WEEK 6

[whimsicalism]

Only one of your group died last week but the castle feels empty somehow. Whatever your thoughts on Alice were she did seem to curb the Cat's--no, the Storyteller's--impulses somewhat. Even if the Storyteller gave an end date for the game there seems to be a sinister air around the castle now. There's an area for the adventurous, at least?

Still, it likely won't help heal the wounds from last week... though, apparently, the Storyteller has decided to refill the library.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

[Hello to week six, the last normal week before endgame! Don't forget to lose a memory. There's no AC this week! You can find the Storyteller at the audience chamber if you really want. As always you can turn in your threads for fabulous prizes!]

Comments

Investiga...tion?

[octopups]

[Amdi knows there's probably some neat new area to look at today, but honestly he's a little ashamed that he hasn't talked to Molly in two days. So instead he's up in the hall of mirrors with his utility jackets on and his saddle pouches full of paper clipboards and spare pens and his fancy quill set.]

[He comes up to here mirror and presses a few noses against the glass. Is she up today?]

[whimsicalism]

[She's not at the mirror at first. She's just out of sight. Which might be alarming but her room is rather big and she runs into sight quickly enough, with the notepad in hand.]

snow is going away : )

[octopups]

[Amdi isn't worried, he knows by now that her room is pretty big and there are blind spots. He's still relieved when he sees her though, and is visibly cheerful at the news.]

[He's still setting up his inkwell and quills and stuff, but he walks two spare members up to the mirror to do a quick old-fashioned fog-n-write:]

great! :D

[whimsicalism]

mite be able to get out in a week

[She pauses. Then writes:]

i dont think im in greenfield anymore though

[octopups]

[He's got his usual assembly line set up now, two of him holding down the paper while one writes (backwards, of course) and then another "hands" the paper off to the member directly in front of the mirror.]

does the view out the window look different?

[whimsicalism]

yeah i cant see far but i think it is

i see a brokn house

[octopups]

[Amdi perks several heads. He usually just tries to chat idly with Molly and cheer her up, but this is new and different. Maybe he can help her somehow? Figure out where she is?]

what does the broken house look like? is it like any house you saw in greenfield?

[whimsicalism]

its different maybe several hills away from my house?

its stone and looks like it couldve been a castle

[octopups]

[Okay that definitely gets his attention. Most of him descend upon a fresh sheet of paper while one of him pops off a quick fog note:]

1 minute

[It's actually more like two minutes before he holds up his work: a drawing of Alice's castle as seen from the 1st floor garden. He spent several hours looking at it back in his big surveying effort in week two, and his spatial memory is excellent, so it's a very good drawing.]

[He holds up another note below it, this one with writing:]

did it look like this?

[whimsicalism]

[It takes a long time for Molly to respond.]

its very far away but it kind of looks like that!

[octopups]

[That sends him into a bout of pacing around and through himself. Should he tell her? Should he get her hopes up?]

[Eventually he makes up his mind, and jots off a note:]

i might know where you are, but if i'm right it could be not safe outside

[He heard from Nigel about the looping effect that happens if you walk through the garden hedge, there's no knowing what there could be outside of Molly's house.]

[whimsicalism]

[It's probably a good thing he can't make out her face. Her posture changes. Her shoulders bunch up.]

oh :(

[octopups]

[Oh :( Maybe he made the wrong choice... being the older kid is hard.]

[He quickly makes another note:]

it might be ok tho!! especially right outside the door. it's not like there's bad monsters or anything. i just don't want you to get lost.

[whimsicalism]

thanks amdi! papa might be out there but... something feels weird outside my house i think im going to stay here for now

[There's a pause. Then:]

:)

[octopups]

:)

yeah if it feels weird don't go outside, if you want tho you can just look out real quick and tell me later what you saw

your papa sounds so smart and brave i'm sure he will come back as soon as he can

[Which isn't... exactly a lie. It still makes him feel uncomfortably grown-up to say it.]

[whimsicalism]

ok!

um

[Molly stops. Her fingers tap the paper.]

what happened? :( you didnt come visit

[octopups]

[Oh no. He was afraid she'd ask that. It takes him a few moments to respond.]

a friend of mine did something very bad to another friend. then a bad thing happened to her too. i was very sad.

[whimsicalism]

[She doesn't respond right away. Instead she leans her forehead against the mirror, placing her hand where he could have touched it if they were together.

It's not much but it was definitely a sign of sadness.]

[octopups]

[After a moment, Amdi presses a forehead against the glass between them, buzzing it plaintively with his tympanum.]

[whimsicalism]

[She's going to stay like this for a while. She wants to hug you, frand.]

[octopups]

[He keeps the head pressed to the glass, but after a little bit the rest of him writes up another note.]

it's okay. a big brown lion came and helped her in the end, so it wasn't so bad

[He doesn't... really understand what the creature was, or why it did what it did. But he has this intense feeling that Oriko would have been much worse off if it hadn't killed her before... before the Cat was finished with her.]

[whimsicalism]

whats a lion

[octopups]

[Oh, right. Molly's from one of those places that have "pokemon" instead of those earth animals he saw in the Zoobooks.]

a lion is a creature that has four legs and fur like one of me but it is very big and has a short snout and long neck fur.

[whimsicalism]

wait

[Molly stands up. Looking around her room for a moment before rushing off to get a book. She flips through it and then shows a storybook drawing as if to ask if it looked like this.]

[octopups]

[!!!]

[Amdi's rear members start chasing each other's tails in shock while the ones near the mirror alternately point their snouts at the picture and nod emphatically. Jackpot, Molly.]