In an alley in Shriekpot...
As the sad, sad individuals in the alley wait for Scott to return or give convincing proof of his death in the line of duty, Niklas decides to draw a chair in some nearby dirt. Luckily, the alley provides no shortage of it, and Niklas draws a rudimentary image of a chair. It's hardly a three-dimensional image or even a terribly convincing one (mostly on account of his lack of actual hands), but he supposes it'll do. Niklas then tries to manipulate it as well, but fails most unfortunately.
Scott, meanwhile, comes back with good news for once. He nods expressively at the group, and Sigmund can only guess at what exactly he might mean.
"I could probably pry the door open with a harpoon, why you lowlifes didn't scout the place out..."
Sigmund, having had quite enough whining and not enough action, asks him a question.
"So, there is a back entrance?"
Wait, what is he doing? It will be easier to check on his own than to deal with another tirade of passive aggression and complaining. Not waiting for an answer, Sigmund slinks over to the inner yard of the block, whereupon he does indeed spot a back entrance. He immediately approaches it, evaluating whether he could possibly jump over it, coming to the conclusion that that would probably just result in him flying into the stone wall above if he tried. He then considers how else to alternatively bypass it. He looks at the windows and finds them barred, and the walls look pretty solid, though they might be possible to climb and reach the second floor or perhaps even the roof.
In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Morton, guessing that he has run out of things to read, heads back up on deck, only to find it in a very similar state, aside from the fact that Erin appears to be drinking with her fellows and that Tailor Craig and the Captain have moved slightly - the specter now appears to be explaining the principles of ghost harpoon fishing to the man and telekinetically spearing the sea at random intervals.
In addition, Erin seems to be drinking rather intensely compared to the leisurely pace of the others.
"Pace yourself, Erin! You'll just pass out if you keep at it like that."
"Nah, nah. I know my limits."
"No, no. I know your limits. You should stay away from booze altogether."
"Why's that?"
"She has an alarming tendency to use magic when drunk."
"No, I don't!"
"She also tends to become quite defensive in such an event."
"What's the worst that could happen? At least I'll see what she can do in such a state, heh."
"Oh, it's real funny to ya, ain't it?" Erin asks after finishing her drink with alarming quickness.
"Well, I find a whole lot of things funny right now that I didn't before. Like, for instance..."
The Artiste thinks for a moment, then starts to chuckle quietly, resting his face in one of his palms.
"Like what?" Art asks, leaning in toward him.
The Artiste takes several deep breaths, then looks at Art earnestly. At this point he loses it once again, guffawing with great glee, nearly falling off his barrel in the process. Evelyn also starts to stare at him. Erin, however, stumbles up from her seated position, walking over to the booze barrel for a refill, then comes back and slumps back into her place, spilling a not inconsiderable amount of the Special on her robe.
"Aw, dammit! That's gonna leave a stain, ya know," she says to nobody in particular. Possibly the heavens themselves. The Artiste, who appears to have recovered from his laughing fit, looks at her.
"Aw, hell! That's a huge stain to be sure. Do you have any other robe?"
"No! That's the problem!"
"Guess you'll have to go naked, then!" the Artiste says, starting to laugh uncontrollably again.
Clearly, much fun is going to be had.
On the outskirts of the City of the Dead...
Darren thinks about the offer.
"A walk with a lady, huh?"
A short pause ensues as a certain bit of tension, at least by Darren's reckoning, builds up.
"Haven't done that since I've been alive."
"Well, I'm hardly even a quarter the lady I used to be, really. But walks are far better with company, no?"
Darren supposes he agrees, and he follows Danielle as her floating head moves down the sloped streets of the city. It seems like a good amount of the city is completely ruined, whether by caved-in ceilings or just natural decay. However, as they move onwards, the structures start to look better-preserved.
"The outskirts are a pretty quiet and peaceful place to be, really. Probably because there's few places left to live in... or at least call one's home. Now we're moving toward the outer city, the non-engineered portion. There's more people around here. Like over there, for instance," Danielle explains, pointing her head at a burned-out building. Darren thinks he can see some shadowy shapes in there, but he isn't sure.
"It's actually pretty interesting that this is one of the newest parts of town - people started flocking here only after the engineers had taken up residence. In the beginning, they were exclusively servants, but then they started branching out, starting their own families, that kind of thing. And then they transitioned into being liaisons between the engineers and the outside world, doing all the trading, speaking, that sort of thing. And the engineers, wishing to be left alone, walled off the original center of the town, and then the growth of the outer city reduced it to kind of a quirky magical suburb," she explains, rather visibly proud of her ability to produce such trivia to Darren.
In a jail cell...
Mark sits around as he awaits the return of his gracious jailer, letting his mind aimlessly wander. A few minutes later, the jailer returns with his glass of water. He turns to the limbless captive after taking a sip of water.
"So, you want to hear more of this self-help stuff? I'm getting kinda tired of it myself."
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Topic: Life Begins At Death - Epilogue: We Live And Live Again (Read 562550 times)