Fantasy The MPC Rushes Story, Cont.

[Genevieve Moulin]

Moving as though they were a single person, Genevieve and Lisbeth--no, not Lisbeth but Frostine, long icy blue hair flowing behind her--lunged at William. In his surprise, he dropped Blott's arm and began to back away. But the two women moved swiftly. Genevieve knocked him to the ground and pinned his arms as Frostine held her sword above him with both hands, the tip pointed at his heart.


"You will not touch a hair on her head," Genevieve growled, her eyes wild and cold.


"By Blood and Bone, you'll do no harm to any of them," Frostine commanded, bringing the point of her blade closer to William's chest.


Genevieve chanced a brief glance up at the snow-ma, the fierceness in Frostine's eyes mirroring her own. I wasn't sure before, but I rather like Frostine after all, she thought.

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

"Frostine, that's enough!" Lisbeth shouted inside of her, "Blott is all right now, so you can stand down. Don't you dare kill him!"


"Relax: I'm not going to kill him," Frostine thought back, "I just need to teach him a lesson: that I will not tolerate him treating my friends like that."


"I think you've made that perfectly clear. Now, come back inside and let me take control again! I'll handle things from here."


"Not yet."


Frostine glared at the man lying on the floor. He seemed more surprised than anything else. The tip of her sword wavered slightly as Lisbeth fought her for control, but she kept it leveled at his heart. Her face twisted into an indignant sneer.


"How dare you handle a young woman in such a manner?!" she snarled, "Have you no sense of decency? Or do you simply look the part of the proper gentleman? If you ever hurt one of my companions again, I will kill you without hesitation. It's that simple, do you understand?"

 

[UCBooties]

William looked rather surprised to find himself on the floor with a sword pointed at his heart. For a moment there was something like annoyance in his eyes but it was gone in a flash as he held up his hands in a placating gesture, fumbling over his words in a distracted manner as his eyes darted back and forth between the Snow-ma standing over him and Blott's arm.


"What? Hurt her? Are you insane? Don't any of the worlds you come from have Doctors or Physics?" He composed himself a bit and tried to sit up straighter in Genevieve's grip. If he was trying to regain some of his dignity the maneuver was not much of a success. "I apologize for causing you discomfort," this he directed at Blott, "but it is necessary for me to ascertain the nature and extent of the Curse as quickly and thoroughly as possible."


Neither Frostine nor Genevieve looked particularly impressed with his explanation and the sword point did not move away from his breast. Strangely, William still seemed far more concerned with Blott's arm than with the blade that was currently threatening him.


"The fact of the matter is that two of our small group here have degenerative conditions, both of which threaten more than just the safety and health of the afflicted person. Steps must be taken to stabilize at least one of you so that we can concentrate on one threat at a time."


He glanced at Blott again and shuddered. "Do you realize what could have happened if her curse overtook her while she was inside Black Iron House?" The color drained from his face and he looked more terrified than he had ever appeared in Lisbeth's presence, "Or the Nexus?"


Here his expression turned firmer, even if he was still a rather unimpressive specimen sprawled to the floor as he was, "Curses are a matter in which I have no small expertise, I will not place your threats of harm to my person above my duty to render aid to the afflicted and safeguard the worlds to which I travel."

 

[ArtBlott]

"You want to cut off my arm." Blott hissed, rubbing her elbow where Williams fingers had dug in. She shouldn't have said anything. She should have kept her mouth shut, metaphorically speaking, and her head down. Too late now. She shook her sleeve back down, buttoning the cuff with a practiced ease.


"You don't know a single thing about this. What caused it, where it came from, or how I'm fairing with it! Nothing about what I've done to make sure I'll be ok! Nothing about what I've had to do to keep everything I care about safe!" Blott took an angry step forward, "You really think I'd be running around outside if I was that much of a danger? That I don't care about what might happen? That's why I sealed it! I did what I had to do, so don't you dare try to lecture me."


She sucked in a deep breath, her anger smoldering down, "You didn't have a problem with it before, when I made the carriage. I don't see why it's such a big deal now."

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

In Frostine's eyes there was a flicker of uncertainty at William's words. She held fast as Blott spoke, and her gaze flicked between Blott, Genevieve, and finally back down to William on the floor.


"Put the sword away, you idiot!" Lisbeth mentally screamed in impotent fury, "I admit his methods leave something to be desired, but he was trying to help, for star's sake!"


Lisbeth tried to forcefully wrest control from Frostine, but a wave of dizziness washed over them both. Frostine swayed, her arm went limp, and the sword clattered to the floor inches away from William's leg. She put a hand to her head.


"All right! All right!" Frostine growled, "You can have control back! Stars and snows, you don't have to make me sick."


"I... I'm not!" Lisbeth protested, "Not on purpose, anyway!"


Frostine stumbled back a step, clutching her head and grunting in pain.


"Just... just do it already!" she cried.


"I'm trying!"


Frostine fell to her knees, growling through clenched teeth until it rose in pitch and volume into a scream. At last she collapsed on all fours, breathing heavily, droplets of sweat splattering on the floor.


"I... I can't," she panted, "I can't... change back..."

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Genevieve snatched the dropped sword from the floor and pointed it at William.


"Don't move," she said through clenched teeth. "We're not done with you yet, and Frostine isn't the only one who can kill."


Satisfied that Mr. Blackiron would do no further harm for the moment, Genevieve hurried over to kneel beside Frostine and placed a hand on her shoulder but pulled it back in surprise. For someone made of snow, she was awfully warm to the touch. Genevieve shot Blott a worried look.


"Frostine? Frostine, are you all right? Is Lisbeth all right?"

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

"It is me," she breathed, "Lisbeth. I... I think that... changing into Frostine... progressed things rather rapidly."


She looked up. One of her eyes was blue while the other was brown, otherwise she looked mostly unchanged from Frostine's usual form. She cast her gaze past Genevieve at William.


"You can't... treat Blott like a specimen, William," she said between gasps, "She's... a person. Even if... her condition is dangerous... Even if... it threatens the safety of many... That doesn't... give you the right... to overlook her humanity."


She pulled herself unsteadily to her feet and managed to slow her breathing.


"You frightened her, and you hurt her. That isn't how friends treat one another. I would dearly like us to be friends, William, and not simply because we are useful to one another."


She shook her head. She didn't feel like she was making sense, not in a way that he might understand. He was too logical. What reason did he have to believe a word she said when she had pointed a sword at his heart only moments before?


"I'm sorry if Frostine acted rashly. I believe that Blott deserves an apology, William, but then I'm afraid we'll need to act quickly. We're running out of time."


She sighed.


"I think we need to go to Frostine's world."

 

[UCBooties]

"The Artist's safety was my first concern..." William wasn't quite sulking, but it was clear that he had not expected to find himself quite so suddenly on the wrong side of all of his companions.


He shook his head and stood slowly. He inclined his head towards Blott, "My sincerest apologies, Blott, for any discomfort or distress that I have caused you."


He rubbed his shoulder absently while he frowned at Lisbeth. "You seem to have Written yourself into a corner, if you'll forgive the pun. Without Black Iron House our most immediate avenue to take you where you need is closed to us. You'll need to give Genevieve a clear enough picture to jump and hope she can take you with her. Blott's abilities..." here he trailed off, "I'm afraid I couldn't say if they will help in your current predicament."


The last part was a lie, and not a terribly convincing one.

 

[ArtBlott]

WHAP!





Blott fought not to shake her hand out. That stung! Next time, she'd aim for something squishier than the face. Still, she regarded William coolly, "I accept your apology, but next time you try to 'help' me, I'll spit in your eyes." She cleared her throat, the vocalization coming from her, not the bird, and swallowed the wad of ich that had bubbled up in her distress. Then, a rather plastic smile painted on her face, she patted his shoulder. It was not reassuring.


"There now, I'd be happy to lend a hand to help out Lisbeth and Frostine. I've made a door once before, haven't I? I can always try to make another."

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

Lisbeth suppressed a smile when Blott slapped William, and instead shook her head.


"The last door you Drew took us to the Idea of a place. We need to go to the actual place itself."


She paused and placed a hand on her chin. She was a Writer. Blott was an Artist. Genevieve was a Jumper. William was the Master of Black Iron House. And yet, all of them were... broken, somehow. Genevieve was probably in the best shape, but her powers were newly returned and she'd only just learned to control them. Lisbeth reached into her pouch and touched the pocket watch, felt its pulse. It didn't look like the slender stranger was going to magically appear to help them this time. No, she shouldn't come to rely on that help anyway, not when they didn't know his true motives. Her hand brushed against something else in her bag, and a smile spread across her face.


"I think I have an idea, but it's going to require all of us to work together," she announced as she pulled something out of her pouch and held it up: a piece of chalk.


She bent down and drew as large a circle as she could upon the floorboards.


"All right. Everyone step inside."

 

[ArtBlott]

Blott tilted her head curiously, but stepped in without complaint, shuffling to stand farthest away from William. "Thanks for your help, by the way" her bird murmured lowly.

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Genevieve eyed Lisbeth's chalk circle warily.


"I thought you were a Writer, not an Artist," she said, gingerly stepping over the line.


Truth be told, she was relieved someone had a plan that didn't solely rely on her own powers. Tristan's words weighed heavily on her mind. You still have no idea the importance of your power and what I've been trying to do to get you to control it. While jumping herself out of his grasp had made her feel strong, she couldn't help but wonder whether she was still playing into his hands.

 

[UCBooties]

William, seemingly keen to be on his best behavior and nursing a stinging cheek to go with his bruised ego, silently steps into the circle. Doubt was written plain on his face.


"Should we act without informing our new host and his assistant?"

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

Lisbeth frowned.


"Our host is checking his archive and requested that we reconvene in three days. I'm assuming that means he will be indisposed for that time. I had hoped that we could conclude this little jaunt and return before the three day deadline," she confessed, "But I suppose it would only be courteous to inform them of our whereabouts. Perhaps a note? We cannot afford to waste much time. If his abilities are as formidable as they seem, he may be able to follow us if necessary."


She summoned her Book and hesitantly pulled out a page next to the one that the mysterious stranger had removed when he'd made the map. She scrawled out a note and left it on the desk.


"I hope that will suffice. Shall we begin?"


She reached down and touched the circle with a finger. Her Writing abilities were cut off from her, but she still had access to Frostine's magic. She extended her will into the circle, and there was a light 'pop' as it closed around them.


"All right. I've formed the magic circle. Now, open your minds and your senses."


She closed her eyes and took a breath. When she spoke her voice was low, almost like a chant.


"I am Frostine of Snow. I have guarded her kings these last five centuries. I am part of the Kingdom of Snow, and the Kingdom of Snow lives within me. The mountains and the valleys. The forests and the cities..."


As she spoke, the temperature began to drop...

 

[UCBooties]

William began to shiver as a plume of white breath shot from his mouth. He had experienced countless transitions between worlds and, in his professional opinion...


This was going to be unpleasant.


He looked from Lisbeth to Blott and back again, trying to keep the most of his worry from his face.


Oh yes, this was going to go very well indeed...

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Genevieve closed her eyes and shivered slightly as the Writer's words brought forth a chill. She felt more than saw the things Lisbeth--or Frostine--chanted. Jagged peaks and rolling hills and evergreens spiking out of the snow. She pictured it all, writing it in her mind, as though from memories she held in her own heart. The dizziness threatened to pull her to the ground or make her sick or both. She felt as though she were pulled in two. She wanted to stop it, to step out of the circle. Just a few steps and it would all be over. No, no, no. This wasn't going to work. She wasn't strong enough. She couldn't do it.


Pull yourself together, dammit! They need you!


She squeezed her eyes tighter, channeling all her thoughts toward the snow-ma beside her.


A snowflake brushed her cheek, but they weren't there yet.

 

[ArtBlott]

Blott shivered. She wasn't really equipped for the cold, and didn't have anything to draw a coat on. Ugh, she hadn't even grabbed her bag, and- A lurch in her stomach jolted her attention back into the situation at hand. She chanced a glance around. Snow was drifting from...seemingly no where, whipping itself into flurries of white.


Blott shut her eyes tight against the sting of the cold as she listened, letting the scene of Frostine's home paint itself against the back of her eyelids, individual landmarks slowly coming into focus out of the fuzzy white snow. Her stomach lurched again, and she clamped a hand over her mouth.


Hurry up, we need to go! And so they went.


A sickening sense of acceleration, the snow going more sideways than down, nearly knocked her over. She took a step back...her foot landing on nothing. The morning light seemed to rip apart, a bright white glittering over everyone as the floor gave way, opening up underneath the small group.


They fell...all of about three feet, and into a vast expanse of powdered snow.


Ugh, I think it just got in my underwear...

 

[UCBooties]

William kept his feet easily and landed neatly in the snow. For a strange moment his shoulders and head were sticking through a hole in the floor of a Shanghai inn room and his feet were in ten inches of fresh snow. For a moment he couldn't shake the conviction that the portal would close, neatly chopping him in half, but as he flinched the inn vanished and he found himself and his companions wholly in a snowy field at the edge of a dark evergreen forest. Blot was a heap in the snow and for a moment he considered helping her up. He refrained, fearing that his assistance would not be welcomed at this particular juncture.


Unease crept over his as he glanced around. He blinked owlishly at Lisbeth, well Frostine, well... whoever.


That had been significantly easier than he had expected... and the notion was a disquieting one.


An unsealed circle? An ad-hoc incantation? Shared visualization? It never should have worked. Obviously the Snow-ma had an inherent connection to her world, they were of a piece, but that never should have been enough to overcome the boundaries that separated universes from one another. The sheer power necessary to overcome the Munchausen fields without relying on Baum-Nakamurian principals... there was no way the Snow-ma should have been able to manage it, no matter how powerful she was in her own world. So far as he knew, Black Iron House could not brute force its way between worlds they way they had just attempted, and travelling between worlds was specifically what it was designed to do.


For a moment he felt an uncharacteristic surge of hope. He cast his sense inward, perhaps they had pulled through because...


His hopes turned to disappointment. Black Iron House was not present in this time on this world.


The shiver that went up his spine had nothing to do with the snow. The barriers between worlds were weakening, and to an alarming degree.


Best be about what we've come here for. He turned to Lisbeth, "Writer, any change to that book of yours?"

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

They fell through the floor and into the snow beyond. Her boots hit the surface of the snow as though it were solid ground, and she found herself on eye level with William as everyone else sank into the powder. For a moment she could still see the Shanghai room, then it vanished and she was...


Home.





Not just back to Frostine's world; if they had picked up where she'd left off Writing they would be in Faery right now. No, they were in the Kingdom of Snow itself, North Valley, and if she turned around-


Polar City. Nestled in the bottom of the valley against the far ridge, atop which the Snow Palace perched to watch over her city.


Tears pricked to corners of her eyes. She was home! She hadn't seen the City in weeks, not since she and Jack had set out on their journey. Where was he? She wasn't sure When they all had just arrived in her Story. The last thing she remembered was heading into Winter territory in Faery with Jack and-


"Lisbeth. Those are my thoughts. Pull yourself together."


She blinked. Stars and snows, Frostine was right: she hadn't been able to distinguish between their thoughts. Her gut clenched.


"Writer, any change to that book of yours?" William asked.


She turned to him. He looked composed, but there was something in his eyes that belied an unease that was more than his usual uncomfortable nature. Perhaps it was just his confrontation with Blott that was bothering him, but something in the back of her mind worried that it was more than that.


She held out a hand and the Book appeared. She undid the clasp and grasped the edge of the cover. For a split-second she hesitated, anxious and hopeful in equal measures, then she opened the Book.


Her heart sank. She didn't see anything on the pages. Her mouth set into a hard line, but then hope surged once again as she looked closer. It was faint, but the script was indeed slowly reappearing.


"It looks like you were right, Master Blackiron," she said, grinning and holding up the Book so he could see the darkening Writing.


She opened to a blank page and pulled out her pen. Slowly at first, but gaining speed and surety it crossed the page, and three warm coats for her companions appeared. Lisbeth laughed.


"That's one problem taken care of," she said, "but the more pressing issue remains. We ought to make for Polar City and the Snow Palace. High Mage Darien ought to be there, and he may be able to help us."


She dismissed her Book and absentmindedly placed her hand in her pouch to touch the watch there, it's now-familiar pulse comforting in the snowy air.

 

[Arkadious]

Shanghai: The tall slim figure watching the nondescript building felt a chill suddenly nip in the air. The figure glanced up briefly and noticed a few errant snowflakes swirling about. "What have you done, Frostine...?" The figure turned and disappeared in the shadows, steam from the local street vendors rising into the air. Further down the street, a weary traveler looking for a bite to eat happened across a small dumpling stand, the girl that owned the stand offering a sample. Just as he was preparing to bite into the steamy hot delicious dumpling, a fork flew from across the street and pinned the dumpling to a post...


The Kingdom of Snow: In his study high up in his tower, the high mage felt a ripple from some powerful magick that suddenly intruding into his realm. With a heavy sigh, due to the absence of his assitant, the mage grabbed up a sturdy cloak and his staff. He closed his eyes and focused on the point of origin of the disturbance, muttering a silent incantation before stepping forward, disappearing from his study and appearing in a snowy field. There, in front of him, were four strangers. NO! Three strangers and..."Hello, Frostine. Welcome back. Pray tell, who are your companions...?"

 

[Lisbeth Walpurgis]

Lisbeth automatically placed a fist to her breast.


"Master," she said, "May I present William Blackiron, Genevieve Moulin, and Quinette Blott. I must apologize: I have not yet completed the quest you have given me, but I have returned because I need your help."


She looked into his eyes with her own mismatched gaze.


"I have become merged with another, and if we are not separated at once, I fear the fusion will become permanent."

 

[ArtBlott]

She didn't know how it worked, but was glad they had made it. Well, mostly glad. Blott tucked herself further into the coat Lisbeth had written. That was a plus at least. She got her powers back and Blott got a jacket. It even had a furry, fluffy lining!


Her crow, not liking the snow any more than she, swooped low and burrowed into the front of her coat, twisting and turning until only it's little fluffy head poked out.


As the excitemental settled, she realized that no one had actually agreed to set her on fire. Oh well, maybe William could wrangle the courage to. She certainly wasn't about to bring it up again.


She refocused on the situation at hand, looking around in awe at the scenery. She could almost feel the hum of magic in the air. It thrummed over her skin, though not unpleasantly. She looked the skies and mountains, taking in the beauty of the snowscape. She almost didn't notice the appearance of, presumably Lisbeth's-no, Frostine's..master? Oh dear, this was going to be confusing.

 

[Arkadious]

Darien's eyes flashed with surprise and shock briefly when he saw the mismatched eyes of Frostine as well as heard her plight. "Oh my, what have you gotten yourself into now?! We must return to my tower, immediately. We have much to catch up on..."





With a few arcane gestures and muttered syllables, there was a brief flash as everyone glowed and then another jaunt and they were all gathered within the High Mage's study, shelves and desks lining the walls and a central glass encasement filled with glowing stones in the middle...

 

[UCBooties]

William watched the High Mage Darien with intense interest. His suspicions about Lisbeth's book had been proven correct. It was fortunate that the restoration of her past work also returned her to some approximation of her full abilities. This next course of action, consulting an inhabitant of the world for a way to separate Frostine and Lisbeth, demanded close study.


One school of thought stated that if Darien was able to provide a solution to their conundrum it was only because somewhere, deep down within herself, Lisbeth already knew how to solve the problem. Everything in this world was a reflection of Lisbeth's will and intent in some way, conscious or or unconscious, and this was nothing more than a shadow play. Everything a diorama while she went through the motions to resolve the planned plot, ritualistically carrying out the forms of the show as puppet and puppeteer both.


But if that wasn't the case...


If that wasn't the case then this world and the people and creatures and magics within it were as real as any other, no matter how they had come to be. Its inhabitants could forge their own destinies separate from the desires of the being that created them. This would have once been an academic curiosity to William, now he found himself much more personally invested in the question. He narrowed his eyes, but how to tell?

 

[Genevieve Moulin]

Genevieve stood slightly apart from the others and seemed to shrink into the fur lining of her coat. Their...what to call it?...collaborative jump had left her spent. And she didn't like the way this place made her feel, as though an engine whirred beneath every surface, the turning of its gears turning the fate of this world.


Magic.


She'd never considered her own Jumping to be magical--it was simply a fact, an ability in the same way others could sing or paint, though, admittedly, it was an ability she had despised. And though she and her companions had certainly visited strange locales of late--a werewolf-filled London, a Shanghai where pandas managed restaurants--those places at least had the trappings of Genevieve's own world. Here she did not know the rules or the players. She could not anticipate the dangers that might lurk in the frosty shadows of this Written land. Frostine's world was a place she did not belong, and she dearly hoped they could conclude their business quickly and be on their way. Home was a concept on which she tried not to linger. It was simply too painful. But here, fresh from visiting the house where she grew up and meeting the husband with whom she had once made a life, she had never felt farther from it.