Dean focused his attention on his palm under the gazes of the four men, concentrating intently.
Just as it was now natural to create purple light between his fingertips, once he discovered that he was able to summon the tablet, it appeared without delay, twisting slowly above his hand, sparking with light.
With another thought, yellow light flooded the room, cascading in spirals across the walls and the ceiling,as the map spilled out into the open space, filling it with majesty.
That'd be nice, wouldn't it?
After a bright flash of scintillating golden light, the surroundings remained unchanged.
Nothing seemed to have happened.
The four men stood around, glancing from side-to-side.
Cole scoffed heavily.
"What the hell… have you actually - not mapped a single realm?"
The others scanned the display, searching in vain for any sign of the yellow box that should have marked Dean's territory. The area was no different from before Dean had activated the tablet.
Lyle stood frozen in place, eyes locked in astonishment at a place no-one else had noticed.
The others turned, noticing his reaction, and followed his gaze.
Higher than any of the other boxes, pressed against the ceiling was a yellow box. It cast a disdainful glow from it's superior position.
Roger struggled to find the words, pointing repeatedly before he managed a stammer -
"H-high realm!"
Cole's face set in a hard line, as he no longer spoke. The detached cynic had been silenced by cold hard reality.
Desmond pointed again, eyeing the box with the same ferocity he'd used on the mirror prior.
"Trade me, Dean. That one looks nice."
Lyle stepped forward, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, we should trade. I'll even give you a couple extra for that one."
Although his tone was relatively calm, Dean saw the desire that glinted below the request.
They fell into an uproar over the appearance of the box.
Dean dropped his head and began to consider carefully. Since leaving the Violet Vast Expanse, his perspective on life had shifted dramatically. He'd been imbued with the type of resolve that comes with finding purpose in one's life. Ever since deciding to take this seriously, he'd been dragged along by the forces of fate, and until now, he hadn't considered his choice of action.
Ultimately, though, he knew what his goal was. To map the realm. And although at face value it might seem that the best thing to do was to freely share information…
Dean didn't want to do it. There was a primal passion that welled up from within him that told him there was more at stake than just the map.
Considering their reactions to the realm, it was more valuable than he thought. In that case, until he had a clear idea about its level of value, he would forgo trading.
Lifting his head, he shook his head decisively.
"Not for trade!"
There was a slight tension in the room that rose from his remark, but ultimately, the matter passed without issue.
He was promptly excluded from the conversation since he didn't want to trade his singular realm. The others naturally formed a ring and began discussing in their own distinctive ways what - and which - realms should be traded, as well as their relative values.
Dean reclined in his chair, tuning their discussion out.
'These are definitely 'The Others'
Sitting with the massive amount of information that had been implanted in his brain like the scene from a certain movie, he understood exactly why the tablet had recommended that he come here.
Without this information session, he would be wholly unaware of the nature of human exploration into the psychedelic realm. With these guidelines, he was much more cognizant of the state of affairs and was able to outline his plan more completely. Rather than explore every realm one by one, it was necessary to trade to expand his map by substantial amounts. As he persevered in this pursuit, he would naturally encounter entities and get stronger. A couple of questions still eluded answer. What were the stages that were referenced on the tablet? What were the entities? And these abilities… could they be used in the material world?
His head was spinning with a multitude of questions that he would love to ask but didn't want to interrupt the individuals engrossed in their trade dispute. After all, something about these guys was way too intense.
Clearly, the years of psychedelic abuse had impacted them in unhealthy ways.
Letting out a heavy sigh, he concluded that his task at this point should already be considered complete.
Although he was sent here just to speak with these individuals, since he was already here he figured that he might as well attempt to gain Heyoka's favor. After all, the ability that he already had was quite magnificent.
Reaching this thought, he considered the figures in front of him and wondered -
'What sorts of abilities do they have?'
Considering that his ability came from a high realm, he figured that more than likely its nature was out of the ordinary. He thought back to his acquisition of the ability. While he was stationed within the Expanse, the entity was very clearly from a different plane. He wondered - just what was that place like?
Clearing his head of thought, he brought his attention back to the matter at hand.
'A performance that amazes Heyoka'
He had a rough idea about what something like that might look like just based off the characteristics he had displayed so far, but he would have to fine-tune his considerations over time. For now, it was likely best to observe the performances like the others had been doing, to gain insights and ingratiate himself to the entity. Hopefully, the entities were laden with the same weaknesses and desires that humans had, and his prior experience would serve him well.
After all, if there was one thing that he had gained from his years of ass-kissing behind the valet stand, it was how to suck up to important figures.