Chapter Seven
Meanwhile, Jareth was crossing off things on Trent's list as he gathered them.
Quinx bounced around, generally getting in the way.
"Quinx," Jareth said finally, "Would you hold still."
"Hmm?" he said, hanging upside down from Jareth's hair.
"Hold still."
"Huh?"
"Be still," Jareth ordered.
"Hmph, okie." Quinx managed this for about thirty seconds, then he was off again.
Jareth skimmed down the list, and then looked at Quinx, "What I am doing is very important."
"Whyyyee?"
"If I do not get this finished, you and your friends will not be able to have your game with Astario."
"ahhh!"
Jareth nodded
Quinx shot up to the top of Jareth's head.
Jareth concentrated and an oddly shaped bottle materialized on his desk.
"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! Whassat?"
"Unicorn water," Jareth answered, crossing it off the list.
"Whaaaa?"
"It is for the spell that Trent and I are working on," Jareth said.
"Ooooh yeh!"
Jareth nodded absently.
"Whatchu gonna do wid it?"
"I am going to give it to Trent once I have collected all the materials."
"Aaaaand...?"
"And then he will cast the spell to block Astario's power."
"Ooooooh... Coooooooooooooooooool!"
"Yes," Jareth said. He looked at an empty bowl on the table and snapped his fingers, "Holly from the bushes on the far east corridor." He ordered and several cuttings appeared in the bowl.
"Bushesinside?"
"Inside?" Jareth repeated, "Inside the labyrinth..."
"Inside thecastle?" Quinx didn't quite understand.
"No. The Labyrinth. The maze outside."
"Oh! Themazeoutside! I gedditnow!"
"Yes," Jareth said, taking inventory of the assorted bundles, boxes and bottles on the table.
"Ah. Now what?"
"One more thing," Jareth said.
"What? What you need? Can I help?!" Quinx started bouncing up and down on Jareth's head, eager to help.
"Yes you can help..." Jareth said slowly.
Quinx cheered. "How? Howhowhowhowhow?!"
"The next thing I must get requires a great deal of concentration..."
"Yeah...?"
"So there are two ways that you might help. One, by staying here..."
"Uh huh!"
"You may only come if you can manage to be still and silent."
"Mmm... Okay!"
"Do you think you can manage it Quinx?" Jareth asked, lifting the Indreve off his head and gazing intently at him.
Quinx frowned, obviously in deep deliberation. "Yeh!" he nodded eagerly.
"Now this is not one of those times when I tell you to be still because you are annoying me..." he said
"I promisepromisepromise I'll be good!" Quinx said, his eyes wide.
Jareth nodded, "It is for your own safety."
"I promiseJareth." Quinx said, turning a little so he could nuzzle the goblin king's hand.
Jareth smiled
"Okay?"
"Okay," Jareth agreed.
Quinx looked overjoyed.
Jareth set Quinx down on his shoulder.
The Indreve struggled to stay completely still, but managed to lose his balance a little, so he had to grab Jareth's hair to keep himself steady.
Jareth smiled, "Ready?"
There was no answer.
Jareth nodded and snapped his fingers, teleporting them to a flight of stairs in the basement of the castle.
Quinx looked around himself as quietly as he could (which meant a lack of "OOOH! WHASSAT!") and just squeaked softly.
"Now we go down," Jareth said.
Quinx squeaked again, and carefully shifted so he was hidden behind some of Jareth's hair.
Jareth started walking down the stairs quietly, his footsteps echoing in the corridor.
Quinx shivered/
It grew darker and colder the further they went down
Quinx whimpered a little.
"Shh now," Jareth said softly, "Nothing to fear down here."
"Itcoldanddark..."
"Yes," Jareth said softly, "But don't worry."
Quinx muttered to himself and huddled against Jareth's neck.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and Jareth raised a hand. A glowing crystal appeared in his hand
Quinx watched, wide-eyed.
Jareth continued onwards.
Quinx tried to hide down the collar of Jareth's shirt.
He walked down a passage way of dark stone
The Indreve was feeling highly nervous, but remembered that this was very important and he couldn't disturb Jareth...
Jareth came to a stop at a seemingly dead end.
A small 'meep'-like noise came from his collar, but Quinx had forced himself not to point out the glaringly obvious; no way forward.
"Open." Jareth commanded. For a moment nothing happened and then part of the wall swung open silently.
Quinx peered, wide-eyed, from between some of the goblin king's hair, at the moving wall.
Behind the wall was another room with black stone walls. In the center was a well.
It seemed plain enough. Quinx was intrigued however; why a well here, of all places? It was cold and dark and very nasty! Quinx didn't like it. He would have put the well somewhere warm and nice, and bright.
Jareth walked over to the well silently.
Quinx opened his mouth to ask why the well was there, then clapped his hand across it in a definite effort to stop himself. He almost overbalanced in doing this, and had to grab Jareth's collar to prevent himself from falling off his shoulder.
He automatically reached out to steady Quinx.
The Indreve bit his finger in what he saw as an affectionate manner.
"Gah," Jareth said softly.
"Sowwy!" Quinx hissed as quietly as he could.
"It's okay," Jareth said, lowering a bucket down into the well and pulling up some water.
"-oh..."
He carefully poured the dark looking water into a bottle.
Quinx blinked as he watched the water. He was sure water was lighter...
Jareth closed the bottle and swiftly walked out of the chamber
Quinx clung to his collar, worried he might fall off again.
Once outside of the chamber, Jareth seemed to relax
"Why we have to be so quiet...?" Quinx whispered.
"Because this chamber echoes."
"Oh..." Quinx went quiet for a little bit. "Whyitproblem?"
"Because it would be very very loud and it would disturb the water."
"ooohhhh." The Indreve nodded, as if he understood every word Jareth had said.
They reached the top of the stairs and Jareth teleported them back to his room.
"Whyitbad todisturb the water?" Quinx gabbled, feeling like there were thousands of words inside him to speak, all at once.
"Actually, it's bad to disturb the well."
"Willit be mad?"
He nodded.
"Ooohhh. Badwell?"
"No... not bad."
"Oh..."
"Powerful."
"ooohh."
Jareth nodded, "Well, that is everything Trent needs."
"Whywellgetmad?"
"Because it is very sensitive to things," Jareth said, "And if it...'get's mad' it won't give me the proper water..."
"Ohh." Quinx nodded. "I see!"
"But all is well," Jareth said, "I will just give all of these things to Trent."
Quinx gave a small yawn and curled up, suddenly tired.
Jareth smiled *Trent?*
~Yes?~
*I have assembled everything*
~Ah! Good!~
*Would you like me to send it to you?*
~Yes, yes please, yes, that would be helpful...~
*Where exactly do you want me to put it all?*
~The desk, in my study.~
*Alright. I hope you have plenty of room*
~I do, it's empty right now...~
*Good* Jareth waved a hand and transported everything to Trent's desk.
Trent smiled. ~Thank you brother.~
*Of course*
Denni eeped softly as the desk was suddenly full.
"It's okay Denni, it's just some things my brother's sent me, I need them for the spell..."
"Okies!" she chirruped, "Theycamefast!"
"Yep, my brother is a useful creature at times..."
She giggled
Trent smiled at her.
She darted around the things on the desk.
"Be careful, Denni, you mustn't knock anything over."
"Won't!" she said cheerfully.
"Good, good..." Trent tutted and caught a bottle that was teetering precariously near the edge of the table.
She giggled.
Trent tutted again, and started reading out the spell ingredients softly under his breath.
She jumped up to his shoulder
He jumped. "Oh! Denni! Don't do that, you startled me...!"
"Sorry!"
"It's okay," he smiled at her.
She smiled back and peered over his shoulder at the list
Trent continued to read, checking everything over.
"Allhere?" she asked
"Yes, everything's here," he nodded.
"Yay!"
"Indeed..."
She grinned, "Youdo spell now?"
"I certainly will. You will need to keep very quiet, and very still..."
"I help?"
"No, I have to do this alone, thank you."
She frowned slightly
He sighed. "You can stay in here and watch, if you want?"
"Yeayeah!"
"Okay, but you must keep quiet for me, yes?"
"Yesyesyesyes-"
"Denni," Trent sounded semi amused, semi stern.
She fell silent
"Thank you." He smiled at her.
She nodded and nuzzled him, "I can be quiet."
"Good girl," he said, petting her gently.
She snuggled up against him.
Trent smiled and looked back down at his paper, beginning to prepare the spell.
She hopped off his shoulder and climbed up on top of a bookshelf, "Okayhere?"
"Yep..." he murmured, distractedly.
"good," she settled down
Trent began preparing, measuring out exact quantities and the such.
Denni watched silently, bursting with curiosity, but was still quiet
He was muttering a charm under his breath, things beginning to come together slowly, things mixing to one side, something being crushed the other, and Trent in the middle, measuring.
She held her breath excitedly.
A small green explosion made Trent's hair stand on end, and he coughed, looking a trifle confused. He then realized he'd managed to make the extra vial of leave vein explode. He coughed again, then continued working. The spell began with a potion, and he had to get that right before anything else could be done.
She eeped
He didn't seem to hear, and soon the potion was looking less like a collection of ingredients and more like a potion.
Denni was quiet again
Trent nodded to himself and muttered another soft incantation.
Denni was about ready to explode with curiosity, but she remained still, more or less, although she was quivering slightly with her efforts to be still
The potion made a small 'ping' noise, and Trent blinked.
She held her breath.
Trent chuckled softly and mixed something sweet-smelling into the bubbling mixture. Bubbling, though there was no heat or fire beneath it...
Denni was amazed at how powerful her friend was
Soon the mixture was giving off a strange odor. Neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but something in between, that stung the nostrils and made the eyes water.
She squeaked softly, not liking this any more.
Trent looked at her swiftly, then looked back at his work, muttering some words as he gently poured another liquid into the already almost-full pot.
Denni shifted back guiltily, not meaning to have distracted him.
A few more words, and the liquid in the pot made a very obscene noise.
Trent reprimanded it, and placed a few petals in the pot.
Denni slowly slid down from her spot.
The liquid made a strange noise, and slowly formed into the shape of a flower.
"No..." Trent tutted. "Behave." it did.
She crept a bit closer
The potion noticed Denni and quickly turned into a shape resembling her.
Trent hit it over the head with a spoon and it subsided back into the pot.
She squeaked
"Behave." Trent frowned. He added a few more ingredients, then finally he slowly poured the water Jareth had acquired for him. The liquid stopped bubbling and became clear, like water, with no scent at all.
Denni had at this point migrated up the back of Trent's chair
"All done," Trent said, sounding very relieved.
"Yaay!"
He chuckled. "Yay indeed..."
She climbed up to his shoulder.
He chuckled. "Do be careful." he warned.
She nodded, clinging into his shirt.
~It is finished, brother.~
*Good* Jareth said, *Thank you*
~No problem, brother.~ Trent smiled, physically and psychically.
Jareth returned the smile before cutting the connection.
Denni took a deep breath as though she were about to say something.
"Yes?" Trent asked.
"What you do?" she asked
"I made the potion my brother asked me to." he replied.
She nodded, "Whyitchange?"
Trent didn't really know how to answer that one. "Because..."
"Itlooklikeflower... then me!"
"I know, it can."
"ooooooo"
"Yes..." Trent suppressed a smile.
"Coool!"
He chuckled.
"Whatelseyou do?"
"What else did I do?"
"Made it bubble!"
"Ahhh... That. Yes, I did..."
"Noheat tho'?"
"Not visibly, no."
"Ooo in-in-" she struggled with the word and then gave up, "Can't seeit?"
"Invisible, not exactly. I can create the heat, but you won't understand how, it's far too complicated and even I don't understand it fully," Trent laughed. "But no, you can't see it."
"Aaah."
He petted her gently.
She cuddled against him
Trent smiled. ~When do you want me to set it up, Jareth?~ he asked. He was quite content just to stay where he was for then.
*As soon as you are ready*
~Give me a few minutes, then...~
Jareth nodded, *Yes, rest and recover yourself.*
~Thanks.~
Jareth nodded again.
Denni nuzzled Trent gently.
Trent chuckled. "Thank you Denni," he smiled.
"Youtired?"
"A little," he nodded.
"Mm. You rest then."
He chuckled. "I have little time for that..."
A blanket floated up from his bed
He didn't actually notice.
It came around his shoulders.
He blinked, looking surprised. "Hello?" he questioned it.
Denni giggled
Trent smiled at her. "A hint, I suppose?"
She nodded
"Five minutes then, but I can't rest any longer than that..."
"Kies!"
Trent yawned and rested against the desk.
She curled up in his hair
He didn't notice, and was soon fast asleep, more tired than he realised, having 'cheated' and used his psychic powers to speed the concoction of the mixture, rather than doing it by hand.
Denni fell asleep as well.
Time passed
Trent yawned and opened one eye lazily.
Denni was still asleep, curled up into a cute little ball in his hair.
"Oh -" Trent said something rather rude in a strange language and sat up, not realising Denni was in his hair.
She tumbled from his hair and eeped
He caught her before she went anywhere. "There you are..." he commented.
She chittered at him sleepily.
"A little longer than five minutes, I suspect..." Trent chuckled softly.
"Mmm..."
~Jareth?~
*Yes Trent?*
~What time is it?~
"Half-past three."
~...ah...~
*Why?*
~Er, I just - er - dozed off...~
*Ah.* Jareth said.
Trent grinned sheepishly.
*Well, when you are ready, you can set up the spell across the area of the Indreves.*
~Okay...~
Jareth's mental voice sounded rather amused.
~Shush,~ Trent's mental voice was sheepish, almost in a mutter.
*I said nothing.*
~I know, that's why I warned you not to,~ Trent now sounded amused.
*Warning taken* Jareth said good-naturedly
~Good good,~ Trent smiled. ~I'll be there in a moment, okay?~
*Alright.*
Denni had gotten used to the strange look that Trent got sometimes, just as long as he looked normal again...
Trent blinked, refocusing. "Alright?" he asked Denni.
"YupYup!" she bounced a bit
"Good," he smiled. "Well, I have to go and set the spell up..."
"ooooooooooo!"
"Will you stay here, or would you like to come with me?"
"Withyou!"
"Okay," Trent nodded, getting up off the floor.
She jumped to his shoulder
He nodded and smiled, feeling increasingly fond of the Indreve, then concentrated, clicked his fingers slightly, and both he and Denni faded from his study, to reappear amongst the Indreves.
She squeaked delightedly at the trip
He chuckled. "Thank you, I didn't need my ear drum anyway..."
Denni giggled
Trent laughed a little as well. "Now," he said. "Can you get your friends out of the way for a little while?"
"Itry!"
"Thank you, say it's very important Denni, but I'll be very quick..."
She nodded and squeaked his directions to the others
He nodded, and began to set the area up, ready for the spell.
Denni cuddled up against him, watching with bright eyes
"Now, Denni, if you go and sit with your friends," Trent advised her, straightening up.
"Gotta?" she asked
"I would advise you to," He said. "You might not like the feeling of the magic which will come from me..."
"Kies," she cuddled him for a moment and then jumped down
Trent smiled, then shut his eyes and began the spell...
Denni sat with the other Inderves, all of which were watching Trent curiously
A wind began to pick up around him, making his cloak and his hair whip around him.
Denni ooo'd softly.
The wind grew in intensity, and a light emerald glow began to emanate from the immobile Psy.
Some of the little ones squeaked.
"Is okay," Denni churrped, "Hegood."
Bit by bit, the areas of the ground that Trent had put droplets of potion on began to glow with the same incandescent light that he was, and the emerald light began to grow brighter and brighter around him.
This was responded to by a chorus of (somewhat) quiet "ooo's"
The droplets of light connected together with a shimmering bright green light that was far too bright to look directly at. Trent was muttering something quickly, something that sounded very impressively not like English. If one looked closer, one could see how pale he was, and how much he was struggling to hold himself upright.
Jareth appeared silently.
Trent's voice rose to conversation level as he chanted the words of the spell over and over again. Slowly he raised his hands. The green light rose, like a wall around the enclosure, following the movement of his arms.
Denni inched closer to Trent, she could see how pale he was looking.
Jareth gently started to re-enforce Trent's power.
A small smile played at the corner of the Psy's lips as he kept talking, his voice stronger now. The green light began to fade, then flashed once, as if in completion, and Trent flinched a little. The light was gone, as was the wind, and Trent was leaning down on one knee, sweaty and pale, and catching his breath.
And Denni was looking up at him, her large eyes filled with concern
"Don't - worry," he panted, smiling lopsidedly. "I'm fine..." ~Thanks to you, brother,~ he added.
*Of course,* Jareth said, *You should have said something before...*
Denni nodded slowly
~Well, I thought perhaps I should try and cope, y'know, work my way through it...~ Trent sounded a trifle shifty. He had always hated not being as strong magically as his younger brother, and intensely disliked having to have help when performing complicated spells such as this.
*Ah.*
Denni cuddled against Trent's ankle shyly.
He looked down, and smiled a little more. "Okay down there?" he asked.
She nodded
"Good,"
~Thank you, Jareth,~ He added, slowly standing up, still quite pale, but in control of his lungs again.
Denni looked uncertain if she should climb up Trent again or not.
He crouched just slightly and held his hand out to her, deciding he could do with the comfort and the company right now.
She jumped into his hand
Trent smiled and put her on his shoulder. "Right, that's done, brother," he spoke aloud, allowing his mind to rest. All the concentration was giving him a headache...
"Yes," Jareth said, "Thank you. Would you care to join me inside?"
Trent nodded.
Before Trent had a chance to say anything else, Jareth had transported his brother back to his room.
Trent blinked. "Thank you..." he said, blinking again to clear his head.
Denni cuddled against him, "You sit now."
He did just that, shutting his eyes briefly before opening them again.
"Rest," she ordered as sternly as she could manage
Trent smiled at her. "I shall,"
"good."
He looked across to Jareth. "Everything alright, brother?"
"Perfectly."
"Good."
"Thank you," Jareth said
"Don't mention it, brother." Trent smiled.
"Alright," Jareth said, "I have some other business to attend to."
"What would you like me to do now, Jareth?"
"Nothing, just..." Jareth vanished out of reach of his brother *Just rest!*
Trent made an irritable-sounding noise in the back of his throat. ~We have far too much to do for me to waste time with 'resting', brother!~
*Do not argue with me!* Jareth took on a regal tone.
Here we go... ~I'm the elder,~ Trent said, although he did sound a trifle amused.
*And therefore you need to take your rest *elder* brother*
~Hey!~ Trent protested. ~I may be older, but I am not senile!~
Jareth laughed.
~How rude...~ Trent tutted. ~I don't need to rest...~ Much. ~Just a drink...~ Of some sort of potion... To wake him up slightly...
*No Trent, you are going to rest... I have someone to watch to ensure that you do*
~What?~
*Do not worry Trent, I will wake you as soon as there is any excitement.*
~Hmph. Who is it you'll send to watch then, brother?~ Trent questioned, pursing his lips.
*I'm not *sending* anyone...*
~Oh...?~ He was lost.
Denni cooed as she cuddled against Trent
He blinked down at her, then nodded in understanding. ~I see...~
*Have a nice rest brother*
~Hmph...~
Denni gazed up at him adoringly.
Trent smiled at her and petted her gently. "It appears I have to stay here..."
She nodded
"Did you have a hand in this?" He teased, smiling at her a little more to show he wasn't angry in the slightest.
"Yougotta rest an' be strong"
He chuckled. "Okay..."
She snuggled against him
Trent yawned slightly and petted Denni's head again, gently.
She smiled, "You sleep now."
"If you insist..." he got up carefully, walked over to the couch and lay down, shutting his eyes.
Denni purred and levitated a blanket over to Trent
"Thank you..." He murmured.
She smiled
He yawned, slowly drifting off.
Denni looked pleased that her 'charge' was resting
Soon Trent was breathing evenly, fast asleep.
Denni curled up on his chest, sleeping as well