At the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Niklas, having explained the path to culinary enlightenment, demands payment! From... uh... the desk thing!
"HELLO THERE FRIENDS I SEE YOU HAVE A DESK DID YOU KNOW MOST PEOPLE KEEP KNIVES IN THEIR DESKS I NEED A KNIFE DO YOU HAVE A CLOSET MOST PEOPLE HAVE A BODY IN THEIR CLOSET AND I NEED A BODY TO MAKE MAGE SOUP MAGE SOUP IS MADE BY TAKING MAGICALLY SPED UP SCARAB BEETLES AND LETTING THEM INGEST THE MAGE THEN YOU TAKE THE CORPSES AND MASH THEM INTO A PASTE AND SWIM DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA TO RETRIEVE THE NOSE OF A DOLPHINSHARK YOU HOLLOW THAT OUT AND SERVE THE PASTE IN THAT RETROACTIVELY TO THE SAME MAGE BY TRAVELING BACK IN TIME SO THEY EAT THEIR OWN CORPSES THUS KILLING THEMSELVES AHAHAHAHA..."
He flops toward the confused Morton, attempting to search the desk! However, he has no hands. This slightly impedes the search, as he can't really pull open a drawer with his current equipment.
"Wha-" Morton observes as he is approached by the creature that he recognizes as... Niklas? "Good Chef Niklas, what happened? What's going on? Are you quite alright? Were you the one singing?"
"SILLY MAGE SHE TOOK MY BODY BUT I WILL TAKE HERS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS SHE TOOK MY WEAPONS..." the fish replies, clearly getting into some kind of cycle.
"Good Chef Niklas, someone took your body? Oh how dreadful, who did it? A mage you say? Hm... I'm not sure I can help you with your weapon problem, sadly, but perhaps we can with the body issue? After all, with the changes the Aspect did, surely it can make a body for Niklas, couldn't it? What do you say, good Chef Niklas, would you like a new body? I think my friend here, good Tailor Craig, can help you with that, if he's alright with that."
"Certainly. More test subjects are always good."
Sigmund, rather bemused by Niklas' strange behavior, backs away and speaks to Red-Chested Elron.
"Seeing as this is likely to end in him with a new body, maybe you want to get yours fixed. It's an interesting experience. There is a realm inhabited with a creature who improves the appearance of everybody who enters. I went myself through it, and I recommend it. That creature can even give you new clothes! So, if you decide to go, just tell good tailor Craig."
"I suppose I could try it, yes."
He taps Tailor Craig on the shoulder.
"'Scuse me, but this guy told me that you can send me to this place where I can be... fixed, sorta."
"I can, yes. Do you want to be sent off?"
"Sure, why not."
"Very well, step over here," Tailor Craig explains, leading Red-Chested Elron a distance away from the rest and drafting up a circle around him.
"Now, remember - suggest to the creature what you want, but don't get snippy. Don't demand."
Red-Chested Elron nods, and Tailor Craig snaps his claw, causing the man to disappear into the pier's surface immediately, at which point the circle disappears as well.
At this point, Mark passes by the group of strangers again, figuring Niklas has them well in hand, so there's no need to worry. He looks around the ship. Ah, looks like there are zero harpoons around that are not tied to the mast. That guy must have taken the other two with him.
Out in front of Purple Pete Petersen's place...
Scott, seeing how this has gone in a 180 degree direction from good, moves to the harbor!
[Movement roll: 5-1]
It doesn't even take too long to reach it! Scott dives right in, extinguishing the flames on him rather nicely. The pitch doesn't quite separate from his body, though.
In a smoking mage's house...
Kevin sits down on the footstool once more and begins a tale.
"Let's start at the beginning. Before I was a skeleton, I even was a jester. A very good one, too! I was allowed to give the king a show personally! But he failed to enjoy it, and thus I became a skeleton. Some time later, I was raised by a necromancer along with a few other undead, and we lived in a house on the outskirts of Shriekpot. It wasn't too bad of a life, but it was a bit boring sometimes. Then a band of mages and some guy that's apparently a demon-but-not-quite came over and turned our master into a blanket and soulbound us. He wanted to go to someplace he called "Horizon Isle", or something like that. So we found a suitable boat and our transmuter turned it into a fine vessel. Then all the mages and our master went to sleep, and me and the other undead roamed around the town. My lower body got blown up and some nutjob tree-headed skeleton turned me into a monstrosity, a freak. I wandered around town pointlessly and encountered some of the other undead, who were talking to a tailor that had managed to get a portal to the "Fabulous Dimension". So I went in, was turned into a man again, and ended up here."
"That's real interesting," says the man, going back to the kitchen and resuming his doubtlessly more interesting watching of pots and whatnot.