OOS 77

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 Korrinoth 7, late at night after teleporting to Oceanside from the second ritual site. It occurred between sessions 32 and 33.

## Transcript

Kiono:

*Kiono wakes up, or perhaps she hasn't slept, and roams the house in Oceanside a little. She tells Concludion she just needs to use the restroom, but she knows that's a lie. She has a purpose; she just has to work up the courage to do it.*

*She finds the telephone. She had promised Izora she would call, and this was as good an excuse to not do her other task as any. She picks up the receiver and dials? the operator? and asks for the Burnetts in Wolis.*

Gloom:

*The Operator, a smooth, vaguely mechanical voice that Kiono hasn't had to think much about, connects the call. It rings for a few moments, before a cheerful voice answers the phone.*

Esteban:

"Good afternoon, Burnett Residence this is Esteban."

Kiono:

"Ah, hello, Esteban. I... ah, I was hoping Izora was around. It's, ah, it's Kiono," *she stammers out. Phones are still weird and new to her, and having to ask for someone to speak to someone else is even weirder.*

Esteban:

"Of course, Kiono, She will be glad to hear from you, and it will do well to pull her out of her research for a little while, if I may say so. Just a moment" *There is the usual long delay between when Esteban sets the line down, and Izora picks up the receiver. When she arrives, she's talking to someone else.*

Izora:

"-can just send the call to my room, there's no reason I should need to- alright we'll go over it again later, thank you Esteban." *Then, into the receiver*, "Hello, Kiono? Are you all right?"

Kiono:

*Oh, that wasn't the reaction she was expecting. She sits down on the floor, he knees immediately turning to jelly, and attempts to avoid crying, just this once. In a very quiet voice she says,* "I'm... I'm alr— I'm alive." *No good, her voice is quivering too much.*

Izora:

*There's a pause before Izora tentatively ventures*, "What's happened? Are you safe?"

Kiono:

*Kiono takes a few steadying breaths, and closed her eyes. Her voice somewhere between a whisper and crying, she says,* “I... I’m sorry, I— The ley lines, I... I wasn’t able to align them. I.... Varren showed up and I accidentally blew up the site and Kitano told me to just go back later when I actually had the magic left to perform the spell, but I don’t know how I can do that because the teleportation circle got blown up too, and Dyana was coming so I couldn't try to stay and— I’m sorry, I messed it up.” *She is curled up in a ball beside the phone, working desperately to keep from dissolving again into an incoherent state.*

Izora:

"Ah, so that's why," *Izora says* "The leylines drifted suddenly- they do it naturally over time but-" *She pauses again, before saying* "I'm sorry. I've been... caught up in research here. I've got some ideas, but... You said Varren and Kitano were there? I thought you were going to [Wizard name]'s Tower, I didn't think he'd be recovered enough to send you on already. What happened?"

Kiono:

*She calms a little, her mind working at a task, piecing together the threads of what had happened the last couple of days. She then groans and rests her head on her knees.* “We... He missed. We.... we ended up at.... in Mudwall, in Vidh Zadh’s tower. He... Oh, I... I screwed that up too, he— He wanted us out and was about to teleport us somewhere, I don’t know where, and there was yelling and I mentioned that you wanted to speak to him soon and he mentioned a favor and then he teleported us straight to Bromwich and it all happened so fast, I’m so sorry, Izora. I—” *She groans again, curling in on herself more and barely remembering to keep the earpiece near enough for her to hear.*

Izora:

"If my knowing that old bag of bones was at all helpful to you, even in happenstance, then I'm glad for it," *Izora says* . "It sounds to me like you did as well as could be expected in chaotic circumstances, all things considered, especially with Varren, Dyana, and Kitano in play." *She pauses, thinking,* "Bromwich being drawn into this conflict is concerning, but if Varren's objectives have been literally wiped out, you may have saved the town a great deal of grief in the coming months. The other sites are relatively near Wolis, right? I'll see about increasing patrols in the countryside...

"Sorry, I... Anyway, I'm not certain how Kitano enters all of this? Was he following you?"

Kiono:

*Her voice is incredibly shaky, more from fear than from the crying. She can only whisper.* “He was in my shadow, Izora. He... He’s been there for... for ages. Since th-the park, maybe. When... we went to the elves, the play and...” *She groans again.* “That’s how he knew we were attacked by the Null Solution and gave— I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” *she finishes, barely audible.*

Izora:

*Izora is quiet for long moment* "I see. That's... I should have noticed, I'm sorry. I'm glad you're all right with all that happened. I don't love that he's been in my... house, but there's nothing for it now. I don't know how to say this, but... as long as you make it, it's okay."

Kiono:

"He said he was proud of me," *Kiono sobs. She has no idea how to process that.*

Izora:

"Proud...?"*Izora exhales audibly* "Jerk. Forget about him, what he wants or what he thinks is not important."

Kiono:

"He used to be a good brother."

Izora:

"People change, not always for the best," *Izora says*. "What do you remember about that time?"

Kiono:

“We used to be able to play. He would... He showed me what he was doing sometimes. Or sort of... toss me in pretend sparring. It was... I think it was his idea to use Concludion as a spy? And he didn’t, you know, kill him... Which was... probably not a *good* brother thing, I guess... But he’s my best friend now, so it’s fine, right?” *Oh, she’s trying to get Izora to talk her out of it. Awkward.*

Izora:

"Not killing your best friend is... not exactly digging a hole beneath the bar and claiming to have raised it, but...." *Izora sighed* "I guess as happy a memory as you might expect."

"Micah was similar, perhaps in retrospect. He was one of the first people outside the family who didn't treat me differently because of who and what I was. We got along okay, grew closer over time, and then...

"I wonder if I'd feel as badly as I do now, if I'd not believed his initial indifference to be something *special.*"

Kiono:

*Kiono contemplates the comparison. She imagines what it would be like to kill Kitano. It’s not a great feeling, even with all the fear that threatens to once again overwhelm her. He saved her from Varren. He is still her brother... And her blood runs cold as her mind continues down various related avenues. She stops them dead and instead says,* “Do you regret killing him?”

Izora:

"I...."*Izora pauses* "I regret having to."

Kiono:

*She thinks a moment.* "Would you make the same choice knowing how much it hurt? Because it was better for everyone in the end?"

Izora:

"....I don't know." *Izora says in a small voice.* "I did it to spare him a brutal death at the hands of the purifiers, but I can't stop thinking about it.

"Did I take his life to casually? Am I so inured to death that it doesn't matter to me if someone is alive or dead? 'Makes no difference, Lysaro will look after them?' What is that?" *Izora's voice audibly cracks* "I want to not have had to make the choice at all! Maybe I could have faked my death, made him think he'd gotten what he'd wanted, I-"

"I don't *know*." *Izora sobs quietly before inhaling deeply*.

"I'm sorry, I thought... I thought I was more composed than this. He was captured, I don't know my killing him saved anyone. I thought it was a risk to leave him alive. That I was being kind by ending it quickly- I thought I had a responsibility to see it through.

"But it's possible he could still have been saved, somehow. Maybe if it wasn't me that was trying to do the saving."

Kiono:

"Some people are beyond saving," *Kiono says, her tone flat.*

Izora:

"Maybe," Izora says.

"I don't know if that's a good enough reason to stop trying."

"I probably would have liked to fake my own death go off to live in the woods instead, given the option." *Izora says with a laugh* "Just me and maybe a friend for company, perhaps."

Kiono:

*Kiono is startled by the response. She falters at first, then speaks quickly, her words falling over each other as they tumble out of her mouth.* "Wh— But what if it doesn't work? What if it never works? What's the point? You put in all the effort of... of trying to... to fix things and—"

*She stops, processes. She tries again, slower this time.* "It's so much effort, and it may not *work*. How? Why?"

Izora:

*Izora stops, uncertain of the topic for a moment* "What's the alternative?" *She finally asks* "If something is going to be ruined on its own, you may as well try and save it, and keep trying. It's the only way to have anything."

Kiono:

*Kiono is silent a moment, slowly adjusting to a more comfortable position on the floor, contemplative. Eventually she asks softly,* “If you didn’t know him... If you knew nothing about him at all, would you have still wanted to save him?”

Izora:

*Izora once again takes awhile with her response*. "If I didn't know him, I don't think I would have had to. Knowing me caused him so much pain that I was oblivious to, it drove him to trying to sacrifice his soul for power, and when I 'saved' him from that, well... you see how that ended up."

"I think I'd still have wanted to try, though, I do seem to have a bit of a penchant for saving the hapless and the unwary."

Kiono:

"Hm." *Kiono rests her head against the wall and thinks for a moment, then gives the phone a small smile, which she realizes is useless because Izora can't see it.* "You're... you're a good person, Izora."

Izora:

"I-," *Izora stops, uncertain of how to respond.* "Thank you of thinking so highly of me, though I'm uncertain how true it is. I'm trying, though."

Kiono:

"I'm glad you are," *Kiono says quietly, somewhat distracted perhaps.* "I haven't... met a lot of good people out here. I'm glad you... that you're my friend."

Izora:

*The phone receiver blushes* "I'm... also glad to have met you. I want to keep being your friend. Which means saving the world from a big rock. Another reason to keep trying, right?" *Izora laughs shakily.*

Kiono:

*Kiono looks down at the hag stone in her hand. Concludion had pressed it into her palm earlier that evening, but she had been so scared she had simply wrapped her fingers around it in a death grip and been unable to unclench her fist since then. She has relaxed now, certain of her path forward, and she examines it. It was a smooth oval stone with two holes of similar size in it, almost perfectly symmetrical. She had strung a leather strip through it years ago before giving it to Concludion. Friendship and rocks.*

“If we’re going out in an apocalypse, it won’t be the asteroid that does it,” *she says with uncommon determination.* “I’ll make sure of it.”

Izora:

"I'd prefer no apocalypses, but an asteroid does feel like it's been done already," *Izora says*. "Just keep looking after yourself, and Teer and Squire, too. I want you all back here safe and sound."

Kiono:

"I'll, uh... I'll see what I can do... Um, Izora?" *Kiono says, her voice returning to its normal, wavery self. She waits for acknowledgement, then continues,* "Can we... can we not talk about Kitano? Like, ever if possible. I... yeah, that. Just, in the future. If we can."

Izora:

"If... if that's what you want, I can try." *Izora says*.

Kiono:

"Thanks, I—" *Kiono pauses, clutching the hag stone to her chest.* "I'll be okay, I think."

Izora:

"Glad to hear it," *Izora says* "I think I will be, too. Thank you for calling, Kiono."

Kiono:

"Yeah, I... I'm glad I did." *She is quiet a moment, then says tiredly,* "I'm, ah, going back to bed. Concludion will realize soon that I'm still gone and get worried..."

Izora:

"Concludion wi- oh." *Izora sighs* "Right, I see. Goodnight, Kiono."

Kiono:

"Good night, Izora. Thank you."

*She remains seated on the ground for a few moments, gathering the strength she needs to keep going before standing and hanging up the phone. She gives the hag stone another long look before tucking it into a pocket.*

*She makes a quick stop in her room to retrieve her journal. She sits in the hallway outside to make a brief entry in it. This task completed, she set the journal beside the door to be retrieved upon her return, and heads off to find Teer. She has a mission to accomplish - to begin - before she can finally sleep.*

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