Patchwork Universe

Yarrow · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 9:47 pm Post subject: Never one when you want one

Yarrow popped into heaven abruptly and looked about her. The geranium in its pot was still there, although looking a bit wilted. Yarrow stared at it for moment, before remembering that she had left it there herself. She noticed the cotton lint clinging to the side of the pot a moment later. It wasn't much, but Yarrow had made not much her stock in trade. However it didn't engage her attention for long.

"Odds gods," she said to herself as she looked from white wall to white wall. "There's never anyone around here, this place is as dead as..." she snorted, remembering what they'd decided to call the patch. "Well, I can't say a graveyard because last time I looked that place was humming."

"I've been right up those Bridges, looking for Justice Paine and there's no sign of him. I haven't seen Mustardseed in ages and Kao Sheng seems to have been hang about that pub for an eternity. The Janitor could be anywhere but he's got awfly fixated on those signs of the times... Under the circumstances I s'pose there's only one thing to try."

Cupping her hands around her mouth she called:
"Coooeeee... Gods! Gooooo-ooodddds? Any Gods about here? Heeeellllloooooooooooo?"

Peri · God Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 70 Location: Terminus

A little way off across the white plain, Peri appeared, stumbling a little as though she'd come in at speed. She stared about her, looking for landmarks and finding none.

She was windblown and wiry, with a mop of auburn dreads, beads woven into some of them; she wore baggy trousers with myriad stuffed pockets, a pair of dusty desert boots, and a coin with a triangular hole in it on a string around her neck. Her eyes, large and sky blue, seemed to absorb everything they saw. Now, though, what she was seeing didn't make any sense.

She couldn't remember a single thing before arriving here.

She unslung her capacious rucksack from her back, its dangling saucepan and metal cup clanking, and pulled at its drawstring hoping it would contain some clues. The rucksack was decorated with embroidered patches from various destinations. As she watched, the words on each badge rearranged themselves into illegible mats of thread, vanishing from her memory as they went. She pulled out her travel diary, a thick leather-bound journal with half its pages full, and opened it. Before she could catch even a single sentence the ink ran and faded, leaving a book full of pretty pale-blue smudges, but not a single word.

The coin on its thong swung into her field of vision. She turned it over in her fingers - even the words on that had melted into random shapes.

"Bloody hell," she muttered. "Where am I?"

Turning about, she saw some specks of colour in the distance. They appeared to be an old lady with a shopping trolley, standing by a flowerpot. She hefted her rucksack and marched through the blankness towards the woman.

"Hello," she said. "I've got lost. Could you tell me where I am?"

Yarrow · Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 7:01 pm Post subject:

Yarrow took in the details of the newcomer's appearance slowly, her expression beginning with surprise, migrating through suspicion and finally settling on something akin to approval.

"Sort of backpacker type, aren't you?" she said. "I'm a bag lady myself. It ain't glamourous but it gets you out and about, dun't it?"
She looked about at the blank space that surrounded them and added:
"We calls this place Heaven. I keep thinking we should do it up, you know, nectar, ambrosia, angelic choirs strumming harps, one of those doohickys for firing thunderblots. But you know how it is... there's always so much to do, somethin' ends up getting forgotten."

"Anyway, it's much more interesting outside of here. Sort of patchwork thingy we've put together. So, who are you then? Got a feeling we've met someplace before, though I can't 'zactly put me finger on when or where. 'Course I wasn't always like this. Back in the day I used to turn heads, right enough. But all that were a long time ago."

Peri · God Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 70 Location: Terminus

Peri scratched her head. "Tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure who I am. I know, sounds stupid, but it's probably just really bad jet lag, it'll pass."

The woman did indeed look familiar, though from where was a mystery. There was something about this white space, too. It reminded her of that time when - when what? She had the feeling this was the start of a well-worn tale, one she'd told in pubs and transit stations many times before and could probably tell in her sleep, but this time her thoughts had run up against a blank wall.

"I know you from somewhere, though. Did I meet you at the...", she began, but the name of the place slipped away like dream fragments. "Or the..." She tried again, but again she drew a blank. The bag lady raised her eyebrows. Peri decided to change the subject. "Patchwork, you say? I'm writing a travel guide to the universe. Though I seem to have lost all my notes. I'll just have to start all over again," she said glumly.

There weren't any visible doors from this big white cube, but she had a feeling that if she just followed her nose she'd quickly find herself... somewhere else. Somewhere new to explore. With that thought, something clicked into place in her head and all this began to make sense. She smiled at the bag lady, feeling a new sense of fellowship with her.

"Great to run into you again," she said. "But I'd better hit the road. I've got a lot of catching up to do. Any places of interest you can point me at?"

Yarrow · Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2004 8:35 pm Post subject:

"There's a few..." Yarrow admitted. "Most of the people are gathered in Jones Pub right now... but you might not want to mention that you're a... well you might want to be careful about saying too much. Explorin's alright, if that's what your up to, but we don't like to tell the folks about Gods or things outside the patchwork generally. But no reason why you shouldn't have a nice explore... the Museum seems popular and the Map Room's damn' useful for them that are new to the place... but being what you are, you shouldn't really need that."

"Have a good wander," she concluded. "Oh, and if you meet any of the other Gods, that's what we calls ourselves here, or at least... anyway, if you meet 'em. Tell them Yarrow could do with talking to 'em. At their earliest convenience, of course."

Yarrow · Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 11:35 am Post subject:

As Peri vanished with a wave and a smile Yarrow contemplated her arrival and departure.
"Well, I s'pose it's some sort of response," she said. "Don't reckon much to the way these others are ignoring me though. S'pect I'll have to go and find them if I want a word."

She paused, thoughtfully.
"Can't say as I fancy that pub at the moment," she said. "Although I keep meaning to have a word with that Arnora girl."
"There's that blasted Zookeeper to deal with at some point as well, what fool let him through with a ray gun?"
"Hmm, thinking of that..." a malicious smile spread across her face. "There's two of those assistants in cages at the moment... I wonder..."

As suddenly as she had come, Yarrow vanished.