welp

[thornsofmalkav]

As the people's poet Ice Cube once said, more than a quarter century ago, "Fuck the police."

Or, I guess, fuck the secret police. Same principle.

Um. Hi. So. Uh. I'm dead again. My overlay was snooping around the site for the Solomon Ring, she got caught by a Manticore Squire, he took her off for questioning and called in a Knight to help him... and let's just say the interrogation went poorly. I'm pretty sure that's what they're going to say in their report about my death. If they don't just go and erase the tapes to cover it up. Which they might. They're a secret police after all.

Anyway, right before the Knight freaked out and I died, the Knight put his hand on my head and said, and I quote, "Oh god, they're back."

Which, um, is kinda worrying.

Also, uh. I should probably let people know that my overlay's boss, Dr. L, is trying to mess with the Solomon Ring for his own purposes. And, uh, he's hella psychic, if only short-ranged, so he knows there's something up with Investigators, if not exactly what. But he's not hostile to us. A little wary, but not hostile.

Anyway, can people keep an eye out the next couple days to see if my death is at all announced or if there's a cover-up? Hajime, you should be able to tell if anyone from the government goes to Dr. L. He's, like, listed as my overlay's employer on her work visa. Because if I'm not officially dead, I'm going to take advantage of the other Thorne's bank account while I still can and maybe see if I can pretend to be her in other ways until the Jaunt ends.

[Locked to Joscelin]

Alcuin's gone. I tried to psychic message him as soon as I woke up here.

He's not on a walkabout or anything. He was here on the Jaunt. I met him. He called himself Alan and... I guess it doesn't matter.

He's been really fucked up since-- since Delaunay vanished. And he and Leo were fighting again. And maybe Malik too?

He's probably in a dungeon now. If I hadn't been Infiltrating...

[Locked to Leonardo]

Querido, do you mind coming to see me for a little while? I could use some company. [And the comfort of eating straight from the tap as it were.]

Comments

[Locked]

[protect_and_serve]

You could no more have prevented it than I. It is - when you are called, or sent, or transported - not a matter of choice, and we cannot remain conscious of one another every moment, Charlene.

Re: [Locked]

[thornsofmalkav]

I know, I just... I think maybe I was the last straw for him. I don't know.

I'm worried, I guess. If he's gone forever. And... he said something to me in d'Angeline right before he left when I encountered him while Infiltrating.

[loyalrebel]

Would you like me to come by Liminal for a bit? I have some free time to spare.

I am beginning to think that these Manticore Knights and their leader need to be scrutinized.

[Public & Private]

[thornsofmalkav]

You mean the king of England or the Manticore itself? Because yeah, I think they're all pretty shady.

And yeah, you can come.

[Added privately and protected:]

See if Leo will let you tag along. I, uh, already asked him to.

OTA

[protect_and_serve]

I don't remember being here before. No confusion or light-headedness, as there was in Nova Venezia. Nothing looks familiar to me. Has anyone else had any flashes of familiarity? Or are we being mistaken for someone?

[brokers]

For spirits, perhaps. If this Knight could detect an Infiltrator somehow, it might appear to be a form of possession or mental control...

[awitchdidit]

Thorne? Well, welcome back to self-awareness...

[Beatrice makes a mental note to learn how to project images over the network herself, so the next time this happens she can greet the player with a nice "Purgatrio" title card and a picture of a clock.]

Were they at least quick about it?

[thornsofmalkav]

Thanks, Bea. When this is done, you want to have a tea party? I'll just take blood in my cup and avoid the baked goods.

I lost consciousness quick. I don't know how long it took me to actually die, though, because I wasn't aware of anything until I woke up here in the ball.

[chalicejoker]

I'll keep an eye out for it, but...mind reading, how the hell am I even supposed to handle that?

And are you alright? After the dead thing?

[thornsofmalkav]

That's a good question. You might want to invest in learning some psychic protection? Although, I mean, he knows already. So just keep on doing your thing.

... I'm physically okay.

[wildmagician]

I could help you learn how to protect your mind. I've already taught it to someone else, so I'd say I'm pretty decent at it.

[Plus it would give him something else to think about than his new abilities.]

[uzoda]

You're what?!

[Kenzaki is very concerned, but maybe not as helpful as a lot of other people would be.]

Who... what... okay, okay, are you alright?!

[thornsofmalkav]

Dead again. Secret police brutality.

And... physically I'm all right. I just kinda hate coming back from being human.

[dreamingking]

I don't suppose you could describe them so we can be on the lookout?

[There's a brief pause.] Regarding the Knights, however, I may have a source of information. It will not be the best, but a pair of them own a cat who's now one of mine, for the moment. Chatter at home is as likely to contain dross as gold, but it's possible we could learn details from it. Gossip is such an addictive thing and no one thinks to avoid speaking of things they shouldn't around their own pet.

[thornsofmalkav]

Uh, the Squire was a couple inches taller than me, brown-haired and horse-faced. I think he might have been Jean? No idea about the Knight. He mostly kept out of view and I never saw his face. Could be a familiar face or a local.

That's good about the cats, though.

[claudiometer]

...well, uh. On the subject of 'my God, they're back.'

Thorne, you won't have caught this yet, but everybody else remember that laundry list of spirit world incidents I mentioned? One of them pretty much has 'Seventh Zeitgeist' stamped all over it. Prisoner exchange that went well and truly pear-shaped in China five years ago, led to the Manticore Knights starting a special unit to look out for spirit possessions - Mister Oh Crap is probably a member of that group, if they know about it.

I'm still putting the pieces together into a coherent story, since I have to pull three extremely biased news sources toward the truth in the middle. Pretty much what I can say for sure is one Harold Spock is apparently being held captive in India and the Manticorps would really like to get him back on British soil. ['Harold'? Really?]

Old guard, y'all might wanna be careful.

[thornsofmalkav]

... does Harold look like Leonard Nimoy or Zachary Quinto? This is important.

[She really hopes it's Nimoy.]

Perma-locked

[howexciting]

Dio, are you still hurt? Where are you? I'll be right there!

[Sorry Malik, ex-wife needs him.]

Re: Perma-locked

[thornsofmalkav]

I'm in Liminal! I woke up in... well. A ball. [It kind of looked like a Moon Ball once she got the chance to see the outside.] But I'm out! I just had to make it roll a bit first.

Anyway. Um. The current liminal seems to have the outlines for a lot of Newport's local landmarks on the flat plane of the ground [it looks rather like the Pokemon Go map with more police tape involved] so I'm kind of camped out where The Coffee Shippe should be. If that helps. I'll probably open up a room for myself in a couple minutes, though.

... and nothing physically hurts.

[asinisterkid]

Glad to have you back with us, sorry as hell about how it happened.

How are you holding up?

[Public -> Private]

[thornsofmalkav]

... physically, I'm fine.

[She switches to private.]

But oh god, I hate coming back from being human.

And. I mean. It doesn't really help that the Thorne in Newport... god, she was closer to being me than any of them.

[lunchleader]

But if he's trying to mess with that portal ring thing, then wouldn't that still make him a villain?

[Give him a few moments, though.]

...wait, you said you died again?

[thornsofmalkav]

... I guess technically we were terrorists, but they say one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

And yeah. I died again. I mean, I was already dead to start with--remember, I was always a vampire, that wasn't just Sarmatia--and then I also died in Nova Venezia when Hajime stabbed me with his arm spear thingies back when he was the Mantis.

[wildmagician]

I'm sorry you ended up like that. I guess with a Jaunt like this, we can't avoid death.

Who's Dr. L?

[thornsofmalkav]

My boss. Newport's Thorne's boss. He's a spirit and a scientist and he does experiments about bonding humans and spirits to each other. I was his assistant and one of those experiments.

Oh. Uh. And he's Lyall when not in Jaunt. The guy who's a reincarnation of a Victorian werewolf. He's a high school biology teacher usually.

[brokers]

Be careful. Even if your death is covered up, those responsible may monitor your accounts in hopes of catching any associates you might have.

...What does your former employer plan to do with the Solomon Ring?

[thornsofmalkav]

Ugh. Good point.

[Maybe she should stick to stealing her overlay's shit? Ugh. No. Newport's Thorne had earned that paycheck fair and square.]

He wants to warp the thing so it'll let multiple people through at once--and to keep it always on, so that the Manticore isn't in charge of opening and closing.