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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
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imeanforever
imeanforever
"Sure. I would name an actual figure of money but I have never interacted with the stuff and my numbers would be meaningless. You could consider a cash gate a rental and bet on how fast I'll spend it."
wormcan
Armsmaster confers with the Director through his helmet, and nods. Piggot has checked with Costa-Brown, and the national organization is willing to reimburse an extra gate up past fleet-of-private-jets money, which is more than one person is likely to spend by seeing things for sale and deciding to buy them. (This would, after all, cut down on their jet budget.)
"That works for us."
Instead of six pairs they opt for the six in a chain, to allow travel between any two of seven rather than a particular two of twelve. Apparently someone already constructed a list for any given number of gates. Aside from Brockton Bay the names wouldn't be familiar to Promise, but they can have Vista and their teleporter ready to take her there in short order.
"That works for us."
Instead of six pairs they opt for the six in a chain, to allow travel between any two of seven rather than a particular two of twelve. Apparently someone already constructed a list for any given number of gates. Aside from Brockton Bay the names wouldn't be familiar to Promise, but they can have Vista and their teleporter ready to take her there in short order.
wormcan
"I've got one for you now, and the others may take a couple of days. Sarkany and I will be churning them out so Vista's warped space isn't a single point of failure for the gates, and another four is doable."
He disappears briefly and returns with what is presumably a harmonic flattener. Smaller than the previous version, it could be worn along a forearm instead of carried in both hands. The controls are labeled the same as the existing one, with more precision on the ones for size of the affected area.
He disappears briefly and returns with what is presumably a harmonic flattener. Smaller than the previous version, it could be worn along a forearm instead of carried in both hands. The controls are labeled the same as the existing one, with more precision on the ones for size of the affected area.
imeanforever
"...The flatteners and/or Vista are necessary for me to make gates from this end. But they should hold up even if the noise comes back, because under normal circumstances gates are made in Fairyland to non-flat portions of... some mortal world probably not this one."
Promise puts the flattener on.
Promise puts the flattener on.
wormcan
"Gates are an exception to the harmonics shredding sorcery? I suppose they wouldn't last long enough to be recognized as possible otherwise.
Can you test it? It would be a substantial waste if I made more than anyone had a use for."
Can you test it? It would be a substantial waste if I made more than anyone had a use for."
imeanforever
"I will re-make a gate that I create from here if it shreds when the noise comes back. Well, I'll do that once, anyway," nods Promise. "...Probably just to be safe use a flattener instead of Vista, because I don't know what warping space will do to the size or location of a gate."
wormcan
"Perfect." He gets a notification. "Strider and Vista are ready. You need anything before we go?"
wormcan
By the time she is done shaking her head, they are on the other side of the planet. Vista expands the room while Armsmaster talks to the nearest authoritative-looking cape. He probably recognizes her.
imeanforever
"Everyone is clear that if two gates in a pair settle at different times, stepping through them will lead to inhospitable Fairyland wilderness where pretty much everyone you could meet wants to enslave you, right? I just want to be sure everyone who could conceivably walk through one of these before they're paired knows that."
wormcan
"We know not to go through them. Not the explanation, though."
Strider hadn't been warned, and out of context that's one of the stranger things he's heard in the last hour. He doesn't say anything, but looks at Promise like she sprouted a third head.
Strider hadn't been warned, and out of context that's one of the stranger things he's heard in the last hour. He doesn't say anything, but looks at Promise like she sprouted a third head.
imeanforever
"Well, that's the explanation, and I'm putting them high up, too, to prevent fairies accidentally coming this way by accident, so for most people who could walk through the fall would kill you before you ate any fairy mushrooms or carelessly introduced yourself. In any event I decline to be held responsible if you pay me to make gates in locations you control and then some mortal waltzes through and finds trouble - it's not that I won't help if one does, I just don't wish to be harangued about it since I am warning you. If that's clear, would someone like to mark out a location and direction for me?"
wormcan
Someone does. They've been prepared since practically when they found out it was a possibility.
imeanforever
Promise makes a gate. She takes a leaf off the hem of her dress and throws it through to see if it's an instant settle. It is, glory hallelujah. "Well, the dire warnings won't be needed for this one in particular, it settled and I closed it and I'll reopen it when its pairmate is ready."
imeanforever
Promise makes gatepairs.
The capes don't care where the gates go in the infinitesimal space between Mortal Point A and Mortal Point B, so she scatters them around for her own convenience. One pair over the Steppes, for if she ever wants to go back to the Queenscontinent. One pair over an ocean she knows about, flying distance from a coast. One above a flock of sky-islands. One above part of the Valley Continent, farther than the Brockton Bay singlet gate from where she's currently making her home. One over the Flowerswarm. One over the Crystal Reach. Widely distributed phenomena distinct enough for her to have heard of them and make gates in relation to them.
There are two more instant settles, although no two of a pair have the courtesy to open at the same time. The others will have to wait.
"Oh, and if you must throw things through the gates to see if they're done yet, please don't use anything egregiously mortal, or local life of any kind. Pebbles. Anything interesting-looking could get someone trying to find the gates on purpose."
The capes don't care where the gates go in the infinitesimal space between Mortal Point A and Mortal Point B, so she scatters them around for her own convenience. One pair over the Steppes, for if she ever wants to go back to the Queenscontinent. One pair over an ocean she knows about, flying distance from a coast. One above a flock of sky-islands. One above part of the Valley Continent, farther than the Brockton Bay singlet gate from where she's currently making her home. One over the Flowerswarm. One over the Crystal Reach. Widely distributed phenomena distinct enough for her to have heard of them and make gates in relation to them.
There are two more instant settles, although no two of a pair have the courtesy to open at the same time. The others will have to wait.
"Oh, and if you must throw things through the gates to see if they're done yet, please don't use anything egregiously mortal, or local life of any kind. Pebbles. Anything interesting-looking could get someone trying to find the gates on purpose."
wormcan
Each recipient agrees to that. They were aware that these aren't literally between points A and B, and have no reason to want to increase the danger from the infinitesimal space.
imeanforever
Okay. So everyone is duly warned, the gates are all settling, and Promise should probably not go on her library trip until the rest of them have settled and they're all open in their pairs and operational. Does anyone have suggestions for what she should do with the intervening days?
wormcan
They don't strictly speaking need her here to test her master powers against Master powers, but she might want to see the results for herself.
imeanforever
...Yes. That would be sensible. And they do kind of need her there at some point before or during, unless they want the imprisoned capes ordered to use their powers, since that's currently all they aren't allowed to do. That and give Promise names she doesn't ask for from people who aren't about to directly attack her.
...
"All of these Masters are reasonably trustworthy in their own right? I assume, or you wouldn't want them around me and three supervillains."
...
"All of these Masters are reasonably trustworthy in their own right? I assume, or you wouldn't want them around me and three supervillains."
wormcan
"I don't know most of them myself, but they're all answerable one way or another. And this would be an extraordinarily stupid setting for them to suddenly betray us.
The best power I can think of for this would be Valefor's, but he actually is evil enough that we wouldn't trust him with this even were he available."
The best power I can think of for this would be Valefor's, but he actually is evil enough that we wouldn't trust him with this even were he available."
imeanforever
"I'd like to know the details of how their powers work ahead of time."
wormcan
One can give simple commands that the listener automatically follows, where resisting is possible but comes with a minor inconvenience. Another can make it impossible for the victim to take a particular action without fulfilling arbitrary conditions. A third can make listeners susceptible to suggestion, and then give them commands that they will obey even if it kills them.
imeanforever
Well, Promise is not going to accidentally die if they are mistaken in trusting Cape #3, and they seem comfortable enough with the intermediate possibilities.
And she's had worse.
But she gets ready to put her eardrums out if she doesn't like something she hears.