An Old Acquaintance

I arrived at the library of Seline Dhark at the appointed time. Elie was there to greet me.

"Daniel," he said. "It certainly has been a while. How's your leg doing?"

"Same as always," I said. "Still hurts when I put too much weight on it. How are you, Elie?"

"I'm doing well," he informed me.

We spent a minute catching up before I brought up the extractor.

"Ah, yes," Elie said. "I've reserved a back room in the library for it. Follow me."

He led me into the library. It was a big place, and in the foyer was a portrait of a kind looking woman, with dark black hair with a single gray streak. She was dressed in a violet and soft blue dress, and her eyes lacked any visible irises, instead having very large pupils.

"Seline Dhark," Elie said. "Founder of this library."

"And one of the most powerful and respected Scions," I said, recalling some old lessons from the Academy. "Said to be alive for centuries."

"And supposedly, she's still kicking," Elie said. "Perhaps we may even get to meet her."

"I'd rather not," I said. "If what Kallaway saw of my destiny has any truth to it, I doubt a Scion would be please with my presence."

"Fair enough," he said, continuing to lead to the back room.

He didn't ask about who Kallaway was, or that he had foreseen my destiny. Which would imply that he's aware of my blog, and has at least read that post.

We entered the room, where a few other students were sitting around.

"Who are all these?" I asked.

"Some underclassmen I'm tutoring," Elie replied.

"No Kimiko?" I asked.

"She can't teleport like you can," he whispered to me. "She'll be joining us over skype, since she can't make the distance here in one day."

"I see," I replied. "So, shall we have a look at this Extractor of yours?"

"Let's start things off with an introduction first," Elie said. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce my old friend and colleague, Daniel Xavier Ferris."

"Dr. Ferris will do just fine," I said.

"Of course," Elie said. "Now, before I begin the presentation, I'd like Dr. Ferris to have a look at my Extractor. He's been successful in producing one of his own, which is, for the most part, functional. However, I believe I have produced a perfect version of the machine, lacking the flaws that his does. His input is still valuable, though. So, Doctor, would you mind?"

"Not at all," I replied, stepping up to his machine.

It was a lot more sleek and professional than mine. Mines just a modified toaster oven. His looks more like an Apple product. I examined it closely. Every aspect of it. He'd clearly spent a lot of money on it. It seemed, like he had said, flawless. It even had the compacity to hold and charge two Cells at once. However, that fact actually presented a problem I needed to address to him.

"I don't think there's enough wires," I said.

"Would you care to elaborate?" Elie asked, seeming legitimately curious.

"Transferring energy to the Cell is generally easier and safer to do if the energy is distributed evenly through multiple wires," I explained. "Less chance of any of them overloading and getting fried. Normal wires won't do either. You need wires that are specially crafted to transmit Eldritch power."

"Well, we're in luck then," Elie said, producing some wires from his pockets. "I have just what we need here. Furthermore, they shouldn't take long to hook up. The question is, how many do you think we'll be needing?"

"My extractor charges a single Cell with three wires on each side," I said. "Yours charges two Cells with four wires on each side. I'd suggest adding two more wires on each side to help transfer the power safely."

"All right," Elie replied. "Thank you. Mind helping with that?"

"Sure," I said.

We got to work, and after maybe ten minutes, we had successfully added on the extra wires.

"Now, If everyone is ready, I will begin the demonstration," Elie said.

He pulled a couple Cells out of his pocket and plugged them into their respective slots. I could tell at a glass that they were made of a much better material than mine, and were superior in their design. He didn't just improve upon the Extractor, but the method of containing the energy.

"Jane, if you would, please," Elie said to one of the young students.

A young lady, probably in her early twenties, opened up an ice chest. I caught a glimpse inside it, seeing several cans of beer and soda. Instead of grabbing any of them, she removed a Ziploc bag containing... ice. A single shard of ice. However, as she brought the ice to us, I could feel a strange power coming off of it.

"Is that what I think it is?" I whispered to Elie.

"Some of His ice," he confirmed. "Jane here was one of his runners before joining the Academy. We never would have gotten this sample without her."

She made it over to us, and handed the sample to Elie, before turning to me, nervously.

"Mr. Fer..." she began, before I interrupted her.

"Dr. Ferris," I corrected her.

Rude? yes. But god damn it, I have 3 PHDs, and people need to respect that.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," she said. "I've heard a lot about you. Is it true that can... um... tele-"

I answered her question before she had a chance to finish asking. I teleported over to the ice chest, and opened it up with my cane. I then hooked a beer with it and pulled it toward me. I then knocked the cooler shut with my cane and turned back to her, casually opening the beer and taking a sip.

"Yes," I said. "I can teleport. Dr. Grave, would you care to continue your presentation?"

Elie chuckled.

"Unlock you, Doctor, I've yet to gain any PHDs," he said. "But I'm working on it."

Elie placed the shard of ice inside the Extractor and turned it on. He slowly turned the dial to extract its power, before turning a different dial to amplify the power. The energy took the form of a silver and blue light, that swirled around slowly, shivering slightly as it did. He then turned a third dial, which began the transfer of the energy into the two Cells.

It all went off perfectly. No damage to the machine. No short circuits. No power outages. He had done it.

"There you have it," Elie said. "With the assistance of Dr. Ferris, I has successfully constructed a functional Extractor!"

He then spent the next five or so minutes giving a closing speech to his fellow students, which I won't bother posting here, but once it was done, he dismissed everyone, save for me and Jane.

"Thank you, Daniel," Elie said. "Allow me to properly introduce you to my understudy. Jane here is very interested in your work."

"And my power?" I asked.

"Of course," Elie chuckled. "Few people can do the things you can."

"I see," I said, turning to Jane. "It's nice to meet you, Jane. You are free to ask me any questions that are on your mind. But first allow me to ask your tutor a few things."

"O-of course!" Jane said, blushing a bit.

Adorable...

"So, Elie," I said. "We're awfully far from the Academy. Why hold our meeting here?"

"The Academy requested that I examine some of the rare books available here," Elie replied. "Since I was already here, it seemed logical to call the meeting here."

"I see," I said. "One more thing. Why do you need two Cells?"

Without speaking, he simply smiled at me, before removing both Cells, pocketing one, and tossing the other to me. I caught it, and shot him a suspicious look.

"What's the price?" I asked.

"An answer to what I hope is a simple question," he said. "As I'm sure you've guessed, I've seen your blog. I'm particularly interested in the post you allowed your intern Tyler to make. In it, he listed off some of your samples. One of them was of interest to both the Academy, and myself."

"The Azoth?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "However did you acquire that sample?

"That god may be long gone," I said. "But something as powerful as that doesn't just vanish without a trace. It took some digging up, but I found a location in LA, that the cultists refer to as the Black Garden."

I grinned at him.

"I can show it to, if you'd like," I added.

He thought for a moment.

"And Azoth samples can be found there?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "But, I belief some cultist still linger there. IT would be foolish to go in without a way of defending yourself."

Elie thought some more.

"I bring Jane along," he said, after a few minutes. "Kimiko should still be in the area as well. The two of them will be enough backup. However, I'm sure the two of us can handle the cultists ourselves."

"Very well," I said, looking down at the Cell in my hand. "I'll head home to prepare. Let me know when you're in the area, and we'll check the place out."

"Okay," Elie said.

I'll update you all on how the investigation of the Black Garden goes.