Audio

[brewglory]

[For a first time broadcaster, Severus sounds rather relaxed. Having just arrived yesterday, one would think he would be a little more vicious - but no. He's had his tantrum. There's no sense at all in putting it in the public eye when he doesn't know who's truly responsible for his abduction.]

Isn't it fascinating, the trials societies face, and how they vary from one to the next? Why, before I was kidnapped -

[He isn't even bothering to use the more formal-sounding 'abducted' or the less accusatory 'transported', because in spite of his general easy tone, he doesn't want anyone to accidentally think he's here of his own free will. Someone is at fault, and it isn't him.]

- I was facing the culmination of a civil war. People were dying - scores of people. And yet from what I gather, the trouble here is salt.

[Perhaps he isn't being as disdainful as he sounds; there's a subtle inquiry to his tone, because though his own magic has been slow to return, it hasn't escaped his notice that the fog is causing problems.]

Perhaps I'm simply failing to appreciate the gravity of the situation, in which case I expect some of you would care to help elucidate the matter. By all means.

Comments

[irishthor]

The salt appears to have an effect on the magic and technology throughout Keelial. It causes quite a bit of issues.

[Shay, himself, has been hampered by it.]

You must be new around here. Shay Cormac.

[brewglory]

When one relies on both, I can see why it would be problematic.

And yes, I must be. Hardly an unusual development, considering my manner of arrival and that of those who came before, I take it.

[irishthor]

Well, I mostly concluded this fact because I've never heard your voice on the network, sir. And, no. It's not exactly unusual.

You get used to it.

[No. You don't.]

[brewglory]

Your powers of deduction are astounding.

[A pause.]

Do you really?

[He doesn't believe that for a hot minute, sir.]

Audio

[redlightgreenlight]

[Oh, this one should be brilliant.]

Oh, my dear. You have never crossed salt like this. It disrupts both the use of magic and technology. A very serious problem for many of us. But if that's not enough, Has no one told you about the cultists? Or perhaps the fact that the ground we walk on is sinking into the ocean?

[She sounds sincere, but those who knew her well would probably be able to tell that she is teasing despite the truth of her questions]

Audio

[brewglory]

Admittedly, I did miss the part about the cultists.

[It's a little hard to miss the concerns about the turtle.]

[redlightgreenlight]

The worshipers of a dark god, now working for some unknown man, experimenting with soul gems and drugs. The kedan like to think that they died with their god, but I know differently.

[unetrustworthy]

[If the screen had been turned on, he would have seen the facial equivalent of join the club. Some of it did manage to seep into her tone, though.]

You're not the only one who was taken here from war, you know.

And the problem is more than salt. [Actually, the salt wasn't even much of a problem for her. No powers, and no advantaged technology to affect while she was out. For once, being baseline was to her biggest advantage.] But you'd have known that if you stopped to talk to people before publicly complaining.

[brewglory]

I have absolute faith in my ability to do both at the same time, and these devices are the perfect resource to facilitate matters. You would be surprised how many people are willing to leap to their feet and defend the seriousness of the salt situation.

[There's a bitter sort of amusement to his tone here.]

Now tell me: are you here only to chastise me, or to offer some further information on the subject?

[unetrustworthy]

[What a cocky grownup, especially for someone so new and uninformed.]

It is serious for some people. Not someone like me, but there are those who can't even go outside in the fog because the salt hurts them that badly.

[Like that poor, green robot girl. Midii had never actually met her in person, but that didn't mean she couldn't still feel bad for her.]

If you want information, you have to ask.

[...not necessarily nicely. She just needed something to go on. Simply asking her what she knew could take a while, given how long she'd been in Keelai.]

video;

[ruinsprofessor]

The spell that brings people here is no longer in the control of anyone living.

[So far as they can tell, anyway.]

I'm happy to answer what questions I can, at any rate. Have you heard anything about the situation that initially necessitated the summoning of those from other worlds?

video;

[brewglory]

I have not. I had not heard that the mechanism for abducting individuals was either uncontrolled or supernatural, either. That does complicate things...

[As if he thought he could find his kidnapper and force his return to what he suspects was going to be a painful death. Right. That's exactly what's going on here.]

video;

[ruinsprofessor]

It does, doesn't it? Originally, it was put into place to summon people who would stand a good chance at combating an ancient evil, but that evil has since been defeated, and both the initial creator, and those who could otherwise have affected the spell, are dead of that same fight.

[Raine sighs a little.]

Time doesn't pass in your own world while you're here, if that's any comfort.

[peacefullywreathed]

[There are numerous ways Solomon can engage with this newcomer. He's spoiled for choice. So he starts with a video in return, his chin on the heel of his palm and his unseeing eyes wide.]

No! You were kidnapped? In the middle of a life-or-death crisis to, presumably, save the world? Say it isn't so.

[Say it loud and say it proud: the turtle has a type.]

[brewglory]

[Oh, Solomon.]

I see now why the salt situation has taken on such apparently hyperbolic proportions in the retelling. Now, at what point did I mention the desire to save the world?

[Let it burn, motherfucka.]

[peacefullywreathed]

['Oh Solomon' is disgustingly cheerful.]

You didn't. I'm simply running by statistics. See Figure A: Presumably you have a physical body, and therefore you physically live in your physical world and therefore would prefer not to see it destroyed. Disclaimer for the precise definition of 'destroy'.

I also have a Figure B available, if you care.

[Bring it.]

[Video]

[purered]

Ah, a new arrival.

As you may have surmised, your situation is not unique. Have you had an opportunity to explore the city and find lodgings?

Re: [Video]

[brewglory]

If, by "explore", you mean "wander aimlessly through an unfamiliar city", then yes: I have managed to see the sights.

[In a rare moment of honesty and transparency, he admits:]

Lodgings would be welcome, however.

[Video]

[purered]

I believe that's what most do upon arrival, yes.


The Midnight Hotel is the most friendly to foreigners, as it's run by one. The rooms re clean and comfortable, and the prices reasonable. Mr Shudder has a number of ground rules, but provided you adhere to them, there should be little trouble.

[highprofilerichkid]

The trouble used to be an incorporeal being of chaos and pure evil who wanted to destroy this universe and any others it could get to. That was enough gravity to last most of us for a nice long time. You got pulled from one war and now you don't have to fight another one. What are you complaining about?

[The new guy's attitude is a little grating, but Tony's response is friendly enough (if a bit sarcastic). He hadn't been thrilled when he'd gotten here, either, and for similar reasons.

Also, he'd coped with his displeasure by immediately beating the snot out of the only other person from his universe, so he doesn't have much grounds to get pissed at someone for being catty on the console network.]

[brewglory]

I was pulled from a war to defend my home and people to a place where I am now obliged to sit by, never knowing the outcome of that war - or how many died due to my absence.

You are absolutely right. What am I complaining about?

[highprofilerichkid]

Join the club, [Tony replies, his tone wry.] But you don't have to worry about people dying while you're gone. And you're not stuck here permanently. [...Probably?] When you go home, you go back to the same point in your timestream that you left from.

[lasergrenades]

Hey, I got pulled out of a fight too! Except it was technically an alien Armageddon. We should start a club, there's a bunch of us.

[She can't resist.]

Would you prefer to have been kidnapped from one civil war to another? The salt is seriously messing with basically everything magical and technological, but it's better than scores of dead people. And we've got more problems if you'd really like me to list them.

[Pepper isn't making light of the newcomer's situation back home, but it's not as though the situation they've all found themselves in isn't serious in its own right, for very different reasons.]

[brewglory]

I would prefer not to have been kidnapped at all.

But please: tell me the problems that plague my abductors. Perhaps I will feel some glimmer of sympathy.

[lasergrenades]

Most people would agree with you on that. But in the meantime, you're stuck here with the rest of us. It's not so bad, after a while.

[She didn't really consider it kidnapping, per se, but Pepper would be the first to admit she'd rather have stayed home. Mostly.]

Well, your 'abductors' are dead, for one thing. The people who created the spell are all gone. If you're talking about the kedan and everyone else who lives in Keeliai, there's the fact that our home is not only in a coma but sinking; we're stuck in a fog that's dangerous to the point of causing people to literally fall apart - which a certain someone is collecting for unknown reasons; we've been invaded and semi-invaded by militaristic zealots who are probably coming back; oh, and there is no chocolate here. Things are complicated.