When Magic's All You Know {Interactive Story)

[Ice580]

Oo... this is a tough one. Hmm... "something else". I wanna see how this turns out.

[dove.]

something else

[Piefan]

After a pause of thought, you push the button on the right. The section flips open, and you pull out its contents, spreading them on your bed as you sit down.

Another note, first of all, though not in the same penmanship as the other. Where that one was a messy scrawl, this one's a neat cursive, in a purple pen.

Good choice, I suppose. I still don't think we should be giving out magical artifacts like candy, but at least we're a lot less likely to need this.

Contained within are these:

1)Three rings. They aren't really very useful beyond recreationally, but you essentially create a mental landscape. Wear one, and give the others to your closest companions if need be; this will allow them to access the landscape as well. The primary, practical, use, is as an infinite notebook, or to communicate telepathically with the other wearers of the ring. To my awareness, this is impossible to do across humans naturally, so it's rather unique in that sense. Keep in mind that it does require all of your attention to remain in this landscape; you can't multitask with both it and the physical realm.
2)A map of the neighbourhood and surrounding area, with all hidden passageways and other significant secrets highlighted. I wouldn't suggest using this to run around exploring at random; most are guarded or have wards that will probably kill you before you can do much.
3)A pack of chocolate chip cookies.

O

Everything else in the box is as listed, and you pause a moment to examine each.

The rings are all identical, save for a single, painted dot on each - red, blue, and yellow - presumably to distinguish them from each other. They're made of plain, smooth metal, and though they seem too large for most people at first, one seems to shrink to fit when you slip it on. This seems interesting, certainly, but there's nobody you can think of at the moment who you'd need to give the other rings any time soon.

The map, next. It's rolled up, and as you unfurl it, you notice the several notes on its back: apparently there were three people writing these, if the different writing styles are any indication. You scan quickly through them; there's a lot of information. Most not illegal to possess, technically, but which should be hard to find regardless. The map itself as well-detailed, though some of it is coloured over with highlighters, obscuring some information.

And... The cookies. That was a somewhat strange addition to the package. You're not sure what to do with them, when you consider the possibility of poison of some sort. It's not worth dwelling on, though; if you're hungry, you can just buy more. You toss them under the bed.

With that covered, you stand, picking up the now-empty (or mostly empty) box. Judging by Shadow's note, he's probably going to find a way into your room if you just leave it here; besides, what else are you going to do with it?

Walking downstairs, you exit through the back door. This is one of the higher-end neighbourhoods, so you're not assaulted by the stench of garbage - probably the only perk of coming through here at all. In contrast to the clean, colourful main streets, behind the rows of houses are garbage and rusty machinery. Apparently nobody wanders here enough to justify any kind of actual maintenance.

You set the box down, bending down to push a loose chunk of concrete in front of it. It's not a particularly good hiding place, but it makes it less obvious. The risk of someone happening to stumble in and take it is low enough, regardless, so it's not worth the effort.

Well, now that you're done with that, what now?

Completely open-ended; unless you think this is getting boring and want me to speed up the plot, you have a post or two until anything bad happens, so don't worry about that. Of course, that only applies to external factors, rather than your own decisions. If you decide you want to pick a fight with a lion or something, that'll probably not work.

[Ice580]

Visit the imaginary world

[Piefan]

You head back into your room, and settle into your bed. Picking up one ring, you slip it on.

No immediate effects come over you, save for several thoughts and sensations lingering at the edge of your mind, preventing you from fully concentrating on any one thing. You can probably get over that with enough training, though you won't be able to cast complex spells for some time.

Closing your eyes, you focus your energies inward, and drift
into
y o u r
m i n d


When you open your eyes again, you immediately wonder how physics even works.

You're floating - or standing on an invisible and intangible platform, possibly, though that seems to make a lot less sense. There's nothing around you, just a seemingly infinite void.

You feel vaguely cheated.

This isn't completely bad, you suppose. You can still create things yourself - that's how most of these little pocket spaces work. You don't have Conjuration, though, so you guess you just have to figure it out yourself.

I want a rock, you think. A rock appears, hovering just beyond reach. Well, that's a mystery solved. You leap forward to grab it, more out of the principle of it than an actual need for it. It seems so real, though: you can feel its weight pressing into your hand, and its smooth, even texture is snug against your skin.

You-

flinch as something falls from the ceiling, the loud thump jolting you from your mind. Gah. You sit up - when did you lie down? - and look around for the source.

Your light-rune (stone, if you're being technical with the terms) had once been attached to the ceiling by magic; now it's on the floor. It's still glowing, though, so not all of the magic has been drained from it. Standing, you shove the remaining rings into a drawer and pick up the stone.

With a quick toss and spell, you have it back up again. Your magic feels... weaker, though. Maybe that has something to do with the whole "accepting mind-related magical objects from strangers who may or may not have malicious intent" thing you just did.

Bah.

You take off the one you're wearing, just in case, and stuff it into the drawer with the rest.