stomach turned uneasily. Although this seemed like a beneficial development, it was actually a warning that Control was developing a Narrative. She needed to be very careful. The only Narratives she could think of quickly transformed into war. The arrival gong sounded and the door transformed into a sheet of light. Alex stepped out into the room.

Grandmother grabbed him by the arm and steered him out of the way of next arrival. She told Todd to send Alex right after her, since he was the best speaker of selkie among them. Todd was only tier three, so he could not use the transportation system without help. He was literally blind while being guided through it.

“We’re alone,” Grandmother told him. “It looks like we have arrived in an alternate room. I can see the marked door for the main transportation system across the hall. I’ve wedged the door shut, so we should have time for everyone to get through.”

“So no threats yet,” Alex replied.

“Not yet,” Grandmother responded. “Wait here.” The arrival gong sounded again. As Grandmother turned to see who came through next, motion in the hall caught her attention. A selkie threw the door open to the transportation room across the hall and rushed to the right. The player was dressed in orange silks, but was unarmed. They were traveling so fast they must have the aid of a speed spell.

Todd stepped out of the arrival door. He held his spear in his hand, even though he usually always secured it to his body with cord during transport. He did a quick survey of the room, before stepping away from the door. Grandmother quickly explained the situation to him, as she kept watch on the hall. Todd guided Sarah and Ellen as they stepped out of the transport. He positioned them against the departure wall, with Sarah at the back. Grandmother thought her bright yellow outfit was mostly hidden behind Alex’s leathers and Ellen’s greens, just in case the glass was transparent from the other side.

Grandmother’s own outfit was darkened to a near black. She put the integrated cloth on that morning. The speed of its transformation was frightening. Maybe Todd was right and she was getting stronger. She took a deep breath and forced calming thoughts through her mind. The last thing she wanted was to telegraph her fear.

The gong rang one last time and Companion stepped out into the room. “How is it going my friends,” Companion asked. Alex updated his friend on the situation. Interestingly he chose to do so in the selkie’s native language.

“Someone in orange rushed out of the transportation room after Todd arrived, but no one has come back,” Grandmother added to Alex’s explanation. “I suggest we make our way to your market area before they return.”

“Yes,” Companion sang, “this is a sound plan.”

“You lead,” Grandmother instructed. She leaned down and pulled the wedge from the door, pulling it open. Todd pushed the selkie out the door. Companion shook himself and blinked twice as his vision returned to him. Grandmother was pushing Alex out the door even as Companion took his first step forward. Todd pushed Ellen next, while Grandmother dragged Sarah out behind them. She touched Todd’s back when he tried to turn back and urged him to continue forward after Ellen.

When Sarah’s vision returned to her, Grandmother switched places with her so Grandmother was bringing up the rear. They moved forward at a fast clip. It wasn’t as fast as the selkie moved under their momentum spells, but it was quick for humans.

They stepped out into what Grandmother was expecting to be a courtyard. The entire floor was a shallow pool, filled with seagrass. Companion stepped out into the water like he didn’t notice it. Grandmother suspected he didn’t. The rest of them followed his lead. As the water filled Grandmother’s boots she really regretted her decision not to switch over to integrated boots.

Companion split to the left and paused beside a protection crystal. It was floating over a particularly dense patch of Seagrass. It was about two feet tall and about eighteen inches in diameter. It was close to the size of Londontown’s crystal when Grandmother first saw it all those years ago. Companion reached out and touched it. One by one each of them followed, with Grandmother last. As her hand made contact with the clear crystal it transformed into a dark, dark violet.

Grandmother dropped her hand and nodded at Companion. He shifted his hold on his ax. He turned and led them in the direction of a dry spot in the back corner. A set of stone pillars spread across the area marked it as the market. They stepped up onto the paved area and the water on their integrated clothing streamed off them and back into the pool. Grandmother’s boots remained damp, although the paving did its best to drag all the external water off. It cleaned up the wet tracks her boots were trying to leave behind her.

It looked like this wasn’t a market day. There were no other sellers set up. It was early, the light panels far overhead were not yet at their daytime strength. Grandmother could feel the eyes on them. She swept her eyes across the courtyard, (pond?), and could see a dozen or more selkies frozen in their tracks watching the humans. She leaned her staff against one of the pay pillars and swung her pack off her back. She settled it at her feet and untied the bundle of wooden rods and leather that was her portable camp chair.

She set the chair up, picked her staff back up and sat. She glanced over at the rest of her party. Todd was standing guard, his eyes alertly sweeping the square looking for any sign of trouble. When he saw that Grandmother was settled, he swung the pack off his own back and handed it blindly to Ellen.

Ellen and Sarah unstrapped bits and pieces off of nearly everyone’s packs and with Alex’s help were assembling a small narrow table. On this table they set out an assortment of books, spools of thread and swaths of fabric. The thread and fabric were in every known color, including white. The table was full and the bags at the woman’s feet still bulged.

Sarah pulled out her spell diary and stylus. She indicated to Grandmother that she was ready. Companion was close to Sarah, ready to translate as needed. Ellen was manning the table with Alex close by.

“Ok, Alex,” Grandmother said. “You’re up. Remember a bonus for only the first twenty new spells.” Grandmother was rather interested in how Alex would introduce them. Some of his favorite titles for her would have little or no meaning to the selkie, while his Friend of the Selkies title might actually offend them.

“Greetings of the day, friends and neighbors. We are the Elder’s party. We have traveled far to do business with you this day! We are trading in spells. We pay six iron for any spell. If you can demonstrate the spell, we will pay double. For the first twenty spells that we don't know, there is a bonus. Come forth and claim your coins,” Alex sang in his lower octave selkie.

Grandmother could see the shock of this development run through their clandestine crowd. Something in Grandmother eased. She watched as the individuals in the square started gathering up into small groups that were obviously gossiping about them. She could hear their high fluting voices as they milled around.

“So-La-Do,” a voice called. A selkie in orange stepped out of the pond and crossed the market area to approach Companion. Grandmother recognized the sound as Companion’s true name, without the human sounds they shaped it with. The approaching selkie gently brushed one flipper-hand across Companion’s shoulder. “It is good to see you,” the selkie said. “I thought you lost in the wilds.”

“I almost was,” Companion responded, “but the newcomers saved me. Elder,” Companion said, drawing the new selkie’s attention to Grandmother, “this is my daughter, So-Ray-La.”

“You never mentioned having a daughter,” Grandmother responded without thought. “If I realized you had children. I would have made a greater effort to return you to them without delay.” Grandmother could not detect any age differences in the appearance of father and daughter. Any similarity of appearance between them was lost on her. They both just looked like selkie to her.

“That is why I not tell you,” Companion countered. He turned to his daughter and said, “She’s annoyed I didn’t mention you.”

“Forgive me,” Grandmother said, realizing she didn’t greet Companion daughter. “It is a pleasure to meet you So-Ray-La,” she sang the selkies name, hoping she was close to the correct notes. She was not a very skilled vocalist.

So-Ray-La was not really listening. She was clutching her father’s arm with her flipper-hand, staring at the dark color of Grandmother’s clothing. Grandmother could hear very soft clicks of echolocation. The selkie was scared and trying very hard not to show it.

“It's alright,” Companion reassured his daughter, “the Elder is kind. We have come to buy and sell spells. You should sell your spells to us.”

“Spells?” the selkie squeaked. Companion guided his daughter away from Grandmother to where Sarah waited to record the spells of anyone who would take their offer. Grandmother forced herself to look away from the selkie in an effort to put her more at ease. She glanced at Alex. He took that as a reminder that he was the audio advertising. He sang their offer again.

A set of armed Selkie emerged from what Grandmother identified as the inn and cut across the seagrass to challenge them. The lead figure was in green. It was a green darker than the standard, but not too dark. Grandmother decided they were tier four. Looking over the group, she saw one other tier four and three tier three’s. The other tier four wore orange. Grandmother wondered if this was the selkie that ran from the transportation room.

“Have you come to challenge for the square?” the lead Selkie asked. Grandmother tilted her head in puzzlement as she wondered if that was really a thing.

“Alex,” she said, “Come over here by me and translate.” This was really an order for Companion to not translate. Grandmother wanted these selkie elders to understand that the humans were completely capable of taking care of themselves. Alex walked around the table and stood just behind Grandmother’s shoulder.

“I have come to trade,” Grandmother said. Alex sang the translation. Now it was the selkie’s turn to look confused.

“What do you trade?” they asked.

“Magic,” Grandmother announced. “Tell me how to cast a spell and I will pay you six iron coins. If you can demonstrate it to me, I will pay you double.” Which was almost exactly what Alex was singing to the entire square. “In addition,” Grandmother added, “my companions have magic books where they have recorded the spells we have learned from others. The books are for sale.” Grandmother waited while Alex translated all this before she stated, “I have come to trade in magic.”

“I don’t understand this,” the tier four stated, as they shifted the large war hammer they carried in their hand. Grandmother took a large breath and thought. She really was no good at politics. She managed with Companion by treating him as an equal. Perhaps it was time for a little truth.

“We are newly arrived in the structure,” Grandmother said. She was well aware that Companion's word for human was actually newcomer, so his elders must already be aware of this truth. “The transport that brought us can not take us away again. We must make a place for ourselves here. I do not wish to push you out of your place while doing so. By trading with you I hope to avoid future conflicts. I chose the knowledge of magic because it is something all of us value.”

The selkie elder fell silent as they considered Grandmother’s words. The other tier four sang a spell. Grandmother was not good enough to tell what spell it was. She looked over at Alex, who leaned close and said softly, “Muffle.” With that hint, Grandmother could see that the group was talking among themselves. They seemed to come to some kind of conclusion among themselves. The muffle spell was dismissed.

“How did you divert from our transportation room?” The orange tier four asked.

“I did not do that,” Grandmother replied, “Control did.”

The muffle spell was cast again. The conversation appeared to grow heated. Grandmother was wondering if she was going to have to kill someone when suddenly the leader handed their war hammer off to the warrior next to them. The muffle spell was dismissed as the leader walked closer.

“I would see a magic book,” the elder announced.

“Show her spinning,” Companion called softly from behind them. Ellen picked a book out of the pile in front of her and handed it to Alex, who handed it to Grandmother. She shot a look at Alex that clearly said, you didn’t need to involve me, before presenting it to the waiting selkie.

As the elder leafed through the pages, Ellen explained how they would add the spell encodings after purchase. Alex translated her words to the elder. The elder rubbed her whiskers with one flipper-hand in an exact replica of Companion after he chugged a tankard of beer.

“What script is this?” the selkie asked.

“It is human script,” Ellen explained. “We do not know how to write selkie.”

“Selkie script is very rare, very few remember. Enchanter might know,” the elder commented. This was news to Grandmother, though it did explain why Companion never wrote anything down. The elder closed the book. “You have others?” she asked. Grandmother directed the elder to Ellen’s little table. The elder moved over to the table where she sat the first book down and picked up another one at random.

The group of selkie began to shift around as they obviously wondered what they should do. Finally the orange tier four handed their weapon off to one of the tier threes and told them all to go back to the inn. The tier four then stepped forward to stand behind the elder, where they peeked at the book in her hands.

“Announce our offer,” Grandmother told Alex. “Mention we pay for both crafting and fighting spells.” Alex stepped back behind the table and started singing their offer.

The orange elder bought the spinning book. Ellen charged him a silver for the book and twelve iron for each spell ribbon it contained. The elder watched carefully as Ellen copied the entire contents of the book onto a blank book. Then she copied the spell ribbons from her master. She was carrying the master crafting spell book in a pack at her waist. The pack looked like a modified version of the small bag Grandmother carried lunch in on scouting trips. Grandmother wondered when Ellen found the time to make it.

Ellen set the book onto the paying pillar next to Grandmother. The orange elder edged around Grandmother to pay the required coins from his inventory and claim the book. He backed away from Grandmother with care, clutching his new possession like she might grab it from him. Grandmother smiled and in her best selkie, wished him a good day.

About an hour after the orange elder disappeared up a stairwell with his book, a crafter arrived at the market and set up at the stall the farthest from the one Grandmother chose. The crafter was a stone sculptor. They were selling cut, shaped and colored stones. Grandmother could see the interest in Ellen’s eyes. They were followed by a tailor. When the third seller arrived, Grandmother sent Todd to fetch Harry and Joe.