****

Nothingness.



                                ***EXPLOSION***


AAAAAAARGH

soundcolorlight

I CAN'T...

rainbowsparklesprettyprettythings

IT HURTS

*sensation of movement at incredible speeds*

I CAN'T THINK

*voices whispering, the words maddeningly obscured*

I CAN'T HEAR YOU

*Numbing cold sensation*

RHIANNON...

*stillness, the stillness of the womb, something waiting to be born*

SPLASH

Rhiannon's head breaks the surface of the water.  All around is a great, 
black ocean.  Overhead, a pallid moon casts a corpselight glow that 
doesn't really illuminate anything.  The water is cold, and a silver 
shoreline is far too distant to reach.  A moment later, The water vomits 
up Gegi, coughing and sputtering. Garret is nowhere to be seen.

There's a rumble, as of distant thunder. Rhiannon's auspex begins to buzz 
dimly.

"Welcome."

The voice is cool as an iceberg, and smooth as sin.

A man has appeared...or was he there all the time?  An elaborate suit of 
black and red covers him, complete with brass buttons, a top hat, and an 
ornate silver cane with black riding boots.  His face is...well, you're 
really not sure what it is, it keeps changing.  the jaw recedes inward, 
then outward,  the forehead broadens, then compacts, the cheekbones 
harden, then flow like butter, and his hair is an animate cloud trapped 
beneath the horizon of his tophat.  Only his eyes remain constant...deep, 
limpid pools of green ice. He stands on the surface of the water as if 
it's perfectly solid.

Gegi looks up at him with the tired expression of one who has been 
through too many transitions lately to remember to be afraid. Rhiannon 
pulls herself up and sits on the surface of the water. 

"You should not have come here."  The note of reproof is as tangible as a 
blade thrust.  He lifts the cane slightly, and points it at Rhiannon.

"You especially."

Rhiannon twists around.  She nods politely, from where she is sitting on 
the water  and says in return, "My thanks for thy greetings.  Wilt tell 
me where 'tis we be welcomed to?"

The figure spreads his arms wide in an all encompassing gesture. 
"Nowhere.  Nowhen.  If that confuses you,(and the tone clearly indicates 
that he expects it does), then simply think of this as my realm, and 
leave it at that."

Rhiannon takes another long look around, and shrugs, "'Tisn't t'Abyss. 
Though I suppose an one knew it not, this couldst be considered a nowhere 
nowhen," she concedes.

"The geography is misleading, and exists only by my whims."

Gegi looks around as best she can, considering the difficulty of drying 
off her glasses while treading water, then back at him, not looking into 
his eyes. "Where's Garret?"

Silence for a moment.

"The mage is mine, bought and paid for.  He is no longer your concern.  I 
offer you both one chance, and one chance only.  Leave my realm.  I will 
return you to any point in time you desire, none the worse for your 
experience.  But you must leave at once, and you (indicates Rhiannon) 
must release whatever spell you have used to shield the wizard's soul 
from me. I think that's *quite* a magnanimous offer, considering
you have trespassed in my world, and interfered in my affairs."

The voice takes on a harder edge.  "If you stay..."

A strong, cold wind whips up out of nowhere, carrying the sounds of 
distant screams.

"But I will show you the mage," the voice says with oily sweetness.  He 
runs his cane along the surface of the water, causing a large mirror to 
rise from its surface. The dark surface of the mirror ripples, and then 
an image begins to form. It is Garret, hanging upside down and bleeding 
within a rune-inscribed circle. He does not move.

The figure turns back to them. "Now, release your spell."

"Spell?"Rhiannon asks, offering Gegi a hand to hold onto to keep her head 
out of water.

The voice is much angrier this time.  "I will not play your games, 
blood-drinker.  The wizard, his magick, and his soul are mine, bought and 
paid for long ago.  He no longer has any say in the matter.  Yet, as you
well know, I cannot claim it because of your hold on him.  You are 
interfering in my affairs, affairs which do not concern you.  Find 
another mortal to enslave with your charms, this one, and all his power, 
is mine."

 A horribly hungry, greedy note creeps into his voice near the last line.

Rhiannon points out reasonably, "But I have nay enslaved him, and thus, 
canst nay help thee in such a matter.  And if it be Garret's soul thou be 
discussing, then of course he still hast a say in t'matter, as 'tis his 
soul.  Besides, self-improvement be far better than depending on others - 
if t'others thou be depending on leave or decide to follow another path, 
thou'rt in trouble.  Whereas, shouldst thou develop thine own self, 'tis 
always available for thyself."

Cold laughter.  "He traded me his soul long ago in return for a favor. 
It's *mine* now.  And I *am* improving myself...once I have his soul, his 
magick will be completely mine."

Without fanfare, tabula rasa fades into view at the edge of the circle. 
He's lying on his side, and he doesn't look good.  One of his arms has 
been torn off, revealing twisted metal beneath the skin, and rust has 
appeared on all exposed metal parts.  A plume of smoke rises from a sort 
of disk on his chest.

"How did he get..." Gegi starts to ask, then stops, as...

Astaaroth raises his cane, and smashes it into the mirror.  There's an 
explosion of green light and sparks, some of which land on Gegi and 
Rhiannon, and smoulder for a moment before going out.

Rhiannon yelps, her expression going a bit frantic as she feels the 
sparks.  Naturally enough, she loses both concentration and control of  
her ch'i energies, and falls back through the surface of the water, which 
obligingly puts the sparks out. Which, of course, means Gegi goes with her.

Astaaroth whirls, his face churning even more furiously, his eyes changed 
to a deep, ugly red.

"MEDDLING INSECTS!  HE WILL NOT HAVE MY PRIZE!"

Rhi's head pops back up, she spluttering a bit, and her hair again 
soaking wet.

He points his cane at the two.

"When I return, I will deal with both of you!"

There's a flash of lightning, and he's gone.

"Any ideas?" asks Gegi with a twisted smile.

Rhiannon regains control of herself and sighs. Concentrating again, she 
re-aligns her ch'i with that of the water.  She then climbs back out onto 
the water's surface, stands up, and takes a look around.  She looks 
towards the shore, and then a thought strikes her.  She then digs around 
in her pocket for a moment, coming up with a soaked napkin, wrapped 
around a seed, about the size of a walnut, that's a deep, glossy green in 
color, as if it's been laquered.   Pulling out a few hairs from her head, 
she braids them together, then ties the resultant braid around the seed, 
making sure it's securely fastened.  She then asks Gegi, "Dost know of 
any spells that be of use in finding t'giver of a gift, an one hath 
t'gift at hand?"

Gegi eyes the walnut-like item with a brief expression of alarm, but then 
dismisses the notion. "I can try... you'll have to hold me up so I can 
trance out, though."

Rhi grabs hold of Gegi with her right hand, spending a blood point on 
strength as she does so, and then hands the gift to Gegi, asking her to 
be careful about it.

Cautiously, Gegi opens her mind. Using mind magick here is exhilirating, 
and Gegi can feel a great deal of extra power surge within her.  The 
rough feel of the walnut in her hands becomes a doorway, as her mind 
spirals outward, searching.  In seconds, it brushes another mind...a 
familiar one.  Then there's a jarring "lock" sensation, as the other mind 
grabs desperately at hers, like a drowning man grabbing at a life 
preserver.  Frustration, fear, and anger flow through the link in equal 
measures.

*Gegi? Help!*

"Garret..." Gegi whispers.

There's a shudder, as if the ground just dropped four inches.  The moon 
overhead dims to the point that Rhiannon and Gegi can barely see one another.

A piercing scream echoes inside their heads. 

*NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-*

And then is cut off.

There's a *whouf* sensation from the other mind, and contact with Gegi 
breaks off abruptly.

Gegi twitches in Rhiannon's grasp. "Damn," she whispers. "Lost him."

Glimmering rents start to appear in the fabric of reality, as if the 
world is tearing itself apart.  Looking into one, you can see pure, 
shimmering nothingness.  The rents join together, forming a huge copy of 
the rift in the pub.  It begins to expand until it touches the sky, and 
then beyond. It's clear that very shortly, it's going to expand until it 
consumes the entire place!

Rhiannon looks rather warily at the rift, and softly asks Gegi, in a 
rather awe-filled tone, "Was that thy doing?"

Gegi opens her eyes, slowly gathering scattered wits. "Huh?" and notices 
the rift. She blinks a few times. "I don't -think- I did that..."

At that moment, Aetna of all people surfaces in the water next to 
Rhiannon's feet, followed quickly by Karieta and Grendel.

Rhiannon looks rather wary, and says politely, "Greetings," while trying 
to inconspicuously back away out of klaive range dragging Gegi.  "Dost 
know how to find Garret, then?"

Aetna nods, and brings out a small stone hanging from a thong--looking 
mildly ridiculous in the massively clawed Crinos hand.  Karieta looks 
mildly worried as she replies.  "Hello.  We thought we should help.  She 
turns in a slow circle, head cocked to one side. "Interesting..."

Rhiannon whispers quickly in Gegi's ear, "I certes hope thee asked Aetna 
and Karieta an they wished to help find Garret before thou fetched them 
hither."

Karieta smiles briefly, but chooses to let it stand.  "So....what exactly 
has happened?  And where's Astaaroth?"  Her magickal defenses go up as 
she speaks.

Suddenly Gegi looks a lot less vague. "Through the rift. He's taken 
Garret out. We have to get out of here. Go!"

Aetna growls as the stone in her hand begins to point a direction.  
"Garret!  There!"  She points back at the rift, then grabs Karieta by the 
nape of the neck and pushes her through before leaping herself.  Grendel 
follows unerringly.

Rhiannon looks very impressed.  "So thou created t'rift so as to follow 
him?" Wistfully, she adds, "Wouldst thou nay add a time feature to 
t'spell thou used, so that t'time in this shadow passeth much faster than 
time passeth in t'pub, so I wouldst have t'time necessary to explore this 
shadow more thoroughly?"

Not wishing to take the time to explain, Gegi says, "I'm all out of 
spells. Sorry." Taking hold of Rhiannon, she pulls them both through the 
rift.