#the_ice_cave

"Traveler?"

"Vermin? What?"

"That snake of yours, that's a fair pass. I got in on just a letter and a smile - which is good, because my body is a temple, and that'd look really stupid when you get old and saggy - if you manage to live to see it." She ticks off fingers as she paces. "You got a guide, a shield, voodoo, muscle one and two... and you - what, the doorman? Brains?" The quirk of her brow shows a bit of questioning on that last.

"Keep the shield and the witch together. She's too squishy, but he can counteract that even if he can't hit for shit. Does she just have the luck, or anything else in her arsenal?"

Muttering to herself, almost as if she has forgotten Ice is there. Almost.

"Got Legerdemain, some brains, I hope. Me, I'm the only one except August that can identify the alter cocker if we see him." (He drums his fingers) "Her? She's worse at knives than I am, I think. She's got the luck, mostly. And she can tell who is who. Never seen the other nocker we're after."

"I can Wisp, that was going to be what I do, but may not need that."

"Two?" She asks, raising a brow, looking genuinely confused.

"You missed that part? Hope nobody else has. We're going after the one in the tower." (Staring at her dark-eyed) "Her Uncle, he's the one that went after the info to do it. If he's not dead, hope he's got it, we can use it."

"Why you think I been trying to sneak up on you, learn knife?"

"I -like- my nose. I try not to stick it where it'll get bitten off, for no good reason. She was sobbin' on about her mum, or sommat. Is that it? I didn't really listen."

"Yeah, figure, keep her and the shield together. She's worse at knife than me, better at not getting seen. Don't know how, with hair like that," (Muttering) "Not mine to talk about, you heard what you heard."

(Not a denial, precisely)

"It'll be a fun time, storming the castle, with that army. You got a sneak?"

"Think me and her are it."

"Know HE is -- was -- good at it, wanted to talk to him about that. Well. Not so good, he got caught." (bluntly)

"But might know something can help."

"Because he was asinine enough to go back IN." She retorts.

"Do you HAVE a plan? Any idea why they are being held? What is holding them... for what reason? " Chewing at a fingernail now.

"And don't say, Get in, get out, that's not a plan, that's a pipe dream."

"See, that's the thing. If the old bastard is alive, HE might know. If he don't have good information, might have to stop with him, but, you know there's something, did what it did to Thirteen's chimera? Might happen to my tattoo. Can trust you, keep shi...things under wraps? Guess so, if he trusts you, he taught me to be a damn paranoid, too."

"What did it do? Step on it?"

She shrugs. "Can you? If I told you you could, then you should't." Arms spread.

"MY plan was, grab one of the bastards and question him." (He watches her) "It stopped them at the border. Some kind of barrier, ward, something. Means, whatever the alter cocker was using to get around without his cane probably stopped working, too."

"I mean, stopped them dead. Like an EMP pulse to electronics."

*A twist of a smile, and then raises finger, crooking it to gesture her closer. Eyes narrowed. There is something in his smile that is unpleasantly amused)

Now THAT has her eyes narrowed. "How big of an area are we talking?" And as he gestures, her distracted, interested air, that of one working away at a puzzle, fades, and she gives her head a shake. "This ain't my first rodeo." Holding up her hands, and measuring out a bit of distance. "Mother mouse, she'd never forgive me if I forgot lesson 1 - stay out of striking distance from the goddamn snakes."

"So now you get it." (A quick, hard grin) "Get somebody to whisper in their ear, might have them."

"Don't know. Got them all, didn't divvy them up and send them around to see if they died. They travel together, I guess."

"Hrm. I ain't no wizard, I told you that. But seems to me - it would take a LOT of juice to protect the entire grounds. Might be easier to put in spot walls. Over this path, that bridge. Might be another way through. Over. Under. Or maybe there's something fueling it, if so. Find the... the generator. Hell, if they're collecting mechanics? Maybe they have a fancy setup."

(The snake slicks around his neck, a black writhing shape. Its head slides out over his collar, tongue flicking towards her, pink and forked. Two reptilian eyes visible, black and shining, then it dives back into his shirt and goes still) (His eyes narrowed) "Never thought of that. Guess, like, a dome is not -- but see, don't know the Dreaming much, how much bigger are cantrips there? It's a fortress, right? Why not put a big-assed barrier?"

"Because nothing is free, not even there. Everything has a cost." She goes still, as the snake slithers by - perhaps not frozen, though. A quiver of tension, not in her arm, but her shoulder, her chest - where she had told Ice to watch for motion that might indicate a readiness to strike. As it disappears under the fabric and goes still, she loosens up a bit, though not drawing any closer.

"Even if it is a dome? Maybe it's not a sphere." A pause, and she says in a sharp voice, "I find you've been using my practice knives for digging, you'll wish your corpse was left there."

"Huh. A generator." (He muses on this, eyes narrowed as he thinks. Then he flicks eyes up) "Going to use whatever I have, for whatever I have to."

"So maybe underneath."

"Better bring shovels."

"It'll be added to your bill." A shrug. "What's your cover? If you show up with shovels? Kiddies on a treasure hunt? Think they'll buy that? Oh well. Even a wimp-assed shovel swing will still konk a head something good."

"My cover? I don't plan to be caught with them." (He is swinging the chair, thinking with narrowed eyes) "But see, got a name. Some Balor. Can prove I been asking about joining, maybe, use his name. Heard they all have something wrong, maybe me and Ghost can pass for just being in the wrong place, wrong time. Or fell in with them. She got the hair, don't know if my ears, they hurt or help."

"Dye? See what she looks like as a bottle blond, or goth-night tween."

A grin she doesn't bother to hide, imagining Zara's response to such a suggestion.

"Don't think the hair makes her look more, you know, like she might be kind of off? Balor-like?"

"Susan's painting, it wasn't exactly a Lisa Frank. But still, snuff art and all, are you sure that they aren't just visiting? Maybe they're there for a reason, and ain't ready to leave. Or maybe it's only been a couple days, plenty of time to get back and let y'all know it ain't nothing to worry about."

(He leans head to one side and begins rubbing his forehead with a scowl, trying to puzzle out the pooka's words) "Susan."

"Maybe they ain't come back because they've got sommat to do there. Not fowl play." Her voice, measuredly calm, though the annoyance sneaks through.

"Yeah. Ghost did her woo-woo stuff -- you know, Omens and voodoo and signs and whooOoooo..." (This last comes out almost as a ghostly whistle while he wriggles his fingers at her, letting her see where the term actually came from, that the two Crawlers use) "And it all came up showing they got her trapped there, kidnapped, doing who the hell knows what. Probably not what you'd think, have you SEEN nockers? I mean, come on. You want to keep one of those, put up with the teeth and attitude, better be a damn good reason, nu?"

"Maybe to build them a big fancy bubble?"

"Or if not that, something. They gonna build shit, make it yours."

"Or maybe not. You wanna find the captors? Just look for the ones wearing the latest in Grammers' Couch." A snort.

(A harsh, rasping laugh, almost involuntary. A quick grin and headshake) "Oy vay, yeah, that's bad. You think his suits are bad? You should see, you know, his ACTUAL couch." (Then it fades as he thinks) "Huh. You know, nocker made, if we were sure, it would have a flaw, right? The Ward. Dome. Whatever."

"Shi...our luck, they used Goblins and it explodes when we get past it." (A snort, rubbing his forehead again) "Too damn many what-ifs."