come_sailaway | [open] at least the month couldn't get any worse, right?

Entry tags:

[open] at least the month couldn't get any worse, right?

Who: Jade Curtiss and YOU!!
When: Several days after That Party but before the start of next month
Where: Various places! Mainly the Promenade / some random hall with a supply closet / in front of the menacingly new Tommy Bahama...
What: Mostly some processing of a few Neat and Fun gifts from sundries! .....But also like, what is up with that Tommy Bahama place though--
Warnings: Nothing too pressing! Some talk of earlier events in the month and all the murder/party stabbing therein may arise, though, considering...well. Gestures at the last few weeks.....
Notes: (I've started out with brackets, but feel free to use prose! I'll match whichever style you prefer)

A; hawaiian shirt hell persists...with a twist??
[It's a bit of a belated sort of takeaway, from the one part of Friday's last announcement before the party that had seemed entirely innocuous in the grand scheme of...everything else. A new shop being opened in the Promenade, apparently--because that's just, a thing that can happen on a ship like this, apparently. Granted, the evening following that announcement had been quite the mess in and of itself--and such small things were promptly forgotten for a few days afterwards.

But eventually, Jade finds the new storefront standing out in a passing sweep of the Promenade one day, its wide display windows now taking up a space that had most certainly not existed between Sand Dollars and John's a few weeks prior. --From that point it's only natural to investigate, isn't it? i.) Perhaps you're investigating it too, and might find Jade rather further inside, staring hard at an assorted setup of polo shirts in various distinctly...tropical color gradients with a thoroughly exasperated sort of frown on his face. One would think it's at the expense of the casual gaudiness of it all--which, to be fair, it sort of is. But........he also feels like he's walked by this display a couple times already. He's been moving in a straight line this entire time. Yet the back wall sure hasn't...actually gotten any closer, for a good few minutes now--??)

...Or maybe ii.) you find Jade outside the Tommy Bahama, after the fact, hovering in front of the entrance once more with a moderately-filled matching shopping bag now on his elbow but...a frown still on his face, too, this one a great deal more perplexed.

If you're passing by, or happen to be looking even vaguely interested in checking it out:] You know, I think you might want to exercise some caution, if you're headed in there...

(closed to Natsuno) Room 109; awkward unboxing session
[Early one morning there's a card slipped under the door; familiar to Natsuno, perhaps, but actually addressed to Jade for once. Several packages waiting for him in the sundries shop, apparently--and so Jade had set out to pick them up promptly enough, probably making some airily sarcastic remark about the impressiveness of the nonexistent postal system apparently afoot here on his way out. It's a half hour or so before he returns...

Though it's not immediately obvious, because it's not like he actually comes back into the room off the bat. No, instead, Natsuno might find Jade's return instead heralded by...well, it's not quite a knock, is it? More of a weirdly muffled thump--and then another one, for emphasis--like somebody's mildly kicking the foot of the door or something?

That's exactly what it is, actually; Natsuno would open the door to find Jade on the other side, sure enough, arms full between a couple boxes stacked in the crook of an elbow and, propped in another hand...something longer than he's tall? Very narrow, shaped vaguely like a pole, with some sort of horizontal piece attached to the top of it...? Not much else to go off but the shape, though, considering it's wrapped in matching nautical wrapping paper as well. --Jade shrugs, insomuch as he's able.] Ah, thank you. Might want to step aside a moment, yes? Let's see--

[--Well, alright, initially trying to move through the door has the pole-thing promptly rapping against the top of the doorframe. Hm, time to attempt awkwardly angling it through instead...]

B; that feel when you get the useful item drop only after the nasty boss fight...
[It's an hour or so after he's processed the "gifts" in his room; at length, Jade opts to take one of the boxes in question someplace else for a closer look, if only mostly out of a discretion for Natsuno's reactions to well over half the contents. Jade can thus once again be found seated at one of the many Promenade tables--this one near a window, in the full light of the sunshine streaming through--considering the contents in said box as it now sits open on the tabletop. Slowly, one at a time, he's pulling a series of pocket-sized glass bottles from it; each one is critically examined, before evidently being considered cleared to be set upright in a growing line on the table proper. A couple of the bottles are an eggshell white, with a very vague but distinct sort of luster; a few other bottles are black, and seem to reflect rather less daylight than glass ought to; and two of them are a deep brown, oddly-shaped in a more rounded sort of way.

Jade's attention lingers rather longer on the odd-shaped ones than the others. In fact, he even opens one of them, and seems to try peering inside before testing the scent of the contents as well. Whether he's actually happy about whatever he finds is difficult to say, though, a rather inscrutable sort of expression on his face as he recaps the bottle and sits back in his chair...though a deep sigh follows the movement, too, and his tone is very dry as he speaks--more to himself than anyone in particular, but perhaps audible all the same if you happen to be nearby.]

Well, this certainly would have been rather useful about a week ago. Seems practical jokes take many forms, around here...

C; obligatory deck-cleaning happens only after burning away to ghostly nothing ok
[The question, though, the real question...is what to do with the most exasperating gift of the bunch.

Should you happen to be passing through one of the smaller and quieter halls connecting one part of a deck level to another, you might end up bumping into Jade lingering in one of them. In front of one of the more basic janitorial supply closets found throughout the ship, specifically? The closet doors are opened, anyway, and there sure are some very boring cleaning supplies in there...though Jade's still hovering and staring inside in a weirdly intent sort of way, for some reason.

Then again, difficult to miss is the fact that he's also got a deck brush with green bristles propped over one shoulder. Did he...just take it out of the closet? Or--?]

Hm, what do you think? [Oh, he's looking over to address you now, noticing your presence and acknowledging it with a cheery sort of smile, as if this is now a totally normal conversation in totally normal surroundings happening here.] If I put this inside, do you suppose it would stay put? I'd almost bet it doesn't, if I were a betting sort of man... [...Jade this doesn't actually offer anything in the way of any context here, though--]

D; wildcard!
[This log can also serve as a catch-all for any other interactions that might arise before the end of this month! Jade can generally be found in most any of the more-trafficked areas of the ship, as he does like to check around all the more common facilities at least once every few days. Feel free to have your character bump into him for whatever reason! As always, if you have something more specific in mind you'd like to thread here and want to hash it out beforehand, feel free to hit me up by message or on plurk at

rainbell!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What, the captain's asking you to clean up your act? [Hehehe.

Although, actually? That is a worrying proposition. Skulduggery's not interested in getting wailed on by a broom, although he imagines the sight would be hilarious. And humiliating, which is probably the main reason he doesn't want to be the butt of this particular experiment.

Too late now, though!]

I can be both a human and skeletal shield, if necessary. But if I get whacked in the face by a broom, I'm holding you personally accountable for the damages. [So help him if he loses a tooth here, Jade!!!]

[Hey...HEY....that's garnering the most deadpan sort of look, about now, because really--]

You know, the worst part about that suggestion is that I can hardly even refute it. It surely wouldn't surprise me if the captain does frequently stoop to such atrocious puns as that...

[That would be incredibly stupid, though. He really...hopes that's not actually the reason. But it's possible, and so it's yet another negative mark to add to the impressively long list the captain's been gaining in his mental dossier since Jade's first few days aboard this ship...truly, an inclination for awful puns would assuredly be the the captain's greatest crime of the lot, no contest. You're on thin ice too over there, Skulduggery!!

Anyway, though. Anyway! That's not important at the moment; no, there's the matter at hand presently, namely the mildly feasible threat of flying brooms in the air. Jade idly shrugs his shoulders at the threat of accountability leveled his way.]

Naturally, naturally! I suppose at that point the equivalent exchange would be you whacking me in the face with it in turn. ...Which would make for an utterly ridiculous-looking scuffle all around, no doubt--but it's not like anyone else is around here to see it anyway. [...Though the wry humor does give way to a speculative sort of look Jade finds himself casting Skulduggery's way even as he starts turning the knob on the closet door again. He probably could lose a tooth at the least, huh? Though in general...] Do you--tend to deal often, in conventional injuries? I suppose it'd have to be direct damage to your bones...or would you still find a broom handle jabbed between a couple ribs a disagreeable sort of thing?

[Even though there's no organs to actually hit, or flesh in general to impale. ...Hm. Well, he actually ought to be properly focusing his attention back on the closet in case something does come firing out--and Jade does, when he finally pulls the door back open, to find...

Well. The original cleaning supplies are in there. But the deck brush is...not. Mild science discovery get after all??] Oh--my my, I suppose that whole hypothetical's rather beside the point now!

I'm lucky enough to live in a reality with excellent medical practitioners. Broken bones are no problem for them. [Which sort of answers the question on whether or not he gets hurt, although "conventional injuries" might be a stretch.] If you stab me, I don't bleed, but I do shout quite a bit, because it hurts. Even if you go between the ribs, it's... an uncomfortable sensation.

[He's not... tense or anything, but he's prepared to leap out of the way of any flying brooms coming for him. When it doesn't, he... definitely peers over Jade to get a good look.]

Huh. ...Where do you think it went?

[Well, the lack of blood does make sense, to say the very least...but that second tidbit is a bit of a surprise, actually. So pain registers even in the empty space between the bones, despite a lack of nerves or other physical substance to detect it--some sort of field in the close proximity of his body? Something to do with the magic holding him together, perhaps? Would it actually actively harm Skulduggery, then, to...?

Hm, a myriad of questions are already forming up at this, actually. --But Jade doesn't mind the sidetrack currently at hand in the meantime, stashing away that particular topic for the next more ideal opportunity to pursue it. No, first things first...

Where did the deck brush go, actually?

Being almost certainly taller than Jade, Skulduggery could doubtless get a clear view over his head of the newly completely-unassuming closet interior; Jade himself hums in a curious sort of agreement to the question, stepping forward a bit to reach inside and...prod at the back wall in there, behind the mop handles? Positively no give at all, of course--but he's already figuring it's not exactly some sort of mechanical phenomena at work here...]

That's the real question, isn't it? I've a few ideas...but it's going to be a bit interesting, since this is an item that isn't necessarily sourced from the ship itself. [Straightening back out of the closet, Jade turns back to Skulduggery as he speaks, thoughtful humor curving the smile on his face.] When it comes to articles that are part of the ship, at least--you've noticed it too, perhaps? Most things modified by ourselves are usually either reset or replaced, eventually. Even repaired, in the event of destruction--hm, the screens earlier this month were quite a display of that...

[Oh, an unexpected brief brush against the very purple conceptual bruise that the island battle royale doubtless still is on most everyone's memories; the pause is imperceptible before Jade's moving on past that, though, expression not so much as flickering as he continues.]

A case like this, then...I received the deck brush from the sundries shop initially--I wonder if it'd be there? Or do you suppose it'd be more likely to show back up in my cabin, at this point?

[The question of how is probably unlikely for them to be solved, but of course it's the one question that bothers Skulduggery the most! How in the hell does the ship know when something needs to be repaired or relocated, and how does it do it? A portal, maybe? Translocational magic isn't impossible, or even particularly difficult to achieve -- hell, even necromancers can do it! -- but it usually requires something more substantial than averting your eyes.]

Well, I'm invested enough to check both. If we could determine where objects go when we leave them behind... That would be useful. [Would they be able to pass useful information through the process? Items, maybe?] Imagine if we could surreptitiously pass items to one another without ever being in the same location on the ship? Or use this to quickly spread information, in the event that our phones become compromised?

[He immediately thinks, what if it's a person?, but that has more to do with potentially throwing ornery pirate captains into a closet than anything practical.]

[No, no, having a space to shove ornery pirate captains in a pinch can also be a perfectly practical need surely.....

The how truly is the most important question for most any kind of phenomena--even if everything about the captain and the ship alike have been rather obnoxiously difficult to parse on every turn, when it comes to that particular front. Jade himself has never witnessed spatial manipulation near the level he's frequently encountered on this vessel, so it's very new ground broken all around. Still...]

Hm--those would be some viable uses, wouldn't they? We'd have to test for consistency, of course...but in that sense, this may be as good a start as any. [Jade hadn't actually considered this, and the suggestion of the idea is taken in with an appreciative note in tone and similarly appreciative glance back at Skulduggery. He pulls the closet doors shut.] Well, the sundries shop is closest from here, so we could certainly drop by there first, if it's all the same to you. Unless there's elsewhere you were actually planning to be, of course--it occurs to me I might have sidetracked you over here!

[They're currently in some small connecting hall between the outer decks and the atrium, anyway. Jade's happy to start in the direction of the shop, if Skulduggery's amenable to it.]

[It's hard to tell when Skulduggery is preening, but he does that just a bit now, as Jade gives his silent approval of the idea. (His ego is impossible to ignore but, thankfully, easy to please.)] This is far more interesting than anything I could be doing right now. So long as you don't mind my tagging along...

[Which he does, following along beside Jade as they head towards the shop, sticking his hands into his pockets as though he isn't buzzing with curiosity. He hopes the broom isn't there -- it wouldn't do them any good to have a quick way back to the shop, he doesn't think -- but any answer is better than none at all.]

This is probably the most interesting thing happening right now. Which, given the track-record around here, is a blessed relief. Although, saying that aloud probably risks jinxing it...

[Expressions in general tend to be tricky to parse from a face consisting of nothing but a fairly immobile skull, and preening's no exception there...yet Skulduggery does still manage to be rather more expressive than one would expect from a skeleton anyhow--in other ways, tone of voice and approximate body (bone??) language. Jade could be imagining a bit of a mildly smug aura emanating from Skulduggery's general direction about there--but even if he isn't, well! A good idea's a good idea all the same, you know? May as well voice approval where it's due, even if it does feed an ego somewhat...]

Tempting fate like that sure is a dangerous thing. Though since you've probably almost certainly jinxed us already--I'll admit aloud that I do agree with you there. Would that vanishing items were the most of our worries around here...

[It really has been quiet in the last few weeks, at least, which...still strikes Jade with a vague sort of surprise, when he stops to think about it too long. Honestly, he'd fully expected for the battle royale footage to remain a constant for the rest of the month at least--though the four days they were run had been quite horrible enough already. Best not tempt fate by voicing that aloud either...

But, in lieu of that, Jade does find his own thoughts wandering back towards another earlier tangent as they cross the atrium.]

--Hm, if you'd not mind me asking, actually...at the risk of being rather abruptly morbid. Discussing your propensity for injuries earlier does prompt me to wonder...would a magical sort of healer be required, then, to mend any sort of injury you do receive? I'd hazard a guess that conventional medicines would do little for you...nor literally splinting your bones or something in the event they're broken, presumably. [A beat, as Jade briefly rifles for the most tactful way to pose his next question and...can't really find one. So, to cut straight to the curiosity chase--] Are you actually capable of dying again, for that matter?

Would that it were. [Every day of relative peace and quiet aboard is another day Skulduggery wishes that this were the status quo. He could live the rest of his long life comfortably here, if only their very existence aboard didn't fuel the machinations of the hack in charge.

The shift in conversation is maybe a surprise, but not a particularly unwelcome one. Jade's been courteous enough, and it's not like his questions are particularly personal in nature.]

No trouble. Let's see... When I break bones, I have to either replace them entirely or have them repaired via magic. I know a talented doctor, so I haven't had to replace too many. As far as dying again... [He lifts one shoulder in a noncommital shrug.] I've lost my skull and replaced it, had limbs pulled off... Serpine had a fun way of making my bones flex in horrifically painful ways. Enough of that probably would have done it, but unfortunately for him, I escaped.

It's been suggested that massive sustained damage would do the trick, but nobody back home was willing to drop a safe on me for science. [Hee hee! Because joking about your death is funny.]

[He is trying to be about as prudent as one could manage, prying into the matter of weaknesses and--well, vulnerability to death. It's perhaps not the most lighthearted material for walking conversation, especially considering how they were mutually admiring this temporary peace and quiet of the ship literally a handful of seconds ago...but still, the strangeness of Skulduggery's being is difficult to ignore for long. If anything, these questions would have come around far earlier in previous meetings, if other more fascinating topics or...extenuating circumstances, hadn't ended up sidelining it multiple times.

It's not necessarily just curiosity for the sake of it, either--though there's plenty of that too, and Jade's not about to deny it. More practically, though...] Hm, very defined sorts of medical limitations there--understandable, all things considered. I rather doubt there's a convenient stash of spare bones lying in some closet in the infirmary, unfortunately. If healing artes would also work, however...I have no capacity for them myself, but I do know of a very trustworthy young man by the name of Flynn Scifo who has some ability there. Should you ever find yourself injured to such a degree--if you were to contact him, he'll be sure to promptly help, even if the two of you are still strangers by that point.

[...Not that Flynn would be able to help with death, though--as most people wouldn't. Even skeletal (second?-)death sounds like a highly thorough affair, and Jade does take a moment's neutral pause to digest that bit of information there. Massive sustained damage...dropping a safe--well, Jade knows what all the words in that last bit mean individually, even if the overall joke is unfortunately lost on him. Some impact of exceptional weight and mass, then...or perhaps a thoroughly powerful detonation of energy, would--

--It's an intrusive sort of thought, of course. Immediately trying to mentally strategize how he might take advantage of such a weak point if need be himself. Even before the battle royale, this has always been a rather bad habit of Jade's headspace in general...but recent unfortunate events have certainly, maybe, exacerbated things. A little. Still, the pensive expression on Jade's face doesn't particularly betray it, and he's prompt to table the thought after only a bit of mulling anyway. Not important now, after all. For now...]

You do sound quite resilient to varied forms of harm at the very least! I'm sure you'd quite prefer to continue avoiding that sort of science for yourself...but it's interesting that your 'second life' takes form in this sort of way. And still has such a vulnerability all the same... [Even being a skeleton doesn't render you immune to the more general drawbacks of living, it would seem--like dying. Or just experiencing pain, for that matter. Jade's tone might have slanted more wry a moment ago, but ends up colored by curiosity once again as that casual reference to...some sort of torture? Ends up being brought up, idly as can be.] "Serpine", hm? ...Someone who's not exactly a friend of yours back home, I take it...

Ah, I'll be sure to keep the name in mind. It's inevitable I'll suffer some serious injury at one point or another. [After all, he's displayed just how little concern he carries for his personal safety.

It wouldn't surprise Skulduggery to know where Jade's mind wanders. Even without the extenuating circumstances of the ship, it's not uncommon for people to immediately wonder how he might die. It's usually one of the first questions people have for him, although his answers are usually a great deal more flippant than the one he's given Jade.

He supposes it's a good idea for at least one person to know what might potentially kill him, even if nothing so far has done the trick. And, speaking of tricks that have tried to kill him -- Skulduggery laughs at the understatement.] No, most certainly not a friend. Ah... I don't remember how much I've told you about my home. Suffice it to say, Serpine and I had what you'd call an... adversarial relationship. [Which is the only thing he can say about it without launching into a scathing monologue. Even as it is, he can't resist,] He was an Adept who collected painful, torturous forms of magic to use on other people. He didn't kill me properly the first time, and so I was a thorn in his side until his overdue death.

(ooc: And then the broom vanishing was promptly retconned per mod input on account of the player winging things too hard and asking questions too little whoops--now Jade and Skulduggery are taking a looping walk around this deck level about now, because they haven't actually checked what happens in the closet yet and want to give the results some time to form...! Upon returning to the closet the broom will in fact still be there, in a far more fitting tradition of science being disappointing in these ways sometimes--but anyway--)

[There's only a slight and fairly neutral hum on Jade's part, accompanying a bit of a nod at Skulduggery's note on healing and the prospects of likely needing it sooner rather than later. After all, Jade sure did witness a hearty sampling of Skulduggery's brand of recklessness in the form of watching the guy swirl his fingers around in the captain's void of a brain....so no, he's certainly not about to argue Skulduggery's point there, for better or worse. Much as he does hope no actual harm comes about for any of his bones anytime soon...

But apparently there sure was an attempt at harm rendered back where Skulduggery hails from, by the sound of it--in multiple different senses of the word, even? The mention of an adversarial relationship doesn't exactly phase Jade, previous mentions of torture considered--and there's certainly a very clear and unpleasant picture being painted of the adversary in question, just based off his magic career choices alone--but then...that last bit sinks in, and Jade's attention quite visibly focuses more on Skukduggery than the walking path before them for a moment, as his eyebrows arch a bit.]

Ah--then, if I understand correctly...it was Serpine who killed you the first time, so to speak? [Goodness, just that considered--"adversarial relationship" would be putting it very lightly, now wouldn't it? To Jade's credit, he does seem to be trying his best to curb his own curiosity on an at least outward level--but the intrigue is plain in his tone all the same, even as a wry lilt is injected:] He truly must have done a rather poor job of the first attempt, your presence here and now considered...or was there some other element at work, perhaps, in postponing your death at that time?

He was indeed. [It's a matter of fact, and he doesn't hesitate to say as much, although he's not inclined to give out the full story all at once. It doesn't hurt to talk about, exactly, but he knows it has a tendency to make people uncomfortable. And as painless a memory as it is most of the time, there are moments when it does rub raw.

Thankfully, now isn't one of those moments.] He trapped me, tortured me, and killed me. The details are... well, superfluous, really. As far as I knew when I died, that was going to be it, but for some reason... this happened, instead.

[He's seemingly equally unbothered by the mysterious cause of his ressurrection, but that one does occasionally frustrate. He wants to, and often does attribute it to an innate but supernatural resilience. But there's really no way to tell.]

It must have something to do with the necromancy he used to kill me, but it's a trick only he ever learned, and the necromancers who taught it to him are... uninterested in talking about it. [All in an effort to remain supposedly neutral in the fight against the Faceless Ones, as if one could be neutral against evil gods. Skulduggery knows full well that they're not neutral at all -- they've only thrown their vote behind a different kind of god.] They don't actually like me very much. No idea why. [He says that, however, like he has every idea why...]

[Huh...

Honestly, there's something to be said about the timing of this conversation, and the bent it's taking in a more thoroughly resurrection-related sort of direction. If Jade had pursued this tangent far earlier on--as he'd rather wanted to, in the very first meeting they'd had--he expects he'd be feeling quite differently about the brief and concise tale that Skulduggery lays out, concerning the circumstances of his death. Yet here and now, a couple of weeks out from a decidedly unpleasant death of his very own, there's a new and strange note of...something, to add to his whole assessment of this. ...Commiseration? Understanding, perhaps? Well, vaguely...the differences remain, after all, in the fact that Skulduggery ended up coming back as an animate skeleton rather than a whole and hale human being--in the fact that the circumstances were still probably entirely disparate, from the kind they're finding on this ship here and now.

No, Jade would hardly go so far as to say he truly relates to Skulduggery's situation in any particularly overt way, and it's definitely not something he'd be so presumptuous as to remark upon out loud. But he certainly does find himself possessing a brand-new sympathetic sort of lens, with which to view it all...? Not to mention how it's no longer very difficult in the least, to imagine what it might be like to revive and be uncertain as to just how it had even happened. At least Jade can claim to know the who behind his own resurrection, if not necessarily the process. Such a thing still remains hanging in the air on Skulduggery's end of things, by comparison...]

Hm, it must have been a rather disorienting affair, coming to after the fact... [Less humored and more rather quietly musing than anything. Doubtless Skulduggery did not actually awaken to the sound of muzak and repeated footage of his own death--hopefully--but it probably never isn't a jarring affair, regardless of what the surroundings at the time might actually be. (Or so Jade figures, anyway, quite blissfully unaware of Skulduggery's unfortunate leap into a five-year super-necromancer fugue state, but you know...yeah.....)] That's quite unfortunate, though...that you haven't yet been able to pin down the true cause. Doubtless you tried to find what answers you could, but--not much to be done when the potential source is uninterested in conversation, is there?

[Skulduggery doesn't seem to outwardly bothered at least, no. Jade decides he's not about to go pushing too overtly upon the reasoning there, either. The fact still remains that they're enjoying a perfectly nice walk about the perimeter of Deck One presently, in this brief window of peace aboard the Serena Eterna where the only immediate thing to worry about is the status of his deck brush when they return to the closet--Jade isn't trying to actively bring down the mood, honestly, for all that his rather morbid line of questioning does invoke the risk. His tone accordingly shifts back to more of a sardonically humored bent.]

Really, I can't imagine why they wouldn't like you. Some form of misplaced jealousy, perhaps? Your bones have been holding up remarkably well, all things considered!

[Skulduggery, with a pair of black gauntlets hidden away in his dresser, can't help but chuckle a little at the deep understatement of Jade's comment. Not that he could know, or hear anything but wry humor in Skulduggery's tone.] Disorienting is certainly a good word for it. [If infinitesimal in comparison to the real thing...] I don't know if I mentioned it, but. It took me a while to put myself back together. I don't remember most, if any of it. Sort of like being born, I suppose.

[Really, if Jade were to mention any of his thoughts to Skulduggery, whether their newfound similarities or his worry of bringing down the conversation, the concerns would likely be waved away. As it is, he hardly seems upset to be talking about it now -- especially with the freedom to mock the necromancer temple without it somehow getting back to them and turning into a whole thing.]

I think they're embarrassed that they don't know what happened to me. I would be, if I were them. [He shrugs.] Maybe I spit in the face of their closely-guarded belief system. I certainly know they don't like that I know so much about it.

[They hate that he knows everything. And here, with nobody to get into the political gray area of the War, Skulduggery is free to call the Scientol-- I mean, the necromancers out for who they really are.

There's some measure of amusement in his voice when he asks,] Would you like to hear some of their closely guarded religious secrets?

[Put himself back--oh. It takes Jade a moment to realize what Skulduggery actually means, with that phrase, but once it clicks there's a small and understanding sort of hum to accompany the realization. Honestly, he knows better than most just how easily loose bones can get scattered and mixed up in other things, depending on where a body might end up...though it's oddly easy to forget such things, interacting with Skulduggery's very whole and stable skeletal self here and now. --Still, his flesh must have been long gone indeed by the time he actually revived, with these new context clues in place. Being 'born' probably is a very apt sort of way to put it...]

There is truly nothing more embarrassing, than not knowing something that ought to be landing squarely in one's own field of work...especially if one's an arrogant sort.

[Which most necromancers tend to be, apparently, even across realities. --Hm. Fraught as his conversation with Palamedes on the topic of necromancy might have been, that time back when they'd finally hashed out a misunderstanding of the matter...Jade's come away from that, too, with a different sort of lens to view the whole matter with. Between processing his own death and having his own horizons on necromancy forcibly broadened after that particular talk, it's finally getting...a bit easier, maybe, to look at a topic involving manipulation of the dead and not immediately get a sharp urge to steer away from it, driven by his own hangups on the matter. Skulduggery's fairly cheery flippancy about it helps somewhat too, in this case...and so, when he asks that question with that clear measure of amusement, Jade finds himself able to readily respond with both an answer and a similar level of amusement in turn.]

Well, it certainly sounds like such secrets would be painstakingly confidential and utterly mortifying to let loose! I'd be quite remiss to not want to hear them--do tell.

I'll preface it by saying that the sorcerer religion tends to have more... concrete proof than other Earth religions. Not to get too bogged down by the theology, but suffice it to say when we talk about our gods, we're talking about real beings. [He debates mentioning his own run-in with the Faceless Ones, but decides that it can wait until after he's done mocking the thing he so wants to mock.] When the necromancers talk about their god, however, it is all entirely hypothetical. They don't like to call it a prophecy, but that's what it is.

[They've run tests and done calculations and talked said hypothetical to death, and yet it still hasn't come to fruition. Skulduggery can practically hear Wreath scolding him on the inevitability of their religion, which of course makes him happy to continue.]

The necromancers of my reality believe in someone they call the Death Bringer. They believe that somewhere out there is an all-powerful necromancer, who will single-handedly tear down the veil between the living world and the world of the dead. And while they would like to imply to their initiates that this is a good thing, strangely, they aren't keen on sharing that belief with the rest of us living souls. They probably think we'll take it the wrong way. [He tilts his head in a brief manner that may give the impression he's rolling his metaphorical eyes.] Given the last person they thought was the Death Bringer, it's probably no surprise.

[Jade had already figured this would be a rather interesting tangent at the very least, even with all the necromancy considered...and it sure is. Even the preface that Skulduggery makes is being noted, where religion is concerned; namely, that apparently Earth has multiples of them, with myriads of different gods involved. The idea that most of them have been confirmed to exist isn't so startling--the same could be said for Auldrant's perception of its fonic aggregate sentiences, after all. That does already make a very distinct impression of Skulduggery's home-reality brand of necromancers, though, in the fact that theirs would be hypothetical instead...

Based upon prophecy, mainly, apparently. Which isn't much grounds to go off of, based upon Skulduggery's clear opinion on the matter. --Huh, the multitude of religions and the fact that it's another world altogether would mean that Earth probably has no such thing as the Score at all, does it? Jade's quietly aligning his perception of the information to this idea even as he nods along occasionally to Skulduggery's words.]

The term "Death Bringer" doesn't exactly have the most pleasant ring to it on its own, to be fair--not exactly a tenuous guess to make, that the uninitiated would be rather put off by the idea of one. [The amusement in Jade's tone about here is in equal parts at the expense of this, and also at the very clear impression of eye-rolling happening on Skulduggery's end indeed. Jade tilts his head in turn, now, but it's more of an idly thoughtful sort of gesture.] So, to recap, they're under the utterly devout impression that this person already exists out and about somewhere in the world, and is certain to accomplish this feat...but their prophecy is so vague that there are no specifics as to when this person would have been born, or who they would be, or how exactly they would go about it? --It does sound like the sort of thing a fraudulent Scorer would spin up for a cheap birthday reading, quite frankly.

[Yeah, considering Jade hails from a place where the singular overarching religion is based entirely upon an extremely detailed and expansive prophecy by comparison...no, even without the utterly dispassionate filter of Skulduggery's own retelling, it just doesn't sound very impressive at all by comparison.]

And who was the last person they thought to be the Death Bringer? Going by your tone about now, I'd have to assume that they probably did not in fact...bring death in the way that was foretold, so to speak. [Aside from perhaps just bringing regular death in the form of a lot of murdering, perhaps, which is the vague impression on the matter that Jade's getting here?]

Edited 2022-06-14 15:19 (UTC)

They say there are specifics, but unfortunately, as a nonbeliever... [They are disinclined to acquiesce to any requests to read said specifics.] Well. Detailed or otherwise, they haven't yet found the one they're waiting for.

You're right that their last choice didn't fulfill their grand design. He was a stranger, someone nobody knew, who arrived at the necromancer temple and immediately surpassed all of their wildest dreams. His name was, aptly enough, Lord Vile.

[There's no indication to Skulduggery's tone to imply he's speaking of anything other than ancient history. Saying the name aloud doesn't worsen the faint ache in his head, and at least for now, Lord Vile is just a creature from ancient nightmares.]

This happened during the height of the War. The necromancers had withdrawn from the fight entirely, and they took this... creature in, hoping he might be the one to initiate the Passage. His power was unrivaled. He was practically unstoppable. [Skulduggery pauses. He's still fine, so he continues,] And before they could even begin to explain their grand plans for him, Lord Vile left the necromancers and joined the enemy. Taking all of his powerful necromancy straight to Mevolent.

[Goodness, seems the weirdly on-point names continue. Jade's starting to wonder if it's a sort of culture thing where Skulduggery's from...but it's a musing stowed away for some other form of idle questioning at a later date, much the same way the fact that there's apparently an entire temple for necromancy is peered at with a great deal of mental squinting and then squared away as well.

No, in general, he simply continues to listen with attentiveness as Skulduggery goes on to recount the appearance and actions of this not-Death Bringer, 'Lord Vile'; by now they're about halfway through their walking circuit around the perimeter of Deck One, speed not exactly being a priority with absorbing conversation at the forefront, but Jade's not actually paying much attention to their progress anyhow at this point. No, the picture Skulduggery's painting about now is a far more interesting one--the appearance of a stranger from utterly nowhere, who ended up possessing apparently immense talent for necromancy, and yet...]

Essentially walked out on them on a whim, did he? My, I imagine this coalition of necromancers must have been very put out, by this turn of events!

[Hm, entirely absorbed in his own priorities in the end, it would seem. No, Jade, supposes, if Vile were indeed the actual prophesied one--assuming, generously, that the prophecy was legitimate to begin with--a shift in priorities should not normally break the predetermined path, but merely elongate the route to the same eventual endpoint. (That always did seem to be how things worked out with the Score, at least, until the Score in itself was broken.) And by the sound of it...]

I notice you use the past-tense--he 'was' unrivaled, 'was' unstoppable. I would assume, then, that he was eventually stopped, even despite his power with necromancy? [The sidelong glance that Jade levels Skulduggery's way is one of simple curiosity, although...even as Skulduggery's tone doesn't give away much besides that of a fairly neutral party recounting an old story, there was that bit of a pause towards the end there, too. Hm. --The implications are clear that these events occurred sometime ago, but just how long was it, by Skulduggery's reference? Vaguely, Jade recalls their discussion of calendars and ages, Skulduggery's own longevity...in a very blurry sort of elevator ride, a couple weeks prior.] Were you there to witness this particular saga as it unfolded for yourself, I wonder? Or was it rather before your time?

As it turns out, you shouldn't trust mysterious strangers with unimaginable power. Who would have thought?

[It's easier to talk about when he couches it in criticisms against the necromancer temple and the beliefs it represents. Easier still when he considers it ancient history -- or at least, old enough that the scars have seemingly healed over. (Something squirms deep beneath the scar tissue, in the meat between the bones. An almost undetectable parasite that he can ignore for a while longer.)]

This happened during the time I was... dead. [For lack of a better term.] And for five long years, Lord Vile tore apart every battlefield he encountered, and of the thousands who encountered him, none were capable of defeating him. [Except one. But giving that information away might be too much, might cut too close to the truth. He can't bring up that his best friend was the only one to survive a fight against the necromancer in question.

It hardly matters, anyway. If it were Ghastly standing there, or if he had been alone, Lord Vile's decision is the same in the story.] In the end, Vile disappeared from the battle. Nobody knows what happened to him. He could have been killed in battle, or perhaps he simply got tired of all the killing. [Skulduggery sounds skeptical of that last option, because he is. He knows it wasn't Vile who tired of the death.]

You'd think a group of necromancers in a temple would at least know the basics of stranger danger, to be sure...

[Or dangerous strangers, at least, as semantics go. ...And this Vile certainly sounds like he was about as dangerous as a stranger could get. Five years unchallenged on a myriad of battlefields is assuredly no small feat; even with these sparse details alone, Jade can already imagine how devastating that must have been, for any assembled force attempting to stand in his path. Skulduggery's admission that he was dead, during this period, earns a prompt enough nod of acknowledgment from Jade; he sees no reason to doubt the explanation, after all, confirmation that this is indeed a retelling more than anything else.

...Since it does explain how very abruptly the tale seems to end. A brief pause falls, as Skulduggery finishes on that point, and Jade hums a bit after another moment, filling the space in a thoughtful sort of fashion.]

My, phrased like that--it's almost a bit anticlimactic, isn't it? Then again, things in the real world rarely resolve so neatly and dazzlingly as they do in stories. ...But the disappearance of Lord Vile must remain quite the intriguing mystery to some; I assume the cause is still unknown to this day. [....Hmm. For someone of such power to simply...cease, though.] You know...perhaps this is a rather bold assumption on my part, of course. I hardly know the finer details of the matter, after all. But based off this retelling alone, and his alleged prowess...I'd be almost positive that Lord Vile couldn't have been bested so quietly in battle, could he? If he were killed, I imagine everyone would have known of it in very short order. Though him simply growing tired of his own exploits doesn't seem quite right either...

[They round a corner; the sea flickers briefly through a porthole window in one side of the hall. A familiar-looking hall, even; seems they're gradually approaching their original closet starting point now. In another minute or two, perhaps...]

Might have been another outside influence entirely...where does your own opinion lie, on the matter? Do you suppose he simply stopped, one day? ...Do you suppose he's still out there somewhere in your world, even now?

[...Jade's thoughts may be circling back around to that prophecy again. Not long ago he'd been quite ready to set aside its ties to Lord Vile in any capacity, but now...that frequent technicality in prophecies, where extended paths to the same predicted endpoints might be concerned, sure is rearing up again in thought.....]

[It's a fair assumption, really. A man with that much power can't be quietly killed; everyone would have heard about it if someone had managed the feat. Skulduggery knows the common belief is that he was mortally injured, leaving the battlefield only to preserve his mystique after death. He knows that's likely what Baron Vengeous thought, when he'd found the armor for himself.]

I'd like to think he came to his senses. Maybe he realized the tremendous loss of life hadn't fixed anything. It could be that Mevolent had him killed for insubordination. Maybe he found somebody nice to settle down with. [Skulduggery only knows the moments after, when Vile turned his back on the battlefield, rather than hurt the only person Skulduggery truly had left in the world. There must have been fractures in his psyche before then, but the memories are locked away.]

We do know he eventually abandoned his armor. I can't remember if it was a year or two years ago, but it was eventually located deep inside a mountain. As for the man himself... [Skulduggery shrugs.] He disappeared without a trace. I'm sure the necromancer still hold their breath when the wind whistles wrong, waiting for him to reappear and fulfill their prophecy.

[Which will never happen. They can keep holding their breath until they collapse.]

...Hmm, it could truly be any number of possibilities in the end, couldn't it? The more optimistic options would be ideal, at any rate. But if it simply remains a mystery forevermore...that would probably be just as ideal too, by the sound of it.

[If Vile might indeed still be around and about to this day--somewhere in Skulduggery's reality, anyway. A mystery unsolved is a mystery that never re-emerges, after all, which might be the best result for all parties involved over there. If that were the case, perhaps one day those necromancers might even yet learn how to move on, too--as unlikely as it might be, if they're still waiting, even now. (Here, though, the thought does bring about an internal twinge of grim amusement: even if the finer details and complexities seem to vary wildly throughout realities, where the job title's concerned...one consistent thing about necromancers across the multiverse does seem to involve a simply atrocious inability to let go of things--)

Ah, but. There's one detail mentioned that Jade does find himself circling back around to, with another bit of curiosity.]

You say his armor was found, though--and secured, I'd hope? I get a feeling, considering the prowess of its original owner, that it's probably not exactly the most conventional set of armor around...

[Not that Jade's any sort of armor connoisseur himself, or anything, but armors reinforced in a variety of ways are still a definite Thing in Auldrant. He's not entirely sure what a necromancer's armor would entail, in Skulduggery's world, but surely it isn't the normal sort either?]

Ah, well. Yes and no. [Skulduggery lifts one hand to make a so-so gesture. The history of Vile's armor should have ended with it being locked away in the mountain, the location buried in his subconscious, but unfortunately for everyone involved...]

One of the other generals of Mevolent's army needed the power of Vile's armor in order to control... a construct that was designed primarily out of the body of a Faceless One. That's what we call the ancient gods in our history. They're evil beings that want to destroy everything. And I mean everything. They hate sorcerers and they hate mortal men even more.

The general in question, Vengeous, he found Vile's armor and managed to utilize it to awaken and control his constructed god. The idea was for it to open a portal between our reality and the one the Faceless Ones had been banished to. But, thankfully, my friends and I were there to punch both him and his monster to death. [It was more complicated than that, obviously, but Skulduggery imagines the highlights are all that matters.]

Afterward, the Sanctuary took the armor and stored it away, along with remains of the construct. And they still have it, assuming everything is as I last left it back home.

[open] at least the month couldn't get any worse, right?

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