Quoted By:
>Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!
>46, 79, 1 vs. DC 53 — CRITICAL FAILURE?
She isn't wrong, you suppose. You did blow up Headspace, and you did save lots of people's lives, and you narrowly escaped danger loads of times, exactly like a heroine is supposed to. And heroines give speeches all the time. And Richard is here to help you, if you need help. Not that you will need help! Positive thinking. Madrigal was okay with you melting all those people, so maybe they'll all be okay with it. Positive thinking.
"...Sure," you say. "I can give a speech."
"That's more like it! I'll go first, give ya a sec to think. But we won't need to start until... oh, shit. Nevermind." Madrigal pushes herself up from her crouch. "Gimme a sec. Be right back."
She hustles off, and you peek up over the couch to watch. A group of people are approaching, though they're coming from the opposite direction you did— maybe they're arriving from town? Ordinary eyes might fail in the growing gloom, but your superior snake-enhanced eyeballs pierce through, revealing... oh! That's Earl and Branwen! You didn't know they were invited. Earl and Branwen and Branwen's shark-thing, hauling crates (Earl has his arms full; Branwen's loaded hers onto the shark). Them and one other person. A man. A young man? Wait, the general store guy? You never knew Game Night invitations were so liberally distributed.
Madrigal's come to greet them, same as she did you, and she whistles to get help with the crates. You stay put, though you don't feel particularly ill. Not physically. Instead, you scan the room. Who else is here? Everybody. Well, not everybody. Anthea isn't here, nor the rest of the spelunkers (Pat and Earl excluded). Fake Ellery is nearby, looking sulky, but no Real Ellery. A few suspicious types are milling around, but nowhere near the volume inside Namway. And of course Arledge doesn't live here, and Lucky isn't invited, and no cultist like Henry would ever show their face (unless they're disguised?).
But look, there's Madrigal, Branwen, Earl, general store guy, Fake Ellery, guy you forget the name of, guy you never learned the name of, lady who sits outside her tent and glares at you all the time, Monty, Horse Face, another guy, Gil... Gil! You wave. He waves back enthusiastically, but doesn't get up from his seat, which is fine! It's a breach of retainerly etiquette, but it's fine: you'll go sit next to him after your speech. Also, you think that might be Pat (it's one of her different faces, but it rings a bell), and that's Jacques... huh. You didn't know he was invited, either. It's been a long time.
(1/5)
