Tarin Takes the Crystallic

When he had finally finished and he eventually turned back to them, the look of madness in his eyes made even Fred and Astra take a step back. Rift, less brave, retreated several steps. What Tarin said next seemed to make no more sense. Fix whom; kill whom? But then at last he said something which they could understand. He wanted the Crystallic, and intended to use it to transport them, though to where wasn't clear, other than that it was where the person he wanted to kill was located. (That it might involve more than a purely geographical transportation did not, of course, occur to them.)

When Tarin approached Rift for the Crystallic, hefting his axe menacingly, Rift considered for just a moment using the Crystallic against him. But he quickly decided that it would be far too risky. For one thing, he had an idea that the Crystallic couldn't be used to take life; for another, he didn't have sufficient skill in using it; he wasn't sure whether the Crystallic could protect him from the consequences of breaking his contract with Tarin; but most of all he didn't have enough time - Tarin's axe would cleave his head from his shoulders before he could hope to stop him with magic. So he meekly handed over the crystal.

Ordinarily, even the Crystallic could not easily be used for travel between alternate worlds, but with the slipgate system on Terra "Alpha" in the process of breaking down these were no longer ordinary times. Whether Tarin had the very high degree of magical ability needed to navigate successfully to a particular desired alternative amongst an infinity of possibilities was another matter, though. He would be helped in that the malfunctioning slipgates would tend to draw his party there, but it wasn't guaranteed, especially if Tarn himself tried to influence things himself rather than let them take their natural course. There was also the fact that for the wielder of the Crystallic to attempt to transport himself, rather than others, always brought added risk.

1. He successfully brought them to his desired reality.
2. They arrived somewhere else.
3. He didn't get to use the Crystallic, because...
4. Tarin forgot to specify just WHO he wanted to transport, with the result that only he and the Crystallic were sent.
5. Tarin forgot to specify just WHO he wanted to transport, with the result that only he and the Crystallic were sent. (A lawyer's take on it).

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