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>46, 79, 1 vs. DC 53 - CRITICAL FAILURE.
Then you crack. The river rolls in.
What was on the micro-stick? Choking silt; broken skeletons; fetid, stinking water. The BrainWyrm's last laugh. A couple hours, Richard said? He was incompetent. He was lying. Here are your <span class="mu-g">m</span>emories, taken from you, thrust back on you. Here is the mud on your eyes dissolved. Here is a sampling— a tiny, tiny sampling— of what you've done <span class="mu-s">wrong.</span> Look around!
Gil ahead. His wide and worried eyes on you. Haven't you seen those before, every time you frightened him, abandoned him, made him wear corpses, stole him from paradise? Sure you have. You didn't think it was so bad at the time. Or you knew it was bad, but you thought it was worth it. You were nice to him. Weren't you nice to him? So why do you remember—
<span class="mu-g">You in a panic. Him flustered, stuttering, trying and failing. It's no good. "It's no good," you say viciously. "God, you're useless!"</span>
Why do you remember—
<span class="mu-g">Him hovering over his in-progress manse-body, not leaving you alone. Talking about how hopeful it makes him, how grateful he is. You practically curl your lip. "Wow. <span class="mu-i">Inspiring.</span>"</span>
Why do you remember being <span class="mu-i">horrible?</span> You can't bear his gaze. Look elsewhere. Way at the back, at Branwen. You hardly know her, so you can't have wronged her, except you—
<span class="mu-g">Branwen and Madrigal congratulating you on finding Branwen's snake. Sharing Branwen's weird herbal drink. Inviting you to stick around. But you couldn't bear socializing with <span class="mu-i">them.</span> "Go to hell!" you say, and storm off.</span>
Madrigal? Who was being nice then, who's being nice now? You knew you were rivals, but you thought you were rivals in a... a cool way. A mutual way. But there was the thing with Game Night, and—
<span class="mu-g">She's trying to get you to tell her about Ellery. You're examining your nails. "You're not my client. You're my charity case." She's trying to tell you she doesn't want him to know you're helping. She's showing vulnerability. "Maybe he'll appreciate it," you say mildly. "You know, it means you care? Doubt you showed too much of that, really…"</span>
Then she punched you in the face. You remember. Then you punched her back— got Richard to punch her back, and knocked her out cold, and dragged her into the woods. To remove the evidence. To leave her to die.
How about Monty? Camp-leader Monty, responsible Monty, pacifist Monty, who almost strangled you to death? You never knew why he did that. He wouldn't explain. Now you remember: you were taunting him about the secrets you used Richard to extract. You called him remorseless. You—
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