Ep. 31- The Party of the Discarded Part 1

More lyrics and quotes? Why not. It’s Valentines Day today. Lets talk a bit about love.

“Weep not for roads untraveled.

Weep not for paths left lone.

‘Cuz beyond every bend is a long blinding end.

It’s the worst kind of pain I’ve known.

Give up your heart left broken-

And let that mistake pass on.

‘Cuz the love that you lost wasn’t worth what it cost,

And in time you’ll be glad it’s gone.”

Seems like something Alice would have blared at a funeral. I probably would too.

There’s a bit more too, in case you thought we’d end on THAT note-

“Weep not for roads untraveled.

Weep not for sights unseen.

May your love never end and if you need a friend,

There’s a seat here alongside me.”

Happy Valentines Day, and thanks for reading, everyone <3

int. hovel night

We return to the hovel of the hermit. The party is now reunited- the Pale Horse, Alice, the Queen of Swords, the Knight of Cups, the Devil and the Hanged Woman are all seated on cushions around the Hermit, who stands at center of the dimly room. He holds his singular lantern above his shoulders, casting an orange glow on the group. He carefully turns a dial on the lantern which shifts the light to a faint gray-blue. The aura of the lantern intensifies, overtaking the lantern itself, stretching and morphing until it grow;s into the image of The Tower.

HERMIT
The Tower- it’s decaying.

The Tower begins to crumble, piece by piece. Flames burst from various floors. Columns collapse.

HERMIT
And if the Tower gives way completely- the source of all of Arcana’s power- all of our power- may disappear entirely.

The Devil takes a long drag of his cigarette, the cherry glow reflecting off his sunglasses. He exhales smoke in bursts with his reply.

DEVIL
So call the Magician and the High Priestess and make them fix it. They always do. Don’t see how it’s suddenly our problem.

HERMIT
(seriously)
There have been…reports…from the Tower’s top floor…reports that have since ceased in recent weeks. But the last ones indicated the Magician and the High Priestess have gone completely silent.

DEVIL
Meaning they left the Tower? Well, good riddance.

KNIGHT OF CUPS
(uncomfortably breaking in)
Such blasphemy is unwarranted, Devil.

QUEEN OF SWORDS
(impatient)
Blasphemy- so called- aside, one wonders- why come to us with this, Hermit? Why not the House of Wands? They’re so much better with…meddling.

HERMIT
Indeed, I brought this to the House of Wands first. And it was the King and Queen of Wands who put together a list of cards best suited to deal with this potential crisis- you.

PALE HORSE
I have doubts.

The rest of the group, startled by his cut-in, turns to the horse. The Hermit raises an eyebrow, a hint of a grin forming at this exclamation.

HERMIT
Do go on, Pale Horse. It’s so rare for you to favor us with an opinion.

At this, the Devil can only groan. The Hanged Woman elbows him- she is unusually attentive to what the Horse has to say next.

PALE HORSE
(uncomfortably- not used to this attention)
I spoke too quickly. I have no doubts about most of this room. The running theme is clear enough- we’re all castaways. Discards. Fallen houses. The Queen representing the Swords, the Knight from the lost house of Cups. The Devil naturally is our “inside man”- not too much to assume that he was your source of “recent reports”-

The Devil raises his cigarette to protest, but a brief wave from the Hermit and he thinks better of it.

PALE HORSE
As for the Hanged Woman- despite my…beastial nature, I’ll remain tactful- she has her purpose. But the Alice and I don’t figure into this. We are an accident- unaccounted for, even by the all-seeing Hermit.

HERMIT
(a glint in his eye)
You are not wrong- the House of Wands did not have you on their list of would-be saviors. In fact, until you stormed the Lost Highway, it was assumed you were…not in play, so to speak. But as for the Alice…

The Hermit turns to Alice and raises his lantern to her- the light reflecting off her eyes- after a moment, a brief purple aura glows within iris.

HERMIT
I’ll admit that while the Alice wasn’t planned for- she was a hope- a glimmer in our minds that we didn’t dare plan for- but now that she’s here, it must be known that she is absolutely essential?

ALICE
Because I’m the Fool?

PALE HORSE
(briskly)
Do not let the name beguile you into gullibility- the Hermit and the Wands mean to use you as a tool. Wherever this little “briefing” leads, do not ascribe to some presumption so grand as “essential”. Whatever the Hermit is about to tell us- there will be a cost- but the choice still lies with us. We were not planned for- and we can still walk away.

HERMIT
(amused)
How little you think of us, Pale Horse.

PALE HORSE
It is doubful that others are not thinking something similar for themselves. I’m just giving voice to it.

QUEEN OF SWORDS
Don’t pretend you can play mouthpiece for a queen, Pale Horse. I can ask my own questions- and I will- setting aside who was meant to be here- and what the proposed plan is for the Tower- it is important for me to understand the why. Why us, Hermit? Is the Pale Horse right, and this was a matter of representation and convenience? Or is there another reason the House of Wands has not used their own knights and pages for this urgent mission?

KNIGHT OF CUPS
(cutting in)
If I may- it’s our arcana, is it not? Our power? The House of Wands wields naught but earth and fire, but our particular talents make us…uniquely suited to face the challenges of the Tower…and those allied with The Sun.

HERMIT
A point goes to the gentleman Knight. Call it convenience if you like. Tools, instruments, the hands of fate. Whatever label suits you. But you were assembled here with little regard for your backgrounds or personal stories- you each hold diverse power that will be needed if we are to have hope in breaching the Tower’s uppermost floors or bypassing The Sun’s forces that may stand in your way. But naturally, such a relationship works both ways- and as each of you has already indicated prior to this discussion- you each have something you want and need that can only be obtained only by reaching the top of the Tower. You may never have another chance to attempt such an entrance.

QUEEN OF SWORDS
We’re all using each other, in other words.

DEVIL
Well, that’s all good and well for the House of Wands- but they’ve got some real funny ideas- hilarious, actually, if they think I give a damn about their Tower, especially after I got cast out. No way am I crawling back, no matter what “reward” you think you can dangle in front of me.

QUEEN OF SWORDS
(taking a pull of fajro juice from a bottle)
I have to agree, for once, Devil. The House of Swords has no stake in this. We’re not even a proper House…anymore. There’s no aid we could possibly render, and formidable as I might be, I am just one woman. Not to say you wouldn’t have a chance with me- but unlike these Major Arcana, I have but one life to lose- and I have no wish to cast it away on something so foolishly grand as all this. I have more…personal stakes to attend to.

KNIGHT OF CUPS
(refilling his pipe)
Similarly, I have no pull with the House of Cups. Our Queen is dead and our King has long since disappeared into the Tower itself. There is no House to speak of, not anymore. I am a Knight of Love with no heart to seek after and no Lord to serve. I would be a greater hindrance than a help to this group, and would prefer to spend the rest of my days in contemplation and penance over the loss of my House. I am not worthy- nor capable- of such an optimistic redemption arc as you offer, however cynically you might try to frame it.

The Hermit, uncomfortably, turns to the Hanged Woman, who aside from Alice, is the last to speak. The Devil stands, placing a hand on the Hanged Woman’s shoulder.

DEVIL
She’s out. In fact, she was never in. You can’t expect her to return to the Tower. Not after what they put her through. I may be fallen, reversed, discarded- whatever- but I won’t have the Major Arcana torture her further. We serve no one now. Not the Tower. Not the House of Wands. Not even you, Hermit.

ALICE
(to the Hanged Woman)
W-wait. What did they do to you at the Tower?

The Hanged Woman does not reply, instead pulling her hat back down over her face. The Devil turns a threatening face to the Alice- the Pale Horse rises slowly, placing his own hand on Alice’s shoulder.

DEVIL
She doesn’t have to answer to you.

He turns his gaze up to the Pale Horse- and then to the rest of the room.

DEVIL
OR TO ANY OF YOU.

There is a silence that hangs over the room- if there was comradery- this has broken the illusion. Each member of the Part of the Discarded could not be further apart, further resigned to their own conclusion of uselessness. The Hermit, sensing this, adopts an uncharacteristically serious visage.

HERMIT
And this is how everyone feels? That this party was doomed before it could even come together?

There is silence.

HERMIT
(to Alice)
Dear Alice, I think it is time you tell them all what you saw- what threatens not merely the Tower- but all of Arcana.

ALICE
(chilled)
You mean…?

HERMIT
Yes. Tell them about the World Machine.