Interlude

Something seems to click in Mihai's mind, but Steve's suggestion brings him back to his senses - "I guess. Rather not do it in the open."

The commander shrugs. "Let us set sail then."

He puts away his pipe, gestures to Felix to climb on his shoulder, and starts to give orders to the crew who readily obey him. A few minutes later, the ship has sailed toward Zest's Gate.

The 113th adjunct find themselves in Zest's Gate, standing in front of the Healer, the statue of a woman who is kneeling and holding her hands over an injured man whose eye are closed. This seems to depict the casting of a spell. Around the statue is a new fence with a sigh that says, "Vandalize at your own peril."

Passerby ignore the party members.

Konrad fumbles with an opening pick-up line. Not serious at all. "Hey there, you. Is that a...stone, in-on your--are you made of stone, or are you just happy to see me?"

Mihai approaches the statue, and says nothing for a moment. Konrad glances over at Mihai, and says to the Healer, "don't mind him. That just means he likes you."

Mihai pipes up - "A few months ago, an invisible thing - maybe with the look of a puff of black smoke, if you can see it - arrived in town. Must have hung out here for the better part of a day. Stole the name i thought up when i met it, and goes around now calling itself Snicker. It's tormenting and murdering innocent people now. Do you know anything about it?"

There is a pause. Then an answer only the five of you can hear. "Yes."

Breeze eyes brighten, and Fedler's hand twitches with anticipation.

Mihai shudders a little at the response he had but a flimsy hope of getting. He gets his composure back in short order, and follows up.

"I need to know about it. I need to know how to stop it. Will you help?" - he pleads.

"It's making all of our lives miserable," Konrad makes a bitter plea. "It killed my family. It left some alive, but not out of any goodness in its heart - it has no such thing. And it doesn't plan on stopping. What do you think it will do after it's finished with us? It'll move on to someone else. It'll terrorize humanity...so, how does that make you feel?"

Diplomacy
Konrad is still unsure of the statues' intentions regarding humans, so he's trying to convince it to care.

Steve remains silent, ready to jump in if needed. He doesn't feel like he can do any better than Konrad's or Mihai's earnest pleas.

The statue doesn't answer immediately. It doesn't move either, so none of you knows if it is even going to deign to say anything else. Blackcliff appears at the edge of the plaza with Felix flying at his side. The registration paperwork must not have taken that long. They spot the party, but make no move toward them.

"Do you think she's going to help us?" Breeze whispers.

"No idea," Fedler says. "We don't even know if it can."

"We can," the Healer suddenly interjects. "But the assistance we can offer would be minimal. You already have the means to defeat him, although we are not sure how it will manifest."

"Minimal is better than none. If you can so much as tell us what we can do, it's as good as i could hope."

"If we possess the means then what we lack is the context to use it well. If you can provide insight into that, we would be most grateful."

Fedler has crossed her arms and is waiting for an answer, which the Healer swiftly provides. "The fairy at your side can contain the entity you identify as ‘Snicker’."

The blue-haired girl is surprised to hear this. "But... I don't know how!"

There is another pause. "Fairies are born from desperation. It is logical to think that you'll gain the means to defeat Snicker only when you are in a state of desperation."

Fedler scoffs. "You said you don't even know what will happen when Breeze gains that ability. How are you so sure that she can defeat him?"

"Just like you know that your arrows can kill another human, we know that fairies can kill the Endless."

"If we get to the point where Breeze is driven desperate, i hate to think what would have happened to the rest of us. Do we still have no choice but to wait for him to come to us and rain down another horror show?"

"You will indeed have to fall into his trap. But we will give to the fairy the ability to sense the Endless' presence, so you can mentally prepare yourselves."

"You... you can do that?" Breeze inquires.

"Yes."

"...Is it going to hurt?"

"No."

"Oh good." She is much more reassured now.

"Mentally prepare? Is there any way we can hinder him reading us?"

"You already have."

Konrad squints at the word "Endless". "That's not such a far leap. She can already sense people who are possessed. So, that thing you call him, why do you call him that? Are there more like him? Can you tell us anything else about them? Everything, actually. So that we can compare it to what we know?"

"We are Endless. We are are born in cradles that are sent from other worlds, near other stars. We wake up here, and choose our role in this world. The three of us serve humans. ‘Snicker’ wishes to rule over them. He threatens our place in this world, which is why we are helping you."

Mihai twitches when he realizes the entity in front of him is brethren to Snicker, but regains his calm in short order - "He may not be the last. It seems more Phenomena are being born into this world evil, of late."

Konrad is speechless. Snicker is not just one phenomenon, but one of many of the same, and they all came from somewhere in the stars beyond Dust.



"Really... Not from beyond the known world, but from a cradle in the stars... But why confine yourselves to mere statues? If you want to protect people, why don't you mingle with them?"

To Mihai. "Is stepping on a colony of ants ‘evil’? No. But fairies enjoy the company of these ants, namely you. To ensure our survival, we have decided to nurture humanity."

To Konrad. "Maybe one day. We are still learning."

Mihai shrugs - "Depends on how you see them. Snicker isn't stepping, though. He's tearing the legs off one by one and delighting in it. Plain difference; i'm not in it for the moral preaching."

"These 'ants' have thoughts and feelings, you know." Konrad is quite pleased his little speech got through to them. "Well, we appreciate the help. Do you have a name, or will the one on the plaque nearby do just fine?"