WEEK 4

[bathymetric]

Another trial, another week, and still you're probably running lower on answers than you'd like. And on people - you lost three since last Sunday. By the end of this week, you'll have been here for nearly a full month, yet still the days crawl on.

You wake up Sunday, again with no memory of Saturday, but this time with a simple message on your devices: You may resume requesting items, if you like. Enjoy. Guess it really was just a stealth motive after all, but at least it's being communicated that it's over! That's something, at least.

And when you leave your rooms on Sunday, there's another new area to explore! This one is... certainly more ambitious in its construction than the last one, to say the least. But hey, you have a pretty neat place to host parties, if you feel so inclined! That's... fun...

Hey, you gotta find the fun in situations like this where you can! Silver linings, right?



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 4! Remember to turn in AC here, threads for regain coins here, and if you feel so inclined you can visit Angel's office hours over here! ]

Comments

[mouflon]

[ That makes her smile, actually. ]

Sounds right. It was the same for me. We all had something or other that was our specialty, but in our downtime, we'd teach each other how to pick up the slack. That's how I learned to use a gun in the first place, actually.

[bolderfell]

Huh. So what was your specialty before that?

[mouflon]

Hacking. It's like breaking and entering, but for machines.

[bolderfell]

[Oop, can't quite get a handle on that one, whippersnapper.]

...Like taking them apart to get inside?

[mouflon]

No, that would be a mechanic. What I mean is more...

You know how our handhelds have information stored inside them?

[bolderfell]

[Nod.]

The map, the rules, and information about each of us.

[mouflon]

Right. That's all given to us for free, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that information itself has a price tag attached to it. Data that people want kept secret is kept secure in the same way you'd keep any other valuable locked up. Someone like me knows how to get past those locks, or manipulate systems once we're inside them.

[bolderfell]

[Oho.]

Ema didn't tell me anything about this aspect of modern crime. Wouldn't leave any fingerprints at all, would you?

[mouflon]

Nope. It's all done remotely, so I don't even have to be physically present at the scene of the crime, as it were.

Why? Thinking of using this learning opportunity to expand your business?

[bolderfell]

Heh. Wouldn't do me any good in Orsterra, but I like a chance to pick up new tricks. Even if I can't apply your skills in the same way, it might give me ideas. Not to mention how useful it could be in this place, with machines in every room.

[mouflon]

[ Alas, something about that seems to torpedo Rin's mood. She sighs and crosses her arms. ]

You're right about that. Unfortunately, I don't have access to any of the tools I typically would use... Even my magic circuits are completely inert. I normally use magecraft to interface with a machine directly, but that isn't an option here.

[bolderfell]

That's too bad. I would've liked to see how it's done. Would it be some sort of lightning-based magic?

[mouflon]

No, nothing like that. When I say I interact with things directly, I mean it. Spirit hackers project their minds from their bodies, into a digital network or a particular machine's circuitry.

[bolderfell]

[Whoa.]

I don't think anyone from my world knows a spell like that.

[mouflon]

Well, there wouldn't be any need for them to, right? Or are you saying there are no stories of an unlucky hero's mind getting trapped in a piece of cursed treasure, or anything like that? When you put aside the specifics, it's just a new application of old principles.

[bolderfell]

[Therion opens his mouth, then closes it, puts his hand on his chin, and thinks about it.]

There are stories, but... magic is mostly related to the elements. Fire, ice, wind... natural things like that. At least, as far as I know.

[He shrugs.]

Never exactly made a study of the subject.

[mouflon]

The schools of magic were a lot more diverse in my world. Still... If there are stories about that kind of thing, there's probably at least a grain of truth to them. Better not get too greedy when you're out adventuring, huh?

[bolderfell]

Look, if I pick up some kind of haunted relic, I'll just have the Sister exorcise it. Sure they teach that kind of thing in the Church of the Sacred Flame.

[mouflon]

Maybe, but spells and curses aren't necessarily the same thing. I don't spend much time around the Holy Church, so I have no idea if an exorcist would be able to handle it. I guess you'd have to ask Kotomine that.

[bolderfell]

Huh. There's really a difference? Really never did any work on how it all, uh, works. Just know enough to get by.

[mouflon]

They overlap, but that doesn't mean they're the same thing. A curse can be cast through magic, but one can also come to exist when enough hate is concentrated in one spot, and not all magic functions the same way a curse does. At least, that's how it works with the rules that I know.

[bolderfell]

...Enough hate, huh...

[That's. Hmmm.]

Any chance that's what's happening here? With this "experiment"?

[mouflon]

With the way everything is being suppressed, I'm not sure that it'd be possible. It's still a supernatural phenomenon, even if it isn't magic. I'm guessing you have ghosts and vengeful spirits where you come from, right? Think of it the same way you would that.

[bolderfell]

[He nods. Yes, good, something he understands. He's had to watch the magic specialists blast through so many angry intangibles.]

Guess that makes sense. Still... I don't know.

[He shrugs.]

This world has its electricity and technology to do all the things magic can where I'm from. Maybe here, there's something else at play, some natural equivalent to those curses of yours.

[mouflon]

It's not like technology and magic are mutually exclusive, you know...

[ She sighs. But: ]

That's a fair point, though. If those emotions create their own sort of energy, it might be possible for some technology to collect it, the same way a solar panel converts sunlight into a source of power.