▷ The Spider Cliff Mysteries
▷ Story 2: The Mayor Misplaced
▷ Chapter 1: The new paradigm
You need to sign up to view and post to the hint postings. Sign up today!
Transcript of this chapter:
rebecca: Is everyone okay?barlow: We're all fine, and Turnip has been saved. Mission accomplished.
crystal: Yeah, Barlow's foolish plan worked out somehow.
rebecca: And the Sheriff?
barlow: Passed out under some rubble, but he'll survive the day.
rebecca: We'll deal with him later. The important thing is that the three of you are safe.
rebecca: I suppose you've decided what to do about Crystal.
barlow: I think she can stay. She doesn't appear to be dangerous.
crystal: Hey!
rebecca: Barlow, you shouldn't tell a demon that she's not dangerous. It kind of hurts their feelings.
barlow: Either she's dangerous and I have to kill her... or she's harmless and she can stay.
crystal: I'm... I'm moderately dangerous.
barlow: I'm going to have to do some demon-slaying now. She may be a weak demon, but she's a demon above all, so I'll probably be killing her later.
crystal: Hello? I'm right here, Barlow.
barlow: I'm going to take a little nap, and then I'll kill her.
crystal: I can hear everything you're saying! I'm right here!
rebecca: Well... after you kill her, I'm going to need you to clean the floor in the diner.
barlow: What?! I don't work for you!
rebecca: No, but Crystal does, and if you're going to kill her you're going to have to take her place.
barlow: Fine! she stays.
barlow: I'll let you decide what to do with her.
rebecca: As the town's demon-hunter, the ultimate decision over what to do with her is yours.
barlow: I'm tired, and I just saved the entire paper mammal population. I can't think anymore.
rebecca: We'll just let her decide, then.
crystal: I'm staying.
rebecca: It looks like we have that all settled. Of course Crystal is welcome to stay here.
rebecca: I think she'll offer a lot of energy and spirit to make up for the little inconvenience to you. Now, we've got a lot to do today, after all that excitement earlier...
barlow: I didn't get any sleep last night, so I'm going to bed.
rebecca: You shouldn't sleep through the day. It's not healthy.
crystal: Yeah, Barlow. I didn't get any sleep either, but am I complaining?
barlow: You waited up last night to kill me.
crystal: You were waiting up to kill me, too!
barlow: There's a lesson in this. Let's not stay up late trying to kill one another.
rebecca: With the job as demon-hunter comes certain responsibilities, Barlow. You're on call twenty-four hours a day, so you should get used to going without sleep.
barlow: Why do you always take HER side?
crystal: Because I don't whine as much.
rebecca: And also because there might be more need for a demon-hunter around here now. Demons like Crystal are sure to attract some of the residual evil in the area. We might see something... maybe as early as tonight.
barlow: Wait... make up for what inconvenience?
rebecca: Well, demons have a habit of attracting evil, even unintentionally. There's a lot of things nearby that might be called evil... I suspect we might be seeing some of them.
barlow: Hey! That sounds like more work for me.
rebecca: Yes... well, you ARE the demon-hunter after all. But don't worry, Spider Cliff is protected from most of it.
barlow: If I have to watch for evil tonight, I'll just sleep through the day. I'm off to bed now.
rebecca: Wrong, Barlow! It seems to me that someone fired a cannon into a closed area and made a big mess. That person needs to do some cleaning.
barlow: You've got to be joking! I just saved Turnip and countless paper mammals!
rebecca: And they're really grateful... but they don't control the coffee supply here. I do. Now grab some cleaning supplies and clean up that mess.
barlow: Protected from most of it? What do you mean?
rebecca: You know all about it, Barlow. There's a layer of protection, an aura, which makes Spider Cliff invisible to the outside world. As long as it stays in place, Crystal can't attract anything from the outside.
rebecca: However, there might be a few things inside the barrier, maybe in the marsh.
barlow: I know that marsh better than anyone. There's nothing out there.
barlow: When I think about it, having a demon here doesn't sound like a good idea.
rebecca: Barlow, you have to take the responsibility that was handed to you, no matter how inconvenient it might be.
crystal: Yeah, so stop whining.
rebecca: Crystal, go clean the floor in the diner.
crystal: Oh... right away.
barlow: Is it really okay to have her here?
rebecca: I am not going to turn on her. Everyone else is fine with her being here.
barlow: ....except Alex...
rebecca: My son will learn to deal with it. We need to be good hosts. The important thing is that nobody is going to turn on her, and that includes you.