Phillips Harbour
Tuesday, October 27. Evening.
By the time Bernice arrives at the boathouse, it's empty. Islington is watching from the Babbage, however. He pads out to the deck to mew to her in greeting. C'mon up. Caliban an' his man took some pictures of the Shelley Manor. They're in the darkroom on board developing them now.
As Dr. Townes descends belowdeck, the Persian cat stays to keep Slate company. He sits by the rail with his fur fluffed out against the cold damp wind, mewing companionably to the horse.
The smell of beef being stewed with curry spices wafts up from the galley of the Babbage. Non-musical humming suggests Caliban's ability to carry a tune has not noticably improved in the last few days.
Bernice stoops to trail her fingers along Islington's neck and back, looking considerably refreshed after a night of sleep and a change of clothes since her night on the remnants of the Hill. "Thank you, dear. Actually, I'm just as much here to see you as to see them, today."
Oh? Islington arches his back into the petting, purring. He swishes his tail to Slate and follows Bernice down the narrow stairwell. What didja want to see me about?
There are some clanking sounds from behind the door to the darkroom off of the main cabin, as Herbert sorts through vials of chemicals.
"I think the situation calls for all the help we can get, now," explains the doctor as she descends below decks. "To that end, I'd like to contact Mssr. Girard again, in the hopes of convincing him to come back and lend his abilities to our cause. I don't think we have time to raise him via conventional means, however. Since he's a magician, I was hoping there might be a way to get his attention.. um, magically?"
/Might be,/ Islington stops on the third step from the bottom, leaning against the side of the stairwell/ladder. He licks one paw, watching Bernice. /You know any magicians in town?/
A puff of air wafts the smell of pastry and baked apples out of the galley past Bernice's nose.
The door to the darkroom opens, and a rubber-gloved and apron-wearing Herbert Shaft emerges, holding a still damp photograph. "Oh!" he says in surprise upon seeing Bernice. "Miss Townes, you're back! I hope Trouble's investigation was.. not troublesome."
The latest Darklight photo of the manor looks markedly different from the previous one. Since the Darklight photographs show the resonances of powerful moments from the past as well as the present, they're often difficult to decipher. But this one seems more straightforward than usual: it shows a burning white cross at the center of the manor, with a ghostly afterimage of Rev. Hale above it and surrounded by a golden halo. Locke's slim silhouette is in the scene, as well. Most of the manor looks normal by comparison, although cleaner and newer than it really is. At the edges of the house, clinging to the eaves and foundation, glinting malevolently in the attic windows, an oppressive, malevolent darkness lingers. It's tattered by shards of light from the cross.
Bernice clasps her hands behind her back, looking over her shoulder at Islington. "I hoped perhaps your expertise might let me substitute for one. I still have many of Girard's books. I think Miss Pao might also have some know-how." She looks back at the door as Herbert emerges, giving the man a small smile. "Good evening, Mr. Shaft. No, it was very enlightening, if exhausting."
A 'ding!' comes from the galley as the ape rings a triangle to let people know that dinner is ready. He hangs the triangle up and opens the galley door to beckon people into a small kitchen, in which are to be found a curried beef-and-carrots-and-potatoes stew (made with spices from the Indies), crusty bread and fresh butter on the side, and for dessert, apple pie still cooling off near the porthole.
"We've made quite a bit of progress ourselves," Shaft notes, setting down the photo before removing his rubber protective wear. It's not polite to wear rubber to the dinner table, after all. "Join us for dinner and let us know what happened, please."
Islington mews. You might do, at that. I'm no mage, myself, but I can advise you. I'll have to see what's in Mr. Girard's books ... Mrs. Everchild knew a way or three, but none so reliable that I'd count on being able to explain it to someone else well enough for them to do it successfully. Miss Pau's magic I can't speak for. Never seen a witch of her sort.
The bag nearby, with little bits of crust attached to the coarse fabric, suggests that the ape didn't bake the bread, but the apple pie does smell freshly baked. Perhaps Caliban had to do something while the beef was stewing. The monkey offers Islington a saucer of beef stew and cream as a refrehsment.
The dinner bell didn't get Islington's attention, but the smell of stew does. He licks his whiskers and leaps from the stairwell, crossing the short hall into the galley. He takes a lap at the stew, and crosses his eyes, puzzled by the taste. Then another lap, another pause. Islington licks his whiskers, laps again, decides it's good, and starts chomping away.
Bernice nods gratefully at the cat. "I'd appreciate it, and I'd be glad to show you the books." She spares another of her rare smiles for Caliban, and she falls into step with Mr. Shaft. "Mmmm, smells delicious. Don't mind if I do. Perhaps the chef won't mind if I beg some snacks on Slate's behalf as well?"
Herbert pours a saucer of water for the feline, just in case. Spicy food can take getting used to, after all.
The chef looks up, then ooks an agreement. Righty-o, Miss! He starts cutting some apples up, then sprinkles lemon juice and cinnamon and sugar onto their exposed surfaces, before excusing himself to take the snack to the gray mare. Let's see how Slate likes Caliban-style apples!
When Caliban makes it outside, Slate whickers in greeting. How's your master? Did you have a good day? We spent all night out on the Hill top waiting for Trouble to recover -- which he did, by the way -- and all day sleeping. She arches her neck at the smell of cut apple, lifting her nose so it's level with one of the gaps between the slates of the boat rails.
"With Marseilles help, we've learned quite a lot about spirits today," Herbert tells Bernice while he fills his plate. "I think we even have a chance of defeating the really big ones now."
Here, try some of these, Slate, if you don't like 'em this way, I'll cut some up plain, Caliban says, offering the apples up. So nothing exploded? Felt like we were standin' on a lit powder keg, s'why we took off so quick-like. Eh, we're okay, few close ones but we made it through, helped out with the exorcism of the House an' stuff.
Townes takes a moment to study the photograph while Islington's attention is diverted. "My word," she breathes. "Is that... the Reverend?" She gives Herbert a hopeful look. "Yes? What did you learn? Trouble seemed to have some ideas too."
"Well, big spirits can be broken down," Shaft notes, and points to the cross in the photo with his spoon. "That's our spirit trap. It managed to separate quite a lot of the Manor spirit into smaller chunks. Caliban used the Spirit Stunner at full power on the rest with quite a bit of success. Marseilles was able to drain off the power from the trap before it could be completely damaged as well, and was able to do it in a very convenient manner."
No, no explosions. Slate mouths a slice of apple, crunches it messily, and slobbers on Caliban's hand as she gets the crumbs. Mmmm, that's great! Trouble talked his way out of trouble, I think. Or squeezed his way out of it. He helped St. John and Alorn take over the Hill. Slate shakes herself all over, winter coat fluffing as loose summer fur sheds. They broke the Hill into pieces, somehow, and the pieces ... dispersed? Died? I'm not sure. Now Alorn possesses the Hill and he's sharing it with st. John. I think.
Wait, what? The chimpanzee stops as the mare lips up apples, and stares at her. Are we gonna be seein' St. John again?
Bernice looks at the blazing cross again. "That's very good news. How did Marseilles help?" She takes up a bowl of her own.
"Well, she grabbed the power leads.. the wires.. that connected the Trap to our analytical machine. She was able to draw off the captured spirit through them. There are some side-effects to this 'consuming' of another spirit, but I think the Amplifier will be able to minimize them. The important thing is that we can cut away chunks of a big spirit and use its energy to power our devices or boost the abilities of another spirit. If the Unicorn is willing to fight, we could strengthen it while weakening its foes at the same time. Theoretically."
Slate swishes her tail at Caliban. Maybe, she says, unhappily. Her body's dead but her spirit's still around and in the Hill. I don't think she can leave the Hill, though. Or Alorn. They're bound there now. But ...
The doctor considers this for a few moments. "That's a good start. I would imagine the scale of the Other's masters would dwarf even the haunted house, but this is still very hopeful. What sort of side effects were there?"
Right, right. Full moon could be fun, things come unbound around then, Caliban says. He feeds Slate the last of the apples. I guess we should prepare for them showin' up. If they don't, no harm done.
Slate munches on the rest with appetite, despite her news. If we really are Opening now, it might even be good if can show up. At least if Alorn does.
Well, see, it's all going to be about who's left standin' when the dust settles, Caliban opines, dusting his hands off. The way I see it, there's a lot of power behind that Portal, that's why people want to Open, they think it'll make their dreams come true. Now, I don't want to see St. John's dreams come true... This world would be a lot emptier without humans makin' yummy stuff for us to eat.
"Well.. when we first tried to charge-up Marseilles after releasing her from the trap, we used a fox's spirit," Shaft explains. "It resulted in her taking on aspects of the fox, including tail and ears, and the ability to change into a fox as well. Then there was Mrs. Albason - she became the woman for a few moments, before the personality voluntarily left her in control. The Manor Spirit didn't really have any sort of intelligence it seems, but left her feeling a bit ill at first. She could become solid though, afterwards."
Slate shakes her mane in firm agreement with Caliban's sentiment. She lips at the deck for leftover bits of apple. Do you think what happens when the Portal Opens will depend on who Opens it, then?
Bernice looks disturbed by this news. "I think that's of grave concern, Mr. Shaft. If she takes on aspects of whatever she 'consumes', this could be dangerous. But I perhaps Alorn or Kari might be powerful enough or skilled enough to retain their own senses of self."
Nah... From what I gather, there're these powerful spirits that live in the Other Side. If we don't stop them, they'll come through an' take over this side, an' that's just as bad, Caliban opines. If we don't open the Portal, then our world's spirits will die. But if we do beat 'em, then there'll be a lot of free power runnin' around. Which spirits are we gonna trust with it?
Slate looks puzzled. So what do you think we should do?
"My hope is also that the Amplifier will strip away those aspects of the spirit is converts to energy," Herbert notes. "It works on a slightly different principle than the Trap does - it isn't meant to contain a spirit, after all."
Pick a spirit we think will do right by us, Caliban says. The Unicorn... What'd you think of her, Slate?
Slate brightens. She was very kind. A little ... I don't know. Shy? Reluctant? Scared? Sad, I guess. Regretful. Like she'd been thinking about it for a long, long, time and given up hope on a good solution. She said we should Close, that it's not worth the risk of losing Earth to the Others.
The doctor mulls this over. "Well, it's very hopeful, all in all. I must say, I'm impressed, Mr. Shaft. I couldn't begin to fathom all this... remarkable how much a world can expand in just a short month or two." She looks down into her bowl, lost in thought for a moment, then glances back up. "Trouble mentioned your spirit beacon 'seemed like food' until it was actually reached. Do you have any ideas on what might nourish spirits?"
Hmm... Wonder what she'd do if she were in control of both sides? Caliban muses. His tummy growls then. He reaches up and rubs the gray mare's neck. Well, I'm starvin', Slate, I'm gonna head inside and grab some chow before it's all gone.
"Ah, so far the only thing we've found is other spirits," Shaft admits. "Since the real source of nourishment doesn't seem to exist in our world, there isn't any way to reverse-engineer it yet."
The mare turns her head to nose at Caliban's arm affectionately. OK. See you when you're done. I'm glad your day was productive. It's good that they got the Manor exorcised. Though I guess that means it won't be distracting the witchhunters any more.
Eh, there's still a bit left! We'll let them know to be extra thorough about getting rid of the remainders! The chimpanzee chuckles and goes in to serve himself an extra-big helping of stew, and some of the pie as well.
Bernice ladels up some stew. "What makes the beacon work, if I may?"
"I don't really know," Shaft admits, after a few bites of bread. "It uses orichalcum, like the other devices. Spirit energy is channeled through a very complex filament to create the 'dark-light' that spirits can see. I tell you, it was a nightmare getting the geometry correct: it nearly defies three-dimensional logic. For all I know, it's creating a window into that other realm without letting any actual energy flow through."
The chimpanzee ooks at the others. Hey Doc! Did you tell the boss what happened down there yet? He glances down at the photo and nods, as it seems to confirm his suspicions, though Rev. Hale elicits a raised eye-ridge.
Herbert nods to Caliban, getting the gist of his question. "I've explained what happened with the Spirit Trap and Stunner. I don't know the significance of the auras however. It may be some sort of protection spell or their own spirits reacting to the environment."
/Yeah. Looks to me like Rev. Hale's got real mojo,// the chimpanzee opines through a mouthful of stew. Mm. Hot!
Bernice nods a hallo at Caliban's return. "You mean at the Hill? Not yet." Her mouth twists slightly, thinking back on some of the events.
Caliban munches quietly and nods.
Herbert suddenly pulls out a notepad and pencil from his vest pocket, and makes a note. "We'll need to ask Marseilles to try and power the Lamp herself and look into the light. Perhaps the idea of it being a window is correct: she might be able to see the other side then. We should also test our spirit-shielded items to see if she can penetrate them."
The doctor nods again, after taking a spoonful of her meal. "I dearly hope so, actually. Trouble kept recognizing it as 'food'. Any option we can try is a good one."
The chimpanzee looks at the doctor oddly. What's wrong? You don't want to talk about it?
Bernice shakes her head. "It's just..." She pauses, then starts again, explaining for Herbert's benefit. "Trouble left his body to apparently dive into the Hill, where Alorn and St. John were trapped. With his help, they.. destroyed the Hill, I think, and now 'live' in it. I find St. John's continued existance, even bound as she is, disquieting. But progress was made, according to Trouble."
Caliban scrapes the bowl clean. Disquieting? Downright spooky if ya ask me.
"So, there is a way to 'purge' a spirit then," Shaft muses, looking thoughtful.
After Caliban clears away the dishes, and as he's scrubbing out the last pot, the three of them here a distant crash. Outside, Slate gives a loud whinny. When they rush to the deck, she call to Bernice, The Shelley Manor!
It's dusk and the outlines of the house are hard to make out from here, especially with a few docked boats intervening. But with Shaft's telescope, they can pick out that the north wing of the house has collapsed. Alarmed cries from townfolk carry across the open water, as people go to investigate.
The chimpanzee looks confused at his master. Structural load-bearing ghost?
Bernice's green eyes go wide. "Do you suppose any of the witchhunters were still in there? We better go have a look!" She jogs across the deck to the mare.
"Either they've begun the demolition, or the house is reacting to the exorcism," Shaft guesses.
It's kinda late to be demolishin', the chimpanzee suggests. He glances to the plant, which he's set out on a side table to brighten the galley up, then starts preparing his utility harness to go under his work jacket. Hey Boss, can we charge the Stunner up again quick-like?
After hearing Cal's request through Bernice, Herbert shakes his head. "We've nothing to recharge it with, I'm afraid. But bring it along anyway. The Manor spirit may not know it's depleted."
Bernice arrives first. A few men are milling outside the locked fance, looking nervously inside. The witchhunters had packed up and left before Mr. Shaft and Caliban took their Darklight photograph earlier in the evening. A couple of men are off on the empty, rocky land south of the house. One is saying " -- something was o'er here, I'm tellin' ya -- " to the other.
I don't know that spirits bluff well, the chimpanzee mutters, but stows the stunner just in case, along with some of the magnesium flash bulbs, and some tools.
As the doctor rides up, she hails the men by the fence. "I heard the crash! Is everyone alright?! What'd you see?"
"A ... " The man hesitates, uncertain. "... girl? Someone, all dark-like and shadowy, runnin' through the fence and across these here rocks, after we heard the wing collapse an' came to see. Thought I saw her fall here. But ... "
"There's nothing out here, Harry." His companion is Mr. Oldridge, the owner of the general store. "Trick of the light, 'm sure."
As Bernice is talking to the men, a winded Mr. Shaft and Caliban arrive on the scene.
"What's this?" Herbert asks, trying to catch his breath. "A girl?"
The fence is nine feet high, and the iron bars of it are four inches apart. There's no way a person, even a child, could run through it.
Herbert glances to Caliban with a slightly worried look.
The chimpanzee looks undaunted after the brisk run. He appears to be wearing a coarse fabric work jacket, from which he fetches a small lantern. From another pocket, he extracts a firestriker to light the candle inside. Yeah, boss.
"Some kid playing hide-and-seek by the fence, p'rhaps," Oldridge suggests. "Spooked when that wing fell down. Looks like the priests are gonna have their way about seein' the place torn down after all -- one way or t'other."
"What caused the collapse though?" Shaft asks, eyeing the wreckage.
"Age? It wasn't never finished anyway," another townsman opines, as the others come over. The rest look worried, and two cross their chest.
"Gate's still locked. Have to wait 'til the sheriff comes with the key to investigate," Oldridge says.
Bernice repeats to Shaft, "They thought they saw a girl in the shadows run through the fence and fall somewhere. Might've just been a trick of the light, but I don't want to risk it. I'm just going to clamber over and have a look."
I'm with ya, Doc, the chimpanzee says.
"She was outside the fence, miss, when I saw her," the man says hastily. "Runnin' away from the house."
"Good idea," Herbert says, and starts to move along the fence to the shadowed side.
He adds, "'s if she'd done something to it, like."
The chimpanzee blinks at the man, though in the darkness it's more light-reflecting eyes disappearing momentarily, then reappearing. Hmm, which way did she run?
All the men are looking askance at Bernice. "Uh ... miss. Ya oughtn't be doing that." A few look at Mr. Shaft, as if expecting he could somehow stop her.
"Oh!" The doctor looks a bit relieved at not having to monkey over. "Well, if she's outside, I won't have to," she says. "Thanks for your concern, gentlemen."
"That -- " the man starts to point towards the harbour, then stares at Caliban with a perplexed look on his face.
Like coming back to eat the rest of the spirit that was here, Herbert thinks. He doesn't notice the stares for a moment, and then takes another to surmise what they mean. "Miss Townes is Doctor Green's assistant," he points out. "If someone fell and is injured, she can help."
That gets some nods, albeit reluctant and only half-persuaded.
The chimpanzee scratches behind an ear and furrows his brows, then looks up at his boss.
Once they're far enough away from the crowd, Shaft quietly asks Caliban, "Can you sense any presence left in the Manor?"
The man who saw the girl rubs at his eyes, and squints at Caliban again. He mutters, "must've had too much ta drink," to himself. "best be gettin' on home."
Caliban looks toward the manor, then closes his eyes to concentrate, touching his hands to his forehead.
Bernice nods at the menfolk, smiling reassuringly. "Probably nothing, but I'll have a look around just in case. Don't you worry."
The chimpanzee opens his eyes again. He spaces his hands apart, then brings them halfway closer to each other, then waves his hands about, fingers spread as if to suggest confusion.
"Diminished and fragmented?" Herbert guesses, and starts looking around for.. well, for a ghost.
The chimpanzee nods to his master.
After spending a few minutes looking around the rocky, deserted ground between the harbour and the manor, Caliban spots a shadow in the water. At first he takes it for a log drifting west, but then he realizes it's not drifting with the current. It's nearing the docks, and disappears beneath the first one.
Caliban points toward the shadow. Ook! Hey boss! He scampers over to see if he can pick it up again.
Herbert starts heading for the dock after Caliban, picking his way carefully.
It's hard to tell -- the sun's completely beneath the horizon now, and even with the gibbous moon there's not much light. But Caliban takes the telescope and picks it out again. Looks like it's headed for the Babbage.
It's headin' for the boat! Hey Marseilles! Is that you? The chimpanzee picks up his pace along the docks since he's clearly not going to outswim it.
They follow the shore back onto the docks and towards the Babbage. Neither Bernice nor Slate nor Shaft can spot what Caliban saw, but when they return to the houseboat, they find a strange bedraggled figure on deck at the far side. She looks like a silhouette of a girl, all black except for glowing blue eyes, with long dripping dark tail. Islington stands a few yards from her, back arched and hissing. She has her hands out to him in an ineffectual calming fashion. As the others watch, pale white and faded colors wash over her, turning her ghostly for a moment. Then darkness mottles across her body again, engulfing her in a black silhouette. She staggers to one side.
Marseilles! What happened? The chimpanzee reaches out, trying to concentrate on and project the white ghost form that he remembers to her.
"Marseilles!" Shaft gasps. "What did you do to yourself?"
Marseilles reaches out for Caliban's hand, clasps it with her own surprisingly solid one. The chimpanzee feels a jerk inside of himself, but he holds fast. The darkness washes out of the girl again. She swallows, taking his shoulder with her other hand and leaning on him. "Um," she says vaguely to Shaft. "I ... wanted to go home."
"And you reacted to the rest of the spirit that was there, didn't you?" Shaft asks. "What happened in there?"
Bernice looks on, confused. She goes to Islington's side to try to gather him up and offer a reassuring stroke.
She looks sheepish. "I got mad at it for trapping me all those years and ... um. Went back. To hurt it for hurting me." She runs a hand over her features, still leaning against Caliban. "I feel sick again. I don't think it was a very good idea." Her drenched fox's tail sweeps the deck behind her.
The Persian stiffens at first, but relaxes after a bit, letting Bernice pick him up. What is that?
Relief visibly washes over Caliban's face as she seems to be getting a solid grip on herself. Well, in more ways than one. He drapes an arm around her to help hold the girl up and tries to maintain his image of Marseilles in his mind - the nice one, the one with a pretty smile.
"You need to purge that spirit's.. taint.. from you," Shaft states, then looks to Bernice. "Do you have any idea how the others were able to purge the Hill Spirit's influence?"
"Hungry," Marseilles murmurs. Blackness flickers at the edges of her dress, fingers, hair, toes. Then it goes out again.
The doctor hugs Islington to her chest, arms over him. "She's the ghost that Mr. Shaft and Caliban befriended." She looks over at Shaft and shrugs helplessly. "Trouble told me that they drew it out of its shell, which allowed Alorn and St. John to attack it. I can only guess this happened on some spiritual level, since I was with Trouble's body the whole time."
Doc, maybe the Unicorn can help, the chimpanzee suggests. She must know all about spirits an' stuff!
"We need a more experienced spirit to handle this," Shaft says, nodding. "We can't let her take on the Manor's hunger for other spirits. We need to have Miss Mikkelsen arrange a meeting with the Unicorn."
Bernice nods thoughtfully. "Kari says she's purified places before... maybe she can help. I'll go right away."
Hmp, Islington says in response to Bernice. His ears are still back as he looks at the ghost-girl. Kinda late to go out unicorn-hunting now, isn't it?
"I need to deliver the news of Alorn to her anyhow," the doctor adds. "And it is late, but then, it's late in October as well. We haven't time to waste."
Best time to go lookin' for unicorns, the chimpanzee opines. Much easier to see their glows then!
It takes a little while: Bernice has to go to the Red Flag first, and get the Mikkelsens and the Compass. Then all of them meet in the woods outside of town. The whole party, including the ghost girl, spends a frustrating couple of hours looking for the unicorn. Just as Rae and Bernice are about to suggest they split up and the women go alone again, the Compass picks up the trail.
They follow it through the woods, into the Still Forest, whose branches shiver as Marseilles passes beneath them. The ghost girl is still clinging to Caliban's hands. The patches of darkness come and go in irregular waves, seeming neither better nor worse. They cross the river via a fallen log at one of its narrower points, and follow one of its streams. At a still pool, Rae stops.
From the shadows, the Unicorn emerges. A vision of white, snowy-maned and fetlocked. Her horn is straight and smooth, silver-white like a sword's edge. Each hoof is cloven; she has the body of a horse but the slim build of a deer, nearly as tall as Slate but eeriely slender.
The chimpanzee holds onto Marseilles's hand. As he catches sight of her, his breath catches, and then he chirps quietly. There she is, Miss! Ain't she a beauty?
Herbert finds his mouth going dry at the sight of the creature, as he quietly says, "Please forgive the intrusion, Madam, but.. uh.. our friend here needs some help." He gestures rather unnecessarily to Marseilles.
Bernice murmurs, "Hello, Kari. I've brought news, and.. some friends. I hope you're not upset that we did."
The unicorn shakes her head to Bernice. She steps to Rae's side, noses her shoulder for a moment while the young woman touches her cheek. Gustav is staring in silence, too, and the unicorn whickers to him. Then she approaches Marseilles. She radiates calm reserve. What have you done, my daughter? she asks, her words clear to all present, ringing like windchimes inside their minds.
Marseilles explains, haltingly: about eating the fox, and Mrs. Albason. About drawing part of the manor spirit out of the trap, and then going to fight it. "I shouldn't've done it, should I, miss?" she says as she finishes, guilty and apologetic.
The snowy unicorn listens in a soothing silence, without judgment. That depends, she answers, on what you want. What do you want?
Marseilles looks confused. Her tail twitches again. "I don't understand."
You understand, the unicorn says.
The girl crosses an arm over her chest, hugging herself and still holding Caliban's hand. "Then I don't know?" she whispers.
Kari nods. She looks to the others. What of you? she asks. Do you know what you want, here, now?
"To solve the problem of the spirits in this world," Herbert says. "We don't want them to just.. fade away."
Townes seems to think for a moment. She nods agreement with Herbert, and adds, "What I want here and now? For Marseilles to be free of her hunger."
The chimpanzee squeezes Marseilles's hand, thinking back. Somehow, even though Marseilles has done some horrible things in the past, like showing them their worst nightmares, he finds her childish nature touches him. You wanted to be real, he reminds her in a soft whisper. Not ignored and not scared. Well, we're here with you now, but what are you afraid of?
To the unicorn, Caliban says, I guess I just want to be with the boss, good times, good food. I'm an easy-goin' kinda monkey, but if there's all this stuff goin' on, an' we're the ones who can do somethin' about it, I can't ignore that, right?
She has learnt how to merge with other spirits, the unicorn explains to the others. This was not possible in our native world, or if it was I did not know if it then. It is rare here, but it happens. This merger strengthens her; it is why she is solid now, and more powerful than ever before. But when spirits merge, what forms is a union. It is difficult for one of the original spirit to wholly control the new being. What she has consumed last does not want the girl you know as Marseilles to be dominant. She is struggling with herself now, to resolve that conflict. Since it is a conflict within her, she cannot know what she wants.
"How can she purge the other spirit's will?" Herbert asks.
The chimpanzee looks worried. Boss, I think she'd have to expel the other spirit.
To Mr. Shaft, the unicorn says, I do not know how to solve our problem. I do not think merger is the way, though perhaps it is better than the fragmentation we are now prone to. But mergers fade in power, too. All things in this world fade and die. But your people are renewed: new life, new birth. Mine are not.
I could force them apart. But they do not want to give each other up. Do you, my daughter? The white mane tosses, mirror-bright silver eyes reflecting Marseilles's image.
The ghost girl shakes her head, darkness rippling through her. She hunches her shoulders, swallowing and leaning against Caliban.
Bernice speaks up again. "That was part of my news, Kari. I sought to bring Openers and Closers together to discuss the coming Banefire, and the Other. Neither side is fully convinced, but we are beginning to work together to try to find a better way than either dying slowly or dying quickly. Whether it's fighting the Other, somehow bringing sustenance from the Other side, whatever we can do."
"Alorn and St. John are still here. Trouble, the coyote, met with them, they took the Hill's shell," finishes the doctor.
The unicorn lifts her head to Bernice. Her next words are hesitant. You have more hope than I have had in ten thousand years, daughter. I do not know how you can succeed. But Man does things today that were impossible a century ago. Perhaps this, too, is possible. It gladdens my heart to see you try.
Hey Doc, does the unicorn call everyone her chlidren? whispers the chimpanzee. How literal do you think that is?
"Ve vill succeed, Kari," Rae whispers fiercely, her fingers twining in the unicorn's mane. "Ve vill find a vay."
"We have a way of subduing a spirit, perhaps even one of the overlords you mentioned," Shaft says. "And we can provide strength to other spirits by weakening those greater ones. It was how Marseilles first drew in the dark spirit. We might be able to trap or sequester them as well. Will you help us fight them, in order to keep the portal open so the spirits here will not starve?"
Only those who are. The unicorn's words hint at a smile, answering the question Caliban didn't ask her. You are kin of my kin, too, cousin. But not the son of my spirit. Your master has no spirit, and so is no relation to me. That is not bad; it merely is.
Bernice steps back, kneeling down to nod at Caliban and murmur, "She's referring to the spirits in us. Spirits aren't from this world, and it was she and Alorn, as 'masters', who led all spirits to this place. In that way, we are her children."
The chimpanzee uses his free hand to scratch behind his ear. Thanks... Uh, Grandma? Great-great grandma? He grins sheepishly, lips closed.
Kari turns to Shaft, considering his words. Rae stands on her tiptoes to whisper in the unicorn's ear, and she dips her head. To Shaft, she says, If there is a part I may yet play, then I will.
"Thank you!" Shaft says in obvious relief. "We need to know so much. How big is the portal? What shape is it? Is the essence needed to nourish spirits different from spirits themselves?"
Third cousin thirteen hundred times removed, perhaps. The unicorn dips her horn to Caliban, the smile still in her words. To the Englishman: The Portal grows in size the longer it is left Open. When it first Opens, it is barely a pinprick, but it gains size quickly. When we came to this world, lo those many years ago, it was the size of a hill ere we Closed it, less than a day later.
She adds, We were only able to Close it because the Others did not then understand the Opening. They have learned since; that is why the Game takes place now.
"Is it a physical thing, or otherwise unnoticeable by mortals?" Shaft asks next.
It is perceptible. A kind of rift, roughly spherical. It does not affect your kind, you cannot pass through it as we do. Even if you walk into the area where it is, you will still be on this world. But while it is Open, you will be able to see through it into our world, she explains.
Thirteen hundred and third cousin, that's me, the chimpanzee quips to the Doc. So spirits can pass through it. And the Others will want to. What's the first thing they'd do if they got out?
Bernice hugs herself. "The first thing they'd do is dominate us," she guesses. "That's what the masters did in their own world."
"It seems that only permanent solution is to defeat or destroy the Others who would dominate then," Shaft says.
Capture us, and you. Take control of this world and make it their plaything. You asked what spirits need to live, Mr. Shaft. I am ashamed to say I do not know what it is. We lack it here; we do not live on other spirits, like animals devouring other animals. It is something intrinsic to our world, I think. Something like ... I do not know. Humans can eat enough food to live, and yet still sicken because the food they eat is not suitable, does not nourish them. It is like that for us, I think. Some small thing we never noticed, until it had been gone for far too long, the unicorn says.
But how? What do they do, enter the ground or fly away and find spirits? How does a spirit like the Hill get bound up in the Hill, or spirits become part of us? asks the chimpanzee.
The doctor looks at her own hands as if trying to see her own spirit. "Well, they... they just seem able to inhabit things. Shells. The Artifacts are all master spirits that went to 'live' in inanimate objects."
Spirits in this world must find hosts, the unicorn answers. We must live inside something, or we fade much faster. Except for a very few among us, spirits who were born to this world at the very begining. They adapted somehow, differently from us.
"That would explain why the Amplifier would empower them at least," Shaft mentions to Bernice.
Huh, are you one, Lady? asks the chimpanzee. An' does that mean, maybe, these Others would come through and possess Openers, the ones who wanted them to come?
I am one of the Masters, the strongest of those who Opened the way in the begining. I possess this body; it is an Earthly one, though it may not look it because I have held it so long, the unicorn tells Caliban. The Others might well possess Openers, yes.
"Different," Herbert muses. "The Spirit Lamp obviously doesn't affect all spirits. It must only be a lure to the ones from the other world. Perhaps they gain their nourishment from their own version of sunlight?"
Turning to the ghost, Shaft asks, "Marseilles, when the beacon was on, could you see anything in its light?"
All spirits are from the other world, Kari clarifies. Those born here were ones that had gestated on the other side.
"Oh," Herbert says. "But the dark spirit in the Manor and the Hill resisted the lure of it. I suppose because they had found other sources of nourishment already."
Marseilles says, "It wasn't like something you see with your eyes. It was something I felt inside. A tug and a promise. That if I cam closer I'd have everything I ever wanted."
They may have been bound too tightly to their hosts to approach, the unicorn agrees.
"Yet Trouble reported that it was only 'like food', so something is missing," Shaft says. "I don't even know if the Lamp is actually generating the sensations or just opening a limited window into the other world. It affects living people too when it is activated."
The chimpanzee mulls this over. I wanted to sneak over and steal whatever it is that spirits need, but it doesn't sound like it's something we can pick up and put in our pockets. I think it's gonna be a straight-up fight, winner takes both sides.
How does it affect the living? Kari asks, ears tilted forward.
Bernice taps her chin. "Maybe Trouble said it was 'like food' because that's everything he wants."
"And if the portal is kept open, and eventually covers the entire world, then it would be like the Lamp effect was on all of the time, I imagine," Herbert notes. "Normal people seem to be more aware of the spirit world when it operates, or at least.. feel as if something more were going on. It may be a sort of hallucination, I suppose, but the only way to know for sure would be for a spirit to really analyze the effect."
Marseilles puts her hands on both sides of her head for a moment, then clasps Caliban's hand again. "I guess I could try looking at it again. And try not to get angry and distracted this time."
The chimpanzee stifles a guffaw at Bernice's suggestion.
I will look at it, if you may bring it to the woods. I do not think it would be wise for me to walk through your town, the unicorn offers.
"It won't be that simple, Marseilles," Shaft explains. "We don't have any spirit energy left to power the Lamp. You'd need to power it yourself. That.. might be useful, actually, if you can use the dark spirit for that. Then it would be weaker, and not able to challenge you so much. But Kari is correct, we'd need to bring the Lamp out here to try it."
Bernice glances over at Slate. "Think we could fetch it quickly?"
"Caliban knows how to disconnect it," Shaft says. "And he's slightly lighter than I am," he adds for Slate.
The chimpanzee nods. We'll get it, boss!
"Top off the portable battery from the Engine as well, Cal," Herbert says. "I don't really trust that energy, but perhaps we can learn if it's safe to use."
Bernice pats the mare's side. "We haven't had a good run in a while, have we? I hope Caliban hangs on tight."
Like a limpet, assures Caliban. Whoopee! I get to ride!