ic Icy Dead People

[Supercape]

GM

 

1st December, 2014

 

Stonehenge...United Kingdom...

 

He was a ghost. 

 

Faint to the eye, yet with a chill, hard to see and yet with a howling wind behind him, he walked out of the Circle of Stonehenge with slumped shoulders and heavy foot. He was dressed in furs, with grizzled long hair and a grizzled long beard. Whilst he was hard to see, his eyes were pure black, and saw everything. 

 

"So, you felt my echo through the years and centuries? This place is a place of power, where such calls are spoken, and such calls are heard. Where time and space are with little meaning, but spirit and blood have much..."

 

The Ghost stood stood tall, proud and grim in front of the Black Knight, who had heard the call on some deep level. 

 

"Something rises and stirs in the cold north. My kin who died there rest uneasy. I would have your help, for honours sake, the bones of might warriors should not be spoiled..."

[Supercape]

GM 

 

Meanwhile...In Freedom City...

 

"Coo-eee! Anyone home?"

 

Tanya Trygg was a pale redhead with a fantastic figure and skin that got burned when she was watching a firework display. She was dressed up in a scalf, denim, boots, and a t shirt that was a figure hugging, short, and too thin for the winter. She was sexy, she knew it, but she didn't care. 

 

She was also a history major, and had a habit of tracking down trouble at the drop of a hat. 

 

On one such occassion, she had tracked down Phatasmo, and bugged him to help her with Modern History. After all, he was a brilliant man, and had lived through half of modern history. And Tanya Trygg was very good at bugging people. 

 

"You grew up in England, yeah? You ever been to Stonehenge? There is some freaky stuff on the internet!" she called out to Phantasmo in his gloomy abandoned clothes store. A store, it must be said, where she had found some excellent student clothes. 

[MisterShoebox]

The zombie had been enjoying a nice bottle of old whiskey when the young woman had entered his shop, so he was a bit peeved. "OI! Who - ohhhh, it's you, isn't it?" He 'ported down to the young woman in a puff of red smoke, dressed in his usual immaculate costume. 

 

He paused. "...Good god, woman - aren't you cold? It's the middle of winter! It's colder than a witch's ti...uh, teat out there. Let's get you warmed up and you can tell old Phantasmo all about Stonehenge. And yeah, i know a little bit about it - never went there for a tour, but may have gone there once with the lads when I was in college to uh..." He coughed. "Experiment with some...gardening." 

 

He went over to the little fridge by his bookshelf and retrieved two ginger beers. "Cheers, miss." He remembered that she liked Vernor's from the last time they chatted...he wasn't a fan himself - AMERICAN Ginger Beer, eeeeuuurrgh - but to each his own. For himself, he chose a bottle of very good Jamaican stuff he'd bought from a farmer's market a few days back.  

[Exaccus]

Jonathan was glad his great helm obscured his terror-stricken face, for a very unheroic  look of dread had settled on it when the ghost had emerged from the great stone archways and begun talking about blood and bones and spirits and all that stuff; he took notice however of the ghosts translucent features, and due to his slight education in history found himself astounded to be talking face to face with none other than Erik the red.

 

Now with his inner scholar overpowering his Inner coward he felt brave enough to begin speaking like aldonite had been teaching him. "Well Met, Erik the red of Greenland shores." he says in his baritone voice, trying to sound confident and prehapse a little older than he was. "I Will Do what i can for your kinsmen; Can thee tell me more of these omens?" 

[Supercape]

GM

 

With Phantasmo...

 

"Stonehenge its awesome!" said Tanya, hopping with excitement and unphased by the Zombie's sorcery. 

 

"I mean, you always get some spooky stuff there, druids, witches, you know, the normal psychosocial locus of unconscious projections into the paramodern zeitgeist" she explained, reeling off some quasi-educational theories and "facts". 

 

"But this is really spooky. Seven separate people, all non-kooky, saying they heard and saw some apparition; a viking, they think!" she explained. 

 

"And also, those people all said they had vivid dreams of Vikings...and of Greenland! afterwards. Like they were being called or something...."

 

"So I looked back over the years. There have been a few incidents like this over the twentieth century. But nothing on this scale...whatya think, Mister Spooky?" she asked, calling Phantasmo by her 'pet name'. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Meanwhile, at Stonehenge...

 

"Something cold and dead stirs in Greenland" said Erik, his voice somehow speaking in Scandinavian but understood all the same. "Something...vengeful..."

 

He paused. 

 

"You know who I am, that is well. When I landed in the Greenland, it was not without conflict. Some of the natives...well...blood was spilled, and bones were crushed. Such is the way of things. Spear and Knife are no match for Viking sword and shield. But there was a sorcerer, a witch-man, who was a bane on us. A man who killed with cold and ice..." he shook his head. 

 

"Feigr Iss, we called him. Dead Ice. And now, dead, he is rumbling again. And the bones of my warriors will be his slaves. This, I cannot abide...I call on you, proud warrior, to slay him once more..."

[MisterShoebox]

"Welp - " He stroked his chin. "I'd have to see it myself to make any real decision, but it may just be someone playing silly buggers. Or a local psychic. I used to do that a bit 'fore I died, you know - nothing mind reading, but cold reading and stuff of that nature."

 

He paused. "Are you one of these people, perchance?" he asked as he sipped his ginger beer. "Or...is your brother or sister? How are they, by the way? I belive one of them is...a firefighter, but I don't remember which one. I really do apologize for that - still, that's a fantastic job. My nephew does that - he's a good boy, takes after his dad. Not after his uncle, thank God." he smirks a bit self-depreciatingly. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

 

With Phantasmo...

 

"Me, nah! I'm a Freedom City girl" replied Tanya, although she looked like she had come from the northernmost peaks of Finland. The cold didn't seem to bother her too much. Put her in the midday summer Sun for long and she would be glowing like a Belisha Beacon within an hour. 

 

"But, this does sound kinda awesome. Isn't there anyway we could go there? Don't you have some mystic portal or voodoo trick or something? Teleport via Mystic Stones?"

 

Tanya had played a little Dungeons and Dragons with her Fireman brother as a teenager, and had a habit of referring to Phantasmo's spells in that terminology. 

[Exaccus]

"I will do this deed; so that the dead remain undisturbed and the living spared Feigr's wroth." he puts his fist across his chest "On this you have my word; May you rest easy Thorvaldsson." he says  as he pulls his sword from its resting place, giving it a slight flourish in salute to the viking.

 

<Jinkies that was creepy...now how'm I supposed to get to Greenland...?> he ponders as he stands there, waiting In case Erik had more to say on the matter <Maybe I can find a cheap flight on the net...or see if I can push old aldonite enough to facilitate the journey...>

Edited December 4, 2014 by Exaccus

[MisterShoebox]

He makes a so-so gesture. "I know OF a spell, but if I get it wrong it could prove...a bit messy. Well, not messy so much as tiring. Well...there's a small 1 to two percent chance I could explode. Or you could explode." He pauses and looks a bit wide-eyed.

 

"That's a bit of a problem, isn't it? Magic that might make you explode - d'you know I'm starting to think that it's more trouble than it's worth? Don't get me wrong, it's brilliant at times - especially when I put on my charity shows, but I'm not conjuring great big dragons or what-not against great big evil tentacled things with massive teeth, am I?" He sips his beer. "Okay...well, let's get started, shall we? By the way - totally kidding about the exploding thing. Here we go..."

 

He concentrates. "Uh....right, then." A massive cloud of red smoke appears to emanate from his eyes, mouth, and torso....it covers him and Tanya up, enveloping them entirely. "If you feel the need to get reacquainted with your breakfast - don't." He says as they are suddenly...gone.

Edited December 3, 2014 by MisterShoebox

[Supercape]

GM

 

Teleport via Mystic Stones was an unsettling spell, a feeling of rush and stasis at once, with the wind blowing through your hair and the ground dancing beneath your feet. 

 

"Whoaaaa! This is some seriously 9th Level Spell!" gasped Tanya as the world and the universe spun. 

 

And then...they were in the centre of Stonehenge, England. 

 

"What is this?" asked Erik, raising his spectral Axe reflexively. "The walls of the world do grow thin, as if the Bifrost bridge does it sunder!" he whispered, cold and grim, as Phantasmo and Tanya landed in a knot of limbs and elegant cape, face down. 

 

"Beware, warrior" he addressed the Black Knight "Such troubles are the words of Feirg Iss...Greenland is a land of old stones and old bones...and much lies beneath the ice and snow..." he said, fading from view as Phantasmo's spell filled the gap that he had sprung from. 

 

And then, Erik was gone. 

 

"Oh my gosh! Was that Erik the Red?" asked Tanya to Phantasmo and the Black Knight both. 

[Exaccus]

"I'M BEING CALM NOW!" Black knight bellows bewilderedly in response sword gripped tightly in his hands as he tries to process all this information and surprise before reclaiming his wits "i mean...Yes! that was Erik the Red, who're you two?" he says as his illusion of competence crashes down around him like oh so much bone china.

 

"He gave me a quest to go stab someone in Greenland, a undead witchman, Feigr Iss" he then looks at the zombie and raises his sword a little bit "Thats not you is it?" 

 

<Bother! you and your big mouth Hale, you might have just tipped of some of his undead agents or something!>

 

"f-For if you are I must smite thee!" he adds trying to build up some facade of seriousness again "....Sorry!"

Edited December 4, 2014 by Exaccus

[MisterShoebox]

"....Put that down, son, you look like a right fool." the zombie said kindly, completely at ease. "And I've been smited - smote - well, killed once before, old chap. Unless you've got the right spell, you can't bloody kill me. Or kill me bloody, for that matter. Oh, right - this here's my assistant Tanya. And you are...uh..."

 

He gave the man a once-over. "...Armor boy? The tin-can man? Something of that nature? A knight of some sort, I'm sure - but never seen you 'round Southside, so you're not a local bloke." He 'ports over to Black Knight's side. "...D'you know, that's actually quite brilliant. The armor, I mean - bet that strikes fear into the hearts of the criminals and is good for picking up ladies, eh?" He grins. It's not a pleasant sight.

 

"...Right, so - if that was Erik the Red, d'you know if he's the bugger who's sending dreams into the heads of all and sundry?" he asked as he leaned casually against a rock. 

Edited December 2, 2014 by MisterShoebox

[Exaccus]

"I heard he was spooking some of the locals..." he says putting his sword down, slightly embarrassed about over reacting now "Came to see what he wanted...thats how ghosts work right? unfinished business and all that?; Anyway...turns out he's getting bad vibes from home and he wants someone to go stab a witchman for him so he doesn't make a army of undead outta his boys and make them kill their descendants." he states matter of factually as he can give then circumstance.

 

"Yeah? thanks i worked hard cleaning it and Polishing it for tonight!" he says rather taken by the complement on his Armour  "Had a bit of trouble with my first few heroing attempts but im sure it'll work out this time..."

 

"and i could totally smite you, if you were evil!" he says defensively "You would be utterly smitten!" he says stamping his foot for emphasis. before aldonite floods his mind with images of long conical hats and veils demandingly

 

"pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Tanya." he says giving a slight bow.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Oooh!  A Lady, fancy that! Hey, Mr Spooky, take note!" she said to Phantasmo, elbowing him in the ribs. 

 

"Lets just forget about the smiting and smoting and soforth. I can't stand the sight of blood" she conceded, tossing her beautiful red hair. 

 

"I didn't expect to see a knight here. I'm not sure what I expected. But...Erik the Red....Greenland...And, what was that name? Feigr Iss?" she said, finger on mouth. "Never heard of him, have you?" she asked 'Mr. Spooky'. 

 

"But I guess all stones lead to Greenland, right? Can you take us there?"

[MisterShoebox]

"Oh, right - sorry, forgot to introduce MYSELF." Phantasmo said, a bit embarrassed. "Phantasmo - THE UNLIVING!" he gave a bow and rolled his top hat to the end of his arm before putting it back on his head smartly. "Undead master of the stage and of the magic therein." He flourished his wrist and a small, white buisness card appeared in his hand. "My card, good sir. Tell your friends."

 

He presented it to the Black Knight. "Right - owch!" he muttered, rubbing his ribs where his assistant had elbowed him. "Steady on, Tanya - I need that rib. Anyway, my good...never caught your Nom de guerre, duckie, mind if you let old Phantasmo in on it? Can't go 'round calling you "Tin Can Man" or something all day, can I? That's a bit undignified."

 

"And as to your question, Tanya - I have no idea, that was the first time I'd ever used the spell. Still, I assume our late lamented viking conquerer and true discoverer of North America - Colombus, HAH - provided this fine armored lad with transportation to wherever the shenanigans, hauntings, or other otherworldly nonsense may be occurring. Or at least a map." 

 

He gave Black Knight an expectant look. 

[Exaccus]

"black knight i guess..." he starts before he is given a swift reprimanding by Aldonite "I mean, I am the black knight, the kingsbane!" wiggling his fingers for added emphasis, "dude he's just a viking not a wizard...though maybe he summoned you here and that part of the job is for you to figure out...and i do the stabbing?" he ponders looking at aldonite "I mean, my portals only go about 20 miles at most. so thats a bit beyond my pay-grade....though maybe I can push Aldonite a bit?" he asks nobody in particular but hoping the sword would respond in some way

 

"you seem pretty Ok at teleporting though, where were you before you fell out of Stonehenge?" he asks earnestly."see if i can get it work in tandem with Stonehenge's gumbo jumbo." he says flicking the sword expectantly at a nearby archway "open says me!"

Edited December 3, 2014 by Exaccus

[Supercape]

GM

 

The walls around Stonehenge needed no encouragement to sunder. It was as if the slightest pin prick of magical energy ripped open a portal that positively sucked the three of them through. Once again, there was a magnificent feeling of flying, of travel, of wind...

 

...and then, cold. 

 

Greenland was never going to be a warm clime, although its southernmost reaches could be pleasant in summer. This was winter.

 

The irony was that Iceland was green, and Greenland was ice. 

 

The temperature was a good ten below, and the wind was fierce. Around them, Ice, mountains, and Ice. 

 

"I...shoulda...dressed...for the occasion...." said Tanya, teeth chattering....

[MisterShoebox]

Phantasmo is quite comfortable in the freezing temperature. "This is the weather, duckies! This is the stuff that - " he took a deeep inhale of the chilly air - "That really lets you know you're alive, eh? Well...so to speak. Reminds me of when I was a lad in London and my dad and my brother went out to the corner store - run by old Mr. Wibs...of course, that wasn't his real name, but he was a good sort who let us call him that 'cause we couldn't recall his true name. Anyway - he had this big jar of toffees and always served hot cocoa to the neighborhood kids. God rest his soul."

 

He looked over at Tanya. "Doooh...to help you out and stop you from freezing or to laugh at your misfortune and say "Told you so!" Oooh, I know - I'll do both!" He snapped his fingers and a long, warm magician's cape appeared folded in his hands. He passed it over to his assistant. "Hah. Told you so. Now warm up, Tanya - the last thing I want to tell your dad is that you froze to death on my watch." 

[Exaccus]

Black Knight lies on his back, in his imprint in the snow and regards the night sky for a moment before holding up hand, fore finger extended "In my defense I wasn't expecting that to work." he says maybe not as upset about it as he should be. proceeding to sit up and look around "But hey, we're here!; Huzzah, Progress!" as he clambers back onto his feet and looks around for when he dropped aldonite spotting it not far away from where he landed and taking its hilt once more within his firmest grasp and attempting to orientate himself somewhat.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Thanks Mister S" shivered Tanya, wrapping the magicians cloak around her. It helped, a bit. "I never feel the cold much, but a t shirt in Greenland in the winter...that's a step too far!" she japed, her teeth grinding to stop chattering. 

 

At least North was North and South was South. 

 

Fortune was on their side. A crumbling road turned into small road, a small road turned into a main road, and a main road...

 

The sun had set (and would not rise again for twenty hours) by the time a pick up truck stopped by the heroes. It was fairly beat up, but road (and ice) worthy. A grizzled old man of Inuit stock leaned out and spoke something incomprehensible in first Greenlandic Inuit and then in Danish. He seemed friendly enough, and was headed south. The road lead to the Capital, Nuuk. 

[Exaccus]

Hale Did what came naturaly when language barriers arose, attempted to communicate through gestures, trying his hand at the old standby for hitchhiking and sticking his thumb out like he'd seen in many movies and hoping the bloke in the cab caught his drift...or had seen similar movies.

 

Proceeding then to lay his hand onto his chest he says "Black knight." before gesturing to Phantasmo and still a little bit sore about being called tin can man decides to make a little mischief  "Phantasma the fairy queen." he says with a surprisingly straight face and an firm pat on the back.

 

<hehehe>

 

Proceeding to give his slight bow to Tanya once again "Lady Tanya." in part because it felt like the right thing to do, Aldonite would scold him if he didn't treat the lady present with respect and slightly to try and convince her to help hold up his little prank.

[MisterShoebox]

Phantasmo did what most middle-aged men would do in a situation like this: He gave Black Knight a swat on the back of the head. "Don't be a twit, Sunny Jim." he growled. "If you're gonna take the p*ss out of old Phantasmo, be original about it."

 

He leaned back in his seat and gave a concerned glance to Tanya. "All right, Tanya? Not freezing your bits off or anything like that? I've had that happen - it's not pleasant. Of course, me being wizard with a needle and thread they went back on toodle-pip, but for those of us who aren't living impaired it's a bit more of a hassle." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I'll survive" grumped Tanya, climbing into the pick up truck as the man gave them the thumbs up. 

 

It was a tight squeeze for four of them. Eventually they agree Phantasmo could freeze outside, as the zombie would not die from exposure. The truck itself made a reasonable time, rumbling across the main road, with traffic passing them by. It was soon dark, and it would continue to be so for the next twenty hours. At this time of winter, sunlight was a rarity. 

 

Soon they drew up to Nuuk, the capital of only 17,000 people. It was colorful in its own way - painted houses on a background of snow and ice everywhere. Greenland had an icy cold purity of landscape and nature that was quite a sight. 

 

"Well, next step...the library...!" said Tanya as they stepped out of the Pick up Truck. 

 

"Unless you guys want to get drunk or something. I seem to recall that is something of a national sport here" she recalled, referring to the sad state of alcoholism in the country. 

 

"But if we want to find out about spooky stuff and sightings, the newspapers the way to go..." she concluded, hugging her cloak to her and striding into the library of Nuuk...

[Exaccus]

Slightly intimidated by the quiet and imposing buildings interior, lined wall o wall with tomes many of which are not even in a tongue he can understand he approaches the rather friendly lady at the desk, catching a glimps of himself in the polished floor of the building, he looks tall and proud, he wants to be more like the man in the mirror and so marshals every drop of courage and witt he has available  as he meets the beautiful, icy blue eyes of the librarian, usually less such contact would have sent him cowering into his shell but at the moment he feels emboldened by his relatively successful endeavor so far he doesn't falter where he might've once.

 

"Greetings fair maiden." he speaks with his deep, now unwavering voice as he reaches out to take her hand, lifting his visor just enough to press his cold pale lips to the back of her equally pale but much softer and warmer hand before returning his gaze to her face, framed by her auburn hair."I wouldst seek thy aid, I have journeyed here to the Greenland on a quest to thwart the machinations of a long slumbering evil, Feigr Iss, at the behest of Erik thorvaldsson's ghost." he says, not so much as blinking as he speaks these absurdities "I Find myself adrift however with nary a clue where to look, pray tell me what thee can of Erik the reds fateful landing on these shores and his battles with the natives?" he asks not quite pleading but impressing the importance of the tasks. "So i may fell the villain and return here...maybe for a coffee afterwards?" he adds blushing slightly.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Exaccus