After convincing Setton and Twilight that the Legstep was harmless, Lee paused. He looked around curiously, and frowned. "Hey, Silias. What happened to Biblio?" he asked.
Silias had removed his sunglasses moments before to reveal a pair of gray-irised eyes, which currently were widened in surprise. Lee's question was answered for him when the bone spider emerged from Silias' jacket.
Setton jumped back, startled by the sight of the ivory arachnid. "What the hell is that?!"
Silias and the bone spider were visibly offended by this outburst. "This beautiful little guy is a bone spider, thank you very much." Petting the creature, he spoke to it. “Biblio's been there for me through everything, come hell or high water.”
The little guy proudly scuttled on Silias' shoulder, but abruptly stopped when it noticed Lee nearby. With no warning, Biblio leaped onto the Silvertongue and, to the surprise of Twilight and Setton, began rubbing himself against Lee's neck. The bone spider even began purring at the contact.
After he stroked Biblio's back - much to the latter's delight - the sound of writing reached Lee's ears. He found this sounded like a quill dancing across parchment. Considering this, he turned to find Twilight writing notes about Biblio, along with a rather accurate sketch.
“Fascinating,” she murmured. “'Seemingly constructed of bone and uncovered sinew, the bone spider shows clear signs of intelligence. The exact amount has yet to be tested by this researcher...”
After a moment of muttering, the unicorn seemed to sense the eyes on her, and she looked up with a gleam in her eyes. “Silias, was it? Would you mind telling me more about these creatures?”
Silias nodded, and Twilight launched into her investigation. “So from what region do 'bone spiders' originate?”
Silias attempted to answer, but the mare kept cutting him off with her over-eager string of questions.
“Are they magical or biological in design?”
“Well, a mixture of both –”
“Are there different sub-species of bone spider?”
“Not that I know of, but –”
“What can a bone spider do?”
Lee cleared his throat much louder than necessary, but this managed to set Twilight's crosshairs on him.
"If I remember correctly, this type of the bone spider naturally resides in the realm of the Blind Man, the Peisistratos, where we are now. Bone spiders can create obfuscations of just about anything. Objects, places, people, and so on."
Setton looked thoughtful for a moment. "So what you're saying is... you can call into reality anything at all so long as you read it, but that little spider can do the same with a bit of weaving?"
Lee waved his hand in a so-so gesture. "Sort of. Silvertongues can pull things from other realities through the use of the written word, and they become 'real' in relation to wherever they've been read to. This is usually due to the use of ‘fiction’ as a foci. The constructs of bone spiders, on the other end, have less substance to them. To oversimplify it, they can create extremely vivid illusions.”
Twilight, for her part, had pulled out several scrolls - where she got them from, Lee had no clue - which hovered around her as she jotted down this information.
In the midst of the barrage of questions that arose, Lee was astonished to find that she wrote almost as fast as he spoke. Lee briefly wondered if she had been tutored by one of Jordan Dooling's cognates or something.
Silias looked at Lee searchingly. There seemed to be a question on his mind that he couldn't put into words. His eyes drifted down to Lee's satchel, and Silias began staring holes into it.
Noting this, Lee took advantage of the mare's preoccupation with changing scrolls to ask Silias a question of his own. "What happened on October 14th, back in 2011?"
He looked at him levelly for a moment. "What do you mean?" he asked, hesitant.
Lee drew out his Book of Memories, eliciting a small gasp from Silias. "There's a massive gap in my Book starting from that day and ending about two months ago." Lee rubbed the back of his head. “I should have expected that sort of thing, as technically I went back in time when I went in, but the fact that there's a gap at all is confusing.”
Twilight snapped up from her scrolls, thrown by the change in topic. “Wait, what book?”
Silias' eyes lit up like it was Christmas. "So...you remember everything else?" he asked, hope dancing in his voice.
Lee smiled. “We’ve been through quite a bit, you and I. Like when we were traveling along that highway in North Dakota, and we came across that three-headed Carbra. You had managed to open up several of its gas tanks during the fight, and did that insane maneuver using that rag and Kain’s shotgun. I still have no idea how you managed to pull it off.”
Setton was, understandably, confused. “What's a Carbra again?”
“Basically a giant cobra made of cars,” Silias said absently, smiling broadly at the memory. He stepped forwards, opened his arms, and gave the Silvertongue a hug. “It's good to have you back, Lee.”
“Wait, you two fought a cobra made of cars?!” Setton asked as his eyes bugged. “When the hell did this happen?”
Silias shifted his head to regard Setton, and waved a hand dismissively. “When Rapture tried to eat the universe, back in 2011. You didn't go through it because you didn't get read into the story with Lee.”
Setton started spluttering like a fish out of water. Shaking, he pointed a finger at Lee. “You mean you knew about your powers this whole time?”
“Don't look at me like that,” Lee said as he stepped out of the hug, raising his arms defensively. “My memories of that time were sealed until about ten minutes ago.”
Lee paused, considering something, and turned to Silias. “By the way, why didn't we meet up sooner? What have you been up to these past few months?”
Silias’s expression clouded. He pulled out the note from earlier, the one he had back in the regular library. “After I woke up in this world, a man in red gave me this, and made me swear not to approach you again until the date on this note. And even then, you had to be with the people specified, and I had to say the highlighted words at least once. I assumed he went through so many hoops because he was from the future – when he thought I couldn’t see him, he left the Peisistratos to go to Tuonela.”
Setton held up both his hands. “Hold on a minute. Isn't that the Finnish word for Hell or something? How does going there make him a time traveler?”
Silias waved his hand. “Well, the mythology says that it's the Land of the Dead, but mythology doesn't get every detail right. Strictly speaking, it's the name of a universe, and time spent there doesn't synch up with time spent in this universe. If you know where to go, and when to go, you can use it to travel through time in relation to this universe.”
He gestured to Twilight and Setton. “And it looks like my time-traveler guess was right.”
Twilight shook her head. “That seems like an overly complicated way to time travel. I mean, why didn't he use the time travel spell to do it?”
Silias stared at Twilight for a moment, seriously conflicted on what he should say in response to that innocent remark.
Meanwhile, Lee was taking a closer look at the stationery. “Mind if I borrow this?” he asked abruptly.
Silias blinked. “Uh...go ahead.”
Lee ran straight back to the shelf where he found his book, and after a quick search he retrieved the note from the ground. Shaking, Lee held the papers up to each other.
The paper was a perfect match.
Lee went back to where he had left the others, holding the notes in one hand. “I remembered that I saw this paper before,” he explained. “It was in the page where I came up with the idea for your story.”
This statement caught Setton’s attention. “Wait, are you telling me that you wrote this guy?”
Lee turned to Setton. “I see it as more of a 'chicken and egg' scenario, but I wrote Silias' story. After I wrote the story, I had accidentally read myself into it, and spent the next five odd months knee deep in the apocalypse. This note,” holding up the bit of paper, “was placed just before the memory gap that occupied that space.”
While Setton gaped at the young man, still trying to come to terms with the fact that Silias was a fictional character, Lee pressed on.
“Whoever gave Silias that note must have left this one in my Book. I'd stake my power on it.”
Twilight looked at the folded paper in Lee's hand. “Have you read that one?”
Lee shook his head, and unfolded the note. After a moment, he looked as though he was about to read it aloud. After a tense moment of silence, Lee thought better of it, handed it to Twilight, and asked her to read it in his place.
Twilight nodded, and recited the following:
Hello, Lee. Considering what you’ve gone through since discovering your talent, it’s amazing you’re still in control of yourself. As I write this, however, that's decidedly not the case. If you were familiar with Stephen R. Donaldson’s 'The Killing Stroke,’ then you’d guess why it has to be this way. There are limits to what I can do, but I can make sure you – and the Totality of Existence – has a fighting chance in the days to come.
My emissary will be leaving this note in my place, as I won't have the strength to do it myself. I am glad that I managed to deliver Silias his note before the end, at the very least.
Focus on your quest, my old friend, and listen to this warning for your own sake. Don’t interfere with the Sirens the second time around.
My song may be ending, but the story will live on. That is what I’m counting on.
Signed,
Henry Parrish
The Red Bard
While Lee and Silias tried to remember if they met a “Red Bard” during their travels, Setton looked as if he had seen a ghost. In a way, you could say that he had, and he just didn’t know until the reference to Donaldson clicked. He just picked one of Donaldson’s collections from a used bookstore the week before, and was all too familiar with what this Red Bard was implying.
What also scared him was the thought that, if this Red Bard really was from the future, then that could mean that he knew that Setton would get the reference. He was jolted from this thinking when he noticed something in the distance, as well as a noticeable change in the air.
Setton interrupted their talking by slamming two books together. All eyes shifted towards him.
Shifting in place for a second, he cleared his throat. "Out of curiosity, but is this place supposed to get this dark?"
Everyone else paused in what they were doing, and they turned to look around them. The shadows had deepened considerably during their exchange, and at this point they realized there had been something standing behind them.
The ground was bright in a circle of the floor some distance away, and to Lee's horror, he recognized the figure standing in its center. Silas was the first to speak up, saying the most eloquent and well-cultured thing possible given the position. "Oh crap," he whispered. “It's The Beast.”
They stood and regarded each other in silence. The Beast, one of the most powerful creatures ever written about, was standing not five yards from the group. Lee had remembered about him from The Rapture Logs, and it was taking all his willpower not to run like hell.
Which was understandable, given what had shaped the eldritch being in front of him: tortured in the Planck level of Xanadu for most of the Logs, during which his agony created a whole fucking pocket dimension, being twice condemned made the slender man into Fear Incarnate.
Though something struck Lee as odd about the former slender man, and upon a closer look realized that his eldritch weapon, a black Guitar Hero controller forged in the deepest level of Xanadu, was radiating power.
His hat of shadow was somehow darker than the blackness surrounding them, and shadows bled from the material as his scarf of blood whipped as if a strong wind was blowing. However, the rest of him looked like hell: his suit was torn in many places, and his mouth was ripped into a ragged, permanent grin.
Trying to stall for time as he processed this, he took a leap of faith. "You are the Beast, I take it?" he inquired as casually as he could manage.
The Beast inclined his head towards him, and after a moment spoke. "That I am. And who are you?" Each word sent chills down Lee's spine, but he held his ground.
His mind continued to race. "I am Lee Richards, a Silvertongue. Behind me are Silas, Setton, Bass the Legstep, and..."
"I’m Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn interrupted. “Nice to meet you. Pardon my asking, but what are you, exactly?"
Lee’s eye twitched slightly, but no one seemed to notice.
The three men were surprised to see the Fear casually reply, "I was once just a Fear. Someone...close had imprisoned me, during which time the apocalypse began and I gained this form. I became the most Feared creature on the planet after my imprisonment, building an empire of eldritch proportions, and I fought Rapture itself for the sake of my universe."
Going by tone alone, one could imagine the Fear was simply describing what he did on a Tuesday morning.
Confused by this congenial behavior, Lee racked his knowledge of his origin piece until he hit upon a possible explanation. In the Christmas special of The Rapture Logs, it told the tale of The Beast after the apocalypse was stopped. In this epilogue, The Beast was repentant of his crimes against humanity, and wanted to atone any way he could. Specifically, it told of him helping Santa Claus deliver presents to everyone on Earth on Christmas Eve.
Lee wondered if the same Beast was standing before them. It would explain the permanent grin on his face, as well as the testimony The Beast had given to Twilight.
Lee's mind was fully engaged now. That is either really good or really bad: I didn't read him here, that's for certain, but at the same time that means we have no ideas as to what got him here.
Lee decided to bite the bullet. “Out of curiosity, slender man, have you delivered any presents on behalf of Santa Claus?”
The Beast nodded. “Indeed I have.”
Something shattered in Setton's mind as he processed the facts that the slender man was standing in front of him, that Santa Claus was actually real, and the mental image of the former wearing the latter’s jolly regalia and carrying a sack of toys.
The Beast seemed to have questions of his own. "You said that you are a Silvertongue: what does that mean, exactly?"
Honesty was proving to be a great policy, so Lee obliged. "Well, as a Silvertongue, I can alter reality – or at least, what's in it. To my knowledge, I need to have some form of written word in view, as my limits consist of what's on the page. Also, there seems to be a need for balance - for instance, if I was to read someone in or out of a book, someone would from the opposite side would be dragged through."
Lee was about to continue when his own words sank in. If he read Twilight Sparkle out of her story...
...did someone go in?
The Beast seemed interested. “You’re saying that you read this one into existence?” He poked the unicorn gingerly, as if expecting her to fall apart at his touch. Twilight shivered involuntarily at the contact. “So it’s not a mere obfuscation?”
Lee shook his head. “As far as I know, flesh and blood.”
“Fascinating.”
Twilight looked at Lee curiously. "Wait a minute - if your magic works that way, why haven't you sent me back already?”
Lee rubbed his hand behind his head sheepishly. "Your story doesn't have a passage that could guarantee your return home. Even in Alfonz's case, it never mentioned his actual arrival past him frolicking in the countryside near the town limits, so I couldn't base anything off of that," Lee said as he shook his head.
The Beast turned to regard Lee before speaking. “So where are we? I know we’re in what looks like the Peisistratos, but where is it located now?”
“To my understanding, the real world.”
The Beast scoffed. “I once thought that too, but the bicycle told me otherwise.”
Lee crossed his arms, searching his mind for that character. “You mean the Catechist?”
“If you are referring to Ten Speed, you are correct.”
“Right. He told you that you were a character in a story,” Lee said as he tilted his head. “Speaking of which, you do know that the writer of your story exists in this world, right?”
“Who is he, anyway? That’s the only thing he refused to tell me.”
“Jordan Dooling.”
The Beast processed this. “…The X created me?”
“Yep.”
Silence.
“…I did not see that coming.”
Setton, meanwhile, had his mind elsewhere. "Hey, Silias – even though my mind's been throwing up a bunch of error messages, I thought I heard you say this place is linked to every library in existence. Did I hear that right?"
Twilight scoffed. “I still think that's impossible – even if this place was built by somepony as strong as the Princesses, there's no way it could link to all libraries in existence. And even if it was, this place would have to be infinitely large to support those kinds of dimensional links.”
The Beast, Lee, and Silias took a moment of silence.
The Beast glanced at Silias. “...you haven't told her?”
Silias turned to The Beast with a grimace. “I'll get to that later.”
Silias turned back to the group as a whole, and took a deep breath. “Yes, yes it is. Considering that Lee can't do much for the situation, using the Doors would be the best bet at this time. It may take a while, but we'd get there eventually.”
Lee looked at Twilight, who was still in disbelief. "It's a pretty solid plan for getting you home, all things considered,” he assured her.
Then Lee turned to The Beast. “So what about you? Would you mind helping us look around for a Door to her world?"
The Beast shrugged. "I have no better plans," he admitted. However, he did make a mental note to visit the Jordan Dooling of Lee's universe.
Somewhere, a young man playing Guitar Hero shivered, drawing his purple scarf tightly around his neck.
The plan was simple: split up and look for a path to a cartoon-colorful world, then if the inhabitants looked like Twilight, take notes on where it was in the Peisistratos and what was going on inside. After searching around four Doors each, they would return to the 'Icelandic Peoples' section to regroup.
Satisfied, Lee and Silias went in one direction with The Beast, leaving Twilight with Setton and Bass.