338: He Shall Jump on a Trampoline in the Autumn Time

## Summary

Trofast is given the task of spreading the word that King Batthwack has died, but also that he might be resurrected at King's Falls, and Batthwack gives Trofast his necklace to add validity to his claims. Meanwhile, Rosco and Sheemie decide not to resist arrest and are frog-marched away to be brought in front of "the captain". At the river, with the funeral procession's ferry journey now complete, Captain Paisley has apparently taken a liking to Raphina and invites her aboard his cruise ship, but she declines, saying she must regroup with her companions.

## Synopsis

The plan is recapped: Batthwack's death will be faked, but only the party and Trofast will know the truth. Trofast will go ahead to find Batthwack's supporters and spread the rumour of a prophecy that the king can be brought back at a special site in Gully's End. Will wants to embellish this prophecy with something supernatural and mysterious, a memorable phrase or piece of verse. Trofast suggests that whatever it is could have come to him as a divine message from Bahamut, but Batthwack hesitates at that suggestion. Will even suggests Batthwack give Trofast his necklace to carry, as proof that he was with Batthwack when he died. Batthwack's extremely anxious at giving up what is obviously an incredibly important possession of his, but does indeed hand it over.

Thinking of the waterfalls that Batthwack said are in Gully's End, Will offers the phrase *"From the falls, he will rise."* Trofast says the waterfalls are actually called King's Falls, so *"From King's Falls shall he rise,"* is suggested. Trofast auditions various permutations of this and Will workshops it with him to make his performances more believable. Will's nervous giving this important task to someone else, especially someone who's acting skills aren't up to his high standards. However, it does seem clear that Trofast feels very deeply about his king. Batthwack's certainly convinced. They decide that Trofast's story should be that when he took the chain from Batthwack's body, these prophetic words were seared into his brain, as if he had always known them. Will does eventually seem satisfied.

The time has come to send Trofast on his way. Batthwack urges him to check on Batthwack's family as soon as he can; he's worried about them being alone in Gully's End without protection. It crosses Will's mind to send Bernard, either as an escort or messenger, but how far can his familiar go away from him? Bernard's his best friend, so it's a huge deal for him to even suggest this. He's really not sure about putting Bernard at risk by sending him into the unknown. When Will asks who else Batthwack would trust with contacting his family, Batthwack's first thought is Will, and it's an emotional hit that Will wasn't expecting. Will says he'll have to talk to Bernard about it. *"I can't just control him. He's not just a magic spell. He's a human being. Somebody that I fucked over once before and I'm not going to do it again."* Trofast wishes them both good luck and kneels reverently in front of Batthwack, who puts a hand on his shoulder and thanks him. Trofast nods before he turns and leaves.

Meanwhile, outside *Millings Goods & Sundry*, the guards begin binding Rosco and Sheemie's hands. The old man and store owner, Paul Millings, gleefully orders them to strip the thieves of their weapons and take them to the captain. Rosco urges Sheemie to keep quiet and not say anything until they have legal representation. Sheemie's nervous; he's always managed to squeak his way out of trouble before. Rosco doesn't want him to try anything rash too soon, and suggests just going along with the flow for the time-being.

Over at the river, Raphina is just docking the ferry on the southeast side of the river when Captain Paisley approaches her and sheepishly invites her to accompany him to his ship. *"An accomplished sailor, such as yourself, I thought might appreciate the inner workings of my vessel,"* he says. He says that witnessing Raphina at work on the river has lifted his spirit for the first time since Chloe died. Raphina is touched, breaking out of her professional concentration momentarily to give him a hug, but politely declines the offer, saying that she really must check in on the rest of the party. The captain says she and her fellow travellers are welcome aboard his ship any time. It's apparent that he's taken quite a shine to Raphina as he sidles down the gangplank awkwardly before leading the procession away.

Raphina, Gary and Mo (who's somewhere around!) are alone once again. Gary seems to be feeling much more confident about his ferrying, having continued to pore over the book Raphina gave him. He's learned to not sweat the small screw-ups so much. *"I was getting so caught up in those little moments where I'd make a little flub, and then all of a sudden I was flubbing all over the place. You gotta move past, move through the flub."* Raphina agrees and tells Gary to keep practicing. *"Just wait 'til chapter 7,"* she says. She says her goodbyes and heads off to find her companions.

## Quotes

* Rosco: *"Here's your next lesson. When you're under arrest... Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Zip it! This is not a walk and talk situation."* Sheemie: *"All right. All right. I'm Will and I'm grumpy about it, but I'll do it."* Rosco: *"I fucking hate cops though."* Sheemie: *"Shh."*
* Raphina: *"Is that a ferret coffin in your pocket?"* Eric: *"That's what I call condoms."*

## Trivia

* The episode title quotes Abby and Eric. Will, Batthwack and Trofast are discussing an inspiring phrase to help spread their prophecy that Batthwack will return from the dead. Thinking of the waterfalls that Batthwack said are in Gully's End, Will suggests *"From the falls, he will rise."* Trofast says the waterfalls are called King's Falls, so *"From King's Falls shall he rise,"* is suggested. Abby: *"It's going to be like a game of telephone and we show up in Gully's End, there'll be signs everywhere that say... 'He shall jump on a trampoline...'"* Eric: *"'... In the autumn time.'"*
* Tobias auditions for a fire sale (from *Arrested Development*): https://youtu.be/t5uSuyVBp8A

## Recap Song

*Main article: The Music of Pork Fried Dice*
This episode featured Alex doing a recap to the tune of *Ashes to Ashes* by David Bowie:

*[Verse 1]*

Rosco and Sheemie return a wagon

To Millings Goods and Sundry

I pushed a human off of a ledge

Oh right, when I was eight

I punched a pole as hard as I can

*"The present, isn't the mystery,*

*It's the past and it's brackish clear,*

*Illusory remembering"*

Raphina and Gary the Ferryman

Processions of captains and coffins I

Hoist the mucilage and I ferry the crowd

But I'm flipping the book and the protege's rowing-owing-owing

*[Chorus]*

Ashes to ashes, ferret to ferry

We know Captain Malvolio Paisley's

Chloe the ferret died

Hitting the dock be-low

*[Verse 2]*

Rise and guide me dear Trofast

I'll play king, alright

But we won't be pawns in Zantras's game

Oh no, not again

I'm stuck with a Pompion plan

*"I'm happy, to see my family too"*

Kivash and Gesh but no loyal militia

I never raised armies *(I never raise armies)*

I never spread prophecies *(I never spread prophecies)*

I never did know how to die *(Whoa)*

Light the fire or pay the price

Is Gully's End burning now?

*[Chorus]*

Ashes to ashes, ferret to ferry

We know Captain Malvolio Paisley's

Chloe the ferret died

Hitting the dock be-low

*[Outro]*

The old man said, arrest these men

You'd better not mess with these gendarme

The old man said, arrest these men

You'd better not mess with these gendarme

The old man said, arrest these men

You'd better not mess with these gendarme

The old man said, arrest these men

You'd better not mess with these gendarme

## Gallery

*Main article: The Art of Pork Fried Dice*

## References

1. ↑ Will is presumably referring to the events surrounding their sister Madelyn, which led to Bernard's death.