Turn 0 Interlude (Twelve Nights 2024/5)
Getting To Know One Another (Part 2)
"This is everything I think I can remember."
For Jack, this meant looking over pages and pages of written information.
There are names, places, locations, and small snippets about them and why they're important and who they know. These are the last remaining pieces of what was once a decent sized information network of your current spymaster.
"If I had known ol' Blake was going to bring their own flamethrower, I'd have just saved the time and had them burn my files for me!" It's good to see Jack in good spirits, as he currently sits in what was once the shop's ice cream freezer. Fortunately, it has wheels, so his makeshift chariot allows him to be out of his freezer box for about an hour a day. "So good news is Financial never got my files. Bad news is most of my network is toast."
"It looks like you know enough to start over, at least." You say, as you notice a very interesting place mentioned. "...you have a spy in Parliament?"
Jack laughs. "Not a spy. Just an informant. Never really called on him much, so he
should be safe. Though I'm going to need to be careful. Blake probably thinks they iced me, so I'll need to lay low for a bit. Oh shit…" Jack winces in pain, grabbing his shoulder. You immediately grab a bag of ice and start pouring it on him.
Already, he looks better than he did when he landed on your doorstep. The burn scars on the upper part of his body are already starting to heal and fade, the red and gold dulling and his natural blue complexion slowly returning. But as you can see, he still has a ways to go. He'll still need to mostly stay in the freezer until Spring, but Jack would probably take a bit of boredom over an agonizingly slow recovery
"Ah, that's better. Who knew I'd need someone to give me the cold shoulder, eh?" Jack tries to smirk, though it's obvious his shoulder is still giving him trouble. "I probably should hurry this along then. So first, Mary. As I said, her and Vixen are somewhere near the North Pole. Now, I don't know where, other than there was a safehouse that only Nick, Mary, and I knew about. And I only know it exists. I do know the general direction she and Vixen had taken off to though." He looks over to a map of the Arctic Circle you had printed out for him. "It was in a Greenland-ish direction. Hell, she may actually be in Greenland. There are enough places to hide. Problem is, if Mary's still in the Arctic Circle, then getting to her is going to be a pain in the ass."
You could imagine. It would be effectively searching for a needle in a haystack, while the farmer was trying to kill you the entire time. However, Nicholas wanted you to find his wife, his only other request besides saving Christmas. You could not let him down. "Is there anyone you could trust to look?"
"Trust and be willing to? Not so many. I'd probably expect that a lot of people won't want to cross Blake. Especially with all the help they're getting. And especially after Blake took over Amazon."
You mentally stop at that statement, trying to make sure you heard what Jack just said. "I'm sorry, did I hear you right?"
This gets a good laugh out of Jack Frost, even as it's mixed with pain from his chest. "Oh, don't get me wrong. On paper, Jeff Bezos still owns Amazon. But Blake owns him. I saw all that magic Blake bound him with. Not sure what kind it is, but there were a lot of Obligations put on Jeffy-boy! If Blake tells him to jump, he'll have to ask how high.
"Possibly Fae Magic. Blitzen smelled it on Rudolph. Fortunately, his contract was not tainted with it." After a pause, you add "And we are keeping the whole thing under cold iron, just in case."
For a moment, you had seen Jack start to panic, before immediately calming down. "Good. Though that would explain how a bunch of bean-counters suddenly became a lot more powerful. Well, that and the high grade weaponry." He winces again. He's going to need to go back into the freezer soon. "Right, back to Mary. Actually, if we had the Coat, you could probably sneak in there a bit easier."
"The Coat?" You ask. "How would that help?"
"The Christmas Coat is what allows Santa to slip down chimneys, sneak through houses to deliver presents, and generally avoid nosy kids. It's kind of a stealth suit. Bit of mental manipulation as well, so kids from the Seen World don't remember seeing you, even if they catch you. Or if they do, their memory is real fuzzy. Like a dream. Good news is, I think the Coat is somewhere in Germany."
Before you could ask how he knows that, he continues on. "Now, how do I know this? Because the Coat likes to visit the Dwarves that crafted it every so often. So in an emergency, it'd probably head there. And I did see Santa throw it in that direction. So I'm thinking, ohgodthathurts!" He immediately grabs more ice, and starts covering himself with it.
You immediately put the papers down, and start preparing to wheel him back to the Freezer Room. The burns seem to still be burning when he is out too long, a remnant of the supernatural element of what burned him. "Rest, Jack. We can go over this more later."
There is a slight hiss from Jack, but more ice seems to be helping him. "There is so much to do. So much to tell you. I can't really do it from the Freezer"
"You won't be able to do it if you injure yourself further." You reply, as if a parent telling a child to take their medicine. "Get some rest, and we'll do this again tomorrow."
You can tell Jack doesn't want to, his face a war of emotions. But eventually he slumps. "Alright. Though one last thing. Just one!" He looks to you, a bit more serious than before. "Be careful which Holidays you deal with. Blake had help from at least one of them, and I don't know which ones. Just, please be careful. We can't lose another Santa."
Reward: You have an idea where Mary Christmas and Vixen are. You have an idea where the Christmas Coat is. You have a rudimentary list of contacts you can call on for Intrigue Options. You have information on some of what happened during the Takeover.
--
"I am going to kill Rudolph"
For Blitzen, that was being a sympathetic ear and a sharp set of eyes.
"I am going to kill Rudolph
slowly."
And potentially keeping him from racing towards the North Pole in an ill-advised attempt at vengeance.
However, right now Blitzen is mainly just venting his anger. It's all he can really do, and you think he knows this. But when a man - or a reindeer, in this case - is stoked by the fires of righteous rage and vengeance, it can cause them to make extremely bad choices. So you've been keeping an eye on Blitzen. Making sure he gets the best food he can eat, and as much rest as he wants. And as always, you've checked in every so often so that Blitzen is not left alone too long.
You can see the signs. He is a lot more skittish. He is always looking around, as if danger looms past every corner. He doesn't like being in one place for too long, moving between the rooms of the Workshop. And as before, any reference to Rudolph or Amazon sets him off violently. Already you can see bitterness and hatred in his heart.
You honestly cannot blame him. The betrayal of everything he held dear has wounded him in his very soul. A personal friend for many years sold him and the rest of the Nine out. And had been planning to do so for years. If the Ghosts of Christmas had done that to you, or God forbid Jacob, you don't know how'd you respond.
But he needs help. And while dealing with Blitzen's trauma is going to take time and most likely a professional, you and Jacob can at least help him in another area: by looking over the contract, and going over it with a fine-tooth comb. Preferably one of cold iron.
–
You ran.
You ran and you ran and you ran.
And you could hear the chittering laughter right behind you. The fluttering of wings were pounding in your ear. The clink of chains and the clanging of prison bars were nipping at your heels.
You know what this is. While Ruldolph was going on about how Midwinter treated him with more respect than Santa or the Nine had, you could smell it all over him. The smell of the Fae. It was all over the original contract, and its odor was covering the very chains that bound the rest of the Nine.
You felt guilty, leaving the rest. But you couldn't let yourself be caught. Amazon would use and abuse you. Your speed. Your likeness. Everything you were, until there was nothing left to you. Not even your very bones and flesh would be spared, sold or traded for profit.
When Amazon catches you, they will exploit you.
But first they must catch you.
–
While Rudolph's copy of the contract doesn't set off Blitzen's nose, you are taking no chances. The entire contract is held open and lined with cold iron from your personal stock. You've never had to break it out all that often, but anyone who deals heavily in the Unseen World knows to keep some on hand for times like these.
"Well, the fact that you outran it is good." Jacob tells Blitzen, looking over an interesting clause in the contract. "That means the magic alone is not on the level of a Queen."
"But this was crafted by an experienced fae. Look at this." You know contracts like the back of your hand. Which means you've learned to make sure every T is crossed and I dotted. Businesses have been ruined because of a missing word or clause in a contract, after all. "What do you see here?"
Blitzen walks over and looks at the contract that claims Amazon owns him. "The terms of this contract are null and void if someone breaks this contract… Wait…" You can see the gears turning in his head as the lessons you taught him over the years go to work. "Wait, 'if someone breaks this contract'? Not 'If one or more parties breaches the terms of this agreement?' Especially since they have penalties later on for breaching the terms. This sounds way too casual for business contracts… unless it's specifically something involving Faeries!"
You smile as Blitzen makes the connections. "Right! Now, I would need to confirm this with an expert, but I know that many of the Fae are quite careful and exact on how they word their deals. In this case, I would wager this is an "emergency exit clause", in case one side needed to end the deal quickly without penalty. Assuming that, one of the ways to remove the contract should be to literally break the contract. Mainly, destroy it in a way that would count as 'breaking'."
"Say, freezing it and then shattering it on the ground. Or transmuting it through alchemy into glass." Marley says. "Though, that would mean we'd need to get a hold of the original contract. And who knows where that would be."
"The other option I can see is court." You say. "While it is unusual, The Seen World has ruled on matters of the Unseen."
"Wait, yeah! I remember now. An American court said that Santa existed because the Post Office recognized him as Santa." Blitzen said, hope starting to swell within him. "Holidays pitched a fit, but maybe it can work again?"
"It'd be a long shot." Marley warned. "And most of the laws weren't written with magical reindeer in mind. They might just rule that the laws can only apply to humans."
"True. But I believe we could make a case, especially if we could determine the choice of venue. Especially since we can prove that Blitzen is both sentient and sapient." You say. "We should also look into courts in the Unseen as well. We may get more help that way, or at least a more sympathetic ear."
You discuss some of the ideas more, before breaking for lunch. The problem is not solved, not by a long shot. But at the very least it seems you have some option, and there seems to be some hope.
Rewards: New Options Unlocked. A Way to Break The Contract may have been found. Blitzen is Hopeful.
--
QM's Notes: So, going back and make first part intro/Krampus, and we'll go from there. Down to Cecilia / Wesley, then the Workshop. We are making are way there!
I betcha he had a good reason, like he always resented the other reindeer for never accepting him fully and that's why he turned traitor…
