There are scenes in which the stakes of the narrative are suddenly raised. This was one of those scenes. Let’s unpack.

Homesick Will

The constant movement of Will’s story has prevented him from grasping just how weird his life has become. During his two days in the guest house, however, he begins to feel the pangs of homesickness.

His friends are certainly trying to help, Sindy has him hooked on several shows featuring celebrity baristas, but it might be the almost normalness of his situation which is making him feel lost. Nobody’s flavor combinations will also cause anyone to long for something truly familiar.

Lil’jacks

Bug is a junk food expert. Lil’jacks is his favorite “fried everything” food shack. It has some of the best French Fries ¹ in any world, and their fried pork sandwiches are even appreciated by the Horde.

Sindy was actually the one who gave Sills both the order and the money to procure the group’s feast. She might be a bit snarky toward her husband, but she knows what he likes and had anticipated his efforts to break out of confinement ².

Breeding

Elves aren’t deliberately rude to others. It’s just that their culture leads them to spend so much time looking at themselves they often fail to even notice others, much less be kind to them.

The Press

Surprisingly, the details of what happened at the Ordinance meeting have not been leaked out to the press. This has only stirred them to an even greater fact-seeking frenzy. Will’s public status as a previously unknown Wizard spellgineer ³ has made him a central focus of their inquiries.

No less than forty-seven pixies actually tried to climb through the plumbing in order to access Will in the guest house. They were all chased off by security, but Will did have the vague recollection of his toilet speaking to him in what he assumed was dream. His foggy remembrance ended with the toilet saying, “Arrgh, remote control security cockroaches? Really??”

Before the Throne

The empty chair on the dais in the Hall of Governors is literally “The Empty Throne.” The original intent of this scene was supposed to detail the current debate on war strategy going on among the Governors, with each faction appealing to the throne for their support. Unfortunately, they finished that conversation ahead of schedule and so Will didn’t get to see it.

In case you were wondering, the Elves threatened to withdraw their support for the war budget if The Realm didn’t immediately move over to the Sock Standard.

The White Flash

This attack on the Board of Governors has been in the planning stages for nearly a year. Horde agents in the city were told to wait until rumors of the Firewall failure began to circulate in the city and then strike. The flash of light Will remembered was the detonation of the single-largest injunction bomb ever set off in The Realm. In normal circumstances the detonation would have rendered the entire downtown area of The Empty Throne uninhabitable for nearly three hundred years. The goal of the attack was obvious, to cripple the government as the Firewall was about to come down.

Fortunately, Will was there.