RE: Incident [TEXT]
08-18-2013, 07:03 PM
“I wouldn't say it's a case of why I'm still here. A better question, I think, is why I should go.”
They reach up and take off the dark glasses. The skin around their eyes is just as bloodless as their hands, and it's hard to miss the pink irises. They blink a few times and then focus on you.
“I think I have a better chance of dealing with this peacefully if there are as few witnesses as possible.”
Technically, the sacerdotes have no authority whatsoever. They're civilians. But in practice the Guardian sacerdotes will volunteer their services to the police and mercenaries in times of crisis, as will the Healers. In addition to both groups being highly trained, the Church of the Nameless God holds a huge amount of sway in Victraedis and therefore the sacerdotes have a kind of spiritual authority that most civilians will respect even if they're not a follower of the Church. It's an edge that the mercenaries and police simply don't have. Not to mention that the sacerdotes have a better reputation, no doubt elevated by their connection to the divine. The real authorities look shabby and undisciplined by comparison.
But it's the real authorities who do the real work, and you're not going to feel comfortable about this situation until they're involved in it.
“I don't know what your armband means, and I don't care. Your whole plan, which is shaky enough, hinges entirely on the murderer actually turning up. If they're so freaked out, what's to stop them just running away instead of trying to deal with it?”
“Fear, I suppose. I don't think they can risk her surviving.”
You narrow your eyes. “I'm starting to wonder if you know something I don't about this situation.”
“Oh, undoubtedly. You're right in thinking that there's something unusual about my insistence that you leave. But I'll give you a clue: where are we?”
You stare at them blankly. Then it hits you.
“East of the river...” You turn in place, trying to visualise the streets around you. You turn back towards the body. “Leif Street is over there. So... this is near where the unrest exploded last night? A sparker... killed by a panicking assailant...”
“What does that sound like?”
They pull down their cowl and put their glasses back on, running a hand over their white slicked back hair. The wrapping around their nose and mouth stays in place. Their curiosity is less guarded now, and you feel the weight of their expectation on you.
What answer do you give them? Or do you ignore them and walk away to call the police, as you were intending to?
They reach up and take off the dark glasses. The skin around their eyes is just as bloodless as their hands, and it's hard to miss the pink irises. They blink a few times and then focus on you.
“I think I have a better chance of dealing with this peacefully if there are as few witnesses as possible.”
Technically, the sacerdotes have no authority whatsoever. They're civilians. But in practice the Guardian sacerdotes will volunteer their services to the police and mercenaries in times of crisis, as will the Healers. In addition to both groups being highly trained, the Church of the Nameless God holds a huge amount of sway in Victraedis and therefore the sacerdotes have a kind of spiritual authority that most civilians will respect even if they're not a follower of the Church. It's an edge that the mercenaries and police simply don't have. Not to mention that the sacerdotes have a better reputation, no doubt elevated by their connection to the divine. The real authorities look shabby and undisciplined by comparison.
But it's the real authorities who do the real work, and you're not going to feel comfortable about this situation until they're involved in it.
“I don't know what your armband means, and I don't care. Your whole plan, which is shaky enough, hinges entirely on the murderer actually turning up. If they're so freaked out, what's to stop them just running away instead of trying to deal with it?”
“Fear, I suppose. I don't think they can risk her surviving.”
You narrow your eyes. “I'm starting to wonder if you know something I don't about this situation.”
“Oh, undoubtedly. You're right in thinking that there's something unusual about my insistence that you leave. But I'll give you a clue: where are we?”
You stare at them blankly. Then it hits you.
“East of the river...” You turn in place, trying to visualise the streets around you. You turn back towards the body. “Leif Street is over there. So... this is near where the unrest exploded last night? A sparker... killed by a panicking assailant...”
“What does that sound like?”
They pull down their cowl and put their glasses back on, running a hand over their white slicked back hair. The wrapping around their nose and mouth stays in place. Their curiosity is less guarded now, and you feel the weight of their expectation on you.
What answer do you give them? Or do you ignore them and walk away to call the police, as you were intending to?