Lin says "Yes. There is a large island to the north of the continent that is very dangerous. It is probably on the charts you have, marked as a skull."

"Don't look at me like that, I am not going to run off. However, we need to work on the gate spell some more. I want to be able to come back to check it out later."

Lin says "I've had some thoughts about that. The platform you made is pretty good, but I think we can do better."

"What do you mean?"

Lin says "What if we made the platform so that it absorbs and stores mana? That mana could then be used to fuel gates so that we can go farther without using all our own mana."

"That's a great idea! You are right, that should increase the range that we can gate, but I don't know if it will be enough. The other drawback is that we can only gate from a fixed point."

Lin says "That is true, but we can also work on improving the spell and the enchantment. The new platform can still work like the current one, as a receiving point for our gates."

"That is also true, but I still don't think it will reach the continent. At least, not alone."

Lin says "What do you mean?"

"If it isn't just a single point, then it won't be so limited. There is nothing saying we can only build one platform. If we build more, then gating between them will be easier."

Lin says "That should work. It just means we need to visit the places we want the platforms."

"Well, we should be around the midpoint of the northern side of the continent right now, right?"

Lin says "Yeah, we should be close to that area."

"Then this would be a good place to put a platform and it will give us the chance to test the idea out."

Lin says "Yeah, we can do that."

"Wait, I just remembered, I'm out of materials."

Lin says "Some of the jewelry that you gave me isn't to my taste. That is some gold and small gems that you can use. Other than that, you might have to go mining for materials."

"Thanks. We are in the mountains, there should be some around. That will also give me a chance to look for somewhere to hide the platform. We can't leave it out in the open where someone might find it."

Lin says "In that case, why don't you take the kids and go flying around tomorrow?"

"Without you, I am guessing?"

Lin says "Yes. That way you can fly around like a lunatic."

"Sure. The kids will love that."

Lin says "Alright. Any other crazy ideas you need my help with?"

"Just one. You should be familiar with the spells involved with bags of holding, but do you know anything about the upgraded version?"

Lin says "Upgraded version? No, I've never heard of it. There aren't even any legends that mention anything like that. What is it? What does it do?"

"It is similar to a bag of holding, but much larger. Inside there is air and sunlight. It can hold living things and even plants can grow inside. It is called a small world, pocket world, or mini-plane."

Lin says "That sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I've never heard of anything like it and have no idea how you would go about it."

"That's too bad. I guess it will just have to wait then."

Lin says "Now that I think about it, I do know one spell that might help. It is a spell to create a pocket of clean air around you. It was invented by a mage who almost died from the smoke of a failed experiment. Now, every mage knows it, it is even required learning in the schools."

"That makes sense. After all, mages are expected to experiment and experiments often end in explosions."

Lin says " I wouldn't say often, not unless you are careless. Only a few of my experiments ended in explosions."

"You are more intelligent and careful than most mages. That doesn't surprise me at all. Most of my experiments end in something going wrong."

Lin says "That has more to do with the type of experiments you do. Most of the time you are trying to blow something up."

"Well, I can't really argue that. This spell has given me an idea, the perfect place to hide the platform."

Lin says "Oh, where is that?"

"Under the lake."

Lin says "Under the lake? How do you plan to do that? I mean, yeah it is a perfect hiding place, but gating here would put us under the lake. Not all of us can breathe underwater or hold our breath for that long."

"I plan to put the spell you taught me as an enchantment on the platform. It should create a permanent bubble of air around the platform."

Lin says "That sounds good, but can you make it work like that?"

"Yeah, I'm fairly sure I can. It might take a little experimenting, but nothing too serious."

Lin says "It sounds like we might be staying here for more than another day."

"Probably. Since the kids are already asleep, I will open the soulscape and invite Brightfire. I can let her know we will be gone a few days."

Lin says "While you are at it, you should invite the goddesses and tell them your plan for hunting avatars. I really want to see their reactions!"

"Um, no thanks!"

Lin laughs, gives me a hug and a kiss, then I close my eyes to create the soulscape. This time, I recreate the lake and surrounding mountains along with a copy of the castle. Then I invite all the kids, Lin, Myria, and Brightfire, and then wait for everyone to arrive.

First, when they appear, I give Kechara, Asuna, Haku, and Ekard some attention. Then I send the kids off to play and tell Myria and Brightfire what we have been up to. Then I tell Brightfire that we will be staying here for a few days before returning to the ship.

Brightfire says "Just what are you up to? Did you find another adventure? If so, I want in!"

"No, no adventure."

Myria says "Then what are you staying there for?"

"Tomorrow I will be flying around looking for materials to mine. Then Lin and I will be doing some spell experiments. Or would you prefer we do our experimenting on the ship?"

Brightfire says "No. We have had more than enough explosions on the ship. Do your experimenting there."

"I figured that is what you would say. Anything going on on the ship?"

Brightfire says "We had a few beasts attack us, but we handled it easily."

"That's good. Myria, how are things on the peninsula?"

Myria says "Conflicts with the empire are increasing, but we are still winning all of them. The empire has also been acting more belligerent with the other nations. Construction on the city is progressing well. That's about all that is going on."