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[center][h1][i]Transmutation and Conjuration[/i][/h1]
[h3][i]Part 4[/i][/h3][/center]

[center][b]Location: The Red Devil, Witches Workshop – Lost Haven, Maine
Time: 4:00 p.m. - Three Days after HoH Defeat[/b][/center]
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[center][i]Ascend to malice through spiral stair, caress 
the amber hue of greed - a waltz 
o’er clouds of drunken breath, a dance 
with shades and shadows fair - and proudly greet 
the towering arch convoking
waggish hands and lust-fueled hearts to free
their souls by unseen arts.[/i][/center]

They walked in stride, the maiden trio, to weather the the clamor of congratulations issued by patrons of the demon tavern, reveling in drink and anecdotal memory. Each moniker drifted as discordant melodies: the White Witch, Alchemyst, and Lady Hex, renowned titles among the hidden folk of Maine. 

A virescent imp, draped in coral-colored finery and standing a few heads shorter than the shortest among them, walked the merry band up the spiral column of crimson stairs to the second highest floor, whose landing was littered with ornate decor, four steps above the rustic furnishings of the downstairs bar. Golden urns sat atop low tables with an equally rich trim; masterfully sculpted and hauntingly beautiful busts perched atop dark pillars etched with esoteric markings whose placement was a mystery; tall candelabras lit cluttered corners whose space was occupied by scarlet love-seats and reading chairs from an Elizabethan tragedy, accompanied by book towers and mounted shelves holding all manner of occult curiosities.

But the crowning jewel of this royal array was neither the seating nor gleaming oddities, but a far more sweetly sinister sight. Opposite the landing, where fine furs and delicately scattered rugs gave way to polished stone, stood two monoliths, eldritch pillars holding aloft an intricate arch bearing The Red Devil’s insignia, forged by some unnatural force. Beyond this portal lie a world of wonder where all aspects of the witches’ craft could be explored. Every nook was filled with a work of art, talismans and trinkets of wood and bone lining scorched tables and waxy plinths. 

One wall held a small library of texts and tomes, scrolls and spells, filed haphazardly in crooked rows that climbed to the ceiling and jutted out nearly to the center of the room, acting as a divider between one world and the next. Another space was reserved for botanical creations and concoctions, filled with drying herbs hanging from hooks and rafters, and those kept in jars among other bottled oddities before a long-table of alchemical apparati, complete with a space in the wall for a bubbling cauldron, as well as smaller variants atop silver stands. Further in, a wardrobe surrounded by spinning wheels, spools and thread, and the odd loom rested beneath great tapestries depicting untold stories. Adjacent this scene was a wall of mirrors and other reflective surfaces used in divining all manner of hidden truths. 

It seemed almost impossible that so much could be fit inside a single room, so much that one could easily miss the other grand displays at rest just beyond the periphery. 

The imp bowed before his mistresses as they reached their destination, pardoning himself to other duties.

Charlie waved as the imp left, staring at the room around them marveling at the details, endlessly something new to see. She felt like she had stepped into a completely different time, the atmosphere sending a small prickle of excitement across her arms. The very distinct need to touch everything as well. In the mirror she raised her lip checking her teeth and digging a nail to remove some green leftovers. 

Wiping down her shirt she whistled lowly. “[color=honeydew]I have never wanted to touch [i]stuff[/i] so badly in my life before now. Marie, you’ve been on the DL for a while now don’t hear much about the White Witch in the news anymore.[/color]”

Stepping close to one of the divining mirrors she stared at the edges hands behind her back with her staff. “[color=honeydew]Not that it’s any of my business, just curious. Crime fighting and moonlighting ain’t for everybody. I don’t really blame you either, some of the metas on the headlines are Grade A douchebags.[/color]”

“[color=honeydew]As we found out for ourselves.[/color]”

Marie turned her head slowly, scanning the room, one she’d longed for in months past, before resting her gaze on Charlie and Madalena. [color=ffe4b5]”It was only ever secondary,”[/color] her words were cold, distant, trailing behind another thought that remained unaired.

[color=ffe4b5]”My work with the Ambassador, strange as it might sound, is more fulfilling. The White Witch, useful as she was, was never really what I wanted.”[/color] she smiled at Madalena, gingerly setting Holt on the floor and taking Madalena’s hands in hers. 

[color=ffe4b5]’I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past few months.”[/color]

Madalena maintained a smile, looking between Marie and Charlie, happy to be sharing the space. [color=BE1359]”So, what’s the story, gal? Where’ve you been running off to for the past three and a half months? Honestly, I think I know as much about you as Charlie at this point, uh, no offense.”[/color]

[color=ffe4b5]”No, you’re right,”[/color] Marie assured her, [color=ffe4b5]”I’ve been distant, caught up in something personal and a little complicated . . .”[/color] she paused, thinking as she looked around the room, resting her eyes on the scrying mirrors.

[color=ffe4b5]”Maybe it’d be best to show you. Holt, would you bring me a pin from that table?”[/color] she motioned to a pincushion resting with a host of other sewing equipment.

Holt nodded, leaping into the air and changing quickly into the form of a raven, floating over to the table and delicately removing the needle with his beak. In an instant, he appeared at Marie’s side, dropping the pin into her hand before retreating to the top of the wardrobe.

Marie moved past Charlie to the largest of the mirrors. Without hesitation, she pricked her finger with the needle, squeezing the end and allowing small droplets of blood to pool on the surface of her skin. She then marked the rim of the mirror with blood, forming an ovular pattern around its face.

[center][color=ffe4b5][i]”Blood of mine, make haste, make haste,
when I name thee, take thy place:
Gwyneth Owens, reveal thy face.”[/i][/color][/center]

The words flowed with a certain rhythm, more lyrical than strictly poetic, almost as if Marie had been singing rather than chanting. She stood further from the mirror, waiting for her magic to manifest. At first, there was no difference, save the ring of blood on the mirror’s surface. To Charlie and Madalena, Marie looked the same. But slowly, something began to shift. Their reflections were no longer seen, only Marie’s, and there was something strange about her, clothes that didn’t match her own, hair a little longer, more wild. By all accounts, her reflection depicted Marie, yet nothing but her face seemed the same.

The alchemist noticed the changes immediately, it was Marie in the reflection but also [i]not[/i]. Licking her lips she turned to Madalena, she wondered what was going through her mind. Seeing your friend after a long time and they’re clearly different but in a jarring way. Leaning against her staff, cheek pressed up against it. “[color=honeydew]Who is Gwyneth Owens? Long lost twin sister you left behind at a renaissance fair?[/color]”

Smiling to take the edge off her sarcasm, “[color=honeydew]Probably something a bit more important.[/color]”

Her eyes settled on Maddi.

Madalena remained silent, listening intently. 

[color=ffe4b5]”Gwyneth Owens was a Welsh witch born to unknown parents in 1496,”[/color] Marie continued, staring at her reflection with a faint smile, [color=ffe4b5]”Her life was marred by sacrifice and betrayal, always at the hands of those she trusted most. She was a well-learned witch, born of faery blood; cunning and cruel. 

“Toward the end of her life, Gwyneth began searching for a way to be free of her oppressors, something permanent, irreversible. One evening in 1520, she successfully split her soul into multiple parts, placing each in a magical vessel, her most prized possessions. She scattered these items, cast them adrift, bid them never come too near one another again, not until the time was right. Shortly thereafter, she was tried for witchcraft and executed.”[/color]

Marie let out a heavy sigh, shoulders tensing, head turned a few degrees from the mirror. Her reflection, however, held an unabashedly proud stance. 

[color=ffe4b5]”But the piece of her that endured couldn’t move on. As planned, it was called back by the other halves of Gwyneth’s soul that remained on Earth. Twenty-three years ago, the stars aligned just so, and that piece of Gwyneth’s soul was brought back into this world, given new life, placed in the loving arms of Eliza and Stephen Heartford as their daughter, Marie.”[/color]

Marie turned to face Charlie and Madalena, her stance mirroring her reflection: head high, shoulders back, eyes burning with an eerie determination.

[color=ffe4b5]”But I have and will always be, Gwyneth Owens. Over the past few months, I’ve been in the Ambassador’s company, among others, searching for the pieces of my past. When I say I’ve been finding myself, I meant it. I’ve been looking for my memories, honing my craft, becoming whom I was meant to be.”[/color]

Holt looked on in a mix of horror and awe, though neither could be traced in his shadowy features. Where once timidity reigned, now an unbridled confidence exuded from Marie, one he couldn’t help but admire.

Madalena felt much the same, though her expression conveyed more confusion than admiration. What did all of this mean, she wondered, and what did it change? She tried to find the right words to express her emotions, but remained silent instead. 

 While Charlie didn’t know how to feel herself, extraordinary people stepping into their roles or story was something she couldn’t really relate to. Not knowing her own path much less being any closer to figuring it out. Pursing her lips briefly she relaxed into a smile, “[color=honeydew]A woman plucked out of time, I wouldn’t know where to start with a goal like that so best of luck magical destinies and all that.[/color]”

“[color=honeydew]Here we are worrying about a key and you’re out there picking up what remains of you. I don’t envy that.[/color]” Blowing some hair up out of her face with a sigh, she looked down to Marie - Gwyneth? - having a thought, “[color=honeydew]What happens after you get yourself back together? Anybody who wronged you in the past is probably good as dead.[/color]” 

Marie shook her head. [color=ffe4b5]”I’m not sure. I assume I’ll pick up where I left off, and even if my original persecutors are long dead, The Winter Court is just as great a threat.”[/color]

[color=BE1359]”So,”[/color] Madalena finally chimed in, [color=BE1359]”You’re over 500 years old? And you were born with your power? [b]AND[/b] you’ve been scouring the world on some secret magical quest without telling me? Oh that’s low, Marie, er, Gwyneth, or . . . which one should we use?”[/color]

Marie laughed, happy to see that her news was well received and hadn’t further damaged her relationship with Madalena. [color=ffe4b5]”For now, Marie will do, and I know it’s confusing which is exactly why I wanted the time to figure it out before I told you. But now that you’re, well, [i]here[/i], I didn’t see the need to hide it anymore. Besides, I’ll need some allies once my campaign for world domination begins.”[/color]

Madalena laughed, then stopped for a moment to consider that Marie wasn’t joking, then laughed again, satisfied that it was just part of their humor.

Charlie laughed along too, albeit a bit nervously, “[color=honeydew]Career focused, cool.[/color]”

Pulling out the key spinning it on her finger, “[color=honeydew]At least there’s some rhyme and reason behind your inclination to being cryptic now. Comes with the spooky package-[/color]” The key spun on and then off her finger flying directly into a pewter scrying bowl full of water. “[color=honeydew]For fuckssakes-[/color]”

Tracking over to it about to reach in she stopped, seeing something different about it. Looking over her shoulder at the pair of witches, “[color=honeydew]No eldritch horror is going to pull me into the bowl right?[/color]”

[color=BE1359]”Pfft, of course not! Well, probably not. Although the archway outside does look a little Lovecraftian doesn’t it?”[/color]

[color=ffe4b5]”It’s just a scrying bowl,”[/color] Marie assured her, [color=ffe4b5]”Unless that key has done something to it, you should be fine.”[/color]

She shrugged slowly, “[color=honeydew]It’s not the bowl but the key, it’s-[/color]” She looked down at it, cocking her head, “[color=honeydew]It’s different. I’ve been keeping it dry, thought mixing water would have fucked it up.[/color]”

Reaching in running her fingers along the new divots along the shaft of the key, scooping her hand under it keeping it under the water. “[color=honeydew]There’s nothing special about the water right? Just plain tap.[/color]” It felt lighter, scrunching her brow, “[color=honeydew]Fuck me, if this is what works I will [i]lose[/i] it.[/color]”

Lifting it out of the water the golden sheen smoothed back over. A smile of excitement as her eyes lit up putting it aside. “[color=honeydew]Got anything I can write on?[/color]”

Holt flew down from his perch, taking in his talons a blank scroll from a desk joined to the small library behind them, dropping it at Charlie’s side before taking his place on the corner of the table, watching the process unfold.

[color=BE1359]”What are we thinking, Charlie?”[/color] Maddi questioned, moving closer to inspect the alchemist’s work.

“[color=honeydew]I’ve got a couple ideas.[/color]” 

Tugging the page over and pulling out a pen scratching away chemical symbols stretching out in it’s equations not caring how she mixed her alchemical symbols as well. Pausing briefly turning a brilliant smile onto Madalena, “[color=honeydew]Simple, always keeping it simple. What are the most common elements found [i]anywhere[/i] in the universe?[/color]”

“[color=honeydew]Not just here on Earth.[/color]”

She turned back to the page stopping only to dig out the leftover packets of salt she had. Tearing it open with her teeth dumping the contents into the bowl, “[color=honeydew]I need more salt.[/color]” Gesturing to the bowl, shuffling to the table continuing to write. 

“[color=honeydew]The answer is the first ten elements found on the periodic table.[/color]” she answered her rhetorical question, going on “[color=honeydew]Nathaniel Croll, prodigy, university professor and the neighbourhood’s best gardener. He believes in life at its most basic components, what do we all need to function?[/color]”

Looking between Holt, Marie and Maddi finishing the equation. Holding it up proudly she gestured to the bowl, “[color=honeydew]Water.[/color]”

[color=ffe4b5]”Almost like the weight balanced itself,”[/color] Marie smirked, glancing between Charlie and Holt, who had moved closer to the scrying bowl. 

Madalena lovingly swatted Marie’s arm, [color=BE1359]”BUT, still quite the achievement, I’d say. Good work, Charlie! That’s one more piece of the puzzle put in place.”[/color]

[color=90ee90][i]”If I might be so bold as to inquire,”[/i][/color] Holt finally spoke, [color=90ee90][i]”what does this key open? I assume it must lead to great riches or a small armory with which to combat The Winter Court.”[/i][/color]

[color=BE1359]”Well . . .”[/color] Madalena looked down, pulling the leather-bound journal from her side and flipping through its worn pages. [color=BE1359]”I haven’t the slightest. I know that we’re meant to find [i]something[/i] on each of these streets, but exactly where, or what for that matter, we’ve yet to figure out.”[/color]

Marie peered over Madalena’s shoulder, looking down into the journal.

[color=ffe4b5]”It’s Act I Scene I of Macbeth,”[/color] she said after only a glance.

Madalena shot her a look, [color=BE1359]”You read it [i]that[/i] quickly?!”[/color]

[color=ffe4b5]”Whatever powers of perception Puck might have gifted you, I’ve been at this longer. I recognized the metre and the structure of the phrases.”[/color]

She pointed to the first street, the one nearest Shadow of the Moon. [color=ffe4b5]”When the hurly-burly’s done.”[/color]

The next near Sherman Square. [color=ffe4b5]”When the battle’s lost and won.”[/color]

The last near LHU. [color=ffe4b5]”Where the place? Upon the heath. Of course this is all masked in riddles and allegory, but the clues seem to line up with recent events.”[/color]

How long ago did Puck write this, Madalena wondered, astounded by the speed with which Marie was able to solve the riddle and equal parts annoyed that she hadn’t found it sooner.

“[color=honeydew]Shakespeare, [i]of fucking course.[/i][/color]” Charlie said, exasperated. The thought of returning to the University made her stomach turn, it had only been over a week since the attack. She wasn’t sure how’d she react. “[color=honeydew]Whatever, let’s give this a go.[/color]” Replacing the key into the water, laying the sheet of paper across the rim of the bowl making sure it didn’t dip into the water. Placing her hands on both sides of the bowl she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in. 

Slowly, each line of the equation lit up. Charlie’s brow furrowed, concentrating working through each line as a guide,  hair lifting across the length of her arms. The water began to bubble as air shot out of the key. Her core tightened at the exertion, sweat beaded. For Charlie it was akin to slotting pieces of the puzzle together - connecting a chain that flowed from every direction. Several minutes passed when the full length of the paper glowed brightly, the paper began to disintegrate into the water from the middle out to the edges. Water flowed into the key itself, flowing through tiny channels inside it - unseen over the surface of the water.

When the transmutation was complete Charlie stepped away panting, sweat at her brow and down her back. “[color=honeydew]Alright I think that did it.[/color]”

Reaching into the dirty water she pulled free the golden key, water pooled out of it. It felt lighter than it had ever before, placing it on the tip of her finger and holding it out in front of her she let it go holding her breath watching it. It tilted left and right wobbling before settling out perfectly straight. Staring at it willing it to move, it remained where it was. 

Her face split into a fantastic grin, “[color=honeydew]Yes! [i]Yes![/i][/color]”

[color=90ee90][i]”Fascinating,”[/i][/color] Holt offered, edging closer to the key from his perch on the table.

[color=ffe4b5]”Yeah,”[/color] Marie agreed, [color=ffe4b5]”Good work, Charlie.”[/color]

[color=BE1359]”Way to go, Charlie!”[/color] Madalena yelled, walking forward and placing her hand on Charlie’s shoulder. [color=BE1359]”We’re one step closer to figuring out whatever the hell it is we’re meant to be figuring out. “[/color]

Nodding happily, “[color=honeydew]Piece of cake.[/color]” Holding up the key out for them to see. A little sheepish she turned to Marie, “[color=honeydew]Thanks for your help. This is important, we’ll be able to visit each of the sites today to unlock them with the key now.[/color]”

[color=BE1359]”Well,”[/color] Madalena was skeptical, holding the journal closer to her face, skimming through the pages between the map of Lost Haven and the invocations at the back. There were charcoal illustrations, rather abstract, depicting scenes similar to those she’d scene in wood cuts from the 17th century. [color=BE1359]”We have the key, we know where to go, but I don’t know what to do once we get there.”[/color]

[color=ffe4b5]”Only one way to find out,”[/color] Marie offered thoughtfully, [color=ffe4b5]”back to Shadow of the Moon.”[/color]