The Oasis

[greatcleavage]

What the heck was he doing here?

Beneath the shade of the palm fronds, Roy stared out at the desert that stretched out in every direction. Somehow he'd found himself here, against all logic. A weird sidequest? A dream? Maybe he was dead again and his spirit had been hijacked.

Well, what could he do but wait and see what came along? The oasis showed signs of being used by travelers, so he wouldn't be stuck here forever anyway...

Comments

[najaran]

She grinned. "So! What kind of food do you think we'll find there?"

[greatcleavage]

"Desert food," Roy said, doing his best to keep a perfectly neutral expression.

[najaran]

"So like cake?"

[greatcleavage]

Roy heaved a long, pained sigh. "Okay, that just doesn't work. I clearly said 'desert'."

[najaran]

"Oh, so more like pudding?" She smiled.

[greatcleavage]

Roy had no words, and thus, spoke none. He just kept walking.

[najaran]

She grinned and jogged closer to him, trying to rest her chin on his shoulder. "It was funny. Admit it."

[greatcleavage]

Given their comparative heights, good luck with that.

"Try me again when I've drunk so much I'm aaaalmost unconscious."

[najaran]

"Okay!"

[greatcleavage]

"Aand you will, won't you."

[najaran]

"Well you told me to!" she said happily, standing straight again.

"Do not try and predict Najaran," Gooligan said, sounding tired, his whiskers drooping.

[greatcleavage]

"Well, I've traveled with more Chaotic people in my history." She wasn't Elan, so she had that going for her.

[najaran]

"Somehow," Gooligan said dryly, "I rather doubt it."

[greatcleavage]

"Trust me on this one. Yes, I know it's hard to believe."

[najaran]

"Well this one time..." he started.

"If this is about Mistress Grubel, don't," she grumbled.

"She can see the code of everything, she can see the future, she understands the fundamental nature of all things."

"It wasn't my fault," she whined. "I really thought that WAS the sugar."

[greatcleavage]

"No, no, I want to hear this one." And he was pretty sure one of them would tell him, if he asked. Which one, though?

[najaran]

Najaran sighed. But it was Gooligan who spoke.

"Mistress Grubel is a friend of Master Horowitz. She is a seer. Our world was created by the Goddess Culdra writing in her Culdcept, her book of life. Mistress Grubel can read that book in every aspect of creation. As such she is nearly immortal and quite bored. She promised to help Master Horowitz with his research into the Black Cepters in exchange for Najaran and I working for her, for a time. It was.... unpleasant."

"Very," Njaran said, shuddering "We almost died, several times! She had me feed her Jildreee, she wasted so much food because she said she could tell how it tastes so doesn't need to actually eat it...." She shuddered, miserable.

Gooligan bobbed in agreement. "She made Najaran a bet after dinner that if Najaran could surprise her, she'd help with no further work needed. We, of course, were convinced that was impossible."

Najaran sighed. "It's not my fault her kitchen was so confusing."

"How you mixed up black pepper for white sugar is beyond me!" he said.

"They told me the tin with the red lid."

"No, red is pepper. White was either sugar or salt, which is why I asked if you mixed them up, Najaran! But that still doesn't explain how you steeped Hijiki Seaweed instead of tea!"

"They're both green and dried up..." she said with a shrug. "And they told me the tin with the gold top..,"

"NO ONE TOLD YOU THAT!"

[greatcleavage]

"I feel like asking to be surprised by you is a sucker's bet."

Roy made several very distinct mental notes in bright red to never, ever, ever let Najaran near a cooking ingredient.

[najaran]

"And yet..." she grinned.

[greatcleavage]

"And yet." He could at least respect that she had weaponized it, however unintentionally. That was turning a weakness into a strength, and it did have some potential in future considerations.

[najaran]

"Najaran seems to excel in turning stupid acts into victories," Gooligan said dryly.

"Thanks!" she said brightly, then blinked. "Wait....." Now she was unsure if she was insulted.

[greatcleavage]

"At the end of the day, the victories are what get recorded."

[najaran]

"Actually, everything was recorded, at least according to Miss Grubel," Najaran said. "But I hope she's wrong. That's not exactly a good thought."

[greatcleavage]

"Huh." Okay, that wasn't exactly what he expected. "Why was any of that even recorded?"

[najaran]

"According to Miss Grubel, Culdra recorded all of existence, beginning to end, in the Culdcept. And that she could read the scraps of the Culdcept that exists in all people and things."