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

[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."

[greatcleavage]

"Oh. Omniscience doesn't count." Roy shook his head. "It's not comprehensible to us mortals anyway."

[najaran]

"Neither are many basic skills, to Najaran."

"HEY!"

[greatcleavage]

If anything, the staff's willingness to sass Najaran said that she was a good person -- no fear there, even in such a vulnerable position.

"If we're being fair, I can't use these cards."

[najaran]

"Know I liked you," Najaran said to roy before sticking her tounge out at Gooligan. But then she said more seriously, "Only some people can. No one knows for sure why, not even Master Horowitz."

[greatcleavage]

"That's not unusual," Roy mused. "Where I'm from, sorcerers possess an innate ability to use magic, for all sorts of different reasons and sometimes no obvious one at all."

[najaran]

"Wonder what Culdra had planned for your world..."

[greatcleavage]

"We had our own pantheons and divine concerns, honestly."

[najaran]

She nodded sympathetically. "The divine war, right?"

[greatcleavage]

"Heck, our latest sidequest was all about stopping the gods from destroying the world." Still wasn't sure they'd managed that, but things at least looked pretty good for the moment.

[najaran]

"Why would they want to do that?"

[greatcleavage]

"Because if things keep going wrong, there's a very real possibility of the world being destroyed and every soul on it being shredded. If the gods destroy the world themselves, those souls will at least be saved."

[najaran]

"Can't they just... stop things from going wrong?"

[greatcleavage]

"Sure. By remaking the world. After destroying the existing one."

[najaran]

"Um, I thought you said they were gods... why would they need to destroy to create?"

[greatcleavage]

"In this case, it's because a containment vessel is being breached." Roy hoped she understood what he meant by that... "They can't make a new one without getting rid of the old one first."

[najaran]

"Is that like some sort of ship?" NOPE.

[greatcleavage]

"A prison," Roy said, as patiently as he could.