[ is it terrible that "quite well" is not hitting for him. he frowns a little bit. quite well.not bad. HIS REVIEWS. ]
There was one night we had nothing but wine and apples to eat, it was all we could scrounge up. Certainly there was a great deal of regret and passing around of Lesser Restorations in the morning.
You have been in here for hours, listening to a story that you already know the ending to, hoping to get something from it at the end. The woman in front of you has been slowly losing the little patience she had for you, and you think it's a little funny. It has been a while since you encountered someone who trusted you this little, but there's not much you can do to save that. It's not you, specifically, she dislikes-- well. Maybe it is you a little, but it's more about the company than anything else.
But you have listened to her, and her companion, explain how they pulled off a successful jailbreak. The woman-- Silence-- is careful with her words, and you can tell that she puts a lot of thought into what she says before it leaves her mouth. You know she wasn't always like this, and you also know the incident that changed that, and that it's the other reason why she definitely hates being in this room with you.
That is not important though.
You have offered her a deal. For her to hand over Anthony, the prison escapee. You'll give her something in exchange, and you'll keep him safe, but he'll also be a good bargaining chip if any of the other directors try anything. It is an extremely long shot, but you've already sat here hours, so you might as well try.
"I refuse," Silence says after a long pause.
Ah. "Oh? How come? I think what I'm offering is beyond attractive."
When Silence speaks again, it's with more conviction. "Director Muelsyse, from the beginning till the very end of our conversation, you haven't ever asked me what I wanted to do with Anthony. Did you subconsciously arrive at the conclusion that, just like you and Saria, I want Anthony, this 'lead,' as well?"
"Am I wrong? He'll be one of the ways via which I'll keep Energy in check. As for Saria, I don't really know what's on her mind, but I'm sure she has her uses for him as well. As for you... You're a Rhine Lab researcher who had to leave the place because of an experiment gone wrong. You want to use him to wrangle something from Rhine Lab."
Silence's eyes flash with annoyance. Her posture straightens. "I don't plan on using your so-called 'lead,' Director Muelsyse. If Saria didn't show up, and Anthony was rescued some other way and then met up with Mayer and me, I would still have told him to join Rhodes Island. I'm not doing this because I want to keep a leash on him, your 'lead,' through Rhodes Island."
You watch her, as her voice grows more agitated as she speaks. You can tell she's been wanting to say this for a while. "Throughout our entire conversation, you used the word 'lead' to describe him over and over. I don't really like calling him that. Anthony isn't a 'lead' to me. He's a person; he's alive. His entire family was put behind bars in just one night, and he himself was locked up in that place for six years! If there was a better place for him to be, I naturally would've told him and helped him get there. I'm not trying to keep him around to use as a bargaining chip in the future. That's what I think is the right thing to do."
The two of you look at each other. You can tell that she hates you, and everything that you represent by being a director of Rhine Lab. You sigh, "Looks like we aren't going to come to an understanding."
"I'm afraid not," she says. "If you don't need anything else from us, we'll take our leave now."
You pause. "Eh, you don't really think I'll just let you walk out of here after I told you all that, right? Researcher Silence?"
[ i will say this feels exactly right. Dana and Anna playing two boys who think they are tough and evil but actually are kind of able to be emotional guilted and then francy playing a very cute girl who is the most ruthless of them all. only respect for my queen in this house.
gale however watches all of this and then isn't ... quite sure how to react. ]
Um, the Anthony guy we kept mentioning is the heir to what was a pretty big company. It got pretty brutally taken over, like... hitmen level of involvement, so his family sent him to prison for his protection. But it still makes him a pretty coveted target.
Having him on my side would have been super helpful, but I got beaten at the end there! Apparently Silence had him in the building the whole time, so he overheard our conversation and refused to come with me. And the guy's like, huge! I wasn't going to fight him.
[ yea she was NOT going to 1v1 that guy she is not insane ]
It's one of the sections of my job. I guess I can do a proper introduction-- Director Muelsyse of Rhine Lab, at your service! [ she salutes. ] I'm head of the Ecological. Energy is another section.
[ hmmm. ]
The easiest way to explain it is that the lab I work for has gotten more and more powerful over the years, both in a tech sense but also in regards to influence in things like government. So, things have been kinda dicey on the inside. Lots of corruption and backstabbing and unethical things happening, and whatnot. It's why that girl, Olivia Silence, doesn't like me very much. She doesn't trust any of the leadership at Rhine, despite working there.
Anyway, the head of Energy was trying to take over Rhine, so he was someone you really needed to keep an eye on or else the next thing you know, your body is being thrown into a dumpster!
[ yeah he gets it. wizarding culture in waterdeep is fucking exactly this. including the corruption and backstabbing. ]
It's why I never got much into politics. There's always ... throwing people into dumpsters and what not. And is this a concern of yours still? This tension between you and these other departments?
The head of Rhine Lab is currently... not around, so there's likely going to be a huge scramble for control. She was the kind of person who would always be ten steps ahead of you, so it's going to be kind of interesting to see how it goes without her. But right now the change has been so recent, it's hard to tell.
Netherese magic. Of what exact form or kind, I'm not entirely certain as of yet - I would need access to research, works and tomes that are vanishingly rare. But it was sealed long ago in that book, likely because they could not destroy it. It was hardly as simply as just turning the cover, such things are enchanted in a myriad of layers of arcane locks and ensealments specifically to keep them closed and yet.
[ he kept opening them. he taps his chest where the mark is. ]
It consumes magic. If I am not able to sate it with a magical item brimming with enough Weave to slack its hunger, it begins next to consume my magic, and then, my vital self. Necrotizing parts of me and my spirit. It is impossible to fully satiate, though I was granted a charm as of late that abates the worst of it.
[ he goes ow though entirely out of habit and not because it actually hurts. ]
Once it has nothing to consume, either through my death or because I chose to trigger the events it will destabilize. I have no access to my magic here, so there will be no self-inflicted ... erm, letting go, so to speak.
I think the warning is important. It will explode - violently. Please know if I die, you must either resurrect me or discard of the body within three or so days, or it may prevent a danger to everyone present.
[ as in. he is already dead. demise, past tense. ]
Of course it is. But I don't-- [ hrm. ] I don't see much point in acting as I do otherwise. Crawling into bed and never emerging again wouldn't be helpful, would it?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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There was one night we had nothing but wine and apples to eat, it was all we could scrounge up. Certainly there was a great deal of regret and passing around of Lesser Restorations in the morning.
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[ throws a memory at you
pesto lets out a low whistle. ]
Awkward one.
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gale however watches all of this and then isn't ... quite sure how to react. ]
Perhaps some context is missing.
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[ yeah that's the problem. ]
Um, the Anthony guy we kept mentioning is the heir to what was a pretty big company. It got pretty brutally taken over, like... hitmen level of involvement, so his family sent him to prison for his protection. But it still makes him a pretty coveted target.
Having him on my side would have been super helpful, but I got beaten at the end there! Apparently Silence had him in the building the whole time, so he overheard our conversation and refused to come with me. And the guy's like, huge! I wasn't going to fight him.
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Well, I suppose I've gotten into quite tense discussions with colleagues of mine about a rare tome or two in my day ...
[ THATS NOT THE SAME AS A PERSON. ]
What is this "Energy" you need to keep in check?
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It's one of the sections of my job. I guess I can do a proper introduction-- Director Muelsyse of Rhine Lab, at your service! [ she salutes. ] I'm head of the Ecological. Energy is another section.
[ hmmm. ]
The easiest way to explain it is that the lab I work for has gotten more and more powerful over the years, both in a tech sense but also in regards to influence in things like government. So, things have been kinda dicey on the inside. Lots of corruption and backstabbing and unethical things happening, and whatnot. It's why that girl, Olivia Silence, doesn't like me very much. She doesn't trust any of the leadership at Rhine, despite working there.
Anyway, the head of Energy was trying to take over Rhine, so he was someone you really needed to keep an eye on or else the next thing you know, your body is being thrown into a dumpster!
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[ yeah he gets it. wizarding culture in waterdeep is fucking exactly this. including the corruption and backstabbing. ]
It's why I never got much into politics. There's always ... throwing people into dumpsters and what not. And is this a concern of yours still? This tension between you and these other departments?
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[ her expression shifts into a slight frown. ]
The head of Rhine Lab is currently... not around, so there's likely going to be a huge scramble for control. She was the kind of person who would always be ten steps ahead of you, so it's going to be kind of interesting to see how it goes without her. But right now the change has been so recent, it's hard to tell.
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Alright then.
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Oh.
[ exposed. ]
Alright then.
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[ she raises it back to her face??? ]
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No, no-- please. Honestly it's something of a huge relief to see faces underneath the masks. I was actually beginning to wonder.
[but also. oopsie get meme'd. ]
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well, that seems problematic. she doesn't say anything right away, since it's one of those odd things where you are not sure what is polite or not. ]
So. What was that...
[ nailed it ]
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A somewhat humiliating run-down of my life's events until a few months ago, overall.
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[ she takes another bite of the food, like she's trying to get a few seconds to think. ]
What was that coming out of the book?
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[ he kept opening them. he taps his chest where the mark is. ]
It consumes magic. If I am not able to sate it with a magical item brimming with enough Weave to slack its hunger, it begins next to consume my magic, and then, my vital self. Necrotizing parts of me and my spirit. It is impossible to fully satiate, though I was granted a charm as of late that abates the worst of it.
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[ that's all she says for a moment before she just reaches over towards him and gently pokes that same spot. ]
And what will be left of you once it finishes?
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Once it has nothing to consume, either through my death or because I chose to trigger the events it will destabilize. I have no access to my magic here, so there will be no self-inflicted ... erm, letting go, so to speak.
I think the warning is important. It will explode - violently. Please know if I die, you must either resurrect me or discard of the body within three or so days, or it may prevent a danger to everyone present.
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but also NOT THE BODY BOMB why are the baldurs so worrisome ]
You're very calm about talking about your upcoming demise, Gale.
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You can remove the word upcoming.
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[ sowwy!! ]
... isn't it scary?
[ the icon doesn't match this last part but i'm not changing it ]
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[ as in. he is already dead. demise, past tense. ]
Of course it is. But I don't-- [ hrm. ] I don't see much point in acting as I do otherwise. Crawling into bed and never emerging again wouldn't be helpful, would it?
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[ of the bed. not the closet. ]
But what about when you're alone?
cw: description of suicide
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