intro | day 104

[tacosgay]

Listen.

[The voice that comes over the public channel is... odd, and new to most folks here. He pauses for a bit, as if that's the entire thought-- but, sure enough, he follows it with an obviously annoyed question.]

So we're just kind of... here, because they say so? Like... this can't be legal, can it? Has anybody tried talking to the fuckin' police about this?

[As he speaks, he gets increasingly irritated, his voice breaking.]

I'm gonna be real with you guys: I've got half a mind to just kinda magic my way out, except I'm pretty sure the Ringleader or whatever would come after me. Is that a thing?

Comments

[tacosgay]

[s i g h]

Yeah, fair enough... eh. Whatever. This place is probably a whole lot better than where I was headed before, anyway.

[fourthscribe]

I can assure you it's not horrible. Frustrating at times, but the Ringmaster does at least try to keep us all out of danger.

Though if you don't mind my asking, where were you headed before this?

[tacosgay]

I literally don't even know if I can tell you. Well, I guess I can tell you where, but maybe not... why? It's complicated.

Anyway, me and my posse were headed to a place called Wonderland on a... uhhhheeemmm, a job, of sorts.

[fourthscribe]

Wonderland? That sounds rather...whimsical. [Said with a clear smile in her voice, though.] You work for some sort of organization then, I gather.

[tacosgay]

Yyyeah, you could say that. We... err. Work...

[Ah, fuck. Okay... this is already a pain. He sighs.]

Alright. Tell me if you get what I'm saying here: my compatriots and I are collecting powerful magical items so we can get rid of 'em before anybody uses 'em to destroy the world. You understand any of that?

[fourthscribe]

...not terribly hard a concept to grasp. I've heard stranger stories from others here.

[tacosgay]

... wait, no, I mean... you could hear all that? Nothing was, like, static or anything?

[fourthscribe]

[Well, that explains a bit more.]

No. Should it have been?

[tacosgay]

I mean... yeah, probably. Okay, try this: Bureau of Balance. You get that one?

[fourthscribe]

Bureau of Balance, yes. Should I be experiencing some sort of mental blocking?

[tacosgay]

Yeah, wow, you... should not be able to hear me say that. Shit. Welp... guess I'm gonna have to be real careful about what I say around here.

[He sounds... so tired, preemptively.]

[fourthscribe]

[Tanyuu chuckles softly, amused despite herself.]

I'll do my best to keep my curiosity contained, then.

[tacosgay]

It's fine... I mean, I guess it must only work in my own plane, right? So if anybody here tried to go after us, they'd forget whatever I told them soon as they got outta here anyway.

[fourthscribe]

Seems like that must be the case. Or the Ringmaster might be suppressing its effect for whatever reason. She is...rather fickle in that way.

[Said in the long-suffering tone of someone that has had to try and rein that fickle attitude in more than once...]

[tacosgay]

Well, either way, guess you can curiousity away, huh?

[fourthscribe]

It seems so! Is there some specific threat your Bureau is trying to keep at bay, or just anything sufficiently dangerous?

[tacosgay]

You know, this is weirdly freeing. Normally, I'd have to make something up here, but since you'd forget anyway, I can say whatever the fuck I want to.

Okay, so, the deal is, there are these super powerful magic items, right? Our job is to find out where they are, and then round them up and get rid of them.

[fourthscribe]

Hmm, I can imagine. Secret societies seem a very stressful thing to keep up.

Before they can be used to cause some form of disaster. And you work as part of a team in finding them?

[tacosgay]

Something like that. I'm set up working with these two other chucklefucks right now as reclaimers or whatever-- we're the ones who go in and grab the stuff after somebody else in the Bureau finds it.