RE: THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELED [S!1][ROUND THREE: PORT CERIDWEN]
08-07-2017, 12:53 AM
Leon strolled through the dream-swept streets, idly watching the rainbow of kites that snapped and danced just off the shore, tethered by silken ropes to some of the pleasure vessels that bobbed pleasantly in the bay. Port Ceridwen’s two moons were visible even in the broad daylight, two pink eyes gazing down on the candy-pastel town. It made a pretty picture, but Leon was growing annoyed.
He’d had no luck contacting anyone who might help him reach his handlers. The locals had reacted poorly to his presence- screaming and crying and vomiting blood, some of them, and all of them had been extremely rude. Leon wasn’t used to resistance in his work for the Agency, and he was reaching the end of his interrogation techniques that didn’t fall under the category of Extreme Coercion (for use, he remembered from his manual, only on those subjects whose powers were causing such societal distress that their use could be justified before the Board). Furthermore, his feet were hurting, and he was hungry.
The streets were growing emptier as the day crept on, the soft brick tinged pink by the afternoon sun. It would be impossible to find Kriok without help, Leon thought dismally. As soon as this had crossed his mind he caught sight of a pair of locals fleeing between a quaint florist’s shop and a bakery, one of them pale and moaning.
Leon sped up in pursuit, overtaking them before they could shelter underneath the cafe’s orange and green-striped parasols. “W-w-what have you s-seen?” Leon demanded, almost reflexively pulling his gun from his holster.
As soon as his field overtook them the weaker of the pair passed out- a woman with a hint of rabbit about her, her long pink ears flopping weakly as she slid under the table. Her companion- a deer-like man with glittering silver antlers- turned to Leon with an expression of horror. “It’s a plague,” he said, horrified. “Oh gods, they’re everywhere.”
“Who is e-everywhere?”
“Iron,” the man gasped, clutching at his embroidered collar. Flecks of silver were falling from his antlers and he seemed to be struggling to breathe. Futilely he pulled at the hand of the unconscious woman, succeeding only in awkwardly jamming her between the delicately carved chairs.
Leon gestured with his gun for the man to keep talking, but the antlered creature was growing as pale as his companion. “She’s not breathing,” he said to no one, shaking the woman’s shoulders. “She’s not breathing!”
“Where d-d-did you find iron?” Leon said with what he felt was a good deal of patience. He idly flicked the gun’s controls between power settings.
The man pointed to a distant street, piled high with candy-colored balconies and widows’ watches. Flags fluttered gaily from castle-like spires, condensed down to miniature proportions.
“Th-thank you,” Leon said, satisfied. He replaced his gun and headed towards where the man had indicated, hoping that his directions were accurate. It seemed to be a street crowded with what he guessed were inns or hostels, cheerily painted signs hanging from above the doorways depicting beds and meals. The man’s sobs faded into echoes behind him as Leon cautiously opened door after door, finding only meals half-eaten on tables and kettles whistling forlornly on abandoned stoves.
Then, in a burst of luck, he spotted a flash of brightly-colored plumage through a window left open with a steaming cup of tea still perched on the sill. “Kriok!” Leon called joyfully, “Kriok! I-it’s me!”
The alien was leaning under a silvery awning, her feathers clamped close to her neck in irritation. The look she gave him was cold- but she’d been through a lot lately, Leon thought sympathetically.
“H-hi, Kriok,” he said once he was under the shelter of the awning. She’d barely moved. “Do you r-r-remember me?”
“We last spoke exactly 15.7 sjirn ago,” the alien replied coldly. “I think I can remember at least that far.”
“Oh,” Leon said. “I w-wasn’t sure i-if- I-I-I know these changes can be c-confusing. Did you end up f-f-far from here?”
Kriok gestured with her beak to somewhere a few streets over.
“That’s g-good,” Leon said, beaming. “I was worried you w-would get lost. I’ve been trying to understand the l-layout of this c-c-city. It’s so provincial, don’t y-you think? Some of the s-s-smaller islands on Exharkhos are like this. E-Exharkhos is where I come from,” he added.
Kriok’s crest bristled. “How nice.”
“I interrogated some l-l-locals. They were quite i-irrational. They said something about iron?”
“Yes,” Kriok said flatly. “They were distressed. They called me a ‘demon’.”
“That wasn’t v-v-very n-nice,” Leon said, feeling somewhat guilty. He had already badly overstepped the boundaries between himself and the subjects he was supposed to be monitoring, but he found Kriok easy to talk to. Her feathers reminded him of a parrot. “I- In some old fairy tales,” he said hesitantly, “Iron is h-harmful to m-m-magical creatures. But those are stories for ch-ch-children. It’s clearly psychosomatic. Th-these people are co-co-corrupted.”
“Corrupted.”
Leon nodded vigorously. “Oh y-yes. People with u-u-unn-n-natural powers- they are often superst-st-stitious about silly things l-like this. Oh! I mean- you- you’re not- f-f-for you, it’s-” he realized too late what he was implying about Kriok.
Kriok cawed and folded her arms. Leon wasn’t sure what the gesture meant so he continued hurriedly, “W-well- you’ve n-never hurt anyone, anyway. I d-don’t think these people are dangerous, not very, and I c-c-can protect you, i-if th-they are- my field- h-have you seen anyone else?” he finished somewhat desperately.
“What does your field do to the natives of this place?”
Leon blinked, a little hurt by her abruptness. “W-weakens them, a little. They wo-wo-won’t come near me. N-near us.”
“Good,” Kriok said, and strode off, leaving Leon to stumble along behind her, hopelessly confused.
He’d had no luck contacting anyone who might help him reach his handlers. The locals had reacted poorly to his presence- screaming and crying and vomiting blood, some of them, and all of them had been extremely rude. Leon wasn’t used to resistance in his work for the Agency, and he was reaching the end of his interrogation techniques that didn’t fall under the category of Extreme Coercion (for use, he remembered from his manual, only on those subjects whose powers were causing such societal distress that their use could be justified before the Board). Furthermore, his feet were hurting, and he was hungry.
The streets were growing emptier as the day crept on, the soft brick tinged pink by the afternoon sun. It would be impossible to find Kriok without help, Leon thought dismally. As soon as this had crossed his mind he caught sight of a pair of locals fleeing between a quaint florist’s shop and a bakery, one of them pale and moaning.
Leon sped up in pursuit, overtaking them before they could shelter underneath the cafe’s orange and green-striped parasols. “W-w-what have you s-seen?” Leon demanded, almost reflexively pulling his gun from his holster.
As soon as his field overtook them the weaker of the pair passed out- a woman with a hint of rabbit about her, her long pink ears flopping weakly as she slid under the table. Her companion- a deer-like man with glittering silver antlers- turned to Leon with an expression of horror. “It’s a plague,” he said, horrified. “Oh gods, they’re everywhere.”
“Who is e-everywhere?”
“Iron,” the man gasped, clutching at his embroidered collar. Flecks of silver were falling from his antlers and he seemed to be struggling to breathe. Futilely he pulled at the hand of the unconscious woman, succeeding only in awkwardly jamming her between the delicately carved chairs.
Leon gestured with his gun for the man to keep talking, but the antlered creature was growing as pale as his companion. “She’s not breathing,” he said to no one, shaking the woman’s shoulders. “She’s not breathing!”
“Where d-d-did you find iron?” Leon said with what he felt was a good deal of patience. He idly flicked the gun’s controls between power settings.
The man pointed to a distant street, piled high with candy-colored balconies and widows’ watches. Flags fluttered gaily from castle-like spires, condensed down to miniature proportions.
“Th-thank you,” Leon said, satisfied. He replaced his gun and headed towards where the man had indicated, hoping that his directions were accurate. It seemed to be a street crowded with what he guessed were inns or hostels, cheerily painted signs hanging from above the doorways depicting beds and meals. The man’s sobs faded into echoes behind him as Leon cautiously opened door after door, finding only meals half-eaten on tables and kettles whistling forlornly on abandoned stoves.
Then, in a burst of luck, he spotted a flash of brightly-colored plumage through a window left open with a steaming cup of tea still perched on the sill. “Kriok!” Leon called joyfully, “Kriok! I-it’s me!”
The alien was leaning under a silvery awning, her feathers clamped close to her neck in irritation. The look she gave him was cold- but she’d been through a lot lately, Leon thought sympathetically.
“H-hi, Kriok,” he said once he was under the shelter of the awning. She’d barely moved. “Do you r-r-remember me?”
“We last spoke exactly 15.7 sjirn ago,” the alien replied coldly. “I think I can remember at least that far.”
“Oh,” Leon said. “I w-wasn’t sure i-if- I-I-I know these changes can be c-confusing. Did you end up f-f-far from here?”
Kriok gestured with her beak to somewhere a few streets over.
“That’s g-good,” Leon said, beaming. “I was worried you w-would get lost. I’ve been trying to understand the l-layout of this c-c-city. It’s so provincial, don’t y-you think? Some of the s-s-smaller islands on Exharkhos are like this. E-Exharkhos is where I come from,” he added.
Kriok’s crest bristled. “How nice.”
“I interrogated some l-l-locals. They were quite i-irrational. They said something about iron?”
“Yes,” Kriok said flatly. “They were distressed. They called me a ‘demon’.”
“That wasn’t v-v-very n-nice,” Leon said, feeling somewhat guilty. He had already badly overstepped the boundaries between himself and the subjects he was supposed to be monitoring, but he found Kriok easy to talk to. Her feathers reminded him of a parrot. “I- In some old fairy tales,” he said hesitantly, “Iron is h-harmful to m-m-magical creatures. But those are stories for ch-ch-children. It’s clearly psychosomatic. Th-these people are co-co-corrupted.”
“Corrupted.”
Leon nodded vigorously. “Oh y-yes. People with u-u-unn-n-natural powers- they are often superst-st-stitious about silly things l-like this. Oh! I mean- you- you’re not- f-f-for you, it’s-” he realized too late what he was implying about Kriok.
Kriok cawed and folded her arms. Leon wasn’t sure what the gesture meant so he continued hurriedly, “W-well- you’ve n-never hurt anyone, anyway. I d-don’t think these people are dangerous, not very, and I c-c-can protect you, i-if th-they are- my field- h-have you seen anyone else?” he finished somewhat desperately.
“What does your field do to the natives of this place?”
Leon blinked, a little hurt by her abruptness. “W-weakens them, a little. They wo-wo-won’t come near me. N-near us.”
“Good,” Kriok said, and strode off, leaving Leon to stumble along behind her, hopelessly confused.