"No worries, I'll be buzzed too soon enough!"
Midnight raid? Absolutely! All in proper viking fashion!
Quiet and civilized viking fashion.
Lovely! She leads you by the hand out into the dark again, and you weave along a particular path through the thick circle of teepees arranged around the oak tree you rested at, slowly heading down the bluff. It feels like you've gone more than a respectable distance when you finally seem to reach your destination, Rose managing to chart a rather successful path in the dim starlight. She parts the flap of the tent and pulls you in gently, and you resist the powerful urge to holler menacingly to announce your entry.
This tent is very conspicuously unlit, in that you can barely make out anything at all in the consuming darkness. Rose splits from you almost immediately, not particularly needing to see anything to find her way through here. Should only take a minute or two. You'd like a tonic, yes? A lighter or stronger kind? There's several sorts. Any flavoring preferences? There's plain, rich, sour, blood, orange and blood orange, she whispers to you very slightly from a deeper recess of the oddly shaped tent.
Spoiled for choice, you give this some thought. And as you do so, you realize the itching on your shoulder is actually a scratching, a rather long fingernail presently tapping on it. You stir a little, and you hear the barest whisper of a woman's voice reach your ears.
Stranger, it says,
I can see you.
"Fuckin reality warping. Fortunately I have a backup plan for shit like this."
Keep going toward Anglefork town, I'll catch up with the blacksmith eventually, if only for lack of sleep. If any supernatural bullshit tries to manifest at me, attempt to utilize the well's absorbtion powers that it gave me (I know I'm simplifying it) to suck it into extradimensional oblivion. Or just murderthought it if it's a regular thing accosting me.
The flashes of preternatural rainbow continue across your eyes, and you try to ignore them. You can ignore a lot if you put your mind to it! The flashing doesn't abate. You keep running. Doesn't help.
And then, the voice of Mr. Wilde.
[That Golden Voice: 4]
The rainbow flashes bright and becomes a sawtooth wave, blasting a 9-story wall of sound into your skull as its waves go mad before your eyes. You only narrowly keep your balance as you scream, your murder-thought knowing its destination to the point where you need not even look.
[Cut The Signal: 4 vs. 2]
You hear it impact satisfyingly into Mr. Wilde's torso, a razor-thin entry followed by an explosive splash of an exit - Mr. Wilde stumbles mid-sentence, and the blast of sound weakens momentarily as he pauses in his pursuit, abating slightly as you get away.
[Run For Your Lives: 3]
You must get away from him, you think repeatedly and intensely as you power undulate and nearly tumble head over heel in your rush, your body not particularly enabling the quick sprint you are attempting. As you sense him rise once again, the wave crossing your eyes pulses wildly and your entire body spasms briefly.
Okay, maybe I'm not relieved to be here.
I seek shade or shelter from the ominous rainbow.
[Gimme Shelter: 5]
You clamber up the shoreline, trying not to look at the astrological anomaly right behind you as you quickly make your way to what you realize is the road, where you see none other than one Mr. Minstep, currently having helped up that other lady Claire was entertaining the... other day, you guess? You're not sure if you've lost or gained a day somewhere. Time can be hard to follow. You exchange a meaningful look with both of them as they simultaneously appear to wonder what impulse it is that possesses a woman like you to be naked at a time and place like this. You duck down into a nearby trench you don't recall being a part of the landscape when last you were here, and make a shushing gesture at them as you press your back to the dirt wall, feeling a not inconsiderable sense of relief as the arc in the sky no longer feels like it's staring into your skull and smacking its lips.
"Hoy, Daniels, hold up! I have a few things to say to you!"
Relate message to Daniels, or failing that a handy rock or shrub. Keep an eye out (hah!) for any new behaviour on the part of the rifts.
Mr. Daniels doesn't seem like he's heard the good news, so you sprint after him to make sure he gets the information. You don't think he sees you, and he seems rather preoccupied, so you give him a shout to hold up. He responds, and you're not sure why you didn't predict this, with animalistic violence.
[Cut The Signal: 2 vs. 4]
It hits you like a highly illegal shotgun round, catching you in the chest and coming out the other side with a hole the size of your left lung, sending you spinning and tumbling along the ground. You take a moment to reflect on this tragic loss of dear Lefty before a certain urgency pulls you to your feet.
It is imperative that Mr. Daniels gets this message, you feel a thought pulse in your head. Nobody else would find it useful, at least.
Well, crazy as she is, it'd be unseeming to not at least try to help.
Grab the doctor and shepherd her along. The town is at least generally north of here, right? We should go there first.
Thomas made a note to see a doctor as soon as he got back. Hopefully he would still have a job and the sensible health insurance that went along with it.
You go and lift the doctor up to her feet. She doesn't appear to need the help, really, being of rather sound body. She simply wasn't sure if it was over. Is it over, she asks hesitantly as she gets up under her power, holding on to her sheet intently.
You look around. The sky looks quite dark, and there's a rather large arc of light presently decorating it, yawning in your direction in a way you can't help but read an uncaring malevolence into. Erm. It's possibly over, you say. Though even if it isn't, it most certainly is no longer safe to be in the area. Say what you will about commitment, but you draw the line at improper disposal of radioactive waste.
But anyway, is she well to travel, you ask. She thinks for a moment, and replies that she feels very odd. You know how you hear a very insistent buzzing in your ears, and your skin feels like it's burning? And there's these strange feelings of tension, where your every muscle ties itself into a knot? And these periods where you get nervous tics, but it's a lot like they happen to your entire body and have a peculiar agency all on their own? When life seems like a constant seizure where all you can do to not bite your tongue off and stave off the white noise building up in the corners of your eyes is talk, talk,
talk?
You don't think people tend to commonly experience such things, no. She raises an eyebrow. They
don't? She stares at you quietly before shrugging. Just as well it's gone now, she supposes. It wasn't a very pleasa-
You notice the doctor look away at something, and turn to notice none other than Ms. Minett duck into one of the opened faults in the ground, stark naked and heavily bruised as she rests her back to the wall. Shh, she says. Don't look at the sky. That's how it gets you.
You wisely look back at the good doctor. You think it's a good time to leave. Toward a town. Northward, right? The doctor scratches her head. Anglefork Town is
southward from here, she admits to being fairly sure as she gets an uncommonly clear look at her surroundings. Though it's been a while. Northward is the Corner. Elizabeth as well, she supposes, but that's a little far off and-
-wait, have you seen her father? Old, colorblind, runs, she begins before glancing at the ruins,
ran the castle affairs? Had a penchant for livery? She's, well, somewhat lost track of him in the past few months. Do you know if he's all right?
Leif Erikson, Miner
- A Word: INEVITABLE
- A Word: APOCALYPSE
- Moth-robe (worn)
- Body Count: 228
- Mead of Poetry (5 shining revelations remaining)
- Enders' Friend: The Grave of Red Clouds Parting
- Inscribed Wooden Stylus
- Iron spear
- 1.03 gp
- The Box: ?
- Induced Lucidity: the Aftermath, or the New Beginning
- Compatibility: Minding
- Tricks of the Mind: Perception, Memory
- Tricks of the Mind: Engagement, Negation, Abstraction, Prestige
- Tricks of the Mind: the Self, the Other
- Gods of the Underground: Did You Just What
- A Visit From The Stork: Is What You Yes
- The Voracious Dark: Two Deals Made
- The Voracious Dark: The Promised Sixth
- Moth's Flight: Not In Her Wildest Dreams
- An Ancient Sea: The Hedonist's Inspiration
- The Miracle of Life: An Honored Guest
Eileen Minett, Vinyl Collector
- Naked
- Wounds: 2
- A Word: HUNGER
- A Weapon: Explosive Cysts
- Grenade Jumping: A Solid Technique
- Higher Tonight: There And Back Again
Jack Daniels, Karate Man
- Naked
- Red and gold vest and breeches combo
- Leather boots
- Traces of Mischief: 90% Boneless
- Wounds: 1
- 14033 gp (in sack)
- The Flip Side: Uh, Yeah
- The Queen's Guard: Unusual Troublemaker
- Powers of the Beyond: Gardener of Thoughts
- Dusty Wooden Speaking-Trumpet
- Crossbow Bolt (in throat)
- A Word: REND
- A Word: SILENCE
- A Weapon: Murder-Thought
- Uncoupled: Strength
- Wooden Door (held)
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: Back To The Drawing Board
- Tower of the Mind: Endless Well of Mystery
- Induced Lucidity: A Garden Well-Tended
- Elongated Affairs: Enemy of the New State
- A Place In History: Vastly Unreliable
- Anglefork Castle: the Great Worm
- The Obsolete Class: Suggested Victims
- 2 rats, crushed
- 1 rat, strangled
- 1 rat, live
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Sunday ± 2 Days
- The Impromptu Prophecy: There's A Mountain Higher Than We Knew
- Doomstones: So High Up But Such A Bitter View
- The Majordomo: A Great Divide Between Us Now
- The Voracious Dark: Decreasing Demand
- The Voracious Dark: More Specific Requests
- The Good Doctor: An Eager Listener
- Body Count: 3
Thomas Minstep, Insurance Agent
- Troubles In Anglefork Town: Bearer of the Sword
- A Word: ABSENCE
- A Word: GOODBYE
- A Weapon: The Sword They Fear
- Traces of Mischief: Whole-Body Radioactive Burn
- A Bowl, Black and Knobby
- Anglefork Castle: From Another Time, Another Land
- Tight Leather Pants (worn)
- Incredibly Tight Blue Dress (worn, mutilated, mildly provocative)
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Sunday, July 25th, 409 S.D.
- The Majordomo: Busy Day
- The Good Doctor: An Island of Sanity
- The Queen's Guard: A Reward Well Earned
- Make A Man Out Of You: A Crowning Achievement
- The New Queen: Lasting Gratitude
- Tower of the Mind: Advice Given
- The Obsolete Class: Let Them Be
- The One They Fear: A Satisfactory Contract
- A Place In History: A Worthwhile Associate
- The Box: Absolutely Delightful
- The Flip Side: One of Them
- Body Count: 2
Oscar Wilde, Chemistry Teacher
- A Word: REVELATION
- Wounds: 3
- Traces of Mischief: Glowing Facial Rift
- The Serpent's Egg: Dissemination
- Body Count: 4
- Time-ender's measure (wrapped, processing? stopping?)
- 10 m of rope
- Half a candle
- 1 rat, skinless and smoked
- 6 gp
- Poor Misshapen Dice
- Lock of Hair (unidentified)
- Iron nail, unused
- An Inauspicious Key
- Burlap Foot Wrappings (worn)
- Burlap Hand Wrappings (worn)
- Moth-Eaten Hat (worn)
- Respectable Brown Skirt (worn)
- Old Brown Waistcoat (worn)
- Bright Yellow Tunic (worn)
- A Wealth of Burlap Ribbons
- An Obsolete Class: Trustworthy Individual
- The Doom Guard: The Inquisition Moves On
- Tower of the Mind: Get Away
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: The Less Dangerous Friend