Turn 8, The World's Most Comfortable BedBelieving himself to be well and truly lost,
Edwin attempts to find the way in the same manner he has achieved enlightenment. Well, maybe not in the exact same manner - this time, there is no tea available. Thus the only option that remains is some good old-fashioned prayer. Kneeling in the muck, he asks for the knowledge of the merciful and great Orange Pekoe, his voice rising and falling, trembling slightly at the thought of invoking the spirit infinite.
Fortunately, nothing overly alarming comes of this. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing helpful comes of this, either - perhaps the wisdom of Orange Pekoe is not privy to him, a lowly old man on the first steps of his grand pilgrimage? The swamp only becomes more overbearing around him, filling him with feelings of confusion and fear. Is this a test, perhaps? Edwin, wise in the ways of smiling old men, feels like it very well might be, for it explains much of what is happening to him. So he gets up and chooses a direction according to his own good judgment.
An hour of walking in said direction later, he is no less lost. Perhaps more. But certainly not less.
* * * * *
Emilia, after laughing at Reen's remark, finds the conversation on the cart cease with a degree of abruptness. But since she has little to speak of with them anyway, this is of little trouble, and onward she travels, through the night, during which she can't really catch any sleep, being somewhat well-rested as it is. Reen, however, falls asleep and leans on her shoulder, while Ziph keeps a sleepy eye out - the boy remains completely alert and slightly nervous, while the girl appears to be writing something, occasionally glaring at Emilia in a way that suggests slight paranoia.
Eventually, as dawn starts to roll around, Emilia begins to feel exhausted, especially around seven in the morning, when the sun begins to properly rise and things get brighter. Along with an increase in brightness, there is a sight ahead - a town, or rather the remains of one. Collapsed roofs, seemingly empty houses, strange cries ringing out in the distance. Emilia hopes that's not Yungor.
"There's our destination," Ziph says, sounding disappointed.
"Looks pretty much dead all over. Congrats, Reen, you've pointed us to a town deader than Bantuk's Bend!" the girl exclaims indignantly.
"All part of the plan!" Reen says, rising suddenly and upsetting Emilia's balance a little.
"It might be all droppings and ruin now, but where you see this as a bad thing, I see opportunity! Free property! Loot! It'll make a good stop, at the very least," she explains as the cart slowly rolls through the main street.
"You, uh, knew it'd be like this?" the boy asks cautiously, keeping an eye around the place. There's literally no human life in sight.
"Of course! Why else would I have led us here? Place is a dump is what it is! Always was, in fact. Now it just looks the part, judging from the reactions."There's something at play here, and Emilia begins to suspect she knows what it might be.
* * * * *
Derek continues to explain his beliefs to the slightly unreceptive Sweetie.
"It's true - I be requested by God to head south, to rise atop a great feckin' mountain. And look - I am bein' naked, on account of being ready for the end times, and I am bein' almost quite exceptionally drunk, on account of having drunk more ale than I can keep count of, and look, beho-!"He pauses just in time to prevent a conflagration. Or so he thinks - it's a bit damp here, and it's probably not too conducive to flames, which he guesses is a better reason not to show off his powers here.
"Oh balls, wait. I was going to show you like the will of God and all, but it being an enclosed space in here it might not be a right good idea, and the will of God might be for us all to be burnt to shi- er smithereens. Hark, what say you, O Mighty Sweetie? Will you come outside and witness the will of God? If not I'll just go outside and ask Her for a few nice fireballs anyway, I likes 'em."Sweetie smiles, and taps Ehran on the shoulder.
"Right, I'll just be showing the way, now," he says, walking toward a particular wall, which he pulls a lever on - this opens a door on the opposite side, which he drunkenly dances toward, beckoning his friend and his sweetheart to follow - both do without a word, moving up a set of three ladders, stepping off one and on to the other at specific points indicated by him. Eventually they reach the surface, stepping out of a concealed door on a tree trunk right under a very uneasy-looking beehive.
Quickly stepping away from stinging distance, the two people watch as Derek is about to cast some fireballs to the wind. The incredibly drunken man in front of them seems like an unlikely candidate for magical power, showing little in the way of the understanding of the fundamental untruths one needs to master, but one never knows.
And so Derek, facing the heavens, calls forth his power over the element of fire, hot spheres of plasma appearing on his fingertips, ungodly hot and yet harmless to his blessed, naked form, and with a flick of the fingers they fly upwards, one after another, a barrage of skyward flames illuminating the nightly environment before exploding powerfully, the power enclosed within discharged violently into its surroundings. This spectacle of sights and sounds seems most breathtaking to Ehran, though Sweetie herself seems less than amused by it, presumably having seen quite a lot from that high up in her life already. She looks into Derek's eyes, a question clear in her mind -
what else can you do? Her eyes seem almost godlike in judgment in that moment, her stare almost making the man retreat with its intensity.
* * * * *
Brennus, after a spot of narration to himself, stretches, yawns and prepares himself for a nice little spot of sleep. And soon the woman and her father are back, looking quite pleased with themselves.
"Your room is ready, follow me," the woman says, and then leads Brennus to a room on the first floor - it is an unassuming one, dominated by a rather large bed and possessing little else in terms of furnishings aside from a lit candle in the corner.
"Here we are. Feel free to make yourself comfortable. If you need anything, feel free to call for me," she says, then heads out into the hallway, disappearing from sight. Brennus lies down on the bed, only to find it supremely comfortable - quite frankly, it's the best bed he's ever lain in his entire life.
Derek: 5 MP
Wilhelm: 6 MP
Emilia: 5 MP
Edwin: 5 MP
Brennus: 5 MP
Author
Topic: Birth of a Deity: Turn 17, Multitudinous Failures of Words (Read 26038 times)