Necessity, Invention, yadda yadda....

30th of Ashan 718

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30th Ashan, 718
Bruises did not suit Esme Dashiell and she was not amused at having them. It had been six trials since Padraig had found her in his office, tied, bound and beaten frankly black and blue. She was, thus far, the only member of staff who had been attacked that trial who was back at work and she had been back three trials. Her response to being asked how she was feeling was caustic and dismissive. Inquiring after her health in any way shape or form got very short shrift and an assurance that she was quite fit to be doing her job, thank you. She looked dreadful, but the woman simply refused to give in, no matter what. Despite some quite firm insistence, and a visit from the Dean and the Chancellor of the University, she was at her desk before anyone else and she stayed later. It was, quite evidently, a matter of pride.

"So," she said, without preamble, after he'd called for her to come in to his office. She wasn't due, they hadn't arranged to meet but somehow, she turned up just when he had a free break. "We need to discuss the expedition at the end of the season. We've got it scheduled in for you to go... my apologies, for us to go on the 110th. That should maximise our ability to make the most of the weather, wouldn't you say?" She had a pile of papers in her hand and she put them down on his desk.

"We need to make some decisions. How many ships, what kind of ships? Then, we need to consider the crew and the skills you wish them to have." She looked at him from down her nose. Padraig had grown to know Esme Dashiell over the time he'd been her student and then, her colleague, and she liked him. There could be no doubt since she wasn't outrageously dismissive of him, had never called him a buffoon and didn't get up and leave whenever he sat with her in the dining hall or staff lounge.

That was most certainly not true of everyone.

"I suggest that we need a medic and a good one. Also, I think we should ask Pippa. As a Naerrik, I would be interested to see if her shadow forms work. I can work on the collection of materials and try to dreamwalk." She listed them all off, one at a time. "And I suggest that we take the third portalstone and see if it reacts differently out there." It was strange, but even with shifting coloured eyes, as she had, Professor Dashiell's mood or tone, facial expression or posture was almost impossible to read. "Will your wife be attending? I would be interested to see if your funny arm glowing band-things continued to work if you were together." Evidently, the blessing of Qylios was not enough to impress her.

"Also, I've read everything. Including the supplementary report by the other Professor Augustin. That there is a man in Viden and there are those in Scalvoris who have been there, albeit nefarious and very dubious characters, should be explored, don't you think?"

Once she'd gotten her list out, Esme Dashiell sat down and then she smiled at him. "Good afternoon, Padraig. How are the children?" In fairness, she never failed to ask.
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Esme Dashiell should not be at work, or even out of her home or bed for that matter. She knew that already, Padraig realized. Or at least, others knew it and had been foolish enough to mention it to her. Padraig was not that foolish. And so when the professor turned up at his door unannounced, he welcomed her in with a smile, offered her a cup of tea, but steered a very wide path around even a semblance of expressing his disapproval or sympathy.

Us? She was going along on the expedition this time around? On the one hand it came as a surprise. But then why should it? She was a physicist like himself. Why would she not be consumed with curiosity about what was out there, and be eager to see and explore it for herself? "It should indeed," he said, regarding the weather, and he said it with an almost amused his smile. His way, with her, of expressing his pleasure at learning she'd be accompanying him on the expedition.

There were the logistics to work out however. Three ships, he suggested. With an emphasis on durability and adaptability above speed. Though speed would also be nice. One of the ship's crews should be those who'd accompanied him before, or whichever of them was still willing. The rest ought be experienced at sailing under the most harsh and unpredictable conditions. He'd take much more equipment this time, a wider variety, and he'd make sure it was all packed in such a way that it reduced the possibility of being damaged. As had unfortunately been the case last time around.

As for Pippa, he agreed with the logic and so, she would come with them so long as she was willing. And the same, regarding the third portal stone and a medic. "Dreams were very strange things out there," he revealed when Esme mentioned dreamwalking. "Very vivid, real, nightmarish things that stuck with you once you'd awaken from them. They were relentless." But no, as much as he'd have liked for her to come along, Faith wouldn't be accompanying him, as she had other things she needed to tend to while he was gone.

The professor's comments about his mark brought a brief grin to his face though and he shook his head. "The marks and links ceased to function once we passed through what must have been the first of the barriers. I'd tend to think they'd behave similarly, even were we together on board." On the other hand, he did agree that they ought to look at and study every bit of information they had available to them, including what Faith had managed to dig up in Viden.

He smiled again though when she asked about the children. "The twins are doing well," Padraig told her. "Each trial, there's something new to see and learn about them, and how they distinguish themselves from the other. They have their grandfather charmed as well, which is not an easy undertaking."
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Three ships, she agreed, and the emphasis he suggested was a good one. She noted the crew he wanted and then she made a note on dreams and the portal stone. She didn't discuss them further, there was no need and Esme Dashiell was not someone who felt the need to waste words where they were not required. Lists, clear and precise terms and nothing additional unless necessary was her way of being.

However, when he spoke about the marks, in response to her question, as she looked at him a deep frown crossed her brow. Glaring down her nose at him she turned her very best withering gaze on him. It had to be said, she had a talent for them, even with a face swollen with bruises. "Did I teach you nothing?" She seemed entirely genuine in her assessment of his failings and, had she got a rolled up newspaper, she might well have hit him over the head with it. "I have never, in all my arcs, known a scientist say that they 'tend to think' or assume that because something happened one way once, in a different circumstance it will behave the same way," She pinned her gaze upon him and explained in clear terms.

"What are the variables, Padraig? Consider them, analyse them. Do not waste time on speculation, that is the job of the philosopher." She had a certain tone when teaching and somehow, there was the clear implication that he was a wayward student in that moment. "If your wife had been next to you, would you have been able to re establish the links? Is it a barrier through which nothing passes, or is it an area where they do not work?" She looked at him and one eyebrow quirked, ever so slightly. "Do not 'tend to think', it is unbecoming in a physicist. We do not have tendencies, we have theoretical likelihoods and testable hypotheses." She was quite, quite sure of that.

In terms of what Faith had found in Viden, well it was this fellow Knots, who had apparently been where they were going that she was interested in. He had told Faith of people in Almund who had been with him. "I suppose the question is whether we want to speak to a group of either ex pirates or old, but current ones and having spoken to them, ask about the seemingly impossible notion that they literally moved from one side of the world to the other in the space of a breath." There were definite issues with either speaking or not speaking to them, she said. Ultimately, she was content to leave the decision to him on that.

As for the twins, she relaxed back and smiled a very genuine smile. "It is my understanding that children bring delight to grandparents in a way the grandparents were unprepared for. Apparently," she said, obviously delivering him a piece of information she had heard, "having grandchildren is better than having children. I am sure that your father would agree. " If she realised that she might just be insulting him, well she appeared not to know it, but then he knew her better. She had a sense of humour and it was sharp. "Or so I tend to think."
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His professor and mentor wasn't much for wasting time or for idle chit chat, and that suited Padraig just fine. Neither was he although some things were probably relative. He'd been known to peer through a telescope or stare up at the night sky with the naked eye for breaks on end. And there were probably any number of laborers who witnessed it and shook their heads, wondering about the layabout scientist with nothing better to do that gawk at the stars.

"An educated guess," he said, grinning slightly when Esme scolded him. "Based on my experience. Once we passed through...whatever it was, it wasn't just that the connection between Faith and I was broken. The marks faded away to the point that I might not have had them at all. My ring though," he said, extending his hand to show her his wedding ring, "glowed though I didn't realize it for a long while with my gloves on." The professor made good points though, Padraig would give her that. Though just a bit later, he might just turn the table again. In the meantime, yes, it made sense that they should speak with those who'd experienced a bit of the mystery themselves.

Afterwards, he smiled before saying, "Actually I tend to think it's not at all impossible." Moving from one side of the world to the other in the blink of an eye, he meant. "Putting magic aside, old, current or some newfangled version, it seems to me that physics would be more than enough. Either something naturally occurring, or engineered through physics." And what would it require? Manipulation, the bending or folding of time and space. Taking a piece of paper from his desk, he took a letter opener and poked two holes in the paper at opposite ends. "Consider this piece of paper to be time and space as we currently recognize it."

But what if, he suggested, time and space as strictly linear concepts were an illusion? "Our current understanding and logic says that to travel from point a to point b, takes x amount of time, taking into account traditional modes of travel. But if time and space was bent, folded or looped back on itself?" he added as he folded the paper in half, aligning the two holes, one with the other. A naturally occurring phenomena, one done with magic in part or in whole, or even the work of a mastermind physicist. "Voila," he said with a grin as he passed a narrow pencil through both holes at once. "Point a to point b in a heartbeat."

At any rate, when the professor shared her thoughts on the relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren, well, he had to option but to agree with her wholeheartedly. More than once Cylus had taken one or both of the fussing infants out of his hands only to have them cooing, grinning and kicking happily within trills. It was a knack, and it was one that Padraig couldn't recall him having had when he was a boy.
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Judging by the expression the bruised woman wore, an educated guess was barely better than tending to think, but she let it go. She had, after all, made her point. When he said that his ring glowed, she looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "Malorite. Star Metal. They must pay you more than me." Looking at it, she considered. "It is a closed unit, that ring. Your Immortal marks, by definition are not such. Is it inherently magical, that metal? I believe not." However, that led her to other considerations. Would an alchemical creation, she wondered, crafted with some of this star metal as a reagent maintain its properties once through the barrier? More notes ensued and Padraig could be quite sure that there would a "To-Do" list landing on his desk in the very near future.

His demonstration with a piece of paper and a pencil, though caused a sniff of derision from Esme Dashiell. "It is theoretically possible that our perceptions of time are impacted by the linear nature of our own existence, true." Her mind was ticking over as she watched him, "because we travel in one direction by nature, we assume that it is the only direction in which time travels." Ralaith would have something different to say but she was not concerned with Immortals right now, specifically she was interested in the differences between time and space. "However, physical reality has other laws. Who know?" Putting a hand briefly to her temple she frowned slightly in irritation, but said nothing, simply waiting for it to pass.

"We'll need to make sure that wills and so on are drawn up. Only responsible thing to do, really." It was as relevant and emotional as her suggestion that they needed to bring a medic. "I thought that perhaps it would be interesting for you to put one of those glowing bands on my arm, if you can, once we are underway. Once there, we can see if they can be reapplied." He knew her too well to think that she was quite as ignorant as she was making out in terms of 'those glowing bands', but she enjoyed the game of it. "If they are lost. Although I will of course defer to what you tend to think." Just a slight smile, gone as quickly as it was there, in fairness.

"So, now that we have discussed the pragmatics. Tell me, if you would," feeling vaguely nauseous and dizzy she might be, but there was no denying the slight shift forward in her chair or the glint of interest in Esme's eyes. "What changed about your dreams? Tell me as clearly as you can, it might show all sorts of interesting things." Possibly the most unlikely dreamwalker there was, but there it went to show that people, even physicists, could be surprising.
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"It's my wedding band," Padraig explained with a bit of a grin when Esme examined the ring on his hand. "During the expedition, I kept my gloves on almost constantly even when I slept, removing them only briefly when I needed to work with more sensitive equipment." What that meant of course, was that he'd rarely looked at the ring or even seen it, only being really aware when he'd been injured, so had removed the glove from his hand. "I don't think so," he said regarding any magical properties it might have. "It seemed to respond however when Xiur appeared next to me on the ship."

Scoff all she wanted, however, Padraig felt very strongly that space and time were not necessarily linear, and his time on that expedition had only encouraged the line of thought. He further believed that while such things might occur naturally, with enough knowledge and understanding, similar might be achieved through science. Physics in particular. But she was right. Who knew? At any rate he'd leave that train of thought aside for another time. Padraig was the observant type however, and frowned thoughtfully when Esme put her hand, tenderly to her forehead. Surely, her injuries from the attack were still plaguing her, no matter she wouldn't acknowledge it.

Wills however, last wills and testaments? It was his nature, he didn't like thinking along those lines. It was probably wise though to make arrangements, just in case. Surely though, Faith and Cyrus both knew what he would want. At any rate, the law surely must recognize Faith and the children as his rightful heirs and inheritors. "I think it can be arranged," he said, smiling when she suggested a sharing of marks. It would be an interesting experiment at any rate and his mark allowed for up to three people to be bonded.

So the dreams? Having recently learned that the professor was a dreamwalker, her curiosity didn't surprise him. "I don't know if there was a dreamwalker on board. If there was I never heard of it," he admitted, so couldn't begin to say how they might have been affected. The dreams were very dark, immersive and relentless. Exhausting, Padraig explained, as if he'd slept, but not. The feeling followed them into the waking breaks and sapped their strength. "A sense of hopelessness that was hard to shake. The dreams themselves were almost always the same. The urgency, the sense of needing to do something important, of needing to get to or save a loved one, in my case, but not being able to." Certainly not something he was looking forward to experiencing again at any rate.
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His wedding band? Esme looked at him and a brief smile flitted across her face. "Forgive me, but they are obviously paying the other Professor Augustin more than I." Caustic, dry and rather sharp, that was her. She was intrigued that it responded to the proximity of the Immortal; it made sense that it would on an instinctual level but she wondered about other metals and other Immortals. Still, now was probably not the time. Nor was it the time for him to be remotely sympathetic, it seemed, as she shot him a sharp glance in response to his frown.

She listened to the telling of his dreams and she considered. It could be a number of things, she said. Hopefully, the presence of her as a dreamwalker would mean that, at the least, she could help lessen the problems or perhaps even stop them completely. She put together her notes and then handed him his list of things to do. It wasn't short, that list and included creating something from alchemy which used star metal, ensure his affairs were in order in the case of his death and other such cheery thoughts. As they set out should be an appropriate time for her to take the mark glowing band thing from him, she considered.

But, it had to be said, Esme Dashiell enjoyed talking with him. He had a quick brain and his thought process was clear. He was pragmatic and innovative. So, as she gathered up her things, she nodded to him. "I trust that this expedition will go well. If you choose to speak with the objectionables your wife sought in trying to find you last time let me know," Objectionables, it seemed were Esme-speak for undesirables. "And inform me of any changes. I'll be ready. We can bring some books, give us something to talk about."

Ever charming, she bade him good trial and left him with his list. Of one thing he could be sure - she'd expect him to have completed all items.

There may even be a test.
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Padraig

Overview

And this is what happens when I record knowledges as I go when writing a modded thread! Ok, so I really enjoyed writing with you in this thread -what I enjoy about modding Padraig is how quietly strong he is - and he's a little bit scary bright - yet somehow, the science is rational and understandable, which is down to your writing. Great fun, and I hope you enjoyed it - the choices that he's made here in terms of the expedition will all have an impact - and we'll go on to that next. Enjoy your rewards and let me know if I've missed anything at all.

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XP: 15

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Loot

+1 To Do List (long) For this, as the culmination of a number of planning threads where Padraig has used his intellect effectively and has planned a very difficult mission with the constant focus on increasing knowledge, you have gained the following ability on your Xypha mark. May it serve you well in the hardships to come.
The Telesthetic BoonOnce per trial, for two breaks, the Xypha can hear streams of conscious thought around him or her. The greater the number of individuals around him or her, the harder it is to make sense of the jumble of thoughts. Without training, this is overwhelming and can cause the Xypha to black out, should they be around too many people. But with training and understanding of the ability, the Xypha gains the powerful tools necessary to hear and anticipate the coming actions of those around them.

Knowledge

Discipline: Facing a task you really don't want to do
Logistics: Prioritising the kind of vessel to take you through dangerous waters.
Logistics: Planning which crew will accompany you on a dangerous mission
Logistics: Considering all items to take on a journey where you won't be able to pop back.
Persuasion: Sometimes, it's scientific to "tend to think that"
Persuasion: Redefining a term can make it more appropriate to the listener
Physics: Theories of time and space
Teaching: Using analogy to ensure that your point is clear
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