[Shortly after the return to Liminal Space]

[pseudologist]

Nice flowers.

Not that I'm complaining about being away from all the raging teenaged emotions, but what happened to get us all sprung so fast? I don't think we were at the Shambala any more than a week - definitely not our usual stay.

Comments

[shiroganeheir]

A week? We were in... well, space for much longer than that.

However, there have been Jaunts that short before. I believe when we went to the masquerade it was only a few days. Certainly not as long as some we have been on.

[pseudologist]

The masquerade? That one must have happened while I was indisposed. The shortest I remember was Austin, and that one...that one was a special case.

How long were you...did you say in space?

[If it weren't for Traveling, he wouldn't even be familiar with the concept of outer space. Forgive him that note of keen interest in his voice.]

[shiroganeheir]

Quite possibly. It was... eight Jaunts ago, and if I am not mistaken, one or two after Austin. That was my first Jaunt, so I am sometimes uncertain of the order of Jaunts before that.

About a month, I believe. Much of that time was spent on a ship. However, there were portals at one point to Liminal Space. My overlay was extremely confused.

[pseudologist]

Austin was my last trip before this one.

And...wait. Are you saying you got into Liminal Space in your Infiltrator persona? Shit. That must have confused everyone.

[bypartisan]

Possibly the Trumps only wanted us to catch new and exciting diseases to spread to the others.

Still. For a Jaunt... a Walkabout, I suppose, that was... remarkably unhorrible. Apart from ruining a suit, the bar catching on fire, and repeatedly turning into a giant weasel.

I think I may have caught a cold.

[pseudologist]

New and exciting magical diseases. You forgot the best part.

[If he sounds like he's laughing at you, By, it's because he absolutely is.]

Looking back, it does seem like we were short a lot of people. Maybe they didn't wan to turn that hotel into an entire travelling circus.

[bypartisan]

Magical diseases. Because heaven forbid we infect anyone with something so mundane as the flu. Or my cold.

Perhaps the lack of people was why it was so restful.

[Because for the most part it oddly was.]

[pseudologist]

Probably. That and the lack of dire stakes - I don't think much of anything was riding on those competitions besides money and ego.

I'm dying to know: are you still turning into a weasel every time you sneeze?

[solvethepuzzle]

That's quite a time discrepancy.

[pseudologist]

So I've heard. And I'm guessing someone would have mentioned it if that was usually the case with these split Jaunts we have going now.

[solvethepuzzle]

No, the passage of time has been the same each time past. A difference of weeks is an anomaly.

[Time is nebulous within Liminal Space itself, but this is the first time to his knowledge that a Jaunt and Walkabout have been out of sync. It's interesting.]

[pseudologist]

But not out of keeping with the difference in how time seems to pass in a dungeon as compared to outside.

[Or on a traditional walkabout, he almost says, but he's never spoken to anyone who remembers one of those clearly enough to give an entirely faithful accounting of time.]

I guess the question is, is this actually a change in how things work, or is it just information we didn't have before?

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

It's not terribly surprising - time itself is off in Liminal Space, so I image they have the control to do as they like with our little adventures.

[pseudologist]

They can do all kinds of weird shit. The decision to do new weird shit is still a notable departure.

[set_your_watches_for_fun]

Is it? It seems they're often doing new things, at least according to those who have been around a bit. It follows, considering there are quite a few of them, so I expect different Trumps do things differently.

[pseudologist]

More like a lot of doing the same thing in slightly different ways, at least when I was here last.

[littleladyluck]

I was anticipating having much more time there to coach the people who took my place the last time we were there. I had just enough time to say goodbye before the purple and yellow lights took us home. Poor dears.

[pseudologist]

They'll be fi--

Wait.

You've been there before?

[littleladyluck]

It was my first jaunt, actually! I came in last February, about a year before this one! It centered around Heartbeat during this whole Valentine's day disaster with Lovers at the helm, and...

Oh, gods, I've been here for a year.

[neverfeltthatway]

I've met individuals who's returned to us under the impression that far less time has passed, but I don't believe it's happened on this sort of a scale before.

[pseudologist]

It's the scale that worries me. And the fact that we were on a recognizable, memorable world, not in the middle of some weird shit that messed with our heads too much to keep track.

[neverfeltthatway]

Even so, I can't say I'm surprised, given how they're able to take us from our home worlds or send us on jaunts at different points in time that don't correspond with time passing for us. Really, I'm surprised it's taken them this long. Though I suppose that's just because we haven't had very many walkabouts yet.

[galvanizer]

... We were gone for much longer than a week, but ignoring that, hey, there's a voice I didn't expect to hear so soon. Still kicking around?

[pseudologist]

Inquisitor? I should've known this place wasn't done with you yet.

And it's more 'again' than 'still'. I wound up taking a little side trip of my own a few months after you were eaten by a portal.

[galvanizer]

You'd think I'd be used to vanishing into random portals by now. And that you'd know I'd come back after being swallowed up by one.

You're okay?