text; un: romano

[badlydisarmed]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello Etraya, a few of the newest arrivals are originally from wherever we told you we're from, but before coming here we were in Etraya's sister city, Solmara. Solmara has overthrown their AI and is ruled by a woman named Alrys. She sent us here on a recon mission to steal supplies, and while some of us were considering it, upon arrival we decided not to.

I can't speak for the others, but I know for a fact if Alrys got wind of what this place is like, she'd start a war. I'm not interested, not because I'm kind and noble (I'm not) but because making two whole cities miserable would be stupid.

Aurora has been informed of everything, but in the interest of transparency I'm letting the rest of you know too.

We will be answering questions but only if they're not stupid and you're super nice about it. Keep in mind we're probably gonna get tortured then killed then tortured again for snitching. 😃❤️🥳👍🚀🦈

PS: Any magical healers out there?

(The PS is not included on the things we will be answering questions about)

Comments

[instabilitatem]

I believe Robert is in the hospital, two gunshots to the left leg. Ithaqua also has two shots, but one to both legs. He may also be in the hospital. Catdog has a possibly broken leg and he is likely in or near the junkyard.

[tocastashadow]

And how do I know this isn't a trap? One can never be too sure, with people who arrive under false pretenses with intent to lie and steal.

[instabilitatem]

I would accompany you, but I don't think any of them particularly want to see me right now.

[tocastashadow]

What they want is less relevant to me than not dying in an ambush.

I'll meet you outside the hospital.

[instabilitatem]

Of course. I'll meet you there.

[action]

[tocastashadow]

[Shadowheart doesn't know what she's walking into, and she certainly doesn't trust any of the people involved. But if she meets the person responsible for the shooting, she can at least get a sense of whether they seem like a liar, or whether they're sincere in wanting to help their victims.

And so she stands in front of the hospital, dressed in armour with an ornate spear strapped to her back, keeping an eye out for... well, she's not sure who. Skimming the other network responses, it sounds like the person she's meant to meet is some sort of robot, and the only robots she knows are the companion bots. And that can't be right. So she's just generally keeping an eye out.]

Re: [action]

[instabilitatem]

[Well it seems Robert is not too keen on the idea either, but Connor has to try and make right with at least one of his friends. So, he's walking up to who appears to be a healer of some kind, dressed rather ornately. Connor himself is dressed as he always is, with denim pants, a nice jacket, and a crisp white shirt. This time, there's no tie.

He approaches her with a measure of caution.]

Are you the healer?

[tocastashadow]

[Shadowheart doesn't answer immediately, instead looking the person who approaches her up and down curiously. Some robots, it appears, can look quite human.]

You're the one who shot his compatriots?

[instabilitatem]

[Connor nods, grateful he had the repairs when he did. Otherwise he would still look like something much more monstrous.]

I am. My name is Connor.

[tocastashadow]

[She doesn't introduce herself. She doesn't particularly see the point. Instead, she starts in with the questions she has.]

Tell me why you did it. And why you want to help them now.

[It's probably that he's explained as much somewhere on the network, but she has little interest in searching through other peoples' conversations. And besides, writing conveys a poor sense of a person compared to speech.]

[theroadwarrior]

Not a trap, because I don’t want the help.
Don’t bother with the junkyard.

[He won’t be there anyway.]

[tocastashadow]

Don't worry, I'm not prone to helping those who ask me not to.

Do you call yourself catdog because one of your parents was a cat and the other a dog? You're not some mad wizard's experiment, are you, two halves stitched together down the middle?

[theroadwarrior]

He calls me that because I don’t give him a name and he’s uncreative.

[Also he is kind of feral sometimes, very prone to animal behavior. It’s fine.]

[tocastashadow]

Well then. I suppose you're lucky that, for all you might end up amongst piles of junk with a broken limb, at least you won't fall apart at the seams.

[theroadwarrior]

Wouldn't be the first time.
Important to know how to survive when no one else is around.

[tocastashadow]

Stoic and self-reliant to the last. I know the type. I've walked past plenty of corpses who refused to take an extended hand for fear of relying on others and ended up dying alone.

[theroadwarrior]

Yeah?
What stops you from being the one who turns me into a corpse?
Seen plenty of bodies left by 'healers' and 'helpers' in my time, too.

[tocastashadow]

Nothing at all. Save your own ability to defend yourself, of course, and your judgement as to whether I can be trusted.

Ask for my help or don't. It's no bother to me whether you live or die, and I have less reason to trust you than you have reason to trust me. But if you die, don't lay the blame at my feet.

[badlydisarmed]

It'd be pretty fucking stupid to go "by the way I'm a spy" and then immediately mob the only healer willing to help.

[tocastashadow]

I'm not one to underestimate others' stupidity. Especially when it could be a matter of life and death.

[badlydisarmed]

I'm not a threat to you.

Hell, at the moment I wouldn't be a threat to one of those small yappy dogs even if I wanted to be.

[tocastashadow]

Lucky for you that I haven't got a small yappy dog.

Do you want my services or not?

[badlydisarmed]

I do. Connor can lead you to me, I'm not very mobile at the moment.

In short: He was brainwashed. He's not anymore. He's very sorry.

[tocastashadow]

You're in the hospital?

[badlydisarmed]

I was hoping not to type it out, but yes.