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For the third option, a list of passengers appears and names can be searched for by letter. Anyone who has been working to try and make communications happen on their own devices will find those linked in to this network- though it is still only possible to use voice. If they have headphones from the music room they can make it so they work like earpieces.

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Late afternoon, Horseshoe 6

[10billionpercent]

Hey. It's Senku.

Just a report on what I've learned from talking to the innkeeper. She said this area got lucky, because their alchemist was prepared with the crystals to stop the effects of this blight.

She told me about a farmer that accidentally burned down his own barn because of internalized elements going haywire from the incident.

I asked what the odds are that it would happen again and she avoided the question.

Based on this conversation, I would suggest proceeding with caution as people or animals may be affected from the attack, and there's no guarantee it won't happen again while we're here, and I'm not sure what to suggest about that.

Just passing along the information.

[adregem]

Senku, it's Roland. What do you mean, 'internalized elements?'

[ The rest of this short report doesn't give him anything to celebrate. ] And with what you're suggesting...[ Roland hums. Why would the innkeep avoid that kind of question? ]

...Did the nobles of Jura come out at all in your conversation? The innkeep in The Lion's Mane is pretty certain it's all their doing. I don't know what proof they have of that, other than a bad track record with Irivar and common border skirmishes.

[10billionpercent]

From what I can gather, this old man from the blight accidentally caused a fire. She said... [ He pauses a moment. ] specifically that the blight makes elements haywire, including the elements inside of us.

I would hypothesize he had some kind of skill in magic, latent or otherwise. The alchemist had crystals which stopped the blight damage to the people in town, but she said outside of town is not as lucky.

[ He let out a thoughtful noise. ] No, nothing about the nobles. She said the skirmish you're referring to is a mess though.

I didn't consider to ask about the cause, but what concerns me, is that she wouldn't give me the odds of it happening again - and if it was caused by someone who has some way of doing it, wouldn't that increase the odds dramatically? If they could do it again, what's stopping them?

[adregem]

[ There. That's it.

He's thought about it when he mentioned it to Della earlier that day. Now, here comes exactly the information that confirms it. There's a small, sharp gasp of an idea suddenly rushing into Roland's already hyperactive mind the moment he hears Senku answer. He continues to listen, trying to stop himself from assuming. But how could he not? He just hopes his intuition is wrong. ]

That explains why the behavior in animals and beasts is aggressive, but in people, it awakens latent powers uncontrollably. [ Roland looks around. He's hidden himself again, somewhere outside the village. ] But you're right. And I'm worried about too. If we're running by the assumption that everyone's already pinning the blame on Jura, then why couldn't she have just said 'I don't know the odds? Blight came from the enemy, how would I know?'

[ Do you hear that implication, Senku? Or anyone else listening, really.

What if this wasn't an outside job, after all...? What if the cause of the blight was closer to home than they all thought? ]

[10billionpercent]

[ He hears it, he doesn't need Roland to spell it out for him, but he's also willing to fuel his hypothesis. ]

Awfully convenient that the alchemist was prepared for this eventuality, isn't it?

[ His tone is speculative, but he's thinking. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, that may be all they could do. If they've overprepared there's no harm in that. ]

She said specifically he didn't mean to burn down the barn, uncontrolled powers is a likely conclusion.

[ Sometimes what people don't say matters as much as what they do say. ]

[adregem]

[ He's growing increasingly tense, though hidden well. ] If anyone currently assigned to Purple can hear this, please keep track of the locations of 'purified' golems. Let's not risk it, not with civilians in direct line of their patrol routes.

[ Now, on to that speculation... ]

Hm. Plus, we hadn't thought to consider what exactly blight would accomplish. The briefing sent to us over the SCA's mentioned that the magic attack was to destabilize the land and force troops to withdraw. But have you heard of anyone actually falling back? They're still on the front lines. Is it because they know there's a call for adventurers to help...?

[ He shakes his head. Or...do they even know at all that this was happening back home? ]

[10billionpercent]

[ The benefit to having a memory like Senku's is that he can recall specific details and he thinks it over. ]

She said all of the adventurers are fighting on the border, they weren't getting much news from outside, and she was surprised by our numbers.

Twice. She clarified twice that all of the adventurers are at the border. That's a rather absolute claim, and it's interesting to have a call for someone who can't come. Optics?

[ He's trying to think strategically here, behind the purpose of doing something like that, when likely the chess game is the battlefield they weren't in the middle of. ]

Maybe to blame the adventurers if something goes wrong, or to blame the other side for taking the adventurers away...or, since they work on contract, they may not be loyal to either side, a ploy to suggest the adventurers abandoned this town?

Ah, sorry, I'm thinking aloud.

[adregem]

Why would our numbers surprise her? Wouldn't our numbers reassure her? Since they're already overwhelmed up front? [ Roland's been paranoid from the start - be it from the potential threat of that dangerous cloud that he saw only in memory, or from his own thoughts running amok with information. But there's something here, between the information that's being passed along each team to the actual purpose of their time on Irivar. ]

No, no don't apologize. Keep thinking out loud. I think now more than ever, we need to think out loud.

...Continue to exercise caution from your end, alright? Let's be careful about the next couple of days. Stay on guard and keep in touch, especially if you notice anything strange. [ Especially since Roland's wondered from the start why none of the teams were sent to investigate the blight itself. Wasn't that the true source of the planet's current threat? ]

[10billionpercent]

[ He's paranoid, sometimes, but not paranoid enough. He wasn't initially that concerned, he doesn't really know how these missions go, but this conversation has him on edge. ]

She specifically said surprised, I'm not remembering that wrong. I couldn't tell you how genuine that was. [ He waves his hand even though no one can see him. He's not good at tone. ]

Yeah. If I see anything strange, I'll let everyone know.

Just to make it 10! >:)

[adregem]

Got it. Let's just hope for the best, pray for the worst then. Thanks, Senku. I'll let you know if I get anything interesting for you to study on my end.

[ He smiles before logging off. ]