week 5, post trial.

[robitussin]

[Another week draws to a close, but as more culprits are led away, something is different all the same. After this particular trial, perhaps it's not a surprise that there's no note or offer to meet in a specific place tonight. Can any of them say they have any energy or desire to do something like that at a time like this? The place they regrouped last Saturday evening stands there, burned nearly beyond recognition, and the townspeople look at them with the distrust that's been steadily building. Not to mention... Those are the least of the losses they've faced in the last few days.

Of course, even as so much changes day by day, the town remains, with plenty of places for people to go if they don't want to stay inside the motel. Where can you be found tonight?]

Comments

[quickpersuader]

Mm. That's what we call them in my... world, I guess. It isn't different from country to country or anything.

[marmoron]

[A nod.]

Back home, we fought a lot of things capable of using magic in addition to advanced weaponry. The hardest fight I've ever had without the lions was against a Druid that had a number of powers. energy manipulation, teleportation, the ability to fire blasts of dark magic, cast illusions and so on.

We were able to kill a Druid. We were never able to kill their master, Haggar. I don't know if the Sergeant is on par with Haggar or more powerful than she is, but...even the witch died once.

[quickpersuader]

...So if they can be killed, so can the Sergeant.

[Kino leans back thoughtfully.]

He's the one imprisoning us, so he has more control of what we have access to. That's the main problem with overpowering him right now, I think.

[marmoron]

I think so.

[And that's not some feels good, everything will be okay shonen bullshit talking if only because Keith doesn't do optimism.]

It might come down to whether or not we can take over the technology they're using to bring people and objects from other universes here. Like I said, Black would be able to take 'em out. But there are probably other possibilities that we just haven't considered yet. There's still a lot that we don't know about the Sergeant and his boss.

[quickpersuader]

Yeah. I've been asking, but he keeps clamming up. I think he's getting wary of my questions.

[Sigh.]

[marmoron]

[That's getting a bit of a laugh.]

Not very bright if it took him that long to realize you're a bit of a menace.

[It's a compliment.]

[quickpersuader]

[She actually looks mildly surprised for a moment.]

...It's been a while since I got a "compliment" like that.

[But it's also been a while since she's seen Hermes.]

I think there's people listening in on him, too. Sometimes he'll listen to the device in his ear and stop.

[marmoron]

Only stating the truth here.

[A shrug.]

He admitted as much. He told me he has a bad memory and that his boss has to remind him what the rules are from time to time.

[Which is... interesting though he's not quite sure what all they can do with that information.]

[quickpersuader]

He's not as put together as he tries to seem.

It makes me wonder if his boss is going to get involved, at this rate.

[marmoron]

At the end.

He said his boss will make an appearance then.

[quickpersuader]

So you got information after all.

[marmoron]

Not much of it unfortunately. He didn't go into much more detail.

[quickpersuader]

[She was gonna be impressed with you there, Keith.]

Seems that's usually how it goes.

[marmoron]

[Never be impressed with Keith, Kino. That would be a mistake.]

Tell me about it. The only other thing he really said about his boss is that they're apparently a genius.

[quickpersuader]

...Like a genius genius, or a genius to him?

[This. This is an important distinction.]

[marmoron]

Can't say for sure.

His boss is the one that came up with a plan this convoluted, but his boss is also the one who apparently designed the technology that brought us here.

[A beat.]

I'm not sure how impressive the latter is. In my world you could theoretically accomplish the same feat by gaining access to a transreality comet and access to the rift. That'd take patience as well alchemic knowledge, but not genius necessarily.

[quickpersuader]

Alchemic?

[More mysteries...]

...Needless to say this is all way beyond what my world is capable of.

[marmoron]

[Right.]

Altean alchemy. It's probably easiest to think of it as magic, but it involves manipulating quintessence. Life energy, life force -- whatever you want to call it. Altean alchemists can open up the rift between realities at will. With the help of a transreality comet, you can enter than space and travel between universes. I've been to one before this.

[A beat.]

I don't think that's what's happening here, that said. I'm just saying that I don't know if the guy really is a genius or not.

[quickpersuader]

...So he might just be taking advantage of a natural phenomenon?

[marmoron]

Possibly.

[A beat.]

We don[t have enough information to be able to tell.