In the lobby of the guard HQ...
Kevin introduces himself in as dramatic a fashion as he can manage.
"I am the former High Jester of many Barons and Counts, one of the few to be requested to cheer up a King!" he proclaims from the ground triumphantly,
"Sadly, said king was an old grumpy man and he did not appreciate my jokes, so you can call me Kevin," he immediately adds, deflating slightly.
"My, my, how the mighty have fallen. Come with me, will you?" Carlson says, picking Kevin up with his left arm and dragging him away. Several minutes later the dragging stops, at which point Kevin notices that he is inside of a small room.
"Right, several questions now! Firstly, who do you work for? Secondly, what's up with that Sigmund guy? Thirdly, what's with all the guard murder that was happening outside of the store?"
Man, those are all good questions, Kevin thinks.
Sigmund, meanwhile, is a tad put off by the rapid way Carlson drags off Kevin. He must be itching to complete his shift or something.
"Y-yes. B-but I'm afraid that if it has been dismembered and can't move on its own, I won't be able to carry it."
"We can give you a corpse bag to drag it and its possessions around in without fear of too much scuffing. Will that work?"
At the Personal Loans department of De Jong and Associates...
Niklas, having found out everything he needs, heads out the door.
Oddly enough, this lands him right back at the exterior of the bank. Right outside the door he came in through, actually. Shrugging, he makes his way back to the furniture place.
"I return. With money. Give me chairs, chair-man."
"5 gold and 3 silvers?"
"Right here," Niklas says, shaking out his six gold and three silvers in front of the man. "And a regular chair on top of that."
The guy picks up five gold and three silvers. They disappear from his hand immediately in a small white flash.
"Your orders will be ready within the hour. Now, about the regular chair. What would your requirements be? Basic, novelty? Basic chairs cost one silver, novelty ones cost more."
On the shrieking ship of Shriekpot...
Scott, eager to help, goes about fixing up some much-deserved breakfast for his good master. Sadly, he finds there to be quite a dearth of materials in the kitchen, and he isn't sure he knows how to use all this junk in the kitchen to fry things.
Man, if only Niklas were here. Where did the bastard go, anyway?
On a telepathic ship...
Morton wonders how best to explain the emotions requested. Hm. He had been prepared to explain love, maybe, or something like that, but not pride, really.
~Hm... Pride? Hm... Well, pride is a broad concept that can range from good to bad. While it is good to be proud in one's work that they put in for the day, it is good to remember that there is always room for growth and understanding. You mention that you take a liking to your duty, and that you're quite proficient at it no? Does this not give you a sense of satisfaction whenever you complete a job, where everything lines up just right and things went smoothy, or perhaps things went badly yet still wound up ending alright? I suppose if I were to give a personal example, I like to believe that I'm rather proficient at making tea. It's something I've done for a good while, and I take a sense of pride in my ability when I see others enjoy it, or when I receive compliments on it.~
~There are darker aspects of pride, if you wish me to go into them. Envy is more of a more-or-less negative aspect, to be quite utterly frank. That isn't to say one couldn't use it as motivation to better themselves, but it is a tricky path that may lead to ill ends, quite horrid ill ends. It is, in essence, to want what others have that you do not, or at least that you perceive you do not. If I were to give another personal example, ever since I was turned into my current form, I rather miss the ability to taste. I have pride in my ability at making tea, but I miss the ability to taste it myself. I see others enjoy it, which makes me happy, but in another instance I wish I could enjoy it as well.~
~I do dearly apologize for the length of the explanations, but they're rather complex subjects you see.~
~Interesting. What about malice? Schadenfreude? Jealousy? Can you explain those?~
At the engineers' gate of the City of the Dead...
Darren questions the gibbon further, not quite sure whether he's sure what the deal is exactly anymore.
"So... if you are here to keep me out, why won't you kill, maim, desecrate, mutilate, you know, that list from earlier, me if I do try to go in there?"
The gibbon merely shrugs, grinning widely.