[00:37] "This," 14says Stranger-Visits-Heaven, "is all so very fucking stupid. Tea?" [00:39] "Please," 5 Xu Sim nods graciously. "I completely agree. And, it's your move," 5 Xu Sim gestures to a game board decorated with a handful of grey and white stones. [00:40] 14The wide hearth of the cozy Floodwater hideaway is burning hot, and Stranger's put on two pots. One actually has tea in it, and is close to the flame; the other is sequestered off the coals, kept warm but not boiling, so that should more tea become necessary there's a pot ready for it. [00:42] 14He's prepared a pot of Greengrass tea -- mild, soothing, a bit medicinal. Seemed like a better idea than anything with a kick. They've had enough of that recently. [00:43] 5 With his free hand, Xu Sim strokes the repulsive but - momentarily - complaint Twice-Refined Princess. Her sclerotic eyes meander around with no immediate resemblance to objects of interest in the room. [00:45] 14Stranger has never been all that put off by the ugly dog. No one chooses what they look like. But Xu Sim seems to take a special point of pride in the revulsion his Princess inspires, so Stranger does his best to accomodate the mad doctor. [00:46] 14...He's out of his barrel now, right? [00:46] 5 Yes, no more barrel now that he has cured himself of the Honey-Maze. Although the faint taste of honey remains in the back of his throat, or perhaps he imagines it does. [00:47] 14Stranger: "I choose to draw, instead of play." [00:48] "It's been awhile since I've played Sorcery: The Circle, so be gentle." [00:50] 14Stranger draws his initial seven card hand. This is a very old deck; he hasn't kept up with the game. He's playing a Pole of Wood/Pole of Fire deck. [00:52] 5 Xu Sim:  "A rational move. I look forward to seeing what your deck has in store for us today." 5 Xu Sim splays his fingers to examine his hand of cards - stamped with woodcut prints of the life and mythologies of the forbidden, distant West.  "But I agree - it is quite stupid." 5 He selects one, at last, and plays it - the woodcut depicts a rocky cove. [00:56] "So. What do you think 'The Emissary' is?" 14He's a bit land-flooded. Two Woodlands, two Sands on the draw. But he also has a Collu Ghol, Bandit King of Zoatham, a Godly Growth, and a Sandblast. [00:58] "I still think our cabbage-merchant is reincarnating into him," 5 he says as he scratches his dog under her chin.  "But I don't think the special guest at Brueghel's last supper was our cabbage-merchant." [00:59] "Agreed, though not particularly an answer to my question. Either way, our new scrounging friend Dawn should track the cabbage man down. Just to close that loop." [01:00] "It was when The Governor disappeared that I began to wonder:" 5 Xu Sim lays a pathetic Wastrel Wizard on the table -  "Why our dear Emissary was such a stiff fellow walking around?" [01:03] "He never sat." [01:03] "I somewhat wanted Keldar to force that issue, but...not worth it." [01:04] 14Stranger draws a Dune Raider, puts down a Sands, then uses it to play the Raider. [01:07] "It's funny. When that masked man walked into the room, I was so smugly certain that he was some kind of trick. By the time he murdered the Evening Master, I was begging for him to be one." [01:07] "I think he wanted to spend some time on his feet, after spending the last few weeks in a crypt somewhere." 5 Xu Sim draws a Lost Ark and carefully contemplates his options for a moment. He plays a Wu-Jian Spice Post, instead. [01:07] "Not that Brueghel didn't have it coming." [01:07] "Brueghel was a boor, certainly. I think the Governor and Brueghel tried to play a trick on the rest of us and made a terrible mistake." [01:08] 14Stranger frowns and examines the Spice Post. He's woefully out of date on non-standard lands. [01:08] "Oh, being a boor is fine. Expected, even. Being a Guild-owned asshole who doesn't even know his own shop is less so." [01:09] "You always were a sharper judge of character than I," 5 concedes the doctor. [01:11] 14Stranger draws again; another Sands. He plays a Woodlands. Nothing else this turn. "But I still think it's a trick." [01:11] "The star, you see." [01:11] "Do you remember what I called it?" [01:13] "Star of the... Crusader King? Balor, isn't it?" 5 Xu Sim rotates his Wastrel Wizard and gestures noncommitally at the small heap of stones next to Stranger. [01:14] "Indeed. And what reaction did that get?" 14Stranger taps his Sands and casts Sandblast, which deals 2 damage to the Wastrel Wizard before the Wizard's effect resolves. "None." [01:16] "Our 'Emissary' said only this: 'The dam will not break. The star will not fall.'" [01:16] 14Stranger sips his tea. "So I am now looking into all the local dams, because that's due diligence." [01:16] "But it seems like misdirection. Or excuse." [01:17] "Turn?" [01:17] "You think he's protective of his secret, ah, identity?" 5 The alchemist withdraws his Wizard, placing him beside the remains of his deck.  "Make sure none of the dams around here are at risk." 5 He places the Lost Ark on the table and cedes the turn. [01:18] 14Stranger snorts. "I'm almost willing to put one at risk, should it give us more information. But that's petulance speaking." [01:20] "Of course he is. It's the most important thing about him, after all. He's got the powers, but does he have the inheritance?" 14He sips his tea again. "After all, we wouldn't dare challenge the previous Emissary. We know the extent of his works and power. He would slaughter us. This character, however...we do not know how much effort his demonstration took." [01:20] "We do not know that we cannot outlast him. Or that our numbers are useless against him." [01:20] "All we know is that he -- perhaps with help, perhaps without -- genuinely has the mien and demonstrable abilities of the Emissary." [01:21] "If not the temperament." [01:22] 5 Xu Sim chuckles at the idea of Stranger attacking a dam.  "I will be straightforward: I think he's a necromantic puppet that slipped the strings. Just enough of the ghost left behind to remember his power, and his anger for being returned." [01:23] 14Stranger draws another Sandblast, replacing the one he just played. There are probably four in this deck. He plays another Sands, then a Godly Growth on the Sands so that it produces Pole of Wood essence in addition to its usual essence when tapped. "Turn." [01:24] 14After the word has left his mouth he realizes he forgot to attack with the Raiders. Curses! [01:28] 5 Xu Sim does not intend to squander his good fortune. He begins by playing a Coral Reef, then Lethe-Surviving Memories, drawing another three cards.  "But, still, his abilities have changed. He is less precise now. Perhaps it's rigor mortis, or the growing pangs of youth." 5 He deploys a final card, a Petite Airship. "Strange to think it could be either." [01:30] 14Augh. A flyer. Unfortunate. "What if it's neither?" [01:31] "If the thrust is the same, but details and constraints are different -- what does that mean?" [01:32] "Neither, neither, neither... The airship attacks." [01:32] 14Stranger frowns. "You played it this turn!" [01:33] "Ah, yes. Here," 5 Xu Sim adds another card, Auspicious Hourglass. [01:33] "Ugh." [01:34] "I take the wound. Eighteen. Turn? [01:34] " [01:35] "Turn... But if the constraints are different," 5 Xu Sim contemplates for a moment... [01:35] "I don't think his constraints are different. He still wants to uphold the laws of the city." [01:36] "His capabilities are less refined. Maybe it reflects the plague?" [01:37] "If the honey-maze separates the waking and dreaming mind, perhaps we're seeing some aspect of the Emissary usually kept under wraps?" [01:38] "Perhaps, and that would make sense. But consider: what if 'the Emissary' is merely a template?" 14Stranger draws a Wilder Peacock, but instead taps his three lands for four essence thanks to the Godly Growth and plays Collu Ghol, Bandit King of Zoatham. [01:39] 14Then he plays another Sands, giving him enough essence to cast a defensive Sandblast, and attacks with the Dune Raiders. [01:40] "We already considered this, given the cabbage-monger. But think about it. The previous Emissary was Balor, one of the Fair Folk. Strange; alien; governed by rules but also wholly slavish to those rules -- which is precisely what you would expect from a Fae lord made into some strange ur-constable." [01:41] "What if, instead, a demon became Emissary?" [01:41] "That selfishness, that malevolence, bent in the service of the Dogmas and Civilities of Nexus...it would look much like what we just saw atop that tower, wouldn't it?" [01:42] "Attack for one. You're at nineteen; turn." [01:42] "I'll take the hit," 5 Xu Sim suggests, before taking a sip of the tea. It is refreshing. He doesn't say anything in response to the demonic conjecture for a moment. [01:44] 14The Ambassador slinks out of Stranger's room in her human form, wearing her usual white-and-black dress. She takes one look at what Stranger-Visits-Heaven and Xu Sim are doing and proclaims, "Nerds." [01:44] 14Then she leans down to kiss Stranger on the head. "I'm going out. Back late. Should I wake you?" [01:45] 14Stranger puts down his tea and pulls her down into an actual kiss. "Please do. Or send a bird if circumstances change." [01:45] "A demonic creature, summoned and stuffed into the shape of the Emissary and trying - poorly - to emulate his powers?" 5 Xu Sim draws another card.  "Or do you think it's like that odd creature, who insists on speaking through lanterns and such?" [01:46] 14The Ambassador: "Mmmm. Honk twice outside your window if I'm out overnight, is it?" [01:46] 14Stranger: "Try not to wake the whole house." [01:47] 14She laughs. "Of course. Good evening, Xu Sim. And you as well, Twice-Refined Princess." 14She heads for the door. Over her shoulder: "Don't take too much of his money, now." [01:47] 14Stranger sighs. "No faith." [01:48] "You mustn't underestimate him, Ambassador, a poor old man like me might barely stand a chance. It's why I always bring reinforcements," [01:48] 14Stranger: "You old cheat." [01:48] "Where in the rules does it say you can't ask a dog for help? Where, in the rules, does it say that?" [01:50] "Rules are an affirmative agreement between temperate men, not a full enumeration of a contest's conditions. There's also nothing in the rules that says I can't set your deck on fire, but I won't do that, because it would be pathetic and stupid." [01:50] "I'm adding that to the rules,"  [01:51] 14He rolls his eyes, then grimaces. "As to your question: my initial thought was that our new 'Emissary' was stage-managed by the same class of criminal to which our friend Bubo belongs." [01:51] 5 adds Xu Sim.  "Let's see here. Ahh, here we go. Control Sorcery. I'll take your Sandblast, please. Attack with the Petite Airship. Turn." [01:52] 14Stranger: "How did you know I -- you peeked at my hand!" [01:52] 14Grumbling. "Fine." [01:52] "How many more do you have in your deck?" [01:52] "Sixteen, then. It's not like you can cast it." [01:52] "I'm not telling you that." [01:53] "A lucky guess, alone." [01:54] "Ah, let me see here. Bubo?" 5 Xu Sim grimaces slightly.  "That attack he arranged was quite devastating. But it seemed rather the opposite of indiscriminate; it wasn't a show of wanton force." [01:57] "Oh, he didn't arrange it. If he'd arranged it he wouldn't have been present for it. That's just poor craftsmanship as far as ambushes go." 14Stranger draws a Dunelicker -- my, that art is something -- and plays it. [01:57] "When was that one printed?" 5 It's quite the licker. Looker. Goodness. [01:58] 14Then he activates Collu Ghol to give the Dune Raider and the Dunelicker charge and +1, and turns them to attack. [01:58] "Some time ago. The art is what it is." [02:00] "Well, now I have to sacrifice my pet Airship. Block the Dunelicker. But if Bubo is so careful and discrete - which, the man is just a secretary - why would the Secretary be, well, the opposite of that?" [02:01] 14Stranger: "The man is anything but 'just a secretary.'" [02:01] "If we're lucky, by this time next week he'll be the Astrologer's consort." [02:02] 5 Xu Sim sucks the air through his teeth, as if he had just eaten a Jianese pork bun.  "What?" [02:05] "He's got a crush. So does she. We're taking steps to matchmake." 14Stranger pauses. "'We' here being myself and the Ambassador. Whatever his beliefs, it's absolutely necessary that Bubo have a real stake in what happens to this city. We'll provide him with that stake, and perhaps get both of them laid in the exchange." [02:05] "Sun knows they could use it." [02:07] "It's good for the humours, to be sure. But what do you mean, Bubo isn't 'just a man?' Surely no Godblood or Dragon-blooded would be walking around pushing pencils behind Nessun Dorma." [02:10] 14Stranger: "He's an Exalt of Heaven. The Ambassador is terrified of him and the powers he represents. Apparently he can remove himself from our memories when he wants to, which is...concerning." [02:11] "Since it means we have literally no idea how many times we've talked to the man." [02:12] 14He sips his Greengrass tea again. "You can appreciate how difficult it is to explain to Keldar why we shouldn't just gut the man from scrote to sternum." [02:13] "Perhaps you can explain it to me," 5 notes the doctor, peevishly.  "I should take notes of our meetings. He could have been in here the whole time and just left before you brought him up. It throws everything into question." [02:14] 14Stranger: "At this point I am taking it on faith that the theoretical me I've forgotten would have broken his legs before permitting him to do that again." [02:15] "But you no longer think Bubo, or someone like him, was responsible for stage-managing our new- or perhaps old-- Emissary?" [02:15] "Bubo is many things, but he is neither invisible nor potent enough to stand against our fury, should it manifest." [02:16] 14Stranger: "That was the Ambassador's theory, and it was a convincing one -- up to the point where 'the Emissary' fucked off into the sky for no clear reason." [02:16] "One would think the agents of Heaven would want direct and suffocating control over Nexus, should they have taken an interest in it." [02:17] "It's a dramatic way to get around. Perhaps Xia Lan should study it." [02:18] "Needless drama is an excess no one can afford at this juncture. Either the drama was necessary to conceal a weakness, or there was no drama -- there was just a new Emissary defining boundaries." [02:18] "Perhaps the agents of Heaven already do so. The gods don't have enough priests and prophets, now they have spies and dogsbodies?" [02:19] 14Stranger waves his teacup. "They always have. As have we." [02:19] "The new Emissary was stiff, he was weak from bed-rest, I think." 5 Xu Sim takes the opportunity to toast, as if they were drinking rice wine. [02:19] "You cannot begrudge your opponent their espionage; all you're doing is getting angry at yourself." [02:20] 5 Xu Sim scoffs but does not disagree. [02:21] 14Stranger completes his end of the toast by reflex, blinking once when he realizes what's been done. "Perhaps," 14he says to the subject at hand. "If this is the Emissary weak, I should not like to see him strong." [02:22] "But I take your meaning, if we're arguing from the stagecraft perspective: the Emissary never had to react to anything that was done atop that tower. He only had to act. We reacted." [02:22] "He walked into that room planning to murder Brueghel and hurt the rest of us." [02:22] "You could see it on the poor dumb fuck's face." [02:24] "Eliminate Brueghel, send a message to the rest of us - to get our shit together, because he doesn't want to be bothered? Why come out from whatever rock he was hiding under to do that? He could have just left well enough alone." [02:25] 14Stranger pours himself more tea, the card game almost forgotten. "If you assume that he knew ahead of time about the seating arrangements, and that he was informed of Kratz's arrival by his co-conspirators, there's not a single thing that happened in that room that didn't go according to his plan. Except, perhaps, me." [02:25] "But the smart guess is that I just sped up his play." [02:26] 14Stranger considers that. "It is true that his actions do seem to lack a...point." [02:26] "A strategic point, that is; the immediate point was obvious: fuck to Brueghel, to the three suitor armies, and to the rest of us." [02:28] "Agreed. I just wonder if these faerie armies are coming to bring him back to the fold, to swear fealty to him, to tear him to shreds, or to gape and stare." [02:29] 14Stranger: "If they were coming to recover this particular Emissary, then they would have had knowledge of him at the precise moment of the previous incarnation's death -- that's when they walked out from the Wyld." [02:30] "Which provokes the question: where was this new Emissary, between then and now?" [02:30] "What was he doing?" [02:30] "Why does he have no interest in or governance over Balor's Star?" [02:31] "All questions have answers." 5 Xu Sim notes, resolutely. [02:31] "No, my suspicion remains that he is some brand of imposter...which is not to say he is any less personally potent than the genuine Emissary is." [02:32] "Agreed. I cling to my necromantic theory - some combination of a ghost reinhabiting the zombified body of what was once the Emissary. It explains the mechanics, I think, in a satisfactory way." [02:35] 14Stranger: "If it's a ghost, our problems multiply. Thorns with a direct line to an unstoppable enforcer would be problematic, even if they don't currently know how to exploit it." [02:38] "Certainly. Ah, whose turn is it, anyway?" [02:38] 14He looks down at the cards. "I can't recall. Let's call it a draw." [02:39] "I anticipate our rematch, in that case." [02:39] "It was fun, though. Playing Sorcery again." [02:40] 14Stranger grimaces. "Perhaps not fun enough that I wish to return to the whole...scene. But a good game, among friends and well-brewed tea." [02:40] 14He collects his deck, says good night to Xu Sim, and retires to his room...for ten whole minutes. [02:41] 14Then he sets out with his cane and his hat to walk the district. 15[02:44] <@VoxPVoxD> Floodwater is one of the few parts of Nexus that seems to have gotten less miserable recently. Nothing's burned down, there've been no catastrophic battles, and the water is cleaner and better-contained than anyone can remember. But people leave Old Selin alone, mostly - he doesn't have the hero's reception someone like Mud and Straw got when he was rebuilding the district. 15[02:44] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger finds him canalside, standing on one leg, doing slow martial arts exercises. [02:44] 14Smart man, Old Selin is. [02:45] 14Not going to dinner parties is good for a man's health. [02:45] 14Or at least his longevity. [02:45] 14Stranger: "Impressive." [02:46] 14He wanders down the canal slope to sit nearby. 15[02:48] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin hunkers down on all fours, curling up tightly and lifting his feet from the ground, resting all his weight on his hands. "Kind of you to say so," he says, not looking up. [02:48] "Merely true," 14says Stranger. "I wasn't talking about the exercises. Though certainly you've got the housewives' attention." [02:49] "And the househusbands who are so inclined." [02:50] "I meant Floodwater. Impressive." 15[02:52] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin snorts. He dismounts, tucking and rolling until he pulls himself into a standing position. "I couldn't have done it alone. Two districts mostly razed, a plague, a war, billeted armies... no one's got the time to wonder where the cholera outbreaks went." [02:52] 14Stranger: "I'm sure they do." [02:53] "Some men make money off those cholera outbreaks." [02:55] "You haven't noticed anyone strange in the crowds recently, have you? I'm sure I don't need to run you through the signs. The Guild keeps to a certain formula with their spies, whether they know it or not." 15[02:58] <@VoxPVoxD> "Not yet. I'm sure they'll be by eventually." He draws a big sniff of the clean air. "Truth be told I haven't even seen much of the ones you're meant to see. Not that long ago you'd see officious underfactors were running up and down the Nexus like minnows. It's been days since I've seen one." [02:58] 14Stranger stares out over the canal water. "That's a message in itself." [02:58] "I think I like it less than them sniffing about." [02:59] "You saw the tower explode, I take it." 15[03:00] <@VoxPVoxD> "Mmm." He points up and to the east. This part of the canal has an open view of Sentinel Hill in the distance, the tower splintered against the sky. "Saw it from right here." [03:00] "How'd it look?" [03:01] "Nice colors, at least?" 15[03:02] <@VoxPVoxD> "Matched the sky a bit too much for my taste. Too subtle for such a costly display." [03:03] 14Stranger nods. "It wasn't prettier up close. He manipulated the air -- changed its weight and density. It felt far worse than it looked. We all bled from our ears." 15[03:04] <@VoxPVoxD> "So it's true then. The Emissary's returned?" [03:06] "Something calling itself the Emissary executed the Evening Master Brueghel in an extremely legal fashion." [03:06] "His doctrine astounded us." 15[03:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "What a pity," says Selin with apparent sincerity. [03:09] 14Stranger sighs. "I agree. Not regarding Brueghel; Brueghel had it coming. But when the red star rose, it felt like a window opened for this city. Now it feels like it's been slammed shut. And the star's still up there." [03:10] "Nexus without an Emissary. Imagine what we could've done." 15[03:12] <@VoxPVoxD> "Wouldn't that be something? Nexus without an Emissary... it's not even Nexus anymore, is it?" 15[03:12] <@VoxPVoxD> "A lovely thought." [03:12] 14Stranger: "Nexus isn't that bloodless, fucked up thing." [03:13] "Nexus isn't the slavers who own him." [03:13] "There's a people under all this evil." 15[03:13] <@VoxPVoxD> "Mmm." [03:14] "I'd just hoped I wouldn't have to go through that thing and his owners to get to those people." 14He stands. "Foolishness, on my part." [03:15] "Going through the Emissary and the Guild is the point." [03:16] "You have a home, Selin?" [03:20] "Anywhere out there." 15[03:21] <@VoxPVoxD> "The cherry trees are blooming. I've been sleeping under those." [03:21] 14Still staring out over the water: "Neither do I." [03:22] "I'm tired of walking away from things. Going on down the road. I've been doing that for two years now, but if I'm being honest, it feels like I've been doing it so much longer." [03:23] "And I'm tired of the men who sit atop the high tower." [03:24] "Especially the ones who blow it apart, for sport." 15[03:25] <@VoxPVoxD> "What's that leave, then? Knocking down the towers?" [03:26] "It's what they deserve. But there's another path, and it's probably a better one." 14He turns away from the water to face Selin, smiling. "You make the towers obsolete." [03:27] "You just turn them into another building." [03:30] "And when you give them to the people, they can get up high enough to look out the window and see the horizon." 15[03:30] <@VoxPVoxD> "Another lovely thought," says Selin. [03:31] 14Stranger: "There's nothing wrong with lovely thoughts, so long as you recognize that ugly action follows." [03:32] "...How are the pumpworks coming?" 15[03:34] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "I made what repairs I could. There's not the infrastructure for a full restoration." [03:34] "There never is." [03:35] "It might be a bit on the nose, but I'd ask you turn your attentions to the walls, next." [03:35] "Not the outside walls." [03:35] "The ones inside the city." [03:35] "In case we have to defend quarter by quarter." 15[03:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "I think we'd be better served relying on the city's natural defenses if it comes to that. The hills, the rivers, the canals - old Hollow was built to last. Nexus was built to splinter and burn." [03:38] 14Bluntly: "When the Fair Folk arrive, I'm most afraid of an attack from inside Nexus. Not without." 15[03:38] <@VoxPVoxD> "Firewander?" [03:41] "Firewander's the obvious vector. Too obvious. This city has been in chaos for weeks, and the Fair Folk had this attack planned the moment the red star rose." [03:42] "We need flexibility. And we need an experienced eye looking at Nexus's structural flow." [03:43] 14Of course, if they're not able to deal with the honey, this is all just academic. [03:43] 14But Stranger trusts Xu Sim. 15[03:43] <@VoxPVoxD> "You have pull with the Dawn Guard?" [03:43] "I do." 15[03:46] <@VoxPVoxD> "See if you can get them to garrison in the Arena. That's one of the sturdiest structures in the city, and it would be easy to fortify. It draws its water from the Yellow directly where most of the canals in the city draw water from the Grey. The Grey's bigger and faster-moving. That's the river they'll foul if it comes to that." 15[03:47] <@VoxPVoxD> "Speaking of which, have you enlisted the river gods?" [03:48] 14Stranger sighs. "Not yet. We will. We're considering our approach." [03:48] "Not many of us are god-friendly." 15[03:48] <@VoxPVoxD> "The feeling is mutual." [03:50] 14Stranger chuckles. "Are you a god-botherer, then?" [03:50] "I would be, if the Sun were more inclined to listen." 15[03:50] <@VoxPVoxD> "I've bothered some gods in my time. Nowadays I like to consider myself a god-why-botherer." [03:51] "Nice." [03:53] 14He stretches. "Shutting down the Arena's going to be quite the trick, but given the circumstances...doable." [03:56] "It does give whoever's camped there the ability to respond anywhere in the city in roughly the same time, though. That's good to have." [03:56] "And if the treason comes from within the Dawn Guard, we won't get lost on our way to the fight." 15[03:57] <@VoxPVoxD> "They should shut it down anyway. Honey's felled anyone worth watching by now." [03:57] 14Stranger: "We've got someone working on the honey." [03:58] "Crazy asshole with an ugly dog. I'm quite fond of them." 15[03:59] <@VoxPVoxD> "Xu Sim. Yeah, you'll be fine." [03:59] 14He looks over. "You know him?" 15[04:00] <@VoxPVoxD> "I know his name. I've seen him fight. I don't think we've ever met." [04:00] "Fair. He looks very strange when he fights." [04:02] "Not that I'm one to talk." [04:03] 14Stranger picks up his cane. "Someone's expecting me back, so I'm not going to keep her waiting. Before, I was glad that I met you. Now I see it as a form of providence." [04:04] "You can take that however you like, so long as my respect carries with it." [04:04] "Things are about to start happening very quickly." 15[04:05] <@VoxPVoxD> Old Selin's peering down at the canal. You can see the stonework at the bottom now. "Kind of you to say so," he says, not looking up. [04:05] "Is it?" 15[04:06] <@VoxPVoxD> "I think so. I'll claim so, anyway." [04:06] 14He looks up the canal. "I asked you to make a connection to this place." [04:06] "Right on the edge of the stormfront." 15[04:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "You did." [04:07] "I'm not sure I've done you any kindness at all, Selin. And that just makes me more thankful." 15[04:08] <@VoxPVoxD> "Nexus is a lonely town for a man who won't take paying work." [04:08] "It doesn't have to be." [04:09] "There's the dream, though. Slipping up out into the air." [04:10] "The armies arrive in six weeks." [04:11] "Our world's on a timer. And I think there's few people I'd rather have on a timer with me than yourself." 15[04:14] <@VoxPVoxD> "I think the lock up the way here is still functional. It just needs some blockage cleared away. Then the water should run clean for the entire district from the pulley line to the dam." [04:15] 14Stranger: "And that's why." [04:15] "It's not sentimentality." [04:15] "You know how to do the work." [04:16] 14He starts walking up the canalside. "So let's go do the work."