WEEK 5

[umbralant]

WEEK 5

monday

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wednesday

thursday

Was what happened on Friday yet another tragedy in a string of them or just a complete shitshow? Well, regardless of which line of thought you subscribe to, the reality of it is that another three of your number are no longer in this realm with you. At least the remains of what had happened last week have been neatly cleaned up as always, even if that might not change what’s been etched in your memories. The drum set in the jazz bar remains busted though, because the masterminds aren't that generous. At least the tarot shop and boutique remain fine even if the vanished crystals and women's clothing aren't going to be restocked.

But either way, it’s a new week, and that means new locations to explore as the fog gives way to more of the city and its lamplit streets. The new moon waxes to half this week, appearing as a crescent moon for most of the week. It's far from optimistic, but maybe the brightening is a sign that this will be over soon...? Or maybe it just means the worst is yet to come, it's hard to say.

[[Welcome to Week 5! Note that new areas have been added, and can be found under the Week 5 tab on our Locations page. Once again, feel free to make top levels at your discretion, and remember to note it in your header if you plan on investigating any locations. You can also privately contact The Lady or Rembrandt.]]

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Comments

art museum

[drydrown]

[...You know, this is likely just continuing the trend of "not sure if enabling or what" but- ]

...Dare I ask why you're more interested in taking these things than the actual artwork? I'd imagine the artwork itself would be worth a fair amount once we're done here.

[psychophant]

[cumore continues to be the worst influence(???), news at ten]

I fully intend to take what I can at some point. I see no reason to bother with that right now, however. Rembrandt seems fond of the place, and I don't want to risk irritating him.

[but once rembrandt is no longer a concern, he's stealing all the valuable shit!!!]

These are simply interesting.

[shakes a snowglobe for emphasis!!!]

[drydrown]

...If you say so. They've never particularly been the sort of thing I'm interested in.

[They seem sort of like something Estelle would like. His taste and hers don't tend to overlap outside of a general fondness for pink.]

[psychophant]

I'm not surprised.

[maybe if they were pink........]

Anyway, what brings you here? Exploring the new areas we have access to now?

[drydrown]

Yes. This is one of the few places I've found tolerable lately.

[Artwork is nice, okay.]

I don't always recognize what they're trying to do, but I can at least appreciate the effort behind it.

[psychophant]

I'm pleased I'm not the only one who doesn't recognize this, at least. It's certainly interesting, I'll give them that.

[There's so much about art he just doesn't Get, but this is everything all on display at once. It's wild. Artists are so weird.]

[drydrown]

I've always liked places like this. I find them calming, if nothing else... Ruins can be as well, but there's always the chance of getting killed in there. Monsters and all.

[psychophant]

Understandable; dealing with monsters sounds incredibly annoying. I didn't take you as the sort to be interested in ruins, though.

[drydrown]

I'm not interested in excavating them or anything. But I've been to a few of them now; my work tends to take me to odd places. They're generally peaceful as long as you don't do anything to get yourself into trouble.

[psychophant]

Interesting... Are monsters a constant problem there? I imagine most of them wouldn't be anywhere near a barrier, correct?

[drydrown]

Barriers are for the protection of living people. Seeing as ruins are largely populated by the dead, there's no sense in safeguarding them.

[...did he ever...explain...]

Barrier blastia and blastia that are for personal use are two completely different things, and they vary wildly in size. The blastia Alexei has to allow him to do magic is inlaid into his uniform, about here - [vague...gesturing at where he keeps the core...] - and it's smaller than most of our insignia. The blastia that powers our barrier in Zaphias is larger than the church tower.

Monsters are generally a problem outside of cities, and that would be why. Barriers aren't easily created or transported.

[psychophant]

[...your archaeologists but be pretty hardcore if they're going into monster-infested ruins.......]

Ah, I see. Blastia certainly sound very interesting... The personal ones aren't just to channel magic either, correct?

[drydrown]

[Apparently the archaeologists are led by a total wuss. Some guy whose name he can't be bothered to remember.]

They can be used to enhance our power in several ways, physical strength included.

We also have others that are smaller than the barrier blastia that can be used to provide basic necessities. Heat, light, water purification. Things like that.

[psychophant]

[can't believe cumore didn't get to learn about the best joke in the game......]

I must admit, I am a bit jealous. All of that would have made my life so much easier.

[nohr sucks so much, why couldn't he have come from a world with awesome technology!!!]

[drydrown]

Blastia is still fairly rare for the time being; we haven't found a way to make cores for ourselves yet, it all depends on what we can excavate. That's why I end up out at the ruins sometimes; we're sent out there to oversee operations that are under our control and aren't being claimed by the guilds.

[or, well, one of the guilds. the nerd guild.]

[psychophant]

I see. It's interesting that no one's found a way to create the cores just yet. I wonder how that technique was lost...

[Eh, not like it really matters all that much. Surely that won't be important or anything.]

Anyway, I imagine outside of the scenery, that's a fairly boring job. Taking care of monsters is one thing, but looking out for a group of researchers sounds dreadfully dull.

[unless you happen to be a nerd, but we all know cumore's not a nerd.]

[drydrown]

As long as they don't expect me to know what they're looking at, I don't often mind it that much. At least once in a while something happens that's worth all of them getting pointlessly excited and it's interesting for a few minutes.

The boredom is in overseeing workers at the city we're fortifying. I don't like being down there more than necessary.

[psychophant]

Oh? What is it about it that you dislike so?

[...besides. you know. commoners.]

[drydrown]

They complain too much.

[JESUS, CUMORE.]

[psychophant]

[WELL AT LEAST YOU DIDN'T SAY COMMONERS, WE'RE DOING FANTASTIC TODAY]

I imagine so, I'm sure they're complaining about not being paid enough for all their hard work.

[drydrown]

I've offered them more than fair compensation, actually - elevated social status and more money than they'll be able to spend in their lifetimes. I'm actually not out to be disliked by those who serve under me.

[psychophant]

And they still complain? They sound horribly ungrateful for all you're offering them.

[THIS IS SO CURSED]

[drydrown]

[THIS IS SO FUCKING CURSED I DON'T EVEN KNOW]

They absolutely are. I'm well within my rights to not like dealing with them, they're horrid.

[psychophant]

[EASILY ONE OF THE MOST CURSED THINGS I HAVE EVER WRITTEN]

Understandably so. I can't imagine having to suffer through their complaints. I do hope things will be better when you return.

[drydrown]

[i'm crying.]

Hopefully they've made decent progress in my absence, at least. It still won't make this whole thing worth it, but I'd like to think I could trust them with that much at least.