Jack yawns.
"Hey, can either of you two see what's happened up above? Not sure if we just sat through the apocalypse or not."
The minder girl looks up at the darkness. She can't see a thing. And she's not about to fly out of shelter to check. If she had to guess, though, nothing seems to have exploded except maybe some weird sky business she can't really understand.
Mr. Erikson, on the other hand, does not deign to even reply, being absorbed in his own business far too much to devote any of his precious attention to the likes of you.
Actually, the minder girl interrupts your examination of him, you're probably the best equipped to find out if it's safe up there. After all, you do seem to have a pretty high tolerance for physical punishment if those burns you seem to be untroubled by are any indication. So maybe it's in the asking that you made your first mistake?
"The Captain? I believe I met her... I get the feeling she would simply rather not talk to her. As such, as you are her duly appointed representative, I will file with you! That tower clearly does not conform to any reasonable fire safety standards, with its lack of railings, lack of fire escapes, I didn't see any extinguishers, nor any exit signage... really, it's horrible from top to bottom. And I didn't even see the top! Completely uninsurable as is.
But, oh yes, the children. Where are these adult minders, then? The first I spoke with in the tower said one was returning. Is that fellow around?"
Complain of lack of fire safety. Another round of minder-hunt.
You walk about the courtyard, trying to stay away from anything falling or dangerous as you continue to speak with the guard. He agrees with your idea that the minder tower is not, in fact, compliant with any sort of fire safety standard. But then he was under the impression that minders don't tend to worry about fires much. He always assumed they could put them out with their mind or some such. Come to think of it, he's pretty sure everyone's always assumed that. Even the minders themselves. He's certainly never seen a minder put out a fire with their mind in person. So you've definitely got a case in the actuarial sense, he thinks.
What's also a good question is where the actual minders are. These kids, the guard is fairly sure, are mere students. They can't even fly. What kind of minder is it that can't fly? Or glide, at least. That's kind of the whole point of the second floor being only reachable by flight. All in all, very good points you're raising, but he-
Wait! You notice the boy you spoke to tugging at your arm, blood still streaming from his nose. One of the children following you stops, and you see her start to break down crying. The boy, though, calls your attention intently. The head girl. She... went somewhere. To look at secrets. Yes. The secrets of the well. He thinks that was it, he nods with eyes glazing over. Another child starts to look very frightened and confused, and one more crouches down, casting a suspicious eye about. And then another seems just about ready to bolt in a random direction all of a sudden. The boy speaking to you begins to increasingly shiver. He's... not looking so good, truth be told. The shapes of the children, the guard following you and the occasional worried wandering peasant darken noticeably, becoming less discernible as the seconds go by.
"Sorry, sorry, it was supposed to be a memory of what happened in there." Leif says pointing the door behind him. "Guess I still need more practice..."
Apologise. Sit by the wall to rest my body while analyzing what went wrong with that data package. I need to get better on this minding stuff.
[Considerations of Minding: 2]
Bugger if you know what happened there. It seemed all right. Form up some thoughts, organize them into a string, send them to the girl. It's nothing complicated at all. Maybe she's just being unnecessarily disagreeable. After all, you don't know that she
didn't see everything you wanted her to. Maybe she's trying to swindle you so she doesn't have to help you. Walk away with the information and without any strings attached. That'd be mighty cheeky of her, you would think.
Woo! I fully expected to hurt myself doing that. Now I duck into the chapel and try to find somewhere to rest.
Rather than waste any time trying to find the door you just climb in through one of the many holes, finding yourself in an only slightly less draftier excuse for shelter.
[Places of Rest: 2]
You can't say you like the feel of this place overall, though. As mentioned, the draftiness is nigh-unbearable. The floor is uncomfortable to sleep on. There may be small fragments of glass around closer to the center of the room. And there's this guy who just
won't stop moaning. And also praying in moments of increased coherency. You politely ask him to stop, but you think he's only half-conscious at this point. He sounds kind of familiar, but you're having a little trouble placing the voice. Have you met, you ask. He chants a verse from some holy book or another.
[Clues for the Sightless: 4]
Wait. Did he mention the sun? And the moon? Isn't that the guy who was following Mr. Codeburn around? He seems to be doing a bit poorly for someone who seems to have been right on the money with this paranormal business.
Well it will have to do. Use the moon rock as a sort of advance path clearer and go at a steady pace straight through the forest. Again, wrap wet piece of cloth around head/mouth to avoid ash and shit.
Unfortunately you seem to be on the wrong side of the river to just get right to the forest. But you're wasting good firelight just standing here moping about it, so into the river you must dive. Time to make a wild swim for it! A damn sight better than having to fight 400 stoats by hand.
[Unleash the Dolphin: 2]
You check the river with your foot again. You know, just so you're not surprised. It is still really cold, and running very rapidly. And, as your bruised kidneys can attest to, very much full of nasty rocks of varying size and sharpness. Diving into it, now that you think about it, does strike you as a very good way to get killed horribly. Heck, trying to navigate it with a boat in this darkness would probably be a good way to get killed horribly. And the other side looks like it's really far away.
In short, you have your reservations about this plan. Though admittedly if you did hazard it and missed your exit on the other side, you'd presumably wash up in Anglefork town if you didn't drown first. That may be slightly iffier an if than you're willing to freely hazard, however.
Eric Codeburn, COMPUTISTICS SPECIALIST
- Wounds: 2
- Body Count: 42
- Floral Nightgown (worn, burnt, wet, stoat-stained)
- A Word: SUN
- A Word: MOON
- Anglefork Castle: Minister of Moronic Affairs
- The Impromptu Prophecy: Child of the Sun and Moon
- Adherents of the Great House: Enemy of Memory
- Well and Truly Narked Upon: 1
- Friends in Low Places: a Successful Transaction
- Orbiting Moonstone (3 tons, darkened)
- Army of the New State: 476 Stoatmen
- Army of the New State: Can't See A Thing
- The Good Doctor: the Solitary Candidate
Leif Erikson, Miner
- Wounds: 2
- Reappropriated, Clean Skirt
- 1 gp
- Anglefork Castle: A Free Man
- The Box: an Amicable Parting
- Tower of the Mind: a Lack of Patience
- Induced Lucidity: An Example Realm
- The Prison Stone
- Elongated Affairs: A Noble Task
- Elongated Affairs: The Numbers of the Stoat
- Compatibility: Minding
- Tricks of the Mind: Cormick's Condescending Riddle
- The Voracious Dark: The First Deal
- The Voracious Dark: The Promised Sixth
Eileen Minett, Vinyl Collector
- Wounds: 1
- A Word: HUNGER
- A Word: CHAOS
- A Weapon: Explosive Cysts
- Rat Pantheon: Disliked
- Traces of Mischief: Mouthful of Blackness
- The New Queen: ?
- Origins: Witness to Dissolution
- Tower of the Mind: There's Something To Remember
- Gross Incandescence: Crumbling Shell
- Touch of Flame: the Secrets of Flammability
- Inscribed Brick ('Water')
- The Voracious Dark: Two Connections Given
- Body Count: 1
- Never In: the Obvious Candidates
Jack Daniels, Karate Man
- Wounds: 1
- Voluntarily Naked
- Uncoupled: Strength
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: the Sword of Destiny
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: Something Priceless?
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: Something Purple?
- The Winding Path of Inspiration: A Profane Megalith
- Tower of the Mind: Admission of Unhelpfulness
- Induced Lucidity: A Garden Well-Tended
- Doomstones: ?
- A Place In History: Emergent Abomination
- Anglefork Castle: the Great Serpent
- 2 rats, crushed
- 1 rat, strangled
- 1 rat, live
- Touch of Flame: the Second Degree
- Gross Incandescence: Unilluminated
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Sunday ± 2 Days
- The Impromptu Prophecy: ?
- The Voracious Dark: Two Connections Given
- Body Count: 2
Thomas Minstep, Insurance Agent
- Anglefork Castle: From Another Time, Another Land
- Traces of Mischief: Sandy Groin
- Gross Incandescence: Partly Illuminated
- Tight Leather Pants
- Travels In The Fourth Dimension: Friday, July 23rd, 409 S.D.
- The Majordomo: Happy to Help
- The Queen's Guard: Okayed by the Queen
- The New Queen: Spearheading the Inquiry
- Tower of the Mind: A Cryptic Suggestion
- Body Count: 1