Author Notes: So, here's a new one: two chapters in less than a week and BEFORE midnight. I think, time zones are iffy.
I appretiate you guys reading this story and giving me reviews so I can keep improving and see where I missed some opportunities so it would be less likely to happen again.
Let's see those reviews, shall we?
poopy: I love carbot, I personally try to imagine Zapper like it was drawn by him just to make it easier for me to figure out its behavior around Derflinger.
Arachnodon: Yep, but it will be wayyyy later.
Arashi Tenebris: 1° I meant "his" since it was the salamander doing the trick, not Kirche. (Unless Flame is a girl and I just found out now ._.)
2° It's the bare cannon that was hailed as the Staff of Destruction", no conections to any piece of armor or the like. Also, Zeratul helped her use the cannon, helping her too to pull the trigger. Also, also, I didn't want to end the whole golem debacle just like that, I thought it would feel cheap. Like cannon rushing.
3° Zeratul participated from starcraft 1 up to the beginning of sc2 legacy of the void, yes. But the thing with the Cerebrate happened right after the last mission of broodwar (not that I know what actually happened to it in canon) and I think that I had established in that getting isekai'd can happen from and to any point in time (Like Siesta's grandpa being from after the End war with Amon)
Hope I cleared all of that up.
Doom King of Latveria (former doom2099): That's some bad luck you got there. Yeah, crossdimensional travel is something I am both terrified and excited to talk about.
captaindickscratcher: You, captain. You beautiful son of a gun. I hadn't much in mind for the dragon, as it was what Osmond actually said when he spoke about the staff of destruction, but you gave me a great idea.
ChronoEntente: I dunno, is it?
AxDevilman and buterflypuss: Thanks, guys.
Chapter 20. Research and Learning.
The morning began without too many affairs: Wake up, get dressed, have breakfast, talk to Siesta and go to class. As Louise was about to enter the classroom, a hand fell on her shoulder and stopped her.
"Hey, we have nothing to do today, did you forget?" Said Kirche. Behind her, Tabitha was absentmindedly reading a book and gave a small grunt as she turned a page. "Don't mind her, she's bummed about having to miss a test."
"Oh, right." She remembered the generous reward of the headmaster for capturing Fouquet, at least one part of it. "Hey, do you know if the headmaster sent us already the Vessel of Holding?"
"Nope, nothing yet." Answered one as the other simply shook her head. "Why did you ask for that thing anyway?"
"Zeratul told me to. I wasn't expecting Old Osmond to give it away like he did."
"Careless." Mentioned the quiet girl.
"Indeed." Came Zeratul's voice from their heads. "I have already retrieved the package as soon as it arrived." He clarified.
"Oh good. I was worried of the Headmaster forgetting his promise." Said Louise. She crossed her arms and then asked. "Then where is it?"
"I hid it in the stables. Come there immediately, bring Gifted Siesta and if you can, a small empty bottle." He answered.
"So… can we go too?" Asked the germanian, making the pink haired girl sigh. "Please, we have nothing else to do, right Tabs?" The reading girl shook her head. "See? She's bored too."
Louise pinched the bridge of her nose, "Fine, let me fetch Siesta and meet me at the stables." She started to walk away, "In the meantime, ask Zeratul to fill you in with what he is and what is going on. I don't want to hear you interrupting us every five seconds."
She made her way to the kitchens with the intention of finding Marteau and ask him Siesta's whereabouts. On her way there, she saw the servants she walked by stop whatever they were doing to bow and greet her. She did her best to respond with a polite wave of the hand and a smile, but she couldn't help but feel a little put off by the constant attention.
The kitchen staff was busy preparing lunch. The heavy aroma of herbs and spices assaulted her nose as they were cut, ground and mixed with meats, vegetables and broths. The heat from the stoves and ovens was quick to make her start to sweat and the clinking and clanking of pans and pots rattled her eardrums. But despite her overwhelmed senses, she searched for the imposing figure of the chief chef Marteau ordering the other cooks around while he was busy chopping mountains of onions without shedding a tear.
"Check the pork stew! Add more potatoes if you find it too salty." He turned to the other side, "Have you started crushing the garlic for tomorrow's marinade?!" His hands never letting go of the knife as he kept reducing wholes into pieces onion after onion.
"Chef Marteau, do you have a second?" Louise asked politely. The portly man tore his gaze from the cooking staff and looked at the girl standing at a safe distance from the ingredients and the people going back and forth.
"Oh, Mistress Valliére. There's always time for you." He answered. "What is it you need?"
Seeing the busy state of the kitchen, she decided to keep her question short. "Do you know where Siesta is?"
"Right now, she should be cleaning the dorms in the north tower, second floor, I believe."
"Thank you, Chef Marteau. Goodbye." She heard the man say his own goodbye as she turned to leave the place. Then she stopped, "Oh, before I go, do you happen to have an empty bottle somewhere?"
"Katherine, hand the lady a clean bottle from the shelf in the right!" He ordered, then a maid who was cleaning the dishes fetched the item for her. She thanked the two of them and left.
It took her a few seconds to orient herself and remember which the way to the north tower was. It wasn't too difficult to do so, as the kitchen was placed inside the main building in the center of the walls. If she recalled right, it was the Tower of Fire.
A short walk later she found herself climbing up the staircase to the second floor, earning a few estranged looks from older students as she passed by. Second year students shouldn't be here at the moment, maybe if they had something to do in collaboration to third grade ones or they wanted to talk to a specific professor, but right now they were supposed to be taking classes in another part of the academy.
"The sooner I find Siesta, the better." She mumbled. "I shudder to think what Zeratul is going through with those two." Mainly Kirche, as far as she knew Tabitha she would sit there and listen to the redhead pestering Zeratul nonstop with questions about how they reproduce or something completely as equally unnecessary to know.
She nearly bumped into a door that swung open right in front of her. Behind it, was the girl she was looking for as she pulled a trolley with baskets for dirty and clean bedsheets and pillowcases.
"Oh, Miss Valliére. What a surprise to see you here." She greeted as she pushed the trolley to the end of the hallway, where a hatch was embedded in the wall. Louise saw the maid search in a pocket in her uniform and pull out a key, then open the hatch and tug on a rope that was inside the wall. "What brings you here, if you don't mind me asking."
"Zeratul told me he wanted to see us, it has to do with something we got from the Vault." Said Louise as Siesta tied the basket full of dirty cloths to the rope and carefully sent it down the chute with the help of what she assumed was a pulley. "Maybe we can finally start his training."
"That sounds wonderful!" She said, as she felt a tug on the rope she tied the next basket and proceeded to sent it down too. "I was getting worried his promise was a hollow one. Recently I've been feeling headaches and it's hard to keep a smile when all the students keep acting so stuck up and uncaring with a pounding head." Finishing with the rest of the baskets, she closed the hatch and turned to her friend. "I have nothing else to do for the day, anyway. My workload has been drastically reduced ever since I came back."
Louise frowned at that. "Wouldn't that affect your pay?"
"I asked the headmaster the same thing, but he reassured me that I was going to get paid the same as before as an apology for sending me off with that pig Mott." She shivered at the thought.
"Then let's not waste any more time. Follow me, we're going to the stables."
"Ok… That was overly complicated." Blinked Kirche, "So… No physical contact?"
Zeratul was practicing the patience of a saint as he responded once again to the same question elaborated by the human. "No."
They were sitting outside of the stables. The servants working there were busy taking out the familiars to have some exercise and to keep familiarizing with the schoolgrounds and each others. For that, the normal animals weren't allowed to go out as long as the magical creatures were outside.
"So, can you tell us now what is the Vessel of Holding?" Asked the redhead. Leaning to see the artifact she and Tabitha were sitting on, the protoss told them it was safe to sit there despite common knowledge of the handling of magical items telling them not to.
"Wait for Louise and Siesta." Answered the blue haired girl as she kept reading her book. "He won't have to explain twice."
She would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in what the outsider had in store in terms of raw knowledge. These protoss sounded like they were experts using their minds and had honed the sciences of biology and gene therapy down to what she could describe as an art. She had to keep herself from sounding too desperate when she asked him about the treatments of the mind and she didn't want to keep her hopes up unnecessarily.
"Hey, we're here." Came the voice of Louise. Alongside her was Siesta, still in her uniform, who waved with a small smile on her face. "Now, Zeratul, what did you want to tell us?"
The Dark Templar made himself visible and showed his unpowered scythe. "What I am about to tell you is important for Gifted Siesta's and Young Louise's lessons."
"So what are we, chopped liver?" Asked Kirche. Despite the glare from Louise, she pressed on, "I want to hear what this is all about."
Ignoring the redhead, he continued. "Protoss are naturally sensitive to psionic power. It was gifted to us by the Xel'Naga so we could use it, study it, perfect it." He powered up the warp blade. "Terrans, however, had to evolve through thousands of years in order to have an inkling of that power. They seized whatever means they had to help them make the process faster." He pulled something from within his tattered cloak. "Using materials such as these."
"Hey, that's my necklace!" Shouted the germanian as she tried to snatch her golden necklace back from Zeratul, only for Tabitha to hold her back with her staff. "I've been looking for that last night!"
"Calm down."
The protoss proceeded to point at the glowing crystal functioning as a centerpiece of the ornament. "This is a jorium crystal. Used to nullify the hallucinogenic effects of terrazine, a substance used to awaken and strengthen psionics on terrans."
"Just that? That doesn't sound too complicated." Commented Louise, "But Siesta's psionic power has just awakened, I don't see why we need that terra-something thing."
"While it is true that Gifted Siesta has just started to develop her psionic powers, we have to stabilize it to a manageable level so I can start her training. It would be of no use if her psionic development stopped as soon as it awakened, that is if she wanted to give it a use other than pushing a few chairs around." Maybe it sounded selfish, but he recognized potential when he saw it. The girl was also eager to find out what she was able to do and learn what she could from her grandfather's universe. "However, I need a bigger cache of jorium for that to happen. Ardent Kirche, is there a way to procure more crystals?"
Kirche shrugged, "That depends, how much do you need?"
"I will need an approximate of ten times the amount you used in the necklace."
"That doesn't sound like much." She pondered, as it was not a big quantity for a person of her status. "Consider it done."
Siesta then asked, "So where do we find terrazine?" She wasn't exactly eager to be under the influence of some hallucinogenic substance, if her understanding of the word was the same as her parents taught her when she was younger. She was warned no to pick up any mushrooms or bugs with bright colors or she wasn't told to when they let her out to play with the other kids back in her village.
Zeratul pointed beneath Kirche and Tabitha, "They are currently sitting on it." The redhead eeped and jumped off the Vessel of Holding like it was the plague as Tabitha simply stood up calmly.
"What the hell! You told us it was safe to sit there." Explained the hotheaded one. Her friend shrugged.
"It is and will be unless it is opened without any security measures put into play." He knelt down to check the ends of the Vessel of Holding, in one of them, he found a small circular indentation. "Did you bring the bottle?" He asked at Louise. The girl nodded and gave him the item.
"What are you doing?" The mage asked, leaning over to see what the protoss was so fixated about.
"I'm comparing the size of the exit of the gas container and the bottle neck. I will need some materials to make possible the draining of terrazine. Even then, I will need a way to expose her in a controlled environment." He was sure he could find more things he could work with inside of the Vault, if his most recent observation was correct, there were more pieces of terran technology that could serve as a precious source of pieces and tools. "This one is too big."
"So… about the lessons…" Started Siesta.
"Yeah, I'm starting to think you don't know how to teach us about Void magic." Piped in Louise.
Zeratul rose up to his full height and said, "I never said I was an expert in magic. I am a Dark Templar, master wielder of Void energies and psionics." He retrieved his warp scythe and collapsed it, storing it away. "Translating these principles will not be an easy task, but you will not be disappointed with my teachings. Let us begin then."
"Is it really ok if we stay?" Asked Kirche, earning a nod from the protoss.
"There should not be any complications. Now, as I understand, the power behind magical spells lies in the willpower of a mage, given shape by an incantation and channeled with a focus, a wand or a staff."
"Yes, we knew that already. Why are you saying that again?"
Ignoring the retort from Louise, he continued. "For terrans, the process of using a psionic skill is similar to the casting of spells. They both require a source of power, a given purpose and an amplifier." Using a branch, he drew a triangle. He pointed at one side, "The mind," then another, "An unspoken incantation" and then the final corner, "And neuroimplants." The humans were confused at the term, sensing their confusion, he clarified. "Terrans are fond to inserting small machines in their brains to further amplify signals made by their minds."
"Ew, that's so… wrong." The humans shuddered in disgust at the prospect of having something inserted inside their heads just to circumvent the use a wand. Specially Siesta, "I-I'm not going to have that done to me, right?... Right?"
"I would not dwell on it, Gifted Siesta. I am not as knowledgeable enough to dabble with a human's internal organs." Seeing the discomfort on her face not dwindling, he said. "Which is why I am going to ask you to get a wand yourself. If it doesn't work, I will search for a way to help you start using psionic skills."
The Dark Templar made some distance from the Vessel of Holding and gestured them to sit down. "You seem to be very familiar with terrazine. Have you used it before?" Asked Kirche as she and the others made themselves comfortable.
He shook his head. "Terrazine was originally used by the protoss, harvested from natural geysers in some planets located in the Koprulu Sector. The most talented seers and oracles consumed it in ceremonies to see the future and make prophecies." He explained. "We called it Breath of Creation."
"So…" Started the redhead, "Your people got high on weird fumes and the others rolled with it?" She snickered as she was ignored by the others.
"Now that you know the basic comparison of psionics and magic, I will have to ask you, Gifted Siesta. Are you ready to begin?"
"Yes, I want to learn." She answered.
"What about me? I'm still in the dark about how to use Void magic." Louise said.
"Given my observations of your current capabilities, you seem to have a great pool of willpower in order to keep casting spells as powerful as yours in fast repetition." The girl tried her best not to be offended at her own performance. "Your wand seems to work correctly as well. But the incantation appears to be the problem."
"But my incantations are correct. I practiced them everyday since I was a child."
"Wrong purpose." Spoke up Tabitha. "Right words, wrong spell."
"Little Tabitha is right." Zeratul said to the bristling pink haired girl. "You said yourself that Void magic was unattainable for thousands of years, the knowledge of the words required to do the spells must be long forgotten. If they were ever recorded, there might be a possibility of finding the original spells used by your deity."
"He's right, there are four sacred items left by Brimir that were once under the possession of the Church." Said Kirche, "One of them is his own spellbook, but I don't quite remember where it is."
"That information might result useful in the future. But right now, Young Louise should start clearing building mental fortitude. While anger is helpful channeling power and purpose in the faction of the Tal'Darim, the teachings of the Nerazim practice self-control and are less physically demanding."
"Then what do you suggest to me to do? Sit under a tree and do nothing?" Asked Louise.
"No, I will oversee your progress closely from now on and teach you the mechanics behind Void energies. You are an easy learner but have a short temper. It might be dangerous to show you how to use Void energy without expecting you to try to imitate them when you think I am not watching."
The girl stomped and huffed, "Fine."
"It's getting late." Said Tabitha. She wasn't wrong, the stablemaster was soon to be here as the familiars were being left to their summoners and he had to tend to the normal animals. "We should go."
"I will take care of the terrazine container. You may leave as you wish."
The girls nodded and bid their goodbyes. Kirche and Tabitha were going to spend the rest of the day with Syplhid and Flame and excused themselves. Siesta, for her part, had to show up at the servant quarters soon, also she wanted some time alone to mull over what Zeratul said about terrazine.
Louise, instead of going to her room, went to the library. She had to talk with someone.
Jean Colbert was reading one of his favorite tomes regarding the volatile properties of fire stones. He wasn't undeterred with the lack of progress of his steam engine. His calculations were hinting at a problem with the performance of the fuel. Either that or he had overestimated the thaumic energy to heat conversion and compensate the amount of water to fix the ratio of vapor generation.
"Hmm… Maybe it has something to do with the insulation." He muttered.
"Excuse me, Professor Colbert, do you have a minute?"
The teacher looked up from his book and saw that it was the Valliére girl who called him. "Ah, Miss Valliére, I didn't see you today in class."
"The headmaster told us that since we caught Fouquet, we didn't have to do the exam." She said. "He did tell you, did he?"
"No, I will have to speak to him later. If what you say is true, then I wouldn't worry too much." He said as he saw the panic rose and then fade from his student's face. "What did you want to see me for?"
The student was carrying a large piece of parchment, a map. "I am unsure where are the maps containing the magic ley lines of Tristain are. Do you know where they are?"
"Oh, they're right behind you, in the upper shelves." He answered amicably. "Say, what do you need them for? Geographical Thaumology isn't a subject you should see just yet." She didn't respond as she was busy trying to get her hands on the atlas named 'Ley lines across Halkeginia and their implications on summoning theory.' While she stood on her tiptoes.
The professor stood up from his desk to help the girl reach the atlas she was trying to grab. "Thank you." She said, "Something that the headmaster mentioned yesterday made me curious."
"Oh? Do tell."
"It is something to do with the Staff of Destruction. He mentioned the original wielder appearing in a town called D'Angleterre. Has the headmaster told you about him?"
She failed to notice the face of the man as it paled suddenly, he stammered an answer, "I… I don't think he talked to me about the man anymore than the Staff of Destruction itself. It was the main point of my research…"
As he talked away, she heard Zeratul talking to her. "He knows something. I don't think he will tell you much."
She answered him, "But what is he hiding? Can you read his mind?"
"No, it is prohibited for us to prod an innocent's mind on a whim." He told her. "Each mind is a sanctuary and it should be respected as so."
"Miss Valliére? Did you hear what I said?" Asked the professor.
"Ah, yes. Thank you for the information, I will take mi leave then. Have a good night." She said as the professor waved half-heartedly.
"She is too curious for her own good. But I won't stop her in her search of knowledge." He said aloud to himself once she was gone.
On some other part of the library, Louise was comparing the ley lines with a map of Halkeginia. She used the academy as a reference, where she found many of the thaumic lines converge on top of it, a node. It made sense, she told herself, that they had built the school there if they wanted to have the students summon creatures reliably.
Ley lines were paths were the magical energy of the world flowed and allowed mages to perform stronger variations of regular spells. In a sense, summoning spells worked using the same principle of apparating, just in a larger scale and specific to each mage. The more lines crossing a location, the easier it became to cast more powerful spells.
"Interesting…" Said the Dark Templar. "I would assume this could influence the sudden appearance of objects from my universe to yours."
"Yeah, look here." She pointed at a point in the map. "D'Angleterre happened to be founded on top of a node, a small one, but it should be stable enough for someone to cross through given the circumstances on the other side."
"It would seem Terrans were testing warp technology and something went amiss." He concluded. "But why send a Marauder?"
"A Marauder? The man from Osmond's story." She questioned.
"Yes, Marauders are infantry units trained to deal with armored targets without resorting to vehicles. They carry small fabricators in their armor to make ammunition on the spot, we were fortunate enough to find the arm cannon with a grenade left. Otherwise it would be nothing but dead weight."
"So, you mean the Staff of Destruction is useless now." She summarized.
"Indeed. I would bet Osmond would be gracious to gift you the cannon if you explained that to him before some fool tries his luck with an empty weapon."
"One thing at a time, I don't want to look like I want the whole Vault to myself." She stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes.
"I believe you should go to sleep, Young Louise." Advised Zeratul.
Soon after that, she put back her studying material and headed back to her room with the protoss still following her from the shadows. "I just hope Derflinger and Zapper behaved themselves, I don't want to hear him bickering, or anyone to hear him for that matter."
After a brief walk, she found herself in the hallway to her room. Before she could get closer to her precious resting place, Zeratul stopped her. "What's the big idea?"
"I sense two people there, I recognize one of them. The princess, I believe."
"Aw, for Brimir's sake. Give me a break, please! I just want a normal night of sleep, is that too much to ask?" She whined.
"Do you wish for me to subdue them?" He proposed.
"No, Henrietta might want something. I can't ignore her, she's my friend." She said as she opened the door.
"Louise Francoise LeBlanc de la Valliére!" Snapped the princess in mock anger, "When were you going to tell me your familiar talks!"
"Founderdamnit, Derflinger. You had one job!"