178 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
178 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: 00065
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created: Tue, 21 Feb 2023 14:02:22 -0700
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updated: Tue, 21 Feb 2023 14:02:22 -0700
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public: yes
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syndicated: yes
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---
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### 00065 {#00065}
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Marvelo fetched a fluffy blanket from the piles of blankets and
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pillows in the ritual room where the dreamers continue to sleep. He
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has wrapped up the child and is drying them off. The sound of rain
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continues to drum incessantly outside.
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"Poor thing, you're chilled to the bone. Don't worry, Uncle Marv will
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take care of you. There we go. Fix you right up!"
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The child is still and silent. It has not made a noise this whole
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time. Nor has it acted on its own to actually do anything besides
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stare up at Marvelo with wide, dark eyes.
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"How did you end up outside by yourself in the rain, hmm? No? That's
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okay. What about your name? Have you got a name?"
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"Rind," says a voice behind Marvelo. At the sound of its name, the
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child's eyes flick over Marvelo's shoulder. The mercenary starts to
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spin around even as the blanket writhes in his hands, wrapping itself
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around his wrists and binding them tightly together.
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"Hungh!" he cries out wordlessly and tucks into a roll, turning to
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face his assailant and---he hopes---dodging any potential attack from
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behind. And also putting some distance between himself and the child
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to get it out of harms way.
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Marvelo tries to push up to his knees as cords of rope snake their
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way out of the shadows and coil around his knees and elbows. He
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struggles to pull free of them. A thicker rope wraps around his
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waist, and another squeezes around his chest and back. The ropes
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contract and pull Marvelo into a ball. He groans and falls to his
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side. He looks up into the eyes of a man wearing a bright red sash.
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The child has tottled over to the man and reaches its arms up. The
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man scoops the child up and holds it in the crook of one arm. The
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child puts its arms around the man's neck and looks down at Marvelo
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while resting its cheek on the man's chest.
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"His name is Rind," the man smiles.
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> Feeling bedraggled yet dry despite having been submerged under water,
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> Inky lays on the beach, staring up at the sky before sitting up and
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> looking around the landscape. They are now attired in a hooded azure
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> blue vest over red shirt and shorts, and blue shoes over mismatched
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> knee-high stockings. Their auburn hair is tied back with the
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> drawstrings from an attached small pouch. A plush toy resembling a
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> certain floofy duck peeks out from the hood.
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>
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> They sense a soft weight land on one shoulder, and smile as Fuko nips
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> at their ear, no doubt partly in reproach for wandering off again
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> without her, and maybe partly meant to be reassuring. This is
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> followed several moments later by a low hiss and a series of light
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> taps next to Inky's ear with her beak. Inky murmurs, "Is that so … we
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> should call it a wrap soon. Master Alex would probably be happy
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> having Big Bother to himself anyway, to grill as he likes."
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>
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> After a very long minute, Inky sighs and taking out a piece of paper
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> and pencil from their suitcase, scribbles a "pome":
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>
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> ```
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> Island tower of towers
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> Nowhere everywhere the sea
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> Keep your apples and flowers
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> Your suitor has come for thee
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> ```
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>
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> They roll up the paper and tuck it into a small and clear glass
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> bottle with a cork stopper. Murmuring the sysorcerer's name to the
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> bottle, they lower it into the water and watch as the bottle drifts
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> into the distance.
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>
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> Walking along the shoreline and stopping a short distance from the
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> lone figure, Inky says casually, "Good day, fellow thing-finder."
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The figure turns in your direction and lowers their hood revealing a
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long, hooked, black beak and a face covered in black feathers. Beady
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black eyes regard you without blinking.
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The feathers around its throat bristle when it speaks like a thick
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bristling beard.
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"Greetings, Dreamer, and welcome to Ephemeris, the Heart of the
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Dreaming. What brings you to the Throne of Konsu?"
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> Well Kasutva, I may as well trust you. I imagine if you meant me harm
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> there are more direct and interesting ways to harm me than to
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> misguide me. Give me a moment to collect myself, I've never been much
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> for swimming you see, learned late and was always deathly afraid as a
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> child. Dreadful stuff really.
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>
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> Alex steps away briefly to the edge of the pier and looks into the
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> Azure blue ocean, a swirl of unending blue depth. Still not my thing,
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> Alex mutters to himself. As he steels himself he notices a bottle
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> adrift, nearing the pier. As it comes closer, he plucks it from the
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> water, decorks it and inspects the note inside.
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>
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> "What does it say" the little Kasutva inquires.
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>
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> "Oh nothing, just someone trying to get in contact about our floating
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> pirateships extended warranty" Alex replies bruskly. This definitely
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> must have come from Inky Alex thinks to himself. They must have found
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> the way.
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>
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> "Look Kasutva, this has been great fun, but I really think I ought to
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> be going, not really sure that a sea of anyones dreams is my sort of
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> thing and all that. And I seem ot have done not but create a mess of
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> things" Alex says as he gestures to the wreckage of the Mech. Alex
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> gestures in the air before him, a small split keyboard appears in
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> front of him and he types out a few short commands.
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>
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> > ```
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> > cat > /home/inky/messages/urgent <<EOF
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> > Got your message
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> > In a bit of a bind, wrapped up with some weird mushroom guy who wants to go for a swim.
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> > Not sure how to handle it, but I might have to dip back to the real world and let you finish here.
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> > I've made a write mess of things, but I trust you can finish this.
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> >
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> > Oh, see attached, if you get into a pinch just use this spell, it'll get you what you need.
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> >
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> > grep -A4 AID ~/messages/urgent | sed 's/AID//' | sh
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> >
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> > AID
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> > 4b1af3fcf4ce005ef86d83c45713ba1a548b4e79da09a6d44632cdb6c5917489
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> > d7d500fa37b986d931b70e114b4e67375b10b373aa6649641e7132e8b3dc7d18
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> > ef6efe98ffd070f486c00b4f50d8bf1448414ef9c2fabe0cacd40bebafba8a02
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> > 1d0d1bf0188b842d9ae08b9b37b0f266936ef38b8f07e5c90e4a9351bf018898
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> > EOF
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> > ```
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>
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> "Right!" Alex exclaims startling the little Kasutva accidentally.
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> "Time for me to head back to the real world. Anything you need from
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> me before I head out? Oh also, can I take the ak74u? I think I might
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> need it."
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"Back ... back to the waking world?" Mushroom Kasutva stammers.
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"But..."
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It looks out at the sea with a look of longing, confusion, and
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frustration. "But we were finally going to see Ephemeris," they say
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almost wistfully.
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"You were going to take us to Ephemeris!" they shout at you, suddenly
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angry.
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Mushroom Kasutva screws up its face and roars in rage as it rushes at
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you and tries to shove you over the edge of the pier into the waters
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below.
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But Kasutva is less than a foot tall and quite ineffective at shoving
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a human-sized person such as Alex.
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Big Kasutva, on the otherhand, is roughly twelve feet tall and quite
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capable of manhandling a human-sized person.
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You look up in time to jerk back out of the way as they swipe at your
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chest with their face-removing knife. It was all a feint though. As
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soon as you are slightly off balance from dodging their attack, they
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reach out with their other hand and give you a shove.
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You trip over Mushroom Kasutva, who has positioned themself in just
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such a way to best tangle up your feet. You stumble backwards a few
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steps until one of your feet steps out into open air. You twist and
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and look behind you as Ousia rises up to meet you.
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Kasutva clings to your leg as you fall, crying. "We're sorry. We're
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sorry," they say over and over as you are pulled below the waves.
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WHAT DO YOU DO
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