open post: further up and further in

[magicianking]

Eliot hasn't been depressed, per se, because it's sort of impossible to be depressed in Fillory. There's too much to do, these days: rebuilding Castle Whitespire, helping Josh and Poppy with the baby, and generally trying to run a post-apocalyptic-but-now-pretty-much-fine magical kingdom. Being High King of Fillory is, not to be totally cliche, Eliot's calling, and he's found a peace that he never had before. But it still sucks absolute balls that both Quentin and Janet are gone.

When Janet had first disappeared, Eliot had devoted all of his kingly resources to trying to find her. None of their world-jumping buttons had been missing, so he'd promised a knighthood and a castle to anyone in Fillory who found the missing Queen Janet.

"She won't love being treated like a damsel in distress like this," Poppy had told him.

"Well, if you have a better idea," he'd snapped, and that had been that, until a letter had arrived in the gazing pool. It had been frustratingly contextless, but obviously from Janet.

"Where is she?" Josh asked at the next meeting of the monarchs.

"I don't know. She's trapped, but she seems more annoyed than in danger."

"So she's in another universe? Since she had to use your telegram thing?" Poppy asked.

"Seems likely."

All of them had lapsed into silence.

"Should we call off the Queen hunt? Some of them are getting a little Don Quixote out there," said Poppy.

"No," Eliot had decided. "Just in case." Damsel in distress, Janet was not; but hell if he would ever be the one to give up on finding her.

--

Eliot's on his way to check on the progress of Castle Whitespire, wandering up the path from the comfortable townhouse he's been staying in, when the ground changes abruptly beneath his feet. He stumbles, and when he looks up--Dorothy, he is not in magical Kansas any more. Not in Oz any more? Whatever. The energy of wherever he is is totally different. He doesn't think it's Earth, either, despite the fact that he's in front of a huge Earth-style mansion.

"What the fuck," he mutters, and opens the door.

Comments

[aflashbastard]

"Count Olaf. He's a man -- I think¹ -- and he's dangerous."

¹Sunny has never mentioned if Olaf is more than human. It sounds like there's the possibility of it, considering how dangerous he is.

[sagramore]

"He wants to harm my daughter."

[magicianking]

"Oh, shit. Well, that's scary," Eliot says, getting a little more serious. The I think puts him in mind of Martin Chatwin, who was not quite a man himself, by the end. "Hell, I should just come patrol with you. I'm pretty fucking good at battle magic." Maybe this is why he's here. To see Janet, of course, but defeating an evil count sounds like a High King type of quest.

[aflashbastard]

"The more the merrier," Crowley offers, with a shrug.<sup>1

1</sup>What're you going to do about that mansion spirits?

[sagramore]

"Really?" Sagramore asks. "I mean, I'd be delighted. Can I convince you to show off?"

[magicianking]

"Oh, baby, you can hardly stop me," Eliot says, grinning. He casts a simple light spell, contorting his fingers and muttering until his wine glass glows.

[aflashbastard]

Looks like Eliot can ensorcell as well! Crowley watches, not entirely surprised, but at least he's entertained as he takes another sip of his wine.

[sagramore]

"Oh! Laertes can do that too!"

[magicianking]

"That's about what I can do until I figure out some more Circumstances here," Eliot says. "Am I wrong or is there something weird with your moon?"

[aflashbastard]

"Two of them," Crowley says, helpfully. "What do you need the moon for?"

[sagramore]

"Yes, that's what it is." He looks quite interested in the answer.

[magicianking]

"It just matters for spellcasting. Circumstances, like I said. A lot of Brakebills involves having to memorize a bunch of different conditions. Spells are different depending on the phase of the moon, the weather, et cetera."

[aflashbastard]

"Oh." Crowley snaps his fingers at Eliot. "Climate change -- and Titanic. You know Janet."

[sagramore]

"Oh?" Sagramore says, his body language changing subtly from extremely open to having another drink with Eliot once Crowley leaves to well, we're all just Olaf-hunters here, aren't we with the revelation that Eliot is someone close to Janet.

[magicianking]

Uh oh, what just happened there?

"Yes, Janet's my friend. Seems like she's popular here."

[aflashbastard]

"She threatened to throw me in a bonfire," Crowley offers, rather cheerfully.

[sagramore]

"We're, ah-- well. We're on speaking terms again."

[magicianking]

Eliot's eyebrows raise all the way up. "Bonfire sounds like her," he says. "But what did you do?"

[aflashbastard]

Crowley sips his wine and pretends to be fascinated by Eliot's ankle. Ankles are an absolutely bizarre part of human anatomy, now that he's thinking about it.

[sagramore]

"I wasn't honest with her," quietly.

[magicianking]

Uh oh. Suddenly this guy is looking less like a DILF and more like, well, an emotionally unavailable older man.

"Tsk tsk," he says. "I would think people would learn pretty quickly not to fuck with Janet's emotions."

[aflashbastard]

"Unless you offer her some wine," Crowley adds, helpfully¹.

¹???

[sagramore]

"It was a stupid mistake," still subdued. "I've tried to change since then."

[magicianking]

"I guess a lot has gone on that I don't know about," Eliot says, making a mental note to ask Janet about what happened. He feels a pang at having missed whatever drama it was. "If you're getting along okay now, though, that's huge."

[aflashbastard]

Crowley drinks more of his wine.