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Season 3: The Battle for HinkervilleSeason 3: The Battle for Hinkerville
Reality Date: October 1, 2004Gameality Date: 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
When consciousness dawned upon our still-frozen heroes, the first thing they heard was a voice exclaiming in astonishment about over 100 generations having passed. They then began noting their bizarre and inexplicable surroundings and feeling extremely cold. After appearing to float through bizarre colored nothing for a while, they found themselves in a huge room with a bunch of very excited-looking fat balding people. The people began utilizing light-beam rods to thaw the ice blocks in which Kale, Godwin, and Merri were encased, starting with Kale's. From their reactions to Kale, it immediately became clear that these people were members of Eagle's Kale-worshipping religion. There were also various wild claims made to the effect that they were on some sort of bizarre "craft" and that the current government consisted of some kind of multiple-world alliance. Comprehension failed to dawn on anyone very much, for which exhaustion, hunger, coldness, and general crappy-feelingness were partly responsible. In addition, no one seemed to be able to adequately answer the question of how many years had passed; indeed, the fat and balding folk didn't seem to think in terms of numbered years so much as counted generations, which terms meant little to our thawing heros. All that seemed apparent was that the party members had woken up in a distant future—in the company of a group of people who had kept the worship of Kale alive for hundreds or thousands of years. Moreover, Kale's companions had, during the intervening years, come to be referred to as "the Virgin Merri" and "the Holy Ghost" (the latter was in reference to the mysterious holes in Godwin's soul that the Ignoramian potion had revealed and that Eagle, unfortunately, had seen). The Kale worshippers also had a much-expanded version of the Way of Kale, complete with slightly time-altered versions of Eagle's and Merri's tenets and a bunch of other skewed lore and pseudo-history relating to Kale and company. General awe and wonder was produced when Merri whipped out her "original" Way of Kale scroll, but Kale, who was worried about how his "followers" might react in the face of the wild discrepancies that he expected they'd find between the original and the contemporary versions, enjoined Merri not to hand the original over to anyone just yet.
As the party was naturally quite exhausted, their obsequious hosts showed them to private quarters on the ship, and they consumed some food and then went to sleep. A short time later, however, Merri caught a woman in her room snooping among her possessions. Approving of her mischeiviousness and sensing a potential kindred spirit, Merri merely asked the woman—who, unlike most of the strange ship's occupants, was not particularly fat—what she was up to. The ensuing conversation revealed that the woman (whose name was Thana) was a stowaway aboard the craft and was not a follower of the Way of Kale—though she had been trying to get her hands on Merri's original Way of Kale scroll, apparently just out of curiosity. Before long, the sound of their voices awakened Kale, who came to see what was going on. Though less inclined then Merri to approve of outsiders snooping among a party member's possessions, Kale was so delighted at having discovered someone on the ship who didn't worship him (and whom he therefore didn't have to regard as a complete lunatic) that he easily forgave her snooping and theivish antics, and he and Merri proceeded to engage Thana in further conversation--despite having just a few hours earlyer been thawed from the state of frozenness in which they had been preserved, barely alive, for millennia, which one would have expected to produce effects that would need to be slept off. Godwin, for his part, vaguely heard the commotion in Merri's room that brought Kale running, but he scarcely even woke up, let alone worried himself about what might be going on, and when he heard the sound of Kale and Merri arguing about something having to do with the Way of Kale during the conversation that ensued, he drew the entirely natural conclusion that all that was going on over there was more of his companions' incessant bickering. Baffled and slightly irritated, he rolled over and went back to sleep.
Before long, Kale and Merri were negotiating some kind of deal with Thana that involved her serving as their guide in this new futuristic world. Godwin, despite having diregarded the initial commotion and gone back to sleep, continued to have his sleep disturbed by the sound of voices in the next room, so he eventually got up and went to ask his companions to shut the hell up. They began excitedly telling him about the non-insane individual whom they had discovered and the deal that they were working out, but Godwin interrupted to express his incomprehension of their ability to be awake and negotiating deals only a few hours after being thawed from the frigid doom ordeal and insisted that they go the hell back to bed and postpone any further discussion and/or negotiation until after he'd had a chance to get some decent sleep, god dammit anway. After a short while, he prevailed, and everyone finally went back to sleep.
Many hours later, the party arose, feeling somewhat refreshed and recovered from their ordeal. The various party members--but especially Godwin, who had slept through most of the previous night's discussion and who in any case was the most naturally curious--had many questions, and Thana did her best to try to explain what it meant that there were multiple worlds, that the group currently wans't on any of these worlds but was rather travelling through the heavens between them, that Terrek, the party's "world" of origin, was no more than a myth to contemporaries, and so forth. Godwin, incidentally, introduced himself to Thana as Solabein for the time being, as he was not yet certain how far he could trust her (though of course, he also didn't know what the state of the Ignoramian religion might be in this time and place)--though as usual, there was enough obvious hedging and accidental use of his real name to render this attempt at caution mostly pointless. Godwin also learned from Thana that while magic items were quite common now (so much so, in fact, as to be the objects of some contempt on Thana's part), personal magic--the ability to cast spells without the use of magic items--was rare, if it even existed at all, so that Thana was skeptical of the party members' offhand references to their various spells. To convince her of the truth of their claims, Godwin demonstrated his fog spell for her, much to her amazement. Thereafter, Thana expressed puzzled disappointment whenever one of the party used, or considered using, a magic item; she seemed to see the use of magic items as being somehow "beneath" somone who had magic of his or her own.
Meanwhile, the Kale worshippers were bursting with urges to give Kale and his holy companions a tour of their ship, as well as to perform various rituals in honor of his second coming. The party also learned that after thawing out the three of them, the ship's crew had dumped the remaining ice blocks (i.e., those that contained the others who had been at the tree during the frigid doom) back into "the heavens.” Enraged, Kale demanded that they go back and retrieve as many of the people who had been with them in the tree as could be found. Godwin, dumbfounded that these lunatics (as he saw them) would salvage ice blocks containing frozen but possibly alive people, but then simply dump all but those containing their alleged god and his two allegedly holy sidekicks, questioned them about whether or not they had any concept of respect for other beings, but only got unthinking Way of Kale drivel and general incomprehension in response. He was thus duly horrified, notwithstanding his own imperfect record when it came to respecting the lives of others. Meanwhile Merri, in cheerful defiance of Kale's wishes, compared versions of the Way of Kale with the ship's high priest, much to the latter's delight. It turned out that his version contained minor inaccuracies (which Merri took it upon herself to correct) but no wild discrepancies. When the ship arrived at the place where the ice blocks were floating, a handful of the party's pre-frigid-doom companions were found and retrieved, including Suppel, and the thawing process got under way (albeit mysteriously slowly).
The tour of the ship revealed to the party members a few more aspects of what, to their minds, was its crew's insanity. A large section of the ship, for example, was taken up by a "temple" to Kale that no one had ever entered, due to the Way of Kale tenet about not entering Kale's "sanctuary" (originally, this had meant his bedroom) without an explicit invitation from Kale. What to the party seemed like nothing more than a collosal waste of presumably empty space, however, to the Kaleists was sacred and mysterious; since no one had ever entered it, they were all dying to know "what was inside.” Opening and entering the temple was apparently to be the centerpiece of the big ritual that they wanted to perform now that Kale was "back" among them. The waste of space that was the temple became all the more silly in the eyes of Kale and his companions when they learned that the entire ship's complement was currently sharing one or two entirely inadequately sized rooms as quarters in order to give Kale and his friends each his or her own private room.
After the tour, Kale and Merri--independently, and with only partially similar motivations--began working on shattering the worldview and paradigm of the high priest of the Kaleists by filling his head with various unexpected and largely unwelcome ideas. Merri, who hoped to get the Kaleists to give the party a ship of their own, told the priest that now that Kale had been rescued by them, he planned to engage in the "ritual running from loved ones" prescribed in the Way of Kale, and explained that they would need a ship for this purpose. The priest was none too happy to hear that Kale planned to run off right away, but a short time later he came to Kale and asked to be permitted to accompany him when he left. Kale told him that in order to be granted permission to come with him, he would have to renounce his belief in Kale's divinity and learn to think for himself. The priest responded, of course, by immediately claiming to have renounced his beliefs, but this did not satisfy Kale, who did his best to get it through the priest's skull that he really meant it and that he wanted the guy to sincerely reevaluate his concept of Kale. This disturbed the priest greatly, but he agreed to try to do as Kale asked. Unfortunately, a subsequent conversation with Merri in which, surprised to find him renouncing the Way of Kale, she assured him that he didn't have to lie to her, only further confused him.
When the time for the temple-opening ceremony arrived, everyone gathered outside it and the priest began passing out wands. Questioned by the party as to what the wands were, he explained that they were weapons that would be used during the ceremony. This raised some red flags, and the party began demanding to know what was going to happen that would make weapons necessary. The priest was extremely reluctant to reveal the details, but finally explained that during the ceremony, a bunch of rabid dogs were to be released into the temple, whereupon the worshippers, in dutiful observance of a tenet of the Way of Kale, would shoot them. When the party members objected to this insanity, the priest protested that they had gone to great effort to infect a bunch of dogs with rabies just for this occasion, which information only sharpened the objections of the sane individuals present. Also, while this all was going on, some aboard the ship began wondering aloud just who Thana was and what she was doing on board, but she merely asserted that she was "with" Kale and his other companions, and they vouched for her, so the crew more or less left her alone. In any case, arguments now broke out over how to proceed, with the Kaleists wanting to go ahead with the opening of the temple and the release of the dogs, and Kale and Godwin and Merri insisting that no dogs be slaughtered and that in fact they be treated for their rabies. Eventually, somone suggested at least opening the damn temple, and Kale agreed and insisted that it be opened even though the ceremony had not been properly completed. The doors were duly opened, revealing--as the party members expected--an empty and unfinished room, large in size. Actually, it wasn't quite empty; a bedroll on the floor suggested that someone (Thana, the party members assumed) had indeed been in the temple before this. The Kaleists greeted this revelation with outrage, but Kale and his friends were merely amused. They further upset the Kaleists by bluntly declaring the temple to be a waste of space and decreeing that it was to be converted into additional crew quarters.
Before the general alarm and hubbub over this order had settled, events were interrupted by the ship coming under attack. The captain, select crewpersons, and the party members all raced to the bridge, where the magic mirror on the wall displayed the image of another, somewhat smaller, ship. To the astonishment of the party, it became apparent once communications were established that the people on the other ship were Ignoramians, and that they were demanding that "El Verde Bastardo" (by which they seemed to mean Kale) be handed over to them. When they saw Godwin, they addressed him as Solabein and asked him if El Verde Bastardo was in his custody, which he assured them he was. Stalling for time, however, Godwin claimed that for reasons with which he would not burden them, he would need to wait a day before turning the prisoner over. The Ignoramians reluctantly agreed to this, communications were discontinued, and baffled and panicked conversation ensued. How was it that the Ignoramains knew of Solabein and were matter-of-factly seeking his cooperation, after all this time? Why were they calling Kale "El Verde Bastardo," and why did they want him surrendered to them? Why, after millennia of being frozen in ice, did the only features of this new world that were at all familiar to the party members involve the mysterious survival of their enemies and problems (such as Kaleists and Ignoramians)? Most of all, what were they going to do, especially in light of the captain's comment that their ship was unarmed? The idea of running away was greeted with general enthusiasm, but the captain couldn't provide much in the way of certainty that it would actually work. Then someone hit upon the idea of claiming to be ready to transfer El Verde Bastardo to the Ignoramians, docking the ships together, and releasing the rabid dogs into their ship, then separating and running like hell. Though some (notably Godwin) felt some qualms, the party members (including Godwin) and Thana seized upon this plan. The Kaleists, of course, felt that the plan violated a tenet of the Way of Kale, and Merri was quick to point out that it seemed inconsistent with Godwin's earlier astonishment over the Kaleists' lack of regard for the value of the lives of others, but the plan was nevertheless carried out. Once the dogs had been released into the other ship, the Kaleist/party ship disengaged from it and set off at a rapid pace, leaving dogs and Ignoramians to float out the still-open portal on the other ship. The delay to the other ship caused by the dogs gave the party enough of a head start to get into a slipstream before they could be shot at or overtaken, and the chase was on. Godwin immediately began concocting a story to try to sell to the Ignoramians should he end up falling into their hands; he would claim to have been a prisoner of the Kaleists all along, and explain that they had made him promise to deliver El Verde Bastardo (but to delay the transfer) via the threat of death and/or fact bombardment. To his delight, a communication from the other ship shortly suggested that they would very likely buy this story; the Ignoramians informed the captain that his ship would surely be destroyed if any harm came to Solabein, which suggested that they had already come to the conclusion that "Solabein" must be a prisoner on board.
After losing the Ignoramian ship in the branching paths of the slipstream, the Kaleist captain, in obedience to Kale's wishes, ordered the ship to land on the neareast world, which turned out to be a jungle-ridden world called Evreux, home to goblins (though the heavensport was located in a human colony settlement). Here the party disembarked and, following up on the Kaleists' suggesting that they check into their "investments," went to a bank--where, to their considerable surprise, they encountered the time traveler from the future who had once sold Godwin a magic item for 900 lime (which he had been confident that Godwin would be able to repay) and who had also given the party their first hint of the frigid doom to come. Inquiries revealed that, sure enough, the bank account that a Hinkervillian banker had insisted that Godwin start (and that, at Merri's prodding, Godwin had in fact started, investing a whopping 1 salt piece) somehow still existed--even though Hinkerville, and indeed all of Terrek, was now unknown to most folk, the time traveler being an exception. What's more, during the intervening millennia his savings had increased (after correcting for inflation and subtracting currency conversion fees and so forth) to 1422 "crowns" (the present-day currency)--which, by a staggering coincidence, was worth about what the same amount of lime had been worth back on Terrek during the party's era of origin. Surprised but happy, Godwin withdrew his crowns and paid 900 of them to the time traveler, thus ridding himself of his "debt.” The others inquired about conversion rates for the lime that they had with them and learned that they were able to acquire crowns equal to nine-tenths of their wealth in lime pieces.
Reality Date: December 11, 2004Gameality Date: Still UnknownCobbler: ineptsegue
Suppel awoke in a still-frozen state, noting his large-domed-room surroundings and an intense urge to piss. Hoping to expedite the thawing process and relieve his urge all at once, he decided to let loose with the urine. After some time, he managed to break free of the ice and attract the attention of several nearby Kaleists, of whom he inquired about the whereabouts of his companions: Kale, Merri, etc. "You are a friend of Kale?” the Kaleists inquired. "You worship him?” "No," Suppel responded. "I am his equal...although personally, I think I'm a little bit cooler than him.” Shocked by this blasphemy, the Kaleists decided to seize Suppel, and a scuffle ensued. Managing to get away from the Kaleists, Suppel ran through the ship until he found the exit, whereupon he disembarked and utilized his wand to find the other PCs.
Said individuals were deep in bickering over goals & direction. Merri, who the others felt seemed to be rapidly losing her grip on reality, had her heart set on taking up a life of piracy. Godwin completely lacked interest. Kale was somewhat attracted to the idea, but wanted to modify it a bit--perhaps bounty-hunting, or some such at least quasi-legal variation on the basic idea of a life of adventurous self-enrichment. Suppel expressed some interest in the notion as well. Godwin became rather frustrated, and the bickering and generally insane conversation continued as the party headed to an inn and rented rooms. Everyone in the inn stared at them, leading the party to realize that they stood out like proverbial sore thumbs. The party then headed for one of the rented rooms (which were tiny, forcing them to cram themselves into not nearly enough space) and continued discussiong/bickering/raving. Whilst they were doing so, they heard a weird sound from outside the door. Kale, fearing that someone was eavesdropping, opened the door and confronted a goblin who was passing outside it. The goblin denied that he was eavesdropping and claimed he had just been muttering to himself about an idea he had. Kale demanded to know what this idea was, and the goblin reluctantly blurted out that there was a big ship that had docked and that he'd heard he might be able to either sell himself to or sneak aboard in order to get out of this place. This ship, he added, was supposed to have found something big out in the heavens somewhere and to have lots of valuable booty on board. Some among the party were interested in this and suggested going to look at this ship. First, though, the party went shopping for clothing that would help them not to stick out so much.
Upon reaching the ship, the party noted that goblins were indeed being sold to it as slaves. Kale and Merri discouraged their goblin companion, whose name was Grondig, from selling himself, but he explained that he was in fact already a slave, and also that by walking off his "job" with the party, he'd forfeited his place here. He then went on contemplating his decision while the party continued bickering over both long-term goals and immediate plans. Conjecturing, on the basis of various bits of evidence, that the ship's big "find" was none other than Kale's tree, most or all members of the party were at least somewhat attracted to the idea of sneaking aboard it in some way. Objections stemmed mostly from the perception that such a course of action would be extremely dangerous, the unwelcome real.ization that the tree might not be terribly useful to them in this new world, and the hopes of some party members (notably Kale) that the party might be able to somehow acquire a ship of its own if they concentrated their efforts toward that end. As usual, discussion of these various options--muddled as it would have been in any case--was further complicated by much tangential bickering over the validity of various individuals' worldviews (particularly those of Relic, the Kaleist priest who had accompanied the party, and of Suppel, whose apparent insanity Kale and Godwin found it difficult not to constantly ridicule--all the more so because he seemed incapable of keeping his rather eccentric views to himself when attempting to interact with "NPCs," or indeed, even fully grasping the fact that others could scarcely be expected to comprehend, let alone casually adopt, his views. All of this bickering and disputing only further befuddled poor Relic, of course, whose continuing efforts to fulfill Kale's demand that he renounce his faith led him, in turns, to try both sticking to the tenets of his religion while denying that he still worshipped Kale and, when that failed to please anyone, adopting the opposites of the tenets of Kalism (for example, substituting "nothing is dangerous" for "everything is dangerous.” Kale, with Godwin's help, continued to try to get him to grasp the concept of forming his own ideas on the basis of the apparent facts and his own judgement, but this persisted in being a far-from-easy task.
Eventually, the party members more or less decided--not so much by reaching a group consensus as by individually or in subgroups settling upon courses of action that were consistent with this goal--to direct their efforts toward infiltrating the gigantic ship and finding out whether Kale's tree was on board. Kale and Godwin formulated a joint sneak-onto-the-giant-ship, also-stick-with-the-Kaleist-ship plan involving using Godwin's spell to find a place on the big ship to hide one of Kale's portals, creating fog, sneaking aboard, hiding the portal, and escaping through it to another portal previously set up on the Kaleist ship. Meanwhile, Suppel and Merri decided to try to disguise Merri as a Goblin so that she could sneak aboard the ship, though whether their goals meshed in any way with Kale's and Godwin's wasn't clear. In search of a disguise, they went to a goblin corpse pile and intercepted people coming to dump their dead goblins. Suppel tried to buy one woman's dead goblin by claiming that he was trying to get a bulk discount on the corpse-dumping fee and was just one corpse short of the required number, but she was a bit freaked out, suggested that what they were attempting was less than legal, and refused to be involved. The next party that came along with a goblin corpse to dump was a pair of young children who looked sad, so Merri went to work, expressing her sympathy for their loss and offering to take over the unpleasant task of dumping the corpse for them. Noting her small stature, the children assumed that she was a goblin, albeit a very pretty one, and they wondered if they could have her as a replacement for the dead one (whose name was Putz). She explained that she was Suppel's goblin, however. Suppel then felt a need to explain why his goblin was wearing full plate armor, so he claimed that she was a ball-fetching goblin for sporting events and needed the armor for protection. Asked if they would take good care of Putz, Merri assured them that they'd find him a good place on the pile. The exchange was thus made, and Merri proceeded to skin the corpse and fashion a surprisingly decent goblin mask from it. Meanwhile, Godwin largely failed in his attempt to find a good place inside the big ship--partly because of the limited range of his spell, but mostly because a guard shooed him away.
When the party members reunited and compared notes on their respective goals and the successes of their various efforts toward realizing them thus far, only a little bit of continued bickering and one or two displays of moral outrage at each others' antics slowed the process by which a single group plan, that combined elements of the two existing plans, was hashed out. Grondig and a goblin-disguised Merri would be sold as slaves to the ship, with Merri smuggling the portal orb aboard disguised as a makeshift "weapon" (by tying a stick to it and then tying a bag over the whole thing). Once aboard, Merri would find a suitably out-of-the-way place to set a portal up, then make her escape through it to the Kaleist ship, where the other portal was already in place (in the temple). In case the officials at the entrance to the ship should see through Merri's disguise, or express suspicion about and/or try to confiscate her weapon, Godwin would be standing by ready to shroud the vicinity in fog to facilitate matters. With all of this decided, Kale and Grondig proceeded to engage in a philosophical discussion concerning the systemic causes of goblin poverty.
Shortly thereafter, the party commenced execution of its plan. The sale of the two "slaves" went off without a hitch, thanks in part to Merri's exuberant display of (feigned) goblinish enthusiasm, and Merri and Grondig were shown to the area of the ship where they were to dwell. Following a brief dispute with some of the goblins over her desire to remove a torch from the wall and claim it for herself, Merri succeeded in striking up a conversation with a goblin named Tap, who showed her around a bit and filled her in on all the important details about which of the molds growing on the walls were edible and which ones to avoid, among other things. When her new friend began to exhibit signs of physical attraction to her, Merri asked her if there was somewhere out-of-the-way that they could go. Her companion assured her that there was and led her to an isolated location. Once there, Merri permitted the goblin to embrace and kiss her, then attempted to extricate herself from the situation before things went further by making a passing reference to her gender and feigning indignation when Tap reacted with surprise. "I can't believe you didn't know I was a girl!" she exclaimed.
Reality Date: January 3, 2005Gameality Date: UnknownCobbler: ineptsegue
Merri's efforts to shame Tap into slinking away via vehement expressions of indignance met with success, and as soon as she was alone, she put up the portal and went through it to the Kaleist ship, to which rendezvous point the rest of the party had meanwhile scurried with all due haste. When they arrived, Miram (the captain) waylaid Kale and attempted to get him to stop utilizing the temple for whatever it was that he was utilizing it for, and Kale, pointing out that it was, after all, a temple to him, largely blew Miram's concern off, then tried to get him pumped up about the scheme that the party was currently setting in motion. Shortly thereafter, Merri appeared through the portal and reported to the rest of the part on her experiences. After a rousing speech from Kale about the adventure upon which they were about to embark (a speech to which only some party members particularly listened, and which did rather more to terrify than to inspire Godwin), the party stepped through the portal into the small, dark room on the ship, where they proceeded to hold a loud, boisterous conversation about various things (though the conversation was dominated by pronouncements from Kale about what he imagined lay ahead and what obscure procedural details the party should observe as they set out to meet it).
After a time, the party took down the portal, exited from the small room, and began proceeding along the dark corridor beyond, with Godwin sketching a map of the areas through which thay passed as they went. Along the way, strange noises were heard and interpreted in various ways by various party members; the first such noises seemed to be emanating from rats, and the second (after the possibility that they were coming from Relic was ruled out by a glance from Kale) turned out to be coming from a party of small critters approaching the party from behind. Kale and Merri promptly identified these creatures as monkeys, but in fact, as Godwin realized, they were Kobolds. The Kobolds seemed to be carrying a giant carrot. While Godwin was explaining to the others what they were, Suppel tried addressing them, but this seemed to freak them out and get them semi-comically worked up, so he soon stopped. After a few moments, the Kobolds, who seemed to be afraid of the party, scurried off back the way they had come. Not long after this encounter, the party passed through an octoganal tomb containing variouis corpses, and Kale, being the ranger that he was, noted the signs of a recent scuffle in the chamber. Unsure what to make of this, however, the party merely proceeded out of the chamber and on down the corridor.
A while later, the party's exploration along the corridor was interrupted when a net fell on them from the ceiling, ensnaring Godwin, Merri, and Relic (the others managed to get out of the way in time to avoid being ensared). As the ensnared individuals began attempting to cut their way to freedom with whatever sharp implements they had at hand, a group of goblins approached from the direction in which the party had been heading, and Kale, hoping to scare them off, began roaring random inanities in dragon language. Though startled, the goblins were astute enough to note the absence of a dragon from the vicinity, so they continued approaching, whereupon Suppel--acting in accordance with a shouted suggestion from Kale--plugged one of them in the head with his rifle, killing the poor bastard instantly. Stunned, the goblins paused, and a dialogue ensued. It seemed that these goblins were guards whose task was to prevent intruders from approaching a temple that presumably lay up ahead; this temple, they explained, contained a holy relic consisting of a hand. Kale assured the goblins that the party had no interest in desecrating any holy sites, and he inquired as to how they might go "around" the temple. This apparently wasn't possible, however, so the goblins led the intruders to the temple to be dealt with by their superiors.
The temple turned out to consist of another octagonal room with makeshift stained-glass windows cut into it and, as the goblins had mentioned, a pedestal upon which rested a presumably holy hand. Numerous goblins were present and engaged in worship. When the party's "captors" reported to someone who was in charge, and a general sense of antipathy toward the intruders became apparent, Godwin decided that the time had come to fill the temple with fog in order to facilitate a clandestine exit. Not only did his attempt to cast his fog spell fail bungled; air dried out, however, but it also attracted the attention of one of the goblins, who promptly announced that the intruders' priest was casting a spell. This sent the goblins into an uproar, and the party thus found itself under attack. Having another go at spellcasting, Godwin cast "Damage Scapegoat" on the pedastal on which the holy hand rested, so that any damage dealt in the vicinity would affect it instead of its intended target. He then attempted to call general attention to the fact that he had done this, in the hope that the danger to their holy relic would dissuade the goblins from continuing to attack the party. In this effort, however, he was not very successful, with the result that fighting continued until people began to notice that they didn't seem to be actually affecting their opponents with their blows. Suppel expressed irritation at having been prevented from killing goblins, and especially at having, as a result, wasted several bullets, but Godwin was not sympathetic. Meanwhile, Kale escaped from the fray by casting the spell that enabled him to walk up the wall to the ceiling, then tried to distract the goblins by throwing his voice and trying to make it sound like there were a bunch of kobolds approaching the temple, and Merri began waving a white flad and trying to get the beverage genie to produce enough beer to serve to all of the goblins as a "peace offering.” She succeeded in getting the genie to produe beer in the desired quantity, but it came in large kegs which appeared in the room, and the genie ignored Merri's wish for it to be served.
After a few minutes, as goblins began noticing such facts as that they appeared to be unable to hurt the intruders, that the pedastal that supported their holy relic was crumbling for reasons which were not apparent, that a bunch of kegs of beer had materialized in their temple, and that there were noises coming from the corridor, they gradually broke off their attack. Most of their attention was soon riveted on the task of salvaging the holy hand, in fact, thought the beer was a sign which enabled the party members to make good their escape via the exit opposite to the one by which they had entered (so that they were still going in the same direction they had been going in all along). Despite Godwin's spell, some members of the party had sustained wounds toward the end of the fighting, and Godwin himself , though he hadn't been wounded, became suddenly aware for the first time in days (if not millennia) of wounds that he had suffered during the frigid doom that still had not healed. Suppel, at this point, divulged that he possessed healing magic, and proceeded to pluck wounds from those who possessed them.
When everyone was feeling better, the party continued along the corridor. All along, they had been passing occasional doorways blocked by porcullises on either side of the corridor (with levers that, one presumed might open the portcullises); eventually, though, they came to one that was noticeably larger than any of the others that they had seen, and they paused next to it to discuss whether or not they should investigate it. The discussion quickly attracted the attention of two guards who, it turned out, were stationed on the other side of the large portcullis, however, and the guards demanded to know how the party had gotten into the section of the ship/dungeon that they were in. Kale claimed that they were an inspection team and instructed them to let the party through the portcullis, and the other party members played along with this story, but the guards, unfortunately, seemed insufficiently gullible as to buy it. They also seemed relatively unconcerned about the party's presence--however inexplicable it may have been to them--beyond the portcullis. They asked Kale (rather sarcastically) whether inquiring with the captain of the ship would result in his "inspectors" story being confirmed, to which Kale replied in the affirmative. The guards then wrote a short message and tied it to the leg of a bat, which they released (presumably intending that it deliver the message to the captain). Kale immediatly began utilizing ultrasonic bat-speak (which no one else could hear) to try to entice the bat to come to him rather than going where it was trained to go by claiming that there were lots of tasty insects to be had in his direction, and the party walked away from the portcullis and out of sight of the guards. The bat, enticed by Kale, followed them, and Kale caught it and removed the message from its leg. Predictably enough, the message consisted of the information that there were intruders in the area and a request for instructions regarding what to do about them. After reading the message, Kale wrote a response to it advising the guards that the so-called intruders were an inspection team and that they were not to be interfered with. Noticing that the message from the guards had some numbers at the bottom, and guessing that they functioned as some kind of recognition code, Kale then fretted about not knowing what code to place on the "response.” In the end, he gave up worrying about it and just chose some numbers arbitrarily to write at the bottom of his response, which he then tied to the bat's leg.
Reality Date: January 10, 2005Gameality Date: UnknownCobbler: ineptsegue
With the response message attached to the bat, Kale released said bat and tried to get it to return to the guards by telling it that the tasty insects were now located back there.
bat apparently took a long time (maybe went to bridge first?) guards read msg,, said "holy shit, alert status is the case," left various attempts to get through door when lever refused access
--Thana writes names, throws paper onto table
--Merri lassoo's scroll, rips it in half
--Suppel has to be talked out of destroying the lever
--try lifting portcullis
varous things are descried; Godwin becomes aware of a "mystical network" that seems to control security access, perhaps among other things
Thana thinks of trying the "holy hand," Merri sets off (over Godwin's fearful objections) to get it, Kale & Suppel follow, bickering with Merri ensues, Godwin & Thana wait in cowardly fashion. Merri, disguised as a goblin, convinces guards to let her pass, enters temple; Kale & Suppel lurk. Klaxons start going off for non-obvious reasons; Merri takes advantage of the distraction to grab the holy hand. Goblins immediately notice its disappearance, but don't know she has it. She tries to edge inconspicuously for the door, but someone spots her & motions her to come back. She starts doing so, then when he looks away, she bolts. Goblins immediately notice & pursue; she yells "Run!" to Kale & Suppel. Suppel has been making fog come out of his wand, so it's foggy out here now. Kale & Suppel grab the guards and perpetrate violence upon them, then run once Merri has passed them. Kale puts up a wooden wall to impede goblin pursuit. Party is reunited, Godwin stunned at lack of horrible death.
Hand works to open door, party goes through, Godwin takes remaining half of broken scroll, figures out it's related to the "mystical network" but damaged. Party proceeds through "somewhat cleaner" area of the ship.
There's a door with a rune on it: Godwin tries to decipher, fails, then both copies & memorizes it.
Party uses hand to open door, goes through, finds a huge bay (they are on a balcony) with magely-seeming types below & a huge arc of lightening going up to ceiling from a well. Suppel contemplates spitting on folk below, is discouraged. Discussion ensues, & the goal of finding a place to sleep is settled upon (it's late at night & everyone's tired, plus no spigot points for Godwin, Suppel). As party members talk, someone approaches in corridor outside huge chamber. "We're inspectors" story is used again, & Merri asks where crew quarters are as they're to be inspected next. Question greeted wtih puzzlement; why not just use the network?
Party goes to a scroll like the one Merri tore in half, Merri touches it with hand, it opens and displays a menu. One option is "map"; Merri chooses, party looks at what all stuff is to be found around the ship. Guest quarters located; Merri assigns a largish empty room to "Ambassador Cory Katzenmeyer" (a name Suppel comes up with out of the blue; Suppel has been spewing alternate names for party members frequentty, seems not to know them from the real names,etc.). Party goes to room, sleeps.
In the morning, awakened by someone at the door who has come to inquire about who the hell "Ambassador Katzenmeyer" is, as no such person is known about. Suppel, who answered the door in the nude, assumed an authoritative air & dismissed all such questions. Pointing out his own nakedness, he threw his feigned weight around and demanded that his clothing be brought to him "from the laundry.” The guy fell for this and, intimidated, scurried off to find clothing for the "ambassador" and his companions.
Party uses another scroll to find out info about the person whose hand they're using; they don't learn much, though, beyond the fact that he apparently was commended for valor for his role in putting down a goblin uprising. They also look at the general layout of the ship. Finding a huge storage bay area, they decide it would be a good place to look for the salvage that they hope inlcuded Kale's true. After a while, scroll winks out & hand, ominously, won't provide access anymore.
After clothing comes, party heads out & notes a guard has been placed outside room. Suppel cast a spell to make the guard trust him
guard was supposed to report where party went, so party started down hall, he sent bat, then party went the other way with guard tagging along (with mixed feelings)
party went to investigate storage bay. Find it heavily guarded; attempt to fast-talk the guards into letting them in by claiming, again, to be inspectors. Guards ask for credentials/proof; Godwin tried flashing his L.A. constable's badge, Suppel tried flashing a police badge from reality, and Kale expressed approval and gave them "good marks" for their security precautions. The guards bought none of it; party reacts uncertainly, but persists in demand to be let in, guards turn suspicious/hostile & send a bat (which Kale promptly confuses). Conflict appears imminent.
Reality Date: January 31, 2005Gameality Date: UnknownCobbler: ineptsegue
There was a dramatic pause. Godwin spied his party members pulling out weapons and started backing away cautiously, praying to Ignoramius. Kale proclaimed "I will give you one chance to escape"; at the same time, one of the guards announced "You have one chance to drop your weapons.” Kale then said "Wait, let's go one at a time. You go first.” "Uhh..." the guard began, pausing, whereupon Kale let loose with a spell, and all hell proceeded to break loose. Kale's spell created a pit in the floor under most of the guards, who (naturally) fell into said pit. Hoping (in vain) that the deck of the ship wasn't especially thick, however, Kale made his pit only 5 feet deep; the guards who fell in thus fell only a very short distance. As guards began firing at the party, its various members reacted in various ways. Merri once again summoned the beverage genie and asked it to fill the pit with scaldingly hot cocoa; Godwin, from his location well in the rear, began producing fog to serve as cover and also at some point cast his Damage Scapegoat spell to redirect combat damage to the door leading to the guarded chamber; Thana decided that she liked Godwin's idea of getting out of the way, and so joined him near the rear wall of the room; Suppel probably did something, though I don't remember what; and Kale re-cast his spell, creating another pit in the forward half of the floor of the first one--this time making it significantly deeper. The genie largely obliged Merri by filling the original pit with reasonably hot cocoa, to the consternation of its occupants. It didn't stay there for long, however, because Kale's second pit spell breached the hull of the ship, dumping guards and hot cocoa out into the heavens. Godwin's fognow began swirling down into the pit and out into the heavens, and the various occupants of the now-breached chamber began to be pulled toward the pit as well. Godwin and Thana quickly grabbed ahold of the lever that controlled the door on the rear wall, and Merri and Kale grabbed ahold of Thana (what of relic & the charmed guard?). Suppel, who had been running toward the pit with intent to engage guards in combat, deftly whipped a grappling hook out of his backpack without missing a beat, tossed it across the pit and hooked it on the lever in the wall on the other side, and used it as an anchor to which he clung to prevent himself from being blown out he rode the currents of air billowing around over the pit in a dramatic fashion. Meanwhile, Godwin proved unequal to the task of gripping the lever firmly enough to prevent himself from being pulled toward the pit, so Merri, in an apparent effort to help/rescue him that, she afterwards assured him, was in no way motivated by sadism, attempted to "lassoo" him with her whip, but only succeeded in whipping him (though thanks to the Damage Scapegoat spell, this didn't actually hurt him). Godwin then tried to grab ahold of the whip, but had no better luck with that than he had with the lever. The guards who had not fallen into Kale's original pit, having nothing to grab onto, were also pulled toward the breach, and being closer to it that Godwin was, they soon found themselves falling out into the heavens. Once they were out, Kale used his wall spell to seal the breach with wood in time to save Godwin from sharing in their fate.
As soon as he had recovered from the ordeal of almost being pulled out into the heavens, Godwin became extremely sulky and irritable about the fact that the party had now once again killed a bunch of people. Others in the party--notably Thana--disputed this conclusion, pointing out that the guards were actually still alive and that just because they had been dumped into the heavens didn't necessarily mean that they were going to die. Godwin saw no realistic hope for them, however, and could not be mollified by what he saw as Thana's (or anyone else's) rationalizations.
Meanwhile, Merri tried to use the "holy hand" to operate the lever that would open the door to the previously-guarded chamber, and Suppel enabled the too-short hobbit to succeed in this endeavor by lifting her up. The party then proceeded into the enormous "storage bay," within which they discovered, to their surprise, the whole of the city of Hinkerville, which had apparently been preserved in ice much as they had been. Some buildings were still encased in ice, and workers were busy chipping away at it here and there. Some buildings were also not placed correctly in relation to the others, so that it was clear that individual ice-preserved portions of the town had been "reassembled" by their salvagers. In addition to the various work crews and guards that were going about various tasks throughout the city, there were also clusters of confused and miserable-looking Hinkervillians about. Except for Thana, the party members were (or at least, Godwin was) flooded with an odd mix of emotions, among which a feeling of homecoming, dismay at the tragic nature of the scene, and protective indignance with regard to the appropriation and looting of the town by the ship's crew all figured prominently. It also occurred to Godwin to wonder whether the art in the town square was present and had survived intact.
As the party took in the spectacle of what remained of Hinkerville, some of its members noticed a wagon loaded with an odd assortment of items being conducted toward the door leading out of the chamber by a group of particularly alert-looking guards. Said party members promptly got it into their heads that this wagon and its contents needed to be removed from the guards' custody and placed under their own. When plans intended to achieve this end began to be bandied about, Godwin quickly became both glum and tauntingly cynical, foreseeing that any attempt by the party to acquire the wagon would inevitably lead to still more killing of people (in particular, the guards). Still, when Suppel asked the guard who was under his spell (who was still accompanying the party) to try to draw the guards away from the wagon by telling them that some people had fallen out of the ship and needed immediate help, and the charmed guard responded by accusing the group of intending to steal the wagon and its contents, Godwin demonstrated that he, too, wanted the stuff by rationalizing their intentions to the charmed guard via the claim that everything here was really more theirs than anyone else's. Then, hitting upon a plan that seemed likely to minimize the chances of anyone getting killed, Godwin cast a spell to make the leader of the group of guards who were guarding the wagon forget the fact that he and his underlings were in fact currently guarding the wagaon. He did this just as Suppel's charmed guard, who had reluctantly agreed to help, was informing this same leader that people had fallen out of the ship and needed immediate assistance. A confused and vacant look briefly crossed this head guard's face, and he concluded aloud that they'd better go help. He then headed off toward the exit, leaving the wagon behind. The other guards, looking baffled, started to follow him, whereupon the party members, who had been edging toward the wagon, leapt aboard and took off even as confused discussions were commencing between the guards and their leader. The guards soon began pursuing the wagon, but our heroes managed to get away from them long enough to hide out in the woods just outside the town and debate what to do next. After discussing various possibilities for where to hide, Kale suddenly remembered that there was an easy escape route available via the portals. Thus, while still being hotly pursued by the guards, one of the party members set up a portal on the wagon and began throwing the items that were on the wagon through it. Each of the party members except for Kale then went through the portal, after which Kale did stuff that I don't entirely remember in order to evade capture. Making himself look like a tree was involved, I believe. After the guards gave up searching for the party and went away, Kale went through the portal (where did he set it up?).
Meanwhile, when the other party members emerged from the other portal into the temple on the Kaleist ship, Thana immediately dropped off to sleep, and the others began surveying the items that they had taken from the wagon. Among them was a wand to which Suppel was mysteriously drawn, and when he picked this wand up and began pointing it at the other items, words magically appeared in the air above said items. Specifically, some items were "labeled" with various party members' names, and the word "anyone" appeared above the remaining ones. Suppel took this all very much in stride, but the others (or Godwin, anyway, and also Kale once he joined them and Godwin filled him in), though intrigued, were wary. Godwin insisted on descrying the wand in the hope of learning something about how it knew their names and why it seemed to be designating certain items for each party member, but all he got was that some mysterious force wanted the designated individuals to have the particular items, and that, far from being in any way dangerous or malevolent, this "force" actually felt distinctly benevolent. Somewhat reassured by this last impression (even if they were still rather puzzled overall), Godwin and Kale concluded that it probably had something to do with Suppel's weird relgion-or-whatever-it-was about the "Cobbler" and life being a game and all, and moved on to the business of investigating the various items, as did Merri. Suppel, for his part, was apparently suddenly overcome with tiredness, much as Thana had been just moments earlier, and he fell asleep almost immediately upon finishing pointing identifying the intended recipients of the various items. As their companions slept, Godwin began experimenting with a hooded cloak intended for him that was apparently in some way a thought-activated weapon, Kale discovered that a pair of boots meant for him had the property of leaving a trail that seemed to head in the opposite direction from the one in which he was walking, and Merri worked on figuring out what might be special about a suit of armor and a helmet over which her name had flashed. She eventually learned, with Kale's help, that the armor put itself on her and took itself off of her by itself and very quickly, and the helmet could be used to make its wearer's face assume the likeness of any other face into the eyes of which said wearer looked. Other items were also descried, and their properties identified, but I wasn't there for that.
Later, Kale (who presumably left the temple for some reason) conversed with the captain of the ship, who mentioned that the current day was a special holiday of some kind for Kaleists.
Reality Date: February 21, 2005Gameality Date: February 21, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Fuck around descrying magic items. Merri got Kale to let her take a monkey herb, and she got addicted.
Went back to big ship, headed toward tree, ran into 3 guards. Party was sneaking & hid, but Merri & Thana failed & got caught. Merri's helmet that made her look like the guard who looked at her irritated him. Godwin made fog, shot muffins. Suppel and Kale subdued two of the guards (Suppel beat the living crap out of one of them) into unconsciousness, then interrogated the third. Learned that Ongal was the captain of the ship. Stupidly, then let him go. Then went on, found tree. It appeared to have been turned into a colloquialism. I mean, a ship.
There was a guy at the tree with a bird head and a jeweled rod coming off his left sleeve where one might conventionally expect a hand to appear. There were also a bunch of guards.
There were retroactive "Mr. Chicken Head" jokes.
Reality Date: March 21, 2005 - Spilled Beans and BeatdownsGameality Date: February 21, 3270 (Continued)Cobbler: ineptsegue
Things of a not-well-remembered nature take place. Kale is intent on getting ahold of the tree/ship, & the others are generally on board with that as well (though as before, some are less keen than others on the notion of using it to embark upon a life of piracy). The goal of somehow rescuing all the refugee-esque inhabitants of Hinkerville is also discussed. Eventually Merri rashly sets off (through the portal & onto the huge ship) with intent to try infiltrating the guards by posing as one of them (having noted that there are hobbits among them). Godwin and Suppel follow her, partly to keep an eye on her and prevent her from doing anything too amazingly stupid, and also partly (in Godwin's case) to see about planting a "bug" in the vicinity of the tree as a first step toward some plan or other for its seizure. Things go very badly, however. Merri is accosted by some guards (the whole place seeming to be riled up and on alert), tells them about her adventrues (spilling various things to them that probably should not be spilled in the process), and gets taken to see "the boss" because they are intrigued to learn that she knows Kale. Shortly thereafter, Suppel and Godwin get ambushed by a bunch of other guards, and mortal combat breaks out. At some point, Kale, intuitively sensing that the others might be in trouble, comes looking for them and winds up joining in the combat. Godwin is at first as dismayed as ever by the prospect of killing a bunch of people, but when he gets impaled in the stomache with a crossbow bolt, he decides to throw ethics to the wind, and the fireballs start flying (between moans about the exquisite pain that he is in). Probably the combat eventually comes to some kind of end, and maybe our heroes even survive it--but who can remember?
Meanwhile, Merri gets taken to Ongal himself, who questions her a bit, learns enough to pique his interest, and then casts some kind of spell on her in order to learn more info. Things, in general, are bad.
copious amoungs of fog were the case
b4 Kale came, Thana was teaching Kale how to pilot the ship--or trying, anyway (little success)
5 crossbow-wielders surrounding, 1 punching dwarf beating Suppel senseless
Kale sneaks up & slits a throad from behind w/o giving himself away
Suppel splatters Dwarf by shooting w/gut at point blank range
Kale makes a pit, forgetting about being on a ship; everything starts getting sucked
1 dude fell completely out, dirt fell in, rest of guards were stuck in, Kale pulls Godwin out, drags him & Suppel to Kaleist ship, ask for help, drag victims out of temple rather than invite Kaleists in
Kale = twinge of guilt, pulls guards out of hole--takes long time makes them give him their uniforms, leaves them tied up in their colloquial "skivvies"
Kale heads off on commando run to retrieve Merri (leaves much equipment behind, but takes portal orb (& takes down portal on big ship).
amazing tracking, found a cart with Merri on it being flanked by three guards
wore guard's uniform, did a horse scream-whinney to spook the horses, then moseyed up & was like "having trouble with your horses?"; then flirted with a female guard & made a date with her for later
Reality Date: April 4, 2005 - Cobbler Hates Me, and I Hate MonkeysGameality Date: Still February 21 I guess, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Merri goes ape shit (that is, starts making loud monkey noises for no apparent reason, freaking out the guards; she may have been trying to communicate to Kale that she was craving monkey herbs). Then Kale & the guard say goodbye & Kale departs. Then Kale sneaks down the corridor outside the Hinkerville bay, following the cart. Merri, who managed to conceal her lock pick kit in her armor & thus not get it taken away, sneaks it out and sneakily picks the lock on the cage in which she is located (this with gloves off to increase dex & decrease noise). Slips kit under clothing, orders her magic armor to remove itself from her. Then freaks out, feigning bafflement at how the armor-removal occurred. One of the guards freaks out when she does; the other two look around, but calmly. Merri seizes the semi-opportunity to slip out of the cage and off the cart; the two non-freaked guards notice her once she's out. Kale growls like a wolf to freak out the horse, hoping to provide a distraction. Meanwhile Merri is trying to climb onto the horse; she clings to it as it goes batshit & orders her armor to follow her. The reasonably calm guards work on calming the horse; the other one notices Kale & accuses him of being a technomancer. Kale initiates combat with this individuAL. Merri tries to jump back onto the cart, catches it with her hands & is hanging. One guard grabs her feet while the other finishes subduing the (how do you say?) "horse.” Kale knocks out this guard after momentarily stunning the freaking-out one, then engages the remaining one (the one he flirted with earlier) in persuasive discussion ("Come with me if you want to live," is how he begins; he then goes on about how nasty Ongal is). Meanwhile Merri gathers up her confiscated stuff; in the process, she notices the temporarily stunned guard about to whack Kale over the head from behind. She warns him, & he whirls around and engages in combat. Merri's suit of armor makes it to her location. Merri whips Kale's assailant, who has not managed to harm Kale (or Kale him). Then she alerts Kale that the other guard (whom he was trying to persuade) is now about to attack from behind. More ineffectual combat ensues between Kale & this guard (dodging prevents any hitting), while Merri whips the fuck out of the dude to whom Kale's back is now once again turned, getting him around the neck; Kale's dodge knocks this dude off balance, & he starts hanging by the whip. At this point, the woman tries to announce that she's willing to hear Kale out--but she ends up choking on her own tongue and collapsing (bungled). Kale then turns around and finishes off (by knocking unconscious?) the swiftly-turning-purple guard behind him, extricating Merri's whip from him afterwards. Kale activates the elevator & they start shooting upward. After a while Kale stops the elevator. Discussion ensues, then the elevator starts heading back down. Kale stops it again & they quickly get off. It starts going down again.
Crew persons walk past the pair, & Kale pretends to be a guard escorting Merri as his prisoner. They get out of earshot of the crewpersons, and as various bizarre critters pass by, Merri mentions the Ongal-mind-reading episode. Kale isn't thrilled, though he takes the news surprisingly well. The two then start obsessing about wanting herbs from the monkey, and searching for a good place to set up the portal so they can get back to the Kaleist ship (partly to escape, but mostly for monkey herbs (especially in Merri's case)). Bickering then breaks out. A guard shows up; Kale is all like "Stop her!" The guard does, and Kale runs up and knocks the poor fucker out cold. They use her hand to open a portcullis, then go through, looking for a more secluded area to put up the por-how-do-you-say-tal. They are still bickering; Kale wants to descry Merri to make sure she isn't being used as a tool by Ongal; Merri feels that that would be "a bit too familiar" but will allow it if first Kale will agree to set up the portal so they can pop through it and get monkey herbs. Kale wants the descrying to happen before letting Merri back onto the Kaleist ship, but Merri is single-minded about monkey herbs. Finally, they set the portal up and go through it.
Meanwhile, Godwin wakes up, not feeling terribly good. He notes the presence of what looks vaguely like Suppel, barely alive and strung up from the ceiling. Alarmed, he seeks help from first Thana and then, when they both fail, a passing fatass, to get Suppel down. He then administers medical attention, stabilizing Suppel and bringing him to consciousness. Suppel's first words upon attaining consciousness are "Kill me; the Cobbler hates me.” Others make fun of him. He then heals himself a little bit, and Godwin a whole lot (completely, in fact). He then keeps trying to heal himself, and Godwin stops making fun of his mutterings about the Cobbler. Before long, Thana goes to sleep.
When Kale and Merri reappear, Godwin is surprised and asks them where they've been & what's going on. Merri brushes all questions aside and heads off to get herbs from Suppel's van. Godwin thanks Kale for saving his life, and informs him that the Kaleists strung Suppel up from the ceiling and left him to die (but that he, Godwin, then saved him). Kale bellows for Relic and starts bawling him out for the treatment meted out to Suppel. Suppel, vaguely conscious and confused, is all like "What? Huh? What happened?" and so forth. Merri breaks her lock pick in the lock on the van door, then comes back to where the others are and asks Suppel for a key to the van. He is too out of it to respond coherently. Various bickering ensues (along with explanations to a confused Suppel). Merri grabs a canoe paddle and heads off toward the van. Godwin takes charge, telling Suppel not to give anyone the key and running after Merri to stop her. She threatens Godwin with the canoe paddle, but then agrees to come back with him and not break into the van (planning to sneak off again when Godwin is not looking).
Whilst Kale and Suppel bicker, Miram shows up to announce that the UMS Munchkin has entered a "sphere" (solar system). Kale chews him out a bit about the stringing-up of Suppel, and Suppel chips in about that. Then Kale and the captain talk about the ship & what to do and stuff. They leave, heading for the bridge. Suppel starts questioning Godwin again about what's been happening to him, & while they talk, Merri sneaks off to go break into the van. Suppel & Godwin simultaneously notice that she's gone and run after her, Suppel bellowing "If you touch my van, I'll kill you!" Merri smashes through the window with the canoe paddle, climbs in, activates the monkey, and takes a herb. Godwin is displeased; Suppel even more so. Suppel grabs the monkey and tries to rip it off of Merri, who is feeling really quite good...at least, until the monkey starts shredding her back as Suppel tries to rip it off of her. Suppel manages to get it off, then blows its brains out with his gun despite Merri's efforts to interfere.
In the aftermath, Suppel announces "I fucking hate monkeys!" He also informs Merri that she's lucky she's a PC.
Godwin goes to sleep. Suppel too, but in the van--despite the fact that the back of the van has dead monkey splattered all over it. First, though, he covers the opening left by the broken window with body bags.
Kale and Miram discuss theology, Suppel, evil, etc. The discussion goes around and around in frustrating, yet humorous, circles. Miram shows Kale how the Kaleists have concluded (mathematically) that Suppel is "the evil one."
After the discussion, Kale goes looking for herbs, but he encounters Merri, who tells him that Suppel killed the monkey. Merri heads off to bed, and Kale goes to confront Suppel about monkey-slaughter--though he is deep in monkey-denial and chooses to believe that the dead monkey is a "different" monkey. Confused and incoherent bickering ensues. Suppel points his gun at Kale and orders him to go away, but Kale just keeps demanding to be given the monkey, and reminds Suppel that he recently saved his life. Eventually Suppel stuffs the body of the monkey in a body bag and chucks it out the window. Kale acquires it and notes that it lacks both life and herbs. He collapses in a fit of sobbing and sleeps, cuddling the carcass of the monkey.
Reality Date: April 18, 2005 - Laxatives and GoblinsGameality Date: February 22, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Thana wakes up and surveys two of her sleeping companions, one of whom (Merri) has fresh wounds on her back. She awakens them (Godwin is the other person present) and they fill her in on the events of the previous night (with Merri greatly exaggerating her prowess and minimizing Kale's role in the escape from the guards). Suppel and Kale also awaken. Suppel heals himself the rest of the way and stumbles out of his van. Kale's first sight upon awakening is the hideously deformed Suppel. He is so startled that he squeezes the dead monkey he is clinging to, squirting nasty blood all over his face. This startles and disgusts him all over again. He then goes around for a while alternately flinging the disgusting carcass away from himself, then retrieving it and clasping it to himself, as he is seriously jonesing for herbs. Meanwhile Thana asks Merri for a description and a sketch of Ongal. Merri can't draw, but she can carve, so she carves a bust that looks vaguely like Ongal. When Kale and Suppel join the others in the temple, Merri suggests to him that they need to try to find a new source of the herbs. Kale, however, is distracted by the sight of the Ongal bust and starts bellowing about wanting it off the ship. Thana grabs it to ensure that Kale does not destroy it. Kale then joins Merri in obsessing about herbs. They get out of Relic the idea of going to the ship's cleric for herbs, are thrilled, and rush off. The others follow, concerned and intending (at least some of them) to intervene should herbs actually become available. Kale and Merri demand Tipsy Bay Leaf from the cleric, and Suppel threatens to kill him if he gives them any. Godwin vainly attempts to inject reason into the mix of shouting voices. The cleric is overwhelmed, intimidated, and generally mind-fucked. Eventually he appears to give in and gives Kale and Merri some herbs that look more or less like Tipsy Bay Leaf , even though he previously claimed not to have any. Kale ingests his immediately, then goes into a euphoric state. Merri decides to save hers for later, as she is not craving quite so badly just now. The two of them wander off. Godwin then takes advantage of the sudden quiet to persuade the cleric to give him the key to the herb cabinet, pointing out both that the herbs are bad for Kale and that if he gives Godwin the key, he won't be again in the position of having to decide what to do if Kale comes back demanding more herbs. The cleric agrees, gives Godwin the key, and then collapses in a corner and whimpers. Suppel asks about what the herb that the cleric gave to Kale and Merri was, and the cleric admits that it was actually a laxative. Godwin unlocks the herb cabinet and takes all the Tipsy-Bay-Leaf-like laxative out of it. He also notes the presence of some actual Tipsy Bay Leaf . "That bastard," he thinks, taking the Tipsy Bay Leaf as well. At more or less this point, Thana spontaneously drops unconscious. Finally realizing that their companion sufffers from narcolepsy, Godwin and Suppel pick her up and carry her back to the temple.
Meanwhile, Kale's euphoria suddenly gives way to an intense and extremely urgent need to empty his bowels. He makes a mad dash for the privy. Merri, following (until he enters the privy), misinterprets his reaction as intense bliss, and decides to take her herb. She starts to feel kind of good, but as it dawns on her what's going on, it wears off and she starts to feel the need to take a dump. Soon she's hollering for Kale to vacate the bathroom, which he refuses to do, so she runs in and tries to physically remove him from the toilet. He grabs some leaves and vacates the john. Merri takes her turn. Neither seems to much mind the sudden intimite familiarity. When all the defecation is done, Merri and Kale head back toward the temple, not feeling (or looking) very happy. En route, they meet up with Godwin, Suppel, and the sleeping Thana. Godwin smart-ass-ishly asks them how they're feeling. Merri is all gung-ho about going and hurting the cleric for deceiving them, then finding some way to get more herbs. Kale is opposed. Godwin also expresses his opposition to hurting the cleric. Then someone informs the party that Miram is looking for them. Everyone tromps up to the bridge, where they learn that the Munchkin has entered orbit and appears to be initiating landing procedures. Party members other than Godwin decide that action on getting the tree must go forward at once. Godwin relutantly goes along with the half-baked plans that they swiftly cook up, despite forbodings of doom.
Kale opens the portal, and rather to everyone's surprise, goblins start falling out. About fifty of them, all told. Kale and Merri are shocked, as they'd been convinced that they had put the portal in a "really good" out-of-the-way place. Unfortunately, it was in the normal walking path of a bunch of goblins. Thinking quickly, Kale and Merri start pretending that everything was planned and rousing the goblins to a fighting fervor (Merri has donned her goblin disguise, Kale is dressed as a ship guard, and they enthuse about a goblin revolt). They aren't terribly clear on goals and so forth, but in the heat of the moment they succeed in getting a majority worked up about going off and doing whatever it is that they are about to lead them off to do. "Okay, through the portal!" Kale and/or Merri commands, and everybody goes through.
The party leads the goblins through the corridors of the ship, with Merri and Kale continually working to keep them all enthusiastic. They get one of the goblins playing the plywood violin to assist with these efforts. When they reach one of the portcullises that lead to the non-dungeony portions of the ship, Suppel charms one of the guards guarding said portcullis (New Man) into opening it for them, giving the party his bat, and locking himself on the other side. The other he charms even more completely, so the party decides to take him with them. Further progress toward the Hinkerville-containing bay is complicated by the need to take an elevator that is too small to transporrt the entire group at once, and by a gradual waning of the goblins' enthusiasm. Eventually, however, the party and many of the goblins make it into the Hinkerville bay, whereupon they commence the long march toward the tree, despite ever-decreasing enthusiasm from the increasingly distracted goblins.
Reality Date: June 26, 2005 - Redemption EmancipationGameality Date: February 22, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
As the goblins continue to lose interest, Kale, in desparation, asks Merri "What do goblins like?” "Sex!" Merri responds, whereupon the two of them begin a chant that promises free sex to the goblins once the tree has been taken over. Soon, however, the party notes that there are a whole bunch of guards making to surround them. Godwin, while unsurprised, panics and quaffs his invisibility potion, then heads for the fringes of the group so as to avoid being bumbled into by goblins. Kale then urges "Cue the fog!" and Godwin responds by creating fog for a mile around--thereby largely rendering his invisibility useless. Chaos breaks out. Kale hollers for everyone to make a dash for the woods, hoping thereby to get the goblins to go running off and distract the guards. He then gets the party together in one spot and puts up the portal, whereupon Godwin instantaneously dives through, feeling an immense sense of relief at Kal'e sudden outbreak of common sense. The others (except Kale) follow, and Kale then closes the portal and turns into a bush. Godwin begins mourning Kale's fate, which he assumes to be dire. Merri announces that she's heading to the infirmary, and Suppel tackles her spectacularly to prevent this. They struggle for a while, with Merri insisting that she's not after Tipsy Bay Leaf ; she's just injured and needs medical attention. Eventually Suppel lets her up so she can show him her wound; she shows him the monkey scratches, which he plucks with his spell as she heads off to the infirmary. Godwin quietly reminds Suppel that he's confiscated all the Tipsy Bay Leaf , so they might as well let her go. Suppel agrees.
Unfortunately, Godwin has forgotten Merri's desire to hurt the cleric. She strides into the infirmary and starts threatening the cleric with a whip. He pleads for mercy, asserting that he seems to have misplaced the key to the herb cabinet. She therefore decides to pick the lock, but since her lock pick kit is broken, she sends the cleric to get the ship's "lock pick smith.” He goes off, and she starts working on the lock with her broken pick. In a bit, a lock pick smith shows up; she asks "Are you the Virgin Merri?" and w hen Merri responds in the affirmative, she asks Merri to bless her lock pick tools. Merri obliges, then uses the blessed tools to pick the herb cabinet lock, explaining to the smith (who questions this behavior) that she's doing it because the key is lost. She also asks the lock pick smith to repair her broken lock pick, and the smith takes it, agreeing to do so. Merri takes all of the herbs from the cabinet.
Meanwhile, back in "Hinkerville," the goblins get rounded up and some guards with apparently magical candles start walking around in the fog, which their candles disperse. Then Ongal shows up, and Kale starts wrestling with his conscience, his fears, and his murderous urges. First, he stealthily slithers (still in vine form) up a nearby tree. Ongal, who has been walking around apparently aimlessly but with a hand extended as if magically searching or something, suddenly swivels to focus on Kale's location and starts moving slowly toward him. Kale makes his decision. Throwing his voice, he whispers "Bad move, Ongal"--trying to throw him off his guard. He then immediately creates a pit under Ongal deep enough to suck him out into the heavens. Onlge, looking surprised, goes flying out. A couple of other people fly out too, but most of the guards in the vicinity grab onto something, as does Kale (the tree); all his motion also cancels his plant-form spell. After about 20 seconds, a state of equilibrium is reached and things stop being sucked out of the hole. Then air starts rushing back into the hole, and Kale is reminded that the ship was about to land on a world. Kale then climbs down his tree and lets go, letting the wind take him, intent on leaving the vicinity. He goes flying through the air quite a ways, then slams into a tree rather painfully. When the wind dies down a short while later, he makes his way down to the ground and sets up the portal, then sticks his head through it and suggests that the others rejoin him. "Is it safe?" Godwin wants to know. Kale mentions that he may have killed Ongal, provides some sketchy details, and manages to convince everyone to go back through the portal. They set off toward the tree, Godwin still invisible. When they are somewhat near, Godwin goes ahead and scouts out the tree, noting the presence of about twenty guards surrounding it. One, who has the head of a bird, is positioned right by the ramp leading into the interior. Two people in mechanowizardrt attire emerge from the treeship carrying a huge staff while Godwin is watching. He goes back to the group and reports, and Merri cooks up an ingenious plan. All of the visible members of the party (i.e. everyone but Godwin) get inside the ship in a bottle, and invisible Godwin stuffs the bottle into his backpack and heads for the tree. He gets to the platform and starts up it, but the bird-headed guy looks right at him and asks "Where do you think you're going?” Panicking, Godwin casts a spell to make bird-man forget that he is on duty and armed, but it has no effect, and as Godwin attempts to run past him into the ship, bird-man hits him in the leg with a nasty Mace O' Light, largely incapacitating him. Godwin responds by hurling a fireball at "he who knows of my injury," and as the bird-man bursts into flames, the other party members, realizing that things are not going well, burst out of the ship in a bottle, making a shambles of Godwin's backpack. All-out combat ensues, in which no one proves capable of hitting super-dodgy bird-man. Godwin takes another wound and, near death, hauls himself into the ship and out of harm's way. Finding herself in a position from which there are no convenient targets, Merri decides at roughly the same time that Godwin does that the best thing would be to try to close the platform/door. Godwin spots a knot on the wall that he thinks will accomplish the task, and Merri spots the lever that atually does so. Both hit the respective controls, and the platform starts to rise; each concludes that he or she is the one who accomplished this. Combat continues until most of the guards on the platform are out of commission except for the birdman, at which point birdman leaps off the platform just before it closes, isolating the party from its enemies.
Exploration of the tree/ship ensues; it bears little resemblance internally to its past layout. People futz with bridge stations and try to get a rudimentary idea of how to work the ship. A "ship's wizard" named I forget is discovered on board, and Suppel charms (him? her?) into being his "friend" and helping the party. They get the ship to take off, have some trouble with the fact that folks outside have chained it down but solve the problem in an unremembered way, have more trouble with exiting the huge ship but manage to open the bay doors in a way that is also not remembered, and fly off in an out-of-control sort of way, eventually landing in an arbitrary location, jungle-like in nature.
Night passes.
Reality Date: June 30, 2005 - Pulling Kale's LegGameality Date: February 23, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
As everyone continues futzing with bridge stations and trying to figure out how to make the ship go again, someone notices somehow that they are not alone on the ship; it seems that there are a bunch more "ship's wizards" on board, currently hanging out in the observation lounge and conversing in panicked tones about what to do about the "invaders.” They seem especially freaked out about the fact that the "invaders" have seemingly done something sinister to one of their number named Bathwax, causing her to work with them.
Upon discovering the presence of these crewpersons, the party immediately falls to bickering over what to do about them. Kale wants to attempt to parley with a representative in a neutral location, and so the party sends a parrot (part of the ship's internal communication system) to propose this idea. As they are inexpert at operating the parrot-communication system, however, they botch the job, so that the message that the parrot ends up delivering consists of "Fuck you! You're all going to die!" Kale immediately speeds to the wizards' location and apologizes, stressing that that was not what the party had meant to say, but the wizards aren't very trusting; they don't really want to talk except to demand that the party undo whatever it has done to their friend. After various confused exchanges, Suppel agrees that he will do this. Merri, for her part, adds to the general level of mistrust by announcing to the wizards that anyone who gives her Tipsy Bay Leaf will "get to live.” When this produces no offers of the coveted herb, she starts talking about going out into the jungle to look for some. She tries to talk Kale into going with her to do this. Kale is tempted but reluctant, wishing to focus on the priorities at hand and avoid becoming separated from the ship. Merri is persistent, however, and in the end it proves not terribly difficult for her to get Kale to agree to accompany her outdoors, if only (ostensibly) to "prove to her" that there is no Tipsy Bay Leaf out there. Kale and Merri thus abruptly abandon the rest of the party and wander off into the woods like herb-crazed junkies.
Meanwhile, Suppel has a little conversation with his "friend," who has become somewhat confused as a result of the things that she has heard the other wizards saying about her. "Your trust in me," explains Suppel, "while not entirely misplaced, is not of a natural origin.” He then releases the spell, and Bathwax, suddenly very confused, heads off to join the other wizards, who by this time have holed themselves up in the wizardry bay. Suppel goes down there as well to exchange some words with the wizards--probably pointing out how he has now done right by them and hoping for some cooperation from them in return, or some such thing. Godwin, for his part, hangs out on the otherwise-abandoned bridge.
Kale and Merri, predictably, do not find any Tipsy Bay Leaf . After a reasonably exhaustive search of the immediate area, Kale is ready to call it quits, but Merri is not. She decides to start looking for a monkey, in the hope that if she finds one, it will be able to give her herbs. The two part, and although Merri doesn't find a monkey, she does find an unidentifiable furry critter of some other sort. She asks it for Tipsy Bay Leaf , and it motions her deeper into the jungle and then sets off. Merri starts following it. Kale, meanwhile, attempts to make his way back to the ship, but unfortunately, he instead stumbles across a gigantic and none-too-docile beast looking like nothing so much as a huge wingless dragon (i.e., a dinosaur). To Kale's intense, painful horror, the beast loses no time in ripping off one of his lower legs! Kale takes to the air via his staff and engages the creature in mortal combat, quickly taking out much of its face via a shcockbot spell and a bomb that he gets from his magical cloak. Around this point, Suppel, who heard a loud sound outside and headed off to look for Kale and Merri, arrives on the scene and helps sort out the aftermath; Kale, having bled half to death and in a state of semi-delirious, single-minded obsession, is hacking at the dead dinosaur in an attempt to extract his leg from it and refuses to listen to Suppel when the latter suggests that Kale rest and let him take care of retrieving the leg. At some point, Merri, who eventually decides to stop following her little critter, tries to head back to the ship but ends up at the combat site instead due to her notoriously poor sense of direction. Once Kale has retrieved his leg (and also a big piece of dinosaur bone), he gives it to Suppel, who rushes back to the ship with it while Merri follows at a much slower pace, carrying Kale.
When Suppel arrives at the ship with Kale's severed leg, he responds to Godwin's horrified questions by casually (and falsely) explaining that Kale is dead. Godwin freaks out. Suppel gets a ship's wizard named Klasky to assist him in the medical bay, and the two of them manage to "stabilize" Kale's leg by putting it in a vat of goo and successfully operating said vat. After a bit, Suppel mentions to Godwin that he was only kidding about Kale being dead, and informs him that actually, Merri is attempting to haul the rest of Kale back to the ship. Against his better judgement, Godwin leaves the ship and goes looking for Merri, whom he eventually finds trotting along in a direction away from the ship, carrying Kale. Godwin gets Merri going in the right direction, and Merri shows Godwin some herbs that she and Kale found earlier. Godwin, upon inspecting these herbs, comes to the incorrect conclusion that one of them (Vilsing) regrows severed limbs, so he and Merri feed a dose of Vilsing to Kale. When they get back to the ship, Suppel starts talking about trying to use (or getting Klasky to try to use) the ship's medical equipment to reattach the severed leg, but Godwin assures him that this will not be necessary, as Kale has been given an herb that should take care of the problem.
Reality Date: August 4, 2005 - Clodd's LoyaltyGameality Date: February 23, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
While Merri is busy sponging blood off of Kale's delirious and sporadically semi-conscious body and Godwin is fretting over the failure of Kale's leg to have begun re-growing yet, a dwarf whose presence on board the ship has thus far gone unnoticed saunters into the medical bay, apparently from the bathroom, concerning which locale he loudly and crassly advises the party at large: "Whew! Do NOT go in there!" Asked who the hell he is, the dwarf introduces himself as Clod and explains that he is on board for the "weapons calibration.” He is apparently completely oblivious to the fact that the ship has been commandeered. Members of the party fill him in a bit as to what's going on (with him verifying everything that they tell him with Klasky, and although he is initially somewhat alarmed to learn that he is mixed up in doings likely to royally piss off Ongal, he seems to size up the situation and come fairly quickly to the conclusion that the apparent hijackers have the upper hand. He therefore promptly makes it clear to the party that he's willing to come to an arrangement with them.
Tiring of waiting impatiently for Kale's leg to grow back, and feeling that the sitaution with the ship's wizards needs stabilization, Godwin at some point heads off to the wizardry bay, inside which the wizards have shut themselves. They refuse to let Godwin in when he expresses a desire to talk to them, so Godwin engages them in a shouted conversation through the doors. He suggests that the wizards and his party mutually agree not to try to harm or kill each other, and the wizards cheerfully agree to this proposition. He then requests that the wizards work on getting the ship working. The wizards are more hesitant about this, however; they want to know what is to become of them. Will the party agree to drop them off at some location far from Ongal, they ask? Godwin assures them that they will do just this, if that's what they want. Then the wizards start asking for money, pointing out that this whole hijacking incident has derpived them of their jobs. Godwin doesn't want to give them money (when they ask how much he has, he lies and claims to have a mere 200 crowns). He apologizes for the way in which the wizards have gotten caught in the middle of the party's repossession of their own ship, and the conversation gets sidettracked for a bit onto the subject of whose ship the tree rightfully is. Eventually, Godwin brings up the point that since the wizards themselves haven't crossed Ongal, they might not have anything to fear from him, and suggests that the party simply drop them off back in town before departing for elsewhere. The wizards talk this idea over amongst themselves briefly, seemingly trying to decide whether they think that Ongal will hold them responsible if they tell him the truth about what happened, and then express a willingness to give it a try. They continue to demand a promise of cash before they will agree to repair the ship, however, even though Godwin's point was that if they go back to Ongal, they'll still have their jobs, thus removing the need for the party to give them any money in compensation. Godwin repeats that he doesn't think the party has as much money as they are asking for (they suggested the amount of 400 crowns at one point) and also points out that the wizards are currently just as stranded in a dangerous jungle as the "hijackers" are, but the wizards continue to demand money. Godwin's negotiations thus end inconclusively.
Godwin returns to the medical bay, where Kale's leg has been continuing to fail to grow back. Clod, who went off to work on some weapons system or other for a while and also managed to repair the "mirror on the wall" on the bridge so that is is no longer stuck on an image of Ongal, also returns to the medical bay. Kale gradually regains a degree of lucidity, and when he hears that he has been given an herb to regrow his leg, asks what herb it was. When he hears the answer, he informs Godwin that Vilsing does not, in fact, regrow limbs. Godwin is temporarily skeptical and reluctant to accept this, but finally admits that he must have been wrong. "Back to the drawing board as far as my study of herbalism goes," he comments in irritation. Suppel wants to try reattaching Kales leg using the medical equipment present, but as neither he nor Klasky are too sure how to go about doing this, Kale nixes the idea in favor of waiting until they are in a situation in which someone who actually knows what they're doing can help, for fear of the job being botched and his leg being rendered unusable. In the meantime, Merri has been carving Kale a temporary leg out of dinosaur bone; Godwin is not pleased with this, as he suspects that Merri is trying to make a pirate of Kale, but she insists (out of apparent pride in her craftsmanship) that what she is carving for Kale is not a "pegleg," but rather a "prosthesis."
Godwin tells the others about his negotiations with the wizards, and discussion (that is to say, bickering) ensues as to what to do about the present situation. Merri keeps uttering unscrupulous and bloodthirsty suggestions. Kale doesn't want to part with any large sums of money in return for the wizards' immediate help, but he is all for offering them long-term employment aboard the ship, arguing that paying them a lump sum and dropping them off somewhere wouldn't even serve them very well since inevitably the money would run out, and Ongal, presumably, would still be looking for them. Clod and Klasky are present during this discussion, and Clod seems amenable to Kale's plan, although he also says that he has another idea that the party might want to consider. When he expresses a wish for Klasky to leave the room while he reveals this idea, Klasky freaks out, accusing him of selling the wizards out and being a traitor. He tries to perpetrate violence upon Clod but is restrained rather forcibly by Suppel, who makes him agree to calm down, then lets him go. Klasky then leaves the medical bay, and Clod, who notes that his idea may not have been worth the trouble that resulted from his mentioning of it, suggests that the party attempt to exploit the wizards' fear of Ongal to their advantage. Discussion of options continues, until suddenly, a parrot flies into the medical bay and announces that the wizards have activated the ship's self-destruct capability, and that unless 1000 crowns are delivered to them within the next 30 minutes, everyone will die spectacularly.
Pandemonium erupts. Some members of the party rush off to see about trying to disable the self-destruct; others check out the ship's exit hatch, thinking of running for it if necessary. Godwin and Kale proceed directly to the outside of the wizardry bay, where Godwin exclaims in indignation that he had thought he and the wizards had reached an agreement about not trying to kill each other. "That was before you guys attacked one of us!" is the answer that comes back, and further discussion makes it plain that Klasky is behind the newly hostile, desperate, and greedy turn that the wizards' tactics have taken. Godwin tries to set the record straight, stressing that Klasky had attacked Clod and had merely been restrained by a member of the party to prevent this, but the wizards aren't listening. All hope of mutual trust seems to have vanished. Meanwhile, an attempt by Clod to halt the self-destruct countdown succeeds instead in drastically reducing the remaining time. When the countdown jumps ahead, Godwin panics and starts shoving money under the door of the wizardry bay, though he also continues trying to persuade the wizards to back down, stressing that the party does not have 1000 crowns and that neither having their lives threatened nor being urged to "round it up" by the wizards is capable of changing that fact. Kale is also doing his best to persuade the wizards to listen to reason, but to no avail. Merri tries a threat or two before being begged by Godwin not to do so, then sends a parrot to Suppel telling him "We need a friend in the wizardry bay now.” Suppel joins the others outside the bay and casts his "befriending" spell on Klasky through the door, but succeeds only in rendering Klasky succeptible to suggestion. "Turn off the self-destruct," Suppel orders, and confused sounds start coming from the other side of the door. Klasky makes a new demand--namely, that the party remove itself to the crew quarters immediately--but from the "What the hell are you doing, Klasky?" questions that start coming from other voices beyond the door, it becomes clear that Klasky, even while continuing to make threats and demands, is also working on obeying Suppel's magical suggestion. Klasky is then heard requesting that the others stop him, and the sounds of a scuffle follow. As the countdown nears its end, Klasky repeats his demand that the party go to the crew quarters, and Godwin eventually panics even more, stops shoving coins under the door, announces that he is complying with the demand, and tears off for the crew quarters. Suppel then gets the door to the bay to open partway by messing with the controls, and Merri, who has been trying to pick the lock, squeezes in, whereupon the doors slam shut behind her. Merri proceeds to wig out; she draws her broadsword and brandishes it menacingly while yelling at the wizards in the most intimidating manner that she can muster. Suppel, meanwhile, casts his spell on yet another wizard named Beta and has her open the door again. Around the same time, Klasky finally gets the self-destruct turned off. Godwin then comes back to the scene and joins the others, who all now enter the wizardry bay.
With Merri still bawling out the wizards and staring wildly and murderously around the room at them, Godwin, intent on calming the situation and preserving the peace, positions himself in front of Merri and attempts to stare her down, while Kale--who also desires peaceful relations to develop--resumes his efforts to persuade the wizards to fix the ship and offers them continued employment afterwards, should they desire it. He proposes that the party (including the wizards) become bounty hunters. No particular decisions about the future end up getting made, but the wizards do agree to work on getting the ship going, provided the party leave them alone in the wizardry bay. Merri is unwilling to do this, insisting that someone has to watch the wizards lest they attempt to kill everyone again. Godwin and Kale argue with her about this for a while, but ultimately Suppel communicates to her the fact that Beta will be in the bay watching over things, and Merri then agrees to leave the bay. She takes up a post just outside it, however--as does Godwin, for the purpose of keeping an eye on her and making sure she doesn't do anything violent.
A very short time later, someone who is on the bridge notes that another ship is approaching the area, and alerts everyone else to this fact. Someone hurriedly activates the ship's "shroud" in hopes of avoiding detection. The other ship seems to scout the area and then leave, with it remaining unclear whether or not detection occurs.
Reality Date: August 25, 2005 - A Bittersweet DepartureGameality Date: February 23, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
A night tries to happen. Some people sleep for not enough hours--others for not any at all? Godwin and Suppel are the biggest on sleep.
The wizards get the ship going, and the party incompetently struggles with piloting it.
A truly staggering amount of bickering occurs over such issues as the viabilty/moral acceptability of pursuing a life of piracy, and also over the best immediate course of action. At one point, when Kale is being all piratey, Godwin shoots him in the forehead with a muffin out of irritation.
Reailty Date: August 25, 2005 - A Bittersweet Departure Gameality Date: February 24, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Godwin talks Kale into shrouding the ship & tracking down the Munchkin, with intent to see about rescuing Hinkervillians and non-representational art. Kale preferred the plan of heading off to distant parts and somehow acquiring weapons first, but Godwin didn't see how that was going to happen, or--perhaps more importantly--how they'd find the Munchkin again afterward, and what state the rescuees would be in by the time the party found them again (if indeed that ever happened at all). Others--most notably Suppel and Clod--are all jazzed up about trying to steal weapons from the Munchkin, making their goals semi-compatible with Godwin's. Kale's dissent is made partially moot by the discovery that the godspeed drive is not functional, eliminating the option of speedily going far away. Also, there's the matter of where to drop off the wizards. Ultimately it is decided, with their consent, to utilize the invasion portal to dump them off in an arbitrary locale the Munchkin.
When the tree-ship approaches the Munchkin, the latter behaves somewhat as if it is able to detect the former, but perhaps only in an approximate sort of way, so that the party proves able to continually maneuver away.
Clod and Suppel mess, in turns, with the invasion portal. Suppel figures out how to use it. Godwin does something semi-dangerous having to do with "testing" it? A location in the dungeony part of the Munchkin is selected for offloading the wizards (who aren't told that they're being put in a dungeony area). Suppel's "friend" Beta experiences a dilemma when it comes time for the wizards to leave: to depart with them or stay with Suppel. She opts to go (fortunately), but she begs Suppel to come with her. Others point out that she is obviously under a spell, but although she recognizes the truth of this, it doesn't change her feelings. A touching and bittersweet parting scene ensues, even though the emotions behind the touching bittersweetness are artificially induced on one side and entirely insincere and feigned on the other (Suppel's). Eventually, Beta disembarks via the portal along with the other wizards.
Clod tells Suppel where on the Munchkin to set the portal to in the hope of being able to grab weapons--but fucks up. Clod goes through into a dead-end corridor with some guards. He tries to fast-talk them, but they end up attacking him. Others go through the portal to assist. Godwin remains safely on the ship side of the portal, but extends his semi-automatic muffin rod through and shoots muffins at adversaries--to no particularly impressive effect. Eventually the party members retreat through the portal and Kale blocks the approach of the guards via a wall while Godwin and Suppel run up to the bridge to close the portal. Godwin runs unbelievably fast, but when he gets to the bridge, he realizes that he has no idea how to shut down the portal. He therefore waits for Suppel, who arrives not long after him and takes care of the task.
Suppel and Clod bicker a bit about who does or doesn't know how to operate the portal.
Reality Date: September 16, 2005 - Impiety and the KeepersGameality Date: February 24, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Suddenly, everyone realizes that Merri is mysteriously missing. There is some speculation about whether she somehow ended up getting left on the Munchkin, but the speculation is cut short when various individuals notice that said ship is currently heading straight for the tree-ship. Panic and bickering breaks out, with Clod, at one extreme, not caring a whit for Merri's fate, and others (notably Suppel) not seeming to grasp the extent of the immediate danger and thus continuing to fret about Merri's whereabouts rather than focusing on avoiding imminent death. Kale attempts to maneuver the ship out of the Munchkin's path, but fails. Godwin, panicking, shoves Kale out of the way and tries his own hand at the controls, even though he hasn't the faintest idea how to operate them. Through some combination of desperation and luck, he manages to figure them out well enough to move the ship down and start coming around behind the Munchkin, which by this time has brought weapons to bear and fires on the tree-ship's previous location just after it moves. Meanwhile, another ship is detected approaching the vicinity. The party members are unable to identify it owing partly to cluelessness and partly to unwillingness to employ active scans, and although they detect communication happening between it and the Munchkin, they are unable to tell what is said. It becomes apparent that this ship is not in league with the Munchkin, however, when the Munchkin ensnares it in nets and brings it in in spite of its efforts to escape.
Meanwhile, Clod works on rendering the godspeed drive functional. He figures out that the main obstacle to fixing it is some kind of "sanctification shield," so he enlists Kale's aid in "desanctifying" it. This Kale accomplishes by standing next to the drive and bellowing impieties against the gods in general, and the god associated with the sanctity shield in particular. His tirade has the intended effect, and Clod is able to set about the task of fixing the drive. At some point during this process, Suppel takes over for Kale in the deity-bashing department, so that Kale can engage in some other activity. What this is, none can say. At approximately the point at which the Munchkin is finishing dealing with the other ship and starting to turn its attention back on the tree-ship, Clod succeeeds in bringing the godspeed drive online. Godwin attempts to engage it, but he fails. Kale thus does the deed, and the tree-ship departs the vicinity in a big hurry.
After going some distance away and not detecting any pursuit, some member of the party disengages the godspeed drive and brings the ship to a stop. Then, with the immediate danger to their lives averted, the party resumes its bickering. Pointing out how spectacularly the party's attempt to steal and/or rescue people/things from the Munchkin had failed, Kale goes back to arguing for the plan of acquiring weapons and practicing operating the ship before trying anything like this again. Others admit that he has a point but are concerned about the possibility of Merri currently being stuck on the Munchkin. Kale's plan would mean abandoning her there for some time, if indeed that's where she is--and if she's not there, the party wonders, then where is she? Actually, only most of the party wonders about this; Clod's indifference is so absolute that he seems to have difficulty grasping why it is that the others are worried about Merri--or even, for that matter, remembering from moment to moment that they are in fact worried about her.
Godwin starts wondering about what is or isn't possible with the ship's invasion portal, and the party conducts tests to determine its deployment range, whether it remains fixed on its target once deployed even if the ship is moving or not, and how far away the ship can go from the target after deploying the portal and still have it remain in place. Unfortunately, but not unpredictably, they learn that it does have significant range limitations, and that although it remains fixed as the ship moves, it undeploys if the ship moves much further away from the target than it was when the portal was deployed. All thought of rescuing Merri and others from a safe distance via the portal is therefore abandoned.
After a time, a ship emerges from a nearby slipstream and sends a message of greeting to the treeship. On the basis of a symbol visible on the exterior of this ship, party members speculate that it is some kind of library-ship. It is decided that Godwin should operate the bard station in Merri's absence, and while Kale distracts Clod (who develops a tendency to blurt things out that it would be better for others not to hear), Godwin converses with someone on the other ship, who expresses curiosity about the tree-ship and its occupants. Godwin introduces himself as Solabein and tries, initially, to walk a line between seeming secretive and spilling all the beans in terms of telling them who the party is and what their deal is. The occupants of the other ship seem friendly and offer their assistance with anything that the party might require assistance with, and Godwin soon decides to throw caution somewhat to the wind in the hopes of establishing beneficial relations. He thus answers truthfully a question about how many people are aboard the ship, and admits that the main form of assistance that would be of use to the party would be assistance with the matter of how to operate their ship. He also mentions that most of the party members are from the distant past and have spent centuries frozen in ice, and that they have recently retrieved their tree from a party who took it from them and converted it into its present form. The strangers find this information oddly coincidental, as they are on their way to take possession of a town that has recently been discovered preserved in ice from the past. When questioned about who they are, the strangers reveal that they're representatives of the Keepers of the Omnicodex, and it becomes clear that they have paid Ongal a hefty sum, in exchange for which Hinkerville is to be handed over to them for study. Godwin then informs them that he and his friends are in fact from Hinkerville, and more or less conveys--without being unduly direct about it--that they are on the run from Ongal, having comandeered the tree-ship from him.
The Keepers are curious about the tree-ship and express a desire to come aboard and have a look. This, naturally, sets off the latent paranoia instincts in certain party members (and worries even the less paranoid party members at least somewhat, too), but in light of the potential for beneficial relations, the seeming harmlessness of the Keepers, and Godwin's intense curiosity about them, they decide to allow a small party on board, citing their awkward situation and their inexperience with the present world to The Keepers as justification for their cautiousness (to which explanation the Keepers respond with understanding). Docking maneuvers ensue, and some Keepers board the tree-ship. With Godwin taking charge, they are given a tour of the ship, culminating in the wizardry bay, where the Keepers rave about how impressive and interesting the Godspeed Drive is. Godwin piques their interest also by showing them various "ancient artifacts" from his lost home world. The party then discusses the plight of Hinkerville and its inhabitants with the Keepers. Partly because they have an interest in turning the Keepers against Ongal and company, and partly out of concern for the fate of the Hinkervillians, the party stresses that contrary to what the Keepers say their agreement with Ongal stipulated, the town has been "tampered with" extensively; things have been rearranged, looting has taken place, the people are being herded like refugees, etc. The party makes it clear that its interest is in rescuing the Hinkervillians. The Keepers seem to think of the Hinkervillians as possessions and objects for study more than as people per se, and at times, the conversation verges on becoming an ethical debate, though each side seems somewhat disinclined to alienate the other by pressing the issue too hard--or at least, this is definately true of Godwin/the party. Godwin--and presumably Kale as well, and perhaps even Suppel--is/are less then thrilled to learn that the Keepers plan to deposit Hinkerville in an uninhabited area on one of the United Realms' core worlds, tell them nothing about the world that they now live it, and essentially keep them there as prisoners in order to study their culture. They decide, however, that getting the Hinkervillians off of the Munchkin and into this scenario will definitely constitute an improvement in their situation, and that since they have no better ideas as to how to help the Hinkervillians (none that can be pulled off, at any rate), they agree, more or less, to cooperate with the Keepers.
During this whole conversation, the Keepers and certain members of the party--particularly, it seems, the ones who have spent the most time around the Godspeed Drive--are repeatedly distracted by said drive's impressiveness, and ineed, begin to feel strangely drawn to it. Questions from the Keepers reveal to the party the fact that the drive presumably houses an actual imprisoned god--which information astounds and amazes Godwin, but doesn't seem to faze anyone else very much at all. Godspeed Drives, Godwin learns, are highly controversial because of this being the way that they work. The Keepers (who apparently have never actually seen a Godspeed Drive before) and various members of the party express curiosity as to what god is contained in the ship's drive.
Ultimately, the Keepers and the party work out what I imagine is supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement, although I can't for the life of me remember what the Keepers are supposed to get out of it. Info about the past/Hinkerville/Terek, I suppose?? The party, for its part, gets the Keepers' promise of assistance in achieving a greater degree of mastery of the ship's controls and so forth. The party agrees on bringing the tree-ship inside the Keepers' ship, where hopefully it will stay safely hidden while the Keepers do their business with Ongal. Kale asks about the party disguising themselves as members of the Keepers for the duration, and the Keepers understand him to mean that the party members should become "honorary keepers.” They thus inquire whether the party members would be willing to keep detailed records of everything that they see and experience while acting as "honorary members.” At this, Godwin immediately whips out the journal in which he has been keeping detailed notes on his experiences and his thoughts for as long as he can remember, and shows it (in a general sort of way, without letting them read too much o it) to the Keepers. They are impressed, and when Godwin proceeds to rave a bit about how keeping such notes is second nature to him and how he has always been deeply curious about the world around him, long considered himself a seeker of knowledge, and harbored a desire to meet members of their organization and learn more about it, they do him the honor of commenting that he seems to have the potential to become a Keeper. "Do you mean that?" Godwin asks, floored. When they respond affirmatively, Godwin is rendered speechless and takes a few moments' time-out to contemplate the suddenly possibility of realizing a dream.
The others more or less consent, after a few questions, to the notion of recording their experiences, and the Keepers return to their ship to confer with their shipmates before making the whole arrangement definite. In their absence, Kale cautions Godwin about being overly trustful of/friendly with the Keepers, and Godwin assures him that although he really, really wants to like these guys, he is by no means blind to their faults. Indeed, Godwin feels deeply torn between rival values and priorities. Kale also starts talking about wanting to "re-sanctify" the Godspeed Drive, presuming that the de-sanctification that he performed earlier is why the drive now seems to have the mysterious allure that is has developed. He tries to dump the responsibility for this "re-sanctification" in Godwin's lap on the grounds that Godwin alone among the party's members worships a god and therefore presumably should know something about sanctification. Godwin disabuses him of this notion, however, and makes it plain that he hasn't the first clue how to go about re-sanctifying the drive--if indeed such a thing even needed to be done. In a while, the Keepers make contact again and report that they have decided to go ahead with the agreement.
Reality Date: September 23, 2005 - Stew and a Yo-YoGameality Date: February 24, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Kale suddenly feels an urge to make sure his leg is still okay, so he tromps down to the infirmary. Godwin and Suppel accompany him, perhaps for no thoroughly good reason. They find the leg in its vat of preservation goo (puzzling in nature), which vat remains stowed within some kind of cryochamber (where Suppel apparently put it). On the back wall of the chamber, Kale notices a handle and turns it; this reveals an additional hidden chamber beyond the back wall of the first one. Inside, everyone is astonished to find the missing Merri, standing motionless within one of several stone circles on the floor, as if frozen! While unable to move, Merri does appear to be aware of her surroundings, and although she can't move her lips, she does manage to squeak out a few vaguely intelligible sounds to her companions. The words "oil can" come across fairly clearly, but when Kale, Godwin, and Suppel react by rummaging through their respective gear in search of oil and speculating about whether or not an oil flask would serve whatever need Merri had, frustrated squeaks indicate to them that they are on the wrong track. With great difficulty and after numerous misunderstandings, Merri manages to convey the additional message "rune panel," whereupon someone figures out that there is a rune panel outside of the chamber with a rune of an oil can on it, and by manipulating this rune, said individual manages to free Merri. In the meantime, it has been noticed that another individual--a stranger--is "frozen" within another of the circles on the floor in this chamber, and once Merri is free, she explains that she came across the information that this chamber existed and might have someone in it while mucking with runes on the bridge and went to investigate, only to wind up getting herself "frozen.” Merri also appears to be convinced that she has once again been frozen for a great span of years, even though her companions are obviously not only still alive, but in fact not notably older than when she last saw them. Godwin and others continually correct her, pointing out that it has only been a few hourrs, but Merri seems to have great difficulty letting this information sink in.
A night happens, and people sleep--or try to, anyway. The Keepers announce that they are rendezvousing with Ongal's ship and seem somewhat surprised that the party intends to go to sleep at this juncture. Then, just as everyone is drifting off to sleep, a series of unbelievably jarring jolts and spasms take hold of the ship. Feeling unconscionably lazy and moderatly meta-gamey, party members other than Godwin send parrots to Godwin asking him to look into what the hell is going on, while they for their own parts remain in bed. Godwin first goes to the bridge to see whether the tree-ship itself is experiencing these spasms within the Keepers' vessel, but this does not appear to be the case. He therefore contacts the Keepers, who explain that the jolting is a result of the shoddily designed "d20 drive" of their "Dancey class" ship, which they apparently got for free and which had turned out not to be quite as good a deal as it had initially seemed. Godwin then goes back to bed, thinking unfriendly thoughts about the designers of the Keepers' ship and about his lazy friends.
Reality Date: September 23, 2005 - Stew and a Yo-Yo Gameality Date: February 25, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Hours later, everyone wakes up and learns, in an extremely confused way, that apparently the Munchkin has departed abruptly, leaving Hinkerville in the middle of the jungle on the godsforsaken wilderness world on which the party previously escaped from the Munchkin. The party is advised that the Keepers' captain wants to talk to them outside, so they disembark. Immediately upon doing so, they find an Iron Titan bearing down on them! Panicking, they scatter and take cover; then, via shouts back and forth with the titan's operators, they realize that it is in the hire of the Keepers and means them no harm. Feeling a bit sheepish, they emerge from hiding and proceed in the direction in which they are told they will find the captain. Soon they come upon an area that is in the process of being fenced off from the surrounding jungle; within lies Hinkerville. There are a couple more Iron Titans outside the fence, and numerous armed guards are milling about inside. The Keeper captain (Glean) is also here. She is none too pleased with Ongal's betrayal, and she also notes that the party was quite correct about the state of Hinkerville not being as promised. Of immediate concern, moreover, are the danger to the Hinkervillians posed by the local wildlife and the fact that some kind of resistance movement appears to have sprung up among the people of Hinkerville themselves.
The party offers to contact the "resistance" (and Hinkervillians generally) and see if they can do anything do diffuse the situation, and the captain agrees to this plan. The party thus heads off into Hinkerville, where they (at Godwin's insistence) pay a visit to the town square. Godwin is relieved to find that the non-representational art remains intact, though mildly alarmed to note that it is a bit singed on one side for some reason. As the party wanders the town, they soon learn that Jundub is alive and well--and leading the resistance. Karg'Thwap, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found. The party meets up with Jundub, and Kale and Godwin exchange insults and hostile remarks with him. Kale attempts to master his hatred of Jundub enough to level with him and tell him about how it's now the distant future and about the giant wingless dragons that roam the jungle on the other side of the fence. Jundub shows no sign of being even vaguely interested in what Kale has to say (though admittedly, Kale for his part proves quite incapable of conveying his information in a non-hostile-and-condescending manner), implying that he was already aware of it all and dismissing all present dangers except those arising from the armed guards laying siege to the town. Godwin and Kale--each with slightly different emphases--admit that the Keepers and their guards don't have the Hinkervillians' best interests at heart, but argue that they do at least want to keep the Hinkervillians alive, which, in the present situation, makes fighting them perhaps not the best idea. They also propose a town meeting. Jundub, however, declares that he doesn't trust Kale and company, and he will have nothing to do with them. Both parties claim only to want what's best for Hinkerville and accuse the other of being scheming, dishonest power-mongers. Jundub also slanders Karg'Thwap and evades all questions about where the orc-mayor might be. Eventually, Jundub makes a dramatic flourish with his cloak and vanishes impressively. The party--particularly Kale and Godwin--continue to discuss in frustration. Godwin points out that, unscrupulous bastard though Jundub is, he can, in the present situation, hardly be blamed for not trusting them. Kale is mostly just consumed with Jundub-hatred and teetering on the edge of the fast track. Godwin argues against directly fighting Jundub and advocates trying to help the Hinkervillians without referencing Jundub. Kale sort of agrees, but is hard to distract from his seething hatred. Meanwhiule, Merri concludes that another stew kitchen would be the best way to both help the Hinkervillians and also get on their good side, so she now heads back to the ship to start making moosemeat stew. Suppel goes with her for some reason, whiile Kale and Godwin go back to talk to Glean, to whom they suggest that the guards be moved outside the "walls"--both to present more of an appearance of being there to protect, rather than threaten, the townspeople, and also because it actually makes morse sense to be out there if their goal is to defend against threats from outside. Glean reluctantly agrees to this.
Meanwhile, Merri gets some stew going, and makes the...interesting...decision to add some mint-flavored tooth-cleaning herbs to one batch. The making of the stew, however, is interrupted when Merri, feeling irresistably drawn toward the godspeed drive, wanders down to the wizardry bay to gaze transfixedly at it. Suppel endeavors to get Merri to focus more on cooking and less on staring at the drive. At some point, while Kale and Godwin are still talking to the captain, Merri and Suppel call them via radios belonging to Suppel (Kale has one radio because Suppel gave it to him to facilitate communication while the party was split up; Merri has the other because she insisted that Suppel let her have it). Kale tries to shut Merri up and ignore the radio, not wanting Glean to listen in on their conversation, but Suppel takes the radio from Merri and reports that the stew for the stew kitchen is ready. Kale acknowledges this news and tries to end the conversation, but by now Glean is intrigued by the radio and has to examine it and try it out. Eventually, the party reunites on the ship to discuss plans. Kale scolds Merri and Suppel for talking about plans over the radio when Glean was present at the other end. Others point out that there's nothing wrong with the Keepers knowing about the stew kitchen. The party then decides to use the invasion portal to transport themselves into the old storefront shack, where they will then proceed to set up the stew kitchen. Setting the portal to the interior of the shack proves rather difficult, however, and a series of failed attempts leads to encounters with various Hinkervillians. On one attampt, the portal opens into someone's house, and when the occupant notices it, some party members go through and talk to him. They find a young man who is none too bright and who is depressed for reasons ranging from the fate of the town and the apparent breakup of his marriage to his recent loss of his favorite yo-yo. Godwin attempts to make a connection with the guy and convince him that collective action needs to be taken to improve the lot of Hinkervillians generally--and also suggests that he can always buy a new yo-yo. The man halfheartedly responds to Godwin's urgings, and the party tells him to go to the storefront building for free stew and discussion about Hinkerville's future. Another attempt with the portal results in a daft old man walking through onto the ship, seeing Merri with her face-mirroring helmet, and concluding that she is his "long-lost son.” An exchange ensues in which he wants to know where his "son" has been "all this time" and Merri responds that "he" had been captured by the "blue warriors.” After a couple more failed attempts with the portal, the party manages to get it to open just outside the storefront, and settles for that. Inside the shack, the party finds a drunken man who appears to be both mentally ill and a raging alcoholic. Also, Godwin finds a yo-yo. Sensing an opportunity, he rushes off to meet his "friend," who is, as instructed, walking toward the shack. Godwin presents the young man with the yo-yo, and the man, delighted, proclaims that it is the one that he lost. Godwin points out that things are already beginning to go this guy's way, implying that doing something about Hinkerville's problems is clearly a wise course of action. Meanwhile, Kale and Suppel attempt to befriend the drunken lunatic and encourage him to pick himself up and work for a better Hinkerville. They have less success than Godwin with his "friend," even though Suppel goes to the length of casting his befriending spell on the guy; basically, this man is interested in nothing but the acquisition of more alcoholic beverages. He's all for a plan involving the party doing something about Hinkerville's problems while he lays on the floor of the shack in a drunken stupor, if it means that the taverns might reopen--but that's about it.
Reality Date: October 15, 2005 - Villersicle Melt, Ship Dip, and Whip Cream Topped ArtGameality Date: February 25, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Clod emerges from the bathroom, finds the invasion portal activated, and wanders through it to the vicinity of the shack. Kale and Godwin are there, and Kale sees a light up in the sky. Godwin follows his gaze and sees it too; Kale thinks he sees it moving. He and Godwin head through the portal back to the ship, while Clod checks out the shack. Kale uses the mirror on the wall to identify the light as the Lucrative and observes that it is looking rather battered. He then sets up his portal and, in a sudden attack of paranoia, ties a rope to himself and hands part of it to Godwin (without explaining himself, so that Godwin doesn't understand what he's supposed to do), then leaps (for some reason) through the portal onto the Lucrative. Godwin follows him in a more casual fashion, undermining Kale's paranoid, ninjalike behavior. A small amount of bickering results. The two then reach the bridge and see on the screen that the ship is hurtling toward the town square! Miram is at the controls, and Kale dives for them as well, but Miram exclaims "It's no good! They're frozen up!" Godwin, desperate to protect the non-representational art (and perhaps any people who can't get out of harm's way), casts Damage Scapegoat with the Lucrative itself as the "scapegoat.” Meanwhile Kale yells "Everyone--to the temple!" This "invitation" causes ecstatic joy to break out all over the bridge, and all of the Kaleists—suddenly bearing huge shit-eating grins—leap up from their seats and dash off toward the temple with Kale and Godwin. As they all pour through the portal onto the bridge of the Redemption, they encounter Clod, who by now has returned from his brief excursion through the invasion portal. Meanwhile Thana, who at some point has wandered back onto the Lucrative and then gone back to sleep over there, wakes up and becomes aware that pandemonium of some sort appears to be going on. She goes to the bridge, observes that the ship is about to crash, and goes running for the temple and the portal, but just as she gets to it and leaps through, the ship crashes and a wooden beam is knocked loose and impales her, mortally wounding her. Her broken, impaled corpse, which was in mid-leap through the portal, lands in Kales arms on the other side, horrifying all present. Kale rushes off to the medical bay with the carcass intent on preserving it in the hope that Thana can still be saved, and his worshippers follow him. Godwin rushes off to the town square of Hinkerville to survey the wreckage. Clod begins to suspect that the others don't like him, since it seems that whenever he goes somewhere, everyone else who's there abruptly leaves.
Meanwhile, Suppel is trying to get Merri to stop fawning over the Godspeed Drive, and in the course of his attempt, he mentions that said drive needs to be fixed. Merri reacts by starting to tinker with it, claiming that she knows how to fix it; she then decides after examining it that there is in fact nothing wrong with it. Her behavior makes Suppel realize that she is under a mysterious influence, however, and so he decides to try to mess with it. He begins to do so, but Merri objects and tries to interfere. A prolonged wrestling match thus breaks out between them.
Godwin arrives at the town squre and is once again relieved to find that the art is still intact; his spell has caused the parts of the ship that would otherwise have smashed the masterpiece to cave in without touching it. The mangled wreck of the ship therefore now mostly surrounds the work. Godwin zones out for a moment, transfixed by the scene (and feeling very satisfied with his art-saving work), then suddenly becomes aware of other aspects of his surroundings--most notably the fact that there are wounded people scattered around the scene of the crash. He thus springs into action, working to stablize the wounds of the crash victims. Kale arrives on the scene shortly after this, having left his followers in the stables area of the ship with instructions to stay put, and he lends a hand with the rescue efforts. Soon the remaining party members also show up (Suppel and Merri having abandoned their wrestling match at some point). Upon arriving at the scene, Suppel and Merri both head into the wreckage of the Lucrative--Merri to retrieve her canoe, which she then sets about using as a makeshift stretcher, and Suppel to recover his van, just because he wants it. Somone decides to use the nearby city morgue as a sort of "triage center," and Merri starts transporting the wounded there by loading them into her canoe and dragging it behind her. Meanwhile, Suppel finds his van, but has no obvious way of getting it out of the wreckage of the Lucrative, so he makes the rather questionable decision to set the wreckage on fire and wait for the flames to create a way out for him and his van. When people outside notice that the wreckage is suddenly on fire, they react with varying degrees of sanity and effectiveness. Godwin panics, drops what he is doing, and devotes himself to figuring out how to stop the fire and protect the non-representational art. Rummaging through his pack, he can find no better weapon against the fire than his small black box containing a never-ending supply of whipped cream, so he climbs up onto the wreckage and begins hurling fistfuls of whipped cream into the flames. Clod, who has just purchased a vial of Potion Deux from a nearby vendor who is busy capitalizing on the suffering of others and drunk said potion, finds himself suddenly invisible and decides to take advantage of this state to steal a bunch more Potion Deux from the heartless vendor and attempt to use it to put out the fire. Meanwhile and most effectively, Kale casts his wall spell, creating an ice wall next to the blaze. The ice wall topples onto the blaze and begins to put out the fire. Meanwhile, in the morgue/triage center, Merri discovers a block of "frigid doom" ice that has not yet thawed, and that seems (though it's hard to make out details through the ice) to contain a person, albeit a seemingly hideously deformed one with too many limbs. Merri decides to build a fire to speed up the thawing process, and as the ice melts, it becomes clear that although the frozen person's face is a mess, he is not otherwise deformed--he just happens to be clutching someone's severed leg in one hand. When enough of the ice has melted for the person to be able to move and interact with his environment and so forth, the invisible Clod, who has just arrived with more wounded after having given up on putting out the fire with Potion Deux, casually asks the stranger if he can "get him anything"--as if the stranger had not so much emerged from a millenia-long spell of being frozen in ice as merely dropped by for tea. Clod's seemingly disembodied voice is the first thing that the newly thawed individual hears upon thawing. Immediately after this, he observes that chaos and confusion seem to be reigning around him. Also, when someone asks him about the leg in his hand, he seems to notice it for the first time, reacts with surprise, and drops it. Merri greets the man by informing him that he is now "in the future," which only increases his overwhelming disorientation.
While this all is going on, Suppel gives up on the flames theory of escape and uses a bag full of plucked wounds to make a hole in the ship's wall, then drives his van out and away toward the Pedigree. When he gets there, he discovers the alarming fact that it is under attack by Hinkervillian archers (wearing blue, interestingly enough) and that it, too, has caught fire. He thus races back to the town squrare area to alert the rest of the party to this situation. Kale and Godwin run off to respond to this new crisis, following Suppel's van to the storefront shack and through the invasion portal into the Redemption. In the morgue, when Merri gets the news, she asks the just-thawed-and-welcomed-to-the-future guy (who introduces himself as Viller) to help her carry her canoe, and the two of them also hurry off, laden with small boat. Clod goes too, but since he's invisible, no one notices. Suppel, after parking his van in the Redemption, exits the treeship into the surrounding Pedegree, finds some Keepers, and demands to know why in hell they haven't taken off to evade the attackers. When they explain that no one is present at the moment who knows how to pilot the ship, Suppel tries to get them to open the ship's hatch so that the Redemption can at least fly out to safety. They refuse to comply, however, so Suppel goes to the bridge of the Pedigree and more or less assumes command of it. He gets the ship airborn and heads it for the nearest body of water, intent on dipping it into the water to put out the flames. In the meantime, panic is reigning on the bridge of the Redemption, and Merri and Viller are busy hanging Merri's canoe up hammock-style in her quarters. Kale uses the bard station to talk to the bridge of the Pedigree, where he is somewhat surprised to find Suppel in charge. Wanting to save the Redemption, Kale makes the dubious decision to order Suppel to open the bay doors of the Pedigree so that the Redemption can get out. Suppel responds by making the at-least-as-dubious decision to obey this command. The doors open, sending both the Redemption and a number of unfortunate Keeerps tumbling out into the sky. The Keepers go hurtling to their doom, and the Redemption, which is spinning out of control, seems destined to do the same. Kale and Godwin both attempt to gain control of the ship and prevent it from doing so, but both prove incompetent at this task. Meanwhile, Merri and Viller are being tossed about as they attempt to make their way through the ship to the bridge, and Merri takes a nasty knock on the head. After a moment, the ship seems to suddenly right itself and cease hurtling toward the ground; Kale and Godwin are initially baffled, but Clod's disembodied voice explains that he is at the controls (and invisible).
With the ship no longer tumbling around wildly, Merri and Viller make it to the bridge, where it becomes evident that Merri is suffering from some kind of amnesia, as she apparently makes the assumption that Kale is "the captain" and starts behaving like a soldier who expects orders from him. Clod, observing Merri's odd behavior, gives her a Potion Deux and suggests that she try it. Merri obediently quaffs the beverage. At approximately this point, Godwin, who is on the verge of total mental collapse, begins to seriously wig out. Consumed with mortal terror, he begs, pleads with, and screams at the invisible Clod to set the ship down somewhere, not feeling at all confident (and with some reason) in the long-term reliability of Clod's control of the ship. Clod pays him little heed, however, apparently much more confident in his own abilities and planning to return to Hinkerville and set the ship down there. Overwhelmed by constant terror, the fact of having lost his entire world only to sort of gain bits of it back in twisted ways, the general insanity raging around him, a sense of utter lack of control over his minute-to-minute (let alone long-term) destiny, frustration with his companions' desire to take up a life of piracy, disillusionment with his would-be heroes the Keepers, concern for the safety of the non-representational art, and so on, Godwin now "goes to a crazy place" and starts alternately wailing and muttering incoherently. Kale reacts by "ordering" the suddenly solider-like Merri to "secure Godwin," to which Merri responds by trying to tie Godwin up. Kale immediately protests this interpretation, while Godwin continues to wig out. Merri therefore unties Godwin, who does eventually quiet down, but who remains extremely on edge until the ship finally touches ground.
Meanwhile, Kale has Clod orient the invasion portal on the bridge of the Pedigree, which ship Suppel has successfully piloted to the coast of a sea. He dips the ship into the sea, putting out the flames, but since he has not yet closed the bay doors that he so wisely opened in midair at Kale's bidding, the ship now begins to fill up with water and sink, and he proves unable to get it back into the air. In the end, he and the Keepers give up on saving the ship and climb up to the Redemption's invasion portal (which has opened onto the ceiling of the bridge) via a rope attached to a grappling hook that someone at the other end has secured on something. The instant the Redemtion has landed, Godwin scurries offboard and kisses the ground. In response to Merri's request for orders from Kale, Kale tells her to escort the Kaleists off of the ship, as he is now thinking of abandoning them here when the party leaves, which he is suddenly intent on doing--to which end he, unlike Godwin, does not disembark. The Keepers do disembark, and Viller, still very disoriented, follows Merri for lack of anything better to do, having sort of latched onto her amidst all of the chaos into which he had thawed. When Merri emerges from the ship, Godwin briefly takes an interest in examining her to try and figure out what's wrong with her, but as his grip on his sanity is still rather tenuous, his attention wanders and he soon loses interest and heads for the town square. Merri then reports back to Kale, who tells her to go to the medical bay, where he intends to send Suppel to try using the equipment there to figure out what is wrong with her. Viller, however, says that he has some medical knowledge and goes with Merri to the medical bay, there to examine her head. He notes that it is injured. Thinking that talking with someone she knows might help her to regain her memory, Viller suggests that Merri find Kale, since he observed Merri and Kale interacting earlier. They thus track down Kale, and Merri strikes up a conversation, mentioning that Viller says that she and Kale are "involved.” Kale tries to dispel this notion, but Merri, in her confused state, has grabbed ahold of it and doesn't entirely let go. Giving up on the problem of Merri's memory for the moment, Kale tunes in to his inner paranoia and decides to shroud the ship for general protection. Godwin, for his part, reaches the town square and finds that the fire was successfully extinguished and that others have finished seeing to the wounded there, so that a calm has descended. Futhermore, the art is still all right, albeit even more singed than before. Still teetering on the brink of sanity and needing some kind of activity to focus on, Godwin acquires some appropriate tools from somewhere and sets to work dismantling the wrecked Lucrative so as to remove it from around the precious art. The sun sets as he toils.
Reality Date: October 28, 2005 - Sex and Depression Amongst PCsGameality Date: February 25, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Viller wanders the ship, trying to get his bearings, while most others go to bed. Merri, under the influence of Potion Dieux, tries to follow Kale to bed, but he tells her that she has her own bed. Eventually Viller finds himself a bed as well, and Godwin, tiring of his toil, goes to his bed. Not long after, Merri shows up in Kale's room in sexy lingerie, weirding Kale out. He tries to tell her that they aren't "involved," but she insists that the notion--which had been inadvertently planted by Viller--just "seems right.” Seduction ensues. Kale resists valiantly, objecting that if Merri's destiny is to bear the child of a god, then it is not his place to get in the way--and also that he would be taking advantage of her memoryless state. Merri will not take no for an asnwer, though; her clothes come off and she refuses to leave. In the end, Kale resigns himself to sleeping with her (in the literal sense) and rolls over grumpily. Merri snuggles up with him, and a few mintues later, Kale's resolve gives out; he abruptly rolls over and says "Ah, what the fuck!" and passionate sex ensues.
Reality Date: October 28, 2005 - Sex and Depression Amongst PCs Gameality Date: February 26, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, Merri wakes up, her memory restored; she promptly screams, waking Kale. Merri seems initially shocked, and Kale freaks out and (between apologies) demands to know why Merri did what she did and orders her to leave. Merri, however, recovers from her initial shock and tries to calm Kale down, saying that what happened felt right at the time and that she really does like him and doesn't want him to be mad at her. Kale, grasping for explanations of their behavior, hits upon the idea that perhaps the Godspeed drive influenced their feelings in some insidious way. Merri, however, confesses that she has been having thoughts about their relationship possibly going in this direction ever since the time when Kale wanted to descry her. Meanwhile, the pair's yelling wakes everyone else; Viller and Godwin both ignore the shouting, Viller because he lacks enough context to know what to think and Godwin because he has plenty of context and assumes Kale and Merri are just bickering as usual. Suppel, on the other hand, bolts out of bed and dashes toward the scene of the disturbance, then bursts into the room, guns drawn. Everyone freaks out, and Suppel immediately wants to know why he wasn't invited to the "orgy.” He also exclaims loudly about how both Kale and Merri are PCs and how that makes their behavior "almost like incest.” Godwin, hearing this, draws the obvious conclusion and is only mildly surprised. Back in Kale's bedroom, Merri is desperately trying to hide herself, and Kale orders Suppel the hell out. As Suppel turns to leave, Clod shows up on the scene. "What the hell is going on?” he inquires. "I'm trying to get some slee--Holy shit!" Kale again angrily orders everyone to leave, and Clod, requesting that whatever kinky action might be going down be carried on more quietly, turns around and heads back to bed. Kales grabs his clothes and stalks off, dressing on his way out. Merri also dresses and goes to her room, where she lies in her canoe to think for a while.
Shortly later, everyone else gets up and heads for the bridge. Suppel and Clod are loudly and crassly blabbering about the fact that (as Suppel puts it) "PCs have been fucking on this ship!" This leads to questions from Clod about what the hell Suppel is talking about, which leads to Suppel trying to explain, which leads to Godwin whispering an explanation to Clod to the effect that Suppel is "craaaazy.” Meanwhile Kale has left the ship and gone for a walk in Hinkerville. Godwin soon heads for the town squre, where he resumes work on the wreck surrounding the art. After a while, Kale meets up with him in the town square. Kale is in a pensive mood and strikes up a conversation with Godwin. After a few token pleasantries, Kale broaches the subject on his mind: "So, I had sex with Merri last night.” Godwin assures him that he has, in fact, gathered as much. Kale then rambles for a while about how weird it all is and about how strangely Merri had been acting the day before. Godwin agrees with this last point, noting that she seemed to have temporarily lost her memory. Kale also comments that Merri was the last person he would have expected to find himself "involved" with. This surprises Godwin, who expresses the view that things have been building toward a development like this between Kale and Merri for some time. Kale, however, doesn't see any truth in this view; he protests that most of the time, Merri simply annoys the hell out of him. Godwin acknowleges that side of their relationship, but asserts that there is also strange connection between them, even if said connection is subtle and difficult to describe. Kale then tries suggesting that any such "connection," if real at all, has been on Merri's end only, to which Godwin responds that maybe, if Kale had told him this yesterday, he would have believed it. Today, though, with Kale himself having acknowleged that Merri was not herself the previous day but he was, his protestations don't exactly ring true. This gives Kale food for thought.
After a while, Glean approaches Kale and Godwin in the town square and asks them about the whereabouts of Suppel. Loyalty to Suppel (however ambivalent it may be, at least in Godwin's case), combined with alienation from the Keepers and seasoned with sizable does of their respective states of moodiness and tenuous sanity, prompt Kale and Godwin not only to be less than forthcoming, but in fact downright hostile toward Glean, who thus becomes increasingly angry during the course of the exchange. Meanwhile, back on the Redemption, Merri gets up and goes to stare at the Godspeed drive to try to figure out if it was responsible in any way for what has happened, as Kale suggested. Removing it from its place, she heads back to her room, where she intends to descry it. Suppel, who is looking for Merri because he wants to get his radio back from her, runs into her as she is exiting the wizardry bay with a slightly nervous manner. Failing to notice her fidgetyness, he asks her for the radio, and she gives it to him and rushes off. Once in the privacy of her quarters, Merri descries the Godspeed drive and determines that it is not responsible for what happened between her and Kale. She also gets the sense that if she keeps it with her in her backpack, it will help her to convince Kale of this truth. Suppel, meanwhile, gets on the radio to Kale and Godwn, who are in the middle of irritating Glean by halfheartedly affecting uncertainty about Suppel's whereabouts. "Suppel to Kale!" says Suppel's voice from somewhere on Kale's person. Kale once again tries to ignore the radio, but of course, Suppel is persistent, and equally unsurprisingly, Glean begins demanding to be allowed to speak to Suppel. Kale therefore gives up, grabs the radio, and tells Suppel that Glean is with him and is quite eager to speak to Suppel. This news doesn't seem to concern Suppel, who appears to have no notion that the Keepers might be upset with him; indeed, he expresses cheerful willingness to talk to Glean, which prompts Godwin to sarcastically apologize to Glean for having been so guarded about Suppel's whereabouts, commenting that he had failed to reckon with his companion's lunacy. Glean expresses a desire to meet with Suppel face to face and asks him (when Kale finally gives him the radio) to come to the town square. Suppel is somewhat hesitant, but ultimately agrees to this. A short time later, after surveying the scene from a distance and satisfying himself that if he's walking into a trap, it's at least a better-concealed trap than he himself would likely be able to set up, Suppel joins the others in the town square. Glean then begins questioning Suppel about the motives behind his commandeering of the Keepers' ship, his opening of its bay doors in midair, leading to the horrible deaths of several of its crew, and his subsequent crashing of the ship into the sea. At first, Glean seems unhappy, but not exactly outraged; however, as Suppel becomes defensive, proclaiming that what he had done was to save the Keepers and even going so far as to request payment for his actions, Glean becomes enraged, begins referring to Suppel's actions as "theft" and "murder," and bluntly demands to know whether it was malice or blazing incompetence that prompted said actions. When she continues to fail to get satisfactory responses from Suppel, she eventually storms off.
At approximately this point, Clod, who has been bored, arrives on the scene in search of someone to talk to and/or something to do. Suppel and Kale begin discussing the potential threat from the Keepers and the idea of departing on the Redemption. At about the same time, Godwin, who doesn't much care for this notion and is starting to retreat back into his "crazy place," decides to go find his yo-yo-loving friend Yo. His departure from the town square immediately after Clod's arrival fuels Clod's growing conviction that at least some members of the party seem to have taken a mysterious disliking to him. Clod speculates, incorrectly of course, that it may have been everyone's apparent ignoring of him which has caused him to turn invisible. The others in the town square, noticing that Godwin has taken off, decide to follow him. Godwin finds Yo in the storefront shack, yo-yoing dejectedly. Godwin asks him how he is doing and initially gets half-hearted responses to the effect that he is "okay"; pressing, he gets Yo to admit that he feels abandoned and lonely because everyone took off and left him there earlier. Godwin tries to explain that this had been because ships had been crashing into the town square and other similar crises breaking out. "Then it wasn't personal?" Yo inquires, and Godwin assures him that indeed it was not. Godwin then attempts to continue his earlier bonding with Yo by drawing a comparison between Yo's attachment to his yo-yo and Godwin's own attachment to the non-representational art in the town square. When Yo proves too dim to grasp Godwin's meaning, however, the appeal of this little "friendship" begins to wane somewhat. Meanwhile, Kale and Suppel are still talking about leaving this world, and Suppel turns his attention to trying to persuade Godwin of the advisability of this course of action. Interpreting Godwin's reluctance as being mostly about his attachment to the art, Suppel offers the idea of taking it with them and attaching it to the Redemption as a "hood ornament" like "the little thing sticking up on the front of my van.” This reference leads briefly to speculation between Kale and Godwin as to what magical purpose the hood ornament on Suppel's van presumably serves. Godwin doesn't like the idea of taking the art with them, though, partly because he feels that it belongs in Hinkerville and partly because he has invested too much of his lingering hold on sanity in the art's safety to do anything so seemingly likely to put it in danger. More fundamentally, though, the art is far from the only reason why Godwin doesn't want to leave. Meanwhile, Merri, who is still on the ship and who is getting bored, decides to see if she can get the ship's bard station to transmit to Kale or Suppel's radio. She manages to establish communication and urges the party to return to the ship. By now, however, Clod and Suppel have started cooking up an insane plan to acquire weaponry for the Redemption by attacking an iron titan. Kale reacts to this idea by starting to lay down rules about not killing or seriously injuring anyone in the course of carrying it out, and Godwin reacts by pointing out that there are multiple iron titans and numerous armed guards, rendering an attack on one of the titans almost certainly suicidally unwise. His objections go largely unheeded, however. While all of this chaos is happening, Viller suddenly shows up at the shack and mentions to Godwin that someone outside was looking for "Solabein" just now and showed him a symbol that she said Solabein would recognize. Indeed, Godwin does recognize it as one of several Ignoramian symbols representing ignorance. Seizing upon this turn of events, Kale uses it to prop up his argument to Godwin that it would be a good idea to return to the ship, where he wants everyone to go so that they can either take off and abandon Hinkerville, or perhaps plot the theft of weapons from an iron titan. This argument, Suppel's repeated insistence that the Keepers might be intent on killing them all, Godwin's own total uncertainty about what he wants to do, Yo's disappointing stupidity, and his lack of desire to part company with his companions all add up to a reluctant decision on Godwin's part to accompany everyone else back to the ship, though he insists that getting back on board is "the only crazy thing that he'll allow them to persuade him to do.” Also, before setting off with them, Godwin tries to convince Yo to continue the work of dismantling the wreck of the Lucrative so as to free up the art. He presents it as a game and is essentially throwing it out as a bone to Yo in the hope of not appearing to be once again abandoning him, but Yo is not very receptive to the whole notion. Godwin, however, manages to remain oblivious to Yo's disinterest, decides that he has succeeded in persuading Yo to work on the wreck, and heads back to the ship with the others.
Back on the ship, members of the party excluding Godwin and Viller sit down to plot an attack on an iron titan, while Godwin, at Kale's insistence and for reasons that may not have made sense, hovers alertly over the knot that he still believes opens and closes the door of the ship. The attack-plotters discuss "patching in" to a communication system that they presume that the iron titans have and issuing an order to the operators about it being "shift-change time" in the hope of tricking them into exiting from the titan. They then decide to first try "monitoring" communications between the iron titans and whoever is in charge of them in the hope of learning whether or not such an trick would have any hope of working. However, after several people in turn try but fail to "patch in," they decide instead to send the still-invisible Clod on a reconnaissance mission. Godwin's inability to get the ship's door to open via the knot, followed by his observation of Clod opening it via the actual controls, results in Godwin finally grasping the fact that he has been mistaken about how to operate the door. Godwin also grows tired of alertly hovering over the door controls by himself for reasons that aren't clear, so he abandons this task and joins the others on the bridge. Meanwhile, Clod finds an iron titan and tries to eavesdrop on its operators and on the guards in the vicinity, but they don't seem to be saying anything, so he decides to climb up the leg of the titan and try to get inside it. Unfortunately, the titan's operators notice a change in the titan's balance caused by the weight of Clod on one leg and cause an arm of the titan to swat at the area whose weight has increased. The arm whacks into Clod, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.
After a while, not having heard from Clod (who has a radio with him and is supposed to be transmitting any info that he picks up back to the party), other party members decide to go looking for him. Against his better judgement, Godwin accompanies them, though he makes it clear that he doesn't intend to get anywhere near any iron titans. Kale tries to convince Merri to take off her armor so as to make stealth possible, and Merri misinterprets his urgings as being about wanting to see her in her lingerie. When Kale clarifies, Merri points out that even if she takes her armor off, it will still follow her, making just as much noise as if she were wearing it. It is therefore agreed that Merri will hang back some distance from Kale and Suppel, who will take the lead and employ stealth. Godwin, because of his lack of interest in endangering his life for no reason that seems important to him, ends up accompanying Merri in the rear, which leads to Merri, like Kale before her, attempting to talk to Godwin about the new turn that the Kale/Merri relationship took during the previous night. "Have you ever had an experience that completely changed things...?" she begins. "Well," Godwin replies, knowing where she's probably going with this, but feeling that the experience in question could stand to be put into perspective a bit, "...there was the whole 'frigid doom' thing...” Merri then takes another stab: "Yeah, but I mean, have you ever...done anything, that...completely changed what you thought of as right or wrong...?” This time trying his best to actually relate to Merri's feelings, Godwin offers, "Well, there was that time when I killed that guy...” Jolted by the sudden memory of that incident, Merri somewhat unfairly decides that Godwin might not be the best person to turn to for moral advice, and the conversation falters. Meanwhile, Kale and Suppel have stealthily approached the general vicinity of the iron titan that Clod had been sent to scout out, but they find no sign of Clod anywhere, so the party meets up behind some bushes in a place that seems safe enough for Godwin to agree to be there. After a few moments of uncertain waiting, Merri grows impatient and decides, despite strenuous objections from Kale, to "go in" and attempt to find and rescue Clod. She thus marches up to the guards in the vicinity of the titan and asks them if they have seen her friend. The guards and the titan all immediately train their weapons on her and order her to move along, commenting that she should make better choices about whom to associate with, but this merely serves to convince Merri that Clod has been captured, or some such thing, so she asks again about him, voicing worry about his safety and fear that he may have "done something stupid.” A guard lets slip something about Clod having been "trespassing" but will not say anything more. At this point, however, Merri notices markings on the ground indicative of someone having been dragged away, so she goes back to rejoin the party and tell them about what she has learned. In particular, she teases Kale by going over her observations and interpretations of the markings on the ground in some detail, emphasizing her rangery skill. The trail leads back toward town, so the party follows it until it becomes clear that it leads to a hastily thrown-together hut on the outskirts of town that is guarded by another iron titan and a group of guards. Lurking out of sight and earshot of said titan and guards, the party falls to formulating a plan for the rescue of Clod, whom they presume to be located inside the hut. Kale starts talking about needing a distraction, and Godwin, who begins to feel drawn in to the whole caper in spite of himself, inquires whether a whole bunch of fog would be in any way helpful. Kale responds with an emphatic "yes.” A plot is then concocted that involves Godwin making lots of fog to provide cover, someone setting up the invasion portal nearby as an escape route, someone creating some kind of distraction and then escaping through the portal onto the safety of the Redemption, and the others zooming up in Suppel's van and swiftly accomplishing the rescue under the cover of the fog whilst the titan and the guards are distracted by the distraction. In still further spite of himself, Godwin finds himself contemplating--and voicing--the thought that he could potentially provide the distraction in the form of a fireball or two. In truth, the party's sudden, unpredictable involvement in a form of adventurey intrigue that actually feels familiar to Godwin, and that he feels able to potentially contribute to in useful ways, is beginning to alleviate (at least temporarily) Godwin's overwhelming feelings of powerlessness and alienation, and thus to draw him out of his state of aimless depression and paralyzing fear. In any case, the party sets about working out the details of the rescue plan.
Reality Date: November 12, 2005Gameality Date: February 26, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
While the other party members are hashing out the details of their daring rescue plan, Suppel suddenly gets a strangely vacant look on his face. Idly pointing his Wand of Weirdo Detection at himself, he is startled to note that it identifies him as an NPC! Exclaiming in shock and dismay, he spends a few minutes bemoaning his apparent fall from PC-hood in a highly melodramatic fashion while the others largely ignore him. Then, getting ahold of himself, he resigns himself to making the best of his new status and parts company with the others, mentioning something as he leaves about plans to open up a shop in town. Baffled, the other party members protest his abrupt and ill-timed departure, but to no avail.
Finding themselves suddenly without a capable van driver, Kale and Merri experiment with the controls to the van, deciding to try to drive it cooperatively with Kale at the wheel and Merri on the floor beneath him operating the pedals. Godwin produces a ridiculous amount of fog. Various party members futz with the invasion portal, trying to set it up somewhere reasonably close to the hut in which Clod is presumed to be imprisoned. In the process, some annoying Hinkervillian wanders through the portal into the tree; the party shoos him/her back out as quickly as possible. Eventually the portal gets set up in somebody's extremely muddy flower garden. Godwin goes through and notices that it is so muddy on the other side that the van is likely to get stuck. He sticks his head back through to warn the others, but just at that moment, Merri slams down the van's accelerator and the van goes careening toward the portal and Godwin. Seeing Godwin's gesture of panicky warning, Kale orders Merri to hit the brakes, which she does, while Godwin leaps out of the way of the van. The van screeches to a halt just short of the muddy garden, leaving skid marks on the floor of the invasion portal room. Godwin explains his concern, but also notes that he had not expected them to come shooting out of the portal, and speculates that at that speed, they might be able to avoid getting stuck. Godwin then gets out of the way, and Kale and Merri back up and then once again hit the gas, this time zooming through the portal and into the muddly flower garden, where, careening around crazily, they almost get stuck, but manage to get out of the garden. They continue careening wildly around, however, scarcely able to see in all the fog and just barely avoiding smashing into several trees, until Kale gets Merri to let up on the gas. They then proceed at a somewhat more sane pace around to the far side of the hut, from which position they await word from Godwin. Once they are in place, Godwin tosses off a deliberately weakish fireball at the nearest person aware that he or she is operating an Iron Titan. He then gives the word to the rescue party via radio. Determined to ensure that the titan come toward him, he sends off another fireball and also yells various taunts at the titan operators. Once he is reasonably certain that his ploy has worked, he makes a beeline for the portal back to the ship, then takes said portal down, making good his escape. Meanwhile, the rescue party zooms toward the hut as planned--only to meet Clod as he saunters out of it. It seems that Clod's captors, having questioned him to their satisfaction, have decided to let him go. Kale, Merri, and Viller, who announce that they are rescuing him, are somewhat dismayed at the trouble that they have gone to upon hearing this, but they nevertheless load Clod into the van and drive back to the Redemption.
Godwin, who has been waiting on board the Redemption and fretting both about the fate of the mission/his friends and about his reckless use of fireballs and the possibility that he has killed one or more someones, is relieved to see that everyone is safe when the van arrives back at the tree. He continues to stew about his possible murders, however, and begins imagining half-baked schemes to go find out whether his fireballs did in fact kill anyone or not and (if not) to help whoever he injured with them. When he learns that the entire rescue mission proved unneccesary in the end, though--Clod even having the "tact" to explicitly spell out to him the fact that he may have killed needlessly--something snaps inside Godwin, and he says only "Give me a Potion Dieux." Clod obliges him, and Godwin quaffs. Other party members then begin discussing their next move. Godwin is initially rather quiet during this discussion, but after a while, he starts behaving somewhat strangely. He elaborates inanely on comments made by Kale by breaking into a silly song, then suggests that the party forget its troubles and party. He starts obsessing about wanting "tunes," and heads up to the bridge to play with the lute at the bard station. Other party members (notably Viller and Merri) decide that the time has come for a trip to the Hinkerville Library--a notion that's crossed Godwin's mind more than once in recent days and that he would ordinarily have greeted with enthusiasm, but that at the moment strikes him as "lame" and "dull.” All he's really interested in at the moment is getting some "tunes" going and "having a good time.” His companions, baffled by his behavior, do manage to convince him to accompany them as they head for the library, but he continues singing to himself and trying to persuade the others to party. In an effort to placate his obsession with "tunes," Kale gives Godwin the plywood violin, which he immediately begins playing. Due to Godwin's total lack of musical skill and the special nature of the plywood violin, he is able to strike up an infectiously cheerful ditty as the party makes its way through town, and the music begins to attract attention from passing Hinkervillians. Between Godwin's enthusiasm, his lack of talent and consequently exquisite playing, and the general psychological state of the townspeople, what started out as an inexplicable sudden obsession of Godwin's soon mushrooms into an all-out, feel-good hoedown, as some of the party members get into the spirit and start dancing and singing along while more and more Hinkervillians approach them to check out the source of the music and wind up joining the fun. The trip to the library is soon forgotten by all but Merri and Viller, who break off from the rest of the party as it gets sidetracked by the sudden outbreak of festiveness and ends up in the town square. While Merri and Viller attempt to gain entry to the library, get intercepted by Keepers and denied entry, argue stubbornly, and (in Merri's case) almost come to blows, the rest of the party casts off its many worries and troubles and has a rip-roaring good time partying down in the town square. The party is eventually joined by practically the entire town, and Godwin keeps things lively well into the wee hours of the morning.
At one point during the party, some Ignoramians approach Godwin and, though reluctant as always to come right out and ask him direct questions, quite clearly convey their bafflement at his behavior, mentioning (with difficulty) that they had been under the impression that he was being held captive by Kale and company. Handing off the plywood violin to Kale so that he can talk with them, Godwin affirms that this has indeed been the case, but is neither very specific about details nor at all forthcoming with explanations. He continues, to the consternation of the Ignroamians, to seem interested mostly in partying and not much in anything else. His responses to the Ignoramians, for example, are occasionally interrupted with exclamations of "Oh, I love this song!" or "Isn't this a great party?” Eventually, the Ignoramians seem to give up and leave.
Meanwhile, back at the library, Viller manages to talk Merri into accepting defeat and ceasing to argue with the Keepers. The pair then heads for the town square, where the party is in full swing. After the Ignoramians have left, Godwin takes the violin back from Kale and announces that he's going to "slow things down a bit" because he has a couple of friends whom he thinks might like a chance for a little romance. Winking at Kale and Merri, he then breaks into a sappy love song. Ranger and hobbit obligingly pair off, as do numerous others in the crowd. Clod gets friendly with a male sprite, and a naive young hobbit dances with Merri's doffed-but-animate armor. Following a succession of romantic songs, the hoedown finally starts to break up, and people head off toward their homes. Clod's sprite friend and Merri's armor's hobbit friend follow their respective partners back to the Redemption; the former pair get it on in Clod's quarters, and the hobbit passes a baffled and frustrating night with the suit of armor in another room. Merri and Kale also spend the night together, but they merely collapse into bed exhausted by the evening's drunken festivities. Godwin, for his part, collapses into bed alone and drops off to sleep instantly, not to stir until twelve hours later.
Reality Date: November 12, 2005 Gameality Date: February 27, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
When Kale awakens the following afternoon, he decides that the time has come to determine whether or not his and Merri's coupling has led to pregnancy. He therefore goes off somewhere to search for his pregnancy-detection egg. A short time later, Merri wakes up and heads back to her quarters. En route, she passes her armor's very confused young hobbit companion of the previous evening, who turns out to be an acquaintance of her father's. Surprised to see her, the young man mentions something about Rothard being worried about Merri, and Merri responds by telling him to tell her father to stop by and visit her. The would-be armor-lover then finds his way out. Viller, who is prowling the ship in search of unconscious strangers whose limbs he might be able to "borrow," also runs into Merri before she makes it to her quarters. When Merri mentions that she's planning to work on a spell to regrow missing limbs, he takes an interest and accompanies Merri to her quarters to help her out with this project. Meanwhile, Clod experiences an awkward moment when he and his sprite companion awaken and he realizes the lengths to which the heady party atmosphere of the previous night led him. He apologetically explains to the sprite that while last night was fun, he isn't really either gay or "into sprites," and the sprite, though appearing perhaps somewhat hurt, says that he understands and leaves.
A while later, Kale shows up at Merri's quarters looking for her. Merri indicates to him that she is somewhat busy at the moment, and Viller decides to toy with Kale's mind by shooting him a look intended to imply that there is something "going on" between himself and Merri. Kale then excuses himself and begins to leave, but Merri calls him back. She tells him that she is working out the details of a spell to regrow limbs and says that she wants to try it out on his leg, and she also mentions that her father might be stopping by later on. At this, Kale gets upset about Merri seemingly wanting to use him as a "guinea pig," exclaiming "That's not very loving!" and stomping off toward the bridge. Merri scampers off after him, catches up, and casts her new spell on his leg stump to get a new leg started growing--a process which should take about three weeks.
When Godwin eventually awakens, his fixation on "tunes" and partying down seems to have been spent, and he is back to his normal self. Uncertain how to feel about (much less explain) his antics of the night before, he concludes, along with others, that on the bright side, the event was probably highly beneficial for the townspeople generally, serving as a catharsis in the midst of these deeply disturbing times. There is some talk about the possibility of seizing this perhaps generally emotionally receptive moment to call a town meeting toward the end of uniting the Hinkervillians behind mutually beneficial and non-Jundub-serving goals, although pervasive uncertainty about what those goals might be bogs down the discussion a bit, as do as series of relizations on Godwin's part about potential fallout from other aspects of his behavior the night before--such as his blowing-off of the Ignoramians, and, of course, his fireballing of the titan operators. Clod's contribution to the discussion about what to do next with Hinkerville is to ask the others questions about what it is, exactly, that they wish to accomplish, and about what his role in it all might be. What he essentially conveys to Godwin is that he is a soldier and accustomed to following orders, and that if given some, he will attempt to carry them out--but in the absence of any, he feels aimless and doesn't know what to do with himself. He also inquires about the "chain of command" and about who he is supposed to "answer to.” While one part of Godwin reacts to all of this in a somewhat puzzled and alarmed-for-Clod's-sake kind of way, a contrary urge to use the tool that Clod is offering to serve as gets the better of him, and he obliges Clod's request for a "chain of command flowchart" by drawing up something that shows all other party members as equals, with Clod answering to them collectively. This doesn't fit with Clod's expectations of answering to a single "commanding officer," however, so Godwin keeps revising the chart without fundamentally altering the power relationships that it depicts until he hits upon a version that Clod will accept. In this version, all party members other than Clod are equals, and Clod answers to Godwin alone.
At some point, Godwin exits the ship for reasons that aren't remembered. Upon doing so, he notices that the temperature has dropped abruptly for some reason since the last time that he was outside. He is also alarmed to observe that a wingless dragon is nearby and is mauling innocent Hinkervillians. With guilt from his recent fireballing episode fresh in his mind, he reacts by throwing all caution to the wind, donning the hood of his Cloak of Razor Insight, and attacking the wingless dragon. Other party members see what's going on via the scryers and rush out to join the fray--which is fortunate, since the beast's retaliatory slash at Godwin takes off his right arm and a portion of his chest along with it, virtually killing him. Merri stabilizes Godwin's wounds while the others engage the wingless dragon, which is sooned joined by others of its kind. After stabilizing Godwin, Merri also joins the fight, yelling "This is for Kale!" as she takes a mighty swipe at one of the beasts' legs. Fortunately, the Keepers and their titans join the battle as well, and although several people do get killed, the beasts are prevented from going on a killing rampage throughout the town. Once the attacking beasts have been killed or driven off, Viller masters a very strong urge to take advantage of the carnage by going out to salvage freshly severed limbs and instead gets Godwin transported to the medical bay, where he sees to the saving of Godwin's life and the reattaching of his arm. He accomplishes these feats with impressive deftness and skill. Meanwhile Kale, who somehow intuits the fact that Viller would in some ways rather be salvaging fresh body parts than doing what he is in fact doing, goes out himself to gather up some limbs. He brings them back to Viller in the medical bay, deposits them in front of him as an offering, and instructs Viller to "fix Godwin up real good," adding that there would be no need for them ever to discuss this little "bargain.” Clod, for his part, attempts some post-battle "salvaging" of his own--that is, he attempts to make off with weaponry from a downed Iron Titan. Caught immediately, he somewhat lamely changes tactics and attempts to persuade the titan operators to give him the weoponry, but to no avail.
When all of this post-combat aftermath has played itself out, Merri asks Kale what he wanted earlier when he came to her quarters. Kale tells her that he wants to find out whether there have been any "unintended consequences" from their activities of two nights ago. He then gets out the egg and activates it. Its answer to the question of whether or not Merri is pregnant turns out to be: "Signs point to 'yes.'" Stunned, Kale and Merri fall silent, contemplating this revelation.
Reality Date: December 10, 2005Gameality Date: February 27, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
A teary scene bursts into being between Merri and Kale, with Merri all apologetic about the pregnancy having happened ("I know you don't want children yet!") and Kale equally apologetic about messing up her "destiny.” Merri is ready to forget the whole "destiny" thing though, proclaiming that if hanging around with Kale and Godwin has taught her anything, it's that gods are highly overrated, and that she should stop listening to what gods want and just make her own decisions. Sobbing and consoling ensues. The night passes thusly (Godwin still unconscious, Clod futzing.)
Reality Date: December 10, 2005 Gameality Date: February 28, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, Merri heads to Ye Olde Deade Ratte Inne, where the Kaleists have been staying, in search of Relic. She finds him sitting outside the inn sipping a cocktail and strikes up a conversation about how she's going to be bearing Kale's child and about how the child will need someone to care for him/her. She indicates that she would like Relic to serve in this capacity, and the surprised Relic more or less agrees to this. He also talks Merri into have a drink to celebrate her pregnancy, which Merri agrees to despite fleeting concerns about how alcohol might affect the unborn child.
Back on the ship, Kale and Clod discover that the Godspeed drive is missing from the wizardry bay, and Kale leaps to the conclusion that Clod took it. Yelling and paranoid accusations ensue, and at one point Kale goes so far as to grab Clod by the collar and push him up against a wall. Clod rather implausibly attempts to deflect blame from himself by suggesting that the parrots might have taken the drive. Kale continues to hysterically accuse him and in general totally wigs out. At some point, Godwin also becomes involved in the "discussion" of the missing drive. The three convene in the observation lounge and Clod makes a "list of suspects" headed by the parrots and subsequently listing all party members except for himself. Godwin, invoking his recently-established position as Clod's "commanding officer," orders him to add his own name to the list, which Clod reluctantly does. Eventually, it occurs to one of the three that Merri, who has a history of making off with things without telling anyone else, is mysteriously absent, and Kale gradually transfers his hysterical anger from Clod to Merri. The three then decide to look for Merri. Heading outside, Kale employs his keen ranger senses to track Merri; the others tag along. Soon they find her sitting Ye Olde Deade Ratte Inne with Relic, happily drinking. In response to questioning, she cheerfully acknowledges that she does, in fact, have "her" Godspeed Drive, and adds that it wasn't responsible for her and Kale having sex. "I checked," she helpfully elaborates. An angry confrontation follows in which Kales flies off the handle at Merri for making off with the drive and compares it to various past actions of hers--notably her long-ago antics surrounding the jack-in-the-box. He also scolds her for drinking on the grounds that it may harm the baby. Finally, in a fit of frustration and anger, he flings some rain pea pods of birth control at her and says something to the effect that maybe she should just get rid of the baby--but Merri angrily stomps on the rain pea pods. With Clod and perhaps Godwin chiming in (albeit much more calmly), Kale also insists that Merri return the Godspeed Drive to the ship.
Eventually everyone heads back to the ship, though Kale and Merri are both so angry and upset with each other that they are not speakinig to each other. Godwin, seeking to fix this situation, takes upon himself the role of relationship counselor. He first talks to Merri, whom he finds depressed and confused. Having apparently taken Kale's angry words to heart, she expresses the view that all she ever does is mess things up and make trouble. Godwin attempts to dispute this, and he also points out that even to the extent that it does contain truth, evidence suggests that something about these personality traits of hers has seemed, overall, to appeal to Kale. This observation of Godwin's is intended as a refutation of Merri's fear that Kale "hates" her. Merri also expresses frustration about the contradictory messages that she feels she has received from Kale concerning their baby: she isn't sure whether Kale wants her to take care of it or kill it. Godwin advises not drinking while pregnant anymore and also suggests returning the Godspeed Drive to its place in the wisardry bay. Merri verbally agrees to the latter, but fails to act on it; instead, she curls up with the drive in her canoe-hammock when Godwin leaves. Godwin next approaches Kale, who is hanging out on the bridge. He attempts to convey to Kale the depths of Merri's distress and strongly suggests that he go talk to her (but kindly this time, and without yelling at her). Kale is initially resistant to this suggestion, but eventually he agrees to it. Meanwhile, Godwin casually asks Clod, who is also on the bridge, for another bottle of Potion Deux, and Clod agreeably provides him with one over Kale's objections. Godwin's recent experiences with Potion Deux, combined with the ordeal of being nearly torn in half and almost dying shortly after said experiences were over, are semi-consciously pushing him toward the view that he is only happy when under the intense beverage's influence. Kale feels that Godwin is being rash and foolish, and although Godwin tries to convince Kale otherwise by pointing out how much fun the recent "party" had been and by advocating "loosening up a bit," Kale remains adamant. Godwin, however, quaffs the beverage anyway. Seconds later, he discovers that he has suddenly gained the ability to belch flame--an ability that Kale seems to find rather alarming. Also during this stretch of time, Clod erases his list of suspects and replaces it with a "sign" announcing that he had been innocent all along and that Kale therefore owes him an apology.
When Kales heads off to try to reconcile witih Merri, Clod surreptitiously follows and listens outside the door of Merri's quarters after Kale goes in, apparently highly titilated by their lovers' quarrel (and, presumably, especially by the possibility of make-up sex). Meanwhile, Godwin goes outside--possibly with intent to practice belching flame without risk of setting the ship on fire. Not long after he disembarks, however, he is surpised by the appearance of Jundub in holographic form. Jundub cryptically (and in a seemingly pained fashion) remarks that it seems that he and Godwin have something in common; when Godwin asks what he means, he says something to the effect that they both unwillingly do the bidding of Ignoramius. Baffled and intrigued, Godwin asks additional questions about Jundub's knowledge of and association with Ignoramians, but Jundub reveals little. He does say, however, that the Ignoramians who approached Godwin at the party the other night are baffled by "Solabein"'s behavior, adding that they believed until that night that "Solabein" was a prisoner of Kale and company. He also brings up, of all things, the old jack-in-the-box, implying that the Ignoramians know of it and want it. Despite his distrust of Godwin, he presumes (correctly) that Godwin will agree with him that it would be bad for the Ignoramians to get their hands on jack. To Godwin's utter surprise and bafflement, he then starts speaking as if he believes that Godwin/Kale/ Merri are in possession of the jack-in-the-box. Godwin questions this, whereupon Jundub asserts that he "has sources" that confirm that the group does in fact have jack. Godwin assures Jundub that this is not the case, adding that they were actually under the impression that Jundub had it. Jundub acknowledges having had it in the past but says he hasn't had it for some time (though he refuses to offer any more details than this). Godwin again declares that he and his companions have not seen jack for some time, but Jundub insists that he knows for a fact that they had it as recently as this morning. Concluding that either Godwin is lying or he simply doesn't realize that he and his friends have the jack-in-the-box in their possession, Jundub shrugs and vanishes.
Kale and Merri, meanwhile, manage to talk through their conflict and make up. At some point during this process, Kale catches Clod eavesdropping outside the door and reaching for his zipper with apparent intent to whip it out. Kale promptly smacks him and sends him away, whereupon Clod proceeds to find Godwin and eavesdrop on his exchange with Jundub instead. After Jundub vanishes, Godwin, with Clod in tow, rushes to Merri's quarters and, after a token knock on the door, strides in, bursting with news. Kale is initially annoyed about his and Merri's seeming inability to have a private moment, but quickly gets swept up in discussion of the bizarre new developments that Godwin has come to relate. Speculation begins, and someone voices the notion that perhaps the Godspeed Drive actually contains the jack-in-the-box. Godwin decides to use his spell to look inside it and see what he can learn. When he looks inside the drive, he sees a great, firey eye, and is overwhelmed by a sense of its pure, absolute, utter evil. He feels the fire burning him and gets hurled across the room. When he catches his breath, he semi-coherently raves about fire and evil and generally exhibits difficulty coping with what he has seen/felt. The others are duly dismayed. The party decides to put the drive back where it belongs in the wizardry bay, which Merri has agreed to in the course of her talk with Kale. They head to the bay with Merri still holding the drive, and Merri tries to put it in its place, but is unable to bring herself to do so. Kale therefore helps her out by "guiding her hands," with the twin results that the drive gets put in its place and Kale and Merri experience a moment of closeness due to their mutual struggle with the drive. Kale then barricades the door to the bay with a wall to prevent anyone from going in and further messing with the drive, after which he and Merri rush off to have sex. As everyone is still unclear about whether the drive is, or is connected in some way with, the jack-in-the-box, the party decides (after two of its members are done boffing) to search the ship for jack, on the theory that maybe Jundub does know something they don't and that perhaps it is indeed somehow present somewhere on board. They spend the rest of the day doing so, but find no jack.
Reality Date: December 16, 2005Gameality Date: March 1, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
The following day, the party continues its search of the ship (which they were unable to finish on the previous evening), but finds no jack-in-the-box. In the afternoon, after giving up the search, Kale and Merri decide that the time has come to pay a visit to Merri's parents--both to share with them the news of Merri's pregnancy and to ask her father some questions about the last-known location/possessor of jack. The party discusses splitting up, with Merri and Kale going to Merri's parents' house while Godwin sets about trying to learn something about Jundub's "sources," his connection to the Ignoramians, and his general doings, as well as about what ever happened to Karg'Thwap. Clod and Viller, however, end up tagging along with Merri and Kale, so that instead of the party "splitting up," it turns out that everyone but Godwin traipses off to the hobbit slums and Godwin goes off and does his own thing.
When Merri and company arrive at her family's home, they find her mother out in the yard washing clothes. She is very surprised to see Merri, and gives her and her friends a rather frosty reception. Merri tries to break through her mother's aloofness, but Mom remains cold and angry-sounding, even thoush she says that she is glad to see that Merri remains alive and safe. Clod, for his part, behaves in an almost unbelievable tactless manner during the entire encounter, which doesn't exactly help Merri in her efforts. He makes casual and oblivious inquiries about where in the area--i.e., the hobbit slums--he can go to purchase various things, and generally makes an ass of himself. A short time later, as the party sets off to go find Merri's father (whom her mother says is at his shop, trying to resume his former carpentry work), Clod's ramblings get stranger and stranger. Suddenly, a bizarre tear appears in midair just ahead of the party, and through it they can hear strange voices that seem to be talking about them. In fact, these voices seem to anticipate their every word, so that everything that they themselves say somehow ends up being an echo of something just said by one of the voices. In addition, one voice suggests that Clod can jump through the tear if he wants to. Freaked out, they start examining the tear, only to have the voices on the other side start telling them not to do so, but rather to go away and forget all about it! Merri frets that the phenomenon is some kind of punishment being inflicted on Kale and herself by some god or other. Noting that this whole episode seems frighteningly Suppel-esque, and speculating that perhaps it was one or more events similar to this that caused Suppel to go crazy at some point in the past, Kale urges the others to heed the advice of the mysterious voices and depart the vicinity. He also puts up a wall to "block" the rip out of concern for the safety of others.
At Merri's father's shop, the party finds dear-old-largely-limbless-dad riding on the back of a large clone that obeys his verbal commands. He, like Merri's mother, seems bitter and angry and not especially interested in talking to Merri, but this time around, Clod opens his mouth less often, and when Merri announces that she has learned how to regrow missing limbs, her father warms up a bit. She thus casts her spell on his various limb-stumps. Unbeknownst to her or anyone else present, she largely messes the spells up, but as her father does feel tingling sensations where his limbs ought to grow, and given that the spell is supposed to take some time to work, he assumes (as does Merri) that the spells are successful. Questioned about the jack-in-the-box, he says that the last he knew, Jundub had it, but he also adds that he has not been "in Jundub's circle" since Jundub's loss of the mayoral election and subsequent imprisonment and freeing from jail. He also mentions that Jundub left town for a spell after getting out of jail. Almost as an afterthought, as the party is getting ready to leave, Merri tells her father that he's "going to be a grandfather.” He is naturally surprised, especially when he learns who the father of Merri's child-to-be is. This piece of news, in fact, seems to really weird him out, and he exclaims that he can't imagine what Merri sees in the "conans."
Meanwhile Godwin makes a pathetic attempt to disguise himself, then goes to a bar in town in the hope of striking up conversations that might lead to info about a) Karg's fate and b) Jundub's doings/whereabouts. When he walks into the bar, however, everyone stares at him and the man behind the bar ridicules and laughs at him because of his utterly bizarre appearance (the result of his failed efforts at disguising himself). Things go from bad to worse when he attempts to purchase a beer but realizes that he has no lime, since all of his money has been converted to "future" coinage. He digs in his pockets for what little Hinkervillian money he still possesses--a few paltry metal pieces--and is rewarded with a few drops of beer and a look from the bartender that clearly says "You're an idiot.” Eager to extricate himself from this situation, Godwin drinks his few drops of beer, thanks the bartender as though nothing out of the ordinary has happened, and makes for the exit. He then removes/wipes off his lame disguise and tries again elsewhere, with somewhat more success. All he manages to pick up about Karg is a story that he ditched town, with mumblings about this having proven that he really was evil after all. One person that he enounters seems to have knowledge of Jundub's "resistance" but is very tight-lipped, so Godwin drinks an invisibility potion, "bugs" him, and attempts to follow him home invisibly. Along the way he runs into the others, who are coming back from talking to Merri's dad. He stops to compare notes with them, then catches up with his quarry. His plan is to figure out where the guy lives so that surveillance via the "bug" can be accomplished later, but unfortunately, the guy goes to work rather than going home. He works at a law firm as a janitor. After eavesdropping on his sweeping activities for a while, bored to tears, Godwin suddenly feels mystically inclined to return to the ship in the name of party cohesion and try finding the guy again later.
Back aboard ship, Kale & others are intent upon getting the Godspeed Drive resanctified so that it will stop influencing everyone so powerfully. In the course of a conversation between Merri and Relic, Relic happens to mention that he is a "sanctification cleric," so she and others ask him if that means that he knows how to resanctify the drive. He says that he does, but that he'll need supplies. The party members therefore decide to set off for a not-middle-of-nowhere world that he knows of in order to acquire said supplies--although Godwin is reluctant to depart so abruptly in the midst of his surveillance efforts, and is also leery of leaving the ground in the deathtrap/ship again. Someone manages to successfully get the ship off the ground. As the latter is happening, Clod proves unable to resist the pull of the Godspeed Drive, so he goes to the area outside the wizardry bay and starts working on smashing through Kale's wall with a pickaxe. Shortly later, Godwin too is mastered by the urge to be near the drive, so he goes to the area outside the wizardry bay, sees what Clod is up to, and encourages him--though they both assert that they merely want to "check on" the drive. In time, Clod succeeds in making a hole in Kale's wall large enough for a person to fit through, and he and Godwin both go through. Godwin assures himself and Clod that he wishes to "study" the drive and try to figure out more about it, but to his dismay, Clod, who is jazzed up on Potion Deux and convinced (whether accurately or not, none can say) that he is invulnerable to all harm, grabs the drive and runs out of the bay with it. Godwin gives chase, and in some way, Kale and Merri both become aware of what is going on and come running as well. Clod, seized by some form of insanity, makes for the ship's exit hatch, even though he knows that the ship is currently flying through the heavens. When he stops to open the hatch, Godwin catches up and attempts to wrest the drive from him, with the result that Clod loses his grip on the drive and it goes sailing out the open hatch and into the heavens. As Godwin flails around trying and failing to grab ahold of something to save himself, Clod leaps out of the hatch after the drive, still feeling invulnerable to harm and apparently not worried about the possibility of floating off into the heavens never to be seen again. By this time, Kale and Merri have arrived, only to find themselves being blown toward the open hatch out which Godwin has practically already been blown. A frenzied scramble to save themselves and each other ensues, during which Godwin in particular proves unable to grab onto anything strongly enough to save himself. Fortunately, Merri is able to get a grip on Godwin, and Kale manages to hang on to Merri. Unfortunately, Kale isn't holding on to anything else; he tries a succession of tactics involving walls and a rope, while Godwin, for his part, tries but spectacularly fails to grapple the ship with his climbing equipment from his dangling-outside-the-ship position. Nothing seems able to save our heroes until finally Kale produces an extendable ladder from his magical cloak; the ladder becomes partially wedged in the open hatch, providing a brief and meager stability. Shortly after the ladder's deployment, Viller becomes aware of what is going on and manages to resuce everyone by tying a rope to the ladder, tying the other end to Merri's pony in the nearby stables, and having said beast pull the ladder into the ship.
Having thus very, very narrowly escaped probable death, Godwin completely loses his already-tenuous grip on his sanity and collapses into an unresponsive quivering mass. The other party members half-carry him to his quarters and deposit him there, whereupon Kale, his adrenaline still surging from the near-death experience, exclaims "What a rush!" "Yeah," says Merri. "Let's go have sex!" Kale feebly objects on the grounds that they need to hurry up to the bridge and see about retrieving the Godspeed Drive, and the pair end up heading for the bridge together and making out along the way, while Viller tags along awkwardly behind them. When they get to the bridge, Kale endeavors to go about accomplishing goals, but finds himself unable to ignore Merri's insistence that "right now, the important thing is that we have sex.” The two of them thus leap into each other's arms on the "captain's couch" and release their pent-up tensions through passionate lovemaking--despite the presence of Viller on the bridge. Viller, though intrigued by Kale and Merri's apparent indifference to their lack of privacy, decides to give them some by departing the bridge. Heading to Godwin's quarters, he attempts to bring Godwin out of his unresponsive state, employing massage toward this end and slowly achieving a limited degree of success. Meanwhile, once Merri and Kale have satisfied their passions, they return their attention to the question of the retrievability of the drive. To their dismay, they discover that two other ships are in the vicinity--one a government ship and the other a dungeoncraft (though a much smaller one than the Munchkin). The ships seem to be converging on the Godspeed Drive. Hoping to fast-talk her way through the situation, Merri gets on the bard station and contacts the other ships to "thank them" for "locating" the "little piece" of their ship that has "gotten away" from them, possibly adding something about how they should back away from this "piece" because it is dangerous. The ships' occupants respond by claiming salvage rights and ordering the Redemption away, to which Merri responds by thanking them again for their help. Meanwhile, Kale moves the ship in toward the drive and manages to grapple it with the ship's "grappling roots" and bring it aboard before the other ships are able to do anything about it. He then suceeds in getting the Redemption to depart the vicinity in a hurry, losing the other ships. He sets a course for the world that Relic suggested going to earlier.
With the ship underway and no immediate crisis to deal with, Kale heads off to bed, and Merri gets Relic to start working on knocking down the wall between her quarters and the next room, which Merri has decided to convert into a nursery for the coming baby. When Kale is awakened by the pounding noises involved in this process, sharp words are exchanged. Kale isn't sure it's a good idea to go knocking down the walls of the ship, and he's even less sure that there's a need to be doing it right now, in the middle of the night. Discussion ensues, and Kale eventually agrees to use his spells to connect the rooms. The demolition work is thus halted, for the time being at least.
Reality Date: December 16, 2005 Gameality Date: March 4, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Three days later, the Redemption reaches its destination world, which is called Luchorpàn and is home to the Leprechauns. The party secures permission to land and then does so. Godwin hastens offboard and kisses the ground. The party falls to shopping. Godwin, lacking sufficient emotional investment in the party's goals to prioritize them over his current difficulties coping with life--and also lacking enough of a grip on reality to think clearly about the impracticality of his plan--goes to a magic shop and inquires about a spell to teleport between worlds, in the hope of not having to get back on the ship (which he views, not totally unreasonably, as an insane deathtrap). He is told that such a spell could probably be come up with given some time, but that it would be very expensive. Fortunately, even though Godwin possesses a considerable amoung of current-era currency (more than any other party member, in fact), he does not have enough for the teleportation spell. He thus contents himself with purchasing a spell called "Umbilical Tethering" as a remedy for his inability to grab onto things in the all-too-frequent situations in which he finds himself being blown out of ships into the heavens. He also picks up several cases of Potion Deux. While Godwin is preoccupied with these concerns of his own and musing about the perplexing question of how he is going to get back to Hinkerville without a teleport spell, the other party members see to the acquisition of the supplies for which they came.
Reality Date: January 14, 2006 - Feeling NPC? Drink Potion Deux!Gameality Dates: March 4-6, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
With supplies purchased and Godwin reluctantly agreeing to re-board the Redemption, the party embarks upon the journey back to the Hinkerville world. In an effort to cope with his fears about flying through the heavens, Godwin imbibes one Potion Deux per day during the three-day trip. The first Deux has the somewhat embarrassing effect of causing him to sweat pudding rather than sweat for the duration of the trip. Both because of this and for reasons having to do with being a nervous wreck, Godwin spends virutally the entire trip holed up in his quarters. The second Deux grants merciful relief by causing him to sleep for an extended period of time. When he awakens, he is extremely thirsty, so he promptly quaffs a third Deux before venturing out into the public areas of the ship for the first time since leaving Luchorpàn. A short time later, he begins experiencing severe and unusual intestinal distress. He heads for the bathroom, but quickly returns to the bridge, white-faced and gibbering, having suddenly been overcome by an intense, overwhelming fear of being in the bathroom. Inadvertantly echoing words once spoken by the party's most recently lost member, he advises others on the bridge "Do not go in there!" Then his intestinal distress suddenly intensifies and moves downward, and he is horrified and embarrassed as he helplessly shits out some kind of fecal golem! The shit-monster--who says hello to all the party members and expresses enthusiasm about the possibilities that lie ahead of it in life--is greeted with general disgust, and Kale tricks it into scampering off to the bathroom and jumping into the toilet. He then locks the bathroom door. Meanwhile, Godwin, who is feeling mortified, rushes back to his quarters and locks himself in. A short time later, Kale knocks on Godwin's door, but Godwin fails to answer. Kale then calls Godwin's name and attempt to engage him in a discussion about what has just happened, but Godwin pretends not to hear him. Eventually, however, after Kale tries the door, finds it locked, and announces "I know you're in there!", Godwin responds by asking him what he wants. Kale asks to be let in, but Godwin refuses, so a dialog shouted through the closed door ensues in which Kale tries to get Godwin to acknowledge that he is out-of-control and that drinking Potion Deux has effects that are unpredictable and therefore potentially dangerous and wisest to just avoid. Bringing up his own past struggles with herb additction, Kale suggests that he understands what Godwin is going through; Godwin reacts by offering to give Kale some Tipsy Bay Leaf in exchange for leaving him alone. This offer enrages Kale, who now demands to be let into Godwin's room. Godwin reluctantly relents and unlocks the door, whereupon Kale enters and finds Godwin blindfolded and his room reeking of pudding. He demands to know why Godwin has Tipsy Bay Leaf and chews Godwin out for offering it to him given his status as a recovering addict. Godwin apologizes for the latter and explains that he originally acquired it in order to prevent Kale and Merri from getting their hands on it and only still has it because he had more or less forgotten about it. Further debate about Potion Deux, however, fails to accomplish anything, as Godwin stubbornly resists seeing any parallels between his "interest" in the beverage and Kale and Merri's past herb addiction episodes.
Reality Date: January 14, 2006 - Feeling NPC? Drink Potion Deux! Gameality Date: March 6, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Meanwhile, back in Hinkerville, Suppel's vacant expression suddenly leaves him, and it dawns on him that he seems, in recent days, to have abandoned his life of adventure for the relatively more boring role of a gunpowder merchant. Feeling as though he has just awakened from a dream, he muses aloud about suddenly not feeling terribly interested in being a shopkeeper; a nearby customer hears this and glances at him in the apparent belief that he is somewhat loony. Still believing that he has become an "NPC," Suppel doesn't seem to regard returning to the party as an option, but as he mulls over his situation, he does decide that since NPCs exist to interact with PCs, who alone actually "matter," his efforts as a gunpowder vendor are wasted if he spends them selling his wares to NPCs. Instead, he decides that he should concentrate on selling them to PCs; otherwise, his life, he feels, is pointless. To this end, he closes shop and wheels his stock of gunpowder off toward the landing site of the Redemption, arriving shortly after said ship has returned from its trip to Luchorpàn and back. Surprised by their bizarre companion's sudden return following his previous abrupt depature from the group, various party members attempt to get something resembling an intelligible answer from Suppel about what he's been up to. Suppel's responses give the impression that he has stopped feeling as though he has real choices about how to live his life and is just trying to fulfil what he sees as his "assigned function" in the most effective way possible. As usual, his perspective baffles others in the party. Kale tries to pique his old adventurey interests, but to no real avail. At one point, Suppel says something about apparently not being "interesting" anymore. Hearing this, Godwin tries to help by informing Suppel that his own life has been growing increasingly "interesting" lately thanks to Potion Deux. This remark provokes a strenuous objection from Kale, but piques Suppel's interest, so Godwin offers him a Deux, which he accepts and immediately drinks. Ironically, this has the effect of giving Suppel a vision of "the players"--prompted him to conclude that he is no longer an "NPC" and therefore snapping him out of his strangely "defeated" mood. He then happily goes off to town to find the Potion Deux vendor whom Clod invisibly robbed several days earlier. No longer feeling any need to be a gunpoweder vendor, Suppel talks the Potion Deux vendor into trading him her entire inventory of Deux in exchange for his entire inventory of gunpowder--a transaction that exasperates Kale on a number of levels when he finds out about it.
Meanwhile, the party notices but unaccountably fails to immediately react to the fact that there seems to be another ship parked on the outskirts of Hinkerville. Godwin goes to the town square to have a look at his favorite work of art and is pleased to find Yo there working on removing the ship wreckage from around it. Godwin then converses briefly with Yo and learns from him that the Iron Titans are imminently leaving Hinkerville. This reminds Godwin of the alarming presence of a new ship in town, and at approximately the same time, the other party members suddenly and belatedly realize that this is something that needs to be investigated immediately as well. All party members thus stop futzing with less important things and decide to go check out the ship. Said ship appears to be another "Dancey Class" vessel similar to the ruined Pedigree, and the Keepers and their guards seem to be hauling large numbers of boxes into it. This, along with the information from Yo about the Iron Titans leaving, gives rise to fears among the party members that the Keepers are looting the town and plan to pull up stakes and depart once they have stolen everything that they want from it, leaving its people to perish alone in the jungle. To confirm whether or not the boxes do indicate that the town is being looted, Suppel contrives to become invisible via a potion, then sneaks onto the ship, hides, and opens one of the boxes, which does turn out to contain what the Keepers no doubt regard as Hinkervillian "artifacts.” Meanwhile, the other party members lurk around town, trying to spot Keepers looting things--which they do. Godwin has a somewhat desperate notion to try to find whoever is in charge of the looting operation and try to make him or her forget a crucial fact--like the fact that the Keepers want Hinkerfvillian artifacts. He is unable to locate any one person who seems to be in overall charge, however, and in any case he knows that the plan is a long-shot at best.
Back on the Keepers' ship, Suppel makes a couple of attempts to quietly radio the other party members to tell them about what he's seen and attempt to coordinate planning with them, but for some reason, no one pays him much heed. He then gets it into his head to go the the ship's bridge and try to accomplish something there, but unfortunately he finds the way blocked by a closed door that is guarded by two people. His attempts to get past this obstacle fail, but his invisible antics near the door alert the guards that something odd is going on. The guards decide to send a message via carrier pigeon (presumably to someone higher up), but Suppel invisibly interferes with their efforts by seizing the poor bird and wiggling its wings awkwardly as he runs away down the corridor in an extremely lame attempt to make it look like the bird is flying. The baffled guards try to stop the bird, but Suppel manages to get it outside and "set it free.” A short time later, he follows another guard into an elevator when its doors open to allow that guard in. During the elevator ride, he brutally murders the guard and then chops off his hand, which he hopes to use to get through the ship's hand-activated security doors. While Suppel is busy embarking upon this violent and harebrained course, the other party members discuss options for preventing the Keepers from making off with the Hinkervillians' possessions. The idea of "deleting" part of the ship's hull in the cargo bay area, so that when it takes off it leaves the boxes behind, is floated, but seems to suffer from the fatal flaw that the Keepers will inevitably notice and return to retrieve the lost boxes. The problem, as Kale points out, is that what is really needed is a plan that will result in the Keepers leaving, without the loot, and not coming back. These considerations begin to force upon Godwin's consciousness the unwelcome realization that saving Hinkerville might only be possible via a whole bunch of violence. He voices and begins wrestling with the ethical implications of this thought, observing that the situation essentially amounts to a war and that in wars, people kill each other. Might not the goal of saving Hinkerville justify the kind of violence that Godwin usually advocates avoiding? The various party members (minus Suppel) mull over and discuss both this question and that of how to deal with the present crisis, but arrive at no real conclusions. [status of drive?]
Reality Date: February 18, 2006 - Revenge of the Shit GolemGameality Date: March 6, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Some rather murky and ill-remembered events occur. For instance, Godwin drinks a Potion Deux and temporarily gains the ability to read the thoughts of those around him. This distresses his companions--especially Merri, who resorts to fantasizing about Kale and staring at Godwin with his own grinning face as a means of keeping her non-sex-with-Kale-related thoughts private. Godwin, for his part, does his best to tune out Merri's thoughts in order to be spared the images that she is conjuring up. On a more goal-oriented note, Godwin--with help and input from Viller and possibly Merri--attempts to get the Keepers to stop loading boxes of loot onto their ship by making several individual Keepers forget facts (like where the ship is, what they're doing with the boxes, etc.) when they pick up boxes. They have fun (helped greatly by Godwin's ability to read the thoughts of the affected Keepers), and succeed in confusing and alarming the Keepers, but fail to actually stop the looting. Meanwhile, Suppel, aboard the Keepers' ship, goes onto the bridge wearing the uniform of the guard whom he murdered, uses said guard's bloody severed hand to make it appear that he has been inured, gets a Keeper to to escort him to the medical bay, and murders the escorting Keeper as soon as they are in the elevator. Then he goes back to the bridge, somehow lures another Keeper, and murders that one in the elevator as well. Meanwhile, Kale--who experienced a sudden need to use the bathroom right before these events started happening--is dealing with the consequences of a very poor choice of which of the Redemption's bathrooms to use. An epic battle with the previously-imprisoned shit golem results, the details of which Kale presumably represses.
Reality Date: November 17, 2006 - Imagining Clodd and the ZombieGameality Date: March 6, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Suddenly, an inexplicable cosmic shift occurs, causing a brief moment of disorientation and confusion for everyone. As the various party members try to sort out what is going on, Viller toys with Godwin by making a cryptic remark that leads Godwin to suspect momentarily that the strange disorientation is a result of something Viller did. This misimpression, however, is quickly dispelled thanks to Godwin's ability to read Viller's thoughts. Meanwhile, Suppel reacts to his disorientation by drinking a Potion Deux. Godwin drinks one, too, but whereas history immediately forgets what effect, if any, Godwin's Deux has, Suppel's causes all the other party members to suddenly appear in ghostly form in his vicinity--that vicinity being the bridge of the Keepers' ship, where a bunch of Keepers are now cornering him. It soon becomes clear that the ghostly party members are really only present in Suppel's imagination, but despite this, they are aware of their imagined presence and in control of their imaginary actions. Imaginary Kale and Merri take note of Suppel's predicament and leap into the fray in a futile attempt to help him, while imaginary Godwin and Viller hang back in the elevator, trying to piece together what is going on; imaginery Clod behaves in unremembered ways. Imaginary Kale's Suppel-aiding efforts consist of creating a wall between Suppel and his attackers; unfortunately, since the wall exists only in Suppel's imagination, it blocks his view of the Keepers without impeding their ability to inflict harm on him. After a brief scuffle, they manage to get ahold of him and tie him up. Shortly thereafter, most of the imaginary party members vanish from the scene; their real counterparts find themselves back in their original locations with only a mysterious, dim awareness that something weird just happened and that Suppel is in some kind of trouble. Imaginary Clod, however, remains to haunt, torment, and amuse Suppel—though real Clod ceases to be aware of or in control of the hallucination.
Out in the heavens, real Clod decides that given his predicament, drinking a Potion Deux seems warranted; it might help in some way, and even if not, it could hardly make things much worse. He therefore quaffs, and the next thing he knows, he is floating out of his body—to which he remains tethered via a cord. Pleased with this sudden ability, his non-physical essence floats off in search of the other party members. When he reaches Godwin, Merri, and Viller's location, he is momentarily dismayed when he realized that they can't see him, nor can he talk to them. However, he soon finds that Godwin appears able to hear his thoughts, so communication of a sort does turn out to be possible. Godwin, surprised to suddenly "hear" Clod]'s "voice" out of nowhere, tells his companions about what he is "hearing"--though not until he has acknowledged that they are likely to think him crazy when they hear about it. Clod, not surprisingly, seems to have the idea of being rescued from the heavens by the rest of the party on his mind. But while these events are happening, Suppel, tied up on the Keepers' ship, is radioing for help. Kale, who has the other radio, receives the summons just as he is finally triumphing over the shit golem after an apparently long and messy battle. Caked in feces, he exits the bathroom and sets off at top speed toward the Keepers' ship, intent on rescuing Suppel. As he passes the spot where the others are congregating, he calls out to them to accompany him, which they do after asking and receiving confirmation about whether Suppel is in trouble. The "conversation" with the disembodied Clod is thus cut short, so Clod non-physically follows the others toward the Keepers' ship.
On the way to the ship, Godwin attempts to discern whether Kale has any kind of plan for what to do about Suppel's predicament when they get there--but, naturally, Kale does in fact not have a plan. Thus, when the party reaches the vicinity of the ship, Godwin comes to a halt some distance back from the armed guards at its open hatchway, not wishing to act rashly and get himself killed. The rest of the party members approach the guards, and Viller starts trying to negotiate with them--but before that has a chance to go anywhere, Kale attacks one of them while Merri attempts to push past them and board their ship. Two of the guards grab ahold of Merri and prevent her from getting past them. Viller voices indignation at his companions for undermining his negotiation efforts, and Godwin chimes in by asserting "Some of us mean you no harm!" Merri orders her magical armor off, which has the effect of freeing her from the grasp of the guards; she then heads onto the ship. Kale, heeding Viller's rebuke, decides to try striking a deal with the guards, so he starts asking questions about how much the Keepers are paying them and what sort of benefits they do or don't receive. They seem somewhat receptive to this line of discussion, and Kale learns that they have not been given separate quarters about the Keepers' ship. They actually seem pleased with this situation, but Kale nevertheless attempts to argue that it is an example of the ways in which their employers are taking advantage fof them. Meanwhile, some Keepers approach from somewhere in town, hauling a large box of "loot.” They ask the party members to get out of their way so that they can bring the box onto the ship, but Godwin assumes a commanding tone, steps directly into their path, and tells them that they'll have to wait becuse "negotiations are under way.” They object, but Godwin stands his ground, so they decide to put down the box, leave it there for the moment, and head off to get another box, as they are apparently in a hurry to finish looting the town. After they leave, Godwin opens the box, which turns out to contain a large, heavy birdbath. Meanwhile, Kale is explaining to the guards that he has an "inside man" on board the ship, and Merri is running into Keepers who apparently mistake her for one of them and ask her where the next load of loot is. She fast-talks them into accompanying her back to the hatchway by saying that their help is needed to carry the loot aboard, then ditches them and heads back onto the ship, eventually making her way to the bridge--where she finds that Suppel has already managed to free himself. She expresses irritation at the fact that "all of her rescue attempts" end up being unneccesary because the rescuee always turns out not to be in need of rescuing.
Eventually the guards agree to let Kale and company onto the ship, and everyone else heads for the bridge as well. En route, disembodied Clod spots the corpses of Suppel's victims and decides to try animating one of them. Not being very skilled in the art of corpse animation, however, he ends up causing it to explode, splattering Kale, Godwin, and Viller with its blood and guts. He tries again with another corpse even though an irate Godwin repeatedly orders him not to, but again ends up messily destroying the body. A third attempt, however, succeeds, transforming ghost-Clod into zombie-Clod. One of zombie-Clod's first acts is to loot his stolen body; he finds a small amount of money, which he gives to Godwin as a gesture of goodwill (in the hope that it will incline Godwin to resuce his real body). When Kale, Godwin, Viller, and zombie-Clod reach the bridge, which they find to be Keeper-free and occupied by Merri and Suppel, they set about figuring out how to seal off the door leading to the bridge to prevent anyone else from joining them there. They accomplish this, then start trying to figure out how to take off. Kale and perhaps at least one other party member try to make this happen but fail, whereupon the zombie takes the controls and gets the ship to lift off the ground. However, it immediately lurches to a halt as if chained or otherwise attached to the ground. For a moment, the ship's drive strains against the restraints; then it suddenly breaks free, shoots up into the air, loses momentum, and starts falling back down. Panic breaks out on the bridge, but the ship crashes down before anyone has much of a chance to do anything about the situation. Several party members are injured, and an overhead glass window on the bridge shatters. Kale flies up and looks out through the resulting opening. From what he sees, he infers what happened: part of the ship apparenlty broke free of the restraints and off of the rest of the ship, then crashed back down onto the part that remained on the ground.
More disturbingly, however, Kale also notes that three Iron Titans have encircled the wreck and are swiftly approaching. Godwin, becoming aware of the Titans from Kale's thoughts and panicking anew, immediately quaffs another Deux--as does Suppel when he hears of the approaching Titans. In the course of discussing their options, Kale tells Godwin to create fog, with the idea that he will fly the party members up and out of the ship one by one with the fog hiding them from the view of the Titans. Godwin, under the influence of Deux, accepts Kale's order to make fog as a sacred quest. He immediately falls to his knees, reverently announcing, in an awe-filled voice, that his life has been given purpose. Whipping out his blindfold, he covers his eyes with it, bows his head prayerfully, and offers up to his deity the following supplication: "O Great God Ignoramius, I do not know why--but there must be fog.” Unfortunately, Godwin's ambrosia is tapped out from all the forgetting that he made happen earlier, and neither his reverence nor the boost from the Potion Deux are enough to compensate. He is therefore unable to conjure up any fog. Declaring himself a failure, he collapses despondently in a corner and tunes out all stimuli in his environment in an attempt at total sensory deprivation, and in his Deux-induced spritiual fervor, enters a trancelike state. Meanwhile, Kale decides that the best way to save everyones' lives is for him to sneak out of the ship (despite the lack of fog) and make a run for the Redemption, then shroud it and come back for the rest of the party. He succeeds in this, and with the Redemption hovering just above the ruined Keeper ship, he extends the platform. Suppel and the zombie hurry aboard, and Merri follows, dragging the near-catatonic Godwin along with her. With everyone safely aboard, Kale pilots the ship off into the heavens.
After depositing Godwin in his quarters, Merri sets about searching said quarters for Potion Deux. She finds and confiscates Godwin's stash, and in the process also finds the Tipsy Bay Leaf that Godwin still has in his backpack. This, too, the thieving hobbit confiscates, along with a couple flasks of dwarven beer--one of which is labeled as "possibly mind-controling" in Godwin's handwriting. Meanwhile, Kale is showering layers of shit, blood, and corpse innards off of himself (and Viller is perhaps also showering the latter two substances off of himself). When Merri is done thieving and Kale is done cleansing, Merri presents Kale with the stolen Deux and most of the stolen Tipsy Bay Leaf —though like the junkie that she is, she keeps two doses of the latter for herself, saying nothing of them to Kale. Discussion ensues about what to do with the confiscated goods. [how did it end?] Once that matter has been settled, Merri, Kale, and Viller go to bed. Clod tries to do the same, but finds that disembodies essences astrally projecting themselves and reanimating the corpses of others are not able to sleep. Godwin, for his part, eventually emerges from his trance, showers the blood and guts off of himself, and goes to bed, intent on replenishing his ambrosial reserves so that he can complete his holy quest after a good, long sleep.
Reality Date: November 17, 2006 - Imagining Clodd and the Zombie Gameality Date: March 7, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
After a twelve-hour sleep, the various party members arise refreshed (except Clod, of course). Godwin immediately gets to his knees and prays to Ignoramius for fog. In fulfillment of his sacred quest, a nice thick fog gradually comes into existence, filling a mile-diameter region centered on Godwin's location. When the other party members become aware of the fog, they head to Godwin's quarters to question him about it (Clod in zombie form, of course). They are a little baffled when his only response is that he created the fog because Kale gave him the holy purpose of doing so. Also during this conversation, the idea of rescuing Clod is discussed (advocated, no doubt, by the Clod zombie). Invoking his status as Clod's "commanding officer," Godwin orders the zombie to leave the area, then asks the others whether they really think that rescuing the dangerous lunatic who almost got them all killed is a wise idea. The question is greeted with general shock, and Kale attempts to point out to Godwin that Clod's actions had been taken while under the influence of that infernal beverage, Potion Deux. This leads Kale into an attempt to confront Godwin about his own Deux-drinking and the erratic behavior that it has led him to, but Godwin, unwilling to hear this and unable, as yet, to see the absurdity of his fog or to connect it with Potion Deux, merely retreats into serene detachment, defending the fog as "holy" and adding that unlike certain past fogs, surely no one could say that this fog "sucked." At approximately this point, it occurs to Kale to wonder just how much fog Godwin has created. When Godwin affirms that there is fog out in the heavens around the ship as well as inside it, Kale becomes alarmed about the shrouded ship's cover being blown, panics, and dashes off toward the bridge to move the ship out of the fog cloud. With Godwin insisting that he wishes only to "enjoy the fog," the others follow Kale, leaving Godwin alone in his quarters and settling contentedly into fog-appreciation mode.
The party members, minus Godwin, then set about the task of rescuing Clod's body from the heavens. Clod is unable to say where his body is, but if he leaves the host body that he is inhabiting, he will be able to follow the cord tethering his non-physical essence to his body back to its source. However, with Godwin no longer able to read his thoughts, he will have no way of communicating with anyone once he de-zombificates. Eventually, this dilemma is resolved when Suppel figures out that his wand of "PC detection" enables him to track Clod's disembodied essence. Clod therefore ditches the zombie body and floats off toward his real body while the Redemption follows. Meanwhile Godwin, after "appreciating the fog" for a while, gets up to do something or other, and while blindly walking across his quarters through the fog, gets disoriented and runs into a wall. The jolt seems to knock him back to his senses, and his reactions to running into the wall go from "God dammit, I can't see anything in all this fog" to "Wait a minute--why did I create all this fog, anyway?" Suddenly feeling very silly indeed, he lays on his bed and mopes for a while, then decides (in a kind of semi-conscious way) that the best way to deal with the situation is to act as though it never happened. He therefore leaves his quarters, heads to the bridge, marches up to Kale in a businesslike manner, and executes a complete 180 degree reversal from his previous attitude by matter-of-factly declaring that something needs to be done about "all this annoying fog." Kale tries not to let him get away with his apparent wish to evade the matter of responsibility for the fog, once again bringing up Godwin's Potion Deux use and arguing that Godwin needs to get off the stuff; this time, Godwin responds by abruptly expressing agreement and then immediately changing the subject. While this exchange is occurring, the rest of the party is carrying out the rescue of Clod. Once the ship reaches his body, a plan to retrieve it is hatched that involves Suppel dangling out the etherlock while tethered to something inside the ship so that he can grab ahold of Clod. When Godwin hears this plan, he makes a beeline for his quarters, inside which he locks himself for the duration of the open-etherlock-out-in-the-heavens shenanigans. Clod returns to his body, the rescue is carried out, and the zombie body is dumped out the etherlock, which opening is then left open for a while in the hope of getting most of the fog that's in the ship to float out into the heavens.
In the privacy of his quarters, Godwin notes that his throat is feeling a bit dry, so he casually reaches under his bed for a bottle of Potion Deux--but comes up empty-handed. A quick search of his quarters reveals that his Potion Deux and his Tipsy Bay Leaf and Baylax have disappeared, along with a few flasks of millennia-old dwarven beer. Drawing the obvious conclusion, he goes off in search of Merri (as soon as the etherlock has been safely closed). When he confronts her--in a calm and artificially disinterested manner--about the missing items, she confesses to taking them from his quarters and defends her actions by comparing them to Godwin keeping Tipsy Bay Leaf from her and Kale in the past. Since that justification only seems to apply to the Deux, Godwin questions her especially sharply about the Tipsy Bay Leaf, the theft of which by her seems highly suspicious. He also harps a bit on the dwarven beer, since Merri has no real excuse for having stolen that and since it's something that he can communicate his irritation about without coming across like a Deux junkie. He emphasizes the beer's nostalgic value to him. Merri agrees to give the beer back, but claims that she gave all the other stolen goods to Kale. After assuring her that he will be having a talk with Kale as well, and expressing his disapproval of her actions, Godwin--seeing that Merri seems unrepentent--decides to give her a taste of her own medicine. He heads to her quarters, looks for anything that he thinks she is likely to particularly value, and ends up helping himself to her ship-in-a-bottle and her canoe paddle. After locking these items in his own quarters, he goes to confront Kale--who, of course, insists that he and Merri acted in Godwin's own best interests, and like Merri, compares the situation to Godwin's high-handed methods of keeping Tipsy Bay Leaf from the two of them in the past, as well as his role in breaking Kale of his earlier herb-addiction back before the Frigid Doom. Godwin, however, denies that the situations are comparable, insisting that stealing from his quarters crossed a line. Suppel, who is present, chimes in to agree with Godwin, observing that as the latter is a "PC," Kale and Merri should not have stolen from him. Godwin is not entirely sure how to react to the unexpected fact of support in his position from Suppel--especially support justified by Suppel's loony beliefs. Viller also chimes in, commenting that he always keeps his quarters locked and that Godwin would do well to follow suit. Seemingly oblivious to the tension and conflict in the air between Kale and Godwin, Viller prattles on about various other things relating to the situation as well. Viller does not mention--nor do Kale or Merri, who appear unaware of it--that he stole some of Godwin's Deux as well. Kale, meanwhile, denies Merri's assertion that he has all the stuff that she took from Godwin's quarters in his possession; he claims that the Deux and the leaf were all tossed out the etherlock. Harsh and angry words are then exchanged between the two friends; Godwin insists that if Kale can't return the Potion Deux, then he owes Godwin its value in crowns, and Kale angrily tosses the money at Godwin and suggests that the latter part ways with the party and go hang out in Hinkerville, since he appears to care about nothing but Potion Deux and the non-representational art in the town square. When Godwin takes exception to this accusation, the conversation shifts to the whole matter of Hinkerville, what to do about it, and to what extent its predicament is or is not the party's responsibility. Thus, although some hostility remains in the air, the contentious subjects of the theft and the Deux addiction are dropped for the time being.
Reality Date: November 25, 2006 -- Body-Swapping Never Gets OldGameality Date: March 7, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
While Godwin, who is beginning to realize that his Potion Deux use may, in fact, have gotten a little out of hand, sulks in his quarters and writes in his journal about his fear that his friendship with Kale may be ending, the other party members engage in a hearty round of bickering on the bridge. For no apparent reason other than perhaps to provoke Kale, Suppel suggests to him that it would be good for "party cohesion" if Kale were to buy Godwin a Potion Deux. Viller pipes up that it would also be keen to pour said Deux down Godwin's "gullet." Both notions upset Kale, though he focuses mainly on bawling Suppel out. Viller continues to interject provocative comments, asserting the view that pain--or at least, its infliction on others--is a good thing. When others--notably Clod--ask him clarifying questions about this newly revealed nutty outlook on life, and in particular suggest the label of "sadist" to describe him, he eagerly adopts the label. This provokes Clod to repeatedly decry Viller's trustworthiness and overall character at intervals during the remainder of the day and into the next. Meanwhile, the rest of the party's bickering shifts focus, moving to the subject of goals. Weapons for the Redemption are on people's minds, and Kale floats the idea of appropriating the Hinkervillian "loot" that the Keepers tried to make off with and selling it for cash with which to buy weapons. The ethics of such a course of action are, naturally, questioned--and Viller expresses the opinion that if it would be wrong, the party should do it because it's wrong--not, as Kale maintains, as a means of helping Hinkerville. Others point out that the "loot" probably isn't all that valuable, in monetary terms, to anyone from the present time period other than the Keepers. Other possibiilities for acquring weapons--such as theft--are also considered.
While this bickering is going on, someone notices that another Dancy Class ship can be seen en route to Pangea, and something resembling a consensus is reached to the effect that the Redemption should follow it. Around this time, Godwin finishes his journaling/sulking and heads, somewhat hesitantly, to the bridge, but refrains from involving himself in the conversation or activities of the others when he gets there. Meanwhile, Kale attempts to activate the Godspeed drive in the interest of catching up with the Dancy. This attempt spectacularly fails, causing sparks to fly out at him from the "controls." It becomes clear that the Godspeed drive has been once again desanctified, and every member of the party except for Godwin and Viller decides that he or she needs to head down to the wizardry bay to help rectify this problem--even though Relic is the only person actually capable of doing anything about it. By the time they all reach the bay, everyone except for Suppel and Relic have fallen completely under the spell of the drive. A couple of people begin working on removing it from its place, and as soon as it's free, combat breaks out. Kale renders Relic unconscious, Suppel quaffs a Deux, then grabs Kale and hurls him across the room, Merri gets ahold of the drive, and Clod dives at her in an effort to take it away from her, but she dodges him. During the scuffle, there is a series of mysterious incidences of one person making eye contact with another and seeing that person's eyes flash momentarily. After disposing of Kale, Suppel seizes the drive from Merri in an acrobatic fashion, then makes a mad dash away from the others and out of the wizardry bay in an effort to keep the drive away from his off-their-respective-chumps companions. Meanwhile, back on the bridge, Godwin grows uneasy about the possibility that unfortunate events might be transpiring among his drive-crazed companions in the wizardry bay. At about the same time, Viller's interest in the drive finally gets the better of him. Godwin and Viller therefore leave the bridge together and start heading for the wizardry bay.
En route, they happen to catch a glimpse of Suppel heading back to the bridge via a different route, so they double back. Suppel manages to reach the bridge and get the door closed behind him before Godwin and Viller are able to follow him in, but Godwin does at least end up between the closed door and the rest of the party (the others having been in hot pursuit of Suppel). Godwin shouts questions to Suppel about what is going on, and Suppel shouts answers. Though it's less than totally clear to Godwin who is or isn't in possession of their wits, Supple--despite having the drive in his possession and being, in Godwin's view, a nutcase--seems the least crazed of the bunch. Suppel suggests that Godwin get everyone else out of the way and shut safely in their quaters so that he can bring the drive back to Relic for resanctification. Godwin asks how Suppel expects him to accomplish this, and reminds Suppel that the party members whom they are discussing are in fact standing right there, hearing the conversation. At some point during this exchange, Clod departs the vicinity and heads off to the wizardry bay to try to use "auxiliary controls" to unlock the bridge door. Shortly thereafter, Kale loses what's left of his grip on sanity and starts talking about "deleting" a section of the Redemption's hull in order to get at Suppel and the drive. Desperate to prevent this, Godwin threatens to fireball Kale if he does so. "I swear to Ignoramius I'll do it!" he yells, shaking Kale vigorously. This outburst seems to shock Kale back to something resembling his senses, and he is reduced to ineffectual whimpering. Seeing an opportunity, Godwin prevails upon Merri to take Kale back to his quarters and "console" him, which she more or less readily agrees to do. After they leave, Suppel opens the door separating him from Godwin and Viller. Godwin continues standing between Viller and the doorway, making sure that Viller doesn't go after the drive. Viller, however, peeks around Godwin at Suppel--thereby completing a full circuit with the odd eye-flashes. Suddenly, everyone feels dizzy for a moment...
When the momentary dizziness passes, each member of the party is surprised to find him- or herself suddenly in a different place--and in a different body! It appears that the various members of the parties have all swapped bodies; Kale is in Suppel's body, Suppel in Viller's, Viller in Godwin's, Godwin in Clod's, Clod in Merri's, and Merri in Kale's. Most surprised are Merri and Clod; Merri finds herself , in Kale's body, in the midst of having sex with her own body, and Clod finds himself, in Merri's body, having sex with (as far as he can tell) Kale. Both are seriously weirded out and pull back from each other, and a confused scene ensuses, with Merri ordering Clod to put some clothes on "her" body and Clod eyeing up said body appreciatively. The two proceed to work out who each other are, and each tries to put on clothing that doesn't fit--Merri her own, for which Kale's body is too big, and Clod Kale's because they're the only male clothing available, which are way too big for him. When this doesn't work, Merri wraps Kale's green cloak around herself, and Clod resigns himself to wearing Merri's clothing (though minus the lingerie). Merri, starting to realize the many possibilities inherent in being in Kale's body, uses his cat's foot charm and scampers off along the wall, heading toward the bridge. After she leaves, Clod--who for different reasons is intrigued by the opportunities inherent in being inMerri's body--begins feeling "himself" up. Meanwhile, Kale suddenly finds himself standing on the bridge and in possession of the Godspeed drive, and Suppel finds himself suddenly outside the door of the bridge. Godwin, who had been strategically situated between the drive and all of the drive-crazed party members, suddenly finds himself on the opposite end of the ship, in the wizardry bay. Dismayed, he immediately takes off at top speed to get himself back to where he feels he is needed. When he gets there, he finds his own body, whose inhabitant seems to be claiming to be him; also present are Suppel's body and Viller's body, both of which look confused (especially Suppel's). Everyone questions everyone else about who is who, and suspicion and mistrust are aroused by the fact that two different people are claiming to be Godwin. Godwin attempts to use reason to convince Kale that he is the real him, pointing out that everyone else seems to have changed bodies--so why would Godwin alone still be in his own body? While this argument is happening, Kale's body--naked but for his green cloak--scurries into the area along the wall. This immediately attracts Kale's attention, and he demands to know who the newcomer is. He also expresses the view that said newcomer should be wearing more clothing. Merri identifies herself and complains to Kale about Clod's lecherous looks and her fears about what Clod might be doing at this very minute with her body. Godwin, noting that Merri's arrival and story account for both her and Clod, takes a moment to work out who, therefore, must be the one occupying his own body and cliaming to be him--namely, Viller.
Eventually, the party heads back toward the wizardry bay with the Godspeed drive, with Clod joining the rest somewhere along the way. Merri, however, parts company with the others and goes off to her quarters, where--taking advantage of not currently being in a pregnant body--she treats herself to the two doses of Tipsy Bay Leaf that she previously stashed away after stealing them from Godwin's quarters. She then spends a good while doing acrobatics on the ceiling and making animal noises (using Kale's ability), all while under the influence of the leaf--though her drug high does get interrupted by an urgent need to use the bathroom due to the fact that, unbeknownst to her, one of the two doses of leaf was actually Baylax rather than Tipsy Bay Leaf. Meanwhile, Godwin, Kale, and Suppel enter the wizardry bay, where--conveniently enough—Relic is just returning to consciousness after being knocked out by Kale earlier. Viller and Clod--who are still under the spell of the drive--attempt to gain entry to the bay as well, but Godwin blocks the doorway. In an effort to get him to let them in, Viller--who is, of course, wearing Godwin's body—threatens to feel up Clod (in Merri's body) if Godwin won't get out of the way. Meanwhile, efforts to get Relic up to speed on what is going on and start him working on the resanctification process are complicated by the fact that Kale seems to have inherited, along with Suppel's body, his Clod hallucination. Not as accustomed as Suppel is to dealing with hallucinations, voices in his head, and the like, Kale exhibits considerable difficulty coping with the apparition; he grows increasingly incoherent and unable to distinguish reality from the goings-on in his mind, despite Godwin's efforts to keep him grounded. Once Relic is more or less awake and clear on what is going on, he requests that everyone else leave the wizardry bay so that he can work on resanctifying the drive in peace. Suppel and Kale thus head for the door, where Godwin is still standing guard to prevent Clod and Viller from entering. When he sees others approaching, Viller immediately ceases threatening to feel up Clod--apparently not wanting anyone else to know about these antics. Clod, realizing that all hope of getting into the bay via persuasion is lost,, then decides to try force—so he pushes past Godwin, bowling him over in the process. Suppel and an increasingly mentally unhinged Kale are his next obstacles, and combat is on the verge of breaking out between them and Clod as Godwin struggles back to his feet, when a frustrated Relic bellows for everyone to clear the hell out already. Realizing that his position is rather hopeless, Clod gives up trying to get/stay in the bay, and everyone but Relic finally clears out. The door is closed, and each party member individually declares his or her intention to stand guard outside the door to make sure that no one else tries to go back in.
Once the resanctification is complete, the party decides that it's time for bed. Merri, however, is concerned about what Clod might be doing with her body, so she goes to his quarters--where she walks in on him masturbating with her body. Irate, Merri reports on Clod's behavior to Kale, who threatens Clod with death should the latter hurt or mess with "his wife." In order to prevent further groping during the night, Kale and Merri insist that Clod and the two of them all sleep in the same room. The bridge is chosen as the room, and Kale "calls the couch." Meanwhile Viller, who can't get into his own quarters because the lock doesn't recognize his hand as his, goes to Godwin's quarters, and Godwin, who assumes that he will have the same problem (though in actuality, Viller leaves his door unlocked), passes the night in otherwise unassigned quarters. Suppel's bedtime arrangements are not remembered as of this writing.
Reality Date: November 25, 2006 -- Body-Swapping Never Gets Old Gameality Date: March 8, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, our heros get on with their very-delayed return trip to Pangea. Before landing, as usual, on the outskirts of Hinkerville, they happen to look out the window and see a mysterious pattern of something white covering portions of the ground just outside of town on one side. Flying over to that side of town to investigate, they land the ship, exist, and discover that the substance is in fact ice. It appears as if two walls of ice in the shape of a V once stood here, though they have melted down to a mere remnant; inside the V, what may have been a floor of ice now exists only in patches. Puzzled, and wondering about possible connections with frigid doom, the party decides to go find Godwin's friend Yo and see if he knows anything about both the ice and the Dancy, which appears to have already come and gone. Since Godwin's body is currenlty occupied by Viller, it is decided to send Viller to talk to Yo--but with Godwin tagging along to monitor the exchange. This occurs, and Yo informs "Godwin" that the ice outside of town has actually been there ever since the big wingless dragon attack on the townspeople about a week and a half ago. Godwin feels slightly silly for not having noticed the ice until now, but does recall noticing a drop in temperature just before the attack. In any case, Godwin and Viller go on to question Yo about Hinkerville's most recent visitors, who turn out to have been still more Keepers. Yo expresses the opinion that they came to collect the other Keepers and the Titans, and also mentioned having heard them yelling at Glean. Upon further questioning, he adds that the yelling had something to do with destroying two ships, and may also have involved Glean being thrown out of the Keepers' organization.
As Viller and Godwin are taking their leave of Yo, the latter comments that he'll see them at the town meeting. Pausing, Godwin feigns forgetful awareness of said meeting and asks Yo to remind him when and where it will be taking place. Yo's response indicates that the meeting in only a few hours away and will be in the town square. Viller and Godwin then return to the ship, where talk of taking off on a weapons run is occurring. They report on the various things that they learned from Yo, and most of the party agrees that attending the town meeting is a priority. Clod diessents from this view, as he doesn't give a rat's ass about Hinkerville and is extremely eager to finally get around to doing something about getting weapons for the Redemption--especially since he has just learned that, contrary to his former impression, the party actually has at its disposal a sufficient quantity of money (i.e. Godwin's money) to buy such weapons (albeit only the cheapest of them). Since others also agree that getting weapons is an important goal, it is decided that a weapons run will be next on the agenda following the town meeting. Most or perhaps all of the party members then decide to go check out the site of the most recently wrecked Keeper ship and see what might be going on with the boxes of Hinkervillian "artifacts" that the Keepers were looting. They find a number of Hinkervillians at the scene, some more or less looting the boxes, but others engaged in an organized effort to sort through the items and (presumably) return them to their rightful places/owners. Godwin, Merri, and perhaps others join in the latter effort, but Viller begins hunting through boxes of books from the libarary, apparently in search of some particular book. At first, he just tosses books aside as he searches, but when he notices that this irritates others, he begins stacking them neatly in a manner that fails to interfere with the others' efforts to sort and organize. Thus do the party members pass the time until the appointed hour of the town meeting.
Said meeting turns out (to no one's great surprise) to be presided over (and presumably to have been called by) Jundub, who begins with a celebratory announcement about the town's victory over the Keepers. He goes on to talk about the need to set up a government for Hinkerville as the town looks to its future in this new world, and he sets a date for an upcoming mayoral election in which he, of course, will be running. He also essentially appoints himself interim mayor until the election. To kick off his mayoral campaign, he emphasizes that notwithstanding the victory over the Keepers, serious dangers still threaten the town--notably the wingless dragons--and that proven leadership is called for in these trying times. During a part of his speech in which he is assuring the townsfolk that democracy will continue in Hinkerville and talking about how prospective candidates for mayor may go about entering their names in the race, Merri--still in Kale's body--pipes up to announce that "he" will run for mayor. Jundub responds by making slanderous and unfair comments about Kale, who he notes is "back," having until now abandoned Hinkerville while he and the resistance were busy fighting for the town's freedom from the Keepers. This prompts Godwin and others to chime in with shouted retorts about how Kale and friends have also been instrumental in protecting the town and fighting off its enemies in recent weeks, pointing out how they were on the front lines when the wingless dragons attacked and that they had played a central role in the destruction of both of the Keepers' ships. Others in the crowd pipe up about their and the resistance's contributions, seemingly in support of Jundub (as he was the leader of the resistance); in the process, the party members learn that invisible chains put in place by the resistance were what caused the Keeper ship in which they tried to take off the other day to lurch to a halt and crash back to the ground. Meanwhile, as long as people in the crowd are shouting out opinions, Viller (in Godwin's body) gives a shout requesting that something be done about trying to transport the town back to its own time. This suggesting elicits some enthusiasm from the crowd, but even more chuckles; Jundub, while acknowledging that everyone doubtless would like to return to their own time, suggests that such a goal is not feasible at present. Viller's antics upset Godwin, who doesn't want the town to perceive him as an impractical nut job. He expresses his irritation quietly to Viller. Meanwhile, some party members--notably Kale (in Suppel's body, of course)--go beyond merely defending Kale against Jundub's slander and begin shouting accusations about Jundub's underhandedness. Godwin is somewhat chagrined by this as well, as he feels that it's going too far given the situation, but Merri-as-Kale minimizes the damage somewhat via a brief "campaign speech" in which she notes that the whole town--the resistance as well as Kale and friends--has worked together (sometimes without even knowing it) to defeat the Keepers and protect Hinkerville, and everyone has reason to be proud of that accomplishment.
After the meeting, Jundub indicates a desire to have a conversation with "Solabein." The real Godwin is more than a little anxious at the prospect of letting Viller talk to Jundub in the guise of Solabein--especially after the public advocacy of working on transporting Hinkerville back in time--but as there is little that Godwin can do about the situation, he contents himself with strictly enjoining Viller not to say anything that he himself wouldn't say. After Viller goes off to talk to Jundub, it belatedly occurs to Godwin that he can listen in on the conversation via one of his bugs, and by doing so, he manages to hear roughly half of the conversation. Jundub begins by commenting on Viller/ Godwin/Solabein's "interesting" suggestion during the meeting, then goes on to talk (in veiled terms) about the Ignoramians, whom he claims to have been restraining from informing their deity about Solabein's apparent betrayal of the faith ever since the night of the party. Viller, unsure of what to make of Jundub's cryptic remarks due to his unfamiliarity with Godwin's religion, attempts to strike a deal with Jundub involving giving him information about Kale's "unfitness" for mayor if he can find a particular book that Viller really wants and give it to him. Jundub seems receptive to the deal, but also expresses surprise at Solabein's apparent indifference to the Ignoramian situation; Viller replies that he is "considering a new direction for his life," essentially implying that Solabein has abandoned his religion. Godwin, overhearing enough of this to get the gist of both of the subjects discussed, is red-faced and spitting with anger--not to mention more than a little panicked. Approaching Kale, he expresses the opinion that the party (or he and Kale, anyway) need to establish a "brig" on the ship, then explains about Viller's apparent back-stabbing of the two of them. When Viller is done talking to Jundub, he approaches Godwin, who tries valiantly to play innocent and question him about the encounter for a while--but when Kale lets slip a comment revealing his knowledge of what Viller and Jundub talked about, Godwin lets loose with his anger. Viller appears shocked at Godwin's attitude and defends himself by assuring Godwin and Kale that he doesn't mean to go through with his end of the deal that he made with Jundub and explaining that as far as the Ignoramian stuff went, he had done the best he could given his lack of knowledge of what any of it was all about. His explanations are convincing enough to calm Godwin down somewhat and make him at least consider the notion that Viller is telling the truth, and he backs off from his "throw Viller in the brig" position--but lack of trust remains the case in a big way.
While this confrontation is taking place, Merri, who is craving more Tipsy Bay Leaf, disguises the body that she is inhabiting (Kale's) and heads off on her own in search of a herb dealer. While she's off doing this, the rest of the party eventually heads back to the Redemption, inexplicably fails to wonder where Merri has gone, and falls to discussing goals. Kale is uncertain how he feels about having been entered in the mayoral race, but Godwin is enthusiastic about the idea and more or less manages to get Kale onboard. Clod, of course, is still gung-ho about going to Luchorpàn to buy weapons, but Godwin now feels that, with Kale running for mayor and Jundub having already once accused him of ditching Hinkerville, it's imporant for Kale to remain in town. Godwin himself also wishes to remain in town for a variety of reasons, including the need to do some damage control following Viller's conversation with Jundub. The notion of splitting the party into two groups is thus discussed, with the idea being to send one group off on a six-day mission to get weapons while the others remain in Hinkerville to see to things there.
(long delay, then...)
bodies switch back; Kale finds self in midst of herb purchase; bawls out dealer (physcially assulted a bit, even) made dealer forgot, fights urge more angry confrontations; Kale punches Suppel (blames Deux for the whole thing), badmouths Deux (Godwin renounces); tries to hit merri, tells her they're through; she runs off (leaving crap; takes Relic) bickering & mistrust; plan-formation
Reality Date: December 1, 2006 -- Mother, Butt-Head, and ArmsGameality Date: March 9, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
(sleep happens, making it the 9th)
kale locks self in quarters viller & suppel go to find Merri; harrass; they go to help ma get flour, commit civil disobedience (supple pushes ma into store) viller asking for spell; merri doesn't have with; how does it go? well, you pray to Kale... viller lies to Merri about Kale's grief; suppel quaffs due to boredom try to get merri to go back to ship; she refuses
godwin descry-tracks Jundub to a sign shop; clod tags along; Godwin condescendingly explains about being subtle, etc.; stupidly doesn't think of using spell to look inside shop; looks in window, etc.
blue-haired guy & orc concerned about unmelted butter hurry past. orc carrying barrel
Others come across Godwin & Clod hanging out near shop, be all annoyingly conspicuous; Deux is quaffed, heads fall off, Relic gets visions of weapon-acquisition in the future. All sorts of friggin' antics, including talk of self-administered blow jobs. Viller & godwin have philosophical discussion; merri gets bored, goes into store to look for possible secret back rooms (more important than good or evil is adventure); buggers cheesecake, thinks there's an attic, goes out & starts trying to climb, guy accosts, confrontation ensues w/Merri making up a story about a kitty on the roof, eventually he starts brandishing a broom, which Merri thieves & brandishes back, a crowd gathers & a huge scene is made. Godwin rehrs, but suddenly realizes he can use spell; does so, finds secret basement with lots peeps including Jundub, Merri's pa; also clones stacked along walls, also a system of tunnels leading out. crowd breaks up confrontation, party starts going away except godwin, who makes jundub forget crucial things about conversation with Viller-as-Godwin. Then Jundub head off somewhere, Godwin notes.
Godwin went to have apology conversation with Merri suppel offers moose bacon to Merri's family
loonies hound Godwin for $ to go get weapons based on deux-induced vision; Godwin refuses. (suppel was willing to take off w/o $) jundub shows up, conversation with godwin; suppel spies by biting ass clod's hesitance back on ship, Viller goes to Merri's quarters, wants to break in & look for spell; godwin prevents viller casts immobilization spell, godwin casts forgetting spell; $ is stolen, nuts quaff deux together & beam away. various haggling ensues off in weapon-land Merri goes & gets herself tossed into an underground cell; no one knows
Reality Date: December 8, 2006 -- Get Merri and Deux No MoreGameality Date: March 9, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
godwin brings kale up to date went to Roundbottoms' & got info, pieced together where Merri prolly was a rescue happens, with Merri simultaneously lockpicking her way out at cross-purposes with the tunneling rescue; (suppel in "head-first") Merri plunges into combat over her head & almost dies from stab wounds; life saved by damage scapegoat before that godwin goes into hut, blocks trap door, kale wallificates, etc. wound plucked by Suppel Kale want to go herb hunting on the way back to the ship; Godwin takes him to task there's a bit of a Kale-Merri talk there's a big meeting about goals then everybody goes to bed
Reality Date: December 31, 2006 -- Sales and CampaignsGameality Date: March 10, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
suppel & clod head off to sell the remaining Deux Merri makes breakfast for Kale & initiates a heartfelt conversation in which she apologizes & they discuss the viability of raising a child. Viller goes looking for Merri, knocks on Kale's door & asks her to come to medical bay when she "has a chance." print shop incident a week happens -- campaigning, etc. election happens (on the 17th) the unscrupulous asshole wins
Reality Date: January 5th, 2007 - Suppel Picks Up a Spare but Godwin Doesn't SeeGameality Date: March 18, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Godwin spends an unrestful night tormented by fearful dreams of divine vengeance and by the unexpected entrance of naked would-be defenders Suppel and Kale, who hear him screaming in his sleep. In the morning much of the party heads into town: Suppel and Merri to town hall to check on the exit poll results, and Godwin to the library in the hope of learning how to protect himself from Ignoramius, one of whose followers derides Godwin on the way.
The library is once again under seige, this time by several clones instead of by the Keepers. Books are carried out, dumped into piles, and to Godwin’s horror, set aflame. Godwin rushes to get the rest of the party still at the tree, and then, throwing any last pretence to Ignoramianism publicly to the wind, raises a hue-and-cry through town to round up help from Kale’s supporters, some of whom are arrested on the spot by more police-clones for attempting to interfere. Despite this, he manages to collect about a dozen outraged citizens to return with him to the library, where he leads a spirited protest in an attempt to let the powers that be (Jundub), or at least more townspeople, know that these book-burning antics are profoundly unacceptable. In the meantime Clod arrives at the library, followed a moment later by the handicapped Kale and Viller. Kale blocks the entrance to the library with a stone wall and then disappears into the trees.
At the town hall, Suppel and Merri discover that the forgetting potion has indeed affected the exit polls, with a significant percentage having recorded their vote as “Don’t Remember.” The breakdown of the known votes, however, seems to indicate Kale as the winner even if the majority of the unremembered votes had gone to Jundub. The two hurry to report their findings to the rest of the party.
On the way they encounter the unfolding skirmish at the library; Suppel, perceiving that the odds are not looking good, rushes off to the tree for his guns and the van. Godwin’s group of protestors, feeling they were not eliciting enough reaction, have placed themselves at the library entrance between the clones and the books and switched to a more threatening tone, brandishing their single pitchfork and thereby successfully bringing themselves to the clones’ full attention. The clones advance on the mostly unarmed group. At this rather crucial moment, Kale suffers an attack of iClod. Behind the library, Merri seizes an apparent opportunity and tells Viller to paralyze one of the clones so they can bring it to the tree for study. He attempts to oblige and fails, but not before Merri, assuming her target cannot retaliate, marches up to secure the clone and finds herself defending her life. Clod jumps in to help her, and in the process commits the first battle-kill of his life. Kale casts another wall to save the obliviously gloating Clod from a second clone’s sword.
Godwin’s group at the front of the library is being massacred when Suppel’s van mows down the line of advancing clones, killing some and scattering others. Kale vanishes the wall at the library entrance to enable mortally-wounded Godwin and a few others to fall back, then reseals the door after them. The rest of the party finishes off the clones outside. Suppel, Viller, and especially Godwin (who singlehandedly drags three back from the brink of death) treat some of the injured townspeople and send them home. Godwin is loaded aboard the van, where Suppel heals him. The group then considers their options. Merri, feeling betrayed, suggests kidnapping and torturing her father to get more information about the clones’ weaknesses. Kale takes Viller aside and intimates that some torture might be needed; Viller agrees. The party reluctantly agrees to the kidnapping plan (unaware of the torture sub-plan), and Suppel parks the van outside the Roundbottom residence while Merri goes in to find her father. Godwin takes the opportunity to find out whether his god has withdrawn his powers, and attemps to cast his vision spell inside the house. Ignoramius defies him, scolds him, and blinds him. Viller promises to find a way to restore his sight; Clod begins whittling a cane. Godwin is consoled by neither. Merri returns empty handed for the time-being and the party plans to collect her father later. Upon their return to the tree, Clod spearheads the effort to find Godwin a replacement deity, and the rest of the party peruses an encyclopedia of deities provided by Suppel. Godwin, still stunned, is lukewarm about the endeavor. Viller takes advantage of their collective distraction to shoo them unobtrusively from the medical bay, and once they’re gone, begins thawing the forgotten occupant of the cryochamber, whom he has recognized as an old acquaintance from before the frigid doom.
Reality Date: January 20th, 2007 - In Defense of Etiquette and LiteratureGameality Date: March 18, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
While Godwin retires (albeit with great difficulty, given his blindness) to his quarters to sob about his lost sight, lost powers, possible imminent doom at the hands of an angry deity, and general total screwedness, and the other party members go about various unremembered bits of personal business, Viller finishes thawing the occupant of the ship's cryochamber--a female dwarf whom he has recognized as a rather excitable pre-frigid-doom colleague of his from EVIL. While this is occurring, a cosmic shift happens, and several party members attribute their experience of it to various personal issues: Godwin to the loss of his god, Merri to her recent near-death experience, and Kale to herb withdrawal.
Before Viller's former acquaintance regains consciousness, Viller steals her weapon--a mace--with intent to then allow her to take it back from him "by force," so that she will feel that she has gained the upper hand and thus not feel a need to immediately attack Viller upon waking up. When she does wake up, precisely this occurs. Despite having been acquainted in the past, Viller does not know the dwarf's name, and when she refuses to tell it to him, he decides to name her "Daisy" based on the assumption that this will annoy her (which it does). "Daisy" is full of questions about the situation in which she suddenly finds herself, and in particular, wants to know who is in charge aboard the ship. Viller tells her that the "command heirarchy" within the party consists of Kale at the top, followed by Godwin, then Suppel, and finally Clod--with Merri's status or ranking being unclear, and Viller himself left out of the chain of command entirely. He also informs her that Kale has recently abdicated leadership, but that nevertheless, he in reality remains the leader. "Daisy" then expresses a desire to meet Kale, so Viller takes her to him--whereupon she immediately totally disregards/disrespects any boundaries for Kale and begins digging through his things. Kale objects and suggests they meet in the observation bay to discuss things. He also wants to round everyone up for this meeting as a demonstration the fact that, contrary to Viller's claims about the "command hierarchy," the group is egalitarian in structure; Viller objects to this strategy, but Kale overrules him, seemingly demonstrating Viller's point about Kale being in charge.
In the face of these mixed messages, "Daisy" decides to try to assume command of the group herself. A confused exhange among various party members enuses, the chaos of which eventually even draws Godwin out of his quarters, where he has been crying inconsolably and gorging himself on whipped cream. When he finds his companions bickering about the status of a highly irritating, self-proclaimedly evil stranger who is suddenly among them and trying to command their obedience, he briefly wonders if they have all gone insane. Thus, while the debate about the nature of the group's "command structure" continues, and "Daisy" asks questions about what the group has "accomplished so far" in this future world, judges their deeds to be inconsequential, and generally assumes an air of authority whilst completely ignoring the fact that the group does not share any of her goals, Godiwn repeatedly demands to know why someone isn't taking it upon themselves to forcibly show the irritating stranger the door. Viller, meanwhile, is finding the whole situation terribly amusing. He takes it for granted that "Daisy" will respect only coercion and force, and thus that the argument will be over once someone asserts control over her--but that until then, she will continue to bluster and argue. Wanting the whole matter settled, he continues to goad both sides, hoping to hurry the inevitable confrontation.
Eventually, Godwin again becomes too absorbed in his own overwhelming problems to care about what's going on with the annoying dwarf, and blunders blindly off to mope in his quarters some more. Meanwhile, the other party members get around to making it clear to "Daisy" that they are definitely not willing to accept her as their leader--and indeed, that she is not even particularly welcome among them. Asked to leave, "Daisy" first feels the need to express her utter contempt for the party by urinating on the floor of the ship. This act provokes the ire of the party in general, but especially of Suppel, who proclaims himself absolutely unwilling to allow this lowly "[Non-Player Character|NPC]" to leave the ship without first cleaning up her mess. When "Daisy" predictably refuses to do so, combat ensues, during which Merri has immense difficulty keeping her footing on the pee-soiled and therefore slippery floor--with the result that the combatants are repeatedly splattered with dwarf piss during the scuffle.
The combat ends with "Daisy" subdued and presumably tied up, and a sequence of events follows that is remembered only rather sketchily. Debate over what to do with "Daisy" is an element, with the idea of interrogating her (possibly with the aid of Suppel's befriending spell) being considered. Godwin, upon reaching his room, feels inclined to write in his journal about his plight and his feelings about it--but realizes that he can't even do that, because of his blindness. His thoughts then turn to the idea of returning to the walled-off library and doing some research on such topics as blindness cures and possible replacement gods. But since this, too, lies beyond his abilities, he merely wallows in his own overwhelming helplessness and begins contemplating suicide. Clod, in an effort to help Godwin, presents him with the gift of a cane that he has whittled, for which Godwin is gratefeul--thought it doesn't cheer him up much. Eventually, he re-emerges from his quarters and blunders around the ship some more, sometimes (but not consistently) receiving help in getting around (most frequently from Viller, of all people). While the others debate what to do with "Daisy," Godwin begins unrelentingly pestering anyone who will listen--but especially Kale and Clod (the former because of his abilities, the latter because of his status as Godwin's "subordinate")--to help him return to the library and do some research aimed at resolving his situation. Eventually Viller decides--and others for some reason go along with the decision--that he needs to interrogate "Daisy" in private. Kale, however, is suspicious about Viller's motives and loyalties, so he borrows one of Godwin's "bugs" and uses it to eavesdrop on the interrogation, which takes place in the medical bay. The "interrogation" ends up consisting of a quick bit of torture, which ends rather suddenly when Viller unexpectedly murders the dwarf--somewhat to the dismay of various other party members. Viller justifies his actions by explaining that he had discovered that "Daisy" was in possession of some sort of powerful superweapon capable of killing large numbers of people, and Kale, who admits to having eavesdropped via the "bug," more or less expresses his approval of Viller's actions, declaring that he now trusts Viller (because he killed the dwarf rather than joining forces with her, presumably?). Godwin feels mildly dismayed about another murder having taken place, but is really far too caught up in self-pity and suicidal despair to care very much. Clod, for his part, protests vocally about it.
Also, at some point during the course of this day's events but in an unremembered context, Viller feels the needs to inform Godwin unequivocally that the two of them are not friends. Somewhat wounded by this declaration, Godwin responds by sarcastically remarking that it's "good to know where we stand." Unbeknownst to Godwin, Viller afterword feels secretly guilty about having said this to Godwin--as well as guilty about feeling guilty about it.
Reality Date: January 20th, 2007 - In Defense of Etiquette and Literature Gameality Date: March 19, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
The following morning, the party--in response to Godwin's constant pestering and occasional talk of suicide--hatches a plan to raid the library, hoping to save not only its endangered books, but also Godwin's sanity (and perhaps his very life). Following the usual lengthy bickering/strategizing session, the party (sans the helpless Godwin) goes into action. In a sequence of events not clearly remembered, one or more party members (probably Suppel and/or Kale) take up a position atop the next-door "book depository," from which vantage point they are able to shoot at the clones guarding the library. While this is happening, Rothard is spotted directing the clone guards, and someone (perhaps Kale?) takes advantage of his exposed position to snatch him, tie him up, and send him through the orb portal to the ship, to be dealt with later. Eventually, the party gains entry into the library (Kale presumably deletes his wall to permit entry, then replaces it to shut them in?).
Once inside, they set up a portal and begin painstakingly hauling books--as many of them as possible--from the library into the tree. While doing so, they discover that the library is in the process of being transformed into an Ignoramian temple. When Godwin, who has joined the rest of the party via the portal, hears of this, he becomes outrageously pissed off and vows to destroy this "temple" once all the books have been recovered from it. Unfortunately, however, after several hours of book-rescuing, the party is interrupted by a bunch of clones, who break several windows and enter the library through them. Alerted to the danger thanks to Merri's keen ranger senses, most party members beat a hasty retreat via the portal, with Viller helpfully guiding the blind Godwin. Suppel, who has removed a large Ignoramian rune from the wall of the library, tosses it through the portal as a "gift" for Godwin. When Viller and Clod describe its appearance to him, Godwin is able to identify the markings on it as comprising one of many Ignoramian symbols denoting ignorance. He then begins contemplating the matter of how best to desecrate and/or destroy the object at such time as his sight should be restored (so that he can fully savor the act). Meanwhile, Kale takes down the library end of the portal and seeks an alternate avenue of escape for himself (so as not to have to abandon the portal in the close-infested library). He opts for flying out one of the broken windows, but unfortunately, they are all being covered from the outside by archers. Hoping to distract them, he throws a "bag of goo" at them, then takes flight, heading for the roof. The distraction is effective enough to allow him to escape, but he still ends up taking an arrow in the buttock.
Back on the ship, the party assesses the outcome of their raid and concludes that they managed to salvage about a third of the library's books before being interrupted by the clone attack. Godwin is immensely grateful for the party's accomplishment, but also devastated at the presumbably irrecoverable loss of fully two-thirds of the contents of the Hinkerville library--precious archive of knowledge and invaluable artifact of his lost world that it was. In some ways, in fact, Godwin now feels more powerless and helpless to preserve any of what matters to him than ever. Still, he masters himself and manages to get Viller to help him commence the vast project of sorting and organizing the huge collection of books that the party has salvaged and piled all over the ship (but mostly in the stales area). This process consists of Viller doing the sorting and organizing while Godwin futilely tries to assist by feeling for raised letters on book covers, as well as by holding books up to his head in the hope of somehow "intuiting" their titles. While helping Godwin with the books, Viller broaches the subject of his declaration of the previous day about himself and Godwin not being friends. For a moment Viller seems to be on the verge of apologizing for the declaration, but stopping short of this, he merely expresses the hope that Godwin "understands" and that there are "no hard feelings." Godwin, his attention drawn to the anomolous fact that Viller seems to spend an awful lot of time helping him with things (getting around the ship, sorting books, etc.) for someone who is "not his friend," points out this paradox. When Viller reacts with surprise and dismay to this observation and begins awkwardly stumbling through an explanation about friendship being a morally repugnant thing to him, Godwin puts things together and figures out what it is that's troubling Viller. Viller draws the conclusion that he ought to cease helping Godwin, but Godwin, needing Viller's help and seeing a way to both secure it and simultaneously stabilize the relationship, half-threatens and half-offers to demand that Viller continue helping him--and to back up the demand with the threat of violence. Viller is skeptical, pointing out that Godwin is essentially helpless and cannot make good on any such threats, but when Godwin points out that he has powerful friends upon whom he could call to enforce his demands, Viller agrees that this arrangement will "work for him" and appears to brighten up considerably.
Meanwhile, Kale, Merri, Suppel, and Clod confront the captured Rothard about the ethics, or lack thereof, of his involvement with Jundub and the clones. Rothard, however, defends his actions and protests his abduction by them--to which Merri retorts that this is payback for when he cooperated with Jundub's abduction of her. Tiring eventually of the seemingly futile effort to persuade Rothard of the folly of his ways, Suppel then decides to switch tactics and begins questioning Rothard about the mechanics of how he is able to control the clones. When Rothard refuses to answer Suppel's questions, the party falls to speculating about the matter. Merri gets it into her head to use her magic helmet to make her face look like Rothard's, in the hope that perhaps the clones recognize their boss visually, so that borrowing her dad's face will enable her to command them.
Reality Date: February 2nd, 2007 - Godwin Sees AgainGameality Date: March 19, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Before retiring for the night, Merri frisks her father in search of weapons and/or magic items, and finds a dagger and three vials containing an unknown potion or potions. Rothard, naturally, declines to reveal the nature of said potion(s). Merri then installs the lock that she previously removed from the underground prison in which Jundub once imprisoned her on the door to her quarters, and uses it to lock Rothard inside for the night. Merri does not, of course, have a key for this lock, but she is confident that she will be able to get back into her quarters in the morning by picking the lock, just as she did when imprisoned in the cell from which she removed it. She then retires with Kale to his quarters for the night.
Reality Date: February 2nd, 2007 - Godwin Sees Again Gameality date March 20, 3270Cobbler ineptsegue
In the morning, Merri agrees to let Kale have a go at interrogating Rothard without her present--though with the agreement that Kale will not hurt him. Merri successfully picks the lock on her quarters, and Kale enters, bringing Viller in with him for added intimidation value, and shuts the door behind him. Suppel stands guard outside the room for reasons that aren't remembered, but may have to do with preventing Clod from poking his nose in. Inside, Kale feigns distraught anger over Rothard's refusal of the previous evening to tell Merri what his potions did, pretending that the incorrigibly curious young Hobbit has reacted by foolishly drinking one of them. Strongly implying that Merri is in a very bad way and possibly near death, Kale, under the pretense of berating Rothard for his alleged shortsighted stubbornness and demanding information about how to counter the potion's effects, tries to trick Rothard into revealing the nature of the potion. He succeeds in greatly alarming Rothard and manages to glean that the potions cause "something" to grow in a rapidly accelerating manner, but does not learn any more details than that. Eventually, Kale predictably loses his temper and hits Rothard, in violation of his promise to Merri. Feeling guilty, he then calls Suppel into the room to pluck the resulting wound--or possibly to take advantage of the situation via a "good cop, bad cop" sort of routine--or maybe a little of both.
After seeing to the plucking of Rothard's wound, Kale, still feeling guilty, goes to find Merri and confess his actions to her. Merri is dismayed, but she quickly forgives Kale, then takes pity on her father and decides to untie him and bring him some breakfast. Meanwhile, Godwin--who has been trying (but of course, utterly failing) to work on the sorting of the library books--uses the ship's parrot-based communication system to set a parrot continually barking out the phrase "These books aren't going to sort themselves!" throughout the ship at set intervals, in an effort to irritate the rest of the party into abandoning their various pursuits in favor of helping him. Eventually, after a distracting interval during which Kale is plagued by the antics of the Clod hallucination that he inhereted from Suppel during the body-switching incident and has to rely on Viller to distinguish between what is real and what is not, all of the party members actually do spend some time helping Godwin to sort books--though Kale does so sulkily for reasons that are not remembered, and Merri's attempts to help are thwarted by her lack of interest/attention span, so that she merely ends up reading aloud to Godwin from one of the books that she picks up. In addition, at some point during the day--possibly while the book-sorting is happening, though possibly not--there is an argument between Rotherad and some of the party members (primarily Merri) about whether or not the latter are "terrorists."
At some point, Suppel, Merri, and Kale decide to find out whether Merri can control the clones by virtue of having borrowed her father's face. Before they set out, however, Kale insists on using the ship's mirror to scry the surrounding area and discovers that the ship has been surrounded by clones. There is a general reaction of dismay at this discovery, and various measures intended to remedy the situation are undertaken. For one, Clod uses the ship weapon to blast some of the clones. Unfortunately, however, the effectiveness of this technique is limited by the fact that there is a fairly wide perimeter around the ship within which the weapon cannot be aimed. Still intent on trying out Merri's idea for conrolling the clones, meanwhile, Kale partially opens the ship's hatch, and Merri, wearing Rothard's face, attempts to mimic his voice as well, and orders the nearest clones to stand down. When this fails, Kale tries to mimic Rothard's voice from behind Merri, but his attempt also proves neither convincing nor successful in commanding obedience from the clones. Eventually, Merri gets Rothard to agree to call off the clones, and various party members disembark from the ship in order to carry out this plan. Rothard, however, betrays them--though whether he planned to do so all along, or he does it mainly because Clod is still firing the ship weapon at some of the clones (about which Rothard protests), is somewhat unclear. In any case, Rothard orders the clones to attack the party. Kale, in a last-ditch effort to salvage the situation, attempts to intimidate Rothard into reversing these orders, but fails abysmally. Combat therefore ensues.
Meanwhile Godwin, who has been standing around bored and helpless whilst his sighted companions have been dealing with the clones, becomes so thoroughly frustrated with his situation that--more or less on a whim, and with no real expectation that it will accomplish anything--he resorts to a desparate long-shot. Turning his face skyward, he issues a general appeal to the gods of the cosmos, promising to worship any deity who should see fit to restore his sight to him. To his abject astonishment, his "prayer" is immediately answered by an unknown, presumably divine being, who actually does miraculously restore Godwin's sight! Scarcely able to believe what has happened, Godwin wigs out. Yelling euphorically about his sudden ability to see, he heads straight for the stables area to take advantage of his restored sight to get some serious book-sorting done. Not long after this, the other party members succeed in fighting off their clone attackers and returning to the ship, where they are greeted by a giddy Godwin, who recounts his general plea for divine aid and its outcome. Predictably, Kale reacts to the news with paranoid fears and concern for Godwin's sanity. Instinctively wary of gods, and even more so of the idea of blindly promising worship to an unspecified god, Kale acknowledges that he is glad that Godwin is no longer blind, but nevertheless questions the wisdoom of his divine plea. Viller also expresses reservations. Godwin tries to assure them both that he not oblivious to the legitimacy of their concerns, and that he himself is worried about who the mysterious god who restored his sight might be and what he or she might demand of him in the future. Despite Godwin's assurances, however, Kale remains unshakably convinced that he is not taking the situation seriously enough. However, despite his view that Godwin has acted foolishly, Kale also suggests that Godwin try praying to the unknown God again, just to see what will happen--something that Godwin is not keen to try anytime soon. Mysteriously, though, this display of fear and caution from Godwin seems to convince Kale all the more firmly that Godwin is refusing to taking the situation seriously. In addition, as an incidental result of all this talk about gods and the perils aof engaging with them, Kale accidentally and quite foolishly lets slip in Viller's presence the fact that the god who is imprisoned in the Godspeed Drive would seem based on various evidence, to be an utterly evil god. Meanwhile, still sorting the books, Godwin happens to come across one that is about surviving divine wrath. As this subject seems highly relevant to his life, he devotes some time to perusing it when Kale and Viller finally leave him in peace. Also, while all this is happening, Merri, having been betrayed by her dad, once again locks him up in her quarters.
Reality Date: February 16th, 2007Gameality date March 21, 3270Cobbler ineptsegue
During the night, Godwin is visited in his dreams by the god who restored his sight. The deity fails to identify himself or to take on any particular form, and he is predictably cryptic about certain crucial matters, but refreshingly, he otherwise addresses Godwin in a surprisingly straightforward manner. He asserts that if Godwin carries out a mysterious series of instructions that he plans to impart to him, desirable outcomes will result. Godwin, however, must obey these directives regardless of how much he dislikes them--and he almost certainly will dislike some of them. Indeed, they may well push the limits of Godwin's morality. Nevertheless, the god assures Godwin, if he does carry out the instructions, he will ultimately not regret it. The rewards, he implies, will consist of some kind of advantage in the struggle against Jundub. More than this, the god will not divulge--though he does sort of apologize for this crypticness, assuring Godwin that in general, he will not withhold information arbitrarily like a certain other god. On the down side, though, he strictly enjoins Godwin not to tell anyone about this arrangement or the instructions that are to follow--though he adds that Merri may nevertheless be helpful in carrying said instructions out. He also hints that should Godwin refuse to comply with his wishes, he might find himself restored to the condition in which the god initially found him--i.e., blind. Finally, before the vision ends, the god reveals Godwin's first task: to construct a table of particular dimensions which the god specifies.
Meanwhile, Merri is also visited in her dreams by "Godwin's new god." The deity instructs Merri to help Godwin (without specifying what she is to help Godwin with), and also praises her for being highly moral.
In the morning, Godwin casually comments to Merri that he would like to build a table, and requests access to Rothard so that he can solicit the latter's aid in this endeavor. Merri finds Godwin's sudden interest in carpentry more than a little odd, but seems interested in assisting, and brings Rothard on board as well. For reasons that are unclear, Kale, Suppel, and Clod are not around while this is happening. Following a fairly routine failed attempt at disguising Godwin, he, Merri, and Rothard head stealthily into town and to Rothard's carpentry shop, with Viller tagging along more or less for the hell of it. Astonishingly, the party successfully reaches the shop without being waylaid by any clones. Once there, Godwin avails himself of Rothard's tools, materials, and guidance to construct a somewhat crude, but basically usable table. All the while, Godwin attempts to maintain the pretense that he has no particular reason for wanting to build the table--but naturally, it does not take either Viller or Merri long to piece together that Godwin is most likely acting at the behest of his mysterious new god. The fact that Godwin makes a point of ensuring that the table conforms to a specific set of dimensions is especially suspicious. Apparently out of eagerness to assist Godwin with his project, Merri takes it upon herself to improve the table by installing wheels on its legs--a feature that ends up proving highly convenient.
Once the table is finished, Godwin is instructed by the deity to bring it to a particular location, which he specifies in coordinates. As Godwin is not sure how to interpret this information, a discussion between him and the god about how Godwin is to find the location in question ensues. Mischievously, Merri eavesdrops on this conversation--but afterwards, Godwin maintains that he was merely talking to himself. Eventually, the god manages to provide Godwin with useful instructions, and Godwin tells his companions that he wants to take the table to a particular location. When questioned, he explains that he doesn't actually know where it is that he's taking the table--he merely knows how to get there. Merri and Viller conclude that Godwin is obviously on some kind of religions quest, but Godwin flatly (though utterly implausibly) denies that this is the case. Merri and Viller then decide--Merri presumably because of her dream, and Viller for unknown reasons of his own--to accompany and help Godwin, and the three of them (with Rothard in tow) set off on what Merri, in the spirit of sarcastically half-humoring Godwin and his transparently bogus denials, dubs his "not-religious quest."
The god's directions lead the party to a spot out in the woods where, to their surprise, they encounter a ship. The ship appears to be identical in design to The Lucrative, and indeed turns out to bear the same name and to belong to a group of Kaleists who have come in search of the "first" Lucrative and her crew. After bringing Godwin's table to the Kaleist temple aboard the ship per the god's instructions, the party heads for the bridge, where they find two Kaleists who react with surprise to their presence. Merri and Godwin introduce themselves to the Kaleists as personal friends of Kale, but their claims are met with a certain skepticism. Since Godwin's next instructions from the god involve commandeering the Kaleist ship and using to travel to some point off in the heavens, however, he continues attempting to convince them of the truth of his and Merri's claims--as does Merri, though whether her motive is to help Godwin or something else isn't entirely clear. In particular, Merri tries to convince the Kaleists that she is their religion's "Virgin Merri." She also regales them with the tale of how Kale "miraculously" rescued the crew of the other Lucrative at the last moment before it crashed into the town square. Eventually, the party does manage to convince the Kaleists to let them take off for parts unknown using their ship, though how exactly they accomplish this feat of persuasion is forgotten to history (unless someone remembers). Before departing, Merri "thoughtfully" sends a cryptic, ryhming message to Kale to inform him that they are setting off on a "not-religious quest" and will be back at some unknown time. Meanwhile, it strikes Godwin as ominous that his mysterious new god has had him bring his "table" into the Kaleist temple, and he begins to wonder if this god might be the same one that presumably powers Merri's spells--a god, perhaps, who has more or less "moved in" on the Kaleist religion? En route to wherever the god's directions are taking them, Godwin draws Merri aside privately and brings this idea up to her--which, of course, involves finally admitting to her (but not to Viller!) that this "quest" is, after all, a more-or-less "religious" one. Merri reacts in an unremembered way to Godwin's speculations on this subject.
The god's instructions lead The Lucrative II to a cloud hanging in the heavens upon which stands a huge castle inhabited by giants. To Godwin's intense and terrified dismay, the god then directs that he and his companions must invade this castle stealthily, even though its inhabitants will most likely attempt to kill them should they catch them doing so. Somehow finding the courage to undertake this task, the party disembarks from the ship and approaches the castle, which is surrounded by a moat. Merri, hoping to discover what manner of critters might be lurking in the moat, dangles the "Divine Hand of Devon" into the water--a tactic that probably attracts and thus reveals the ferocious and furry-but-otherwise-shark-like creatures that inhabit it. Merri then tosses the Hand across to the other side of the moat by the castle entrance, whereupon Viller attempts to animate it and get it to lower the drawbridge across the moat. Since the party does, in fact, end up getting across the moat and into the castle by one means or another, it seems probable that this tactic proves successful.
Inside the castle, Godwin--still receiving divine instructions one at a time--leads the party stealthily along some corridors and up some stairs to a door that is slightly ajar. Peering through the crack, the party sees a room that is occupied by a giant woman and that contains a huge, glowing orb of unknown nature/purpose. Sealing, as far as Godwin is concerned, the party's doom, the god then instructs him that he must steal this orb. The party therefore waits in hiding for the giant to leave the room, then quietly enters. Since the orb is very large, it takes two people to carry it. If historical memory serves, Godwin and Viller initially plan to haul the orb out. They soon discover, however, that the orb gives a warm, fuzzy feeling to anyone who touches it, and as Viller finds this sensation highly disturbing, Merri probably ends up being the one to help Godwin heft it--although this is somewhat speculative, as memories of the details are somewhat sketchy. One way or another, though, the party helps itself to the orb and begins making its way back toward the castle's exit. Upon reaching the main floor and approaching the room just inside the castle entrance, however, they unfortunately run into an enormous female individual who appears to be a maid (as she is engaged in sweeping the floor with a gigantic broom). The maid accosts the party, blocking their path to the exit and yelling for help--convincing Godwin (and probably Viller as well) that the end is very near. The party's prospects for escape are further diminished by the prompt arrival of a second giantess in response to the maid's yells. Godwin and Merri are forced to drop the orb in order to fend off the giants, and a dimly remembered fray occurs that probably involves the giants casting spells on party members and/or being irritatingly violent, and definately involves Merri fighting with the maid and Godwin making the giants forget important facts. Ultimately, the party members somehow manage to not die and even to get past the maid and out the door of the castle, rolling the orb along with them. How the party gets back across the moat is, like much else, not clearly remembered, though it is known that in the process, Godwin ends up falling in and getting bitten by a furry shark creature. Fortunately, he manages to avoid injury via the timely casting of a Damage Scapegoat spell. Dashing madly and desperately back to The Lucrative II, the party effects a dramatic escapte--but not before one of the giants blasts a huge whole in the ship's hull that seriously impedes its operability and heavensworthiness.
Stunned by the audacity of their deed, their entirely implausible success in achieving it, and their failure to have died in the process, the party heads back to Pangea in the seriously damaged Lucarative II. En route, Godwin is paid another visit by his new god, who expresses approval of Godwin's success in acquiring the orb and then informs Godwin of his next task. Thus far, of course, the god's directives have progressed from arbitrary and innocuous, to mildly disturbing, to somewhat challenging, to terrifyingly dangerous. The next step, however, proves to be the one alluded to be the god earlier when he admitted to Godwin that some of the tasks that he would be asked to perform would probably push the limits of his morality. To Godwin's dismay, the god informs him that his next task is to knock Kale unconscious and tie him to the table in the Kaleist temple! In response to Godwin's (not-optimistic) inquiry, the god also reiterates that Godwin is absolutely not to tell anyone--least of all Kale himself--about what he has been asked to do. Leaving Godwin to mull over this disturbing directive, the god then takes his leave.
Reality Date: March 3rd, 2007: That's Not for You to KnowGameality date March 21, 3270Cobbler ineptsegue
Left behind by Godwin, Merri, and Viller for unremembered reasons when the aforementioned trio heads off on Godiwn's "not-religious quest," Kale, Suppel, and Clod pass a relatively uneventful day futzing around with the Redemption's hatch and being generally ineffectual. To be fair, they do discover that the ship has been tethered to the ground with invisible chains (no doubt the work of Jundub) and accomplish the task of removing said chains. They then decide to set off on foot for somewhere or other, but they pause first to address the question of how to secure the ship during their absence, and end up getting sidetracked and spending most of the day dealing with this problem. Things are not helped when Kale, in an attempt to rig up a method of remotely locking and unlocking the ship's hatch, accidentally locks the three of them in. There is also some experimentation with the invasion portal whose purpose is not remembered. In its course, portals to a swampy location and to a spot in midair are opened, and Kale slogs around through the swamp wearing his rubber boots for a while. Why he does this is not remembered, but it is know that getting an opportunity to use his rubber boots again provokes an unaccountable amoung of glee from the ranger. Also, in the end, Kale does eventually manage to add a hatch-locking-and-unloking feature to the ship's personnel belts.
During all of this, Kale also receives Merri's cryptic message about her, Godwin's, and Viller's doings, and reacts with the appropriate indignant bafflement and (justifiably) paranoid worries. Also, Kale spend a small portion of the day frustratedly sorting books for lack of anything better to do while locked aboard the ship.
Toward the end of the day, Godwin, Merri, and Viller turn up. Godwin, despite having a disturbing and difficult divine-command-related dillemma to resolve, is feeling uncharacteristically cocky about the trio's amazing deeds of the day--a mood that is exacerbated considerably when he learns how Kale, Suppel, and Clod have spent their day. "Yeah, we pretty much raided a giant-infested castle in the clouds and stole this giant magic orb from them," he relates with smug nonchalance. Kale, meanwhile, predictably chastises Merri for the cryptic nature of her message about where the trio was and what they were doing.
Before calling it a night, a troubled Godwin draws Kale aside for a private conversation. He begins by trying to assure Kale that despite the latter's doubts in the wake of the divine deblinding incident, he really is in full possession of his wits and sanity. It's true, Godwin acknowledges, that he spent the day chasing around the heavens on a wacky quest, and even that some of his decisions have been of dubious wisdom, but he asks Kale to trust that he is in fact neither nuts nor acting under the influence of any ominous or mysterious forces. Having said all of this (to which Kale response with a sort of tentative acceptance), Godwin proceeds to walk a fine line between compliance with and defiancy of his god's orders about not reavealing his task to Kale. He admits that, as Kale will presumably have surmised, he has been acting on the instructions of his new god, and explains that the god has promised that if he follows these instructions, it will benefit the party--helping them in their struggle against Jundub. Godwin then informs Kale that the next thing that the god has instructed him to do is something directly concerns Kale, and something that Kale will really, really not like. He also explains about not being allowed to tell Kale what this something is--indeed, just by having this conversation, he is already seriously pushing the limits of the god's terms. However, even though he can't tell Kale what this thing is that he is supposed to do, Godwin informs Kale that he will only do it if Kale gives his (admittedly blind) consent. In other words, though the nature of the situation has Godwin's hands (or rather, his tongue) tied, such that he is not free to be perfectly straight with Kale, he nevertheless assures Kale that their friendship and his respect for him are such that he feels compelled to give Kale the final say about whether or not he does the unspecified thing that Kale won't like but that will theoretically (if the god is to be trusted) help against Jundub. Kale, while not thrilled with the situation, expresses his gratitude to Godwin for handling things this way. He requests time to mull over the unspecified proposal, and matters are thus left unresolved for the time being.
Reality Date: March 3rd, 2007: That's Not for You to Know Gameality date March 22, 3270Cobbler ineptsegue
The next day, Godwin, Merri, and Viller bring the rest of the party to the place where they left The Lucrative II and introduce the Kaleists aboard said ship to their deity. While aboard The Lucrative II, discussion, bickering, and worldview-mangling of various sorts occurs, chiefly involving Merri, Kale, and the Kaleists, with more limited participation from other party members. For example, Merri discusses Kaleist theology with the Kaleists (tring to sell them on her belief that Kale is the God of Drama), which provokes the usual protests from Kale. Additionally, Merri intervenes in some kind of conflict between the Kaleists and Suppel by coaching the former on how best to respond to the behavior of both Suppel and Kale (which further irritates Kale) and by keeping Suppel's violent impulses in check via a threat to tell her mother on him if he hurts anyone. Also, and not particularly relatedly to any of this, members of the party including, at a minimum, Kale and Merri (and probably also Godwin) discuss various options for helping the Hinkervillians. The idea is floated by someone that perhaps the best thing would be to find somewhere away from the current town location to resettle all Hinkervillians who want to be free of the tyranny of Jundub. Kale likes the idea, and Merri suggests that a less dangerous area of the world (if there is one) migiht be ideal for the purpose. The idea also has problems, however, and these are discussed as well. During the course of this latter discussion, Kale grows frustrated with the seemingly unsurmountable nature of the Jundub-centered problems facing the party. Grasping at the only available straws, he therefore lets go of his reservations, turns to Godwin, and tells him to go ahead with the unrevealed divine directive that they discussed the previous evening. Acknowledging this decision, Godwin assures Kale that he will act shortly.
A few minutes later, Kale's distraction with some matter or other provides Godwin with the needed opportunity, so he sneaks up behind Kale and proceeds to whack him over the head with a blunt object, knocking him out cold. Not surprisingly, this act provokes shock, dismay, and sharp protests from most of the rest of the party--most notably from Merri and Clod. Seeking to avoid being lynched, Godwin tries to calm his companions down by assuring them "It's all right! I had his permission!" This claim is greeted with skepticism, but Godwin's subsequent hasty explanations about divine orders and Kale's (blind) consent, while hardly setting the party at ease, do at least seem to convince everyone not to take any immediate drastic action against Godwin. Merri, in particular, reluctantly decides to trust Godwin, and even helps him to drag the unconscious Kale to the Kaleist temple and tie him to the table--though she remains wary, and ready to intervene the instant she should sense any threat to Kale's safety. Once Kale is secured to the table, the god tells Godwin to place the orb taken from the castle in the clouds on top of him; still being regarded with suspicion by the rest of the party, he does so. Once in place atop Kale, the orb starts glowing with a divine radiance, and as an unknown something begins to take shape within the beam of heavenly light that shines forth from it, the god informs Godwin of one final, utterly insane thing that he must do: using a scroll of deity-summoning belonging to Merri, he must summon Ignoramius to the scene.
When Godwin asks Merri for the scroll, various party members react as though Godwin has completely lost his mind. Still going with her decision to trust Godwin, however, Merri warily hands him the scroll, despite his conspicuous failure to specify what he intends to do with it. Meanwhile, Kale regains consciousness and begins wigging out upon finding himself tied to a table with a glowing orb on top of him. At about this point, the something taking shape in the beam of light emanating from the orb resolves itself into a presumably divine being that looks like a somewhat idealized and green-glowing version of Kale! Using the scroll, Godwin then goes ahead and commits what any rational person would assume to be the insane act of summoning his wrathful ex-god. To his surprise and delight, when Ignoramius appears in the party's midst, the Kale-resembling god immediately attacks him! Ignoramius, for his part, even while meeting the divine Kale's attack, turns to Godwin and angrily demands "Why have you summoned me?" Faced with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to release years of pent-up rage and frustration at his former god by cocking said deity off to his face, Godwin retorts: "Ignoramius--that is not for you to know!" This gives Godwin immense satisfaction. Meanwhile, an epic battle between two gods is unfolding before the astonished eyes of the party members, who begin cheering the Kale-resembling god on. In fact, in their admittedly small mortal ways, many party members attempt to join the divine fray and help the Kale god to vanquish Ignoramius. Clod boldly engages Ignoramius in melee combat; Suppel shoots at him with his guns. Kale, though hindered by the fact of being tied to a table, manages (presumably after first freeing himself from the table, with which he probably is assisted by Merri) to offer a hand to his divine lookalike during an alarming moment in which the former, reeling from an Ignoramian assault, stumbles wearily, but with Kale's assistance, manages to regain his footing and battle on. In all probability, Godwin attempts to add injury to insult by targeting Ignoramius with a Knowledge-Seeking Fireball or two. Ultimately, and to the enormous delight of Godwin (and the very great delight of most or all of the rest of the party as well), Ignoramius begins to seriously falter, and it becomes clear that the Kale god is going to vanquish him! At this juncture, Suppel avails himself of the opportunity to acquire a trophy; he cuts Ignoramius's tongue off and tucks it away into a jar. Clod, for his part, entertains himself by pouring a potion of forgetfulness down the defeated god's throat and announcing that he is helping Ignoramianism to "pass into forgotten history." A final assault from the Kale god causes Ignoramius to fade into nothingness--to all appearances, utterly vanquished.
The victorious god then greets the party respectfully and introduces himself as Kale. After a moment of stunned silence, various party members--most notably Godwin and Kale--begin directing questions at this mysterious god. Godwin, who is overjoyed and feels freer than he has ever before felt in his entire life, asks the god whether it was he who restored Godwin's sight; someone also asks whether he is the god who answers Merri's prayers to Kale. A rather dumbfounded Kale, for his part, focuses his questions on the issue of why the god looks like him and uses his name. As if the god were communicating telepathically with the party members, they then hear a voice in their heads confirming that he is indeed both the god who restored Godwin's sight and has been giving instructions to him, and also the god who answers Merri's prayers. Aloud, the god merely offers cryptic and unenlightening responses to Kale's questions and admonishes the party to make a general habit of listening to Merri more, because she is allegedly very wise. Merri silently draws the conclusion that what is fundamentally going on here is that Kale has finally decided to reveal to the party that he really is a god--but in order to simultaneously preserve the old facade of not being a god, he is projecting both a mortal and a divine avatar as if they were two separate entities. Kale and Godwin, on the other hand, conclude (as Godwin had previously speculated) that this is a god who has "moved in" on the Kaleist religion, adopting the persona of Kale in order to avail himself of the Kaleists' otherwise-wasted worship. The other party members may or may not draw any particular conclusions about The Divine Kale.
After The Divine Kale leaves their midst, the party returns to the Redemption. Flushed with their apparent protector's victory over Ignoramius, they fall to discussion of how to proceed against Jundub now that his divine ally is out of the picture. Overeager, some members of the party want to go storming into town, presumably expecting the loss of Ignoramius to hae rendered Jundub all but helpless; others point out that Jundub was quite powerful even before he allied with the irritating god. The party quickly falls to bickering over whether time is of the essence and Jundub should be attacked before he has time to recover from the blow, or whether it's more likely that Jundub doesn't even know that Ignoramius has been vanquished, and won't know until he tries to call upon the deity in a key moment. Godwin, who leans toward the latter theory, strongly advocates (big surprise) a cautious and well-planned approach involving rallying the people of Hinkerville around Kale as the rightful mayor of the town and then moving against Jundub from a position of strength, backed by a mass movement--in short, he favors leading a popular revolution rather than just seizing power via a coup. This plan, he argues, is not only more likely to succeed than a simple coup--it's also more just; it's the way to put Kale in power without turning him into the equivalent of Jundub. Other party members resist Godwin's argument--some out of impatience with the tedium of builing popular support, some out of cynicism about the viability of the plan, and some perhaps because they just flat-out don't care about not being just as evil as Jundub. But in the end, although Merri gets bored with the "planning the revolution" discussion and disappears off to her quarters to converse with her dad, Godwin manages to largely convince Kale and (amazingly) even Suppel of the wisdom of his plan (or at the very least, gets them to agree to it; in all probability, Suppel only agrees to this for the sake of "party cohesion").
As a first step, Godwin convinces Kale that he needs to use his substance-deleting spell to create a hidden lair underground or (as Kale suggests) in a mountainside to serve as a safe and private meeting place for all pro-Kale Hinkervillians. When Clod hears talk of an underground lair needing to be created, he assumes that Godwin means for such a lair to be dug out by hand. Further imagining that his companions are all deeply racist, he leaps to the conclusion that he, as a dwarf, will be expected to do the excavation work, and thus becomes irrationally offended. The others quickly set him straight on this, however.
Meanwhile, at some point duirng this conversation, Merri has a characteristic fit of impatience mixed with naive trust, and decides to head into town with her dad (and possibly one or more other party members as well, though neither Godwin nor Kale are among them) to scope out the situation. As soon as they come within earshot of a group of clones, however, Rothard orders the latter to arrest Merri, who makes a beeline back to the ship and manages to avoid being captured. Later, as already mentioned, she gets bored with the planning discussion and slinks off for a heart-to-heart with dear old dad. Employing the skillful mixture of flattery and manipulation that has worked for her with Rothard in the past, she manages to convince him that family loyalties are of paramount importance; that Jundub won't ever follow through on his promises to Rothard, who, after all, as the creator and commander of the clones, is the one who really deserves to be in charge of things; and thus, that he and Merri (and her friends) should join forces and turn the clones against Jundub, with the goal of installing Rothard as the new mayor of Hinkerville.
Reality Date: March 30th, 2007: Dorito Cigarettes for the Almighty PotentateGameality date March 23, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the middle of the night, Rothard wakes up craving a smoke, so he rouses Suppel from bed and attempts to bum a cigarette off him. Suppel sadistically responds by crushing some Spicy Hot Doritos to serve as "tobacco," rolling them up in a porn scroll order card, and bestowing the resulting makeshift cigarette upon the unfortunate (and highly foolish) Rothard, who proceeds to light up, puff away, choke on inhaled spicy Dorito dust, and run off along the corridor screaming in pain. Satisfied, Suppel goes back to bed.
In the morning, Godwin, Kale, and Merri all decide to spend some time sorting (or at least looking through) the books. Godwin, while sorting, is fortunate enough to find a book containing a sorting spell. Merri takes advantage of the books' presence to do a bit of research on shrinking spells, and Kale stumbles upon an interesting-looking spell book entitled "Addiction Law." Perhaps while they are together messing with books, Merri tells Kale and Godwin about her conversation of the previous night with Rothard. Neither of them, it turns out, is pleased to hear of it, at least initially--even though Merri makes it clear that she is manipulating Rothard and merely intends for the group to use him to achieve their own ends, rather than actually placing him in power. Kale wants absolutely nothing to do with Rothard, and Godwin isn't thrilled about involving the untrustworthy and unpredictable hobbit in his cherished revolution. Rothard's ability to control the clones, however, makes him very valuable, so in the end, Merri convinces her companions to go along with her plan.
Merri then heads off to the kitchen to make breakfast, intending to convene a meeting to discuss the plan with the rest of the party and Rothard over moose bacon. Kale comes to this breakfast meeting only reluctantly, and Rothard has to be half-dragged out of bed to attend because he is so exhausted from being up half the night self-destructively smoking Dorito cigarettes. The meeting winds up consisting mainly of various party members attempting to maintain Rothard's enthusiasm and willingness to cooperate via flattery. As part of this, the matter of what title Rothard will assume when he seizes power is discussed; "mayor" seems a bit humble, after all. Kale spews out the phrase "Almighty Potentate," and Rothard latches onto it immediately.
When the conversation finally begins to turn to less inane and more practical matters, Godwin discovers, to his dismay, that Kale and Suppel have seemingly forgotten and/or changed their minds about the debates and conclusions of the previous evening, when he had managed to convince them to adopt his "popular revolution" plan involving creating an underground lair. This debate thus gets substantially rehashed, amid various other bits of bickering, and despite the serious complications presented by the presence of Rothard, whom the party must be careful to keep under the impression that the end goal of their plans is to install him in power. Unfortunately, as all of this is happening, Merri suddenly decides that it's time to go marching into town with Rothard again, with the goal of having the latter order the clones to capture Jundub--a plan that is radically at odds with the "popular revolution" plan that Godwin is just re-convincing Kale and Suppel to pursue. Godwin and Kale therefore stop her and urge her not to carry out her intentions. It proves impossible to communicate effectively about plans, goals, and reasons not to go charging off to town immediately, though, due to the presence of Rothard, who both believes that he is in charge and also has no interest in pursuing popular legitimacy (especially since, unlike Kale, he hasn't had a mayoral election stolen from him, and thus has no basis upon which to claim power legitimately). Unable to explain themselves to Merri without spilling the beans about their real plans to Rothard, and scarcely able restrain either Merri or Rothard from heading out to capture Jundub as a result, Godwin and Kale thus become frustrated and panicky, and things in general become rather chaotic. Suppel, for his part, does what he can to stall and distract Rothard by keeping him well-supplied with various flavors of Dorito cigarettes, but Rothard nevertheless insists on being present for all discussions of plans, to Godwin's and Kale's enormous frustration.
Finally, in desperation, Kale and Godwin duck into the privvy, where they are joined by Suppel. Even though the privvy is too small to be comfortably occupied by three people at once, they proceed to shut themselves in so that they can confer, without Rothard overhearing them, about how in the hell to salvage the situation. As an added "precaution" in case Rothard should try to eavesdrop through the door, Kale and Suppel make loud moaning noises in a lame attempt to make it sound as though nothing any more sinister than an orgy is going on behind closed doors. Unfortunately, their antics make it difficult for Merri, who actually is listening at the door (and from whom the trio in the privvy are not trying to hide anything), to hear the full conversation that ensues. Already mad about being excluded from the private conversation, and not realizing that her exclusion is inadvertent and merely a side effect of the urgent need to converse without Rothard, Merri becomes even more angry when she overhears part of something that Godwin says to Kale and Suppel, which, out of context, sounds like a reference to some kind of conspiratorial plan to "influence" Merri in some way. Flying off the handle, Merri then once again decides to go charging into town with Rothard at once with intent to nab Jundub, but Kale, Godwin, and Suppel emergy from the privvy in time to once again prevent this.
Once out of the privvy, Suppel devotes himself to distracting Rothard (who is now once again talking of going back to bed) by giving him some more Dorito cigarettes and then carrying him off to Merri's quarters whilst he alternately smokes, coughs half to death, and intermittently nods off. Meanwhile, Merri explodes angrily at Godwin and Kale, and a huge argument ensues in which she accuses them of making secret plans that involve manipulating her, and Godwin and Kale do their best to assure her that no such thing is in fact going on (which, of course, it isn't). Eventually, everyone calms down, Suppel rejoins the group after putting Rothard to bed, and the party is finally able to have a discussion about plans that includes all party members but excludes Rothard. Suppel, reacting to the chaos of the morning's events, brings up the idea of freezing the impatient Rothard in the ship's cryochamber for a while to get him out of the way while the party prepares the ground for the revolution. The idea appeals to Godwin, but unfortunately is impractical, since the whole point of allying with Rothard is to be able to control the clones thorugh him--which would be rather difficult if he were frozen in the cryochamber. Thus, the party instead settles upon the plan of having Rothard order most of the clones to withdraw from the city and congregate at some particular location, with orders to leave the citizens of Hinkerville alone and indeed do nothing at all except defend themselves if attacked by wingless dragons. The idea is to remove the source of Jundub's power and permit freedom of motion within the town. After this, the party agrees that the next priority will be to effect a jailbreak, freeing all the Kale-supporting political prisoners that Jundub has languishing in jail. In the process, the party will spread the word among the (presumably grateful) released prisoners--most of whom are also presumably already Kale supporters--about the stolen election, and urge them to futher spread the word to their families, friends, and neighbors. As part of this general spreading of the word, moreover, everyone will be encouraged to come to the town square at a specified time a couple days later for a meeting and rally. In making these plans, the party may or may not realize that they are implicitly abandoning Godwin's previous insistence on meeting with townspeople in a secret underground lair (which is really no longer necessary, because of Rothard's involvement and the consquent ability to defuse the threat posed by the clones).
Then, for some reason--even though it's only the second phase of the agreed-upon plan and not the first--the party sets about making preparations for the planned jailbreak. Kale gives purple cloak material to Merri, who uses it to sew a hood for Godwin to wear to disguise himself while prowling around town. Meanwhile, Merri explains the plan to Rothard, who agrees to it but insists on adding the element of "pantsing" Jundub. Merri charitably agrees to add this to the plan, but manages to convince Rothard that it should be postponed until the moment when Rothard actually seizes power--purportedly to "increase the drama." The party then heads to town in two contingents; Merry and Suppel take Rothard with intent to start ordering clones out of the city, and Kale and Godwin go to scope out the jail. What, if anything, either Clod or Viller does (at this point or at any other time during the course of this day) goes unrecorded. While Kale makes note of the general layout around the jail and Godwin uses his Roving Vision spell to check out the interior layout and count approximately how many prisoners there are, Merri and Suppel almost get into a scuffle with some constables, but Suppel manages to ward them off by menacing them with a bola. Then, probably in accord with a decsion reached earlier by the group, Merri and Suppel get Rothard to order twenty clones to wait outside the jail, where they will later be used to facilitate the jailbreak. Night falls as as they are doing this, so they don't end up getting a start on the ordering of the rest of the clones out of town. Meanwhile, after scoping out the jail, Godwin--still using his spell--scans the underground tunnel system in search of Jundub, just for the sake of knowing where he is and what he is up to. However, he is unable to spot Jundub anywhere.
Additionally, at some point during this day, the Redemption is moved to a spot near an outcropping of rock some distance from town--the plan being to carve out the much-discussed secret underground lair within the rock. Exactly when this happens and how the party members accomplish travel between the ship and the town after it has been done goes unremembered, unfortunately.
Reality Date: February 1st, 2008: Reunions with Abandoned Incarcerated Friends (Or: Goodbye Viller)Gameality Date: March 24, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Alternate titles: Villersicle, Clodpostle, and Prisoner Darff
Early in the morning, some party members are awakened by loud noises outside the ship. Clod, in an apparent attack of oblivious paranoia, leaps to the conclusion that the noises signify that the ship is under attack. Panicking, he starts running around knocking on doors and announcing this to the other party members in a loud voice. Most of them either realize that he is not in possession of his wits, or are feeling disturbingly indifferent about their fate, and therefore ignore him. Godwin, however, assumes that Clod knows what he's talking about, leaps out of bed, and accompanies him to the bridge, where he uses the magic mirror to investigate the source of the noise--which proves to be nothing more than a thunderstorm. Incidentally, due to the gloom that he observes outside due to the pouring rain, it fails to occur to Godwin that everything seems somehow a little bit darker than normal this morning--a sure sign that a cosmic shift has occurred.
Having been startled awake, Godwin does not feel capable of getting back to sleep, so he roams the ship idly. Visiting the infirmary, he notices that Viller has somehow wound up frozen in the cryochamber! Wigging out anew, he goes in search of other party members to alert to this situation. The first person he runs into is Suppel, who accompanies him back to the cryochamber but seems cruelly indifferent to Viller's fate. Indeed, musing that Viller looks slightly different somehow, Suppel points his Wand of Weirdo Detection at him on a whim--an act that yields the discovery that Viller has become an "NPC." At this, he proclaims that regardless of how Viller ended up frozen, it's the best thing for him, as he will be "safe" in the cryochamber. Alarmed by his attitude, Godwin argues briefly and futilely, then runs off to let the rest of the party know about the situation. While he's gone, Suppel takes advantage of his solitude to encrypt the controls for thawing Viller such that they require a password known only to him. When Godwin returns with the rest of the party, he sees Suppel messing with the controls; Suppel acts as though he has been trying to thaw Viller, but proclaims that he has determined it to be impossible. He then shrugs off Viller's predicament, while the rest of the party reacts with shock and makes attempts to thaw him. When they discover the encryption, there is baffled speculation about whether Viller might have frozen himself deliberately and encrypted the controls to prevent anyone from thawing him--though no one can quite imagine why he might have done so. Clod, it might be noted, scarcely conceals his relief at Viller's frozenness, as he has not trusted or liked Viller very much ever since learning that the latter defined himself as "evil." As for the rest of the party, though dismayed by this turn of events and rather shocked by Suppel's reaction to it, everyone is forced to admit bafflement as to what can be done about it, so eventually they all turn their attention back to the plans formulated the previous day. As the party is about to leave the infirmary, however, everyone belatedly notices the slightly darker nature of the world in general, and Suppel realizes that it was this, and not anything different about Viller himself, that he noticed earlier, prompting him to point his wand at Viller. After he voices this, all party members (except, mysteriously, for Kale) quickly adjust to gameality's altered brightness level, so that things no longer look different from normal to any of them.
As the party is getting ready to head to town to start clearing it of clones, Clod strikes up a conversation with Suppel about the latter's strange beliefs concerning "reality" and the "Cobbler." Meaning, evidently, to give Suppel's worldview a try and see how he likes it, he asks about how the average person might be able to use what Suppel maintains are the facts about "reality" to his or her advantage. Suppel responds by explaining how he is able to ask the Cobbler for favors, and also impresses upon Clod that they key to pleasing the Cobbler is being sure to remain interesting. He also tells Clod a bit about the time when he managed to actually visit "reality." Inexplicably to anyone but himself, Clod then asks Suppel's permission to write this information down for possible publication. Suppel consents to this, provided that he himself is not named in any such published work. Hearing parts of this conversation, Godwin violates his recent vow to make fun of Suppel less by cracking several jokes about shoes and Suppel's beliefs about their mystic Maker.
Soon the party acquires Rothard, piles into Suppel's van, deploys the invasion portal to an area near (or in?) town and sets it to automatically close after one minute, and heads out into the pouring rain. It is, in fact, raining so hard that scarcely anything outside the van is even visible, making navigation impossible. Godwin therefore casts his Roving Vision spell to enable him to see through the rain and gloom. Serving as navigator, he conveys directions verbally to Suppel, who is behind the wheel, and the party begins driving around in search of clones. Each time Godwin spots some, he directs Suppel to wherever they are located, and someone rolls down Rothard's window so that he can give them their orders--which are to go to a spot one-half mile south of town and remain there until further notice (definding themselves against any wingless dragons that might attack them). This proves a painstakingly slow process due to the weather, so the party winds up passing a long, draining day driving around in the rain. Rothard whines a lot, both about his boredom and impatience to become the Almighty Potentate and (especially) about getting wet whenver his window is rolled down. Since none of the party members other than Suppel and Godwin has anything to actually do during the long, dull day, the rest of them largely devote themselves to continually buttering up Rothard's ego in order to keep him at his task despite his impatience and annoyance with it. In addition, someone wraps a deflated air mattress that Suppel has in the van around Rothard to serve as a makeshift raincoat, and Merri takes over for Suppel in the area of keeping Rothard well-supplied with Dorito cigarettes. Also, Clod at some point offers up a prayer to the "Cobbler" requesting that he make the rain cease. Recalling Suppel's advice about being "interesting," he even promises (after seeking assurances from others that ethical concerns don't apply to clones) to kill a clone for no particular reason, as a sort of incentive to encourage the "Cobbler" to grant his prayer.
After passing the whole day thusly and managing to disseminate orders to about 150 clones, the party decides to call it quits for the night, hoping that they will be able to proceed more efficiently with their task in the morning if, gods willing, it should stop raining during the night. Unfortunately, the party then realizes that they won't be able to return to the Redemption for the night, as the trackless jungle between them and the ship is not navigable via van in the pouring rain. They therefore decide to make due with Kale's old "storefront" shack as a shelter for the night, with some party members sleeping inside while others (including Suppel, Kale, and Merri) merely crash in the van (though not literally). No one sleeps terribly well, but Clod and Merri have particular difficulty falling asleep. Merri quickly gives up, eats a magical coffee bean of wakefullness, and decides to wake Kale up and seduce him, but to her chagrin, she proves unsuccessful at this. Thus, she ends up spending the night sewing baby clothes.
Reality Date: February 1st, 2008: Reunions with Abandoned Incarcerated Friends (Or: Goodbye Viller) Gameality Date: March 25, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, Clod for some reason concludes that his restless night was in some way a result of having prayed to the "Cobbler" the previous day. Even more strangely, he reacts by praying to the "Cobbler" a second time. This prayer consists of whining about his unpleasant night and about the Cobbler's failure to have granted his previous request yet (as it is, alas, still pouring in the morning), and also of explanations to the Cobbler about how Clod still plans to kill a clone for no good reason, and has not yet done so only because he has not yet seen a clone since making the promise the previous day.
Considering their options in light of the still-pouring rain, the party (not including Godwin) finds itself leaning toward calling the previous day's work good enough for the time being and proceeding straight to the jailbreak today. Suppel further proposes enlisting volunteers from among the sprung prisoners to help with the process of clearing the town of clones following the prison break, using a strategy whereby willing and able volunteers seek out clones individually and allow themselves to be chased by them, thereby leading them to the jail, where Rothard will be waiting to give them their orders. Despite fears about the clones still roaming the streets, Godwin somewhat reluctantly agrees to this plan, so the party heads to the jail to execute operation jailbreak.
Striding into the constables' office with the twenty clones previously set aside to assist with this task, the party orders the two non-clone guards on duty there to hand over the keys to the jail cells. When they predictably refuse and begin to draw weapons, the party cues Rothard to order the clones to restrain--but not kill--the guards. At the same time, Merri dazzles all present with a deft use of her whip to disarm one of the guards in the blink of an eye. The clones quickly overpower the guards, but rather than stopping at that, they continue directing violence at them until the party again tells Rothard to order them not to do so--which he does with some reluctance. With the guards out of the way, some party members turn their attention to locating keys, while Godwin decides to search the office for records concerning the prisoners, in the hope that they might enable the party to distinguish the political prisoners from those who are in jail for real crimes and thus might be best left there. His search proves fruitless, however--perhaps owing to an inability to get inside locked drawers and/or cabinets. Meanwhile, Kale heads into the prison cell area and makes a big speech about second chances and new beginnings, in the course of which he promises to free all the prisoners just as soon as his companions locate the keys--a promise that elicits cheers. Godwin and probably some other party members join Kale in the cell area while he is speechifying. Shortly, two particular prisoners come to the attention of those party memberts present. First, they spot Darff--the three-armed man who was once employed as a guard at Kale's tree back before the Frigid Doom, and who was arrested, along with Merri, for an incident involving the theft of a magic item from a local shop. Kale had subsequently struck a deal to get Merri released from jail, but had left Darff to languish, so a certain degree of awkwardness mars the reunion. Second, the party notes an apparent raving lunatic who seems obsessed with the desire for an axe (and able to articulate little else).
Meanwhile, antics involving Merri and one or more others--the details of which are not clear to this chronicler--eventually result in the acquisiton of keys to the jail cells. They involve Merri trying and apparently failing (oddly enough) to pick the lock on a desk drawer, as well as various other things. In a sequence of events that is somewhat difficult to sort out, Godwin follows up on Kale's speechifying by attempting to rile the soon-to-be-free prisoners up in support of an anti-Jundub revolution, and the party falls to bickering about whether or not to release all of the prisoners--and if not, how to decide which ones to release and which ones to leave locked up. Godwin's oratory consists largely of rhetorical questions designed to elicit enthusiasm from the prisoners. "Who here supports Kale as the rightfully elecdted mayor of Hinkerville? Who wants to see the criminal tyrant Jundub removed from power? Who was thrown in jail for committing no other crime than walking the streets of Hinkerville and opposing Jundub's illegal assault on the library?" etc. He succeeds in riling up the pro-Kale, anti-Jundub sentiments of the crowd. As for the bickering, it is occasioned in part by some party members' reluctance to set the crazy axe guy free, despite Kale's proclaimed promise to free everyone. When Merri enters the cell area and encounters Darff, she gets the idea of relying on his knowledge of his fellow prisoners as a guide to who should and who should not be released, but this plan unfortunately runs afoul of Darff's bitterness about having been abandoned in jail these many millenia; he advocates releasing everyone. Godwin then suggests that since there seems to be no way of telling the political prisoners from the actual criminals, the only particularly viable course is to release most of the prisoners, making exceptions only in cases where relevant facts are known and/or a combination of common sense and quick judgement calls dictates leaving someone locked up. After all, this is a revolution; not everthing can be exptected to go smoothly and remain orderly. Merri, purportedly agreeing with Godwin, then begins to put his suggestion into practice in an insane way, using her "judgement" about whom to release and not to relase by looking into each prisoner's eyes and deciding whether or not she likes them. This is not at all consistent with Godwin's actual suggestion, but Merri appears oblivious to this. As Merri is being far too selective (and arbitrarily so, at that) about who to release, various other people intervene in various ways. Ultimately, a decision is made to simply release everyone, as Kale initially promised; Godwin strongly advocates making an exception for axe guy, but he is overruled, with some party members insisting that for all they know, the prisoner in question may simply yearn to become a lumberjack. In a somewhat ill-considered attempt to address Godwin's fears, however, Kale announces to the prisoners in general that if anyone behaves violently upon being released, they'll have to answer to him. Even less well-consideredly, Merri, who detects the hypocrisy lurking in Kale's pronouncement, chooses to spell out its hypocritical and potentially sinister implications sarcastically for all to hear--which provokes Godwin to wonder just whose side Merri is on, as well as to rebuke her. It's unclear, however, how much of all of this is noticed by how many prisoners, as the scene is in general highly chaotic.
At some point, Kale and Godwin head down to the basement level of the prison, where there are more prisoners. Kale gives another rendition of his speech about second chances and whatnot to these prisoners, and Godwin repeats his political speechifying for their benefit. Then, as Merri begins unlocking cells, Godwin positions himself near the exit so that as the freed prisoners leave, he can inform them of a town meeting/rally to take place in the town square at noon the day after tomorrow, encourage them to spread the word, and solicit volunteers to carry out Suppel's strategy for continuing to clear the clones from the town. Several people agree to help and thus stick around as the jailbreak proceeds.
Meanwhile, members of the party including Kale and Suppel (and perhaps others) discover a third prisoner of note languishing in "the hole"--a literal hole in the ground down on the basement level of the prison, in which conditions are abysmal. This prisoner is a hobbit of Kale's acquaintance (and indeed, a former employee of his at the tree) from a time before any of the other party members knew Kale. Though the full story and the fact that this hobbit (named Philo and nicknamed Hobbitslayer) figures prominently in it are known only to Kale, Philo's deeds of long ago are actually at the root of much that has transpired for the party and for Hinkerville in recent times. It was he who (at the behest of the evil jack-in-the-box) killed the town's former mayor, an event that both prompted Kale to invent the "blue warriors" as a cover-up and also set in motion the events leading to Jundub's rise to power. Philo was jailed for being "dangerously unstable" and "prone to demonic possession" in connection with the mayor's death--the bit about demonic possession being further cover-up spewed forth by Kale--and was then, like Darff, promptly forgotten about by his employer and companion and left to rot in jail these many years. When discovered in "the hole," he is barely coherent and not at all well. Suppel tends to him briefly, but his fate after this is not clear.
At some point, it becomes clear that having left an unsupervised Rothard in command of the clones guarding the prison guards was not terribly wise, as he has taken to causing the clones to abuse the guards a bit--apparently purely to entertain himself--while the party has been busy speechifying, bickering, and freeing prisoners. When someone notices this, Rothard is made to stop doing it. Discussion then ensues as to what to do with the guards. All too predictably, there are some who advocate killing them and being done with it; others, including Godwin, argue for tying them up and/or putting them in jail cells. Kale surprises everyone by opposing all of these plans, arguing that it's not the guards' fault that they got caught up in an unscrupulous tyrant's power play in the course of doing their jobs, and that the pary is not judge and jury and doesn't have the right to deny them their freedom. Godwin had intended that some kind of due process would eventually decide the guards' fate, but expected that they'd be locked up in the interim; he quickly decides that Kale is right, however, and says so, declaring his own original position on the matter to have been misguided. Unfortunately, while this discussion is occurring, Darff takes it upon himself to strip the guards, because he wants the clothes that they are wearing. Thus, after stripping a couple of clones to provide replacement attire for the guards, the party, over the persistent mild objections of some of its members (Suppel, anyway), lets them go. Not trusting that they are really being granted their freedom, they depart with caution, apparently expecting to be shot in the back before they get very far. When this fails to occur, they appear relieved and scamper off.
Eventually, Godwin organizes the volunteers who have stuck around to help with the clone roundup and gets them started on the task. Suppel participates along with the volunteers, while Godwin himself sticks to a supervisory role due to his notorious inability to run fast. Meanwhile, Clod takes advantage of a lull in the action and the convenient presence of clones to make good on his promise to the "Cobbler." Intercepting a clone as it chases a volunteer into the jail, he hacks brutally at its neck until it expires bloodily. This act elicits protests from both Kale and Godwin, though especially Kale, who bawls Clod out for creating a bloody, gory mess right outside the jail. In an attempt to appease Kale, Clod begins digging a grave with his sword, but Kale objects to this as well, pointing out that in this pouring rain, a corpse buried in a shallow grave in a well-trod area is bound to get washed up again. He therefore demands that Clod dispose of his mess somewhere more out of the way. Agreeing to do so, Clod ties a rope to the corpse, then makes a comical series of efforts to tie the other end of the rope to one of the clones that has been ordeed to the clone rendezvous point by Rothard, so that this clone will drag the corpse away as it goes. Eventually, he resorts to repeatedly circumnavigating the clone in order to wrap the rope around it as it walks, then tying the rope off. The clone drags the corpse away as Clod intends, leaving a bloody trail behind it (though the rain quickly washes away the trail). After this, Clod joins Suppel and the volunteers on clone round-up duty. At some point, he finds an opportunity to converse futher with Suppel about the "Cobbler." Suppel explains that his killing of the clone may not please the "Cobbler," who tends to appreciate behavior that is wacky, but nevertheless moral and preferably non-violent. He also imparts to clod such nuggets of mystic lore as the fact that the identity of the "Cobbler" changes from time to time, and that the "Cobbler"'s ideas about what is "interesting" are often similar to those of the other "PCs."
As the day wears on, Godwin makes it clear to the volunteers that although the clone round-up will be an ongoing process until all clones have been removed from town, they should by all means feel free to quit for the day and go home whenever they are ready to do so--encouraging them, of course, to come back and assist further tomorrow. Eventually they all do quit for the day and go home, and Suppel and Clod call it quits for the day as well. Then, somewhat late in the evening, members of the party who are outside the jail building spot Jundub sauntering toward them. Those who aren't outside are quickly notified of his approach, and Godwin, thinking fast, separates himself from the rest of the party and heads inside to keep Rothard distracted, so as to prevent Jundub from influencing him in any way. Meanwhile, observing that the rain appears to be falling through Jundub, the other party members determine that as usual, this is merely Jundub's illusory projection of himself, and not Jundub in the flesh. When Jundub arrives, he proves the wisdom of Godwin's reaction to his approach by immediately asking to speak to Rothard--a request that is firmly denied by the party members present. Jundub then surprises the party by admitting defeat and offering to give up and hand Hinkerville to them, if they will only comply with one small request: they must give him the jack-in-the-box. Kale--whatever his private speculations about the Godspeed Drive--reiterates the party's previous answer to Jundub about jack, which of course is that they neither have it nor know where it is. Interpreting this as a lame bluff, Jundub reacts with mild impatience. Other party members then express a wish to confer with Kale privately, and Jundub agrees to wait while this occurs. During the ensuing exchange, the fact that the party doesn't have the jack-in-the-box is momentarily put aside, and someone (Suppel?) raises the question of whether, hypothetically speaking, giving it to Jundub can be considered an option. Kale is adamantly opposed to this, and explains why it would almost certainly be a mistake. Suppel then suggests, as another alternative, promising to give it to Jundub, even if they don't intend to follow through on this promise. Suppel is acting on the assumption that the party will soon be applying itself to the task of killing Jundub, which will get them out of having to fulfill any promises to him. Kale isn't sure about whether killing Jundub is they way to go, however, and some discussion on that question ensues--though no resolution is reached. Ultimately, the group authorizes Suppel to convey their answer to Jundub's proposed deal via the eloquent phrase "Fuck off." Suppel delivers this message, and gameality holds its metaphorical breath as a perhaps-dramatic reaction from Jundub teeters on the brink of happening.
Reality Date: February 8th, 2008: Guerrillas in the MistGameality Date: March 25, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Alternate titles: Jundub's Ambush - Guerrillas in the Mist I
Suddenly, most party members feel sharp pains in their chest areas, as swords appear out of nowhere in a protruding-into-said-chests sort of way. Wielders also appear (holding the other ends of the swords), and combat thus breaks out between the party and the new arrival (who are, of course, Jundub's minions). Probably Merri is the only party member not to get impaled out of nowhere, due to her armor. Kale, in keeping with his increasingly sincere dedication to redemption, tries merely to disarm and subdue his attackers rather than to injur or kill them; Merri and Suppel, however, opt for unrestrained violence, and tranform some of their assailants into gory messes (in particular, one guard takes a gunshot from Suppel that results in his head exploding). Clod tries to participate in the violence as well, but proves largely ineffectual. Still, as a group, the party members outside the jail building make relatively quick work of defeating their assailants. Meanwhile, the guards who appeared inside the building easily overpower and (as usual) mortally wound Godwin, then grab Rothard, cause an explosion that blows a big hole in the wall, and take off into the night. Kale makes it inside just in time to see the guards making off with Rothard, so he casts a tracking spell that will enable him to trace their path and hopefully catch up with them once the party pulls itself together. Perhaps while he is doing this, Clod is entertaining himself by subjecting the noncorporeal Jundub to a startling barrage of dwarven cursing, and Suppel joins in the fun by walking through Jundub. Jundub then promptly vanishes--whether in response to Clod's and Suppel's antics or not, none can tell.
The party then regroups inside the jail building, where Godwin lies bleeding to death. Suppel, as has become routine after combat situations, pulls Godwin back from the brink of death via a Pluck Wound spell, and Kale, with a huge sense of urgency, pushes for the party to take off into the night in pursuit of the Rothard-nabbers. This the party does, though they find the going slow and unpleasant due to the continuing downpour. Either for lack of anything better to do, or perhaps because of his pent-up resentment against both Jundub and Kale, Darff accompanies the party. Kale's tracking spell leads the party to an outhouse that's attached to a building whose nature this chronicler has forgotten. From there, he senses that the trail continues downward, so Godwin once again employs his Roving Vision spell to scan below ground. He discovers a stairway leading down from the rear wall of the outhouse and into one of Jundub's underground tunnels. Kale then figures out where the hidden door to the stairway is and opens it, whereupon the party heads down into the tunnel to continue its pursuit, with Godwin scanning ahead and through walls with his still-active spell and keeping everyone informed of what lies ahead.
In due course, the party arrives at a point where a closed portcullis impedes further progress through the tunnels. Kale suggests that Merri help him try to lift the portcullis, but Clod and Merri both spot a lever on the wall and race each other to pull it--a race that Merri wins. Meanwhile, Godwin scans ahead and notices that on the other side of the porcullis, there is a room in which a large, roundish creature with numerous eyestalks and alarming fangs is hovering in midair. He informs the others of this strange presence just as the portcullis is opening in response to Merri pulling the lever. In response to Godwin's description of the roundish floating creature, Kale, in an fit of stupidity, declares that he is familar with creatures of its type and assures the party that the beast is a benevolent "welcoming orb." Believing him, all party members except Godwin and Darff proceed into the next room, where they are quickly targeted by beams of light that shine out of the creature's eyes and cast charm-type spells on whomever they hit. Clod, who is struck full-on by one of these beams, immediately develops a warm affection for the hideous beast. Meanwhile Godwin, in an effort to prevent his companions from dying, casts Damage Scapegoat (using the portcullis as the scapegoat) and hisses at the party members inside the room to come to their senses, realize that the horribly befanged beast is no "welcoming orb," and retreat before they wind up getting eaten. He also advises them not to bother attacking the beast, because of his spell. The beast (which, incidentally, is a Beholder, though since none of the party members is familiar with Beholders, no one is aware of this fact) does attack Merri once, but the resulting damage is, of course, absorbed by the portcullis.
Soon everyone but Clod decides to listen to the party's voice of reason and retreat behind the portcullis. Clod reluctantly accompanies them, and someone lowers the (damaged) portcullis to keep the Beholder from following. As the party falls to discussing how to get pst the beast, the Beholder approaches the portcullis and occupies itself by taunting the party members about being pathetically few-eyed beings. Despite the beast's obvious pride surrounding its visual acuity, however, Godwin finds himself wondering whether it would be able to see through thick fog. Kale, meanwhile, suggests that the creation of a wall running diagonally through the next room from the doorway might allow the party to pass through to the exit on the other side of the room without being exposed to the creature's attacks. For some reason, the party decides to combine the two plans, even though Kale's wall should be enough to permit safe passage by itself. Thus, at approximately the same time, Kale creates his wall and Godwin instantaneously produces an absolutely ludicrous amount of fog (no one but Godwin initially knows just how much, but in fact it fills a ten-mile radius centered on the party's location). The party members then grab ahold of each others' hands, and Godwin, whose still-active vision spell makes him the only party member who is able to see in all the fog, opens the portcullis and leads the party through the room with the Beholder and on into the tunnel beyond.
As the party continues its pursuit of Jundub's lackeys, Godwin, still scanning ahead through walls with his spell, spots Jundub not far ahead, groping his way through the fog back toward the party's location. Once informed of this by Godwin, the party halts, and although uncertain as to whether it's is the real Jundub or just the noncorporeal projection, whisperingly plans an ambush for him. Lining up along the walls on either side of the tunnel, the party waits in silence until Jundub is in their midst, whereupon Godwin alerts Kale to Jundub's presence via a prearranged tap on the shoulder, and Kale attempts to whack Jundub with a weapon--which slices through him unimpeded, due to his noncorporeality. Appearing startled, noncorporeal Jundub then vanishes, and the party resumes its pursuit of the guards who abducted Rothard. Shortly, Godwin again spots Jundub a ways ahead, this time accompanied by Rothard and the two guards. Jundub is standing next to a chair that Godwin has previously spied him sitting in while doing his noncorporeal self-projection trick, which leads Godwin to the conclusion that this time, he's probably seeing the real Jundub, who has presumably just risen from the chair. Just as he is passing this info along to the rest of the party, his suspicion is confirmed when he witnesses Jundub very corporeally cutting Rothard's throat open and brutally ripping out the unfortunate hobbit's larynx. Shocked and horrified, he tells the party what he has seen, whereupon stealth and caution are thrown to the wind by everyone but Darff, and everyone takes off at a run toward Rothard's location even though Godwin alone is capable of seeing where he is going. Jundub, after removing Rothard's larynx, leaves the hobbit lying in a pool of his own blood to die while he continues along the tunnel with the two guards. Various party members endeavor, with varying results, to follow Godwin at a run through the foggy tunnel; at least one person runs into a wall, but this chronicler doesn't remember who. Godwin, for his part, quickly makes his way to the chamter wherein Rothard lies dying, and attempts to administer medical attention. Suppel arrives on the scene only slightly behind Godwin, who then gets out of the way while Suppel plucks Rothard's wounds, saving his life.
After satisfying themselves that Rothard is going to live, Godwin and Suppel then take off in hot pursuit of Jundub, who has made his way to the trap door leading out of the tunnels and into the sign shop. Jundub's inability to see through the fog and rain slows him down considerably, so thanks to Godwin's vision spell, he and Suppel are able to catch up with Jundub quite easily. Suppel, however, can't see any better than Jundub can, so Godwin advises him to stay put as he himself sneaks up on the unsuspecting Jundub. Making sure to position himself closer to Jundub than to Suppel, Godwin casts a Knowledge-Seeking Fireball targed on the nearest person who is aware of the fact that it's foggy and raining—hoping that the rain won't render fireballs useless, but simultaneously counting on the rain to prevent the fireball from actually killing Jundub. In fact, however, the fireball fizzles out before reaching Jundub—party, no doubt, because of the rain, but also partly because the spell doesn't come off as well as Godwin hoped it would. Feeling ambrosially drained and in any case giving up on fireballs, Godwin then steels his nerves, dons the hood of his Cloak of Razor Insight, approaches the oblivious Jundub from behind, and hacks at one of his legs with a broadsword, bringing him to the ground. A few whacks over the head with the flat side of the sword then render the party's arch-nemesis unconscious, whereupon, crying out exultantly to Suppel, Godwin begins tying Jundub up with Superior Rope.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party straggles along blindly through the fog, with Merri collecting the stabilized but voiceless Rothard en route. At some point (not sure whether it happens now or later), Merri uses her tissue regrowth spell to grow Rothard a new and improved replacement larynx. Upon learning that Jundub has been defeated and captured, there is some rejoicing—although not, perhaps, as much of it as might have been expected. Instead, there is—at least on the parts of Kale and Godwin—a great sense of paranoid urgency about getting the wily bastard to the Redemption and freezing him in the cyrochamber to ensure that he doesn't somehow manage to slip through the party's fingers. In addition, there is talk about whether or not the two guards whom the party has been tracking should be chased down, with Suppel gung-ho abount wanting to do so, most other party members opposed, and Kale vacillating somewhat between the two positions. When it occurs to the party that rushing Jundub off to the Redemption is not an option, as the the ship is located off in the jungle and is not reachable on foot in present conditions, they settle on the alternative plan of hauling him back to the jail building and locking him in a cell--but being sure to keep him unconscious at all times. Kale supplies a herb to help with the latter, then lets himself be talked into helping Suppel chase down the guards via his still-active tracking spell while the rest of the party heads for the jail building, with Godwin carrying Rothard and Merri hauling the unconscious Jundub (whom she slings over her shoulder) and not being too concerned about what he might bang his head into on the way. Before the party splits up, Suppel hands Godwin one of his radios, to facilitate communication.
Back at the jail building, Godwin is obliged to intervene and argue to prevent Merri from tossing Jundub in "the hole" and/or stringing him up in some silly and needlessly cruel manner. Ultimately, though, it is more her inability to find anything with which to string him up (owing largely to the pervasive fog) than anything Godwin says that prompts her to give up and merely lock Jundub up in a cell. Meanwhile, fed up with the constant rain, Clod strips naked and heads outdoors for a three-hour cussing-and-stomping tantrum that he explains as a "Dwarven Anti-Rain Dance." His antics result in the temporary loss of his voice—but to everyone's astonishment, they also apparently succeed, as the rain finally ceases when he finishes his tirade. As for Suppel and Kale, they manage to track down one of the guards. When they reach her, however, they abruptly decide that capturing the guard is probably more trouble than it is worth, and they promptly abandon their chase. However, they then realize that they have no idea where they are or how to find their way back to the jail building through the fog and rain, so they call Godwin on Suppel's radio, and Godwin scans around town with his spell until he spots them, then guides them back verbally over the radio. When they return, Godwin suggests that Kale should tie his Gaudy Green Ring of Forgetting that makes one forget the past ten seconds to Jundub's head to keep him out of it, but Kale resists this suggestion.
Eventually, the party sleeps.
Reality Date: February 29th, 2008: The Return of Gorillas Not MissedGameality Date: March 25, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Alternate titles: Babysitting Jundub - Gorillas Not Missed II
Everyone goes to sleep except for Godwin, who volunteers to take the first shift watching Jundub. In order to be able to see Jundub at all, Godwin borrows Kale's glowing green cloak—though obtaining it from him is made somewhat awkward by the fact that he and Merri have already begun making sweet love. Meanwhile, Clod makes the interesting choice of "the hole" as his sleeping quarters. After four hours on watch, Godwin awakens Kale to relieve him, then goes to bed himself.
Reality Date: February 29th, 2008: The Return of Gorillas Not Missed Gameality Date: March 26, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, Merri brings Kale breakfast and takes over for him on guard duty, and Kale collapses back into bed. As for Clod, he finds himself unable to climb out of "the hole" when he wakes up and is forced to resort to sheepishly calling for help. He is soon extricated from his predicament by Darff, whom he swears to secrecy about the incident. Clod and Suppel then have a conversation in the course of which they hatch a bizarre plan to try to mess with Jundub's mind by speaking only in gibberish around him, with the gibberish punctuated every so often by the phrase "jack-in-the-box"—and this phrase always accompanied by the delivery of a mildly painful poke to Jundub. Besides keeping him awake at all times, the intent is apparently to gradually make him think he's going crazy, to break his will and render him pliant, and to try to condition him to lose his nerve momentarily at the sound of the words "jack-in-the-box" (in case this should become useful later).
After just six hours of sleep, Godwin gets up and discusses the rotation of Jundub-watching duty with other party members. In particular, Godwin has a conversation with the party's newest member, Darff, in which he attempts to assess Darff's attitudes about Jundub and his general trustworthiness in an effort to determine whether he should be entrusted with a shift watching Jundub. Darff successfully convinces Godwin of his trustworthiness, and it is agreed that Suppel will take the next watch after Merri, followed by Clod, followed by Darff. Merri, however, quickly grows bored with the task of sitting in one place and staring at the barely visible, imprisoned, and tied-up Jundub, so she abandons her post and snuggles up in bed with Kale. Unfortunately for her but fortunately for everyone else, this causes Kale to wake up. When he realizes that no one is watching Jundub, Kale wigs out and goes running to the cell to make sure the prisoner is still there. Irritated with Merri for flaking on guard duty, Kale then insists that two people be on guard duty at all times, effective immediately.
Reality Date: February 29th, 2008: The Return of Gorillas Not Missed Gameality Date: March 26-27, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
A two-day period of semi-downtime commences owing to the persistence of Godwin's fog, which, in the heat of the moment, he failed to limit temporally any more than he limited it spatially, with the result that it lasts for an entire week. The semi-downtime commences roughly at the point when Kale gets up after his interrupted night of sleep and sets off ranger-like through the foggy jungle to retrieve the Redemption. While he is gone, the others take turns watching Jundub in pairs, and doing various other things when not on duty--or in some party memers' cases, even while they are on duty.
Godwin spends most of his time being all political and doing prep work for the town meeting/revolution to come. First, he tracks down a person who was in charge of election returns and/or exit polls during the recent mayoral election and is in possession of the data needed to make the case that Kale rightfully won the election. He finds this person passionate about getting the truth out, so it is arranged that she will present the facts publicly at the planned town meeting. After arranging this, Godwin devotes most of the rest of his free time to canvassing the town, knocking on doors and spreading the word about the town meeting in an effort to ensure a large turnout. In the process, he informs some people that Jundub is in custody, and apologetically explains about the source of the fog to those who ask. He also discovers that odd rumors are going around town about the involvement of an unknown god in the events leading to the downfall of Jundub. In addition, he gets into a few lively philosophical discussions with like-minded citizens about the nature of democracy, the ethics of revolution, the rule of law, and so on. Finally, at noon on the second day of the semi-downtime (the 27th), Godwin goes to the town square to meet anyone who actually shows up for the town meeting at that time, since that's when it was originally scheduled for. He informs everyone who shows up that the meeting has been rescheduled for noon on the day after the fog clears.
During the first Jundub-watching shift pairing Merri and Clod, Merri gets out her deck of Cards of Friendly Guile and tries to engage Clod in a game, but Clod shows little interest. Merri then gets into a conversation with her cards, who express that they are feeling a bit neglected by their owner (who hasn't taken them out in ages). Merri thereafter passes much of the semi-downtime playing solitaire with her cards (and losing a lot). Also during their first guard shift together, Clod tries to get Merri to help with his and Suppel's plan involving talking gibberish at Jundub. To Merri, however, this plans sounds both silly and also like a lot of work, so she suggests Rothard's idea of "pantsing" Jundub as an alternative. Clod then proceeds to enact the plan on his own. As he does so, he gets it into his head that it would be a good idea to ungag Jundub so that he can respond to questions, or some such thing. Merri intervenes in this, however, preventing the ungagging and explaining to Clod about not wanting Jundub to be able to cast spells. Later, Suppel and Clod bring Darff on board with their plan. Knowing better than to bother trying to get Godwin to cooperate with it, they then arrange the guard duty rotation such that Godwin and Merri are never paired up on a watch, so that every shift will have at least one person on it who will spend it speaking in gibberish to and poking cruelly at the prisoner.
At some point, Darff decides to try breaking into one of the locked cabinets in the office area of the jail building using his sword. Hearing the commotion of his unsuccessful efforts, Merri temporarily abandons her Jundub-guarding post again to investigate, leaving Clod guarding Jundub alone. Upon discovering what Darff is up to, she assists by picking the lock, and a cache of interesting treasures is discovered inside the cabinet. These include some embalming fluid, a scabbard, a tent, a whoopee cushion, and a bag full of beans, perhaps among other things. This loot is divvied up among the party members who are present (i.e. Darff, Merri, and Suppel). Suppel generously gives some items (including the tent) to Clod, and Merri—after descrying the foul—smelling beans and reaching the dubious conclusion that they are Coffee Beans of Wakefulness—gives some of them to Clod as well.
During a guard shift pairing Godwin and Clod, Godwin objects to Clod's cruel treatment of the prisoner. This provokes something of a dillemma for Clod, who is committed to his and Suppel's weird plan but who also regards Godwin as his "commanding officer." However, the combination of the logic of Godwin's argument and the authority that he wields as Clod's "commanding officier" ultimately convince Clod to cease mistreating Jundub, though he mutters under his breath that he doesn't know how he's going to explain his decision to Suppel. A short time later, Suppel discovers that no one is babbling at and poking Jundub, so he begins doing so himself. This, of course, provokes a protest from Godwin, and a debate about ethics and strategy ensues between Godwin and Suppel during which Suppel argues that it's necessary to torture Jundub so that he won't be in a fit state to be an evil bastard when he is eventually ungagged, and Godwin advocates coming up with contingency plans to deal with such problems that don't involve being barbaric and cruel. Suppel will not hear of this, however, and Godwin is unsuccessful in his efforts to get him to stop mistreating Jundub. During this exchange, Darff discovers that it is at least as much fun to say "jack-in-the-box" and poke Suppel as it is to do so to Jundub, and every time he pokes Suppel, Suppel for some reason reacts by poking Godwin. This irritates Godwin, but on the bright side for him, at least Darff seems to be losing interest in torturing Jundub.
Later, during a guard shift pairing Clod and Darff, the two party members notice an unpleasant odor. Unwilling to leave their posts to search for it, they call for Suppel, who arrives and explores empty cells in search of the source of the smell. Shortly, Suppel finds a dead cat in a nearby cell. He disposes of the carcass outdoors. While he is doing this, Clod and Darff suddenly notice that Jundub is no longer visible on the other side of the bars. As the thick fog permeating everything prevents them from being able to see further than a few inches into the cell, however, they are unable to determine whether Jundub has merely inched his way along the floor a little further into the cell, or has somehow gotten free. Since the key to the cell is in Merri's possession, Clod therefore races off to get her. Suppel, thinking that perhaps the disappearing Jundub is related to the recent inexplicable appearance of a dead cat, rushes outside to check whether the cat is where he left it, which it is. Supple returns to the party just as Clod rouses Merri from sleep and announces to her that Jundub has "disappeared." A panicked Merri rushes with Clod back to the cell, opens it, and charges in, sword flailing wildly. Suppel begins barking orders to the other party members in an attempt to get the situation under control, but the other party members ignore him. Meanwhile Clod, who is unaware that Merri is flailing her sword about blindly in the fog, follows her into the cell, only to have the sword connect with his arm and nearly lop it off. Suppel, who has been standing in the doorway to ensure that Jundub doesn't get out of the cell, then enters the cell to pluck Clod's wound, telling Merri as he enters to take up his abandoned position in the doorway. Meanwhile, Clod and Merri bicker about whose fault it is that Clod's arm got sliced. Seconds later, Merri feels hands pushing down on her shoulders, so she swings her sword upward, where it connects with a mysteriously unbound Jundub as he tries to leap over her to make his escape from the cell. As Merri's sword connects with him, Jundub becomes visible (although due to the thick fog hardly anyone notices that he was invisible) and crashes to the floor outside the cell. As Jundub gets to his feet, Merri puts away her sword and gets out her whip, hoping to recapture the prisoner without killing him. The other party members, however, make their way over or around Merri and follow Jundub out of the cell, whereupon they immediately go at him with swords and all but slice his head clean off. With the escape thus halted, Suppel seizes the opportunity for poetic (if barbaric) justice offered by Jundub's neck wound and plunges his hand into said would and effortlessly rips out the larynx in a stunning feat of surprising medical knowledge. He then plucks Jundub's wounds, saving his life, after which Merri ties the prisoner back up. Jundub is then thrown into "the hole."
Meanwhile, Kale spends the two days of semi-downtime trekking slowly through the foggy jungle between town and the Redemption. When he reaches the Redemption, he wisely avoids disturbing the sleep of a wingless dragon snoozing next to the ship, then belatedly realizes that the fog will make navigating the ship to the vicinity of the jail building impossible. Frustrated, he finds himself wishing that he had thought to set up a portal back at the jail building, so that he could now simply set one up on the ship and return through it to the jail building. Since he didn't do so, however, he is forced to trek back through the foggy jungle to the jail building after setting up a portal on the ship. He finally rejoins the others toward the end of the second day of the semi-downtime, finding them in the midst of some mild bickering about whose fault the near-escape of Jundub was. Kale joins in the bickering and begins bawling out those party members who are present for their general incompetence, and especially chewing Suppel out for the larynx-removal stunt. In the midst of this, Godwin also returns from being out and about, and also joins in the fray. Godwin shares Kale's dismay about the larynx stunt to some extent, but also tells Suppel that he is proud of Suppel for pulling Jundub back from the brink of death and saving his life. Also, whereas Kale is completely freaked out about the larynx thing and convinced that Suppel has destroyed all hope of the party being able to get the people on their side, Godwin is inclined to dismiss most of Kale's fears as overblown, arguing that the situation can hopefully be passed off as merely a consequence of Jundub's escape attempt and the party's actions to prevent it. Merri, for her part, offers to grow Jundub a new larynx, if this will help matters.
Aside from bickering, the first order of business upon Kale's return is the setting up of his other portal, providing access to the Redemption and enabling the party at last to secure Jundub in the ship's cryochamber. In addition, Suppel drives his van into the ship. Also shortly after Kale's return, Suppel brings it to the attention of other party members that Darff has at some point searched the tied-up Jundub and helped himself to a couple of the prisoner's possessions--namely, a wand and a ring. Suppel apparently became aware of this fact sometime during the semi-downtime. Godwin expresses interest in descrying the items, and Darff consents. Godwin then identifies the wand as a very dangerous Death Wand; about the ring, however, he detects no magic. Someone else perhaps also descries one or the other of these items after Godwin, but nothing further is learned. However, evidence does comes to light suggesting that the ring causes its wearer to speak in odd accents, as Darff has spent a portion of the semi-downtime inexplicably speaking with an accent, but reverts to speaking normally when he takes the ring off.
Reality Date: February 29th, 2008: The Return of Gorillas Not Missed Gameality Date: March 28-April 1, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
At this point, the semi-downtime gives way to full-blown, actual downtime. During it, the party takes the Redemption up into the heavens and opens its hatch to let the fog out (with Godwin waiting chicken-like on the ground), then spends some time flying over other areas of Pangea and generally exploring the world from the air, toward the end of locating a less dangerous area that Hinkerville might be able to be relocated to. In addition, Godwin continues his political activities (in addition to spending time studying & whatnot), and Merri spends as much of the time as Kale will consent to "worshipping" (i.e. having sex with) him--and the rest playing with her intelligent playing cards and working on preparing a nursery for her unborn child. Also, at some point Merri and Godwin have a conversation about Rothard and what to do about his belief that the party is going to make him the ruler of the town. Merri favors just letting the situation play out on its own and allowing Rothard to gradually realize on his own that this is not, in fact, happening. Godwin briefly explores Merri's feelings about the prospect of Rothard serving jail time for his crimes, but Merri declares this "unnecessary" and asserts that going to jail for commiting crimes is appropriate for some people, but not for others. Godwin suggests that even if that's true, Rothard's pattern of misdeeds would seem to place him in the former category, but Merri disagrees. Godwin also contemplates destoying Rothard's underground cloning lab, but ultimately decides to preserve it for the time being, as it constitutes evidence that duly constituted authorities should probably get a chance to check out.
Late in the evening of April 1st, the pervasive fog lifts at long last.
Reality Date: February 29th, 2008: The Return of Gorillas Not Missed Gameality Date: April 2, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
At noon, the party proceeds to the town square for the much-anticipated meeting/rally/revolution. Upon arrival, they find an impressively large crowd gathered there--much to Godwin's personal gratification. As the party makes its way to the center of the crowd, numerous murmurs and questions are overheard along lines similar to the rumors Godwin heard earlier about a mysterious god who supposedly "made all this happen." Other party members react with surprise, and Godwin relates having heard these odd rumors throughout the week. Merri, naturally, responds to all questions about the "responsible" god by asserting that it is none other than Kale himself—an assertion that is generally greeting with skeptical reactions.
Upon reaching a raised dais conveniently located at the center of the crowd, Godwin takes charge of the meeting, thanking everyone for coming and making appropriate speeches about the ordeal that the town has been through and how it's time to end Jundub's tyranny and oppression and restore democracy and freedom to Hinkerville. His speech is received enthusiastically by an oppression-weary people. He then gives the floor to the person he tracked down earlier, who presents the facts about the recent mayoral election results. As the crowd still seems to be with them, Godwin then proposes that Kale be recognized as the rightful Mayor of Hinkerville. There are cheers, and Kale then takes the floor and makes a rousing speech of his own, in the course of which he references the continuing danger posed by the wingless dragons and announces that he is working on finding a safer place to relocate to, where the townspeople might hopefully be able to start building a secure future. Following Kale's speech, Godwin, in a continuing effort to run the meeting/revolution as democratically as possible, opens the floor for comments and questions from the townspeople. When someone asks about the whereabouts and fate of Jundub, Godwin reveals that the party has him in custody and suggests that his fate should be decided by due process of law. His response disappoints some in the crowd who seek to form a lynch mob and string the tyrant up, but the general reaction seems to be one of grudging agreement.
Then, just as Godwin, perceiving that there are no objections, is about to proclaim Kale the new Mayor of Hinkerville by rightful election and the consent of those assembled, the sun suddenly grows somewhat dim, and to everyone's astonishment, a giant ape is spotted descending from the sky! Pre-frigid-doom members of the party recognize the translucent ape at once as the same one that visited them at Kale's tree just before the Frigid Doom--i.e., the Great Ape worshipped by the Liverlessositans, and indeed, Suppel's onetime deity. The ape, however, looks rather the worse for wear compared to how he looked when last the party saw him; he appears emaciated. Transfixed and enraged by the sudden appearance of this divine arch-nemesis of his, Suppel draws his pistols and begins advancing toward the spot where the ape is descending, swearing at it as he prepares to discharge his weapons at it. Meanwhile, an orange-robed figure in the crowd, who has gone largely unnoticed up to this point, addresses the townspeople, urging them to worship the ape and proclaiming the ape's support for Kale as mayor. Dismayed by the ape's arrival and interruption of his political rally but sensing that nothing good can come of a violent confrontation between it and Suppel, Godwin casts a spell on Suppel to make him forget some fact or other that would, if forgotten, prevent such a confrontation. In an impressive display of magical resiliance, however, Suppel is unfazed by Godwin's powerful spell and continues advancing. Godwin and Merri therefore both grab ahold of Suppel in an effort to restrain him, but are unable to prevent him from beginning to shoot at the ape. His first shot glances harmlessly off the the ape's skin, but a second shot causes a bleeding wound and prompts the ape to direct its attention toward Suppel. At this moment, Kale adds his efforts to those of the party members who are trying to restrain Suppel by landing a blow from behind that renders Suppel unconscious.
Reality Date: March 14th, 2008Gameality Date: April 2, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
With Suppel unconscious thanks to Kale, Merri scoops him up with intent to carry him away from the ape, only to immediately be scooped up herself by the ape. At this, the other party members become even more alarmed than they already were, and at least a couple of them (Godwin and Kale) begin beseeching the ape to release their friends. The ape, however, shows no sign that it understands human language, and Kale, who is able to comprehend the ape's language, informs the party that it is mainly communicating hostility. The ape's hostile mood is confirmed immediately thereafter when it places a hand over Suppel's abdomen and magically extracts his liver from his body. It then puts both Suppel and Merri back down on the ground, whereupon Merri immediately sets about casting her tissue regrowth spell on Suppel to provide him with a replacement liver.
Meanwhile, the orange-robed guy (who eventually identifies himself as Plyan) confronts the party about Suppel's hostile behavior toward the ape, and some party members ask questions of him about why the ape is here and what it wants. Addressing both the party and the assembled crowd, the man—who is clearly a Liverlessositan and presumably a cleric--asserts that it was through the ape's intervention that Jundub's downfall was achieved, and again urges the townspeople to adopt the Liverlessositan religion. Highly irritated by this attempt to take credit for the party's recent deeds on behalf of the ape, Godwin and perhaps others dispute Plyan's assertions and demand to know why he is making them. Godwin also cocks him off. Plyan's replies are enigmatic and unhelpful, but he also seems eager for there not to be a conflict between himself and the party, and he repeats his earlier assurance that the ape supports Kale for mayor.
Shortly after putting Suppel and Merri down, the ape begins ascending back into the sky. As it does so, Suppel regains consciousness, sees it leaving the scene, and yells after it: "That's right! Run, motherfucker!" He then notices that he feels not terribly well, and is brought up to speed on the loss of his liver and on Merri's progress in growing him a new one. Meanwhile, Kale again addresses the assembled townspeople in an attempt to recover from the bizarre divine interruption of the meeting and get back to the matter of seeing to the re-establishment of a government for Hinkerville. Unfortunately, Plyan interrupts Kale's speech every few minutes to interject various concerns of his own--which consist chiefly of Liverlessositan pieties and doctrines. These interruptions grow successively less sane, progressing from pronouncements about the construction of a temple to the ape, to detailed instructions on the proper feeding of livestock, to things that seem even less sane and make even less sense than that. Worked into each of his interruptions of the speech, however, are assertions of agreement with everything that Kale has just said. Kale, for his part, attempts to undermine any appearance of accord between himself and Plyan and to ridicule him in various subtle ways in an effort to deny him any credibility.
At the conclusion of the speech, Rothard--who is not with the party, but rather part of the crowd--attempts to rile the townspeople up in favor of his own personal agenda by beginning a chant: "Pants Jundub! Pants Jundub!" Despite his efforts, however, the town meeting concludes and the crowd begins to disperse. Merri then helps the recently-liverless and not-at-all-well Suppel to catch up with Plyan so that he can have a conversation with the presumed cleric. Suppel reveals his own Norfacordian/Liverlessositan background to Plyan, who then proceeds to test Suppel's knowledge of scripture and doctrine in various ways. Suppel passes the tests easily, impressing Plyan, and probably manages to glean some information from Plyan as well, though this chronicler has forgotten what information that might have been. He perhaps learns that Plyan is a longtime resident of Hinkerville (?), among (one hopes) other things. Whatever the details, Suppel definitely comes away from the conversation concerned about the problem presented by Plyan and the ape.
Meanwhile, other party members also ponder the ramifications of the ape's appearance and the claims being made on its behalf. In light of these claims, someone brings up the possibility that the Kale deity--who, after all, is a deity who actually did play a role in Jundub's downfall--may merely be the ape in another guise. Godwin, who is keen not to suddenly find himself accidentally a Liverlessositan, is dismayed by this notion, and he soon withdraws to his quarters to pray to the Kale deity for answers. None are forthcoming, however.
A short while later, when Merri deposits Suppel in his quarters, he asks Merri to call a meeting of the entire party in his quarters. When everyone has gathered, Suppel apologizes to the party for his rash actions in attacking his former deity, and lays the question of what to do about the Liverless Ape situation before his fellow party members. During the discussion that ensues, it comes more fully to the attention of Godwin and Merri than it ever has in the past that aside from them, most of the members of the party have extremely cynical and matter-of-fact attitudes toward religions and the divine. Kale is full of bitterness toward godkind and feels that gods are nothing but trouble, and other party members generally agree--Clod arguing that they are impediments to mortals' freedom, and someone else (Suppel?) going so far as to assert that the gods are merely scheming bastards who seek to manipulate and control mortals in order to increase their own power. Godwin and Merri express astonishment at this perspective and argue that, however one might feel about this or that particular deity (some of whom, after all, are hideously evil), the gods are a separate, mystical, and higher order of beings that mortals can't expect fully to comprehend, and to which they owe a degree of reverence and respect. This point of view--despite being a fairly common and conventional one both among pre-frigid-doom people and (according to Clod) among people in the present era--is labeled "naive" and largely laughed off by most of the other party members. Deeply unsettled by all of this, Godwin then again withdraws to the privacy of his own quarters to pray.
After this, while Suppel continues to have himself a bit of a lie-down and other party members do various unspecified and/or unremembered things, Merri decides to track down Rothard and find out what he may be up to. She soon locates him in the underground clone lab, where he is apparently working on making new clones. Having worked out, it seems, that the party has been using him and never actually planned to make him a potentate, Rothard is feeling bitter and in no mood to trust Merri, whose efforts to convince him that making Kale the mayor is actually just a step toward making Rothard the potentate thus meet with little success. Merri also tries to get Rothard to show her around the clone lab, but for once, her ego-stroking and emotional manipulation tactics fall flat. Rothard is single-minded about wanting to pants Jundub and be made ruler of Hinkerville, and unequivocal about his disklike of Kale and the rest of the party. He tells Merri that she has to choose between him and Kale. Merri, however, keeps insisting that pantsing Jundub requires Kale's consent and participation, and when Rothard tries calling Merri's bluff by insisting that they go find Kale and get on with it, then, Merri agrees that they should do so. Lingering behind after Rothard proceeds up through the sign shop and outside, Merri then uses two torches to attempt to set fire both to the lab and to the shop above it. She then rushes after Rothard and attempts to sell him a lame story about having "dropped her torch" in the shop. Assuming that Merri had retrieved her torch safely, Rothard does not immediately investigate; instead, he stalks off with intent to round up a mob and lead it in an attempt to pants the imprisoned Jundub.
While all of this is going on, Darff heads back to town from the Redemption via Kale's Sphere Portal, only to find himself in the locked shack. Rather than seeking assistance from other party members in getting past this obstacle, he decides to simply smash his way through the door of the shack. He proceeds to a shop where he sells an accordian that he had pick-pocketed from a Hinkervillian during the town meeting. Meanwhile, Merri returns to the ship to alert the rest of the party to Rothard's antics and to inform them of her own attempted arson. There is general anxiety about what kind of havoc Rothard might stir up; as for the arson attempt, reactions are mixed, but no one (not even Godwin) is too terribly put out about it. Kale is particularly keen on learning whether the attempt succeeded, and so the party settles upon a plan of Merri going back to check on the outcome of her arson attempt while everyone else sets out to track down Rothard and prevent him from doing anything undesirable. As they are about to set off, however, the party members are startled by the sudden presence of a couple of townspeople aboard the Redemption. The townspeople explain that they are looking for Kale. They seem to find it odd that Kale withdrew to private quarters following the rally, and are eager to confer with him about various administrative matters and get the process of setting up a government under way. Kale and Godwin both express agreement that these matters are urgent, and Kale agrees to head off to City Hall with the townspeople to deal with them--but Godwin also, with apologies, feels compelled to inquire of the townspeople how they got aboard the Redemption. When they show the party the smashed-up door of the old "storefront" shack, there is dismay. Darff admits to having smashed down the door, and Godwin chews him out for destroying Kale's property and compromising the security of the party and ship. Darff's reaction is, at most, mildly sheepish.
While Kale allows himself to be led off to City Hall, the rest of the party then sets off in search of Rothard. They soon discover that the sign shop above the underground clone lab is indeed on fire, and that a crowd of townspeople is attempting to fight the fire whilst Rothard freaks out nearby. After a moment's uncertain hesitation, Godwin decides that it's essential to at least make a show of assisting with the firefighting effort. Clod and Darff both decide to pitch in as well. The townspeople are doing the best they can against the fire despite a complete lack of appropriate equipment, and while Godwin attempts to cooperate with whatever efforts of theirs are already under way, Clod decides to simply throw handfuls of dirt on the fire. Darff does the same. Meanwhile, an angry confrontation occurs between Rothard and Merri during which Rothard accuses Merri of having started the fire, and also threatens to disown her if she walks away, which upsets her greatly. Flying into a rage, Merri, accompanied by Suppel, then enters the underground tunnels via the nearby pit previously created by Kale, and they proceed into the clone lab, where they find some small fires burning, but nothing comparable to the conflagration consuming the shop above. They proceed to ensure the destruction of the lab by igniting a large quantity of a mysterious oil-like substance that Suppel has conjured from the strange other world that he calls "reality." Their actions produce an explosion that causes much of the floor of the sign shop to collapse into the lab below and pretty well dooms the already feeble efforts of the townspeople and other party members who are trying to put out the fire up above. Rothard reacts by seeming to lose whatever grip he still had on his sanity; he begins wailing in anguish and repeatedly throwing himself to the ground in impotent despair.
When Merri and Suppel return from their underground excursion, Merri--who is still enraged and upset at her father--attempts to "take him into custody." Uncertain of her intentions and fearing that she means to perpetrate possibly lethal violence upon Rothard, Clod and Darff intervene, leading to much bickering in addition to the bitter and angry words already being exchanged between Merri and Rothard. Free of Merri's grasp thanks to Darff's intervention, Rothard goes running into the burning building. As the person nearest to him when he does so, Clod--after a quick second of soul-searching and sizing-up of the dangers involved--runs in after Rothard at considerable personal risk, and grabs ahold of the crazed hobbit as the floor gives way beneath him. Perched precariously at the edge of the remaining portion of the floor, Clod hangs onto Rothard while Godwin and Merri rush over to pull them both to safety. Once everyone is out of the burning building, Merri again begins to take Rothard into custody, and other party members again protest and begin to intervene. Rothard, assuming Merri's violent intentions as well, tells Merri to "just end it." This time, however, Merri manages to convince everyone else of her non-violent intentions, and the other party members thus step aside as she carries him off toward City Hall. Everyone else follows.
Upon reaching City Hall, Merri storms in with Rothard in tow and locates Kale, whose activities she interrupts to demand that Rothard be thrown in jail. Kale excuses himself from whatever he is in the middle of and finds a hopefully-private room in which to talk with Merri, and an enormous argument proceeds to erupt between them. Merri is distraught and seeking support and help from Kale, whom she briefs on what has transpired; Kale is angry with Merri for bringing this mess to him at City Hall, of all places, and reminds Merri that he is the mayor now and therefore can't be involved in illegal goings-on--especially not in obvious, public ways. Perceiving that Kale is more interested in upholding the law than in helping her, Merri then gets even more upset and storms off to the Redemption. Kale then takes a statement from Rothard about Merri's arson and subtly reminds Rothard of his own misdeeds. Rothard declines to press charges against Merri and eventually leaves City Hall. Later, when the rest of the party has returned to the Redemption, Kale and Merri have another confrontation in which Kale, despite no longer being in a public place where he has to keep up appearances, continues to take a firm line with Merri. Seemingly forgetting about his own complicity in Merri's illegal activities (having suggested that she investigate the success of her earlier arson attempt and encouraged her to make sure it did succeed), Kale tries to claim the moral high ground and insist on dissociating himself from Merri's doings. Merri is shocked and upset.
Reality Date: April 4th, 2008: Sex, Lies, and PatricideGameality Date: April 2, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Everyone goes to bed, with Kale and Merri sleeping in their separate quarters for once (Merri in her canoe). During the night, Godwin is visited in a dream by The Divine Kale, who responds to many of the questions that Godwin has been praying about of late with cryptic riddles:
"Godwin, it was you who defeated Ignoramius, for by your actions you empowered me. I have been silent this long because I have been fighting for The Way of Kale, and I have been fighting against The Way of Kale. I am one god, and I am two gods. I am Merri's god, and I am not Merri's god. I look like Kale because it is my nature to look as he does, and to undertake the same journey he has undertaken. I am at the very beginning of this journey, and yet I am so far along this journey I can see the destination. Godwin, in the future, I will ask you and your friends to restore unto me my sanity, though by doing so, I will become more insane than ever. I speak in riddles because it is my nature, and because in riddles lie a deeper wisdom."
Reality Date: April 4th, 2008 Gameality Date: April 3, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Early in the morning, Suppel has a dream in which he encounters a Sunshine Eraser Ape. Suppel runs at the ape, and it runs away from him. He chases it down, shaves it, and cuts it open to see if it has a liver, and finds a vacuum where the liver would be. He then kills the ape, and a whole bunch more apes descend from trees, chanting at Suppel in ape language. Suppel slaughters these apes as well. As Suppel runs in his dream, he sleep-runs off the Redemption, and the other party members see him go but are too distracted by other concerns to follow him. Suppel later wakes up at Plyan's home, and Plyan explains that Suppel was apparently having a vision from The Great Ape and that Plyan has taken care of Suppel in the way specified by the holy texts. Suppel at first starts to deny having had a vision, but then decides that he can take advantage of the situation to manipulate Plyan. Suppel tells Plyan that his vision indicated that Plyan was to educate Suppel about all the things that Plyan does not know while the two of them stand on their heads. Plyan, enamored of Suppel, agrees to this, and Suppel writes down a bunch of nonsense that Plyan makes up during the day. Suppel instructs Plyan to make 9,999 copies of this nonsense and distribute them to the people of Hinkerville by sundown the next day. Suppel and Plyan then presumably stumble into a temporal anomaly of some kind, because toward the end of the day after this, they will still have just finished doing these things and Playn's deadline for completing his task will have become sundown of the following day. (In other words, when accounting for Suppel's doings during the session that Cory was not present for, we seem to have forgotten how much time passed during that session, creating a timeline problem.)
In the meantime, Merri decides to start her day by talking with Kale about his new policy of honesty. She tells him that she has seen the error of her ways and has decided to take Kale's advice about honesty to heart. By this, she means that she will go to City Hall and "come clean" by telling the whole story of the conflicts between the party and Jundub and Rothard, beginning with the murder of the previous mayor by Philo and Kale's invention of the "Blue Warriors" to cover it up and culminating with Merri's burning down of the underground clone lab. Kale, naturally, is not eager for this to happen, and bickering breaks out anew between them. Kale seems to want to have his cake and eat it too--angrily denouncing Merri's intentions because they will destroy everything that the party has worked for, but nevertheless refusing to acknowledge that Merri has (however unwittingly) called his bluff about the importance of total honesty now that he's mayor. Merri reacts to this by expressing confusion as to whether Kale wishes her to be honest or not, which sends Kale into a tirade about wanting Merri to exercise judgement about the matter, but judgement being a faculty that Merri entirely lacks. When Merri tries to make sense of Kale's mixed messages by referencing a tenet of The Way of Kale about lying unless honesty will get you more power, Kale completely wigs out, at his wit's end over Merri's belief in his divinity, and starts ranting and raving about his frustrations about it.
The commotion attracts Godwin to the scene, and while Kale continues raving, Godwin attempts to ascertain what is going on and calm Kale down. Eventually, Kale's tantrum fizzles out and he is shepherded off to City Hall by a page who shows up on the ship (thanks to the still-broken-down status of the door of the shack). Godwin then questions Merri about the argument and tantrum that he witnessed the end of. Merri explains about her idea of "coming clean" in keeping with Kale's emphasis of the previous evening on honesty, and Godwin expresses the opinion that Kale's big honesty kick was an overreaction on his part prompted by anger at Merri for publicly associating him with dishonest dealings. Merri voices the impression that Kale is unwilling to lie for Merri but still expects Merri to lie for him, but Godwin continues to argue that Kale's harsh words about honesty the previous evening were spoken in anger and shouldn't be taken too seriously. He also awkwardly admits that his and Kale's moralistic pretensions do contain some hypocrisy, though he shows a certain eagerness to gloss over this matter and "move forward."
At some point, Darff and Clod poke their heads into the discussion. Curious about the talk that he has overheard about The Way of Kale, Darff questions Merri about it, so she communicates her beliefs about Kale's divinity to him. Meanwhile, Clod betrays a bit of amnesia about recent and ongoing events by questioning Godwin about the party's current goals and complains about a lack of direction as a member of the ship's "crew." After reminding Clod of a few basic facts about the present situation, Godwin suggests that if Clod wants a project to work on, he can help Godwin sort books. Clod agrees, and the two of them start working on the sorting. Before long, Godwin discovers a book whose spine implies that if one places one's hand upon it and names a subject, the book will become a book about that subject. Intrigued and wanting to know more about how this works, Godwin causes the book to become a book about books that work in this way. When he does so, he magically acquires the knowledge that this book is an Ignoramian artifact that instantly imparts knowledge of its contents to its user when it takes on a particular subject, but also gives the user a compulsion to promptly read it--and that as you read the book, you gradually forget the information that it imparted. He also learns that the book has two charges left on it after this current use of it. Unsurprisingly, after learning these facts, Godwin feels strangely compelled to read the book. First, though, he excitedly tells Clod about the book and how it works so that Clod will be able to tell him about it after he reads it and forgets it. Clod responds somewhat unreassuringly, intimating that he might choose to keep the information to himself and use it for his own purposes, so Godwin impresses it upon him that he will be a bastard if he does this, and all but makes telling him about the book after he forgets an "order." Then he jots down some brief notes about the book, including the fact that Clod knows more details and is a bastard if he doesn't relate them. Having done this, Godwin settles in for a good read while Clod continues sorting (and warily peruses a book about livers).
Some time later, Kale returns to the ship and joins Godwin and Clod in the library/stables. Kale starts talking in an oddly reserved and formal manner. Suggesting that the party needs to "think bigger" about how to go about solving Hinkerville's problems, he proposes that they adopt the goal of finding Hinkerville's lost homeland of Terrek and moving Hinkerville back there rather than simply relocating it to a safer place on Pangea. Clod and Godwin are wary of what might be causing Kale to behave in so strange a manner and to be suddenly obsessed with this new goal, so they question him about his day at work, but Kale responds in an evasive way. Even more concerned, Godwin descries Kale, but does not detect any trace of magical influence. Godwin also tries to "snap Kale out of it" by making fun of him and his out-of-the-blue new (yet strangely calm) obesession with searching for Terrek, but Kale does not react much to this. Clod then decides that the ultimate test of whether this really is Kale would be to bring Merri into his presence to see if he wigs out at her anew, so he goes to get her. By the time he returns with Merri in tow, Kale appears to be back to normal (though since he does not, in fact, wig out at Merri, Clod remains somewhat unconvinced). The group then discusses Kale's idea of finding Terrek, with Kale and Merri both enthusiastically in favor of it. Godwin, too, likes the idea, but only as an ideal, long-term goal (quest, even); he takes issue with Kale's notion that finding Terrek could be the solution to Hinkerville's predicament, since such a quest could take a very long time and might not ever succeed, and Hinkerville's situation demands prompt and practical action. Eventually, as the group continues discussing options, the subject of Godwin's new magical book comes up. Kale wigs out a bit about Godwin having been talking to him all this time without mentioning such a significant thing, but Godwin, who has been reading the book, has already largely forgotten what it does. A somewhat comical scene ensues in which Godwin, whose compulsive urge to finish reading the book is beginning to overpower his interest in conversing with the others, rediscovers via his notes and Clod's input what the book does, but seems more concerned with finishing reading the book than with enthusing, along with Kale, about the idea of using it to discover the fate and location of Terrek. As he reads, Godwin becomes progressively more baffled about what his book is about, yet still he feels compelled to read on. Eventually, when he has finished reading and then once again been filled in concerning the nature of the book, the party tentatively agrees to use it to learn about Terrek--but Godwin, afraid that he will end up forgetting things that he already knows about Terrek in the process (since the book might mention them), insists that first he needs to write down everything he knows about the history of Terrek.
Following this conversation, the party essentially passes the remainder of the day in downtime (with Godwin working on writing down everything he knows about the history of Terrek). At some point, though, Kale draws Godwin aside for a private conversation and somewhat embarassedly confides to Godwin that he has had a sort of religious vision--or in any case, that his divine alter ego has appeared to him. He displays considerable discomfort with the subject, noting that he is not too experienced with this sort of thing and is not sure how to interpret what happened. He also swears Godwin to secrecy concerning it. Godwin readily agrees to this, remarking that he's sure Kale would especially not like for Merri to get wind of it. In any case, Kale apologizes for his odd behavior earlier and explains that the idea of searching for Terrek came from The Divine Kale, who stressed its important to mortal Kale. Also during this conversation, Godwin tells Kale about his vision from The Divine Kale during the previous night
At the end of the day, Kale finds Merri in her room, carries her to his room, and apologizes to her for their big blow-up from last night and this morning with make-up sex.
Reality Date: April 4th, 2008 Gameality Date: April 4, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, Darff, having gone to check on the clones, alerts the party that the clones are no longer gathered at the spot south of town where the party had them go. The party thus heads to town via the portal into Kale's shack. Upon arriving at the shack, the party is reminded that its door still needs to be replaced, and decides that this is more urgent than tracking down the mysteriously missing clones. Darff decides to get wood for a new door by stealing logs from some Hinkervillian's woodpile; when Godwin and Kale chastise him for doing this, he returns the wood, stacking it so that it looks like there is now more wood in the pile than was originally there. Deciding to use wood salvaged from the wreckage of the various crashed zephyrcraft around town, the party crafts a new door for the shack, only to discover that none of them has any idea how to hang the door. While they are puzzling over what to do about this, Merri carves a likeness of Kale into the door and copies runes from The Redemption's navigational system around his image. Merri then finally realizes that Rothard's carpentry shop would have tools that would be helpful in hanging the door, so she goes to get said tools. With them, the party finally manages to get the shack's new door installed.
This accomplished, everyone but Godwin heads off in search of the clones (while Godwin remains aboard the ship and continues the process of writing down everything he knows about the history of Terrek). The party goes to the place where the clones were ordered to wait south of town, and Kale tracks them from there into the jungle (on account of his being "one o' them rangers"). A short distance away, the party encounters Rothard in a very hastily-constructed "shack" with numerous clones around him. When he sees Merri and the party, Rothard, astride a clone, attempts to flee. Merri chases after him, but she and Clod, who follows her, are blocked by clones, which they then engage in combat. Darff holds something, presumably magical, to his throat and starts ordering clones around, and to everyone's surprise, they obey him. Kale, seeing that Rothard is escaping, magically creates a pit beneath him and the clones around him that they all fall into. As they fall, the party hears the sound of breaking bones. There follows an uncertain pause, during which a miserable, suffering Rothard repeats his earlier request (first made during the burning sign shop/clone lab scene two days ago) that Merri end his life. Anticipating that Merri will actually do so, he also proclaims melodramatically that he "always knew it would end this way."
At this point, Kale takes Merri aside and tells her privately that she needs to cut her ties to the past and help prepare the world for him to reveal his divinity, which he says that he plans to do soon. He tells her that she knows what she needs to do, reminding her that "When you see a rabid dog...." Merri then returns to the pit where Rothard is lying, mangled and broken. She climbs into the pit, pulls him out, and asks him if he really does want her to "end it." When Rothard does not respond, Merri takes out her dagger, slits Rothard's throat, and tosses his body back into the pit. Kale then fills the pit with dirt, using his wall spell, and Merri finds a large rock in the jungle from which she creates a gravestone for Rothard, carving into it "Here lies Rothard Roundbottom: Beloved Father, Evil Clone-Master, and Almighty Potentate." After erecting the gravestone, she sprinkles Dorito crumbs over his grave.
Reality Date: April 18th, 2008: Gender, Lies, and RepressionGameality Date: April 4, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
When Suppel emerges (fresh from his day with Plyan) shrugging off a vague sense that he had recently experienced a temporal anomaly causing him to skip a day, he finds that Godwin is the only party member aboard the Redemption. Suppel makes some cryptic comments about his plot to keep Plyan distracted for the day, and Godwin updates Suppel on what has been happening in his absence. The two then decide to go look for the rest of the party. Easily following the clone tracks from the original clone rendezvous point south of town to the scene of Merri's patricide despite not being "rangers," they arrive just as Merri is finishing the process of burying Rothard. At this moment, Kale suddenly gets a worried look on his face and runs off into the jungle, yelling that he "has to take a 7/8ths." Clod, Godwin, and Suppel immediately start questioning Merri about her act of patricide. Merri explains that she killed her father because Kale told her to do it as a part of his plan to reveal his divinity to the world, and also at her father's own request that she end his life. She adds that she saw her act as a mercy killing because her father had "gone evil" and was no longer himself. Godwin expresses shock both about Kale's apparent involvement in the murder and about what he sees as the hypocrisy of Merri's act, given her previous unwillingness even to consider that Rothard should so much as serve jail time for his crimes. In addition, everyone expresses shock about Kale apparently having "acknowledged" his divinity to Merri. After a few minutes, however, Suppel takes Godwin aside and discourages him from continuing to question Merri about the patricide. While this is happening, though, Clod pretty much picks up the questioning where Godwin left off. Merri, unable to handle all the questions, soon decides to go head back to The Redemption for the night, where she locks herself in her room and cries herself to sleep.
In the meantime, Darff decides to adopt a pet clone for combat purposes and names him Suzie. When other party members comment on the fact that the clone is male, Darff decides to verify this by having the clone change into less conspicuous clothing and paying careful attention to his genitalia while he is changing. Godwin objects to the idea of Darff becoming the new clone master of Hinkerville, given the town's history with evil clone masters and the party's goal of distinguishing Kale's mayorship from Jundub's tyranny. Godwin's growing distrust of Darff, it should be added, also plays a role in motivating his objections. Suppel and Clod, trying to keep the peace among the "PCs," advocate settling the dispute later, and Godwin reluctantly acquiesces for the moment to Darff's determination to bring "Suzie" back to the ship.
At this point, Godwin notices that Kale has been "taking a 7/8ths" for an abnormally long time, so he wanders into the jungle to investigate. He finds no sign of Kale, and Suppel offers to help by using his "PC-detecting" wand. The wand is also unable to detect any sign of Kale, however, so Godwin and Suppel give up for the moment on looking for him, concluding that if a ranger doesn't want to be found, he probably won't be very findable. The party then heads back to The Redemption and retires for the night.
Reality Date: April 18th, 2008 Gameality Date: April 5, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, Godwin discovers at breakfast that Darff has ordered five more clones aboard the Redemption in addition to the one ("Suzie") that he already knew about, so bickering about the clone again breaks out between Darff and Godwin. Darff explains that the five extra clones are Suzie's "backups" (since clones seem to have a tendency to die easily). Godwin is unimpressed and unhappy about there now being six clones on board rather than the one that he reluctantly agreed to the previous evening. The dispute is eventually more or less resolved with Darff agreeing to freeze the "backup" clones in the cryochamber--a task with which Suppel assists him. Unfortunately, there are only two available cryochambers, the other three being occupied by Viller, Jundub, and the remains of Thana. Darff chucks the remains of Thana, freeing up a third chamber, and he and Suppel proceed to freeze three of the five clones. The other two are then sent back to the spot in the jungle where the remaining clones are still congregated.
Since Kale still has not returned from whereever he disappeared to the previous evening, Godwin then takes it upon himself to check for and intercept the mayoral page who has been barging into the tree looking for Kale each morning of late. He finds the page loitering outside the portal shack. The page expresses frustration about not being able to get in now that the broken door has been fixed, so Godwin patiently explains that just because Kale is now the mayor doesn't mean that people are free to barge into his private quarters whenever they like. The page protests that he needs access to Kale and that it is normal for the mayor to reside in the official mayoral mansion--a fact of which Godwin had been unaware. Godwin responds by insisting that Kale is still entitled to a private life even though he's the mayor, and adds that regardless of where Kale stays or should stay while in office, the fact remains that the tree is private property. Finally, Godwin tells the page that Kale is not feeling well today and will be spending the day in bed and seeing no one. The page vehemently protests, but Godwin points out that even mayors get sick and emphatically repeats that Kale is indisposed and the city officials will have to make do without him for the day. The page then runs off, wondering aloud about who is supposed to fill in for the mayor when the mayor is ill.
Shortly, and after various conversations with each other, each of the party members then sets off for one destination or another with a variety of individual purposes, as follows: Clod announces that he feels it's important to go tell Merri's mother about her husband's demise, and Suppel, agreeing immediately, asks Merri what she would like them to say or not say to her mother about the matter. Merri responds with indifference, stating that her mother is part of her past and that Kale has instructed her to cut her ties with her past. Clod and Suppel then set off for the hobbit slums. When Godwin finishes talking to the page, he tells Merri about the encounter, and Merri responds by wondering aloud whether, as Hinkerville's "first lady," she should fill in for Kale as mayor for the day. Despite having no knowledge of relevant Hinkervillian law, Godwin authoritatively asserts that it does not work that way--but Merri, correctly guessing that Godwin doesn't actually know what he's talking about, sets off for City Hall to volunteer her services anyway. Godwin himself then sets out to the place where the majority of the clones are still congregated out in the jungle, contemplating the possibility that it might become necessary to kill them all in order to prevent Darff or someone else from using them to follow in Jundub's/Rothard's tyrannical footstep and bring Kale's mayorship and Hinkervillian democracy to ruin. As a test of the feasibility of taking unilateral action on this goal, Godwin experimentally tries wounding one of the clones to see whether or not it will defend itself in any way. He finds that the clones--for the present, anyway--will not, in fact, defend themselves if attacked. With this question settled, Godwin decides that his next step should be to go to City Hall and inquire about whether there is as yet any official plan for what to do with/about the clones. Meanwhile Darff, who has been doing unremembered things until now, gets around to heading back out to the site of the clones himself. He reaches said site shortly after Godwin leaves it, with the two of them not encountering each other en route back and forth.
Backtracking to Merri, when she arrives at City Hall to volunteer her mayoral services for the day, she is informed that Hinkerville law does indeed specify that when the mayor is incapacitated, mayoral duties fall to the mayor's domestic partner. The page asks Merri if Kale has given his approval for Merri to fill in for him, and Merri decides to be honest and tells him that Kale was unable to give his approval. It is thus decided that it is indeed appropriate for Merri to fill in for Kale, so Merri starts attending mayoral briefings. Upon being briefed about the problem of looting in the hobbit ghettos, Merri decides that the best way to stop the poor hobbits from looting shops is to organize a meeting between the leaders of the hobbit and human communities in Hinkerville aimed at bringing the two communities together to focus on common survival on this inhospitable new world. To this end, Merri spends much of the day in the hobbit community meeting with leaders and holding up her relationship with Kale as a symbol of hobbit/human cooperation.
Suppel and Clod, meanwhile, arrive at Merri's mother's home, where Suppel asks Clod to wait outside while he talks to Merri's mother privately for a moment. Suppel then goes in and tells mother that her husband has been attacked by a wingless dragon and is dead. Distraught, Merri's mother insists on seeing her husband's grave. While Merri's mother is getting herself ready to go, Suppel goes outside and tells Clod to play along with what he has told her. Clod objects strenuously to Suppel's dishonest approach to the situation, but Suppel does manage to persuade him to play along, at least for the moment. Suppel then leads mother and Clod to a place north of town (not south, where Rothard's grave actually is) where he finds wingless dragon tracks. He tells Merri's mother that this is the place where her husband died. The trio then heads back to town, and Clod encourages Merri's mother to visit Merri so that they can grieve the loss of Rothard together. Merri's mother agrees that this is a good plan, so they set off for the portal shack. As they are walking through the hobbit ghetto, however, they encounter Merri on her way to meet with hobbit leaders. Merri's mother sobbingly tells Merri that she has "heard about what happened." Merri, assuming that she has been told what really happened, responds by remarking that her mother is "taking it rather well." Suppel, in an effort to keep Merri from spilling the beans, speaks up at this point, "confirming" that he has indeed told Merri's mother "about the wingless dragon that got your dad." Not catching on, Merri reacts with shock and horror to what she interprets as the news that a wingless dragon has taken her father's body from his grave, exclaiming "I thought we made the grave deep enough!" As a confused expression crosses Merri's mother's face, Suppel, in a last-ditch effort to salvage his attempt to keep the truth from her, somewhat lamely adds to Merri that he also told her mother about the "other" wingless dragon. Merri, thinking that two wingless dragons have desacrated her father's grave in some way, again expresses shock and horror, and her thoroughly confused mother now begins demanding straight answers from both Suppel and Merri. Merri gives a few moderately evasive answers at first, but when the horrible truth begins to dawn upon her mother--and when Merri finally realizes that Suppel has lied to her mother about it--Merri implicitly confesses to her patricidal act, explaining that she had to do it because her father had "gone evil." Not surprisingly, the revelation of Merri's patricide sends her mother into hysterics, so Merri, not wanting to get caught up in the emotional consequences of her actions, states that she is busy and heads off to continue her mayoral duties of the day. Then, following a brief private exchange between Suppel and Clod in which each cites what has happened as a vindication of his particular approach to honesty or the lack thereof, the two part ways, with Suppel escorting Merri's mother (who angrily confronts him about having lied to her) home while Clod heads off with Merri.
While this is all going on, Godwin goes to City Hall as planned and learns that there is a mayoral briefing scheduled for this very evening on the subject of what should be done with the clones. Since the briefing is open to the public, he makes plans to attend it. He then spends the remainder of the morning fruitlessly searching for the still-missing Kale. Darff, for his part, spends much of the morning in the jungle attempting to instruct the clones to build a democratic society. When he discovers that the clones do not understand such abstract concepts as democracy, he instead sets them to the more concrete task of building housing for themselves (naming the site of the buildings that they begin constructing "Clonetopia"). He also experiments with various methods of transmitting his commands to the clones, including engraving them in stone and posting commandment-bearing stone tablets in the center of Clonetopia. He is, however, unable to find a method of keeping the clones working (or even eating) when he is not around to directly order them to do so. Eventually, he decides that he needs "Suzie" to actually be female, so he goes in search of Merri. Finding her at City Hall, he learns while he is there--as Godwin likewise learned earlier--that there will be a mayoral briefing, open to the public, about the fate of the clones later in the day. He, like Godwin, makes plans to attend this briefing.
Eventually, everyone but Merri returns to The Redemption, and the afternoon is spent with Godwin writing down stuff about the history of Terrek, Clod sorting books, Merri attending mayoral briefings in which she advocates building a zephyrcraft landing pad and adopting a simplistic economic system, Darff stealing a hunting falcon and trying to steal the shoes off a Hinkervillian's feet, and Suppel and Darff using the clones to assist Plyan (unbeknownst to Plyan himself) in the insane task that Suppel gave him previously as a "distraction." Suppel also flirts with Plyan, but he does not allow Plyan to have his way with him, despite Plyan's obvious eagerness to do so.
In the evening, Merri, Godwin, and Darff all attend the mayoral briefing to decide the fate of the clone army. Merri's suggestion is that they "get rid of" the clones. Interpreting this (probably correctly) to mean killing them all, some of the officials present express shock. Darff, realizing the potential danger to the clones, leaps to his feet at this point; excusing himself from the meeting with an obscure remark about "7/8ths" that few present comprehend, he sets out to relocate the clones before anybody can do anything to harm them. A city official then suggests the idea of having the clones build the zephyrcraft landing pad discussed at an earlier briefing, and Merri agrees that this is a good idea. At this point, however, Godwin speaks up, expressing his concerns about the existence of a clone army controlled by and unquestioningly loyal to one person and arguing that so long as the clones exist, the town remains susceptible to Jundub-like tyranny. He adds that although he shares others' qualms about simply exterminating the clones, he sees no other solution to the problem posed by their existence. Finally, he provides information to the city officials about who the current clone master is (though he prudently neglects to mention that Darff currently resides with the party on The Redemption). The officials then express interest in apprehending the clone master, prompting Merri to clarify that the current clone master is not the same person who served as Jundub's clone master--indeed, she informs them, the current clone master was in jail throughout Jundub's reign of terror and was not involved with it in any way. Godwin confirms this. The officials, however, still feel that the current clone master should be brought in for questioning, so they send people out in search of Darff. They do not, however, find him.
In the meantime, Darff brings a gaggle of clones to the Redemption, picks the lock on the door to Godwin's room, and packs the clones into Godwin's room with the intention of bothering Godwin. This is successful when Godwin returns to the ship, ultimately sparking a heated argument between Godwin and Darff in which Godwin explodes at Darff for bringing still more clones onto the ship and angrily demands that he depart Godwin's quarters immediately and take the clones with him. Darff stubbornly refuses for a while, protesting that he is only trying to save the clones from the fate that Merri, Godwin, and the city officials may be plotting for them. Following an angry exchange, Darff decides to comply with Godwin's demand that he vacate his quarters, but he fails to take the clones with him. As Godwin follows him, still demanding that his quarters be cleared of clones, Suppel intervenes and is eventually able to talk Darff into removing the clones from Godwin's room.
At sundown, Suppel goes to Plyan's house, ostensibly to check on whether Plyan has succeeded with his task of making and distributing 9,999 copies of his nonsense. Suppel claims that Plyan needs to distribute just one more copy to succeed, and Plyan pulls out one last copy that he had finished but not yet handed out. He runs out and gives this last copy to a Hinkervillian, but Suppel tells him that he was just moments too late and thus did not succeed at his task. Plyan responds by declaring that he doesn't care that he failed at this task; that he is just happy that he has managed to bring Suppel back into the Liverlessositan fold. Suppel then allows Plyan to seduce him for reasons known only to Suppel.
Eventually, all of the party members except Kale return to The Redemption and go to bed. Merri sleeps in Kale's bed, hoping that he will return soon.
Reality Date: May 9th, 2008: The Voice of Reason and the Heat of the MomentGameality Date: April 6, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
At some point during the night, Kale finally returns to the Redemption. Without waking Merri, he snuggles up with her in bed. Some time in the early morning, Kale and Suppel are woken up by a sound outside The Redemption. They investigate and discover a small black meteorite that has landed near the ship. The meteorite breaks open, and inside Suppel finds a note addressed to him from the Cobbler. The note states that "romantic relationships between PCs are very interesting." Suppel asks Kale not to mention this to anybody else, and Kale agrees, indicating that he wouldn't know what to say about it anyway. Kale then goes back to bed while Suppel cools the meteorite down by pouring water on it and takes it into his possession. In addition, Clod gets up early in the morning and spends some time putting color highlights in his beard and shaving his body hair in a line from his chest down to his groin.
When everyone wakes up in the morning, Kale calls a meeting in the observation lounge. Merri decides to provide breakfast for the meeting, and while she is cooking, Darff approaches her and says, in the manner of someone about to make a request, that he has heard that Merri has a spell that can change a person's sex. Merri, assuming that Darff is asking to have his own sex changed, begins to cast the spell on him, but a slightly panicked-looking Darff interrupts her and explains that what he actually wants is for Merri to make "Suzie" female. Merri agrees and goes off to do this while Darff takes over the cooking (and proceeds to burn her waffles). Merri is only marginally successful with the sex-change spell, giving "Suzie" female genitalia for a day, but not altering "her" appearance in any other way.
The party then gathers in the observation lounge, where Kale informs them that he has been having visions from his divine alter ego. Godwin, who has been feeling somewhat betrayed and ill-used by Kale of late, listens to him with a rather cold and unreceptive expression and demeanor for a few minutes, then flatly inquires whether these divine visions were what prompted Kale to tell Merri to kill her father. Kale responds a bit evasively, so Godwin presses further, wanting to know why Kale also apparently told Merri that he really is a god. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the rest of the party, Suppel has made the intriguing decision to eat a sandwich containing the tongue of Ignoramius for breakfast. A few minutes into the angry confrontation developing between Godwin and Kale, this unusual meal begins to affect Suppel's behavior. In a sudden, angry outburst, he berates the other party members for all the facts and truths that they have been stating and sharing of late. Then, in an astonishing and alarming feat of random destructiveness, he smashes the entire (very solid) table in the rooms to bits with his bare hands (making a mess of the waffle breakfast in the process) before storming out of the room in a fury.
After gaping in astonishment (and, in Kale's case, whining a bit about the ruined waffles) for a moment, other party members--unsure what to make of Suppel's even-more-bizarre-than-usual behavior--resume their bickering. Clod joins Godwin in interrogating Kale about his recent actions, and Kale, though his responses continue to be somewhat evasive and opaque in meaning, more or less denies having said any of the things to Merri that Merri has been telling everyone else that Kale said to her. Godwin responds by coldly observing that someone--either Merri or Kale--has been or is lying, and Clod encourages Merri to confront Kale with her story and expresses interest in hearing the two of them argue about the matter in the hope that this will bring the truth out. Merri, however, refuses to be goaded into an argument with Kale, stating that she knows the truth and has already shared it. Godwin's reply is that while she may know the truth, he and Clod don't--and need to. When Godwin and Clod continue to demand answers, Kale finally breaks down, drops his evasiveness, and admits that some of his "divine visions" have been taking strange forms; there are portions of the past few days that he doesn't clearly remember, and there have been times when he has not felt entirely in control of his actions, for example. Godwin, still feeling angry, remarks that it would have been nice to have learned about these strange things happening to Kale earlier, and reminds Kale that when the Kale god communicated disturbing instructions to Godwin involving attacking Kale, Godwin had been as straight and honest with Kale about the matter as the god would permit. Kale gets a bit defensive at this point and claims that he has just been really confused, though he does also offer an apology, whereupon Godwin back soff--though Godwin also tells Kale, with an air of expecting to be thanked, about how he covered for Kale on the previous day by telling the mayoral page that he was ill. He also fills Kale in about the page's expectation that the mayor should live in the mayoral mansion.
The party then falls to discussing goals and plans. Kale again brings up the idea that Hinkerville should be returned to the place and time from whence it came and to which it belongs--a feat that his visions indicate the party will be able to accomplish successfully. The ensuing talk about how Hinkerville could possibly be transported back in time prompts Darff to get out the time-traveling bracelet that he (along with Merri) had been arrested for stealing back before frigid doom. Apparently, the bracelet was among the things that Darff took from the confiscated goods cabinet during the foggy down time. In any case, thinking that it might help with the party's time travel goals, he gets it out and calls attention to it, only to realize a moment later that it is not charged and is therefore useless. Godwin, reminded by Darff's actions that he, too, possesses a "copy" of this very same bracelet, gets his copy out and calls attention to it as well, remarking that it is from a later point in the timeline. At this, Kale characteristically wigs a bit about the alleged perils of messing with time. Since, however, Godwin's "copy" of the bracelet, like Darff's, has no charges on it, it is no more useful than Darff's "copy," so they both decide to put the bracelets away. Darff, however, first makes a mental note to figure out at some point how to recharge the bracelet, and to come back in timme and tell his current self how to accomplish this once he has managed to do so.
At this point, to everyone's astonishment, a future version of Darff appears in the party's midst, holding yet another copy of the time-traveling bracelet. He informs present-Darff that sometime in the near future, present-Darff will encounter the same time traveler who previously sold Godwin a copy of the bracelet, and that the time traveler will help Darff to recharge the bracelet in return for the party's help in getting him out of some kind of predicament. Godwin immediately questions the usefulness of getting the bracelet charged if the charge is merely to be used by Darff to come back in time and inform the party of this, but future-Darff assures Godwin that there will be more than one charge. Kale pipes up to say that his visions indicate that the bracelet will play a role in returning Hinkerville to its proper time, and even though it is not apparent how it could assist with this, no one questions the matter for the moment. Various members of the party then start bombarding future-Darff with questions about what is going to happen in the future, but Darff both is deliberately tight-lipped to avoid messing with the timeline too much, and also doesn't appear to know too much, as he seems to be from a point not very far at all into the future (a day or two at most). Then, precisely one minute after appearing, future-Darff vanishes, presumably returning to his own time (since this is how the bracelet works). As the party members mull over this odd turn of events, Godwin gets to thinking about which "copy" of the bracelet they should get charged when they encounter the time traveler, and suggests that they use his copy rather than Darff's copy, since his copy is actually a future version of Darff's, and the prospect of messing around with the past version too much makes Godwin's head spin. Besides, Darff's copy is fated to fall into the time traveler's hands and to be taken back in time by him and sold to past-Godwin! Then, musing about the weirdness of having two copies of the same object from different points along the timeline, Godwin gets it into his head to play with this by having Darff scratch his copy of the bracelet to see if this will cause Godwin's own copy to become scratched in the same way. Over Kale's continuing paranoid protests, Darff and Godwin experiment with this for a few minutes, but every time Darff scratches his bracelet, Godwin exasperatedly reports that Darff has chosen a spot that was already scratched, thus rendering the experiment useless. Some party members, perhaps, put together what's going on, but Godwin himself feels that further experimentation is needed--though he decides that it can be postponed until later.
At about this time, Merri decides to investigate where Suppel has gone and what he is up to. Heading outside, she notices a new path leading off into the jungle and follows it until it leads her to Suppel, who, in a continuing show of alarming strength, has created the path by yanking trees out of the ground with his bare hands. When Merri finds him, Suppel is beginning the process of using some of these trees to create a large pen. Engaging Suppel in conversation, Merri asks him about why he is suddenly so strong and what, in general, is up with him. Suppel's responses are evasive, but he does tell Merri that she would be well-advised to climb a tree for her own safety, which she does. Suppel then brings up the subject of romantic relationships between "PCs" by remarking that Merri is in such a relationship and musing about this being "interesting." Merri affirms that her relationship with Kale is indeed interesting--to her, anyway. Her comment leads Suppel to ponder the parallels between what the "Cobbler" and "players" find interesting and what the "PCs" find interesting. Suppel goes on to relate that he has had various romantic encounters with "NPCs," but never with "PCs," and to wonder whether this is why none of his romantic liasons has ever really "done it" for him. Taking Suppel's concept of "PCs" to mean "party members" or "the people with whom one hangs around," Merri points out the obvious advantages of romance with such people as opposed to romance with people that one doesn't hang around with. Suppel then begins speculating aloud about the possibility of his becoming romantically involved with another "PC," and asks Merri which of the party members she thinks might be attracted to him. Since she automatically rules out herself (as well as Kale, for that matter), and all other party members are male, Merri contemplates the question of who among the rest of the party might be gay--and remembering the incident with the sprite on the night of the big party, she concludes that Clod is the most likely candidate. When she makes this suggestion, Suppel's only response is to comment that Clod is "kind of hairy."
By this point, Suppel has completed the pen that he has been building out of uprooted trees. Setting out a large pile of moose bacon as bait, he proceeds to call out into the jungle in an effort to attract a wingless dragon to his location. Realizing what he is doing, Merri protests and tries to get him to cease his insane behavior, but to no avail. Before long, Suppel's efforts succeed in attracting a wingless dragon into the pen. Suppel then wrestles with the dragon briefly, tossing it around impressively a few times and then leaping onto its back and ensnaring it in a magical lasso with the power to subdue animals and render them docile. Having thus accomplished the capture of a ferocious wingless dragon, he proceeds to ride it off into the jungle in the general direction of Hinkerville. Alarmed, Merri gets down from her tree and heads back to The Redemption to alert Clod to Suppel's doings, as she has concluded that Suppel's antics must be some kind of macho display intended to impress Clod, and she thus hopes that Clod might be able to stop them.
While all of this is going on, Kale, Godwin, and Clod continue working on the project of finding Terrek and returning Hinkerville there. Kale repeatedly advocates securing a ship large enough to transport the town off-world as the easiest first step toward this goal, but this seems so insane to Godwin that he can only conclude that Kale's priorities are being unduly influenced by his divine alter ego. To Godwin, steps like using the magical book to get a start on figuring out how to find Terrek, and discussing the plan with the people of Hinkerville and finding out whether they actually want to attempt to return to their place and time of origin, seem to logically precede steps like arranging mass transportation for possibly unwilling people to take them to a possibly nonexistent destination. Kale reluctantly consents to postponing his quest to secure tranportation at least until Godwin has used the book, so Godwin grabs ahold of the book's spine and states that he wants it to become a book about "The Post-Frigid-Doom Fate and Current Whereabouts of Terrek: Legend and Fact." He learns, among other things, that within a few centuries of Frigid Doom (a calamity that affected only Hinkerville), people from Terrek made their first ventures into the heavens, soon disovering abandoned bases on a nearby world called Lunek. It was later discovered that these bases had been built by a race known as the "Grelves," with whom the peoples of Terrek fought a series of wars that ended in a stalemate. Godwin learns little about the actual disappearance of Terrek--an event shrouded in great mystery--but he does find out that the best scholarly theories attribute its disappearance to the Grelves, and he gleans a few promising leads concerning where to start looking both for the Grelves and for Terrek. Upon learning all of this, he relays as much of it as possible to Kale and Clod, who write it all down. Godwin then once again commences the unpleasant task of reading the book and forgetting the knowledge that is has provided.
When Merri comes running to alert Clod to Suppel's dangerously insane actions, the entire party decides to go chasing after him (even though it is difficult for Godwin to put aside the book, and he occasionally reads a few lines here and there en route). Meanwhile, Suppel has ridden his wingless dragon to the edge of town, tethered it to a tree via the subduing lasso, and proceeded into town on foot. Making his way to Plyan's abode, he informs Plyan that he has an offering for The Great Ape and demands that Plyan summon the deity. When Plyan questions the propriety of the concept of "summoning" the ape, Suppel cites an obscure passage of the holy texts in support of his demand, whereupon Plyan changes tactics and protests that he lacks the power to summon the ape. Suppel thus endeavors to summon the ape himself by calling out to him in a loud, commanding tone. When this doesn't work, Suppel shocks Plyan by voicing the conclusion that the ape clearly neither listens to nor cares for his followers. He then insists that Plyan accompany him back to the edge of town, where Suppel proceeds to call out once again to The Great Ape, threatening to feed the now-terrified Plyan to the wingless dragon if the ape should decline to appear before him. While awaiting the ape's appearance, Suppel employs torture in order to get Plyan to reveal the names of other Liverlessositans. Then, to back up his threat to feed Plyan to the wingless dragon, he begins swinging him around violently through the air. At about this point, the rest of the party arrives on the scene. When the ape continues to fail to appear, Suppel--to the horror of all present--releases Plyan in mid-swing, sending him flying into the jaws of the wingless dragon, who devours the poor bastard.
While various party members cry out at Suppel in shock and horror over his brutal, bloodly, and pointless murder of an innocent (albeit annoying) cleric, Suppel himself once again mounts his wingless dragon and starts riding toward town. This elicits a renewed outburst from the assembled party members, who foresee a blood rampage through Hinkerville. Suppel ignores all protests from the party until Clod calls out that if Suppel is doing all this in an attempt to impress him, it's not working. This causes Suppel to pause, expressing disbelief that Clod could possibly fail to find his amazing feats impressive. Dismounting, he then--perhaps deciding not to do any more with the wingless dragon, or perhaps in an effort to be more impressive--attemmpts to grab the beast by the jaw and toss it away into the jungle. At this moment, however, a large number of clones suddenly charges into the scene, getting between Suppel and the wingless dragon and attacking the latter. As the wingless dragon devours one of the clones, another clone hands a note to Darff. The note is from Darff's future self and explains that in the future, Darff will need to travel back in time using the bracelet and send the clones here to intervene between Suppel and the wingless dragon. Apparently, in a replaced timeline, Suppel had been torn in half by the beast--but Darff, remembering his earlier success with this tactic, had made a mental note to come back in time later and order clones to intervene and save Suppel's life. When Darff relays this information to the rest of the party, Suppel suddenly notices a "meta-scar" where the wingless dragon would have bitten him in two, confirming--at least in Suppel's mind--the truth of the story. Impressed anew by the usefulness of the bracelet, Merri comments to Darff that the two of them had been right to attempt to steal it back in the day. Darff agrees.
With the wingless dragon distracted by the clones, Suppel now sneaks up on it, grabs it, and tosses it off into the jungle, wounding it. He repeats this act until the beast expires. By this point, the effects of Suppel's Ignoramius-tongue breakfast are beginning to wear off, rendering him less opposed to the sharing of information, so when various party members again begin demanding answers from him about what in the hell is going on with him today, he finally reveals his unusual choice of breakfast fare. Everyone is astounded, and harsh words like "dangerously irresponsible" are tossed around. Shaken by the day's events, Kale insists that there are now three comestible substances that are off-limits aboard the Redemption: Tipsy Bay Leaf, Potion Deux, and god's tongue. Predictably, his proclamation prompts Merri to add a "Book of Dietary Restrictions" to The Way of Kale. Quickly getting over his initially negative reation to Suppel's irresponsible actions, however, Kale's thoughts next turn to how Suppel's temporary amazing strength might be taken advantage of before it entirely fades. He suggests that perhaps Suppel could use it to fix up and improve the protective fence surrorunding Hinkerville, but Suppel is bored by this practical, goal-oriented idea, so he blows it off. Meanwhile, Godwin's reaction to Suppel's actions of the day--especially his horrifyingly brutal and apparently utterly pointless murder of Plyan--is to experience a major crisis. Fed up with constantly struggling to achieve difficult and important party goals, only to have members of the party thwart them and mess them up with their reckless behavior (whether deliberately or out of indifference), Godwin concludes--and comments aloud--that life would be much easier if he just stopped having goals and caring about things. Trying to achieve goals and make things better while hanging out with this party, he observes, just leads to one infuriating and crushing disappointment after another, and it never ends--so why bother? Kale tries to talk Godwin through this crisis, encouraging him to keep trying and not just give up on things, but Godwin is not receptive to his pleas. He heads back to the Redemption in advance of the rest of the party, posts notes on everyone's doors announcing his official resignation from the role of "voice of reason" of the party, and retires to his own quarters, which--in the spirit of abandoning goal-oriented behavior and embracing pointless silliness--he fills with fog for no good reason.
As the rest of the party heads back to the ship, Kale once again brings up the urgency of his wish to secure a larger ship with which to transport the town, and after some discussion, it is decided that the party will take off and head for Luchorpan in search of such a thing, which Kale insists that his visions indicate will be needed very soon. Upon arrival at the ship, then, Kale and Merri go to the bridge, and Kale gets the ship headed for Luchorpan. Darff, meanwhile, discovers Godwin's notes about resigning as the party's "voice of reason," and immediately responds by adding a sentence to the bottom of each note announcing that he is assuming the vacated role. When Suppel reads one of these notes, he accepts Darff's claim at face value and goes to Darff's quarters to talk to him about some things that have been on his mind. Darff assumes the role of Suppel's therapist, and as Suppel expresses his concerns about the conflict between himself and Godwin, Darff responds by asking Suppel pointless questions about his parents. Amid a fair amount of silliness, Darff ultimately advises Suppel to talk to Godwin about the conflict. so Suppel goes to Godwin's quarters. Once he's gone, Darff takes advantage of the temporary genital femaleness of "Suzie" by ordering her to have sex with him.
When Suppel knocks on Godwin's door, Godwin gives him permission to come in, but doesn't unlock the door. After a few minutes of shouted converstaion through the door, however, Godwin decides to actuallly let Suppel in. Noting the fogginess of Godwin's quarters, Suppel complains that this will make it difficult to communicate effectively, as, for example, he will be unable to see Godwin's facial expressions. "I'm sorry if you have goals that are thwarted by my pointless random actioons," Godwin replies, deadpan. Suppel then reciprocates Godwin's smart-ass remark, but with sincerity--apologizing for the ways in which actions of his that might seem random or pointless to Godwin have impacted Godwin's goals in negative ways. Godwin shrugs this off indifferently, and inquires out of idle curiosity whether brutally murdering Plyan had been enjoyable for Suppel. Suppel says that it wasn't particularly enjoyable. He then presses on with his effort to reconcile with Godwin, and even though Godwin's new attitude of indifference blunts the effectiveness of this effort, Suppel ultimately concludes the conversation with remarks that indicate that he feels that the conflict has been resolved satisfactorily.
After Suppel leaves, Godwin goes through the portal to Hinkerville. Having abandoned goal-orientedness and caring about things, Godwin has concluded that there is now no longer any reason to resist the allure of Potion Deux, so he finds a Deux vendor and purchases four bottles of the extreme beverage. Embracing foolhardy, pointless recklessness, he quaffs a Deux. When he does so, his experiences with Potion Deux come full circle, as he once again experiences the effect that his first-ever bottle of Deux produced long ago: he learns a fact. This time, though, the fact that he learns--much to his surprise--is that Suppel is actually right about his seemingly insane insistence that the whole world is really some kind of game and is not real.
Reality Date: May 16th, 2008: Will the Real Kale Eccutel Please Stand Up?Gameality Date: April 7, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
In the morning, some sketchily-remembered stuff occurs--the sketchiness being a result of the mysterious and frustrating disappearance of this chronicler's notes about the events in question.
The best-remembered of the morning's events is an exchange between Merri and Kale. Concerned about various possible ramifications of Kale's plan to return Hinkerville to its proper place and time, Merri climbs into his lap and starts a "religious" conversation with him involving loving caresses and questions about the details of the plan. She asks Kale if the plan involves the party itself going back in time with Hinkerville; when Kale affirms that it does, she expresses concerns about the possibility of undoing frigid doom and the events that have happened since. Kale assures her that this won't happen and waxes eloquent about how wonderful "New Hinkerville" will be, sounding not a lot like his normal self (and reciprocating Merri's loving caresses). Kale also explains that part of the reason for taking Hinkerville back in time is to return it to a time when mortals did not hold dominion over gods. Finally, Kale asks Merri to go to town and inform the city officials that he is busy searching for Terrek and will be away working on this all day. Merri does so.
Meanwhile, other party members do less-well-remembered stuff. Darff is curled up in a heap naked and crying in his room over having found himself unable to perform sexually with Suzie the night before. Suppel is doing something-or-other and starts having occasional hallucinations. Whether related to this or not, he winds up in Darff's room for some reason and attempts to console him. Suzie, incidentally, is still naked and spread-eagle on Darff's bed. At some point and for reasons that aren't known to this chronicler, Darff drinks a Potion Deux, with the result that he begins sweating a mysterious and highly flammable oil-like substance. Clod, predictably taking up Godwin's abandoned role as the "voice of reason" (Darff's claims notwithstanding), spends the morning going from one party member to another attempting to get someone to attend to and address his concerns about the dubious logic/urgency of Kale's quest for a larger ship. He begins with Kale and Merri, but quickly comes to the conclusion that Kale is not entirely right in the head at present and is in no mood to listen to logic. He next tries Suppel and Darff, but finds both of them in agreement with Kale's plans--albeit not for any reasons that they are able to explain to Clod's satisfaction. Finally, Clod seeks out Godwin, only to be blown off with comments about how his concerns would probably seem important if Godwin actually still cared about goals and things. When Clod expresses frustration over not being able to get anyone to take his concerns seriously, Godwin indifferently wishes him "good luck with that." Deciding that Godwin is obviously not in a good place emotionally, Clod advises him to get some "well-earned rest." Also at some point during the morning, Clod offhandedly asks Suppel whether he is romantically interested in him, but receives no clear answer. Finally, Suppel at some point begins experiencing pain in the area of his liver, and immediately seeks Merri (to whom he is carried by Clod) for an explanation and/or treatment. Merri asks for Suppel's alien anal probe that detects injuries and uses it to determine that Suppel's only injuries in the vicinity of his liver are some scratches on his skin (though he does also seem, as always when the anal probe is used, to be suffering from a minor ass wound). Kale, irritated by Merri and Suppel's choice of the bridge as the place for administering the anal probe, shoos them off of the bridge.
At some point, Clod is on the bridge and notices that there is another ship in the vicinity and that it is on a collision course. It is not clear who is or is not on the bridge at this time (although Kale, for sure, is). For various reasons, nothing gets done to prevent the impending collision, so the other ship smashes into the bridge of the Redemption. Anyone who is not on the bridge when this happens makes their way there very soon afterwards. Then, to the astonishment of all present, a Wose emerges from the other ship onto the bridge of the Redemption and announces that he is the real Kale and that the person who looks like Kale is an imposter. Chaos ensues. Apparent-Kale immediately denounces the Wose in what strikes some as a bit too strident a manner; other party members advocate hearing the Wose out, but apparent-Kale endeavors to prevent this. Merri tries asking the Wose about her birthmarks and other intimate details that only Kale would know, and the Wose is able to answer her questions accurately. Apparent-Kale, however, continues ridiculing the Wose's story, and both would-be Kales express frustration and a sense of betrayal over not being believed unquestioningly--particularly by Merri. At about this point, Godwin--who has thus far remained largely aloof from the unfolding drama--succumbs to a mixture of curiosity and reckless abandon, as it occurs to him that one way of discerning which is the real Kale would be to cast a Knowledge-Seeking Fireball targeted at the nearest person who knows a fact that only he and Kale know. Choosing as the target fact a detail about the long-ago occasion on which Kale helped him finish the job of murdering the Ignoramian Nownot, Godwin does his best to position himself equidistant from both possible Kales and lets loose with a particularly potent fireball whose intensity he does not, in his reckless mood, think to reign in. The fireball zig-zags in midair between the two possible Kales for a few seconds, then targets apparent-Kale, engulfing him in flames. Darff, who is standing near apparent-Kale and is (by the way) still naked and sweating kerosene, also catches fire. A storm of shock and indignation at Godwin's deed bursts forth from most of the party, but Godwin is more concerned about the inconclusivity of his test than about the reactions of his companions. It does, however, belatedly occur to him that perhaps he should have cast a Damage Scapegoat spell before hurling the fireball. Various party members now busy themselves with putting out the various fires caused by Godwin's spell (which, despite engulfing apparent-Kale in flames, has nevertheless left him conscious) and by the kerosene-dripping Darff, who summons clones to help put out the fires that have started on the bridge. Clod's contributions to the fire-extinguishing efforts include urinating on Darff and pouring potions of forgetfulness on him.
Most party members (including Merri) are by now expressing uncertainty as to which is the real Kale, and the possible Kales themselves each make violent or at least possibly violent moves on the other at one point or another, obliging Merri and others to intervene to prevent either of them from harming the other. At some point, Merri ties up the Wose to prevent him from attacking apparent-Kale, and when the Wose demands to know why, if Merri is unsure which is the real Kale, he's tied up and apparent-Kale isn't, Merri responds that this is because apparent-Kale is better-looking. For a time, the scene devolves into a wrestling match with Merri, Clod, the Wose, and a couple of possibly-flaming clones all in a big pile on the floor. While all of this is happening, Godwin decides that since his fireball test was not conclusive, he needs to try it again, but this time position himself closer to the Wose than to apparent-Kale to see if this will alter the outcome. While waiting for the wrestling match to resolve itself so that the Wose is no longer at the bottom of a pile of party members and clones, he prepares the ground more responsibly for his second fireball by casting a Damage Scapegoat spell with the captain's chair as the scapegoat. Eventually, the wrestlers separate and Godwin's opportunity materializes, so he again lets loose with a fireball. This one unambiguously targets the Wose (though only the captain's chair gets damaged), which leads Godwin to conclude that the Wose and apparent-Kale are, somehow, both Kale. Resigning himself to the fact that he has once again fallen into caring about things, Godwin takes up the task of convincing the others--especially Merri--of this point of view.
Meanwhile, in the midst of the already chaotic confrontation, apparent-Kale suddenly spots "i-Clod" (whom he mistakes for the real Clod) sitting on the floor of the bridge with the evil jack-in-the-box and cranking its handle. Utterly flipping out, Kale bellows in rage and walls himself and "Clod" off from the rest of the party, presumably intent on being extremely violent. As strange sounds begin coming from behind the new wall, the rest of the party stares slack-jawed and baffled until Wose-Kale informs everyone that "i-Clod" was (presumably) what set apparent-Kale off. The fact that the Wose could apparently see the same nagging Clod apparition that has been plaguing Kale of late further convinces Godwin of the accuracy of his theory that both would-be Kales are somehow the real Kale. Meanwhile, Suppel has at some point headed over to the ship that Wose-Kale came from to check things out over there, and it is probably around this point that he returns. Accompanying him is the time traveler whom the party has been expecting to encounter sometime soon. Suppel explains that he found the time traveler tied up aboard the Wose ship, and the time traveler himself elaborates that he had been held captive for reasons that have not been made clear to him. Darff and Godwin react with delight upon encountering him, blurting out stuff about how he needs to help them to charge one of their time-travel bracelets after they help him out of a predicament (which, he admits, Suppel has already gotten started on by untying him).
During the relative calm that has descended upon the scene since apparent-Kale disappeared behind his wall, Wose-Kale gets across a bit of his story to the rest of the party, explaining that he was captured by these Wice several days ago and that one of them had performed some kind of spell to steal his body and take his place, but that today he managed to break free and take over the ship, leading to the present confrontation. Also, Kale answers a question that has been nagging on the minds of some party members (namely, why he looks familiar) by mentioning that "he" (i.e. the Wose) is a direct-line descendent of Eagle. In any case, it is around this point that it dawns upon Merri what, fundamentally, is going on here; she realizes in a flash of insight that the Kaleist Wice must have cast a spell based on the tenet of the Way of Kale that avers that "By writing down tenets of the way of Kale, a high priest or priestess can become Kale." Godwin immediately realizes that she is almost certainly correct, and accordingly amends his conclusion that they are both Kale slightly, speculating that apparent-Kale--though he is, in fact, Kale--must be Kale with an overlay of an insane Wose's agenda, which goes a long way toward explaining some of Kale's recent behavior.
Not long after this realization takes place, a sheepish apparent-Kale emerges from behind his wall. Via an ill-remembered sequence of events, he manages to glean that the party is figuring out what has happened and that things are turning against him--so before anyone can act to stop him, he grabs ahold of the time traveler and escapes through the portal into Hinkerville. Several party members are about to follow him through in the hope of stopping him from whatever he plans to go do, but Wose-Kale (hereafter referred to simply as "Kale") warns them not to, explaining that apparent-Kale (hereafter referred to as Eagle-Kale) will almost certainly have taken down the portal on the other side immediately after emerging from it, which means that anyone who now enters the portal will wind up stuck in limbo. Godwin then begins attempting to get the party organized and working on the two goals that now seem urgent to him: interrogating the Wice on the other ship, and getting the Redemption headed back to Hinkerville so that the party can recover the time traveler and stop Eagle-Kale from doing anything too undesirable. After explaining the urgency of these goals and outlining a plan for getting them both underway approximately fifteen times, he finally manages to get other party members working on the question of how best to get the ship (attached, as it is, to another ship) underway, whilst he and Merri head over to the other ship, where Kale and Suppel have both informed them that they will find two unconscious Wice and two conscious-but-tied-up Wice. They grab the conscious-but-tied-up ones and drag them back onto the Redemption, then introduce themselves as the Virgin Merri and the Holy Spirit and begin questioning the Wice with the goals of confirming their theory about what is going on and learning what they might be able to do about setting things right. The Wice at first express reluctance to talk to Godwin and Merri because they are apparently working with Suppel, "The Evil One." Merri reminds them that "More important than good or evil is adventure, and more important than adventure is profit." The Kaleists accept this explanation and confirm that the spell that is responsible for the two Kales was indeed derived from the tenet of the Way of Kale that Merri figured it was (adding that this spell has, for some mysterious reason, never worked until now), but unfortunately, they indicate that only Eagle knows how to do (much less undo) the spell. Merri, however, theorizes that it might be possible to reverse it simply by having Kale do the spell again.
Merri and Godwin then turn their attention to Kale and the task of processing the fact that the Kale who has been with them for the past few days has not, in some ways, been the real Kale. In one way or another, it slips out of Merri (and is then confirmed by Godwin) that she killed her father on "Kale's" say-so; Kale reacts with shock, horror, and revulsion. Decrying the prospct of wielding that kind of horrible power over Merri, he demands once and for all that Merri rid herself of her written record of the Way of Kale and stop living by it. Then, declaring that merely being in Merri's presence makes him feel ill, he retires to a different area of the ship, leaving a crushed and rejected hobbit to ponder her options. Actually choosing to take her deity and lover seriously, she abandons her Way of Kale scroll on the other ship, then heads to her quarters to mope.
A short time later, Godwin tracks Kale down and the two of them converse about recent events. In an effort to sort out which of Kale's recent actions were actually Kale's and which were Eagle-Kale's, Godwin asks Kale about precisely when it was that the Wice abducted him. Kale answers that the abduction took place four days ago--which makes sense when Godwin remembers that it was on that day that "Kale" first began behaving strangely. Godwin then fills Kale in on the doings of his imposter-self during the past four days and tells him about the claims and excuses that the fake Kale used to explain his behavior whenever Godwin or others started questioning it. Godwin repeatedly expresses relief that the strangely behaving Kale of recent days has turned out not to have been the real Kale, and Kale expresses his extreme unhappiness about having been hijacked by a bunch of loony Wice. Kale also tells Godwin that the spell that Eagle is using is temporary and that Eagle has to renew it periodically--which both explains Eagle-Kale's recent mysterious disappearance and eliminates Godwin and Merri's worries about how to reverse the spell. In addition, Kale apprises Godwin of the details of Eagle-Kale's plan to take Hinkerville back in time, and the two ponder the potential merits of a saned-up version of the plan. Finally, Godwin tells Kale about various other events that have occurred in his absence, such as Suppel's ingestion of the tongue of Ignoramius and his subsequent antics, and Godwin's own temporary breakdown--including his resort to Potion Deux, of which he is now repenting. He even goes so far as to confide in Kale his disturbing new conviction that Suppel's insane worldview is accurate, though Kale is less than impressed with the Potion-Deux-induced nature of this conviction.
Meanwhile, Clod once again questions Suppel about whether or not he is "after" him in a romantic way. When Suppel continues to be vague about the matter, Clod gives up on getting a straight answer and contents himself with informing Suppel that for his part, he is not romantically interested in Suppel, and indeed, not generally interested romantically or sexually in men. Suppel reacts to this by going to Merri's quarters and interrupting the poor hobbit's heartbroken moping, intent on asking her to turn him into a woman in order to give him a chance with Clod. Before he has made his request, however, Darff saunters into Merri's quarters looking for Suppel, with whom he has for some reason decided to explore his own romantic prospects. In response to Darff's seductive come-on, Suppel is readily persuaded to kiss him. As soon as he has done so, however, Darff concludes that "there's nothing there" and that he is apparently not attracted to men. He therefore leaves. Suppel then gets on with his request of a sex change from Merri, who agrees to provide it. The ensuing spell is only partially successful, transforming Suppel's genitalia and body shape from the neck down for the span of a week. Then, intrigued by Darff's unexpected momentary interest, Suppel tracks Darff down, removes his robes to display his/her new body, and persuades Darff to try the kiss again. Though reluctant, Darff agrees to give it a try--and upon doing so, promptly succumbs to Suppel's wiles. Sex ensues. When it's over, the reality of what has happened catches up with Darff, and he again begins to cry--this time not because of failure to perform sexually, but because of actually having had sex. Hurt and offended by this reaction, Suppel departs Darff's quarters to shower, after which he intends to have a go at Clod.
Reality Date: May 31st, 2008: An Indecent Proposal (Or: Beered and Queered)Gameality Date: April 7, 3270Cobbler: ineptsegue
Freshly showered and still apparently female from the neck down, Suppel pays a visit to Clod's quarters. Upon being let in, (s)he again employs the "subtle" seduction technique of dropping his (her?) robes, then matter-of-factly questions Clod about how the sex change impacts Clod's sexual interest (or lack thereof) in him (or her). A flustered Clod, attracted in spite of himself to Suppel's new female body, tries to explain that while he can't deny the appeal of (or indeed, stop leering at) the body, both the ugly male face and his awareness that this is still Suppel seriously detract from his ability to contemplate sex with him. He also protests Suppel's blunt and romanceless approach, commenting that he would at the very least need to be "wined and dined" (or perhaps "beered and queered") a bit before agreeing to do anything rash (and citing his extreme drunkenness on the ocassion when he had sex with the male sprite as evidence). Nevertheless, he also reiterates several times that Suppel's new body is quite nice, and indicates that he'll continue to "think over" Suppel's proposition. Suppel persistently pushes for an experimental sexual encounter to give Clod something more concrete to think over, but Clod refuses to be talked into this, so Suppel eventually gives up for the moment and leaves.
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