I'm sorry.

I'm not gonna die. Someday. Not now.

- you'd make sure people took really good care of them if I did, though, right?

Of course.

Kay. Thank you.

How will you know if it worked? Is there, like, a big neon sign somewhere that says 'Melkor's house' and you can check and see whether anybody's home?

Angband might be affected. If it's not, we'll attack it, see what happens. I don't think it'd hold without him.

Makes sense.

She waits. She goes over the spell steps and incantations with Wishbone, over and over again, until she has them by rote. 

"These are really complicated. Why do you even have them memorized?"

I WANTED TO KILL A GOD ONCE, he taps out, on his letter sheet.

"Did it work?"

He considers.

I DONT REMEMBER.

Well, that's not worrying at all. 

She waits, and waits, and waits, and -

It's started.

Do you need anything?

I dunno. I dunno how this works. I guess - water for a baptism and the ingredients for the ritual standing by, and - I guess you guys don't really have people who have any experience with any of the stuff that human birth involves -

I mean, some of it's going to be similar?

Yeah. I guess. Wherever - whoever you have doing this wants me, then.

Not gonna kill them right away, right? Birth, baptism, ritual as fast as we can since that's time sensitive, and then - Ryan should get to, I dunno, hold them or something, if he wants -

Yeah, no hurry, not for that step.

OK.

I'm scared. I didn't think I'd be scared of this part, it's just, this is the part of the plan where things can go wrong? If we're going to fail it's going to be here.

Unlike the other stages where nothing went wrong.

Well. Not in a way that actually messed anything up.

We just gotta try. If instead it fails we're not worse off than we started.

Yeah. I guess you guys can always try again if this time doesn't work. Although we will have a baby who will someday learn that their mother had them for the purpose of human sacrificing them, which has gotta be a heck of a thing to process.

Little bit. Let's not worry that far ahead, though.

Yeah.

Just - don't wanna have been all pathetic for months for no reason.

Even if this didn't work out that won't have been true.

OK.

- ow. Frick.

I - honestly have no idea how long labor is supposed to last, I think it's a while but I guess I should maybe go - wherever I'm supposed to be for this.

You can stay in bed. I think. Doctor's on the way.