Chapter 39: Tullegolar's Concluding Resolution
Chapter 39: Tullegolar's Concluding Resolution DikiyobaOcean Bound sucked up the last of the water in the General Forum. Zorro descended the steps and picked the game up. The surviving rats drew away from him and huddled in a corner. Zorro pointed at them.
"Don't even think about going anywhere."
The rats squeaked a bit but didn't object.
Zorro made his way to the Geneforge 4: Rebellion Forum. Nioca and Ephesos tended to injured Spiderwebbers. The Mystic scurried about, packing anything that looked even remotely valuable into his bag. Slartucker, Stareye, and Thuryl arrived back from the Blades of Avernum Forum.
"So we've won?" Thralni asked.
"Woot!" Tyranicus said.
"There are still a few rats left," Zorro said.
"They should be easy enough to deal with. A few rounds of spray acid will do the trick," Randomizer said.
"No!" Slartucker said, "Without a leader, they're mostly harmless. I'm sure we can resolve this peacefully."
"We could probably repair the summoning machine, reverse it, and send the rats back to wherever they came from," Schrodinger said.
"I'll talk to the rats." Ephesos left.
"Stareye and I will try to restore deleted accounts. Mages, Zorro, revive people," Drakefyre said, "Even Emperor Tullegolar." Drakefyre and Stareye left.
"You do still have Galactic Core, right?" Zeviz asked.
Zorro pulled it out of his pocket.
"Let's hope no one else has vandalized the Periodic Table of Spiderweb," Randomizer said, "Oh, and we need to revive Delicious Vlish, so we need the antimatter machine set up."
"I'll see what I can do," Schrodinger said. Schrodinger, the mages, and Zorro exited.
The Mystic decided he was done scavenging in this forum and scampered into the lower forums.
---
While Drakefyre attempted to restore the deleted accounts, Stareye replaced the old lock with a hand-print scanner. "There. Now all we need to do is add all the mods' handprints into the system."
Drakefyre slipped a switch on the administrator panel and Alorael, Imban, Nikki, Ash Lael, and Rakshasi were a brought back with a flash. Alorael's rifle appeared a moment later. Alorael caught it before it hit the ground.
"All right, all non-mods out of this forum right now," Stareye said, "Go help repair the flood damage."
Rakshasi, Ash Lael, and Nikki sensed that Stareye was in a rather bad mood and hurried out of the forum.
"Would you see how everyone is doing?" Stareye asked Imban.
"Of course." Imban left as well.
"Now," Stareye said, "We have to decide who deserves punishment for their part in this whole mess."
---
Schrodinger searched the Tech Support Forum for the antimatter machine. He found the crate upside down in a corner. The crate was battered and splintered, but when Schrodinger opened it, he could immediately tell that the machine was okay. He found the driest spot possible and began to put it together.
---
In the General Forum, Scum Scavenger and the other nine nymphs watched Ephesos from between Filth Finder and Garbage Gatherer. He approached the rats with his arms spread wide as a gesture of peace. The rats squeaked nervously and backed away.
"What does he want?"
"Should we surrender?"
"No way! You heard what Outwitter of Mazes said about humans. They eat their own babies! Just imagine what they'd do to us!"
"Attorosi lied," Ephesos said, "We don't eat children. Um, as a general rule, I mean, I'm not entirely sure about Enraged Slith and I'm sure if Thuryl had the proper motiva... never mind. Anyway, if you surrender you'll be allowed to leave here peacefully as long as you promise not to attack Spiderweb or any other human settlements ever again. I'm sure it won't take much for someone to repair and reverse the summoning machine and send you back into Smoo's scenario."
"That won't be necessary. We'll just leave as soon it's safe to open the door," a rat said.
Zorro and the mages arrived just in time to overhear the rat.
"Oh, it should be safe by now. The water was going down quite rapidly. It's probably gone completely by now." Zorro opened the door. There were still several very large puddles but the lake was gone.
"Okay... where did all the water go?" Zeviz asked.
---
The Mystic reached the Blades of Exile Forum. Instead of finding things to scavenge, he found the entire forum covered in several feet of water. He was so surprised that he dropped his pack and ran off to warn the others.
---
The rats watched Ephesos, Zorro, and the mages warily.
"So, we'll just be going now," a rat said.
"But where will you go?" Ephesos asked.
"Oh, you know..." The rat waved its paw in a vague direction, "...to yonder lands, I suppose."
"All right." Ephesos stepped out of the way.
"Are you sure you don't just want me to cast spray acid on..."
"No!" Ephesos, Zorro, and Zeviz said at once.
"Yeah, ice spells are much better," Zephyr Tempest said.
The rats scampered out of the forum. When the last one was gone, Randomizer leaned out the door, yelling, "And don't you come back!"
Zeviz pulled Randomizer back inside. "Come on. We have to revive people, remember?"
---
Nikki, Rakshasi, and Ash Lael joined everyone in the Geneforge 4: Rebellion Forum. Zorro had left Ocean Bound behind to remove the remaining water.
"What are we supposed to do with all these dead rats?" Nikki kicked one and made a face.
Slartucker handed Nikki a shovel. "Start digging."
The Mystic arrived. "Most of the other forums have flooded!"
"Someone go grab another copy of Ocean Bound the throw them both into the flooded forums," Andraste said.
"I don't think we have another copy of Ocean Bound. It's a terrible game that no one wants to play," Student of Trinity said.
"We'll just have to make do with one, then. But it could take a long time to absorb all the water." Slartucker picked up Ocean Bound and left.
---
Zephyr Tempest, Randomizer, Zeviz, and Zorro had made a lot of progress reviving people. So far, they had revived Dintiradan, Jewels, Archmagus Micael, Lazarus, and Mysterious Man.
"So what happened with the rest of the rats?" Archmagus Micael asked.
"They basically surrendered so we let them go," Ephesos said.
"Oh. It's just like Redwall!" Jewels said.
"Um, right," Ephesos said.
"Who do we have left?" Zephyr Tempest asked.
"Delicious Vlish, Kelandon, Enraged Slith, Lazarus, and Tullegolar," Archmagus Micael said.
"That reminds me. Jewels, ET vandalized the Periodic Table," Randomizer said.
"What!" Jewels huffed, "He messed with my Table?"
"Don't worry, we fixed it," Randomizer said.
"Well, okay, but I still have to make sure it doesn't happen again." Jewels pulled the chart off of the wall and tucked it under her arm. "I'll be back soon." She left the message board.
---
Slartucker entered the Blades of Exile Forum and threw Ocean Bound into the water. He watched for a while. Slowly, very slowly, the water began to go down. Slartucker sighed. "This could take a very long time."
---
The mages and Zorro had now revived everyone but Delicious Vlish and Emperor Tullegolar. They hesitated for a moment.
"Someone has to revive Tullegolar," Zorro said impatiently.
Schrodinger entered. "I've got the antimatter machine up."
"I'll summon the helium!" Randomizer said quickly.
"I guess I'll summon dysprosium, then," Archmagus Micael said.
Randomizer and Schrodinger entered the Tech Support Forum. Zorro quickly combined the dysprosium with Galactic Core and entered the Tech Support as well.
Emperor Tullegolar was revived. "So you finally got around to reviving me, huh? I'll remember this when I begin the Concluding Resolution and..."
"Oh, shut up." Kelandon picked up a can of spam and hurled it at Emperor Tullegolar.
---
In the Tech Support Forum, Randomizer summoned some helium. Schrodinger ran it through the antimatter machine and Zorro quickly combined the resulting antihelium with Galactic Core. Delicious Vlish was revived.
---
Alorael sat in the corner cleaning his sniper rifle while Drakefyre and Stareye talked. Stareye said, "Unfortunately, I had to promise not to ban Dintiradan, Wanderer, and the Lurker, otherwise I would."
"What about Smoo?" Drakefyre asked.
"He didn't actually build the summoning machine. Besides, he's a scenario designer. But we can ban Tullegolar, Nemesis, and Garrison."
"Nemesis and Garrison didn't know what Tullegolar was up to. And I wouldn't even ban him--he's funny."
Stareye crossed his arms. "Three weeks."
Drakefyre shook his head. "No. Only one."
"Two weeks"
"One and a half."
"Fine. One and a half weeks."
"Wait!" Alorael rummaged around in his pocket. "I'll give you..." He pulled out a coin. "...a quarter if you ban him for two and a half weeks."
"Done." Drakefyre took the quarter. "And you get to go throw him off of the message board. Leave your sniper rifle here, because I doubt that he'll go quietly and I don't think you want to risk damaging it. And while you're out there, hang this maintenance sign on the door." Drakefyre handed Alorael a sign. Alorael giggled wickedly and ran off.
When Alorael was gone, Stareye rounded on Drakefyre. "You're letting yourself be bribed for only a quarter now?"
"Relax." Drakefyre pushed a few buttons on the administrator panel. Are you sure you want to ban Imban 7420? Drakefyre pushed the enter button. "I needed to get rid of him. The new arrivals could be here any minute and Alorael hasn't sniped any pedestrians for days. They'd be targets he just couldn't pass up."
"So... you're banning him?" Stareye said.
"Yes. By accident, of course." Drakefyre pushed a button.
Are you sure you want to ban Imban 335?
Drakefyre pushed the enter button.
---
Kelandon and Emperor Tullegolar were arguing when Alorael snuck up behind Emperor Tullegolar and started dragging him away by the collar of his shaper robes. "...are so weak. I'll... hey! What are you doing?"
Alorael opened the door and stepped outside, pulling Emperor Tullegolar with him. "For the Concluding Resolution, Ego!" Alorael threw Emperor Tullegolar into the mud.
"You're at the top of my list, Alorael. Well, actually, you're still below Stareye." Emperor Tullegolar got up and reached for the door knob. A magical barrier flared up quickly, throwing Emperor Tullegolar back into the mud. "Not again! Curse you, Stareye!"
"Two and a half weeks." Alorael hung the CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE sign on the door.
Emperor Tullegolar stomped off, raging. "You will see me in two and a half weeks, then. By that time, I'll probably have my own army, so you and Stareye had better watch out!"
Alorael giggled again and reached for the door knob. A blast of energy knocked him backwards. "What is this?!"
"Don't even think about going anywhere."
The rats squeaked a bit but didn't object.
Zorro made his way to the Geneforge 4: Rebellion Forum. Nioca and Ephesos tended to injured Spiderwebbers. The Mystic scurried about, packing anything that looked even remotely valuable into his bag. Slartucker, Stareye, and Thuryl arrived back from the Blades of Avernum Forum.
"So we've won?" Thralni asked.
"Woot!" Tyranicus said.
"There are still a few rats left," Zorro said.
"They should be easy enough to deal with. A few rounds of spray acid will do the trick," Randomizer said.
"No!" Slartucker said, "Without a leader, they're mostly harmless. I'm sure we can resolve this peacefully."
"We could probably repair the summoning machine, reverse it, and send the rats back to wherever they came from," Schrodinger said.
"I'll talk to the rats." Ephesos left.
"Stareye and I will try to restore deleted accounts. Mages, Zorro, revive people," Drakefyre said, "Even Emperor Tullegolar." Drakefyre and Stareye left.
"You do still have Galactic Core, right?" Zeviz asked.
Zorro pulled it out of his pocket.
"Let's hope no one else has vandalized the Periodic Table of Spiderweb," Randomizer said, "Oh, and we need to revive Delicious Vlish, so we need the antimatter machine set up."
"I'll see what I can do," Schrodinger said. Schrodinger, the mages, and Zorro exited.
The Mystic decided he was done scavenging in this forum and scampered into the lower forums.
---
While Drakefyre attempted to restore the deleted accounts, Stareye replaced the old lock with a hand-print scanner. "There. Now all we need to do is add all the mods' handprints into the system."
Drakefyre slipped a switch on the administrator panel and Alorael, Imban, Nikki, Ash Lael, and Rakshasi were a brought back with a flash. Alorael's rifle appeared a moment later. Alorael caught it before it hit the ground.
"All right, all non-mods out of this forum right now," Stareye said, "Go help repair the flood damage."
Rakshasi, Ash Lael, and Nikki sensed that Stareye was in a rather bad mood and hurried out of the forum.
"Would you see how everyone is doing?" Stareye asked Imban.
"Of course." Imban left as well.
"Now," Stareye said, "We have to decide who deserves punishment for their part in this whole mess."
---
Schrodinger searched the Tech Support Forum for the antimatter machine. He found the crate upside down in a corner. The crate was battered and splintered, but when Schrodinger opened it, he could immediately tell that the machine was okay. He found the driest spot possible and began to put it together.
---
In the General Forum, Scum Scavenger and the other nine nymphs watched Ephesos from between Filth Finder and Garbage Gatherer. He approached the rats with his arms spread wide as a gesture of peace. The rats squeaked nervously and backed away.
"What does he want?"
"Should we surrender?"
"No way! You heard what Outwitter of Mazes said about humans. They eat their own babies! Just imagine what they'd do to us!"
"Attorosi lied," Ephesos said, "We don't eat children. Um, as a general rule, I mean, I'm not entirely sure about Enraged Slith and I'm sure if Thuryl had the proper motiva... never mind. Anyway, if you surrender you'll be allowed to leave here peacefully as long as you promise not to attack Spiderweb or any other human settlements ever again. I'm sure it won't take much for someone to repair and reverse the summoning machine and send you back into Smoo's scenario."
"That won't be necessary. We'll just leave as soon it's safe to open the door," a rat said.
Zorro and the mages arrived just in time to overhear the rat.
"Oh, it should be safe by now. The water was going down quite rapidly. It's probably gone completely by now." Zorro opened the door. There were still several very large puddles but the lake was gone.
"Okay... where did all the water go?" Zeviz asked.
---
The Mystic reached the Blades of Exile Forum. Instead of finding things to scavenge, he found the entire forum covered in several feet of water. He was so surprised that he dropped his pack and ran off to warn the others.
---
The rats watched Ephesos, Zorro, and the mages warily.
"So, we'll just be going now," a rat said.
"But where will you go?" Ephesos asked.
"Oh, you know..." The rat waved its paw in a vague direction, "...to yonder lands, I suppose."
"All right." Ephesos stepped out of the way.
"Are you sure you don't just want me to cast spray acid on..."
"No!" Ephesos, Zorro, and Zeviz said at once.
"Yeah, ice spells are much better," Zephyr Tempest said.
The rats scampered out of the forum. When the last one was gone, Randomizer leaned out the door, yelling, "And don't you come back!"
Zeviz pulled Randomizer back inside. "Come on. We have to revive people, remember?"
---
Nikki, Rakshasi, and Ash Lael joined everyone in the Geneforge 4: Rebellion Forum. Zorro had left Ocean Bound behind to remove the remaining water.
"What are we supposed to do with all these dead rats?" Nikki kicked one and made a face.
Slartucker handed Nikki a shovel. "Start digging."
The Mystic arrived. "Most of the other forums have flooded!"
"Someone go grab another copy of Ocean Bound the throw them both into the flooded forums," Andraste said.
"I don't think we have another copy of Ocean Bound. It's a terrible game that no one wants to play," Student of Trinity said.
"We'll just have to make do with one, then. But it could take a long time to absorb all the water." Slartucker picked up Ocean Bound and left.
---
Zephyr Tempest, Randomizer, Zeviz, and Zorro had made a lot of progress reviving people. So far, they had revived Dintiradan, Jewels, Archmagus Micael, Lazarus, and Mysterious Man.
"So what happened with the rest of the rats?" Archmagus Micael asked.
"They basically surrendered so we let them go," Ephesos said.
"Oh. It's just like Redwall!" Jewels said.
"Um, right," Ephesos said.
"Who do we have left?" Zephyr Tempest asked.
"Delicious Vlish, Kelandon, Enraged Slith, Lazarus, and Tullegolar," Archmagus Micael said.
"That reminds me. Jewels, ET vandalized the Periodic Table," Randomizer said.
"What!" Jewels huffed, "He messed with my Table?"
"Don't worry, we fixed it," Randomizer said.
"Well, okay, but I still have to make sure it doesn't happen again." Jewels pulled the chart off of the wall and tucked it under her arm. "I'll be back soon." She left the message board.
---
Slartucker entered the Blades of Exile Forum and threw Ocean Bound into the water. He watched for a while. Slowly, very slowly, the water began to go down. Slartucker sighed. "This could take a very long time."
---
The mages and Zorro had now revived everyone but Delicious Vlish and Emperor Tullegolar. They hesitated for a moment.
"Someone has to revive Tullegolar," Zorro said impatiently.
Schrodinger entered. "I've got the antimatter machine up."
"I'll summon the helium!" Randomizer said quickly.
"I guess I'll summon dysprosium, then," Archmagus Micael said.
Randomizer and Schrodinger entered the Tech Support Forum. Zorro quickly combined the dysprosium with Galactic Core and entered the Tech Support as well.
Emperor Tullegolar was revived. "So you finally got around to reviving me, huh? I'll remember this when I begin the Concluding Resolution and..."
"Oh, shut up." Kelandon picked up a can of spam and hurled it at Emperor Tullegolar.
---
In the Tech Support Forum, Randomizer summoned some helium. Schrodinger ran it through the antimatter machine and Zorro quickly combined the resulting antihelium with Galactic Core. Delicious Vlish was revived.
---
Alorael sat in the corner cleaning his sniper rifle while Drakefyre and Stareye talked. Stareye said, "Unfortunately, I had to promise not to ban Dintiradan, Wanderer, and the Lurker, otherwise I would."
"What about Smoo?" Drakefyre asked.
"He didn't actually build the summoning machine. Besides, he's a scenario designer. But we can ban Tullegolar, Nemesis, and Garrison."
"Nemesis and Garrison didn't know what Tullegolar was up to. And I wouldn't even ban him--he's funny."
Stareye crossed his arms. "Three weeks."
Drakefyre shook his head. "No. Only one."
"Two weeks"
"One and a half."
"Fine. One and a half weeks."
"Wait!" Alorael rummaged around in his pocket. "I'll give you..." He pulled out a coin. "...a quarter if you ban him for two and a half weeks."
"Done." Drakefyre took the quarter. "And you get to go throw him off of the message board. Leave your sniper rifle here, because I doubt that he'll go quietly and I don't think you want to risk damaging it. And while you're out there, hang this maintenance sign on the door." Drakefyre handed Alorael a sign. Alorael giggled wickedly and ran off.
When Alorael was gone, Stareye rounded on Drakefyre. "You're letting yourself be bribed for only a quarter now?"
"Relax." Drakefyre pushed a few buttons on the administrator panel. Are you sure you want to ban Imban 7420? Drakefyre pushed the enter button. "I needed to get rid of him. The new arrivals could be here any minute and Alorael hasn't sniped any pedestrians for days. They'd be targets he just couldn't pass up."
"So... you're banning him?" Stareye said.
"Yes. By accident, of course." Drakefyre pushed a button.
Are you sure you want to ban Imban 335?
Drakefyre pushed the enter button.
---
Kelandon and Emperor Tullegolar were arguing when Alorael snuck up behind Emperor Tullegolar and started dragging him away by the collar of his shaper robes. "...are so weak. I'll... hey! What are you doing?"
Alorael opened the door and stepped outside, pulling Emperor Tullegolar with him. "For the Concluding Resolution, Ego!" Alorael threw Emperor Tullegolar into the mud.
"You're at the top of my list, Alorael. Well, actually, you're still below Stareye." Emperor Tullegolar got up and reached for the door knob. A magical barrier flared up quickly, throwing Emperor Tullegolar back into the mud. "Not again! Curse you, Stareye!"
"Two and a half weeks." Alorael hung the CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE sign on the door.
Emperor Tullegolar stomped off, raging. "You will see me in two and a half weeks, then. By that time, I'll probably have my own army, so you and Stareye had better watch out!"
Alorael giggled again and reached for the door knob. A blast of energy knocked him backwards. "What is this?!"