Phillips Harbour.
Thursday, October 29. Morning.
After an evening of being chased around the hillside by invisible poking fingers, Yotee was glad to get some sleep. Things look better in the morning. Especially if he stays away from Randall, who is still irrationally upset about his boot. What's up with people and boots, anyway?
He has finished attending to his morning business on his territory, and is contemplating whether to eat one of the chickens from the coop or catch a more challenging and varied diet, when he sees a familiar/unfamiliar sight: a vixen with a black lace veil clinging to head and back, triangles of it trailing down her legs and tail.
Yotee recognizes her as Marseilles, who appears much improved as a fox in black lace, and must have managed to count coup on a fox-spirit and possibly something else. It's probably affected her in unexpected ways, counting-coup can be a tricky thing for the one performing it. On the other paw, no matter what state it has left her in, she's surely much better off than being disippated or trapped in one of Shaft's crystal boxes. The coyote feared she had suffered this fate and is glad to see her again, though that lace is going to catch on things. He barks, Hey! Marseilles?
The vixen spins around. "Trouble!" she barks back, her tail wagging. "You're all right!" She runs over to him and comes to an abrupt stop in front of him, sitting back on her haunches. "You're bigger than I remember. Oh, wait." Her tail swishes once, and then she's a girl dressed in black lace, with fox ears and a fox tail. She leans down to pet Yotee with a very solid hand. "That's better."
Yotee sits, teething at her hand as Marseilles pets him but not making an actual effort to stop her. He likes the sensation. That change is a neat trick, I should try it sometime. I'm all right! You helped me escape. I found out interesting things, and helped fight the black spirit in the hill.
Off to one side of them, they can hear hoofbeats along the road. Marseilles gives a squeaky sort of yip and turns back into the lace-clad fox to hide in the brush. Surprisingly, the lace doesn't catch on anything.
A very good trick. Yotee repeats, as the vixen vanishes in the underbrush. He waits to see what is coming along the road.
Miss Townes is riding on Slate down the road. Both of them have very determined looks on their faces, and Slate is saying something to her mistress: -- must we see that man? They both look completely oblivious to the fact that Yotee is off to the side of the road watching their progress.
The coyote does not do anything to call attention to himself. He sits listening and watching as they progress past.
Tclump, tclump, tclump. The auburn-haired woman astride the Morgan wrinkles her smallish nose. "I'm certainly not thrilled about the prospect either, dear. But there isn't much time left, and there's still too many questions lingering. I'd kiss that old goat full on the lips if it meant it'd give us a solution to this dilemma. I'm wondering if he's still focused on throwing the portal open and worrying about what happens later."
As they come down the road, Marseilles turns around in the bushes and slinks closer to Yotee, poking her fox's nose out. She yips when she sees who it is, and in a twinkling turns back into her fox-girl self. "Miss Townes! I found Trouble! You were right, he is okay."
The doctor nearly falls off Slate when the shadowy girlfox pops up, but looks pleased when she recovers. "Marseilles! Oh, good! I figured he was a scrappy fellow. Where is he? Does he have the staff?"
Marseilles, that's not how foxes hide. The coyote whispers quietly back to her, and remains sitting in plain view. To the horse and rider he says, Randall doesn't like talking, to anything.
Bernice nearly falls off the other side this time, but keeps her feet in the stirrups. "My word!" She puts a hand to her chest, taking a moment to shake off the startlement, then sighs. "How long have you been there? No, I imagine he doesn't. That's just too bad. I'm going to help him whether he likes it or not."
"But I wasn't trying to hide from Miss Townes. She wanted to find you. Plus, Slate's nice." Marseilles reaches down to scratch behind Yotee's ears.
Slate perks her ears and whickers to Marseilles, after initially shying back much like her mistress.
A while. Yotee answers the question, time being somewhat vague for him, and he was daydreaming about chicken and other exotic foods. Randall tried to contact a Master on the other side last night; then he didn't want to talk to it when it came looking for him. So I did.
Bernice leans forward in the saddle, looking both astonished and as excited as she's been since the month began. "He... he did?! You did?! Why would he try to contact one and then not want to t-... oh, to Sam Hill with that, what did it say?!"
It was very powerful, making itself felt here. It demanded 'Let Us in'. I asked how. Yotee replies, It, they showed me how to open, showed Rev. Hale bound, Mr. Shaft with his throat cut, you drowned. They promised everything.
The woman's blood runs cold. "They... then they know."
The Closers? Yes, or something else? Yotee asks. There was a delicious scent, like the Spirit Lamp, holding many promises. It may be as much a trap.
Marseilles folds her legs and sits crosslegged on the ground, listening curiously.
"The Masters know what we're trying to do," murmurs Bernice, mostly to herself. She shakes her head, snapping out of a sudden sensation of dread that makes her shudder in the saddle and thread her fingers into Slate's mane. "And they know we're seeking sustenance for the spirits. This is worse than I thought. Did the Master have a name? How does the Opening work?"
Yotee scratches at a persistent itch underneath his jaw with a hindpaw, then lets Marseilles continue to pat him if she desires. They did not give a name. It was very distant for me, Randall wanted to go alone and frustrated them somehow. The Opening is thus: with the right things, at the right place and time, I can will it open. The Staff, Mother, a token of a fox need to be there... and Randal with his things. That is what they showed me to do.
Bernice nods thoughtfully, mulling this over for a few moments. When she speaks again, her voice is soft. "And will you?"
They were big and could not find him, he was small and couldn't move. They offered him power, to move miles in a step, destroy cities with a thought, to acquire thousands of mates and sire offspring without number. They were less detailed for me, offering everything. Yotee stares back at Bernice, sunlight catching the mismatched colour of his eyes. I don't know.
I think Alorn and St. John will fight with us against them. Yotee stretches his paws out, resting his head on them.
"We all will. We are, right at this moment. We'll have to, left with no choice if the way Opens." The doctor kicks a leg over the saddle, and dismounts in a swirl of skirts so as to stand closer to Yotee's level. "If you don't know, then do you still think your way, maybe Randall's way, is the only way? That it is only for you to know things and to have the power to decide this world's fate?" She kneels down to look into those mismatched eyes from where she is, her own vivid green. "You're capricious, tricky, and cunning, but I don't think that's all there is to you. You care about Mother. It's because of that that I'm trying to trust you, and however cautious you may be, I don't think trust is unknown to you. All my power to defend that Staff wasn't enough to stop you, and the others wanted to get it back, but I... I whose one duty it was to be sure the Staff was safe, who was entrusted to it after almost everyone I loved was slain by St. John, told them to leave it with you. I'm baring my throat to y
you, Trouble. Please make your decision with all of us, together."
I think we'll be there together. I'm not interested in biting throats, Randall won't stop you that way either. Murder is an uninteresting trick compared with what could be done to the Masters. And I am the best to escape whatever trap is laid for them, so I believe I will Open still. The coyote holds Miss Townes gaze. I am not sure that opening is the best thing to do, but with Mother, the Staff, and the others ready I think it must be. I don't know if there is another place to open, where they are not watching, or a way to push through early. I haven't tried.
He opens his mouth in a canine grin, So set a good trap. I'm sure they'll follow me in.
The doctor rests her elbow on her knee. "It's a figure of speech, it just means I'm trusting you. But at least see if we can set a trap that's good enough before you decide to Open. If it comes to pass that Opening isn't the best way, please consider Kari's thoughts or ours. It may be there'll be some other way. You said yourself they were powerful."
Mother was very powerful. I remember being stronger. If there was a way to turn the promise Mr. Shaft's machine makes into a gift, she could be powerful again. Alorn, might assist. St. John is bound to him but not fully under his control. Randall does not talk well, tell me what you want him to do. Yotee explains, Or, what else you want me to find.
There's occassional traffic on the road as Bernice and Yotee speak, requiring Marseilles and Yotee to hide now and then and Bernice to feign a search for herbs on behalf of the doctor. Then there's traffic that Yotee doesn't need to hide from, though he might choose to: Caliban, Mr. Shaft's chimpanzee Companion, is coming down the road looking for them.
The coyote doesn't hide. Breakfast was on his mind, and Caliban had food the last time he saw him. A meal might have gotten even easier!
Caliban is dressed in his usual work jacket and a casual white shirt. He doesn't look in a tremendous hurry, but he does move purposefully, glancing at the underbrush from time to time.
Bernice chews her lip. "Mr. Shaft has several machines. The one that smells like food, it has no way of actually creating it. However, there are two other machines... one that can catch a spirit and turn it into power for another." She gestures at the fox-girl. "Marseilles had part of one, when they tried it, and she became stronger. But you can see it's not perfect, the blend isn't complete. We also don't know how much it can handle, and how fast the Masters can come through the portal. If Randall can discover how to control what comes through, or how to keep the portal from opening too fast, we may be able to empower you, Kari, him, Alorn, Mother, anyone. We need to be able to keep the Masters from forcing the way open too fast and pouring in so they can bring all their power to bear." The woman's lip-chewing starts up again, becoming more worried. "And even then, Kari said she doesn't know if she can handle that much power all at once."
The doctor stops, glancing up when she sees the ape approaching. "Mr. Caliban! I didn't expect to see you along this way," she begins, then tilts her head. "What are you looking for?"
The chimpanzee catches sight of the doctor. Hey Doc! he ooks cheerfully, and greets Marselles with a pat and the coyote with a nod. Remember you called that Giraud guy? He's here! With his bird!
Marseilles-fox crawls back out of the bushes and yips at Caliban before turning back to fox-girl. "He is? What's he like? Is he nice?"
Caliban pauses for thought. Y'know, I didn't think about that too much, Miss, but yeah, he seems like a nice guy. The bird... He wrinkles his nose. Talks like a stuffed shirt, like summa da people my boss hangs out with sometimes. Like 'we know things, we'll hint at you endlessly an' not tell ya what's up'. Lousy tippers, too.
Marseilles makes me happy. Trouble comments randomly. The coyote is sitting on the ground, at the edge of the underbrush ready to dart in and our, but for the moment near Bernice and not terribly visible in the long grass. Okay, Randall needs to find a way to open the hole slowly, or control what comes through. Your machine, should be like a snare at a den entrance, the first step in.
Bernice's eyes light up, the cloud of worry on her face lifting, if briefly. "He is? Oh, I'm so glad! Did you tell him everything that's been going on? Is he at the ship? I should..." The woman has to restrain herself from immediately springing up to race back. "I mean... I'll go back soon to see him." She turns to Marseilles, smiling. "He's changed a lot since he arrived. I happen to think he's very nice, and he's here to help us."
Marseilles beams at Trouble and hugs him. "You make me happy, too. You're my best friend, Trouble," she tells him.
We've been giving him the straight-up on what's going on, yeah, the chimpanzee says. He's at the ship, giving my boss the low-down on this Seal thingy. The boss figured I should let ya know. He looks a teensy bit jealous at Trouble getting a hug, but visibly shoves that thought to the back and beams up at Miss Townes.
The girl nods to Caliban and Bernice, giggling at the description of the bird.
Who is Giraud? The coyote asks. He licks at Marseille's chin till she puts him down.
The chimpanzee looks expectant at Miss Townes to explain that.
Maybe the doctor notices Caliban's twinge of envy, or maybe she's just overjoyed at the bit of good news finally, but the woman puts surprisingly strong arms around Caliban and hugs him fiercely, overjoyed. To Marseille and Yotee, she explains, "Mssr. Girard was an Opener when he first came to Phillip's Harbor, with intentions little more complex than discovering power behind the portal. As we came to know each other, and as he had a run-in with the Hill, he realized that his aims were trivial and that the Game was very serious in its implications, so he withdrew rather than see m-... than see anyone further hurt in it. The Players had become people to him, so the only ethical choice was to bow out. He is a.. a wizard, however, or so I guess. Like Ms. Pau, I suppose? He knows more about these strange powers than I could ever hope to, and he'll help us sort this all out, I'm sure of it!"
The chimpanzee hugs back happily. He adds to the explanation, It sounds like the bird is the real brain of the outfit, he asks Horus what to do a lot. He claimed to be a Greater Spirit, like the Unicorn. The bird, not the guy.
A Nightengale? Yotee asks, I wondered where she went.
Bernice shakes her head. "A falcon. Ms. Pau's companion is the nightingale." She arches a brow. "Having slipped past us to speak with her, I thought you knew."
Nah, bigger than Lei, the chimpanzee says. He forms the outline of the bird with his hands to demonstrate how big it is. Got a nasty beak on him, peck your eye out soon as look at ya.
Caliban adds quickly, That's not what the bird is like, Horus. He's more, y'know... Snooty professor type.
The vet lets go of Caliban, nodding again. "Mssr. Girard came to meet him after a... card game, I guess. He wasn't a... I suppose he wasn't an especially sophisticated man before the two met, but he's grown, I suppose."
Yotee paws at a russet patch of fur behind one ear. Some things have slipped out of my head. I remember Lei. The falcon sounds useful.
Marseilles reaches out to catch Caliban's hand. "So, did you just come out to tell us this man had come back? Or did we interrupt you on another errand?"
Bernice stands back up, dusting at her skirts and brushing up to Slate again, putting an arm over the horse's back and rubbing. "Well, it can only be good that they're both back! If you have time later, Trouble, please see if you can speak to Mr. Shaft, and tell him what you think Mr. Waites might be able to do with the portal. I think... I think it's all starting to come together, now!" For once, the doctor looks hopeful.
Caliban gives Marseilles a hug since she's back in girl form. He just sent me out to find you guys and let you know what was up, he says. Something about it was gonna take him a couple hours to work out the details on this Seal-thingy anyway. You know me, this magic thing is way over my head. He makes a whooshing motion over his head with his free hand.
"Oh, okay. He wanted me for something-or-other with it, right?" Marseilles hugs Caliban back affectionately. "I'll come by around noon and see what he needs."
I have to question Randall, then I can go to the boat. Trouble explains.
Yeah, I bet he'd appreciate a little help testing his new toy, the chimpanzee says cheerily.
"Well, good then!" Bernice pats Slate's neck. "You're in luck, I guess we don't have to talk to that man after all." She offers Yotee a small smile. "And... thank you for listening, Trouble."
So, you needing a little help out here, Doc? asks Caliban. Sounded like you had something you had to get done before you could come by and catch up on old times with Mr. G.
The coyote slowly blinks at Bernice, as way of acknowledgement. Okay. You don't have to kiss me either.
The monkey blinks at the coyote, then gives the doctor a questioning look.
Marseilles giggles, and kisses the top of Yotee's head.
Bernice's cheeks color, but she tries to hide it by stepping into a stirrup and hefting herself back into the saddle. "I'd probably rather kiss you than Mr. Waites, to be perfectly honest," she says, coughing a little. "I'll explain later, Mr. Caliban. I think we're done here, and faster than I expected! I may see the Still Forest, but I expect I'll be back at the ship soon."
The doc never seemed to me like the kiss-and-tell type, the chimpanzee confides to the coyote.
That's why I did; I'll trade answers for flattery, the coyote winks back at the chimp. Marseilles, you should come with; I'll show you how to be a coyote.
Rowan is sorry about Bernice getting yelled at. :(
Rowan hugs Bernice.
Rowan feels second-hand guilt.