Episode 51 - Maps

## Maps

A white outline that resembles bricks. In the center is a white, crinkled map with faint outlines on it. Lying on top of the map is a fishing lure in red.

### Author

William A. Wellman

Jonah goes fishing, Bern deals with new arrivals, and Polly leads the way. The theme of tonight's episode is Maps.

***Content Warnings:** Animal death (Heidi, Bert as usual), Violence, Death + Injury, Birds, Smoking, Electrocution*

## Intro - Wrong Turn

Nikignik narrates to the dreamers a person lost in a thunderstorm, lamenting that they should have asked for a map before leaving wherever it was they were coming from. They step out of their car into the pouring rain, knowing that they had lived a life without maps, never once knowing where to go; the right place finding them when they least expected it, the wrong turns in their life making them who they were now. But this was little comfort as they ventured where they were sure no road signs were bound. Only the lightning, and as they see by its light, a grim house atop a hill in the distance.

Nikignik sits in a bank of lilies upon Lurch Lake, commenting on their staggering whiteness, a suppressing and stark colour to be found in the evermore stygian woods. He watches Jonah Duckworth and Hector Mendoza as they sat in a boat also upon the lake, calling them "*One does not know where he is going, and one is afraid to find out*".

## Story One - Lights Beneath Shallow Water

Jonah Duckworth sits in a boat fishing, thinking to himself that he didn't hold any ill will to the fish bellow, just that catching them had proven to be one of his only skills. Hector Mendoza, also in the boat holds up a lure, and asks Jonah if it was for catching pike, Jonah confirms this, thinking to himself that Hector was also a nice catch, and asks him who taught him how to fish. Hector tells him that it was his dad, but he hadn't done it much since. Jonah points out that this was the first time Hector had mentioned his dad around him, but Hector tells him that this wasn't a good time to talk about his dad. Jonah tells him that he'd spend some time fishing out at 'Bits’o’Boston', and they had caught some things that he'd never seen in any fishing guide, but they'd cooked up alright, but he'd been thinking about going to Gorgia, as it was warm in the winters, and he thought his mother would like to live by the beach. Hector tells him that he hadn't been that far south in a while, but he wouldn't miss Canadian winters, and that he didn't want to see what type of critters came out to walk in the snow, which Jonah agrees to.

Hector asks him why his family came up to the Hallowoods in the first place, and Jonah tells him that his mother had decided that they'd be safer up north, and he wasn't sure if his dad's job (see Downing Hill Public Library) followed him, or if he followed it, be he'd gotten them a house in the forest quickly. Hector asks if Jonah and Zelda had known about what Dexter's job actually was, but Jinah tells him that he'd already moved out by the time his mum and dad went up Noth, and his dad was always hiding in his study anyway, like he was scared of him and Zelda, or just didn't care for them. Hector asks Jonah when he was planning on leaving, that if they left the next day, they could make it to Gorgia in a few weeks, but Jonah tells Hector they weren't going to be leaving that soon as they still needed to prep. Hector says they could leave next week then, and Jonah asks if he didn't like the Scoutpost, and Hector tells him that the Scoutpost was 'alright', but they were too familiar, everyone's nose in everyone else business, there was nowhere to be alone. Jonah frowns at him and tells him that he'd hate life on a boat, because the Scoutpost felt plenty spacious to him, and Hector aggress. They go quiet, which causes Hector to hear the sound of the Froglin hunting song nearby, and they drive to boat back to shore in a hurry, heading back to the Scoutpost.

### Interlude - The Lowlands

Nikignik tells the dreamers that if they attempted to navigate the Hallowoods, they might find an abandoned summer home, or one of the few surviving settlements, or remember the coordinates to some underground survival bunker, but a map would be of very little use to them. The water had risen significantly since the days of printing, shorelines had changed, lakes had appeared, and cities now resided underwater. And of course, maps of the Hudson Bay Lowlands were not a first choice at the average gas station, and the improbable rise of a forest from the surrounding wetland had rendered the landscape unrecognizable. But the landscape didn't recognise them either. It resisted all understanding of the world and grew to spite all that which came before it. It was a proud forest, and it was bold to think that a piece of paper would be able to stop one from getting lost in its expanse.

## Story Two - Changing Lines

Bern Keene is training Huntington Waites (see Episode 47 - Regrets) how to use a crossbow, which they [Huntington] are rather predictably an Immedient expert at. Satisfied with this Bern leaves to do her daily check-ups on The Scoutpost, telling them that she'd be wanted her crossbow back when she returned. Typically, it was Violet Keene who paced the grounds of the Scoutpost and checked on everybody, but Bern wanted to keep an eye on the Mendies. She found that she got along just fine with Townsend Rhodes, who had been sent to work with repairing that Scoutpost's battering vehicle. Cookery Potts was fitting right in and had naturally been put in charge of Scoutpost meal plans. She passes Floris Scrubbs and bids them a good morning, though they ignore her, upset over the messy state of the Scoutpost and the room that Bern shared with her wife, but she did appreciate their effort to maintain a clean Scoutpost. She did not like Stitchery Pins, their needle fingers frightened her, and she compares the way they walked and talked to a vampire and an evil advisor from a fantasy novel. Despite these opinations, over the weeks none of them had been anything but pleasant, and she begins to consider if she should reassess her biases towards that which is dead.

She comes across Leyland Blooms working in one of Violet's garden beds. She greets them, and they inform her that the petunias were beginning to rot at their roots, and as such would need to be dug up, pruned, and allowed to dry for a little while. Violet appears, commenting that she'd thought she'd been watering them too much, and asks Leyland if they could handle them, which they do. Bern asks Violet how Leyland had been, and she tells her that they'd been rather industrious and sweet. Bern asks if she'd seen Diggory Graves as of late, and she tells her that she wasn't sure if she had, but they seemed to be spending alot of time with Riot Maidstone and Olivier Song.Violet asks if they were still alright with Olivier staying at the Scoutpost (see Episode 44 - Rains), and Bern tells her that she thought so. Violet asks her what was wrong, commenting that she could get Big Mikey to talk about his feelings and she knew Bern much better, so she could tell she was 'brewing like a kettle'. Bern confides in her about how everything was becoming so different all at once. Big Mikey dropped Riot on their doorstep (see Episode 3 - Books) and with her came Botco, there were now eight dead people living with them, one of them was the son of the man who had killed dozens of their friends, as well as Olivier. And Walt Pensive was dead (see Episode 36 - Swords), and she couldn't help buat wonder what was next. Just then the alarm bells rang, and Bern yells at Russel McGowan in the lookout's nest, and he slides down the ladder to meet them. He tells them that there were Froglins at Lurch Lake (see Episode 41 - Waters), and they had Griffocaughs.

### Marketing - National Dreaming Box Day

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her marketing segment. She announces that it was National Dreaming Box Day. Now days there is a Dreaming Box wherever one goes in the USA and in some Canadian territories, and they were celebrating all the workers who remained outside of the Prime Dream to allow people to live happily in the Prime Dream. She shares the fun fact that the smallest Dreaming Boxes were portable and served as early access into the prime dream until the Dreaming Visors were created (see Episode 28 - Threads). Nowadays, the largest Dreaming Boxes housed the bodies of dreamers in their Dreaming Pods, and could be a thousand feet in every direction, or even bigger, such as the 'Mega Box' in California.

### Story Two, Continued

Bern climbs up the eastern wall of the Scoutpost as the calls of the Froglins fills her head and the other members of the Scoutpost scatter in such a manner that remined her of birds, some looking for safety others weaponry. Once at the top she can see the approaching Froglins, and calls for the Scoutpost doors to be closed. They watch as the Griffocaughs, six in total, break the treeline and barrel towards the Scoutpost, the Froglins following and maintaining the Griffocaughs course. Huntington jumps over the wall and puts themself Infront of the incoming stampede, which splits in two as a response to this, one attending to Huntington, the other continuing on to the doors, with the Froglins remaining in the background.

Bern calls out the order to keep the Griffocaughs outside of the wall and the creatures begin to kick down the door. Riot yells out from beside her, holing her sword and clueless, asking 'what the heck is that', and Bern gives her the heads up that they were Griffocaughs and to keep her distance from them. Olivier flies up next to them and Riot tells them to shoot the Griffocaughs with lightning, but before they can do anything as such the Griffoucaugh at the door finishes kicking it down, immediately attacking Diggory, but is quickly spooked off by Percy Reed, turning and leaving the Scoutpost in the direction of Lurch Lake. Bern sees Grug standing in the treeline, who grins at her and then turns and retreats with the others. Violet questions why the Froglins would have attacked them, stating that they'd never done anything, and Bern points out that there wasn't anything to scare the Froglins anymore. Violet starts commencing repairing the doors, and Riot sits in astonishment at the size of the Griffocoughs, saying that they were bigger than they looked in Walt's book. Riot announces that she was going to keep an eye on the door, and Bern realises that she had a satchel, within which was the colourful map of America she'd given her in Episode 49 - Rescues, and she realises that Riot was going to be leaving the Scoutpost to try and get her mum back (see Episode 22 - Mountains).

### Interlude - Make Sense of the Void

Nikignik tells the dreamers that he found it quant that they had tried to make sense of the void around them, despite their eyes being able to preserve so few colours and their telescopes being unable to tell what sleeps in blackholes let alone what lived at the edges of their known universe. He tells them that if their maps of the cosmos had been drawn by a child, and if he had a home, he would hand them on the wall and be proud, but perhaps it was for the best. He tells them that is eyes across this almost eternal expanse, from the low caves where the fishers make their dens to the caverns of faraway moons where Ascended Scientists stage their calculations and cold experiments. they should see the maps *they* have of the stars. If one was to visit the Spirit Sky Observatory - Which would be visible from the Scoutpost that week, they could. Perhaps though, it would be best to not understand how small they were, although small and unimportant were not the same thing.

## Story Three - Looking For A Carnival

The Carnival Gang make their way through what is described as 'another ghost town' and stop to take a break from walking. Mort asks Polly if they were at the Carnival yet (see Episode 36 - Swords and Episode 48 - Revelations) and Polly tells him that he'd know they were there when he saw 'lots of flashing lights', Yaretzi saying nothing as she walked beside them, choosing to stay in her canine state as opposed to a more human one. Polly gestures to a nearby rooftop and suggests setting up camp, which Yaretzi responds by giving Polly 'the cold shoulder' and jumps to the roof in one leap. Polly shrugs this off and Mort goes in to take the steps up, Polly joining Yaretzi on the roof in his own fashion. He points out Yaretzi's quietness and cracks a joke about her 'feeling peckish' (see Starwolves); she expresses her doubt in there actually a Carnival for them to find, saying this in an accusatory way that implies Polly had been lying to Mort, but he tells her he was sure there was one out there, but it was giving Mort something to look forward to.

She agrees with him on this sentiment but asks what they [her and Polly] were looking forward to, asking him to be honest and tell her if they were in danger from The Industry (see Episode 39 - Promises). Polly starts panicking at this being brought up, but forces himself to remain visibly calm, and bold-faced lies to Yaretzi that he hardly thought they were in danger. Their conversation is stopped by Mort reaching the top of the stairs and joining them on the roof and expressed to them his excitement in going to a Carnival, and Polly points out that he'd been with him for most of the duration of Morts life (see Episode 3 - Books), and as such he was aware of Mort never having been to a Carnival. Yaretzi tells Mort that she'd never been to a Carnival either, and Polly rhetors that there was a first time for everything and that they were both going to be in for a treat. Mort falls asleep quickly, and Yaretzi once again asks Polly if he was worried about The Industry coming for him, and that was why he never slept. But Polly simply tells her that sleep would be inefficient, that he just wasn't built for it, and jokes that maybe it was Rick Rounds they she should be worried about. Yaretzi snorts at this, and then confides in Polly that Tolshotol had not spoken to her in centuries, and that as she was not planning on eating Polly anymore, she felt she was betraying him [Tolshotol]. She tells Polly she thought he was the last true Demon on earth now, asking if he was sure that The Industry was going to just let him go. He tells her he wasn't sure but he though they were safe, and she asks him what they were doing, and he tells her that he supposed they were looking for a Carnival.

## Outro - Maps

Nikignik waxes poetics to the Dreamers about Maps. About how desperately one had wished they had one when they needed it most. Calling them a promise that the places one was heading to where already known and the roads they were taking were already travelled. Yet maps were a luxury, and there were no maps for him, every step taken into an unknown cosmos a question. He tells the Dreamers that if they found themself no longer lost, and were enjoying the landmarks around them, to make a map to show others where to find them. They might discover that they are not a wonderer, but an explorer, that the terrors they'd faced were to be buried beneath the homes of tomorrow. For all those who were to follow in their footsteps might have a map to guide them.