Ham's scanner shows that the security blocks are still in effect. The way out is not clear.
Widjgleeby looks understandably curious as she rises to her feet. She is not the only one. Even those that witnessed the spectacle show expressions ranging from puzzled to totally blown away.
As the priestesses relax from their trance and heave a sigh of relief, Gaima and Bina move to help Keil'i. Per'anai fixes Mey'Luskar with her gaze.
Dauk and Blue Yangae D start checking out the yellow-marked Yangae again. Constable Pal'dun heaves a heavy sigh of rapture and turns to examine Mek. As he does so, Dusker says, "Hey there, I'd like my hands and legs unhooked, if you don't mind." When Pal'dun only glances at him warily, he adds, "They're probably going to need my help shutting everything down!" Pal'dun then looks over at Betham, who answers with a grim gesture of affirmative.
"Alright," says Pal'dun as he stoops to unlock Dusker's restraints. "Don't do anything stupid!"
"Too late for that," retorts Dusker darkly.
"The enemy is gone," croons Wari from her sofa.
"Yeah," concurs Pru, probing around with her ring. "Nothing! Nothing at all! They're all clean!"
Per'anai gestures affirmative Yangae style and says, "The power of the Rune has been broken for now. Everyone poisoned by it has been freed."
"Um...for now?" echoes Pru, her eyebrows quickly drooping.
"The enemy's presence here was only an extension of itself, thank the Entity," explains the priestess. "But the fact that it could do these things means one of two possibilities. Either it has a primary host somewhere here in Mul'ein, or..."
"I won't ask," says Pru.
"You don't need to," says Detective Gar'en. "Honored Teacher, do you honestly believe the Atlanzi is here in person?"
"Atlanzi?" echoes Dauk. "Is that...?"
"No," replies Per'anai, "I do not. If it were, the Sentinel would respond to it directly, and woe would be to all of us!"
"What the skaz is an 'Atlanzi'?" demands Blue Yangae D.
"A good reason to panic," replies Dauk. "I don't like the sound of that 'Sentinel' she mentioned, either." Then he says in a louder voice, "If you'll excuse me! I know this is probably a witch thing and a whole lot bigger than I am, but I'd really like to know what's going on!"
Per'anai studies him for a few seconds and then replies, "This is not a 'witch thing'. It involves you a lot more than you think, or at least it should. The greatest danger is to the children of Foldorius!"
60 comments:
Zeton follows Dauk's suggestion and moves over to Blue Yangae C to see if there is anything he can do. Zeton doubts it, but wants examine him to be sure.
(The charred remains of Blue Yangae C's bowels form a quaint little starburst pattern on the floor around him. He's quite dead.)
Dauk clearly looks uncomfortable talking to Per'anai (not to mention shaken by the whole issue), but he asks, "We haven't really beaten it, have we?"
Per'anai gestures negative in Yangae fashion and replies in that language, "We pushed it off the porch, but it's still in the garden." (A traditional Yangae expression meaning, "We knocked it down and humiliated it, but it's still not out.").
"And the ones that saw that video?"
"Are all free of the poison now. But the video is still a danger. The enemy is sorely weakened now, but it will recover. When it does, it'll be able to affect those that see the Rune as before."
"Which means we have to act fast," says Betham bitterly. "There are more than a few problems with that."
Lirassa cautiously approaches Mey'Luskar. "Hey," she says. "Are you okay?"
"What's that to you?" she snaps back testily. Then she sighs and says more calmly, "Thanks for asking."
Lirassa offers a wry smile. "If you need a shoulder to punch, you know where to find one."
Mey'Luskar manages a small chuckle. Then she glances at Dauk and Pru in succession.
"I texted him from Erweina last night," says Pru a little sheepishly. "I was afraid he'd think I was totally off the branch, but I had to try."
"Off the branch," retorts Dauk, "and driven into the moss feet first! But we knew something was up, so I wired Betham. I wasn't expecting anything...like...this..." He gestures around.
Zeton continues to administer medical attention to all who need aid.
As he works, Zeton asks both Gaima and Per'anai "How did you two get here? I thought teleportation was blocked."
"We used the gate," replies Gaima with a wan smile. "I guess it doesn't work the same way as Foldorian teleporters."
Mon'Fargret holsters his pistol and takes out the med kit to see if he can aid anyone.
While doing so, he tells Dusker, "There was nothing you could have done differently you know. You saw just now how quickly and completely people were taken over."
Mon'Fargret gestures towards the man he just shot. He continues, "You saved a lot of our lives by coming back to us."
Widjgleeby finds a suitable pole or wall beam to scratch her back on, stunners make all her nerves feel like they are crawling. In between her small grunts of pleasure, she is heard to mumble "strangest cooking job I ever had . . "
(For the record, the treatable injured have already been taken care of as much as is currently possible. Most of the yellow-marked Yangae were only stunned.)
Dusker scoffs and massages his just-unclamped wrists. "We'll see, artist. The thing is, though, it doesn't really take people over at all. It changes how you feel, not what you think. That's the scary thing."
"It is scary," concurs Betham, looking at Br'am pensively as the priestesses move to help him. "Even these three. They never accepted Gotheia. They obeyed it in public but resented it in private. I never thought it would come to this!"
"That's what I mean," continues Dusker, standing. "I meant everything I said to you downstairs, artist. It's just that I probably wouldn't have had the nerve to admit it or act on it before." He gestures toward Blue Yangae C. "I'd bet he fancied shooting you from the start, artist. The thing just gave him the will to do it."
"Sounds kind of like what the Hergoth do, doesn't it?" suggests Dauk.
"What do you mean?" demands Constable Pal'dun.
"Doesn't your Holy Magistrate rule by influencing everyone's feelings?" asks Dauk.
"It's not the same thing!" argues Detective Gar'en.
"It's exactly the same thing!" counters Per'anai, to everyone's surprise. "I guess the question is what feelings are influenced and why. Anyway, we can help him if you like!" She gestures sternly toward Blue Yangae C.
Dauk hesitates, eying the priestess uncertainly.
"He wouldn't like it," says Blue Yangae D.
"Oh, come on!" says Pru. "Life is better than death, don't you think?"
Dauk sighs and says, "Please."
Per'anai calls the priestesses together. Unifying, they begin to call their power.
Seeing that Dusker has his old piss and vinegar left in him, Mon'Fargret shrugs and moves over to Mey'Luskar.
He cocks an eyebrow and asks, "So can you really banish ancient evil using profanity or was there something more to it? Thanks for coming, by the way."
Mey'Luskar looks like she's about ready to implode as she replies, "It was just like the dream, Mon'Fargret. Par'ai said I should try it. I...didn't know it would work..."
"Lady," croons Pru, apparently trying to soothe her, "you got the fire!"
Dauk pricks up his ears. "Lady?"
Pru's face says "oops" at maximum volume even though all she manages is, "Um..."
"It's alright," says Mey'Luskar. "There's a lot under the bark."
"Or under the coat, anyway," puts in Lirassa.
Dauk throws a questioning look at Dusker, who casually avoids it. Swaggering nonchalantly past Dauk, he says, "There are a lot of surprises there. They probably know more than I do."
Lirassa sneers. "Speaking of which, Dusker," she says, practically spitting the name, "what's your story?"
He stops, folds his arms indifferently, and looks (up) at her with level, green eyes. "I won't lie to you. What's to tell? I lost my name. I wanted to get it back. I made a mistake. Now I have to rethink everything and try again. End chapter."
Still joined with the others in trying to heal Blue Yangae C, Bina can nevertheless be seen opening her eyes long enough to give Dusker a very dirty look.
"Well I am glad it did work," Mon'Fargret replies to Mey'Luskar and puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Any word on Granite, Nekshi and our other friends? They were off on a strange quest with the last I heard."
The priestesses eventually stop their enchantment, separate, and become fully conscious. They also look wearied by the effort.
"There," says Per'anai, looking at Dauk. "Keep in mind that this is only temporary. We don't have the power to regenerate his body. He's alive and should stay that way until the Geishana get here."
Blue Yangae D sighs irritably. Dauk looks at him and then says to Per'anai, "Very honorable of you all. By the way, I've never bothered to ask before, but I'm curious. Where exactly does your power come from?"
"Our power?" echoes Per'anai a bit quizzically. Then she points at his feet. "Where exactly do your shoes come from?"
Dauk smirks. "I'm sure they were made in a..."
"I mean right now."
"Right now?" Dauk looks at B.Y. D again. Then he replies, "They're just here."
"So is our power," retorts Per'anai. "But it's not ours. It belongs to the universe, just like the quantum pattern of your shoes. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to rest." With that, the priestesses move to the tables and seat themselves.
(Gamemaster override for the sake of chronological order)-
Info Geek said...
Zeton watches in amazement until the priestesses have completed resurrecting B.Y.C.. When the process is finished and they have been given enough time to rest Zeton asks, "If you teleported in, does that mean we can teleport out? Is there any way to help the others being guarded by the Vambli?"
Gaima says, "We could go out through the gate, but it's not a good idea. Not right now. Besides, you're right about rescuing the ones that are trapped. We also need to bring in the Geishana.
Mey'Luskar says to Mon'Fargret, "I don't know what happened to Nekshi and Granite Spear. The last time I saw them was the last time you did."
"So,it looks like we might be able to try the 'anti-port blocker transmission device' idea out after all." says Zeton while rubbing his hands together and surveying the room for possible parts and a power source.
"Hmmm... this area doesn't seem have much in the way of usable equipment. Lirassa, I watched you cobble together a weapon out of what appeared to be a hot comb; do you have any suggestions about how to accomplish putting together the transmitter I'm describing?"
Constable Betham looks at Zeton and scowls. "Wouldn't it make more sense to access the security system and see if we can shut it down?" He then gives Dusker a piercing look.
"Oh, I'd be happy to do it!" Dusker says very unenthusiastically. He nods upward. "That room the Hero just cleaned out happens to be the control room. Get me up there, and I can probably reset everything. If I can't..." He looks at Zeton studyingly. "Maybe your resident hacker can help."
Putting on an air of mock disappointment, Zeton shrugs, "Constable Betham..., where's your sense of inventiveness?"
Zeton smiles, "OK, let's take the path of practicality. I would not consider myself a hacker, but thank you for the complement Dusker. I have no doubt you'll be able to reset the security system without any assistance from me, but won't the Vambli try and stop us, especially after the system is reset?"
"That's the real issue, isn't it?" replies Dusker. "I do know keys to deal with the vambli, but they might not work now. I'm still willing to take the risk if you are." Then he glances at the priestesses. "Unless someone has an alternative."
"You know we are not allowed to intervene," says Per'anai. "It's no longer a spiritual matter."
"What about a matter of saving lives?" suggests Dusker. "How does your Covenant deal with that?"
The priestesses look at each other. Then Gaima says, "Per'anai's rank forbids her from doing this directly. We'll send the mission circle with you and use our power to help them."
Bina and Keil'i stand obediently, though Bina in particular doesn't look very happy about it.
Speaking Yangae, Bina says, "We'll take you to where Par'deth is. He'll guide us in. Stand between us."
Dusker doesn't move. "Is it safe?"
"You have nothing to fear," replies Bina evenly.
"Except you!" Dusker eyes the junior priestess thoughtfully. "You don't like me, do you?"
Bina's expression hardens a little. "I saw what kind of monster you are."
Dusker chuckles solemnly. "Everyone has a monster in his closet. Even you, I'd bet!"
"My inner Bann," admits Bina. "But in my life I try to follow the path of Gôth."
"Of course," retorts Dusker with a muffled scoff. "Unfortunately for me, the enemy opened my closet. We can't change the past, can we, priestess? You can't change the present, either. You want to get past those doors, I'm your best bet!" With that, he folds his arms and eyes her smugly.
"As I said," says Bina, "you have nothing to fear. One of the ways of Gôth is rising above the darkness of the past and seeking the light."
"Of course," chuckles Dusker. "Very well, then." He looks at Zeton. "Well, my intriguing companion, are you willing to go through with this?"
Zeton takes a quick inventory of his gear, makes sure everything is working and then replies, "Ready as I'll ever be. Is there anything I should know before we begin? It might be best to tell me now, before the excitement starts."
Dusker pauses and then, while toying with his wrister, replies, "What's to know? Just let me try to do my job...and try to keep the noble Hero off of my limb. I'll let you know if and when I need help." He finishes whatever he was doing with his wrister, gives Zeton a grin of satisfaction, and says, "Alright, let's go!" Moving between the two priestesses, he adds, "And try to get us there gently, okay?"
"Oh, of course!" says Bina.
"I think I will tag along if you don't mind," says Mon'Fargret as he strides up by Dusker's side.
"You never know when you might need an artist."
"Well said," replies Dusker with a nod. "Join the party, lord artist! Unless of course our transportation doesn't agree..." He looks at Keil'i and Bina (especially the latter).
The priestesses look at each other, and then Bina says, "No problem."
"I like that idea as well, Mon'Fargret, I'm glad you are willing to help out. Shall we?" Zeton then follows Dusker and MF to wherever Keil'i and Bina need them to be to transport them to the control room.
The two junior priestesses bow to their seniors and then assume positions on either side of the three they are to transport. First Per'anai and Gaima assume a prayer stance (while still seated) and summon their fire. Keil'i and Bina then follow suit, accepting the power they are lent, shaping it, turning it...
There is a brief wrenching sensation, as if gravity suddenly switched direction for a moment. This is accompanied by the tiniest fraction of a second of infinite rainbow light. In the next instant, there is an unnatural shift of balance, as one feels when stepping onto a higher level unexpectedly. The group has arrived.
It appears to be an office or meeting room in addition to a control room. It is dimly lit. There is a half-circle of chairs and sofas interspersed with small tables, many of which have half-empty cups and ashtrays on them. At the open end is a handsome-looking desk with a typical Foldorian-style "virtual office" recliner behind it. A truncated extension ends at a wall of what are apparently one-way windows looking down into the club. Immediately behind it is a row of control consoles and equipment.
Par'deth is quickly pulling a body out of sight behind a cabinet.
A second individual, a small, tawny, furry being with large, golden eyes (Both Mon'Fargret and Zeton think he might be a Baldornan, a vassal of the Arglemians and therefore technically an enemy race) sits at the control console staring at the party warily.
The two priestesses step back from the group and head for the chairs.
"Um..." starts Dusker, eying the golden-furred creature dubiously.
Without a word, the creature climbs out of its chair and moves aside. It never takes its eyes off Dusker even for a moment.
Zeton doesn't wait for Dusker and walks over to the control console and begins to examine it and it's settings, (while standing). In Yangae Zeton greets the small furry being while assessing the equimpent.
"Hello there. My name is Zeton, who are you?"
The creature responds with a beady-eyed stare.
Apparently it has already made some headway with the system. It has already accessed the security control program and has apparently been tinkering around with it a bit. It hasn't been able to bypass the lock, however.
"If you don't mind...," says Dusker.
Zeton returns the beady eye stare, blinks, then smiles and tries Her-Galad.
"OK, so you don't know us, or trust us, but guess what? I don't trust this fellow here", Zeton casually points toward Dusker, "and he doesn't trust me, so I hope I can trust you. Please keep an eye on him and if he does anything that looks suspicious, don't hesitate to speak up."
Zeton then leans into the console, just enough to crowd Dusker, but not enough to interfere with his work. The idea is to watch what is going on and keep Dusker off guard, if that is at all possible.
Dusker sighs and gives Zeton a look of pure annoyance. Realizing the much-larger Lybolt isn't going to go away anytime soon, he shakes his head and sets to work.
"Don't be offended if my friend doesn't speak to you," says Par'deth as he comes back. "It takes a lot to earn his trust. You can trust him, however. If you haven't already guessed, he was the one that brought some of your weapons to you. He was also with us during that fight down in the tunnels."
"A handy spook!" observes Dusker. Then he adds, "Not bad! He had the right slots open, and he didn't make any foolish mistakes." With a haughty glance around the room, he dramatically punches the enter key. There is a noise, and the display can be seen to change. "Zavin! The way is now open! Now to see about getting those Peace Forcers out of their box...and the vambli back in theirs!" He cracks his knuckles and turns back to the console.
The Baldornan looks at Par'deth, who nods in return. The Baldornan then looks at Zeton, hesitates, and then, in a light, fluid voice, says something in very strange Her-galad which sounds to Zeton like, "Duty man now have its left dal'sat set to beam on touching."
Dusker gives him and Zeton a quick look of puzzlement and goes back to his work.
(For the record, Mon'Fargret doesn't get a word of it, either.)
Zeton thinks he understands partly because he has already noticed Dusker's left wrister currently has some kind of one-touch trigger icon set up on its touch-screen.
"Hmmm... interesting." Zeton looks quizzically at Par'deth, appreciatively at the Baldorian and then fixes an unpleasant stare at Dusker and leans in just a fraction closer.
In Her-Galad Zeton continues with a question clearly for the Baldorian, "So, are we in any danger?"
"Not after I finish," replies Dusker in Her-galad. Then he gives Zeton an obnoxiously sweet smile and turns back to his console. In Yangae, he continues, "You forget, my friend, that most natives of this planet know both languages, whether they like it or not. I do admit that the yellow-furred spook over there stumped me with his babble a moment ago, but you speak as Hergoth as you almost look." He looks at Zeton again. "Did you actually understand what it said? If so, you really do impress me! Yes, that was meant to be a compliment, believe it or not!" He turns back to his work. "Ah! There we are! The entry vestibule will no longer squash visitors. Now to recall the vambli..."
The Baldornan says in his odd-sounding Her-galad, "Status gold for unit, brown for duty man."
Zeton continues in Her-Galad, "Dusker, Dusker, Dusker... I'm not speaking in Her-Galad to try and keep information away from you, but as a courtesy to Par'deth's associate. If I wanted to keep information from you, I just wouldn't speak."
Zeton stops crowding Dusker a little bit to ensure he doesn't lose focus on the big picture of what's happening. After scanning the console and observing what Dusker is doing, Zeton asks the Baldorian in broken Arglemian Her-galad, "When I your trust gold make, I happy your name to learning."
(Zeton knows about Arglemian Her-galad and has read a bit about it, but is clearly not very proficient in it.)
Both Dusker and the Baldornan eye Zeton strangely, but while Dusker immediately returns to his work, the Baldornan keeps his gaze fixed.
Par'deth chuckles and says, "Their grammar isn't all that different, just the phrasing. Your rank isn't high enough to use first person. You need to get rid of the emotions, too. And be careful how you use the word 'gold'. I think what you wanted to say is, 'When trust is earned, it would be [good?] to learn your name.'"
"The name is Pinahií," says the Baldornan musically, with a clear separation between the two i's and a tonal rise on the last one.
"He's intrigued with you," says Par'deth with raised eyebrows. "You seem Hergoth, but you're obviously not. He was raised to see the Arglemians as angels and us as demons. He doesn't anymore, but that turned his whole world upside down. It'll take him a while to come to grips."
Dusker snorts. Then, without looking up, he says, "Good lord artist, would you be so kind as to let me speak with you?"
"I suppose. What is on your mind, Dusker?" replies Mon'Fargret.
As Mon'Fargret and Dusker begin their conversation, Zeton smiles and quietly laughs before continuing in Her-Galad, "Pinahií, please forgive me and my terrible attempt at speaking your language. I hope I haven't offended you. I'll stick with Her-Galad for now, but maybe sometime when we're not so busy, you can give me a few pointers with your language, eh?"
Turning his attention to Par'deth, Zeton continues, "Thanks for the advice... and you're correct, that's exactly what I was trying to say. At this rate I'll never advance in rank to be worthy of the third person, let alone the first."
"So, once the Vambli are recalled, will it really be safe to help the Peace Forcers?"
"I don't think you'd want to improve your rank among the Arglemians," says Par'deth. "Pinahií understands Hergoth Her-galad just fine, but he has a bit of trouble working out all the words we have for emotions and feelings."
If Dusker is below management level, Mon'Fargret adds, "Speak to me on my level."
Not looking up from his work for more than an instant, Dusker says, "First of all, I just wanted to make sure you understand that we really are on the same side. We just have different...inclinations. You got dragged into this pretty much by chance, or so I assume. I, on the other hand, was taken. I was taken root, trunk, branches, and leaves by those to whom I had entrusted my honor. Now somebody owes me a certain debt. I have no quarrel with you or anyone else in your entourage. If anything, I hope we can work together toward our shared goals...if in our respective ways."
He stops. Looks over the display with a sigh, and slaps the edge of the console.
"There," he says. "That pretty much does it. Now, there's one other matter." He turns to face Mon'Fargret. "I know her well enough to see that she trusts you, lord artist. Understand that her trust does not come easily. I noticed she's not hiding her accent anymore, so I assume you know she's really of your caste. I'm amazed she would admit that, and I'm also delighted. I know she also has some other great secret. I suspected long ago that she's somehow...different. It became clearer when I was under...its influence. The voice in my head warned me that she's not one of the chosen. She's tainted somehow. I could only imagine what that means, but I knew I had to get rid of her. It was Mek who suggested setting her up, hoping she would take the spike to that Kr'embol' masquerading as a detective." He chuckles. "He's a clever sap, and his plan almost worked! Good thing it didn't."
He clears his throat.
"Anyway, I'm rambling. It's a bad habit of mine (And a bad habit of an awful lot of Foldorians - ed.). What I really want to say, lord artist, is that I hope you can look after her! You have to understand that when I first found her, she had nothing! She'd run away from home and left everything behind, and she would never tell me why! I was in the same nook, so I took her under my wing. After that we did everything together! Somehow, she never came to bore me! I..." He takes a deep breath and glances back at Bina, who is regarding him with steady eyes. "I never meant to hurt her! But that thing opened my doors and let the beast out! And now..." He scratched his eyes with his left hand and drums on the console with his right.
"You can atone for what you've done," says Keil'i in Her-galad. "Surely she can see it's not your fault!"
"But her pain is running very, very deep," counters Bina darkly.
"It's an old pain," says Dusker ruefully. "A secret pain. I never managed to take it away, and now I've only added to it." He looks at Mon'Fargret and says with finality, "Lord artist, I hope her next chapter reads better than the one I was in."
[Well, since I am Foldorian... :D]
Mon'Fargret assimilates Dusker's words for a few seconds, "I think I understand you well enough. However, things are never as final as they may seem. If Mey does not see, I will remind her of the historical flow, but she may not need it. Her roots run deeper than I ever suspected. This 'taint' of hers may save all of us yet."
"I know you are set to teleport at the touch of your wrister. I will not try to stop you from exacting payment for this debt, but I ask that you refrain from collecting it at the cost of your will or your life."
"Now I am rambling...but I had a lucky shot to free your mind from the Vambli. With the help of Bina and Keil'i, I freed you in an single lucky instance. I tried again with Mek and almost lost my mind. I believe that your quality and honor as a true citizen was the key to your release. Please do not squander that chance by getting killed or recontrolled by the Vambli."
With that Mon'Fargret motions in a gesture of respect to Dusker and returns to his own level.
"Psst," whispers Par'deth. "Atlanzi! It's an Atlanzi doing all this, not a vambli! Vambli are mindless killing machines!"
"Kehl-sin. I've gotten but little sleep over the last few days. Of course I meant Atlanzi. Thank you, Par'deth."
Dusker glances at Par'deth and laughs. "I won't slight a man's honor over a slip of the tongue!" Then he looks at Mon'Fargret and says, "You understand honor well enough, lord artist, and I am honored. But you were raised in Ty'Klemmo's 'Foldorian Empire'. I grew up in a pocket of the old Civilized Realm, misnomer of misnomers, in the middle of the Hergoth world. I understand what you're saying, but you must know there is an old Yangae expression:
'When the chapter is over, start the next one.' I have no intention of belaboring the past, even if it is favorable. Better to face the future, even if it is dangerous."
Zeton backs away from the console and begins to visibly relax since Superintendent Br'am arrested them.
"Well Dusker, if you'll be leaving us soon, I'd just like you to know; if we meet again, I hope we do so under better circumstances than when we did at Wirg's."
With that, Zeton grabs one of the nearby chairs, sits in it and awaits for whatever happens next.
"Indeed," replies Dusker. Then he chuckles. "I thought I was going to be popping out of here leaving a lot of ill will behind. Instead, I find myself surrounded by well-wishers! Curious, indeed! I suppose it comes with the territory." He looks up at Zeton and raises one eyebrow.
"Constable Betham still wants to bring you in for questioning," says Bina flatly.
"He won't be of much use locked up," retorts Par'deth. "Let him do what he has to do, the sooner the better!"
"Most gracious, my dear Hero!" says Dusker, betraying some surprise. "I must be equally gracious by returning the favor. I'll tell you what Betham probably would've squeezed out of me."
Par'deth gestures understanding and says to the priestesses, "Tell them to send for the Geishana if you haven't already!"
The two priestesses bow respectfully.
"Right," says Dusker. Then he clears his throat. "The one to probe for information is Mek. Most of this was his doing. I suspect the Atlanzi had a far stronger hold on him than it did the rest of us. Mas'Vallaf is infected, make no mistake, and he's fully behind that whole Talent Roundup business and all the evils involved with it, but most of what we did we did without his direct knowledge. He didn't know clipped videospikes were going out. He found out last night, and all the grounds shook. Some of his employees have already died because of it. Now I have no idea where he has gone.
"Perhaps the biggest issue is that he is not the one on top. He is himself an employee and servant of someone higher. I also suspect that there are other powers involved. After all, the infected spikes were not made here, and Mek didn't clip them entirely without help. I suspect there is some kind of power struggle going on in the chain. I don't know much, at least not directly, but it seems that this is all part of something much bigger. Either that or this is the seed of what is hoped to become a great tree.
"I'll tell you this, however; Andelfin, the biggest corporation in Yanda Province, is a front for the whole operation. I suspect the Lady that owns it is at the very center of it all!"
Down in the club room, Widjgleebe is going to have a look around. Maybe find some food, or a gun that she can put in her little bag without anyone getting angry. Or anything else of interest.
(I'll assume Widjie goes behind the bar first. There are a couple of fridges there. They aren't well stocked, since the club is closed and only used privately, but there are a few yummy tidbits there.)
(As far as guns are concerned, the only guns lying around are the carbines belonging to the yellow-marked Yangae, but they've been collected, and their owners are still there.)
"As for Mas'Vallaf's plans," continues Dusker, "I can't say very much. He only used the Rune on specific people, and only here at the club. I believe he did it for the purpose of control. As the priestess said downstairs, the Atlanzi's influence works like the Hergoth Oneness. For the most part it's all about feelings and instinct, but there is also a heirarchy. There is also a big difference between those the beast controls directly and those that have simply fallen under its power."
"How so?" asks Par'deth.
"The ones that are directly controlled are controlled more deeply. Their thoughts are manipulated, not just their feelings. But they also have the power to influence the others."
"Sounds more like the Arglemians than the Hergoth," scoffs Par'deth, looking at Pinahií.
"I wouldn't know," retorts Dusker. "I've only lived among Hergoth, and I can't say I really know them all that well, either. Frankly, I'm more interested in my own culture, thank you."
"I always wondered about that Andelfin," muses Mon'Fargret.
"It might also help if you can nail down a few locations if I am not straining your generosity too much. Also, I would rather not be in the wrong place when you collect on your 'debt' depending on how you go about collecting it. Walking into a large boom is not my idea of fun."
"I'm not planning anything quite so grand," replies Dusker, "but perhaps precautions are in order." He starts tapping on his wrister, and then he holds it up to be seen. "Private secure channel," he says. "That's the code. I'll try to keep you advised. As for locations, there's not much I can add. I worked mainly in promotions for the Talent Roundup...and a few other, special tasks. I spent a lot of time at Morva Free Channel, but I've never been to the Andelfin complex. I can tell you one thing, though: this is not the club where they held the Second Chancer events...or should I say 'Gene Pool Night'? That was somewhere else, somewhere here in Ekr'in, but in another location. I was never there myself."
Mon'Fargret records the info on his wrister.
"Thank you, honored citizen. Travel well."
"And to you," replies Dusker with a raised eyebrow. Then he glances around. "May we all find what we're looking for!"
With that, he touches his wrister and winks out in a flare of light, the second time in as many days Zeton and Mon'Fargret have seen him do that.
"Well, Betham's going to be riled," says Par'deth. "We might as well go down and get it over with."
"Is it...safe?" asks Bina.
"I think so," he replies. "I'll go first if it'll make you feel better."
"Hopefully he will see some benefit from the continuing information he could provide us," replies Mon'Fargret and then continues, "But that doesn't change the fact that he will be angry. Time to gear up for the (Lyranell equivalent of a) lion."
(I think it's time for a new post.)
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