Kat, not so sure whether she is safe by any stretch of the imagination out here, decides to put her pants back on.
Ah. Yes. Everything seems so much more normal now. She knows what she must do, for the good of primarily herself.
"So, uh, about Larry... yeah... too bad... I don't know about all of you, but I'm going home before you all get me killed or...potatoe'd...I need a change of clothes, and more besides. Good luck with the bums," she says, beginning to leave. She sees Halesey slightly further away, and hastens her step accordingly.
Elizabeth, having solemnly warned any people (mostly just Kat) in the near vicinity not to speak of this incident, responds accordingly after dusting herself off.
"Bye, Kat. Can't say I don't want to do the same."After a moment's pause, she continues.
"Well. What are you doing now? The whole leyline thing is called off for now? Fine then, I'm going home too. Not a whole lot to do otherwise."Kat doesn't respond in any conventional way. Instead, she just hands Elizabeth her number.
"We might need to stay in touch, anyway.""Right, sounds good. See ya."They both then go their separate ways, with Kat taking a bus over to her humble home and Elizabeth looking for a bookstore of some kind. Fortunately, there is one, though not in the industrial district. Takes a while to find it, but it seems like a decent enough place - has lots of used books, too. There's all sorts of weird stuff from the eighties and nineties in here, but not much in terms of occult knowledge, at least nothing that seems particularly legit. Mostly just bargain basement stuff for impressionable teenagers and extremely bored or gullible people.
Larry, still trapped in a potato dimension (and very much alive, contrary to Kat's expectations), tries to get somebody to throw him a bone. Like, say, the book.
"Hey book, how should I get out of here? Any helpful magic you want to lay on me?"The booming voice suddenly returns to his head, loud and dramatic as ever.
~LET'S SEE, MORTAL! CAN YOU HANDLE THE INTENSE, BOUNDLESS POWER?~[Larry's mind roll: 1-->1]
Eldritch knowledge rapidly floods into his brain as the book lets loose. He tries to close the thing, but finds that it doesn't help. The book momentarily fuses with his mind, filling it with the most amazing knowledge. It still tingles in a really bad way, though.
1. Repel Dihydroxiacetone Demon
2. Evoke Filthy Mucus
3. Alkaline Trouser Golem Beam
4. Curse Pudding
5. Identify Coffee Mug
YOUR OLD SPELLS ARE NO GOOD, MORTAL! THESE ARE YOUR NEW ONES! ALL OF THEM! THEY ARE WAY BETTER!
Hm. Maybe not quite what he had in mind.
Halesey, meanwhile, tries to figure out who else got away from the vile vortex of potatoes. After doing a headcount, he confirms that he is indeed alone in an alley without a pair of pants to call his own. In certain circles, these are known as highly dangerous circumstances.
"Wow. Sweet. Free at last."Halesey looks about him, sure that nobody's around. He then proceeds to monologue right ahead, perhaps to provide the universe with a justification for his actions.
"Well, I guess going home is one option. But I just saw the power of life and death, man. Book, show me more, dude. How can I control your awesome power better? How can I better serve the magic? Is there any kind of ritual I can use to honor the power?" he asks, holding the book up to his face.
~Man, I'm not sure I can give you all of my secrets just yet, even for a nifty ritual. How about we start slow? Maybe get to that leyline. Then I might trust you a bit more. Anyhow.~[Halesey's mind roll: 6-->5+1]
Ooh, if this is the book's idea of starting slow, Halesey wonders where they'll both end up at this rate. He feels like he is enveloped in a magical, sparkling cloud of wondrous refreshment. It fills his eyes, his mouth, his nostrils and his ears, streaming into his brain and creating an odd sensation not unlike drowning. Halesey's mind perseveres, however, fishing out a great many magical tools from the magical mishmash of enchantment!
1. Musical Garbage Blast
2. Stupid Desk Shield
3. Emit Undulating Tuberculosis
4. Frozen Sausage Pillar
5. Weaken Lounge Singer
6. Rain of Shampoo
Hope these work - be very careful with them. Particularly the tuberculosis. Or the shampoo. Still, pick any that you like. Don't be a fool, though. Fools aren't good with magic.
Ah, now that's more like it. Now Halesey can-
The rather insensible guy who pestered him earlier is violently chucked out of the vortex suddenly, landing in a shivering, whimpering, yet also seemingly unharmed heap at his feet.
Author
Topic: The Forgotten Art: Approaching the Nexus (Read 271849 times)