#dreaming

"Whhhhhyyyy... is it... cc-c-c-colder in the Dreaming than it is in Bergen? C-c-can't we just, you know, cross a w-w-ire from Tijuana to even things out?" Piper's teeth chatter as they head out!

Indeed, the Silver is a mess! Coated with ice patches ... snow fflakes that sting with cold

Sylvi has her winter coat back on, and she's carrying the spear she got while being emissary up north. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."

"Hey, Piper, weren't you just telling me you can warm yourself up, now?"

"I w-was. But I figured I could t-t-t-ough it out. I don't want to waste it... what if we need it more later, and I... I'm NEW at this. What if I only have so much juice?"

"You're in the Dreaming, girlfriend. The original juice bar. I think you'll be okay. Give it a try. You're not much use if you freeze solid."

"Stop her, she'll melt the ice" A whip cracks out aiming towards PIper despite the fact she's on the silver...

Piper was just starting to rub her mittened hands together to work up a bunk, and is caught unawares!

Sylvi tries to block the whip strike with her spear or her body. She's tougher than Piper is.

the whip catches about Piper's hands... wait, make that the Spear end, as a nasty chimerical dwarf sneers. He steps on the trod, that should be impossible? Oh wait.. he steps on the ICE on the trod. "Another blasted giant" He tries to pull the spear away with the whip

Piper squeaks in surprise, but then yells! "HEY! What's the big idea?!

Sylvi plants her feet and YANKS back on the whip. "Piper! Melt it, now! They can get on the trod while there's ice covering the silver!"

the dwarf yeeps, as he is reverse yeeted and flies towards Sylvi without wanting to

She turns the spear as the chimera gets close and hopefully catches it on the point!

Whatever more sensible bunk she had in mind flees, and she.. channels Lyron for a moment! Is she dancing? Yep! A salsa beat played with her hooves on the icy path.

"Me mind on fire - Me soul on fire - Feeling hot hot hot!
Party people - All around me feeling hot hot hot!"

She continues, letting her hooves stomp on the icy sheet with every beat.

"See people rocking - Hear people chanting - Feeling hot hot hot
Keep up this spirit - Come on let's do it - Feeling hot hot hot!"

the chimera calls out in pain as it is speared. Others however, how because they find themselves on bare silver, the ice now steaming away. They had not seen the other blackbearded dwarves , some with whips, othees with knives, but they hear them howl now

"the silver, it burns worse than flame"

Sylvi gives a whoop and moves to the beat, even as she wrangles the chimera, adding a bit of Spring power to Piper's efforts.

Piper eyes them, if any are close enough she will aid them off the path with a well-placed hoof in their rears.

Sure.. though most are already trying to leap off.... and Sylvis' spring magics arre spreading the thaw Piper startted, she manages to BOOt one in the ass launching him with her petite hoof

Sylvi flings the speared Dwarf off the silver, and then advances on the rest with a bit of a dance beat in her step.

"Flee, Flee, Queen Jadis must know..."

"Why does that name sound familiar?" She says, worriedly.

"Narnia. White Witch. That...would explain a lot."

Indeed... and Sylvi may remember the talk of 'another giant'. Her father is deeper in the dreaming, fightinng this

"Dammit...Piper, come on, we gotta move, well, further up and further in."

"Shit, shit. I'm coming." She nods and hurries up, though any snow accumulation may slow her down a lot more than the taller-longer-legged Troll.

The earlier cantrip might not travel far from their inner layers, but enough to keep toes (hooves?) from losing feeling and legs from growing sluggish, she hopes.

And deeper in they go, as the trods threaten to frost all over again.... and things get weirder!

The dreaming is a chaotic place....a saga of legend chopped up worse than a newbie hollywood editor making his first trailer...

"I am the Captain of the Queen's Secret Police, my soldiers are my pack..." the frostwolf sneers "you're dogs... we ae wolves. Back away or die"

the Ovcharka gives a growl back, siblings side by side "We are Ovcharka, you stupid throwrugs, we fight bears! "

and a battle of canines is... terrifying, but when a non Ovcharka joins in against the wolves, the victory for the dogs goes from possible, to assured!

****

the witch's wand fires turning one figure after another into a statue, there is a crash of thunder and wind, she turns to sneer and points again at this giant come to aid... she is dressed oddly, Amerind meets Celtic meets norse. She is not the strongest troll, nor the most skilled at arts, nor the best fighter... she should fall faster than others, but the wand's magic engulfs the kennel mistress... and.. does nothing "What?" the witch gasps "What trickery is this? You should be stone!"

Dame Gladiola raises her spear "I always was" And throws

****

"We're surrounded!" Lord Hume declares as the army of evil swarms them "I neeed time to exe stone to flesh... " Can you hold, is what he wants to say. No, make them understand, believe in them "Hold the Circle! Buy me time! Coradel Siegebreaker boasts of you, is she a liar?"

"NO!" chant the Earth Runes crew as one

"No, she is not" Hume declares, in the Dreaming he might even be the leader he should be at home "Prove it on their bodies and HOLD the Circle!"

Temerity looks at the odds, 5 to 1, a time of legend in the lungs of the Dreaming itself "This is the happiest day of my entire LIFE!!!"

************

And still more patches to the quilt remain to be sewn, however imprecisely

Piper burns the snow and ice clear of the way, here in the deeper dreaming, itt comes more easily, and i'ts good that it does.

Because the snow is wilder than ever.

"I hope we can keep this up!" She shouts to Sylvi to be heard over the blowing snow and sleet. "It's closing back in behind us as soon as we pass!"

At least melting a few feet ahead of them might help ensure that they stay on the silver...

"We've got to find the source of it to make it stop." Or get my dad out of here. She puts pulses of Spring energy into the work that Piper is doing, reinforcing her efforts.

The flames are fueled and...