Episode 70 - From the Heart

## Transcription

*SWIM meeting Artis after returning from nebulous, and informing him about Dain. from 10:00 to 26:20 with some out of character content omitted. Transcribed by Sarah Z.*

(prof. Allaro leaves Artis’ office, SWIM enters)

**Artis:** Um, that was Professor Allaro. She’s Yexim’s prosthetics-

**Mira:** That’s why she looked so familiar! Yes! She’s Aira’s mom!

**Artis:** Mm. Her mother.

**Luke:** Yeah! Now that it’s been said, and Mira makes this connection, I think that you all could make a very easy connection. You, Integrity- I don’t know how much time you spend around Aira? I think of all of you, maybe Integrity, because you all are study buddies, but yeah. Now that it’s been pointed out, the resemblance is there.

**Integrity:** Oh yeah! They do have the same nose.

**Mira:** And the same everything!

**Artis:** Anyways. How are all of you holding up? I spoke to Underbough when we returned, and he seemed to be in a good mood and things went over well. Have there been any problems? I haven’t received any letters from the administration.

**Winsler:** Well, that’s a surprise.

**Mira:** Um, well, you know, not bad, we’re- we’re not in trouble or anything, so like… that’s good.

**Artis:** That’s exactly what I was wondering, yes. I was very concerned.

**Mira:** That being said, there are definitely, um… things that we need to talk to you about? Big things?

**Winsler:** A \*lot\* of stuff.

**Artis:** Yes, I wanted to ask you about this. I explained to the Headmaster as best I could what I understood to happen: that an emergency occurred lower down, some thieves broke in and lockdown procedures were initiated. Other than that, I don’t know what happened, though.

**Winsler:** …You might want to sit down for this, then.

**Artis:** … already..

**Luke:** Yeah, he’s sitting.

**Artis:** Absolutely.

**Serinepth:** You might want to sit down \*more\*.

**Winsler:** Yeah, you might want to… yeah.

**Mira:** Like, you might want to stand up and then sit back down.

**Winsler:** You need to get comfy.

**Integrity:** Do you want a pillow?

**Artis:** Is it that bad?

**Winsler:** Do you need a glass of water? I can get you some water.

**Artis:** I’m fine, I don’t want water, no. Thank you, please.

**Winsler:** Okay, well, I’m gonna have a drink of water, because this is gonna be quite…

**Artis:** Could you please just… the anticipation is quite a bit. And building up tension, and just like making it seem- I feel like you’re making it seem a lot worse than it’s going to be, and I’m very worried what you’re going to say now.

**SWIM:** Uh….

**Artis:** Were you all responsible for what happened?

**SWIM, overlapping:** No.

**Artis:** Okay, okay. Wonderful. Okay. Great. So what happened?

**Integrity:** We should probably start from the beginning?

**Artis:** Yes, when you left me, what happened?

**Mira:** Uh, we went down…

**Artis:** Yes. I sent you down to Dain.

**Mira:** Yeah, so uh, we went down and met with Dain after we saw like a weird mirror? Did not know, by the way, that when you said ‘oh, I have a student contact’ it was like another orb guy.

**Artis:** Yes. Yes! Well, he’s a close friend. Not as close as I would like.

**SWIM, overlapping:** Uhhhhhhhhhhh…..

**Mira:** So um. We also, uh, earlier on? We had met up with a guy in the inn, named Chudley?

**Artis:** Chudley, yes. A very pleasant fellow.

**Winsler:** Ugh.

**Mira:** Yeah… about that.. um.. so… uh.. then… does anyone else wanna take this?

**Winsler:** Uhhh…

**Integrity:** And while we were there… a fight happened, and Dain… did not make it.

**Luke:** He kinda goes from looking at all of you… his eyes are darting around, right? He looks very worried. And he’s looking at all of you in the eyes, and I presume some of you are kind of avoiding his gaze. Just based on the fact that none of you want to be the ones to break this news.

**Ben:** Yeahh… very sad.

**Kharla:** I feel like at this point I’m tearing up.

**Luke:** Absolutely. I think when you say that, his eyes kind of drop down to his desk, and he just has this blank expression on his face. And so if you’d like to continue talking, because he’s not going to interrupt you right now. Instead of sitting forward and looking you in the eyes with his worried expression, his expression goes like, very neutral. And his eyes kinda drop and he sits back in his chair.

**Winsler:** I mean, we… we tried our best to stop them. We had a bit of a kerfuffle, but I guess what happened.. that’s when the tower started to lean? And then we were in this room with that weird giant mirror thing, and it fell and shattered into a million pieces, and the next thing I know, me and Serinepth are in some weird place that seems to lie between time and space itself?

**Serinepth:** Yeahh.. that was um…

**Winsler:** There was like a hook creature? Who looks over fate, and possibilities, and stuff?

**Mira:** And… me and Integrity went to purgatory. Which was also not fun.

**Winsler:** Neither of those sound fun.

**Mira:** Yeah, uh… we fell through the mirror, and then like my arm was gone? For a minute? Cause like, it’s been hurting, and then it was gone, and then when we were there, we came back, but in between we got told we would suffer eternal torment, and we had to go through a river, and like again, I didn’t have an arm, and um, Jagun might have drowned? In the river?

**Winsler:** We were also tasked to find somebody to take the being’s place.

**Serinepth:** I also-

**Luke:** I think at this point, he’s going to lean forwards and put his head in his hands? And cover his face.

**Sam:** I’m gonna hold up a part of the necklace.

**Serinepth:** I also, when I got back, got this necklace? I don’t know if that has anything to do with anything, but like? Also that. I don’t know what it is yet, I’m still researching it.

**Integrity:** And, we also found out that we are in a- what was the word, Mira?

**Mira:** Uh… an auxiliary plane. I think.

**Integrity:** Yeah, auxiliary plane.

**Mira:** Yeah, like, we were walking, and then suddenly everything shifted, and then they told us we were in the wrong plane.

**Artis:** This is all…

**Winsler:** There was some weird elephant lady…

**Mira:** Yes.

**Winsler:** What was up with that? I didn’t get the whole story.

**Mira:** I don’t know! She was like an assassin or something, and she brought us back, and we still have to pay her-

**Artis:** Please stop.

**Mira:** Okay.

**Artis:** This is… all…

**Mira:** I’m sure it’s a lot, yeah. Sorry.

**Artis:** Mmm.

**Ben:** Artis is currently buffering.

**Artis:** This is.. quite a bit of information to process all at once.

**Mira:** You okay?

**Artis:** So. You went to a different plane. Correct?

**Integrity:** Yes.

**Mira:** Yes.

**Winsler:** Um, I think so?

**Artis:** And you’re all not injured?

**Mira:** Not any more, but my arm did fall off and now it might be cursed.

**Artis:** There was a mercenary?

**Mira:** Um, yes. Elephant lady? She was killing a guy they met, who sold memories?

**Artis:** Okay. And there was a creature with hooks?

**Winsler:** Yeah, I guess we had to really strike a deal with it to really get out of its domain, so I guess we’ve been tasked to find someone who is both wise and unmortal? Whatever that means.

**Luke:** He throws his hand up at that, on the back of his chair.

**Artis:** Why…. do you all get into such… sigh.

**Serinepth:** To be fair, we don’t want it to happen.

**Winsler:** This was not of our own volition this time.

**Mira:** We did not choose this one.

**Artis:** I know, I know.

**Winsler:** It found us instead.

**Artis:** I know. Okay. Mira, your arm.

**Mira:** Yes. So, I’m pretty sure my arm might be cursed, because like- right. Because when we got ejected out into space thorough the mirror, it like wasn’t there? And it wasn’t even like it fell off and it hurt- it actually didn’t hurt, and it was hurting, and it didn’t when I didn’t have it, but then I had it again- and then when we were in that big tall chamber fighting Zanak, I was holding on. Winsler was like, about to fall, and so I reached out with my arm to catch him-

**Winsler:** Yeah, I almost fell out of the window.

**Mira:** And it got like, long and oily and black, and there was like a snake part of it, and so I looked that up later, and it said “oh, you’re probably cursed!”

**Artis:** That’s…

**Mira:** …yeah. And then also lately I’ve been having these like sewer dreams? About like, there’s a gate, and an ascendant, I don’t know what an ascendant is, but it’s been whispering my name and then my arm is hurting?

**Artis:** Where in the sewers are you talking about?

**Mira:** It’s like down on where the oblex stuff was, and that’s why my arm’s been hurting, and I don’t know if that is the curse, or that’s a different thing, but I think it has something to do with the arm turning into an oily black snake curse thing, and so I have no idea what’s gonna happen with that yet! Hah…

**Artis:** And none of the rest of you have been having these dreams?

**Winsler:** I don’t dream, sorry.

**Serinepth:** I haven’t had that dream, no.

**Integrity:** No dreams.

**Artis:** Okay. That’s all of it?

**Mira:** Um. I think so? Um, I know we were gonna ask about “oh, there’s like notes on the orbs and stuff now” but the main stuff was yeah. The ascendant dreams, and the curse, and we went to purgatory, and everything with Dain…

**Artis:** I want to apologize that I have… if I have to be honest with the four of you, I had intended to have an apology and to thank you for saving my life once again. Which I will thank you, you did save me. But I want to apologize for… I’m a bit… you might imagine I’m a bit… blindsided by this news.

**Mira:** Understandable. Sorry.

**Artis:** … he was my very dear friend. Was he still in the spire? When it fell?

**Mira:** Well, his, um, his body was in the spire? But the fight with Chudley happened before the mirror broke.

**Artis:** I will send his family my… condolences. \*sigh\* Alright. The orbs, they’re… okay. Okay. Thank you all. I’m very glad that you’re safe. And I’m very glad that you did not get in trouble for this. I have not hear any news from Aaltine. I do not like the man, but I do not wish him dead. I have not heard any correspondence from the spire, but we have the notes from the Grand Artificer, which I’m parsing through. Gosh. This is not how I expected this day to go.

**Mira:** Yeah. Um. Neither did we, the other day.

**Artis:** Are you all doing okay, with this?

**Winsler:** Hmmm.

**Mira:** Um, I mean, I guess about as well as expected, when you go to purgatory and your arm is cursed and there’s a giant break-in in a spire, and with everything going on in like the sewers, um, but y’know… keeping busy.

**Artis:** We will investigate the sewers. Talking of snakes, oily snakes.

**Luke:** And he looks at you, Integrity. And he says,

**Artis:** I don’t… that does not sound very good whatsoever. I do not like that whatsoever. A different plane, you lost your arm. And replaced by an oily snake.

**Mira:** Yeah. And I think it might have something to do with the dreams and the lady from Sheora and…

**Artis:** Has she spoken to you at all?

**Mira:** No, not since Pitter.

**Artis:** Okay.

**Mira:** But, you know, with the whole arm and snake, I think it might be related somehow?

**Artis:** \*deep sigh\* okay. I will speak to Professor Allaro about that, I guess. She’d be the specialist. In losing arms. Um.. alright. Alright. That’s all of it? No other surprises?

**Integrity:** I think that’s pretty much it.

**Winsler:** I think that’s the gist of it, yeah.

**Artis:** Okay. Let’s plan to meet sometime this weekend, after I get a chance to look through the notes and figure out what the \*hell\* the Grand Artificer was trying to say.

**Winsler:** What day might that be?

**Artis:** Let’s do Sunday, when you all don’t have class.

**Winsler:** As in, like, the day?

**Luke:** Sunday’s the 36th.

**Winsler:** Okay, yeah. That works for me, that’s good, yes. That day works fine. Perfect, yeah. Excellent.

**Artis:** In the meantime, please try to…

**Mira:** Well, we’ve been keeping distracted! Cause uh, we met a ghost. In the chapel.

**Artis:** \*Gosh\*.

**Mira:** And he might have been murdered, and uh-

**Artis:** \*Oh\*.

**Mira:** Sorry.

**Artis:** Carry on. Go on. Please.

**Mira:** Yeah. So, when we were in the old chapel, we were just hanging out, and then suddenly, um, a gummy was just floating, and we were like “that’s weird,” so we went to follow the gummy down to the basement, and there was just a ghost down there, and he was like “I’m a Wildcliff student, and I died 30 years ago, and I was chilling in a happy place and now I’m here”, so we’re pretty sure when the spire fell, all of the ghosts who were powering it somehow got released back into like the broader world?

**Artis:** What was the name?

**Mira:** Williard Harrison Fitzgerald Ingrain? And he was going to go talk to Miss Brightboat about matching her with someone, so we went to talk to her.

**Artis:** That was… that was 30 years ago.

**Mira:** Yes. I don’t know if you were around then, but we were wondering maybe if you knew him?

**Artis:** I’m… so sorry. My… my mind isn’t working as fast as I’d like it to right now.

**Winsler:** Should we probably come back at a later time?

**Artis:** We’ll talk about this on Sunday, yes. The boy that, Ingrain, he fell dead of what they assumed to be something wrong with his lungs in the chapel.

**Integrity:** We’ve met him.

**Mira:** Yeah, he started randomly feeling cold, and we weren’t sure if he was murdered, ‘cause we know a cold wizard who went to school around that time in Patter-

**Artis:** \*even deeper sigh\*

**Integrity:** I feel like that was important information.

**Winsler:** Oh boy.

**Mira:** …yeah. So we’re trying to solve that.

**Artis:** \*sigh\*. Okay. I will keep an eye out for that, for anything… you’ve given me a lot of things to work through and think about, and we’ll meet Sunday, okay? Sunday afternoon?

**Winsler:** Sunday works.

**Artis:** Sunday afternoon, here.

**Mira:** Oh! I’m having a party tomorrow evening, in the restricted section of the reliquary, and I just wanted to invite you in case you wanted to come to the party?

**Artis:** Mira? Thank you very much for the offer. I would very much like to not. Go to a party.

**Mira:** Fair. Just thought I’d offer.

**Artis:** Thank you very much.

**Ben:** Artis doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who’d like to party, in all seriousness.

**Luke:** Party his sadness away.

**Ben:** Party his sadness away!

**Sarah:** Just sunglasses with tears running underneath.

**Kharla:** Oh gosh.

**Ben:** Oh no… Sad Dad Artis.

**Luke:** I think you can all see that he’s very much holding back tears.

**Kharla:** Oh yeah. Hundred percent.

**Luke:** And it’s almost like he’s like, deflated in his chair.

**Kharla:** Can we do a group hug?

**Sarah:** Yes….

**Luke:** You can hug him, if you want to.

**Winsler:** Everybody hug! Hug Artis! Hug the poor man.

**Mira:** We’ve gotta hug Artis, guys.

**Integrity:** Can we hug you?

**Artis:** I would… I would appreciate that.

**Winsler:** Everybody pile on.

**Serinepth:** Group hug!

**Kharla:** Okay, we’re gonna go hug Artis.

**Luke:** Okay. Absolutely. That’s a wonderful end to that scene.