TUELLER: “I think calling another craft here is a bad idea.”
MILLICENT: “Yeah, that would only give us two dead gods.”
MILLICENT: “Oh hey, two dead gods.”
MILLICENT: Millie’s eyes gleam.
MILLICENT: “I bet nobody’s done TWO in a day.”
TUELLER: “Not since the Egyptians.”
ALEJO: Alejo smiles weakly. “That’d be a record for sure.”
TUELLER: “Maybe Ragnarok.”
TUELLER: “Fenris managed it, I think.”
TUELLER: 13 is when Ya’Makasi have their lebensraum. They’re given a one way ticket to anywhere in the system, and told not to come back for six earth months, and not use the CJH network at all. Tueller never told anyone other than Akilah what he got up to, not because it would scandalize his family, but because he got a job working as a cook on a anthracite freighter working the moons. He drank with the crew, went to the brothels of Titan with the crew, but mostly learned his way around a wok and with earth spices. Acting mysterious and tragic after he returned just made him love it more.
—
STORY: Tueller is standing just outside the doorway in the side of the dragon, holding two babies. One is crying.
STORY: Alejo, Millie, you’re a little dazed, but unharmed. Your hair is doing interesting things.
TUELLER: “No crew, guys. We’re an orphanage now.”
TUELLER: “Also, god-smiters.”
ALEJO: “Ouch.” Alejo says, unsure what else to say, as he rubs at the back of his neck and head.
TUELLER: “Guys. _we beat a god_. Can we take a moment to appreciate that?”
TUELLER: “I’m putting that one up next to surviving the mushroom planet and killing all those hateworms.”
MILLICENT: Millie smiles shyly. “I’ve always wanted to.”
ALEJO: “That was one hell of a ride.” He stands, trying to see if anything is broken. “How many kids we got in there?”
TUELLER: “More than enough.”
TUELLER: “Couple dozen.”
ALEJO: Alejo puzzles up his brow, then nods and shakes his head all at once. “Huh.”
TUELLER: Tueller smiles a moment. “God is dead, and we have killed him.”
MILLICENT: Millie hops in, eyeing the tech with her visor.
MILLICENT: “I want to see god’s guts.”
STORY: There are twenty-six babies inside, and two in Tueller’s arms. None are older than a year, all are swaddled and in little pod-cribs. Nipple-like protrusions stick out the side of each pod near the baby’s head.
ALEJO: Alejo smiles at Tueller and gives him a “we won” pat on the shoulder as he walks by to check out the new ship.
STORY: Millie, let’s have an Assessment + Expertise
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6 + 2
STORY: josh rolled 4 + 2 = 6
ALEJO: “Well this is creepy as fuck,” he mutters, giving Millie the run of the place but also looking around to see if there are any clues.
MILLICENT: aw dicks
STORY: Millie, you can’t make much sense of the tech inside. You pop off a few panels, and it’s all beyond what you’re familiar with. The wiring makes sense, the boards don’t. You don’t see a screen anywhere.
STORY: There’s a hole around waist height on the back wall, away from the baby-pods. There’s plastic and metal detritus on the floor below, in lots of tiny pieces.
MILLICENT: “It’s.” Millie shrugs. “Holy? I’m not getting a lot of compatible tech here.”
ALEJO: “Meaning?”
MILLICENT: Millie goes to check that out, see if she can put the pieces back together somehow?
STORY: Most definitely not.
STORY: Those boards are destroyed, crushed beyond repair.
MILLICENT: “It’s a lot like their literature,” Millie says from a kneeling position, combing through junk. “A hodgepodge.”
ALEJO: Alejo moves in beside her, looking down at the pile of debris. “What the hell did that?” He kneels down and looks more closely at it, futilely but hoping for some sort of sign to give him bearings.
STORY: Tueller, the crying baby isn’t stopping its complaint.
MILLICENT: Are we the ones who caused all this damage?
TUELLER: Tueller comes back in with the babies and tries to settle them back into their respective creches.
TUELLER: The hole is Tueller’s fist sized.
ALEJO: –Tueller did this, I presume, but we don’t know that.
TUELLER: “Sorry about the mess. Had to kill the pilot.”
STORY: The one in your left arm hasn’t woken up, Tueller, so it settles in nicely. The other is distraught and screaming.
STORY: What species is it, Tueller?
MILLICENT: “Hmmm.”
ALEJO: Alejo stands quickly and turns. “Sure. Sure.” He looks at Tueller for a long moment. “Why?”
TUELLER: “Anyone have experience calming down babies used in an ill advised punchline?”
TUELLER: It’s a Materan. Little lizard baby.
ALEJO: Alejo steps over and takes the baby, giving it a nice rock while burping it.
TUELLER: “Why did I have to disable the dragon-god trying to kill us, Alejo?”
TUELLER: “Gee, I don’t know.”
TUELLER: “When you put it that way.”
MILLICENT: “Tueller, the boards don’t make sense to me at first glance, how did you know where the pilot was?”
STORY: Alejo, it lets out a little murp and calms, cooing up at you. You aren’t an expert in Materan infant development, but it looks like it’s around three months old in human terms.
TUELLER: “My plan was to hit things in the center until I got lucky. I guess I got lucky. Only had to make one hole.”
ALEJO: “Gee?” Alejo looks at Tueller suspiciously. “Okay, don’t tell us. But don’t play me like I’m a asshole.”
ALEJO: “I trust you. But don’t play me.”
MILLICENT: Millie examines the hole.
MILLICENT: “You got real lucky.”
ALEJO: Alejo continues to rock the baby.
TUELLER: Tueller closes his eyes. “Sorry.”
TUELLER: “I’ll tell you eventually. I just can’t right now. Trust me. I’m a shite liar, so just trust me on it, please?”
ALEJO: “Done.” Alejo looks for the open pod to set the baby in.
MILLICENT: Millie stands and nods. “Sure. You got lucky. Works for me. What’s next?”
TUELLER: —In my head canon, the Scottish spread their slang like the Chinese did in “Firefly.”
TUELLER: “Can she fly again?”
ALEJO: “We’ve got to hustle back to get Aki and Kahn. And without a flying ship . . . ?”
ALEJO: Alejo overlaps with Tueller.
MILLICENT: Good question! I’d like to try and figure that out, Space Marster
MILLICENT: Can I get this boat off the ground?
STORY: That’s going to take some time to determine! Would you like to dedicate a few hours to poking around?
MILLICENT: “Gentlemen, it will take me a good while to determine whether I can make this craft airworthy. Hours, perhaps. But it might be better than trying to carry a dozen babies across a desert before the sun goes down?”
TUELLER: “A dozen apiece.”
ALEJO: Alejo sighs. “Yeah, agreed. Tueller, didn’t your Princess say we had about five days like three days ago? We’re gonna be awful tight getting back to save our crew.”
MILLICENT: “It’ll go faster if I can get this god up in the air again.”
TUELLER: “Without a ride, yes. You got speed on you; maybe you can make it back.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods.
ALEJO: “I’ll head out in two hours, if we don’t have a working ship by then.”
TUELLER: “If so, can you stop and let my wife know what’s going on?”
MILLICENT: “Oh, good idea! Divide and conquer!”
ALEJO: He smiles. “You’re already so sweet at being a hubby.”
ALEJO: Alejo goes around to check on the babies. “We should make sure that whatever . . . life support or whatever is keeping this little buggers alive is on.”
TUELLER: “Y’all ripped off my clothes. That bonds us all.”
ALEJO: “I’ve tried so hard to erase that from memory, my friend.”
STORY: Alejo, you get close enough to the baby-pods to get a whiff of something that smells familiar.
STORY: It’s not poop, either.
MILLICENT: “Keep the babies alive, boys, I’m going to get to work.” Millie does so
STORY: It’s dreamlily, a gas-based sedative used to get high among much of the galaxy. It’s well-known for being effective for almost all known races, a rarity among recreational drugs, and is consequently very popular.
ALEJO: “Well shit,” Alejo turns to Tueller.
ALEJO: “Dreamlily.” He points to the pod.
TUELLER: “Oh shit, the kids are riding the chartreuse fairy?”
ALEJO: He laughs. “Yup. Explains why they are so iced.”
TUELLER: “Well, that makes this easy on us. Just give ’em another hit.”
ALEJO: “What the living fuck is going on here?” He shakes his head slowly. “Yeah.” Alejo agrees and starts to look around for controls to the pods.
STORY: Millie, let’s have an Assessment + Expertise to see how you do figuring out and repairing the dragon.
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6 + 2
STORY: josh rolled 5 + 2 = 7
STORY: Okay. You take a few hours poking around, and you get a good sense of what’s where. The good news is this vehicle has replacements for all the major parts of your ship, so any repairs you need to do for Peregrine you should be able to accomplish with a trip up here. That doesn’t really solve getting her out of the water, but one problem at a time.
STORY: The bad news is this ship is permanently grounded, and in fact Tueller managed to destroy not just the critical motherboard, but he fried the electrical system. None of the onboard computers or flight controls are likely to ever come back online. With a genny and some improvisation, you should be able to get the baby life support back online again.
MILLICENT: “Well, gentlemen, it is well and truly borked. With a genny and stripping it off wire I should be able to get your daddy daycare up and running, but the ship itself won’t fly without a lot of major parts I don’t have and can’t make. Silver lining is that I can strip it for scraps and get Peregrine up and running, assuming she hasn’t sustained additional damage during her swim.”
STORY: Also, you don’t know a ton about babies, but you’re pretty sure they aren’t going to be able to hang out in this thing, even if it’s functioning properly, for more than another couple days. This is a temporary nursery.
MILLICENT: “Mr. Ya’Makasi, you are to be commended for your thorough work. This thing is toast.”
TUELLER: “I don’t do half measures.”
MILLICENT: “Also, the nursery won’t do for the babies for much longer. A couple of days, maybe. We will need to. What’s the word? Rehome them.”
TUELLER: How big is the head of the dragon?
ALEJO: Alejo is getting ready to leave as she summarizes her work.
STORY: Oh, Millie, one more thing – this thing is going to have a ton of salvage available. Tueller, the dragon’s a hundred feet long, the head around five.
ALEJO: “You three need to work on the rehoming thing. I’ll get our people out of danger and then we’ll come back to help you scrap parts.”
ALEJO: “I’ll send your Princess here with the horses on my way back to town.”
TUELLER: “We’re two days ride on a good ride. Three days like we had coming out here results in dead friends.”
TUELLER: “We have a dead spaceship-god here. Maybe one of many.”
TUELLER: “Have you talked to Noma about this, Doc?”
ALEJO: Alejo is taking off extra clothing, trying to reduce weight. “Yeah, I mean, if we could ride better, maybe two days ride . . . ” He stops. “What do you mean, ‘one of many?’”
MILLICENT: Would it be possible to build a vehicle out of the scraps that could go fast enough to get us back in time?
STORY: Millie, like what?
MILLICENT: Like a land speeder or a dune buggy or something?
MILLICENT: “Noma asked me for some room to work and disappeared. I’m trusting her to know herself and her needs best.”
ALEJO: “You still think this mountain is like a . . . base or dock or something?” He looks at Tueller.
TUELLER: “The elephant in the room here is that _someone_ has set up this planet as a preserve or gameshow or toy, and I think it’s obvious that this baby-delivery system isn’t the only thing going on here.”
STORY: You could easily build a cart in a few hours by stripping some of the armor plating. Anything powered would take longer and would not be guaranteed to work.
MILLICENT: “Oh, yes of course.”
TUELLER: “And yes, I think there’s DEFINITELY something creepy about a magnetic mountain holdfast for this dragon.”
MILLICENT: “And this thing was automated.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods. “Yeah, for sure. But unless you know something more than we do, I don’t see how that helps us with our short-term problem.”
TUELLER: “If this _is_ a station, though, we’d almost definitely be badly outgunned, what with them probably having more than one gun.”
TUELLER: “And they’re going to miss this thing eventually.”
MILLICENT: “If you hadn’t shorted out the wiring I might have been able to replicate the call signal and try to bring another craft here.”
ALEJO: Alejo agrees again and starts getting ready for a run again.
TUELLER: Tueller nods. “Sorry about that again, Doc.”
ALEJO: He pauses. “I mean, I suppose we could scout around the area quickly, but every minute we wait for me to get on the road is a risk.”
MILLICENT: Could I use the parts to make a signal that would call another craft?
ALEJO: He rubs at his temples, his hair still a crazy mess from our net trap.
TUELLER: “I think calling another craft here is a bad idea.”
STORY: Millie, you’d need a power source and to get lucky salvaging enough wires that work, so again, no guarantee of success, but probably?
MILLICENT: Right
MILLICENT: “Yeah, that would only give us two dead gods.”
MILLICENT: “Oh hey, two dead gods.”
MILLICENT: Millie’s eyes gleam.
MILLICENT: “I bet nobody’s done TWO in a day.”
TUELLER: “Not since the Egyptians.”
ALEJO: Alejo smiles weakly. “That’d be a record for sure.”
TUELLER: “Maybe Ragnarok.”
TUELLER: “Fenris managed it, I think.”
ALEJO: “The fuck is Fenris?” Alejo smiles widely at Tueller.
MILLICENT: “Okay, so we can assault the high tech fortress and hope we live long enough to grab a craft or I can try to scrounge up some faster transport or we can try to be better equestrians on the way back. Are those about our options?”
MILLICENT: “Big hungry wolf. Invited all his enemies to dinner and then ate them all.”
TUELLER: “Cart and four horses seems a good way to travel.”
MILLICENT: “Which, fair. He did invite them to dinner.”
ALEJO: “Cart and four horses is grand, but no way we make it in under two days, which means we’ve got two dead friends, not two dead gods.”
TUELLER: “When we don’t have to keep fishing your ass up off the ground, we’ll be fine.”
TUELLER: “You’re also welcome to run alongside us, to lighten the load.”
ALEJO: “I feel like Millie fell off as much as I did.” He smiles weakly again.
TUELLER: “With those servos and shit, should be no problem.”
MILLICENT: Could I build a cart that would safely carry the babies?
ALEJO: “Alright. More company. The merrier. Let’s do this!”
STORY: I mean, it’d jostle them as much as a carriage ride, but sure, you can salvage some shocks and build little cubbies for them. Might need two carts at that point, since you and Alejo are definitely not getting back on horses.
MILLICENT: Okay, Millie gets to work on some carts
TUELLER: Tueller will help with the manual labor.
STORY: Alejo, Tueller, you’ve got a few hours before Millie will have anything usable. There are babies sleeping inside, and presumably Elowyn is waiting inside the treeline about ten minutes’ walk downhill.
TUELLER: And he’s not exactly an idiot mechanically, either.
ALEJO: “You want to go check on your wife? I can stay and keep Millie company. Help her, if she needs it.”
TUELLER: “You’d be faaaaaaa…oh alright, I’m off.”
ALEJO: He frowns. “Keep an eye on the kids? I guess.”
ALEJO: “Have fun!” He waves as Tueller heads off.
TUELLER: Which he does.
ALEJO: Alejo takes a quick run around he perimeter. Old habits die hard. Then he finds a comfortable place to sit, unless babies cry or Millie needs him.
STORY: I imagine you get enlisted after a bit to help peel off armor plating.
STORY: Millie, you ready to Face Adversity + Expertise on CART BUILDING?
TUELLER: Tueller left behind his wilderness kit.
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6 + 2
STORY: josh rolled 12 + 2 = 14
MILLICENT: I AM SO READY
TUELLER: Hah
ALEJO: –Carts are gonna be dope!
STORY: Oh damn.
TUELLER: Tricked out, with hydraulics
MILLICENT: I think that qualifies as having built a goddamn humvee
STORY: You can put some extra features into your cart, even.
TUELLER: Spinning rims.
STORY: Still nothing to power it with, but you can get fancy with the balance.
TUELLER: Napalm breath!
ALEJO: –Those undercarriage lights.
MILLICENT: Satellite radio
TUELLER: —It flies.
MILLICENT: That new cart smell
ALEJO: –Cocktail bar?
ALEJO: –Like that pop up one from the beginning of Iron Man.
TUELLER: —Chartreuse Fairy Detailing.
STORY: All right! Tueller?
STORY: …Tueller?
TUELLER: Yes.
STORY: Tueller!
STORY: What do you do?
TUELLER: Yes! What I said! Walk to go check on my wife!
STORY: You reach the edge of the woods to find her waiting anxiously. She comes over, looking worried.
STORY: “The others? Did they make it?”
TUELLER: “Oh yeah! We’re all just hanging out at the dead god’s feet, you should come join us.”
STORY: “Wh–”
STORY: She looks uphill.
STORY: “You killed her?”
TUELLER: “Come on and see. But yeah, there wasn’t any pilot so I had to kill the magical brain.”
STORY: She follows, asking questions. How much do you fill her in?
TUELLER: Just the basics. She attacked, Millie shocked her, I went in and punched her in the brain, and also, we have kids now.
STORY: When she hears about the babies, she begins to run ahead.
STORY: So now you’re guiding four horses uphill.
TUELLER: Okay, I’ll do that.
STORY: Millie, Alejo, Elowyn arrives after about half an hour, just as you’re getting the first of the large armor plates off the hull.
STORY: She sees what you’re doing, and drops to her knees.
STORY: Just shaking her head back and forth, not understanding.
ALEJO: Alejo smiles, still holding one of the plates. “Hiya! Welcome to . . . yeah, I don’t know what to call this. Tueller coming?”
STORY: You see him in the distance down the hill, leading four moderately cooperative horses.
ALEJO: “Horse duty. Fitting. Thank you for that!” He smiles again.
TUELLER: Tueller waves from far away, but can’t hurry with the horses.
ALEJO: “Come on up. I promise, she won’t bite. Anymore.” He keeps moving to the cart construction area.
STORY: She staggers to her feet and approaches, slowly.
STORY: “It… isn’t a dragon.”
ALEJO: “Yeah. Well, sort of.” He sets down the plate he’s carrying. “Check out the babies inside.”
MILLICENT: “Not anymore,” Millie grunts from on top of the god and pries a plate from the top and drops it to Alejo below.
STORY: She moves in slowly, shaking and holding to the sides of the door to stand, then after a long look inside, sits, sliding down the doorframe with her head in her hands.
ALEJO: Alejo catches it nimbly.
STORY: “Someone please explain to me what is going on.”
ALEJO: “You’re up, Millie.” Alejo shouts up to her as he carries the plate over to the cart building area.
ALEJO: “You’re getting good at the explaining thing!” He shouts to her over his head.
MILLICENT: “This dead god is actually the vessel in which babies of your species are delivered to expectant parents. We expect there are some manipulative jerks in a mountain-top hideout, probably watching your progress and taking a lot of notes. Also it keeps your people quaking in their boots, which is probably handy for your overlords.”
MILLICENT: “There’s a saying on my planet, ’Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’”
MILLICENT: “Which is my way of saying, ‘Don’t take it hard, kid.’”
STORY: “Will.. whoever sent this come for us, now?”
ALEJO: Alejo nods as he walks back over. “Maybe.”
ALEJO: “Probably.”
ALEJO: “Which is why we have to keep moving until we figure out exactly what’s happening.”
MILLICENT: “Maybe! We’re guessing they don’t give you enough credit and that will give us enough cover to get back to our own ship.”
ALEJO: He waits for Millie to drop another panel.
STORY: Tueller, you can arrive with the horses when you like. They do NOT like approaching the dragon, so you find a spot to tie them up on a small shrub.
TUELLER: Tueller shows up…and does what you just said.
TUELLER: “Hey Ely. How’s it going up here? You go in yet?”
MILLICENT: Millie drops another panel. “I’m dangerously close to sweating, though, so I’d love it if you could send up your loving husband to do this scutwork. I’ve got welding to do!”
TUELLER: “I’m on it, Doc.”
STORY: Elowyn sits on the threshold with her head in her hands.
ALEJO: Alejo catches the panel and walks it to the growing pile.
TUELLER: Tueller takes off his armor and places it off to the side, and climbs up the dragon, and starts ripping off panels seemingly barehanded, working roughly three times faster than Millie was.
TUELLER: Tueller has obviously spent a lot of time clamoring around ships in various states of being built.
STORY: The panels are mostly flat due to the size of the dragon, but they are rough on one side to appear scaly. It’s weird watching this fairly believable animal slowly become just another bald machine.
TUELLER: Tueller calls out “Gardyloo” every time he’s got another panel to warn people it’s coming down.
STORY: Tueller, you get a Close Up
STORY: (which reminds me, I’ve been forgetting to give people these when they do rad things, please do remind me if you think of it, especially if it’s for someone else)
STORY: So, we proceed that way? You build a cart and generally don’t help Elowyn cope?
TUELLER: I thought we were helping her cope!
STORY: Well, I mean
STORY: I guess you are in your way.
STORY: I’d like to know how much explaining about machines and spaceships and the world outside this planet you give Elowyn.
TUELLER: We told her a bunch on the ride up here!
MILLICENT: Millie goes over the parts she’s removing and what they do
TUELLER: But overall, Tueller tells her more or less the truth.
STORY: Okay. Her mind’s been pretty well blown over the past few days.
TUELLER: The universe is huge, there are lots of races. The people she’s grown up with are all from different star systems, and there are ships that travel between them and we’re trying to carve out our place there.
STORY: She hasn’t outright asked to come with you, but you get the feeling she wants to.
TUELLER: “You should join us!”
TUELLER: “Don’t worry, you don’t have to be married anymore.”
ALEJO: Alejo rolls his eyes as he continues working.
STORY: She just nods quietly, looking at the ground.
STORY: “But why have they done this to us?”
TUELLER: “That I wonder quite a bit myself.”
TUELLER: “This place is…there’s no place quite like this in the universe. This weird or artificial or cruel.”
MILLICENT: “My guess is it’s an experiment.” Millie’s on the ground, lining up plates and scavenging solder.
MILLICENT: “Elowyn, give me a hand here.”
TUELLER: “TV show, experiment, or joke.”
TUELLER: “Or…training people to be cruel.”
TUELLER: “Ely, what happens to the champions?”
TUELLER: “Are they generally killed in front of you? Or _eaten_ whole?”
MILLICENT: “See, when people in my line of work want to find out how something works we make experiments. That is, we make our best guess about the outcome of a given question and then we run a controlled version of the guess, to see if we were right or if we need to rethink.”
MILLICENT: Millie hands Elowyn some plates to hold while she welds.
STORY: She holds the plates, looks at Millie, and answers Tueller. “The Dark Lord would take them. Fly down and, well, we thought eat them. But I suppose they were just carried away.”
STORY: “I don’t know where.”
TUELLER: “Huh. Well, that conforms to…”
TUELLER: “What if this is a way to covertly train warriors, then cull the best and cruelest.”
ALEJO: “That’s a fucking brutal and horrible thought.” Alejo says as he passes.
MILLICENT: “The Sardaukar gambit.”
MILLICENT: “Not unheard of.”
TUELLER: “It’s been a long time since I skimmed Dune, Doc.”
STORY: “What is skimming a dune?”
TUELLER: “Earth Book.”
ALEJO: Alejo points at her and nods. “My thought exactly.”
TUELLER: “An old classic that people read even though it doesn’t have much resemblance to our current universe.”
TUELLER: “Well, AI is bad, so _some_ resemblance.”
MILLICENT: “It’s not all bad.”
TUELLER: “It’s just a theory, anyway. The universe is vast, but something like that planet would take a lot of resources to perpetuate, and the only things I can think of that would be worth it, financially, are entertainment and warcraft.”
ALEJO: “Or some really heartless experiment by a very wealthy bunch of assholes.”
MILLICENT: “That’s where my money is.”
STORY: She shakes her head. “I think… I want to stop talking about this, please.”
STORY: “Let’s just get these children home safely and go help your friends.”
TUELLER: “Yeah. If you want to talk again, we’re here. I know this is huge. And we’re generally of the blunt ‘the truth no matter what’ type.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods, sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Elowyn. This is a shock to us. It’s got to be something . . . really challenging for you.”
TUELLER: Tueller backs off.
ALEJO: Alejo does as well and keeps working. He’s pretty intense about getting these carts done, actually.
STORY: Hours pass, and the carts are done just as the sun starts to set on the third day.
TUELLER: Tueller spends a couple hours trying to find a trophy to take from the dragon that would identify it as such to others.
ALEJO: Alejo keeps working into the evening, making sure that they are set to hit the road at first light.
STORY: Tueller, you settle on a tooth and an eye. It takes you a while to pop it out, but they’re both handheld and fairly identifiable.
TUELLER: Excellent.
TUELLER: Then Tueller takes care of the horses as best he can.
STORY: Elowyn teaches you a few ways to groom them, and shows you how to feed one, with an open hand.
STORY: There’s a little horse bonding going on, for sure.
TUELLER: So apparently Tueller’s a bit of a softy, and likes animals.
STORY: Elowyn has assumed your marriage was purely of convenience and generally left you alone – how does Tueller treat her?
TUELLER: Friendly, but with the same assumption.
TUELLER: Despite what Alejo seems to smirk at, Tueller’s just being friendly and not hitting on her.
ALEJO: Alejo just wants you to be happy, dude. Lighten up, T.
STORY: It’s a little warmer inside the baby room than outside, so the four of you squeeze in there to camp for the night.
TUELLER: Tueller sleeps closest to the door, with his armor nearby.
STORY: All right! Morning comes, things are pretty much how they were last night, but now you’ve got two functional carts and four horses to strap to them.
STORY: The baby cart is big enough for two adults and all the babies; the other is big enough to hold the rest of you and some more gear, if you want to pack anything up.
STORY: Are you bringing anything but the four of you and the babies?
STORY: And what’s your plan for childcare over the two day journey?
TUELLER: Tueller and Elowyn will ride with the baby carriage, and alternate taking care of them.
MILLICENT: I’m bringing what I think I need to build a power winch
MILLICENT: And a bunch of cord
ALEJO: Alejo will also help with the babies, especially during breaks. But he’s happy to ride with Millie in the other cart with the gear. And winch. And cord.
ALEJO: During the trip, Alejo will talk with Millie about a plan to rescue Kahn and Aki, looping Tueller in and getting his feedback during breaks or during moments when we can ride with the carts side by side.
TUELLER: Tueller talks to Ely about where our comrades might be kept and asks for any advice on how to go about getting them back.
STORY: Millie, there’s no single cord long enough to use, so you’ll have to fabricate that some other way, and there’s no generator to power it, but you do find enough spare parts that you think you can assemble the rest.
STORY: Okay! So it’s dawn on day five, and you’ve had quite a journey, one covered in one of those five-second Edgar Wright montages.
ALEJO: Hey, you make it to God-King and we’re gold. Sounds fantastic!
STORY: Babies cried, carts broke down and were fixed, brigands were avoided, and you make it to the town square in time to see the hangman setting up and testing his nooses. He steps onto the little stool, tests his weight against each rope, inspects the knots.
STORY: That sort of thing.
STORY: There are people starting to gather here, though not many. It’s quiet, and the light is still dim.
TUELLER: —Also we still have explosives.
STORY: What do you do?
TUELLER: “Cap?”
MILLICENT: “If you give me a minute I should be able to generate some sparks for a grand entrance.”
TUELLER: “No hurry, Doc.”
ALEJO: “We ride in large and loud, with babies and trophies. T, you’re up! It’s your moment to shine. You keep everyone very focused on you, and I’ll sneak away and up to the hangman area, in case things go bad.”
TUELLER: “If it gets really bad Alejo can always just shoot the hangman.”
ALEJO: Alejo smiles widely. “This should be fun!”
STORY: “Where have we come down on killing my father?”
STORY: “I’d rather not, to be honest.”
MILLICENT: “Oh.”
STORY: “We kind of have a lot of new information to sort out and adjust our civilization to.”
MILLICENT: “Potentially avoidable?”
ALEJO: “Agreed. I’d rather not kill anyone, if we can avoid it.”
MILLICENT: “But I don’t usually do a lot of the violence.
TUELLER: “Not necessary unless it becomes necessary.”
ALEJO: “So far as we know, everyone here is an innocent.”
STORY: “Well, I just mean we’re going to need good leadership as the rest of us adjust to, you know, being pawns in some cosmic game.”
STORY: “Or I guess, well.”
STORY: She looks thoughtful for a moment.
STORY: “I haven’t really… decided what to tell everyone.”
MILLICENT: “Do you want to take a moment to figure that out?”
TUELLER: “Just play it by ear?”
ALEJO: “Let’s not figure that out now? Yeah!” Alejo points to Tueller. “Or we can figure it out with more time after we make sure that our friends aren’t hanged.”
TUELLER: “We’re going to experiment with no one dying here.”
ALEJO: “Love it. No one dies on three!” Alejo puts his hand in.
TUELLER: Tueller puts his armored hand in.
MILLICENT: Millie puts his hand in. “A statistical impossibility!”
ALEJO: Alejo gives her a sidelong look and a smile. “Our speciality.”
TUELLER: “One two three no one dies right now hopefully we’ll see GO.”
STORY: Millie! Tell me what happens.
STORY: We’ll alternate narrators, and I’ll tell you when you get to a point that you have to roll.
MILLICENT: Okay! We wait a bit until there is a real crowd here, including at least some officials
MILLICENT: We roll the cart itself up into the square
MILLICENT: The cart is unusual enough to move the crowd aside. The officials on the platform get antsy, none moreso than the executioner. She has a reputation for morbidly interesting hanging. She squirms behind her black mask.
MILLICENT: The carts turn, presenting one side each to the crowd. With a flash and a bang, Tueller appears.
TUELLER: “Behold, people of Escaria, I, Tueller, of Peregrine have returned, and I have slain the Dark Lord!” Tueller brandishes his trophies, “And I, a benovolent savior, have brought children in need of care from the belly of that beast.”
TUELLER: Sotto voce “give me some sparks, Doc.”
MILLICENT: Another flash
MILLICENT: And the cloak covering the rolling nursery is whipped away
TUELLER: Tueller keeps his arms upraised. He is not laughing maniacally but he really wants to.
TUELLER: “And I return with your princess and future queen, my WIFE.”
STORY: The crowd gasps and looks over to the cart, where Elowyn stands with her arms crossed, sort of ruining the moment.
TUELLER: Tueller is in full armor, the matte black finish of it which glints in the sparks.
STORY: She rolls her eyes and does a little curtsy. The crowd is awed.
MILLICENT: Millie makes more sparks
ALEJO: Alejo slips out of the cart with the second flash, and slips into the crowd, moving quickly through the crowd towards the executioner and the hanging platform, looking for our people.
TUELLER: “So, yeah!”
TUELLER: “Your champion, your prince, your hero and your servant!”
STORY: There’s barely enough time for the excitement to become awkward when you hear a shout from the edge of the crowd. “Who’s that?”
MILLICENT: Millie makes a trumpet noise.
STORY: “Oh, it’s you, champion. Part, crowd,” announces an imperious voice.
MILLICENT: Through part of the ship, but also with her mouth.
MILLICENT: “bwah bwah bwah bwah BWAH”
MILLICENT: Like doing an airhorn sound with her mouth
STORY: The crowd obeys, and you see King Stanton at one end, draped in furs and wearing a shirt this time.
TUELLER: Tueller turns towards the king, and moves to the edge of the cart, and drops to the ground towards the king, doing a three point landing, before rising.
STORY: He does a little wave behind him to his guards, and they spread out around the area, jogging to form a perimeter.
ALEJO: Alejo shakes his head and can’t help but laugh as he keeps moving, now close to the platform, still trying to get eyes on our people.
TUELLER: “Your grace.”
STORY: “I suppose you’re here to turn yourselves in?”
STORY: “As part of the attack at your wedding, yes?”
TUELLER: Now Tueller laughs, uproariously.
TUELLER: “No, Stanton, I am not here for such frivolity. I am here as a God-Slayer and savior.”
TUELLER: Tueller tosses the remains of the Dark Lord at his feet.
TUELLER: “Our cart is made from the skin of the Dark Lord, and here are the eyes and teeth as a souvenir.”
TUELLER: “Our cargo is children in need of care.”
MILLICENT: Accusatory airhorn, “bwah bwah bwah BWAH”
TUELLER: “I have _freed_ you.”
TUELLER: “I return with your heir and my wife,” Tueller bows towards Elowyn.
STORY: Stanton is speechless.
STORY: Elowyn walks over to him. “Father, please. Call this off. Let us speak alone.”
TUELLER: “We have much to speak of.”
STORY: Let’s have a general Face Adversity + Influence, Tueller, since you are leading this performance.
TUELLER: Looking that up. Just a sec.
TUELLER: Ummm, think I’ll use Escarian Culture data point on this.
TUELLER: /roll 2d6+1
STORY: chris.stuart rolled 7 + 1 = 8
STORY: Eyyy
STORY: Stanton looks hesitant.
STORY: “But– the hanging. They did _crimes.“_
TUELLER: “The hanging can wait until we speak, at very least, sire.”
STORY: Stanton looks a little put on his back foot, but he walks up a few steps onto the gallows and announces to the crowd. “The hanging… shall wait!”
STORY: “Please, fellows, give us your patience. Retire for a meal, and return when the sun is high in the sky for the hanging!”
STORY: He hustles down the stairs and brushes quickly past you, moving into a large tent surrounded by guards.
STORY: “Come on, then,” comes his voice from inside.
TUELLER: Tueller follows.
STORY: The tent is large, thirty feet across, with plenty of seating inside and a smaller throne. Stanton half-lays on his throne, gesturing for you to sit.
MILLICENT: Millie curtsies, then sits, crosses her leg
TUELLER: Tueller does so, still in armor.
STORY: Elowyn has entered, as well.
ALEJO: In the spirit of not splitting the party, Alejo joins them as the crowd is dispersing, and enters a little late, but he’s there. He takes the hood off and sits.
MILLICENT: Millie smiles awkwardly and kicks Tueller.
STORY: Elowyn sits at her father’s feet, holding his hand. “Father, please. We have so much to tell you. Tueller has not slain the dark lord, because it was never alive.”
MILLICENT: With mouth closed, “This is a you conversation, right?”
STORY: “It is a machine, father, like a horse and cart, only made so sophisticated as to power itself. Made intelligent.”
STORY: “It goes beyond our world, and brings the children to us. From where, we do not know, and why,” she looks to the others.
STORY: “A cruel joke, at best.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods and smiles encouragingly.
TUELLER: “We are intensely curious about the why of all this.”
STORY: “But now that we know, we must help these people leave our shores. They do not belong here.”
TUELLER: “It appears this society is an experiment of sorts, for reasons we cannot tell.”
STORY: “And then we must tell our people, father. We must bring them out of this lie and discover what comes next.”
TUELLER: “But it is true. We do not belong here. Our ship–not a dragon, but a starship–crashed in the seas.”
STORY: Stanton watches Elowyn for a long time, struggling to understand. When she finishes her explanation, she reaches out to embrace him, and he stands to do the same.
STORY: He does not move so quickly that you do not see him draw his dagger, but he moves quickly enough that it is in Elowyn’s throat before you can stop him.
TUELLER: Tueller jumps up, ready to attack.
ALEJO: Alejo jumps up as well.
STORY: He cradles her as she falls, showing her genuine tenderness as she chokes and bleeds on his lap. “My sweet girl, I am sorry. I knew you would never be able to take my place.”
STORY: “Shh, my sweet, shh. Rest now.”
STORY: He does not look to any of you, but says calmly, “If you touch me, your friends will be killed.”
STORY: Alejo, there are no guards in the tent, only the five of you, but you know it is surrounded by them.
ALEJO: Alejo freezes, at the entryway. He does not turn back.
ALEJO: “If you kill them, you know you’re dead, right?”
ALEJO: He now turns.
ALEJO: His eyes hard, his jaw set.
STORY: “I would prefer it not to end that way,” he says, again calmly, watching Elowyn as she fades.
TUELLER: Tueller turns to Alejo. “Can you get to them?”
STORY: “Please, give me this moment to say goodbye, and I will speak with you.”
STORY: “We can come to terms.”
STORY: He watches Elowyn’s eyes, with great sadness in his.
ALEJO: Did Alejo ever see our people or where they were taken?
STORY: Nope, no sign of them outside yet.
TUELLER: Tueller is barely restraining himself.
TUELLER: He turns to look at Alejo.
ALEJO: Alejo shakes his head once, very subtly, to Tueller.
MILLICENT: Millie rips her shirt, uses her belt to try and tourniquet. Is there any chance of first aid?
STORY: Millie, when you get close to Stanton, he warns you again not to come near, that this is the way it has to be and your interference will endanger you and your friends.
TUELLER: “I’m so sorry Ely.”
ALEJO: Alejo gives Stanton a very brief moment. Then: “Terms. What are they.”
ALEJO: Alejo has his hand on his assault pistol, which he’s not pulled since they arrived in the town.
MILLICENT: Millie settles back down into her seat.
MILLICENT: Fuming.
TUELLER: Tueller does not sit, and also fumes.
STORY: When it’s clear Elowyn is gone, he calls out for his guard captain, and has him take the body out the back, in a shroud. “Do not let the others see.”
STORY: Afterward, he sits on the ground, his robe covered in her blood.
STORY: “Please, sit.”
ALEJO: Alejo stands by the tent entrance. He lets the guard come in. After the body is gone, he moves up and sits, at this request.
STORY: “I wish she had not gone with you.”
TUELLER: Tueller sits, but still fumes.
STORY: “It is best that you all leave.”
TUELLER: “That’s all we want to do.”
STORY: “The dragon, it cannot be repaired?”
TUELLER: “It cannot.”
STORY: He nods.
ALEJO: “All of us. Yes?”
TUELLER: “Our dragon can be. With work.”
STORY: “What do you need to repair your ship?”
STORY: “I assume that is why you have not left us already?” He looks up.
ALEJO: “We need it out of the lake. We need some time.” He looks to Millie.
STORY: He nods. “Ah. It is in the lake.”
STORY: “That explains some things.”
MILLICENT: “A tow, some other parts, most of which I scavenged from the dragon.”
STORY: “I can keep the beach clear while you work. How long do you need?”
MILLICENT: “A few days for repairs, perhaps weeks depending on the damage.”
TUELLER: “You like this set up, don’t you?”
STORY: He looks up to Tueller. “I do not think you can understand how much I do not, as you say, like this set up.”
STORY: “If there is one good to all this, it is that Elowyn will be spared this burden.”
ALEJO: “What is this ‘burden?’”
TUELLER: “Double negatives aren’t very medieval.”
TUELLER: Tueller’s not being very constructive right now, sorry all.
STORY: To Alejo, “I cannot say.”
STORY: “Trust me, it is better the less we speak.”
TUELLER: “I’m happy just to leave.”
STORY: “I wish to send you and your people on your way, as soon as possible, for the sake of mine.”
TUELLER: “I don’t need to know any more.”
ALEJO: “Again, I want to be very clear. All of my people. Yes?”
ALEJO: “No hanging.”
STORY: “Yes. It is no help to us for them to remain here.”
MILLICENT: “I do.”
MILLICENT: “I need to know more.”
ALEJO: Alejo gives her a quick look. “Not now. You don’t right now.”
MILLICENT: “Yes, I do.”
MILLICENT: “You wasted a girl’s potential to keep THIS?”
MILLICENT: “I could have lived with this being a harmless eccentric’s fantasy, but now there’s a harm.”
ALEJO: He looks to Stanton, closes his eyes momentarily in frustration, and shakes his head once.
ALEJO: “She’s not wrong. This is fucking ridiculous.”
STORY: “This is no one’s fantasy.”
STORY: “Certainly not mine.”
ALEJO: “Are you here against your will?”
TUELLER: Tueller stands up and walks over to the edge of the tent and just sits there, facing off. He’s checked himself out of the conversation.
TUELLER: He puts his helmet back on and is silent.
ALEJO: Alejo turns to check on him very quickly and then looks back to Stanton for the answer.
STORY: “I will not give you information that could endanger my people. Please, just leave our land.”
ALEJO: Alejo sighs. Then nods. “I appreciate protecting your people. I need to protect mine. Can we please have them back?”
MILLICENT: “You KILLED a girl we would have TAKEN WITH US.”
STORY: “And that would have killed us all.”
STORY: “Sir Tueller, I am sorry.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks at her. “Doc. Please. We need Aki and Kahn back.”
ALEJO: He says this through clinched teeth.
MILLICENT: “I don’t know what’s worse, the medieval melodrama or the daughter murdering.”
MILLICENT: “It’s the daughter murdering.”
MILLICENT: “Give us our people back so I can say your people deserve better than you and storm out of this tent. Please.”
ALEJO: Alejo can’t help himself. He smiles softly at this.
STORY: He calls in a guard and instructs him to take the three of you to get Kahn and Akilah and leave.
ALEJO: He stands as the guard comes in.
STORY: You’re led to a small wooden cart, covered in a tarp. Inside, shackled, are Kahn and Akilah.
STORY: Once the right information is communicated, Akilah steps out, holding out her hands to be unshackled, and gives you a hug, Alejo. “This is absolutely the worst place I have ever been to, and is that blood on your shirt?”
TUELLER: “My wife’s blood.”
TUELLER: “Yes.”
ALEJO: Alejo hugs her hard. “Yeah. It’s fucking awful.”
TUELLER: “We’re leaving.”
STORY: “Well. Shit.”
MILLICENT: Millie’s face is locked into a glare.
STORY: Kahn nods silently and leads the way back to the beach where your ship awaits.
TUELLER: Tueller goes off and curls up with Fiona and doesn’t talk to anyone for the rest of the night.
TUELLER: “It’ll be okay.”
TUELLER: “Lying.”