EXCOLO

I want to keep hold of Alice's hand, but she will not let go of Carol, and as much as that unsettles me, we must keep moving forward.

But Chester's solid warmth in my arms reminds me that there are things in this world that are still real and unchanging, and so do Valmont and Glass walking near me, and the bit of Alice that is still herself. We will remain constant, even as the ground begins to shift under us.

The colors of the sky are beginning to swirl and blend, too, as we draw near the abbey, like a watercolor sunset and the northern lights all at once, even though I know that it is still morning. And yet it is darker and stranger than either of those - there is a deep heavy pulse of ominous color behind it all that speaks of wrongness.

Whatever it is that we must set right, it is here.

From:

chester-excolo.livejournal.com

This is one a those times I tell myself I hate, that next time I'll make a different choice , do something else, let someone else deal with it. Yeah. That never sticks. There's always some reason I gotta do it. One of them is my wizard. She's a good kid, an' I've no doubt she'll do her best to fix the problem we're facin'. She'll need my help for that. There's also Alice n' all those other people in town. So yeah, lots a reasons for me to be headin' into the swirling chaos of of an open rift between worlds. I c'n feel it pourin' out an' it makes me dizzy for a moment, makes my fur stand on end,I curl tighter into the crook of Hermia's arm, then peer out over it.

We're here. Now where's that damn hole?

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Zann says she thinks my idea is a good one and so I change what I ask the compass to point at though the heading doesn't change by much so maybe it would have led us to the same place anyway. She also asked me to tell her anything I know about who might have caused the problem in the first place.

I start to think about that as we walk along, speaking slowly as thoughts line up. "It would have to be someone who can do stuff with dreams. Really powerful stuff, not just little things, like being aware that you are dreaming and being able to change stuff in your dreams. Maybe someone at the Abbey was trying something and it went wrong?" Really at this point I'm just guessing. I really don't know who could have done this. Though it makes me glad that our path takes us towards the abbey rather than the water tower. Not that that seems to matter right now given how unstable things are over here.

It feels like it takes all day to get there, and there's something about the building that makes my eyes hurt as if the image of it is somehow out of focus or maybe it's just that all the angles and lines have been twisted into impossible shapes. So I end up looking either at my compass or at Zann more than at what's in front of us. Though I do look up and squint at it from time to time.

Another thought occurs to me just as I spot a number of figures up ahead of us.

Edited Date: 2013-03-25 02:12 am (UTC)

From:

valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com

It's turned into another day, somehow. The journey here feels like its taken forever, and I remember that terrifying exhaustion of when I was a prince lost in the woods. We arrive near the abbey, and the sky is bleeding strange colours. A thick mist rolls over the cemetery, and my teeth chatter.

"Someone's coming," I say, as two figures draw near out of the mist. I rest my hand inside my jacket on my gun, and then relax as I see two familiar faces.

"Damien, Zann," I call out.

From:

tereixa-zann.livejournal.com

"It would have to be someone who can do stuff with dreams. Really powerful stuff, not just little things, like being aware that you are dreaming and being able to change stuff in your dreams. Maybe someone at the Abbey was trying something and it went wrong?"

"Maybe," and it's a sad thought, and I shake my head. "So a real oneiromancer," I say--lovely word, we had it on a poster once, "instead of just someone who's a lucid dreamer." Which is neat, I understand, but I don't think it's really rare; Xay does it, and I know Hux does sometimes too.

Alright, I'm gonna be honest; I don't like this, I really really don't. I keep thinking it should feel like an engine falling out of true, but it's not like that; it's like watching gears of smoke and mud and music try to mesh, and it leaves me queasy and giddy all at once.

"Damien, Zann," and the voice, something meant, it helps. The calliope music pipes up a little stronger, and I grin and wave.

"Hey, hon," I say brightly. "How's-- hey, Alice!" Stop and blink at that, for a second, and they've got that townie herbwitch and a lady I don't recognize, really, along as well. "Hey, guys. How've you been? You have any idea why it's going on?"

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I don't know how long it has been - I hardly feel hungry or tired, but somehow I know that we have been walking for hours, even though the trip to the Abbey should only take a few minutes.

It is becoming harder and harder to keep my mind focused on what is ahead of me. The path keeps twisting off through the trees (there were no trees here!) and the ocean (what ocean?) keeps rising higher, sending chill waves over our feet as it laps over us.

Suddenly I see Valmont tense, and a second later so do I, when he says, "Someone's coming." My arms close tighter around Chester and my back stiffens as I angle forward, edging between Alice and whatever is out there in the mist.

But then he calls out their names, and even though they're not name I know, if Valmont knows these people enough to let down his guard, then I will trust them too, and the woman's cheerful call makes me smile a bit despite everything. "Hey, hon," I say brightly. "How's-- hey, Alice!" Stop and blink at that, for a second, and they've got that townie herbwitch and a lady I don't recognize, really, along as well. "Hey, guys. How've you been? You have any idea why it's going on?"

I wish that I had time to be circumspect, to break it to them with care, to tell them to sit down first, or to have coffee. But I cannot, not with the path through the forest threatening to lead us off into dark danger at every turn.

"Something has…gone wrong with dreams," is all the gentleness that I have time to give them. "There's a hole in the barrier that separates this world from the world of dreams. We don't know who did it, but it must be someone or something of great power, and the breach seems to be here. At the Abbey," I add, for 'here' is hardly a meaningful term anymore. "And regardless of who did it, we must close it. If you can find a safe place," I add more softly, "please try to get there."

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I'm about to mention the other possibility, that something or someone from the dreamworld has forced a way into our world to look for something or someone. Like Nanshe. Or maybe something thta came back with someone else from the dreamworld. Like my compass. Or Zann's cog.(or that hand that John woke up with.) I'm sure that other people must have woken up with stuff as well. Didn't Wanda have a knife in the dream? And Valmont a sword?

As if thinking about him had conjured him from the fog, I hear Valmont's voice calling our names before he appears. He's not alone. His wife is with him(is that a cat she's holding?) and so are a pair of girls, only one of whom I sort of recognize. And Glass.

Zann immediately greets them asking how they've been and whether they have any idea why this is happening. Hermia is the one who answers that last question. Though she doesn't really tell us anything new, ending with,And regardless of who did it, we must close it. If you can find a safe place,please try to get there.

"We already knew that." I tell her, trying not to sound upset that she's trying to send us away. It's not like anywhere in town is likely to be completely safe anyways. "We came to help."

Edited Date: 2013-03-29 04:36 am (UTC)

From:

Our little group gathered at the doctor's office (http://estdeus-innobis.livejournal.com/468138.html), and discussed various things that could be done. I spoke of magic with Sylvia, and I drew the deputy aside and told him that I thought he might be able to help me mend the gate - but at some cost to him.

Lucien's office was inundated with injured people this afternoon, and so it took some time before we could leave. And time has stretched and shrunk, sun setting twice in an hour, and now it's some dim dark time before we reach the abbey. I see Hermia and Damien along with others, and smile with relief to see an enchantress and a dreamwalker.

From:

syl-thorn.livejournal.com

Took us bloody hours t'get movin'. Folk comin' by wit' scales, wit' teeth fallin' out, wit' bleedin' eyes. I wuz all fer leavin' th'Doc b'hind, but Nanshe insisted on stickin' t'gether. I getta chance t'wash mosta th'blood off, but't seems t'keep comin' back, seepin' from m'hair 'n under m'nails, an' m'hair's drippin' salt water.

Now we's fin'lly headed fer th'alley, an' th'first person I see's Zann. "Zann!" I yell, breakin' inta' a jog, "Zann, y'okay?"

From:

tereixa-zann.livejournal.com

The woman who's moving in front of Alice (and I know that motion, pattern, step, so that's alright) tells us we should try to get to someplace safe, if we have one, and I nod because it's sensible advice and I guess it's well-meant, even if it isn't exactly what we're gonna do.

"Oh, I had one," I say. "But it doesn't..." I trace the music in the air for a second. "This isn't the kind of thing where that works, you know?" This is a time when you keep moving (because if you go through fire fast enough you don't get burnt, although I'm working on thinking of other things because the lights get flickery and warm if I dwell too much on that), and if you need to keep moving then you pick a goal and you make damn sure it's a good one. "It's like he says, we came to help." I reach out to put one arm 'cross Damien's shoulder, and then I hear Syl calling my name and turn and blink.

"I'm good-- are you meant to be bleeding?" She smells like salt and iron, which is always a combination you want to pay attention to, even if it doesn't always mean something's wrong. "Oh, Noma, Doc, hey!" And nod to the deputy, who's looking a bit poleaxed, which you'd kinda expect.

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The young man - Damien? - sounds offended at my warnings, and they are both determined to help. I am torn - there is safety in numbers, and if they have any sort of power then perhaps they can help, but if not, I fear that they will not be safe.

But before I can answer, there are more people coming at us out of the mist, and I tense once more - and then my breath lets out in a rush of relief, for I recognize Jack's tall figure at once. And there is Lucien too, and Nanshe. And Syl as well, I note, with less joy but almost as much relief. The more magical power we have on our side, the better it will be for us, and even if Syl is not the sort of person I would wish to invite over for tea, she is powerful.

I flash Jack a quick smile - the first one that I have felt in quite some time. Not that time seems to have any meaning or shape here, but it still feels good to smile, and to have reason to.

"Kyria," I say, addressing Nanshe first, quick and urgent. "Do you know what caused this? Or how to stop it? We will help in whatever way we can."

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I take Hermia's hands and press them lightly.

"I am glad to see you," I say. "And yes. A door was made between our world and Dream... And that gate was torn apart by the god who tormented the town's dreams six months ago. I thought he was dead," and how it grieves me, that my sacrifice was only a partial victory, "but he was only wounded. He is still wounded, and so we have a chance to defeat him... But he has lost none of his cunning, or his love of cruelty. I have some idea of ways to mend the gate," and I glance at Jack, "but we have to get there first. Damien," I say, "we will need your skill with dreams. You may not be able to do very much - it's much harder to move dreams that walk in this world than in their proper sphere - but we need every little chance we have... And Hermia, you and Sylvia can help with magic. Protection," I say, "is something we're in sore need of, if we're to get to the place where the wall between worlds is thinnest."

From:

syl-thorn.livejournal.com

"I'm good-- are you meant to be bleeding?" Zann says. She sounds'n looks okay, an'm mighty relieved.

"Apparently," I sigh, wiping blood from m'forehead. "Wuzn't my idea, but't seems t'be goin' on."

Nanshe 'splains what's goin' on, an' starts layin' out th'plan. "Damien, we will need your skill with dreams. You may not be able to do very much - it's much harder to move dreams that walk in this world than in their proper sphere - but we need every little chance we have... And Hermia, you and Sylvia can help with magic. Protection, is something we're in sore need of, if we're to get to the place where the wall between worlds is thinnest."

"Protection I c'n do," I nod. Got m'wards wit' me, salt an' silver. C'n lay outta circle given a minute, if'n't's needed. I glance't Hermia. "How much d'ya know 'bout what ye're doin', girl?" I says. I ain't never worked wit'er b'fore, nor seen any signs a magic in'er. Little leery 'bout layin' our lives on'er.

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I shift Chester up onto one shoulder so that I can reach out to clasp Nanshe's hand, then step back as she explains. It is connected to the dream disturbances of last spring, the ones just before my wedding to Valmont. The ones that nearly stopped the wedding, and everything else in the town as well. I glance over at Valmont and Glass, remembering their stories, and I suppress a faint shiver at the memory of what they said.

Nanshe knows Damien, too - if she trusts his abilities, then so will I. Syl, of course, does not trust my abilities, and it is all that I can do not to bristle at her skeptical look. But now is no time for us to be quarreling amongst ourselves, and if we have to work together then we must find a way to do it.

So I reply, quiet and even, "I know quite a bit about protection spells, and I have all of the relevant supplies with me." I could easily pick the right herbs from the backyard, and the chalk and Helena's silver bracelet were in the bedroom. "I've warded the Whitechapel and the sheriff's office and the library, and they've stayed safe. And my power has increased quite a bit in the last few months," I add. "Especially for protection spells." I don't give Chester's secrets away, but his role in that will become clear soon enough, even if Syl doesn't know the meaning of the matching circles of gold around my wrist and his neck. And from what Nu said, I will be strongest in the spells that give life and protection. "Whatever you need of me, Kyria," I finish, turning back to Nanshe, "I will give."

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Zann uses more words than I did to tell the woman that no we aren't going to just leave and hole up somewhere. That we will help. Find I'm smiling just a little at that we, and that I don't mind when her arm drapes itself across my shoulders. It feels like part of that we.

More people arrive, most of whom I know. Nanshe, The deputy, and the doctor. The one I don't seems to know Zann though. She looks like someone I'd be wary of were I to meet her on my own on the road.

I'm surprised as Hermia calls Nanshe by a name I've never heard before, though I listen carefully to what Nanshe says. It is worse in some ways than I had expected. A god (a god!) from dreams is loose in this world. I shiver a bit at remembering the being Nanshe faced at the end of the dream all those months ago. Stand up a bit straighter and smile at her, pleased by her saying that my skill with dreams will be needed. It feels good to be needed.

"I may not be able to directly affect him," I tell the Lady of Dreams, "But I can still do some of my tricks just fine." Don't know how useful the wings or shapechanging might be, but I bet there'll be more things like those water-girls to fight and that I can do.

Zann's friend and Valmont's wife are talking about protection spells an stuff. I hope it works. Think we need all the help we can get to face this guy. I can't help noticing the large white cat as he climbs up on Hermia's shoulder. It's looking around at everyone and especially at Zann's friend Sylvia; and If I wasn't looking right at it when it opened it's mouth and that voice came out I'd probably have jumped in shock.

It may not be obvious, but the kid does know her stuff. She's had some pretty decent trainin'.

Edited Date: 2013-04-02 03:42 am (UTC)

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The others talk and I'm glad to see them cooperating.

"I think between you, Syl and Hermia, you can give me long enough to get to the gate, to hold Icelus away from it. But after that... He will be weaker, with the connection broken between worlds, and he will also be very angry." I take a breath. "So we will have to kill him. For sure, this time."

From:

jack-hollow.livejournal.com

Don't have much ta add, with alla this goin' on. But it hurts to hear her talking about killing so plain, that it's come ta this. I understand, sure. I just don't...

Hell. Don't hafta like it, I guess.

"With the connection gone," I say careful, "that gonna be a straight-up thing? Killin' him?"

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"I don't know," I say, and it hurts to admit it, because if I was in my own realm and as I once was I could be so much surer. "I am not sure what will happen, what power he'll have." And by closing the gate I give up another chance to return to who I was; but that is a sacrifice I'm willing to make for these people and this town. I look at Jack's face, and I touch his shoulder. "I hate to do this," I say. "But he has nothing but hate in his heart. And for all our sakes, he's better dead."

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Now that Nanshe names our enemy and saysthat we will have to kill him, it somehow makes things feel less dreamlike and more real. And scary. She's talking about really killing someone. I don't know if I can do that. Really kill someone. Not going to admit to being scared in front of everyone though.

The deputy asks if that's going to be as easy as she's making it sound and I'm glad that he's the one asking her questions about it. Maybe he doesn't want to do it either. I feel a strange sort of annoyed that she's touching him and I only got a smile earlier. That's stupid. He's standing right next to her and he asked her something about what we're going to be doing. This is no time for stupid jealous shit.

"Guess that means we'll have to play it by ear after the gate closes. Hit him hard and keep hitting til he goes down type thing?"

From:

syl-thorn.livejournal.com

Nanshe says we gotta kill Icelus, an'I nod, bare m'teeth. "Killin'im's overdue, t'my mind," I says. We'd'a been better off killin'im last time. "Any thoughts 'bout how? Any weaknesses y'c'n think of?"

Hermia, meantime, act'ally sounds like she might know what she's doin'. "I know quite a bit about protection spells, and I have all of the relevant supplies with me. I've warded the Whitechapel and the sheriff's office and the library, and they've stayed safe. And my power has increased quite a bit in the last few months. Especially for protection spells."

I note th'gold collar 'round th'cat's neck, th'bracelet on'er wrist. If'n she's gotta familiar, she must have some real power t'er. "All right, hope so. But ye're gonna follow my lead, y'hear? I been pract'cin' fer near thirty years. I gotta lotta 'sperience 't you don't." She'd damn well better listen t'me onnis. We don't got time t'argue.

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Chester speaks up, saying "It may not be obvious, but the kid does know her stuff. She's had some pretty decent trainin'."

My lips twitch in a little smile, both in thanks for Chester's words and in guilty amused satisfaction for the looks on people's faces when they hear him speak. "Thank you," I murmur to him. And Syl does know what that means, for she looks at the gold bracelet and collar, and recognition shows in her eyes as she says, "All right, hope so. But ye're gonna follow my lead, y'hear? I been pract'cin' fer near thirty years. I gotta lotta 'sperience 't you don't."

As much as it rankles to be ordered about by her, I know that Syl is right. If she has been practicing magic for longer than I have been alive, then she should be the one to take charge. And, in truth, I am glad that I do not have to do this alone. "All right," I agree quietly, meeting her eyes directly.

Nanshe and Jack are speaking of the other side of the plan - of the fact that the only way to stop Icelus this time is to kill him. I feel a sad and wonderful warmth for both of them, Nanshe and Jack, that they are so reluctant to kill, even someone - or something - as terrible as Icelus. But if that is what they have to do, then that is what we will help them do.

I swallow hard, and glance over at Valmont once more before I draw myself up taller and say, "So. Where do we start? Would it be more effective to protect the path, or to put the protections on the people?"

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