Shavaris looks at Kerwyn in utter fascination. She spreads her arms wide and with complete exasperation, "WWHHAATT?? How can you say all this doesn't exist?? And why, why can't you just help us? I stood by you when we were having issues with Aoe. I backed you up Kerwyn. And now? When I ask you to? This is the response I get?" She just stares at him.
"Cell phone? What the hell is a cell phone? And if you're talking about the medallion, the way you're acting? sh*t I may never give it back. I swear you're under the influence of the worm again! And like I have told you over and over, it doesn't work here!! And the only way out is to join Jareth not fight him!!" She sits down with a thump, completely worn out.
Right then is when Delph starts talking to the group and she feels bad for them. They try so hard, but when he hits Kerwyn with the rock, she gives a little laugh and then sits in awe as he transforms into such a speaker. She sits there wondering what is going to happen next.
Jareth steps forward, laying one hand on Travin's shoulder.
"Perhaps what I have done is wrong." He says. His voice is low, nearly inaudible. "I've had a lot to consider since this has begun. But I can't fix what I've done until we've fixed the Labyrinth. And I can't do that until you lot have upheld your part of this. You can be mad. You can hate me. But you're out of the Junk Fields now, and maybe your brother, Gary or whatever, is still out there. Subsequently, your people have a good idea."
He motions toward Johnathan and Ward, specifically.
"These two have come up with a plan just ridiculous enough to work. Personally, I don't care if you go with it. I don't care if you just walk right up to the gates of the Goblin City and knock. But none of that matters until the Dawn Guard gets their selves figured out and move forward with their plan..."
Jareth pauses in his customary fashion, the two different colored eyes crawling over the Dawn Guard as Kerwyn starts his tirade, pulling Delphinium out of his conversation with Sir Didymus long enough to make the Fairy decide to pick up a rock, throw it, and hit Kerwyn. There's a speech, a veritable sermon really, and then Shavaris gets upset. Jareth watches all of this without so much as changing his facial expression. Finally, he reaches beneath his ruffled shirt and pulls out a pocket watch...and sticks his finger to it. The hands stop moving.
And so does everyone around the Dawn Guard.
The forest opening becomes incredibly still. There are no calls of crickets or night animals, no breeze stirring, no smell of decaying leaves. The others pause...except for the Dawn Guard and Sarah.
"Jareth..." She starts. He holds up a finger to pause her.
"No, no Sarah. They insist that the only way is the path of maximum resistance. I've tried. I should have done this long before now but...my heart is simply too giving. I've made myself vulnerable. Available. I've played nice. Nice, Sarah! Can you imagine? Bah. But they've simply refused to let me help them...so now I'll help them the only way I know how."
He uses his thumb to keep the watch paused while his other hand begins to play with the crystal ball again.
"This whole world is an illusion." Jareth says, staring directly at Kerwyn. "Yes, I know, that's what you wanted to hear. Your pompous need to be right. This whole world is dreamed up. You are an illusion. You're a simulacrum of a living thing, a character in a story. Is that what you wanted to hear? What any of you wanted to hear? Hmm? See them?"
His hand extends and he sweeps it over the others gathered there. The Knights of Yore. The Horned Beasts. Fireys and Goblins. Dwarves. They're all paused, including Sir Didymus, Hoggle, and Ludo.
"They're minor characters. You'll leave the Labyrinth behind someday and you'll never think of them again. They don't matter to you because you're too focused on your own gravitas. But to them, this is their world. This is their whole existence."
The Dawn Guard is so busy watching Jareth as he moves about, gesturing and performing tricks with his crystal ball, that they don't see the throne when it appears. He plops down in it, facing them, continuing the show with the ball.
"Hyboria is an illusion. It is the product of a story. A huge, beautiful, neverending story. You were priveleged enough to be created by forces you cannot comprehend as one of the key players in this story. To you, this illusion is real. It's all you've ever known. You live inside the imagination of some greater cosmic force and all you can think about is a minor character..."
Jareth points at Hoggle.
"...peeing in a fountain. Or that you hate me. Or the way you and the Force feed off one another in the craziest, most chaotic situations imaginable. Or that you want to kill the fox for...whatever reason. But I'll say this much about the fox; he swore an oath to defend this place, and he upholds it. Do you feel like you've been true and just in upholding the duty bestowed upon you by the Childlike Empress? Do you think any of you have done a faithful job of representing AURYN to the world? You were created to save this world. Without you, this world will cease to be. Everyone in it will cease to be. You and yours, the heroes chosen by the Childlike Empress, you're all that makes this world real for anyone that lives in it. Without you, the story ends...and they end. Don't you see that? Don't you understand? You're so damned caught up in hating this place and your illusion theory that you haven't stopped to consider what any of that means for anyone else. You want to matter to them? Then you...all of you..."
He makes a gesture with his hand like he's drawing a circle around the Dawn Guard.
"...need to come together not as individuals, but as a team, and you need to make that happen. As for me, this as far as my mercy extends. I've given myself over to you, to get you through this part of your story, but I will bend no further. It is time for you to decide what you want to do, and how you want to behave. You've been so transfixed on some ridiculous grudge with us that you've forgotten why you're even here. You were sent by the Childlike Empress to save this world. If you can't put aside the petty differences then you are not the heroes you think you are."
We have a plan Kerwyn, why keep insulting Jareth. Let’s just do this and get home. Before they knew it Jareth was talking again. Johnathan is amazed that Jareth was able to stop time. He considers if this can be used in the battle ahead. He continues to listen to Jareth and as he does so his expression turns into pure horror. An illusion? Everything is an illusion? And the world and ourselves are being controlled by some higher beings. This can’t be true? Are you saying that someone designed us, made us suffer for entertainment? That we are just some sort of puppets? So everything I’ve suffered, seeing my friends die in battle is some sick story for someone!! Johnathan just sit on the floor staring in the distance in disbelief. Are these my thoughts or the thoughts of another, making me think them. HEY you. Get out of my head you hear. This isn’t some sick play for you to watch. Real people live here and I’ve suffered in this world. Why make me a monster huh? You could’ve made me like anyone else so why make me a monster! Was it more entertaining for you Huh? Why make me leave my home to fight in a never ending war. Johnathan just sits there thinking that some divine being must be listening in on his thoughts. It was strange, hearing Jareth say this ridiculous theory and yet for some reason he believes him. Jareth would gain nothing by saying this. It must be true.
Johnathan doesn’t pay attention to what Jareth says about the fox or how the dawn guard made a vow to save the world. The news was to much for Johnathan to handle. He pulls out his bat and looks at it. Are you fake as well my friend? Everything I’ve ever known was a lie, for someone’s sick play. Johnathan starts to tear up as he just sits there thinking back to his whole life and wondering how much was actually true or what was written up like a script. I don’t exist.
Kerwyn is rubbing his neck with an irritated look on his face, glaring at Delph. “I’m just bringing up ideas, thoughts that I have. Everyone else is talking about blowing things up, sucking the blood out of people, I’m just bringing up one possibility. It just, it just occurred to me, that all of this could have been designed by Jareth and we are all his playthings. No one else had rocks thrown at them when they are bringing up ideas… maybe I’ll throw a rock at you next time you have an idea.” He sits with a sour look on his face.
Then Jareth begins to speak, time stops. And Kerwyn’s mouth drops - wide open. It is as if he’s been lost, lost in the labyrinth, and now he is finally seeing his purpose again. “The Childlike Empress….” He walks over to Shavaris and takes the Auryn medallion off of her (unless she stops him, and we can roll for that if needed), puts it back on, and looks like he is remembering from the beginning their whole reason for being here. “I had forgotten. This place…. the labyrinth, has had me so turned around, I had almost forgotten why we were here in the first place.” He looks down at the Auryn medallion, putting it under his shirt. He looks up to Jareth and says “I’m willing to set aside any grudges to get this done, to move on. This is the first time you’ve spoken to us straight up Rid, er Jareth. If everyone else is ready, I’m ready to do what I can to stop Blix and do what the Empress told us to do.” He looks down at the glaive at his side, walks back over to Ironsides and hops on board, preparing himself.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Travin stops and shakes his head, "No, No, no that's not true, if it were... nothings would matter, hmmm? If it were true, then Travin had no choice but to betrays his brother, yehhhh, to fall victim to the junk fields, hmm? Why would it be this way? so cruel. This is a lie, it must be!" His voice is weak and cracks as there is an obvious realisation on Travin's face that this is not a lie, that Jareth is telling the truth, but the small junk person is highly conflicted, upset, and in denial of the massive ramifications of this revelation.
He wipes his watery eyes clearing some of the soot from it and revealing a reddened face underneath, He slowly withdraws into his junk pile, the pile itself becomes inert and lifeless aside from the soft mewling "no, no, nooo..." coming from within.
As Jareth pulls back the curtain to the Dawn Guard, Shavaris just sits there with a blank stare in her eyes. She had already thought she had reached her limit, learning she is a dhampire, fighting amongst themselves, feeling like she was a failure to the whole mission... but now?
She wasn't real? Did that mean Eloise wasn't real either? Was she a character too or was she a complete figment of imagination? Why were they all brought here together? Certainly the ones creating heroes for this task could have created better ones than the lot they were. Hell, they struggled through any complication. And Ralik? What does it mean when the character dies? Did they die?
It's really hard for her to keep listening to Jareth as he continues, but she tries. Something about they do have a job to do and have to learn to work together. How can they when they weren't real? Did they still matter? The way Jareth was talking it seemed like it?
She sat there dumbfounded as Kerwyn came over to her and took the medallion from her. She moved her head so that it was easy for him, figuring if that helped Kerwyn he should have it. She looks around and sees Johnathan barely holding it together and Travin.. disappearing into his junk and it starts to sadden her. But then she watches as Kerwyn actually appears to take charge, it gives her a small glimmer of hope.
Kerwyn seems glad to have the Auryn back, nods to Shavaris. “Right… let’s get packed up. Now… wait a minute, what are we doing again? Oh yeah, the Alicorn, Blix, yadda yadda yadda. I forgot for a moment. Everything is funny around here… why are all those people sitting still and not moving.” He looks to Jareth, “Hey mister, did you stop those people from moving?” He stows his gear 2, 3, 4 times just to make sure.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Johnathan stops talking and goes completely still as he just thinks about the horror of his existence. (For the next 6 minutes he is unable to move or talk)
Delphinium seems to take the news in stride. They blink a couple times and say "So... like gods then? I mean, sounds about right to me. Even I know gods created everything we just got more to learn the names of now? Sounds exhausting. Doesn't really change much for us though does it? Now we just know there are some god like beings involved in all this. Oh! I wonder, does everyone have their own personal god then? That sounds exciting. Go go power god powers!" The fairy puts their fists out like they expect something to happen and then laugh a bit "....oh wait... I'm not the god though. Ha ha ha. Anyway, its all the same to us right? We want to save this world. We still need to stop the problems. I feel like whatever cosmic greater force made up Blix has a few screws loose though. Who wants to end sunlight? That's just silly. I think I'll refer to them as The Cosmic Dumb Dumb." Delphinium looks around at their friends and seems a bit concerned that many of them seem to not be taking the news well. They just give a general question to the others of "Ummm... are you all okay?"
Suddenly, Shavaris hops up, looking terribly upset. "Do you guys see this?" she reaches hands out like she is trying to touch something in front of her, "First, while I was sitting, it was like I was here but not. I was also in some enclosed carriage that was moving without horses. And I felt like I spent a lot of time in it, just weird. And now,"she continues to try and touch whatever it is in front of her, though the rest can plainly see nothing is there, "there is a screen with a bunch of little squares all over it, something about Excel? and buttons...I don't understand!" She then jumps and looks to her pocket, checks and shakes her head. She then sits back down and closes her eyes, hoping to make the hallucinations go away.
"Don't be so dramatic." Jareth snaps as he watches Johnathan pull out Echo and examine him. "Of course you exist. You exist here because of the imagination of someone else."
He listens to Travin and rubs his jaw, then his eyes shift to Sarah, who looks uncomfortable.
"What's the difference in being assigned that fate by some...god...as you've all alluded..." He giggles at this. "Or simply making the bad decision on your own? And...well, now he's out. Probably better that way for a moment. Oh, and there goes another one."
He watches Johnathan slump.
"They'll pull out of it soon enough." He says to Sarah. He ignores Kerwyn and shifts his focus to Delphinium. "Yeah, you've got it! You're on to something!"
Shavaris finally gets a hold of herself to try and concentrate on the matter at hand. She stands up and heads over to talk with Jareth. "Well. That was um, enlightening. But like Delph says, we still need to save the world." She looks around to the frozen army being collected, "Are more coming to join the fight? We definitely need this army to distract the goblins so Blix doesn't use them. Even if we just have them get the goblins to start chasing them away from the castle, that will help."
She turns back to Jareth, "When do you all plan on moving towards Blix? We need a good rest. After fighting in the ballroom, and knowing what we are coming up against, we need to take a long rest before we head out. Then we are ready to fight with you all. We have a plan, and we're here to help."
Once Johnathan gathers himself he just looks blankly into Jareth’s eyes and doesn’t say a word as he tries to cheer him up. He gets up from his sitting position and stands there looking at the others. He considers what he has learnt. Here he thought that the lord of darkness was the cruelest being in existence but he was fake, just like him. The real evil ones are the ones that dreamt up this world for some sort of story. He can’t even trust that what he does isn’t already pre determined like a chapter in a book. Life was truly pointless and free will was a lie. Johnathan finishes his flask with haste and throws it into the distance, forever lost in a herd of frozen goblins. He gives a quick glance at the fox, watching how vulnerable it was. His eyes turn red for a brief moment as he approaches. He sees flashes of him hunting the beast in the woods with its last words being “my smell is keen” in his mind. But maybe his obsession with it was forced. I can’t even trust my own mind. Johnathan walks away from the fox and returns his eyes to normal. I don’t care if the fox lives or dies. It’s only an illusion. Just like the rest. Pointless and unfruitful. Johnathan will follow the others on whatever plan they have but doesn’t seem like he wants to talk. He remains lost in thought.
Jareth dusts himself off and then releases his hold on the watch, and then the people around them begin to move again. He grins at Shavaris and replaces the watch in his vest.
"I can't believe you told them that." Sarah said, chastising him. "I don't believe you."
"Sometimes the bitter medicine is the sweetest." He said, taking a moment to polish the nails of one hand against his shirt. "More coming to fight? Well, this doesn't quite look like an army does it, o' child of the night? It'll be up to Lord Commander Didymus to decide how to move the armies into position."
He points at Sir Didymus, who puffs his chest out and makes a series of ferocious, yipping barks.
"Lord Commander, it seems the lady and her cohort have developed...a plan. You may want to familiarize yourself with it. They need...what's the word? A distraction. I know, I know, that may be hard for you, you want to show your valor so badly. But, what's the plan again, Shavaris? Minimal bloodshed?"
"When will you be ready, Sir Didymus?" Sarah says, kneeling next to the newly minted Lord Commander. "How much time? I don't think the Dawn Guard are ready yet."
"Well, let's see." Sir Didymus says. He puts one hand to his chin and rubs as he looks up at the sky, seeming like he wants to gauge the position of the moon, count the stars... "Ah, yes. Morning. We'll be in position by morning. Yes yes. Wait. King Jareth, how long is that?"
"You have a few hours." Jareth says to Shavaris. "I think...about seven."
Kerwyn goes and leans up against the side of Ole Ironsides, getting some rest and preparing. “I don’t know ole fella. I have a feeling this is the big one. The final push.” He pulls out his glaive, polishing it. He also oils his great sword, preparing himself. “Whatever happens next, I’m ready for it. I’ll give it my best.” He talks to the snail, as if it can understand.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Shavaris smiles at Sir Didymus. "Yes, minimal bloodshed is preferred, so a distraction would be mighty useful. Probably the most important part of the fight. Glad we have the Commander for the job. And morning? Yes, we shall be ready by morning."
As she is about to start her rest, the others in the guard start discussing the iron bottle they discovered earlier and want to open it up. She figures now is as good of time as any and then they'll know it is empty for a last resort if needed. She holds it in front of her at arms length and unscrews the top...
Ol' Ironsides continues to 'chew' something with its radula as it turns, facing Kerwyn...and then it gently pushes its big, slimey head against Kerwyn. It's brief. Less than a split second. It's almost a nuzzle as if the snail can understand him.
Then it becomes obvious that it's also been busy eating another of its offspring.
"Ah, yes, morning! Morning, when the air shall smell of lilac blossoms and buttercups and the cool pre-battle dew!" Lord Commander Didymus says as he pontificates and waves his maul around like some sort of scepter. "Ah yes, morning! Morning, when the battle shall commence, and rest will have made our smell keener! And then we shall charge forth and bust down the gates of the Goblin City and I shall sack her again! Oh wait, minimal bloodshed? But mah Lady..."
Sir Didymus actually looked hurt for a moment.
"Didymus, it'll be okay. You'll get to show the world uh...how strong you are just by holding the line." Sarah said, reassuring her friend. She patted the Lupine on the shoulder. "Maybe that's an idea! Maybe Ludo and his people can help your army build a wall...and you can show the Goblins it's unbreakable!"
The little Fox person bounced around excitedly at this idea.
Shavaris shrugs her shoulders, "Well, that answers that." and she puts the lid back on the flask. "This really needs to be our last resort, if nothing else works. Not even sure this will work since Blix is from this plane, but it might." She looks at Kerwyn, "Shall we try it on one of your babies there to see if it works or not?" She smiles, though will try it if he lets her.
She then walks over to Travin and squats down. Giving his chest of drawers a little knock, she says in a quiet voice, "You ok in there? I'm going to go find a tree and take a rest. I hope you're alright and ready to join us in the morning." She then turns, and if no one has anything else to say, finds a tree with a good sized limb for her to stretch out on and falls asleep.
There is a small shuffle from within the junkpile on the ground, as Travin shifts his weight and let's out an anguished "wha!? Noooo!".
When he stands up and pops out of his defensive shell, his face is lobster red and filled with rage, the small drop of sanity left in Travin's eyes now gone and replaced with a desperate frenzied need. He starts breathing heavily as he looks around the group until he locks eyes with Jareth. Trav lifts up one arm, on which he appears to have strapped a small cannon and points it directly at the goblin king's head. In the other hand he blows a single electrical upbeat chord on his Sax-a-Boom, the chord comically and starkly opposes the threatening and anguished mood of Travin, but nevertheless the vibrations are static with magical intent.
Jareth ceases up and becomes rigid, unable to move or speak as the chord passes through him, and Travin begins a threateningly determined walk toward his prey, "JARETH!! YOU GIVES BACK TRAVIN'S BROTHER, FIND GAVIN, FIND HIM NOW! YEH! WE TAKES THAT CRYSTAL OF YOURS AND WE FINDS GAVIN! GIVE TRAVIN THE CRYSTAL! GIVE IT! NOW, OR SO HELP ME..." as he screams and marches toward the now defenceless Jareth, his weapon never waivers from his target's head as tears smear down the shriveled junkman's face, it is apparent that Travin has no thought for the rest of the group, no thought of Blix or the task ahead, his capacity can only hold one thought right now, and it is focussed solely on finding his brother.
Shavaris looks at Kerwyn in utter fascination. She spreads her arms wide and with complete exasperation, "WWHHAATT?? How can you say all this doesn't exist?? And why, why can't you just help us? I stood by you when we were having issues with Aoe. I backed you up Kerwyn. And now? When I ask you to? This is the response I get?" She just stares at him.
"Cell phone? What the hell is a cell phone? And if you're talking about the medallion, the way you're acting? sh*t I may never give it back. I swear you're under the influence of the worm again! And like I have told you over and over, it doesn't work here!! And the only way out is to join Jareth not fight him!!" She sits down with a thump, completely worn out.
Right then is when Delph starts talking to the group and she feels bad for them. They try so hard, but when he hits Kerwyn with the rock, she gives a little laugh and then sits in awe as he transforms into such a speaker. She sits there wondering what is going to happen next.
Jareth steps forward, laying one hand on Travin's shoulder.
"Perhaps what I have done is wrong." He says. His voice is low, nearly inaudible. "I've had a lot to consider since this has begun. But I can't fix what I've done until we've fixed the Labyrinth. And I can't do that until you lot have upheld your part of this. You can be mad. You can hate me. But you're out of the Junk Fields now, and maybe your brother, Gary or whatever, is still out there. Subsequently, your people have a good idea."
He motions toward Johnathan and Ward, specifically.
"These two have come up with a plan just ridiculous enough to work. Personally, I don't care if you go with it. I don't care if you just walk right up to the gates of the Goblin City and knock. But none of that matters until the Dawn Guard gets their selves figured out and move forward with their plan..."
Jareth pauses in his customary fashion, the two different colored eyes crawling over the Dawn Guard as Kerwyn starts his tirade, pulling Delphinium out of his conversation with Sir Didymus long enough to make the Fairy decide to pick up a rock, throw it, and hit Kerwyn. There's a speech, a veritable sermon really, and then Shavaris gets upset. Jareth watches all of this without so much as changing his facial expression. Finally, he reaches beneath his ruffled shirt and pulls out a pocket watch...and sticks his finger to it. The hands stop moving.
And so does everyone around the Dawn Guard.
The forest opening becomes incredibly still. There are no calls of crickets or night animals, no breeze stirring, no smell of decaying leaves. The others pause...except for the Dawn Guard and Sarah.
"Jareth..." She starts. He holds up a finger to pause her.
"No, no Sarah. They insist that the only way is the path of maximum resistance. I've tried. I should have done this long before now but...my heart is simply too giving. I've made myself vulnerable. Available. I've played nice. Nice, Sarah! Can you imagine? Bah. But they've simply refused to let me help them...so now I'll help them the only way I know how."
He uses his thumb to keep the watch paused while his other hand begins to play with the crystal ball again.
"This whole world is an illusion." Jareth says, staring directly at Kerwyn. "Yes, I know, that's what you wanted to hear. Your pompous need to be right. This whole world is dreamed up. You are an illusion. You're a simulacrum of a living thing, a character in a story. Is that what you wanted to hear? What any of you wanted to hear? Hmm? See them?"
His hand extends and he sweeps it over the others gathered there. The Knights of Yore. The Horned Beasts. Fireys and Goblins. Dwarves. They're all paused, including Sir Didymus, Hoggle, and Ludo.
"They're minor characters. You'll leave the Labyrinth behind someday and you'll never think of them again. They don't matter to you because you're too focused on your own gravitas. But to them, this is their world. This is their whole existence."
The Dawn Guard is so busy watching Jareth as he moves about, gesturing and performing tricks with his crystal ball, that they don't see the throne when it appears. He plops down in it, facing them, continuing the show with the ball.
"Hyboria is an illusion. It is the product of a story. A huge, beautiful, neverending story. You were priveleged enough to be created by forces you cannot comprehend as one of the key players in this story. To you, this illusion is real. It's all you've ever known. You live inside the imagination of some greater cosmic force and all you can think about is a minor character..."
Jareth points at Hoggle.
"...peeing in a fountain. Or that you hate me. Or the way you and the Force feed off one another in the craziest, most chaotic situations imaginable. Or that you want to kill the fox for...whatever reason. But I'll say this much about the fox; he swore an oath to defend this place, and he upholds it. Do you feel like you've been true and just in upholding the duty bestowed upon you by the Childlike Empress? Do you think any of you have done a faithful job of representing AURYN to the world? You were created to save this world. Without you, this world will cease to be. Everyone in it will cease to be. You and yours, the heroes chosen by the Childlike Empress, you're all that makes this world real for anyone that lives in it. Without you, the story ends...and they end. Don't you see that? Don't you understand? You're so damned caught up in hating this place and your illusion theory that you haven't stopped to consider what any of that means for anyone else. You want to matter to them? Then you...all of you..."
He makes a gesture with his hand like he's drawing a circle around the Dawn Guard.
"...need to come together not as individuals, but as a team, and you need to make that happen. As for me, this as far as my mercy extends. I've given myself over to you, to get you through this part of your story, but I will bend no further. It is time for you to decide what you want to do, and how you want to behave. You've been so transfixed on some ridiculous grudge with us that you've forgotten why you're even here. You were sent by the Childlike Empress to save this world. If you can't put aside the petty differences then you are not the heroes you think you are."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
We have a plan Kerwyn, why keep insulting Jareth. Let’s just do this and get home. Before they knew it Jareth was talking again. Johnathan is amazed that Jareth was able to stop time. He considers if this can be used in the battle ahead. He continues to listen to Jareth and as he does so his expression turns into pure horror. An illusion? Everything is an illusion? And the world and ourselves are being controlled by some higher beings. This can’t be true? Are you saying that someone designed us, made us suffer for entertainment? That we are just some sort of puppets? So everything I’ve suffered, seeing my friends die in battle is some sick story for someone!! Johnathan just sit on the floor staring in the distance in disbelief. Are these my thoughts or the thoughts of another, making me think them. HEY you. Get out of my head you hear. This isn’t some sick play for you to watch. Real people live here and I’ve suffered in this world. Why make me a monster huh? You could’ve made me like anyone else so why make me a monster! Was it more entertaining for you Huh? Why make me leave my home to fight in a never ending war. Johnathan just sits there thinking that some divine being must be listening in on his thoughts. It was strange, hearing Jareth say this ridiculous theory and yet for some reason he believes him. Jareth would gain nothing by saying this. It must be true.
Johnathan doesn’t pay attention to what Jareth says about the fox or how the dawn guard made a vow to save the world. The news was to much for Johnathan to handle. He pulls out his bat and looks at it. Are you fake as well my friend? Everything I’ve ever known was a lie, for someone’s sick play. Johnathan starts to tear up as he just sits there thinking back to his whole life and wondering how much was actually true or what was written up like a script. I don’t exist.
Kerwyn is rubbing his neck with an irritated look on his face, glaring at Delph. “I’m just bringing up ideas, thoughts that I have. Everyone else is talking about blowing things up, sucking the blood out of people, I’m just bringing up one possibility. It just, it just occurred to me, that all of this could have been designed by Jareth and we are all his playthings. No one else had rocks thrown at them when they are bringing up ideas… maybe I’ll throw a rock at you next time you have an idea.” He sits with a sour look on his face.
Then Jareth begins to speak, time stops. And Kerwyn’s mouth drops - wide open. It is as if he’s been lost, lost in the labyrinth, and now he is finally seeing his purpose again. “The Childlike Empress….” He walks over to Shavaris and takes the Auryn medallion off of her (unless she stops him, and we can roll for that if needed), puts it back on, and looks like he is remembering from the beginning their whole reason for being here. “I had forgotten. This place…. the labyrinth, has had me so turned around, I had almost forgotten why we were here in the first place.” He looks down at the Auryn medallion, putting it under his shirt. He looks up to Jareth and says “I’m willing to set aside any grudges to get this done, to move on. This is the first time you’ve spoken to us straight up Rid, er Jareth. If everyone else is ready, I’m ready to do what I can to stop Blix and do what the Empress told us to do.” He looks down at the glaive at his side, walks back over to Ironsides and hops on board, preparing himself.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Travin stops and shakes his head, "No, No, no that's not true, if it were... nothings would matter, hmmm? If it were true, then Travin had no choice but to betrays his brother, yehhhh, to fall victim to the junk fields, hmm? Why would it be this way? so cruel. This is a lie, it must be!" His voice is weak and cracks as there is an obvious realisation on Travin's face that this is not a lie, that Jareth is telling the truth, but the small junk person is highly conflicted, upset, and in denial of the massive ramifications of this revelation.
He wipes his watery eyes clearing some of the soot from it and revealing a reddened face underneath, He slowly withdraws into his junk pile, the pile itself becomes inert and lifeless aside from the soft mewling "no, no, nooo..." coming from within.
As Jareth pulls back the curtain to the Dawn Guard, Shavaris just sits there with a blank stare in her eyes. She had already thought she had reached her limit, learning she is a dhampire, fighting amongst themselves, feeling like she was a failure to the whole mission... but now?
She wasn't real? Did that mean Eloise wasn't real either? Was she a character too or was she a complete figment of imagination? Why were they all brought here together? Certainly the ones creating heroes for this task could have created better ones than the lot they were. Hell, they struggled through any complication. And Ralik? What does it mean when the character dies? Did they die?
It's really hard for her to keep listening to Jareth as he continues, but she tries. Something about they do have a job to do and have to learn to work together. How can they when they weren't real? Did they still matter? The way Jareth was talking it seemed like it?
She sat there dumbfounded as Kerwyn came over to her and took the medallion from her. She moved her head so that it was easy for him, figuring if that helped Kerwyn he should have it. She looks around and sees Johnathan barely holding it together and Travin.. disappearing into his junk and it starts to sadden her. But then she watches as Kerwyn actually appears to take charge, it gives her a small glimmer of hope.
Kerwyn seems glad to have the Auryn back, nods to Shavaris. “Right… let’s get packed up. Now… wait a minute, what are we doing again? Oh yeah, the Alicorn, Blix, yadda yadda yadda. I forgot for a moment. Everything is funny around here… why are all those people sitting still and not moving.” He looks to Jareth, “Hey mister, did you stop those people from moving?” He stows his gear 2, 3, 4 times just to make sure.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Travin stops his whimpering and all goes quiet from the pile. No movement, no sounds, nothing.
Johnathan stops talking and goes completely still as he just thinks about the horror of his existence. (For the next 6 minutes he is unable to move or talk)
Delphinium seems to take the news in stride. They blink a couple times and say "So... like gods then? I mean, sounds about right to me. Even I know gods created everything we just got more to learn the names of now? Sounds exhausting. Doesn't really change much for us though does it? Now we just know there are some god like beings involved in all this. Oh! I wonder, does everyone have their own personal god then? That sounds exciting. Go go power god powers!" The fairy puts their fists out like they expect something to happen and then laugh a bit "....oh wait... I'm not the god though. Ha ha ha. Anyway, its all the same to us right? We want to save this world. We still need to stop the problems. I feel like whatever cosmic greater force made up Blix has a few screws loose though. Who wants to end sunlight? That's just silly. I think I'll refer to them as The Cosmic Dumb Dumb." Delphinium looks around at their friends and seems a bit concerned that many of them seem to not be taking the news well. They just give a general question to the others of "Ummm... are you all okay?"
Suddenly, Shavaris hops up, looking terribly upset. "Do you guys see this?" she reaches hands out like she is trying to touch something in front of her, "First, while I was sitting, it was like I was here but not. I was also in some enclosed carriage that was moving without horses. And I felt like I spent a lot of time in it, just weird. And now," she continues to try and touch whatever it is in front of her, though the rest can plainly see nothing is there, "there is a screen with a bunch of little squares all over it, something about Excel? and buttons...I don't understand!" She then jumps and looks to her pocket, checks and shakes her head. She then sits back down and closes her eyes, hoping to make the hallucinations go away.
"Don't be so dramatic." Jareth snaps as he watches Johnathan pull out Echo and examine him. "Of course you exist. You exist here because of the imagination of someone else."
He listens to Travin and rubs his jaw, then his eyes shift to Sarah, who looks uncomfortable.
"What's the difference in being assigned that fate by some...god...as you've all alluded..." He giggles at this. "Or simply making the bad decision on your own? And...well, now he's out. Probably better that way for a moment. Oh, and there goes another one."
He watches Johnathan slump.
"They'll pull out of it soon enough." He says to Sarah. He ignores Kerwyn and shifts his focus to Delphinium. "Yeah, you've got it! You're on to something!"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Shavaris finally gets a hold of herself to try and concentrate on the matter at hand. She stands up and heads over to talk with Jareth. "Well. That was um, enlightening. But like Delph says, we still need to save the world." She looks around to the frozen army being collected, "Are more coming to join the fight? We definitely need this army to distract the goblins so Blix doesn't use them. Even if we just have them get the goblins to start chasing them away from the castle, that will help."
She turns back to Jareth, "When do you all plan on moving towards Blix? We need a good rest. After fighting in the ballroom, and knowing what we are coming up against, we need to take a long rest before we head out. Then we are ready to fight with you all. We have a plan, and we're here to help."
Once Johnathan gathers himself he just looks blankly into Jareth’s eyes and doesn’t say a word as he tries to cheer him up. He gets up from his sitting position and stands there looking at the others. He considers what he has learnt. Here he thought that the lord of darkness was the cruelest being in existence but he was fake, just like him. The real evil ones are the ones that dreamt up this world for some sort of story. He can’t even trust that what he does isn’t already pre determined like a chapter in a book. Life was truly pointless and free will was a lie. Johnathan finishes his flask with haste and throws it into the distance, forever lost in a herd of frozen goblins. He gives a quick glance at the fox, watching how vulnerable it was. His eyes turn red for a brief moment as he approaches. He sees flashes of him hunting the beast in the woods with its last words being “my smell is keen” in his mind. But maybe his obsession with it was forced. I can’t even trust my own mind. Johnathan walks away from the fox and returns his eyes to normal. I don’t care if the fox lives or dies. It’s only an illusion. Just like the rest. Pointless and unfruitful. Johnathan will follow the others on whatever plan they have but doesn’t seem like he wants to talk. He remains lost in thought.
Jareth dusts himself off and then releases his hold on the watch, and then the people around them begin to move again. He grins at Shavaris and replaces the watch in his vest.
"I can't believe you told them that." Sarah said, chastising him. "I don't believe you."
"Sometimes the bitter medicine is the sweetest." He said, taking a moment to polish the nails of one hand against his shirt. "More coming to fight? Well, this doesn't quite look like an army does it, o' child of the night? It'll be up to Lord Commander Didymus to decide how to move the armies into position."
He points at Sir Didymus, who puffs his chest out and makes a series of ferocious, yipping barks.
"Lord Commander, it seems the lady and her cohort have developed...a plan. You may want to familiarize yourself with it. They need...what's the word? A distraction. I know, I know, that may be hard for you, you want to show your valor so badly. But, what's the plan again, Shavaris? Minimal bloodshed?"
"When will you be ready, Sir Didymus?" Sarah says, kneeling next to the newly minted Lord Commander. "How much time? I don't think the Dawn Guard are ready yet."
"Well, let's see." Sir Didymus says. He puts one hand to his chin and rubs as he looks up at the sky, seeming like he wants to gauge the position of the moon, count the stars... "Ah, yes. Morning. We'll be in position by morning. Yes yes. Wait. King Jareth, how long is that?"
"You have a few hours." Jareth says to Shavaris. "I think...about seven."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Kerwyn goes and leans up against the side of Ole Ironsides, getting some rest and preparing. “I don’t know ole fella. I have a feeling this is the big one. The final push.” He pulls out his glaive, polishing it. He also oils his great sword, preparing himself. “Whatever happens next, I’m ready for it. I’ll give it my best.” He talks to the snail, as if it can understand.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Shavaris smiles at Sir Didymus. "Yes, minimal bloodshed is preferred, so a distraction would be mighty useful. Probably the most important part of the fight. Glad we have the Commander for the job. And morning? Yes, we shall be ready by morning."
As she is about to start her rest, the others in the guard start discussing the iron bottle they discovered earlier and want to open it up. She figures now is as good of time as any and then they'll know it is empty for a last resort if needed. She holds it in front of her at arms length and unscrews the top...
Ol' Ironsides continues to 'chew' something with its radula as it turns, facing Kerwyn...and then it gently pushes its big, slimey head against Kerwyn. It's brief. Less than a split second. It's almost a nuzzle as if the snail can understand him.
Then it becomes obvious that it's also been busy eating another of its offspring.
"Ah, yes, morning! Morning, when the air shall smell of lilac blossoms and buttercups and the cool pre-battle dew!" Lord Commander Didymus says as he pontificates and waves his maul around like some sort of scepter. "Ah yes, morning! Morning, when the battle shall commence, and rest will have made our smell keener! And then we shall charge forth and bust down the gates of the Goblin City and I shall sack her again! Oh wait, minimal bloodshed? But mah Lady..."
Sir Didymus actually looked hurt for a moment.
"Didymus, it'll be okay. You'll get to show the world uh...how strong you are just by holding the line." Sarah said, reassuring her friend. She patted the Lupine on the shoulder. "Maybe that's an idea! Maybe Ludo and his people can help your army build a wall...and you can show the Goblins it's unbreakable!"
The little Fox person bounced around excitedly at this idea.
Nothing happens when the Iron Flask is opened.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Shavaris shrugs her shoulders, "Well, that answers that." and she puts the lid back on the flask. "This really needs to be our last resort, if nothing else works. Not even sure this will work since Blix is from this plane, but it might." She looks at Kerwyn, "Shall we try it on one of your babies there to see if it works or not?" She smiles, though will try it if he lets her.
She then walks over to Travin and squats down. Giving his chest of drawers a little knock, she says in a quiet voice, "You ok in there? I'm going to go find a tree and take a rest. I hope you're alright and ready to join us in the morning." She then turns, and if no one has anything else to say, finds a tree with a good sized limb for her to stretch out on and falls asleep.
There is a small shuffle from within the junkpile on the ground, as Travin shifts his weight and let's out an anguished "wha!? Noooo!".
When he stands up and pops out of his defensive shell, his face is lobster red and filled with rage, the small drop of sanity left in Travin's eyes now gone and replaced with a desperate frenzied need. He starts breathing heavily as he looks around the group until he locks eyes with Jareth. Trav lifts up one arm, on which he appears to have strapped a small cannon and points it directly at the goblin king's head. In the other hand he blows a single electrical upbeat chord on his Sax-a-Boom, the chord comically and starkly opposes the threatening and anguished mood of Travin, but nevertheless the vibrations are static with magical intent.
Jareth ceases up and becomes rigid, unable to move or speak as the chord passes through him, and Travin begins a threateningly determined walk toward his prey, "JARETH!! YOU GIVES BACK TRAVIN'S BROTHER, FIND GAVIN, FIND HIM NOW! YEH! WE TAKES THAT CRYSTAL OF YOURS AND WE FINDS GAVIN! GIVE TRAVIN THE CRYSTAL! GIVE IT! NOW, OR SO HELP ME..." as he screams and marches toward the now defenceless Jareth, his weapon never waivers from his target's head as tears smear down the shriveled junkman's face, it is apparent that Travin has no thought for the rest of the group, no thought of Blix or the task ahead, his capacity can only hold one thought right now, and it is focussed solely on finding his brother.