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"Now, effective strategies?" Eloise shakes her head. "If I were you I'd steer way clear, but that's not going to happen, obviously. I guess you'd have to aim to trick them? Either make a substitute snake— unless they wanted to take it with them?"
You have no idea.
"See, they might want to take it with them, so that's going to be dicey. Really dicey. You could have somebody bluff the shit out of them— excuse my language— bluff the shit out of them, pretend to be one of <span class="mu-i">their</span> higher-ups, say that the whole goo-snake thing is called off. Problems with that are, A) I don't know if they have higher-ups, but I think they sound bureaucratic enough for it. And B), I don't know how you'd convince them, if they're actually some higher-level... it'd have to be <span class="mu-i">really</span> good. Personally, I wouldn't attempt it. I think you'd need absurd luck. But..." Eloise shrugs.
Absurd luck? Ha! Try positive thinking, and also whatever the eye did, and also you have Richard— so— you're unstoppable, basically. You'll bluff them in a jiffy. "Okay! Thanks! Changing topics. I believe that there is yet another <span class="mu-i">looming threat</span> on the horizon, but it's unrelated to the first looming threat. I think. I have not uncovered evidence of a connection yet."
Eloise sighs.
"I believe that a sinister personage— henceforth referred to as the 'crown thief'— is gathering allies! And power! Power and allies! And once they gather enough of those things, they could ascend to <span class="mu-i">godhood!</span> But not in a good way, not a good— I mean a bad god. An evil god. Or at least a— a super annoying— a dislikable god. Are you with me?"
The pen clicks in, out. "Why the 'crown thief'?"
Oh, God. Richard— Richard has always counseled you, <span class="mu-i">always,</span> not to say anything about the Crown. But does he care anymore? Is he even here?
...
...No. "Um, it's sort of a— a long— you see, um, as I've made it very clear, I come from a <span class="mu-i">noble family</span>—"
You relate the history of the Crown as you know it. "So I went to go look for it, and I <span class="mu-i">did</span> find it— it was in Tom's Cave, actually, it mutated a whole bunch of alligators—"
Click. Click. "It was <span class="mu-i">here?</span>"
"Yeah! In this backwater, of all places! But anyways, I found it, I prepared to return triumphant— but it was <span class="mu-i">stolen!</span> This <span class="mu-i">person</span> in this gold mask with a giant AXE came and they TOOK it from me, unjustly, and they teamed up with this SNAKE, and then they vanished— and I never heard from them ever again— until now! I ran into one of their <span class="mu-i">lackies!</span> And I found all this stuff—"
You stand, stick your hand in your backpocket, and withdraw... oh, that's the pistol! Oops. "Hey, Gil, this is for you."
"What? Um..." Gil stares at the gun in his lap as you retrieve the rest of your loot. "There was this <span class="mu-i">crystal</span> that the lackey stabbed somebody with— I think to harvest mind juice— and there was this thingy! Do you know anything about these?"
(5/6)
