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Cam is out flying. There's a decent cloud of atmosphere around the gold plane, now, millenia of demons making air around themselves for comfort and not sealing it up because why would you bother. There's a small forest, here - the effect is kind of ruined by the lamps it has to grow under, but it's still pretty.
He feels an open summons and lets it grab him -
the Connecticut Yankee summons Demon Cam
from_scratch
from_scratch
"Papers work, carving won't more than once unless you pour water into it or something each time - and I can't make the paper secure against attempts by other people to use them. Nor for that matter a carving."
connecticut_yankee
"It's more secure than a book, in that no-one needs to know they have to pour water into it, but I guess I'd be hiding the book too.
Well, this castle is riddled with secret compartments and passages; nobody'll notice one more hidden bookshelf."
Well, this castle is riddled with secret compartments and passages; nobody'll notice one more hidden bookshelf."
from_scratch
"I suppose you could put a carving under a rug, but it will have to stay unrugged the entire time you have a changer in it for negotiations or pending dismissal."
connecticut_yankee
"It's the permanency that's more of a risk. Specifically the fact that rugs aren't. Someone's inevitably going to move it eventually and then the laws of situational irony require that everything goes horribly wrong.
Better to stick with the books and a few pre-made papers. Those I can hide indefinitely."
Better to stick with the books and a few pre-made papers. Those I can hide indefinitely."
from_scratch
"Sure. I can do them mostly in invisible ink, it occurs to me - as long as you have the same thing in your pen you can finish them if I indicate where to draw in some visible material."
connecticut_yankee
"Ha. Can't think of any downside there, in addition to the fact that it's funny.
Let's go for it.
Anything else I need to know before summoning one? What kind of payment do changers usually ask for?"
Let's go for it.
Anything else I need to know before summoning one? What kind of payment do changers usually ask for?"
from_scratch
"I can pay changers pretty easily. When I'm not around, of things you can procure here, they may also be willing to take pets - I assume there are dogs and cats around - and potted plants and reading material and interesting art objects."
connecticut_yankee
"Reading material is mediocre here, but we've got the rest."
He leads the way down to the nearest cellar. "This isn't the most comfortable part of the castle, but we don't need to worry about being seen or heard down here."
He leads the way down to the nearest cellar. "This isn't the most comfortable part of the castle, but we don't need to worry about being seen or heard down here."
connecticut_yankee
"No reason not to, as long as nothing looks too out of place. And there's leeway on that front; nobody wonders why someone hung a tapestry in a cellar and arrives at the conclusion that it was magic."
from_scratch
"Maybe I'd better be here for a little longer before I start trying to make decorating decisions based on what will or will not look out of place, though."
connecticut_yankee
"Eh, probably. Decoration has never been a priority of mine either.
Anyway, shall we try for a changer?"
Anyway, shall we try for a changer?"
from_scratch
And lo, there is a sheet of paper, almost unmarked except for a rectangle of four dots in black near an edge. Cam hands him a pen. "The gap I left in the line is inscribed in the space of those dots."
connecticut_yankee
Hank spreads the sheet on the ground, and the gap gets filled in. It doesn't look like much, what with the ink being invisible, but its effect makes him jump in surprise. "Thought there'd be a warning, or something" he mutters to himself. Magic ought to come with at least a little bit of showmanship.
"Er, hello." he says to the winged person in the circle.
"Er, hello." he says to the winged person in the circle.
from_scratch
The woman in the circle is done up in elaborate blue and gold and piercings. She glances at Hank and at Cam. "How can I help you?" she asks in perfect late nineteenth century English.
"Remember, don't agree to anything I haven't vetted, the task is also a possible point of failure," Cam tells Hank. "Possibly nothing," he adds to the changer, "this is his first summon, although we may want to note your name for future use."
"Eyndiel," she says.
"Remember, don't agree to anything I haven't vetted, the task is also a possible point of failure," Cam tells Hank. "Possibly nothing," he adds to the changer, "this is his first summon, although we may want to note your name for future use."
"Eyndiel," she says.
connecticut_yankee
"The task is more or less just vanishing obstructions so we can build things. Some of it is even color coded. And we can pay you in almost any nonliving thing you care to name.
The hard part is secrecy; daeva aren't common knowledge and should stay that way. Can you turn yourself into a bird or something for the occasion?"
The hard part is secrecy; daeva aren't common knowledge and should stay that way. Can you turn yourself into a bird or something for the occasion?"
from_scratch
"You have a demon somewhere?" asks Eyndiel.
"Yep," says Cam.
"You have a demon who objects to making houseplants?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope, your summoner here described it a little over-constrained. Houseplants are doable. If you want a demon kitten there's no obvious reason you can't have a demon kitten, usual caveats about demon kittens apply."
"Anyway, I don't want to be a bird, but I could take off my wings and tone down the colors for the occasion," says Eyndiel.
"Yep," says Cam.
"You have a demon who objects to making houseplants?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope, your summoner here described it a little over-constrained. Houseplants are doable. If you want a demon kitten there's no obvious reason you can't have a demon kitten, usual caveats about demon kittens apply."
"Anyway, I don't want to be a bird, but I could take off my wings and tone down the colors for the occasion," says Eyndiel.
connecticut_yankee
"The color-coded locations I mentioned are spread across the country. You'd probably be conspicuous for covering that much distance, if nothing else. Come to think of it, how long would it take you to turn things to air? And do you need to be close?"
from_scratch
"You could have your demon give me a scooter," says Eyndiel. "Er, do you know anything?"
"It's his first summon, be nice," says Cam. "Her range can be summarized loosely as line of sight within about fifty yards, close for detail work, farther for a few simple things. She's also slower than a demon for comparable amounts of matter influenced, but if we did give her a scooter she could clear trees and stuff in front of her at a sedate scootering pace as she traveled."
"It's his first summon, be nice," says Cam. "Her range can be summarized loosely as line of sight within about fifty yards, close for detail work, farther for a few simple things. She's also slower than a demon for comparable amounts of matter influenced, but if we did give her a scooter she could clear trees and stuff in front of her at a sedate scootering pace as she traveled."
connecticut_yankee
"Thanks, Cam.
Hm, anyone who sees a scooter would just assume it's the next thing to come out of Camelot. It's not so far beyond a train as to be implausible.
What kind of pace counts as sedate?
Oh, and Eyndiel, you're in the year 536."
Hm, anyone who sees a scooter would just assume it's the next thing to come out of Camelot. It's not so far beyond a train as to be implausible.
What kind of pace counts as sedate?
Oh, and Eyndiel, you're in the year 536."
from_scratch
"Twenty miles an hour, maybe thirty if she's really good," says Cam. "So it'll take a while for her to cover the ground alone, but with enough caffeine she can work around the clock, and we can always summon more when we have a task description we solidly trust."
"Er," says Eyndiel, "come again?"
"Er," says Eyndiel, "come again?"
connecticut_yankee
"536. This castle belonged to King Arthur this time last month. I'm from 1895 and have been trying to improve Britain, and this got a lot easier as of yesterday.
Are you up for cross-country transformation? It could take, let's say ten hours to complete a line, or whatever fraction of that you're willing to do. A houseplant seems like kind of inadequate payment for that."
Are you up for cross-country transformation? It could take, let's say ten hours to complete a line, or whatever fraction of that you're willing to do. A houseplant seems like kind of inadequate payment for that."
from_scratch
"No, wait, back up, explain the time travel," says Eyndiel.
"The time travel is unexplained to us too," says Cam. "Expect alternate universes."
"...riiiight," says Eyndiel. "Anyway, I can do path-clearing more or less indefinitely with an hour break every twelve hours, plenty of coffee, and my first payment, delivered in advance, being a decent music player and library to listen to while I do it. I don't actually want a houseplant or a demon kitten, I want new-model computer hardware, I can move whatever I don't keep back home, but if this is 536..."
"Demon's from the same year you are. And even if that were not the case you could still just name your models," Cam says.
"Right."
"The time travel is unexplained to us too," says Cam. "Expect alternate universes."
"...riiiight," says Eyndiel. "Anyway, I can do path-clearing more or less indefinitely with an hour break every twelve hours, plenty of coffee, and my first payment, delivered in advance, being a decent music player and library to listen to while I do it. I don't actually want a houseplant or a demon kitten, I want new-model computer hardware, I can move whatever I don't keep back home, but if this is 536..."
"Demon's from the same year you are. And even if that were not the case you could still just name your models," Cam says.
"Right."
connecticut_yankee
"The vanishing is to make room for an elevated train system. Any place that's been painted yellow needs to have trees removed from above it, blue circles mean holes for supports to be appeared there, and red means the site of a future station. Cleared and dug out enough for a building's foundations, say three feet.
The northward line is the most important. We have maps of course."
The northward line is the most important. We have maps of course."
from_scratch
"You're going to have to tell me how high you need the line cleared and how deep you want the holes," Eyndiel says.