Stone Men In Water Street

[Bjorn]

"No," Bjorn says, shortly.  He rises to his feet, and heads off to the table.  "C'mon, let's get some food."

[Brian]

The food tastes pretty bland.  But it's edible, and nourishing, and juding by the way a lot of the people are looking around and just admiring the trees and the sky, the freedom is more than worth it.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn looks around, an almost desperately curious expression on his face.  "How long have you been set up here, anyways?"

[Brian]

"About a week," Bart replies from his seat, already polishing off his meal.  "The last of us just straggled in a few days ago, and now we have to decide where we're going to stay, and what we're going to do."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn nods about it.  "How'd you find out about it, anyways?"

[Brian]

"Lazarus checked everyone's minds on our way out the door, and left us all a message that it was where HE was heading, so if we wanted to follow him, great, if we wanted to go there later, that was good, too.  Me, I never left his side.  The guy's a genius, but he can't speak, and isn't much if it comes to fighting.  A figured a little bit of TK at his side would be a good thing."  He shrugs, and pulls at one corner of a ragged flannel shirt.  You realize that everyone is dressed differently, now.  Almost everything looks like a hand-me-down, of course, but no one is wearing the old jumpsuits anymore.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn nods again, and then studies the table -- and, specifically, the people around it.

[Brian]

All of them look like Workshop escapees.  Except for the fact that you think there are less here than there were in the workshop originally.  Also, Victor is nowhere in sight, and neither is Ezmereth.

On the whole, they seem much happier here than in the Workshop, and of course, they're all dressed differently.  Bridgette is wearing a very smudged catholic school-girl's uniform, and Mikey is wearing a gigantic pair of overalls, and a flannel shirt.  Bart is wearing some faded and slightly tattered levis, while Lazarus is wearing knee-length khaki shorts and a polo shirt.

While looking around, you notice that one of the more intact-looking houses has a pair of working rocking chairs on the porch, both occupied.  In one chair, eyes closed, hand resting on a cane like a far older man, is Jonas.  Next to him is the woman who healed Shade, and she too looks tired and old beyond her years.

You also realize, somewhat belatedly, that it's much warmer here than it is pretty much anywhere else you've been.  And it's probably much warmer here right now than it usually is for this region.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn starts.  "Jonas?  He's alive?  I was told he died in the Workshop."

[Brian]

"He very nearly did," Bart agrees, frowning.  "If Anita hadn't found him when she did, he would probably never have woken up.  As it is, he's still weaker than he should be.  It'll take him years to recover his strength."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn grunts, staring down bleakly at his plate.  After a minute of silence, though, he looks up, frowning at the sky.  "Is it just me, or is the weather... exceptionally nice?"

[Rezantis]

A moment later, Rez blinks and looks up from his think-it's-egg-sort-of breakfast.

"Warm day. I wouldn't know, I thought this area was usually pretty warm?"

[Bjorn]

Bjorn shakes his head.  "Wasn't this warm down in Montgomery, and it should be cooler in the mountains, if anything."

[Brian]

Bart looks curious, and is about to say something, when he raises his head slightly, and nods.  "Time for the speech," he says, shrugging.  Now that you look, you see that Lazarus is standing on a large tree-stump (the thing has to be a meter wide, and a meter and a half-high) at one end of the area where the tables are set out.  Bart runs to the back of the stump, and appears to climb a ladder to the top, standing just behind Lazarus.

[Bjorn]

Pushing the remains of his barely-touched meal away, Bjorn adjusts his seat so that he can see Lazarus clearly.