067. Doom II

The motley encounters a powerful force within the Deep Dreaming.

***"We've all had to move at some point…."***

As Starlight Dove leads the motley deeper into the geode cave, Patches uses her newfound skills and remembrance to examine the Unseen Servant. Starlight Dove tells them that it was built in order to serve, unnoticed and unloved. Sophia falls in with Talus to see how he's feeling, and the latter tells her that he feels they are drawing closer to their goal. Braum asks Starlight Dove about how she'll know when her oath is fulfilled, but she only chides him: she never really swore an oath, just made a promise she intends to keep.

The Sidereal leads them into a large chamber surrounded by alcoves, and dominated by a massive, silent fountain. It seems to be shooting water straight up into the air, where it falls back down into an endless abyss… although it makes no noise. On closer inspection, the "water" is actually pure Glamour; Talus is awed, claiming that this must be the repository for all of the "unused" Glamour generated by humankind. How does it end up here? And, as Braum and Patches point out, if this place is so important, why does it seem unguarded?

As Sophia and Patches explore the alcoves, Braum watches Talus gaze down into the abyss, getting worked up by the amount of power available here. Sophia and Patches try to bring him back from the edge, reminding him that he has worked hard to get here, and no amount of power will change that. Talus claims he could use this Glamour to access the gates of Arcadia, as he has been working so hard to do, and Braum offers that the others should try instead, seeing as he is cursed to twist and warp Glamour as he uses it. Patches discovers that the alcoves contain large mainframes, although they seem to be dormant at the moment.

As Talus begins to move towards the Glamour fountain, his voice becomes mingled with another: the voice inside him struggling to come out, challenging him to use the power while his voice cries out for help. Rising atop the jet, the form of Quiet Word becomes visible on top of Talus, and Braum calls on the power of storms to try to separate them. "Yes, help me!" Quiet Word shouts.

Suddenly, an earthquake causes a cave-in, burying Starlight Dove at the entrance. At each alcove, a shadowy figure appears, and in a moment they coalesce into the forms of Sir Xaeron, Incisor, Claude, Zistor, Kyoko, and Kay. They each start trying to interact with their mainframe as the form of Talus grows an arm made of pure Glamour, which starts to drain and redirect the fountain!

The battle is frantic and chaotic: because they are in the Deep Dreaming, all of the Kithain's cantrips have morphed into forms of Unleashing, more powerful and unpredictable than usual. Braum charges at Incisor, who manages to stop him in his tracks with her Redcap birthright, striking fear into his heart; Patches rushes Kyoko, who comes at her with some small daggers; Sophia goes to aid Starlight Dove as Sir Xaeron advances on her. The sidhe unleashes Summer, igniting feelings of love and passion in Sir Xaeron, and as they leap into each other's arms, she becomes aware that he is the reincarnation of Sola, her previous self's daughter.

As Kyoko drives a dagger into Patches, the nocker metamorphoses Talus' arm into a gauntlet that fires shotgun blasts of Glamour. She manages to disable the machine in that alcove, while turning the blade around on Kyoko. The pooka, wide-eyed, reminds Patches of history repeating itself, calling to mind when Patches' previous self stabbed her lover in much the same way.

Braum grapples Incisor, and hurls her at Talus and Quiet Word atop the fountain, but not before she tears off his foot. He limps over to the alcove guarded by Kay, and charges her too. The vision of his ex-lover taunts him, but he knows that it is not really her voice: he destroys the vision of her to prevent her from turning on her machine. Patches advances on Claude and Zistor, who have started to work on one of the machines together as Quiet Word desperately tries to hold on to the flow of Glamour. Patches' birthright kicks in, and she gets a flash of inspiration: what if she had Zistor's rocket? She could safely collect the errant Glamour until Quiet Word is put down, and she wills it into existence in her hand. As she scoops it towards the fountain and then hurls it at the shades, they vanish in a flash of light.

Quiet Word gathers up a huge blast of necrotic energy, hurling it at Braum, who bears the full brunt of the blow, collapsing to the floor. At the same time, Patches watches as the rocket is launched up towards Talus, and Sophia's Mab leaps towards Quiet Word…. and the satyr just smiles.