In Undefined Space...
Timothy does on ahead and tries to talk his guests' auditory organs right off.
"Why's me blocks not work?" he asks mostly himself before turning toward the others.
"Umm... dey said 'ey could send me home, though... An' yeah, I guess dat's tha magick-y fellow has my soul. He is send me on alla special missions!"
"They do not send. You send yourself. They only help."
"Yeah, the always-voices can be terribly unhelpful-harmful sometimes! Majorly! But anyone-everyone who gets here-there can get right back-there!"
Timothy thinks about this. It sounds a little familiar, actually. He promptly changes the subject, the usual strategy when he needs time to think.
"Dis fun place? Was pretty fun 'cept my blocks is stop workin'..."
"Very fun fun-place! And very nice-wonderful block-things!"
"Thanks! I is try ta make place from back home. See, dere's Mista Bob's house, an' dat's where I's first meets Hansel..."
He begins his epic tale of various adventures had and enemies vanquished, stopping but a few sentences later when he realizes that these people, if that is indeed what they are, probably can't relate to his past or his home on any reasonable level.
"You do not belong here," Og suddenly mentions.
"Not that that's a bad-terrible thing, yes?"
"This our realm. We can help leave, if want. Help with soul issue."
At De Jong and Associates...
Niklas, having found out all he needs to know, moves on to the Personal Loans department, ducking into the door cautiously. On the other side, he observes a whole lot of people lining up for six different desks, behind each of which is a bureaucrat. There are at least five people in every line, and the entire place looks pretty busy.
In the amputation room of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Sigmund compliments the guard offhandedly while fishing for information.
"It seems like a nice job. Not one that I would take, as butchering people is not my style, but I guess that if you like it, it would be a great job. Tell me, do you know about scammers and the like in the city?"
"Oh, plenty of those. Difficult to catch, though. They're a crafty lot. And fast runners. Those that aren't don't last very long."
On a strange ship in Shriekpot...
Morton looks over at Art, who seems perfectly content, if a little distracted.
~I admit to being curious, you're able to keep two private conversations at a time? I have to admit I'm impressed, I sometimes have trouble keeping one conversation straight to be utterly concise.~
~Actually, I'm having three right now. One with you, one with Arthur and one with a shipping official about half a kilometer away. I've had plenty of practice, and I am configured to handle such a thing easily. I typically use my senses for navigation, which requires quite a proficiency for multitasking.~
In the main lobby of the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Scott tries for a compromise one last time.
"Is there anything I can do for you to keep at least one of my thumbs?"
"No, you see, the point of taking your thumbs is so you stay out of trouble. And you've already done quite enough, I think. Now, give 'em here."
Scott produces his hands grudgingly, looking away as Carlson places the strange scissors around one of his thumbs, cutting it off after liberal application of force. He then does the same thing to the other thumb. At the end of it, he takes both thumbs.
"Now, if we need you, we'll find you. Other than that, you're free to go. Happy trails!"
Carlson promptly walks off, leaving Scott with two fewer thumbs and considerably less legal trouble than before.
Somewhere in the guard HQ of Shriekpot...
Kevin tries to look out of the bag carefully, but finds that it's been sewn up tight - no way he's getting out without ripping it open.