Swamped

"This isn't a perfect sphere. It's got flattened spots on the top and bottom."

"So what's that got to do with anything?" you ask.

"It's deliberate. The craftsmanship on these objects is too good for it to be an accident. So why would someone commission a metalsmith to make a slightly flattened sphere?"

"I'm sure that's very weird, but let's focus on what's at hand," you say. "Can you use it to reopen the gateway or whatever?"

"No, and it seems to have something to do with the odd shape. If I could understand what it meant, I might be able to get somewhere."

The Protectors around you seem a bit agitated, but as usual, they're not saying anything so it's hard to tell why. Maybe they just don't like being around all these humans.

Well. Focus on one thing at a time.

"Look. I'm no wizard, so maybe I won't understand it. But could you explain why you think the shape is relevant? Maybe if you explain it in a way that makes sense to a magic-less fool like me, that'll make it clearer."

Ember glances around.

"I don't think I can with so many ears around. These greblings aren't giving me much cause to trust them."

"Keep it vague, then."

He looks skeptical, but after a moment he tries his best.

"To put it in extremely simplified terms - I'm looking at the ether and it's distorted. And the distortion seems similar to way the sphere is partially flattened."

"So they're connected, is what you're saying."

"I believe so. And if I could understand why the sphere is shaped the way it is, well, I think I could use that to adjust for the distortion."

Well, that doesn't entirely make sense to you, but okay.

"At the risk of stating the obvious, what if it's just shaped that way to make it harder for you to see what's going on?"

"I thought of that already. But it doesn't look to me like that's the case. It would be very, very difficult for me to explain how I got to that conclusion, so I'd rather we focus on figuring out the not-quite-a-sphere's function."

"Um, pardon me," someone says. You glance down and see Sally, Dominique's assistant; she's quite short even for a grebling.

"What is it?" Ember asks.

"I've got Dominique's notes. Um, she did mention the shape but didn't have any particular theories as to the reason for it. But maybe there's something in here that could help you figure it out?"

"I suppose it's worth a try," Ember agrees. "So which part of those notes should we start looking at?"