[74] The Central Portal

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Dandd materializes through a portal onto Quinhalla II.

Dandd grins with enthusiasm:  That’s the smoothest jump yet.  No nausea at all.

Dandd looks around.

Dandd speaks up:  Crysania?

Nothing.

Dandd yells:  Crysania?!

Dandd walks out of the Tower of Spirits and Ceremonies towards the central, still incomplete, main portal access.

Dandd yells again:  Crysania?!

Dandd hears the sound of tools clinking together beneath him.  Dandd wanders around until he finds a newly-installed door down to a maintenance shaft.  Opening the door, Dandd finds Crysania talking to herself while working on the central portal.

Dandd listens for a bit, before asking: Who’s Nigel?

Crysania doesn’t move her gaze from her work:  Not Sure.  I think he said he was a Silverlock.

Dandd grabs a notebook from his bag of holding and flips through:  Balreth…Active

Dandd flips a page.

Dandd:  Mortal No. 17…deceased…

Dandd flips a page.

Dandd:  Achi…

Dandd flips a page and “hmms.”

Crysania:  No Nigel?

Dandd confirms: No Nigel.

Crysania:  I also heard another voice, a TamRAH Corvus.

Dandd doesn’t bother with the notebook:  You feeling ok?

Crysania:  A bit tired from QH2, but it’s gotta get done.

Dandd: You haven’t hexed the entire mists again, have you?

Crysania:  I don’t think so, but this portal is definitely strange.

Dandd:  I hate when you say things like that.

Crysania:  It has the power to take you anywhere you want to go, but you have to be able to tell it where that is.

Dandd:  Like, I say ‘Lion’s Arch’ and it takes me there?

Crysania:  No.  You have to be able to visualize it; the portal feeds off of your internal energies.

Dandd:  What about places we’ve never been too?

Crysania stops and looks up:  You have feet, don’t you?

Dandd sighs:  So much for random adventures.

Crysania resumes her work:  Try Simon’s Ruby Slippers.

Dandd:  I could also drink heavily and listen to Spike ramble, but it’s not the same.

Crysania:  Sorry old man, I only just got all the tower portals calibrated properly.

Dandd:  Speaking of which, the last jump I made was very smooth.

Crysania:  Glad to hear it.  This one though, during the calibration process, I was able to see and hear things that were both foreign and familiar.

Dandd:  Like this Nigel guy?

Crysania:  Yeah.  Kept wincing and saying ‘Ooch!’ though.  Nice hair cut, Spike would approve.

Dandd: was it Silver?

Crysania stops:  I don’t remember.  It was spiky though.

Dandd: Probably a young Silverlock then; hasn’t earned his ponytail.

Crysania retorts:  If he’s young, that actually means he’s really old.

Dandd grumbles loudly.

Crysania:  Hand me another Rogue Bull.  They’re in flasks on a shelf just below you.

Dandd tosses down a flask to Crysania:  Where’s Hoolequindustries?

Crysania:  Spooked.  They finished construction as fast as possible and then left.  This place is so quiet it’s almost not worth building.

Dandd pouts:  I’m here.  Spike and Simon come to visit.

Crysania installs a part into the machine and the portal flares open to a beautiful blue sky.

Dandd stares in amazement:  Wow… You need to come see this.

Crysania climbs the ladder along the shaft and peeks her head up to see:  That IS pretty.

Dandd squints: What’s that moving thing?

Crysania focuses her gaze:  I don’t know.

Dandd watches the object grow in size: This rhythm seems familiar, in a creepy sort of way.

Crysania:  Those look like big wings.  Whatever that is, it’s big.

As the object gets closer, Dandd panics:  @#$%!  DRAGON!!!  TURN IT OFF!

Crysania flies down the shaft and removes the part, killing the portal.

Dandd sits on the stone floor, panting.

Crysania climbs back up to see a very pale Dandd look horridly at the space where the portal was.

Crysania grins:  I can’t remember the last time you cursed like that.

Dandd grumbles:  Yeah, well I can’t remember the last time I saw a Dragon flying at me through an experimental portal before either.

Crysania looks at the crystalline part in her hand:  Oh!  I think I put it in upside down.

Dandd growls menacingly:  No wonder you’re all alone here.

Crysania giggles sheepishly before descending back down the shaft and installing the part correctly.

The portal opens back up again, this time with no sky and no dragon.  The portal itself looks like a rapidly moving night sky.

Crysania yells up:  Is it on?

Dandd yells down:  Yeah, I think.

Crysania comes up and looks for herself:  Well give it a try.

Dandd, horrified:  What?!

Crysania:  At least try to visualize a place.

Dandd closes his eyes and murmurs: Droknar’s Forge.

Nothing happens.

Crysania:  Hmm.  I’ll have to raise the power of the receptors.

Dandd sighs.

Crysania:  Try something you know like the back of your hand.  Something really familiar.

Dandd closes his eyes again, briefly.

Crysania makes a disgusted sound:  Wow, holy ugly girl, Dandd.

Dandd’s eyes fly open:  You saw that?

Crysania: In grotesque detail.  Eeeww…

Dandd stands defiant:  Hey!  That was a LONG time ago.  I wasn’t even advanced then.   No convention-groupies yet.   Little booklets?  TSR?  You know what?  Nevermind.   Moving on.

Dandd fiercely closes his eyes again.

Crysania:  Wow.  That looks like a brewery.

Dandd opens his eyes, to see the image of the pub in the portal, and sighs happily:  Indeed.

Crysania exits the shaft and walks right though the portal, only to emerge on the other side.

Crysania pouts.

Dandd:  What happened?

Crysania sighs:  I just can’t do it captain, I don’t have the power!

Dandd:  So raise the power?

Crysania nods:  Without blowing up the whole thing.

Dandd strokes his beard:  That would be ideal, yes.

Crysania sighs again:  Tell Spike to make more Rogue Bull, I’m going to be here for a while.

Dandd:  Spike makes that stuff?  No wonder Jeni can’t sleep.

Crysania:  I heard she’s into flashing people now.  Something about ‘Shiverpeaks’ Got Talent’ or something.

Dandd grumbles again:  Yeah, Gwen only.

Crysania giggles:  So make her some Charr-pelt-gloves too.  Maybe she’ll flash you.

Inside Dandd’s Mind:  Option 1) I’ll just hang around Gwen and wait… or Option 2) –

Dandd blurts out:  I’ll just get her loaded on spirits and Rogue Bull.

Crysania drops her tool laughing:  That’s renegade points.

Dandd is glad no one can see his grin.

Crysania:  Call yourself a judge and see if she falls for it.

Dandd:  Who’s scoring renegade points now?

Crysania cackles briefly:  Hey, I’m already dead.  What difference does it make?

Dandd:  Gods aren’t technically ‘dead’ you know.

Crysania: You know, you could always just throw a mug of water on her.

Dandd stands up abruptly:  You know what?  I’m leaving now.  You’re a corrupting influence.

Crysania grunts with effort:  I don’t influence anything or anyone.

Dandd snorts loudly: Shall we get a guild opinion on that?

Crysania scoffs:  You have to find them first.

Dandd deflates:  Good point.  They’re mission-oriented, that’s all.

Crysania:  So am I –

Crysania grunts with effort again

Crysania: – so get me some more Rogue Bull, so I can figure out how to safely raise the power of this thing.  The end is near.

Dandd:  The end is near?  Is this some ominous newtype intuition?

Crysania takes a big drink:  Maybe.  I just feel a sense of urgency getting this done.  I can’t be here and out in the field at the same time.

Dandd scoffs: Not everyone can harvest Ecto in their spare time either.  The guild is fine.

Crysania grins:  I guess I’m not that corrupting after all!  You’re still here.

Dandd grins:  Fine!  Later.

As Dandd walks away, he utters cheerfully:  Pre-Searing in a Can, Baby.

Crysania yells out:  I heard that!

Dandd chuckles to himself and walks back through the S&C Portal to Zeal.

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