Fire hadn't witnessed Fristad's discovery and capture personally even though he probably could have. He had been woken up by a strong magical impulse that he hadn't quite been able to place in any category, which was also the reason he decided to stay put, magical battles weren't exactly his strength. When one of Shadow's projections informed him that they had caught the Dreamweaver he had immediately gone over to Amanda's room. The strange nature of the magical impulse also made sense when Fire found out that Warnado was its origin, his training under Shadow seemed to be coming along well, Shadow seemed to think so too if her praise for her apprentice was anything to go by.
During the gathering that followed after Fire had kept himself in the background and observed how things turned out. Fristad's story about this book of his was definitely strange but overall believable, luckily the effectiveness of the magic suppression was beyond confirmed at this point so even if he did lie about the origin of his magic, the outcome would remain the same.
After the gathering ended their group quickly split into two smaller ones: the ones who were too tired from the capture to stay awake and those who were too awake to go back to sleep. Fire definitely belonged to the latter and so did Steve and Jennifer. They had been the ones to discover the magic-absorbing rocks in the first place so Fire was quick to approach them about the details of the suppression device, after a short round of discussion they decided to get to work immediately, ideally to finish the device before the potion wore off.
They then proceeded to take over the local blacksmith's smithy for the night since that was the easiest solution to get access to all the required tools and machines. They mixed a gold-based alloy that would preserve most of the magic conducting properties of gold while enabling the making of a sturdier frame than pure gold would have allowed.
In what could be considered by most human standards a relatively short time, the device was industriously completed. Fire was quite pleased with Steve's and Jennifer's competence.
The finished device was a hexagon made from their new alloy, it featured two clamps that could each hold one of the magic-absorbing rocks, as well as a locking mechanism to make sure the clamps stayed shut unless a key was used to unlock them. A sturdy leather strap was attached to each of the sides of the hexagon, connecting back together to a second hexagon, which held another lock that could be unlocked with a different key. After they made sure that enchantments would actually stick, the leather straps were enchanted to be a lot tougher than they already were.
Overall the device was quite sleek for how bulky it looked, ideally it would only cause minimal discomfort to Fristad.
Steve knocked on Fristad's inn door while holding the device by its straps, with Shadow and Jennifer standing behind him. Footsteps creaked the floor and the door was opened soon after, revealing a tired Fristad with a crumpled shirt and vest.
Fristad glanced at the device Steve was holding and grinned. "Time for my medicine?"
"That's the spirit," Steve said.
Fristad opened the door and let Steve and the others inside, then sat on his bed.
"So, I'm guessing you're not going to destroy the book? That's why you're making me wear a magic-suppressing chestpiece instead?"
Shadow said: "From what you have told us so far, the book seems like it is sentient. We don't know that its motives are good, evil, or something else entirely, and it could be useful to us in the future. Also, we don't know for certain where you got your powers, so we need to take every possible precaution."
Fristad took off his vest and his shirt. "I guess I can't blame you for wanting to see the best in something you don't understand. A part of me still sees the book as good. But then I remember all the times when the book has manipulated me or gotten me to do things against my will. It's a dangerous being that wants power badly for who knows what reason. If you're going to keep it alive, its magic needs to be suppressed as well."
"We'll take it under consideration," Jennifer said.
Fristad raised his arms forward. as Steve and Jennifer brought the straps of the device through his arms. Shadow handed Jennifer they key, and Jennifer locked the device while Steve held it in place.
Fristad looked down at his new accessory, and noted the purple enchanted glint flowing along the leather straps, and the golden hexagonal device now stationed in the center of his chest. So, after everything the book has done to me, this machine is what frees me from the book's influence? Fristad mused. It's kind of anticlimactic.
Shadow then took the key from Jennifer, opened one of the clamps on the front of the device with the key, and slid a small, glowing purple rock into an indentation. She fastened the clamp and turned the lock, the final movement causing the device to click. A veil of pastel, blue-purple light appeared around the edge of the hexagonal structure, and the fastened glowing rock momentarily dimmed before becoming bright again.
On second thought, that's kind of cool, Fristad said to himself.
"I hope it's not too uncomfortable?" Jennifer asked.
"I can't complain," Fristad said. He raised, lowered, and swung his arms to test his range of movement. "Well, it's a bit tight around the shoulders. But after everything I've been through, I'd consider it an improvement."
Fristad put his shirt and vest back on. "I'm not sure what the repercussions of this could be, but would it be possible for one of you to take the book off of my hands?"
"I'll take it," Shadow said.
Fristad reached into his back pocket and pulled out what looked like a plain, brown-covered book with no visible title, and light signs of wear.
He handed it to Shadow, she said in an almost worryingly playful tone: "Hello, book. I'm afraid I'll have to wait with taking a look at you until I know a bit more about you." She then slid the book into one of the folds of her robes.
The three bearers of the magic-suppressing device then left the room, leaving Fristad sitting on the bed, preoccupied with a mix of chaotic memories and long-overdue relief.