Let's Play The Spirit Engine 2

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Chapter 5: The Hereafter

Part 1: Aftermath

I spy, with my little eye... something that begins with 'D'.




Is darkness actually a 'thing' or merely the absence of light? I'm not sure, but it's not what I was thinking of. Give it another try, Denever.


Alright, let me think. 'D'...


'Door'! You know it's 'Door'! It has been the last three times he's used 'D'! Stop dragging it out!


There's no need to shout. I would have taught you Kajh Haek, which is a fantastic game, but the rules require an intimate knowledge of wordplay in Ancient Sakedian. I thought you weren't interested in playing anyway.


I'm not, but the pair of you are starting to drive me crazy. Why am I the only one actually doing something constructive with my time?


Because you haven't accepted that we're trapped here. Have you found anything useful yet?


No, just more stuffed toys. Every crate is packed full of the horrible little things, with their beady eyes and their smug grins. Do you think they might burn? It's getting so cold in here...


I've felt it, too. The temperature must have dropped five degrees in the past hour alone. An icy chill is seeping through the walls. Something far too cold for autumn in the Vale.


I can't take much more of this. I don't bear long periods of physical inactivity well. The last time I was locked up, I got twitchy, and there was trouble. Confinement isn't my pedigree at all.


Well let's look on the brightside, eh? At least the screaming has stopped outside.


...




Please, my friend, calm your temper. I mean you no harm. We need each other now. Follow me outside and you will see...







The whole city is in ruins. Merciful Karvey. Never in my worst nightmares have I imagined such a sight. I think I'm going to be sick.


They're all gone. So many people, and poor Percy with them. What happened out here? What have you done?!


Nothing besides save your lives, my friends, I assure you. This is a callous and calculated attack on your nation's sanity. May the dead forgive me, I did not think they would go through with it. Do any of you have a light?


A light? No, why?


I've run out of matches. Most unprofessional of me. I seem to be slipping, and my concentration certainly won't be helped when this last cigarette burns down. No matter, there's enough smouldering rubble about.


Some violently explosive compound was detonated in the town centre, where it flattened houses for three streets in all directions.
From it this thick dust has settled, the red clouds have risen, and in the sun's absence the temperature has plummeted to the depths we are experiencing now.
The favorable conditions have drawn Cloud Children and their spawn down from their icy migration routs above us. They have taken the city, feeding ont he human debris.


The noxious fumes have slain most of the survivors who could not flee the city in time. Yet it is not a true death which they have been granted, only a death of the mind. Theyretain motion, and a fearsome predatory instinct.


Stop it. Why are you telling us all this? You've spend the past week trying to stop anyone from interfering in this terrible atrocity!


My friends, we appear to have started our relationship on a poor footing. I understand your concerns completely. Let's try this again, shall we?
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jaques, and I am indeed an agent of the Yaegaran intelligence services. I am here to tell you that I don't believe my government has anything to do with this madness.


Hah! You've got a lot of nerve. You're a spy. Deception is your business. The last time we met, you told us the warning was a hoax. Do you really think we're stupid enough to believe you now?


I am beginning to. I'm well aware of the great volume of black propaganda which the governors of our two nations spread amongst their citizens.
But it still saddens me that you might think my country was capable of such a terrible act.


Alright, perhaps we're willing to listen. If this attack wasn't sanctioned by the Yaegaran government, just who else might have done it, and why?


The who, I do not know, but the intent is clear - to drive our two nations to war.
I suspect the same devastation has stcuk at Kelstarin and the great ities of Silareth and Pontara in my homeland. Just as further falsified intelligence has claimed it would.


Marvellous, this is sounding cheerier by the second. Thanks for the public service announcement, Jaques. I think I'd rather go back to the bunker now, if you don't mind, and wait for help to arrive.


No! We cannot sit idly by whilst this plot unfolds. I need you to help me prove that we are all victims of this deception. That is the only reason you're still alive.


I can't do it myself. I am alone in Lereftain now, with no contacts and no further news from my homeland. Any Lereftese official would sooner send me to the gallows than listen to a word I had to say.


I don't know if we can trust you anymore, but I desperately hope that you're right, for all our sakes. What do you want us to do?


I ask only that you travel back south to the Tall Knives. Atop Shattermane Mount sits the Lereftese Institute for Higher Learning. They have a weather observation station there.
We know about it bcause on a clear day, withthe use of a telescope, it offers striking views out across the Great Plains and Eastern Yaegara itself. I'm sure the Lereftese intelligence services have spent time up there.
From the Institute you can observe this same phenomena afflicting Silareth and Pontara. Proof that my country suffers also, and with that proof we can buy enough time and goodwill to get our two sides talking again.


You msut not, however, speak to anyone about this before you have that proof. This plot may well extend to elements within the Lereftese Parliament itself. Time is short enough as it is without their interference.


How convenient, you don't want us talking to the authorities. I don't suppose you also have a plan that gets us out of the city alive?


I am not employed solely for my dashing good looks, miss. I have found a seaworthy rowing boat tied up by the dock, but it is only large enough for one man.
I should be able to find a clear route out of the harbor, through the debris. You three are more capable in combat. You'll have to fight your way out of the city without my help.
It will not be without difficulty, I warn you. The dead here do not rest easy. Do not harbor any sympathy for them, they are lost to us now.
We will split up and increase our overall chances of success. Now that there is little I can do in the way of prevention, I will attempt to get to the heart of this matter and strike there.
Do not lok so glum, my friends! Trumph thrives on adversity! I will find you again soon enough, I promise you.




Because it's a one-seater boat, so it's no good to us anyway, unless you were intending to fight us for it.


I'm probably going to regret not doing so. But the thought of you two stranded alone here is rather too sad and pitiful to bear. I seem to be as much of a slave to my own emotions now as I am to fate.
In any case, I would never have fought you for the boat. The risk of physical injury in a confrontation would be far too high. I would have just shot you both in the back whilst you weren't looking.
Alas, it is probably too late for that now. I need you up front to aid me in my escape from this hellish pit, so turn around and get going. I'll be right behind you.


...


I'm only joking, my dear, shiny-headed companion! Did I do it wrong? Please stop screwing your face up like that, it looks hideous.


I think you need to work on your timing, Ionae. This situation is no laughing matter. We'll need our wits about us if we're to make it past the suburbs. Come on, let's get out of here.



Next: City of the Living Dead!


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