Episode 106 - Departures

## Departures

a black background with a simple double lined white border that is crosshatched in the top corners and stops halfway down the image, leaving the bottom borderless. Within the border a deer skull is depicted in white, it's right antler and eye socket decorated with red Christmas decorations. Bellow this image but still within the border the words "106.DEPARTURES" are depicted in white

### Author

William A Wellman

Rick Rounds comes face to face with death, Riot makes her goodbyes, and Friday forms a conspiracy. The theme of tonight's episode is Departures.

> ***Content warning**: Eye injuries, Abuse, Animal death (Heidi and Bert as usual), Suicide, Violence, Death + Injury, Blood, Birds, Gun Mention, Strangulation/suffocation, Emotional Manipulation, Drowning, Body horror*
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## Intro - Nightmare In Terminal X

Nikignik speaks to the Dreamers of someone wating in an airport terminal on the night of black rains, their flight delayed due to the storm. This bothers them because it means that it was that many more hours before they were able to see a nondescript individual who is important to them. They look out the window to see people marching to their death (see Sleepers), although they do not know this.

Nikignik sits amongst the gravestones of the sunken cemetery first seen in Episode 66 - Morals overlooking Rick Rounds as he crawls towards the water.

## Story 1 - Lazarus

Rick Rounds crawls along the ground of the cemetery first seen in Episode 66 - Morals (see Episode 96 - Horizons) seeking water while lamenting his situation. Thinking that he'd been abandoned by the world and that his '*personal foliage*' (see Episode 53 - Rivers) would probably grow over him faster now that his soul fire had been removed (see Episode 86 - Royalties) and cause him to go insane. He finds water and beings to drink it, reflecting on his life at Fort Freedom while briefly attempting to drown himself (see Episode 30 - Stones), and Polly's parting words for him (see Episode 89 - Terminations).

He's torn out of his thoughts as a revenant who'd been residing in the water reaches out and grabs him by the ankle. He manages to get it off and back away from the water, but it follows in out, raising out of the water screaming the words "*Lazarus. Come out. Come out!*". He continues to back away, wating as two more rise from the water, and he attempts to fight off Lazarus to no avail. It gets close enough to stoop over him, and tells him that his head was like a tomb that must be opened to let the light in. It reaches to his face and sticks one of its clawed hands into his good eye. Lazarus is suddenly pushed off him when G.C. Crane comes to Rick's aid and decapitates it. Rick mistakes Crane for Death, before whiting out.

### Interlude 1 - A Pleasant Day

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that it was a pleasant day in the Hallowoods in regard to weather. The sky was a cheerful blue, a light breeze was blowing, and it was warm in such a way that one could forget that it was long past the prime of autumn. It was an unpleasant day in the Hallowoods in regards that many goodbyes would be said at Scoutpost Two, as the members of the expedition (see Episode 105 - Dependencies) took up their bags and hoped to be returning.

## Story 2 - Back In A Jiffy

Riot Maidstone stands at the front gate of Scoutpost Two in preparation to disembark on their mission north (see Episode 96 - Horizons). Olivier Song speaks to Bern Keene as she gives him an inspirational speech, him having taken his reading material for the journey from her collection. Said books were being carried by Mort, who had his parting conversation with Virgil Kane. Jonah Duckworth said goodbye to Zelda Duckworth, while Hector Mendoza gave Jackie her parting pats (see Episode 104 - Communions). Buck Silver stands off to the side of the group, not interacting with anyone. Percy Reed didn't have anyone to see him off, so he also stood apart from the group, Riot finding it interesting that Al Buckley wasn't there to see him off (see Episode 101 - Disciplines). Diggory Graves was having their parting conversations with the other Mendies. Cindy Lockheart stood alone near the gates of the Scoutpost, showing no grievance at having to leave. Valerie Maidstone is notably absent from the crowed, Riot looking out for her as Clementine Maidstone and Danielle O'Hara approach her (see Episode 100 - Centuries).

Riot hugs Danielle goodbye, and asks Clementine where Valerie was (see Episode 105 - Dependencies), and Clementine tells her that she didn't think she was coming. Riot had already exacted this, but hearing it still hurts, and she tells her that if Valerie was trying to stop her from going, it wouldn't work. Danielle tells her that at least she had someone who cared, but Riot says if she did care she'd be there. Clementine reassures her that she did care, though Riot doesn't believe this. Cindy starts calling for them to leave, and Riot tells them to tell Valerie not to worry about her, as she'd be back in a jiffy. She turns and walks through the gates of the Scoutpost with the others.

### Marketing - She's Back

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her 'marketing' segment. She announces that today was going to be a good day, as she was manifesting it, that she felt better after the rain (see Episode 105 - Dependencies) and had had an epiphany. She announces that she needed a purpose, as when she had spare time, she never knew what to do with herself. She she'd be going all in on her new project, finding Solomon Reed in Ontario (see Episode 105 - Dependencies). And on the way she'd get to enjoy the countryside.

### Story 2, Continued - In A Jiffy

Riot leaves the Scoutpost in a state of distress, but over the course of the next five hours calms down and get more exhausted. Cindy allows them to stop for a lunch break on the side of the road, around the same place that Walter 'Walt' Pensive had taken them- and they were subsequently attacked -in Episode 24 - Storms. Cindy calls to them all to be easy of their rations, that she'd tried to be generous, but one could never be too sure. Olivier approaches her clutching his bag close and tells her he had a problem, and to look in his bag. He opens it slightly and Riot sees Nimbus inside. She assumes he brough the cat on purpose, and asks him if he was crazy, but Olivier clarifies that he hadn't brought him, there'd been no cat in his bag when he'd packed it. Riot concludes that Nimbus had snuck in because he wanted some adventure but is cut off by the nearby sound of something large crashing through the tress.

Percy asks what had made the noise, and Riot suggests a Night-gaunt, but Hector states it couldn't be because they were too far away from Night-gaunt territory, and they never came out in the middle of the day. Big Mikey appears between the tress, having been the source of the noise, he greets them and asks them what they were doing. Riot greets him back, but Cindy levels a pistol at him and screams at him to not take another step closer or she'd use his eyes as target practice.

### Interlude 2 - A Few Goodbyes

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that he'd made many goodbyes in his life. When he'd left the Council of Heaven, abandoned the gates for someone else to watch. Zazzlezazz, who they'd found they missed deeply once their learning had been completed. He had no words for Marolmar, as he'd never had the chance to bid him farewell. Bittersweet for Amaryllis Ward, who they still missed. And one day, he would say goodbye to the Dreamers as well, and they would have no more nightmares.

## Story 3 - The Prophet Tree

Friday Rescher sits amongst the roots of the Prophet Tree in the Blackwood Coven (see Episode 92 - Omens), Edgar 'the spider' Rescher having taken up a post in one of the tree knots above her, and she contemplated a deer skull in her hands. She whistles, calling down The Omen from its nesting place also in the tree, and asks if they'd seen anything interesting lately. Omen tells her that Sister Fortune had added more feathers to her dress, which alarmed them. Sister Ursula left the Coven in the early morning and had before dawn with new herbs. And Sister Elin was sewing a new doll that looked like Friday. Friday contemplates that she'd have to ask her what she did with the dolls, or she could just steal it. Omen asks if Friday had learned anything new from them, and Friday tells them that she had. She tells Omen that Daughter Laurel and Grandmother Briar had known her mother (see Friday Rescher), though they hadn't explained how yet, but she was going to find out what had happened to her. Omen asks for Friday to tell them a prophecy, and she tells them:

"*They say it’ll come to pass soon. The heart of the greenmother will stir, the time of quickening complete, and the new age will begin resplendent. All save her faithful will be washed away by the spring rains, but her harvest is promised for the true. The age of eternal spring.*"

Presumably a prophecy that she'd heard from the other witches in the coven. The Omen flies away as Grandmother Briar approaches Friday. Friday asks her if she was there to ask for help with dinner preparations. Grandmother Briar tells her that while a lucky guess, that wasn't while she was there. She tells her that they'd be having a ritual to honour Friday's mother, which Friday could join if she wished to, but she also urges her that if she was not ready to understand who was had been, to wait for another time. Friday tells her that she wanted to know, and Grandmother Briar tells her that this was good, and instructs her to come and help her with carrots. The two depart.

## Outro - Departures

Nikignik waxes poetics about departures, asking what could be said to alleviate the sorrow of leaving? It was always an ending to leave a place, and only the future could tell if they shall grace it again. But even so, goodbyes were not always to be feared. If the place they left did not welcome them, it could be a burden left behind on the horizon. A departure could be sweet. Not without pain, still, for even then it was hard to leave. Some goodbyes seemed so simple; some lasted for silent years, and some were never quite complete.