A few minutes later, Terrence is on the phone.

"Ter-- Dr Markham, I need your help. I'm stuck in a hospital."

"Oh! Uh - good to hear your voice again, Mr. Jing. Um. What do you need?"

"To not be in this hospital? --I could just leave of course, but I'd rather not be chased down by a bunch of angry doctors going 'If you die, it's not our fault!'"

"...I don't think they're going to follow you."

Terrence gets his compassionate self in order. "Do you want me to come out there?"

"I'm pretty sure I can take a train. Just-- maybe check the incoming train for unconscious people who have made bad risk assessments."

Terrence huffs a laugh, fondly. "I will meet you at the train station in town. Try to get on the last car so that I know where to haul you out of, should you need hauling."

"I solemnly swear to be on the last car-- Doctor."

After Jing Yi has gotten home and been thoroughly thanked by Evie, who missed him ✨ so much ✨, everyone else gets together in his and Terrence's flat to catch him up on what even happened.

"So, I'm hoping the fact we are all in London implies that the Roby things have been handled?"

Yes, it was so easy. Fun, even.

Sal laughs very bitterly.

"Roby escaped with the nurse!"

"Roby and one of the nurses killed another nurse, faked Roby's death, and pinned the murder on Valentine. Things are not even slightly handled." She is, quite audibly, pissed about it.

"Why are we in London then? Shouldn't we be... actually no, we shouldn't be chasing down Roby, that is probably a terrible idea and I'm blaming me saying that on the mysterious coma."

What is it with Jing Yi and never reading the room?

Strictly speaking it's better he isn't in a coma-- good for him. But he is objectively agonizing to talk to. Oscar's gritting his teeth a little.

"It is! It is a terrible idea! It's also what we're planning on doing."

"We have a party invitation that includes his current location and when the whole gang is planning their next ritual."

"We what!"

Are we just telling Terrence this? She guesses empirically he's going to be there regardless. Yeah okay they're just telling Terrence this.

"Oh, I do love a ritual."

"Zounds. Do you have it? Can I see it? How do we have it?"

Not a delightful reaction, Terrence.

Sal thought they established they were telling him this but it might have gotten lost in communication somewhere. Oh well.

"You know, I didn't realize how happy I would be that we're the ones telling you until just now."

"Why would - oh." Terrence pauses. "Well, yes," he adds, helpfully.

Who has the invite. "So we're clear, this is not so much a fun get-together as it is someone getting stabbed several times by the side of a lake while surrounded by hundreds of those monstrous bat things."