Episode 18 – Tarry Not

Spout Lore is made possible by contributions from our listeners. If you'd like to support us, go to patreon.com slash Spout Lore. Thank you. Spout Lore Here we go. Playing Ving the Half-Elf Druid, Paul Oppers. Hello. Hey, Paul. Hi. Hi. Hi, Tuck. And playing Fat Billy the Halfling Thief, Jessica Tai. Say hi, Jessica. I will. Hi. You're like the page master. Something's melding into our world here. When last we left our heroes, we- Start again. I don't know. I think this is the intro now.

When last we left our heroes, they had concluded a meeting with Maggie Cole of the Mender, and then started another meeting with Maggie Cole of the Menders after arriving at the Clearwater with the intent of a sleepover. I guess. And then through discussions with Maggie, we discovered one. Wicker the Cat is back. Billy and Wicker were reunited, and Wicker and Black Spire were briefly united, made quick friends of one another. And then we headed back to the city.

And then we headed back to the city of McCall, because you all decided that you wanted to be involved in the acquisition of these two wizard boxes. Well, yeah, we're the stars of the podcast. Exactly. Makes the most sense, really. I mean, you subcontracted a quest a little bit ago, so it's not hard to believe that you would do it again. One box we now know is contained in a vault within a glacier in the frozen north that was the Tower of a Wizard and contains a hotspot.

And the other is in- in the I don't know like the time fucked space weird marshlands oh that the river wars happened in where mother never was lives yes uh and maggie says that she does not know the exact location of that box because it's always on the move uh which is an interesting tidbit to have what was that I think my my my my heart this is off but my heart went the box is in the hithering the hithering like at the you know just like too many things coming together yeah so funny oh that hurt I had the same thought too I was like but what is but what I mean I remember telling you guys that there were rooms upstairs and you were just like so what cool and then you slept in the living room where there's a box in the fanny pack oh what if one of the rooms opens into the fanny pack what if there's a box in the wallowing sal what if the wallowing sal is hither and yon what if francis is a box just the podcast is collapsing in on itself that's over that's the last holy shit this was the last episode we did it uh the actually the answer is to destroy this zoom recorder all you all the audience hears is like a gun cocking and then the the beginning of a bullet being shot uh and we headed back to the city of mccall then to the margani library with maggie cole into and black spire somehow uh balco met maggie cole was was flustered dove into his sand boat called himself the speed master after you guys said that she was called the spear maiden he almost hyperventilated and uh you took maggie to meet farah and then you you were asked to leave because there was some sort of standoff going on yeah and you met up with perel telling him the plan that you're gonna leave this continent to go track down one of these boxes and after telling him that the box was located in a glacier in the frozen north he seemed upset yeah and that is where we find our heroes now not her who um a wizard yeah it's a wizard well yeah uh-huh let's go let's go back up no no no named and why are you nervous okay okay all right so her name was is was probably was adernack all water uh she was sort of the unofficial uh leader of the gathering oh whoa and she as far as I know was at the time the oldest living wizard whoa uh yeah I think oh god she was somewhere in between three and four thousand years old I don't know that's older than me wait you're less than I don't know it feels so big eternity it feels like I should say yes it feels like it uh yeah I don't know the exact number between three and four thousand but it's in that range yeah um and she uh I embarrassed myself in front of her okay it brings up weird memories you embarrass yourself in front of everybody yeah but only rarely embarrass myself in front of the oldest living wizard and the leader of our conclave what what did you do uh it was like I was at my first gathering uh and it was like you know there's always these kind of mixer parts of it where we have like food and drink and everybody catches up it's what what sounds like a job fair it is a job fair yeah that makes sense these are people after yeah I don't know what to tell you it is a job fair it's like an industry kind of thing right wait were there like booths set up well I mean yeah like everybody kind of uh you know there were people that were presenting what they were working on was there corporate bards there oh no it was a corporate barge there oh no it was a corporate barge there oh no it was a corporate barge there oh no it was a strictly closed event if there were any sort of if there was any entertainment they were wizards uh illusionists uh auditory wizards you know that kind of stuff so is it catering wizards too yeah okay yeah there are wizards that their whole thing was like food when you said there are wizards their only thing is food just because eyebrows like yulialated basically I don't know I mean yeah why did we get stuck with the frog one I mean like you know there's uh there were actually there are transmutation wizards who uh their whole they did food like they would uh take certain ingredients and turn them into other ingredients and then turn that into food there were uh it wasn't just a chef it's not just a cookie sure that wasn't like mirrors used to do that I know but I mean like this is an apple now it's bread oh cool this is bread now it's a dog so it's what I do yeah kind of it's your switcheroo oh yeah well actually I mean I we don't need to get into the weeds on this but thaumaturgically billy swaps one thing with another thing in space switches it wait figuration wizards rearrange matter on a molecular level wow wait so every time billy's ever turned a thing into chocolate he's just switched the object with chocolate somewhere else oh my god can we cut to one of those times somebody's chocolate guy yeah there's a bar stool there's just like a a lady's wine club that's like oh forget love I'd rather fall in chocolate and then they take a bite out of a piece of chocolate and it becomes the wood from a chair yeah they start writing immediately it becomes a brawl how could you do this valerie and it gets bad brutal um yeah so transmutation wizards uh rearrange matter on a molecular level and there were transfiguration wizards you know I don't know if you've ever heard of transfiguration wizards you said transfiguration I got mad at you a while ago and it's because they just make things look like different things but it's still the thing inside yeah so like you could make an egg look like an orange but you're gonna bite into an egg that looks like an orange pretty great prank though oh god they're fucking insufferable uh anyways yeah so we it was like a one of those a mixer and I spilled some soup on her and I tried to make it better by being like oh no problem I'm a transmuter I'll just transmute it into part of your robes oh no and I transmuted her whole robe into soup so she was naked uh no she always wore this like like this skin tight sort of work suit underneath her robes I don't know why because nobody knows what she did wait nobody knew what she did yeah nobody actually knows what all water is and I don't know why I don't know what she did I don't know what she did I don't know school was what was her specialty of magic that's what I meant sorry especially we called them schools I mean what did you see her do anything I saw her arrive at the gathering and command much respect stories um they say that she made that glacier uh they say that she when she received her magic she was a part of the glacier that was kind of brought her to the glacier into sentience by her magic holy shit but yeah nobody knows what she does so anyways it was an embarrassing thing she's probably dead though so it doesn't really matter but I just brought back a lot of memories when I thought about the glacier but if we got to go there then I can maybe see oh I can maybe see what her deal was if some of her stuff is still around or some of her research yeah I could gather some of that maybe she kept a diary too whoa and if there's a vault there oh maybe some of her stuff is still around I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know still works he's like rubbing his skull now he's like all the possibilities oh yeah if she had like stuff maybe we can take some of it uh yeah maybe just take it that'd be great yeah no we can talk about it for sure we can talk about it when we get there if she's dead it's not grave rub no wait if she's dead it is grave rubbing and it's not stealing yeah and it is legal uh-huh I just don't I want the stuff anyways we'll talk we'll just pack up I'm gonna go pack up okay okay I'm gonna say bye to a couple people and pack my stuff to who hey you know I've made friends and then he leaves okay okay we I want to follow him yeah we're gonna follow him uh he sees you following him go away what we're just yeah going the same way you guys can come with me it's not like I it's not like I'm hiding who I'm friends with I mean I'm just gonna go say bye to my instructor okay well we will also say bye to your instructor yep okay he goes and he packs his stuff and he's looking at all of you while he does it we're watching what is wrong with the three of you nothing what do you mean how do you want us to answer that okay he just finishes packing up his stuff puts it on his shoulder and walks through you to his door and he leads you to like the uh sparring chambers of the speakers but we're walking five feet behind him we're not walking with him no yeah and he keeps turning around like why don't you just you guys are being so upsettingly weird you'd think I'd be used to this by now but I'm not and he hears a bunch of whispering between us yeah like he's gonna say bye to his teacher like you remember that kid in school always let's say goodbye to the teacher at the end of the day that does track he seems like that kind of kid my theory is that he started a romantic relationship while he was here going to say goodbye to the person that he was romantically involved with I have nothing to add bill he doesn't give a shit about this at all I'm just curious and I saw you guys follow him so I thought I should also follow and he gets to the door and he looks at you you're gonna come in yeah yeah I don't I don't care anymore okay we are being very weird and just goes and approaches uh there's like a uh old dwarf woman who he walks up to and is just speaking to you like I'm just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be leaving the library perhaps for good and I wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn under you and to get a little bit of my agency back and I will take the lessons that you have taught me on into the world forever so thank you and I just wanted to uh yeah uh thank thank you so much and he like bows a little bit and she bows back and they shake hands and he comes back to you was that worth it for you no I heard no not at all okay I fucking sucked tight let's go to the cafeteria why don't you tell her what you really feel what do you mean what I really feel are you sure that's that's it oh my god you people's oh and he just walks past you you gotta speak from the heart man fuck you it's okay feel your emotions bro we're just trying to help someone or something grow bud he's gone well that that gumbo isn't gonna say goodbye to itself I guess you're going to the cafeteria to say goodbye to a dish all right yeah let's go what's his name louise louise yeah it is louise is there birdie is the night shift yeah yeah it is the day thank you hi louise oh hello there billy today is a day I knew would come but it came far too soon what do you mean billy we're leaving say it ain't so little boy it is so oh my son we're on the other side of the cafeteria but we're like what the fuck he needs other dads he can't be his only parents and louise comes out of the kitchen and he kneels down on the ground and he hugs billy you made the best food I ever ate oh you were the best eater of food I ever did see my friend can I say goodbye the gumbo of course you can't come with me more frail and picks you up and carries you into the kitchen and you're standing in front of a huge pot of louise's gumbo I I touched the pot and I'm like ow the gumbo has blessed you billy yes the mark of the gumbo is upon you thank you gumbo for days and days and many days of happy eating and good memories the shrimps were always so fresh the other stuff was so good I don't know what's in you but but I love you uh louise sets you down on the ground and he gets down on one knee and he puts his hands on your shoulders he says billy there's something I want to tell you I've never shared this with another living soul since my dear sweet mama passed what is it secret ingredient is peanut butter it's peanut butter really thank you thank you louise I want you to hold this information dear to your heart my boy I'm going to the peanut butter will always be sticky to my heart and in my soul oh billy and he hugs you and he hugs you really tight I I hug him tight and then I I do one last look as I walk away goodbye louise bon appetit billy and he turns around and then billy walks out and gets in the lunch line and immediately sees louise again one please hello billy would you like a bowl of gumbo thank you and his face was red now it's just perfectly clear yeah yeah and then over the loudspeaker you hear would speedmaster bulko please come to the motorpool speedmaster bulko you hear that get cut off and you hear bulko go I'm not a speedmaster I'm not a speedmaster I'm not a speedmaster I'm not a speedmaster I'm not a speedmaster I'm not a speedmaster please call me uh master engineer bulko there's a private matter if I found out who said that I'm gonna beat their ass you just hear cackling yeah you hear a bunch of people laughing high-fiving on uh do you have anything you wish to say to louise or the gumbo no I think you've you've said a lot I I do like this peanut butter trick it was a hard goodbye I understand if it's too difficult for you to let go that way well I mean I think we just don't care as much as you do billy you don't have to be brave it's okay thank you billy I really appreciate you uh caring about how we're feeling in this moment yeah it's really kind of you to care about our feelings yeah thanks I guess trying to reinforce what like I'm just emotional and like uh whatever take my gumbo that really that really that really that really that really that really that really that really that really that really backfire it's so hard raising an eternal child who is not human you're doing a really good job thank you you too I thank you I wouldn't be able to do this without you my friend ditto yeah and we're really holding up the lunch line yeah it's like 15 librarians the fuck there's not gonna be any cornbread uh yeah is there anything else like okay let's think about what else has been happening in the library uh roth is still here oh fuck fuck roth also uh the pretty doctor uh yeah maresh elnor yeah and you billy says oh right maresh elnor is still here and then we you hear a bunch of chairs screech and then like just the doors flapping open and close as both dunk and big sprinted out of the library say I'll meet you I'll meet you there 0.58 seconds later the door of the medical wing bursts open ving licks his fingers and fixes his eyebrows tag is worse cardio than ving so he's still hyperventilating on the ground I got here first I got here first I got here first hey buddy head take a seat take a moment then he strides over to him you walk down from the mezzanine to the uh medical pit and you see maresh she's actually got like uh like elbow length uh gloves on and she is up to one of those elbows in the body of some horrid looking crawdad man like she's digging around in there and you guys recognize these as the chules from oh whoa wow gross she's got a chule on a table on its back and she's like up to her elbow in its guts yuck yeah ving got a foam finger that says maresh number one doctor yeah uh this is a closed theater please could you leave I'm doing some very delicate very delicate biopsy work and she comes out with a wet handful of meat well she puts it in a tray and hands it to another uh medicant that leaves what a woman you uh just just we we gotta be heading out now you're leaving we've got to leave I'm terribly sorry oh I'm so sorry to hear that I'm so sorry are you that's nice to hear I am um thank you for everything that you've done and uh I wish you well on your journeys goodbye maresh yes I have a poem that I wrote for you please make it fast tom no tuck my name is tuck I'm sorry tuck yes she called you tom shut the fuck up ving tom doming a dome fuck you fuck you fuck you okay is it short it depends when I stop talking oh no okay very well and we're still up on the balcony right I thought you came down oh I took his up on the balcony right no we were like great okay then she's looking up at you all right to the beautiful maresh I can really see your flesh whoa some of it is exposed and some of it's under clothes and I did spy with my little eye the cutest button nose and then I look at ving because I think we're doing it together now pretty good uh compass roses are orange and then he realizes that he's trying to make a poem he's picked the word orange to rhyme with and the jules eggs are orange and neath the sky so full of light is a man and an elf wishing you a good night and then we bow make sure you close the door when you leave if she had a phone number I'd ask for it thank you for bringing us roth we have learned a lot I will say I will say that uh you bringing roth to us has uh progressed quite a lot of our understanding of the interactions between material and spirit so thank you for that oh Spout Lore Spout Lore oh my god yes 2d6 plus intelligence nice I got seven holy shit so something interesting but not useful um okay so through study of roth in his um command of such over the uh elemental spirits we have determined interestingly enough through a combination of medical and spiritual research that there is an aspect of the material in the spirit and an aspect of the spirit in the material like roth put himself in the spirit realm or there's always in general it is a mingling what did you find of the ink um the binder it was a conduit of sorts yes it just allowed it's um it's not hmm how to describe this to the layman how to describe this to the extreme layman um it's metaphysical salubricant yes it bing has you look bing has put his sage glasses on and you look over at tech and he's put his nerd glasses on that is an interesting way to describe it it eases the passing of the energies between oh uh while also binding the spirit to the material anchor so there is part of the material realm in the spirit realm that is what we've been able to determine through this it it was a it's a connection that many have posited over the years but seeing such a uh story of the spirit realm is a connection to the spirit realm and to the spiritual realm dark representation of the two in such a tense and violent environment has very much progressed that theory by, I would say, five to ten years.

So thank you for that. Cool. Goodbye. Take care. And she punches her fist back into the chula and starts rifling around. Oh, God, wish you'd do that to me. That's when Billy walks in and I'm like, uh… He puts earmuffs. He just turns right back around. And is there anywhere else that Billy wants to go? Or Bing and Tuck? I guess say bye to Black Spire because he's going to be back in the caves. I also wanted to go and say goodbye to, I'm going to have trouble with the names, but Torch. Oh, yeah.

Ama, Farhan, and Farhan. We should all go. I wanted to just quickly just one last time use Eyes of the Tiger and see where they are in the… Yeah. They are in their room, but they're out of their chairs and they are having tea and playing some sort of board game. Is it scribbles? No, it's not scribbles. That's far too high action for these two old men. They're playing whatever the spell or equivalent of chess is.

Oh, there's like little wooden cubes and they move them around on a circular board, but the cubes like get stacked on top of each other and go back down like as they move. Across the board. Like tabletop cube. Yeah, like cube. Yeah. Maybe it's called like the Dance of the Giants or something. Yeah. I like that. And it's about like empire building. It's kind of like half Settlers of Catan, half chess because like the Giants had a massive empire before and they were super technologically advanced.

So there's points that you get about like how tall your towers end up being and stuff. It's called Keystone. Great. Very cool. Once a tower, we just a certain height. You can't knock it over. Yeah. Then maybe the Dance of Giants is like a specific strategy within Keystone. Yeah. Actually, part of Keystone is that the towers always fall. Oh, that's like part of the. Oh, yeah. Nothing stands forever. Oh, so cool. Yeah.

And they're just drinking that saffron blend of tea that suppresses their possession and just having you know, old man conversations. Okay. Yeah. I would like being would like to go and say goodbye and have any information that they've come to. Okay. So yeah, cool. You walk through the library to the door to their chambers. Enter. Hi. Ah, hello. Hello there. Do you like to come in? Yeah. Yeah. That sounds nice. We're just finishing up a game here. Keystone. Yes. I could never get the hang of it.

Who's winning? Ah, well, I believe I'm quite close and Hama goes, no, not even close. I'll get you one of these days. My friend one day. These guys are my favorite odd couple. What brings you to our chambers today? Well, we kind of have to get going a little bit and we just wanted to say, I guess bye because felt like we should and I guess thanks for all the information you've given us over the last little while.

Of course Hama says it's the smallest service that we could provide for the three people that have given us our lives back. And Farhan is like, yes, without your intervention, I would have been in the clutches of that thing for flame knows how long I could have been the torch for millennia more. Thank you. Well, we're just glad that we could be part of the process that fell out this way. Okay. Need to thank us. What of the investigation into the dark guard?

We're all pretty silent because we really did not do much. Oh, yeah. Dark guard. Oh, right. You know what? I think that's something that we have to figure out on the way. I have been having dreams lately. I may be able to provide one piece of information. I want to give him my ring. Yeah. Okay. He slips it on and clasps his hands in front of him and says, what do I do? Think of your dream. Oh, and then we'll see it very well. And he closes his eye. He's got to close both of them.

Closes one and then the other and it's the perfect move. And it's more impressions like it's not a lot that you can see, but you feel this overwhelming feeling of like anger and anxiety and like passion which you assume after a few moments to be the feeling of zealotry like that. He felt all those years just this like righteousness righteousness, but also like panic and fury. Whoa, which is a very uncomfortable feeling and that's how he felt all the time. Wow.

That's why whenever you talked to the torch, he was like simmering with rage like even when he was calm. He had the feeling of someone that was about to boil over. Oh, yeah, like one of those like red dudes. That's like yeah, but those old white guys that are just like I have to wait for this store to open when I'm already here. Yeah, I want my new balances now. Okay.

Yeah, and you feel the the righteous anger and fury being directed in one way for quite a long time and then an outside force causing it to become directed in another way. Whoa and it's honestly hard for me to find a way to describe this in a way that makes sense, but it's basically the feeling of directionless passion and then being given a purpose. Oh and is that when he became the torch?

That is the feeling he takes you back out and he tries to explain to you like it's still muddy to me, but I think what I have discovered is that the torch while forwarding the goals of the dark guard was not itself a member. The dark guard may not have been the demons themselves, but others people who are using the demons to do something in the world. That is what I believe. Yes. I'm sorry if that doesn't do much for your quest. What that that's amazing. Thank you.

I'm glad it can be of some help and I go up and I give him a hug and he hugs you like the nicest grandfather hug by Grandpa Farhan. Goodbye, Billy. Thank you for everything. You're welcome, I guess and by Grandpa Alma. I hug him to Billy without you. I don't know what life would be and he pats the side of your face. Oh, thank you. Is there anything we can do for you that might help you on your way? I have one request anything. Can you visit Black Spire sometimes? They nod and smile.

Of course we would be most pleased. Yeah, he gets lonely and he doesn't like nerds, so he won't like you guys that much, but it would be nice for us to know that you someone was looking out for him. Ving says he likes this and he gives him the gives them the pocket of sun sun chunks that he's been carrying around effectively handing over a fortune to two men that don't care about money. Yeah, but just one a day max.

Otherwise he'll get spoiled and he'll stop doing tricks let me as you're leaving. Alma has like a thought. It's like, ah, and he picks up the teapot that they've been using. So sharing tea is a mingling of the self sharing tea with another person is a is a very important ritual and practice and I would like you all to have this and he holds out the teapot that they've been using. Oh, wow. This belonged to me as a young man and to my mother before me. Whoa. You're like a thousand dude. I'm aware.

Please be gentle. Okay. No problem. Really want us to take it. I do and it's this is a it's a I do and it's this is a it's a brass teapot. Oh, thank God. Yeah, I thought it was like terracotta or something bone China. The inside is different. So it doesn't the tea doesn't taste all medley, but the teapot itself is made out of brass. The inside is made from melted sand from lightning glass. Oh, cool. Yeah, very cool.

So sick and it has like a like a beautiful sort of combination of floral and like flame motifs. Etched into the brass says perhaps on your journeys. If you would like to feel like you could draw upon a bit of our wisdom, you could have some tea from this pot and maybe feel a little closer to us. Oh, that's really nice. Thanks so much. Thank you. Thank you. We walk out all of us carry like we move together. We bump the door with our butts. Yeah. Okay.

And left tooth and we shimmy down the hallway my left knocking a bunch of other librarians out of the way the fuck out of our way teapot coming through and you find Perel. He's got his bag slung over his shoulder. He's wearing more travely clothes than the robes that he's been wearing for quite a long time and he is got a little wide brimmed hat on a nice hat. Thank you. I had to make some hard choices when it came to hats, but this is the one I'm bringing with me like the purple sash.

It's it compliments you very nicely. Thank you. I might be practical, but I'm not a monster. I need a little bit of flair. Oh, we should go see what happened with Maggie and far and far. Oh, right. Oh, God. One of them might have killed the other one. What is that whole part of the library is exploded. Okay. No news is good news. Let's start at zero. Okay. All right, let's get down there everybody. And then we help us. What is it shimmying? What is this?

The teapot and he puts his hands under the teapot and goes, what are we doing? Agent teapot? Oh my God, basically a dinosaur and you come too far as office door and it's closed. We all listen like we put the teapot against the door and it smashes being taps the door handle like in home alone to see if it's hot. Yeah, no cool to the touch. Okay. All right, which one of us is going to know? Okay. Oh, sorry. I don't know. I'm just not. I'm sorry guys and you hear a shouted come in.

Okay, we going and you hear like, haha, like some laughing and you walk in and you see far and Maggie sitting where they were when you left afar as hair has come out of her braid and she's got like a scratch on her face and Maggie's got a black eye. I and they're like laughing with each other and they're like, oh, welcome back. Welcome back. What happened in here? Oh, you know, we just had a couple words, you know, just a little discussion between adults. All's well, all's well.

Did the words hit you in the eye? Oh, not all words are spoken Billy wise. So things have been smooth between the two of us shall we say and you have not only my blessing but my understanding in your journey away from our Hall hallowed halls. Okay. Cool. Can I ask one favor before we go? I will say yes that you can ask. All right. I've learned to be very careful with my words with you to come. Can we have like like a party for us before we please it feels like we did a lot for you guys.

So it feels like we've just be kind of going around saying bye to people. It feels pretty fucking empty. Nobody seems to really. Care that much that we're leaving. So I kind of want to have a party and nothing fancy just sort of like a heroes who saved the world send off. Yeah, and this is the food we want. We want cakes. We want many Burghams and gumbos plenty.

We need all types of party stuff all sizes all sizes and shapes and bounties of party sub and quesadillas black crunch light crunch all crunch. This is of all the things I expected you to ask me. I didn't this was the one that I expected least. Okay, we'll settle for just the party subs. No, I it's just it's highly irregular. We don't really have things like this in the library, but you guys don't have parties not in the library fucking nerds.

I'm sorry the last time that we had a quote-unquote party in the library. I had to take several. Lives in defense of a bastion of information. You remember this correct? Nope. There was an invasion that was an invasion. Oh, no, no, no. We don't want an invasion. We want a party. I mean, I suppose we could go to a lanes. We could go above the fireworks festival is tomorrow night. Oh, yes, we could also I suppose I could leave the library for a fireworks festival. It would be good for you.

You can see how afraid she looks at all of this like, oh my God, Maggie claps her hands on her thighs goes. That sounds like a great plan and it sounds like a good old time. We could have a party and then we could pack up and we could head out to see. Okay. Yeah, like we could spend one last night. You guys can see the fireworks festival that I've been talking about. That'd be great. I always want to see it. Yeah, it's dangerous. Okay. That sounds great. Really exciting to me.

Farah says I will gauge interest in the other librarians and I mean, I'm sure you understand not everybody knows you not everybody likes you. That's just life. Not everybody likes everybody likes you really but not feels like most people should know us. They know you sorry. Not all of those things apply to each of you equally. Hey, one out of two ain't bad. But I wanted to party in Elaine Springs. Very well. I will begin preparations. Yeah. Thank you.

Should we should we like make posters or anything? Yes. Yeah invites. Yeah. Yeah, because she said not no one would come because they don't like us or whatever not what she said. Okay. I'm going to make an invite for Black Spire and for Alma. I'm going to send a bookworm invite to Shia. Oh, smart. Oh nice. Yeah. Who else do we want to see before we go? Jake, I guess. Yeah, our old roommate. Oh cash. Oh, yeah. Cash great. Mm-hmm.

Well, should we invite bulko bulko should come we should invite Maggie to see if they'll hook up. He says in front of Maggie. She shrugs. Mm-hmm. Adam Adam. Is he around still? Or did he take off? No one's actually seen him in a bit. Okay. Yeah. All right, great. Yeah. Okay, cool. Is there anything you guys want to do before the party? Yeah. I have to say by the Black Spire still. Oh, yeah, he can't come to the party. He can't come to the party.

I don't know like can he yeah, all the people will be there who haven't who don't know about him. Elaine Springs though is a pretty safe town because it is like a library town base. Okay. Yeah, thank goodness. Yeah, because I was already working on my invitation from to Black Spire. What does it look like? It's a napkin. And it has a drawing of him and it's got a cake. I give it to Black Spire. He knows is down and he just eats it. Yeah. So yes for what you want to come to our party. Oh, yeah.

Okay. Sure. Yeah. Yeah party. He goes up on his two back feet with his huge front legs in the front. It's just like yeah, same. Wiggles back and forth. And yeah, and I'm a and far Han receive their invitations. Yeah. Oh, should we do a little like a montage of us like decorating for the party? Oh, yeah, totally. Yeah, decorating Elaine Springs for this party. That's really all right. Yeah, so we go up to Elaine Springs. We see this beautiful cute little Oasis town and you're decorating it.

What are the decorations look like? Chad meant under the sea. It's always a chairman under the sea. Of course. Yeah, totally. It's all mermaid themed. And it's fucking terrifying. Yeah, these are not cool mermaids. They're scary looking. Yeah, I have a bunch of like colored chalk and I'm and I'm drawing on like the out the walls of the buildings in the land Springs with like the scary mermaid faces and their pointy teeth. Yeah, jaw that opens both ways.

Yeah, and I'm hanging streamers which is just toilet paper. I'm hanging from very low. I can reach tuck takes a bunch of those hanging like light crystals and he starts like stringing them up in the main square of the library any he asks bulko to build a stage because he sent a letter to Greg that was like, can you bring a band? Oh, yeah. Hell yeah, the main square of Elaine Springs. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, perfect bulko in the.

And the material sciences people are building a stage and some of them are like fuck. Yeah, and some of them are like this is my life's work thing is using a light version of his elemental mastery. So he doesn't have to roll for it where he's no no no roll where he's basically making like sand castles everywhere of mermaids and like cool like cool under the sea things and like little tunnels where people can go and sit in and ships have sunken ships a big clam.

So this the thing that Billy and I did is shit. And then you did is fucking unreal finish decorating. I look at things. I'm like wow. Oh cool. Incredible. Is that toilet paper pal? Yeah, it all just comes together so nicely and yeah, you know food is brought out drink is brought out by various librarians some of the people that are just employed by the library. But don't actually work in it have started to gather like oh yeah, this seems pretty cool.

Yeah, we run into the atrium and we're like party party upstairs upstairs that one band is here blood feet blood feet. Yeah, the one band that we've talked about him a call. Yeah. All right, the part of the Sun starts to set and the party begins a bunch of people from the library and from Elaine. Springs have started to gather blood feet get started. They're very unless I'm mistaken rhythmic and grading music starts. Yeah, because I believe they were sort of like they were like drone work songs.

Yeah, it was like work songs, but specifically for dwarves. So we I guess it's all just like grading rocks. It's not good. It's still instruments, but it's very like what the fuck but Greg is like, fuck. Yeah, he's at the front having a great time. I think Black Spire really likes it too. Oh yeah, black guys slap Black Spire is doing that like excited horse thing where he's like kicking his back legs and like running in a circle. It's just like yeah, so sick.

His little wings are flapping around and what are you three doing? Ving made a it's like a light Sweden. Saffron. Soda. It's like a bubbly fermented saffron soda. So he's working his soda a little carton hand in my he's got a little team set up bringing bottles of saffron pop around your bartending. That's awesome. He's twirling in like this is big bottles going up here. He's catching behind.

There's like a bunch of people like horny for Ving right now at the bar like everybody all different kinds of people are just like whoa opening bottles like against. His forearm is like iron arms. Even maresh is kind of in the background like nice. I've never felt this way before about such a dumb person. He looks at way at talking winks and tacky has an algebra book in front of his crush. I always thought I was a sapiosexual turns out about they Pio sexual bad V points right at Ving. They are.

I'm the person that I am interested in being got it. Okay, and yeah farhan and ama both take a saffron soda and they're like, ah, yes, suppressing my demons with this delicious drink and you see Uma Shusha is the demons. Yeah, they're still in the library. Is Zane around Zane is off on a rock by himself, but he's still drinking like he's still got a soda and some food, but he's like looking at the Oasis by himself. Yeah, you have heard kind of here and there Zane's been having a hard time.

Zane is the demon of wrath. Yeah. Okay, and he's been suppressing it like I like Uma Shusha and ama farhan have been but he's having a really tough time with it. Oh man, because I mean, you know, he's like he's a 16 year old kid that was like imprisoned and he was also you don't know how the possession took place. But yeah, he's not he's not having a good time. He's a real. Real party pooper. Yeah, get him out of here back. I'm in Shia shows up Shia and Jake show up just before sundown.

They don't say whether or not they're together, but they're standing pretty close. Yeah, she brings slippers. Yeah slippers three. Are there's just a wolf here a huge wall some of the librarians freak out. I so I had already stuffed bread into my ears because I don't like the band. I'm like Shia. Shia you see her mouthing words that you think look like Billy. Yeah, can I borrow slippers three? She froze her brow and goes. Yeah. Okay, and I'm like, let's go for a walk.

Yeah and slippers follows you and I want to go sit with Zane. Oh, okay. Yeah, nice. That's really nice and Zane sees you approaching and just looks at you. I wave. Hi, can I sit with you? Huge wolf comes up behind them. Holy shit. He flinches a little bit slippers. This is slippers and she's really nice. Okay. Do you want to pet her? I guess okay like reaches out and like tentatively touches her and then pets are a little bit more and more and you seem like you seem intense a little bit.

Yeah, I'll just sit with them. What's up? Just enjoying the party without the music. If you want to try the bread in your ears. I brought extra. No, it's fine. It doesn't bother me. Okay. Do you want to eat the bread? The ear bread? No, I brought extra. I mean it was in my pocket. So it's kind of got other stuff. Yeah. All right. He takes a little bit pops it in his mouth. And you sit kind of like he doesn't he's silent for a long time. That's fine.

Does Billy is Billy going to say anything or is he just sitting there with them? He's sitting there with them. Nice. He does, you know, he's. He had both legs up like really kind of like like steadying himself like arms on his knees like and he like, you know, kicks both his legs out eventually and starts to lean back a little bit leans against slippers. That's nice. Yeah, and Shia and Jake are talking to Ving and tuck. I guess I thought you're going to say making out hard.

No, they're just talking to you. You hear a clink in a crash and they're just on a table. Everybody just kind of moves away. Wow. Young love. So how's it? How's everything going? It's been a while. It's been a real while. Yeah, how's town? Oh, getting better. Yeah, kind of what's going on. Cliffside is okay. Cliffside is fine, but we're having some real trouble with Tommy Supremo and his boys. Oh, the centaur dude. Yeah. Yeah, but you know, we'll take care of it.

I think everybody generally wants. McCall to be okay. So it just depends on who wants more of it and Jake's like, yeah, no, we're pretty good. We got it under control. I think both of us together were we got it good. We're good. We're in control here together and Shia rolls her eyes a little bit is like yeah, we both were both equally in control of Cliffside. Okay, are you guys dating or what's the dynamic that we're picking up on here and Jake's like no, no.

We're not dating and Shia's like we're not but you know, once in a while because okay. Oh, so, you know, I just wanted to say that wait a second. She looks around at the party. Are you guys leaving? Yeah, do we not tell you? No, the invitation said party Elaine Springs and Billy drew a picture of a cake on it. It was supposed to say going away on it. Well, I Billy can't write. It looked like you two wrote party Elaine Springs. That's what I assume. But you're leaving. Yeah. Wow.

Where are you going? We're actually heading back to the frozen north. Oh, to go see dad. No, but well, I assume based on what I've heard about dad. If you're in the frozen north, you're going to be seeing dad. That's what I think was the last time you saw him. Oh, I've never met him. Just heard stories from my mom. The way you guys talk about your dad. It's like he seems like a fucking. Crime bus like that. He'll just know and we're there. What is his deal?

Well, he's from what my mom told me about the Rangers. They're pretty serious like their career soldiers. They're trackers. They're masters of the land. Like he identifies as knowing everything of where he is. Mm-hmm. And he's never left the far north as far as I know and other than the boreal reach. Yeah, same and like their information networks are pretty extensive. Like he'll probably I don't know how long you'll have once you get there, but he'll probably hear that you've arrived.

Does he want you back? Like what's going on? I don't know. No, from what I can tell you doesn't seem to care very much about his offspring. Well, not all of his offspring are the spirit Walker. Oh shit. Yeah. How long? We don't know. It will be back at all. Oh. I'm sorry. Hi, you don't have anything to be sorry for. Yeah, I do. And she looks to like tuck in Jake. Maybe we should maybe we should go let them kind of like sort this shit out. Jake Jake come with me. Well, let's play scribbles.

Oh, no. Okay. Yeah, I can play scribbles with you. I have a hundred. And fifty coins thing takes all the money away from talk. Yeah, and Jake walks away with tuck and Shia is like you want to get a drink go sit down somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah and Ving leaves the bar and everybody goes. Oh, but right. He's been serving this entire time. So this whole conversation has been while he's flipping alcohol bottles and a bunch of divorcees are just like, oh my God. Whoa.

Yeah, and you grab a drink and go sit. He makes two drinks very elaborate drink sets them on fire blows them out. And yes, that was pretty flashy. Mm-hmm. Some might say too flashy, but I'm starting to understand that flash. She's kind of your style. Yeah, it's a little bit of why I and she kind of adjusts her crime Lord outfit. That's like a very nice long jacket with a lot of like pouches. She's got her own flaps going on now. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I don't hate it and you go sit down and she's sipping her drink looking into it. I don't know why but I'm this sucks. It does suck. I'm why I'm sorry is because we didn't get to make more of a connection. Yeah, I thought that we'd have time to kind of, you know, really get into the brother sister thing. I thought so too. And I'm sorry. I took me so long off the hop to to really give it its weight. And it's due. I just there's so much going on.

I've never had family like that and I have my family already and I kind of left it behind and then you showed up and it's I totally get it. Like I jumped into it so fast like I basically saw a spear that you owned with my mom's name on it and was like brother. Mm-hmm. I think I just kind of wanted it and you have it. We have it. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know.

I've been thinking a lot lately, you know about like my childhood and how it would have been nice to have a brother around especially, you know, a long-lived brother after my mom went and I don't know thinking about my mom lately. She's to sing me this song all the time when I was going to bed. Oh, yeah. Yeah, my mom saying to me to she it was this. I makes me think about dad and who he must have been. Because I think I don't know.

He seems like the kind of guy that would have written this song about himself. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Because the Ranger King drew back the string and aimed for other skies his arrow course through the frozen forest as he watched the Eagles eyes and she like her eyes light up as she's like, oh, whoa, what you know this one too. He said wherever it shall fall is where you'll find the key through day or night. The arrows flight will bring you back to me. That's cool. That's pretty cool.

We you know, we know we share blood. Yeah, and we know the same song. I guess that's not nothing. I have something else. I want to share with you what and he brings his unbreakable spear out in front like this and they snaps it over his knee. Whoa, holy shit. And he hands her the half with her mom's name on it. This this is as much yours as it is mine. She's like stunned. She takes it. Oh, wow. I don't know what to say. I love you too.

And she like kind of sidles a little bit closer and puts her head on your shoulder. I'm going to miss you. Hopefully I'll see you again. And we cut to tuck losing all of his money to Jake the Jackal and a game of scribbles. Dude, do you just not know how to play? No, no, no, I don't. Why do you keep saying yes, because it's gambling and it doesn't matter if you know how to play. It just matters if you're fucking lucky, which I guess I'm not.

And even though there's not even though there's not poker chips in this game, Jake puts his arm around a bunch of poker chips and pulls the words himself. I got you. Fuck tuck gets up. And he's like, fuck you. Fuck zazzles and fuck this party. I'm going to get a fucking hors d'oeuvre or something. Okay. See ya. And you go to the hors d'oeuvre table and birdies there. Oh, come on in. Son of a bitch. Come on. What do you got birdie? Tell me what you got. So this is the top half of a muffin.

Cut in half and then the bottom half of another muffin put on top, but in between his gravy. Oh my God, don't like it. I you know what I will have it. Okay, here you go. This is actually pretty good. His mouth drops open. No one has ever said that about any of my food before it's sweet and savory man. It works is sweet and say he hugs you. Okay, he hugs you so tight. Okay, this is fine. He's is his arms. His hands don't even meet around your shoulder. His because he's so much smaller than you.

I can feel him crying into my chest. That's fine. All right, dude, just keep sick with the sweet and savory stuff. Okay, I'm going to be okay. I will and I extricate myself from his hug. I grab a few more of these sweet and savory muffins. And I sorry got no that's all I was going to say is thank you. Okay, I'm going to I'm going to go now. I love you. Okay. I love you too. Okay, didn't say that. I'm going to go. I guess cut back to Billy. What's Billy doing?

Oh, Billy is making little like fairy light illusion thingies. Oh, for Zane. Nice. Yeah, what do they look like? Kind of like like fat little stonecutter bees. Oh, yeah, that's what I'm doing. So I'm telling him about like the the light. House when we're climbing and I was and like Zane, you should have seen these bees. They're so cute. But like as if they were made of like little pebbles and they made weird honey stuff. That was like rocks. I think you would really like it rock honey.

Well, maybe not eating it but looking at it. Yeah, cool. Cool. Yeah, and then we climbed to the top of the tower was really scary. But those bees really got me through. Hmm. Uh-huh. Yeah, I had I had like a like a bee I guess kind of the thing that got me through. Oh, I always thought about my brother. Yeah, when I was in there, you know, we were on the streets together for a long time. He used to make me feel really safe, I guess and I still think about him.

I don't actually know what happened to him. What's his name? Malik. It's a nice name. Yeah, he's great. He's a great guy and yeah, I'm glad that you had a bees to get you through and I'm sure those other guys they you know, it's nice to have people around that help you like that.

You know Zane, I was alone for a long time too and no one wanted to be around me and it made me mad and it was hard but I learned that it's like it's never too late to make friends and if you open up your heart a little bit then people will open up theirs to you. Hmm. It's okay if it's hard. But people are nice. Okay. Do you want to do you want to come down and meet some friends? They have party subs. Yeah. Okay. All right, cool party sub cool and he gets up off the rock.

Okay, and he grabs the empty bottles that he drinking that soda pop out of and being a 16 year old boy. He pitches them into the water. Nice. You want to throw on I do throw one. It doesn't land as far. It hits the sand just before the water class. Actually Billy that is something that you notice is he takes another one and he thinks about it looks like he's thinking about what you've been saying. Uh-huh.

And about his brother and about all the past and stuff and you can see him grip the bottle in his hand and he whips it and it sails right over the Oasis. Whoa so far. Holy shit. Oh wow. So strong. Yeah, and he rolls his shoulder says yeah. Thank you. That was really far. Wow. Tuck sees this. Yeah, he runs up. I like wave at talk like get over here. Yeah, I talk like jogs up and he was like. What the fuck was that? I don't want to it's just you know, whatever I'm getting I'm getting a hang of it.

I'm tuck like picks up a bottle. He's like alright. I'm going to see if I can do it that far to okay. Okay, and then he like wheels back and tries to do like throw it further than rat then Zane. Yeah, two to six plus strength. I guess holy shit. Uh 14. Yeah, it sails over and hits a building on the other side like smashes against the wall just further. There than Zanes and he looks at it and nods and he reaches down and grabs another bottle. I'm like say say what the fuck man. I'm your dad.

I'm sorry. It's just did you see that throw he wasn't even trying and you see like he takes the bottle and he winds up. You can see him breathing and you see the image of him flicker for a second. Whoa, and then he just fucking bang like it shoots out of his hand and sails over the building. That wall hit and he breathes in and out. It's just like okay. I think I'm done. Wow. Holy shit, dude. It's pretty tight, right? Pretty cool. Then you hear. Oh, we go. We should go. I'm going to go now.

I'm going to go get some of the party stuff. Yeah, so that is something that you can into it is the people possessed by demons that can suppress them can still tap into that. Oh really with practice. So that sorry. I'm sorry. What that just gave me an idea. Yeah, can tuck run over to Alma? Yeah, and he's like, oh my you can like let the demon out every once in a while. A little bit here and there. Yes, but I prefer not to if I'm being honest, can I can you do it to me again?

I want to I want to see what I see again. Okay. Sure. I'm sorry. I just had a bunch of that saffron soda. So there's a lot burbling. Inside me right now. I'm burping. Yeah, don't put me. I'm I'm a thousand year old man. I don't need to be burped. I can stick a finger down your throat. You can pick it up a little bit. What is it with people that think that you start as a baby and then you're an adult and then you're a baby again. Brad Pitt did that to us. Benjamin button.

Yeah, Brad Pitt is the name of a mythical creature. Yeah, it's a copper book writer. Yeah, yes, yes, but he is immortal. He cycles. Through the ages. Yeah, he's a baby than a man than a baby than a man. That's why some of his copper books are like adult themed and some of them are why a thing picture books. I some of them are crayon. So he breathes deeply and it looks like it what Zane looked like when he tapped into it looks different than what I'm a looks like and he closes his eyes.

Well, I'm a turns into your truth, right? The demon did. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So. Ama closes his eyes and he reaches out and he grips tuck around the wrist at the base of his tree tattoo and concentrates and then opens them and looks deep into your eyes on his hot his arms hot flow. Yeah. And Alma spends a few more seconds looking harder. You know what I mean? You feel like he's looking with effort. Yeah. And then his brow furrows and he closes his eyes because I saw nothing again.

I'm willing to try something. I've never done it before, especially not under my own cognizance, but I'm going to it. I think if I try hard enough, I can see where you're going. Like you can see my future. I'm let's see together. Shall we? Okay. And he closes his eyes again. And this time he keeps them closed for a lot longer. And then stares into your eyes once more and says, it will end for you beneath a burning tree. And the last thing you say shall be a lie.

Then he just lets go and you are overcome with this feeling like a coldness just runs up and down your spine. And then the fireworks start. Thank you.

The path was laid at break of day Terry, not the road is long Say what words are left to say The road, the road, the road is long Your steps were chosen long ago Terry, not the road is long But you have miles and miles to go The road, the road, oh the road is long You know the journey has to end Terry, not the road is long The road is long But will you meet it far, friend The road, the road, oh the road is long Footprints fade like dew on the leaf Terry, not the road is long Life like song is sweet and brief The road, the road, oh the road is long Oh, the road, oh the road is long Thank you.