Ep. 40: A Cup That Never Runs Over

40 episodes. Can you believe it? That’s roughly ten months of content not counting time off.

I wonder if anyone imagined I’d keep this up for so long.

My first post was on 6/14/21. In just 2 months we’ll hit the one year mark for this site.

For the first year, my goal was simply to get the site running and to publish regularly.

Mission accomplished.

Year 2?

Maybe some commissioned art. People like that sort of thing. Put some faces to these characters.

Guess we’ll see!

ext. valley of the bones camp morning

The party remains gathered at the campsite with their new visitor, Temperance. Knight of Cups continues to fumble at his pipe as Alice and Temperance continue to converse over the waning morning campfire. The Queen of Swords remains aloof near the cliff as though watching for something on the horizon. The Pale Horse shifts restlessly, his hooves kicking up small clouds of brown dust.

ALICE
I’m a Major Arcana too!

TEMPERANCE
Are you now…

PALE HORSE
(cutting in thoughtlessly)
The fool speaks whatever comes to her mind.

TEMPERANCE
The fool?

PALE HORSE
(poor recovery)
A figure of speech. She’s an idiot.

ALICE
HEY.

TEMPERANCE
Yes, yes, I’m sure.

ALICE
I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.

TEMPERANCE
(to Alice, very focused)
What is your name?

ALICE
I’m called Alice. Today, anyway.

TEMPERANCE
Do you have other names?

ALICE
When the day suits them. I keep them hidden away for special occasions. I used to have a whole list of names I’d take with me to parties and bars. Some nights I’d run through as many as ten of them at a time.

This boast might be a bit overblown, but it is mostly true. Alice does have a tendency to lie about her name. It isn’t that she hates being Alice so much as she grows bored with it, and a new name suits her just as a new hat might suit you or me. This mostly harmless tendency has occasionally made life quite confusing for poor Alice, as she’ll often meet people from old jobs, former schools, broken dates- and so forth- and forget just who she said she was during that particular moment. Alice keeps a book of all the names she likes, which sits safely at home in a footlocker.

TEMPERANCE
(giggling at this)
Delightful, delightful. That is very equal- a name should not carry so much weight- so why not have many names to help shoulder the load. That is very equal, you DO understand!

There is silence at this outburst. Temperance looks up. He sees Pale Horse’s eyes fixed on him. The Knight of Cups’ pipe has extinguished. Even the Queen’s hand has quietly gripped the hilt of her sword. As he takes in these small details, Temperance wryly smiles, stretches his arms upward in an exaggerated motion and leans forward to Alice, taking on a very serious tone.

TEMPERANCE
Alice, my dear, do you know what the true tragedy of Temperance is?

Alice similarly leans forward, mirroring Temperance’s gaze. Her eyes cast from his face to the cups he bears.

ALICE
(quietly)
Your cup never runs over.

Temperance smiles widely at this, his lip quivering at the strain as he bears his teeth in another suddenl laugh.

TEMPERANCE
Yes. Yes! That’s exactly right. Never. I always have enough for one but not the other. It’s…very equal. I will never know what it is to be truly, completely full. I will always be half full, half empty. Very equal.

PALE HORSE
(shouting)
ALICE!

Temperance rises in an instant, raising his full cup to the sky. The sloshing liquid turns to a swirling fire which leaps from the cup to the air in a blink.

TEMPERANCE
KNOW MY EMPTINESS! MY ABSENCE! CUP OF FIRE!

The fiery arcane energy transmits through the air toward its intended target- Alice! Will it find its mark? Tune in next week to find out!