Worlds Between

+Arlene Medder asks "I found a map of my home town. But, the landmarks are in the wrong place. Is it just a bad map?"

The issue you're having, Arlene, is that the wrong you found the right map. What you have is called a "Worlds Between" map.

If you're brave enough, you could find the single point on the whole map that is exactly the same and stand there for a moment. It should move to to a separate quantum state where the map is correct.

The Sages make no guarantees about the safety inter-reality travel.

Subliminal Stereo

+Mike Goodman asks "While shopping this weekend, I found an old Panasonic radio-receiver from the 1970's at a garage sale. I took it home, connected speakers to it, and tuned to a classic rock station.

In between songs, I'm getting odd instructions...simple things, like someone telling me to shut the window so the cat doesn't get out, and to make the bed before my wife gets home.

My wife has listened to the same radio now, and tells me she isn't hearing a thing.

I've noticed that I do not get any instructions when I tune to a top-40 station, but when I tune in to NPR, every half-hour, someone from the radio yells at me to get a new job.

Am I going crazy? Or have I picked up something valuable?"

Mike, you've got a Subliminal Stereo. It's not terribly useful unless you know the right people, but it allows you to hear hidden messages transmitted over radio frequencies.

Avarice Cloth

+Arlene Medder asks "Our rogue has done it again. Now she's modeling this blue headband and won't take it off. We've been watching her closely for behavior changes and haven't noticed anything. Should we be worried or is she just being vain?"

While it's uncertain whether or not someone has written a song about your rogue, it is certain that she's found a piece of Avarice Cloth.

A blessing and a curse, when worn you gain the uncanny knack to find more valuables, but at the same time your willpower is weakened against acts of bribery.

Mosi Quilt

Dear +What's This Thing Do? 

Recently I found an old blanket in my grandmother's attic. It was in an old trunk underneath a bunch of other blankets and quilts. I liked it quite a bit so I asked grandma if I could take it home. 

She had a funny smile on her face as she said "Yes".

I use it as a throw to put over my other blankets. The past several nights I can swear I've heard a cat meowing (or maybe more than one). I can also hear the flapping of bird wings. When I wake up in the morning I see cat fur and scattered bird feathers.

What is going on here? Should I be worried?

Frazzled in Pennsylvania

Dear Frazzled,

No need to worry. What you have is a Mosi Quilt. The birds and cats sewn into it are magical with a life of their own. When their owner is sleeping they awaken and live a normal life. If you complete the necessary rituals the cats and birds will bind themselves to you and act on your command. Particularly powerful rituals can actually enable you to see through their eyes. 

Unfortunately, if you don't know the ritual you won't be able to do anything and can look forward to many more sleepless nights and lots of fur and feathers. 

I'm sure you're familiar with the string game called Cat's Cradle. This game was actually named after a Mosi Quilt. The only way to stop the cats and birds from animating every night is to unravel the blanket and pass the string through your hands several times. 

Hopefully you'll be able to find the right ritual. If I were you I'd ask your grandmother--she seems to know more than she's letting on.

Rail Nodes

+Arlene Medder asks "I found a set of carved wooden train cars in a thrift shop. Some of them have a magic dweomer. Are these safe to give my nephew?"

Arlene, you have (an incomplete set of) Rail Nodes.
A full set has at least 5 pieces (1 engine, 3 middle cars, 1 caboose), but may be constructed with as many as 3 extra pieces (3 more middle cars).

When properly utilized, the Engine and the Caboose are activated and placed at different locations. The owner of the set then may designate recipients of the middle cars. The recipients, while having their middle car on them, may instantly transport from the location of the engine to the location of the caboose and vice versa.

Suffice to say, without the whole set, it's wise to only give your nephew the non-magical portion of the train.

Retix Egg

+Tina Rowand asks "As a child, I begged my mother into purchasing an obsidian egg for me from a curio shop. It's about the size of a fist, heavy for its size, and glows a deep and shimmering gold when held at certain angles to the light. It's been a nick-knack on various bookshelves for most of the past two decades, but lately the gold highlights seem to be growing and I find myself picking it up to play with it or even just hold it. This morning, I woke up to find it in my hand, even though I put it on its stand before going to bed. What's going on?"

Tina, you only need to be a little worried, since it seems you have one of the rare Retix Eggs. Each is different, so we can't say which one you have, but the egg is getting ready to hatch.

The upside: it has bonded to you, so whatever creature (which will have obsidian skin like the egg) does come out won't maul you to death.

The possible downside: it may be bigger than your room (or still fit in your hand), so you might want to sleep outside in a tent for the next week.

Treat the creature right and give it some good books to eat so that it can learn. The types of books it feeds on will determine how it thinks, just to make you aware.

Metal Death T-Shirt

+Mike Goodman asks "I just bought this old Iron Maiden t-shirt at a thrift store. Why is it, when in the proximity of loud bass drumming, the collar constricts around my throat until I lose consciousness? It has happened 3 times now."

It sounds, Mike, like you've accidentally bought a Metal Death T-Shirt.

Give it to someone you really hate, particularly if they're fond of playing heavy bass music at bad hours.