Holes/Session 24
A fragment of the Garden of Remembering
EXT. Arah streets - golden twilight
The huge gateway arching overhead casts odd shadows downward, glowing golden like the light itself. A few much smaller portals nearby flicker as folks come near, and random passersby pass the party by, including a guy in a clown suit, a giant bear, and others.
Rhu looks dismally up after Dawn.
RHU
Do you think she'll be back?
GREIBEL
If there's one thing you can almost guarantee about these two, it's that they'll always be back.
(muttering)
Usually at the least convenient time.
RHU
That is true.
(to the skull he's still holding)
At least you're not going anywhere.
RADEK
Well, in the meantime, let's try something productive.
(he holds up the rope of holding)
Who wants to create a Hole?
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Aw, man.
GREIBEL
Closing one would be nicer. But sure, that works too.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
I'm sure that's lots of not great.
A gaggle of schoolchildren pass by, attached to some sort of teacher golem. They're hideously cute.
RADEK
We need a Hole to attempt closing it. We know how to create one. This rope contains a pocket dimension.
Not only is it portable, but it is disposable.
GREIBEL
Convenient. What do we do?
Rhu looks distractedly at Radek, tries for a minute to understand the technicalities of what he's saying, gives up, sighs, and looks back up at the sky for any signs of Dawn.
RADEK
First, we must fail.
GREIBEL
Right. That... shouldn't be a problem for us.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
At least we're qualified.
RADEK
Specifically, fail at magic. We will recreate the event which occurred outside the wizards' college. Inside the rope, of course.
Rhu wanders over to a nearby portal and pokes it. It's a simple stone arch, with a bunch of graffiti scribbled on it, including a picture of a dick. Underneath it says 'loldongs'. It has no apparent controls or panels, though it seems to be magical. (rolled 18 arcana)
Rhu looks around again for anyone interesting and finds a guy in a chickensuit.
RHU
(to chickensuit)
Excuse me!
CHICKENSUIT
Yeaaah, what?
The Gravedigger examines it too, and determines that the activation probably requires smacking it. (rolled 21 arcana) He engages shovellar activation sequence, smacking the portal arch with his shovel.
The arch turns on and belches a bit before opening up a portal.
RHU
That portal is broken.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
I scienced it!
Rhu looks back to realise the portal has been turned on.
RHU
Er. It's still broken. That is entirely the wrong colour. We should call maintenance. Do you know how to call maintenance?
The guy in the chickensuit looks at it carefully, scrunching up his nose in the process.
CHICKENSUIT
Yeah, so? You're the wrong colour.
RHU
That can't be helped.
CHICKENSUIT
Yeeeaah.
RHU
We should call maintenance. You should call maintenance. It's a broken portal, dammit! People's lives are at risk! Liiiives!
CHICKENSUIT
What's maintnents? 'Zzat.
RHU
The people who fix these things.
CHICKENSUIT
Things fix things.
RHU
Wizards? Engineers?
CHICKENSUIT
Fix folks.
RHU
...Things?
What sort of things?
CHICKENSUIT
It's all... happening, man.
The guy in the chickensuit gestures grandly.
Rhu looks around.
RHU
Is it?
The guy in the chickensuit points up at the huge arch overhead.
Rhu looks up.
CHICKENSUIT
It's gonna fall, man.
RHU
...We didn't do that.
GREIBEL
(aside, to Gravy)
Am I as bad as that?
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Nah, Greibel. You're cool.
Chickensuit ambles over to Gravy.
RHU
We didn't - hey! Where are you going?
CHICKENSUIT
Hey, maaan.
Radek leans over to Greibel, for lack of a less occupied person.
RADEK
If I shot him, do you think I could make a solid argument for him being game?
Ganelon (Radek): As in hunting.
GREIBEL
It's... certainly tempting to test it
CHICKENSUIT
Yeaaah.
The guy in the chickensuit pokes the open portal and then scoots through it.
Rhu looks after him, then, sighing heavily, tries the same routine on the next available stranger.
The next available stranger turns out to be a suspiciously blue woman. She seems to be very shiny and sparkling, and it isn't quite clear if it's a fancy outfit or her general species.
She stops and waits politely for whatever Rhu is going to say.
RHU
Er, hi. The portal is broken.
BLUE APHEORI
Is it?
RHU
We should call someone to fix it.
The Apheori looks to see which Rhu is referring to, then goes to examine the portal.
BLUE APHEORI
What seems to be broken?
RHU
Erm... the fuse. The fuse is definitely... orange. Which it shouldn't be. See? Anyway.
BLUE APHEORI
Is it?
She strokes the stone and the portal closes, turning back into a simple stone arch.
Radek scoots over and pushes Rhu out of the way in order to address the blue woman himself and babble in a convincingly scientific manner. He emits a stream of jargonny technobabble, trying to indicate that the portal indeed seems to be broken. (rolled 29 arcana)
The blue woman nods, and emits her own stream of strange jargonnystuff.
Radek retorts with further jargon. (rolled 23 arcana)
Amadi stops skulking and comes over to join in on the jargoning, adding some more on what Radek just said. (rolled 24 arcana)
The blue woman starts to seem concerned, then looks to Amadi, and offers a possible counter-jargon explanation which seems uncomfortably plausible.
Amadi responds with further jargon-sounding stuff, but it's less than convincing. (rolled 15 arcana)
The Apheori shakes her head slowly and explains something jargonly of the nature of the portals, that they are not so much portals at all as just places where the planes connect. True portals are more... questionable or something. It doesn't make much sense.
Radek goes along with this and technobabbles about how it may tie into this particular portal, making some progress toward actually convincing her. (rolled 24 arcana)
Then he stops to think about the implications of what she just said. (rolled 30 arcana) Something about the differences between planar portals, stable or otherwise, and holes. The more questionable holes can open up between anything, but often don't open up to anything. And something about subspace as opposed to... other space. Subspace that can go anywhere, or nowhere, other space overlapping, more defined. How ships use subspace very precisely, but how gods just avoid it outright.
Having been convinced that the portal is indeed not functioning correctly, the blue woman examines it more closely and then, using magic, flicks it on and then off again. Then she fiddles with it and makes it open up in different ways, perhaps to different places.
Then one of the connections fails and it just dies.
RHU
Aha! See? Broken.
BLUE APHEORI
It isn't the portal that is broken, but the world. It is dead, missing.
She jargons technobabble.
RHU
We didn't do it.
RADEK
I'm looking to fix things.
AMADI
What world was it?
BLUE APHEORI
Halora. Gone cannot be fixed.
AMADI
(looking sad)
Poor whales. They shall be missed.
RADEK
Don't be ridiculous. If something is missing, a replacement is in order.
The blue woman jargons about how that is quite impossible; you cannot replace what is gone from the universe, what never was.
RADEK
Just because we have no records of such a thing succeeding does not mean it can't be done!
BLUE APHEORI
Just because something has happened does not mean it cannot be removed from history, forward or backward.
RADEK
It's no wonder the world's falling to pieces when everyone's so bloody defeatist about it.
BLUE APHEORI
Defeatist? Nobody knows. Nobody notices. Some have only pieces, and others have nothing at all.
AMADI
I've fiddled with time, once. Except that wasn't me. It might have been more than once, too. I don't remember.
RADEK
Pah. Time. The only way I'm going to tamper with time is to generate more of it.
RHU
(wiggling the skull)
We have many pieces.
BLUE APHEORI
Fiddling will be the only way to know. Step in and out, and you will remember what is lost, but you may also cause the loss.
She launches into a new stream of jargon.
Radek's only partly listening, but he catches that holes are apparently space/time issues, and moving freely throughout space and time without being very precise can result in instabilities that make the effects much worse. (rolled 31 arcana)
RADEK
In and out of where?
BLUE APHEORI
Out of the world, out of time.
AMADI
Go out at breakfast, come back at midnight. But it doesn't seem to be working.
BLUE APHEORI
(to Amadi)
Your eyes are for seeing. Stay in the world.
AMADI
Not go home? Not dream?
RHU
(to Amadi)
Did you say "midnight" or "Midnight"?
AMADI
I'm not sure.
BLUE APHEORI
Dreaming is dangerous now. You as you will know more, but until then...
She jargons. It seems to be about Amadi. Something about the fragments not knowing the whole, and a single wrong step destroying ecosystems, and various odd metaphors. (Amadi rolled 25 arcana) Radek gets more - that Amadi needs to be remade before she can safely walk the universe, and for now she should be incredibly careful because she has great power but very little understanding of what she's actually doing. (rolled 23 arcana)
AMADI
(looking upset)
But - dreams!
BLUE APHEORI
Dreams shape the worlds. Dreams can also destroy worlds.
AMADI
Well they seem to be destroyed anyway.
The blue woman looks very sad, somehow.
BLUE APHEORI
The dreams are all that remain holding them together, and yet the Dreamer lies broken, dead. But dreaming.
AMADI
You... seem to know me... us, Her... better than most.
BLUE APHEORI
I should. I am...
(she stops, then looks at Amadi very directly)
I know too much. She isn't mine to know, but she is there. You dream even now. You do not need to leave.
The Apheori jargons, and Amadi half-tries to understand. (rolled 19 arcana) Something about dreams made stronger. Something...
AMADI
Why? How?
BLUE APHEORI
You were born of a dream made Key. We were all born of something.
AMADI
Do I... know you...?
BLUE APHEORI
She did.
AMADI
When?
Rhu will take out his giant ornamental key.
AMADI
...Midnight?
The blue Apheori jargons at Amadi. Now she's referring to not just before the break and the whole keys thing, but before you (or she) even came to Arling To. Before the person you all had been died... the last time. The one time that was real. (rolled 28 arcana)
AMADI
...Oh. That's...
(she looks rather impressed)
Who are you?
BLUE APHEORI
I'm the Apheori.
Underneath the words, Amadi almost hears, "I'm you," but then decidedly doesn't hear it at all.
AMADI
Oh! It's nice to meet you. Er, again.
RHU
(to Radek, whispered)
...I don't think kidnapping an Apheori would be wise.
The blue Apheori smacks the portal arch and it shatters.
BLUE APHEORI
Oh dear.
RADEK
Hrmph.
AMADI
We're trying to do something about... something. Oh, and I'm looking for midnight. Can you help?
BLUE APHEORI
Do you know what?
AMADI
Probably not.
The blue Apheori jargons something about keys. Something about using keys to close the universe. A littering. Options. (rolled 19 arcana)
AMADI
I have a key! I mean, I don't have it. I have a keeper!
(she points at Greibel)
He's my keeper.
Dawn doesn't have a key. I think. She thought? But I have a key.
Amadi gets the impression the blue woman doesn't actually want to be here, having this conversation, and is mostly just sticking around to be polite. (rolled 22 insight)
RHU
(waving the skull)
Don't forget Ellia!
Rhu beseeches Hazz'ridan to heed the Apheori. (rolled 28 religion)
HAZZ'RIDAN
(such that only Rhu can hear)
Listen, and learn what you can, but under no circumstances should you antagonise any Apheori.
Oh, and do find the Dave.
Rhu sighs.
AMADI
Oh, you found Ellia!
RHU
Well, sort of.
AMADI
(to Apheori)
Why are you here?
BLUE APHEORI
It doesn't concern you.
AMADI
Oh. Are you sure?
RADEK
(staring longingly at his rope)
...Soon.
BLUE APHEORI
I am sure. My business is my own; for now I am only passing through.
RHU
(to Apheori)
As are we! Where are you headed?
BLUE APHEORI
Forward and on. It doesn't matter.
RHU
That's where we're headed! We should join forces. There's another... god... person you should meet, once she's done flying with dragons.
BLUE APHEORI
Go on.
RADEK
Well, we had to evict a dragon or three from this pocket dimension I recently acquired. And one had to be shot and decapitated, you see.
This lot was going to make sandwiches from its remains.
BLUE APHEORI
Delicious.
RADEK
Go ahead and join them, if you like.
AMADI
I'm really good with sandwiches.
BLUE APHEORI
Are you offering the remains after the sandwiches? Or are you offering the sandwiches?
RADEK
The remains. Ask Gravy if you want the sandwiches.
Radek thumbs towards the Gravedigger. She confronts him.
BLUE APHEORI
Sandwiches?
The Gravedigger nods gravely.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Sandwiches.
Radek lays out the rope, creating an effective open hole in the street allowing them full access to the pocket dimension and the headless dragon corpse within.
Rhu goes to check on the giant, who is still out cold on the road behind them.
The Gravedigger and Amadi make sandwiches while the Apheori watches curiously. (rolled 18 nature (Gravy), 20 arcana (Amadi))
Amadi is having so much fun with this.
The Gravedigger performs Zen Sandichery.
Amadi hands the first sandwich to the Apheori, and they continue making more. (rolled 29 nature (Gravy), 25 arcana (Amadi))
The Apheori tries the sandwich carefully. It seems like a very detailed process for her, examining and tasting every aspect of it.
BLUE APHEORI
Very nice. It is not poison.
Later, they run out of glue and finally stop making sandwiches.
Amadi joyfully hands out sandwiches to everyone, including random passersby.
Rhu sniffs suspiciously at one, then takes a tiny bite. It's oddly spicy and has a strong hearty flavour.
RHU
Oh, yum! Where did you get horseradish mayonnaise from?
BLUE APHEORI
Do you offer the remainder of the dragon?
AMADI
I don't think we need it. Dawn has more. They're alive, though.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Trade secret.
Radek salvages some Alchemist's Fire out of the remainder of the dragon.
RHU
(to the Apheori)
Do you know how these Holes in the universe are formed? We're trying to figure that out. We could probably give you some of our dragon if you can help us... make a Hole in a pocket universe.
BLUE APHEORI
You may as well ask how the universes themselves are formed.
RHU
Ah.
BLUE APHEORI
You wish to make a hole? Why?
RHU
Um...
Rhu gestures to Radek.
RADEK
To discover how to close it.
BLUE APHEORI
How?
RADEK
I can't answer that until I have a hole to study. Keeping one in an enclosed space is simply the safest and most convenient method available to me.
BLUE APHEORI
Oh. Go on, then.
Radek waggles one of his napalm thingies.
RADEK
(he waggles one of his napalm thingies)
What do you mean to do with these? You're welcome to the rest of the corpse, but I might have a use for them.
BLUE APHEORI
Then I will take the rest.
RADEK
By all means.
The blue Apheori kneels down on the dragon and sticks her hands in the dragon corpse, and then the rest of it goes all glowy and disappears.
Rhu looks on in surprise.
RADEK
Huh. Convenient.
BLUE APHEORI
Now. How can I help?
Radek jargons at the blue Apheori about his theories on dangerous intentional hole-creation, with various caveats and notes about incompetent wizards, and some other things he didn't even realise he knew. (rolled 32 arcana (natural 20))
Ganelon (Radek): JARGON SPILLS FROM ME EYE-HOLES.
She jargons back with more stuff about the precise sorts that might lead to it, and proposes a particular sort of possible spell, if it helps.
Radek nods, sets up a second, more mundane rope for an exit, and, with the Gravedigger holding onto the other end and Greibel vaguely helping, he jumps down into the rope-hole with it. Amadi and the Apheori peer in after him.
Realising what they're planning, Rhu crouches behind the giant in an attempt to hide from any unfortunate results. Then it occurs to him how silly he's being and he goes and holds onto the other end of the rope as well, instead.
INT. Pocket dimension
Radek drops to the bottom, using a loop of rope for his foot. Not letting go of the rope with his other hand, he stretches, then casts the spell the Apheori had suggested. (rolled 13 arcana (natural 1))
The spell fails, and, as planned, explodes.
It is a catastrophic failure. First the spell explodes. Then the pocket dimension explodes, expanding horribly outward, filling the space between the universe, covering the boundaries between subspace and other space and real space.
Radek doesn't explode, but suddenly he's not all there either. He gets the sensation he's everywhere at once, seeing many, many words, and even more nothing. (rolled 12 reality)
It is horrifying.
EXT. Arah - golden twilight
The golden light permeating Arah suddenly shifts. It's still golden, but... different. Darker. More orange?
It occurs to Amadi, looking down from the opening, that Radek may have just single-handedly destroyed the universe. (rolled 4 reality) And she had had so much trouble cleaning up after the last time this had happened...
There's a weird tension on the rope while at the same time it goes slack - even, perhaps, weightless.
The Apheori glances between the hole and those on rope duty worriedly.
RHU
(looking at the suddenly changing light)
Err...
(panicking (rolled 2 reality))
We should pull him back. Something's happened. Something's not right.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
(into his radio)
Horns to Grumps. What's your situation, over.
RADEK
(over the radio)
I can see... entire worlds.
Rhu starts trying to pull Radek back. (rolled 16 strength)
RHU
We don't have much time!
THE GRAVEDIGGER
What's wrong, Rhu?
RHU
Radek... I... he ...
THE GRAVEDIGGER
(into his radio)
That sounds like crazy talk, Radek. And not the usual crazy talk. Say something Radekian.
RADEK
(over the radio)
Shut up and listen.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
(into his radio)
That'll do.
RADEK
(over the radio)
I think the spell worked. I'm looking at the universe from the outside. It's a confusing mess.
AMADI
It's ruined! Bloody ruined!
RADEK
(over the radio)
Does it look like I can be extracted from your end?
The blue Apheori looks in the hole again, then looks at the others and shakes her head.
Amadi turns to the Apheori, looking very upset.
AMADI
He bloody ruined it!
BLUE APHEORI
It's not over.
Amadi looks very concerned.
The Gravedigger and Greibel pull too. (rolled 14 strength) With their combined efforts, they start making some progress.
RADEK
(over the radio)
What does the hole look like?
RHU
It's not working! He's still in there! We have to get him out, Gravy! We have to get him out!
Rhu keeps pulling.
HAZZ'RIDAN
(such that only Rhu can hear him)
You idiots.
Rhu comes to your senses a bit and stops pulling the rope quite so frenetically. (rolled 18 reality) He looks around, confused.
RHU
Sorry, what did you say?
INT. Pocket dimension
From Radek's perspective, as he hangs in the strange, vibrant darkness at the heart of all things, it seems as though the exit is pulling away.
Not knowing what else to do, he tries to fix it. All of reality, all at once. (rolled 31 arcana) And it almost works. The magic he throws around shoves some of the bits back together, and reality almost solidifies, the different worlds fading almost from sight. Almost. In the process, he learns things, too, about the nature of the holes...
RADEK
Fascinating, really...
(into his radio)
Hey, Gravy, are you all lowering me down back there?
THE GRAVEDIGGER
(over the radio)
Nope, still pulling back here.
Radek tries throwing some more magic around in an attempt to make things better. (rolled 17 arcana) This time it doesn't achieve much.
EXT. Arah - orangy twilight
The city's glow is definitely orange now. Passersby are no longer passing by. Everything outside a certain radius seems blurred, out of reach. Dark. Red. Or purple?
The Gravedigger, Greibel, and Rhu, are still pulling at the rope, but the force on the other end, if that is even what it is, is immense. They don't lose any of it due to their collective deadweight, but neither do they make any progress. (rolled 8, 7 strength)
The blue Apheori casts some magic in an attempt to help, but it doesn't acheive anything noticeable either. She looks mildly annoyed.
Amadi glances around determinedly, then jumps into the hole, holding onto the rope, descending into the abyss in a horrible deluge of colour.
INT. Pocket dimension
As Amadi descends, her colour pulls the massive everywhere hole back into one place, one singular, positional hole. (rolled 29 arcana)
The pocket begins to stabilise again. As it does, the worlds fade completely, and instead everything is here, all here, all the hole, all the wrongness and hunger and dark reaching out of here, into Arah, into the colour.
RADEK
Oh, hello Amadi.
AMADI
You're just ruining everything and I hate cleaning up!
Amadi is distracted by pretty colours.
RADEK
Well, I'm already putting it back together.
RADEK
You saw everything break the first time, didn't you? Was this what it looked like back then, too?
AMADI
Well, that green wasn't there before... but that orange was.
Radek stops working at trying to actually fix it and instead tries to make sense of all the colour. (rolled 26 arcana) It's bleeding from Arah. It's a magic of sorts that isn't even entirely magic, just a sort of background noise of the universe... it shouldn't be visible.
RADEK
(into his radio)
There's residual... er, "magic" bleeding in from Arah into the visible spectrum. I say magic for your benefit, but this is different from what I'm used to.
He gets no response.
RADEK
(into his radio)
...And it's turning red.
Continuing to get no response, he goes back to trying to fix it all from there, with Amadi's help. (rolled 26 arcana) This makes some progress, though it's a little unclear what.
Off to the side, the massive coallescing hole pulses in its singularity, wreaking havok on stuff and things.
RADEK
(into his radio; somewhat less than calmly)
I could really use an extraction here, gents.
AMADI
(shouting in no particular direction)
And heave, ye lubbers!
EXT. Arah - reddish twilight
The twilight is now decidedly reddish. But it's in particualy really only reddish further away, outside the immediate radius of the area near the hole. Right up close, especially closer to the rope and the Apheori, it's almost normal.
The Apheori tries some more magic, this time casting it out into the red space around them, but it just fades into nothing. Suddenly she looks genuinely terrified.
To the others, it also seems like she's moving really, really quickly.
The voice that comes out of the radio no longer sounds anyting like Radek. In fact they can't understand him at all - it's very high pitched and all much too fast, a rapid jumble of squeaks and chips.
They try harder to pull Radek out. Rhu just falls over. (rolled 3 strength (natural 1)) Greibel and the Gravedigger heave. (rolled 21 strength) Something else on the other end heaves back.
RHU
Oof.
Sitting on the ground, Rhu prays for help. (rolled 29 religion (natural 20))
Suddenly a massive shrouded tentacle monster appears next to the opening in a swirl of thick black smoke.
INT. Pocket dimension
Radek and Amadi continue trying to fix the hole, gathering it, stabilising it, reshaping it into something else. (rolled 22, 21 arcana) It seems to be getting more difficult the more progress they make.
RADEK
(To Amadi)
Well, no answer on the radio. How do you feel about just popping us both out of here if the exit closes?
AMADI
You want to be... popped?
Amadi produces soap-bubbles.
RADEK
Er, no. Teleported. Spatially displaced. To a safe location. Safely.
AMADI
Oh.
Amadi looks bored.
EXT. Arah - reddish twilight
The tentacle monster looms. It's Hazz'ridan. It is very definately Hazz'ridan, or some sort of avatar.
The Apheori takes a step backward away from it.
BLUE APHEORI
You...
Rhu remains on the ground, praying furiously. (rolled 28 religion)
Slowly things outside the pocket begin to become more normal. The rope is resisting less, the light less red. The Gravedigger and Greibel tug again, and this time it's almost enough. (rolled 14 strength) The rope becomes unstuck.
Around them, passersby are moving again, passing them by, giving the tentacle monster a very wide berth. It is almost as though nothing happened. Almost.
The blue Apheori hesitates, then bows uncertainly to the tentacle monster.
INT. Pocket dimension
Amadi waggles a goose at the hole. She wants it closed, or at least stable, and magics it with the goose. And with Radek's help, it finally becomes real - one hole, one place, one single thing, not quite stable, but not quite broken either. One last step and it will be done. (rolled 31 arcana)
Then, together, they stabilise it completely, and suddenly it is simply a hole, mostly harmless, suspended in nothing, no longer doing horrible things to the pocket dimension, though the colours remain as they were. (rolled 28, 31 arcana)
Then they're rising as the others pull them back out of the pocket.
EXT. Arah - golden twilight
The light is still a bit odd, but it is now much more consistently so. Hazz'ridan is still there, right outside the opening.
Radek leaps off the rope energetically, winding up right in front of Hazz'ridan. He pays the tentacle monster no attention at all.
RADEK
Hahahaha! Good job, all of you!
Amadi floats out of the opening and continues juggling geese. Both she and the geese appear to be weightless.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Oh dear. Oh, dear, deary dear.
Radek is smiling.
RADEK
(pointing to his face)
You see this? This is what progress looks like!
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Wrinkly?
RADEK
And none of that hogwash you hear from psychiatrists, either!
RHU
(to Greibel)
Did you give him any of your stuff?
BLUE APHEORI
It's a step. It looks like the hole is still there, however. Will you be able to close it?
RADEK
I don't know yet, but it's there! And patching things up from the inside was very informative.
(he bundles up his rope)
In any case, it's been contained and rendered safe for transportation.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
I hope you had more fun closing a Hole than I did.
Rhu makes sure Radek is alright, laughter and smiling notwithstanding, and then approaches the tentacle monster.
RHU
My Lord...
HAZZ'RIDAN
My loyal servant. You have done well.
Rhu bows before Hazz'ridan.
HAZZ'RIDAN
Guard the scienceman. He will be your beacon.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
(to Radek)
So what did you learn?
Radek technobabbles his knowledge at the Gravedigger. (rolled 28 arcana) The Gravedigger's eyes glaze over. (rolled 4 arcana (natural 1))
Meanwhile the blue Apheori nods in a satisfied fashion, quietly bids everyone goodbye, and skulks away.
AMADI
(shouting after the Apheori)
It was nice meeting you! Maybe we'll meet again some day!
BLUE APHEORI
I trust we will.
AMADI
Maybe I won't be me or I'll have forgotten you but I'm looking forwards to it!
RADEK
...
(he snaps his fingers at Gravy)
Hello? Anyone in there?
THE GRAVEDIGGER
(he shrugs)
Not a scienceman.
RADEK
I can't even hate you for saying that right now. It's so nice having less-than-useless assistants.
HAZZ'RIDAN
Radek. Your understanding will bring you to your goal, an end to begin the worlds anew. Good-
Amadi interrupts him by flipping out of her weightlessness and crashing her fist into Hazz'ridan's avatar's nose.
RHU
Um.
Amadi turns, smiling, to Radek.
AMADI
Yeah, you were pretty great.
RADEK
(with considerable difficulty)
I... appreciate your help.
AMADI
I helped? I helped!
Amadi beams.
Hazz'ridan vanishes.
Rhu bows before the space previously occupied by the tentacle monster.
RADEK
Yes. You helped.
HAZZ'RIDAN
(such that only Rhu can hear him)
Radek has earned my blessing. His actions far outweigh his distaste for gods.
RHU
Huh. Really.
(turning to Radek)
Radek, Hazz'ridan thanks you and gives you his blessing. He says that your actions far outweigh your distaste for gods.
RADEK
(he puts up a hand)
Don't care. I'm feeling charitable; who wants a better weapon? Or armor, really. Magical reinforcement.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
(waving his hands)
Oooo, ooo, oooo.
(he hops up and down)
Me!
Radek points at Gravy.
RADEK
Yes, you. Gravedigger.
The Gravedigger nudges Rhu.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
He picked me!
HAZZ'RIDAN
(such that only Amadi can hear him)
Don't do that.
AMADI
(to Hazz'ridan)
Well don't be an annoying prick!
HAZZ'RIDAN
(such that only Amadi can hear him)
You're one to talk.
AMADI
(to Hazz'ridan)
Hey! I was helpful! He just said that I was helpful! I'm totally helpful!
HAZZ'RIDAN
(such that only Amadi can hear him)
Punching people is not helpful.
AMADI
(to Hazz'ridan)
Depends on the people. I'm not sure you qualify as people, anyhoo.
(she ponders to herself)
Then again, I'm not sure I qualify, either.
HAZZ'RIDAN
(such that only Amadi can hear him)
Nor should you.
