From the Journal of Farrahn Moriaden (part 6)

[shawnreed343]

Sept …14th? 15th?

I’ve obviously lost track of time. She kept me in there long enough I thought she had perhaps changed her mind about wanting to talk to me. But of course, no sooner do I give up the ghost than Frosty the Snowman comes and opens the door to my cell. His face kindof reminded me of Stone Face, all square-jawed and such, and I found myself wondering distractedly how Stone Crow and Tweety were doing. Whether they had been captured also or not, heck, I didn’t know. And I was almost getting concerned.

Well, Frosty was even less talkative than Stone Face, but punctual with his gestures. Indicating I should march myself down the hall, I recovered my dignity and started to wend my way up a long curving hallway with occasional gothic windows made of what I suspect to be clear ice. The floor thankfully wasn’t slippery, though, decorated with a shaggy fur carpet of imperious length that must have been custom tailored. I guessed Jackalope fur, pure and white as it was.

Anyway, I got led around and finally arrived at something like a luxurious chamber. Grand old fireplace, plush furniture, beautiful ice sculptures, and a rather beautiful array of softly diffused lighting. All the ice created unique little glows here and there and several diminutive little ice-elves or imps or such were working on carving a larger-than-life detailed relief of ‘Tina. I considered asking who it was for and if I could have one of her sculptures, but checked myself before appearing stupid. Somehow I doubt Frosty or the ice-sculpture would hold up long in California without ‘Tina’s ol’ magic hat nearby.

Oh, and Stone Face was there. Looking plum as you please like nothing had happened. I scowled and glared and frowned enough he finally decided to ask “Are you recovered?”

“I’ve been cooped up in a freezer-box for the past half a week. How about you? Eating grapes and olives and sipping ’85 vintage? Seriously, what kind of question is that?!” I exclaimed.

He frowned, then nodded. “Recovering. Hmm. My English… what were the words? Sick from the cold? Sick with the cold? Sick, sick of the cold. Yes. She said you had flu of the coop.”

I slapped my forehead. But I think I exercised remarkable patience, considering I wanted to kick him in his little stones. “Cold and flu are different, bud. Totally different. And you’re mixing your words up. So. So much.”

He shrugged. Frosty seemed to be getting impatient, eager to lead on. So leading me to what I presumed to be the heart of the castle, I came into something like the inside of a Cathedral done in ice. Simply breathtaking. Not just from the cold. I mean, that place radiated chill. Like the heart of winter had taken up residence below the ice. And yes, the floor here was black ice, and the top of the lake below. Which, let me tell you, was a very eerie feeling, to walk out over what seemed like an endless pit descending into darkness. There were no fires. Everything was lit with wispy sorts of glow, like fireflies except in arcane blues and greens all hazy like the northern lights. The walls and parts of the floor were done up in swirly runes that the lights would sometimes catch into and pulse along.

“Welcome, Farrahn Moriaden.” She said. “If you are ready to put aside your childish misconceptions and taunts, I have a proposition for you.”

It was borderline, those cute little jokes that were coming to mind would have been perfect, but she had my curiosity. I mean, it’s ‘Tina. Lock me up for the better part of a week then ask for my help? I expected she was ready with ludicrous compensation, so I was indeed curious. “So the time in my cell was for you to check my credentials? Dental history? Work up your courage to admit to needing to ask for my help?”

She took a breath. “You are not my first choice, Farrahn Moriaden. You chose to estrange me years ago and I have left you alone with respect for that choice. Fate has brought you into my hands once again, when you stole my soulstones, and so Fate has provided this choice for me. And it is not easy for me to make. I do not feel that I can trust you, Farrahn Moriaden. … Not any more.”

That serious side of me tuned in. I can be a joker most of the time and I know it, but I don’t like the idea of mocking someone being vulnerable. “So you did need to work up your courage. … I suppose I forgive you, then.”

There was a silent moment, the lights making it seem like her expression was changing even though it stayed the same. “Yes. If by courage you mean a debate with myself over the wisdom of asking you what I am about to.”

I perked up. An admission that I was right? From ‘Tina? “Which would be?”

“Work for me.”

One of my eyebrows went up. I’m not sure how I looked. Probably surprised though I hope I didn’t react horrified-like. It wasn’t really that bad a question, just I’d never heard the like before. Caught me a bit blind-side, really, though I recovered fast. “And what sort of work are you proposing?”

She tilted her head back, looked up towards a roof so high above it was shrouded in darkness. “Have you ever heard the words ‘Til Gran Kythera Dow’ before?”

Thing is, as she said it, I swear there was something like a great icy sigh in that otherworldly room, frigid as the north pole in winter. I fixed her with a serious look. “Can’t say as I have. But it means something to you. Care to share that with me?”

“No, Farrahn Moriaden, I believe it may be better for you not to know. But in this you are correct. Those words are distinct.”

“How am I supposed to work for you if, like I think you’re thinking is going to be the case, I don’t know what it is I’m doing?”

“I have thought several of these past few nights and I have thought more. What I have decided is to grant you another chance. Do not believe for a second that I trust you. But know that I am giving you a chance to earn my trust once more.”

I rubbed my chin. “I can’t say I’d be displeased with that. But what sort of hoops are we talking about me jumping through? Fiery flaming death type hoops, or the hoops between your legs?”

I think she blinked a few times, before her features softened into an amused look. “I see. You are back to your old jokes, Farrahn.” The corner of her mouth turned up in a half-smile. “The fiery flaming death type hoops.”

“Ah, shucks.” I said, swinging my arm and snapping my fingers for effect. She loves me, yeah, she just isn’t the type to admit it.

“My research prevents me from the fieldwork I would ask of you. I simply do not have the time or resources to be in multiple places at the same time. And you are able to travel under less scrutiny, Farrahn Moriaden.”

“True.” I added.

“I already know the Guild’s scheme they have decided to involve you in. That you are to meet with the Ortegas. That once you have met up, you will be instructed to travel to Malifaux city, then exit Malifaux into Paris. Have you heard of the catacombs beneath Paris?”

“I have, in passing. I’ve never actually been beneath Paris though. Aren’t there supposed to be thousands or hundreds of thousands or millions of people buried there, so thick their skulls cobble the walls?”

“That would be a rough approximation. It is also …” her eyes fluttered and I thought she was maybe deciding how much she wanted to tell me “on the Malifaux side, a place where Nephilim are spawned. Because, due to the religious practices of times past, trace aspects of soul essence remained within the bones. Even trace portions, from so many sources, gathered over such a period of time…”

My eyes were wide, as I got the very heart of what she was saying. “A veritable Nexus!”

“Yes. Not even the Guild is likely to know the extent of the power existing there, though they may have alternative reasoning for the mission you will be sent on. On the surface, it is to eliminate the nest of Nephilim there, but I cannot fathom if this is their true intent or if they have bridged gaps of deductive reasoning. Do not trust them. If the wrong Masters were to find out…”

“My lord!” I exclaimed, even though I’m no religious nut. It just kindof blurted itself as the most appropriate exclamation. “That could start a world-wide war!”

There was a long moment of silence. “And this was a measure of my reservation in letting you know. I am aware you have not agreed to work with me, Farrahn, and I am hoping your own common sense will lead you to see reason. If the Guild discovers the truth, it is in their nature to create a situation which will draw the attention of the other factions.”

“And so you’ve had a sudden turn for good? All about world peace now?”

The hint of sarcasm wasn’t lost on her. “Of course not. I expect you to aquire the Nexus for my personal use.”

“I figured. And what’s to keep me from deciding it’s more to my liking, once I’m there?”

She laughed. She actually broke out into light tinkling laughter. Made me want to kiss her right there. “It would burn you out. Burn you hollow. Eat your soul. You don’t have the willpower for it, Farrahn. Another reason I decided I could tell you these things.”

“Aww. So I don’t get my cake and the chance to eat it too… So what do I get, beautiful? A night with you?”

“You get to keep all twenty-nine soulstones that you stole from me.”

“Hey now. I had four of those before I…”

“You also keep your life, freedom, and earn back a portion of the trust you lost. If this is not sufficient be mindful the other option is for me to bury you in the ice below your feet. A pragmatic choice. I’ve simply told you too much to let you refuse.”

“Hmm. Six to one, half a dozen the other… Throw in sufficient gold and protection for the travel and time and allow me to give you a kiss and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Ohverywell.” She said in a rush, holding out her hand limp-wristed.

Of course I tried going for the lips, but she turned her hand upwards and interceded, then again presented me with a limp-wristed hand. Well, I wouldn’t besmirch my reputation as a gentleman. So I took up her hand and planted a kiss on it like she was the Queen of England. Which left my teeth chattering afterwards, her skin is cold as ice! Sometimes get scared thinking the frail looking gal will catch her death of pneumonia or hypothermia, but she’s made of tough stuff and I, ah, I picked up some of my basic arcane principals from back last time I was around.

“Come, henchman.” She ordered, leading out, thankfully, from that frigid creepy room. You know, I felt quite certain there was a lot more she wasn’t telling me but, hey, there’s only so much you can finagle from a woman at one time.

“This is Snow. He’s a very special Sabretooth Cerberus that I rescued from the clutches of Leveticus. I am a bit mystified by it, but he has all the attributes of a construct yet retains a soul. I have spent more hours than I would have wished simply reconditioning him. And through him I may watch you, Farrahn. Because you are an investment.” She added as a pointed afterthought. “Take good care of him.” She told me, stroking the beast along the furry ridge on its back. I couldn’t quite tell if it was more machine or more animal, but she had added her own arcane touches, pale blue glowy etchings in the metal, and the furry bits were a pure snowy white. “And he will take good care of you.”

“Great!” I replied, “But will he be able to carry me to California? In case you forgot I was supposed to be there, oh, yesterday? Or maybe the day before by now.”

She gave me one of those looks. The not actually angry looks, but the kind I can’t really explain. “No, Farrahn Moriaden. But I will help you with that. You may use my mirror to travel.”

“Mirror?”

“Yes. How did you think I can travel so quickly? This is the heart of December, Farrahn Moriaden, and it is the breath that moves me.”

I was mulling that over still when she led me back through that room where Stone Face was, now sitting in one of the chairs that looked far too comfortable for him. I pointed as we moved past and waved for him to follow. “Enough vacationing you lazy bones, it’s back to work for us.” I told him.

‘Tina led us to a room where the wall in front of us was so polished and smooth I could see myself as if I was standing in front of me. ‘Tina spoke an activation cantrip in arcane and the wall turned into a scene of a desert. You see? Sometimes if you pay attention in certain difficult classes you will pick up a useful tidbit here or there. I only know a smattering of that arcane tongue, but I know the formulae for activating ritual magics from the smallest talisman to the largest dragon line. More handy than you might think, in some circles.

“In you go.” She said. “Now Snow, you are to consider those traveling with Farrahn Moriaden as being no more than minions. He shall be your subjugate Master in my absence, though my instruction both prior and henceforth remains priority. See that he accomplishes his scheme as designated and handle damage control if he does not act with tact.”

I swear, that over-sized Cerberus bobbed all three of its heads in a creepy wavelike synchronicity. I can’t say which more gave me the heebie-jeebies, the two Cerberus heads with their red intelligent-looking eyes, or the metal one on its left that looked like a Cerberus skull. Every time the thing breathed little wisps of mist would come trailing out sinking to the ground from little vents in its ribs. I tipped my hat down a bit so as I didn’t need to see. But everyone had started looking expectantly at me. So, aye, I stepped through first.

Edited September 16, 2010 by shawnreed343