12:15
Ended up it wasn’t that hard to mount a reindeer. Or at least a mechanical reindeer. Put there to be their mount. Which was good as no one was being particularly coordinated. If the reindeer had been resistant to being mounted there was a very strong possibility most of the group would have been on their asses in the snow.
But the reindeer were cooperative and the group was up on their backs with a bare minimum of fumbling and cursing – from Patti and Ben – and effusive thanks – Gwen and Prairie – and basic competence – from Dan and Dempsey.
Ivan sat on top of his reindeer like he’d been born to it. Abe laughed and stared up at the sky, shaking their curls. Two Air Ladies wove around them, adding more spring to the hair, tossing it this way and that and eliciting more joy from Abe.
Ivan watched Abe, fond amusement transforming his features into something soft. Then he looked over the group before turning his head to the horizon. “North?”
“North,” Dan confirmed.
“That way?” Dempsey pointed in the direction Ivan looked. Ivan pulled something from his jacket pocket, flipping it open to reveal a compass. He put it to quick use then nodded before snapping it close and pushing it back into his jacket.
“That way.” Even as he confirmed it Ivan nudged the side of his reindeer with his knees. The animal turned its head so it could eye him with its big black eye. It munched slowly on the lichen still in its mouth, ruminating it, then turned its head and moved off towards what Ivan determined was North.
Siobhan stared at the reins of her reindeer. How did you make these things move? Before she could consider it more than a moment, the reindeer trod off after Ivan’s without any bidding from her.
“Ivan?”
“Yes?”
“You doing this?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Okay.” That established Siobhan settled back onto the surprisingly comfortable back of the reindeer. She’d say it was like they were made for riding, with their wide backs and soft fur, but that would be redundant as they were, likely, literally made for riding.
The reindeer formed lines. Ivan at the front, solo. Then three of the reindeer with Siobhan in the middle and Dan to her one side with Patti to her other formed a line. Behind them came Prairie, Gwen, and Abe. Then in the rear the last three reindeer held Kim, Ben, and Dempsey.
Each of her friends settled how they would on their mounts and trained their eyes on various sights around the landscape. Not there was much to see. Just snow, snow, and more snow. Still it was good they were alert. Especially considering how the cold had sapped them of a level of reason while they were immersed in it.
As the reindeer started forward there was a squeak and a squabble and the mice darted away across the snow. The mist of snow swirled around them, partially obscuring their small bodies, but their music remained as present as ever. As the mice headed off for parts unknown, their music trailed behind them. A final “Feed the Machine” chanted in ten mouse voices and then they were gone, lost from sight in the snow and the distance.
A part of Siobhan clung to the statement she’d made earlier about not always trusting ARFA and its direction of them. To actually make up their own minds about things and not act as extension of ARFA’s will, as it sometimes felt they were. But, she couldn’t help admitting that those mice had come through twice now. It was good to exercise their own will, but when a helping hand was offered maybe it was also good to accept it. Now and again.
From her vantage just behind Ivan, Siobhan was able to see his profile. A little smile played at the corner of his mouth and satisfaction flowed from him. He was such a responsible sort. The public servant in him. Or maybe what was in him that drove him to public service. His Magick wasn’t the flashy stuff that Kim wilded or even that of Ben or Dan. Abe. Patti with her reality-bending music. His was a quieter Magick and didn’t lend itself to flexing. Like hers’ it was more science juiced with Magick and in that it felt—less. So, to have a chance to step up and apply his Magick to help the team had to feel good. No wonder he transmitted satisfaction with each small shift of his large frame.
Deep down, Siobhan felt it. The kinship of the less flashy. The steadfast. The quietly competent.
She didn’t resent her friends with their showy Magick but every now and then she had a moment of wishing she could fly in on a gust of wind or emerge from shadows to save the day.
She shoved down the thought as she’d done countless times befor eand focused on the antlers of her reindeer. They framed her view of the landscape in front of them, defining the space to that which fell between them. Not that there was much to see. As already noted there was snow, snow, and more snow. The reindeers’ wide hooves somehow kept them on top of the deep snow. Way better than when they were sunk to varying degrees in the stuff.
Eventually as they clopped along a few trees, stripped bare of leaves, their branches glistening like crystal beneath a coating of ice, resolved from the white.
Siobhan shivered and drew the collar of her sweater against her neck. She mourned the loss of the cloak Dempsey provided, but she didn’t begrudge Gwen its warmth. They couldn’t share. The reindeer were one passenger only. And she was okay with sacrificing some of her comfort for her dear friend’s.
Somewhere between mounting the reindeer and the slow movement forward night had fallen, making it harder to see much of the environment. Siobhan pulled two torches out of her bag and cracked their inner tube to release the alchemical light within. She held one out at arm’s length towards Dan.
“Here.”
He looked up from where he was squinting at a book. When he saw the torch she held he nodded his thanks and took it before securing it in one of the straps of his tactical vest. Siobhan turned to Patti on her other side.
“Do you want a light?”
“No. It might make that dim.” Patti waved her hand towards where Ivan rode, drawing Siobhan’s attention in that direction.
In the distance the sky flowed with bright lights. Lime green. Bright pink. The green was prevalent. It bled into a shade of turquoise, forming swirling bands that encompassed the majority of the dark sky on the horizon they traveled towards. It was like the ocean was made electric and transplanted to the air. Siobhan half expected it to shift like the tides, but the ripples remained stationery.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow,” Patti echoed. “Beautiful.”
“Very.”
“It’s called the Aurora Borealis,” Dan said.
Patti leaned out until her face almost touched her reindeer’s antlers, craning so she could past Siobhan at Dan. “What’s it mean?”
“Aurora is dawn. Borealis is North. So, Northern Dawn.”
“I’m just calling it pretty. Pretty sky lights of prettiness.”
“That works too.” Dan’s dry reply drew a smile from Siobhan.
They settled back into their various levels of repose. Patti stared transfixed at the sky. Sass hung out of the house swaying against Patti’s thigh. It folded its hands on the windowsill of the house and rested its head there as it too stared up at the wonder of the sky.
Siobhan alternated her attention between the sky and the reeling landscape. Dan pulled out a book and started reading in the glow of the alchemy torch. With the lack of variation in the landscape and the vastness of the sky with its unshifting colors, there was a homogeny to the scene that made it feel like they were suspended in a moment where time held no meaning.
After a while, who knew how long not that it mattered really because Siobhan understood this trip was about the destination not the journey, Ivan shifted on his reindeer, looking back at the group trailing behind him.
“Time to feed the mounts.”
Siobhan pulled some lichen from her bag and reached it forward. Her reindeer turned its head and pulled the twigs from her hand with soft lips.
The creatures were a true wonder. Soft, thick fur. Heat radiating from their bulk keeping Siobhan warm from the waist down. Soft lips. It was hard to think they were constructs, but they were. Magickal things, in more than one sense!
Her thumb rubbed over the plants still in her bag. Such amazing things. They had no roots. They seemed to draw sustenance from the air. She probed the lichen with her Magick, absorbing the details of it through her skin. It was full of nutrients. She was certain if the reindeer had been real and not constructs they could have lived off the lichen.
She determined to keep a little for study. Between its drawing sustenance from the air and that balance of nutrients there was significant possibilities for alchemical compounds made with it. If the reindeer didn’t eat it all. If she could retain it outside of ARFA. Quite a few ifs.
But it would be interesting to try to cultivate it. If she could hold on to it. If not she’d hold the knowledge she’d gleaned about it with her Magick. Sometimes, too often, things proved ephemeral. Things. Time. Friends.
There. Gone. Like plants in their season.
There was a lesson there. One she knew but bore repeating.
Enjoy what you have at hand, while it is at hand. And when it is gone nothing says it won’t come back again with the thaw. Life was a series of cycles and no one knew that better than an alchemist.
She blamed the snow, the seemingly endless snow, for the wave of melancholy. But it was chased by belief. The warmth would return. The flowers would bloom again. And until then she had her friends.
And a purpose. A purpose was nice. A departure from her otherwise routine life.
Sure, teaching kids made every dia a possibility for something new. But those possibilities, to an extent, were little things. An unexpected laugh. A wave of gratitude for a boo-boo healed. Thin arms wrapped around her neck and damp faces pressed to her skin.
Little things. And she was thankful for them. She was! Still the adventures she had with her friends – the chance they could make a big impact on others – that was nice too.
To an extent she’d set aside her ambitions along with Sebastian’s company. Her toxic ambitions, she reminded herself with a frown. She’d accepted her life would be quiet. With little joys.
And yet there she was ready to jump in again when these mysteries presented themselves.
She guessed, in part, she’d never completely divorced herself from chasing the rush of accomplishment. At least with these friends the race was safe.
Mostly. Mostly safe.
An image of threads and a voice asking questions she had no answer to seized her mind. She shoved it down with brutal efficiency and focused on the landscape framed by reindeer antlers.
She looked to the left where Dan rode his reindeer. With its smooth gait and needing no direction, it had freed him up to read. He had not one but two books open now. The one pressed to his thigh he was making notes in. The one held between his spread finger and thumb held his attention except when he’d look down to check his notes.
Siobhan found it interesting he mostly didn’t have to look down to write. Maybe it was an extension of his Magick, words forming themselves on the page.
“Dan.”
He looked over at Siobhan. For a moment it was clear he wasn’t seeing her. Maybe he was seeing the words manifesting on the page. But then he blinked and focused on her.
When she had his attention, she waved a piece of lichen at him.
“Time to feed your mount.”
He nodded then pulled some lichen from one of the many pockets in his tactical vest and leaned forward to offer it to his reindeer.
Siobhan nodded at his, “thanks.”
Before she could say anything, Ben called out, “Are we there yet?”
Ivan heaved a sigh that carried. “For the third time, no”
“My butt hurts!”
“It could hurt worse.”
Ben gave a dramatic gasp. “Was that a threat?”
Patti shifted on her reindeer and leaned conspiratorially towards Siobhan. “Ivan could threaten my ass any time.”
“I heard that!” Ben called.
“You were supposed to!” Patti pointed at her throat. “Magick voice!”
Siobhan grinned. Melancholy banished. Existential crisis averted. Bless Patti’s pervy heart. And Magick voice.
“I think I see something!” Gwen called.
Siobhan twisted to look at Gwen. “Where?”
“Up there!” Gwen pointed towards the endless horizon.
When Siobhan turned back to follow Gwen’s direction she still saw nothing. Ivan shielded his eyes with his hand, peering in that direction. Then he pulled his farviewer gadget from his jacket and applied it to searching ahead of them. After a few moments he turned and gave Gwen a nod. “Good eyes. There’s a castle.”
“A castle?” Patti injected fake surprise into her voice. “Here? In this story? No. Not a castle.”
Sioibhan suppressed a snort. It was a near thing. Like Patti needed any encouragement to be so very Patti. She met Ivan’s eye.
“Lead on.”
The reindeer’s pace picked up, slightly. Not enough to really effect their gait or cause any additional sway but definitely they were covering more ground with every step of their big hooves.
The castle loomed big on the horizon. Where the first castle with the nightmares was the classic example of castles that people imagined when thinking of such architecture and the second castle was a big stone box with cracks in the walls this castle appeared to be made of snow.
Not ice. Snow. If it was ice the Northern Dawn light would likely have reflected off it. But instead it seemed to be projected on the walls of the castle, making the entire thing look like it was made of soft ripples of blue, green, and pink.
In all other ways it had the structure of a castle. Retaining wall. Towers topped with turrets. Even gingerbread like trim, subtly distorting the projected image of the lights from the sky. The castle stood alone on a slight hill. There was no bridge or drawbridge. Thank goodness for that! Siobhan imagined them trying to cross a bridge of snow and plummeting to their deaths. Or at the least to their pains. Many, many pains.
“Wow.”
Siobhan turned her head to look at Patti. Patti waved a hand towards the castle. “Big. Much big. So big.”
Siobhan had been too busy cataloguing the snow making up the castle and the features of it to actually consider just how large it was. Patti’s comment made her shift her assessment. It had to be the size of a sports stadium. No, scratch that. Larger than a sports stadium.
How were they going to find Gia in this?
She shifted her attention to Dan. “Dan?”
“Yes.”
“Any information in the story that might help us find Gia in that?”
Ivan’s reindeer came to a halt. As he slid off its side the reindeer Siobhan, Patti, and Dan rode stopped as well and Siobhan could hear the sound of the next line and the line after that of reindeer pulling up behind them.
Dan retained his seat on his reindeer and leafed through his book. When Ben slid off his reindeer and wandered over to stand next to the one Dan was mounted on, craning his neck to see what Dan was reading, the larger man held up one blunt finger in the universal sign to wait.
While they waited for Dan to finish Siobhan slid off her reindeer. She looped hte reins over the reindeer’s neck then righted her skirt before confirming the situation with her flower crown. It was there, quite undisturbed by the journey.
Finally after a long mero or two while the others dismounted and situated themselves as they would, Dan looked up from the book. The look he gave Siobhan spoke before he did.
“Nothing. It describes the castle, made of snow. Wind. Hundreds of rooms.”
“Hundreds?”
At Ben’s sharp question Dan turned and nodded.
“Hundreds.”
“Well, that sucks.”
That pretty much said all that needed to be said. Hundreds of rooms. Sucked.
“There’s mention of a large lake in the center.”
“In the center of the castle?” Gwen asked the question before Siobhan could.
“Yes.”
“Weird.”
Dan just shrugged and shifted his toothpick left to right. “The Snow Queen sits there when she’s home.”
“Will she be?”
Dan turned at Ivan’s question.
“Be?”
“Home?”
Dan looked to his book for a moment then shook his head in the negative. “Story says no.”
“Well, that’s one less thing. I don’t know that I want to deal with a Snow Queen attacking us.”
“You and me both!” Gwen pulled the neck of the cloak she still wore close around her neck. “The cold is bad enough. Feels like a Snow Queen would make it worse. So, what else?”
Dan flipped a page. Read something there. Then added, “Gerda enters. Finds Kay in an empty hall.”
“No other information on that hall?” Siobhan asked though she was pretty sure what the answer was going to be. And she wasn’t wrong.
“No. Just an empty hall.”
“Sounds like we have some exploring to do.” Siobhan settled her bag strap firmly across her chest, lifted her skirts free of her boots, and headed for the castle.
A gust of wind whipped up as she neared the large door centered in the wall of snow. It was strong enough she had to clap her hand to her head to keep her crown on and then another gust whipped along the wall of the castle, spraying Siobhan with snow. She shook her head to avoid the blast of snow and then felt her feet lifting from the ground. A scream welled in her chest as she threw her free hand out and grabbed the latch of the door to keep herself somewhat anchored.
It was cold. Really cold. Which made sense if it was made of snow. Siobhan felt her fingers slipping and her body canting to the right as the wind picked up.
She threw her hand out, digging her fingers into the snow of the wall. And then the wind just disappeared and she dropped to her feet. Before she could look around to figure out what happened, Kim slid in next to her and cracked her head to the side. Siobhan knew without asking that Kim had asked the wind to stop. Guess she was lucky it listened to her friend.
Kim held her hands out at her sides, fingers splayed. Where she and Siobhan stood the air was still. The snow under their feet stayed the same. A short distance beyond where they stood that wasn’t the case.
Ben leaned into the wind, clearly fighting his way forward to the safety carved out by Kim. Dempsey held his shield up against the wind and walked resolutely forward. When he came within arm’s reach of Gwen he anchored his free hand against her shoulder and pulled her behind his shield. She went without protest, following close on Dempsey’s heels as he walked over to the space Kim was holding.
Dan’s face rippled as he walked into the wind. That’s how strong it was. Siobhan could tell instantly when he hit the safe zone as the rippling stopped. Dan smoothed down his short hair then looked intently at the door. Once he was in the safe zone he reached out and grabbed Abe’s arm, yanking them the rest of the way into the space. It was getting tight with all their bodies but better than someone blowing away.
“This is not a natural wind!” Kim’s face showed a slight strain. She bit her lip then closed her eyes in concentration. “Air is helping but if we could get out of it that would be cool. Uh, great. Already cool enough.”
“Let’s get into the castle then.” Siobhan pulled her skirt over her hand to shield it then reached for the latch of the door. It opened with very little effort and the door glided inwards like it was designed in such a way to catch no resistance.
Siobhan stepped back and let Dempsey enter first, shield out. His head went on the swivel as he took in the space then he looked back and nodded. “All clear. Everyone in.”
They didn’t need more invitation than that. Kim was the last through the door, releasing her barrier against the wind which rushed back in, kicking up a spray of snow that entered the castle behind Kim. She turned and shoved the door closed then stepped back with her hands tucked under her armpits.
“Damn. I do not like cold.”
As if summoned by Kim’s words, and for all Siobhan knew that was the case, the small dog made of fire formed at Kim’s feet. Almost immediately it sank, the snow of the floor melting under its body. Kim stooped and scooped faster than the snow melted then anchored the dog against her chest.
“MF, snow and fire. Not good.”
The dog barked a spray of sparks in Kim’s face. Siobhan’s friend closed her eyes and shied he chin away to avoid the sparks, then waved her free hand to clear them from the air.
“Dude!”
Another bark. Another spray of sparks.
“Yeah, thanks. I am warmer. Appreciate it.”
Conversation with the fire elemental apparently done, Kim looked up and over at Siobhan.
“What are we waiting for. Hundreds of rooms aren’t searching themselves.”
Kim walked over to Ben and held out the small dog. He eyed it then looked at Kim. At her, “MF wants to ride with you,” Ben reached out and took the dog from her. He opened his jacket and tucked it against his chest then closed the jacket again. The dog poked its head out above the fastening and looked around.
Siobhan sort of wished she had her own fire elemental friend. But, alas, she did not. So, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweater to keep them warm. Warmer. Warm was kind of out of the question in a building made entirely of snow. Her breath plumed on the air, adding to the whole “this is really cold” effect.
Despite the cold which was at the “can’t think of anything else” levels Siohan found herself staring transfixed at the windows cut into the walls of the snow castle. The Aurora Borealis flowed in through the clear ice substituting for glass in the windows, the lights breaking slightly against the imperfections in the ice and causing the colors to ripple more than they were in the open sky.
“How are we supposed to search that many rooms without dying from the cold?”
Prairie’s question drew Siobhan’s attention from the pretty lights. When she turned Prairie cringed a little.
“I know it sounds alarmist but hypothermia is a very real concern. So is frostbite. We are not dressed for the cold and I do not think we can search this entire location and be functional when we find Gia.”
“Moving helps. A little.” Abe bounced on their feet in emphasis. They also had their hands tucked under their arms and their lips were a bit blue.
Maybe it was the Aurora Borealis, flooding over them, that made them seem so. But likely not.
“Air!”
Kim’s exclamation drew Siobhan’s gaze. She responded to Siobhan’s unworded question.
“I have a theory.”
“Okay?” Siobhan was pretty sure that came out slower than she meant it to. More so than she’d normally slow it for emphasis. Prairie was right. The cold was definitely having an effect.
“Can I?” Kim walked over until she was a hand’s breadth from Siobhan. Siobhan eyed her friend’s expectant look for a moment then nodded. At which Kim spun her hand in the air in the region of Siobhan’s torso and the cold cut off. Not completely but it definitely cut off.
Her “What?” came unbidden.
“Air,” Kim said, like that explained anything. Siobhan’s confusion must have been all over face because Kim added, “I asked Air to form a barrier around you. Close to your skin. I did that to myself earlier and it seemed to reflect my body heat back at me, rather than letting it escape. At least that’s my theory.”
Ivan walked over and bent to stare at Siobhan’s arm. He lifted a hand, finger extended, then halted it short of touching Siobhan.
“Can I?” He met her gaze. She didn’t hesitate to nod and then he was laying a finger on her arm. Or, not. She didn’t feel the pressure but she saw his finger bend slightly as he pressed.
“Huh.” Ivan looked at Kim. “Can you do this for everyone?”
Kim nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
“Me first!” Gwen shoved herself between Kim and Siobhan. “Me first!”
“Technically, you second,” Kim said on a slow drawl then spun her hand around in front of Gwen. Siobhan could tell when she felt the change in temperature. Her shoulders relaxed and her features smoothed from their pinched expression.
“Oh, that’s nice.”
Kim turned to look at the others. “Who’s next?”
In quick order she moved between the members of the group. Each of them expressed in some way the difference once Kim had done her thing. Ben, with his fire elemental friend, was last.
Kim looked at the fire dog for a long moment and then lifted her hand slowly towards Ben. “Just gonna–” Without any more explanation she twisted her hand. The dog gave a sparky-bark then settled back against Ben’s chest, though it did give Kim a long eye-balling.
It wasn’t a perfect fix. Siobhan still felt the cold. But she felt it like you’d feel a cool breeze in the fall. As opposed to something that cut right to the core and banged on her bones like a sledgehammer. Infinitely better but she figured they’d still have a limited time to get this endeavor completed.
Best to start now. With that she slid her fingers along her bag strap and focused on the group. Then a thought occurred to her.
“Kim?”
“Yes.”
“Will these shields hold while we move.”
Kim considered it a moment then gave a slow nod. “I think so. Just don’t move faster than the Lady who is guarding you.”
Siobhan looked down. She didn’t see anything? Guess she had to take Kim’s word for it that it wasn’t just air wrapping around her but Air itself.
“It’s air,” Ben said. “I’d think it can move pretty fast.”
“Sure. But it gets distracted so if you move too fast it may lose you while its exploring something that caught its attention.”
“Air gets distracted?”
Kim’s steady expression said she was not lying and she was also not going to explain further. In the face of that stare Ben backed down. He looked down at the dog in his jacket and murmured something. The dog barked back. Then they both turned their gazes on Kim who opened her eyes real wide and mouthed, “what?”
Anyhow. That was settled. Don’t want faster than your guardian air personage. Solid advice.
Enter The Woods 