Holes/Session 48
A fragment of the Garden of Remembering
< Holes
EXT. Woods river - day
Greibel is leading the party south through the woods, presumeably in the direction of where they had all mostly agreed to go.
He neglects to mention that at this point he has completely forgotten where anything is and has no idea where he's going.
Bear Soup Guy (Greibel): Excellent. I've been trying to think of justification for why we went out to do a million other things when we needed the airship. This makes sense now.
The party comes out at a river, wide, shallow, and full of stones and rocks.
Greibel natures the river. This involves a fair amount of splashing around, and a water balloon. (rolled 19 nature)
Greibel throws the water balloon and narrowly avoids hitting Radek.
Rhu looks at the river grumpily, swatting at the insects. A slug falls on his ear.
Greibel stands and points silently across the river.
Radek stares at Greibel and sighs.
RADEK
What? What is it now?
DAWN
He wants us to cross.
The Gravedigger goes and stands on the river, with Amadi riding his horns.
RADEK
...Fine.
Rhu scratches at his ear, notices the slug, and picks it off his ear and pokes at it.
Dawn does an uncoordinated running flapping thing over the river and winds up flying headlong into a tree on the other side.
Radek constructs a hardlight bridge over the water.
Rhu puts the slug down on some nearby vegetation and crosses Radek's bridge.
DAWN
(from the ground on the other side)
Bridddge.
Radek appraises his bridge proudly, and, with Rhu having conveniently tested its stability, he crosses over as well.
Greibel, meanwhile, turns into a far-too-large-for-this-situation whale, about as long as the river is wide, and flops down across the river. He proceeds to become quite stuck. (rolled 3 athletics)
The Gravedigger applauds.
Dawn sits up and giggles.
Greibel flails for a while before turning back to normal and falling into one of the few deep bits of the river. Then he swims up and spits water out like in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
The party goes into the woods once more, now headed west.
Rasputin wiggles.
EXT. Woods - day
At some point Dawn scoots up to Radek.
DAWN
So Gravy's a god now.
Radek scoffs and gives Dawn a dismissive swat.
Dawn giggles.
The Gravedigger decides they're headed in the wrong direction (rolled 15 nature, 19 reality), and points in the opposite direction as they'd been going.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
This way, team!
Ganelon (Radek): Radek is conflicted. He doesn't have faith in Greibel's directional skills. And he doesn't have faith in Gravy's divinity.
'Bear Soup Guy (Greibel): Honestly Greibel's already probably forgotten where he was going. I think he just files in line behind Gravy.
RADEK
Do I really need to take over basic navigation for us as well?
The Gravedigger ignores Radek and hums in a merry fashion, now leading the party east.
DAWN
Oh, they just don't agree on where we're going, that's all.
Where were we going?
RHU
(to Dawn; pointing)
Thataway, I think.
DAWN
But why? What's there? Do you know?
RHU
(he shrugs)
Anywhere but here would be fine by me. Preferably somewhere with hot water and an internet connection.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
We are going... TO ADVENTUUUUUUURE.
DAWN
(to Gravy)
Do you... mind that I'm following you around? Is that polite?
Amadi gives Dawn a look of astonishment (though it might not be genuine).
AMADI
What did you just say?
DAWN
I don't know. I mean, what am I doing? Should I be doing something?
RADEK
If Greibel's testimony is to be believed, to the wreckage of a crashed airship north of Dorgin.
The Gravedigger leans over Radek.
THE GRAVEDIGGER
Aaaadventuuuuuure.
DAWN
I don't think you're going where you think you're going.
RHU
...go on.
DAWN
You're on the wrong planet. Maybe even the wrong universe. Even in layers, the onion is infinite. But I'm just saying that because I don't actually know. You don't know either, you know. Isn't it nice not knowing?
RADEK
No. And if you want to end up in another universe, I may be able to assist you.
DAWN
No? You want to know it all? You want to... keep knowing? I don't think you know what you think you want.
RHU
A city, then. Somewhere with people, not some tiny little village in the middle of nowhere surrounded by charming wizard towers with dragons in them. Somewhere like Arah, maybe. Arah was nice.
Shame about the arch. And the giant.
DAWN
And the future.
RHU
And that lady who's house we burned down.
RADEK
I could do without knowing many things, but this is a problem I need to solve.
DAWN
(sounding almost like she cares)
Oh, alright, then. Just as long as you don't destroy yourself.
EXT. Woods river - day
About an hour after they'd crossed it before, the party comes back to the river again, this time needing to cross it in the opposite direction.
The Gravedigger just uses his boots to walk right over it again.
This time Dawn copies him and walks across the water as well.
Radek just stops at the river's edge and stares down at the water. It's like 2cm deep there.
Radek then digs a small sphere out of his things and tosses it into the center of the river, then explodes it in a blast of massive coldness, freezing over the river in the immediate vicinity.
He crosses it carefully as more water from upstream begins to flow over the uneven sheet of ice. (rolled 19 acrobatics)
Rhu follows after. By now there's a layer of flowing water entirely across the ice, making it even harder to use, but he makes it across fine as well. (rolled 25 acrobatics)
Greibel, meanwhile, splashes through the water further down from the ice, getting as wet as possible in the process.
