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Part 4: An "Expert" Opinion
The Grand Admiral October 8, 2022 9:42 pm
 “Miss Vyra, do you have a moment?”
 
At first, the all-powerful Over—…former overlord—did not hear the voice call her name.  She was busily packing away her little shop for the day.  A humble merchant…such a fate was far from what she had envisioned for herself, but she had warmed up to most parts of it a long time ago.  Having a relatively small shop-stand as opposed to something large and grand was far easier to manage (which was good for her occasional tendencies to become bored and find other things to amuse herself—such things would be impossible without a nice little shop she could easily pack away).  She liked providing her customers with goods only she could provide, and what unique goods they were.  And the money was nice too.
 
Strange, how the former all-powerful and all-glorious could be amused by something so bland and common as money.  But who was she to argue? 
 
And of course, the most important part of all, her little shop had a perfect view of her beloved Argus.  When she wasn’t busy (and sometimes when she was) she could take a little break and get her fill of the handsome male any time she wanted. 
 
At this moment, Vyra wasn’t admiring Argus—not for lack of wanting to; he just wasn’t in residence at the moment—but being an attentive shop owner and packing up for the day.  Tallying her wares and profits.  Checking to see what supplies she had and what she would need to get restocks on.  So the speaker had to repeat her request before she deigned to divert her attention from her tasks. 
 
“You’ll have to come back tomorrow.  Your beloved Vyra has other things she must attend to.”
 
“Miss Vyra, Frederick asked me to pass on a request.”
 
Now she actually turned to face the speaker.  And Vyra felt an eyebrow perk in mild surprise.  The lady scientist Nicola was standing there, trying (poorly) to hide her nervousness.  Vyra was hard-pressed not to roll her eyes…and then she did it anyway.  She hadn’t threatened the woman that much back in the day.  Just enough to get her to do what she had wanted.  This shop was the fruit of her labors.
 
“What does the old man want from me?” she asked, graciously choosing to ignore Nicola’s foolish nervousness.  “I’ve already offered to help him with that portal project of his.  I’m sure we both remember how Artemis reacted to that.”
 
The Mad Scientist’s grand long-term project to create a steady portal to Solaria was a secret to nobody.  And Vyra, something of an expert on the topic, had thought it only appropriate to offer her expertise.  Artemis had quite overreacted, in her humble opinion.  All that nonsense about never trusting her precious sapling to anything created by her, spoken so loudly.  So unnecessary, and so ungrateful.
 
There would be no sapling at all without me, Vyra thought bitterly.  The Tree gave the seed to me.  Me, not anyone else.  
 
and speaking of that, what is going on with that thing?  I could have sworn something would have come of my efforts by now…   
 
“I know Lady Artemis would prefer you not to be involved, but…”
 
“So he does want my help with his project?”
 
“He said he had some questions to ask you.  Would you be willing to visit him in the laboratory?”    
 
Vyra smirked, smartly slapping shut the last bin of supplies and shoving it into place. 
 
“I suppose I might have a little bit of time to spare this evening,” she said.
 
Not-so-companionable silence fell as they started walking together up the road towards the Mad Scientist’s laboratory.  It was unusually quiet for an early evening.  As a matter of fact, it had been quieter than normal lately overall.  Vyra had noted less in the coffers than she was used to, and there were less supplies than usual that she needed to restock.  Not that she cared, of course.  But things unusual, that she didn’t cause…she was not accustomed to being uninformed of anything interesting. 
 
“So what is this about?” she asked casually. 
 
Nicola glanced at her, then pointed towards the low pockmarked mountain in the distance.
 
“Have you heard about what’s going on in the mining caves recently?”
 
Vyra perked an eyebrow again. 
 
“The mining caves?  Is that where everyone has gone?  Exploring a bunch of dark and dirty holes?”
 
“Something very interesting is being found there.  A strange kind of rock.  Frederick is convinced they are what he’s been looking for to finish the portal.”
 
Vyra paused, turning her head fully and slowly towards Nicola.
 
“He wants to ask me about rocks?”
 
“Here.”  Nicola reached into a pocket and pulled out a small smooth pebble.  “Haven’t you seen one yet?  Frederick is asking for as many of them to be found as possible.  I think they’re finding them pretty much everywhere in those tunnels.”
 
Vyra stared at the pebble, feeling her jaw drop slightly as she watched its smooth surface shimmer.  After a moment she plucked it from Nicola’s palm and held it closer to her eyes. 
 
“Alright,” she said.  “This is…interesting.  Lead the way, Miss Scientist.  This might be an interesting conversation after all.”
 
“Do you know what they are?” Nicola asked.
 
“Not a clue.”  Vyra grinned.  “But that’s what’s going to make this fun.”
 
******
 
The laboratory, for as cluttered and loud and built from rough stone as it was, was still strangely clean and somewhat organized.  The glass containers lining tables and shelves—most full of a variety of substances—were at least labeled if not in any definitive order.  Vyra had to respect the work that had clearly gone into making the space serviceable.  She had heard more than her share of rumors and stories about the eccentricity of the wild-haired man currently studying a line of stones on one of the tables, scribbling page after page of notes. 
 
“You gone back to being his maid?” she asked Nicola impishly.  “I thought you put the old man in his place years ago.”
 
“For your information, Frederick has gotten much better about cooperative use of our laboratory,” Nicola replied.  “It’s not perfect, and it probably never will be, but we’ve worked out a lot of our old problems.”  She paused, her expression softening.  “What Winnie told us after the competition for the Dragon Stars weighed quite heavily on him.  He wants to make our daughter proud, to make up for the past.  And so do I.  Learning how to get along again is the least we can do.”
 
Vyra hmphed, but not in a mocking way.  Not that she would ever confess it to anyone, but she liked Winnie.  Just a little.  She was a brave, plucky little girl.  And her parents had made her young life tough for longer than she had ever deserved.  Remembering how oppressed she had felt trapped in the code for all those years, Vyra could…well, she could relate to her somewhat.  Just a little.   
 
“Well, let’s get to the fun, shall we?” she said, brushing aside the sudden spark of melancholy.  She had no time for it. 
 
Frederick did not notice them approach until Vyra had stepped up to the other side of the table and flicked the pebble underneath his magnifying glass.   
 
“So,” she said, flashing the startled man a toothy grin.  “Impress me, master scientist.  What is your great theory on these flashy little rocks?”
 
The scientist had jumped at her sudden arrival, but somehow had managed to avoid knocking aside his stack of notes.  Eyes comically overlarged by spectacles barely hanging on to the bridge of his long nose almost made the dignified former Overlord laugh.  Then he smiled at her, clearly pleased at her arrival, and gestured to the rocks between them.
 
“Lady Vyra, thank you for coming,” he said sincerely.  Unlike his assistant…wife?...partner?...he wasn’t at all nervous in her presence.  Or at least too distracted to be.  “I have been studying these interesting specimens for a few days now.  Surely you can see what I do.  I am hoping you can make some sense of them.”
 
Vyra didn’t pay much attention to either Frederick or Nicola as they explained how the group of pups had thought to bring the pebbles to them to find out the source of the strange shimmer.  She picked them up one by one, turning them carefully, running the very tip of a claw from end to end.  By the time it had finally been realized that she wasn’t listening to a word they were saying and they fell silent, she was grinning broadly.
 
Well, this certainly wasn’t what she had expected.  But she wasn’t about to be picky.  Especially since there were apparently so many of them being dug out of the mining caves, if what the chatterers in her presence were claiming was true.
 
“Surely by now you have a theory,” Vyra said indulgently.  “Impress me, oh brilliant scientist.”
 
“Well, it is easiest to see when observed very closely.”  Frederick demonstrated this by holding his magnifying glass over one of the pebbles.  “They aren’t actually shimmering, persay.  They’re actually…”
 
“Glitching,” Vyra finished.  “So I see.”
 
“Yes.”  The scientist picked up another of the pebbles, practically shaking in restrained excitement.  “I believe they may be from your realm.  Perhaps there is a weakness in the borders between it and Lunaria lurking somewhere in the caves that is allowing them to trickle through.  Some mining for them have reported seeing them dropping from above.”
 
Vyra smirked.
 
“Interesting.  Wrong, but interesting.”  She casually tapped the pebble in her paw with one curved claw.  “Having rocks trickle in from my…realm…would indicate there is land there.  There isn’t.  It’s nothing but a digital prison.  Only code and dragons lurk there.”
 
“Dragons?” Nicola asked.
 
“Nevermind.”  Vyra tapped the pebble again.  “But you were right to call for me, as it seems something of mine might be involved.  These mundane little pebbles—pebbles of all things—are infused with my power.”
 
“So you do know what they are?”
 
“Pay attention.  I’ve already said I don’t.  But if you are inclined to badger me for an answer, I’d be inclined to say…they’re not rocks at all.”
 
Frederick and Nicola stared at her, then at each other.   
 
“Not…rocks?  How…how can you tell?”
 
“My dear, I’m sure I already said to pay attention.  We are talking about objects infused with my power.  There is nothing about my power I do not know in intimate detail.  Now, you said they are apparently hollow?  I assume you believe there is something inside.”
 
“Yes, but for the life of me I can’t crack them.”  Frederick gestured to another table, upon which lay an array of various tools meant for cutting, smashing, and other means of destruction.  “They seem utterly impenetrable.” 
 
“Well then, shall we solve the mystery that vexes you so?  What defies you will obey me without question.”
 
Frederick wasted no time.  In less than a minute, he had strapped on a pair of safety goggles, handed a pair to Nicola to do the same, and strapped fresh paper on a clipboard to continue his furious scribbling of notes.  Nicola lit more lanterns, offering more direct illumination as Vyra placed one of the pebbles in the very center of her paw and touched a claw to its surface.  The shimmering rippled at the point her claw touched, the tiny object vibrating a little. 
 
Vyra knew she was indulging a curiosity, something that had once been wholly beneath her.  But she rather liked the eager excitement of both scientists.  And it seemed that she had at last uncovered something that was affected by her manipulation of that little sapling seed.  Why stones in the faraway mining cave, a place the trees had apparently no connection to?  Well, mystery was what made life interesting.  And ‘discoverer of a scientific breakthrough’ was yet another title she could now add to her extensive resume.  She quite looked forward to being able to shove it in that overbearing Artemis’ face.
 
As the scientists watched, Vyra once more drew her claw down the surface of the pebble.  The rippling and trembling increased. 

Then she pressed down, and the tip of the claw pierced the rock-hard surface… 
 
…to be continued.           
 
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