stone phone, mid afternoon on August 8th

[vagabone]

[He's far, far too tired to be his normal silly self, as he addresses all his fellow islanders via... rock. It would be inappropriate, anyway.]

Buenas tardes, everyone.

[Ha ha yeah right, is anyone having a good day? Anyone??]

We found a couple pages of another diary out on Umui. It's not a good idea for me to come all the way back, so I'm going to read it out loud. Ready?

[He pauses for a moment before he starts to read, slowly and carefully. At least he has a nice speaking voice?]

That's all I can make out. But, hey, while I'm here... what if this is a curse, not a disease? That could be why those doctors couldn't find a cure. They were going at it the wrong way.

Most of you have been around longer than me, and some of you are more, ah, magically inclined than I am. Maybe it's something you can look into.

Comments

[deathfindsaway]

[Man, it's about time he met someone willing to go back to the dead like they belong. You are soothing his heart here, buddy.]

It... may be so. Perhaps different worlds iterations of her were just a bit off.

[A slight pause.]

Did you know her?

[vagabone]

[Listen, he would get down on his knees and beg for a chance to go home. What a lousy island experience this is.]

Oh, me? No, not a chance. I'm nobody. [He shrugs on the other side of the stone, unseen.] I don't even know anyone who knows her. It's all rumors, 'a friend of a friend met her once'. It's not like here, where you can just go hang out with the Storyteller every day if you want.

[deathfindsaway]

[If he could only give it to him, honestly.]

Mm, that... makes sense. She doesn't tend to mingle with most commonly dead souls. It's a safety thing, I imagine.

[Or just, y'know, what time would a god have to hang out with every individual dead person. There's billions of them.]

Sadly, though, I doubt the Storyteller will be able to fix this for us, even with a much more personal relationship.

[vagabone]

And if you've seen one dead guy, you've seen them all, right? It's nothing special, we're still ordinary people. I feel like the most normal person here sometimes.

[Death happens to everyone eventually, it's a cliche for a reason. And he certainly doesn't fit in with gods and aliens and monsters...]

...suppose there are some things even a god can't do.

[deathfindsaway]

[He nods solumnly, even if it can't be seen.]

It takes many gods to shape the universe. Many movements, all correlating to one action.

[A slight pause.]

If my Lady is able to find me, I will not leave without bringing you back to your home. I promise.

[vagabone]

Thanks, I appreciate it. You can tell her it's not my fault I was... kidnapped, I suppose.

[Why?? Why would anyone kidnap him?? He's pretty damn useless and there's no one who would pay ransom money to get him back, for pity's sake.]

Oh, I'm Héctor. Who are you anyway?

[deathfindsaway]

Don't worry. You will not be tried for this- I believe your testimony.

[He only realizes once Hector introduces himself that he hasn't, and clears his throat.]

I'm sorry, I-- should have said that earlier. My name is Kravitz. A pleasure.

[vagabone]

Good to know. That's all I need, to get punished for something i didn't do... after being dumped on this stupid island in the first place.

[Oops. Should he really have said that?]

[deathfindsaway]

No, that's completely understandable. I'll vouch for you. I'm sure my Lady will be merciful considering the circumstances.

[He's a victim, after all, not a perpetrator.]