Power Without a Price

[curiousdiscoverer]

The first time Ezra finds Milliways he spends most of the experience overwhelmed by psychic sensory overload. Postcognition doesn’t really mix well with inter-dimensional nexus.

However when he walks out and tells about the experience, the true nature of the place is eventually revealed, furthermore he discovers that the Traders are very interested in using the unique location to seed magic to other worlds and they pay very generously for it. So Ezra’s family all hear about the story and stay in the look out for another door, just in case.

Years pass, and Ezra’s family gets a little smaller, and starting wishing for a door to show up.

Because resurrection is possible, but expensive and bringing three people back is impossibly costly without extreme circumstances.

So Ezra feels extremely lucky the day he finally finds a door again, with family in his apartment where they wait behind after Ezra grabs a few things while Temps holds the door.

He is now in better control of his powers and Milliways massive history doesn’t overload him anymore.

Ezra looks around the bar, sits on a table with a nice view and observes.

Is anyone here that could want and deserve magic?

Comments

[can_i_help]

Sabrina looks at the book over Lucy's shoulder. "Lucy... You didn't write this, did you?"

When Lucy shakes her head, Sabrina sighs. "How in the world did these end up here?"

[mage_see_mage_do]

"Can you imagine Lucy hiding a handful of magical artifacts in a cave?" Franklyn asks.

"I think Lucy's alt wrote this," Temps says reasonably "from the sound of it, her world has lots of magic, or enough that infinite elemental supplies sounds boring to her."

[can_i_stay]

"Well, it is Lucy we're talking about. I'm almost certain that if she'd have to choose she'd take Binky over the bottles every day of the week."

She reads the text again. "Funny. It mentions Sabrina but not me. I wonder if she's from a world where we never met."

[can_i_help]

"Or maybe her Ann lives so far away she'd need to use a teleport for cuddles."

[can_i_go]

"Oh man, I wish I had a cuddle-port spell! Besides, it doesn't mention Miri either."

[can_i_help]

There's a slight pause. "That's not quite the same thing, but you're right."

[of_all_trades]

"The bottles are interesting," Franklyn says looking over the ones in the chest "but I don't get why she would need infinite fire and earth... or air actually. Infinite water bottles sounds great."

"They have spells?" Temperance says "maybe she could reshape earth, or control the elements some way. I don't get enough information from the artifacts. The air can be used like a air blower, and it is fresh air so..."

Temperance blinks (which isn't quite clear give the suboptimal light) and then says.

"I think that if I copied Lucianne and both of us boosted this bottles..."

"huh?"

"We could seriously speed up Mars' terraformation."

Temperance and Franklyn are now staring at the bottles like they are filled with water and they just walked through the desert for a week.

[can_i_stay]

"You should take them then. After all, it was you who found them."

[of_all_trades]

"Seriously?" Franklyn says surprised "those look powerful."

"I think..." Temps says quietly "that my copy of Lucy's power contrived for me to find that... huh, it must be in a part of the power that I don't usually feel," She turns to Lucy "Do you think your alt would be okay with that? I wouldn't normally go along, but the Mars project would be huge if we manage back home."

[can_i_go]

"Why does it even matter? It's her own fault that she left her bottles here. She didn't even write 'Do not touch' on the chest."

She's silent for a moment.

"Besides you are my friends, and that's almost her friends. I would definitely give my bottles to her friends."

[of_all_trades]

"Huh," Franklyn says "Binky sounded really well liked... maybe it was stolen?"

[mage_see_mage_do]

Grabs the Bottle of Eternal Air and uses it's wind to clean the moss away.

"I know how we got here," This utterance is accompanied with a flare of magic "but your guess sounds good. I don't think Bar would be okay with storing stolen items. In that case I don't want to leave anything here if the potential thieves do return."

When Temperance is clean enough she puts the bottle away and says to Lucy.

"Thank you!"

She opens her arm for a hug.

[can_i_go]

"Aww yiss, hugs!"

This hug is going to go on for uncomfortably long.

"You know," Lucy says without letting go of Temps, "If they were stolen then you should take them even more, better for you to have them and do some good than to evil thief people hide them in a cave where nobody can find and benefit from them."

[mage_see_mage_do]

It actually takes some time before Temperance gets uncomfortable, but then she does.

"We should return to Milliways" Temperance says "show off the awesome loot!"

[can_i_go]

Lucy reluctantly lets go of Temps.

"Yeah. I'm getting kinda hungry too, do we have any food left?"

Ann digs out a chocolate bar from her back bag and wordlessly gives it to Lucy. She always has something.

They walk out of the cave with no further setbacks or pleasant surprises and set their way back to Milliways.