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]

Three?

[He is curious about that. He can think of two- the passing to the Astral Plane and when the conciousness lets go from the soul- but a third? He said something about memory... who knows.]

But honestly, I don't know. Perhaps because I wasn't exclusively a skeleton? It all feels arbitrary at this point. Whatever this world thought would be the funniest to see me struggle through, I presume.

[vagabone]

First one, that's obvious. Second one is when your body is laid to rest, if you're lucky enough to have that. The final death is when no one alive remembers you. Then you disappear.

[He's silent for a moment. He can't begin to count how many times he's seen people go... but now isn't the time to think about the past. Or his future. Only today matters.]

So I'm going along like normal in the spirit world and my body's, I don't know, wherever in the living world. Could be why I'm still a skeleton, it was easier than bringing my body back to life. Or we're both idiots for trying to make sense out of this place.

[deathfindsaway]

[He listens intently, thinking about that process. He'd never thought about another death involving the body. Everything has been about the soul for him, but... he can see how that would be important, to the living.]

That makes more sense. I was dead, but not-- in the same way as you, I don't think. I believe the correct term is undead? In service to a goddess, so granted exceptions. I certainly don't need to worry about if people remember me.

[Because hardly anyone ever does. His title, sure. But that's a different story.]

[vagabone]

So I'm a skeleton ghost and you're a zombie, got it.

[He sounds amused for a second there. Yeah, he's just barely modern enough to know about the zombie craze. It's hilarious in the land of the dead.]

What do you do for this goddess?

[There he goes again, asking questions on Enso, the Isle of Trauma. He has only himself to blame for whatever comes next.]

[deathfindsaway]

[He snorts.]

I'm not a zombie, nothing so crass, please. I'm her agent. I work to preserve the balance of life and death and stop such phenomena from occuring.

[What're you talking about, Hector, this is a nice conversation. Hell, he looks downright proud of the words coming out of his mouth.]

Some societies called me the Grim Reaper, that was my favorite. But I have plenty of titles.

[Or well, had. Outside this hell island where he has to breathe and can't rule over the dead. It's very annoying, actually.]

[vagabone]

She's not... Santa Muerte, is she?

[That would be fantastic, honestly, but what are the odds? Not much in this world has been familiar or pleasant.]

And I'm guessing you can't send me back to where the dead belong.

[deathfindsaway]

[He searches through his head for the name, but--]

My Lady goes by many names. Different cultures have different names for us. I don't recognize that one specifically, but it is possible. She's known most commonly as the Raven Queen.

[After having so many people tell him that she didn't exist, it's refreshing to think that maybe others have the proper respect for her.]

But... no, I'm as trapped here as you are, at the moment. Like I said. Unpleasantly alive. Trust me, if I had a way to set this right, I already would have.

[vagabone]

No, no, I believe you.

[It's a struggle to not sound disappointed, even so. And it's far from the first time he's known perfectly well something's impossible and tried anyway.]

We must be thinking of different ladies. I think she has owls, not ravens.

[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.]