Quoted By:
>Helping hand
>91, 42, 24 vs. DC 70 -- Mitigated Success
>Ellery: 75, 92, 66 vs. DC 50 -- Enhanced Success
>Managers: 1, 85, 39 vs. DC 65 -- CRITICAL FAILURE
But it's fine. Positive thinking. Ellery might be the worst, the least likable, the most perennially obnoxious, obtrusive, selfish, self-absorbed and plain pathetic person you know, but he isn't evil. He doesn't deserve to have his <span class="mu-r">s</span>pine ripped out and shoved down his throat, no matter how much you don't like him. So you won't do that. You'll just show him what-for, as usual, and maybe this time he'll go away and leave you alone.
You crane your neck to see if there's a way to get at him. You appreciate that the Managers have him cornered, even though they're at risk of poofing, but they also make it sort of difficult to tell what to do. Maybe you should order them out of the way? But Ellery wants that. Can you sneak around behind them? But you're clearly visible. Hmm.
No good answers yet. So it looks like you're not just standing there, though, you pace sideways. One of the Managers, catching your movement, turns his head. "Herald!" he pleads— or commands?
What? Oh, God, are you supposed to intervene? Now the other Managers are looking at you. "Sunbringer!" "Return to us, Great One!" "Flourish!" "Deliver us!"
Ellery is looking at you too. You mean, he's still faceless, but you can feel his level gaze. "<span class="mu-i">Herald,</span>" he says delightedly, and steps— slides— warps forward. Casey, yanked along with him, comes too. The hastier Managers slide away in anticipation, and the less-hasty fade as the tine nears them. Then they return.
The entire gaggle is still out of reach, but they're close enough to make you tense. "Sunbringer," Ellery continues, mockingly. "Great One."
"It's not how it sounds," you say defensively. "I'm not actually—"
"You're not actually. The Management only THINKS you're a god, but they're totally wrong! Is that it? Hey, doc." He swings the tine around at the white-haired Manager. "Her over there. Is she your god?"
"The Herald is no god," the Manager says. ("Ha!" you say.) "We spoke of this. I trust you remember, Mr. Routh?"
Ellery's fingers clamp down. "I KNEW it was—"
"You do. Good. It is— I would say our sun. Our guiding light. It will usher in the Day. It will rouse God. Succinctly, Mr. Routh, it the star of the show. The lead in the script. The Herald will save us. You, rat, are nothing."
Now Ellery's shoulders stiffen. Damnit! Why are they provoking him? Don't they know he goes crazy when he gets mad? Think, think, think. You can't actually save the Managers with Herald powers, so you need to—
«Why not?»
What? Richard, because you're not still possessed. Obviously. And you can't call the real Herald back so soon, because she's important, and it'd be rude.
«You said it yourself earlier. Reality is malleable this deep. Look outward.»
You don't have time!
«You will. Outward.»
(1/3)
