Network Noise [CLOSED]

[djinnigenie]

[The feed kicks in with an accidental activation. Shuffling, loud, brushing noises herald a loud, muffled, angry, female voice.]

MORRIGAN! Where in the Maker's name am I? WHAT DID YOU DO?

[Slam! Rattle! Distortion. The louder words echo a bit in the cavernous space.]

WHERE AM I?

[Heavy breathing.]

You said I would live, but you didn't mention *this* - can you hear me?

[Deep breath. Calmer voice.]

Very well. I do not know where I am. This is not the Fade nor the Deep Roads nor anywhere I have seen in Ferelden.

[Muffled noise and scraping.]

Dear Andraste! Morrigan - please run, my friend. Loghain is going to be hunting you. Loghain... dear Maker.

CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?

Comments

[Audio]

[tailforbrains]

[There's a wincing tiefling on the other end of this call, not that Elissa would know it. Still, there's some discomfort in her voice when she replies.]

Hey, hey, calm down. Stop shouting, gods. You're on a ship... city... thing. And probably there's not gonna be anybody here you know, so shouting at 'em isn't gonna help much.

Re: [Audio]

[djinnigenie]

My apologies, I did not realize that anyone could hear me. I do not see you amidst these... tombs.

[More rustling as she digs around in the footlocker at the end of the pod, unknowingly moving items over the 'box' of a communicator.]

[Audio]

[tailforbrains]

That's because I'm not there. There's a communication thingy in that trunk thing at the foot of your little glass coffin. It might look like a little box, or a book, or a scrying crystal. That's what mine looks like!

Re: [Audio]

[djinnigenie]

Thank you. There is another voice that speaks to me as well. Tis male, by the sound of it. Is he with you?

[tailforbrains]

Uh, no. Nope. Don't know who that'd be, there's a lot of people with communicators. But you were pretty loud, I bet you get a few people poking you to tone it down.

[There's a pause, then she adds,]

You, uh, just woke up, huh? Pretty confused, I guess?

[djinnigenie]

Aye, I am, but one called Loki Odinson has explained a few things. Tis an unwelcome surprise to find myself torn from my world and those dear to me, but it seems there is no easy way back.

I am Elissa Cousland. Who might you be?

[tailforbrains]

I'm Neeshka. And hey, I'm pretty new here, too, so I get that. Besides, all this weird stuff is way beyond anything I'd ever heard of, before showing up here.

It's easy to find the city, just get out of the shiny metal thing and head downhill. There's free food and rooms here, which is pretty neat.

[djinnigenie]

Now that *is* good news! What coin do they accept here? Is gold of any value?

[tailforbrains]

Uh, well, mostly what I've seen, there's not much coin here at all. Nobody seems to have much of anything, really. It's all... barter. And... do this chore, to get this thing. And... this stuff is free, but it's really bland, and if you want anything better you'd better be willing to work.

[She might be a little frustrated with the lack of stuff to do and/or steal here. It sounds like she's rolling her eyes as she says all that.]

[djinnigenie]

Do this chore to get this thing.

[Yes, that is definitely amusement in Elissa's voice.]

I know that system all too well. I am leaving shortly to meet with Loki Odinson in front of the ... flop? Perhaps we can meet later as well, Neeshka. I thank you most sincerely for helping to ease my distress. I look forward to meeting you.

[tailforbrains]

Well, sure, if you want to. I'm around all the time, or I can show up at the Flop whenever if you wanna make a formal "hi, nice to meet you" thing.

[She's wondering a little whether Elissa will freak out when she sees the horns and tail. Surprisingly few people have, so far, actually.]

[djinnigenie]

I would like that very much. Tonight, I plan upon resting and thinking through this ... transition. On the morrow, I intend to scout out possible hunting grounds. Perhaps after that, we can meet?

[Oh, little does she know what the morning will truly bring.]

[tailforbrains]

Sure thing. I tend to stand out, so I'm sure you'll figure out who I am.

[There's a grin in her voice, when she says that.]

Guess I'll see ya tomorrow sometime.

[Video]

[attention_wenches]

[He really ought to spend more time monitoring the communicator. It apparently has the potential to be be profoundly amusing. This woman, in particular, seems to lead a most exiting life. He tries to keep from mocking her outright, this time, since she's laboring under mistaken impressions rather than making isolated poor decisions. It's one step above stupid.]

Calm down a bit first, Milady, and I'll do my best to begin to explain.

[Not mocking outright, but looking superior and irksomely smug? Especially for what seems to be a dusty boy of fourteen sitting on a library table? Well, he can't help it. Loki is essentially what happens if you teach a cat to talk.]

Re: [Video]

[djinnigenie]

[Replying voice does not seem to be close to the communicator.]

I hear your voice, but do not know whence it comes. Please show yourself.

[attention_wenches]

[Ah. Well, he can work with that.]

If you examine your belongings or perhaps the chest where you found them, you'll discover an item that emanates messages in the form of sound and images. Uncover it and we can talk much more readily.

[djinnigenie]

[More noises against the communicator and then the woman's voice is clearer.]

Aha! Tis found. My thanks. A woman speaks to me as well. Is she with you?

[Elissa lifts the small box to see the it and its stylus. Suddenly, she is visible - and wearing little more than small clothes.]

How very odd.

[attention_wenches]

Nay, all of us have access to the device. And no surprise that there'd be general interest in a new arrival. Have you just woken in an odd chamber, then? In a room full of similar chambers containing more people, all apparently asleep and still confined?

[He means more to reassure her that her situation is precedented, since the sight of her in the ship and barely dressed is fairly self-explanatory.]

[djinnigenie]

Aye, tis indeed how I find myself. I am the Grey Warden Elissa Cousland. What a strange and convenient manner of communicating! Who might you be, young stranger?

[Camera angles get all crazy as the woman studies the box with a curios frown.]

[attention_wenches]

[He might as well give up being cagey about his name, since Thor tells anyone that Sigyn hasn't already.]

Loki Odinson of Asgard. But we're no more in Asgard than... Ferelden, I think yuo said, Milady? Welcome to Verdana. Several others in those pods have woken, myself included, to find themselves taken from home through unknown means and without any memory of how we arrived.

[He looks pretty calm about that, but he's had time to get used to it.]

[djinnigenie]

[She looks slightly hopeful.]

Ferelden, indeed. Tis a pleasure to meet you, Loki Odinson. You say... others... have woken? Have you met others most recently from Ferelden? A blond Antivan elf named Zevran, perhaps? Or a most grumpy warrior named Loghain Mac Tir?

[attention_wenches]

[Her description of her friends amuses him a bit. He's beginning to be inclined to like her.]

I haven't, I'm afraid. I haven't seen any elves at all, though I might have missed an individual human warrior. There are many of those. It's far from impossible, in any case. My elder brother arrived here after I did.

[Though... That had its own complications. Perhaps he'd better warn the lady.]

Though should you find someone from home, their memories may not entirely comport with yours.

[djinnigenie]

[That little frown returns, bringing with it a tiny line between the female's brows.]

Ill news, that - and much to take in while undressed. It seems to me as if I've not slept at all between my last memory and this, but that is not true, is it?

Allow me to dress before further pondering such weighty matters. Are you nearby amidst these... these tombs? Your kindness is appreciated and I should like to speak more with you in better surroundings.

[attention_wenches]

[Kindness? Not something often associated with Loki. He'd call this the kind of bare, functional politeness that won't get him remonstrated by Thor.]

Nay, I'm in the archives in the city nearby. If you've yet to even dress and leave the place, then there's a great deal to say.

[He considers sending Thor along to fetch her. It worked last time, but this woman isn't putting on affectations of helplessness.]

Best that you, eh, garb yourself and make your way here. The road is easy to spot and the way is... Well, not particularly dangerous. Are you armed or skilled at magic or something comparable?

[djinnigenie]

[Amusement twinkles in the woman's gaze at that question.]

I am neither mage nor helpless maiden. Considering the past several months of my life have involved walking along various roads of questionable safety, I am fairly certain that I can find this city of which you speak. Shall I ask for you at the gate, Loki Odinson? Or further inward?