Swamped

You try to sort out what you've heard.

"Worst case, we've got one of theirs."

He must mean you. He was talking about using you as a bargaining chip... which would only make sense if he were dealing with the camp. Or if he had some misguided ideas about your current standing with the church, you suppose.

And he mentioned someone being "captured". The camp isn't really designed to take prisoners, though. They'd only try to do it if they found hostiles right in the midst of camp...

Which could explain how you ended up here. You might have been assaulted, taken here, and then your assailants kept going towards the camp.

But... wouldn't that suggest you're still near the camp?

You adjust the filter on your sound amplifier. You might need to listen more carefully for environmental clues, to help you work out where you are, so you focus on picking out sounds one at a time.

You hear... wheels against wood? That seems to be the mechanical servants. There must be more outside the room.

With a few adjustments, you hear what sounds like gears turning. Large ones, you think. Bigger than any Theodore ever worked with.

You can't seem to hear any footsteps no matter how you tune the filter, though. Presumably, your captors are sitting still right now.

Then you hear... wind? No, not just any particular wind, it sounds like a sandstorm picking up strength.

But if it's that close, why can't you hear your captors talking about it? Is this place so fortified that a sandstorm isn't even a matter of concern?

It feels as if everything you learn about this place and your captor just leaves you with more questions. Your main concern is finding a way out of here.

You could, you suppose, finish up the sound amplifier and find some way to avoid taking the drug in the tea so you remember what you learned here. But on the other hand, you wouldn't be able to tell Yvonne much about where you were. And you don't even know if the prisoner exchange is going to happen.

What's your next move?