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A few minutes later, the hatch opens and the boys climb up onto the deck. Alice is still at the tiller, and Pannych is laid down, sunning herself in a two-piece. There’s enough room for the four of them to be comfortable, but only just. As Phyr and Vector find places to sit, they notice belatedly that Pannych is back in her proper body, albeit with slightly longer hair.
“Hey, looks like you got things sorted out,” Phyr says.
Pannych opens her eyes in a squint and tilts her head to look at him quizzically, and says, “Huh?” He nods in the general direction of her body. “Oh, right. Yeah, it turns out that since I’m in control of Nathanael’s body, I also get to re-do his power form. So, goodbye Scourge.”
“Nice,” Vector says. “What class did you take?”
“I figured, since two of these fuckers are tough enough to manage, and there’s seven more to go, I oughtta take soulbinder.”
“Smart,” Vector says with a thoughtful nod. “And how did you, uh…” he trails off, waving one hand vaguely in front of his own torso.
She gives him a somewhat impatient look and says, “Transform?”
“Right, how did you transform?”
“No, ‘Transform’ is one of the spells I took.”
“Oh! Got it. Wait, so are you a shapeshifter now?”
“I mean, I guess I could?” She screws her face up in thought as she lays her head back down. “But I just spent months locked up in Thorn’s mind while he ran the show, and to put it lightly, he didn’t take very good care of his body. I’m still pretty skeezed out by the whole thing? So right now, I’m just enjoying the waves and the sunshine, and a body that feels right. Ooh, and the sushi! Thanks for leaving that in my bag of tricks! It’s really hitting the spot right now.”
“Sure, no problem,” Phyr says easily. He declines to mention that, since the bag of tricks was bound to her, nobody else could use it without a bunch of magical rigmarole. “Say, did you pick a new name for your power form? I went with Hellphyr.”
“Yeah,” she says with a wicked grin. “What do you think of Pandaemonium?”
“It works,” Phyr says with a skeptical squint. “I mean, it makes sense. But it’s too long.” He thinks for a moment, then says with a mischievous smirk, “Can I call you Panda for short?”
She frowns and says, “How about just Pan?”
Phyr pouts and says, “Fine. But only because it’s even shorter.” He looks off to the North, and thinks he sees the hazy outline of Moristella in the distance. “Jesus, is that-” he stops talking abruptly and takes out his map. “Holy cats, this is gonna take forever.”
“We’re making plenty good time,” Alice says, mildly insulted.
“No, I just mean that we’re looking at a long-ass time to spend cooped up on a boat.”
Pannych shrugs and says, “So get a tan.”
“Or,” Alice says brightly, “You could make yourself useful and scare up some wind.”
Phyr powers down, and after fastening himself to the mast with a crude but secure rope harness, he leans out to port so he can cast Chill and Flame in wide arcs to create a pressure differential that propels them over the waves with tremendous speed. It is admittedly slower than flying, but Phyr and Vector agree after a brief discussion that trying to Ethergrasp the boat between the two of them is both dangerous and impractical. Vector leaves unsaid that the kind of minmaxing required to make it all work seems against the spirit of the game, and moreover, might invite a proportionate plot device to strike him down for his efforts. After all, the last time they brought brokenly overpowered characters to an important fight, Phyr got his blasters ruined, Pannych died, and Scourge was born - and he in no way wishes to repeat any of that business.
Unable to comfortably lay in the sunlight any longer, Pan slips below decks to change into her soulbinder armor: after doffing her bikini for her undergarments, she dons a light gambeson and hakama, then pulls on thick leather boots and gauntlet gloves. She has Vector help fasten her leather chestpiece, gorget, and the tassets at her hips, as well as light steel pauldrons, couters, and vambraces to protect her shoulders and arms more heavily. Finally, she throws a leather satchel over her shoulder, and fastens Hawkmoth and her bag of tricks to her belt.
“Yeesh, that’s a lot of work to get dressed,” he says.
“I plan on fighting people with swords an’ shit,” she says plainly.
“No, I mean, like - look, Phyr and I both have enchanted Kevlar business suits. Seems like that’d be a lot less trouble.”
“True,” she says with a nod. “But look.” She bumps her fists together with a bap! and is suddenly powered down and back in her ninja duds. “This is just a gi and a Kevlar underweave. Still light and sturdy, but no enchantments to Dispel. You guys have nice outfits, no argument there - I just prefer to go the simple, reliable route.”
“Reliable, yes,” Vector agrees, “But I think the last twenty minutes testify against its simplicity.”
With another bap, she is Pandaemonium once more, armor and all. “Duly noted,” she says. “And thanks for your help.”
“No problem,” Vector says.
They return topside to see Phyr whipping up a strong wind while Alice manages the tiller with one hand and the boom with the other. “Hey there, kiddos,” she says cheerily. “I’ve been keeping an eye out. Thousand Bridges was a little chaotic for a bit, but they’ve somehow settled back down to business as usual. So things are gonna get bad in Eversummer in a few months, but we’ve got time and can worry about that later. Salinas is another story,” she says with a sigh, “And we’re gonna wanna resupply there.”
“There’s cans of food in the cupboards downstairs,” Vector says, “We’ll be good for a bit.”
“I know,” Alice says, “But y’all have friends in Salinas, and Mephistopheles has been garrisoning troops in every coastal village, town, and city along the Southern coast of Autumnspring. The Aguja-Piedra Mountains are, uh, not friendly territory, and California even less so. That makes Salinas our best bet for a long while.” Vector and Pannych digest this information as Phyr continues dual-casting, presumably already up to speed on the travel plans. “So we’re gonna make landfall about ten miles East of Salinas, then figure out a plan to get in and out without alerting Ceena’s paladins.”
“What,” Pan says more than asks.
“I had a lot of time to Look around while I was in Supermax,” Alice says with a sigh. “Salinas managed to move in force on Kleptopoliton, and brought loads back. I’m pretty sure they just put civilians in guards’ armor to keep up appearances on their watchtowers, and dressed the guards in civilian outfits to look like a merchant caravan, then rode out to the City of Thieves. They seemed to sack it pretty methodically, and made it back just fine; but then Ceena paid another visit, saw how much better things were, and squeezed even harder.” Alice takes a deep breath while Pan sets her jaw; Phyr keeps at his business, and Vector tries to keep up with the conversation. “Anyway, then the water wheels showed up a week later, and the city looked even more comfortable at her next check-in - so Ceena sent a buncha squadrons to keep an eye on things and report back to her. She legitimately wants the people of Salinas to get by, but she also wants every single bit of effort beyond that to be fully devoted to her war effort. Their poverty for her prosperity - you know what it’s like,” Alice says with a nod to Pan.
“I do, indeed,” Pan says. “I do, indeed,” she says again, more gravely.
“So we’re walking into hostile territory - but again, you have friends on the inside. We just need to slip past the paladins, make contact, buy some supplies, and nip off. It’s an evening’s work, but then we’ll be back at the boat before dawn.”
Pan and Vector nod to each other in agreement, then turn back to Alice as Vector confirms, “Right on, then: we make landfall outside of town, sneak in, buy supplies, and bug out.” Alice nods, and then works the rudder to steer them on course for the spot of coastline she and Phyr have already picked out.
To CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 21, click here.
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