Chapter 1: Welcome to Stonespear Province

[Captain Kinkajou]

Anurak

Anurak looks thoughtful and licks the last remnants of pancake grease off his fingers.

"Sorcerer King you say? That's a really weird coincidence."

[Pulpatoon]

Thontorius, whose eyelids had begun to droop, starts when addressed by Anurak. "Coincidental in what way? Have you knowledge of such a being?"

[GreyWolfVT]

Galot shrugs "Not that I can say. I'm still thrilled to be talking to a talking bear from the future."

[Captain Kinkajou]

Anurak

Anurak looks a little startled by Doctor Thontorious's sudden interest and begins back-peddling, though he only succeeds in digging himself a bigger hole.

"Well, I mean, it's just with us being press-ganged subjects of the Emperor Syantides, autocrat of Mur, and all," Anurak says, any confidence dwindling rapidly. He starts looking around for some help from the others. "And with him also being a self-styled 'Sorcerer-King'. He makes little quote gestures with his fingers. "It just seemed to me like quite a coincidence... You know... there being two Sorcerer-Kings and... er... both of them wanting this Nul-Rod thingy." He ends with a half-apologetic shrug. "Weird huh?!"

[Zhym]

"Saaaaay," says Bubba the mushroom-brained, comprehension dawning in his eyes. "You don't supposes our sorceror king is the same one as the one you're worried about, do you?"

"So, you're saying that bringing him the McGuffi—I mean, null rod—would be bad?"

[Pulpatoon]

Thontorius: "Bad?! 'Catastrophe' doesn't begin to cover the extent of the... Well, maybe not for you. Maybe not for a thousand generations. That's the thing with meddling in the past. Long-term consequences. For all I know, your Sorcerer-King will use the artefact to put a chicken in every beggar's pot, and make it rain beer and skittles. He might start a Golden Age of Peace and Prosperity. But, down the line, as certain as alchemical algebra, it will result in every living thing in the galaxy being murdered to make room for its mechanical replacement."

The bear shudders. "I'm here to stop that from happening. And you, my new friends, can I count on you?"

[GreyWolfVT]

Galot "Yes you can count on me. I'll help you."

[Captain Kinkajou]

Anurak

Anurak sits there for a moment cogitating on what Bubba had said. ‘The same Sorcerer-King’. He turns the thought over in his mind. Really? If he was honest it did seem like the most obvious explanation. Anurak feels a little foolish at not having thought of it himself.

Galot’s declaration of support brings Anurak’s focus back to the moment.

”I have dedicated my life to ascending to the pinnacle of gastronomic achievement but find myself faced with a future in which all organic matter has been eradicated. What are exquisite delicacies without organic diners to appreciate the subtle flavours? No, this will not do.I cannot in good conscience stand by and allow this to happen. I too will give my aid to your cause Doctor Thontorious. Down with row-bots! The tyrant of Mu shall not acquire the Null-rod!”

Feeling heroic, he gets a little over-excited at the end and jumps up, pumping his fist. Then feels a little self-conscious and, assuming nobody else joins him, sits down again.

[Zhym]

"Gee, I'm all for not ending all life," says Bubba. "Most of my friends are alive. But, guys? Are we forgetting about the tattoos the king's whassname gave us? The ones that'll turn red and tell everyone we were bad? And then there were all those things he said about what happens if we don't get the null-rod. I don't remember just what he said, but they were bad things. Very bad things."

"I don't want people to die thousands of years from now, but I also don't want to be tortured to death tomorrow, y'know?"

[Pulpatoon]

The action moves over to Chapter 2: Hell's Back Road!