itscurtains | and i know things now, many valuable things...

Entry tags:

act 2,
afterparty

and i know things now, many valuable things...

[ Another horrible week. Watching a little kid cut down by someone kind, someone who wouldn't have done that to begin with, it's...pretty horrible. More than a little horrible. Very horrible.

So. You know what time it is? Aggressively coping with organizing! Everyone will receive a handwritten note, either in person or under their door. They are delivered by Spinel. ]

[ Along the way, she runs into some help, so. Prepare for a regular smorgasbord, everyone. There's muffins and sandwiches (Nana), biscuits (Mephisto), dumplings and other Chinese cuisine, and cookies (Christine), and salads and heaps and heaps of pasta (Riley). The dining hall itself is...actually decorated? Like, there's plates and silverware set up and napkins folded into animals. Things a child would like. Someone (Anne) made this a proper gathering.

A little later on, there's another item on the menu. Pancakes! Thanks, Steven. That's...not emotionally destructive or anything. ]

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[ She swallows, but her hostess face stays in place. ]

Have you ever raised a dragon before? Do, um... Do you know how to care for one?

Not from birth.

[Princes usually don’t train animals unless they gained one in a quest.]

I trained my ancestral dragon to carry me, but laser dragons are different from regular, everyday dragons. [He gives Tad a little pet.] It’s all very similar. Food, space to run around, and a proper bed-

Right. Richard was thinking of making some sort of cage so he wouldn’t get lost.

[ Riley wants to ask about laser dragons, but you know? She also really doesn't. So she's just going to let this one sit. ]

He was keeping him in a drawer. A bunch of shirts for a nest. But...he was going to make something bigger?

I don’t know. We didn’t get that far when we talked. [There was the plan to talk again, but that never happened.] A drawer should be fine. There’s not much space left in my room, but I’ll manage.

[He leaves the apple on the table for Tad Cooper to eat on his own.]

A fire breathing dragon is always a boon when fighting the forces of evil. It may take years, but...I don’t know what else could help at this point.

You think he breathes fire? [ She wants to ask, you think he's a real dragon, but. Richard believed he was, so. Maybe a little delusion's alright.

Riley pokes a gentle finger at Tad Cooper. Dragon or not. He's a sweet little guy. ]

I think so.

[It could be a dragon. It could just be a regular lizard. Anything is possible in the Gloryhammer universe.]

I could always ask a dragon tamer when I return.

[Tad Cooper licks Riley's finger.]

[ A flickering little smile. She pats Tad Cooper's head. ]

Angus... You keep talking about the future so much. When you return, things taking years... How can you?

[Silence. He wishes he had a proper answer for her.]

I don't know.

I want to be able to do something about all this, but...it can be difficult. I can only hope that my allies are well.

...He said he didn't hurt them. Our friends who aren't here. For how much we wanna believe him.

[scoff]

Zargothrax would have gotten to them first.

Oh.

[ Her voice is soft and faint in response. ]

...Sorry.

Don't be.

[He realizes that may have been a bit dismissive.]

I doubt many of you worry about a timeline where a powerful ruler controls the entire land. Even before, the worst danger I had to face was a rare invasion.

[ ~~because i don't wanna get into politics right now i'm forgoing riley's automatic reaction since she's from america, 2019, and we really don't need that rn~~ ]

Um. No, I'm not really used to anything like that.

[A nod. If there are no demons or wizards in Riley's universe, she doesn't have to worry about them.]

It's a never ending struggle. For all that my ancestor did, Zargothrax was not truly dead, and I had to lead the charge to stop him again. [...] And it continues.

Do...you know how to kill him?

[ She brushed off all this at first. But. Maybe she should listen. ]

...

The Hammer of Glory alone has the power to counter his spell of immortality. Being one of the three relics of the Starlords, it is powerful enough.

But when I found myself in the alternate dimension with him, it had no power over him.

So...it's supposed to work. But, when you weren't in your own home, it didn't work.

[A long, slow nod.]

I thought The Phantom had removed its magic, but that happened long before I arrived. Though that does not explain why everything else no longer has power.

[ This is, like most things weird and unexplained, so out of Riley's depth. But, she's here to make everyone else feel better. That's why she hosted this, to...give everyone back a sense of togetherness. ]

So... You have to find a way to get it powered up again. There's got to be something, right?

[...That is a solution. Angus sits up with renewed interest.]

I could. But how? It's an ancient weapon that channels the power of the universe. It's not something any regular wizard can fix.

[Let's do then, Angus can piece it together without Ralathor's help.]

There...have to be other wizards, right? Like. Ancient...wizards?

[ This is a shot in the dark. Fantasy was never her genre. ]

Like Zargothrax?

[Like hell that bastard would teach him how to--]

But he did say that it had no power in that dimension. So it would have still worked if I hadn't traveled there...

Orrr, that! Yeah. Maybe, uh... Maybe you just need to fight him on your home turf? A...home-field advantage!

Which means creating a portal to the original-

[No. There's no reason why Zargothrax would go back.]

That can't be done. Not without a powerful source of energy or a wizard as powerful as he.

If any have survived. [He's stuck wherever he goes. Where else can there be hope?] If they did, they may know how to restore its power. They'd know the lore behind the weapon.

...It...sounds like I've just...helped you go in circles. Sorry.

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mcfife - 2020-07-20 23:49 (UTC) - Expand

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isawallflower - 2020-07-21 03:19 (UTC) - Expand

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