210: Does Anyone Need a Soup Tureen?

## Summary

Still imprisoned in the cells beneath the *Tomorrow, Today!* office, Will has an unexpected encounter with the Swirly Man, which is interrupted by the dramatic and destructive arrival of Melyugamar, who answered Raphina's summons. Having removed the cell walls with surgical precision, Melyugamar tunnels off into the distance and the party regroup. A dazzled young woman also emerges from her cell, and Gwen urges her to follow them to freedom.

## Synopsis

Will inspects his cell, finding very little of note. Listening at the door and hearing nothing, he tries to cast *Light* on the bed, but nothing happens. Out of options, Will lies down on the bed, trying to be nonchalant as possible because he thinks he's probably being watched. Suddenly Will hears the faint sound of something rolling on stone. He looks down and sees a glass sphere has rolled out from under the bed. Will's blood runs cold when he recognizes it as the orb that he gave to Yeska back in Barovia. Inside the orb, purple smoke is swirling away. Will does his best not to react, because he's thinking this is an illusion or hallucination brought on by his captors as part of some weird experiment. He sits on the bed and stares down at the orb for a while. He takes the cot blanket and puts it over the orb to check if it's really there. It is. He throws the blanket at the orb and it rolls just like it should do. He pokes the orb with a pencil from his pocket and the orb moves just like it should. He doesn't want to acknowledge what's happening or touch the orb, so he waits. After a while, Will begins to feel a very low rumbling from the ground beneath him, increasing in intensity and volume. Eventually the orb starts to bounce a little bit from the vibrations, and Will grabs it. Time immediately appears to slow to a stop and a familiar voice says *"Miss me?"* It's the Swirly Man's voice coming from the orb. He says *"Looks like you need my help again!"* Will claims he's fine and not at all worried about getting out of here. The Swirly Man says he just wants to help, but Will is not convinced of that in the slightest. Will calls out to Raphina, but The Swirly Man says she won't be able to hear him. He even suggests the group might leave him behind but Will says Raphina wouldn't do that. The Swirly Man says he can give Will's magic back, but again Will says he just needs to get out of here and then he'll get his magic back. Swirly says *"Maybe it's gone for good."* Will puts the orb down, time speeds up again and the rumbling returns just as intensely as before. Will touches the orb again and says *"What's in it for you?"* Swirly replies *"Oh just a nice close relationship with you, Billy"* and Will removes his hand again, cutting off the last word.

Meanwhile the rest of the party have also become aware of the deep bass rumbling, growing in intensity and overwhelming them. Will grabs the orb again, but time does not slow down. Eventually everything is shaking: the walls, the beds, the chamber pots. Suddenly each party member sees the door and wall of his/her cell torn away, and behind it a dark purply flesh rushing past. This eventually passes and Raphina rushes out to see a tail tunnelling off into the distance. "Thank you Melyugamar!" she calls after it. Seeing that he's now free, Will says *"Fuck you"* to the orb and Raphina shouts to everyone there's a tunnel and that they should get it of here. The giant worm appears to have tunnelled up through the staircase where it continues downwards, along the corridor and out through the wall at the other end. Batthwack makes his way forward and Gwen also appears asking *"Do you guys have your magic back? Let's go!"*

Will tries casting *Light* again, but it still doesn't work. Gwen casts *Light* on a chamber pot and hands it to Will, *"Here, you've got a light"*. Raphina grabs her chamber pot and says *"Does anybody need a soup tureen?"*

A young (probably in her 20s) human woman, bedraggled and dishevelled, staggers out from her cell, looking around. Will ignores her and Gwen doesn't recognise her.

Raphina wants to follow Melyugamar, but Will is concerned about the sliminess. Raphina wants to speak to Hilula as well, but Will tries to stop her by grabbing her hand and pulling her away. Raphina shouts over to Hilula asking her about the Toggle Dam. Hilula is says it was built a while ago and Raphina gets angry at her because she never mentioned it before, and Hilula is visibly scared.

Gwen talks to the young woman who is very confused about what's happening. Gwen says they're escaping. Will isn't paying any attention to the woman, and just screams *"Prison break!!"* The woman is very troubled, asking Gwen *"Is it them?? Are you with them?"* Gwen doesn't really know what she's talking about and assumes she's referring to the party. Gwen says she is with them. *"You're with them?? You're from Tivoli?"* Gwen says she isn't. She urges her to follow them quickly. Batthwack casts *Locate Object* to look for his pack. Will is highly offended when he realizes Batthwack can cast magic. The spell reveals his pack is above him on another level and isn't moving, so determines that their stuff is stowed somewhere. The group decides they want to try and get their packs, so go back up the stairs, the way they came in.

## Trivia

* The episode title quotes Raphina. When Will can't cast *Light* Gwen casts it on a chamber pot and hands it to him, saying *"Here, you've got a light"*. Raphina grabs her chamber pot and says *"Does anybody need a soup tureen?"*

## References

1. ↑ See episode 28: The Fifth Pope of London