Episode 139 - Splinters

## Splinters

A black background with a thin white broken border. Within the border a pair of hands are depicted, held together as if in prayer. The right hand is depicted in white, and the left in red. The left hand also appears to be made out of wood. Bellow this image but still within the border the words "139.SPLINTERS" are depicted in white.

### Guests

 Harlan Guthrie as Dashiell Spade
 Daisy Guevara as Melanie Flores
 James Schwarz as Ralph Campbell

Walt relives the past, Clara discovers her mission, and Hector walks on water. The theme of tonight’s episode is Splinters.

***Content warning**: Abuse, Animal death (Dogsmell as usual), Suicide (spiritually implied), Violence, Kidnapping and abduction, Death + Injury, Blood, Strangulation/suffocation, Emotional Manipulation, Drowning, Body horror, Drowning, Ralph saying the words ‘treasure trail’*

## Intro - The Seed

Nikignik speaks to the Dreamers of someone who someone who finds that a seed had gotten stuck under their skin, and they cannot pry it out no matter how hard they try. soon it began to grow in them, and by the spring they were blooming with flowers in their lungs and roots in their palms.

Nikignik sits in the Grackles nest overlooking Walter 'Walt' Pensive (see Episode 132 - Crossings).

## Story 1 - The Last Glow

Walter 'Walt' Pensive watches as the Grackle returns with Riot Maidstone (see Episode 132 - Crossings), her having been trying to come up with potential ways to escape the ghost hoard. Walt tells her that he hadn't seen anyone escape yet, but she tells him that she was just getting started and suggests seeing if the Grackle could track two escaping targets at the same time. Their conversation is interrupted when Riot notices Daphne acting strange, and leaves Walt to investigate. She finds Daphne acting out a scene on repeat of her serving customers from her time as a waitress. Riot asks Walt what was wrong with her, and he explains to her that Daphne had been there for a long time, as while ghosts didn't die, they did fade.

Riot realises that this would someday happen to Walt and asks if she was going to have to lose him twice (see Episode 36 - Swords). He tells her that it was never going to be permanent, but she explains to him that being with him again was what had made everything alright, telling him of how everyone missed him. He tells her that he'd done all the word he'd set out to do and was sure they would have forgotten him by the spring. Riot tells him if his funeral in Episode 40 - Graves, of all the people who came to pay their respects, that the Scoutpost celebrated Pensive day now. That he'd changed the way they felt towards the forest. He tells her that she was going to get him chocked up, but he'd died and left behind two things, his ghost and other's memories of him, and both would fade with time. She tells him that she still had a job to do and asks that he help her get away from the Grackle. He agrees but ask that she let him talk to Daphne first. Riot leaves, and Walt plays along with Daphne's episode, getting her to break her repetition.

### Interlude 1 - As Below, So Above

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that if they dwelled in the Northen Hallowoods they would not have to try hard to notice the heart of Marolmar, as it beat and shook the earth. Soon it would bring the long waiting spring (see Episode 123 - Evolutions). It would bring harm to many, and if the Dreamers were not harmed in the initial burst the spring that came after would. Their flesh would return to the soil and feed the seeds to come.

## Story 2 - The Soul Thing

Clara Martin, Percy Reed and Dogsmell find Riot Maidstone's body (see Episode 132 - Crossings). Clara asks Percy if Riot might be Clementine Maidstone instead, but he tells her that she'd stayed at the Scoutpost.

Clara kneels beside her and begins mourning her, but Riot's ghost makes her presence known behind them, asking her what she was doing to her corpse, and that they needed to go and find the others as they were out of time.

### Marketing - The Protection Paradox

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her 'marketing' segment. She tells the Dreamers that she'd made it out of Toronto, before she too cut off by Melanie Flores (see Episode 136 - Faults), Dashiell Spade thanking Ralph Campbell for being able to appear on the stream on such short notice. Ralph tells the listeners that he'd been awake for a month and shows Melanie and Dashiell that he'd become black water effected (see Episode 55 - Threats), causing his stomach to have opened up into a large mouth. He announces on air that Dreaming Box Pisces is contaminated by black water, which Melanie at first attempts to disprove this, but the evidence is overwhelming, and Ralph tells her that it wasn't just him, but maybe millions of others who just hadn't noticed yet.

Dashiell points out that this was in direct violation of page 768 of the Botulus Corporation terms and conditions, as they were no safer in the Dreaming boxes then outside them. Melanie tells the Listeners that on her authority, that if they had health concerns regarding the Dreaming Boxes, they would be allowed to leave and terminate their contracts with Botco.

### Story 2, Continued - The Soul Thing

Clara asks Riot what happened to her, and Riot explains that a bird had stolen her sword, before chastising Clara for never visiting her (see Episode 48 - Revelations). Also, she'd frozen to death (see Episode 132 - Crossings). Percy starts to panic; Riot asks him what had happened to Diggory Graves and he tells her that they'd gotten separated (see Episode 122 - Creeps). She asks about the others, but he tells her he didn't know. Riot turns to Clara and asks her why she was there, and Clara explains to her what happened in Episode 119 - Winters and Episode 121 - Cups, that she was there to destroy the Heart of Marolmar.

Clara tells Riot that she could help her, use her abilities to ger her soul back into her body, and to do that she needed to take her back to Downing Hill Public Library (see Episode 135 - Flames). Riot asks about Clara's mission, but Clara tells her that you could never save everybody, but she wasn't going to let Riot die. Riot attempts to argue with her, but Clara begins tying Riot's body to her broomstick, and pleads with her to let her. Percy tells Riot that if she had to opportunity not to be dead, she should take it, but he wasn't going with them because he needed to find Diggory. Clara and Riot leave the North.

### Interlude 2 - Desecrate the Name

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that there was only a moment, until the end, or the beginning. What happened was beyond his control, but he had done his best to interfere. For the survival of their kind in the following years. Whether their world remained only kissed by the black rains or consumed by the Garden of the End. He tells them that he could still hear the beat of the machine, that to them it was a heartbeat, to him it was a song that echoed the soul of Marolmar. It was inconsequential to the Dreamers, what it sounded like, but it would bring a unique pain for him. Nikignik questions if he was desecrating Marolmar's name and yielding to his murderers if he dared silence the last work he'd put in motion? It would break him to do so, but he had chosen who he'd protect.

## Story 3 - How Things Change, Reprised

Hector Mendoza wakes up after the events of Episode 131 - Chasms, finding his tree limb (see Episode 86 - Royalties) had spread and was fruitlessly attempting to keep him alive (see Episode 128 - Haunts). He waits for an opportunity where both Nolan Thair and Ricou Chapman are distracted, and one comes when the Friends of Zelda (see Episode 131 - Chasms) arrive at their door seeking aid. Hector crawls out of his bed and across the floor, pausing for a moment at the front door to reflect on where it'd all started (see Episode 2 - Dogs), before continuing on down to the basement.

He goes under the water, not bothering to hold his breath, until he comes to Dexter Duckworth's study, and within it the cabinet (see Episode 1 - Keys). He opens the cabinet door, and water begins to flow into it, and when he steps in the door shuts behind him. Hector falls for an indeterminant amount of time, until he suddenly finds himself in Jonah Duckworth's arms as he stood atop a pile of small stones (see Episode 124 - Educations). They kiss, and Hector thinks to himself how it was funny that some things never changed.

## Outro - Splinters

Nikignik waxes poetica bout splinters, telling the Dreamers that is the story they were being told was being presented to them in splinters, in reality things happened quickly, and simultaneously, and it was part of his task to curate its presentation. But they were almost done with them now. The last fragments were coming together, and with them they shall know what picture they created. he could not claim that it would make a difference, but he asked them to hope. As Diggory and Mort prepared to plunge into unfriendly waters. he hoped they could forgive him for playing God.

### Until Next Time, Dreamers

*Remember, if you get a splinter, soak it in water. Soak your entire body in water. Stay there for hours. Every part of it. It is better than living with the splinter.*