In the den of the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Kevin and Sigmund decide to announce their presence to Morton.
"Hey Mort. It's me, Kevin."
"Indeed, look who is back and totally renewed."
Morton, not an impolite sort by a long shot, finishes up his conversation with Erin.
"Of course, good Mage Erin, I would support and aid your request with Master Artiste, he seems a reasonable person to me," he says, then turning to the two new arrivals, particularly Kevin.
"Ah, good Jester Kevin, you're back with us and okay! I was dreadfully worried when you didn't reappear from the realm, not sure what happened to you, but it seems it all worked out for the better yes? And you can speak, truly wonderful! I'd be interested in knowing what happened, as with everyone who went through you were the one who was gone the longest it seems."
He then recalls that there is a mission for humane treatment of unfortunate chefs he is about to undertake,
"Ah, but I'm dreadfully sorry, but that might have to wait until a touch later however. Good Mage Erin and I are about to try to appeal to Master Artiste to allow Niklas a more lenient punishment, a return of some of his senses."
"Don't worry, it's not a particularly long story. I jumped in and some beige thingy talked to me and made me into this form. It thought I was a cat or something. After that I was dropped in a forest somewhere near Emlocke. I found a cabin with some herbalist guy that pointed me to the road, and then I ran here on good luck. That's pretty much it."
That was indeed a short story, Morton guesses.
"All the way by Emlocke? Oh my, that was quite a ways. Curious that you were the only one to get moved that far however, good Tailor Craig might be interesting in hearing this as well, it might perhaps help him. Are you liking your new form, good Jester Kevin?"
"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Flamboyant enough for a jester, and certainly better than that... freak Treehead made me into. I wonder where he's hanging out. Either way, I'll go visit the Tailor guy, then. Do you know where he is?"
"I'm not quite sure, good Jester Kevin. I know he isn't on deck, nor in the den, so if I were to guess he might be in the crew's quarter, or perhaps talking with the good Sir Captain, maybe Master Artiste. Although that all assumes that he's still on deck, but good Tailor Craig did seem interested in joining our trip so I believe he's to be on the ship. I can't rightly say I'm afraid, dreadfully sorry."
"Well, I doubt he'll be in the kitchen and I've searched the deck and the crew quarters looking for you. I guess he's in the cargo hold. See you later, Mort!"
And with that, Kevin runs off to the cargo hold, where he finds the Captain whistling leisurely and levitating a barrel carefully. He immediately turns to Kevin.
"Ah, JESTER-MAN! How can I HELP YOU?"
Back in the den, Sigmund keeps on speaking to Morton after a brief distraction in the form of a violent squeak.
"I think I heard you mention that you wanted soften Niklas' punishment. To which extent should it be?"
"Well, we're hoping to at least restore some of his senses, such as sight and hearing, or perhaps get him changed into something else, I believe good Mage Erin suggested a squirrel. If we ever wish to have Chef Niklas back, him being in a form of sensation-less 'time out' isn't the way. Something that can perhaps drink tea, I bet a spot of some good tea, a chat, and everything will be right as rain as they say."
"I see. I was just worried about him being able to murder something in his new form. When I told the Artiste about his intentions, I did it because I though that it would discourage Niklas' attitude, but it didn't work, and that's why he is a chair now. I agree that maybe this is too much, but I wouldn't transform him into something that lets him speak. His songs are rather disconcerting."
At this point, Erin interjects.
"Right, yeah. We should probably be goin'. Gotta find the boss and all."
Meanwhile, unaware of any of this, Niklas tries to empty his mind after squeaking out his grievances.
[Meditation roll: 1]
Sadly, he is a bit too pissed off to try that currently. The whole thing sounds pretty stupid, really. How can he make his thoughts real if he doesn't have any? Seriously, now.
"It seems that you are doing poorly at this, Niklas. This is unfortunate. Perhaps we can try again some time later? Or can you calm down now?"
In a Shriekpot's jail...
Mark decides to ignore the offer of romance novels and inspect his cell for weaknesses. The sergeant looks at him as he does this.
Hm. Well, he supposes the wall might be a weakness, being made of stone while he is made of metal. It'll probably be pretty hard to get through it, not to mention rather noisy.
"So, do you want anything to read or not?"
At Karina's home...
Darren decides to drop the subject at Karina's behest.
"It's okay," he states, then waits uncertainly for half a second. "Anything you're curious about in my life?"
Karina thinks for a moment, trying to come up with something to ask.
"Well... um, how about your family? What were they like?"
This question is a tad unsettling for Darren, because he... doesn't quite remember. He feels he should, but... he doesn't, really. It feels a bit strange.
Author
Topic: Life Begins At Death - Epilogue: We Live And Live Again (Read 563677 times)