In the streets of Mothdale...
Sigmund guesses in-depth planning will have to wait until they are clear of the mortal danger the gub seem to be sending his group's way.
"Yeah, just rush the heck out of this place. I'll follow you, guys, but move quickly," he says and, since Mark luckily volunteers to be party leader, grabs his hand and follows along, Art and Kevin following suit, with Sigmund himself closing his eyes when they reach any crossroads.
"Don't ask, I have issues. Just go," he says as if nobody was aware of his rather embarrassing neurosis, which they naturally are. They proceed in this vaguely awkward manner through the city of Mothdale, eventually reaching the city limits, which is where Sigmund feels confident enough to actually speak to the gub once more.
~Gub, that was strictly not necessary!~
~it most certainly was! it has gotten you moving, has it not? and if you take too long in the wilderness, we have your scent well-memorized by several independent sources now! so even if you move outside of our influence, we can still occasionally send a tracking dog or two to provide a helpful reminder that you should really be getting back to work already! so we advise you to not linger too long, yes?~
Right now the entire party seems to have run right outside the city gate, where a road leads off into the distance. A nearby signpost indicates that there is a town by the name of Eckledun about thirty kilometers westward, so they seem to be on the right track already.
In the Red Tower of Power...
Niklas informs the child through writing that he'll strive to grant whatever the child's request might be, taking into account the quality of the repairs, naturally, which will obviously be needed before any cooking can commence. The child seems to like the prospect.
"Sold!" he says, then waves his arms in the air.
[Child's magic roll: 5]
Horrible, yet highly motivating agony shoots through Niklas' body as his bones begin to realign themselves. His flesh begins to bubble, and his guts pop back in. He twitches and hisses for a long moment as new arms begin to grow out of his arm sockets, his neck slightly lengthens and repairs itself, allowing Niklas to scream terribly once more, and his abdomen looks entirely presentable now aside from the rather significant tear in his robe in that region.
"I wish for a magical lizard steak in human blood marinade, please! With sprinkles on top, ma'am! It is a Sunday, after all!" the child then asks happily.
"I like him!" Torkel says after a long silence. "I think you should be friends!"
Next to half a broken, yet still fashionable desk...
"You might want to rephrase that as 'recruitment' Madame Ghost. Our taskmasters are not in the most jovial of moods," Scott tells Justine, feeling that nomenclature makes all the difference for some people.
"Recruitment also works, yes," Justine agrees. Morton, who feels that one might call a polite request many things, but never really an abduction, weighs in on the conversation.
"I'm afraid I'm terribly unsure what either of you mean. Mage Justine, we're to seek mages to see if they wish to consider residence here, perhaps over a nice cup of fresh tea, and to hopefully improve the poor city's state. I do hope good group Gub starts to feel happier however, perhaps I can brew some tea to help later... No matter, it is good to see you well, good mage Justine, and I do apologize for any undue trouble in attempting to locate us."
"Well, that's one method of recruiting people, I suppose. Awfully deceptive, however," Justine says.
~not quite! beyond unforeseen circumstances, they should have a fairly nice experience here! it is all a matter of perspective!~
"Morton, do you happen to have any fast acting sedatives or tranquilisers? I believe our 'invitees' may need some very strong encouragement to be the Gub's 'guests'," Scott suddenly suggests, and immediately thinks ~Now let's see our masters ignore that dollop of proactivity!~, which is met with no reply from the gub.
"Sir Scott, good heavens, why would we do that? That doesn't seem particularly polite, much less kind. I dare say that almost sounds a touch... Well, I'm afraid to say, rude. Isn't our task to try and persuade mages to live here? I'm afraid I fail to see that being particularly long term, much less agreeable for the poor individual. I'm sure that if we explain, be polite, and are honest, things will go swimmingly. No need for such crass methods when kind words and true intentions will lead one to a better path," Morton replies idealistically.
"I do agree with Morton," Tailor Craig offers after remaining silent up until this point. "It seems altogether more pleasant and less complicated to simply entice people to come here with kind words and wonderful tea, to be honest."
"We aren't here because of kind words Morton. I sincerely doubt anyone would want to be in our present situation. I am particularly surprised we weren't ordered to just kill them and let art summon their souls from the nether under an unbreakable contract," Scott shoots right back, at which point the gub speak to all three of the people they can speak to.
~it disappoints us, scott, how easily you resort to violence, intimidation and skulduggery to achieve a goal! what you just relayed to morton and friends is basically the plan of your, let's be honest, rather awful friend sigmund! we thought you were better than this, scott! for shame, really! for shame! we do not see why people judge living here to be a bad thing! the pessimism is also most disheartening! we have it on good authority that convincing individuals to come here is indeed possible, and, for that matter, highly practical on a level that kidnapping is not! as morton has said, kidnapping is a crass method reserved for such barbaric individuals as your other friends!~
"Are you pretending you're not going to enslave them right now?" Justine asks in a deadpan voice.
~the fact that you call it enslavement shows a very limited understanding of the gub! it is a shame you did not retain memories of your time within us, for the experience of it would surely persuade you otherwise!~
Author
Topic: Life Begins At Death - Epilogue: We Live And Live Again (Read 564672 times)