Wizard's House

[wizardseason]

"Hey"

The Wizard greets the evil-allured knights the same way every night, with the same word, while casually sitting on the steps of the porch outside of her little home. The building looks handmade, like it was built by people who cared about the place they were going to live. Surrounding it on all sides are fields as far as the eye can see. Vegetables of all kinds, with fruit trees and bushes placed throughout the landscape. Closer to the home are bigger trees, willows and others, providing shade from the strange three suns above. Wherever this is, it isn't the world that the knights know.

Plunged into the ground a mere few feet away from the steps leading up to the home is a handwritten sign that states the following:

Knight Rules:
- Tell others if you want
- You can't reveal others
- The world ends this year

Comments

[sustainer]

He's going to get mad! The shift takes a moment as he processes that first bit there. The second she calls them pieces though, he completely loses his composure.

"They're children! You want us to fucking kill kids??" he shrieks, and his hand swings out to absolutely belt her across the face. This is not the tact to take with Gyre!

[wizardseason]

She lets him have his outburst, but when he swings at her he hits nothing but air. His hand passes through nothing at all, like she's just a hologram, and she waits for him to process that before she speaks again.

"Tell me, Gyre, why are you angry?" She doesn't give a pause as she speaks, instead rapidfiring questions at him all at once as she approaches him. Then, all at once, she's physical and oppressive and he can't raise his hands anymore as she shoves into his personal space.

"Because you think they're being used? Because you think they're trapped? Because you think they're helpless? Because you think they're tools?" She brings a hand up, raising his chin so he can't look down at her. She finally stops advancing, holding him in place.

"Tell me."

[sustainer]

He doesn't expect her to escalate? She's always so calm, and she wants them on her side, right? When his hand goes through her, he's not surprised and he sighs, beginning to straighten. He's furious, but he also knows he can't do anything to her, and that initial spike of anger is passing through him.

Instead of letting him settle though, she's suddenly advancing on him. He moves to get his hands up between them protectively, but it's like something is holding his wrists down. He's trapped. He can't move his body, and while fear grips his chest for a moment, his brain also uh lights itself on fire. His anger returns doubled and then tripled again as she bombards him with questions instead of answering a single one of them. By the time she's finished, he snarls at her, barking, "Let-- go--!"

And he lifts his foot. To slam it into her chest.

[daddykong]

Garrot takes in her words for a moment, because that's really all he needs. The death of the Wizard prevents this other being from being released. And on the first night, Gyre drew that little... wolf-thingie in the middle of the planet. So.

"We get to meet the thing that'll destroy the world if we don't kill you." There's a bit of shock in his voice, because putting the thoughts to words is... a lot. But his hands tighten into fists, because Garrot's sure getting a little angry.

"How do you know we'll meet them tomorrow, if you've never met them?" Smells like bullshit to him! Unless they're magic fucking pen pals or something?

[wizardseason]

This situation is important, and it's important that that not be glossed over. Fortunately for him, when he snarls and attempts to slam her in the chest his foot goes right through her and she disappears. He can move freely again, and she's standing about six feet away from him taking a sip out of her coffee. Instead of advancing or continuing to escalate, she just watches him calmly.

Take a second and reflect, Gyre. Then answer her question.

[wizardseason]

Congratulations on putting a number of the pieces together, Garrot. Care to make more guesses here in the bonus round?

"It doesn't matter if I'm killed or not." She corrects him, watching the way he reacts as he takes it in. It's happening no matter what comes next, the world is on track to end.

"You can't feel it like I can, but you'll understand why in the morning." She answers, alluding to some shit that's going to go down in the morning.

[daddykong]

He just grumbles at all the new information. The Wizard hasn't seemed deceptive before, but he doesn't trust this. What better way to make her words carry weight than to say there aren't any other alternatives? So he just sighs.

"What do we do if the wolf-thing in the planet wants revenge?" He looks sad, maybe even a little worried. "I mean, you and the Protector have been keeping it locked up for forty years, I know I wouldn't be happy."

Garrot never thought he'd be asking the Wizard of all people for a threat assessment, but... here he is.

[sustainer]

He stumbles when his boot passes through her and then she's gone, completely imbalanced by the force he put behind it not meeting anything but air. He catches himself before he falls completely at least, hands out as his eyes dart around him. Trying to find her. When he does, he bares his teeth at her and retreats. Six feet is not enough in this moment, and he slides back to the edge of the circle, glaring deeply at her the entire time.

Only once he's there does he actually take a breath and try to process all that. His anger doesn't fade at all here. What she's told him is that they have to kill all the monsters, and that at least some of the kids are monsters. He has dealt nearly the killing blow on all of them, and the idea that she or the Protector or both of them have tricked him, and all the knights before him, into this is making his stomach twist into knots. And she has the pure audacity to sip coffee instead of explaining herself.

He thinks his disgust is completely justified, so no, he's not going to answer her question. He's going to demand, "You tell me. You're the one looking for allies."

[wizardseason]

Of course she hasn't seemed deceptive, she's just telling the truth. It's not her responsibility to enforce belief. She knows Garrot's a grown-ass man who can make his own decisions.

"I've wondered that." She answers, looking him over. But she had to correct something he said.

"Just the protector." She says it, before deciding to be absolutely clear. "I haven't seen them in forty years."

[tropicalstorm]

Oh, she hates this, she hates all of this. She doesn't want to go along with any of this bullshit, she just wanted to fight monsters and get back to her life! But, she's here now, and squints angrily at the strange platforms around her. At the Wizard's assurance, she turns to her and scoffs.

"Safe, huh? Safe like them?" She gestures towards Web's floating form. "You wanna explain exactly what the FUCK is goin' on here?!"

[scandeled]

"But last night-- you said we were going to where it all began! That's what that was, right? Do you know how hard it was for me to stay quiet?"

The Wizard probably know by now how hard it is for Matilda to stay quiet. Especially since, before she gives her a chance to respond, she spits out the word-- "Eminently!"

[daddykong]

Of course, the threat assessment is about as useless as most responses from the Wizard. She doesn't know or she redirects or she gives half answers. It's clear that if he wants to learn specifics about this, he'll have to find the Protector or the wolf-thing themselves. So he doubles back for now, on the way to his real topic...

"How'd you know the wolf-thing was going to do something today if you haven't been in contact for forty years?"

[wizardseason]

"No." She corrects, looking her over. She disregards the addition of the word because, unfortunately, Matilda didn't have anything to keep quiet about.

"This is where it began. I said I would bring you here." And she didn't bring anyone to the past, after all. Sorry Matilda, them's the breaks.

[wizardseason]

Haizea can hate this all she wants to, but she's here for a reason and that reason has to be explained. Fortunately for everyone, Haizea's demanding an answer.

"They would have died from their injuries if they were not brought here." She explains, before she moves on to a broader answer to Haizea's question.

"We're where all of this started."

[wizardseason]

If Garrot wants answers, he has to ask questions that she knows the answer to. She's answered the ones she knows, and speculated on the ones she can speculate on.

"I can feel it." She answers, before once again alluding to the future events to come.

"You'll see what I mean, when you wake up tomorrow."

[daddykong]

"Fine." Garrot sighs gently, clearly displeased with the answer he got. Of course, there's been one thing on his mind ever since the morning, and there's no better time to ask about it.

"Why did I find a kid in a floating rock right around when you showed up for the first time?"

[wizardseason]

She allows him his retreat, allows him his space. She's done escalating, and she wants answers. But he won't give them without something to bite at, so she'll give it to him to get him talking.

"They know the price better than anyone, and they understand the motions we have to go through to bring this cycle to an end." She explains, watching him.

"If you show them what you think is mercy, you'll be hurting them worse than the Protector is by keeping them here."

[sustainer]

There is this pure acidic hate in his eyes as she starts talking. How can she speak so calmly about children paying any price at all? Much less the price of dying. Dying for forty years straight. The mere idea of it makes him nauseous, and he's still furious when she finishes.

"How can that possibly be true!" he barks. He's still furious, but the fury is pulled off her very slightly. He doesn't know what happened back then, but the fact this was ever an answer that was on the table is so utterly disgusting to him.

[wizardseason]

Because she's spent forty years with these children, Gyre. They may have looked like children when he saw them, but their age is anything but that. She lets him be mad, watching him.

"They want this to end, they're tired of being used like pawns in some big game." She starts walking again, a slow pace around the circle as she repeats something she'd said before.

"And they are pawns. Pieces. Because someone decided it was easier to control something in smaller pieces than it is to control it as a whole."

[wizardseason]

What a fun question. She gives a thoughtful "Hmm" in response at first, starting to walk slowly around him. How much could she tell him?

"Because the cycle was about to start. The world was fractured when we arrived, who's to say if that chaos had a reason at all?"

[sustainer]

He doesn't move but he keeps his eyes on her, watching her with this guarded anger. He's not going to let her get top close, but he's not going to retreat until he has to.

"Which someone?" he asks, and he's pretty sure he knows the answer to this one. Getting solid details is important though, so he'll ask it. And as he asks it, his mind finally picks up a piece that she's been setting in front of him over and over and over again. He can only hope she'll answer the question if she keeps mentioning it like this.

"What are they when they're whole?"

[wizardseason]

"You know which someone." She answers his first question, holding up a hand so a mug can pop into existence in it. On the outside of the mug is the word 'Protector'.

"You'll see tomorrow." She answers, her smile widening just slightly before she adds:

"I hope you like them."

[sustainer]

Of fucking course she doesn't answer. Why would she answer a single fucking question with any clarity.

"How will I meet them if they all have to be here with us to be whole."

[wizardseason]

She answered the first one, and she answered the second one vaguely. At least Gyre asks for more details, and she'll provide them.

"You won't meet them whole." She clarifies, watching him carefully. "But that won't stop them this year."

[daddykong]

"Oh fuck off with the cagey bullshit!" Garrot's shouting, clearly getting worn down by the half-answers. Sure, the encounter may have been random, but it doesn't explain anything!

"One of them talked to me. Like they knew I was a Knight!" He growls, glaring daggers as the Wizard strolls, but he doesn't turn to follow her. But since she blamed the cycle...

"What the fuck did you need kids for?!" It means that at the very least, she knows more than she's letting on. And even if she doesn't, it feels safe to blame her.