The Gnome sat at a table in the inn, his head wrapped in bandages save for an eye and an ear on the right side. A badger sat across from him, eating a persimmon, deep in thought.
"If the stone shattered, then that can mean many things, but not as many things as many would think," the Gnome said, tapping his finger on the table. "But how it even existed is beyond me, and beyond most, except for maybe those from the beyond."
The badger chittered in an annoyed fashion, its tiny paws up in the air.
"I am not just talking to talk; I'm trying to convey to you my thought process," the Gnome snapped back. "This would be easier if you were not a badger, but let's not forget that you insisted on coming even though a Grishauld Covington has never jumped timelines successfully. I'm not sure why you'd think the prime timeline would be any different."
The badger picked up a persimmon and threw it at the Gnome, who was taken aback by the action. He picked it up to throw it back just as Rowan Birch arrived at the table holding a waffle sandwich.
"I have your food, sir... Were you about to throw that fruit at that badger?" Rowan asked, confused.
"Is he a badger or a jackass? I can't really tell," the Gnome said as he lowered his hand. The badger raised its middle finger at him.
Rowan watched as he slowly put the plate of food down.
"He's definitely a badger," Rowan said definitively. "How can you understand him? A speak-with-animals spell shouldn't last as long as I've seen you talking."
The Gnome pointed to his uncovered ear, which had a spiral green earring dangling from it.
"I made this earring when I first got here; it has a constant effect of hearing his speech," the Gnome said as he picked up the sandwich and took a bite. "But now I'm beginning to wonder if that was a mistake. This is a very good sandwich."
"Oh, that makes sense," Rowan said, staring at the badger who stared back while eating the fruit. "If you could make that earring, though, why didn't you just make one for him to wear so he could speak? Then he could talk to anyone."
The Gnome and the badger stared at Rowan for a second before turning to look back at each other. The badger lowered its head onto the table.
"Perhaps we were too smart for our own good. Our solution worked, but was too focused on reception instead of transmission. And transmitting is definitely the focus, not the reception," the Gnome said, scratching his chin. "Instead, we received a nugget of wisdom from this simple farm boy."
"Thank you?" Rowan said, offended but unsure what to say or do. He awkwardly backed away until he could turn and return to work.
The Gnome looked at his food and sighed.
"It breaks my heart to see this place," the Gnome said sadly as he took another bite. He looked back up at the badger. "I didn't want to say it, but you know what this means, right? The fact that the primes are assembled and multiple versions are collecting?"
The badger had a grim look as he raised his gaze to the Gnome and spoke in a tongue only the Gnome and a mysterious figure at another table could understand as they spied on the pair.
"Convergence."