Phillips Harbour
Monday, October 26, 1868. Morning.
The whole group -- Mr. Shaft, Dr. Townes, the Mikkelsens, Caliban, and Slate -- troop across town to Mr. Shaft's cluttered and drafty boathouse. The Babbage is much comfier than the boathouse, but unfortunately even smaller. And definitely with no room to accomodate a horse.
It only takes a few minutes to produce the Compass, still modified with the bits of things and the leather whip that Mrs. Everchild wove into it. It's currently quiscient.
Rae Mikkelsen looks curiously at the contraption. She has the strand of unicorn mane coiled up again and in her locket, which she's holding in her hand. "So this is vat you may usse to find the unicorn?"
The chimpanzee watches with the air of a simple country servant, happy to let his master do the heavy thinking. He is dressed in an off-white canvas shirt, a durable jacket with some patches, and a fading purple fez of some thick cloth.
Troubled as ever, Bernice stands by, leaning against Slate's withers and looking on quietly.
The Compass looks much stranger in its current configuration than its original one, when it has a gleaming, modern look of smoothly pivoting interlocking silver rings. Now the butt of a whip provides a handle for the compass, while the whip lash slaves its several rings together. Scraps of paper and bits of grey fur are bound to the rings by the lash.
Herbert carefully unwraps the carriage-whip from the device, and holds his hand out for the unicorn hair. "There were range limits on this before, but I do not know if having an actual piece of the being to be found will make a difference or not," he explains.
The grey bits of fur and the pieces of paper flutter away as Herbert unravels the whip. There's a faint but alarmed mewl from the direction of the houseboat.
Bernice lifts her head. Islington?
"Uh, can you go fetch him, Bernice?" Shaft asks, pausing in his attempt to remove the whip.
A thump and a scrabbling of cat claws on the dock outside the door adds weight to that suspicion. "Mreow? Mrow!"
The ape lifts his head. "Ook," he says as he turns and starts for the houseboat briskly. Gonna go check on the cat.
The doctor nods, and trots to accompany Caliban. "I should like to check in on him anyway. I still feel terrible for him."
Hey! Islington is mewling. What're you guys doin'? Are you messin' with magic in there? he asks through the door, just before Caliban opens it. He pads inside and meows imperiously at Herbert. Hey, don't mess with that! What're you trying to do there?
Caliban bends over to offer Islington a hand up if he wants to ride a chimpanzee's arms. "Ook, ook eek," he says. Yeah, we're going to look for a unicorn, want to come along?
Alarm has given the fluffy white cat more animation than he's shown since Mrs. Everchild's death; he looks more like his own self as he bypasses Caliban to charge for Herbert. He jumps onto the table, meows at him again, then looks at Bernice and Caliban. One of you tell him not to do that, okay? You don't just unbind spells like that!
"Does Islington know how to make this work?" Herbert asks Bernice, not sure of what the cat's intentions are.
The chimpanzee makes halting motions at his master, both hands flat as if pushing something, then points to the cat and mimes talking with one hand.
That said, Islington takes the time to parse what Caliban said. Oh! You want to use the Compass to look for a unicorn? Huh. That's a thought. He washes one paw, considering it. Gustav has a perplexed and troubled look on his face, while Rae watches the cat with equal surprise bu more curiosity than worry.
Herbert shows Islington the long silvery hair.
Townes glances at the cat, then back at Herbert. She looks a little uncomfortable translating in front of the Mikkelsens, but time is of the essence now. "He's worried about your tinkering, Mr. Shaft. He says one can't simply unbind spells like that. Though he does seem intrigued by your idea."
"Well, is there a way to combine the unicorn hair with the existing spell then?" Herbert asks, looking to both the feline and Bernice.
Caliban comments to the cat, "Ook, eek eek." The Mikkelsens aren't Playing, but they were led here by a vision. Somehow they found a hair of this Unicorn. At least I think it's unicorn hair.
Islington sniffs at the hair, then at Herbert's fingers and the Compass. He turns a circle clockwise around the table. No, you can't combine it. We'd have to unbind the spell to find St. John -- properly -- and then bind a spell to find the Unicorn. I can show him how to do it, yeah. It's not too tricky. We'll need paper. It'd be easier if you knew the Unicorn's name or had more than just the one strand, but one strand may be enough. That's no normal hair, all right, he agrees, nodding to Caliban. His blue eyes turn to regard the Mikkelsens.
Caliban nods wisely. Okay, you're the expert, he agrees, and goes to fetch some paper.
Herbert smiles to the Mikkelsen's, and explains, "Islington is a very clever cat, you see."
"Islington says there's a right way and wrong way to do this, Mr. Shaft," paraphrases Bernice. "He thinks your idea might be feasible. He'll show you how."
"I did not know you have a cat, Mr. Shaft." Miss Mikkelsen holds out her hand to Islington. The cat sniffs her fingers, then goes to the hand with the locket and paws at it, biting at the chain. "No, no, cat -- " she says, pulling the locket back as Islington tries to tug it out of her hand.
Oh, use this too, it'll be good, Islington says, his mouth around the chain. Make her leggo. Caliban returns with paper and pen while the tug-of-war is still going on.
More like the cat has us, the chimpanzee quips as he sets these down on the table.
"Well, he's.. staying with us," Shaft says, and adds, "I think he wants to borrow your locket for this.."
"May we please borrow it, Miss Mikkelsen?" asks Bernice, gently trying to disentangle the cat's claws from the chain. "I don't understand the workings of this myself, but I'm guessing that there has to be something associated with the searchers as well as the searchee incorporated into the devices. I don't think it'll be harmed."
With Bernice's help, Islington explains the process of unbinding the existing spell, which is mostly a time-consuming matter. The knots have to be picked out in the right sequence, then all the pieces of paper and bits of fur and the whip gathered together in one heap, with the compass nearby. The paper, fur, and whip have to be purified by one fire, and the compass in another. The fire'll destroy the paper and fur, of course, which is a pity but no big loss since St. John's dead and all. The whip'll probably just be damaged. And the Compass ought to be fine since it's metal, which is good seeing as you want to use it in the next spell. Once everything's purified, we can do the new binding. Oh, and yeah, she can have the lcoket back when we unbind the new spell. Well, assuming we unbind the new spell eventually.
Somewhat reluctantly, Rae surrenders the locket.
"Any particular kind of fire?" Herbert has to ask, while he goes through the relayed instructions.
The chimpanzee stands back and watches, then thinks better of the proceeding and goes to keep an eye out in case someone decides to drop in and thinks the worse of them.
Natural fire, Islington says. Doesn't matter what you burn though. Douse it in lamp oil or alcohol, or put it on top of kindling, or whatever you like. Just has to be fire.
Bernice looks both discomfitted and fascinated. "I suppose I'd best take care of it, then," she says. She gives the Mikkelsen girl a reassuring smile. "We'll get your locket back to you without a scratch, I promise. I know how important these things are."
Shaft moves aside so Bernice can work on the compass, and asks the Mikkelsens, "I thought I saw some new maps in your room. Have you uncovered more areas of interest?"
Gustav looks disturbed by the attention and respect given the cat, and the translations given of the cat's mewing. He and Rae converse in quiet Norwegian, which leaves him suspcious but calm. Rae seems a bit troubled herself, though. "This is not ... vitchcraft? Iss it?"
"I believe it is simply sympathetic magic," Herbert says reassuringly, recalling a bit about how Scandinavians view witches (not kindly). "None of us are witches, and there doesn't seem to be any ritual involved beyond purification."
It's got nothing to do with Satan or hurting anyone, Islington says in reassurance. No black masses or invocations of demons, I promise.
Bernice looks a bit unsure herself, but shakes her head. "There's no Devil or anything like that involved. I don't understand it myself, but... if you believe in spirits and unicorns, you can trust Islington as well. He's not your average cat."
Gustav shakes his head, clearing the disturbing thoughts away. "Ve vere, ah, ve had some place vhere ze unicorn, ve thought she had been. Ve vere looking vor patterns in thoze."
"Can you show me on my own map?" Herbert asks, and brings out the town map he's procured. He's added a grid of squares and various numbers to it, as well.
Caliban keeps an eye out, glancing to sea now and then.
"Zure." Gustav unfolds his latest maps, and starts matching spots between it and Herbert's.
Herbert looks between the two maps as well, checking to see if any of the areas on Gustav's match Player locations on his own map.
While the men compare maps (the Mikkelsens' doesn't have any player locations on it, no), Bernice picks apart the spell under Islington's tutelage. An hour later, the remnants of Mrs. Everchild's spell have been cleared off and purifying fires lit to cleanse away all traces of it. Islington's eyes glitter with the reflected lights of the twin flames, his expression sober and sad. Then they have to wait for the Compass to be cool enough to handle again.
Herbert notices the cat's mood, realizing he just helped undo the last link the feline may have had to his former companion. He turns his attention to the maps once more, looking for any kind of pattern.
Gustav describes having found some odd little 'cairns' near cloven a hoofprint here or there. Also, there were more signs of it by streams and springs. "She likes vater," Rae explains. "Ve vere thinking of vatching for her by a pool, but it iss hard to know vhat von she vill go to, or vhere on it." The maps don't show a clear pattern to Herbert either.
Townes rests her hand lightly on Islington's head while they wait for the compass to cool. "I know how you feel," she murmurs quietly.
Thinking ahead a bit, Herbert asks, "Assuming we can locate her, how would you approach? Rae alone, perhaps?"
The chimpanzee makes a sideways comment, "Eek eek ook." Any idea how old the spots were? Maybe the pattern'd be clearer if you knew which were oldest and which were newest.
While the Compass cools, Islington has Bernice write 'Unicorn' over and over again on the paper, then cut out each word onto a separate scrap of paper with a knife. Afterwards, he shows her how to bind the new spell. The bits of paper need to be tied to the rings of the Compass with special kinds of knots in the unicorn's mane and the locket. The mane and locket themselves have to be twined a certain way, as well. This part proves to be much trickier and more tedious than the unbinding was. Both Bernice and Islington are soon frustrated with one another, as the cat has Bernice painstakingly tie a few knots, then makes her pick them out to be redone because of some error in the binding. The mane feels frighteningly fragile in Bernice's fingers, and she fears snapping it with all the repeated work.
Gustav shrugs. "Ve haf some guesses but it iss hard to be zhure. I note them, here." He points out the order in sequence to Herbert, letting the other man mark his own map in English.
Bernice takes a few deep breathes to keep herself calm and her hands steady, and does her best to focus carefully on what the cat relates to her. She treats the unicorn hair as she would a suture, tying it as if she were stitching the most sensitive of patients.
Having the sequence of visits now, Shaft again tries to discern some pattern or relationship to the locations.
After twenty or thirty minutes, and little progress despite Bernice's care and patience, Islington sits back on his haunches. This isn't any good. The alignment here's wrong for this spell, or the unicorn's trying to keep us from finding her, or both. The cat hops down from the table, sniffing at everything. He lingers on Mr. Shaft himself, and on his various machines as well. But he also attends to the people, the walls, Slate, and Caliban. When he's done, he hops back onto the table. All right, we need to go somewhere else to do this. Somewhere away from all this stuff Shaft's got, and away from Shaft. Probably best to do it away from Gustav and Caliban, too. Heck, might be better if I wasn't there, I think the unicorn's skittish of men, not sure if that applies to animals or not but it can't help. Somewhere in the wilderness'll probably suit better than a human place.
The monkey considers. So, just the Doc an' maybe Rae?
Islington circles around Rae, sniffing. Yeah. Rae for sure. Slate's fine, I think. But Rae for sure. Hey, doc, can you explain to Rae what I was explaining to you? I think she should do it, not you.
In the meantime, Herber is feeling little better about his progress with the maps than Bernice is about the Compass. There's something of a pattern, insofar as the signs suggest that the unicorn visits water and investigated some cairns (or at least went to the same spots as them). But nothing to suggest an order to the visits, or which one she might turn up at next.
Cairns, the chimpanzee muses. That's kinda ringing a bell. He puts a finger to his forehead.
"I think so. If she doesn't mind." With a nod at Islington, Bernice turns to Rae, presenting her with the locket and hair for safekeeping. "Islington is under the impression we're not in a good place to do this, and that the precense of the men, even Islington himself, may be interfering with this working. That and that the unicorn is preventing us from finding her. Miss Mikkelsen, he thinks you'd be better off doing this than I. Would you be willing to visit the woods with Slate and I?"
"Did the cairns look like grave markers to you?" Herbert asks, then blinks at Bernice's revelation, even if he isn't particularly surprised by it.
Caliban looks worried suddenly. Oh boy. Mrs. Everchild put little piles of stuff out in the woods. Now I remember, they might look like cairns. They were... uh... He looks over to Miss Townes, who might recall the conversation.
Rae accepts the objects by reflex, then ducks her head in an uncertain nod. "If it vill help to find the unicorn, yes, I vill do anything." Gustav narrows his eyes, and says something in Norwegian. She pats his hand. "I vill be fine. I vill not be alone, see? And the doctor, she hass a rifle just as you do, Gustav. Ve vill be fine."
To Shaft, Gustav says distractedly, "No ... like ... trail markers. Piles uv rocks to show vhere a trail goes. But no trail there. And bits caught in them that are not rocks."
The doctor nods at Gustav, an equally serious look on her face. "She'll be safe with me, you have my word." Then she stoops down a little to listen to Caliban. "The piles of stones... I recall the one I found was set on a place of natural power. A feeling, like an undercurrent."
"Good luck, Miss Townes, Miss Mikkelsen," Herbert bids to the ladies, then puzzles over the map some more. "Natural power you say?" he asks Bernice. "Some sort of magic well, perhaps, or ley marker. Passive or low level. The unicorn would be attracted to magic I'd think."
"Ah." Gustav's face clears. "This is maybe vy she visits these same spots? Vor these undercurrents?"
"Like drinking from a pool," Herbert says to Gustav. "It may not be the water the unicorn seeks out at all, but the natural energies."
The chimpanzee furrows his brows, trying to remember what Miss Everchild had said. They're part of some kinda working she made, aren't they? He looks at Islington worriedly. What's going to happen with them now?
The corners of Gustav's mouth turn down as he thinks about what Herbert said. It makes him look like he's glowering, but all he does is nod a bit. Islington answers the chimpanzee with a twitch of his tail, a feline shrug. Nothing. We can't finish the spell now. They shouldn't cause any problems for us, though.
Bernice taps her lip thoughtfully. "Didn't Mrs. Everchild say she intended to visit them on the 30th? They were to channel power to her, I assume to help her find the end point for the Game. Not sure what'll happen with them now." She nods at Gustav. "I can sense these things... I can't do anything with them, but I can feel them at least. It would make sense that the unicorn can as well. I could also... uh..." Well, she's already been seen talking to a cat and a monkey. "I could also ask the creatures around the area if they'd seen the unicorn."
They're for an end-Game spell. Not to find the Banefire, but to give her power at the Banefire. Aren't any of you doing spells like that? Islington asks, looking at the other Closers.
Caliban rubs an ear, then the other to keep them balanced. Um...
Rae stares at Bernice. Then she looks at the chimpanzee and the cat. She turns to Gustav. "Zuddenly, I am thinkin, it iss not so strange to be looking vor a unicorn."
The boss's got somethin' in the works, Caliban hedges to Islington. But it might help a lot if we can use these cairns of Mrs. Everchild's too. Or, maybe we should make sure no one else is gonna try an' use 'em.
Townes puts her fingers to her temples, sighing. "Islington, I'm not doing any sort of spells. I barely know how this Game works at all, nobody's seen fit to tell me anything. I'm just a doctor." She massages her temples for a moment. "Well, at any rate, we'd best get to work on what little we have."
I don't know of any way to make them useful to anyone but Mrs. Everchild, Islington says to Caliban. Even I can't use them. I'd have to take them apart and rebuild them attuned to a new person, and there's not enough time left to do that. You need to start that spell at the beginning of October.
Good enough for me, the ape opines. He pats Islington, who's been extra helpful this morning, and goes to get a bowl of cream for him.
"If we assume the unicorn is visiting points of natural power flow," Herbert muses, looking at the maps, "then we have a pattern of sorts, even if it doesn't help us without a means to detect the flows ourselves."
When Caliban returns with cream, Islington laps it up, purring loud enough for the whole room to hear. He looks better now than he has since Everchild's death.
"Er... well, I can detect them," repeats Bernice. "Do you mean from far away?"
Now that he's not busy with the Compass, Islington catches Herbert's reference to power flows. Oh, you want to know where those are? I can show you that.
"Well, if you can detect them, Bernice, then.. well, we can make a better map," Herbert says. "At the very least, you could find out if these pools and streams are also on energy nodes."
Caliban tidies up the signs of magic and arcane activities while the women head out for the wilderness and the hills to the north of town. They make plans to rendezvous at noon near Bernice's cabin, since it's relatively secluded.
While the women work on the new Compass, Herbert, Gustav, Caliban and Islington investigate some of the 'places of power' that Islington and Bernice had refered to.
Nothing untoward befalls either group, although Bernice is disappointed to find many of the animals -- normally friendly and receptive to her -- are now diffident and reluctant to talk. There's not a lot of overt hostility, but they're not volunteering information about the unicorn, either.
When all of them meet back at the cabin, Miss Mikkelsen crouches and holds out the compass to Islington shyly for his inspection. The gold chain of the locket is intertwined with the glittering strand of unicorn mane and the rings of the Compass, along with the scraps of paper. The effect has an arcene beauty to it, an oddly attractive mix of technology and found objects. "Did I do it right?" she asks.
Islington sniffs at it, and nods his head in approval. Yeah, I think it's good. He turns to look at the others. We gonna test it now?
"Did you notice it moving as you walked?" Herbert asks Rae.
Rae shakes her head. "I am vorried that it did not vork, but Miss Townes tells me that it maybe does not haf much range and ve should not judge by that yet."
The chimpanzee brushes some twigs off his master's jacket fastidiously.
Bernice returns distinctly upset, but just bites it down to a relative quietness and a cloudy look. "Yes, let's," she says listlessly.
Miss Mikkelsen pats the doctor's hand comfortingly, not certain what the problem is but feeling for the other woman just the same.
Referring to the updated map, Shaft suggests, "This spring is one the unicorn has visited before, and is also on one of those natural power flows. I think it would be the best spot for you ladies to wait for the unicorn."
Miss Mikkelsen looks at the Compass. "But I thought ve vere making this to look vor the unicorn? Not to vait vor her?"
The chimpanzee looks at the map, thinks a bit, then nods, smiling.
Townes gives Rae a small smile, then nods her agreemenent with Shaft. "I think we're hoping the spring will find us in the right general area, Miss Mikkelsen. Then we can use the Compass and a bit of tracking to lead us in the right direction."
"The unicorn hass been there already, ve think," Gustav says, dubious as usual. "But maybe she vill come to it again."
"Well, if the unicorn passes close, it should react and then you could follow it," Herbert notes. "If it approaches and then remains hidden, you'd have some idea it was nearby at least."
"Ah, yes, I see." Rae nods approval. "Only us, then? You gentlemen vill not come?"
Bernice shakes her head, stray auburn locks waving. "They're of the mind the unicorn wishes to avoid men. It'd be in keeping with what little of the stories I've heard, I think. Not that I ever knew they could be more than fairy tales."
"You could make a picnic of it," Herbert suggests. "That seems.. genteel enough."
Miss Mikkelsen nods a little, looking to her brother. She leans foward to give him a hug, and they exchange a few words in Norwegian. From the sounds of it, he's encouraging her to go. She nods again, with more certainty this time. "As you say, Mr. Shaft."
"Caliban and I have a few things we need to work on," Herbert notes. "Where should we next meet?"
"A picnic it is," says Bernice, trying to put a little cheer into her voice. "I'll come with you to the Red Flag, I can have Gertie prepare a bite for us to take along."
The group returns to the Red Flag, where the tavernkeepers are busy dealing with the usual lunchtime crowd. Gertie takes the time to pack a lunch for the Misses Mikkelsen and Townes, and to sneak a few carrots to Caliban. Herbert overhears a tantalizing tidbit, that the witchhunters have accused Mrs. Stephenson's tenant farmer of witchcraft. But a little further listening suggests this is an exxageration at best: a rumor of a rumor based mainly if not entirely on the fact that the reverends were seen headed that direction.
After bidding farewell to the women and Gustav, Shaft and Caliban (and Islington) head back to the boathouse to continue their work involving the Engine and the Amplifier. Herbert also needs to develop that last Darklight photo taken of the Shelley manor.
The Darklight photo proves to be on of the most disturbing Shaft's taken. By spirit light, the Shelley manor doesn't look like a house, but like some grisly tomb: the framing looks like bones, the windows eyes, broken slats teeth, a dark, hungry, animated thing devouring what's inside of it. Red flames flicker in the eyes.
The white flower blazes like a beacon of light inside this chilling frame, as if it were forcing the darkness of the house at bay. The small figure of Marseilles huddles beside it. Half of her is bathed in the flower's light, the other half swallowed by the darkness of the looming manor. The coyote is in the picture too. He stands outside the house, and like the flower he glows with inner light. He seems to be beckoning to the girl, as if urging her to escape the house, but she's hesitating.
The monkey, looking over his master's arm, appears disturbed as well.
"Well, I don't think we can just let Marseilles free if she's only going to be drawn back to that," Herbert says to Caliban.
Caliban scratches his head and ponders the photograph. "Eek eek," he observes, pointing to the coyote.
"Well, we know Yotee has been visiting her, and often enough to leave such a bold impression," Herbert notes. "No way of knowing how recently he last came around though. I wonder if the reverends could.. exorcise the house? Or otherwise purify it? Do you think we should show this to Hale?"
The chimpanzee points to himself and to the boss and pantomimes closing a door. Then he points at the photograph and gives his master a quizzical look.
"I've no idea what Closing would matter in this case," Shaft admits. "I've never really delved into the circumstances of hauntings before to know if this is unusual or not. But something clearly needs to be done - the house is infused with an evil presence."
Caliban points at the coyote. He pantomimes opening a door. Then he points at the house, and pretends to be dragging someone or something away.
"Yotee does seem to think that Opening will allow Marseilles to escape," Shaft says. "I suppose we could photograph a cemetery to see if this.. situation.. is common or not."
Caliban looks a little frustrated. He points at the house. He pantomimes opening a door, and closing it.
"Are you suggesting an actual door, Caliban?" the man asks.
Caliban shakes his head.
"Opening the portal long enough for.. whatever purpose.. and then trying to Close it?" Shaft asks next.
Caliban shakes his head again.
"Do you think Yotee is looking for a way to pull the girl from the house?" is the next guess.
This draws a nod, but not as much of a nod as his master would expect if he had guessed the whole of it. The monkey wanders off, eventually returning with another sheet of paper and a fat stubby pencil. He draws a large door, or so the rectangle with a small circle in place of the door knob would suggest. Then he points at the photograph. Then a question mark on the paper.
"You think the manor is the likely site for the banefire," Herbert reasons.
A halfway nod, followed by a wavering of the hand that suggests it's only a guess, not something that Caliban would want to assert.
"It is a likely candidate," Shaft admits. "And somewhat isolated, at least." He goes to the map, and has a look. "It may be a focus of the arc of known Player locations."
Taking out a pad with lines and columns of numbers, Shaft adds a new entry. "I'll assign it a tertiary weighting in the calculation, higher than the natural energy points we need to add."
Caliban rubs his chin, smacking his lips thoughtfully as he studies the photograph. He draws two cartoons underneath the icon of the door. In one, the door stands open and many stick figure men and women file out of it, with a four-legged stick figure in front. They might be ghosts, as their legs waver and trail off. In the other, the door stands open, but this time a monstrous blob with sharp teeth is scattering non-wavery stick figure men and women, and the four-legged stick figure is evidently barking its little head off.
Caliban makes another question mark between these two cartoons.
"Salvation for spirits, or death for the living," Herbert muses over the drawings. "Or possibly both at the same time. We only know that the banefire attracts spirits, but not for what reason."
Caliban nods soberly.
"It could easily be as I first suspected: a means to power the portal itself," Shaft says. "That was Da Vinci's conclusion, at least. I hope the women find the unicorn, and that Miss Townes can get some useful information from it." He goes back to the photograph, and frowns at it some more. "If this is the site of the banefire, the aspect of it certainly doesn't encourage Opening, I must say."
The chimpanzee tries to make his point of the first cartoon clearer, by putting a monstrous blob with teeth just behind the door, such that the door might almost be part of its face.
"Ah, you think it may be the portal itself that we are peering through then?" Herbert asks. "And not.. something like the Hill."
Caliban nods worriedly.
"I would sorely like to get Miss Pau's interpretation of this," Herbert says. "But being caught by Rev. Locke with this in our possession would be problematical at best."
The chimpanzee ponders this problem. Then he makes the symbol of the cross and stands unctuously.
"I'm not sure what you are suggesting," Herbert admits, and then glances towards the Engine. "We could also show this to Marseilles."
Caliban draws a stick figure holding a cross, a tiny little oval with a tail at his feet, then pantomimes holding the photograph out to someone.
"Show it to Hale?" Herbert asks. "I think I can tell what interpretation he will have - that the portal is the doorway to Hell itself."
The monkey gives his boss a wry look and a shrug as if to suggest he should have guessed that himself.
"In any case, it is all moot unless it turns out to be the correct site," Herbert notes. "At the moment, it is of significance only to our ghostly guest. Do you feel like talking to her about it?"
Caliban shivers.
The monkey looks decidedly reluctant to embark on a program of speaking with the trapped spirit.
"I suppose not then," Shaft says, with a wry grin of his own. "Until we run the calculation, I suggest we keep this photo to ourselves. Once we know if the unicorn is a Player or a bystander we will be able to proceed."
Caliban nods to his master, and puts the paper to the fire just to make sure strange cartoons won't incriminate them as witches, before moving back with a distinct 'Let's get to work' air to him.
With a nod, Herbert heads to a covered work table and removes the cloth, revealing the still unassembled pieces of the Amplifier. "At least the processing of the components is complete," he says softly.
The monkey ooos at the shininess of all the bits.
"Now we just need to melt the gold and mix in the processed elements to create orichalcum for the thaumocunductive circuit inlay," Shaft says, making it sound like assembling a sandwich.
The monkey's expression makes it clear that he's familiar with sandwiches, but not so much alloying metals.
It turns out to be more involved that sandwich crafting after all. First, the tiny forge needs to be set up, which involves moving a lot of heavy bricks. Then there are the needed blessings, the laying out of the special diagrams and the careful weighing of the gold dust. As the gold melts, the other ingredients need to be sorted and weighed as well, the special alembic prepared and the tools set out. Even after the mixing, the whole thing has to be heated again before it can be poured into the engraved and treated wooden panels that will make up the 'box' of the amplifier.
The resemblance of the patterns to those of the much smaller spirit trap are unmistakable, even though they lack the control points and multiple crystals. The single setting is to be used to hold a larger, specially shaped crystalline lens.
The monkey seems content to follow his master's directions, making sure not to shed hair into the workings.
Finally, the remaining alloy is poured into long, thin molds for the wires that will connect the Amplifier to the chosen Artifact. "I have a whole new appreciation for the art of jewelry making after this," Shaft comments to Caliban.
The monkey briefly ponders the idea of Amplifier jewelry and decides to himself that the world isn't ready for fashionable power.
Checking is pocket watch, Shaft says, "Perhaps we should see about supper soon. What do you think, Caliban?"
The rumbling of the little ape's stomach suggests his reply even before his cheerful "Ook!"
Removing his work apron and gloves after extinguishing the forge fire, Shaft says, "Well then, let us clean up and venture to the Red Flag once more. With any luck, the ladies will have tamed the unicorn by now and it will be telling them its secrets while it rests its head upon a lap and has it's neck stroked."
The chimpanzee grins and shakes his head, showing his doubt of such a scenario.
"Well, that's how it looks in the tapestries," Herbert says in defense of the imagery. "And we didn't even send them out with a golden bridle."