"Oh, it's you again," Jehan commented, as the gorilla-creature lumbered onto the path.
It didn't look like it wanted to be there, Jehan thought, watching the creature. Its steps were sluggish and slow, and it paused at the sight of him.
The creature stared at Jehan. It hadn't been much of a threat last time, and now that Jehan had scored a significant blow, he figured it would be even less of one. So, he guessed that meant...
Jehan spun around. His instincts were right -- the Puppetmaster was drifting towards him.
Christopher's description proved roughly accurate. It was humanoid, but most of its body was wispy and gaseous. Its lower half fell into mist entirely, leaving it without any legs to stand on. Not that it seemed to mind.
But two body parts were clearly solid, unlike the rest. Its face was stunningly pale, almost pure white, and its thin mouth was twisted into a bright, beaming smile. At the same time, its fingers flexed, its blood [[red]] hands angled towards Jehan."So I guess you're our 'Puppetmaster?'" Jehan asked, backing away from it. He twisted to keep an eye on both of the creatures at once.
"''//Oh, (text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder]!//''" the Puppetmaster crooned. "''//You recognize me! I'm (text-style: "shadow")[flattered]!//''"
Both the Puppetmaster and its creature were still. Jehan offered his most disarming smile. "You're pretty recognizable," he said. "Now, I don't suppose this is just a social visit, is it, mate?"
"//''Mate?''//" the Puppetmaster murmured. It shook its head. "//''No, (text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder]. Actually, I am here to end your life!''//"
It paused after that, waiting for a response. "That's less than ideal," Jehan commented.
The Puppetmaster moved its hands up and down slightly. Jehan thought it was trying to convey a shrug, although the translucent arms made it hard to tell.
"I suppose I have no choice but to accept my inevitable death," Jehan declared. The Puppetmaster visibly perked up. "Before you strangle the life out of me, though, I have one minor request: could you sate my curiosity and answer just a few questions for me?"
The Puppetmaster regarded him. "//''You are a rulebreaker,''//" it said slowly. "//''But I always respect [[civility]]! Ask your questions, (text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder]! Although I make no promises as to answers.''//""I suppose I most want to know why you're running this... nostos?" Jehan asked. "It seems a lot of effort. I'm sure you must have an end goal in mind?"
The Puppetmaster put a hand to its mouth and tittered. "//''Oh, (text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder],''//" it said. There was a smudge of red around its mouth where it had touched its face. "//''I think I understand why such curiosity would drive you to break the rules! Of course, I can't forgive...''//"
"Of course," Jehan said.
"//''Allow me to be generous and lend you some knowledge,''//" the Puppetmaster continued. "//''You see, I have been planning this for some time! Since near my inception, in fact!''//"
"Your inception?" Jehan said mildly. "Around when would that be?"
"//''Not that long ago!''//" the Puppetmaster responded instantly. "//''Under a...''//"
The gorilla-creature grunted, shifting on its feet. It seemed like it was growing impatient.
The Puppetmaster trailed off. "//''Hold on, now,''//" it said. "//''(text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder]... you are going to allow me to end your life, yes? You're not trying to trick me, are you?''//"
"I would never do that," Jehan lied.
The gorilla-creature made a sound that may have been disbelief. The Puppetmaster seemed to agree. It scowled. "//''You are! You're trying to trick me! Well, it won't work!''//"
The Puppetmaster launched itself forward, drifting over the ground like it was running, and grabbed at Jehan. Jehan dodged out of the way, and the Puppetmaster's hands latched onto a tree instead.
Where the Puppetmaster grasped, the tree withered and died. Bark turned into mush and sloughed off within a second.
The Puppetmaster turned towards Jehan. He slammed his staff into its face, like he was stabbing with a spear. The Puppetmaster reared back. It didn't seem to have bones -- instead, where Jehan struck cracks spread along its face, like it was wearing a mask.
"//''You- you!''//" the Puppetmaster sputtered, sounding enraged. It clenched its hands into fists.
Jehan, smirking, took a few steps back, leveled his staff at the Puppetmaster, and [[winked]].
The Puppetmaster let out a wordless enraged sound and rushed forward again, the gorilla-creatre lumbering forward right behind it--<center>[[...]]</center><center>[[... ...]]</center><center>[[... ... ...]]</center>The Puppetmaster had (css: "font-size: 50%;")[retreated] from the battle against the (text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder].
Not for any <u>particular</u> reasons. It had simply had more ''important'' things to do. A //nostos// to consider, a ~~Nobody~~ to check up on, a (text-style: "emboss")[Plan B] to refine.
Those were the (css: "font-size: 50%;")[''ONLY''] reasons. Nothing to do with the (text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder] or his ~~smug demeanor~~ or--
''Those were the only reasons.''
(click: "only reasons")[(t8n: "dissolve")[(Those weren't the only reasons. The Puppetmaster seethed. Its relative youth continued to be a hindrance; there were skills it had taken for granted before, lost to it.
It subdued the sudden, intense urge to rage. It would learn and relearn, and the //nostos// was the first step of that.
Its time would come again.)]]
//Now.// Time to check up on the ~~Nobody~~, and his ''unwanted [[companion]].''"We're still quite a ways away from the nearest township," Amelia said.
She tilted the [[map]] forward, and Christopher peered at it. There was a coast to the north, and a large city named 'Arden' was situated up near there. A mountain range took up the southern end of the map, labelled 'Monochromos Mountains.' To the west, more mountains -- scattered, not one range -- and indications of snow, simply named 'The Wastes.'
And taking up the majority of the map, the center and the eastern side, was the sprawling Darkwood Forest. There were a few other landmarks -- a few stray mountains, a lake, a few towns scattered about. A long river started off in the 'Wastes' and ran through the entire of the forest, off to the east, and a large segment of the forest near Arden was circled and labelled 'Mire.'
Near the center of the map, just off to the east, was the 'Serpent's Compound.'
Currently, Christopher and Amelia were heading towards the nearest labelled town, some decently sized thing named 'Treves.'
"Like, 'days' away?" Christopher asked. "Or, what? Months?"
Amelia grimaced and thought for a moment. "Weeks, if we're [[unlucky]]," she said. "Only a few days, if the Darkwood is generous."
"...Which one is more likely, you think?" Christopher asked.
"The Darkwood isn't often generous," Amelia said.
The two of them fell back into silence.(Christopher and Amelia hadn't spoken much, since their escape from the Serpent's Collective.
There was an air of doubt between the two. Christopher supposed it made sense -- they'd only known each other for a few days, really -- but it still made things... a little uncomfortable.
And as long as Amelia was around it really limited the amount of time he could contact everyone else through the phone, since he assumed he was supposed to keep their existence a secret. (Not like they'd really discussed it, though...)
Most of their discussion was centered around the map. Amelia carried it most of the time, but she always let Christopher look at it when he asked, which he appreciated. Even if he couldn't quite figure out the paths they were taking.
Actually, the second time he'd taken a look at the map he'd squinted for a good long while, and then let it go. But the third time he had slowed down and said, "Is the map... different, since the last time I saw it?"
"Yes," Amelia had said plainly, as if that was obvious.
"Huh," Christopher had said, as if he'd understood. And then, "Wait, I don't understand."
Amelia had eyed him for a moment, looking doubtful. And then her eyes had widened. "You're not from around here, right," she'd said. "The Darkwood changes. The paths shift by the hour, but the notable locations, the towns and such, they should be mostly [[static]].")("Static," Christopher had repeated. "Okay, that's good to know."
Amelia nodded. Christopher stared at the map intently as the two continued on.
The forest changed, huh. He'd heard information like that already, hadn't he? But it still didn't seem real. He was lost in some magic forest and he... wasn't on Earth anymore.
He was bursting with questions about... everything, honestly, and with Amelia present he had someone that might be willing to answer.
(Not that he had any real problems with everyone else from the phone, but he didn't really know... well, how much they knew. And he wasn't sure how much he wanted to believe, really. The idea that he'd been stolen to... another dimension, or something...?)
(And when it came to that other guy, uh, Jehan -- well, Christopher appreciated that someone was coming to help. But Jehan hadn't exactly been a chatterbox so far.)
Still, he'd been holding back. Because of the awkward, slightly distrustful air, sure, but also because he wasn't even sure where to begin.
But apparently he wasn't hiding his curiosity as well as he'd thought. Amelia glanced towards him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Do you have something to [[say]]?")("Okay, yes, actually," Christopher admitted. He coughed. "Well, um. Just a few questions?"
"Sure," Amelia answered, sounding faintly amused.
Aha! Progress! Christopher took a deep breath and considered. There were a lot of things he could ask -- about the whole 'not on Earth' thing, about the forest in general -- but he stopped before he got ahead of himself. He didn't know how much Amelia knew, or how much his other sources of contact could answer for him.
Instead, he decided to focus on his more immediate concerns. "So the map changes with the forest?" he asked.
Amelia nodded, silent, and Christopher felt himself get sidetracked for a moment.
"How did you guys even make that thing?" he asked.
"Oh, not easily," Amelia said. "This is Claire's work. She can make things the rest of us can't. Like the maps, or the protection charms we're wearing. I've asked her about it, a lot of us have, but she says it's just some innate skill she has."
"Huh," Christopher said. Interesting to know, but not exactly useful. "And despite all this changing, we'll still... get to where we're going?"
"Yes, actually!" Amelia said. She smiled slightly. "It's partially due to Claire's work, and partially how the forest works, but, to put it simply -- it doesn't matter that this path," she tapped a spot on the map, seemingly random to Christopher's eye, "goes east now, but went north an hour ago. Because regardless of these paths, we're still headed towards our destination. And we'll get there. Eventually."
She glanced down at the map and frowned slightly. "Well, as long as we keep an eye on our route," she amended, looking back towards Christopher.
Christopher took the hint. "I'll let you focus on not letting us get lost, then," he said. Amelia nodded, and the two of them continued on [[silently|companion]].)The further away they'd gotten from the Collective, the more Christopher had started to relax. There wasn't a cult immediately surrounding him anymore, and based off Amelia's word he'd never see the Collective again. He wore a protection charm that supposedly warded away the creatures of the forest -- maybe even the Puppetmaster, Christopher thought, if he was willing to be a little too optimistic.
And Jehan should be close, growing closer by the day. He'd meet up with the two of them any time now. So Christopher was feeling pretty good about himself.
Amelia, on the other hand, had been the opposite. The further from the Collective they'd gone, the more tense and uncomfortable she had grown.
"Hey," Christopher said. "Are you, like... alright?"
"Alright?" Amelia said. She frowned, and went silent for long enough Christopher started to think she was ignoring him. "I've just... never really been outside the Compound before, you know?"
"Ah," Christopher said. "Yeah, I see how that could be... pretty scary?"
"I wouldn't put it like that," Amelia muttered.
"I mean, I'm pretty scared most of the time I'm in the forest," Christopher said. "It's, ah, this whole thing is kind of a lot-"
(css: "font-size: 120%;")[''(GOODNESS this whole thing was so [[DULL]].)'']The Puppetmaster //groaned//, wrenching its attention away from its ~~Nobody~~.
He was getting too ''cheerful''. His <u>stress</u> and <u>fear</u> levels should have been ''HIGHER'', but this //unwanted companion// had thrown the whole //nostos// out of balance.
(It was trying to (text-style: "emboss")[Adapt], but this was getting out of ''hand''. The Puppetmaster thought that some //Drastic Measures// would have to be employed soon.)
So. The (text-style: "outline")[Witchfinder] had ~~fought it off~~ been deemed a "Distraction (For Now)," ~~Nobody~~ was... well, he was still in the //nostos//, at least...
One final thing to consider. It took a look towards [[Plan B]]."...And you're sure this is the best use of our time?"
Vladimir's voice spread through the general dour silence of the group as a whole, and everyone turned their attention towards him, to see if this would be the moment where Nathaniel finally snapped and murdered him.
But Nathaniel kept up his calm demeanor, and simply said, "Yes, Vladimir. This is an assignment from the Speaker herself."
"I'm just saying," Vladimir said. "I feel the Speaker has erred. Two non-vital runaways. We're undertaking a firmly unnecessary risk, in my opinion."
"You have made your opinion known," Nathaniel said mildly. "Repeatedly. You do not need to keep sharing it."
Vladimir smiled and shrugged. Nathaniel stared at him for a long moment before resuming the march.
"You know," Vladimir started.
Nathaniel's hands curled into fists.
"Enough," Claire cut in, at the head of their group. She held one of her maps, and her voice drew everyone's attention -- she was, after all, the official leader of this expedition. "I'm trying to focus on our path. Allow me to concentrate, please?"
"Of course," Vladimir said. "My apologies."
Nathaniel grunted.
Claire nodded her appreciation. "Their path likely isn't that difficult to estimate," she muttered. "As long as they don't suspect anything, the nearest town is likely their destination..."
Claire led on.
Vladimir, Nathaniel, and a dozen lesser members of the Serpent's Collective followed behind her.