The Wizard of Elsewhere

1.16 - Pondering Plots

There is always time to enough for Pondering. If it appears that there is not, you must have missed the opportunity at an earlier date.

— Quote by Wizard (Grandfather) Albernathy Thomas Barnwinkle

* * *

The Wizard Pondered.

He Pondered like... well, like Wizards had Pondered since the very first Wizardly man placed the very first Wizardly hat on his bushy-eyebrowed and bearded head.

Wizards were always Pondering.

In a completely separate universe many, many Wizards were still Pondering the Quorum of Grand Wizards' Determination on Plotting.

Many others besides were Pondering whether Dandelion Seedlings plucked on the Summer Solstice was indeed a suitable substitute for the Unclouded-Sunshine Trapped in Amber catalyst listed in the Mentenzo's Draught for the Un-belabored Mind recipe, ingredient forty-two.

Plenty more Pondered whether the number six-hundred-and-sixty-six was still an ill-fated number, or whether the shifting millennia had also shifted its portent. After all, even by the most sinister derivations, the number at most devolved to a nine (even by the highly contentious Neebler method) and nine, though odd, was not a scary number. And so on....

And it should also be said that some Wizards were also Pondering quite studiously their options for the nights dinner.

Wizard's Pondered. It's what they did.

This particular Wizard Pondered Objectives. He Pondered logistics and finances. He Pondered friends and foes and how to cheat at genteel games.

It might even be more correct to say that he Plotted, which was also a time honored Wizardly tradition despite what the Quorum of Grand Wizards had to say on the subject.

* * *

"Blackest Hatred dribbled from Leinan's lips." The Wizard muttered into his beard, "Barely a thimble full. Midnight's Fell Shadows, more than enough. Firelight's Flickering Dissonance, sufficient, take too much and folks start to notice," he mumbled.

'Powdered Hellebore. Moderately rare I suppose' Hat was murmuring. "Rolled daffodils, common. June — June Fly eggs?" Hat paused. "Do you mean May Fly?"

"I acquired them in June, Hat." Barnibus responded distractedly.

He was studying several strings of Words Unspoken now, hanging heavily from his fingers and wondering whether he could distill them down to Heart's Hidden Desires. Barnibus thought that Heart's Hidden Desires stood a good chance of binding well with the Firelight's Flickering Dissonance which he could then cast into a sort of emotional blind patch.

Of course, he'd have to cancel out the Firelight's Flickering aspect with a dash of something Dark, He thought. Midnight's Fell Shadows maybe? That could work, but that Fell aspect... too dark? Too dark might be too visible, he worried. But, then, Blackest Hatred would be far too dark. Maybe cast back in and re-splice the remnants of Fir—

"A tidy replacement for June Beatle excrement if I do say so myself." Barnibus continued absently after a moment.

"... In what wa... No, never mind. I will list this as common as well." Hat continued tiredly.