THEE-I-DARE: ROMAN… OF LAUGH-LAST, I KNOW NOT
Stormsworder: (quietly) Oh… That’s…
Stormsworder: (with surprised amusement) Hii-ii. (laughs) Hi, Tid. (continues laughing)
Stormsworder: Uh, Patch?
Patchrabbit: (quietly) Yep.
Stormsworder: Shape.
(Patchrabbit runs away from near the exit to avoid the Shape.)
THEE-I-DARE: BUT DIE-FOR-YOU… RISKY. YES. HE…
Roman: Ehhh…
THEE-I-DARE: WISHES TO CHALLENGE THE HUNTER
Stormsworder: But it seems like the Hunter is wising up to the ploy.
Roman: (distractedly) Oooone second, one second…
Stormsworder: Yeah, it seems like the Hunter—
THEE-I-DARE: BUT THE HUNTER THINKS HIM WEAK…
Roman: Well, yes, I’ve heard that…
Roman: The Hunter doesn’t think that…
THEE-I-DARE: SO HE IS TRYING, I BELIEVE…
Roman: I see…
Roman: (contemplative noise)
THEE-I-DARE: TO WREST DIRECT CONTROL OF…
THEE-I-DARE: THE PETS THE HUNTER PRIZES HERE
Stormsworder: But it does seem like the Hunter is able to resist the trick of saying, uhhh, the Martyr’s name.
THEE-I-DARE: EVEN SO. THE FACT THAT…
THEE-I-DARE: IT EVER WORKED. EVEN FOR A MOMENT…
Roman: That means we can…
Roman: Well…
THEE-I-DARE: I UNDERESTIMATED DIE-FOR-YOU
Roman: He, well, he…
Patchrabbit: (small laugh)
Roman: ...does seem stronger than… you… could think of him.
Stormsworder: I—I feel like that happens often, the underestimating part.
Roman: Let’s—
THEE-I-DARE: HE KNOWS HOW TO SPOIL FOR A FIGHT
Roman: Mmm… Let’s just pretend I didn’t forget what Light… THEE-I-DARE is answering…
Stormsworder: (wheezing laugh) (with laughter) Roman.
(Patchrabbit takes the moment of relative safety to curtsey in greeting to THEE-I-DARE.)
Roman: Listen, I sent, like, twelve.
(Stormsworder and Patchrabbit both laugh.)
Stormsworder: Go ahead, so, you take your time, try remember what you, uh, sent to him in a Light.
THEE-I-DARE: WHO ARE YOU AGAIN?
(Stormsworder bursts into laughter, and Roman and Patchrabbit both laugh as well.)
Roman: I don’t know, just a random person, I guess.
Stormsworder: Wait, me or Roman?
Stormsworder: ‘Cause you totally brought me back from death. Now you’re stuck with me.
THEE-I-DARE: I DO NOT KNOW ANY ROMAN…
(Stormsworder bursts into helpless laughter.)
Patchrabbit: (small laugh) Poor Roman.
THEE-I-DARE: I DID ONCE, BUT I FORGOT
Roman: Ummmm...
Patchrabbit: (amused) Pooooor Roman.
Roman: (simultaneously) I might have known one THEE-I-DARE once, but I think that now, it’s… THEE-I-STINK.
Stormsworder: (additional laughter) Did you just call him THEE-I-STINK?
Roman: But, ehh…
Roman: Joking aside, I also have news about Jasmine that I wanted to tell you.
Roman: So, if you allow me, I wanted to share some important information.
Roman: So…
THEE-I-DARE: TIME BURNS. BUT PLEASE. YES.
Roman: Ehhh, okay, so. We di—I did manage to contact that person, an—and we gained some information, so…
Roman: Her full name is Jasmine Oberlund, and she was a… burlesque dancer? If I… read that c—read that correctly?
Stormsworder: Yes.
Roman: And then some people in the town went looking for—back in Toppenish—went looking for her after she left them a message that didn’t sound like her and disappeared.
Roman: And that… That informa—that person that told us this also said that Jasmine, like Colm, could… sing using two Voices at the same time, so she… probably also could host two of the Voices at the same time.
Roman: And… one of the Voices wanted to use her for a meeting betw—between… someone, and… a person or something warned her that it would make her disappear, like… her… Jasmine, her personality… So she… probably ran away because of that.
Roman: That’s… what I’m getting.
THEE-I-DARE: THAT WOULD MAKE HER SUCH A PRIZE
Roman: And… they do not think that the Makers were involved.
Roman: So, like, I wanted to ask you if you know if—and if you wanted to meet someone, like, in Toppenish, maybe… the End—the End Mother, after she came to the town, or someone else, because… that Voice might have information about her, and… uhhhhh, also Cody.
Stormsworder: Yeah, if we could find out who were the two Voices who wanted to use her.
Roman: Exactly.
THEE-I-DARE: WE DID DESIRE TO MEET, BUT…
THEE-I-DARE: NOT WITH THAT INTENSE SECRECY
Roman: (contemplative noise) So, we don’t know who it might have been, then.
THEE-I-DARE: THE SAME MIND…
Stormsworder: Does that mean anyone who… is capable of dual hosting…
THEE-I-DARE: TWO SOUGHT TO CONSPIRE. BUT…
Stormsworder: ...if they did, they would lose their mind?
Roman: Do you know… who they were?
THEE-I-DARE: NO. BUT IT WAS NOT ME…
Roman: Okay, so we can rule you out…
Roman: Eh… That person also said that th—do—they think that the Makers weren’t involved, so we—I think… we can also rule them out?
Roman: But, not sure.
Stormsworder: There could also have been other Voices in Toppenish.
Roman: (simultaneously) And the—the End Mother was—the End Mother wasn’t there from the start… Do you know who else was in the town? Beside…
Stormsworder: Besides TMC—TMC was there, too.
Roman: (contemplative, questioning noise) Well… We can’t—we can’t really rule him out, since we don’t know…
THEE-I-DARE: IT PRECEDED THE ABDUCTION HERE…
Stormsworder: So it’s something you may not remember?
THEE-I-DARE: WHOEVER IS SECRETLY ALLIED…
THEE-I-DARE: IS PLAYING A LONG GAME INDEED
Stormsworder: ...So you think whoever was wanting to do that secret meeting was, like…
Roman: (near-simultaneously) So… they might still work together right now?
Roman: If… that’s what I’m getting. And Storm.
THEE-I-DARE: IT IS POSSIBLE. BUT IF SHE RAN…
Roman: (contemplative noise)
Roman: Well… They… started—
THEE-I-DARE: PERHAPS THEY DID NOT GET TO MEET
Roman: They started looking for her after she… left—vanished and left a message that didn’t sound like her, so that’s important. If it didn’t sound like her, then maybe it wasn’t her who fled, but—
Stormsworder: A Voice got her away?
Roman: Yes, one of the Voices.
Roman: ...took her somewhere.
THEE-I-DARE: I SEE. THEN AT LEAST ONE WAS IN HER.
Stormsworder: So can find who might have tried to save her, but none of them are gonna be straight with us about it.
Roman: Sooo we can assume that maybe… the Voice that was in her wanted to meet with another.
THEE-I-DARE: AND MAY STILL BE WITHIN HER.
Roman: That is…
Roman: (quietly) ...could be possible…
Stormsworder: (simultaneously) So if we could just find out—if we could find out who she most likely hosted.
Roman: Well—
THEE-I-DARE: I WILL ASK THE PACT… OBLIQUELY
Roman: Thank you. (unintelligible)
THEE-I-DARE: SEE IF SOMEONE SLIPS UP
Stormsworder: We do appreciate that.
Roman: Yooouu should probably… Well…
THEE-I-DARE: NOW I MUST DEPART. BUT ROMAN…
Roman: …be careful about that. Especially with… the Grudge Queen.
THEE-I-DARE: WHETHER OR NOT CODY MATTERS HERE…
Stormsworder: (text) And thank you again for bringing me back to life, THEE-I-DARE.
THEE-I-DARE: IN THE QUIET WAR AS WE KNOW IT…
Stormsworder: (text) I’ll try to convince the End Mother you’ve changed
THEE-I-DARE: HE MATTERS. TO ME.
Roman: (understandingly) I know…
Roman: And… to me, as well. I’ve… I’ve made it my mission to try to find out—remember what happened to all of your lost hosts, and the others…
THEE-I-DARE: SO I THANK YOU. AGAIN.
Roman: And I will—
Stormsworder: (simultaneously) We’ll do everything we can to find out.
Roman: …do everything, yes…
Roman: If I can’t… with the fragments, so I will… help with Cody.
THEE-I-DARE: GOODNIGHT AND SURVIVE.
Roman: Goodnight and survive.
Stormsworder: Goodnight, Tid.
Patchrabbit: (simultaneously) Goodnight, THEE-I-DARE.
(Patchrabbit waves.)
Roman: (simultaneously) Let’s meet again sometime.
Stormsworder: And thank you again for… somehow bringing me back to life.
(Patchrabbit blows a kiss.)
Patchrabbit: Take care…
THEE-I-DARE: MY PLEASURE.
Stormsworder: (laughs)
Stormsworder: (quietly to self) Okay… Okay…
Stormsworder: Well, that was slightly startling and unexpected. (laughs)
