As the fire spirits were organized across Subcon Forest, Hat and Bow took advantage of the moment's peace by sneaking into Snatcher's tree for a brief and well-needed nap. By the time they woke up a few hours later, the barriers were already set in place. Against the snowfall, the multicolored walls of flame seemed to paint the dark, woodland landscape like tiny auroras sweeping through the trees.
Keeping most of the usual trails clear for travel, they were primarily focused toward shielding the village and blocking off the worst of the expansion that bloomed from the already frozen civilization that the Dwellers once called home. The fog only worsened, drowning out even the thick miasma that always consumed the forest, but the ice was at last forced back. It could hardly even get close to the barriers, and when it did—as if to illustrate Vanessa's blinding outrage at the halt of her advance—it rammed them in sudden, crude bursts of motion.
The spirits would need to take shifts. They would be maintaining the barriers for extreme lengths of time, without the overwhelming firepower that would radiate inside them at the end of their cycles. Keeping up that kind of magic for so long would result in a literal burnout and leave them weak to attacks. Therefore, there were two other groups that rotated in and out of those positions: One to give them time to rest and the other to collect fuel for the fires and protect the dancers. Some of the minions helped as well.
Planning this seemed to be the only ceasefire between Snatcher and Kit, who both immediately went back to casual insults and keeping each other at a distance as soon as the task was done. The woman had been gathering whatever dry timber she could find for the fire spirits, but now sat in the grass just outside of Snatcher's tree—running her hands across the course blades with intense fascination, the feeling strange and new after well over a lifetime spent in the foxes' arid home. The phantom sent some of his minions out to spy on Vanessa, to track the ice and see where the queen might be lurking. Currently, he hunted through his small collection of books for anything useful; however, if there was any sort of clue to help them stop Vanessa, he was bound to have found it already.
The two girls each propped against an arm of his plush chair, they watched him in silence for a long while. Heavy, aged texts were scattered open upon the tabletop. He paced in front of them with one in his hands, flipping through its pages in frustration. Occasionally, he'd scan over the rest once more with his eyes to check if he was on the right track, but ultimately would resort to just picking up yet another book to study. At that point, his shelves had been picked clean and he'd had to gather more from his lab-like arena.
Even when she'd been forced to work for him, Hat Kid had never seen Snatcher so rattled. He was always good at masking it with a quip or angry outburst, but she could tell. His attention would tear apart, as if—behind that furious visage—he was constantly calculating the full weight of the whatever the poor situation was at the time.
First, she'd had to give him the news about the missing Dwellers in the Horizon under Moonjumper's rule: Now, this. Even if she hadn't sunk the artic cruise, she doubted he'd even had a chance to enjoy his vacation. Since she'd never seen him onboard, she assumed he'd been loaded onto another ship by accident. In hindsight though, maybe that was for the best. Facing against icy water was probably the last thing he would've needed.
As a minion dropped off another stack of texts on the floor and left, Hat Kid raised her voice, "If the fire spirits won't be enough, is there anyone else would could ask for help? Subcon used to be crowded with all kinds of spirits, right? Maybe we could find them too."
The sneer already plastered on Snatcher's face twisted even further in disgust. He didn't look back at her, "Even if I needed anyone's help, the spirits that stuck around this forest aren't exactly the sort to hand any out."
He made a fair point. The fire spirits didn't mind him too much, but there was a good chance the others hated him. According to what she'd heard, there'd been a kind of free-for-all after Vanessa's initial storm so long ago, with every spirit of the forest fighting to regain the territory they'd lost because of her. That didn't even include the monstrosities that invaded the woods to feed on the miasma that would forever after loom over it. The difference, however, between all of them and Snatcher was that he'd won. Some were obliterated and others forced into their own, tiny corners, but Snatcher commanded full control over the bulk of Subcon.
Still, Vanessa had to be a bigger concern for them. "They can't have that much of a grudge…"
"You'd be surprised," he countered, "A lot of them can live off that sort of thing, and would sooner watch their homes be destroyed and move on somewhere else before letting go of their hurt pride."
If it weren't for how much he cared about the Dwellers, then it sounded like they'd get along just fine… Hat Kid kept that thought to herself though. Instead, she got up, stretched, and peered out at the forest. She couldn't spot any of the dormant remains of the giant skeletons that she knew were scattered across the woods. They were powerful, but she didn't even consider trying to wake one: They were hardly more than mindless beasts. Where there other elementals hiding someplace? It was hard to say…
Soon enough, her gaze fell on the line of the trees in the distance that marked the edge of the swamp, their thick, draping layers of moss plain to see even through the steady mist. The idea that came to her mind made sense, but a part of her inwardly rejected it all the same. Nevertheless, she looked back at the ghost and offered, "What about the swamp spirits?"
Snatcher didn't like it any better, chuffing, "They'd be the last ones I'd ever ask for help, kiddo."
The feeling was mutual. Although she'd only vaguely caught a glimpse of them beneath the water on her way to find Subcon's well, they'd been one of the biggest dangers she'd faced in the forest. Long, lithe bodies darting beneath the surface, they'd tried ensnaring her and dragging her down with their nimble tails and hand-like manifestations of sludge launching at her from the gloom. No amount of fighting or begging deterred them, so all she'd been able to do to escape was find walkways or safe patches of earth to maneuver across the bog. They didn't seem like beings that could be reasoned with.
Still, they were physically strong and a kind of water elemental. That would at least make them a good match against the headless statues, meaning they could offer some protection to the fire spirits.
Bow Kid soon joined her side, wiping the sleep from her eyes, and followed her gaze. The snowfall had ebbed and was having trouble sticking, but hadn't stopped. "I don't think that ice queen of yours is going to give you much of a choice."
At last, Snatcher looked up from his book with an annoyed frown, "Like I said before, I'm not even keen on letting those fire spirits wander my forest so freely. They, Vanessa, and you are all already stubborn thorns in my side, and I'd prefer to keep the pest infestation to a minimum. Chances are, they'll only do more harm than good."
"You thought the same thing about the fire spirits."
He gave a resigned sigh, looking back and forth at the two aliens with a deadpan glare. He couldn't keep a constant eye on them: Sooner or later, they'd run off again to bring either help or chaos back with them with the best of intentions. All he could do was offer some direction to keep them from being that added liability.
He caved, dropping the book on the table and waving his hand, "Well, you know your way to the swamp by now. If you want to look for trouble, go ahead. Ask for Thane Fen. He hates me, but who knows: You might be able to talk some sense into him."
That was a name Hat hadn't heard before, "Thane Fen?"
"Thane of the Fen. I'm pretty sure he's still in charge of the swamp spirits anyway. If not, they'll have just given the name to next fish in line."
Their new goal set, the girls gave themselves a few more minutes to gather their belongings before making the short trip to the swamp. Aside from the silence that had replaced the steady chirrup of insects and the thin slush that floated above the water, wading between stalks of tall grass, it was just as Hat Kid remembered it: The same moss-covered trees, the same muck and mire, and the same salty, stale smell. She wondered if the spirits noticed the ice already or if they even cared.
They chose to head in to the deepest parts of the wetland, where the trees were large and old, for the best chance of finding the spirits. Occasionally, the water level dramatically dipped in places, but they were random. This seemed like the best option.
Bow Kid trailed after Hat's steps carefully over sodden ground and thick, fallen trunks; watching the water for any sign of disturbance as they moved. The silent trek gradually wearing on her, she mused aloud, "There are a ton of weird creatures here, aren't there… Do you think they're all natural or that maybe some magic might've affected them?"
She knew what her friend was really getting at. Hat Kid's own thoughts turned to the huge, shattered hourglass located on the other side of Subcon. Had time magic affected them… "Hard to say," she murmured, "The old reports about this planet said it was stable before any clocksmiths managed to come back here, and there aren't many records of what it was like before that." Not that she would've read them anyway: She'd barely skimmed through that data since her journey here had only ever meant to have been a pitstop in the first place. "There's other magical beings out there though, so probably not."
"I wouldn't think everything living here back then would've survived a broken Time Piece that big untouched though."
"The spirits might've come here after it shattered. Maybe all of that magic is what attracted them to Subcon."
It made sense. Since miasma drew in darker spirits, why couldn't regular magic lure others? Subcon Forest was already teeming with it, seemingly because of the massive Time Piece located in the heart of the ruins. That made the land an ideal environment for them, more malleable to their wills and the very aura of the place lending them strength. Of course, there were other areas of the planet with a high concentration of magic as well, just none near as strong as this forest.
"Yeah? Well, let's hope it's attracted more friends here than enemies," Bow grunted as she hopped over a pair of logs, arms extended for balance. As they passed one of the dormant skeletons, she added, "I like the fire spirits alright, but I wouldn't know how much trust to put in the rest of them so far."
They kept going, keeping an even pace. In the past, Hat Kid had seen both minions and regular Dwellers stationed around the swamp. Some were at work minding the bells used to summon supernatural objects into focus. Some of them took the risk of simply being there just to cause of mischief. Some of them failed and were strung up as a warning to future trespassers. That day, there were none: They were all likely back at the village trying to help contain the spread.
However, the girls weren't alone. Unbeknownst to them, the swamp spirits had found them first and tailed them beneath the water at a calm, quiet speed.