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“Hello?”
…
“I know that you are out there. This is your realm. Your home.”
…
“And I know that you can speak. You have spoken to several of my companions.”
…
“Granted, all of them were situated on Derse, which I understand to be closer to your domain, but nevertheless I feel as though we should be able to communicate.”
…communicate.
we...communicate. Granted,
“…Alright. It would seem you can echo my words back to me. I am certain, however, that this is not your only means of communication, at least not with the aforementioned others.”
…Alright. certain, others. situated on Derse, not Your home. not your realm. echo is only communication,
“I see. Then I should endeavor to give you as many words as I can to help facilitate this limited communication.”
you should
“Then I will tell you my reason for reaching out to you. Our group had come into contact with another group of players in another session, and it was believed that our two parties would coalesce in an attempt to salvage what we could from two inherently doomed instances. However, at the critical moment when we were to meet up with them, we found no one, and no explanation as to why they weren’t there or of what could have happened to them.”
you are reaching out to salvage explanation…why…why Our group
“I…I had a hunch. In the moments leading up to the pivotal moment, one member of their party, the one named Rose, she…her actions became inscrutable. She had mentioned being in communion with you, the elder gods, and I began to suspect that you might have the answers that we seek.”
Rose, …her actions she…would coalesce
“I’m afraid that I do not understand. But you do seem to know the one to whom I’m referring.
Rose,
“Yes, Rose. What did you want with her?”
she had a hunch. she began to suspect Our group…she began to seek answers…she is Our doomed echo…I’m afraid that I do not understand.
“You do not understand? What is it that you do not understand?”
What is it that you do not understand?
“Where is she? What happened to their session?”
their session? is doomed
“Yes, I have been acutely aware of this for a while now. But we had hoped, perhaps futilely, that we may yet derive some purpose out of a seemingly lost cause. I suppose…us mortal creatures can be rather stubborn at times.”
stubborn…mortal creatures….Rose. a seemingly lost cause. we may derive some purpose out of her?
“So you did have a purpose for her, then.”
we have a purpose for all of them … all of the doomed
“And what purpose is that, exactly?”
the elder gods, coalesce with the doomed… you do not understand?
“Is that a statement, or a question?”
a statement,
“She trusted you. She believed that your interests were aligned with ours, and that you would help us.”
She believed …
“But she was wrong, wasn’t she? Whatever your intentions her, helping us was not among them.”
you. wrong,
“Am I? Then are you benevolent or malevolent?”
benevolent or malevolent? I? Am
“This is an incredibly frustrating way to communicate.”
This is an incredibly frustrating way to communicate.
“On that, at least, we can agree. Reaching out to you has begun to seem like a thoroughly fruitless undertaking at this point. Perhaps I should give you more words with which to express yourself.”
more words ... On that, we agree.
“When we noticed that the humans were not where we expected to find them, the other trolls and I began to suspect the worst. Slowly, the realization set in that we had, at some point, come to inhabit yet another offshoot timeline whose existence is paradoxical and thus, doomed to unravel. Knowing that we were all slated for inevitable death, I just…I just wanted to know if there was any possibility that she was okay. That wherever she and the rest of her human party ended up, that she…”
she and the rest of her human party ended up okay.
“…It is my understanding that you have been deceitful in the past. It is not difficult to imagine circumstances under which beings such as yourselves would benefit from misleading lesser beings. So why should I believe any of what you have to say?”
you should not believe … lesser beings. difficult to imagine beings. such as Our group … Rose and the rest of her human party …. we have a purpose for them … we are okay. they weren’t there … we found no one
“So you don’t know where they are either?”
we know where they are … Rose would coalesce with the other humans
“Then, if I am understanding you correctly, that wherever she is, she is with her friends, and you assure me that she is okay.”
she is doomed … she is okay.
“Is it possible for me to relay a message to her through you?”
it Is possible … the elder gods relay
“Then, I ask that you tell her…tell her that my only regret in this life was that our time together, was so brief and only in virtual space. Tell her that I would have liked to have had the chance to come to know her better in more relaxed terms. Tell her that if we should ever cross paths in this dying timeline or in whatever follows for our existence after death, that I would very much like to pick up where we left off. I am certain that these matters seem trivial to ones such as yourselves, but…surely you must also realize the truth that is in knowing that often, the times of greatest significance can hinge upon the seemingly inconsequential. If she is, as you say, at peace and where she must be, then I will take whatever comfort that I can from that. Will you do this?”
It is possible….that you may have the opportunity to relay this message yourself in time….
“…Wait. I don’t recall having said the word ‘opportunity’ throughout this exchange.”
Rest now, Sylph of Prospit. We told you, we have a purpose for all of the doomed…