[video]/[text] A warning. (Sept. 2)

[warriorscribe]

*The new floors threw him off for a bit. But this wasn't Meridian, and if Jason was watching over them, who knew what he might try. Forgetting to speak could be a fatal mistake.

So here Enoch is, sitting tall and eyes focused, if worried. He speaks in an even tone, a subtle strength to his voice despite its softness.*

The man among our hosts watching us now hasn't given us much to live on - and I believe he's the sort that wants to see us risk the restaurant's task for it.

*A deep breath.* I urge all of you, don't give in. The food may be tempting, but they'll ask an impossible task of you - I searched the entire tower four times over, never stopping to rest, and could not find what they requested. ...I later learned, after nearly dying, that my kidney had vanished.

*Another pause, and he swallows, trying to push the memory of that sickeningly frantic and frightening search to the back of his mind again. To try and forget how unsettling it was that they could simply alter his body without warning or sign...* The forest has game to hunt; I could teach anyone who is interested.

...Could someone teach me how to create one of those interactive references I've seen here at times? If you do, I'll keep a list of alternatives here as others suggest them.

*A few minutes after the post goes live, a text post is added, with Enoch replying to his own reply to link to the alternatives.*

Someone has told me how to create a link, and the alternatives I haven't already mentioned will be gathered here.

• Farming

Comments

[text] [filtered]

[crouching_sin]

You do it like this:

[A short, very simple tutorial on how to create a link follows.]

[text] [filtered]

[warriorscribe]

Thank you.

[Audio]

[knightime]

Your...kidney vanished?

Like, how do you know it vanished and why?

[Video]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch just replies without turning off the video feed - he's not lazy, he just doesn't see the point.*

It was taken in place of the payment I couldn't provide. I...have a friend who could sense its absence through her magic.

[Video]

[knightime]

What. Holy shit.

[That isn't cool.] You're going to be okay right? Nothing else missing?

Man, suddenly I love food bars. Who'd have fucking thought.

[Video]

[warriorscribe]

Nothing...and I think I may have had it replaced in death. I've found...other injuries healed after dying.

*The less he talks about those, the better, though he'll share if asked because, well, the more other people learn about this place, the safer they'll be. It's the point of this post, after all.*

Hopefully, we'll gather enough alternatives to help everyone through the month.

[Video]

[littlesound]

Whaaaaaaaat!?

[The little girl's face comes in even closer to the camera.]

They took your kidney?! But... but people need kidneys! For living and stuff!

[Then she recoils slightly.]

...did they let you have lunch at the restaurant at least...?

[Video]

[warriorscribe]

*How many children have they trapped here? Solemn, Enoch nods.*

They tell you what your payment is after you eat. If I had known how difficult the task was...

[Video]

[littlesound]

Ohhhhhhhhh...

That's... that's HORRIBLE! That's not good at all! That's not FAIR!

[She looks as though she's going to work herself up into a fair bit of a panic... but she knocks herself lightly on the head, forces a serious look on her face, and leans back in.]

So... so you're okay now, right?

[Video]

[warriorscribe]

I agree, it isn't.

*He leans forward in concern as the girl seems to start to panic, thinking to try to comfort her, but she pulls herself together in fairly short order. All the same, though, when he speaks again, his tone is even and soft.*

Yes, I'll be all right. *He decides not to tell her he thinks dying may have given that kidney back. Best not to teach children death was worthless. If the tower wouldn't do that without his help already.*

I had friends who healed me, everything's fine now. But I hope my example prevents others from...perhaps not being so lucky.

[moontothetide]

...oh, Enoch...

[Tara's eyes are wide, horrified, and sad. Her hands are pressed over her mouth, and she feels an almost sympathetic pain deep in her abdoman.

She hadn't known how lucky she was.]

I-I'll be careful. I promise. And, and I f-finally got some of the seeds I asked for, so, so m-maybe that will help.

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch meets her sympathy with one of his own. Odd, wasn't it, sympathetic pain in response to sympathetic pain...*

I could help you tend them, if you need help.

video

[keybearer]

Jason's all for making us suffer. Pretty sure he was the one who ran that little Labyrinth game, for one.

[He sighs, placing a hand to his temple.]

We'll just have to make do with what we've got, and hunting's not a bad idea. Having a party to collect meat came up over the network before, so I know there's interest.

video

[warriorscribe]

Labyrinth? I've heard mention of it, but don't know what it was.

video

[keybearer]

They rounded up a bunch of people, dropped them in a maze, and forced them to kill each other. Only one could survive.

video 1/2 because torn between two icons <_<

[warriorscribe]

They...that's...

*For a moment, he looks openly shocked, horrified.*

video 2/2

[warriorscribe]

*And then he forces it down, suppressing it to unease. Jason might well be watching, and if he is, he's probably already gotten a thrill out of his story and the responses.*

That certainly sounds like Jason from what I've heard...

[calculatedfire]

They took your kidney for the food?

[That was a bit worse than he had expected.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch nods.*

When I couldn't complete the task they asked of me.

[calculatedfire]

What task did they give you?

[warriorscribe]

They asked me to bring them a toy a monster carries - the floating pods, perhaps you've seen them. They very rarely show themselves. I only found one all day, and it only had an animal's heart.

video;

[mamadonna]

The ghastly and unvaried offering would indicate Jason to be in the seat of power. This is an unwelcome revelation.

video;

[warriorscribe]

He's done this before, then?

*He can't say he's surprised...*

video;

[mamadonna]

As I understand it, the active warden changes in a cycle. [ Those cycles being months, but she's not really familiar with human time measurements. ] Jason did this three cycles past, when he was last in command. I had thought the trials following after this period had ended were meant to determine a different hierarchy, but I suppose that wasn't the case.

During those trials, the Tower's systems were inactive. We were left to subsist from our best instinct alone, our only sustenance being a shipment of those same bars.

video;

[warriorscribe]

I arrived then, but...I'm not surprised to know he does this every time.

*A sigh. Oh, he does not at all like this sick feeling of bitterness. He's seen human cruelty before. He's seen tyranny and malice. Every time, it was like this: bitterness and lament for the example they set.*