Muldran looked up at the barricade that blocked the road outside the west gate of Trinsic. He brushed the green hair out of his eyes, and reminded himself that he really should tie his hair back when wielding a mop. It wasn't like when he could just gesture and move his hair out of his eyes - no, using manual labour to do the simplest items really did force you to think for yourself. Something he hadn't been doing too much of for a long, long time.
"Always the bigger picture," Muldran mumbled to himself, as he rinsed the mop. Picking up the bucket, he emptied it into the corner, as he overheard the two people at the gate talking about Kaelyn's erratic behaviour. He couldn't resist adding that Kaelyn had been offering to 'sell him to the highest bidder' which just made the two there shake their heads and sigh even more.
As the water drained away, Muldran heard several boots marching towards him. Looking up, he saw three Templars emerging from a moongate. They made a beeline for him. Muldran took a few steps back to the side of the Kaldorian Zach - as he heard someone nearby call out his name. Looking past the Templars, he saw Cherry, skirts hiked up, almost leaping over the barricade in a rush to get to him. She drew up alongside him, and faced the Templars - Calador, Falcon and Rhialto.
Falcon spoke to them, identifying Muldran by his hair (despite a brave effort from Zach to try and get him to believe that *he* was Muldran, with a new haircut.) Falcon said that Muldran was invited to a meeting with Taggart. Cherry, of course, interposed herself, warning the Templars of the trouble that they had already been in. Muldran drew her to one side, whispering urgently that this was a way to find out what had happened to the Control Box - and if they were to have any chance of sealing the thing away, Muldran would need access to it.
Cherry acquiesced grudgingly, reminding him that Decardo's trust of the Templars had been shattered. She told him to take Bertrand with him. Muldran looked round in surprise at Bert who had emerged from a brief disagreement with the barricade guards.
Muldran suggested that if he'd just gone of with the Templars without anyone, Decardo would have maimed him. If he'd suggested taking Cherry - Decardo would have killed him. But even this wry observation failed to raise more than a mildly disapproving look from Cherry.
Muldran stepped forward, and Falcon offered to leave Rhialto waiting with Cherry in Trinsic; they were hardly likely to do anything to Muldran with one of their own left behind. Stepping outside of the barricade, Muldran, Bertrand and the Templars stepped through a gate to Beaufort. They were accompanied by a slightly confused Salazar who, having seen Muldran and Bert go through the gate decided to hop through. This upset the Templars who asked the 'mad old man' to go away. Salazar retorted about the charming welcome, and then wandered off towards the see, leaving a slight smile on Muldran's face, and a pair of upset Templars.
Moving into the nearby building, Muldran was shown into another room, while Calador stayed in the antechamber with Bertrand. Muldran stepped inside, and saw the Control Box - surrounded by a crackling energy field. Muldran could sense the power from the other minor boxes - they had been drawn into the Control Box, and rested within there, pulsing angrily. He looked up to see Taggart on the other side of the room, watching him. Muldran squinted, trying to see any form of blackrock corruption on the man - but couldn't! It appeared that he had conducted the ritual to draw the energy successfully after all.
Feeling slightly abashed, Muldran asked what Taggart intended to do now. Without explaining, Taggart gestured for Muldran to move towards the nearest crystal. He then asked Muldran to activate the crystal at the same time Falcon and Taggart activated the ones by them. All three cast the spell of telekinesis at the same time - and with a snap the energy field collapsed in on the box, sealing the seething energy within.
Muldran relaxed, and then asked for the box to be handed to him. Now that the energy was locked away inside, no one could open the box to get at that energy. It was safe, locked away and... Muldran paused, the urge to reach out and take the box suddenly growing... He shook his head, and listened to what Taggart had started to say. Taggart agreed - the box had to be sent away, and sent where no one could open it. Gathering up the box, he marched outside the building - quickly followed by Muldran, Bert, Falcon and Calador.
The group moved through a gate to Luna - and from there, headed south out of the town, until they reached a long bridge that stretched over a crack in the void - and a drop into nothingness. Here, Taggart took the Control Box from his bag, and declared his intention to throw the item into the Void - where no one would be able to open the box and use what was inside.
Muldran looked over the edge, and asked Taggart if this was wise - surely it would be better handing it to Muldran to look after... Bertrand's face hardened, and he looked to the other Templars. "Throw it." Bertrand said, and this was echoed by Falcon and Calador. Taggart heaved his arm back, and threw the box. It seemed to hover for the briefest moment (or was this just Muldran's thought, the lost chances the box represented...) and then it fell, spiralling downwards into the Void, falling through the facets.
A brief sigh escaped Muldran - the power of the Black Boxes had gone back into the Void from whence the energy had came. With the box sealed against magical interference, no one could scry for it. The box would just fall.
Forever.