Ch: 176 Land Of A Thousand Dances

Ivy was mean. Becky and the brutal pixie cut had dragged the sleepy lovers out of bed at second bell, they complained and griped, while huffing and puffing with exertion. All that, despite the fact that Tallum and Liam were doing all the dragging and lifting… Their minions shoved the sleepy pair into the pool without preamble, finally shocking them fully awake.

When Gary and Shai sputtered and cursed their way to the surface, Becky and her co-conspirator had coffee ready for them.

“Ok, the girls live, but Tallum and Liam will suffer for this…” Gary whined over his steaming mug.

“They’re bringing breakfast for you clowns. Ivy made ragamuffins…” Becky soothed the suddenly feisty pair.

“Ooh! Tis those chocolate pastries! Dinnae punish them over much, an the tasty little waifs still be warm frae the oven…”

“All right, but only because I love you Shai… warm pastry, they live, if it’s cold or soggy, they suffer.” He nodded sagely and smiled. “We are benevolent and kind to our underlings… Speaking of, where are the little tyrants?”

“Lessons with Angie… she’s a born schoolteacher, it’s kinda scary.” Ivy stretched and yawned. “She’s got a whole academic lesson plan she’s been working on in secret. She was too shy to show it to duchess Sheng, until now.”

The boys dropped off their chocolatey cargo of fresh pastries and fled, wisely.

“So why’d you wake us up? I could sleep…” Gary mumbled, draped over the curb of the pool beside Shai, munching on warm chocolate, flaky, filled buttery pastries.

“Mmm… still warm…” He moaned.

“Aye, We thank thee fer tending the wee ones… tis a debt indeed, but I too am worn thin.” Shai turned her mug over, as though hoping to find more coffee in the underside, somehow.

“Ducky said you needed to get moving.” Becky scolded them gently, while Ivy just laughed. “He said you should get some exercise in the sunshine and re-summon the house; that was key. We already had the boats move to shore anchorages across the river.”

The two mean girls shoved and pushed the much larger pair out of the bath and into their clothes with only a little complaining. Shai was dressed and outside while her boy was being difficult.

“I don’t wanna wear shoes, I wanna wear sandals!” Gary was having a mild tantrum, while Ivy patiently tried to dress the big baby.

“These are special shoes…” Ivy reasoned, reasonably. “I had them made for this experiment. We want to see what you actually do, when you summon your home into being. They shouldn’t be too uncomfortable…”

“Since when are you a shoemaker?” He grumbled, while she laced them up.

“I had them made, Shai’s too. There’s tiny hobnails of iron all over the soles. I sprayed the meadow outside with an even coating of a dissolved, organically derived mineral solution, so as you two do your thing, you will leave traces we can read, when you are done.” Ivy looked proud of herself for that one.

“Organic ‘mineral solution’?” Gary asked with a small grin. “Is it pee? Did you pee all over that meadow?”

Ivy sighed in exasperation. “Damn you and your witchcraft, Gary, yes! I saved my own urine and sprayed it over the field in the ‘wee’ hours of the morning.”

Ivy glared at Tallum, who giggled in a very childish way.

“I bet that you would figure it out right away.” He said, when Gary raised an eyebrow at him.

“I won so she had to use my ‘wee hours’ joke… If she won, I’d have to be her boytoy tonight… wait… Why did I want to win at all? Ivy, is it too late to forfeit?” He called to the small woman, currently laughing in the corner.

“It’s ok, Ives, I won’t tell Shai. it will be our terrible, awkward secret, forever.” Gary said soberly. “Unless you wanna make a bet. Double down. If Shai doesn't twig to your experiment, he’s your ticklemonkey for two nights. If she figures it out, with no hints from me, Tallum is your obedient slaveboy, tonight only...”

“I don’t think you know how gambling works, Gary.” Ivy murmured with a wicked smile.

“Yes, yes he does, Ivy.” Tallum followed Ivy out into the garden, with a grin that nearly met at the back of his head.

#

They gathered in a staked out patch by the roadside, in the morning sunshine. “I guess we’re supposed to re-do the house, for reasons and science… or something.” Gary said with a smile as he stretched and warmed up.

“Orders from Ducky I hear. Let’s really let loose and extend our perimeter.”

He tuned her violin and his guitar in short order and stood by, eager to stretch his gifts again.

“Are ye ready boy? It seems we hae a dance space staked out…” Shai stopped and turned on Ivy with a sigh. “The charm of the bells do heighten me senses at iron rank Ivy, an ye do love asparagus in the springtime. Are we tae dance in yer field of sprinkled tinkle?”

“Awww! Gary!” Tallum moaned.

“Sorry buddy, it serves us right, we should have had more confidence in Shai…” Gary consoled the big guy, before turning on his puzzled woman with a naughty grin.

“Shai, Ivy needs us to dance on her piddle patch for magical reasons… We should be good friends and just go ahead, these aren’t even our shoes…”

“Aye, am I such a great fool? Tae do this thing wi nae profit tae me an mine?” She demanded, glaring at him in unconcealed delight.

“Fie, I’ll do this thing, an ye be doing that thing I like…” Gary nodded and grinned, excitedly trying to imagine what he had just agreed to…

They danced the house into being, after letting the breeze blow it away. He crooned, played and danced with her through their invocation, as she played and spun in and among his steps, encroaching on him sassily, with those swaying hips.

When an irresistible force such as you,

Meets and old immovable object like me

You can bet as sure as you live…

Something's gotta give,

Something's gotta give,

Something's gotta give!

When the performance ended, things looked much as they had before, the tall house by the waterside, docks and hedges, the towering column of steam and orchard garden all spread out as they had. The difference was in the size of their area of influence.

Now, for a half mile in any direction, Gary and Shai had a loose sense of what was going on, if they concentrated. The area immediately around the house and grounds felt very comfortable and homey indeed.

“Oh, that does feel better…” Gary sighed, sagging onto a stool that appeared just in time, while a divan caught Shai, as she confidently flopped back, expecting him to summon something.

“Aye, Like I hae unlaced a too tight bodice…” She cooed, reaching out to tickle his sagging body. “Come, we rest and let Ivy work her shameful arts.”

“You guys gotta stay awake, no sleeping until sundown.” Becky said, following the sleepy pair inside the house.

As soon as they walked in they were struck by how solid everything felt now. Even Becky stopped and peered around in surprise.

“Whoah, it’s like everything was just a little blurry, but now it’s sharp and clear.” She whispered.

“We firmed up some of the shaky bits and put the prince of dorkness back in his place…” He mumbled with his face in the fridge, looking for leftovers. “This is a fine outcome, except for the no nap rule…”

#

Amicus and Ivy were out on the lawn, carefully completing a chalk ring around the staked out circle, while Otho spent a good while hanging small paper ornaments covered with complex diagrams and sigils written in a specially blended ink.

“I still don’t see why we had to use mine… not that either of yours would be any better… Seriously, who uses urine in magical…?” Ivy had some legitimate complaints and feelings to work through, so the old timers let her carry on.

Ivy and the two elders came dragging in for lunch at the chime of fourth bell, exhausted, but excited.

“An hour after moonrise we should see some results. This will be fascinating!” Amicus mused happily. “After lunch, Maple will be showing me around Liam’s experimental orchard. I can barely contain my excitement!”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Otho and Ivy proclaimed their excited and eager feelings as well, the red eyed and sleepy pair seemed unenthusiastic for some reason.

Even the return of the little ones failed to shake them from their listless funk. Angie led the three little monsters in, with Tawny and Liam following, also looking tired and rheumy eyed.

“All right children, go upstairs and play with the ghosts, Gary and Shai need a little quiet time.” Angie sent them up to summon someone from the beyond with a gentle swat on Rio’s backside. “I’ll be up in a moment.”

The young couple were struggling to stay awake, listlessly going about simple chores. Gary was wiping tables and sweeping the floor mechanically, while Shai tried to inventory the kitchen with little success.

Eventually, Ivy and Dannyl chased all four of them out into the baths, to soak and stay out of the way.

“Rough night?” Gary asked Liam, while the girls were floating, hand in hand over in the shallows.

“We seem to have dreamed ourselves into your strange world, Gary. We met your other self, the obnoxious one, and a few… I hesitate to say ‘ponies’ but…” Liam trailed off, as words failed him.

“They aren’t really ponies, it’s a metaphor for the spiritual beings that serve Eponna and are also a part of her. She is the herd and the herd is in many ways her. Each one is an aspect of her being, kinda like my NotGarys, just immensely more powerful. They are each very potent beings in their own right.” He snuck a glance at the girls to make sure they weren’t being overheard.

“The colorful and cute appearance is just how my soul perceives them… and they annoy the hell out of Gray.” He yawned massively and smiled. “That’s just a bonus.”

#

“Aye, the ponies be a ‘franchise’ frae the boy’s world, a children’s tale meant tae teach good values and morals tae the wee ones. I hae seen it, tis fun and charming, but they are nae any such simple creatures…”

The exhausted giantess yawned deeply and shot a glance at the boys, to be certain their talk remained private. “I suspect he does give them this seeming fer a reason of deep import an subtle…”

“Shai, your boy is a silly creature; you don’t need to make excuses for him with us. We understand.” Tawny said with a gentle smile. “Or at least, we are beginning to see just how far from home they really are.” She too, unloaded a massive yawn and sighed. “This no nap rule is brutal.”

Sundown finally arrived, prompting Shai to take Tawny and Liam by the hand. “Finally… come, we sleep an dream all together…”

Together they all piled into the big bed, collapsing under the covers in moments.

#

Otho, Amicus, Angie and surprisingly, Rolf Belen, were there to witness Ivy’s experiment, as the moon rose over her patch of lawn.

“They both participate in this working, through some occult bond of their own. He seems to be the primary caster and supplies the magic, but both distribute it together, through a complex ritual casting.” She lectured, quite liking the feeling of instructing her elders.

“As the moon rises, the reactive salt solution I spread on this patch of lawn will interact with traces of magically charged iron from their dance shoes. Gary’s etherically tainted mana is uniquely corrosive to iron, so we should see plenty of traces.” She smiled at her gathered notables and scholars and relaxed into a camp chair. “Now we watch.”

“What can we expect to see? There is barely enough magic cycling in this ritual to make the grass yellow.” Rolf asked, holding a notebook eagerly.

“Every part of this ritual is magically charged and in harmony, that’s the trick to these low magic rituals. He’s been receiving instruction directly from Marduk in this art and has been teaching me the way of it.” She answered with a grin.

“The ink in the sutras and scriptures and the substance on the lawn are suffused with my own mana. The chalk and salt have been on my person for two weeks attuning to my aura and mana, while the iron nails in their shoes were forged from my first personal weapon. All that, combined with my innate magical resonance with them, we should see…”

Rolf had his hand up, patiently awaiting her attention. When she nodded he took his pencil in hand and asked: “You said ‘suffused’ in your mana, as regards the ink and the substance on the lawn… please elaborate, how was this accomplished? Liquids are notoriously difficult to keep magically charged.”

“That information is proprietary, with a capital P…” She answered with a cheeky grin that made Angie frown with disapproval and the two old men giggle like children.

“Be quiet you old buzzards, it’s starting.”

Two gleaming figures of golden, almost ruddy moonlight slowly gathered in the wide circle of chalk, salt and flour. The paper sutras dangling from the rope circle inside began to sway in a smooth rhythm, all in harmony, sending waves rippling through the cord, shaking the stakes it was strung on.

The figures resolved into a vague man and woman, slowly dancing an intricate spell, through all three dimensions, timed to the music they created together.

Every step and note was a part of a greater construct, ephemeral and brief, but no less potent for that. Each magical element of their ritual existed only for the moment it was needed: her spinning toes would carve a glyph in the soft soil, as her mana mixed with his tumbled out, shaped into the correct formation by their own resonance and harmony. His heel would come down, wiping it, so another could be inscribed there, mere seconds later.

As they danced, their intent and desires were written and re-written in magic and short lived changes to their surroundings. The music shimmering through the air was a remnant, exciting the mist and fog, until it sang their song in shallow, watery voices from all around.

So en garde, who knows what the fates have in store…

From their vast mysterious sky?

I'll try hard ignoring those lips I adore,

But how long can anyone try?

They watched in wonder and interest, as the working played out over and over, allowing each to watch from several angles and get a better sense of the forces and arts at play.

“That’s a very impressive display, but the level of synchronization and resonance involved here is not feasible. I like Otho well enough, but we could never be that in synch…” Amicus complained.

“Naiomi and I might manage something, with their guidance…” Otho muttered. “I should have brought her along, she is no mage but, neither of these two are either…”

“Shai has some talent for the art, though she comes to it from a strange angle. Gary is hopeless, beyond this strange witchcraft of his.” Rolf said, as he sniffed the lawn at the edge of the ritual space. “I can almost identify that scent…”

He tore a blade or two of grass from the perimeter and popped them in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

“Ok, now you have to tell him.” Otho said firmly. “He’s about to taste it again.”

#

“WHAT?” Someone shouted into the night. It echoed through the moonlit streets carrying on and on. ‘WHAT’ ‘WHAT What what hat at at at…’

#

Together and separately, each dreamt of running through the whispering forest together. Sometimes riding ponies, other times afoot, they ran joyously; flashing from scene to scene, as they passed between trees and splashed over wandering brooks of crystalline water.

They all crashed down onto the lawn, among the standing stones and watched the bubbles and ribbons draw themselves back, revealing the night sky and their tiny, beautiful home.

“Is that…? Wow… that’s cool. The sky of the other side was always a mess of cosmic weirdness…” Gary mumbled, with Shai resting her head on his lap and Liam sharing her broad, flat tummy with Tawny.

“Aye boy, does that mean that gray, wandering moon be this place? Fer surely I did never see it ‘ere ‘twas pointed out by thee.” Shai murmured

“Maple said as much last night. We have been dreaming ourselves here for a few nights now, unknowing that it was your strange realm.” Tawny said bashfully.

“Well come on, let’s go meet the others.” Gary said with a grin. “The kids are probably worried, or at least, upset. Poor Becky and Angie have been picking up the slack long enough.”

He began herding them along, waving at the ponies they passed and calling cheerful greetings.

“Hey Butterguy, looking good!” He shouted to a large yellow pony with shaggy fetlocks and feathery wings that seemed strangely muscular, like the rest of him.

“Polychrome Splash! Nice to see you!” He had a quick nuzzle and pet with a blue winged pony mare, who’s rump had an abstract paint splatter in bright colors proudly displayed.

“My subconscious is a nerd and also lives in fear of copyright suits. It’s complicated being me and that changes the way I see things… Here, you see things as I do, while they have their own perceptions and senses. They see themselves in a completely different way, even here…”

“Maple described this as a grand illusion, meant to shield you and us from the void…” Liam muttered. “It is said that those few with storage and non dimensional powers are always at least a little moontouched…”

“You have such gifts yourself now, sweet Liam.” Tawny cooed happily, he only huffed in reply.

“Thirp and Ducky have been hoping to see you guys for a while. That’s Brigid over there and Morrigan on the other side. Becky and the kids have cottages on the other side, as an allegory for their personal spaces…” Gary played tour guide, while Shai took careful note of all the changes.

Moments after the house came into view, three small projectiles launched their way. Like guided hug missiles, the kids glomphed onto Gary and Shai’s legs, making travel more complex. Becky and Angie came trotting out with Ducky, Thirp and the tall, stately Eponna chasing after, in her radiant equine form.

“Hello mortals! I see you have finally come to some basic understanding…” Eponna began, neighing her amusement at the bubble and ribbon occluded sky.

“Not time yet!” Marduk coughed firmly at his new friend.

Shai was still flustered and a little shy in front of the magnificent goddess of equines, even when Amy and the boys were explaining ‘Horsie’ to the divine spirit of all horses.

“... and after three penalty naps, you are out of the game… interesting. Once Gary is able to transit my herd into the mortal realm, we shall have to introduce this art to the uneducated masses…” The radiant being whinnied happily.

#

All four young people woke together, tangled in a very complex knot of blankets, limbs and social strata. A night of normal, restful, perfectly ordinary sleep, in which they all happened to share the same dream, restored much of their vigor.

“Liam! So predictable!” Tawny giggled and scolded her man as she stirred and bumped ‘something’.

“Sorry, that’s me…” Gary murmured, trying to shift to a less compromising position.

“Fie! Liam and me boy hae a lot in common an we be a tangled knot…” Shai grumbled. “This be a real coverlet , such kinnae be simply banished…”

She tucked the bedding away into her storage gift, releasing their tangled bonds. They giggled foolishly as they untangled and then reconvened in the correct pairings for an early morning cuddle.

The little ones, Becky and a slightly embarrassed and shy Angie, bounced onto the enormous bed just after sunrise, bringing the four fully awake.

The girls, sensing Angie’s discomfort, clustered around her and giggled about ‘boys’ for a while… as was tradition. The boys, for their part, tried to ignore the girls and failed. That was also according to tradition.

Finally, the whole mob tumbled down into the bath and got ready to face a new day and whatever it might bring.

It was mail. Lots of mail, mostly bills; all addressed to ‘The Sweet Tooth Guild, Gary Ward, Executive’ it was a ton of freakin’ bills.

“This first pile here, comes to three silver marks easy… what the hell?” He plucked a letter out at random. “Who is Cocoa Harvesters Local 119 and why do I owe them back pay?”

Ivy and Shai swept in and collected the basket of correspondence, bearing it away with mild assurances that ‘everything is fine’. It was not reassuring.

“Gods above and below… I thought medical bills in my world were bad. There was an invoice from the guild of physicians and pharmacists in there that had a ton of zeroes.” Gary complained to Tawny, when the girls had vanished with his mail.

“Don’t worry about that, buddy.” Becky said calmly. “That’s a mix of Ginger Dreadnought and Sweet Tooth business, we are back in the game now. Shai and Ivy have both operations in hand…”

Her confident smile helped, but… “That was a lot of zeroes honey. Doctors where I come from will haunt you forever to get paid. I doubt they are any less aggressive here.”

“Gary, remember when you agreed to stay out of the finances? Remember when you spent six silver moons in just a few weeks, establishing and investing in these operations?” She asked sweetly. “Remember we discussed it and all agreed, you are stupid about money?”

“Go do something absurd and change the world a little more. We have grownup business to attend.” The tiny priestess flicked him on the nose and strode off after her sisters, leaving him with Angie, the kids, Liam and Tawny.

“Ok… Kids, to the skate park, training wheels time! Tawny, Liam, Angie! You’re learning to ride bikes too… you’re all little, so you’ll have to share the one I’m making for Dannyl.”

“You want us to learn to ride your stick horse?” Tawny asked in annoyance. “I have Magnus… Liam is an excellent horseman…”

“I never learnt to ride anything… it seemed pointless, how does one ride a stick horse?” Angie asked, while Liam simply nodded, took Rio by the hand and started for the gate.

“Liam’s in, let’s go, ladies.” Gary said firmly, taking amy and Wilford in his arms to follow after his compact and forceful leader.

“Gary rides a wheeled skeleton horse construct, it’s uncanny and distressing in the extreme, yet he claims there is no hint of magic to it.” Tawny explained, as they walked. “I examined the prototype devices thoroughly and they are entirely mundane… it is another of his mysteries.”

#

“We were able to watch from every angle and note what you two were doing… our preliminary findings are remarkable… Otho and Naiomi will want to talk to you, they have a technique that will probably help you two. They also want to learn how to work this way from you if they can…”

Chatterbox Ivy kept on and on as they sorted the bills from the invoices and began the process of responding to each.

“Poor Gary saw the Guild of Physicians and Pharmacists invoice for the healing goo royalties and nearly wet himself. He can’t tell a bill from an invoice…” Ivy giggled as she stacked it in the credit pile. “It is a lot of zeroes.”

“He did see the trade wand a day or three ago, I did tell him ‘twas a cylinder seal fer marking documents… it were nae a lie.” Shai said, looking guilty.

“S’not a lie…” Ivy said, with a mouth full of leftover apple carrot muffin from breakfast. “S’what they were originally.” She munched at the bigger woman. “Let him think he’s nearly broke… you can refill his purse when he’s not looking and see how far that gets us.”

“It do feel deceitful…” Shai grumbled sourly.

#