makingitworse | The Last Voyages: Inbox

makingitworse

Hi, this is Bob. Leave a message if you want to.

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From:

musicdied

"It was - split, sort of, into two parts. There's what they call Charter Magic, which works using a magical language - symbols or words that do specific things, very ivory tower wizard stuff. The people there needed to be...baptized, sort of, into the Charter to use it." She lifts a hand to drag her thumb over her forehead. "With a mark on their forehead. I'm still not sure if the placement was just custom, or if it was actually magically significant."

From:

makingitworse

Bob frowns. "That sounds familiar. Like I read it in a book somewhere." He can't remember what book or when, but it definitely sounds familiar. Something to do with a white talking cat? "What was the other part?"

From:

musicdied

"The world's natural magic, which pretty much works like radiation in those horrible old B sci-fi movies," Yelena says. "People could use it, but it eats away at them, and there were walking corpses and weird monsters roaming around outside the cities."

She taps her thigh, and gives him a little smile. "I was walking around with an ugly scar from one for months, before I died and everything reset."

From:

makingitworse

"I know I've read a book like that," Bob decides. "Maybe when I was in Europe, or maybe still in America, I don't know. But I definitely did." He rubs a hand over one eye, thinking. "There's a hobbit here, you said, like from the books... maybe book worlds really exist somehow."

From:

musicdied

"Oh, they definitely do," Yelena says. "Also worlds that only exist in movies back home. There was a warden here for a little while who was from the universe where Star Wars actually happens. It makes me wonder sometimes, are there realities out there where everyone thinks some of the shit that's happened in our world is just a story someone made up?"

Not their lives, maybe. But the big events, the world-shaking ones?

From:

makingitworse

Bob can't imagine his life would be interesting enough for anyone to write a book or make a movie about. But maybe someone like Yelena, or Captain America...

"If people whose stories exist in our universe are real... maybe," he says thoughtfully. "The alien invasion would probably make a pretty good story. There must be a whole lot of universes out there, if everything lined up enough to put real universes into fiction from our world."

From:

musicdied

Yelena considers that for a moment, then shrugs, though there's a gleam of humour in her expression still. "Or the writers wound up somewhere like this, and just cribbed from the things people told them about their lives, because it is not like anyone at home would know any better."

From:

makingitworse

Does that mean there are authors here now, from other universes? Or-- "Are there more places like this?" Bob wonders. "More... random cruise ships where people from other universes can meet and go through stuff and then go home?"

From:

musicdied

"A whole fleet of them," she replies. "Some of them I don't think let people go home, but the Barge isn't unique. It isn't even the only rogue ship."

From:

makingitworse

"Why are there so many magic ships?" Bob asks with a frown. Because while it's kind of neat, in one sense, that means a lot of people are getting swiped from a lot of planets, maybe against their will.

From:

musicdied

"Because the aliens who made them figured out how to use people to fuel their magic ships," Yelena replies with a little shrug, though there's something hard around her eyes that belies her apparent apathy. "And do other magic shit."

From:

makingitworse

Hmm. So they're all powered by the same thing. She'd told him about it his first day. He notices her expression, but it seems safest not to bring attention to it. "It seems like a really complicated way to fuel a ship," Bob says. "And not very... I don't know, consistent. If it's from the whole changing thing. What if nobody changes enough for too long?"

From:

musicdied

"The Barge starts dying," she says, quickly enough that it's probably not just speculation. "But that takes years. And there is the whole flood and breach thing to force people along, so even if some of us are a bad bet, there are enough people who aren't to keep things going."

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makingitworse

Bob nods slowly. That makes sense. He'd hate to be the cause of the ship... dying? As if it's a living thing. Maybe it is. "Well. If we're both bad bets, at least we can be bad bets together," he offers, only about half-joking, as is usual for him. He knows she already doesn't think she's getting out of here, and honestly neither does he, so.

From:

musicdied

She gives him another slightly crooked smile. "We can have our own little club," she says. "For very questionable inmate choices. Maybe there will be somewhere to get t-shirts printed, the next time we stop."

From:

makingitworse

"There should be a port next, right? Since this was a flood, and you said I missed a breach last month," Bob says. "Maybe there will be somewhere to print shirts." Or at least see somewhere new and different.

From:

musicdied

"Or at least somewhere I can get some things for embroidery. Most of my sewing supplies are for more practical work." She shrugs slightly, flipping one hand in a little what can you do gesture.

"It will be nice to get off the ship for a little while, whatever the port turns out to be like."

From:

makingitworse

"Will it happen before the next warden assignment?" he asks, remembering that she'd said he'd need a warden to let him off. "Will there be someone to let me go? I guess I could ask John."

From:

musicdied

"It is hard to say," Yelena replies. "But if you don't have an assigned warden, you can ask John. Or you can ask any other warden - they don't need to be assigned to you to let you off the Barge, though there are some of them who are sticklers for protocol and will probably not free anyone who's officially assigned to another warden."

She pauses a moment, then adds, "Once you're off the ship, you don't have to stick with them. Usually I stay in the place we've made port for the entire time we're docked."

From:

makingitworse

"Huh, we can do that?" He supposes it will cost money, so he'd have to find some kind of work to do, or else find a street somewhere that's safe enough. He's experienced at both. "We won't get accidentally left behind or anything, will we?"

Or intentionally, whether on the part of someone trying to run away or someone the Admiral wants to get rid of, he supposes.

From:

musicdied

"We can do that. We only need someone to let us off the ship, not to stay. And no, we won't get left behind. We can't stay behind even if we want to take the risk that the threat of dying if we're separated from the ship is true. We'll be yanked back if we try." She grimaces a little ruefully. "Unless there's something like the river of death in that first port I was telling you about - the Admiral couldn't reach into that, and apparently anyone who passed the end of it would have permanently been beyond him."

She pauses briefly, then adds, "And speaking of dangerous ports, if you still want to learn how to use a staff now that we aren't stuck to people, I can start teaching you. Say for an hour or so before dinner, a couple times a week?"

From:

makingitworse

"If you don't mind and it's not too much trouble," Bob says, ducking his head a little and looking sidelong at her. "I'd like that. I'd like to be able to help, next time, maybe, if there is a next time." Instead of just getting himself shot. Not that getting himself shot worked out that badly in the end, it seems, given he's here.

From:

musicdied

"It isn't any trouble," Yelena says, head canting slightly as she considers him. "I like teaching people things. It's something they can take with them when they leave this place."

And it's a mark she can leave behind after she's gone, something positive instead of the pain she usually leaves in her wake.

"Let's start tomorrow, then."

From:

makingitworse

"If we leave this place," Bob says with half a smile. "But okay." It's a nice thought, teaching someone something, even something like self-defense. "Tomorrow before dinner. At the gym? Or somewhere else?" Maybe her cabin is cooler than his and has a fighting mat or something in it.

From:

musicdied

"What can I say, I'm an optimist," she says, pairing the blatant lie with a broad grin.

"We'll meet at the gym. Once you've got the basics, we can do some sessions in the Enclosure, to get you used to how different environments can impact a fight, but the gym is good for now. It should be pretty quiet at that time of day."