Fantasy The MPC Rushes Story, Cont.

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

Lisbeth watched the madness unfolding before her, and as Alaster Von Grim pressed the blade of his scythe to Altamonte Fitzgerald's throat, she found herself waiting. Waiting for the violence to erupt, waiting for the hot, delicious spray of blood, waiting for the dance of death to begin. Yes, yes, soon...


"Lisbeth! Can you hear me?! Wake up! Don't let her control you!" Frostine shouted within her.


Her head turned to the side, as though she'd been slapped in the face, and Lisbeth blinked like a waking dreamer. She looked again at the tableau of hair-trigger violence, and she bolted up from her chair.


"Damn it!" she spat, "She's in our heads! Don't you see?! She's manipulating us! Turning us against one another!"


She pointed an accusatory finger at Lucien, who sat upon the throne like a panther with a Cheshire grin.

 

[slee77]

"No Grim you will have to do it..I won't be a killer..not this time. You see I have protected for far to long. I am unarmed..but ask your self..why does hell need to kill a human? What purpose does that serve?"

 

[slee77]

" ahh but an alien race feeding off the souls of mortals...for what end? Ask her?! Ask her why?! "

 

[ArtBlott]

Blott rubbed at her face, trying to shake off the apathy that was clogging up her head. Odd though, she wasn't really turned against her friends...just coaxed into not really caring. The thought turned her stomach.


She stood and tottered over to Lisbeth, leaning on a chair for help. "I don't feel so good." Even the crow's words were slurry, "But we can't let this go on, right?"


But why not?





The thought was unbidden, and strange to her, and she forced her eyes to focus on Lisbeth, "I think we're in trouble."

 

[slee77]

"And yet you let Demons in this "Hell" of yours do you Not? Why threaten people with passing of the mortal coil? Ask your Queen Grim. Surely she has an answer. Perhaps it is one she is afraid of you asking though so be prepared."

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

"I think you're right," Lisbeth replied to Blott, "but... I don't know what to do to stop this."


She looked at the demonic monarch who towered over them on her throne. Why wouldn't she say anything? Was she simply delighting in acting as the puppet master for this little farce?


Lisbeth thought she understood some of what Fitz was saying, manic as it was. Even under the Queen's influence, the ideas seemed to be his own. That they weren't in a literal Hell, that it was perhaps only the Idea of Hell or another Hellish world peopled by an alien race of demons. The term 'alien' simply meant 'foreign' after all. Not all aliens need be little green space men. But what deeper truth was he getting at? Why was he trying so fervently to get Von Grim to question Lucien?


She reached out to touch Blott's hand.


"By the wind and water within thee, unbind her," she muttered, sending a measure of willpower into the spell. She wasn't sure it would work, but it might loosen the Demon Lord's hold.

 

[Arkadious]

After what seemed like an eternity of tension, building so thick that one could almost feel it's smothering weight pressing in from all sides, there was, first a snicker then a chortle and finally an outright fit of girlish laughter coming from the head of the table. Wiping a crimson tear from her eye, Lucien sits up slowly and mutters under her breath "Detraped evah taht stiw meht ot erotser..." Wiping another tear from her eye and bidding Grim to take leave an cool his temper, Lucien stands and addresses her guests:





"My sincerest apologies for intruding into your minds like that, but I am always impressed when Mortals visit my realm and like to test their individual will-powers with a bit of mind ensnaring. Suffice to say, you ladies have deeply impressed me, especially you, Writer. shrugging off my Compulsions and then dispelling them from your companion. Him, however..." She gestured to a slightly perplexed Altamonte, still standing on the table and wondering why and how he came to be there. "He was very easy to persuade..."





Slowly stepping down from her throne, Lucien strode toward her guests, lightly tracing her finger along each of them, be it on their cheek, back of their hand, forearm or shoulder, she traced a rune that glowed briefly then faded from view. "That rune is my sigil and will provide for safe passage from my Realm. While I truly enjoyed your company, I'm afraid I must send you on your way. Humans are not meant to dwell here long, and as intriguing as I find you, I much rather you continue with your journey, so I may enjoy the tales of your misadventures..."





Walking towards the head of the table again, Lucien raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The two massive doors at the far end of the dining hall swung open and a handful of succubi came in, baring packs and supplies for the group. Glancing at the succubi, Blott counted only four packs. Arching her eyebrow, she turned back to Lucien and prepared to question it when Lucine cut her off. "Ah, yes, I will also be retaining Grim here, with my other Demon Lords. Just as you are preparing for your otherworldly conquests, I too must make preparations for the near future...As such, I bid you all SAFE travels. Till we meet again..." With a coy smile and a slight bow of her head to the group, Lucien turned on her heels and sauntered from the hall...

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Genevieve drew a sharp breath and exhaled slowly. She reached her hands out to Lisbeth and Blott--reassuring herself that they were safe--and locked eyes with Fitz, giving him a subtle nod that said she was fine. She felt drained yet her mind raced, so much so that the world around her seemed to have slowed. Everything appeared unusually sharp, details she hadn't noticed before standing out starkly. The callouses on Lisbeth's fingers. The way the feathers on the back of the crow's neck looked crumpled. It was too much. She closed her eyes momentarily, willing herself calm. No one was hurt, she told herself. You didn't hurt anyone. They don't know.


She turned her attention to Grim. What do you say when you take leave of Death?


"Alaster, thank you," she said. "If you ever need us, I have no doubt you'll know how to find us."


Four packs of supplies. No destination. No plan. None the wiser for their journey to Hell. But they had to move on.


"Lisbeth, I think our most urgent need now is to find Thanatos. You're his creator--where do you think we should start?"

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

Lisbeth shook her head, part response to Genevieve's question and part attempt to clear the remnants of Lucien's influence.


"I don't think we should be going after Thanatos directly; not yet," she replied.


"Yes, thank you," she said to a succubus as she accepted a pack, then she jumped with a yelp and scowled as the succubus winked at her and withdrew her hand from Lisbeth's rear before stalking off and blowing a kiss.


"As I was saying," she grumbled, "We still need a weapon that can defeat Thanatos. When I burnt his Story I destroyed the Heroes that I had created to defeat him, so we need to look elsewhere. I still think the Lance of Longinus is our best option, so our first step should be tracking it down. The only problem is... I have no idea where to start."


Her frown deepened as she cast a glance around the room. Her eyes met Alaster's just as he was exiting behind his master, and she dipped her chin in a nod of farewell. She'd never been good with goodbyes, but over the years she'd found that, in the end, more often than not, goodbyes were all she had left.

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Judging from the looks on her companions' faces, no one else knew where to start either.


"We have a Writer and an Artist. I suppose what we need now is a Librarian," Genevieve quipped with a shrug. "That's...not a thing, is it?"

 

[Arkadious]

After a moments pause, everyone take the supplies from the succubi, Lisbeth's cheeks turning red after her succubi sneaked in a feel and blew her a kiss. Genevieve, Fitz, Blott, and Lisbeth stood abreast to each other and as they were preparing to set out across the landscape of Hell and follow the River Styx, the Pocket Watch in Lisbeth's pouch started to pulse and glow, radiating a warmth that she felt against her leg through the pouch. Quickly, she removed it and clicked it open, looking at the spider-webbed face. The hands were spinning wildly in opposite directions, faster and faster until all at once the both stopped, both where the two should be, as if pointing. When Lisbeth pivoted, the Hands shifted so they remained pointed in the same direction. Down the River Styx, instead of up, where they were planning on heading...

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

"Whoa," Lisbeth breathed, looking down at the watch face, "It's like a compass!"


She'd felt a strange ache in her chest ever since Genevieve had said the word "Librarian," and now this.


"Should we follow it? I think... I think Arkadious is trying to guide us."

 

[ArtBlott]

Blott shifted her bag and leaned over to see. "Didn't he evaporate though?"


She wasn't really opposed to following a magic compass. She had done weirder in the past few days. Still she felt it was worth bringing up, lest they walk into a trap. "Does he live in the watch now?"

 

[slee77]

"I've never heard of a Librarian short of ones you'd find in a library." Fitz says. "BUT that certainly doesn't mean they don't have them I mean surely someone has to keep a recorded history right?" He picks up a few of his things and starts to survey the area.

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

"I... don't know," Lisbeth confessed to Blott, "but this watch was his, and last night, or maybe this morning... Whatever, the point is that the hands moved and I heard his voice. He said he was nearby if we needed him..."


She looked down at the watch in her hands. It already felt so long ago, like it happened to someone else in a dream, but the ache in her chest told her that it had to have been real.

 

[slee77]

"Also isn't he evil and ..you know responsible for death's etc"

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

"Arkadious isn't evil!" Lisbeth cried, surprised by the vehemence of her own response.


"I-I mean," she stammered, more subdued, "I think he's on our side. He gave me the Blood Stone that helped me banish Thanatos the last time we saw him, and his journal helped me to figure out that we could use the Lance of Longinus against Thanatos..."


She trailed off. Why was she trying so hard to defend a man she barely knew and didn't truly know the intentions of?


"At any rate, it's the best lead we have right now."

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Genevieve considered Lisbeth through narrowed eyes. She knew that look. She also knew how dangerous it could be. But it was clear Lisbeth would have it no other way, and that was something Genevieve understood all too well.


"We've followed worse leads," she said. "Why not this one?"

 

[slee77]

"True! Onward to our deaths!!!" Fitzgerald smiled unconvincingly then looked at Genevieve "Ladies First!"

 

[Arkadious]

With an exasperated sigh and weary shake of her head, Genevieve takes lead, followed closely by Fitz and then Blott. Lisbeth stands there for a moment, looking at the watch in her hand and wondering if Fitz was right about it's previous owner...Blott turned and called out to Lisbeth, snapping her out of her thoughts and prompting her to jog to catch up to the group as the set about following the River Styx downward, following it deeper into Hell...

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

The waters of the Styx churned black and opaque and strangely silent. Genevieve found herself almost hypnotized by the swirling eddies of ink-like water and more than once shook her head to bring her concentration back to the path. She glanced over at Lisbeth who seemed equally transfixed by Arkadious's watch. She slowed her stride slightly, allowing Lisbeth to catch up.


"He was very handsome," she said, dropping her voice so only Lisbeth could hear and gesturing to the watch. As Lisbeth looked up, Genevieve gave her a knowing smile.

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

"H-handsome?" Lisbeth stammered, her cheeks coloring furiously, "I... suppose. I didn't know him long."


Her gaze dropped to the watch in her hand, but it seemed as though she didn't really see it.


"Who was he? Who is he? What was he after? What happened to him? I don't know why, but I feel like I need to find out. Am I strange for feeling that way?"

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Genevieve linked arms with Lisbeth.


"No, you're not strange at all," she said with a small laugh. "Although I married a man who is part of an order of psychopaths apparently hell-bent on dissecting me to harness my time travel powers, so maybe I'm not the best judge."

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

Lisbeth managed a smile at that.


"We are quite the mismatched group, huh?" she chuckled.


It took them most of the day to travel along the riverside. The watch hands never faltered, sending them further and further into Hell. The sky stretched a brilliant scarlet above them, though no sun provided the light. Dark clouds swirled overhead, but somehow they did not threaten rain. At last, in the distance, something new: a pool. The River Styx emptied into a massive lake, strangely still, its surface like a sheet of glass.


Once they arrived at the pool, the hands of the pocket watched fell still. Lisbeth looked around, confused.


"I don't understand," she said, looking around at the lake and then at the others, "There's nothing here."

 

[UCBooties]

The landscape was a strange and subtle kind of barren. The expanse of empty rock. The placid lake. Even the swirling gray sky. All of it gave the impression of a page that had been sketched over but never filled in. There was nothing there...


Black Iron House had always stood at the edge of the Lake of Unshed Tears that lay at the end of the River Styx. The travelers all blinked in surprise. How had they not seen it sooner? It was the only structure they had seen in hours. Indeed it was the only thing that broke the landscape at all.


It was a strange house, and seemed out of place in the Underworld. All in black, it seemed modeled in the Victorian style with turrets and spires and high peaked eaves. The many high windows that lined its front only seemed to reflect the strange wan light of the underworld, never giving any hint of what lay within. A sign with faded gold leaf hung beside the door reading:


Black Iron House


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And below that in thinner script:


The Master is in. Please pull rope for admittance.