Recess Part II

A light citrus odor wafted through Sam’s bedroom window as early morning light crept across his face, waking him from a deep sleep. In his midnight haste to conjure a structure he had forgotten to add curtains on the windows. His stomach rumbled, he ventured to where the kitchen should have been and found nothing but an empty room. No stove, no counters, no food. Just a rectangular room with four walls. He wasn’t surprised. When he magicked the building into existence, he was so tired he could barely hold his eyes open, but Rodger insisted on something grand. The only grand building he could think of was the central council building from back home and he had never been in the kitchen.

Dazed, Sam stared at the empty space, shaking his head. He took a deep breath and walked across the hall. At least the dining room was complete. A long table with forty chairs filled the room. He felt guilty for sitting at the head of the table even though the building was his own creation. If I can conjure a building, then I can conjure food, right? He closed his eyes and thought through the largest feast he had ever seen. Smoked meats, fresh bread with butter, fruits, pies, and cakes. He could sense the magic flowing through his body and he could feel the thoughts of the food taking shape. It felt so real he could smell it. Then he opened his eyes and saw it. The most delicious meal he could imagine was sitting on the table just for him. Sam reached out with caution, thinking of how foolish he would feel if his hand went through a simple illusion. He grabbed a piece of bread and bit it.

Sam ran out of the room shouting. “Rodger, Rodger, Rodger, I made food. Where the heck are you?”

There was no response. Sam ran across hallways, up and down stairs, but every room was empty. The only evidence of his friend was a bed with sheets that lay halfway on the floor. He took another bite of the bread he carried as evidence of his creation.

Rodger crawled out of bed a few minutes before sunrise. Bone colored skies provided just enough light to navigate his way around the building. Dragging his fingers along the walls, he appreciated Sam’s meticulous attention to detail. Even the wood beams that crossed the space were a perfect representation of the original. He paused to look inside each room he passed, making his way to the front door. Outside, the scene was the same one he saw the night before. He watched for a while before he got bored and reentered the building. Something smelled terrific.

Sam gave up on finding Rodger. He went back to the dining room where he found Rodger stuffing his mouth with fistfuls of food.

“Well, there you are,” Sam said.

Rodger spoke through turkey and cake, spewing bits of food onto the table. “I was outside watching Hannah fly with the dragons. I came back to find you and saw the food.”

Sam ran the front door. “I need to see this.”

From the top step of the building’s entrance, Sam could see more than a dozen dragons flying in loops far in the distance. With each pass, the dragons dropped from high up, swooping low to the ground before they pulled back up into the sky. The dragon’s scales glistened in the morning sun. They were graceful flyers decorated in varying shades of red, green, blue, yellow, silver, and black. He watched motionless for several minutes before he spotted Hannah among them. She was the smallest creature in the sky. Her feathered wings and yellow spotted fur were muted against the glimmer and flash of the dragon scales.

Rodger went outside and sat next to Sam on the top step, wiping greasy fingers on his pants. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

Sam didn’t take his eyes off the scene as he sat next to Rodger, “Yeah, absolutely incredible.”

“They’ve been doing that since last night. As soon as you went inside Hannah joined them. I spotted her when I woke up. I don’t think she’s slept a bit.”

“If I could do that, I don’t think I’d sleep either.”

“Me neither. The game seems to be a won by leaving the longest belly drag across the dirt.”

“So, they dive head first at the ground then drag their bellies?”

“Yeah, but I think leaving other marks on the dirt disqualifies the attempt. One of them screwed up and landed in a heap earlier.”

“Ouch, but they’re dragons so they don’t care about being hurt.”

“Exactly, they’re tuff buggers. Are we going to save Peter today?”

“I don’t think so. There’s no rush.”

“Because of the time thingy Peter’s trapped in.”

“If the time variance David, the Snuffle told us about is correct, each day that passes in our time is about two minutes to Peter. Besides we don’t have anything to break Peter out.”

“You think David is telling the truth about it, you know, the time thingy?”

“Yes, he hasn’t lied to us yet.”

“Well of course he has.”

“No, he left out lots of details about things that nearly got us killed, but everything he told us was accurate.”

“Okay, if we’re not leaving today, then what are we doing here?”

“I don’t know yet. There’s more going on here than what we can see.”

“I think that’s an understatement.” Rodger said.

“The thing is, we have a second chance to explore this place and we may never get to come back again. I want to learn a few things before we go. I noticed a few things yesterday. Remember when David used a key to manipulate the destination of the doorway he conjured?”

“Yes.”

“Well, he took us into what he called the bowels of the pocket world spell. I could hear the key talking to the lock, like it was reciting some incantation or something. Then I could feel magic accumulating in the tanks before we left the control room.”

“Is this like when you got all weird back in the Index?”

“No, that was entirely different because this place is entirely different. We’re currently inside a spell held together by dense magic. It’s a world within a world, or pocket world as the dragons call it. I had a dream about it last night. You remember how the pocket world spell looks right?”

“Sure, it’s like a swirling liquid of colors that don’t mix.”

“Exactly, well in my dream it wasn’t liquid. Instead, it was made of dust, and I was a spec of the dust swirling around with millions of other specs. I couldn’t tell if I was a certain color, but all the other specs were colored. I was at once myself, yet lacking physical attributes. I was one with the infinite potential of magic.”

“I think you’re losing it buddy.”

“That’s entirely possible. At this moment while we can interact with the pocket world in a physical sense, I think we’re just perceiving a physical world that isn’t even here. It’s more like we’re mushing magic bits around like puddy. It’s one of the reasons that I was able to conjure the building and the food so easily. Everything here is not–” Sam wave his hands about at the scene in front of them, “Here at all.”

“Sure, I think. The index is the same though, cause it’s all just magic right?”

The Index is different because it’s a system of real physical buildings that are interconnected by a magical conduit. Which is helpful because we can travel from building to building with nothing more than a thought or intention.

When I looked into the Index though, I could see layers upon layers of complexity built into it. There’s the library component, with an entire knowledge base of magic. That’s actually the simple part, but then there’s also the system itself. It’s constructed of layers of magic, each compartmentalized and interlocked in such a way that they are self-sustaining and won’t pull apart.

There was a source too. A never-ending limitless source of magic, but when I looked at it, I couldn’t see anything else. It was too bright, too strong, it blocked out everything.”

Rodger was accustomed to Sam’s rambling explanations. Since they were little kids, Sam was the smart one. “You lost me,” he said.

“Well, Peter has very physical magic whereas I seem to have something different. I don’t know what it is really, but it’s something to do with the building blocks of magic systems, I think. Like the creation of all of this, this pocket world stuff.”

“But you just told me how complicated it is.”

“This pocket world spell that we’re inside of right now is much flatter than the Index. While it seems complex, it’s relatively simple. It’s fully encapsulated in what you see in front of you. There are very few layers here. I think learning more about it can help us. I just don’t know where to get started.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re such a goof,” Rodger said as he stood and cupped his hands over his mouth. “Hey!” he shouted at the dragons. “Can you guys come over here for a minute. Sam has a question.”

The color drained from Sam’s face as the dragons paused and looked at them. A green dragon and Hannah flew toward them. The green dragon traveled across the hundred yard distance in seconds and landed in front of the steps to the building. Hannah was much slower, and she trailed behind. Sam and Rodger recognized Franz the mossy-green dragon, but he was smaller since the last time they saw him.

“Rodger and Sam, good to see you again,” Franz said. “What’s the question?”

Sam stammered. His confidence when talking to Rodger was very high, but he was shaken when confronted with a dragon who was an expert on his topic of inquiry. He didn’t want to sound ignorant or daft. “Well, uh, you see, it’s just that I– ”

Franz looked past Sam. He stared at the building behind them. “This is fantastic. What a lovely building. Do you mind if I go inside?”

Sam was struck by the request. He had conjured the building in just a few seconds and didn’t think it was anything special. Besides, he had no idea how Franz was going to fit through the doorway. Even with his current, smaller size, he was still more than forty feet long and many feet wide. “Sure, but how are you going to, you know, get in?”

“Oh that. How we present ourselves is a funny thing. Inside the pocket any of us can be anything because we’re not really here you know,” Franz said as he winked at Sam.

Sam snapped his fingers, “I knew it.”

Rodger and Hannah looked at each other and shrugged. As the two beings that had no innate ability to control magic, they didn’t understand it. Rodger had trouble keeping up with Sam’s emphatic explanations while Hannah had a blithe disregard for things she couldn’t affect.

Franz glanced at Sam and continued, “Hannah, I’m going to copy your look. I hope you don’t find this offensive.” Franz studied Hannah’s feline features and the feathers of her wings for several seconds before he began to change. Hair sprouted out of his fur, feathers grew from his wings, and his size reduced as he morphed into a male Ailuro. Everything was a legitimate copy in features and form except his face, which still had several dragon-like features in his eyes and the crest of his brow. “There, how do I look?” he asked.

Hannah walked around Franz in a circle, studying him up and down. “Pretty close except for the face, but can you do this?” she asked as she stood on two legs, tucked her wings behind her back and wrapped her tail around her waist. With her transformation she appeared more as a feline lady than an oversized, winged cat.

Franz stood on two legs, and mimicked Hannah again. This time, his wings and tail disappeared, and he appeared as a feline man. “Well yes, of course, but faces are darn difficult, I usually mess them up.”

Sam mentally ran through his last interaction with Franz. When they met the first time, Franz had shown off a huge, dragon-sized home that was fashioned to look like a human home. “But if you can change your size and appearance, why did you build such a huge house.”

“You know what they say, be yourself unless you can be a dragon, then be a dragon.” Franz said.

Rodger laughed, “Who says that?”

“Dragons.” Franz said as he walked inside. “Something smells wonderful in here.” Franz entered the dining room. “Ah, Sam you’ve outdone yourself. When you were in the pocket world before I think I fed you bread, honey and fruit. I’m not all that versed on human food you know. May I?”

“Yes of course,” Sam said.

Franz proceeded to walk around the table piling various food items on a plate. “Sam, now that we’re settled in here, what’s the question?”

“I’m hoping you can help me understand my magic better. It’s all very new to me, but it feels like I can sense magic densities, hear magic items talking, and see how magic systems are connected. It’s all very confusing.”

Franz’s eyes were focused on the food he was sampling while he listened to Sam. “I would also say you also have a strong ability to conjure delicious food items. What do you call this soft, sweet, cheesy, cakey-stuff?”

“Cheesecake.” Rodger said.

“Brilliant. Listen Sam, I’m not an expert on such things. I can tell you that different aptitudes and interests manifest themselves as magical abilities or specialties. We can all do most everything with enough practice, but some aspects of magic are definitely a sweet spot for certain individuals. For example, as you mentioned I built a house as an experiment to experience how humans live. I also wrote a play about human social interactions, but that’s because my interests are more anthropological. I suggest that you talk to Augshai. She’s the best teacher among us. It’s her specialty. I can help you find her.”

Sam thought over the name. It reminded him of Shay, the dragon that destroyed the city of Vacilia. “Any relation to the red dragon named Shay?”

“Yes, Augshai is Shay’s mother, but she’s not a bloodthirsty, power-hungry, psychopath like he is. In fact, she’s quite nice.”

“I think you mean, like he was,” Rodger said.

“Ah yes, you guys did manage to help dispatch him. Sorry, you’re correct, like he was. Which reminds me. There were three of you guys before. I didn’t want to pry in case, you know, these things can be delicate, but where’s Peter?” Franz asked.

“He’s not dead. He’s stuck in Ellenora. Cerulia took him into the ice. That’s our next mission. We’re fixin-ta to save Peter.” Rodger said.

“Oh my, she’s back and already found Peter.” Franz said.

Sam took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “Franz, I’m a little afraid to ask you more questions. The last time we were here you basically kicked us out of the pocket world for asking questions.”

“True, but I had my reasons. Like David, part of my agreements with the other dragons puts limits on what I am allowed to influence. The small amount of help I provided last time was risky for me.” Franz said.

Sam tried to play off his prior remark, “Oh, I didn’t realize.” When Franz pushed them out of the pocket world before, Sam was convinced that the dragons and David were in cahoots and were hiding something. This new information confirms that he was correct, but it was more complicated than a simple secret. “What did you mean when you said that Cerulia’s already found Peter?” Sam asked.

Franz continued to ram food into his peculiar looking face. “Killing Shay would have left a magical imprint on Peter. The kind of imprint that makes him stand out to other dragons. If she wanted Peter dead, she would’ve just killed him instead of taking him into the ice. He’ll be fine, but let’s go back to the magic discussion. Sam, don’t worry about your magic abilities so much. You obviously have a huge aptitude for magic given this building you conjured and the food. Well done by the way. Everything is quite excellent. Although, the placement is a little strange. Why did you place this building on the roof of the Assembly Chamber?” Franz asked.

Sam’s face reddened, “It’s just so easy to conjure things inside your pocket world. I’m really scared of heights, it was dark, and . . . Sorry.”

Franz walked out of the dining room into the hallway and peered around the corner. “It’s really not a big deal. Mind if I walk around? The proportions are different than the buildings I created. I didn’t think about the compensations I made to accommodate our tails when in my natural dragon form. This is much better, more authentic. Rather than get rid of it, I might just move it to my hilltop instead.”

Sam followed Franz into the hallway, and they walked together up the stairs. “So where do we find Augshai?”

“If you can conjure this building, then you can find her by thinking about her, conjuring a door or other portal, and walking through it.”

“But David used a key to move around the pocket.”

“Ah, yes he would do that wouldn’t he. David loves to show off. The key he used allows for access to the restricted portions of the spell. In other words, the areas we don’t want anyone mucking about in because they could screw it all up.”

“So, it’s really that simple? Just think about who I want to go to, conjure a door, and walk through.”

“For you, yes it’s really that simple. Others, not so much. Go on then, give it a go.”

Sam stopped walking and turned to face a doorway. During their discussion, Sam had followed Franz as he explored the building. Just a month ago in the real world, this door used to open to Owen’s bedroom. Owen was Peter’s little brother. He was killed by Shay during the attack on the City of Vacilia. Even though this was not the real building and certainly not the real door, it felt significant to walk through it to meet Shay’s mother. Sam took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle, and closed his eyes. A bright white glow filled the thin gap around the door. Sam pulled the door open and walked into a grassy field. A dark red dragon looked up from an enormous canvas and smiled at him.

“Right on time.” Augshai said.