The Wizard and the Void - Chapter Twenty-Two
Author: Milady Dragon
"Did you find something we could use?" Ianto inquired. He was looking much better, his color was back and he was steady once more. Apparently, the Deep Ways replenished his energy quickly.
Pepper nodded. She held out the brightly colored towel, carefully pulling the folds apart, to reveal a flash of white and blue material. The Grand Master had sent her to Daisy's dormitory room, where she'd gotten past the wards – impressive for a student but no real match for her – and had located the blouse in her Novice's knapsack. She was going to have to have a word with Daisy about taking better care of her clothing, surprised that Phil hadn't already done so. Or, maybe he had, but Daisy hadn't taken to the lesson.
"But we did scry for her," Novice Jemma said indignantly. "We couldn't locate her!"
"What did you use as a tuning object?" There wasn't an ounce of condescension in Ianto's voice; mere curiosity.
"A thread from a blouse that Daisy lent me."
He nodded. "If you'd worn it, your own essence might have masked Novice Daisy's own. Having something that is wholly hers will get a better result."
Both Novices slumped a little, knowing that Ianto had a valid point. Pepper did notice that he didn't add the fact that he was so much more powerful than they were, and that he'd had a lot of practice scrying, which would have made them feel worse. Pepper could still remember the story of how Ianto had first discovered the Scrying spell, because he'd wanted to keep as much of an eye on Jack as possible while they were separated. Jack had called it 'magical stalking' with a fond laugh.
"Now," the Cardinal Grand Master said kindly, taking the wrapped bundle from Pepper, "if your teaching Master doesn't object, I can give you a lesson in scrying…"
"Object?" Master Mack said, looking pleased. "Hells, I'll probably learn something as well!"
Ianto chuckled. "The best teachers are the ones who are also willing to learn." He turned to Jack. "Would you mind getting the maps from my casting chamber? I'll need them."
"Not at all," the Deathless agreed. "I'll be right back." He left the room.
"Here." Ianto handed Novice Jemma the towel once again folded tightly around the blouse. "Hold onto this for me, while I fetch what else I'll need?"
The Elf looked as if she wanted to cry. "I shall."
Ianto nodded, giving her a gentle smile, then headed out of the room. Novice Jemma clutched the bundle to her chest, as if willing to protect it with her life; her fellow Novice put an arm around her, comforting her. And himself, most likely.
"You think he's gonna find Daisy?" Baron Nick asked, startling Pepper who hadn't heard him approach her. He was troubled; but then, he'd been Phil's friend for decades, and had been around Daisy as she'd grown up. That had to have been just as hard on him as it was on Pepper herself.
"It's worth a try," she said. "We don't have any other way of finding them, and Daisy's most likely the same place as Phil and the Hawk…"
"Unless they're in a place that's unPlotable."
That really hadn't needed to be said.
To be honest, the longer they were out of touch with any of them, the more Pepper worried. She was aware that both Phil and his mercenary companion could take care of themselves, but if Daisy was held over their heads…Phil would cave faster than a house over a freshly opening sinkhole. He wouldn't do anything to endanger his daughter, even if that meant him being killed himself.
Well, not so much killed, if what they were all assuming was true.
He could still be hurt, though, and if Hydra did know about Phil being that connected to the Void that it wouldn't let him die, then it would give them free rein to do whatever they wanted to him.
She couldn't even imagine that sort of torture.
"I am still a little put out that you didn't tell me," Tony stated, joining them. "Although I understand why."
She nodded. "It really wasn't my secret to tell."
"And I'm the one who's gonna have to tell Phil he's been outed," Nick sighed. "That's most likely not gonna go down well."
Pepper rested a hand on his arm. "He'll understand."
"Yeah, hope so."
She could sympathize with his worry, but there really wasn't anything they could do. Unfortunately, it had become necessary to tell people, and Pepper was sure they could help deal with any sort of fallout that would come from it getting out just who Phil was. Damage control was something she did well… after all, she'd married Tony Stark.
Jack was back before Ianto was; the immortal was carrying a single round scroll tube, and Pepper had to wonder about the map it contained, since it didn't look large enough to hold much. It was obviously magical, yet she didn't recognize the magic.
Grand Master Stephen seemed to, however, and his nodded, grinning. "That's very elegant, I've never seen that spell used on something so small."
Ianto followed them in a moment later, carrying a small wooden box with several magical runes carved on it. . "Can someone please take this while I get the maps?" he requested. Novice Leo hastened to volunteer, clutching onto it as tightly as Jemma was her wrapped bundle.
Jack set the tube down onto the table, stepping back as Ianto drew his wand and flipped open the end of the tube. The stopper popped open, and the Grand Wizard murmured something, moving his wand over the opening.
He reached inside with two fingers, and began pulling out long, rolled up, papers, far more than should have fit inside.
"Oh," Pepper gasped.
"That is amazing," the Great Grand Master breathed, a huge grin on his face. "I have a Dimensional Expansion spell on my library, but this one is far more intricate. There's Protection and Stasis magicks involved as well…"
Pepper had to agree about it being amazing. She'd never seen anything like it, and she'd been Ianto's Novice. The magic sparkled in her sight, but she could tell it wasn't exclusively Cardinal magic; it was mostly the sort that the Greats employed.
Even Mistress Maria looked impressed, and that wasn't an easy thing to do.
"How is that possible?" Tony demanded.
"That wasn't wholly Cardinal magic," Mistress Maria exclaimed, almost accusingly.
As Ianto unrolled the maps, he explained, "It was a gift from a dear friend."
"Master John," Jack mentioned, standing away from his busy husband, not wanting to get in the way.
"Master John Smith?" Mistress Maria demanded.
Ianto closed up the scroll tube, then set it aside. "We weren't always close, but in later years we got past all that and became close. After all, he was my many times great-grandfather." He shook his head fondly. "Time travel. It can play merry hells on personal relationships."
"So all the old stories are true!" Novice Jemma piped up excitedly.
"He could really time travel?" Novice Leo echoed.
Pepper noticed that they did that a lot, completing each other's sentences and thoughts. She wondered if some sort of mental magicks were involved, or if they were just that close.
"Well," Jack answered, "he couldn't…but his dragon could. Tardis was always able to teleport, but the time travel thing was a spell that Master John found somewhere. It was after my time traveling with him…after I died the first time. Eventually, when he decided to settle down and become a teacher, he let the time travel spell fade. He was perfectly happy with what he was doing and not wanting to travel anymore."
"Master John was also good at several types of transformative magic," Ianto continued, taking the maps back and laying them out on the tabletop. "He was more than happy to show me what could be adapted to Cardinal magic…or could be cast without it. That tube is very handy to have, and I've enchanted several others that I use to preserve the most ancient documents…"
"I have a set of saddlebags with the same spell," Jack added. "One can store my armor and a months' worth of supplies with no problem."
"I have a scroll with the larger spell on it, supposedly written by Master John himself, but I'd really like one of this, as well, if you don't mind sharing," Grand Master Stephen said, sounding almost covetous. "I tried to adapt the one I have for smaller use, but cannot get it to work just right."
"I'll make sure you get a copy," Ianto promised. "Now, let's get to the scrying bit. Leo, may I have that box back, please?"
The Novice handed it back, and Ianto thanked him politely for holding it for him. Ianto flipped open the lid, revealing several pendulums already made. They all had a clear crystal on one end of a gold chain, with a large O-ring at the other. Pepper could tell none of them were enchanted as yet, and she had to smile that her old teaching Master would have so many on hand.
"Jemma, if I might have the blouse?"
Novice Jemma started; she'd been as interested in the scroll tube as everyone else and had watched avidly as Ianto had spread the maps it had contained all over the large table. She passed the wrapped blouse over, and the Grand Master accepted it with the same thanks he'd given Novice Leo.
Ianto pulled the towel open, revealing the contents. "Now, we only need a thread… it's best to use something from one of the cuffs or the collar…it's a form of sympathetic magic, being close to pulse points…"
Carefully checking the fabric over, he found a loose thread that he teased away from the left cuff. "This should do. I usually like to find a couple, but I don't want to ruin such a pretty blouse." He smiled at that. "My Tad was a master tailor. I learned to respect clothing at this knee."
"It's handy when my cloak gets damaged," Jack laughed.
The smirk Ianto gave him was just this side of filthy. "I do love that cloak."
Pepper blushed slightly, having seen that 'love' inadvertently one time when she'd been a Novice and had come to Ianto for help with an issue with a spell. It had been…educational. Up until that point she hadn't realized that the human body could be that flexible.
Ianto chose one of the pendulums by the O-ring at the end of the chain, lifting it out between the index finger and thumb of his left hand, careful not to touch either the crystal or the rest of the chain. "Now, the very first time I attempted this, the crystal I was using exploded." The smile this time was teasing. "I've gotten much better at it since."
Instead of everyone backing away at that vague warning, everyone in the room crowded closer around the table to watch. Pepper laughed internally at that.
"Ask him to show you the collection of scrying crystals he's made over the years," Jack joked. "He's made them for everyone he's ever known."
Jack wasn't kidding; Pepper had seen that collection. There was even a crystal there that Ianto had attuned to her. It should have been creepy, but there wasn't a creepy bone in the man's body. It was because he truly cared, and wanted to make certain his loved ones were safe, and he never used them unless it was important. Pepper was honored to have been included in that select number.
"You tell everyone that story, Ianto," she had to get in on the teasing. When he'd told it to her, it had scared her so badly her crystal had been damaged when she'd botched the spell. It had turned out that scrying wasn't one of her talents, so she was suitably impressed by the two Novices – and their teaching Master – who were all three watching the Grand Master so avidly as he explained the spell he was about to perform, for even to have attempted it at all.
"It's a good lesson," he protested lightly. "Sometimes we learn the most when we make mistakes."
Pepper really needed to speak to Ianto about taking on students once more. As far as she knew, Pepper herself was the last Novice he'd trained, and that was a shame. He was quite good with the young ones, and to have that sort of natural ability and not using it was a waste. There were a couple of up-and-coming students she'd need to discuss with him, especially that Maximoff boy…
And perhaps she should also speak to Phil when this was all over. Just from the state of Daisy's wards, Pepper could tell that he'd had a hand in her learning such higher-level magicks. It certainly helped that he'd taught her how to adapt them to fit her own magical affinity. Plus, young Pietro had a Void sister, which should have actually been impossible since types of magic ran in families, and Pepper could see they could very well be good for each other. Besides, Phil really needed to be less of a hermit than he was. It wasn't healthy in the long term.
Ianto began to hum, and his eyes changed. Magic always showed up in the eyes, but the Grand Master's were the only ones she knew of that the pupils became completely blown and the gold around those pupils flashing like the sun's corona during a full eclipse.
Pepper could feel the magic in the air, her former teaching Master calling it to him. The crystal at the end of the chain began to glow softly, and Ianto carefully picked up the thread he'd taken from Daisy's shirt, wrapping it around the chain, tying one end into a knot just below the O-ring he was holding, dexterously using just the fingers of his free hand.
The tone of the humming changed. Pepper knew what that meant; it was yet another part of the spell he was using to attune the pendulum to Daisy's unique personal energy. As they all watched, the thread bonded to the chain, becoming a part of the magical item. Nothing would be able to remove it, barring the total destruction of the crystal.
The humming faded, as did the magic from Ianto's eyes. He blinked once, glancing over at the avidly watching Novice Wizards. "Did you get the spells I used?" he asked kindly.
Novice Jemma nodded. "That last one… it was an Attuning spell. It went active when the thread became a part of the pendulum."
"And the first one…" Novice Leo considered. "I understood the Seeker spell. But there was another one…Clarity, perhaps?"
"Close," the Grand Master corrected. "It was a combination of Clarity and Affinity. The item has to be prepared for the Attuning by giving it an affinity with what I'm using to make the actual attunement."
"I didn't do that," Novice Jemma sighed.
"So, next time you will." He nodded encouragingly. "Please let me know how it works."
That got him twin smiles. "Thank you, Grand Master," Novice Jemma replied, gratefully.
"Yes, thank you," Novice Leo said at the same time.
"I have to throw in my thanks as well," Master Mack added. "I'll be adding that to my lessons in the future."
"Excellent. Not every Novice will be able to perform the magic," and that earned Pepper a glance, "but there will be some who will benefit."
"The lesson has been nice," Nick spoke up, "but shouldn't we be using that fancy doodad to locate Daisy?"
"Indeed we should." With that, Ianto moved the crystal over a map of the western coast cities of the Western Lands.
That made sense. After all, it seemed as if this was all happening there, so searching in that area first was their best bet. The crystal swung freely over New Andrade, then south toward Triskelia. The pendulum didn't react there, so Ianto moved it farther west…and then it straightened, as if the chain had become solid.
It dropped, landing on a section of coastline near what was labeled Golden Gate, a large trading and shipping hub north of Ferrous and that looked less like an enclave of evil than anything Pepper had every seen.
"That's Baron Henry Pym's territory," Tony said. "We'll have to contact him to get permission to make a raid – "
He was interrupted when the crystal suddenly twitched. Surprised, Ianto lifted it from its place and let it swing free once more, where it dropped onto the map in a mountainous area in Triskelia. Nothing was marked on the map, and it appeared to be out in the middle of nowhere.
"What the hells?" Baron Nick exclaimed.
"Where is that?" Jack wanted to know.
"That," the Baron snorted, "is where Shield Keep is, and is supposed to be unPlotable. It appears as though Daisy's rescued herself and has gone home."