nightlogs | TOIL AND TROUBLE ❄ PART 2

TOIL AND TROUBLE ❄ PART 2

They say to never split the party but this Halloween, they absolutely need to. A quick flyby of the Sandersons' house shows it's empty - they're out trying to find the children that stole their magic book.

In the meantime, they have other problems. They are seriously outnumbered by the witches and there are still un-evacuated children in the town. They know that Sarah Sanderson will likely soon sing her song to lure children to wherever the Sandersons' intend to feed on them. There are also allies to try to gather, and other witch problems that have surfaced.

There is nothing else for it. The Guardians have to split up in the hopes the situation will get stable enough they can find Jamie's classmates who stole the book before the Sandersons do.

Or hope they can run down the clock until dawn, when they'll disappear in the light of day.

OOC DETAILS
❅ Format: The mod will be using prose because multiple npcs may need to be written speaking but players can pick any format they want, including actionspam.

❅ NPCing: This part of the plot will have mod npcing. If you can, please try to tag at least about once a day to your respective threads so the mod can try to block out some semi-predictable time for npc tags.

❅ Status effects: There will be more dangerous witches here. Witches have magic and that means curses and other injuries the myth healing might not instantly fix. (Magical burns, etc.) You can play with this as you want. Spells and effects can either wear off in a short amount of time, wear off when the plot is over when day breaks, or need magical healing intervention at the Pole. Player choice.

❅ Long-term effects: Players who go with some kind of status effect for a character can optionally have long-term consequences from it if they like.

❅ Environment: Feel free to manipulate the environment in each setting location. You will often have whole setting areas to work with or even the whole open town. In some places, you absolutely can hotwire a car to run over a witch.

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His wry smile turns a little sad. "I wish you could trust me with the details, but trust must be earned. Particularly for me. And in truth, I cannot promise that I will not try to stop you, if I consider your solution to be unacceptable. But I will offer some reassurance of my own- if I do not use magic while attempting to stop you, then my efforts are entirely for show, and I will let you proceed as you wish, no matter what I might say."

He turns and nods to the two informants. "I, too, believe we are ready."

Katherine appears where they are with a snowglobe, handing over the lantern given to her by Vasilisa, which is apparently set into a skull. She gives them extra snowglobes since they'll need to use one to reach Baba Yaga's forest and another to escape.

The ones she hands over are different. North's has caps with red designs and gold on each end. Katherine's are blue and silver.

"Don't worry, I know they look different, but they work just like the ones made by North and the yetis."

Curious, that she can make something that North and the yetis can all on her own.

"Good luck. I'll do my best to help here in Burgess in your place. Kailish and I can harry the ones that are airborne." A pause. "Tell Jack he's an idiot for me."

The great Snow Goose grows to a massive size, its little saddle growing with it, big enough to ride on, and Katherine climbs on and takes the reins with one hand. Kailash takes off with flapping wings and Katherine can be seen unsheathing a saber from her belt. Almost immediately after, there is a cackling witch-like scream above them. In a tree nearby, a body falls with a thud and a crash of branches. Near it, two pieces of a bloody broom that was slashed in half clatter into a driveway.

It happens in the space of about 15 seconds.

Apparently, Katherine does not mess around.

The snow globe and lantern take them into the forest and there is Baba Yaga, Jack, and her pot.

Well, at least they have some powerful allies to help with the fight!

Elle keeps the lantern but passes the snow globes to Loki.

"In case we need a quick escape," she mutters quietly. She's trusting him to get both of them and Jack out of there if it becomes necessary.

She takes in the scene and doesn't let her eyes linger in any one place, not even Jack. Her gaze lands on the old woman.

"Baba Yaga," she bows her head in deference. "I am Elle, and this is my companion Loki. As you say, we have come to make a bargain on behalf of the Guardians.

"We understand that Jack Frost came to you looking for aid against a band of many, but lesser, witches. We, too, seek that aid, as well as the return of Jack and his belongings," she gestures to where Jack's staff lies.

Her eyes are intent on the Baba Yaga, looking for even the most minute reaction or tell as to what she's thinking.

Loki nods and stows the snow globe in his outer coat, making sure Elle can see where he put it. Just in case she needs to retrieve it and he's incapacitated.

His pride bristles a little when she takes the lead in talking, but he tamps that feeling down. Elle is more familiar with Baba Yaga, and with being deferential to someone with significant leverage. Letting her lead is the best choice for the situation; if he feels the need to interject, he has no shortage of options.

Besides, he's probably best as the power lurking behind her. Or, in other words, he's playing Thor's normal role. That thought makes him smile inwardly, but he keeps his face stern, gaze also on the ancient witch.

"Loki. You look nothing like the Loki I met in far older times. Last I heard, he was an imbecile to the last, and lay chained under a serpent. Ever comes its venom into his eyes, with his even more foolish wife wasting her days catching some of it in her bowl."

Curious. But the world has been strange of late, hasn't it.

Seeing something strange about Elle, she holds up her fingers to her eyes, making a ring with it. The color changes inside it, turning red, as if there's now a lens of some kind. She holds it up for one bloodshot eye to peer through.

"And you, girl, you have the soul of a jungle cat. A shapechanger, I see."

She lowers her hand and stirs her pot, regarding them both carefully.

"Fools are not sown nor reaped today, I see. Coming to bargain with Baba Yaga is unwise, my girl. I warn you once only because of the respect you both show. Respect the frost spirit lacked. Cocksure he is, like the buffoon my grand-daughter married, but with only half of Nicholas St. North's wits. Which is only a half of a half in the end."

Elle resists the urge to glance at Loki to see how he's reacting to the information. She knows better than to take her eyes off of a predator.

"Yes, I was blessed by Selene with the power to change my form," she explains.

"I appreciate your advice. Please understand that we mean no offense by choosing not to heed it; it may be unwise to bargain with Baba Yaga, but it's also unwise to break a promise."

Elle allows herself a single moment to breathe. She's been working the problem in her head. Every moment they spend here is another moment their friends are still in danger. Another moment a child could be lost. She's afraid that drawing out negotiations until both parties are satisfied, or equally unsatisfied, will be a waste of time.

"I fear we may not have time to solve one of your riddles. Jack is needed now. My proposal is this: for the loss of an unwilling meal, I offer you a consenting one. If you free Jack from his binds, I will put a piece of my own flesh into your pot."

Loki sucks in a breath at Baba Yaga's taunting, though at least those stories aren't completely new to him. It's even potentially useful information, to know that the Loki of this universe is currently bound and tortured. And that there is a Loki of this universe.

He lets Elle make her proposal, and while he's impressed by her solution, he can immediately see a very unfortunate loophole. "Jack must be freed unharmed, not to drop into your pot," he adds quickly. "And any of us capable of leaving once the bargain is fulfilled shall be allowed to do so if we so choose."

He shoots Elle a look as he emphasizes the last word. A coded suggestion that she should stipulate that the type of flesh given will be her choice. He assumes she's counting on the myth healing factor to mitigate the loss, but that might be difficult if Baba Yaga asks for a vital organ.

"Mmmm! Mmmph!" Jack does not like the flesh thing. He really does not like the flesh thing. He thrashes and shakes his head furiously.

"This...may be acceptable," she says to Elle.

She turns to Loki. He's not off the hook.

"And what do you offer Baba Yaga? Will a mortal girl give her flesh while a god gives nothing?"

She expects it to be different than Elle's offering.

Loki wants to breathe a sigh of relief when the witch accepts Elle's bargain, but that would be giving away too much. And it might not be so easy.

So he's mentally prepared when she turns to him, his mind already racing. He could probably give a piece of himself like Elle, or some blood, but that means less now that she's already offered.

He puts on a hard smile and pulls a very particular candy out of his Lokispace. "Would you perhaps like to taste the essence of a god made into sugar? Crafted by a god of another realm with far greater power?" It's... less of a sacrifice, since he's offered it to other people before, but when he's shared it before, it was part of sharing his insecurities, as the candy personifies him by giving whoever eats it a taste of his hubris and inadequacy.

He hesitates a second before holding out both hands, candy in one, the other empty. "Or would you rather a spell?" He carefully crafts one in his empty hand. It's simple and he knows it well, as it's one of the first spells his mother taught him, how to write Asgardian runes in the air. He's prepared to lose the ability to use it forever, hoping that the sentimental value attached to it will be enough to counter its lack of utility.

Elle continues to ignore Jack. If he doesn't want them to be here he should have thought about it before getting kidnapped in the first place.

Loki is willing to give a greater sacrifice than she expected, but she doesn't let the surprise show on her face.

"Or perhaps you would prefer Jack's original test to be completed," she adds, but doubts the Baba Yaga will take that option. Loki has given her a much more valuable offer.

Since she's gotten all but the go-ahead for her offer, she looks around for a suitable blade. She imagines that Baba Yaga has something she uses to prepare for her meals.

Baba Yaga looks a them both thoughtfully.

"I'll take the spell," she says. It has already been offered so she grabs it - and the memory, just like he thought.

After making the grabbing gesture, she holds a glowing light in her palm. There is the faintest image of a woman holding a young boy close and helping him trace his the runes in the air. She closes her palm and simply puts it into her pocket, like a useful odd and end to keep.

Loki will find the spell and the memory are gone. He'll remember it existed from times he's cast it but won't remember learning it.

As for Elle...

What neither of them know is about the oaths she's taken to the Guardians, magically reinforced. Oaths to not longer devour any flesh than that which has been offered to her - like Jack risking his own in failing at her little games.

And now Elle's offer.

But, care must be taken.

She holds out a blade to Elle, a cleaver flat on her palms.

"You offer your flesh willingly to me?" she verifies.

Might be best to be nail down the specifics. What. When. How many times it'll be taken.

"I willingly offer you a single piece of my own flesh," she confirms. "I will choose the amount and remove it myself. You will free Jack, I will give you my flesh to put in your pot, and then you will allow all three of us to safely leave and our deal will be concluded."

Elle pulls off her coat and turns to Loki.

"Would you hold this? It was a gift." Dan made it for her. She doesn't want to get any blood on it.

She takes the blade from Baba Yaga and moves to an old wooden table near Jack.

Her mind is still. Each step she takes is methodical. She has to get this done as cleanly as possible. She cannot allow herself to frenzy.

Elle removes her belt, using the cleaver to cut off the end and places it between her molars. She cinches the belt as tightly as she can a few inches above her left elbow.

She doesn't allow herself to think as she brings the cleaver down.

Elle hears herself cry out in pain. The blade of the cleaver is embedded deep in the wooden surface. She spits the belt out of her mouth. There are imprints where her teeth nearly tore through the leather. Her head feels light, but the bleeding is sluggish. The tourniquet is doing its job.

She watches herself pick up the arm and turn to Baba Yaga.

"Remove Jack's bindings, then this is yours."

Edited 2023-11-14 18:25 (UTC)

Loki feels the sense of something being taken from him as Baba Yaga claims the spell and memory. Then- a gap, and a lingering sense of loss without remembering what exactly was lost. He tries to burn this moment into his memory instead, so he'll be able to recreate the spell. And explain exactly how and why he lost it to Frigga, when he next sees her.

He accepts the coat and folds it over one arm, keeping his face impassive while she takes the knife and readies herself. But he can't prevent the shock from showing when she cuts off the lower part of her arm. He had been expecting that she'd cut a smaller piece of flesh off. She's still standing and is coherent when she talks again, but he considers the tourniquet inadequate and starts recalling the battlefield healing magic he knows, ready to use it once they're all away.

Instinctively he moves between Elle and the witch. Not keeping them apart or preventing the handover of the- flesh, but ready to do so if Baba Yaga makes any aggressive move like she intends to claim more than what was offered. "Lower him to the ground before removing his bonds," he reiterates in a growl. "If he does not remain safe, then I will consider our bargain broken and my payment unlawfully taken."

Jack's eyes widen in horror as Elle takes the knife. He shakes his head furiously, screaming behind his gag.

All he can do when the knife comes down is wince and turn his head away.

"Your bargain is accepted."

She waves a hand and the bindings around Jack loosen. He falls to the ground in a heap. His staff falls there with a clatter.

His expression is wild as he gets up again, grabbing his staff, bounding over to her, as Baba Yaga waves a hand and the arm whisks through the air into her hands. It goes right into her pot.

"You shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't have -"

"She saved your life, foolish boy," snaps Baba Yaga. "Be lucky you get to walk away with your skin."

Jack rounds on her, expression fierce and then it shifts as he realizes something.

"I get to walk away with more than that," he insists. "You said, as part of our bargain, that I would walk away with the spell I asked for. Maybe I - I tripped up on the fine details but that was what was promised. Word for word. That I'd walk away with it."

He extends both hands out, one of them clutching his staff.

"Well, I'm walking away."

Baba Yaga's eyes narrow in annoyance that he remembered. That he's holding her to it. She'd never intended for him to walk away at all but when they'd played their little games, that was indeed what was promised.

And the conditions of failure were specifically that he'd go into her pot. Not that he wouldn't get the spell. He is walking away. And a deal is a deal.

Glowering, she nevertheless does what was asked, tracing her fingers in the air. Light springs from them writing in ancient designs from old dead languages, swirling around together with images that look like folk designs. They expand outward in a tapestry of light and color, growing and growing. Images of children in little houses appear, with the houses seeming to become encased in domes of glowing light made of intricate symbols.

The spell grows huge, filling the entire glen and when it is finished, she waves her hand sharply and it contracts down until it's a single glowing orb of shimmering colors, held in her hand. She tosses it to Jack.

"The bargain is met." She narrows her eyes. "But watch your step, Frost, for even if Baba Yaga doesn't claim your skin, the way you risk it like it's nothing more than a tattered old babushka means another surely will."

Edited 2023-11-19 09:28 (UTC)

Jack pockets the spell in his hoodie pocket, looks like he's about to fire off a sarcastic remark, but...thinks better of it. So then he just winces as he turns away, trying to ignore the truth she's telling. He turns to Elle, going over to her to try to support her.

"We need to get you to the Infirmary at the Pole. Do you have any snowglobes? She broke mine."

Elle isn't making eye contact with Jack.

"Thank you, Baba Yaga," she bows her head in respect and turns to Loki. Jack's attempt to support her is tolerated (in that she doesn't physically push him away), but she won't lean any of her weight on him.

"We have to walk out of here before we use a snow globe."

Elle starts moving back the way they came, out of the Baba Yaga's clearing. Her shirt and pants are ruined, she notes absently. She hopes she didn't get any blood in her hair. She should've put it up.

Elle barely hears any words spoken to or around her. She can't stop moving until they're safe. She can't stop moving until they're safe.

Loki inclines his own head. Not as deeply as Elle, but still a respectful gesture. "Our business is concluded, and we shall take our leave. May we no longer trouble you."

He turns and nods to Elle. "Agreed." He also holds out a hand towards her back for support, and as shepherding. He wants to set as quick a pace as possible. "As soon as we are outside of her immediate territory."

Elle tries to move slightly ahead of Loki's touch. She doesn't know if she can stand any more physical contact at the moment.

"Jack, when we get back you should go straight back to the town. Loki will catch up after I'm settled. We'll talk about all this later."

One foot in front of the other.

"And don't-- I'll tell people what happened afterward. Don't distract them right now."

She has to figure out how, exactly, she's going to tell them. Stacia will probably get it, but everyone else? She's not sure.

Edited 2023-11-21 23:50 (UTC)

Jack nods an abrupt little nod.

When they get far enough away, they use the snowglobe.

The second they're back at the Pole, the yetis see the state Elle's in, stop their toymaking, and leap into action. Some usher the Elves away from the grim sight. Others rush in to help Elle, also supporting her.

"Help her to the infirmary. Elle, the arm will grow back. They'll help stop the bleeding until it starts to heal and regrow."

Just so she's not left sitting there thinking it's gone forever.

Elle allows herself to be led, skin crawling with every new hand that touches her.

She'll probably feel bad about traumatizing the elves later. When she starts feeling things again.

The yetis guide her to the infirmary. She takes a seat on a bed. She. could patch herself up, but everyone's looking panicked enough that it's probably best to let them help. She looks up at Loki. His black clothing is harsh against the white of the room, but the green really does suit him and the gold accents are striking. They bring out his eyes.

"Honestly? That could've gone a lot worse."

Elle's tone is light. She has the thought that she should probably eat something after this. She doesn't want her blood sugar to get low.

Loki wants to get back to fighting the witches, to make an enemy bleed. But he's not ready to leave Elle yet. She is, in effect, a comrade in arms who was grievously wounded in battle, and his instincts are still to never leave someone in such a condition until they are properly treated.

He had started preparing the battlefield medical spells he knew to stop bleeding, ready to use them once they had a moment to rest. Which turned out to be unnecessary, as the first such moment was after the arrival at the pole, and the yetis had the situation well in hand. Not knowing if his magic could interfere with their myth healing (which could regrow limbs?), he allowed them to take the lead.

He gives a small hard smile and laugh at her remark. "Indeed. I would not have predicted that we would leave with the spell Frost had sought. I would have considered simply recovering him without making an enemy of her to be a victory."

TOIL AND TROUBLE ❄ PART 2

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cw: cannibalism

cw: cannibalism, self-amputation, disassociation

cw: dismemberment

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2/ cw: cannibalism still

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6/6

cw: disassociation, major injury

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