ax_main | Caleb, Billy, Goody, Alex, and Pam

Everyone meets up at Caleb's for a spell to free Pam, but nothing goes as planned.

Warning: Contains character death

In the small shack he called both home and a shop, Caleb sat hunched over a desk as he poured over his newest acquisition— The Movement of the World. Magical candlelight flickered here and there, illuminating the small space, and playing shadows against the various books that took up every available surface. Nearby, stretched out in a position that would only be comfortable to a cat, Frumpkin slept on what little space of the bed remained between stacks of books.

The Movement of the World had cost Caleb eighty gold, and a “make-over”, but it had been worth the price. It was fascinating, and the theories it presented were well worth exploring. Maybe he’d even have a break-through…

Billy stayed at Goodnight's side for the entire trip through the streets, close and alert as a bodyguard should be... but smiling a lot more than this one usually did.

"Do you think it'll take long to help her?" he asked quietly.

Goody shook his head. "Strong magic takes days. Weeks. Hell, maybe longer." He wished he had more info, but... magic wasn't really his thing. He looked up at the sign and then waved Billy inside.

The bell over the shop door jingled, and Caleb looked up and over at the door. Two people, one familiar and expected and the other unfamiliar and unexpected, stood there. He gave them both a thin smile. “Ah, Lord Robicheaux.” He closed his book, and tucked it away in a drawer that he then waved his hand across to seal it with an arcane lock.

Caleb stood, but didn’t come out from behind his desk just yet. “It has been awhile. How are you?”

Billy frowned as someone - presumably their quarry - approached Goodnight. He didn't step between them per se... but did step forward a little. Close to enough to insinuate himself if Caleb should happen to try anything.

Goody approached, as carefree as could be. "Oh, you know. Got kidnapped. Got rescued. Got a bodyguard." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

“So, busy, then,” Caleb replied, keeping a way eye on the bodyguard. He didn’t trust strangers to begin with, add the fact that this one could probably kill him twelve different ways with a spoon, and he was instantly on edge. Even if he could kill both of them without even moving out from behind his desk.

“Does your bodyguard have a name to go with that glare?”

Billy frowned at the question. The fewer people who knew his name, the better; he wasn't exactly a beloved figure. But then, he wasn't just here as Goodnight's bodyguard, was he?

"Billy," he said quietly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"He don't mean to glare; that's just his face. Pretty, but sharp as knives." Goody chuckled and leaned one hip against the edge of Caleb's table/desk, then crossed his arms over his chest. "It's his friend we need you to help, if you can."

“Caleb Widogast,” Caleb told Billy, though he assumed Billy already knew that. “The cat is Frumpkin.” A lanky, orange tabby sat on the bed, tail flicking lazily as he watched them with the casual disinterest only a cat could manage.

With the introductions out of the way, Caleb looked to Lord Robicheaux and said, “Yes. You mentioned a problem of arcane nature.” He had been surprised to get the letter. There were plenty of other magic-users within the city limits, most of them of more renown, that he could have gone to for help. Whatever Lord Robicheaux needed, he wanted it kept quiet. And he possibly wanted it cheap.

___________________________________________

"Hurry up," Pam begged, floating backwards towards the shop where Goody'd told her to meet him and Billy. He was taking forever - mostly, she admitted, because he had to go around things she just floated through. But if this was happening, she didn't want to wait. And if it wasn't?

Well, she didn't want to wait to find out, either way.

Alex wasn't especially familiar with this part of the city; he tended to do most of the Take's shopping in the actual marketplace, mostly for the convenience of having the majority of the items on his list in more or less the same square half-league. The roads were narrower here, though, and cluttered. It was an older and poorer neighborhood than the ones he knew best, and it took all his self-control to avoid keeping a hand over his coin purse as he made his way around broken-down carts and leaky barrels.

"I'm hurrying!" he protested, the cold mud not making that prospect any easier. "It's not like they can start without you, y'know."

"Yeah, but..." Pam let out a sigh and turned around to face forward and float beside him. "I don't know why I'm getting all excited. It's not gonna work anyway."

"Hey," he said, offering a lopsided smile. "Don't be like that, just because I'm having some trouble with the topography. This is a good thing. Even if this wizard can't overcome this magic by himself, he could maybe point us in a better direction. I mean, if an actual Lord is vouching for him, he's got to know his stuff, right? That gives us a lot more reason to hope than we had yesterday."

"Us?" Pam repeated, the edges of her mouth quirking up just a touch. Because...well, she'd been kinda hoping there was an "us" in the picture if this worked out, but she hadn't been sure.

"Well, yeah." His smile widened into an outright grin. "You don't think I'm slogging through ankle-deep mud on the rough side of town for my health, do you? We're in this together, now."

Pam had the distinct feeling that if her face were capable of it, it'd be growing warm, right now. As it was, she drifted apart, a little, then pulled herself back together and gave Alex a shy smile. "If I could kiss you right now, I'd be doing it. Just so you know. But..."
her smile faded and she shrugged. "I'm not gonna hold you to that if that if this doesn't work."

"It'll work," Alex said, with a confidence beyond what he could have reasonably felt. A blush had suffused his cheeks the moment Pam had suggested kissing him, but he did his steadfast best to ignore it. "And if it doesn't, we'll keep trying 'til we find something that does. I'm nothing if not stubborn as the Nine Hells."

She might not have been able to blush, but apparently that didn't stop Alex from doing so. Cute. Pam opened her mouth to ask how he knew the Nine Hells were stubborn when she realized they'd reached the location Billy had described. "Okay, we're here." She flickered a little and looked at him awkwardly. "Can you open the door?"

He examined the front door of the ... well, shack dubiously. Even in this neighborhood, Alex had thought an actual wizard would probably rate something a little grander. "If you're sure this is the place ..." he said, reluctantly placing a hand on rusty knob and pulling the door open. "I mean really, really sure."

"I'm sure," she said as she floated past him and inside, smiling crookedly as she saw Billy, his patron, and the guy who...yeah. As wizards went, the guy didn't look like much, did he? "Hey. I brought Alex along, I hope that's cool. So...is this a thing we're doing?" she asked, looking to Billy for confirmation.

"It had better be." Billy grinned her way, but that was all the release he allowed himself. He was all anticipation; if this worked and Pam got her body back, he'd have undone at least some of the harm Alfonso had done both of them, instead of just making sure he could never do more. He nodded to Alex.

"This one yours? Nice." But not as nice as Goody.

Pam glanced over at Alex and smiled self-consciously, then turned back to Billy and nodded. Hers. It was a weird thought, but she kinda liked it. Maybe a lot. With that in mind, she turned towards the one unknown person in the room, who pretty much had to be the wizard, and shrugged, trying to look more casual than she felt. "So, what do I need to do?"

“Oh, good, more people,” Caleb said like he meant the exact opposite. Well, this was on him. He had invited him, more or less. “I don’t know what you need to do. No one has told me what you need help with yet. We were just getting to that.”

"And--just for the record--cheap is not a necessity," Goody said quietly. He'd let Pam tell what happened to her--she knew it best.

Pam began retelling her ordeal - the guild leader's interest in her demi-human heritage, the shackling bracelets provided by the hired wizard, and the loss of her corporal form. Billy's smile faded as she spoke, migrating to a clench-jawed scowl. If he'd been smarter back then, or stronger... it didn't matter now, though. They were going to fix this. And yeah, it wouldn't be like the old days- Pam would probably go off monster-hunting with her new guy. But that was OK. She'd be free to make those choices, at least.

This kind of talk made Alex uncomfortable--not only because, as a fire genasi orphan, it could just as easily have been him experimented on by crazy wizards, but also ... because of the weirdly powerless feeling it gave him. Like he should have been able to do something for Pam, for all he knew as much about magic as he did about the price of tea in Wakanda. Still.

As she shared her story with the others, he edged away in the direction of the bored tabby that had been eyeing the whole group with a decidedly feline lack of interest. Alex had always had a fondness for cats, for all he tended to feel sickly when in the company of the creatures for any length of time. He glanced over at the wizard, then extended a hesitant hand toward the cat--in his experience, such animals would usually let a person know in no uncertain terms whether or not an affectionate head rub was welcome.

Caleb listened as Pam shared her story, making no move other than glancing down at the enchanted bracelets when they were mentioned. He’d heard of items enchanted to bind a person, or to allow them to change states of matter, but this was the first he’d heard of something that used those spells in conjunction. This was going to be complicated.

When Pam finished, Caleb came out from behind his desk and motioned for her to move into what for the empty space in the center of the crowded room. “Who was this wizard?”

"Adolfo called him Vrernas," Pam said as she floated into the space the wizard had indicated. "Pretty sure he's dead, though."

Caleb made a noncommittal sound. He didn’t recognize the name, and dead could either be a good thing, or it could be bad thing. It depended on the spell. “Stay still, please.” Gesturing with his hand, he muttered a few arcane words and cast an identify spell. Pam lit up like a daylight spell.

Magic was wrapped around Pam’s wrists like shackles, glowing brightest in the bracelets. It looped around her body over and over again and rooted itself into her like a weed. It was a strong spell, that was for certain. It had so many layers and intricacies that it was hard to tell where one started, and the other ended.

“And you were told they would dispel this if you did good enough work?”

Pam nodded. "Not that I really believed it, because Adolfo wasn't likely to give up a weapon if he didn't have to. But that's what they said."

Billy thought he heard skepticism in Caleb's voice, and his heart dropped a bit. "You don't think you can do it?"

Caleb put a hand out in a firm gesture for Billy to stop. “I did not say that. I just do not believe someone would use a spell like this if didn’t intend for it to be permanent. But it can be broken. Any spell can be broken.”

“Just takes time and effort,” Goody added, settling a hand on Billy’s shoulder.

The wizard's cat had allowed Alex a tentative scratch between the ears, and he ignored the itchy feeling under his eyes and nose by trying to keep up with the ongoing conversation about Pam's ... curse? Ensorcellment? Hell if he knew--this was well outside his usual area of expertise. His heart sank when the wizard seemed to indicate her condition might be permanent, but was buoyed again at his insistence that all magic could be reversed. Undone. Whatever particular term applied. He'd just have to wait and try not to distract anybody ... and remember to breathe, of course.

"Well, can you go ahead and do it, then?" Pam demanded, crossing her arms over her chest to keep herself (hopefully) from looking as nervous as she felt. She glanced over at Billy, though, for - fuck, she wasn't even sure what. Reassurance, maybe.

Yeah. Definitely reassurance.

"Hey." Billy offered her a slight smile. "It's OK. He said he can. He just might need ingredients. Reagents. All that wizard stuff. Can't do a job without the right blade, right?"

"Tell us what you need, and it's yours," Goody promised Caleb, holding out one hand to him.

Caleb considered the spell, and the effort it would take it cast it. There was risk involved too. This Adolfo wasn’t going to be happy the spell was broken, and he sounded like the sort who took recompense in blood. “One hundred gold.”

Goody reached into an inner pocket on his jacket, produced a small bag of gold, and held it out. "Plus tip.”

That was not the response Caleb had expected. They hadn’t even tried to haggle with him. Maybe he hadn’t asked for enough… Too late now. He’d stated his price, and he’d stick by it. Besides, one hundred gold plus tip was too much money to turn away. “Deal.” He accepted the bag, then with a quick motion of his hand, sent it to a pocket dimension for safekeeping.

Pam had opened her mouth to protest the price, but closed it as Billy's boytoy agreed without hesitation. Either he really wanted to piss off his family, he really wanted to impress the hell out of Billy, or he was just a moron; for Billy's sake she hoped it was the first or second option, not the third. "So, do you need to buy shit, or..." she shrugged, unsure what was supposed to happen next.

“No. Stay there. Everyone else step back.” Caleb gestured for everyone to make room, then pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. His bare arms were, in fact, not bare, but wrapped in bandages, leaving only his fingers visible.

Courage, Widogast. Caleb told himself.

Billy glanced down, traced the outline of Pam's fingers briefly in place of squeezing her hand. "First drinks are on me, all right?" He flashed her a grin, then gave the wizard space to work, tugging along Goody with him.

Goody went willingly, taking Billy's arm to give it an encouraging squeeze. His gaze was fixed on Widogast.

Even though he'd been at the periphery of the group to begin with, Alex still edged back at the wizard's command. His eyes were fixed on Pam, knuckles white, his short nails digging to the flesh of his palm. This had to work ... but even if it didn't, he meant to be there to help her however he could. It might not amount to much, but it was what he could do. And he wanted to.

Dispel Magic was a relatively simple spell, but the power required to break as powerful an enchantment as thing one was another story entirely. There was nothing simple about it. Caleb let himself feel out the magic, circling Pam as he poked and prodded at the various tendrils of arcana that knotted, twisted, and looped together. The bracelets were the weak link. That was where he’d start.

Caleb stopped in front of Pam, gave her a small nod, and then started to cast. Muttering arcane words, he moved his hands, gathering up webs of his own magic as he picked and plucked apart the enchantment. His hands trembled with exertion, his breathing going shallow.

Too nervous to speak, Pam offered Billy a crooked smile and passed her fingers through his as he stepped away, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This was it, then. If it was going to work, it was going to happen now.

The wizard began speaking, and she felt a strange tugging sensation in her wrists. She opened her eyes to look down at them, just in time to see the bracelets pop open and fall with a clang to the ground. Surprised, she smiled brightly and held her hands up to better see.

Her smile faded a moment later. Eyes widening, she watched as her fingers began to dissolve, the molecules of air that composed the closest thing she'd had to a body for years floating away, no matter how hard she tried to pull them back. Panicked, she looked to the wizard, to Alex, and finally to Billy, holding her arms up so they could see what was happening, only to realize that her hands were gone past the wrists, and that more of her was disappearing with every second. Horrified, she tried to scream, but whatever spell had allowed her to speak was gone, and she stretched her arm out towards Billy in entreaty, but her vision was blurring and it was getting harder and harder just to think...

Her last thought was that Adolfo hadn't lied. Stealing freedom hadn't worked, after all.

A moment later, the only thing remaining were the gold bracelets on the floor.

In the beat between the beginning and the end of Pam’s smile, Caleb realized it had gone wrong. He’d failed. And, before he could shout a warning, she was already beginning to drift apart like smoke caught in the wind. Horrified, he quickly cast a spell, then another, then another, trying to grab hold of drifting molecules and pull them back together. Nothing would take hold, maybe there wasn’t enough of her left for anything to take hold, and she passed through his fingers like the air that she was.

Dumfounded, Caleb could only stare at the bracelets on the floor. She was dead. He’d killed her.

Billy had stepped forward at the look of horror on Pam's face, but it had been over in heartbearts. His pulse was hammering in his throat as he looked across to the wizard. The expression on his face turned Billy's guts to ice.

"Where is she?" he asked, knowing the answer, but hoping against hope that he was wrong. What did he know of magic? Nothing. This could be... anything.

"She’s gone," Caleb said, his voice sounding different and foreign to his own ears. His stomach threatened to crawl up his throat.

Goodnight was moving before Caleb spoke, and that was the only reason he got his arms around Billy before he lunged for Caleb's throat, a gleaming knife of silver light in his hand. This was no calculated assassin's strike; the expression on Billy's face was pure, unthinking rage. He thrashed against Goodnight's hold, wordless and bestial.

Goody backed Billy up, putting himself between him and Caleb and walking him toward a wall. "Don't, Billy. Don't. He tried. He tried. Come on back, now..."

At first, Alex could only stare numbly--first at the wizard, then at Goodnight as he restrained Billy, then at the enraged assassin himself. His blond hair, in contrast, licked wildly in the now-still air, his genasi heritage revealing what his face tried to conceal. When he finally moved, it was to step into the space Pam had occupied at the end and drop to his knees, touching his fingers tentatively to the open bracelets on the floor. The metal was cold to the touch, lifeless. There wasn't even a hint of warmth to suggest somebody had once worn them. That Pam had once worn them.

When the tears began, he could do nothing to stop them, or the muted sobs that rocked his shoulders. He'd been prepared for the magic not to work--for the enchantment to be too powerful or too complicated to fix in just one visit to a local magician. It had never crossed Alex's mind that he might lose her forever.

Caleb, who had reflexively jumped away at Billy’s sudden movement, looked between Robicheaux and his “friend” and the crying boy uncomfortably. He awkwardly cleared his throat after a moment, and said, “It was rigged. The bracelets kept her tied to Adolfo, but they also kept her tied to this plane. …A very clever enchantment.” Clever, but cruel. So, so cruel. “I couldn’t see it until it was too late. I’m sorry.”

Billy struggled against Goodnight's hold. His concentration was too unsteady to maintain the knife, but he pushed back against Goodnight, clawing at his arms until the press of the wall at his back snapped him out of it. He focused on Goodnight's pained expression, tried to hold on to that. It was better than feeling. Better than remembering how he'd blithely encouraged Pam to take the path that lead to her death.

He'd taken out the last of the guild without even meaning to.

Billy let out a shaking breath, then steeled himself. Locked away the emotions. He knew how to do that.

"I'm fine," he said. "We can go whenever you're ready."

Caleb pulled the money pouch out from its pocket dimension with a twist of his hand, and offered it out to Robicheaux. “Take your money back.”

Goody shook his head. "You couldn't have known." He took Billy's hand.

“No, I promised something and I did not deliver. Take it,” Caleb replied, the bag still held out.

Goody accepted, this time, a muscle in his jaw twitching. He gave a nod of understanding.

Billy glanced at the weeping genasi on the floor, then away. Crying was a waste of energy, wasn't it? It wouldn't do Pam any good. Nothing could now.

When Goodnight headed for the door, Billy was in-step with him, cold and silent.

Even after the door had opened and closed again, Alex remained on his knees with his face buried in his hands, shoulders convulsing at irregular intervals. Eventually--he couldn't have begun to guess how much time had actually passed--he rose to his feet again, leaning against a nearby bookcase for support. He stared at the bracelets on the floor for a moment longer, then glanced at the tabby cat again without really seeming to see it. Scrubbing his fingers one last time through the soft fur between the familiar's ears, he stumbled toward the door himself. Once he was back at the Take's hall, he could grieve properly.

"We all failed her," he said numbly to no one in particular, tugging the door to the shop open and staggering out into the still, winter air again. Alex hardly noticed the cold, or the unfamiliar streets, at all this time.

Caleb stared at the open door. Cold air blew in from it, making shadows dance upon the walls as the enchanted candles flickered. His attention moved to the bracelets sitting alone on the floor, a chill crawled up his neck. It wasn’t from the bite of the winter air.

A heavy sigh escaped and, finally, Caleb said to his cat, “I will put up extra wards tonight. I don’t trust the spooky, quiet one.” He left the bracelets where they lay and crossed the room to close the door. “And I wouldn’t be able to blame him either.” He locked the door, and went back to his studies with a pit in his stomach that he knew would never completely go away.