tushanshu | Audio

[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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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.]

I have asked. If you mean I ought to ask for specifics, that's hardly a reasonable expectation, considering how little information I have.

So you've done absolutely nothing on your own before asking us?

You haven't met any of the locals? Talked to Milyn--the healer, I mean. Or stopped by the Welcome Center? Wandered around the city to get a feel for the layout and figure out where you can get any important things you might need? Visited the Hotel, where a lot of us stay?

We seem to have gone off on a tangent. I am asking about the salt, not about the city.

Actually, you were complaining.

But fine. Like I said before, it doesn't hurt those of us who are...[She would have gone with normal but, no, she still wasn't normal.] ...who don't have any special abilities or powers.

Also there are people who are trying to collect it. Probably because of that reason.

[Truthfully, Midii didn't think it was the worst idea in the world; more than once, she'd considered keeping a small sample herself.]

Who in this city would have cause to make use of this salt?

[Who does he need to watch out for, in other words.]

Some of the local scientists, mostly. I think they're trying to study it to see how it works and if there's anything they can create to counter its effects. But then one of the locals named Yunxu made an announcement basically admitting he wants to hoard the stuff for a reason he hasn't actually specified.

[Not that Midii's heard, at least. All she knew were that there were select individuals who weren't particularly happy about it.]

Tell me about him.

[He doesn't mean to sound abrupt. He just...is. It doesn't occur to him to try to make nice with Midii, and won't for some time - not until he's calmed down about being abducted and realized he needs allies.]

[Now that, she can understand; rude as this person was, at least he was asking the right questions. Well, demanding the right answers was more like it, but...close enough.]

He's...a very difficult person to read.

One minute, he acts like he holds it against all of us--meaning the non-kedan--for simply being here, even though it wasn't really our choice...the next, he talks about wanting to get along and work together. And build trust. I can't figure out which one is the real him

How would I go about finding him, should I develop the desire to speak with him?

Your best bet might be to ask one of the Snakes. They're pretty much everywhere; they're the biggest local family in the city that we know of. So if you wander around long enough, you're almost certain to run into a handful of them.

I appreciate the information.

[And that is as close to a "thank you" as Midii is going to get.]

[Eh, it was good enough for her.]

You're welcome.

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