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And one of the big benefits of using everything at once means that you can push the ice – or if you are being pedantic, the frozen ale – to its limits. Ice made by Cold-Touch is slightly stronger than mundane ice, but it is significantly more flexible, making it surprisingly suitable for an application like this.
Really, it is a remarkable little spell, especially considering that it was developed as ‘parlor trickery’ – belonging to an entire informal school that is comprised of casts that are easy to learn, flashy by nature, cause next to no strain, pose absolutely no risk to the caster … and most importantly, provide them with nothing of tangible value. Father had told you once that the book he had gotten the spell from was written by a 'founder' of this spurious little school, unironically called the 'School of Frivolities', whose entire intent was to impress and entertain friends, dinner guests and 'wide-eyed serving girls'. It is almost impossible to wrap your head around that – just going out and casting for fun. Not for the first time, and definitely not for the last time, you wonder what it must have been like to be a Witch back before the Strangeness.
Realizing that you have gotten distracted, you haul yourself out of your daydreams, and stare intently at the lock, illuminated in the light from your now beaming eyes. Once the keyway starts to flood, you slowly start to back your finger out, and more of the working material freezes, until there is a stud of ice sticking out of the lock. Careful to keep your pointer finger in constant contact, you get your thumb on the stud as well, then you turn it, just as you would turn a key. It is a bit stiff, and manipulating it is even more difficult than usual, considering that you are also holding your wand between your pointer and ring finger as well, but with a well-oiled click, you get the tumblers open. You set the tankard down, get clear from the lock and snuff out the spell. Instantly, the frozen working material melts, dumping communicable Strangeness throughout the lock, on the door and on the floor – but blessedly enough, none on you, save for your right pointer finger.
Despite the faint click, and the splash that was fainter still, you cannot hear anyone stir on the other side of the door. Desperate to get out of the hallway with your eyes glowing as they are, you wrench the door open and basically throw yourself through it, wand first, keeping your now Strange pointer finger clear from the wand.
The first thing you see is the window, which is definitely large enough for someone to leave the room by, unlike the slit in your room. The second thing you see is the small fireplace right next to the window. Crammed in there are two pairs of boots. And if there was any doubt, you can see one of the four soles from the doorway, and you immediately recognize one of the four patterns of Stains that you have been following.
