PFSB: Milliways

[riddleofthebelow]

Tom needed his camera to take yet more pictures of his adorable children, and when he fetched it the evening before, he found something odd he can't explain. It's not a bad odd thing. It's just a puzzling odd thing.

Ingress has some explaining to do.  Or Wei Wuxian. Either one.

So Tom's at a table at Milliways, with an eyebrow raised, and wouldn't mind some company.

Comments

[we_bring_hell]

She smiles wanly. "Perhaps not for very much longer, but yes."

She takes the seat. "How are you, Lord Ostium? I had the pleasure meeting your heir of House."

For a moment her imagination feeds her the image of Portico abandoned to the killing field of Canaan House; she banishes it immediately.

[riddleofthebelow]

“I’m well,” he says, since aside from being worried over Ingress, this is the truth.

“Portico told me you’d visited with Ingress. You made quite the impression; he hasn’t stopped asking about you.”

His little boy was quite taken by the face make up.

[we_bring_hell]

She inclines her head slightly. "He seemed clever and well-mannered. A credit to your House."

[riddleofthebelow]

“Thank you. I didn’t know you and Ingress had become so well acquainted. She hasn’t brought new friends to the House in many years.”

Tom isn’t aware of just how much Harrow avoids the f word.

[we_bring_hell]

She shrugs. "We have met a time or two. She offered the opportunity for me to visit a living world and to test a theorem I have been developing."

[riddleofthebelow]

"Was the test successful?"

[we_bring_hell]

"Reasonably," she says calmly.

She did burn a hole in her own radius but it's fine now. Bones are no problem. "She took me to a necropolis where there was sufficient thanergy for the test. I was able to greet the Marylebone--an ally of yours, I believe?"

[riddleofthebelow]

"Yes," he says with a sharp smile. He's still very proud of that coup.

"Allies are important, as I'm sure you know, and especially so in the Underside, where favors can be the most desired currency."

[we_bring_hell]

"Indeed," she says.

At her most paranoid and self-loathing, she evolved a very sinister theory about Lady Ingress's solicitousness; but what value has the heir of the Ninth ever had but her seat or her genius?

"I am currently engaged in a great scholarly trial, and in the early stages it was every House for itself. But now that the locations of virtually all the keys are known, it is a matter of alliances and, I fear, violence."

[riddleofthebelow]

If Ingress ever finds out about this sinister theory, she will laugh and ruffle Harrow's hair in a teasing way, resistant to any scathing glares or clipped words.

"It often comes down to violence," he says, nodding his head in agreement. "I'm glad your excursion into London Below proved useful. I must ask, what did you think of it? The Underside is sometimes not the easiest of places to visit."

[we_bring_hell]

"This was my first time on a living planet, and it was quite different than anything I have experienced before," she says. "But truly, my basis of comparison is limited--it was certainly no more dangerous than Canaan House."

[riddleofthebelow]

"Living. I've often wondered how we'd be classified, when it came down to it. I'm pleased to hear an expert opinion confirming we're more of the living than the dead."

[we_bring_hell]

"I cannot say if London Below is more or less alive than other places, for I have no comparison. But it is part of a living planet," she says.

"A tapestry of life and death energy, just as a living organism is made up of cells constantly living and dying. It is quite different than any planet I have ever been on."

[riddleofthebelow]

"As above, so below," he muses, smiling into his scotch.

He looks up to regard her a moment, considering balance and allies, the lives woven together by this unique place in space and time.

"Years ago, the House of Arch served as a second home to many patrons here. The rooms upstairs are well and good, but the House is a home. Should you find yourself at Milliways longer than you plan, or should you need refuge, please let me know. I'd be honored to call you a guest, Reverend Daughter."

[we_bring_hell]

She inclines her head gracefully. "I appreciate the offer, Lord Ostium, and I recognize the value such a thing could have."

To both of them.

"However, my cavalier Gideon has also found her way here. I could not dwell separately from her. It is not our way."

[riddleofthebelow]

"We had families stay with us in suites of rooms; a cavalier would not be a problem to accommodate."

[we_bring_hell]

"Then by all means," she says. "It would be appreciated."


A hesitation. "If anything happens to me, Gideon may need a place of safety. I hope that the privilege would still be extended to her without me. She is the finest swordswoman the Ninth has produced in many years, gifted with both the rapier and the broadsword, and would be a credit to your House as she has been to ours. If it came to that."

Harrow's composure does not rate up there with the all-time greats, such as Moiraine. But in this moment she is stone.

[riddleofthebelow]

"If it came to that, then it sounds like she would, indeed, be an asset. You needn't worry. She would have the refuge she needs."

[we_bring_hell]

The black line of her lips curves faintly. "It is very well. Then may the House of the Ninth be allied to the House of Arch. How are such things sealed in the Underside?"

[riddleofthebelow]

He recalls hot blood dripping between clasped hands and traces the scars across his palms. Harrow would likely approve of the ways the House brings in new members of its family.

He extends his hand to her. “A handshake will suffice. And then I can key you to the portal painting and a few of our common rooms, like the library you’ve already visited.”

[we_bring_hell]

She inclines her head again, and extends a pale bony hand.

"I shall inform you if we wish to take up residence."

[riddleofthebelow]

He solemnly shakes her frail hand.

“Brilliant. I should like to meet Gideon, at some point, of course. If Ingress didn’t show you how to move through the paintings of the House, I’d like to instruct you both.”

[we_bring_hell]

"I believe she is availing herself of the ironmongery available in the forge," she says.

"Lady Ingress took me through a few rooms, but I am not sure I understood the principle."

[riddleofthebelow]

“It doesn’t have to be right away,” he assures her. Ironmongery is important, he knows.

“The House of Arch is an associative house, which means its rooms come from across the Underside - and across time and memory - and are linked together. Openers can move from one room to another with ease through the paintings that symbolize each one. For guests, Door and I have combined our magical systems to allow access.”

[we_bring_hell]

"I see," she says. "How fascinating."

"These rooms, and the places of London Below--I understand they are lost places? Forgotten?"