synopsychic | (no subject)

Back into the fray again, I suppose--

[Neria's voice echoes across the network, wry. She sighs.]

Welcome, new Travelers. I trust you can hear me. Wherever you are in Liminal Space, if you should require aid, you need only speak up or call out to the other Travelers around you. Though we're all strangers, I assure you that we're here to help.

[Which is your standard welcome, by all accounts. But she has a specific reason for requesting people's attentions this time.]

You might notice the portals that are leading out of Liminal Space. I would advise you be cautious until you've listened to what I have to say.

We are in the middle of an excursion into another world, something we do here very frequently. We have been tasked with aiding the realm of Dolorosa, a kingdom fraught with trouble. There is a missing queen and knights abound, with dragons and murderous barons. [She chuckles briefly.] I know it may sound fantastical and strange, but this is a reality you will be facing very shortly. I would caution you to ask your fellow Travelers, the other Veterans, about Dolorosa and how you can prepare, what you can expect, before moving on.

Rest assured, we will do all we can to help you.

I have but one request of all of you gathered here: should you find any herbs or anything of use, please collect them and bring them to me. I am one of the few here capable of healing injuries and my stock is low, a very dangerous thing considering what has transpired recently. [Her tone sounds almost bitter, colored with bemusement.] I would be highly grateful if you could bring me whatever you can. I cannot pay you, but it will certainly come in handy should you be injured along the way.

Oh, and do try to be inconspicuous. I've found that spouting inane babble about portals and other worlds tends to lead to trouble and a possible stay in a cell.

[Veteran Lock;]

We've spent a month in this place. What have we learned, and what's our next goal?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't know that I have much to add. The mood in Westguard isn't good, the Baron was the only one holding things together around here.

I hope Stoneguard is getting what he wanted, because all he seems to have done is completely destabilized part of the country. [And if that 'sounds' rather bitter, well. He was probably going to have nightmares about people firing crossbow bolts at him for awhile.]

Remy says it sounds like Stonegard is headed there now with his men. I don't know what he's planning, but I doubt it's any good.

[Are they supposed to prevent a political uprising...or endorse it?]

We're missing something, some connection, somewhere.

He just murdered Westguard's baron. I have serious doubts as to his intentions myself.

[He could be wrong, of course, but if he was, it meant that the Baron of Stoneguard was the worst diplomat to ever have existed.]

Quite possible. I'm starting to doubt we're ever going to find this queen.

But we must keep looking, even if only to find her bones. The people here cannot go another year wondering if they should move on from the past.

[Pot, kettle.]

If I were going to kill a queen, I'd be sure there was nothing left, not even the bones.

[But he knows he's probably taking that a bit too literally]

The way things are going, I don't think they'll have much choice in the matter. Things are changing, regardless.

[Whether it was for the better or not, he couldn't say right now.]

The bandits are practicing right now to take the keep. If you're not feeling like taking a fat bribe to turn it over, mon ami, you might want to find a way to turn it over to Rivergard soon. Either that, or things get messy, and that's what we're trying to avoid, I think.

It's not my call to make. Even if it were, I didn't carry the Baron's ring all the way back here just to hand everything over to vultures.

[It's not really his fight at all, but the Baron had trusted him, and it felt wrong to betray it.]

No last wishes to go with the ring? Ones you almost forgot in your distress, but conveniently remembered now?

That kind of thing has a cachet. You might be able to get away with more than you think.

I'm going to do what the men here want. I have no desire to manipulate them. I'll make sure they know what's coming, and they can make their choice.

If you don't manipulate them, someone else will. But I'll leave that side of things to you.

You really don't have much faith in anyone, do you?

[But it's a rhetorical question, really, because he's more or less made up his mind, despite Remy's somewhat cynical view of things.]

I out my faith in only two things: human nature and the luck of the draw. And they're both fickle things.

I suppose we'll see what happens.

Oue.

(no subject)

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