dark_light | we are not truly immortal

After Glass's party is over with, Amariah and Kas go home.

Amariah fetches down their alethiometers.

"It's about time I took care of Alethia's afterlife, whatever it may be," she says quietly. "What can the alethiometer tell you about what I'll find?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lifes_sake

"Well, if you all want to hear," says Cam, with a dubious look at the rest of the harpies. And he picks up where he left off, after the Wizard's Oath and making Grace out of his notebook archive, to learning the Speech, and meeting the trees and goats, and the way the friendly tree's name felt, and talking to Iggy, and the way the world went still when it revealed itself. He doesn't skimp on the details - especially the sensory tidbits, sprinkled on like sugar for the hungry harpies - but he speaks slowly, drawing out the sentences from end to end like stretching caramel, and he watches the effect on his audience.

From:

pythbox

Calliope listens eagerly. The other ones pretend indefference at first, with varying success, but soon they are all drawn in.

From:

lifes_sake

Cam pauses, before saying anything about how his confrontation with Iggy went.

"I hope we're not overstaying our welcome," he says. "I remember one of you wanted us to go away and leave you alone."

From:

pythbox

The harpy who said that scowls and turns away.

"No, stay, stay," says Calliope. "Tell us what happened next!"

From:

lifes_sake

"Maybe you should vote," suggests Cam. "Or whatever it is you do to make decisions amongst yourselves. After all, you live here, and I'm a visitor."

From:

pythbox

"We don't do anything like that," says Calliope.

"I want to hear you," says one of the more neutral harpies.

"Me too!" says another.

They all crowd closer, leaving the former heckler perched in her tree, torn between offended dignity and hunger.

From:

lifes_sake

"That sounds like something very near consensus," smiles Cam, and he goes on with his story. He even does impressions of Iggy's dialogue, and then he gets to the part where there was an attempt on his life, continuing to speak in slow-caramel sentences and play for suspense.

He pauses, right before it is unclear if he survives the story or not. (After all, he's from another world, and the harpies are quite familiar with people continuing to exist after death.)

"Amariah," he wonders aloud, "how much time do we have?"

From:

dark_light

She takes his hint.

"Well," she says, "we can block off all the time in the world for negotiations... I don't know about just plain storytime..."

From:

truthwright

"You got somewhere to be, sweetie?" interrupts Kas. "'Cause I don't."

From:

endragoned

"Nor do I," says Aianon, stretching his wings and flicking his tail idly from side to side. "Finish your story, Cam. I have many more to tell after it."

From:

lifes_sake

[Do you guys have a plan or do you just really care about not annoying the harpies?]

From:

dark_light

[Yeah, I mean, better they sit here listening to storytime than they go terrorize the dead people, all else being equal, but meanwhile the dead people are still cold and tired and missing their daemons, I want to make progress.]

From:

endragoned

[Not annoying the harpies is a fine plan,] says Aianon. [Better than yours.]

From:

truthwright

[You tried asking what they want and you didn't find it out that way. There's other ways. Leave it to us.]

From:

dark_light

[Does it interfere with your idea if I start poking around the edges of this place, looking for how I'm going to put the daemons back?]

From:

truthwright

[Yeah, but don't start grabbing up masses of dead people yet. That'll get 'em screaming for sure.]

From:

dark_light

[Okay.]

From:

lifes_sake

Cam goes on with his story.

From:

dark_light

Amariah solicits a copy of Sherlock's route from the dock to the land of the dead, in case she needs to make a trip out of the place to make wishes.

From:

sicaria

She provides it.

From:

pythbox

By the time Cam finishes his story, all the harpies are listening with their full attention again, even the grumblers.

"Thank you," Calliope murmurs. The others murmur agreement.

From:

lifes_sake

"You're welcome," says Cam.

From:

dark_light

Amariah has spent this interval processing Sherlock's information. She doesn't perfectly understand how space works here, but she has it well enough to lift off and lead Cam away to let the Jokers take over talking to the harpies. The two Bells make for shore and start following it.