second decree [video]

[thetyrant]

[Logan comes on the console from his suite in the metal sector. He looks perfectly composed outwardly, but those who know him might notice that his left hand is hidden under the edge of the table, and his shoulders are ever so slightly more hunched than his usual kingly bearing.]

Has anyone noticed any lingering ill effects from the jiangshi we had to deal with a few weeks ago?

[He's paranoid, and terrified that those things left their mark on him. His arm is still healing where he scratched it bloody, trying to get the corruption out.]

And is there anyone who had little or no contact with them? I know some of us fought and destroyed many.

Comments

[thetyrant]

From those who fought lightly armored or in only clothing. Those who had skin contact with the creatures or...associated fluids. [They didn't bleed so much as liquefy...]

[bothbarrels]

What are you hoping to find out?

[thetyrant]

I'm not sure. Anything there is to be found, I suppose.

[What was the point of this? Knowing what someone else is experiencing won't make what he's experiencing any more or less real. Then again, if someone else had something to report, it would at least tell Logan that it wasn't all in his head.]

[bothbarrels]

Hm. Well, I didn't have skin contact with any of them, even though I was out among them an awful lot. I blew a few of them up with grenades, so my armor got hit with fragments. Then I had to clean the armor, later, so I suppose I had some contact with the remains at that point. Not anything of any significance.

[thetyrant]

I see. And you say you've had no ill effects due to any exposure? At least not that you would directly attribute to the jiangshi.

[bothbarrels]

Yeah, that's right. I guess you have?

[thetyrant]

Not...precisely. [He's honestly not sure what could be real and what was already there and what's just paranoia. All he knows is that he's terrified that the answer to that question is yes, because he's not sure.]