❪ introlog: #6 ❫ city of secrets

[natha]

You've spent the last few days on Thesa Station, taking in the knowledge that your world is no more. Now, the time to put all your survival training into practice has arrived: El Nysa needs you, and you're here to help the planet thrive. Are you ready? THE DESCENT     All refugees on the station are called to the hangar, where a large-scale teleporter awaits. Simply step onto the space between the arrays and wait; everyone will be sent down to the planet together. Before they depart, all refugees will be given a cold weather survival kit with warm clothing, rations, and bedding. The arrays build into a brilliant wash of light, creating a column that travels all the way from Thesa Station to the surface of El Nysa, teleporting the refugees to the planet on an aurora. Once on the planet's surface, refugees receive one last message from Darma. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet we must ask you to brave further peril. Within Nadril are the secrets to how poor Ysverai's revival was hidden from our sight and how this disaster has come to our star. Find the first refugee from beyond this planet, a man named Magda. He will not speak to us, for much has come between us, but to you… If you prove yourselves, he may be willing to answer your questions. We beseech you, for there is a veil over Nadril that hides all within from us. There may yet be more untold dangers waiting to befall this planet. For the good of all who make this world home, we ask you to lend us your aid. There is yet one more favor we would ask of you. In warding off the Storm's encroachment, the physical aspect of ourselves that you call Thesa Station was damaged. We must remain to continue repairs to El Nysa and to deal with Ysverai, but there should be suitable technology within Nadril that could be used for spare parts. If you have the chance to find it and can return it to us, it would hasten— Darma's message crackles with static, another image overlaying hers — her broadcast is cut off and replaced with another. A more sullen and alien voice takes Darma’s place, overlapping on itself in an ominous reveal. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet you’ve only just arrived here. To say I’m not disappointed in your… generation would be to lie, and I am nothing if not an honest creature. But I suppose these have been unusual circumstances. You must ask yourself this — are you only here as Darma's lapdogs? I can assure you, it's not worth being on the Natha's leash. With time, that will be something you'll have to learn for yourself. If you're so determined to come find Nadril, then follow the path north, and you'll find the border. What awaits you is revelation, if you're up to the challenge. A FROZEN LAND     The refugees land on a literally frozen world, both in temperature and time. Curls of icy wind hold swirls of snow aloft and an uncanny silence is broken only by the crunch of hoarfrost underfoot. Only Darma's protection allows the refugees to move through this frozen world — and movement is very necessary. Bitter cold sneaks through even the thickest clothing and without warning, a snowstorm rises: unnaturally quickly, a wall of white howls directly in the refugee's path. Bizarrely, the way back is perfectly calm; it's obvious that this storm is no product of nature. Magda's challenge becomes clear: the only way to Nadril lies through this storm. Visibility within the storm is near zero, the whiteout hiding any landmarks from view and making navigation near impossible. The only guidance refugees have is a sporadic path of faint, greenish lights, easily lost in the raging storm. Refugees need all the survival skills they practiced on Thesa Station to survive, for getting lost alone is a death sentence. Luckily, those separated from the group can happen upon guiding lights Magda has planted throughout the tundra. These blue-white sparks cause frostbite if handled recklessly, but they also serve as directional anchors, turning into ghostly flames that lead lost souls back to the path to Nadril. The trek through the storm will be no mean feat and will last for the better part of three days. By the time the refugees reach Nadril's gate, most will find themselves exhausted and running on fumes. As the snowstorm dies away and a gap in the glittering forcefield around the city opens to usher the refugees inside, it's clear that Nadril is a different beast. A WARM(?) WELCOME     I. Despite the unforgiving journey, entering Nadril is painless. Once inside, characters will be greeted by their predecessors: the original refugees who made this advanced city. They'll immediately be offered medical attention, as well as warm cider and blankets. But it's obvious that the Nadril citizens prefer higher tech to fend off the weather: they also offer wristlets and ear cuffs that that double as mittens and earmuffs by creating warm bubbles of air. The earrings also feature a few quality of life programs, such as timed alarms and thought-to-speech messaging. However, both programs are in beta stages so it's not unusual for a stray thought to accidentally slip through or an alarm to accidentally ring at an inopportune time. II. Refugees are offered free lodging in a large, crystalline building crafted from ice. Despite the coarse building material, the ice is unmelting and surprisingly well-insulated, and the beds are as warm and cozy. The rooms are, however, small. The sleeping quarters house two people, and are some cross between an igloo and a capsule hotel. Though built for efficiency over comfort, all rooms are also outfitted with the latest Nadril AI, RoboAlfred, or Ralf for short. This helpful program is installed in practically all the furnishings: the closet tells guests to bundle up, the bathroom sink reminds them to brush their teeth, and the mirror offers helpful fashion tips. Ralf's personality matrix still needs polish, though: it may very well insult your clothes and passively-aggressively question your lifestyle choices for the entire stay. III. Though not as advanced as Thesa Station, the colony has technology far beyond the rest of the continent, such as rudimentary AIs and mechanical transportation. Nadril's skyline is a point of pride — refugees can take a (literal) lightrail that gives an aerial view of the colony, which is hewn almost entirely from ice and rock. Despite its tech, Nadril is much more sparsely populated than Olympia and Wyver, and its residents stay near a central hub: a Natha refugee drop ship, Central, which has crashed and long embedded itself into the earth. Central is similar to an older, smaller, grounded model of Thesa Station, in functional order with round-the-clock solar power. Within Central are lounges similar to ones on the Station, though many of the damaged areas have been converted. They include repair stations, different wings dedicated to science, botany, astrology, and mechanics, and a research and history facility, which has a smattering of technology from planets beyond El Nysa — including your own. The staff here don't mind if anything is sampled and studied, but objects cannot be taken from the labs. IV. On the outskirts of the central hub, many will find several curious looking bots with insect-like wings perched about high traffic walkways. Simply passing the bots will cause a dizzying flash before a series of photos print out. Upon closer inspection, people will find that these images reflect stills taken from their home worlds as they remember it. Unfortunately, these photos only last a couple of hours at best. At that time, they will revert back to regular pictures of the refugees. People will be encouraged to share these images of their worlds. The residents of Nadril comprehend the value of remembering one's origins, and will be pleased to see that people still hold memories of old homes close to them. RECREATION IN NADRIL     I. Small, mechanical creatures scampering through the city are a common sight. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that they come from a shop called Paws About Town. They’re very useful, as companions, gophers, and couriers (though the more mischievous will note that they’re just small enough to keep tabs on people without being noticed). Premade robotic pets are available on display inside the shop. They come in all shapes, but small sizes; one may be able to find robots that even look like miniature creatures from their homeworld. These are a part of a new, highly customizable line with programmable personalities. Customers have the chance to take pets for a one-day trial run. Those who don’t know how to program may want to enlist more knowledgeable aid, but the pets come with instructional pamphlets for basic personality traits such as obedience, helpfulness, playfulness, and bloodthirst. For returns, the switch to wipe the robot's personality to a blank slate is on the back of its neck, right between a switch to invert all traits, and a switch to have them learn by observing. Try not to press the wrong switch — you might wind up with a pet with a mind of its own! II. A. The Frosty Tap Cantina is a thriving hub of activity, but one of the major draws is the self-service bar: molecular mixology is wildly popular here. Playing with drink compositions can be a game in and of itself, and newcomers to the cantina will find that the bartender — a cheerful woman with lilac skin and three eyes — is always happy to give them a few tips on how to use the wide array of tools within reach of the barstools. All manner of drinks are possible — from glowing, layered cocktails, to clear drinks with colored, spherical bubbles and vividly-colored shots that give off their own smoke. There's a nightly contest in the cantina for the most creative drink created by a team — this may be as good a time as any to partner up with someone and see what can you come up with. Winner gets all their drinks for the night free! And, hey, even if you don't win, you get to drink whatever you make. The well-lubricated patrons of the bar are eager to challenge anyone nearby to a different sort of drinking game… Just how well can you hold your liquor? B. Holo-screens in the cantina are nearly always broadcasting some match or another of a game that looks very much like hockey, albeit played with sticks that light up and a puck that changes shape from time to time. Colonists here merely refer to the game as "the sport," and one of their favored pastimes is betting. However, they don't use currency — they wager dares. Nadril colonists are a tough, weathered lot, and they prefer to speak with actions over silver. Colonists will urge the refugees to take part as well. Common dares range from the ridiculous (lead a sing-a-long, attempt to make someone with a poker face smile) to the suggestive (kiss the person in the cantina you find most attractive, strip off a piece of clothing), to the outright reckless (venture out into the snow for a certain amount of time, and no one will judge if you find some company to keep warm). The colonists are unfazed by even the most insane or tawdry of dares — but you'll certainly be called a killjoy for refusing too often! Why not grab a friend and give it a whirl, or challenge a rival to a dare yourself? THE MISSION     I. On the outskirts of Nadril is the communications tower of the old refugees. This is where Magda resides, monitoring Nadril's technological protections, the extent of the Natha’s influence, and running his own personal projects for El Nysa’s technological advancement. It is isolated, filled with research labs and relics of the past refugees who have come to El Nysa — a living mausoleum of worlds swallowed up by the Storm whose peoples have refused to forget where they came from. Crew photos line the walls of the tower: pictures of alien families and friends, the refugees who came to Nadril before you. Each group of photos gradually becomes smaller in number, and the most recent of the pictures are from half a century ago. Magda's picture can be found among the first group of refugees, an unusually small cluster of photos dating back centuries in El Nysa's past. I have been on this planet for nearly two centuries. Life has come, evolved, and collided in an ever expanding culture. But Darma fears interference, and made this place a prison, with she our warden, stifling the growth of the creatures native to this world rather than encouraging them to flourish. She sent you here for answers in her stead because she knows I'll spurn her, and after seeing what that fool Raysc has wrought, I'll give you them — not for Darma's sake, but because I trust after all the Natha have done to you, you'll understand my decision. Mistakes were made, and I won't hide them. You've made it here so there's some mettle to you, and unlike the Orbiters, I'm not interested in hiding the secrets of the dangers we face. I gave Raysc what he needed to keep his actions hidden from Darma's eyes — what he needed to advance the primitive magics the Natha had doomed him to. It was old Natha tech, Darma's very own used against her. Hilarious, isn't it? Raysc learned of Nadril, and like you, braved the snow to find his way here. He proved his worth and his determination, and he spoke of a brighter future, El Nysa coming into its own, its people realizing their true potential, unhindered by the shackles that had been put upon them. I believed him. He had vision — or so I thought. In truth, he was a fool. A madman. He wasted the opportunity I gave him on his petty vengeance. But not everyone on this planet is such an idiot. Surely you lot aren't. The Natha are hiding things from us — about the Storm, about everything. And here in Nadril, we're going to find all those secrets. What's it going to be? Will you help us, or are you going to stay obedient dogs on Darma's leash? Magda isn't too talkative yet; after all, the new flock of refugees may just be here as eyes and ears for the Orbiters. But what he has said leaves you with plenty to talk about, and if you can earn his trust by helping out around Nadril, he doubtless has a great deal more to reveal. II. Central isn't the only Natha ship that made its way to El Nysa — another, crashed just outside Nadril's borders, is little more than a junk heap. It's here that you'll find the spare parts Darma asked you to retrieve for Thesa Station. What remains of the ship's hull serves as a windbreak, and snow has built up against it, turning the piles of old Natha tech inside into something of a snowy morass. Holes in the deck offer would-be scavengers passage to the ship's innards, barely illuminated with flickering lights — the tech is old, but hardy enough to withstand a crash landing, the severe weather, and the passage of centuries. Deep in the wreck are the remains of living quarters, research labs, VR arenas, mecha bays, cafeterias, and a host of other rooms, many of which may seem familiar from Thesa Station, albeit with a decidedly older feel to what remains of the smooth curves and sleek surfaces of the Natha architecture. Most of the ship's systems are damaged and the technology is nonfunctional, but that just means there's plenty of spare parts to be found. The wreck isn't in the best shape, its structural integrity damaged, and the drifting snow threatens to block off exit routes. Be careful while exploring and be sure to bring a partner. As it turns out, Darma isn't the only one interested in the wreck — Magda is also eager to get his hands on Natha technology. In his own way of taking some responsibility for Raysc, he's asking scavengers to bring him parts, muttering about seeing what he can do about Ysverai's curse. Bring him anything that looks useful, and he may have a chance to succeed, though whether he'll be more effective than the Natha Orbiters is up for debate... FINAL OOC NOTES     An AC-eligible thread with a new character as a participant for 2 NADRIL REP POINTS may be submitted from this log. SUBMIT THE THREAD HERE BY AUGUST 5TH, 11:59 PM EST. As always, feel free to create your own prompts and explore the Nadril location page! There are a variety of activities made available, including fishing and cave exploration! Please direct questions to the questions thread below! Thank you! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[inaurare]

I have heard of these dates; a young man was kind enough to teach me about them. [a little smile, remembering how much Waver had blushed to explain] But I'm still learning about them...

[apparently they were the kind of thing one counted...?]

Though I was under the impression that dates were associated with... romantic intentions?

[conqueredhearts]

[If only he knew it was Waver who had explained this to you Linneus...]

Mmmm...I suppose so! Well, then let me extend my interest of romantic intentions towards you by asking if you would like to have a date with me.

[inaurare]

[if only...]

Oh...

[again, another plain and direct way of putting things. He shall have to remind himself to expect it, then.]

I'm still not familiar enough with the custom. But I accept?

Is that... acceptable?

👀👀👀👀👀👀

[emblazes]

[He has had some exp with wolves. A wolf. A space wolf alien puppy that grew up knowing him as a caretaker and thus, had only been half as menacing as a real wolf could ever be. Still, he's rooted in place -- curious, concerned. He's fully capable of defending himself if need be, he's already mentally explored both (very similar, blade-related) options. Anything close-combat without weapons won't end in his favor, most likely...

While his brain treads Dr. Steve Brule's self-defense video, his eyes catch something odd against the horizon. It could be his eyes playing tricks on him, especially where he's anticipating a wolf sighting amid the storm. Something white...indistinguishable, nearly. But there's that accompanying noise that makes him not feel so crazy.

His eyes pull away from that solid white coming toward him, frantically scanning his sides, the plane behind him -- just in case. There should be more, especially if she--he'd? The wolf(?) had been communicating with others. His blade's drawn, clutched as one would a security blanket. In the same instance, a small blade grows to be something slightly more sinister, sword-like in nature, supernatural all around. He won't rush the animal coming toward him, he isn't looking for a fight (weird), he's just a little worried about being gored. Meat can't be so abundant out here, though an entire village (villages) have made route through here. Who knows how many had been taken out before him, though he's yet to see any particularly graphic sights for himself...

A neither reassuring or disconcerting thought. He's tense as can be.]

[impavid]

"For all I know you might be into that kinda thing. I'm not here to judge."

You know, pimping people. Or maybe voyeurism or something. He tugs Ianto back close into his side again and sighs.

"Listen, I know I'm..."

Difficult? Awkward? Incapable of finishing a sentence? There are so many ways to end that thought. John winces, tries to regroup. He can feel Prior's judgement long-distance, somehow.

"Just... be patient with me. I'm... I am trying."

It may not look like it sometimes, he supposes, but he really is trying.

[impavid]

[ Well alright, drink mixing competition it is. John shoves himself off the bar and ambles over, sliding his own drink onto the counter near here and propping himself up against it. ]

Well, partner, ready for a little two-on-two?

[ Listen he just wanted to say that again, it sounds dirty, he cannot unhear it. ]

[colorature]

I want to see it.

<sub>[Of course she does, because she's Diva and the more strange or abnormal something or someone is the more and he wants to experience it.

The pose he suddenly pulls has her laughing, the sound high and light as she returns it with one of her own, fangs bared and smile a little too wide. Her hands are in much the same position as his, but the mittens she wears mask it and so she looks perhaps even more silly than the boy with literal tiger paws for hands.]</sub>

They'll come in handy I'm sure.

[thedarkbond]

[Ren leans in a little further to see if he can get hold of this other part, which neatly drops a curtain of his hair between his face and Yusei for a moment. It helps cover the way his lip curls slightly at the thought of forgetting how long it's been since losing everything, and then waking up to that fact.

His tone is the same airy way it's been for the rest of the conversation until now, though, making it just about impossible to pick any sort of change.]

Well, I guess I'll have to take your word for it for now, since I've only been up a little while. Maybe I'll sound all wise like you do once I've been here longer~

[thedarkbond]

[Ren takes "recently" to mean around the time of that attack, since that seems to him like the obvious reason for someone who was living happily in one of the other cities to depart so suddenly.

He can't say that it's not a little bit better to have to adapt to a place that's just as new to everyone else here, though, and he gives a cheery smile at that.]

I guess that's one helpful thing about only waking up now, right? We all get to figure things out together. It just seems kind of surprising to me that nobody else here knew about this place until now...

[He trails off, expression one of exaggerated thoughtfulness. He's certainly curious about the circumstances surrounding Nadril's isolation.]

[thedarkbond]

[Ren gives an exaggerated little hum at that, gaze seeming to pass over Diamond even as he pays close attention to that lack of a quite genuine smile. As a human, it often seems strange to him to hear much stronger or more resilient species lament what they lack compared to humans.]

That sounds like it would get boring after a while...but what is your kind, anyway? Your hair looks like it's made of crystal.

[Ren tugs at one of his own forelocks as if to demonstrate the difference in texture.]

[thedarkbond]

[All things considered, Ren takes it...possibly surprisingly well. It's definitely very clear the moment that sinus-punched-in effect reaches him from the way he ducks his head to one side and presses the fingers of one hand over his forehead, but after a few moments, he lets out a long breath and a light, almost excitable laugh. It's not the kind of pain he typically likes, but it's very new and unique, he can't deny that.]

That's a pretty impressive mix you have there~ [His tone is still a bit breathy as he straightens up, smile somewhat less vapid than it had been earlier and looking something more akin to contented.] I don't know if I'm enough of a drinker to appreciate it more than that, but maybe you could win the competition with it.

[thedarkbond]

Oh, that's good. Otherwise I might've had to come up with something else. [Ren is no stranger to making cute nicknames for either those with long names or those who are just overly serious, but Molly is fine. Especially since it doesn't seem like he really needs to be lightened up any.

Ren watches him shuffle with an observant eye, his fingers fidgeting in his lap a little. He has his deck with him, but it's neither tarot nor traditional playing cards, so it's unfortunately not going to be of much use bar for personal mourning reasons. This is making him itch to see if he can pick up some actual playing cards while he's here, though.]

I'm not picky, anyway. I think it'll be fun even if it's not completely right~

[thedarkbond]

Mmm, we're a bit behind, aren't we? [As someone who had a psychic connection to a much more advanced planet than Earth for much of his life, Ren keys into the unsaid factor of that comment. It's a shame, but sadly there's not a lot anyone can do about it now.]

Are you from a planet near Earth, or did you just have the kind of technology that makes space travel way easier?

[He's genuinely curious - Cray hadn't exactly reached that point, and that's the main planet other than Earth he's familiar with. They'd succeeded in transporting souls, but actual people tended to take ridiculous lengths to bring across.]

[thedarkbond]

[Thankfully, Ren is the kind of person who's absent-minded enough to probably forget to bathe himself under the right circumstances, let alone doing it to someone else. So no surprise baths here, just happy ear touching.

When Keaton leans into the motion, Ren takes that as a sign that he's doing fine so far, and his fingers move a little more confidently. It's still quite gentle, but he seems more at ease that he's not about to accidentally do something unpleasant.

His expression takes on a somewhat thoughtful note at Keaton's remark, and he glances up to the ceiling as he considers how to answer.]

I guess it wouldn't be right to say I've never seen anything like you...but I've never gotten the chance to meet someone like you before. It's a little bit hard to explain, but it's nice to have the chance to talk. And feel how soft your ears are~

[He's still definitely very pleased about that part. Some people would probably find it a bit weirder than he does, what with personal space reservations, but Ren doesn't really mind as long as it's not bothering Keaton, since he thinks it's fun.]

[thedarkbond]

[It's interesting to hear about Amaterasu's point of view on her own circumstances, and it only makes Ren think more that she'd have interesting stories if they ever had a better chance to exchange them. For now, he gives a soft laugh and pats her side companionably as he rearranges his legs a bit. It would be useful if he could stay still for more than about two seconds at a time, but he's pretty much never been capable of that anyway.]

Actually, it just reminded me of someone. But I also want you to sleep well, Amaterasu-san, and I think it'll be easier for me now too. If I say sorry, it might just be because I think it's politer, not because I feel bad about something I did. [Perhaps not the more pure and good thing to admit, but hey, it's what he's like. Being genuinely apologetic is for genuine mistakes.]

For what it's worth, you're doing a better job at conversation than some people I know who do it all the time.

[That may just be a result of Ren having a history of making friends with absolutely abysmal communication skills, but he'll leave that out. He still understood that he wasn't being dismissed despite the circumstances.]

[thedarkbond]

[Ren makes a faintly whiny noise at being urged upright, but he does sit up after a fashion, with a somewhat exaggerated stretching motion.]

Well, if you say so~ [Thankfully, while Ren is a good foot and a bit shorter than seven feet, he does have long limbs. And also he's light enough to probably get away with standing on what he was just sitting on for a boost. Maybe. He'll find out once he stands on it.

Thankfully, it doesn't immediately give way beneath him, so he takes the opportunity to attempt to clamber onto the other man's back despite how little his limbs want to actually cooperate with him at this point.]

I'll do my best to keep up my end of the bargain, then. It's good business.

[directives]

Kathryn says nothing of the other ships that bore the name Enterprise, from the fate of the original ship to the untimely loss of the Enterprise-C. She's still trying to make sense of the muddy waters she's now navigating her way through that dictate what she can and cannot share with this man — even if the situation is a unique one for which no real parameters exist, even if under non-temporal circumstances protocol would support her sharing most things with him as an officer of equal rank.

When he asks that last question, she pauses. That's... That's something she can answer, but she isn't particularly thrilled to disclose those details.

It's with a deep, exasperated breath that proceeds her words that she tells him, "No. He wanted to mate with me."

[directives]

That must be difficult for you.

[ it's been less than a week and she already misses voyager. ]

[heirworthy]

[ what is up with these creatures not knowing what they actually are?? it's like a common trope or sth. ]

Vyrn? [ more than that violent denial, he's more surprised at the fact that this cat knows about him.

could it be that he may be one of dante's cats??? then again, he doesn't remember one of dante's cats being able to talk. ]

You know about him?

[planetary_bonds]

[Yusei hesitates before he answers. He wasn't really paying attention to Ren himself before this. But when he turns to look over his fellow scavenger, the hair, the way he's slightly turned away, everything hides Ren's inner thoughts from him.

Yusei can understand that, though. That kind of thing is normal in the Satellite - everyone has that part of themselves that you just don't pry into. That part that's hidden, full of hurt and hope and everything else. So he doesn't look too deeply into it. Not yet.

There's no reason to suspect anything.]

...If losing everything, losing sight of it all...if that's what makes me sound wise...

[Yusei turns away, hand reaching back into the mass of wires, thinking to salvage those as well. They're in surprisingly decent condition.]

I'd rather people see me as a fool.

it's better than most

[stuns]

[ juno doesn't realize it right away between the slight nausea turning in his stomach at the blood on his palm and the adrenaline still coursing down his arm. the theia is swimming just a little, trying to right itself from the come down, so when he does notice that someone is standing in front of him, it's with a half-squint as his cybernetic eye traces over the shape in front of him, the lights within it small and bright. ]

Peachy.

[ wavering just a little. he clears his throat. ]

Just peachy. Hopefully it'll remind 'em to keep their crappy games over there instead of over here where decent people are just trying to get a drink.

[ukase]

[Wait what? Rumlow actually took a step back so that he could look the big man over completely. He kept from laughing only by merit that this guy looked like he could clobber literally everyone here in the street without putting any effort in at all.

However, that didn't stop him from squinting.] You grew up big, pal. Alexander the Great was like... five feet tall. And Greek.

[This guy looked neither of those things. Was this guy touched in the head?]

[panzersoldat]

Even with how terribly the healing had felt back with the dragon, Reinhardt is glad that Venom is willing to keep up with it. He's certain that here, now, away from the monster's influence, it won't hurt at all to be healed by this young man. He trusts the other.

"I am glad for that. I might be a little more used to this sort of thing than most, but eventually even I get cold."

He laughs at the antics of the cat and pauses in his little march to offer a hand to sniff. He wants so badly to pet it but he knows it's not his mount. It's better to let the lioness get used to him first before he starts lavishing affection on her.

"Hallo, Lady Zoe. Venom is a good friend and a great healer. You are lucky to have him." He smiles at the younger man. He wishes he had something more, a treat to give. But he doesn't. He'll have to find something in the city for her once they get there.

[panzersoldat]

I am a little familiar. We have a lot of modern things like this where I'm from. I'm not as good as Winston, but he's a genius. But I think I can figure things out.

I think it's usually the red wire that needs to be cut first. But whatever you do, be careful. I don't want you zapped. We're just here to get some of the technology or maybe just map it out a little to come back for later. Don't injure yourself.

[panzersoldat]

[ Even if the cards had been bad, Reinhardt would have likely reacted the same way. He wouldn't have blamed the teller for the fortune. Instead, he would take the warnings to heart and try to figure out how to fix things so it wouldn't be so bad. It's not bad though and he is comforted knowing that he's not wrong. That his quest is what he's supposed to be doing and that his heart will not lead him astray.

He watches the cards return to the deck and he knows that's it. If he wants another, he'll have to come up with some silver. His smile grows even more brilliant at the mention of a wizard. He's been here in this world long enough to know that magic and the like are indeed very real. ]

Well, be it your wizard friend, you, or anyone of your choosing, the offer remains. I give you my word of honor. If you are in need of a knight, just call for Reinhardt. [ He points to himself, thumb square in that impressive chest. ] and I will come running.