OOS 55

Notunoth 26, after speaking with the Council of the Gods regarding the asteroid. It occurred during between sessions 26.5 and 27. OOS 53 and 54 occur concurrently. 
== Transcript == 
Teer: 
Teer finds the room he was previously staying in, and lays on the bed with Veggrek sitting on top of him, saying nothing. 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek breaks off a square of emergency chocolate and chews it slowly. 
Teer: 
Teer wraps Acloakros around them both and manually shuts off his vision, pretending that he is capable of rest. 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek stares at the ceiling. 
Akaros: 
Akaros begins to hum something decidedly Johnny Cash in nature. but like, slowly. 
Teer: 
Teer remains silent, just listening. After a long time passes, he opens his eyes to check whether Veggrek is still awake. 
Veggrek: 
He is. 
Teer: 
"Do you want to talk about it, or would you rather I let you sleep." 
Veggrek: 
“Talk about it, please.” 
Teer: 
"Do you still love them?" 
Veggrek: 
“The gods?” 
Teer: 
"Yes." 
Veggrek: 
“Did I say I did?” 
Teer: 
"No, I just. Assumed. My apologies." 
Veggrek: 
“No, it— you’re fine. Just checking.” 
“I don’t think what we... I don’t think that’s the word for it.” 
Teer: 
"I'll rephrase. Do you still revere them?" 
Veggrek: 
“I don’t... I don’t.” 
Teer: 
Teer's grip on Veggrek tightens softly. 
"It's hard, isn't it?" 
Veggrek: 
“I— you’re in the same boat, aren’t you? With the elves...?” 
Teer: 
He nods. 
"They were my... everything." 
"My whole world, everything I was meant to be for. I was content, to serve them without question, because... they were above me. They knew best. I knew that they didn't know everything, but surely I thought... they deserved our devotion." 
Veggrek: 
“Do you— do you think they were right about things that are evil and things that are goblin?” 
Teer: 
"Veggrek, I've met more than a few goblins, and almost all have struck me as more good than bad." 
"The lesson we keep learning, on repeat, is that literally everyone is just... a person." 
"And it's up to them what kind of person they want to be." 
Veggrek: 
“Right. But the goblins that... that do goblin...” 
Teer: 
"What is - I don't understand. What is so bad about the things goblins do? Obviously raiding or pillaging is unfortunate, but that doesn't seem to be a goblin centric issue. Concludion was going to raid your carriage." 
"But being uncleanly, or hoarding small objects, or having snacks, are not... hurting anyone." 
"Those were some of Evelynn's favourite things!" 
Akaros: 
"Evelynn knows what's up," Akaros adds 
Veggrek: 
Without accusation, “You don’t think so? You don’t think... giving in to instincts like that will make us— make me— need to seek greater heights of debauchery and cruelty...?” 
Teer: 
"No, I don't see why it would. You have a kind heart, Veggrek. No amount of rolling in the dirt is going to change that." 
Veggrek: 
“Lei...” 
“...I didn’t treat her kindly.” 
“I slipped. I’ve been slipping. I stole her camera.” 
Teer: 
"For good reason, I imagine. I was half-about to force it out of her hands." 
Teer shifts. "You did what you thought you could, Veggrek." 
"Do you remember Meyrin's tests?" 
Veggrek: 
“I do. She told me to listen to all of you.” 
Teer: 
"I was tested too. Mine wasn't so different than yours." 
Veggrek: 
“If you wanted to fight your elves, could you?” 
Teer: 
"Mm. I don't know. Now? Probably." 
Veggrek: 
“I mean, would you stand half a chance?” 
Teer: 
"That's a complicated question. Us sentinels were the military, for the most part. But regardless, not what I'm leading to." 
"Meyrin's test had me think we had entered a room to fight a dragon. My... Master, Faethyn, was there, and he ordered me to stand aside and watch you all complete your test." 
"I didn't move, Veggrek, not until I saw you go down." 
"I know what it is to mess this up." 
Veggrek: 
“What... what made you move? I mean— what made you think you could— if it was a dragon.” 
Teer: 
"I knew, when I ran in, that it was already too late. But I couldn't... stand there, and do nothing. If there was even the slight chance that I could help, that I could save anyone, I had to take it." 
"It figures, I suppose. I was built to protect. We're thinking constructs, but some programming runs deep." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek curls up into a slightly tighter ball on Teer’s chest. 
“I think goblins have their own programming.” 
Teer: 
"Maybe. But neither of us are beholden to it, are we." 
"And not all instincts are bad ones." 
Veggrek: 
“Maybe not. But goblins are built to hide.” 
Teer: 
"Sometimes hiding is... good, probably. But what do you want to hide from right now?" 
Veggrek: 
“Well, it... about halfway through, I thought... I was going to come back here and everything seemed so small. I mean— in the face of everything. What did it matter if I...” 
“...I don’t feel like anything, Teer. I feel like scrap meat. Or paper.” 
“The list, I— That’s in my hands. I could watch that and that would— I could control that.” 
“I don’t want to be helpless.” 
Veggrek buries his face in Teer’s shoulder. 
Teer: 
Teer tightens his arms around him. "I know," he says softly. "It's okay. We're going to be okay." 
Veggrek: 
“The gods don’t know what they’re doing, they— I don’t—“ 
Veggrek sobs. 
Teer: 
"Shhh... it's alright. We've come this far. We'll figure this out." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek eventually cries himself out. He reaches blindly for the emergency chocolate. 
Teer: 
"Here." 
Veggrek: 
“Thank you.” 
Veggrek sits up, looks Ondo in the eye holes, and inserts the entire remainder of the chocolate bar into his mouth. 
He chews loudly, with his mouth open. 
Teer: 
Teer laughs. "Squire Veggrek! Your Lady Dyana would be proud." 
Veggrek: 
”I’m doing this!“ Veggrek squeals. “This is happening! I feel disgusting!” 
Teer: 
"Or at least vaguely impolite," Teer says cheerfully. 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek crumples the shiny wrapper into a ball. “I’m keeping this! It’s mine now and if you try to take it from me I’ll bite your throat out! Is this helping!?” 
Teer: 
"Er. You may want to avoid threatening anyone, but the hoarding bit is fine!" 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek’s ears droop. “See what I mean?” 
Teer: 
"It's a work in progress." 
"Veggrek, you have no idea how hard it is to constantly remind myself not to do everything everyone says." 
Akaros: 
Akaros plucks the paper away "What now though? I've not got a throat." 
Teer: 
"I do, and it's very delicate," says Teer mostly to Akaros. 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek hisses at Akaros and scrambles off of Ondo, under the bed. 
Teer: 
"Oh, goodness." 
"My blanket is gone." 
Teer leans over the side and peers at Veggrek. "Enjoying yourself?" 
Akaros: 
Akaros flicks the ball of foilpaper into the corner of the room 
Veggrek: 
“No.” Veggrek scowls. “I heed not your discomfort! I’m scared of dragons!” 
Teer: 
"Yes, but are you scared of glorified blankets?" 
Veggrek: 
“I’m going to wallow in my own filth and terror in this shadowy pit until I die.” 
Teer: 
"Hm, no." 
Akaros: 
"It will be a brief existence if you don't come out to eat on occasion." Akaros says. "And let's be honest, am I even really a dragon anymore?" 
"I saved the princess. What even is that." 
Veggrek: 
“I’ll chew my own limbs off in feral panic. As a goblin should!” 
Teer: 
"Yes, Akaros is a verifiable hero now." 
Akaros: 
"Don't tell Bahamut." 
Teer: 
"Your secret is safe with me." 
"We're lucky he wasn't there." 
Veggrek: 
“As if the real gods were much better?” 
Teer: 
"Hm." 
"Well, you may be a goblin, Veggrek, but you are also a Squire to Lady Dyana Brightblade the esteemed." 
"And I think she would tell you to stay in there as long as it suits you, but to fear no dragon." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek’s eyes well with tears before he’s even stopped scowling. 
Akaros: 
"We should visit Alibrook." Akaros says "catch up with folks. have Keera take Teer apart again for old times' sake, and then we should go and get her." 
"Or maybe we should get you like, de-spookered first? I don't know." 
Teer: 
"Yes. I agree. I think she's waited long enough." 
Veggrek: 
“Wh—?” 
Teer: 
"Your Lady. We may not have control of many things, many paths. We're waiting on a lot of people. But we know where Varren is going next. And..." he pauses. "We're stronger now." 
Veggrek: 
“Do you think... everything feels so enormous, could we really...?” 
Teer: 
"Why not?" 
"You've said it yourself in the past, she could be a great help to us." 
Veggrek: 
“Well, yes, but— a lot of things would be a great help to us, that doesn’t mean we have it in our power to...” 
“...seize them.” 
Veggrek crawls out from under the bed. 
Teer: 
"Maybe not right yet then. But soon." 
Veggrek: 
“It’s been so long, it— it almost feels impossible.” 
“...Where did we leave Dort?” 
Teer: 
"By the tree, outside of town." 
Veggrek: 
“Huh.” 
“...I didn’t want Lei to come with us.” 
Teer: 
"Didn't, or don't?" 
Veggrek: 
“Well— hm. She hates me now— still. That’s not comfortable.” 
Teer: 
Teer stares up at the ceiling. "Lei is going to be angry, and she'll need time. But I believe I can talk her down from it. I'm getting good at that." 
Veggrek: 
“Is she right to be angry?” 
Akaros: 
"Just save her life a few times, it'll be fine, probably." Akaros says probably not helpfully 
Veggrek: 
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now. Aside from talk to the Wolis council.” 
Teer: 
"I don't know what's right. But she's probably shaken up from everything that just happened. She likely believed she was about to die." 
"And as for what we'll do... I don't know. Figure it out." 
Veggrek: 
“She already hated me.” 
Teer: 
"Yes. For similar reasons. But I think that if she knows you want to fix things, she could come around." 
"At least I... need to hope," he add weakly. 
"For the next couple days we can... relax. Wait on Andy. Explore Wolis. Go find Dort." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek holds his arms up. 
Teer: 
Teer picks him up. 
Veggrek: 
“Thank you.” 
Teer: 
"Your welcome, Veggrek. Is there anything else you would like to do, or talk about tonight?" 
Veggrek: 
“No, thank you. How about you?” 
Teer: 
"My only wish is that the world would stop," he says in a perfectly calm and rational tone of voice. 
Veggrek: 
“Well, if you wait five to twenty years...” 
Teer: 
"I'm patient, but not that patient." 
Teer lays back down on the bed. 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek curls up on top of him. 
“I had that thought— that everything is so enormous, and we’re so small and doomed, that what did it matter what I did...” 
“I thought for a moment, well, why not stuff your face, why not make a nest of stolen trash inside a wall somewhere...” 
Teer: 
"Well, why not." 
Veggrek: 
“Oh, because we have to save the world. Because we can.” 
“Maybe. There’s a chance.” 
“We have to try.” 
Teer: 
"Yes. It is worth it to try." 
Veggrek: 
“Is it?” 
Teer: 
"Yes. All of my friends live there." 
Veggrek: 
“Maybe this world deserves to stop. With its goblins and disasters and unfair gods.” 
Teer: 
"Well then, maybe those things deserve to stop - not goblins - but, the rest of it should go on." 
Veggrek: 
“My Lady would rattle off a list of things that make this world worthy. Children’s laugher. Good beer. Messages in bathroom stalls.” 
Teer: 
"There is flowers, and terrible literature, and games, and Lady's Dyana's and Miss Evelyn's." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek smiles. 
Teer: 
"Some dragons are cool too, I guess." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek looks at the discarded chocolate wrapper. 
He climbs down off of Ondo and reaches for it. 
“If I pick this up, Akaros can just knock it away again.” 
Teer: 
"Yes. I suppose." 
Veggrek: 
“He could eat it.” 
“Or otherwise disintegrate it, or. Something. Easy as a thought.” 
Teer: 
"Yes but, that probably wouldn't be healthy. I doubt there's any nutritional value. What are you getting at?" 
Veggrek: 
“And then what would I do? He doesn’t have a throat.” 
Akaros: 
"I'm not going to take your wrapper, Veggrek." Akaros snakes out a shadowy shadow and scoots the ball closer to him. 
Veggrek: 
“Why not? You’d barely have to twitch.” 
“You wouldn’t even need to take it. You could just poof it out of existence.” 
“You don’t need to want the wrapper. You don’t need to want to make me upset. It’s just a passing whim.” 
Akaros: 
"I suppose," Akaros said "But I don't want to." 
Veggrek: 
“Why not? You did it before.” 
Akaros: 
"Things change." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek picks up the wrapper and returns to Teer’s arms. 
Teer: 
Teer accepts Veggrek and allows him to get comfortable. 
Veggrek: 
“Who do you talk to, Teer?” 
Teer: 
"Hm?" 
Veggrek: 
“The way I talk to you. How do you become okay?” 
Gloom: 
Thunder rumbles in the distance. Like regular, because there's a storm nearby thunder. 
Veggrek: 
“Oh. Do you think they’re back by now?” 
“Should I let Lei sleep before I— apologize? Try to make a deal...?” 
Teer: 
"I think Lei will probably need her space, tonight. Maybe we can see how she feels tomorrow." 
"I don't know if they're back. If you'd like, I can tuck you in and go and check." 
Veggrek: 
“Oh, I can just ask Burben. Don’t get up. Unless you’d like to?” 
Teer: 
"It might serve to have someone go who can actually speak to them," says Teer, shifting Veggrek off of him and onto the bed. 
He pulls the covers up to Veggrek's chin, and smooths them. 
"I'll go out, and send them this way." 
Veggrek: 
“Goodnight, Teer. Take care of yourself.” 
Teer: 
"Goodnight Veggrek. Sleep well, and dream of cool women." 
Teer ruffles Veggrek's hair, and leaves the room. 
As he walks down the hall, he pauses at the door to Kiono and Concludion's room, and listens briefly to see if they're awake. 
Gloom: 
[Perception Check] 
Teer: 
[20] 
Gloom: 
[Kiono and Concludion's Room does not sound occupied.] 
Teer: 
'Concerning. Well at least they couldn't have taken the halberd anywhere... No, still concerning.' 
Teer leaves the estate, and heads down the darkened street. 
He picks a direction and just walks, and tries to clear his mind, listening to the sound of the rain. 
'Oh man,' thinks Teer, 'I could still go cut down that tree. Or maybe not that, tree, but a tree.' 
As he reaches the edge of town, he relaxes somewhat at the sight of the open sky. 
"Akaros, I know I said it earlier, but, thank you. For saving Renn. If something had happened to her, I don't know what I would have done." 
Akaros: 
"Yeah." Akaros says "I don't know, either." 
Teer: 
"A lot's happened and I haven't had much of a chance to ask. You... handling all this alright?" 
"The Knox thing and the Frog thing and the Time thing, all included." 
Akaros: 
"I don't know what I'm supposed to be, but.... 
"Seems like that just means I'm fitting in alright." 
Teer: 
"I suppose you are. ...Maybe it's contagious." 
Akaros: 
"Must be. If we destroy the source, maybe it'll go back to normal." 
Teer: 
"The source?" 
Akaros: 
"Whomever didn't know what they were first what infected the rest of us." 
Teer: 
"So... the halberd?" 
Akaros: 
"Might be difficult." 
"Probably easier to just fix her." 
Teer: 
"...Right." 
"She figures out who she is, maybe we do too," he says weakly. 
Akaros: 
"Nevermind, not optimistic about that one, either." 
Teer: 
Teer makes a hum of agreement. 
There's a question that he can't bring himself to ask, so he doesn't. Instead, he draws the shadow sword, and he gives his emotions to a tree that doesn't deserve it.
Category:OOS