He urged them all into the boat and he handed an oar each to Azriel and Kyber. He coughed into his hand and leaned against Lady Kay for stability. The others might not understand why this was all happening, but he would try to help them understand.
"I sustained this reality with my own energy reserves. I foolishly kept going, making new lands, new constructs, and that slot machine. I didn't think out the risks and now I've put you all at risk. I'm going to keep this realm open for as long as possible until you can escape...even if it kills me...I wanted to give you all an out; a way to escape from the humdrum of life and meet new things...new people. I'm sorry if it's not all you hoped for and I know that it's been a long haul. Now, we have to go back to the real world. But remember: even the galaxy itself is decaying. We have to prepare ourselves for when we leave these mortal shackles and move on to...something greater than all of us combined."
"You're going to have to deal with the muck and filth of life once more and it won't be pretty. Spending our time with these entertainments is fun and good, but right outside our own little world is hardship, troubles, and poverty. Eels will be replaced by alley stalkers. Luck dragons will be replaced by military shuttles. A feast will be replaced with starvation. It's a hard knock life, but we...you can all make it better."
The Page Master's cloak turned completely gray and raggedy and his eyes turned blood-shot as he was wracked with coughs. Behind them, the island was washed over by a wave of black water. Eels and other nightmare creatures squealed out in anger and despair right before the Nothing overcame them. Ahead was a bright light, a gash in the fabric of this reality. They were closing in on it, but Kyber and Azriel were going to need to row hard to avoid the Nothing coming for them. Many nightmarish sea creatures leapt out of the water to find salvation on the boat, but all fell short and could not get on board.
They were out at sea with nothing but the white gash before them, the Nothing behind them, and dark, churning sea water all around them. The shrieking eels poked their heads out of the water, but they could not think of any way to make their last moments special. They turned their heads down towards the water and waited for Nothing to take them. With the Nothing closing in on them and the white gash right in front of them, The Page Master cleared his voice and started singing in a weak and harried voice,
"Moon river...wider than a mile. I'm crossing you in style...someday...." He went limp in Lady Kay's arms right before they all went through.
The adventurers were now truly back in the real world. They stood in an regular, dirty alley. The sounds of the city were loud, their was a foul, but weak smell coming from...somewhere. Out in the street, pedestrians walked with their heads bowed in a state of continual depression in this overcast cloudy weather. At the mouth of the alley, a form lay on the ground wearing grey and raggedy clothing. Upon closer inspection, they would find out that it was a blind Cathar. Upon hearing the adventurers, the Cathar would raise his blind eyes in their direction, raise his cup and say, "Alms?...Please, do you have any alms?"
His hand would shake from PTSD as he held out a cup to you that contained one credit and two metal nuts.
[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] | [member="Azriel Zadimus"] | [member="Sheila"] | [member="Kyber Salurra"]
