At one of Mothdale's mortuaries...
Mark figuratively prepares some exploded corn kernels for his personal enjoyment, then continues to watch the dolphin battle happening nearby. He notices that the lumpy dolphin, though its hooks are rather threatening, has much to learn about combat on the surface of the earth and fighting with its flippers, as the toothy dolphin seems to be at a clear advantage right now - still, despite a whole lot of rather grievous-looking bite wounds, Lumpy definitely doesn't seem to be ready to quit, and seems to have only gotten angry. It proceeds to tear a whole bunch of rather large holes all over the body of Toothy, which bleed a lot more than the ones that Lumpy incurred. Toothy, similarly to its friend, refuses to stop in any way. And so the melee continues without pause, though the two fighters are badly bloodied. It hasn't done much aside from causing them both to start taking this a lot more seriously - Toothy bites a large chunk out of Lumpy's belly, which seems to give Lumpy pause at last. Mark realizes he must help his new friend!
[Mark's medicine roll: 3]
He's not sure what exactly to do here, though. He guesses he can bandage the creature, but other than that... Toothy seems pretty attached to the chunk of flesh it has now obtained, triumphantly flopping over to the channel and diving in, which Lumpy responds to with a furious screech as it tries to flop after its adversary.
Kevin, meanwhile, realizes that he must go. The gub are helpful enough to point him in a certain direction and slightly coerce him to make sure he definitely goes there.
"I see... I guess I don't have much of a choice, then," he eventually admits and begins to head down the streets.
~the best kind of free will is where you can't make any choices!~
Guided by the gub, he eventually reaches a somewhat interesting structure - a sleek, organic-looking affair with lots of stylized depictions of bones on the walls together with what appear to be actual bones sticking out of the masonry. The sizable front door, made of wood and also encrusted with assorted bones, stands wide open, and Kevin can see a very tall, skinny and completely hairless man, almost more of a skeleton than he used to be, standing out front, casting a rather nervous eye on his surroundings. When he notices the approaching ex-jester, he nods.
"You are who I require. Come in."
He then very lightly steps inside what Kevin presumes to be the temple, making almost no sound, the motion resembling floating more than walking. Kevin, having no better choice, heads into the temple as well, and is a little surprised when the door closes behind him. He finds himself in the sort of large hall that one might expect from a place of worship - this one is richer in shady alcoves, balconies and strange effigies than others Kevin's been to, plus there's a really neat-looking fountain spouting sky blue water in the middle of the room. And the altar looks more than a bit menacing, being constructed of strangely twisted skulls. There's also a few statues, showcasing that the "stone and bones" aesthetic isn't limited to strictly architecture in the Velusian tradition. One statue - some kind of polydactylic, grasping hand - seems to have collapsed. Most of the walls are covered with thick, dark blue drapes with black bone patterns stitched into them. Kevin also notices a rather significant-looking patch on the floor - the dark tiles of the temple floor look visibly different there, altered in some unknowable way.
"Now we commence the initiation. The temple is yours to explore. Gain our favor, and then we will speak," goes the man's voice all of a sudden, though Kevin can't quite place where it might be coming from.
At one of the beaches of Mothdale...
Sigmund knows that saving Scott is something he probably shouldn't fail at, as Scott seems to be able to set fire to things (and himself, obviously) at will, so he could still come in handy.
"Let the air guide you to the water!" he shouts to Scott, summoning up some wind to take him into the sea. Scott seems to have a better idea, and, guided by the wind, tries to move in a downward direction. It takes him a bit, but he eventually floats down into the sand, his head mostly reduced to a nearly formless lump of melted ectoplasm. The extinguishing of the flame, though, seems to have prevented that sinking feeling and the need to escape that Scott had going there for a while.
~you are not dead yet! this is acceptable! get back to work!~
At a lounge inside the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas realizes he should probably introduce himself appropriately.
"Actually I'm just power hungry, megalomaniacal, and somewhat detached from sanity. I also need a better body. Can I be your apprentice or whatever it is?"
The lady eyes the chair critically, floating closer. Niklas feels himself get lifted off the ground, then spun around in the air.
"None of those bits grab my interest. What else have you got?" the lady asks disinterestedly.
In the ground beneath Blynn...
Timothy gets his bearings after a moment of panic, and tries to remember the direction in which he was blown - he thinks he has it after a moment. He floats onward, trying to retrace his flight path, and eventually reaches something - a whole lot of darkness. It's some kind of space, he can tell, and he can hear water. It's definitely not the lab, though. Time to speak with somebody who knows the way, then. He tries to find an earthworm. Luckily, he eventually stumbles into something rather huge and breathing, which he supposes is close enough. Gathering his thoughts, Timothy attempts to initiate communication.
Sadly, though, he can't actually project his thoughts to anyone at will. In fact, it slightly depresses him to have even tried something so preposterous.
In the streets of Mothdale...
Morton, after attentively listening to the word of the gub, thinks productive thoughts at them again.
~I'd quite appreciate being directed to good jester Kevin if you don't mind, I'd like to make sure he's alright is all.~
~he's alright, but unreachable! you may not inquire why!~
Mm. Well, then it's time for the next train of thought.
~I'm made of evil? I'm afraid I don't quite under--Oh, you must be meaning my form. A desk wasn't my original body, you see, my original was changed and transmuted by a demon. That must be what it is, he saw that I was changed by a demon and must've assumed from there.~
~we knew all that, but had not made the connection! this is pertinent!~
~It's an honest mistake, then, and no real harm was done. Still, if it upsets him I suppose I should leave him be, although I do wish I could explain myself. There's not much I could do to change my form anymore even if I wished it though I suppose, so I'm not sure there's anything to help the situation. Either way, I thank you, good group Gub, for any advance warning, I'd prefer to avoid a needless conflict.~
~we will warn you in case of trouble! in the meantime, there is a tavern we would like you to clean up and get ready for service! it is not very far from here! and it will also take you off the streets for a while!~
Author
Topic: Life Begins At Death - Epilogue: We Live And Live Again (Read 542842 times)