[Intro — chaotic, stumbling, wrong directions]
(go left)(I went left)(that was right)
(I went right)(you said left)(left is right)
(THEN SAY RIGHT)(that would be wrong)(ALDRIC)
[Verse 1]
Level nineteen did not make sense in any direction
SOLARA said: forward — the crew went backward
SOLARA said: stop — the crew arrived somewhere nobody intended
The Hero walked into a wall (confidently)
The Hunter tracked something that was definitely behind him
The Queen looked at all of them
(she did not stumble)(not once)(not even slightly)(how)(she just didn’t)
[Pre-Chorus]
And then the Laborer stopped
He stood very still in the middle of the wrong direction
He looked at the residue — the dark damp hollow-smelling residue on every surface
He looked at Aldric and said: is this what I think it is
Aldric checked his notes (which were upside down)(he read them upside down)(naturally)
He said: corruption yes — Hollow residue — it inverts the local system
The Laborer said: I know
(he opened his pack)
[Chorus — full crew cleaning chant]
Scrub it out, scrub it out
Every corner every wall
Scrub it out, scrub it out
We’ve done harder, done it all
Left is right and right is wrong
But the broom still knows the floor
Scrub it out, scrub it out
Till the hollow is no more!
(SCRUB IT)(OUT)(SCRUB IT)(OUT)
[Verse 2]
He had seven brooms
(why does he have seven brooms)(he always has seven brooms)(in his pack)(yes)(since when)(always)
He handed one to SOLARA — one to Castor (Castor took it immediately)(no questions)
One to The Queen (she examined it)(she found it acceptable)(she began)
One to Aldric (Aldric was already taking notes)(he took the broom)(he kept taking notes)(with one hand)
The Hero said: I do not sweep
The Laborer looked at him
The Hero took the broom
The Hunter said: this is beneath a hunter of my
The Laborer looked at him
The Hunter swept
[Bridge — the moment it clears]
And then the residue lifted
Slowly — the way fog lifts when the sun decides to mean it
And forward was forward again
The crew took a step in the direction they had all learned was backward
And fell forward
(all of them)(even The Queen)(almost)(she caught herself)
And The Laborer stood in the middle of the clean floor
With his broom
And something in his face that had not been there before
Not pride — not yet
But the beginning of remembering
What it felt like to know exactly what to do
[Final Chorus]
Scrub it out, scrub it out
Every corner every wall
Scrub it out, scrub it out
We’ve done harder, done it all
Left is right and right is wrong
But the broom still knows the floor
Scrub it out, scrub it out
Till the hollow is no more!
(forward is forward)(finally)
(do not celebrate yet)(why not)(level twenty is next)(…)(start sweeping)